Ruth & Max Bloomquist

A Wedding Prayer

© 4/07 by Ruth A. Bloomquist

Lord bless this woman                    
Who stands here today                
Light her path for the journey            
Show her the way                        
Fill her heart with the courage            
To weather all life's storms                
Bless this woman Lord hold her in Your arms  

Lord bless this man
Who stands here today
Teach him patience is often the key
Give him wisdom to choose
A life that leads to You
Bless this man Lord show him Your way      CHORUS  

CHORUS
    To have & to hold from this day forward                  

 To love & forgive what comes with time                  

 To cherish the moments spent together                  

 Oh Lord make them blessed in Your eyes (*end)    

Lord bless this union
Performed here today
May they shine with your light
For others to see
May their hearts know the wonder
Of being one with you
Bless this union Lord, rejoice in what You've made    CHORUS

*Oh Lord make them blessed in Your eyes     Amen

DADDY WAS AN OLD MAN©4-2-08
by Ruth A. Bloomquist
CHORUS
  Daddy was an old man the day that I was born
  He was even older when my brother came along
  Born before the airplane the car & telephone
  Daddy was an old man and the railroad was his home

Daddy met a pretty girl and he courted her by train
Two hours just to see her and two hours home again
They took the train to Macon, the day he took her hand
He took her home to be his wife, the wife of a railroad man  CHORUS

The railroad kept us moving to several little towns
But Daddy wasn’t home much, his job was railroad bound
When he was he told us stories of life upon the rail
Mama  kept us grounded church on Sunday without fail   CHORUS


His boys just kept on growing. One died in Vietnam.
Daddy met him at the gates, by that time he was gone.  
For  all the years between us, And all the years we had
He taught me how to be a man. I’m proud he was my Dad    CHORUS

MICHIGAN GIRL© 1/15/06

by Ruth A. Bloomquist

Well it snowed last night in my hometown

And all the schools have been shut down

And the snowplows prowl the streets all by themselves

I remember times that happened to me

And how glad I was to be set free

 I wish that I could feel that way right now

CHORUS

Maybe it’s something in the water

Maybe it’s something in the air

Maybe the leaves in the autumn

That keeps me coming back here

I’m a Michigan Girl

Raised in the shade of the white pine

Walked the trails of the Porcupine

Proud to call this home mine

Well I heard they closed The Bridge last week

Cause the wind was high where the water’s deep

& The cars backed up for miles on both sides

& I remember when we rode Big Mac

Afraid we’d fall between the cracks

I can’t wait to take that Northern ride again         CHORUS

When the autumn leaves start coming down

Dancing red & gold and oak tree brown

With a kiss of summer still upon the air

I will somehow find my way back home

To the golden dunes and the big lake foam

To the rhythm of my heartbeat and my soul                  CHORUS

THE HIGHWAY SONG © 4-5-09 by Ruth A. Bloomquist
I’ve been riding this highway in sun, rain & snow
I’m no longer counting the days
And those long white lines all look the same
Maybe I’ve lost my way
Maybe I should have left this highway
Behind me a long time ago
But in my heart it seems like the right way to go

Chorus-  I can see them in the distance in my rearview mirror
And they’re moving at the speed of light
Soon they’ll be by me in a flash and out of sight

I have seen on this highway some very fast cars
Eager to find their way through
With all of that muscle & all of that power
As if they had something to prove
Some of them drive like there’ll be no tomorrow
And maybe for some that is true
Maybe that next shooting star in the sky will be you

I have shared this old highway with many a soul
Some of them drive 55
Sometimes I pass them, sometimes they pass me
Sometimes we ride side by side
Often I wonder just where they are going
And if they are now close to home
And how long they’ll stay there before they are tempted to roam

Same Old Grind © 4/07

by Ruth A. Bloomquist

Everyday it’s the same old grind

Get up early, leave the house behind

When All I really want to do is stay in bed

Pull those covers up around my hear

Make believe today that I am someone else instead

I’m looking outside as the snowflakes fly

They said spring was early but again they lied

Well all I really want to do is fly away

Find me an island where the palm trees sway

Make believe I really lived all my life this way  Chorus

Chorus      

       9 to 5 and a two hour drive

       There must be more to being alive

       One more day and I think I’ll cry

       I want to do more than just survive

All I really want to do is find someone

Who’ll rub my shoulders when the day is done

We’ll travel all around the world a time or two

Wear out thirty, forty pairs of shoes

We won’t have to make believe because it’s true  Chorus

One Day Ain’t Enough©2004

by Ruth A. Bloomquist

I been thinking about you and me

‘bout what we got and what we need

And I decided to tell you now

Just how much you mean to me

CHORUS

But one day ain’t enough

To tell you of my love

Like the full moon up above

One day ain’t enough

I was lonely when you arrived

Confused and all beat up inside

And you decided to take my hand

From that day you turned the tide            CHORUS

I Been counting all they years

All the laughs and all the tears

And it’s decided here & now

Till the end of time my path is clear            CHORUS

MAMA SAID© 1996
by Ruth A. Bloomquist

Mama said don’t go too fast
Cause being young just don’t  last
And being old takes a long, long time
And you’ll want to remember when

Mama said don’t go to far
The water gets deep where you are
Soon you’ll be out over your head
And the waters will sweep you away     CHORUS

CHORUS
Mama loves blue skies
Mama loves blue eyes
Mama loves blue birds
Singing outside her kitchen window  

Mama said don’t choose a man
Without a callous on his hand
He won’t know how to work the land
And your babies will cry in the night

Mama said love the Lord
Keep all your sins above the board
Lord knows you can’t keep them stored
And the waters will wash them away     CHORUS (x2)

        Mama I’ll remember you
        Your advice rings so true
        Mama I ain’t got a clue
        And I wish that you were here

Mama chased the rainbows down
Hoping they’d take her out of town
Looking to see if the pot of gold
Was all that she was told

Mama chased whiskey with water
Every time  she thought of the daughter
That ran off a year this May
To join a revival band    CHORUS

I Don’t Remember A Waltz©1998

by Ruth A. Bloomquist

She was a wide eyed beauty

Some thought that she’d never stay

Some thought the town was too small for her dreams

Some thought that she’d fly away

But one night at the midsummer fair

A boy caught her eye from the edge of the crowd

They danced to the songs that the old boys remember

Some thought they were dancing on clouds

CHORUS

He said

I don’t remember a waltz

But that’s what she said that we danced to that night

I just remember the stars and her eyes

But I don’t remember a waltz

The days and the months flowed together

They courted and married and stayed

They worked the land with thier backs and thier hands

They raised thier children and prayed

The dust brought tears to thier eyes

The floods washed thier crops clean away

But somehow thier love held them tight to the land

And dreams of the past they’d replay CHORUS

Now she’s still a wide eyed beauty

Though silver now touches her hair

And her dreams are still grand for the town and the land

And he knows she won’t fly away

At night now they dance in the kitchen

She says remember the first waltz we had

Remember the moon and the stars at midsummer

Remember the girl and the lad

And he says

I don’t remember a waltz

But that’s what you said that we danced to that night

I just remember the stars and your eyes

But I don’t remember a waltz.

I don’t remember a waltz

But that’s what you said that we danced to that night

I just remember the stars

But I don’t remember a waltz