Ballad of the Silver Dollar

from Together Through the Dark by Slaid Cleaves

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about

Bonus track from the Together Through the Dark sessions.

lyrics

Ballad of the Silver Dollar

written by Slaid Cleaves, Jeff Elliott, Robert George and Mike Morgan

I started out as just a lump of silver ore
In Denver, minted as a dollar back in '34
Traded through the Dust Bowl and the swamps of Louisian’
My journey is what made me what I am

One day a drifter found me in a dusty barn
Put me in his pocket, kept me for a lucky charm
Shined me with his ragged shirt and hopped a freight that night
He vowed that he would soon start living right

Up out of the ground come dust and silver
And a wise man comes to know what each is worth
Dreaming up and building out a life for all to see
Till dust and silver return to the earth

The young man enlisted after Pearl in '41
Got a uniform, a paycheck, and an army issued gun
From Normandy on to Ardennes, in the battlefields of France
He held me, in his trembling muddy hands

Somehow we made it back to the old USA
With the G.I. Bill and a couple of years of saved up soldiers pay
He raised a family, prospered, was respected in the end
He'd show me off to family and friends

Every day he turned me with his fingers and his thumb
Placed me on his bedside table when the day was done
Bowed his head and said a prayer of gratitude, sincere
As I grew smooth and thinner year by year

inst

It was late one night on his old back porch rockin’ chair
He dropped me by his boot heel as he said his final prayer
And now we rest together, our travelling days no more
In the quiet earth, just like a lump of ore

Up out of the ground come dust and silver
And a wise man comes to know what each is worth
Dreaming up and building out a life for all to see
Till dust and silver return to the earth
Dreaming up and building out a life for all to see
Till dust and silver return to the earth

credits

from Together Through the Dark, track released August 1, 2023
performed by Slaid Cleaves and Scrappy Jud Newcomb

produced by Scrappy Jud Newcomb

recorded by Pat Manske at The Zone, Dripping Springs, Texas

mixed by Chaos Theory with Slaid Cleaves

mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering, Nashville, Tennessee

license

all rights reserved

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about

Slaid Cleaves Wimberley, Texas

Modern day traveling folk singer. He’s telling your story. Writes and records songs that strike people’s hearts and become a part of their lives.

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