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Middle Creek

from Jewell Ridge Coal by Jeni & Billy

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Jewell Ridge Coal is steeped in the traditions of the mine and the families whose lives depended on them. The production is simple and uncluttered; the lead instrument is clearly the voice of Jeni, for whom these songs are like members of the family.
    – Wayne Winkler, Now & Then: The Journal of Appalachian Culture

    Jewell Ridge Coal is the best CD by folk, edge of bluegrass artists I've heard in a long time. Jeni's singing sounds to me like a cross between the young Hazel Dickens and Iris Dement. The songs range from raw and powerful to sweet and funny. The instrumental work is excellent and the harmony is just what you'd want it to be." – Si Kahn, Songwriter and Activist

    A six panel eco-friendly wallet, designed by Jeni and her father, Greg Hankins, featuring photos from Jewell Ridge and the Smith Family archives. A 16-page booklet includes all lyrics and credits — plus more photos of Jewell Ridge. The envelope also includes a souvenir postcard.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Jewell Ridge Coal via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.     ... more
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  • Streaming + Download

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

  • Full Digital Discography

    26
    releases

    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

Middle Creek

for Marcella

Grandpa Babe died while he was shaving.
Took ‘em three days before they found him out
in the cabin where he lived up on Middle Creek
where the flies swarmed around his mouth.

The day he died was twenty years since the fire
that took Mildred, Vicey, and little James,
and Brenda, and Franklin there beside them.
They say, since then he weren’t the same.

And it’s hot, yes, it’s hot up on Middle Creek,
where peace comes slow to the wicked.
And it’s cool, yes, it’s cool under the cedar trees,
where the branches brush the grave
of Grandpa Babe.

He grew corn to make his moonshine.
Mildred kept a garden out back of the house.
He sold timber off the land and did some trading.
He and Mildred held the place somehow.

The Old Regulars, they spoke of retribution
at the little church to which he never came.
And they prayed,
yes they prayed for his salvation —
that he’d burn his still house down
and praise Jesus’ name.

And it’s hot, yes, it’s hot up on Middle Creek,
where peace comes slow to the wicked.
And it’s cool, yes, it’s cool under the cedar trees,
where the branches brush the grave
of Grandpa Babe.

Some folks called him good for nothing.
Some say he was just broke.
But on that last day with his hand on the razor,
I wonder did he smell smoke?

I wonder did he call to Heaven?
Did Mildred hear her name?
And when his heart seized up on him,
did he see Mildred and the children,
in Jesus’ name, through the flames?

And it’s hot, yes, it’s hot up on Middle Creek,
where peace comes slow to the wicked.
And it’s cool, yes, it’s cool under the cedar trees,
where the branches brush the grave
of Grandpa Babe.

© 2003 Jeni Hankins, 2007 Billy Kemp, BMI

credits

from Jewell Ridge Coal, released January 1, 2008

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all rights reserved

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about

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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

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