If I Were A Carpenter

Geoffrey Clarfield
2 days ago
2 min read

I just took a walk down Hocken Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during a warm summer day. Decades ago, a friend lived there. He would invite upcoming folk guitarists and singers from Toronto to play in his back yard. I was sixteen at the time and the other musicians were all in their twenties. I held my own.

One of my songs was my own rendition of Tim Hardin's ballad, "If I Were A Carpenter."

A few months ago I took this song to Ein Kerem outside Jerusalem and recorded it at the house of gifted Israeli nai player Gal Amar. You can hear the results below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koSzR0X0dl0

If I Were A Carpenter

If I were a carpenter, and you were a lady

Would you marry me anyways? Would you have my baby?

If a tinker were my trade, would you still find me

Carrying pots I made, followin' behind me?

Save my love through loneliness

Save my love for sorrow

I'll give you my only-ness

Give me your whole tomorrow

If I worked my hands in wood, would you still love me?

Answer me, babe: "Yes I would", I'd put you above me

If I were a miller, at a mill wheel grindin'

Would you miss your color box, soft shoes shinin'?