La Route à Chicago

Un homme me dirait cette route c’est le chemin de Chicago,

Il faut que je vais à ma cité.

Il faut que je retourne, retourne a voir mes enfants,

Retourne a voir la fille que j’ai marié.

J’ai été voyageur,

Pour un course interminable,

Je ne sais que je trouverais,

J’ai peur de que je trouverais,

Mais il faut que je les voir encore un fois.

He, excusez-moi monsieur, mais conduisez vous à Chicago?

He bien, pouvez vous me conduire dans votre voiture?

Merci, pourquoi vais-je à Chicago? Sans motif déterminé.

A voir de certains gens qui j’ai connu.

Moi je suis un commis voyageur, et je m’amuse.

Oui c’est la vie un homme peut tenter.

Bien sur j’ai joué, j’ai perdu, mais qui …. tous les frais.

Il faut que vous prenez plus que vous donnez

He avez-vous une autre cigare?

Mon ami j’aime beaucoup votre voiture.

Oh, c’est un cadeau de votre père?

Moi, je pense que tous les dons,

Tous les dons que je n’achetais pas.

Laissez-moi ici s’il vous plait, et merci.

Oui, j’ai voyagé, oui, je suis …

Je n’ai jamais pas un sous pour boire.

Je étais partir trouver le succès,

Car je ne pouvais rester,

Voir mes enfants en leur désespoir.

Je reconnais cette route el va direct à Chicago,

Mais puis j’allais la encore.

Ah non, non, je ne puis pas, je ne puis pas marcher cette route a Chicago

Ils sont plus content en pensant que je suis mort.

J'ai été voyageur,

Pour en course interminable.

Je ne sais que je trouverais,

J’ai peur de que je trouverais.

Je ne puis pas, je ne puis pas continuer en cette route.

Newspaper Reviews '69-'70

The following are (excerpts of) newspaper articles published in 1969 or 1970, in chronological order.


SPIDER JOHN KOERNER & WILLIE MURPHY / DAVID ACLES / DAVID STEINBERG
CONCERT NEW YORK APRIL 1969
CASH BOX May 3

David Ackles, also with Elektra, is another singer/composer. Some of his songs possess incredible beauty (such as Road to Cairo, the title tune from his first LP), some impressive humor (such as Money for Cigarettes) but several of his tunes tend to sound too similar for our taste. Given time to build up a catalog, Ackles could become important.


DAVID ACKLES
CONCERT  "BITTER END" NEW YORK DECEMBER 1969
CASH BOX Dec. 20, 1969 

BITTER END, NYC – The return of David Ackles to the bitter End is one of the most significant events is [sic] 1969. As the year and the decade both draw to a close, the Elektra singer/pianist/composer/poet seems to be a kind of capstone, a comment on all that has gone before him.
       David has been called a ‘down’ performer. It has been said that his songs are so depressing that he is no fun. Now David makes jokes about the situation, declaring that his amusing song, Laissez Faire is an ‘upper-downer’. Entering another song, he warned the audience that at the end of the set he would pass out razor blades to them.
       If Ackles is depressing, it is only because he makes everyone see himself clearly for the first time, and that’s not supposed to be fun. Lou Christie is supposed to be fun. David does not deal just in entertainment, he deals in revelation through entertainment. If that sounds too strong to you, you haven’t hear David yet.
       David has learned to use his deep, subtle voice better than ever and his French interpretations of his own sings, The Road to Cairo and Be My Friend are stunning and effective. As his second LP, Subway to the Country begins to attract attention all around the country, David is as unassuming as he was a year ago. Sitting up there behind his piano, looking both terribly innocent and terribly wise, David is the perfect figure of the poet. He seems to be everything, young and old, cruel and gentle, brilliant and foolish, everything.
       David’s new songs carry the focus of the early works a step further. They gradually seem to move in the direation of theatre rather than just song, and make frequent use of internal dialogue. David talks to himself, to the characters in his songs, to us, to the world. In a new masterpiece titled American Gothic, David described the plight of a man who ‘drinks till he drowns in his dreams’, and of his wife who thrives on a wish for new shoes. They suffer, David shows us, but as he concludes ‘They suffer least who suffer what they choose,’ we realize how if we are trapped, we are trapped in ourselves, in a chaos we have constructed for ourselves, and from which we can escape only if we are willing within ourselves to struggle.
       David’s music is about struggle, but it is also about the joy of triumph over pain and despair. For David, the struggle itself, win or lose, is worth it.
-b.h.



DAVID ACKLES / MORGEN
CONCERT "BITTER END" NEW YORK  Dec. 13, 1969
BILLBOARD Dec. 27, 1969

NEW YORK – David Avkles has developed into a more effective folk performer than his first set at the Bitter End, Dec. 13, showed. The show opened with Morgen, a heavy group whose strong lyrics helped the unit succeed in a club accustomed to softer sounds.
       Ackles was at his communicative best, both in his interpretations of his fine material, and in his comments to the packed audience. The Electra Records artist opened with bitter smiles as he sang Main Line Saloon from his latest album. That’s No Reason to Cry and Subway to the Country were other good selections from the LP, while What a Happy Day was a good songs from his first Elektra album.
       A bitterness now asserts itself in Ackles as evidenced by a song based on the killing of two citizens by West Coast police and another number patterned after Brecht. Ackles accompanied himself on piano throughout.


AL KOOPER / DAVID ACKLES
CONCERT  "TOWN HALL" NEW YORK JANUARY 1970
CASH BOX Jan. 17, 1970

TOWN HALL, NEW YORK – Al Kooper headlines a beautifully balanced concert last weekend at Town Hall. The concert’s balance should be noted because it was not the normal run of pop performance where each act on the bill attempts to blast the audience out of its collective seats. Poet/composer/singer David ACkles opened the evening for Kooper, who was backed by the Eddy Jacobs Exchange.
…
The concert’s balance referred to earlier was effected by the unadorned, subtle, moving performance of David Ackles. As of this moment, Ackles is not a widely known talent. That situation is bound to change with a broadening personal appearances such as these and exposure of his excellent compositions.
       Contrasted with Kooper’s performance, Ackles just walked to the piano at center stage, dressed in blue jeans, work shirt, and construction boots, and proceeded to accompany himself on a half dozen of his own works. The word ‘work’ is much more fitting than ‘song’ to describe the music which David Ackles writes.
       Ackles’ ‘works’ transmit a feeling of lived experience, of honest emotion and, as their creator, his rendition of them is totally effective. As a singer, Ackles is a sort of hybrid. Essentially he has the vocal character of a cabaret singer; one perfectly suited for intimate clubs where he can deal with the audience on a note to note basis. But there is also a great deal of the minstrel, the open road singer, in him as well.
       All in all a marvelously enjoyable evening.
-n.s.

REVIEW OF SUBWAY TO THE COUNTRY
INTERNATIONAL TIMES Feb. 12, 1970

INCONGROUSLY, A PIANO PLAYING POET. Ackles has the vision, warmth and understanding of his guitar strumming Levi-clad colleagues. He also possesses a distinctive voice with a tremulous soft edge – he sounds a little like an American Gilbert Bercaud – which is enigmatically haunting.

Those who've seen him on his rare British appearances will automatically buy this album; the familiar tales of resigned sorrow and humanity despaired, laced with bitter-sweet humour are as plentiful as ever. But the arrangements, by Fred Myrow, are lusher and more powerful than ever and will add to the 'sales appeal' (yuck) of this record amonst he uninitiated. 

Road to Cairo

A fella told me, this here road leads to Cairo,
I got to get me a ride.
I got to go back, go back to my children,
I got to see my little bride.

I been travellin'. Gone a long, long time.
Don’t know what I’ll find,
Scared of what I’ll find.
But I just got to see them again.

Hey thanks for stoppin', are you headed down to Cario?
I wrecked my Lincoln in Saint Jo.
Why to little old Cairo? No special reason,
Look up some folks I used to know.

     Me, I travel some, have my share of fun,
     Now that’s a life a man can live.
     Sure I’ve played and lost,
     But who minds the cost?
     You got to take more than you give.

Hey you got another cigar? Son I sure like this car,
Oh from your daddy as a gift.
Say on second thought,
There’s gifts I haven’t bought.
Just drop me here, thanks for the lift.

     Yes, I’ve travelled some, yes, I’ve been a bum
     Never have a dime for gin.
     Left to make my way,
     Told her I can’t stay
     To see my children poor as sin.

I know this road, it leads straight into Cairo,
Twenty-two miles straight ahead.
I can’t, I can’t walk down this road to Cairo.
They’re better thinkin' I’m dead.

I been travellin'. Gone a long, long time.
Don’t know what I’d find.
Scared of what I’d find.
I can’t, I just can’t walk down this road.

Music

This is in Bb minor, so I'd suggest a capo on 1 and the following chords:

Intro

Am | E/g# | Am | E/g#

Verse I (Before 'chorus')

Am | Am/g# |C/g | D/f#
F | F | E | E
Am | Am/g# | C/g | D/f#
F | F | E | E

Verse II (Before 'bridge')

Am | Am/g# | C/g | D/f#
F | F | E | E
Am | Am/g# | C/g | D/f#
F | F | Am | Am

Chorus ("I've been travelling...")

Am | D7/a | Am | D7/a
Am | D7/a | Am | D7a
C#m | Bm

Bridge ("Me, I've travelled some...")

F | G | F | G
F | G | E | E
F | G | F | G
F | G | Am | Am

When Love is Gone

I have your ribbon and you have my ring,
And yet between us we've misplaced the thing we'd found.
It would not be bound.
Gone are the splendor, the joy and the smile.
Where there was music, it echoes a mile away.

     Oh we could stay, we could stay together,
     Just pretending going on and on.
     We could play, we could play together,
     The game of love when love is gone.

But you are honest and yes I am proud.
Only a fool is content with a cloud to hide him.
We can't fall beside him.
So take back the promise and cast off the vow
We said tomorrow but had only now to spend, and now is the end.

     Oh, we could stay together,
     Just pretending going on and on.
     We could play, we could play together,
     The game of love when love is gone.
     When love is gone.
     The games go on
     When love is gone.

Music
I love this song - its progression, lyrics, melody, even its key signature and meter. Harmonically it's somewhat unstable to say the least, modulating all the way from F to D, and I'd welcome suggestions for the chorus. Anyway, here goes.

The song is in Ab, but sounds pretty good on guitar in F with a capo on 3. The verse is basically just F - C - F - C, with the second C leading up to the first D (key change) of the chorus, which is something like D - C - D - C - F. The coda is F - G - F - D.

Sonny Come Home

These woods, I've been here before,
But someone's changed the color of the leaves.
Not leaves not green anymore;
What is that hanging in the trees?
Bits of glass broken, bicycle wheels broken,
Old toys, old wounds, broken, broken.
Why did I come here on my way home?

      I heard a voice calling 'Sonny,
     The table's set, the water's warm;
     Come home, come home, come home.'

This road, I've been here before,
But where's the rock I used to climb?
No rock, no road anymore.
Who are these people waiting there in line?
Throwing stones, strangers, throwing knives, strangers.
Old friends, old loves, strangers, strangers.
Why did I come here on my way home?

     I heard a voice calling 'Sonny,
     The table's set, the water's warm;
     Come home, come home, come home.'

This house, I've been here before,
But there's no answer when I knock.
Just wind, no sound anymore,
My key won't fit into the lock.
Are all the rooms empty? Fireplace empty?
Cold walls, cold rooms, empty, empty.
Why did I come here on my way home?

     Inside a voice calls me, 'Sonny,
     The table's set, the water's warm;
     Come home, come home, come home.'

I hear you, I hear you,
But I can't come home.

Blue Ribbons

One raven's gone, one summer changed me.
He took the ribbons from my hair,
And gave me wide and naked eyes to stare.

One raven's gone, and he has changed me.
I hear the song his loving played.
It echoes in a world we never made.

     I don't wear blue ribbons now,
     I don't wind my heart with laces.
     I don't smile at lovers now,
     I wind my eyes with rivers
     From the places they will find.
     The word is full of lovers
     Loving hate and only loving
     Others of their kind.

My raven's gone, they took him from me
On black and shining wings of song.
Upon a wind of freedom swept along.

My raven's gone, they took him from me.
I hear the laughter of their hate
And see the arrows fly from freedom's gate.

     I don't wear blue ribbons now,
     I don't wind my heart with laces.
     I don't smile at lovers now,
     I wind my eyes with rivers
     From the places they will find.
     The word is full of lovers
     Loving hate and only loving
     Others of their kind.

My love is gone, but love is with me.
The song he sang is in me now.
The tree of love will bear a loving bough.

Though he is gone, his voice is in me.
I hear him shout, I am not blind,
I am a man and men are all one kind.

     I don't wear blue ribbons now,
     I don't wind my heart with laces.
     I don't smile at lovers now,
     I wind my eyes with rivers
     From the places they will find.
     The word is full of lovers
     Loving hate and only loving
     Others of their kind.

But maybe they are learning now,
Maybe just a few are learning.

Music
This one is in F minor, so I'd say capo on three and D minor chords. The 'open' sound is due to the many fifth chords (i.e. without the major/minor third). Interestingly, as with the previous song on this record, the chorus and ending of the song are in a different key (A minor).

Verse

D5 | - | etc.
F5 | G5 |
D5 | - | etc.
G5 | A5

Chorus

F | F/e | F/eb | D5 |
A | F | D5 | A5

Coda

F | D5 | A5

What a Happy Day

Hey, people can you hear the children singing?
Hey, what a lot of love there is.
Standing on the doorstep of the history you're making,
Do you wonder what to give, or only what's for taking?
Can't you hear the children singing?
Won't you listen, hear them singing?

     What a happy day.
     What a groovy morning,
     Come and play with me.
     This is my garden, and you're welcome,
     On this happy day.

Hey, people can you hear the children singing?
Hey, what a lot of love there is.
Standing in the sunshine while the sun is getting higher,
Will you take the sun away in one red cloud of fire?
Will you stop the children singing?
Can't you leave the chidren singing?

     What a happy day.
     What a groovy morning,
     Come and play with me.
     This is my garden, and you're welcome,
     On this happy day.

Music

This is quite an interesting song, harmonically, as it follows the circle of fifths from the root of Eb all the way to Gb for the chorus, and then back again at the end. For guitar, I'd suggest a capo on the first fret and the following chords - in the intro and verse beginning, the descending and ascending bass line is the main thing; the 'sus2/4' indicates the melody line Ackles plays over some of the chords (see piano score):

Intro
D-D/c# | G/b-A/c# | D-D/c# | G/b-A/c#

Verse
D-D/c# | G/b-A/c# | D-D/c# | Bm(sus4)
G(sus4/2) | G | G | G
C(sus4/2) | C | F | F

Chorus
F | F | F | F
G | G | C | C
C | D
 
Piano score
 
Someone requested a piano score for this one, so I've transcribed it from the intro all the way to the end of the first chorus. I've expressly decided not to do a note-for-note transcription - the score indicates the harmonic and melodic backbone of the song, with some suggestions for the fills. I've also got it in the free MuseScore format, which allows you to play the score, as well as edit and print it. Send me an e-mail if you're interested.

Down River

Good to see you again Rosie.
I know I've changed a lot since then
But you're looking fine babe.
Three years, that ain't long Rosie,
I still remember our song
When you were mine babe.

Times change. Times change I know,
But it sure goes slow,
Down river, when you're locked away.

Hey why didn't you write Rosie,
I stayed awake most every night,
Counting my time babe.
Oh no I ain't mad Rosie,
I know you had to mind your dad,
But just a line babe.

     Oh, sure I remember Ben.
     Why we went all through school.
     Is that right?
     Well he ain't no fool.

He's a good man Rosie.
You hold him tight as you can.
Don't ask me why babe.
Yeah nice seeing you Rosie.
Me? I got things to do,
Well goodbye babe.

Times change. Times change I know
But it sure goes slow,
Down river, when you're locked away.

Times change. Times change I know,
But it sure goes slow down river.

Rosie.
Hey Rosie.
My babe.

Music

Original is in Bb, so capo on three and the following chords to play along on the guitar:

Intro

D | G

Verse

Gsus4 | G | G/f#
Em | Dsus4 | D

Chorus ("Times change...")

G | Gmaj7 | G7 | C (c-b-a)
Am | - | C | G

Bridge ("Oh, sure I remember Ben"...)

F#m | Bm | F#m
B7 | D# | F

Piano intro

The subsequent measures are an indication of the kind of chords you might use on the verse.

Instrumental version (on electric guitar):

Laissez-Faire

Money for cigarettes, pennies for wine.
Don't let them take that away, bud.
It's all I have to call mine.
Listen, buddy, that's all I have to call mine.

I got no overhead, no taxes to pay.
I just got one roll-away bed,
That they want to roll away.
Listen, buddy, don't let the roll it away.

     Sure, I've heard what they're saying.
     Share the wealth, that's what they're saying,
     But I don't believe it.
     The government takes all the cash,
     And eats it or something.
     So the rich get richer, and the poor get nothing,
     So leave me my

Money for cigarettes, my pennies for wine.
Don't let them take that away, bud.
It's all I have to call mine.
Listen, buddy, it's all I have to call mine.

But, buddy, it's just enough to call mine.

Lotus Man

In the sand, listening to the water's song,
While the silent sun dissolves us.
Take my hand, silent too we'll drift along,
'Til the Lotus Man absolves us.

     And we'll whittle down the hours,
     Throw away the days.
     We'll ring our world with flowers
     While the other world decays.

In the night, listening to the city sound
Of the people who ignore us,
We'll take flight with the stars ether-bound,
Only galaxies to bore us.

     And we'll whittle down the hours,
     Throw away the days.
     We'll ring our world with flowers
     While the other world decays.

In the dawn, listening to the distant drums,
And the distant cannon firing,
We'll be gone long before the battle comes,
Just the thought of war is tiring.
 
     And we'll whittle down the hours,
     Throw away the days.
     We'll ring our world with flowers
     While the other world decays.

Music
This is in C, but because of the chord change with the chorus, I'd suggest a capo on 3 and the following chords.

Verse

A | F#m | D | A
A | F#m | D | D

Chorus

G | Em | F | F
F | Asus4 | A | A

His Name is Andrew

His name is Andrew,
He works in a canning factory.
He doesn't have a friend.
He chooses to wait alone,
For his life to end.

    When Andrew was just a little boy,
    He knew all the words to all the hymns of joy,
    And he sang them on Sunday,
    And he sang them on Monday,
    And in April, and in May,
    And he heard them say:
    'God is love, God is love,'
    And he believed them.

This child was Andrew,
He lived in a world of innocence.
On him the lion grinned.
He sang in the arms of God,
As he strummed the wind.

     When Andrew was tall and twenty-one,
     He wandered from God and wondered what he'd done.
     For he still sang on Sunday,
     Though he muddled through in May,
     With a silence in his head,
     'Til in jest it said:
     'God redeems, God redeems,'
     And he believed it.

This man was Andrew,
Hearing a voice he thought was stilled.
Back to the arms of grace
He stumbled through darkened woods
To a lighted place.

     When Andrew returned to love and light,
     He lifted his voice and sang away the night.
     And the preacher from Sunday
     Heard him singing on Monday,
     And he stopped him with a word.
     From the dark he heard:
     'God is dead, God is dead,'
     And he believed him.

My name is Andrew,
I work in a canning factory.
I do not have a friend.
I choose to wait alone
For this life to end.

Be My Friend

This world's a lonely place to walk around in.
This world's a pace where life is hard to spend.
But we can help each other live.
Everyone can give
The simple gift,
The words that lift:
Be my friend.

Some days you wake up feeling nothing but fear.
Some days you wonder why God put you here.
Then all at once there comes a word.
What was that you heard?
Why someone said,
From Gilead,
Be my friend.

This life may not bring much of comfort to you.
This world may lose its touch of kindness too.
And who's to blame?
Why can't you see?
Only you and me.
So if I may,
I'd like to say
Be my friend.

Music

C | F | C | F
C | Em | Asus4 | A
Dm | G | Dm | G
Am | F | C

Youtube Library

Some of David Ackles' songs have been made available on Youtube. See below for a listing of his own recordings and various covers that are currently online.

David Ackles (1968) 
Road to Cairo
Road to Cairo (live at 'Colour Me Pop')
Road to Cairo (short video footage!)
Down River
When Love Is Gone
His Name is Andrew
Blue Ribbons
What a Happy Day
Lotus Man

Subway to the Country (1969)
Out On The Road
Sonny Come Home
Laissez-Faire
Inmates of the Institution
Candy Man

American Gothic (1972)
Ballad of the Ship of State
California
Montana Song

Five and Dime (1973)
Jenna Saves
One Good Woman's Man

Covers by other artists

Love's Enough - Ricky Koole
One Night Stand - Dudley Serious
Down River - Elvis Costello & Elton John
Down River - Spooky Tooth
Down River - The Hollies
His Name is Andrew - Martin Carthy
Road to Cairo - Julie Driscoll
Road to Cairo - Howard Jones
Road to Cairo - Brian Auger & Trinity
Be My Friend - The Moths