This is the first tune to come out of my Banff residency in 2019, and I love to play it so much. The drop-D tuning is one of my favourites, it resonates on a soul level for me, and the lyrics speak to the singer/songwriter journey and how it’s kind of like panning for gold. Sometimes rough, sometimes joyful, not always appreciated, but we do it anyway. Hope you like it. : )
Recorded October 2019 @ hotel2tango Montreal PQ
Charlie Hase | pedal steel
Howard Bilerman | producer
Shae Brossard | engineer
Harris Newman | Grey Market Mastering
Words + Music © Alison Hogan / Whole Lotta Music SOCAN
V1 I travelled these roads in a younger time
When summer was sweet and the world was mine
I tasted love on the lips of spring
I travelled that road, it was a beautiful thing
I travelled that road, it was a beautiful thing
V2 I’ve been swinging that hammer, been shovelling rocks
You never know how much time is left on God’s punch clock
Been working this same seam on a river of hurt
Don’t know if I’ll ever know when I’ve hit pay dirt
Don’t know if I’ll ever know when I’ve hit pay dirt
Chorus Now I’m no miner
I’m not a keeper of faith
I’m just a dreamer of dreams in this crazy race
And as long as I’m living
I’ll keep working these words
And I’ll torture these six strings till I hit pay dirt
Yeah I’ll torture these six strings till I hit pay dirt
V3 Now some of us make it and some of us don’t
It’s in the luck of the draw
It’s in the blood and the bone
Might do it for pleasure, but it’s a beautiful curse
To follow that siren song for better or worse
To follow that siren song for better or worse
Chorus Now I’m no miner
I’m not a keeper of faith
I’m just a dreamer of dreams in this crazy race
And as long as I’m living
I’ll keep working these words
And I’ll torture these six strings till I hit pay dirt
Yeah I’ll torture these six strings till I hit pay dirt