B i o g r a p h y (by Steve Huey)
Although it didn't originally have anything to do with their sound, the Cowboy Junkies' name wound up seeming pretty accurate: their music was grounded in traditional country, blues, and folk, yet drifted along in a sleepy, narcotic haze that clearly bore the stamp of the Velvet Underground. The vast majority of their songs were spare and quiet, taken at lethargic tempos and filled with languid guitars and detached, ethereal vocals courtesy of Margo Timmins. Over the late '80s and '90s, the group recorded a succession of critically acclaimed albums that found favor in the alternative rock community. The Cowboy Junkies were founded by guitarist/songwriter Michael Timmins and bassist Alan Anton (born Alan Alizojvodic), who first played together in a Toronto-based band called the Hunger Project in 1979. They later moved to the U.K. and played with an avant-garde instrumental outfit called Germinal, but eventually grew weary of the group's style and returned to Toronto in 1984. They started jamming with Timmins' brother Peter on drums, and in 1985 they recruited a vocalist in sister Margo, at the time a social worker who'd never sung publicly before. Dubbing themselves the Cowboy Junkies simply because the name had a ring to it, they formed their own independent label, Latent, and released their debut album, Whites Off Earth Now!!, in 1986. Featuring only one original song, the album was recorded using only one microphone, and although it was initially available only in Canada, it helped them land a major-label deal with RCA. Their first widespread release was 1988's The Trinity Session, which was recorded inside Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity in the span of one night -- again using only one microphone. The Trinity Session became a cult hit, earning rave reviews from critics and substantial college radio airplay for tracks like "Misguided Angel" and their cover of "Sweet Jane." Now an underground sensation, the Cowboy Junkies decided to concentrate more on Michael Timmins' original material for the bigger-budget follow-up, 1989's The Caution Horses. The album didn't cause quite as much of a stir, although it helped maintain their cult fan base. Released in 1992, the even more countrified Black Eyed Man found Timmins settling more comfortably into his songwriting voice, which set the stage for 1993's Pale Sun, Crescent Moon. Hailed as their finest effort since The Trinity Session, the record bore more influence from rock and blues, and returned the Junkies to critics' darling status. However, it also proved to be their final album of new material for RCA. As the band left for Geffen, RCA issued the two-disc live compilation 200 More Miles and the best-of Studio. Meanwhile, the Junkies debuted for Geffen in 1996 with Lay It Down, a relatively high-volume effort compared to their shimmering early work. Following 1998's Miles from Our Home, the Cowboy Junkies parted ways with Geffen and revived their own Latent label. Their first release was the 2000 live album Waltz Across America, which was initially available only through the band's website. They followed it a year later with an album of all-new material, Open. One Soul Now followed in 2004. In 2005, the group released Early 21st Century Blues, a collection of covers -- and two originals -- that dealt with "war, violence, fear, greed, ignorance and loss." Recorded in just five days, it harked back to The Trinity Session. Later that year, the band was featured on the Beatles tribute album This Bird Has Flown, which was produced by Jim Sampas and featured various artists including the Donnas and Dar Williams. Meanwhile, the band was busy collaborating with visual artist Enrique Martinez Celaya on a commemorative art book. Released in 2006, Cowboy Junkies XX was a retrospective piece intended to celebrate the band's 20th anniversary. It featured original watercolors by Celaya, handwritten song lyrics, and photographs gathered from the bandmembers' personal collections. The band released a new album called At the End of Paths Taken in the spring of 2007, followed several years later by the announcement of the so-called Nomad Series, an 18-month cycle that aimed to produce four albums built around common (but separate) narratives. Renmin Park: The Nomad Series, Vol. 1 was released in 2010. Following closely on its heels was 2011's Demons: The Nomad Series, Vol. 2, a covers album featuring songs originally written by the late Vic Chesnutt, the band's longtime friend and occasional tourmate. The third volume, Sing in My Meadow, released later in 2011, featured a live, garage rock sound, while the fourth, The Wilderness, which appeared early in 2012, featured new songs and completed the ambitious Nomad Series project. A box set featuring all four Nomad Series albums, plus a disc of extras, also followed in 2012. In 2013, the band presented a recording of Toronto poet Scott Garbe's The Kennedy Suite, a song cycle centered on the 1963 assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. While only one song on the set is fully credited to the Cowboy Junkies proper, its various members participated throughout and Michael Timmins is listed as co-producer. In August of 2015, Timmins announced another box set. Notes Falling Slow included remastered versions of three albums recorded during the first decade of the 21st century -- Open, One Soul Now, and At the End of Paths Taken. It also featured a fourth disc of new recordings. Songs written for these three albums were left unfinished until this project was assembled. A video for the title track and "Cold Evening Wind" were pre-released that month, followed by a series of podcasts where Timmins discussed several songs. The box was issued at the end of October 2015.
Whites Off Earth Now !! - 1986-06-28 -
Shining Moon State Trooper Me and the Devil Decoration Day Baby, Please Don't Go I'll Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive Take Me Forgive Me Crossroads
The Trinity Session - 1988-11-15 -
Mining For Gold Misguided Angel Blue Moon Revisited I Don't Get It I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry To Love is To Bury 200 More Miles Dreaming My Dreams With You Working on a Building Sweet Jane Postcard Blues Walking After Midnight
Whites off earth now !! Shining moon (Lightnin' Hopkins) Don't the moon look pretty Shining down through the trees Don't that shining moon look pretty, baby Shining down through the trees You know I can see my baby When he can't see me Yeah, I tiptoe to his window Just to see my baby snore I tiptoe to his window Just to see how sweetie snores You know it makes me feel like jumping, lord, lord Through the keyhole in his door Come crawl up to your window Let me whisper in your ear Come on and crawl up to your window, darling Let me whisper in your ear You know, I got somthing to tell you, baby I don't want that girl around here ...keep her away State trooper (Bruce Springsteen) New Jersey Turnpike Riding on a wet night 'neath the refinery's glow Down where the great black river flow Licence, registration: I ain't got none But I got a clear conscience 'bout the things that I done Mister State Trooper Please don't stop me Please don't stop me Please don't stop me Maybe you got a kid Maybe you got a pretty wife The only thing that I got's Been bugging me my whole life Mister State Trooper Please don't stop me Please don't stop me Please don't ya stop me Well, in the wee wee hours Your mind gets hazy Radio relay towers Gonna lead me to my baby Radio's jammed up with talk show stations It's just talk, talk, talk, talk 'til you lose your patience Mister State Trooper Please don't stop me Please don't stop me Please don't ya stop me Hey, somebody out there Listen to my last prayer, Heigh-ho Silver oh, Deliver me from nowhere Me and the devil (Robert Johnson) Early this morning, he knocked on my door Early this morning he knocked on my door I said "Hello, Satan, I believe it's time to go" Me and The Devil are walkin' side by side Me and The Devil are walkin' side by side Well, I'm goin' to beat my man until I get satisfied He says I don't do him right That I dog him around Well, babe, you know you ain't treating me right He says I don't do him right that I dog him around Well, it must be this old evil spirit So deep down within the ground You may bury my body down by the highway side ...oh, babe I don't care what you do with my body You may bury my body down by the highway side So my old evil spirit can catch a Greyhound bus and ride Early this morning, he knocked on my door Now me and The Devil are walking side by side Side by side Decoration day (John Lee Hooker) I had a man, who's good and kind in his way Yeah I had a man, sweet and kind in his way Lord, he died and he left me and I sing the blues on every decoration day Lord I was standing, standing 'round my baby's bed Well, my Lord, my lord he take my baby away Why, why, why, why when your soul don't come back Lord, I hung my head and cried Said, now baby please please don't worry Said, now baby please please don't worry 'cause everybody's gotta go Why, why, why, why The best man, God knows, I ever had All day, that Sunday I just hung my head and cried So sad, that Sunday When my Lord he take my baby Why, why, why, why I need my baby on some old lonesome day and I sing the blues on every decoration day on every decoration day Baby please don't go (Bukka White) Now, baby, please don't go Now, baby, please don't go Now, baby, please don't go back to New Orleans You know I love you so, you know I love you so You got me waiting here You got me waiting here Before a ... Baby, please don't go Baby, please don't go Don't you call my name Don't you call my name Well you got me way down here On a ball and chain Oh, baby, please don't go Oh, baby, please don't go Now, baby, please don't go Now, baby, please don't go Now, baby, please don't go back to New Orleans You know I love you so, you know I love you so ...no, don't go I'll never get out of these blues alive (John Lee Hooker) I'll never get out of these blues alive No, I'll never, I'll never get out of these blues alive Well he gone and left me I don't know what I'll do the rest of my life Drinking black coffee and smoking cigarettes Drinking black coffee, yeah, and smoking cigarettes I can't see no use to try I'll never get out of these blues alive No, I'll never, I'll never get out of these blues alive He gone and left me Says he'll never come back home I'll never come out of these blues alive No, I'll never, I'll never come out of these blues alive He gone and left me I don't know what I'll do the rest of my life Working up a sweat all night long and jumping over my bed (___) sweat all night long and jumping over my bed I can't see no use to try Well, I'll never, never come out of these blues alive I'll never, never come out of these, out of these blues alive You know I miss him (___) to the day I die Take me Take me to the river and we'll watch the water roll Take me in your warmth and you'll fill my empty soul Come on and take me, take me, take me Come on and take me, take me, take me Take me to the ocean where the water never run Take me in your love and I'll be your lifetime friend Come on and take me, take me, take me Come on and take me, take me, take me Take me to the storm where the thunder meets the light Take me in your gentle arms and I'll love you through the night Come on and take me, take me, take me Come on and take me, take me, take me Forgive me (John Lee Hooker) They tell me God forgives you for almost anything you do They tell me God forgives you for almost anything you do Well, if that's the case, that's the case I think I'm going to kill that man Then drop down on my knees Well, this morning, God knows, that man he comes a-waltzing in Just waltzing in Well, I got my shotgun, I broke down I started to mow that man down Yeah, they tell me God forgives you If that's the case now, people I'm gonna mow my baby down You don't put yourself out, you don't put yourself out You don't treat Margo right, you don't treat Margo right Now darling, there come a time You're gonna need my love again They tell me God forgives me for almost anything you do You don't seem to understand I've got your life right in my hands Yeah, they tell me God forgives you for almost anything you do Anything you do Well, if that's the case, that's the case I think I'm going to kill that man Then drop down on my knees This morning, God knows, that man he comes waltzing in Just waltzing in Well, I grabbed my shotgun, I broke down I started to mow that man down Yeah, they tell me God forgives you for almost anything you do If that's the case now, people I'm gonna mow my baby down I'm gonna mow my baby down I'm gonna shoot that man You don't put yourself out, you don't put yourself out You don't treat Margo right, you don't treat your baby right Now darling, there come a time You're gonna need my love again Yeah, they tell me God forgives you for almost anything Anything you do Crossroads (Robert Johnson) I went to the crossroads fell down on my knee I asked the Lord above me for mercy "Save Bob, if you please" Standing, standing on the crossroad Yeah, I try to flag a ride Don't nobody seem to know me just everybody passing me by I went down to the crossroads fell down on my knee I asked the Lord above me for mercy "Save Bob, if you please" Standing, standing on the crossroad I try to flag a ride Don't nobody seem to know me just everybody passing me by I'm standing on the crossroad, baby Yeah, I think I'm sinking down Sinking, sinking down
Trinity Session Mining For Gold (Traditional) We are miners, hard rock miners To the shaft house we must go Pour your bottles on our shoulders We are marching to the slow On the line boys, on the line boys Drill your holes and stand in line 'til the shift boss comes to tell you You must drill her out on top Can't you feel the rock dust in your lungs? It'll cut down a miner when he is still young Two years and the silicosis takes hold and I feel like I'm dying from mining for gold Yes, I feel like I'm dying from mining for gold Misguided Angel I said "Mama, he's crazy and he scares me But I want him by my side though he's wild and he's bad and sometimes just plain mad I need him to keep me satisfied" I said "Papa, don't cry cause it's alright And I see you in some of his ways Though he might not give me the life that you wanted I'll love him the rest of my days" Misguided angel hangin' over me Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory Soul like a Lucifer, black and cold like a piece of lead Misguided angel, love you 'til I'm dead I said "Brother, you speak to me of passion You said never to settle for nothing less Well, it's in the way he walks, it's in the way he talks His smile, his anger and his kisses" I said "Sister, don't you understand? He's all I ever wanted in a man I'm tired of sittin' around the T.V. every night Hoping I'm finding a Mr. Right" Misguided angel hangin' over me Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory Soul like a Lucifer Black and cold like a piece of lead Misguided angel, love you 'til I'm dead He says "Baby, don't listen to what they say There comes a time when you have to break away" He says "Baby there are things we all cling to all our life It's time to let them go and become my wife" Misguided angel hangin' over me Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory Soul like a Lucifer Black and cold like a piece of lead Misguided angel, love you 'til I'm dead Blue Moon Revisited I only want to say That if there is a way I want my baby back with me 'cause he's my true love my only one don't you see? And on that fateful day Perhaps in the new sun of May My baby walks back into my arms I'll keep him beside me forever from harm You see I was afraid to let my baby stray I kept him too tightly by my side and then one sad day he went away and he died Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone without a dream in my heart without a love of my own Blue Moon, you knew just what I was there for You heard me saying a prayer for someone I really could care for I only want to say That if there is a way I want my baby back with me 'cause he's my true love my only one don't you see? I don't get it Breaking away to the other side I wanna make sense of why we live and die I don't get it, I don't get it I ask my friends if they understand They just laugh at me and watch another band They don't worry, they don't worry Lookin' for a way to lose my load I wanna make it easy to walk this road I can't find it, yeah I can't find it Yeah, I'm looking for answers in so many places I open my mind I don't get it Walkin' this earth and keepin' my peace I do what I want but the price is steep It don't seem right, it don't seem right My mama she told me "One step at a time and sooner or later you'll walk that line" I don't want to, I don't want to Takin' my time to live and die I wanna find a way to do it right and I ease on, and I ease on They say "One thing always leads to another" I open my mind I don't get it Breaking away to the other side I wanna make sense of why we live and die I don't get it, I don't get it I don't get it, I don't get it I don't get it I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Hank Williams) Hear the lonesome whippoorwill His song's too blue to fly The midnight train is a-winding low I'm so lonesome I could cry I've never seen a night so long When time keeps crawling by The moon is gone behind the clouds To hide his face and cry Have you ever seen a robin weep When leaves have turned to brown? Like me he's lost his will to live I'm so lonesome I could cry The silence of a falling star Lights up a purple haze and as I wonder where you are I'm so lonesome I could cry To Love is To Bury I buried him down by the river 'cause that's where he liked to be and every night when the moon is high I go there and weep openly He and I were married By this river 'neath this willow tree and with God and friends witnessing it He pledged his life to me To me he was Earth and I rooted in his soil I to he was Sky vast and free of the burdens from which he toiled Then one night a terrible fight Words spoken better left unsaid With his wedding vows ringing in my ears He gave his life to me They say to love is to bury Those demons from which we all hide But tonight by this river 'neath this willow tree Becoming one of Earth and Sky 200 More miles Atlanta's a distant memory Montgomery a recent birth and Tulsa burns on the desert floor like a signal fire I got Willie on the radio a dozen things on my mind and number one is fleshing out these dreams of mine I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line before I sleep But there'll be no warm sheets or welcoming arms to fall into tonight In Nashville there is a lighter in a case for all to see it speaks of dreams and heartaches left unsung And in the corner stands a guitar and lonesome words scrawled in a drunken hand I don't travel past, travel hard before and I'm beginning to understand That I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line before I sleep But there'll be no warm sheets or welcoming arms to fall into tonight They say that I am crazy my life wasting on this road that time will find my dreams scared or dead and cold But I heard there is a light drawing me to reach an end and when I reach there, I'll turn back and you and I can begin again I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line before I sleep But there'll be no warm sheets or welcoming arms to fall into tonight I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line before I sleep But I wouldn't trade all your golden tomorrows for one hour of this night Atlanta's a distant memory Montgomery a recent birth and Tulsa burns on the desert floor like a signal fire Dreaming My Dreams With You (Waylon Jennings) I hope that I find what I'm reaching for The way that it is in my mind I hope that I won't be that wrong anymore and maybe to have learned this time Someday I'll get over you I'll live to see it all through But I'll always miss Dreaming my dreams with you But I won't let it change me, not if I can I'd rather believe in love and give it away as much as I can To those that I am fondest of Someday I'll get over you I'll live to see it all through But I'll always miss Dreaming my dreams with you Someday I'll get over you I'll miss dreaming with you Someday I'll get over you I'll miss dreaming with you Someday Working on a Building Working on a building, a Holy Ghost building For my Lord, for my Lord If I was a drunkard I tell you what I'd do I would quit my drinking and work on that building too Working on a building, a Holy Ghost building For my Lord, yeah for my Lord If I was a liar I tell you what I'd do I would quit my lying and work on that building too Working on a building, it's a Holy Ghost building For my Lord, yeah for my Lord Working on a building, it's a Holy Ghost building For my Lord, yeah for my Lord If I was a singer I tell you what I'd do I would keep on singing and work on that building too Sweet Jane (The Velvet Underground) Anyone who's ever had a heart Wouldn't turn around and break it and anyone who's ever played a part Wouldn't turn around and hate it Sweet Jane, sweet Jane Sweet, sweet Jane You're waiting for Jimmy down in the alley Waiting there for him to come back home Waiting down on the corner and thinking of ways to get back home Sweet Jane, sweet Jane Sweet, sweet Jane Anyone who's ever had a dream Anyone who's ever played a part Anyone who's ever been lonely and anyone who's ever split apart Sweet Jane, sweet Jane Sweet, sweet Jane Heavenly widened roses seem to whisper to me when you smile Heavenly widened roses seem to whisper to me when you smile La la la la, la la la, etc... Sweet Jane Sweet, sweet Jane Postcard blues Especially with my head pounding and lying helpless in my bed I long for you and your expert hands To ease this white heat from my head And you would boast that you knew All the pressure points inside And you could just as easily kill me Beneath the desire that I hide But as your patient I knew That your healing powers had grown From a sore that's far far deeper Than this heart where the pain was born With my head again clear I think of words to send to you To coax you back to my side But always leave out "I love you" And then through my front door A picture of a faraway land And to with love on the back And once again I reach for my pen
*** Thanx to John who updated this one *** Walking after midnight (Lynn Howard & The Accents) I was walking after midnight Yeah, out in the moonlight The way we used to do I'm always walking after midnight Searching for you I'm always walking after midnight Searching for you I stop to see a weeping willow Crying on his pillow Maybe he's a-crying for me and as the skys turn gloomy The night winds whisper to me I'm lonesome as I can be I'm always walking after midnight Searching for you I walk for miles along the highway Well that's just my way of saying "I love you" I'm always walking after midnight Searching for you I walk for miles along the highway Searching for you I'm always walking after midnight Yeah, out in the moonlight Hoping you may be Somewhere a-walking after midnight Searching for me I'm always walking after midnight Searching for you
The Caution Horses Sun comes up, it's tuesday morning Sun comes up, it's Tuesday morning hits me straight in the eye guess you forgot to close the blind last night Oh, that's right, I forgot, it was me I sure do miss the smell of black coffee in the morning, the sound of water splashing all over the bathroom, the kiss that you would give me even though I was sleeping, but I kind of like the feel of this extra few feet in my bed Telephone's ringing, but I don't answer it 'cause everybody knows that good news always sleeps till noon Guess it's tea and toast for breakfast again maybe I'll add a little T.V. too No milk! God, how I hate that Guess I'll go to the corner, get breakfast from Jenny She's got a black eye this morning, `Jen how'd ya get it?' she says, `Last night, Bobby got a little bit out of hand' Lunchtime. I start to dial your number then I remember so I reach for something to smoke and anyways I'd rather listen to Coltrane than go through all that shit again There's something about an afternoon spent doing nothing Just listening to records and watching the sun falling Thinking of things that don't have to add up to something and this spell won't be broken by the sound of keys scraping in the lock Maybe tonight it's a movie with plenty of room for elbows and knees a bag of popcorn all to myself, black and white with a strong female lead and if I don't like it, no debate, I'll leave Here comes that feeling that I'd forgotten how strange these streets feel when you're alone on them Each pair of eyes just filled with suggestion So I lower my head, make a beeline for home Seething inside Funny, I'd never noticed the sound the streetcars make as they pass my window Which reminds me that I forgot to close the blind again Yeah, sure I'll admit there are times when I miss you Especially like now when I need someone to hold me but there are some things that can never be forgiven and I just gotta tell you that I kinda like this extra few feet in my bed 'Cause cheap is how I feel It's the kind of night that's so cold, when you spit it freezes before it hits the ground And when a bum asks you for a quarter, you give a dollar if he's out tonight he must be truly down And I'm searching all the windows for a last minute present to prove to you that what I said was real, for something small and frail and plastic, baby, 'cause cheap is how I feel Half moon in the sky tonight, bright enough to come up with an answer to the question why is it that every time I see you my love grows a little stronger But your memory leaves my stomach churning, feeling like a lie about to be revealed, but I'll horde all this to myself 'cause cheap is how I feel It's not the smell in here that gets to me it's the lights I hate the shadows that they cast, and the sound of clinking bottles is the one sure thing I'll always drag with me from my past I think I'll find a pair of eyes tonight, to fall into and maybe strike a deal Your body for my soul, fair swap `cause cheap is how I feel Thirty summers Caught in the vice of heaven and earth he turned his life into a cell imprisoned by the doubts which hound us all and those desires which we all know so well His days he lost to promises, his nights he purged of dreams and he would wake in the hours before sunrise and dread the coming of the day Never thought a man could become so desperate never thought a life could lose so much hope to be tearing at the roots around you as if in manacles, or irons, or ropes They say he told his children that all he taught was lost that love and pride and honesty were to be gained at too high a cost It's been thirty summers that I've spent with him and I expect thirty more to pass he has blessed my life in so many ways that I could never turn my back But I need just one more reminder of the man that he used to be if he would just look deep into my eyes and say it's in you my love that I will find the key Mariner's song The last of man's great unchained beasts lies lapping at my door The last of man's great unchained beasts lies lapping at my door I would give it what it wants, but I do know, it would just ask for more I search for you with every crest I ride in every trough I travel through I search for you in every trough I travel through I didn't mean to leave you, I unfurled my sail and the wind did blow I didn't mean to leave you, darling, I unfurled my sail and the wind did blow Why why why why why, oh why I did not drop my anchor, Oh Lord, I will never know I search for you with every crest I ride in every trough I travel through I search for you in every trough I travel through On the lee of the island I hear your voice deep inside the calm On the lee of the island I hear your voice deep inside the calm Whispering baby, I'll be your delight, if you promise to be my red sky tonight I search for you with every crest I ride in every trough I travel through I search for you in every trough I travel through In the storm you are my destination, in the port you are my storm In the storm you are my destination, in the port you are my storm But I would weather you my love, if you would be my guide, if you would be my stars in the sky tonight I search for you with every crest I ride in every trough I travel through I search for you in every trough I travel through Powderfinger (Neil Young) Look out, Mama, there's a white boat coming up the river, with a big red beacon and a flag and a man on the rail I think you'd better call John 'cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail And it's less than a mile away I hope they didn't come to stay It's got numbers on the side and a gun, and it's making big waves Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy Lou So the powers that be left me here to do all the thinking And I just turned twenty-two I was wondering what to do And the closer they got, The more those feelings grew Daddy's rifle in my hand felt reassuring He told me, 'Red means run, Son, numbers add up to nothing' But when that first shot hit the dock, I saw it coming Raised the rifle to my eye Never stopped to wonder why Then I saw black and my face flash in the sky Shelter me from the powder and the finger Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger Just think of me as one you never figured, to fade away so young with so much left undone Remember me to my love I know I'll miss her Where are you tonight ? There's a young man in the corner playing 'Crazy' all night long quarters piled high upon the table He orders Wild Turkey and with a quick wit and a smile he says, 'My darling, you're the one I'll drape in sable' But his baseball cap and this bar-room rap tell me a different story that this is not my prince to grant all my wishes Just another lonely country-boy grown weary of the night Just another boy with a sink full of dirty dishes Where are you tonight? When I left you in my dreams last night you promised me that we would be breaking free Where are you tonight? He tells me of the back roads and how we'll drive them all night long how the days will fade and the moon will hang forever and how the cloud of dust we'll kick up will linger like a song and the myth will grow about the two who refused to surrender Then I catch us in the bar-room mirror with his arm around my shoulder this girl I see has grown so unfamiliar and as she stands to leave with a stranger by her side she can't help but laugh at a life grown so peculiar Where are you tonight? I don't think I can face tomorrow's light not knowing if you'll be there to guide me Where are you tonight? Where are you tonight? I think that I'll make it through all right, but I'd love to have you just one more time beside me Witches There are witches in the hills calling my name saying come join us sister, come kiss the flame Come dance in the moonbeams, ride the night wind make love to the darkness and laugh at man's sins I shiver with delight, I shiver with fear my heart wants to go but my soul's filled with fear So I turn to my lover and ask what do I do do I answer their call or stay here with you But under spell of deep sleep he moans and turns away taking his protection and my desire to stay So I rise to the hill tops, I ride the night winds I make love to the darkness and laugh at man's sins Rock and bird She captured both Rock and Bird tied one to the leg of the other kept them as prisoners until they knew who was master then she threw them to the sky Bird with unbarred wings disappeared Rock with weighted heart returned and Rock became her anchor and Bird became her dream Now she stands on the forest floor among the pines and towering firs Rock still firm beneath her feet Bird perched high above her singing songs of love's betrayal 'I offered you my endless skies you countered with hoods and chains this song I sing will be the last to be inspired by your memory' Escape is so simple The way you kissed me this morning it told me that you soon would be going You didn't even look in my eyes when you said goodbye And last night in your sleep you broke all the promises that I knew you would never keep Now I'm reading the letter which you placed on the dresser and you're five hundred miles down the road Escape is so simple in a world where sunsets can be raced But distance only looses the knife the pattern of its scar can always be traced Yeah, I remember when we said 'forever' was the craziest word that we knew but I think that I like it much better than I do 'goodbye' And I could sit here all evening and think of the reasons why you are not by my side Instead I'll go to the kitchen, find a strong chair to sit in and drink myself far, far away Escape is so simple in a world where sunsets can be raced But distance only looses the knife the pattern of its scar can always be traced You will be loved again (Mary Margaret O'Hara) How could he take you in his arms And help you to be free Then leave you forgotten And is it enough to cry When you're so broken... Her cold eyes tell you you're not welcome She tells lies but you'll take her back again And is it enough to die When you're so taken You will be loved again You will be loved again But will she sing and will she dance And will she forever And will he sing and will he dance And will he forever Someday you will feel a love so deep And you'll find someone not lost in sleep And you will be loved again you will be loved again you will be loved again
Black Eyed Man Southern rain The flies have quit their buzzing Even Bear has stopped his barking They all sense something brewing up the James and headed this way Bobby sips his morning coffee Says `Have you finished with the funnies Looks like a storm's coming honey guess we'll have to stay in bed today' I've heard that into every life a little of it must fall If there's any truth to the saying, Lord, let it be a southern rain Marie was born in Macon, Georgia She met a west coast lawyer He plucked that sweet magnolia and carried her to the hills of West L.A. She says `I never thought I'd tire of a dollar But this life has grown so hollow Every night there's lipstick on his collar and every morning I wash it away' She heard that into every life a little of it must fall So she spends her evenings praying for a little of that southern rain Cars alive on city streets of sparkling black water like waves beneath my window never break just roll away Tonight, this rain will be my lullaby these cars, my dreams to carry me home to stay The wipers beat a rhythm Truck spray obscures my vision But I'm closing in on my destination Two more hours and I'll be at your door And it will never cease to amaze me how a little rain can drive folks crazy When I'd trade all my blue skies gladly for your blue eyes, crooked smile and a steady downpour I've heard that into every life a little of it must fall, but you'll never catch me complaining about too much of that southern rain Oregon hill The hoods are up on Pine Street, rear ends lifted too The great-grandsons of General Robert E. Lee are making love with a little help from STP Their women on the porches comparing alibis Greasy eggs and bacon, bumper stickers aimed to start a fight, full gun racks, Confederate caps, if you want some 'shine well, you can always find some more, but what I remember most is the colour of Suzy's door And Suzy says she's up there cutting carrots still And Suzy says she's missing me so I'm missing Oregon Hill A river to the south to wash away all sins A college to the east of us to learn where sin begins A graveyard to the west of it all which I may soon be lying in 'Cause to the north there is a prison which I've come to call my home, but some Monday morning no country song will sing me home again And Suzy says she's up there cutting carrots still And Suzy says she's missing me so I'm missing Oregon Hill Sunday morning, eight A.M., sirens fill the air Sounds like someone made the river Sounds like someone being born again Me, I'm just lying here in Suzy's bed Baptists celebrating with praises to the Lord, rednecks doing it with gin Me and Suzy, we're celebrating the joy of sleeping in because tomorrow I'll be home again But Suzy says she'll wait there cutting carrots by the window sill And Suzy says, 'Always think of me when you think of Oregon Hill' This street, that man, this life This street holds its secrets like a cobra holds its kill This street minds its business like a jailer minds his jail That house there is haunted That door's a portal to hell This street holds its secrets very well That man wears his skin like a dancer wears her veils That man stalks his victims like a cancer stalks a cell That man's soul has left him his heart's as deadly as a rusty nail That man sheds his skin like a veil Lord, you play a hard game, you know we follow every rule Then you take the one thing we thought we'd never lose All I ask is if she's with you please keep her warm and safe and if it's in your power please purge the memory of this place This life holds its secrets like a sea shell holds the sea, soft and distant calling like a fading memory This life has its victories but its defeats tear so viciously This life holds its secrets like the sea A horse in the country The money would be pretty good if a quart of milk were still a dollar or even if a quart of milk were still a quart And the hours, well, I don't mind how they creep on by like an old love of mine it's the years that simply disappear that are doing me in Guess I married too young, yeah, nineteen was just too young, but sometimes you meet someone and your guts just burn It's not that I don't love him anymore it's just that when I hear him coming through that front door my heart doesn't race like it did once before But I've got a horse out in the country I get to see him every second Sunday He comes when I call him, yeah, he knows his name One day I'll saddle up and the two of us will ride away This weather I could almost stand if the sun would shine a little brighter or even if the sun would shine at all But lately it just seems to me that this life has lost its mystery and these cold fall mornings seem to bite just a little bit harder And all my friends have settled down become their mothers and their fathers without a sound Except for Cathy, she bought a one-way subway ticket and left us all behind But I've got a horse out in the country I get to see him every second Sunday He comes when I call him, yeah, he knows his name One day I'll saddle up and the two of us will ride away This town wouldn't be so bad if a girl could trust her instincts or even if a girl could trust a boy If you were the woman and i was the man If you were the woman and I was the man would I send you yellow roses would I dare to kiss your hand? In the morning would I caress you as the wind caresses the sand, if you were the woman and I was the man? If I was the heart and you were the head would you think me very foolish if one day I decided to shed these walls that surround me just to see where these feelings led, if I was the heart and you were the head? If I was the woman and you were the man would I laugh if you came to me with your heart in your hand and said, 'I offer you this freely and will give you all that I can because you are the woman and I am the man?' Murder, tonight, in the trailer park Murder tonight in the trailer park Mrs. Annabelle Evans found with her throat cut after dark Her pockets turned inside out her dresser drawers turned upside down Anna's neighbour, Peg, identifies the body lets out a hollow kind of sound Homicide is tying yellow ribbons around her silver Airstream Red cherries slashing up the night cutting through that cordoned crime scene There's been a murder in the trailer park tonight Murder tonight in the trailer park Pack your things Ann Marie, we're heading west we're going to make a fresh start I've been saving pennies, been looking forward to this day No time for questions are you coming or are you going to stay? Crosstown at the Waterton George Evans is sitting tall and tight, buying drinks for all the regulars bragging about how them bones danced for him tonight There's been a murder in the trailer park tonight Murder tonight in the trailer park Faceless man counting crumpled bills, hotel neon fights the dark TV set in the corner, they're talking murder on the late-night news He turns down the sound, waits for the sports, he only wants to know, 'Did I win or did I lose' There's been a murder in the trailer park tonight Murder tonight in the trailer park Black eyed man Black eyed man he took the blame for the poisoning of the well They found this shoes by the pulley They found his fingerprints all over the pail Black eyed man I'm warning you the people around here will not be fooled by a simple line or two Yes your honour I do solemnly swear that I saw him late last night, dancing barefoot, bathed in light and reaching for every star in sight Yes I did go to him, but completely against my will and yes he did things to me things of which I dream of still Black eyed man I'm warning you what I say is what you'll do to hell with love and truth I always meant to say I'm sorry for all the things I said and did 'Sorry,' I feel better now, do you? But you promised me the sky and fell short a star or two What else did you expect me to do? Black eyed man he took the blame for the poisoning of the well They found his shoes by the pulley They found his fingerprints all over the pail With a noose around his neck, cicadas trilling everywhere, he says to the people gathered round him, 'it ain't the water that's not right around here' Black eyed man I'm thirsty dear be a love and bring some water here drawn fresh from the well Winter's song She says, 'it's cold where you brought me' He says, 'Darling, don't worry you can stay in my arms until the springtime comes We'll let the snow drift around us and wait for the robin and the crocus to tell us that our love has again found the sun' Lone oak stands tall, bare arms scratch the sky, dry leaves cracking beneath our feet Hand in hand we've watched the autumn fires burn - Summer's dreams collapsing, chestnuts in need of gathering, the whole world lies rotting in the street Soon we will walk with collars high like ramparts raised for the siege We'll bow to her beauty, cower from her fury sent as a judgement for a slight long past forgotten Winter's love once again unrequited Winter's love once again unrequited She says, 'Babe are you sleeping?' He says, 'No, wide awake and thinking of a dream I just had about the two of us He takes his hand to her cheek now, his lips to her brow, their whispers pile softly by the foot of the bed The last spike Mornings feel so damn sad these days without the call of the 8:15 That old familiar echo has finally died away leaving nothing but a chill where there once was a mighty scream And I've watched the flat cars take away our timber I've watched the coal cars steal our rock And now that we've got nothing left to take we're told that the wheels will stop turning, the whistles will stop blowing, these foolish dreams must stop Last year they closed down the post office, took the only flag we had in town That old brick building still stands like a cenotaph to a vision lost and buried in a very distant past And I've watched the flat cars take away our timber I've watched the coal cars steal our rock And now that we've got nothing left to take we're told that the wheels will stop turning, the whistles will stop blowing, these foolish dreams must stop The longest train I've ever seen was the train that you were on I walked you to the station, we kissed and you were gone I dream at night about you coming home The train in the station, your uniform on fire as you step onto the platform the band plays a little louder, and as we embrace your cap falls off Oh, I guess these foolish dreams must stop Mornings feel so damn sad these days without the call of the 8:15 Looks like this town is finally going to die away leaving nothing but broken promises where there once was small town dreams And I've watched the flat cars take away our timber I've watched the coal cars steal our rock And now that we've got nothing left to take we're told that the TV station will be closing, Main Street windows will need boarding, that these foolish dreams must stop Cowboy Junkies Lament (Townes Van Zandt) Baby hit the back door breathin' real heavy said the boys in the alley wouldn't leave her alone Mama did her make-up in a terrible hurry she finally got ready but the boys were gone Mama don't you worry, night's approachin' there's a hole in heaven where some sin slips through just close your eyes and dream real steady maybe just a little will spill on you Dark don't lie Dreams come true Could be a few will see you through Old lady Rose, lookin' down her nose at lonely Miss Lily hiding in the hall Lily's just praying for the trial to be over lady Rose just waiting for the axe to fall Show me off on the way to town the sky's still shiny and the earth's still brown Tell the judge I'm ready for the vases gonna dance in their faces when the guitar sounds Won't be long I won't be gone Been leaning toward the shadows all along Those in the know say so it goes you plan on reapin', you better sow You plan on sleepin', you better keep movin' sleepin' ain't allowed around here, you know Snake eyes cry Boxcars sigh Seven's stuck in the middle just wonderin' why Dark don't lie Dreams come true All it takes is one or two Maybe just a few will see you through Townes' blues You're clean as a widow woman's washboard, son, stick it in the wind Put the mountains to your back the great plains on your grille time to take a little spin Boulder looks like the type of town that I could spend some time, but in Houston they got our name in lights You're clean as a widow woman's washboard, son, the slab is yours tonight Townes is in the back lounge with his hands in his pocket pulls out two dice and says, 'Let's get at it' Salina in the headlights, snake eyes on the floor, Al drops another twenty, Pete heads for the door, Springer's feeling lucky, sits down for a spell, Oklahoma City and he's lost his last bill Jeff is in a bind waiting on sister hicks seven comes a-calling as we cross on into Texas Townes is in the back lounge with a fist full of fives he says, 'It's a little bit long but I'm enjoying this ride' Be careful with the dice when you're surrounded by others with boxcars in their eyes Never count your winnings at hour 23 of a 24-hour drive Remember that you're not the one calling the tune that's making those diamonds dance or you'll be clean as a widow woman's washboard, son, and those are the facts Townes is in the back lounge cursing at them bones he says, 'Ain't this fool ever heard of Raton' To live is to fly (Townes Van Zandt) Won't say I love you babe Won't say I need you babe But I'm going to get you babe and I will not do you wrong Living's mostly wasting time and I waste my share of mine but it never feels too good so let's not take too long You're as soft as glass and I'm a gentle man we got the sky to talk about and the world to lie upon Days up and down they come like rain on a conga drum forget most, remember some but don't turn none away Everything is not enough nothing is too much to bear where you been is good and gone all you keep's the getting there To live is to fly low and high so shake the dust off of your wings and the sleep out of your eyes It's goodbye to all my friends It's time to go again Think of all the poetry and the pickin' down the line I'll miss the system here the bottom's low and the treble's clear but it don't pay to think too much on the things you leave behind I may be gone but I won't be long I'll be bringing back the melody and the rhythm that I find We all got holes to fill and them holes are all that's real some fall on you like a storm sometimes you dig your own But choice is yours to make time is yours to take some dive into the sea some toil upon the stone To live is to fly low and high so shake the dust off of your wings the sleep out of your eyes
Pale Sun, Crescent Moon Crescent Moon Reach a hand to the crescent moon grab hold of the hollow If she sits in the palm of the left that moon will be fuller tomorrow If she sits in the palm of the right that moon is on the wane and the love of the one who shares your bed will be doing just the same `Won't you come with me', she said, `there's plenty of room in my iron bed You're looking cold and tired and more than a little human I know I'm not part of the life you had planned, but I think once your body feels my hand your mind will change and your heart will lose its pain' Out among the fields gently hipped beneath the corn, Assiniboine bones beneath the highway he stood there and he thought of home A finger traces the path of a satellite You're drawn to a distant copse of trees A voice as sweet as Mare's Tail clings to the prairie breeze `Won't you come with me', she said, `there's plenty of room in my iron bed You're looking cold and tired and more than a little human I know I'm not part of the life you had planned, but I think once your body feels my hand your mind will change and your heart will lose its pain' Do I reach for you when I know you're on the wane? Do I sense you when I know you're not around? Do I search for you when I know you can't be found? Do I dare to speak your name? Raise your eyes to a moonless sky and try to wish upon a rising star Search all you want for her blessing but you won't find her sparkling there Now cast your eyes to a part of the sky where nothing but darkness unfolds and watch as all around you she reveals the brilliance of secrets untold Won't you come with me, she said, there's plenty of room in my iron bed You're looking cold and tired and more than a little human I know I'm not part of the life you had planned, but I think once your body feels my hand your mind will change and your heart will lose its pain First Recollection My first recollection is a day in December black iron steam engine covered in ice like some Precambrian monster moaning and snorting Nothing was ever going to beat that beast in a fair fight I've sat and watched the woodpiles grow through the summer now I'm sitting, smelling summer burn through the fall Winter's coming on, days getting dreary and I'm thinking this is the season that I leave you all I've heard a man in crisis falls back on what he knows best, a murderer to murder a thief to theft And I don't want you to think that this is some kind of deathbed confession but run is what I did when put to the test My first recollection is a day in December 747 tracing lines through the sky like some old gypsy curse silently preying upon the dreams of those who jealously watch life pass by I've sat and watched my troubles pile through the summer now I'm sitting, hearing my youngest cry down the hall Winter's coming on, days getting dreary and I'm thinking this is the season that I leave you all I've heard that the son must bear the burdens of the father but it's the daughter that is left to clean up the mess And I don't want you to think that I'm asking for absolution, but run is what I did when put to the test Ring on the sill She placed her ring on the sill, dishes piled high She's on the front porch step and the air smells like snow She's thinking of the siege to come and how she'll miss those weekends in the park with the sun on her face and her book by her side and that lingering taste that he left on her tongue He lifts his glass from the table It leaves a ring where it stood He sees the light from the window caress her like he knows he should He's remembering the first time he kissed her and how he'd wake and immediately he'd miss her, like a spell, with each breath, he'd taste her breath like a haunting, irritating as hell Do you remember when you'd pray to never see the day when someone would make you feel this way 'Cause you knew they would cut right through you and once inside, you were afraid they'd find nothing to hold on to He puts her ring on her finger, she brushes back his hair He takes a sip from his glass, she inhales the cold fall air And they're thinking of the long road ahead and the strength that they will need just to reach the end And there in the silence they search for the balance between this fear that they feel and a love that has graced their lives Anniversary song Have you ever seen a sight as beautiful as that of the rain-soaked purple of the white birch in spring? Have you ever felt more fresh or wonderful than on a warm fall night under a Mackerel sky, the smell of grapes on the wind? Well I have known all these things and the joys that they can bring And I'll share them all for a cup of coffee and to wear your ring Have you ever had the pleasure of watching a quiet winter's snow slowly gathering like simple moments adding up? Have you ever satisfied a gut feeling to follow a dry dirt road that's beckoning you to the heart of a shimmering summer's day? Well I have known all these things and the joys that they can bring And I'll share them all for a cup of coffee and to wear your ring And I don't know how I survived those days before I held your hand Well I never thought that I would be the one to admit that the moon and the sun shine so much more brighter when seen through two pairs of eyes than when seen through just one Have you ever seen a sight as beautiful as a face in a crowd of people that lights up just for you? Have you ever felt more fresh or wonderful as when you wake by the side of that boy or girl who has pledged their love to you? Well I have known all these things and the joys that they can bring And now every morning there's a cup of coffee and I wear your ring White sail Raise a white sail if you love me a black sail if you don't Seal me up in an impregnable tower or surround me with an impassable moat I've heard all the stories told about love (unattainable and pure) but there is one love of which I'm sure Your fear as honed as a battle axe, I'll bear my neck, I'll wear the scar, and if my nerve should fail the task I know your faith will not roam too far I've heard all the stories told about love (two souls into one) but this tale of love is one we've just begun Isoldt had her Tristan, but love potions are not what we need, and Paris had his Helen but it was infatuation that was plain to see What I desire is your trust to inspire this love for you which grows in me Plant a rose tree on his grave and on mine plant a vine, as seasons pass and markers fade watch them slowly intertwine I've heard all the stories told about love (till death do us part) but our love is a vow which has been wrought from heart to heart Seven Years Haven't seen the sun for seven days November's got her nails dug in deep Haven't seen my son for seven years and the chances are we'll never again meet If truth be told I don't even know his name If truth be told he doesn't even know my name I spend my spare time with my rosary beads although I never learnt to pray but you don't need the light and it's best to pretend that you've seen the errors of your ways The darkness in here is as heavy as a judgement This darkness, heavy as a judgement My dreams are now filled with Gilead trees and other sights that I've never seen They used to be filled with the fears of tomorrow and the horror that it might bring His eyes felt to me as cold as a stone mason's chisel His eyes fell on me, cold like a stone mason's chisel Strange how a mind can always recall what the senses eagerly leave behind I can remember his face, rage, disgust and distaste but to my fear I have grown blind Memories are just dead men making trouble this memory is just a dead man making trouble Pale sun Fifty miles from Dakota territory Cheyenne scalp hangs from his belt Found him alone washing in the Bighorn a steady aim and he bagged his game Pale sun falls without contest Here is obedient darkness He will not return White Cadillac, white man at the wheel, white faces on the mountain, wounds that will never heal Black clouds overhead, old man says looks like rain Thieves' Road winds to the Black Hills sign says South Dakota, U.S.A. Grass plains stretch to the horizon, not a soul can be found on them They will not return Old rusted pickup and a mad dog in the yard, purple paint peels but fails to reveal the bitterness that grows inside Cloud of dust in the distance, strange knock beneath my hood Is it better to have words left unsaid than to have words misunderstood? Pale sun falls without contest Here is obedient darkness It will return I know it will return It will return The post (Dinosaur Jr.) Eyed it, dried it, untied it Chilled it, spilled it, refilled it Taste it, traced it, erased it He's my post to lean on And I just cut him down So I'm out to land on somethin' Hopefully a boy will come to me at the ground Eyed it, dried it, untied it Chilled it, spilled it, refilled it Taste it, trace it, erased it He's my post to lean on And I just cut him down So I'm out to land on somethin' Hopefully a boy will come to me at the ground He's my post to lean on And I just cut him down So I'm out to land on somethin' Hopefully a boy will come to me at the ground Cold tea blues If I pour your cup, that is friendship If I add your milk, that is manners If I stop there, claiming ignorance of taste, that is tea But if I measure the sugar to satisfy your expectant tongue then that is love, But if I measure the sugar to satisfy your expectant tongue then that is love, sitting untouched and growing cold Hard to explain (Ray Agee) If it ain't one thing I tell you it's always another I wonder why I started treating you like a step-brother Love is hard to explain I know my loss is someone else's gain Sometime's love is like a bitter pill But we just have to take it like it is Sometimes life is the sweetest thing and sometimes it's just naked pain Oh, it's so hard to explain I know my loss is someone else's gain My troubles started when I found you But that's when I (wrapped?) my world around you And now my living ain't so easy I thought that's what a woman was supposed to do You see, it's so hard to explain I know my loss is someone else's gain I went to see my doctor `Cause I thought I had a hole in my heart but he said "Girl, you're just wasting my time Because some man messed up, went and messed up your mind" It's so hard to explain I know my loss is someone else's gain Oh, love it's so hard to explain It'll make you forget your name It'll turn you upside down It'll make you wish that you'd never been found Hunted Emma's in a part of town where she doesn't recognize the streets named for famous native sons and out of every crevice comes creeping a threat in her direction Lucy's outside her home heading towards her corner store she stays on well-travelled paths and is always making sure that she doesn't develop patterns There are trap lines running up and down Main Street wire snares thirsting for your neck and feet Susan doesn't like the way her curtains are blowing in the wind She swears she locked that window before she went out dancing she stands frozen in her doorway Judy hears a sound coming from the other room she knows she should be alone 'cause the kids left at noon to go visit their father Quick to your phone dial 911 invite a strange man into your home who'll be carrying a gun Leslie's working late she's got a deadline to meet In walks her boss, upon her desk he puts his feet and says alone at last Reanne's got a new boyfriend and they're getting along until he locks the door and says don't struggle, I'm stronger than you are. Just one question I'm dying to ask, you said, do you know what it's like to be hunted? Floorboard blues Look under his floorboards, Mama, I don't trust his silly grin He's got a beat-up Rambler, Nebraska plates, and I ain't getting in I don't like the way his pinky ring picks up the dashboard light or his short little piggy fingers or the way his belt is cinched too tight Check under his floorboards, Mama, I don't like his suggestive tone The way his words drip from his mouth as he asks can I take you home? I don't care how many miles I got, I think I'd rather walk them alone than to sit in the back seat as his eyes in the mirror reduce me to flesh and bone Check under his floorboards, Mama, 'cause that razor's not just a threat to me He'll be slicing tiny crescents from your heart, without laying a sweaty palm to your cheek Don't accuse me of running scared, listen to what I'm saying It's a fucked up ol' world, but this ol' girl Well, she ain't giving in
Lay it down Something more besides you One foot strands before the crib the other by the casket A question formed upon stilled lips is passed on but never asked I guess I believe that there's a point to what we do But I ask myself is there something more besides you? Two are born to cross their paths, their lives, their hearts If by chance one turns away are they forever lost? I guess I believe that there's a point to what we do But I ask myself is there something more besides you? This morning I awoke, the bed warm where it once was cold Small blessings laid upon us Small mysteries slowly unfold Yet I still wonder is there a point to what we do? 'Cause I kind of doubt that there is something more besides you Although it's hard to find the point to what we do, do I dare believe that there is something more besides you? A common disaster A candle burning for everything I've ever wanted A tattoo burned for everything I've ever wanted and lost I had a long list of names that I kept in my back pocket, but I've cut it down to one and your name's at the top Won't you share a common disaster? Share with me a common disaster A common disaster I found myself a friend, but he's crooked as a stick in water So now I'm writing fairy tales to catch the spirit of revenge He's got a plan to steal my little sister, but I'm not too concerned 'cause I will get him in the end Won't you share a common disaster? Share with me a common disaster A common disaster Going to find me someone to share A common disaster Run away with me from a life so cramped and dull Not worry too much about the happily-ever-after Just keep the Caddy moving 'til we're well beyond that hill Won't you share a common disaster? Share with me a common disaster A common disaster Lay it down He left his dead in the cottonwood trees the ground grown too hard with the years Falling down was not what it used to be the ground grown too hard with the years He told his children those little white lies the truth would only paralyze them He told himself those little white lies the truth would only paralyze him Lay it down, lay it down He sold most of what he cherished, the rest he let them steal Shot his dog out in the open field, the rest he let them steal He broke all of his promises, under a sea green sky They never thought to ask him why, under a sea green sky Lay it down, lay it down Please bury me in the cottonwood trees the ground grown too cold for me Going to sleep tonight in a warm feather bed the ground grown too cold for me Lay it down, lay it down Hold on to me If you offered me a shade of blue would I return it saying that it was too dark or light? Or would I see it for the precious thing that it might one day be? Hold on to me If you offered me a point of view would I dismiss it saying that it was too black and white? Or would I see it as the special thing That it would no doubt be? Hold on to me I'll hold on to this gift we share it is as slippery as it is rare I'll hold on to that feeling of waking and finding you there I'll hold on to you and you hold on to me If I asked you for a simple thing Would you do it without too much thinking or fuss? Would you see it for the precious thing that it would surely be? Hold on to me Hold on to me Hold on to me Come calling The stillness here, like what he sometimes finds inside her, hits so hard it can steal your breath forever He sometimes wonders is the sum of their lives together him on the floor and her lost to a mind in tatters These days he's drinking for the pleasure of falling and he's falling for the pleasure of pretending that she's sitting by the window waiting for him to come calling If I could fix me up a week of twilight hours we'd sit on the point and watch the sun continually flounder Bathed in gold we'd plug into some kind of power and connect with those days back before all of this went sour 'Cause I'm drinking for the pleasure of falling and I'm falling for the pleasure of pretending that you're sitting by the window waiting for me to come calling Odd how the darkness always makes us whisper and with the last of the sun you can feel the approach of the winter Now is the time of each day that I Desperately miss her I suppose I will learn how to live my life without her So you're drinking for the pleasure of falling and you're falling for the pleasure of pretending that I'm sitting by the window waiting for you to come calling Just want to see I don't want to be no patch on no quilt (I just want to see...) Tear-stained stitching linking memories to guilt (I just want to see...) I don't want to be no hair on no wall (I just want to see...) Blood-stained note saying fuck you all (I just want to see what kills me) Tommy, are you ready we better head to town J.D.'s box is waiting to be lowered down and you know how he hates to be kept waiting 'round I don't want to be no chalk line drawing (I just want to see...) Toe-tagged question mark, until identifying (I just want to see...) I don't want to fuse with no economy seat (I just want to see...) fuel some fireball at 30,000 feet (I just want to see what kills me) Tommy, did you catch his face before they closed the lid? I swear I saw him wink once and flash me that old grin Oh, you know, that would be just like him I don't want to face no hollow-eyed ending (I just want to see...) Loved ones buried, empty days of waiting (I just want to see what kills me) Tommy, darling, come to bed we'll try and sleep away this sadness These memories, too, are bound to die so our dreams will have to serve us Tomorrow may be the day that our love betrays us Lonely sinking feeling She says, "I'm getting that lonely sinking feeling, you know what I mean?" With his hand on her back he's thinking, "Where does that leave me?" Just when I think I've uncovered the secret to peace and tranquility that lonely sinking feeling creeps up on me He says, "I'm seeing those doubt filled questioning eyes and I can't believe it's true" With her head in her hands she sighs, "It's me, not you" Just when I thought that I'd discovered the joy of loving one so completely that lonely sinking feeling creeps up on me Here in this silent room we wait on ancient ritual Staring at our hearts as if they were two caged animals If I am the first to unlock those rusty doors will I be the first found bleeding on the floor? She says, "I'm getting that lonely sinking feeling, you know what I mean?" With his hand on her back he's thinking, "Where does that leave me?" Just when I think I've uncovered the secret to peace and tranquility that lonely sinking feeling creeps up on me Just when I thought that I'd discovered the joy of loving one so completely that lonely sinking feeling creeps up on me that lonely sinking feeling creeps up on me Angel mine He searched for those wings that he knew that this angel should have at her back And although he can't find them he really don't mind because he knows they'll grow back And he reached for that halo that he knows that she had when she first caught his eye Although his hand came back empty he's really not worried 'cause he knows it still shines I can't promise that I'll grow those wings or keep this tarnished halo shined but I'll never betray your trust angel mine I search all the time on the ground for our shadows cast side by side Just to remind me that I haven't gone crazy that you exist and are mine And I know that your skin is as warm and as real as that smile in your eyes But I have to keep touching and smelling and tasting for fear it's all lies I can't promise that I'll grow those wings or keep this tarnished halo shined but I'll never betray your trust angel mine Last night I awoke from the deepest of sleeps with your voice in my head And I could tell by your breathing that you were still sleeping I repeated those words that you had said I can't promise that I'll grow those wings or keep this tarnished halo shined but I'll never betray your trust angel mine Bea's song Speed River at my feet running low and flat I'm sitting here burning daylight, thinking about the past and that distance out there where the earth meets the sky The slightest move and this river mud pulls me further down John's at my side, but he's sitting on firmer ground John says I look at the moon and the stars these days more often than I look into his eyes and I can't disagree so I don't say nothing I just stare on past his face at Venus rising, like a shining speck of hope hanging over the horizon With each passing year that I sit here that horizon seems to inch just that much nearer and all that appears on it seems as clear as spit But if there's on thing in my life that these years have taught it's that you can always see it coming but you can never stop it Speed River at my feet running low and flat I'm sitting here burning daylight, thinking about the past and that distance out there where the earth meets the sky The slightest move and this river mud pulls me further down John's at my side, but he's not noticing that I'm drowning The slightest move and this river mud pulls me further down John's at my side, but he's not noticing that I'm drowning Musical key My mother sang the sweetest melody although she never sang in a musical key I'd hear her through the house My name called out loud My mother sang the sweetest melody My mother's hands were always cool and soft And like her eyes they would caress with every touch She would listen to my chatter as if every word I spoke mattered She'd hold me close and whisper in my ear She'd say, "girl you are a part of me I have made you strong when you grow up and are on your own remember to win them with your song" My father sang in perfect harmony And though he never sang in a musical key You could hear him when he'd enter the house the kiss he'd give my Ma My father sang in perfect harmony My father's words were always sure and clear and like his presence they would rid me of my fears When I crawled up on his knees I was safe as I could be He'd hold me tight and whisper in my ear He'd say, "girl you are a part of me I have made you strong when you grow up and are on your own remember to win them with your song" My mother sang in perfect harmony although she never sang in a musical key Speaking confidentially Speaking confidentially the fire that burnt inside of me has turned to ash the tortured tree that grows beside the anguished sea Speaking confidentially Speaking metaphorically the earth I trust beneath my feet is moving now ever so slightly I shift my feet but feel no relief Speaking metaphorically Speaking hypothetically if the air you breathed was so unique would you use it up to idly speak or horde it for a rainy week Speaking hypothetically Speaking kind of cryptically the sea that raged beside the tree burning bright for all to see it just might mean the most to me Speaking kind of cryptically Now I know Now I know, now I know what it means to be broken Now I know, now I know what it means to be bared You in the chair perceptibly sinking I'm on my knees once again made aware of the world out there Grief is a word to describe the absense of feeling Now I know, now I know what it means to be broken Now I know, now I know, now I know what it means to be broken Now I know, now I know, now I know what it means to be bared You in the chair systematically sinking I'm on my knees once again made aware of the world out there Grief is a word to describe the absense of feeling Now I know, now I know, Now I know what it means to be broken Miles from our home New Dawn Coming
Hold on honey, there's a new dawn coming and a big bird to sweep you away Are you born yet? Are you listening? Are you sick of staring at the walls? Are you hungry? Are you angry? Are you wondering if there's anyone at all? Hold on honey there's a new dawn coming and a big bird to sweep you away Keep on dreaming soon there'll be a reason to see it through one more day Are you weary? Are you sinking? Are you tired of holding up the walls? Are you done with all your thinking? Have you found that there's no one at all? Hold on honey there's a new dawn coming and a big bird to sweep you away Keep on dreaming soon there'll be a reason to see it through one more day Ain't got no answers here What I see is not clear Time to shake it around Turn my world upside down and watch as the stars come unhinged Hold on honey there's a new dawn coming and a big bird to sweep you away Keep on dreaming soon there'll be a reason to see it through one more day Hold on honey there's a new dawn coming and a big bird to sweep us away Keep on dreaming soon there'll be a reason to see it through one more day Are you born yet? Are you born yet? Blue Guitar I wish I had a blue guitar, A blue guitar to play all night long. Singing songs of loss and love. Singing songs till morning comes. Ghosts in the basement Screams from the kitchen I tell you folks I'm leaving. Seems I can already hear the door slammin'. I tell you folks I think I'm leavin'. Goodbye to the highway Goodbye to the sky I'm headed out goodbye, goodbye. Goodbye to the highway Goodbye to the sky I'm headed our goodbye, goodbye. I wish I had a blue guitar, A blue guitar to play all night long. I wish I had a blue guitar, A blue guitar to let you know somehow You are not needed now. Miles From Our Home No one in sight for fifty miles Sleeping fields sigh as I glide across their spines. If I can just reach the crest of that hill This whole day will tumble, out the night will spill. The sky as still as a spinning top Shooting stars drop like burning words from above If I could just connect all these dots The truth would tumble like a Cynic vexed by love. And yet people keep saying I'm miles from my home, Miles from my home. I met you again in my sleep last night, These are days of slow boats and false starts. Hearts remain under lock and key, You will be the one to set them both free. And yet people will tell you You're miles from your home, Miles from your home. But that's where I want to be. Out there searching, Out here fumbling, Out here waiting For you and you for me. The moon hangs like a question mark, Pale as milk, bold as promise. When will you share these sights with us? When will we hold you in our arms? And people will tell them We're miles from our home, Miles from our home. Good Friday Sat at my window watched the world Wake up this morning Purple sky slowly turning golden, Distant elms so orange You'd swear they're burning All this flowing water Has got my mind wandering. Do you ever finally reach A point of knowing Or do you just wake up one day And say, I am going? What will I tell you When you ask me why I'm crying Will I point above At the Red Tail gracefully soaring Or down below where it's prey Is quietly trembling? Two thousand years ago Jesus is left there hanging. Purple sky slowly turning golden. Cowards at his feet loudly laughing. Loved ones stumbling homeward Their words reeling. Red Tail above my head quietly soaring. Waters turn from ice, creak is roaring. He says, enough of all this shit I am going. Darkling Days The beautiful is not chosen. The chosen becomes beautiful. The beautiful is not chosen. The chosen becomes beautiful. Please do not forsake me now, Sparkling gone With darkling says I drift at times I know it's true But I always drift on back to you. The beautiful is not chosen. The chosen becomes beautiful. I have never tired of Manna falling from above When conscious thought Meets careless heart And two lost souls find one fresh start. Lie me upon the earth Feel it's curve beneath our spines, Soon we'll follow it around, One lost soul Finally found. The beautiful is not chosen. The chosen becomes beautiful. These are known as darkling days Rhyming schemes gone askew Crackling gifts of light and air, Exploding words, Ours to share. The beautiful is not chosen. The chosen becomes beautiful.
Hollow as a Bone
She hugged his head so hard to her heart it made her gasp for air If this was not the way Love felt then for love she did not care I want to run beside a moving train yelling farewells in the rain The tears will be bittersweet, 'cause I know I'll see him again If I lost you now, I would feel as hollow as a bone He could not help but hang his eyes her beauty held him so If this was not a state of Grace then Grace he'd never know I want to yell farewell from a crowded pier just me and a thousand good-byes The tears will be bittersweet, 'cause soon she'll be back my side If I lost you now, I would feel as hollow as a bone You won't lose me, he replied, together our lives have been sewn If I lost you now, I would feel as hollow as a bone We will kiss goodnight under a starlit sky whisper oaths at a lumbering moon dream sweet dreams before the morning comes and serves us the dawn in our room If I lost you now, I would feel as hollow as a bone Someone Out There Someone Out there Kneeling. No one Out there Listening. But what I want to know Before you save my soul Is who gave this power to that fucker up there? Someone Out there Crying. Someone Out there Waiting. But what I want to know Before I let you go Is who gave this power to that fucker up there?
Summer of Our Discontent
Another note afloat upon this paper sea Explain to me how this can be Another face erased from this tidal pool Found one day then swept away I will carry you my love If you can carry me through this summer of our discontent Another day away from clutching hands Explain to me how this can be I will carry you my love If you can carry me through this summer of our discontent Another falling wave upon this crumbling beach How many more until we meet? I will carry you my love If you can carry me through this summer of our discontent
No Birds Today
No birds today Just this square patch of gray Molting sky moving in on its morning prey No words today No one knocking at the gate I lost my name long before I lost my way I wonder what he thinks out there Pastures turn from black to green and black again The sun it carves a well worn path from here to there and the next day back No birds today Just this dull sky of gray Winter's quickly moving in on its skulking prey No dust today No clouds rising from my driveway No hope drifting slowly my way I wonder what he thinks in there Pastures turn from black to green and black again The sun it carves a well worn path from here to there and the next day back Cold bars of steel I'm beginning to dig the feel of all that disappears into....ethereal Cold words of hate Now I'm seeing how things break Much too late now to cure my mistakes I wonder what he thinks in there Pastures turn from black to green and black again The sun it carves a well worn path from here to there and the next day back No birds today Just this barren stretch of gray Just this barren stretch of gray
Those Final Feet
Place my body on the funeral pyre, cut it loose to float downstream Leave it frozen on a mountain top, suspend it high to be picked clean You said never to grow old, but you forgot to tell me how You said never to grow old and then you sank your teeth into those final feet Last night I dreamt of owls at my window I knew that time was winding down Turned to tell you of my premonition, changed my mind and lay back down You said never to grow old, but you forgot to tell me how You said never to grow old and then you sank your teeth into those final feet No sense wasting the time you got, you got to walk down every road No sense pretending that you're what you're not, when you got to shoulder every load You said never to grow old, but you forgot to tell me how You said never to grow old and then you sank your teeth into those final feet Cut it loose, cut it loose, cut it loose You said never to grow old, but you forgot to tell me how You said never to grow old and then you sank your teeth into those final feet
At the End of the Rainbow
Again, At the end of the rainbow Again, No gold to be found Just this cold unmade bed The last 3 words you said And this buzzing on the telephone line Paris, well, there is fog on the Seine Amsterdam still courses through my veins All these dark crazy sights, Wouldn't be so bad If I could just taste your breath once again Honey I saw your daddy Lying by the roadside His feet sticking out of a sack Honey they'll be calling To tell you that your daddy Never will be coming back Again At the end of the rainbow Again, No words to be found Just this voice sad and alone Me wishing I was home And the silence on the telephone line
Rarities, B Sides and Slow, Sad Waltzes
I Saw Your Shoes I saw your shoes by the kitchen door and I knew I missed you I saw your shoes by the front door and I began to miss you more I saw your shoes on the landing and Lord I knew I cared I saw your shoes pretty baby and I longed to have you there I saw your shoes by the record player and I wished you'd call me I saw your shoes by the TV set I prayed you'd call I saw your shoes by the couch and I longed to feel your touch, babe I saw your shoes pretty baby and I had to have you there I see your shoes by the shower stall and I begin to wondering I see your shoes by the bedroom door and my heart starts pounding I see your shoes at the foot of the bed and I start laughing I see your shoes, pretty baby, but most of all I see you
Five room love story I met her in a church on a Sunday evening not late on Saturday night She sang Ave Maria a little flat and out of time but that's what drew me to her so that's alright As she placed a nickle in the basket that I held before her I asked her to be my wife And there's one cardboard heart for every time you said "I love you" A painted star for every secret that we shared A dried lima bean and small plastic birds because you cared I hear their talk and I watch them swap their old black and whites Bitter and beaten they talk of life's cheatin' like old boxers comparing scars All I remember is a smile at the top of every working morning and a shoulder always willing and able and all those nights that we'd spend just sitting and talking around our kitchen table And there's one cardboard heart for every time you said "I love you" A painted star for every secret that we shared A dried lima bean and small plastic birds because you cared Five rooms made stronger by the breaking and the healing of the two hearts they protected within Now one heart left aching just piecing and painting these walls with the memories of all that is real And there's one cardboard heart for every time you said "I love you" A painted star for every secret that we shared A dried lima bean and small plastic birds because you cared And there's one cardboard heart for every time you said "I love you" A painted star for every secret that we shared A dried lima bean and small plastic birds Because you cared
Sad To See The Season Go Hollow boned and feathered She fell to him, Wriggling perdition she plucked From deep within. Feasted high on flowering branches The fruit of his heart he gave willingly For her song. From fresh wounds Were gathered thick sheaves of love. He lay open palmed to her world: She stretched in arched abeyance, Holding thunderclap and starlight in one mind. Sad to see the season go. I'll miss the crackling of the air, The loss of all I know. Sad to see the season go. Indian corn and the bitter taste of envy in the air. Mired now in cyclic decay. The nag of conquest. Skeletal arms Embrace a withering world. Sad to see the season go. I'll miss the crackling of the air, The loss of all I know. Sad to see the season go. Locked here these dreams of you, Imperfect dormant seeds. There is a dignity To this solitude, A sparkling ambiguity Both liquid and solid at one time.
If you gotta go, go now ( Bob Dylan Cover ) Listen to me baby there's something that you must see I want to be with you babe if you want to be with me. But if you gotta go its all right. But if you gotta go, go now or else you got to stay all night. Its not that I am asking you to take part in any kind of quest It's just that I ain't got no watch and you keep asking me what time it is. But if you gotta go its all right. But if you gotta go, go now or else you got to stay all night I am just a poor girl trying to connect I certainly don't want you thinking that I ain't got any respect. But if you gotta go its all right. But if you gotta go, go now or else you got to stay all night It ain't that I am wanting anything that you never gave before. It's just that I'll be sleeping and it will be too dark for you to find the door. But if you gotta go its all right. But if you gotta go, go now or else you got to stay all night
Love's still there Door slams, car starts, he's on the road. She's left there sitting angry and alone Thinking of what she should have said Or maybe she should have gone to bed Now his words are swirling around in her head. He said and then she said And then they both yelled together. Neither one hearing or listening to the other Words like I never and you don't understand One word then another until the whole thing's out of hand. But love's still there It's just hiding in the dark cause it's scared. Hang on to those feelings that you know are true And remember that this person means everything to you. Siren scream breaks through her dreams She rolls to her right. She realizes that he's still lost to the night. She gets out of bed both worried and mad, She prays that he's safe, her anger holds back her dread. Door opens and in walks her baby With a look on his face that says I'm sorry. Now's not the time to play silly games So you reach out your hand and he does the same. To lay me down (The Grateful Dead) To lay me down once more. To lay me down With my head in sparkling clover. Let the world go by all lost in dreaming. To lay me down one last time. To lay me down. To be with you once more. To be with you With our bodies close together. Let the world go by like clouds a-streaming. To lay me down one last time. To lay me down. To lay me down. To lay me down. To lay me down. One last time. To lay me down. To lie with you once more. To lie with you With our dreams entwined together. To lie beside you my love still sleeping. To tell sweet lies one last time And say goodnight. To lay me down. To lay me down. To lay me down. One last time. To lay me down. A Few Simple Words What does he see in those mashed potatoes? What secrets does he hold that can be so grim? The silence like a canyon dividing them He's on one side she's opposite him Trying so desperately to get his attention. She says, "Honey, you're a bastard of great proportion." He says, "Darling, I plead guilty to that sin." With potatoes half way to his mouth He looks her in the eye and says, "without a doubt, My love for you is all that I believe in". With those few simple words her heart is sent soaring She's able to face another day. Through the anger and the laughter she knows that she matters And somebody out there cares. What does she gain by all this sulking? What troubles can there be for one so young? Dark tension building like the clouds of a storm Her daughters in her room and she's at the door Trying to figure what all this fuss is for. She says, "mother, you're a witch and i'll always hate you". She says, "Daughter, perhaps these words you speak are true". She quietly moves towards the bed, Looks her in the eye gently says, "But I will always believe in you". With those few simple words her heart is sent soaring She's able to face another day. Through the anger and the laughter she knows that she matters And somebody out there cares. What do we need to keep us going? What do we need at the end of the day? Mysteries keep piling like dirty clothes in the corner. You never thought you'd give up, but you're beginning to wonder When through the gloom you hear a familiar voice say.... ...a few simple words that send your heart soaring You're able to face another day. Through the anger and the laughter you know that you matter And somebody out there cares.
River Waltz I'm going to find me a dying river And strike a deal with her i'll say, "i'll fold you in two and i'll carry you away To a place where your headwaters will flow Clean through to your mouth." In return i'll request a small sanctuary By her banks where we will live with our small family She will water our garden and clean the dirt from our skin. While the world clamours at our door We will dance and not let them in. And if one day we wake up to a bed dry as a bone Find our river stolen, find our sanctuary gone We will stand and take stock and be grateful For what we've not lost. We will pack up our bags, pack our small family Head across the valley to where the aspen trees Shiver as they ascend - the green hills rising to blue. At the edge of the chopping we will turn And bid fond "adieu". All that I know to be true Is the touch of your hand on my skin. One look from you can so easily soothe All this turmoil within As we dance cheek to cheek With our feet so completely Locked in a time all our own. I stop to speak But you gently keep me Moving in time to the song. And in a voice that is sloppy with gin You say, "let the world spin." I'm going to find me a dying river And strike a deal with her i'll say, "i'll fold you in two and i'll carry you away To place where your headwaters will flow Clean through to your mouth." In return i'll request a small sanctuary By her banks where we will live with our small family She will water our garden and clean the dirt from our skin. While the world clamours at our door We will dance and not let them in.
Leaving normal It's been a long time since i've seen the high plains of Expectation And I'm way past the lowlands and the deserts of Failure and Doubt And the last time I passed through Satisfaction I didn't recognize a single soul there Now I'm leaving Normal and I'm heading for who knows where "Excuse mister is that seat taken can I put my bag over here You know, this trip would go a whole lot smoother if you'd take your hand from there No I'm not from around here and my name's not little darlin" Why's there one in every crowd and why do I attract them Funny how the smell of a Greyhound bus now smells like a fresh start to me And how the sound of steelbelts on asphalt is now the sound of breaking free But I'd trade all those cancelled tickets for a single return fare To a station with a loved one waiting there I've finally learned that there's good and bad and that girl can do some choosing Of that I'm glad cause this heart and face won't take any more bruising And the next time that I fall into another's arms there's one thing of which i'll be certain That he can bear the weight of the love I give without considering it a burden It's been a long time since I saw the high plains of Expectation And I'm way past the lowlands and the desert of Failure and Doubt And the last time I passed through Satisfaction I felt like a stranger there Now I'm leaving Normal wherever I'm headed, I don't care
The water is wide (Traditional) The water is wide, I cannot cross over Neither have I wings to fly Give me a boat that can carry two And both shall row, my love and I. Oh love is gentle and love is kind The sweetest flower when first it blooms But love grows old and waxes cold And fades away like morning dew. The water is wide, I cannot cross over Neither have I wings to fly Give me a boat that can carry two And both shall row, my love and I And both shall row, My love and I
Open
I did it all for you (i did it all for you) She took his dentures from his mouth And placed them in her own. Took a shovel from the shed And then dragged him from their home. (i did it all for you.) Left a note tacked to the door, "paid in full" is what it said. High above i look below And watch her slowly go. River, like magnesium, Burns. (i did it all for you) He stuck his fingers in their backs To count the holes he bore. Doused them all in kerosene And moved to bolt the door. (i did it all for you) Called his dad and said goodbye As his lit match hit the floor. High above i look below And watch them slowly go. River, like magnesium, Burns. (i did it all for you) Set his guilt before his rage Set it like a wall To protect what he once knew as love, But which he never knew at all. River, like magnesium, Burns. (i did it all for you) (i did it all for you) Dragging hooks Can't lose the taste of this river mud, Black water in my lungs. They say you can't step in the same river twice Well i've been stepping in this river seems like most my life. So sharpen up those dragging hooks Tie that sheep shank tight Cast into the river boys We're dragging for those lost years tonight. There's a man whose lost his wife Said she'd be home by eight, But that was well on three weeks ago Now he's walking those banks searching for clues to her fate. See that girl she's lost her boy Flash flood stole him away. Now she keeps a vigil on that suspension bridge Praying for that river to return him one day. So sharpen up those dragging hooks Tie that clove hitch tight Cast into the river boys We're dragging for lost love tonight. Can't lose the taste of this river mud Black water in my lungs. They say even the weariest river in the end will find the sea But here among the cat tails all we discuss is breaking free So sharpen up those dragging hooks Tie that sheep shank tight Cast into the water boys We're dragging for lost souls tonight. Bread and wine Well i'm lyin' in my bed, a tangle of arms and legs, But the one that i'm with is not the one bouncing 'round my head. I could turn this into song or cheap fantasy, But whatever i've ignited will still burn in me. Bread and wine, bread and wine, your heart ain't nearly as guilty as mine. I'm a dark heavy heart. I'm a soul full of holes. I'm a boat that is sinking, muddy waters threatening this baggage in my hold. And there's a line in my head from an old gospel song, But no matter how hard i try, the words they just come out wrong. Bread and wine, bread and wine your thoughts aint nearly as wicked as mine. Bread and wine, bread and wine your cross aint nearly as heavy as mine. I've been graced by the gift of a gold wedding band. I've been soothed by the simple caress of my true love's hand. And yet i'm lyin' in my bed, a tangle of arms and legs, And the one that i'm with is not the one that i'm dreaming of. Bread and wine, bread and wine, won't you please be my bread and wine. Bread and wine, bread and wine, won't you please be my bread and wine. Upon still waters (a curly blonde disaster Lying out there) He said, "you make me feel As desired as a crackling fire." She said, "i saw a man out walking Upon still waters…. (i want to lie beside you In a warm bed, Feel your heart Beat in my throat.) ….and no one stopped to stare. There he was all, alone, Out walking upon still waters." He said, "you can feel it fall, All at once upon the land." She said, "you don't know what you've missed Until you've walked upon still waters." (a curly blonde disaster) Dark hole again Stuck in that dark hole again. Someone throw me a ladder On which i can depend. Someone give me a handhold To help me ascend. Someone give me a reason To start up these walls once again. Lost in those gray clouds again. Trying to punch my way through them As fear settles in. Earth growing larger as i fall into a spin. Someone give me a reason To take on those gray clouds again. Caught in this rip tide again. My mouth wide open, The sea pouring in. Perhaps i'll just float here And see where this journey ends. Until someone gives me a reason To stay clear of those rip tides again. Thousand year prayer Here we all are at the end of "the century of beauty lost". We greedily ate what you gave us, the rest we tossed. We've trapped all your rivers, paved every pass, Pulled at your sky till we caused it to rip. But you've got jimi hendrix so lets call it an even split. I've met a girl who has turned my whole world upside down. The stars i once stretched for, now litter the ground. I am cursed by too little, or is it too much belief, In the strength of another man's words. But i've got a girl, thank you lord. Here we all are at the start of another thousand years. All those love stories, yet to be told. Ours is this river asleep at our feet, Blessed by this wet autumn day. Here we all are…… I'm so open Just outside there waiting. Just outside the circle. Waiting for that finger to point your way. Just keep running. Just keep running. New ones quickly burning. Old ones die away. Fires lit to say goodbye or hello. Which way you looking? Which way you looking? Count all wounds that brought you here. Lay your blessings end to end. Rid yourself of all regrets Because here is where it all begins. A bumbler's game, a cheaters wheel Where the winner pays the highest cost. You've laid your marker now watch the ball. Hold your breath its about to fall. Just outside there waiting. Just outside the circle. Waiting there is someone i don't know who. I'm so open, i'm so open. I don't sleep most nights, Just lie awake and count my blessings. I'll take this endless life Of perfect pointless mornings. I'll hold you till the morning comes 'Cause it's all that i can do. I'm so open. I'm so open. I don't like these last goodbyes. I don't like goodbyes. Small swift birds I've been told that it's just the way life goes. Once the wildest river is now a trickle to the sea. The peak we risk our lives to scale becomes dirt beneath our feet. The wisdom of a life time always disappears untapped. Paradise once given will always be taken back. And the love you hang your life upon will start to slowly crack. I have seen people suffocate the dream. Forgetting to turn that one last time while she watches through the door. Focusing on the garbage that she use to ignore. Thinking she looks so beautiful but not yelling it out loud. He should have thought to kiss her before he headed out. Just forgetting how fucking lucky you are to have found her in such a crowd. But we've seen a cloud of starlings rising on a crisp autumn day. We were handed the weight of a child sleeping and bore her away. We've tasted the tears that fall when saying goodbye forever. And we've seen the silver from a waxing moon wash upon the shore. I have heard about the lives of small swift birds. They dazzle with their colour and their deftness through the air. Just a simple glimpse will keep you simply standing there. Legendary journeys made on fragile hollow wings. The night skies rich with whistling each and every spring. And then there's the day we look for them and can't find them anywhere. I've been told that it's just the way life goes. Beneath the gate She was found beneath the gate, Forsaken at the gate. Who would have thought that so much love Could be so carelessly misplaced. Found. Beneath the gate. We gazed upon the moon, A honed and whetted moon. Wondered if you saw the same An hour from your mothers womb. Gazing at the moon. We stood beneath the gate. Three beneath the gate. The rare good will of the random world, Smiling like a sickle moon. She was found beneath the gate. Forsaken at the gate. Found beneath the gate.
Close my eyes I want to walk away Like judas from the table Turn my back And walk away I want to close my eyes Like that novice at the altar Bow my head And close my eyes Sorrow took love's splintered hands And waltzed her 'cross a painted floor Whispered softly in her ear "let's get outta here" I'm going to breathe the air That my children will be breathing Breathe them out And breathe them in again I'm going to close my eyes And walk away Turn my back Bow my head And close my eyes
One soul now One soul now Abandon all those precious things. One soul now Carry only what twilight brings. One soul now Watch the colour drain from the sky. One soul now Stillness settles, glides on by. One soul now I don't understand how these things Move the way they do. Collide the way they do. Feel the way they do. When we touch the way we do. Fireflies drift on a midnight fog. One soul now Twinkling gifts from a puzzling god. One soul now Journey out into the fields. One soul now Crane our necks and watch us wheel. On soul now I don't understand how these things Move the way they do. Collide the way they do. Feel the way they do. When we touch the way we do. Feel the weight of all those slings One soul now Carrying only what twilight brings One soul now Why this one Of all the lives to live why this one? Filled with could-have-been. No fun. Countless nights of anxious frustrations. Of all the lives to live why this one? Of all the souls to meet why these two? One, old and dark, furious as a shrugging ocean. The other, shiny, fresh as a winter morning. Of all the souls to meet why these two? Another night in bed with you Another day beside you gone. Slipping softly off to sleep You say, "do you ever wonder why this one?" A dusty simple-minded piece of fiction. Strange and odd, twisted as a contradiction. A glittering jewel of flaws and celebration. Another night in bed with you Another day beside you gone. Slipping softly off to sleep You say, "do you ever wonder why this one?" You say, "do you ever wonder why this one?" You say, "do you ever wonder why this one?" Why this one, why this one, why this one? My wild child Betrayed? It's the question That i am asking. Or just a lucky one deceived by too much love. Confused. Is the issue. I'm in need of high rescue. Another lucky one stunned by too much love. My wild child She's my salvaged shipwreck. My wild child she's my stone. My wild child She's my constant reminder. My wild child she's my home. Lost. Is the place Where i'm hammering stakes. Sign says, "a lucky one done in by too much love." Saved. Is the state That we are told was graced. He was just a lucky one betrayed by too much love. My wild child She's my salvaged shipwreck. My wild child she's my stone. My wild child She's my constant reminder. My wild child she's my home. Life. Is the riddle Of which we're caught in the middle. A couple of lucky ones Tangled up in too much love. My wild child She's my salvaged shipwreck. My wild child she's my stone. My wild child She's my constant reminder. My wild child she's my home. My wild child brings me home. From hunting ground to city To hunting ground from city. That's where my baby took me with her smile. To hunting ground from city. I never thought that i'd have to retrace those miles. It's been a while since i've seen that smile Appear upon her face And now i find i'm slowly drifting back From hunting ground to city. To hunting ground from city. Our daughters eyes they took us for a ride. To hunting ground from city. Cat's eyes sparkling, blue eyes in my mind. We said goodbye under a drop of sky We left her in that place And now we find we're slowly drifting back From hunting ground to city. From hunting ground from city. The journey down is sure to be a laugh. From hunting ground from city. At least we'll have each other to see it pass. I've seen that line of broken minds And i fear to join it's ranks, But still i find i'm slowly drifting back From hunting ground to city. Stars of our stars Stars of our stars. Dreams of my dreams. You come to me Singing " the stars of our stars". The stars of our stars Came up the first day. The moon did set. The sun comes up. And all the stars did disappear. Stars of our stars. Dreams of my dreams. You come to me Dancing to "the stars of our stars". The stars of our stars Came up the second day. The moon did set. The sun comes up. And all the stars did disappear. Times at night in the spill of light You catch a glimpse. You make a start with an eager heart, But it always slips. And then everything shifts. Stars of our stars. Dreams of my dreams. You come to me Trailing "the stars of our stars". The stars of our stars Will come up the third day. The moon will set. The sun comes up. And all the stars will disappear. Notes falling slow My love swears that he is made of truth I do believe him though i know he lies. I've caught him creeping 'round darkened holes. I've caught him staring at distant skies. I would have seen it coming but i'm blind with age. Too much time on the battle line. Shut it all out just let the notes fall slow. Slow. My love lives inside a haze of gloom. He fears today, what might come tomorrow. Seeks the shadow, shuns the light. Bleeds for knowledge, prepares for sorrow. I would have seen it coming but i'm blind with age. Too much time on the battle line. Shut it all out just let the note fall slow. Slow. This ain't no depression, just notes falling slow. An early snow and notes falling slow. Do i have the strength to bear their passion? An early snow and notes falling slow. No long journey home This ain't no long journey home. This ain't no trip across the tracks. This ain't no dead end street There ain't no turning back. This ain't no long journey home. Another tale about an aging man, A tried but twisted plot, Another hero finding out that he's not. Act one we watch the onion peel. Act two the tragic flaw revealed. In three we close our eyes as his fate's sealed. This ain't no long journey home. Here's a story about a once young girl Whose life has turned to rot. Thought she found her dreams but she had not. Act one we see her bold and strong. Act two we watch her fumble along. In three we close our eyes as all goes wrong. This ain't no long journey home. This ain't no trip across the tracks. This ain't no dead end street There ain't no turning back. This ain't no long journey home. A cautionary tale for all who come this way, A warning writ in water. Act one you'll see it all so clear. Act two you'll watch it disappear. In three open your eyes and stare down your fears. 'Cause this ain't no long journey home. This ain't no long journey home. This ain't no long journey home. This ain't no long journey home. He will call you baby He will call you baby But will he listen when you cry? He will call you sweetheart But always seem apart. He will tear all your fences down, Trample all into the ground. He will call you baby. She will call you honey And leave you twisting in the wind. She will call you darling, Keep you stunned and wondering. She will take you to another world Where the winds of confusion swirl. She will call you honey. We should call them lucky As they watch their babies dance. Or maybe call them crazy For even thinking they have a chance. They will carry her as far as they can Then abandon her once again, They will call her baby. They will call her baby Simon keeper Jesus was a carpenter he died nailed to a wooden cross. Irony oh irony upon me it is never lost. Gather 'round now people, i'm here to tell a tale About a man who walks among you, a man you each know well. My name is simon keeper i had a wife and three grown kids, A job in the towers cooking the books for the shills that grease the skids. Irony oh irony, you are a bitter fruit to eat. Stripped of all your beauty your flesh is none too sweet. Now i ain't the most honest man that ever worked a skim. I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar and brother that was it. Fifty-four and a big black mark upon my resume, I found selling off what you don't own might earn you the time of day. Next it was a letter from my darling one, "what's yours is mine, what's mine is mine", Sealed with a hug and kiss. One by one my children closed their lives to me. Lesson learned on daddy's knee, "give no quarter to the weak". Irony oh irony, you are the polar seed of truth, You grow upon the open plain the faithful you uproot. Kicked around 'bout a year living hand to mouth, Then one day tryin' to bum a light i felt my will give out. Sat right down on the corner, started prayin' a little too loud. Left my troubles far behind When i saw them emptying their pockets out. Irony oh irony, you are a treacherous son of a bitch, Pretending not to care about the heights you'll never reach. Now i won't start in preaching 'bout reaping what you sow, This is the story of a half-hearted man, Half honest as they go. But sit on down and rest a spell i've got another tale to tell. About a lost young man in a far away land whose life is just too easy to sell. Jesus was a carpenter he died nailed to a wooden cross. Irony oh irony upon me it is never lost. The slide Jesus, sweet jesus if you're listening Can you pass me to your pa. I'm having a hard time understanding Why he's so cruel and demanding With his love. Darling, sweet darling keep whispering I'll find you through this din. Sitting and watching, Two flames busy dancing To our love. Grab on to this moment, inhale it And hold it inside. Savour its sweetness, Yearn for the slide. Jesus, sweet jesus if you're listening Can you pass me to your pa. I'm having a hard time understanding Why he's so discriminating With his love
Early 21st century blues License to kill ( Bob Dylan ) Man thinks 'cause he rules the earth He can do with it as he please And if things don't change soon, he will Oh, man has invented his doom First step was touching the moon Now there's a woman on my block She just sit there as the night grow still She say who gonna take away his license to kill Now, they take him and they teach him And they groom him for life And they set him on a path where he's bound to get ill Then they bury him with stars Sell his body like they do used cars Now there's a woman on my block She just sit there facin' the hill She say who gonna take away his license to kill Now, he's hell bent for destruction He's afraid and confused And his brain has been mismanaged with great skill All he believes are his eyes And his eyes they just tell him lies But there's a woman on my block Sitting there in a cold chill She say who gonna take away his license to kill May be noisemaker, spirit maker Heartbreaker, backbreaker Leave no stone unturned May be an actor in a plot That might be all that you got Till your error you clearly learn Now he worships at an altar of a stagnant pool And when he sees his reflection he's fulfilled Oh, man is opposed to fair play He wants it all and he wants it his way Now, there's a woman on my block She just sit there as the night grow still She say who gonna take away his license to kill Two soldiers ( Traditional )
He was just a blue-eyed boston boy His voice was low with pain I'll do your bidding commrad mine If i ride back again But if you ride back and i am dead You'll do as much for me Mother, you know, must hear the news So write to her tenderly She's a-waiting at home like a patient saint Her fallen face paled with woe Her heart would be broken when i am gone I'll see her soon, i know. Just then the order came to charge For an instant hand touched hand They sayed "aye" and away they rode That brave and devoted band Straight was the course to the top of the hill And the rebels they shot and shelled Plowed furroughs of death through the toiling ranks And guarded them as they fell There soon was a horrible dying yell From heights that they could not gain And those who doom and death had spared Rode slowly back again But among the dead that were left on the hill Was the boy with curly hair The tall dark man who fought by his side Lay dead beside him there Well there was was no one to write to the blue-eyed girl The words that her lover had said While mother at home is awaiting her boy She'll only know he's dead She'll only know he's dead December skies September skies, Bodies falling Never again will you catch me admiring Those vast september skies. October skies, Hate is flying. Crimson leaves slowly falling From azure october skies. Time to kill our children And sing about it. Let's all kill our children And sing about it. November skies, Heart is sinking. No telling where they're leading These grey november skies. Time to kill our children And sing about it. Let's all kill our children And sing about it. December skies, star will be rising. Will we heed those lessons ringing Through those dark december skies. Time to kill our children And sing about it. Let's all kill our children And sing about it. This world dreams of Try to find the reference It makes no difference to me. Draw your own conclusions, Add to my confusion if you please. The time for concessions And midnight confessions is long gone. I'll sit here in the silence And wait for all the violence to engulf me. I hate to take the easy way out, now people, But options are closing down fast. More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Vengeance has been tasted, Hatred cultivated, Its an old game. Everyone gets fatter, People choose what matters, There's no shame. I hate to take the easy way out, now people, But options are closing down fast. More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Simple as a folk tale, Deadly as a stairwell, It surrounds you. Stupid men and bastards Always bite their masters. They will get you. I hate to take the easy way out, now people, But options are closing down fast. More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. This world dreams of…… Brothers under the bridge ( Bruce Springsteen ) Saigon, it was all gone The same coke machines as the streets i grew on Down a mesquite canyon we come walking along the ridge Me and the brothers under the bridge Campsite's an hour's walk from the nearest road to town Up here there's too much brush and canyon for the chp choppers to touch down Ain't lookin' for nothin', just wanna live Me and the brothers under the bridge Come the santa ana's, man, that dry brush'll light Billy devon got burned up in his own campfire one winter night We buried his body in the white stone high up along the ridge Me and the brothers under the bridge Had enough of town and the street life Over nothing you end up on the wrong end of someone's knife Now i don't want no trouble and i ain't got none to give Me and the brothers under the bridge I come home in '72 You were just a beautiful light in your mama's dark eyes of blue I stood down on the tarmac, i was just a kid Me and the brothers under the bridge Come veteran's day i sat in the stands in my dress blues I held your mother's hand when they passed with the red, white and blue One minute you're right there . . . Then something slips . . . You're missing
( Bruce Springsteen ) Shirts in the closet, shoes in the hall Mama's in the kitchen, baby and all Everything is everything Everything is everything But you're missing Coffee cups on the counter, jackets on the chair Papers on the doorstep, you're not there Everything is everything Everything is everything But you're missing Pictures on the nightstand, tv's on in the den Your house is waiting, your house is waiting For you to walk in, for you to walk in But you're missing, you're missing You're missing when i shut out the lights You're missing when i close my eyes You're missing when i see the sun rise You're missing Children are asking if it's alright Will you be in our arms tonight? Morning is morning, the evening falls i got Too much room in my bed, too many phone calls How's everything, everything? Everything, is everything you're missing, you're missing God's drifting in heaven, devil's in the mailbox I got dust on my shoes, nothing but teardrops Handouts in the rain ( Richie Havens ) You can talk about your neighbor You can grab him by the collar You can hurt him only if he hollers "let me go…let me go" But we all know that's old-fashioned And it can only lead to pain Where we might end up on the corner Taking handouts in the rain You can bomb your foreign brother You can hurt him until he dies You can kill him until he never asks you why You're on his land…you're on his land But we all know that's all over And that can only lead to blame Where we might end up for our country Taking handouts in the rain You can trample on your sister You can hurt her only if she cries You can hurt her only if she cares With all her heart…with all her heart But we all know she'd be a mother And that could only lead to shame Where she might end up for her children Taking handouts in the rain Teach your children stories You can fill them full of lies You can make them all despise One another…one another But when they all find out later And they call us by our rightful names And send us shamefully to old age Taking handouts in the rain Taking handouts in the rain Taking handouts in the rain Isn't it a pity
( George Harrison ) Isn't it a pity Now, isn't it a shame How we break each other's hearts And cause each other pain How we take each other's love Without thinking anymore Forgetting to give back Isn't it a pity Some things take so long But how do i explain When not too many people Can see we're all the same And because of all their tears Their eyes can't hope to see The beauty that surrounds them Isn't it a pity Isn't it a pity Isn't is a shame How we break each other's hearts And cause each other pain How we take each other's love Without thinking anymore Forgetting to give back Isn't it a pity Forgetting to give back Isn't it a pity Forgetting to give back Now, isn't it a pity No more
( Traditional ) No more my lord No more my lord Lord i'll never turn back, no more I have found in him Many resting place And he has made me glad No more my lord No more my lord Lord i'll never turn back, no more. Jesus, the man i am looking for Can you tell me where He has gone? Go down, go down In my flower yard And perhaps you may find Find him there. I don't want to be a soldier
( John Lennon ) Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die Well i don't wanna be a sailor mamma, i don't wanna fly Well i don't wanna be a failure mamma, i don't wanna cry Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no Well i don't wanna be a rich man mamma, i don't wanna cry Well i don't wanna be a poor man mamma, i don't wanna fly Well i don't wanna be a lawyer mamma, i don't wanna lie Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no Well i don't wanna be a beggar mamma, i don't wanna die Well i don't wanna be a theif now mamma, i don't wanna fly Well i don't wanna be a churchman mamma, i don't wanna cry Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no Hit it! Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die Well i don't wanna be a sailor mamma, i don't wanna fly Well i don't wanna be a failure mamma, i don't wanna cry Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no I'm tilting on the break of shit Decisions making in my life Makes me loose it i ain't taking it this way i ain't making it There n mistakes but if i'm wrong i will pay for it Like them bills i hate to pay Today i stay brave to win every day i'm a soldier I don't wanna die. I ain't know killer either So why does mama cry? She needs to feed her child But she's a child in her father's eyes Ya'll better recognize The power parents recking with Does it make sense to make way for censorship? It's brains we messing with Across the planes we got kids n chains and whips Who live their lives censor less but we couldn't give a shit. I don't wanna lie Cheaters will cheat Some will rather reach jesus Before meeting defeat I think it's easy to see i you be seeing these streets Sometimes my eyes Can't believe what they see, On tv, young like me sent over seas Sent over greed i believe Is this what we need? Yo these guys like me. To add fire to the fuel Life twisted my views Just from flicking the news I gives me the early 21st century blues But we making it threw Make what you make it You can't redo what you do I'm the living proof making it threw the 21st century blues Peace. One
( U2 ) Is it getting better Or do you feel the same Will it make it easier on you now You've got someone to blame You say one love one life When its one need in the nightone love we get to share it It leaves you baby if you dont care for it Did i disappoint you Or leave a bad taste in your mouth You act like you never had love And you want me to go without Well it's too late tonight To drag the past out into the light We're one, but we're not the same We get to carry each other carry each other one Have you come here for forgiveness? Have you come to raise the dead? Have you come here to play jesus To the lepers in your head? Did i ask too much more than a lot You gave me nothing now it's all i got We're one but we're not the same Well we hurt each other then we do it again You say love is a temple, love a higher law Love is a temple, love the higher law You ask me to enter, but then you make me And i can't be holding on to what When all you got is hurt one love one blood One life you got to do what you should One life with each othersisters brothers One life but we're not the same We get tocarry each other carry each other one
At the End of Paths Taken
Brand new world Mouths to feed, shoes to buy Rent to pay, tears to dry Brand new world I can't relate Let us choose To not participate Open up Let me wander in Your heart is not Such a tender thing Brand new world I contend Only love Will stop the withering Oh, to lie in wait As the shadows and the shapes Spill across the walls Like a river Deep In spate Four am Dark reality Brand new world And my heart Is missing Still lost Settling now Once again What was begun Will meet it's end Running now Time to hide Go inside It's time to hide Here we stand at the end of paths taken (guiding light inspiration) The slow decline The crumbling foundation, the stations, and now the cross But we're still lost Waiting now Dull roots twinning Keeping watch For new roots shining There you stand at the edge of salvation (guiding light inspiration) The slow decline The crumbling foundation, the stations, and now the cross But we're still lost Cutting board blues If you've gone and made your mind up About leaving tomorrow Take it all, but leave My cutting board behind I can see my way ahead I reach this closed doorway Try as i might I can't find my way behind Do you see the end of time Or a new level Next time, alone We'll leave the others behind If you've gone and made your mind up 'bout leaving tomorrow Take it all, but leave My cutting board behind Spiral down Now it all begins Or continues to Spiral down Spiral down I've laid it out on paper Instructions of what to do As my mind begins to waver Losing contact with you Now it all begins Or continues to Spiral down Spiral down Look upon the self Look upon the other We need a better understanding Or we'll spiral down Spiral down Continue to spiral down I'm no where near my peace As you spiral down My little basquiat My little boy on the kitchen floor (my little basquiat) Stick men fighting stick dinosaurs (my little basquiat) Colours leaping all over the mat (my little basquiat) The kitchen floor is where it's at For my little basquiat One day He'll be golden Maybe chosen Perhaps to lead One day He'll be shaken Maybe taken Perhaps to bleed My big girl swinging from the bars (my little comaniche) Fist of stone flying above the yard. (my little comaniche) Halfway up is halfway down (my little comaniche) Or maybe it's the other way around For my little comaniche One day She'll be moonlight Maybe too bright Perhaps, to shine One day She'll be found out Maybe ground down Perhaps she'll cry My little girl on her mothers lap (my little panchen lama) Sucking on her fingers, surveying the roadmap (my little panchen lama) Seems to be the only one around (my little panchen lama) That sees the red lights at the end of town (my little panchen lama) One day They'll be older Maybe bolder Perhaps, than me One day They'll be rising Maybe living Perhaps, in peace Someday soon Someday soon I'm going to find myself a saviour Sit him on the naugahide And make him tell me the answers Someday soon He'll look at me With the word in his eyes He'll notice the hero to come Someday soon Someday soon I'm going to find myself a leader Someone who can take me By the hand towards safety Someday soon With only a wink He'll tell me all i need know His personal call will come Someday soon Find myself another heart to carry this weight Find another part to take Someday soon I'm going to find myself a banner March when they tell me to Cheer when it matters Someday soon Let's take our place At the back of the bus Erase all the lies we've been told Shoulder the load of those that are dear And look to the days to come Someday soon Follower 2 My father's stories fell upon us Filled us with his light Gospels, fertile minds Taking root, taking root His pocket change would jingle Sacramental bells Heads tucked low Sneaking peaks, sneaking peaks And the rain comes down It's dark, and the browns Begin to bite Here you will always be Behind me, and you will not go away There he sleeps, an untamed land Dark corners yet discovered His heart yet to be Trod upon, trod upon I can't bare to hear his breathing Simply knowing what's to come I can't bare to hear your breathing Knowing what's to come It really doesn't matter anyway The singer brought her to tears But they were my words not hers What I said, or didn't say It doesn't really matter anyway Beside me, you looked so small So I'm the one now that makes you crawl A misplaced word, nothing brutish Can serve as the sand to extinguish the flame It doesn't really matter anyway It doesn't really matter anyway It doesn't really matter anyway It doesn't really matter anyway It doesn't really matter anyway Blue eyed savior Where'd you go my blue eyed saviour Where'd you go my darling one Lying on that field of honour Not sure what you're waiting on And she won't let him through the door Her mind is ticking through those tumbling years The one's he promised he'd be there for She says, “hope: the belief that loved ones will never die” I've never heard such nonsense I've never heard such lies What to do with our sputtering engine What to do with our fading star Leaving us to wander freely Trying to find out where we are And I can't bear to see him go There is just too much left on the table There has been too much left alone She says, “hope: the belief that loved ones will never die” I've never heard such nonsense I've never heard such lies Listen to my wide eyed bundle Listen to them assail the night Lost again in their caves of wonder Leaving us alone outside And I can barely stand the simple pleasure Each breath carrying just a little more weight As I bend to adjust the comforter I think, “hope: the belief that loved ones will never die” I've never heard such nonsense I've never heard such lies Mountain You speak your love You turn, are gone What kind of love You thinking of Can you tell me how this mountain got so high Moments worth The price of myths Lifting from our fingertips Reaching for the next hand hold on the wall How'd this mountain get so high How'd this mountain get so high Can someone tell me how this mountain got so high Step by step We take on weight The trick is now To separate Secure the good Leave the rot behind How'd this mountain get so high How'd this mountain get so high Can someone tell me how this mountain got so high No need for answers But give them choice A simple place To hear their voice Can someone tell me how this mountain got so high How'd this mountain get so high How'd this mountain get so high Can someone tell me how this mountain got so high My only guarantee Keep it coming I've got your back Do not fear When I'm on deck A bigger lie I've never told A bigger story yet to unfold My only guarantee: i will fuck you up Another day Of pure energy What wears most Is the constancy A bigger job I've never had A bigger burden I could not drag My only guarantee: I will fuck you up Strange how things Come about Will I ever know How things turn out A bigger wish I've never known A bigger question I'm trying to hone My only guarantee: I will fuck you up
Renmin Park
Renmin Park Meet me on the banks of the Yangtze, Suzie Beneath the glare of the New-West Yard We'll watch the barges cart away the waste of another day We'll watch the barges cart away the waste of another day Meet me in the middle of Renmin Park Where the stone bridge meets the pond We'll watch the ducklings gobbling bread And the stealth of the approaching swan We'll watch the ducklings gobbling bread And the stealth of the approaching swan Listen for the song of the propane seller Bouncing off the walls His morning cry a promise to you from me His morning song a blessing on you and me Meet me on the banks of the Yangtze, Suzie Beside the gate of the New-West Yard We'll watch the darkness leach away into the haze of another day We'll watch the darkness leach away into the haze of another day Sir Francis Bacon At The Net Merciless nature, human and mother walk this land Each through the arm of the other Their tithe they count in millions In a Land that loves its villains So calculating it parses a man Between the hand that held the dream And the sword being held by the hand Their golden frames hang gleaming Tangled bones of their crimes bleaching Their golden frames hang gleaming Bleaching bones of their crimes tangling There he stands a mere mist of a thing Waiting his turn to challenge the King He counts his time in centuries He lives on the smallest of mercies He counts his time in centuries As the map is unrolled the dagger comes out And that which was certain will now end in doubt Thank you Sir Francis Bacon Another piece of advice not taken Thank you Sir Francis Bacon Another piece of advice not taken Stranger Here Stranger here Face down in the river floating by A backwards sky Stranger here Hung by the neck Jeered by the crowd Stranger here Stranger here And I could tell you about the time I was looking for a rhyme communing with the planets above I am the righteous man The one you're looking for I am a stranger here. I am a stranger here Stranger here The legend will be told about the boy Never hungry, never cold Stranger here Smoke in my eyes Strange taste on my tongue I am a stranger here I am a stranger here And I could tell you about the evening That I was out drinking And fell asleep by the side of the well I am the righteous man The one you're looking for I am a stranger here I am a stranger here And I could tell you about the time I was swinging from the twine And saw you flirting with that Jack-in-the-crowd I am the righteous man The one you're looking for I am a stranger here I am a stranger here Stranger here Head on the pillow floating by Willows sigh A Few Bags Of Grain After twelve years of feeding Days spent barely breathing I'm worth only a few bags of grain Oh the shame, the shame, the shame So I'll take me beating Never once complaining Oh the shame, oh the shame, the shame After sixteen years hard labour He bumped into a neighbour Who told him about a world gone insane He said, “I cannot stress any stronger But you cannot rest on your honour” The shame, the shame, the shame She leaves her there sleeping Hoping that she's dreaming About a life worth more than a few bags of grain Oh the shame, oh the shame, the shame But my spirit will live on My daughter you will not claim My spirit will live on My spirit you can not claim My daughter you will not claim Can not claim You can not claim I Cannot Sit Sadly By Your Side You throw away the gun Did I tell you what's to be done I need it to kill just one And you said, “I cannot sit sadly by your side” And you said, “I cannot sit sadly by your side” I try to push open the door just to see what came before but there is a body on the floor And you said, “I cannot sit sadly by your side” And you said, “I cannot sit sadly by your side” You brought back that guitar I told you I wanted it no more it only plays the songs that no one is asking for I cannot sit sadly by your side I cannot sit sadly by your side I bust in to the room not knowing really what to do So I reach down and tear out page two hundred and fifty two It reads, “ I can not sit sadly by your side” It reads. “I can not sit sadly by your side” (You've Got To Get) A Good Heart Tell me what brings you closer my dear is it the beauty or the fear Tell me what keeps your interest here is it the chill or is it the fever Is it the terror or the grief Is it the trigger or the breach You've got to get a good heart You need a good heart Take me back to another time When the birds brought forth the sun Take me back to that golden year When the pain brought forth the gun You've got to get a good heart You've got to get a good heart Is it the beauty or the fear Is it the chill or is it the fever Take me back to another time When the birds brought forth the sun Leave it there it's sad and tired It's time that we moved on You need a good heart Cicadas Hear them buzzing in the trees A lot like us a dying breed One voice now is all we need Hear them buzzing in the trees Nothing left but empty shells No memory now of where we fell No one left to truly tell The tale of how we truly fell Once again the simple truth Is crushed beneath the leather boot A lot like us a dying breed Hear them buzzing in the trees A lot like us a dying breed One voice now is all we need Hear them buzzing in the trees Nothing left but empty shells No memory now of where we fell No one one left to truly tell the tale of how we truly fell No trees here to hide behind Those big red wheels they slowly grind Hear them buzzing in the trees My Fall Notice the fall of the city Please watch it closely The sun outside shining The moon also hanging The years start to gather your dreams start to tatter Your tears busy fuelling this song I'm singing tonight Through those hopeless nights I wander alone Through those hopeless nights You hold me hand Happiness a distance we'll never see This cool fall night only confuses me At night when we should be sleeping I lie awake and hear you weeping About all the things you ever wanted About all the things that now haunt you The years start to gather your dreams start to tatter Your tears busy fuelling this song I'm singing tonight Through those hopeless nights I wander alone Through those hopeless nights you hold my hand Happiness a distance we'll never see This cool fall night hanging over me Little Dark Heart It's a funny start But I have no home I have no name I have no one Except this little dark heart Fate playing her part I have no one And I'm not one to say But she has a way Of winding that thread She has a way Now there's this little dark heart Fate playing her part she has her ways One is left in a ditch by the highway The other 'neath the Tax Bureau Gate Wherever you come from that's where you go They lie gazing at the stars and they wait They lie gazing at the stars and they wait I've read all the books and they go away They turn their backs They go away The long journey start For that little dark heart She has no one I make a fresh start you fall apart And they go away A Walk In The Park A walk in the park, there will be no bother Since we are not decision-maker Government is the chief dealer Oh, if they don't exist How can I burst into laughter A walk in the park, go look around from west to east It is so tough being a giraffe Can I get along well with him He recognizes me since I were a toddler A walk in the park, there will be no bother Since we are not decision-maker Government is the chief dealer Oh, if they don't exist How can I burst into laughter A walk in the park, go look around from west to east It is so tough being a giraffe Can I get along well with him He recognizes me since I were a toddler A walk in the park, go look around from west to east A walk in the park, go look around from west to east Renmin Park (Revisited) Meet me on the banks of the Yangtze, Suzie Beneath the glare of the New-West Yard We'll watch the barges cart away The waste of another day We'll watch the barges cart away The waste of another day Meet me in the middle of Renmin Park Where the stone bridge meets the pond We'll watch the ducklings gobbling bread And the stealth of the approaching swan We'll watch the ducklings gobbling bread And the stealth of the approaching swan Listen for the song of the propane seller bouncing off the walls A kiss before the morning knows I'm gone A kiss before the new day finds me gone Listen for the song of the propane seller drifting through our dreams You at the end of your sky and me in the corner of my sea His morning cry a promise to you from me His morning song a blessing on you and me Meet me on the steps of Gu Xian Temple Where the old ways greet the dawn We'll watch the darkness leach away into the haze of another day We'll watch the darkness leach away into the haze of another day
Demons
( Vic Chesnutt Covers )
Wrong Piano Oberheim, Yamaha Steinway and the lot I must have played the wrong piano 'Cause it left me with I don't know what So don't talk to me about mistakes Yes we all simply have got to take precautions I must have played the wrong piano 'Cause now I just, I just feel nauseous Some sexual turned into some biblical And then became a game of just trivial pursuit I used to gnaw on every word But now I don't, what's the use Ruppert Murdock and Larry Flint Bob Guccione and the U.S. mint I took out the wrong subscription And I don't know what I'm gonna end up spending Oberheim, Yamaha Steinway and the lot Flirted With You All My Life I am a man, I am self aware And everywhere I go You're always right there with me I flirted with you all my life Even kissed you once or twice And to this day I swear it was nice But clearly I was not ready When you touched a friend of mine I thought I would lose my mind But I found out with time That really, I was not ready, no, no Oh death, oh death Oh death Really, I'm not ready Oh death you enter me Death's unmade those dear to me And tease me with your sweet relief You're cruel and you are constant When my mom was cancer sick She fought, but then succumbed to it But you made her beg for it Sweet Jesus, please I'm ready Oh death, oh death Oh death Really, I'm not ready No, no, no I'm not ready, I'm not ready No, no Oh death, oh death Oh death Really, I'm not ready Oh death I'm not ready, I'm not ready... See You Around Well I'm sorry for my lack of communication But as I'm staring out this fifth floor window It seems like the least amount of communication is better Oh, well what am I supposed to say "There's a bloody effigy on my wall And the complimentary carnation is falling apart" And I ain't got time for the niceties Or rather I was never, never fond of the niceties I will see you around, 'round, 'round I will see you around I will see you around I'll see you around Well I must admit I'm flattered by your consecration It's a mind-numbing spine-chilling But never-the-less heartwarming gesture But as you make your advances so clumsily I'll save us both the both the hassle and leave Hang out all night In the familiar fluorescent light of Dunkin' Donuts 'cause I ain't got time for the niceties Or rather I was never, never fond of the niceties I will see you around, 'round, 'round I will see you around I will see you around I'll see you around Well, how are you with issues Lately you've been a half-assed activist You've been seen sashaying around the picket line Wearing scarcely any sign Oh, but always vocal in love and strife And the politics of your all important life Well, I'm sorry but your routine is coming off a bit ragged And I ain't got time for the niceties Or rather I was never, never fond of the niceties I will see you around I will see you around I will see you around I'll see you around Betty lonely Betty lonely Lives in a duplex of stucco On the north bank of a brackish river Her ears omit the noise from a nearby airstrip Her mind floats beyond the snapper boats Betty lonely Her green eyes are roughly staring At a point through her sliding glass door Her heart lives over a drawbridge Her brain is wet like a thrownet Betty lonely She will always think in spanish Though I know Her spanish black hair, it will start to fade She sunk her past Out in the surrounding salt flats Her maidenhood was lost Beneath the spanish moss Betty lonely Just talks to her grandbaby Everybody else she blots them out But her words stick Like a flounder gig Her dry laugh is like a gaff Square Room Sitting in a square room My voice is freezing And the beams that are bouncing off the moon Are hanging from my window like icicles Just a tired old alcoholic Waxing bucolic Shivering and homesick Staring at a wooden floor Staring at a wooden floor Last night I nearly killed myself Chasing rum with rum There were crows flying all around my head And I sure caught and ate me some It's funny how I alienated Those who I was trying just so So hard to impress Now half those fuckers hate me And I'm just a fool to all the rest Why do I insist on drinking myself to the grave Why do I dream about cozy coffin I had all these plans of great things to accomplish But I end up purely pathetic more than often Sitting in a square room My voice is freezing Ladle You file me with the libertines I fold in line My monthly dole of magazines Beaming bistro shine In my ladle is your plum And my daily staple of your cutesy crumbs Of your cutesy falling crumbs I saw you at the snazzy din-din You made me sad that i watched I must say you truly packed 'em in Nearly dearly debauched In my ladle is your plum And my daily staple of your cutesy crumbs Of your cutesy falling crumbs In my ladle is your plum And my daily staple of your cutesy crumbs Of your cutesy falling crumbs Supernatural Built a king on compliments Charisma and advertisements Still they see him shimmer ephermeral It ain't supernatural It ain't supernatural Supernatural baby Out of body experience I flew around the little room once On intravenous Demerol It weren't supernatural Supernatural maybe Sudden smell, certain view Sparks a whoppin case of the deja vu Is it inexplicable It ain't supernatural, no, no It ain't supernatural Supernatural baby West of Rome West of Rome, just east of the border In a static-y ramada inn Polishing his boots and pummeling his liver Steeped in the dark isolation Just what business does he have around here Credentials are wearing out with each little bit of cheer Yes it's a bad scene we're convening Brushing his teeth and milking his ulcer Preparing to waste another wily morning Stroking himself and them phoning up his sister He tells her their life would make one whale of a movie Yes a childhood full of dry goods and wet neglect The father they now sponge off they have no absorbing respect Yes he's a glad boy to have such a void Yes he's a martyr crawling accross cobble stones From his cozy cottages just west of Rome Yes it's a sad state for great suffering Strange Language Up on the bluff Where I wish I was Twisting up the pages of history My cold feet dangling My bony arms gesturing To summon up a little chunk of that history In the corridor The shadows are long And it messes with my equilibrium And there's strains of a strange language Up on the bluff Where the hardwoods jut Out toward the gusts of history My crusty mind cracks My restless heart tracks The fractal lines of history In the corridor The shadows are long And it messes with my equilibrium And there's strains of a strange language In the corridor The shadows are long And it messes with my equilibrium And there's strains of a strange language We Hovered With Short Wings We hovered with short wings Over the hillock crest A breathlike aviation Glowing, showing bones Glowing, showing bones With much bellowing and rowing A cello directioning will let you out Deaf and loud Let you out A hungry, hungry awful hunter A breath, his came asunder The old dog makes padded cake As the aged come for me As the aged come for me When The Bottom Fell Out When the bottom fell out There wasn't any doubt I just suddenly found myself free falling And from such a height The wind, it had a bite And it took all my might to fight the fight The fell in spread-eagled Must've found an airfoil Or some kinda wing And I gained some equilibrium Caught myself gliding When the bottom fell out Observers heard me shout So long, It's been good to know you But when I finallly smash Into that vertin grass I will say it's been pretty great going
Sing In My Meadow
Continential Drift Here's the story of a dying man Told by a friend of mine He said that he heard it from a friend of his Who was a real close friend one time One night he chose to choke his wife Until the light that was there turned cold He'd heard some stories 'bout her From a friend of a friend I'm told The continental drift The continental drift Why do you say “no” When what you mean is “yes” Why do you say “never mind” When it's obvious that you do Yeah, I love you too. When it's obvious that you do Yeah, I love you too Let's hang around and watch This good man lose his goodness And leave a trail of misery behind I heard he chose to choke his life until the light in it went cold I heard it from a friend of a very good friend of mine The continental drift The continental drift The continental drift The continental drift It's Heavy Down Here It's heavy down here Pressure building day-to-day Everyone's got too much to say It's heavy down here It's heavy down here Thunder clouds roiling in the late afternoon Old Man rising from his noon day snooze It's heavy down here It's heavy down here A final post for all to see The loving embrace of Infamy It's heavy down here It's too damn heavy down here He took a small box And he buried it away “Now my heart will be home So I need not stay” It's heavy down here. It's too damn heavy down here Third Crusade King Richard came upon them 3000 I am told Slit their stomachs in search of jewels In search of Islam's gold On the road from Acre They're crucifying thieves Crows are pecking at their eyes While the hypocrites run free I've been told that you've been bold Believing in the shit that you've been sold And I hear that you fear the way a simple damn dream can disappear They marched on through the seasons The skies lit by burning hills They gobbled up the cities To the sound of raging bells When they reached the Holy Land They gave their thanks to God They hammered on the Temple stones And crushed the filthy mob I've been told that you've been bold Believing in the shit that you've been sold And I hear that you fear the way a simple damn dream can disappear The rich they still get richer The poor still spill their blood The poppies grow in Kandahar And the oil still flows in Saud Late Night Radio Under his pillow whisper low They creep in through his radio That long-distance howling at the moon Wille Stargel at the bat Some freak singing about his Siamese cat, “Ask the Pastor” sowing through his dreams Hey girl, wanna touch my soul Do you listen to late night radio Come away with me He likes the way it eats the miles, The way it pulls you, like a child Holds your hand Briefly lifts the veil The way the music curls like smoke Where the mildly sane and the madmen float The hum of night, the freedom in the air Hey love, can I reach your soul Do you listen to late night radio Come away with me Under his pillow whisper low They creep in through his radio, All that distance filling up the room. Firmly locked in the long grey middle He reaches out and starts to fiddle, Just to hear them howling at the moon Sing In My Meadow I've seen you outside my window. It's those dark seeds that bring you in I don't know if its hunger or habit But I'm big on the idea of sin And you will sing in my meadow And you will sing in my home I'll be the one out there listening And you'll be the one here all alone I've seen you outside my window Breaking bread with the grackles and doves I don't know if its fear or anger But I'm big on the idea of love And you will sing in my meadow And you will sing in my home I'll be the one out there listening And you'll be the one here all alone I've seen you outside my window It's those dark needs that bring you out I don't know if it's faith or habit But I'm big on the idea of doubt And you will sing in my meadow And you will sing in my home I'll be the one out there listening And you'll be the one here all alone Hunted Emma's in a part of town Where she doesn't recognize the streets Named for famous native sons And out of every crevice comes creeping A threat in her direction Lucy's outside her home Heading towards her corner store She stays on well travelled paths And is always making sure That she doesn't develop patterns. There are trap lines Running up and down Main Street Wire snares thirsting for your neck and feet. Susan doesn't like the way her curtains Are blowing in the wind. She swears she locked that window Before she went out dancing She stands frozen in her doorway. Judy hears a sound coming from the other room She knows she should be alone 'Cause the kids left at noon To go visit their father Quick to your phone dial 911 Invite a strange man into your home Who'll be carrying a gun Leslie's working late She's got a deadline to meet. In walks her boss Upon her desk he puts his feet And says alone at last Reanne's got a new boyfriend And they're getting along Until he locks the door and says don't struggle I'm stronger than you are Just one question I'm dying to ask, you said Do you know what it's like to be hunted A Bride's Price I was forced to pay a bride's price I couldn't look the other way She hooked me with her “fuck me” eyes They still haunt me to this day She says, “Only you can know these secrets Buried deep beneath my skin, only your tongue Can uncover them” Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah In a room as cold as Winter I explored her with my hands. She said, “Darling you must forgive, in order to understand” Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah My breathe it slowly left me I snaked my way inside. The next thing that I knew You were not lying by my side. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah In the end we find a single door And all the things we should have done. Piled high on all the surface I Move On A drift of wild turkeys In the field across the way I'm standing, staring, waiting For those coyotes to make a play But they never do So I move on A pack of wild children In the field across the street I'm standing, staring, waiting For the bell to set them free But it never does So I move on 51 years, a child upon the Earth Trying to find the answers Without digging in the dirt So I'll never know And I'll move on
The Wilderness
Unanswered Letter Her heart torn open And left like an unanswered letter Words were not spoken Just left in a spidery scrawl Twisted and gutted The last of the smoke in the air She gets up to leave And idly fixes her hair Words from home, words from home What we miss are words from home Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin I lost my heart I left it alongside the river That blackbird clucking Songs he knows nothing about That bird returning To a home that makes him sing out Words from home, words from home What we need are words from home... Idle Tales Whether it starts with an earthquake Or the tears of a few grieving women I don't know On the road to gathering Looking for someone to roll away the stone He stands alone in her room As the commotion slowly decays I don't know She's on her way to somewhere new Looking for someone to roll away the stone It's these idle tales that we need to keep us moving These tales keep us going It's these idle tales that we need to tell our children These tales are for our children She stands upon an empty stage With a song she was born to sing She's on the road again Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin It's these idle tales that we need to keep us moving These tales to keep us going It's these idle tales that we need to tell our children These tales are for our children Whether it starts with an earthquake Or the tears of a few grieving women I don't know We Are The Selfish Ones He sits alone in his perfect shack The lake beside him freezing The sun no longer shining Much past four o'clock We are the selfish ones We are the lucky ones We are the needed ones She falls asleep, the book on her lap “All things change to something new Something strange” We are the selfish ones We are the lucky ones We are the needed ones We walk along with my hand on your back The days behind receding Forward to a day when all we love will pass Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin We are the selfish ones We are the lucky ones We are the needed ones He sits alone in his perfect shack The lake beside him freezing The sun no longer shining Much past four o'clock Damaged From The Start Here's a man of sorrow's children As constant as the sea Searching for a heart that's lost it's stone She moves like a serpent baby Through time she drags her tail Of all the broken hearted left behind Let's just sit here a little bit longer With these bruised and battered hearts Let's just say they were damaged from the start Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin There they go like shadows, darling Between this world and that Never knowing where the light will shine But I can tell you one thing, sweetheart We share a place in time Nothing more is needed 'cause you're mine Let's just sit here a little bit longer with these bruised and battered hearts let's just say they were damaged from the start Such a perfect pairing dearwood A serpent and it's rock A battle weighed on scales we can not know Let's just sit here a little bit longer We broke each others hearts Let's just say they were damaged from the start Let's just sit here a little bit longer These scared and healing hearts Let's just say they were damaged from the start Let's just say they were damaged from the start
Angels In The Wilderness Are there angels in the wilderness, I don't know I've got my doubts, but if you say so But I've got a feeling we're doing alright We're doing our part, to make a bramble seem less sharp When you ask for bread will I give you stone Will I make you confess it, or leave it along If it consoles you will I take it away Hold my hand help me to understand You break my heart again and again Will I ever get used to that sensation All those locusts just trying to get out Devouring with tiny bites All the lies in site Fly forgotten Like a prayer Fly forgotten like a dream Fly forbidden Fly unseen Fly, fly, fly away from me Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin Are there angels in the wilderness I don't know But I'll give you my love and watch the bitterness grow And then will I take it and hide it away And wait on the day when the balance tips your way Fly forgotten Like a prayer Fly forgotten Like a dream Fly forbidden Fly unseen Fly, fly, fly away from me Are there angels in the wilderness I don't know Fairytale There's a rock in a field and a dirty sky I'm still as corpse, content as a bride Thoughts of you in those flying shoes All around me One wrong step and it's a long way down So I triple check the hand holds, stand on firmer ground But it's not so easy when the whole mountain's Coming down upon you So we wait for the moment that we stumble on the truth We fail to recognize it as we're digging at its roots The sorrow and the anger that we've sown In the fields all around us Hey little princess hey little pea Come down from your tower and dance with me Yeah you're the fairest one in the land Try on this glass slipper and give me your hand Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin There's a rock in a field and a collapsing sky I'm precious as a snowman, fragile as a lie Thoughts of you in those flying shoes All around me I'm afraid of the anger of the hard twisted heart That beats in the chests of those that are caught In the ruins of the lives of those All around me I'm sick of the blood I'm sick of the bleeding The effort it takes just to keep on dreaming Of better days and better ways Of living Hey little princess hey little pea Come down from your tower and dance with me Yeah you're the fairest one in the land Try on this glass slipper and give me your hand Hey little princess hey little pea Come down from your tower and dance with me Yeah you're the fairest one in the land Try on this glass slipper and give me your hand
Confessions of Georgia E The air in here smells like piss and beer The sweet cycle of life Georgia E would say Thirteen grandchildren gathered around Looking down into the ground The slow descent into darkness I deserve no less, his last words Carried like an offering Upon his dying breath Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin Sweet sweet cycle of you and I Sweet sweet memories of you and me And the way we used to be I live like in a dream Among the ruins, the waters bleed The slow descent into madness The children swell with love and chaos What was once at hand Is now forbade to touch Sweet sweet cycle of you and I Sweet sweet memories of you and me And the way we used to be Won't you sit and have another drink with me I'll keep them waiting while you sip your tea Won't you sit and list them one more time the reasons why I failed to keep you mine Regret is for your those with choices Those will voices, those with reasons to stick around So cast me deep into those black depths With reassurance that death gets the sons of bitches too And the won't be coming back for you Sweet sweet cycle of you and I Sweet sweet cycle of you and me Sweet sweet cycle of you and I Sweet sweet memories of you and me And the way we used to be
I Let Him In He says you will never know There are no rhymes to do you justice And he will sit there outside Until you no longer doubt his purpose So, I let him in I opened the door, I let him in I let him in Opened my heart Some wounds will never heal Loneliness becomes an expectation But you're stretched there by my side And you whisper those foolish incantations Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin So, I let her in A crooked smile and I let her in Opened the door, she walked right in I opened my heart You came wrapped like a gift in a dream But then the dream disappeared and the gift went too Ever since I've been searching for me and you Ever since I've been searching for you He said you will never know There are no rhymes to do you justice And he'll sit there by your side Until you no longer doubt his purpose So, she let me in She opened the door, I walked right in She let me in She let me in She opened the door, I walked right in She let me in Opened my heart
Staring Man I live on the hill between your eyes and you But I live in this world, what do I do Collect no interest, otherwise what I can Above all I'm not that staring man I move like a spirit between this world and that The weight of them both square on my back Collect no interest and I'll share what I can Above all I'm not that staring man You sit in your tower, straight and tall Your kingdom around you beginning to fall You close your eyes and you hold your tounge Every night check on the damage that you've done Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin I live on the hill between your eyes and you Caught in your world, what do I do Fear in the air, I made my stand Prove once again I'm not that staring man You stand your ground, and you take what comes And ever night check on your desire to run You stand your ground and take what comes And every night check on your desire to run I live on the hill between your eyes and you But I live in this world, what do I do
Fuck, I Hate The Cold Too many years on the rinks of Montreal Too many years in the lofts of old TO Too many nights in the bowels of Avenue B Too many days in the arms of Lady T Or maybe I'm just getting old 'Cause, fuck, I hate the cold Too much time in the bed of a petty thief Too much time in the arms of a failed conceit He told me how he love the best about me And then he told me what was best And maybe I'm just getting old But, fuck, I hate the cold Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin Too much fun on the roads of the USA Too much fun plugging in and starting to play Too much time on this winding trail Of a tale yet to be told Baby, I'm getting old And, fuck, I hate the cold I fucking hate it I hate the cold I fucking hate the cold
The Nomad Series Extras
My Boy Burns My Boy Burns Like a five alarm fire My Boy Burns Like a five alarm fire Tears and ash in his wake Tears and ash in his wake My Boy Burns Like the tail of a comet My Boy Burns Like the tail of a comet And we are tossed in his wake And we are tossed in his wake Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin My Boy Burns With the fire of a prophet My Boy Burns With the fire of a prophet Sun and Moon in his hands Sun and Moon in his hands We are drawn in his wake We Are drawn in his wake
The Girl Behind The Man Behind The Gun No guarantee of happy endings I like my stories cut to the bone A mother of three is awakening She's the girl behind the man behind the gun Apples and toast for the children The hard push to get out the door Arrive just in time for the anthem She's the girl behind the man behind the gun Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin A quick stop at Jen's for the gossip She checks in at work for her sched There's a rumour going round about a failed op She's the girl behind the man behind the gun Back home to something missing She tries not to think of him now Nothing to jinx his returning She's the girl behind the man behind the gun A shiny black car in the driveway Two men in dress at the door Ignore them and go on pretending That I'm the girl behind the man behind the gun I'm the girl behind the man behind the gun I'm the girl behind the man behind the gun No guarantee of happy endings
Old Hotel ( Vic Chesnutt ) I can see my old hotel Down amongst the smells I'm up above that ancient city river It's filtered by my lousy liver It's filtered by my wilted lily liver I can see my old hotel It ain't even a hotel Five am there came some sleet or hail It was signal taps on the brave window Solemn taps on the wavy window Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin I can see my old hotel Hear those old touristy bells Soon I'll be down the hill shopping Giddy like a tipsy Mary Poppins Giddy like a tipsy Mary Poppins I can see my old hotel It ain't even a hotel I'm scheduled to ride the rails If I wished to stay on this tower Things would derange given just another hour
Marathon ( Vic Chesnutt ) To-do lists on a long yellow legal pad Blue Windsor knots framed by basic black Resplendent tables Great forests of paper plates Carrying the weight of the world Saps every ounce of your strength Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin In training to run a marathon Miles and miles and miles With your Sunday shoes on In training to run a marathon Miles and miles and miles With your dress shoes on But all the recurring dreams Will increase and then peter out and cease Tears do evaporate But oh so slowly like piss on a toilet seat In training to run a marathon Miles and miles and miles With your Sunday shoes on In training to run a marathon Miles and miles and miles With your dress shoes on
Punching Holes Through My I heard The word Lifting up to you Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin I watched Death dropped Reigning down on me Holy, holy, holy I watched You dropped A spec into the sea You kissed My lips Punching holes through Looking for you
Sad Peter Pan ( Vic Chesnutt ) It's the plan of most To discover that magnificent ghost When did I get perverted And my innocent eyes diverted From the view so grand Imbued with distractions I'm greedy like senior babbitt I'm just chasing that electic rabbit I'm a reluctant rebel I just want to be aaron neville With a crown on my head And my denim shirt all dark with sweat Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin I'm just pushing the paint around On advice from your lying mouth You touched me and then you ran You left some sad sad Peter Pan All alone and awkward But a transformation, I swear it will occur
Demons I was taught that there are Demons out there So that's what I believe. You take away my demons You take away my peace. Broke my leg At the age of twelve Couldn't kneel beside the bed Learnt the lesson of habit The prayers I left for dead Met him in A corner booth The jukebox at his side He took away all my quarters He took me for a ride Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin I saw his eyes When the fires on I never want that blaze to die If you take away the burning embers You take away the burning sky If I could switch it All around I'd make you my very first kiss I'd take away the mystery Just to see what I missed I was taught that there are Demons out there So that's what I believe
Guilty by association ( Vic Chesnutt ) You've been sanctified And I've been tried Guilty by association You've been canonized And I've been fried Guilty by association All the little loonies With a salient obsession Come out from the boonies With their sharpies and their guns Loaded with questions Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin You've been canonized And I've been tried Guilty by association You've been terrorized And I've been fried Guilty by association All the little loonies With a salient obsession Come out from the boonies With their sharpies and their guns Loaded with questions
Forthright ( Vic Chesnutt ) Looking in the hourglass Ants in the sand Reflected in the oil lamp I can see the wrinkles in your hand You can be forthright with me You can be forthright with me Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin Next to the pot-bellied stove Hand on the flue Photograph on the roll-top desk Is it of you You can be forthright with me You can be forthright with me Half a pound of hominy Soaking in a wooden bowl Underneath the cheesecloth In the safe hold You can be forthright with me You can be forthright with me
Stay Inside ( Vic Chesnutt ) Well, I guess I'm through stewing How about let's roll the rock away My bedclothes have gone all funky I've got to get out of this cave Rob from always on the run dot net is so bad and copy paste is a sin Stay inside, stay inside Stay inside, stay inside Well the times they are a-changin' Look at all the idlers Soon there will be no one to shear the sheep And I am cold natured Stay inside, stay inside Stay inside, stay inside Suddenly everything's different Everyone's on edge I just wanted to bring folks together But it seems that I am the biggest wedge Stay inside, stay inside Stay inside, stay inside
All That Reckoning
All That Reckoning, Pt. 1 I once slept With my arms around you My legs once bound you And I'd wake with my heart so full of you And then I found That this bed was poison That my life was frozen And I lay afraid of ever touching you I took my heart and lay it on the floor You took my hand and softly asked for more I once felt That keeping it sealed inside Would free me from the fear I hide Of ever losing you And then I found That the blooming All that reckoning Has lead me back to you I took my heart and lay it on the floor You took my hand and softly asked for more Now I sleep With my arms around My limbs become you And I wake with my heart so full of you
When We Arrive Welcome To the age of dissolution To the days of death and anger Old ideas becoming stronger Welcome Welcome to the days of wine and roses To the time of lost pursuits New ideas are taking root Welcome Welcome Everything unsure Everything unstable Above all else Keep your actions faithful But above all else Keep your actions faithful But what if they cast us seaward To find new land What if we lose each other Will we be holding hands When we arrive What if they cast us seaward In search of land We may lose each other But let's be holding hands When we arrive Welcome To the world of self delusion Where the pain stays sealed inside Fearing what might lie inside Welcome To the days of death and anger Old ideas becoming stronger To the age of lost pursuits New ideas taking root To this place unsure, unstable You must keep your actions fateful To search for common ground Where our love will be found Welcome Welcome And let's be holding hands When we arrive
The Things We Do To Each Other Fear is not so far from hate So if you get the folks to fear It only takes one small twist To kick it up a gear And you can control hate But only for so long And when you lose control Oh man The things we do to each other Oh my sister And you can control hate But only for so long And when you lose control Oh man The things we do to each other Oh my brother The things we do to each other Oh the things we do to each other Fear is not so far from hate So if you get the folks to fear Oh my brother Oh my sister The things we do to each other It only takes one small turn To kick it up a gear The things we do to each other Oh man Fear is not so far from hate So if you get the folks to fear It only takes one quick turn To notch it up a gear
Wooden Stairs Hold your arms out to me And I will come eventually I'm hopin' for some time on the other side "Some things just aren't meant to be" That's the line that sets me free Free of all those maybes, buts, inside If we could sit upon those wooden stairs again Bury myself in your skin and hair again Feel myself fall into you again If we just could sit on those wooden stairs again Save the place next to you And I will come back very soon Once I pick the briars from my eyes "Some things just aren't meant to be" That's the line that handcuffed me There it sits, glowin' deep inside If we could sit upon those wooden stairs again Bury myself in your skin and hair again Feel myself fall into you again If we just could sit on those wooden stairs again Come and whisper in my ear On second thought, let's make it clearer Tie me to my mast and sing your song Some things just aren't meant to be But here's the part that puzzles me Why we never choose to sing along If we could sit upon those wooden stairs again Bury myself in your skin and hair again Feel myself fall into you again If we just could sit on those wooden stairs again Hold your arms out to me And I will come eventually
Sing Me A Song Sing me a song about life in America Sing me a song of love Sing me a song about life in your neighbourhood Sing me a song of love I know a man who dropped to his knees Clasping his hands in prayer Beside him, she said: "It looks more like grief" But mostly she just didn't care Tell me a tale about the one you keep near Sing me a song of joy Tell me a tale about those that are dear Sing me a song of joy She veiled her days in pale hues of gray The brightness of her children an undoing She spent all her days in a cold burning rage The brightness of her children was galling Unburden your hearts, let loose your fear Sing me a song of forgiveness Make a fresh start, face all your fears Sing me a song of forgiveness He came to that moment in every man's life He confronted the path before him Betrayed by the emptiness days without light He turned and he made a decision Sing me a song of love Sing me a song of joy Beside him, she said: "It looked more like regret" But mostly she would like to forget Sing me a song of love Sing me a song of joy
Mountain Stream I had a dream I was a king A king of empty things I had a queen, she lit my way And she wiped my tears away My kingdom was broad and vast I ignored it as it passed As I walked She left me, did my queen Alone to think and dream As I walked my mountain streams I dried tears and all my fears With ten thousand shields and spears My queen came back again But I was ready to defend My heart now hard and cold She left me without hope With gray hair upon my head My queen and youth had fled My youth and queen, my mountain stream Had been stolen by the years I had a dream I was a king A king of empty things Alone to think and dream But not to hope, or so it seems But not to hope, or so it seems But not to hope, or so it seems
Missing Children We only see them briefly Perhaps just one edition Their end-of-year photo stares out We only see them briefly And it's mugging politicians Cock-eyed, their faces stare out But for some their image still burns bright Like the glow of a tiger or a light Switched-off, but once stared-at With such intense concentration We only see them briefly Then it's idle conversation Their perfect frozen bodies surfacing We only see them briefly Then it's fear and degradation Their dusty, bloodied bodies lie limp But for some their image still burns bright Like the glow of a tiger or a light Switched-off, but once stared-at With such intense concentration And what shoulder and what art Could twist the sinews of thy heart And when thy heart began to beat What dread hands and what dread feet What the hammer? What the chain In what furnace was thy brain What the anvil, what dread grasp Dare its deadly terror grasp We only see them briefly Then it's shame and flagellation Their end-of-year photos stare out When the stars threw down their spears And watered heaven with their tears Did he smile, his work to see Did he who made the lamb make thee We only see them briefly Then reach to change the station Their frozen perfect faces stare out
Shining Teeth I don't wanna see your shining teeth Show me your bruised and battered heart Prove to me that you'll be true Let me touch the wounds that have haunted you Share with me the wounds that still haunt you I'm goin' down to the river It's a place where I can breathe Splash the waters, miss my daughters Focus on my retrieve Work on my reprieve I don't wanna see your shining teeth no more She screams as she flies across the floor I don't wanna see your shining teeth no more This life becomes a thin stream And thinner with each day I'm goin' down to the river It's a place where I can play It's a place where I can pray I don't wanna see your shining teeth no more She screams as she flies across the floor I don't wanna see your shining teeth no more And over time we become that line And bow and drift and fray I'm goin' down to the river And wash the blood away Wash my pain away I don't wanna see your shining teeth no more She screams as I'm backin' out the door I don't wanna see those burned-out empty eyes I don't wanna see your shining teeth no more
Nose Before Ear I'm gonna start this song in a dark low whisper Out of respect for the story that it tells It all begins with the prick of a finger A man and his fear, with nose before ear So many ways to love him So little time to choose among them I'll stick with the ones whose hearts are torn Broken, that's why the blues were born A man and his life and his race to the finish And the moments infused with dread All in the service of tryin' to diminish Disappointments that lay in ambush Upon the path ahead I'm not tryin' to stitch this heart to that sleeve It's simply a case of mutual need A grief more dance than hearts can bear That's the way it goes, with nose before ear This is the story of the land-locked sailor Who cried himself to sea This is the tale of the sleeping princess Who found her way back to me What we love will kill us That which won't don't thrill us I'm gonna tell you a story about the ones that I love And a life lived, nose before ear All That Reckoning, Pt. 2 I once slept with my arms around you My legs once bound you And I'd wake with my heart so full of you And then I found that this bed was poison That my life was frozen And I lay afraid of ever touchin' you I took my heart and laid on the floor You took my hand and softly asked for more I once felt that keepin' it sealed inside Would free me of the fear I hide Of ever losin' you And then I found that the blooming All that reckonin' Had lead me back to you I took my heart and laid on the floor You took my hand and you softly asked for more I took my heart and laid on the floor You took my hand and you softly asked for more Now I sleep with my arms around you My limbs become you And I wake with my heart so full of you
The Possessed I found the devil Disguised as air Charged with electric current I opened my mouth He entered and said You are mine You are mine You are mine I found the devil Disguised as light And hindered by a passin' shadow I opened my eyes He glared and said: You are mine You are mine You are mine I found the devil Disguised as water Clean as my desire I cupped my hands He gathered and said You are mine You are mine You are mine No talk of deals for souls No dickerin' over details No contracts sealed with blood No legends born, no folktales You found me waiting Disguised as the devil Burdened with false intentions You opened your arms I came, you said You are mine You are mine You are mine I found the devil
Ghosts
Desire Lines We traced those desire lines From our homes to her heart Looking for assurance Or to make a fresh start Was it love that drew us in Was it love that she'd impart All I know is that these ghosts Piece by piece, are pulling me apart We chase those promised lives From cradle to the grave Digging for an answer Small and lost, afraid Was it need that drew us in Was it need that she'd impart All I know is that these ghosts Piece by piece, are pulling me apart I don't believe these days will ever end This open window, September spilling in If I could slip away without them noticing I'd let it begin, let it begin, let's start again We traced those desire lines From our hearts to her home Searching for redemption Or to cast that first stone Was it peace that drew us in Was it peace that she'd impart All I hope is that these ghosts Are dragging me to reach a stronger start We traced those desire lines Digging for an answer Small, lost, afraid Was it peace that drew us in We chase those promised lives From cradle to the grave Yeah let it be, let it begin, let's start again Piece by piece, pulling me apart Piece by piece, pulling me apart Pulling me apart I reach a stronger start Breathing Is this the time we say "goodbye" Or is it "see you Wednesday night" Grief and love, like lovers twirling Intertwined and burning bright I watched your chest and stomach heaving I know this is not right Did you know that you were leaving When you were sitting there that night I will reach for those spirit guides Call to them at night Will them to come alive Draw me back to the other side Loss and love are coallescing Around memories that we share Ghosts we are creating Dancing in the air Is this the time we say "goodbye" Or is it "see you Wednesday night" Ghosts we are creating Dancing and burning bright Grace Descends Beyond mercy, beyond judgement Beyond anything that you can pretend To offer in that outstretched hand Beyond this all, Grace descends Beyond heartache, beyond grief Beyond the guilt with which your heart contends And gathers in those folded hands Beyond this all, Grace descends Beyond meaning, beyond grasp Beyond the hours that you fret and spend Staring at your empty hands Beyond this all, Grace descends Beyond longing, beyond reason Beyond all the wounds that you poke and tend And cradle in those cupped hands Beyond this all, Grace descends Beyond faith, beyond love Beyond this all, Grace descends (You Don't Get To) Do It Again If I could put it in a box If I could find it on a shelf Well, I would pick it everytime Know yourself Know yourself If I could carve it on a stone Display it in a square Now I'd choose it everytime Be aware Because you don't get to do it again Let me tell ya You don't get to do it again Because you don't get to do it again Let me tell ya You dont get to do it, do it again If I could put it in a box I could find it on a shelf Yeah I'd pick it everytime Know yourself Be yourself Because you don't get to do it again Let me tell ya You don't get to do it again You don't get to do it again Because you don't get to do it again You don't get to do it, do it again Let me tell ya Do it again If I could carve it on a stone If I could display it in a square I would choose it everytime Be aware Because you don't get to do it again Let me tell ya You don't get to do it again You don't get to do it, do it again Oh you don't get to do it again
The Possessed I found the devil Disguised as air Charged with electric current I opened my mouth He entered and said You are mine You are mine You are mine I found the devil Disguised as light And hindered by a passin' shadow I opened my eyes He glared and said: You are mine You are mine You are mine I found the devil Disguised as water Clean as my desire I cupped my hands He gathered and said You are mine You are mine You are mine No talk of deals for souls No dickerin' over details No contracts sealed with blood No legends born, no folktales You found me waiting Disguised as the devil Burdened with false intentions You opened your arms I came, you said You are mine You are mine You are mine I found the devil Misery Your misery is my misery Sing along, sing along Your misery is my misery Sing along Your mysteries are my mysteries Come along, come along Your mysteries are my misery Sing along One stone at a time As your legs begin to buckle And your tendons start to whine One stone at a time And before you even know it It's way too high to climb Your memories are my memories Come along, come along Your memories are my memories Sing along One stone at a time And the days begin to tumble And you slowly lose your mind One stone at a time And your heart grows cold and brittle And all the things you counted on Get caught up in the grind Your mercies are my mercies Sing along, sing along Your mercies are my mercies Sing along Your memories are my memories Come along, come along Your misery is my misery Sing along This Dog Barks He did not change He was revealed And it all became so crystal clear Look forward And all you love will disappear She did not change She was concealed Impatiently waiting to be revealed Opened up, she was forced to see If you look forward All you love will disappear This dog barks One hundred dogs answer You left your mark Now I have an answer I always thought I was making things better Once again that crooked grin My world again starts to spin Panic leaves, then joy descends I think We are ready to begin again This dog barks One hundred dogs answer I left my mark And now you have an answer I always thought I was making things better He did not change He was revealed She did not change She was concealed It all became so crystal clear He looked forward And all he loved disappeared What I mean is when I looked forward All I love had disappeared When you look forward Does all you love disappear Ornette Coleman Ornette Coleman died last night Took his plastic horn and his tone so bright Circles got so small, he spun himself underground I saw him once in a downtown Bodega Buying apples, I think, and a can of cream soda His music made me question the shape of my life to come And now he's gone and screwed himself in the ground The circle went 'round and turned my world upside down The circle went 'round and turned my world upside down There was that night in Notting Hill Gate When the music splintered and we were cast to our fate We held our breath and wondered what was to come Then Ornette and Don and Charlie became one You, me, Ornette, Don and Charlie becoming one Ornette and Don and Charlie became one You, me, Ornette, Don and Charlie becoming one Ornette Coleman died last night Took his plastic horn and his tone so bright His music made me question the shape of my life to come His music made me question the shape of my life to come
Songs of the Recollection
Five Years (David Bowie) Pushing through the market square So many mothers sighing News just come over We had five years left to cry in News guy wept and told us Earth was really dying Cried so much his face was wet Then I knew he was not lying I heard telephones, opera house, favourite melodies I saw boys, toys, electric irons and TVs My brain hurt like a warehouse, it had no room to spare I had to cram so many things to store everything in there And all the fat, skinny people And all the tall, short people And all the nobody people And all the somebody people I never thought I'd need so many people A girl my age went off her head Hit some tiny children If the Black hadn't have pulled her off I think she would have killed them A soldier with a broken arm Fixed his stare to the wheels of a Cadillac A cop knelt and kissed the feet of a priest And a queer threw up at the sight of that I think I saw you in an ice-cream parlour Drinking milkshakes cold and long Smiling and waving and looking so fine I don't think you knew you were in this song And it was cold and it rained, I felt like an actor 'Til thought of Ma and I wanted to get back there Your face, your race The way that you talk I kiss you, you're beautiful I want you to walk We've got five years, stuck on my eyes Five years, what a surprise We've got five years, my brain hurts a lot Five years, that's all we've got We've got five years, stuck on my eyes Five years, what a surprise We've got five years, my brain hurts a lot Five years, that's all we've got We've got five years Five years, what a surprise We've got five years Five years, that's all we've got Five years We've got five years
Ooh Las Vegas (Gram Parsons) Ooh, Las Vegas Ain't no place for a poor girl like me Ooh, Las Vegas Ain't no place for a poor girl like me Every time I hit your crystal city you know You're gonna make a wreck outta me Well, the first time I lose I drink whiskey Second time I lose I drink gin Third time I lose I drink anything 'cause I think I'm gonna win Ooh, Las Vegas Ain't no place for a poor girl like me, no Ooh, Las Vegas Ain't no place for a poor girl like me Every time I hit your Crystal City you know You're gonna make a wreck outta me Well, the Queen of Spades is a friend of mine The Queen of Hearts, she's a bitch Someday when I clean up my mind I'll find out which is which Ooh, Las Vegas Ain't no place for a poor girl like me Ooh, Las Vegas Ain't no place for a poor girl like me Every time I hit your Crystal City you know You're gonna make a wreck outta me Well, I spend all night with the dealer Tryin' to get ahead Spend all day at the Holiday Inn Tryin' to get out of bed Ooh, Las Vegas Ain't no place for a poor girl like me Ooh, Las Vegas Ain't no place for a poor girl like me Every time I hit your Crystal City you know You're gonna make a wreck outta me
No Expectations (The Rolling Stones) Take me to the station And put me on a train I’ve got no expectations To pass through here again Once I was a rich man and But now I am so poor But never in my sweet short life Have I felt like this before You heart is like a diamond You throw your pearls at swine And as I watch you leaving me You pack my peace of mind Our love was like the water That splashes on a stone Our love is like our music Its here, and then its gone So take me to the airport And put me on a planе I got no expectations To pass through herе again
Don’t Let It Bring You Down (Neil Young) Old man lyin' by the side of the road With the lorries rollin' by Blue moon sinkin' from the weight of the load As the buildings scrape the sky Cold wind rippin' down the alley at dawn The mornin' papers fly Dead man lyin' by the side of the road With daylight in his eyes Don't let it bring you down It's only castles burning Find someone who's turning And you will come around Blind man runnin' through the light of the night With an answer in his hand Come on down to the river of sight And you can really understand Red lights flashin' through the window in the rain Can you hear the sirens moan White canе lyin' in a gutter in the lane If you'rе walkin' home alone Don't let it bring you down It's only castles burning Just find someone who's turning And you will come around Don't let it bring you down It's only castles burning Just find someone who's turning And you will come around Don't let it bring you down It's only castles burning Just find someone who's turning And you will come around
Love in Mind (Neil Young) Woke up this mornin' with love in mind It was rainin' outside, but my love still shined Kept me warm until my plane touched the sky And I've seen love make a fool of a man He tried to make a loser win But I've got nothin' to lose that I can't get back again Man-made rules been holdin' back my love Can't hold it back no more Churches long preach sex is wrong Jesus, where is nature gone? What am I doin' here What am I doin' here Woke up this mornin' with love in mind It was rainin' outside, but my love still shined Kept me warm until my plane touched the sky And I've seen love make a fool of a man He tried to make a loser win But I've got nothin' to lose that I can't get back again Man-made rules been holdin' back my love Can't hold it back no more Churches long preach sex is wrong Jesus, where is nature gone What am I doin' here What am I doin' here Woke up this mornin' with love in mind It was rainin' outside, but my love still shined Kept me warm 'til my plane touched the sky
The Way I Feel (Gordon Lightfoot) The way I feel is like a robin Whose babes have flown to come no more A tall oak tree alone and cryin’ When her birds have flown and the nest is bare Now a woman lord is like a young bird And the tall oak tree is like a young man’s heart Among his boughs you will find her nesting When the nights are cool she’s warm and dry Your coat of green will protect her Her wings will grow your love will too But all too soon your mighty branches Will cease to hold her she’ll fly from you If I’d wings to fly I’d follow you If you’d wait for me I’d fly away I’d fly away
I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You (Bob Dylan) I'm sitting on my terrace, lost in the stars Listening to the sounds of the sad guitars Been thinking it all over and I've thought it all through I've made up my mind to give myself to you I saw the first fall of snow I saw the flowers come and go I don't think that anyone ever has ever knew I've made up my mind to give myself to you I'm giving myself to you, I am From Salt Lake City to Birmingham From East L.A. to San Antone I don't think I can bear to live my life alone My eyes like a shooting star It looks at nothing here or there, looks at nothing near of far No one ever told me, it's just something I knew I've made up my mind to give myself to you If I had the wings of a snow-white dove I'd preach the gospel, the gospel of love A love so real, a love so true I've made up my mind to give myself to you Take me out traveling, you're a traveling man Show me something I don't understand I'm not what I was, things aren't what they were I'll go far away from home with her I've traveled a long road of despair I've met no other traveler there Lot of people gone, lot of people I knew I've made up my mind to give myself to you Well, my heart's like a river, a river that sings Just takes me a while to realize things I've seen the sunrise, I've seen the dawn I'll lay down beside you when everyone's gone I've traveled from the mountains to the sea I hope that the gods go easy with me I knew you'd say yes, I'm saying it too I've made up my mind to give myself to you
Marathon (Vic Chesnutt) To-do lists on a long yellow legal pad Blue Windsor knots framed by basic black Resplendent tables Great forests of paper plates Carrying the weight of the world Saps every ounce of your strength In training to run a marathon Miles and miles and miles With your Sunday shoes on In training to run a marathon Miles and miles and miles With your dress shoes on But all the recurring dreams Will increase and then peter out and cease Tears do evaporate But oh so slowly like piss on toilet seat In training to run a marathon Miles and miles and miles With your Sunday shoes on In training to run a marathon Miles and miles and miles With your dress shoes on
Seventeen Seconds (The Cure) Time slips away And the light begins to fade And everything is quiet now Feeling is gone And the picture disappears And everything is cold now The dream had to end The wish never came true And the girl, starts to sing Seventeen seconds A measure of life Seventeen seconds
Such Ferocious Beauty
What I Lost I woke up this morning I didn't know who I was I looked at the room And didn't know where I was Or if I ever was I woke up this morning I looked to the skies They offered reprieve I look to the moon And find you sitting in the right hand seat Stars in your eyes As I study the skies We slowly glide Above the Quebec countryside Moon-splashed and frozen The river, our guide And now I feel you exhale A low soft sigh This is what I lost today This is what I lost This is what I lost today This is what I lost I woke up this morning I didn't know what to do I looked at the room And didn't know what to do His hands hit the keys And we are brought to our knees The explosion of sound And our minds are scattered 'round The maestro pounds and my spine takes hold of me Shakes me around and that's when I break free This is what I lost today This is what I lost You ask me how I am What am I suppose to say When this is what I lost I woke up this morning I didn't know who I was I looked at the room I didn't know where I was If they come around asking Please, tell tell them in passing This is what I lost If they come around asking Please, tell them in passing This is what I lost This is what I lost I woke up this morning
Flood Watching the water rise Caught between the river and the rockface Watching the water rise Should I follow it down To where the river meets the sea Or let it devour me Riven and floating free He had a large house, big dreams And he filled them one by one He watched the numbers adding up And crushed his urge to run Now he's watching the water rise While he denies and denies and denies She bathed herself in sentiment And soothed her skin with creams Stitched a web across her mouth So that no one could hear her scream Now she's watching the water rise All this useless talk of turning tides As she watches the water rise Dips her toe in before she dives Watching the water rise Caught between the river and the rockface Nowhere left to hide Guess I'll follow it down To where the river meets the sea And let the current carry me Through such ferocious beauty And just let the water rise Hard To Build. Easy To Break Hard to build, easy to break Cradle it in your arms Oh for your children's sake Hard to build, easy to break One little slip, oh that's one big mistake All the future Kings and all the future Queens Standing impatient in a row All the future Kings and all the future Queens Looking like the heroes of their show Hard to build, easy to break Cradle it in your arms Oh for goodnes's sake Love the things you do not know Eat the things you do Hard to build, easy to break Hold it not so tight Oh that's a big mistake Hard to build, easy to break Cradle it in your arms Oh for their children's sake Love the things you do not know Eat the things you do Then lick the spoon that stirs your pot And eat the pudding too Tend the flame that lit your way Stop worshiping the ash Sweep up all those broken things And throw them all in the trash Hard to build, easy to break Hold it nice and tight Softly now, oh it's awake Hard to build, easy to break Take that poison from your head Now give it one good shake Hard to build, easy to break Hard to build, easy to break Hard to build, easy to break Hard to build, easy to break Hard to build, hard to build Hard to build, hard to build
Circe And Penelope I don't know what you got But I got a bag full of heartache and yarn I think of him almost everyday While pulling seams, keeping them all at bay I don't know what you got But I got a life full of regrets and dreams It's not as bad as it sounds or even seems I miss him almost everyday I taste him with every breath I take While gathering herbs for my potions and charms But I don't really care I enjoy the what-ifs And could-have-beens Circe and Penelope sitting on a bench Overlooking the turquoise sea Holding hands and spinning yarns And watching Poseidon Blow the boys back in I don't know what you got But I got a chest full of beauty and dirt Hell Is Real Hell is real, hell is hot Jesus is coming ready or not Here's a man tall and proud All that weight upon his brow I'm scared and I'm angy Jesus is coming ready or not Here's a man beat to hell All those rocks upon him fell I'm scared and I'm lonely Jesus is coming ready or not They will meet upon the field Tear at the crests upon their shields I'm scared and I'm empty Jesus is coming ready or not Hell is real, hell is hot Shadows 2 I can sit here and watch As it all folds away into winter And pretend I'm surprised By the darkling skies and the rain Or I can sit here and wait For death to come upon me like a stranger I can sit here all night The fog rolling in and getting thicker I can sit here and drowse To the low, sad song of morning The pain of falling leaves The awkward reprieve of the day I can sit here and dream But I can't remember the singing I can sit here and dwell Alone and disappearing I can sit here and stare As you shuffle the pieces once again And search for the woods That flutter like birds across your eyes I can sit in the dirt and try to unearth The last of you buried there I can sit here and wait I can sit here and wait I can sit here and wait I can sit here and wait Wait I can sit here and wait Wait Knives Knives have been drawn Blades thirsty and keen Honed on the whetstone Of anger and spleen Knives have been drawn Knives have been drawn Trading her jewelry And a length of her hair Wondering what happened To civility here What I fear is pain and too much loss What I hope will be too high a cost Now I'm seeing that love in her eyes She does not yet know hope is fear in disguise Knives have been drawn Knives have been drawn Keep me harmless, keep me alone Keep me lamenting, all that has gone Shunned and sullen, injured and burned He tends his wounds, he waits his turn Knives have been drawn Knives have been drawn What I fear is pain and too much loss What I hope will be too high a cost Now I'm seeing that doubt in her eyes She just now learnt that hope is fear in disguise Knives have been drawn Knives have been drawn Blades thirsty and keen Honed on the whetstone Of anger and spleen Knives have been drawn (Knives have been drawn) Knives have been drawn Honed on the whetstone Of anger and spleen (Knives have been drawn) Of anger and spleen (Knives have been drawn) Knives have been drawn (Knives have been drawn) Knives have been drawn Knives have been drawn Knives have been drawn Knives have been drawn Mike Tyson (Here It Comes) Every man has a plan Until he's punched in the mouth And then he starts to look about No, some look within, some look without The search begins as do the doubts Here it comes Here it comes There's a trap and here's a path Of least resistance The world starts to arrive With its own insistence One last song, one last dance One more set of circumstance Here it comes Here it comes All the wasps have come alive There's whistling again in the evening sky Here it comes Here it comes And in the end will you make amends Or simply stand your ground Worn and ragged In the clothes that you found Or naked in the ring, blooded, unbound Like a champ waiting to be crowned Here it comes Here it comes Here it comes Here it comes Throw A Match Wouldn't I throw a match Into your fireworks warehouse To learn what man regards as evil God could care less about Oh wouldn't I drop a fly Into your bowl of guacamole To learn that everything you know Is just another story Witness like a mountain Absorb it as a sea Steadfast like a forest Begin again with me I can still make you sad I guess that's a good thing But my life comes apart Whenever you're missing And I move back towards you One beat at a time Heartbreak again With your hand in mine Witness like a mountain Absorb it as a sea Steadfast like a forest Begin again with me Wouldn't I throw a rock Through your childhood window To get your attention 'Neath the flannel and the pillows I'll let you know You're a luminous beam Scorching the heavens Screaming out to me Witness like a mountain Absorb it as a sea Steadfast like a forest Begin again with me Witness like a mountain Absorb it as a sea Steadfast like a forest Begin again with me Wouldn't I throw a match Into your fireworks warehouse To learn what man regards as evil God could care less about Blue Skies We were cast into the current As were the last words that he wrote "You only get to keep the things That you refuse to let go" You can cross every sea Searching for a new sky But then, just there, you'll be "We've been cast into the current" Were the only words she said And then she sent me off for straws As she settled in her bed You can burn all your daylight Searching for a new sky But then, just there, you'll be We are cast into the current And it's a heartache that I grab A memory wound with fear and grief And I stuff it in my bag We can spend all our nights Searching for a blue sky But then, just there, we'll be
Non Albums Tracks
32-20 Blues (Robert Johnson) If I send for my baby and he don't come If I send for my baby, man, and he don't come all the doctors in Hot Springs they sure can't help him none And if he gets unruly, things he don't wanna do And if he gets unruly and thinks he won't do I'll take my 32-20, now, and cut him half in two I'm gonna shoot my pistol, I'm gonna shoot my Gatling gun Yeah, I'm gonna shoot my pistol, I'm gotta shoot my Gatling gun You made me love you, now your man have come Baby, where you stay last night Yeah, I said baby, where'd you stayed last night 'Cause you got the hair all tangled and you ain't talkin' right Where'd you stayed last night He got a .38 Special but I believe it's most too light He got a .38 Special but I believe it's most too light I got a 32-20, got to make the camps alright If I send for my baby, man, and he don't come If I send for my baby, man, and he don't come all the doctors in Hot Springs sure can't help her none Her .38 Special, boys, do it very well Her .38 Special, boys, it do very well I got a 32-20 now, and it's a burnin' If I send for my baby, man, and he don't come If I send for my baby, man, and he don't come All the doctors in Wisconsin sure can't help him none Hey, hey baby, where'd you stay last night Hey, hey baby, where'd you stay last night You didn't come home until the sun was shining bright Ah-oh, boy, I just can't take my rest Ah-oh, boy, I just can't take my rest With this 32-20 laying up and down my breast
Angels In The Wilderness (Michael Timmins / Live) Are there angels in the wilderness, I don't know I've got my doubts, but if you say so But I've got a feeling we're doing alright we're doing our part, to make a bramble seem less sharp when you ask for bread will I give you stone will I make you confess it, or leave it along if it consoles you will I take it away hold my hand help me to understand you break my heart again and again will I ever get used to that sensation all those locusts just trying to get out devouring with tiny bites all the lies in site fly forgotten like a prayer fly forgotten like a dream fly forbidden fly unseen fly, fly, fly away from me Are there angels in the wilderness I don't know but I'll give you my love and watch the bitterness grow and then will I take it and hide it away and wait on the day when the balance tips your way fly forgotten like a prayer fly forgotten like a dream fly forbidden fly unseen fly, fly, fly away from me Are there angels in the wilderness I don't know
Bad boy (Larry Williams) A bad little boy moved into the neighborhood He won't do nothin' right just a-sittin' got to look so good He don't wanna go to school and learn to read and write Just sits around the house and plays that rock n' roll music all night Well, he put thumbtacks on teacher's chair put chewing gum in li'l girl's hair Now Junior, behave yourself! Buys every rock n' roll book on the magazine stand Every dime that he gets, oh is off to the juke box man Well, he worries his teacher till she's a-ready to poop from rockin' and a rollin' spinnin' in a Hula-Hoop Well, his rock n' roll has gotta stop Junior's head is hard as rock Now Junior, behave yourself! Gonna tell your mama you'd better do what she said Get to the barber shop and get that hair cut off your head You shoot the canary and you fed it to the neighboor's cat You gave the cocker spaniel a bath in mother's laundromat Well, your mama said it's gotta stop Junior's head is hard as rock Now Junior, behave yourself! Captain kidd My name was Captain Kidd, when I sailed, when I sailed. My name was Captain Kidd, when I sailed, when I sailed. And so wickedly I did, God's laws I did forbid. I roamed from sound to sound, and many ships I've found. I roamed from sound to sound, and many ships I've found. And that night I saw .... I murdered William Moore and I laid him in his gore. I murdered William Moore and I laid him in his gore. And this I did to him, A-many leagues from shore Farewell to young and old, the jolly sea Farewell to young and old, the jolly sea even more and welcome to my ... and the open ... door Farewell to London town and the pretty girls around. Farewell to London town and the pretty girls around. My friends have all vanished, in the garden can be found. Farewell, for I must die, I must die, I must die Farewell, for I must die, I must die, I must die and in my own misery I must lie, I must lie I must lie, must lie, must lie, must lie
Carmelita Down along the railroad track I ran into my old friend Jack. He was dressed in his Sunday best But his face was red and his eyes were dead He said I lost Marina And the last place that I'd seen her She was making off With my best friend I took him to the water I spent fifty dollars On something that would take him to the moon Well he must have gone to heaven Cause just before I left him I tried to wake him up But he would not move So come on Carmelita You drunk too much And I can see that Soon you're gonna need a breath of air We'll dance across the wheat fields There's a place I know just east of here It wouldn't take too long to drive out there We'll sleep out on the ground And in the morning when we wake up we'll leave town. And I picked my last tobacco leaf Soaking wet up to my knees Out there before the sun was on the rise You can have a drink of water But don't you look at my daughter Or I'll come down there and cut you with this knife So come on Carmelita You drunk too much And I can see that Soon you're gonna need a breath of air We'll dance across the wheat fields There's a place I know just east of here It wouldn't take too long to drive out there We'll sleep out on the ground And in the morning when we wake up We'll leave town There ain't any flack, man But if you are a black man They'll put you on a plane Back from where you're from. We'll sleep out on the ground And in the morning when we wake up We'll leave town
Cold evening wind ( Michael Timmins ) There's a cold evening wind Coming down from the north Bringing with it cruel words Of hard days ahead Of thieving grey skies And lost desperate mornings Of days when my voice Will not turn you around. And I've been watching the waves Entranced by the sound By the gathering green turmoil By the evil intent It's time i take all i know And run it aground. There's a cold evening wind Coming down from the north Bringing with it cruel words Of hard days ahead Of thieving grey skies And lost desperate mornings Of days when your voice Will not turn me around. And I need you right now I need you to bend Into the teeth Of that cold evening wind I need you to bend Into that cold evening wind I need you to bend Into that cold evening wind
Coney Island Baby (Lou Reed cover / Cowboy Junkies & Tom Wilson / Live from The Latent Lounge) You know, man, when I was a young man in high school You believe in or not, that I wanted to play football All those older guys, they said he was mean and cruel But you know, I wanted to play football for the coach They said I was little too light-weight to play line-back So I say, "I'm gonna play right-in" 'Cause I wanted to play football for the coach Rich kids in the backfield, poor kids on the right I wanted to play football for the coach 'Cause, you know some day, man, you gotta stand up straight unless you're gonna fall Then you're gonna die And the straightest dude I ever knew was standing right there for me all the time So I had to play football for the coach Yeah and I wanted, I wanted I wanted to play football for the coach When you're all alone and lonely in your midnight hour And you find that your soul, it has been up for sale And you getting to think about all the things you've done And you getting to hate just about everything But remember the princess who lived on the hill Who loved you even though she knew you was wrong And right now she just might come shining through Yeah yeah yeah and the glory of love, the glory of love The glory of love just might come through And all your two-bit friends have gone and ripped you off They're talking behind your back saying, man You ain't never gonna be a human being And you start thinking again about all those things that you've done And who it was and what it was and all the different things you made every different scene But remember that the city is a funny place Something like a circus or a sewer Just remember different people have peculiar tastes Yeah yeah yeah and the glory of love, the glory of love The glory of love, the glory of love might see you through Yeah the glory of love, the glory of love (I'm a Coney Island, baby) The glory of love might see you through The glory of love The glory of love The glory of love The glory of love The glory of love The glory of love I'm a Coney Island, baby Man, I swear, I'd give the whole thing up for you
Confessions of Georgia E
(Michael Timmins / Live) The air in here smells like piss and beer the sweet cycle of life Georgia E would say Thirteen grandchildren gathered around looking down into the ground The slow descent into darkness I deserve no less, his last words carried like an offering upon his dying breath sweet sweet cycle of you and I sweet sweet memories of you and me and the way we used to be I live like in a dream among the ruins, the waters bleed the slow descent into madness the children swell with love and kaos what was once at hand is now forbade to touch sweet sweet cycle of you and I sweet sweet memories of you and me and the way we used to be Won't you sit and have another drink with me I'll keep them waiting while you sip your tea won't you sit and list them one more time the reasons why I failed to to keep you mine regret is for your those with choices those will voices, those with reasons to stick around so cast me deep into those black depths with reassurance that death gets the sons of bitches too and the won't be coming back for you sweet sweet cycle of you and I sweet sweet cycle of you and me sweet sweet cycle of you and I sweet sweet memories of you and me and the way we used to be
Darkness, Darkness (Jesse Colin Young of The Youngbloods) Darkness, Darkness Be my pillow Take my head And let me sleep In the coolness of your shadow In the silence of your deep Darkness, Darkness Hide my yearning For the things I cannot be Keep my mind from constant turning Toward the things I cannot see now Things I cannot see now Things I cannot see Darkness, darkness, Long and lonesome, Ease the day that brings me pain. I have felt the edge of sadness, I have known the depth of fear. Darkness, darkness, be my blanket, Cover me with the endless night, Take away, take away the pain of knowing, Fill the emptiness of right now, Emptiness of right now, now, now Emptiness of ri-ight now. Darkness, darkness, be my pillow, Take my hand, and let me sleep. In the coolness of your shadow, In the silence, the silence of your deep. Darkness, darkness, be my blanket, Cover me with the endless night, Take away, take away the pain of knowing Fill the emptiness of right now, Emptiness of right now now now Emptiness of right.... Oh yeah Oh yeah Emptiness, emptiness Oh yeah
Dead flowers (Mick Jagger and Keith Richards) Well, when you're sitting there in your silk upholstered chair Talking to some rich folk that you know Well, I hope you won't see me in my ragged company 'cause you know I could never be alone Take me down little Susie, take me down I know you think you're the queen of the underground and you can send me dead flowers every morning Send me dead flowers by the mail Send me dead flowers to my wedding and I won't forget to put roses on your grave Well, when you're sitting back in your rose pink cadillac Making bets on Kentucky Derby Day I'll be in my basement room with a needle and a spoon and another girl to take my pain away Take me down little Susie, take me down I know you think you're the queen of the underground and you can send me dead flowers every morning Send me dead flowers by the mail Send me dead flowers to my wedding and I won't forget to put roses on your grave Take me down little Susie, take me down I know you think you're the queen of the underground and you can send me dead flowers every morning Send me dead flowers by the U.S. mail Say it with dead flowers in my wedding and I won't forget to put roses on your grave No, I won't forget to put roses on your grave
Don't Need You (Alejandro Escovedo) There's Heaven, then there's somewhere else And those that fall between the cracks and land upon their feet With the rhythm of the King But most they sway from side to side Just to keep the story lit and guide the rest across the rooms the borders and the lines I don't need you Like you don't need me Someone can wish you everything Then take all that he gives And tie a rope around the neck of the promises he gave The time he takes to twist his lies Just to keep his story lit And you wish you would have bit your lip then followed him to sleep I don't need you Like you don't need me There's Heaven, then there's somewhere else And those that fall between The cracks and land upon their feet With the rhythm of the King Me, I sway from side to side Just to keep this story lit And hold your hand across the rooms, the borders and the lines I don't need you Like you don't need me You don't need me
Flyin' Shoes (Townes Van Zandt) Days full of rain skys comin' down again I get so tired of these same old blues same old song Baby, it won't be long 'fore I be tyin' on my flyin' shoes flyin' shoes till I be tyin' on my flyin' shoes Spring only sighed summer had to be satisfied fall is a feelin' that I just can't lose. I'd like to stay maybe watch a winter day turn the green water to white and blue flyin' shoes flyin' shoes till I be tyin' on my flyin' shoes The mountain moon forever sets too soon bein' alone is all the hills can do alone and then her silver sails again and they will follow in their flyin' shoes flyin' shoes they will follow in their flyin' shoes Days full of rain skys comin' down again I get so tired of the same old blues same old song Baby, it won't be long till I be tyin' on my flyin' shoes flyin' shoes till I be tyin' on my flyin' shoes
Gone Away (Michael Timmins) All I ever longed for is now gone all I ever feared is all around me all I ever wanted is almost lost all I need now, gone away. Love to you was always best in books love to me a fragile bitter friend now love to me is always second best and all I need now, gone away All I ever wanted I have lost all I ever feared is all in front of me all I ever cared for is now lost days of wonder, gone away.
Helpless (Neil Young) There is a town in north Ontario With dream comfort memory to spare, And in my mind I still need a place to go, All my changes were there. Blue, blue windows behind the stars, Yellow Moon on the rise, Big birds flying across the sky, Throwing shadows on our eyes. Leave us helpless, helpless, helpless. Helpless, helpless, helpless. Helpless, helpless, helpless. Blue, blue windows behind the stars, Yellow Moon on the rise, Big birds flying across the sky, Throwing shadows on our eyes. Leave us helpless, helpless, helpless. Helpless, helpless, helpless. Helpless, helpless, helpless. Baby can you hear me know? The chains are locked and locked and tied across the door. Baby sing with me somehow. Helpless, helpless, helpless. Helpless, helpless, helpless. Helpless, helpless, helpless.
Hot burrito #1 (I'm your toy) ( In The Time Before Llamas LP / Chris Etheridge & Gram Parsons ) You may be sweet and nice But that won't keep you warm at night 'Cause I'm the one who showed you how To do the things you're doing now He may feel all your charms He may hold you in his arms But I'm the one who let you in I was right beside you then Once upon a time you let me feel you deep inside And nobody knew and nobody saw Do you remember the way you cried? I'm your toy, I'm your ol' boy And I don't want no one but you to love me No, I wouldn't lie You know I'm not that kind of guy
I believe I'll dust my broom (Robert Johnson) I'm getting up soon, in the morning, I believe I'll dust my broom I'm getting up soon in the morning, baby, I believe I'll dust my broom Yeah, you know I love a boy, you know I do Yeah, my friends can't have my room I'm gonna write a letter, telephone every town I know Yeah, I'm gonna write a letter, telephone every town I know If I don't find him in Mississippi he's in New Orleans, I know Well, I don't want no man wants every downtown girl he meets No, I don't want no man wants every downtown girl he meets If he don't give me the loving I want that boy back on the street Well, I believe I'm coming home Yeah, I believe, I believe, I believe I'll go back home I'm gonna leave my baby, break up my happy home
IKEA Parking Lot (Michael Timmins) Two in the car waiting for the doors to open A cold winter morning in the IKEA parking lot Flag poles are clanging, traffic is backed up behind them An empty cold morning in the IKEA parking lot. I don't think that I love you anymore her words like a fist float beside him the world all around starts to sharpen the man made hollow in the IKEA parking lot I don't think that I love you anymore her words like a fist float beside him the world all around starts to sharpen a man made hollow in the IKEA parking lot ten o'clock comes, the doors to the store are open her words crystallized on the windows make beautiful patterns the words crystallized on the windows make beautiful patterns left all along on this cold, empty morning left all alone in the IKEA parking lot left all alone in the IKEA parking lot.
In my time of need ( Ryan Adams ) Will you comfort me, in my time of need Can you take away the pain of a hurtful deeds 'Cause when we need it most, there's no rain at all And the dust just settles right there on the feed Will you say to me a little rains gonna come When the sky can't offer none to me 'Cause I will come for you, when my days are through And I'll let your smile just off and carry me Cause when the calm comes down I take the truck on into town And buy whatever we can't seem to grow I work these hands to bleed 'cause I got mouths to feed And i got fifteen dollars hid above the stove Will you say to me a little rains gonna come When the sky can't offer none to me 'Cause I will come for you, when my days are through And I'll let your smile just off and carry me 'Cause it ain't like it was, on back in those days When everyone would offer up a hand These old bones are worn, I've grown tiresome And I know my time is surely gonna come Will you comfort me in my time of need Can you take away the pain of hurtful deeds 'Cause I will comfort you when my days are through And I'll let your smile just off and carry me Lord we married young and stayed where we came from And gave those children everything we had Will you stay with me, in my time of need Though it seems we had such little time for us Will you say to me a little rains gonna come When the sky can't offer none to me 'Cause I will come for you, when my days are through And I'll let your smile just off and carry me
In the long run She writes him a letter to see how he's doing. She's stopped up for words on a pen she keeps chewing. The light from the window blows through her graying hair. The pen on the page is the proof that she still does care. 'Cause in the long run the story's told, And in the long run the young grow very, very old. He sits in the park in the dark by his favorite tree. His mind is all lost in a haze of how things used to be. She carried him so far but then had to let him go. He wanted one more chance at least to let her know. 'Cause in the long run the heat grows cold, And in the long run the young grow very, very old. He doesn't do much now, just sits by the window light. His hair is so long and his unshaven face so white. His heart feels a part of the breeze that is blowing outside. His eyes now see magic around him at most times. 'Cause in the long run the story's told, And in the long run the young grow very, very old. She walks in the morning, it's best before seven. It's that time of day that seems closest to heaven. She finds herself dancing and singing songs out loud. Songs from her childhood that suddenly come around. 'Cause in the long run the farm gets sold, And in the long run the young grow very, very old. He's ready to go now, he's done with his living. He's gone where he's going, he gave what he's giving. A thousand and one times he sat before dinner. A thousand and two times their lives growing thinner. 'Cause in the long run the story's told, And in the long run the young grow very, very old.
Let Me Call You Sweetheart (Beth Slater Whitson & Leo Friedman) Let me call you sweetheart I'm in love with you. Let me hear you whisper That you love me too. Keep the love light burning In your eyes so true. Let me call you sweetheart I'm in love with you. Let me call you sweetheart I'm in love with you. Let me hear you whisper That you love me too. Keep the love light burning In your eyes so true. Let me call you sweetheart I'm in love with you.
Lost my driving wheel Just came up on the midnight special Hey, how 'bout that My car broke down in Texas she stopped dead in her tracks Just called to tell you that I need you Just called to tell you how I feel I feel like some old engine that's lost my driving wheel I feel like some old engine that's lost my driving wheel They took my money on the night train north What a terrible thing I gave my promise that I will be there with you by Saturday night I want to tell you that I need you I need to tell you how I feel I feel like some old engine that's lost my driving wheel I feel like some old engine that's lost my driving wheel You can't say much in a phone call, babe You know how it is I have to tell you one sure thing Oh, won't you listen to this I want to tell you that I love you, babe I want to tell you just how I feel I feel like some old engine that's lost my driving wheel I feel like some old engine that's lost my driving wheel I feel like some old engine that's lost my driving wheel Some old engine that's lost my driving wheel I feel like some old engine that's lost my driving wheel
Love Is All (Greg Clarke & Brodie Lodge) Ain't got no savings piling up in the bank Ain't got no special saviour I wish to thank Ain't got a net to catch me if I fall The only thing I've got Is love, and love is all Ain't got no religion to help me on my way Ain't got no temple where I can kneel and pray Ain't got no priest come running when I call The only thing I've got Is love, and love is all Can't accept the changes hearts are always breaking can't seem to understand everything is always falling Ain't go no reason to do these things I do Ain't go no special purpose to help and pull me through I can see no plan on how to climb this wall The only thing I've got Is love, and love is all The only thing I've got Is love, and love is all
Lungs (Townes Van Zandt) Well, won't you lend your lungs to me? Mine are collapsing Plant my feet and bitterly breathe up the time that's passing Breath I'll take and breath I'll give and pray the day's not poison Stand among the ones that live in lonely indecision Fingers walk the darkness down Mind is on the midnight "Gather up the gold you've found, you fool, it's only moonlight and if you try to take it home your hands will turn to butter You better leave this dream alone, try to find another" Salvation sat and crossed herself and called The Devil partner Wisdom burned upon a shelf "Who'll kill the raging cancer?" Seal the river at it's mouth Take the water prisoner Fill the skies with screams and cries Bathe in fiery answers Jesus was an only son and love his only concept Strangers talk in foreign tongues and dirty up the doorstep and I for one, and you for two ain't got time for outside Just keep your injured looks to you we'll tell the world we tried Keep your injured looks to you We'll tell the world we tried
Marie (Townes Van Zandt) I stood in line and left my name took about six hours or so the man just grinned like it was all a game said they'd let me know I put in my time till the pocono line shut down two years ago I was staying at the mission till I met Marie Now I can't stay there no more Fella 'cross town said he's lookin' for a man to move some old cars around Maybe me and Marie could find a burned-out van and do a little settlin' down But I'm just dreamin', I ain't got no ride and the junkyard's a pretty good ways that job's about a half week old besides It'd be gone now anyway Unemployment said I got no more checks and they showed me to the hall My brother died in Georgia some time ago I got no one left to call Summer wasn't bad below the bridge A little short on food that's all Now I gotta get Marie some kind of coat We're headed down into fall I used to play the mouth harp pretty good used to hustle up a little dough But I got drunk and I woke up rolled A couple of months ago They got my harp and they got my dollar them low life so and so's Harps cost money and I ain't got it It's my own fault I suppose The pocono's down but the chesapeak's runnin' Two freights everyday If it was just me I'd be headed south But Marie can't catch no train She's got some pain and she thinks it's a baby, Says we gotta wait and see In my heart I know it's a little boy Hope he don't end up like me Well, the man's still grinnin' says he lost my file I gotta stand in line again I want to kill him but I just say no I had enough of that line my friend I head back to the bridge, it's getting kinda cold I'm feelin' too low down to lie I guess I'll just tell Marie the truth Hope she don't break down and cry Marie she didn't wake up this morning She didn't even try She just rolled over and went to heaven My little boy safe inside I laid them in the sun where somebody'd find them Caught a chesapeak on the fly Marie will know I'm headed south So's to meet me by and by Marie will know I'm headed south So to meet me by and by
Morning Cried (Michael Timmins) When Morning Cried she awakes to find another day of blind fumbling lies ahead for the life of her, she can't figure out what's wrong it's just that every rock she once stood upon is gone. And the day begins he wakes and finds he's lost his way with no moon to pull him in for the life of him he can't figure out what's wrong it's just that every rock he once stood upon is gone. No ripples in the water, no footprints in the sand we caught ourselves wandering in a very foreign land so place your love in this hand in this one place your faith and hope will be your pole star another trail will trace. when morning comes awakes to find another day of blind fumbling lies ahead for the life of them they can't figure out this place at all it's just that every rock that they once stood upon is gone for the life of them they can't figure out this place at all it's just that every rock they once stood upon is gone.
My father's house (Bruce Springsteen) Last night I dreamed that I was a child Out where the pines grow wild and tall I was trying to make it home through the forest before the darkness falls I heard the wind rustling through the trees and ghostly voices rose from the fields I ran with my heart pounding down that broken path with The Devil snappin' at my heels I broke through the trees and there in the night My father's house stood shining hard and bright The branches and brambles tore my clothes and scratched my arms but I ran till I fell, shaking in his arms I awoke and I imagined the hard things that pulled us apart will never again, sir, tear us from each other's hearts I got dressed and to that house I did ride From out on the road, I could see it's windows shining in light I walked up the steps and stood on the porch A woman I didn't recognize came and spoke to me through a chained door I told her my story and who I'd come for She said "I'm sorry, son, but no one by that name lives here anymore" My father's house shines hard and bright It stands like a beacon calling me in the night Calling and calling, so cold and alone Shining `cross this dark highway where our sins lie unatoned
Once I Was ( Tim Buckley Cover / A Celebration of the Music of Greenwich Village LP) Once I was a soldier And I fought on foreign sands for you Once I was a hunter And I brought home fresh meat for you Once I was a lover And I searched behind your eyes for you And soon there'll be another To tell you I was just a lie And sometimes I wonder Just for a while Will you remember me And though you have forgotten All of our rubbish dreams I find myself searching Through the ashes of our ruins For the days when we smiled And the hours that ran wild With the magic of our eyes And the silence of our words And sometimes I wonder Just for a while Will you remember me
Rake ( Townes Van Zandt ) I used to wake and run with the moon I lived like a rake and a young man I covered my lovers with flowers and wounds My laughter the devil would frighten The sun she would come and beat me back down But every cruel day had its nightfall I'd welcome the stars with wine and guitars Full of fire and forgetful My body was sharp the dark air clean And outrage my joyful companion Whisperin' women how sweet did they seem Kneelin' for me to command them And time was like water but I was the sea I'd have never noticed it passin' Except for the turnin' of night into day And the turnin' of day into cursin' You look at me now, and don't think i don't know What all your eyes are a sayin' Does he want us to believe these ravings and lies They're just tricks that his brains been a playin' A lover of women he can't hardly stand He trembles he's bent and he's broken I've fallen it's true but I say unto you Hold your tongues until after I've spoken I was takin' my pride in the pleasures I'd known I laughed and thought I'd be forgiven But my laughter turned 'round eyes blazing and Said my friend, we're holdin' a wedding I buried my face but it spoke once again The night to the day we're a bindin' And now the dark air is like fire on my skin And even the moonlight is blinding Ritual Today's the day that the world becomes my oyster Today's the day that I've set aside To find a place in the new sunshine Today's the day that I start using my voice, sir Today's the day that I crack that shell and probe it for a pearl or two Today's the day, `cause that's my choice, sir
Run For Your Life (Lennon/McCartney) Well I'd rather see you dead little boy than to be with another woman You better keep your head little boy or you won't know where I am. You better run for your life if you can little boy Hide your head in the sand little boy Catch you with another woman That's the end of little boy. Well you know that I'm a wicked girl And I was born with a jealous mind And I can't spend my whole life trying just to make you toe the line. You better run for your life if you can little boy Hide your head in the sand little boy Catch you with another woman That's the end of little boy. Let this be a sermon I mean everything I've said Baby, I'm determined And I'd rather see you dead. You better run for your life if you can little boy Hide your head in the sand little boy Catch you with another woman That's the end of little boy. I'd rather see you dead little boy than to be with another woman You better keep your head little boy of you won't know where I am. You better run for your life if you can little boy Hide your head in the sand little boy Catch you with another woman That's the end of little boy
Shrike (Michael Timmins) Spike me to the Hawthorn tree piece by piece you devour me garden shrugs, the mantle falls while I'm writhing on the Hawthorne tree I heard the earth suck in a breath sadly now, tenderness peace becomes such gentle torture I heard the earth suck in a breath distrust and the love to unyielding partners embracing and chasing and not circle and circle parry and thrust they bite, they scratch, they plot Hear that voice among the thorns brash and brazen full of scorn that's the song that I long for singing sweetly in the thorns spike me to the Hawthorne tree piece by piece you devour me
The good and the bad (Ted Hawkins) Living is good when you have someone to share it with Laughter is bad when there is no one there to share it with Talking is sad if you've got no one to talk to Dying is good when the one you love grows tired of you Sugar is no good once it's cast among the white sand What's the point in pulling the gray hairs from among the black strands? When you're old you shouldn't walk in the fast lane Oh, ain't it useless to keep trying to draw true love from that man He'll hurt you, yes just for the sake of hurting you and he'll hate you if you try to love him just the same He'll use you and everything you have to offer him On your way girl Get out and find you someone new
The Human Heart (Michael Timmins) Show me the maker of the human heart Now show me where he's hung Let me see the tree from which he's strung Let me show you how I feel I'll try and make you understand There is nothing I can do without your hand Remember the storm that wrecked you here? Well it wrecked me too Now I can't seem to breathe without you Everyday I've spent with you is another day I've gained But I can't seem to cope with this constant pain Show the maker of the human heart Now show me where he's hung Let me see the tree from which strung Show me the maker of the human heart Now show me where he's hung Let me see the tree from which strung
There's a house in the forest There's a house in the forest With snow all around it and a light In a window where no light should be 'Cause Baby's crying His voice it is drifting down a hall to his mama Wrapped in darkness, asleep Now Mama is waking, the time she's checking As she leaves the side of her man Deep in sleep In her arms now is Baby But she can't help but worry That in his dreams he's seeing What no child should see There's a house in the forest With snow all around it and a peace Like a blanket, covers all those who sleep
Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen) The screen door slams Mary's dress waves Live a vision she dances across the porch As the radio plays Roy Orbison singing for the lonely Hey that's me and I want you only Don't turn me home again I just can't face myself alone again. Don't run back inside Darling you know just what I'm here for So you're scared and you're thinking That maybe we ain't that young anymore Show a little faith, there's magic in the night You ain't a beauty, buy hey you're alright Oh and that's alright with me You can hide 'neath the covers And study your pain Make crosses from your lovers Throw roses in the rain Waste your summer praying in vain For a savior to rise from these streets Well now I'm no hero That's understood All the redemption I can offer Is beneath this dirty hood With a chance to make it real somehow Hey what else can we do now? Except roll down the windows and let the wind blow back your hair Well, the night busted open and these two lane will take us anywhere We've got one last chance to make it real To trade in these wings on some wheels Climb in back, heaven's waiting on down the tracks Oh, come take my hand We're heading out tonight to case the promise land Oh Thunder Road, Oh Thunder Road, Oh Oh Thunder Road. There are ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away They ride this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burnt out Chevrolets They scream your name at night in the street Your graduation gown lies in rages at their feet In the lonely cool before dawn You hear their engines roaring on But when they get to the porch they're gone On the wind, So Mary climb in, It's a town full of losers and I'm pulling out of here to win
Three Girls (A Smile to My Eyes) (Michael Timmins) I wish I wish I wish to find someone to share how I'm feeling inside to be a friend at a long day's end and a lover 'til the end of time. I wish I wish I wish to be the one who you picture when you fall asleep to be the love you sought I wish to be the thought that brings a smile to your eyes. Don't travel in a line if you're looking for an education don't carry every burden as a challenge to weigh you down and dance for beauty in every situation and bring a smile to my eyes. I wish I wish I wish to hold the one that's been drifting, another lost soul to be the one to choose I've got to be the fool that brings a smile to your eyes. Don't travel in a line if you're looking for an education don't carry every burden as a challenge to weigh you down and dance for beauty in every situation and bring a smile to my eye. Don't travel in a line if you're looking for an education don't carry every burden as a challenge to weigh you down and dance for beauty in every situation and bring a smile to my eyes and bring a smile to my eyes yeah a smile to my eyes.
Tired eyes (Neil Young) Well, he shot four men in a cocaine deal And he left them lying in an open field, Full of old cars with bullet holes in the mirrors He tried to do his best but he could not. Please take my advice, please take my advice, Open up your tired eyes, open up your tired eyes. Well, it wasn't supposed to go down that way. But they burned his brother, They left him lying in the driveway. They let him down with nothing, He tried to do his best but he could not. Please take my advice, please take my advice, Open up your tired eyes, open up your tired eyes. Well, tell me more, tell me more, tell me more. I mean was he a heavy doper or was he just a loser He was a friend of yours, what do you mean, He had bullet holes in his mirrors. He tried to do his best but he could not. Please take my advice, please take my advice, Open up your tired eyes, open up your tired eyes.
You Took Tomorrow (Michael Timmins) This has got to be the hardest thing Watching you turn to dust This will surely be the deepest cut Leaving me to slowly rust 'Cause you took tomorrow And left me clutching yesterday This has got to be the darkest of times Waiting for the knock to come His must be the meanest hand Parceling days one by one You'll take tomorrow And leave me clutching yesterday This has got to be the biggest joke Pretending I can say goodbye This will be forever more Always a thorn by my side You took tomorrow You took tomorrow You took tomorrow And left me stranded here today