Name: The Paint Is Faded
Duration: P00H03M35S
Description: The story of and elderly couple who get evicted from their apartment because their landlord wants to build something more expensive. The song ends with a plea "Where shall we go?" Homelessness in Canada is reaching epic proportions and this song speaks to the hardship of "Renoviction".

The Paint Is Faded

by Don Oakie

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$1 CAD or more

about

The story of and elderly couple who get evicted from their apartment because their landlord wants to build something more expensive. The song ends with a plea "Where shall we go?" Homelessness in Canada is reaching epic proportions and this song speaks to the hardship of "Renoviction".

lyrics

The Paint Is Faded (Don Oakie 1975)
Aug 25/21

The paint is faded in the stairway
From blue to aging grey
A tile or two upon the roof
Dies slowly everyday
But they still keep out the rain
Old walls still stand the strain

Behind the door which holds my name
I hang my hat rest my bones
I call it home

Our street is full of working folks
Like Margaret and me
For thirty years we’ve paid our rent
And raised our family
The memories these old walls contain
Of our joys and our pain

Behind the door which holds my name
I hang my hat
I rest my bones
I call it home

Instrumental break

The man who owns it came to say
He’s going to tear it down
A bright new building’s
Good for business
In this part of town

His home it lies far away
He’s safe at the end of the day
Not everybody can pay
His golden price
So do you know
Where shall we go?

Do you know
Do you know
Do you know
Where shall we go?
Where shall we go?

credits

released September 8, 2021
Lyrics, music and vocals - Don Oakie
Piano and acoustic guitar - Vezi Tayyeb
Production engineer - Vezi Tayyeb
Mastered by Ben Pelchat
Recorded at Kensington Sound, Toronto

license

about

Don Oakie Hamilton, Ontario

After spending 40 years as a yacht builder, Don Oakie has decided it is time to return to his first passion - music - and also to record his much awaited album.

Don is a roots musician easily gliding back and forth between fingerstyle acoustic guitar to electric blues.

The Paint Is Faded is the first song to be released from his current album COMING HOME ... more

contact / help

Contact Don Oakie

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Don Oakie, you may also like:

House and Land
by House and Land

House and Land offer a stirring take on classic Appalachian folk; this is delicate, heartfelt balladry. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 22, 2017
go to album
Spider Tales
by Jake Blount

This album speaks to the continuum of African diasporic culture that is central to the vibrant canon of Americana folk music. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 29, 2020
go to album
Old Habits
by Kat Wallace and David Sasso

This New Haven duo write bright and emotionally resonant folk music where sweeping strings elevate gorgeous melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 23, 2021
go to album
Wealth of Sorrow
by Cahalen Morrison

Bright and skipping songs that foreground the sound of the banjo and fingerstyle guitar in music that feels timeless. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 5, 2020
go to album
Live at Club 47
by Doc Watson

A partnership between Yep Roc and The Southern Folklife Collection, the LP features a never-before-heard live performance by Doc Watson. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 16, 2018
go to album
Le cirque
by Canailles

Boozy, brooding gypsy folks writing in French Quebecois joual, and stewing bluegrass, cajun, and country sounds. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 1, 2013
go to album
Long Time To Be Gone
by Nora Brown

Nora Brown continues to bring nuance and resonance to her modern interpretation of Appalachian folk and bluegrass on her latest LP. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 30, 2022
go to album