We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Post & Beam

by Holland Hopson

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $7 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    CD comes in a gorgeous, hand assembled letterpress sleeve. Designed and hand-printed by Austin composer and designer Travis Weller.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Post & Beam via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 250 

      $10 USD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 7 Holland Hopson releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Sky Sparrow Snow, field recordings of mind in morning, Wind Whistling in Overhead Wires, Post & Beam, One 4 One, With Hidden Noises, and Maps. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $30.55 USD or more (35% OFF)

     

1.
Don't let your deal go down, little girl Don't let your deal go down Don't let your deal go down, little girl Til your last gold dollar is gone I've been around this whole wide world I just got back today I've played at cards with the king and the queen The ace, the deuce, the tre Don't let your deal go down, little girl Don't let your deal go down Don't let your deal go down, little girl Til your last gold dollar is gone Where did you get them high-button shoes Dress that you wear so fine I got my shoes from an engineer And my dress from a driver in the mine Don't let your deal go down, little girl Don't let your deal go down Don't let your deal go down, little girl Til your last gold dollar is gone
2.
I was born and raised in East Virginia North Carolina I did go There I met the prettiest little maiden Her name and age I did not know Her hair it was a light brown color Her cheeks they were a ruby red But on her breast she wore white lillies Where I longed to lay my head I'd rather be in some dark holler Where the sun would never shine Than to see her with another And to know she'd never be mine
3.
I was born in the desert and raised at sea. Had everything I need but water to drink. My head's in heaven and my feet on the ground, Ain't got time for settling down. Got everything I need but nowhere to stay. Listen can you hear what the Katydids say? Ain't got time for fooling with you. Gonna find out if you've been true. Listen can't you hear what the Katydids say? I wrote you a letter and mailed it today. Gonna find out if you been true. If y'ain't I know what I've got to do. I wrote my Katy a letter to say: I've been everywhere I'm coming home to stay. If I can't come home I'll keep traveling round With my head in heaven and my feet on the ground. I been everywhere a man could be. I was born in the desert and raised at sea.
4.
Ice Age 06:39
Let's go out on the solid sea Ice crack ping greets submarine Frost on our eyelashes Frost in our hair Blackbirds circle everywhere Don't take a walk on the frozen creek The water's shallow but the cold runs deep Frostbitten fingers Frost flowered toes How many blackbirds No one knows Went for a swim in the glacier lake The ice is melted how long did it take Your eyes as deep Your eyes as blue Blackbird eyes See right through We'll sleep under the frozen sea Breathe slow like the submarine Ice in our lungs Ice in our throat Blackbirds gone Blackbird goes
5.
As I walked out one morning late A drinking of sweet wine. I thought my heart would almost break For the girl I left behind. Farewell, farewell, my own true love. Farewell, farewell, for awhile. I go away; I'll come again If it be ten thousand miles. Ten thousand miles, my own true love. I hope it never will be. For the leaving you, my own true love Will be the death of me. I wish to god I never was born, Or died when I was young. Or never did kiss your ruby red lips Or heard your flattering tongue.
6.
Fencepost 07:41
Such bitter winds blow And we've heard it all day. There's nothing between these fencepost rows To make the dirt decide to stay. Last spring when we pruned the roses, Red snow on the ground. Put my ear to a fencepost Couldn't hear a sound. And now there's a light rain falling, Everything's gonna be fine. Except maybe now we're wishing It would all be dry. And now there's a light rain falling, Everything's gonna be fine. Except maybe now we're wishing It would be all day, be all night. Wire stretched between fenceposts. Wire stretched on the wall. Talking to a nail in a fencepost; Talking at the wall. This fall when I plow the fields under I'll be thinking only of you: Shadow shaped from flock of starling Flying south, too. And now there's a light rain falling, Everything's gonna be fine. Except maybe now we're wishing It would all be dry. And now there's a light rain falling, Everything's gonna be fine. Except maybe now we're wishing You could stay all day, stay all night. Wrap up my troubles in a cloth And tie it round my waist. I'm gonna go for a long long walk. Be gone a hundred days. And now there's a light rain falling, Everything's gonna be fine. Except maybe now we're wishing It would all be dry. Nobody got nothing to say That ain't better shown or done. Here, let me demonstrate: Gotta go. Gotta run.
7.
Wish I was in bowlin' green Settin' in a big armchair One arm round my whiskey barrel T'other round my dear If you see that man of mine Tell him once for me If he loves another gal Yes I'll set him free Wisht I was a bumblee Sailin' through the air Take my feller by the arm Touch him if you dare Wish I had a banjo string Made of golden twine Every tune I'd pick on it Is wish that girl were mine I'm going through this wide, wide world I'm goin' through alone I'm goin' through this wide, wide world I ain't got no home

about

"Hopson...has no fear of manipulating sound with anything near at hand, be it fingerpicks or a laptop computer.

On "Post & Beam," however, he actually hews closer to Alan Lomax than Kraftwerk, with a haunting, often mesmerizing album of old songs and new sounds.

Throughout, he plays the banjo straight, with a gentle claw hammer behind his fragile-but- captivating voice. There are aspects of Sam Amidon and Chris Whitley at work here (especially in the original tunes), but Hopson's individuality shines.

What pulls "Post & Beam" out of folk festival mode are the murmurings behind the songs. Atmospheric tangents (including the voice of NOAA weather radio) bubble and squeak without ever distracting. Oddly, they put an even tighter focus on Hopson's vocal delivery, especially on appropriated chestnuts like "East Virginia," "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down" and "Bowling Green Green."

There's a tendency in freak folk towards atmosphere, a wind-blown, gauzy lope. Hopson certainly has it on "Post & Beam," but his relaxed stride has a purpose, a goal, a destination.

It's a fascinating journey."
--Michael Eck, Albany Times Union

"Holland Hopson’s Post and Beam was released last year, but I stupidly didn’t fall in love with it until recently. I guarantee you’ve never heard anything like it — beautifully performed original and traditional folk songs set against an electronic dreamworld. I can’t think of a recording that provides a more powerful study in contrasts — heartfelt and alienating most of all. Check it out and see if you don’t think the Maxified banjo is not the up-and-coming instrument of the decade!"
--David Zicarelli, Cycling '74

GRAB1004
grabrarearts.com
hollandhopson.com

credits

released June 13, 2011

Holland Hopson: vocals, banjo, fretless banjo, electronics
Recorded and Mixed by Holland Hopson
Mastered by Troy Pohl for Collar City Sound
Design by Travis Weller

license

tags

about

Holland Hopson Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Holland Hopson is a sound and media artist, composer and improviser. He usually performs on clawhammer banjo and electronics. Holland often augments his instruments with custom-designed sensor interfaces and performs with his own highly responsive, interactive computer programs. Holland has performed in Australia, Europe and North America with notable experimental and outsider musicians. ... more

contact / help

Contact Holland Hopson

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Holland Hopson recommends:

If you like Holland Hopson, you may also like: