Better Days

2006-11-15T02:32:00.000-08:00

Kim Beggs, from Canada's Yukon

Songwriter-Horse Whisperer, Mike Beck

Better Days 250
SONG FOR MY UNCLE

Thursday, November 23rd
10:00 pm - 12 midnight Pacific time
webcast: www.coopradio.org

My friend Marc Lindy guest-hosted Better Days
last week (November 16th) and I'll be back in the chair this
coming Thursday, November 23rd, with episode 250
of the show, titled Song For My Uncle.

I'll be featuring a whole whack of new things that have
come in the mail the past three weeks. Among them
are John Spillane's The Gaelic Hit Factory, Bob Frank
and John Murry's World Without End, Kim Beggs'
Wanderer's Paean, Mike Beck's Rooted, and a couple
items from Gott Discs featuring songs and stories from
the recent BBC Radio Ballads series, including Fire Thief
from Karine Polwart.

I will also read from a recent song-story of mine called
Song For My Uncle.

Join me on the 23rd of November when I celebrate the
250th episode of the Better Days radio show with a whole
two hours worth of great music and spoken word.

That's 10:00 to midnight Pacific time on CFRO 102.7 fm,
webcast live at www.coopradio.org

Best of life,

Doug Lang

Featured Artist Listens:
www.myspace.com/johnspillane
www.myspace.com/bobfrankandjohnmurry
www.myspace.com/kimbeggs
www.myspace.com/reatarecords
www.myspace.com/karinepolwart

2006-10-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

Better Days: Thursdays 10-Midnight www.coopradio.org

2006-08-21T14:19:00.001-07:00

Better Days 236
Here Is The River
Thursday, August 27th
10:00 pm to 12:00 am Pacific
CFRO 102.7 fm
webcast www.coopradio.org

Join me this Thursday for episode #236 of
Better Days, called Here Is The River,
a boat ride on the backs of songs that have
a connection to rivers, the passage of time,
and the wisdom we find along the way.

Some fine recent releases have come to me
which fit well into this theme, foremost among
them being from Eamon Friel of Derry, his
fine new cd called Here Is The River, from which
I borrow the title for this week's episode of the
show. I'll have a few poems to add to the songs.

That's Better Days #236 this coming Thursday
night, August 27th, ten o'clock to midnight
around the corner at 102.7 fm in the Pacific
Northwest and around the world by webcast
at www.coopradio.org

Join me, won't you?

DL

2006-08-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

My son, Joness.

2006-05-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

UPCOMING RADIO SHOWS

Better Days is heard at CFRO 102.7 fm in the signal area.
Webcast : www.coopradio.org

The show airs every Thursday night, 10-to-midnight Pacific.
All shows are hosted by Doug "Duke" Lang unless otherwise
noted. All shows are listed in Pacific time.

Thursday, July 6th
Better Days #228
Home Again

Thursday, July 13th
Better Days #229

Thursday, July 20th
Better Days #230

Thursday, July 27th
Better Days #231
Hosted by Ruth Leibik

Join me for the best in roots music of all kinds,
from around the corner and around the world.
That's Thursdays, 10pm to midnight Pacific,
webcast live at www.coopradio.org

DL

2006-05-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

MAKING WAVES

A Radio Special
Sunday, May 4th
4:00 - 5:30 p.m. Pacific
Listen: www.coopradio.org

Sunday afternoon, I'll be doing a 90-minute
radio special, Making Waves, as part of CFRO's
Spring Member Drive.

The music will be from the UK and Ireland,
and will include such artists as John Spillane,
Christy Moore, Karine Polwart, John Tams,
Kate Rusby, Eliza Carthy and many more.

Join me, won't you?

DL

2006-05-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

BETTER DAYS 216

SEIZE THE DAY

Thursday, May 4th
10:00 pm to 12:00 am Pacific
CFRO 102.7 FM
www.coopradio.org

Two hours of songs that speak out, take risks, or
simply capture the moment with resounding clarity.
Artists will include Dylan, Dick Gaughan, Kristofferson,
Steve Earle, Eliza Gilkyson, and many more.

Please, join me for this Better Days special.

DL

2006-04-23T02:59:00.000-07:00

COMING HOME

I've been away in Europe - with Disa in Holland,
visiting Magne and Harald in Norway - busy putting
the finishing touches on The Norway Sessions cd.

Sorry to have let this page slip a while, but it's been
time away from the internet mostly, well spent. I
will be home at the end of April, and back on the air
as of Thursday, May 4th, ten to midnight, webcast
live at www.ccopradio.org

I've learned about a few new artists, and picked up
some great new cds, so I am looking forward to a
good run of shows once I'm back. Stay tuned for
details as those show come up!

Thanks for listening,

DL

2006-04-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

John Spillane

John Spillane is from Cork, Ireland. I learned of
him through a recommendation from Christy
Moore, saying he's worth finding.

I play John Spillane's music on my radio show
on a regular basis. The mysteries are in him.

There's a live version of Magic Nights In The
Lobby Bar on his myspace site's jukebox, with
Louis de Paor of The Gaelic Hit Factory. It is
something to hear.

Also on his myspace site (link below), down the
left side a few inches there's a video of Spillane
with the Irish legends Christy Moore, Donal Lunny
and Declan Sinnott, doing John's song, Johnny
Don't Go.

Ten minutes well-spent!

Link: www.myspace.com/johnspillane

P.S. Ruth did the show last Thursday, as she always
does the last Thursday of the month. I'm in this week.
News here tomorrow about what I'll be doing with my
last show before a month in Europe.

On we go,

DL

2006-03-24T19:59:00.000-08:00

DUKE SONGS
www.myspace.com/dukelang

2006-03-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

Better Days 210

O Death

Thursday, March 23rd
10:00 pm - 12:00 am Pacific
CFRO 102.7 fm

Webcast : www.coopradio.org

This week's edition of Better Days, episode 210,
features songs and writings which pertain, either
directly or through metaphor, to death and dying.

Will it make for a sad and morbid show? You'll have
to listen and decide for yourself. There are so many
transporting and resonant songs relating to the
end of a life, to the mysteries that attend the event
of a soul abandoning a body, and to the events which
lead to this transition.

As we grow older, the experiences of friends and
family dying are closer together, more frequent.
This week's edition of Better Days will, I hope,
have the ability to bring to mind and heart some
of the wisdom and feeling we gain from those
who have left us, and to share some of the stories
that are raised to their memory.

Better Days originates in Vancouver, Canada, and
is heard around the corner in the listening area at
102.7 fm, and around the world via webcast at

www.coopradio.org

Better Days 210 : O Death airs this Thursday night,
the 23rd of March from 10:00 pm to 12:00 am Pacific.

I hope you'll join me.

DL

2006-03-08T20:34:00.000-08:00

Better Days 208

Only One Way

Thursday, March 9th
10:00 pm - 12:00 am Pacific (GMT -8)
CFRO 102.7 fm

Webcast : www.coopradio.org

On Thursday, March 9th, from 10:00 pm to 12:00 am
Pacific time, Better Days episode 208, Only One Way,
will go to air.

As Wednesday marked International Women's Day - a
day which is now recognized around the world with
respect to a movement and a struggle which I support
wholeheartedly - this week's Better Days program will
highlight women artists who are making a difference
through their music.

I play women artists on the show every single week,
but tonight I'll let the men pause and reflect while the
women sing and play.

The feature set will celebrate the music of Scottish Borders
artist, Karine Polwart, including songs from Faultlines,
her soon-to-be-released Scribbled In Chalk, and a couple
of demos of songs Karine did for the 2006 BBC Radio Ballads.

You'll also hear tracks from KTB, Patty Griffin, Bjork, Eliza
Gilkyson, Beth Orton, Jenna Reid, Gillian Welch, Tracy
Grammer, Eivor Palsdottir, Laura Veirs, Dar Williams,
Amy Rigby and many others.

Better Days is heard around the corner at 102.7 FM in
British Columbia and parts of north-western Washington,
and around the world by webcast at www.coopradio.org

I hope you'll join me.

DL

2006-02-24T22:24:00.000-08:00

Remastering

Songs Of Leonard Cohen - his first album, a remastered
version from Holland - arrived in the mail today.

When I came of age and found my way into the private company
of brilliant and mysterious young women, this album always
seemed to be on in the background. Now, almost forty years
later, I removed it from its lovely black-laquered folding case
and put it on the stereo.

The bass still sounded muddy, the guitar still a bit distorted,
but the overall presence was sharper. Suzanne, The Stranger
Song, Sisters Of Mercy, So Long Marianne, Hey That's No Way
To Say Goodbye, the one about the thin green candle - how
beautiful, beautiful! And I was back in Susan's room out on
Interurban Road overlooking the rain-toppled grasses, and
in Catherine's attic along Admirals Road under the beaded
skylight. I could hear their voices as we discussed Steinbeck,
Orwell, the genius of William Golding. Catherine talked of
the careful mind of Atticus Finch, and I wondered, whatever
happened to Harper Lee.

O the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone. They
were waiting for me when I thought that I just can't go on.

Susan's voice lilting with the rising wave of each thought.
Catherine's hair an even more intense red than I recall, as
if she'd stood on a thousand new pennies and willed their
copper upward, through her blood and out her skull.

That must be what writing is for, to bring the past more
carefully into the present, closing time in folded hands,
remastering memory.

DL

2006-02-24T21:15:00.000-08:00

Next Stop, Feeling

There aren't many singers who have it, that ability
to get underneath the bed you're laying in and cause
it to shiver, move a little, as though a train were
passing beneath your house.

I'm not talking about the voice as a musical instrument
of beauty and versatility, but of an authenticity. What I
am speaking of is a commitment to the song that allows
you, the listener, no exit.

This is the meaning of extraordinary rendition that we
ought to know. Of being captured, spellbound, by a song
until it is over.

It's in the way Robert Johnson sang his blues line, like
he'd chewed metal into a midnight gum, and the song
is mineral spit.

It's in the way Sandy Denny took up the contradictory
tenderness and ferocity of every woman, and sang
from the place that fracture was grafted back together.

Dick Gaughan, of Scotland, pictured up top, has one of
those voices.

Over the next four weeks of Better Days, my radio
program, I will be sharing music by singers - and an
instrumentalist or two - whose voices stop what you
are doing, lead you down below.

No exit while the train is moving.

Next stop, feeling.

DL

2006-02-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

Scribbled In Chalk

Karine Polwart's new album is due out in the UK soon,
April 10th to be exact. It's called Scribbled In Chalk,
and having listened to an advance copy that Karine
was kind enough to give me a while ago, I can tell you
that it's going to charm more and more people into
being admirers of her work. Have a listen yourself to
three songs, posted at the link below.
http://www.myspace.com/karinepolwart

And make sure to visit Karine's website at
http://www.karinepolwart.com

and her blog site at
http://www.karinepolwart.com/newscentre.html

You're going to be hearing a lot more from this artist.
I'm happy to call her my friend.

DL

2006-02-22T23:57:00.000-08:00

Our Mother

"As I tried to bring a deeper quality of presence
to all my works this day, I found God moving
through the day with me, like a Mother, opening
my eyes to beauty. Quietly, joyfully, gratefully,
without complaining, I welcomed all the beauty
that crossed my path."

Her babies grow so heavy
Heavy as can be
And the God who is their mother
Cannot lift them to her knee

Apocalypse Now. Kurtz, up the river where the heart
of darkness is. Remember? Willard watching him as he
spoke about judgment being the ultimate horror. His
shaved head, jungle sweat, a blood vessel in his forehead
twitching, pulse-like, by torch light.

Judgment, the horror. The horror!

Weighted by our blindness
By all we cannot see
The God who is our mother
Cannot lift us to her knee

Coretta King said once, that if the soul of the nation
is to be saved, women must become its soul. In the
same way, Mother Nature must again become the
temple we enter, distracted not by any gospel but
the very essence that leads us to grow upward,
upward, encouraged by the sun.

Heavy with believing
Heavy with decree
The God who is our mother
Cannot lift us to her knee

Kilgore said he loved the smell of napalm in the
morning. When I saw the movie, people laughed
when he said it. I used to go and sing at a mental
asylum, and I heard the same laughter there. The
broken heart does not always bring tears.

Gandhi said that non-cooperation with evil is as
much a duty as cooperation with good.

I heard a singer asking, the other day, where the
mothers of America are.

Woke the other night from a dream of angels. They
were leading this tired old warrior down to a stream.
When they spoke to him, they called him God. He
told them, with a sniff of displeasure, that they ought
not to call him by that name, that he was a stranger
to them. Then we offer water to a stranger, the angels
said. He nodded. It was a beginning.

Father Leo, the motorcycle-riding Roman Catholic
priest who married two pagan gypsies long ago, said,
we are breathing God. And slowly waved his hand
toward the plum blossoms, toward the gardens of
Beacon Hill Park, toward the diamond glints of sun
on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We are breathing God,
he whispered again, almost in tears.

All the grief we've never grieved
All the shackled liberty
The God who is our mother
Cannot lift us to her knee

The opening quote is from Macrina Wiederkehr, a
Benedictine Sister at St. Scholastica Monastery in
Fort Smith, Arkansas. In her book, A Tree Full Of
Angels, she remembers being in a bus station, seeing
a little girl helping her brother get a drink at the
water fountain. He was too small, and yet he was
too heavy for her to lift him to the stream of water.
Just as Macrina was about to rise and offer to help,
the girl ran over to the shoeshine man, pointed to
a footstool he wasn't using, dragged it to the fountain,
and helped her baby brother step on it and get a
drink.

Taking care of each other, without falling prey to our
frustrations, without waiting to be rescued -- it's the
only prayer I care to say, for it is active inspiration.
I know without asking that, when the girl took the
footstool back, the shoeshine man was beaming.

I, too, look for possibilities of mercy and delight in
my actions, to bring a deeper quality of presence
to the work I do each day. It's true, we have made
ourselves too heavy to be lifted. We are all in need
of a bright sister with a footstool.

Let us rise up from the ground
Let us learn to stand
The God who is our mother waits
For us to take her hand

"Holiness comes wrapped in the ordinary. There are
burning bushes all around you. Every tree is full of
angels. Hidden beauty is waiting in every crumb. Life
wants to lead you from crumbs to angels, but this can
happen only if you are willing to unwrap the ordinary
by staying with it long enough to harvest its treasure."

Macrina again, from A Tree Full Of Angels.

I don't want to smell the napalm. I want to breathe
in the mystery until the tears come up. Coming back
down the river with Willard, I am exhausted by what
I've been witness to. The only war I know how to stop
is the one inside of me.

DL

2006-02-20T16:25:00.000-08:00

Water For A Stranger

I saw angels coming down the hill
The old recurring dream
They take their maker by the hand
And lead him to the stream
God, he must be thirsty
They know his mouth is dry
Look at how he trembles
As if he's going to die
God, his mouth is dry

We drift through nameless valleys
Gypsies, no homelands
The truth laid bare, the ruthless prayer
That opens folded hands
Our bodies free these unheard choirs
When we lay them down
Our blood goes singing through the wires
Crier without a town
I hear the voices now

That woman back in Francisville
Did you note her eyes
So wide and deep, they put to sleep
The nuisance of our cries
Call it a lesson, call it a grace
The pain those eyes absorbed
Her soul alight around her face
Her purpose undisturbed
She needn't say a word

Go on, then, share your story
Your body knows the song
And if you hear wings, don't worry
The tale we tell is long
Are they real or are we dreaming
The footprints on the path
Is it real or is it dreaming
Tonight we know it's both
For we are on the path

There are angels coming down the hill
The old recurring dream
They take their maker by the hand
And lead him to the stream
Water for a stranger
They know his mouth is dry
Look at how he trembles
As if he's going to die
God, his mouth is dry

DL

2006-02-11T21:44:00.000-08:00

1 Dead In Attic

I received this letter from Chris Rose yesterday.
I support what he's doing, hope you will, too.

Hello. This is Chris Rose, from the Times-Picayune
in New Orleans.

I wanted to tell you that I have published the book.
I won't go into great detail here; if you are interested,
please check out my website - chrisrosebooks.com -
for all the information.

I'm very proud of the book. I think it captures the
raw emotion of what happened here this fall. And
I'm pleased to add that we are sharing proceeds
with a couple of very important music and arts
programs here in the city. There's more about
those organizations and about signing events and
the photographer I worked with on the website.

If you are in the New Orleans area over the coming
days, I'd like to invite you to our debut reading and
signing events at Tipitina's Sunday afternoon, the
R Bar on Monday night and Monkey Hill Bar on
Tuesday night. We'll have plenty of books available
and music and general mayhem.

Thank you for reading my stories and for sending
your kind words. I appreciate that. We're going to
win this battle.

New Orleans now. New Orleans forever!

Regards, and thanks for your support.

-Chris Rose

Note: If you Google "1 Dead In Attic," you can find
the original newspaper article and give it a read,
to gain an idea of what Chris Rose is about.

2006-02-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

Better Days
episode 204

Late At Night, The Poet's Voice

Thursday, February 9th, 2006
10:00 pm - 12:00 am Pacific (GMT-8 hrs)
CFRO 102.7 fm

Webcast www.coopradio.org

Those nights out on the road, the road dry, the sky
clear, just you and white lines, occasional headlamps
of oncoming cars turning from high-beam to low.

You're alone, turning the radio dial to see if there
might, by miracle, be a poet on the air this late.
Unlikely, yes, but you never know. Some of those
far away city stations come through stronger on a
clear night in winter, surprise you.

This week I'll do a little tribute to Canadian poet and
songwriter, Leonard Cohen.

Ireland's Albert Niland has linked me up with a few
of his songs, and I'll share them with you.

Jeffrey Foucault is an American songwriter whose
work is too fine to remain under the radar.

I will also share another song or two by Krista Detor,
from her brilliant new album, Mudshow.

There are others. If you roll the dial Thursday night,
turn it to the fm band, to 102.7, just at 10 pm Pacific.
Or go to the computer, burn a few candles, turn off
the electric light, and hook into www.coopradio.org .

It gets lonely out on the road at night. Souls can go
missing in that mesmerizing dark. Let the poet's voice
keep you company, guide you safely home.

DL

2006-02-06T22:08:00.000-08:00

The Back 40 : February 2006

The Back 40 gives you an idea what I've been playing
on Better Days. Listings are in no particular order; it's
not a contest. Recent additions show the artist's name
highlighted in red. If I think an album is the best they've
ever done, I highlight the album title in red. Visit these
artists' websites by clicking the link below their entry
and, where inspired to, support the artists' commitment
and gift by purchasing a copy of their music.

Better Days is heard Thursdays, 10:00 pm to 12 midnight
Pacific Time (GMT -8 hours) at 102.7 FM in the signal area
and live via webcast at http://www.coopradio.org

Watch this site for radio specials aired outside the usual
time slot. Artists or labels wishing to submit material, please
e-mail the show at cfrobetterdays@yahoo.ca

*****The Back 40*****

Mudshow : Krista Detor
http://www.kristadetor.com

Cello voice, finely-wrought songs, mesmerizing.

Hey Dreamer : John Spillane
http://www.johnspillane.ie/

Singer-songwriter won recent Irish Music award.

Rebecca Drive : Willy Clay Band
http://www.willyclayband.com/

Fresh country sounds from the arctic north of Sweden.

Hands Across The Water : Various Artists
http://www.handsacrossthewater.com/

Resonant trans-Atlantic benefit for tsunami orphans.

Burning Times : Christy Moore
http://www.christymoore.com/

The greatest living Irishman, at his interpretive best.

Prairie Wind : Neil Young
http://www.neilyoung.com/

Rust or fade away? Neil chooses life instead.

Giants : Donal Hinely
http://www.donalhinely.com/

The title cut alone is worth the price of admission.

I've Got My Own Hell To Raise : Bettye LaVette
http://www.bettyelavette.com/

Detroit blues-soul singer dishes out her best record ever.

Little Fugitive : Amy Rigby
http://www.amyrigby.com/

Amy writes from a unique, cuttingly female perspective.

Mantras For Madmen : Harry Manx
http://www.harrymanx.com/

Manx freshly combines blues and eastern sounds.

Fair & Square : John Prine
http://www.ohboy.com/

What would we do without this guy?

Lookaftering : Vashti Bunyan
http://www.anotherday.co.uk/

Thirty-five years between albums; worth the wait.

Gone But Not Forgotten : Emptyhouse
http://www.emptyhouse.info/

From the far north of Scotland, wonderful folk.

Iron Flowers : Grey De Lisle
http://www.greydelisle.com/

Grey makes new music that sounds old as the wind.

Stripping Cane : Jeffrey Foucault
http://www.jeffreyfoucault.com/

One of the best, lesser-known songwriters in America.

Flower Of Avalon : Tracy Grammer
http://www.tracygrammer.com/

Tracy revisits the late Dave Carter's songbook.

Humming By The Flowered Vine : Laura Cantrell
http://www.lauracantrell.com/

Laura's singing takes me away somewhere. Great cd.

Get Myself Together : Danny Barnes
http://www.terminusrecords.com/

Makes me laugh, with the blessing of all my feelings.

The Outsider : Rodney Crowell
http://www.rodneycrowell.com/

Rodney is putting it out there stronger than ever.

Two Birds : Kirsty McGee
http://www.parkrecords.com/

Original songs, beautifully sung by this UK artist.

Soul's Chapel : Marty Stuart
http://www.martystuartmusic.com/

Further evidence of Stuart's spiritual changes.

I Am A Bird Now : Antony & The Johnsons
http://www.antonyandthejohnsons.com/

Emotional incantations I like more with each listen.

Here Come The Choppers : Loudon Wainwright
http://www.loudonwainwright.net/

An American original. Loudon's best in a while.

Pulling Through EP : Karine Polwart
http://www.karinepolwart.com/

Scotland's best songwriter gives us five.

Cripple Crow : Devendra Banhart
http://www.xlrecordings.com/

Well-produced, without comprising his brilliance.

Song Of The Traveling Daughter : Abigail Washburn
http://www.abigailwashburn.com/

My selection for 2005 album of the year.

Chicago Wind : Merle Haggard
http://www.merlehaggard.com/

Haggard's in good voice, and is speaking out, too.

Mercy : Sam Baker
http://www.sambakermusic.com/

A survivor, an unknown, this is Baker's masterpiece.

Dreamin' My Dreams : Patty Loveless
http://www.pattyloveless.com/

Patty Loveless, a beautiful singer glowing in her prime.

American Jukebox Fables : Ellis Paul
http://www.ellispaul.com/

New England's Ellis Paul gets better each time out.

The Girl Who Couldn't Fly : Kate Rusby
http://www.katerusby.com/

She is a spellcaster. Another Rusby gem.

Begonias : Caitlin Cary & Thad Cockrell
http://www.caitlincary.com/

Begonias deservedly made many best of 2005 lists.

Childish Things : James McMurtry
http://www.jamesmcmurtry.com/

McMurtry's sinewy writing and guitarwork at their best.

Out Beyond Ideas : David Wilcox & Nance Pettit
http://www.outbeyondideas.org/

Ancient poems to new music, a lovely accomplishment.

Hair In My Eyes... : Corb Lund
http://www.corblund.com/

Albertan Lund's beat and humour are irresistable.

Blissville : Jeff Talmadge
www.jefftalmadge.com

Talmadge has made his best record yet with Blissville.

Part Of Your History : Jamie Hartford
http://www.johnhartford.com

Jamie pays beautiful tribute to his father's songs.

The Art Of Virtue : Adrienne Young
http://www.adrienneyoung.com
An exquisite and intelligent record, and a big wow!

Chavez Ravine : Ry Cooder
http://www.ryland-cooder.com

A sensitive aural movie about a vanishing Los Angeles.

DL

2006-02-02T00:46:00.000-08:00

A Late Night Verse

I don't like this world a lot as others move to claim it
There's another place I know and take the time to name it
A realm of soul, invisible, evasive, shadow bound
Some say it's in the air we breathe, I say it's in the ground
Like coins that wait for digging, forgotten histories
Where earthworms shine the silver of our oldest mysteries
Not to see, but feel again, the spirit that prevails
Welcomed back by valkyries with dirty fingernails

DL

2006-02-01T00:27:00.000-08:00

BLESSED

I let myself be poor again
Simple now and still
Put aside distracting things
Learn to be alone
My garden is unsure again
I leave open the gate
Welcome what my keeper brings
The sun behind the hill

Blessed be those who never turn away
Blessed be the ones who stay

The empty branches cannot hold
The heavy winter sky
Roses close their tiny hands
Vines grip to the stone
No more stories needing told
The books are put away
The wind walks in the open gate
Broken shadows fly

Blessed be those who never turn away
Blessed be the ones who stay

I love the dark and quiet hour
Silence of the snow
The fence that bends beneath the weight
The wood under the tarp
Tending to each little chore
The voice that tells me how
Let me build a fire with you
And make a pot of tea

Blessed be those who never turn away
Blessed be the ones who stay

I find you now in everything
My heart is sad and ripe
Branches fall, the sky remains
No simple answer comes
There is not a god or king
Who knows us in the dark
We kiss our solitudes
And say good night

Blessed be those who never turn away
Blessed be the ones who stay

DL

2006-01-31T00:14:00.000-08:00

I know this will not become the new state song
of Idaho, and mean no offense to anyone who
is from there. Songs are mysterious visitors.

Idaho

Through the rain to see Irene in Pocatello
Tilts the rearview down to check his hair
Turns out Irene is with another fellow
He's jealous so he fishtails out of there
His wife of seven years lives down in Boise
Then there's Tina up in Coeur D'Alene
The contradictions, they get awful noisy
Caught inside the shushing of the rain

He's hungry so he stops to see the Colonel
Hits on the girl behind the cash machine
She laughs and says, "Ain't you the puer eternal"
What the hell was that supposed to mean
He's still lookin' for a piece of heaven
Stops for gas and makes a couple calls
Reaches Kim, she's drinking at a tavern
The other side of American Falls

He can't admit the fact he's gettin' older
Dyed hair makes his skin look older still
He nearly skids his Buick off the shoulder
Twists the cap and pops another pill
Kim was married to a long haul trucker
The only thing she misses is the sex
She'll be drunk but she won't let him kiss her
In case she ever gets back with her ex

He's still obsessing on that other fellow
That Irene was with when he checked in
Could be he's seen the last of Pocatello
But he's crazy for the tan lines on her skin
He gets with Kim and then heads back to Boise
This weekend he'll drive up to Coeur D'Alene
The contradictions, they get awful noisy
Caught inside the shushing of the rain

He hopes there ain't a speed trap at the junction
Where 86 folds in to 84
He's had a couple shots but he can function
Pops another pill just to be sure
It's then he notices that it's stopped raining
All-night talk show on the radio
Folks from everywhere call in complaining
They ought to come and live in Idaho
They ought to come and live in Idaho

DL

2006-01-30T17:08:00.000-08:00

Better Days 203
Part Of Your History

Thursday, February 2nd, 2006
10:00 pm - 12:00 am Pacific (GMT -8)
CFRO 102.7 fm

Webcast www.coopradio.org

I love the idea of America, and love much of what that
country has given us, things like jazz, blues, baseball,
great songwriters, novelists, poets... and a document
called the Constitution. Whatever you wish to call the
United States today, it is no longer the same America as
I came to know it, defined by the gifts listed above. It
now appears that its originating document has been edited
to suit a new agenda, one which leaves people out. The
America that I love has seen its foundations come under
relentless attack since the new century began.

This week I am going to divide the program into three
segments of roughly 40 minutes apiece. The first segment
I will feature tunes from some of the recordings I've had
come in the mail recently. Rosanne Cash, Chan Marshall,
Ryan Adams, Jeff Talmadge, among others.

In the second segment, I want to feature a new cd from
Krista Detor, called Mudshow. I'll also honour Jamie Hartford
for his 2005 tribute cd to his father, John Hartford, called
Part Of Your History. That's son and father in the photo
above, taken, if I'm not mistaken, at John's last public
performance.

In the third segment, I am going to create a 40-minute
soundscape of songs, music and spoken word which will
pertain to the America which I grew up admiring, the one
which is being lost, which is part of our history.

I look forward to having you join me Thursday night
for episode #203 of Better Days, heard around the corner
by signal at 102.7 fm, and via live webcast around the
world at www.coopradio.org

DL

2006-01-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

This Old Guitar

The ritual of a concert can be a powerful
experience if the performer is wise enough
to tune the room to silence.

Why do we burn the candles
Why dim down the lights
And gather in the growing dark
Of this stormy night
The song is in the wind again
The rain is on the roof
I hold this old guitar to heart
Tonight it tunes itself

Now each song is the last one
Encores are a gift
Where expectation grinds us
Surprises are a lift
Don't be shouting titles out
Sweet mystery unfurl
Don't be watching kettles now
Let spirit come to boil

Some of you live up the road
Some live worlds away
We all come from the broken drum
That is the world today
So enter in this house tonight
What longing brings you here
To know that we more clearly see
When looking through a tear

So tune the room to quiet now
No one say a thing
Join hands with the silence now
Until it starts to sing
To listen is to tend a wound
To let the judgments go
Songs you've never heard begin
To sound like songs you know

That's why we burn the candles
Why we dim the lights
And gather in the growing dark
Of this stormy night
The song is in the wind again
The rain is on the roof
I hold this old guitar to heart
And every song is proof

DL