Get all 12 Darryl Purpose releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Two Good Hands EP, Gentle Arms Of Eden - SINGLE #2, Live At Coalesce - 2005, You Can Walk Up There - SINGLE #1, Still The Birds (2016), Next Time Around (2012), Singer Songwriter Heaven - the songs of Kevin Faherty 2009, THE GIFT OF THE MAGI - & other seasonal stories (2002), and 4 more.
1. |
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He was a Union general, president til 1881
He was married to Lucy Webb, who had a heart as golden as the
Sunlight on the curtain lace, revolution rings still in the steel
Reconstruction comes, the war is done, the wounds begin to heal
CHORUS:Rutherford Hayes in the morningIs sailing into San Francisco
It's the first time a president has ever come to California
Come to California
They called him the dark horse president, While Lucy was the belle of Washington
Her children rolling easter eggs, her lemonade as golden as the
Sunset on the White House lawn, Sword and musket starts to rust
Once the reconstruction's done, The Civil War will settle with the dust
CHORUS:Rutherford Hayes in the morningIs sailing into San Francisco
It's the first time a president has ever come to California
Come to California
A president on a pilgrimage, with Chester Arthur and the holy ghost
To sail through the new canal, disembark on the California
Coast into ma brave new century, Our history is told by word of mouth
He holds the first telephone, the Civil War still echoes in the south.
CHORUS:Rutherford Hayes in the morningIs sailing into San Francisco
It's the first time a president has ever come to California
Come to California
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2. |
A Crooked Line
05:08
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A shadow in an overcoat crosses the intersection
Of 9th and Pico with a loaded gun
I turn and I start moving in the opposite direction
First I walk, then I start to run
They say the shortest path between two points must be a straight one
But nothing’s straight inside this heart of mine
When obstacles get in my way and I need to evade them
The shortest path is still a crooked line
Ragged old bedraggled men like destitute coyotes
Take Alvarado to MacArthur Park
With Russian circus refugees from strip-mall karaoke’s
They lie down in the prehistoric dark
And the sons of the federales have been smoking crack since morning
While Temple Street pachucos, just drink wine
And shoot their guns at heaven and start singing a capella
While I go walking down this crooked line
CHORUS:
A Crooked line, A Crooked line
And the shortest path between two points
Is still a crooked line
Now I walk these streets with mi amigos encorvados
Streets I’ve been on since I was thirteen
Dreaming of the day when I’m no longer be haunted
By all the ghosts of Chavez Ravine
The ghosts of my grandparents, mi abuela y abuelo
Who lost their homes in 1949
To clear the way for Dodger stadium to be constructed
They all got driven down that crooked line
CHORUS:
A Crooked line, A Crooked line
And the shortest path between two points
Is still a crooked line
But once there was a barreo where bougainvillea blossomed
A little paradise where horses ran
Nestled in the canyon like a poor man’s El Dorado
As perfect as the day that the world began
Now I wonder if this vast expanse of laundromats and taco stands
Was part of God’s original design
Or maybe just a huge mistake that He allowed mankind to make
When we went walking down that crooked line
CHORUS:
A Crooked line, A Crooked line
And the shortest path between two points
Is still a crooked line
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3. |
Late For Dinner
04:04
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Sheppard served in pharaoh's army, 1968
Came home with his body parts in tact
Spent a year inside his room smoking cigarettes
Never talked about it after that
Shep and I got married on the day Nixon resigned
Honeymooned down Mexicali way
Sometimes when he held me tight he looked like he was blind
Or staring at a graveyard far away
CHORUS:
And if he blew in through that doorway today
Like some long forgotten echo of winter
I don't know if I'd shoot him in the face
Or tell him that he's Late For Dinner
For thirteen years my love grew for this solitary man
Who reacted strong when anyone would cross me
With hard looks, fisticuffs, if it came to that
He did the little things that said he loved me
And in the morning he would cook for me and drop me off to work
Kiss me on the cheek to start my day
There was no warning the last time he would not come no more
There was no time to memorize his face
CHORUS:
And if he blew in through that doorway today
Like some long forgotten echo of winter
I don't know if I'd shoot him in the face
Or tell him that he's Late For Dinner
Now I almost went to look for him but couldn't find the nerve
Something there did not sit right with me
I realized this battle's not what I deserved
Chasing Isrealites through parted seas
CHORUS:
And if he blew in through that doorway today
Like some long forgotten echo of winterI
don't know if I'd shoot him in the face
Or tell him that he's Late For Dinner
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4. |
Bryant St
04:25
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A paper-thin time machine
An old polaroid
A black and white faded scene
A girl with a toy
You kept your smile on while someone took pictures
Were you holding the family up
I'm driving down Bryant St
Come to chase down your ghost
You and I will never meet
But today I'll come close
Stopped at a neighbor's door told him my story
He said he knows who you were
They say that god works in patterns
But hey, what does it matter
When faith and hope can be shattered so easily
A plastic lined swimming pool
A hot summers day
A wandering little girl
Discovered too late
Mother had gone to work, papa was inside
When you took that walk 'round the block
They say that god works in patterns
But hey, what does it matter
When faith and hope can be shattered so easily
INSTRUMENTAL VERSE
Caretaker says you'll be found
Third row, seventh place
Forty years since they laid you down
Now we've come face to face
Flowers and a photo for you little sister
I've come here to tell you my name
They say that god works in patterns
But hey, what does it matter
When faith and hope can be shattered so easily
so easy, so easy
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5. |
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I'm riding 'cross this wastelandSix days west of a town called Cheyenne
Got a map and a compas, a horse and a gun
Gonna find me some gold in the California sun
Now this old horse she's made good timeBut now we got these mountains to climbI got everything I own in these saddlebags
But they're weighing her down, she's starting to drag
There oughtta be a highway Through these hillsSome prairie schooners with eighteen wheelsAnd a million horsepower for to carry your loadYes there oughtta be a highway, there oughtta be a road
Now I'm hungry and tired, thirsty as wellNeeding a warm bath, feeling like hellAnd I ain't seen a woman since I don't know whenI been talking to myself like a crazy man
There oughtta be a highway I hope they build one soonAnd every few miles a big saloonAnd a hot meal and a woman for to hold your handYes there oughtta be a highway, running through this land
INSTRUMENTAL VERSE
There oughtta be a highway, six lanes wideWith some green and white road signs along the sideTo measure the miles, for to be your guideYes there oughtta be a highway the whole country wide
Now I''m thinking back to when I hit Saint LouI'd come a long ways and I thought I was throughBut those friendly people they welcomed me inAnd they said don't stop now, go west young man
And there oughtta be a highway over this landWith a way to get on and get off againAnd welcoming arches, fossil fuel on demandThere oughtta be a highway There oughtta be a highwayThere oughtta be a highway over this land
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6. |
Koreatown INTRO
02:34
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7. |
Koreatown
03:02
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It's way too hot today, for a human being
There's nothing worth hearing here, and nothing worth seeing
The city is dead. streets are in a coma
He'd like to steal a car. and drive it to Sonoma
And she is in a cafe drinking coffee with a clown
While he goes swimming with the sharks
In Koreatown
It's way too hot today to hear yourself thinking
They're building a subway here, and the city is sinking
Cultures clash, Radios are blaring
Old cars crash, But we are beyond caring
And she is on the freeway as the world comes crashing down
And he's sinking like a stone
In Koreatown
INSTRUMENTAL VERSE
It's way too hot today to get arrested
His hands are both handcuffed now and the freeway's congested
On the way downtown everything gets quiet
He's been upside-down ever since the riots
And she's in Tijuana weaving feathers in a crown
And he is just a shadow now
In Koreatown
Landlords search for a new exemption
Their shelter offers no redemption
She heads south on a shooting spree
He goes down with a guilty plea
And she comes when he's dreaming, in a scarlett wedding gown
While he's sleeping in his cell
In Koreatown
Koreatown
Koreatown
It's way too hot today...
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8. |
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She's a walkin' talkin' breathin' New Age wonder, old time heathens
Don't know what to make of Mary Jane
'Cause she ain't tryin to be no swami, she ain't mad at dad and mommy
She don't curse the storm clouds when it rains
When the sun refuse to shine she don't mind, she make everything look fine
She got moon in her eyes, crescent windows on the skies
And the rain comes down in sheets on the people in the streets
And it carries all the secrets that they keep to the river where she sleeps
She comes to me when I'm dejected, leaves her soul out unprotected
Tells me that the truth can make me free
And she don't need what she ain't got, she reads me books by Alan Watts
Speakin' words o' wisdom: let it be
When the sun refuse to shine she don't mind, she take thunder for a sign
She got stars in her head, supernovas in her bed
And it rains most every day, but I like it fine that way
'Cause the waters run so marvelous and deep in the river where she sleeps
Now Mary ain't inclined to drinkin', still she stumbles without thinkin'
Anywhere she gets the urge to stray
And everybody knows about her, they don't want to change or doubt her
They just grin when she comes out to play
When the sun refuse to shine she don't mind, she be movin' down the line
She got bells on her toes, generations in her clothes
And she sings without a sound as the evenin' rolls around
And she dances as the twilight shadows creep down the river where she sleeps
Professor come to burst my bubble, says that girl is bound for trouble
Serves me solace in a paper cup
But it looks a bit like agent orange and when he leaves he slams the door and
Just about that time she phones me up
When the sun refuse to shine she don't mind, she just ain't the worryin' kind
She got dogs, she got cats, she keeps rabbits in her hats
And the people that she sees, they're all Buddha's or police
And the banks rise high and perilous and steep by the river where she sleeps
Now one dismayed December dawn I wake to find my Mary's gone
And no one knows when she'll come back again
And all the silent temple bells from Styx to Glenn to Hazel Dell
Are mournin' all the nights that might have been
When the sun refuse to shine she don't mind, she just leave this world behind
She got wheels in her smile, she can coast along for miles
Me I'm walkin' all alone, feelin' soulful to the bone
Till I stop and I hang my head and weep by the river where she sleeps
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9. |
I Lost A Day To The Rain
02:48
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Noah got his instructions though the holyland mail
He picked up that hammer started pounding those nails
My roof is leaking I'm lining up pails
I lost a day to the rain
I lost a day to the rain again
Retraced my steps over where i'd been
Searched high and low but to no end
I lost a day to the rain
Ben Franklin air lifted up a big old kite
With a small gold key on a stormy night
I'll strike up a candle when I need a light
I lost a day to the rain
I lost a day to the rain again
Retraced my steps over where i'd been
Searched high and low but to no end
I lost a day to the rain
Gene Kelly turned on his heel so gracefully
Wet and wild drove the ladies all crazy
I got two left feet and I'm a little bit lazy
I lost a day to the rain
I lost a day to the rain again
Retraced my steps over where i'd been
Searched high and low but to no end
I lost a day to the rain
I lost a day to the rain again
Retraced my steps over where i'd been
Searched high and low but to no end
I lost a day to the rain
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10. |
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From where I sit destinations abound
places that dreams are made of
but inside of my head, I keep losing ground
with all of the ways that I avoid love
But I can get there from here
I can get there from here
If I can get to the front door
I can get there from here...
Kicking myself for the time I waste
cursing these rocks in my way
But with tolerant hope and a gamblers good grace
they become stepping stones leading my way:
I can get there from here
I can get there from here
If I can get to the front door
I can get there from here...
(BRIDGE)
I've got a worn-out soul
and good shoe leather
time will take it's toll
but the road gets better
Everyday people all over the earth
Cover impossible miles
And in their footsteps I see my own worth
With a will and a dream to survive
and I can get there from here
I can get there from here
If I can get to the next town
I can get there from here...
we can get there from here
we can get there from here
Though the borders be closed down
We'll turn the whole world upside down
Cause if we get to the next town
...we can get there from here
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Darryl Purpose Denver, Colorado
Darryl went to Las Vegas at 19 and became a professional blackjack player, which he still calls the 'only real job I've ever
had'. He is a member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame.
Since 1996, he has toured extensively and released 8 albums of original music.
Darryl's last two albums spent weeks at #1 on the RMR radio charts. Next Time Around and Still The Birds
... more
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