Tales From the Homestead

The Telling Kind is the 12th track on Tallsome Tales. Gary Mackender - drums, accordion, organ, piano Karl Hoffmann - bass, lap steel, baritone

Belinda Bonita is the 11th track on Tallsome Tales. T'was at my best friend's wedding dance I first laid eyes on her I walked right up asked her to dance such was her allure We moved across the floor with a ballroom dancer's grace I knew that she would be mine when I felt our first embrace Belinda Bonita o come dance with me tonight Belinda Bonita o until the morning light There is no one else who can take your place You're my only heart's desire Belinda Bonita o come dance with me tonight We pledged our love eternal exchanged our wedding rings We felt like we were floating high as if we both had wings We glided down the aisle o'r the threshold we did pass Our new life lay before us I love my darling lass I came home after work one day not all that long ago Belinda's bags and clothes were gone I looked both high and low Not a farewell message could be found have I gone completely mad Or was Belinda just a dream of a love I never had Was Belinda just a dream of a love I never had Belinda Bonita o come stay with me tonight Bonita Belinda o until the morning light There is no one else who can take your place You're my only heart's desire Belinda Bonita o come stay with me tonight O come dance with me tonight O come stay with me tonight Gary Mackender - drums, accordion, percussion, vocals Karl Hoffmann - bass, baritone guitar Joe Fanning - acoustic guitar, mandolin

The Scarlet Oak is the 10th track on Tallsome Tales. Gary Mackender - drums, accordion, piano Karl Hoffmann - bass Heather Hardy - violin

To Be Home Again is the 9th track on Tallsome Tales. I left my home when I was just seventeen I knew all there was to know I packed my bags and drove as far as I could No one to tell me where to go Got me a job selling gas and cigarettes Graveyard shift was all I could find Married the first gal paid attention to me No one to tell me I was blind Oh to be home again It was heaven to me It was my sacred ground for years Been gone so long Makes it hard to see Just what that home meant to me Thirty years of trying to make my ends meet Creditors been knocking at my door My wife and kids walked out on me a lifetime ago Grief and sorrow burns me to the core I had not seen my folks for all these worn out years But there was nowhere else I could turn They took me in with open arms and love to spare Asking for nothing in return Oh to be home again It's heaven to me I've found my sacred ground right here It's taken o so long for Me to see Just what my home means to me Gary Mackender - drums, accordion, organ, piano, vocals Karl Hoffmann - bass, guitars, mandolin Joe Fanning - electric guitar Don Armstrong - banjo Björgvin Benediktsson - harmony vocals

Why Not Marry is the 8th track on The Carnivaleros' Tallsome Tales release. We've been sweethearts since we were twelve years old So why not marry me Our secrets are unlocked all our stories told Why not marry me We can live in the house that my folks passed down Be so fine just you wait and see Would be a good life I'd provide for thee Why not marry me Yes, we've been together for all these years But I cannot marry thee I know your sisters and your brothers, aunts and uncles, too I cannot marry thee I know you want to settle in our little hometown With a wife raise a family But I have to move along need to see this world I cannot marry thee Sometimes a friend's just a friend And we carry on Lovers come and go like time It's hard to find a friend That will stick to the end Won't cross that line We'll both be fine It's been so many years since you left this town You never did marry me You traveled o'r the world didn't let you down Never did you marry me I'm living in the same house in my little hometown Laid down roots like an old oak tree But I've loved you every day since you went away Never did marry me Yes, I've traveled here and there seen this big old world Never did I marry thee I feel like I've been on a tilt-o-whirl Never did I marry thee But I miss your little house on the edge of town It's taken years of trial and error to see That I've loved you every day since I went away I might still marry thee I might still marry thee Sometimes a friend's just a friend And we carry on Lovers come and go like time It's hard to find a friend That will stick to the end Won't cross that line We'll both be fine Gary Mackender - drums, accordion, percussion, vocals Catherine Zavala - vocals Karl Hoffmann - bass, guitars Joe Fanning - electric and acoustic guitar Don Armstrong - banjo