Chumstick Beans
This song celebrates the life of some good friends of mine in the Chumstick Valley in Washington State. When I introduced the song to the musicians on the recording, Keith Little asked “what is a ‘Chumstick bean’ ?”. So a few words of explanation may be in order. My friends acquired a parcel of land beside Chumstick Creek. On the opposite side, is a railroad track, whose pleasantly rumbling trains find their way into my song. “Ringtail” was their cat. The first thing they built was a platform near the creek. It soon had a roof but no walls, a very nice old wood burning cookstove, some chairs, and some shelves. And there they lived as they built their “real house” over several years. After moving into the house, meals in the summer were sometimes still had down at the old platform (the “castle” in the song) or nearby at the creek. A typical summer lunch was mashed pinto beans heated with a bit of olive oil (frijoles refritos) on hot tortillas with a freshly picked salad. Is there anything better? Nothing in the world beats Chumstick Beans.
Their boy was a basketball fanatic in his early teens. There was a hoop and court built just outside the kitchen door of the house. But how do you dribble in three feet of snow? How do you even find the court? He wasn’t going to be stopped by such small inconveniences and this hopeless but fun endeavor got a fitting name: Alaskatball. As for the bathtub, you need a step ladder to get up to it. It had to be up high or you couldn’t get down the cellar stairs without bumping your head. Trust me, it’s so.
Chumstick Beans
(Jody Stecher/Vegetiboy Music BMI)
Chumstick beans, put em on the boil
Mash em in the skillet, add a little oil
Eat em by the creek with garden greens
Nothing in the world beats Chumstick beans.
Chumstick train in the middle of the night
Rumbles up the creek when the moon is bright
Shakes your bed and wakes you from your dreams
Wakes ya to a belly full of Chumstick beans
chorus: Chumstick beans they’re all right
Eat em by the creek when the sun shines bright
Food from the table of kings and queens
Never was better than Chumstick beans
Chumstick cat on a ringtail prowl
Under the moon with a kittypuss growl
Double stop fiddle and a blue guitar
Cascade mountains, shooting star.
chorus:Chumstick beans, they’re alright
Eat em by the gallon when the sun shines bright
Won’t be back till the middle of the week
Good times on Chumstick Creek
Shootin’ hoop in three foot snow
Ain’t no tellin’ where the ball will go
Alaskatball, sink or slide
Chumstick kitchen right inside.
Chumstick bathtub up in the air
Chumstick cellar under the stairs
Chumstick castle down by the creek
Chumstick beans can’t be beat
chorus:Chumstick beans, they’re alright
Eat em by the barrel when the sun shines bright
Eat em in your old age, eat em in your teens
Nothing in the world beats Chumstick beans
chorus: Chumstick beans, they’re alright
Eat em by the bucket in the middle of night
Eat em in your PJs , eat em in your jeans
Nothing in the world beats Chumstick beans
Jody Stecher: lead vocal and guitar
Keith Little: harmony vocal and banjo
Chad Manning: fiddle
Paul Knight: bass