This is just a great song from '70 that is really fun to sing and play.   :-)
Who'll Stop The Rain was written by John Fogerty and originally recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) on their album, Cosmo's Factory. While some have been under the impression that the song was performed at Woodstock in '69, it was actually written after CCR appeared at that festival.

WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN

Shel found this moving song written by Sarah Hart & Chapin Hartford when we were struggling to find an appropriate song for a Memorial Day Service.  Released as a single by Amy Grant in 2010, it was nominated for a Grammy, and got to #8 on the Christian airplay charts.  It touched our hearts, and we like to share it often.  
We were not paid for this performance, which was Jan 12, 2020 at a local low-income senior living facility.

Lyrics:
God loves a lullaby, in a mothers tears in the dead of night
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes.
God loves a drunkard’s cry, the soldier’s plea not to let him die,
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes.

(CHORUS):  We pour out our miseries, God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are, the honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah.     

The woman holding on for life, the dying man giving up the fight,
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes
The tears of shame for what's been done, the silence when the words won't come
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes.

(CHORUS)

Better than a church bell ringing,
Better than a choir singing out, singing out.

(CHORUS x 2)
  
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes
Better than a Hallelujah
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes

BETTER THAN A HALLELUJAH

Jonny wrote this song for his Great Aunt Eva while he was deployed to New Mexico in 1994.  (Eva was the family matriarch on his father's side.)  While in NM, Jonny got a ride to Hobbs to play it for her in person at the center where she lived her last days.  She died about a year later.
Finally got it recorded live at the Hickory House in July of 2021 with Shel's help!  (Hear also on Jonny Hummingbird SoundCloud page.)

Lyrics:
When we say “Great” Aunt Eva      it means more than “once removed” 
It means “wonderful, compassionate, and kind”.
Our amazing matriarch was a lady through and through, with a strength of heart you very rarely find.

When I was six we went to Wink to pick her up at home, then drove to Arizona for a while.
We visited Aunt ‘Vira in a Winslow nursing home, where Eva lifted up her sister with a smile.
The way back to West Texas was a magic odyssey:  volcanoes, trees of stone, and desert skies.
I never will forget the night Dad took us up to see   the pretty lights of old El Paso from on high.

The trip we took was my first look at Eva’s incandescence. 
I was in awe at how my Pa was humble in her presence.	
Though she was strong I was a boy and felt her gentle reach, 
When she taught me how to tie my shoes like no one else could teach.

The tale I’ve told was just the start of how I knew Aunt Eva, 
And just another leading role she’s played;
For many lives were blessed by her, and all of them shout “viva!”   
To her memory, and her selfless noble ways.

When we say “Great” Aunt Eva, it means more than “once removed” 
It means “wonderful, compassionate, and kind”.
Our amazing matriarch was a lady through and through, with a strength of heart you very rarely find.
Aunt Eva was a rare and wondrous kind.

Unpublished work copyright © 1994,2018 by Jon C. Iverson

GREAT AUNT EVA - -Jonny & Shel

Setlist:  
Walkin' After Midnight (by Alan Block and Donn Hecht)
Both Ends of the Train (Tim Stafford-Steve Gulley of Blue Highway)
Danny’s Song (Kenny Loggins)
Come Monday (Jimmy Buffett)
Down at the Twist & Shout (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash)
Grandpa (Jamie O'Hara)
Let it Be Me (Gilbert Bécaud, Manny Curtis, & Pierre Delanoë)
I Only Want to Be With You (Mike Hawker & Ivor Raymonde)
Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head (Hal David & Burt Bacharach )
Sea of Heartbreak (Paul Hampton & Hal David)
When I’m Gone (Joseph Terrell)
Snowbird (Gene MacLellan)
When the Master Calls the Role (Roseanne Cash, Rodney Crowell, & John Leventhal)
Come, Ye Sinners, Poor & Needy (Joseph Hart)
Mary (Theotokos) (Steve Bell & Malcolm Guite)
This Old House (Stuart Hamblen)

This is a live set of acoustically performed songs, warts and all (really bad guitar solos!)  Recorded on 4/24/2022 at a low-income senior housing center the day after an April blizzard that dumped about 20 inches of snow, the gig was tentative at best.  When we started playing there was only one person there to hear us, but that number grew gradually and within a few songs several more came along. There was no PA/amplification, and it was recorded with a single Samson Go Mic into a cell phone.  We're just a couple of mediocre hobby musicians who play for the love of it, so we hope you enjoy at least some of it.  :-)

PLEASE NOTE:  We were not paid for this performance.

JONNY & SHEL, LIVE AT THE HICKORY HOUSE, 4 - 24 - 2022

This is a rough live version of Kacey Musgraves great song of snark, Blowin' Smoke.  Anyone who has worked in food service can relate to this one.  :-)

PLEASE NOTE:  We were not paid for this performance.

BLOWIN' SMOKE

This is a country gospel classic and one of our favorites to perform just about anywhere.  From wikipedia, it:  "is a traditional Christian hymn from the United States, first documented in the mid-19th century...The song combines elements from an "[o]ld hymn entwined with Poor Wayfaring Stranger (Sacred Harp - 1844). It appears in The Southern Zion's Songster (1864) and in Hymns For the Camp (1862)."
When we were desperately looking for songs to play at a Memorial Day service we did this song, and to give it a little more Memorial Day flavor we changed the word "stranger" to "soldier" in the 2nd chorus.  The idea being that historically sometimes soldiers have become wayfarers or drifters when their governments are done with them (e.g. homeless veterans, etc.).  
This song has been recorded by many, but it was first recorded in July 1924 by Norfolk Jubilee Quartet. Prominent musicians such as Bill Monroe, The Byrds, Johnny Cash, and Merle Travis with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band have also recorded the song. This is a rough recording but we thought someone might want to hear it anyway.  Peace be with you.

I Am A Pilgrim

This is a contrafactum written by Kathy Applebee (with a few tweaks by Jonny) to the tune of Lyin' Eyes by The Eagles.  It tells the story of Rahab, a Jericho prostitute who was instrumental to the success of Israelites conquest of the ancient city of Jericho, as recounted in the book of Joshua.
We were asked to learn and perform this song for a church function, and then asked to produce a recording for someone, so here it is, warts and all.  :-)
Cheers,
J&S

HIDIN' SPIES

This is our rough recording of a song written in 1929 by Albert E. Brumley and published in 1932 by the Hartford Music company. It has been called the most recorded gospel song, and is frequently used in worship services by many Christian denominations. It appears in many hymnals where it is listed under the topics of eternal life, heaven and acceptance. It is a standard song at bluegrass jam sessions and is often performed at funerals, where we have provided it on multiple occasions.

I'll Fly Away (rough)

King of the Road

This is a fun Kayce Musgraves song originally released on her first album, "Same Trailer, Different Park", in 2013.  

My House

Written as a poem in 1866 by English evangelist Katherine Hankey, this piece was set to music by William G. Fischer who first published the song in 1869.  It is a country gospel favorite, and we borrowed this arrangement from the movie, "The Apostle" which featured a version by Emmylou Harris and Robert Duval (yes, he sings!).  Thanks for listening.

I LOVE TO TELL THE STORY

SCHEDULED Appearances:
7-24-‘25, 6-8pm: pool-side at the Elkhorn Ridge Resort
8-13-'25, 6-8pm: pool-side at the Elkhorn Ridge Resort
8-26-'25: Country Coach Rally at Elkhorn Ridge Resort
8-28-'25, 6-8pm: pool-side at the Elkhorn Ridge Resort
With more to come--we're still booking for 2025!
(Please note:  Dates, times, and locations are subject to change)

PAST PERFORMANCES:
7-20-'25: Spearfish Festival in the Park
7-17-'25: pool-side at the Elkhorn Ridge Resort
7-13-'25: Private Barn-warming Party
7-5-'25: Private Birthday Party, Bozeman, MT
7-1-'25: Arnie's Birthday Party at Crow Peak Brewery
6-25-'25: Elkhorn Ridge Resort
6-26-'25: Elkhorn Ridge Resort
6-28-'25: Hot Springs Main St Arts & Crafts Festival
6-29-'25: Immanuel Lutheran Church service
6-13-'25: Bullwackers
6-17-’25: NHC Luncheon
6-7-'25: Private party
5-25-'25: Private Party
5-26-'25: Little Dane Church Memorial Day Service
5-9-'25: Black Hills State University Alumni Dinner
4-28-'25, 1030am: Funeral
4-26-'25: ILC Ladies Tea
4-25-'25:  Peaceful Pines SL
4-15-’25: Sturgis Easter Cantata
4-13-’25: Sturgis Easter Cantata
4-11-'25:  Peaceful Pines SL
4-5-'25: Farewell to Gordy Pratt at the High Plains Western Heritage Center
4-5-'25:  Crow Peak Brewery--Jam for Gordy!
3-28-'25: Peaceful Pines SL
3-07-'25:   Peaceful Pines SL
3-07-'25:  Aspen Grove AL
3-01-’25: Tea & Rose Coffee Shop
2-28-'25: Peaceful Pines SL
2-8-’25: Chute Rooster
2-7-'25: Peaceful Pines SL
2-7-'25: Private Party
1-24-'25: Peaceful Pines SL
1-10-'25: Peaceful Pines SL
12-14-’24: High Plains Western Heritage Center
11-17-'24: Crow Peak Brewery (w/ Grammy winner Dan Mahar!)
11-10-'24: High Plains Western Heritage Center
10-11-’24: Lookout Lounge
9-8-’24: The Clubhouse
9-7-'24: The Red Onion, Belle Fourche
8-8-’24: Elkhorn Ridge Resort
7-20-'24: Spearfish Festival in the Park
6-28-24: Hot Springs Main Street Festival
5-27-'24: Little Dane Church Memorial Day service
5-3-'24: Black Hills State University 50th Reunion, Class of '74
4-26-'24: Bullwacker's
11-12-'23: Black Hills Cowboy Church
5-15-'22: High Plains Western Heritage Center (with the great Kenny Putnam, Gordy Pratt, Paul Larson, Jason Guthmiller, and Rod Garnett!) 

Greetings! We are Jonny Hummingbird and Shelley Meadowlark, an acoustic duo available for hire that just loves to share great songs for people. Our style is an odd mix of genres, and our song list ranges from timeless pop, to folk, country, bluegrass, gospel, and even a couple of 15th century numbers! We play live at a variety of venues, including restaurants, lounges, festivals, fundraisers, church functions, funerals, private parties, and the occasional private acousticism for those suffering persistent electric earworms. :-)
Seriously though, we are hobby musicians who just hope we can bring some joy to those who hear our music. Will be slowly adding songs to this page. Thank you for listening.
P.S.  Check out our website at the link below.  You can also hear some of  Jonny's original tracks at the link to his Soundcloud. Cheers!

Jonny and Shel

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