Forums » Gillian Welch and David Rawlings "Lyrics"
The Harrow & The Harvest
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Released June 28, 2011
Track Listing
1. Scarlet Town
2. Dark Turn Of Mind
3. The Way It Will Be
4. The Way It Goes
5. Tennessee
6. Down Along The Dixie Line
7. Six White Horses
8. Hard Times
9. Silver Dagger
10. The Way The Whole Thing Ends
Produced by David Rawlings
Recorded February 2011 at Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville, TN
This post was edited by MattWales at July 14, 2011 6:21 PM PDT -
1. Scarlet Town
Buddy I went down to Scarlet Town
Never been there before
You slept on a feather bed
I slept on the floor
I don't mind a little town
Or drinking my coffee cold
But the things I seen in Scarlet Town
Done mortify my soul
Look at that deep well
Look at that dark ray
Ringing that iron bell
In Scarlet Town today
I spent some time in New Orleans
And ?
A Scarlet Town brought me down
Low as I ever been
Look at that deep well
Look at that dark ray
Ringing that iron bell
In Scarlet Town today
On the day I came to Scarlet Town
You promised I'd be your bride
You left me here to rot away
Like holly on a mountainside
Look at that deep well
Look at that dark ray
Ringing that iron bell
In Scarlet Town today
Now you may hide in Scarlet Town
For a hundred years or more
But the man who knows what time it is
Is knocking at the door
So fare you well, my one true love
If you never see me around
I'll be looking through a telescope
From hell to Scarlet Town
Look at that deep well
Look at that dark ray
Ringing that iron bell
In Scarlet Town today -
2. Dark Turn Of Mind
Take me and love me if you want me
Don't ever treat me unkind
'Cause I had that trouble already
And it left me with a dark turn of mind
Now I see the bones in the river
And I feel the wind through the pine
And I hear the shadows a-calling
To a girl with a dark turn of mind
But oh ain't the nighttime so lovely to see?
Don't all the nightbirds sing sweetly?
You'll never know how happy I'll be
When the sun's going down
And leave me if I'm feeling too lonely
Full as the fruit on the vine
You know some girls are bright as the morning
And some have a dark turn of mind
You know some girls are bright as the morning
And some girls are blessed with a dark turn of mind -
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I believe Sarah is correct, both about "Polly" and the line "I spent some time in New Orleans and Cairo on the bend..."
Cairo, GA (on the bend of America where it curves into Florida) was once known for it's production of cane syrup:
http://www.walterreeves.com/uploads/pdf/Sugar%20contd2.PDF />
The town is also referenced in the DRM song Sweet Tooth! -
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Although Cairo, Georgia is nicknamed the "Syrup City" it has no relationship with the Karo brand of syrup, which is pronounced like the city's name. Rather, Cairo earned its nickname by producing cane syrup from the early 1900s through the late 1990s. Of the several companies that produced cane syrup, Roddenbery's was the best known. (Wikipedia)
Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. (Wikipedia)
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