Daddy's Coal by Betty Elders

Daddy's Coal

I've seen thirty summers pass since
Daddy took me down to watch the boxcars roll
Pulling Daddy's coal
Siver wheels a-humming
Round the mountain she's a-coming
Hear the whistle blow
Hear the whistle blow
Daddy don't let go

He steadied me with gentle hands
and softly said "Go try again,
You've got it now...
Go show them how!"
A brand new bike, a toothless grin
I'd do anything for him
And I could fly
I could fly so high
So high

High upon the mountain I have heard the Eagle sing
I have watched him ride the wind and I have touched his wing
Long ago I left behind the shackles of my youth
Pleasure springs from simple things and freedom from the truth

I never saw my daddy cry
until the day one young man died
Our President, they shot him dead
Daddy help me understand
how this can happen in our land
United States
a country great
United...

Picture of my brother
he's the picture of my mother
Sent from Viet Nam
Coming home again
We're all alone again...
Daddy help me understand
how this can happen to a man
I've got to know
I've got to know
I've got to know

Today we're headed home again
He's got two grandsons named for him
They have his eyes
Blue Virginia skies...
I'll take them where the boxcars roll
And tell them, "There goes Papa's coal!"
Like he and I
And in my heart
The Eagle flies...
The Eagle flies

Words and music copyright ©1989 Betty Elders
Whistling Pig Music (ASCAP) administered by BUG Music
ALL Rights reserved.

Daddy's Coal ~ 1989

This gem was recorded in a South Austin garage with an old Peavey p.a. system, and originally relased on cassette! Proof that true creative ability cannot be constrained by a lack of materials. The essentials were in place----great songs, great musicians, great ears (engineering, production)

The title cut, "Daddy's Coal," is timeless and startling in its profundity. Betty's and Hal's (Ketchum) vocals soar effortlessly and majestically above a lyrical but sparse acoustic bed (Betty's guitar, John Hagen's cello), in the same way the symbolic eagle of her song soars "upon the wind". This song is as much a triumphant testimonial to a child's love for parent as it is a memorial to innocence lost by an entire Viet Nam War generation. The memory of such loss is simply and tenderly expressed in both the title cut and the traditional, "A Drifter's Prayer" --- perfect portrait of a loss of faith. A soul with its tether cut.

Everyman's song.

The prophetic "Jericho" expounds on the lack of virtue displayed by TV evangelism, and the anthemic "Pilgrim" close the too-short collection, proving once again that one can indeed make much with little.

Note: the CD version contins a bonus gem: a raw living room recording of Betty and Gene's living room performance of "Two Hearts Together, Three-Quarter Time."

Very collectible.

DADDY's COAL ~ 1989

Produced and arranged by Betty Elders

1. Bed Of Roses/ Bed Of Thorns 3:31
2. Heartache 4:14
3. A Drifter's Prayer 3:05
4. Daddy's Coal 6:02
5. I Never Think Of You At All 2:37
6. Jericho 3:14
7. Welcome Home Heart 3:22
8. Silver Wheels (#2) 3:22
9. Two Hearts Together, Three-Quarter Time 3:26
10. The Pilgrim 3:26

Players:

Betty: acoustic guitars, keyboards, harmony vocals
Gene Elders: 5-string violin
Scott Neubert: acoustic and electric lead guitars, dobro
Rick McRae: acoustic guitar on "Silver Wheels" and "Welcome Home Heart"
Gene Williams: acoustic guitar, electric bass on " A Drifter's Prayer"
Keith Carper: double bass
Roland Denney: string bass
John Hagen: cello on "Daddy's Coal"
Rene Garcia: trombone on "Welcome Home Heart"
Hal Michael Ketchum: harmony vocal on "Daddy's Coal"
Tommy Daniel, Bow Brannon, and Doug Floyd: harmony vocals on "A Drifter's Prayer"

Recorded at: MARS (Mid-Austin Recording Studio), AWOL Studio (Manor TX), and Songwriter Studio
Engineers: Charlie Hollis, Rick Ward, and Jess DeMaine
Mastered by Jerry Tubb at Terra Nova Digital Audio, Austin, TX
Cover concept and jacket photographs: Betty and her dad, Charlie Pruett, Jr.

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