Monday 25 February 2013

the blues are gonna find you someday, somewhere



ASHGROVE
Dave Alvin
(Blue Horn Toad Music, BMI)

Well when I was a young boy
I used to slip away
Down to the Ashgrove
To hear the old blues men play
There was Big Joe and Lightnin’
And Reverend Gary too
Well I’d sit and stare and dream
Of doin’ what they could do.

Well it’s been thirty years since the Ashgrove burned down
And I’m out on this highway travelin’ town to town
Tryin’ to make a livin’ 
Tryin’ to pay the rent
Tryin’ to figure out where my life went.

I wanna go back to the Ashgrove
That’s where I come from
I wanna go back to the Ashgrove
That’s where I belong.

Well you don’t have to go searchin’
Pretend to put on airs
‘Cause the blues are gonna find you someday, somewhere
Now my mother’s gone
Now my father’s gone
And all the old blues men have all passed on
And I’m out on this highway travelin’ town to town 
Settin’ up my gear and then I’m tearin’ it down 
Turnin’ up my guitar
Standin’ on the stage
I’m just tryin’ to raise the ghosts up out of their graves.

I wanna go back to the Ashgrove
That’s where I come from 
Yeah I wanna go back to the Ashgrove
That’s where I belong.

Well I can’t say I been all sinner
Can’t say I been all saint
I’ve done some good deeds and I’ve made big mistakes
I been in and out of love
Said words I regret
I been drunk, been sober
Smoked too many cigarettes
And I’m out on this highway travelin’ town to town
And the news on the radio just brings me down
Intolerance and fear
Ignorance and lies
It’s the same old same old I heard a million times
And I’m thinkin’ of friends and lovers
And how they come and go
Like look-alike houses on the side of the road
Full of everyday people tryin’ to get ahead
Tryin’ to find a reason just to get out of bed
‘Cause we all need somethin’ just to get us through
Well I’m gonna play the blues tonight man
‘Cause that’s what I do.

I’m goin’ back to the Ashgrove
That’s where I come from
I’m goin’ back to the Ashgrove
That’s where I belong.

A house fire on our return home last night has left us a bit shocked. Nobody's hurt but it was cold and dark after the Fire Brigade went. They were wonderful. Please do not support the Tory attempt to privatise them! Join/support 38 degrees - it is working.

Normal service will be resumed asap. Thought Dave Alvin says it so well.

11 comments:

Kate Leeke said...

Hi Dad,

So glad you are all OK. I see what you mean about a 'slightly different take' on the topic. Well, you had plenty to say about it on Skype just now!

Looking forward to a forthcoming blog on 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding' and RT's guitar solos.

Love, First-Born xxx

Mike C. said...

Sounds appalling Dave -- much damage?

Best wishes,

Mike

Andy Wright said...

Christ! I hope things aren't too horrendous at Leek Towers

eeyorn said...

Sorry bout your luck, dood. Hope you're able to get things sorted soon.

If it wasn't for bad luck
I wouldn't have no luck at all

eeyorn said...

Sorry bout your luck, dood. Hope you're able to get things sorted soon.

If it wasn't for bad luck
I wouldn't have no luck at all

Dave Leeke said...

Thank you one and all.

Katie,
Hi, welcome, glad you worked out how to comment. The wedding and RT will certainly be posted soon.

Mike and Andy,
Not as bad as it could have been! Our son's room is wrecked but luckily enough we got back in time to call the Fire Brigade. The house stinks and we have to wait until Thursday for an assessor to come to assess the damage etc. We feel a bit sick and shocked but we're all okay. Back at work today.

eeyorn,
Thank you. "Born Under a Bad Sign" I believe. Which version were you thinking of?

Andy Wright said...

Glad to hear you are OK despite what must have been a traumatic experience. (By the way and maybe not the right time to continue the discussion but I fully support your comment in relation to this Dog of a Governments plans to privatise every bloody thing including the Emergency services.
G4S to run Policing, Fire and Rescue and Ambulance services anyone? No......I thought not!)

Mike C. said...

Dave,

What a bummer. The smoke damage can be as bad as anything done directly by fire, I'm told.

The Fire Brigade, bless 'em, scare the socks off us at work every few years by showing us a grim video about fire and fire risks. I am positively OCD now about switching plugs off, double checking the oven, etc. Though it's true I did pull the smoke alarm off the ceiling when it kept going off at 3 am...

Best of luck for a good outcome, inconvenience-, damage- and insurance-wise,

Mike

Dave Leeke said...

Andy, Mike,

Yes it was traumatic but mainly because of all the "could-have-beens". Mrs Dave and I were a little taken aback by how people thought we would have given our son a hard time - to us it was an accident and we're all safe. He was devastated so why would we want to make it worse?

As a staff we were made to sit through a safety video a year back at school en masse and it was so badly done that we all burst out laughing every time the woman went to dither about opening the door or not. It was a bit of a comedy moment. Maybe it's not funny but I remembered NOT to open the door of the obviously burning room!

Ah well, all's well that ends well as I think someone said once.

Zouk Delors said...

Sorry to hear this news, Dave, but glad that nobody's hurt. 10/10 for confining it to one room. I don't suppose it's any consolation to tell you I was burned out of home twice a few years back; only temporary homes luckily, so most of my treasures were in storage. Hope the FB didn't do too much damage with water.

Dave Leeke said...

Thanks, Zouk,

No, not one of my guitars was affected! The room below my son's room was slightly water-damaged and several guitars are hanging on that very wall, including my red Strat as mentioned in the "a man's a man for a' that" post recently...

But, in all honesty, we are still reeling from it all (especially our son) and it's been a surreal week. The insurance people came today and all seems well. Just a long haul of repairs , decorating and such stuff.

Sorry to hear about your own similar traumas - and let's face it, these are pretty traumatic situations. It's at times like these when other people really show their true colours. So, to be honest, on the whole, we're communal creatures and are all generally supportive when others need it.