Album Info

CREDITS | BIO | LYRICS

1. THE LONG, LONG ROAD (3:37)

Writers:
Allan Frank (SESAC), Edward Tree (ASCAP) and Gail Frank (SESAC)

Musicians:
Bass, Guitars, Synth: Ed Tree
Mandolin, Fiddle: Jeff Tolbert
Background Vocals: Jeff Tolbert, Steve Kobashigawa

BIO

Coming Soon

LYRICS

On the chance I may find
a better future than is facing me right now
I will leave this town behind
and follow you no matter where you're bound

You're the long road calling me again
Like a faithful friend who's never led me wrong
Down the highways and back roads where I roam
I always feel at home when I hear your song
You're the long, long road where I belong

Well, I have tried standing still
Pretending to be who I'd never be
I played the game, I knew the drill
Then I heard your voice, a piper's melody

Repeat Chorus

You may think that I'd get lonely
Well sometimes I feel blue
But round the bend I know I'll find
A better point of view
There's always something new

On the long road that's calling me again
Like a faithful friend who's never led me wrong
Down the highways and back roads where I roam
I always feel at home when I hear your song
You're the long, long road
The long, long road
You're the long, long road where I belong

©2009 Apple Farmer Music/SESAC, Extra Measure Music/ASCAP.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

2. BLACK COLLAR WORKERS (4:24)

Writers:
Marci Salyer-Nimick (ASCAP), Bill Warrington (BMI) and Allan Frank (SESAC)

Musicians:
Bass, Mandolin, Banjo, Fiddle, Lead Guitar: Jeff Tolbert
Rhythm/Lead Guitars: Ed Tree
Background Vocals: Steve Kobashigawa

BIO

I had been writing in Nashville about 2-3 years. One of my co-writers, Bill Warrington, had been writing with a girl from Eastern Kentucky. He decided we should do a 3-way co-write. When I met Marci (Salyer) Nimick she was an unassuming lady who had a story to tell. She began to talk about growing up in Eastern Kentucky and standing by the mouth of the coal mine to see her relatives and friends emerge at the end of the day. But she didn't recognize them. She called them "soot covered monsters" and was genuinely afraid of them until they went home and got cleaned up and she could again run to their arms and embrace. I began writing furiously as she poured forth her imagery. There was no doubt a song was there to be found. When we discussed the title she said she had thought of them as “black collar workers” and the song was born.

LYRICS

I'd wait for Daddy at the mouth of the mineI'd hear the whistle
It was headin' home time
A flood of weary faces from a dark dreary hole
Their eyes were the only lights to their soul

I could tell just by lookin' their dreams weren't coming true
I was only twelve years old, but even then I knew

Black collar workers givin' their lives
Feedin' the man while they barely survive
Coughin' up coal dust from deep in their lungs
Black collar workers gettin' old, oh so young

I watched him wither; I was there when he died
I buried daddy on that muddy hillside
Packed my old suitcase and caught the morning train
I left that old mountain in the cold Kentucky rain

I won't ever go back
Ain't nothin' there for me
I may miss my mountain home, but I can't bear to see

Repeat Chorus

I won't ever go back; ain't nothin' there for me
I may miss my mountain home, but I can't bear to see

Ooh-oh, Black collar workers givin' their lives
Feedin' the man while they barely survive
Coughin' up coal dust from deep in their lungs
Black collar workers gettin' old

Ooh, black collar workers givin' their lives
Feedin' the man while they barely survive
Coughin' up coal dust from deep in their lungs
Black collar workers gettin' old, oh so young
Oh, so young

©2009 Marci Salyer Music/ASCAP, Bill Warrington Music/BMI,
Apple Farmer Music/SESAC. All rights reserved.
Used by permission.

3. DEEP IN THE EVERGLADES (2:53)

Writers:
Allan Frank (SESAC), Garry Corman (ASCAP) and Edward Tree (ASCAP)

Musicians:
Drums: Jorgen Ingmar
Bass, Acoustic/Electric Guitars: Ed Tree
Accordian: Skip Edwards
Background Vocals: Steve Kobashigawa, Teresa James, Allan Frank

BIO

Is based on a true story I encountered when traveling through out the South after finishing school. I had met a couple in Panama City Florida who were walking the entire perimeter of the US (another story). They told me when in the Everglades to look up a man by the name of Jack they had stayed with and said I could stay with him. So I did. I went about as far south as one can drive in the Everglades on a dirt road and found his town. I inquired to his whereabouts but neighbors said he was down the road at a wedding in the next town down the road. That town turned out to be a gas station and a tavern. But inside there indeed was a party going on with a band. I found Jack and soon became one of the invited guests. Before long they had put the guitar around my shoulder and I sang a couple tunes and then incredibly met Irwin Ross, the fiddle player who created the classic "Orange Blossom Special" and I played it with him. Soon after I left there, the Everglades and Irwin were featured in National Geographic magazine. Also I have a story of going fishing with Irwin but for another time.

LYRICS

There's a party going on at the Ochopee lounge
Little sister gettin' married and we're all heading down
Got a squeeze box, string box, washtub bass
A fiddle sawing sure to put a smile on your face

Everybody's welcome so come on in
Gonna party tonight 'til the gators grin

And we'll swing to the left, slide to the right
Dance in the middle of a moonlit night
Crickets keeping time to the serenade
Down here deep in the Everglades
Down here deep in the Everglades

We got an airboat 'stead of a white Cadillac
Brother's tying beer cans floatin' on the back
With a "Just Married" sign flappin' in the breeze
They'll be cruising past the ferns and the cypress knees

Toss a little rice as they head out the door
But keep the band playin'
We're comin' back for more

Repeat Chorus

Toss a little rice as they head out the door
But keep the band playin'
We're comin' back for more

And we'll swing to the left, slide to the right
Dance in the middle of a moonlit night

Crickets keeping time to the serenade
Down here deep in the Everglades

Swing to the left, slide to the right
Dance in the middle of a moonlit night
Crickets keeping time to the serenade
Down here deep in the Everglades
Down here deep in the Everglades

©2009 Apple Farmer Music/SESAC, Fish Got Groove Music/ASCAP,
Extra Measure Music/ASCAP. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

BATTLEFIELD SUITE

4. NIGHT BEFORE BATTLE (2:52)

Writers:
Allan Frank (SESAC)

Musicians:
Orchestration: Skip Edwards
Rhythm Guitar, Synth: Allan Frank
Rhythm/Lead Guitars: Ed Tree
Synth; Button Accordian, Strings: Skip Edwards
Snare Drum: Debra Dobkin

BIO

Coming Soon

LYRICS

Evenin' Fire
     Nightfall
     Slumber
     Nightmare
     Break of Dawn
     Call to Arms

5. THE BLUE AND THE GRAY (4:26)

Writers:
Allan Frank (SESAC)

Musicians:
Bass, Nylon String Guitar, Fiddle: Jeff Tolbert
Rhythm Guitar: Ed Tree
Lead Guitar: David Ferguson
Synth; Strings: Skip Edwards
Background Vocals: Steve Kobashigawa, Teresa James

BIO

Coming Soon

LYRICS

Oh, the sun rose from the other side of heaven
I ripped my rifle from its stand
And in the Vicksburg dawn the Yankee troops were coming
I knew the end was near at hand

As the fire of the mortars shook the land
Blackbirds rose in hurried flight
I heard a shot and felt a bullet split my side
And cried as day flashed into night

They wore the blue, we wore the gray
But every mother's son who won or lost would say
Not for a cause they fought but honor on that day
To wear the blue, to wear the gray

And when the light of day had slipped across the sky
I woke and there revealed to me
Was Mother Mary with teardrops falling down
To lift me from this scarlet sea

She wore the blue, she wore the gray
And cried for mothers' sons who lost their lives that day
Who fought for glory and the honor they would say
To wear the blue, to wear the gray

Cries of wounded boys fell silent to my ears
And rising from the mist I passed throughout the years
Then there below I saw a thousand battlefields
Filled with soldiers just like me whose hearts would never yield
Ooooh, Oooooh

They wore the blue, they wore the gray
And every mother's son who battled there would say
Not for a cause they fought but honor on that day
To wear the blue, to wear the gray

We fought for glory and honor on that day
To wear the blue, to wear the gray

6. MR. BOJANGLES (4:28)

Writers:
Jerry Jeff Walker (BMI)

Musicians:
Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Mandolin: Jeff Tolbert
Hi String Guitar: Ed Tree
Lead Acoustic Guitar: David Ferguson
Harmonica: John David
Background Vocals: Steve Kobashigawa

BIO

Coming Soon

LYRICS

I knew a man Bojangles and he'd dance for you in worn out shoes
With silver hair, a ragged shirt and baggy pants, he did the old soft shoe
He jumped so high, jumped so high, and then he'd lightly touch down

I met him in a cell in New Orleans, I was down and out
He looked to me to be the eyes of age as he spoke right out
He talked of life, he talked of life, he laughed and slapped his leg a step

Mister Bojangles, Mister Bojangles, Mister Bojangles, dance

He said his name, Bojangles, then he danced a lick across the cell
He grabbed his pants for better stance, then he jumped so high
He clicked his heels, he let go a laugh, let go a laugh
Shook back his clothes all around

Repeat Chorus

He danced for those in minstrel shows and county fairs throughout the south
He spoke with tears of fifteen years how his dog and him traveled about
The dog up and died, he up and died
After twenty years he still grieves

He said, "I dance now at every chance in honky tonks for drinks and tips
But most the time I spend behind these county bars
Well I drinks a bit."
He shook his head and as he shook his head
I heard somebody ask him please

Mister Bojangles, Mister Bojangles, Mister Bojangles, dance
Come on and dance

©1968 (Renewed) Cotillion Music Inc./BMI, Mijac Music/BMI all rights on behalf
of Mijac Music admin. by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

7. LIFT ME UP (DRIFT NO MORE) (3:59)

Writers:
J. Chaz Cook (SESAC) and Allan Frank (SESAC)

Musicians:
Bass, Lead Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle: Jeff Tolbert
Rhythm/Arpeggio Guitars, Harmonium: Ed Tree
Background Vocals: Steve Kobashigawa, Teresa James

BIO

Coming Soon

LYRICS

I am weary
I am broken
I am lost, cold and alone
I've been wandering, all this lifetime
And I still ain't found a home

So lift me up, Lord, into your arms
My heart is wasted to the core
I need you to carry me
This drifter's soul can drift no more

We are strangers, but will you help me?
Is it in you? Do you care?
Am I hopeless and forsaken?
Am I past the point of prayer?

Repeat Chorus

I know the path that brought me down here
Every step each time I fell
Show me one sweet glimpse of heaven
Or the road to rise from hell

So lift me up, Lord, into your arms
My heart is wasted to the core
I need you to carry me
This drifter's soul can drift no more

This drifter's soul can drift no more

©2009 Tail of Wind Publishing/SESAC, Apple Farmer Music/SESAC.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

8. HOW TO DREAM (4:16)

Writers:
Allan Frank (SESAC)

Musicians:
Bass: Steve Nelson
Acoustic Guitar: Larry Beaird
Synth; Strings, French Horn: Skip Edwards
Background Vocals: Steve Kobashigawa

BIO

Coming Soon

LYRICS

Tall and gray and wiry

Clean but faded clothes
Thin gold glasses perched down low on a sharpened nose
There was never time to waste, you saw it in his glance
Yes, he was one of few who knew the dancer from the dance

Born in the mid-twenties
Quit school by fourteen
He had to help his family out so he put off his dreams
Then barely old enough he shipped off to war
Whatever child was in the man was left on foreign shores

And who held the light for him?

What made his spirit soar?
For all of the good that he did it just seemed
He'd forgotten how to dream

His nose was to the grindstone
Everything was planned
And dreaming wasn't practical, see, that was my old man
I learned that life's a ticking clock with things that must get done
Soon I became just the same, I was my father's son

And who held the light for us?
What made our spirit soar?
For all of the good that we did it just seemed
We'd forgotten how to dream

Now I watch him holding you, my little one
I see in his eyes a change you've begun
Your innocent wonder is opening his soul
And for me, well, I've come to know
To know

That you hold a light for us
You can make our spirit soar
In your little world, with you, I believe
Yes, you can teach us how to dream

Yes, in all of this great big world, I believe
Once more, we could learn how to dream

©2009 Apple Farmer Music/SESAC. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

9. SOMETHING TO SAY (3:14)

Writers:
Allan Frank (SESAC)

Musicians:
Bass: Ed Tree
Acoustic Guitar: Bob Hatter
Fiddle: Gabe Witcher
Background Vocals: Charity Chapman

BIO

Coming Soon

LYRICS

We're all given a voice from above
The painter, the poet, the king
A child in the night, a quiet old man
All have a story to sing

It's important, take your time
You've got something to say
No one else can say it like you
So let it find its own way

And what you say may touch me
Your words, your music, your light
Sometimes it's hard to find just what you feel
But once you do you can fly

So let it come, don't be afraid
And to your own heart be true
There's a power that's yours all alone
It's the uniqueness of you

Repeat Chorus

Don't ever doubt how special you are
How you could move my soul
And when you talk to me straight from the heart
How could I ever let go?

'Cause what you say is all that you are
Your words, your music, your light
We're all lookin' for one ounce of truth
And you may find it and fly
Yes, when you find it you'll fly

It's important, take your time
You've got something to say

©2009 Apple Farmer Music/SESAC.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

10. I GOT A SONG (3:14)

Writers:
Allan Frank (SESAC)

Musicians:
Drums: Jorgen Ingmar
Bass, Acoustic/Electric Guitars, B3 Organ: Ed Tree
Wurlitzer Piano, Synth; Marimba, Bottle: Skip Edwards
Percussion: Debra Dobkin
Background Vocals: Todd Herzog, Steve Kobashigawa,
Teresa James, Allan Frank

BIO

Coming Soon

LYRICS

Well I can be happy watching a sunrise
Or counting the clouds on a blue summer day
But being with you makes everything better
Won't you come 'long if I ask you to stay,'cause

I got a song and I like to sing it
I got a place where I like to be
I got a life and I love to live it
Come on along and live it with me

I'm watching the flowers bloom in the field now
But none are as pretty as when you appear
I see honeybees steal their sweet nectar
Like I want to steal your sweet love here, 'cause

Repeat Chorus

I will be waiting tonight under starlight
Hoping tomorrow you'll be coming with me
And if you do, well you know that we might
Be singing this song just easy and free, 'cause

We'll have a song and we'll like to sing it
We'll have a place where we like to be
We'll have a life and we'll love to live
'Cause you came along to live it with me, oh

Repeat Chorus

©2009 Apple Farmer Music/SESAC.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

11. (ON) A NIGHT IN BUFFALO (4:47)

Writers:
Chris Tompkins (ASCAP) and Allan Frank (SESAC)

Musicians:
Drums: Jorgen Ingmar
Bass, Acoustic/Electric Guitars, Synth pad: Ed Tree
Fiddle: Gabe Witcher
Background Vocals: Steve Kobashigawa

BIO

Coming Soon

LYRICS

Stars are out on an easy night
Hand in hand, through neon light
How did we ever find one another in this lonely crazy town
It's a miracle I'm walking here beside you with both feet on the ground

It's kind of cold out, but if we hold out
We could make it through the last winter snow
Take a chance and maybe dance upon the rooftops
Or the sidewalks below
On a night in Buffalo

Your angel face softly breathing
Clouds of steam melt the evening
Feels like were walking through a landscape painted in a dream
At the end of time or forever or somewhere in between

Repeat Chorus

Let the first light of the morning
Break right through this fantasy
Because I know tomorrow
You'll still be here with me

Repeat Chorus

On the sidewalks below
On a night in Buffalo, Buffalo

©2009 Big Loud Songs/ASCAP (admin. by Big Loud Bucks),
Apple Farmer Music/SESAC. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

12. ANY FOOL (3:38)

Writers:
Michael Miller (ASCAP) and Allan Frank (SESAC)

Musicians:
Bass, Wulitzer Piano, Synth pad: Ed Tree
Acoustic Guitar: John David
Fiddle: Gabe Witcher
Percussion: Debra Dobkin
Background Vocals: Steve Kobashigawa

BIO

Coming Soon

LYRICS

Sometimes I feel too much
Sometimes I fall too fast
Hang my hopes on things
That aren't meant to last

And when it comes to you
I lose all common sense
Like any fool

But any fool could see this love would lead to cryin'
Any fool would take his wounded heart
And head on out the door
Look at me, there's no use denyin'
I'm not just any fool
I'm yours

I live inside my dreams
I don't go near the ground
Don't recognize the truth
Til' the hurt comes down

And when you walked away
I said you didn't mean it
Like any fool

Repeat Chorus

I hold your body close against me
Feel your breath on my skin
Oh, but I know I have to set you free
When I wake up again

'Cause any fool could see this love would lead to cryin'
Any fool would take his wounded heart
And head on out the door
Look at me and there's no use denyin'
I'm not just any fool
I'm not just any fool
I'm not just any fool
I'm yours

©2009 Rolling Frog Music/ASCAP, Apple Farmer Music/SESAC.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

12. SING YOU OFF MY MIND (2:51)

Writers:
Allan Frank (SESAC)

Musicians:
Drums: Jorgen Ingmar
Bass, Acoustic/Electric Guitars, B3 Organ: Ed Tree
Fiddle: Gabe Witcher
Piano, Synth; Piccolo: Skip Edwards
Percussion: Debra Dobkin
Background Vocals: Steve Kobashigawa

BIO

Coming Soon

LYRICS

13. SING YOU OFF MY MIND (2:51)

Writers:
Allan Frank (SESAC)

Musicians:
Drums: Jorgen Ingmar
Bass, Acoustic/Electric Guitars, B3 Organ: Ed Tree
Fiddle: Gabe Witcher
Piano, Synth; Piccolo: Skip Edwards
Percussion: Debra Dobkin
Background Vocals: Steve Kobashigawa

BIO

Coming Soon

LYRICS

I got a dollar in my pocket
I got a penny in my shoe
Well I'm a thousand miles from where I was
And I'm still in love with you
I got Mojitos and Margaritos
And a worn out Cadillac
I get channel three on my TV
In this run down little shack

Well you could say I'm living the good life
'Cuz I left my cares behind
All I needed was this guitar
To sing you off my mind
Yeah, all I needed was this guitar
To sing you off my mind

So I've sung all along the highways
And I've sung in smoky bars
And I've written about your love as much
As I've counted up the stars
Well people say I'm crazy
But I'm just trying to move on
So tell me why do you keep hanging 'round
Long after you've been gone

And the words keeps pouring out
Melodies ain't hard to find
How many songs will I have to sing
To sing you off my mind?
Yeah, how many songs will I have to sing
To sing you off my mind?

Repeat Chorus

©2009 Apple Farmer Music/SESAC.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

14. THE ROAD SO FAR (6:09)

Writers:
Allan Frank (SESAC)

Musicians:
Bass, Rhythm/Lead Guitars, Banjo, Fiddle, Mandolin: Jeff Tolbert
Rhythm Guitar, Dobro Solo: Jason Easter
Dobro fills: Ed Tree, John David
Harmonium: Ed Tree
Background Vocals: Steve Kobashigawa

BIO

This was one of the hardest songs I've written. I had the title already, it was to be the title cut to the CD but I also wanted to convey both the past and the future, as in... From where I've come on the road so far... And...Where I'm going, down the road so far. So I wrote many pages of ideas and lines and finally a showed confusing version to fellow co-writers. But one person found the idea of meeting your past on the road compelling. So I knew I had something. Then it became about facing my fears and digging for the truth. Many more pages and combinations of phrases and it was very messy. There was a lot of soul searching in trying to make this song resonate with the listener. Additionally I had set a couple song crafting criteria that I wanted to employ. As with most songs I write, I had no idea if this song was any good. Luckily I think some people can identify with it.

LYRICS

I heard a sound and turned around to the road behind.
Dejected there in grave despair a traveler stood resigned.
He said: "I'm bound to hold this ground, I am a heavy load.
And my good man I doubt I can continue down this road."

Well I could see he looked like me and asked from where he came.
And his reply: "Sir, you and I, we are both the same.
For I'm a past you face at last that slows your every move.
The best would be to set me free; that is, if you approve, that is, if you approve.

"Let this journey be your vision and take stock of your provision.
For I'll cause you indecision as you travel down the road so far.

"I'm the voice in every choice that questions if you're wrong.
That second guess when you obsess on nights that seem so long.
I'm all about your fear and doubt and thoughts you won't succeed.
And what I pack will hold you back; it's baggage you don't need.

"Yes, be aware that what I bear is like a ball and chain.
A prison deep where in you keep so much that's caused you pain.
A careless word that someone heard you wish you hadn't said.
An unkind act you can't retract, and broken hearts you've bled.

"And all this guilt you've slowly built affects the path you choose.
Afraid to make the same mistake you'll play it safe but lose.
And so I know you must let go of all these troubling things.
For better yet is what you get with what your journey brings, with what your journey brings.

"Let this journey be transcending and on me don't be depending.
For our time together's ending, and days we've had along the road so far."

But I did not want my confidant to vanish from my side.
He was for me good company and on him I relied.
"Is this best," I did protest, "that you and I should part?
For it seems wrong and you belong, you've been here from the start."

But his retort was quick and short: "I've tried to make my case.
You'll soon despise what's in my eyes. You've finally seen my face.
I'll count the score if you want more and haven't got it yet.
But in a word if you've not heard I am your regret, the burden of regret.

"You know this journey is demanding and so I'll remain here standing.
Turn and seek your Promised Land somewhere down the road so far."

And with a frown I looked down for what he said was true.
What grew inside I tried to hide and yet I always knew.
I did not dwell, I wished him well no longer were we one.
And like a noose I cut him loose the hardest thing I've done, the hardest thing I've done.

Now the journey's more exciting both intriguing and delighting.
As it's calling and inviting somewhere down the road so far.
Somewhere down the road so far, so far.

©Apple Farmer Music/SESAC.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.