One foot strands before the crib
the other by the casket
A question formed upon stilled lips
is passed on but never asked
I guess I believe that there's a point
to what we do
But I ask myself is there
something more besides you?
Two are born to cross
their paths, their lives, their hearts
If by chance one turns away
are they forever lost?
I guess I believe that there's a point
to what we do
But I ask myself is there
something more besides you?
This morning I awoke,
the bed warm where it once was cold
Small blessings laid upon us
Small mysteries slowly unfold
Yet I still wonder is there a point
to what we do?
'Cause I kind of doubt
that there is something more besides you
Although it's hard to find the point
to what we do,
do I dare believe that there is
something more besides you?
Now I know, now I know what it means to be broken
Now I know, now I know what it means to be bared
You in the chair perceptibly sinking
I'm on my knees once again made aware
of the world out there
Grief is a word to describe the absense of feeling
Now I know, now I know what it means to be broken
Now I know, now I know,
now I know what it means to be broken
Now I know, now I know,
now I know what it means to be bared
You in the chair systematically sinking
I'm on my knees once again made aware
of the world out there
Grief is a word to describe the absense of feeling
Now I know, now I know,
Now I know what it means to be broken
A bad little boy moved into the neighborhood
He don't do nothin' right, just sits around and looks so good
He don't wanna go to school to learn to read and write
He just sits around the house and listens to the records all night
Well, he puts those tacks on teacher's chair
Put some gum on lil' girl's hair
Now junior, behave yourself
He buys every rock 'n' roll book on the magazine stand
Every dime he gets, he is off to the jukebox man
He worries the teacher till at night she's a-ready to poop
From rockin? and a rollin? and a spinnin? and a hula-hoop
Well, his rock 'n' roll has gotta stop
Junior's head is hard to rock
Now junior, behave yourself, rock hard
I'm gonna tell your mama, you better do what she said
And get to the barber shop and get that hair cut off your head
You took the canary and fed it to the neighbor's cat
You gave the cocker spaniel a hot a-bath in laundromat
Well, his mama said he's gotta stop
Junior's head is hard to rock
The singer brought her to tears
But they were my words not hers
What I said, or didn't say
It doesn't really matter anyway
Beside me, you looked so small
So I'm the one now that makes you crawl
A misplaced word, nothing brutish
Can serve as the sand to extinguish the flame
It doesn't really matter anyway
It doesn't really matter anyway
It doesn't really matter anyway
It doesn't really matter anyway
My father's stories fell upon us
Filled us with his light
Gospels, fertile minds
Taking root, taking root
His pocket change would jingle
Sacramental bells
Heads tucked low
Sneaking peaks, sneaking peaks
And the rain comes down
It's dark, and the browns
Begin to bite
Here you will always be
Behind me, and you will not go away
There he sleeps, an untamed land
Dark corners yet discovered
His heart yet to be
Trod upon, trod upon
I can't bare to hear his breathing
Simply knowing what's to come
I can't bare to hear your breathing
Another note afloat upon this paper sea
Explain to me
how this can be
Another face erased
from this tidal pool
Found one day
then swept away
I will carry you my love
If you can carry me
through this summer of our discontent
Another day away
from clutching hands
Explain to me
how this can be
I will carry you my love
If you can carry me
through this summer of our discontent
Another falling wave
upon this crumbling beach
How many more
until we meet?
I will carry you my love
If you can carry me
through this summer of our discontent
Someone
Out there
Kneeling.
No one
Out there
Listening.
But what I want to know
Before you save my soul
Is who gave this power to that fucker up there?
Someone
Out there
Crying.
Someone
Out there
Waiting.
But what I want to know
Before I let you go
Is who gave this power to that fucker up there?
Keep it coming
I've got your back
Do not fear
When I'm on deck
A bigger lie I've never told
A bigger story yet to unfold
My only guarantee: i will fuck you up
Another day
Of pure energy
What wears most
Is the constancy
A bigger job I've never had
A bigger burden I could not drag
My only guarantee: I will fuck you up
Strange how things
Come about
Will I ever know
How things turn out
A bigger wish I've never known
A bigger question I'm trying to hone
Try to find the reference
It makes no difference to me.
Draw your own conclusions,
Add to my confusion if you please.
The time for concessions
And midnight confessions is long gone.
I'll sit here in the silence
And wait for all the violence to engulf me.
I hate to take the easy way out, now people,
But options are closing down fast.
More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of.
Vengeance has been tasted,
Hatred cultivated,
Its an old game.
Everyone gets fatter,
People choose what matters,
There's no shame.
I hate to take the easy way out, now people,
But options are closing down fast.
More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of.
Simple as a folk tale,
Deadly as a stairwell,
It surrounds you.
Stupid men and bastards
Always bite their masters.
They will get you.
I hate to take the easy way out, now people,
But options are closing down fast.
More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of.
Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you now
You've got someone to blame
You say one love one life
When its one need in the nightone love we get to share it
It leaves you baby if you dont care for it
Did i disappoint you
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without
Well it's too late tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to carry each other carry each other one
Have you come here for forgiveness?
Have you come to raise the dead?
Have you come here to play jesus
To the lepers in your head?
Did i ask too much more than a lot
You gave me nothing now it's all i got
We're one but we're not the same
Well we hurt each other then we do it again
You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law
You ask me to enter, but then you make me
And i can't be holding on to what
When all you got is hurt one love one blood
One life you got to do what you should
One life with each othersisters brothers
One life but we're not the same
Especially with my head pounding
and lying helpless in my bed
I long for you and your expert hands
To ease this white heat from my head
And you would boast that you knew
All the pressure points inside
And you could just as easily kill me
Beneath the desire that I hide
But as your patient I knew
That your healing powers had grown
From a sore that's far far deeper
Than this heart where the pain was born
With my head again clear
I think of words to send to you
To coax you back to my side
But always leave out ";I love you";
And then through my front door
A picture of a faraway land
And to with love on the back
And once again I reach for my pen
You can talk about your neighbor
You can grab him by the collar
You can hurt him only if he hollers
"let me go?-let me go"
But we all know that's old-fashioned
And it can only lead to pain
Where we might end up on the corner
Taking handouts in the rain
You can bomb your foreign brother
You can hurt him until he dies
You can kill him until he never asks you why
You're on his land?-you're on his land
But we all know that's all over
And that can only lead to blame
Where we might end up for our country
Taking handouts in the rain
You can trample on your sister
You can hurt her only if she cries
You can hurt her only if she cares
With all her heart?-with all her heart
But we all know she'd be a mother
And that could only lead to shame
Where she might end up for her children
Taking handouts in the rain
Teach your children stories
You can fill them full of lies
You can make them all despise
One another?-one another
But when they all find out later
And they call us by our rightful names
And send us shamefully to old age
Taking handouts in the rain
Taking handouts in the rain
September skies,
Bodies falling
Never again will you catch me admiring
Those vast september skies.
October skies,
Hate is flying.
Crimson leaves slowly falling
From azure october skies.
Time to kill our children
And sing about it.
Let's all kill our children
And sing about it.
November skies,
Heart is sinking.
No telling where they're leading
These grey november skies.
Time to kill our children
And sing about it.
Let's all kill our children
And sing about it.
December skies, star will be rising.
Will we heed those lessons ringing
Through those dark december skies.
Time to kill our children
And sing about it.
Let's all kill our children
Take me to the river
and we'll watch the water roll
Take me in your warmth
and you'll fill my empty soul
Come on and take me, take me, take me
Come on and take me, take me, take me
Take me to the ocean
where the water never run
Take me in your love
and I'll be your lifetime friend
Come on and take me, take me, take me
Come on and take me, take me, take me
Take me to the storm
where the thunder meets the light
Take me in your gentle arms
and I'll love you through the night
Come on and take me, take me, take me
Come on and take me, take me, take me
New Jersey Turnpike
Riding on a wet night
'neath the refinery's glow
Down where the great black river flow
Licence, registration:
I ain't got none
But I got a clear conscience
'bout the things that I done
Mister State Trooper
Please don't stop me
Please don't stop me
Please don't stop me
Maybe you got a kid
Maybe you got a pretty wife
The only thing that I got's
Been bugging me my whole life
Mister State Trooper
Please don't stop me
Please don't stop me
Please don't ya stop me
Well, in the wee wee hours
Your mind gets hazy
Radio relay towers
Gonna lead me to my baby
Radio's jammed up
with talk show stations
It's just talk, talk, talk, talk
'til you lose your patience
Mister State Trooper
Please don't stop me
Please don't stop me
Please don't ya stop me
Hey, somebody out there
Listen to my last prayer,
Heigh-ho Silver oh,
Deliver me from nowhere
Early this morning, he knocked on my door
Early this morning he knocked on my door
I said ";Hello, Satan, I believe it's time to go";
Me and The Devil are walkin' side by side
Me and The Devil are walkin' side by side
Well, I'm goin' to beat my man until I get satisfied
He says I don't do him right
That I dog him around
Well, babe, you know you ain't treating me right
He says I don't do him right
that I dog him around
Well, it must be this old evil spirit
So deep down within the ground
You may bury my body down by the highway side
...oh, babe I don't care what you do with my body
You may bury my body down by the highway side
So my old evil spirit can catch a Greyhound bus and ride
Early this morning, he knocked on my door
Now me and The Devil are walking side by side
Side by side
I'll never get out of these blues alive
No, I'll never, I'll never get out of these blues alive
Well he gone and left me
I don't know what I'll do the rest of my life
Drinking black coffee and smoking cigarettes
Drinking black coffee, yeah, and smoking cigarettes
I can't see no use to try
I'll never get out of these blues alive
No, I'll never, I'll never get out of these blues alive
He gone and left me
Says he'll never come back home
I'll never come out of these blues alive
No, I'll never, I'll never come out of these blues alive
He gone and left me
I don't know what I'll do the rest of my life
Working up a sweat all night long and jumping over my bed
(___) sweat all night long and jumping over my bed
I can't see no use to try
Well, I'll never, never come out of these blues alive
I'll never, never come out of these, out of these blues alive
You know I miss him
(___) to the day I die
Eyed it, dried it, untied it
Chilled it, spilled it, refilled it
Taste it, traced it, erased it
He's my post to lean on
And I just cut him down
So I'm out to land on somethin'
Hopefully a boy will come to me at the ground
Eyed it, dried it, untied it
Chilled it, spilled it, refilled it
Taste it, trace it, erased it
He's my post to lean on
And I just cut him down
So I'm out to land on somethin'
Hopefully a boy will come to me at the ground
He's my post to lean on
And I just cut him down
So I'm out to land on somethin'
Hopefully a boy will come to me at the ground
I had a man, who's good and kind in his way
Yeah I had a man, sweet and kind in his way
Lord, he died and he left me
and I sing the blues on every decoration day
Lord I was standing, standing 'round my baby's bed
Well, my Lord, my lord he take my baby away
Why, why, why, why
when your soul don't come back
Lord, I hung my head and cried
Said, now baby please please don't worry
Said, now baby please please don't worry
'cause everybody's gotta go
Why, why, why, why
The best man, God knows, I ever had
All day, that Sunday
I just hung my head and cried
So sad, that Sunday
When my Lord he take my baby
Why, why, why, why
I need my baby on some old lonesome day
and I sing the blues on every decoration day
on every decoration day
Working on a building, a Holy Ghost building
For my Lord, for my Lord
If I was a drunkard I tell you what I'd do
I would quit my drinking and work on that building too
Working on a building, a Holy Ghost building
For my Lord, yeah for my Lord
If I was a liar I tell you what I'd do
I would quit my lying and work on that building too
Working on a building, it's a Holy Ghost building
For my Lord, yeah for my Lord
Working on a building, it's a Holy Ghost building
For my Lord, yeah for my Lord
If I was a singer I tell you what I'd do
I would keep on singing and work on that building too
I went down to the crossroads
Fell down on my knee
I asked the Lord above me for mercy
"Save Bob, if you please"
Standing, standing on the crossroad
Yeah, I try to flag a ride
Don't nobody seem to know me
Just everybody passing me by
I went down to the crossroads
Fell down on my knee
I asked the Lord above me for mercy
"Save Bob, if you please"
Standing, standing on the crossroad
I try to flag a ride
Don't nobody seem to know me
Just everybody passing me by
I'm standing on a crossroad, baby
Yeah, I think I'm sinking down
I buried him down by the river
'cause that's where he liked to be
and every night when the moon is high
I go there and weep openly
He and I were married
By this river 'neath this willow tree
and with God and friends witnessing it
He pledged his life to me
To me he was Earth
and I rooted in his soil
I to he was Sky vast and free
of the burdens from which he toiled
Then one night a terrible fight
Words spoken better left unsaid
With his wedding vows ringing in my ears
He gave his life to me
They say to love is to bury
Those demons from which we all hide
But tonight by this river 'neath this willow tree
Becoming one of Earth and Sky
Now, baby, please don't go
Now, baby, please don't go
Now, baby, please don't go back to New Orleans
You know I love you so, you know I love you so
You got me waiting here
You got me waiting here
Before a ????
Baby, please don't go
Baby, please don't go
Don't you call my name
Don't you call my name
Well you got me way down here
On a ball and chain
Oh, baby, please don't go
Oh, baby, please don't go
Now, baby, please don't go
Now, baby, please don't go
Now, baby, please don't go back to New Orleans
You know I love you so, you know I love you so
I said ";Mama, he's crazy and he scares me
But I want him by my side
though he's wild and he's bad
and sometimes just plain mad
I need him to keep me satisfied";
I said ";Papa, don't cry cause it's alright
And I see you in some of his ways
Though he might not give me the life that you wanted
I'll love him the rest of my days";
Misguided angel hangin' over me
Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory
Soul like a Lucifer, black and cold like a piece of lead
Misguided angel, love you 'til I'm dead
I said ";Brother, you speak to me of passion
You said never to settle for nothing less
Well, it's in the way he walks,
it's in the way he talks
His smile, his anger and his kisses";
I said ";Sister, don't you understand?
He's all I ever wanted in a man
I'm tired of sittin' around the T.V. every night
Hoping I'm finding a Mr. Right";
Misguided angel hangin' over me
Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory
Soul like a Lucifer
Black and cold like a piece of lead
Misguided angel, love you 'til I'm dead
He says ";Baby, don't listen to what they say
There comes a time when you have to break away";
He says ";Baby there are things we all cling to all our life
It's time to let them go and become my wife";
Misguided angel hangin' over me
Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory
Soul like a Lucifer
Black and cold like a piece of lead
Misguided angel, love you 'til I'm dead
We are miners, hard rock miners
To the shaft house we must go
Pour your bottles on our shoulders
We are marching to the slow
On the line boys, on the line boys
Drill your holes and stand in line
'til the shift boss comes to tell you
You must drill her out on top
Can't you feel the rock dust in your lungs?
It'll cut down a miner when he is still young
Two years and the silicosis takes hold
and I feel like I'm dying from mining for gold
Yes, I feel like I'm dying from mining for gold
Hear the lonesome whippoorwill
His song's too blue to fly
The midnight train is a-winding low
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I've never seen a night so long
When time keeps crawling by
The moon is gone behind the clouds
To hide his face and cry
Have you ever seen a robin weep
When leaves have turned to brown?
Like me he's lost his will to live
I'm so lonesome I could cry
The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple haze
and as I wonder where you are
I'm so lonesome I could cry
Breaking away to the other side
I wanna make sense of why we live and die
I don't get it, I don't get it
I ask my friends if they understand
They just laugh at me and watch another band
They don't worry, they don't worry
Lookin' for a way to lose my load
I wanna make it easy to walk this road
I can't find it, yeah I can't find it
Yeah, I'm looking for answers in so many places
I open my mind
I don't get it
Walkin' this earth and keepin' my peace
I do what I want but the price is steep
It don't seem right, it don't seem right
My mama she told me ";One step at a time
and sooner or later you'll walk that line";
I don't want to, I don't want to
Takin' my time to live and die
I wanna find a way to do it right
and I ease on, and I ease on
They say ";One thing always leads to another";
I open my mind
I don't get it
Breaking away to the other side
I wanna make sense of why we live and die
I don't get it, I don't get it
I don't get it, I don't get it
I don't get it
I hope that I find what I'm reaching for
The way that it is in my mind
I hope that I won't be that wrong anymore
and maybe to have learned this time
Someday I'll get over you
I'll live to see it all through
But I'll always miss
Dreaming my dreams with you
But I won't let it change me, not if I can
I'd rather believe in love
and give it away as much as I can
To those that I am fondest of
Someday I'll get over you
I'll live to see it all through
But I'll always miss
Dreaming my dreams with you
Someday I'll get over you
I'll miss dreaming with you
Someday I'll get over you
I'll miss dreaming with you
Someday
I only want to say
That if there is a way
I want my baby back with me
'cause he's my true love
my only one don't you see?
And on that fateful day
Perhaps in the new sun of May
My baby walks back into my arms
I'll keep him beside me
forever from harm
You see I was afraid
to let my baby stray
I kept him too tightly by my side
and then one sad day
he went away and he died
Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone
without a dream in my heart
without a love of my own
Blue Moon, you knew just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
someone I really could care for
I only want to say
That if there is a way
I want my baby back with me
'cause he's my true love
my only one don't you see?
Haven't seen the sun for seven days
November's got her nails dug in deep
Haven't seen my son for seven years
and the chances are we'll never again meet
If truth be told I don't even know his name
If truth be told he doesn't even know my name
I spend my spare time with my rosary beads
although I never learnt to pray
but you don't need the light
and it's best to pretend
that you've seen the errors of your ways
The darkness in here
is as heavy as a judgement
This darkness, heavy as a judgement
My dreams are now filled with Gilead trees
and other sights that I've never seen
They used to be filled
with the fears of tomorrow
and the horror that it might bring
His eyes felt to me
as cold as a stone mason's chisel
His eyes fell on me, cold
like a stone mason's chisel
Strange how a mind can always recall
what the senses eagerly leave behind
I can remember his face, rage,
disgust and distaste
but to my fear I have grown blind
Memories are just dead men making trouble
this memory is just a dead man making trouble
Atlanta's a distant memory
Montgomery a recent birth
and Tulsa burns on the desert floor
like a signal fire
I got Willie on the radio
a dozen things on my mind
and number one is fleshing out
these dreams of mine
I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line
before I sleep
But there'll be no warm sheets or welcoming arms
to fall into tonight
In Nashville there is a lighter
in a case for all to see
it speaks of dreams and heartaches
left unsung
And in the corner stands a guitar and
lonesome words scrawled in a drunken hand
I don't travel past, travel hard before
and I'm beginning to understand
That I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line
before I sleep
But there'll be no warm sheets or welcoming arms
to fall into tonight
They say that I am crazy
my life wasting on this road
that time will find my dreams
scared or dead and cold
But I heard there is a light
drawing me to reach an end
and when I reach there, I'll turn back
and you and I can begin again
I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line
before I sleep
But there'll be no warm sheets or welcoming arms
to fall into tonight
I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line
before I sleep
But I wouldn't trade all your golden tomorrows
for one hour of this night
Atlanta's a distant memory
Montgomery a recent birth
and Tulsa burns on the desert floor
like a signal fire
(Mary Margaret O'Hara)
Yet Courier/BMG Songs Inc ASCAP
How could he take you in his arms
and help you to be free
then leave you forgotten
and is it enough to cry?
When you're so broken...
Her cold eyes tell you you're not welcome
she tells lies but you'll take her back again
and is it enough to die?
When you're so taken
You will be loved again
You will be loved again
But will she sing and will she dance
and will she forever
and will he sing and will he dance
and will he forever
Someday you will feel a love so deep
and you'll find someone not lost in sleep
And you will be loved again
you will be loved again
you will be loved again
There are witches in the hills calling my name
saying come join us sister, come kiss the flame
Come dance in the moonbeams, ride the night wind
make love to the darkness and laugh at man's sins
I shiver with delight, I shiver with fear
my heart wants to go but my soul's filled with fear
So I turn to my lover and ask what do I do
do I answer their call or stay here with you
But under spell of deep sleep he moans and turns away
taking his protection and my desire to stay
So I rise to the hill tops, I ride the night winds
I make love to the darkness and laugh at man's sins
Caught in the vice of heaven and earth
he turned his life into a cell
imprisoned by the doubts which hound us all
and those desires which we all know so well
His days he lost to promises, his nights he purged of dreams
and he would wake in the hours before sunrise
and dread the coming of the day
Never thought a man could become so desperate
never thought a life could lose so much hope
to be tearing at the roots around you
as if in manacles, or irons, or ropes
They say he told his children that all he taught was lost
that love and pride and honesty
were to be gained at too high a cost
It's been thirty summers that I've spent with him
and I expect thirty more to pass
he has blessed my life in so many ways
that I could never turn my back
But I need just one more reminder
of the man that he used to be
if he would just look deep into my eyes
and say it's in you my love that I will find the key
No birds today
Just this square patch of gray
Molting sky moving in on its morning prey
No words today
No one knocking at the gate
I lost my name long before I lost my way
I wonder what he thinks out there
Pastures turn from black to green and black again
The sun it carves a well worn path
from here to there and the next day back
No birds today
Just this dull sky of gray
Winter's quickly moving in on its skulking prey
No dust today
No clouds rising from my driveway
No hope drifting slowly my way
I wonder what he thinks in there
Pastures turn from black to green and black again
The sun it carves a well worn path
from here to there and the next day back
Cold bars of steel
I'm beginning to dig the feel
of all that disappears into....ethereal
Cold words of hate
Now I'm seeing how things break
Much too late now to cure my mistakes
I wonder what he thinks in there
Pastures turn from black to green and black again
The sun it carves a well worn path
from here to there and the next day back
No birds today
Just this barren stretch of gray
Just this barren stretch of gray
(Michael Timmins)
She captured both Rock and Bird
tied one to the leg of the other
kept them as prisoners
until they knew who was master
then she threw them to the sky
Bird with unbarred wings disappeared
Rock with weighted heart returned
and Rock became her anchor
and Bird became her dream
Now she stands on the forest floor
among the pines and towering firs
Rock still firm beneath her feet
Bird perched high above her
singing songs of love's betrayal
'I offered you my endless skies
you countered with hoods and chains
this song I sing will be the last
to be inspired by your memory'
The last of man's great unchained beasts lies lapping at my door
The last of man's great unchained beasts lies lapping at my door
I would give it what it wants, but I do know,
it would just ask for more
I search for you with every crest I ride
in every trough I travel through
I search for you in every trough I travel through
I didn't mean to leave you,
I unfurled my sail and the wind did blow
I didn't mean to leave you, darling,
I unfurled my sail and the wind did blow
Why why why why why, oh why I did not drop my anchor,
Oh Lord, I will never know
I search for you with every crest I ride
in every trough I travel through
I search for you in every trough I travel through
On the lee of the island I hear your voice deep inside the calm
On the lee of the island I hear your voice deep inside the calm
Whispering baby, I'll be your delight, if you promise
to be my red sky tonight
I search for you with every crest I ride
in every trough I travel through
I search for you in every trough I travel through
In the storm you are my destination, in the port you are my storm
In the storm you are my destination, in the port you are my storm
But I would weather you my love, if you would be my guide,
if you would be my stars in the sky tonight
I search for you with every crest I ride
in every trough I travel through
I search for you in every trough I travel through
(Michael Timmins)
The way you kissed me this morning
it told me that you soon would be going
You didn't even look in my eyes
when you said goodbye
And last night in your sleep you broke all the promises
that I knew you would never keep
Now I'm reading the letter which you placed on the dresser
and you're five hundred miles down the road
Escape is so simple
in a world where sunsets can be raced
But distance only looses the knife
the pattern of its scar
can always be traced
Yeah, I remember when we said 'forever'
was the craziest word that we knew
but I think that I like it much better than I do 'goodbye'
And I could sit here all evening and think of the reasons
why you are not by my side
Instead I'll go to the kitchen, find a strong chair to sit in
and drink myself far, far away
Escape is so simple
in a world where sunsets can be raced
But distance only looses the knife
the pattern of its scar
can always be traced
It's the kind of night that's so cold, when you spit
it freezes before it hits the ground
And when a bum asks you for a quarter, you give a dollar
if he's out tonight he must be truly down
And I'm searching all the windows for a last minute present
to prove to you that what I said was real,
for something small and frail and plastic, baby,
'cause cheap is how I feel
Half moon in the sky tonight, bright enough
to come up with an answer
to the question why is it that every time I see you
my love grows a little stronger
But your memory leaves my stomach churning,
feeling like a lie about to be revealed,
but I'll horde all this to myself
'cause cheap is how I feel
It's not the smell in here that gets to me it's the lights
I hate the shadows that they cast,
and the sound of clinking bottles is the one sure thing
I'll always drag with me from my past
I think I'll find a pair of eyes tonight, to fall into
and maybe strike a deal
Your body for my soul, fair swap
`cause cheap is how I feel
She placed her ring on the sill,
dishes piled high
She's on the front porch step
and the air smells like snow
She's thinking of the siege to come
and how she'll miss those weekends
in the park with the sun on her face
and her book by her side and that
lingering taste that he left on her tongue
He lifts his glass from the table
It leaves a ring where it stood
He sees the light from the window
caress her like he knows he should
He's remembering the first time he kissed her
and how he'd wake
and immediately he'd miss her,
like a spell, with each breath,
he'd taste her breath like a haunting,
irritating as hell
Do you remember when you'd pray
to never see the day
when someone would make you feel this way
'Cause you knew
they would cut right through you
and once inside, you were afraid they'd find
nothing to hold on to
He puts her ring on her finger,
she brushes back his hair
He takes a sip from his glass,
she inhales the cold fall air
And they're thinking of the long road ahead
and the strength that they will need
just to reach the end
And there in the silence they search for
the balance between this fear that they feel
and a love that has graced their lives
If it ain't one thing
I tell you it's always another
I wonder why
I started treating you like a step-brother
Love is hard to explain
I know my loss is someone else's gain
Sometime's love is like a bitter pill
But we just have to take it like it is
Sometimes life is the sweetest thing
and sometimes it's just naked pain
Oh, it's so hard to explain
I know my loss is someone else's gain
My troubles started when I found you
But that's when I (wrapped?) my world around you
And now my living ain't so easy
I thought that's what a woman was supposed to do
You see, it's so hard to explain
I know my loss is someone else's gain
I went to see my doctor
`Cause I thought I had a hole in my heart
but he said ";Girl, you're just wasting my time
Because some man messed up,
went and messed up your mind";
It's so hard to explain
I know my loss is someone else's gain
Oh, love it's so hard to explain
It'll make you forget your name
It'll turn you upside down
It'll make you wish that you'd never been found
Look under his floorboards, Mama,
I don't trust his silly grin
He's got a beat-up Rambler, Nebraska plates,
and I ain't getting in
I don't like the way his pinky ring
picks up the dashboard light
or his short little piggy fingers
or the way his belt is cinched too tight
Check under his floorboards, Mama,
I don't like his suggestive tone
The way his words drip from his mouth
as he asks can I take you home?
I don't care how many miles I got,
I think I'd rather walk them alone
than to sit in the back seat
as his eyes in the mirror
reduce me to flesh and bone
Check under his floorboards, Mama,
'cause that razor's not just a threat to me
He'll be slicing tiny crescents from your heart,
without laying a sweaty palm to your cheek
Don't accuse me of running scared,
listen to what I'm saying
It's a fucked up ol' world, but this ol' girl
Well, she ain't giving in
Hold on honey, there's a new dawn coming
and a big bird to sweep you away
Are you born yet? Are you listening?
Are you sick of staring at the walls?
Are you hungry? Are you angry?
Are you wondering if there's anyone at all?
Hold on honey there's a new dawn coming
and a big bird to sweep you away
Keep on dreaming soon there'll be a reason
to see it through one more day
Are you weary? Are you sinking?
Are you tired of holding up the walls?
Are you done with all your thinking?
Have you found that there's no one at all?
Hold on honey there's a new dawn coming
and a big bird to sweep you away
Keep on dreaming soon there'll be a reason
to see it through one more day
Ain't got no answers here
What I see is not clear
Time to shake it around
Turn my world upside down
and watch as the stars come unhinged
Hold on honey there's a new dawn coming
and a big bird to sweep you away
Keep on dreaming soon there'll be a reason
to see it through one more day
Hold on honey there's a new dawn coming
and a big bird to sweep us away
Keep on dreaming soon there'll be a reason
to see it through one more day
Are you born yet?
Are you born yet?
If I pour your cup, that is friendship
If I add your milk, that is manners
If I stop there, claiming ignorance of taste,
that is tea
But if I measure the sugar
to satisfy your expectant tongue
then that is love,
But if I measure the sugar
to satisfy your expectant tongue
then that is love,
sitting untouched and growing cold
Place my body on the funeral pyre,
cut it loose to float downstream
Leave it frozen on a mountain top,
suspend it high to be picked clean
You said never to grow old,
but you forgot to tell me how
You said never to grow old
and then you sank your teeth into those final feet
Last night I dreamt of owls at my window
I knew that time was winding down
Turned to tell you of my premonition,
changed my mind and lay back down
You said never to grow old,
but you forgot to tell me how
You said never to grow old
and then you sank your teeth into those final feet
No sense wasting the time you got,
you got to walk down every road
No sense pretending that you're what you're not,
when you got to shoulder every load
You said never to grow old,
but you forgot to tell me how
You said never to grow old
and then you sank your teeth into those final feet
Cut it loose, cut it loose, cut it loose
You said never to grow old,
but you forgot to tell me how
You said never to grow old
and then you sank your teeth into those final feet
No one in sight for fifty miles
Sleeping fields sigh as I glide across their spines.
If I can just reach the crest of that hill
This whole day will tumble, out the night will spill.
The sky as still as a spinning top
Shooting stars drop like burning words from above
If I could just connect all these dots
The truth would tumble like a Cynic vexed by love.
And yet people keep saying
I'm miles from my home,
Miles from my home.
I met you again in my sleep last night,
These are days of slow boats and false starts.
Hearts remain under lock and key,
You will be the one to set them both free.
And yet people will tell you
You're miles from your home,
Miles from your home.
But that's where I want to be.
Out there searching,
Out here fumbling,
Out here waiting
For you and you for me.
The moon hangs like a question mark,
Pale as milk, bold as promise.
When will you share these sights with us?
When will we hold you in our arms?
And people will tell them
We're miles from our home,
Miles from our home.
She hugged his head so hard to her heart
it made her gasp for air
If this was not the way Love felt
then for love she did not care
I want to run beside a moving train
yelling farewells in the rain
The tears will be bittersweet,
'cause I know I'll see him again
If I lost you now,
I would feel as hollow as a bone
He could not help but hang his eyes
her beauty held him so
If this was not a state of Grace
then Grace he'd never know
I want to yell farewell from a crowded pier
just me and a thousand good-byes
The tears will be bittersweet,
'cause soon she'll be back my side
If I lost you now,
I would feel as hollow as a bone
You won't lose me, he replied,
together our lives have been sewn
If I lost you now,
I would feel as hollow as a bone
We will kiss goodnight under a starlit sky
whisper oaths at a lumbering moon
dream sweet dreams before the morning comes
and serves us the dawn in our room
If I lost you now,
I would feel as hollow as a bone
I wish I had a blue guitar,
A blue guitar to play all night long.
Singing songs of loss and love.
Singing songs till morning comes.
Ghosts in the basement
Screams from the kitchen
I tell you folks I'm leaving.
Seems I can already hear the door slammin'.
I tell you folks I think I'm leavin'.
Goodbye to the highway
Goodbye to the sky
I'm headed out goodbye, goodbye.
Goodbye to the highway
Goodbye to the sky
I'm headed our goodbye, goodbye.
I wish I had a blue guitar,
A blue guitar to play all night long.
I wish I had a blue guitar,
A blue guitar to let you know somehow
You are not needed now.
Speaking confidentially
the fire that burnt inside of me
has turned to ash the tortured tree
that grows beside the anguished sea
Speaking confidentially
Speaking metaphorically
the earth I trust beneath my feet
is moving now ever so slightly
I shift my feet but feel no relief
Speaking metaphorically
Speaking hypothetically
if the air you breathed was so unique
would you use it up to idly speak
or horde it for a rainy week
Speaking hypothetically
Speaking kind of cryptically
the sea that raged beside the tree
burning bright for all to see
it just might mean the most to me
Speaking kind of cryptically
My mother sang the sweetest melody
although she never sang in a musical key
I'd hear her through the house
My name called out loud
My mother sang the sweetest melody
My mother's hands were always cool and soft
And like her eyes they would caress with every touch
She would listen to my chatter
as if every word I spoke mattered
She'd hold me close and whisper in my ear
She'd say, ";girl you are a part of me
I have made you strong
when you grow up and are on your own
remember to win them with your song";
My father sang in perfect harmony
And though he never sang in a musical key
You could hear him when he'd enter the house
the kiss he'd give my Ma
My father sang in perfect harmony
My father's words were always sure and clear
and like his presence they would rid me of my fears
When I crawled up on his knees
I was safe as I could be
He'd hold me tight and whisper in my ear
He'd say, ";girl you are a part of me
I have made you strong
when you grow up and are on your own
remember to win them with your song";
My mother sang in perfect harmony
although she never sang in a musical key
She says, ";I'm getting that lonely sinking feeling,
you know what I mean?";
With his hand on her back he's thinking,
";Where does that leave me?";
Just when I think I've uncovered the secret
to peace and tranquility
that lonely sinking feeling creeps up on me
He says, ";I'm seeing those doubt filled
questioning eyes
and I can't believe it's true";
With her head in her hands she sighs,
";It's me, not you";
Just when I thought that I'd discovered the joy
of loving one so completely
that lonely sinking feeling creeps up on me
Here in this silent room we wait on ancient ritual
Staring at our hearts
as if they were two caged animals
If I am the first to unlock those rusty doors
will I be the first found bleeding on the floor?
She says, ";I'm getting that lonely sinking feeling,
you know what I mean?";
With his hand on her back he's thinking,
";Where does that leave me?";
Just when I think I've uncovered the secret
to peace and tranquility
that lonely sinking feeling creeps up on me
Just when I thought that I'd discovered the joy
of loving one so completely
that lonely sinking feeling creeps up on me
that lonely sinking feeling creeps up on me
He left his dead in the cottonwood trees
the ground grown too hard with the years
Falling down was not what it used to be
the ground grown too hard with the years
He told his children those little white lies
the truth would only paralyze them
He told himself those little white lies
the truth would only paralyze him
Lay it down, lay it down
He sold most of what he cherished,
the rest he let them steal
Shot his dog out in the open field,
the rest he let them steal
He broke all of his promises,
under a sea green sky
They never thought to ask him why,
under a sea green sky
Lay it down, lay it down
Please bury me in the cottonwood trees
the ground grown too cold for me
Going to sleep tonight in a warm feather bed
the ground grown too cold for me
Lay it down, lay it down
I don't want to be no patch on no quilt
(I just want to see...)
Tear-stained stitching linking memories to guilt
(I just want to see...)
I don't want to be no hair on no wall
(I just want to see...)
Blood-stained note saying fuck you all
(I just want to see what kills me)
Tommy, are you ready we better head to town
J.D.'s box is waiting to be lowered down
and you know how he hates to be kept waiting 'round
I don't want to be no chalk line drawing
(I just want to see...)
Toe-tagged question mark, until identifying
(I just want to see...)
I don't want to fuse with no economy seat
(I just want to see...)
fuel some fireball at 30,000 feet
(I just want to see what kills me)
Tommy, did you catch his face
before they closed the lid?
I swear I saw him wink once and flash me that old grin
Oh, you know, that would be just like him
I don't want to face no hollow-eyed ending
(I just want to see...)
Loved ones buried, empty days of waiting
(I just want to see what kills me)
Tommy, darling, come to bed
we'll try and sleep away this sadness
These memories, too, are bound to die
so our dreams will have to serve us
Tomorrow may be the day that our love betrays us
The stillness here,
like what he sometimes finds inside her,
hits so hard it can steal your breath forever
He sometimes wonders
is the sum of their lives together
him on the floor and her lost to a mind in tatters
These days he's drinking for the pleasure of falling
and he's falling for the pleasure of pretending
that she's sitting by the window waiting
for him to come calling
If I could fix me up a week of twilight hours
we'd sit on the point
and watch the sun continually flounder
Bathed in gold we'd plug into some kind of power
and connect with those days
back before all of this went sour
'Cause I'm drinking for the pleasure of falling
and I'm falling for the pleasure of pretending
that you're sitting by the window waiting
for me to come calling
Odd how the darkness always makes us whisper
and with the last of the sun
you can feel the approach of the winter
Now is the time of each day
that I Desperately miss her
I suppose I will learn how to live my life without her
So you're drinking for the pleasure of falling
and you're falling for the pleasure of pretending
that I'm sitting by the window waiting
for you to come calling
Speed River at my feet running low and flat
I'm sitting here burning daylight,
thinking about the past
and that distance out there
where the earth meets the sky
The slightest move and this river mud
pulls me further down
John's at my side, but he's sitting on firmer ground
John says I look at the moon and the stars
these days more often than I look into his eyes
and I can't disagree so I don't say nothing
I just stare on past his face at Venus rising,
like a shining speck of hope hanging over the horizon
With each passing year that I sit here
that horizon seems to inch just that much nearer
and all that appears on it seems as clear as spit
But if there's on thing in my life
that these years have taught
it's that you can always see it coming
but you can never stop it
Speed River at my feet running low and flat
I'm sitting here burning daylight,
thinking about the past
and that distance out there
where the earth meets the sky
The slightest move and this river mud
pulls me further down
John's at my side,
but he's not noticing that I'm drowning
The slightest move and this river mud
pulls me further down
John's at my side,
but he's not noticing that I'm drowning
A candle burning for everything I've ever wanted
A tattoo burned for everything I've ever wanted and lost
I had a long list of names that I kept in my back pocket
But I've cut it down to one and your name's at the top
Won't you share a common disaster?
Share with me a common disaster
A common disaster
I found myself a friend but he's crooked as a stick in water
So now I'm writing fairy tales to catch the spirit of revenge
He's got a plan to steal my little sister
But I'm not too concerned 'cause I will get him in the end
Won't you share a common disaster?
Share with me a common disaster
A common disaster
Going to find me someone to share
A common disaster
Run away with me from a life so cramped and dull
Not worry too much about the happily-ever-after
And just keep the Caddy moving
Till we're well beyond that hill
Won't you share a common disaster?
Share with me a common disaster
(Michael Timmins)
You're clean as a widow woman's washboard, son,
stick it in the wind
Put the mountains to your back
the great plains on your grille
time to take a little spin
Boulder looks like the type of town
that I could spend some time,
but in Houston they got our name in lights
You're clean as a widow woman's washboard, son,
the slab is yours tonight
Townes is in the back lounge
with his hands in his pocket
pulls out two dice and says, 'Let's get at it'
Salina in the headlights, snake eyes on the floor,
Al drops another twenty, Pete heads for the door,
Springer's feeling lucky, sits down for a spell,
Oklahoma City and he's lost his last bill
Jeff is in a bind waiting on sister hicks
seven comes a-calling
as we cross on into Texas
Townes is in the back lounge
with a fist full of fives
he says, 'It's a little bit long
but I'm enjoying this ride'
Be careful with the dice
when you're surrounded by others
with boxcars in their eyes
Never count your winnings at hour 23
of a 24-hour drive
Remember that you're not the one
calling the tune
that's making those diamonds dance
or you'll be clean as
a widow woman's washboard, son,
and those are the facts
Townes is in the back lounge cursing at them bones
he says, 'Ain't this fool ever heard of Raton'
(Michael Timmins)
This street holds its secrets like a cobra holds its kill
This street minds its business like a jailer minds his jail
That house there is haunted
That door's a portal to hell
This street holds its secrets very well
That man wears his skin like a dancer wears her veils
That man stalks his victims like a cancer stalks a cell
That man's soul has left him his heart's as deadly as a rusty nail
That man sheds his skin like a veil
Lord, you play a hard game, you know we follow every rule
Then you take the one thing we thought we'd never lose
All I ask is if she's with you please keep her warm and safe
and if it's in your power please purge the memory of this place
This life holds its secrets like a sea shell holds the sea,
soft and distant calling like a fading memory
This life has its victories but its defeats tear so viciously
This life holds its secrets like the sea
(Michael Timmins)
The flies have quit their buzzing
Even Bear has stopped his barking
They all sense something brewing
up the James and headed this way
Bobby sips his morning coffee
Says `Have you finished with the funnies?
Looks like a storm's coming honey
guess we'll have to stay in bed today'
I've heard that into every life
a little of it must fall
If there's any truth to the saying,
Lord, let it be a southern rain
Marie was born in Macon, Georgia
She met a west coast lawyer
He plucked that sweet magnolia
and carried her to the hills of West L.A.
She says `I never thought I'd tire of a dollar
But this life has grown so hollow
Every night there's lipstick on his collar
and every morning I wash it away'
She heard that into every life
a little of it must fall
So she spends her evenings praying
for a little of that southern rain
Cars alive on city streets
of sparkling black water
like waves beneath my window
never break just roll away
Tonight, this rain will be my lullaby
these cars, my dreams
to carry me home to stay
The wipers beat a rhythm
Truck spray obscures my vision
But I'm closing in on my destination
Two more hours and I'll be at your door
And it will never cease to amaze me
how a little rain can drive folks crazy
When I'd trade all my blue skies gladly
for your blue eyes, crooked smile
and a steady downpour
I've heard that into every life
a little of it must fall,
but you'll never catch me complaining
about too much of that southern rain
(Michael Timmins)
Murder tonight in the trailer park
Mrs. Annabelle Evans found
with her throat cut after dark
Her pockets turned inside out
her dresser drawers turned upside down
Anna's neighbour, Peg, identifies the body
lets out a hollow kind of sound
Homicide is tying yellow ribbons
around her silver Airstream
Red cherries slashing up the night
cutting through that cordoned crime scene
There's been a murder
in the trailer park tonight
Murder tonight in the trailer park
Pack your things Ann Marie,
we're heading west
we're going to make a fresh start
I've been saving pennies,
been looking forward to this day
No time for questions are you coming
or are you going to stay?
Crosstown at the Waterton
George Evans is sitting tall and tight,
buying drinks for all the regulars
bragging about how them bones
danced for him tonight
There's been a murder
in the trailer park tonight
Murder tonight in the trailer park
Faceless man counting crumpled bills,
hotel neon fights the dark
TV set in the corner, they're talking murder
on the late-night news
He turns down the sound,
waits for the sports,
he only wants to know,
'Did I win or did I lose'
There's been a murder
in the trailer park tonight
Murder tonight in the trailer park
(Michael Timmins)
If you were the woman and I was the man
would I send you yellow roses
would I dare to kiss your hand?
In the morning would I caress you
as the wind caresses the sand,
if you were the woman and I was the man?
If I was the heart and you were the head
would you think me very foolish
if one day I decided to shed
these walls that surround me
just to see where these feelings led,
if I was the heart and you were the head?
If I was the woman and you were the man
would I laugh if you came to me
with your heart in your hand
and said, 'I offer you this freely
and will give you all that I can
because you are the woman
and I am the man?'
(Townes Van Zandt)
Townes Van Zandt Music ASCAP
Baby hit the back door
breathin' real heavy
said the boys in the alley
wouldn't leave her alone
Mama did her make-up in a terrible hurry
she finally got ready
but the boys were gone
Mama don't you worry,
night's approachin'
there's a hole in heaven
where some sin slips through
just close your eyes and dream real steady
maybe just a little will spill on you
Dark don't lie
Dreams come true
Could be a few will see you through
Old lady Rose, lookin' down her nose
at lonely Miss Lily hiding in the hall
Lily's just praying for the trial to be over
lady Rose just waiting for the axe to fall
Show me off on the way to town
the sky's still shiny
and the earth's still brown
Tell the judge I'm ready for the vases
gonna dance in their faces
when the guitar sounds
Won't be long
I won't be gone
Been leaning toward the shadows all along
Those in the know say so it goes
you plan on reapin', you better sow
You plan on sleepin',
you better keep movin'
sleepin' ain't allowed around here,
you know
Snake eyes cry
Boxcars sigh
Seven's stuck in the middle
just wonderin' why
Dark don't lie
Dreams come true
All it takes is one or two
Maybe just a few will see you through
(Michael Timmins)
Black eyed man he took the blame
for the poisoning of the well
They found this shoes by the pulley
They found his fingerprints all over the pail
Black eyed man I'm warning you
the people around here
will not be fooled by a simple line or two
Yes your honour I do solemnly swear
that I saw him late last night,
dancing barefoot, bathed in light
and reaching for every star in sight
Yes I did go to him,
but completely against my will
and yes he did things to me
things of which I dream of still
Black eyed man I'm warning you
what I say is what you'll do
to hell with love and truth
I always meant to say I'm sorry
for all the things I said and did
'Sorry,' I feel better now, do you?
But you promised me the sky
and fell short a star or two
What else did you expect me to do?
Black eyed man he took the blame
for the poisoning of the well
They found his shoes by the pulley
They found his fingerprints all over the pail
With a noose around his neck,
cicadas trilling everywhere,
he says to the people gathered round him,
'it ain't the water that's not right around here'
Black eyed man I'm thirsty dear
be a love and bring some water here
drawn fresh from the well
Sitting in a square room
My voice is freezing
And the beams that are bouncing off the moon
Are hanging from my window like icicles
Just a tired old alcoholic, waxing bucolic
Shivering and homesick
Staring at a wooden floor
Staring at a wooden floor
Last night I nearly killed myself
Chasing rum with rum
There were crows flying all around my head
And I sure caught and ate me some
Funny how I alienated
Those who I was trying just so, so hard to impress
Now half those fuckers hate me
And I'm just a fool to all the rest
Why do I insist on drinking myself to the grave?
Why do I dream about cozy coffin?
I had all these plans of great things to accomplish
But I end up purely pathetic more than often
Sitting in a square room
When the bottom fell out
There wasn't any doubt
I just suddenly found myself free falling
And from such a height
The wind it had a might
And it took all my might to fight the fright
And falling spread eagle
Must of formed an airfoil or some kind of wing
And I gained some equilibrium
And caught myself gliding
And the bottom fell out
I'm sure it's heard and shout
So long its been good to know ya
And when I finally smashed
Into that burning grass
If you've gone and made your mind up
About leaving tomorrow
Take it all, but leave
My cutting board behind
I can see my way ahead
I reach this closed doorway
Try as i might
I can't find my way behind
Do you see the end of time
Or a new level
Next time, alone
We'll leave the others behind
If you've gone and made your mind up
'bout leaving tomorrow
Take it all, but leave
Now it all begins
Or continues to
Spiral down
Spiral down
I've laid it out on paper
Instructions of what to do
As my mind begins to waver
Losing contact with you
Now it all begins
Or continues to
Spiral down
Spiral down
Look upon the self
Look upon the other
We need a better understanding
Or we'll spiral down
Spiral down
Continue to spiral down
I'm no where near my peace
Shirts in the closet, shoes in the hall
Mama's in the kitchen, baby and all
Everything is everything
Everything is everything
But you're missing
Coffee cups on the counter, jackets on the chair
Papers on the doorstep, you're not there
Everything is everything
Everything is everything
But you're missing
Pictures on the nightstand, tv's on in the den
Your house is waiting, your house is waiting
For you to walk in, for you to walk in
But you're missing, you're missing
You're missing when i shut out the lights
You're missing when i close my eyes
You're missing when i see the sun rise
You're missing
Children are asking if it's alright
Will you be in our arms tonight?
Morning is morning, the evening falls i got
Too much room in my bed, too many phone calls
How's everything, everything?
Everything, is everything you're missing, you're missing
God's drifting in heaven, devil's in the mailbox
Raise a white sail if you love me
A black sail if you don't
Seal me up in an impregnable tower
Or surround me with an impassable moat
I've heard all the stories told about love
Unattainable and pure
But there is one love of which I'm sure
Your fear as honed as a battle axe
I'll bear my neck, I'll wear the scar
And if my nerve should fail the task
I know your faith will not roam too far
I've heard all the stories told about love
Two souls into one
But this tale of love is one we've just begun
Isolde had her Tristan
But love potions are not what we need
And Paris had his Helen
But it was infatuation that was plain to see
What I desire is your trust to inspire
This love for you which grows in me
Plant a rose tree on his grave
And on mine plant a vine
As seasons pass and markers fade
Watch them slowly intertwine
I've heard all the stories told about love
'Til death do us part
But our love is a vow which has been wrought
From heart to heart
Oberheim, Yamaha, Steinway and the lot
I must of played the wrong piano
'Cause it left me with I don't know what
So don't talk to me about mistakes
Yes, we all simply have got to take precautions
I musta played the wrong piano
'Cause now I just, I just feel nauseous
Some sexual turned in some biblical
And then became a game of just trivial pursuit
I used to gnaw on every word
But now I don't, what's the use?
Rupert Murdock and Larry Flint
Bob Guccione and the U.S. Mint
I took out the wrong subscription
And I don't know what I'm gonna end up spending
We hovered with short wings
Over the hillock crest
A breath-like [Incomprehensible]
Glowing, showing bones
Glowing, showing bones
With much bellowing and rowing
A change of directioning let you out
Deaf and loud
Let you out
A hungry, hungry awful hunter
A breath, his came asunder
(The old dog makes padded cake)
As the aged come for me
I was walking after midnight
Yeah, out in the moonlight
The way we used to do
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you
I stop to see a weeping willow
Crying on his pillow
Maybe he's a crying for me
And as the nights turn gloomy
The night winds whisper to me
I'm lonesome as I can be
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you
I walk for miles along the highway
Well that's just my way
Of saying I love you
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you
I walk for miles along the highway
Searching for you
I'm always walking after midnight
Yeah, out in the moonlight
Hoping you may be
Somewhere a walking after midnight
Searching for me
I'm always walking after midnight
I was walking after midnight
Yeah, out in the moonlight the way we used to do
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you
I stop to see a weeping willow crying on his pillow
Maybe he's a-crying for me
And as the skies turn gloomy
The night winds whisper to me I'm lonesome as I can be
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you
I walk for miles along the highway
Well, that's just my way of saying love you
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you
I walk for miles along the highway
Searching for you
I'm always walking after midnight
Yeah, out in the moonlight
Hoping you may be somewhere
A-walking after midnight searching for me
I'm always walking after midnight
Jesus, sweet Jesus if you're listening
Can you pass me to your pa?
I'm having a hard time understanding
Why he's so cruel and demanding with his love
Darling, sweet darling keep whispering
I'll find you through this din
Sitting and watching
Two flames busy dancing to our love
Grab on to this moment
Inhale it, hold it inside
Savor it's sweetness
Yearn for the slide
Grab on to this moment
Inhale it, hold it inside
Savor it's sweetness
Yearn for the slide
Jesus, sweet Jesus if you're listening
Can you pass me to your pa?
I'm having a hard time understanding
Why he's so discriminating with his love
I'm having a hard time understanding
Why he's so discriminating with his love
With his love, yeah with his love
West of Rome
Just east of the border in a staticy Ramada Inn
Polishing his boots and pummelin' his liver
Steeped in his dark isolation
Just what business does, he have around here
Credentials are wearing out with each little bit of cheer
Yes, it's a bad scene we're convening
Brushin' his teeth and milkin' his ulcer
Preparing to waste another wily mornin'
Strokin' himself and phoning up his sister
He tells her their life would make one whale of a movie
Yes, a childhood full of dry goods and wet neglect
The father they now sponge off of
They have no absorbin' respect
Yes, he's a glad boy to have such a void
Yes, he's a martyr crawling across cobble stones
From his cozy cottages, just west of Rome
Another note afloat upon this paper sea
Explain to me
How this can be
Another face erased
From this tidal pool
Found one day
Then swept away
I will carry you my love
If you can carry me
Through this summer of our discontent
Another day away
From clutching hands
Explain to me
How this can be
I will carry you my love
If you can carry me
Through this summer of our discontent
Another falling wave
Upon this crumbling beach
How many more
Until we meet?
I will carry you my love
If you can carry me
Built a king on compliments
Charisma and advertisements
Still they see him shimmer ephemeral
It ain't supernatural, no
It ain't supernatural
Supernatural, baby
An out of body experience
I flew around the hospital room once
On intravenous Demerol
It was supernatural, no
It was supernatural
Supernatural maybe
Sudden smell, a certain view
Sparks a whoppin' case of the déjà vu
Is it inexplicable? It ain't supernatural, no, no
It ain't
Supernatural
"The air in here smells like piss and beer
The sweet cycle of life", Georgie E would say.
Thirteen grandchildren gathered around
Looking down into the ground.
"A slow descent into darkness,
I deserve no less",
His last words carried like an offering
Upon his dying breath.
The sweet, sweet cycle of you and I.
The sweet, sweet memories of you and me
And the way we used to be.
I live, like in a dream, among the ruins,
Of what has been.
The slow descent into madness,
The churning swell of love and chaos
What was once at hand was now
Forbade to touch.
The sweet, sweet cycle of you and I.
The sweet, sweet memories of you and me
And the way we used to be.
Annie won't you sit and have another drink with me?
I'll keep them waiting while you sip your tea.
Annie won't you sit and list them one more time,
The reasons why I failed to to keep you mine?
Regret is for your those with choices,
Those will voices,
Those with reasons to stick around.
So cast me deep into those black depths
With the reassurance that Death gets
The sons-of-bitches too.
(and they won't be coming back for you)
The sweet, sweet cycle of you and I.
The sweet, sweet cycle of you and me.
The sweet, sweet cycle of you and I.
The sweet, sweet memories of you and me
And the way we used to be
When we were free,
Sun comes up, it's Tuesday morning
Hits me straight in the eye
Guess you forgot to close the blind last night
Oh, that's right, I forgot it was me
I sure do miss the smell of black coffee in the morning
The sound of water splashing all over the bathroom
The kiss that you would give me even though I was sleeping
But I kind of like the feel of this extra few feet in my bed
Telephone's ringing but I don't answer it
'Cause everybody knows that good news always sleeps till noon
Guess it's tea and toast for breakfast again
And maybe I'll add a little T.V. too
No milk, God, how I hate that
Guess I'll go to the corner, get breakfast from Jenny
She's got a black eye this morning, "Jen, how'd ya get it?"
She says, "Last night, Bobby got a little bit out of hand"
Lunchtime, I start to dial your number
Then I remember so I reach for something to smoke
And anyways I'd rather listen to Coltrane
Than go through all that shit again
There's something about an afternoon spent doing nothing
Just listening to records and watching the sun falling
Thinking of things that don't have to add up to something
And this spell won't be broken by the sound of keys scraping in the lock
Maybe tonight it's a movie with plenty of room
For elbows and knees a bag of popcorn all to myself
Black and white with a strong female lead
And if I don't like it, no debate, I'll leave
Here comes that feeling that I'd forgotten
How strange these streets feel when you're alone on them
Each pair of eyes just filled with suggestion
So I lower my head, make a beeline for home seething inside
Funny, I'd never noticed
The sound the streetcars make as they pass my window
Which reminds me that I forgot to close the blind again
Yeah, sure I'll admit there are times when I miss you
Especially like now when I need someone to hold me
But there are some things that can never be forgiven
Up on the bluff, where I wish I was
Twistin' up the pages of history
My cold feet danglin', my bony arms gesturin'
To summon up little chunk of that history
In the corridor the shadows are long
And it messes with my equilibrium
And there's strains of a strange language
Up on the bluff, where the hardwood's jut
Out toward the gusts of history
My crusty mind cracks, my restless heart tracks
The fractal lines of history
In the corridor the shadows are long
And it messes with my equilibrium
And there's strains of a strange language
In the corridor the shadows are long
And it messes with my equilibrium
Meet me on the banks of the Yangtze, Suzie
Beneath the glare of the New-West Yard
We’ll watch the barges cart away the waste of another day
We’ll watch the barges cart away the waste of another day
Meet me in the middle of Renmin Park
Where the stone bridge meets the pond
We’ll watch the ducklings gobbling bread
And the stealth of the approaching swan
We’ll watch the ducklings gobbling bread
And the stealth of the approaching swan
Listen for the song of the propane seller
Bouncing off the walls
His morning cry a promise to you from me
His morning song a blessing on you and me
Meet me on the banks of the Yangtze, Suzie
Beside the gate of the New-West Yard
We’ll watch the darkness leach away into the haze of another day
Eyed it, dried it, untied it
Chilled it, spilled it, refilled it
Taste it, traced it, erased it
He's my post to lean on
And I just cut him down
So I'm out to land on somethin'
Hopefully a boy will come to me at the ground
Eyed it, dried it, untied it
Chilled it, spilled it, refilled it
Taste it, trace it, erased it
He's my post to lean on
And I just cut him down
So I'm out to land on somethin'
Hopefully a boy will come to me at the ground
He's my post to lean on
And I just cut him down
So I'm out to land on somethin'
Time slips away
And the light begins to fade
And everything is quiet now
Feeling is gone
And the picture disappears
And everything is cold now
The dream had to end
The wish never came true
And the girl, starts to sing
Seventeen seconds
A measure of life
Fifty miles from Dakota territory
Cheyenne scalp hangs from his belt
Found him alone washing in the Bighorn
A steady aim and he bagged his game
Pale sun falls without contest
Here is obedient darkness
He will not return
White Cadillac, white man at the wheel
White faces on the mountain
Wounds that will never heal
"Black clouds overhead", old man says
"Looks like rain"
Thieves' Road winds to the Black Hills sign
Says South Dakota, U.S.A.
Grass plains stretch to the horizon
Not a soul can be found on them
They will not return
Old rusted pickup and a mad dog in the yard
Purple paint peels but fails to reveal
The bitterness that grows inside
Cloud of dust in the distance
Strange knock beneath my hood
Is it better to have words left unsaid
Than to have words misunderstood?
Pale sun falls without contest
Here is obedient darkness
He'll return, I know he will return
My Boy Burns
(Michael Timmins)
My Boy Burns
Like a 5 alarm fire
My Boy Burns
Like a 5 alarm fire
Tears and ash in his wake
Tears and ash in his wake
My Boy Burns
Like the tail of a comet
My Boy Burns
Like the tail of a comet
And we are tossed in his wake
And we are tossed in his wake
My Boy Burns
with the fire of a prophet
My Boy Burns
With the fire of a prophet
Sun and Moon in his hands
Sun and Moon in his hands
We are drawn in his wake
Well, won't you lend your lungs to me? Mine are collapsing
Plant my feet and bitterly breathe up the time that's passing
Breath, I'll take and breath, I'll give and pray the day's not poison
Stand among the ones that live in lonely indecision
Fingers walk the darkness down, mind is on the midnight
Gather up the gold you've found, you fool, it's only moonlight
And if you try to take it home your hands will turn to butter
You better leave this dream alone, try to find another
Salvation sat and crossed herself and called The Devil partner
Wisdom burned upon a shelf, who'll kill the raging cancer?
Seal the river at it's mouth, take the water prisoner
Fill the skies with screams and cries, bathe in fiery answers
Jesus was an only son and love his only concept
Strangers talk in foreign tongues and dirty up the doorstep
And I for one and you for two ain't got time for outside
Just keep your injured looks to you, we'll tell the world we tried
Sat at my window watched the world wake up this morning
Purple sky slowly turning golden distant elms so orange
You'd swear they're burning
All this flowing water has got my mind wandering
Do You ever finally reach a point of knowing
Or do You just wake up one day and say, "I am going?"
What will I tell You when you ask me why I'm crying?
Will I point above at the red tail gracefully soaring
Or down below where it's prey is quietly trembling?
Two thousand years ago Jesus is left there hanging
Purple sky slowly turning golden
The cowards at His feet loudly laughing
Loved ones stumbling homeward their words reeling
Red tail above my head quietly soaring
Waters turn from ice, creak is roaring
You file me with the libertines
I fold in line
My monthly dole of magazines
Beaming bistro shines
In my ladle is your plum
And my daily staple of your cutesy crumbs
Of your cutesy falling crumbs
I saw you at the snazzy din, din
You made me sad that I watched
I must say you truly packed 'em in
Nearly dearly debauched
In my ladle is your plum
And my daily staple of your cutesy crumbs
Of your cutesy falling crumbs
In my ladle is your plum
And my daily staple of your cutesy crumbs
To Hunting Ground from City.
That's where my baby took me with her smile.
To Hunting Ground from City.
I never thought that I'd have to retrace those miles.
It's been a while since I've seen that smile
Appear upon her face
And now I find I'm slowly drifting back
From Hunting Ground to City.
To Hunting Ground from City.
Our daughters eyes they took us for a ride.
To Hunting Ground from City.
Cat's eyes sparkling, blue eyes in my mind.
We said goodbye under a drop of sky
We left her in that place
And now we find we're slowly drifting back
From Hunting Ground to City.
From Hunting Ground from City.
The journey down is sure to be a laugh.
From Hunting Ground from City.
At least we'll have each other to see it pass.
I've seen that line of broken minds
And I fear to join it's ranks,
But still I find I'm slowly drifting back
I am a man
I am self-aware
And everywhere I go
You are always right there with me
I flirted with you all my life
Even kissed you once or twice
And to this day I swear it was nice
But clearly I was not ready.
When you touched a friend of mine
I thought I would lose my mind
And I found out with time
That really I was not ready, no, no
Oh death, oh death, oh death, really, I'm not ready
Oh death,
You me
Decimate those dear to me
Teased me with your sweet release
You are full and you are constant.
When my Mom she was cancer sick,
She fought but then succumbed to it
But you made her beg for it
Sweet Jesus, please I'm ready.
Oh death, oh death, oh death
Really, I'm not ready, no no no.
I'm not ready
I'm not ready
No, no
Oh death, oh death,
Can't lose the taste of this river mud
Black water in my lungs
They say you can't step in the same river twice
Well I've been steppin' in this river
Seems like most of my life, so
Sharpen up those dragging hooks
Pull that sheepshank tight
Cast into the river, boys
We're dragging for lost years tonight
See that man he's lost his wife
Said she's be home by eight
But that was well on three weeks ago
Now he's walking those banks, searcher reduced to her fate, yeah
See that boy he's lost his girl
Flash flood stole her away
Now he keeps a vigil on that suspension bridge
Praying for that river to return her one day, so
Sharpen up those dragging hooks
Tie that clove hitch tight
Cast into the river boys
We're dragging for lost love tonight
Can't lose the taste of this river mud
Black water in my lungs
They say even the weariest river in the end will find the sea
But here among the cattails all we discuss is breaking free, so
Sharpen up those dragging hooks
Pull that sheepshank tight
Cast into the water boys
We're dragging for lost souls tonight, so
Sharpen up those dragging hooks
Pull that sheepshank tight
Cast into the water boys
Michael Timmins
She hugged his head so hard to her heart
it made her gasp for air.
If this was not the way Love felt
then for Love she did not care.
"I want to run beside a moving train
yelling farewells in the rain.
The tears that fall will be bittersweet,
'cause I know I'll see him again."
If I lost you know I would feel as hollow as a bone.
He could not help but hang his eyes
her beauty held him so.
If this was not a state of Grace
then, Grace, he'd never know.
"I want to yell farewell from a crowded pier
just me and a thousand goodbyes.
The tears that fall will be bittersweet,
'cause soon she'll be back my side."
If I lost you know I would feel as hollow as a bone.
"You won't lose me ", he replied,
"together our lives have been sewn.
If I lost you now I would feel as hollow as a bone.
We will kiss goodnight under a starlit sky
whisper oaths at a lumbering moon,
dream sweet dreams until the morning comes
and serves us the dawn in our room."
Michael Timmins
Stuck in that dark hole again.
Someone throw me a ladder
on which I can depend.
Someone give me a handhold
to help me ascend.
Someone give me a reason
to start up these walls once again.
Lost in those gray clouds again.
Trying to punch my way through them
as fear settles in.
Earth growing larger as I fall into a spin.
Someone give me a reason
to take on those gray clouds again.
Caught in this rip tide again.
My mouth wide open,
the sea pouring in.
Perhaps I'll just float here
and see where this journey ends.
Until someone gives me a reason
The beautiful is not chosen
The chosen becomes beautiful
The beautiful is not chosen
The chosen becomes beautiful
Please do not forsake me now
Sparkling gone with darkling days
I drift at times I know it's true
But I always drift on back to you
The beautiful is not chosen
The chosen becomes beautiful
I have never tired of
Manna falling from above
When conscious thought
Meets careless heart
And two lost souls find one fresh start
Lie with me upon the earth
Feel it's curve beneath our spines
Soon we'll follow it around
One lost soul finally found
The beautiful is not chosen
The chosen becomes beautiful
These are known as darkling days
Rhyming schemes gone askew
Crackling gifts of light and air
Exploding words ours to share
Ours to share the beautiful is not chosen
Ours to share the chosen becomes beautiful
Ours to share the beautiful is not chosen
Ours to share the chosen becomes beautiful
Ours to share the beautiful is not chosen
Ours to share the chosen becomes beautiful
Saigon, it was all gone
The same coke machines as the streets i grew on
Down a mesquite canyon we come walking along the ridge
Me and the brothers under the bridge
Campsite's an hour's walk from the nearest road to town
Up here there's too much brush and canyon for the chp choppers to touch down
Ain't lookin' for nothin', just wanna live
Me and the brothers under the bridge
Come the santa ana's, man, that dry brush'll light
Billy devon got burned up in his own campfire one winter night
We buried his body in the white stone high up along the ridge
Me and the brothers under the bridge
Had enough of town and the street life
Over nothing you end up on the wrong end of someone's knife
Now i don't want no trouble and i ain't got none to give
Me and the brothers under the bridge
I come home in '72
You were just a beautiful light in your mama's dark eyes of blue
I stood down on the tarmac, i was just a kid
Me and the brothers under the bridge
Come veteran's day i sat in the stands in my dress blues
I held your mother's hand when they passed with the red, white and blue
Mouths to feed, shoes to buy
Rent to pay, tears to dry
Brand new world
I can't relate
Let us choose
To not participate
Open up
Let me wander in
Your heart is not
Such a tender thing
Brand new world
I contend
Only love
Will stop the withering
Oh, to lie in wait
As the shadows and the shapes
Spill across the walls
Like a river
Deep
In spate
Four am
Dark reality
Brand new world
And my heart
Where'd you go my blue eyed saviour
Where'd you go my darling one
Lying on that field of honour
Not sure what you're waiting on
And she won't let him through the door
Her mind is ticking through those tumbling years
The one's he promised he'd be there for
She says, "hope: the belief that loved ones will never die"
I've never heard such nonsense
I've never heard such lies
What to do with our sputtering engine
What to do with our fading star
Leaving us to wander freely
Trying to find out where we are
And I can't bear to see him go
There is just too much left on the table
There has been too much left alone
She says, "hope: the belief that loved ones will never die"
I've never heard such nonsense
I've never heard such lies
Listen to my wide eyed bundle
Listen to them assail the night
Lost again in their caves of wonder
Leaving us alone outside
And I can barely stand the simple pleasure
Each breath carrying just a little more weight
As I bend to adjust the comforter
I think, "hope: the belief that loved ones will never die"
I've never heard such nonsense
Betty Lonely lives in a duplex of Stucco
On the north bank of a brackish river
Her ears omit noise from a nearby airstrip
Her mind floats beyond the snapper boats
Betty Lonely, her green eyes are roughly staring
At a point through a sliding glass door
Her heart lives over the drawbridge
Her brain is wet like a throw net
Betty Lonely, she will always think in Spanish
Though I know her Spanish black hair, it will start to fade
She sunk her past out in the surrounding salt flats
Her maidenhood was lost beneath the Spanish moss
Betty Lonely just talks to her grandbaby
Everybody else, she blots them out
But her words stick like a flounder gig
The money would be pretty good
If a quart of milk were still a dollar
Or even if a quart of milk were still a quart
And the hours, well, I don't mind
How they creep on by like an old love of mine
It's the years that simply disappear that are doing me in
Guess I married too young
Yeah, nineteen was just too young
But sometimes you meet someone and your guts just burn
It's not that I don't love him anymore
It's just that when I hear him coming through that front door
My heart doesn't race like it did once before
But I've got a horse out in the country
Oh yeah, I get to see him every second Sunday
He comes when I call him
Yeah, he knows his name
One day I'll saddle up
And the two of us will ride away
This weather I could almost stand
If the sun would shine a little brighter
Or even if the sun would shine at all
But lately it just seems to me
That this life has lost it's mystery
And these cold fall mornings seem to bite
Just a little bit harder
And all my friends have settled down
Become their mothers and their fathers
Without a sound, except for Cathy
She got a one-way subway ticket
And left us all behind
But I've got a horse out in the country
Oh yeah, I get to see him every second Sunday
He comes when I call him
Yeah, he knows his name
One day I'll saddle up
And the two of us will ride away
This town wouldn't be so bad
If a girl could trust her instincts
There's a young man in the corner playing 'Crazy' all night long
quarters piled high upon the table
He orders Wild Turkey and with a quick wit and a smile
he says, 'My darling, you're the one I'll drape in sable'
But his baseball cap and this bar-room rap
tell me a different story
that this is not my prince to grant all my wishes
Just another lonely country-boy grown weary of the night
Just another boy with a sink full of dirty dishes
Where are you tonight?
When I left you in my dreams last night
you promised me that we would be breaking free
Where are you tonight?
He tells me of the back roads
and how we'll drive them all night long
how the days will fade and the moon will hang forever
and how the cloud of dust we'll kick up will linger like a song
and the myth will grow about the two who refused to surrender
Then I catch us in the bar-room mirror
with his arm around my shoulder
this girl I see has grown so unfamiliar
and as she stands to leave with a stranger by her side
she can't help but laugh at a life grown so peculiar
Where are you tonight?
I don't think I can face tomorrow's light
not knowing if you'll be there to guide me
Where are you tonight?
Where are you tonight?
I think that I'll make it through all right,
Settling now
Once again
What was begun
Will meet it's end
Running now
Time to hide
Go inside
It's time to hide
Here we stand at the end of paths taken
(guiding light inspiration)
The slow decline
The crumbling foundation, the stations, and now the cross
But we're still lost
Waiting now
Dull roots twinning
Keeping watch
For new roots shining
There you stand at the edge of salvation
(guiding light inspiration)
The slow decline
The crumbling foundation, the stations, and now the cross
She says, "It's cold where you brought me"
He says, "Darling, don't worry
You can stay in my arms until the springtime comes
We'll let the snow drift around us
And wait for the robin and the crocus
To tell us that our love has again found the sun"
Lone oak stands tall, bare arms scratch the sky
Dry leaves cracking beneath our feet
Hand in hand we've watched the autumn fires burn
Summer's dreams collapsing, chestnuts in need of gathering
The whole world lies rotting in the street
And soon we will walk with collars high
Like ramparts raised for the siege
We'll bow to her beauty cower from her fury
Sent as a judgment for a slight long past forgotten
Winter's love once again unrequited
Winter's love once again unrequited
She says, "Babe are you sleeping?"
He says, "No, wide awake and thinking
Of a dream I just had about the two of us"
He takes his hand to her cheek now
His lips to her brow their whispers pile softly
He was just a blue-eyed boston boy
His voice was low with pain
I'll do your bidding commrad mine
If i ride back again
But if you ride back and i am dead
You'll do as much for me
Mother, you know, must hear the news
So write to her tenderly
She's a-waiting at home like a patient saint
Her fallen face paled with woe
Her heart would be broken when i am gone
I'll see her soon, i know.
Just then the order came to charge
For an instant hand touched hand
They sayed "aye" and away they rode
That brave and devoted band
Straight was the course to the top of the hill
And the rebels they shot and shelled
Plowed furroughs of death through the toiling ranks
And guarded them as they fell
There soon was a horrible dying yell
From heights that they could not gain
And those who doom and death had spared
Rode slowly back again
But among the dead that were left on the hill
Was the boy with curly hair
The tall dark man who fought by his side
Lay dead beside him there
Well there was was no one to write to the blue-eyed girl
The words that her lover had said
While mother at home is awaiting her boy
She'll only know he's dead
Won't say I love you babe
Won't say I need you babe
But I'm going to get you babe
and I will not do you wrong
Living's mostly wasting time
and I waste my share of mine
but it never feels too good
so let's not take too long
You're as soft as glass and I'm a gentle man
we got the sky to talk about
and the world to lie upon
Days up and down they come
like rain on a conga drum
forget most, remember some
but don't turn none away
Everything is not enough
nothing is too much to bear
where you been is good and gone
all you keep's the getting there
To live is to fly low and high
so shake the dust off of your wings
and the sleep out of your eyes
It's goodbye to all my friends
It's time to go again
Think of all the poetry
and the pickin' down the line
I'll miss the system here
the bottom's low and the treble's clear
but it don't pay to think too much
on the things you leave behind
I may be gone but I won't be long
I'll be bringing back the melody
and the rhythm that I find
We all got holes to fill
and them holes are all that's real
some fall on you like a storm
sometimes you dig your own
But choice is yours to make
time is yours to take
some dive into the sea
some toil upon the stone
To live is to fly low and high
so shake the dust off of your wings
The water is wide, I can not cross over
Neither have I wings to fly
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row, my love and I
Love is gentle and love is kind
The sweetest flower when first it's new
But love grows old and waxes cold
and fades away like morning dew
The water is wide, I can not cross over
Neither have I wings to fly
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row, my love and I
Mornings feel so damn sad these days
Without the call of the 8:15
That old familiar echo has finally died away
Leaving nothin' but a chill
Where there once was a mighty scream
And I've watched the flat cars take away our timber
I've watched the coal cars steal our rock
And now that we've got nothin' left to take, we're told
That the wheels will stop turnin'
The whistles will stop blowin'
These foolish dreams must stop
Last year they closed down the post office
Took the only flag we had in town
That old brick building still stands like a Cenotaph
To a vision lost and buried in a very distant past
And I've watched the flat cars take away our timber
I've watched the coal cars steal our rock
And now that we've got nothin' left to take, we're told
That the wheels will stop turnin'
The whistles will stop blowin'
These foolish dreams must stop
The longest train I'd ever seen
Was the train that you were on
I walked you to the station
We kissed and you were gone
I dream at night about your comin' home
The train in the station, your uniform on fire
As you step onto the platform
The band plays a little louder
And as we embrace, your cap falls off
Oh, I guess these foolish dreams must stop
Mornings feel so damn sad these days
Without the call of the 8:15
Looks like this town is finally gonna die away
Leavin' nothin' but broken promises
Where there once was small town dreams
And I've watched the flat cars take away our timber
I've watched the coal cars steal our rock
And now that we've got nothin' left to take, we're told
That the TV station will be closin'
Main Street windows will need boardin'
"Sweet Jane"
Lou Reed
Velvet Underground
Standing on the corner, suitcase in my hand,
Jack is in his corset, and Jane is in her vest, and, me,
I'm in a rock'n'roll band. Huh!
Ridin' in a Stutz-Bearcat, Jim
Y'know, those were different times!
Oh, all the poet, they studied rules of verse,
And the ladies, they rolled their eyes.
Sweet Jane! Whoa! Sweet Jane, oh-oh-a! Sweet Jane!
I'll tell you something,
Jack, he is a banker,
And Jane, she is a clerk.
Both of them save their monies, ha,
And when, when they come home from work!
Ooh! Sittin' down by the fire, oh!
The radio does play,
The classical music there, Jim.
"The March of the Wooden Soldiers".
All you protest kids.
You can hear Jack say, get ready, ah,
Sweet Jane! Come on baby! Sweet Jane! Oh-oh-a! Sweet Jane!
Some people, they like to go out dancing,
And other peoples, they have to work. Just watch me now!
And there's even some evil mothers,
Well they're gonna tell you that everything is just dirt.
Y'know that, women, never really faint,
And that villains always blink their eyes, woo!
And that, y'know, children are the only ones who blush!
And that, life is, just to die!
And, everyone who ever had a heart, oh,
That wouldn't turn around and break it.
And anyone who ever played a part, whoa,
And wouldn't turn around and hate it!
Sweet Jane! Whoa-oh-oh! Sweet Jane! Sweet Jane. Sweet Jane.
Someday soon
I'm going to find myself a saviour
Sit him on the naugahide
And make him tell me the answers
Someday soon
He'll look at me
With the word in his eyes
He'll notice the hero to come
Someday soon
Someday soon
I'm going to find myself a leader
Someone who can take me
By the hand towards safety
Someday soon
With only a wink
He'll tell me all i need know
His personal call will come
Someday soon
Find myself another heart to carry this weight
Find another part to take
Someday soon
I'm going to find myself a banner
March when they tell me to
Cheer when it matters
Someday soon
Let's take our place
At the back of the bus
Erase all the lies we've been told
Shoulder the load of those that are dear
And look to the days to come
Jesus was a carpenter
He died nailed to a wooden cross
Irony oh irony
Upon me it's never lost
Gather 'round now people
I'm here to tell a tale
About a man who walks among you
A man you each know well
My name is Simon Keeper
I had a wife and three grown kids
A job in the towers cooking the books
For the shills that grease the skids
Irony oh irony
You are a bitter fruit to eat
Stripped of all your beauty
Your flesh is none too sweet
Now I ain't the most honest man
That ever worked a skim
I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar
And brother that was it
Fifty-four and a big black mark
Upon my resume
I found selling off what you don't own
Might earn you the time of day
Next it was a letter
From my darling one
"What's yours is mine, what's mine is mine"
Sealed with a hug and kiss
One by one my children
Closed their lives to me
Lessons learned on Daddy's knee
"Give no quarter to the weak"
Irony oh irony
You are the polar seed of truth
You grow upon the open plain
The faithful you uproot
Kicked around 'bout a year
Living hand to mouth
Then one day tryin' to bum a light
I felt my will give out
Sat right down on a corner
Started prayin' a little too loud
Left my troubles far behind
When I saw them empty their pockets out
Irony oh irony
You are a treacherous son of a bitch
Pretending not to care about
The heights you'll never reach
Now I won't start in preaching
About reaping what you sow
This is the story of a half-hearted man
Half honest as they go
But sit on down and rest a spell
I've got another tale to tell
About a lost young man in a faraway land
Whose life is just too easy to sell
Jesus was a carpenter
He died nailed to a wooden cross
Irony oh irony
Upon me it's never lost
Jesus was a carpenter
He died nailed to a wooden cross
Irony oh irony
Don't the moon look pretty
Shining down through the trees
Don't that shining moon look pretty, baby
Shining down through the trees
You know I can see my baby
When he can't see me
Yeah, I tiptoe to his window
Just to see my baby snore
I tiptoe to his window
Just to see how sweetie snores
You know it makes me feel like jumping, Lord, Lord
Through the keyhole in his door
Come crawl up to your window
Let me whisper in your ear
Come on and crawl up to your window, darling
Let me whisper in your ear
You know, I got something to tell you, baby
Well, I'm sorry for my lack of communication
But as I'm staring out this fifth floor window
It seems like the least amount of communication is better
Oh well, what am I supposed to say?
There's a bloody effigy on my wall
And the complimentary carnation is falling apart
And I ain't got time for the niceties
Or rather, I was never, never fond of the niceties
Well, I will see you around, around, around
I will see you around
I will see you around, yeah, yeah
I will see you around
Well, I must admit I'm flattered
By your consecration
It's mind-numbing, spine-chilling
But never-the-less heartwarming gesture
But as you make your advances so clumsily
I'll save us both the hassle and leave
Hang out all night
In the familiar fluorescent light of Dunkin' Donuts
'Cause I ain't got time for the niceties
Or rather I was never, never fond of the niceties
I will see you around, yeah, yeah
I will see you around
I will see you around
I'll see you around
Well, how are you with issues?
Lately you've been a half-assed activist
You've been seen sashaying around the picket line
Wearing scarcely any sign
Oh, but I was vocal in love and strife
And the politics of your all important life
Well, I'm sorry
But your routine is coming off a bit ragged
And I ain't got time for the niceties
Rather I was never, never fond of the niceties
I will see you around, yeah
I will see you around
I'll see you around
I will see you around
Yeah, I will see you around
Um, I'll see you around, yeah
I will see you around, round
I'll see you around
Look out, Mama, there's a white boat coming down the river
With a big red beacon and a flag and a man on the rail
I think you'd better call John
'Cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away, I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side and a gun and it's making big waves
Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains
Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy Lou
So the powers that be left me here to do all the thinking
And I just turned twenty two, I was wondering what to do
And the closer they get the more those feelings grew
Daddy's rifle in my arms felt reassuring
He told me, "Red means run, son, numbers add up to nothing"
But when that first shot hit the dock, I saw it coming
Raised the rifle to my eye, never stopped to wonder why
Then I saw black and my face flashed in the sky
Shelter me from the powder and the finger
Cover me in the thought that pulled the trigger
Just think of me as one you never figured
To fade away so young, with so much left undone
The hoods are up on Pine Street
Rear ends lifted too
The great-grandsons of General Robert E. Lee
Are makin' love with a little help from STP
Their women on the porches, comparin' alibis
Greasy eggs and bacon
Bumper stickers aimed to start a fight
Full gun racks, Confederate caps
If you want some, shine well
You can always find some more
But what I remember most is the color of Suzy's door
And Suzy says she's up there
Cutting carrots still
And Suzy says she's missing me
So I'm missing Oregon Hill
A river to the south to wash away all sins
A college to the east of us to learn where sin begins
A graveyard to the west of it all
Which I may soon be lyin' in
'Cause to the north there is a prison
Which I've come to call my home
But come Monday mornin', no country song
Will sing me home again
And Suzy says she's up there
Cutting carrots still
Suzy says she's missing me
So I'm missing Oregon Hill
Sunday mornin', 8 A.M.
Sirens fill the air
Sounds like someone made the river
Sounds like someone being born again
Me, I'm just lyin' here in Suzy's bed
Baptists celebratin' with praises to the Lord
Rednecks doin' it with gin
Me and Suzy, we're just celebrating
The joys of sleepin' in
Because tomorrow I'll be home again
But Suzy says she'll wait there
Cutting carrots by the window sill
Suzy says, "Always think of me
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Every time I hit your crystal city you know
You're gonna make a wreck outta me
Well, the first time I lose I drink whiskey
Second time I lose I drink gin
Third time I lose I drink anything
'Cause I think I'm gonna win
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me, no
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Every time I hit your Crystal City you know
You're gonna make a wreck outta me
Well, the Queen of Spades is a friend of mine
The Queen of Hearts, she's a bitch
Someday when I clean up my mind
I'll find out which is which
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Every time I hit your Crystal City you know
You're gonna make a wreck outta me
Well, I spend all night with the dealer
Tryin' to get ahead
Spend all day at the Holiday Inn
Tryin' to get out of bed
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Every time I hit your Crystal City you know
My love swears that he is made of truth
I do believe him though I know he lies
I've caught him creeping 'round darkened holes
I've caught him staring at distant skies
I would have seen it coming but I'm blind with age
Too much time on the battle line
Shut it all out, just let the notes fall slow
Slow
My love lives inside a haze of gloom
He fears today, what might come tomorrow
Seeks the shadow, shuns the light
Bleeds for knowledge, prepares for sorrow
I would have seen it coming but I'm blind with age
Too much time on the battle line
Shut it all out, just let the notes fall slow
Slow
This ain't no depression, just notes falling slow
An early snow and notes falling slow
Do I have the strength to bear their passion?
No more my lord
No more my lord
Lord i'll never turn back, no more
I have found in him
Many resting place
And he has made me glad
No more my lord
No more my lord
Lord i'll never turn back, no more.
Jesus, the man i am looking for
Can you tell me where
He has gone?
Go down, go down
In my flower yard
And perhaps you may find
My little boy on the kitchen floor
(my little basquiat)
Stick men fighting stick dinosaurs
(my little basquiat)
Colours leaping all over the mat
(my little basquiat)
The kitchen floor is where it's at
For my little basquiat
One day
He'll be golden
Maybe chosen
Perhaps to lead
One day
He'll be shaken
Maybe taken
Perhaps to bleed
My big girl swinging from the bars
(my little comaniche)
Fist of stone flying above the yard.
(my little comaniche)
Halfway up is halfway down
(my little comaniche)
Or maybe it's the other way around
For my little comaniche
One day
She'll be moonlight
Maybe too bright
Perhaps, to shine
One day
She'll be found out
Maybe ground down
Perhaps she'll cry
My little girl on her mothers lap
(my little panchen lama)
Sucking on her fingers, surveying the roadmap
(my little panchen lama)
Seems to be the only one around
(my little panchen lama)
That sees the red lights at the end of town
(my little panchen lama)
One day
They'll be older
Maybe bolder
Perhaps, than me
One day
They'll be rising
Maybe living
You speak your love
You turn, are gone
What kind of love
You thinking of
Can you tell me how this mountain got so high
Moments worth
The price of myths
Lifting from our fingertips
Reaching for the next hand hold on the wall
How'd this mountain get so high
How'd this mountain get so high
Can someone tell me how this mountain got so high
Step by step
We take on weight
The trick is now
To separate
Secure the good
Leave the rot behind
How'd this mountain get so high
How'd this mountain get so high
Can someone tell me how this mountain got so high
No need for answers
But give them choice
A simple place
To hear their voice
Can someone tell me how this mountain got so high
How'd this mountain get so high
How'd this mountain get so high
Man thinks 'cause he rules the earth
He can do with it as he please
And if things don't change soon, he will
Oh, man has invented his doom
First step was touching the moon
Now there's a woman on my block
She just sit there as the night grow still
She say who gonna take away his license to kill
Now, they take him and they teach him
And they groom him for life
And they set him on a path where he's bound to get ill
Then they bury him with stars
Sell his body like they do used cars
Now there's a woman on my block
She just sit there facin' the hill
She say who gonna take away his license to kill
Now, he's hell bent for destruction
He's afraid and confused
And his brain has been mismanaged with great skill
All he believes are his eyes
And his eyes they just tell him lies
But there's a woman on my block
Sitting there in a cold chill
She say who gonna take away his license to kill
May be noisemaker, spirit maker
Heartbreaker, backbreaker
Leave no stone unturned
May be an actor in a plot
That might be all that you got
Till your error you clearly learn
Now he worships at an altar of a stagnant pool
And when he sees his reflection he's fulfilled
Oh, man is opposed to fair play
He wants it all and he wants it his way
Now, there's a woman on my block
She just sit there as the night grow still
Isn't it a pity
Now, isn't it a shame
How we break each other's hearts
And cause each other pain
How we take each other's love
Without thinking anymore
Forgetting to give back
Isn't it a pity
Some things take so long
But how do i explain
When not too many people
Can see we're all the same
And because of all their tears
Their eyes can't hope to see
The beauty that surrounds them
Isn't it a pity
Isn't it a pity
Isn't is a shame
How we break each other's hearts
And cause each other pain
How we take each other's love
Without thinking anymore
Forgetting to give back
Isn't it a pity
Forgetting to give back
Isn't it a pity
Forgetting to give back
Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die
Well i don't wanna be a sailor mamma, i don't wanna fly
Well i don't wanna be a failure mamma, i don't wanna cry
Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no
Well i don't wanna be a rich man mamma, i don't wanna cry
Well i don't wanna be a poor man mamma, i don't wanna fly
Well i don't wanna be a lawyer mamma, i don't wanna lie
Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no
Well i don't wanna be a beggar mamma, i don't wanna die
Well i don't wanna be a theif now mamma, i don't wanna fly
Well i don't wanna be a churchman mamma, i don't wanna cry
Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no
Hit it!
Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die
Well i don't wanna be a sailor mamma, i don't wanna fly
Well i don't wanna be a failure mamma, i don't wanna cry
Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no
I'm tilting on the break of shit
Decisions making in my life
Makes me loose it i ain't taking it this way i ain't making it
There n mistakes but if i'm wrong i will pay for it
Like them bills i hate to pay
Today i stay brave to win every day i'm a soldier
I don't wanna die. I ain't know killer either
So why does mama cry?
She needs to feed her child
But she's a child in her father's eyes
Ya'll better recognize
The power parents recking with
Does it make sense to make way for censorship?
It's brains we messing with
Across the planes we got kids n chains and whips
Who live their lives censor less but we couldn't give a shit.
I don't wanna lie
Cheaters will cheat
Some will rather reach jesus
Before meeting defeat
I think it's easy to see i you be seeing these streets
Sometimes my eyes
Can't believe what they see,
On tv, young like me sent over seas
Sent over greed i believe
Is this what we need?
Yo these guys like me.
To add fire to the fuel
Life twisted my views
Just from flicking the news
I gives me the early 21st century blues
But we making it threw
Make what you make it
You can't redo what you do
I'm the living proof making it threw the 21st century blues
Emma's in a part of town
Where she doesn't recognize the streets
Named for famous native sons
And out of every crevice comes creeping
A threat in her direction
Lucy's outside her home
Headin' towards her corner store
She stays on well traveled paths
And is always making sure
That she doesn't develop patterns
There are trap lines
Runnin' up and down main street
Wire snares thirstin' for your neck and feet
Susan doesn't like
The way her curtains are blowin' in the wind
She swears she locked that window
Before she went out dancing
She stands frozen in the doorway
Judy hears a sound coming from the other room
She knows she should be alone
'Cause the kids left at noon
To go visit their father
Quick to your phone dial 911
Invite a strange man into your home
Who'll be carrying a gun
Leslie's working late
She's got a deadline to meet
In walks her boss
Upon her desk, he puts his feet
And says, "Alone at last"
Reanne's got a new boyfriend
And they're gettin' along
Until he locks the door and says
"Don't struggle, I'm stronger than you are"
Just one question I'm dyin' to ask, you said
"Do you know what it's like to be hunted?"
Emma's in a part of town
Where she doesn't recognize the streets
Named for famous native sons
And out of every crevice comes creeping
A threat in her direction
Lucy's outside her home
Headin' towards her corner store
She stays on well traveled paths
And is always making sure
That she doesn't develop patterns
Do you know, what it's like to be hunted?
Do you know, what it's like to be hunted?
Do you know, what it's like to be hunted?
You may be sweet and nice
But that won't keep you warm at night
'Cause I'm the one who showed you how
To do the things you're doing now
He may feel all your charms
he may hold you in his arms
But I'm the one who let you in
I was right beside you then
Once upon a time you let me feel you deep inside
And nobody knew and nobody saw
Do you remember the way you cried
I'm your toy, I'm your ol' boy
And I don't want no one but you to love me
No, I wouldn't lie
If you offered me a shade of blue
would I return it saying that it was too
dark or light?
Of would I see it for the precious thing
that it might one day be?
Hold on to me.
If you offered me a point of view
would I dismiss it saying that it was too
black of white?
Or would I see it as the special thing
that it would no doubt be?
Hold on to me.
I’ll hold on to this gift we share
it is as slippery as it is rare.
I’ll hold on to the feeling
of walking and finding you there.
I’ll hold on to you and you hold on to me.
If I ask you for a simple thing
would you do it without too much thinking or fuss?
Would you see it for the precious thing
that it would surely be?
Hold on to me.
Hold on to me.
They tell me God forgives you for almost anything you do
They tell me God forgives you for almost anything you do
Well, if that's the case, that's the case
I think I'm going to kill that man
Then drop down on my knees
Well, this morning, God knows, that man he comes a-waltzing in
Just waltzing in
Well, I got my shotgun, I broke down
I started to mow that man down
Yeah, they tell me God forgives you
If that's the case now, people
I'm gonna mow my baby down
You don't put yourself out, you don't put yourself out
You don't treat Margo right, you don't treat Margo right
Now darling, there come a time
You're gonna need my love again
They tell me God forgives me for almost anything you do
You don't seem to understand
I've got your life right in my hands
Yeah, they tell me God forgives you for almost anything you do
Anything you do
Well, if that's the case, that's the case
I think I'm going to kill that man
Then drop down on my knees
This morning, God knows, that man he comes waltzing in
Just waltzing in
Well, I grabbed my shotgun, I broke down
I started to mow that man down
Yeah, they tell me God forgives you for almost anything you do
If that's the case now, people
I'm gonna mow my baby down
I'm gonna mow my baby down
I'm gonna shoot that man
You don't put yourself out, you don't put yourself out
You don't treat Margo right, you don't treat your baby right
Now darling, there come a time
You're gonna need my love again
Yeah, they tell me God forgives you for almost anything
My first recollection, a day in December
Black iron steam engine covered in ice
Like some Cambrian monster
Moaning and snorting
Nothing was ever going to beat that beast
In a fair fight
I've sat and watched the woodpiles
Grow through the summer
Now I'm sittin', smellin' summer burn through the fall
Winter's coming on, days gettin' dreary
And I'm thinkin' this is the season
Where I leave you all
I've heard a man in a crisis
Falls back on what he knows best
A murderer to murder, a thief to theft
And I don't want you to think
That this is some kind of deathbed confession
Umm, but run is what I did when put to the test
My first recollection is a day in November
Seven forty seven tracin' lines through the sky
Like some old gypsy curse
Silently praying
Upon the dreams of those
Who jealously watch life passing by
I've sat and watched my troubles
Pile through the summer
Now I'm sitting, hearing my youngest cry down the hall
Winter's coming on, days getting dreary
And I'm thinking this is the season
That I leave you all
I've heard that the son must bear
The burdens of the father
But it's the daughter that is left to clean up the mess
And I don't want you to think
That I'm asking for absolution
Well, when you're sitting there in your silk upholstered chair
Talking to some rich folk that you know
Well, I hope you won't see me in my ragged company
'Cause you know I could never be alone
Take me down little Susie, take me down
I know you think you're the queen of the underground
And you can send me dead flowers every morning
Send me dead flowers by the mail
Send me dead flowers to my wedding
And I won't forget to put roses on your grave
Well, when you're sitting back in your rose pink Cadillac
Making bets on Kentucky Derby Day
I'll be in my basement room with a needle and a spoon
And another girl to take my pain away
Take me down little Susie, take me down
I know you think you're the queen of the underground
And you can send me dead flowers every morning
Send me dead flowers by the mail
Send me dead flowers to my wedding
And I won't forget to put roses on your grave
Take me down little Susie, take me down
I know you think you're the queen of the underground
And you can send me dead flowers every morning
Send me dead flowers by the U.S. Mail
Say it with dead flowers in my wedding
And I won't forget to put roses on your grave
Darkness, darkness be my pillow
Take my hand and let me sleep
In the coolness of your shadow
In the silence of your deep
Darkness, darkness hide my yearning
For the things I cannot see
Keep my mind from constant turning
To the things I cannot be
Darkness, darkness be my blanket
Cover me with this endless night
Take away, oh, this pain of knowing
Fill this emptiness with light
Emptiness with light now
Darkness, darkness long and lonesome
As the day that brings me here
I have found the edge of sadness
I have the known the depths of fear
Darkness, darkness be my blanket
Cover me with the endless night
Take away, oh, this pain of knowing
Fill this emptiness with light now
Emptiness with light now, now
Darkness, darkness be my blanket
Cover me with the endless night
Take away oh, this pain of knowing
Fill this emptiness with light now
Oh, with light now
Darkness, darkness be my pillow
Take my hand and let me sleep
In the coolness of your shadow
In the silence of your deep
In the silence of your deep
In the, oh, oh, hey, yeah, oh, yeah
In the summer baby
Oh yeah, oh, in the summer baby
In the summer baby
Ooh yeah
Come, on come on, come on, come on baby
Come on, come on, come on baby
Come on, come on, come on baby
In the summer time baby
Reach a hand to the crescent moon
Grab hold of the hollow
If she sits in the palm of the left
That moon will be fuller tomorrow
If she sits in the palm of the right
That moon is on the wane
And the love of the one who shares your bed
Will be doing just the same
?Won't you come with me??, she said
?There's plenty of room in my iron bed
You're looking cold and tired and more than a little human
I know I'm not part of the life you had planned
But I think once your body feels my hand
Your mind will change and your heart will lose it's pain?
Out among the fields gently hipped beneath the corn
Assiniboine bones beneath the highway
He stood there and he thought of home
A finger traces the path of a satellite
You're drawn to a distant copse of trees
A voice as sweet as Mare's tail clings to the prairie breeze
?Won't you come with me??, she said
?There's plenty of room in my iron bed
You're looking cold and tired and more than a little human
I know I'm not part of the life you had planned
But I think once your body feels my hand
Your mind will change and your heart will lose it's pain?
Do I reach for you when I know you're on the wane?
Do I sense you when I know you're not around?
Do I search for you when I know you can't be found?
Do I dare to speak your name?
Raise your eyes to a moonless sky
And try to wish upon a rising star
Search all you want for her blessing
But you won't find her sparkling there
Now cast your eyes to a part of the sky
Where nothing but darkness unfolds
And watch as all around you
She reveals the brilliance of secrets untold
?Won't you come with me??, she said
?There's plenty of room in my iron bed
You're looking cold and tired and more than a little human
I know I'm not part of the life you had planned
But I think once your body feels my hand
Your mind will change and your heart will lose it's pain?
Do I reach for you when I know you're on the wane?
Do I sense you when I know you're not around?
Do I search for you when I know you can't be found?
Down along the railroad track
I ran into my old friend Jack
He was dressed in his Sunday best
But his face was mad and his eyes was a daze
He said `I lost Marina
and the last place that I'd seen her
she was making off
with my best friend'
I took him to the water
I spent fifty dollars
On something that would take him to the moon
Well he must have gone to heaven
cuz just before I left him
I tried to wake him up
But he would not move
So come on Carmelita
You drunk too much
and I can see that
soon you're gonna need a breath of air
We'll dance across the wheatfields
There's a place I know just east of here
It wouldn't take too long to (____?)
We'll sleep out on the ground
and in the morning when we wake up
we'll leave town
And I picked my last tobacco leaf
Soaking wet up to my knees
out there before the sun has (arise?)
You can have a drink of water
but don't you look at my daughter
or I'll come down there and cut you with this knife
So come on Carmelita
You drunk too much
and I can see that
soon you're gonna need a breath of air
We'll dance across the wheatfields
There's a place I know just east of here
It wouldn't take too long to (____?)
We'll sleep out on the ground
and in the morning when we wake up
we'll leave town
There ain't any flat man
but if you are a black man
they'll put you on a plane
back from where you're from
We'll sleep out on the ground
and in the morning when we wake up
Have you ever seen a sight as beautiful
As that of the rain soaked purple
Of the white birch in the spring?
Have you ever felt more fresh or wonderful
Than on a warm fall night under a mackerel sky
The smell of grapes on the wind?
Well, I have known all these things
And the joys that they can bring
And I'll share them all for a cup of coffee
And to wear your ring
Have you ever had the pleasure of watchin'
A quiet winter's snow slowly gatherin'
Like simple moments addin' up?
Have you ever satisfied a gut feelin'
To follow a dry dirt road that's beckonin' you
To the heart of a shimmerin' summer's day?
Well, I have known all these things
And the joys that they can bring
And I'll share them all for a cup of coffee
And to wear your ring
And I don't know how I survived those days
Before I held your hand
Well, I never thought that I would be the one
To admit that the moon and the sun shine
So much more brighter when
Seen through two pair of eyes than
When seen through just one
Have you ever seen a sight as beautiful
As a face in a crowd of people
That lights up just for you?
Have you ever felt more fresh or wonderful
As when you wake by the side of that boy or girl
Who has pledged their love to you?
Well I have known all these things
And the joys that they can bring
Now every mornin' there's a cup of coffee
And I wear your ring
He searched for those wings that he knew
that this angel should have at her back.
And although he can’t find them
he really don’t mind
because he knows they’ll grow back.
And he reaches for that halo that he knows
that she had when she first caught his eye.
Although his hand came back empty
he’s really not worried
because he knows it still shines.
I can’t promise that I’ll grow those wings
or keep this tarnished halo shining
but I’ll never betray your trust
angel mine.
I’ll search all the time on the ground
for our shadows cast side by side.
Just to remind me that I haven’t gone crazy
that you exist and are mine.
And I know that your skin is warm and as real
as that smile in your eyes.
But I have to keep touching and smelling
and tasting for fear it’s all lies.
I can’t promise that I’ll grow those wings
or keep this tarnished halo shining
but I’ll never betray your trust
angel mine.
Last night I awoke from the deepest of sleeps
with your voice in my head.
And I could tell by your breathing
that you were still sleeping
I repeated those words that you had said.
I can’t promise that I’ll grow those wings
or keep this tarnished halo shining
but I’ll never betray your trust
