Song picture
From Hobbs to Howland
Comment Share
Americana, story
women history flight amelia earhart
Folk singer, social commentary, satire, people's stories, children's music
Hi Folks, The Bard Insurgent here. My comrade D.O. (the Poet Roofer) and I got that handle (The Bard Insurgents) from traveling town to town performing songs and poetry about people's lives. I've been performing since I was 3 years old, cutting my vocal chords on liturgical and classical music. I was a concert soloist as a child, when I wasn't herding cows, throwing hay and shoveling manure. During the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam war, I began writing songs about social change. I left the country in 1970 and my dozen years in other countries, mostly in Africa & South America, have provided a global perspective to my music. My travels helped me realize that people all around the world are essentially the same in their basic life needs and their desires to live peacefully in their communities. These experiences have informed my commitment to working for international understanding as I organize at home. A powerful way to educate and inspire is with music. I tell people's stories, do social commentary with a touch of satire that I hope you enjoy and share with your friends, as well as sing together in the streets and in your living rooms. I also have children's music written for the children in my life with Jacob and Kayla as primary muses. Looking forward to seeing you on the road, Tom
Song Info
Genre
Country Americana
Charts
Peak #98
Peak in subgenre #11
Author
tom neilson
Rights
2006
Uploaded
September 16, 2016
Track Files
MP3
MP3 3.7 MB 128 kbps 4:02
Story behind the song
Amelia's Earhart's emergency landing in Hobbs, NM in 1928
Lyrics
5 miles past the West Texas line Lost in the twilight, no landmark can find. Southwestern scenery all looks the same Nowhere to put down the plane Aerial map safety pinned to your skirt Was flying in the air somewhere over Ft. Worth. Flying by your wits was all you could do Till East Broadway beckoned to you. Breaking all speed limits driving down Main Thankful for Hobbs to put down the plane. Taxied right up to the edge of town To a gas station pump as the sun went down Now Hobbs was a bustling oil boom town But it hadn’t seen nothing till you hit the ground No helmet no aviator’s uniform But Amelia wasn’t the norm 9 years from now with the wind in your hair Will you think of Hobbs & that runway there Off course, out of fuel, & completely lost, you said The thrill of the journey is worth the cost. No pretense, matter of fact was she Flying into our hearts & history Sun-burned & freckled & wearin your dress Quiet, soft-spoken, & needing a rest. Mary Frances said you were a sight Owl eyes peeking out through dirt from the flight. 5 yo Bingham Beal said you looked differently Anyone flying, a man it should be. chorus Helen Neithercutt managed the Hotel, Said she came in to use the phone Then had a bite at the Owl café, This vagabond, travelin alone. 9 years from now with the wind in your hair Will you think of Hobbs & that runway there Off course, out of fuel, & completely lost But the thrill of the journey is worth the cost. Somewhere over the water tonight Breathin New Guinea air You were our first woman in flight First lady of the air.
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