I had the honor Saturday night to introduce three different Bluegrass bands to a small but appreciative audinece. One of the bands was the James King Band. King is known as the Bluegrass Story Teller and there couldn't be a more appropriate name for him.
Two of the songs he sang Saturday evening were Echo Mountain and The Bed by the Window. These are two of my favorite bluegrass songs.
Below are the lyrics to each song. Each are very sad and very moving.
King sang The Bed by the Window as his encore Saturday evening. When he concluded there were tears in his eyes. If you've ever heard the songs, you'll know why.
Echo Mountain
Now up on Echo Mountain, in the spring of thirty-two
Jim and Becky Johnson with a bible and a mule
Set out to raise a family but the baby didn’t come
So when they found that old stray hound they loved him like a son
But soon their prayers were answered; the baby had his momma’s eyes
How that old dog loved him, he would never leave his side
They could always trust that faithful hound with the baby they all loved
‘Til the day the child was missin’, and the dog was drenched in blood
Now the cries on Echo Mountain are a painful thing to hear
All the neighbors know the reason for the Johnson’s bitter tears
When a man don’t use good judgment it’s the innocent who pays
Now the cries on Echo Mountain will haunt you to this day.
Jim picked up his rifle, he shot and killed the hound
Oh, but there inside the cabin, was the baby safe and sound
When they found the back door open and two wolves lyin’ still
They knew they’d made a grave mistake with the righteous blood they spilled
Now up on Echo Mountain you’ll find a lonesome grave
Marked with the handmade marble stone that reads “God bless the brave”
When daddy tells the story of the dog that saved my life
He always asks forgiveness and the tears still fill his eyes
Now the cries on Echo Mountain are a painful thing to hear
All the neighbors know the reason for the Johnson’s bitter tears
When a man don’t use good judgment it’s the innocent who pays
Now the cries on Echo Mountain will haunt you to this day.
When a man don’t use good judgment it’s the innocent who pays
Now the cries on Echo Mountain will haunt you to this day.
Bed By the Window
Two old friends shared a room in a home for the elderly
Confined to their beds their bodies giving way
Old Joe lay by the window and watched the day go by
And Bill lived to hear him tell about the world outside
They shared with each other the stories of their lives
And relived all their memories and dreams of a better time
Outside the leaves were changing, summer turned to fall
And from the bed by the window old Joe described it all
From, the bed by the window he'd tell how the children played
The lovers in the park, the ducks out on the lake
The little boy swept the sidewalk when the sun came up each day
From the bed by the window he told it just that way
On a cold winter morning in the light of the dawn
The bed by the window was empty old Joe had passed and gone
They moved Bill by the window he couldn't hold back the tears
He'd finally see the view outside after all these years
From the bed by the window he couldn't see out at all
There was nothing out that window but an old brick wall
A new friend shares a room in a home for the elderly
Confined to his bed his body has given way
Now Bill lay by the window as the days go by
And his new friend left to hear him tell about the world outside
From, the bed by the window he'd tell how the children played
The lovers in the park, the ducks out on the lake
The little boy swept the sidewalk when the sun came up each day
From the bed by the window he told it just that way
Two old friends shared a room in a home for the elderly
