Whether the song is about Betty's Twisted Acres or Hall-of-Fame Weekend, was inspired by The Acreage, written up there, or performed at the Campfire, every song in this collection has something to do with my favorite place on the planet. If you've been to the farm, perhaps this album will help you remember some real good times, and if you haven't, hopefully it will help give you an idea of what the place is really about, and why it means so much to so many people.

GLORIOUS is simply the first word that has always come to my mind when I walk out the door and towards the 50 grand acres that rise up the mountain behind the farm house. It only makes sense to let it start, finish, and be the title of this little collection.

THE TWISTED ACRES CAMPFIRE SONG is a rollcall of the folks who frequent Betty's Twisted Acres, particularly during Hall-of-Fame Weekend, our annual 5-day mid-summer celebration... the song tells the rest of the story.

Over the years, all kinds of ridiculous songs get written off the cuff, and fade just as quickly as they come. One that didn't go away is called THE TURKEY MOUNT. I tried to imagine how the song would be recorded by artists in different musical genres, and you'll find four of those here on the CD. A huge debt is owed to the late, great Bob Wills who inspired the Western Swing version... he's the reason I learned to play lap steel; now I wish I could fiddle, too!

GIANT BISCUIT is a Serious Pilgrim song that we were playing regularly in our latter days... I wrote just about the entire song on the way up to Twisted Acres one particularly sunny afternoon.

An awful lot of songs have become campfire standards during Hall-of-Fame Weekend, but none cried out to be recorded more than ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT? The Moose turns in a typically bone-chilling reading of the monologue.

EVERYTHING I AM is the last song I wrote for the CD, and it was inspired by the strong feelings The Acreage can bring on. The same can be said for WOODCHUCK KNOLL and WHEREVER.

The Campfire seems to bring out the best in a lot of people, and the ultimate Betty's Campfire song is QUE PASA. Each person sitting at the fire improvises his/her own verse, while everyone else responds "Que Pasa" to each line... then we all sing the chorus together. Needless to say, with 30-35 people on average sitting there at the fire, it takes a while to finish the song, and it's always one of the best moments of Hall-of-Fame Weekend. There's a bonus blank verse built into the recording so you can rehearse for the next time you're up at Betty's... and based on some of the verses we get up there, you're gonna need it!

I wrote GEHRIG'S KEYCHAIN not long after my first trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame (it only took 9 hours to get me out of there!). Lou's Keychain is still there, waiting for you to make it shake. Let me know if you do.

I never expected a place to affect me the way Betty's Twisted Acres has. The Acreage has taken me through some of the best times of my life... and gotten me through some of the worst. It's where I want to be from the second I leave there until the second I get back. It's where I feel closest to the people I miss most... and it's where you can find me.

PRODUCED BY MARTIN RIVAS I PLAYED ALL THE INSTRUMENTS, TOO.

ALL SONGS WRITTEN BY MARTIN RIVAS EXCEPT WHERE NOTED.
©2001 LOGGING TRAIL MUSIC (BMI). ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

THIS RECORDING IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MY PAL BETTY LANDY.