A Good Bad Road
Release Date: 2004
Neo-Retro Folk Rock, heavily under the influence of Neil Young and the Beatles… CAUTION: May contain environmental or socio-political overtones…
Singer/songwriter, wildlife biologist, Randy Riviere and guitarist Michael Ward journey down A Good Bad Road joined by a host of accomplished musicians…
Album Narrative
A Good Bad Road was my first record. Like most first records I guess, it was somewhat a collection of material from days gone by.
Days gone by at the time (2003) involved music all the way … writing, playing … and also the Army, truck driving coast to coast, drill rigs. College. Managing a food processing facility. The Fish and Wildlife Service. More College. My own environmental consulting business. Then I finally decided to get back to music, more or less full time. And that started with the A Good Bad Road’ album.
I got a degree in wildlife biology. Science. Man, how did that long-haired country boy (see Charlie Daniels) with his Firebird and Peavy short-stack get through a University science program? I mean, I took like Ag Math in high school. Barely made it through. I don’t remember how.
Anyway, so yeah, I care a lot about the fate of whatever wildlife habitat and open space we have left. So I did all I could through restoration work and conservation easements that protected important ground permanently. I did tons of work (literally) trying to restore some semblance of California waterscapes that had been particularly ripped apart. Moved lots of dirt making new wetland habitat.
I was reading a lot of Edward Abbey at the time leading up to this record. So, thusly, A Good Bad Road … you know, rough ass roads that might keep the developers away. Or they’d get lost in a pothole along the way. But, wishful thinking. The reality is that you have to protect the land … conservation easements that keep landowners who give a shit (there’s lots of them) on their land, and outright purchases for wildlife refuges, National Forests, National Parks, National Monuments, etc. that hold the relentless developers at bay. Thank God for Teddy Roosevelt. He created all of these types of public lands at a massive scale. He put about 230 million acres of important landscapes under federal protection. 230 million!
“I’d have a notion for Mars if it would pencil out too”. There were several tunes that kind of spoke to these issues. I think the one that stood out on Bad Road was “Needles”. This one is about our greedy developer friends focusing on the SE deserts. Abbey’s country. Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas and etc particularly. “I’m headed out through Needles, to light the desert night”. Of course none of that would have happened without water. So they went after it via Hoover Dam, Glen Canyon Dam and others … the Colorado River. With the lions share really diverted to Los Angeles. See “China Town”, and Reisner’s “Cadillac Desert”, and of course Edward Abbey.
I could go on and on of course. Like talking about the 1,300 or so dams CA has … every river in the state has at least one dam, except for one I think. The main reason why almost all of the historical wetland and riparian acres there are just gone.
On the music side, I was really lucky to end up working with Earle Mankey at his studio in Thousand Oaks, CA. Earle just got it and was great to work with. A Good Bad Road is one of three albums I did with him.
I was also really lucky to get to work with some wonderful musicians: Michael Ward, Bob Glaub, Reggie Mckensie, and Gregg Thomas. Michael was an extremely talented guitarist and was with me on three albums. We had a lot of fun making this record. RIP my friend.
Track List & Lyrics
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Saw you down on that dusty road
With hair all tangled and free
You just turned and gave me a greasy smile
On your way down to TennesseeOh oh oh oh oh oh
It don’t take a village
To get you what you needRed moon over smoky sky
Makes it hard to see
But you’ve got an edge on that rocky ledge
Where you know misfortune beOh oh oh oh oh oh
You can pay for all of Virginia
But these dogs will howl for freeYou can pay for all of Virginia
But this dog will howl for freeI’m thinking about ragged jeans and coyote dreams
Out in the weeds where livin’ is free
I think I’ll buy an old truck and with a little luck
I’ll find a little edge for meOh oh oh oh oh oh
If you pave over Virginia
These dogs will go to TennesseeIf you pave over Virginia
This dog will go to Tennessee© 2003 Randy Riviere
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Born in good grass and fields of stone
To me and the javelina this is our home
Where the air is blue and the sky is high
You can take a long walk and never say goodbyeChorus
You won’t see me on your holiday
I’m out here in this silver sage alone
And all there is between us my friend
Is a good bad roadRaised on waves of sun unkind
Had to grow thorns just to survive
Where the sand can blow like a driving snow
I’ve never heard a sound that I don’t knowHear the thunder
And I wonder
If I’m gonna make it homeGrown old on time I used for free
And giving back something is all right by me
Where the wind and raven touch the ground
There’s a place not needing another town© 2003 Randy Riviere
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Little bird sitting on the window sill
In that hard north wind there’s a bitter chill
You were fledged young and now out on your own
Has the air gotten colder now that you’re grown?Hey hey, you’re out on your way
Can’t keep this world from turning
You’d better get down south todayThere’s a ribbon of highway on the edge of town
Where you can hear the engines whining and see the wheels roll around
And inside there’s only concrete and buildings so tall
They keep the sun from shining and the trees don’t grow at allHey hey, you’re out on your way
Can’t keep this world from turning
You’d better get down south todayChorus
Trouble’s not something you want
Trouble’s not something you need
No one gave you nothing to start
No one gives you nothing for freeLittle bird you got away
From that iron hand of winter and all the crows that came your way
Outside there’s fields that grow
Seeds of truth and timber to stop the winter when it blowsHey hey, you’re out on your way
Can’t keep this world from turning
You’d better get down south today© 2003 Randy Riviere
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I’m standing on top of the world
I’m standing on top of the worldI worked all day and schemed all night
Gotta get their ground just to get it all right
Have an ocean of cars to get through too
I’d have a notion for Mars if it would pencil out tooI’m standing on top of the world
I’m standing on top of the worldChorus
Now I’m headed out through Needles
To light the desert nightI’m standing on top of the world
I’m standing on top of the worldIf we build the supply we’ll create the need
And it will trickle on down to you and me
We’ll butter our bread while we make them go lean
My American dream is red, white, blue and greenI’m standing on top of the world
I’m standing on top of the worldA river runs wild if you let it go free
And if you take it all then there’s none for me
But the grass is green and the blades are long
And I aint feeling all right because it’s all gone wrongI’m standing on top of the world
I’m standing on top of the world© 2002 Randy Riviere
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Little eyes see
When it is that I go
Little eyes need
What it is that I knowChorus
I’m tired of all the running
What I need I can’t get with their money
I’ve got to find some timeA ranger walks the line
From the anger of his time
The crusader looks ahead
For what it was he left behindThe wind took down our oak
Up on the hill the other day
I tried to count the rings
But got lost along the way© 2003 Randy Riviere
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Faces that you’ll never know
Places that you’ll never go
A stranger is standing in the morning haze
Is he coming to end your days?Chorus
In Idaho … where the tired old warrior sleeps
In Idaho … with his anger down at his feet
In Idaho … through these snows he’s marched in time
In Idaho … it’s how he feels about human kindThe children are playing in the city square
And tomorrow will be only theirs
Yesterday’s glory is barely known
But now it’s all you ownI don’t want to talk about it
Don’t even want to think about it
And I don’t ever want to dieI can regain that feeling
My arms, legs and hands are tingling
If I could only tell you whyI’ve given my blood for leaving
But only my heart is bleeding
Does it really hurt to say goodbye?© 2003 Randy Riviere
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Seventy five miles from my prairie home
Where I packed up one winter and left alone
Her eyes were tender as the morning sun
One look and I knew that she was the oneChorus
Time has got to get along
And it won’t make way for the weak or the strong
But I still miss my prairie home…its home…its homeMother’s coffee and a fresh made bed
The sound of the chickens from the corner shed
But father’s plow had turned to rust
‘Cause his father’s ground had turned to dust© 2001 Randy Riviere
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It’s good to see you my old friend
They’re waiting at the gates out front again
What they’re after I don’t know?
This is just Camp Disappointment
We left smoke in the valley at Rimrock Bend
We took blood on that prairie in a driving wind
What can I tell them to make them know?
This is just Camp DisappointmentWe polled up that river to an open land
To watch them fill it up with their hopes of man
What can I say to make them understand?
This is just Camp DisappointmentIt’s good to see you my old friend
But those days gone by can’t come again
What can I tell you that you don’t know?
This is just Camp Disappointment© 2001 Randy Riviere
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We came the way our mothers came
And we’ve run from the son’s of the older ones
We see what’s been seen by those shackled & free
We dream like our fathers dreamed
And we make with our hands tools
To move the sea and the sand
Like a gun in their handsOur children run on roads undone
That were carved from hills that went to the sun
When you blow them away
It makes it harder to staySilver cars and fancy bars
You can get blinded by the light in the darkest night
We can drive to the Keys
And be there by threeIn the pounding rain the levee holds
‘Cause it’s built from the blood of our young & old
Put a stone in for me
And I want it for freeSell it high and buy it low
Melt all your gold just to watch it flow
It’ll flow & flow
So you can grow & growWe dream like our fathers dreamed
And we make with our hands tools
To move the sea & the sand
Just like a gun in their hands© 2001 Randy Riviere
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Trouble down the road at Sante Fe
Trouble up the coast at Redwood Bay
There’s a fire on the ridge and we better run
They’ve got a big hunger and it’s just for fun
Trouble down the road at Sante FeChorus
I’ve got a hold of a live wire
I’ve gotta pretty girl and she knows just what to do
I’ve gotta pretty girl and she knows just what to do
When the lights go out we get amused
As the world goes by outside our view
I’ve gotta pretty girl and she knows just what to doMet the devil on the banks of the Rio Grande
Met the devil on the banks of the Rio Grande
I tried to speak but was unaware
I tried to sing but it wasn’t there
Met the devil on the banks of the Rio Grande© 2002 Randy Riviere
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The scene was a land
Where the sun gave life to man
And love was their need
But they came in from the sea
ChorusFor thirteen strips of iron
They’d throw you down
In that hell holdFor six thousand miles
In a five by five
In that hell holdIf you want day light
You’d get it over the side
From that hell holdSeeds only grow
In the ground where they are sowed
They need warmth from the sky
And the care of a watchful eyeGreed only knows
What it is that will make you grow
You’re free from day to day
Since you know that there’s a better way© 2003 Randy Riviere
Credits
Guitars
Randy Riviere
Michael Ward
Vocals
Randy Riviere
Sherrie Pedigo
Bass
Bob Glaub
Reggie McBride
Gary McKensie
Drums
Dave Hawkes
Nick Marrone
Gregg Thomas
Keyboards and Sax
Marty Grebb
All songs written by Randy Riviere
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Earle Mankey in Thousand Oaks, California