These new compositions are fine songs, which deserve to be better known. However I must stress that my transcription of the words is wholly unofficial, and, despite my best efforts, may contain mistakes. I apologise for any phrases I might have misheard, and hope this does not spoil the meaning or impact of the passage.

(In this striking song, the musical rhythm and the vocal phrasing both suggest the sound of the raindrops on the ground. Unfortunately, there may be one or two lines where I have failed to do justice to Sharon's words.)

I hear the raindrops falling
On the cold dark ground
Once my lover said to me
That I'll love you till they lay me down

Well I thought his love was true as the raindrops
On the cold dark ground
The sun's quit shining and I call his name
My lover's nowhere to be found

Yes, I hear the raindrops falling...

So I search through these mountains,
Roam this cold dark ground
The storm is blowing in the rented (?) house
I call, and I sense this lonesome sound (?)

Yes, I hear the raindrops falling...

Well some say troubles come in threes
Upon this cold dark ground
Well, I say one is enough for me
Another when my true love's found (?)

Yes, I hear the raindrops falling...

Well I care not for my comfort here
As I dig this cold dark ground
My lover no longer cares for me
And his time has come to be laid down

Yes, I hear the raindrops falling...

DECK OF CARDS (Josh Martin)

(A philosophical allegory, rather in the tradition of one or two of the "standards" in the collection. The pace is fast and the metaphors sometimes unexpected, but I hope I have caught most of the words.)

From the moment of conception, his chances were slim
Well they tempted his receptors, but they didn't tempt him
It was a vision of delight, as far as honour being vindicated shows
Well they pushed him at the start, but did they know
There was an ending to the road?

Well, someone's got to give,
Someone's got to give a sign,
Or a reason to get off of the dividing line
Well, someone's got to try,
Someone's got to try hard.
Because at the top of the stairs
There's only you and a deck of cards

Well, you say you're afraid of the dark: so is everybody else
But you never paid attention to the books on your shelf.
Well you stand there shedding tears,
As you tell me how good it all seems
But if you were last in line
You'd say the ends justify the means

Well, someone's got to give....

Used as (?) romantic, he doesn't know the best way out.
You dwell on semantics
You say when it comes, there's going to be no doubt
Well, don't mistake this question for any other kind.
You've got to deal with the knot in the tie that binds
Well they say the only right worth keeping is the stone unturned
Some say the answer's to forget everything you've learnt

Well, someone's got to give....

(The pain of rejection mingles with the hope of recovery in this tale of lost love)

Drove for days, on a midnight highway,
Just to see the one I left behind.
She promised me she would be waiting:
Since I left town, she was on my mind.
I pulled in on a fateful Sunday night,
I recognized her house and I knocked upon the door.
When she answered, I knew that something wasn't right:
She just wasn't like the girl I loved before

I've been burned
I've been cast aside
I've been made a fool
And my love has been denied
I've been scarred
I've been ostracized
I've been burned
But someday I'll get wise

She said that she had found another man
Shut close the door, with a glass of whiskey in her hand
Lines were drawn in the sand that day
But I just turned and rambled on my way
Found a seat at the bar Downtown
Asked the barmaid for a shot, and quickly took it down
Then I turned to some old bar-room Jack
And said "that girl of mine -
Well she won't have me back".

I've been burned....

We had some time together, The best days of my life.
Felt for sure that I was going to make this girl my wife.
But I took her for granted, and she turned her back on me
How was I to know she just wanted to be free?
Now I sit here like a castaway
Got to force myself out of bed every day
I've been lost, but I'll be found again
When another love's going to set me on the mend

I've been burned....

(This song is a stark commentary on the pressures facing Hispanic culture in New Mexico. For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the geography of the region, arroyos are dry stream-beds and asequias are water channels used in irrigation. Espaņola is a town North of Santa Fe, while San Antonio is a small place further down the Rio Grande, near Socorro.)

In the arroyos where the pistoleros lie,
They're praying for the rain, the fields have all gone dry.
They've tilled this land for three hundred-some-odd years.
Now the asequias are empty, but for tears

From Espaņola to San Antonio,
They sing the songs of los fieros through the night.
Once it's gone, it ain't ever coming back:
One less fiesta in New Mexico tonight

They're building houses just to bring some happiness
To all the rich folks from Los Angeles,
While the rancheros are being forced to sell,
The politicians fill their pockets very well

From Espaņola to San Antonio...,

The Rio Grande flows around another turn,
There's fire raging, there's no forest left to burn.
Used to be that there was room for everyone,
Now La Tierra's starving in the high desert sun

From Espaņola to San Antonio...,

(A thoughtful reflection on the pain of a love that can't be held)

No, I shouldn't get used to you,
I wouldn't want to change a thing you do.
You're not the kind to stay,
You'd leave me anyway -
No, I shouldn't get used to you.

Mountain (?) air surrounds me,
With its song from long ago.
The restless rhythm that it carries
Is calling for you home.
But it roams across the ocean,
Across the mountains and the sea.
The wind is always searching,
But the wind is always free

No, I shouldn't get used to you...,

I must confess I love you,
I must confess I care,
I must confess I'll miss you,
Whenever you're not there.
But I'll keep you at a distance,
So you might come back home,
To a woman who loves you
Enough to let you go.

No, I shouldn't get used to you...,

The birds fly South in Winter
And leaves fall from the trees.
I wish that you could linger,
But I know you're going to leave.

No, I shouldn't get used to you...,

(Repeat)

(Another song promising eventual recovery from heartbreak, presented in an upbeat swing-influenced style)

Well there was a time that you said you were mine,
But you never returned the kisses that I gave.
You don't answer when I call,
I bet you threw away all
The letters that I wrote you and you saved.
Well, you played me like a string,
That's not the only thing,
'Cause I trusted all those things you used to say
But you're never going to find a man
That can love you like I can
And I'll get by, somehow, someday.

Somehow, sometime
You might be mine
But not today
Some place, some night
I'll shine my light
But I'd just as soon forget you
If you treat me this way
Because it hurts just the same
Every time I try to play your selfish game
But I'll hold my head high
And you'll never see me cry -
I'll get by somehow, someday

Well there was a place,
Where I looked upon your face
And all I saw was stars in your eyes.
We used to go out on the town
But you wouldn't settle down.
It took me so long to realise
That you didn't have a heart.
I should have known right from the start,
Because you drank the drinks, but I had to pay
My love for you went wrong,
But it won't be long,
Till I get by, somehow, someday

Somehow, sometime...

All of the afternoons that we spent together,
They didn't mean a thing to you.
All of the places that we went together,
Honey, what did you try to do?

(Repeat this verse)
(Repeat first verse)

Somehow, sometime...

This won't be the end
A new moon will rise again

Somehow, sometime...

(A song of the lonely wanderer that deserves to become a modern Bluegrass classic!)

I can't see what lies ahead of me
But I know what I left behind.
It's cold out here tonight, my dear
And dark as an old coal mine.
No moon to light my way tonight
No coat to keep me warm,
No place to rest my weary head,
No shelter from the storm

Walkin' through the dark,
Just trying to find my way.
I've stumbled many times before,
My path has gone astray.
Walkin' through the night,
And I'll walk until daylight
That rising sun's going to dry my tears away

Well I've seen my share of cold dark nights,
But none as black as this,
And I've longed to put my arms around you,
And your tender lips to kiss.
Well, I'll dream of you tonight, my dear,
If I ever take my rest,
And I'll send a tear out through the night
To the one that I love best

Walkin' through the dark...,

On the day you left, the sun did set
On nothing in my soul.
The sun still shines,
But in my mind, it's always dark and cold.
Well, I'm sinking like a stone out here,
So far away from home,
And I'll head on out into the night
And walk this path alone

Walkin' through the dark...,

(Repeat)

(There is some lovely imagery in this song of yearning. I hope "the milk of nightfall" is the right phrase!)

Will a flower bloom in the desert?
Will a willow cry in the Spring?
Will the sunshine kiss the milk of nightfall?
And will you fall in love with me?

I was walking down by the river,
Wondering how it would be
If we were walking together,
And you were holding hands with me.

Will a flower bloom in the desert...?

There are many ways that the wind blows
And many days in a year,
But how many ways can my love show?
I only wish to have you near

Will a flower bloom in the desert...?

Well how could a vision of beauty
Bring this heart so much pain?
If you could only see clearly
My love for you will never change.

Will a flower bloom in the desert...?

(Repeat)

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NOTE: These transcriptions are purely for the information of fans. ALL RIGHTS in these lyrics are RESERVED to their composers, Sharon Gilchrist, Josh Martin or Ben Wright, and to Big Headed Kid Music (Deck of Cards) or Root 5 Music (all other songs).

The group's CDs may be bought from CD Baby, who have details of the debut studio album here, and the second live album here.