Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)

Subject: Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)
From: Allan C.
Date: 01 Dec 13 - 07:08 AM

Would anyone have the lyrics for the Dillards' "Copperfields"?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Dec 13 - 10:56 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38Qc3jPmiMc

You can listen to it at that link. The words are clear (in the event no one posts the lyrics).

Subject: Lyr Add: COPPERFIELDS (from The Dillards)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Dec 13 - 03:18 PM

Guest, you lied. The words are not clear at all. I was not able to make sense of them. This is the best I can do, and I have no confidence in any of it being correct. WTF does the title mean? What is a one-wheel farmer? What are the aging arches? McDonald's? This is a bad song, badly mixed, and not worth the trouble. It did not deserve see the light of day even once, let alone being the title track on an album, and appearing on several "best of" reissues. (If you want to prove me wrong, please provide the missing words and explanations, and I might reconsider.)


COPPERFIELDS
As sung by The Dillards on "Copperfields" (1970) and on "Rhino High-Five: The Dillards" (2006)

Through the copper fields I walked along the way,
Rememb'ring how we spent the time we brightened on the way.
The one-wheel farmer tipped his hat as we go by,
Thinking how it was when he was young; the sun would dry.

CHORUS: All the Copperfields are goin' toward the town where they were born.
Do you have a copper field to play in when you're growin' old?
All the Copperfields are goin' toward the town where they were born.
Do you have a copper field to play in when you're growin' old?

Down in town the people work to get their pay,
Thinking of the copper fields in which they used to play.
... see the children on the way.
Aging arches mark the final place for them to stay. CHORUS

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)
From: Allan C.
Date: 01 Dec 13 - 03:31 PM

Yeah, Jim, I was sorta hoping I wasn't hearing it right. I thought the tune was rather catchy although the chorus seemed to be repeated far too many times. I really had hoped it had more merit.

BTW, the "one wheel farmer" might possibly refer to one who has a back-yard vegetable garden and who makes use of one of those plows that has one large wheel and handles like those found on a barrow.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)
From: GUEST,michaelr
Date: 01 Dec 13 - 03:54 PM

Jim, that line is "Long gone aunts and uncles see the children on the way". You got all the others right. The "aging arches" probably are the cemetery gates. The song's author is Herb Pedersen.

"This is a bad song, badly mixed, and not worth the trouble. It did not deserve see the light of day even once." That is your opinion, and as such cannot be "proved wrong".

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)
From: Stewie
Date: 02 Dec 13 - 11:17 AM

In my opinion, it's a beaut song. I like the Dillards original, but my favourite is the cover by Mary McCaslin and Jim Ringer on their 'Bramble and the Rose' album.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Dec 13 - 11:27 AM

Temper, temper, Jim.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)
From: Hagman
Date: 02 Dec 13 - 03:54 PM

I think a clue to what the "Copperfields" are is in title of their previous LP - "Wheatstraw Suite".

Like Stewie, I also believe this (more than) a beaut song - the melody and harmony of the original performance still thrills after 40-odd years. Another listen will reward.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)
From: Allan C.
Date: 09 Dec 13 - 10:30 AM

In Queensland there stands the remains of a cemetery called Copperfield. I'm betting it was not the only one that ever existed, albeit I found no others in a brief search. I'm thinking that if the words are viewed in much the same light as "Strawberry Fields" that they make a bit more sense. But, that said, I can't figure out the part about the Copperfields going "to the town where they were born" since, I believe, most cemeteries spread away from their point of origin.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Dec 13 - 12:13 PM

http://herbpedersen.com/contact/

There's the guy who'd know.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Dec 13 - 12:14 PM

Regarding my lyrics to "Copperfields", to continue briefly with Alan, the line "the one-wheel farmer tips his hat as he goes by", I was referring to a local guy in Escalon, CA who had a farm/ranch type piece of property nearby, and would drive his very old tractor to the local feed store, passing by the place where I worked. It seemed that he had only one good tire.

Herb Pedersen

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)
From: Allan C.
Date: 13 Dec 13 - 01:11 PM

Thanks, GUEST. I took your advice. Here is what Herb Pedersen wrote to me:

It's more of a reflection of my days working on a peach ranch in the Central Valley (Escalon, CA) when I was just a boy. Small town values, hard working farmers with little to show for their labors, the beautiful smells, sunsets not to be taken lightly, and a teenager's first real love. Coming from a larger city, I felt very attached with the way of life for some reason. Community functions, small town Fourth of July parades

This helped to clarify the context but still left some questions unanswered. So I invited him to post a bit more info here.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Dec 13 - 02:19 PM

Super, Allan. He's posted one at 13 Dec 13 - 12:14 PM and I'll look forward to more :-)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Copperfields (Dillards)
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 03 Nov 19 - 10:09 AM

It's SO great to hear from Herb Pedersen about the one-wheeled farmer! I've always wondered what he meant. I was listening to this song this week and again it had me wondering.