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I Saw a Man at the Close of Day

from Longing for Heaven by Jeni & Billy

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Duet partners Jeni & Billy have brought impressive measures of inspiration, artistry, and austerity to this minimalist collection of old-time ballads, heartsongs, and spirituals. Hankins is the soulful wellspring of this collaboration. Born and raised in Virginia coal country, she brings a writer’s and singer’s finely nuanced ear to the cadences and imagery of her native Appalachia. – Bluegrass Unlimited, USA

    Comes in a four panel eco-friendly wallet, designed by Jeni, featuring family photos. A 20-page booklet includes all lyrics and credits.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Longing for Heaven via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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      $15 USD

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Full Digital Discography

    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. , and , .

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lyrics

I Saw a Man at the Close of Day

I saw a man at the close of day, standing by a grocery store.
His lips were parched, his eyes were sunk, and I knew him o’er & o’er.

A little boy stood by his side, and unto him he said,
“Father, mother’s sick at home, and sister cries for bread.”

He turned around, walked from that store, staggered on into some bar
and unto the bartend said, “O, pour me one glass more.”

In about a year I passed thereby; a crowd gathered round that door,
I asked the reason, one replied, “The drunkard is no more.”

Just then a hearse rolled slowly by, no wife or children in view.
They’d gone and left this flowered earth and bid fond friends adieu.

Come all ye jolly dram drinkers, from this a lesson take,
and whisky overthrow my friends, before it is too late.

Traditional, © 2010 arranged and with additional lyrics by Jeni & Billy

credits

from Longing for Heaven, released January 1, 2010

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all rights reserved

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about

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.”
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