If Stones Could Talk
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Building on Gene’s first CD “Waiting for Rain,” this duo album once again features Gene’s all original songs. Now joined by his wife Gayla on harmony and lead vocals and bass (and co-author of Everyday Things), Gene’s bright acoustic guitar and vocals set the tone. The acoustic Americana sound varies from a folk feel on Great Divide and Talking to a Stone to a bluegrass treatment on Milk and Honey and River, Railway, Road and a traditional country sound on Thriving and Everyday Things. Two instrumentals, flat-picked Bright Blue Eyes and finger-picked Dying Fire with spare bass accompaniment, add further depth. The duo are joined by Bill Evans (banjo), Ivan Rosenberg (dobro), Barry Lawson (mandolin), and Jim Skelding (fiddle).
"For those that love fables of experience, tragedy, love and endeavour both happy and sad plus the indefinable human essence that comes in spades with Americana, this is an album you must have. If these songs don’t move you, then your soul is made of stone."
Tim Carroll, FolkWords
#5 album, Roots Music Report Folk Chart and #11 album, Folk DJ Chart
If Stones Could Talk lyrics
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Dobro: Ivan Rosenberg
Don’t jump, my mother said
that wall is way too high
I jumped, I broke my leg
I began to cry
As she kissed my tears away and
carried me on home
she said, “I might as well be
talking to a stone”
Like a stone I didn’t listen
like a stone I didn’t speak
All too soon my mother
she grew old and she grew weak
Now I’ve finally come to tell her
just what she meant to me
I’m standing in a field of stones
quiet as the sea
Chorus: If these stones could talk
I know what they’d say
Tell the ones you love
Don’t wait another day
Don’t wait till the ones you love
Have gone to dust and bone
Don’t wait till you’re talking to a stone
I’m talking to my father here
two of my old friends
I never thought
I’d never see them again
Talking to a girl I loved
who never really knew
I was just as hard as these
stones I’m talking to
Chorus
Bridge: Names and dates are on these stones inscribed
Lives so full, so briefly described
These stones can’t hear a word
I’m telling them today
I’m going home ‘cause
I’ve got some things to say
Chorus
2. River, Railway, Road
Written by Gene Mills (BMI) © 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Banjo: Bill Evans; Mandolin: Barry Lawson
First time I saw you, on a rock in the sun
the river was running fast and high
Last time I saw you, you told me you were done
You told me your love had run dry
Well, rivers rise and fall, rains come and go
Someday I know you’ll come back again
I know that day is coming, but I also know
That someday doesn’t tell you when
Chorus: A river, a railway, and a road
Wind side by side across this valley floor
If ever you decide to come back to my door
Come by the river, the railway, or the road (2x)
Three in the morning, the whistle blows long
Cars like water flowing by
I live with the sound of people moving on
But I’ll stay here and wait till I die
Chorus (2x)
3. Twelve Days
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Dobro: Ivan Rosenberg
I ran a good size office
made fifty grand a year
I lost that job two years ago this week
The unemployment checks ran out
My savings are all gone
I got twelve days till I’m on the street
I get up every morning
Put my good dress on
knock on doors and walk the city streets
I can’t help but notice
the doorways that I pass
and size them up as places I might sleep
Chorus: I’ve sent out 50 resumes
made a hundred calls
haven’t had one call in return
I’ll wait tables, push a broom
I’ll take any job at all
I got twelve days for my luck to turn (2x)
I’ve sold most everything I owned
My furniture and car
I kept a suitcase and some good warm clothes
What I’ll eat, where I’ll sleep
how I will survive
come twelve days, God only knows
Chorus
4. Everyday Things
Written by Gene and Gayla Mills© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Fiddle: Jim Skelding
I’ve heard those love songs, you’ve heard ‘em too
about all the things those lovers would do
They’d climb the high mountain, swim the wide sea
Walk through a fire, even die if need be
Oh, but how many times in the course of our lives
does the need for any of those things arise?
If that’s what you need, I’ll do my best
But it’s small things that really put love to the test
Chorus: Oceans are wide, mountains are steep
Fine words are pretty, fine words are cheap
If you want to know how I really feel
That’s what the small, everyday things reveal
I’ll make the salad; you won’t have to ask it
I won’t use the floor as my laundry basket
When I see a dust bunny under the chair
I won’t pretend that it isn’t there
And when you come home mad from a bad day at work
your boss is a tyrant, a fool, and a jerk
I’ll sit and listen till you’re all through
I won’t try to tell you what you ought to do
Chorus
I’ll help with writing the holiday cards
I’ll brush out the dog and scoop up the yard
If you wash the dishes, I’ll gladly dry
and give you a shoulder, when you need to cry
Chorus
5. Bright Blue Eyes (instrumental)
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar: Gene Mills; Upright bass: Gayla Mills
6. Forgetting
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Mandolin: Barry Lawson
Jenny Davis was my sweetheart since the seventh grade
She and I were partners when we all learned to waltz
Dancing at our wedding was the plan we had made
Now that plan has gone to pieces and it’s neither of our faults
That bright September day, I became a soldier
Afghanistan was where I was sent to do my part
After 10 months there, I was 10 years older
But I came home to Jenny with a proud and purple heart
Then they sent me to Iraq, that hot and dusty land
I was proud to help bring down that statue of Saddam
But I could never figure what was in that sand
that made it worth the cost of all those roadside bombs
Chorus 1: I remember how it felt when Jenny told me yes
I remember how it felt to waltz her ‘cross the floor
But I don’t remember how it felt to lose my legs
And I guess that makes sense, or what’s forgetting for
I was the leadoff hitter for my high school team,
Out in center field, oh how I could fly,
Playing for the Cardinals had always been my dream,
Now that’s just another dream I’ll have to tell goodbye.
Chorus 2: I remember how it felt, sliding into second,
I remember how it felt to run like the wind,
I remember feeling eager when my country beckoned,
Now I reckon I won’t feel those things in my life again.
Chorus 1
7. Milk and Honey
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Banjo: Bill Evans; Fiddle: Jim Skelding
How did we end up with this big, big house
and jobs we hardly can stand?
Remember when we dreamed of that sweet little cottage
and making our living from the land
Well your job is gone now, and mine’s looking bad
This might be a blessing in disguise
Let’s trade in this house on forty good acres
and live the dream we had for our lives
Chorus: We don’t need a lot of money
‘cause we don’t want what most people need
We’ll make our own land of milk and honey
with a milk cow, a beehive, and some seed
Now my idea of heaven is an orchard and a field
a garden, a woodlot, and a pond
and you there beside me, listening to the sound
of the whippoorwill and wood thrush’s song
Chorus
Bridge: I know the work is hard, the money’s harder
But easy work and money are hard too
I’ve seen enough to know that most people go
for what’s easy over what they want to do
Chorus
8. Thriving
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Fiddle: Jim Skelding
I got the message from the USDA
Eat fruits and vegetables five times a day
Olives and nuts, lots of whole grain
Good for your heart and good for your brain
Now heartache and headache, I know how that feels
That’s why I’m striving for healthier meals
As long as I keep eating healthy I find
You and me both are out of my mind
Chorus: Now I’m drinking my grapes, red, white and rosé
I’m drinking corn at least twice a day
Vodka is made from potatoes I hear
Some like theirs mashed, but I like mine clear
And I’m eating beer nuts when I’m eating at all
And hops are whole grains, and so’s barley malt
In vino veritas, vigor, and youth
Olives are good with a little vermouth
Hard cider’s good for an apple a day
It helps keep the doctor and the memories away
Tomato juice helps me start each day off right
with the hair of that dog that bit me last night
Now I’m thriving on five, like they recommend
I’m thriving most days on at least nine or ten
They say you should run for an hour a day
Well, I do at least that much running away
Chorus
9. Better Late than Never
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Banjo: Bill Evans; Mandolin: Barry Lawson
Since he was seventeen, Charlie Williams had a dream
to build himself a house with his own two hands
But he never got around to ever breaking ground
Now it’s 35 years later all he’s got are plans
Chorus:
And it’s better late than never, you could wait forever
if you wait till there’s nothing standing in your way
But if you’re gonna to do it, then you better get down to it
don’t wait for tomorrow, better start today
Molly Arnold knew what she was meant to do
She was full of stories just waiting to be told
But kids grow up so fast, years go flying past
And she hasn’t written anything and now she’s growing old
Chorus
Bridge: Now at last Charlie’s dream
is turning into post and beam.
And Molly’s writing words for all to see
They wish they’d started younger
but they’re feeding that old hunger
living life the way it ought to be
Chorus
10. Blue Runway Lights
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Dobro: Ivan Rosenberg
Drive me to the airport, walk me to the gate
One kiss for old time’s sake although I’m running late
I’ll wave to you from the window seat
as you’re walking back to your car
Then away I’ll fly in that autumn sky
that’s slowly growing dark.
And I’ll go on a journey to some unknown place
See in the clouds the contours of your face
I’ll fly beneath the jumbled stars
that’ve seen a million nights
till I see the long straight lines
of those blue runway lights.
Bridge: Those blue runway lights flashing by in the night
That sinking feeling deep inside when you leave the ground in flight
And there ain’t no use in running when you got the means to fly
And I’ll let the engine’s humming be my lonesome lullaby
Repeat verse 2
11. The Great Divide
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills
Two muddy children, five years old
One mother laughs, one mother scolds
Two decades later, two young men
One plays it safe, one plays to win
Chorus: We’re raindrops falling on the Great Divide
an inch one way or the other might decide
which way you're headed, where your destiny lies
We’re raindrops falling on the Great Divide
All night grocery, help-wanted sign
Seventeen years old, trying to decide
Does he go in, see about that job
Or does he come back later for to rob
Chorus
Bridge: A fork in the road will sometimes stare you in the face
Sometimes you only see it looking back from some far place
And you don't know what might follow from a single word or glance
You do the best you can and leave the rest to chance
A shy young woman trying to read a book
A shy young man trying not to look
Does she ignore him, does she give him a smile
One small decision, two different lives
Chorus
12. Dying Fire (instrumental)
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar: Gene Mills; Upright bass: Gayla Mills
- Talking to a Stone
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Dobro: Ivan Rosenberg
Don’t jump, my mother said
that wall is way too high
I jumped, I broke my leg
I began to cry
As she kissed my tears away and
carried me on home
she said, “I might as well be
talking to a stone”
Like a stone I didn’t listen
like a stone I didn’t speak
All too soon my mother
she grew old and she grew weak
Now I’ve finally come to tell her
just what she meant to me
I’m standing in a field of stones
quiet as the sea
Chorus: If these stones could talk
I know what they’d say
Tell the ones you love
Don’t wait another day
Don’t wait till the ones you love
Have gone to dust and bone
Don’t wait till you’re talking to a stone
I’m talking to my father here
two of my old friends
I never thought
I’d never see them again
Talking to a girl I loved
who never really knew
I was just as hard as these
stones I’m talking to
Chorus
Bridge: Names and dates are on these stones inscribed
Lives so full, so briefly described
These stones can’t hear a word
I’m telling them today
I’m going home ‘cause
I’ve got some things to say
Chorus
2. River, Railway, Road
Written by Gene Mills (BMI) © 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Banjo: Bill Evans; Mandolin: Barry Lawson
First time I saw you, on a rock in the sun
the river was running fast and high
Last time I saw you, you told me you were done
You told me your love had run dry
Well, rivers rise and fall, rains come and go
Someday I know you’ll come back again
I know that day is coming, but I also know
That someday doesn’t tell you when
Chorus: A river, a railway, and a road
Wind side by side across this valley floor
If ever you decide to come back to my door
Come by the river, the railway, or the road (2x)
Three in the morning, the whistle blows long
Cars like water flowing by
I live with the sound of people moving on
But I’ll stay here and wait till I die
Chorus (2x)
3. Twelve Days
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)
© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Dobro: Ivan Rosenberg
I ran a good size office
made fifty grand a year
I lost that job two years ago this week
The unemployment checks ran out
My savings are all gone
I got twelve days till I’m on the street
I get up every morning
Put my good dress on
knock on doors and walk the city streets
I can’t help but notice
the doorways that I pass
and size them up as places I might sleep
Chorus: I’ve sent out 50 resumes
made a hundred calls
haven’t had one call in return
I’ll wait tables, push a broom
I’ll take any job at all
I got twelve days for my luck to turn (2x)
I’ve sold most everything I owned
My furniture and car
I kept a suitcase and some good warm clothes
What I’ll eat, where I’ll sleep
how I will survive
come twelve days, God only knows
Chorus
4. Everyday Things
Written by Gene and Gayla Mills© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Fiddle: Jim Skelding
I’ve heard those love songs, you’ve heard ‘em too
about all the things those lovers would do
They’d climb the high mountain, swim the wide sea
Walk through a fire, even die if need be
Oh, but how many times in the course of our lives
does the need for any of those things arise?
If that’s what you need, I’ll do my best
But it’s small things that really put love to the test
Chorus: Oceans are wide, mountains are steep
Fine words are pretty, fine words are cheap
If you want to know how I really feel
That’s what the small, everyday things reveal
I’ll make the salad; you won’t have to ask it
I won’t use the floor as my laundry basket
When I see a dust bunny under the chair
I won’t pretend that it isn’t there
And when you come home mad from a bad day at work
your boss is a tyrant, a fool, and a jerk
I’ll sit and listen till you’re all through
I won’t try to tell you what you ought to do
Chorus
I’ll help with writing the holiday cards
I’ll brush out the dog and scoop up the yard
If you wash the dishes, I’ll gladly dry
and give you a shoulder, when you need to cry
Chorus
5. Bright Blue Eyes (instrumental)
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar: Gene Mills; Upright bass: Gayla Mills
6. Forgetting
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Mandolin: Barry Lawson
Jenny Davis was my sweetheart since the seventh grade
She and I were partners when we all learned to waltz
Dancing at our wedding was the plan we had made
Now that plan has gone to pieces and it’s neither of our faults
That bright September day, I became a soldier
Afghanistan was where I was sent to do my part
After 10 months there, I was 10 years older
But I came home to Jenny with a proud and purple heart
Then they sent me to Iraq, that hot and dusty land
I was proud to help bring down that statue of Saddam
But I could never figure what was in that sand
that made it worth the cost of all those roadside bombs
Chorus 1: I remember how it felt when Jenny told me yes
I remember how it felt to waltz her ‘cross the floor
But I don’t remember how it felt to lose my legs
And I guess that makes sense, or what’s forgetting for
I was the leadoff hitter for my high school team,
Out in center field, oh how I could fly,
Playing for the Cardinals had always been my dream,
Now that’s just another dream I’ll have to tell goodbye.
Chorus 2: I remember how it felt, sliding into second,
I remember how it felt to run like the wind,
I remember feeling eager when my country beckoned,
Now I reckon I won’t feel those things in my life again.
Chorus 1
7. Milk and Honey
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Banjo: Bill Evans; Fiddle: Jim Skelding
How did we end up with this big, big house
and jobs we hardly can stand?
Remember when we dreamed of that sweet little cottage
and making our living from the land
Well your job is gone now, and mine’s looking bad
This might be a blessing in disguise
Let’s trade in this house on forty good acres
and live the dream we had for our lives
Chorus: We don’t need a lot of money
‘cause we don’t want what most people need
We’ll make our own land of milk and honey
with a milk cow, a beehive, and some seed
Now my idea of heaven is an orchard and a field
a garden, a woodlot, and a pond
and you there beside me, listening to the sound
of the whippoorwill and wood thrush’s song
Chorus
Bridge: I know the work is hard, the money’s harder
But easy work and money are hard too
I’ve seen enough to know that most people go
for what’s easy over what they want to do
Chorus
8. Thriving
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Fiddle: Jim Skelding
I got the message from the USDA
Eat fruits and vegetables five times a day
Olives and nuts, lots of whole grain
Good for your heart and good for your brain
Now heartache and headache, I know how that feels
That’s why I’m striving for healthier meals
As long as I keep eating healthy I find
You and me both are out of my mind
Chorus: Now I’m drinking my grapes, red, white and rosé
I’m drinking corn at least twice a day
Vodka is made from potatoes I hear
Some like theirs mashed, but I like mine clear
And I’m eating beer nuts when I’m eating at all
And hops are whole grains, and so’s barley malt
In vino veritas, vigor, and youth
Olives are good with a little vermouth
Hard cider’s good for an apple a day
It helps keep the doctor and the memories away
Tomato juice helps me start each day off right
with the hair of that dog that bit me last night
Now I’m thriving on five, like they recommend
I’m thriving most days on at least nine or ten
They say you should run for an hour a day
Well, I do at least that much running away
Chorus
9. Better Late than Never
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Banjo: Bill Evans; Mandolin: Barry Lawson
Since he was seventeen, Charlie Williams had a dream
to build himself a house with his own two hands
But he never got around to ever breaking ground
Now it’s 35 years later all he’s got are plans
Chorus:
And it’s better late than never, you could wait forever
if you wait till there’s nothing standing in your way
But if you’re gonna to do it, then you better get down to it
don’t wait for tomorrow, better start today
Molly Arnold knew what she was meant to do
She was full of stories just waiting to be told
But kids grow up so fast, years go flying past
And she hasn’t written anything and now she’s growing old
Chorus
Bridge: Now at last Charlie’s dream
is turning into post and beam.
And Molly’s writing words for all to see
They wish they’d started younger
but they’re feeding that old hunger
living life the way it ought to be
Chorus
10. Blue Runway Lights
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills; Dobro: Ivan Rosenberg
Drive me to the airport, walk me to the gate
One kiss for old time’s sake although I’m running late
I’ll wave to you from the window seat
as you’re walking back to your car
Then away I’ll fly in that autumn sky
that’s slowly growing dark.
And I’ll go on a journey to some unknown place
See in the clouds the contours of your face
I’ll fly beneath the jumbled stars
that’ve seen a million nights
till I see the long straight lines
of those blue runway lights.
Bridge: Those blue runway lights flashing by in the night
That sinking feeling deep inside when you leave the ground in flight
And there ain’t no use in running when you got the means to fly
And I’ll let the engine’s humming be my lonesome lullaby
Repeat verse 2
11. The Great Divide
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar and vocals: Gene Mills; Upright bass and vocals: Gayla Mills
Two muddy children, five years old
One mother laughs, one mother scolds
Two decades later, two young men
One plays it safe, one plays to win
Chorus: We’re raindrops falling on the Great Divide
an inch one way or the other might decide
which way you're headed, where your destiny lies
We’re raindrops falling on the Great Divide
All night grocery, help-wanted sign
Seventeen years old, trying to decide
Does he go in, see about that job
Or does he come back later for to rob
Chorus
Bridge: A fork in the road will sometimes stare you in the face
Sometimes you only see it looking back from some far place
And you don't know what might follow from a single word or glance
You do the best you can and leave the rest to chance
A shy young woman trying to read a book
A shy young man trying not to look
Does she ignore him, does she give him a smile
One small decision, two different lives
Chorus
12. Dying Fire (instrumental)
Written by Gene Mills (BMI)© 2011 Heart Pine Music
Guitar: Gene Mills; Upright bass: Gayla Mills