Keep 'Er Between the Ditches

© 2011 Fort Creek Songs

I wrote this one last summer - a creatively fertile time for myself.  This stems from an e-mail our previous bass player sent out.  Derek didn't know the title of "As Luck Would Have Us" and called it "All the Things Between Us."  I told him it was a good song title and overnight wrote the previously posted song.  He seemed impressed (as was I!) and threw out another song title based on advice his grandfather gave him - "Keep It Between the Ditches".  Well, another day after that I wrote this partially based on the stories he was telling me as we drove out to a gig on St. Joe's Island.   Jay suggested to change "It" in the title to "Her". Carl was amazed I didn't rhyme "ditches" with "bitches" and Rachelle suggested a verse about a woman hence that extra verse in the middle.

Not only have I tied this post to the previous one it is also timely because we just played that gig again last weekend.  Derek was in town so Rachelle moved to fiddle, Carl was out of town, so Roger Marin sat in on pedal steel.  The gig was one of our best.

Anyway, back to this song.   It wasn't put to any music for a year.  I was coming up dry on the guitar so I switched to banjo and just today I came up with some chords and a melody.   It could use a bridge but I'll probably present it to Porter tomorrow night to see if they can figure one out..

Keep 'Er Between the Ditches

When the night is dark and your face is lit 
gently from below
by the instrument panel dashboard 
and the radio starts to go
 
With your hands on the wheel your mind goes back 
to thoughts of past mistakes
Family and friends, faces roll past,
Five words is all it takes.
 
Chorus:
"Keep 'er between the ditches"
My grandpa used to say
Even when life was 90 miles an hour
I wish I woulda listened.
 
I walked these roads from the bridge to the crossing, 
took me over an hour. 

The wind on my face, the dust in my hair, 
the country road flowers.

Chorus 

I loved a girl once, yes it's true 

but she fell in with some bitches

I couldn't steer her away from the edge

And keep her outta the ditches 

Chorus
 
As a young man I got me a car
and never looked back.
But now that I am an older man
the present sorely lacks

Chorus
 
Life's been tough but I'm still around.
I got these scars and stitches
We'll all be alright if we can just remember to
keep 'er between the ditches.