Where is my sailor boy, where is my sailor boy
He sleeps at the bottom of the deep blue sea
And he can't come back to me
I stand on the beach alone and gaze at the mysty blue
Deep sea as you hold him to your breast,
Does he mention my name to you?
Chorus:
What does the deep sea say, what does the deep sea say
It moans, it groans, it splashes, and it foams, and it rolls on it's weary way
Oh please tell me deep blue sea, is he sleeping peacefully
The winds from the north are blowing icy cold,
Please keep him warm for me
If only my dreamin soul, some token of love could find
If only the waves would show me whre he sleeps,
Then I'd leave this world behind
Chorus:
What does the deep sea say, what does the deep sea say
It moans, it groans, it splashes, and it foams, and it rolls on it's weary way
A beautiful rose one day, I placed on the crest of a wave
I said take it please and let the petals fall
Above his watery grave
The driftwood I watched in vain, my rose never came back again
So wave take another message to my love,
Saayin I'll be here above
Chorus:
What does the deep sea say, what does the deep sea say
It moans, it groans, it splashes, and it foams, and it rolls on it's weary way
December nights come early, wait a while to see the light again
A question left unanswered, sent out on the evening wind
If winter is a stranger, maybe spring will be my friend
Seasons change, turn the page again
Summer days are longer, I'm still waiting for your call
Left hanging like a promise, like summer leaves the fall
Sometimes she's a stranger, sometimes she's my friend
But people change, turn the page again
The car is packed and runnin', my heart is racin' fast
Kiss you just one more time and hope it's not my last
The past will be a stranger, the future is my new friend
So let it change, turn the page again
I'm soaring like an eagle, I'll find a place to land
I'll let the west wind take me, see what he has planned
My home is in my heart now, or any place I stand
I'll go where I'm a stranger, I'm gonna try to be a friend
I'm not afraid to turn the page again
If winter was a stranger, maybe spring will be my friend
We are but travelers on a road without end
Searching for signs that the spirit may send
There are few answers in this life I'm afraid
Only more questions from this world that he made
South of the city where the olive trees grow
In the space between moments my heart sometimes goes
I bathe in the silence there down on my knees
Then it's gone like a woman who dances to tease
There was no way I could hold you my dear
I can only get closer with each passing year
Sometimes I'm inside you, sometimes we're apart
But there's always a place for you here in my heart
And if we survive it will all just depend
Chorus: Let's go down to the holy well
Down among the heather
Hear the water make a gentle sound
We'll heal our souls together
Where the water flows from a deeper place
And it starts it's life anew
We'll plant our wishes there with love
Let our dreams come true
Chorus
We'll linger there for a quiet hour
By the grasses flowers and ferns
Just put your ear down to the ground
Let simple thoughts return
It isn't all the far away
Just a few steps from the road
But we can leave our burdens there
We can lighten up our load
Chorus
Hand in hand and side by side
And heart by loving heart
Sit quiet there in the misty shade
And let the healing start
Up on the high road lookin' down
Thinking how you let me down
And deep in my heart I hear the sound
Of the song that carried me away
We would come here years ago
And the stars would shine and the wind would blow
You'd look in my eyes and I would know
That you would carry me away
Late last week in the marketplace
I heard your voice and I saw your face
You were gone without a trace
It sure did carry me away
I'll play a tune and watch the stars
Hope the wind will carry it far
And if you hear me wherever you are
Just let it carry you away
Play old fiddle and carry me away
To another life and another day
Well, here's a little tune I always play
Chorus:
High on a hillside the old church steeple calls
The bells are a ringin', a singin' to one and all
Of the joys and the sorrows the laughter and the pain
The heartbeat of the whole town is heard within that strain
It called for my brother when he made his way back home
With a purple heart in a pine box he was never more to roam
We all came down to meet him and to make our last goodbyes
I think of him when the bells ring and the tears come to my eyes
Chorus
It called to my sister when she walked the aisle in white
All eyes were upon her with my father on her right
He gave her away to my best friend, I can hear the bells today
We'll meet there to name a new child, and to bless him on his way
Chorus
It will call and I'll answer ‘til my ears no longer hear
It'll soothe me in anger it'll wipe out all my fears
It tells us all that we belong and it swells us up with pride
We'll all hear it together and walk there side by side
Chorus
High on a hillside the old church steeple calls
Romance is a slow dance
To a sound as sweet as rain
It's a new song you never heard before
Unfolding to you both the same
It takes time but you can get that step
Because lovin' isn't like a race
Romance is a slow dance
And your feet seem to fall in place
There's no one else out there on the floor
And there's room for every weave and spin
And when the dance is over you ask for just one more
And the band plays your song again
If it's true love you can live on that tune
It'll guide you through your trouble and pain
Because romance is a slow dance
run mountain
Traditional
Went up on the mountain to fetch me a load of pine,
put it in the wagon, I broke down behind.
(Chorus:)
Run mountain, chug a little hill.
Run mountain, chug a little hill.
Run mountain, chug a little hill.
There you get your thrill.
Sixteen miles from my home, rooster crow for day,
me in bed with another man's wife, better be getting away.
(Chorus)
Went up on the mountain to give my horn a blow.
Thought I heard a pretty girl say, ³Yonder comes my beau!"
(Chorus)
Wish I had a needle, fine as I could sew.
Sew a pretty girl to my side and down the road I'd go.
Out in the darkness, out in the night
I see you standing there
I want to guide you into the light
Show you I really care
It's hard to show the way I feel
On this side of the line
How can I show you my love is real
It you can't see the sign
Chorus
A little bit harder, we're gonna have to try
A little bit farther, keep walking side by side
A little bit stronger, we're gonna have to be
A little bit longer, together we hold the key
Why do you hold back when I phone
You never come around
And when I'm with you I feel so alone
You never make a sound
You close the door in front of me, I wait patiently outside
But as the minutes tick away I feel the anger rise
Who's the object of this rage, who's not being fair
Is it you for your indifference or me for just standing there
CHORUS:
In my mind the room beyond is bathed in golden light
I dream about you through the day and I toss and turn at night
Sometimes it's hard to understand, they say that pride's a sin
Should I go or should I stay on the outside looking in
I didn't make the grade today and I'm not the only one
But my heart, it won't stop hurting and feeling all alone
Maybe we'll trade places in some not too distant year
I'll hear your voice calling out, I'll cover up my ears
CHORUS
I could brag on things I've done or the places I have been
But I never found a cure for on the outside looking in
Sometimes it's hard to understand, they say that pride's a sin
I'm one of the few, proud to be standing
I walked up the pier from the coffin ships landing
My clothes were just rags, no use in this weather
But my back was strong, my hands tough as leathe
I climbed up these hills till I came to the spot where I stand
I cleared these fields and I pulled up the stumps with my hands
No more a wanderer, no more a refugee
A mountaineer is always free
Took a Cherokee bride, she gave me five babies
I sang at the wakes, I cried at the weddings
I taught all my children the songs of my youth
To dance to the fiddle and practice the truth
I carried them up on my shoulders to where they could see
The whole world before them just so they would know what it means
No more a wanderer, no more a refugee
A mountaineer is always free
No kings and no landlords to treat us like beggars and thieves
There's no one but God here to fear or to look down on me
No more a wanderer, no more a refugee
Me and Dirk took a little trip
Across the sea on a big air ship
Riley Baugus came along
Helped us play our banjo songs
Prettiest place that I've ever seen
Entirely covered in emerald green
Chorus: Ate a lotta hog
Drank a lotta grog
Stepped in a bog
Came back in a fog
Place over there called Crosses of Annagh
West Clare's answer to the Copa Caabana
Mairtin and Danny, Siobhan and Ciaran
Reelin in the front room, Dermy was steerin
Three in the mornin, our welcome was shot
We moved the session to the parkin lot
Half an hour later, nature was callin
Got to the point where there's no more stallin
Dirk climbed up on a three foot wall
We all cried No! as he started to fall
Up to his thighs in a soggy ooze
Peein as the water filled up his shoes
Five in the mornin, sun comin up
Playin more tunes, we were in our cups
Up on a trailer dancin the tango
Three steps, boom, it's a fine fandango
A little while later, sun gettin higher
I can only tell you what I see, two lonely people you and me
Both want out and both want in, neither knows where to begin
You can draw a line there in the dirt, stay on your side you won't get hurt
But if you're not afraid to fall, you can take a chance, maybe win it all
Chorus:
You're at the crossroads once again, afraid to lose, you'll never win
Let love lift you, let love in, let love take you back again
You can count the stars up in the sky, it's a different number every time
I'm never sure about what is true, one truth for me and one truth for you.
I can't make you love me now, I can't teach or show you how
But I'm ready now to take a step, I can lend a hand if you want my help
Chorus
I see the fear that's in your eyes, but keep your focus on the prize
Drop the armor, drop the shame, leave the anger, leave the blame
I like the way you cook, the whole production
How you serve it up, the whole seduction of the
Color and the smell, the presentation of the
Texture on the tongue, I get impatient
To taste a little more, little more, little more, a little more
I like to watch you stir, I like the motion of your
Side to side, the locomotion of your
Up and down, you got me groovin'
To every little lick, I watch you stir
A little more, little more, little more, little more, a little more
I know I could learn if you showed me how
I'd put on the apron, start right now
I'd measure the spices, do all the prep
Just to be there beside you step by step
I like the way you talk, you're in the kitchen
Stirrin' up the sauce, you're reminiscin'
You move across the floor, you know I'm watchin'
I read between the lines, I want to watch
[Instrumental]
Born in the mountains, many years ago
Climbed these hills and valleys through the rain and snow
I've seen the lightning flashin', heard the thunder roll
I've endured, I've endured, how long must one endure
Barefoot in the summer, on into the fall
Too many mouths to feed, they couldn't clothe us all
Sent to church on Sunday to learn the golden rule
I've endured, I've endured, how long must one endure
I've worked for the rich, I've lived with the poor
I've seen many heartaches and I'll see many more
I've lived loved and sorrowed, been through success's door
I tried to tell you that we'd make it through somehow
You wouldn't listen and I wouldn't blame you now
I ain't got money but I sure got bills to pay
I roll my cigarettes a little smaller every day
Chorus:
It's been a long hard year
That wouldnt be so bad
Darlin, if I only had you near
My kids need new shoes
But I ain't no money machine
All my overtime is gone for gasoline
On a car that's running down
Getting me to work in town
Meanwhile you're running around
My heart is wearing a frown
Chorus
I read the news in the papers everday
Hard times a comin and I guess they're here to stay
I ain't got money I've just got some bills to pay
I roll my cigarettes a little smaller everyday
Chorus
I live in five rooms, but they don't feel like home
Since our dreams are shattered by two hearts made of stone
Sittin' in the livin' room don't feel like livin' to me
Drownin' in a flood of memories
Chorus: Five rooms, five rooms
Full of hope when love blooms
Now it's empty as a tomb
Livin' in these five rooms
I don't go in the kitchen, it's a wasteland to me
A place for dirty dishes and forgotten recipes
I don't sleep in the bedroom, now I'm all alone
The bed's too big, the nights go on too long
Chorus: Five rooms, five rooms
Full of hope when love blooms
Now it's empty as a tomb
Livin' in these five rooms
I stop at the spare room while walkin' through the night
Mournin' for the love we both cast aside
In the glare of the bathroom mirror's reflection
I pray for some faint light of direction
Chorus: Five rooms, five rooms
Full of hope when love blooms
Now it's empty as a tomb
Chorus
Every day is a long time waiting
Every night is alone and cryin'
Your memory is a long time fadin'
Every tear has a reason why, every tear has a reason why
Echos are fillin' the hallways, bringin' back those better times
The smell and the touch and the taste of you won't leave my mind
You're a ghost in the house we lived in, I can feel you everywhere
I know better than to hope that you still care
But I keep lookin' for you out there
Chorus
You came in like the dawn of a new day, now the dark is settlin' in
I don't know if I can find a life worth livin' again
In the night, in the still of the shadows, I can't help but wonder why
I bought into a trouble that no one else would buy
And every tear has a reason why
I chased you until you caught me, caught me so unaware
Look at all the things you taught me about a dead end love affair
Down in the willow garden
Where me and my true love did meet
It was there, we went a courting
My love fell off to sleep
I had a bottle of burgundy wine
My true love, she did not know
It was there, I murdered that dear little girl
Down on the banks below
I drew my saber through her
It was a bloody knife
I threw her into the river
And it was an awful sight
My father often, he told me
That money would set me free
If I'd but murdered that dear little girl
Who's name was Rose Connelly
Now, he stands at his cabin door
Wiping his tear dimmed eye
Gazing on his own dear son
Upon the gallows high
My race is run beneath the sun
The devil is waiting for me
For I did murder that dear little girl
Who's name was Rose Connelly
Down in the willow garden
Where me and my true love did meet
It was there, we went a courting
My love fell off to sleep
I had a bottle of burgundy wine
My true love, she did not know
It was there, I murdered that dear little girl
There in the paper as plain as day I saw
Your face was smilin' and lookin' my way it said
You beat the odds in some game
Five thousand dollars and fame
I thought how you looked the same
Can't lose the sight of you, can't lose the sound, it's just
Like some bad penny that keeps comin' around, I think
We've been three years now apart
I've tried to make a new start
But you keep tuggin' my heart
Chorus
I'm runnin' in circles around you
I just can't let go of the past
I'm wrappin' my world all around you
Don't know if I'll ever let go
I'm wrappin' my dreams all around you
I need you much more than you know
What fills the hours, what fills your days are you
Lost here like I am just makin' your way down some
Street in this cold lonely town
Too proud to turn us around
Or is there some new one you've found
People steal, they cheat and lie
For wealth and what it can buy
Don't they know on Judgment Day
Gold and silver gonna melt away?
I'd rather be in a deep, dark grave
And know that my poor soul was saved
Than to live in this world in a house of gold
Deny my God and doom my soul
What good is gold and silver too
When your heart is not good and true?
Sinner, hear, hear me when I say
Fall down on your knees and pray
Sinner, hear me when I say
Fall down on your knees and pray
Sinner, hear, hear me when I say
My pathway leads into the west
They say it never really ends
These legs of mine weren't made to rest
I let them take me where they send me wandering
As long as I remember I've been wandering
January to December I go wandering
No one asks the wind to blow
No one tells a bird to fly
No one tells me when to go
I don't need a reason why, I'm just wandering
As long as I remember I've been wandering
January to December I go wandering
A hundred fifty years ago
The famine pushed us off the land
Now we live beside the road
You'll see us in our caravans
As long as I remember I've been wandering
January to December I go wandering
This life I lead is in my blood
It's not for me to understand
There isn't much I want to own
Take what I will and where I can, I'm wandering
As long as I remember I've been wandering
January to December just wandering
I don't care where I go, just wandering
You want to know where I've been
Up along the hallway, down along the stairs
I can see the pictures that we made down through the years
And it makes me blue darling, thinking of the past
I'm truly sorry I couldn't make it last
CHORUS:
Walk the way the wind blows, cry the tears I've cried
Hoping for you darling, to be here by my side
I've gotta do some thinking, of where to go from here
Walk the way the wind blows, wipe away the tears
I remember darlin, when you first came to me
All the air was sweet then, and all our time was free
Like the leaves that wither, our hearts fell away
i think I'll just go out alone, walk my blues away
CHORUS
(modulation)
CHORUS
Put one foot in front of the other
Steppin into the here and now
I'm not sure just where I'm goin
but I will get there anyhow
I got this far with no direction
Followed my nose to where I stand
My heart's still strong, I know I'll make it
Sit right down in the promised land
Sister come and walk beside me, until our pathways do divide
Nothin much but love to give you, even less have I to hide
When you left me in the spring time
So many questions in my mind
Summer came and left me waitin
Not one answer could I find
I see you in the Rocky Mountains
I feel you on the great North Sea
It's a lonesome road I have to travel
But you will always be with me
Brother come and walk beside me, until our pathways do divide
Nothin much but love to give you, even less have I to hide
I hear laughter in the thunder
I feel comfort on the wind
I see hope in hopeless faces
Someday they will love again
People come and walk beside me, until our pathways do divide
It's not as if I didn't know better, her innocent look and a scented letter
It looked like love but it felt like a memory
Sometimes a young girl wants a ticket out
and a gambler on a roll looks good no doubt
But if you think you're winnin' you don't even know the game you're in
Chorus:
It's read Âem and weep, it's a sad old song
You take your chances just the same
Don't it serve me right how it all went wrong
Bettin' on a hard luck heart in a heartbreak game
Bettin' on a hard luck heart in a heartbreak game
It's not as if she never loved me, but times get rough and the rooms get lonely
And a girl learns fast that there's a lot of different things called love
I got burned bad but I'm still in this game
It's a dirty deal but nobody's to blame
The odds are good lady luck will be back again
Chorus
Bridge:
Sometimes you gotta bet your aces low
Sometimes you gotta let a good hand go
Chorus 2x
Well I wish I was in London
Or some other seaport town
I'd set my foot on a steamboat
And sail the ocean round
Chorus
While sailin' around the ocean, sailin' around the sea
I'm thinking of handsome Molly wherever she might be
Remember oh dear Molly when you gave me your right hand
You said if you were to marry that I would be your man
But now you broke your promise, go marry who you please
While my poor heart is a breakin' you're goin' at your ease
Chorus
She goes to church on Sunday, she passes me on by
I can tell her love is changin' by the rovin' of her eye
Her hair is like a raven, eyes black as coal
Here cheeks they shown like lillies out in the mornin' glow
The land I live in, it has no borders
It's under my feet wherever I go
Around the world in every corner
There's always a family or a friend I know
I've seen myself in all their faces
I hear my voice when they sing a song
The path I walk is nothin' but a trace
Of a river of blood runnin' pure and strong
The river of blood starts with a trickle
High on a mountain when the world is new
It flows through time and gathers the memories
Washes 'em down over me and you
From the ring of Kerry to the streets of London
The land down under to the USA
Many have tried but none can contain it
The river of blood keeps makin' its way
It's a river of blood in a valley so wide
It's cuttin' its course with a current of pride
My soul finds mercy, my heart such peace
I get down to the bank, I fall down on my knees
Drink from the river of blood
Sometimes I walk through a foreign city
And people will turn, stop and stare
There's somethin' strange that they sense about me
The sound of my speech and my curly red hair
For a little while I might be lonesome
But I know I won't be lost for long
Around the bend at the bottom of the hill
The river of blood is runnin' pure and strong
It's a river of blood in a valley so wide
It's cuttin' its course with a current of pride
My soul finds mercy, my heart such peace
I get down to the bank, I fall down on my knees
Drink from the river of blood
The land I live in, it has no borders
It's under my feet wherever I go
Around the world in every corner
There's always a family or a friend I know
I see myself in all your faces
And I hear my voice when you sing a song
The paths we walk are nothin' but traces
Of a river of blood runnin' pure and strong
It's a river blood, it don't have fire
Restless spirit, wandering, come on home again
Tell me about your days of old, wander back again
You won't admit your life is taken, to your death not yet awakened
Restless spirit wandering, come on home again
Oglethorpe was around this place some hundred fifty years
Since a Union bullet hit its mark, and his teenaged heart it pierced
Years ago a young girl lived here, she became his friend
But when their family moved away their friendship had to end
When we bought this house the neighbors came and talked about him
Though we've not heard or seen a thing, I hope he comes again
I'd like to ask him lots of things, and hear the way he talks
Describing local battle scenes on some slow morning walk
Restless spirit, wandering, come on home again
Tell me about your days of old, wander back again
Don't admit your life is taken, to your death not yet awaken
Restless spirit wandering, come on home again
The room I write used to be a two car garage
A nineteen fifties chrome and fin and white wall tired montage
Years later it became a church, and they moved an organ in
And these walls would shake with holy songs and sermons against sin
I like to think this place was made for the kind of work I do
I'll try to be ready when the spirit comes back through
I'll write it down and sort it out and make it fairly rhyme
And marry it to melody of the highest flying kind
I want to try be to a friend to souls that cannot rest
I would not blame their anger, don't claim to know what's best
But souls are all connected like the branches on a tree
And things they see beyond the grave might help out you and me
Restless spirit, wandering, come on home again
Tell me about your days of old, wander back again
Tell me as you come and go, things that people need to know
Restless Spirit, wandering, come on home again
Don't admit your life is taken, to your death not yet awaken
Motherless children have a hard time when your mother is gone
When she's gone on home, when your mother is gone
Motherless children have a hard time when the mother is gone
When she's gone on home, when mother is gone
Motherless children have a hard time
All that weeping and all that crying
Motherless children have a hard time when your mother is gone
When she's gone on home, when mother is gone
They don't have no place to go when mother is gone
When she's gone on home, when mother is gone
They don't have no place to go when mother is gone
When she's gone on home, when mother is gone
They don't have no place to go
Some got to go from door to door
Motherless children have a hard time when mother is gone
When she's gone on home, when mother is gone
Some people say that the sister will do when mother is gone
When she's gone on home, when mother is gone
Some people say that the sister will do when the mother is gone
When she's gone on home, when mother is gone
Some people say that the sister will do
She'll get married turn her back on you
Motherless children have a hard time when mother is gone
When she's gone on home, when mother is gone
Hush little baby now don't you cry cause your mother is gone
When she's gone on home, when your mother is gone
Hush little baby now don't you cry cause your mother is gone
When she's gone on home, when mother is gone
Hush little baby now don't you cry
You'll see your mother in the by and by
Motherless children have a hard time when the mother is gone
When she's gone on home when your mother is gone
Well my name is Mick Ryan, I'm lyin still
In a lonely spot near where I was killed
By a red man defending his native land
In the place that they call Little Big Horn
And I swear I did not see the irony
When I rode with the Seventh Cavalry
I thought that we fought for the land of the free
When we rode from Fort Lincoln that morning
And the band they played the Garryowen
Brass was shining, flags a flowin
I swear if I had only known
I'd have wished that I'd died back at Vicksburg
For my brother and me, we had barely escaped
From the hell that was Ireland in forty eight
Two angry young lads who had learned how to hate
But we loved the idea of Amerikay
And we cursed our cousins who fought and bled
In their bloody coats of bloody red
The sun never sets on the bloody dead
Of those who have chosen an empire
But we'd find a better life somehow
In the land where no man has to bow
It seemed right then and it seems right now
That Paddy he died for the union
Ah, but Michael he somehow got turned around
He had stolen the dream that he thought he'd found
Now I never will see that holy ground
For I turned into something I hated
And I'm haunted by the Garryowen
Drums a beating, bugles blowin'
I swear if I had only known
I'd lie with my brother in Vicksburg
And the band they played that Garryowen
Brass was shin, flags a flowin'
I swear if I had only known, I'd lie with
Baby you put my love on hold
You gave me a peek at the pot of gold
Now you're givin' me the run around
You gave a taste to a hungry heart
One day together and a month apart
Babe you put my love on hold
Chorus
Holdin' on to a ray of hope
To the end of a frayin' rope
Time is slow and the weather's cold
Baby when your love's on hold
Sittin' here wonderin' what to do
Until the next time I hear from you
And you're givin' me the run around
Why you reachin' if you won't take
The love that you get is the love you make
And this ain't the way to go
Chorus
Bridge
The call is waitin' from this heart of mine
You had my number all along
Now you're leavin' me hangin', hangin' on the line
But I won't be waitin' here too long
Tell me where do I stand with you
Are we just startin' or are we through
Baby are you hot or cold
I got things that I need to say
But you're makin' me feel like I'm in the way
And I'm not here to hang around
It's the middle of the night and I should be sleepin'
My eyelids are heavy but there's something keepin' them open wide
Since I kissed you at the gate just two days past
I've been flyin' towards the sun in a jet plane fast across the ocean tide
There's a touch tone phone right beside my bed
There's a ten digit number burnin' in my head
Before I left I heard the words you said, ?Call me anytime?
Long distance, there's a signal comin' from me to you
So insistent, it's penetratin' goin' straight on through
No resistin', I get struck by love at the funniest times
It's long distance love waitin' for me at the end of the line
Now it's cold and lonesome here in this time zone
But I can thank Mr. Bell for his telephone and what it buys
It's reassuring just to know you're there
But if I hear your voice, I might smell your hair when I close my eyes
I'm punchin' the keys and my hands are hot
It's not what I want but it's the best I got
And I don't even know if you're home or not, but I can always try
Long distance, there's a signal comin' from me to you
So insistent, it's penetratin' goin' straight on through
No resistin', I get struck by love at the funniest times
It's long distance love waitin' for me at the end of the line
Got your fiber optics, got your savin' plan
In the off peak hours, honey, I'm your man, I got my callin' card
When I hear you echo off the satellite
I'll be jumpin' up and down, I'll be feelin' alright, I'll be fallin' hard
You'll be puttin' out that cat, turnin' out the lights
While the sun's comin' up here bold and bright
We're on opposite ends of a lonely night, but it's not too far
Long distance, there's a signal comin' from me to you
So insistent, it's penetratin' goin' straight on through
No resistin', I get struck by love at the funniest times
It's long distance love waitin' for me, long distance love
Ooh, it's long distance
I get struck by love at the funniest times
I try to travel around with less and less
Tried them all and the simple way is the way that's best
I save a lot of time not havin' to choose
What color shirt I wear or which pair of shoes
I don't need the guitar to sing my song
Wherever I land, I'll always get along
I've been up and down the road a time or two I guess
Now I try and travel around with less and less
I had a woman once, she was not my wife
I took a long detour on the road of life
I carried that weight and almost broke my back
I nearly lost the ones I loved getting' back on track
Wasted lots of time and I still feel the pain
Made a vow that I won't go through that again
I've been up and down the road a time or two I guess
Now I try to travel around with less and less
Coffee in the mornin', a little wine at night
A meal somewhere in the middle I think I'll be alright
I've got my pride, I got a smile to greet the day
I got a friend or two to help me through when I lose my way
Don't need the guitar to sing my song
Wherever I land, I'll always get along
I've been up and down the road a time or two I guess
Now it's time to travel around with less and less
I've been up and down the road a time or two I guess
Left the cold and rain behind, I drove out west to Memphis
South across the Mississippi line, I rolled my window down
Big river runnin' on my right, turtles on the banks a walkin'
Don't know how far I'm gonna get tonight, forty-nine keep on talkin'
Chorus:
Some roads are made for drivin' fast, some roads are made for walkin'
Some roads are made to ease my mind, forty-nine keep on talkin'
Me and her we called it love, what the hell did it matter
But when the pushin' came to shove, I didn't have much to say
I guess I'm better off on my own, no she won't hear me knockin'
This west bound lane is gonna be my home, forty-nine keep on talkin'
Chorus
See the black girl with long blonde hair, up on top of the levee
What's she thinkin' 'bout standin there, what does she see today
Dusty haze in the settin' sun, crows on the wires watchin'
I let two miles turn into twenty-one, forty-nine keep on talkin'
Chorus
Some roads are made for drivin' fast, some roads are made for walkin'
So long she's been alone now
her tears have dried
No more she's thinkin' of him
Her love has died
Calling and reaching, lookin' through hungry eyes
Scenes change and rearrange, lookin' through hungry eyes
I knew the two of them
When they were young
She seemed so different then
When they were one
She never felt alone, now she has hungry eyes
People see her differently, lookin' through hungry eyes
Danger is all around when your guard is down
You need an angel
If she falls for some stranger, he might knock her down
She needs an angel
Her heart is healing well
She's walking tall
Hiding her feelings well
But she can't hide them all
Calling and reaching, lookin' through hungry eyes
I begged her not to go, said I could not live without her
She said don't be dramatic, you'll survive
She drove away, the sky turned gray
I cried all night about her
I'm still breathin' but her leavin' hurts more
Each day I'm alive
If I can't live without her, how come I ain't dead
Six feet down in the cold, cold ground
With a stone above my head
But somethin's wrong 'cause now she's gone
And I live on instead
If I can't live without her, how come I ain't dead
I wake up every mornin' scared to open up my eyes
Don't know if I'll be there in the mirror
But there I am, a broken man
I look somewhat surprised
I'm grateful for another day
But amazed that I'm still here
If I can't live without her, how come I ain't dead
Six feet down in the cold, cold ground
With a stone above my head
But somethin's wrong 'cause now she's gone
And I live on instead
If I can't live without her, how come I ain't dead
Saint Peter's waitin' for me outside the pearly gates
But I'm waitin' on the angel band, I guess they're runnin' late
If I can't live without her, how come I ain't dead
Six feet down in the cold, cold ground
With a stone above my head
But somethin's wrong 'cause now she's gone
And I live on instead
The blues the come and the blues they go
Don't hold your breath, they'll be coming back
Make you step outside that life you lead
Feel the blues fade to black
You watch yourself like in a dream
You're standin' still, the world is screamin' past
Sittin' in the driveway of my own house
The lights are on, nobody's home
The wife will call from the shoppin' mall
She'll have to talk to the code-a-phone
The world goes round but I don't care
No one know I'm sittin' there alone
Chorus
I'm a boy in a bubble, Peter Pan
I'm a Jack that's wild, I'm Teflon man
I work all day, come home at night
I'm not all there but it's alright
Daddy's on the roof again
Out in the highway drivin' around
Where I stop nobody knows
Now I know my way all around this town
But there's no place I really want to go
I'm a butterfly with no place to land
No place to fall that I can stand alone
My latest sun is sinkin fast
My race is nearly run
My strongest trials now are past
My triumph has begun
Chorus:
Oh come angel band
Come and around me stand
Oh bear me away on your snowy wings
To my immortal home
Oh bear me away on your snowy wings
To my immortal home
Oh bear my longing heart to him
Who bleed and died for me
Who's blood now cleanses from all sin
And gives me victory
Chorus
I've almost reached my heavenly home
My spirit loudly sings
Behold the holy ones they come
I hear the sound of wings
Verse 1
Well if I was a sinner
I tell you what I would do
I'd quit my sinning and work on a building too
CHORUS
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
I'm working on a building
For my Lord for my Lord
It's a holy ghost building
It's a holy ghost building (hallelujah)
It's a holy ghost building
For my Lord for my Lord
Verse 2
Well if I was a gambler
I'll tell you what I would do
I'd quit my gambling and work on a building too
CHORUS
Verse 3
Well if I was a drunkard
I'll tell you what I would do
I'd quit my drinking and work on a building too
CHORUS
Verse 4
Well, if I was a preacher
I'll tell you what I would do
I would go on preaching
And work on a building too.
Once I lived like a traveler standing at the crossraads of his life
Who knows not where to turn, wonders if he'll ever reach his home
I was lost, tired, and waiting, didn't have a reason to go on
Days were always dark and at night I felt so all alone
Chorus:
And they say the darkest hour always seems to come before the dawn
But I never knew that it could shine half as bright as you
Now I live in your kingdom I'm the only member of your court
And your my queen of hearts, the one I'll love and serve my whole life through
Repeat chorus
Cornbread and beans
And those good old collard greens
Keep your skillet good and greasy all the time, time, time
Skillet good and greasy all the time
If you say so
I'll never moonshine no more
I'll chop down that still
And go home, home, home
I'll chop down my still
And go home
If you don't believe I'm right
Come home with me tonight
Lay around my shanty all the time, time, time
Gonna lay around my shanty all the time
I'm goin down town
Gonna get a jug of brandy
Gonna give it all to Sandy
Keep her good and drunk and boozy all the time
Good and drunk and boozy all the time
Fatback and beans
And them good old collard greens
Keep your skillet good and greasy
Now I make a living from a circuit I made
Out of trial and error and gigs that I've played
It might be the money or the town that it's in
But mostly it's people make you come back again
There was one little place that I played every year
It's outside of Pittsburgh and I guess it's still there
Just a little old Moose lodge, the crowd was okay
But you'd never got rich from the money they'd pay
It's mostly been silent since Rod was around
That place used to ring with a bluegrassy sound
And I'll never forget the way he made me feel
A big man with a bigger heart, named Rod McNeil
You might arrive tired and dark in a gloom
Then he'd buy a big dinner and pay for your room
Pete Rowan would hug him and call him his dad
That day the lonely road didn't seem bad
Well, I saw this and said that I'd buy it for Tim
Didn't I Marty, he'd say with a grin
And I keep that toy fiddle on my window sill
To remind me of Rod and those gray Pittsburgh hills
Now it's mostly been silent since Rod was around
But that place used to ring with a bluegrassy sound
And I'll never forget the way he made me feel
Chorus:
My Lord is a rock in a weary land, weary land, weary land
My Lord is a rock in a weary land
A shelter in the the time of the storm
Stop and let me tell you about chapter one
When the lord GodÂs work had just begun
Stop and let me tell you about chapter two
When the lord God preached that Bible through
Stop and let me tell you about chapter three
When the lord God died up on Calvary
Chorus
Now stop and let me tell you about chapter four
When the lord God visits among the poor
Stop and let me tell you about chapter five
When the lord God brought all the dead alive
Stop and let me tell you about chapter six
When he went to Jerusalem and healed the sick
Chorus
Stop and let me tell you about chapter seven
When he died and he risen and he went to heaven
Stop and let me tell you about chapter eight
When the lord God was standin at the golden gate
Stop and let me tell you about chapter nine
When the lord Got turned all the water to wine
Chorus
(First line: My Lord was a rock in a weary land)
CHORUS:
Raleigh and Spencer was burning down
There ain't no liquor in this town
There ain't no liquor in this town
I'll pawn you my shoes for a little bottle of booze
I'll drink it down and lay right down and die
I'm gonna drink it and I'll lay right down and die
I'll eat more chicken that a pretty gal can fry
I'll tell you more doggone lies
I'll tell you more doggone lies
CHORUS
I'll eat more fat meat that you can cook in a week
I'll never get to heaven when I die
Ain't never gonna get to heaven when I die
I'll pawn you my watch, I'll pawn you my chain
I'll pawn you my gold wedding ring
I'll pawn you my gold wedding ring
You can tramp down the flowers all around my grave side
They'll rise and bloom again
They're gonna rise and bloom again
As a young man I went riding out on the western plain
In the state of North Dokota I met my Nelie Kane, I met my Nellie Kane
She was living in a lonely cabin with a son by another man
Five years she had waited for him
As long as a woman can, as long as a woman can
CHORUS:
I don't know what changed my mind
'Til then I was the ramblin kind
The kind of love I can't explain
That I have for Nellie Kane
Well she took me on to work that day, to help her till the land
In the afternoon we planted seeds
In the evening we held hands, in the evening we held hands
Her blue eyes told me everything a man could want to know
And it was then I realized that I would never go, I would never go
CHORUS
Now many years have gone by, her son has grown up tall
I became a father to him and she became my all, she became my all
Wish I was a mole in the ground
Wish I was a mole in the ground
Mole in the ground, I'd root that mountain down
Wish I was a mole in the ground
Wish I was a lizard in the spring
Wish I was a lizard in the spring
A lizard in the spring, I'd hear my true love sing
If I was a mole in the ground
Don't marry a railroad man
Don't marry a railroad man
A railroad man gonna kill you if he can
And drink up your blood like wine
Baby wants a nine dollar shawl
Baby wants a nine dollar shawl
When I come around the hill with my twenty dollar bill
She says honey where you been so long
Now, baby where you been so long
Honey where you been so long
Said I been to Caroline to see that gal of mine
That's where I been so long
I said, honey where'd you stay last night
Baby where'd you stay last night
Said I stayed around the bend
With some rough and rowdy men
And now I'm goin back again
Across the county line, in a cheap motel
Lyin' next to her, there's a new day wakin'
Never felt this sure of anything before
No question in his mind about the chance he's takin'
Don't know where they're goin' but they know just what they're after
In each other's arms they always seem to find their way
To love and laughter
First mornin' light on her new wedding band
She's talkin' on the phone, sayin' ÂMomma I'll miss youÂ
They can't help but laugh as momma starts to shout
She covers up the phone and reaches to kiss him
Momma can't remember how it feels
When you can live
On love and laughter
He's struttin' like a hero, she looks just like a dream
There's nothin' in their suitcase, but those two have everything they need
Love and laughter, love and laughter
She takes a highway map, covers up her eyes
Points to a little town and says ÂLet's go thereÂ
Anywhere at all will be their honeymoon
Under big city lights or in the middle of nowhere
Don't know where they're goin' but they know just what they're after
In each other's arms they always seem to find their way
I have a friend lives up in Portland, I stayed there with him one time
He had a new a pair of high-top sneakers, didn't fit him but they fit me fine
I laced up his Converse sneakers, we drove down the California line
After we played a little gig in Chico, he headed home, he left me behind
Chorus:
Said take these shoes and be on your way
It looks like you've got travelin' to do
Come back and see me some other day
Tell me all about where they took you to
Now I had a lot of fun in those black Chuck Taylors
A finer shoe has never been worn
I can see where I've been in the color fadin'
I can what I learned where they're frayed and worn
I walked off the tread on the concrete pavement
Of London, and Dublin, and New York town
I shook out the sand from the ocean beaches,
I left it on the floor of an airport lounge
Chorus
Today it rained at the bluegrass fester
It was squishy squashin through the fields all day
I rinsed them out in the cool lake water, I washed that mountain mud away
Now I'm sittin' in a friendly kitchen, the wind outside it howls and blows
I'll let em dry by a cozy fire, and warm my soaked and wrinkled toes
Chorus
These are shoes that like to travel, no tellin' where they'll take me to
They're still not done scratchin' gravel
They still gotta show me a thing or two
Oh love is pleasin, love is teasin
And love's a pleasure when first it's new
But as love grows older, at length grows colder
And fades away like the mornin dew
I left my father, I left my mother
I left my brother and sister too
I left my home and kind relations
I left them all for the love of you
If I had known before I courted
That love was such a killin crime
I'd have wrapped my heart in a box of gold
