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California Widow

by The Porter Draw

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1.
Dirty Trade 03:43
Born on a mountain top Back in 1945 Never had no ma or pa to speak of It was hard just to stay alive Raised by a moonshinin', shit-kickin' son of a bitch Taught me how to fight and he taught me how to drink Born under the worst of bad signs Born under a starless sky Never knew no love or lover It was hard just to get me by Never no learnin', no schoolin', no readin' of books I never had brains and I sure as hell never had looks Chorus: Never had no chance at nothin' just a running my own still Thousand gallons a week turns into a whole lot of bills Never wanted to hurt no body and I never turned nobody blind All I ever wanted was to cook me up my sweet Virginia moonshine I found life in a dusty old still I found meaning in a dirty trade I found heaven in a heated coil I found Jesus in that blue flame Busthead, popskull, white lightening, mason jar Cook it up, ship it in a racing car
2.
La Pine 02:13
Guitar made in Kalamazoo and my mind wanders to you wondering when the next shoe will drop Mama please I’m on my knees catching rats to kill the fleas knowing when, not knot knowing how to stop I’ll tell you just what I’ve done if you tell me we’ll see the sun chase the moon, sleep here on the ground Wake up in the woods to find a perfect place at a perfect time in a stitch we could ditch this town I rolled into Tucumcar’ nothing doing, my pockets bare see what I could shake down at the bar One man took the way I look to be the stage for acts of rage knocked me down and he busted my guitar Now I’m not one to raise my fist but I struck next and I don’t miss stranger must just have drawn his knife For he’s face down in a pool of blood I knew my name had become mud hightailed it out just to save my very life Depending on just where I am I may be a wanted man that don’t change just what I said to you ‘Cause it smells fine here in La Pine and no one knows my rabbit holes let’s relax and do just like we do Guitar made in Kalamazoo and my mind wanders to you wondering when the next shoe will drop Mama please I’m on my knees catching rats to kill the fleas knowing when, not knot knowing how to stop
3.
Athens 04:47
You told everything would be better out of Athens, so I quit my job and hitch hiked half the way. We met up in Seattle but our dreams turned in to ashes, sorry things ended up that way. Now the rolling hills and badlands, and golden plains of Kansas seem to ease my mind cause I'd have liked to stayed But the sun sinks down behind me and with the city lights that I see, now I understand that there was no other way. And I'm leaving you this number, and it's seven fifty, Mountain Standard Time. Cause I just pulled into Denver on a train they call the Zephyr. I'll be here four an hour the bus loads up at nine. The memories and music that we made inside our bedroom keep playin like a rerun after dark. And words you whispered softly on our downtown rooftop balcony send a shiver when think of what it cost. And after seventeen long months of drinking our self-loathing, seemed the best thing left to do was run away And the dream of sewing patches on our faded denim courtship has left me tattered and feeling rather frayed Cause I'm leaving you this number, and its 6 p.m. here central standard time Cause I just pulled in from Tulsa on a greyhound bound for Georgia I'll be here for an hour, This is my last dime. The Mississippi's wide and the Chattahoochee's muddy, and I'm starting to believe that I am home. But I still miss you desperately and want you to be next to me but I still can't seem to reach you on the phone With the road out in the distance and the painful hour of patience gets me wishin I was lying in your bed But the chirping of the crickets and the smell of Diesel engines keeps me focused on going home instead And I can't leave you any number and it's one A.M. there Pacific Standard time Cause I just hitchhiked to Athens and all the way from east Atlanta I think now I am over- you this is my last time.
4.
Davey 03:19
My sister’s first born, he was a cowboy a horseman, he was quick at the draw He insisted that he come with me could be dangerous on so long a haul It was June, we left Pueblo headed down Odessa way Robbed a store in Alamosa both happy to make a payday Hightailed it down the Rio Grande in Santa Fe we stopped for the night Out came the cards, out came the whiskey for gamblers and rounders alike You know Davey, he’s a lucky one and round and round the aces came Another man, he got saltly and my deal may have been to blame Man across, he pulled a pistol I shot him down with his cards in his hands Shot two more, he grabbed the money and out the backdoor we ran As time goes on we hope our offspring prove better men than the men that come before As a man, as an outlaw Davey was better than I could ignore He thought first to grab the money shot me dead by the side of the road Made it down to Mexicali He’s living now with that lot of bloody gold
5.
One Day 02:39
One day when we're all gone, I am gonna find out Mama and papa, glory in eternity I believe I don't think he died for me God knows I tried my best, I just couldn't be tamed No harm was meant, I guess; I'll shoulder all the blame Brother and sister never grew up to see me I believe in Jesus, I don't think he died for me Fever has taken hold, I don't have long for this world Oh Lord please take my soul, I'm ring and I can't be cured Standing on the threshold I know what it means to believe Staring at my Jesus I know what it means to be free
6.
White Lines 03:50
When my memory fades to her sad weary face it takes all my strength to keep myself from crying But somehow she'll understand that I had to be a man, that's why I took a job and started driving. But the factory closed down, and so did half the town and the bill collectors called me every payday And the housing market sucks and I'm stuck here in this truck, watching as the world passes by me And it keeps me away from my home, Someday I know I'll settle down, never more to roam And she keeps calling out my name, she says I'll never find it here on the lost highway Now the nights are so long and the miles pass along as I think about the home that I am missing On the radio I hear a voice singing clear, bout the woman left behind he should be kissing But the truck stops up ahead, and the speed traps further yet, and the diesel prices just keep getting higher So I'll pull off to the side, cus I'm going out my mind, trying not to die of my desire And it keeps me away from my home, Someday I know I'll settle down, never more to roam And she keeps calling out my name, she says I'll never find it here on the lost highway All the time that I once had, that I'm sure I took for granted, run together like the highways double line And the last words that she said, they echo through my head like the distant vision of an exit sign Through the desert and the rain, through the heartbreak and the pain, this road gets longer every day. Hitching up in El Paso, Driving through New Mexico, let the river guide me up to Santa Fe. And it keeps me away from my home, Someday I know I'll settle down, never more to roam And she keeps calling out my name, she says I'll never find it here on the lost highway And it keeps me away from my home I know this time I'll settle down never more to roam And she keeps begging me to stay, this time I may just find myself on the lost highway.
7.
Myra Joyce 03:12
They did dress you up in ribbons and bows carried you in swaddling clothes along the rug outside your home there, the Salmon river Point me out the tea, the kettle right along the rose, the nettle very fine never been better, here the Salmon river They did dress you up in ribbons and bows ferried you in your mother’s clothes counting fingers, counting toes out along the water We all woke up to find you there brandy eyes, corn husk hair a picture of a woman so fair They did dress you up in ribbons and bows married you in fancy clothes like a female calico you blended in the nighttime There we sat, cloth on the table talking ‘bout no one was able to imagine death a child’s fable glaring in the moonlight They did dress you up in ribbons and bows buried you in Sunday clothes no on knowing where to go along the Salmon river
8.
Goin' Home 03:46
See me walking quickly down the side of the road Thumb in the air, I'm going home Home is always where I want to be Hopped a train in Tulsa bound for Oklahoma city The girls in Texarkana sure as hell were pretty I stayed for one dance then I was on my way Going home, going home To the only place I know And I can feel the years between us sting Going home, going home Where I'll never be alone Theres something here that makes me want to sing So many dusty roads that I can't count The dirt on my face and the sweat on my brow You can tell another by that look on their face Lost myself in bottles upwards of seven of years Lost myself in middle-America's tears She ain't coming back and neither am I No, I'm going home, going home To the only place I know Blackened by the years I've been away Going home, going home Will I always ride alone? There's nothing here that makes me want to stay Philadelphia's cold and New York's full of shit You can't catch a ride there, you're gonna get hit I hate that game and the southwest is calling my name I want to see the mountains and where I belong I want to see the trees and step out of the smog Don't want to be alone but I want to be my own man So I'm going home, going home To the only place I know I know this is where I belong Going home It was you that I needed all along
9.
Six by Nine 05:54
It's been seventeen months since I got here today. But it feels like forever do you feel the same way. Oh ma , it's so bad, I hurt so deep inside. The pain in my heart, so bad I could die. Well I heard bout your cancer, how it came back last June wish I see you, and take care of you too But the guards and the bars , they just won't let me free I have to pray for your health , like you pray for me And I said Mama please don't cry, Since they've sentenced me to die. You know, it feels like hell When I touch both the walls of my six my nine cell. Well Susie stopped written me seven months back Heard she was sober and quit smoking crack She got tired of waitin on appeals and parole And got her a job at the grocery store Well she used to send letters of perfume and remorse Now her lawyer sends papers for a jailhouse divorce But I still keep her picture one the cinder block wall It keeps me from crying and loosing it all And please tell Susie dear goodbye Since they sentenced me to die You know I wish her well When I touch both the walls in my six by nine cell Well the pills from the doctor, they don't do a thing And the phone from the governor still doesn't ring Well you know that I'm sorry for the things I've done wrong Now it's heaven or hell, to one I'll belong And they'll strap me down tight to the table with care And they'll shove in the needle where they shaved off my hair And they'll wait till the clock shows twelve o'clock and one And they'll throw all the switches that get the job done. And I say mother please don't cry I've been sentenced and have died I'm free so, for now farewell Cause I won't be caged up in a six by nine cell Till you come or to greet me, In heaven I'll dwell When I spread out my wings and fly from this hell
10.
Baby please don't leave there's something I gotta ask Before you walk right out that door, are you ever coming back? If you leave for a little while my heart will surely break If you're gone forever then that's more than I could take Before you go, I want to see your eyes again Before you go, I have to know Before you go, I want to hear those words be said Before you go, I have to know I remember how we danced on the night that we first met I remember waking to your kiss and your breath upon my neck If all your love is lost don't leave me hanging on If it's over and it's my fault please let me move on

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Thanks to our friends, family and fans for their continued support.

credits

released December 13, 2011

Cover by: Jessia Billey
Band photo: Wes Naman

Recorded at Frogville Studios Santa Fe NM
Produced by The Porter Draw
Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by Bill Palmer

The Porter Draw is:
Ben Wood - Banjo
Russell James Pyle - Guitar, Voice
Joshua Gingerich - Guitars, Harmonica, Voice
Dandee Fleming - Bass
Joey Gonzales - Drums, Percussion

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The Porter Draw Albuquerque, New Mexico

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