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05 Feb 04 - 10:35 PM (#1110429) Subject: Help: author of 'Return to the Land' From: Stewie If I did have a copy of the booklet for Gordon Bok's 'Return to the Land' CD, I have lost it. I am looking for the name of the writer of 'Return to the Land'. The CD insert only gives 'Beal'. Can someone tell me his or her full name. Thanks. --Stewie. |
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06 Feb 04 - 12:47 PM (#1110830) Subject: RE: Help: author of 'Return to the Land' From: GUEST It's Elmer Beal,JR |
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06 Feb 04 - 06:45 PM (#1111030) Subject: RE: Help: author of 'Return to the Land' From: Stewie Thank you. --Stewie. |
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26 May 05 - 05:11 PM (#1493862) Subject: RE: Help: author of 'Return to the Land' From: GUEST,tony ricketts Does anyone have the words and/or chords written out, please. |
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31 May 05 - 10:45 PM (#1497098) Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Return to the Land From: Jim Dixon RETURN TO THE LAND, by Elmer Beal Jr., is expected to be in the forthcoming book The Earth and Spirit Songbook - Book Two. It's also on the album "Faith's Favorites" by Faith Petric. I have failed to find any lyrics or sound samples. |
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01 Jun 05 - 03:54 AM (#1497197) Subject: Lyr Add: RETURN TO THE LAND (Elmer Beal, Jr.) From: Mark Cohen Amazing...I knew I'd bought the lyric booklet for this album at a used record sale about ten years ago, and I was able to find it in less than ten minutes! RETURN TO THE LAND words and music (c)1982 Elmer Beal, Jr. (BMI) There comes a time when I look out to find That the hungry are hungry again. When did I last think to ask How to help ease their pain? When hope leaves, I know I get hopeless, Like a spark in the rain. And when castles crumble, it makes me feel humble, As though I'm the one who's to blame. CHORUS But nothing is won when the crying is done Till your friends take you up by the hand. Return to the earth; you feel your own birth come again. When your bridges are burned, You try to return to the land. South of the border, the coffee beans order, The coca is turned to cocaine, Tons of bananas and miles of the sweet sugarcane Grown for the pleasure of some by others who strain. And long do they stand and stare at the land That they work for another man's gain... CHORUS And there is the other, forgot by his brother, Alone at the end of the day. Searching in vain for the work that would gain him his pay, He tries to forget all the strangers he's met by the way. And there in the dark, a voice in his heart Calls him home to a place far away. CHORUS And when you are through, It always forgives you, the land. Here's what Gordon has to say about the writer and the song: Elmer Beal has been a teacher, woodcutter, farmer, songwriter, and travelling singer. I've toured with him in the past, and he's goood, thoughtful company. He still teaches at College of the Atlantic, runs a restaurant, and tours with Maine's favorite acoustic group, "Different Shoes." While watching a BBC show on the "third world," a few years back, he was wondering at the strong connection he felt to the migrant workers of those countries -- and realized that the connection was the land they both worked, and that supported them. Aloha, Mark |
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15 Aug 09 - 09:43 AM (#2700867) Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: FASHIONED IN THE CLAY (Elmer Beal, From: GUEST,Steve Teeter [Note: Chords and lyrics for this and 1200 more songs are in the world's greatest cheat book, Rise Up Singing, P. 23 available from Quakersong.org @~$18.] C G F C When it seems that everyone is worried for themselves, F C G G Buying plans for fallout shelters, stocking up the shelves, C G F C Living in the fast lane, and staying high at night, F C G C Thinking that by accident we'll blow out all the lights; Look, now, at the potter whose wheel is spinning 'round, Shaping with her hands the past and future from the ground: Cups that will be filled and drunk, so warm in wintertime, Plates and bowls for dinner served with candlelight and wine: She believes, she believes, By her work it's so easy to see That the future is more than the following day, It's fashioned securely in the clay. Look now at the farmer working in his field, Hoping that the sun and rain will guarantee his yield. Like the seed the wind has blown to unfamiliar ground, He waits to see what fate will bring as each year rolls around. He believes... Elsewhere, there are lovers in a warm embrace, Happy with their plans to carry on the human race. Now the baby cries and wonders if it's all alone; Softly, voices reassure: there'll always be a home. They believe... So, if you had been worried that tomorrow wouldn't come, Look to see the ones whose lives are following the sun. And the hope that springs so clearly from the work they do Will spread a little further when it finds a place in you. We believe, we believe, By our work it's so easy to see That the future is more than the following day, It's fashioned securely in the clay. |
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15 Aug 09 - 06:19 PM (#2701237) Subject: Lyr Add: FASHIONED IN THE CLAY (Elmer Beal, Jr) From: Joe Offer Hi, Steve - I think I've met you somewhere, but maybe not. I posted Elmer Beal's "Fashioned in the Clay" in this message but it was lost in a general thread of songs of hope and optimism. Maybe I should post it here, too.
FASHIONED IN THE CLAY (Elmer Beal, Jr., 1983) When it seems that everyone is worried for themselves, Buying plans for fallout shelters, stocking up the shelves, Living in the fast lane, and staying high at night, Thinking that by accident we'll blow out all the lights; Look, now, at the potter whose wheel is spinning 'round, Shaping with her hands the past and future from the ground: Cups that will be filled and drunk, so warm in wintertime, Plates and bowls for dinner served with candlelight and wine:
By her work it's so easy to see That the future is more than the following day, It's fashioned securely in the clay. Look now at the farmer working in his field, Hoping that the sun and rain will guarantee his yield. Like the seed the wind has blown to unfamiliar ground, He waits to see what fate will bring as each year rolls around. He believes... Elsewhere, there are lovers in a warm embrace, Happy with their plans to carry on the human race. Now the baby cries and wonders if it's all alone; Softly, voices reassure: there'll always be a home. They believe... So, if you had been worried that tomorrow wouldn't come, Look to see the ones whose lives are following the sun. And the hope that springs so clearly from the work they do Will spread a little further when it finds a place in you.
By our work it's so easy to see That the future is more than the following day, It's fashioned securely, in the clay. Elmer Beal is from Blue Hill, Maine. He's a farmer, woodcutter, educator and musician, and a maker of fine songs. He's also a member of Maine's favorite acoustic group, "Different Shoes." Elmer says he wrote this for his wife, Carole, a potter, inspired by the optimism in her work, at the time it takes between starting the job and seeing the results. (GB) |
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12 Nov 10 - 11:00 AM (#3030335) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: songs by Elmer Beal, Jr From: GUEST,Kristin I'm looking for the lyric's to another of Elmer Beal's songs: More Weather. The song is on Gordon Bok's February Tapes. |
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14 Nov 11 - 12:47 PM (#3256870) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: songs by Elmer Beal, Jr From: GUEST I'm looking for a copy of the tape that has Bone of My Bone by Different Shoes. |
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15 Nov 19 - 08:53 PM (#4019451) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: songs by Elmer Beal, Jr From: GUEST,Guest Does anyone have the chords written out for Return To The Land, please? |
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16 Nov 19 - 10:38 AM (#4019548) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: songs by Elmer Beal, Jr (Bok recordings) From: Charley Noble Nice to see Elmer Beal's work recognized. Charlie Ipcar |
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26 Jul 23 - 09:26 AM (#4177685) Subject: Lyr ADD: More Weather by Elmer Beal Jr. From: GUEST,Doodles Thirteen years since Kristin's message requesting the lyrics to More Weather, but I have the recording of that song from The February Tapes and I'll do my best to transcribe. MORE WEATHER (Elmer Beal Jr.) Now some who sail say there's never any wind when you've got someplace to go Or if you've planned a skiing trip there's never any snow Some say if you want some rain, hang out your clothes to dry But I say the weather doesn't have any will, and here is the reason why: Well the sun shines down on the good and the bad and it melts the snow in spring And it may flood and dump some mud even if you cry or sing There's no reason or rhyme to the weather that lies in store But that doesn't matter very much to me, just as long as we get some more Now winters when the snow is late, we play in the sunny warm days Still some can't enjoy them and think that fun is like a debt to pay "Buy now, pay later," they mope and say, putting on their heavy coats [But I got them on] when I sing my song, and this is how it goes: Well the sun shines down on the good and the bad and it melts the snow in spring And it may flood and dump some mud even if you cry or sing There's no reason or rhyme to the weather that lies in store But that doesn't matter very much to me, just as long as we get some more Now you may think there's a message here that it doesn't matter what you do Don't get me wrong - my belief is strong in the honest and the true But if you think that clouds can tell when you deserve a [hand] You better hope that somebody else will care - the weather doesn't give a damn Well the sun shines down on the good and the bad and it melts the snow in spring And it may flood and dump some mud even if you cry or sing There's no reason or rhyme to the weather that lies in store But that doesn't matter very much to me, just as long as we get some more There are two spots where I'm not entirely confident in what I'm hearing, the sections I've put in [square brackets]. The liner notes to those tapes are long gone, so I'm assuming that Kristin is correct in naming Elmer Beal as the writer. I only have the internet as a resource here so I'm limited in what I can find. There is this PDF of a WERU program guide which lists More Weather by Elmer Beal and Different Shoes as one of the songs they were playing in their first year on air. https://s3.amazonaws.com/weru/storage/25th-anniversary/Salt%20Air/2013/Salt%20Air%20Summer%202013.pdf If anyone has any clarity on what those iffy lyrics are, it would be much appreciated! D.L. |