Woodrow's Song is about a man I worked, fished, told stories, and drank a lot of whiskey with. He taught me how to build a proper rock wall as we worked together over the course of one summer. He disappeared for decades while private investigators couldn't even find him. He had a very bad experience with his wife that drove him to seclusion. During that time he claimed he smuggled diamonds set into his teeth from Cuba into the US during the late 1940's and early 1950's. His stories were endless, tireless, and often hilarious. He was the freest man I ever knew, yet he was captive to a haunting past that he could not outrun.
words and music by John Jump
all instruments performed by John Jump
Lyrics
Woodrow's Song
The gray, old grizzled man, walking down Daryl Lane, pulled down his cap to shade the sun.
The heat of that August day, burning through a cloudless sky,
Parched his throat and left it dry.
"Hey Tom, fetch me a beer and don't forget one for yourself."
Old Woodrow said as he winked his eye.
"Hurry back Tom, this day has just begun and I've lots of things on my mind."
I walked to the tavern, one street over and block down
The distance, it wasn't that far.
When I returned I found Woodrow sittin' on a log,
Lord, his face it seemed to glow.
Tom, I been thinkin' 'bout John Sharmick's old coon hound,
That old gallute never treed a lick.
It's funny now, but it wasn't funny then.
I bet old John's got him yet.
------------------------------------------------------------- said as he winked his eye
"Hurry back Tom, this day has just begun and I've lots of things on my mind."
I walked to the tavern, one street over and block down
The distance, it wasn't that far.
When I returned I found Woodrow sittin' on a log,
Lord, his face it seemed to glow.
Tom, I been thinkin' 'bout John Sharmick's old coon hound,
That old gallute never treed a lick/
It's funny now, but it wasn't funny then.
I bet old John's got him yet.
said as he winked his eye
"Hurry back Tom, this day has just begun and I've lots of things on my mind."
I walked to the tavern, one street over and block down
The distance, it wasn't that far.
When I returned I found Woodrow sittin' on a log,
Lord, his face it seemed to glow.
Tom, I been thinkin' 'bout John Sharmick's old coon hound,
That old gallute never treed a lick/
It's funny now, but it wasn't funny then.
I bet old John's got him yet. said as he winked his eye
"Hurry back Tom, this day has just begun and I've lots of things on my mind."
I walked to the tavern, one street over and block down
The distance, it wasn't that far.
When I returned I found Woodrow sittin' on a log,
Lord, his face it seemed to glow.
Tom, I been thinkin' 'bout John Sharmick's old coon hound,
That old gallute never treed a lick/
It's funny now, but it wasn't funny then.
I bet old John's got him yet.
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
Woodrow, do you feel the years, do you still feel the pain and all the tears
As the memories go rollin' by?
Woodrow, you laugh out loud, you were always the clown in the crowd,
You're the freest man I know.
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I sat down with Woodrow, me and the old man drinkin' beer
That summer sun kept burnin' down.
Wild stories and laughter, we drank it down with the day,
Soon a crowd had gathered 'round.
"Hey Woodie, tell us how y'all smuggled them diamonds to the coast
From Cuba back in '49.
And don't forget that one about the big Guojon,
You know the one that busted up your pole."
Hour by hour, story by story, old Woodrow made the day slip on by.
Soon it came up suppertime and all the folks went on home to eat.
I sat with Woodrow alone again.
"Woodrow, ain't you half-starved from chewin' and jawin' all day long?"
"Naw," he said. "Just a little bit tired."
"Just a poor man am I, not a penny can i show
For all my stories I have told."
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Chorus:
And Woodrow, do you feel the years, do you still feel the pain and all the tears
As the memories go rollin' by?
Woodrow, you laugh out loud, you were always the clown in the crowd,
But you're the richest man I know.