Mission

For more than three decades, I've found myself in the midst of an internal conflict between two genres of music: acoustic and electronic. I hold an equal affinity for both, which means that on one day, I may wake up eager to sequence modified saw waves, and on the next, I'll be eager to work on some high lonesome harmonies. It's just the way it is. I can't help it.

While I don't expect others to share my eclectic mix of musical tastes, I believe that there may be certain works of mine that some may appreciate. Rather than trying to merge the two interests, or find a reason for their coexistence, my job is simply to create the best music possible while staying true to my bifurcated musical persona.


Songs

EP - "COMIN' ROUND"

CALIFORNIA OR MY HEART

STAY A LITTLE LONGER

BALLAD OF DAN & ALLIS

"Comin' Round" is a three song EP CD. It represents the completion of something I've been promising for decades. Twenty-seven years to be exact. So, here they are, three very personal songs, for family and friends, on the CD you hold in your hand. I hope you enjoy it. It was produced by Dave Martineau and Laura Vinson, with me, at Blue Diamond Recorders, October 2022. Mastered by Norman Glowach. Cover sleeve and CD designed by Dawn Woolsey. 

For Heather.

I wrote "California Or My Heart" in 1991. At the time I was settling in to an evening shift on a country music radio station and part of my responsibility was to produce a nightly, one-hour, folk music program. That experience introduced me to so many great singer/songwriters. Among them, Guy Clark, John Prine, Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, Townes Van Zandt, and the like. Previously, I had been writing rock songs and playing in rock bands. 'California' was my first attempt at writing a "Texas-style troubadour" song.  It also happens to be my autobiography. I added the 'ooooh's' a couple of years ago as a tribute to the coyotes that live next door in our valley. They all sing when the fire trucks go by. 

CALIFORNIA OR MY HEART - LYRICS

Music and lyrics by Dan Kern
Arrangement by Dan Kern, Dave Martineau & Laura Vinson
Produced by Laura Vinson & Dave Martineau
Recorded & engineered by Dave Martineau
Vocals: Dan Kern & Laura Vinson
Guitar: Dan Kern
Bass, Dobro, Pedal Steel: Dave Martineau



(Key: A, no capo)



VERSE 1

A                                               D

Well I guess here comes the darkness

                    E                       A

This whole range feels so alone

        D                      E

To a drifter and a cowboy

D                        A

Man I long for home

                D                       E

As these days turn into history

        A                                D

I’ve lost more than I’ve found

            A

Oh, I‘m not sure if I’m thankful

                E                     A

How that sun’s a goin’ down


CHORUS

                           D

Maybe I should ride a ways yonder

              A

Or back to that little town

E

Saw a pretty thing back there

           D                     A

Kinda spun my head around

                       D

You know the morning always calls me west

              A

But the night tears me apart

            E

So, I’m not sure where to head to now

                              A               E

California or my heart



INSTRUMENTAL BREAK



VERSE 2

Damn camp is full of drifters

Like I’m full of second thoughts

Hey, are you quick with those two pistols

I always aim my shots

I appreciate the company

And if you have something to share

I’m curious to know

About the view from over there



CHORUS

                           D

Maybe I should ride a ways yonder

              A

Or back to that little town

E

Saw a pretty thing back there

           D                     E

Kinda spun my head around

                       D

You know the morning always calls me west

              A

But the night tears me apart

            E

So, I’m not sure where to head to now

                              A               E              A

California or my heart

"Stay A Little Longer Please" was written about my grandmother, Martha. My dad's mother. A couple of years before she passed away, I would go see her a couple times a week to see if she needed anything. She was living in a senior's home and loved "The Young & The Restless", which she referred to as 'her stories'. I would watch with her. I could also imitate Victor Neuman and would tease her with that. "Do you know who I am, Jack Abbott?" But when it came time for me to go, she'd sometimes say, "could you stay a little longer?" The song is a bit of a tear-jerker, but my grandmother loved to laugh and had a great sense of humour. The bouncy, two-step tempo reminds me of her. 

STAY A LITTLE LONGER PLEASE - LYRICS

Music by Dan Kern

Lyrics by Dan Kern & Laura Vinson

Arrangement by Dan Kern, Laura Vinson & Dave Martineau

Produced by Laura Vinson & Dave Martineau

Recorded & engineered by Dave Martineau

Vocals: Dan Kern

Guitar: Dan Kern

Bass, Dobro: Dave Martineau

Fiddle: John Calverley



(Key: G, no capo)




VERSE 1

                G                             C

Move the chair next to the window

               D                          G

So I can stare out at the trees

       G                        C

You know I used to climb them

            D                              G

When I had much younger knees

             G                       C

Do you really have to go now

               D                               G

You just get here, then you leave

                  C                      D           G

Could you stay a little longer, please


VERSE 2

You’re always doin’ something

You’re always on the go

Me, I can hardly get up now

To answer my own door

Where did all the livin’ go

The years blew by like leaves

Could you stay a little longer, please



CHORUS 1

           D

Cause days go by so slowly now

   C                         G

I can’t remember when


  D

I had my medication

                   C                            D

Could you check for me, and then

G                          C

Put on that old kettle

                 D                  G

And pour us two more teas

                  C                      D            G

Could you stay a little longer, please



INSTRUMENTAL BREAK



VERSE 3

Well, thank you for the visit

You won’t know what it means

Until you too turn eighty-three

And long for company

Then you just might remember

Some words like these

Could you stay a little longer, please


CHORUS 2

I sit here by your bedside

And hold on to your hand

And try to keep you with me

I think I understand

What you always asked me when I would go to leave

Could you stay a little longer please


Could you stay a little longer, please (x2)



"Ballad of Dan & Allis" follows a long-standing tradition in folk music - to write songs that pay homage to the people in our lives who did great things. My great uncle Dan (my name-sake) was one of those people. Larger than life. One of the greatest story-tellers to ever live. And like all the Rosentreters, he loved to laugh. Dan was a farmer and a talented heavy machinery operator. His accomplishments are the stuff of legend. In the last quarter of his life, he acquired an Allis Chalmers backhoe, which he named, of course, 'Allis'. The two of them travelled throughout the municipality, wowing the rest of us with their near impossible feats of earth-moving. 

BALLAD OF DAN & ALLIS - LYRICS

Music & lyrics by Dan Kern

Arrangement by Dan Kern, Dave Martineau & Laura Vinson

Produced by Laura Vinson & Dave Martineau

Recorded & engineered by Dave Martineau

Vocals: Dan Kern

Guitar, Bass, Dobro: Dave Martineau



(Key: C, no capo)



VERSE 1

C

The artist has a paint brush

              F

And the carpenter has a saw

C

Preacher has a bible

              G

And the lawyer has the law

          C

It’s a pretty easy thing to do

              F

Paint a picture, or build a wall

       C

But if you want to move a mountain

                 G                    C

You gotta know who to call



CHORUS

F                      C

Three tons of earth and steel

G                           C

Moved by gentle hand and feel

F                              C

He trusts her, she works with him

            G                               C

Oh the troubles those two have been in

       F                         C

And everyone has a tale or two

     G                                   C

Of what that man and machine can do


F                                  C

It is enough to make any man jealous

       G                              C

The ballad of Dan and Allis



VERSE 2

He can change how the water flows

With a backhoe and a blade

He’s dug a hundred basements

Through the hardpan, sand and clay

Fixes up the damage done

When the job was not done right

He outsmarts Mother Nature

And he’s sleepin’ good at night



CHORUS



INSTRUMENTAL BREAK



VERSE 3

Well a lifetime of experience

Had its own rewards

But when you’ve got a reputation

There’s little time for being bored

This world has no guarantees

Recognition is the same

But when our names are long forgotten

The things we do remain



CHORUS