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Widow of Charlie Hollow

from Fresh Territory by Dan Berggren

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about

© 2002 The sound of a widow maker (a tree hung up on another) inspired this story. After telling it to Dan Duggan in 1985, he immediately wrote a tune of the same name. The tale haunted me until I finally came up with my own tune and finished the song.

lyrics

I stopped in my tracks the first time I heard it and stopped thinking I was alone
Mixed with leaves falling and wild geese a-calling was a sound that chilled to the bone
No coyote on earth could've made it - I didn't see anyone there
But like smoke from a log or mid-morning fog, a woman's cry hung in the air

There's a tale they tell in the mountains - folks 'round here say it is true
The story of loosing a loved one and the pain those remaining go through
It began as a backroad romance - both were so young and so brave
But when one of them died, the tears never dried - their love goes beyond the grave
The Widow of Charlie Hollow - a ghostly girl of a bride
Searching the woods for her husband - her lover the logger who died
She's crying - she's filling the air with her cries

Anne fell in love at the first sight of Jack - he liked her right from the start
They say that a man who drives logs down the river can dance his way to a girl's heart
Each spring he'd cheat death on the Hudson - till he quit when he turned 22
Then he gave her a ring and she heard him sing: my girl's waiting for me
Jack was content on the land in the hollow that Annie's family once farmed
He mowed and he raked while she sewed and baked - by the fire they sat arm-in-arm
Happy they had one another, but he missed the wild woods so
And when it turned spring, he started to sing: once more a lumbering go
The Widow of Charlie Hollow . . .

Half of the year Jack stayed at home, half the year he went away
Anne made him promise: always be careful - he said - I'll be okay
Two years had passed since they took their vows, saying: until death do us part
When Jack heard the sound of a dead fall come down - news of it broke Anne's heart
She let out a wail and flew out the door - into the woods she ran
Looking for Jack from that day till this - no one has ever seen Anne
But you might hear her crying when a tree's hung up on a tree
And if you dare follow that sound in the hollow, a widow maker you'll see
The Widow of Charlie Hollow . . .

© 2002 Dan Berggren / Berggren Music - BMI

credits

from Fresh Territory, released June 1, 2006

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all rights reserved

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Dan Berggren New York

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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