THE KINGSTON TRIO
STAY AWHILE
Original 1965 album liner notes
Side One
1. HANNA LEE
Richard Mills-Stan Jones
2. THREE SONG
Mason Williams
3. GONNA GO DOWN THE RIVER
Buddy Mize-Dallas Frazier
4. RUSTING IN THE RAIN
Rod McKuen
5. DOOLEY
Mitchell Jayne-Rodney Dillard
6. IF I HAD A SHIP
Mason Williams
Side Two
1. YES I CAN FEEL IT
Mason Williams
2. BOTTLE OF WINE
Tom Paxton
3. STORIES OF OLD
John Stewart
4. WHERE I’M BOUND
Tom Paxton
5. IF YOU SEE ME GO
Mike Stewart
6. STAY AWHILE
Nick Reynolds-Bob Shane-John Stewart
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Produced by Frank Werber for Trident Productions
January 4, 1965. Sitting on a jet-propelled airplane. There is a pretty girl wearing a funny hat in the seat in front of me. The man next to me has a very ugly briefcase. Since airplanes are not particularly pleasant to the touch, at least on the inside, I look out the window. I notice that mountains look somewhat like the skin of a rhino from 24,000 feet up…I feel certain that a rhino’s skin looks like mountains from 24 inches away so it all averages out nicely. I sneeze and there are several beads of spit on the window…everyone is aware of them.
Flaps flapping, we are about to land at the San Francisco airport. I see some little green gears in the wings…thirty-five different water-colors below…a jet rising from the horizon, and I write a quick poem:
In the distance
A jet’s persistence
The gods jiggle our great skybird, which doesn’t bother me, but I notice the ever-present white waxed bag in the pocket on the back of the seat in front of me. It could come closer to making me sick than the gods…ugly thing.
We land smoothly, green gears galore.
I’m supposed to meet the Kingston Trio today and work with them on arrangements and recording some of my songs. That is good. I drive to Nick Reynolds’ house in Sausalito. I meet his wife and kid. We have coffee in the morning while the kid tries to destroy their pet big white dog. Looking out of Nick’s living room window, I decide to write a poem about it.
Reynolds’ Why Window
Through the window
The wind bends
The green-tassel tree
The gray bay waters lay
At the bottom of the day
The lumpy-hump hill
Is very still,
As not to dislodge
Its hodgepodge of lodgings
The double-silver sky
Completes the why
There’s a window
John Stewart arrives wearing pith helmet, green canvas coat with hammer-holder loops and Smokey-The-Bear buttons on it, ridiculous shoes, and the traditional shirt and pants. I do not even attempt to guess about his underwear.
Everyone says: “Hello, more or less.”
We talk and drink extreme coffee.
I quietly ask Nick: “Isn’t John dressed a little funny even for San Francisco?”
Nick replies: “Well, he can’t run around naked.”
“No, I guess not,” I say.
Bob Shane appears.
“What happened to you yesterday, Bob?” says John. “We tried to locate you all day for rehearsal.”
“Same old problem,” says Bob seriously.
“What same old problem?” I ask John secretly.
“The Jet Set,” says John. “The International Jet Set is constantly kidnapping Bob and carting him off to occult social gatherings. They force him to sing ‘Scotch And Soda.’ It’s either that or he’s slipped in the shower and knocked himself out for awhile, which is practically the same thing…only once we found him in his backyard behind some bushes, tangled helplessly in a plastic garden hose.”
“I see,” I say.
We settle down to work and rehearse for about five hours. I like being in the middle of their sound and I see what has made the Kingston Trio a success. They work hard!
We pack up instruments and stuff to go down to the recording studio. I ride with Nick. On the way we pass some houseboats on the edge of the bay. “We used to live in a houseboat,” says Nick, “but it sank one night and we had to move. If the water ever goes down, we’ll move back perhaps. I’ve got a lot of clothes and shoes and hats down there.”
At the studio we begin immediately – to have fun. It’s like a three-ring circus. Frank Werber sits in the control booth controlling, laughing, and eating weird fruitcake. I don’t remember how it happened, but somehow we came out with four good recordings. I only remember having a great time and Frank’s beard full of weird fruitcake.
Ordinarily I wouldn’t write this much on the back of a record cover, but ordinarily I wouldn’t write on the back of a record cover. I write ordinarily poems.
How about Them Kingston Trio,
Ain’t they honies?
Singin’ my songs,
Makin’ me monies.
MASON WILLIAMS
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About MASON WILLIAMS
Poet, song writer, brilliant instrumentalist and performer, Mason Williams is one of the exciting new “voices” of our times. Although his material has been recorded by many, our interpretation of it to date has been limited to “Them Poems.” At this time we hope to rectify this oversight by presenting what we feel are three of his best works: Yes I Can Feel It, Three Song, and If I Had A Ship. Incidentally, Mason’s first book, “Bicyclists Dismount,” will soon be available to the public at large.
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DECCA
FULL STEREO
This is a true Hi-Fi Stereophonic record. For proper Stereo reproduction use RIAA equalization setting. IMPORTANT: This true Stereophonic Long Play 33 1/3 RPM record can be played only on phonographs engineered for Stereo reproduction. With a change to Stereo cartridge, it is possible to obtain adequate performance from any regular (monaural) phonographs. See your dealer or electronic serviceman for details.
Proper care of this Stereo record will prolong its life and increase your listening enjoyment: Keep stored in special protective envelope; avoid handling playing surface; wipe with soft, slightly damp cloth; set phono for proper speed and be sure needle pressure is adjusted for Stereo playback; check needle frequently for wear – if defective it can permanently damage this Stereo record.
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Printed in U.S.A.
DL 74656
