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Mabbitt Springs
Pray sweet Jesus
The boy is fading fast
Way to help him
That spring must be the answer
The days have past
And I don’t need your sympathy
All I need is faith
The time has come
And I don’t need your empathy
This water’s working
Buy this land
And everything you see from the mountain top
Wade in the water
The cold spring heals the devil’s wounds
Time and patience
And with a little luck we will all pull through
The days have past
And I don’t need your sympathy
All I need is faith
The time has come
And I don’t need your empathy
This water’s working
His gaze is gone
He’s staring off into the great beyond
Cold creek water
Washes over the fact that my boy is gone
The days have past
And I don’t need your sympathy
All I need is faith
The time has come
And I don’t need your empathy
Nothing works
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Adam and Rose
Adam and Rose were barely 19
A whole road ahead, a life unfolding
Trying to figure out the quickest way out
Of this one horse north Alabama town
Scared of his own shadow
He ran the table and she ran the rest
Off and running wild
Adam and Rose and an unborn child
Adam was the son of a carpenter
A local deacon , a chosen one
Rose didn’t know a day without harm
Until she found her way into poor Adams arms
Scared of his own shadow
He ran the table and she ran the rest
Off and running wild
Adam and Rose and an unborn child
The day they hit the road Adams momma cried
She prayed to the lord to keep him in his sight
Rose made other plans or so it seems
She left him standing out at exit 17
Scared of his own shadow
He ran the table and she ran the rest
Off and running wild
Adam and Rose and an unborn child
It’s been 10 years or so since Rose passed away
On that October night or that November day
Adam still yearns and his heart gently aches
When the autumn wind blows
Scared of his own shadow
He ran the table and she ran the rest
Off and running wild
Adam and Rose and an unborn child
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3. |
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Big talkin’ woman
He’s down on his luck
She’s colder than a coffin
He’s trying to get back up
But the world just won’t soften
She lays into him hard
Every night when he comes in
“Where you been big fella
Late night at work again?”
He rolls his eyes enough
To pull them from the sockets
He flips out the lining of his
Empty front pockets
The gesture isn’t lost
And she won’t soon forget
That her momma told her
This was imminent
Big talkin’ woman
Hard headed man
It don’t matter what you’re saying darling he ain’t listenin’
He’s sleeping on the couch
But he ain’t really sleeping
Just tossing and turning
And late night tvin’
His mind replays the scene
What he wished he would have said
But the moments gone
Like a broken thread
Big talkin’ woman
Hard headed man
It don’t matter what you’re saying darling he ain’t listenin’
He rolls out of bed
Around 11 am
His head is steady pounding
From last night’s Gin
She pours it on again
About him staying out all night
How her momma told her
And how her momma was right
Big talkin’ woman
Hard headed man
It don’t matter what you’re saying darling he ain’t listenin’
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4. |
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Age of Ben
Melissa had a baby
When she was seventeen
But the state took him away
Because his blood wasn’t clean
She named him Perry
But they changed it to Ben
She never saw the face
Of that boy again
She was sent to rehab
By the 3rd circuit court
That place was a sieve
And it was easy to score
She punched some lady
Over a Cribbage win
They shipped her off to Kansas
To the Federal Pen
Ben was born in April
He was adopted in May
By some California ministers
Who took him out of state
Nobody mentioned that
He came with a glitch
You could cover him in aloe
But he was born with the itch
There were nights that felt like years where he’s calling for his momma.
They put him on the street
When he was fifteen years old
It led from Irvine then to Dallas
Atlanta and Orlando
He tried his best to find a
Way to fit in
But nobody seemed to care
About what happened to him
There were nights that felt like years where he’s calling for his momma.
Ben had always felt like he was
Missing a piece
A puzzle with a hole
An axle without grease
‘Till he found the needle
And that started the end
Of a short sad story
Titled the “Age of Ben”
There were nights that felt like years where he’s calling for his momma.
Goodbye little Perry
Goodnight little Ben
I hope you found what you were looking for in that opium.
I suspect it’s just the same old tale
Ps goodbye to Melissa
I hope your burning in hell
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5. |
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Rummies
“Let’s say hypothetically
That you and I could make a couple G’s
In just one evening
Off the Sugarloaf Key”
“The work is pretty easy
You get paid to take the risk
I know a guy who knows a guy
Who needs to man a skiff”
He said it that informally
Just two old rummies seated at the bar
And talking scars
And scores on the sea
The only thing between us
Was the simple fact we’d known
That if the Coast Guard showed up
Each man was on his own
‘Cause when the handcuffs go on
All you really feel is the metal grind against your bones
So me and this guy walked down to the pier to have a beer.
Then he starts acting nervous
and the blue lights appear
The next thing I was tasting
was a two by six pressure treated decking board
and my waists and my wrists had become one
When the handcuffs go on
All you really feel is the metal grind against your bones.
There’s a moment when you think that you can get away
Trust me brother the game is already played
The bruises ain’t really worth it anyway
If I had the option
I’d be softening some chica de ensuena
On a beach in Cardenas
But I’m stuck up here in holding
At the Dade Correctional
Just a son of the system where each
Morning on dawn
The handcuffs go on
And all you really feel is the metal grind against your bones
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6. |
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Play that fiddle and play it slow
I'm gonna dance with Calico
I'm gonna dance with Calico
I'm gonna dance with Calico
Pretty little girl with a blue dress on
She took my heart and away she's gone
Took my heart and away she's gone
Took my heart and away she's gone
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"Moccasin Bender seems like a mighty step forward for artist and songwriter Randy Steele. Mabbit Springs starts the process beautifully, the instrumentation is organic and colourful, multi-layered and expressive - never simply falling into the trap of simple repetitive riffs. Everything here is musically impressive, and Steele's songwriting is second to none."
Rebecca Cullen Stereo Stickman
"Melding the best elements of Bluegrass and Country music with masterful storytelling - and topping it all off with veteran musicianship, production and - of course - Randy Steele's sincere and substantive vocal timbre ( I truly can't overstate the unique and moving quality of his voice) - has resulted in the creation of an emotionally relatable musical experience in Steele's sophmore solo effort. Moccasin Bender. This group of songs has further solidified my original impression of him as a musician of substance, honor, and warmth"
The Ark of Music
"Like Songs from the Suck before it, Moccasin Bender is homegrown Tennessee sunshine injected into a collection of songs. Bouncing Bluegrass arrangements are married by copious string pickin' and Steele's matter-of-fact crooning vocal delivery. This is whiskey settled, hearth made music with a conscience that takes us back straight to foundation that Americana's settled on without any cracks to speak of."
Jonathan Frahm For Folk's Sake
"Moccasin Bender offers scrumptious old-timey, delicious bluegrass music rife with twangy textures, quixotic nuances, and Steele’s whiskey-soaked Tennessee-inflected tones. There’s a plush feel to the harmonics that’s infectious and gets your foot tapping."
Randall Radic
Blogcritics.org
"Moccasin Bender, the latest release by Randy Steele is an album that captures the true spirit of Americana in it's time honored style, the music of ourforefathers, of the mountains and of the soul. From the first note of Mabbitt Springs to the last in Pretty Little Girl with a Blue Dress On, it is the art of the storyteller, the music sets the scene, the words spoken are the players, the song itself, a life lived in the moments but remembered forever. Randy Steele is a real artist, to have the talent to take a few musical momentsand brand them into your mind, where the notes will circle round within the mind forever, as a warm summer's breeze on a clear and beautiful day."
Joseph Timmons IndiePulse Music Magazine
"Setting the tone for the album is the swinging rhythms of the opener “Mabbitt Springs”. Going for a raw visceral approach the fantastic banjo led “Adam And Rose” takes on a quieter tact, as Randy Steele’s voice positively shines with a radiant warmth. By far the highlight of the collection comes with the freewheeling loose world of “Big Talkin Woman” where everything works in unison. Incorporating country, chamber pop, folk, with a hint of rock all of “Big Talkin Woman” feels akin to going on a long journey courtesy of the fantastic strings and highly articulate lyricism. Presenting fantastic storytelling abilities is the thoughtful “Age Of Ben”. Slowing things down a bit and embracing a summery demeanor “Rummies” has a hint of nostalgia coming into the mix. Everything feels perfectly brought together on the energetic closer “Pretty Little Girl With A Blue Dress On”.
Randy Steele crafts a fantastic, fully-formed world that lives so lived in with the folksy optimism of Moccasin Bender."
Conor Murphy Skope Magazine
released July 12, 2018
