Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands

Part of my reason for covering songs on this blog is to make sure that certain superior tunes don't get forgotten in the fog of time. I had almost completely forgotten this song from 1982, but it's really one of the most original songs of its time. It has decent words but where it really shines is in its chords. This song is full of suspended 4ths and 2 chords (both my favorites) and it has an almost mathematical buildup of suspense because of them. In addition, the melody spends less time on notes IN THE CHORD than any other country song I've ever heard. All in all a great melody over great chords.

RING ON HER FINGER, TIME ON HER HANDS

By the way, the main reason I put songs up here at the Ramble is therapy. Nothing makes me feel better after a day of spinning my wheels than a simple music project that takes about 2 hours and ends up with another song.

The song was sung by Lee Greenwood in 1982 and by Reba McIntyre in 1996. It was written by Don Goodman, Pam Rose and Mary Ann Kennedy. 

Hot Dusty Roads

For a change I decided to do an old song that I know. Lately I've been working on some new songs that have videos to accompany them and everything in the video world moves slowly. I bought a new camera today and that should solve that bottleneck. But in the meantime, here's an audio quickie by Buffalo Springfield.

HOT DUSTY ROADS

Knees was probably thinking of this song when he wrote the contrarian tune Midnight Sun back in 1977.

Candy Man Yo Sweets Are Mighty Fine

Credit for inspiring this new song should go to Robin Harbron and his Canadian friends. Robin invited me to join his group, which records and videos songs every month, and the project for April of 2013 was to do an original song that had somehow fallen through the cracks and never been recorded. I just happened to have a song that fit that description, one that Knees wrote back in 67 or 68 when he was in the army. It was obviously his version of "Waitin' for My Man" by the Velvet Underground, and he gave the song the first melody that occurred to him when he saw the words again after 45 years.

CANDY MAN YO SWEETS ARE MIGHTY FINE

(Audio)

CANDY MAN YO SWEETS ARE MIGHTY FINE

(Video)

I’m needin a speeding

Don’t let me down Candy Man

I’m flyin high now so do the best you can
Comin down time is comin up soon
So open up your bag and shoot me to the moon
Candy Man, yo sweets are mighty fine.
 
I’m sighin while I’m flyin
But tomorrow is another day
It’s all such a groove
You know it’s the only way
But livin ain’t easy when you’re straight as the man
So lay me five dolls right here in my hand
Candy Man, yo sweets are mighty fine.
 
Candy Man, travel agent
I like what you sell to me
Candy Man, secret agent,
I like what they let me be.
 
I’m flyin high now, flyin up with the birds
Flyin so high I don’t even know the words
My tongue’s keeps tumbling inside my mouth
You came through, that’s what it’s all about
Candy Man, yo sweets are mighty fine.

Sin City

Written by Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons of the Flying Burrito Brothers, this has always been one of my favorite harmony songs. So of course I overdo the harmony in this quickie version.

SIN CITY

Back in the 70s at the Las Cruces Inn, Kathy Delaney used to sing this with us and I happen to have a recording from February 18, 1979 of Kathy and me channeling Emmy Lou and Gram.

SIN CITY ( with KATHY DELANEY)