HDWD_CD_009_Booklet

The Mee ting of th e Waters JEFF WASSERMAN

DEEP IS THE RIVER The painting box of sunset (L. Børke/O. Paus/J. Wasserman) A masterpiece begins (Warner-Chappell Scandinavia) Relics of a memory, In shades of what have been Deep is the river Hallowed are the stones Deep in the river on the plains of yesterday Beating in my breast A land that was my home always giving, slowly roing Forests full of silence Home with every breath Paths that find no end So Deep and yet we know Ramble over wood and hill These were hills of miracles down to the water's edge A land that once was my home Bells are softly ringing Deep is the river The storm rolls out to sea Deep within the breast Scent of earth and life's rebirth Never ending, always turning Release in rhapsody Home …. Deep is the river Deep is the river Deep within my breast Sacred are the stones Never ending, slowly rowing These were hills of miracles Home with with every breath The land that once was home Paradise in motion In 1995 I was given the honor of Tides that rise and fall interpreting the Norwegian lyrics to A tapestry so wild and free “Innerst i sjelen” (Deep in the Soul) All quicken to the call by Ole Paus into English.

THE CALL OF THE WILD/ I feel that I’ve done justice to his work RUEBIN’S TRAIN and at the same time have added my own (J. Fjeld/J. Wasserman) signature to this lyric. I am also honored Vulture prowls, circles 'round to be joined vocally by my sister-in-arms eye on a rat in the claws of a hungry owl Claudia Scott (photo - Rt.) with whom hunted down, I have performed and written with for dyin' proud. on holy ground decades now. And there’s a band of angels singing The call of the wild ooh .. ooh Burnin' bush, cryin' loud Sniper taking aim - at a mother's child cuts him down, serving proud on the killin' ground As that band of angels weep, for the soul of that child ooh .. ooh Jeff Wasserman - vocals, guitar, Seems we got the whole thing wrong mandocello, Irish bouzouki, mandolin, we know the words, Claudia Scott - vocals but never learned the song carved in stone Jeff Davis - fi ddle Now, the beast inside, Ingunn Bjørgo - 2 row diatonic “ is runnin' wild accordion under the sun Jørun Bøgeberg - Alhambra nylon string fretless bass Animals ain’t humankind Knut Reiersrud - Backing vocals They eat what they kill but we’ve got an appetite

For taking life For war and strife DOWN FROM WHERE When deep inside (J.Davis /J.Wasserman/S. Piro) There’s a band of angels singing our call of the wild Down from Where I was dreaming Somewhere lost in my mind And it’s oh me and it’s oh why? Keeping me from seeing clearly We just won’t hear those angels sing someone I can’t leave behind The call of the ….. Wild How I’d love to come home, Jeff Wasserman - Lead vocals, guitar, How I’d love to come home to you fi ddles, mandolin, mandocello, Then we’d shine like anything spoons, upright bass Then we’d shine like anything Jeff Davis - banjo Then we’d shine like anything ... Jonas Fjeld - Lead and harmony in my mind vocals Passed up pastures of plenty lost in my dust bowl of doubt I’ve got reasons too many To turn ‘round, run back to your house Chorus Ran out of laughs crossing Utah Ran out of gas crossing May I hide behind walls strong and sturdy They fall at the sound of your name Chorus .... We could shine like anything in my mind ... you are mine

KARL JOHAN’S SHUFFLE (J. Wasserman) Jeff W. - backing vocals, guitar, autoharp, mandocello The old fi ddle and dance tunes Jørun Bøgeberg - nylon string fretless that have survived up to this day have passed the scrutiny and been bass perfected by thousands of fi ddlers Knut Reiersrud - Gibson Roy Smeck over hundreds of years. To compose Stage DeLuxe a new fi ddle tune and hope that it Jan Tariq Rui-Rahman - missionary's enters into the tradition is shooting a bit high. But, It’d be nice to hear harmonium this one played at a contra dance sometime. I wrote this one in my Ella Wasserman - lead vocal head while strolling down Norway’s “Main Street”, Karl Johan’s gate. The street is named after Karl III Johan who was the the French Minister of War and was made King of Sweden and Norway in 1818 in return for his opposition to Napoleon. He’s credited with recognizing Norway’s 17th of May Constitution. Jeff Wasserman - piano, mandolins, mandocello, fi ddle, spoons, triangle Jeff Davis - lead fi ddle Ingunn Bjørgo - 2-row diatonic accordion

THE MEETING OF THE WATERS (J. Wasserman/A. Haugen) In the backseat of a Greyhound When he awoke she held him cradled Through the Allegheny rain Amazed that he’d survived there was a man staring out of the window his empty glass somehow replenished at a road paved with pain His will to live revived Across the aisle was a beauty sleeping He knew it was the day of changes the man rolled up his sleeve felt the past melting away A fatal dose of salt and teardrops and they both got off in Buffalo He made ready to receive I think they’re living there still today Floating down the dirty river Chorus x 2 to the land of sweet release Where the salt from every teardrop’s When the hands of that sleeping beauty washed away out to him did reach Through a haze he saw her lovely vision Performed by THE EXPATRIATES She appeared to him as real and she offered him the promise Jeff Wasserman - vocals, guitar, his wounds one day would heal autoharp At the Meeting of the Waters Bill Booth - fi ddle, harmony vocals Every mother’s son and daughter Paul Kirby - banjo, harmony vocals Find the strength to see from they came Billy T - upright bass Out of chaos comes the order at the meeting of the waters with Special guest Where the salt from every teardrop’s Cindy Cashdollar - dobro washed away

HYMN TO HER (J. Wasserman/C. Scott) Here’s my hymn to her Nowhere near a town in Arkansas It’s a prayer without words A coast of gold, on a northern shore Here’s a hymn to our innocence Dreaming on the docks fi rst times and wonder of ol’ Oyster Bay and the wisdom of youth Reading her letters, and dreams that came true took me far, far away I’ve spent so many years now, So, I set out on a journey, searching for my grail captained by my heart False love and fools gold, y No sexton or maps, ou’ve wandered off the trail she was my Northern star Till I saw that crimson sunset, United in Bergen, get stolen by the night we embraced upon the shore and I remembered her last words, Daring and fearless, Love bravely, each day you’re alive well she unlocked my heart’s door Here’s my hymn to her Here’s my hymn to her It’s a prayer without words It’s a prayer without words Here’s a hymn to our innocence fi rst loves and wonder We danced, loved and sang, and the wisdom of youth followed every dream and dreams that come true Yes, Borders we crossed, Here’s my hymn to you but splendors we did see But, the hourglass of life, it’s hidden by a veil She passed without warning, so alone I did sail

IS MY HEART JUST AS SHALLOW Jeff W. - vocals, guitar, mandocello, AS MY POCKETS ARE DEEP? autoharp, upright bass (J. Wasserman/B. Leigh) Jeff Davis - fi ddle My life was good John Stenersen - nyckelharpa when I woke up today (keyed fi ddle) I counted my blessings and then I threw them away Paul Brady - vocals And went down to halls of temptation and greed My heart just as shallow as my pockets were deep Among the all the gadgets new shoes and fi ne clothes Surrounded by people I never felt so alone We were wandering around like a fl ock of lost sheep Our hearts just as shallow as our pockets were deep I don't need to leave behind mansions or gold I have known love and I'm rich in my soul

Why do I keep buying HANGING JACK these things I don’t need (J. Wasserman/W.C. Handy, J.E. Mainer) Is my heart just as shallow Now, everyone remembers as my pockets are deep The day them towers fell When they gather to lay me We lined up back the President down in the cold clay Who marched Jack off to hell Will they struggle to fi nd Iraq was a beehive, something honest to say Bush stuck his fi st in that Will they whisper in secret Them bees was mean and multiplied he was callous and philistine A swarm of black Jihad And his heart was as shallow When Jack got back from the war as his pockets were deep? He wasn’t hanging his head 'Cause Jack could take so much more Jeff W. - vocals, guitar, mandocello, So, he wasn’t hanging his head autoharp, upright bass Patrolling in his Humvee Jeff Davis - fi ddle, banjo, without no armored plates harmony vocals a roadside bomb on New Year’s eve took a leg and half his face Andy Irvine - harmonica Brennen Leigh - vocals When Jack got back from the war He wasn’t hanging his head Noel McKay - harmony vocals 'Til he just couldn’t take any more Claudia Scott - harmony vocals He started hanging his head

Well he learned to walk, Jeff Davis - fi ddle, banjo and he learned to talk But his woman got so spooked The Paul Kirby Cloned Sacred Harp she picked her bed up and walked Singers - all backup vocals And still he salutes, ALL THOSE MILES Ya’think Uncle Sam gives a hoot? (J. Wasserman) Another Veteran on the corner who sings the Homeless Blues How long have I known you guys? He’d rather be back How long were we closer than kin? in his home sweet home Longer than the lonesome highways laid end to end So he went up on the mountain and hoped the sun would shine As I look back across the years But yonder came his memories Where’d I be without you They came up from behind Maybe among lonesome pickers probably singing the blues When Jack got back from the war He was hangin his head Chorus Just couldn’t take any more All those miles He was hanging his head I’ve travelled in this life it’s your eyes Jack got back from the war I’ve always keep in mind He wasn’t hangin his head All those nights But Uncle Sam don’t care anymore Playing music with you guys So now he’s hanging his head Those were times such a wild, amazing ride Jeff W. - vocals, guitar, washtub bass, mandolin, washboards, piano, fi ddle, upright bass

The clock strikes 9 and the band strikes G no place I’d rather be ‘cept in the arms of my true love if she’s still waiting for me Chorus With Uncle Bud and Sally Ann we have sailed around this world on a sweet melody A thousand tales and a myth or three Memories richer than gold Gone At Last - 1986 (NYC with Emmy Lou Harris) But, If my memory fades, if I forget all your names Gone At Last - 2015 Well, you’re the best I’ve ever known Chorus Performed by GONE AT LAST Jeff W. - vocals, guitar, mandolin solo Terje Kinn - banjo, harmony vocals Kalle Aasland - mandolin, harmony vocals Jørun Bøgeberg - bass Cindy Cashdollar - dobro Paolo Vinaccia - rim shots

EVERYONE NEEDS A FRIEND ‘cause everyone - we’ve got to fi nd SOMETIMES our own way (F. Alnæs/J. Wasserman/ELG) so come on now babe, let me hear Arranged by J. Wasserman you say A lot of sad and dreary faces here I need a lover, and I need a friend, tonight need someone who ain't runnin' I guess they started out feeling' away alright Girls with the blues and makeup on Chorus their face I need a lover, you need a friend And boys feeling so scared, I hear We both need someone that ain’t them say runnin’ away I need a lover, I need a friend, need someone who ain't runnin' Chorus away. Jeff W. - vocal, guitar, mandocello, Chorus autoharp Everyone needs a friend sometimes Claudia Scott - vocal to wake you up, sing a lullaby everyone needs a friend sometimes Jørun Bøgeberg - nylon string fretless that's what it's all about bass When you check it out you will know Ingunn Bjørgo - 2 row diatonic There ain’t no one you can really lean accordion upon Ella Wasserman - harmony vocals

HEMPEN WIDOW (Jeff Davis/Arr. J. Wasserman) Aside from collecting and keeping While recording Andy asked me alive long lost tunes and song, Jeff what “Hempen Widow” actually Davis also has written some incredi- means? ble fi ddle tunes of his own. “Hempen So, I rearched the term and found Widow” is one such pearl from 1978 a reference to it in a publication that he had all but forgotten until I from 1844. It was a term used to pushed him to recall and record it. describe a woman who had been He did so without any accompani- widowed by a husband who had ment. I brought his tune home and I been hanged. now return it with my arrangement with one of his favorite musicians on it as well Jeff W. - guitar, mandocello, - Andy Irvine. triangle, upright bass Jeff Davis - fi ddle Andy Irvine - mandola Dag Westling - banjo Esbjørn Hazelius - fi ddles

BONUS TRACK FATHERS, NOW OUR MEETING IS OVER HESITATION BLUES Fathers now, this meeting is over “Easy on the Tuba” opening for Les- Fathers we must part ter Flatt, recorded live at NYU Loeb And if I’m never to see you anymore Student Center - 1979 I’ll love you in my heart Jeff W. - lead vocals, guitar Chorus Yes, we’ll land on the shore, Kevin Ege - jug, saw, kazoo We’ll land on the shore, Tone Aanderaa - washboard We’ll land on the shore, Ross Levinson - fi ddle And be free forever more Warren Carlstrøm - guitar Mothers now ... Bill Grillo - washtub bass Sisters now... Brothers Now ... Jeff W. & Jeff Davis - vocals Meeting House Choir Claudia Scott, Esbjørn Hazelius, Ella Wasserman, Dag Westling

Produced by Jeff Wasserman Pre-Mixes by Jeff Wasserman at Pigpen Studio Mixed by Mike Hartung at Propeller Music Division, Oslo, Norway “Everyone Needs A Friend Sometimes” Mixed by Ingar Helgesen and Morten Fjøss Augustinius at Ingar Helgesen Studioproduksjon, Asker, Norway Mastered by Morgan Nicolaysen, Propeller Mastering Recorded by Jeff Wasserman at Jeff Davis’ house, Woodstock, CT & Pigpen Studio, Jongsåsen, Norway, Dave Cook at Area 52 Studios, Saugerties, NY Cover Design by Jeff Wasserman Cover photo of Jeff Wasserman by Peter Scheer Cover painting by Thomas Fearnley (1802 -1842) 'Utsikt over Tistedal' Cover drawing of Owl with Mandocello - Ivar Olav Rudi (1954) Additional Booklet photos by Bjørn Erik Melbye, Michael Lanham (Ella), Photos of Jeff Davis & Jeff Wasserman together - Lisa Davidson Special Thanks to Kjell Rønningen & Trond Tøfte for their generosity to Heidi Andersen, Arlen Syver Wasserman, Tine Andersen, Nancy Sirianni, Lisa Davidson, Kevin Ege, Øyvind Madsen, Peter Scheer, Steinar Nordstrøm, Ingar Helgesen and Morten Fjøss Augustinius All songs copyright controlled

To all the incredible musicians who contributed their time and artistry to this endeavor with a generous heart - Jeff Davis, Paul Brady, Andy Irvine, Jonas Fjeld, Knut Reiersrud, Jørun Bøgeberg, Claudia Scott, Esbjørn Hazelius, Dag Westling, Ingunn Bjørgo, Ella Wasserman, Cindy Cashdollar, John Stenersen, Paul Kirby, Bill Booth, Bill Troiani, Terje Kinn, Kalle Aasland, Knut Hem & Jan Tariq Rui-Rahman - My deepest thanks www.jeffwasserman.no HDWD CD 009