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Grandfather Pine

from Wildcat Chuck Charles by Charles Ellsworth

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about

This song took me about four years to finish writing. I had the riff in my head for the longest time, but couldn't figure out how I wanted the arrangement to go. After jamming it out a bit with a drummer friend of mine I realized it needed a solid/jazzy type beat. Going over the song with my friend Kevin Schultz we decided there were some really cool string arrangement possibilities. A lot of the lyrics ended up being re-written in the studio in order to fit the song with the new arrangements. What started out as a kind of chaotic idea for a song ended up being one of my favorites to date.

lyrics

Grandfather Pine are you still spending all your nights,
drinking in the darkness down below.
Is it, still bittersweet with all those women that you meet?
You get what you want and get the hell out?
Do they cry, when your gone?
Do they cry, when your gone?
Are they crying now? No, it won’t be long.

Father of time are you still wasting all your life,
doing all the things that you taught me not to do?
I never learned from your words and just the people that you hurt.
Now i’m terrified that i’m just like you.
We cried, for what you’d done.
We all cried, for what you’d done.
We’re crying now. Now it won’t be long.

I heard you whisper about love,
Like it’s something that you ever found.
These walls are made of more than blood,
and I don’t think that you can knock them down.
Until you go and pick them up,
all the folks that you let down.
Don’t you ever try and give it up,
I won’t ever let you live it down.

He man of the law are you still fighting for a cause,
or just that kingdom in the future you’ve been sold?
Can you still see them at all, beyond your rich suburban sprawl?
Does that mirror reflect something other than yourself?
They won’t cry, when your gone.
No they won’t cry, when your gone.
They’re crying now.

And in the darkest of nights do you still see the light?
Did you ever see the break of dawn?
Do the stars at night shine of their own free device?
Or that darkness that shrouds us all?

Oh that darkness now, no it won’t be long.

I thought I saw you preaching truth,
something to which we’re all bound.
A promised land we’re drifting to,
but you ran us all into the ground.
Until you go and pick them up,
all the folks that you let down
Don’t you ever try and give it up,
Because I won’t ever let you live it down.

Mother of mine are you still saying that your fine,
Like an actress who never learned a word.
Are they sucking you dry?
Are they making you cry?
Are you dying in spite of yourself?

They’ll all cry for what they’ve done.
They’re crying now. No it won’t be long.

credits

from Wildcat Chuck Charles, released October 16, 2016
Rhythm Guitars and Vocals: Charles Ellsworth
Lead Guitar: Tres Wilson
Bass and Mandolin: Kevin Schultz
Cello: Rachel Jorgensen
Drums: Vincent Draper
String Arrangements: Kevin Schultz & Charles Ellsworth

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Charles Ellsworth Brooklyn, New York

Born and raised in the White Mountains of Arizona, Charles Ellsworth first gained an appreciation for a simple, not so distant past. His vivid lyrics and near-familiar melodies weave to tell stories of heartbreak and loneliness while shining a light on the perseverance of the human spirit. ... more

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