Get all 11 Bruce Coughlan releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of A Simply Extraordinary Life, Waiting For Rain, Stirring Up Ghosts Vol 1&2, A Minstrel in Moray, Go the Road, A River So Wide, The Wild Bird's Nest, Buchan Bluegrass, and 3 more.
1. |
John Tod
03:55
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JOHN TOD
Late last evening I had a dream
I met John Tod on the Oak Bay Road
The weathered old ghost of a Hudson's Bay Trader
With lop-sided grin and old tattered cloths
He'd left his home on the Vale of Leven
Left Stornawa' on the Edward & Ann
He crossed the great ocean in 1811
Through Hudson's Bay and to Rupert's Land
I tried to imagine the span of a lifetime
As riddled with peril or molded by change
He could recall with childlike amusement
The youthful adventures of his former days
But where are ye now, ye Hudson's Bay Brothers?
And where are ye now, my comrades of old?
W' James Murray Yale or Edward Ermatinger
We lived with the Cayuse & Carriers bold
He told how they fought the valiant Nor'Westers
Along the Saskatchewan, long, long ago
And came to this place called "New Caledonia"
A land of promise and riches untold
It's hard imagine the span of a lifetime
As riddled with peril or molded by change
Yet he would recall in fondest reflection
The youthful adventures of his former days
And as my dream ends, I turned to look back
And see the procession advance down the road
Twenty-eight carriages all draped in black
As the world bids adieu to old John Tod
It's hard imagine the span of a lifetime
As riddled with peril or molded by change
Yet he would recall in fondest reflection
The youthful adventures of his former days
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2. |
A Ripple in Time
04:44
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A RIPPLE IN TIME
On the sun warmed rocks by the river
With the heat of day pounding in my shoes
I laid down on the shore, my heart stricken sore
To shake off these vagabond blues
Oh there's gentle, sweet souls in the North lands
And a welcome wherever I've roamed
And I hope they won't mind, or think it unkind
When I break like a shot to the door
'Cause it's still such a long way from home
This highway feels like no man's land
When all I can see is the road still ahead
On the crest of a wave it's all well & fine
'Till you're caught in the wake like a ripple in time
There's a chill rolling in from the mountains
But there's nothing so blue as the sky
There are rumors of spring in all living things
And there's a handshake with every good-bye
This highway feels like no man's land
When all I can see is the road still ahead
On the crest of a wave it's all good & fine
'Till you're trapped in the wake like a ripple in time
Oh, it seems like a year since I've held you
The telephone only reaches half the way
I guess these are the dues for doing as you choose
You can still get the blues, that's the thing
This highway feels like no man's land
There's not much to do, so you do what you can
There's a crest and a wake, then it's all left behind
As old memories fade just like ripples in time
At the crest of the wave It's all good & fine
'Till you're trapped in the wake like a ripple in time
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4. |
McCulloch's Wonder
04:52
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McCULLOCH’S WONDER
Back in1916 they laid the last rail down
On the Coast-to-Kootenay Railway from Hope to Midway town
Over three mountain ranges lay the greatest challenge
Any engineer could find
Two ribbons of steel they called the Kettle Valley Railway Line
Andrew McCulloch, just look what you have done
You've built a railway, where they said a railway was never meant to run
Where other men would have said "die"
You'd take a second look, 'cause you never know until you try
Now it's called McCulloch's Wonder; the old "Tin Whistle" Line
What dreams inspired your trestled spans along the Myra Canyon?
Or drove Othello Tunnels through Hope's forbidding gate?
Copper, gold, cattle & coal from across the southern vales
Avalanches ice & snow, through driving wind and hail
Chief Engineer for twenty years, kept watchful eye on the marvel he'd designed
It was called McCulloch's Wonder; The Kettle Valley Railway Line
Aboard a helper engine, up Carmi's steeper grades
The fireman's back was breaking, he shoveled eighteen tons a day
Now everything is still, no smoke no steam or rumble in the rails
Water towers and stations gone and few folks left to tell the tale
But buried in these silent hills along the roadside stands a lonely highway sign
Here lies McCulloch's Wonder; The Kettle Valley Railway Line
McCulloch's Wonder; The old "Tin Whistle" Line
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5. |
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GHOST OF KITTY O’REILLY
Kitty blushed in the full bloom of spring
Carefree and wild as a bird on the wing
Unencumbered by love’s tender strings
She lived by the Point Ellice shore
From far and wide, like moths to a flame
Calling and courting the gentlemen came
Still she bided her time, content to remain
In the house by the Point Ellice shore
There was not a one so fare
Timeless beauty and devil may care
At the height of Victorian flare
With paints, easel and garden
Oh, the scores of hearts she snared
Few resisted and few were spared
Though they pined oh, the less she could care
No one could kindle her ardour
Kitty died, a solit’ry rose
She never had wed; she’d seldom left home
Having never found love, was her heart turned to stone?
All alone by the Point Ellice shore
Many years have come and have gone
A story’s told so the legend lives on
That a maid with a blue dress on
Still haunts the house by the harbour
And there, I fear the ghost of fare Kitty O’Reilly
Will haunt evermore
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6. |
Twenty-three Camels
03:16
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23 CAMELS
Well it came about on a month of May
That 23 Camels sailed away
23 Camels for Douglas sailed
And the road to the Cariboo
Where the Camels came from, no one knew
In the Cariboo in the days of old
From the U.S. Army or old Manchu?
In the Cariboo in the days of gold
From Arizona on a railway crew
In the Cariboo in the days of old
All the way to the Cariboo
But 23 Camels that's a twist, Oh you've never seen such a sight as this
Run like a devil when the camels hiss
On the Road to the Cariboo
"Ships of the Desert" was the camel's fame
In the Cariboo in the days of old
They could carry a half-of-a-ton was claimed
In the Cariboo in the days of gold
Till their feet went tender and they all took lame
In the Cariboo in the days of old
They were auctioned off away
But 23 Camels, that's a sight, Where the donkey brays and the horse takes flight
It's a wonder everybody didn't die of fright
On the road to the Cariboo
They kicked and bit at everything that moved
In the Cariboo in the days of old
They smelled so bad that they scared the mules
In the Cariboo in the days of gold
Causin' so much trouble that the teamsters sued
In the Cariboo in the days of old
Their disruptions to curtail
But 23 Camels, that's a sight When the donkey brays and the horse takes flight
It's a wonder everybody didn't die of fright
On the Road to the Cariboo
But 23 Camels that's a twist, Oh you've never seen such a sight as this
Run like a devil when the camels spit
On the Road to the Cariboo
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8. |
Electric Railway Line
05:22
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ELECTRIC RAILWAY LINE
Climbed aboard the old 1402 on the Electric Railway Line
Thirteen cents in cash fare paid on the Electric Railway Line
Got my transfer and receipt it took no time to take my seat
Kicked off my shoes, kicked up my feet on the Electric Railway Line
From Yarrow, Stewart & Sinclair along the Interurban Line
Then through Bellerose, Kidd, Reclaim along the Interurban Line
Stopped in Jackman, County Line through Coghlan, Warwhoop and Jardine
Meridian, Sullivan, Hyland, Kings on the Electric Railway Line
All along the Interurban Line
You could hear them motors wail and whine
Clicking down the track and she's right on time
You can smoke "Wills' Capstan Cigarettes" out on the Observation Car
You know they're fifteen cents a packet by the Hastings depot yard
You can read the Buzzer in the vestibule
Or you can thumb through the Farm Service News
Well I'm telling you, you just can't loose on the Electric Railway Line
I took a ride the Flying Dutchman once along the Interurban Line
Met a little girl from Jubilee along the Interurban Line
If you've got the price of fare well then the BCE can get you there
They just take a little more time and care on the Electric Railway Line
All along the Interurban Line
You could hear them motors wail and whine
Kickin' up sparks and she's right on time
I saw the Duke of Connaught ride on the Electric Railway Line
He went down to Lulu Isle. on the Electric Railway Line
Well that's your first-rate transportation
Getcha to and from your destination
So better get lined up at the station, boys for the Electric Railway Line
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9. |
Water at the Bar
02:57
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WATER AT THE BAR
Some men take their poisons, while other men abstain
I've no dispute with either and could often do the same
But there's those who have my sympathy, no matter who they are
Those poor pathetic creatures drinking water at the bar
Now a man might take a ribbing if he ordered up some tea
Some men shout for whiskey though it's not the drink for me
I'll have a pint of ale m'boys for no matter near or far
There's nothing so peculiar, drinking water at the bar
There's those who wouldn't cross the street and them's that takes the pains
Some will take fermented fruit, while the others hops & grains
From the drunkard to the pious man who'd never tilt a jar
There's nothing so peculiar, drinking water at the bar
Now I might forgive a man if he by chance had robbed a bank
Or a Captain whom through sheer neglect allowed his ship to sink
I understand an unfortunate man could be forced to steel a car
But there's simply no excuse for drinking water at the bar
For there's colas and there's sodas from the rafters to the floor
There's juices and there's cocktails and there's cordials galore
There's drinks of all descriptions so it strikes me as bizarre
Have they no imagination drinking water at the bar?
There's those who wouldn't cross the street and them's that takes the pains
Some will take fermented fruit, while the others hops & grains
From the drunkard to the pious man who'd never tilt a jar
There's no one so peculiar, drinking water at the bar
Oh it's fine for washing dishes or for bathing now and then
Or for keeping little fishes, oh but let us not pretend
That unless you set your face on fire with a belching big cigar
You won't be taken kindly, drinking water at the bar
Let all great folk upon this earth, unite in this decree;
For it's nothing short of blasphemous! (I'm sure the Pope agrees)
That no matter how remote you thought your chances were so far
You'll never get to heaven drinking water at the bar
There's those who wouldn't cross the street and them's that takes the pains
Some will take fermented fruit, while the others hops & grains
From the drunkard to the pious man who'd never tilt a jar
There's nothing so peculiar, drinking water at the bar
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10. |
Farewell to Ardoon
04:21
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Bruce Coughlan Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Pacific Canadian-based recording & performing artist, Bruce Coughlan has spent decades making Acoustic Roots Music Music of all descriptions. An expressive singer and rock-solid guitarist, Bruce is driven by one guiding principle: It's all about the Song. ... more
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