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about
Girl with Red Hair Raking Hay made its first appearance on my Adirondack Green album in 1985, then again 11 years later on Cloudsplitter. This 1990 version is a rarity for a couple of reasons: it includes my 12-string guitar and a lap dulcimer made for me by Dennis Dorogi of Brockton, NY; it was part of a cassette-only studio demo album (The Sweetfish Recording Studios Sampler) that featured jazz, rock, classical, blues, new age, choral and . . . folk! My thanks to studio owner/engineer Rees Shad, chief engineer Tim Ploss, and especially studio manager Brian McAlonie who invited me to be part of the sampler.
lyrics
The fog was hanging low as the sun began to show
The morning I left my home behind
I was feeling mighty down as I hit the edge of town
Thinking 'bout the job I had to find
There's no work here for me to do and I can't stand these hand-outs from you
But my thoughts began to yield as I saw across the field
This girl with red hair raking hay
With one arm on the rake she gave her back a break
Her hair was red as coals a-fire
She wiped her freckled nose as she struck a handsome pose
The kind an artist would admire
I knew I must be on my way, but silently wished that I could stay
To help when the hay was dried, and work alongside
This girl with red hair raking hay
I slowed down by the fence where the goldenrod was dense
And put off my leaving for a while
You could read it in her eyes that I took her by surprise
It looked like she was about to smile
But she turned her head, looked the other way, and started in raking right away
Raking what had been mowed as I was walking down the road
Past the girl with red hair raking hay
The last day I was home was the first day I did roam
And I have never been the same
I wondered if I'd find the red-haired girl on my mind
I never even knew her name
I found some work and earned my pay, and stored it all away for a sunny day
And dreamed about the time when I could make that girl mine
That girl with red hair raking hay
Several summers passed and several fields of grass
Had grown and were mown into hay
The day that I returned I wanted so to learn
What had changed while I was away
I summoned up every bit of nerve, as I rounded that hay field curve
And there was my wife-to-be singing "You've come back to me,
Your girl with red hair raking hay"
Dan Berggren is a tradition-based songsmith who writes with honesty, humor and a
strong sense of place. His songs
explore the many dimensions of home, hard-working
folks, taking care of our planet and each other. Dan’s roots are firmly in the Adirondacks where he was raised but his music has
branched out across many borders....more
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