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Week 17 - New Strings On An Old Guitar (04​-​22​-​18)

from Song A Week, Volume 3 by James Tristan Redding

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Co-written with Colby Pelzel.

lyrics

Grandpa ran the auction house down in Abilene
Taught me what a dollar’s worth if you know what I mean
Late one Tuesday evening after everyone went home
The auctioneers quit early and they left me there alone

Up there in the attic in between some mason jars
Knocked an inch of saw dust off a beat up old guitar
Buried just like treasure made of wood instead of gold
A chipboard case of magic full of stories to be told

Now everybody says don’t judge the cover of a book
Just needs a little love to sound much better than it looks
You can find me every Friday singing all night at the bar
With brand new strings on an old guitar

Just like mama’s kitchen table made of Southern ash
It took awhile to save enough but it was worth the cash
There was something special in between the worn out frets
And all the roads it’s been down, man it’s anybody’s guess

Well anyone who knows will say guitars are just like wine
The good ones cost a bundle and get better over time
So after several decades up there getting lots of rest
It’s whispering to me that it’s still got a few songs left

Now everybody says don’t judge the cover of a book
Just needs a little love to sound much better than it looks
You can find me every Friday singing all night at the bar
With brand new strings on this old guitar

If this guitar could talk I wonder just what would it say
What kind of secrets would its stories give away
Something about a highway and a stage it can’t forget
Me and this guitar we’re gonna’ make it a duet

credits

from Song A Week, Volume 3, released February 12, 2019

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James Tristan Redding image

James Tristan Redding Nashville, Tennessee

British-American songwriter, singer, audiobook narrator, studio player, Godin Guitars official artist.

Founded global collective www.SongAWeek.org, performance art experience The Under Over: tinyurl.com/uoxuo (song circle underneath a highway) and writing retreat www.TheNashville24.com (annual challenge: write 24 songs in 24 hours).

Cuts by Sarah Harralson, Eli Alger, Emma Gale, David Easterling ... more

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