- published: 11 Nov 2014
- views: 162857
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko (bass guitar, double bass, fiddle, trombone, vocals), Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, vocals), Garth Hudson (keyboard instruments, saxophones, trumpet), Richard Manuel (piano, drums, baritone saxophone, vocals) and Robbie Robertson (guitar, vocals). All five members were notable musicians in their own right.
The members of the Band first came together as they joined rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins's backing group, The Hawks, one by one between 1958 and 1963. Upon leaving Hawkins in 1964, they were briefly known as the Levon Helm Sextet with sax player Jerry Penfound being the sixth member, then Levon and the Hawks after Penfound's departure. In 1965, they released a single on Ware Records under the name Canadian Squires, but returned as Levon and the Hawks for a recording session for Atco later in 1965. At about the same time, Bob Dylan recruited Helm and Robertson for two concerts, then the entire group for his U.S. tour in 1965 and world tour in 1966. Dylan continued to collaborate with The Band over the course of their career, including the informal 1967 recordings that became The Basement Tapes and a joint 1974 tour.
If you say you're the ring finger on my stone
Well I say I'm a kite with a key
If you say that you are unsure of things
Well I'm not accepting defeat
Are we strong enough
Is it good enough
Am I brave enough
For the both of us
I will sing you songs
Even though you can't put 'em on your finger
I'll never be a diamond mine, I'm just a singer
I will sing you songs
Wishing my words carried on as long as a stone
On a band of gold
You're sleepwalking through the daylight
How else am I supposed to follow a dream
And now you say I can't wait on you to connect these hands
But I'm still trying to reach
So are we strong enough
Is it good enough
You pray hard enough
For the both of us
I will sing you songs
Even though you can't put 'em on your finger
I'll never be a diamond mine, I'm just a singer
I will sing you songs
Wishing my words carried on as long as a stone
On a band of gold
'Cause I'm just a rolling stone in a band on the road
I know words don't mean
Much on their own
But what I sing to you
Is worth more than a stone
I will sing you songs
Even though you can't put 'em on your finger
I'll never be a diamond mine, I'm just a singer
I will sing you songs
Wishing my words carried on as long as a stone
On a band of gold
'Cause I'm just a rolling stone in a band on the road
You said you want a stone
On a band of gold
What you got is a rolling stone
In a band on the road
Yeah I'm just a rolling stone in a band on the road
I haven't seen the sun in days
Man, it's getting to me
Well that's our industry
I lost my happy thoughts
Caught up in a tree
Flying's harder for me now
And kiss my ass you dream
I hope you're hearing me
No one's bet on you quite like I did
It's taken everything I've got
To keep myself on the road
I don't wanna drive no more
I am a stubborn bull
I am a caveman
A cheap tattoo
Gone from black to blue
So I don't wanna hear it from you
Never gonna be a spaceman
Sitting on my tin can
Never come back
I spend my afternoons
Making masterpieces
People would later understand
Well damn you wishing well
You should've told me
I bought dreams you wouldn't sell
It's taken everything I've god
To keep my hands from my face
I don't wanna cry no more
I found dangers in
Acting out
Dreams never meant
To be carried out
Oh, but I am the stubborn bull
Yeah, I am a caveman
A cheap tattoo
Fading from black to blue
So I don't wanna hear it from you