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Don’t You Know I’m From Here
Words and Music by Brennen Leigh
I could get here with my eyes closed and one hand on the wheel
But I like to see the rows and rows of corn it makes me feel
Like a kid again, I slowly watch my hometown reappear
I know my accent’s gone but I would not put you on
Don’t you know I’m from here
So I went down to the grocery store for gasoline and Coke
There used to be a greasy spoon downstairs where you could smoke
One side was a hardware shop with a little ice cream counter in the rear
But it does not look the same and nobody knows my name
Don’t you know I’m from here
Don’t you know I’m from here
They didn’t even crack a smile
Don't you know I’m from here
Though I’ve been gone for a while
Maybe this little town looked better in my rear view mirror
Don’t you know I’m from here
Don’t you know I’m from here
I left here full of vinegar back in ‘99
Guitar in my back seat, big time on my mind
My desire to leave the old me in the dust could not have been more sincere
I looked down my nose at friends, turns out I might need them again
Don’t you know I’m from here
Well, I’ve never been a quitter, but I know when I’ve been beat
And it soothes my wounded pride to feel this dirt under my feet
So I’m looking for a job, nobody’s hiring - that’s been made perfectly clear
I’ll find one eventually I know, cause I’ve got nowhere else to go
Don’t you know I’m from here
Don’t you know I’m from here
They didn’t even crack a smile
Don't you know I’m from here
Though I’ve been gone for a while
Maybe this little town looked better in my rear view mirror
Don’t you know I’m from here
Don’t you know I’m from here
Alrighty Den Music Publishing (BMI)
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2. |
Billy & Beau
03:17
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Billy and Beau
Words and Music by Brennen Leigh and Melissa Carper
Dakota farmland, tabletop flat, is where Billy and I grew up at
Billy was my friend since we were ten, so I guess I never thought about it much back then
That we both looked up to this farm boy, Beau, tall and strong from shoveling show
And baling hay, his big blue eyes are clear and bright as the prairie sky
The heart wants to go where the heart wants to go and you can’t undo it
Billy never told me so but I just knew it
Billy loved Beau
Beau won best goat at the 4H fair, and I went to state for my pie with pears
For raising a pig Billy won something too, and we all got to go on a trip to the zoo
Beau and Billy, they laughed and laughed the whole way there and the whole way back
Billy put his arm around his bud and said "Beau, I sure had fun".
The heart wants to go where the heart wants to go and you can’t undo it
Billy never told me so but I just knew it
Billy loved Beau
Right out of school Billy just packed everything in his pickup and never came back
Full scholarship to in Chicago, made a lot of himself since twenty years ago
We haven’t seen hyde nor hair of Beau; last we heard he’s still with the rodeo
He never got married, heard through the grapevine, but he broke a lot of hearts including Billy’s and mine
The heart wants to go where the heart wants to go and you can’t undo it
Bill never told me so but I just knew it
Billy loved Beau
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3. |
The John Deere H
03:15
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The John Deere H
Words and Music by Brennen Leigh
I close my eyes and a wide blue sky is spreading out before me
And I’m hearing that old engine crank again in all its glory
It’s a faded memory that I go back to now and then
I’d give my right arm to be on that farm with the John Deere H again
The John Deere H was a row crop tractor; ours was a ‘43
And I was still too young to drive, but I knew she was made for me
It would be like heaven to start her up and till that stubborn ground
I’d climb up on that metal seat and make up my own tractor sounds.
The H was made in a factory down in Waterloo
But my dad had got her second hand from some folks that we knew
She wasn’t sleek and she wasn’t fast, took a while to get her going
But she beat a horse and a hand held plow for cutting hay and hoeing
Then to my surprise he said one night “boy, it’s time you got to learning,”
Then he showed me how to check the spark and set that flywheel turning
I was only eight years old, had to stand to reach the pedals
But I was so proud you’d have thought that I’d just won some kind of medal
In the spring she pulled a corn planter in the newly thawed out ground
And at harvest time she’d help make hay before the fields turned brown
She cut alfalfa with a sickle mower; the sweet smell filled the sky
And in dreams at night we’d still be working, the John Deere H and I
That old machine was a farm kid’s dream, none like her before or after
But we let her go in hopes of knowing so-called greener pastures
Though I’ve been around the world, my life’s the envy of most men
I’d give my right hand for that piece of land and the John Deere H again
I’d give my right arm to be on that farm with the John Deere H again
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4. |
The North Dakota Cowboy
02:42
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The North Dakota Cowboy
Words and Music by Brennen Leigh
That North Dakota cowboy I still dream of now and then
When I think back on my younger years and he was all I knew of men
He’d never put a hand on me though I know he loved me so
But we’d sing all night ‘till the sun rolled out like a blanket on the snow
His eyes were green as Norway pines, his laughter warm and pure
But he felt a burden in his mind even love could not have cured
And that North Dakota cowboy, handsome, young, adored
Rode off into the prairie sky in his rusty yellow Ford
You know he didn’t ride or wrangle but he had a cowboy’s soul
I was not the only one by far whose tender heart he stole
Gallant as a soldier from some ancient book of lore
Every year I’m getting older and he just stays twenty-four
When the ice breaks up in Springtime and the little calves are born
Peeking through the thawed out ground are little blades of new green corn
Gram Parsons on the AM dial, smoking with the windows down
I still look for him in Fargo every time I’m back in town.
Alrighty Den Music Publishing (BMI)
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5. |
Yellow Cedar Waxwing
01:52
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There’s A Yellow Cedar Waxwing On The Juneberry Bush
Words and Music by Brennen Leigh
Mid the lakes of Minnesota when I was just a child
My grandma took me down to pick Juneberries growing wild
She pointed to a tiny yellow bird upon the vine
There I learned this precious lesson that I hold dear in my mind
There’s a yellow Cedar Waxwing on the Juneberry bush
In the golden sunlight shining through the trees
God made the birds and flowers, He is everywhere we look
God loves the Cedar Waxwing; all the more He’ll care for you and me.
I brought you here, my little buttercup, to do likewise
I’m turning grey but I still recall when I was just your size
I’ll lift you up so you can see the Waxwing in the glen
Help me remember someone I hope I’ll meet again
There’s a yellow Cedar Waxwing on the Juneberry bush
In the golden sunlight shining through the trees
God made the birds and flowers, He is everywhere we look
God loves the Cedar Waxwing; all the more He’ll care for you and me
Alrighty Den Music Publishing (BMI)
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6. |
Little Blue Eyed Dog
03:03
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Little Blue Eyed Dog
Words and Music by Brennen Leigh and Noel McKay
Hey little blue eyed dog
What you doing running scared
And cold with stickers in your hair
Out here on the highway
You used to be somebody’s pup
But no one came to pick you up
Life was lonely, life was rough
But now you’re going my way
Hey little blue eyed doggie
Hey little blue eyed dog
Hey little blue eyed dog
I think that you are quite a catch
You should be somewhere playing fetch
And running in the clover
I don’t know how you got so stuck
But you just ran out of rotten luck
You were headed to some semi truck
About to run you over
Hey little blue eyed doggie
Hey little blue eyed dog
Before I found you just a stray
I had a hound who went away
To hound dog Heaven one sad day
My heart has since been broken
But now it heals with every mile
Something about you makes me smile
And I tell you it has been a while
It’s good to have a new friend
Hey little blue eyed doggie
Hey little blue eyed dog
In some God forsaken Texas town
Looky here, what have I found
A little brown and blue eyed hound
Running in a hail storm
Ain’t it funny what the Lord can do
I thought that I was saving you
Now I’m wondering who rescued who
Welcome to your new home
Hey little blue eyed doggie
Hey little blue eyed dog
Hey little blue eyed doggie
Hey little blue eyed doggie
Alrighty Den Music Publishing (BMI) and Den What Music Publishing (SESAC)
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7. |
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I Love The Lonesome Prairie
Words and Music by Brennen Leigh and Noel McKay
I love the lonesome prairie
Where the grass rolls like waves on the sea
The lonesome prairie wind is like a lifelong friend
No, the prairie’s not lonesome to me
Why do I want to go back to the prairie
When I could have the mountains or the sea
Cause I love the lonesome prairie
The prairie’s not lonesome to me
If you’ve ever stood out on the lonesome prairie
And watched a thunderstorm roll in, then you will see
Why I love the lonesome prairie
No the prairie’s not lonesome to me
I love the lonesome prairie
Where the grass rolls like waves on the sea
The lonesome prairie wind is like a lifelong friend
No, the prairie’s not lonesome to me
Oh the prairie’s not lonesome to me
Alrighty Den Music Publishing (BMI) / Den What Music Publishing (SESAC)
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8. |
Elizabeth Minnesota
04:04
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Elizabeth Minnesota
Words and Music by Brennen Leigh
The big city life sounds exciting
In the letters you have been writing
I suppose I should feel I’m missing out on something
Cause no TV shows are made here
To be true, that’s why I’ve stayed here
Where the world’s concerned it seems that we’ve got nothing
But that cold Pelican River and the sound when the birch trees quiver
Elizabeth Minnesota is my home
I love the turning of the seasons and the smiles of old Norwegians
Elizabeth Minnesota is my home
I love my dad’s homegrown tomatoes and my grandma’s scalloped potatoes
Elizabeth Minnesota is my home
Well you might call me hillbilly but what you think don’t matter really
Elizabeth Minnesota is my home
Well I like the idea of coming out to see ya
But on a crowded street I think I’d feel alone
The folks are awful nice here and I like the snow and ice here
Elizabeth Minnesota is my home
The Northern lights I’d rather see ‘em
Than some picture in a museum
Yes Elizabeth Minnesota is my home
I love the call of the loons in the night time
And the gold hay bales in the sunshine
Elizabeth Minnesota is my home
Then the alarm goes off in the morning
And it’s always disappointing
When I realize it’s been years since
I’ve been gone I work all day and evening
But forever I am dreaming
That Elizabeth Minnesota Is My Home
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9. |
Prairie Funeral
03:04
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Prairie Funeral
Words and Music by Brennen Leigh
It was a funeral on the prairie, all his children gathered round
Put him in a horse drawn wagon, drove him into town
In the dark of February snow covered up the ground.
In a pioneer church made out of sod we sang A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
He was born in 1898 when the plains burned red and green
To God fearing pilgrim parents, the twelfth kid of thirteen.
They broke up that ground yard by yard with a mule and an oxen team
Now we’re burying him out on the lone prairie where the coyotes howl and the wind blows free.
Back at the house we pushed that big oak table against the wall
Made a fire in the cast iron cook stove, made room for one and all
The children and grandchildren piling snow boots in the hall
The women worked like an oiled machine; the coffee boiled and the kettle screamed
Then the old folks took to telling tales of back when they were young
And it weren't too long before that four string banjo began to strum
Mom played the fiddle and my Uncle Lars played his accordion
The old farmers cried in their flannel sleeves when we sang that song from the old country
That was long ago and as the years go by I still forget he’s gone
But I look out on the open plains and I know his soul lives on
He’s the red sky mirrored on the lake, he’s the first cold light of dawn
He’s a coyote’s wail, he’s a winter storm, he’s the August wind blowing through the corn
Alrighty Den Music Publishing (BMI)
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10. |
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You’ve Never Been To North Dakota
Words and Music by Brennen Leigh
Have you ever seen a field alive with green
Thimbleweed and columbine and clover
Heard the black billed magpie call
As Summer fades to Fall
Watched the meadow turn to perfect white all over
I’ve lived here eighty years
And before it disappears
There are so many things I’d love to show you
Wondrous and serene
But if you don’t know what I mean
Then you’ve never been to North Dakota
Have you looked up and read the note
Aurora Borealis wrote
While you were gently sung to sleep by a coyote
Felt your joints get stiff and cold
To let you know you’re growing old
Then you've never been to North Dakota
Well I guess you’ve heard the news
The oil trucks coming through
For a prairie moon they don’t care one iota
Stand on the Cheyenne River shore
And watch a Golden Eagle soar
‘Till then you’ve never been to North Dakota
A long and dusty road
Wind swept pasture land
Green and white and yellow in the sunshine
Listen hear the Sharptailed Grouse
Watch the tiny meadow mouse
Smell the chilly wind come through the Ponderosa Pine
But a new crowd’s come about
And inflation pushed me out
So long my friends it’s sure been good to know you
They can drill for oil and stay
But no matter what they say
None of them have really been to North Dakota
Alrighty Den Music Publishing (BMI)
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11. |
Pipeline
02:46
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You Ain't Laying No Pipeline
Words and Music by Brennen Leigh
You've got a mansion, tall and splendid,
You've got your own island in the Caribbean.
Got your own hotel and your own airplane
But you ain't laying no pipeline
But you ain't laying no pipeline
But you ain't laying no pipeline through this land
You got big ideas and a great big paycheck
And a closet full of designer suits
Custom shoes of Italian leather
But you ain't laying no pipeline
But you ain't laying no pipeline
But you ain't laying no pipeline through this land
You can send mercenaries with clubs and crowbars
Bring big bulldozers and use dynamite
Pepper spray us, sic your dogs on us
But you ain't laying no pipeline
But you ain't laying no pipeline
But you ain't laying no pipeline through this land
You can hide behind the walls of your mansion
You can go to church every Sunday morning
But your creator sees what you're doing
You're trying to lay your pipeline
But you ain't laying no pipeline
But you ain't laying no pipeline through this land
You want to pump your poison into our water
You want to wreck this sacred burying ground
But this piece of earth don't belong to no one
And you ain't laying no pipeline
But you ain't laying no pipeline
But you ain't laying no pipeline through this land
Alrighty Den Music Publishing (BMI)
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12. |
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Outside the Jurisdiction Of Man
Words and Music by Brennen Leigh
Lying in the wagon bottom looking out over the side
At that great wide open Western land
Not another soul in sight for miles and miles around
We’re outside the jurisdiction of man
All along the horizon only stars
The complete dome of Heaven is all ours
Haven’t got a nickel, nothing’s frying in the pan
We’re outside the jurisdiction of man
Seeking fame and fortune made me old before my time
And that life I’ll forget it if I can
I was made for soft cool mornings and watching thunderstorms roll in
Outside the jurisdiction of man
So let my remaining time all pass
On a blanket of swaying prairie grass
And then won’t you bury me ‘neath the work of God’s own hand
Outside the jurisdiction of man
Alrighty Den Music Publishing (BMI)
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Brennen Leigh Nashville, Tennessee
Awash in full-throttle fiddle, weeping steel guitar, a sprinkling of heavenly backing vocals, and anchored by her warm,
expressive vocals, Brennen Leigh’s Ain't Through Honky Tonkin' Yet is an emotion-packed revelation.
Leigh has successfully created a modern gem, while honoring country music’s enduring golden era
... more
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