From the recording THE MARIONETTE: This & That from Hither & Yon
This song was not written for a show of any kind, but it is the second one I ever wrote that I still perform. The first was Iron Burns. Like Iron Burns, this song was written in a previous lifetime, during the late eighties, while I was working as an entertainer at The Shepherd of the Hills homestead in Branson, Missouri. Most days, I drove around as Albert Gamble, in a horse-drawn buggy peddling a cure-all, miracle elixir. It was a fun gig. I got paid to run around acting like an idiot all day. It suited me.
One bright summer morning, I was sitting in my buggy behind my horse, Tony (yes, Tony), atop Inspiration Point looking out over the hills stretching down into Arkansas, watching a summer storm roll in from the south. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the gathering clouds, forming ranks, cast shadows that slid over the hills as they approached. I thought to myself, “This is what great sailing ships must look like from under the sea”. It was a beautiful, cloudy day. I never managed to get a recording of this song that matched what I was hearing in my head until this one. A version of it was included on Solitaire, but I wanted to hear a little something more. This was recorded at some point in 2016, with piano & synth added in 2025. It is by far, my favorite.
Lyrics
July skies ride on humid highs
Rain is in the air
Like butterflies, time flutters by
I wish you were here
Dusty, green summer valleys seem to wait for the rain
Shadows slide under cloudy skies
My mind flies home again
And thunder rolls like hills below
With mallets on anvils of fleece
And tucked under covers by sweet nature’s mother
The sun pretends to sleep
On a beautiful cloudy day
When the summertime showers are beckoned this way
On a beautiful cloudy day
Remember the wishes, recall the ways
On a beautiful cloudy day
Off in the distance, the cause meets resistance
And the clash is felt in the wind
Oh, the hill country sky breathes a still, sultry sigh
And a child wanders homeward again
Windblown, the leaves in the breeze
Have flown far since their first glimpse of light
When suntanned and barefoot the days began,
Warm ‘neath a morning sky
And you and I were eye to eye and wrestled in the sun
With Kool-Aid mustaches and knees behind patches
All the things that we done
On a beautiful cloudy day
When the summertime showers are destined to stay
On a beautiful cloudy day
Remember the wishes and recall the ways
On a beautiful cloudy day
When you and I were eye to eye
And wrestled in the sun
With Kool-Aid mustaches
And knees behind patches
All the things that we done
On a beautiful cloudy day
On a beautiful cloudy day
Remember the wishes, recall the ways
On a beautiful cloudy day
Remember the wishes, recall the ways
On a beautiful cloudy day
Music & Lyrics by David Greathouse
© 1989, Sourdough Music, ASCAP