Words:

Was a cowboy I knew in south Texas,
His face was burnt deep by the sun,
Part history, part sage, part mesquit,
He was there when Poncho Villa was young.
And he’d tell you a tale of the old days,
When the country was wild all around,
Sit out under the stars of the Milky Way,
And listen while the coyotes howl.

And they go… hoo yip hoo yip hoo
hoodi hoo di yip hoo di yip hoo
hoo yip hoo yip hoo
hoo di hoo di yip hoo di yip hoo

Now the long horns are gone And the drovers are gone,
The Comanches are gone, And the outlaws are gone,
Geronimo is gone, And Sam Bass is gone,
And the lion is gone, And the red wolf is gone.

Well he cursed all the roads and the oil men,
And he cursed the automobile,
Said this is no place for an hombre like I am,
In this new world of asphalt and steel.
Then he’d look off some place in the distance,
At something only he could see,
He’d say all that’s left now of the old days,
Those damned old coyotes and me.

And they go hoo yip hoo yip hoo
hoodi hoo di yip hoo di yip hoo
hoo yip hoo yip hoo
hoo di hoo di yip hoo di yip hoo

Now the long horns are gone, And the drovers are gone
The Comanches are gone And the outlaws are gone,
Now Quantro is gone, Stan Watie is gone,
And lion is gone, And the red wolf is gone.

One morning they searched his adobe,
He disappeared without even a word,
But that night as the moon crossed the mountain,
One more coyote was heard.

And he’d go, hoo yip hoo yip hoo
hoodi hoo di yip hoo di yip hoo
hoo yip hoo yip hoo
hoo di hoo di yip hoo di yip hoo

Now the long horns are gone, And the drovers are gone
The Comanches are gone And the outlaws are gone,
Now Quantro is gone, Stan Watie is gone,
And the red wolf is gone – And “Treadwell” is gone…

Notes:
1.) Timothy Treadwell (April 29, 1957 – October 5, 2003) was an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, amateur naturalist, eco-warrior and documentary film maker. He lived among the coastal grizzly bears of Katmai National Park in Alaska, USA, for approximately 13 seasons. At the end of his 13th season in the park in 2003, he and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were killed and eaten by a brown bear. Treadwell’s life, work and death were the subject of the 2005 documentary film by Werner Herzog titled Grizzly Man. (Wikipedia)

2.) Drovers in this case refers to the cowboys who drove the cattle across the prairies to the rail heads.
3.) Sam Bass: Outlaw in the old west
4.) Stan Watie: American Indian, Civil War Confederate
5.) Quantro: Fighters during American Civil War

I decided to record a trial run today on my Hohner Acoustic whose strings I changed this weekend. Guitar is tuned a step down with Capo on 5th Fret. Audio is a bit distorted due to my innovative idea of using the capo as a Mic stand..got too close!

Lyrics:

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there,
She once was a true love of mine.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
Without no seams nor needlework
Then she’ll be a true love of mine

Tell her to find me an acre of land
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
Between salt water and the sea strands
Then she’ll be a true love of mine.

Tell her to reap it in a sickle of leather
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
And gather it all in a bunch of heather
Then she’ll be a true love of mine.

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there,
She once was a true love of mine.

Words:

Now I’ve come to the cross-roads
In my life and I will say
I still dream of tomorrow
When the stars will show the way
Yes I say

Now we stand here together
Still apart, so far away
There’s a time there’s a season
When the feeling must go away
Yes I say

Oh the valleys and the sea
I long to be in arms of thee
I’ll sail away – hey wild and free

When the rain comes-a-calling
At my door – Yes I’ll sing
Sing to you – there’s a story
Of a Maiden & the king
Yes I’ll sing

Oh the forest and the stream
I wish I were in arms of thee
I’ll sing along, come sing with me

Here I stand at the cross-roads
In my life and I must say
I still dream of tomorrow
When forever we will stay
Yes I say.

-Gautam Dhar (12th Dec. 09)

Lyrics:

Any way the wind may blow
Any way the creek may flow
Any way the crow may fly, within the confines of the sky
I will prove my love to you
In everything I say and in all I do

Anywhere the song is king
Anywhere the robin sings
Anywhere the lake is cold
Anywhere the bell is tolled
I will prove my love to you
In everything I say and in all I do

Anytime our paths don’t cross
And the losing dice are tossed
Anytime you know what’s best
Anytime I can’t care less
I’ll make it up to you
In everything I say and in all I do

Any way the wind may blow
Any way I stub my toe
Any way the tree might bend
Any way the day might end
I will prove my love to you
In everything I say and in all I do
I will make it up to you
In everything I say and in all I do

I wanted to share a recording of In the Paradise song written & composed by Nikhil. We did this dual Guitar recording at Rohtak – the night before our trip to Khajjiar, Himalayas in July 2007.

There are no vocals, but just the Instrumental where we tried to add a second Guitar to this song. While I reminisce the memories of my recent Himalayan Travels, enjoy this recording meanwhile!

I was going through my old writing pads and found this that I had written in December 2005, towards the end of yet another Michigan Winter. I’d like to share this with you all along with a short melody I recorded this afternoon. I don’t know yet whether I will take it forward or keep ir where it is. I have no name for it yet.

I reckon I’ll just call it “The Final Hour” to match the story of a young stranger below. Hope you mates enjoy it. Click here for the MP3. Please bear with the noise during recording

It so reminds me of Beethoven, who said that the D minor is the saddest of all chords. No wonder so many of my songs are based on D minor including this melody. Here is the poem I wrote in Dec. 2005

The candle softly flickers before the final hour
A strong puff of wind whispers in the quiet
Somewhere in the forest down by the stream
A strange young beauty stumbles in the night

Back in the days I knew such a place
I too have seen it with my own eyes
Mist in the mountains, snow in the hills
Ye, I have seen a true paradise

But here I live away from my mountains
Friends and foes, they’re all long gone
Stay young stranger, light me a fire
Hand me the fiddle – I’ll sing you a song

Back in the wondrous days of my yore
Never did I know I’d be the one
Making people dance to an old melody
Sitting by the fire till the night was done

But here I sit in the shade of my dreams
Sure is kind for you to come along
Times are hard, but this I will say
Stay young stranger – I’ll sing you a song
Stay till the shades of night are gone.

Gautam Dhar
6th December 2005
Lansing, Michigan

P.S. The photo is of a lake in Ganges, Michigan. I took it during the Gita Retreat in September 2006.

The original song is by a Pakistani band called EP (Entity Pradigm). This is my own rendition in a slower mood.