Dirt Roads (1997)

According to Dirty Linen, the Folk Music “bible” of New England, Spencer Bohren’s DIRT ROADS is “…the most stunning Blues recording of the year!”

It is an unusually atmospheric set of music, paying tribute to a musical era before radio, television and the media informed the public taste. The title implies a period before pavement, before the automobile.

It was a time when music was a pure expression of the heart, soul, or the circumstances of life. The acoustic instrumentation of Spencer Bohren on guitar, slide and mandolin, backed by JAB Wilson on harmonica, is as comfortable as an old pair of boots. It’s soothing to the soul.

Included are traditional blues, spirituals and field hollers, along with several of Spencer’s “traditional originals,” inspired by back roads music from America’s past. DIRT ROADS became an instant favorite among Spencer Bohren fans worldwide.

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Travelin’

Spencer Bohren, BMI 1996

Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, too
If I spend my whole life travelin’
Maybe I’ll run into you

Last week, I looked in Memphis
And in Nashville, Tennessee
I’m leavin’ for Atlanta
Just to see what I can see

    - Chorus -

    Kansas City and Chicago
    Santa Fe and Baton Rouge
    Oh, yes, I will keep on movin’
    Hopin’ I’ll run into you

From Cheyenne down to Denver
Always lookin’ for a clue
Tucson, Arizona
Omaha and Waterloo

    - Chorus -

Yazoo Bottom Messaround

Spencer Bohren, BMI 1996 [Adapted From Traditional Sources]

Goin’ to Yazoo Bottom, goin’ to Margarite’s
You can mail a letter there, but I go for the eats

    - chorus -
    Oh, Mama! Papa’s got them Yazoo Bottom Blues
    Yes, Mama! Papa’s got them Yazoo Bottom Blues

She can bring you whiskey, or she can bring you tea
Anything she serves out there, it’s alright with me

    - chorus -

Might be pickin’ cotton, could be pullin weeds
When the sun gets hot you got to go to Margarite’s

    - chorus -

Goin’ down by the river, where the cotton grows
Margarite’s up early she’s been cookin’ up a show

    - chorus -

Goin’ Up the River

Spencer Bohren, BMI 1994

I’m goin’ up the river
Where the air is fresh and clean
I’m goin’ up the river
Where the air is fresh and clean
I’m goin’ back to Natchez
Prettiest place you ever seen

I left home that mornin’
Lord, I was walkin’ down the trace
I left home that mornin’
Walkin’ down the trace
Caught a ride to Mobile
Lord, I met the Devil in that place

When your Mama left me
I didn’t have no place to go
When your Mama left me
Son, I didn’t have no place to go
Wanderin’ ’round the country
Soon be knockin’ at your door

So I’m goin’ up the river
Where the air is fresh and clean
I’m goin’ up the river
Where the air is fresh and clean
I’m goin’ back to Natchez
Prettiest place I ever seen

Cry of the Blues

Spencer Bohren, BMI 1991

Last night I cried, I cried the Blues
(I was) Cryin’ for me, cryin’ for you
I cried for the sick, I cried for the lonely
I cried for the weak, and I cried for the hungry
I cried for the rich, I cried for the poor
And I cried for all the lonely people
Waitin’ outside the door

    - Refrain -

    The Cry of the Blues
    The Cry of the Blues

Listen . . . You’ll hear the Cry
Anyone can hear it. Open up your eyes
You’ll hear the cry of heartbreak, the cry of love
The cry of the hawk, the cry of the dove
The cry of the baby, the cry of the beast
They’re cryin’ in the West
They’re cryin’ in the East

    - Refrain -

    The Cry of the Blues . . .