Story Behind The Song

Lots, and all inspired by happenings in my grandmother's house when she was little... including the reference to a bootlegging cousin who moved to Cincinnati from the mountains and rented a two-flat in downtown Cincinnati, so he could live downstairs and run his still upstairs. He was finally arrested and represented himself. He was found innocent and the judge had the bailiff help him carry all the mysterious hardware back to the apartment. Come to live shows for more details on these and other stories behind these songs...

Song Description

A song inspired by my great-grandfather's family life and ways as told to me by his daughter in her stories of daily life with him.

Lyrics

Little bluebird singing in a tree
Little baby lying close to me
Sunday morning, get up and make some tea
Some biscuits and some bacon and some ham
My mother's cousin, when we lived in Price Hill,
Was making Kentucky whiskey in a Cincinnati still
And selling all the bottles Prohibition let him fill
There never was a smarter nicer man

Hear the lady who is laughing with her husband on board
On board that old New River Train
They're making jokes about the people from the mountains
Yeah, who talk and talk and talk about their kin
That's the group I'm in

Had some family drop by the other day
With a suitcase and their noisy funny way
Of kind of announcing that they would need to stay
Until they found some work that led somewhere
I moved the table, put some more eggs in the pan
Then my uncle, who was the oldest man
Said Thank you all for doing what you can
Then he leaned in kind of close so I could hear, he said

(Chorus)
It don't matter if people call you mister or sir
Or where you live or what you've seen
What can you do with what's immediately around you
How do you spend your time and what do you believe

That little bluebird singing in a tree
Won't tell my baby all the things that she can't be
That little songbird reminds me I am free
And other things a bluebird understands

Like (chorus)