As the Endless Carefree Highway Leads Me On

larryholdermusic.org/carefree.html

Photo courtesy Gwen Goodmanlowe

I wrote this song as a tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, first for his album “Gord’s Gold” which was one of the first LP’s I ever owned, as well as to his current “Carefree Highway” tour, celebrating over 50 years of music. As I post this, they are performing in Durham, NC, just a few miles from my old stomping grounds in Chapel Hill.

I’m particularly a fan of Rick Haynes, the bass guitar player, and you can hear at least a couple of bass riffs that I learned from listening to the Lightfoot albums. See how many song titles from Gord’s Gold you can find in the lyrics. Eleven of them, if I counted right.

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Words & Music by Larry Holder
(With adapted inclusion of titles from Gord’s Gold)

Gord’s Gold was on the stereo
The LP circled ’round
The ballads and the stories came alive
The songs became a journey
On a new-found, open road
The 12-string and the vocals mesmerized.

‘Twas Cold Upon My Shoulder
In the Early Morning Rain
Until I heard The Minstrel of the Dawn
And basking in the glory of
The Summer Side of Life
The endless Carefree Highway led me on.

And here’s to Rick Haynes on the bass
And Carter on guitar
With Mike on keys, and Barry keepin’ time
Those dedicated troubadors
With Gordon on the stage
Together in the rhythm and the rhyme.

As day gives way to Sundown
Well, If You Could Read My Mind
You’d know I seek the Wherefore and the Why
I’m Not Sayin’ there’s no Bitter Green
But life is Beautiful
As the endless Carefree Highway rolls on by.

[instrumental]

‘Twas Cold Upon My Shoulder
In the Early Morning Rain
Until I heard The Minstrel of the Dawn
And basking in the glory of
The Summer Side of Life
The endless Carefree Highway led me on.

Yes, ’twas Cold Upon My Shoulder
In the Early Morning Rain
Until I heard The Minstrel of the Dawn
And basking in the glory of
The Summer Side of Life
The endless Carefree Highway leads me on.
Yes, the endless Carefree Highway leads me on!

Copyright © 2015 Larry Holder (Larry Holder Music, ASCAP)

The Ballad of the Northwestern

larryholdermusic.org/northwestern.html

I wrote the initial lyrics July 2009 during a road trip from Seattle to Tennessee. Just 2 years earlier, I saw the Northwestern as it passed through the locks at the port of Seattle. Those of you who are familiar with the show “Deadliest Catch” will of course recognize this ship. I’m sure John Denver’s ballad “Calypso” and Gordon Lightfoot’s ballad “The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald” were also inspirations, sharing what I call a “heavy 2-count” beat (6/8 time).

This was recorded with 3 vocal tracks, 2 guitar tracks, and a drum track. I play real drums, with no click track, which I think gives it a much more natural sound. Moderate compression was applied to each track, but no other effects. I considered adding mandolin at one point, but decided there was enough treble sound with the guitars. I also opted to minimize the “low end” by omitting bass guitar and quieting the kick drum (although I’ve recently been giving thought to adding a good bass line).

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Now out from Seattle with captain and crew
To make for the ocean, the brave and the few
A course for the Bering, where treasures abound
With blues skies above and the sea all around.

And dreams of the bounty are calling her name
The mighty Northwestern finds fortune and fame
As pots full of crab fill the salt water hold
So the hours pass by as the sea yields its gold.

And what makes a man turn his heart to the sea
Forsaking the land to be out in the free?
And risking it all to take hold of the prize?
There’s salt in their veins, there is fire in their eyes.

With thirty-eight meters from stem to the stern
For Sig and his brothers, a living they earn
In dangerous waters, in darkness and light
The challenge, it calls them, the goal is in sight.

The race for the prize leads the great vessel on
From greenhorn to captain, from dusk until dawn
No rest for the weary from wind and the waves
As ice floes she conquers and tempest she braves.

And what makes a man turn his heart to the sea
Forsaking the land to be out in the free?
And risking it all to take hold of the prize?
There’s salt in their veins, there is fire in their eyes.

God bless the Northwestern through calm and through gale
And be as a Beacon as onward she sails.
Bestow her the bounty for whom she is known
And guide her in safety to harbor and home.

And what makes a man turn his heart to the sea
Forsaking the land to be out in the free?
And risking it all to take hold of the prize?
There’s salt in their veins, there is fire…

Yes, and what makes a man turn his heart to the sea
Forsaking the land to be out in the free?
They risk everything to take hold of the prize
For there’s salt in their veins, there is fire in their eyes.

Copyright © 2012 Larry Holder (Larry Holder Music, ASCAP)