UNDER THE WILLOWS
(Bob Franke)

There's a spun-sugar smell in the penny arcade,
The old carousel is an endless parade
Of horses and bunnies and camels and chicks
Whose riders hang on to their peppermint sticks.

CHORUS
And it's under the willows come walk with me, love,
The sea at our feet and the sky up above.
The children at play know there's nothing to fear.
In the sweet Salem breezes, come walk with me, dear.


See the bathers, so bold as their noses turn blue,
The young and the old build a castle or two;
Though the tide may bring tears when those castles depart,
There's a hope and a memory in each summer heart.
CHORUS

Now, the rich merchant families look haughty and high,
But the big clipper packets have all passed us by;
And the captains of legend have all sailed away,
But they left us the sea and this fine summer day.
CHORUS

Now, the storm clouds may roll on the wind far away,
But what's that to us on a day like today?
For the corn, it grows high; and the mill wheels still roll,
And the Lemon Gibraltar is good for the soul.
CHORUS (twice)



[transcribed by ear from Bob Franke's album "Brief Histories," Flying Fish CD FF-70495, 1992.]

Notes: Salem Willows, early 20th century. Once a smallpox sanitarium, then a fashionable resort, now a modest amusement park, still my favorite place in Salem.

Patty Larkin and Sally Rogers sing on this track.

The album is mostly about Salem, Massachusetts. I came across the CD shortly after I made a Halloween trip to Salem, and I've always liked both the city and the CD. There's one terrific song about the witch trials, "I But a Little Girl," that runs a chill down my spine. In "Willows," Franke shows a sweeter part of Salem - the seaside and the history of the clipper ships.
-Joe-

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So, what's a "Lemon Gibraltar"?