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Traveling Wildfire

by Dom Flemons

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    Standard weight and standard color double vinyl LP in gatefold jacket with liner notes insert. [note: the photo is a mock-up image]

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1.
I wanna pull you close And slow dance with you Darlin’, I ain’t the perfect man But I see the sun’s coming up And you’re lovely wrapped in dawn Darlin’, take my hand Take your time No rush We’ve got the band all night Forget the world It's just you and I Ain’t got no expectations Got no questions to ask Darlin’, take that fear from your eyes Chorus Instrumental I know you miss someone I’m missing someone too But it ain’t about them tonight It's about two lost hearts And a bucket full of tears That’s being left outside tonight Chorus
2.
Dark Beauty 03:22
Dark Beauty With your doe-like eyes And a crinkle of hair Fading lonely across your brow All across the mesa Dust is sticking to my skin But I ride with the dreams of seeing my home again Dark Beauty Sunset sinking over the range Gonna grab my pastorale And ride the trail to you again Dark Beauty A cold solemn tone Riding on past the mission bells On the wore out dusty road Chorus And you say, “Can’t it wait until tomorrow? For it’s you, who can take away this sorrow…” Instrumental Brown eyes shining You’re the spirit I always knew That would whistle me a melody That would bring me back to you Dark Beauty I’d ride from Eagle Pass to Rowe For you to see my returning With you standing in our home
3.
I tore down the wall That showed me the way To a dream that I once knew As I ride through the ruins of my old home place I have finally made it On back to you My hands are tired From knocking on your door Though I can see you clearly Through the open windowpane Tell me now, little one As I stand at your door Tell me forever That you love you me no more For I’ve come back again To take my picture off the wall For if you truly love me Let my heart go free Did you know that I gave away two weeks’ pay Just to be here next to you? Did you ever consider That one look in your eyes Could have repaid every debt you were due? There’s a storm in the distance Can’t you see the clouds? I have a long journey And its looks like rain Tell me now, little one As I stand at your door Tell me forever That you love you me no more For I’ve come back again But be rest assured That if you truly love me Let my heart go free It’s a twisted mile From the skyline to the sea And I ask you To let my heart go free Lullaby, Lullaby A target on my back A mirror of all you survey You made me mourn your name But now my money’s my own My decision it was Thoughtfully weighed A garden once stood In the place where we stand So I will leave you with this final refrain Tell me now, little one As I stand at your door Tell me forever That you love you me no more For I’ve come back again Get your eyes up off the floor Cause if you truly love me Let my heart go free I’ve come back again Get your eyes off the floor Cause I don’t give a damn If you don’t love me anymore
4.
There’s a traveling wildfire Sprawling like an endless gravel road You can see it tearing up the mountainside It goes where it wants to go And my eyes cry looking at the flames Orange to yellow burning to white There’s a traveling wildfire Blazing into the valley tonight There’s a dark moon in the valley Covered in clouds made of clay And the wind’s rolling scolding voice Will make the Mississippi change its way And I can hear a simple moaning A lonesome tune to cry For there's a dark moon in the valley Rising high up Rising high Instrumental The dark moon is beaming Like a flicker of candlelight And when you think the night is over Folks remind you that times are getting tight But there are too many voices To get us out of the maze And the dark moon is beaming As a final melody is being played And I spend my time Looking for a place soft and warm Oh my love, my love How did we end up in the eye of the storm?
5.
What happened to my home? It broke up and blowed away Just like the leaves in the fall Before the winter comes It's cold inside But it's better than being left out in the snow Lead me to your fire Before its time for me go Did you ever have a dream That you thought would never die? Did you know it would haunt you When you put a bullet between its eyes? It's cold inside There are pictures on the wall And they seem to say, “It’s better to have dreamed and lost Than to have never dreamed at all” Bitter cold is the morning Holding hands with the night Brain is burning with memories of half-remembered dreams It's cold inside There's a bird singing a song And it seems to remind me That no matter where I go I just don't belong Instrumental I need some reassurance As I’m stumbling down the foggy road All these notes and well wishes are fine but they're too late to help me now It's cold inside I'll take the notes and read them real slow And then I’ll build a fire That should keep me from the cold
6.
Chorus Fight on, fight on, children, and don't turn back We are almost down to the shore Peter, Peter, out on the sea, Drop your nets and follow me We are almost down to the shore Moses died in the days of old Where he was buried, ain’t never been told We are almost down to the shore Chorus Instrumental God called Moses on the mountain top Praise the Lord, said Moses' heart We are almost down to the shore His commandments in Moses' mind, Said Moses, “Gonna leave my children behind” We are almost down to the shore Chorus Instrumental
7.
Great, Great, Granddaddy was a runaway slave Noose around his neck, if he be found Great, Great Granddaddy rode for Pony Express But nobody wrote it down Great Granddaddy was a Buffalo Soldier In the Platte River, he almost drown Took an arrow through his left shoulder But nobody wrote it down Nobody wrote it down In the history books, it can’t be found Nobody wrote it down (2x) My Granddaddy on a cattle drive Up to Montana from Abilene town Shot two rustlers to stay alive But nobody wrote it down Nobody wrote it down In the old dime novels it can’t be found Nobody wrote it down (3x) In the history books it can’t be found Nobody wrote it down (2x) Instrumental Daddy’s brother was a railroad porter The boiler blew and the fire all around Saved a woman as the fire shot toward her But nobody wrote it down Nobody wrote it down In the movie scripts it’s seldom found Nobody wrote it down (2x) Great, Great Granddaddy rode for Pony Express Great Granddaddy was a Buffalo Soldier My Granddaddy on a cattle drive Daddy’s brother was a railroad porter In the history books it's seldom found Nobody wrote it down
8.
Tell me where you come from now? Tell me where you come from now? I’m from far out in the country I’m from far out in the country How you get your livin’ done? On my rack and pony What’s your horses livin’ on? I give them corn and water Instrumental Down the road I got arrested Police took me to the jailhouse (What’d they do?) Brought me before a cruel old judge That judge give me a heavy sentence (Then what’d I say to him) “Judge, you know I ain’t never been here before” (What’d he say to me) “Give you six months you ain’t comin’ back no more” Now the judge he was so cruel to me And he would not let me go Now I’m just sittin’ here in the jail Thinking back on the country They pick it like that… Here another train on the track… Go something like this… Sometimes that train be going off the track though… Go like this… Tell me where you come from now? Tell me where you come from now?
9.
You know your low-down rider Done packed up all his things and gone He saw the Big Money Blues coming Got his watch out of pawn You can wear a blood diamond A long gold chain or a crown But you got the Big Money Blues I see your ship’s going down Chorus I heard the news I heard the news That the bank is going to break We got the Big Money Blues So how much more can you take? (Instrumental) Oh play it six! Now the temperature’s rising I got to throw my trunk outdoors I got the Big Money Blues Can’t live in my house no more I got my radio blasting I got to get my ear real close We got Big Money Blues Long time before it goes Chorus Instrumental
10.
I went back down Went back down That old desert road There was a broken billboard on the right The past was gone And the world had moved on And I had to get back before it was night I had a bad bad feeling That the word was getting around That mahogany bird Had chirped a dirty word And now they’ve got to clear out the whole town I knew it was another rodeo When she took the rhinestones and gold That were simply Laid out on a silver plate Chorus Speeding down Speeding down that old desert road I saw a woman with her arms outstretched in my dreams Though she beckoned me toward her She wore a shimmering scarlet dress And I woke up not knowing what that premonition means But I had a bad bad feeling That the water level was runnin’ low And if you give in to fear, you’ll stall So that no matter where you crawl It’ll haunt you wherever you go The next night she took me to the hill county Where a march was being played But a soldier grabbed me by the hand And said, “My friend, you cannot stay” Instrumental Chorus I keep my ridin’ on And I ain’t gonna stop on account of one fool little bird Who never really Ever sang my song But I had a bad bad feeling She’d get me thrown off the trail Now folks, I ain’t never dropped I’ll keep on No need for you to collect my bail It was just some Hollywood story And now I’m holding the fuse Ain’t that fine This life of mine It's the one that I got to choose
11.
12.
Tough Luck 02:11
Every man gets in tough luck sometime Every man gets in tough luck sometime Oh, but I’ll be lucky some old day If I lose, let me lose, I don’t care If I lose, let me lose, I don’t care Oh, but I’ll be lucky some old day Well, I ain’t got a nickel or a dime Well, I ain’t got a nickel or a dime Oh, but I’ll be lucky some old day Instrumental I’ll be laughing when the sun goes down I’ll be laughing when the sun goes down Oh, but I’ll be lucky some old day Take your time, I am weary, take your time Take your time, I am weary, take your time Oh, but I’ll be lucky some old day Instrumental
13.
Song to JCB 03:58
Oh, listen to my story And I’ll tell you ’bout my friend Plays the best harmonica And I’ll love him to the end He’s traveled all the highways From New York to Vancouver Bay Born in a Georgia shack And he’s in San Francisco today So listen to what I say Chorus Who’s that man Singing that song? Who’s that man Singing that song? Who’s that man? Tell me who’s that man? I think it’s JC and everybody sing along Well, JC sittin’ out there On Grant Street Ain’t got much money And he ain’t got much to eat Well, all you rich people Passing by his feet You make JC so sad sometimes That he don’t know how to sleep Ah, he don’t know how to sleep Chorus I remember them lonely nights We’d sit and hear JC play Bruce and me and Godfrey All crouched in some doorway Laughing and a-cryin’ And stomping our feet Til the landlord said, “Move on! Get out! My children are asleep!” I said, “My children are asleep!” Chorus Instrumental Well, J.C. said one night I’m gonna tell you ’bout my shoes They walked with Pete Seeger and Sonny Terry too Tryin’ to earn a livin’ and tryin’ to play the blues Them souls are getting thin now and I guess mine is too Oh, look in his eyes, friend Look at his hands Seen a lot of livin’ and touched a lot of land And if you don’t believe he’s breathing and alive Then you better watch yourself When he’s doing the “Old Hand Jive” Watch J.C. doing the “Old Hand Jive” Who’s blowing them blues? Tell me brother Who’s blowing them blues? Tell me sister Who’s blowing them blues? It’s the man you all abuse I think it’s J.C. On his old harmonica
14.
Well, I ain’t got my childhood Or friends I once did know I ain’t got my childhood Or friends I once did know But I still got my voice left And I carry it anywhere I go Hey, hey, I guess I’m doing fine And I ain’t never had much money But I still get around somehow No I ain’t never had much money But I still get around somehow Many times I have bended But I ain’t never yet bowed So hey, hey, I guess I’m doing fine Hey, it’s trouble, yes it’s trouble Trouble on my mind Trouble oh it’s trouble Trouble on my mind But all the trouble in this world, Lord Is much bigger than mine But hey, hey, I’m guess I’m doing fine And I never had no army To jump at my command No, I ain’t never had no army To jump at my command But I don’t need no army As long as I’ve got one good friend So hey, hey, I guess I’m doing fine I’ve been kicked and whipped I’ve been trampled on I’ve been shot at just like you I’ve been kicked and whipped I’ve trampled on I’ve been shot at just like you But as long as the world keeps a-turning I keep a-turnin’ too So hey, hey, I guess I’m doing fine Well, my road might be rocky The stones might cut my face My road it might be rocky The stones might cut my face But as some folks ain’t got no road at all They just gotta stand in the same old place Hey, hey, so I guess I’m doing fine Instrumental I fooled myself into thinking That I was moving along too slow I fooled myself into thinking That I was moving along too slow Stood between the burning sun And the drizzlin’ snow With a thousand miles to go And if you were to ask me What’s really on my mind If you were to ask me What’s really on my mind I can see a new world is a-comin’ And I won’t be left behind So hey, hey, I guess I’m doing fine
15.

about

Dom Flemons has built a reputation on presenting 100 years of American roots music, but now, with Traveling Wildfire, his own songwriting prowess comes into the spotlight. Carefully selected from his personal repertoire, these original songs reveal his love of country, western, blues, Americana, bluegrass and folk music as they tell of true love, family legacy, survival, time travel, and the juxtaposition between light and dark. Traveling Wildfire weaves through the themes of hope and humor as it rises above the hard times with strength and lightheartedness.

credits

released March 24, 2023

Produced by Ted Hutt
Engineered by Ryan Hall
Recorded at Kingsize Soundlabs in Los Angeles
Mixed by: Ted Hutt & Ryan Mall at Kingsize Soundlabs
Mastered by Dave Cooley
Album curated and compiled by Dom Flemons and Vania Kinard
Essay and liner notes by Dom Flemons and Vania Kinard
Collages created by Sylvia Marina Martinez, SylviaMarinaMartinez.com
Photos by Rory Doyle, Shervin Lainez, Timothy Duffy, Jonathan McHugh
Management: Jeff DeLia of 72 Music Management
Executive producers: Daniel E. Sheehy, John Smith
Production manager: Mary Monseur
Production assistant: Kate Harrington
Editorial assistance by James Deutsch
Art direction, design, and layout by Caroline Gut

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Dom Flemons Chicago, Illinois

The American Songster, Multi-Instrumentalist, Singer-Songwriter, Music Historian, Record Collector

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