JUST AN OLD FIDDLER
(Jerry Rasmussen)

There's wood by the cook-stove long stacked and forgotten,
Split log and split log, placed there with care.
And a tin cup and saucer set out on the table
All dented and chipped from the long years of wear

Chorus: He was just an old fiddler come back to the homestead
As old as the cabin that stood in the woods,
Almost forgotten from times hard remembered
Of nights by the fire with friends gone for good

Not many noticed when the fiddler came back,
Just the squirrels in the rafters and the mice in the bin
And when the fire inside finally took him away
It just read in the paper no known next of kin.

There's nothing as long as a cold winter's night,
Nothing as welcome as friends at the door
And nothing as useless as stories to tell
Or a tune to be played when there's no one to hear.

Copyright Jerry Rasmussen. All rights reserved.

Comments from Jerry Rasmussen:
Like many other songs I've written, this one came from a dream. The first verse
was complete, as was the chorus when I woke up. One thing that is great about so
ngs coming from dreams is that they are very visual (obviously). In the dream, I
walked into the old cabin, and found a yellowed newspaper clipping about the ol
d fiddler. When I was a kid, I used to explore a wooded area out in the country,
and came across an old cabin. When we were horsing around on the roof, I looked
down into the chimney, and there plastered into the chimney lining was a corner
of a harmonica sticking out. I got out my jacknife (never travel without a jack
nife) and slowly gouged away the plaster until I got the harmonica out. Getting
the holes unplugged and the reeds loosened up was another matter. But, with a lo
t of careful poking around, and soaking the harmonica in a bowl, I finally got i
t loosened up so most of the notes played. It was worth it, just to feel that co
nnection with whoever played it, years ago. I have no idea why he would have pla
stered into the chimney, up on the roof. It made for a good story, though, and m
ay have led to this song.. JR


@music @aging
filename[ OLDFIDLR
WH JR
mudcat.org

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