I wrote this cello piece for my granddaughter Hannah Dare Bryan in 2016.
Hannah (2016)
Author: Joplin Hollow
Ridin’ the Blues (1985)
This song is about a guy who lives in a coal mine community in WV, and decides he’s hanging it up. His wife has been unfaithful and he decides — that’s it, I’m out of here. I picture him as living in Beckley.
Unfortunately there is no recording of this song.
The River Knows (1978)
This is a song about a guy having difficulty in his domestic life, and he would (sadly, to him) leave home on weekends and go to New River.
Unfortunately there is no recording of this song.
Martin in Madrid (1964)
This guitar piece, which has a bit of a Spanish feel, was written in 1964 and composed on the Martin guitar that accompanied me on so many camping trips, hence the title.
When the Hales Take Over the New (1964)
I’ve already written a good bit about my camping trips with my uncle Don Hale, his dad Henry (my grandfather) and my brother David and other members of the Hale gang. This song is my personal favorite about those times at Sandstone Falls on the New River.
This video features Alan singing this song from a recording made in 1965. The photos were all taken by Alan’s brother David in the 1950s and 1960s, all of them of Sandstone Falls; the exception is the cover photo, which features David’s Chevy on Indian Creek Road.
The Old Freight Train (1964)
This song is one of my favorites, and reflects a memory of having been there in that situation.
No Name Tune (1963)
This is a short piece that I wrote to play at the riverbank on camping trips.
The River by the C & O (1962)
The “hobo” character in the song is just a guy who never got his life together in a way he was satisfied with. That was Pat Hale. Although I didn’t consciously make the connection when I wrote it — it was happenstance — that’s how it turned out. Pat was never happy with his station; never settled as a family man; caroused some I think; just couldn’t put it all together.
The other part was that he absolutely loved New River, and Indian Creek. When he was there, he was kinda at peace. Often, I’d see him just looking into nothing, totally relaxed.
Once he said to mom, who repeated to me, “If you want to be nothing, do nothing, come with me and live in the stinking coal camp of Stickney, West Virginia. There is no one there who has any sense or any curiosity about anything.” And more. His description of Stickney: a barber shop, a company store, dirt, dust, people with no drive, no future, no ambition for themselves or their children. Through all that, Pat had a spark, and he was crazy about his parents and Audrey (and the rest of the family though not as open).
When he retired from the Chevy plant in Cleveland, he moved back to the Beckley area; then he and Joe Hale got a place on the Greenbrier River. Although his COPD was serious, his final years were probably peaceful. He and Joe were great buddies and closest brothers, and they had fun on the Greenbrier. He died in the spring of 1982, while we were still in Lewisburg. I went to his funeral in Beckley — the Hale crowd was there, along with dad and mom.
I really liked Pat. His brain was good but never challenged. His sense of beauty was a lot like mom’s.
This video features Alan singing this song from a recording made in 1965. The opening and closing photo was taken by Alan’s brother David in the 1950s and 1960s, all of them of Sandstone Falls.
Noo River (1962)
This is one of a group of songs I wrote in the late ‘50s and early 60s. My uncle Pat Hale had a fishing partner whose name was Haxsaw; they worked in the mines together, and went fishing together on New River. Everytime Hawsaw would catch a fish, he’d yell at the top of his lungs “Noooo River”. Even if he was far away, Pat could always hear him.
Morning Star (1961)
This song just kind of wrote itself in 1961, originally as just a guitar piece called “Lonely Tune”. I then put wrote some lyrics in 2019 and renamed it “Morning Star.”