Grampa Was A Miner

A true story. My grampa was a coal miner when he was a young man in the 1920s.  And he paid the price for working in the coal mines for the rest of his life. He also was a somewhat devout Quaker, a loyal member of the United Mine Workers, and a recreational moonshiner of sorts.  My mother use to tell me stories about how he’d pay his union dues before any other bills got paid and make a batch of homemade hooch on Saturday which he frequently shared with the local sheriff.  So much for prohibition! He died of Black Lung disease in 1964 when I was just 9 years old, but I’ve never forgotten him.

Tequlia Lips

Oh how I wish it was true.  I’ve known some free-spirited women over the years.  More often than not they were auburn haired or redheaded.  They were always my Kryptonite. The woman in this song is a composite of them.  I’m sad to report that there really was no tattooed thighs that said “Love hard then die.”  It’s a nice erotic thought though.

Black Rose

This came together as a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.  The words and music came about as separate things.  I never intended for them to really go together.  But when I couldn’t find a melody to fit the words to “Black Rose” or words to fit the untitled melody, I decided to try them together, and the rest as they say is history.  The lyrics here are the chocolate.  The music is the peanut butter.  The song itself is about how hard it is to keep love fresh and thriving.  The last verse comes closest to home. Life’s little challenges and routines can take their toll and leave very little time for love, but I’m please to report that my wife and I have been married for over 20 years now.