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Baba Was A Bootlegger

by The Whiskey Jerks

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1.
Unearthing old treasures that were buried for centuries Freed from a bed of clay and lime On a glittering beach that was blinded with mica We bathed our hearts in the warm sunshine We bathed our hearts in the warm sunshine We ran rapids through the Mad River Valley Watched over by the Titans that loomed in the east Nothing could stop us, not even those mountains We were drunk on each other and running free We were drunk on each other and running free As I gazed upon your face in the firelight That cold August night as we sang by the shore I knew that our love could conquer the heavens And I'd keep you right by my side evermore I'd keep you right by my side evermore Then a stranger appeared with bannock and whiskey And stories to tell from beyond the scree And during the night while I slept off the drink Well he picked up and stole you my sweet Rosa-Lee He picked up and stole you my sweet Rosa-Lee Now the angels are singing a song for my baby The angels are singing a song for my love While the blood washes free from my hands in the river A requiem fills the heavens above A requiem fills the heavens above I followed them up that great Rocky Mountain I followed them through the bramble and trees With only the sun and the moon to guide me And the scent of her skin and her hair on the breeze The scent of her skin and her hair on the breeze For seven long days, and seven long nights Alone on the mountain, alone to the core I stumbled upon them in the grey morning light And I left them in their embrace evermore I left them in their embrace evermore Now the angels are singing a song for my baby The angels are singing a song for my love While the blood washes free from my hands in the river A requiem fills the heavens above A requiem fills the heavens above
2.
My Baba was a bootlegger when prohibition ruled My Baba was a bootlegger off highway number 2 You know, my Baba was a bootlegger when prohibition ruled My Baba was a bootlegger off highway number 2 The Great War took its toll now, everybody felt the pinch Loss of lives and livelihoods, nothing making sense But she knew she had a job to do to keep her kids alive With the good land of Saskatchewan willing to provide My Baba was a bootlegger... Fresh farm eggs and a milking cow, some potatoes and some beets There's wheat and rye and corn to boot, saskatoons so sweet! She kept her family's belly full the best way that she could Distilled the rest for extra coin beneath the floor-board wood My Baba was a bootlegger... Now one day early in the morn RCMP came calling They heard there was some devil's work around these parts was brewing They searched the farm both high and low, she watched with hands on hips A calm expression on her face, half smile upon her lips My Baba was a bootlegger... It's sad to say that way back when and once upon a time The government made alcohol a down and dirty crime Well the cops didn't find a thing which really was a mystery And later that day Chief of Police came back to get his whiskey! It's a party folks, grab your partner and dosey-doe!! My Baba was a bootlegger when prohibition ruled My Baba was a bootlegger off highway number 2 You know, my Baba was a bootlegger when prohibition ruled My Baba was a bootlegger of highway number 2
3.
Look down to the ground and mirror your mother Sidewalks and pavement and buildings that cover Will crumble to dust Like so many Kings To be re-absorbed and used once more for other things Wind & Erosion Dust & Corrosion Magma Explosion Make their own pathways Insistent in their ways Always slide sideways Obstacles overcome. We seem so fragile just tissue and bone How can we fight what is written in stone? Can you see the way? The side way to run So you can dance the dance of freedom Beneath the Sun.
4.
And so It Is 03:31
You knew as well as I that it stood on crippled legs Whatever it was, it was, we called it our own And how I miss you now, dark hair on a pale pillow Sweet eyes that fill me up Kisses riding a current towards my heart All I feel 'neath my palm is the cold from a locked door All I hear is loneliness, the silence of your shroud And how I miss you now, dark hair on a pale pillow Sweet eyes that fill me up Kisses riding a current towards my heart The ending was written long before our story began And so it is Don't expect more from me, I never offered But we shared more than just our thoughts those cold autumn nights And how I miss you now, dark hair on a pale pillow Sweet eyes that fill me up Kisses riding a current towards my heart My lonely heart, my lonely heart, my lonely heart.
5.
Wealthy Poet 03:44
My love, I am a wealthy poet, Wealthy poet of renown. (repeat) So when it’s time to run again, Your wealthy poet of renown Will bribe you cross a thousand borders, Run you till you’re safe and sound. I’ll get you a teardrop ruby, Teardrop ruby for your throat. (repeat) So when it’s time to run again, We’ll take that ruby from your throat, You will sew that red, red ruby In the lining of your coat. I’ll get you a pretty passport, With your picture for the frame.(repeat) So when it’s time to run again, We’ll put your picture in the frame, Soon you will forget this country, Soon you will forget your name. I’ll get you a book of matches, Book of matches in your hand. (repeat) So when the border guarders catch us, With those matches in your hand, You will burn your fingerprints, Beyond all recognition. The way you dance, you step so lightly, Step so lightly, I can see, (repeat) You’ll be the one I’ll take to run A thousand borders, Stepping lightly, Run with me. (credits: from Victory Party, released March 8, 2011)
6.
On a day like today, like any other day Is when I first laid eyes on you The way you walked through the station like Moses to your destination I knew I could never have a girl like you Do I believe (do I believe in love) Surely I do (surely I do) Oh I just wanna know your name (just wanna know your name) Oh I just wanna hold your hand (and baby be your man) As you waded your way through the crowd to catch your train Giving change to the buskers on the way Well I thought to myself is there anybody else Who feels the same way that I do Do I believe in love (do I believe in love)... Love is fleeting, when hearts are beating As long as mine does now Oh I just wanna know your name (just wanna know your name)...
7.
Sandy Boys 03:12
When your time has come and you dance in the sun There's one thing you'd best believe When the day is done and there's none but one You can bet your bonny ass it's me It was early fall when you came to call And the air was crisp and clean As the fruit fell free from the apple tree You plucked my fruit from me Dance dance the pipers call Sandy Boys are come, Sandy Boys are come along Dance dance the pipers call Won't you come and have a dance with me Won't you come and have a dance with me When the winter came you loved me just the same As the nights grew longer still Not a tear was shed in my warm feather bed As you sang sweet songs to me With the spring your gaze never left my face With a smile meant just for me But as the buds on the boughs slowly woke from their repose You found a better place to be Drink drink the pipers call Sandy Boys are come, Sandy Boys are come along Drink drink the pipers call Won't you come and have a drink with me Won't you come and have a drink with me With the summer's bloom you left my room And I thought I'd die from grief But it's you instead who lost your pretty head Now it's buried 'neath my apple tree Dance dance the pipers call Sandy Boys are come, Sandy Boys are come along Dance dance the pipers call Won't you come and have a dance with me Won't you come and have a dance with me Won't you come and have a dance with me
8.
Charlene 06:12
Dancing with the moon, the sun in her hand The girl Charlene is swaying in the sand Fingers twirling smoke rising from the fire Air burns hot with desire With a wave of her hand, the crowd cries, "Allah!" Music starts again Dancing starlight shining in her hair while an eagle flies overhead Recalls an ancient time when the sun knew no name The girl Charlene is swaying again With a wave of her hand, the crowd cries, "Allah!" Music starts again Oh Charlene, with the red dress your the queen Of the warm desert night Oh Charlene, with the red dress your the queen Let the music get you high With a wave of her hand, the crowd cries, "Allah!" Music starts again
9.
Everybody's in a hurry, everybody's going too fast Everybody's in a hurry, trying hard to make the moment last Everybody sends a message, everybody makes the call Yet nobody opens up their eyes and ears so they can have it all Do you want rushing traffic or rushing streams Rows of lamp posts or of trees Angry headlights or the northern lights The huddled masses yearning to be free
10.
The sun-shiny man in the curtained sedan Lies in wait for his moment to come He whispers so soft and his manner's aloft 'Cause the game has already begun And if looks can kill then he certainly will With a mad ironclad alibi Don't push him too far 'cause he's ready to spar While your charm and your wits come undone And time keeps moving from future to past While fear gives a beckoning smile And Fortune is donning a thinly veiled mask Dancing a waltz all the while The sun-shiny mad is so charming and grand As he easily reels you right in It's so easy to say, "Hey, it's better that way" Drinking every last drop with a grin And if looks could kill then he certainly will With a mad ironclad alibi And you'll realize too late what he's got on his plate When your feathers are plucked, Oh My My! And time keeps moving from future to past As fear has the final last laugh And Fortune she knows how the song always goes Picking you for a partner at last
11.
Wall-Eyed Clyde's got nothin' to hide What we see is what's inside He's a pick me up now, true and tried My one and only, my Wall-Eyed Clyde He don't ask for much and he can't see why Life should be so glum, my Wall-Eyed Clyde And I see no reason for asking why He's so damn happy, my Wall-Eyed Clyde He says, "It's black & white, and as deep as the sky, black & white and as deep as the sky, you know it's black & white and as deep as the sky!" My one and only, my Wall-Eyed Clyde He's got a sweet disposition and a knowing smile He lives on whiskey and London Dry Fixes my troubles with a wink of an eye My one and only, My Wall-Eyed Clyde Well he has his own truth! (so he never lies) He forges ahead! ('cause he's never shy) He sleeps through the morning and laughs till he cries My one and only, my Wall-Eyed My Wall-Eyed Clyde's got nothin' to hide What we see is what's inside He's a pick me up now, true and tried His happy go lucky is bonafide I know that i'll love him till the day that I die... My one and only, my Wall-Eyed Clyde! And I'll spend my life just gettin' by Spend my life just gettin' by Spend my life just gettin' by As long as it's with my Wall-Eyed Clyde...
12.
Fallen down empties, a half drunk scotch If timing is everything what have we got A shit-load of nothing, you wore me out well Got a fun-loving swig of your bourbonesque hell Fun-loving swig of your bourbonesque hell And I'm praying the sun won't shine through too bright 'Cause i fell in your scene and I'm trying to make right You're nothing good for my you wore me out well Got a fun-loving swig of your bourbonesque hell Fun-loving swig of your bourbonesque hell You wonder why the cold has crept in you mire I've turned off the heat, but you've drowned your own fire You've played the same game for too many times And I've come to lay claim to what's rightfully mine And I'm praying the sun won't shine through too bright 'Cause i fell in your scene and I'm trying to make right You're nothing good for me, a player for sure And I'm just another notch in your top forty score Just another notch in your top forty score You've drunk all your whiskey, you've drunk all your wine Your cupboards are empty, your well has run dry A shit-load of nothing is all you've got now And the curtain is falling on your final bow And I'm praying the sun won't shine through too bright 'Cause I fell in your scene, and I'm trying to make right You're nothing good for me, you wore me out well Got a fun-loving swing of your bourbonesque hell Fun-loving swig of your bourbonesque hell

about

Join The Whiskey Jerks as they take you from the Canadian Rockies in Mad River Valley to the arid desert sands of the Sahara in Charlene, from a small Saskatchewan farm in Baba Was A Bootlegger to the heart of Union Station in Toronto...and more! This second full length album promises to take you on a musical ride that you won't forget!

credits

released December 28, 2018

Gillian Snider: accordion & vocals
Anna Bekolay: violin & vocals
Peter Abonyi: guitar & vocals
James Daikuw: clarinet & vocals
Nevin Buehler: upright bass, euphonium (track 12) & trombone (track 6)
Aidan Weiman: drums (tracks 1,4,8,11)
Kevin Buzinski: drums (tracks 2,3,5,6,7,9,10,12)
Adam Striesel: trumpet & flugelhorn (tracks 6,10)
Rory Lynch: sax (track 6)
Engineer: Ryan Anderson (tracks 1-10, 12)
Engineer: Troy Denet (track 11)
Mastered: Trevor Case, Case Mastering
Album artwork: Sam Mitchell

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The Whiskey Jerks Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

The Whiskey Jerks came together when Gillian Snider, who no longer wanted to drink alone, felt it was time to expand upon her one woman accordiana show. After convincing the talented Anna Bekolay (violin), Sarah Scharf (clarinet), Nevin Buehler (upright bass), Peter Abonyi (guitar) and Aidan Weiman (drums) to join her on her misadventure, The Whiskey Jerks soon created their own distinct niche. ... more

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