What is your favorite band/music? My favorite band is "Schooner Fare". They are a folk music group who make me proud to live in the state I do.
Here are some of their songs:
PORTLAND TOWN
I see the light across the bay,
I see the light not far away,
And I hear music all around,
I'm gettin' close to Portland Town,
So, Mother, won't you make my bed,
I see the light of Portland Head,
I see the light, I'm comin' 'round,
I'm comin' home to Portland Town.
Some years ago, out on my own,
I set a course for parts unknown,
Leavin' behind both friend and foe,
Needin' to find what I've come to know,
As I watched the islands fade away,
And bid farewell to Casco Bay,
Though it's been years and years since then,
My heart has brought me home again.
Of all the places I could go,
She's still the fairest port I know,
She works the sea and tills the farms,
And holds her children in her arms,
No place could know a prouder past,
Here comes the future full at last,
Here comes that beacon 'cross the sky,
And when I hold my head up high...
SCUTTLEBUTT
See the burly longshoreman, showing off his biceps,
Heavin' and a'haulin' mighty freighters in and out.
All of the townfolk think he's quite a guy, 'cept
He don't lift a finger to help around the house.
Scuttlebutt! Ain't it a shame?
Nobody knows. Nobody's to blame.
The truth ain't pretty. I think you'll agree. Just
Don't ya tell nobody that you heard it from me.
Do you see the dandy yachtsman, posing at the wheel,
The picture of a regular marina buccaneer?
But he doesn't know his rudder from his keel.
It's a jolly good job he doesn't ever leave the pier.
Yonder is a fisherman, wading in a brook
On a weekend with the fellas, feelin' wild and free--
But the bold desperado's afraid to bait the hook
He says "Will one of you people please do this for me?"
Listen to the folk singer, feelin' kinda jaunty,
Singin' out the chorus of a ballad sublime.
He's a three-chord-wonder, thinks he's Belafonte
You know he's gonna bore us with "one more time."
Over and over, day after day
Comin' and a'goin' like ever before,
Gossip is so ugly, try as you may
It comes innuendo and out of your door.
SALT WATER FARM
History on the song:
During the Great Depression, many small Maine farmers were driven
to factory work in order to make ends meet. Tom's grandfather, Hugh
Tracy, was no exception. He spent his life working in the shoe
factories while also running his small farm in Oxford County. His one
lifelong desire was to simply farm his land. Tom extended that wish
to a Salt Water Farm, truly the most idyllic existence for folks who
love hard work. Tom's granddad lived to hear and enjoy "his" song
before his passing in 1987.
Lyrics:
Salt water farm, salt water farm,
A little bit of heaven, just a house and a barn.
Mornins we'd go fishin', work the fields in the afternoon;
And as the evening tide rolls in there'd be songs beneath the moon
And later I would take you in my arms,
And listen to the sounds of our salt water farm.
He said he'd have a cow, some chickens and a hog;
A barn filled up with hay and a boat down in the cove.
Later in the fall he'd go hunting with the dog.
Winter nights he'd sit around and read beside the stove.
Well he was always kind of poor and he could have dreamed for more,
Than a place where he would still have to work with his hands.
But that never was his way and I can still hear him say,
"Son, a man is at his best between the sea and the land."
DAY OF THE CLIPPER
You can see the squares of canvas dancing over the horizon,
You can hear the chanty wailing to the heaving of the men,
You can feel the seas up to your knees and you know the sea is risin'
And you know the clipper's day has come again.
To the men on high the bos'n's cry commands a killing strain,
ÔTil every mother's son begins to pray.
With a hearty shout she comes about and she heads into the rain,
And the ship has never seen a better day.
Sailing ships and sailing men will sail the open water,
Where the only thing that matters is the wind inside the main.
So all you loving mothers keep your eyes upon your daughters;
For the sails will mend their tatters and the masts will rise again.
Wooden beams and human dreams are all that make her go;
And the magic of the wind upon her sails.
We'd rather fight the weather than the fishes down below;
God help us if the rigging ever fails.
As the timber creaks the captain speaks above the vessel's groans
ÔTil every soul on board can hear the call.
It's nothing but the singing of the ship inside her bones,
And this is when she likes it best of all.
Where the current goes the clipper's nose is plowing fields of green.
Where fortune takes the crews we wish them well.
Where men could be when lost at sea is somewhere in between
The regions of a heaven and a hell.
Well they're sailing eastern harbors and the California shore;
If you set your mind to see them then you can.
As you count each mast go sailing past you, prouder than before,
Then you'll know the clipper's day has come again.
THE COUNTY SONG
History:"The County" refers to the northern most county in Maine, Aroostook. It is mainly a huge farming area.
Lyrics:
Did you say you're from The County, where the sparklin' rivers shine,
Did I hear you say you're from The County,
Then you must know this friend of mine,
Where your eyes can see forever, through the skies so big and blue,
Did you say you're from The County,
Hey, I'm from The County too.
In the warm September breeze, I worked the long rich rows upon my knees,
Now those days are in my mind, every time I dream about the Houlton line,
Although that child has grown past those signs of home,
And this life I own is not the same,
All your hills and farms wait with open arms,
Every time I wander home again.
If there's one thing I have known, it's that the Forts of Kent and Fairfield are my home,
If there's one thing I could see, I would watch the County sun rise just for me,
And hear those church bell sounds over Sweden Town,
As I wander down to Caribou,
Now you chance to say you're from up that way,
How I fancy bumping into you.
By our hearts and hands and harrows,
In this land we did remain,
Now the hopes of our tomorrows,
Are here in the Crown of Maine.
Their music is truely awesome IMHO. Sadly though one of their band members died early this year.
Now that I've said mine lets hear what you guys favorite band is.
Here are some of their songs:
PORTLAND TOWN
I see the light across the bay,
I see the light not far away,
And I hear music all around,
I'm gettin' close to Portland Town,
So, Mother, won't you make my bed,
I see the light of Portland Head,
I see the light, I'm comin' 'round,
I'm comin' home to Portland Town.
Some years ago, out on my own,
I set a course for parts unknown,
Leavin' behind both friend and foe,
Needin' to find what I've come to know,
As I watched the islands fade away,
And bid farewell to Casco Bay,
Though it's been years and years since then,
My heart has brought me home again.
Of all the places I could go,
She's still the fairest port I know,
She works the sea and tills the farms,
And holds her children in her arms,
No place could know a prouder past,
Here comes the future full at last,
Here comes that beacon 'cross the sky,
And when I hold my head up high...
SCUTTLEBUTT
See the burly longshoreman, showing off his biceps,
Heavin' and a'haulin' mighty freighters in and out.
All of the townfolk think he's quite a guy, 'cept
He don't lift a finger to help around the house.
Scuttlebutt! Ain't it a shame?
Nobody knows. Nobody's to blame.
The truth ain't pretty. I think you'll agree. Just
Don't ya tell nobody that you heard it from me.
Do you see the dandy yachtsman, posing at the wheel,
The picture of a regular marina buccaneer?
But he doesn't know his rudder from his keel.
It's a jolly good job he doesn't ever leave the pier.
Yonder is a fisherman, wading in a brook
On a weekend with the fellas, feelin' wild and free--
But the bold desperado's afraid to bait the hook
He says "Will one of you people please do this for me?"
Listen to the folk singer, feelin' kinda jaunty,
Singin' out the chorus of a ballad sublime.
He's a three-chord-wonder, thinks he's Belafonte
You know he's gonna bore us with "one more time."
Over and over, day after day
Comin' and a'goin' like ever before,
Gossip is so ugly, try as you may
It comes innuendo and out of your door.
SALT WATER FARM
History on the song:
During the Great Depression, many small Maine farmers were driven
to factory work in order to make ends meet. Tom's grandfather, Hugh
Tracy, was no exception. He spent his life working in the shoe
factories while also running his small farm in Oxford County. His one
lifelong desire was to simply farm his land. Tom extended that wish
to a Salt Water Farm, truly the most idyllic existence for folks who
love hard work. Tom's granddad lived to hear and enjoy "his" song
before his passing in 1987.
Lyrics:
Salt water farm, salt water farm,
A little bit of heaven, just a house and a barn.
Mornins we'd go fishin', work the fields in the afternoon;
And as the evening tide rolls in there'd be songs beneath the moon
And later I would take you in my arms,
And listen to the sounds of our salt water farm.
He said he'd have a cow, some chickens and a hog;
A barn filled up with hay and a boat down in the cove.
Later in the fall he'd go hunting with the dog.
Winter nights he'd sit around and read beside the stove.
Well he was always kind of poor and he could have dreamed for more,
Than a place where he would still have to work with his hands.
But that never was his way and I can still hear him say,
"Son, a man is at his best between the sea and the land."
DAY OF THE CLIPPER
You can see the squares of canvas dancing over the horizon,
You can hear the chanty wailing to the heaving of the men,
You can feel the seas up to your knees and you know the sea is risin'
And you know the clipper's day has come again.
To the men on high the bos'n's cry commands a killing strain,
ÔTil every mother's son begins to pray.
With a hearty shout she comes about and she heads into the rain,
And the ship has never seen a better day.
Sailing ships and sailing men will sail the open water,
Where the only thing that matters is the wind inside the main.
So all you loving mothers keep your eyes upon your daughters;
For the sails will mend their tatters and the masts will rise again.
Wooden beams and human dreams are all that make her go;
And the magic of the wind upon her sails.
We'd rather fight the weather than the fishes down below;
God help us if the rigging ever fails.
As the timber creaks the captain speaks above the vessel's groans
ÔTil every soul on board can hear the call.
It's nothing but the singing of the ship inside her bones,
And this is when she likes it best of all.
Where the current goes the clipper's nose is plowing fields of green.
Where fortune takes the crews we wish them well.
Where men could be when lost at sea is somewhere in between
The regions of a heaven and a hell.
Well they're sailing eastern harbors and the California shore;
If you set your mind to see them then you can.
As you count each mast go sailing past you, prouder than before,
Then you'll know the clipper's day has come again.
THE COUNTY SONG
History:"The County" refers to the northern most county in Maine, Aroostook. It is mainly a huge farming area.
Lyrics:
Did you say you're from The County, where the sparklin' rivers shine,
Did I hear you say you're from The County,
Then you must know this friend of mine,
Where your eyes can see forever, through the skies so big and blue,
Did you say you're from The County,
Hey, I'm from The County too.
In the warm September breeze, I worked the long rich rows upon my knees,
Now those days are in my mind, every time I dream about the Houlton line,
Although that child has grown past those signs of home,
And this life I own is not the same,
All your hills and farms wait with open arms,
Every time I wander home again.
If there's one thing I have known, it's that the Forts of Kent and Fairfield are my home,
If there's one thing I could see, I would watch the County sun rise just for me,
And hear those church bell sounds over Sweden Town,
As I wander down to Caribou,
Now you chance to say you're from up that way,
How I fancy bumping into you.
By our hearts and hands and harrows,
In this land we did remain,
Now the hopes of our tomorrows,
Are here in the Crown of Maine.
Their music is truely awesome IMHO. Sadly though one of their band members died early this year.
Now that I've said mine lets hear what you guys favorite band is.
