Spanish Fandango
Music: Traditional

“Grandma didn’t much like it when Daddy
would come to visit after the divorce. Sometimes we’d sneak off down to Red Ashe Creek to meet him. He’d bring is guitar and play for us. I remember the one we liked best was Spanish Fandango.”

Grandma Mary Lou & Me
Music: Maggie Longmire
Words: Maggie Longmire & John Longmire

Mama divorced Daddy
right after World War I
They said the families were to blame
I don’t know I was too young
We sure did miss our daddy
no matter what they said
He played songs for us on his guitar
from poems in his head

Mama moved to Louisville
where there was more to see
Grandma kept me and Mary Lou
with her in Tennessee
And we knew she loved us more
than anybody could
But we longed to hear
our daddy singing in those cedar woods

You see my mama and my daddy
were just kids when we were born
They just weren’t ready for a family
But the good Lord was watchin’ out
for us all the time
Sent Grandma to Mary Lou and me
Sent that angel down to
Mary Lou and me

The first woman in the county
yeah my grandma learned to drive
There wasn’t much she couldn’t do
wasn’t much she wouldn’t try
Seems like Grandma jumped right in
no matter what there was to do
Lovin’ Grandpa drivin’
raisin’ me and Mary Lou

Grandma cranked her Model T
until she’d get it goin’
She’d heat some bricks
on that old wood stove
and make biscuits every mornin’
The bricks went in the floor boards
where our little feet would ride
headed down that rutted road to school
feelin’ loved inside

Later Mama got a new man
and I got sent away
Scarlet Fever hit that boardin’ school
we were quarantined to stay
But Grandma got into her Ford
and made that trip alone
She said I’m takin’ that sick baby
pack her up we’re goin’ home

L&N Lullabye
Music: Maggie Longmire
Words: John Longmire

I used to go to sleep at night
to a locomotive’s whine
It was the music of the rails
On a ridge above our town
lay the railroad track
Footsteps on the cinders
a hobo with his pack
We counted cars as they went by
put pennies on the track
Picked up stubs of burnt out flares
By day it was our playground
and oh how the time would fly
Each night a composition
The L&N lullabye

Did you ever walk the tracks
You know the reason why
Been wakened in the night
to the lullabye?
Hear that rock a bye son
Hear the locomotive go
Rock a bye those coal cars
all the way to Jellico
Rock a bye those coal cars
all the way to Jellico

Through the open windows
came the sounds of that old train
Far away a whistle cries
Hobos riding boxcars
the Wabash Cannonball
I’d lie there in the darkness
with my movies on the wall

Now I grew up with that old train
I’d wave when it rolled by
At night it soothed my soul
Half awake and half asleep
the symphony began
Wakened by the whistle
then I’d fall asleep again

Coal Creek Blues
Music: Maggie Longmire
Words: Maggie Longmire & John Longmire

It’s a cold gray morning
in the winter of ’33
Wind shakes my rafters
And this old cough won’t let me be
I can’t get out of this bed
Too much pain in my head
My wife and my girls
been gone too long

I’ve got them Coal Creek Blues again
I’ve got them Coal Creek Blues again
Black in my lungs and cold in my bones
them mean old Coal Creek Blues

Walked passed your momma’s
Went on down into the hole
Feel the damp its crawlin’
The dark it hides that seam of coal
Mem’ries of my girls help me survive
That’s all that’s keepin’ me alive
Like my carbide lamp that’s flickerin’
I keep holdin’ on

Too tired for sleepin’
I’ll lay here and think of you
Take the blame for your leavin’
Just like I always do
Had no right in asking you to stay
I know I shoulda followed you that day
You know you are the only one
This old heart is longin’ for

Baby Sister
Music: Maggie Longmire
Words: Maggie Longmire & John Longmire

Grandpa took us down to the station
said his boy was comin’ home
Daddy stepped onto the platform
but he was not alone
Grandpa said the baby was my sister
the woman was my daddy’s wife
That day down there at the station
I’ll remember all my life
How could she be my sister
if her mama is not mine
My young mind struggles
to unravel this talk about bloodline
The woman’s name was Lola
she was well known for her charms
They said no man could resist her
once she held him in her arms
My Uncle Will had a wedding picture
he showed me the photograph
Said the best man was a 12 gauge
and everybody laughed
There was a prayer that
I prayed every evening
I hoped that God would hear
and make come true
I would pray that my mama and my daddy
would start their lives brand new
If mama’s folks could forgive my daddy
try to open up their lovin’ arms to him
God could we make room for baby
sister so our hearts can let her in
Lola and my daddy’s life together
well it didn’t last too long
Maybe knowin’ she wasn’t wanted
was why she grew up fast and strong
Grandpa took us down to the station
said his boy was comin’ home
Daddy stepped onto the platform
but he was not alone

Old Tipple Road
Music: Maggie Longmire
Words: John Longmire

She lived on the mine road
And she was a beauty
She’d wave from the porch
When the coal trains rolled by
She was only sixteen
Adored by her daddy
And I would give anything
To make her mine

The road to the tipple
Was muddy and narrow
There was a small clearing
At a bend in the road
There she was waitin’
The sun in her hair
I told her I loved her
She said she’d be mine

If she was mine
We’d fly like hawks in the evening
If she was mine
We would run like the wind
If she was mine
We’d make love in the twilight
Down by the fishin’ pond
On the old Tipple Road

I went to her daddy
To ask his permission
Said she deserved better
Than a poor boy like me
I begged and I pleaded
until her daddy took pity
He saw that I loved her
As much as he

Now that she’s mine
We’ll fly like hawks in the evening
Now that she s mine
We’re the wind in the trees
Now that she’s mine
We’ll make love in the twilight
Down by the fishin’ pond
On the old Tipple Road

Cove Lake Moon
Words & Music: Maggie Longmire

Saturday morning Mama’s in the yard
She’s been hanging clothes
out on the clothesline
Daddy’s been mowing he’s ‘bout half done
sittin’ on the porch thinkin’
‘bout fishin’ in the sunshine
There’s a Cove Lake Picnic
gonna jump and shout
Eat fried chicken ‘til my belly sticks out
Everyone in town’s
gonna come on down
Dance to the light of the moon

Dance to the light of the moon
Dance to the light of the moon
That big old Cove Lake Moon
Dance to the light of the moon

Here comes the young preacher
with his brand new wife
He’ll eat for the week
They say she’s a stranger to the kitchen
But the women of the church’ll
take care of him
She’s charmed that preacher
but not by cookin’ or stitchin’
When they’ve made their rounds
and they’re feelin’ alright
He’ll take her in his arms
to the towns delight
And we’ll see ‘em dance
to the light of the moon

Tomorrow mornin’ no matter the weather
The preacher’s gonna gather us all together
by the shoreline
We’re gonna Baptize Percy Lord have mercy
We’ll all sing together and
we’ll be callin’ on the Divine
Well he’ll be shakin’ and turnin’ blue
That head dunkin’ll do that to you
I’ll be watching from up in a tree
It’ll change your life but
it’s scary to me

Campbell County Girl
Music: Maggie Longmire
Words: Maggie Longmire & John Longmire

I said Grandma I’m set on being a nurse
When you asked what I wanted to be
You smiled and you opened
your little black purse
You’d saved up some money for me
Darlin’ it sounds like
you’ve made up your mind
You must do what your heart tells you to
So I packed up my trunk
caught the first Knoxville train
Gonna go to Nursin’ School
Gonna go to Nursin’ School

I ‘m a Campbell County girl
just a Campbell County girl
Grandma saw me thru this far
so I could see the world

Now I’m catching the trolley
most Saturdays over on Clinch Avenue
All the girls from Fort Sanders
are headed uptown there’s a
matinee playin’ that’s new
There’s a big movie house
that sits up there on Gay St
looks like a palace to me
Mary Pickford is playing in
Coquette today at the brand new Tennessee

Now dear Mary Lou has fallen in love
But it’s a secret romance
He’s rich and he’s older and
he’s crazy for her he’s not free
so they don’t stand a chance
But they’re made for each other
it’s easy to tell
And it’s breakin’ her poor heart in two
‘Cause it surely seems
that the man of her dreams
is part of another’s dream too

Hey Grandma it’s me
I’ve met a nice family
What you would call well to do
And they’re takin’ a trip to Paris this year
And they’ve asked me to go with them too
And they live in a mansion
out on Kingston Pike
and they’re buyin’ a ticket for me
Oh can you believe it
It’s a dream come true
I’m really goin’ it’s because of you

April 11 1955+
Interviewer John Longmire

Excerpt of April 2003 interview with John P Van Huss of La Follette TN He sets up the story of the violence perpetrated upon him and his miners by the infamous “Jones Boys” at his mine in Ivydell in Campbell County TN

Me & The Jones Boys+
Music: Maggie Longmire
Lyrics: John P Van Huss & John Longmire
& Maggie Longmire

A light steady rain was fallin’
that morning at the mine
Easter Sunday was just yesterday
Talk was strong that morning
The Jones Boys were comin’
For a non union mine
There’d be hell to pay
Jones Boys was the name
the Union thugs used on their raids
To hide their identity
The L&N was on strike
union mines shut down last night
Oh could they be coming for me

I went on home got my old 45
Put it down in my coat
I didn’t want anyone to be harmed
It was the first time that I ever
carried a pistol with the intent
of being armed
I went back into the mine
took a sprag for the wheel
Put a coal car back on the road
We ran a string of ponies
named Trigger and Tony
They’d run in the mines with a load

The Klan wore hoods
and they rode in the night
But The Jones Boys
came in the broad daylight
And if they were comin’
we’d be outnumbered twenty to one

That mornin’ we drove outta the mine
I stepped off the car
And I got hit by somebody I didn’t see
They threw me down into a hole
covered me with dirt
and with every shovel full
it got harder to breathe
The leader said Preacher you gonna pray
for this SOB
He said hell no I got nothing to say
I was taunted I was beaten
I was buried alive
I remember it like yesterday

A man can’t bow down to a mob you see
You gotta stand up if you wanna be free
If you don’t stand up you’ll be payin’
all of your days

What was on old John L’s mind
Terrorize your own kind
Just for running a little truck mine
A hundred men were in that mob
Left me beat up bloodied and robbed
If it weren’t for Pascal I woulda been killed
The truth was denied
in that Union courtroom
A not guilty verdict come back too soon
But the good Lord let me
outlive ‘em all

Violence is blind superstition can’t hear
It wasn’t me but my freedom they feared
The freedom to dig a livin’
outta that hole in the hill

Harlow Hips
Music: Maggie Longmire
Words: Maggie Longmire & John Longmire

She called everybody darlin’
Drank her whiskey on the rocks
When she started tellin’ her stories
You would forget about the clock
She’d hold court at your table
She’d keep you mesmerized
She’d wet her lips and light her cigarette
You’d get lost in her eyes

She had ruby lips and Harlow hips
She’d had her back to the wall
When push came to shove
She’d take off her gloves
The wall would take the fall

She was a green eyed beauty
with auburn hair
And a way that would drive men wild
And she just loved to
spread their money around
She’d do it with such style
She was keepin’ score you know
Honey that’s how she survived
You really didn’t mind the payback cause
She made you feel so alive

Nell
Words & Music; Maggie Longmire

Nell played the ukulele and
she’d dance around the floor
With a little bit of encouragement
she’d dance a little more
Her dress hung well below her knees
her hair was curled up tight
She drove an old Nash Rambler
yes Nell was quite a sight

She played Little Brown Jug and Jimmy
Crack Corn and My Darlin’ Clementine
She let me play her ukulele once
but she made me give her a dime
She talked real loud stood out in a crowd
with Nell you always knew
Between her mouth and that old car
she could never sneak up on you

Another thing I can recall about
my sweet Aunt Nell
She was crazy ’bout going fishing;
the fish in Cove Lake knew her well
I’m sure they heard her comin’
and she fished ‘bout every day
Said her favorite thing about getting old
was no fishing license to pay

Nell played the ukulele and
she’d dance around the floor
With a little bit of encouragement
she’d dance a little more
Her dress hung well below her knees
And her hair was curled up tight
She drove an old Nash Rambler
yes Nell was quite a sight
Yeah she drove her old Nash Rambler
and Nell was quite a sight

Ballad of Dory Ann+
Music: Maggie Longmire
Words: Maggie Longmire & John Longmire

Now she ran a mine in Huntsville
one in Royal Blue
Don’t try and stand against her
you’ll bite off more than you can chew
The UMW tried to steal
Southern Labor Union’s prize
Dory’s number 2 Black Jewel
they aimed to unionize

She was goin’ down the mountain when the
shots rang through the night
She cut her lights and drove on down
by the pale moon light
The bullets hit her window hell
they’re shootin’ from the ridge
That blast lit up the mountain just as
Dory crossed the bridge

Minin’ coal was in her blood
love and money on her mind
Savvy and good looking
Dory loved to be wined and dined
She could put you in a trance
she could put you in a bind

They blew that coal shovel off the ridge
blew up the tipple too
Dory said you’ll pay for this ‘cause
I’ll go to court and sue
The bailiff held the Bible and
Dory raised up her right hand
Your honor the boys heard ‘em
down in Turley makin’ up the plan
makin’ up the plan

See the UMW lost the vote
my miners drew the line
Then the union boys
brought out the dynamite
to blow up what was mine
The Judge said I’ve heard enough
it’s conspiracy to terrorize
Dory Ann you sued for six
I’m gonna give you five

Key by the Gate
Words & Music By Maggie Longmire

Honey do you remember
it was not long ago
The stars in the sky were like diamonds
the ground covered with snow
I promised to love you forever
and you promised too
It’s been a whole lifetime
but darlin’ it still feels brand new

When we’re dancin’
I’m on the wings of the dove
And I feel God’s blessing
right here in your sweet love
And the blue in the heavens
and your eyes are the same
And you sound like an angel to me
when you’re callin’ my name

There’s no disrespect that I’m meanin’
but heaven can wait
I’ll ask St. Peter to leave
a key out by the gate
I’m not ungrateful
It’s an honor to visit God’s home
But I just hate the thought dear
of leavin’ you here all alone

I know there’s no choice dear
when it’s my time to go
I’ll take the memory with me
of that day in the snow
I promised to love you forever
and darlin’ I do
I’ll get the key from St. Peter and
I’ll be waiting for you