Six Rooms And A Path

I posted this one about 7 or 8 years ago. I polished it up a bit in Audacity. I think the vocal is still a little louder than ideal. But the instrumental tracks sound quite a bit better. It's an acoustic country swing tune with fiddle on the lead. I had to really work on that acoustic bass to get a full sound without too much mush. I think it came out pretty good. I mixed the drums (mostly a sidestick) such that they are barely audible. When I brought them up - even a small amount - they sounded too modern/fancy. So I left them as they were.

Until I was 9 or 10 years old, we lived on a farm out in the boonies, not too far from Troy, Missouri. We never had indoor plumbing. But in 1954, the REA (Rural Electric Association) hooked us up with electricity. But six months later, we moved into town. Go figure! The lyrical story is pretty close to how I grew up.

The verses are all AAAA pattern and the choruses are AABB. Since the music doesn't change significantly in the choruses - although the chord pattern does - I thought changing the rhyming pattern would help to differentiate the choruses.

As an aside: That big wood-burning stove in the kitchen left a pretty big scar on my belly when I walked into it in the middle of the night. I was either 5 or 6 years old. That was a pretty big ouch!




File:Al - Six Rooms And A Path.SGU

Key=C , Tempo 154, Length (m:s)=3:38

Style is _BAGGM_B.STY (Bouncy Pop Swing (165 RS))

RealTracks in style: ~537:Bass, Acoustic, Pop Sw 165
RealTracks in style: ~375:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Hank Sw 165
RealTracks in style: ~373:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Hank Sw 165
RealTracks in style: 616:Mandolin, Rhythm Bouncy Sw 165
RealTracks in song: 1871:Fiddle, Soloist WesternSwingAndy Sw 165
RealDrums in style: PopBouncy^2-a:Sidestick,



Six Rooms And A Path

© 2004, Alan D. David, BMI
Revised 2023
All Rights Reserved

(v1)
I reckon it’s gone but I really can’t say
‘Cause I’ve never been back since Mom passed away
That old farm house, white paint faded gray
Where I grew up and learned how to pray

(v2)
We didn’t have much but we owned it all
Sixty-five acres if I recall
Close by his side, I worked with my pa
Plant every spring and harvest each fall

(Chorus)
No running water no electrical lights
No air conditioning on those hot summer nights
A galvanized tub served as our bath
I’ll always remember six rooms and a path

(v3)
In a plaid cotton shirt and old denim pants
Pa worked till his muscles knotted in cramps
We all had our chores, even Granny and Gramps
I cleaned the shades on the kerosene lamps

(v4)
We’d sit on the porch at the end of the day
And watched as the sun slowly faded away
Then came the crickets as night found its way
Chirping in the corn, the fescue and hay

Repeat Chorus

(v5)
A pot-bellied stove kept all of us warm
With Rover on guard we were safe from all harm
Out on the fence not far from the barn
That Rhode Island Red was our morning alarm

(v6)
It stood in the kitchen on four iron feet
That wood-burner stove, man, it was neat
Cooked all our green beans, potatoes and meat
Baked Mama’s biscuits, made hot cream of wheat

(Bridge)
Confused by the outhouse, with three holes on the shelf
There are a few things I’d rather do by all by myself

Repeat Chorus

Last edited by Al-David; 12/04/23 12:05 AM.
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