I’m traveling north
On a train bound for Memphis
I have but one purpose
To visit my sister
And purchase a gravestone
Inscribed with my father’s dear name
He died up in Memphis
While I finished high school
And lived with my brother
I’ll always remember
He told us he loved us
And he would return one day
On that Memphis train
I’m on my way
Memphis train
Well I’m from Louisiana
A farm near Morganza
My brother sells lumber
They ship up the river
I’d make a good a doctor
But they say there’s war on the way
Now I work for the railroad
With clerks and the porters
Who carry the baggage
For sons and for daughters
Of the last southern gentry
Who know what it’s like to own slaves
Chorus
My father taught English
To emigrant children
That washed up in eddies
Of the great Mississippi
Up from New Orleans
To backcountry hills made of clay
They called him a dreamer
He worked as a cooper
He spoke French and German
And was trained with a camera
He married Amanda
Now ten children carry his name
credits
from Postmark,
released June 1, 2006
Frank Gayer Martin: vocals, guitars, lap steel
Randy Utterback: Fiddle
Lisa Dancing-Light: harmony vocals
Doug Whitney: bass
Paula Valentine: drums, percussion
This New Haven duo write bright and emotionally resonant folk music where sweeping strings elevate gorgeous melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 23, 2021
Edd Donovan's day job as a social worker brings a sense of empathy to his elegantly constructed political folk music. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 26, 2019