NIGHTS LIKE THIS
CAPO 2nd Fret
A solitary whippoorwill
Is singing in the night
I watch him til he spreads his wings
And he sails into the sky
Then silence is again broken
By the splash of a striking fish
Oh Lord how I live for
Nights Like This
I bank that old canoe
As the sun begins to set
And make camp in the shadows
Of the Great Smokey’s silhouette
Fresh trout and a few morels
Provide nature’s finest dish
Oh Lord how I live for
Nights Like This
Bridge:
Yes it’s nights like this that I think about
A pure and simple time
When all a man needed
Was fire and shelter for piece of mind
And when I feel the need for more
And that there is something I must have missed
I am thankful for reminders
From Nights Like This
Words and Music by Chad K. Slagle, Copyright 2007
THE PATHFINDER
He stepped out from his tipi
Like a man from another time
Said “There’s moose steaks on the fire boys
And gin martinis to unwind”
And though I’d never met the man
He seemed like an old friend
We talked of a thousand campfires
And the places that we’d been
He told me secrets of the river
And that wild Alaska land
But I found peace in knowing
I was in his guiding hand
Slip silently Pathfinder
Slip silently along
Teaching by example
A code of ethics, oh so strong
Slip silently Pathfinder
And I will follow close behind
Learning skills men have lost
Somewhere along the line
To float the mighty Moose John
Is a grand and wondrous thing
To stand ten feet from a big bull
With a simple stick and string
To find grizzly tracks in the sand
And watch caribou on a distant hill
And the times we made camp
And shared much more than meals
It was there along the rocky shore
That I felt the primitive spell
And the wry grin on Jay’s face
Told me he’d done his job well
Slip silently Pathfinder
Slip silently along
As we listen to the river
Cry out her special song
Slip silently Pathfinder
I will follow close behind
And I too chose to walk
Like men of simpler times
I made you a vow
That we would hunt together again
But some trips are cut short
So it seems my friend
And though you may not be with me
You still help to guide my way
Your writings and your teachings
Have shown me the path to take
I know you must go alone
On the journey you make now
But I’ll save a place at my campfire
Until I can keep my vow
Slip silently Pathfinder
Slip silently along
Down the river Jordan
While the angels sing your song
Slip silently Pathfinder
Let the waters take you down
To join the other elders
At the Happy Hunting Ground
Words by Gary Olsen and Chad Slagle
Music and arrangement by Chad Slagle
Based on the poem “The Pathfinder” by Gary Olsen
In Loving Memory of Jay Massey
Copyright 2006
The Last Wild Man A Tribute to the Life of Bart Schyler
He was born in Wyoming
Raised a hunter’s son
It was on a trip to Africa
That he gave up the gun
When he met a man who showed him
How an arrow can fly so true
At an early age he realized
Getting close, is what he was meant to do
In the heart of Yellowstone he grew
To be a mountain of a man
Learning to trap the grizzly
To give them a fighting chance
He came to understand them
And their souls became as one
And the spirit of the bear took over
Like a spell, that couldn’t be undone
CHORUS:
Cause he’s the last wild man
Kind you won’t see again here in this land
Yes he’s the last wild man
Lived a life few will ever understand
VS2:
As his skills grew
His legend did too
Took him half way around the world
To Siberia and Indonesia too
He captured wild species
That few men had ever seen
He crafted a bow of ash and sinew
From the kills where the white tiger had been
But it was in Alaska
That he felt most at home
The last place for a man so free
To have space to roam
It was there in his beloved Brooks Range
That his final hunt would be
For that grizzly knew it was the only way
To break the spell, and set his soul free
CHORUS
Words and Music by Chad K. Slagle
Copyright 2007
The LongHunters Tale
He smelled of tanned leather and a briar wood pipe
Needed little more than his musket and skinning knife
To blaze a trail through the valleys and peaks
And to make a life in the mountains, far from his home back East
He fought the Redman, but he learned from him, too
The compassion of the Shawnee and the strength of the Sioux
He tread a path that few had ever trod
Answered to no one, ‘cept the mountain and God
CHORUS:
Tell me a story, you old mountain man
Tell of the wild places like only you can
The Longhunter’s tale is one that must be told
When a man’s heart was free
And could not be sold
Now the forests have been cleared, and the plains have been tamed
The mountains still stand, but they will never be the same
And the great council fires, they no longer burn
The white buffalo is gone, never to return
Leaders of this world boast of all they’ve got
But it hardly seems like progress, when you look at what we’ve lost
They sell off the land, as if it were theirs to take
And hand over their soul, for a piece of real estate
CHORUS:
Tell me a story, you old mountain man
Tell of the wild places like only you can
The Longhunter’s tale is one that must be told
When a man’s heart was free
And could not be sold
Tell me a story, you old mountain man
Tell of the wild places like only you can
He tread a path that few had ever trod
Answered to no one, ‘cept the mountain and God
Words by Ethan Rodrigue and Chad K. Slagle
Music by Chad K. Slagle
BEFORE MY TIME
Verse 1 Verse 3
There have been men who walked softly Like the men of old
Across this wild and cherished land I to walk softly on this cherished land
Paying homage to the great mother I will pass on the great stories
With the art from their labored hand With my guitar in hand
Sharing stories of the divine hunt Perhaps someday a young child
Etched forever by candlelight Will fashion himself
Before My time A simple stick and string
Before My time And recite a line that he once heard
From a man who sang about
Verse 2 These sacred things
There were those who lost their lives
And driven from their homes
And the pale riders raped their land
Murdered the last of the buffalo
But there were a few who stayed strong
Kept the ancient ways alive
Before My Time
Before My Time
BRIDGE
Throughout history
There have been a noble few
Who refused to let go
Of things that we once knew
And they long to be one
With the land
Did their best to help
Others to understand
Before My Time
Before My Time
Words and Music by Chad K. Slagle, Copyright 2006
BLOODLINES
Verse 1
He met me at the old dirt drive
Said Mommas bound to tan your hide
For being out this late with that old blue heel
He took my game bag and old .410
Looked at me with that old sly grin
Said You know son, these will make a real fine meal.
Daddy do you think when I’m as big as you
I can raise a dog just like Old Blue?
He just smiled and said “Son’
And I know you will”
Chorus
He said it’s all in the Bloodline
It’s all in the bloodline
No, it won’t be easy
It’s gonna take a little time
But believe in him
And he will trust in you with a love of the truest kind
Just remember son; it’s all in the bloodline
Verse 2
I lost track of that old .410
But I relive those days again and again
With an old blue heel and my own son
Momma called me up today
Said Son you best be on your way
Daddy’s had a spell and I’m afraid this could be the one
I took his long, calloused hands
The way I did for my dear Joanne
Last fall, just before she passed on
Dad I can’t stand to lose you too
With a son to raise , what will I do
When everything I love is nearly gone?
He looked at me with that same sly grin
"Son, haven't I taught you anything"
He pointed to a corner
And an old shotgun
CHORUS
Words and music by Chad K. Slagle, Copyright 2007
I HUNT
There’s an old man dressed in black
He’s a holy man they say
Preaches blessing for tomorrow
But I have found them here today
He tells me Jesus is my savior
And I can be with him in time
But I’ve already met the savior
On the trail, at the end of a long hard climb
That man may miss me Sunday morning
But my temple is a grove of pine
And my altar is a cedar stump
‘Cause I HUNT
A man with years of education
And initials by his name
Looks to his prescriptions
As a way to keep them sane
He tells me I must be crazy
To hike so far into those hills
But if they knew what I’d found there
They wouldn’t need his little pills
They’d pick up a bow and arrow
And feel alive again
And have the courage
To not be numb
If they’d just HUNT
There’s a young man on the corner
Trying hard to understand
Why he doesn’t have a Daddy
To show him how to be a man
So he falls in with the wrong crowd
And he’s taught a life of crime
But he may have chose a different path
If someone just took the time
We can’t turn our backs
And simply look away
We need to take those boys
And treat them like our sons
And show them how to HUNT
I may not have all the answers
And I’m not always right
But I bet I’ll save a few before I’m done
And they’ll HUNT
I HUNT
I HUNT
Pappy’s Work Bench
Verse 1
Set low in a valley
Between two hills in Tennessee
Sets a cabin and a workshop
Built from lumber scraps
And one man’s dream
To give people a place
Where they can escape the race
And learn ancient skills
From a bearded, southern gent
Carved on a board are the words
“Welcome to Pappy’s Work Bench”
Verse 2
People come from all around
Just to meet this special man
And to craft a bow and arrow
With his guidance, and their own two hands
They may come for just a bow
But they leave with something more I know
Than they ever thought they might get
‘Cause he helps shape more than just a stick
There on Pappy’s Work Bench
BRIDGE:
Chasing dreams and growth rings
‘Til all hours of the night
Raising toasts to those we’ve lost
By the glow of the campfire light
And as the shavings fall
I know we all are better men
For the time we spend
Finding answers in a good piece of wood
There on Pappy’s Work Bench
Verse 3
Now I’ve never been what most folks
Might call a religious man
But I know when I’m in the presence
Of something greater than I am
You know it seems to me
Sometimes it’s the simpler things
That can take us where we need to go
I’ve seen what it can do to men’s souls
This little place that must be heaven sent
Pappy’s Work Bench
Copyright 2007
Words and Music by Chad K. Slagle
| 
