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Prairie Love Letter

by Brennen Leigh

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1.
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)
2.
Billy & Beau 03:17
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
3.
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
4.
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)
5.
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)
6.
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)
7.
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)
8.
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
9.
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)
10.
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)
11.
Pipeline 02:46
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)
12.
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)

credits

released September 18, 2020

Produced by Robbie Fulks.

“Pipeline,” “You’ve Never Been To North Dakota,” and “The John Deere H,” recorded and mixed by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago. All other tracks recorded and mixed by Dave Sinko at Sound Emporium in Nashville. Rachel Moore, assistant engineer. Mastered by Tommy Detamore at Cherry Ridge Studio in Floresville, Texas. 

Design and Illustration by Chris Larson.

Copyright Brennen Leigh 2020. Unauthorized duplication prohibited by law.

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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
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