Get all 8 Blue Ribbon Tea Company releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Sing While You Can, The Devil is Beating His Wife, Railroad Boy, Storyteller 1 - Blue Days and Blue Nights, Working Man, Storyteller 2 - And He Descended Into Hell, Raining by Night, and Living in My Neighborhood.
1. |
Blue Blue Blue
04:31
|
|||
|
Blue Blue Blue by Kathy Kostelec © November 2012
Today the sky, it’s colored blue blue blue
It don’t match my heart that’s turned so blue blue blue
Babe you know it’s all because of you you you
Babe you know it’s all because of you.
Like a fox in the meadow, you’ve been stalking your prey
Searching for a tender morsel who wants to play your hiding game
Slipping in and out of shadows, you thought you got away
But a little birdy done told me about your hiding place
A little birdy done told me about your hiding place
Today the sky, it’s colored blue blue blue
It don’t match my heart that’s turned so blue blue blue
Babe you know it’s all because of you you you
Babe you know it’s all because of you.
Well I learned my lesson, made my mistakes
Had my fill of those sly ones, thought I could spot em a mile away
Like a wise old owl I, I thought I knew my way
But this old owl don’t see so good in the light of day
This old owl don’t see so good in the light of day.
Today the sky, it’s colored blue blue blue
It don’t match my heart that’s turned so blue blue blue
Babe you know it’s all because of you you you
Babe you know it’s all because of you.
You said you were faithful as a good coon hound
A heart true as the blue sky, you swore we were alter bound
But your blue’s now a new shade, cause there ain’t no doubt
You ain’t nothing but a sly ol fox slipping around
You ain’t nothing but a sly ol fox slipping around.
Today the sky, it’s colored blue blue blue
It don’t match my heart that’s turned so blue blue blue
Babe you know it’s all because of you you you
Babe you know it’s all because of you.
Babe you know it's all because of you.
|
||||
2. |
Guitar Man
03:31
|
|||
|
Guitar Man by Kathy Kostelec © September 2004
Nobody tells a story like the Guitar Man
Nobody knows your troubles like the Guitar Man
There’s magic in his every word
There’s music in his hands
Nobody tells a story like the Guitar Man
There’s a freight train rumbling in the night coming round the bend
Engineer hums a lonely song by the Guitar Man
Gone so long and he’s heading home to be alone again
Nobody knows his troubles like the Guitar Man
There’s a mother rocking in the night trying to understand
She’s humming long to a mournful song by the Guitar Man
Her baby’s gone he ain’t coming home cept for burying
Nobody knows her sorrows like the Guitar Man
Nobody tells your story like the Guitar Man
Nobody knows your sorrows like the Guitar Man
There’s magic in his every word
There’s music in his hands
Nobody tells a story like the Guitar Man
Like the Guitar Man
Like the Guitar Man
Like the Guitar Man
|
||||
3. |
||||
|
See you on a Springtime Day by Kathy Kostelec
© September 1, 2007
I’ll see you on a springtime day
See you on a springtime day
She heard her true love say
She heard her true love say
But the warm winds brought only rain
And the springtime passed away
I’ll see you on a summer’s day
See you on a summer’s day
She heard her true love say
She heard her true love say
But the flowers began to fade
And the summer passed away
I’ll see you on an autumn day
See you on an autumn day
She heard her true love say
She heard her true love say
Then the golden turned to grey
And the autumn passed away
I’ll see you on a winter’s day
See you on a winter’s day
She heard her true love say
She heard her true love say
Then the darkness claimed her days
And the winter came to stay
And the winter came to stay.
|
||||
4. |
Didn't Feel the Rain
04:12
|
|||
|
Didn’t Feel the Rain by Kathy Kostelec © September 2003
Well if you see me standin out in the cold rain
Don’t worry yourself cause I ain’t feelin no pain
Ya see I got me a man and he’s ever so fine
Got me a man - just one thing on my mind
I didn’t feel the rain
Didn’t feel the rain upon my head
I didn’t feel the rain
Not a drop upon my head
I didn’t feel the rain upon my head
Just the sweetest kisses that I’ll never forget
I didn’t feel the rain
I didn’t feel the rain.
If you see me walkin round all over town
And I pass you right by, well don’t you fret or frown
Ya see I got me a man and he’s ever so fine
I got me a man - just one thing on my mind –
I didn’t see a soul
Didn’t see a soul all over town
I didn’t see a soul
Not a one all over town
I didn’t see a soul all over town
Just his lovin smile as I looked around
I didn’t see a soul
I didn’t see a soul.
Well if you start your talkin and I don’t say a word
Don’t mean I don’t care, there’s just one thing I heard
See I got me a man and he’s ever so fine
I got me a man - just one thing on my mind –
I didn’t hear a word
Didn’t hear a word that anyone said
I didn’t hear a word
Not a word that they said
I didn’t hear a word that anyone said
Just his sweet love song going through my head
I didn’t hear a word
I didn’t hear a word.
I didn’t feel the rain
I didn’t feel the rain upon my head
I didn’t feel the rain
Not a drop upon my head
I didn’t feel the rain upon my head
Just the sweetest kisses that I’ll never forget
I didn’t feel the rain
I didn’t feel the rain.
|
||||
5. |
The Demolition Song
05:42
|
|||
|
Take This Hammer (traditional)
Well this ol hammer, it's a little too heavy
for a man my size, for a man my size
repeat
Take this hammer, carry it to the captain
tell him I'm gone, tell him I'm gone
repeat
......
Silence is Stone by Kathy Kostelec © January 23, 2010
I’m gonna break down this wall
crush each stone upon the ground
Gonna watch this old wall come tumbling down
Its been standing too long
Its stood fast and its stood strong
But its time to sing the demolition song
Its time to sing the demolition song
Chorus:
I’m gonna take this hammer watch it swing, watch it swing
Gonna take this hammer watch me swing
I’m gonna take this hammer hear it ring, hear it ring
Gonna take this hammer hear it sing
Some say silence is golden
I say silence is stone
When it builds its walls inside your home
Some say silence is golden
I say lord it just ait’t so
It ain’t nothing but cold and hard rock stone
It ain’t nothing but cold and hard rick stone
Chorus
If you don’t like what I’m saying
Then you best be on your way
I got no time to play your games
If you don’t like what I’m saying
Then you best be on your way
Cause this wall ain’t gonna last another day
This wall ain’t gonna last another day.
Chorus
|
||||
6. |
Nothing Prepared Me
02:54
|
|||
|
Nothing Prepared Me
By Kathy Kostelec
© November 29, 2009
Chorus:
I went to school to learn my ABCs
I went to church and learned to pray on my knees
And my mama taught me cooking to please
But nothing prepared me for the heartache
At school I listened and I followed every rule
I learned bout numbers and biology too
I could spell, I read the novels and the news
But when I read his letter well my heart just came unglued
Chorus
The preacher told me to read my bible every day
Get on my knees and don’t forget to pray
To help my brother and my tithes always to pay
But when my baby left me well my heart just lost its way
Chorus
My mama taught me how to bake a perfect pie
To cook a roast, and the biscuits fluffy lite
To plan a meal that was sure to satisfy
But when he turned my tables I just hung my head to cry.
Chorus
|
||||
7. |
The Southbound Train
05:34
|
|||
|
The Southbound Train by Kathy Kostelec
(c) December 10, 2003
I’m the sound of pain
I’m the southbound train
Hear me rumbling on the cold night steel
If you see me coming run the other way
Or your fate I am sure to seal
Once you climb aboard there’s no turning back
And no stops along the way
Till you find yourself lying dark and cold
In a deep and a lonely grave
One by one the years will go rolling by
And many sites this train may find
But when you look outside all your eyes can see
Is your true love left behind
When my wheels stop running, when I loose my load
When my lights no longer shine
You may find your love on a golden shore
Only darkness will be mine
I’m the sound of pain
I’m the southbound train
Hear me rumbling on the cold night steel
If you see me coming run the other way
Or your fate I am sure to seal
Or your fate I am sure to seal.
|
||||
8. |
Silver Valley Highway
03:40
|
|||
|
Silver Valley Highway by Kathy Kostelec © August 2007
Chorus: There’s gold up in the hills and there’s silver in the ore
There’s beauty in the life that treasures something more
We’re heading to Montana swaying with a heavy load
Silence shades the sunshine, traffic is heavy on this road
Past hard rock mines, warning signs, and the valley days of old
Now tourist ports and ski resorts have claimed a new found gold.
(Chorus)
Like the cycles of the past, like a glass revolving door
Barron’s build their mansions leave the tailings to the poor
This all in time will crumble and the mansions they will fall
It’s spelled for all to see but it’s fading on the wall
(Chorus)
A Barron’s on the hillside and a boss man’s on the line
A worker’s on the scaffold and a worker’s in the mine
We may go our own direction but we travel the same roads
Will you stop and lend a hand if I fall under my load
(Chorus)
Are you measured by your wealth and by your silver and your gold
Or by the hand you give to the others on this road
We can’t see what lies ahead of us, we can’t change the path behind
But we’ll travel on together through these ancient mountain pines.
(Chorus)
|
||||
9. |
Why Do You Stay
03:22
|
|||
|
Why Do You Stay by Kathy Kostelec
© 2002
Why do you stay
Why do you stay
Why do you stay
Why do you stay
When your tears fall hard as stones
When your tears fall hard as stones
On the dry Kentucky clay.
I’ll tend your garden every day
I’ll tend your garden every day
Till my hands they crack and bleed
Till my hands they crack and bleed
But the blood from my broken heart you’ll never see.
The summer sun is oh so heavy
The summer sun is oh so heavy
Like bricks upon my back
Like bricks upon my back
But the weight inside my soul will never leave.
Why do you stay
Why do you stay
Why do you stay
Why do you stay
When you’re tears fall hard as stones
When you’re tears fall hard as stones
On the dry Kentucky clay
On the dry Kentucky clay.
|
||||
10. |
||||
|
The Watcher and the Wanderer by Kathy Kostelec (c) 2003
It’s a long long journey from here to nowhere
It’s a long long road when you can’t go home
With no one to share your heavy burden
And no one to care when you cry alone.
I see you standing alone beside deep waters
Your eyes reach far beyond the other side
To a place where dreams are not forgotten
Though hope has vanished with the tide.
The tears you hide are falling from the heavens
Late summer Rain spawns rivers of regret
That flood your mind with springtime’s gentle blossoms
Though winter comes you’ll not forget.
It’s a long long journey from here to nowhere
It’s a long long road when you can’t go home
With no one to share you’re heavy burden
And no one to care when you cry alone.
I see you walking the lonely path of silence
The well worn trail is hard beneath your feet
Each day the journey leaves your heart so weary
When darkness comes you will not sleep.
I’d give my life to see your weep no longer
To see the longing leave your eyes
And now the low black cloud is fast approaching
All hope has vanished from my sight.
It’s a long long journey from here to nowhere
It’s a long long road when you can’t go home
With no one to share you’re heavy burden
And no one to care when you cry alone.
|
||||
11. |
Sing While You Can
04:38
|
|||
|
Sing While You Can by Kathy Kostelec
© May 23, 2011
A child is meant to dream
And a voice meant to sing
Lucky the ones I heard her say
Who find a way to fly
Though so many deny
With words that only foolish ones try
Though the years they passed her by
Still sometimes in the night
She hears the words that lift her spirit high
They say…
Sing while you can you’ve got nothing left to lose
You can unfold your wings if you choose
You’re an angel that hides on the dark side of the moon
And the world is just waiting for you
By chance or by plan
The letter found her hand
Words penned so many years ago
By one who lost the fight
For freedom and for life
But left these words that stirred her weary soul
They said…
Sing while you can you’ve got nothing left to lose
You can unfold your wings if you choose
You’re an angel that hides on the dark side of the moon
And the world is just waiting for you
Like a fan that feed a flame
The voice beyond the grave
It melted every chain that held her bound
Now the torch she carries high
For each girl who’s dreams have died
And she lifts her voice with fire she cannot hide
She says:
Sing while you can you’ve got nothing left to lose
You can unfold your wings if you choose
You’re an angel that hides on the dark side of the moon
And the world is just waiting for you
The world is just waiting...
|
||||
Blue Ribbon Tea Company Spokane, Washington
"evocative" "unconventional" "Woody-Guthrie-esque"
Illinois factory towns, Kentucky
heartache, Spokane history...
Singing their stories at festivals, venues, on Public Radio, and on the front porch.
Bill & Kathy Kostelec are "a welcomed flashback to the original American Folk music movement..the real deal." musician and radio host/producer Bob Rice
... more
If you like Blue Ribbon Tea Company, you may also like:
This album speaks to the continuum of African diasporic culture that is central to the vibrant canon of Americana folk music.
go to album
Dakota Blue Moon
by Jackson Harden
Gorgeous acoustic Americana from North Carolina, stripped-back and sublime.
go to album
Breathtakingly beautiful Americana bolstered by an assured sense of melody and razor-sharp lyrics.
go to album
Guardians Of Our Time
by Edd Donovan and The Wandering Moles
Edd Donovan's day job as a social worker brings a sense of empathy to his elegantly constructed political folk music.
go to album
Tides of a Teardrop
by Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange)
The forthcoming album from Mandolin Orange blends rustic Americana melodies with aching, orchestral arrangements.
go to album
Meet Me at the River
by Dawn Landes
On “Meet Me By the River,” Dawn Landes’s self-described “Nashville record,” buoyant country melodies settle deep into lush instrumentation.
go to album
In the Key of Grey
by Matt Dorrien
Nilsson and Newman meet in Matt Dorrien’s deeply-felt piano-driven barroom ballads.
go to album
