The Uppertons- Smokestack Lightning

The Ghost of Tom Lazinski

Written by Ben Walden, Cooper Trail, and Forrest Van Tuyle ©2017

Shiny little shoeshine
Moonlight on your moonshine
you got a sock to your shoulder but you committed no crime
you sleep beneath the lone pine
pine away your alone time
you put a kick in your coffee so you can't get no shuteye 

Chorus: you are a magpie, baby
you fly down the road 
I can tell that you have a problem that you cannot control
your wings are heavy 
your heart is cold
your mind is on the highway, your eyes are on the silver and gold

all you long legged magpie queens in the Lilac City been laughing at me
turning your head turned tail to the breeze 
pretty be those birds but I got no bees
I dream of you spreading your wings and migrating my way my magpie queen
hard times remembering the spread of your wings
and the flick of your tail feathers magpie queen

chorus;

Magpie

Written by Ben Walden ©2017

Leave the embers glowing
by the riverside, by the riverside
I'll walk with you knowing 
you're trying to hide and what you're trying to hide

if you ask me questions I will give you lies

trust me as much 
as you would a friend, as you would a friend
I want something from you
just like them, just like them

if you ask them questions they will give you lies
if you ask me questions I will give you lies

there is no reason 
for the life we live, for the life we live
take what you will 
from what I have to give, what I have to give

but if you ask me questions I will give you lies

Leave The Embers Glowing

Written by Ben Walden ©2017

way on up in Charlottesville I went out on a spree
I thought the reefer and the soldier's joy would be the salvation of me
the penitentiary barbed wire hook put my nose in a history book
now I just need some old time loving and a plump spring chicken to cook

chorus: how's about Bonnie and Clyde 
the papers say that they died 
back to back out in a shack
shot out on the inside
where's that money hid?
the old man's flipping his lid
dentures chatter like a typewriter 
and there's bugs in the wall

the Kluxers want to pluck you and the Federals want their tax
the Ladies of the Night want to treat you right and the D.A, want you on the rack
but I know what you are looking for: a peaceful holler in the hills
where it's dark in the day and you never can say where you put those greenback bills

Chorus;

when I die you can bury my ass up in the Smoky Mountain silt
they'll put me in the ground with a 45 round, my knuckles clutched around the hilt
I never had much religion, never cared too much for the law
but I had a rifle and a getaway car and a pretty girl in my heart

Chorus;

Bugs In The Wall

Written by Richard Crookston ©2017

Grease the pig in bear oil
says I'm racing against the sun
squealing rocks from down the way
mirthful pigpen on the run

old bastards sing Joe Cosley's song
Algonquin Belly River ranger's son
Glacier's ghost man on the run

Joe had a good thing going 
he was above the law
he made dirty money 
selling leather hides and dogs

getting high on wine at the ranger station
Joe Cosley heard some bad information
when they went to him he was gone

way on up by an alpine lake 
Joe went fishing; he took no bait
crystal water soaks his bones
to the far north he roamed

spent some time on the tundra
spent some time on the coast
got pretty good with a harpoon
knocked a walrus on the nose

the northwest was calling
a hurricane did blow
there was a child at the door

Joe Cosley

Written by Ben Walden ©2017

I started this business 
as a small timer

Chorus: Information 
Now I've got the feeling that you can't hold on
wake up in the morning and all you know will be gone

everyone around us 
was getting paid by the family

chorus;

the mud in the lake shore is getting thicker
I am afraid of nothing

you compromised me
can't keep your mouth shut

provocation
now I've got the feeling that you can't hold on
wake up in the morning and all you know will be gone

Information

Written by Ben Walden ©2017

out in the sun, working on the dam
I looked down at the riverbed
swirling, twirling with the current
there was a two foot steelhead
rainbow shining through the muddy water
that smells just like the pulp mill 
he jumped a little and he made a ripple
that drifted to the Pacific

Chorus: Steelhead trout push up stream 
spawning in the Spring 
climb the ladder on the dam
won't stop for anything
only Death can stop the Steelhead

I wonder how many times he's been up the river
and I wonder if he'll ever come back again
salmon go to die at the headwaters high
while the steelhead come on back again
on my lunch break I will have a drink
and then I'll take a swim
feel the minnows nip at my toes 
and I wonder if they ever come back again

chorus;

Steelhead Trout

Sidewinder

Written by Ben Walden ©2017

Bark beetle come, bark beetle go
feast in the sun, rest in the snow
fly like a bark beetle back to Idaho

Mountain weather can turn on a dime
brings hellfire in the Summer time
fly like a bark beetle back to Idaho

bark beetle fast, bark beetle slow
lives in the woods above the rain shadow 
fly like a bark beetle back to Idaho

step to the East, step to the West
anywhere you step is the bark beetle blues
fly like a bark beetle back to Idaho

Bark Beetle

06 Lanny (ft. Samdogg)

Composed by Mongo Santamaria 

Paul Smith- gourd banjo
David Ward- drums
Ben Walden- guitar

Afro Blue

Left Coast Love

Hello, internet-inhabiting humans!! I am a singer-songwriter, all-around musician, and wandering soul among many other things. I write a lot from experience, as well as from imagination. The people I encounter in life inspire me, as well as artists such as Paul Simon, Grateful Dead, Miles Davis, Gillian Welch, Wilco and many, many others. Lately I've been on a Chicago blues binge. I've also been hanging out around Kurt Cobain's old stomping grounds and his influence is here. 

In the past, I've played banjo in the Idaho-Washington Symphony and soukous with Simba And The Exceptional Africans. At the age of twenty three, I have been performing for fifteen years. While my musical experience encompasses a very wide range, my solo singer-songwriter "bag" consists mainly of folk, country, and blues material. I have a wide repertoire and can tailor performances to different situations and audiences. I improvise. 

I seek gigs, fellow musicians, and opportunities to grow.  

Ben Walden

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