We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Calling Me Home

by Kathy Mattea

/
  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Digital Download NOT AVAILABLE

    Includes unlimited streaming of Calling Me Home via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days

      $15 USD or more 

     

1.
I'm from West 'by God' Virginia And the high Kentucky hills I'm dirty but I'm honest I pay a poor man's bills I’m prosperity and poverty I'm a scoundrel and a saint I'm loved, reviled, misunderstood I'm hope in a hopeless place Hello, my name is coal And around here I'm the king Some say I'm a savior Some say death is what I bring I've broke miner's backs & hearts And I've wrestled for their souls Let me introduce myself Hello, my name is coal Some men call me 'black gold' You might have heard of me My body is the mountain My breath is kerosene You might think I’m outta date But if I'm out of style and old Why do men still dig me All around the globe? Hello, my name is coal And around here I'm the queen Some say I'm cheap and easy Oh but they still bow to me Be careful, I'll break up your home And I’ll steal away your soul It's dangerous to lust for me Hello, my name is coal They curse me now for what I am But not that long ago They sang my praises everywhere Hello, my name is coal

about

01. A Far Cry 4:07
02. Gone, Gonna Rise Again 3:20
03. The Wood Thrush’s Song 3:47
04. West Virginia Mine Disaster 4:29
05. The Maple’s Lament 3:52
06. Hello, My Name Is Coal 3:00
07. Calling Me Home 2:30
08. Black Waters 4:56
09. West Virginia, My Home 4:26
10. Agate Hill 3:47
11. Now Is the Cool of the Day 3:25
12. Requiem for a Mountain 2:37

credits

released September 11, 2012

Songwriting/Publishing

01. A Far Cry
Michael Dowling, Janet Dowling
Little House of Morgan Songs (ASCAP)

02. Gone, Gonna Rise Again
Si Kahn
Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)

03. The Wood Thrush’s Song
Laurie Lewis
Spruce and Maple Music; admin. by BMG Rights Management (ASCAP)

04. West Virginia Mine Disaster
Jean Ritchie
Geordie Music Publishing (ASCAP)

05. The Maple’s Lament
Laurie Lewis
Spruce and Maple Music; admin. by BMG Rights Management (ASCAP)

06. Hello, My Name Is Coal
Larry Cordle, Jeneé Fleenor
Wandachord Music (BMI), NaynerPuddinPie (SESAC)

07. Calling Me Home
Alice Gerrard
Agate Hill Publishing (BMI)

08. Black Waters
Jean Ritchie
Geordie Music Publishing (ASCAP)

09. West Virginia, My Home
Hazel Dickens
Happy Valley Music (BMI)

10. Agate Hill
Alice Gerrard
Agate Hill Publishing (BMI)

11. Now Is the Cool of the Day
Jean Ritchie
Geordie Music Publishing (ASCAP)

12. Requiem for a Mountain
Bill Cooley
Nancy Lee Music (ASCAP); All rights administered by Carol Vincent and Associates, LLC

CREDITS AND COPYRIGHT

Produced by Gary Paczosa & Kathy Mattea
Kathy Mattea – lead vocal
Jim Brock - percussion
Byron House – bass
Bryan Sutton – mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, high strung guitar, octave banjo, octave mandolin
Bill Cooley – acoustic guitar
Stuart Duncan – fiddle, banjo, mandolin, bowed zither
Randy Kohrs – Dobro, Weissenborn guitar
Tim Lauer – accordion, pump organ, additional percussion
John Randall Stewart – electric guitar
Tim Eriksen – harmony vocal
Patty Loveless – harmony vocal
Emmylou Harris – harmony vocal
Tim O’Brien – harmony vocal
Aoife O’Donovan – harmony vocal
Sarah Dugas – harmony vocal
Oliver Wood – harmony vocal
Mollie O’Brien – harmony vocal
Alison Krauss – harmony vocal

Recorded by Gary Paczosa & Brandon Bell at Sound Emporium Recording Studios, Nashville, TN
Mixed by Gary Paczosa at Minutia, Nashville, TN
Additional recording at Minutia, Nashville, TN
Patty Loveless vocals engineered by Ellery Durgin at Cave 2 Studio, Dallas, GA
Tim Eriksen vocals engineered by Garrett Sawyer at Northfire Recording Studio, Amherst, MA
Mastered by Don Cobb and Eric Conn at Independent Mastering, Nashville, TN
Photography by David McClister
Art Direction and Design by Carrie Smith

Alison Krauss appears courtesy of Rounder Records
Oliver Woods appears courtesy of Southern Ground
Patty Loveless appears courtesy of Jahaza Records
Emmylou Harris appears courtesy of Nonesuch Records

Management: Marc Dottore for M. Dottore Management, LLC
Agency: Jeanna Disney of International Music Network. www.imnworld.com

SUG-CD-4085 (p) & © 2012 Sugar Hill Records, A Welk Music Group Company.
All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. Manufactured in the U.S.A. sugarhillrecords.com

LYRICS

01. A FAR CRY

I remember the face of an angel

A love that was faithful and true
I left that dear boy in the mountains

For a ramblin’ life empty and blue

Sweet roses bloom where they’re planted
Wild flowers seed on the wind

That valley was closer to heaven

Than any place this poor fool’s been

It’s a far cry from here to Virginia

But I’d crawl every inch of that ground

My teardrops fall like rain on the roof

Of that Blue Ridge home where I’m bound

This highway’s a ribbon of lonesome
Don’t care where I lay my head down

My Virginia boy died broken hearted
My sweet mountain darlin’ is gone

It’s a far cry from here to Virginia

But I’d crawl every inch of that ground

My teardrops fall like rain on the roof

Of that Blue Ridge home where I’m bound

02. GONE, GONNA RISE AGAIN

I remember the year that my granddad died
Gone, gonna rise again
They dug his grave on the mountainside
Gone, gonna rise again
I was too young to understand
The way he felt about the land
But I could read his history in his hands
Gone, gonna rise again

Corn in the crib and apples in the bin
Ham in the smokehouse and cotton in the gin
Cows in the barn and hogs in the lot
You know, he never had a lot
But he worked like a devil for the living he got

These apple trees on the mountainside
He planted the seeds just before he died
I guess he knew that he'd never see
The red fruit hanging from the tree
But he planted the seeds for his children and me

High on the ridge above the farm
I think of my people that have gone on
Like a tree that grows in the mountain ground
The storms of life have cut them down
But the new wood springs from the roots in the ground

Gone, gonna rise again
Gone, gonna rise again
Gone, gonna rise again

03. THE WOOD THRUSH’S SONG

I walked down the hall where the woods used to stand
Concrete at my feet, brick walls at every hand
And over my head steel girders so strong
Where I first felt the spell of the Wood Thrush's song

Now the Wood Thrush has vanished, seeking the place
That's not felt the crush of man's embrace
The steep woods are gone now, and oh, how I long
To again feel the spell of the Wood Thrush's song

Over my head just a few years ago
The poplar leaves shivered when the breezes did blow
Now the deep hum of engines drowns the soft sigh
Of the wind in the leaves of the few trees nearby

Man is the inventor, the builder, the sage
The writer and seeker of truth by the page
But all of his knowledge can never explain
The deep mystery of the Wood Thrush refrain

04. WEST VIRGINIA MINE DISASTER

Oh say, did you see him, it was early this morning
He passed all your houses on his way to the coal
He was tall, he was slender, and his dark eyes so tender
His occupation was mining, West Virginia his home

It was just before twelve, I was feeding the children
Ben Moseley came running to bring us the news
Number eight is all flooded, many men are in danger
And we don't know their number, but we fear they're all doomed

So I picked up the baby, and I left all the others
To comfort each other and to pray for their own
There's Tommy, fourteen, and there's John not much younger
Their own time soon will be coming to go down the black hole

What will I say to his poor little children?
And what will I tell his dear mother at home?
And what will I say to my heart that's clear broken?
To my heart that's clear broken if my baby is gone?

Now, if I had the money to do more than just feed them
I'd give them good learning, the best could be found
So when they growed up they'd be checkers and weighers
And not spend their life digging in the dark underground

Say, did you see him going, it was early this morning
He passed all your houses on his way to the coal
He was tall, he was slender, and his dark eyes so tender
His occupation was mining, West Virginia his home

05. THE MAPLE’S LAMENT

When I was alive the birds would nest upon my boughs 

And all through long winter nights, the storms would 'round me howl
And when the day would come, I'd raise my branches to the sun 

I was the child of earth and sky, and all the world was one

But now that I am dead, the birds no longer sing in me 

And I feel no more the wind and rain, as when I was a tree 

But bound so tight in wire strings, I have no room to grow 

And I am but the slave who sings, when master draws the bow

But sometimes from my memories I can sing the birds in flight 

And I can sing of sweet dark earth and endless starry nights 

But oh, my favorite song of all, I truly do believe 

Is the song the sunlight sang to me while dancing on my leaves

06. HELLO, MY NAME IS COAL

I'm from West 'by God' Virginia
And the high Kentucky hills
I'm dirty but I'm honest
I pay a poor man's bills
I’m prosperity and poverty
I'm a scoundrel and a saint
I'm loved, reviled, misunderstood
I'm hope in a hopeless place

Hello, my name is coal
And around here I'm the king
Some say I'm a savior
Some say death is what I bring
I've broke miner's backs & hearts
And I've wrestled for their souls
Let me introduce myself
Hello, my name is coal

Some men call me 'black gold'
You might have heard of me
My body is the mountain
My breath is kerosene
You might think I’m outta date
But if I'm out of style and old
Why do men still dig me
All around the globe?

Hello, my name is coal
And around here I'm the queen
Some say I'm cheap and easy
Oh but they still bow to me
Be careful, I'll break up your home
And I’ll steal away your soul
It's dangerous to lust for me
Hello, my name is coal

They curse me now for what I am
But not that long ago
They sang my praises everywhere
Hello, my name is coal

07. CALLING ME HOME

An old friend lay on his dying bed
Held my hand to his bony breast
And he whispered low as I bent my head
Oh they're calling me home
They're calling me home

My time has come to sail away
I know you'd love for me to stay
But I miss my friends of yesterday
Oh they're calling me home
They're calling me home

I know you'll remember me when I'm gone
Remember my stories, remember my songs
I'll leave them on earth, sweet traces of gold
Oh they're calling me home
They're calling me home

So friends gather round and bid me goodbye
My body's bound but my soul shall fly
My little light's shining from the sky
Oh they're calling me home
They're calling me home

My time has come to sail away
I know you'd love for me to stay
But I miss my friends of yesterday
Oh they're calling me home
They're calling me home

08. BLACK WATERS

I come from the mountains, Kentucky's my home
Where the wild deer and the black bear so lately did roam
By the cool rushing waterfall the wildflowers dream
And through every green valley, there runs a clear stream
Now there's scenes of destruction on every hand
And only black waters run down through my land

Sad scenes of destruction on every hand
Black waters, black waters, run down through my land

Oh the quail, she's a pretty bird, she sings a sweet tongue
In the roots of tall timber she nests with her young
Then the hillside explodes with the dynamite’s roar
And the voice of the small bird is heard there no more
Then the mountain comes tumbling so awful and grand
And the poison black waters run down thru my land

Sad scenes of destruction on every hand
Black waters, black waters, run down through my land

In the coming of the springtime we planted our corn
In the ending of the springtime we buried a son
In the summer come a nice man, says everything's fine
My employer just requires a way to his mine

Then they blew down the timber and covered my corn
And the grave on the hillside's a mile deeper down
And the man stands and talks with his hat in his hand
As the poison black waters rise over my land

Sad scenes of destruction on every hand
Black waters, black waters, run down through my land

Well I don’t have much money, not much of a home
I own my own land, but my land's not my own
But, if I had ten million, somewhere’s thereabouts
Well, I'd buy Perry county and I’d drive ‘em all out
Then I’d sit on the bank with my bait and my can
And watch the clear waters run down through my land

Well, wouldn't that be just like the old promised land?
Black waters, black waters no more in my land
Black waters, black waters no more in my land

09. WEST VIRGINIA, MY HOME

West Virginia, oh my home
West Virginia, where I belong
In the dead of the night in the still and the quiet
I slip away, like a bird in flight
Back to those hills, the place that I call home

It’s been years now, since I left there
And this city life’s about got the best of me
I can’t remember why I left so free
What I wanted to do, what I wanted to see
But I can sure remember where I come from

West Virginia, oh my home
West Virginia, where I belong
In the dead of the night in the still and the quiet
I slip away, like a bird in flight
Back to those hills, the place that I call home

Well I paid the price for the leavin’
And this life I have’s not one I thought I’d find
Just let me live, love, let me cry
But when I go, just let me die
Among the friends who’ll remember when I’m gone

West Virginia, oh my home
West Virginia, where I belong
In the dead of the night in the still and the quiet
I slip away, like a bird in flight
Back to those hills, the place that I call home

Home, home, home
Oh I can see it so clear in my mind
Home, home, home
I can almost smell the honeysuckle vine

In the dead of the night, in the still and the quiet
I slip away, like a bird in flight
Back to those hills, the place that I call home

10. AGATE HILL

Oh you weary restless heart
Peace come to you now
Still your wild and wishful soul
Calm your troubled brow

Loose your crippled body’s ties
Let your spirit soar
Friends and loved ones guiding you
To new freedom’s shore

Think of when you were a child
Dreams unbound by pain
Climbing up the Agate Hill
Wild and free again
It will be as then

Your mama’s watching over you
Even from afar
All your children now are here
With you in your hour

Oh the words we’ve left unsaid
Flood into my soul
And I know you hear them now
Even as you go

Think of when you were a child
Dreams unbound by pain
Climbing up the Agate Hill
Wild and free again
Oh, it will be as then

Climbing up the Agate Hill
It will be as then

11. NOW IS THE COOL OF THE DAY

And my Lord, he said unto me
Do you like my garden so fair
You may live in this garden, if you keep the grasses green
And I'll return in the cool of the day

And my Lord he said unto me
Do you like my garden so pure
You may live in this garden, if you keep the waters clean
And I’ll return in the cool of the day

Now is the cool of the day
Now is the cool of the day
Oh this earth it is a garden, the garden of my Lord
And he walks in his garden
In the cool of the day

And my Lord, he said unto me
Do you like my pastures so green
You may live in this garden if you will feed my lambs
And I'll return in the cool of the day

And my Lord, he said unto me
Do you like my garden so free
You may live in this garden if you keep the people free
And I'll return in the cool of the day

Now is the cool of the day
Now is the cool of the day
Oh, this earth is a garden, the garden of my Lord
And he walks in his garden
In the cool of the day
Yes he walks in his garden
In the cool of the day

12. REQUIEM FOR A MOUNTAIN (Instrumental

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Kathy Mattea Nashville, Tennessee

Twice named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association, Kathy Mattea is among the most successful women in the genre’s history, yet her creative spirit has led her to explore musical territory well beyond its confines. Her recent recordings have intertwined Celtic, gospel, and bluegrass influences with the folk and acoustic music that have served as her artistic anchor. ... more

contact / help

Contact Kathy Mattea

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Kathy Mattea, you may also like: