Foreword

Striving for social justice; dignity and courage in the face of poverty; and abiding love and respect for Faith, family and friends... . These are all Heartland themes that deeply color the lives, times and region where Deborah was raised.

Only 10 miles north of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, in the heart of Luzerne County, is the borough of Dallas (population 2,804), where Deb spent many of her early years. The songs her mother and grandmother sang her when she was a little girl are part of an enduring memory and shape her music to this day.

Like Ola Belle Reed and Etta Baker, Deborah chose to stay home and raise a family – five boys, to be exact. And like many female musicians before her she has put the needs of her family ahead of her own career.

Now that her youngest children near maturity, Deborah is preparing to devote herself to the other loves of her life – the songs, some of which are contained in this collection. It has been a delight to work with someone so talented, focused and genuine. I look forward to many more Wepecket projects with this remarkable woman.

– Jack Radcliffe, New Bedford, MA, April, 2015

A few words from Deborah

Meeting the Wepecket Family in the fall of 2012 was one of those defining moments in life, and one I'll never forget. I love how Jack tells the story, how we met because "I walked into his hotel room at three in the morning." The rest of the story is that there were 800 or so people on three floors of the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, New York, all walking in and out of various propped-open doors of hotel rooms participating in the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance annual folk conference.

I stopped by there after a gig in High Falls, NY at about midnight, at the invitation of my friends Rick and Donna Nestler. Donna mentioned that friends of theirs were hosting a blues jam at 3 a.m. in the "Whiskey Room." All I kept thinking was, "How am I going stay out this late and get up to teach Level 1 Sunday School in four hours?"

Being a mom, community volunteer, songwriter and performer in a blues band often presents these conflicts of how one does anything. My answer is always the same, "You just go for it and by the sheer grace of God, you manage." So, upon entering the Whiskey room with the Nestlers, Donna toting her banjolele, Rick with his guitar, several other people there sitting around on beds and chairs, most with musical instruments of one sort or another; Sherman Lee Dillon with his Dobro and Don on upright bass, 'Ragtime' Jack Radcliffe began playing the piano. Then Jack turned to me and asked, "What do you want to sing?" And I said, "Do you know any Elmore James?" Boy, did they ever!

After that, we had the most fun jamming. And I truly believe it was and is God's good grace that connected us together that night to put us on a path that still carries on today. I can't say enough about how much I appreciate the friendship, expertise and musical spirit of the Wepecket family, Sherman Lee Dillon from Jackson, Mississippi; Don Barry from Franklin, Massachusetts; and of course the president of Wepecket and Old Time Country Music Hall of Famer, Jack Radcliffe.

I began listening to this music at a very early age. My mother and Sithoo (Arabic for my Lebanese grandmother) would sing songs to me at bedtime. Two in particular, I thought should be included were from this early time in my life, "You Are My Sunshine" and "Don't Sweetheart Me."

The common denominator in these songs for me is the stories of the people behind the songs. They all reflect true lives of difficulty and strife, but also of hope and perseverance. The music is a cultural archive of real life situations that people were stuck in. Some tell stories about injustices to laborers, others about the heartache and joy of love. Music is a way to effect change and cope with the cruelties of life. I hope you will appreciate and enjoy these treasures as much as I do singing them.

– Deborah Anne Fisher, Liberty, NY, April, 2015

Tracks & Times

1. A Few Old Memories (Hazel Dickens); 5:15
2. Careless Love (Traditional); 2:59
3. Are You Tired Of Me My Darlin' (Traditional); 2:33
4. Adam & Eve In The Garden Of Eden (Covington & Bradley); 3:51
5. Wreck On The Highway (Dorsey Dixon); 2:44
6. Tennessee Waltz (Stewart & King); 3:56
7. I Fall To Pieces (Howard & Cochran); 3:45
8. On The Wings Of A Dove (Bob Ferguson); 3:13
9. Miner's Lullaby (Utah Phillips); 4:04
10. Which Side Are You On (Florence Reece); 2:26
11. Nobody's Darlin' But Mine (Jimmie Davis); 3:59
12. Don't Sweetheart Me (Tobias & Friend); 2:49
13. Red River Valley (Traditional); 3:20

Total playing time: 45:03

Lyrics, and a few words about the songs

A Few Old Memories

This song was written by a woman who lived about a half an hour away from where I grew up, Hazel Dickens. I fell in love with this song and we ended up agreeing this would be the title track of the album. We kept the accompaniment very stark and simple to let the power of this song of wistful regret deliver its full message.

Just a few old memories
That slipped in through the door
Though I thought I had closed it
So tightly before
I can't understand it
Why it should bother my mind
For it all belongs to
Another place and time

Just a few old keepsakes
Way back on. the shelf
No they don't mean nothing
Why I'm surprised that they''re left
Just a few old love letters
With the edges all brown
And an old faded picture
I keep turned upside-down

Just a few old memories
Go way back in time
Why I can hardly remember
I don't know why I'm cryin'
I can't understand it
Why I'm surprised at myself
First thing tomorrow morning
I'll clean off that shelf

Careless Love

Love oh Love oh careless love
Love oh Love oh careless love
Love oh love oh careless love
See what love has done for me

You passed my door, you passed my gate
You passed my door, you passed my gate
You passed my door, you passed my gate
But oh darling, will you wait

Careless love you've done me wrong
Oh careless love you've done me wrong
You've made me weep and lose my sleep
Oh careless love, where has he gone

Hopeless nights alone and blue
Hopeless nights alone and blue
My lonely room is filled with gloom
Oh careless love what did I do

Are You Tired Of Me My Darling

Are you tired of me my darling
Did you mean those words you said
That made me yours forever
Since the day that we were wed

Tell me would you live life over
Would you make it otherwise
Are you tired of me my darling
Answer only with your eyes

Did you ever rue the springtime
When we first each other met
How we'd spoke in warm affection
Words my heart can n'er forget

Do you think the bloom's departed
From the cheeks you thought so fair
Do you think I've grown cold hearted
Beneath the load of women's cares

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
Surely must have shook that thing
The leaves started fallin'
and the snake started crawlin'
He gave her a diamond ring
Adam said to Eve, "You just won't wait
'Til I get out of this garden gate"
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
Surely must have shook that thing
Oh Lord, Surely must have shook that thing

Adam said to Eve, "You're playin' Suzie Q;
You wouldn't give me none of that forbidden fruit"
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
Surely must have shook that thing, oh Lord, surely must have shook that thing

Eve said to Adam, "If you care for me,
You'd eat this fruit from the forbidden tree"
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
Surely must have shook that thing, oh Lord, surely must have shook that thing

Eve said to Adam, "Go and sleep in the crib"
Adam said to Eve, "I'm gonna sleep with my rib"
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
Surely must have shook that thing, oh Lord, surely must have shook that thing

They had a son named Abel, and another named Cain
You know by that they must have shook that thing
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
Surely must have shook that thing, oh Lord, surely must have shook that thing

Wreck On The Highway

Who did you say it was brother
Who was it fell by the way
When whiskey and blood ran together
Did you hear anyone pray?

When I heard the crash on the highway
I knew what it was from the start
I went to the scene of destruction
And the picture was stamped on my heart

There was whiskey and blood all together
Mixed with glass where they lay
Death played her hand in destruction
But I didn't hear nobody pray.

I wish I could change this sad story
That I am now telling you
But there is no way I can change it
For somebody's life is now through.

Their soul has been called by the Master
They died in the crash on the way
I heard the groans of the dying
But I didn't hear nobody pray

Tennessee Waltz

I was dancin' with my darlin' to the Tennessee Waltz
When an old friend I happened to see
Introduced her to my loved one
And while they were dancin'
My friend stole my sweetheart from me

I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz
Now I know just how much I have lost
Yes I lost my little darlin' the night they, were playing
The beautiful Tennessee Waltz

I was standin' like a wallflower just taking it in
When an old friend happened to see
What happened with my baby
While they were dancin'
He said, why don't you take a dance with me

I Fall To Pieces

I fall to pieces
Each time I see you again
I fall to pieces
How can I be just your friend

You want me to act like we've never kissed
You want me to forget
Pretend we've never met
And I've tried and I've tried
But I haven't yet, you walk by
And I fall to pieces

I fall to pieces
Each time someone speaks your name
I Fall To Pieces
Time only adds to the flame

You tell me to find someone else to love
Someone who'll love me too
The way you used to do
But each time I go out
With someone new
You walk by and I fall to pieces

On The Wings Of A Dove

On the wings of a snow white dove
He sent His pure sweet love
A sign from above
On the wings of a dove

When trouble surrounds us and evil comes
The body grows weak, the spirit grows numb
When these things beset us, He doesn't forget us
He sends down His love, on the wings of a dove

When Noah had drifted on the flood many days
He searched for land in various ways
Troubles he had some; but wasn't forgotten
God sent him His love; on the wings of a dove

Miner's Lullaby

Once, long ago, he was handsome and tall
And fit to be called to the war
We left our village family and all
To never return anymore
Now he takes his coat, his bucket and lamp
And whistles away to the cage
Where men young and old
From all over the camp
Gather in search of a wage

Husband sleep, lay your head back and dream
A slow, falling leaf borne down to the stream
Then carried, away on the wings of morphine
Homeward, far over, the sea

My husband, and I are Roman in faith
So we have a secret to keep
If ever his life is taken away
Then gentle and long will he sleep
Now some men pass with family around
And linens and blankets so clean
But seldom a miner goes under the ground
Without his tin of morphine

But now here's a word an explosion is heard
The miners are trapped far below
If any survive down there alive
I'm certain, we never will know
Although our families have vainly appealed
No rescue attempt can be seen
Our hope for loved ones in the dark earth sealed
Now lies in a tin of morphine

Which Side Are You On

Come all of you good workers
Good news to you I'll tell
Of how the good old union
Has come in here to dwell

Which side are you on
Which side are you on
Which side are you on
Which side are you on

We're starting our good battle, we know we're sure to win
Because we got the gun thugs, a-lookin' very thin
They say in Harlan County, There are no neutrals there
You’ll either be a union man, or a thug for J.H. Blair

They say they have to guard us to educate their child
Their children live in luxury, our children almost wild
Gentlemen can you stand it, oh tell me how you can
Will you be a gun thug, or will you be a man

My daddy was a miner, and I'm a miner's son
He'll be with you fellow workers, 'til every battles won
Come all of you good workers, good news to you I’ll tell
Of how the good old union, has come in here to dwell

Nobody's Darlin' But Mine

Come lay by my side little darlin'
Come lay your cool hand on my brow
And promise me that you will always
be nobody's darlin' but mine

You're as sweet as the flowers in springtime
You're as pure as the dew from the rose
And I'd rather be somebody's darling
Than a poor girl that nobody knows

Nobody's darlin' but mine love
Be honest, be faithful, be kind
Promise me that you will always
Be nobody's darlin' but mine

Good-bye little darlin' I'm leaving
I'm leaving this cold world behind
So promise me that you will always
Be nobody's darlin' but mine

Don't Sweetheart Me

Don't sweetheart me, if you don't mean it
Don't talk sweet words, if they're not true
Don't tear my heart, like it was paper
Because my heart loves only you

You can't go round, sweethearting others
And then pretend that your mine exclusively
Love must be true, mean what you're sayin'
Unless you do, don't sweetheart me

Don't sweetheart me, if you don't believe it
Don't share your love, if it's not true
Don't crush my heart, like crumpled paper
Because my heart wants, wants only you

Red River Valley

From this valley they say you are leaving
I will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile
For you take with you all of the sunshine
That has brightened our pathway a while

Then come and sit by my side if you love me
Do not hasten to bid me adieu
Just remember the Red River Valley
And the one who has loved you so true

For a long time my darling I've waited
For the words that you never would say
Now at last my poor heart it is breaking
For they tell me you're going away

Credits

Deborah Anne Fisher: vocals
Don Barry: bass
Vinny Pagano: drums, washboard, hand percussion
'Ragtime' Jack Radcliffe: piano
Mike Higgins: guitar
Bonnie Delongchamp: vocal harmonies
Angel Dombrowski: violin
Art Manchester: clarinet
Jack Gomes: trumpet
Recorded at Outlier Studios, Woodridge, NY;
and at Sounds Interesting Studios, Middleborough, MA
Engineers: Josh Druckman (Outlier), Brian Cass and Corey Sherman (Sounds Interesting)
Final Mixing by Overclock, Inc., New Bedford, MA,
Mastering: dB Audio
Graphics design and layout:Eric Higgins
Cover photo: Robert DeGraw
Liner Notes: Deborah Anne Fisher
Executive Producer: Jack Radcliffe Associate Producer: Don Barry

Special thanks to Raymon Elozua for his generous support of this project, and to the following friends and fans who purchased this recording in advance: Robert S. Costa Sr., Carl Hokanson, Louie & Ellen Marino, Elizabeth Rose, Malcom Brown & Anne Larsen, Scott Major, Cynthia Avila, Joe Mondello, and Kevin Robinson.