Get all 12 Andrew McKnight releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Treasures in My Chest, Live: Bound for Glory, Live from the Appalachians to Austin, Sampler Download, One Virginia Night, Something Worth Standing For, 1845, Red-Haired Boy, and 4 more.
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Words and music by A. McKnight, 1999©Catalooch Music, BMI
Verse 1
Climbing on this big jet plane, headed into, a western sky
if I had a rearview mirror, that's how I'd pass the time
looking back on, leaving I've done, should be old hat by now
do I want too much, lingering touch, did I hold her too long
Chorus
Eighteen hundred miles, from the Chesapeake to this Great Divide
Eighteen hundred miles, separate me from the truth inside
and I am lonesome, lonesome under western skies
Verse 2
Drive these roads that long ago, echoed with hooves, Arapaho
and as I pass these ranches I almost feel their ghosts riding along
never cared for, conquistadors, plundering mountains for gold
so please don't fear, I haven't come here, to prospect for love or reward
Chorus
Verse 3
50 West, beckons like an old friend, leading me to, parts unknown
and I draw gallons of cold comfort, knowing this road, can lead me home
is it my heart, missed her from the start, or just thin air getting to my head
Chorus
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Cedars
04:31
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Words and music A. McKnight, 2007©Catalooch Music, BMI
Verse 1
The unmarked blacktop winds back in time,
remembered ways I've known and left behind
the signs have changed but the way is clear
it's been so long since I've been here
Memories point past that sycamore tree
make a left where the Miller's red barn used to be
the gravel gently gives beneath my wheels
and I remember how it feels
Chorus
A rusted tractor rests among the cedar trees
a pause between the past and what's to be
ten thousand houses don't leave any space
this was home, when this was a different place
Verse 2
These windows watched three generations grow old
silent statue stands to times long ago
when they say you can't go home again, I know what they mean
I still see those fields of green
Chorus
Verse 3
Now open red clay wounds weep every time it rains
castles grow instead of acres of grain
I wonder if those kids will know where food comes from
and if someday they'll ask where we have gone
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Story: My Dad's Gig
02:57
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Bad News
03:26
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Words and music A. McKnight, 1999©Catalooch Music, BMI
Verse 1
Telephone rings, pulse picks up the beat,
got no explanation for, my rising body heat
guess I'm, expecting bad news
Verse 2
My least favorite words, are "we gotta talk"
they're usually followed by, a long and lonesome walk
cause' I'm, expecting bad news
Bridge
When the mailman comes, let the dog run loose,
I won't shoot the messenger but, delivery refused
call me irrational, but I won't lie to you
cause' I'm, expecting bad news
Solo (over bridge)
Verse 3
If you've got issues, I don't want to know
here's some advice for you, just pack them up and go
you can keep those letters coming, call me if you choose
but keep your secrets, if you're bearing, bad news,
I just, can't take no more bad, news
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Intro: One More Year
00:12
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Words and music A. McKnight, 2010©Catalooch Music, BMI
Verse 1
Coffee’s hot, though it’s not yet dawn
Autumn geese, call out their winter warning song
Seeds I’ve sown stand 6 feet tall, waiting in that morning sun
Fertilized with pain and prayers that this day would come
Verse 2
These rolling fields, rich with soybeans, wheat and corn
A treasure chest, most every year since I was born
Cycles of the seasons, and the rhythms of the dirt
If we can’t make it work no more, I can’t tell you how that’d hurt
Chorus
So give me, one more year before I have to face the facts
Our golden days they ain’t never coming back
There’ll still be food on your table, but will you know where it comes from
When my farm on down the road, is up and gone
Verse 3
The winter wind, each year gets harder on my bones
Can’t blame my sons, plant roots in, nice suburban homes
That real estate agent, each Christmas at my door,
Each year I close it wondering, if I can take much more
Chorus
Verse 4
a gamblin' man, knows the odds before he rolls
but farmer’s plans, are acts of faith that take their tolls
begging of the bankers, pleading with the bureau man
or taking checks for fattening hogs, ain’t living on the land
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Chemical Voodoo
03:52
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Words and music A. McKnight, 1998©Catalooch Music, BMI
Verse 1
The moon sweats with fever, wet with clouds blood red
in a dark patch of bayou swamp, where angels fear to tread
pipes long forgotten, from beneath refineries
and chemical voodoo, hangs like heat from hell
the swamp keeps dark secrets, cause no one’s returned to tell, of chemical voodoo
Verse 2
the legends come in whispers, his name they will not speak,
one night his pirogue vanished, in a thick tangle of cypress trees
that he met his Maker, that much is certainty
cause’ chemical voodoo, hangs like heat from hell
the swamp keeps dark secrets, cause no one’s returned to tell, of chemical voodoo
Verse 3
the halo of the factory lights, cannot penetrate the trees,
the air dank with evil, the wind blows like disease
under eyes of industrial skies, so far from St. Evangeline
it’s chemical voodoo, hangs like heat from hell
the swamp keeps dark secrets, cause no one’s returned to tell,
it’s chemical voodoo
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How High the Mountain
03:27
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Words & music A. McKnight, 1999©Catalooch Music, BMI
A cappella Chorus
How high is this mountain, that I've fallen down
how far have I tumbled to be here
how long must I climb, to see sweet sun again
out of this valley of despair
Instrumental intro
Instrumental verse
Chorus
Verse 1
How heavy is the cross, that I'm bound to bear,
how long an uphill march lies ahead,
how will I keep my heart, from turning to stone
lift my face to the light instead
Chorus
Mandolin Verse
Harmonica Verse
Verse 2
How far must I roam, to find the Promised Land,
how many miles more to Calvary
how many lonesome nights, til I find my star
set my course straight and true again
Chorus
Outro
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Ansel Adams
05:27
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Words & music A. McKnight, 2007©Catalooch Music, BMI
Verse 1
Will there be another Ansel Adams, American original
sculptor of shadow and light
will another have the patience, to await the perfect moment,
when the elements and angles are just right
Verse 2
Ansel Adams was no hero, cursed with pride and foible,
but like any Einstein you find, take everything you can
seraphim of film and format, wizard of the lens,
freezing magic in a frame of stone and sand
Chorus
In a range of light a gentle man revealed his heart
showed us treasures God in plain sight hid
and in a sacred setting, shutter clicking on the wind
let us see like Ansel Adams did
Verse 3
A moment is so precious, in our hurry rush-rush lives
seems the only way to save it, is hang it over the TV
our modern generation, focused on the destination,
is it still a thing of beauty, if we move too fast to see?
Chorus
Verse 4
I'm a man who chases shadows, been known to talk to ghosts
and I strain to hear echoes of the past
his reflections in still waters, spires soar into the sky
all remind me that this heartbreak will not last
Chorus
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These Shoes
03:39
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Words & music, A. McKnight 2006©Catalooch Music, BMI
Verse 1
In the darkness, in the desert
searchlights glare, and there's gunshots and shouting but
somehow I slipped by, only God knows why,
the trucker dropped me at the Arkansas line
Verse 2
Where I come from, is where the drugs run,
and the men come with money and lust
for honest living, I hope God's forgiving,
for I left my family for this one chance at hope
Chorus
And I, have dreams just like you
If I, let you walk in these shoes
would you be here
Verse 3
Scars and scratches, chemical rashes,
no one trusts me to do more than clean but,
I've got secrets, I've learned English
someday the name on the door will be mine
Chorus
Break
Verse 4
For all the politicians, state their positions,
collecting campaign cash to build a wall behind them but
I do work you won't, dirty jobs you don't,
and all I ask is the right to be human
Chorus twice
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Written by A. McKnight with a great group of kindergarten kids, 2012
Chorus
Everybody needs to give a little love, everybody needs to get a little love,
everybody wants to have a little love, that makes the world go round
Verse 1
all of the babies, need a little love
all the kindergarten, need a little love
all of the big kids, need a little love
that makes the world go round
Chorus
Verse 2
all of the parents, need a little love
all the grandparents, need a little love
all of the animals, need a little love
Chorus
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Wishing
04:06
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Words & music A. McKnight, 2003©Catalooch Music, BMI
Verse 1
Condor soars, on outstretched wing,
from that altitude I bet you'd see a lot of funny things
red rock low, neath desert skies
I hope way up there's a place where our souls collide
Verse 2
Gravity, it holds me down,
keeps my orbit safe and low enough to ease the blow when I hit the ground
while angels dance, and prophets laugh
this flightless rustic poet stumbles blindly down the path
Chorus
In the blinking eye where dreams take flight
it's deafening in the quiet under these restless stars so bright
if I wish on their falling light
I'd wish I didn't need to make a wish tonight
Verse 3
Whooping crane, his joyful dance
he's so unaware of all the perils of his new romance
with one wing high, one leg kicks
as ten thousand fathers before guide his way through this
Chorus
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Count Your Blessings
03:43
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Words and music, John Rickard & A. McKnight
2001©Short Hill Music and Catalooch Music, BMI
Verse 1
Count your blessings, don’t count your gold
don’t need money, when you’re lying cold
you can’t buy your way, into heaven I am told
count your blessings, don’t count your gold
Verse 2
Count the good deeds, that you’ve done
lend your hand, to help someone
Saint Peter’s got his list, he’s checking everyone
count the good deeds, that you’ve done
instrumental over verse
Bridge
In spite of all your troubles, all you need is on your back
believe in all your blessings, don’t worry bout all you lack
Verse 3
Count on Jesus, to be your friend
stick with you, right to the end
he’ll be by your side no matter how you’ve sinned
count on Jesus to be your friend
instrumental over bridge
Verse 4
Count the lessons, you learn each day
let them guide you, show you the way
follow the word, you won’t go astray
count the lessons, you learn each day
Repeat Verse 1
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By a Craftsman's Hand
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Words & music by A. McKnight, 2015©Catalooch Music, BMI
arrangement A. McKnight, Lisa Taylor, Les Thompson, and Stephanie Thompson
Verse 1
I have been a sturdy tree,
growing strong for a century,
with roots and branches, rings and burls,
but I want to see the great wide world,
I want to see the great wide world
Verse 2
Sheltered creatures great and small,
bound to Blue Ridge mountain tall,
I listen to my branch birds sing,
of what I'd see if I had wings,
what I'd see if I had wings
Verse 3
All must meet the saw or storm,
and tumble to the forest floor,
with smooth cuts sanded, shaped and stained,
by a craftsman's hand I'm born again,
by a craftsman's hand I'm born again
Verse 4
I've been given singing strings,
and tone like a church bell rings,
now I travel across this land,
I found my voice in your hand,
I found my voice in your hand
Reprise
I have been a sturdy tree,
growing strong for a century,
with roots and branches, rings and burls,
now I'm off to see the great wide world,
I'm off to see the great wide world
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The Road to Appomattox
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Words & music A. McKnight, 1999©Catalooch Music, BMI
Verse 1
Grew up on our mountain farm, down Nelson County way,
wish I'd live to see it again, but that is not my fate
for on my 16th birthday war marched all around our land
I joined Virginia's volunteers, and Robert Lee's command
Verse 2
Two days passed upon the march towards Yankees and the front,
I knew my trusty rifle, the difference was the hunt
we smashed into their backside up Loudoun County way
I'll not forget three boys in blue, I sent to early graves
Chorus
On the road to Appomattox,
where bullets whine like bees, cut blossoms from the trees
on the road to Appomattox.
turned boys into men, men into memories
Verse 3
We fell back from Gettysburg, with calloused feet and heart
saw most of my company fall, in Pickett's cursed charge
Winter spent on Valley farms, with little food or warmth
hellfire came with spring advance and the smell of burning corn
Chorus
Intro
Verse 4
Perilous nighttime retreat, the fall of Petersburg,
the city burned around us, the Federals charging hard,
I heard them call the chaplain, they heard me call on God,
whate'er reward awaited me, was not far off
Chorus
Verse 5
There were battles won on both sides, the history books confirm,
but no one ever wins at war, the last loser asks for terms
Chorus
Intro (Outro)
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Guitar Man/Bill Cheatham
04:28
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Words & music A. McKnight, 2011©Catalooch Music, BMI; "Bill Cheatham" (instrumental, public domain)
Verse 1
A man rolled into town one day, in a beat-up Chevrolet,
said "My name is Luther Jones, and I came here to play,"
he pulled the case out of his trunk, and tuned up where he sat,
and while he sang his fingers danced, like fireworks on the frets
Chorus
He's a guitar man, wood and steel strings ringing
guitar man, love that song you're singing
guitar man, I want to know what you know
would you play us one more tune, before it's time to go
Verse 2
He fingerstyled the Cannonball, then flatpicked "Soldier's Joy",
slid from Robert Johnson's blues, right into "Red Haired Boy",
a crowd of people gathered round, the bills filled up his case,
now and then he'd nod his thanks, a smile up on his face
Chorus
Verse 3
My Martin's kept me company, almost a million miles,
from town to town and stage to stage, kept going by your smiles,
times are tough all over, yet somehow we still get by,
so check your trouble at the door, 'cause now it's time to fly
Chorus
Chorus
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Words & music A. McKnight, 1995©Catalooch Music/Waves of Mountains Music, BMI
Verse 1
All my years I’ve lived here, it’s the only way I know
run the family farm with the grace of God above and the fertile soil below,
summer’s gone eleven weeks, of searing stormless choke
fifty thousand dollars worth, of dreams going up in smoke
Verse 2
Sacrificed another field today, to keep the other’s growing
had to sell my milking cows, to keep the bankers going away
that line of clouds across, the skies
might bring the winds of death, or raindrops to my eyes
Chorus
My wife she’s out there dancing, in her checkered kitchen dress
droplets running down her brow, and her blond hair’s getting messed
Iowa can be a place where fertile famines drink
this year just poured life down from the brink
and I’m dancing in the rain
Verse 3
Before today my luck had gone, a hard left towards the worst
enough to make an honest man think a farmer’s life is cursed
remembering tales on my granddad’s knee, of soil that sprouted wings
it’s taken thirty years for me, to appreciate these things
Chorus
Bridge
Heard it on the radio, Dakota wheat fields won’t survive
my cousin Jack up there will find some way to stay alive
Mother Nature’s fickle ways might someday do me in
but I’m on my knees, in gratitude, cause it’s raining
Verse 4
Next year we might stare at this, same mess right in the face,
this old white house and apple trees, keep me fighting for this place
facing up to troubles that, my children might not know
when you’ve got your generations on, the farm all in a row
Chorus
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Andrew McKnight Lincoln
Nationally-acclaimed singer/songwriter and guitarist celebrates rural America, weaves masterfully crafted songs, humorous stories and poetic drama into a musical soundscape sketched with shades of Appalachia, tasteful slide and jazzy blues, feisty anthems, and rustic folk. 5 solo CDs heard on many public & community radio, plus NPR "Art of the Song" & "River City Folk" and XM/Sirius. ... more
Andrew McKnight recommends:
Besides being my bandmate in Beyond Borders, Lisa is an amazing all around talent - singer, songwriter, musician, human. Check out "Camelot" - one of my alltime faves.
go to album
West Virginia Serenade
by Keith & Joan Pitzer
I miss my friend from West Virginia's Cheat River Valley deeply. Thankfully, we have his amazing songs to savor - celebrations of the Mountain State's troubled landscapes. Great guitar & singing!
go to album
Calm Before the Storm
by Nor'easter
Once upon a time in a little town far from the beaten track, we dreamed of hard rock stardom - here's the proof we existed ❤️
go to albumIf you like Andrew McKnight, you may also like:
Pittsburgh artist Merce Lemon makes tender and open-hearted indie pop with echoes of Frankie Cosmos.
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Forever Only Idaho
by Harrison Lemke
Big, strummy songs that recall the heart-on-sleeve earnestness and lo-fi glory of early Mountain Goats.
go to album
Postcards From the Country
by Trae Sheehan
West Virginia country-folk singer-songwriter Trae Sheehan aims to find a balance between the traditional and the modern on his new LP.
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