Get all 7 Colin Cutler releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Live at the Flat Iron, Tarwater, If I Had My Way, I'd Tear That Idol Down, Hot Pepper Jam, Stranger in the Promised Land, Peacock Feathers, and Nelson County Wayside.
1. |
Before They Hang Me
03:41
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I’ve got to get to Charlottesville
Before they hang me on that hill.
My Mary’s sick with the Spanish flu,
And I would die to be with you.
Lord knows I was just twenty-one,
When they gave me boots and they gave me a gun.
They sent me to the mud of France,
And German blood still stains my pants.
We got back home to a bright parade,
I got a letter, and the letter said,
“Your Mary’s sick with the Spanish flu,
And she would die to be with you.”
Chorus
I’ve got to get to Charlottesville
Before they hang me on that hill.
My Mary’s sick with the Spanish flu,
And, baby, I would die to be with you.
So I stole a car in Portsmouth town.
The sheriff stopped me, and I shot him down.
The car broke down, so I rode the rods.
As the engine screamed, I prayed to God.
I prayed the Lord her life to save,
Or I would join her in the grave.
Chorus
I’ve got to get to Charlottesville
Before they hang me on that hill.
My Mary’s sick with the Spanish flu,
And, baby, I would die to be with you.
And when I got to Charlottesville
My heart was heavy as I climbed the hill.
A steady rain fell on my head,
As I passed the church where we’d be wed,
And in the graveyard out in back,
Stood Mary’s parents dressed in black.
Chorus
I made it up to Charlottesville,
I guess they’ll hang me on this hill.
My Mary died of the Spanish flu,
And baby, I would die to be with you.
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2. |
Blood on My Shoes
02:43
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I was at the bar last night
With little Nelson Peek
We were walking home where Maul's Run flows
Down to Big Swift Creek
Down to Big Swift Creek
That liquor got to talking,
And we began to fight
With no one there to see us,
But the moon was shining bright
The moon was shining bright.
CHORUS
I've got blood on my shoes, little darling,
Blood on my shoes.
He threw me in the water,
The creek was black as sin.
In a drunken rage, I drew my knife,
And then I plunged it in.
And then I plunged it in.
You may have my house, my dear,
For I must up and run.
I leave to you my land and barn,
I'll take my horse and gun.
I'll take my horse and gun.
CHORUS
I've got blood on my shoes, little darling,
I've got blood on my shoes.
Well, Laura, if they hang me,
Don't you shed a tear,
But raise our boy to stay away
From cards and girls and beer,
From wine and the women and the beer.
And please tell Nelson's mother,
If you should see her cry
Please tell her that my cousin
Was a better man than I,
A better man than I.
CHORUS
I've got blood on my shoes, little darling,
I've got blood on my shoes.
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3. |
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Rock your chair while the baby cries.
Rock your chair while the baby cries.
Rock him with a song that’ll close his weary eyes.
Rock your chair while the baby cries.
Hold my hand while the baby cries.
Hold my hand while the baby cries.
We’ve come this far together, we’ll keep walking side by side.
Hold my hand while the baby cries.
Let us pray while the baby cries.
Let us pray while the baby cries.
We can pray that when he stumbles, he’ll learn to walk again.
Let us pray while the baby cries.
We can dream while the baby cries.
We can dream while the baby cries.
We can dream that he’ll remember both the sorrows and the joys.
We can dream while the baby cries.
Rock your chair while the baby cries.
Rock your chair while the baby cries.
Rock him with a song that’ll close his weary eyes.
Rock your chair while the baby cries.
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4. |
Maggie May
03:38
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My grandpappy told me when I was sitting on his knee
Don’t you ever let the good one get away.
That was one piece of advice that I didn’t heed,
So now I miss you, Maggie May.
Chorus
Maggie May, Maggie May
Maggie May, Maggie May
How I missed you, how I kissed you,
How I loved you, Maggie May.
Your look was like April, and your touch was like June.
Your kiss burned me up like an August day.
But when the leaves fell, I moved south, and she headed out west,
And now I am missing Maggie May.
Chorus
Maggie May, Maggie May
Maggie May, Maggie May
How I missed you, how I kissed you,
How I loved you, Maggie May.
Now when I see the snow or the wind blows,
or the moon shines through the trees,
And the train blows on along its way,
Then I wonder about that summer,
and if I’m still on your mind.
Cause you’re still on mine, Maggie May.
CHORUS
Maggie May, Maggie May
Maggie May, Maggie May
How I missed you, how I kissed you,
How I loved you, Maggie May.
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5. |
Long Way Down to Georgia
03:26
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It’s a long way down to Georgia
For a Nelson County boy.
It’s farther still across the ocean
To fight in Uncle Sam’s war,
To fight in Uncle Sam’s war.
It was hotter than hell out on that tarmac,
When we loaded up the plane.
It was hotter still when we landed
In those jungles of Vietnam.
That ambush came in the evening,
Two cousins from Kentucky went down
The rising sun saw the river running red,
And the village burnt to the ground.
I learned to shoot up in the mountains,
Where the deer came leaping through the trees,
But the jungle’s where I learned to kill a man without flinching,
I saw his head pop like a flea.
Tell my mother that I’m sorry,
Tell my father that I sinned.
Tell my mountains that I’d love to come back home,
But I can’t till I’m born again.
It’s a long way down to Georgia
For a Nelson County boy.
It’s farther still across the ocean,
To fight in Uncle Sam’s war,
Sold my soul to the devil in that war.
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6. |
Crimson and Gold
03:25
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The mountains were covered with crimson and gold
And we walked hand in hand among the trees
But when we came to the stream, your hand turned icy cold,
I said I had to follow it down to the sea.
O darling, O darling, don't you shed a tear,
For as sure as summer's hot and winter's cold,
I go to seek my fortune, but I'll come back to you my dear,
And I'll cover your shoulders with crimson and gold.
Chorus
Crimson and gold I promised you
When I got home, if you were true.
Swore by the wind and by the stones
When I get home, when I get home.
For three long years, I was gone away,
And the wonders I saw cannot be told,
But the money I earned ran like water through my hands,
And I came back to port with no crimson or gold.
Chorus
When I walked back to the mountains, the branches were all bare,
And the stream and the wind were icy cold,
I found the trees were keeping watch over your grave,
And they'd covered it over with crimson and gold.
Chorus
Crimson and gold I promised you
When I got home, if you were true.
Swore by the wind and by the stones so cold
Crimson and gold, crimson and gold.
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7. |
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Two blackbirds in a tall oak tree,
And a hi-diddle-iddle-idle-ay
Said one to the other, “What do you see?”
And a hi-diddle-iddle-idle-ay
The other one said, “ Well, I see a man,
And a hi…
And seems to me he’s got his blood on his hands.”
And a hi…
Chorus
Asked one of the other, “Why laugh when you call?”
And a hi…
“I see a dead man behind this wall.”
And a hi…
“In yonder sycamore, what do you see?”
And a hi…
“An old rope noose hanging in a tree.”
And a hi…
Chorus
The man in the moon spat a silver spoon,
And a hi…
And I heard the Pied Piper changed his tune.
And a hi…
You can rock your chair while the baby cries,
And a hi…
Don’t you tell that child someday he’ll die.
And a hi…
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8. |
Dink's Song
03:02
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If I had wing’s like Noah’s dove,
I’d fly the river to the one I love.
Fare thee well, my honey,
Fare thee well.
‘Twas one evening, in the drizzling rain,
And in my heart was an aching pain.
Fare thee well, my honey,
Fare thee well.
I had a woman, she was long and tall.
She moved her body like a cannonball
Fare thee well, my honey,
Fare thee well.
Once she wore her apron low.
You couldn’t keep me from her front door.
Fare thee well, my honey,
Fare thee well.
Now she wears her apron high.
Open your door, honey, but I won’t be by.
Fare thee well, my honey,
Fare thee well.
If you’d a-listened to what your mama said,
You’d still be sleeping there in your featherbed.
Fare thee well, my honey,
Fare thee well.
That muddy river is chilly and wild,
Can’t give a bloody, honey, for your unborn child.
Fare thee well, my honey,
Fare thee well.
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9. |
CC Rider
03:10
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CC Rider, see what you gone done.
CC Rider, see what you gone done
Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey.
You made me love you, now your man done come.
You made me love you, now your man done come.
Hey, hey, hey, hey.
I saw you standing there, when that sun went down
I saw you standing there, when that sun went down.
I saw you in the kitchen, in that morning gown.
I saw you in the kitchen, you were in that morning gown.
Hey, hey, hey, hey.
CC Rider, see what you gone done.
CC Rider, see what you gone done.
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10. |
Rock in the River
02:40
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I’m a rock half-buried in the river,
And the waves keep washing over me.
I’m a rock half buried in the river, my love,
Won’t you roll me down to the sea.
Won’t you roll me down to the sea.
I’m a cloud in the sky up above you
Wandering lonely as a breeze.
I’m a cloud in the sky above you, my love,
Won’t you follow me down to the sea.
I’m the pine tree out in the hay-field.
Where the mourning dove builds her nest.
I’m the pine tree out in the hay-field, my love,
Won’t you lay your weary head upon my breast?
I’m the crepe myrtles growing out on Main Street,
I’m the bugle vine blowing on the barn,
I’m the home that you long to come back to, my love,
I’d welcome you back with open arms.
I would welcome you home with open arms.
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Colin Cutler Greensboro, North Carolina
Armed with a guitar, banjo, a brace of harmonicas, Colin tells stories of love and loss with characters wide open as a Midwest sky and wild as the mountains, with poetry thick as a Carolina swamp.
Colin Cutler recommends:
With a Patsy Cline-powered voice and jazzy rock band, with lyrics dark and deep as swampwater, these guys are the real deal. Also, we recorded my Peacock Feathers EP together.
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featured on Bandcamp Radio Jun 10, 2014
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