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.

Live at Billsborough

by Jonathan Byrd and The Pickup Cowboys

/
1.
Diana Jones 04:38
Diana Jones Diana was a Cherokee, pretty as you'd ever see, with blue eyes and long, black hair and a wild streak from here to there. Reservation life was slow, so she packed her bags to go, moved to Georgia and took the name Diana Jones. Diana ran the Dewdrop Inn, wily as a mountain cat, kept a room behind the bar for any man who needed that. People talk about her still, how she'd take a twenty-dollar bill and write across Jackson's face, "Diana Jones." She brought all the gold in Georgia back shinin', twenty bucks at a time Harlan wore the badge in town; he was always hangin' 'round. Ever since Diana died, you hardly see him on this side. His wife used to come for him and drag him out of the Dewdrop Inn. It wasn't fit for a family man to know Diana Jones. Diana made the front page news the night she went out on the loose, heartbroken with a gun in her hand and in love with a married man. Neighbors called the station scared; Harlan had to go down there. Something went wrong somewhere for Diana Jones. She brought all the gold in Georgia back shinin', twenty bucks at a time No one knows what happened then between Diana and five armed men. Shots were fired and words were said- two men and Diana dead. Things went on, the way they do; the papers filled with other news. The wild died in Harlan, too, with Diana Jones. I've only seen him one time since; he come into the Dewdrop Inn, bought all the old boys a round and went to lay his money down, gave a twenty-dollar bill a kiss and said, "I hate to part with this." Right across Jackson's face, it said, "Diana Jones." She brought all the gold in Georgia back shinin', twenty bucks at a time. Jonathan Byrd Music SESAC
2.
Chicken Wire 04:39
Chicken Wire My old hen, she's a good old hen Lord, I hate to fence her in She's been runnin around with all the chicks Ain't nothin a little chicken wire won't fix Chicken wire lets the sun shine through ain't much to look at, but it'll have to do my old hen, she got a rovin' eye guess I need a little chicken wire Rooster, rooster, don't you cross that line That hen you're lookin at is mine I'm the only rooster in this yard Stay on your side of that chicken wire Chicken wire lets the sun shine through ain't much to look at, but it'll have to do my old hen, she got a rovin' eye guess I need a little chicken wire Jonathan Byrd Music SESAC and Tom Gould/Ash Street Music ASCAP
3.
Coyote 03:17
Coyote He hugged the brush and ran the ridge, dropped down and headed for the bridge, quiet as the rising moon. I saw coyote. The devil broke the rolling veil. A shadow rode along the rail, black as a buzzard's wing. I saw coyote. If you look down there you’ll find a trace, a barbed-wire scar across the face, fading like a midnight mile. I saw coyote. Jonathan Byrd Music SESAC
4.
White Oak Wood White oak wood goes in green, smoke a whole hog and leave it clean. All I need is some white oak wood. Cut it short and split it soon, burn all night into afternoon. All I need is some white oak wood. Time to take my mattock down. I got a hog three hundred pounds. Cut up a drum and hinge a hood, feed everybody in the neighborhood. All I need is some white oak wood. White oak wood is a good veneer; pegs and plywood disappear. All I need is some white oak wood. Takes a stain and ages well. I did it myself and I can't tell. All I need is some white oak wood. Time to take my mattock down. I got a hog three hundred pounds. Cut up a drum and hinge a hood, feed everybody in the neighborhood. All I need is some white oak wood. White oak wood, it's a shady tree, slow to grow and a sight to see. All I need is some white oak wood. I got one on the old homestead worth more alive than it is dead. All I need is some white oak wood. Time to take my mattock down. I got a hog three hundred pounds. Cut up a drum and hinge a hood, feed everybody in the neighborhood. All I need is some white oak wood. Jonathan Byrd Music SESAC
5.
Wild Ponies 05:14
Wild Ponies She had legs like daggers and eyes like oceans and her heart locked up in a hard combination. I took her to the island, to see the wild ponies. See, I had a friend who had a concrete boat, - it don't take as much as you might think to float- and he lived out on the island with the wild ponies. We made a fire in the live oak trees, and listened to the pirate breeze blowing. And wondered how a man could be so far from home, and still know where he's going. She drifted down from a shipwrecked town and landed here on the Pamlico sound. She'd heard out on the islands, there were wild ponies. I gave all I could give to her: a chance to see what she had heard and a night out on the island with the wild ponies. But she didn't stay here, like she didn't stay there, always looking for somewhere a little greener. Every time I see the ponies run- scared and hungry, wild and young- I see her. I heard somebody say she died drinking one night on the ocean side, swimming to freedom, like a wild pony. I wish her well. I wish her peace. It's got to be lonely to be so free, always running, like a wild pony, living your life like a wild pony. Jonathan Byrd Music SESAC
6.
A Big Truck Brought It Keep your Kenworth running strong for regional, bulk, or hauling logs. Air suspension gives a nice, soft ride. The fairing's got a toolbox inside. Piano hinge doors stay quiet and square and that huck-bolted cab ain't goin' nowhere. It's six hundred horses charging straight and true and it's aerodynamic to save you fuel. If you got it, a big truck truck brought it. If you want it, there's a big truck on it. Picture a semi in your mind, the flat nose grill, the red oval sign. The classic looking semi, it was defined by the Peterbilt 389. The new model's got a sloped-grilled hood. That lets you see the road real good. If you like that, that's just fine. Me, I drive a 389. If you got it, a big truck truck brought it. If you want it, there's a big truck on it. Air-brakin' haulers go by many names. They're all a little different, but one thing's the same. Whether Sterling, Mack, or Western Star, a big rig brought it to where you are. If it's Freightliner, Eagle, Volvo, or Ford, with Playboy mudflaps or Baby On Board, haulin' solid gold or a load of manure, a big truck brought it. You can be sure. If you got it, a big truck truck brought it. If you want it, there's a big truck on it. Rob Vaarmeyer and Corin Raymond SOCAN
7.
Lakota Sioux 04:18
Lakota Sioux Summer is changing. Fall is in the air. The geese are in migration. You can hear them up there. The prairie's golden brown. The leaves are falling down. The fawns have lost their spots and the temperature's dropping down. It was a big day I suppose when the Indians chased the buffalo. Across the prairie in herds they'd go, 'til the blood began to flow and they went down. We ain't got no time, no to waste no time. We got a lot of lives we got to keep in line. Pretty soon the snow's gonna fly. You don't feed them, your people gonna die. It was a big day I suppose when the Indians chased the buffalo. Across the prairie in herds they'd go, 'til the blood began to flow and they went down. They like to paint their face. They like to paint their paints. They like to decorate everything up and celebrate. They like to congregate in a beautiful place, dress themselves in feathers and leathers and dream their fates. It was a big day I suppose when the Indians chased the buffalo. Across the prairie in herds they'd go, 'til the blood began to flow and they went down. Then the cavalry came to take their land away. They lied and died and lost every battle but they got their way. Then they took their souls when they took the buffalo. They took their families blankets riddled with the pox, and so it was a big day I suppose when Custer went in for the close and found himself with his pants down as the Indians rode around and cut him down. We ain't got no time, no to waste no time. We got a lot of lives we got to keep in line. Pretty soon the snow's gonna fly. You don't feed them, your people gonna die. It was a big day I suppose when the Indians chased the buffalo. Across the prairie in herds they'd go, 'til the blood began to flow and they went down. by Matt Fockler
8.
Pickup Cowboy He's a pickup cowboy crying up I-35. He went and got his heart broke down in South Padre Island. Now he's driving to Sioux Falls with two bald tires. He's a pickup cowboy. He's a lowly roller. He don't need much money, living on buffalo jerky and tupelo honey, and fishing for breakfast in the muddy Missouri. He's a pickup cowboy. Good dogs get better 'til they die. 'Til they die. He's an Indian summer back in South Dakota. Sleeping in his tipi, living like a Lakota with his long blonde hair and his long blue yodel, He's a pickup cowboy. Jonathan Byrd Music SESAC
9.
Jacks 06:18
Jacks When the redbuds are bloomin’, they bow down to you with the rein and the bridle all wet with the dew. Oh, the bells shake and jingle on the pony you ride with your maids all in yellow and the jacks by your side. I have laid in the shadows, just to watch you go by with the wind in the willows and the sun in the sky. When you cross the broad river, in the foam and the tide with your maids all in yellow and the jacks by your side. High, high, mounted lady, would you ever be mine with your hair dark and curly and your saddle so fine? With your feet shod in leather, would you walk as my bride with your maids all in yellow and the jacks by your side? Come away to the meadow, I’ll sing you a song and I’ll pick you a daisy for the summer so long. Let’s run to the fallow, in the fallow we’ll hide from your maids all in yellow and the jacks by your side. Jonathan Byrd Music SESAC
10.
Colleen 03:25
Colleen Hey, Colleen, you been gone so long, all your clothes are new Come down the road with your red shoes on- what’s a man supposed to do? I been out on a four lane and searchin’ all over for you Hey, Colleen, you been gone so long, all your clothes are new Hey, Colleen, you smile like a queen; what are you holdin’ in? You can laugh for the whole world now; we all know where you been You been out on a bender and your fender is dented again Hey, Colleen, you smile like a queen; what are you holdin’ in? Colleen, come clean; let me take you home Please don’t make a scene- I got the sheriff on the phone, Colleen… Hey Colleen, you’re gonna kill us all, the way you run around I know the sound of a pay phone call from the wrong side of town People talk; people talkin’, but I just can’t put you down Hey Colleen, you’re gonna kill us all, the way you run around Colleen, come clean; let me take you home Please don’t make a scene- I got the sheriff on the phone, Colleen… Jonathan Byrd Music SESAC
11.
Do You Dream? Do you dream? Do your dreams come true? What do you see? What do you do to make it happen? Do you dream? Do your dreams come true? What do you see? What do you do to make it happen? I caught another one. I'll chase one down for you. We're on another ride, a carnival for a few friends. See things like they should be, stand up on our could be, and dream dreams. Do you remember what it was like being a child, not thinking about the hard things, just wide open wild, playing night games in the neighborhood, playing like grownups should, dreaming like there's no way you could these days? I caught another one. I'll chase one down for you. We're on another ride, a carnival for a few friends. See things like they should be, stand up on our could be, and dream dreams. Face the music and cope with the crowd. Stand out somewhere and look at the clouds. Fact of the matter, fair and square, straightforward and honest, you got to dream like you care. No fair to the middlin', my fair, weathered friend. Don't fall between two stools. You're the friend of a friend, falling head over heels, like I did for you, right over backwards and into the truth. I caught another one. I'll chase one down for you. We're on another ride, a carnival for a few friends. See things like they should be, stand up on our could be, and dream dreams. Do you dream? Do your dreams come true? What do you see? What do you do to make it happen? Do you dream? Do your dreams come true? What do you see? What do you do to make it happen? by Matt Fockler

about

Recorded live at Billsborough in Hillsborough NC, August 3, 2013

credits

released August 18, 2013

recorded by Bob Hartford
Paul Ford on cello
Omar Ruiz-Lopez on five-string violin and viola
Johnny Waken on electric guitar, mandolin, harmonica, and saw

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Jonathan Byrd Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Preacher's kid, Gulf War veteran, award-winning songwriter, Youtuber, teacher, and creativity coach from North Carolina.

“One of the top 50 songwriters of the last 50 years. ” — Chicago Tribune

“...a folk singer with the heart of a rock 'n' roll band.” — K. Oliver, Free Times.
... more

contact / help

Contact Jonathan Byrd

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Jonathan Byrd recommends:

If you like Live at Billsborough, you may also like: