Songs of West Virginia
TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS
(Cherry Lane Music Publishing, ASCAP)
Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze
Country roads, take me home to the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads.
All my memories gather round her
Miner's lady, stranger to blue water
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye.
Country roads, take me home to the place I belong.
West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads.
I hear her voice in the morning hour she calls me
The radio reminds me of my home far away
And driving down the road I get the feeling
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday
Country roads, take me home to the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads
Country roads, take me home to the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads.
WEST VIRGINIA CHOSE ME
Colleen Anderson
Someone's always leaving here
It's just that kind of place
It's just that kind of world today
You learn to live with loss
The grass is always greener there
Just on the other side
The air is always cleaner there
The sky is twice as wide
I'm not the type to argue, I won't say it isn't true
It's just the kind of place for passing through
Tom's in California now
And Jon's up north in Maine
Wil went down to Raleigh
Says he won't be back again
Annie's in Chicago
And she likes it by the lake
And even Katy crossed the border
Finally made her break
And if I had a dollar for every time I've said goodbye
There's nothing in this world I couldn't buy
CHORUS:
But a few of us are staying
And it's not a point of choice
It's not we who do the choosing
We are chosen by the place
And West Virginia chose me
Sure as my own mother knows me
If I leave you, West Virginia,
It don't matter where I roam
I don't know where I'm going
But I know I'm coming home
They say home is where the heart is
And I guess that's true enough
But the heart's a stubborn muscle
And there's no explaining love
I dream of higher mountains, and a cottage by the sea
But West Virginia won't let go of me
CHORUS
Calling My Name
(G. Michael Ross) copyright 2001
Driving down an old dirt road,
Echoes of the past I can see,
Thoughts of when I was young,
Takes me where I want to be,
(Chorus)
These old mountains keep calling my name
Like a river - after the rain
These old mountains keep calling my name
calling my name
calling my name
A West Virginia Moon hanging low,
Stars are shining in the sky,
Lighting up this lonely night,
Makes me want to get up and fly
(Chorus)
These old mountains keep calling my name
Like a river - after the rain
These old mountains keep calling my name
calling my name
(Bridge)
My homeplace that’s up on the hill
Memories are living there still
Living there still
People I loved are gone for now,
I can see their faces in my mind,
Laughing voices from the past,
I remember they were so kind
(Chorus)
These old mountains keep calling my name
Like a river - after the rain
These old mountains keep calling my name
Like a river - after the rain
These old mountains keep calling my name
calling my name
calling my name
I CAN'T EVER LEAVE
Jon Wikstrom ©2005 Ironic Juxtaposition Music (ASCAP)
The mountains wrap a foggy blanket ‘round their shoulders
Shiver in the early morning chill
Like the last departing guest
Nighttime slips off toward the west
And the new day dances on my windowsill
Mama yawns and goes to draw the shades up
Lets the sun spill in and fill her eyes
As the valley comes to life she pours a fresh cup
Smiles up at her slice of bright blue sky
CHORUS
The sun’s coming up in West Virginia
God’s fingers warm a hard green land
My chin in my hands
My heart on my sleeve
So far away but I can’t ever leave West Virginia
Years and many miles have come between us
But I picture what I’d see if I were there
Where a blue crackled vase
Overflows with Queen Anne’s lace
And dulcimers and fiddles fill the air
The misty veil she wears, rhododendrons in her hair
Hard and lovely as a flower made of stone
The further I go, the more she lets me know
That no place else will ever quite be home
CHORUS
The sun’s high above West Virginia
Drives all the shadows from the land
My chin in my hands
My heart on my sleeve
So far away but I can’t ever leave West Virginia
CHORUS
The sun’s going down in West Virginia
Tomorrow’s a new day on the land
My chin in my hands
My heart on my sleeve
So far away but I can’t ever leave West Virginia
A FIRM HANDSHAKE
D. W. HARPER – 9/23/01
GROWING UP HERE IN THE HILLS, I RARELY GAVE A THOUGHT
TO THE
KIND OF FOLKS THAT I WAS RAISED AMONG. IT WASN’T TILL I
VENTURED OUT INTO THIS CRAZY WORLD THAT I UNDERSTOOD
WHAT I HAD ALL ALONG.
MOUNTAINEERS ARE LOYAL TO THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILIES.
THERE’S
NOTHING WE WON’T DO, SHOULD THE NEED ARISE. WE’VE
ALWAYS STOOD TOGETHER THROUGH THE FLOODS, THE FIRES
AND WARS. HERE’S WHAT A STRANGER SHOULD EXPECT WHEN
WE FIND THEM AT OUR DOORS…
CHORUS 1:
A FIRM HANDSHAKE, A BIG HELLO, A READY SMILE THAT’S
GENUINE AND NOT FOR SHOW, A HEARTY WAVE OR A HELPING
HAND IF THEY’RE IN NEED AND REAL CONTAGIOUS HOSPITALITY.
PROUD AND SELF RELIANT, TEMPERED BY ADVERSITY, NOT
AFRAID TO DO THINGS THE HARD WAY. JUST A LITTLE
SUPERSTITIOUS ABOUT LIFE’S BIG MYSTERIES. FEARING GOD
AND NO ONE ELSE, WE FIERCELY GUARD OUR LIBERTY.
INSTRUMENTAL VERSE:
BRIDGE/VERSE: WHEN SPEAKING TO A MOUNTAINEER, YOU
SHOULD LOOK HIM IN THE EYE ‘CAUSE THAT’S THE WAY THAT
YOU’LL BE SPOKEN TO. YES MEANS YES AND NO MEANS NO.
NO NEED TO SECOND GUESS. BRAG ON MAMMA’S COOKIN’,
BUT DON’T MESS WITH SIS… YOU’LL LEAVE WITH YOUR TEETH
AND…
CHORUS 2: A FIRM HANDSHAKE… A CHERRY PIE… COME BACK
AND SEE US SOON AND A LONG GOOD-BYE… A HEARTY WAVE
OR A HELPING HAND IF YOU’RE IN NEED AND REAL
CONTAGIOUS HOSPITALITY.
REPEAT CHORUS 1:
WEST VIRGINIA GODS OWN WORK OF ART
Michael Wells
verse 1)
It's a West Virginia kind of morning
Paradise on Caney Creek
Thank God for the home i was born in
Mountaineers are always free
(chorus)
West Virginia your mountains sing to me
West Vriginia you're where i want to be
West Virginia beats the rythym of my heart
(verse 2)
Heaven must be down in West Virginia
In some hollow deep and cool
Mountains of green outside your window
Rising to a sky of blue
(repeat chorus)
(Ending)
West Virginia God own work of art
WEST VIRGINIA HILLS
Oh, the West Virginia hills! How majestic and how grand,
With their summits bathed in glory, Like our Prince Immanuel's
Land!
Is it any wonder then, That my heart with rapture thrills,
As I stand once more with loved ones On those West Virginia
hills?
(CHORUS)
Oh, the hills, beautiful hills, How I love those West Virginia hills!
If o'er sea o'er land I roam, Still I'll think of happy home,
And my friends among the West Virginia hills.
Oh, the West Virginia hills! Where my childhood hours were
passed,
Where I often wandered lonely, And the future tried to cast;
Many are our visions bright, Which the future ne'er fulfills;
But how sunny were my daydreams On those West Virginia hills!
CHORUS
Oh, the West Virginia hills! How unchang'd they seem to stand,
With their summits pointed skyward To the Great Almighty's
Land!
Many changes I can see, Which my heart with sadness fills;
But no changes can be noticed In those West Virginia hills.
CHORUS
Oh, the West Virginia hills! I must bid you now adieu.
In my home beyond the mountains I shall ever dream of you;
In the evening time of life, If my Father only wills,
I shall still behold the vision Of those West Virginia hills.
CHORUS
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