John McCutcheon
Nothing to Lose

Personnel

John McCutcheon, acoustic and electric guitars, hammer dulcimers, percussion, and autoharp / Michael Aharon, piano, organ, synthesizer, electric guitar / Pete Kennedy, acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin / Robert "Jos" Jospé, drums, percussion / Kevin Davis, percussion / Bobby King, bass / Bob Read, saxophones / John D'earth, trumpets / Jon Carroll, harmony vocals / JT Brown, harmony vocals / Maura Kennedy, harmony vocals / Robin & Linda Williams, harmony vocals

Formats

Compact Disk: Rounder CD:011661021624 Cassette: Rounder CS:011661021648

Produced by Paul Reisler
Year Released: 1986

Lyrics

Leftovers
© 1995 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Si Kahn/Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)

Here, take this bowl of mashed potatoes
And put `em on the table over there
I got biscuits in the oven and I believe there's beans
In the back of the Frigidaire
Everybody in their place, bow your heads and say a grace
Billy, don't be messing with your shoe
I'm late for work, be back at ten and if the kids are sleepin' then I might have a minute for you

I was a size 6 kid in a size 12 dress
That my sister had handed me down
Riding my brother's old fat-tire bike
Through this used up part of town
And by the time that I'd been round the block
And loved me a time or two
You saw past these old hand-me-downs
Till all there was was me and you

Chorus

Second hand kid to a second hand wife
Leftover dreams in a hand-me-down life
But looking across this night at you
I feel like a brand new penny all shiny and new

Workin' on the swing shift holdin' two jobs
Four kids and just barely gettin' by
If the heater on the Ford will only make it through the winter
There'll be money for vacation in July
It's scratch and dent, thrift shops
Clippin' out the coupons, anything you can to make do
Still you lie awake at night with a hunger in your heart
And the kids are wantin' hundred-dollar shoes

Chorus

Now I got my Nescafé and a can of Carnation
And a whole lotta house to clean
And the last one left just Saturday morning
For a job down in Bowling Green
Ain't we a sight to see with a whole day free
And a whole night of nothing to do
You know, we done alright, now, baby, hit the light
I got a whole life leftover for you

Chorus

Each Season It's the Same
© 1987 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)

He was standing on the bridge as I was passing just today
He says to no one, "It's a miracle, you know.
"I've run these fish for forty years, each season it's the same
"They somehow find the way to home and go."

"Well, I've fished the Dogs, the Humpies, and the Silvers in my time
"The Kings get up to fifty pounds or more
"Spring sends the fries back out to sea, each season it's the same
"Then it's through my nets and back to home once more."

"They'll most of them not last, you know," he looked me straight and long
"They'll whiten as they fight to make the head
"And those that brave the bear and birds, the lucky and the strong,
"Will leave their bones to see the young are fed."

"We're not so awful different," he said smiling with his eyes
"It's an upstream fight, no matter how you swim
"The lucky and the strong survive, each season it's the same
"And we leave our bones where life begins again."

"These fish and I, we both need one another, don't you know,
"The sowing and the reaping side by side
"I thin them and they fatten me, each season it's the same
"And I couldn't half explain it if I tried
"`Cause it's a miracle!" he whispered overside.

The Way It's Supposed to Be
© 1995 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Si Kahn/Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)

The sun skims on the water
The way it's supposed to be
I am the fisherman's daughter
The way it's supposed to be
I mend and dry the net
Sure fingers don't forget

Chorus

The way it's supposed to
The way it's supposed to
The way it's supposed to be

The skate and the barracuda
The jack and the yellow tuna
The dolphins break and leap
We plow the coraled deep

This boat is like no other
This boat named for my mother
No motor, only sails
The trade wind never fails (us)

And when the long day's done
We make the homeward run
Pigeon pea and the callaloo
Jack Iron and the lambi stew

And when my own daughter is older
She'll use her back and shoulder
This will be my dying wish
I might return a fish

Walk On
© 1995 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Si Kahn/Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)

I see you walking down
The road to broken hearts
I wind the picture back
And watch it from the start
They say that time will tell
But time won't tell you how
If you were with me then
Why aren't you with me now

Walk on Walk on Walk on Walk on

I see you standing
With your face turned to the wind
I wind the picture back
To the place where we begin
They say time heals all wounds
But time won't hide all scars
If you once loved me
Won't you tell me where you are

I see you running
Down the street of has no shame
I watch the credits roll
Until I find our names
Now as the picture fades
I wonder why you've gone
If time is on our side
Which side are you on

The Memory of Old Jack
© 1995 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Si Kahn/Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)

Inspired by the novel, The Memory of Old Jack, by Wendell Ber

Old Jack Beachum played it close to the chest
No, he never gave away his hand
Born and worked his ninety-two
On that sorry little piece of land
Now he sits all day at the Grand Hotel
With the sun full in his face
But the memory of Old Jack Still lives in a better place

Some stay home and they never go far
Some go out and they never come back
Some can travel wherever they are
Close their eyes and live inside
The memory of Old Jack

The year was 1917
On a wagon driving into town
On the walk in front of the millinery shop
Is where my heart came a-tumbling down
Now I was a man of hard work
But she was a woman of means
And love can never last forever
When it's pulled between two different dreams

I saw the young men go off to war
Come home and go back again
The motor overtook the mule
Though I can't remember when
The barn burned down in `34
I lost a real good team inside
But when Sally got married and moved to town
That's when a whole great big piece of me died

The days grow short and the eyes grow dim
The what-if's and the might-have-been's
The steps get slow and the times get fast
It's easier living in the past

The neighbors and the children
The hard times and the pain
Come gather all around me
And cool me like the rain
They each can take their own sweet time
And each one has its place
They dance like dry leaves in the wind
With the sun full in my face

Nothing to Lose
© 1995 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Si Kahn/Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)

This song came as a dream in 1973. Long gestation period.

Sit on down, take a load off the pavement
Sit on down, take a load off your shoes
Where you going in such a great big hurry
Sit down, you got nothing to lose

Now I ain't trying to sell you nothing
Don't know a thing about the weather or the news
I ain't got two ambitions to rub together
Sit down, you got nothing to lose

I got a cool glass of water
And a half a Sunday
And nowhere I gotta be
I got time to kill
And lies to tell
And no one to listen to me

So take off your hat, throw your coat in the corner
I can tell by your hands you done paid your dues
I'm just trying to waste your time
Sit down, you got nothing to lose

You're just like me
When I didn't know better
Just rushin' and swarpin' around
A man can convince himself that anything's important
You gotta look up, shut up, and sit down

So loosen that tie, put your feet on the railing
We can talk about whatever you choose
Ain't no use in you puttin' on airs
I don't need a thing you got nothing to lose

I got the old porch swing
And an oak split rocker
Fresh ice tea and a pecan pie
Now, you can go if you want
Or stay if you're able
Sit a bit and watch
All the fools rush by

Sit on down, take a load off the pavement
Sit on down, take a load off your shoes
Where you going in such a great, big hurry
Sit down, you got nothing to lose

Loser Like You
© 1995 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Si Kahn/Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)

I was a workaday daddy
On a dead end job
With a boss just half my age
Out on the road
Trying to feed a family
Eatin' on that minimum wage
And it was maybe next week
Just around the corner
I'll be knockin' on fortune's door
But I came home last night and there's note on the fridge
Saying, "Goodbye, John, I just can't take anymore"

Chorus

Well, I never thought that I was a bad man
But today I just caught up with my life
I got four empty rooms
And a hole in my heart
Where there used to be kids
And a lovin' wife
I know it happens in the movies
And in the paperback novels too
But this isn't supposed to happen to people like me
Only to losers like you

So I struck out on the highway
Heading for god knows where
Getting work by the day just to pay my way
Trying to find a dollar to spare
It's always maybe next week
They'll be just around the corner
And I'm feelin' like I'm on a roll
Every turn and bend is another dead end
Now I'm homeless and heartsick and out of control

Chorus

Bridge

Losers like you they ain't nothin' like me
Losers like you they must deserve to be
Losers like you happen everyday
Losers like you just one step away

I'm just sitting out on the sidewalk
Waiting for my happy ending
`Cause if you play by the rules you're not like them fools
Still I feel like I'm just pretending
And maybe next week
Just around the corner
All of my dreams will come true
And just when I think it can't get any worse
I'll sneak a peak on over at you

Chorus

Here on the Islands
© 1986 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)

I was born here on the islands, like my father and his too
Where the fishing and the canning are the only work to do
Some take to the waters and some are meant to stay
To work the salmon here across the bay

Oh, the work was hard and steady, but the work was always there
At night you'd come home, shivering, with the salmon on the air
And suppertime, the smell of work would linger in the homes
In our children, in our paychecks, in our bones

But the boats that brought our livings brought the outside in as well
And we watched as engines pulled the lines where once men worked like hell
And no one guessed, like all the rest, the times would claim us too
And the work we swore we'd each been born to do

I never thought I'd long to smell the stink of salmon on my clothes
Or thrill to see the boats laid low lined at the dock in rows
Now three shifts a day I dream of pay my honest work can't buy
As the diesels belch and blacken out the sky

Oh, the word went out one morning for those who knew the trade,
"There's work for those who want it while repairs are being made
"There's 20,000 pounds or more to dress and clean and roe...
" But old Emmett Spence, he boldly answered, 'No!'

"Oh, you took our knives, our slickers, our places on the crew
"You took our pay to buy machines, so terrible and new
"You took our children, you took our parents, our husbands and our wives
"You took our livings, God you took our lives!"

Oh, the fisted grip of silence broke as knives fell to the floor
And, one by one, we turned our backs and walked out of the door
I was the first, my chest near burst, with fear and doubt and pride
As ten silver tons of summer rots inside

Now some say that we done crazy, some say that we done right
And I wonder as I lie and hear the engines drone all night
Will the stories told when I am old remind up plain and clear
That courage has no meaning without fear
And our past is not a window, but a mirror

Paint Me A Picture
© 1995 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Si Kahn/Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)

Paint me a picture
Put you in it
Put me right next to you
We are in Paris
Or in Toronto
The sky is breathlessly blue
The birds are V's in the distance
A white dog walks in the fore
Paint us touching
Paint us smiling
The kind you never wore

Paint me a picture
Put us in the country
The grass is faithlessly green
There is some water
I remember
Perhaps a lake or a stream
Our shoes are gone and our feet are bare
Not another soul in sight
Paint us longing
And paint us nearing
As though we'd gotten it right

Paint me a picture
Then paint another
From every angle and side
Paint us aged
Paint us as babies
Paint you once as a bride
Your eyes are turned to a distant sight
Something you were trying to see
Paint me a picture
Paint me remembered
Paint us how we used to be

Lefty's Bar Tonight
© 1986 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)

Lefty's is the no-scab bar in Austin, MN...home of the Hormel meatpacking company and a contentious strike that began in 1985. I spent many a night in Lefty's after rally's and concerts at the Local P-9 union hall. Had cheap beer, a great juke box, and some of the finest people you ever met.

Mister, this here is a good town, I've lived here all my life
`Cept the two years up in St. Paul, but I moved back with a wife
Well, I got a family, I got a factory, I got a future in this town
Never much for fighting, but we won't be pushed around

Sit down here and I'll tell you just what's happened to this place
It's neighbors crossing picket lines, can't look their neighbors in the face
But it's the same the country over folks with backs against the wall
Needing pride and needing paychecks, it's the toughest fight of all

Chorus

It's another round of Millers at Lefty's Bar tonight
Another game of Eight Ball, center pocket on the right
A quarter for the juke box, my spirit's on the mend
And it's another round of Millers at Lefty's Bar again

These Minnesota winters, Lord, they'll chill you to the bone
And the days drag on forever trying to pass the time at home
So I work at the hall when I am able, work at an odd job when I can
Keeps the food out on the table, keeps me feeling like a man

Chorus

So don't you play me no more sad songs, I've squeezed out my last tear
Just give me food to fuel the fight, that's all I want to hear
No sugar-coated love songs just to turn my eyes away
`Cause it's the future and this fire helps me make it through my day (to...)

Chorus

My Old Man
© 1995 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Si Kahn/Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)

My old man was born on the north side
Lived in Northside all his life
Took the Pirates for his ball team
Took my mother for his wife
My old man he raised six children
Raised them right and he raise them well
My old man went to Mass on Sunday
But Saturday night he sure raised hell

Chorus

He said, "Son, remember
Always do the best you can"
This world's not the same
Without my old man

My old man he fought in Korea
My old man he come back home
My old man he stood for something
Though lots of times he stood alone
My old man he worked the ovens
My old man was a man of steel
Let you know just what he thought
Let you know just what was real

Chorus

Bridge

In `79 the Pirates took the Series
They tore down his old mill to build a mall
Now we're eating fish right out of the river
This ain't the town my old man knew at all

My old man he got too angry
My old man would stomp and shout
He ate and he drank and he laughed too much
Till one day his heart gave out
My old man lies on the hillside
High above the river mill
Tore the heart right out of Pittsburgh
My old man I hear him still

When I say, "Son, remember
Always do the best you can"
Let's go and catch a game
This life seems so damn tame
This world's just not the same
Without my old man

Wish You Goodnight
© 1993 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)

Now the day has slowing faded
And the sun has slipped from the western heights
The stars are hung and the moon is rising
And I wish you good dreams, good morrow, and I wish you good night

All the songs and tales from across the ages
That will set our eyes on a greater sight
Are a port of calm as the battles rages
And I wish you good dreams, good morrow, and I wish you good night

Chorus

And I wish you songs to speed you through the evening
And I wish you rest at the close of the day
And a harbor safe till the morning light
And I wish you good dreams, good morrow, and I wish you good night

All those who've gone and left our number
Who have raised their voices and their wings in flight
Still guide our way in their quiet slumber
And I wish them good dreams, good morrow, and I wish you good night

All those who'll come and take our places
Take up our work and join the fight
We leave our hearts, our history, and our faces
And I wish them good dreams, good morrow, and I wish you good night

Chorus

So gather `round, you friends and lovers
Let the darkness come for the fire is bright
Though the road is long, love makes us stronger
And I wish you good dreams, good morrow, and I wish you good night

Chorus