A Carver of Wood & Wind (The Ballad of Bob Buchanan)
by WJ Harnack and Chris James
As the speeding train delivered them to a town so filled with sin
Bob Buchanan was there to help Gram pen ol’ Hickory Wind
Gram took a verse; Bob took the next, neither one of them could know
That Gram would sing the brand new song on the Grand Ol’ Opry show.
For thirty years Bob gave himself to the Saginaw GM plant
Yeah, the same guy who hung with Rambling Jack and Mr. Townes Van Zandt
But it was to the songs on Safe at Home Bob gave his heart and soul
Now he’s safe at home in Saginaw carving cypress totem poles.
What this balladeer gave his friend can’t be found on a Billboard Chart
That’s not how you measure friendship or the kinship of the heart
And now if he sings Hickory Wind he feels the breeze of an old friend's soul
That lifts the man who is now safe at home notching ten-foot totem poles.
Chorus: And if Gram had lived the world would sing a different kind of song
And Bob would be a great big part and not for just one song
From the Christy Minstrels to the I-S-B
His lasting gift was being a friend to an all too lonesome man.
As the speeding train delivered them to a town so filled with sin
Bob Buchanan was there to help Gram pen ol’ Hickory Wind
But it was to the songs on Safe at Home Bob gave his heart and soul
And he’s Safe at Home in Saginaw carving cypress totem poles.
Repeat chorus.
(last line to the tune of the original, end with: "Carrying me home, Hickory Wind."