Notes Coming Soon!

1. Rosaryville

I feel a beating drum in my bones
And I know it’s calling me to go
Where the Spanish moss drapes the trees
And the bayou whispers to let it be

Come on, let’s go
Down the road to Rosaryville
Who knows what we will find
We won’t need much
On the road to Rosaryville
We can leave the world behind

It’s not easy marching out of time
When other voices tell you stay in line
Some will say it’s only wasted dreams
But they’ve never tasted wine so sweet

I see the big iron gates open wide
Follow your heart with me we’ll take a ride

Kate Campbell / Ira Campbell / Johnny Pierce
© 1998 Large river Music (BMI) / Cedarsong Publishing (BMI)

2. Porcelain Blue

She is standing in the garden silently astute
Waiting for the sun to come and kiss away the dew
How can she be so translucent from my window view
I can see her heart clear through in porcelain blue

You can find me in the city where the music grooves
Surrounded by a misty brew of magic and voodoo
Lying in my bed in the sultry afternoon
I can hear those saints go marching through in porcelain blue

I will follow in that number
And I hope to meet you there
Blessed Mary please don’t slumber
Pray for us who need your care

Staring at this vase searching for my muse
If lovers die together are they forever fused
I’ve heard love’s eternal and I wonder if it’s true
Underneath this crescent city moon in porcelain blue

Kate Campbell / Ira Campbell
© 1998 Large River Music (BMI)

3. Rosa’s Coronas

Como estas? My name is Rosa and like my mother before me
Everyday I roll cigars and they’re the finest in the world
To pass the time the reader reads about the violence in America
And I pray for my daughter and her baby girl

Late one night they took a boat ninety miles from Havana
To escape the only life I’ve ever known
She could have been just like me, a well-respected working woman
Who believes in her country and her home

And I wonder as I roll where will each one go
Will they land in the hands of kings and presidents
It’s an art, it’s a skill, and some would even kill
Just for one of Rosa’s coronas

It’s everywhere in the news that John Paul is on his way
And for years I’ve longed to see the Holy Father’s parade
We’ve been told not to go or production falls behind
But I know the quota won’t be made that day

Kate Campbell / Ira Campbell / Johnny Pierce
© 1999 Large river Music (BMI) / Cedarsong Publishing (BMI)

4. In My Mother’s House

Photographs and old forty-fives
Stowed beneath a homecoming gown
Pictures of me at sweet sixteen
But everything’s not as it seems
In my mother’s house

When I go home for holidays
There’s so much to talk about
And sometimes we disagree
On politics and theology
In my mother’s house

The chimes in the hall sound every hour
The sun and moon go ’round
Time flies by and fades like the flower
And I can’t slow it down

I spend my days with music and words
Playing these songs from town to town
And everyone sees what they want to see
But I’m just the girl who used to sing
In my mother’s house

I am a prodigal daughter
But in my wandering I have found
There is a wideness in mercy
And there’ll always be a place for me
In my mother’s house

Kate Campbell / Ira Campbell / Johnny Pierce
© 1998 Large river Music (BMI) / Cedarsong Publishing (BMI)

5. Heart Of Hearts

The story is told strange as it sounds
In Louisiana a turtle fell from the clouds
Some just believe, some only doubt
And some proclaim they’ve got it all figured out
Some keep their thoughts to themselves
Afraid to come out of their shell

In my heart of hearts
I want to believe that love never fails
And peace will prevail
And hope lives on
If I can get to the deepest part
Inside my heart of hearts

There is a man who used bowling balls
To make a rosary in his yard on the ground
Some people laugh, some only frown
Some shake their heads and wonder what it’s about
Some walk around counting prayers
Looking to find faith to spare

Some like to hear themselves talk
But seldom say anything at all

Kate Campbell / Ira Campbell / Johnny Pierce
© 1998 Large river Music (BMI) / Cedarsong Publishing (BMI)

6. Fade To Blue

Every night it’s the same routine
He has some hurting he’s got to do
Sets up a shrine to her memory
So he can fade to blue

He takes her picture from its hiding place
Tells it he loves her a time or two
Carefully touches her unchanging face
Watches her fade to blue

Blue as the flame in the candle he lights
Bluer than indigo ink
Bluer than Beale Street on Saturday night
Blue as her eyes used to be

Every morning he wakes up from the dream
Puts on a mask no one else sees through
Goes through the motions of being free
Drives home to fade to blue

Seems like the right thing to do
Sit down and fade to blue

Kate Campbell / Walt Aldridge
© 1995 Fame Publishing Company Inc. (BMI)
Rick Hall Music Inc. / Watertown Music (ASCAP)

7. Who Will Pray For Junior

Thomas passed away last June
And I’ll be following him soon
Junior will be left here all alone
Oh how it worries me so

Jesus sent him to us late
An angel to brighten up our day
Who will tell him stories and sing him bedtime songs
Who will pray for Junior when I’m gone

Sometimes I can’t help but cry
When I look into my Junior’s eyes
He reaches out and takes my hand
I know he doesn’t understand

A mother’s love a son will sorely miss
I’ve made my peace with everything but this
But that’s the thing that keeps me hanging on
Who will pray for Junior when I’m gone

Suffer the children
This is my plea
Oh Lord could you keep him
In the shadow of your wings

Lord forgive my asking if it’s wrong
Who will pray for Junior when I’m gone

Kate Campbell / Ira Campbell
© 1998 Large River Music (BMI)

8. Rosemary

Her voice was the first I knew
She always liked popular tunes
You know she’s from Kentucky too
My mother sings
Sounds like to me
Rosemary Clooney

Can’t miss the start of the race
I wanna hear the song they play
I think of her on Derby Day
My mother sings
Sounds like to me
Rosemary Clooney

Smooth as silk
Rich and deep
With just a hint
Of Whiskey

Her voice was the first I knew
She really could play those St. Louis Blues
And you’d know if you heard her croon
My mother sings
Or could it be Rosemary sounds
Like my mother Sue

Kate Campbell
© 1998 Large River Music (BMI)

9. Look Away

I can still recall the night
Lightning burned the mansion down
We all stood in out pajamas
On that hallowed southern ground
When the flames had turned to ashes
Only blackened bricks remained
And sixteen stately Doric columns
There beneath a veil of gray

And it’s a long and slow surrender
Retreating from the past
It’s important to remember
To fly the flag half-mast
And look away

I was taught by elders wiser
Love your neighbor, love your God
Never saw a cross on fire
Never saw an angry mob
I saw sweet magnolia blossoms
I chased lightening bugs at night
Never dreaming others saw our way of life
In black and white

Part of me hears voices crying
Part of me can feel their weight
Part of me believes that mansion
Stood for something more than hate

Kate Campbell / Walt Aldridge
© 1995 Fame Publishing Company Inc. (BMI)
Rick Hall Music Inc. / Watertown Music (ASCAP)

10. Ave Maria Grotto

Brother Joseph was a simple man
Collected rubbish for his building plans
Alabama clay, shells from the sea
Broken china plates and rosary beads

Ave Maria
Ave Maria

Well he never saw the wonders of the world
But he built them all in perfect miniature
People talk about the places they’ve been
But Joseph found peace within

And when time erodes all things manmade
True devotion will still remain

Kate Campbell / Ira Campbell
© 1998 Large River Music (BMI)

Kate Campbell’s music has been compared to that of Mary Chaplin Carpenter, Lucinda Williams and Nanci Griffith – yet in all honesty, Campbell’s sound is hers and hers alone. Rosaryville, Campbell’s fourth album, is full of intricate details concerning the wise and humble characters whom Campbell brings to life. From the mother and daughter of “In My Mother’s House” to the Cuban cigar maker in “Rosa’s Coronas,” Campbell’s songs speak of everyday folks and their everyday, real life struggles and small miracles. Campbell’s voice is absolutely beautiful and her backing players deliver sparse songs with uncluttered finesse and unplugged power.

– American Roots

Don’t miss the persuasively talented Kate Campbell, whose new album, Rosaryville, features gems like “Rosa’s Coronas,” which in three minutes reveals more about an individual’s life and character than most writers manage in thousands of words. (P.S. to Music Row: Campbell’s “A Perfect World,” from an earlier album, is a gleaming ballad waiting for a country diva to turn it into a song-of-the-year candidate.)

– Michael McCall, Nashville Scene