Dave Carter's Day

On July 19, 2002 at age 49, Dave Carter physically left this world. His creations, the words and music, thankfully remain present (see his discography below).

A humble musical wizard, Carter (and Tracy Grammer) provided an experience which will remain an inspirational highlight until my departure: first hearing the song "When I Go" minus any knowledge of Carter and Grammer and their brilliance. It was as if a world of transcendent beauty beckoned directly to me.

"come, lonely hunter, chieftain and king, i will fly like the falcon when i go
bear me my brother under your wing, i will strike fell like lightnin when i go

i will bellow like the thunder drum, invoke the storm of war
a twistin pillar spun of dust and blood up from the prairie floor
i will sweep the foe before me like a gale out on the snow
and the wind will long recount the story, reverence and glory, when i go

spring, spirit dancer, nimble and thin, i will leap like coyote when i go
tireless entrancer, lend me your skin, i will run like the gray wolf when i go

i will climb the rise at daybreak, i will kiss the sky at noon
raise my yearnin' voice at midnight to my mother in the moon
i will make the lay of long defeat and draw the chorus slow
i'll send this message down the wire and hope that someone wise is listenin when i go

and when the sun comes trumpets from his red house in the east
he will find a standing stone where long i chanted my release
he will send his morning messenger to strike the hammer blow
and i will crumble down uncountable in showers of crimson rubies when i go

sigh, mournful sister, whisper and turn, i will rattle like dry leaves when i go
stand in the mist where my fire used to burn, i will camp on the night breeze when i go

and should you glimpse my wand'rin form out on the borderline
between death and resurrection and the council of the pines
do not worry for my comfort, do not sorrow for me so
all your diamond tears will rise up and adorn the sky beside me when i go"

+++++

Snake Handlin' Man (1995 self release)

"Cowboy Singer"
"Snake-Handlin' Man"
"Red (Elegy)"
"The Promised Land"
"Hey Tonya"
"The River Where She Sleeps"
"Long Black Road Into Tulsa Town"
"Texas Underground"
"Workin' For Jesus"
"Gun-Metal Eyes"
"Sarah Turn 'Round"

When I Go (self-release 1998, 2002)

"When I Go"
"Don't Tread on Me"
"Annie's Lover"
"Grand Prairie TX Homesick Blues"
"Kate and the Ghost of Lost Love"
"The River, Where She Sleeps"
"Lancelot"
"Frank to Valentino"
"Little Liza Jane"
"Elvis Presley"

Tanglewood Tree (2000)

"Happytown (All Right with Me)"
"Tanglewood Tree"
"The Mountain"
"Farewell to Saint Dolores"
"Hey Conductor"
"Crocodile Man"
"Walkin' Away from Caroline"
"Farewell to Fiddler's Rim"
"Cat-Eye Willie Claims His Lover"
"Cowboy Singer"
"Farewell to Bitterroot Valley"

Drum Hat Buddha (2001)

"Ordinary Town"
"Tillman Co."
"Disappering Man"
"The Power and Glory"
"236-6132"
"41 Thunderer"
"Gentle Arms of Eden"
"I Go Like the Raven"
"Highway 80 (She's a Mighty Good Road)"
"Love, the Magician"
"Merlin's Lament"
"Gentle Soldier of My Soul"

Flower of Avalon (2005) Carter songs sung by Tracy Grammer

"Shadows of Evangeline"
"Gypsy Rose"
"Laughlin Boy"
"Hard to Make It
"Hey Ho"
"Mother, I Climbed"
"Preston Miller"
"Winter When He Goes"
"Phantom Doll"
"Any Way I Do"

Seven Is The Number (2006)

"Seven Is the Number"
"Snake-Handlin Man"
"Red (Elegy)"
"The Promised Land"
"Hey Tonya"
"Texas Underground"
"Gas Station Girl"
"Long, Black Road into Tulsa Town"
"Workin for Jesus"
"Gun-Metal Eyes"
"Sarah Turn 'Round"

American Noel (2008)

Go Tell The Fox
Bring A Torch, Jeanette Isabella
Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming
Footsteps Of The Faithful
The Ditching Carol
Giddyup Said Santa Claus
The Coventry Carol
American Noel

Little Blue Egg (2012)

Better Way
Hard Edge Of Livin’
Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key
Hard To Make It
Cross Of Jesus
Amazon
Three-Fingered Jack
Any Way I Do
Till We Have Faces
Gypsy Rose
September Sea

Joy My Love (2012)

Wild Gardenias
Hey Diddle Diddle
You Must Slumber
Celia Says
Merlin's Lament