The song is "The Honor of Your Company". It is on Tom's "Live For The Record" CD and I think it is also on his "Wearing The Time" CD, but the latter is in my offic so I can't verify it. The melody and lyrics were also published in Sing Out! 2-3 years ago.

THE HONOR OF YOUR COMPANY

words & music by Tom Paxton

When I find myself with a song to write,
I remember candles in the night.
Voices raised in ragged harmony,
Singing this land was made for you and me.
Some of those voices are silent now and gone;
I'm glad to see how you've been keeping on.
I remember the songs that pulled us through,
And when I hear those songs, I think of you.

Chorus:
So, thank you for the honor of your company.
The music was as sweet as the good red wine.
Thanks for the company,
And thanks for the harmony,
I'm here to say the honor was all mine.

Back when times were tough and the news was bad,
Faith and a couple of songs was all we had.
Songs we rearranged and made our own;
Songs it sometimes seemed we'd always known.
We've been toghether now for a long long time,
And if ever I was the poet, you were the rhyme.
It was always the music that kept us strong.
And, if ever I was the singer, you were the song.

Chorus

Decade after decade, year by hear,
Season after season, we're still here,
And it does not take a crystal ball to know
We're gonna go out singing when we go.
A five-string banjo and a steel string guitar
Just a couple of the reasons why we've come this far,
Singing like we always have and will,
Knowing the circle is unbroken still.

Chorus

rich r