I Made It Just for You –Bob Gramann All Songs © 2019 by R.A. Gramann

I Made It Just For You –Bob Gramann All Songs © 2019 by R.A. Gramann 1. I Made It Just for How to make your loops finite. The square was flat and clear. He knew they’d need that banjo. Picked out the finest wood. There’s a statue called "freedom" on the Capitol How to code a punch card, In his vision, he saw shade. That banjo saved their lives. Split it and planed it, dome. And how to code a jump. He planted this poplar here. Lying on my deathbed Turned it in the sunlight Since the time of Lincoln, that's been it's home. How to get it done by Friday, Over there he planted an oak No riches will I take. To find the best grains. We're proud of our country but the irony And how to read that dump. When he married my Grandma Can’t even take the banjo, Glued it and carved it It was cast by a slave named Phillip Reid. A folksinger has to know... And he grew the maple in his front yard They’ll play it at my wake. Polished so hard it Who dug the footings and laid the foundation? The one I climbed upon. Would shine through the darkness Who cut the stone for the pride of our nation? When you plant trees 7. You Could Have Loved Me With the love it contains. The laborers, carpenters, masons, and painters? 4. Cypress Canoe It’s not for tomorrow. Over, under, beside, and with I made it just for you. We don't talk about that. No shade tomorrow You rebuked my prepositions. I drew up the outline Can you keep it a secret? Can you hide All along the Potomac, there's cypress trees now. From them itty bitty seeds. Me there beside you, that would be bliss, Captured some starshine your shame? They're hard to cut, but I figured out how. It’s your children’s children But that ain’t my position. So you could step lightly Are you guilty if no one knows your name? Cypress won't rot and cypress is light Who‘ll look up and feel the wonder. You could have smiled the moment that I Wherever you go. It's over now, all in the past. Cypress is strong, for canoes it's just right. It’s like loving some person walked in. I made it just for you. The memories fade, maybe they won't last. So, one of those months I had nothing to do You might never chance to meet. You could have said “So happy to see you Opened that wooden box. Are some things better left unsaid I built me a cypress woodstrip canoe. Beavers, saws, nor windstorms again.” Put in a blue crystal Till all of the doers and victims are dead? My folks lived in Old Town when I was a kid. None can take a forest down. You could have suggested some romance and I knew you would smile when Might be a discussion we ought to have Cycling past tourists, that's what I did. Even when a fire burns through maybe some sin, You held it in the light. But we don't talk about that At the end of King Street, there was a palace for art. New sprouts come from the ground. You could have loved me, Then, Seeds of carnations Watching the buskers there gave me my start When the future seems the bleakest But you didn’t. the dirt that they grow in 3. We Don’t Do That Anymore I still like to visit those places I knew When there's no hope you can see, You could have run to kiss me on the You’ll have pink flowers A cooper has to know So I paddle around in my cypress canoe. That's when it's most important cheek When the spring shines so bright. How to make barrels out of trees For Hurricane Sandy when I was just nine To plant a few more trees. Or said words that’d keep me happy for a week. Intangibles coming next: How to shape thirty-six staves We sandbagged the house and it worked out just fine. Please grab your gloves and join me You could have lifted your skirt in a fit of pique. The sound of a 9th chord Hoop them tight so they won’t leak. The bags kept the water from pouring right in. It's time to plant some trees. You could have loved me A theme we might explore He knows about knots and runout We waited two days, it was dry again. But you didn’t Or a momentary now. And how to cut the croze But now, with the river just flowing right through, 6. We’re Gonna Need the Banjo All my overtures, you’ve just ignored A shade like a warm glow And where to drill the bung hole The only way home is my cypress canoe. Shackleton’s crew at the bottom of the world I’d write you a symphony, but you’d just act Or blue like your eyes know ‘Cause you gotta have one of those. I took my grandson to see my old home Their boat crushed by the floes. bored. I’ll ask you a question But, We don’t do that anymore Where down by the docks as a child I did roam. 400 miles to safety It does nothing for you to feel adored I hope you won’t say “No.” We’ve found a better way. He thought it was fun as we paddled along Pack light we’ve far to go. I know I loved you.... A pact between you and me. Relax and put your feet up Though most of the houses and buildings were gone. The Bible, books, and golden watch You could have baked me a steaming The bubble around us You don’t need to work today. My old home was boarded, not much we can do Thrown into the snow. apple pie Becomes a safe harbor We don’t do that anymore. We slid past the house in the cypress canoe. But we’re gonna need the banjo You’d be my lady, I’d be your guy Where none may intrude. How’d you learn that, anyway? They say when you grow up, you can never go back. To chase away the woe. I tried pretending, it seemed like a lie. Where hard work or travel We thank you for your time here The neighborhood changes, old foundations crack. Nothing’s finer, don’t tell Dinah, You could have loved me Our pact won’t unravel And hope you’ll be okay. Folks that you knew they die or move away Fly’s in the buttermilk, don’t you cry. But you didn’t A gift of the power But, we don’t do that anymore. But I never expected what I see today. But we’re gonna need the banjo Over, under, around, and through Love daily renewed. A railroad fireman has to know Half of a city awash in the tides Which nobody can deny. You rebuked my prepositions. Elevations up ahead When I think of what happened it tears my insides. The Buick slid across the road What could I say? What could I do 2. We Don’t Talk about That That How to make steam when it’s needed We could have been smarter, we could have planned It’s sinking in the lake. To improve your disposition? I once met a woman all beauty and grace. When to curb the fire instead But the world caught a fever, infected by man. Climbing out the window You could have said my home is where A hint of her history -- the lines on her face. He scoops coal into the firebox Now, I live on an island that once was a hill, There’s one thing I must take. you wanted to be I could tell from her voice, she wasn't born near. And reads the boiler dials Down by the old airport, they're building on fill. While others swam to safety You could have consented to marry me So I asked her "From where and how'd you get Someday he’ll be the engineer I love the Potomac, in the water I play, I had to swim back in You could have had my babies, or at least, two here?" Pulling iron along the miles. But I worry a gator might get me some day. We’re gonna need that banjo or three She turned away quick, voice raspy and gruff There’s romance in the old ways But 'til then I'll remember the home of my youth Let’s sing it once again. You could have loved me You've got a lot of nerve to ask me that stuff Satisfaction in your hands As I paddle around in my cypress canoe. The pipes they burst, the floor fell in But you didn’t Be off with you, I think I've had enough, The dirt stays piled, When the tree took down the house. All my overtures, you’ve just dismissed. cause we don't talk about that. The wood stays nailed Crawling through the timbers All my longing to see you, I’ll have to resist We don't talk about that. What’s built forever stands. 5. Granddad Planted Trees We barely made it out.

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