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Dinosaur Tracks

by David A. Harley

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1.
You can’t cage a butterfly, not unless you break its wings (x2) You can cage a songbird, but you can’t make him sing I went over the hill and I heard some flyer blow (x2) I’ve been too long in the city: time to pack my grip and go You think I’m fooling, but honey, it’s a fact (x2) You had a good old mule, but you just broke his back
2.
Southside 02:52
I’ve got a woman on the Southside Two more above the timberline But it’s you, you, you In my heart and on my mind I followed you across the city Anywhere your footprints led But I just can’t stand to think of you In that other man’s bed I’m going across the river To some bar where the lights don’t burn too bright I might need you so bad right now But I won’t even know your name by midnight I’m leaving soon one morning For any place my footsteps fall If I can’t pay the fare I’ll walk till I have to crawl
3.
Bootup Blues 02:24
When I woke up this morning My laptop wouldn’t boot at all I said I woke up this morning And tossed my Tosh against the wall My baby took the mains adapter And the battery’s screwed beyond recall Well she left me for some guy With a 99GHz overclocked PC And now she’s interfacing With his RS232C (he’s a serial womanizer) She said my hard disk was too small To satisfy Her new spreadsheet I wouldn’t treat an iPad The way that woman treated me She fragmented my hard disk And ran off with my Angry Birds DVD Left me nothing but this boot sector virus And a copy of Wordstar version 3.3 Dah-diddy-dah-diddy-dah-diddy-dah….
4.
There's no future in singing the blues I guess I'll leave, I've got nothing to lose Wearing out my shoes, walking away from you And if I can't walk, I guess I'll fly... I went down to the depot, looked up on the board: It said 'Good times here, but better down the road' Wearing out my shoes walking away from you And if I can't walk I guess I'll fly Going down to the crossroads, my cap in my hand Looking for a woman that's looking for a man And wearing out my shoes walking away from you And if I can't walk I guess I'll fly, bye bye
5.
Quiet days / Slow march past of the minutes Remorseless progression / of the hours The sun burns out / in a mock tropic sky The sands run down / and time holds its breath Waiting, ever waiting for the stranger in uniform To shatter the mirror-still days Quiet days / counting falling leaves Stripping petals / from a scrap of bush Nights under the trees / hiding from the world Singing wild songs / to a gypsy moon Waiting, ever waiting for the stranger in uniform To shatter the cut-crystal days Quiet days / sunrise leaps from tree to tree A small boy with a fishing rod / re-lives jam-jar days Ripples smooth away / the wrinkled image Waiting for history / to rewrite the page Waiting, ever waiting for the stranger in uniform to shatter the diamond-cut days Quiet country days / in a honeymoon paradise Raindrops / dancing tiptoe on the glass Clouds hang heavy / as time and history Hiding in each other / in autumn 1939 Waiting, ever waiting for the stranger in uniform To shatter the looking glass days
6.
You keep asking for time so I’m giving you the rest of your life It’s been a long way down but you can give it just as long as you like A fast set of wheels is the only way out I know I just feel like letting go Talk about miles of air, that’s all I need I’m leaving light as I came ’cause that’s just about my speed I came in 29 and I’m leaving feeling 44 I just feel like letting go We started out dancing but we’re each doing different steps And I’m sick of waiting for a miracle to connect You keep changing the rules but I’ve an end game all my own I just feel like letting go Sometimes I get the strangest feeling lying in your bed While my body makes love, there’s rubber burning in my head A fast set of wheels is the cleanest cut I know I just feel like letting go
7.
A trace of your scent still lingers on my pillow And raises echoes in my memory And I believe you’re missing me almost as much as I miss you But I wish to God that you were here with me The sun will surely rise on another soft blue morning And lying in your arms is where I’ll be With sweet dreams still in my eyes, I’ll wake and kiss your hair But it’s a long cold night while you’re not here with me This guitar once played for keeps, but since you changed my life This guitar just plays for you, if that’s OK? This guitar rang bells for losers, but there’ll be no more songs of losing Though this guitar just plays the blues while you’re away
8.
How does it feel to be proved right When everything just fell apart? Does it buy you sleep through long cold nights? Does it ease your aching heart? Score two points, scratch one lover: You said it’s too good to be true. Why don’t you run back to your mother? She always knows what’s best for you. All those black moods and jealousies, Now you know they were justified. She looks so happy, holding hands with someone else: Was it worth it, being right? Hold on to all that righteous anger But don’t forget who set it up for her. If she’s easier in someone else’s arms, She might be telling you you were unfair. Score two points, scratch one lover: Let it ride, it’s just the gypsy’s curse. But people tend to give you what you ask for: Maybe you only got what you deserved
9.
Early in the morning / Shaking in my shoes Coming down with cherry fever / And the rotgut brown ale blues I’m low in the water / I’m low in the water I’m low in the water / But I ain’t sinking yet Another Sunday morning / Another one night stand One more passing shipwreck / Drowning on dry land And I don’t know how I got here / But thank you for the ride I’ll see you somewhere sometime / If I don’t have time to hide Singing for your supper / Isn’t half the fun it seems It’s a pint or five of courage / And a box of broken dreams
10.
Soleares 05:55
There’s a note she keeps re-reading from a graveyard far away The writer begs to offer sympathy The man she once married and left so long ago is gone beyond remorse and anything that might have been Automatically she washes up, tidies and dusts Starts to drink her coffee and leaves it to congeal She tries to write an answer but somehow it falls apart The words are vague and stilted – how can she tell how she feels A threat of soleares spins softly from stereo Ghostly in the sunlight, reflecting ancient pain Sombre rasgueado, a hint of distant thunder Like the muted threat of Spanish rain The phone rings: she shares the news but nothing of her feelings Someone says “So sorry – I’ll ring back if you like” Ringing off as if in dread of inapt and nervous laughter Hanging brittle in the silence though it never left her throat Shadows lengthen into evening: she has a drink or two As if to fill the emptiness she feels She can’t trace her emotions but her thoughts are wheeling Around a situation scarcely real Somehow all our failures rise to haunt us from the graveyard At times like this it seems that guilt and death Potentiate each other like phenobarb and whisky It passes with time but she can’t believe it yet Her nights won’t all be sleepless like the one that lies ahead In a world of other people with their own claims on her time Other joys and sorrows: other games to win and lose But a whisper from the grave still tells her “Tonight is mine”
11.
Lady Luck 03:10
I rolled out my paper this morning to see what Lady Luck would say She said “Sorry boy, no joy: It’s just another rainy day…” Slow down, Lady Luck: why d’ya turn your back on me? I never meant you any harm at all, but you really have your claws in me Rolled out of bed this morning, hoping for a little sun But a long cool woman put the freeze on me and the good times are dead and gone Slow down, Lady Luck: lady, won’t you let me be? I never meant you any harm at all, but you really have your knife in me I think I’ll point my feet at the highway and move a little further down the line If my shoes get stuck maybe Lady Luck will let me go this time Slow down, Lady Luck: why d’ya turn your back on me? I never meant you any harm at all, but you really have your claws in me I don’t mean to bring you down, I don’t mean to take you too deep But I’m bored and bad and feeling sad and I need me a place to sleep Slow down, Lady Luck: why d’ya turn your back on me? I never meant you any harm at all, but you really have your claws in me
12.
I don’t mind coffee Milk or even tea But water without whisky Is just too strong for me I was drunk last night / drunk the night before x2 I’ll be drunk again this evening but I won’t be drunk no more Feeling tomorrow Like I do today I’ll break your hard rock head And make my getaway If you quit me baby Tell you what I’ll do I’ll drink a quart of whisky And let it out all over you
13.
Odd Job Man 02:53
I’m an odd job man, I work by day and night I’m an odd job man, I work by day and night I’m a handy-doodle-dandy and my dovetails fit just right. I’m a Do-It-Yourself demon, got the tool for every use I’m a D-I-Y demon, got the tool for every use I’ve got an A1 set of drivers when your screws are working loose I’ve got the brace and the bit to drill just where you need Gotta brace, got a bit, I can drill just where you need I’ve the angle and the rhythm, satisfaction guaranteed I’ve got the switches and the cable and my fuses never blow Gotta jack for every socket and my connections never blow When I overhaul your wiring just lay back and watch her go I’m an odd job man, on the job just when you please I’m an odd job man, fix it anywhere you please If your hardware’s getting rusty, just let me slip you some grease
14.
I won’t go down to the river Anyway not yet There’s too much to do and the water’s cold And I don’t want my feet wet I don’t want my feet wet I won’t go down to the river Perhaps I really should But the sand’s so warm between my toes And you know it feels so good I know it does me good Come on down to the river It can’t do you harm You’ve got to learn sometime to sink or swim And the sun will keep you warm The sun will keep you warm I won’t go down to the river You know I can’t go down The side's so steep & the water’s so still I’m scared that I might drown So scared that I might drown Come on down to the river The road’s so hard and rough If your head is clear and your hands are clean Surely you can’t drown in love? You can’t drown in love I can’t go down to the river I surely can’t go down My soul is parched and my body aches But I just know I’ll drown I know I’ll surely drown Come on down to the river It tastes so sweet and cold Come on down while there's still time And wash the dust out of your soul The dust out of your soul We’ve got to get on down to the river We have to learn to trust Got to wash away all the doubt and fear Before the whole darn world dries up Before the world dries up

about

When I started to do many more of my own songs, back in the 1970s, much of my repertoire was blues-based, and my own songs reflected that bias, including most of the songs here. The performances here are mostly demo-quality, mostly taken from cassettes rather than studio performances, but the fingers and the voice were generally in better shape than they are nowadays. The guitar in particular is generally pretty decent on these tracks. And while I'm less blues-oriented nowadays, I think these songs fit quite nicely into the genre, and my opinion is, of course, quite unbiased.

These are all 'live' recordings with no overdubs except for the lead break on 'Lady Luck' and the slide on 'This Guitar Just Plays The Blues'.

Hat tip to Ken Bechtel, who for some reason suggested that 'Dinosaur Tracks' would be a suitable title for a Harley album.

Wheal Alice Music WAM21-9

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released July 12, 2021

Words & Music by David A. Harley. Electric/acoustic/resonator guitars, and vocals, by David A. Harley. Cover photograph by Judith Harley.

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David A. Harley England, UK

David Harley is a former professional musician, administrator, IT security editor, author and researcher, and former much else that is even less impressive. He now lives in Cornwall. More info at whealalice.com

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