From the recording Poison River "Live" MP3
Gary Antol: Vocals/Guitar, Libby Eddy: Fiddle/Vocals, Ray Bruckman: Mandolin/Fiddle/Vocals, Jody Mosser: Dobro/Vocals
Recorded and Engineered by Will Shenks, Métier Mastering, and Recording Studio
Poison River (Live) Bio
Hailing from the mountain towns of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland, The Jakob's Ferry Stragglers draw freely from Old-Time, Bluegrass, Rockabilly, and Swing music to create their own brand of high energy, Appalachian Bluegrass.
Gary Antol (guitar/vocals) and Libby Eddy (fiddle/vocals) founded the band in 2014 with a straightforward goal: write good songs, honor the music, and take it to the road.
Their music, described as heavy and traditional with stirring harmonies, powerful instrumentation, and progressive originality, has been experienced on festival stages including Delfest, Grey Fox, Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival, Darrington Bluegrass Festival, and others across the country.
In 2015 they released their debut album, The Lane Change, which was a collection of both original and traditional songs focusing on journeys through personal relationships as well as life in the coal mining towns of central Appalachia.
The song's soaring vocals showcase Libby Eddy's uniquely Appalachian voice, steeped in the cultural traditions of her rural West Virginia upbringing, with the strength of a people ready to fight for survival.
In 2018, the band released its third studio effort, Poison River, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Will Shenk at National Media Services in Front Royal, VA. Poison River features original music written by Antol, Eddy, and mandolinist, Ray Bruckman. Appalachian Jamwich's review of the album called it "pure musical magic." The album's lead single "When the Redbud Blooms" received national airplay, including a premier on Annette Grady's The Bluegrass Jamboree.
"Poison River" is the first single, which will be followed by many more strong songs showcased on the upcoming live album.
Lyrics
On a winter’s night, you set me sailing,
Everything is fine now that you’re part of me.
I was frozen in the tied of an invading sea,
Stranded in the waves of growing floods.
On a winter’s night, frosted blight, you paint me breathless in the moonlight.
Down by the water side, you swung so high,
Set me sailing, so fair on the shore, in a moonlight gown.
On a winter’s night you set me sailing,
Frigid raindrops meld upon the infant bonds of love.
I was never more alive, in a regaling dream.
Cast away the fears of mooring love.
On a winter’s night, frosted blight, you paint me breathless in the moonlight.
Down by the waterside, you swung so high,
You set me sailing so fair on the shore, in a moonlight gown.
On a winter’s night you set me sailing,
Alight upon the winds of mercy, guiding trouble skies.
Laid upon are the eyes of ever failing dreams,
Laid upon on a heart of stony blood.
On a winter’s night, frosted blight, you paint me breathless in the moonlight.
Down by the waterside, we swung so high,
Set me sailing, so fair, on the shore in a moonlight gown.