Lyr/Chords Req: Silken Dreams (Anne Hills)

Subject: SILKEN DREAMS (Anne Hills)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Mar 01 - 06:09 PM

This wonderful song is referenced in two old threads, but no lyrics appear to have been posted. If no one has them handily textified, I'll transcribe, but a leg up on the chords would be appreciated. And, I can get every word off the old moldy tape I have except WHAT KIND OF LACE is she singing about? What the heck is that one word???

Joe Offer, my money's on you again.

I also have never found a site with all her lyrics posted. Be much obliged if you know of any.

~S~

Subject: Lyr Add: SILKEN DREAMS (Anne Hills)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 03:19 AM

Ah, Great song. It's on the 1990 Voices CD by Priscilla Herdman, Anne Hills, and Cindy Mangsen - that's the recording I prefer. It's also on the 1999 Anne Hills - Michael Smith CD called Paradise Lost & Found. Thanks for bringing it up, Susan.
-Joe Offer-

---

SILKEN DREAMS
(Anne Hills)

This here loom is fifty years old
Me and Mary we're a little older
We've been here since 1918
Now the factory's closing down
This loom came from another mill
That was falling into a river
Me and Mary, we came here
From Austria together

And on a hot summer night
You could hear these looms
They never shut them down
Weavin' and spinnin' the silken dreams
Of the workers in Allentown

Back in the days when I moved here
To try my hands as a weaver
We made silk that could circle the world
More than thirty times around
We made silk for the Navy flags
Of the finest Bemberg thread
We made silk that could beat the best
That's what we always said

Now me and Mary and all these looms
We're the last ones at the factory
Sick or expired or just plain tired
All those weavers come and gone
Young folks now they don't see the sense
Of a skill whose time is run
Stop the clock and close up shop
This silk mill's day is done

Copyright 1990 Raven Heart Music

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: SILKEN DREAMS (Anne Hills)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 10:33 AM

Yeah!

Thanks Joe.

Bemberg? Is that from hearing this or did you have a lyric sheet with your recording?

~S~

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: SILKEN DREAMS (Anne Hills)
From: Sorcha
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 11:11 AM

There is a kind of lace called Battenburg, photo here. There is also Bamburg which is a lining material.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: SILKEN DREAMS (Anne Hills)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 11:46 AM

I think it was the memory of Battenburg Lace that kept me from hearing that they aren't even singing about lace-- SILK!!! (Susan say DUH!) You can hear clearly that it's not Battenburg, but then without knowing fabrics I got lost in the context.

And thus I also missed completely the significance of this: "We made silk for the Navy flags of the finest Bemberg thread. We made silk that could beat the best.... That's what we always said." (Susan say DUH!) War with the Japanese! Japanese SILK! Our flags are better than theirs.... Silken dreams of navy victory! Silken dreams of sending the best silk for flags, doing their part in the war effort, worrying about the men while weaving...

But would Bamburg have been tough enough to whip in the wind? Say more?

And Joe-- WHO IS THE FIDDLER on this tape! Wha-hoo!!

I'm going to have to blame my misunderstanding this stuff on the amazing beauty of the arrangement and the inescapable urge to sing all the parts out, full voice, in my car. Sorch, come on over, play the fiddle part with Hardi, I am sure it must call for lotsa fiddles. We'll play at the coffeeshop HERE.

Joe, you can take the low harmony parts, come on over too. And look, just scan and post any material these people did, that you have! You know I'll ask for them all eventually, right?

~S~

Subject: RE: SILKEN DREAMS (Anne Hills)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 02:20 PM

Anne's Paradise Lost & Found album with Michael Smith is good, but I think Smith is better off not singing his songs; and Hills is better when she has Mangsen and/or Herdman to keep her closer to traditional music. The Herdman/Hills/Mangsen Voices album is a near-perfect recording. It was produced by Abby Newton, who also played cello on the album. David Hornung played accordion; John Kirk, violin & viola; Toby Stover, piano; Scott Petito, Bass Guitar; Dick Kniss (!), Bass Fiddle; Terry Leonino, harmonica; Steve Gillette, vocals on one cut. Larry Packer and John Kirk played violin on "Silken Dreams." Most of these musicians played on only one or two cuts. I scanned the lyrics from the lyrics sheet that was included with the Voices album. There are only two truly "traditional" songs on this album, but most of the songs have a traditional feel to them. Bemberg is a brand of Rayon, not silk. You can find out more about it at these sites:

• FabricPro Glossary
• Battle Zone Military Patches (flags)
• http://www.bemberg-usa.com/

-Joe Offer-

(Dick Kniss has played bass for Peter, Paul and Mary since the very beginning. He's a real Chicago guy, as gracious and friendly as they come.)

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: SILKEN DREAMS (Anne Hills)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 02:35 PM

Joe, thanks.

I would love to have Jimmy Burke next. For a friend of the late Malcolm Disley. Can you put it here so I can send it on, as opposed to making new thread for it?

~S~

Subject: Lyr Add: JOHNNY BURKE (Paul Mercer)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 03:31 PM

Mr. Scanner would be glad to post the lyrics for "Johnny Burke," Paul Mercer's song that was recorded on the Herdman/Hills/Mangsen Voices album. The lyrics sheet has very fine print, but Mr. Scanner has been doing a very good job on it. I think we should all thank Mr. Scanner, and praise him for doing such a nice job.
Mr. Scanner would also like to demonstrate how to post lyrics on a thread with a different name, by changing the SUBJECT title of the message, as he has done here.
-Joe Offer-
(If people can talk that way about their cats, why can't I talk about my scanner like that?)

---

JOHNNY BURKE
(Paul Mercer)

Oh now wasn't it my sister just today gave me the word
And wasn't it myself could not believe it when I heard
And didn't I just see him there the other day in town
Now they tell me Johnny passed away this morning

So it's farewell to the vaudeville and farewell to the stage
And likewise to his old time songs,
Now weren't they all the rage
When the newsboys sold them through the streets
A penny for a page
For Johnny Burke who passed away this morning

Now there never was a shipwreck, a murder or a time
That didn't get recorded in a ballad or a rhyme
It seemed he always had the gift to coin the perfect line
Old Johnny Burke who passed away this morning

There were plays in every theatre from the Nickel to the Star
And the houses packed at every show as they came from near and far
And he left them standing in their seats and shouting out for more
From Johnny Burke who passed away this morning

Oh now won't there be a funeral and won't we have a wake
And won't there be a friend to say goodbye for old times' sake
And remember how he made us laugh until our sides would ache
Old Johnny Burke who passed away this morning

But from time to time as years go by with fires burning low
We may think about some old time song we heard long years ago
And we'll see him there in his bowler hat with his old clay pipe aglow
Old Johnny Burke who passed away this morning

Copyright Paul Mercer, 1984

Subject: Lyr Add: MR. SCAN-MAN (Susan O. Hinton)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 03:57 PM

Musta been the folk process. Johnny, Jimmy-- THAT guy.

As far as Mr. Scanner, I think there is a song there. Here's how it starts... more will come later I am sure. Tune? Mr. Sandman, of course! So we have to change Mr. Scanner's name too.... folk process Joe!

MR. SCAN-MAN

(Susan O. Hinton)

Mr. Scan-man... give me a song,
Sure, I could type it, but it's way too long!
Give it a lot of care, get every comma,
So I can sing it like a red hot mama!

Mr. Scan-man... wish I had you,
I'd have you humming in an hour or two,
So please turn on your scanning brain,
Mr. Scan-man, I'm back again!

Mr. Scan-man... optically,
You are the king I say most graciously,
Whether it's Times or Swiss, you deal with the fonts--
And you satisfy my recognition wants!

So Mr. Scan-man, please take my thanks,
This beats a home press run by old-fashioned cranks
So please keep scanning if you please--
Till your chips give out their last wheeze!


Maybe it's done. I dunno. We'll see.

~S~

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: SILKEN DREAMS (Anne Hills)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 04:01 PM

correx already-- last verse...

So do keep scanning if you please--

~S~

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: SILKEN DREAMS (Anne Hills)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Mar 01 - 02:37 PM

Or, for the last two lines--

So please keep scanning if you will--
Mr. Scan-man, give me a thrill!

~S~

Subject: Lyr ADD: Mr. Scan-Man
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Mar 01 - 03:37 PM

OK, I think this is the final version. BTW, Joe, what's the coding to get that separator? I could not spot it with View/Source.

MR. SCAN-MAN

(Susan O. Hinton)

Mr. Scan-man... give me a song,
Sure, I could type it, but it's way too damn long!
Give it a lot of care, get every comma,
So I can sing it like a red hot mama!

Mr. Scan-man... wish I had you,
I'd have you humming in an hour or two,
So please turn on your scanning brain,
Mr. Scan-man, I'm back again!

Mr. Scan-man... optically,
You are the king I say most graciously,
Whether it's Times or Swiss, you deal with the fonts--
And you satisfy my recognition wants!

So Mr. Scan-man, please take my thanks,
This beats a home press run by old-fashioned cranks
So please keep scanning if you will--
Mr. Scan-man, give me a thrill!

~S~

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: SILKEN DREAMS (Anne Hills)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 29 Jun 02 - 12:30 AM

Ah yes, memories! *G*

("refresh")

~S~

Subject: lyr req anne hills Johnson
From: wysiwyg
Date: 02 Sep 02 - 01:43 PM

Johnson... I heard you wanted a word with me....
Funny thing, I wanted a word with you....

What's the rest?

Hey Joe Offer, how about combining the Anne Hills threads and makling one titled with her name?

~Susan

---

Well, Susan, the other thread on this song is just a request with no pertinent information, so I marked it "request only." "Follow That Road" developed on its own into a separate thread, and does not seem to be a good candidate for combination.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr req (Anne Hills) - Johnson
From: Joe Offer
Date: 03 Sep 02 - 12:30 AM

Hi, Susan - "Johnson" was written by Tom Paxton. It's on his "Bulletin" album, but I don't think that album is available.
Anne Hills recorded it on her 1981 "The Panic Is On" album, reissued with her 1985 "Don't Explain" album on a CD called "Don't Panic." A guy named Art Thieme sings with Anne and others on a cut called "While You Sleep."

There is no lyric sheet with the CD. I can transcribe it by ear if needed, but maybe you have the CD and can transcribe it for us.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: SILKEN DREAMS (Anne Hills)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Sep 02 - 09:51 AM

I would love to transcribe it if I had it, but I don't. It's on the LP I no longer have a turntable to play. We want to use it in our sets, so if you could transcribe it I will be very grateful-- all I can remember are pieces of it, and I can't seem to organize them into verses properly. I don't suppose you did a Google search did you? I did, but I had Anne's name in it.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: SILKEN DREAMS (Anne Hills)
From: Mudlark
Date: 03 Sep 02 - 07:24 PM

I love Anne Hill's voice and her choice of material. I disagree that Michael Smith shouldn't sing his own songs...I think he is spellbinding. But I was disappointed in his collaboration with Hill...I think, however, she has produced at least one of his solo albums.

I've got a tape of her, given to me a LONG time ago, without any attribution, but with some great songs, including Hound Dog, Bay at the Moon and a stunning song about a woman who leaves her 2 children and goes off with a man who really loves her.... And No Baby, another terrific song...

Subject: ADD: Johnson (Tom Paxton) -mine disaster
From: Joe Offer
Date: 03 Sep 02 - 08:57 PM

I hadn't listened to this for a while. It's a powerful song.
-Joe Offer-

---

JOHNSON
(Tom Paxton)

Johnson, I heard tell you wanted a word with me
Funny thing, I wanted a word with you
Now, with my Joe Harper gone forever,
The kids and me all helter-skelter
Johnson, we've been wondering what we'll do.

Johnson, you're the one who gave the orders
You're the one who sealed off Number Ten
Ah, you said that the fire was set on spreading
You didn't have no choice, you said
And Johnson, that was that for thirty men

That was my Joe Harper down that shaft
He wasn't supposed to work that shift
But my Joe reckoned he had the gift
Of seeing a hard job through
The last I seen of my Joe, he laughed
And told me I was to make my claim
If ever the worst of fortune came
Well, I was to come to you

Johnson, my Joe worked for the company nineteen years
Back all bent, and hands that would make you cry
Crippled hands, and a wore-out back
Family freezing in a company shack
Johnson, that ain't hardly getting by

And now you tell me, Johnson, that we got to go
You said that I can't trade at the company store
Ah, you'd let us stay if it was up to you,
Johnson, one thing you can do
Tell them they ain't got a home no more

That was my Joe Harper down that shaft
He wasn't supposed to work that shift
But my Joe reckoned he had the gift
Of seeing a hard job through
The last I seen of my Joe, he laughed
And told me I was to make my claim
If ever the worst of fortune came
Well, I was to come to you

Johnson, I heard tell you wanted a word with me
Funny thing, I wanted a word with you
Now, with my Joe Harper gone forever,
The kids and me all helter-skelter
Johnson, we've been wondering what we'll do.


Transcribed from the Anne Hills CD, Don't Panic

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: SILKEN DREAMS (Anne Hills)
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Sep 02 - 09:31 PM

Ahh... yesssssss. Thanks Joe!

~Susan