Tales From the Homestead Carnivaleros

The Scarlet Oak is the 10th track on Tallsome Tales.

Gary Mackender - drums, accordion, piano
Karl Hoffmann - bass
Heather Hardy - violin

Belinda Bonita is the 11th track on Tallsome Tales.

T'was at my best friend's wedding dance I first laid eyes on her
I walked right up asked her to dance such was her allure
We moved across the floor with a ballroom dancer's grace
I knew that she would be mine when I felt our first embrace

Belinda Bonita o come dance with me tonight
Belinda Bonita o until the morning light
There is no one else who can take your place
You're my only heart's desire
Belinda Bonita o come dance with me tonight

We pledged our love eternal exchanged our wedding rings
We felt like we were floating high as if we both had wings
We glided down the aisle o'r the threshold we did pass
Our new life lay before us I love my darling lass

I came home after work one day not all that long ago
Belinda's bags and clothes were gone I looked both high and low
Not a farewell message could be found have I gone completely mad
Or was Belinda just a dream of a love I never had
Was Belinda just a dream of a love I never had

Belinda Bonita o come stay with me tonight
Bonita Belinda o until the morning light
There is no one else who can take your place
You're my only heart's desire
Belinda Bonita o come stay with me tonight
O come dance with me tonight
O come stay with me tonight

Gary Mackender - drums, accordion, percussion, vocals
Karl Hoffmann - bass, baritone guitar
Joe Fanning - acoustic guitar, mandolin

The Telling Kind is the 12th track on Tallsome Tales.

Gary Mackender - drums, accordion, organ, piano
Karl Hoffmann - bass, lap steel, baritone

Justified Fitting End is the 5th track on Tallsome Tales by The Carnivaleros.

Was you sent or did you just went
Asked the preacher 'cross the table from me
I told him it was neither I was backed up to a wall
Certain things are meant to be
I had to kill my father he was beatin' on my mother
Some old fences just will not mend
It was an unexpected, loosely-jointed, understated, overrated,
Jaded but sophisticated, justified fitting end

My Ma was a-raisin' my sisters and me
In a shack on the edge of town
She always did her best to keep food on the table
Even though Pa was not around
But he'd show up now and then in the heat of the moment
Reeking of a backwoods still
He'd been in a rage every day gone by
Since they laid him off down at the mill
He knocked us all around but my Ma got it the worst
Only so far a body can bend
Until his unexpected, loosely-jointed, understated, overrated,
Jaded but sophisticated, justified fitting end

There was a time things weren't so bad
When we were knee high to a man
But that must've been just a child's perception
Don't remember when they got out of hand

Now I'm doin' time on the local state dime
I did what I had to do
My Ma would've died and the bruises on my sisters
Were a spectacle of black and blue
I’m a peaceful man most every day
But when the trouble just would not end
I had to do something 'cause my ma and my sisters
Had not the strength to fend
If I had to do it over it would come out just the same
Some old fences just will not mend
It was an unexpected, loosely-jointed, understated, overrated,
Jaded but sophisticated, justified fitting end

Gary Mackender - accordion, organ, vocals
Karl Hoffmann - bass
Les Merrihew - drums
Joe Fanning - electric guitar
Mitzi Cowell - slide guitar
Björgvin Benediktsson - harmony vocals
Carla Brownlee - bari sax
Mike Coyle - trumpet
Michael Oliver - trombone
Greg Mackender - horn arrangements

The Die Was Cast is the 7th cut on Tallsome Tales.

That Man you think you fell in love with
That man you think is here to stay
Can't see your house is made of glass
Dreams only of his past
Can't take you where you want to go
Long ago, the Die Was Cast

There was a time he said he did love you
There was a time that movement seemed so slow
But the cards came tumbling down when he told you
Cut your losses, I love you no more

Don't expect him to lay down beside you
Don't expect him to say it's all okay
At best all he can give to you
Is a fraction of his past
Can't take you where you want to go
Long ago, the Die Was Cast

Gary Mackender - drums, accordion, vocals
Karl Hoffmann - bass, guitar
Joe Fanning - acoustic guitar, mandolin

Why Not Marry is the 8th track on The Carnivaleros' Tallsome Tales release.

We've been sweethearts since we were twelve years old
So why not marry me
Our secrets are unlocked all our stories told
Why not marry me
We can live in the house that my folks passed down
Be so fine just you wait and see
Would be a good life I'd provide for thee
Why not marry me

Yes, we've been together for all these years
But I cannot marry thee
I know your sisters and your brothers, aunts and uncles, too
I cannot marry thee
I know you want to settle in our little hometown
With a wife raise a family
But I have to move along need to see this world
I cannot marry thee

Sometimes a friend's just a friend
And we carry on
Lovers come and go like time
It's hard to find a friend
That will stick to the end
Won't cross that line
We'll both be fine

It's been so many years since you left this town
You never did marry me
You traveled o'r the world didn't let you down
Never did you marry me
I'm living in the same house in my little hometown
Laid down roots like an old oak tree
But I've loved you every day since you went away
Never did marry me

Yes, I've traveled here and there seen this big old world
Never did I marry thee
I feel like I've been on a tilt-o-whirl
Never did I marry thee
But I miss your little house on the edge of town
It's taken years of trial and error to see
That I've loved you every day since I went away
I might still marry thee
I might still marry thee

Sometimes a friend's just a friend
And we carry on
Lovers come and go like time
It's hard to find a friend
That will stick to the end
Won't cross that line
We'll both be fine

Gary Mackender - drums, accordion, percussion, vocals
Catherine Zavala - vocals
Karl Hoffmann - bass, guitars
Joe Fanning - electric and acoustic guitar
Don Armstrong - banjo