Lyrics

Scott Sings the Blues
©Drexel Rayford, Vagrants Chapel Music, 2004

I first learned these licks about 30 years ago.
I was living in Europe, my career was kinda slow.
I had a flat in Salzburg with a view of the Schloss out back;
When one day I met a man who carried his guitar in a sack.

I had gotten off the bus in the city’s old town.
It was rainy, it was foggy, the whole sky seemed to frown;
But this guy was grinning through a thicket of facial hair.
He pointed at my guitar case, said, “What kinda axe you got in there?”

Well, it was cold, it was wet, and I didn’t want to wait;
But I said, “This here’s a Martin D-28.”
He said, “You must play bluegrass.” I said, “Yeah, sometimes I do.”
He said, “Well, I come from Glasgow and I play the blues.”

I said, “Well that explains your English, but it don’t explain the blues.
You’ll excuse my prejudice, but your skin’s the wrong hue.”
He threw back his head and he let out a belly laugh.
He said, “Well come by my place, lad, and we’ll see about that.”

Well, you never can tell when the lessons are gonna come.
They could be anywhere, they could be anyone.
When the student is ready the teacher shows up, I am told.
You can’t cause light, but you can bask in its beam;
And sometimes our lives feel less real than our dreams
There’s a mystery to living that none of us can control. Oh my soul.

Now, back in those days I aspired to be a star.
I thought it should be special when I played guitar.
And this guy? (He was nuthin!”Heck, he carried his guitar in a sack!
Perhaps if I went to his place I could teach him something that he lacked.

So I said, “I’d really love to see how a Scot plays the blues!
Let’s go to your place and see what you can do.”
He said, “Great. You’ll meet my wife and she’ll put on a kettle of stew.”
And I laughed to myself. Imagine! A Scot playing blues!

He led me down the street and around a couple of bends;
Up some steps to his door where his wife let us in.
And I saw she was a beauty that Scotty had good reason to admire.
She pulled out two stools and we sat down by the fire.

That’s when he pulled out his guitar and he started to play;
And my cynical smirk soon melted away.
‘Cause he played with a spirit that came from down deep;
That set his fingers to dancing and caused me to weep
I needed the beer his wife set by my place to help wipe the astonishment off of my face.
I saw this old Scotsman had something to share so in spite of my ego I started to care!

I took a deep breath, said, “You took me by surprise!”
He chuckled a bit, said, “I saw it in your eyes.”
I said, “Show me how you did that, otherwise, I’ll be sick.”
He said, “Well, this is how ya do it,” and he taught me this lick!

You see, you never can tell when the lessons are gonna come.
They could be anywhere, they could be anyone.
When the student is ready the teacher shows up, I am told.
You can’t cause light, but you can bask in its beam;
And sometimes our lives feel less real than our dreams
There’s a mystery to living that none of us can control. Oh my soul

Well I really had the feel that Scott and I could be friends
But the sad thing is I never saw him again
When I asked the flat’s owner, she said they moved away rather quick
But you know? Ol’ Scotty’s with me every time I play his lick.