Garnet lives on a farm in rural Ontario, where his wife raises champion thoroughbreds.
Blue Smoke
Garnet Rogers Lyrics
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River running slow
Charlie watched the moon rise
Fat and pale an hour or so ago
He heard the distant call of geese
In the faintly glowing west
Circling low and falling fast
He pitched his cigarette past the front porch rail
Watched it glowing in the dark
The night wind rose and stirred the grass
Fanned the glowing spark
It flared and caught the porch boards
Tinder dry from drought
He watched it grow and made no move
To try and put it out
Some shiny new guy down at the bank
With a loud and booming voice
He shuffled papers looked away
Said ‘sir we have no choice’
Charlie tried to reason with them
It’s like they never heard
He had no more to offer them
He only had his word
The wind increased, the flames blew up
The porch grew black and charred
He rose at length, picked up his gun
Walked out in the yard
Where his truck was parked
All piled with boxes, furniture and such
Twenty hears of pain and heartache
Don’t amount to much
No idea where to go
No way for him stay
He turned the key, let out the clutch
Slowly drove away
In the rearview mirror
He watched the flames roar up the wall
Sparks exploded skyward
As he watched the front porch fall
He pulled out on the highway
In the distance saw the lights
Hear the high and keening wail
Of sirens in the night
He pulled a cigarette from his pocket
Hit the lighter in the dash
Carefully thought of nothing
As the fire trucks went passed
He lies quiet in a motel room
His hands behind his head
He keeps his mind a perfect blank
While lying on the bed
The timbers and the chimney rise up
Blackened ruined and charred
To mark the spot where Charlie loved too long
And way too hard
"Blue Smoke" is a poignant song by Garnet Rogers that tells the heartbreaking story of a man named Charlie who loses everything he has ever worked for and loved. The song opens with the image of blue smoke across the stubble fields and the slow-running river, which sets a contemplative and melancholic mood. As Charlie watches the moon rise, he hears the distant call of geese circling low and falling fast. He pitches his cigarette past the front porch rail, and the night wind flares and catches the porch boards, which are tinder dry from drought. As the flames grow, the porch grows black and charred, and Charlie makes no move to try to put it out.
The song then shifts to the scene at the bank where Charlie has to confront some shiny, new guy who tells him that they have no choice, and they have to repossess his home. Charlie tries to reason with them, but they ignore him, and the wind increases, blowing up the flames even higher. By the end of the song, Charlie leaves his burning home and drives away with no idea where to go or how to start again. He lies in a motel room, keeping his mind a perfect blank and thinking of nothing as the timbers and the chimney of his burnt-down home rise up blackened, ruined, and charred.
Line by Line Meaning
Blue smoke across the stubble fields
The smoke is spreading across the fields where there is little to no vegetation.
River running slow
The river in the area nearby is slow.
Charlie watched the moon rise
Charlie is watching the moon as it is rising over the horizon.
Fat and pale an hour or so ago
The moon was big and uncolored around an hour ago.
He heard the distant call of geese
Charlie noticed the distant sounds of geese.
In the faintly glowing west
The light from the setting sun is dimly visible in the west.
Circling low and falling fast
The geese are flying close to the ground and quickly descending to rest in the fields.
In the distant fields to rest
The geese are flying to the distant fields to rest.
He pitched his cigarette past the front porch rail
Charlie threw his cigarette butt beyond the front porch's railing.
Watched it glowing in the dark
Charlie observed the still-burning cigarette in the dark.
The night wind rose and stirred the grass
The wind started blowing and swaying the grass.
Fanned the glowing spark
The wind fueled the glowing spark of the cigarette and made it more prominent.
It flared and caught the porch boards
The fireflame from the cigarette that landed on the porch's tinder caused the porch boards to catch fire.
Tinder dry from drought
The porch's boards were dry and flammable from the drought.
He watched it grow and made no move
Charlie saw the fire grow but didn't take any action to put it out.
To try and put it out
Charlie didn't attempt to extinguish the fire.
Some shiny new guy down at the bank
There's a new banker in town who seems inexperienced.
With a loud and booming voice
The banker's voice was loud and dominant.
He shuffled papers looked away
The banker shuffled his papers and avoided Charlie's gaze.
Said ‘sir we have no choice’
The banker informs Charlie, in a definitive tone, that there is no alternative or decision to make.
Charlie tried to reason with them
Charlie attempted to reason with the banker and his associates.
It’s like they never heard
The banker and his associates ignored Charlie's appeals and seemed not to hear him.
He had no more to offer them
Charlie had no additional evidence or facts to persuade the banker or his associates.
He only had his word
Charlie could only offer his account of the incident or his verbal assurance.
The wind increased, the flames blew up
The flames escalated and grew stronger with the gusts of wind.
The porch grew black and charred
The porch turned dark and got ruined from the fire flames.
He rose at length, picked up his gun
Charlie stands up and took his firearm.
Walked out in the yard
Charlie walks out into the yard of his house.
Where his truck was parked
Charlie went to the spot where he had parked his truck.
All piled with boxes, furniture and such
Charlie's truck was loaded with his possessions; boxes, and furniture, etc.
Twenty hears of pain and heartache
Charlie has been in pain and heartache for twenty years.
Don’t amount to much
His pain and sufferings are negligible and have little value or worth compared to his other recent circumstances.
No idea where to go
Charlie is not sure where he can go from here.
No way for him stay
Charlie doesn't have any options to stay put here anymore.
He turned the key, let out the clutch
Charlie starts the truck by turning the ignition key and releases the clutch.
Slowly drove away
Charlie slowly drives his truck to leave the area behind.
In the rearview mirror
Charlie looked back at a reflection of his surroundings in the outside mirror mounted on the truck.
He watched the flames roar up the wall
Charlie witnessed the fire rising out of his house.
Sparks exploded skyward
The sparks from the fire rose into the sky.
As he watched the front porch fall
Charlie watched as the porch outside his front door fell apart from the fire's intensity.
He pulled out on the highway
Charlie is now driving on the highway.
In the distance saw the lights
Charlie could see some lights far ahead.
Hear the high and keening wail
Charlie heard the shrill wail of alarms or sirens.
Of sirens in the night
There were sirens audible during the night.
He pulled a cigarette from his pocket
Charlie took a cigarette out of his pocket, while now driving.
Hit the lighter in the dash
Charlie ignited the lighter, mounted on the dashboard of the truck.
Carefully thought of nothing
Charlie intentionally avoided thinking of anything significant.
As the fire trucks went passed
Charlie is unaffected by the sound of the passing fire trucks.
He lies quiet in a motel room
Charlie is lying quietly in a room of a motel.
His hands behind his head
Charlie's hands are behind his head while lying on the bed.
He keeps his mind a perfect blank
Charlie is intentionally preventing his mind from engaging in any other thought or concern.
While lying on the bed
Charlie is still lying on the motel bed here too.
The timbers and the chimney rise up
The remains of the house indicate the position where the chimney and all the timbers that make it up were.
Blackened ruined and charred
The house is now charred and ruined from the fire that consumed it.
To mark the spot where Charlie loved too long
This is to indicate the place where Charlie loved his home and lived for too long.
And way too hard
Charlie held onto his home with too much intensity and difficulty.
Contributed by Kaitlyn M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@boclown100
Lost my precious,brilliant loving older Brother in a plane crash 25 years ago..I hear this masterpiece of brotherly love by Garnet and I choke up and miss him so very much even after all these years.Simply a beautiful song from a fine man to his legendary,gifted, dearly missed Brother.
@ref6122
I dont think Ive ever heard a song that captures an emotion better than this one.What can I say say ?Haunting,evocative,deeply personal,ineffable !
@g-girl9867
Cried both times I heard Garnet perform this - 20 years ago! That guitar vibrato...like a bell.
@dw9780
Fantastic haunting tribute unforgettable
@macpduff2119
This may very well be my favorite song of all time. Garnet has that nuanced Canadian voice that the young Ian Tyson had.
@TamaraTemple
agreed. this has long been my fave song by garnet. i first heard it live back about a decade or so ago, maybe longer, when a friend took me to one of his coffeehouse concerts in santa cruz. i was in tears by the end.
@Caper1Forever
deep and rich, like dark chocolate
@Bitterrootbackroads
I only caught on to Stan long after he was gone, and Garnet even later once YouTube came along. Decades earlier growing up in the US, but with mostly radio / B&W Canadian TV out of Winnipeg, I put up with what Mom & Dad liked. Don Messers Jubilee followed by Ian & Sylvia. Absorbed a lot of Canada from both, but Ian especially. When my friends and I started buying records it was Led Zeppelin for them, Ian & Sylvias greatest hits for me, and I still have it.
@lbshore
It's an absolutely amazing song.
@jasonantigua6825
Love your channel