B i o g r a p h y (by Jason Ankeny)
Despite their background (punk), geography (Seattle), and label affiliation (Sub Pop), the Walkabouts were anything but a grunge band; dark, haunting, and elegiac, their work instead sprung forth from the storytelling traditions of American roots music and the kinetic excitement of rock & roll. the Walkabouts were formed in 1984 by Chris Eckman and his brothers Curt and Grant, all of whom had previously played together in a number of punk-pop outfits, along with singer Carla Torgerson, a veteran of folk and street singing. The group's lineup proved fluid, although Chris Eckman and Torgerson remained the Walkabouts' driving forces; a later roster including bassist Michael Wells, multi-instrumentalist Glenn Slater, and drummer Terri Moeller did hang together for a number of years. After issuing a self-titled cassette in 1984, the Walkabouts released the EP 22 Disasters a year later. A full-length LP, Weights and Rivers, was planned for 1987, but the record was never released -- a harbinger of music industry problems to come. Instead, the group offered See Beautiful Rattlesnake Garden in 1988, which not only marked the continued maturity of Eckman and Torgerson's songwriting but also earned the Walkabouts a contract with the fledgling Sub Pop label. The deal resulted in upgraded production values, as evidenced by 1989's Cataract and its follow-up, the next year's six-song EP Rag & Bone, which featured the keyboard work of the newly added Slater. Released in 1991, Scavenger proved to be the last Walkabouts record issued in their native land for some time; however, while the deal with Sub Pop's American division went sour, the label's European division, Glitterhouse, hung on to the Walkabouts, where the band's following had been steadily growing. Between 1993 and 1995, the group issued a staggering seven full-length records in Europe -- three by the full band, a limited-edition live collection, and three more released by the duo of Chris & Carla. Finally, in 1995 the three aforementioned Walkabouts albums -- the double-LP set New West Motel, the all-covers Satisfied Mind, and the more rock-oriented Setting the Woods on Fire -- all appeared domestically. A year later, the band issued two more albums, the all-new Devil's Road (recorded with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra) and Death Valley Days: Lost Songs and Rarities, 1985-1995, a collection of odds and ends. In November 1996, Wells left the Walkabouts to devote himself to his side project, Pluto Boy; he was replaced by bassist Baker Saunders. Trail of Stars followed in 2000.
See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens - 1988-01-31 -
Jumping off Breakneck speed The wellspring John Reilly This rotten tree Laughingstock Glass palace Feast of famine Who-knows-what
Cataract - 1989-02-28 -
Whiskey XXX Hell's soup kitchen Whereabouts Unknown End-in-tow Bones of contention Home as found Smokestack The wicked skipper (Instrumental) Drille Terriers Specimen days Long black veil Goodbye (to all that)
Lazarus Heart Radiate Life : The Movie More Heat Than Light Fallen Down Moon See It In The Dark Mary Edwards (Instrumental) Lest We Forget Winslow Place Cul-De-Sac Incidento (Instrumental) Climb Ended Up A Stranger
See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens
Jumping off Dressed in jealous clothes She drove to the black hole Out past to where the roads turn into sand No crmies worth a dime 'Less you look it in the eye And she drove And she drove Past the debts that he owed Past the ends she can't meet Jumping off is the air that I breathe Jumping off is the air that I breathe And I should have swindled And I should have lied And I should have jumped When the chance was mine Tied up in your sleep Like a tiger with no teeth Can't confess to things you've never done Soup left on the stove And the cellar barred and closed And she drove And she drove Past the debts that he owed Past the ends she can't keep Jumping off is the air that I breathe Jumping off is the air that I breathe And I should have swindled And I should have lied And I should have jumped When the chance was mine Hold your horses And hold your britches And hold the handle on you suspicious drink Drink to your health Drink to your wealth Drink if you think it will make a difference And hold your britches And hold the handle on you suspicious drink Drink to your health Drink to your wealth Drink if you think it makes a difference Breakneck Speed The season has come When nothing gets done Save copycat killin' Away from windows asleep on the floor The wheel of misfortune spins in the yard And by the way And by the way I'm . . . (And) by the way (And) by the way I'm almost moving breakneck speed Good news is no news The whole things comes down To character murder Cattle are driven To market or prison Hindsight a genius lost in the blood And by the way And by the way I'm . . . (And) by the way (And) by the way I'm almost moving breakneck speed Tip my hat And then I'm good as gone I'm good and ready Beside myself - breakneck speed Stretch my reach You know I'd steal the shoes Right off a dead man's feet Beside myself - breakneck speed The Wellspring Knock yourself And knock again Roll it all into your hand And let it spin There's a wind blowin' hell From the bottom of the well Let it fall Below the belt Calm, cool and collected Who could have known Just how it felt There's a wind blowin' hell From the bottom of the well Anytime at all Anytime at all John Reilly Fair young maiden All in the garden Strange young man Passed her by Said: "Fair maid Will you marry me?" This, then, sir, Was her reply "Oh no, kind sir I canot marry thee For my beloved Who sails out on the sea He's been gone For seven years And still no man Shall marry me Well if he's in Some battle salin Well I will die When the moon [ ? ] Or if he's drowned In the dark salt sea I'll be true To his memory." He picked her up All in his arms And kisses gave her One, two and three Said: "Weep no more My own dear true love I am your love Lost John Reilly" Said: "Weep no more My own dear true love I am your love Lost John Reilly" This Rotten Tree Liars left their roost last night I heard it from some talkshow host Fangs and venom working hard In simulcast from coast to coast Hey ho, 'round we go This rotten tree will never grow Hey ho, 'round we go This rotten tree will never grow Dogs and colonels laugh in packs And take us for the fools we've been Some patriots got drunk and begged To all go bottoms up Hey ho, 'round we go This rotten tree will never grow Hey ho, 'round we go This rotten tree will never grow This rotten tree will never grow This rotten tree . . . This rotten tree . . . This rotten tree will never grow Laughingstock Why we can't fake it you won't ever say Both arms hangin' from the ball and chain Tongue tied and twisted from braidin' the rope Both arms hangin' from this faded hope Both arms hangin' from this faded hope Heard it in a whisper Heard it from a jailor's song Packed it in a suitcase Lost it halfway 'round the world Out beyond harm's way you gave a lift Past the shipyard and the empty pit And you saif that my cover was already blown And one too many is the one I've known And one too many is the one I've known Heard it in a whisper Heard it from a jailor's song Packed it in a suitcase Lost it halfway 'round the world Oh, I wish you wary and I wish you wise And then of course I wish you well Rode into town on the back of surprise And then of course I laughed like hell And then of course I laughed like hell Oh, I wish you wary and I wish you wise Drove into town on the back of surprise Oh, I wish you wary and I wish you wise Then of course I wish you well Rode into town on the back of surprise And then of course I laughed like hell And then of course I laughed like hell Glass Palace A crooked road on a country mile The widow walks from a letter found (And) ties her hands in knots and chokes her disbelief (That) what's done is done and it's dine for good Afterwards Aftershocks in afterhours The truth it blurs O glass palace O glass palace Cleaned his guns for those who dug his grave The bullets flew, his luck it finally came That crooked road was long and he would never see it Crawled in a ditch and then he almost prayed Afterwards Aftershocks in afterhours The truth it blurs O glass palace O glass palace Heard it all I heard it shatter Afterwards Aftershocks in afterhours The truth it blurs O glass palace O glass palace Heard it all I heard it shatter Feast Or Famine In a trailer park with hungry dogs Eat stolen bread With stolen credit cards With half a brain I'd torch this mess Have all these things So I don't ask for more Never sure it's about to happen Wait for sweepstakes in the mail What you don't know it will rip you open Feast or famine Feast or famine Took a leave from better sense A hypocrite who bit on every line Have no time for another laugh Bought a car and drove it off a cliff Never sure it's about to happen Wait for sweepstakes in the mail What you don't know it will rip you open Feast or famine Feast or famine Who-Knows-What I waited all day And it seemed like one day too many To find out who knows what And why all the gallons are hanging Deadmen are sneaking Over the hills Something forgotten Is going on there still I waited all day and still it seemed like one day too many Down in the basement With gunfire closer than distant And upstairs the band Played a cynical waltz The whole world a blamin' When it's everyone's fault Who knows what Who knows what Tell me what kind of Is at the end of the world who knows what What kind of [?] is at the end of the world who knows what
Cataract Whiskey XXX Whiskey hold me well And never let me spill From the blind man's bluff Across the frozen lake Oh chance me, chance me not, With the last chance that you've got Keep it rising like the river And sinking with my fear Somewhere out of these Somewhere out of these woods Somewhere out of these Somewhere out of these woods Whiskey hold me well Ain't nothing you can't kill Now the pain is just forgiveness In a borrowed suit of clothes Agree to disbelieve Leave the thinking for the thieves Left my empties at your doorstep Left my judgement on your trail Somewhere out of these Somewhere out of these woods Somewhere out of these Somewhere out of these woods Hell's Soup Kitchen Rolled in the mud But I could never come clean Counting blessings on my middle finger There in the back shed Pricing heads to the pound Told to shut up, I was only breathin' Hell's soup kitchen There you're listening now Heard you coming I heard you deep in the ground The job was dizzy on the carnival wheel Coins a-flipping a siren's screaming Told quit the ride And you'll go straight to the dogs But dogs they come home And dogs they listen Hell's soup kitchen There you're listening now Heard you coming I heard you deep in the ground And my nerves were wire And the shots they fell wide Pearls of wisdom dripping from my forehead Crawled in a sleeping bag And watched them close in Tires spitting all my trust to the sky Hell's soup kitchen There you're listening now Heard you coming I heard you deep in the ground Whereabouts Unknown Cross your heart gently The best days are with us Don't be dark-hearted You'll just disappear Trust you won't stumble I trust you won't walk blind Trust you won't miss What has never been found Whereabouts (no compass, no bearing) Whereabouts unknown (leave it alone) Whereabouts (no compass, no bearing) Whereabouts unknown (leave it alone) Fortune it tells you It's time for the good news Came on the porch And poured gasoline down Time for the razing The great leap fast-forward How can I miss you? You never were found. Whereabouts (no compass, no bearing) Whereabouts unknown (leave it alone) Whereabouts (no compass, no bearing) Whereabouts unknown (leave it alone) Love is the crank on a black-water well Don't turn for pleasure It's turning deeper (?) Know you'd believe it if we ever met Know you'll believe it when you're finally found Whereabouts (no compass, no bearing) Whereabouts unknown (leave it alone) Whereabouts (no compass, no bearing) Whereabouts unknown (leave it alone) Cross your heart gently The best days are with us Don't swim black water You'll just disappear Love is the crank on a black-water well Don't turn for pleasure It's turning deeper (?) Know you'd believe it if we ever met Know you'll believe it when you're finally found Whereabouts (no compass, no bearing) Whereabouts unknown (leave it alone) Whereabouts (no compass, no bearing) Whereabouts unknown (leave it alone) End-in-Tow Storm it shook ya down From the burial ground There was mud on your face Barely lost and barely found And the shrunken heads around your neck Just replicas of thoughts Whose day had finally come You drag it fast You can drag it slow But don't drag it this way End-in-tow Walked beneath the river bridge And grabbed the ol' rope swing Said "Out there You'll see the bottom And it swallows while it sings And the only gold you'll find there Are caps on these two feet." Dead dogs float on by You drag it fast You can drag it slow But don't drag it this way End-in-tow Better graves than ditches On this we will agree There is good earth on the west bank Good nails and rope and pine You can picnic at the Cataract Or paddle to the shore But you'll join the diggin' party Just like you did before. You drag it fast You can drag it slow But don't drag it this way End-in-tow End-in-tow End-in-tow Bones of Contention Well the fires are tended And my blood it just boils (Hey there pass your hat) And the fruits of hard labor Have been drowned in snake oil (Hey there pass your hat) The dead are thin Their houses fat Once you steal you can't give back From the scaffold greed explodes Down to nothing Down where nothing brings you down Well we've all been to heaven And we've all been to hell (Hey there pass your hat) And the door-to-door salesmen there Have nothing left to sell (Hey there pass your hat) And the poison you choose Is the source of my confusion And I spend all my time Trying to figure what you're using Well the bones of contention Are at the top of your stairs (Hey there pass your hat) And they'll shake and they'll rattle 'Til somebody cares (Hey there pass your hat) The dead are thin Their houses fat Once you steal you can't give back From the scaffold greed explodes Down to nothing Down where nothing brings you down And the poison you choose Is the source of my confusion And I spend all my time Trying to figure what you're using Please pass your hat X5 Won't you pass your hat Home as Found Well it should have been the first place But instead it was the last It was a place that only you could love All the gin was spiked with water From a fever or a storm All the business went as usual Ripped and forever torn I'm going home as found Going home as found I'm going home as found Going home as found It was a good day for the panther It was a bad day for the sheep It was a shot of certain wisdom That you could never keep Threw some cash upon the table Shot some noise into the phone Saying all the guilty pleasures Are not for you alone I'm going home as found Going home as found I'm going home as found Going home as found Smokestack Swept the floor of dreams Live ones in the cracks Crawling from the woodwork Just to break your mother's back Hail the future king No surprises left Formula is widely know by chemists And the minds they've blown Smokestack Smokestack Smokestack Count 'em 1 in 10 Can't hold on to those threats Not-so-distant cousins Of the nails on which you slept Amateur contortionist With pyrotechnic skill This is not a mob you rule It's just the family barbecue Smokestack Smokestack Smokestack Smokestack Smokestack Smokestack Standing on my head And just in time to see A promise in each pocket And a liar in each sleeve The spoils have been crudely cut In out of balance halves Nothing left to peace or calm That explosions couldn't bring along Drille Terriers Every morn at sven o'clock There's twenty terriers drilling on the rock And the boss comes round and he says to the (?) "Come down hard on the cast-iron (?)" And drille terriers, drille." Drille terriers, drille For it's work all day For the sugar in your tea Down behind the railway And drille terriers, drille Now our boss is Jim McCann My guardian's the (??) (?) (?) Drille terriers, drille For it's work all day For the sugar in your tea Down behind the railway And drille terriers, drille Drille terriers, drille For it's work all day For the sugar in your tea Down behind the railway And drille terriers, drille Finally pay day came around A dollar short - Jim was found When he asked why, came this reply: "You were docked for the time You spent up in the sky." Drille terriers, drille For it's work all day For the sugar in your tea Down behind the railway And drille terriers, drille Drille terriers, drille For it's work all day For the sugar in your tea Down behind the railway And drille terriers, drille And blast And fire Specimen Days Oh one night of mercy Give me one night of merciful Shocks to the skull Watching these specimens grow Small miracles stuffed In old powder kegs Can't mix boot leather With common-sense rags Watching these specimens grow I may know nothing But it never says no Won't answer in good turn Earth rumbling below Got hope in the backseat And truth on the roof Look out below This rumbling needs somewhere to go All cut up and painless Brake lights blown out On the back of your skull Watching these specimens grow O misery's daughter Please know when to quit Not a hose for the fire There's a snake in the pit Watching these specimens grow I may know nothing But it never says no Won't answer in good turn Earth rumbling below Got hope in the backseat And truth on the roof Look out below This rumbling needs somewhere to go One night of mercy Give me one night so merciful One night of mercy Long Black Veil Beyond the reach There are rows of tender hooks Where nothing seems To justify a second look And not a soul is found To tear them hooks on down Famous times Tattooed on this burlap skin And gun cold days Shot to pieces above my head Now tell who's that clown Who pulled this veil on down Long black veil Long black Long black veil Long black If light's a brighter grey Please then turn it up This whole town wears its veil down And wrestles with some all-night clown And he don't sleep And he don't sleep Long black veil Long black Long black veil Long black Long black veil Long black Long black veil Tell me long black Goodbye (To All That) Wisecracks and hijacks And contracts to sell Old wine in new bottles Times are the same Diggin' the ditch quick And quick to escape The patent is pending On flood tides and bones Goodbye To all that Goodbye To all that Brittle and hollow And sharp as the hills It hasn't rained on us In 25 years Home fires burning The branches of trees No train well No train has ever stopped here Goodbye To all that Goodbye To all that Wake it up Wake it up Wake it up Wake it up Wake it up Short cut to nowhere Long haul to desperate Roots in the cellar And bombs in the pipes. Don't call me river I'd rather be nameless River don't choose What she carries away Goodbye To all that Goodbye To all that Wake it up Wake it up Wake it up Wake it up Wake it up
Scavenger Dead Man Rise Wake up dead man, there's a noise You must attend It will not quit Wake up dead man, there's a noise Your sleep is done Your secret's out Dead man rise You're been away from here too long Dead man rise Dead man rise Wake up dead man, fate has spoke I'm yours to kiss He's yours to forget Cause much has changed since you've been gone Love's grown wise It's rules have broken Dead man rise You're been away from here too long Dead man rise Dead man rise Wake up dead man, there's a noise There's a noise you must attend Wake up dead man, there's a noise There's a noise you must attend Wake up dead man, there's a noise There's a noise that will not quit Stir the Ashes All dressed up for the day of the dead I have been waiting It's coming soon enough The doors are open and the prowlers have all fled So tired of waiting So tired of hanging tough Stir the ashes round Underneath my shoes Just stir the ashes round Make 'em dizzy, in the mud Make 'em dizzy Round and round and round Come and sit by the lonesome potter's grave Come and pull the weeds Come and write your name Sitting here the sirens seem so far away They're back in timber town Three cheers for timber town Stir the ashes round Underneath my shoes Just stir the ashes round Make 'em dizzy, in the mud Make 'em dizzy Round and round and round Pull me right out of the dark My vision's never been this true The spoils have been crudely cut The balance has been lost for good Stir the ashes round The Night Watch I'm the nightwatchman and nothing gets behind my back Work out at the goldmine in a tin can shack Don't come up behind cause I won't be mincing my words Don't play twenty questions with all of the scavenger birds I'm the nightwatchman It's up to me and the devil to do all the dirty work Got a thousand dirty secrets rolled up in the sleeve of my shirt Don't come up behind me, I will be playing for keeps Don't do this for good looks, I'll do this so someday I'll sleep I'm the nightwatchman I know about secrets, I know what secrets are worth Gold is a secret, they're draggin it out of the dirt Yes, I'm the nightwatchman Hangman Hangman take these heads from me And swing 'em from your money tree Hear me laughing in my steps These heads are yours, they're yours to keep Please don't skip the last details Rewards are yours beyond the pale And if you slip, just look around Your wrists are shackled to the crowd Hangman is your passenger Hangman is your passenger Hangman is your passenger The hangman is your passenger tonight Stretching the rope with one of his hands And in one of his hands he holds a bible Looks at the road with one of his eyes And with one of his eyes he will watch you driving Hangman is your passenger The hangman is your passenger tonight Hangman take these heads from me And swing 'em from your money tree Wagered on the judgement call But every time you lost it all Where the Deepwater Goes Into the heart of this old sunken ship A white knuckle journey you won't soon forget Out where the deepwater goes Into the veins of this old lizard skin To Tierra Del Fuego and then back again That's where the deepwater goes That's where the deepwater goes Soon you will fathom how deep it goes down And the bottom's a good place to start Our bottle is empty The searchlight is off Oh, the bottom's a good place to start Out of the tumbler and into the flame Out from the shadows where no one gets blamed That's where the deepwater goes That's where the deepwater goes It's all muddy ground there with no place to build But the deepwater never complains Our slow boat to China will get slower still But the deepwater never complains That's where the deepwater goes And it goes Blown Away Out past the trees there is nothing to burn Just an empty gas station, left to me in a will Just a plate of bad habits and plenty of salt for the wounds Just a plate of bone china and plenty of salt for the wounds At night there are voices By the old station house They come from an angel with a kerosene tongue She say's: "there is trouble, a trouble that no one can name" She say's: "help is too late when the memory doesn't remain" Blown down the wind Let the trouble begin Get blown away Never look back again Down on the troubled wind Down on the troubled wind You can come on the nightbus and spend a few days You can set some explosions and fall asleep in this bed But I know that you won't stay with hundreds of miles to go Trouble has no friends when trouble needs some place to go Blown down the wind Let the trouble begin Nothing is a Stranger Spent another season in the valley of the bones But higher grounds was callin, callin me back home 109 answers to 110 proofs Back up to my bed o' nails and my leakin roof Hold me sober and hold me still Hold my past up against my will Nothing's wrong when your head is gone Nothing is a stranger to me now All that good behavior I knew it wouldn't last At the funeral of fossils, I buried up the past But just like I predicted the past came jumpnig up Jumped up like a devil who had finally seen enough Hold me sober and hold me still Hold my past up against my will Nothing's wrong when your head is gone Nothing is a stranger to me now Saw a lighthouse in the wheatfield where I drove off the road But, when I got there, there was nothing but darkness in a hole And down inside I saw my favorite place Furniture all busted and the arson on her face Nothing is a stranger to me Nothing is a stranger to me Nothing is a stranger to me now Let's Burn Down the Cornfield Let's burn down the cornfield Let's burn down the cornfield We can listen to it burn We'll hide behind the oak tree Hide behind the oak tree Stay out of danger 'til I return Oh, it's so good On a cold night To have the fire burning bold and bright You hide behind the oak tree Hide behind the oak tree Stay out of danger 'til I return Let's burn down the cornfield Let's burn down the cornfield We'll make love while it burns We'll make love while it burns We'll make love while it burns River Blood Highwater is everywhere, highwater is telling me to go There's poison in the course it runs, there's ashes from the factory on the hill Watch it all fall down From the mountain to the ground Watch it all say no River Blood Oh, River Blood I've always found that river Test my grip and then I'm sure you will believe that I cannot let go I live on fruit I have preserved in mason jars beneath the basement floor Watch it all fall down From the mountain to the ground Watch it all say no River Blood Oh, River Blood I've always found that river These walls are covered in black bullet holes and each one has a christian name One's my father, one's my son, I stick my fingers in to prove they're real Watch it all fall down From the mountain to the ground Watch it all say no River Blood Oh, River Blood I've always found that river Train to Mercy Last time that I saw you, you were on the killing floor Last time that I saw you, all the tears had turned to clay Still I haven't panicked, come and pull the stitches tight No room for the panic, come and pull the stitches tight There is late train to Mercy But I hope it never comes There is late train to Mercy But I hope it never comes Well it moves like winter, it moves with brute force Well it moves like winter, leaves an empire in its course Heard the breakman holler: "Cannot slow it down" Heard the breakman holler: "Cannot slow it down" There is late train to Mercy But I hope it never comes There is late train to Mercy But I hope it never comes Help me poor Melissa, hide the hope behind your door Help me poor Melissa, put the hope into your trust Is the whole world big enough, for the bitter and the sweet ? Is the whole world big enough, for the wicked and the few ? There is late train to Mercy But I hope it never comes There is late train to Mercy But I hope it never comes Makes you beg, steal and borrow So I hope it never comes There is late train to Mercy But I hope it never comes
New west motel
Jack Candy Jack Candy was as old as my father But still I took a likin' to him He said: "You will be somebody's treasure, But no one has discovered you yet." Jack Candy lived on Sky Valley Road And that's where he did business I guess Some say he sold a suitcase of cocaine But he never showed me any of that This is a story that I've prayed to tell X2 About the day they drove him from this town About the day I lost: Jack Candy I was walkin' up to Jack Candy's trailer When he shouted that I('d) better head home The curtains closed as he went back inside And I trembled 'cause he wasn't alone This is a story that I've prayed to tell X2 About the day they drove him from this town About the day I lost: Jack Candy Some say they took him out to a clearin' And made him crawl until he confessed Some say they hung him up by his bootstraps Some say they let him swing in the wind I walked along (the) Sky Valley Road And out onto the great northern bridge And for hours I stared into the cold Sick and tired of denying I loved him This is a story that I've prayed to tell X2 About the day they drove him from this town X2 I've lived a lie and I have lived it well This is the story that I've prayed to tell About a love and how I let him down About the day I lost: Jack Candy Sundowner Deaf as a fence post Alone on a winter's night I'm drunk as a racehorse But I'll never fade outta sight There's a wild below me A wild up there in the stars There's a history behind me A child gone cold in my arms Tell George and Tammy I'm ripe for the taking these days It's a good year for roses (And) a bad year for runnin' in place But if they don't believe me I'll do what I always have done I won't be the sundowner No I'll never cheat on the sun 'Cause when the sun comes up And the moon is gone To the bridge I go To the bridge I run And when I reach the edge Onto the bridge I crawl And when I find you my friend From the bridge I fall This is the last place That I've ever been, ever been It's the last best place That I've ever been, ever been And in spite of my weakness And all my desires to win I won't be the sundowner Tomorrow I'll leave here again 'Cause when the sun comes up And I need a friend To the bridge I run When I need a friend And when I meet the edge Onto the bridge I crawl And when I find you my friend It's from the bridge I fall Grand Theft Auto In this town The blood will make you rich Yeah, in this town The blood will make you rich In this town I will do you one better I'll change the truth When I change the weather In this town The blood will make you rich And when you're down You can buy the Jesus pose 'Cause in this town All roads lead to this And when you're down I will kill it again I'll give ya something To forget about him In this town All roads lead to this And come tonight, yeah come tonight We'll take a ride And come tonight, yeah come tonight We'll see the lights You will lead and I will follow You will lead me, down to the hollow You will lead me down Grand theft auto You will lead me down In this town We have got the Midas touch Yeah in this town The gold will make you blush Some of it's cooling And some of it's glitters All of it's cold And it gives me the shivers In this town we've got the Midas touch And come tonight, yeah come tonight We'll take a ride And come tonight, yeah come tonight We'll see the lights You will lead and I will follow You will lead me, down to the hollow You will lead me down Grand theft auto You will lead me down Break It Down Gently It soon appears Long rented shores Too big to name And second to none Save horses' hair In pockets deep Remember skies Second to none Black rain Black rain will come Black rain Black rain will come Word to the wise Don't you sit on this fence Electric and live With evangelistic zeal Spin doctors gave you All those remedies to choose So you'd be the weathervane For clouds that never move Black rain Black rain will come Black rain Black rain will come To break it down gently To wash it down slow Goin' straight to the bottom With a mind . . . . of it's own Black rain, Black rain, Black rain will come X3 Black rain will come Your Hope Shines Lay my body down By the shallows of the creek You can lay my body down Lay me in your reach And when my body's down We'll steal the thunder from the rain And when my body's down We'll shake the dirt right from the pain I was going nowhere Nowhere very fast Threw my poison out the window But it came blowin' back Out along the highway Right through the night of crime Somewhere in the darkness Your hope shined Whisper wisdom's words You can whisper wisdom's lies But all of wisdom's words Never helped me to survive Days of all my arrogance When you were not afraid Threw my paycheck out the window You threw it all away Walked the devil's highway Across the county line Somewhere in the darkness Your hope shined Your hope shined, your hope shined X2 Walked the devil's highway, across the county line But your hope shined, your hope shined First light in the mornin', right through the night of crime Your hope shined, your hope shined Lay my body down By the shallows of the creek Murdering Stone Man came down from the field A lonely horseman Headin' back to the stable Said he was sorry But his cain was not able To save us all from ourselves Man sees the blood on every door And hears the laughter In the good people's hearts Their pocket's empty And their coats ripped apart And the man makes a promise to the town I wanna give you my murdering stone Give you my murdering stone Happy-go-lucky's back in town Happy-go-lucky's says he's fit to be tied Now that his hands have done A sin worse than pride And the man makes a promise to us all I wanna give you my murdering stone Give you my murdering stone Won't you take my X2 I wanna give you my murdering stone My hands are heavy now that all the guns are home Take my murdering stone And I wanna give you my murdering stone Please take my murdering X2 Please take my murdering stone Sweet Revenge Fourteen and one half years You know I was good fortune's slave Road map on my face Up to my neck in lucky breaks Cover your eyes Don't look now And durin' all that time You know I wore this reckless coat Filled up with matchstick men And all the bibles that you wrote Cover your eyes, Don't look now X2 First I'll get even And then I'll make you proud Revenge is sweeter When you can laugh out loud And from these bitterroots You know I made a potent shine One-half kerosene One-half justice all gone blind First I'll get even And then I'll make you proud Revenge is sweeter When you can laugh out loud Swing it low, swing it low Swing it: sweet revenge X2 Swing it low Sweet revenge First I'll get even And then I'll make you proud Revenge is sweeter When you can laugh out loud Swing it low, swing it low Swing it: sweet revenge X2 Swing it low Sweet revenge Glad Nation's Death Song These are the ghosts that I half believed Guns & liquor & the carnival freak But then one day the whole world shook And I got arrested for stealin' a look And the glad nation's death song sings X2 And I wanna hear you sing And I wanna hear you . . . . hear you sing Well they dragged me down to the deptor's jail Where no one cried 'cause the drinks were free And there I met you, you were passin' the hat Sayin' give to the memory of a long gone dream And the glad nation's death song sings X2 And I wanna hear you sing And I wanna hear you . . . . hear you sing This is the sound of one hand clappin' This is the sound of one man laughin' Sayin' we are lucky, yeah lucky is us 'Cause behind these bars we've been stuck And the glad nation's death song sings X4 And I wanna hear you sing And I wanna hear you . . . . hear you sing Long Time Here If you want good times I know where to look And if you want good times I will They're thrown on your bed With your junkyard religion At the best of the western motels Thrown with the pawns And the hardscrabble rooks Thrown with our ransom of kings But if you want goodtimes I know where to look And I know it's goodtimes you want Long time here X2 I'll keep you around Holding this ground I'll keep you a long time here In 24 hours We could be in Vegas Where the heat is a possible friend Where snake eyes and boxcars Could wet down your whistle And steal all the noise from your head But your hell is hotter Then the typical thirst And in Vegas the ice is not cheap And heaven's a backroom Where the gamblin' don't finish And you keep makin' the same mistakes Long time here X2 I'll keep you around Holding this ground I'll keep you a long . . . . Long time here X4 I'll keep you around Holding this ground I'll keep you a long time here Wondertown (part one) I'll break the jackpot open In a wondertown, wondertown I'll break the jackpot open In a wondertown, wondertown With my hands of ivory And my nerves of steel I'll break the jackpot open Just to prove it's real I'll break the jackpot open In a wondertown, wondertown Drag This River Quick, burn it down to the wick Burn it down to the heart So the ending can start Here, behind the riverhaus door With an unloaded gun And an unsettled score Well I'll never drag this river I'll never drag this river X2 I'll never drag this river down You, nothin' comes to you slow Nothin' comes to you hard Though you beg like you're hard And me, don't shake the barrel ar me And don't treat idle threats Like you treat all your friends Well I'll never drag this river I'll never drag this river X2 I'll never drag this river down And if you walk out that door Don't come back Because there'll be no door And if you walk out that door Silence greets you Silence, will be yours I hear ya callin' from a long distant shore But you won't come back, [well / 'cause] you can't come back The water's risin' and the levee is not sure And you won't be found, no you can't be found Drag this river down Snake Mountain Blues Mr. ten dollar man Let me tell you where you're bound When you drink your green liquor Lord, you'll roll to the ground But you come around here With your money in your hand Tasted my woman You'll die where you stand Snake Mountain's gonna crumble Lord, and fall from the sky 'Til that woman of mine Keeps on telling her lies If I'd die Lord, she'd weep And she'd weep and she'd mourne As soon as I was buried Forget I been born Well my daddy, he rides on a long holy train And the first winds of winter Well, I'll see him again And it's goodbye to that yellow-headed misery I've known Snake Mountain is callin' Is callin' me home Got the Snake Mountain blues X4 Got the Snake Mountain blues X4 *[One verse of the original is left out. It goes something like this: Well the Snake Mountain blues Have got me down low I could die in the morning And no one would know Well, my woman comes 'round My body she'd found Go down to Dundee (And) Have her a time] Findlay's Motel Findlay was on his last legs But he made the rules Said suffer fools gladly But never end up as the sufferin' fool He shook me down Though it was my first week on the job Said travellers will trick you But you will find out all them things for yourself Yes you will Findlay he threw me the keys As he walked outside And he turned on the big neon sign But only half of it burned And I was there fightin' off dreams When she pulled in the drive The sound of her wheels woke me up And there she was, standin' inside By the stretch Of a pine barren road Where the night Never did what was told (I never did what was told) Rooms for the night Room for your rest Rooms for the night At Findlay's Motel She looked like she had come down From the rattlesnake hills And she pushed the gun to my jaw And told me to clean out the till As I handed her over the cash Findlay limped in The old man he reached for her gun But she was stronger than him Yes she was By the stretch Of a pine barren road Where the night Never did what was told (I never did what was told) Rooms for the night Room for your rest Rooms for the night At Findlay's Motel Now bullets don't care what they hit And Findlay went down And she dropped the gun to the floor And said, you best call somone now But my eyes they were fixed on the door And I walked straight outside Said suffer fools gladly As long as this sufferin' keeps you alive For a spell Unholy Dreams (Well) I dreamed I saw the devil's club Growin' by the burnin' bush And I dreamed that all your razor teeth Grabbed tomorrow by the root And I dreamed the long arm of the law Was a one-armed acrobat Yeah I dreamed Unholy dreams And I dreamed that all the sacred cows Had been trampled under hoof And I dreamed the moon had finally crashed And lit fire to your roof And I dreamed that there were sights unseen And their visions could be sold Yeah I dreamed Unholy dreams Unholy dreams X2 Last night, I dreamed unholy dreams And in the mornin' when I woke And you were gone (Well) I believed unholy dreams Yeah I believed Unholy dreams Yeah I believed
Satisfied mind Satisfied Mind How many times have you heard someone say "If I had his money, I could do things my way?" Little they know that it's so hard to find One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind. Once I was waitin' for fortune and fame Everything that I dreamed for to get a start in life's game Suddenly it happened, I lost every dime But I'm richer by far with a satisfied mind Money can't buy back your youth when you're old Or a friend when you're lonely, or a love that's grown cold The wealthiest person is a pauper at times Compared to the man with a satisfied mind When my life is ended, my time has run out My trials and my loved ones, I'll leave them no doubt But one thing's for certain, when it comes my time I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind X2 Loom of the Land It was the dirty end of winter Along the loom of the land When I walked with sweet Henry Hand upon hand And the wind it bit bitter For a girl of no means With no shoes on her feet And a knife in her jeans Along the loom of the land The mission bells peeled From the tower at Saint Mary's Down to Reprobate Fields And I saw (that) the world (Was) all blessed and bright And Henry breathed softly In the majestic night O baby please don't cry And try to keep Your little head upon my shoulder Now we'll go to sleep The elms and the poplars Were turning their backs Past the rumbling station We followed their tracks My hands they burned In the folds of his coat Breathing milky white air From deep in his throat O baby please don't cry And try to keep Your little head upon my shoulder Now we'll go to sleep I told him the moon Was a magical thing That it shone gold in winter And silver in spring And we walked and we walked Across the endless sands Just me and my Henry Along the loom of the land O baby please don't cry And try to keep O baby please don't cry And try to keep Your little head upon my shoulder Now we'll go to sleep The River People Down here everyone says that the River People don't really belong here. I know what it's like to be a stranger and divide a town beside a frontier. People want your business and little more I've watched shadows lengthen from a closed door. Mountains wide, nothing is clearer to the River People than what the others try and hide. You spoke, pushed your chair back at the meeting and I could tell that you were petrified. You said the best people can suddenly oppose The sight of good will and then it arose. Two people, four people crossed the floor I saw children run, I wept amidst the uproar Around here your stranded face before moonlight, the color of the sea. You came up to the house after swimming on sunset and the flattened sea. The sky had opened, it had gone bust You and I watched the River People swim before us The sky had opened, it had gone bust You and I watched the river people swim before us You said the best people could suddenly oppose The sight of good will and then it arose. Two people, four people crossed the floor I saw children run, I wept amidst the uproar Down here... You came... Polly If the wild-bird could speak He'd tell of places you have been He's been in my dreams And he knows all the ways of the winds Polly, come home again Spread your wings to the wind I fell much of the pain As it begins Dreams cover much time Still they leve blind the will to begin I searched for you there And now look for you within Polly, come home again Spread your wings to the wind I fell much of the pain As it begins Polly, come home again Spread your wings to the wind I fell much of the pain As it begins Buffalo Ballet When Abilene was young and gay And thunder storms filled up the days The cattle roam outside the town Sleeping in the midday sun X4 Then tracks were laid across the plain By broken old men in torrid rain The towns grew up, and the people were still Sleeping in the midday sun X4 We all joined in (And) We all joined hands We all joined in To help run this land Then the soldiers came, long long ago Rode through the town And mowed down those Sleeping in the midday sun X4 Gold came and went, quickly spent And the people broke down And often drowned From the wealth and the pain Of old Abilene Sleeping in the midday sun X8 Lover's Crime Way up north, my love lies sleepin' Her lonely grave, beneath the pines How sadly I recall her memory She was my own true love devine One night I found her with another They did not know I was around In a blinded rage I drew my pistol I killed them both and fled that town For many days I wandered over Across the sea and desert sands My heart filled with grief and sadness I could not clense these, my blooded hands For many years I've been a prisoner My grayin' hair marks off the time I'm going back to my old north-lands To wash away my sin and pride X2 Shelter for an Evening Howling like a banshee in the middle of the night Don't you know it's me at your back door I'm wounded and scared with no place to go Won't you give me home for the night Shelter for an evening, shelter for the rain Just for tonight, you'll never see me again I'm wounded, oh baby, cant you see? I got no one to blame but me And I know this shit is killin' me I can't stop, no, I can't stop And it's getting to the point where I don't care Just who or what you're sleeping with I'm wounded and scared with no place to go Won't you give me home for the night Shelter for an evening, shelter for the rain Just for tonight, you'll never see me again I'm wounded, oh baby, cant you see? I got no one to blame but me I got no one to blame but me I got no one to blame . . . . but me Dear Darling Why would you run ? I beg stars above A thing of such beauty Must be called love Why would you go And give me to cry? A thing of such beauty Might never die You bust loose from heaven And now your life starts So soon you will see You've broken two hearts And when you discover The love I still know You'll worry dear darling Why you had to go Why would you run? I beg stars above A thing of such beauty Must be called love Poor Side of Town How can you tell me how much you miss me When the last time I saw you, you wouldn't even kiss me The rich guy you're seein' must have put you down So welcome back, baby, to the poor side of town To him you ain't nothin' but a play-thing Not much more than an overnight-thing To me you're the greatest that I've ever found And it's hard to find nice things on the poor side of town I can't blame you for trying I'm trying to make it true I got one kind of [ ? ] I can't make it without you So tell me, are you gonna stay now? Would you stand by me, all the way now? With you by my side, they can't keep us down Together we can make it from the poor side of town Together we can make it from the poor side of town So welcome back, baby, to the poor side of town Free Money Every night before I go to sleep I find a ticket and I win a lottery I scoup them pearls up from the sea I cash them in and buy you all the things you need Every night before I rest my head See them dollar bills go swirling 'round my bed I know they're stolen, but I don't feel bad I take that money and buy you things you never had Oh baby, it would mean so much to me Oh baby, buy you all the things you need, for free Buy you a jet-plane, take you to the stratosphere I'll buy you a jet-plane so we can check out all that's there Where it's hot, hot, and ready and baby and cool, cold, you can feel the snow It's a long way, a long way, got a long way left to go When we're dreaming X2 Every night before I go to sleep I find a ticket and I win a lottery Every night before I rest my head See them dollar bills go swirling 'round my bed Oh baby, it would mean so much to me Oh baby, buy you all the things you need, for free When we're dreaming X2 When we're dreaming: free money, free money X2 The Storms Are on the Ocean (Well) I'm going away to leave you And I'm going away for a while Well, I'm coming back to you someday When I've gone ten thousand miles Where the storms are on the ocean And the heavens will cease to be And this world will lose its motion If you don't come back to me Well, I left you in Whiskey Valley With the crimes upon your face And the storms were in the deep part In the deepest darkest plain Where the storms are on the ocean And the heavens will cease to be And this world will lose its motion If you don't come back to me Feel Like Going Home Lord, I feel like going home I've tried and I fell and I'm tired and weary Everything I've done is wrong And I feel like going home Lord, I tried to see you through But it was too much for me Now I'm coming home to you Yeah, I feel like going home Clouded skies are closing in And not a friend around to help me Of all the places I've been Lord, I feel like going home Lord, I feel like going home I've tried and I fell and I'm tired and weary Everything I've done is wrong Lord, I feel like going home Lord, I tried to see you through But it was too much for me Now I'm coming home to you Yes, I feel like going home Lord, I feel like going home I've tried and I fell and I'm tired and weary Everything I've done is wrong Lord, I feel like going home Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone When death shall close these eyelids And this heart shall cease to beat And they lay me down to rest In some flowery-bound retreat Will you miss, miss me, when I'm gone Will you miss, miss me, miss me when I'm gone X2 Will you miss when I'm gone Perhaps you'll plant a flower On my poor unworthy grave And come sit alone beside me When the roses nod and wave Will you miss, miss me, when I'm gone Will you miss, miss me, miss me when I'm gone X2 Will you miss when I'm gone One sweet thought my soul shall cherish Till this fleeting life has flown This sweet thought will cheer when dying You will miss me when I'm gone Will you miss, miss me, when I'm gone Will you miss, miss me, miss me when I'm gone X2 Will you miss when I'm gone
Setting the woods of fire
Good Luck Morning Maybe you should disappear, And now I've warned you so. Bury your clothes out in the woods, And hide your letters 'neath the stove. There's a big house down in Wilkeson, where you can dance on tabletops. There's a card room in the back, where you can dance on tabletops. You'd better light a fire, underneath yourself, You'd better light a fire, right here where it counts, You'd better light a fire, you'd best believe the warning, You'd better light a fire, this is your good luck morning. Take my savings and my ring And buy yourself somethin' to wear. The bus rolls out of here at five, They'll still be up when you get there. Say hello to them in Wilkeson and tell 'em that I'll be back soon. I know you'll do alright in Wilkeson, you tell 'em that I'll be back soon. You'd better light a fire, underneath yourself, You'd better light a fire, right here where it counts, You'd better light a fire, you'd best believe the warning, You'd better light a fire, this is your good luck morning. You'd better light a fire, underneath yourself, You'd better light a fire, right here where it counts, You'd better light a fire, you'd best believe the warning, You'd better light a fire, this is your good luck morning. This is your good luck day, This is your good luck charm, They'll try to do you right, Won't ever do you harm, You'd better light a fire, you'd best believe the warning, You'd better light a fire, this is your good luck. Firetrap Come back in the winter, Won't steal away too long. And when I'm back I'll set it all ablaze. Got Jesus in my pocket And matches in my coat. I won't have to work alone this time. From the trees upon the hill top, I'll watch the old house close. You can guard your back but my patience will be endless. And all your stiff-jaw quiet, won't conceal what you have done. You warned us all to sell or pay the price. Now I wanna burn, I wanna burn, Not only you can burn. The newspaper and TV fools came trudging 'cross our fields. Said the shots that killed my brother came from his own hand. But that don't explain the tire tracks that came down from your house. To make it look like suicide had always been your plan. Now I wanna burn, I wanna burn, Not only you can burn. I wanna burn this signal fire, I wanna burn this firetrap, Not only you can burn. And it belongs to me now, Right or wrong, I'll come back in the winter, On a trail of no remorse. And my footprints will get covered by the frozen snow. And no one in your family, will talk of me again. Flames will die, and silence will return. Now I wanna burn, I wanna burn, Not only you can burn. I wanna burn this signal fire, I wanna burn this firetrap, Not only you can burn. And it belongs to me now, Right or wrong. And it belongs to me now, Right or wrong. Bordertown I can sleep it off, Sleep it back to sleep, I can be most anything I want. A long way from the shade, The north side of the moon. Down here only rich men lose their shirts. And John Law wakes to sweep, The morning off the street, But no one cares if he has done his job. And postcards never came, From race tracks by the sea. From a gambler who says: "You are still my lucky thing." Bordertown, There's been an accident in Bordertown. Bordertown, I am your accident in Bordertown. Coyotes stirs the drinks, And drives his stolen jeep, And drives the kingsnake to its happy hole. But I stand in the clear, The only place he fears, The only place he's never seen me stand. Bordertown, There's been an accident in Bordertown. Bordertown, I am your accident in Bordertown. There ain't no seasons here, But the freezin' still appears, Everytime I call this home. Can't be enough alone. I can sleep it off, Sleep it back to sleep, I can be most anything I want. A long way from the shade, The north side of the moon. Down here only taxi drivers know my name. Feeling No Pain Will you crash the engine of our ruin? Who'll spill the flat cars of our shame? I'm beat up tired from always doin', What I shoulda done in the first place. You can call in sick, no need to fear the morning. You will drink by numbers, I will drink by faith. The stairs are crashin', so is all the danger. Shoulda took a breath, but I's too drunk to wait. Can you still prescribe, The remedies and lies, 'Til we feel no pain? 'Til we all have risen.X2 Porchlights shattered, but the veins still glow here. Met you in a bar, out by the switchin' yard. My best attempts, can only knock you down here. You should wear this badge, or wear nothin' at all. Can we reconcile, The bottom of the pile, 'Til the poison tastes good? 'Til we all have risen. 'Til we all have risen. Can you help explain, The senseless and the vain, 'Til the vial's empty? Can you still prescribe, The remedies and lies, 'Til we feel no pain? 'Til we all have risen.X4 Will you crash the engine of our ruin? Will you give me up to feel no pain? Old Crow Now all of us knew Old Crow as the patron drinker's curse. He paced along the barstools, beggin' quarters for his thirst. Nobody knew where he came from, And nobody cared to ask. Then along came Billy Sunday, tellin' stories 'bout the past. He said Crow had stole some gold and sunk it in the lake, Held down by cement blocks in a broken apple crate. Billy said it came from the murdered father of the bride. Crow had worked their orchard land, until the night he did his crime. Old Crow lied. X2 Night heat chokes the valley, Hiss of anger travels far. A door is slammed, somebody's drunk, The daughter jumps in Billy's car. Speedin' down the driveway, Outside her father bleeds and prays. Old Crow is in the shadows, As Billy Sunday gets away. Old Crow lied. X4 Gave Old Crow a quarter, asked him if he was the man. That Billy Sunday said he was, and Old Crow grabbed my hand. Said: "I loved that Orchard girl and to protect her I have lied." Now Billy Sunday owns the truth. 'Cause Billy Sunday robbed it blind. Old Crow lied. X8 Almost Wisdom Got an earthquake shack near Elbe. Got a garden of dyin' cars. Covered up deep in the mud of the powerline road. And at night I can hear the lockjaw, And the swagger of the devil's tongue. Comin' on down from the wires of the powerline road. Sayin' that tomorrow's just a cheap shot at today. And that we've gone beyond our reckoning. And if we don't face the troubles now, our families will betray. And that's the one good reason left to give. And it's almost wisdom. Geneva took the kids back home, Never heard from her again. That's back when I worked all them 12-hour days. Now I idle here wickedly, right through the thick and thin. Never to believe what I cannot live. Knowin' that tomorrow's just a cheap-shot at today, And that we've gone beyond our reckoning. And if we don't face the troubles now, our families will betray. They'll take the one good reason left to give. I was drunk on her suspicions, And a fifth of Early Times. I went down into Elbe just to pick a fight. And there behind the laundry house, was Geneva in a car She opened the front door and shouted to the night. Shouted that tomorrow is the last chance for today. Shouted soon we'll have our reckoning. Shouted that the trouble here leaves us nothin' to betray. And nothin' is the one thing left to give. And it's almost wisdom. Almost wisdom. X3 Sand & Gravel The sky is always heavy here, And the mules they roam in packs. And the skulls we dragged from waterholes, By the woodshed in a stack. And fear don't ever come out alone. And the bad moon flies by night. And the choices made won't come again. 'Cause the first choice wasn't right. No time for me to wash, The sand & gravel. Downwinders, we still watch the sky. And each cloud has a name. Thunderhead & casket face. Keep your head on, don't breathe. The hills will slowly cover you, 'Til their blessings are disguised. And the choices made will travel home. Leaving all their junk behind. No time for me to wash, The sand & gravel. Got bags of ash and worry stones, Buried by the fence. And some Army water from a can, Left over from the tests. The great unwashed is out my door, And it will lose you in a pinch. And now that sorry don't mean spit. I have memorized each inch. No time for me to wash, The sand & gravel here. Nightdrive Check the main road one more time. Check the main road but I'm sure that you will find. It is late and closin' down. There are lights out there but they do not seem close. Take these long knives for the ride. One for every day we missed. Cut it deep, then cut it wide. 'Til the blood runs clear. On the night drive. Lizards blinded by the center line. Lava black, let mystery take its own sweet time. Grab the antenna and hold it tight. Turn it 'round til you find somethin' we can sing. Take these long knives for the ride. One for every day we missed. Cut it deep, then cut it wide. 'Til the blood runs clear. On the night drive.X2 If we don't move, then we can never scar. If we don't regret, it means we never pushed this far. Cut it deep, then cut it wide. 'Til the blood runs clear. On the night drive.... Hole in the Mountain Carved your name on the numbering hill, Now it looks on the town with the promise to kill everything. We lit this valley with atomic power, But the lights went down in the closing hour yesterday. And ghosty Bonny spins atop her grave. Sayin' we had better save what we can save. Oh no, Oh no, hole in the mountain. No this ain't the end of the world. But I'm sure you'll find it waitin' its turn close to here. All that's left is the salvage we brought, Soon we won't recognize the things that we got, close to here. And ghosty Bonny spins atop her grave. Sayin' we had better save what we can save. Oh no, Oh no, hole in the mountain. Send the storm kings across the flat. Take it back while there's somethin' to take back. Shake the cans 'til the crows go flyin'. Bedlam's breakin' but that won't stop us from tryin'. Hole in the mountain. Oh no, Oh no, hole in the mountain. Pass Me On Over Lead you over to the water, Said "Hold it down until it does not breathe." Tried drowning it on dry land for too long, But it was not supposed to be. This recklessness might kill you, But I know you would miss it if it died. This recklessness is not a curse, It's just the old convictions runnin' out of time. Pass me on over, Let it pass me by. We'll keep on movin', Leave this shit behind. Take all our money, but ya know we'll never quit. Pass me on over, But don't pass, Me back to this. Birds on empty watertowers, Owned it all but did not own a thing. Prisoners of dry land for to long, Until only our love remained. By this river, we laugh loud And leave for dead what we cannot explain. Head out to the hiding place, Covered in the strong arms of the aspen trees. Pass me on over, Let it pass me by. We'll keep on movin', Leave this shit behind. Take all our money, but ya know we'll never quit. Pass me on over, But don't pass, Me back to this. Up in the Graveyard The graveyard sits by the Prescott mill. Where my old man lost his arm, And for that I was ready to kill. But he just looked tired, And said: "Don't bury me near that place." When he finally died I was in the desert war. But no one makes a funeral wait, So they dressed him up in his wedding clothes, And buried him by the mill, In the place he said he'd never stay. All you gotta do, is look around. You can change the darkness Into somethin' proud. But up in the graveyard, Some things never change. Came back stateside, Tried to set things right. Drove out to the graveyard, Underneath a half-moon sky. With a pick and a shovel I started turning over stones. Just past midnight I got cornered by some lights. Two sirens howlin', Patrol cars coming down from both sides. The sheriff put on the handcuffs. Said: "A night in jail will cool your head." All you gotta do, is look around. You can change the darkness Into somethin' proud. But up in the graveyard, Some things never change. Now he still lies 'neath the mill fire smoke. A good man to his well-made bed, Another ten, just ready to go. But the ground there don't rest easy, 'Cause he won't let it rest that way. You can bury deep, but you won't forget. A heart will never leave you alone, Even if you want to be left, Up in the graveyard Where some things never change. All you gotta do, is look around. You can change the darkness Into somethin' proud. But up in the graveyard, Some things never change. Some things never change. X3 Promised Promise me my soul to keep. And promise me you'll never sleep. And promise me that when it's over, We will drink the whole world sober. Promise me that lines get drawn. Point no point to wish me well. Promise me there's no denying, And you will stop to wish me well. Oh promise me. Promise me it'll all get done. And a lion's share of good will last. Promise me you'll turn away first, And promise me you won't turn back. For all the years we kept on trying, It wasn't 'cause we were scared to quit. Promise me there'll be no pity, And promise me there'll be safer bets. Oh promise me You won't make these promises. With calloused hands we forged this hammer, Broke these rocks into equal parts. Sent the sparks, flyin' off the handle. Asked for nothing, but delivered much. Never were the main event, Always played the sideshow tent. The drunken cowards came to look us over. Can you promise we did not belong there? Oh promise me You won't make these promises. Promise me the best you know. And promise me you'll break down slow. And when you find the nerve to quit, Pass it 'round and we'll share in it There is somethin' cruel about this, But I know hopeful it's not far behind. What was unknown just hours ago, Is now the killer with the angel's eye. Oh promise me. X2
Devil's road
The light will stay on I go to sleep, before the devil wakes and I wake up, before the angels take all my worldly desires all my yardsticks of fear all my secrets untold all my motives unclear hangin' down in the fire burnin' them higher won't take them away from here and long after we're gone the light will stay on X2 watched the city ... city of crows watched them fly, watched 'em all flyin' low out above the flood plain just above the dirt road they were hungry as winter, hungry as us not afraid to be flyin', not afraid to be lost and long after we're gone the light will stay on X2 and if you bury me, add three feet to it one for your sorrow, two for your sweat three for the strange things we never forget and long after we're gone the light will stay on X2 and long after we're safe the lights will not fade X2 Rebecca Wild Gathered by the riverside the current pulls 100 years each way savin' souls and singin' songs They beg and smile, but murder just the same watch me slip into the trees breakin' brush past darkness and the cold gray crosses mark the ridge reached her grave and fell down in the snow that's when I dreamed that I was Rebecca Wild that's when I dreamed who she was who she was Rebecca stood in the union hall said: "your hands are weak from holdin' on too strong" that was the lost night she ever spoke a company man, he drove her off the road that's when I dreamed that I was Rebecca Wild that's when I dreamed who she was who she was that's when I dreamed that I was Rebecca Wild that's when I dreamed who she was last night I dreamed that I was Rebecca Wild last night I dreamed who she was Rebecca Wild The Stopping-Off Place well the fog's rollin' thick in the trees and the fire burns deep in the hole my conscience a wound with no salve it betrays me wherever I go said the best way a man can go down is to die with his face to the street and you guessed that the way I'd go down like a gambler who rolls off to sleep but that night on the mountain, I staged my own death left my clothes scattered far down the trail and I dreamed of your neck, your raven-haired crown with no trace, I jumped over the rail Move along, cannot stay The Stoppin'-off place Move along, cannot stay The Stoppin'-off place plain clothes knows nothin' bout me and plain clothes knows nothin' bout you he'll call off the chase in a snap he'll give up the chase if you ask and I promised to you, that I'd see my way clear and I'd come back to get you someday with silver for teeth and blood in my hair I'd come back and get you someday Move along, cannot stay The Stoppin'-off place Move along, cannot stay The Stoppin'-off place Move along, cannot stay The Stoppin'-off place Move along, cannot stay The Stoppin'-off place Cold Eye painted so many towns painted them up and down down to the broken ground pointed the last one, for now soon I will stow away into the cool nightshade watching fireworks fly in the reservation sky found only hell to pay draggin' these bones all day sun-up to cocktail time dragged 'em till I was blind the field full of also-rans stealin' my used up plans all of my friends were there They couldn't believe I cared when I put my cold eye to it X2 and I couldn't say no luck is the thing I make luck is the thing you break after it all went wrong before I was good as gone deep in the beggin' bowl I found some scraps to take drank from your poison jar found I was wide awake when I, put my cold eye to it X2 and I never said no, no I never said no when I, put my cold eye to it X2 Yes, I put my cold eye to it and I never said no, no I never said no Christmas Valley It's breathin' time In Christmas Valley herons fly by night and crash into the pines and when we're gone from Christmas Valley no one will remember you leave nothin' to remind to remind climbed up onto Fort Rock and I looked unto the town the aquifer works so hard to consecrate the ground all the way to Wagontire just a shimmer in the haze all the way to Wagontire no one's beggin' us to stay It's breathin' time in Christmas Valley herons fly by night and crash into the pines and when we're gone from Christmas Valley no one will remember you leave nothin' to remind to remind If what you want is tarpaper blown off in the wind If what you want is tarpaper then hold here to the end Sister says in Lewiston three rivers come to meet she'll get us jobs in a restaurant we can stagger home each night It's breathin' time in Christmas Valley herons fly by night and crash into the pines and when we're home from Christmas Valley no one will remember you leave nothin' to remind to remind Blue Head Flame tongue tied, said my prayers 20 years or more seems like yesterday hung your secrets from the judas tree watched 'em blow down to the valley floor blowin' home, watched 'em blow away and what I fear is what we all fear a fortune lost, a fortune gained cursed by the power of the blue head flame got so drunk, I took things back things I never said things I never stole from anyone dug in the clay, red on my hands guilty to the elbows, never mind my hands kept my nose clean, kept it that way for you now what I fear, is what we all fear a fortune lost, a fortune gained cursed by the power of the blue head flame watched the freights from the railroad tie spun a rusty nail, and I closed both eyes as I told my tale, as the freights went by straw of pity on the courthouse stairs wait till doomsday, you said wait for years I couldn't wait that long, I shoulda' killed for less now what I fear, is what we all fear a fortune lost, a fortune gained cursed by the power of the blue head flame ya what I fear, is what we all fear humble origins all betrayed lost to the power, we were lost to the flame tongue tied, said my prayers 20 years or more seems like yesterday got so drunk, I took things back things I never stole, things I never said to anyone I should'a killed for less When Fortune Smiles even the mightiest rivers will bend before they vanish, in the sand even the tallest of timbers will fall easy to fall, ain't easy to land well that's a curse of mine seems everything I find keeps fallin' till it cannot fall well that's a curse of mine in the best of times keep fallin' till I cannot fall That's when fortune smiled on you I'd say fortune smiled when you went runnin' away from these arms the first will be last and the last will be drunk goes down, easy, easy come well that's a curse of mine never look behind don't look into the swath I cut well that's a curse of mine never look behind deep into the swath I cut That's when fortune smiled on you I'd say fortune smiled when you went runnin' away from these arms these are the last things, the things that will last the knife in my tears, the jail of my fears well that's a curse of mineX3 wicked and divine shoulda' never tried to love me That's when fortune smiled on you I'd say fortune smiled when you went runnin' away from these arms when you went runnin' away from these arms hmmmmm ... when you went runnin' All For This I come from nowhere I was nowhere bound never once believed this was my restin' ground but somewhere between here and that rest I heard ya callin' my name All for this, I have traveled All for this, I have roamed All for this, I have stumbled All for this, I will carry you home 9 days of rain washed across my face 9 days of liquor, 9 days of fate watched me blow it up to blow it back again but you kept callin' my name All for this, I have traveled All for this, I have roamed All for this, I have stumbled All for this, I will carry you home comfort me, and bring no sorrow keep on movin', gone tomorrow I don't care I just don't care gone to heaven, gone to hell they both looked the same everywhere I go you called my name All for this, I have traveled All for this, I have roamed All for this, I have stumbled All for this, I will carry you home heard ya callin' gone tomorrow heard ya callin' heard ya call my name and when I find you, gone tomorrow when I find you, I'll carry you home Fairground Blues I can still remember the coat I wore that day yellow as a plastic moon with a weave as thick as chains walkin' past the sideshow tents drunker than we knew could never fill my brother's shoes got them Fairground Blues got them Fairground Blues was gone so long, I didn't know if my brother'd still be there when I got back to the burlesque show four cops were standin' on the stairs brother's hands were stuck in irons sweat had soaked his hair said "you missed the fun in there missed all the fun in there you missed the fun in there" brother's face was red and wild cop said: "do you know this boy? Choked a man for just his smile this one's a killer not a boy." My brother spit and laughed and said: "I shoulda' stuck with you big brother shoulda' stuck with you." got them Fairground Blues X4 The Leaving Kind Trying hard to remember your voice it seems so faraway all choked up by the heat and the dust it seems so faraway I'm gonna give you a call, from this air conditioned bar gonna give it one more crack before these cocktail lights all disappear like the night wind on my back I'm not the leavin' kind but I've got leavin'on my mind from Jim Town, to Halfway, then back across the riverside it's not hard to build a flat, straight road across this treeless plain just follow, the sharp-edge of the earth and never, never stray I'm not the leavin' kind though I've got leavin' on my mind from Jim Town, to Halfway, then back across the riverside I'm not the leavin' kind though I'll be leavin' one more time from Jim Town, to Flatop, then down across the riverside from Jim Town, to Halfway, then back across the riverside from Jim Town, to Flatop, then down along the riverside from Jim Town, to Halfway, then back across the riverside from Jim Town, to Flatop... Forgiveness Song Bang out the night song on an old kettle drum don't ask for no ransom ain't payin you none ground to a halt with suspicion for all you say "watch me fly" I suppose that you're gone but I don't care to look don't give me the truth give me shackles bang out the night song from deep in my chest are you listening? But last night (Oh last night) late last night (late last night) last night, you were forgiveness And last night (Oh last night) late last night (late last night) last night you were the end walked to the dawn along rnisery's mile stopped under a streetlight and burned off my smile trust was your mirror and trust was your fool are you listenin' and now that I'm gone give the tears to your friends I'll take what I'm due then I'll strangle bang out the night song you can beat it to death you can watch me fly But last night (Oh last night) late last night (late last night) last night, you were forgiveness And last night (Oh last night) late last night (late last night) last night you were the end raisin' my spirits my head on the floor turned around fast walkin' back to your door this run of bad luck stuck like sleep in yer eyes couldn't see a thing But last night, late last night last night, you were forgiveness oh last night, late last night last night you were the end I'm comin' back to ya no religion to sell bang out the night song ain't stuck in this hell oh last night late last night last night you were forgivin
Nighttown
Follow me an angel The city's shiverin' Shivers in the heat That we call summertime And I'm deliverin' The one piece of the puzzle That you could not find Follow me an angel Follow every fool I can tonight Follow me an angel From the rooftops These streets Don't seem so bright The clocks have lost their hands The clouds take off their shirts And show their scars to me And we're out kickin cans Chasin' sirens Past the gate ... of your driveway Now here's the teeth to the city The keys to your wings The promise that I won't say no Though we ain't lookin' pretty There's some places open late Where we can go Follow me an angel Follow every fucked-up fool tonight Follow me an angel From the rooftops These streets don't seem so bright
These Proud Streets To these streets Brazen and broken Never known No other way Won’t let the facts Strangle the story Won’t let the facts Get in the way Ain’t what I need But I took what I came for Ain’t what I said Mouthful of straw Circus nights Each one a stranger All expectant All a blur Let go Roll to a close Let go The sleepwalkers know That these proud streets don’t cry at all These proud streets don’t cry These proud streets don’t cry at all Tonight I will be gone I am frightened Fear gets expensive I am thirsty Wanting you more Good as gone Plans have been scuttled Drinking you straight Straight to the door Let go Roll to a close Let go The sleepwalkers know That these proud streets don’t cry at all These proud streets don’t cry These proud streets don’t cry at all Tonight I will be gone Nothing going in Now I kiss the hand Nothing going in Now I kiss the hand Kiss the hand Kiss the hand These proud streets don’t cry at all These proud streets don’t cry These proud streets don’t cry at all Tonight I will be gone I will be gone I will be gone Tremble (Goes the Night) Gettin' stupid ... crooked feet A pinball on ... Scott Walker Street Gettin' stupid ... in a bar Not goin' home ... til the band plays "Superstar" Everything's on the edge of everything else You're hittin' a stride, that cannot be stopped People been callin' all the way from Florida Ya said, you're going down there, for a week or more Tremble goes ... Tremble goes the night Tremble goes ... Tremble goes the night Gettin stupid ... dancin' veins Night rain on ... the Greyhound sign Gettin' stupid ... flashlight face Strangers got ... the clearest eyes Nothin's worth envy, but I can't help myself Go find your glory, ya don't need my help When it explodes, ya better line up to bet The dead don't have birthdays, they just forget Tremble goes ... Tremble goes the night Tremble goes ... Tremble goes the night Shadows sparkle ... streetcars burn All of God's drunks ... we wait our turn So you're leavin' ... write it on a cake I'll take a piece ... and I'll join the wait When you get back, we'll find a heart and soul chapel See if there's anything, left to unravel Now go drop this five, in the band's tip jar I'm not goin' home ... til the band plays "Superstar" ("Superstar") Tremble goes ... Tremble goes the night Tremble goes ... Tremble goes the night Unwind You're an open gate On a barbed wire fence Swingin' back and forth You know it scares me half to death Funny how it moved From a blessin' to a curse Ain't it funny how we moved From the cursed, to the doomed Will you Will you unwind This heart of mine? Heart of mine Busted but not broke Shaken up and stirred Watch out who you tell This night is hangin' on each word But when the mornin' comes And the lies are cheap You'll say: "to live is to lose" I'll say: "losin's the one thing... that we all keep" Will you... will you unwind? This heart of mine... heart of mine Both a blessin' and a curse In everything we've heard A blessin' and a curse This night is hangin' on... each... word Lift Your Burdens Up Been a lot of rain out there Rainin' blind Summer's comin' slow ... this year It's rainin' blind If ya come back tonight ... I'll let it ... fall away If ya come back tonight Ya better have ... the guts to stay Gravel's loose ... and the load is shiftin' Dreams are heavy ... they could use ... some ... liftin' Come back now ... lay all your burdens down And with a little luck ... I'll lift your burdens up Between my thoughts and my deeds Delusion lies I've forgotten everything We ever tried But if ya come back tonight Careful what you bring The sky's unwinding here Twisted like a busted spring Gravel's loose ... and the load is shiftin' Dreams are heavy ... they could use ... some ... liftin' Come back now ... and lay all your burdens down And with a little luck ... I'll lift your burdens up ... burdens up If ya need me ... you can call If ya need me ... I will call you If ya need me ... you can call If I need you ... I will call you Ain't goin' anywhere fast Gonna sit right here 'Til the sky blows ... blows on past Come back now ... lay all your burdens down And with a little luck ... I'll lift your burdens up And when the trigger's pulled ... ya know I'll follow through And you can bet your luck ... I'll list your burdens up ... burdens up Prayer for You When you burn your kingdom Through the ashes I will come I know it makes no difference But I can't leave ya to your fun Usin' up your torch song gifts Why do you rush the end along? Actin' like you'll soon forget The end is comin' on its own Just this once I'll say a prayer for you Though I won't pretend to help Just this once I'll say a prayer for you Burnin' up the floorboards Burned every place you stood Every second chance: firewood Bad luck is a famous name For what you brought yourself And I'm too dumb to help Just this once I'll say a prayer for you Though I won't pretend I'm right If you ask I'll say a prayer for you They say the city don't give up And I believe that's true (don't you?) Ricochets from boom to bust Like most of us Who never cared enough... Just this once I'll say a prayer for you Though I won't pretend I'm right If you ask I'll say a prayer for you In the middle of the street I will stop I'll say a prayer for you If that's what you really want I will stop... I'll say a prayer for you In the middle of the street... Immaculate Said this was our town The joke it was on us We were just passin thru' On the way to givin' up Joked this was our town That someday we'd be thrilled By anything we loved And everything we killed But the biggest risk we'll ever take Will be to stay here in one place Swearin' gold is struck On the way to givin' up I try not to forget How close we came to it Ooh -- Immaculate ... ooh -- Immaculate ... Ain't we strange enough That we don't have to prove We know how to last And we know how to lose Gonna chase it down Find the truth in store Were we better off Just one stop before? Will there be a run of days, When sittin' pretty will make sense? When somethin' like a prayer, Up and pays the rent? I try not to forget How close we came to it Ooh -- Immaculate ... ooh -- Immaculate ... You're the fever that I dream The only dream I dream awake A dream the mornin' cannot shake You're the fever that I dream The only dream I dream awake A dream the mornin' cannot shake (the fever that I dream) Ooh -- Immaculate ... ooh -- Immaculate ... Ooh -- Immaculate ... ooh -- Immaculate ... Heartless This is where it starts This is... where it stops And when it finally stops I hope, starts right up Walk the glitter mile Past hotels of sand People say'n lots of things Ain't my job... to listen I don't believe What they say you've done Don't believe in anything Anything that lasts for long Everytime I change my mind... You say I'm heartless... but I want the same thing as you This is where it stops This is... where it starts And when it finally starts I hope it pulls right up Everytime I change my mind... You say I'm heartless... but I want the same thing as you Why do ya say They built this desert in our way? Open your eyes Watch it slowly come alive Somethin' new Changin' into somethin' new... Somethin' that I... saved for you Everytime I change my mind... everytime I change my mind You say I'm heartless... but I want the same thing as you Everytime I change my mind... everytime I change my mind You say I'm heartless ... but I want the same thing as you Hmmmmmm something new... something new... Something new... something new... Slow Red Dawn We need a better idea, here quick Before the sun's beatin' down on our necks We need a better idea Watch us speed, to the end of the world Promise all, that we've already heard And still we're nowhere I don't care to know all the details How you left him to shout down the stairs I don't care to know Slow Red Dawn is gonna come Slow Red Dawn is comin' on Slow Red Dawn Do you see that thin strip of light there? On the skyline, it seems unaware That we haven't slept yet But as long as we still laugh for keeps And you swear you were dyin' to leave There's no reason to sleep Slow Red Dawn is gonna come Slow Red Dawn is comin' on Slow Red Dawn Slow Red Dawn is gonna come Slow Red Dawn is comin' on Slow Red Dawn Do ya see that light there? On the skyline unaware Do ya see that light there? Comin' on Are we gonna let it flag? I think we got it in the bag Do ya see the light there? Comin' on Harbour Lights Harbour lights will change your plans More than judge or jury can What a sight Flickerin' like prayers of grace How could you ever lose this place? What a sight But I'm sure I don't stand A ghost of a chance To stay here past the time, when all my checks run out To stay here past the time, when all my checks... run... out Chinese junks are driftin' in The foghorn blows its low warnin' Across the stars Glistening fluorescent tears Finally know what kept me here Harbour lights And I wonder if you Are makin' it through We all hang from a single thread and a thousand truths We all hang from a single thread and a thousand... truths Harbour lights will change your plans More than judge or jury can What a sight But I'm sure I don't stand A ghost of a chance To stay here past the time, when all my checks run out And I wonder if you Are makin' it through I wonder under which moon do you sleep tonight I wonder under which moon do you say... good... night Forever Gone Streaks of light On the graveyard walk Your bright star was crashin' Crashin' the dark Dreamed of a cold night To freeze it in place Dreamed of ship bells and thunder Ringin' us under Dreamed all the way home That you'd never go Talked up and down it Mornin', noon and night Alone in the optimists chair Said our instincts were right But now I know the clean choice Was the worst choice of all I'd rather feel guilt Than this desert inside I'd rather steal wicked Than lay down in pride Gone forever Forever gone Made a mess of this town But that's what we always do Throwin' glass to the floor Now it's cuttin' right through More than a year's time 'Til ya give up the scheme My wood matches meltin' The ghosts from your wedding ring Never trusted fate But I wish that I had Fate is what answered Your slow cry for help Fate was your motive Your fate was yourself Gone forever Forever gone Made a mess of this town But that's what we always do Throwin' glass to the floor Now it's cuttin' right through Gone forever Forever gone I'd rather feel guilt Than this desert inside I'd rather steal wicked Than lay down in pride Seems like a long time... oooh! Nightbirds The nightbirds stumble in Like broken pendulums The nightbirds stumble in Flown from thick to thin 'Neath a cloud of suspicion You're a lucky man Say it again The nightrain's pourin' down As the nightsky hits the town The nightbirds stumble in There are orders to be filled There are tall ones to be killed There are songs of praises to be sung Will they all go south on us? With the crazies, with our trust? I trust you'll tell me If you lose that trust The nightrain's pourin' down As the nightsky hits the town The nightbirds stumble in You're a lucky man Say it again I'm a lucky man Say it again
Trail of Stars
Desert Skies blacklight fades headlights switched off the engine burns as we're rollin' to a stop let's get out here lie down in the middle of road ain't no cars comin' only stars and stars alone the city at our backs did you really think that it would last? heaven's trace a trail of starlight gone the city best forgotten did the wind hit you in the eye? or were you just about to cry? desert skies...... this ain't the place to turn around never even said goodbye desert skies...... a day so hot it seemed like the rocks could sing the sky so flat it seemed there was nothin' in the wings scar on your lip a story far too long to tell the story best forgotten our party in hell's been cancelled due to fire and thick smoke torched up by its own success do ya' wish that we had never spoke? yours and yours alone mine everywhere thrown yours alone did the wind hit you in the eye? or were you just about to cry? desert skies...... all the stars are shaped like tears tears are satellites desert skies...... Straight to the Stars don't wait any longer not a second more don't wait for the century to click ya' never can be sure put my hand just where you want it been movin' much too slow move your hand just where I want it and don't let go and if we let this devil ride I swear he's gonna take the wheel and drive straight to the stars can't wait any longer straight to the stars the sky is only gettin' darker now stars on the pavement stars in sad eyes stars are out for the hangin' true stars never die put my hand just where you want it been movin' much too slow move your hand just where I want it don't let go and if we let this devil ride I swear he's gonna take the wheel and drive straight to the stars can't wait any longer straight to the stars the sky is only gettin' darker now only gettin' darker Gold see my silly watch every second lost, hmm lost in a strange arcade got drunk on girls night out If they're the good years, I don't know what you call the hard years If they're the good times, I don't know what you call the hard times just let me know if you can see the gold just let me know if can you see the gold? lay these knuckles bare strip the varnish back did we ever use to kiss? did I ever get you off? If they're the good years, I don't know what you call the hard years If they're the good times, I don't know what you call the hard times I don't see the gold in this I don't see the gold the good years, I don't know can't hang it on a wanderin' star can't hide it in a wanderin' heart can't blind it with a wanderin' eye the good years, I don't know ah no Last Tears These are your last tears for the century don't cry them for me these are your last tears, before the party starts don't throw them away use em' wisely, use em' large use em' soft, and use em' hard once were flush but now we're skint as bone can ill-afford to waste our tears alone these are our last tears for this century don't blame them on me this is our first, and surely, our last attempt to earn what we've spent set 'em up, and knock 'em back lost in the stars, lost in the scraps next century will never ask you why cares not if you've come, or if you cried last tears of the century they keep on comin' All the revolutions, they've been here and gone missed everyone except the one that we have, yet begun missed everyone spin in circles, till we're stung by every heart, and every gun Put the future behind us, until we see today happiness can't buy ya' money, till we see today and the only thing that's left to do is to see that they don't cover you ..... last tears of the century Crime Story thunder laughs and thunderclaps the afternoons round here, well they're just like that I know ya' don't spook easy I know ya' won't up and quit let's keep it like that now don't forget when you go and make the drop if he don't look ya' in the eye well ya' better just walk means madness is takin' over madness is in charge it's come out of the woodwork madness-at-large keep things close keep the dogs at bay just walk on by story of a crime walk on by story of a crime whole thing sounds harder than it is timing's everything but then you knew that, before I did If this turns into a circus too much talkin', too much noise walk on by keep holdin' on to the bag There's a town on the Spanish border where you can chill he's supposed to tell ya' about it but if he don't, head for the hills find some empty olive grove where you can stash the car somewhere exotic somewhere obscure sometimes you do what is wrong so ya' won't do what's worse if ya' can't be righteous at least be careful just cause we feed the flame don't mean we have to got burned Hightimes hightimes, undermine tell me somethin' I don't know hightimes, can chase em 'til your blind tell me somethin' I don't know now you're lyin' next to me the one place that you shoulda' stayed lyin' next to me now you're lyin' next to me the place I said you'd always be hightimes, gone away let go hit it on the money let it go, let it go, let it go let go hit it closer than you wanted let it go, let it go, let it go them hightimes forgave rips and tears them hightimes forgave but I don't care hightimes have strayed them hightimes have strayed we drove to the top of castle hill the lights of the town below we drove, you were almost still the lights of the town below you said things look twice as small when you have been livin' tall things look twice as small you said things look twice as far when you have been gone so long things look twice as far them hightimes forgave, but look at you now On the Day behind the bric and brac there will be no lookin' back and between hell and hello there will be no lettin' go no there won't and you can't be serious no you can't you won't really do him in well you might hey this all seems like a joke yes it does, but it's not where I laugh before you've spoke stuttered words poisoned love And the trumpets lean and barren and the sirens shrill and darin' on the day that I...... and your people all will say what they want, what they will and the tower bells will rage from the top of the hill and the crows they all will crow what they crow what they know and the crows they all will crow "gotta go" "gotta go" And the trumpets lean and barren and the sirens shrill and darin' on the day that I..... the day that I stop carin' Till I Reach You I don't care how long it might last don't care anymore don't care about that I don't care how long it might take I'm still wide awake out walkin' late Till I reach you wait until I Till I reach you wait until I Till I reach you I don't care if it takes half the night or a life or if it's all a slow dream ain't no answers in me every slight of the hand every brick every stone I can face it alone walkin' alone don't care anymore if it's short, fast, or blind the chalk lines are drawn I'm walkin' all night caressed and caroused don't care what it takes I'm still wide awake Drown somethin' of a shambles another wicked tangle still I believe that love is drawn from the emptiest of wells a shadow of a mystery the way you can't forget me still I believe that love is drawn from the emptiest of wells I wanna' drown again I wanna' drown till my thirst is full my lips are cool drown nothin' is forgiven nothin' reaches heaven nothin' evens out and nothin' crawls away but I believe that lightning strikes I believe that fate has pull I believe that love is drawn from the emptiest of wells the water's clear I hope you stay No One the Wiser our healin' mark was reached above this floodlit street beneath a sliver moon undone leaning with intent to fall your gaze a perfect blade my hand, a shadow drawn These secrets come and go but every secret knows it's better to ravish than to hold are we right back where we were? or just right where we are? can't see it for the stars but we'll know it when it's gone No one the wiser No one the wiser the healin' deals been struck pain is shit-out-o'-Iuck neither one of us, too tired to love just tired of bleedin' stones just tired of crashin' slow Forever shoulda' known no one the wiser no one the wiser no one the wiser do ya' feel our ghost in every stitch? do ya' hear our ghost in every word? are you my ghost? or am I yours? one thing for sure time is gonna' soothe these shattered eyes time is gonna' heal things out of turn time is gonna' mark the place to start but leave the ending for yourself no one the wiser no one the wiser
Train Leaves at Eight
Man From Reno
(Scott Walker/ Goran Bregovic) If I could lose, If you could choose For this next Dance you might choose me I ain't no pussy with the blues Just step out on the floor and see Can't follow a man from Reno Follow a man from Zurich Follow a man from Italy Can't follow a man with brain grass Follow his long long eye gas Follow a man from Munich Running out of luck Running out of luck in the midnight Zodiac killers drained their hands And wipe away the shadows from the walls Neighbours all say he's got no friends His friends all say you've got him by the balls Look up You might even shred the stars Look up Might even stop the scars Zodiac killer needs that crack He wants you back He's waiting in the bars Zodiac killer needs that crack He wants you back He's waiting in the Bars Can't follow a man from Reno Follow a man from Izmir Follow a man from Wyoming Follow this waving heather Follow the angry weather Man from Sarajevo Running out of luck Running out of luck in the midnight Zodiac killers drained their hands And wipe away the shadows from the walls Look up You might even shred the stars Look up Might even stop the scars Zodiac killer needs that crack He wants you back He's waiting in the bars In the midnight, in the midnight In the midnight, in the midnight After midnight, after midnight, after midnight That Black Guitar
(Vlado Kreslin)
I was little Vlado then When the gypsies came a wandering, to our town They'd come by the house, and they'd start to play. And father would go, to his room, and pickup his guitar Which he'd bought long ago With his paltry pay Mister, do you still have that guitar Mister, do you still have that black guitar That one was the best one by far And they kept on asking Along after that Whenever they'd shill, for a spare coin or two Always when they played, at the village saloon And they'd take their breaks, to drink at the bar Whenever their wives Stood by the door And asked for old clothes Their wives would implore Mister, do you still have that guitar Mister, do you still have that black guitar That one was the best one by far Now when I come home I sit beneath the chestnuts And I drink I drink with my friends Who still call this home And nearly every night To the table they come And play for us With childish faces And tremelous voices They ask Mister, do you still have that guitar Mister, do you still have that black guitar That one was the best one by far That one was the best one by far That one was the best one by far Disamistade
(Fabrizio De André and Ivano Fossati) What are these souls doing in front of the church? These divided people, this suspended story An daya ho An daya ho An arm's length away that is the distance of the offense Peace is considered but the peace is barely grazed An daya ho An daya ho Two families without blood Draw up and surrender And for everyone involved The pain is shared The other's pain is half their own The war of the heart is content Content with empty causes The lament of a dog struck down by the shadow of a step Satisfied with brief agony Long the street of the house An eruption of blood An absence prepared for the meal And with the shots of the hunter Surrounding, one begs for one's fortune What are our daughters doing Embroidering and sewing All these stains of mourning Who've given up to love An daya ho An daya ho Amid them it still hides Our wandering hope That the enemy desires Desires to be returned An daya ho An daya ho Hastened hands caught in the act The act of touching other hands There must be another way of living Of living without pain A rush of eyes into eyes Only to discover, that instead It's only the pause of the wind It's only hatred by half And the authority is dedicated to the missing half This disamistade Is opposed to our misadventure To this race of time To the dishevel of our fate and fortune What are these souls doing In front of the church These divided people This suspended story Silenci
If you have to silence me Do it now, do it now While I can still say no And you have nothing With which to bribe me I don't want to wait Do it now, do it now While I can still feel All the horror, weighing heavy It doesn't hurt me none To keep my mouth, firmly closed You are the ones who made These words, from the silence I don't want to wait 'Till time, rusts the weapons I don't want this fear To have more time, with which to beat me If ya have to silence me Do it now, do it now While I still have the hands To trade this guitar, for another It doesn't anger me To keep my mouth, firmly closed You are the ones who made These words, from the silence It doesn't anger me To keep my mouth, firmly closed You are the ones who made These words, from the silence If you have to silence me Do it now, do it now Hard Winds Blowing Hard winds blowing Across this beach That we hoped for And all of our feelings scattered And all of our ships Sunken for good in the sea Of what is not told From the masts That are breaking Loose sails of cambraia With each measured stroke attempted One less boat Afloat on the sea One more corpse on the beach The day never reached Dies in these changing tides And there's always a day ending Next to the Sargaço Spread out to dry Next to things Hmm, that were not made Everyone Kisses A Stranger
( Francoiz Breut )
Everyone kisses a stranger From here or from elsewhere He's a stranger He's a stranger Like kisses without any proof A tongue without a passport There's a frontier between kisses As if for every kiss You would have a card to show As if for every kiss You would know where to go And if our kisses wait Someday they will dry Yes the tongue is sorry When the mouth is closed tight Everyone kisses a stranger From here or from elsewhere He's a stranger He's a stranger Like kisses without any proof A tongue without its passport Yes the tongue is sorry When the mouth is closed tight Everyone kisses a stranger Everyone kisses a stranger Everyone kisses a stranger Everyone kisses a stranger People Such as These
( Ces Gens-La by Jacques Brel ) To begin, to begin, there is the first born He who is like a melon He who has a big nose He who doesn't know his name Because he drinks a lot And he's been drunk-- for a long time Does nothing with ten fingers He can do no more than that Completely cooked Sees himself as king Drunk every night On rotgut wine But you'll find him in the morning Sleeping in a church Stiff as a board White like the dove of Easter Sitting and stuttering Bleary eyed It must be said, sir People such as these We do not think We do not think We only pray And then there is another With carrots in his hair Who never saw a wig a scamp with ticks Gives the shirt off his back To the happy poor He who married Denise A girl from the town Actually from another town And it's not finished He does his little business With his little hat His little coat, his little car Wants us to believe, he has style But he has none at all We shouldn't play rich When we don't have the money It must be said, sir People such as these We don't live, sir We don't live, we trick And then there are the others The mother who says nothing Or spews, anything at all From evening to morning From beneath her pretty face Face like an apostle And in the wood frame The mustache of the father He who died in a fall He who watches his flock Graze on their cold soup He who makes big slurrps And now we see one of the very old One who doesn't stop shaking To whom nobody listens Though it's she who holds the cash But nobody listens To what her poor poor hands say It must be said, sir People such as these We don't speak, sir People such as these We just calculate And then and then And then there's Frida Beautiful like the sun Who loves me the same Who I love, Frida Even though we often said We would own a house With many windows And few walls That we would live there And it'd be the good life Of course none of it was sure thing At best there was a small chance Because the others didn't want it 'Cause the others didn't want it The others they talk like this They say she's too pretty for me They say I am only good enough To slit the throats of cats But I've never killed cats Or at least if I did, it was long ago Or maybe I just forgot Yes, if I did, it's because they stunk No, in the end they didn't want it No, in the end they didn't want it Sometimes when we meet We act like it's a coincidence And with teary eyes She says she'll leave She says she'll follow me And for one moment Only one moment That's what I believe Just for one moment That's what I believe Because from people such as these We do not escape Because from people such as these We do not escape I gotta go, I gotta go I gotta go Wake Me Up Before I Sleep Wake me up before I sleep I'll promise that i'll concerntrate On only the last frame Cover only one sound Some kinda sweet Weird kinda strange around me Wake me up before I sleep Can't you see too many colours here Colours there Colours everywhere Cover only one ground The blackest of blacks I don't want to surround me There's nothing I can say That isn't gonna be There's nothing I can do That isn't gonna be A mistake Wake me up before I sleep I haven't had an inch of what I thought I got From this awful high Cover me in one dye Just lie here with me We'll let the train go by There's nothing I can say That isn't gonna be There's nothing in my way I know it's gonna be A mistake Solex In A Slipshod Style
( Solex )
The straps kept slipping off my shoulder Kept on slipping, in a slipshod style Look Jimmy look, Look at it look, Shoot! I mistook You for someone I knew for sometime Cause he also took his drinks with lime, Look Jimmy look, Look at it look! Look Yes we took A quick snifter before the party Fixed them in a slapdash way for me So slaphappy We were so slaphappy So slaphappy We were so slaphappy The straps kept slipping off my shoulder Kept on slipping, in a slipshod style Look Jimmy look, Look at it look, Shoot! I mistook You for someone I knew for sometime Cause he also took his drinks with lime, Look Jimmy look, Look at it look! Look Yes we took A quick snifter before the party Fixed them in a slapdash way for me So slaphappy We were so slaphappy So slaphappy We were so slaphappy
That's how I live That's how I live In my room A blink of the eye Crystal of time A song in darkness The shimmer fades The frailest comfort No single truth At the middlepoint It all stands still A piece of paper No smallest light Songs to remember Your breath my hope My body sings Now I think of you So beats my heart It beats in me Hour to hour It beats for you For you and me For every second That's how I live One of many I'm not alone That's how I live In this late hour A weak portrait A star of grey A musicman Spins this globe A flight a fall A brand new day A white horse A black bird And in the end Here comes the clown Nothing and nobody By night and fog A winter light This world of trust So beats my heart It beats in me Hour to hour It beats for you For you and me For every second That's how I live One of many I'm not alone You are not alone We're not alone And She Closed Her Eyes
( Stina Nordenstam )
And she closed her eyes and said No I'm not in love I'm not in much for real And the hood fell off her head And her face got wet I held my part of the deal I've been growing older he thought And he smiled and said You've got the saddest face i've seen And when she didn't seem to listen at all He said I'm getting wet You held your part of the deal And she closed her eyes and said No I'm not in love I'm not in much for real And the hood fell off her head And her face got wet I held my part of the deal Death's Threshold Step #2
( A. Bystrom )
Give me peace To let me know where I stand As I walk, that road to untread land Give me strength To grasp my very last breath As I'm weak and torn At death's threshold step Give me peace As I stumble down that road As I stand Before that bitter cold When I climb, them stairs to Quentin Hill Give me peace my Lord A heartbeat still Give me peace To let me know where I stand As I walk, that road to untread land Give me strength To grasp my very last breath As I'm weak and torn At death's threshold step (repeat) Leb' Wohl
( Neu! 1975 )
On a hill by the sea We made love In the sand The stars were shining And we were Free Free Free Bye bye Bye bye Bye bye
Ended up a stranger
Lazarus heart
I keep crashin' Into parked cars Waitin' for a horse And it's blue rider' Followed you that night You tasted lucky We staggered blessed Your scars they,... Matched, my dress Never mind, The happy ending Maybeline eyes And trampolines Old tattoos Burned, in their parlors Christmas lights and mangers Spook you cold Lazarus heart Lazarus heart Lazarus heart We forget, We risk, We're tired, We're true Veils and whispers Rivers of ether Cigarettes and perfume A single gunshot, To the foot We staggered blessed Your scars they.... Matched... My dress Lazarus heart Lazarus heart Lazarus heart Ready to drift Flat out forget Pull up and quit Look past the shit We go nowhere We just get smaller, in the distance Said you wanna' see What i look like inside Drew a hangman on a napkin And you started laughin' Don't take prophets to see This world will need It's sorry chances Lazarus heart Lazarus heart Lazarus heart Radiant
Radiant ghost Love you the most Call me from the next town Call me when you lie down Were you drownin' Or just wavin' As you pulled away Pulled away Home is the one thing That winds us in wire Home is the one thing You can't face alone ..if the glow of the ember Helps you to remember Don't let them go Don't let em' go So many stars and still we starve Don't you tire of this hunger Of the spirit... That you've spent It's a wasted road, we wander When only one love Is radiant Radiant skin Touch me again Love will not kill you But wisdom sure will Last night i saw the ghosts Jumpin' from the train Chased em' as they walked away Asked em', if they knew your name Where only our... Love... Is radiant Where only our... Love... Is radiant Life : the movie
Why do you whisper It's true, true lovers whisper Or don't say anything At all The greatest story never told Both of us are feelin' old Been feelin' everything And nothin' much Oh, look beyond.... Past the cities edge Where the horizon dips And all the strip mall hookers Show promotion clips And life: the movie Portrays us working stiffs Aaah.... As wastrels on Watch ourselves again On some wasted trip Givin' up on love Just for the fuck of it Oh life: the movie, So easy to forget The angels and aliens, are restless, Ain't gonna' stay They're countin' down the days Till they leave us alone Can't see them anyway Electric colors, cut a swath But leave no trace Why do we advertise, That we have lost this race? If we were proud, we'd hide But since we've lost Watch ourselves again Let's call the whole thing off Life : the movie ends When the villain says That he will apprehend But then rides off instead Let us drown in peace Life: the movie, showin' Six and one-half days a week Life: the movie endin' When they kick us hard To make sure we're dead And not just dreamin' The truth of our lies The thrill of our wrongs Are these the last things on earth, That still turn us on? And in a flash We'll feel the crash Don't forget to breathe Don't forget to laugh Look beyond Watch ourselves again Life: the movie's on In every single town Life: the movie plays Til we finally beg Let us bleed all day The last hurrah A forecast of our times I refuse to fall You'll choose t' just go blind When life: the movie plays I'll turn away..... I'll put out my eyes More heat than light
I never met your castanets I never met them spanish singers Said you drank with them In a hamburg bar Drank all night Though they were younger And in the taxi home You lost your phone But you say, you're better off without it I never lose, my temper anymore But i know just where to find it There are moments of grace In the heat of the chase More heat than light A freeway overpass, in the fog The future catches, up with us quickly And though the sky is what i... Wish i saw I'll settle for your memory Crippled pigeons Earthquake stores Gypsies point you to the door Terra cotta traces I remember all the towns But not the faces There are moments of grace In the heat of the chase More heat than light Tremblin' hands Tremblin' knees The shiverin' of souls The surrenderin' of greed Your friends all told me, that you Knew what you were doin' Silk or cedar Ivory of bone Not a single kiss is worth a stone Unless we say it is Unless we pray it is Come on, and say it is More heat than light More heat than light Fallen down moon
There's a place between Shadow and light Where your scars will shine Then disappear There's a love That will cut'us in two First we're wild And then we drink But there's a comfort in our sadness Wisdom in our wrongs A music to our madness Silent songs We lose for our own good We break the best When nothin's left Makin' out with judas Just to make your bail We do shit like that Jus' before we crack But there's splendor in the cracks And gold in the darkest blue I dreamed you're comin' back I dreamed i'd wait for you But i'm gettin' tired of dreamin' Fallen down moon If everything goes wrong So what Fallen down moon ... We built a lot of things you know And still they glow We lose for our own good....we break the best when nothin's left See it in the dark
Tryin' hard to keep this I see it in the dark I see it in the dark Lost my way Right from the start But i see it in the dark I see it in the dark Every lick and every lie Every bliss, and every good bye I see it in the dark I see it in the dark Finally time To go out dancin' Pull the blue suit From the bag The one you bought For my husband's funeral In hopes he would Up and die In a clutch or in a bind At times i, still can... Find the time To see it in the dark I see it in the dark My hopes are wicked... My tears are blind At times i still can...find the time To chase the spark... Feel the charge It's going dim... It's nearly gone Can you see it in the dark? I see it in the dark I see it in the dark....see it....see it I see it in the dark....see it....see it Lest we forget
Your lazy body Lyin' in the snow A sparkle in the trees Oh, busy body Let's take it back upstairs To a room that disappears Intoxicatin' The glint, the gleam Headlights through the window Shadowin' the dream Lest we forget Where these shadows met Lest we forget Where these shadows met Greedy angel Reflectin' green n' red Hovers on the sill Steals sheets off the bed Intoxicatin' Stumble back downstairs Stretch for the sparkle Fallin', from your hair Lest we forget Where these shadows met Lest we forget Where these shadows met Run for your life....run baby run Winslow place
Planes Fly low Over our heads Over our bed The sky went lavender For just one day The sky went lavender For just one day Faith... And faithful Grace... And grateful The wind at winslow place Reached all the rooms The wind at winslow place Reached all the rooms Don't ya' know There is hope Braided in the rope Drag your fear To the clear I'll take it for my own Don't call Just show Don't bend my ear Don't want to know Caress Don't confess it Murder time Don't possess it Reach down Surrender You were my sad Reckless driver The wind at winslow place Reached all the rooms The wind at winslow place Raced after you The swallows Pause Then streak N' turn Then fade into the north Guide wires Suspend them Not from heaven Not from earth I know they'll be returnin' And i guess i know you won't Cul-de-sac
Two years since it snowed The streets are slush and dirt They bleed like strangers When you first came home There were seashells in your eyes We took things real slow But now, you've bought their bill of goods It's the same old shit 'Cept the end is quick You seem to love it on your lips If you could just stand up We'd rise forever Cul-de-sac Better watch your back My heart's a dead-end All memory is cursed The river use to freeze We walked on thick ice And rememberin' is worse I've lived to save the dead And not the livin' Cul-de-sac Better watch your back My heart's a dead-end Flint n' bone n' tin Ya' started stut-te-rin' again Knife prayers n' blistered nerves The last words that you heard As you loosened from the world Can i get a witness?
Climb
Misery's a hostage That you treat too fair, and The weekends are a washout Filled with bright despair, and You lose yourself in your work, Will you come up for air?, and If you hate me just for tryin' You'll hate me when i'm done I swear Climb me up If you need some bones On which to climb Climb me tall I don't believe, your love of nothin' Climb me still I won't wander You will whistle Throw your sullen wings away Honesty is violence That you took too far, and I loved you, from the first night We both got fucked up, in my car Climb me up if you need some bones On which to climb Climb me tall Don't believe, your love of nothin' Climb me still I won't wander You will whistle Throw your sullen wings away For good Throw your sullen wings away Ended up a stranger
Cacophonous and slippery 4:35 in the mornin' And i'm drivin' These streets Tryin' to capture every sound My microphone Hangs out, the back seat window And what i don't succeed In capturin' Turns weightless and indifferent Lord, i've become a stranger In my old haunts Blips and bleeps And siren squalls This town it just gets richer And it's teeth get clenched And i am just a statue Of a long lost fearless age Our maladies Our strategies This microphone My wanderin's aside Lord, i've become a stranger In my old haunts Hello desire' And what your spooky name Implies In you, i found my silk And swagger, The calm before the prize And though I Once was warned You'd be the grave in which i'd lie With you, i was no stranger In my old haunts Someday i'll hit the turnpike Speed past a truck stop Burnin' It'll streak my rearview mirror It'll fade, a lonely flicker And i'll listen to these tapes i've made My symphony of phantoms Lord, i've ended up a stranger, in my old haunts I've become a stranger.... In my old haunts
Acetylene
*** Thanx a lot to www.thewalkabouts.com for these lyrics ***
Fuck your fear
A rumble in my bones A cold sting on my lips The reckoning is almost here Fuck your fear New gravediggers born each day Diggin' holes right where you lay The reckoning is almost here Fuck your fear This don't seem like the end It seems more like a bad beginning Don't hesitate Fuck your fear Weakness coughs, then ricochets Our boredom bleeds us wide awake The reckoning is in the air Fuck your fear Dead folksingers lie in state Acolytes scrape off their plates The message falls onto deaf ears Coming up for air!
Suckin' alabaster in a ventilator shaft Chewin' on surrender because it's cheap and it lasts This ain't hell, it's a holding tank Where memory and the future draw a big, fat blank I know this tunnel leads somewhere But it takes mystery and a torch And a reason to care I know this tunnel leads outside Down to the river where the elephants die Comin' up Up, up, up, up Comin' up for air There is no better story than a man in a hole This is where he laid still This is how he rolled This is how he fed, on the marrow of his bones This is where he shuffled Playin' doomsday alone A suicide miner With a depth charge timer Rathole lover Diggin' deep for a cover You suffocate first Then you learn how to breathe The sweet of the sewer Shows you the way to leave Make room for the cleanup crew They're the last to the scene And the first to be fooled The townsfolk line thick Along the riverside Lookin' for a place To watch the elephants die Devil in the details
The devils in the dull details The devils in the coffin Of the details There will be no finer day To take my breath Survival is all parody Contorted and extorted For amusement Colossal youth on megaphones Please call us home We need to come home quickly Singalong Did this job make us crazy? Or we're we so screwed up We took this job? Play dominoes with knucklebones We feed the beast Till he's too fat to walk There are no devils left in hell There simply are no devils Left, in hell Deliver us from deliverance Deliver us, from all these awkward pauses You are as brave as you believe You are as brave as what you won't repeat You are as lost as you need to be You are as lost as what you won't admit The future is a slow retreat The future is a muscle you don't have Gonna shake tonight Whisper
Baby, baby Foolish baby Wipe your foolish blame Crazy, crazy Crazy, baby Wipe your foolish blame I've been thinking bout this all week How were lost on a losing streak Armed guards at the last mini-mart Shootin' it wide of the mark Roadblocks goin' up in the dark Hi-rise towers take a tightrope walk Truths a whisper A shaky whisper Chase it, then it's wrong Time is panic Hushed and rankled You feel it, then it's gone They take us in for identity checks They've been roundin' up all their best bets The refineries flare in the night Roman candles from some other life What's best, is somewhere in your hands My best laid plans, your hands, My best laid plans, your hands Your hands, my best laid plans. Shout! Got nothing to show for this Shout! Where is the now? Where are the next three minutes? Shout! Got nothin' to show for this Shout! Kalashnikov
Kalashnikov Closed circuit silence I know i test your nerves When i watch the watchers They say the deserts bare The forbidden zone But i feel somethin' breathin' out there Feel it in my bones When we're out there in the zone Your gonna have to trust me When it's just us two alone Love will be our only history The commando squad Is bored and poorly fed Surveillance is their dog And it's hounding us to death I heard their gonna move us To another transit camp They're bulldozing the suburbs down Putting up a razor fence Bought an beat-up short wave From a black market trader But it's all just a high, shrill tone That's why they call it thin air I guess i'm getting ahead of myself But we can't be both inside and out I guess i'm getting, ahead of myself But we can't be both inside and out Inside and out, inside and out!
Have you ever seen the morning?
I tried to catch the bus Out towards your place But the bus never came So i started walkin' Past mission mall No one walks, out past there, anymore And when i got back home There was no note Cigarette, still burnin' on the stoop Turned into the wind Pulled up my hood Got on the bus, as the doors shut for good Have you ever seen the mornin? Well it's quite naked And stoned Have you ever seen the mornin? Twirl it's hands And fall into the light We shoulda called the cops Just to scare him But now who really cares? Still, he shook, our last dime I ain't grandstandin' My pockets echo in the night Remember that trip, out west? To your sisters. We got high and Watched the stars We laid out, in her backyard She touched my hand Said: i'm gonna love you, when your dead Northsea train
The rain crawls up the coast I know you hate This one-way chase A drunk, his wife and her friend The drunk tries to stand The friend says lay right there Now it's all tower blocks And blood blue flags And closed up shops The guardhouse light turns off As the rain stops cold Crawls back alone They're lining up the last suspects Beneath a rusty glow The northsea train's on time Northsea train The procession is unsure It's full of strays With mongrel names They know not what they've done And at least today That'll be okay Hooded coats in zigzag rows Draggin' coal back to their homes Northsea train's on time Northsea train Collecting pieces of us all As if their cargo, will break our fall Northsea train's on time Northsea train Vanquished from all Rhyme and duty I'm struck and stranded Vanished neath the beauty Northsea train's on time Northsea train Acetylene
Rules of the game Have gone and changed Snapped! Somethin' snapped! Dog kings Flesh dreams Death's tune High noon Wild talk, wild talk The flame i breathe Flame i breathe Acetylene! Ventriloquist Earned your cut With your mouth shut Can't take More of this Dictator face On a postage stamp Car bomb Expressway ramp The road is torched Already torched Let it all crash Just where it will Then we'll see That nothin's here But what happens then? What happens then? Recipes For disaster Written on your cocktail napkin Bless the beasts! And the blowtorch Before this city wakes
At the cinema of flames I work the swing shift When i get off I am inclined to drift Through the downtown So many victims of pleasure That i've stopped counting Soldiers of joy Getting' hammered at the fountain Near the cathouse They're playing techno calypso At the apocalyptic disco But i stand outside Just to stare down the slithering crowd Divide and conquer Is the new mathematics But it's as old as the hills On which all the mansions die proud I'm gonna waste Everything that you hate Before this city wakes I keep spittin' out The first things that come to my head A blistering list Of the who, what, the when And the wherefore These times are stammers And jitters, and echoes A silence disfigured A stupor born ranting Like a stuck pig Got my favorite booth At an all night diner And you've probably seen me On a jagged, all-nighter Mumblin' senseless Assassination is the privilege of princes But i'm getting sick of how everyone winces When i'm close Tomorrow let's meet And i'll show you around And i'll show you all the shit That i couldn't tear down With my bare hands The last ones
We are the last ones The last ones Try that on for size Open up your eyes The last ones There is nothin' to be said Is there nothin' to be said? Don't need to answer that Promise you'll watch my back The last ones Heaven knows Cross these plains of gold We'll be headed home Heaven knows There was no place for us to go And so we're headed home We are the last ones Standin' The last ones Demandin' Try that on for size Open up your eyes The last ones And the last ones Have the last laugh And the last ones Steal the future and the past And the last ones Get all the things that never last The last ones
Travels in the Dustland My Diviner It hasn't rained much Out here this year It's a new kind of dry One that chokes on its fear Till it don't cough No one ever said It was gonna be fun No one ever said The devil's work would be done It's just startin' Before temptation Before the fall I could cure my thirst I could hold it down But these cracks in the earth Now they barely will give Still you're not one to quit That ain't how you live Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin My diviner My diviner My diviner My diviner You say that there's water Still to be found That deep in the bedrock There's enough for a town And a lifetime So you go out Your old water witch You're out in the dust Turning over brush With a vengeance How deep to dig Well, it's hard to tell Do we need a fire Do we need a well Do we need a murder Do we need a tear I'll just hold steady Till you come back And drink with me here My diviner My diviner My diviner My diviner The Dustlands When I reach the river towns Dustlands call Telling me to turn around Before I've lost it all What's been promised true and grand Is out there in the sand Dustlands call You don't have to search for it And it don't give a shit Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin And when I'm back home with you Dustlands gone I put on a stranger's smile But it feels dead wrong And if you ask me who I am I'll tell you where I've been Dustlands gone A land not down on any map Such places never last Dustlands gone Unto this land a law was laid And dustlands burned High and low the bourgeoisie came Their greed absurd There are so many types of thirst Some that warn and some that curse Dustlands burn And though I was forced to flee It's true I once ran free Dustlands call Soul thief The burden I carry Is the story I tell Those in purgatory Singin' fondly of hell This ain't no fluke It's no sleight of hand You're a real piece of work I hear you comin' again Keep your friends close Keep your enemies closer My hand on your throat I can't make it any looser Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin Well I went AWOL I went askew The best years of my life spent A-runnin' from you You old soul thief You will not capture me Got me in your sights You play cat and mouse I'm the Last of the Mohicans I'm the last holdout The wind is a siren A ghost on my back I got nowhere to run Don't have to tell you that Down from the mountain Down with a shudder Down like a torrent Down like no other Someday I'll find The sleep that I've sought Deep in the canyons When the wars have been lost If I lose Then let me loose And if win I'll roll them dice again They Are Not Like Us Fear is weightless Anger weighs a ton Throw money at it And they swear they're done Then they drive out here To investigate some crime But the trails gone cold So that buys us time They are not like us 'Cause they can't stare it down And they don't drink like us 'Cause they don't make a sound We will not go silent Silent to our end We will not go silent Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin They need a "them" So they'll have an "us" Planned it that way It's just our luck We walk an edge That won't fold back But it tastes like courage Something that they lack I'll race them to oblivion When I count to three I'll race them to oblivion They'll get there before me Race them to oblivion Come when it will Come when it may The desert teaches ‘cause it takes away We are bird And we are snake Bones of laughter Thorns of hate Thin Of The Air I could see you weren't from here You didn't run the same way back I could never forget you The simple physics of your laugh Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin "No one really knows this place What we say feels vaporous" Sounding like the ring of truth Every time you tell me this If I can't think for one of us Shouldn't think for two of us Surely don't know what is right But it don't seem Worth the fuss Told you every thing I saw It was ravaged, it was burned Told you everything I saw And now sugar, it's your turn You better bet That I've memorized Every stitch of the road Driving fast Through the rusted trees I lift my hands and let go You say your heart has been vandalized But I guess fair is fair For our crimes we will be condemned Into the thin of the air We can split the difference We can split the hairs of it But in the end We must admit We've been too deliberate I tell you that I'm wide awake Sayin' "yes" to great unknowns I tell you that I'm wide awake And now sugar it's your turn Take me down so I don't fail you Take me down so I don't fail Rainmaker Blues The rainmaker's comin' He's already in the next town The rainmaker's comin' He's already in the next town He's got a cannon of fire And he's sportin' an alchemist's smile He has a book of deliverance Be patient, be here in a while Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin The fields they went bone dry Here in the back of beyond The fields they went bone dry Here in the back of beyond The rains were never forgiving But now they have vanished and gone I swear on my first-born Did something wicked and wrong It kills me you don't believe It kills me you don't Don't believe The rainmaker's here Holdin' court at the end of the bar I said, the rainmaker's here Holdin' court at the end of the bar Playin's craps with all the money Collected from near and from far Gathering believers Everywhere that he goes, near and far The rain is our mana The rain is the blood of our blood The purest of crystal A message of righteousness come The rainmaker left us He left us to wait for the flood The rainmaker left us And soon we will swim in the mud There are towns where we should have gone Wrapped tight in chicken wire There are towns where we should have gone Towns that ain't tryin' so hard Let it go Every River Will Burn Your prediction Wasn't very hard Mexico ain't in the cards Never really was Smell the diesel Smell the smoke Traded water for their dope Was that some kinda joke Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin Every river will burn Every valley will dry Save it for the afterlife And every mountain will slide And the dustlands will cry Save it for the afterlife If I said less It would be a lie A sugarcoat so you could try And finally close your eyes In the distance They swarm down the road Are they friend or foe Ain't gonna stick around To know I have started out To find a trace of home Where the water's pure And fire is no more Walls of this city red Will go at any cost I have started out To find what we have lost I have started out No Rhyme, No Reason Heat lightning crashin' on the mesa Paints a crooked line Already told this story But you didn't listen the first time And though I'll tell it all again I know you'll stop me Before the end The Burnpile grows From the kindling Of our souls You could never fathom That this emptiness won't let you be It's wrapped tight around you Like the branches of a mesquite tree Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin In this country of the dead Brazen hunger still gets fed Nowhere, no more, no nothin' No way, no how, nobody No chance, no fool worth his salt Nowhere, no more, no nothin' No how, no rhyme, no reason No good can rise out of it Nowhere, no more, no nothin' No good can rise out of it Came across the Jackal's path He just kept runnin' Did not look back Clandestinos they are out there Spinnin' donuts in the gravel field They won't go down quiet That was never part of their deal A scorpion closed in by flame Stings himself to death Simple and plain Wild Sky Revelry Big wheels whine As they're comin' down the rise You're in the Barrister's bed Along the highway side Well, I could scare you to death If I knocked upon the door Well, I could scare you to death If I tried to love you more Now that I know what you want from me I can deliver in spades Wide-eyed memory Wild sky revelry To get this lost Ain't an easy thing to do On Horse Heaven Hill The last time I tendered you Those vermillion skies Made us bigger than ourselves And the biggest lies Were the ones we died to tell Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin I'll be your day of rest Put on your Sunday best I am your day of rest Gets blistering under this wild sky Came to deliver Came to deliver Wild sky revelry Long Drive In A Slow Machine Baby hold that point We will get back to this But there's something that I need to say Need to say it quick Who do you wanna be The candle or the light Dyin' just for the hell of it That ain't a life It took me too much time To believe in what I know Now I'm cuttin' to the chase of it And then I'll let it go You got that rare gift To see the good in this But I wasn't born with that Now something's gotta lift Take a long, long drive In a slow machine Take a long, long drive Before they bury me And when I pick you up In my slow machine It's a long, long drive Until we hit the sea Rob from always on the run is so bad and copy paste is a sin I know it's getting closer Last night there was no moon I've been seein' signs everywhere Sorry that I made a mess If your pretty train of thought Had to get this thing off my chest It's the only thing I've got We are not the chosen We choose this for ourselves We were never really here No one will miss us if we leave Take a long, long drive
Non Albums Tracks
Ahead of the Storm (Rag & Bone EP) Gotta trust my name No fork in my tongue Gotta trust my name Never saw it blow Never saw it blow The clouds rained money Never saw it blow The clouds rained money Never saw it blow Shoulda locked my jaw The words are devils Shoulda locked my jaw It wasn't what I saw It wasn't what I saw Their barrels pointing Wasn't what I saw Their barrels pointing Wasn't what I saw Ahead of the storm Is where I belong Ahead of the storm With thunder laughing Gotta trust my name But it can't be done Gotta trust my name But it can't be done The clouds rained money Never saw it blow The clouds rained money Never saw it blow Ahead of the storm Is where I belong Ahead of the storm With thunder laughing On and on and on...
Big Black Car
( "Where the Deep Water Goes" B-side / Written by Alex Chilton ) Driving in my big black car Nothing can go wrong I'm going and I don't know how far So, so long Maybe I'll sleep in a Holiday Inn Nothing can hurt me Nothing can touch me Why should I care Driving [ ? ] [gas?] It ain't gonna last Sunny day, highway If it rains it's all the same I can't feel the fear (?) I can't feel a thing [ ? ] Big black car Nothing can hurt me Nothing can hurt me ???
Cello Song
( Nick Drake Tribute album track )
Strange face, with your eyes So pale and sincere Underneath you know well You have nothing to fear For the dreams that come to you when so young Told of a life Where spring is sprung You would seem so frail In the cold of the night When the armies of emotion Go out to fight But while the earth sinks to its grave You sail to the sky On the crest of a wave So forget this cruel world Where I belong I'll just sit and wait And sing my song And if one day you should see me in the crowd Lend a hand and lift me out To your place in the cloud
Inauguration day ( "Your Hope Shines" B-side )
I'm up to my neck In the mud of Inauguration day They say it's one in fifty years That storm, that blew my dog away And they say the road has been washed out From Rockport to Concrete And all the trees are falling down And now, heaven's at my feet My wishes do my beggin' for me And like a beggar they do [learn / laugh] Frozen fingers touch my face They tie a blindfold 'round my eyes And I'm stuck at this roadblock Chasing fog and smoke I guess the price of doing thhat was just Another killing joke Wash me down Wash me down Sing for me now Sing for me now Wash me from the hillside And wash me from the dirt Wash me from your worldly claims And wash me, wash me from your hurt 'Cause I'm up to my neck In the mud of Inauguration day Last Ditch (Rag & Bone EP) This is the last ditch ever I dug Once there were motives but they have been lost Dig through the sand still you end at the rock This is the ditch that I dug These are the blankets that we should have worn Now marrow is soaking and taken with cold Us rag and bone merchants have just greed to lose This is the ditch that I dug The ditch it lies empty and waits for your laugh My head was your shovel and I was your back And sweat made the river that cut through the flat This is the ditch that I dug This is the ditch that I dug The crows haven't eaten the scraps they were fed The crows they stay honest and keep to themselves Their silence infected my stitches gone loose There will be rain today, yes There will be rain today
Like a Hurricane
("Jack Candy" B-side / written by Neil Young) Once I thought I saw you in a crowded, hazy bar, dancing on the light from star to star Far across the moon beams, I know that's who you are. I saw your brown eyes turning once to fire. You are like a hurricane: there's calm in your eye. And I'm getting blown away. There's somewhere safer where the feelings stay. I wanna love you but I'm getting blown away. I am just a dreamer, but you are just a dream, and you could have been anyone to me. Before that moment you touched my lips, that perfect feeling when time just slips away between us and our foggy trips. You are like a hurricane: there's calm in your eye. And I'm getting blown away. There's somewhere safer where the feelings stay. I wanna love you but I'm getting blown away. [Here Chris sings a verse frome "Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple:] We all came down to from Montreaux The Lake Geneva shoreline Some stupid with a flare-gun Burnt the place to the ground You are like a hurricane: there's calm in your eye. And I'm getting blown away. There's somewhere safer where the feelings stay. I wanna love you but I'm getting blown away.
Medicine Hat (Rag & Bone EP) Steal it from the yard Medicine hat she wore Mother's protection Protection from the open sun What is gone was never here And what is here is second-hand Trust in only shadows 'Cause they never know they're wrong Steal it from the yard Medicine hat she wore What is gone was never here And what is here is second-hand Medicine Hat Medicine Hat You could all but disappear At the drunk electric show Just fall into the whirlpool That's spinning on the Grange Hall floor Then go outside and burn the fence That splits into the coal-black sky Got more strength than weakness Got the strength to tell this lie. You could all but disappear At the drunk electric show. Medicine hat X4
Mr. Clancy
(Rag & Bone EP) If you're ready and the creek don't rise If you're ready with the furnace full Trees were shakin' and the break was good Finally lost him in the neck of the woods If you're ready and the creek don't rise Mr. Clancy was a dog of prey Took the decent and the laughin' sheep Mr. Clancy took his hand to you But I'm not waiting just to prove it's true If you're ready and the creek don't rise There's something you must do With head turned off and you knew (?) If you're ready and the creek don't rise
On the Beach
( "Where the Deep Water Goes" B-side ) The world is turning, I hope it don't turn away The world is turning, I hope it don't turn away All my pictures are falling From the wall where I placed them yesterday The world is turning, I hope it don't turn away I need a crowd of people, but I can't face them day to day I need a crowd of people, but I can't face them day to day Though my problems are meaningless That don't make them go away I need a crowd of people, but I can't face them day to day I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone Now I'm living out here on the beach But those seagulls are still out of rach I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone at the microphone Get outta town, I think I'll get outta town Get outta town, I think I'll get outta town I head for the stick [mumble mumble mumble] I follow a road I don't know where it goes Get outta town, I think I'll get outta town Cos the world is turning, I hope it don't turn away
Shine a light
( "Your Hope Shines" B-side / written by Jagger/Richards ) Saw you stretched out in Room Ten O Nine with a smile on your face and a tear right in your eye. Couldn't see to get a line on you, my sweet honey love. Berber jew'lry jangling down the street, make you shut your eyes at ev'ry woman that you meet. Could not seem to get a high on you, my sweet honey love. May the good Lord shine a light on you, make every song [you sing] your favorite tune. May the good Lord shine a light on you, warm like the evening sun. well, you're in the alley, baby, with your clothes all torn and your late night friends leave you in the cold gray dawn. Just seemed too many flies on you, I just can't brush them off. Angels beating all their wings in time, with smiles on their faces and a gleam right in their eyes. Thought I heard on sigh for you, come on up, come on up, now, come on up now. May the good Lord shine a light on you, make every song [you sing] your favorite tune. May the good Lord shine a light on you, warm like the evening sun.
The Anvil Song (Rag & Bone EP) Lose your coat and roll your sleeves This is demolition time Inventions full of spit and blood With blinders for the faint of heart Fortune's ashes crowd this map But if I lose, well I don't care As long as I get good and gone Let the anvil break Steal door lies into a whisper Now who can wait for the perfect fit I'm hearing the anvil sing I'm hearing the anvil sing Machine he took a picture of Of himself for children's walls For forty miles the word went out That he would someday drown us all Deep inside this vodka clear But if I lose then I don't care As long as I get good and gone Let the anvil break Steal door lies into a whisper Now who can wait for the perfect fit I'm hearing the anvil sing I'm hearing the anvil sing Let the anvil break Steal door lies into a whisper This is demolition time And if I lose, well I don't care I'm hearing the anvil sing I'm hearing the anvil sing
Wreck of the Old #9 (Rag & Bone EP) T'was a cold wintry night Not a star was in sight And he north wind was howling down the line Went a brave engineer With a sweetheart so dear With an order to pull Old # 9. His heart hung with his song And his train rolled along Black smoke was pouring from his stack His headlight it seemed To brighten his dream Of tomorrow, when he'd be coming back Well he sped round the hill And his brave heart stood still A headlight flashing in his face He threw only air And he murmured a prayer 'Cause he knew this would be his final race (The crash...) In the wreck he was found Lying dying on the ground And he asked them to raise his weary head As his breath slowly went This message he sent To the maiden who thought she would be wed "I leave a white home That I bought for your own And I dreamed we'd be happy by-and-by. I'm gonna leave it all to you 'Cause I know that you'll be true 'Til we meet at the pearly gates -- good-bye."
Yesterday Is Here
( "Jack Candy" B-side / Written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan ) If you want money in your pocket And a top hat on your head A hot meal on your table And a blanket on your bed Well today is grey skies Tomorrow is tears You'll have to wait til yesterday is here I'm going to New York City And I'm leaving on a train And if you want to stay behind and wait Til I come back again Well today is grey skies And tomorrow is tears You'll have to wait til yesterday is here If you want to go Where the rainbows end You'll have to say goodbye All our dreams come true Baby up ahead And it's out where your memories lie Well the road's out before me The moon is shining bright What I want you to remember As I disappear tonight Today is grey skies Tomorrow is tears You'll have to wait til yesterday is here