Songs of a Midwestern Girl Lyrics

Carry Me Back to Greenville M. Isam/D. Torretta

Just another lazy day in the great hereafter
When a train bound for Ohio pulled up the track so slow
Off stepped it’s precious cargo Phoebe Annie Mosey
Known as Annie Oakley to the cheering crowd below
Annie spied the King of Senegal, Oscar Wilde and Sitting Bull
The great chief who adopted her so very long ago
All sought a great reunion, a heavenly Wild West communion
But she had other wishes and they would not be denied  (she said)

Carry me back to Greenville
To my mothers lovin’ home
To hunt and play in the woods all day
That’s where I’ll stay
Carry me back to Greenville
To be free from where I’ve roamed
Now I’ve been gone far too long
Keep this train movin’ on to the land where I belong

Kings and Queens from the strangest lands
Had come around To shake her hand
Hoping to reminisce and raise a glass or two
Here’s a toast to the vanished west, another to the lives we left
To all that may be forgotten, cried out Buffalo Bill
To all that may be forgotten, as time imposed its will

As sure as my aim was high and true
As sure as I had my highs and lows
Now, I must bid my farewell to you
And move this train on to Ohio   (Carry me back)

Then up stepped a gentle man with a train ticket in his hand
The same ticket for Greenville when he saved her years ago
She was just a little child runnin’ for her life from the ‘wolves’
Runnin’ back to Greenville, just like she knew she should
Now she is comin’ home and she will not be denied

FYI:

1. The king of Senegal offered Buffalo Bill 100,000 francs for Annie to destroy the tigers that attacked the villages of his people. She declined.
2. The 2nd verse is one of my favorites that Dave wrote because it expresses the emotion of the fleeting era that passed them by in their own lifetime.
3. The last verse refers to her escape from the “Wolves” as she called the people who abused her. She worked for them as a young girl for about 2 years as an indentured servant. One day she ran away to the train station with the pennies she had saved.  When she was asked for her ticket a kind gentleman intervened and offered to pay her fare. Bess Edwards, her grand niece believes that his name was Oakley and that’s why she adopted it as her stage name. As far as I have read, this can’t be proven and in her autobiography, she never mentions his name. She regretted that she never saw him again to thank him for saving her.

Wild West Jig M. Isam/ D. Torretta

Mathilda be quick for we dare not miss it
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West is comin’ to town
The parade has just started and they’re headed straight for the fairgrounds
I see Buffalo Bill and little Johnny Baker
Cossacks and cowboys linin’ up for a mile
And I swear I caught a glimpse of Annie Oakley’s’ sweet smile          
All we need is a plan now Tillie
We don’t have a ticket, not a nickel between us
I’ll find a way to get in if it takes me all night

See the greatest chief in the land, a real cowboy band
With music and sites to delight you
The buffalo and long horn, and real life vaqueros
Wild ponies with Pawnee and Sioux

Tillie come morning, we’ll find Miss Oakley
Behind the Fairgrounds near Choteau’s’ old pond
Where she shoots cards for practice
And they’re as good as a ticket in hand
She gives them to orphans and she gives em’ to strangers
That cannot afford the price to get in
With any luck we’ll be there when the great show begins
Oh my God Annie’s spied me and Tillie
She’s waving us to her, we see her sweet smile
Take these as tickets for the show starts in a short while

We saw the greatest shot in the land, and we’re cheering in the stands
An experience of a lifetime
Then a thousand candle light, electrified the night
Transforming the darkness into daytime

From town to town, the same story goes
Buffalo Bill and his great Wild West show
Where the west comes alive again, maybe for the last time
Leaving memories for a lifetime and dreams of adventure
From a place and time they’ll never know
And their dreams of leavin’ town with the show
Back to the west where they want to go
To a life of wonder in the one and only Wild West show.

FYI:

1. The Wild West show performed in St. Louis possibly at the Old Fairgrounds Park up north and definitely near the old Chouteau’s Pond. The location of OCP Pond was where Busch Stadium now sits on the eastern border 10th St. and Chouteau St. on the south continuing west all the way to 22nd St. We put both locations in the songs and made them one.
2. The WW Show also made use of Edison’s latest invention, the electric light ‘generator’, and used them to light up night time performances. One ‘generator’ was equivalent to 1000 candles lit. Oakley's early movie star opportunity followed from Buffalo Bill and Thomas Edison’s friendship, which developed after Edison personally built (for the Wild West Show), what in the 1890s was the world's largest electrical power plant. (wiki pedia)
3. Annie shooting glass balls was one of the first moving pictures experiments Edison shot to see how much detail he could see when the glass shattered. You can find it on you tube. This is one of the few movies that exist of Annie in action. Frank is as usual, helping Annie by throwing the glass balls for her to shoot.    http://2url.org/movies
4. The song is about 2 orphan kids and I named the girl Mathilda after my maternal grandmother who would have been the perfect age to attend the WWShow in her youth. I’d like to think she did.

Frank's Love Song M. Isam/ D. Torretta

I recall the first time I saw you ,
A girl with rain drops in her eyes
Then you beat me fair and square,
And still you seemed so shy
But I knew something was happening,
Cause you took me by surprise
It was then that I fell for you
And the rain drops in your eyes

Tho the road may seem long, I will vow to carry on
And ask you for your hand one day
I will always be a friend to you,
Take the time you want me to
And my love I’ll prove, I swear this to you..
This is what I say to you

As we seek a world of wonder seen only by a few
Everyday would be much grander cuz I shared it all with you
And when storms cross our horizons,
Our love would be sustained
In a world safe in each other’s arms
When we climb back on our train

And when you put your trust in me,
I’ll be there I guarantee
Thru thick and thin and in between
Oh Annie when the road gets rough,
Upside down till you’ve had enough
I’ll be there for you, until we make it through
This is what I give to you

Nearly fifty years have since flown by
And I’ve cherished every single one
Now my time is nearly over yet the fates keep us apart
But of all the things we’ve seen and done,
So grand fine and true
It’s your love dear that comforts me
And I wish the same for you

I hope your days are filled with light,
And your nights are calm and quiet
And I’ll see you again some day
As it is I’ll bide my time,
Send you thoughts warm and kind
My love I’ve proved, I swore this to you
This is what I pray for you
This is what I pray for you

FYI:

1. “The girl with raindrops in her eyes” is an actual quote from one of Frank’s descriptions of Annie.
2. She shot 25 out of 25 clay pigeons to Frank’s 24 out of 25, missing on the very last shot making Annie the winner. Most importantly, Annie never would miss on purpose to anyone.
3. Frank doggedly, (literally, she was more interested in ‘George’ his dog than Frank at first) pursued and courted Annie.

Annie’s Revenge M. Isam/ D. Torretta

I’ll never forget that dreadful day when I heard of my arrest
Convicted of stealing a Black mans clothes to ease my demon quest
For lies and innuendo are the tools of your trade
And a story for your glory won’t let truth get in its way

I’m on fire; I’m taking you on my friend
I know much better than you, I’ll see this through
To the bitter end

So dear Mr. Randolph Hearst this time you’ve crossed the line
And surely justice will be served and revenge will taste divine
I believe you misjudged me and I swear to kingdom come
That I’m comin’ after you little men and I won’t need my gun

I’m on fire; I’m taking you on my friend
I know much better than you, I’ll see this through
To it’s righteous end
I’m on fire, now you got more trouble than me
I’ll reveal all of your spyin’ and the lies you said about me

I know the fruit of passion sometimes can bring pain
But the fruit of doing nothing, would drive this gal insane
So bring on all your barristers and wear your finest blouse
Gonna hang you by your wallets down at the old court house

I know somehow this sordid practice it will never end
As long as liars are makin’ money with their poison pens
If you don’t want hell to rain on you, and if it’s all the same
Never challenge a decent lady of her well-deserved good name

Oh I’m on fire…

FYI:

1. Annie received her 2nd highest settlement from the St. Louis Star newspaper.
2. Wm. Randolph Hearst actually sent a private detective to dig up dirt on Annie before the trial. Needless to say the folks in Greenville all  but ran him out of town.
3. All together Annie spent nearly 10 years and spent as much or more than she was awarded in expenses, lost work and wages. However, she did “purge her character.”

(Hey Little) Sure Shot M. Isam

I wanted to be just like you, toy pistol at my side
Red felt skirt and cowboy hat
Fringe jacket of real deer hide
Now I know all you stood for, but I don’t see it much today
I guess Annie went and got her gun and decided she would stay

Hey little Sure Shot we could use a gal like you
The world won’t stop shakin’ and we need an aim that’s true
Hey little Sure Shot what would you do?
You’d know what’s true; you’d know what to do

Now here in Dark County under some kind of spell
Many trials and tribulations, they're stealing from the well
When Annie had her hard times, she made it thru everyone
Here in Dark County another woman has found a gun.
                                         
My life flows on in endless song, above the earth’s lamentation
I hear the real tho far off hymn that hails the new creation
When tyrants tremble in their fear and hear their death knell ringing
When friends rejoice both far and near, how can I keep from singing? 

FYI:

1. Greenville, Ohio is in Darke County and I used it as a metaphor for trouble in our town/country.
2. In my research for the song, I thought since Annie’s family were Quakers, I would find some Quaker hymn that would be good for the bridge section of the music. However, I discovered that in the mid to late 19th century Quakers did not sing or use music even in worship. Only until later did they adopt hymns and this Baptist hymn, 'How can I keep from singing', written in 1850 was a favorite with them and still is today. Finally, I used most of the lyric by Doris Plenn, but the music is my own.

My River M. Isam

Run river run, I’ll meet you as the sun goes down
I need to feel your cool, dark water, soak into my skin
Run, river run. Let’s escape from here together, as fast as we can
You have always taken anything you wanted…take me as I am

Roll me in your steady current; caress me with your mouth
And be my one and only lover, on your soft, black river bed

I want to soothe all that went before into your mighty depths
And give it to you as ancient treasure to bury as you wish
And all the time it took to get here, means nothin’ much to you
Just do, as you will my river, on your soft, black river bed

Run, river run. Let’s escape from here together, as fast as we can
You have always taken anything you wanted…
On your soft, black riverbed.

Oh, I’m Alive (It’s all in a Life) M. Isam

Fall’s comin’ on and a stiff wind blows
Goes right thru my summer clothes
I stay inside but I still feel cold
Oh, I’m alive

My body’s hurtin’ and I’m feelin’ weak
Seems the only thing I can do is speak
Search for the bedroom and I close the door
Can’t remember what I was lookin’ for

Lookin’ back to a life well led
Things you remember and things you’ve said
You always had more than you thought you did
It’s all in a life

Mama died when I was just thirteen
Good thing she taught me how to cook and clean
Times were hard but we carried on
Oh, I’m alive

Everyone was depending on me,
Brothers and sisters lookin up to me
But I saw love comin’ thru their eyes
Oh, I’m alive

Sittin’ on a swing with my best friend
A million black starling flyin’ overhead
We went so high we flew into them
Laughin’ so hard, it made us cry…
Oooh, I’m alive

What I Got is What you See M. Isam/D. Torretta

A look so cool from across that room
Made you think you shouldn’t leave so soon
I had my sites locked on to you, what else could you do?
You liked the fire and you liked the ice, a little mean but oh so nice
You never worried  ‘bout who or why, now it’s baby bye bye

Sometimes I’m happy, sometimes I’m sad
Sometimes I’m good, and then I might be bad
So many women all rolled into one
C’mon c’mon baby can’t you have some fun?

Do ya don’t ya want me, honey will ya won’t you try
Oh …what I got is what you see,
And baby no it’s not a mystery, oh  woh, what I got is what you see,
And baby what you got’ll get you me.

When we met you had open eyes
Nothin’ bout me should come as a surprise
One thing is certain it’s changing constantly, so it’s not about me
Sometimes I like it fast, sometime slow, I need the company or be alone
One thing is certain, I see it in your eyes, now it’s baby bye, bye

I thought you would know, just what you were getting’ in to
I thought you would know, it’s not like I came up and bit you

A Long Way to Go M. Isam/ David Torretta

Oh, how time does slip by
A look in the mirror, a sigh
Years come and go
People move on
And I’m still sitting here, writing a song
Got so much to do before it’s all gone
Yeah, still got a long way to go

Seems like years I’ve been drivin
Along with my engine light on
Yeah, I’ve been warned
But I am not alarmed
I’ll tend to it, a bit farther along
Cuz I know if I blink, it could all be gone
Yeah, I still got a long way to go

Some nights were too short
And some songs were too long
And sometimes there were places I did not belong
But that’s just the past
And tomorrow looks fine
With just a little more time

Now I find hope all by myself
By the river, not in a crowded room
As I stare in the waters
And take in the tug boat sounds
I see I still need another go ‘round
I’ve got more to lose and much more to be found
Yeah, still got a long way to go

Too Good To Be True M. Isam/D. Torretta

Hesitance comes easy to me, and I’ve got good reason
It’s just a bit unusual, not used to what I’m seeing’
Your simple, lonely act of kindness, in a world gone crazy
One stranger to another, would anyone believe me?

Oh I, Can’t help but wonder, just what’s going on
Has everything I’ve known been wrong?

Maybe I’ll go back to bed, see if I was dreaming
But I’ll pour a drink instead, and turn on my old TV
Every channel is the same old thing, mansions being built on fear
Still no sign of the kindness, I thought I saw so clearly

Oh I, Can’t help but wonder, just what’s going on
Has everything I’ve known been wrong?
Oh I, can’t help but wonder
Maybe it’s just you, are too good to be true

Everyone that I know, head to toe, their heart and souls, have turned to jade
And with my last sense of wonder, for one reason or another
You’re not the same
Somehow you’re not the same

Perhaps this happens all the time and I just couldn’t see it
This goodness just for goodness sake, well, it can be seducing
So promise me before you leave, and this day goes disappearing
Tell me this is all for real, or whisper, that I’m dreaming

Oh I, Can’t help but wonder, just what’s going on
Everything I knew was wrong
Oh I, can’t help but wonder
Maybe it’s just you, who are too good to be true