Get all 26 Jeni Hankins releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of String Unraveller Demo May 2021, The American Dream (Harlis and Freda), Voice Memo Demo, I'm Letting Go of You – Kitchen Single, The Wondarium: Songs For Kids, A Body is a Delicate House, I Fell Into the Fire, The Loneliest Snowman, I Fell Into The Fire – Limited Edition Handprinted, and 18 more.
1. |
Mawmaw Ann
00:50
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2. |
Heart of the Mountain
04:18
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The Heart of the Mountain
© Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp, 2015
I stood down by the weigh station
watched the coal trucks rumble in
full of the heart of our mountain
that won’t be coming back again
Those dusty black diamonds
Held the souls of every man
Who cut them from the mountain
that won’t be coming back again
There ain't nothing in a rock
But the death of a thousand things
Pressed on by the ages
Pushed into a cold and lifeless dream
We mine it, we crush it,
we burn it up ’til it's nothing but a song
And the man moves the mountain
’til the heart of the mountain is gone
I stood down by the weigh station
the diesels humming like a friend
the last day on my job
that won’t be coming back again
We all shook our heads
‘cause we knew we had reached the end
the mountain was gone
and it won’t be coming back again
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3. |
The Hum
03:53
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They’ve taken all the coal.
They’re taking all the gas.
They’ve started on the timber
And they tore down Betty’s house.
They handed us a contract
and a tidy little sum,
then they brought their silver hammers,
and they brought their endless hum.
It used to be so quiet
on our mountaintop.
But now there is a hum,
and the humming just won’t stop.
That silver hammer keeps on pumping.
It don’t mind what it’s done.
It never knew the silence.
It only knows the hum.
You may hear thunder roll.
You may hear lightning crack.
You may hear the train a-comin’
down the railroad track.
You may hear the people singing
the devil and kingdom come,
ain’t nothin’ meaner
than that silver hammer’s hum.
Make sure to read that paper
‘cause you’re signing it in blood.
Those words that seem so quiet
may be the ones that make the hum.
It will come into your sleep.
It will rattle in your brain.
And once the hum starts humming
it will never ever never ever
never ever
go away.
© 2015 - Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp
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4. |
Polishing Stars
03:41
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Mama, she told me, when she was a girl,
Grandpa, he built them a windcharger
that powered a bulb in the kitchen at night
where they’d sit with their Bible to seek out the light.
I hope I am fit for polishing stars.
When my chance comes, I hope I am called.
I’m practicing now inside my heart.
I hope I am fit for polishing stars.
Mama and I look up at the sky
that sparkles and glitters on a mountain night.
We follow the light of the satellites bright,
spinning in wonder beneath the starlight.
Once I asked Mama, “Where do we go
when our bodies are gone and
our breath is no more?”
“If we are lucky, we go very far;
we go to the heavens to polish the stars.”
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5. |
Tazewell Justice Slain
02:25
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6. |
Aunt Erma
04:47
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Aunt Erma stands by the fence.
Uncle Frazier rests his hand upon her shoulder
– a picture of a pretty young girl
who witnessed Grandad’s murder.
Never saw the gun, just heard the shot
that stopped a heart so fair,
while Grandad fell like a mountain
with the killer standing there.
Aunt Erma sat in the car.
Baby Charley pressed his face into her shoulder.
She watched the killer flee the scene
while Grandad just grew colder.
She called for help, ran to his side,
the neighbors heard her cry.
While his blood made a shadow on the mountain,
Aunt Erma said goodbye.
Hundreds from the mountains,
valleys rimmed with coal,
came bearing flowers
to sing Grandad home, on home, on home.
Aunt Erma stands by the stove
Baby Charley throws a smile over her shoulder –
carmel sauce and gingerbread –
our Charley’s one year older.
I sift the flour, just like she said.
She stirs the pot and laughs
while spring winds her flowers ‘round the mountain
and Grandma sits in black.
Hundreds from the mountains,
valleys rimmed with coal,
came bearing flowers
to sing Grandad home, on home, on home.
Aunt Erma lies on the hill.
Now Jesus wraps his arms around her shoulders –
a miner’s wife, a little known life,
so sweet and then it’s over.
Her little white house, has gone to dust
‘neath the crawling vine,
but our blood flows like coal through these mountains
and I see her hand in mine.
Hundreds from the mountains,
valleys rimmed with coal,
came bearing flowers
to sing Grandad home, on home, on home.
Kinfolk from the mountains,
valleys rimmed with coal,
came bearing flowers
to sing Aunt Erma home,
on home, on home, on Home.
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7. |
A Miner's Soul
02:07
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The mines, they call me
from the deep.
Underground,
I am at peace.
The noise surrounds me,
engines turn.
I set to work and
my pick is sure.
Some men, they see me
and think I’m poor.
My face is dirty
and my clothes are worn.
I have my work
and I have a home —
peas in my garden,
honey on the comb.
I have my honor.
I have my wage.
I have my pick
and I have my spade.
All my family’s
gone to the coal.
I am a miner.
I’ve a miner’s soul.
Some men they leap to the sky —
like they were birds, like they could fly.
But me, I dig down to the soul
of a river of earth all washed with coal.
© 2016 - Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp.
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8. |
Dearest Friend, My Eliza
05:00
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Dearest Friend, My Eliza,
With this note I send you my love.
We’re stopping here to sleep.
The boys are brave and upright.
Not a coward here lies among,
and we have enough to eat.
Give my regards to your family,
give my regards in town,
send me a note if you can friend.
I hang on your every word.
Dearest Friend, My Eliza,
With this note, I send you good cheer.
Winter came too soon.
The boys bear sickness so bravely,
though our rations sure have grown thin.
The bugler plays his tune.
Give my regards to your family,
give my regards in town,
send me a note if you can friend.
I hang on your every word.
Forgive this trespass Eliza,
With this note I send my regrets.
Your Charley fell today.
He fought the battle full bravely.
I promised him I would write
what falling he did say.
Give my regards to your family,
give my regards in town,
say me a prayer, if you will friend.
Eliza is my last word.
© 2010, Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp.
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9. |
November Sky
00:40
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10. |
Posse Trails Killers
00:57
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11. |
Goldie's Chase
01:49
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12. |
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13. |
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Over the sink there’s a window
that lets the light shine through.
Over the window there’s a bluebird
that sings a song for me and you.
When the skies are gray and cloudy,
the sun shines in your face.
Though tomorrow may be stormy,
your love makes a peaceful place.
Over the door there’s a flower
that blooms everyday of the year.
Over the house is Heaven’s rainbow
that keeps our love eternal here.
When the skies are gray and cloudy,
the sun shines in your face.
Though tomorrow may be stormy,
your love makes a peaceful place.
Your love makes a peaceful place.
© 2007, Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp.
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14. |
The Little Red Hen
00:47
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15. |
Warm Morning Stove
04:58
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For Dad & Uncle Tom.
My brother and I,
we slept in the basement,
with the warm morning stove
and ten quilts on the bed.
Mawmaw, she slept
in the room up above us,
and the grate in the floor
told her all that we said.
We dreamed of cowboys
and red fire engines
and of building a still
in the woods out back,
‘cause what was the use
of all that book learning
‘cept to make corn liquor
and play quarterback.
My brother, I wish you warm mornings,
may you walk in peace all the days of your life.
At the very least, I wish you warm mornings.
Goodnight, my brother. It’s me, goodnight.
My brother, he broke
my nose one summer
playing like kids do.
Mawmaw thought I was dead.
I laid on the floor
of the cool dark basement
with the warm morning stove
upside down in my head.
My brother, he stayed
on our couch for a while
’til he saved for his rent,
when his job came through.
Our kids sat with him
in fuzzy pajamas
eating Lucky Charms
and watching cartoons.
My brother and I,
we grew up different
even though,
we grew up the same.
Ain’t that the way
with brothers or sisters?
Sometimes all you share
is part of your name.
The warm morning stove
rusts into the mountain,
thrown over the hill
with our corn liquor still.
My brother and I,
sometimes we go fishing,
and Mawmaw, she listens
from Calvary hill.
© 2015 - Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp.
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16. |
Old Aunt Lou
02:52
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Old Aunt Lou wore brogan shoes.
One was brown and the other was blue.
Danced all night ’til the sun peeked through.
She's comin’ down the mountain right after you.
Comin’ down, a-runnin’ down,
comin' down, a-runnin’ down,
comin’ down the mountain in her brogan shoes.
Comin’ down, a-runnin’ down,
comin' down, a-runnin’ down,
comin' down the mountain right after you.
Old Aunt Lou had a big tow sack.
Moonshine jars rattled in the back.
Dollar for a half-pint; two for two.
She's comin’ down the mountain right after you.
Old Aunt Lou made biscuits fat.
Once at her table you’d always come back.
Beans and taters and cornbread, too.
She's comin’ down the mountain right after you.
Old Aunt Lou had seven babes.
Ninety-nine pounds was all she weighed.
She was tougher than me or you.
She's comin’ down the mountain right after you.
Old Aunt Lou wore brogan shoes.
One was brown and the other was blue.
Danced all night ’til the sun peeked through.
She's comin’ down the mountain right after you.
© 2015 - Jeni Hankins & Greg Hankins.
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17. |
Polishing Stars Reprise
00:47
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18. |
Mawmaw Margie in Heaven
04:39
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I got a call on the banana phone.
It was Mawmaw Margie in Heaven
telling me things are just fine.
She said “Everyone who's up here
is looking for Elvis,”
but she sees Jim Reeves all the time.
Sometimes, they go for a picnic,
and talk about baseball,
and about her fear of flying.
He said, “If I can, then you can.”
And he took her by the hand,
and they stepped out into the sky.
She said, “Welcome to my world —
what a long hard road it's been
in a baby pink hairnet and a Mona Lisa grin.
Four walls couldn't hold me.
Girl, it's just like the Mormons told me.
Up here in Heaven, it's Hollywood weather,
and I'll never be on
the blue side of lonesome again.”
She said, “There's no dust in heaven,
and it's such a relief.”
She's never seen a vacuum or mop.
But sometimes she misses Palmolive,
the hot soapy water,
and scrubbing the pans and pots.
She and Marilyn Monroe
once got to talking
beneath an ancient yew
about their short stays on earth,
plastic fruit on their tables,
and sometimes getting the blues.
© 2014 - Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp.
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19. |
Nothing Left to Say
05:35
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If you’re coming to say you’re leaving,
don’t say anymore.
‘Cause lately I’ve had this feeling
you were headed for the door.
Your bags are packed and ready.
No need for you to stay.
If you’re coming to say you’re leaving,
there’s nothing left to say.
I know what they’ll be saying.
They’ll say that you’re no good.
They’ll say I’ll find another.
Perhaps what they say is true,
but when you’ve loved and when you’ve lost
it’s hard to feel that way.
Though they’ll fill my head with talkin’
there’s nothing left to say.
If you’re coming to say you’re sorry,
don’t say anymore.
You’ll only cause me worry,
and your sorry is just a word.
I know you’ve found a new love,
so don’t pretend that way.
If you’re coming to say you’re sorry,
there’s nothing left to say.
© 2015 - Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp. Jeni Hankins, vocals, guitar.
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20. |
The Roses of California
03:46
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Oh, the Roses of California won't bring you home.
George McClellan has a brand new car,
and we're leaving the mountains for good.
George has a job in Los Angeles.
He says I'm made for Hollywood.
I was never meant for a miner’s wife.
George says I’m sure to go far.
Mother stands in her kitchen door.
George McClellan has a brand new car.
There's never a cloud in Hollywood,
just mountains of roses galore.
Mother says they’ll not smell as sweet
as the ones by her kitchen door.
Oh, the roses of California won’t bring you home.
George McClellen didn’t last three weeks
at the Chrysler factory.
The money's all gone, spent on drink,
and the rent’s left up to me.
Sister just stepped off the train,
and lord what a twang when she speaks.
Mother sent no word to me.
George McClellen didn't last three weeks.
George McClellan has up and gone,
and sister’s in an awful mess.
Baby's due in a few weeks time,
and there’s nothing to be done, I guess.
I wish I'd never seen that brand new car —
never left mother alone.
Sister and I are far from home.
George McClellan has up and gone.
No, the roses of California won’t take us home.
© 2014 - Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp.
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21. |
Greg & Marcy
01:15
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22. |
Guilty
01:00
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23. |
Guaranteed to Sail
02:39
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Oh, I had a little boat.
It was guaranteed to sail.
It was guaranteed to sail,
but I lost it one day.
Oh, I had a little horse.
He was guaranteed to ride.
He was guaranteed to ride,
but that horse rode away.
Oh, I had a soldier boy.
He was guaranteed to fight.
He was guaranteed to fight,
but I lost him one day.
Oh, I had a little bird.
She was a guaranteed to sing.
She was a guaranteed to sing,
but that bird flew away.
Oh, I had a little love.
It was guaranteed to last.
I held my true love fast,
but I lost it one day.
Oh, I had a little boat,
but that boat that could not fail
set its little sail,
and took my true love away.
© 2015 Jeni Hankins, Billy Kemp, & Alfred Hickling
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24. |
Pretty Saro
02:11
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When I first come to this country back in eighteen and forty nine
I saw many fair lovers, but I never saw mine.
I viewed all around me, ’til I found I was alone,
and me a poor stranger and a long way from home.
My true love she won't have me and this I understand.
She wants a freeholder and I've got no land.
But I can maintain her on silver and gold,
and as many of the fine things that my love's house could hold.
So fare you well to old father and fare you well to mother, too.
I'm going for to ramble this wide world all through.
And when I get weary, I'll sit down and cry,
and I'll think of Pretty Saro, my darling, my dear.
Traditional Arr. Jeni Hankins & Billy Kemp.
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25. |
Wedding Song
04:02
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I will marry him in the spring.
I will marry him in the spring,
and I shall have a crown of roses for my king.
I will hear his knock upon my gate.
I will hear his knock upon my gate,
and I don’t fear his coming too early or too late.
He will bring to me all he can.
He will bring to me all he can,
and it is more than will ever be wagered by a man.
I will see him there by and by.
I will see him there by and by,
but I’ll have nothing to give for my dowry ‘cept my life
when I take the hand of my bridegroom robed so white.
No, I’ll have nothing to give for that dowry ‘cept my life.
I will marry him in the spring.
I will marry him in the spring,
and I shall have a crown of roses for my king.
© 2004, Jeni Hankins
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26. |
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27. |
Narcie Smith
01:43
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Jeni Hankins London, UK
Jeni Hankins grew up in the coalfields of Appalachian in Southwest Virginia among a family of miners, moonshiners, and
journalists. Her writing pulls the grit, gumption, and keen sense of observation out of that heritage like drawing water from her grandmother’s well.
In every song, Jeni’s “true sense of place shines through – old as the hills, but brand new at the same time.”
... more
Jeni Hankins recommends:
For me, this is the best of folk music, what it's all meant to be. After years of listening to Rebecca & Ken, I still get shivers up my spine when I hear them together.
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