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Farewell Summer

by S.W. Campbell

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1.
Dandelion Wine 02:21
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The summer when I was ten, me and my best friend Cass Strung up an old hammock just to watch the clouds roll past Loafing over fresh cut clover, chewing blades of grass And I’d say I bet this tastes just like dandelion wine I bet this tastes just like dandelion wine Then I’d follow her to the fruit cellar beneath her basement stair We’d share the cool with her father’s tools and her mother’s canning wares Breathe the scent of peaches and machine oil in the air And she’d say I bet this smells just like dandelion wine I bet this smells just like dandelion wine There was more to it we would suppose Like pedals from my mother’s roses Water from the garden hose Cool and glistening Dandelions and the scents Of crab apples and canvas tents But there was one ingredient We were missing One day me and Cassie May said our last goodbye Their moving van sat gassed and packed beneath an empty sky I kissed her on the cheek just as a tear leaked from her eye And I thought I bet that tastes just like dandelion wine I bet that tastes just like dandelion wine
2.
Something Wicked This Way Comes 02:17
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Clock strikes two and you’re sweating through your P.J.s You want to shout, “Who’s there?” but you’ve been struck dumb And the creaking on the stairs is one step higher Something wicked this way comes You should have listened to your mother and not watched that movie Cause your Scooby-Do night light bulb’s gone bum And the thing on the stairs is about to turn the corner Something wicked this way comes Something wicked this way comes Next thing you know you awake to a morning from a picture magazine The chirps of the robins and the smell of fresh cut grass waft through your screen You throw on your clothes and dash down stairs where the last Pop Tart you score Shout to your Mom, “I’m going down to Ben Franklin’s!” and you’re out the door You’re pedaling your Schwinn a shiny quarter in your blue jeans You’re thinking Pixie Sticks and Bazooka Gum You see the shot gun blast through the flower shop window Something wicked this way comes Something wicked this way comes Something wicked this way comes
3.
And The Moon be Still as Bright 02:41
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With wood and glue and clamps and clips He builds his model rocket ships Then scans his father’s paper while they dry He cuts stories out of stoic men Shepard, Cooper, Grissom, Glenn The newspapers proclaiming then The moon be still as bright A refrigerator packing crate He christens it Apollo Eight His dad fits it with gauges, ports and lights His best friends at the library Heinlein, Clarke and Bradbury Portray the worlds he’ll one day see And the moon be still as bright And he dreams of mammoth spinning stations Circling Earth and Mars And gleaming ships serve destinations In the distant stars…… (break) Tonight I sit in my back yard Pondering the moon and Mars And how we gave them up without a fight But somewhere in the world tonight There are ships and rockets taking flight If only in one child’s sight The moon be still as bright
4.
The Man in the Rorschach Shirt 02:53
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When I was just a boy the girls found it cute When their favorite bands wore matching suits And they sang about love and how much it hurt Then came the man in the Rorschach shirt He had newspaper taxis and green tambourines Matchstick men in yellow submarines All those skipping reels of rhyme we heard Were thanks to the man in the Rorschach shirt And mystic mellow yellow Girls with kaleidoscope eyes Clutched surrealistic pillows And danced ‘neath diamond skies And we sported Nehru collars And striped bell-bottom pants Medallions as big as silver dollars ‘Cause we gave peace a chance I awoke one morning to a world gone gray Everybody wearing jeans and torn chambray They were singing ‘bout the joys of working in the dirt Gone was the man in the Rorschach shirt I miss the man in the Rorschach shirt
5.
There Will Come Soft Rains 03:22
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Billy scuffs at the dirt, gives a “Hey batter, hey batter, swing!” Though he knows no one hears him over the jackhammer’s ring He looks down at his feet, sees an arrowhead stuck in the clay He pockets it wondering if this is the last game they’ll play There will come soft rains There will come soft rains There will come soft rains Soft rains, soft rains On the Fourth of July, Billy’s grinning, bound in the spell Of calliope music and the bark of a carny’s hard sell The rattle and roar of the best coaster in the Midwest The aroma of creosote, cotton candy and sweat There will come soft rains There will come soft rains There will come soft rains Soft rains, soft rains Well farmers had sons who were farmers Then farmers had sons who went off to war Then soldiers came home to work steel And built things to last ever more And built things to last ever more A crooked old man takes a walk in the woods with his dog Who barks in assent as the man strips a branch from a log He stumbles and falls as he throws with a younger man’s force And lands face to face with the head of a carousel horse There will come soft rains There will come soft rains There will come soft rains Soft rains, soft rains
6.
Downwind from Gettysburg 02:27
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Summer day, downwind from Gettysburg Me and a bunch of boys from the neighborhood Gather with our toy guns at our sides Another minute and we’ll all start calling dibs On who’ll be blue and who’ll be Johnny Reb Then the woods will fill with battle cries Your buddy pops out from some bushes “Pow pow pow, you’re dead!” Once you count to a hundred you live again Six o’clock news downwind from Gettysburg Walter Cronkite saying words that we’ve never heard And coffins draped in stars and stripes A general’s saying “Gonna take it to the communists” My neighbor Billy said the same when he went to enlist And now he doesn’t act quite right My Dad, who fought the Nazis France to Germany Says “I hope this is done before you’re eighteen” There’s a monument downwind from Gettysburg When it was dedicated, we all sang the words Glory, glory, hallelujah Glory, glory, hallelujah Glory, glory, hallelujah
7.
The Machineries of Joy 02:56
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Man on the sidewalk smiles wide As a pedaling whirlwind flashes by “Look at the boys On their machineries of joy!” Sissy bars and banana seats Wheelies on suburban streets When he was a boy On their machineries of joy And from breakfast ‘til the sun had set They’d ride as far as their legs let Just to live the dream that never dies: Freedom under summer skies Man on the corner waves his hand high As a souped up street rod cruises by What a glorious noise! From those machineries of joy In their GTOs and Super Bees Smokes in the sleeves of grease stained tees They were no longer boys In their machineries of joy But when the work bell rang ‘til midnight passed They’d drive as far as they had gas Just to chase the dream that never dies: Freedom under summer skies The man whistles as he wheels home On his chair of levers, knobs and chrome He’s like a boy On his machinery of joy And he’s out before day grows hot And he wheels until his arms are shot And he lives the dream that never dies: Freedom under summer skies
8.
Juggernaut 02:25
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Juggernaut Your eggs are on the table Juggernaut Your show is on the cable Juggernaut I know you’re only sleeping So prove it and start breathing Juggernaut Juggernaut The fishing pond’s inviting Juggernaut I hear the bass are biting Juggernaut There’s so much I want to tell you I can’t do this without you Juggernaut Juggernaut The Chevy’s engine’s thumping Juggernaut The water pump’s not pumping Juggernaut You’ve so much more to show me So you’ll be proud to know me Juggernaut
9.
A Far Away Guitar 03:17
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We watched the needle move through the vinyl groove Probably for the dozenth time We’d already worked out the chords Now we were trying to write down all the words So we could run downstairs to the basement where The acoustics took us far And add the song to our repertoire I swear I still hear the sound of that faraway guitar Barre chords, finger picking, hammer-ons We learned them all in time Making riffs up on the fly Wearing our calluses with pride And it wasn’t about girls, well maybe some But it wasn’t about being a star It was the joy of singing our throats raw I hear us singing to the sound of that faraway guitar Now time and chance have left us scattered ‘cross the states And we’ve more years behind us than in front But we still within us the soundtrack of those days And we can play it any time we want A long hard day, nothing went my way I crack a beer and grab my axe Strum the strings and begin to croon An old familiar Dylan tune And a thousand miles away I know you’re doing the same Except it’s Kiss or Neil Young I guess a thousand miles is not too far For me to smile at the sound of a faraway guitar
10.
Come and Bring Constance 03:13
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You gotta get downtown, I kid you not They’ve roped off the Western Auto lot They got a band that’s smokin’ hot And the pig is turning They got Coors on tap and pretty girls galore It outta be enough but I’d like something more So please knock on your cousin’s door And tell her daylight’s burning Come and bring Constance (x3) Be a pal Come and bring Constance (x3) Get her here somehow On the cliff at the quarry, she’s a climbing fool Rebuilt a 55 Chevy with her own tools She knows every swimming hole From here to Andover She got a perfect score on her SATs I’ve seen her slap down guys who were being mean If there’s a cooler girl on the scene Well I don’t know her Come and bring Constance (x3) Be a pal Come and bring Constance (x3) Get her here somehow Well you can have the hair-flipping gals who style With the tattoos on their calf I prefer Constance’s crooked grin And her wicked belly laugh Come and bring Constance (x3) Be a pal Come and bring Constance Come and bring Constance You can have this party We’ll go somewhere else!
11.
Farewell Summer 02:02
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Farewell summer say the kites to the sky Thanks for letting us fly so high And leaving us free of wires and trees Farewell summer says the mower to the grass I’m really glad you’ve stopped growing so fast My blade’s gone dull, so here’s to fall And farewell summer Farewell summer say the boys to the stream That wound its way though their summertime dreams But the swimming hole has grown too cold Farewell summer say the sneakers to the feet We made you so nimble and fleet Now our magic’s gone, you’re on your own Farewell summer Farewell summer say the fireworks to the night We sure had us a bang-up time Think of those booms when December looms Farewell summer say the leaves to the trees Thanks for all the memories We won’t mourn that our welcome’s worn Farewell summer Days so long, yet blink and they’re gone Farewell summer
12.
October Country 04:30
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I’m driving through the orange groves, a song is in my mind She laughed and sang it as I tapped the wheel keeping time I never heard that song again, never sang it anyhow Yet in October Country, it’s playing for me now There’s migrants picking berries as dust blows over the field My throat was parched, my lips were chapped, my mind would not be stilled She poured for me cool water with a smile born of grace Now in October Country, that kindness left a trace There’s an old abandoned houseboat back in the willow trees I battened down the hatches as she zippered her valise She shouted verses as the hail added its refrain Now in October Country, the skies are clear of rain A bullet ridden billboard reminds me Jesus Lives She offered me the sweetest kiss, one even He’d forgive I stumbled when she wondered if I’d be born again Now in October Country, I think nine times, maybe ten Young girl and boy are playing, sliding down a pile of dirt She chided me for digging, guess she thought my feelings hurt For when I did strike water, she kissed my frown away Now in October Country, Her ghost is still at play The crops give way to concrete as I cross the interstate I play her message in my mind, she teases, “Don’t be late” Well either Father Time is sleeping or his clock’s in disrepair For I’m in October Country but spring is in the air I’m in October Country but spring is in the air

about

Folks of a particular age or inclination might notice that the titles of these songs are also titles of short stories, novels or collections by Ray Bradbury, whose writings illuminated my childhood and adolescence. Other than the titles, there is no connection between the songs and Mr. Bradbury's stories, though I like to believe that I am channeling his imagery in the lyrics.

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released July 21, 2018

All songs written and performed by SW Campbell

Cover image by Ruth Campbell

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S.W. Campbell Lakeland, Florida

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