Gordon Lightfoot
10 DEGREES AND GETTING COLDER...
He was standin' by the highway
With a sign that just said "Mother"
When he heard a driver comin'
'Bout a half a mile away
Then he held the sign up higher
Where no decent soul could miss it
It was ten degrees or colder
Down by bolder dam that day
He was raised up in Milwaukee
Though he never was that famous
He was just a road musician
To the taverns he would go
Singin' songs about the ramblin'
The lovin' girls and gamblin'
How the world fell on his shoulders
Back in Boulder I don't know
It was out in Arizona
That he heard the lady listenin'
To each word that he was sayin'
To each line that he would write
So he sat down by her table and
They talked about the weather
Ninety-eight point six and risin'
Down by Boulder dam that day
And she told him she would take him
For a ride in the mornin' sun
Back in Boulder he had told her
"I don't know when I had a better friend"
Now he's traded off his Martin
But his troubles are not over
For his feet are almost frozen
And the sun is sinkin' low
Won't you listen to me brother
If you ever loved your mother
Please pull off on the shoulder
If you're goin' Milwaukee way
It's ten degrees and getting colder
Down by Boulder dam today
14 KARAT GOLD...
If you see me smile don't think I'm acting strange
I got my just reward for all my pains
I you see me on the TV talking proud
Please understand if I don't talk too loud
Step around and dance a bit
Polish up the dice
Set 'em loose and let 'em roll
This is my advice
Keep your mind a mystery
Runnin' hot 'n' cold
She's more than money
She's 14 Karat Gold
If you wonder why I'm acting up this way
Gonna cash my chips I'm leavin' town today
I got more love than I could ever spend
So long, farewell, good-bye, this is the end
Step around and dance a bit
Polish up the dice
Set 'em loose and let 'em roll
Be as cool as ice
Keep your mind a mystery
Runnin' hot 'n' cold
She's more than money
She's 14 Karat Gold
If you get hit by the bug that bit on me
If you get caught with something soft and sweet
If you get found with something you can't waste
Then listen bud, let me give you a taste
Step around and dance a bit
Polish up the dice
Set 'em loose and let 'em roll
This is my advice
Keep your mind a mystery
Runnin' hot 'n' cold
She's more than money
She's 14 Karat Gold
Step around and dance a bit
Polish up the dice
Set 'em loose and let 'em roll
Be as cool as ice
Keep your mind a mystery
Runnin' hot 'n' cold
She's more than money
She's 14 Karat Gold
A TREE TOO WEAK TO STAND...
I see a place where candles burn and lovers rest tonight
The hollow sound inside me now keeps telling me to write
But songs of love will never leave love's feelings undefiled
The tide has turned, the waves roll in, the waters fill my eyes
The price of lust has risen till the ceiling will not stand
The tears I shed were not in shame, the world was in my hands
If trust was just a simple thing then trusting I would be
But deep within my soul I know it's better to be free
The days fly by, the waves roll in, but freedom has not come
I fear my faith will soon give out, my senses come undone
My role is played, the demon dogs come stealin' o'er land
And foolish I would climb once more a tree too weak to stand
I see a place where candles burn and lovers rest tonight
The hollow sound inside me now keeps telling me to write
But songs of love should not be sung where staying is not planned
And foolish I would climb once more a tree too weak to stand
And foolish I would climb once more a tree too weak to stand
A LESSON IN LOVE...
Nothing is for certain
That's what the showman said
First you must open the curtain
And stand'em on their heads
There can be no inhibitions
No prima donna ways
If you want to pass the audition
And times is tough these days
Remember when Mr. Barnum
Presented Jenny Lind
They named a candy after her
A circus after him
End of my story
The rest is history
She in all of her glory
He lived quietly
He needed her, she needed him
As sure as the sky above
In a way it was for them
A lesson in love
A lesson in love
You look like the moonglow
That follows me home
Always makes me turn around
Won't leave me alone
First to come are the midgets
A monkey and a kid
Followed by those two one-armed jugglers
The ego and the id
Songs of the season
Apples of the sun
There is no rhyme or reason
Just a time for each and every one
Hang on Mr. Barnum
Hang on Jenny Lind
We will meet you in streets of gold
Where eternity begins
We will let it all hangout
Go hand in glove
Live was meant to live and learn
A lesson in love
A lesson in love
A MINOR BALLAD...
Beyond the wild misty mountain
Within the valley so free
There dwells a maid with a heart so mellow
Soft as the wind and wild as the sea
When will you love me
As I love thee
I have no gold to give her
Nor gowns of soft crimson hue
Nor poems of love no rhymes to bring her
Into my heart so strong so true
When will you love me
As I love you
Beyond the wild misty mountain
Within the valley so free
There dwells a maid with a heart so mellow
Soft as the wind and wild as the sea
When will you love me
As I love thee?
A PASSING SHIP...
A passing ship
I have found the open ocean
Give me no lip
The waves roll by as I pass on
A snulit sea
On the first day of April
How fresh the wind
Will you miss me when I'm gone
How many words
How many songs still unwritten
How many ships
Of the line have come and gone
In the good old days
May they never be forgotten
They had heavy wind
Or they had no wind at all
A passing ship
It is midnight on the ocean
Had a real long trip
I have been at sea all winter
When my ship came in
I was givin' up the ghost
I think I should be
Leavin' those passing ships alone
When the sea runs high
The sea runs wild and I'm unsteady
And I think of you
In the warmth of your home and family
When love is true
There is no truer occupation
And may this gale
Blow us to the ones we love
Another day
Another ocean
Give me no lip
But stand aside as I pass on
A sunlit sea
On the last day of October
How fresh the wind
Will you miss me from now on
I guess I should be
Leavin' passing ships alone
AFFAIR ON 8TH AVENUE...
The perfume that she wore was from some little store
On the down side of town
But it lingered on long after she'd gone
I remember it well
And our fingers entwined like ribbons of light
And we came through a doorway somewhere in the night
Her long flowing hair came softly undone
And it lay all around
And she brushed it down as I stood by her side
In the warmth of her love
And she showed me her treasures of paper and tin
And then we played a game only she could win
And she told me a riddle I'll never forget
Then left with the answer I've never found yet
How long, said she, can a moment like this
Belong to someone
What's wrong, what is right, when to live or to die
We must almost be born
So if you should ask me what secrets I hide
I'm only your lover, don't make me decide
The perfume that she wore was from some little store
On the down side of town
But it lingered on long after she'd gone
I remember it well
And she showed me her treasures of paper and tin
And then we played a game only she could win
And our fingers entwined like ribbons of light
And we came through a doorway somewhere in the night
ALBERTA BOUND...
Oh the prairie lights are burnin' bright
The Chinook wind is a-movin' in
Tomorrow night I'll be Alberta bound
Though I've done the best I could
My old luck ain't been so good and
Tomorrow night I'll be Alberta bound
No one-eyed man could e'er forget
The Rocky Mountain sunset
It's a pleasure just to be Alberta bound
I long to see my next of kin
To know what kind of shape they're in
Tomorrow night I'll be Alberta bound
Alberta bound, Alberta bound
It's good to be Alberta bound
Alberta bound, Alberta bound
It's good to be Alberta bound
Oh the skyline of Toronto
Is somethin' you'll get onto
But they say you've got to live there for a while
And if you got the money
You can get yourself a honey
A written guarantee ta make you smile
But it's snowin' in the city
And the streets and brown and gritty
And I know there's pretty girls all over town
But they never seem ta find me
And the one I left behind me
Is the reason that I'll be Alberta bound
Alberta bound, Alberta bound
It's good to be Alberta bound
Alberta bound, Alberta bound
It's good to be Alberta bound
It's good to be Alberta bound
ALL I'M AFTER...
All I'm after is to be on your winning side
All I need is to be turning back the tide
'Cause I care too much for the life that I lead
What you're thinking could be anybody's guess
All I'm after is the sun and the summer nights
By the seashore, don't want no more neon lights
Just the sand and the sky as the hours roll by
Ain't it funny, how the world seems to be back there in my dreams
All I see is my reflection in your wild and winsome ways
Ain't it funny, life feels different every day
All I'm after is to be the flame in your tattoo
Be the one girl who can thrill me through and through
This is just a guess but I must confess
It feels better being certain
Please excuse my truthfulness
What I'm seeing's worth believing
When you thrill me like you do
So you wonder why my feelings never fade
I think I got it made
In the evening when the rain begins to fall
That's when I wonder if you think of me at all
But you sound so sad, in your special way
Ain't it funny, life feels different with each new passing day
All I need is my reflection in your wild and windswept ways
Ain't it funny how life changes every day
ALL THE LOVELY LADIES...
All the lovely ladies in their finery tonight
I wish that I could know them one by one
All the handsome gentlemen with loving on their minds
Strolling in to take the ladies home
Bless you all and keep you on the road to tenderness
Heaven can be yours just for now.
All the gentle strangers who by nature do not smile
To everyone who cannot hold a pen
To all you heavy rounders with a headache for your pains
Who dread the thought of going 'round the bend
Bless you all and keep you on the road to better things
Heaven can be yours just for now.
To all the lovely ladies in their finery tonight
I wish that I could kiss you while you knit
To all the ones who learn to live with bein' second-guessed
Whose job it is to give more then to get
Bless you all and keep you with the strength to understand
Heaven can be yours just for now.
To all the little dreamers with a dream that cannot last
To all the sleeping giants who must wake
To every man who answers to the letter of the law
And all the rest imprisoned by mistake
Bless you all and keep you with the faith to let it pass
Heaven can be yours just for now
To all the lonely sailors who have trouble beeing seen
To all of you with heartache that remains
Maybe sometime later you might swim back into shore
If someone could relieve you of your chains
Bless you all and keep you all on the land or on the sea
Heaven can be yours, just for now
ANYTHING FOR LOVE...
In my life
In my time and in each line I've ever sung
And in my life
Was it my imagination or are you still the one
Who lingers on
I'd do anything for you
You'd do anything for me
We'd do anything for love
Oh you'd use any means
And I would try any scheme for love
We'd do anything for love
Once or twice
In my loneliness I watched the world go by
There was I
One too many miles beyond where you might say
Some luck was due, after all
We could have touched the sky
You had no alibi because
We'd do anything for love
Oh I would try any means
To have you in all my dreams because
You'd do anything for love
Not long ago as I rememeber
Once upon a dark and windy day
When love looked like a dying ember
Before you came to call
The beauty of it all I though I'd lost and yet
Cause in my life
Here in my mind in it now shines
A guiding light
Never again will I lose my way
Oh I would not tell a lie and
You had no alibi because
We'd do anything for love
Oh You'd use any means
And I would try any scheme for love
Simply anything for love
Oh I would do anything
Just about anything because
We'd do anything for love
Anything for love
APOLOGY...
I remember everything
I've learned about survival
I've walked with fools and kings
And I've even read the Bible
There I came upon some lines
Givin' me direction
Gather not your gold on earth
Your kingdom is in heaven
But I chose to live instead
Inside the shell they gave me
'Til in spite of everything
Good fortune came to find me
I tried my best to run away
But I could not avoid the feelin'
Soon I was reelin' on my feet
I made a grab at anything
The earth was gone and I was on
A vicious circle then
After I'd gone and let myself surrender
I didn't want to die at all
I thought I'd live forever
Then she gave me everything
A king could never borrow
But I twisted all her gifts
Her wisdom was my sorrow
So I left her cryin'
And roamed across the river
The angels offered me their hands
But I could not forget her
So I came to where she was
By river, road and reason
I slept beneath her window
In the moonlight summer season
But I could not go inside
I heard the sound of laughter
And the rustle of her hair upon his skin
I made a grab at anything
The earth was gone and I was on
A vicious circle then
After I'd gone to cry down my sorrow
I didn't want to live no more
Nor face the bright tomorrow
Then I remembered everything
I've learned about survival
Havin' walked with fools and kings
I've even read the Bible
I remember all those lines
Givin' me direction
Gather not your gold on earth
It will not pass inspection
And still I think when I'm alone
Away from all night splendor
If gold could buy one night with her
I wish I had some to send her
APPROACHING LAVENDER...
If you'd like to spend the afternoon approaching lavender
You'll feel just fine but one thing's sure
You'll never be the same
If you'd like to try your hand at understanding lavender
Then you must be very sure
That life is not a game
You might even learn a thing or two approaching lavender
You'll soon be on a one night tour
Forgetting your own name
You won't need a reason just to be alone with lavender
For the light so warm and pure
Will draw you like a flame
The colors that surround you there will be the shade of lavender
Shadows dancing everywhere
Like flowers in the rain
You will find your tongue's on fire while lying next to lavender
With words you never spoke before
And will not speak again
Oh sweet lavender I understand you perfectly
There is no way that I can see
You living by yourself
Oh sweet lavendar I must be with you constantly
Your presence means so much to me
Much more that life itself
Oh sweet lavender as fragrant as the name you bear
Please cast away the clothes you wear
And give your love to me
Oh sweet lavender your smile is like the golden sun
I'd love to see you laugh and run
As naked as the sea
If you'd like to spend the afternoon approaching lavender
Don't try and get the best of her
She will not share the blame
If you'd like to try your hand at understanding lavender
Then you must be very sure
That life is not a game
There is no shame
BABY IT'S ALRIGHT...
It's alright, baby it's alright
It's alright, baby it's alright
Anything you say, gonna be OK
Cause it's alright, baby it's alright
Open the door love
Let your light shine in
The mornin' passed so quickly
It will not come again
I'll take you at your promise
I will not ask you why
I only wish to love you
Until the day I die
It's a shame, baby it's a shame
When you play your hurtin' game
Every single day, every single night
But that's OK, baby it's alright
Open the door love
The sun lights up the gloom
I know you been out walkin'
I will not ask with whom
The night will soon be over
The sky is almost gray
Your hair is all a-tangled
Your thoughts are all astray
It's alright, baby it's alright
It's alright, baby it's alright
Anything you say, gonna be OK
Cause it's alright, baby it's alright
Open the door love
Let your light shine in
Stayin' here is foolish
To leave would be a sin
I know I'm close behind you
I'll catch you if I try
For I will surely win you
Or I will surely die
It's a shame, baby it's a shame
When you play your hurtin' game
Every single day, every single night
But that's OK, baby it's alright
It's OK, baby it's alright
BABY STEP BACK...
Now it looks to me like the same old place
In the sky it looks like rain
The same old town with the same old streets
The address has not change
You can find me there
With the door shut tight
And the one wish that remains
Baby step back baby step back
Either step up or step back
No you know I don't write no bad checks
I have no wish to repent
I've seen a few
But whatever I do
I don't cause no accidents
Whiskey and wine help me pass the time
I don't leave no evidence
Baby step back baby step back
Either step up or step back
Baby step back baby step back
Either step up or step back
Still I don't kneel down
I was born to fight
So you'd best leave me alone
Maybe I'll get much more than I need
Or much less than I should own
Last of all let me say it again
Either step up or step on
Baby step back baby step back
Either step up or step back
Baby step back baby step back
Either step up or step back
Baby walk back baby walk back
Either walk on or walk back
Baby step back ...
BALLAD OF THE YARMOUTH CASTLE...
Well, it's four o'clock in the afternoon
And the anchors have been weighed
From Miami to Nassau,
She's bound across the waves
She'll be headin' south through Biscayne Bay
Into the open sea
Yarmouth Castle, she's a-dyin' and don't know it
Now the many years she's been to sea
She's seen the better times
She gives a groan of protest
As they cast away her lines
And the grumble of her engines
And the rust along her spine
Tells the Castle she's too old to be sailin'
But the sands run out within her heart
A tiny spark glows red
It smoulders through the evening
There's laughter overhead
Now the men are served, and the cards are dealt
And the drinks are passed around
Deep within the fire starts a-burnin'
Now it's midnight on the open sea
And the moon is shining bright
Some people join the party
And others say good-night
There's many who are sleeping now
It's been a busy day
And a tiny wisp of smoke is a-risin'
"Oh Lord," she groans, "I'm burning!"
"Let someone understand!"
But her silent plea is wasted
In the playin' of the band
Everybody's dancin' on her deck
And they're havin' such a time
Then a voice says
"Shut up and deal, I'm losin'"
Deep within the Yarmouth Castle
The fire begins to glow
It leaps into the hallways
And climbs and twists and grows
And the paint she wore to keep her young
Oh Lord, how well it burns
And soon that old fire is a-ragin'
Up beneath the bridge it's climbin' fast
the captain stands aloft
He calls up to the boatswain, 'n' says
"Boatswain, we are lost"
For the ragged hoses in the racks
No pressure do they hold
And the people down below
Will soon be dyin'
All amidships, oh she's blazin' now
It's spreadin' fore and aft
The people are a-scramblin'
As the fire blocks their path
The evil smoke surrounds them,
And they're fallin' in their tracks
And the captain in his lifeboat is a-leavin'
Oh then the ship, Bahama Star
Comes steamin' through the night
She sees the Castle blazin'
And 'tis a terrible sight
"Jump down, jump down!" the captain cries
"We'll save you if we can!"
Then the paint on his funnels is a-fryin'
"God help the ones who sleep below
And cannot find the way!
Thank God for those we've rescued
Upon this awful day."
Now the heroes, they are many,
But the times are growin' slim
And now from stern to bow
She's a-blazin'
Oh the Yarmouth Castle's moanin'
She's cryin' like a child.
You can hear her if you listen
Above the roar so wild
Is she cryin' for the ones who lie
Within her molten sides?
Or cryin' for herself, I'm a-wonderin'
But the livin' soon were rescued
The ones who lived to tell
From the Star they watched her
As she died there in the swells
Like a toy ship on a mill pond
She burned all through the night
Then slipped 'neath the waves
In the mornin'
BEAUTIFUL...
At times I just don't know
How you could be anything but beautiful
I think that I was made for you
And you were made for me
And I know that I will never change
Cause we've been friends through rain or shine
For such a long, long time
Laughing eyes and smiling face
It's seems so lucky just to have the right
Of telling you with all my might
You're beautiful tonight
And I know that you will never stray
Cause ya been that way from day to day
For such a long, long time
And when ya hold me tight
How could life be anything but beautiful
I think that I was made for you
And you were made for me
And I know that I will never change
Cause we've been friends through rain or shine
For such a long, long time
And I must say that it means so much to me
Just to be the one who's telling you
I'm telling you
That you're beautiful
BELLS OF THE EVENING...
Bells of the evening, O sing to my love
Tell her I miss her, my own turtledove
The streets of the old town are covered with rain
I think I might never know true love again
I'm lost with no road signs to guide me
A slave to my whiskey and dreams
Bells of the evening, O bells that I love
I've got some feelings I long to be rid of
I'm not one to ramble; I'm not one to boast
Though I had one lover more lovely than most
She was a country girl born to be free
Who took to the city by chance there to find me
Bells of the evening go pealin'
I'm down here listenin' to you
Bells of the evening, O bells of the sea
Tell her that I love her, that I'm lost and so lonely
Bells of the evening, your sweet Sunday sound
Reminds me of the redwoods and moss covered ground
So if I should wander on back to the coast
Tell her to remember it's her I need the most
I'm caught by the minstrel's misfortune
Of being forever displaced
Bells of the evening, O bells of the sea
Tell her that I love her; That I'm lost I'm so lonely
BEND IN THE WATER...
Come on Pearl, come on Kitty, if you feel inclined
Down around the bend in the water, bring your fishin' line
Come on Pearl, I'm rough and ready, got my fishin' pole
Down around the bend in the water to the fishin' hole
It's a fine July on a beautiful night
With a heavenly sky and moonlight on the bay
Down around the bend in the water, if you feel inclined
Come on Pearl, come on Kitty, I'm gonna make you mine
All around the world tonight
What a beautiful scene below
Too fine a time to stand in line
I'm gonna take my love to go
It's a fine July and a beautiful way
For a boy and a girl to pass the time of day
Come on Pearl, come on Kitty, if you feel inclined
Down around the bend in the water, bring your fishin' line
All around the world tonight
What a beautiful sight below
Too fine a time to stand in line
I'm gonna take my love to go
It's a fine July on a beautiful light
With a heavenly sky and moonlight on the bay
Down around the bend in the water, if you feel inclined
Come on Pearl, come on Kitty, bring your fishin' line
Come on Pearl, I'm rough and ready, got my fishin' pole
Down around the bend in the water to the fishin' hole
BISCUIT CITY...
I'd like to be in Biscuit City
With my banjo in my hand
I don't need no long vacation
In some foreign land
Cause the sound of my own breathing
Has been turning to a sigh
I wish that I could make the time
To be in Biscuit City by and by
Oh the water is of emerald
And the beach is white as snow
And everyone's got money
And no place to go
In a land of milk and honey
It can really make you smile
And if I had a ticket
I would stay in Biscuit City for a while
All the girls are in bikinis
All the boys are in the buff
With the baby in between and
That makes three of us
And the streets are all so quiet
And the walls are squeaky clean
I think you ain't been nowhere 'til
The town of Biscuit City you have seen
I'd rather be in Biscuit City
With my banjo in my hand
Than take a big vacation
In some foreign land
Cause the sound of my own breathing
has been turning to a sigh
If it were not for misfortune
I would be in Biscuit City by and by
If it were not for misfortune
I would stay in Biscuit City 'til I die
BITTER GREEN...
Upon the bitter green she walked the hills above the town
Echo to her footsteps as soft as Eider down
Waiting for her master to kiss away her tears
Waiting through the years
Bitter Green they called her
Walking in the sun
Loving everyone that she met
Bitter Green they called her
Waiting in the sun
Waiting for someone to take her home
Some say he was a sailor who died away at sea
Some say he was a prisoner who never was set free
Lost upon the ocean he died there in the mist
Dreaming of her kiss
Bitter Green they called her
Walking in the sun
Loving everyone that she met
Bitter Green they called her
Waiting in the sun
Waiting for someone to take her home
But now the bitter green is gone, the hills have turned to rust
There comes a weary stranger, his tears fall in the dust
Kneeling by the churchyard in the autumn mist
Dreaming of a kiss
Bitter Green they called her
Walking in the sun
Loving everyone that she met
Bitter Green they called her
Waiting in the sun
Waiting for someone to take her home
BLACKBERRY WINE...
There's a south wind risin' and the moon shines on my window sill
I've got a feeling I might walk on over the hill
I'm bent but not broken, all I need is some rest
And a bottle of your very best
Blackberry wine
There's a new moon risin' and the wind sings its old song
Pass it on over it's a sin to be sober too long
I'm bent but not broken, all I need is my share
Of a bottle of that very rare
Blackberry wine
My old gal's got a new dress on five and dime
Try as she will she can't get me to come home on time
But I'd never cheat her or mistreat her you know
As over the mountain I go
Blackberry wine
I'll be soft spoken
All I need is my rest
And a bottle of your very best
Blackberry wine
Now my days are numbered and one more heel's been killed
Blackberry John left me his old recipe in his will
I'm bent but not broken, all I need is some time
And a bottle of your very fine
Blackberry wine
Blackberry wine,
You know that I'm quite dry without you
Blackberry wine
BOSS MAN...
Boss Man, Boss Man what do ya say
I gotta get you alone in the mine some day
Boss Man, Boss Man turn it around
If you don't look away how can I sit down
Look at this load upon my back
Gotta get this wheel back on the track
I can't hold on but I can't let go
And I can't say 'yes', I can't say 'no'
Holes in my pockets and holes in my shoes
If you're ready for me I'm ready for you
The company plan all my pay
Got a child in July and another last May
Boss Man, Boss Man what do ya say
Gonna get you alone in the mine some day
Push your face down in the coal
'Cause you got no heart, you got no soul
Country life's the life for me
In ten more years I'll a pensioner be
The young lad knows when the girls are out
But you might say he's a rural sprout
Boss Man, Boss Man what do ya say
Gonna get you alone in the mine some day
Boss Man, Boss Man clear the track
You're gonna tear the skin right offa my back
Boss Man, Boss Man what do ya say
If you can't lend a hand then get outta my way
It'll be murder in the first degree
If you ever lay your hands on me
Boss Man, Boss Man pay my rent
A dollar I've earned is a dollar I've spent
The company plan takes all my check
For breakin' my back and riskin' my neck
Boss Man, Boss Man what do ya say
I gotta get you alone in the mine some day
I can't hold on but I can't let go
And I can't say 'yes', I can't say 'no'
BROKEN DREAMS...
There's an ocean in my mind
I'd give the world if I could find
A sailing ship and leave the past behind
Now that I must say adieu
It's killing me, I'm telling you
When freedom calls what can a person do
I have felt the winds of change
Go stealing through my heart and soul
How wild it seems
In love songs and in nursery rhymes
On movie screens, in fairy tales
Lie broken dreams
Life's broken dreams
Love's broken dreams
Sometimes a broken dream
Will make you sad or make you mean
Sometimes things ain't as bad as they might seem
You might walk a lonely street
Until one day you chance to meet
A stranger who might ask where have you been
You will see the light of change
Come shining through your windowpane
When hope is gone
Though money, fame, and riches are
For fools and kings or anything
That turns them on
Life's broken deals
Life's spinning wheels
There's an ocean I have found
I'd like to sail the world around
And dream about the life I hope I'll find
Now that I must say adieu
To love's returns, I'm telling you
When freedom comes what can a person do
I have felt the winds of change
Go stealing through my heart and soul
How wild they seem
In sounds of spring, in winter storms
In autumn gales, on summer morns
Lie broken dreams
In love songs and in nursery rhymes
On movie screens, in fairy tales
Like broken dreams
Life's broken dreams
Love's broken dreams
CABARET...
All I can see is the sea and the sky
And the sky is blue and the sea is green
Yesterday's a cabaret
Gowns of satin on ladies gay
Yesterday's a cabaret
Sounds of laughter on faces grey
Yesterday's a carousel
Catch the ring and all will be well
From the coast of California
Up to the Oregon border
I've thumbed a thousand miles I guess
Sitting in a roadside diner
The big trucks rollin' by
I don't seem to know at times what's best
And still I'd like to tell her
That I miss her so
In north Ontario
If you're drivin' east to Reno
Or north to Mendecino
I hope you find your rainbow's end
This highway is my rainbow
And though I might regret it
I'm so glad I said it way back when
And still I'd like to tell her
That I miss her so
In north Ontario
CAN'T DEPEND ON LOVE...
I spent most of my life outside in the drivin' rain
I was only trying to get my with some of life's amenities
Well nothin's free
I got more than I bargained for
Now it's plain to see
I can't depend on love to defend me
It took most of my time to do what never was done
I was on the outside of an inside kind of love that now is gone
Come right or wrong
It was laid to rest that way
I hate to be unkind
Pretending is for strangers who don't know you
I spent most of my life outside in the drivin' rain
I was in some one-horse town just waitin' for a plane to take me back
Now where's that at
I paid the price, well ain't that nice
Knowin' I'm so free
I can't depend on love to defend me
I got more than I bargained for
Now it's plain to see
I can't depend on love to defend me
CANADIAN RAILROAD TRILOGY...
There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
But time has no beginnings and hist'ry has no bounds
As to this verdant country they came from all around
They sailed upon her waterways and they walked the forests tall
Built the mines the mills and the factories for the good of us all
And when the young man's fancy was turnin' in the spring
The railroad men grew restless for to hear the hammers ring
Their minds were overflowing with the visions of their day
And many a fortune won and lost and many a debt to pay
For they looked in the future and what did they see
They saw an iron road runnin' from sea to the sea
Bringin' the goods to a young growin' land
All up through the seaports and into their hands
Look away said they across this mighty land
From the eastern shore to the western strand
Bring in the workers and bring up the rails
We gotta lay down the tracks and tear up the trails
Open 'er heart let the life blood flow
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow
Bring in the workers and bring up the rails
We're gonna lay down the tracks and tear up the trails
Open 'er heart let the life blood flow
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow
Get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow
Behind the blue Rockies the sun is declinin'
The stars, they come stealin' at the close of the day
Across the wide prairie our loved ones lie sleeping
Beyond the dark oceans in a place far away
We are the navvies who work upon the railway
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun
Livin' on stew and drinkin' bad whiskey
Bendin' our old backs 'til the long days are done
We are the navvies who work upon the railway
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun
Layin' down track and buildin' the bridges
Bendin' our old backs 'til the railroad is done
So over the mountains and over the plains
Into the muskeg and into the rain
Up the St. Lawrence all the way to Gaspe
Swingin' our hammers and drawin' our pay
Drivin' 'em in and tyin' 'em down
Away to the bunkhouse and into the town
A dollar a day and a place for my head
A drink to the livin' and a toast to the dead
Oh the song of the future has been sung
All the battles have been won
O'er the mountain tops we stand
All the world at our command
We have opened up the soil
With our teardrops and our toil
For there was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
And many are the dead men too silent to be real
CAREFREE HIGHWAY...
Pickin' up the pieces of my sweet shattered dream
I wonder how the old folks are tonight
Her name was Ann and I'll be damned if I recall her face
She left me not knowin' what to do
Carefree highway, let me slip away on you
Carefree highway, you seen better days
The mornin' after blues from my head down to my shoes
Carefree highway, let me slip away
Slip away on you
Turnin' back the pages to the times I love best
I wonder if she'll ever do the same
Now the thing that I call livin' is just bein' satisfied
With knowin' I got no one left to blame
Carefree highway, got ta see you my old flame
Carefree highway, you seen better days
The mornin' after blues from my head down to my shoes
Carefree highway, let me slip away
Slip away on you
Searchin' through the fragments of my dream-shattered sleep
I wonder if the years have closed her mind
I guess it must be wanderlust or tryin' to get free
From the good old faithful feelin' we once knew
Carefree highway, let me slip away on you
Carefree highway, you seen better days
The mornin' after blues from my head down to my shoes
Carefree highway, let me slip away
Slip away on you
Let me slip away on you
Carefree highway, got ta see you my old flame
Carefree highway, you seen better days
The mornin' after blues from my head down to my shoes
Carefree highway, let me slip away
Slip away on you
CHANGES...
(Phil Ochs)
Sit by my side come as close as the air
Sharin' a memory of grey
And wander in my words
And dream about the pictures that I play
Of changes
Green leaves of summer turn red in the fall
To brown and to yellow they fade
And then they have to die
Trapped within the circle time parade
Of changes
Moments of magic will glow in the night
All fears of the forest are gone
For when the morning breaks
They're swept away by golden drops of dawn
Of changes
Passions will part to a warm melody
As fires will sometimes turn cold
Like petals in the wind
We're puppets to the silver strings of souls
Of changes
Your tears will be trembling now we're somewhere else
One last cup of wine we will pour
I'll kiss you one more time
And leave you on the rolling river shore
Of changes
CHEROKEE BEND...
His father was a man who could never understand
The shame on a red man's face
So they lived in the hills and they never came down
But to trade in the white man's place
It was early in the spring when the snow had disappeared
They came down with a bag of skins
In the fall of the year of 1910
Daddy died by the rope down in Cherokee Bend.
Daddy didn't like what the white man said
'Bout the dirty little kid at his side
Daddy didn't like what the white man did
Nor the deal or the way that he lied
There was blood on the floor of the government store
When the men took his daddy away
But the boy stayed back till he come to his end
And he run like the wind from Cherokee Bend.
Now the mother was alone and the winter was at hand
And she prayed to her spirit kin
It was warm in the lodge in the Kentucky hills
On the day when the boy came in
Then a blizzard came down and it covered up the door
Till they thought that it never would end
And he told her the tale of the terrible affair
In the government store down in Cherokee Bend
Daddy didn't like what the white man said
'Bout the dirty little kid at his side
Daddy didn't like what the white man did
Nor the deal or the way that he lied
For three long days and three long nights
They wept and they mourned and then
She returned to her work and her weavin'
And they tried to forget about Cherokee Bend
Now the boy wasn't big but he hunted what he could
And they lived for a time that way
But the food run low and the meat went bad
And she said to the boy one day
I'm leaving tonight and I never will return
From the land of my Spirit Kin
You must take what you need and trade what you can
For a Red Man's grave down in Cherokee Bend
It wasn't very long till she closed her eyes
And he wrapped her in a robe
He found her a place on the side of the hill
And he buried her in the snow
Early in the spring he was seen in the town
With his load looking ragged and thin
Not a year had gone by till he stood once again
In the government store down in Cherokee Bend
He was ten years tall and a Redskin too
So he hadn't much face to save
And the men sat around and they laughed and they clowned
At the talk of a criminal's grave
Then the man from the east didn't smile when he said
You're the son of that Indian scum
If you value your hide then you better abide
By the white man's rules here in Cherokee Bend.
Daddy didn't like what the white man said
'Bout the dirty little kid at his side
Daddy didn't like what the white man did
Nor the deal or the way that he lied
And he spit on the floor of the government store
And it served him to no good end
At the close of the day they had taken him away
To the white man's school down at Cherokee Bend
It's been 21 years since the boy disappeared
Where he run to, nobody knows
But they say he fell in with a man named Jim
And he rides in the rodeos
And they say he returns all alone to a place
Hidden deep in the Kentucky glen
And it's pretty well known who hauled up the stone
To the grave on the hill above Cherokee Bend
Daddy didn't like what the white man said
'Bout the dirty little kid at his side
Daddy didn't like what the white man did
Nor the deal or the way that he lied
There was blood on the floor of the government store
When the men took his daddy away
It was 1910 and they never had a friend
When he died by the rope down at Cherokee Bend
It was 1910 and they never had a friend
When he died by the rope down at Cherokee Bend
CHRISTIAN ISLAND (Georgian Bay)...
I'm sailing down the summer wind
I got whiskers on my chin
And I like the mood I'm in
As I while away the time of day
In the lee of Christian Island
Tall and strong she dips and reels
I call her Silver Heels
And she tells me how she feels
She's a good old boat and she'll stay afloat
Through the toughest gales and keep smilin'
But for one more day she would like to stay
In the lee of Christian Island
I'm sailing down the summer day
Where the fish and seagulls play
I put my troubles all away
And when the gales comes up I'll fill my cup
With the whiskey of the Highlands
She's a good old ship and she'll make the trip
From the lee of Christian Island
Tall and strong she slips along
I sing for her a song
And she leans into the wind
She's a good old boat and she'll stay afloat
Through the toughest gales and keep smilin'
When the summer ends we will rest again
In the lee of Christian Island
CIRCLE OF STEEL...
Rows of lights in a circle of steel
Where you place your bets on a great big wheel
High windows flickerin' down through the snow
A time you know
Sights and sounds of the people goin' 'round
Everybody's in step with the season
A child is born to a welfare case
Where the rats run around like they own the place
The room is chilly, the building is old
That's how it goes
The doctor's found on his welfare round
And he comes and he leaves on the double
Deck The Halls was the song they played
In the flat next door where they shout all day
She tips her gin bottle back till it's gone
The child is strong
A week, a day, they will take it away
For they know about all her bad habits
Christmas dawns and the snow lets up
And the sun hits the handle of her heirloom cup
She hides her face in her hands for a while
Says look here child
Your father's pride was his means to provide
And he's servin' three years for that reason
Rows of lights in a circle of steel
Where you place your bets on a great big wheel
High windows flickerin' down through the snow
A time you know
Sights and sounds of the people goin' 'round
Everybody's in step with the season
COBWEBS AND DUST...
Island goodbye, island goodbye
We been too long together, my island and I
'Cross the blue sea, cross the blue sea
We been too long together, my island and me
Cobwebs and dust, cobwebs and dust
I hate to leave you but leave you I must
Float through the sky, float through the sky
We been too long together, my cobwebs and I
Unlock the gate, unlock the gate
Lower the drawbridge the hour is late
Whom shall it be, whom shall it be
We been too long together, my drawbridge and me
Troubles goodbye, troubles goodbye
We been too long together, my troubles and I
'Cross the blue sea, cross the blue sea
We been too long together, my troubles and me
Cobwebs and dust, cobwebs and dust
I hate to leave you but leave you I must
Float through the sky, float through the sky
We been too long together, my cobwebs and I
Tear down the walls, tear down the walls
Gather my treasure and scatter it all
Whom shall it be, whom shall it be
We been too long together, my treasure and me
Kisses goodbye, Kisses goodbye
We been too long together, my kisses and I
'Cross the blue sea, cross the blue sea
We been too long together, her kisses and me
Cobwebs and dust, cobwebs and dust
I hate to leave you but leave you I must
Float through the sky, float through the sky
We been too long together, my cobwebs and I
Run to her side, run to her side
Run to my island and make her yer bride
Whom shall it be, whom shall it be
We been too long together, my island and me
COLD HANDS FROM NEW YORK...
I came down from Albany to New York to find what I'd been missin'
I looked across the river to the city where the windows all stood glistenin'
I stood listenin'
Into a tunnel I did rise, like a grave inside, but I was young and able
When I came out the other end, ah through the smoke the winter light was feeble
Unreadable
I was optimistic though, a cabbie told me where to go
I thanked him
A face of white a face of brown, here a smile, there a look of danger
For a stranger
It was too unreal for me
I found no one who trusted me
There was no man could offer me
A cold hand from New York
Cold hands from New York
A voice within you cries won't someone please help me
I'll do the same for you one day
If you should ever pass my way and need me
I came down to live alone in New York the city of the living
There were fortunes at my feet but most of men were taking, none we giving
Or forgiving
Children ran and children played and roses grew in alleyways
I saw them
There were men who lived in style and others who had died where no one knew them
'Cause they couldn't win
There were parks where old men slept and dingy rooms where babies crept unwanted
Till I began to ask myself if there was hope or if it mattered what the did
Or if they lived
It was too unreal for me
I found no one who trusted me
There was no man could offer me
A cold hand from New York
Cold hands from New York
A voice within you cries won't someone please help me
I'll do the same for you one day
If you should ever pass my way and need me
I came down from Albany to New York to find what I'd been missin'
I looked across the river to the city where the windows all stood glistenin'
I stood listenin'
There were prophets in the squares and people there who smiled and said forget it
There were lovers in the park and there was danger in the dark, I felt it
So afraid of it
There were preachers of the word and poets who were never heard
I heard them
There were those who would not try to learn the measure of the lie
They're livin'
I heard a young musician play in a place where they paid you not to listen
I heard a woman scream for help while men stood by and offered their best wishes
That's how it is
It was too unreal for me
I found no one who trusted me
There was no man could offer me
A cold hand from New York
Cold hands from New York
A voice within you cries won't someone please help me
I'll do the same for you one day
If you should ever pass my way and need me
COLD ON THE SHOULDER...
All you need is time
All you need is time, time, time to make me bend
Give it a try, don't be rude
Put it to the test and I'll give it right back to you
It's cold on the shoulder
And you know that we get a little older every day
Kick it around, take it to town
Try to defy what you feel inside
You better be strong
Your love belongs to us
It's cold on the shoulder
And you know that we get a little older every day
All I need is trust
All I need is trust, trust, trust to make it show
I don't want to know everything you done
If you get a tip then tell it to the eskimos
It's cold on the shoulder
And you know that we get a little older every day
It's cold on the shoulder
And you know that we get a little older every day
All we need is faith
All we need is faith, faith, faith to make it nice
Kick it around, don't be rude
If you're gonna make a mistake don't you make it twice
It's cold on the shoulder
And you know that we get a little older every day
It's cold on the shoulder
And you know that we get a little older every day
It's cold on the shoulder
And you know that we get a little older every day
It's cold on the shoulder
And you know that we get a little older every day
COTTON JENNY...
There's a house on a hill
By a worn down weathered old mill
In the valley below where the river winds
There's no such thing as bad times
And a soft southern flame
Oh Cotton Jenny's here name
She wakes me up when the sun goes down
And the wheels of love go 'round
Wheels of love go 'round
Love go 'round, love go 'round
A joyful sound
I ain't got a penny for Cotton Jenny to spend
But then the wheels go 'round
When the new day begins
I go down to the cotton gin
And I make my time worth while to them
Then I climb back up again
And she waits by the door
Oh Cotton Jenny I'm sore
And she rubs my feet while the sun goes down
And the wheels of love go 'round
Wheels of love go 'round
Love go 'round, love go 'round
A joyful sound
I ain't got a penny for Cotton Jenny to spend
But then the wheels go 'round
In the hot, sickly South
When they say we'll shut my mouth
I can never be free from the cotton grind
But I know I got what's mine
She's a soft southern flame
Oh Cotton Jenny's here name
She wakes me up when the sun goes down
And the wheels of love go 'round
Wheels of love go 'round
Love go 'round, love go 'round
A joyful sound
I ain't got a penny for Cotton Jenny to spend
But then the wheels go 'round
CROSSROADS...
When first I did appear upon this native soil
All up and down this country at labor I did toil
I slumbered in the moonlight and I rose with the sun
I rambled through the canyons where the cold rivers run
When first I did come down where the land meets the sea
The people said Who are you and what would your name be
I said I have no home and I am no man's son
'Twas inland I was born and from inland that I come
In the good land I was young and I was strong
No one dared to call me son
Happy just to see my day's work done
See my day's work done
So I swung an axe as a timberjack
And I worked the Quebec mines
And on the golden prairie I rode the big combines
I sailed the maritime waters of many a seaport town
Built the highways and the byways to the western salmon grounds
I've gazed upon the good times I've seen the bad times too
Felt many a cold and bitter wind and many a mornin' dew
I've watched the country growin' like a fair and mighty thing
And on the still of a summer night I've heard the mountains ring
In the good land I was young and I was strong
No one dared to call me son
Happy just to see my day's work done
See my day's work done
But now the seeds are planted and the gates are open wide
The old ways are forgotten there's no place left to hide
And the legacy I'm leavin' you is not very hard to find
You'll see it all around you at this crossroads of time
In the sweet soil it's a-growin' At the crossroads of time
DAYLIGHT KATY...
She walks be the sea where the seaworld is
And she waits for the man to come
She lives in town with her high-heeled friends
And she knows it's a long way down
But she doesn't have to get up in the morning
With her hair so soft and long
Daylight Katy come on
Daylight Katy come on
If you can't follow me down
Daylight Katy go home
Daylight Katy come on
Daylight Katy come on
If you can't follow me down
Daylight Katy go home
She walks to the sea where the seaweed is
Where the rust and the dirt runs deep
She lives nine lives in her midnight world
While her old man's fast asleep
And she doesn't have to get up in the mornin'
With her hair so soft and long
Daylight Katy come on
Daylight Katy come on
If you can't follow me down
Daylight Katy go home
Daylight Katy come on
Daylight Katy come on
If you can't follow me down
Daylight Katy go home
She lives by the sea when the summer wind comes
And the sea don't mind at all
She talks to the sea when the sea runs wild
And the waves run steep and tall
And she doesn't have to get up in the mornin'
With her hair so soft and long
Daylight Katy come on
Daylight Katy come on
If you can't follow me down
Daylight Katy go home
Daylight Katy come on
Daylight Katy come on
If you can't follow me down
Daylight Katy go home
DID SHE MENTION MY NAME...
It's so nice to meet an old friend and pass the time of day
And talk about the home town a million miles away
Is the ice still on the river, are the old folks still the same
And by the way, did she mention my name
Did she mention my name just in passing
And when the morning came, do you remember if she dropped a name or two
Is the home team still on fire, do they still win all the games
And by the way, did she mention my name
Is the landlord still a loser, do his signs hang in the hall
Are the young girls still as pretty in the city in the fall
Does the laughter on their faces still put the sun to shame
And by the way, did she mention my name
Did she mention my name just in passing
And when the talk ran high, did the look in her eye seem far away
Is the old roof still leaking when the late snow turns to rain
And by the way, did she mention my name
Did she mention my name just in passing
And looking at the rain, do you remember if she dropped a name or two
Won't you say hello from someone, they'll be no need to explain
And by the way, did she mention my name
DON QUIXOTE...
Through the woodland, through the valley
Comes a horseman wild and free
Tilting at the windmills passing
Who can the brave young horseman be
He is wild but he is mellow
He is strong but he is weak
He is cruel but he is gentle
He is wise but he is meek
Reaching for his saddlebag
He takes a battered book into his hand
Standing like a prophet bold
He shouts across the ocean to the shore
Till he can shout no more
I have come o'er moor and mountain
Like the hawk upon the wing
I was once a shining knight
Who was the guardian of a king
I have searched the whole world over
Looking for a place to sleep
I have seen the strong survive
And I have seen the lean grown weak
See the children of the earth
Who wake to find the table bare
See the gentry in the country
Riding off to take the air
Reaching for his saddlebag
He takes a rusty sword into his hand
Then striking up a knightly pose
He shouts across the ocean to the shore
Till he can shout no more
See the jailor with his key
Who locks away all trace of sin
See the judge upon the bench
Who tries the case as best he can
See the wise and wicked ones
Who feed upon life's sacred fire
See the soldier with his gun
Who must be dead to be admired
See the man who tips the needle
See the man who buys and sells
See the man who puts the collar
On the ones who dare not tell
See the drunkard in the tavern
Stemming gold to make ends meet
See the youth in ghetto black
Condemned to life upon the street
Reaching for his saddlebag
He takes a tarnished cross into his hand
Then standing like a preacher now
He shouts across the ocean to the shore
Then in a blaze of tangled hooves
He gallops off across the dusty plain
In vain to search again
Where no one will hear
Through the woodland, through the valley
Comes a horseman wild and free
Tilting at the windmills passing
Who can the brave young horseman be
He is wild but he is mellow
He is strong but he is weak
He is cruel but he is gentle
He is wise but he is meek
DON'T BEAT ME DOWN...
When he was a man, my father would stand
I never saw him run
There wasn't anyone could make the man bend
And the strength of his will was the tool of his trade
And he did his work well
Till the powers that be took a liking to him
And they traded his body for a cold empty shell
Don't beat me down
Don't beat me down
I've got something to say
Don't you stand in my way
And don't beat me down
When I was a youth, I found the truth
In the eyes of a friend
There wasn't anyone could make the light dim
And we talked and we rambled and we gambled to win
And the learning was good
Till the powers that be to a liking to him
And they traded their fortunes for the sight of his blood
When I was a child my mother smiled
At the cradle she bought
For the little tot she held to her breast
And the song that she sang was an anthem to love
It was all that I heard
Till the powers that be took a liking to me
And they told me that love was a four-letter word
Don't beat me down
Don't beat me down
I've got one life to live
And that's all I can give
So don't beat me down
Now I've got a place, got a worried face
And the question in mind
Please let me find a reason somehow
Why some reap the harvest while other men die
And the joker runs wild
And if powers that be take a liking to us
Then we all must return to the ways of a child
We all must return to the ways of a child
So don't beat me down
Don't beat me down
I've got something to say
Don't you stand in my way
And don't beat me down
I've got one life to life
And that's all I can give
So don't beat me down
Don't beat me down
Don't beat me down
DREAM STREET ROSE...
You've bin in all my dreams since you've been gone
Each mornin' that I wake up with the dawn
Dream Street Rose I like the way you smile
Dream Street Rose stay with me a while
You gave more than anyone could ask
You washed away all shadows from my past
Dream Street Rose heaven only knows
Dream Street Rose that's the way she goes
Dream Street Rose let us not pretend
Heaven knows will you love me
Right 'til the end
Somewhere in between there stands a dream
The sweetest dream that we have ever seen
Dream Street Rose I like the way you smile
Dream Street Rose please stay with me a while
Dream Street Rose I miss you when you're gone
Heaven knows I'm gonna love ya
From now on
Dream Street Rose I like the way you smile
Dream Street Rose stay with me a while
Dream Street Rose heaven only knows
Dream Street Rose that's the way she goes
DREAMLAND...
You come to me in times of need
When you can't find anyone
You seem to be much better off now
There's a rainbow number one
We could see life through the gutter then
Till it caused my heart to break
There was too much toil in dreamland
And too much love to take
Sometimes I remember when
We were all dressed up in still
I don't recall the gist of it all
But you drove the young men wild
You could wrap me around your finger
Till it caused my heart to break
There was too much toil in dreamland
And too much love to take
So if you need me near you
You can do it if you choose
There was too much toil in dreamland
And too much love to lose
You make me do what you want me to do
Then you run the rules on me
You seem to be the wiser now
Could it be you'be been deceived
Anytime you felt like tryin'
You would cause my heart to break
There was too much toil in dreamland
And too much love to take
So if you need me near you now
You can do it if you choose
There was too much toil in dreamland
And too much love to lose
DRINK YER GLASSES EMPTY...
Listen up and I'll tell you what you'll do
Forget about music and alcohol to
Forget about yer baby, we've got other work for you
Better drink yer glasses empty now, it's time to rise 'n shine
There's one less cause in the world to be leavin' for
It was back in '39 when I was one year old
Sitting by the backyard fence and the world had turned to cold
Drink yer glasses empty now was all that they were told
Drink yer glasses girls and boys, it's time to hit the sky
To the tune of thunder, there's no time to wonder why
We'd love to take life over, that is plain
Forget about sorrow, forget about pain
And watch a John Wayne movie to remind us once again
Better drink yer glasses empty now, it's time to hit the line
You got one less cause in the world to be leavin' for
Drink yer glasses girls and boys, it's time to hit the sky
To the tune of thunder, there's a tear in every eye
I'd like to take things one at a time
Forget about reason, forget about rhyme
Because beg, steal, or borrow you got another hill to climb
So drink yer glasses empty now, it's time to hit the road
There's one less cause in the world to be leavin' for
Drink yer glasses girls and boys, it's time to hit the sky
To the tune of thunder, there's no time to wonder why
We'd like to take life over again
When time of war had passed away into the rain
And watch a John Wayne movie to remind us of the planes
Just drink yer glasses empty now, it's time to rise 'n shine
There's one less cause in the world to be leavin' for
EARLY MORNING RAIN...
In the early morning rain
With a dollar in my hand
With an achin' in my heart
And my pockets full of sand
I'm a long way from home
And I miss my loved ones so
In the early morning rain
With no place to go
Out on runway number nine
Big seven-o-seven set to go
But I'm stuck here in the grass
Where the cold wind blows
Now the liquor tasted good
And the women all were fast
Well there she goes my friend
Well she's rollin' down at last
Hear the mighty engines roar
See the silver bird on high
She's away and westward bound
Far above the clouds she'll fly
Where the mornin' rain don't fall
And the sun always shines
She'll be flyin' o'er my home
In about three hours time
This old airport's got me down
It's no earthly good to me
'Cause I'm stuck here on the ground
As cold and drunk as I cab be
You can't jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I'd best be on my way
In the early morning rain
You can't jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I'd best be on my way
In the early morning rain
EAST OF MIDNIGHT...
Put me somewhere east of midnight
West of the turnpike
Anywhere I wander is where I'll take my rest
As I lie down, toss some thoughts around
Dreams I'm told will come true if you
Believe in those who love you right now
Sea of dreams I long for you
Forget about the others
This is my hike, you can come if you like
To feel good, I would help you if I could
But I am out here searching
For the things that might have been
I need no more reminders
Not one love letter have I seen
And that's a pretty good start
The ocean is where lovers meet again
Sea of dreams by all means
Float me out of danger until then
Forever amen
It's a long long hike
We'll be leavin' early travelin' light
That's alright Heaven will be ours tonight
The road is paved with moonbeams
There are faces that I knew
They all came back to haunt me
But that ain't fair to the folks like me and you
It takes a bit of my heart
Tonight I shall be watching from the shore
Sea of dreams from now on
Forget about all the others
Back where the line forms
Destination sea of storms
By all means ever onward sea of dreams
Put me somewhere east of midnight
Along about daylight
Anywhere I wander is where I'll take my rest
If we could just lie down
Toss some thoughts around
It's a tough and a dirty long hike
You can come if you like
If we could just lie down
Toss some thoughts around
ECSTASY MADE EASY...
I can always try to forget somehow
What's a part of the past
Have a little laughter if you please
I won't even mind if it takes awhile
I've got time on my hands
I feel another chapter in the breeze
Somebody touched my heart string
Somebody made my heart sing
Somebody stole my heart away
Nobody's sayin' their sorry
It's a mighty sweet music
You can dance all night
Put some wood on the fire right now
Ecstacy made easy
Ecstasy I ask you, are you a name
Or just another patron with a smile
Let me analyze you, are you a flame
Or just the dying embers
Of a kiss run wild
Somebody found my heart string
Somebody made my heart sing
Somebody touched my heart last night
Somebody set me in flight
It's a mighty sweet music
Take a chance they say
Put some fire on the old iron stove
Ecstasy made easy, made easy
I hope I never lose what belongs to me
By the right of my birth
At midnight sailing out of Perth
Getting under way we turned 'er westward bound
On that southern sea
To sea what ecstasy was worth
ENDLESS WIRE...
I ain't got nothin' to hide
My mind is an endless wire
I got both feet on the ground
I ain't got no one for hire
I ain't got a thing to show
My lines have all expired
So don't go foolin' around
And set my wheels afire
Down in the dark of a burnt out soul
There's a few good second hand dreams
Deep in the dark of a heavenly night with you
Down in the black of a bottomless hole
There's a few good second hand scenes
Deep in the dark of the heavenly blue
Where the sea runs green
I ain't got nothin' to give
My life is an endless climb
My love's a paperback dream
I don't have nothin' but time
I ain't got a thing to show
I don't know my own name
So don't go foolin' around
And set my wheels afire
Down in the dark of a burnt out soul
There's a few good second hand dreams
Deep in the dark of a heavenly night with you
Down in the black of a bottomless hole
There's a few good second hand scenes
Deep in the dark of the heavenly blue
Where the sea runs green
I ain't got nothin' to hide
My mind is an endless wire
I got both feet on the ground
I don't have no one for hire
I ain't got a thing to show
My life is an endless dream
My love's a paperback dream
I ain't got nothin' but time
FADING AWAY...
I was at the breakwall, I was lookin' at the sea
In back of the eight ball in some misery
There on the horizon stood a mighty ship of fools
They were headin' into the harbor with all their broken rules
Whenever I'm feelin' lonely I can just pick up the phone
Or I can go to the movies or just stay at home alone
They're better off to be someplace that's a good long way from home
Any way I can lose myself
Dawn is breakin', I'm hesitatin', I'm
Fading away, fading away
They sailed right to meet me, I said what's it all about
Please try to excuse me, we can work things out
If you've ever wondered if that mighty ship is real
Let me tell ya 'bout it brother, it was somethin' you could feel
Whenever I'm feelin' lonely I let twilight set the tone
Or I can go to the movies or just stay at home alone
They're better off to be someplace that's a good long way to roam
Ain't livin' high on the hog right now
Time is wastin', I'm hesitatin', I'm
Fading away, fading away
One more day on the calendar on my mind
I am down around the breakwall puttin' in some time
The whole ship of fools has gotten safely under way
And I was proud to be a part of what it was they had to say
Whenever I'm feelin' lonely I can just pick up the phone
Or I can go to the movies or just stay at home alone
They're better off to be someplace that's a good long piece from home
Any way I can lose myself
Dawn is breakin', I'm hesitatin', I'm
Fading away, fading away
Fading away, fading away
FAREWELL TO ANNABEL...
Where did ya go when the snow lay on the ground
What did ya do when the rain began to fall
How did it feel when I looked through your soul
When was the last time you wanted my love
How many nights did you cry your dreams to sleep
Why did you hide what knew would not stay hidden
How could you put yourself through like you did
I'm not the kind that would hold you that way
Drop me a line if ya wake up feelin' bad
I'm still a friend and I'd like to hear from you
Where does it say love should last forever
When was the last time I told that to you
Farewell to Annabel, farewell
Farewell to Annabel, farewell
Farewell to Annabel, fare thee well
Farewell to Annabel, farewell
FINE AS FINE CAN BE...
You're as soft as the rose
You're as sweet as the honey
You're as warm as the bright morning sun
You're as cool as the breeze on the last days of April
You're as fine as fine can be
You're like time is to space
You're like faith is to trustin'
You're like blue is to feelin' unkind
You're like joy is for love,
You're like dreams are for chasin'
You're as fine as fine can be
And when I am gone my thoughts are all with you
You're my little angel you see
You're as bright as the moon
You're as light as a feather
You're as fine as fine can be
Like the rain is for the crops
You're like food for my thoughts
You're like true is for knowin' what's not
You're like leaves are for trees
You're like bees are for buzzin'
You're as fine as fine can be
You're as bright as the moon
You're as light as a feather
You're as fine as fine can be
FOR LOVIN' ME...
That's what you get for lovin' me
That's what you get for lovin' me
Ev'ry thing you had is gone
As you can see
That's what you get for lovin' me
I ain't the kind to hang around
With any new love that I found
'Cause movin' is my stock in trade
I'm movin' on
I won't think of you when I'm gone.
So don't you shed a tear for me
B'cause I ain't the love you thought I'd be
I got a hundred more like you
So don't be blue
I'll have a thousand 'fore I'm through
Now there you go you're cryin' again
Now there you go you're cryin' again
But then someday when your poor heart
Is on the mend
Well I just might pass this way again
That's what you get for lovin' me
That's what you get for lovin' me
Everything you had is gone
As you can see
That's what you get for lovin' me
That's what you get for lovin' me
GHOSTS OF CAPE HORN...
All around old Cape Horn
Ships of the line, ships of the morn
Some who wish they'd never been born
They are the ghosts of Cape Horn
Fal deral da riddle de rum
With a rim dim diddy
And a rum dum dum
Sailing away at the break of morn
They are the ghosts of Cape Horn
See them all in sad repair
Demons dance everywhere
Southern gales, tattered sails
And none to tell the tales
Come all of you rustic old sea dogs
Who follow the great Southern Cross
You we're rounding the Horn
In the eye of a storm
When ya lost 'er one day
And you read all yer letters
From oceans away
Then you took them to the bottom of the sea
All around old Cape Horn
Ships of the line, ships of the morn
Those who wish they'd never been born
They are the ghosts of Cape Horn
Fal deral da riddle de rum
With a rim dim diddy
And a rum dum dum
Sailing away at the break of morn
They are the ghosts of Cape Horn
Come all you old sea dogs from Devon
Southampton, Penzance, and Kinsale
You were caught by the chance
Of a sailor's last dance
It was not meant to be
And ya read all yer letters
Cried anchor aweigh
Then ya took them to the bottom of the sea
All around old Cape Horn
Ships of the line, ships of the morn
Those who wish they'd never been born
They are the ghosts of Cape Horn
Fal deral da riddle de rum
With a rim dim diddy
And a rum dum dum
Sailing away at the break of morn
They are the ghosts of Cape Horn
GO MY WAY...
Go my way and I'll be good to you
Go my way and your dreams will all come true
In the sunset the wild waves are callin'
My shadow is followin' you
Go my way and I'll take you by the hand
Believe in me and I'll do the best I can
I can't be anything but just what I am
I can't help it if I'm in love with you
Why must I sail my ship alone without a friend
My thoughts are on you
I dare not ask again
Go my way it's the only way to go
If things aren't workin' out you'll be the first to know
Come on along and together we'll go
Please love me and say that you'll be mine
Why must I sail my ship alone without a friend
My thoughts are on you
I dare not ask again
Go my way it's the only way to go
If things aren't workin' out you'll be the first to know
Come on along and together we'll go
Please love me and say that you'll be mine
GO-GO ROUND...
Alone upon the sidewalks of despair
'Twas there she wandered
With her suitcase in her hand
Her fate she pondered
Only a go-go girl in love with someone who didn't care
She met him on a night so rare when her friends were there
And the band was groovin'
When he gave a glance that said how much he would like to meet her
How was she to know at the time
He would mistreat her
In her case she danced for him although a hundred eyes were turned her way
And before the set was through he knew
She would be his loved one
Only a go-go girl in love with someone who didn't care
Only twenty-one, she was a young girl just in from somewhere
He's playin' up in Michigan with a group they call The Intended
With a kiss, and a promise, he was gone
The song was ended
But as she walks, she waits for him the pavement is a shoulder for her tears
But in her heart she knows there is no way
She can hope to change him
Only a go-go girl in love with someone who didn't care
Only twenty-one, she was a young girl just in from somewhere
Only a go-go girl in love with someone who didn't care
A go-go girl in love
GOTTA GET AWAY...
I'm on my way, got no time to waste
Places to go, people to chase
Gonna grab my comb 'n my toothpaste
Gotta get away from here
Twenty-one years from the day I was born
I was workin' on the night shift tootin' my horn
Through sheets of rain, through sleet and storm
You come to me
You were the girls with the summer sunshine
In your eyes and in your smile
You were the one I thought I thought loved me
It was somethin' I never could quite believe
Gotta get away from here
I'm a real bad loser that's what I am
Gonna grab my hat and my hexagram
You can stick my money in an old tin can
I think I fell in love again
I was down by the bus stop bidin' my time
I was hitchin' a ride with a friend of mine
Iwas almost gone, I was over the line
I said what's come over me
You were the girl with the sound of springtime
In your songs and in your voice
You were the one I thought loved me
It was somethin' I never could quite believe
Gotta get away from here
Gotta get back to you
I'm gonna make it today, I'm gonna get on my toes
Been awake so long I'm getting ready to doze
Gonna grab my bag and a few old clothes
Gotta get away from here
Gotta get back to you
Gotta get away, gotta get away
Gotta get away, gotta get away
Gotta get away
HANGDOG HOTEL ROOM...
I go in for singing, I do it for my pay
But the kind of gig I can really dig is swiggin' at the break of day
With a few good friends and neighbors into playin' the nighttime tunes
So pass the jar and that old guitar in this hangdog hotel room
I believe in magic, a little monkeyshines
But the kind of row I can really hoe is playin' in tune on time
With rhythms all around us we're like weavers at the loom
So pass the jar and that old guitar in this hangdog hotel room
Oh Lord it feels so good to play a nighttime tune
So pass the jar and that old guitar in this hangdog hotel room
When it comes to mornin' and goin' out at night
Well the kind of test that I like the best is rubbin' the wrong girl right
And a few good friends and neighbors in to playin' the nighttime tunes
So pass the jar and that old guitar in this hangdog hotel room
Oh Lord it feels so good to play a nighttime tune
So pass the jar and that old guitar in this hangdog hotel room
With rhythms all around us we're like weavers at the loom
So pass the jar and that old guitar in this hangdog hotel room
HEAVEN HELP THE DEVIL...
In this land of chance do we know right from wrong
Even at a glance we know the road is long
We don't owe a single thing to anyone
Most of us do not believe in come what may
Everything we fought for was in vain they say
Even when called upon to throw our lives away
We have been captured by the thieves of the night
Held for ransom if you please
Heaven help the devil may he have a few unpleasnt memories
In these times of trial and uncertainty
I have thought what does this freedom mean to me
Is it just some long forgotten fantasy
Our love for each other may not be explained
We live in a world where tears must fall like rain
Most of us don't wish to cause each other pain
We have been captured by the thieves of the night
Held for ransom if you please
Heaven help the devil may he have a few unpleasnt memories
To every unsung hero in the universe
To those who roam the skies and those who roam the earth
To all good men of reason may they never thirst
We have wings to guide us through the timeless sea
And faith that will remain through all eternity
We try to be helpful to the ones in need
We have been captured by the thieves of the night
Held for ransom if you please
Heaven help the devil may he have a few unpleasnt memories
HEY YOU...
Hey you upon this ship of fools
I have found you bending your own rules
Thank you I don't mind if I do
Dream a while of the lovin' that we knew
There was such a flaming time
I never will forget
It was all so easy then
This is my one regret
Hey you my angel in blue
Mother Nature saved her best for you
Green grow the lilacs on the wall
Heaven help them, catch them as they fall
Hey you angel in disguise
What is your angle what is your surprise
Hey you fever that is mine
What is your game plan what is your design
Reality brings mystery
And ne'er the twain shall meet
And all of my wild horses
Cannot pull you off your feet
Hey you angel on my mind
All around me til the end of time
Thank you I don't mind if I do
Dream a while of the lovin' that we knew
There was such a flaming time
I never will forget
It was all so easy then
This is my one regret
Hey you my angel in blue
I'm entangled tell me what to do
Green grow the lilacs on the wall
Heaven help them catch them as they fall
HI'WAY SONGS...
When I walk the hill so high
Around the town where I was born
New York seems so far away
Though I was there just yesterday
I have played on my guitar
In coffeehouses, hall, and bars
Everyone that I call friend
Knows they will not be forgot
Trains and planes and rented cars
Singers, saints, and other starts
I suspect them every one
They'll never change
It's too much fun
Just for now I'd like to rest
In the shade of a maple tree
To the blue Canadian sky
I'll say a prayer for the world out there
When I stand on my own sod
It feels so good to be home, by God
The winter wind has turned my head
But I always came up warm somehow
Bottles, beads, and cigarettes
And lovers that I ain't found yet
Pickin' with a friend till dawn
And singing all of those hi'way songs
Just for now I'd like to rest
In the shade of a maple tree
To the blue Canadian sky
I'll say a prayer for the world out there
When I walk the hill so high
Around the town where I was born
New York seems so far away
Though I was there just yesterday
I would travel all my life
If loneliness was not the price
While headin' north across that line's
The only time I'm flyin'
HIGH AND DRY...
With a lady-like devotion
She sails the bitter ocean
If it wasn't for lovesick sailors
There'd be nothin' left but flotsam
Singin' why me oh my
Is there a better man than I
I hope you find your way back home
Before you're lyin' high and dry
I hope you find your way back home
Before you die
Her sails blow like bubbles
While ya sip yer daily doubles
If she wasn't so fond of the weather
She might give the deckhands trouble
Singin' why me oh my
Is there a better man than I
I hope you find your way back home
Before you're lyin' high and dry
I hope you find your way back home
Before you die
One day when I grew older
And I found I could not hold her
She took on a fine young skipper
Who soon run her up on a boulder
Singin' why me oh my
Is there a better man than I
I hope you find your way back home
Before you're lyin' high and dry
I hope you find your way back home
Before you die
Now the pleasures of the harbor
Don't include a lady barber
If it wasn't for Long John Silver
All of us pirates would've been martyrs
Singin' why me oh my
Is there a better man than I
I hope you find your way back home
Before you're lyin' high and dry
I hope you find your way back home
Before you're lyin' high and dry
I hope you find your way back home
Before you die
HOME FROM THE FOREST...
Oh the neon lights were flashin'
And the icy wind did blow
The water seeped into his shoes
And the drizzle turned to snow
His eyes were red, his hopes were dead
And the wine was runnin' low
And the old man came home
From the forest
His tears fell on the sidewalk
As he stumbled in the street
A dozen faces stopped to stare
But no one stopped to speak
For his castle was a hallway
And the bottle was his friend
And the old man stumbled in
From the forest
Up a dark and dingy staircase
The old man made his way
His ragged coat around him
As upon his cot he lay
And he wondered how it happened
That he ended up this way
Getting lost like a fool
In the forest
And as he lay there sleeping
A vision did appear
Upon his mantle shining
A face of one so dear
Who had loved him in the springtime
Of a long-forgotten year
When the wildflowers did bloom
In the forest
She touched his grizzled fingers
And she called him by his name
And then he heard the joyful sound
Of children at their games
In an old house on a hillside
In some forgotten town
Where the river runs down
From the forest
With a mighty roar the big jets soar
Above the canyon streets
And the con men con but life goes on
For the city never sleeps
And to an old forgotten soldier
The dawn will come no more
For the old man has come home
From the forest
I'D DO IT AGAIN...
A one man band on a one night stand
As a one man band should be
The cried for more, he replied why sure
And he played one just for free
The sounds he laid down. the songs he played
Made the ladies all come to call
He was born in the back of a seminole bus
On the road to Niagra Falls
I'd do it again, I'd do it again
I'd do it again
The one man band philosophical man
Didn't lie when he said to us
I seen the high rollers come and go
It's the holy rollers I trust
The man said then he was sixteen when
He retired from the county school
A wee bit thin with a will to begin
He was known to be know man's fool
I'd do it again, I'd do it again
I'd do it again
The one man band was a mighty good man
Cause he played 'til the break of dawn
He ups and downs about four more rounds
And he stayed 'til the crowd went home
It seemed to me like he never could be
Like anything I'd ever seen before
When he stepped from the stage with his ax in his hand
And he run through the backstage door
I'd do it again, I'd do it again
I'd do it again
A one man band on a one night stand
As a one man band should be
They cried for more, he replied why sure
And he played one just for free
I'D RATHER PRESS ON...
Is it my imagination or is it my iron pride
I wonder if it matters much if time is on my side
I'd rather press on, I don't wanna rest easy
Anywhere I stray, I will make it a brand new day
Anyway, that's all I've got to say
I'd rather be by the seaside, than be playin' a one night stand
I've been too wrapped up in my own dreams, I will change things if I can
I gotta press on, don't wanna rest easy
Wouldn't it feel fine to return to the women and the wine
And all of the sunshine that we knew
You will never know what blue is until you have played the game
Till you live life in solitare where no one knows your name
I'd rather press on, I don't want to rest easy
Have it anyway you will, I will be with you right up until
The spell is broken and all is well
If you'd rather be by the seashore, well I sure can understand
Are you too wrapped up in your own scene, I would change things if I can
I'd rather press on, don't wanna rest easy
Wouldn't it feel fine, but remembering the rhythm and the rhymes
And all of the good times makes me blue
Wouldn't it feel fine to return to the women and the wine
And all of the sunshine that we knew
I'LL BE ALRIGHT...
I'll be alright I'll be alright if I don't have to smile
If I don't to face the morning sunrise for a while
I'll get along you know I'll take tomorrow with a grin
If I never have to think about her love again
And I won't mind if words are spoken
In empty love songs as long as I don't have to hear
I'll be alright if I don't have to face the world again
And if I never love again I'll be alright
Last night she gave the final word, she said her last goodbye
And disappeared forever in the world outside
One kiss and then she took her leave to go I know not where
Into the misty shadows of the midnight air
But I won't mind if words are spoken
In empty love songs as long as I don't have to hear
I'll be alright if I don't have to face the world again
And if I never love again I'll be alright
And if I never love again I'll be alright
I'LL DO ANYTHING...
Down in the warm dark part of my heart you stay
I've been on my own for so long as I stand here today
I'd never leave you
I'll do anything that you say
I've been around some walking on the down street
Feeling as low as the shoes on the soles of my feet
Taking dead aim on fortune and fame you might say
Playing guitar doesn't make you a star anyway
Many's the time I've wished that I were free
But my love for you was too deep for my eyes to see
I'd never leave you
I'll do anything that you say
Whenever the thought seems better off left alone
I think of you then in a way that is ten times as strong
Taking dead aim on fortune and fame you might say
Playing guitar doesn't make you a star anyway
I'd never leave you, I'll do anything that you say
Try to believe me, I'll do anything that you say
Though it might never grieve me, I'll do anything that you say
Please understand me, I'll do anything that you say
I'LL PROVE MY LOVE...
Any way the wind may blow
Any way the creek may flow
Any way the crow may fly
Within the confines of the sky
I will prove my love to you
In everything I say and in all I do
Anywhere the song is king
Anywhere the robin sings
Anywhere the lake is cold
Anywhere the bell is tolled
I will prove my love to you
In everything I say and in all I do
Anytime our paths don't cross
And the losin' dice are tossed
Anytime you know what's best
Anytime I can't care less
I'll make it up to you
In everything I say and in all I do
Any way the wind may blow
Any way I stub my toe
Any way the tree might bend
Any way the day might end
I will prove my love to you
In everything I say and in all I do
I will make it up to you
In everything I say and in all I do
I'LL TAG ALONG...
You've got time enough for two of us
What is mine I will share
We've got things that we can do without
Most anytime anywhere
Every little daydream that appears in all we do
Gives us some problems of our own
If you turn back to that page again
And you can't win
If you ask me I'll tag along
Paper matches in the afternoon
Cups of tea and all of that Zen
I think it's time we took a walk outside
It seems there is no oxygen
This time tomorrow we might all be packed and gone
I believe it's best we carry on
Smoke rings rising til they disappear
In the sky above
If you ask me I'll tag along
Each and every bad dream will be hammered into dust
When we get back where we belong
If you ever turn that page again
And you need a friend
If you ask me I'll tag along
This time tomorrow we might all be packed and gone
I believe it's best we carry on
Smoke rings rising til they disappear
In the sky above
If you ask me I'll tag along
I'M NOT SAYIN'...
I'm not sayin' that I love you
I'm not sayin' that I'll care if you love me
I'm not sayin' that I'll care
I'm not sayin' I'll be there when you want me
I can't give my heart to you
Or tell you that I'll sing your name up to the sky
I can't lay the promise down
That I'll always be around when you need me
Now I may not be alone each time you see me
Along the street or in a small cafe
But still I won't deny or mistreat you
Baby if you let me have my way
I'm not sayin' I'll be sorry
For all the things that I might say that make you cry
I can't say I'll always do
The things you want me to
I'm not sayin' I'll be true but I'll try
Now I may not be alone each time you see me
Or show up when I promised that I would
But still I won't deny or mistreat you
Baby if you love me like you should
I'm not sayin' I'll be sorry
For all the things that I might say that make you cry
I can't say I'll always do
The things you want me to
I'm not sayin' I'll be true but I'll try
I can't say I'll always do
The things you want me to
I'm not sayin' I'll be true but I'll try
I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO CARE...
I think you have somebody waiting outside in the rain to take you away
You got places to go, you got people to see still I'm gonna miss you
but anyway
I wish you good spaces in the far away places you go
If it rains or it snows may you be safe and warm and never grow old
And if you need someone who loves you, you know I will always be there
I'll do it although I'm not supposed to care
I'll give you the keys to my flying machine if you'd like
I will show you the light and when you call I'm gonna come to you
And when you find someone who loves you, I'll know you would treat me the same
Just lie there, you're not supposed to care
I think you have somebody waiting outside in the rain to take you away.
That's some kind of a game still I'm glad it came down to the final round
but anyway
If you think you need someone who needs you, you know I will always be there
I'll do it although I'm not supposed to care
I'll do it although I'm not supposed to care
IF CHILDREN HAD WINGS...
There's a love I hold dear
And it shines through each year
And it makes things seem different somehow
It's for better or worse
It's for people who thirst
For a love that burns brighter right now
And it shines on and on 'til all sadness is gone
And if children had wings I would sing them this song
With a smile on my face and a tear in my eye
Everything will be fine by and by
There were things that were said
There were things that were done
And a wife cannot stand too much pain
And what I thought was best
Couldn't please her much less
But my love still goes on, that don't change
And it shines on and on 'til all sadness is gone
And if children had wings I would sing them this song
With a smile on my lips and a tear in my eye
Everything will be fine by and by
And it shines on and on 'til all sadness is gone
And if children had wings I would sing them this song
With a smile on my face and a tear in my eye
Everything will be fine by and by
And it shines on and on 'til all sadness is gone
And if children had wings I would sing them this song
With a smile on my face and a tear in my eye
Everything will be fine by and by
IF I COULD...
If I could sing like the poets and kings of this world
If I could rise like the wind or the tides of the sea
I would sing you to sleep my love with sweet melody
And let you dream away till the morning light returned again
To take you away from me
If I could speak with the tongues of the masters of old
If I could tame all the fleeting perceptions I hold
Would I stand in the marketplace before
To be shouted down without any warning at all, to be stood by the wall
And shot by the man in blue
If I could run with the grace of a sun-colored stallion
If I could fly like the great silver jets in the morning
If I caused the wind to change with one wave of my hand
And if I could play the final symphony and set it free
Would it mean anything to you
If I could stand like a rusty old man in his armor
If I could ride the steed that he rode in his time
I would turn his head away to the river
And let him wander through the meadow grass, wild and free
For everyone to see
If I could sing like the poets and kings of this world
If I could rise like the wind or the tides of the sea
I would sing you to sleep my love with sweet melody
And let you dream away till the morning light returned again
To take you away from me
IF THERE'S A REASON...
If you should need me deep in the night
My arms around you in shades of twilight
If there's a reason for livin' without me
Just let me know and I'll move on
Down to the station with the big wheels burnin'
Gonna get my ticket to play out that role which I've been given
Home is where the heart is
But at times a good home must be broken
The wine has grown bitter
From the harsh words we have spoken
If there's a chance for someone else
To make you feel life is worth livin'
Give it a try oh lady
Just let me know and I'll move on
Home is where the heart is
But at times a good home must be broken
The wine has grown bitter
From the harsh words we have spoken
If you should need me deep in the night
At shades of twilight
If there's a reason for livin' without me
Just let me know and I'll go on livin'
IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND...
If you could read my mind love
What a tale my thoughts could tell
Just like an old time movie
'Bout a ghost from a wishin' well
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
With chains upon my feet
You know that ghost is me
And I will never be set free
As long as I'm a ghost that you can't see
If I could read your mind love
What a tale your thoughts could tell
Just like a paperback novel
The kind that drugstores sell
When you reach the part where the heartaches come
The hero would be me
But heroes often fail
And you won't read that book again
Because the ending's just too hard to take
I'd walk away like a movie star
Who gets burned in a three way script
Enter number two
A movie queen to play the scene
Of bringing all the good things out in me
But for now love, let's be real
I never thought I could feel this way
And I've got to say that I just don't get it
I don't know where we went wrong
But the feelin's gone
And I just can't get it back
If you could read my mind love
What a tale my thoughts could tell
Just like an old time movie
'Bout a ghost from a wishin' well
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
With chains upon my feet
But stories always end
And if you read between the lines
You'll know that I'm just tryin' to understand
The feelin's that you lack
I never thought I could feel this way
And I've got to say that I just to get it
I don't know where we went wrong
But the feelin's gone
And I just can't get it back
IF YOU GOT IT...
If you got it
Don't lose it girl it's got to be
The one creative thing that's left for you and me
If you find it
Don't lose it all the very next day
Lock it in your soul and throw the key away
So, don't you let it go
Let it stay let it grow
Like the snow
Don't let it melt away
If you find it
Then give it girl with all your might
Forget about yourself you're not the losin' kind
If you get it
Then keep it cool don't let it die
You may only see it once don't let it pass you by
So don't you let it go
Let it stay let it grow
Like the snow
Don't let it melt away
If you find it
Then give it girl with all your might
Forget about yourself you're not the losin' kind
If you get it
Then keep it cool don't let it die
You may only see it once don't let it pass you by
Pass you by, don't let it die
Don't let it go
IF YOU NEED ME...
If you want to know the reasons for
The things I feel inside
You can run away and hide if you want to
But if you need me
Show me a way to get through
Cause I've not see anyone like you
Since I was a man
If you want to know for certain
What is written in my soul
Where my wildest dreams unfold
Like an endless stream
If you need me
Show me a way to walk tall
Cause I'd not seen anything at all
Until I met you
Sun lights up the seasons
Blue eyes light up the night
If you want to know the meaning of
These feelings that's alright
I could be with you tonight
That's where I'd like to stay
If you need me
Show me a love that is true
Cause I've not seen a woman like you
Since I was a man
If you want to know what magic lies
Beneath the willow blooms
In each corner of each room
Where my love has strayed
If you need me
Show me a way to walk tall
Cause I'd not seen anything at all
Until I met you
If you need me
Show me a way to get through
Cause I've not seen anything like you
Since I was a man
IN A WINDOWPANE...
I looked into a windowpane
Last evening in a city far away
I was feelin' sad and blue
I wondered then if I should really stay
Wanting someone to be with me in the light of this uncertain time
Waiting by the window for the man inside
To please make up his mind
Will you be one who passed through but never saw
Never knowing never feeling anything
Will you live your whole life through never knowing what to do
Will you be one who passed through but never saw
I walked along the roadway to a fountain
Where lovers come to meet
A hobo walked up to me, I could tell
He didn't have enough to eat
He said, "Good sir you look so kind
And though the years have stripped me to the bone
It seems I am the better man
For in this place I've never walked alone"
Will you be one who passed through but never saw
Never knowing never feeling anything
Will you live your whole life through never knowing what to do
Will you be one who passed through but never saw
"Where will you be, my friendly, when your
Telephone ain't givin' out no calls
And when the seasons come to haunt you
Will you still find springtime in the fall
And when you're on your island
Will you wave at every ship that passes by
And will you feed a hungry man
I thank you, sir,
Now I'll just say goodbye"
Don't you be one who passed through but never saw
Never knowing never feeling anything
Will you live your whole life through never knowing what to do
Will you be one who passed through but never saw
Will you live your whole life through never knowing what to do
Will you be one who passed through but never saw
IN MY FASHION...
In my fashion I have been a good man
I have loved and I have lost
Ever after I will be remembered
In my fashion, in my way
There have been times, I have seen the reaper
In the bad times, and in the good
I have bent down, I have touched the ground
Saying prayers and touching wood
In my fashion, I have been a father
I have loved and been loved in return
From the ashes, I have kept the homefires
Burning after all was said and done
Now take a look at me
Do I look like the kind of guy
The kinda fool who went to school
And had to stand on a stool,
Because he couldn't come t' terms with a slide rule
Take a look around again
Is it any different now than it was then
In my fashion I have been a good man
I have loved and I have lost
And ever after I will be remembered
In my fashion, in my way
IS THERE ANYONE HOME...
Is there anyone home in this house made of stone?
Anyone inside know my name
I've been around for a half of a hundred days.
Never saw a door shut so tight
Turn around, don't look down
There's a man behind you with a gun
Like any wandering child in the wilderness,
Wild and uncaged are your ways
I think I heard
Someone stirred
I think I heard
Someone stirred
There's a light around you
I've come to switch it on
It will brighten every room
Don't be ashamed if you feel a whole lot warmer in you heart.
You got that feelin' in your soul
Is there anyone home in this house made of stone?
Anyone in there who might care
I've grown weary and wise and I feel much amazed.
Got a few good tales to unwind
Turn around, don't look down
There's a man behind you with a gun.
Like any wandering minstrel I've dawned in the house of a thousand delights.
I think I heard
Someone stirred
I think I heard
Someone stirred
I think I heard
Someone stirred
I think I heard
Someone stirred
I think I heard
Someone stirred
I think I heard
Someone stirred
IT'S WORTH BELIEVIN'...
There's a warm wind tonight
And the moon turns the tide
When the stars take their ride
She'll be leavin'
Where she goes, I don't know
She won't tell me what it is
That makes her act like this
But I've got a funny feelin' that it's me
It's worth believin'
Should I ask
Do you like to go walking on the shore
And listen to the sea
Or could it be someone kind
Could it be that I'm the fool
There's somethin' wrong with you
And I've got a funny feelin' that it's me
It's worth believin'
There's a breeze from the shore
And the waves overlap
When I've called in the cat
She'll go walkin'
And she cries to herself
In the night when I'm asleep
She lies awake and weeps
Could it be someone new
Some old who has returned
Or is it just a game
But I've got a funny feelin' that it's me
It's worth believin'
There's a warm wind tonight
And the moon turns the tide
When the stars take their ride
She'll be leavin'
Where she goes, I don't know
She won't tell me what it is
That makes her act like this
But I've got a funny feelin' that it's me
It's worth believin'
KNOTTY PINE...
She's my knotty pine
She leans with the wind
She cries turpentine
Sometimes she nettles me
But I don't mind
Only now and then
When her branches lean beneath the snow
She's knotty but nice
Reaching for the sky
She don't like snow 'n ice
To leave things as they stand
Is my advice
She's been good to me
So I tend to go there when I can
She's my knotty pine
Such a pretty scene
She tries to be kind
She gives birds a home
And shelters them
In her coat of green
She's as green as evergreen can be
She's a real delight
When little breezes call
To ruffle up her skin
All her sap runs free
And sticks to me
Hidden deep within
I will be her slave eternally
She's my knotty pine
She leans with the wind
She crys turpentine
Sometimes she nettles me
But I don't mind
Only now and then
When her branches lean beneath the snow
LAZY MORNIN'...
Another lazy mornin'
No need to get down on anyone
My son
Coffee's in the kitchen
Woman on the run
No need to get bothered
I'l think about Monday
When Monday comes
It's two for one
Mister hoot 'n holler
Gotta make a dollar
Another lazy mornin'
I took time to make town 'n stock a pint or two
The most delicious brew
Keepin' up with the Joneses
I hope no one telephones us
I'd take a place in the country
But for now the old back yard
Looks to me like fifty acres
Of the roundest ground in town
Another lazy mornin'
Come suppertime I'm gonna light my barbecue
Nothin' new
Only that she loves me
And nothin' I know can change me
No need to get bothered
I do more livin' than it might seem
Some dream
Livin' like a pauper
Bless my darlin' daughter
I'd like to know what makes a man go
Over land and sea
I guess it must get kinda lonesome
That's the way I used to be
Another lazy mornin'
No need to get down on anyone
Such fun
Coffee's in the kitchen
Woman on the run
LEAVES OF GRASS...
The leaves of grass will not pass on
Though the millstones grind them into dust
For the earth shall give life to them
But only the grass will grow once more
And the brave must fall to honor the names
Of the ones who have gone before
And the earth shall give new life to them
But only the grass will grow once more
If people could look into each other's eyes
What a wonderful place this world would be
All strife would end, we could start again
And dreams like these must not pass on
But the brave keep falling to honor the names
Of the ones who have gone before
And the earth shall give new life to them
But only the grass will grow once more
And the brave keep falling to honor the names
Of the ones who have gone before
And the earth shall give new life to them
But only the grass will grow once more
The leaves of grass will not pass on
Though the millstones grind them into dust
For the earth shall give life to them
But only the grass will grow once more
LET IT RIDE...
These are just the simple facts
I will relate to you
Though they are not connected
Each and every one is true
If they seem a bit untidy
Well unraveling them is fun
I will not stand corrected
I have not harmed anyone
I just let it ride
Ride let it ride
Leave on the evenin' tide
Just let it ride
When I listen to my heart
I sometimes fail to find
One sane and simple answer
On the bright side of my mind
Even when I'm sleeping
I can't seem to unwind
I just let it ride
I knew a man from Windsor
Who went to Detroit every night
And stateside of the tunnel
Customs agents gave him flight
He threw his stash in the river
And his bedroll on the ground
And when they finally got there
A sleeping man was all that they found
He just let it ride
Ride let it ride
Leavin' on the evenin' tide
Just let it ride
Hear the steeple bell ring out
Above my lobster pots
I might be out here fishin' man
But that ain't where it stops
The mouths I feed are many
And they all say thanks a lot
They just let it ride
One day when I'm old and gray
'N consider what's gone by
I always will be proud of
Every tear I've ever cried
And all of the old jokes we told
Around the candle light
To all those tender damsels
Who had helped us through the night
They just let it ride
Ride let it ride
Leavin' on the evenin' tide
Just let it ride
I'm gonna let it ride
Here's to the girls of London
And the ones from Montreal
We never will forget them
We still fantasize them all
I knew one in St. Louis
On a Missouri afternoon
I met one up in Shanghai
And another in Rangoon
I just let it ride
Ride let it ride
Leavin' on the evenin' tide
Just let it ride
Ride ride ride
I'm gonna let it ride
Leavin' on the evenin' tide
Just let it ride
LONG RIVER...
Where the long river flows
It flows by my window
Where the tall timber grows
It grows 'round my door
Where the mountains meet the sky
And the white clouds fly
Where the long river flows
By my window
There's a tiny bird that calls
And he calls by my window
There's a lonely tear that falls
And it falls 'round my door
But when the sun is high
There's no time to cry
Where the long river flows
By my window
Now if only you could see
The closin' of the day
If only you could be
Where the dawn breaks away
By the white cascade
Oh down in the glade
Where the long river flows
By my window
Well when this land was made
It was made full of wonder
But one woman's love
I can't understand
And I'd give it all to you
If her love were true
Where the long river flows
By my window
Where the long river flows
By my window
LONG THIN DAWN...
That long thin dawn
That long thin dawn
Is comin' on again
I've seen the hills of Frisco and the streets of Montreal
In every town I've been to I've had someone to call
From Winnipeg to Edmonton, Vancouver to St. Paul
I've had so many good friends I couldn't miss them all
And that long thin dawn
That long thin dawn
Is comin' on again
Last night I came to Denver beneath the snow-capped ridge
I thought about my darlin' as I stood beneath the bridge
And there were times I made her cry but I guess by now she's learned
That any time I've wandered I always have returned
And that long thin dawn
That long thin dawn
Is comin' on again
Right now I'm on a highway just east of Omaha
Riding shotgun on the biggest rig you ever saw
With forty tons of pig iron and a trucker known as Bill
All the way to Windsor, we've got some miles to kill
And that long thin dawn
That long thin dawn
Is comin' on again
While climbin' up a hillside, Bill drops 'er down a gear
And the engine sings so sweetly 'tis music to my ear
I tell him how I long to be just like him if I can
Drivin' like the restless wind across this precious land
Says Bill "the air is clean tonight" as he puffs a big cigar
"And if this rig keeps rollin', my boy you'll travel far
But when you are a trucker you'll come to realize
The only thing a man can do is watch the world go by"
And that long thin dawn
That long thin dawn
Is comin' on again
That long thin dawn
That long thin dawn
Is comin' on again
LONG WAY BACK HOME...
From the railhead to the boatyard
From the factory to the farm
From the mines to the millhouse
I've weathered the storm
From the bar room to the bedpost
I've wasted my days
All I have is my drink
And the time left to think
While time slips away
Just look at my face
As you tell me goodbye
You'll see what I'm after
By the look in my eye
Just walk away
And leave me alone
It's a long way back home
Now in case you should ask me
What it is that I've done
Well I say I'm a soldier
Who once had a son
But my son doesn't know me
That's his right to choose
Oh say can you see
My best friend is my
I'm a friend I could use
Just look at my face
As you tell me goodbye
You'll see what I'm after
By the look in my eye
Just walk away
And leave me alone
It's a long way back home
Now the pages have faded
The story grows cold
And the plot falls to ashes
Like the ruins of old
Those rats in my rafters
They're after my shoes
And anything else
They can find on the shelf
I've said they could use
Just look at my face
As you tell me goodbye
You'll see what I'm after
By the look in my eye
Just walk away
And leave me alone
It's a long way back home
It's a long way back home
LOOKING AT THE RAIN...
Looking at the rain
Feeling the pain
Of love lost running though
My brain
Looking at the wind
Watching it spin
The leaves along the street
You win
Waiting for a line to fall
Telling you it's all a big mistake
Looking at a face
So out of place
Inside that picture frame
Of lace
Looking at the wall
Wishing you'd call
And tell me you're OK
That's all
Wishing this was all a dream
And I'd find you sleeping when I wake
Looking at the trees
So ill at ease
From sleep that will not come
That's me
Looking at the dawn
Knowing it's wrong
Still thinking of your love
That's gone
Wishing this was all a dream
And I'd find you sleeping when I wake
Looking at the rain
Feeling the pain
Of love lost running though
My brain
Looking at the wind
Watching it spin
The leaves along the street
You win
Waiting for a line to fall
Telling you it's all a big mistake
But the words won't come
I know I'd feel the same
Looking at the rain
LOVE AND MAPLE SYRUP...
Love and maple syrup goes together
Like the sticky winds of winter when they meet
When lonely lovers come to rest
Beneath the trees they do their best
But still they can't be free
Looking for the world to be
Anything but what they see
Longing to be understood
By the heart that shapes the wood
If you go into the forest, gaze up through the leaves
And see the sky that's almost wild
You must learn to understand
What makes the forest greet the man
Like a mother's only child
In the north when when winter's claw
Relaxes now to keep the laws of nature in control
People come and stand in line
To rob the forest of her wine
But they don't feel the cold
Looking for the world to be
Anything but what they see
Longing to be understood
By the heart that shapes the wood
Love and maple syrup goes together
Like the sticky winds of winter when they meet
When lonely lovers come to rest
Beneath the trees they do their best
But still they can't be free
Love and maple syrup shine like
Embers warm, like thoughts divine
They tell us it is spring
Love and maple syrup stir
The thoughts of people into words
Of songs that they can sing
Looking for the world to be
Anything but what they see
Longing to be understood
By the heart that shapes the wood
MAKE WAY FOR THE LADY...
Some life I've bin livin'
Like a song in the night
Good sounds every moment
Good news and bright lights
Anytime I get lonesome
I just got ta do the things right
Make way for the lady
You can do it my son
Makin' hay with no gravy
Brings the good folk down
Anytime you get lonely
You just got to turn it around
This life I've bin given
It don't tell you no lies
Could've been somewhat wasted
How could it be otherwise
When the sound of the laughter
Brought the tears in to my eyes
Make way for the lady
You can do it my son
Makin' hay with no gravy
Gets the day's work done
When a blue mood gets rollin'
You just got to turn it around
Turn it around
Shake hands with the father
The son and the holy ghost
The impossible believers
And the heavenly host
If you must do it better
You just got to do it the most
Make way for the lady
You can do it my son
Makin' hay with no gravy
Brings all the good folks down
When a blue moon starts risin'
You just got to turn it around
Turn it around
Turn it around
Make way for the lady
And turn it around
MARIE CHRISTINE...
Have you seen the lighthouse shining from the rock
For the ship Marie Christine and all her gallant lot
Now have you seen the lighthouse
Oh we are close to land
Cried the brave young captain to his wretched band
Now have you seen the harbor cried Marie Christine
Have you seen the jagged rocks in the waters in between
Now have you seen the lighthouse
Oh save me if you can
For if you do I promise I'll never sail again
Now have you seen the lighthouse shining from the rock
Cried the brave young captain to his wretched lot
Now gather all your photographs
And don your coats of blue
If anyone can save us now, Marie Christine 'tis you
When I first saw Marie Christine the woman that she was
I ssigned aboard toman her sails and honor well her cause
I christened her with old champagne
And I drove her to the west
Of all the men who sailed on her, in truth I sailed her best
Have you seen the lighthouse shining from the rock
For the ship Marie Christine and all her gallant lot
Now have you seen the lighthouse
Oh we are close to land
Cried the brave young captain to his wretched band
Come all ye would be sailors
All ye would be sailors
All ye would be sailors
If anyone can save us now, Marie Christine 'tis you
If anyone can save us now, Marie Christine 'tis you
MAY I...
Finders, keepers, losers, weepers
Ring around the rosy and I'll catch you if I can
And if you don't say may I, then you'll have to start again
But first you must indulge me and count from one to ten
Let the game begin
I adore you when you touch me
Pin the tail upon the donkey, you will surely win
And if you don't say may I, then I'll pass the cake around
And I won't give you any, but you won't make a sound
You don't eat soap, anyhow
Red light, green light, blue light, yellow light
You can take three giant steps or a baby step will do
But if you don't say may I, then I'll march you out the door
Where you'll be contemplating the numbers one to four
I hope you're keeping score
Cause if you don't say may I, then I'll get you with the hose
And spoil your Sunday clothes Will it please you if I tease you
While you're at the spindry, I'll pass the pie around
But you won't make a sound
You don't eat blackbird anyhow
There's four and twenty reasons why it can't be wrong
How long have you been gone
Finders, keepers, losers, weepers
Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater
Wear your sneakers around sound sleepers
ME AND BOBBY MCGEE...
Busted flat in Baton Rouge
Headin' for the train
Feelin' nearly faded as my jeans
Bobby thumbed a diesel down
Just before it rained
Took us all away to New Orleans
I took my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana
And was blowin' sad while Bobby sang the blues
With those windshield wipers slappin' time
And Bobby clappin' hands we finally
Sung up every song that driver knew
Freedom's just another word
For nothin' left to lose
Nothin' ain't worth nothin
But it's free
Feelin' good was easy Lord
When Bobby sang the blues
Feelin' good was good enough for me
Good enough for me and Bobby McGee
From the coalmines of Kentucky
To the California sun
Bobby shared the secrets of my soul
Standin' right beside me Lord
Through every thing I done
Every night she kept me from the cold
Then somewhere near Salinas Lord
I let her slip away
Searchin' for the home
I hope she'll find
And I'd give all my tomorrows
For a single yesterday
Holdin' Bobby's body close to mine
Freedom's just another word
For nothin' left to lose
Nothin' ain't worth nothin
But it's free
Feelin' good was easy Lord
When Bobby sang the blues
Feelin' good was good enough for me
Good enough for me and Bobby McGee
MIGUEL...
Never had much to say
He traveled alone with no friends
Like a shadowy ghost
At dawn he came and he went
Through the woodland swiftly gliding
To the young maid he came gliding
Where she'd run to meet him
By the garden wall
Oh my sweet Miguel
I will never tell
No one will ever know
What I know too well
And he'd smile and lay his head on her breast
And he'd say I have no fear
They're waiting for me to cross the border, to swim the river
But I've done that before
To see my true love's smiling face
A hundred times or more
Oh my sweet Miguel she cried
I'll love you till I die
He was born to the south
In Mexico they say
The child of a man
Who had soon gone away
But his mother loved him dearly
And she would take him yearly
To the great cathedral in St. Augustine
Oh my sweet Miguel
Listen to the bell
Of my poverty
You must never tell
And he cried himself to sleep in the night
And he vowed to make things right
So he took the gun down from the wall and he paid a call
He knew she'd understand
A lawman came to capture him
The gun jumped in his hand
Oh Miguel the mother cried
You must run now or you'll die
So the story is told
Of his true love 'cross the line
As strong as the oak
And as sweet as the vine
And the child she bore him
Came on that fateful mornin'
When they sent him to his final rest
Oh my sweet Miguel
Listen to the bell
No one will ever know
What I know too well
And she'd smile and lay the child on her breast
And she'd say I have no fear
I'm waiting for you to cross the border, to swim the river
'Cause you've done that before
To see your true love's smiling face
A hundred times or more
Oh my sweet Miguel she cried
I'll love you till I die
MINSTREL OF THE DAWN...
The minstrel of the dawn is here
To make you laugh and bend your ear
Up the steps you'll hear him climb
All full of thoughts, all full of rhymes
Listen to the pictures flow
Across the room into your mind they go
Listen to the strings
They jangle and dangle
While the old guitar rings
The minstrel of the dawn is he
Not too wise but oh so free
He'll talk of life out on the street
He'll play it sad and say it sweet
Look into his shining face
Of lonelines you'll always find a trace
Just like me and you
He's tryin' to get into things
More happy than blue
A minstrel of the changin' tide
He'll ask for nothing but his pride
Just sit him down upon that chair
Go fetch some wine and set it there
Listen to the pictures flow
Across the room into your mind they go
Listen to the strings
They jangle and dangle
While the old guitar rings
A minstrel of the dawn is near
Just like a step 'n fetchit here
He's like an old time troubador
Just wanting life and nothing more
Look into his shining eyes
And if you see a ghost don't be surprised
Like me and you
He's tryin' to get into things
More happy than blue
The minstrel boy will understand
He holds a promise in his hand
He talks of better days ahead
And by his words your fortune's read
Listen to the pictures flow
Across the room into your mind they go
Listen to the strings
They jangle and dangle
While the old guitar rings
The minstrel of the dawn is gone
I hope he'll call before too long
And if you meet him you must be
The victim of his minstrelsy
He'll sing for you a song
The minstrel of the dawn
MISTER ROCK OF AGES...
Mister Rock of Ages you got time on your hands
Got no worries, got no plans
Bless my soul now you're doin' fine
You ain't got no axe to grind
Rock of Ages tell me where does it stand
Are we bound for the promised land
Bless my soul, I ain't ready to die
And my future is in your hands
Mister Rock of Ages you've been goin' on strong
Since time began, til time is done
And so the tide shall run
Mister Rock of Ages tell me what do you see
Are we bound for eternity
Bless my soul, baby you're doin' fine
You ain't got no axe to grind
Rock of Ages you've got nothing to hide
Got no ego, got no pride
Bless my soul, let me do what I can
For my future is in your hands
Mister Rock of Ages, the lord of my lease
In times of toil and times of peace
Until my song shall cease
Mister Rock of Ages, I'm a part of you now
I am yours, you belong to be
Bless my soul, let me do what I can
For my future is in your hands
MORNING GLORY...
Pretty faces everywhere
A few hard cases stop and stare
They've got charm that is not right
Pretty faces late at nightMorning Glory what's the story
Will it ever end
I've been all the way to Biscayne Bay
And all the way back again
All the way back again
I remember our old rendezvous
The key was kept inside a shoe
Those moments will remain frozen in time
Morning Glory's on my mind
What's the story Morning Glory
Will it ever end
I've been all the way to Biscayne Bay
And all the way back again
All the way back again
It seems like only yesterday
She married me and carried me away
I found out what life was all about
Morning Glory threw me out
Hey Morning Glory what's the story
Will it ever end
I've been all the way to Biscayne Bay
And all the way back again
Alimony, Palimony
Puts a dent in me
I've been all the way to Biscayne Bay
For a dip in the shining sea
A dip in the shining sea
Pretty faces everywhere
A few hard cases stop and stare
Even when I know it ain't my day
A lot of good faces anyway
Morning Glory what's the story
What is it to be
I've been all the way to Biscayne Bay
For a dip in the shining sea
A dip in the shining sea
What's the story Morning Glory
Will it ever end
I've been all the way to Biscayne Bay
And all the way back again
All the way back again
Hey Morning Glory what's the story
Will it ever end
I've been all the way to Biscayne Bay
And all the way back again
All the way back again
MOTHER OF A MINER'S CHILD...
She is my flower
And she blooms for the one who loves her best
The miners stop to watch as she walks
They know her love is not for sale
She will never fail me 'cause I know
I watch her grow
And the mother of a miner's child
Waits for me beside the kitchen door
She is my light
In this place where the darkness never ends
She'll guide me where the tunnels twist and bend
She's the only one who listens when I tell her
I got less than I can spend
She knows the pace
Oh mother of a miner's child
Was away the coal dust from my face
When the night shift's done
She'll be waiting by the table when I come
Searchin' for another dream to chase
Oh mother of a miner's child
I know that you still think about the day
When we'll be movin' on
Remember dear old Daddy and
The promise that I made to carry on
Sometimes I smile
In the cage where the cables softly hum
I'd curse that old straw boss to the bone
But the mother of a miner's child
Is waiting for her paycheck to come home
Come Saturday
And he is just a miner's boy
I hope that he will find a better way
She is my flower
And she blooms for the one who loves her best
The miners stop to watch as she walks
They know her love is not for sale
She will never fail me 'cause I know
I watch her grow
And the mother of a miner's child
Waits for me beside the kitchen door
MY PONY WON'T GO...
Gotta make your mind up
Every single day
(I) hate to see you lonely
Losin' me this way
Lookin' for the man
Who stole my love from me
Gotta know the reason
Why my baby's leavin'
My pony won't go
Where I want him to go no more
Gotta make your mind up
If you're gonna stay
I don't see no sense in
Anything you say
Since you met the guy
Who told you I was wrong
You do all the livin'
While I do all the givin'
My pony won't go
He can't find no oats to eat
Gotta make your mind up
Every single day
(I) hate to see you lonely
Losin' me this way
Lookin' for the man
Whole stole my love from me
Gotta know the reason
Why my baby's leavin'
My pony won't go
Where I want him to go no more
NEVER TOO CLOSE...
I remember when best friends were jealous lovers
Lyin' warm asleep beneath the covers
Dreaming of belonging to each other
And so we tried, never too close
Never too near, dyin' in time
And so we cried but that is alright
We meant no one no harm
I remember when best friends were no mistaken
Long before that freedom was forsaken
Learnin' 'bout all the good things
In the world worth believin'
And so we tried, never too close
Never too near, dyin' in time
And so we cried but that is alright
We meant no one no harm
I remember when jealous lovers would stick together
When the days were warm and the nights more tender
When the bonds of truth were not made to measure
And so we tried, never too close
Never too near, dyin' in time
And so we cried but that is alright
We meant no one no harm
Try, try as you will
Following dreams never fulfilled
And so we cried but that is alright
We meant no one no harm
NOUS VIVONS ENSEMBLE (We've got to stay together)...
We've got to stay together
We've got to find each other now
That is how we can learn all about the other man's song
On the plains of Abraham
When they sent the lamb to die
You and I were asleep in the Rock of Ages
Remember the unborn children still to come
If you need me and I need you
There's nothin' else needs sayin'
Understand it
I'm not to deaf to hear the song you're playin'
Nous vivons ensemble
Nous nous connaisons maintenant
Voici comment nous pouvons decouvrir une autre humanite
Sur les plaines D'Abraham
Lors du dernier sacrifice
Toi et moi nous dormions tres loin dans le temp
Souviens toi des enfants qui attendent encore
Si tu me veux je seraila c'est tout ce que j'ai a dire
Car comprend moi
Je ne suis pas sourd a la musique que tu joues
NOW AND THEN...
I think this time you've said enough to make me want to leave this place
Still I keep coming back for more of the same to fan the dying flame
Here inside these walls that seem to move a little closer every day
There must be a way out of this crazy game we play out to the end
Let us just pretend a while
Think about the good things now and then
I think this time that was the best time that we two had ever known
We tried the handle of the house upon the shore and found the open door
Once inside we found a curious moonbeam doing dances on the floor
We were only playing like two children who had stayed away from school
Two of us could not be wrong
Heaven knows who keeps the golden rule
I think this time we've learned enough to know that nothing is the same
But still the pounding of my heart hasn't changed and leavin's so strange
Here among my thoughts of you I find a gentle longing to be free
There must be a way out of this crazy game we play out to the end
Take away the in-between
Think about the good things now and then
We will see the day when you or I will stay or face up to the end
Let us just pretend a while
And think about the good things now and then
OH LINDA...
Oh Linda you done me wrong
I'm gonna sing you a goodbye song
Sing a song that's most unkind
I ain't even gonna try to change your mind
Oh Linda you made me grieve
I feel like I could die
Look out baby the moon is falling
Down from your sky
Oh gal don't you say goodbye
Now that I need you by my side
Love me now or be on your way
If you go be gone to stay
I saw Linda late last night
Dressed for town she looked alright
Painted eyes and lips like wine
Walkin' on down with a friend of mine
Oh gal don't you say so long
I feel like I could die
Look out baby the moon is falling
Down from your sky
Oh gal don't you be unkind
I ain't even gonna try to change your mind
Love me now or be on your way
If you go be gone to stay
Oh Linda you made me grieve
I feel like I could die
Look out baby the moon is falling
Down from your sky
Oh gal don't you say goodbye
Now that I need you by my side
You can have everything I own
Take everything but a-come on home
Oh gal don't you say so long
I feel like I could die
Look out baby the moon is falling
Down from your sky
Oh gal don't you do me wrong
I'm gonna sing you a goodbye song
Sing a song that's most unkind
I ain't even gonna try to change your mind
OLD DAN'S RECORDS...
Get out old Dan's records
Get out old Dan's records
We will dance the whole night long
It's fun to play the old time songs
If old Dan could see us now
I know he'd be so proud
Bring out old Dan's records
Bring out old Dan's records
I remember my Aunt Bea
She'd dance with Dan till two or three
If old Dan could see he now
I know he'd shout out loud
Dig out old Dan's records
Bring out old Dan's records
We're all here, we've all got dates
We'll dance all night to the seventy-eights
If old Dan could see us now
I know he'd be so proud
If old Dan were with us still
I know he'd come around
Get out old Dan's records
Dig out old Dan's records
Back to nineteen thirty-five
The foxtrot, jitterbug 'n jive
If old Dan could see us now
I know he'd be so proud
Get out old Dan's records
Bring out old Dan's records
High above the fireplace
There's a smile on old Dan's face
If old Dan could see us now
I know he'd be so proud
If old Dan were with us still
I know he'd come around
ON SUSAN'S FLOOR...
Like crippled ships that made it
Through a storm and finally reached a quiet shore
The homeless found a home on Susan's floor
Didn't feel so cold and tired
Stretched out before her fire
Rollin' smokes and drinkin' up her wine
And I remember candlelight
And singing 'til we could not sing no more
Then fallin' warm asleep on Susan's floor
Well now that my song is sweeeter
I think I'd like to greet her
And thank her for the favors that she gave
A stranger I came
My head bowed in the rain to her door
I sat and sang my songs on Susan's floor
In the mornin' I'd go on
Buyin' kingdoms with my songs
Knowin' I'd be back in just a while
Warm in the sunlight of her smile
Well lots of time and songs have passed
I catch myself just looking back
Reliving all the wonder of those nights
That's where I'd be today
If I had only stayed one night more
And sang another song on Susan's floor
Like crippled ships that made it
Through a storm and finally reached a quiet shore
The homeless found a home on Susan's floor
ON THE HIGH SEAS...
Was it someone she met that's so hard to forget
Was it some kind of an ocean of changes
I don't remember where she said she would be
And since I don't know, let me guess
Was it somewhere in Michigan or the Lake of the Woods
Up in old Montreal or Toronto the good
Somewhere in Reno or somewhere in Rome
And when all is said and done
Will she leave me alone
I don't want to get so low
And as for my sadness, it comes and it goes
I don't remember where she said she would be
Back in the city or on the high seas
Was it up in Hornpayne where the trains run on time
Was she drinking champagne when she made up her mind
North of the border or down in South Bend
And when all is said and done
Is there no rainbow's end
I don't want to own the key
To some ghostly mansion where souls are set free
I don't remember where she said she would go
Straight for the highway or down the low road
I don't remember where she said she would be
Back in the city or on the high seas
ONLY LOVE WOULD KNOW...
Does the light of passion still burn bright
Only love would know, my imagination
Tells me I'm a pent-up fool
In the deep end of the pool
Is the light of passion burnin' bright
Only love would know, only love would know
She lives on the other side, you wanna know the reason why
She arrives at promises and you believe in what she says
Everywhere you go
Is the light of passion burnin' bright
Everywhere you go, only love would know
You think you've been wronged again
Oh what a way to treat a friend
She belongs to other eyes and surely you must realize
She ain't the kind who would soon step aside
Pay any dues at the expense of her pride
Everywhere she goes, only love would know
In the days gone by I came to believe
Everything is trust, all the rest is dust
Mother nature, mother dear, listen to us over here
Are the sounds of laughter ringing true
Only love would know, only love would do
She lives on another plane away from the drivin' rain
She says no, you say yes, and that's how it should be I guess
Only love would know
May the light of love surround you tonight
Everywhere you go, only love would know
You think you were wrong until
You learned once and for all it's still
Once more lesson on the way
Or that is what it seemed to say
She's not the kind who would soon step down
Not the kind you would try to walk around
When only a thought would go very well
You can tell by the touch
Ah but only love would know
Passion burnin' bright
Tears of passion late at night
Is the light of passion burning bright
Everywhereyou go, only love would know
ORDINARY MAN...
Try to understand
I'm not your ordinary man, still I can't deny
You go with me everywhere
When I'm dreamin' you still share my lonely nights
Try to see my side
It's not your ordinary pride that keeps drivin' me on
It's that lonesome, restless feelin' that you feel under the gun
And it leads me to the highways but it keeps my body warm
And as I wander to the cities and the towns
I get so lonesome knowin' you could be around
And when the show is over, there's a holiday motel
Another empty bottle and another tale to tell
Try to comprehend
I'm not your ordinary friend at the end of my life
I would pray that I could be
Returning to the shelter of your love
Try to see my side
It's not your ordinary pride that keeps drivin' me on
It's that lonesome, restless feelin' that you feel under the gun
And it leads me to the highways but it keeps my body warm
And as I wander to the cities and the towns
I get so lonesome knowin' you could be around
And when the show is over, there's a holiday motel
Another empty bottle and another tale to tell
Try to understand
I'm not your ordinary man, still I can't deny
You go with me everywhere
Like a shadow in the gloom
I remember all the good times
There's a ghost in every room
PEACEFUL WATERS...
The dead leaves of autumn
That cling so desperately
Must fly before the cold October winds
Their simple lives have ended
Must they be born to die again
Oh may the light of freedom shine
For all the world to see
And peace and joy to all mankind
Through all the years to be
For soon the leaves will die
And the long hard wind will blow
May this world find a resting place
Where the peaceful waters flow
POOR LITTLE ALLISON...
Poor little Allison
Standing in the night wind
Wishing out loud
Turning her face to the summer rain
Poor little Allison
Never had much goin'
Hard to forget
Always in step with the world she's in
Never knowin' never feelin'
Showin' so much pride
Never sayin' what she's thinkin'
Or feelin' deep inside
Poor little Allison
Dreaming of the right one
Laughing out loud
Lost in a crowd of fair weather friends
Never knowin' never feelin'
Showin' so much pride
Never sayin' what she's thinkin'
Or feelin' deep inside
Poor little Allison
Standing in the night wind,
Wishing out loud
Turning her face to the summer rain
Hard to forget
Always in step with the world she's in
PRIDE OF MAN...
(Hamilton Camp)
Turn around go back down go back the way you came
Can't you see the flash of fire ten times brighter than the day
And behold the mighty city broken in the dust again
Oh God the pride of man broken in the dust again
Turn around go back down go back the way you came
Babylon is laid to waste Egypt's buried in her shame
Their mighty men are beaten down the kings are fallen in the ways
Oh God the pride of man broken in the dust again
Turn around go back down go back the way you came
Terror is on everyside though the leaders are dismayed
Those who put their faith in fire in fire their faith shall be repaid
Oh God the pride of man broken in the dust again
Turn around go back down go back the way you came
Shout a warning to the nations that the sword of god is raised
On Babylon that mighty city rich in treasure wide in fame
It shall cause thy towers to fall and make it be a pyre of flame
Oh God the pride of man broken in the dust again
Thou that dwell on many water rich in treasure wide in fame
Bow unto a god of gold thy pride of might shall be thy shame
Oh God the pride of man broken in the dust again
And only God can lead the people back into the faith again
Thy holy mountain be restored thy mercy on thy people Lord
PROTOCOL...
Who are these ones who would lead us now
To the sound of a thousand guns
Who'd storm the gates of hell itself
To the tune of a single drum
Where are the girls of the neighborhood bars
Whose loves were lost at sea
In the hills of France and on German soil
From Saigon to Wounded Knee
Who come from long lines of soldiers
Whose duty was fulfilled
In the words of a warriors will
And protocol
Where are the boys in their coats of blue
Who flew when their eyes were blind
Was God in town for the Roman games
Was he there when the deals were signed
Who are the kings in their coats of mail
Who road by the cross to die
Did they all go down into worthiness
Is it wrong for a king to cry
And who are these ones who would have us now
Whose presence in concealed
Whose nature is revealed
In a time bomb
Last of all you old seadogs
Who travel after whale
You'd storm the gates of hell itself
For the taste of a mermaid's tail
Who come from long lines of skippers
Whose duty was fulfilled
In the words of a warrior's will
And protocol
PUSSYWILLOWS, CAT-TAILS...
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses
Rainbows in the woodland, water to my knees
Shivering, quivering, the warm breath of spring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses
Catbirds and cornfields, daydreams together
Riding on the roadside the dust gets in your eyes
Reveling, disheveling, the summer nights can bring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses
Slanted rays and colored days, stark blue horizons
Naked limbs and wheatbins, hazy afternoons
Voicing, rejoicing, the wine cups do bring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses
Harsh nights and candlelights, woodfires a-blazin'
Soft lips and fingertips resting in my soul
Treasuring, remembering, the promise of spring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses
RACE AMONG THE RUINS...
You think you had the last laugh
Now you know this can't be true
Even though the sun shines down upon you now
Sometimes you must feel blue
You make the best of each new day
You try not to be sad
Even though the sky falls down upon you
Call it midnight feelin' bad
When you wake up to the promise
Of your dream world comin' true
With one less friend to call on
Was it someone that I knew
Away you will go sailin'
In a race among the ruins
If you plan to face tomorrow
Do it soon
The road to love is littered
By the bones of other ones
Who by the magic of the moment
Were mysteriously undone
You try to understand it
But you never seem to find
Any kind of freedom comin' clean
Is just another state of mind
When you wake up to the promise
Of your dream world comin' true
With one less friend to call on
Was it someone that I knew
Away you will go sailin'
In a race among the ruins
If you plan to face tomorrow
Do it soon
So take the best of all that's left
You know this cannot last
Even though your mother was you maker
From her apron strings you pass
Just think about the fool
Who by his virtue can be found
In a most unusual situation
Playin' jester to the clown
When you wake up to the promise
Of your dream world comin' true
With one less friend to call on
Was it someone that I knew
Away you will go sailin'
In a race among the ruins
If you plan to face tomorrow
Do it soon
When you wake up to the promise
Of your dream world comin' true
With one less friend to call on
Was it someone that I knew
Away you will go sailin'
In a race among the ruins
If you plan to face tomorrow
Do it soon
RAINBOW TROUT...
In the name of love she came
This foolish winsome girl
She was all decked out like a rainbow trout
Swimmin' up stream in the world
And she said "Please, please, I've lost my way
The current is too strong
In the name of love, kind sir I pray, in the name of love"
So I took her by the hand, she took me by the will
She was all dolled up like a blue eyed pup
Looking for something to spill
And she said "Please, please, I've lost my way
The current is too strong
In the name of love, kind sir I pray, in the name of love"
In the name of love she came
This foolish winsome girl
She was all decked out like a rainbow trout
Swimmin' upstream in the world
And she gave one flip of the rainbow tip of her tail
And she swam back down
And she said "Please, please, I've lost my way
The current is too strong
In the name of love, kind sir I pray, in the name of love"
RAINY DAY PEOPLE...
Rainy day people always seem to know when it's time to call
Rainy day people don't talk, they just listen till they've heard it all
Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell 'ya they've been down like you
Rainy day people don't mind if you're cryin' a tear or two
If you get lonely, all you really need is that rainy day love
Rainy day people all know there's no sorrow they can't rise above
Rainy day lovers don't love any others, that would not be kind
Rainy day people all know how it hangs on a piece of mind
Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell you, they've been down there too
Rainy day people don't mind if you're cryin' a tear or two.
Rainy day people always seem to know when you're feeling blue
High stepping strutters who land in the gutters sometimes need one too
Take it or leave it, or try to believe it
If you've been down too long
Rainy day lovers don't hide love inside they just pass it on
Rainy day lovers don't hide love inside they just pass it on
REDWOOD HILL...
I climbed the Redwood Hill
Twas on a rainy day
To rise above the throng
And talk with Mother Nature for a while
She told me of her love
For the children in her trust
And of her grave concern
For the likes of you and me and us
Crying thought she was
She did speak these tender words
The things that I am
I could not change for any man
I tried to comfort her
Ah but she would not be still
And how the rain did fall
As I found my way back down the Redwood Hill
Crying though she was
She did speak these tender words
The things that I am
I would not change for any man
I tried to compfort her
Ah but she would not be still
I'll not forget that day
When Mother Nature cried on Redwood Hill
I'll not forget that day
when Mother Nature cried on Redwood Hill.
RESTLESS...
There's a kind of a restless feeling and it pulls me from within
It sets my senses reeling and my wheels begin to spin
In the quietude of winter you can hear the wild geese cry
And I will always love that sound until the day I die
There's a plain and a simple answer to each and every quest
From every quiet dance who might be a special guest
In a movie made for TV or a late night interview
You might even find them on the Young and the Restless too
Do ya get that restless feelin' when you hear a whistle blast
Like an echo from the past
Of an old engine flyin' down a road that's ironcast
The lake is blue, the sky is gray, the leaves have turned to gold
The wild goose will be on her way, the weather's much too cold
When the muskie and the old trout too have all gone down to rest
We will be returning to the things that we love best
Do ya get that restless yearning when you think about your dad
And the scrimshaw that he had
Of an old schooner rovin' 'neath a sky that's ironclad
There's a kind of a restless feeling and it catches you off guard
As we gaze off at the distance through the trees in my back yard
I can feel that restless yearning of those geese as off they roam
Then trade that for a warm bed and a place I can call home
Will ya get that restless yearning when you hear the wicked blast
Of a spectre from the past
Of a cold diesel rollin' down a road that's built to last
Still I get that restless feelin' when I hear a whistle blast
See an image from the past
Of an old schooner flyin' down a sky that's overcast
RIBBON OF DARKNESS...
Ribbon of darkness over me
Since my true love walked out the door
Tears I never had before
Ribbon of darkness over me
Clouds a-atherin' o'er my head
That kill the day and hide the sun
That shroud the night when day is done
Ribbon of darkness over me
Rain is falling on the meadow
Where once my love and I did lie
Now she is gone from the meadow
My love goodbye
Ribbon of darkness over me
Where once the world was young as spring
Where flowers did bloom and birds did sing
Ribbon of darkness over me
Here in this cold room lyin'
Don't want to see no one but you
Lord I wish I could be dyin'
To forget you
Oh how I wish your heart could see
How mine just aches and breaks all day
Come on home and take away
This ribbon of darkness over me
RICH MAN'S SPIRITUAL...
Gonna but me a long white robe
Yes Lord to help me home
I'm gonna buy me a long white robe
Yes Lord to get me home
And when I get my heavenly gown
And I lay my burden down
I'm gonna get me a long white robe to get me home
I'm gonna buy me two golden slippers
Yes Lord to walk me home
I'm gonna buy me two golden slippers
Yes Lord to walk me home
And when I get my slippers of gold
Then the Lord will have my soul
I'm gonna get me two golden slippers to get me home
I'm gonna buy me two wings of silver
Yes Lord to fly me home
I'm gonna buy me two wings of silver
Yes Lord to fly me home
And when I get my silvery wings
Then an angel choir will sing
I'm gonna get me two wings of silver to get me home
I'm gonna buy me a poor man's trouble
Yes Lord to help me home
I'm gonna buy me a poor man's trouble
Yes Lord to help me home
And when I get my trouble and woe
Then homeward I will go
I'm gonna get a little trouble and woe to get me home
I'm gonna find me a smilin' angel
Yes Lord to lead me home
I'm gonna get me a smilin' angel
Yes Lord to lead me home
And when he takes me by the hand
I know the Lord will understand
I'm gonna get me a smilin' angel to lead me home
I'm gonna get me a smilin' angel to lead me home
RING THEM BELLS...
(Bob Dylan)
Ring them bells ye heathen from the city that dreams
Ring them bell from the sanctuaries, 'cross the valleys and streams
For they're deep and they're wide, and the world's on its side
And time is a-runnin' backwards and so is the bride
Ring them bells St. Peter where the four winds blow
Ring them bells with an iron hand so the people will know
Oh it's rush hour now. on the wheel of the plow
And the sun is a-goin' down upon the sacred cow
Ring them bells sweet Martha for the poor man's son
Ring them bells so the world will know that God is one
For the shepherd is asleep where the willow weep
And the mountain is filled with lost sheep
Ring them bells - for the blind and the deaf
Ring them bells - all those who are left
Ring them bells - for the chosen few
Who'll judge the many when the game is through
Ring them bells - for the time that flies
For the child who cries when innocence dies
Ring them bells St. Catherine from the top of the roof
Ring the bells from the fortress for the lilies that bloom
For the lines are long and the fighting is strong
And they're breakin' down the distance between right and wrong
ROMANCE...
You said you were through with romance
Why take a chance on anyone
You're so beautiful too
I can tell by the way that you dance
They say that people don't change
Why rearrange the original
You do something to me
That my eyes cannot see at a glance
Signs of a new beginning
Signs of a life worth living
The better to forget than to be all that upset
It's the time to taste the wine
And maybe someday things will change
And come with in range and be laughable
Everything is okay
I can tell by the way that you dance
They say that people don't try
That's just a lie, they work miracles
It's a gift from above
When we talk about love and romance
Signs of a new tomorrow
Signs of a life without sorrow
The better to forget than to be all that upset
It's the time to taste the wine
And maybe this time you will be
Romantic like me when I'm with you
And I think you might say
I can tell by the way that you dance
They say that people don't change
Like Home On The Range, it's original
You do something to me
That my eyes cannont see at a glance
You do something to me
When we talk about love and romance
ROSANNA...
Rosanna makes my day begin
With kisses for a king
And coffee on a silver tray
She sees the shape I'm in
And if she should ever break away
I'd follow close behind her
'Cause Rosanna yes Rosanna
Rules my heart
Rosanna knows the times I keep
A fire softly glows
And the shadows lick the walls
She knows when I'm asleep
The dinner's served at eight o'clock on time
And all is well by nine
'Cause Rosanna yes Rosanna
Rules my heart
Rosanna moves across the floor
Her perfume fills the air
As she walks beside my easy chair
I touch her hand once more
And I may never sleep again
I like the bag she put me in
Rosanna knows the ways of a man
But not the way I feel
I don't really care what happens now
It's catch me if you can
For no matter what occasion should arise
She likes to sympathize
'Cause Rosanna yes Rosanna
Rosanna, Rosanna
Rules my heart
SALUTE...
Listen mister I won't waste your time
I hope all the mistakes you made were a lot like mine
Lovin' girls too much sometimes they made you cry
Maybe we've got more livin' to do with a lot less pain
Here, let's drink to you
These are the words I knew would break the ice
I held my hand out and he shook it twice
It seemed to me like I'd been here before
Deja vu, familiar voice
And the salute of my choice
Salute gentlemen of days gone by
Ladies of leisure and of flashing eye
May some romantic fool turn on your light
As for me I'm in between
All that I can do is dream
You got a lot more livin' to do
And a lot more lovin' too
When you make it through the night with no end in sight
And the dawn peeks through
You got a lot more livin' to do
Salute nightingales upon the tide
Brothers of the cloth tonight who must be tried
May all of your martinis be forever dry
As for me I'm in between
All that I can do is dream
You got a lot more livin' to do
And a lot more lovin' too
When you make it through the night with no end in sight
And the dawn peeks through
You got a lot more livin' to do
And a lot more lovin' too
You got a lot more livin' to do
And a lot more lovin' too
SAME OLD LOVER MAN...
I'm not some long lost someone
Just dropped in to say hello
It's that same old lover man
Baby you lost so long ago
'Cause I was born to believe
I never could deceive
Believe me
I hear no children's voices
Have they gone back to school
And that same old lover man
Is still acting like a fool
I guess I was born to bring you grief
Though I never was a thief
Believe me
It's cold outside your window
Please let me in, the night is wild
It's that same old lover man
Not some lonesome winsome child
An' I was born to believe
I never could deceive
SATURDAY CLOTHES...
I feel a blue 'cause I can't sew
There's still a lot of things that I should know
Anyone can guess
I don't know how to press
My Saturday clothes
Everyone's goin' home
I feel a little sad to watch them leave
But I'll be cool because I don't believe
The happy times are gone
I can still put on
My Saturday clothes
Every warm body knows
I've got to tell you
That was a swell time
So now I'll take the butts away
And put the glasses on the tray
I'll see you all next Saturday
I feel a little off because they're gone
And if my gal were here I'd still be on
But in a week or two
There's lots of things to do
In my Saturday clothes
Everyone's gone home
I've got to tell you
That was a swell time
So now I'll take the butts away
And put the glasses on the tray
I'll see you all next Saturday
SEA OF TRANQUILITY...
I live in the light of the bright silver moon
I'll take you off sailing from midnight till noon
I'll show the Sea of Tranquility
You can have any flavor you happen see
I live in the shade of a forest of green
In the wildest of woodlands that you've ever seen
There's rabbits and quail and tender young snails
As brown as the seaweed on old rusty nails
There's fireflies dancing in the cool evening breeze
There's love and romancin' as nice as you please
There's otters and frogs and spotted ground hogs
And wiley old weasels in rotted out logs
There's rivers of rainbow and grey mountain trout
And little dark holes where the varmints hang out
There's foxes and hares in traps and in snares
And lots of bald eagles so you'd better take care
So if you've got the time and you'd like to pass by
Come down around midnight and give us a try
We'll show you the Sea of Tranquility
You can have any flavor you happen to see
SECOND CUP OF COFFEE...
I'm on my second cup of coffee and I still can't face the day
I'm thinking of the lady who got lost along the way
And if I don't stop this trembling hand from reaching for the phone
I'll be reachin' for the bottle, Lord, before this day is done
I'm on my second cup of coffee and I still can't face the day
The room was filled with laughs as we danced the night away
But my sleep was filled with dreaming of the wrongs that I had done
And the gentle sweet reminder of a daughter and a son
Sitting alone, my friends have all gone home
You never know when they'll come droppin' in
Thinking of girls with their fingers in my curls
Too young to understand how love begins
I'm on my second cup of coffee and I still can't face the dawn
The radio is playin' a soft country song
And if I don't stop this trembling hand from reaching for the phone
I'll be reachin' for the bottle, Lord, before this day is done
SEVEN ISLAND SUITE...
Seven islands to the high side of the bay, 'cross the bay
To the sunset through the blue light of a fiery autumn haze
We went walking on the high side of the bay on a chilly morn
And we saw how leaves had fallen on the beds where trees were born
Any man in his right mind could not fail to be made aware
Any woman with a gift of wisdom would not seek her answers there
Seven islands to the high side of the bay if you're looking west
To the sunset you can see it, all in fiery autumn dress
Anytime would be the right time to come up to your bed of boughs
Anybody with a wish to wander could not fail but to be aroused
Living high in the city, guess you think it's a pretty good way
You get to learn but when you get burned you got nothing to say
You seem to think because you got chicken to go you're in luck
Fortune will not find you in your mansion or your truck
Brothers will desert you when you're down and shit out of luck
Look around at the morning, guess you're doing the best you can
Surely you know that when you go nobody gives you a hand
Think of the air you're breathing in, think of the time you waste
Think of the right and wrong and consider the frown on your face
It's time you tried living on the high side of the bay, you need a rest
Any woman or a man with a wish to fade away could be so blessed
Fortune will not find you in your mansion turned to gold
Brothers will desert you when your nights turn long and cold
If you feel it you better believe it, you're gonna see it, so you really know
It is rising like a feather, dipping and dancing from below
There's a new wave that is breaking in the wake of a passing ship
Every nation's gonna be shaken, put it together, don't let it slip
It's time you tried living on the high side of the bay, you need a rest
Any man or a woman with a wish to fade away could be so blessed
Seven islands to the high side of the bay, 'cross the bay
To the sunset through the blue light of a fiery autumn haze
To the sunset through the blue light of a fiery autumn haze
SHADOWS...
Let me reach out love and touch you
Let me hold you for awhile
I've been all around the world
Oh how I long to see you smile
There's a shadow on the moon
And the waters here below
Do not shine the way they should
And I love you just in case you didn't know
Let it go,
Let it happen like it happened once before
It's a wicked wind
And it chills me to the bone
And if you do not believe me
Come and gaze upon the shadow at your door
Won't you lie down by me baby
Run your fingers through my hands
I've been all around the town
And still I do not understand
Is it me or is it you
Or the shadow of a dream
Is it wrong to be in love
Could it be the finest love I've ever seen
Set it free,
Let it happen like it happened once before
It's a wicked wind
And it chills me to the bone
And if you do not believe me
Come and gaze upon the shadow at your door
Please kiss me gently darlin'
Where the river runs away
From the mountains in the springtime
On a blue and windy day
When there's beauty all around
As the shades of night grow deep
As the morning stars grow dim
They will find us in the shadows fast asleep
Let it go,
Let it happen like it happened once before
It's a wicked wind
And it chills me to the bone
And if you do not believe me
Come and gaze upon the shadow at your door
SHE'S NOT THE SAME...
Ah the living ain't easy
With all of these false emotions
Too little devotion
And I'm tired of just
Being alone, she's just not the same
She's a son of a gun, she's a red hot flame
She lights the sun and conjures up the rain
Like any good gambler
I was chained to a wishing well
I keep wishing in vain
But listen friend
Don't look now, she's right behind you
Looking for someone to take her inside
It thrills her so, it's a rainbow ride
I'm a little uneasy
And there ain't much pride inside me
She don't know how it hurts
And I'm telling you
It's too late now, she's not the same
She's a red hot kid, she's a crying shame
Anytime is the right time
To get on with a new tomorrow
But I could never let yesterday go
And when the falling rain makes me sad
She comes to me in the dreams I've had
In the morning light, in the dead of night
Ah the lovin' ain't easy
An' I let it get the best of me
She don't know how it hurts
And I'm telling you
It's too late now, she don't talk no more
She don't make me feel like she did before
There's too much wait and too much give and take
I'm a little uneasy
And there ain't much pride inside me
She don't know how it hurts
And I'm telling you it's
Too late now, she's just not the same
It's too late now, she's not the same
It's too late now, she's not the same
SIT DOWN YOUNG STRANGER...
I'm standin' in the doorway
My head bowed in my hands
Not knowin' where to sit
Not knowin' where to stand
My father looms above me
For him there is not rest
My mother's arms enfold me
And hold me to her breast
They say you been a wandrin'
They say you travelled far
Sit down young stranger
And tell us who you are
I've been up to the mountain
I've walked down by the sea
I never questioned no one
And no one questioned me
My love was given freely
And oftimes was returned
I never came to borrow
I only came to learn
Sometimes it would get lonely
But it taught me how to cry
And laughter came too easy
For life to pass me by
I never had a dollar
That I didn't earn with pride
Cause I had a million daydreams
To keep me satisfied
And will you gather daydreams
Or will you gather wealth
How can you find your fortune
When you cannot find yourself
My mother's eyes grow misty
There's a tremblin' in her hand
Sit down young stranger
I do not understand
Now will you try to tell us
You been too long at school
That knowledge is not needed
That power does not rule
That war is not the answer
That young men should not die
Sit down young stranger
I wait for your reply
The answer is not easy
For souls are not reborn
To wear the crown of peace
You must wear the crown of thorns
If Jesus had a reason
I'm sure he would not tell
We treated him so badly
How could he wish us well
The parlor now is empty
There's nothin' left to say
My father has departed
My mother's gone to pray
There's rockets in the meadows
And ships out on the sea
The answer's in the forest
Carved upon a tree
John loves Mary
Does anyone love me
SIXTEEN MILES...
Early in the morning when the dew is on
Each and every rose bud you will find me gone
So knock me down and pick me up
And knock me down again
Break my heart steal my gold
And slander my good name
Seven lonely hours on the morning train
Takes me to a place where I won't come back again
Seven lonely Pullmans speedin' down the line
Takin' me away from an old love of mine
Sixteen miles to seven lakes way up among the pines
In some hidden valley where the twirlin' river twines
Where the fish swim up and down
And the sparklin' water falls
Where the thunder rolls
And the lonely puma calls
Somewhere on the mountain I'll take another name
Rid my mind of memories and start my life again
Somewhere in the wilderness
I'll build a cabin small
Then forget so I
Won't remember you at all
SLIDE ON OVER...
Momma's got her long dress on
See how that little girl walks
Now we got it rollin', how're we gonna get it stopped
Momma's got something
Daddy needs more than a lot
Now we got it rolling, how're we gonna get it stopped
Momma put your long dress on
I'd like to take that little girl to town
Now that we have rolled it, how're we gonna hold it down
Gonna slide on over to that pretty little love that I've found
Now we've got it rolling, how're we gonna hold it down
Now momma's got her long dress on
Listen to that little girl talk
Now we got it rolling, how're we gonna get it stopped
Gonna slide on over to that funny little love that I've got
Now we got it rolling, how're we gonna get it stopped
Cause my momma's got something, daddy needs more than a lot
Now we got it rolling, how we gonna get it stopped
SOFTLY...
Softly she comes
Whispers the breeze with her passing
In secret love she is laughing
Softly she comes in the night
Softly she sighs
Sweetly she lies never sleeping
Her fragrance all in my keeping
Softly she comes in the night
Down the darkened hall
I hear her footsteps on my stair
And she is in my arms once more
Then softly she goes
Her shining lips in the shadows
Whisper goodbye at my window
Softly she goes in the dawn
Down the darkened hall
I hear her footsteps on my stair
And she is in my arms once more
Then softly she goes
Her shining lips in the shadows
Whisper goodbye at my window
Softly she goes in the dawn
Softly she goes in the dawn
SOMEONE TO BELIEVE IN...
Is there someone I can believe in
Is there somewhere I can hide
Take me out of the straits I'm in
Come and stay here by my side
Somebody I can rely on
I broke the law, I've been set free
Give me something to decide upon
Come and show yourself to me
Is there someone sewing seams
Through all my hopes, through all my dreams
You know living a life of ease
Don't make yer meals taste better
If you please
Is there someone I can relate to
Who will break the ice for me
Take me out of the place I'm in
Come and share your life with me
Somebody with nothing to live up to
Who will mend my broken dreams
Give me a wave I can ride upon
Come and show your strength to me
I have felt the final rush
Of love's embrace, the magic touch
Running headlong to attract
I felt the breath of Satan
On my back
Is there someone I can believe in
Is there something I can do
Take me out of the straits I'm in
Let me show myself to you
Somebody to whom I can belong
Take my hand, I've been set free
Give me some wings I can glide upon
Come and show yourself to me
Is there someone sewings seams
Through all my hopes, through all my dreams
You know living a life of ease
Don't make yer meals taste better
If you please
SOMETIMES I DON'T MIND...
Sometimes I don't mind the sunshine
Sometimes I need the rain
Sometimes I don't mind the fun times
Sometimes they're all the same
When I'm thinking of you
There's a fever around I don't know what to do
When I'm drinking to you
I get down in my shoes in a waltz with the blues
Sometimes I don't mind the sunshine
Sometimes I need the rest
Sometimes I don't mind a good time
Sometimes I do what's best
When I'm thinking of you
There's a feeling inside which is long overdue
When I'm drinking to you
I get down in the mouth tell me what can I do
Sometimes I don't mind the sunshine
Sometimes I need the change
Sometimes I don't mind a fun time
To me it's all the same
When I'm thinking of you
There's a fever around I don't know what to do
When I'm drinking to you
I get down in my shoes in a waltz with the blues
SOMEWHERE U.S.A....
Out on the road like a low-down Joe
And the bar where we are is so cool I'd like to stay
Misunderstood like I knew I would be
The one I care for don't mind, she's built that way
I would gladly offer you my love
In this hotel in Somewhere U.S.A.
This rental car never went so far
But with each passing mile on more dream has turned to clay
Now that we've met and your eyes are all wet
Let me fetch my guitar, there's a song I'd like to play
I would gladly offer you my song
In this hotel in Somewhere U.S.A.
One never knows where the good times
If you got some to spend,we'll do anything you say
I'd never lie, well you know I've tried
Though you think it's the drink that has made me behave this way
I would gladly offer you my love
In this hotel in Somewhere U.S.A.
SONG FOR A WINTER'S NIGHT...
The lamp is burnin' low upon my table top
The snow is softly fallin'
The air is still within the silence of my room
I hear your voice softly callin'
If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
Upon this winter night with you
The smoke is rising in the shadows overhead
My glass is almost empty
I read again between the lines upon the page
The words of love you sent me
If I could know within my heart
That you were lonely too
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
Upon this winter night with you
The fire is dying now, my lamp is growing dim
The shades of night are liftin'
The mornin' light steals across my windowpane
Where webs of snow are driftin'
If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
And to be once again with with you
To be once again with with you
SONGS THE MINSTREL SANG...
It's almost over it's almost done
And you can't put the blame on anyone
It's almost easy and it's almost fun
Did you get caught with your britches on
Hi derry day in the month of May
Was the song the minstrel sang
To the good of Robin Hood
Maid Marion and all the gang
His aim was mean and his shot was clean
And his suit was the shade of evergreen
The folks he knew hadn't naught to fear
When the sheriff was there they were over here
Hi derry doon in the month of June
Was the song the minstrel sung
To the good of Robin Hood's
Good name and a place to run
He loved strong ale and a run down jail
Was the kind of a scene where he never failed
There was no man on the sea or land
Who could get Maid Marion on the trail
Hi derry day in the month of May
Was the song the minstrel sang
To the good of Robin Hood
Maid Marion and all the gang
It's almost over it's almost done
And you can't put the blame on Marion
She almost made it to the friar's gate
But the old wooden bridge wouldn't elevate
Hi derry doon in the month of June
Was the song the minstrel sung
To the good of Robin Hood's
Good name and a place to run
SPANISH MOSS...
Let go darlin'
I can feel the night wind call
Guess I'd better go
I like you more than half as much
As I love your Spanish moss
Spanish moss hangin' down
Lofty as the southern love we've found
Spanish moss
Keeps on followin' my thoughts around
Georgia pine and Ripple wine
Memories of Savannah summertime
Spanish moss
Wish you knew what I was sayin'
So I'm rollin' north thinkin'
Of the way things might have been
If she and I could have changed it all somehow
Spanish moss hangin' down
Lofty as the sycamore you've found
Spanish moss
Keeps on followin' my thoughts around
Georgia pine and Ripple wine
Kisses mixed with moonshine and red clay
Spanish moss
Wish you knew what I was sayin'
So I'm rollin' north thinkin'
Of the way things might have been
If she and I could have changed it all somehow
Let go darlin'
I can feel the night wind call
The devil take the cost
I like the way your kisses flow and I love your Spanish moss
STAY LOOSE...
If you've got a heartache
Of the kind that will not pass by
Even if you don't see the end
Of what lies around the bend
Don't stay that way
It's all in a day believe me
Even the best of friends must part
Even so it grieves me
Stay loose, don't fight it
Let it take you all the way and
If it's wrong, you will right it
Do not waste these hours away
How many times have I told you
There's are the tears I've shed
Could it be that I need help
Is it maybe I've come undone
And one thing more
You know it don't come easy
Even the best of friends must part
Even so it grieves me
Stay loose, don't fight it
Let love take a holiday
If it's wrong, you're gonna right it
Do not waste these hours away
Soon the storm will be over
And the clouds will all pass by
To be insane beyond belief
Is sometimes the best relief
And one thing sure
Love never did come easy
Even the best of dreams must end
Even so it grieves me
Stay loose, don't fight it
Let it take you all the way and
If it's wrong, you will right it
Do not waste these hours away
Stay loose, don't fight it
Let love take a holiday
If it's wrong, you're gonna right it
Do not waste these hours away
STEEL RAIL BLUES...
Well I got my mail late last night
A letter from a girl who found the time to write
To her lonesome boy somewheres in the night
She sent me a railroad ticket too
To take me to her lovin' arms
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love
Ooooh oooo oo whu hu hoo
Ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo oo
Well I bin out here many a long days
I haven't found a place that I could call my own
Not a two bit bed to lay my body on
I bin stood up I bin shook down
I bin dragged into the sand
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love
Well I bin up tight most every night
Walkin' along the streets of this old town
Not a friend to tell my troubles to
My good old car she done broke down
'Cause i drove it into the ground
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love
Well I look over yonder across the plain
The big drive wheels are poundin' along the ground
Gonna get on board and I'll be homeward bound
Now I ain't had a home cooked meal
And Lord I need one now
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love
Now here I am with my hat in hand
Standin' on the broad highway will you give a ride
To a lonesome boy who missed the train last night
I went in town for one last round
And I gambled my ticket away
And the big steel rail won't carry me home to the one I love
SUMMER SIDE OF LIFE...
He came down throught fields of green
On the summer side of life
His love was ripe
There were no illusions
On the summer side of life
Only tenderness
And if you saw him now
You'd wonder why he would cry
The whole day long
There were young girls everywhere
On the summer side of life
The talked all night
To the young men that they knew
On the summer side of life
Goin' off to fight
And if you saw them now
You'd wonder why they would cry
The whole day long
He came down through field of green
On the summer side of life
He prayed all night
Then he walked into a house
Where love had been misplaced
His chance to waste
And if you saw him now
You'd wonder why he would cry
The whole day long
SUMMERTIME DREAM...
Where the road runs down but the butternut grove
To old Bill Skinner's stream
Do tell at the noonday bell
It's time for a summertime dream
In a lunch pail town in a one horse way
You can live like a king and queen
Let's steal away in the noonday sun
It's time for a summertime dream
Birds in all creation will be twitterin' in the trees
And down below's a pond I know
You can swim in it if you please
And if you come 'round when the mill shuts down
You can see what chivalry means
Let's steal away in the noonday sun
It's time for a summertime dream
On a trip on down to wonderland
In love among the flowers
Where time gets lost with no straw boss
Tallyin' up the hours
Where the road runs down by the butternut grove
To old Bill Skinner's stream
Do tell at the noonday bell
It's time for a summertime dream
Birds in all creation will be twitterin' in the trees
And down below's a pond I know
You can swim in it if you please
And if you come 'round when the mill shuts down
You can see what chivalry means
Let's steal away in the noonday sun
It's time for a summertime dream
SUNDOWN...
I can see her lyin' back in her faded dress
In a room where ya do what ya don't confess
Sundown ya better take care
If I find you bin creepin' 'round my back stairs
Sundown ya better take care
If I find you bin creepin' 'round my back stairs
She's bin lookin' like a queen in a sailor's dream
And she don't always say what she really means
Sometimes I think it's a shame
When I get feelin' better when I'm feelin' no pain
Sometimes I think it's a shame
When I get feelin' better when I'm feelin' no pain
I can picture every move that a man could make
Getting lost in her lovin' is your first mistake
Sundown ya better take care
If I find you bin creepin' 'round my back stairs
Sometimes I think it's a sin
When I feel like I'm winnin' when I'm losin again
I can see her lookin' fast in her faded jeans
She's a hard lovin' woman, got me feelin' mean
Sometimes I think it's a shame
When I get feelin' better when I'm feelin' no pain
Sundown ya better take care
If I find you bin creepin' 'round my back stairs
Sundown ya better take care
If I find you bin creepin' 'round my back stairs
Sometimes I think it's a sin
When I feel like I'm winnin' when I'm losin' again
SWEET GUINEVERE...
Sweet Guinevere you're off to the coal town tonight
And your young brother Ernie's up in Pittsburgh PA
You know mother loves you, and dad's in the mine
So don't go to the coal town, Guinevere, if you're kind
She loves a young man and he lives in the town
He leaves the house early for he works underground
He makes a good wage for a coal miner's son
And she's a bit pretty, just turned twenty-one
Sweet Guinevere you're off to the coal town tonight
And your young brother Ernie's up in Pittsburgh PA
You know mother loves you, and dad's in the mine
So don't go to the coal town, Guinevere, shut the blind
She knows her good mother's not feelin' no pain
She remembers an explosion and the black falling rain
She paints her thin lips in her dewy-eyed way
Then she says to the daughter, dear daughter I pray
Sweet Guinevere you're off to the coal town tonight
And your young brother Ernie's up in Pittsburgh PA
You know mother loves you, and dad's in the mine
So don't go to the coal town, Guinevere, if you're kind
TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP...
I heard you talking in your sleep
Is there anything that I can do
I don't believe we've had a word all day
'Bout anything at all
I heard you talking in the night
That's right, yes I heard ya call
Though I could hardly hear the name you spoke
It's a name I don't recall
I heard you softly whisper
I reached out to hold you near me
Then from your lips there came that secret
I was not supposed to know
I heard you talking in your sleep
Is there anything that I can say
I don't believe we've had a word all day
'Bout anything at all
I heard you talking in the night
That's right, yes I heard ya call
Though I could hardly hear the name you spoke
It's a name I don't recall
I heard you talking in your sleep
Is there anything that I can do
I don't believe we've had a word all day
'Bout anything at all
TATTOO...
Whatever you think of me
I'm still your friend
So other than nothin' what's new
The water 's still flowin'
Through the rose on my skin
This here tattoo is for you
The boys at the parlor downtown
Didn't waste anytime puttin' it down
Time has been wastin' away I can see it
Go sailin' on by as it slips through my fingers
The bow and the wave never wait for tomorrow
They just keep on rollin' as straight as an arrow
Good night
Girl of my dreams
You get better each day
I wish I could see you somehow
Girls that I love is there no other way
This here tattoo is for now
I'd been out drinkin' all day
I got carried away at the parlor last night
This summer rose is for you it's no wonder
I bothered to wander back into the parlor
It's red and in bloom and it's more than one color
It lives on forever for just a few dollars
Good night
Whatever you think of me
I'm still your friend
So baby whatever you do
Now that it's taken its permanent home
This here tattoo is for you
The boys at the parlor downtown
Didn't waste any time puttin' it down
Time has been wastin' away, you know time doesn't
Wait for nobody to find what they're after
It just keeps on rolling on down the deep canyons
And through the green meadows into the broad ocean
Good night
Whatever you think of me
I'm still your friend
So other than nothin' what's new
The water's still flowing
Through the rose on my skin
This here tattoo is for you
The water's still flowin
Through the rose on my skin
This here tattoo is for you
THANK YOU FOR THE PROMISES...
Thank you for the promises we make
I know I can't complain
I think I did all right
No failures are in sight
Only now and then
I'd like to reminisce
Do you remember when
Even if we're angels we can't ask
To wander through the past
The future is our goal
The night is black as coal
If I could pay the price
I'd like to love you once
I'd love to love you twice
Thanks
We cannot say enough
The road is sometimes rough
But we can get along
The going will get tough
But we won't be afraid
Of the promises we made
Thank you for the promises you keep
When I am fast asleep
To be where we belong
Is all that I can ask
We can do it in the shade
As long as I have you
And the promises we made
Thank you for the promises we break
If you made a clean mistake
Well that's what love's about
No need to stand and shout
The truth is in your eyes
The answer lies within
No need to criticize
Thanks
For the promises at hand
The abuse that we must stand
Is often heaven sent
They may not pay the rent
You never can be sure
When promises get bent
Thank you for the promises that live
This is all that I can give
Forever in my mind
To leave the past behind
And seal it with a kiss
Forever in my soul
I will remember this
THAT SAME OLD OBSESSION...
I come to this garden
I come here to rest
Early each day upon risin'
I think of my lost love
From over the sea
And sometimes I've wondered
If she thinks of me
I long to recall every kiss, every kind word
I miss her so much I could die
But the creatures of evil
Have captured her heart
And that same old obsession
Still keeps us apart
There's peace in the garden
There's peace in the air
Peace in the sound of the river
There's peace in the meadow
The sun shines like gold
And if she were with me
There'd be peace in my soul
I long to return to the place, I remember
The taste of her lips close to mine
I could do much better
If I could be strong
Come into my garden
But leave me alone
I come to this garden
I come here to rest
Just as the night comes stealin'
Someone is weeping
She's calling my name
Deep in the garden
Deep in my brain
I long to recall every kiss, every kind word
I miss her so much I could die
But the creatures of evil
Have captured her heart
And that same old obsession
Still keeps us apart
But the creatures of evil
Have captured her heart
And that same old obsession
Still keeps us apart
THE CIRCLE IS SMALL...
It's alright for some but not alright for me
When the one that I'm lovin' slips around
You think it's fine to do things I cannot see
And you're doin' it to me
Baby can't you see that I know how it is
I can see it in your eyes and feel it in the way you kiss my lips
I can hear it in your voice whenever we are talking like this
I can see the way you look when his name is mentioned and I die
I can watch the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you close your eyes
It's alright for some but not alright for me
When the one that I'm lovin' can't be found
The city where we live might be quite large
But the circle is small
Why not tell us all and then all of us will know
I can see it in your eyes and feel it in the way you kiss my lips
I can hear it in your voice whenever we are talking like this
I can see the way you look when his name is mentioned and I die
I can watch the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you close your eyes
It's alright to leave but not alright to lie
When you come home and you can't say where you've been
You think it's fine to do things I cannot see
And you're doin' it to me
Baby can't you see that I know how it is
I can see it in your eyes and feel it in the way you kiss my lips
I can hear it in your voice whenever we are talking like this
I can see the way you look when his name is mentioned and I die
I can watch the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you close your eyes
THE FIRST TIME...
(Ewan MacColl)
The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and the stars were the gifts you gave
To the night and the empty skies my love
To the night and the empty skies
The first time ever I kissed your mouth
I felt the earth turn in my hand
Like the trembling heart of a captive bird
That was there at my command my love
That was there at my command
The first time ever I lay with you
And felt your heart beat close to mine
I thought our joy would fill the earth
And would last 'till the end of time my love
And would last 'till the end of time
The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and the stars were the gifts you gave
To the night and the empty skies my love
To the night and the empty skies
THE GYPSY...
Step inside my tent, said she, I'd like to read you palm
Leave the dollar in the jar, this won't take very long
Leave the circus noise behind, close your eyes, relax your mind
I'll tell you if you should quit now or if you should go on
Then I said, now what do ya see
She said, deedlee-dum, deedlee-dee
Where'll I go, what'll I be
She said, deedlee-dum, deedlee-dee
She threw some sawdust in the air and her hands began to shake
She told me the town where I was born, she almost knew the date
She lit a candle with her eyes and then she made the table rise
She took the dollar from the jar and then she guessed my weight
Then I said, now what do ya see
She said, deedlee-dum, deedlee-dee
You are so old, you are so wise
Deedlee-dum, deedlee-dy
Give me a sign, tell it to me
She said, deedlee-dum, deedlee-dee
Then she spoke most quietly
Deedlee-dum, deedlee-dee
When you we a child at school they taught you quite a lot
You were told when you should speak and when you should not
You were taught to read and write, to take your lessons home at night
A little knowledge serves you well but the golden rule does not
Then I said, now what do ya mean
She said, deedlee-dum, deedlee-dee
Where'll I go, what'll I be
She said, deedlee-dum, deedlee-dee
Then when I came home that night to lie in bed awake
I thought of that old gypsy and the words that she had said
And now I see with due respect, the more we learn the worse we get
So if you feel you've no regrets, go have your fortune read
Then I said, now what do ya mean
She said, deedlee-dum, deedlee-dee
Where'll I go, what'll I be
She said, deedlee-dum, deedlee-dee
You are so old, you are so wise
Deedlee-dum, deedlee-dy
Give me a sign, tell it to me
She said, deedlee-dum, deedlee-dee
Where'll I go, what'll I be
She said, deedlee-dum, deedlee-dee
You are so old, you are so wise
Deedlee-dum, deedlee-dy
Give me a sign, tell it to me
She said, deedlee-dum, deedlee-dee
THE HOUSE YOU LIVE IN...
Go first in the world, go forth with your fears
Remember a price must be paid
Be always too soon, be never too fast
At the time when all bets must be laid
Beware of the darkness, be kind to your children
Remember the woman who waits
And the house you live in will never fall down
If you pity the stranger who stands at your gate
When you're caught by the gale and you're full under sail
Beware of the dangers below
And the song that you sing should not be too sad
And be sure not to sing it too slow
Be calm in the face of all common disgraces
And know what they're doin' it for
And the house you live in will never fall down
If you pity the stranger who stands at your door
When you're out on the road and feelin' quite lost
Consider the burden of fame
And he who is wise will not criticize
When other men fail at the game
Beware of strange faces and dark dingy places
Be careful while bending the law
And the house you live in will never fall down
If you pity the stranger who stands at your door
When you're down in the dumps and not ready to deal
Decide what it is that you need
Is it money or love, is it learnin' to live
Or is it the mouth you must feed
Be known as a man who will always be candid
On questions that do not relate
And the house you live in will never fall down
If you pity the stranger who stands at your gate
And the house you live in will never fall down
If you pity the stranger who stands at your gate
THE LAST TIME I SAW HER...
The last time I saw her face, her eyes were bathed in starlight and her hair hung long
The last time she spoke to me, her lips were like the scented flowers inside a rain-drenched
forest
But that was so long ago that I can scarcely feel the way I felt before
And if time could heal the wounds, I would tear the threads away that I might bleed some
more
The last time I walked with her
Her laughter was the steeple bells
That ring to greet the morning sun
A voice that called to everyone
To love the ground she walked upon
Those were good day
The last time I held her hand, her touch was autumn, spring and summer, and winter too
The last time I let go of her, she walked a way into the night
I lost her in the misty streets, a thousand months, a thousand miles
When other lips will kiss her eyes
A million miles beyond the moon, that's where she is
But that was so long ago that I can scarcely feel the way I felt before
And if time could heal the wounds, I would tear the threads away that I might bleed some
more
The last time I saw her face, her eyes were bathed in starlight and she walked alone
The last time she kissed my cheek
Her lips were like the wilted leaves
Upon the autumn covered hills
Resting on the frozen ground
The seeds of love lie cold and still
Beneath a battered marking stone
It lies forgotten
THE LIST...
There's a little room on my list for tonight
Will ya be the one to fill it in
Toss around what is up, what is down
In between, would ya like to dream
Step on in, ya don't have to play to win
But then you might
There's a little song on my list for tonight
Would ya like to try and make it rhyme
Sing and sway, if your heart feel that way
We can leave the blues behind
There's a little lovin' on my list tonight
With a bit of luck, I'll check it off
Toss around what is up, what is down
In between, d' ya know what I mean
Rain, rain all day long
You've made it pay, you can do no wrong tonight
Pick and grin, ya don't have to play to win
But then you might
Thick and thin, ya don't have to play to win
But then you might
There's a little room on my list for tonight
Will ya be the one to fill it in
Toss around what is up, what is down
In between, would ya like to dream
Step on in, ya don't have to play to win
But then you might
Thick and thin, ya don't have to play to win
But then you might
THE LOST CHILDREN...
Down the hall their voices ring, their feet are on the run
Phantoms on the winter sky, together they do come
Faded lips and eyes of blue they're carried in the wind
Their laughter filled the countryside but they'll not laugh again
All the games are ended now, their voices have been stilled
Their fathers built the tools of war by which they all were killed
Their fathers made the uniforms showing which side they were on
And the young boys wear the middle name for guns to pray upon
You've seen the fires in the night, watched the devil as he smiles
You've heard a mother's mournful cry as she searches for her child
You've seen the lines of refugees, the faces of despair
And wondered at the wise men who never seem to care
Goodbye you lost children, God speed you on your way
Your little beds are empty now, your toys are put away
Your mother sings a lullaby as she gazes at the floor
Your father builds more weapons and marches out once more
Down the hall their voices ring, their feet are on the run
Phantoms on the winter sky, together they do come
Faded lips and eyes of blue they're carried in the wind
Their laughter filled the countryside but they'll not laugh again
THE PONY MAN...
When it's midnight on the meadow
And the cats are in the shed
And the river tells a story
At the window by my bed
If you listen very closely
Be as quiet as you can
In the yard you'll hear him
It is the pony man
We're always there to greet him
When he tumbles into town
He leads a string of ponies
Some are white and some are brown
And they never seem to kick or bite
They only want to play
And they live on candy apples
Instead of oats and hay
And when we're all assembled
He gives a soft command
And we climb aboard our ponies
As in a row the stand
Then down the road we gallop
And across the fields we fly
And soon we all go sailing off
Into the midnight sky
And as we gaily rock along
Beside a ripplin' sea
There's Tom 'n Dick 'n Sally
And Mary Joe and me
And the pony man is leading
Cause he's travelled here before
And he gives a whoop and a holler
At Mr. Moon's front door
And as we stop to rest a while
Where the soda river glides
Up to the slip comes a pirate ship
To take us for a ride
And the pony man's the captain
And the children are the crew
And we go in search of treasure
And laugh the whole night through
And when the hold is filled with gold
And the sails begin to strain
And the deck's piled high with apple pie
We head for port again
And down the whirling starcase
So swift our ponies fly
And we're safely in our beds again
When the sunbeams kiss the sky
When it's midnight on the meadow
And the cats are in the shed
And the river tells a story
At the window by my bed
If you listen very closely
Be as quiet as you can
In the yard you'll hear him
It is the pony man
THE SOUL IS THE ROCK...
The soul is the rock and the rock will not be moved
Nothing is disputed, yet nothing is disproved
And the seeds of the earth that were planted long ago
Still yield a better harvest than the rock was prone to grow
Say what you like to, do what you do
Everyone's sleeping now two by two
Bats in the roof, cats in the hall
Dust on the stairway, gnats on the wall
Big rain comin'
Big rain comin' this way
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock
The sea is the space which the rock has displaced
The mind is some stranger that some soul has embraced
And somewhere between, in a no-man's land of dreams
The heart becomes the soldier yet the rock is not redeemed
Say what you like to, do what you can
Live like a sheep, die like a lamb
Bats in the roof, cats in the hall
Dust on the stairway, gnats on the wall
Big rain comin'
Big rain comin' this way
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock
The soul is the rock and the rock will always roll
In circles 'round the sun doing rings around the pole
When the mind is not sure what the heart will do next
The rock becomes the master and the road becomes what's left
Late one night when the moon shone down
We went to the mill on the edge of the town
She wore white, I wore black
The town was sleeping when we got back
Big rain comin'
Big rain comin' this way
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock
The soul is the rock and the rock will not be harmed
Though man must be cheated just as women must be charmed
And the mind is the light for the heart which cannot see
The soul becomes the stranger but the rock will always be
Say what you like to, do what you do
Everyone's sleeping now two by two
Bats in the roof, cats in the hall
Dust on the stairway, gnats on the wall
Oh.. Big rain comin'
Big rain comin' this way
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock
The soul is the rock and the rock will not be moved
Nothing is disputed yet nothing is disproved
And the seeds of the earth that were planted long ago
Still yield a better harvest than the rock was prone to grow
And the seeds of the earth that were planted long ago
Still yield a better harvest than the rock was prone to grow
THE WATCHMAN'S GONE...
Just like birds of a feather
We too have followed the golden sun
It feels so good,
Knowin' the watchman's gone
If I give you a rose, buddy
Would you please bury it in the fields?
I seen a rose
Watchin' it all fold out
There's a train down at the station
It's come to carry my bones away
Two engines on
Twenty-one coaches long
End to end
Twenty-one coaches bend
The watchman's out
Kickin' the bums about
If I wait for the right moment
You can bet I'll climb aboard unseen
I've done it before
I know I can do it in my sleep
The watchman's out
Kickin'the bums about
The watchman's out
Kickin' your dreams about
As I leave you in the sunset
Got one more nothin' I'd like to say
"You don't know me
A son of the sea am I"
As I say to you, my brother
If you live to follow the golden sun
You better beware
Knowin' the watchman's always there
If you find me feedin' daisies
Please turn my face up to the sky
And leave me be
Watchin' the moon roll by
Whatever I was
You know it was all because
I've been on the town
Washin' the bullshit down
The watchman's out
Kickin' your dreams about
It feels so good
Knowin' the watchman's gone
It's like a song
Knowin' the watchman's gone
THE WAY I FEEL...
The way I feel is like a robin
Whose babes have flown to come no more
A tall oak tree alone and cryin'
When the birds have flown and the nest is bare
Now a woman Lord is like a young bird
And the tall oak tree is a young man's heart
Among its boughs you'll find her nesting
When the nights are cool she's warm and dry
Your coat of green will protect her
Her wings will grow your love will too
But all too soon your mighty branches
Will cease to hold her she'll fly from you
Now the way I feel is like a robin
Whose babes have flown to come no more
A tall oak tree alone and cryin'
When the birds have flown and the nest is bare
When the birds have flown and the nest is bare
TOO LATE FOR PRAYIN'...
It was only yesterday
When I heard the teacher say
Patiently, one and two make three
We were children, you and me
Let us pray for the ones they call
The children of today
Nothin' left but promises
Nothin' much is certain
All we see is want and need across the board, why thank you lord
We're livin' in the glory of your care
Skies of blue have all turned brown
To the sound of cryin
Lord abide, let us stem the tide
Of broken dreams
Sometimes you seem to tell us
It's too late for prayin'
See the ocean wild and blue
Think of all that's in her
She will not surrender to the likes of us, but then she must
They tell us, wise men tell us, it's too late
For each child with eyes that smile
There'll be ten more cryin'
Lord abide, let us stem the time
Of helplessness
But then I guess we're livin'
Is it too late for prayin'
Nothin' here but grains of sand
Nothin' much worth savin'
Guess we've all got problems of our own to bear, and still we share
Tomorrow could get better than today
To the ones who've loved in vain
Will ya be beholden
Lord abide, let us stem the tide
Of broken dreams
Sometimes ya seem to tell us
It's too late for prayin'
TOO MANY CLUES IN THIS ROOM...
The space shuttle ends where the subway begins
There's a tear on the face of the moon
Fromdusk until dawn they have searched all day long
But there's too many clues in this room
At best it is said we've been locked deep inside
Of an old sea man's chest full of charts
Where maps are contained and what's left of his brains
When his crew threw his balls to the sharks
All around the looking glass
Dancing to a tune
Sweeping out the house with a fine tooth comb
Which history's shown
Leads to ruin
In a word it is said that at times we must fall
But the worst of it all was the lies
We died for the cause just like regular outlaws
In the dust of an old lawman's eyes
In times best forgot there was peace there was not
In her pains mother earth came to bloom
Her children were born in the eye of the storm
And there's too many clues in this room
The power that is stored in the no man's land of chance
Is the someone who knows what they're doin'
The old soldiers say in they're own crusty way
We've got too many troops in this room
All around the looking glass
Dancing to a tune
Sweeping out the house with a fine tooth comb
Which history's shown
Leads to ruin
The space shuttle ends where the subway begins
Praise the lord there's a train leavin' soon
From dusk until dawn they have searched all day long
But there's too many clues in this room
TRIANGLE...
Oh the gist of it all is the first day of fall is the day when my ship will set sail
The best of all friends will say good-bye again there's still time for one last glass of ale
We'll sail away proudly, our backs to the wall on a southwind and lots of good cheer
And when we've looked over the white cliffs of Dover, We'll be in Bahama next year
From Bermuda on down the Triangle around us will teach us a lesson or two
There's many a mate who unevenyly stated the course he had charted was true
"Don't worry 'bout me," he said "Go down below, give a certified sailor a turn,
Just sip on your rum or I'll give you my thumb and say, son you got something t' learn!"
It's a mighty hard way to come down
And a mighty fine way to be found
So hand me my grip from an old sailing ship
Put the kiss of the dawn on my lips
With some luck tonight I might have her at my fingertips
Oh the best of all things is the first day of spring when when the water runs heavy and fast
The mermaids have all gone to Davy Jones' Ball
And it seems their first trip was their last
They had so much fun
They don't wish to return
to the beach where they lay all day long
They'd rather stay under
And boy it's no wonder
When all the rock lobsters roll on
It's a mighty fine way to be found
Triangle Triangle
Oh see my ship dangle
We're bound for Bahama my friend
Like lovers like danger
Like babies like mangers
But that's where my storybook ends
Like soldiers of fortune, believers in God
And all kings without crosses to bear
All sweepers and cleaners
with no misdemeanors
Should try the triangle out there
It's a mighty hard way to come down
And a mighty fine way to be found
So hand me my grip
From an old sailing ship
Put the kiss of dawn on my lips
With some luck tonight
I might have her at my fingertips
When she took her last tumble
The sea bottom rumbled
There was no confusion or blame
The captain said "Men we must answer again to the sea so ye may not complain"
And as they lay sleeping down there in the deep
With their faces turned up to the stars
A tuna fish turned
To a mermaid in bed and said
"There goes another sandbar"
It's a mighty hard way to come down
And a mighty fine way to be found
So hand me my grip
From an old sailing ship
Put the kiss of the dawn on my lips
With some luck tonight
I might have her at my fingertips
UNSETTLED WAYS...
Forgive me my unsettled ways
Don't linger in time or finger what's mine
Don't make me do
What you wouldn't do yourself
Forgive me the bad things I do
Don't ask me to change or exchange what I am
For something else
You know that wouldn't do
If time gets to heavy and you can no longer bear it
And you need someone to share it
Tell me girl, I'll try to make amends
Forgive me the ways of my heart
Don't try to pretend or lend me your love
Don't ask of me
What you wouldn't ask yourself
If time gets to heavy and you can no longer bear it
And you need someone to share it
Tell me girl, I'll try to make amends
Forgive me my unsettled ways
Don't linger in time or finger what's mine
Don't make me do
What you wouldn't do yourself
Don't make me do
What you wouldn't do yourself
WAITING FOR YOU...
Say what you will, I will miss you my friends
Let me move along for the road never ends
Vowing to live till the end of all time
All the way to the ends of the earth because I'm
Waiting for you to say you will be mine
Many long days, many long years
Many wrong plays, many wrong fears
I could be tossed in the arms of the sea
I could be caught between decks eternally
Waiting for you to ask what's keeping me
What would we do at the end of the day
When the hours are asleep and the time slips away
Children are all that the earth has to show
Children are all that the earth wants to know
Up here in the northland, up here in the snow
Up in the wilderness, land of our birth
Land of our toil, land of our worth
I could stay healthy and wealthy and wise
For I love the snow other snowbirds criticize
Tell that to a wife and you'll get a surprise
The skies of North America are covered in stars
Over factories and farms, over hamlets and bars
The breeze of North America is breathless at night
Out there in the distance some souls are in flight
Some soft-hearted lovers whose goals are in sight
Here in my on-again, off-again style
Here in my on-again, off-again smile
Here in my off-again, on-again grin
Here in my off-again, on-again skin
Waiting for you to say let us begin
WALLS...
I'm not ashamed
To say that I've loved you well
I'm not ashamed
To let you know
I'm just a name that's all
Scratched upon your wall
You've used it well but what the hell
That's what walls are for
I'm not ashamed
To listen to the fast-fallin' rain
In the morning upon my window
I'm not afraid to cry
I'm not ashamed to try
To be your friend once again
'Cause that's what's friends are for
Friends are for sorting out the hang-ups that we hide
Walls are for shutting out the love we feel inside
I'm not ashamed no to talk it over once again
To rearrange my vocabulary
But I can't seem to find
Any words to change your mind
Because I left them all behind
And that's what words are for
Words are for explaining the mistakes we might have made
Names are for calling when there's nothing left to say
I'm not ashamed, no, to say that I've loved you well
I'm not ashamed, and yet I know
I'm just a name, that's all
Scratched upon your wall
You've used it well, but what the hell
That's what walls are for
I'm not ashamed of wearing out my old grey socks
Chasing you around the back woods
I'm not ashamed to darn
Nor to proud to find some yarn
To sew them up once again
'Cause that's what socks are for
WELCOME TO TRY...
I have been down in the valley of tears
I have stood on the highest peak
For the best part of a week
Battered and bruised I had pulled myself through
Every seen I would never repeat
I have hung out with the beasts of the field
And with them I've spent many long nights
Got in some awful bad fights
I came unstuck, I was down on my luck
And I'm still gettin' over the bites
Sounds of my own heart breaking, not to mention my mind
Nothing can hurt me, a small voice said into a mike, take a hike
No one will lead me astray anymore
You are welcome to try if you like
Welcome to try if you like
I had been down in the valley so long
I had almost run out of respect
Got in right up to my neck
Battered but wise to the truth and the lies
That no layman would ever accept
Reaching for all of the good things in life
Can provide some suprises I guess
It may be the way we are dressed
These threads that you see mean so little to me
They don't count when they put us to rest
Late about dusk I would start to feel
One more day had been lost
Nothing I'd say ever seemed to convey
How I felt with that I have dealt
All of my children are healthy and sane
They may say anything that they like
Say anything that they like
Sitting alone in the Blue Ridge Saloon
Is no place for an angel to be
Ladies make faces at me
Battered but clean I had pulled my machine
Off the road, I was too tired to see
Wearing a smile like the rim of a cup
I will get down to my final point
There is no one left to annoint
And the sowing of seed was it good, yes indeed
It thrills me but only to a point
Use your imagination, try every trick in the book
My mother said with the life that I led I'd be broke
Holy smoke
All of my children are healthy and wise
They may say anything that they like
If they want ta preach and are not within reach
They may say anything that they like
Say anything that they like
WHEREFORE AND WHY...
When I woke this mornin', something inside of me told me this would be my day
I heard the morning train, I felt the wind change, too many times I'm on my way
Come on sunshine, what can you show me
Where can you take me to make me understand
The wind can shake me, brothers forsake me
The rain can touch me, but can I touch the rain
And then I saw the sunrise above the cotton sky like a candycane delight
I saw the milkman, I saw the business man, I saw the only road in sight
Then I got to thinkin' what makes you want to go, to know the wherefore and the why
So many times now, oh Lord I can't remember if it's September or July
Then all at once it came to me, I saw the wherefore, and you can see it if you try
It's in the sun above, it's in the one you love, you'll never know the reason why
Come on sunshine, what can you show me
Where can you take me to make me understand
The wind can shake me, brothers forsake me
The rain can touch me, but can I touch the rain
So much to lose, so much to gain
WHISPER MY NAME...
Travel with me if you choose
Into a land of notions
Through the ruins of yesteryear
Set yer mind in motion
Be beside me win or lose
I will no forsake thee
I must do, so must you
Now will you go with me
I will build a home for you
To keep you warm each winter
Lemon lilies at your door
To give you in September
I will take you as you stand
I promise to defend thee
I must do, so must you
Now will you go with me
Whisper my name as you pass through my life
Whisper my name when you fall
I'm just a dusty old mem'ry ya trust
I'll be close by when you call
Give and take ain't always so
Seeing is believing
Down and out don't stop the show
Staying is not leaving
What we say ain't always so
But I won't deceive thee
I must do, so must you
Now will you go with me
Talk to me, run to me, whisper my name
Don't waste your love makin' friends
We've both had enough of that wonderful stuff
It's too easy to sin
Travel with me if you choose
Into a land of notions
Through the ruins of yesteryear
Set yer mind in motion
Be beside me win or lose
I will no forsake thee
I must do, so must you
Now will you go with me
Travel with me if you choose
I promise to protect thee
I must do, so must you
Now will you go with me
Now will you go with me
WHISPERS OF THE NORTH...
Whispers of the north
Soon I will go forth
To that wild and barren land
Where nature takes its course
Whispers of the wind
Soon I will be there again
Bound with a wild and restless drive
That pulls me from within
And we can ride away
We can glide all day
And we can fly away
Whispers of the north
Soon I will return again
To those endless afternoons
In sunshine and in rain
Whispers of my love
Days and weeks on end
I will share my thoughts of her
In prayers that I will send
And we can ride away
We can glide all day
And we can fly away
Whispers of the north
The river and the shore
In the land that tested Eskimos
Ten thousand years before
Whispers of my heart
In the tracks of animals
I will leave my footprints there
To lie beneath the snow
And we can ride away
We can glide all day
And we can fly away
Whispers of the wind
I will feel it sting
I will see it rise and fall
I will hear it sing
The sound is like a song to me
It takes away the pain
The river is the melody
And sky is the refrain
And we can ride away
We can glide all day
And we can fly away
And we can ride away
We can glide all day
And we can fly away
Whispers of the north
Soon I will go forth
Whispers of the north
Soon I will go forth
WILD STRAWBERRIES...
If I had a dollar, if I had a cent
I would play most anywhere if it would pay my rent
I'd be livin' on the downside in my old apartment
For the rest of my days
People always ask why the world is on the run
People like you and like me
Is it really true you can really never win
Movin' to the upside, tell me when does the fun begin
Deep as the see and as wild as the weather
We will go just you and me to pick wild strawberries together
Or be livin' on our own, in a cabin in a meadow
Or meanderin' alone, we can face the world forever or we'll
Hit the bounding main or be on a railroad train
Hit the boundless tide or be on a steamboat ride
Hit the bounding main or be on a midnight plane
Hit the pounding tide or be on a rainbow ride
People often ask me just the way it must feel
To be standing up here with you down there
Let it know be known that throughout all of these years
I have been wearing polka dot underwear
Deep as the sea and as wild as the weather
We will go just you and me to gather crabapples together
And be wandering along toward a cabin in the meadow
Or meandering alone, we can face the world together or we'll
Hit the bounding main or be on a railroad train
Hit the boundless tide or be on a steamboat ride
Hit the bounding main or be on a midnight plane
Hit the pounding tide or be on a rainbow ride
People always ask why the world is on the slide
People like you and like me
Is it really true there will be no peace left to hide
Turning to the upside, when does the fun begin
Deep as the sea and as wild as the weather
We might go just you and me to pick wild strawberries together
Or be livin' on our own in a cabin in a meadow
And the cows will come home
They can face the world forever and we'll
Hit the bounding main or be on a railroad train
Hit the boundless tide or be on a steamboat ride
Hit the bounding main or be on a midnight plane
Hit the pounding tide or be on a rainbow ride
Hit the bounding main or be on a midnight plane
WITHOUT YOU...
If I can last through another sunrise
In the past I knew what to do
But this was such a grim surprise
If I wait for the sun to shine
How can I pass the time
Without you, without you
If I can break the spell that is in me
Any fool would no where to go
i huess I'd better send a mayday
If I find me a rainbow's end
how will I find it then
Without you, without you
Without you
Wait 'til I see you next time
Maybe I'll lose my mind
Livin' without you
If I can last, wait until the wind dies
I've been all up and down like a clown
And this is such a thin disguise
If I wait for the sun to shine
How will I pass the time
Without you, without you
Without you
Wait 'til I see you next time
Maybe I'll lose my mind
Livin' without you
Without you, without you
Without you, without you
WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD...
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'Gitche Gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early.
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the Gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.
When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'.
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya.
At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it's been good t'know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searches all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
May have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams;
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the Gales of November remembered.
In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral.
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call 'Gitche Gumee'.
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early!
YOU ARE WHAT I AM...
You make the time stand still
You do it now and you always will
You take me as I am
You make me feel like a brand new man
Every time that I fall down
I never get stuck
You got the combination gal
To get me right back up
'Cause you are what I am
I'm lovin' you forever if I can
Think about the times we've had
We never been blue
You got the combination gal
To keep me straight and true
'Cause you are what I am
I'm lovin' you forever if I can
You make the time stand still
You do it now and you always will
You take me as I am
You make me feel like a brand man
I know I'm lucky too
Without two or three, just me and you
'Cause you are what I am
I'm lovin' you forever if I can
YOU JUST GOTTA BE...
If I satisfy you, if you satisfy me
Once the course has been set
Gonna need all the help I can get but
You just gotta be you, 'n I just gotta be me
I can't classify you, you can't pacify me
We can't make it at all
You won't even take my calls
I just want ta be loved
'N you just gotta be free
I'll smile and tell it to the world
You just gotta be
Pardon me for sayin'
What a price you've been payin'
What more can I say
You might feel different some day
If it matter to you, it still matters to me
You'll find me by the bayou
Thinkin' wicked thoughts of you
I just want ta be strong, you just gotta be wrong
I can't clarify you, you can't verify me
I can't make it by stealth
You won't even share the wealth so
You just gotta be you
And I just gotta be me
And I will tell that to the world
You just gotta be
With a gratified mind, I'll be on the highway
Just as soon as I can
Where there's a will there's a way so until then
I just want ta be me, and you just gotta be
YOUR LOVE'S RETURN (Song for Stephen Foster)...
Come to the door my pretty one
Put on your rings and precious things
Hide all your tears as best you can
Try to recall what used to be
Roses are waiting for dewdrops to fall
Climbing your windows and walls
Bells in steeple are ringing, singing
Listen to them talk about your love's return
Let me come in my pretty one
And try to undo what I have done
For I must be forgiven now
I will not lose what I have won
Roses are waiting for dewdrops to fall
Climbing your windows and walls
Leaves in the garden are falling, calling
Listen to them talk about your love's return
Open the door my pretty one
Wake from your sleep and take me home
Open your eyes and look my way
I cannot leave your love alone
Roses are waiting for dewdrops to fall
Climbing your windows and walls
Bells in steeple are ringing, singing
Listen to them talk about your love's return