B i o g r a p h y
 (by Wikipedia)

Karen Dalton (1938 – 1993) was an American folk singer and banjo player associated with the early 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene, particularly with Fred Neil and the Holy Modal Rounders as well as Bob Dylan. Her bluesy, world-weary voice is often compared to that of iconic jazz singer Billie Holiday. She sang blues, folk, country, pop, motown -- making over each song in her own inimitable style. She played the twelve string Gibson guitar and a long neck banjo. Her second album, In My Own Time (1971), was recorded at Bearsville studios, produced by Bob Dylan's former bass player Harvey Brooks, with liner notes by Fred Neil, originally released on Michael Lang's (Woodstock promoter) label, Just Sunshine. The cover photos were taken by Elliot Landy, and The Band's current piano player, Richard Bell, guested on the album. Less common is her first album for Capitol, It's Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best (1969), re-released by Koch Records in 1996. Known as "the folksinger's answer to Billie Holiday" and "Sweet Mother K.D.", it is said that the song Katie's Been Gone by The Band from the Basement Tapes was written about her. She struggled with drugs and alcohol for many years and died in 1993.




It's So Hard to Tell Who's Going to Love You the Best
- 1969 -



Little Bit of Rain
Sweet Substitute
Ribbon Bow
I Love You More Than Words Can Say
In the Evening
Blues on the Ceiling
It Hurts Me Too
How Did the Feeling Feel to You
Right, Wrong or Ready
Down on the Street

In My Own Time
- 1971 -



Something On Your Mind
When A Man Loves A Woman
In My Own Dream
Katie Cruel
How Sweet It Is
In A Station
Take Me
Same Old Man
One Night Of Love
Are You Leaving For The Country

SHUCKIN' SUGAR
- 2022-04-23 -



Trouble In Mind
If You'
re A Viper
When First Unto This Country
Shiloh Town
Shuckin' Sugar Blues
Everytime I Think Of Freedom
Ribbon Bow
Blues Jumped The Rabbit
Lonesome Valley
When I Get Home
In The Pines
Katie Cruel

Add some NEW lyrics (B-sides, live tracks, Cover), want to CORRECT some of them or found a BUG ? Just send a little EMAIL or simply post a message on the FORUM. Thanx !

It's So Hard to Tell Who's Going to Love You the Best

Little bit of rain

( Fred Neil )

If I should leave you
Try to remember all the good times
Warm days filled with sunshine
And just a little bit of rain

And if you should look back
Try to forget all the bad times
Lonely blue and sad times
And just a little bit of rain

If I should leave you
Try to remember all the good times
Long days filled with sunshine
Just a little bit of rain
Just a little bit of rain
Just a little bit of rain

Sweet substitute

( Ferdinand Joseph "Jelly Roll" Morton )

My man went away
My man went away
I said I'd miss him every night and day
And I began to look around
Wish I could show you what I found

Sweet substitute
Sweet substitute
He tells me that he's mine, all mine
Everytime I tell him
You know love is blind

He's got such loving ways
Got my head in a daze
My new recruit is mighty sweet and cute
I'm crazy about my substitute

He's got such loving ways
Got my head in a daze
My new recruit is mighty sweet and cute
I'm crazy about my substitute
Crazy about my substitute

Ribbon Bow

If I had a ribbon bow
To hide my hair
If I had a fancy sash
My own true love would find me fair
My red shoes would go dancing
Whe'er my fancy would
My love would wish
That he had taken me while he could

If I were like city girls
And fair with smile
Not a man in all these parts
Would know my heart
My red shoes would go dancing
Whe'er my fancy chose
I'd lark about the sidewalk
And wear them foreign clothes

If I were like city girls
If I had a fancy sash

If I had a ribbon bow
To hide my hair
If I had a fancy sash
My own true love would find me fair

I Love You More Than Words Can Say

( Eddie Floyd / Booker T. Jones )

Please, let me sit down beside you
I've got something to tell you, darling
You wanna know
I just can't wait, no not another day
I love you, more than words can say
Yes I do

Living without you is so painful
I was tempted to call it a day
You've got me in your hand
Why can't you understand
I love you, more than words can say
Yes I do

I just can't sleep
When I lay down in my bed
The thougths of you
Linger in my head
Without you it's so painful
I was tempted to call it a day
You've got me in your hand
Why can't you understand
I love you more than words can say

Let me sit down beside you
I've got something to tell you, darling
You wanna know
I just can't wait, no not another day
I love you, more than words can say
More than words can ever say
Yes I do

In The Evening

( Leroy Carr )

In the evening
In the evening, darling
When the sun goes down

In the evening
When the sun goes down
It's so lonesome and lonesome
When the one you love is not around

Last night I was laying sleeping, darling
All by myself
Last night I was laying sleeping, darling
All by myself
And the one I really really love
He was laying somewhere else

The sun rises in the East
It sets down over in the West
Sun rises in the East, darling
It sets down over in the West
It's so hard, so hard to tell
Who's gonna love you the best

Goodbye, oh my old sweethearts and pals
I'm goin' away
I may come back to see you darling
Some old rainy rainy day
Oh in the evening, in the evening darling
Maybe when the sun goes down
When the sun goes down

Blues On The Ceiling

( Fred Neil )

Blues on the ceiling
Over my head
Running down the walls
Across the floor
Over my bed
Blue lights across the street
Blinkin' off and on
I'm so lonely now you're gone

I'll never get out of these blues
Never get out of these blues alive

And keep on coming
Up my weary head
Even cocaine couldn't ease the pain
I'd be better off dead
Blue lights gone out so I can't sleep
The bitter the blues the better they keep

I'll never get out of these blues alive, alive
Never get out of these blues

I'll never get out of these blues
Never get out of these blues alive

On the ceiling
Over my head
Running down the walls
Across the floor
Under my bed
Blue lights across the street
Blinkin' off and on
I'm so lonely now you're gone

I'll never get out of these blues
Never get out of these blues alive

It Hurts Me Too

( Meldon London )

I love you baby
Ain't gonna lie
Without you darling
I can't be satisfy
If things are going wrong for you
You know it hurts me too

Run here baby,
Put your hands on mine
I've got something to tell you, darling
I wanna change your mind
If things are going wrong for you
You know it hurts me too
Hurts me too

I love you baby
Ain't gonna lie
Without you darling
I can't be satisfy
If things are going wrong for you
You know it hurts me too
You know it hurts me too

How Did the Feeling Feel to You

( Tim Hardin )

Making love has been as much as I could hope it would be
Every night has been like one night to me
You've got me feeling again
The feeling you gave me before
But to you those nights like any other night
Tonight is just one more
Don't try to tell me that you care enough to love me
When you can't even do the things I need you to do
Don't make me listen to words you think will please me
When pleasing me don't mean anything to you
Just one more night makes no difference
As long as there's another night
To make right what you did wrong
The last days we had of one another will have to do
While you're on your way, while you're on your way
How did the feeling feel to you

You've got me feeling again
The feeling you gave me before
But to you those nights like any other night
Tonight is just one more
Just one more night makes no difference
As long as there's another night
To make right what you did wrong
The last days we had of one another will have to do
While you're on your way, while you're on your way
How did the feeling feel to you

Right, Wrong Or Ready

( Major Wiley )

I could have told him about the morning
The daylight always dawning
I could have told him that he'd be resting on my mind
He stays on my mind, he stays on my mind

I could have told him about another time
Another place maybe later, oh
I'm gonna love you better, right, wrong or ready
Right, wrong or ready
If he's right, wrong or ready, he stays on my mind

I could have told him about a man
Who Pays his own dues for his own price
And is home before his own woman
Right, wrong or ready, right, wrong or ready
He stays on my mind, he stays

I could have told him about the morning
The love light always dawning
I could have told him that he'd be resting on my mind
He stays on my mind
If he's right, wrong or ready, he stays on my mind
He stays on my mind, he stays

Down on the Street (Don't You Follow Me Down)

(Huddie Ledbetter)

Don't you follow me down. Don't you follow me down
Follow me down to some old back street in town
Mama told me, papa told me, too
"Living down on the street is gonna be the death of you"

Went to my mama, got down on my knees
Hollering, "Oh, mama, won't you forgive me, please"
Crying, "Oh, mama, won't you forgive me, please
Nobody down on the street will ever cry for me
Oh, cry for me"

Follow me down to some old back street in town
Mm—mm, cry for me
Mm—mm, cry for me

In My Own Time

Something on Your Mind

( Dino Valenti )

Yesterday
Any way you made it was just fine
Saw you turn your days into night-times
Didn't you know
You can't make it without ever even trying
And something's on your mind, isn't it

Let these times
Show you that you're breaking up your mind
Leaving all your dreams too far behind
Didn't you see
You can't make it without ever even trying
And something's on your mind, isn't it

Maybe another day you'll want to feel another way
You can't stop crying
You haven't got a thing to say
You're feeling you want to run away
There's no use trying anyway
I've seen the writing on the wall
Who cannot maintain will always fall
Didn't you know
You can't make it without ever even trying
And something's on your mind, isn't it
Something's on your mind, isn't it
Something's on your mind

When a man loves a woman

( Calvin Lewis / Andrew Wright )

When a man loves a woman
He can do no wrong
He'd tell the world what a good thing he's found
If she is bad, he can't see it
Cause She can do no wrong
He turn his back on his best friend if he put her down

When a man loves a woman
He'll give his very last dime
Trying to hold on to what he needs
And give up all his comforts
And sleep out in the rain
If she tells him that's the way it ought to be

When a man loves a woman
He give up everything he has
Trying to hold on to your precious love
Please don't treat me bad

When a man loves a woman
Deep down in his soul
She can bring him such misery
If she is playing him for a fool
He's the last one to know
Loving eyes can never see

When a man loves a woman
I know exactly how he feels
'Cause that's the way you've always been to me

In my own dream

( Paul Butterfield )

I didn't know
I could be fool
It took me a long time
To find out
My mind
Is upside down
What I was standing on
Too solid ground

To satisfy
That's what I thought I'd be
I kept on living in my own dream
In my own dream

Everyday
I grew blinder
Oh I thought I was so strong
I didn't need nobody's help
Oh but the strongest river
Can't flow up hill

To satisfy
That's what I thought I'd be
I kept on living in my own dream
In my own dream

To satisfy
That's what I thought I'd be
I kept on living in my own dream, own dream
In my own dream

Katie Cruel

( Traditional )

When I first came to town
They call me the roving jewel
Now they've change their tune
They call me Katie Cruel

Through the woods I go
And through the boggy mire
Straight way down the road
'Til I come to my heart's desire

If I was where I would be
Then I would be where I am not
Here I am where I must be
Where I would, I can not

When I first came to town
They brought me drinks plenty
Now they've changed their tune
They bring me the bottles empty

If I was where I would be
Then I would be where I am not
Here I am where I must be
Where I would, I can not

How sweet it is

( Holland Dozier )

How sweet it is to be loved by you
Yes it is
How sweet it is to be loved by you

I close my eyes at night
And wonder what would I be without you in my life
Everything was just a bore
All the things I did seems I'd done them before
But you brighten up all of my days
With you sweet love in so many ways
I want to stop and thank you
I want to stop and thank you

How sweet it is to be loved by you
Yes it is
How sweet it is to be loved by you

I needed the shelter of someone's arms
And there you were
I needed somebody to tell my ups and downs
And there you were
Your sweet love and devotion
Deeply touching my emotions
I want to stop and thank you
I want to stop and thank you

How sweet it is to be loved
How sweet it is to be loved by you

I needed the shelter of someone's arms
And there you were
I needed somebody to tell my ups and downs
And there you were
Your sweet love and devotion
Deeply touching my emotions
I want to stop and thank you, baby
I wanna stop and thank you

How sweet it is to be loved
How sweet it is to be loved by you

How sweet it is to be loved
How sweet it is to be loved by you...

In A Station

( Richard Manuel )

Once I walked through the halls of a station
And someone called your name
In the street I heard children laughing
They all sound the same

Wonder, could you ever know me
Know the reason why I live
Is there nothing you can show me
Life seems so little to give

Once I climbed to the top of a mountain
And ate the wild fruit there
Fell asleep until the moonlight woke me
Dreaming I could touch your hair

Isn't everybody dreaming!
Then the voice I hear is real
Out of all the idle scheming
Can't we have something to feel

Once upon a time leaves me empty
Tomorrow never came
I could hear the sound of your laughter
Still I don't know your name

Must be some way to repay you
After all the good you gave
If a rumour should delay you
Love seems so little to save
Oh save me...

Take Me

( George Jones / L. Payne )

Take me in your darkest room
Close every window and bolt every door
The very first moment I heard your voice
I'd be in darkness no more

Take me to the most barren desert
A thousand miles from the nearest sea
The very moment I saw your smile
It would be like heaven to me

There's not any mountain too rugged to climb
No desert too barren to cross
Darling if you would just show a sign of love
I could bear with all loss

Take me to Siberia
And the coldest weather of the winter time,
And it would be just like spring in California
As long as I knew you were mine

Same Old Man

( Traditional / Arranged by Steve Weber )

It's the same old lady, hanging out her wash
Standing in the rain, wearing a mackintosh
Same old lady standing in the rain
Even the thought of New York was going insane

Hey little leaf, lying on the ground
Now you're turning slightly brown
Why don't you get up on the tree
Turn the color green the way you ought to be

My mind is failing and my body grows weak
My lips won't form the words I speak
I'm floating away on a barrel of pain
New York City won't see me again

The same old man, sitting at the mill
The mill turns around of its own free will
I'm certainly glad to be home
New York City will continue on alone

One night of love

( Joe Tate )

He gives me one night of love
Sometimes he gives me two
Hmm when I'm gone
He don't even think my name
It's got me down
Down to the ground
Looks like this whole world
And my best friend got me down

I gave him all my money
All of my good loving too
Ah, when I'm gone
He don't even mention my name
It's got me down
Down to the ground
Looks like this whole world
And my best friend got me down
It's got me down

I'm just singing this song
I wouldn't do anything wrong
It's got me down
I'm just telling the truth
I can't show you no kind of proof
It's got me down
Got me down
Down to the ground
This whole world
And my best friend got me down
It's got me down

One night of love
Gives me one night of love
One night of love
One night of love
One night of love

Are you leaving for the country

( Richard Tucker )

Are you leaving for the country
You say the city brings you down
Leave the iron clown behind
And feel the circus moving on

Are you leaving for the country
I know a little country town
Where dogs are sleeping in the road
And the flagpole's falling down

Dying vines, hold the wheel in time
Spread their weight and let the planet spin
Do you feel like something's not real
Let the spirit move you again

Are you leaving for the country
Do you feel like something's not real
Let the spirit move you again

Are you leaving for the country
You say the city brings you downg
Leave the iron clown behind
And feel the circus moving on

SHUCKIN' SUGAR

Shiloh Town

(Traditional / Feat. Richard Tucker)

It is so cold in Shiloh Town
Birds can hardly sing
All the pretty girls gonna leave this town
Won't be back 'til spring

I'll sing hallelujah
You'll sing hallelujah
We'll all sing hallelujah
When they arrive at home

I'll sing hallelujah
(It is so cold in Shiloh Town)
You'll sing hallelujah
(Birds can hardly sing)
We'll all sing hallelujah
(All the pretty girls gonna leave this town)
When they arrive at home
(Won't be back 'til spring)

It is so cold in Shiloh Town
(I'll sing hallelujah)
Birds can hardly sing
(You'll sing hallelujah)
All the pretty girls gonna leave this town
(We'll all sing hallelujah)
Won't be back 'til spring
(When they arrive at home)

I'll sing hallelujah
You'll sing hallelujah
We'll all sing hallelujah
When they arrive at homee

Every Time I Think Of Freedom

(Traditional)

I've been hammering
Since December
Wind so cold
Wind so cold

If I cross that
White oak mountain
I'll go free
I'll go free

Every time I
I think of freedom
Can't keep from crying
Keep from crying

Oh freedom
Oh freedom
I got a rainbow (a rainbow)
? at my shoulder
Ain't gonna rain
Ain't gonna rain

Ribbon Bow

If I had a ribbon bow
To hide my hair
If I had a fancy sash
My own true love would find me fair

My red shoes would go dancing
Whe'er my fancy chose
I'd lark about the sidewalk
And wear them foreign clothes

If I were like city girls
And fair with smile
Not a man in all these parts
Would know my heart

My red shoes would go dancing
Whe'er my fancy would
My love would wish
That he had taken me while he could

If I had a ribbon bow
To hide my hair
If I had a fancy sash
My own true love would find me fair

Blues Jumped The Rabbit

(Traditional)

When the blues jumped up a rabbit
Rabbit he'll run a mile
Poor little rabbit
Crying like a newborn child

Wish I was a headlight
On some Western train
I'd shine my light on
Cool Colorado rain

Wish I was in cool Colorado
Up on some mountain high
I'd seen my darling
As he went riding by

Some like white or yellow
Some crave black or brown
The man I'm craving
Won't never turn me down

Blues jumped up a rabbit
Rabbit he'll run a mile
Poor little rabbit
Cries like a newborn child

Katie Cruel

(Traditional)

I first came to town
They call me the roving jewel
Now they've changed their tune
Call me Katie Cruel

Wish I was where I would be
Then I'd be where I am not
Here I am where I must be
Where I'd be I can not

Through the woods I go
Through the boggy mire
Straight way down the road
'Til I come to my heart's desire

Wish I was where I would be
Then I'd be where I am not
Here I am where I must be
Where I'd be I can not

When I first came to town
They bought me drinks plenty
Now they've changed their tune
They have me the bottles empty

Wish I was where I would be
Then I'd be where I am not
Here I am where I must be
Where I'd be I can not

The Lyrics HomepageThe New Lyrics additions or correctionsCome and chat on the forumMy lyrics requestThe Statistics of the lyrics page