Better Times by TomFairnie [Email]
Genre: Folk (contemporary)
|
Get Flash to see this player. Having playback trouble, try the Quicktime player:   NoDerivs-NonCommercial  |
|
|
|
Fan List
|
||
|
Description:
This is a song about the people who used to travel the railroads through the Depression. It's a basic raw recording and I'd be happy to hear any ideas for arrangementsLyrics:
Better Times (Standard tuning, capo at the 5th fret, starts off in the Am shape; please see my notes on the song at the end of the lyrics) (Am) I remember we were bound for (C) glory (Am) I remember better (G) times (Am) Everyone had their (C) story (G) An' a buddy could spare a (Am) dime (C) I loved you like a (Am) brother (C) I loved the trains and the (G) wine (F) The cheaper the (C) better (G) Oh I remember better (Am) times When you heard that whistle blowing She was coming to the bend The train would get to slowing An' you could help some other friend An' you could treat him like a brother You could share the bread and the wine But he could be the Devil Just jumping trains to Perdition's line There'd be one man with a Bible An' gamblers at his feet He'd raise Cain and Abel An' those boys would start to cheat And they'd fight just like brothers They'd fight in Jesus' name And all of the others Bettin' on who would win And there’d be a story about a woman That every one could share We’d all remembered loving her An' combing her long black hair An' some would call her sister She was everything and more She was a mother A sweetheart and a whore An' when we could go no further We'd jump the rails and run Lookin' for a job that had no worker Was the hardest work we ever done And those nights were cold and lonely You could die just tryin' to keep warm Dreaming of glory An' that woman's loving arms I remember we were bound for glory I remember better times... Copyright © Better Times 2001 words and music by Tom Fairnie. I had this melody for a long time but the idea for the song came from my continuing interest with attempting to write a song that would sit naturally in an American Folk Song Book. The musical influences (Guthrie, Paxton, Dylan et al) are fairly obvious so I won't spend time on that but I'm proud of the lyrics and I'd like to try and give you an insight into them here. Like a lot of writers I use biblical imagery, not only because of it's obvious meaning but also because it's a great way of taking an issue like brotherly love for instance and making a complex point in a kind of shorthand. Better Times is set in a boxcar during the Depression and the cast of characters tell stories, recall loves, gamble and fight. The ironic part is that the human spirit is such that we can often look back to the hardest of times and see them as being the best of times. I like to personalise my songs, not only because I think it gives them a feeling that helps listeners relate to them, but also because I'm more assured writing from personal experience. The sub text in Better Times is about the relationship between my brothers and myself. We shared experiences and memories of a Scottish working class upbringing in the 1950s, laughed together and fought like all brothers do but there's always the trust and, I guess, the bond that never leaves you no matter what. In terms of the lyrics I particularly like the verse that begins "There'd be one man with a BIble" I think the wordplay is interesting and hopefully, it's also thought provoking. My final comment would be that when I sing it I really try to see those characters and hear their voices. It's a case of "there but for fortune" if I can quote a far better poet. |
||
|
You must be registered and logged-in to comment. Great song and performance &mdash 08/12/06 - 06:13:18 PM
No Depression !! &mdash 08/13/06 - 02:31:46 AM
nice folk track &mdash 08/16/06 - 10:24:56 PM
Woody would be proud &mdash 08/28/06 - 08:37:34 AM
|
||
there....great folk track, lovely vocal/guitar performance. Thanks for
sharing it
Steve
[ Reply to This ]