Small Café

1996

Scroll down to follow along with lyrics.

A collection of songs with themes that go from the prairies
to heartache, small town bars and the power of love.

Song List

7. Choppy Water
   (Rocky Mountain Breakdown)
8. I Don’t Care
9. He’s Running in His Sleep
10. Old Friends (Mr. Settee’s Song)
11. Prairie Moon
12. I Love That Dog

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4 Down to a River (Alan’s Song)

 

There are dinners, there’s music
There is laughter there were tears
There are memories that go back
Over the years
There are the marks made in a life
Like only good friends do
Now I must choose to make a mark
For the things I loved in you

I’ll go down to a river
And plant a tree
Something strong, wild and living
Those are my memories
And I’ll go up to a mountain
And sing to the stars
Can you hear me
Where ever you are.

And there’s phone calls and there’s crying
And there’s clutching to the chest
And there’s singing songs and throwing dirt
And laying down to rest
And there’s carving words on stone
And making church bells ring
But the river when it freezes over
Still thaws and runs each spring

Chorus

Do you hear the ones who loved you
And who were glad they knew you well
Do the hearts you left that miss you
Ring like a bell

Chorus

 

11 Prairie Moon

 

You can blame it all on an old time tune
Heard ‘cross a field from afar
You can blame it all on the Prairie Moon
And a night with a sky full of stars.

And who needs a dream everybody
And those without hope need two
Life has enough sad little lessons
That we must all go through

But tonight we can watch the sun go down
And the sky turn a crimson hue
And if you feel a tug at the strings of your heart
And if that’s unfamiliar to you

Chorus

And who likes love, everybody
Except those who have lost a few
Nothing can empty the heart so fast
As to find that your love’s untrue

But whether your heart is empty or full
We all need a night like this
Time to dance with a hint of romance
And if you take a chance on a kiss

Chorus

Cause who wouldn’t choose to go back to the time
When your heart was a simple tune
And who wouldn’t choose to go back to the time
When you danced beneath an innocent moon

Chorus

Comments:
I had been working on my musical, “Dust and Dreams” before the album project started and when I wrote this song I realised that it was the perfect opener for the play as well. Romance, prairie style and with a real accordion too. I can picture the doilies on the piano.

 

12 I Love That Dog

 

I love that dog,
The way he runs up to me when I call
The way he chases his favorite red rubber ball

I love that dog,
The way he chases his tail all over the place

The way he stands up on his hind legs and licks my face,
I love that dog,

So even if he is a little bad sometime
Sometimes he barks too loud at night
Maybe he chases cats over the fence
But he’s not the kind that growls,
And he’s not the kind that bites

I love that dog,
The way he puts his wet nose in my hand
And when I tell him my problems he always understands

I love that dog,
The way he catches a Frisbee as he leaps,
The way his eyes and paws flutter as he sleeps
I love that dog,

Chorus

And on those days when it seems
Like I haven’t a friend,
He’s so glad to see me
That he wags his whole back end

I love that dog,
The way he smile when I pat his head
The way he curls up and snores some nights by my bed

I love that dog.