Song Lyrics

Transcription

Song Lyrics

UNCLE PHIL'S BIG BOOK O'
Table of Contents
500 Miles ...................................................................................................................................... 11
900 Miles ...................................................................................................................................... 12
Abilene ......................................................................................................................................... 13
Across the Great Divide ............................................................................................................... 14
Ain't Misbehaving ........................................................................................................................ 15
Ain't No More Cane on the Brazos .............................................................................................. 16
Alberta .......................................................................................................................................... 17
All Around the Water Tank .......................................................................................................... 18
All My Trials ................................................................................................................................ 19
All of Me ...................................................................................................................................... 20
Amanda......................................................................................................................................... 21
Amazing Grace ............................................................................................................................. 22
Amelia Where You Bound For .................................................................................................... 23
Angel Band ................................................................................................................................... 24
Annabel......................................................................................................................................... 25
Annie Laurie ................................................................................................................................. 26
Back Home In Derry .................................................................................................................... 27
Backsliders Wine .......................................................................................................................... 28
The Ballad of Laverne and Captain Flint ..................................................................................... 29
Bamboo......................................................................................................................................... 30
Banks of Red Roses ...................................................................................................................... 31
Banks of Sicily (aka The 51st Highland Division's Farewell to Sicily) ...................................... 32
Banks of Sicily (Anglicized version) ........................................................................................... 33
Banks of the Ohio ......................................................................................................................... 34
Barbara Allen (Child 84) .............................................................................................................. 35
The Bard of Armagh..................................................................................................................... 37
The Battle Of New Orleans .......................................................................................................... 38
Big Iron......................................................................................................................................... 39
Black Jack Davey (Bob Dylan Version) ...................................................................................... 40
Black Jack Davey (Carter Family Version) ................................................................................. 42
Black Jack Davey (Woody Guthrie version, aka Gypsy Davey) ................................................. 43
Black Jack David (Waylon Jennings version) ............................................................................. 45
Black Velvet Band........................................................................................................................ 46
Bloody Mary Morning.................................................................................................................. 47
Blowing in the Wind .................................................................................................................... 48
Blue Diamond Mines.................................................................................................................... 49
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain ..................................................................................................... 50
The Blue-Tailed Fly (aka Jimmy Crack Corn) ............................................................................ 51
Boardwalk..................................................................................................................................... 52
Bold Fenian Men (aka Down by the Glenside) ............................................................................ 53
Bonnie Lass of Fyvie .................................................................................................................... 54
The Boxer ..................................................................................................................................... 56
Bread and Roses (for San Quentin) .............................................................................................. 57
Broken Hearted People ................................................................................................................. 58
Canadian Whiskey ........................................................................................................................ 59
Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound................................................................................... 60
Can't Pass Josie............................................................................................................................. 61
Careless Love (Bessie Smith Blues version) ............................................................................... 62
Catch the Wind ............................................................................................................................. 63
Changes in Latitude ...................................................................................................................... 64
The Cherry Tree Carol ................................................................................................................. 65
The City of New Orleans.............................................................................................................. 66
Cocaine Blues (aka Little Sadie, aka Bad Man Blues) ................................................................ 67
Columbus Stockade Blues ............................................................................................................ 68
Come Back Katy .......................................................................................................................... 69
Come Find Me .............................................................................................................................. 70
Come Out Ye Black and Tans ...................................................................................................... 71
Copper Kettle ............................................................................................................................... 72
Corrina, Corrina............................................................................................................................ 73
Crazy............................................................................................................................................. 74
Crying Time ................................................................................................................................. 75
Dallas ............................................................................................................................................ 76
Dance Hall Girls ........................................................................................................................... 77
Dancing Bear ................................................................................................................................ 78
Danny Boy .................................................................................................................................... 79
Darcy Farrow ................................................................................................................................ 80
Dark as a Dungeon ....................................................................................................................... 81
Deportee (aka Plane Wreck at Los Gatos) ................................................................................... 82
Desperado ..................................................................................................................................... 83
Desperados Waiting for a Train ................................................................................................... 84
Dink's Song................................................................................................................................... 85
Dirty Old Egg-Suckin' Dog .......................................................................................................... 86
Dirty Old Town ............................................................................................................................ 87
Disobedience ................................................................................................................................ 88
Doesn't Anybody Know My Name (aka 2:10, 6:18, 10:44) ........................................................ 90
Do Re Mi ...................................................................................................................................... 91
Do Re Mi New Verses.................................................................................................................. 92
Dona, Dona, Dona ........................................................................................................................ 93
Don't Forget to Give My Love to Rose ........................................................................................ 94
Don't Think Twice It's All Right .................................................................................................. 95
Down by the Salley Gardens ........................................................................................................ 96
Dream a Little Dream of Me ........................................................................................................ 97
The Dutchman .............................................................................................................................. 98
Early Morning Rain ...................................................................................................................... 99
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Ella Arkansas .............................................................................................................................. 100
Faded Love ................................................................................................................................. 101
Farewell to Tarwathie ................................................................................................................. 102
Fast Freight ................................................................................................................................. 103
Fever ........................................................................................................................................... 104
The Fighting Tigers of Ireland ................................................................................................... 105
Finnegan's Wake......................................................................................................................... 106
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face ....................................................................................... 107
Fixin' to Die ................................................................................................................................ 108
The Foggy Dew .......................................................................................................................... 109
The Foggy, Foggy Dew .............................................................................................................. 110
Follow the Drinking Gourd ........................................................................................................ 111
Follow The Heron Home ............................................................................................................ 112
Folsom Prison Blues ................................................................................................................... 113
For Loving Me............................................................................................................................ 114
For What It's Worth .................................................................................................................... 115
Forty Shades of Green ................................................................................................................ 116
Four Strong Winds ..................................................................................................................... 117
Freight Train ............................................................................................................................... 118
Funny How Time Slips Away .................................................................................................... 119
The Gambler ............................................................................................................................... 120
Georgia on My Mind .................................................................................................................. 121
Girl Of The North Country......................................................................................................... 122
The Glass Eye Song ................................................................................................................... 123
The Golden Vanity (Child 286) ................................................................................................. 124
Goodnight Irene .......................................................................................................................... 125
Good Old Boys Like Me ............................................................................................................ 126
The Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia ................................................................................. 127
Greenfields ................................................................................................................................. 128
The Gypsy Rover........................................................................................................................ 129
Gypsy Woman ............................................................................................................................ 130
Hands on the Wheel ................................................................................................................... 131
Hard Times ................................................................................................................................. 132
He Had a Long Chain On ........................................................................................................... 133
He Was a Friend of Mine ........................................................................................................... 134
Heartbreak Hotel ........................................................................................................................ 136
Heaven and Hell ......................................................................................................................... 137
Hello Walls ................................................................................................................................. 138
Help Me Make It Through The Night ........................................................................................ 139
Hey, Good Lookin' ..................................................................................................................... 140
Hieland Laddie ........................................................................................................................... 141
Donkey Riding ........................................................................................................................... 144
Grace........................................................................................................................................... 146
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Hobo's Lullaby ........................................................................................................................... 147
Honky Tonk Heroes ................................................................................................................... 148
Honky Tonking........................................................................................................................... 149
The House Carpenter(Child 243) ............................................................................................... 150
House of the Rising Sun ............................................................................................................. 152
Hurt ............................................................................................................................................. 154
I Ain't Got No Home .................................................................................................................. 155
I Am a Pilgrim ............................................................................................................................ 156
I Can Get Off On You ................................................................................................................ 157
I Can't Help Falling in Love With You ...................................................................................... 158
I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You) .......................................................................... 159
I Could Not Believe That It Was True ....................................................................................... 160
I Feel Like Hank Williams Tonight ........................................................................................... 161
I Gotta Get Drunk ....................................................................................................................... 162
I Love You.................................................................................................................................. 163
I Ride an Old Paint ..................................................................................................................... 164
I Saw The Light .......................................................................................................................... 165
I Still Miss Someone .................................................................................................................. 166
I Washed My Face in the Morning Dew .................................................................................... 167
I'd Have to be Crazy ................................................................................................................... 168
If I Had a Hammer(akaThe Hammer Song) ............................................................................... 169
If I Had My Way ........................................................................................................................ 170
If I Were a Carpenter .................................................................................................................. 171
I'll Fly Away ............................................................................................................................... 172
I'm Just an Old Chunk of Coal ................................................................................................... 173
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry .................................................................................................... 174
In the Jailhouse Now(Number 1) ............................................................................................... 175
In the Jailhouse Now(Number 2) ............................................................................................... 176
The Incest Song .......................................................................................................................... 177
The Intoxicated Rat .................................................................................................................... 178
An Irish Ballad ........................................................................................................................... 179
The Irish Rover ........................................................................................................................... 180
Is Your Lamps Gone Out ........................................................................................................... 181
It's a Wonderful World ............................................................................................................... 182
It's Not Supposed to be That Way .............................................................................................. 183
I've Just Seen a Face ................................................................................................................... 184
Jaded Lover ................................................................................................................................ 185
Jambalaya ................................................................................................................................... 186
Jennifer Johnson and Me ............................................................................................................ 187
Jesse James ................................................................................................................................. 188
Jesus Met the Woman at the Well .............................................................................................. 189
Joe Hill........................................................................................................................................ 190
John Deere B .............................................................................................................................. 191
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John Henry.................................................................................................................................. 192
Johnny be Fair ............................................................................................................................ 194
Johnny I Hardly Knew You ....................................................................................................... 195
Just Like a Woman ..................................................................................................................... 196
Just Someone I Used to Know ................................................................................................... 197
Kansas City................................................................................................................................. 198
Katie Dear (aka Silver Dagger) .................................................................................................. 199
Keep On the Sunny Side ............................................................................................................ 200
King of the Road ........................................................................................................................ 201
L.A. Freeway .............................................................................................................................. 202
Lady Margaret (Child 74)........................................................................................................... 203
Lakes of Pontchartrain................................................................................................................ 206
The Last Cowboy Song .............................................................................................................. 207
The Last Day of May.................................................................................................................. 208
Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream ...................................................................................... 209
Last Thing on My Mind ............................................................................................................. 210
Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight .................................................................................. 211
The Leaving of Liverpool........................................................................................................... 212
Leaving on a Jet Plane ................................................................................................................ 213
Lily of the West .......................................................................................................................... 214
Little Boxes ................................................................................................................................ 215
Live Forever ............................................................................................................................... 216
Loch Lomond ............................................................................................................................. 217
London Homesick Blues ............................................................................................................ 218
Lonesome Valley ........................................................................................................................ 219
Long Black Veil ......................................................................................................................... 220
Long Chain On ........................................................................................................................... 221
Love's a Word ............................................................................................................................. 223
Lovesick Blues ........................................................................................................................... 224
MacPherson's Rant ..................................................................................................................... 225
Mail Myself to You .................................................................................................................... 227
Mairi's Wedding (aka the Lewis Bridal Song) ........................................................................... 228
Mama Tried ................................................................................................................................ 229
Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys ......................................................... 230
Mama's Lily ................................................................................................................................ 231
Mama's Opry .............................................................................................................................. 232
Margaritaville ............................................................................................................................. 233
Mary of the Wild Moor .............................................................................................................. 234
Me and Bobby Magee ................................................................................................................ 235
Michelle ...................................................................................................................................... 236
The Midnight Choir (Mogen David) .......................................................................................... 237
Mighty Day................................................................................................................................. 238
Miles and Miles of Texas ........................................................................................................... 239
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Mister Valentine's Dead ............................................................................................................. 240
The Miner's Lullaby ................................................................................................................... 241
The Minstrel Boy........................................................................................................................ 242
Mississippi You're On My Mind ................................................................................................ 243
Molly Malone ............................................................................................................................. 244
Moonshiner ................................................................................................................................. 245
Moorloch Mary........................................................................................................................... 246
Mr. Bojangles ............................................................................................................................. 247
Mr. Record Man ......................................................................................................................... 248
The MTA .................................................................................................................................... 249
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys .................................................................................. 251
My Luve is Like a Red, Red Rose ............................................................................................. 252
Nashville Wimmin ..................................................................................................................... 253
Nautical Wheelers ...................................................................................................................... 254
Navaho Rug ................................................................................................................................ 255
Night Rider's Lament ................................................................................................................. 256
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.................................................................................... 257
Nine Pound Hammer (Roll on Buddy) ....................................................................................... 258
No Other Name .......................................................................................................................... 259
No Telling................................................................................................................................... 260
Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out .................................................................... 261
Norwegian Wood ....................................................................................................................... 262
Oklahoma Hills........................................................................................................................... 263
Old Blue...................................................................................................................................... 264
Old Joe Clark .............................................................................................................................. 265
Old Man's Lament ...................................................................................................................... 269
Old Texas (aka The Cowman's Lament) .................................................................................... 270
The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly .................................................................................... 271
On Top of Old Smokey .............................................................................................................. 272
One More Town ......................................................................................................................... 273
Oo-De-Lally ............................................................................................................................... 274
Orphan Girl (for Mary)............................................................................................................... 275
The Outlaw's Song ..................................................................................................................... 276
Pancho and Lefty ........................................................................................................................ 277
Paradise....................................................................................................................................... 278
The Parting Glass ....................................................................................................................... 279
Pastures of Plenty ....................................................................................................................... 280
Pick Up the Tempo ..................................................................................................................... 281
Piney Wood Hills ....................................................................................................................... 282
Pistol Packin' Mama ................................................................................................................... 283
Please Don't Bury Me ................................................................................................................. 284
Po' Lazarus ................................................................................................................................. 285
Polly Von .................................................................................................................................... 287
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Molly Bann ................................................................................................................................. 287
Pretty Boy Floyd ........................................................................................................................ 289
Pretty Fair Maid (was in her Garden)......................................................................................... 290
Pretty Peggy-O ........................................................................................................................... 291
Proud Mary ................................................................................................................................. 292
Puff the Magic Dragon ............................................................................................................... 293
Put Another Log on the Fire ....................................................................................................... 294
Queen Eleanor's Confession (Child 156) ................................................................................... 295
Railroad Lady ............................................................................................................................. 297
Rambling Boy............................................................................................................................. 298
Red Headed Stranger .................................................................................................................. 299
Red Is The Rose ......................................................................................................................... 300
Red River Valley ........................................................................................................................ 301
Redneck Mother ......................................................................................................................... 302
Red-Winged Blackbird ............................................................................................................... 303
Richest Fool Alive ...................................................................................................................... 304
Ring of Fire................................................................................................................................. 305
The Rising of the Moon ............................................................................................................. 306
Rock Of Ages ............................................................................................................................. 307
Rocky Top .................................................................................................................................. 308
Roddy McCorley ........................................................................................................................ 309
Roll Your Leg Over .................................................................................................................... 310
The Rose ..................................................................................................................................... 314
The Rose of Tralee ..................................................................................................................... 315
Roseville Fair ............................................................................................................................. 316
Rosin the Beau............................................................................................................................ 317
Sam Hall (American).................................................................................................................. 319
Sam Hall (Irish) .......................................................................................................................... 320
San Antonio Rose ....................................................................................................................... 321
San Francisco Bay Blues ............................................................................................................ 322
Satisfied Mind ............................................................................................................................ 323
Scarlet Ribbons........................................................................................................................... 324
Scotch and Soda ......................................................................................................................... 325
The Seine .................................................................................................................................... 326
Seven Nights Drunk (Child 274) ................................................................................................ 327
Seven Nights in Ireland .............................................................................................................. 329
Seven Spanish Angels ................................................................................................................ 330
Shady Grove ............................................................................................................................... 331
Shake Sugaree ............................................................................................................................ 333
Shule Aroon ................................................................................................................................ 334
Silver Wings ............................................................................................................................... 336
The Sinking of the Reuben James .............................................................................................. 337
Sinner Man ................................................................................................................................. 338
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Sloop John B .............................................................................................................................. 339
Soalin' ......................................................................................................................................... 340
Some Day I'll Get Out of These Bars ......................................................................................... 341
Someday Soon ............................................................................................................................ 342
Something So Feminine About a Mandolin ............................................................................... 343
Sonny's Dream ............................................................................................................................ 344
Sorrowful Angels ....................................................................................................................... 345
The Sound in Your Mind ........................................................................................................... 346
The South Wind.......................................................................................................................... 347
Spanish Lady of Dublin City ...................................................................................................... 348
Star of the County Down ............................................................................................................ 350
Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer) ......................................................................................... 351
Step It Out Mary ......................................................................................................................... 352
Stewball ...................................................................................................................................... 353
Stony ........................................................................................................................................... 354
Storms are on the Ocean............................................................................................................. 355
Streets of Laredo ........................................................................................................................ 356
Sugar Moon ................................................................................................................................ 358
Sunday Morning Coming Down ................................................................................................ 359
Sweet is the Melody ................................................................................................................... 360
Sweet Memories ......................................................................................................................... 361
Sylvie .......................................................................................................................................... 362
T for Texas (aka Blue Yodel #1) ................................................................................................ 363
Tail Toddle ................................................................................................................................. 364
Take Her in Your Arms .............................................................................................................. 365
Take Her Out of Pity (aka The Old Maid's Lament).................................................................. 366
Take Me Home Country Roads .................................................................................................. 367
Take These Chains ..................................................................................................................... 368
Tell Me Ma (Belle of Belfast City) ............................................................................................ 369
Tell Old Bill................................................................................................................................ 370
Tennessee Flattop Box ............................................................................................................... 371
Tennessee Stud ........................................................................................................................... 372
The Titanic.................................................................................................................................. 374
This Land Is Your Land ............................................................................................................. 375
This Train is Bound for Glory (Peter, Paul & Mary version) .................................................... 376
This Train is Bound for Glory (Woody Guthrie version) .......................................................... 377
Till I Can Gain Control Again.................................................................................................... 378
Tiny Bubbles .............................................................................................................................. 379
Tom Dooley(Kingston Trio Version)......................................................................................... 380
Tom Dooley(Doc Watson Version) ........................................................................................... 381
Tomorrow is a Long Time ......................................................................................................... 382
Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down ............................................................................................... 383
A Tramp on the Street ................................................................................................................ 384
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Travelling Soldier ....................................................................................................................... 385
The Trooper and the Maid (Child 299) ...................................................................................... 386
Trouble in Mind.......................................................................................................................... 387
Truale .......................................................................................................................................... 388
Truck Driving Man ..................................................................................................................... 389
Turn Around ............................................................................................................................... 390
Turtle Dove................................................................................................................................. 391
Two More Bottles of Wine......................................................................................................... 392
Unchained Melody ..................................................................................................................... 394
Unclouded Day ........................................................................................................................... 395
The Unfortunate Man ................................................................................................................. 396
The Unicorn Song ...................................................................................................................... 397
Union Maid................................................................................................................................. 398
Virginia's Real ............................................................................................................................ 399
The Wagoner's Lad..................................................................................................................... 400
Wagon Wheel ............................................................................................................................. 401
Waltz Across Texas .................................................................................................................... 402
Wandering .................................................................................................................................. 403
Way Downtown .......................................................................................................................... 404
Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key .......................................................................................... 405
The Wayfaring Stranger ............................................................................................................. 406
The Wearing Of The Green ........................................................................................................ 407
Welcome Poor Paddy Home ...................................................................................................... 408
West Nashville Grand Ballroom Gown ..................................................................................... 409
West Texas Wind ....................................................................................................................... 410
What a Wonderful World ........................................................................................................... 411
What Have They Done To The Rain.......................................................................................... 412
When Johnny Comes Marching Home ...................................................................................... 413
Where Have All the Flowers Gone ............................................................................................ 414
Whiskey In the Jar ...................................................................................................................... 416
Whistlers And Jugglers .............................................................................................................. 417
Why Don’t We Get Drunk ......................................................................................................... 418
Wild Colonial Boy (Australian) ................................................................................................. 419
Wild Colonial Boy (Irish) .......................................................................................................... 420
Wild Mountain Thyme ............................................................................................................... 421
Will the Circle Be Unbroken ...................................................................................................... 422
Willie Taylor .............................................................................................................................. 423
The Wind and the Rain ............................................................................................................... 424
Would You Lay with Me (in a Field of Stone) .......................................................................... 425
Wraggle Taggle Gypsies O ........................................................................................................ 426
The Wreck of Old 97 .................................................................................................................. 427
Wurlitzer Prize (I Don’t Want To Get Over You) ..................................................................... 428
The Yellow Rose of Texas ......................................................................................................... 429
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Yesterday's Wine ........................................................................................................................ 430
You are My Sunshine ................................................................................................................. 431
You Don't Have to Call Me Darling, Darling ............................................................................ 432
You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive ............................................................................................... 433
Your Cheating Heart .................................................................................................................. 434
Author Index............................................................................................................................... 435
x
500 Miles
(Hedy West)
If you miss the train I'm on,
Then you'll know that I have gone,
You can hear the whistle blow a 100 miles,
A 100 miles, a 100 miles,
A 100 miles, one hundred miles,
You can hear the whistle blow a 100 miles.
Teardrops fell on mama's note,
When I read the things she wrote,
She said, "We miss you, son, we love you, come on home",
Well, I didn't have to pack,
I had it all right on my back,
Now I'm 500 miles away from home,
Lord, I'm 1, Lord, I'm 2,
Lord, I'm 3, Lord, I'm 4,
Lord, I'm 500 miles away from my home.
Not a shirt on my back
Not a penny to my name,
Lord, I can't go back home this'a way,
This'a way, this'a way,
This'a way, this'a way.
All these years and all these roads,
Never lead me back to you,
I'm always 500 miles away from home,
Away from home, away from home,
Always out here on my own,
I'm still 500 miles away from home.
I'm still 500 miles away from home.
11
900 Miles
(Trad)
I'm walking down this track,
I've got tears in my eyes,
Trying to read a letter from my home,
If this train runs me right,
I'll be home tomorrow night,
I'm nine hundred miles from my home,
And I hate to hear that lonesome whistle blow.
I'll pawn you my watch,
And I'll pawn you my chain,
Pawn you my gold diamond ring,
This train I ride on,
Is one hundred coaches long,
You can hear that whistle blow a hundred miles,
And I hate to hear that lonesome whistle blow,
If my woman says so,
I will railroad no more,
I'll sidetrack my wheeler and go home,
12
Abilene
(Lester Brown/Bob Gibson/John D. Loudermilk)
Abilene, Abilene,
Prettiest town I ever seen,
Folks down there don't treat you mean,
In Abilene, my Abilene.
I sit alone most every night,
Watch them trains roll out of sight,
Wish that they were carrying me,
To Abilene, my Abilene.
Crowded city, ain't nothing free,
Nothing in this town for me,
Wish to God that I could be,
How I wish that train would come,
Take me back where I come from,
Take me where I want to be,
Rotgut whiskey numbs the brain,
If I stay here I'll go insane,
Think I need a change of scene,
To Abilene, my Abilene.
Outside my window cold rain falls,
Sit here staring at the walls,
If I was home, I'd be serene,
13
Across the Great Divide
(Kate Wolfe, Kate)
I've been walking in my sleep,
Counting troubles 'stead of counting sheep,
Where the years went I can't say,
I just turned around and they've gone away
I've been sifting through the layers,
Of dusty books and faded papers,
They tell a story I used to know,
It was one that happened so long ago.
Chorus: It's gone away in yesterday,
Now I find myself on the mountainside,
Where the rivers change direction,
Across the Great Divide.
Now, I heard the owl a-calling,
Softly as the night was falling,
With a question and I replied,
But he's gone across the borderline.
Chorus
The finest hour that I have seen,
Is the one that comes between,
The edge of night and the break of day,
It's when the darkness rolls away.
Chorus
14
Ain't Misbehaving
(Music: Fats Waller /Harry Brooks and Words: Andy Razaf)
No one to talk with, all by myself,
No one to walk with, but I'm happy on the shelf,
Ain't misbehaving, I'm saving my love for you.
I know for certain, that you're the one,
I'm through with flirting, it's you I'm thinking of,
Ain't misbehaving, I'm saving my love for you.
Like Jack Horner, in the corner,
Don't go nowhere, what do I care?
Your kisses are worth waiting for,
Believe me.
I don't stay out late, don't care to go,
I'm home about eight, just me and my radio,
Ain't misbehaving, saving my love for you.
15
Ain't No More Cane on the Brazos
(Trad)
Go down Old Hannah, don't you rise no more, oh, oh, oh,
Rise in the morning bring the judgment day, oh, oh, oh.
Ain't no more cane on the Brazos, oh, oh, oh,
They done ground it all in molasses, oh, oh, oh.
You should have been on the river in 1904, oh, oh, oh,
You could find a dead man on every row, oh, oh, oh.
You should have been on the river in 1910, oh, oh, oh,
They was driving the women just like the men, oh, oh, oh.
You should have been on the river when the storm winds came, oh, oh, oh,
Left a man lying dead and we cut him off the chain, oh, oh, oh.
Captain don't you do me like you done poor old Shine, oh, oh, oh,
Well you drove that bully till he went stone blind, oh, oh, oh.
Wake up on a lifetime, hold up your own head, oh, oh, oh,
Well you may get a pardon and you might drop dead, oh, oh, oh.
When I came down here had a number for my name, oh, oh, oh,
Well they chained us together and we started cutting cane, oh, oh, oh.
If I had a sentence like ninety-nine years, oh, oh, oh,
Ain’t no dogs on this Brazos could keep me here, oh, oh, oh.
Why don’t you go down, Old Hannah, don’t you rise up no more, oh, oh, oh,
Well, they worked me so hard, that I can’t work no more, oh, oh, oh.
I looked at my Old Hannah and she's turning red, oh, oh, oh,
I looked at my partner and he's almost dead, oh, oh, oh.
Go down Old Hannah, don't you rise no more, oh, oh, oh,
Rise in the morning set the world on fire, oh, oh, oh.
Well there's some in the building and there's some on the farm, oh, oh, oh,
There's some in the graveyard and there's some going home, oh, oh, oh.
16
Alberta
(Trad) Note: from Steamboatin' Days by Mary Wheeler
Alberta, let your hair hang low,
I'll give you more gold,
Than your apron can hold,
If you'll only let your hair hang low.
Alberta, don't you treat me unkind,
Alberta, don't you treat me so unkind,
You keep me so worried,
You keep me bothered all the time,
Alberta, don't you treat me unkind.
Alberta, what is on your mind,
Alberta, what is on your mind,
My heart is so sad,
Because I want you so bad,
Alberta, what is on your mind.
Alberta, let your hair hang down low,
I'll give you more gold,
Than your apron can hold,
If you'll only let your hair hang down low.
17
All Around the Water Tank
(Jimmie Rodgers)
All around the water tank, waiting for a train,
A thousand miles away from home, sleeping in the rain,
I walked up to a brakeman just to give him a line of talk,
He said if you got money, boy, I'll see that you don't walk,
I haven't got a nickel, not a penny can I show,
Get off, get off, you railroad bum" and slammed the boxcar door.
He put me off in Texas, a state I dearly love,
The wide open spaces all around me, the moon and the stars up above,
Nobody seems to want me, or lend me a helping hand,
I'm on my way from Frisco, going back to Dixieland,
My pocket book is empty and my heart is full of pain,
I'm a thousand miles away from home just waiting for a train.
18
All My Trials
(Trad)
Hush little baby, don't you cry,
You know your mama was born to die,
All my trials, Lord, soon be over.
C Bb
C Am F Fm
C-Am G7 C
The river of Jordan is muddy and cold,
Well it chills the body but not the soul,
All my trials, Lord, soon be over.
Had a little book was given to me,
And every page spelled Liberty,
All my trials Lord, soon be over.
If religion were a thing that money could buy,
The rich would live, and the poor would die,
Break: Too late my brothers, too late, but never mind,
There is a tree in Paradise,
The Pilgrims call it The Tree of Life,
19
All of Me
(Seymour Simons/Gerald Marks )
All of me,
Why not take all of me,
Can't you see,
I'm no good without you,
Take my lips,
I want to lose them,
Take my arms,
I'll never use them.
C
C E7
A7
A7 Dm
E7
E7 Am
Dm7
G7
Your goodbye,
Left me with eyes that cry,
I know that I
Am no good without you,
You took the part,
That once was my heart,
So why not take all of me,
C
C E7
A7
A7 Dm
F C
C walk down Am
F G7 C
Your goodbye,
Left me with eyes that cry,
How can I go on, dear, without you,
You took the best,
So why not take the rest,
Baby, take all of me.
20
Amanda
(Bob McDill)
I've held it all inward, Lord knows I've tried,
It's an awful awakening in a country boy's life,
To look in the mirror in total surprise,
At the hair on your shoulders and the age in your eyes.
Chorus: Amanda, light of my life,
Fate should've made you a gentleman's wife,
Amanda, light of my life,
Fate should've made you a gentleman's wife.
Well there's a measure of people don't understand,
The pleasures of life in a hillbilly band,
I got my first guitar when I was 14,
Now I'm crowding 30 and still wearing jeans.
Chorus
21
Amazing Grace
(John Newton)
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost but now I'm found,
Was blind but now I see.
T'was grace that taught my heart to feel,
And grace my fears relieved,
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come,
Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures,
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.
When we've been there, ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise,
Than when we first begun.
22
Amelia Where You Bound For
(Trad)
Oh the times were hard, and the wages low,
Amelia, where you bound for?
The Rocky Mountains are my home,
Across the western ocean,
Across the western ocean, across the western ocean,
The Rocky Mountains are my home,
Across the western ocean.
That land of plenty then you'll see,
I'm bound across that western sea,
To join the Irish army,
To join the Irish army, to join the Irish army,
I'm bound across that western sea,
To join the Irish army.
To Liverpool I'll take my way,
To Liverpool that Yankee school,
Across the western ocean
Across the western ocean, across the western ocean
To Liverpool that Yankee school,
There's Liverpool Pat with his tarpaulin hat,
And Yankee John that packet rat,
Across the western ocean,
And Yankee John that packet rat,
Beware these packet-ships, I pray,
They steal your stores and clothes away,
Across the western ocean
They steal your stores and clothes away,
23
Angel Band
(Trad?)
My latest sun is sinking fast,
My race is nearly run,
My strongest trials now are past,
My triumph has begun.
Chorus: Oh come angel band,
Come and around me stand,
Oh bear me away on your snow white wings,
To my immortal home,
Oh bear me away on your snow white wings,
To my immortal home.
Oh bear my longing heart to him,
Who bled and died for me,
Who's blood now cleanses from all sin,
And gives me victory.
Chorus
24
Annabel
(Kat Goldman)
Annabel, Annabel where did you go?
I’ve looked high and I’ve looked low,
I’ve looked low and I’ve looked high
Tell me where does the spirit go when you die?
Oh, where does the spirit go when you die?
I have packed your satin gloves and lace,
All the pictures of your pretty face,
And I kept the ones of you on skates,
And a picture from your wedding day.
Annabel, Annabel way up high,
Are you kissing the starry birds in the sky,
Will you come and visit us down below,
Oh Annabel, Annabel where did you go,
Annabel where did you go?
You will miss the humming of the spring,
And the winter won’t mean anything,
And the summer is a lonesome dale,
I am lost without you Annabel,
I have lost my faith in everything.
Annabel, Annabel are you free?
Will you wrap me in your legacy?
In a blanket with your sweet perfume,
I am always thinking thoughts of you.
Annabel, Annabel where did you go?
I’ve looked high and I’ve looked low,
Oh, I’ve looked low and I’ve looked high,
Tell me where does the spirit go when you die?
Oh, where does the spirit go when you die?
25
Annie Laurie
(Alicia Scott) Note: Annie Laurie is an old Scottish song based on a poem by William
Douglas (1672?–1748). The words were modified and the tune was added by Alicia Scott in
1834/5. The song is also known as Maxwelton Braes.)
Maxwelton's braes are bonnie,
Where early fa's the dew,
T'was there that Annie Laurie,
Gi'ed me her promise true,
Gi'ed me her promise true,
Which ne'er forgot will be,
And for bonnie Annie Laurie,
I'd lay me down and dee.
Her brow is like the snaw-drift,
Her neck is like the swan,
Her face it is the fairest,
That 'er the sun shone on,
That 'er the sun shone on,
And dark blue is her e'e,
Like dew on gowans lying,
Is the fa' o' her fairy feet,
And like winds, in simmer sighing,
Her voice is low and sweet,
Her voice is low and sweet,
And she's a' the world to me,
26
Back Home In Derry
(Words: Bobby Sands/Music: Gordon Lightfoot)
In 1803 we sailed out to sea,
Out from the sweet quay of Derry,
We were Australia bound if we didn't all drown,
And the marks of our fetters we carried.
In the rusty iron chains we sighed for our wains,
As our good wives we left there in sorrow,
As the mainsails unfurled our curses we hurled,
On the English and thoughts of tomorrow.
Chorus: Oh, Oh Oh Oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
Oh, Oh Oh Oh, I wish I was back home in Derry.
At the mouth of the Foyle we bid farewell to the soil,
As down below decks we were lying,
O'Dougherty screamed woken out of a dream,
By a vision of bold Robert dying.
The sun beat down cruel as they dished out the gruel,
Dan O'Conner was down with a fever,
Sixty rebels that day bound for Botony Bay,
How many would met their receiver?
Chorus
I cursed them to hell as our bow fought the swell,
Our ship danced like a moth in the firelight,
White horses rode high as the devil passed by,
Taking souls to Hades by twilight.
Five weeks out to sea we were now forty-three,
Our comrades we buried each morning,
In our own slime we were lost in a time,
Endless night without dawning.
Chorus
Van Diemen's land is a hell for a man,
To live out his life in slavery,
When the climate is raw and the gun makes the law,
Neither wind nor rain cares for bravery.
Twenty years have gone by and I've ended me bond,
And comrades ghosts walk beside me,
A rebel I came and I'll die the same,
On the cold winds of night you will find me.
Chorus
27
Backsliders Wine
(Michael Martin Murphey)
Well as the rain ruins my alibi,
I'm down to telling you my red-eyed mind,
It's not those sun bright days,
That call me from my home,
It's just that fine backslider's wine.
My momma sings out in my memory,
"Oh son don't wear no black eye shine,
Fight for your rights,
But don't just fight for right,
And do not drink backslider's wine."
But I took myself for a strong and loving soul,
Till I found myself face down on a bar room floor,
Crying "My God, what has become of me,
I dare not drink backslider's wine no more?"
My momma sings out in my memory
"Oh Son don't take no black eye shine.
Fight for your rights,
But don't just fight for right
And do not drink backslider's wine."
Do not drink backslider's wine
28
The Ballad of Laverne and Captain Flint
(Guy Clark)
Here comes Martha running down the pier,
It looks like Captain Flint is here,
You get the bow, I'll get the stern,
Lord, would you look at that Laverne,
Old Flint's got shrimps from the deep blue sea,
And buckets of fish for you and me.
Chorus: Old Flint's boat is fine and she's called the Miss-Inclined,
There's no home port painted on her stern,
They say she's like a ghost, up and down that Texas coast,
But you saw him didn't you Laverne.
Daddy says Flint is a weird old bird,
And what's more I have heard,
His nets were charmed by a woman who knew,
How to do that Louisiana voo-doo,
Laverne get away from that boat you hear,
Your mama don't want you hanging round here.
(Laverne just told him, said)
Chorus
Martha, Martha won't you tell me please,
That it's not Laverne that I see,
There on the deck of the Miss-Inclined,
With Captain Flint, I must be blind,
Laverne girl what's the matter with you,
Has old Captain Flint put a spell on you?
Chorus
29
Bamboo
(Dave Van Ronk)
You take a stick of bamboo, you take a stick of bamboo,
You take a stick of bamboo, you throw it in the water,
Oh, oh, Hannah,
you take a stick of bamboo, you throw it in the water,
Oh, oh, Hannah.
River, she come down,
River, she come down.
You travel on the river, you travel on the river,
you travel on the river, you travel on the water,
Oh, Oh, Hannah,
You travel on the river, you travel on the river,
you travel on the river, you travel on the water,
Oh, Oh, Hannah.
My home's across the river, my home's across the river,
My home's across the river, my home's across the water,
Oh, Oh, Hannah,
My home's across the river, my home's across the river,
My home's across the river, my home's across the water,
Oh, Oh, Hannah.
You take a stick of bamboo, you throw it in the water.
30
Banks of Red Roses
(Trad)
When I was a wee thing, I heard my mother say,
That I was meant for rambling and would easy go astray,
And before that I would work, I would rather sport and play,
With my Johnny on the banks of red roses.
On the banks of red roses, my love and I sat doon,
He took out his tuning box to play his love a tune,
In the middle of the tune, his love got up and cried,
Oh Johnny, lovely Johnny, would you leave me?
So they walked and they talked until they came upon a cave,
Where the night before her darling had spent digging on her grave,
Aye, the night before her darling had spent digging on her grave,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of red roses.
Oh no, oh no, cried she, that grave's not meant for me,
Yes, oh yes, my darling, that your bridal bed shall be,
Yes, oh yes, my darling, that your bridal bed shall be,
And he's made her to lie down on red roses.
Then he took our his pocket knife, it was so long and sharp,
And with his pocket knife pierced her through and through the heart,
Aye, with his pocket knife pierced her through and through the heart,
And left her lying there on red roses.
And all on his way homeward, his heart was filled with fear,
Every maid he came upon, he thought it was his dear,
Yes, every maid he came upon, he thought it was his dear,
Who he made to lie down on red roses.
31
Banks of Sicily (aka The 51st Highland Division's Farewell to Sicily)
(Hamish Henderson)
The pipie is dozie, the pipie is fey,
He wullnae come round for his vino the day,
The sky o'er Messina is unco an' grey,
An' a' the bricht chaulmers are eerie.
Fareweel ye banks o' Sicily,
Fare ye weel ye valley an' shaw,
There's nae Jock will mourn the kyles o' ye,
Puir bliddy swaddies are weary.
Then doon the stair and line the waterside,
Wait your turn the ferry's awa',
The doon the stair and line the waterside,
A' the bricht chaulmers are eerie.
Fareweel ye banks o' Sicily,
Fare ye weel ye valley an' shaw,
There's nae name can smoor the wiles o' ye,
Puir bliddy swaddies are weary.
The drummie is polisht, the drummie is braw,
He cannae be seen for his webbing ava,
He's beezed himself up for a photy and a',
Tae leave with his Lola, his dearie,
Then fare weel ye dives o' Sicily,
Fare ye weel ye shieling an' ha',
We'll a mind shebeens an' bothies,
Whaur Jock made a date wi' his dearie.
Then fare weel ye dives o' Sicily,
Fare ye weel ye shieling an' ha',
We'll a mind shebeens an' bothies,
Whaur kind signorinas were cheerie.
Then tune the pipes and drub the tenor drum,
Leave your kit this side o' the wa',
Then tune the pipes and drub the tenor drum,
A' the bricht chaulmers are eerie.
32
Banks of Sicily (Anglicized version)
Chorus: Fare ye well, ye banks of Sicily,
Fare ye well, ye valley and shore,
There's no Scot will mourn the loss o' ya,
Poor bloody soldiers are weary.
The pipie's all tuned and he's piping away,
He'll not come to town for his vino today,
The sky is like Antrim all cloudy an' grey,
And the song that they're playing is eerie.
Chorus
It's march down the stair, and line on the bay,
Packs on your backs and the boats are away,
Waiting your turn while the pipe and drum play,
But the song that they're playing is eerie.
Chorus
The drummie is polished, the drummie is grand,
He cannot be seen for his straps and his bands,
He's greased himself up for a photo and stand,
To leave wi' his Lola, his dearie.
Chorus
33
Banks of the Ohio
(Trad)
I asked my love to take a walk,
To take a walk, just a little walk,
Down beside where the waters flow,
Down by the banks of the Ohio.
Chorus: Only say that you'll be mine,
In other's arms entwine,
Down beside where the waters flow,
Down by the banks of the Ohio.
I asked her if she'd marry me,
And my wife forever be,
She only turned her head away,
And had no other words to say.
Chorus
I held a knife against her breast,
As into my arms she pressed,
She said Willie, don't you murder me,
I'm not prepared for eternity.
Chorus
I took her by her lily white hand,
And dragged her down that bank of sand,
There I throwed her in to drown,
I watched her as she floated down.
Chorus
Was walking home 'tween twelve and one,
Saying my God, what have I done,
I killed the only woman I loved,
Because she would not marry me.
Chorus
The very next morn about half past four,
The Sheriff came knocked at my door,
He said now young man come now and go,
Down to the Banks of the Ohio.
Chorus
34
Barbara Allen (Child 84)
(Trad)
In Scarlet town where I was born,
There was a fair maid dwelling,
And every youth cried well away,
For her name was Barbara Allen.
It was in the merry month of May,
The green buds were a swelling,
Sweet William on his deathbed lay,
For the love of Barbara Allen.
He sent a servant unto her,
To the place she was dwelling,
Saying you must come to his deathbed now,
If your name be Barbara Allen.
For death is printed in his face,
And sorrow’s in him dwelling,
And you must come to my master dear,
If your name be Barbara Allen.
If death be printed in his face,
And sorrow’s in him dwelling,
Then little better shall he be,
For bonny Barbara Allen.’
Slowly, slowly she got up,
Slowly, slowly she came nigh him,
And the only words to him she said,
Young man I think you're dying.
O it’s I am sick and very sick,
And it’s all for Barbara Allen,
O the better for me ye’se never be,
Though’ your heart’s blood were a-spilling!
O dinna ye mind, young man, says she,
When the red wine ye were filling,
That ye made the healths go round and round,
And slighted Barbara Allen?
He turned his face unto the wall,
And death was in him welling,
Good-bye, good-bye, to my friends all,
Be good to Barbara Allen.
35
As she was walking over the fields,
She heard the death bell knelling,
And every stroke it seemed to say,
Hardhearted Barbara Allen.
Oh mother, mother make my bed,
Make it long and make it narrow,
Sweet William died for me today,
I'll die for him tomorrow.
A hard-hearted creature that I was,
To slight one that loved me so dearly,
I wish I had been more kinder to him,
The time of his life when he was near me.
Farewell, she said, ye virgins all,
And shun the fault I fell in,
Henceforth take warning by the fall,
Of cruel Barbara Allen.
They buried her in the old churchyard,
They buried him in the choir,
And from his grave grew a red, red rose,
From her grave a green briar.
They grew and grew to the steeple top,
Till they could grow no higher,
And there they twined in a true love's knot,
Red rose around green briar.
36
The Bard of Armagh
(Trad)
Oh list' to the lay of a poor Irish harper,
And scorn not the strings in his old withered hands,
But remember those fingers, they once could move sharper,
To raise up the strains of his dear native land.
It was long before the shamrock, dear Isle's lovely emblem,
Was crushed in its beauty by the Saxon's lion paw,
And all the pretty colleens around me would gather,
Called me their bold Phelim Brady, the Bard of Armagh.
How I love to muse on the days of my boyhood,
Though four score and three years have fled by since then,
Still it gives sweet reflection, as every young joys should,
For the merry-hearted boys make the best of old men.
At a fair or a wake I would twist my shillelagh,
And trip through a dance with my brogues tied with straw,
There all the pretty maidens around me would gather,
Called me their bold Phelim Brady, the Bard of Armagh.
In truth I have wandered this wide world over,
Yet Ireland's my home and a dwelling for me,
And, oh, let the turf that my old bones shall cover,
Be cut from the land that is trod by the free.
And when Sergeant Death in his cold arms doth embrace me,
And lulls me to sleep with old 'Erin-go-Bragh',
By the side of my Kathleen, my dear pride, oh, place me,
Then forget Phelim Brady, the Bard of Armagh.
37
The Battle Of New Orleans
(Jimmy Driftwood)
In 1814 we took a little trip,
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississipp',
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans,
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans,
Chorus: We fired our guns and the British kept a coming,
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago,
We fired once more and they began to running,
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
We looked down the river and we seen the British come,
And there must have been a hundred of them beating on the drums,
They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring,
We stood behind our cotton bales and didn't say a thing.
Chorus
Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise,
If we didn't fire a musket till we looked 'em in the eyes,
We held our fire till we seen their faces well,
We opened up our squirrel guns and really gave 'em, well.
Chorus
Bridge: Well they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles,
And they ran through the bushes where the rabbits couldn't go,
They ran so fast the hounds couldn't catch 'em,
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
We fired our cannon till the barrel melted down,
Then we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round,
We filled his head with cannonballs and powdered his behind,
And when we touched the powder off the gator lost his mind.
Chorus
38
Big Iron
(Marty Robbins)
To the town of Agua Frio rode a stranger one fine day,
Hardly spoke to folks around him didn't have too much to say,
No one dared to ask his business, no one dared to make a slip,
For the stranger there among them had a big iron on his hip, big iron on his hip.
It was early in the morning when he rode into the town,
He came riding from the south side slowly looking all around,
He's an outlaw loose and running came the whisper from each lip,
And he's here to do some business with the big iron on his hip, big iron on his hip.
In this town there lived an outlaw by the name of Texas Red,
Many men had tried to take him and just that many men were dead,
He was vicious and a killer though a youth of twenty four,
And the notches on his pistol numbered one and nineteen more, one and nineteen
more.
Now the stranger started talking made it plain to folks around,
Was an Arizona ranger wouldn't be too long in town,
He came here to take an outlaw back alive or maybe dead,
And he said it didn't matter he was after Texas Red, after Texas Red.
Wasn't long before the story was relayed to Texas Red,
But the outlaw wasn't worried, men that tried before were dead,
Twenty men had tried to take him, twenty men had made a slip,
Twenty-one would be the ranger with the big iron on his hip, big iron on his hip.
The morning passed so quickly it was time for them to meet,
It was twenty past eleven when they walked out in the street,
Folks were watching from the windows everybody held their breath,
They knew this handsome ranger was about to meet his death, about to meet his
death.
There was forty feet between them when they stopped to make their play,
And the swiftness of the ranger is still talked about today,
Texas Red had not cleared leather 'fore a bullet fairly ripped,
And the ranger's aim was deadly with the big iron on his hip, big iron on his hip.
It was over in a moment and the folks had gathered round,
There before them lay the body of the outlaw on the ground,
Oh, he might have went on living but he made one fatal slip,
When he tried to match the ranger with the big iron on his hip, big iron on his hip.
39
Black Jack Davey (Bob Dylan Version)
(Trad)
Black Jack Davey come a-riding on back,
A-whistling loud and merry,
Made the woods around him ring,
And he charmed the heart of a lady,
Charmed the heart of a lady.
"How old are you, my pretty little miss,
How old are you, my honey,"
She answered to him with a loving smile,
"I'll be sixteen come Sunday,
Be sixteen come Sunday."
"Come and go with me, my pretty little miss,
Come and go with me, my honey,
Take you where the grass grows green,
You never will want for money,
You never will want for money.
"Pull off, pull off them high-heeled shoes,
All made of Spanish leather,
Get behind me on my horse,
And we'll ride off together,
We'll both go off together."
Well, she pulled off them high-heeled shoes,
Made of Spanish leather,
Got behind him on his horse,
And they rode off together,
They rode off together.
At night the boss came home,
Inquiring about this lady,
The servant spoke before she thought,
"She's been with Black Jack Dave,
Rode off with Black Jack Davey."
"Well, saddle for me my coal black stud,
He's speedier than the gray,
I rode all day and I'll ride all night,
And I'll overtake my lady,
I'll bring back my lady."
Well, he rode all night till the broad daylight,
Till he came to a river raging,
40
And there he spied his darling bride,
In the arms of Black Jack Davey,
Wrapped up with Black Jack Davey.
"Pull off, pull off them long blue gloves,
All made of the finest leather,
Give to me your lily-white hand,
And we'll both go home together,
We'll both go home together."
Well, she pulled off them long blue gloves,
All made of the finest leather,
Gave to him her lily-white hand,
And said good-bye forever,
Bid farewell forever.
"Would you forsake your house and home,
Would you forsake your baby?
Would you forsake your husband, too,
To go with Black Jack Davey,
Rode off with Black Jack Davey?"
"Well, I'll forsake my house and home,
And I'll forsake my baby,
I'll forsake my husband, too,
For the love of Black Jack Davey,
Ride off with Black Jack Davey."
"Last night I slept in a feather bed,
Between my husband and baby,
Tonight I lay on the river banks,
In the arms of Black Jack Davey,
Love my Black Jack Davey."
41
Black Jack Davey (Carter Family Version)
(Trad, adapted by A.P.Carter)
Black Jack Davey come a running through the woods,
Singing so loud and gaily,
Made the hills around him ring,
Then charmed the heart of a lady,
Charmed the heart of a lady.
How old are you my pretty little miss,
How old are you my honey,
Answered him with a silly little smile,
I'll be sixteen next Sunday,
Be sixteen next Sunday.
Come go with me my pretty little miss,
Come go with me my honey,
I'll take you across the deep blue sea,
Where you never shall want for money,
Where you never shall want for money.
She pulled off her high heeled shoes,
They were made of Spanish leather,
She put on her low heeled shoes,
And they both went off together,
Both went off together.
Last night I lay on a warm feather bed,
Side my husband and baby,
Today I lay on the cold, cold ground,
Side of Black Jack Davey,
Side of Black Jack Davey.
42
Black Jack Davey (Woody Guthrie version, aka Gypsy Davey)
(Trad)
It was late last night when the boss come home,
Asking about his lady,
The only answer he received,
"She's gone with the Gypsy Davey,
Gone with the Gypsy Davey."
"Go saddle for me my buckskin horse,
And a hundred dollars saddle,
Point out to me their wagon tracks,
And after them I'll travel,
After them I'll ride."
Well, I had not rode till the midnight moon,
When I saw the campfire gleaming,
I heard the notes of the big guitar,
And the voice of the gypsy singing,
That song of the Gypsy Davey.
There in the light of the camping fire,
I saw her fair face beaming,
Her heart in tune with the big guitar,
And the voice of the gypsy singing,
Have you forsaken your house and home,
Have you forsaken your baby,
Have you forsaken your husband dear,
To go to the gypsy Davey,
And sing with the Gypsy Davey,
That song of the Gypsy Davey
Yes, I've forsaken my husband dear,
To go with the gypsy Davy,
And I've forsaken my mansion high,
But not my blue-eyed baby,
Not my blue-eyed babe.
Take off take off your buskin' gloves,
Give to me your lily-white hand,
We'll ride back home together,
And we'll ride home again.
43
No, I won't take off my buskin' gloves,
They're made of Spanish leather,
I'll go my way from day to day,
And sing with the Gypsy Davey,
44
Black Jack David (Waylon Jennings version)
(Trad)
Black Jack David came riding through the woods,
And he sang so loud and freely,
Made the hills all around him ring,
And charmed a fair-haired lady,
Charmed a fair-haired lady.
She took off her high-heeled shoes,
She put on her low-heeled shoes,
And they rode off together,
They rode off together.
Last night she slept on a fine feathered bed,
Beside her husband and baby,
Tonight she'll sleep on the cold, cold ground,
Beside old Black Jack David,
Beside old Black Jack David.
45
Black Velvet Band
(Trad)
In a neat little town they call Belfast apprenticed to trade I was bound,
And many an hour's sweet happiness I spent in that neat little town,
Till bad misfortune came o'er me, and caused me to stray from the land,
Far away from my friends and relations, to follow the black velvet band.
Chorus: Her eyes they shone like the diamonds, you'd think she was queen of the
land,
And her hair hung over her shoulder, tied up with a black velvet band.
Well, I was out strolling one evening not intending to go very far,
When I met with a frolicsome damsel plying her trade in the bar,
A watch she took from a customer and slipped it right into my hand,
Then the Watch came and arrested me, bad luck to the black velvet band.
Chorus
Next morning before judge and jury for a trial I had to appear,
And the judge, he said, "You young fellow the case against you is quite clear,
Seven long years is your sentence, you're going to Van Diemen's Land,
Far away from your friends and relations to follow the black velvet band."
Chorus
So come all you jolly young fellows, I'll have you take warning by me,
Whenever you're out on the liquor, me lads, beware of the pretty colleens,
They'll fill you with whiskey and porter until you're unable to stand,
And the very next thing that you'll know, me lads, you've landed in Van Diemen's
Land.
Chorus
46
Bloody Mary Morning
(Willie Nelson)
Chorus: It's a Bloody Mary morning,
Baby left me without warning sometime in the night,
So I'm flying down to Houston,
Forgetting her is the nature of my flight.
As we taxi toward the runway with the smog and haze reminding me of how I feel,
Just a country boy who's learning that the pitfalls of the city are extremely real,
All the night life and the parties, temptation and deceit the order of the day,
Well it's a Bloody Mary morning 'cause I'm leaving baby somewhere in LA.
Chorus
Our golden jet is airborne and flight fifty cuts a path across the morning sky,
And a voice comes through the speaker reassuring us flight fifty is the way to fly,
And a hostess takes our order, coffee tea or something stronger to start off the day,
Well, it's a Bloody Mary morning 'cause I'm leaving baby somewhere in LA.
Chorus
47
Blowing in the Wind
(Bob Dylan)
How many roads most a man walk down,
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail,
Before she sleeps in the sand?
How many times must the cannon balls fly,
Before they're forever banned?
The answer my friend is blowing in the wind,
The answer is blowing in the wind.
How many years can a mountain exist,
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, how many years can some people exist,
Before they're allowed to be free?
How many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
How many times must a man look up,
Before he can see the sky?
How many ears must one man have,
Before he can hear people cry?
How many deaths will it take till he knows,
That too many people have died?
48
Blue Diamond Mines
('Than Hall) Note: pen name of Jean Ritchie
I remember the ways in the bygone days, when we was all in our prime,
How us and John L. gave the old man hell, down in the Blue Diamond mines,
Where the whistle would blow 'fore the rooster crowed, full two hours before
daylight,
When a man done his best, and he earned his good rest and had seventeen dollars
at night.
Chorus: In the mines, in the mines, in the Blue Diamond mines,
I have worked my life away,
In the mines, in the mines, in the Blue Diamond mines,
Oh, fall on your knees and pray.
You old black gold, you've taken my lungs, your dust has darkened my home,
And now that I'm old, you're turning your back, where else can an old miner go,
Well, first it's Algomore Block and then Big Leatherwood, and now it's Blue
Diamond too,
The pits are all closed, and it's "get another job" what else can an old miner do.
Chorus
Your union is dead and you're shaking your head, they say mining's had its day,
But they're stripping off my mountain top, and they pay me three dollars a day,
Well, you might get a little poke of welfare meal, a little poke of welfare flour,
But I tell you right now, you won't qualify until you work for a quarter an hour.
Chorus
John L. had a dream but it's broken, it seems, our union is letting us down,
Last week they took away my hospital card and it's "why don't you leave this old
town",
Well, you go downtown and you hang around, well, maybe it ain't so bad,
Then you come back home and they meet you at the door, and it's "what did you
bring me, dad".
Chorus
49
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
(Fred Rose)
In the twilight glow I see her,
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain,
When we kissed good-bye and parted,
I knew we'd never meet again.
Love is like a dying ember,
When only memories remain,
Through the ages I'll remember,
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain.
All my hair has turned to silver,
All my life I've loved in vain,
I can see her star in heaven,
Someday when we meet up yonder,
We'll stroll hand in hand again,
In a land that knows no parting,
50
The Blue-Tailed Fly (aka Jimmy Crack Corn)
(Trad)
When I was young I used to wait,
On master and give him his plate,
Pass him the bottle when he got dry,
And brush away the blue-tail fly.
Chorus
Jimmy crack corn, and I don't care,
My master's gone away.
When he would ride in the afternoon,
I'd follow him with my hickory broom,
The pony being rather shy,
When bitten by the blue-tail fly.
Chorus
One day he rode around the farm,
Flies so numerous that they did swarm,
One chanced to bite him on the thigh,
The devil take the blue-tail fly.
Chorus
Well the pony jumped, he start, he pitch,
He threw my master in the ditch,
He died and the jury wondered why,
The verdict was the blue-tail fly.
Chorus
They buried him beneath the 'simmon tree,
His epitaph is there to see,
Beneath this stone I'm forced to lie,
The victim of the blue-tail fly.
51
Boardwalk
(Arthur Resnick/Kenny Young)
Oh, when the sun beats down and melts the tar up on the roof,
And your shoes get so hot, you wish your tired feet were fireproof,
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea,
On a blanket with my baby is where I'll be.
Chorus: (Under the boardwalk) Out of the sun,
(Under the boardwalk) We'll be having some fun,
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above,
(Under the boardwalk) We'll be falling in love,
Under the boardwalk, boardwalk.
From the park you hear the happy sound of a carousel,
You can almost taste the hot dogs and French fries they sell,
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah,
On a blanket with my baby is where I'll be.
Chorus
52
Bold Fenian Men (aka Down by the Glenside)
(Trad)
Twas down by the glen side, I met an old woman,
She was plucking young nettles, and she scarce saw me coming,
I listened a while to the song she was humming,
Glory O, Glory O to the bold Fenian men.
C/Dm
It's been fifty long years since I saw the moon beaming,
On strong manly forms and their eyes with hope gleaming,
I see them again, sure, in all my daydreaming,
Glory O, Glory O to the bold Fenian men/
Some died on the hillside, some died mid the strangers,
And wise men have said that their cause was a failure,
But they died for old Ireland and they never feared danger,
Glory O, Glory O to our bold Fenian men
I passed on my way, God be praised that I met her,
Be life long or short sure I'll never forget her,
We may have brave men but we'll never have better,
Glory O, Glory O to our bold Fenian men.
53
Dm C Bb Am
Dm C Bb Am
Dm Bb Dm C
Bb Am Dm
Bonnie Lass of Fyvie
(Trad)
There once was a troop of Irish dragoons,
Came marching down through Fyvie-o,
And the captain fell in love with a very bonnie lass,
And the name she was called was pretty Peggy-o.
There's many a bonnie lass in the Glen o Auchterless,
There's many a bonnie lassie in the Garioch,
There's many a bonnie Jean in the streets of Aberdeen,
But the fairest flower lives in Fyvie-o.
O come tripping down the stairs, Pretty Peggy, my dear,
Come tripping down the stairs, Pretty Peggy-o,
Come tripping down the stairs, combing back your yellow hair,
And bid a farewell to your mammy-o.
It's braw, aye it's braw, a captain's lady for to be,
And it's braw to be a captain's lady-o,
It's braw to ride around and to follow the camp,
And to ride when your captain he is ready-o.
Oh, I'll give you ribbons, love, and I'll give you rings,
I'll give you a necklace of amber-o,
And a silken petticoat with flounces to the knee,
If you'll convey me down to your chamber-o.
What would your mother think if she heard the guineas clink,
And saw the haut-boys marching all before you o,
O little would she think when she heard the guineas clink,
If I followed a soldier laddie-o.
I never did intend a soldier's lady for to be,
A soldier shall never enjoy me-o,
I never did intend to gae tae a foreign land,
And I never will marry a soldier-o.
I'll drink nae more of your claret wine,
I'll drink nae more of your glasses-o,
Tomorrow is the day when we maun ride away,
So farewell tae your Fyvie lasses-o.
Mount up the colonel cried, and ride into the braes,
The captain, he cried, tarry-o,
O tarry yet a while, just another day or twa,
Til I see if the bonnie lass will marry-o.
54
The colonel in a rage drew his pistol and aimed,
At the fairest lad in the army-o,
And he fired a deadly ball and out captain he did fall,
As we marched through the bonnie streets of Fyvie-o.
Twas in the early morning, when we marched awa,
And the captain said he was sorry-o,
The drums they did beat o'er the bonnie braes o' Gight,
And the band played the bonnie lass of Fyvie-o.
Long ere we came into the glen of Auchterless,
We had our young captain to carry-o,
And long ere we won into the streets of Aberdeen,
We had our captain to bury-o.
Green grow the birks on bonnie Ythanside,
And low lie the lowlands of Fyvie-o,
The captain's name was Ned and he died for a maid,
He died for the bonnie lass of Fyvie-o.
55
The Boxer
(Paul Simon)
I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told,
I have squandered my resistance for a pocket full of mumbles, such are promises,
All lies and jests,
Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest,
When I left my home and my family I was no more than a boy,
In the company of strangers in the quiet of the railway station running scared,
Laying low,
Seeking out the poorer quarters where the ragged people go,
Looking for the places only they would know.
Lie la lie, lie la lie lie lie lie, lie la lie, lie la lie lie lie lie, lie la lie lie.
Asking only workman's wages I come looking for a job,
But I get no offers, just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue,
I do declare, there were times when I was so lonesome,
I took some comfort there,
mmm mmm mmm, lie la lie.
Then I'm laying out my winter clothes and wishing I was gone,
Going home where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me,
Bleeding me, going home,
mmm mmm mmm, lie la lie.
Now the years are rolling by me, they are rocking evenly,
I am older than I once was and younger than I'll be, that's not unusual,
No it isn't strange,
After changes upon changes we are more or less the same,
After changes we are more or less the same.
In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade,
And he carries the reminders of every glove that layed him down,
Or cut him till he cried out In his anger and his shame,
"I am leaving, I am leaving" But the fighter still remains.
56
Bread and Roses (for San Quentin)
(Audrey Auld Mezera)
If I could bring you anything I’d bring a banquet for a king,
Cheese and wine and fruit and pies, a taste of everything,
I’d have baked you a cake, but the hacksaw didn’t fit the pan,
I’d bring more than I could hold in these two hands.
If I could bring you anything I’d bring a meadow full of flowers,
Hummingbirds and dragonflies, no fences for miles,
You’d lay on the grass, and feel the sun kiss your face,
I’d bring the open sky, erase time and place.
If I could bring you anything it would be peace of mind,
An ocean of serenity, freedom inside,
I’d bring love to the lonely afraid to ever love again,
And beer for the innocent to drown their sorrows in.
If I could bring you anything it would be Jesus Christ,
Buddha, Mohammed, whatever gets you through the life,
Good whiskey for those who don’t believe any more,
And pot for those who need to think on it some more.
But all I could bring was my guitar and these songs,
Bread and roses for the wayward, been hungry so long,
I’ll take with me the memory of the day my life was changed,
And the hope that when you leave this place you never come back again.
If I could bring you anything.
57
Broken Hearted People
(Guy Clark)
Now broken hearted people always seem to drink,
Trying to drown your sorrows ain't as easy as you think,
But living with a liar is a hard old way to go,
Laughing just to keep from crying ain't no way to grow old.
Chorus
So take me to a barroom driver,
Set me on a stool,
If I can't be her man,
I'm damned if I'll be her fool.
They say that whiskey ain't the best way, but then I ain't too smart,
To think I just found out she was lying from the start,
So if this is nothing but a bad joke looking for a laugh,
Hold on to your lampshade, darling, cause I'm looking for a hat.
Chorus
So get this taxi moving cause I got no time to lose,
There's no time to be choosy, any old bar will do,
'Cause I'm looking to get silly and I'm looking to get loose,
And if that don't get it done, darling, I'll come looking for you.
Chorus
58
Canadian Whiskey
(Tom Russell)
In the hills of Montana there's a timber wolf howling,
The rangers are prowling for a woman alone,
She'd run away from an Indian lover,
He'll never recover,
She turned him to stone.
Chorus: She drank Canadian whiskey, pure blended whiskey,
She drank it like wine,
Her eyes were the color of Canadian whiskey,
Pure blended whiskey,
So light brown and fine
Twenty years later I heard of a woman,
She's living alone up by Yellowstone Creek,
Old Trapper John brings her cases of whiskey,
Canadian whiskey,
He says she never will speak.
Chorus
59
Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound
(Tom Paxton)
It's a long and a dusty road, it's a hot and a heavy load,
And the folks that I meet ain't always kind,
So are bad, some are good some have done the best they could,
Some have tried to ease my troubled mind.
Chorus: And I can't help but wonder where I'm bound, where I'm bound,
And I can't help but wonder where I'm bound.
I have wandered thru this land just a doing the best I can,
Trying to find what I was meant to do,
And the people that I see look as worried as can be,
And it looks like they are a wondering too.
Chorus
I had a little girl one time her lips were sweet like Sherry wine,
I loved her till my head went plumb insane,
But I was too blind to see she was drifting away from me,
And my good gal went off on the morning train.
Chorus
I had a buddy back home but he started out to roam,
I hear he's out by the Frisco Bay,
And sometimes when I've had a few his old voice comes a ringing thru,
And I'm going out to see him some old day.
Chorus
If you see me passing by and you sit and you wonder why,
And if you wish that you were a rambling too,
Nail your shoes to the kitchen floor, lace them up and bar the door,
Thank your stars for the roof that's over you.
Chorus
60
Can't Pass Josie
(Trad)
Intro: Coffee grows on white oak trees.
The river flows with brandy oh.
Go choose someone to roam with you
Sweet as 'lasses candy.
There's two in the middle and I can't pass Josie.
Two in the middle and I can't get around.
There's two in the middle and I can't pass Josie.
Hello Susan Brown.
Chorus: Railroad, steamboat, river and canal,
I lost my true love on that raging canal.
Well, she's gone, gone, gone.
And she's gone, gone, gone.
She's gone for to stay on that raging canal.
Four in the middle and I can't pass Josie
Four in the middle and I can't get around.
Four in the middle and I can't pass Josie
Hello Susan Brown.
Chorus
Fiddle in the middle and I can't pass Josie
Fiddle in the middle and I can't get around.
Fiddle in the middle and I can't pass Josie
Hello Susan Brown.
Chorus
Wheel around and turn around- can't pass Josie
Wheel around and turn around, can't get around.
Wheel around and turn around, can't pass Josie
Hello Susan Brown.
Repeat Intro
61
Careless Love (Bessie Smith Blues version)
(Trad)
Love, oh love, oh careless love,
You've fly through my head like wine,
You've wrecked the life of a many poor girl,
And you nearly spoiled this life of mine.
In your clutches of desire,
You've made me break a many true vow,
Then you set my very soul on fire.
All my happiness bereft,
You've filled my heart with weary old blues,
Now I'm walking, talking to myself.
Trusted you now, it's too late,
You've made me throw my old friend down,
That's why I sing this song of hate.
Night and day, I weep and moan,
You brought the wrong man into this life of mine,
For my sins, till judgment I'll atone.
62
Catch the Wind
(Donovan Leitch)
In the chilly hours and minutes of uncertainty,
I want to be,
In the warm hold of your loving mind,
To feel you all around me and to take your hand,
Along the sand,
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind.
When sundown pales the sky I want to hide a while,
Behind your smile,
And everywhere I'd look your eyes I'd find,
For me to love you now would be the sweetest thing,
It would make me sing,
Di di di di, di di di di
Di di di di, di di di di
Di di di
When rain has hung the leaves with tears I want you near,
To kill my fears,
To help me to leave all my blues behind,
For standing in your heart is where I want to be,
And long to be,
63
Changes in Latitude
(Jimmy Buffett)
I took off for a weekend last month,
Just to try and recall the whole year,
All of the faces and all of the places,
Wondering where they all disappeared,
I didn't ponder the question too long,
I was hungry and went out for a bite,
Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum,
And we wound up drinking all night.
Chorus: These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes,
Nothing remains quite the same,
With all of our running and all of our gunning,
If we weren't crazy we would all go insane.
Reading departure signs in some big airport,
Reminds me of the places I've been,
Some of them good times that brought so much pleasure,
Makes me want to go back again,
If it suddenly ended tomorrow,
I could somehow adjust to the fall,
Good times and riches and son of a bitches,
I've seen more than I can recall.
Chorus (through all of the islands and all of the highlands)
I think about Paris when I'm high on red wine,
I wish I could jump on a plane,
And so many nights I just dream of the ocean,
God, I wish I was sailing again,
But, yesterdays are over my shoulder,
So I can't look back for too long,
There's just too much to see waiting in front of me,
And I know that I just can't go wrong.
Chorus
64
The Cherry Tree Carol
(Trad)
When Joseph was an old man, an old man was he,
He married Virgin Mary, the Queen of Galilee,
He married Virgin Mary, the Queen of Galilee.
And one day as they went walking, all in the garden green,
There were berries and cherries as thick as may be seen,
There were berries and cherries as thick as may be seen.
Then Mary said to Joseph, so meek and so mild,
"Joseph, gather me some cherries for I am with child,
Joseph, gather me some cherries for I am with child."
The Joseph flew in anger, in anger flew he,
"Let the father of the baby gather cherries for thee,
Let the father of the baby gather cherries for thee."
Then up spoke baby Jesus, from out Mary's womb,
"Bow down, bow down cherry tree that my mother might have some,
Bow down, bow down cherry tree that my mother might have some."
So bent down the tallest tree to touch Mary's hand,
Said she, "Oh look now Joseph, I have cherries at command,"
Said she, "Oh look now Joseph, I have cherries at command."
65
The City of New Orleans
(Steve Goodman)
Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Illinois Central Monday morning rail,
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.
All along the southbound odyssey,
The train pulls out at Kankakee,
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.
Passing trains that have no names,
Freight yards full of old black men,
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.
Chorus: Good morning America how are you?
Don't you know me I'm your native son,
On the train they call The City of New Orleans,
I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done.
Dealing card games with the old men in the club car,
Penny a point ain't no one keeping score,
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle,
Feel the wheels rumbling 'neath the floor.
And the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers,
Ride their father's magic carpets made of steel.
Mothers with their babes asleep,
Are rocking to the gentle beat,
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel.
Chorus
Night time on The City of New Orleans,
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee.
Halfway home, we'll be there by morning,
Through the Mississippi darkness rolling down to the sea.
And all the towns and people seem to fade into a bad dream,
And the steel rails still ain't heard the news,
The conductor sings his song again,
The passengers will please refrain,
This train has got the disappearing railroad blues.
Good night, America, how are you?,
Don't you know me I'm your native son,
On the train they call The City of New Orleans,
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
66
Cocaine Blues (aka Little Sadie, aka Bad Man Blues)
(Trad)
Early one morning while making the rounds,
I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down,
I went right home and I went to bed,
I stuck that loving .44 beneath my head.
Got up next morning and I grabbed that gun,
Took a shot of cocaine and away I run,
Made a good run but I ran too slow,
They overtook me down in Juarez, Mexico.
Late in the hot joints taking the pills,
In walked the sheriff from Jericho Hill,
He said Willy Lee your name is not Jack Brown,.
You're the dirty heck that shot your woman down.
Said yes, oh yes my name is Willy Lee,
If you've got the warrant just a-read it to me,
Shot her down because she made me slow,
I thought I was her daddy but she had five more.
When I was arrested I was dressed in black,
They put me on a train and they took me back,
Had no friend for to go my bail,
They slapped my dried up carcass in that county jail.
Early next morning about a half past nine,
I spied the sheriff coming down the line,
Ah, and he coughed as he cleared his throat,
He said come on you dirty heck into that district court.
Into the courtroom my trial began,
Where I was handled by twelve honest men,
Just before the jury started out,
I saw the little judge commence to look about.
In about five minutes in walked the man,
Holding the verdict in his right hand,
The verdict read in the first degree,
I hollered Lawdy, Lawdy, have a mercy on me.
The judge he smiled as he picked up his pen,
99 years in the Folsom pen,
99 years underneath that ground,
I can't forget the day I shot that bad bitch down.
Come on you've gotta listen unto me,
Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be.
67
Columbus Stockade Blues
(Trad)
Way down in Columbus Georgia,
I wish I was back in Tennessee,
Way down in that Columbus Stockade,
My friends all have turned their back on me.
Chorus: Go and leave me if you wish to,
Never let me cross your mind,
If in your heart you love another,
Leave me, little darling, I don't mind.
Many a night with you I've rambled,
Countless hours with you I've spent,
Thought I had your sweet love and your little heart forever,
But I find it was only lent.
Chorus
Last night as I lay sleeping,
Oh, I dreamed that I was you in my arms,
When I woke I was mistaken,
Lord, I was still behind these bars.
Chorus
Lord, I've got the walking blues.
68
Come Back Katy
(Jed Marum)
Come back Katy, Kevin, Benjamin and Brady,
And the boys from Alabama,
Know you're looking for a Mister,
Better run and tell your sister,
But don't you tell your Mamma,
You know they look so fine,
When they're marching in a line,
And they dance even finer,
Then the boys of Carolina,
Come back Katy get your best dress on,
The 'Bama boys in town.
Setting out on my veranda,
Play the Shamrock and the Thistle,
And they play on the whistle,
To the fiddle and the banjer,
Going to make some noise,
With the Alabama boys,
Going to dance till the morrow,
Like we never had a sorrow,
And the Alabama Wild Geese,
They were born in Connemara,
But they're leaving town tomorrow,
And they're going to fight the Yankees,
Going to dance and sing,
Make the whole town ring,
Make a racket and a rattle,
'fore we send 'em off to battle.
69
Banjo Tuning
Come Find Me
(Audrey Auld)
Come find me, come find me, I want to be found,
You’re welcome to glorious me,
Come shape me and paint me In shades of old wine,
Come find me and stay here with me.
Oh take me, please take me to your sacred ground,
Show me what’s never been seen,
Take me and make me lay in your fire,
Leave me there till I’m burned clean.
Take me and make me lay in your fire,
Leave me there till I am clean,
Wait for me, wait for me, it’s such a long road
I don’t know which way to go,
If you take the high road I’ll take the low,
Wait for me wherever you go.
Shape me and paint me in shades of old wine,
Come find me and stay here with me.
You’re welcome to glorious me.
70
Come Out Ye Black and Tans
(Dominic Behan)
I was born on a Dublin street where the Royal drums did beat,
And the loving English feet they walked all over us,
And each and every night when me da would come home tight,
He'd invite the neighbors outside with this chorus.
Chorus: Oh, come out you black and tans, come out and fight me like a man,
Show your wives how you won medals down in Flanders,
Tell them how the IRA made you run like hell away,
From the green and lovely lanes in Killeshandra.
Come let me hear you tell how you slammed the great Parnell,
When you thought us well and truly persecuted,
Where are the smears and jeers that you proudly let us hear,
When our heroes of sixteen were executed.
Chorus
Alan Larkin and O'Brien held you strong and called you swine,
Robert Emmett who you hung and drew and quartered,
High on a scaffold high you murdered Henry Joy,
And those Croppy Boys of Wexford you did slaughter.
Chorus
Come tell us how you slew them bold Arabs two by two,
Like the Zulus they had spears and bows and arrows,
How you bravely faced each one with your sixteen pounder gun,
Till you frightened them poor natives to the marrow.
Chorus
The day is coming fast and the time is here at last,
When each yeoman will be cast aside before us,
And if there be a need sure my kids will say, "Godspeed!",
With a verse or two of Steven Behan's chorus.
Chorus
71
Copper Kettle
(Albert Frank Beddoe)
Get you a copper kettle,
Get you a copper coil,
Cover with new made corn mash,
And never more you’ll toil.
Chorus: You just lay there by the juniper,
While the moon is bright,
Watch them jugs a-filling,
In the pale moonlight.
Build your fires of hickory,
Hickory or ash or oak,
Don’t use no green or rotten wood,
They’ll catch you by the smoke.
Chorus
My daddy he made whiskey,
My granddaddy did too,
We ain’t paid no whiskey tax,
Since Seventeen Ninety Two.
Chorus
72
Corrina, Corrina
(Trad)
Corrina, Corrina, where you been so long?
Corrina, Corrina, where you been so long?
I ain't had no loving since you've been gone.
I love Corinna, tell the world I do,
I love Corinna, tell the world I do,
Just a little more loving, let your heart be true.
Corrina, Corrina, where'd you stay last night?
Corrina, Corrina, where'd you stay last night?
You come home this morning, sun is shining bright.
I left Corrina far across the sea,
I left Corrina far across the sea,
She wouldn't write me no letter, she wouldn't talk to me.
Corrina, Corrina, bid you fare thee well,
Corrina, Corrina, I bid you fare thee well,
When I'll be back dear nobody can tell.
Corrina, Corrina is it true what they say?
Corrina, Corrina, is it true what they say?
That you're growing colder more and more every day.
Corrina, Corrina, be a pal of mine,
Corrina, Corrina, be a pal of mine,
You got me walking just to keep from crying.
Corrina, Corrina, gal, where you been so long?
Corrina, Corrina, gal, where you been so long?
I been worrying about you, baby, baby, please come home.
I got a bird that whistles I got a bird that sings,
I got a bird that whistles I got a bird that sings,
But I ain't a-got Corrina, life don't mean a thing.
Corrina, Corrina, gal, you're on my mind,
Corrina, Corrina, gal, you're on my mind,
I'm a-thinking about you, baby, I just can't keep from crying.
73
Crazy
(Willie Nelson)
Crazy, I'm crazy for feeling so lonely,
I'm crazy, crazy for feeling so blue,
I knew you'd love me as long as you wanted,
And then someday you'd leave me for somebody new.
Bridge: Worry, why do I let myself worry?
Wondering what in the world did I do?
Crazy for thinking that my love could hold you,
I'm crazy for trying and crazy for crying,
And I'm crazy for loving you.
Intro: (C) (C#dim) (Dm) (G7)
(C) Crazy, I'm (A7) crazy for feeling so (Dm) lonely (Dm7)
I'm (G7) crazy, crazy for feeling so (C) blue (C#dim ) (Dm) (G7)
(C) I knew you'd (A7) love me as long as you (Dm) wanted (Dm7)
(G7) And then someday you'd leave me for somebody (C) new (F) (C) (C7)
(F) Worry, why do I let myself (C) worry? (C7)
(D7) Wondering what in the world did I (G7) do? (Dm) (G7)
(C) Crazy for (A7) thinking that my love could (Dm) hold you (Dm7)
I'm (F) crazy for (Em) trying and (Dm) crazy for (CM7) crying
And I'm (Dm) crazy for (G7) loving (C) you
Tag: I'm (F) crazy for (Em) trying and (Dm) crazy for (CM7) crying
And I'm (Dm) crazy for (G7) loving (C) you
74
Crying Time
(Buck Owens)
Chorus: Oh, it's crying time again, your gonna leave me,
I can see that far away look in your eyes,
I can tell by the way you hold me, darling,
That it won't be long before it's crying time.
Now they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder,
And that tears are only rain to make love grow,
Well my love for you could never grow no stronger,
If I live to be a hundred years old.
Chorus
Now you say that you've found someone you love better,
That's the way it's happened every time before,
And as sure as the sun comes up tomorrow,
Crying time will start when you walk out the door.
Chorus
75
Dallas
(Jimmie Dale Gilmore)
Did you ever see Dallas from a DC 9 at night,
Well Dallas is a jewel oh Dallas is a beautiful sight,
But Dallas is a jungle but Dallas gives a beautiful light,
Did you ever see Dallas from a DC 9 at night.
Dallas is a woman who will walk on you when you're down,
But when you are up she's the kind you want to take around,
And Dallas ain't a woman who will help you get your feet on the ground,
Dallas is a woman who will walk on you when you're down.
Chorus: I came into Dallas with the bright lights on my mind,
I came into Dallas with a dollar and a dime.
Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes,
A steel and concrete soul in a warm hearted love disguise,
A rich man who tends to believe in his own lies,
Yeah Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes.
Chorus
Did you ever see Dallas from a DC 9 at night,
Well Dallas is a jewel oh Dallas is a beautiful sight,
But Dallas is a jungle but Dallas gives a beautiful light,
Did you ever see Dallas from a DC 9 at night.
76
Dance Hall Girls
(Fraser and Bolt)
These dance hall girls, they don't treat you kind,
They give you their bodies, but you never reach their minds,
Well, they fill you up with lipstick lies,
When they put you down , son, don't you be surprised,
Is this the way it always is, here in Baltimore?
Well, I saw her mountains, and I kissed her plains,
I held her sunshine, and I drank her rains,
Well, I went so far, that I broke too fast,
Thought I had me a winner picked, but I came in last again,
Bridge: I must have chosen the wrong season to come down,
I never realized they called this sacred ground.
My sense of time, hell, I'm a week behind,
Gonna send me a letter home but this all takes time,
Going to get some cash, going to go back home,
These dance hall girls really know how to make a man feel alone.
Bridge
My sense of time, hell, I'm a week behind,
Gonna send me a letter home but this all takes time,
Going to get some cash, going to blow this town,
These dance hall girls really know how to drag a poor boy down,
77
Dancing Bear
(John Phillips)
I wouldn't want to be a chimney sweep,
All black from head to foot,
From climbing in them chimneys,
And cleaning out that soot,
With a broom and ladder and pail,
The darkened walls I scale,
And far and high.I see a patch of sky.
I'd rather be the gypsy,
Who is camped at the edge of town
The one who has the dancing bear,
That follows him around.
And he lifts his big foot up,
He puts his big foot down,
And bows.and twirls,
And dances 'round and 'round.
I found I was a cabin boy,
Last night as I did dream,
Bound upon a magic ship,
For a land I'd never seen,
And the moon she filled our sails,
And the stars they steered our course,
And on our bow there was a golden horse.
The queen eats fruit and candy,
The bishop nuts and cheese,
And when I am a grown man,
I'll taste just what I please,
The honey from the bee,
The shellfish from the sea,
The earth, the wind, a girl, someone,
To share these things with me.
78
Danny Boy
(Words: Frederic Edward Weatherly/Music: Trad, The Londonderry Air)
Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling,
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side,
The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying,
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow,
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow,
Oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy, I love you so.
And if you come, and all the flowers are dying,
If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
I pray you'll find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me.
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,
And all my grave will warm and sweeter be,
And then you'll kneel and whisper that you love me,
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.
(Third political verse added by Sinead O'Connor)
But if I live and should you die for Ireland,
Let not your dying thoughts be just of me,
But say a prayer to God for our dear sad land,
I know He'll hear and help to make her free.
And I will take your pike and place my dearest,
And strike a blow, though weak the blow may be,
For the cause to which your heart was nearest,
Oh Danny Boy, Oh, Danny boy I love you so.
79
Darcy Farrow
(Steve Gillette and Tom Campbell)
Where the Walker runs down to the Carson Valley plain,
There lived a fair maid, Darcy Farrow was her name,
The daughter of old Dundee and a fair one was she,
And the sweetest flower that bloomed o'er the range.
Her voice was sweet as the sugar candy,
Her touch was as soft as a bed of goose down,
Her eyes shone bright like the pretty lights,
That shine in the night out of Yerington town.
She was courted by young Vandermeer,
And fine lad was he as I am to hear,
He brought her silver rings and lacy things,
And they promised to wed before the snow came that year.
But her pony did stumble and she did fall,
Her dying touched on the heart of us all,
Young Vandy in his pain put a bullet to his brain,
And we buried them together as the snows began to fall.
They sing of Darcy Farrow where the Truckee runs through,
They sing of her beauty in Virginia City, too,
At dusty Sundown to her name they drink a round,
And to young Vandy whose love was true.
80
Dark as a Dungeon
(Merle Travis)
Come and listen you fellows, so young and so fine,
And seek not your fortune in the dark, dreary mines.
It will form as a habit and seep in your soul,
Till the stream of your blood runs as black as the coal.
Chorus: It's dark as a dungeon and damp as the dew,
Where danger is double and pleasures are few,
Where the rain never falls and the sun never shines,
It's dark as a dungeon way down in the mine.
It's a-many a man I have known in my day,
Who lived just to labor his whole life away.
Like a fiend with his dope and a drunkard his wine,
A man will have lust for the lure of the mines.
Chorus
The midnight, the morning, or the middle of day,
Is the same to the miner who labors away.
Where the demons of death often come by surprise,
One fall of the slate and you're buried alive.
Chorus
I hope when I die and the ages shall roll,
My body will blacken and turn into coal.
Then I'll look from the door of my heavenly home,
And pity the miner a-digging my bones.
Chorus
81
Deportee (aka Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)
(Words: Woody Guthrie/Music: Martin Hoffman)
The crops are all in and the peaches are rotting,
The oranges piled in their creosote dumps,
They're flying them back to the Mexican border,
To pay all their money to wade back again.
Chorus: Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye, Rosalita,
Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria,
You won't have your names when you ride the big airplane,
All they will call you will be deportees.
My father's own father, he waded that river,
They took all the money he made in his life,
My brothers and sisters come working the fruit trees,
And they rode the truck till they took down and died.
Some of us are illegal, and some are not wanted,
Somos ilegales y mal
recibidos,
Our work contract's out and we have to move on,
Se a caba el contrato y de alli
a caminar,
Six hundred miles to that Mexican border,
They chase us like outlaws, like rustlers, like thieves.
We died in your hills, we died in your deserts,
We died in your valleys and died on your plains,
We died 'neath your trees and we died in your bushes,
Both sides of the river, we died just the same.
The sky plane caught fire over Los Gatos Canyon,
A fireball of lightning, and shook all our hills,
Who are all these friends, all scattered like dry leaves?
The radio says, "They were just deportees".
Is this the best way we can grow our big orchards?
Is this the best way we can grow our good fruit?
To fall like dry leaves to rot on my topsoil.
And be called by no name except deportee?
82
Desperado
(Don Henley and Glenn Fry)
Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You been out riding fences for so long now,
Oh, you're a hard one but I know that you got your reasons,
These things that are pleasing you can hurt you somehow.
Don't you draw the queen of diamonds boy,
She'll beat you if she's able,
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet,
Now it seems to me, some fine things,
Have been laid upon your table,
But you only want the ones that you can't get.
Desperado, oh you ain't getting no younger,
Your pain and your hunger, they're driving you home,
And freedom, oh freedom, well that's just some people talking,
Your prison is walking through this world all alone.
Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine,
It's hard to tell the night time from the day,
You're losing all your highs and lows.
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?
Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate,
It may be raining but there's a rainbow above you,
You better let somebody love you(Let somebody love you),
You better let somebody love you before it's too late.
83
Desperados Waiting for a Train
(Guy Clark)
I played the Red River Valley, he'd sit in the kitchen and cry,
Run his fingers through seventy years of living,
And wonder, "Lord, has every well I drilled gone dry?"
We were friends, me and this old man,
We're like desperados waiting for a train, desperados waiting for a train.
He's a drifter, a driller of oil wells, an old school man of the world,
He taught me how to drive his car when he was too drunk to,
And he'd wink and give me money for the girls,
And our lives was like, some old Western movie,
Like desperados waiting for a train, like desperados waiting for a train.
As soon as I could walk he'd take me with him, to a bar called the Green Frog
Cafe,
There was old men with beer guts and dominos,
Lying about their lives while they played,
I was just a kid, they all called me sidekick,
Like desperados waiting for a train, like desperados waiting for a train
One day I looked up and he's pushing eighty, got brown tobacco stains all down his
chin,
To me he's one of the heroes of this country,
So why's he all dressed up like them old men,
Drinking beer and playing Moon and Forty-two,
Like desperados waiting for a train, like a desperado waiting for a train.
The day before he died I went to see him, I was grown and he was almost gone.
We closed our eyes and dreamed us up a kitchen,
And sang one more verse to that old song,
(spoken) Look out, Jack, that son-of-a-bitch is coming,
Desperados waiting for a train, desperados waiting for a train
Or (spoken) Oh don't worry none Jack, it's just Jesus a 'coming
84
Dink's Song
(Trad) Note: collected by John Lomax
If I had wings like Noah's dove,
I'd fly up the river to the one I love,
Fare thee well, oh honey, fare thee well.
I've got a man, he's long and tall,
Moves his body like a cannon ball,
One of these days and it won't be long,
Call my name and I'll be gone,
I remember one night, a drizzling rain,
Round my heart I felt a pain,
When I wore my apron low,
Couldn't keep you from my door,
Now I wear my apron high,
Scarcely ever see you passing by,
Now my apron's up to my chin,
You pass my door and you won't come in,
If I had listened to what my mama said,
I'd be at home in my mama's bed,
85
Dirty Old Egg-Suckin' Dog
(Cowboy Jack Clement)
Well he's not very handsome to look at,
Oh, he's shaggy and he eats like a hog,
And he's always killing my chickens,
That dirty old egg-sucking dog.
Egg-sucking dog,
I'm gonna stomp your head in the ground,
If you don't stay out of my hen house,
You dirty old egg-sucking hound.
Now if he don't stop eating my eggs up,
Though I'm not a real bad guy,
I'm gonna get my rifle and send him,
To that great chicken house in the sky.
Egg-sucking dog,
You're always hanging around,
But you'd better stay out of my hen house,
You dirty old egg-sucking hound.
86
Dirty Old Town
(Ewan McColl)
I met my love by the gas works wall,
Dreamed a dream by the old canal,
I kissed my girl by the factory wall,
Dirty old town,
Dirty old town.
Drop D
Clouds are drifting across the moon,
Cats are prowling on their beat,
Springs a girl from the streets at night,
Dirty old town,
Dirty old town.
I heard a siren from the docks,
Saw a train set the night on fire,
I smelled the spring on the smoky wind,
Dirty old town,
Dirty old town.
I'm going to make me a big sharp axe,
Shining steel tempered in the fire,
I'll chop you down like an old dead tree,
Dirty old town,
Dirty old town.
87
Disobedience
(A. A. Milne)
James James,
Morrison Morrison,
Weatherby George Dupree,
Took great,
Care of his Mother,
Though he was only three.
James James,
Said to his Mother,
"Mother," he said, said he;
"You must never go down to the end of the town, if you don't go down with me."
James James,
Morrison's Mother,
Put on a golden gown,
James James,
Morrison's Mother,
Drove to the end of the town.
James James,
Morrison's Mother,
Said to herself, said she:
"I can get right down to the end of the town and be back in time for tea."
King John,
Put up a notice,
"LOST or STOLEN or STRAYED!
JAMES JAMES,
MORRISON'S MOTHER,
SEEMS TO HABE BEEN MISLAID.
LAST SEEN,
WANDERING VAGUELY,
QUITE OF HER OWN ACCORD,
SHE TRIED TO GET DOWN TO THE END OF THE TOWN - FORTY
SHILLINGS REWARD!
James James,
Morrison Morrison,
(Commonly known as Jim),
Told his,
Other relations,
Not to go blaming him.
James James,
Said to his Mother,
88
"Mother," he said, said he,
"You must never go down to the end of the town without consulting me."
James James,
Morrison's Mother,
Hasn't been heard of since.
King John,
Said he was sorry,
So did the Queen and Prince.
King John,
(Somebody told me),
Said to a man he knew:
"If people go down to the end of the town, well, what can anyone do?"
J. J.
M. M.
W. G. du P.
Took great
C/o his M*****
Though he was only 3.
J. J.
Said to his M*****
"M*****," he said, said he:
"You must never go down to the end of the town if you-don't-go-down-with ME!"
89
Doesn't Anybody Know My Name (aka 2:10, 6:18, 10:44)
(Rod McKuen)
I've been away so long,
Fought a war that's come and gone,
Doesn't anybody know my name,
My sister's up and went,
My momma's took to bed,
Now my old dog Rex has gone lame.
Chorus: Please tell me if you can,
What time do the trains roll in,
Two ten, six eighteen, ten forty-four.
The hedge's turning brown,
The house is falling down,
The girl I left behind,
Has gone to Caroline,
I don't have to read a sign to know things ain't the same.
Chorus
You can't go far away,
On just a soldier's pay,
Used to be when I could see,
Everybody wanted me,
Now no one comes to see a blind man take a train.
Chorus
90
Do Re Mi
(Woody Guthrie)
Lots of folks back East, they say, is leaving home every day,
Beating the hot old dusty way to the California line,
'Cross the desert sands they roll, getting out of that old dust bowl,
They think they're going to a sugar bowl, but here is what they find,
Now, the police at the port of entry say,
"You're number fourteen thousand for today."
Chorus: Oh, if you ain't got the do re mi, folks, you ain't got the do re mi,
Why, you better go back to beautiful Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia,
Tennessee,
California is a garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or see,
But believe it or not, you won't find it so hot,
If you ain't got the do re mi.
You want to buy you a home or a farm, that can't deal nobody harm,
Or take your vacation by the mountains or sea,
Don't swap your old cow for a car, you better stay right where you are,
Better take this little tip from me,
'Cause I look through the want ads every day,
But the headlines on the papers always say,
Chorus
91
Do Re Mi New Verses
(Steve Suffett)
Just like back in Woody's day, folks are leaving home most every day,
Beating the hot old dusty way to the California line,
'Cross the desert sands they roll, across the plains of Mexico,
They think they're going to a sugar bowl, but here is what they find,
Now, La Migra at the border always say,
"You're number fourteen thousand for today."
Chorus: Oh, si no teine el do re mi, boys, si no teine el the do re mi,
Why, you better go back to beautiful Chiapas, or someway where down in
Paraguay.
California is a garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or see,
But believe it or not, you won't find it so hot,
Si no teine el do re mi.
If you own a house and land, come take your kids to Disneyland,
Welcome to California come see a Dodgers game,
But if you find you're down on luck, and you're just here to make a buck,
Better take this little tip from me,
'Cause I look through the want ads every day,
But the headlines on the papers always say:
Chorus
92
Dona, Dona, Dona
(Arthur S. Kevess/Teddi Schwartz/Sholom "Samuel" Secunda)
On a wagon, bound for market,
There's a calf with a mournful eye,
High above him, there's a swallow,
Winging swiftly through the sky.
Chorus: How the winds are laughing,
They laugh with all their might,
Laugh and love the whole day through,
And half the summer's night,
Dona, Dona, Dona, Dona,
Dona, Dona, Dona, Don,
Dona, Dona, Dona, Dona,
Dona, Dona, Dona, Don.
Stop complaining said the farmer,
Who told you a calf to be?
Why don't you have wings to fly with,
Like the swallow, so proud and free?
Chorus
Calves are easily bound and slaughtered,
Never knowing the reason why,
But whoever treasures freedom,
Like the swallow has learned to fly.
Chorus
93
Don't Forget to Give My Love to Rose
(Johnny Cash)
I found him by the railroad track this morning,
I could see that he was nearly dead,
I knelt down beside him and I listened,
Just to hear the words the dying fellow said.
He said they let me out of prison out in Frisco,
For ten long years I've paid for what I've done,
I was trying to get back to Louisiana,
To see my Rose and get to know my son.
Chorus: Give my love to Rose please won't you mister,
Take her all my money, tell her to buy some pretty clothes,
Tell my boy that daddy's so proud of him,
And don't forget to give my love to Rose.
Won't you tell him I said thanks for waiting for me,
Tell my boy to help his mom at home,
Tell my Rose to try to find another,
'Cause it ain't right that she should live alone.
Mister here's a bag with all my money,
It won't last them long the way it goes,
God bless you for finding me this morning,
Now don't forget to give my love to Rose.
Chorus
94
Don't Think Twice It's All Right
(Bob Dylan)
It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe,
It don't matter, anyhow,
And it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe,
If you don't know by now,
When your rooster crows at the breaks of dawn,
Look out your window and I'll be gone,
You're the reason I'm traveling on,
Don't think twice, it's all right.
It ain't no use in turning on your light, babe,
That light I never knowed,
And it ain't no use in turning on your light, babe,
I'm on the dark side of the road,
But I wish there was something you would do or say,
To try and make me change my mind and stay,
We never did too much talking anyway,
So don't think twice, it's all right.
So long honey, babe,
Where I'm bound, I can't tell,
Goodbye's too good a word, babe,
So I'll just say fare thee well,
I ain't saying you treated me unkind,
You could have done better but I don't mind,
You just kind of wasted my precious time,
But don't think twice, it's all right.
It ain't no use in calling out my name, gal,
Like you never done before,
It ain't no use in calling out my name, gal,
I can't hear you any more,
I'm a-thinking and a-wondering walking down the road,
I once loved a woman, a child I'm told,
I give her my heart but she wanted my soul,
Don't think twice, it's all right.
95
Down by the Salley Gardens
(Music: Trad/Words: William Butler Yeats) Note: Yeats said his poem was "an
attempt to reconstruct an old song from three lines imperfectly remembered by an old peasant
woman in the village of Ballisodare, Sligo, who often sings them to herself." The imperfectly
remembered song is probably The Rambling Boys of Pleasure which has a verse that is very
similar to Yeats' words.
Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet,
She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet,
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree,
But I, being young and foolish, with her would not agree.
In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand,
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs,
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.
96
Dream a Little Dream of Me
(Words: Gus Kahn/Music: Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt)
Stars shining bright above you,
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you",
Birds singing in the sycamore trees,
Dream a little dream of me.
Say nighty-night and kiss me,
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me,
While I'm alone and blue as can be,
Bridge:
Stars fading but I linger on dear,
Still craving your kiss,
I'm longing to linger till dawn dear,
Just saying this.
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you,
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you,
But in your dreams whatever they be,
97
The Dutchman
(Michael Smith)
The Dutchman's not the kind of man,
bass line is C A B A
To keep his thumb jammed in the dam,
That holds his dreams in,
But that's a secret only Margaret knows,
When Amsterdam is golden in the morning,
Margaret brings him breakfast,
She believes him,
He thinks the tulips bloom beneath the snow,
He's mad as he can be but Margaret only sees that sometimes,
Sometimes she sees her unborn children in his eyes.
Chorus: Let us go to the banks of the ocean,
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee,
Long ago I used to be a young man,
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.
F G Em
F G Am
F G Em
F F C (back into the bass line)
The Dutchman still wears wooden shoes,
His cap and coat are patched with love,
That Margaret sewed in,
Sometimes he thinks he's still in Rotterdam,
He watches tugboats down canals and calls out to them,
When he thinks he knows the captain,
'Til Margaret comes to take him home again,
Through unforgiving streets that trip him though she holds his arm,
Sometimes he thinks that he's alone and calls her name.
Chorus
The windmills whirl the winter in,
She winds his muffler tighter they sit,
In the kitchen,
Some tea with whiskey keeps away the dew,
He sees her for a moment calls her name,
She makes the bed up humming some old love song,
She learned it when the tune was very new,
He hums a line or two,
They hum together in the night,
The Dutchman falls asleep and Margaret blows the candle out.
Chorus
98
Early Morning Rain
(Gordon Lightfoot)
In the early morning rain with a dollar in my hand,
With an aching 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 ground, where the cold wind blows,
Well the liquor tasted good and the women all were fast,
Well there she goes my friend now she's rolling out at last.
Hear the mighty engines roar see the silver wing on high,
She's away and westward bound, far above the clouds she'll fly,
Where the morning rain don't fall and the sun always shines,
She'll be flying 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 can be,
You can't hop a jet airplane like you can an old freight train,
So I'd best be on my way in the early morning rain.
99
Ella Arkansas
(Adrienne Young)
Pretty Ella Arkansas birthed nine daughters and a son,
She was a sure shot with a pistol and her bare feet loved to run,
There was raven hair and brown skin, green eyes and a crooked smile,
There were freckles on her shoulders from sun-kissed country miles.
Well her Papa died in prison the day before she turned sixteen,
Set Ella free from a life of sin when he got that old TB,
Ella never knew her Mama except for that picture on the wall,
But she blessed her in her prayers each night knowing someday she would call.
Chorus: Pretty Ella Arkansas, dangdest thing I ever saw,
Racing with a northbound freight,
Choose your car and jump inside, keep the faith and hold on tight,
Everything's going to be alright,
For pretty Ella Arkansas just keep following the light.
Was in the heat of that same summer that she met her children’s Pa,
At a downtown dance in Hot Springs, sweat and rhythm filled the hall,
When Millard Jacobs saw our girl he had to blink and rub his eyes,
Thought the whiskey must be playing tricks, there was an angel in disguise.
Chorus
Break: It happened so fast, winter blew past,
The bride she was dressed in all white.
Pretty Ella Arkansas birthed nine daughters and a son,
Became the mother she’d always wished she’d had, lived ripe and full to ninetyone,
Oh, Millard Jacobs loved that girl and when they laid her in the ground,
Everybody knew he’d be following soon as the rain came pouring down.
Chorus
100
Faded Love
(John Wills/Bob Wills)
As I read the letters that you wrote to me,
It's you that I am thinking of,
As I read the lines that to me were so sweet,
I remember our faded love.
Chorus: I miss you darling more and more every day,
As heaven would miss the stars above,
With every heartbeat, I still think of you,
And remember our faded love.
As I think of the past, all the pleasures that we had,
As I watch the mating of the doves,
It was in the springtime that you said goodbye,
I remember our faded love.
Chorus
101
Farewell to Tarwathie
(George Scroggie)
Farewell to Tarwathie, adieu Mormond Hill,
And the dear land of Crimmond, I bid you farewell,
I'm bound off for Greenland and ready to sail,
In hopes to find riches in hunting the whale.
Farewell to my comrades, for a while we must part,
And likewise the dear lass who first won my heart,
The cold coast of Greenland my love will not chill,
And the longer my absence more loving she'll feel.
Our ship is well rigged and she's ready to sail,
The crew they are anxious to follow the whale,
Where the icebergs do float and the stormy winds blow,
Where the land and the ocean is covered with snow.
The cold coast of Greenland is barren and bare,
No seed time nor harvest is ever known there,
And the birds here sing sweetly in mountain and dale,
But there's no bird in Greenland to sing to the whale.
There is no habitation for a man to live there,
And the king of that country is the fierce Greenland bear,
And there'll be no temptation to tarry long there,
With our ship bumper full we will homeward repair.
Farewell to Tarwathie, adieu Mormond Hill,
And the dear land of Crimmond, I bid you farewell,
I'm bound off for Greenland and ready to sail,
In hopes to find riches in hunting the whale.
102
Fast Freight
(Terry Gilkyson)
As I listen for the whistle, lie awake and wait, wish the railroad didn't run so near,
'Cause the rattle and clatter of that old fast freight keeps a-making music in my ear,
Go bum again. Go bum again. Oh, oh.
Chorus: Hear the whistle blow,
Hear the whistle blow,
Clickety clack, clickety clack,
The wheels are saying to the railroad track,
Well, if you go, you can't come back,
If you go, you can't come back,
If you go, oh,
You can't come back.
Well, I wouldn't give a nickel for the bum I used to be, work as hard as any man in
town.
I got a pretty gal. She thinks the world of me. Man would be a fool to let her down.
Chorus
So every night I listen, wonder if it's late. In my dreams I'm riding on that train.
I feel my pulse a-beating with that old fast freight and thank the Lord I'm just a
bum again.
Chorus
103
Fever
(Eddie Cooley/John Davenport) Note: John Davenport is a pen name for Otis Blackwell
Never know how much I love you, never know how much I care,
When you put your arms around me, I get a fever that's so hard to bear,
You give me fever when you kiss me,
Fever when you hold me tight,
Fever, in the morning,
Fever all through the night.
Sun lights up the day time, moon lights up the night,
I light up when you call my name and you know I'm going to treat you right,
You give me fever when you kiss me,
fever when you hold me tight,
Fever, in the morning,
Fever all through the night.
Everybody's got the fever, that is something you all know,
Fever isn't such a new thing fever started long ago,
Romeo loved Juliet, Juliet she felt the same,
When he put his arms around her He said Julie baby your my flame,
You give me fever when we're kissing,
Fever with thy flaming youth,
Fever, I'm a fire,
Fever, yeah I burn, forsooth.
Captain Smith and Pocahontas had a very mad affair,
When her daddy tried to kill him, She said daddy oh don't you dare,
He gives me fever with his kisses,
Fever when he holds me tight,
Fever, I'm his misses,
Daddy won't you treat him right.
Now you listened to my story, here's the point that I have made,
Chicks were born to give you fever be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade,
They give you fever when you kiss them,
Fever as you live and learn,
But what a lovely way to burn.
104
The Fighting Tigers of Ireland
(Jed Marum)
Let me tell you a tale of those brave Irish boys,
Of the Sixth Louisian',
From New Orleans to Richmond and back again,
They fought and died for all Dixieland.
Led by young Henry Strong who at Sharpsburg fell,
He was proud and Irish born,
And then bold Colonel Billy Monaghan,
Gave his life at Shephardstown.
Chorus: They Irish born,
They were heroes all,
And they fought for Louisian',
From New Orleans to Richmond and back again,
The fighting Tigers of Ireland.
Now when old Billy Monaghan sounded the call,
Back in eighteen sixty one,
Every Irish lad joined him one and all,
To keep those Yankees back in Washington.
Chorus
Port Republic and Bristow and Fredericksburg,
Many valiant and good men gone,
They fought with honor and courage at Gettysburg,
And reached the gates of Washington.
Chorus
They followed Jackson and Early and Master Lee,
And the fiercest in all the land,
On this old Massa Robert and Grant agreed,
Were the men of the sixth Louisian'.
Chorus
105
Finnegan's Wake
(Trad)
Tim Finnegan lived in Walkin Street, a gentle Irishman mighty odd,
He had a brogue both rich and sweet, and to rise in the world he carried a hod,
You see he'd a sort of a tipplers way, with but the love for the liquor poor Tim was born,
To help him on his way each day, he'd a drop of the craythur every morn.
Chorus: Whack fol the dah now, dance to your partner,
Around the floor your trotters shake,
Wasn't it the truth I told you?
Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake.
One morning Tim got rather full, his head felt heavy which made him shake,
Fell from a ladder and he broke his skull, and they carried him home his corpse to wake,
They rolled him up in a nice clean sheet, and laid him out upon the bed,
A bottle of whiskey at his feet and a barrel of porter at his head.
Chorus
His friends assembled at the wake, and Mrs. Finnegan called for lunch,
First she brought in tay and cake, then pipes, tobacco and whiskey punch,
Biddy O'Brien began to cry, "Such a nice clean corpse, did you ever see,
Tim avourneen, why did you die?", "Will ye hold your gob?" said Paddy McGee.
Chorus
Then Maggie O'Connor took up the job, "Biddy" says she "you're wrong, I'm sure",
Biddy gave her a belt in the gob and left her sprawling on the floor,
Then the war did soon engage, twas woman to woman and man to man,
Shillelagh law was all the rage and a row and a ruction soon began.
Chorus
Mickey Maloney ducked his head when a bucket of whiskey flew at him,
It missed, and falling on the bed, the liquor scattered over Tim,
Bedad he revives, see how he rises, Timothy rising from the bed,
Saying "Whirl your whiskey around like blazes, thundering Jaysus, do ye think I'm
dead?"
Chorus(x2)
106
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
(Ewan McColl)
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 dark and the endless skies, my love,
To the dark and the endless skies,
Key of C
And the first time ever I kissed your mouth,
I felt the earth move in my hands,
Like the trembling heart of a captive bird,
That was there at my command, my love,
That was there at my command, my love.
And the first time ever I lay with you,
And felt your heart beat close to mine,
And I knew our joy would fill the earth,
And last till the end of time, my love,
And last till the end of time.
Bb C
Bb G
The first time ever I saw your face.
107
Fixin' to Die
(Bukka White)
I'm looking funny in my eyes,
And I believe I'm fixing to die,
Believe I'm fixing to die,
I'm looking funny in my eyes,
Now, I believe I'm fixing to die, yeah,
I know I was born to die, but I hate to leave my children around crying.
Just as sho' we live,
It's a, sho' we's born to die,
Sho' we's born to die,
Just as sho's we live,
Sho' we's born to die,
I know I was born to die, but I hate to leave my children around crying.
Your mother treated me, children,
Like I was her baby child,
Was her baby child,
Your mother treated me,
Like I was her baby child,
That's why's I tried so hard, and come back home to die.
So many nights at the fireside,
How my children's mother would cry,
So many nights at the fireside,
'Cause I told the mother, I had to say goodbye.
Look over yonder,
On the burying ground,
On the burying ground,
Look over yonder, on the burying ground,
Yon' stand ten thousand, standing still to let me down.
Mother, take my children back,
Before they let me down,
Before they let me down,
Mother, take my children back,
'Fore they let me down,
Ain't no need a-them screaming and crying, on the graveyard ground.
108
The Foggy Dew
(Words: Canon Charles O’Neill/Music: Traditional "The Morlough Maid")
As down the glen one Easter morn to a city fair rode I,
There armed lines of marching men in squadrons passed me by,
No pipe did hum, no battle drum did sound its dread tattoo,
But the Angelus Bell o'er the Liffey's swell rang out in the foggy dew.
Right proudly high over Dublin Town they hung out the flag of war,
'Twas better to die 'neath an Irish sky than at Suvla or Sud-El-Bar,
And from the plains of Royal Meath strong men came hurrying through,
While Britannia's Huns, with their long range guns sailed in through the foggy
dew.
Oh the night fell black, and the rifles' crack made perfidious Albion reel,
In the leaden rain, seven tongues of flame did shine o'er the lines of steel,
By each shining blade a prayer was said, that to Ireland her sons be true,
But when morning broke, still the war flag shook out its folds in the foggy dew.
'Twas England bade our wild geese go, that small nations might be free,
Their lonely graves are by Suvla's waves or the fringe of the great North Sea,
Oh, had they died by Pearse's side or fought with Cathal Brugha,
Their graves we'd keep where the Fenians sleep, 'neath the shroud of the foggy
dew.
Oh the bravest fell, and the Requiem bell rang mournfully and clear,
For those who died that Eastertide in the spring time of the year,
While the world did gaze, with deep amaze, at those fearless men, but few,
Who bore the fight that freedom's light might shine through the foggy dew.
As back through the glen I rode again and my heart with grief was sore,
For I parted then with valiant men whom I never shall see more,
But to and fro in my dreams I go and I kneel and pray for you,
For slavery fled, O glorious dead, when you fell in the foggy dew.
109
The Foggy, Foggy Dew
(Trad)
When I was a bachelor I lived all alone,
I worked at the weaver's trade,
And the only, only thing that I did that was wrong,
Was to woo a fair young maid,
I wooed her in the winter time,
Part of the summer too,
And the only, only thing that I did that was wrong,
Was to keep her from the foggy, foggy dew.
One night she came to my bedside,
When I lay fast asleep,
She threw her arms around my neck,
And then began to weep,
She wept, she cried, she tore her hair,
Ah, me, what could I do?
So all night long, I held her in my arms,
Just to keep her from the foggy, foggy dew.
Again I am a bachelor, I live with my son,
We work at the weaver's trade,
And every, every time that I look into his eyes,
He reminds me of that fair young maid,
He reminds me of the wintertime,
Part of the summer too,
And of the many, many times that I held her in my arms,
Just to keep her from the foggy, foggy dew.
110
Follow the Drinking Gourd
(Trad)
When the Sun comes back,
And the first quail call,
Follow the Drinking Gourd,
The old man is a-waiting for to carry you to freedom,
Follow the Drinking Gourd.
Chorus: Follow the Drinking Gourd,
Follow the drinking gourd,
The old man is a-waiting for to carry you to freedom,
The riverbank will make a mighty good road,
The dead trees will show you the way,
Left foot, peg foot, traveling on,
Chorus
The river ends between two hills,
There's another river on the other side,
Chorus
When the little river meet the great big one,
The old man is waiting for to carry you to freedom,
Follow the drinking gourd.
Chorus
111
Follow The Heron Home
(Karine Polwart)
The back of the winter is broken,
The light lingers long by the door,
And the seeds of the summer have spoken,
In gowans that bloom on the shore.
Chorus: By night and day we'll sport and we'll play,
And delight as the dawn dances over the bay,
Sleep blows the breath of the morning away,
And we follow the heron home.
In darkness we cradled our sorrow,
And stoked all our fires with fear,
Now these bones that lie empty and hollow,
Are ready for gladness to cheer.
Chorus
Long may you sing of the salmon,
And the snow-scented sounds of your home,
While the north wind delivers its sermon,
Of ice and salt water and stone.
Chorus
112
Folsom Prison Blues
(Johnny Cash)
In E: B B B B Eb B Gb-G E
I hear the train a coming, it's rolling round the bend,
And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when,
I'm stuck in Folsom prison, and time keeps dragging on,
But that train keeps a 'rolling on down to San Antone.
When I was just a baby my mama told me, son,
Always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns,
But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die,
When I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry.
I bet there's rich folks eating in a fancy dining car,
They're probably drinking coffee and smoking big cigars,
Well I know I had it coming, I know I can't be free,
But those people keep a moving, and that's what tortures me.
Well if they freed me from this prison, if that railroad train was mine,
I bet I'd move it on a little farther down the line,
Far from Folsom prison, that's where I want to stay,
And I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away.
113
For Loving Me
(Gordon Lightfoot)
That's what you get for loving me,
Everything you had is gone, as you can see,
That's what you get for loving me.
I ain't the kind to hang around,
With any new love that I've found,
Moving is my stock in trade, I'm moving on,
I won't think of you when I'm gone.
So don't you shed a tear for me,
I ain't the love you thought I'd be,
I've got a hundred more like you, so don't feel blue,
I'll have a thousand 'fore I'm through.
Now there you go you're crying again,
Now there you go you're crying again,
But then someday when your poor heart is on the mend,
I just might pass this way again.
Everything you had is gone, as you can see,
That's what you get for loving me.
114
For What It's Worth
(David Frey, Ben McDonald, Stephen Stills, Scott Davis)
There's something happening here,
But what it is ain't exactly clear,
There's a man with a gun over there,
Telling me I got to beware.
ED
I think it's time we stop,
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look, what's going down?
DE
ED
AC
There's battle lines being drawn,
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong,
Young people speaking' their minds,
Getting so much resistance from behind.
It's time we stop,
Hey, what's that sound?
What a field day for the heat,
A thousand people in the street,
Singing songs and carrying signs,
Mostly saying, "Hooray for our side".
It's time we stop,
Paranoia strikes deep,
Into your life it will creep,
It starts when you're always afraid,
To step out of line, the men come and take you away.
We better stop,
115
Forty Shades of Green
(Johnny Cash)
I close my eyes and picture,
The emerald of the sea,
From the fishing boats at Dingle,
To the shores of Donaghadee,
I miss the river Shannon,
And the folks at Skibbereen,
The moorlands and the meadows,
With their forty shades of green.
Key of A
Chorus: But most of all I miss a girl,
In Tipperary town,
And most of all I miss her lips,
As soft as eiderdown,
Again I want to see and do,
The things we've done and seen,
Where the breeze is sweet as Shalimar,
And there's forty shades of green.
Again I want to spend an hour,
At Dublin's churning surf,
I'd love to watch the farmers,
Drain the bogs and spade the turf,
To see again the thatching,
Of the straw the women glean,
I'd walk from Cork to Larne to see,
The forty shades of green.
Chorus
116
Four Strong Winds
(Ian Tyson)
Chorus: Four strong winds that blow lonely, seven seas that run high,
All these things that won't change, come what may,
Our good times are all gone, and I'm bound for moving on,
I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way.
Think I'll go out to Alberta, weather's good there in the fall,
Got some friends that I can go to working for,
Still I wish you'd change your mind, if I asked you one more time,
But we've been through that a hundred times or more.
Chorus
If I get there before the snow flies, and if things are looking good,
You could meet me if I sent you down the fare,
But by then it would be winter, not much for you to do,
And the winds can sure blow cold way out there.
Chorus
117
Freight Train
(Elizabeth Cotton)
Chorus: Freight train, freight train, run so fast,
Freight train, freight train, run so fast,
Please don't tell what train I'm on,
They won't know what route I've gone.
When I am dead and in my grave,
No more good times here I crave,
Place the stones at my head and feet,
Tell them all that I've gone to sleep.
Chorus
When I die, Lord, bury me deep,
Way down on old Chestnut street,
Then I can hear old Number 9,
As she comes rolling by.
Chorus
Peter, Paul & Mary version:
Chorus: Freight train freight train going so fast
Freight train freight train going so fast
Please don't tell what train I'm on
So they won't know where I've gone
Freight train, freight train, coming round the bend
Freight train, freight train, gone again
One of these days turn that train around
Go back to my hometown
Chorus
One more place I'd like to be
One more place I'd love to see
To watch those old blue ridge mountains climb
As I ride ol' number nine
Chorus
When I die please bury me deep
Down at the end of Bleecker street
So I can hear ol' number nine
As she goes rolling by
Chorus
118
Funny How Time Slips Away
(Willie Nelson)
Well hello there, my but it's been a long, long time,
How am I doing, oh I guess I'm doing fine,
It's been so long now, but it seems now it was only yesterday,
Gee, ain't it funny how time slips away.
How's your new love, I hope that he's doing fine,
Heard you told him, that you'd love him until the end of time,
Now that's the same thing that you told me, seems like just the other day,
Gee, ain't it funny how time slips away.
I gotta go now, I guess I'll see you around,
Don't know when though, never know when I'll be back in town,
But remember what I tell you, that in time you're going to pay,
And it's surprising how time slips away.
119
The Gambler
(Don Schlitz)
On a warm summer's evening on a train bound for nowhere,
I met up with the gambler, we were both too tired to sleep,
So we took turns a staring out the window at the darkness,
Till boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.
He said, "Son, I've made my life out of reading people's faces,
And knowing what their cards were by the way they held their eyes,
So if you don't mind my saying, I can see you're out of aces,
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice."
So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow,
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light,
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression,
Said, "If you're going to play the game, boy, you gotta learn to play it right.
Chorus: You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run,
You never count your money when you're sitting at the table,
There'll be time enough for counting when the dealings done.
"Every gambler knows that the secret to surviving,
Is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep,
'Cause every hand's a winner and every hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."
So when he'd finished speaking, he turned back towards the window,
Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep,
And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he broke even,
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.
Chorus
120
Georgia on My Mind
(Hoagy Carmichael/Stuart Gorrell)
E7 A E7 G
C E7
A G Fm Ebdim
CM7 Fdim
Dm7 G7 C
E7
Georgia, Georgia,
The whole day through,
Just an old sweet song,
Keeps Georgia on my mind.
I said a Georgia, Georgia,
A song of you,
Comes as sweet and clear,
As moonlight through the pines.
Bridge: Other arms reach out to me,
Other eyes smile tenderly,
Still in the peaceful dreams I see,
The road leads back to you.
Am7 Dm7 Am7 F
Am7 Dm7 Am7 D7
Am7 F Am7 B7
F G/G7
Georgia, oh Georgia, no peace I find,
Just an old sweet song,
Keeps Georgia on my mind.
121
Girl Of The North Country
(Bob Dylan)
If you're traveling in the north country fair,
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Remember me to one who lives there,
She once was the true love of mine.
If you go when the snowflakes storm,
When the rivers freeze and summer ends,
Please see she has a coat so warm,
To keep her from the howling winds.
Please see for me that her hair's hanging long,
That it rolls and flows all down her breast,
Please see for me that her hair's hanging long,
That's the way I remember her best.
I'm a-wondering if she remembers me at all,
Many times I've often prayed,
In the darkness of my night,
In the brightness of my day.
So if you're traveling in the north country fair,
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
Remember me to one who lives there,
She once was a true love of mine.
122
The Glass Eye Song
(Kit Cofer/Collette Herrick) Note: via Seamus Kennedy
A man is dining out alone a redhead sits nearby,
He checks her out, she's gorgeous, but he lacks the nerve to try,
When suddenly she sneezes, her glass eye shoots out a mile,
He reaches out an grabs it, gives it back and gets a smile.
He says let me buy you dinner and perhaps we can be friends,
So they dine and talk and smile and laugh, and when the evening ends,
She invites him for a nightcap at her place and breakfast, too,
He eagerly accepts her not believing that it's true.
The nightcap and the breakfast are the best he's ever had,
He says "You're the perfect woman", and then goes on to add,
"Are you this nice to every man who happens to pass by?"
"Oh no", she says, "You are the first who ever caught my eye."
He says "I'm OFF TO CALIFORNIA, far across the sea,
I'd be honored if on my return you would go out with me.",
She said, "This is the beginning of romance warm and true,
So, yes my dear, be sure I'll keep an eye out just for you."
123
The Golden Vanity (Child 286)
(Trad)
Oh, there sailed a lofty ship and she sailed upon the sea,
And the name of the ship was the Golden Vanity,
But she feared she would be taken by a Turkish enemy,
As she sailed upon the lowland, lowland, low,
She sailed upon the lowland sea.
Well there was a cabin boy, but the age of twelve and three,
And he said to the skipper, what will you give to me,
If I swim alongside of the Turkish enemy,
And I sink her in the lowland, lowland, low,
I sink her in the lowland sea?
Oh, I will give you silver, and I will give you gold,
And the hand of my daughter if you will be so bold
as to swim alongside of the Turkish enemy,
And to sink her in the lowland, lowland, low
To sink her in the lowland sea."
So then the boy he readied and overboard jumped he,
And he swam alongside of the Turkish enemy,
And with his little drilling tool he bore in holes three,
And he sank her in the lowland, lowland, low
He sank her in the lowland sea.
Then the boy turned 'round and back again swam he,
And he hollered for the skipper to haul him from the sea,
But the skipper paid no heed for his daughter he did need,
And he left him in the lowland, lowland, low,
He left him in the lowland sea.
Then the crew they hauled him up and upon the deck he died,
And they wrapped him in his blanket, so very soft and wide,
They cast him overboard to drift upon the tide,
And he sank beneath the lowland, lowland, low
He sank beneath the lowland sea.
Now, there sails a lofty ship and she sails upon the sea,
But she sails without a cabin boy the age of twelve and three,
And she fears she will be taken by a Spanish enemy,
As she sails upon the lowland, lowland, low,
She sails upon the lowland sea.
124
Goodnight Irene
(Huddie Ledbettor/John Lomax)
Chorus: Irene goodnight, Irene goodnight,
Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene,
I'll see you in my dream.
Well last Saturday night I got married,
Me and my wife settled down,
Well now me and my wife are parted,
I'm going to take another stroll downtown.
Some folks they like their sugar,
Some folks they like their wine,
Some folks love their music,
And they sing it all the time.
Sometimes I live in the country,
Sometimes I live in town,
Sometimes I have a great notion,
To jump into the river and drown.
Quit your rambling, quit your gambling,
Quit staying out late at night,
Stay home with your wife and family,
Sit down by the fireside bright.
I asked your mother for you,
She told me you was too young,
I wished to God I'd never seen your face,
I's sorry you ever was born.
I love Irene, God knows I do,
I'll love her till the seas run dry,
And if Irene turns her back on me,
I'd take morphine and die.
You cause me to weep, you cause me to mourn,
You cause me to leave my home,
But the very last words I heard her say,
Was "Please sing me one more song".
125
Good Old Boys Like Me
(Bob McDill)
When I was a kid Uncle Remus he put me to bed,
With a picture of Stonewall Jackson above my head,
Then daddy came in to kiss his little man,
With gin on his breath and a Bible in his hand,
He talked about honor and things I should know,
Then he'd stagger a little as he went out the door.
Chorus: I can still hear the soft Southern winds in the live oak trees,
And those Williams boys they still mean a lot to me, Hank and Tennessee,
I guess we're all going to be what we're going to be,
So what do you do with good ole boys like me.
Nothing makes a sound in the night like the wind does,
But you ain't afraid if you're washed in the blood like I was,
The smell of cape jasmine thru the window screen,
John R. and the Wolfman kept me company,
By the light of the radio by my bed,
With Thomas Wolfe whispering in my head.
Chorus
When I was in school I ran with kid down the street,
But I watched him burn himself up on bourbon and speed,
But I was smarter than most and I could choose,
Learned to talk like the man on the six o'clock news,
When I was eighteen, Lord, I hit the road,
But it really doesn't matter how far I go.
Chorus
126
The Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia
(Bruce "Utah" Phillips)
Chorus: The green rolling hills of West Virginia,
Are the nearest thing to heaven that I know,
Though the times are sad and drear,
And I cannot linger here,
They'll keep me and never let me go.
My daddy said don't ever be a miner,
For a miner's grave is all you'll ever own,
'Cause the hard times everywhere,
I can't find a dime to spare,
These are the worst times I've ever known.
Chorus
So I'll move away into some crowded city,
In some northern factory town you'll find me here,
Though I'll leave the past behind,
I'll never change my mind,
These trouble times are more than I can bear.
Chorus
But someday I'll go back to West Virginia,
To the green rolling hills I love so well,
Yes someday I'll go home,
And I know I'll right the wrong,
These troubled times will follow me no more.
Chorus
127
Greenfields
(Terry Gilkyson)
Once there were green fields kissed by the sun,
Once there were valleys where rivers used to run,
Once there were blue skies with white clouds high above,
Once they were part of an everlasting love,
We were the lovers who strolled through green fields.
Green fields are gone now, parched by the sun,
Gone from the valleys where rivers used to run,
Gone with the cold wind that swept into my heart,
Gone with the lovers who let their dreams depart,
Where are the green fields that we used to roam.
Bridge: I'll never know what made you run away,
How can I keep searching when dark clouds hide the day,
I only know there's nothing here for me,
Nothing in this wide world, left for me to see.
But I'll keep on waiting until you return,
I'll keep on waiting until the day you learn,
You can't be happy while your heart's on the roam,
You can't be happy until you bring it home,
Home to the green fields and me once again.
128
The Gypsy Rover
(Leo McGuire)
A gypsy rover came over the hill, into the valley shady,
He whistled and he sang till the green wood rang,
And he won the heart of a lady.
She left her father's castle gate, she left her own true lover,
She left her servants and her estate,
To follow her gypsy rover.
Chorus: Ah-dee-doo-ah-dee-doo-dah-day,
Ah-dee-doo-ah-dee-day-dee,
He whistled and he sang till the greenwoods rang,
And he won the heart of a lady.
Her father mounted his fastest steed, and searched the valley all over,
He sought his daughter at great speed,
And the whistling gypsy rover.
Chorus
At last he came to a mansion fine down by the river Claydee,
And there was music and there was wine,
For the gypsy and his lady.
Chorus
He is no gypsy, my father, she cried, but Lord of these lands all over,
And I shall stay till my dying day,
With my whistling gypsy rover.
Chorus
129
Gypsy Woman
(Bob McDill/Allen Reynolds)
Silver coins that jingle jangle, fancy shoes that dance in time,
Oh the secrets of her dark eyes, they did sing a gypsy rhyme.
Yellow clover in tangled blossoms, in a meadow silky green,
Where she held me to her bosom, just a boy of seventeen.
Chorus: I recall a gypsy woman, silver spangles in her eyes,
Ivory skin against the moonlight and the taste of life's sweet wine.
Soft breezes blow from fragrant meadows, stir the darkness in my mind,
Oh gentle woman you sleep beside me and little know who haunts my mind.
Gypsy lady, I hear your laughter and it dances in my head,
While my tender wife and babies slumber softly in their bed.
Chorus
130
Hands on the Wheel
(Bill Callery)
At a time when the world seems to be spinning hopelessly out of control,
There's deceivers and believers and old in-betweeners,
That seem to have no place to go,
Well, it's the same old song, it's right and it's wrong,
And living was just something I'd do,
Then with no place to hide, I looked in your eyes,
And I found myself in you,
I looked to the stars, I tried all of the bars,
And I've nearly gone up in smoke,
Now my hand's on the wheel, of something that's real,
And I feel like I'm going home.
And in the shade of an oak down by the river,
Stood an old man and a boy,
Setting sails, spinning tales and fishing for whales,
With a lady that they both enjoy,
Well, it's the same damn tune, it's the man in the moon,
It's the way that I feel about you,
When with no place to hide, I looked in your eyes,
And I found myself in you,
And I looked to the stars, I tried all of the bars,
And I've nearly gone up in smoke,
Now my hand's on the wheel, of something that's real,
And' I feel like I'm going home.
131
Hard Times
(Stephen Foster)
Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears,
While we all sup sorrow with the poor,
There's a song that will linger forever in our ears,
Oh hard times come again no more.
Chorus: 'Tis the song, the sigh of the weary,
Hard Times, hard times, come again no more,
Many days you have lingered around my cabin door,
While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay,
There are frail forms fainting at the door,
Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say,
Chorus
There's a pale drooping maiden who toils her life away,
With a worn heart whose better days are o'er,
Though her voice would be merry, 'tis sighing all the day,
Chorus
'Tis a sigh that is wafted across the troubled wave,
'Tis a wail that is heard upon the shore,
'Tis a dirge that is murmured around the lowly grave,
Chorus
132
He Had a Long Chain On
(Jimmy Driftwood)
One night as I lay on my pillow, moonlight as bright as the dawn,
I saw a man come a walking, he had a long chain on,
I heard his chains a clanking, they made a mournful sound,
Welded around his body, dragging along the ground.
Chorus: He had a long chain on,
He had a long chain on,
He had a long chain on.
He stood beside my window, he looked at me and he said,
"I am so tired and hungry. give me a bite of your bread."
He didn't look like a robber, he didn't look like a thief,
His voice was as soft as the moonlight, a face full of sorrow and grief.
Chorus
I went into my kitchen, fetched him a bowl full of meat,
A drink and a pan of cold biscuits, that's what I gave him to eat,
Though he was tired and hungry a bright light came over his face,
He bowed his head in the moonlight, he said a beautiful grace.
Chorus
I got my hammer and chisel, offered to set him free,
He looked at me and said softly, "I guess we had best let it be."
When he had finished his supper, he thanked me again and again,
Though it's been years since I've seen him, still hear him dragging his chain.
Chorus
133
He Was a Friend of Mine
(Trad)
He was a friend of mine, he was a friend of mine,
Every time I think of him I just can't keep from crying,
'Cause he was a friend of mine
He died out on the road, he died out on the road,
He just kept on moving, never reaped what he could sow,
And he was a friend of mine.
He died on the Gila Bend run, he died on the Gila Bend run,
His rambling days were over, his rambling days were done,
When he died on the Gila Bend run.
I stole away and cried, I stole away and cried,
'Cause I never had much money and I never been satisfied,
And he was a friend of mine
He never done no wrong, He never done no wrong,
A thousand miles from home, and he never harmed no one,
And he was a friend of mine.
He was a friend of mine he was a friend of mine,
He died without a penny, said he didn't have a dime,
He was a friend of mine.
He died 'neath the midnight sun, He died 'neath the midnight sun,
His wandering days are over his loneliness is done,
Cause he died 'neath the midnight sun
Tears fell like raindrops the night my best friend died,
He was a friend of mine
Yeah, he was a friend of mine,
He never had no money, he never was satisfied,
But he was a friend of mine
He died on the road, he died on the road,
He was just a poor boy, a long way from home,
But he was a friend of mine.
When I think about him, I still can't keep from crying,
Cause he was a friend of mine.
He was a friend of mine, He was a friend of mine,
Never had no money to pay for his fine,
134
He never done no wrong, he never done no wrong,
Thousand miles from home and he never hurt no one,
He died on the road, he died on the road,
Never had no money for to pay for sufficient clothes,
He was a friend of mine
Never had no money and I can't be satisfied,
135
Heartbreak Hotel
(Mae B. Axton, Tommy Durden, Elvis Presley)
Well, since my baby left me,
I found a new place to dwell,
It's down at the end of lonely street,
At heartbreak hotel.
You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.
And although it's always crowded,
You still can find some room,
Where broken hearted lovers,
Do cry away their gloom.
I get so lonely,
Well, the bell hops tears keep flowing,
And the desk clerks dressed in black,
Well they been so long on lonely street,
They ain't ever going to look back.
I get so lonely,
Now, if your baby leaves you,
And you got a tale to tell,
Just take a walk down lonely street,
To heartbreak hotel.
136
Heaven and Hell
(Willie Nelson)
Sometimes it's Heaven and sometimes it's Hell,
Sometimes I don't even know,
Sometimes I take it as far as I can,
And sometimes I don't even go,
My front tracks are headed for a cold water well,
My back tracks are covered with snow,
And sometimes it's Heaven, sometimes it's Hell,
And sometimes I don't even know.
Heaven ain't walking on a street paved with gold,
Hell ain't a mountain of fire,
Heaven is laying in my sweet baby's arms,
And Hell is when baby's not there,
Well, my front tracks are headed for a cold water well,
And my back tracks are covered with snow,
Well, sometimes it's Heaven, sometimes it's Hell,
Well, sometimes it's Heaven, sometimes it's Hell,
137
Hello Walls
(Willie Nelson)
Hello walls,
How'd things go for you today?
Don't you miss her,
Since she up and walked away?
And I know you dread to spend another lonely night with me,
But lonely walls, I'll keep you company.
Hello window,
Well, I see that you're still here,
Aren't you lonely,
Since our darling disappeared?
Look here, is that a teardrop in the corner of your pane?
Now don't you try to tell me that's it's rain.
Bridge: She went away and left us all alone the way she planned,
Guess we'll have to learn to get along without her if we can.
Hello ceiling,
I'm going to stare at you a while,
You know I can't sleep,
So won't you bear with me a while?
We all must stick together or else I'll lose my mind,
I've got a feeling she'll be gone a long, long time.
138
Help Me Make It Through The Night
(Kris Kristofferson)
Take the ribbons from your hair,
Shake them loose and let it fall,
Laying soft against your skin,
Like the shadows on the wall.
Come and lay down by my side,
Till the early morning light,
All I'm taking is your time,
Help me make it through the night.
Break: Well I don't care who's right or wrong,
I won't try to understand,
Let the devil take tomorrow,
'Cause tonight I need a friend.
Yesterday is dead and gone,
And tomorrow's out of sight,
And it's sad to be alone,
Help me make it through the night.
139
Hey, Good Lookin'
(Hank Williams)
Hey, good looking, whatcha got cooking,
How's about cooking something up with me,
Hey, sweet baby, don't you think maybe,
We could find us a brand new recipe.
I got a hot rod Ford and a two dollar bill,
And I know a spot right over the hill,
There's soda pop and the dancing is free,
So if you want to have fun come along with me.
I'm free and ready so we can go steady,
How's about saving all your time for me,
No more looking, I know I've been tooken,
How's about keeping steady company.
I'm gonna throw my date book over the fence,
And find me one for five or ten cents,
I'll keep it till it's covered with age,
'Cause I'm writing your name down on every page.
Say Hey, Good Looking, whatcha got cooking,
How's about cooking something up with me.
140
Hieland Laddie
(Trad)
The air is a Scottish pipe march, also called Hieland Laddie. The are other sets of
words which are mostly Jacobite songs. This version was used as a sea shanty.
Were you ever in Quebec?
Bonnie laddie, hieland laddie,
Stowing timber on the deck,
My bonnie hieland laddie.
Chorus (after every verse): Hey, ho and away we go,
Hey, ho and away we go,
Were you ever in Callao?
Where the girls are never slow,
Were you ever in Baltimore?
Dancing on that sanded floor,
Were you ever in Mobile Bay?
Screwing cotton by the day,
Were you ever in Dundee?
There some pretty ships you`ll see,
Were you on the Brummalow?
Where Yankee boys are all the go,
Were you ever in Merrimashee?
Where you make fast to a tree,
Mi ra-ma shee
Was you ever in Monterey,
141
On that town with three months pay,
Was you ever in Aberdeen,
Prettiest girls that you've ever seen,
Was you ever 'round Cape Horn,
With the lion and the unicorn,
Was you ever in New Bedford port,
With the girls did you cavort?
Was you ever round Cape Horn
Where you wish to God you’d never been born?
Was you every in Halifax town,
Staggering up and staggering down,
Was you ever in Dublin Bay,
Drinkin' porter all the day,
Another version:
Was you ever in Madrid,
Where the Judies charge 50 quid,
And they never wash, and they smell like squid,
My bonny hieland laddie.
Was you ever in London-town,
The girlies there love to go down
To port when ship's around,
Was you ever in Timbuktu,
Where those girls are black and blue,
142
And they shake their bustles, too,
Bonnie Hielan' laddie.
Was you ever in Ballypo
Where those girls put on a show
And they dance with a roll and go
Was you ever in Limerick,
Where they tie you up to a stick,
And the skeeters there bite you on your—Arm!
143
Donkey Riding
Canadian children's song derived from Hieland Laddie, "Donkey" refers to a
donkey engine, used to load and unload cargo.
Were you ever in Quebec,
Stowing timber on the deck,
Where's a king with a golden crown,
Riding on a donkey.
Chorus (after each verse): Way O and away we go,
Donkey riding, donkey riding,
Way O and away we go,
Riding on a donkey.
Were you ever off the Horn?
Where it's always fine and warm,
Where's there's a lion and a unicorn,
Riding on a donkey.
Were you ever in Cardiff Bay?
Where the folks all shout, "Hooray!",
"Here comes Johnny with his six months pay!",
Riding on a donkey.
Were you ever in Timbuktu?
Where the gals are black and blue,
And they wriggle their arses, too,
Riding on a donkey.
Were you ever in Vallipo?
Where the gals put on a show,
Wriggle their arse with a roll and go,
Riding on a donkey.
Were you ever down Mobile Bay?
Screwing cotton by the day,
A dollar a day is a white man's pay,
Riding on a donkey.
Were you ever in Canton?
Where the men wear pigtails long,
And the gals play hong-ki-kong,
Riding on a donkey.
Were you ever in Merrimashee?
Where ye tie up to a tree,
And the skeeters do bite we,
Riding on a donkey.
144
Were you ever on the Brummalow?
Where the Yanks are all the go,
An' the boys dance heel an' toe,
Riding on a donkey.
145
Grace
(Sean And Frank O'Meara)
G
C
D
As we gather in the chapel here in old Kilmainham jail,
C
G
Am
D
I think about the last few weeks, oh will they say we failed,
G
C
D
From our school days they have told us we must yearn for liberty,
C
G
D
G
Yet all I want in this dark place is to have you here with me.
D
C
G
Chorus: Oh Grace just hold me in your arms and let this moment linger,
C
G
D
They take me out at dawn and I will die,
C
G
With all my love I place this weddin ring upon your finger,
C
G
D
G
There won't be time to share our love so we must say goodbye.
Now I know it's hard for you my love to ever understand,
The love I bear for these brave men my love for this brave land,
But when Padraic called me to his side down in the G.P.O.
I had to leave my own sick bed to him I had to go.
Chorus
Now as the dawn is breaking my heart is breaking too,
As I walk out on this May morn my thoughts will be of you,
And I'll write some words upon the wall so everyone will know,
I loved so much that I could see his blood upon the rose.
Chorus
This is the story of Joseph Mary Plunkett at age 28, patriot, Catholic mystic and poet. His best known
poem is I See His Blood Upon the Rose. His beloved was Grace Gifford, patriot and artist, whose
Protestant parents would not allow them to marry.
Plunkett was a signer of the Declaration of Irish Independence. He left his hospital bed, where he
recovering from surgery for glandular tuberculosis, to take part in the Easter Uprising.. He was jailed and
was condemned to death by firing squad, but was allowed to marry Grace before being executed in
Kilmainham Jail. She rushed out to a Dublin Jeweler who was closing to buy a wedding ring. There was
a power failure and they were married by Fr. Eugene McCarthy by the light of a single candle. Two
prison guards were their witnesses. There were also twenty armed British soldiers in the chapel. When the
marriage ceremony was over the soldiers marched Joseph Plunkett to the courtyard, tied him to a chair,
and shot him dead. Grace never remarried.
146
Hobo's Lullaby
(Goebel Reeves)
According to his daughter Nora, Woody Guthrie wrote in one of his notebooks that
Hobo's Lullaby was his favorite song.
Go to sleep you weary hobo,
Let the towns drift slowly by,
Can't you hear the steel rails humming,
That's the hobo's lullaby.
I know your clothes are torn and ragged,
And your hair is turning gray,
Lift your head and smile at trouble,
You'll find peace and rest someday.
Now don't you worry 'bout tomorrow,
Let tomorrow come and go,
Tonight you're in a nice warm boxcar,
Safe from all that wind and snow.
I know the police cause you trouble,
They cause trouble everywhere,
But when you die and go to Heaven,
You'll find no policemen there.
So go to sleep you weary hobo,
Let the towns drift slowly by,
Listen to the steel rails humming,
That's a hobo's lullaby.
147
Honky Tonk Heroes
(Billy Joe Shaver)
Low down leaving sun done did everything that needs done,
Woe is me, why can't I see,
I'd best be leaving well enough alone,
Them neon light nights couldn't stay out of fights,
Keep a 'haunting me in memories,
There's one in every crowd now, for crying out loud,
Why was it always turning out be me?
Where does it go, the good Lord only knows,
It seems like it was just the other day,
I was down at Green Gables a 'hawking them tables,
And generally blowing all my hard earned pay,
Piano rolled blues, danced holes in my shoes,
There weren't another other way to be,
For love-able losers and no account boozers,
And honky tonk heroes like me.
148
Honky Tonking
(Hank Williams)
When you are sad and lonely and have no place to go,
Call me up, sweet baby, and bring along some dough,
And well go honky tonking, honky tonking,
Honky tonking, honey baby,
We'll go honky tonking 'round this town.
When you and your baby have a falling out,
Just call me up sweet mama and well go stepping out,
Well go honky tonking round this town.
Were going into the city, to the city fair,
If you go to the city then you will find me there,
Well go honky tonking round this town.
149
The House Carpenter(Child 243)
(Trad)
Well met, well met, my own true love,
Well met, well met, said he,
I have just returned from the salt, salt sea,
And it's all for the love of thee.
Come in, come in, my own true love,
And have a seat by me,
It's been three or four long, long years,
Since together, we have been.
I'll not come in and I'll not sit down,
I've haven't but a moment's time,
I hear you are married to a house carpenter,
And your love will never be mine.
I could have married a King's daughter dear,
So free she was with me,
But I forsook all her crowns and gold,
If you could have married the kings daughter there,
Then I'm sure you are to blame,
And I have married with a house carpenter,
And I'm sure he is a fine young man.
Will you forsake your house carpenter,
And go along with me,
I'll take you where the grass grows green,
By the sunny, sunny shores of Italy.
She picked up her tiny wee babe,
And kisses, she gave it three,
Saying Stay right here, my own little dear,
And keep your father company.
They had not been on the ship two weeks,
I'm sure it was not three,
When she espied his cloven foot,
And began to weep most bitterly.
Well are you weeping for your house and land,
Are you weeping for your store?
Or are you weeping for your house carpenter,
Whose face you'll never see no more?
150
Well I'm not weeping for my house and land,
And I'm not weeping for my store,
It's I am weeping for my soul, soul dear,
Whose purity I'll never see no more.
They had not been on the ship three weeks,
I'm sure it was not four,
When he stomped his foot and down she sank,
And sank to rise no more.
Well met, well met, said an old true love,
Well met, well met, said he,
I have just returned from the salt, salt sea,
151
House of the Rising Sun
(Trad)
There is a house down in New Orleans,
They call the rising sun,
And it's been the ruin of many a poor girl,
And me, oh God, I'm one.
If I had listened to what my mother said,
I`d have been at home today,
But I was young and foolish, oh God,
And let a rambler lead me astray.
My mother was a tailor,
She sewed these new blue jeans,
My father was a gambling man,
Down in new Orleans.
Now the only thing a gambler needs,
Is a suitcase and a trunk,
And the only time he is satisfied,
Is when he's on a drunk.
He fills his glasses up to the brim,
And he'll pass the cards around,
And the only pleasure he gets out of life,
Is rambling from town to town.
Go tell my baby sister,
Not to do what I have done,
But shun that house in new Orleans,
They call the rising sun.
Well, it's one foot on the platform,
And the other foot on the train,
I'm going back to New Orleans,
To wear that ball and chain.
I'm a-going back to New Orleans,
My race is almost run,
I'm going back to end my life,
Beneath the rising sun.
Some additional verses from Dolly Parton recording
There is a house in New Orleans,
Down in the Vieux Carre,
A house they call The Rising Sun,
Where love and money are made.
152
My father was a gambler
Mother died when I was young,
And I've worked since then to pleasure the men.
At the house of The Rising Sun.
There is a house in New Orleans,
They call The Rising Sun,
It's been the ruin of many a good girl,
And, oh God, you know I'm one.
So mothers you go telling all your daughters,
Not to do what I have done,
To live a life of sin, shame, and strife,
In the house of The Rising Sun.
153
Hurt
(Michael Reznor/Trent Reznor)
I hurt myself today,
To see if I still feel,
I focus on the pain,
The only thing that's real,
The needle tears a hole,
The old familiar sting,
Try to kill it all away,
But I remember everything.
C D Am
Chorus: What have I become,
My sweetest friend,
Everyone I know,
Goes away in the end,
And you could have it all,
My empire of dirt,
I will let you down,
I will make you hurt.
Am F C G
C D G
I wear this crown of thorns,
Upon my liar's chair,
Full of broken thoughts,
I cannot repair,
Beneath the stains of time,
The feelings disappear,
You are somewhere else,
I am still right here.
Chorus
If I could start again,
A million miles away,
I would keep myself,
I would find a way.
G
154
I Ain't Got No Home
(Woody Guthrie)
I ain't got no home, I'm just a rambling around,
I work when I can get it, I roam from town to town,
The police make it hard wherever I may go,
And I ain't got no home in this world anymore.
I was farming shares and always I was done,
My debts they was so many my money wouldn't go around,
Drought got my crops and Mr. Banker's at my door,
Six children I have raised, they're scattered and they're gone,
And my darling wife to heaven she has flown,
She died of the fever upon the cabin floor,
I mined in your mines and I gathered in your corn,
I been working mister since the day that I was born,
Now I worry all the time like I never did before,
Cause I ain't got no home in this world anymore.
Now I just ramble around to see what I can see,
This wide wicked world is a funny place to be,
The gambling man is rich and the working man is poor,
I'm stranded on this road that goes from sea to sea,
A hundred thousand others are stranded here with me,
A hundred thousand others and a hundred thousand more,
I ain't got no home in this world anymore.
155
I Am a Pilgrim
(Trad)
I am a pilgrim and a stranger,
Travelling through this wearisome land,
I've got a home in that yonder city, good Lord,
And it's not, not made by hand.
A B C# E in D
I've got a mother, a sister. and a brother,
They've gone home to that other shore,
I am determined to go and see them, good Lord,
Over on, that other shore.
I'm going down to that river of Jordan,
Just to bathe my weary soul,
If I could touch but the hem of his garment, good Lord,
I believe, he'd make me whole.
Now when I'm dead and laying in my coffin,
All my friends will gather round,
They will say that, that he's just sleeping,
Sweet peace: his soul has found.
I am a pilgrim and a stranger,
Travelling through this wearisome land,
I've got a home in that yonder city, good Lord,
And it's not, not made by hand.
156
G A B D in C
I Can Get Off On You
(Willie Nelson/Waylon Jennings)
Chorus: Take back the weed take back the cocaine baby,
Take back the pills, take back the whiskey, too,
I don't need them now, your love was all I was after,
I'll make it now, I can get off on you.
I can get by on little or nothing at all I know,
I can get high just thinking about you and so.
Chorus
Who would have thought this was something that I'd say or ever do,
I'm working it out mellowing out on you.
Chorus
157
I Can't Help Falling in Love With You
(Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss)
Wise men say only fools rush in,
But I can't help falling in love with you,
Shall I stay, would it be a sin,
If I can't help falling in love with you?
Bridge: Like a river flows surely to the sea,
Darling so it goes,
Some things are meant to be.
Take my hand,
Take my whole life too,
For I can't help falling in love with you.
Bridge: Like a river flows surely to the sea,
Darling so it goes,
Some things are meant to be.
Take my hand,
Take my whole life too,
For I can't help falling in love with you.
158
I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)
(Hank Williams)
Today I passed you on the street,
And my heart fell at your feet,
I can't help it if I'm still in love with you.
Somebody else stood by your side,
And he looked so satisfied,
Bridge 1: A picture from the past came slowly stealing,
As I brushed your arm and walked so close to you,
Then suddenly I got that old time feeling,
Instrumental Verse
Bridge 2: It's hard to know another's lips will kiss you,
And hold you just the way I used to do,
Oh, heaven only knows how much I miss you,
159
I Could Not Believe That It Was True
(Eddy Arnold/Wally Fowler)
Last night I came home and I knocked on my door,
And I called to my love as I often had before,
And I knocked and I knocked but no answer there came,
No kisses to greet me, no voice called my name.
Chorus: And I couldn't believe it was true,
Oh Lord, I couldn't believe it was true,
And my eyes filled with tears,
And I must have aged ten years,
And I couldn't believe it was true.
The shock was so great I am quivering yet,
I'll try to forgive but I cannot forget,
My heartbreaking loss is another man's gain,
And her happiness always I hope will remain.
Chorus
160
I Feel Like Hank Williams Tonight
(Chris Wall)
Well, I could live my whole life, without a phone call,
The likes of which I got today,
It was only my wife, said “hello” then “goodbye”,
And told me she's going away.
Well I didn't cry, it was all cut and dried,
I hung up before I realized,
I turned up my stereo, and I walked to the window,
And stared at the storm clouds outside.
Bridge: I play classical music when it rains,
I play country when I am in pain,
I won't play Beethoven, the mood's just not right,
I feel like Hank Williams tonight.
There was no explanation, not even a reason,
No talk of the good times we had,
Was it me, was it her, I don't know for sure,
That's why I'm feeling so bad.
Bridge: I play jazz when I am confused,
I play country whenever I lose,
Bird's saxophone, it just don't seem right,
Lately I've been thinking, I just might quit drinking,
Now I don't know all-in-all,
I just might stay home, get drunk all alone,
And punch a few holes in the wall.
Bridge: When I'm real high I play rock'n'roll,
I play country when I'm losing control,
I don't play Chuck Berry near as much as I'd like,
161
I Gotta Get Drunk
(Willie Nelson)
Well I got to get drunk and I sure do dread it,
'Cause I know just what I'm going to do,
I'll start to spend my money calling everybody honey,
And I'll wind up singing the blues,
I'll spend my whole paycheck on some old wreck,
And brother I can name you a few,
'Cause I know just what I'm going to do.
I got to get drunk, I just can't stay sober,
There's a lot of good people in town,
Who like to see me holler, see me spend my dollar,
And I wouldn't dream of letting them down,
There's a lot of doctors who tell me,
That I'd better start slowing it down,
But there's more old drunks than there are old doctors,
So I guess we'd better have another round.
'Cause I know just what I'm going to do,
I'll start to spend my money calling everybody honey,
And I'll wind up singing the blues,
I'll spend my whole paycheck on some old wreck,
And brother I can name you a few,
Well I gotta get drunk and I sure do dread it,
'Cause I know just what I'm going to do.
162
I Love You
(Jerry Jeff Walker?)
I've been a fool, fool hearted, stumbled once or twice,
You came and put me back on my feet,
Patching together all the busted pieces,
Of everything that I'd broken running from me.
Chorus: I love you, yeah I love you,
Some day we're going to travel far away,
We're going to roll all the way to la Louisiana,
Or maybe we'll just roll around in bed all day.
I'd like to give you everything you'd want, love,
Diamond rings for every toe,
Big dangling earrings for your fingers,
Big sparkling rocks for your nose.
Chorus
Been so long, coming through to you,
Now it's nice resting by your side,
Seems like everything rolled in a nutshell,
We got it all right here inside.
Chorus
'Cause getting out of bed just ruins my whole day,
Besides that the way I heard babies are made.
163
I Ride an Old Paint
(Trad)
I ride an old paint, I lead an old dan,
We're going to Montana for to throw a hoolihan,
They feed in the coulees, they water in the draw,
Their tails are all matted, their backs are all raw.
Chorus: Ride around little dogies, ride around them slow,
For the fiery and snuffy are raring to go.
Bill Jones had two daughters and a song,
One went to Denver and the other went wrong,
His wife, she got killed in a poolroom fight,
But still he's a-singing from morning till night.
Chorus
When I die, take my saddle down from the wall,
Put it on my pony, lead him out of his stall,
Tie my bones to my saddle and turn our faces to the West,
And we'll ride the prairie we love the best.
Chorus
I ride an old paint, I lead an old dan,
We're going to Montana for to throw a hoolihan,
They feed in the coulees, they water in the draw,
Their tails are all matted, their backs are all raw.
Chorus
164
I Saw The Light
(Hank Williams)
I wandered so aimless, life filled with sin,
I wouldn't let my dear Savior in,
Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night,
Praise The Lord, I saw the light.
Chorus: I saw the light, I saw the light,
No more darkness, no more night,
Now I'm so happy, no sorrow in sight,
Praise the Lord, I saw the light.
Just like the blind man, I wandered alone,
Worries and fears, I claimed for my own,
Then like the blind man, that God gave back his sight,
Chorus
I was a fool to wander and stray,
For straight is the gate and narrow the way,
Now I have traded, the wrong for the right,
Chorus
165
I Still Miss Someone
(Johnny Cash)
At my door the leaves are falling,
A cold wild wind has come,
Sweethearts walk by together,
And I still miss someone.
I go out on a party,
And look for a little fun,
But I find a darkened corner,
Because I still miss someone.
Oh, no I never got over those blue eyes,
I see them everywhere,
I miss those arms that held me,
When all the love was there.
I wonder if she's sorry,
For leaving what we'd begun,
There's someone for me somewhere,
And I still miss someone.
166
I Washed My Face in the Morning Dew
(Tom T. Hall)
The first strange town that I was in,
The county was hanging a man,
Nobody cared if he lived or died,
And me, I did not understand.
Chorus: So I washed my face in the morning dew,
Bathed my soul in the sun,
Washed my face in the morning dew,
And just kept on moving along.
The second strange town I was in,
They were laughing at a poor crippled man,
Begging for nickels and dimes on the street,
And me, I did not understand.
Chorus
The third strange town that I was in,
Was settled, peaceful and nice,
The rich got richer and the poor got poorer,
And to me it just didn't seem right.
Chorus
Some day things are bound to change,
I know it can't be very far,
And each injustice I have seen,
Will come before the bar.
Chorus
167
I'd Have to be Crazy
(Steve Fromholz)
I'd have to be crazy to stop all my singing,
And never play music again,
You'd call me a fool if I grabbed up a top hat,
And ran out to flag down the wind,
And I'd have to be weird to grow me a beard,
Just to see what the rednecks would do,
But I'd have to be crazy, plumb out of my mind,
To fall out of love with you.
E E7
F#7 FM7 E
E E7
B B7
E E7
A Am
E B
F#7 FM7 E
Now I know I've done weird things, told people I heared things,
When silence was all that abounds,
Been days when it pleased me to be on my knees,
Following ants, as they crawled across the ground,
I've been insane on a train but I'm still me again,
The place where I hold you is true,
So I know I'm alright 'cause I'd have to be crazy,
No I don't intend to,
But should there come a day,
When I say that I don't love you,
You lock me away.
F#7
F#7
F#7
F#7
I sure would be dingy to live in an envelope,
Waiting alone for a stamp,
You'd swear I was loco if I rubbed for a genie,
While burning my hand on the lamp,
And I may not be normal but nobody is,
I'd like to say 'fore I'm through,
I'd have to be crazy, plumb out of my mind,
I'd have to be crazy plumb out of my mind,
168
FM7
FM7
FM7
FM7
E
E
E
B
If I Had a Hammer(akaThe Hammer Song)
(Pete Seeger/Lee Hayes)
If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning,
I'd hammer in the evening, all over this land,
I'd hammer out danger,
I'd hammer out a warning,
I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.
If I had a bell, I'd ring it in the morning,
I'd ring it in the evening, all over this land,
I'd ring out danger,
I'd ring out a warning,
I'd ring out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.
If I had a song, I'd sing it in the morning,
I'd sing it in the evening, all over this land,
I'd sing out danger,
I'd sing out a warning,
I'd sing out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.
Well I got a hammer, and I got a bell,
And I got a song to sing, all over this land,
It's the hammer of Justice,
It's the bell of Freedom,
It's the song about Love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.
It's the hammer of Justice,
It's the bell of Freedom,
It's the song about Love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.
169
If I Had My Way
(Rev Gary Davis)
You read about Sampson, you read about his birth,
He was the strongest man that ever lived on earth,
One day old Sampson was walking alone,
He looked down on the ground and he saw an old jaw-bone,
He lifted up that jaw-bone and he swung it over his head,
And when he got to moving ten thousand was dead.
Chorus: If I had my way, if I had my way in this wicked world,
If I had my way I would tear this building down.
Sampson and the lion got in attack,
Sampson he crawled up on the lion's back,
You read about this lion he killed a man with his paw,
Sampson he got his hands around the lion's jaw,
And he ripped that beast till the lion was dead,
And the bees made honey in the lion's head.
Chorus
Delilah was a woman, she was fine and fair,
She had lovely looks, God knows, and cold black hair,
Delilah she climbed up on Sampson's knee,
And said tell me where your strength lies, if you please,
She talked so fine, she talked so fair,
Sampson said Delilah, cut off my hair,
Shave my head just as clean as your hand,
And my strength will be like a natural man.
Chorus
They caught old Sampson by surprise,
Picked up a stick and poked out his eyes,
Dragged him down to the judgment hall,
Chained him to the stone cold wall,
Left him there till his head turned brown,
Then Sampson he tore that building down.
170
If I Were a Carpenter
(Tim Hardin)
If I were a carpenter,
And you were a lady,
Would you marry me anyway,
Would you have my baby?
Drop D or Double Drop D
If a tinker were my trade,
Would you still find me,
Carrying the pots I'd made,
On down the highway.
Chorus: Save my love through loneliness,
Save my love for sorrow,
I've given you my only-ness,
Come give me your tomorrow.
If I worked my hands in wood,
Would you still love me,
Answer darling yes I would,
I'll put you above me.
If I were a miller,
At a mill wheel grinding,
Would you miss your colored blouse,
Your soft shoe shining?
Chorus
If I were a carpenter,
And you were a lady,
Would you marry me anyway,
Would you have my baby?
171
I'll Fly Away
(Albert E. Brumley)
Some glad morning when this life is o'er,
I'll fly away,
To a home on God's celestial shore,
I'll fly away.
Chorus: I'll fly away, Oh Glory,
I'll fly away, (in the morning),
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away.
When the shadows of this life have gone,
I'll fly away,
Like a bird from prison bars has flown,
I'll fly away.
Chorus
Oh how glad and happy when we meet,
I'll fly away,
No more cold iron shackles on my feet,
I'll fly away.
Chorus
Just a few more weary days and then,
I'll fly away,
To a land where joy shall never end,
I'll fly away.
Chorus
172
I'm Just an Old Chunk of Coal
(Billy Joe Shaver)
Hey I'm just an old chunk of coal but I'm going to be a diamond some day,
I'm going to grow and glow till I'm so blue pure perfect,
I'm going to put a smile on everybody's face,
I'm going to kneel and pray every day lest I should become vain along the way,
I'm just an old chunk of coal now Lord but I'm going to be a diamond some day.
I'm going to learn the best way to walk going to search and find a better way to
talk,
I'm going to spit and polish my old rough edged self,
Till I get rid of every single flaw,
I'm going to be the world's best friend going to go round shaking everybody's hand,
I'm going to be the cotton picking rage of the age I'm going to be a diamond some
day.
173
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
(Hank Williams)
Hear that lonesome whippoorwill,
He sounds too blue to fly,
The midnight train is whining low,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.
I've never seen a night so long,
When time goes crawling by,
The moon just went behind a cloud,
To hide its face and cry.
Did you ever see a robin weep,
When leaves begin to die,
Like me he's lost the will to live,
The silence of a falling star,
Lights up a purple sky,
And as I wonder where you are,
174
In the Jailhouse Now(Number 1)
(Jimmie Rodgers)
I had a friend named Rambling Bob,
Who used to steal, gamble and rob,
He thought he was the smartest guy in town,
But I found out last Monday,
That Bob got locked up Sunday,
They've got him in the jailhouse way down town.
Chorus: He's in the jailhouse now, he's in the jailhouse now,
I told him once or twice,
To quit playing cards and shooting dice,
He's in the jailhouse now.
He played a game called poker,
He knuckled with Dan Yoakum,
But shooting dice was his greatest game,
Now he's downtown in jail,
Nobody to go his bail,
The judge done said that he will pay the fine.
Chorus
I went out last Tuesday,
Met a girl named Susie,
I told her I was the swellest man around,
We started to spend my money,
Then she started to call me honey,
We took in every cabaret in town.
We're in the jailhouse now, we're in the jailhouse now,
I told the judge right to his face,
We didn't like to see this place,
We're in the jailhouse now.
175
In the Jailhouse Now(Number 2)
(Jimmie Rodgers)
I had a friend named Campbell,
He used to rob, steal and gamble,
He tried everything that was low-down,
He was out tom-catting one night,
When he started a big fight,
Then a big policeman came and knocked him down.
Chorus: He's in the jailhouse now, he's in the jailhouse now,
I told him over again,
To quit drinking whiskey,
Lay off of that gin,
Old Bill broke out one day,
I guess he thought he'd get away,
But at the railway station they took him by the arm,
The cop says I've come for you,
Bill says this just won't do,
Because Bill Campbell never was my name.
He's in the jailhouse now, he's in the jailhouse now,
Yes, he broke out,
All over town the fool walked about,
I run on to Bill's gal Sadie,
She said, "Have you seen my baby?"
I told her he was downtown in the can,
She started fussing,
Went down to the jailhouse cussing,
She said, "I've come down here to get my man."
She's in the jailhouse now, she's in the jailhouse now,
So you can understand,
They throwed little old Sadie in the can,
She's in the jailhouse now.
176
The Incest Song
(Buffy Sainte Marie)
Word is out to the king's dear daughter,
And word is spreading all over the land,
That's she's been betrayed by her own dear brother,
And he has chosen another fair hand.
Many a man had the sum of her beauty,
And many a grand deed for her had been done,
But within her sides she carried the child,
Of her father's youngest, fairest son.
Tell to me no lies, tell to me no stories,
But saddle my good horse and I'll go and see,
My own true love if your words be true ones,
Then that will mean the end of me.
Brother, oh brother, what lies be these ones,
They say your love to another I lose,
There's a child within me of thy very own lineage,
And I know it's me that thou would chose.
And have you yet told your father or mother,
All that thou has told here to me,
And he's taken off his good braided sword,
That's hanging down beside his knee.
No I've not told no one but you my dear one,
For it's a secret between us two,
And I would come home and quit all my roaming,
And spend my days only waiting on you.
Too late too late for change my sister,
My father has chosen another fair bride,
And he stabbed her easy and lovingly lay her,
Down in her grave by the green wood side.
And when he's come home to his own wedding of feasting,
And his father asks why he's weeping all so,
He says such a bride as a I've seen on this morning,
Never another man shall know.
177
The Intoxicated Rat
(Trad)
I came home the other night so drunk I could not see,
I got tangled up in the old door mat fell flat as I could be,
I had me a little old bottle of rum and I didn't have any more,
The cap fell off when I fell down and I spilled it on the floor.
A rat came out of his hiding place he got that whiskey scent,
He ran right up and he got a little shot and back in his hole he went,
Back to his hole he went, right back to his hole he went,
He ran right up and he got a little shot and back to his hole he went.
The rat came out of his hole again, sidled up to the rum on the floor,
He was a little bit shy, but he winked one eye, then he got him a little bit more,
And he didn't go back to his hole that time, but he stayed by that puddle of gin,
And he said, "Doggone my pop-eyed soul I'm going to get drunk again",
Well, he washed his face with his front feet, and on his hind legs sat,
And with a twisted smile and a half-closed eye said, "Bring on the Goddamn cat?,"
Bring on the Goddamn cat, bring on the Goddamn cat,
I'm only a rat but no Goddamn cat can't run me back to my hole,
Well, his little old eyes began to shine as he lapped up more and more,
And it sure made me glad that I stumbled and spilled it on the floor.
Pretty soon the puddle of rum was gone and I didn't have any more gin,
And the little old rat was a-having a time when the old tomcat walked in,
Well the cat made a pass and the rat made a dash, and his boldness faded thin,
Well the cat jumped over and the rat got sober and never got drunk again.
178
An Irish Ballad
(Tom Lehrer)
About a maid I'll sing a song, sing rickety tickety tin,
About a maid I'll sing a song who didn't have her family long,
Not only did she do them wrong,
She did every one of them in, them in, she did every one of them in.
Her mother she could never stand, sing rickety tickety tin,
He mother she could never stand and so a cyanide stew she planned,
The mother died with a spoon in her hand,
And her face in a hideous grin, a grin, her face in a hideous grin.
One morning in a fit of pique, sing rickety tickety tin,
One morning in a fit of pique she pushed her father in the creek,
The water tasted bad for a week,
And we had to make do with gin, with gin, we had to make do with gin.
She set her sister's hair on fire, sing rickety tickety tin,
She set her sister's hair on fire and as the smoke and flames rose higher,
She danced around the funeral pyre,
Playing a violin, 'olin, playing a violin.
She weighted her bother down with stones, sing rickety tickety tin,
She weighted her bother down with stones and sent him off to Davy Jones,
All they ever found were bones,
And occasional pieces of skin, of skin, occasional pieces of skin.
One day when she had nothing to do, sing rickety tickety tin,
One day when she had nothing to do she cut her baby brother in two,
And served him up as an Irish stew,
And invited the neighbors in, 'bors in, invited the neighbors in
And when at last the police came by, sing rickety tickety tin,
And when at last the police came by her little pranks she did not deny,
For to do so she would have had to lie,
And lying she knew was a sin, a sin, lying she knew was a sin
My tragic tale I won't prolong, sing rickety tickety tin,
My tragic tale I won't prolong and if you do not enjoy my song,
You've yourself to blame if it's too long,
You should not have let me begin, begin, you should not have let me begin.
179
The Irish Rover
(Trad)
In the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and six,
We set sail from the coal quay of Cork,
We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks,
For the Grand City Hall of New York,
We had an elegant craft, she was rigged fore and aft,
And oh, how the wild winds drove her,
She had twenty seven masts, and withstood several blasts,
And they called her The Irish Rover.
We had five million bags of the best Sligo rags,
We had six million barrels of stones,
We had seven million bales of old nanny goats tails,
We had eight million barrels of bones,
We had nine million hogs, ten million dogs,
Eleven million barrels of porter,
We had twelve million sides of old blind horses hides,
In the hold of the Irish Rover.
There was Barney McGee from the banks of the Lee,
There was Hogan from County Tyrone,
There was Johnny McGurk who was scared stiff of work,
And a chap from Westmeath called Malone,
There was Slugger O'Toole who was drunk as a rule,
And Fighting Bill Tracy from Dover,
And your man, Mick McCann, from the banks of the Bann,
Was the skipper of the Irish Rover.
We had sailed seven years when the measles broke out,
And the ship lost its way in a fog,
And that whole of a crew was reduced down to two,
Just myself and the Captain's old dog,
Well the ship struck a rock, oh Lord! what a shock,
And bulkhead she turned right over,
She turned nine times around and the poor old dog was drowned,
I'm the last of The Irish Rover.
180
Is Your Lamps Gone Out
(Trad) Note: found in Steamboatin' Days by Mary Wheeler)
Chorus: Is your lamps gone out, is your lamps gone out?
What you're going to do in Egypt when your lamps gone out?
Is your lamps gone out, is your lamps gone out?
Come on Brother and go with me,
I'll show you the man who set me free,
Oh, what you're going to do in Egypt when your lamps gone out?
Come on Sister and go with me,
I'll show you the man who set me free,
River Jordon is chilly and wide,
You'll find freedom on the other side,
181
It's a Wonderful World
(George Douglas/George David Weiss) Note: George Douglas is pen name for Bob
Thiele
I see trees of green, red roses, too,
I see them bloom, for me and you,
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
C G walk down to F C
F Em E7 Am7
F walk up to G C
I see skies of blue, and clouds of white,
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night,
The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky,
Are also on the faces, of people going by,
I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do,
They're really saying, I love you.
I hear babies cry, I watch them grow,
They'll learn much more, than I'll never know,
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world,
Yes I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
182
GC
GC
Am Em Am Em
Am Em Dm7-Am7-G7
It's Not Supposed to be That Way
(Willie Nelson) Note: context is Willie addressing his daughter Lana during his divorce
Chorus: It's not supposed to be that way,
You're supposed to know I love you,
But it don't matter anyway,
If I can't be there to console you.
Like the other little children,
You're gonna dream a dream or two,
But be careful what you're dreaming,
Or soon your dreams'll be dreaming you.
Chorus
When you go out to play this evening,
Play with fire flies till they're gone,
Then you rush to meet your lover,
Play with real fire till the dawn.
Chorus
183
I've Just Seen a Face
(John Lennon/Paul McCartney)
I've just seen a face,
I can't forget the time or place,
Where we just met,
She's just the girl for me,
And I want all the world,
To see we've met,
Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm mmm mmm.
Had it been another day,
I might have looked the other way,
And I'd have never been aware,
But as it is I'll dream of her tonight,
La, di, di, da di di.
Bridge: Falling, yes I am falling,
And she keeps calling me back again
I have never known the like of this,
I've been alone and I have missed things,
And kept out of sight,
For other girls were never quite like this,
La, di, di, da di di.
(repeat Bridge and last verse)
184
Jaded Lover
(Chuck Pyle)
It won't be but a week or two,
You'll be out loving someone new,
Must have happened a hundred times before,
And I can see you been spreading yourself thin, too,
It's a lonely time, we've been going through,
So don't get up, I can find my own way to the door.
Chorus: I can see you are an angel, whose wings just won't unfold,
Tune up your harp, polish your old halo,
Yeah, the only kind of man that you ever wanted,
Was the one that you knew you'd never hold very long,
Sitting there crying like I'm the first one to go.
You must have thirty lovers behind you,
I can feel you but I sure can't find you,
Seems like you would have found your own self by now,
But late night while you're sleeping old lovers come back,
Voices in your dreams, fingers in your back,
Voices of the memories crying out loud.
Chorus
What a joyous sight to see you in your sleep,
I believe I'm leaving, I'm in too deep,
That seems easy enough for a man to say,
We never could agree if we talked all night,
Things are getting kind of heavy, I'm travelling light,
Goodbye you jaded lover, you undercover queen for a day.
Chorus
185
Jambalaya
(Hank Williams)
Goodbye Joe, me gotta go, me-oh my-oh,
Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou,
My Yvonne, the sweetest one, me-oh my-oh,
Son of a gun we'll have big fun on the bayou.
Chorus: Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and a filé gumbo,
'Cause tonight I'm going to see my ma chère amie-o,
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o,
Thibodeux, Fontaineaux the place is buzzing,
Kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen,
Dress in style and go hog wild, me oh my-oh,
Chorus
Settle down far from town get me a pirogue,
And I'll catch all the fish in the bayou,
Swap my mon, to buy Yvonne what she need-oh,
Chorus
186
Jennifer Johnson and Me
(Shel Silverstein)
Deep in the pocket, of an old sport coat jacket,
I chanced to discover an old memory,
Three for a quarter, a black and white portrait,
Taken of Jennifer Johnson and me.
I'm in the corner, my shirt collar open,
Like some Latin lover, on late night TV,
Smiling right there with her head on my shoulder,
It's Jennifer Johnson, and she's looking at me.
Chorus: Three for a quarter a black and white portrait,
Jen, close the curtain so no one can see,
Hey kiss me quick, 'cause the red light is flashing,
It's flashing on Jennifer Johnson and me.
It must have been summer, Nineteen Sixty Seven,
The Beatles were singing "Love Is All You Need",
I held her hand as we walked through the arcade,
Two young believers on a three dollar spree.
Chorus
Waiting on that late night train back to home,
I felt her warm, in the cool evening breeze,
Told her I'd probably love her forever,
Forever for Jennifer Johnson and Me.
Chorus
Three for a quarter a black and white portrait,
Two young believers on a three dollar spree,
I saved you picture in my sport coat pocket,
Jennifer Johnson, did you save one of me.
187
Jesse James
(Trad)
Jesse James was a lad who killed many a man,
He robbed the Glendale train,
He stole from the rich, and he gave to the poor,
He'd a hand and a heart and a brain.
Well it was Robert Ford, that dirty little coward,
I wonder just how he feels,
For he ate of Jesse's bread, and he slept in Jesse's bed,
And he laid poor Jesse in his grave.
Chorus: Well Jesse had a wife to mourn for his life,
Three children they were brave,
But that dirty little coward who shot Mr. Howard,
Has laid poor Jesse in his grave.
Well now Jesse was a man, a friend to the poor,
He'd never rob a mother or a child,
There never was a man with the law in his hand,
That could take Jesse James when alive.
It was on a Saturday night, the moon was shining bright,
They robbed the Glendale train,
And the people they did say, for many miles away,
It was those outlaws Frank and Jesse James.
Chorus
Now the people held their breath when they heard of Jesse's death,
They wondered how he'd ever come to fall,
Robert Ford it was in fact, he shot Jesse in the back,
While Jesse hung a picture on a wall.
Now Jesse went to rest with, his hand on his breast,
The devil upon his knee,
He was born one day in the County Clay,
And he came from a solitary race.
Chorus
This song was made by Billy Gashade,
As soon as the news did arrive,
He said there's no one man, with the law in his hand,
Could ever take Jesse James alive.
188
Jesus Met the Woman at the Well
(Trad)
Jesus met the woman at the well
And He told her everything she'd ever done
He said, "Woman, woman, where is your husband?"
"I know everything you've ever done"
She said, "Jesus, Jesus, I ain't got no husband"
"And You don't know everything I've ever done"
He said, "Woman, woman, you've got five husbands"
"And the one you have now, he's not your own"
(Peter, Paul and Mary last verse)
She said, "This man, this man, He must be a prophet"
"He done told me everything I've ever done"
(Mahalia Jackson Last verse)
She went running, running into the city,
That man done told me everything I've done.
189
Joe Hill
(Words: Alfred Hayes/Music: Earl Robinson)
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night, alive as you and me,
But Joe I said, "You're ten years dead",
"I never died", said he,
"I never died said he".
"The Copper Bosses killed you Joe, they shot you Joe", says I,
"Takes more than guns to kill a man",
Says Joe "I didn't die",
Says Joe "I didn't die".
"In Salt Lake City, Joe", I says to him, him standing by my bed,
"They framed you on a murder charge",
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead'',
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead".
And standing there as big as life and smiling with his eyes,
Says Joe, "What they forgot to kill,
Went on to organize,
Went on to organize".
"Joe Hill ain't dead", he says to me, "Joe Hill ain't never died,
Where working men are out on strike,
Joe Hill is by their side,
Joe Hill is by their side".
"From San Diego up to Maine, in every mine and mill,
Where working men defend their rights,
It's there you'll find Joe Hill,
It's there you'll find Joe Hill."
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night, alive as you and me,
But Joe I said, "You're ten years dead",
"I never died", said he,
"I never died", said he.
190
John Deere B
(Fred J. Eaglesmith)
Well I watched him from the window, as he parked across the lane,
His face was red and sunburned, his clothes were old and stained,
He wasn't a collector, he hadn't come for a bargain,
He needed that old tractor to farm that old farm
Chorus: It was a John Deere B with a row crop front end,
A hand crank and a flywheel, the original paint.
But it won't work another field, it won't farm another farm.
Some restaurant up in Omaha has got it parked out on its lawn."
I watched him check the oil, then he set the spark.
He pulled on that old pumpcord until he finally got it started.
Then he listened for a little bit, and then he set the time.
When he got it going, I watched him slowly smile.
Chorus
When the bidding started I saw him twitch his eyes,
Then I saw them narrow when the price went too high,
He turned and looked a couple times before he got into his car,
Quietly turned around and drove out of the yard.
191
John Henry
(Trad)
John Henry he could hammer,
He could whistle, he could sing,
He went to the mountain early in the morning,
Just to hear his hammer ring, Lord, Lord,
Just to hear his hammer ring.
When John Henry was a little baby,
Sitting on his daddy's knee,
He picked up a hammer, a little piece of steel,
Said hammer be the death of me, Lord, Lord,
Said hammer be the death of me.
When John Henry's family needed money,
Said he didn't have but a dime,
If you wait till the red sun goes down,
I'll get it from the man in the mine, Lord, Lord,
I'll get it from the man in the mine.
Well John Henry went to the Captain,
Said the captain, what can you do,
I can hoist a jack, I can lay a track,
I can pick and shovel too, Lord, Lord,
I can pick and shovel too.
Well the captain said to John Henry,
Gonna bring me a steam drill 'round,
Gonna take that steam drill out on the job,
Gonna whup that steel on down, Lord, Lord,
Whup that steel on down
Well John Henry said to the captain,
Oh a man ain't nothing but a man,
Before I'd let your steam drill beat me down,
I'd die with my hammer in my hand, Lord, Lord,
Die with my hammer in my hand.
John Henry driving on the right side,
That steam drill driving on the left,
Says, Before I let your steam drill beat me down,
I'm gonna hammer myself to death, Lord, Lord,
I'll hammer my fool self to death.
John Henry said to his shaker,
Shaker why don't you sing,
192
I'm throwing fifteen pounds from my hips on down,
Just listen to the cold steel ring, Lord, Lord,
Just listen to the cold steel ring
Well the Captain says to John Henry,
I believe your mountain's caving in,
John Henry said to the Captain,
'Tain't nothing but my hammer sucking wind, Lord, Lord,
'Tain't nothing but my hammer sucking wind.
Well John Henry said to the captain,
Looka yonder what I see,
The hole done choke, your drill done broke,
And you can't drive steel like me, Lord, Lord,
Can't drive steel like me.
The man that invented the steam drill,
Thought he was mighty fine,
John Henry made his fifteen feet,
The steam drill only made nine, Lord, Lord,
The steam drill only made nine.
Well John Henry drove into the mountain,
His hammer was striking fire,
He drove so hard he broke his poor heart,
And he laid down his hammer and he died, Lord, Lord,
Laid down his hammer and he died.
Well John Henry had a little woman,
And her name was Polly Ann,
She walked down the track, never looked back,
Polly Ann. drove steel like a man, Lord, Lord,
Polly Ann drove steel like a man.
Oh they took John Henry to the White House,
And they buried him in the sand,
Every locomotive come roaring by,
Says there lies a steel driving man, Lord, Lord,
There lies a steel driving man.
John Henry he could hammer,
He could whistle, he could sing,
He went to the mountain early in the morning,
Just to hear his hammer ring, Lord, Lord,
Just to hear his hammer ring.
193
Johnny be Fair
Well, Johnny be fair and Johnny be fine and wants me for to wed,
And I would marry Johnny, but me father up and said,
I'm sad to tell you daughter what your mother never knew,
But Johnny is a son of mine and so he's kin to you.
Well, Jimmy be fair and Jimmy be fine and wants me for to wed,
And I would marry Jimmy, but me father up and said,
But Jimmy, too, is a son of mine and so he's kin to you.
Well, Billy be fair and Billy be fine and wants me for to wed,
And I would marry Billy, but me father up and said,
But Billy, too, is a son of mine and so he's kin to you.
You never seen a girl so sad and sorry as I was,
The boys in town are all my kin and my father is the cause,
If life should thus continue I shall die a single miss,
So I'll go to mother and complain to her of this.
Oh daughter, haven't I taught you to forgive and to forget,
Even if your father sowed his oats, will still you needn't fret,
Your father may be father to all the boys in town, but still,
He's not the one who sired you, so marry who you will.
194
Johnny I Hardly Knew You
(Trad)
While on the road to sweet Athy, hurroo, hurroo,
While on the road to sweet Athy, hurroo, hurroo,
While on the road to sweet Athy, a stick in me hand and a tear in me eye,
A mournful maid I heard to cry,
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo,
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo,
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, the enemy nearly slew ye,
Oh my darling dear, ye look so queer,
Johnny I hardly knew ye.
Tis glad I am to see ye home, hurroo, hurroo,
Tis glad I am to see ye home, hurroo, hurroo,
Tis glad I am to see ye home all from the island of Sulloon,
So low in the flesh, so high in the bone,
Oh Johnny I hardly knew ye.
Where are your legs with which you ran, hurroo, hurroo,
Where are your legs with which you ran, hurroo, hurroo,
Where are your legs with which you ran when first you went to carry a gun,
Indeed your dancing days are done,
Oh Johnny, I hardly knew ye.
Where are the eyes that looked so mild, hurroo, hurroo,
Where are the eyes that looked so mild, hurroo, hurroo,
Where are the eyes that looked so mild, when my poor heart you first beguiled,
Why did ye skedaddle from me and the child,
Oh Johnny, I hardly knew ye.
Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg, hurroo, hurroo,
Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg, hurroo, hurroo,
Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg Ye're an eyeless, boneless, chickenless egg,
Ye'll have to be put with a bowl out to beg,
Oh Johnny I hardly knew ye.
They're rolling out the guns again, hurroo, hurroo,
They're rolling out the guns again, hurroo, hurroo,
They're rolling out the guns again,
But they never will take my sons again,
No they'll never take my sons again,
Johnny I'm swearing to ye.
195
Just Like a Woman
(Bob Dylan)
Nobody feels any pain, tonight as I stand inside the rain,
Everybody knows that Baby's got new clothes,
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows,
Have fallen from her curls.
Chorus: She takes just like a woman, yes she does,
She makes love just like a woman, yes she does,
And she aches just like a woman,
But she breaks just like a little girl.
Queen Mary, she's my friend, yes, I believe I'll go see her again,
Nobody has to guess that Baby can't be blessed,
Till she finally sees that she's like all the rest,
With her fog, her amphetamine and her pearls.
Chorus
Break: It's was raining from the first and I was dying there of thirst,
So I came in here,
And your long-time curse hurts, but, baby, what is worse,
Is this pain in here,
I can't stay in here,
Ain't it clear that.
I just can't fit, yes, I believe it's time for us to quit,
When we meet again and are introduced as friends,
Please don't let on that you knew me when,
I was hungry and it was your world.
Chorus
196
Just Someone I Used to Know
(Cowboy Jack Clement)
There's a picture that I carry,
One we made some time ago,
When they ask who's in the picture with me,
I say, just someone I used to know.
Just someone I used to spend some time with,
Just a flame that's lost its glow,
But I don't tell them of the nights I cried without you,
I say just someone I used to know.
Just someone I used to run around with,
Just a friend from long ago,
I don't tell them how lost I am without you,
197
Kansas City
(Leiber, Jerry /Mike Stoller)
I'm going to Kansas City,
Kansas City here I come,
They got some pretty little women there and I'm gonna get me one.
I'm gonna be standing on the corner,
Twelfth Street and Vine,
I'm gonna be standing on the corner,
Twelfth Street and Vine,
With my Kansas City baby and a bottle of Kansas City wine.
Well I might take a plane,
I may take a train,
But if I have to walk I'm going to get there just the same.
They got some pretty little women there and I'm gonna get me one.
198
Katie Dear (aka Silver Dagger)
(Trad)
Oh Katie dear, go ask your mama,
If you can be a bride of mine,
If she says yes, come back and tell me,
If she says no, we'll run away.
Oh Willie dear, there's no use in asking,
For she's inside, a-taking rest,
And by her side lies a silver dagger,
To slay the one that I love best,
Oh Katie dear, go ask your papa,
If you could be a bride of mine,
If he says yes, come back and tell me,
If he says no, we'll run away.
Oh Willie dear, there's no use in asking,
For he's inside, laying on his feather bed,
And by his side lies a silver dagger,
To slay the one that I love best.
Then he picked up that silver dagger,
And plumbed it into his troubled heart,
Saying, "goodbye Katie, goodbye darling,
I'll die for the one that I love best."
Then she picked up that bloody dagger,
And she plumbed it into her lily-white breast,
Saying, "goodbye Mama, goodbye Papa,
I'll die for the one that I love best."
199
Keep On the Sunny Side
(Words: Ada Blenkhorn/Music: J. Howard Entwisle
There's a dark and a troubled side of life,
There's a bright and a sunny side, too,
Though' we meet with the darkness and strife,
The sunny side we also may view.
Chorus: Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side,
Keep on the sunny side of life,
It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way,
If we keep on the sunny side of life.
Though' the storm in its fury break today,
Crushing hopes that we cherished so dear,
Storm and cloud will in time pass away,
The sun again will shine bright and clear.
Chorus
Let us greet with a song of hope each day,
Though the moments be cloudy or fair,
Let us trust in our Savior always,
Who keepeth everyone in His care.
Chorus
200
King of the Road
(Scott Hill/Bob Balch/Brad Davis/Brant Bjork)
Trailer for sale or rent,
Rooms to let fifty cents,
No phone no pool no pets,
I ain't got no cigarettes,
Ah but, two hours of pushing broom,
Buys a eight by twelve four bit room,
I'm a man of means by no means,
King of the road.
Third boxcar midnight train,
Destination Bangor Maine,
Old worn out suit and shoes,
I don't pay no union dues,
I smoke old stogies I have found,
Short but not too big around,
King of the road.
Bridge: I know every engineer on every train,
All of the children and all of their names,
And every handout in every town,
And every lock that ain't locked when no one's around.
I sing trailers for sale or rent,
Rooms to let fifty cents,
No phone no pool no pets,
I ain't got no cigarettes,
Ah but, two hours of pushing broom,
Buys a eight by twelve four bit room,
King of the road.
201
L.A. Freeway
(Guy Clark)
Pack up all your dishes,
Make note of all good wishes,
Say goodbye to the landlord for me,
That son of a bitch has always bored me,
Throw out them L.A. papers,
And that moldy box of vanilla wafers,
Adios to all this concrete,
Going to get me some dirt road back street.
Chorus
If I can just get off of this LA freeway,
Without getting killed or caught,
I'd be down that road in a cloud of smoke,
For some land that I ain't bought, bought, bought.
Here's to you old skinny Dennis,
Only one I think I will miss,
I can hear that old bass singing,
Sweet and low like a gift you're bringing,
Play it for me just one more time now,
Got to give it all we can now,
I believe everything your saying,
Just keep on, keep on playing.
Chorus
And you put the pink card in the mailbox,
Leave the key in the old front door lock,
They will find it likely as not,
With everything that we have forgot,
Oh Susanna, don't you cry, babe,
Love's a gift that's surely handmade,
We've got something to believe in,
Before you know it's time we're leaving.
Chorus
202
Lady Margaret (Child 74)
(Trad)
Sweet William rose one morning bright.
And dressed himself in blue.
"Come tell to me the long lost love.
Between Lady Margaret and you."
"I know no harm of Lady Margaret," said he,
"And I hope she knows none of me,
But tomorrow morning before eight o'clock,
Lady Margaret my bride shall be."
As Lady Margaret was in her chamber high,
A-combing up her hair,
She spied sweet William and his bride,
As they to the church drew near.
She threw down her ivory comb,
And tossed back her hair,
And from the room a fair lady came,
That was seen in there no more.
The day being gone and the night being come,
When most men were asleep,
Sweet William spied Lady Margaret's ghost,
A-standing at his bed feet.
"How do you like your bed?" she said,
"And how do you like your sheet?
And how do you like the fair lady,
That lies in your arms asleep?"
"Very well do I like my bed," said he,
"Very well do I like my sheet,
But better do I like the fair lady
That is standing at my bed feet."
The night being gone and the day being come,
When most men were awake,
Sweet William said he was troubled in his head,
From a dream he had last night.
He called his weary waiting maids,
By one, by two, by three,
And last of all, with his bride's consent,
Lady Margaret he went to see.
203
He went unto the parlor door,
He knocked until he made things ring,
But none was so ready as her own dear brother,
To arise and let him in.
"Is Lady Margaret in the parlor?" said he,
"Or is she in the hall,
Or is she in her chamber high,
Among the gay ladies all?"
"Lady Margaret is not in the parlor," said he,
"She is neither in the hall,
She is in her coffin,
And a-lying by the wall."
"Tear down, tear down, those milk white sheets,
They are made of silk so fine,
That I may kiss Lady Margaret's cheek,
For oft times she has kissed mine."
The first that he kissed was her rosy cheek,
The next was her dimpled chin,
The last of all was her clay-cold lips,
That pierced his heart within.
"Tear down, tear down those milk white sheets,
They are made of silk so fine,
Today they hang around Lady Margaret's corpse,
And tomorrow they will hang around mine."
Lady Margaret died of pure, pure love,
Sweet William died of sorrow,
They are buried in one burying ground,
Both side and side together.
Out of her grave grew a red rose,
And out of his a briar,
They grew in a twining true lover's knot,
The rose and the green briar.
Performance:
As Lady Margaret sitting in her high hall,
Combing back her long yellow hair,
She sees sweet William and his new-made bride,
Riding to the church so near, well.
She threw down her ivory comb,
And tossed back her long yellow hair,
204
Banjo Tuning or Double Drop D
Said I'll go bid them farewell,
And never more go there, well.
It was lately in the night,
When men lay fast asleep,
Lady Margaret's appeared at their bedside,
Standing at their feet, well.
"How do you like your pillow, young man,
"And how do you like your sheets?
And how do you like the new-made bride,
Laying in your arms asleep?", well.
"Very well do I like my pillow," said he,
"Very well do I like my sheets,
Most of all do I like the fair young maid
Standing at my feet."
Once he kissed her fair, white hand,
Twice he kissed her cheek,
Three times he kissed her cold, corpsy lips,
And fell in her arms asleep, well
Is Lady Margaret in her chamber,
Is she in her hall?
Lady Margaret is in her clay-cold coffin,
With her face turned to the wall?
205
Lakes of Pontchartrain
(Trad)
Twas on one bright March morning I bid New Orleans adieu,
And rode the rails to Jackson town, me fortune to renew,
I cursed all foreign money, no credit could I gain,
Which filled me with a longing for the Lakes of Pontchartrain.
I stepped on board of a railroad car beneath the morning sun,
And I rode the roads till evening and then I laid me down,
All strangers here, no friends to me till a dark girl towards me came,
And I fell in love with a Creole girl from the Lakes of Pontchartrain.
I said my pretty Creole girl, me money here's no good,
If it weren't for the alligators I'd sleep out in the wood,
You're welcome here kind stranger, our house it's very plain,
But we never turn a stranger out at the Lakes of Pontchartrain.
She took me to her mammy's house and they treated me quite well,
The hair upon her shoulders in jet black ringlets fell,
To try and paint her beauty I'm sure would be in vain,
So handsome was my Creole girl from the Lakes of Pontchartrain.
I asked her if she'd marry me, she'd said it could never be,
For she had got another and he was far at sea,
She said that she would wait for him and true she would remain,
So constant was my Creole girl from the Lakes of Pontchartrain.
So fair thee well me bonny old girl I'll ne'er see you no more,
But I'll ne'er forget your kindness in the cottage by the shore,
And at each social gathering a flowing glass I'll drain,
And drink a health to me Creole girl from the Lakes of Pontchartrain.
206
The Last Cowboy Song
(Ron Peterson/Ed Bruce)
Chorus: This is the last cowboy song, the end of a hundred year waltz,
Voices sound sad as they're singing along, another piece of America's lost.
He rides a feed lot and clerks in a market,
On weekends selling tobacco and beer,
He spends all his days surrounded by fences,
But he'll dream tonight of when fences weren't here.
Chorus
He blazed the trail with Lewis and Clark,
And eyeball to eyeball Ole Wyatt stood down,
He stood shoulder to shoulder with Travis in Texas,
And rode with the Seventh when Custer went down.
Chorus
Remington showed us how he looked on canvas,
And Louie L'Amour has told us his tale,
And Willie and Waylon and me sing about him,
And wish to God we could have ridden his trail.
Chorus
The Old Chisholm Trail is covered in concrete,
Now they truck them to market in fifty foot rigs,
They drive by his market and don't even notice,
As if living and dying was all he did.
Chorus
207
The Last Day of May
(Michael Troy)
On the hillside of tears stones stand like soldiers,
All at attention, all in a row,
Frozen in time, youthful in pictures,
Too brave to stay, too young to go,
Here’s to the boys who all went before me,
No honor or glory, could ever repay,
The lives that you spent are just tears in showers,
And hands full of flowers on the last day in May.
Chorus: Though the valley of death, did swallow them whole,
Lord let no soul, die in vain,
When the boundaries of peace, get out of control,
Let the Angel of Mercy, hold close their names.
There’s a house with a wall covered with the pictures,
Of all of the children, all of them grown,
There’s a woman in the house who raised all the children,
Who could never sleep easy, till all where at home,
Here’s to the mothers who paid the ultimate price,
Made to live out their lives, in grief all the years,
Here’s to the fathers, who comfort their wife,
With nothing to offer, but buckets of tears.
Chorus
They lie in green pastures beside the still water,
All at attention, all in a row,
Though flesh turns to dust, souls are forever,
They restored the order, our cups overflow.
Chorus
208
Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream
(Ed McCurdy)
Last night I had the strangest dream,
I'd ever dreamed before,
I dreamed the world had all agreed,
To put an end to war.
I dreamed I saw a mighty room,
Filled with women and men,
And the paper they were signing said,
They'd never fight again.
And when the papers were all signed,
And a million copies made,
They all joined hands and bowed their heads,
And grateful prayers were prayed.
And the people in the streets below,
Were dancing 'round and 'round,
While guns and swords and uniforms,
Were scattered on the ground.
Last night I had the strangest dream,
I'd never dreamed before,
I dreamed the world had all agreed,
To put an end to war.
209
Last Thing on My Mind
(Tom Paxton)
It's a lesson too late for the learning,
Made of sand, made of sand,
In the wink of an eye my soul is turning,
In your hand, in your hand.
Chorus: Are you going away with no word of farewell?
Will there be not a trace left behind?
Well, I could have loved you better,
Didn't mean to be unkind,
You know that was the last thing on my mind.
You've got reasons a-plenty for going,
This I know, this I know,
For the weeds have been steadily growing,
Please don't go, please don't go.
Chorus
As we walk on, my thoughts are a-tumbling,
Round and round, round and round,
Underneath our feet the subways rumbling,
Underground, underground.
Chorus
As I lie in my bed in the morning,
Without you, without you,
Every song in my breast dies a' borning,
Without you, without you.
Chorus
Well I met this young girl at a folk club,
Like you do, like you do,
So I bought her a drink and we chatted,
Wouldn't you, wouldn't you.
And then after the show she invited me home,
And she said we were two of a kind,
Then she played me every record,
That Tom Paxton ever made,
And you know that was the last thing on my mind.
210
Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight
(Rodney Crowell/Donivan Cowart)
Mary took to running with a traveling man,
Left her momma crying with her head in her hands,
Such a sad case so broken hearted.
She said momma I got to go I gotta get out of here,
I gotta get out of town I'm tired of hanging around,
I gotta roll on between the ditches.
It's just an ordinary story about the way things go,
Round and round nobody knows, but the highway goes on forever,
That old highway rolls on forever.
Lord she never would have done it if she hadn't got drunk,
If she hadn't started running with a traveling man,
If she hadn't started taking those crazy chances.
She said daughter let me tell you about the traveling kind,
Everywhere he's going such a very short time,
He'll be long gone before you know it,
He'll be long gone before you know it
Chorus: She said never have I known it when it felt so good,
Never have I knew it when I knew I could,
Never have I done it when it looked so right,
Leaving Louisiana in the broad daylight.
This is down in the swampland anything goes,
It's alligator bait and the bars don't close,
It's the real thing down in Louisiana.
Did you ever see a Cajun when he really got mad,
When he really got trouble like a daughter gone bad,
It gets real hot down in Louisiana.
The stranger better move it or he's going to get killed,
He's going to have to get it or a shotgun will,
It ain't no time for lengthy speeches,
There ain't no time for lengthy speeches.
Chorus
211
The Leaving of Liverpool
(Trad)
C
F
C
Oh I'm sailing away, my own true love,
D7 G G7
I am going far a-way,
C
F C
I am bound for California,
G
C
And I know I'll return some day.
Pronounced Cal-If-Forn-Eye-A
G
F
C
Chorus: So fare thee well, my own true love,
G
When I return, united we will be,
C
F
C
It's not the leaving of Liverpool that grieves me,
G
C
But my darling when I think of thee.
I have signed on a Yankee clipper ship,
Davy Crockett is her name,
And John Burgess is the captain of her,
And they say that she's a floating shame.
Chorus
I have sailed with Burgess once before,
And I think that I know him well,
If a man is sailor he can get along,
If not he is sure in hell.
Chorus
Oh the sun is on the harbor, lass,
And I know I cannot remain,
And I know it will be a long, long time,
Until we're together once again.
212
Leaving on a Jet Plane
(John Denver)
All my bags are packed I'm ready to go,
I'm standing here outside your door,
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye,
But the dawn is breaking it's early morn,
The taxi's waiting he's blowing his horn,
Already I'm so lonesome I could die.
Chorus: So kiss me and smile for me,
Tell me that you'll wait for me,
Hold me like you'll never let me go,
Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane,
Don't know when I'll be back again,
Oh babe, I hate to go.
There's so many times I've let you down,
So many times I've played around,
I tell you now, they don't mean a thing,
Every place I go, I'll think of you,
Every song I sing, I'll sing for you,
When I come back, I'll bring your wedding ring.
Chorus
Now the time has come to leave you,
One more time let me kiss you,
Close your eyes I'll be on my way,
Dream about the days to come,
When I won't have to leave alone,
About the times, I won't have to say.
Chorus
Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane,
Don't know when I'll be back again,
Oh baby, I hate to go.
213
Lily of the West
(Trad)
When first I came to Louisville, my fortune there to find,
A damsel there from Lexington was pleasing to my mind,
Her rosy cheek, her ruby lips, they gave my heart no rest,
The name she bore was Flora, the lily of the west.
I courted lovely Flora, she promised ne'er to go,
But soon a tale was told to me that filled my heart with woe,
They said she meets another man who holds my love in jest,
And yet I trusted Flora, the lily of the west.
Way down in yonder shady grove, with a man of low degree,
He spoke unto my Flora there and kissed her 'neath a tree,
The answers that she gave to him like arrows pierced my breast,
I was betrayed by Flora, the lily of the west.
I crept up to my rival, my dagger in my hand,
I seized him by the collar and I boldly bade him to stand,
All in my desperation I stabbed him in his breast,
I killed a man for Flora, the lily of the west.
And then I had to stand my trial, I had to make my plea,
They placed me in the prisoner's box and then commenced on me,
Although she swore my life away, deprived me of my rest,
Still I love my faithless Flora, the lily of the west.
214
Little Boxes
(Malvina Reynolds)
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same,
There's a green one and a pink one,
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky,
And they all look just the same.
And the people in the houses,
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes,
And they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and lawyers,
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky,
And they all play on the golf course,
And drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children,
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp,
And then to the university,
Where they are put in boxes,
And they come out all the same.
And the boys go into business,
And marry and raise a family,
In boxes made of ticky tacky,
And they all look just the same,
There's a green one and a pink one,
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
215
Live Forever
(Billy Joe Shaver)
I'm going to live forever,
I'm going to cross that river,
I'm going to catch tomorrow now,
You're going to want to hold me,
Just like I've always told you,
You're going to miss me when I'm gone,
Nobody here will ever find me,
But I will always be around,
Just like the songs I leave behind me,
I'm going to live forever now.
You fathers and you mothers,
Be good to one another,
Please try to raise your children right,
Don't let the darkness take them,
Don't make them feel forsaken,
Just lead them safely to the light.,
When this old world is blown us under,
And all the stars fall from the sky,
Remember someone really loves you,
We'll live forever you and I.
(3x)I'm going to live forever,
I'm going to cross that river,
I'm going to catch tomorrow now,
(3x)I'm going to live forever now,
Bridge: Dream of angels and sunshine,
Rivers of red wine and orange peel blue,
Dream of angels and sunshine,
Of rivers of red wine and orange peel blue,
Dreaming of you.
216
Loch Lomond
(Trad)
By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond,
Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.
Chorus: O ye'll tak the high road and I'll tak the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye,
But me and me true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.
Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side of Ben Lomond,
Where in purple hue the Hieland hills we view,
And the moon coming out in the gloaming.
Chorus
The wee birdies sing and the wild flowers spring,
And in sunshine the waters are sleeping,
But the broken heart it kens nae second spring again,
Tho' the waeful may cease frae their grieving.
Chorus
217
London Homesick Blues
(Gary P Nunn)
Well, when you're down on your luck, and you ain't got a buck, in London you're a
goner,
Even London Bridge has fallen down, and moved to Arizona, now I know why,
And I'll substantiate the rumor that the English sense of humor is drier than the
Texas sand,
You can put up your dukes, or you can bet your boots that I'm leaving just as fast
as I can.
Chorus: I want to go home with the armadillo,
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene,
The friendliest people and the prettiest women you've ever seen.
Well, it's cold over here, and, I swear, I wish they'd turn the heat on,
And where in the world is that English girl I promised I would meet on the third
floor,
And of the whole damn lot, the only friend I've got is a smoke and a cheap guitar,
My mind keeps roaming, my heart keeps longing, to be home in a Texas bar.
Chorus
Well, I decided that I'd get my cowboy hat and go down to Marble Arch Station,
'Cause when a Texan fancies, he'll take his chances, chances will be taken, that's
for sure,
And them Limey eyes, they were eyeing the prize that some people call manly
footwear,
And they said you're from down South, 'cause when you open your mouth, you
always seem to put your foot there.
Chorus
218
Lonesome Valley
(Trad)
You gotta walk that lonesome valley,
You gotta walk it by yourself,
Nobody here can walk it for you,
You gotta walk it by yourself.
Now mother walked that lonesome valley,
She had to walk it by herself,
Cause nobody else could walk it for her,
She had to walk it by herself.
Now father walked that lonesome valley,
He had to walk it by himself,
Nobody else could walk it for him,
He had to walk it by himself.
Some people say that John was a Baptist,
Some folks say he was a Jew,
But your holy scripture tells you,
That he was a preacher too.
Daniel was a Bible hero,
Was a prophet brave and true,
In a den of hungry lions
Proved what faith can do for you.
There's a road that leads to glory,
Through a valley far away,
Nobody else can walk it for you,
They can only point the way.
Oh, you got to ask the lords forgiveness,
Nobody else can ask him for you,
You got to go to the lonesome valley,
You got to go there by yourself.
Mamma and daddy loves you dearly,
Sister does and brother, too,
They may beg you to go with them,
But they cannot go for you.
I'm gonna walk that lonesome valley,
I'm gonna walk it by myself,
Don't want to nobody to walk it for me,
I'm gonna walk it by myself.
219
Long Black Veil
(Danny Dill/Marijohn Wilkin)
Ten years ago on a cold dark night,
Someone was killed 'neath the town hall light,
There were few at the scene, but they all agreed,
That the slayer who ran looked a lot like me.
Chorus: She walks these hills, in a long black veil,
She visits a grave, when the night winds wail,
Nobody knows, nobody sees, nobody knows, but me.
The Judge said son, what is your alibi,
If you were somewhere else, then you won't have to die,
I spoke not a word, though it meant my life,
For I'd been in the arms of my best friend's wife.
Chorus
Now the scaffold is high, and eternity's near,
She stood in the crowd, and shed not a tear,
But sometimes at night, when the cold wind moans,
In a long black veil, she cries o'er my bones.
Chorus: She walks these hills, in a long black veil,
She visits my grave when the night winds wail,
Nobody knows, nobody sees, nobody knows, but me.
220
Long Chain On
(Jimmy Driftwood)
One night as I lay on my pillow,
Moonlight as bright as the dawn,
I saw a man come a-walking,
I heard his chains a-clanking,
They made a mournful sound,
Welded around his body,
Dragging along the ground.
Chorus: He had a long chain on,
He had a long chain on,
He stood beside my window,
He looked at me and he said,
"I am so tired and hungry,
Give me a bite of your bread."
He didn't look like a robber,
He didn't look like a thief.
His voice was as soft as the moonlight,
A face full of sorrow and grief.
Chorus
I went into my kitchen,
Fetched him a bowl full of meat,
A drink and a pan of cold biscuits,
That's what I gave him to eat.
Though he was tired and hungry,
A bright light came over his face.
He bowed his head in the moonlight,
He said a beautiful grace.
Chorus
I got my hammer and chisel,
Offered to set him free.
He looked at me and said softly,
"I guess we had best let it be."
When he had finished his supper,
He thanked me again and again.
221
Though it's been years since I've seen him,
Still hear him dragging his chain.
Chorus
The note by Jimmy Driftwood in the booklet accompanying the Bear Family boxed set of his
recordings 'Americana' BCD 15465 is as follows:
At the beginning of the Civil War the men in Arkansas where I live, Searcy and later Stone
Counties, said they would not fight against the U.S. Government, neither would they fight
against their friends in the South. They were rounded up and captured by the southern army and
marched away to Little Rock in chains. I was told there were 100 of them and the odd man just
wore a ball and chain whereas the other 99 were chained in three's. The man with the ball and
chain got into the thick willows in a creek near my home and got away according to legend. He
never was captured nor would he ever let the welded chain be cut off his body. Wherever I have
sung this song, there have been differences of opinion as to its meaning. Alan Lomax thinks this
is one of the greatest songs he has ever heard and he said, "Let each individual interpret it for
himself." JD
222
Love's a Word
(Robert Earl Keen)
I guess we’ve come full circle,
We’re strangers once again,
It’s hard to know we’d ever come to this,
It’s funny you were saying how you’d miss,
The good ole times,
While all alone I'm thinking,
You’re the one I’ll miss.
Chorus: Love’s a word I never throw around,
So when I say I love you till the end,
I'm talking about until the day they lay me in the ground,
Love’s a word I never throw around.
I’d like to think you’re leaving,
Because I’ve treated you unkind,
But maybe you just found somebody new,
But I know the only reason that you’re leaving me behind,
Is you’re no longer feel the way I feel for you.
Chorus
So I'm going to the country,
To spend some time out in the woods,
Counting stars and sleeping all alone,
I can’t say for certain that it’ll do me any good,
But it’s time I got accustomed to being on my own.
Chorus
223
Lovesick Blues
(Words: Cliff Friend/Music: Irving Mills) Note: originally performed in Tin Pan Alley
musical Ooh Ernest, it was recorded by several singers before Hank Williams had a monster hit
with it.
I got a feeling called the blues, oh, Lord,
Since my baby said goodbye,
And I don't know what I'll do,
All I do is sit and sigh, oh, Lord,
That last long day she said goodbye,
Well Lord I thought I would cry,
She'll do me, she'll do you, she's got that kind of loving,
Lord, I love to hear her when she calls me,
Sweet daddy, such a beautiful dream,
I hate to think it's all over,
I've lost my heart it seems,
I've grown so used to you somehow,
Well, I'm nobody's sugar daddy now,
And I'm lonesome,
I got the Lovesick Blues.
Well, I'm in love, I'm in love, with a beautiful gal,
That's what's the matter with me,
Well, I'm in love, I'm in love, with a beautiful gal,
But she don't care about me,
Lord, I tried and I tried, to keep her satisfied,
But she just wouldn't stay,
So now that she is leaving,
This is all I can say.
Repeat First verse
224
MacPherson's Rant
(Trad)
Farewell ye dungeons dark and strong,
Farewell, farewell tae thee,
Macpherson's time will no be lang,
On yon high gallows tree.
It was by a woman's treacherous hands,
That I was condemned to dee,
She stood on a ledge below the window there,
And a blanket threw over me.
Chorus: Sae rantingly, sae wantonly,
And sae dauntingly gaed he,
He played a tune and he danced aroon,
Below the gallows tree.
Oh what is death, but parting breath,
On many a bloody plain,
I've daur'd his face, and in his place,
I scorn him yet again.
I have lived a life, o' straught and strife,
I die by treachery,
It burns my heart, that I must depart,
An no avenged be.
The Laird o' Grant, oh that hieland sant,
That first laid hands on me,
He pleads the cause o' Peter Broon,
Ach, let Macpherson free.
So tak these bands fae aff my hands,
Gie to me my sword,
There's nae a man in all Scotland,
But I'll brave him at a word.
Now farewell light thou sunshine bright,
And all beneath the sky,
May coward shame distain his name,
The wretch that dare not die.
Oh there's some come here tae see me hanged,
And some to buy my fiddle,
But before I do part with her,
I'll brak her through the middle.
225
He taken the fiddle into both his hands,
He's brak it o'er a stane,
Saying, "No anither hand will play on thee,
When I am dead and gane."
"Oh little did my mither think,
When first that she cradled me,
That I would turn tae the roving trade,
And die on gallows tree."
Reprieve was coming o'er the bridge o' Banf,
Tae set Macpherson free,
They put the clock aye a quarter 'fore,
And they hanged him frae the tree.
226
Mail Myself to You
(Woody Guthrie)
I'm gonna wrap myself in paper
I'm gonna daub myself with glue
Stick some stamps on the top of my head
I'm gonna mail myself to you
I'm gonna tie me in a little red string
I'm gonna tie blue ribbons too
Climb up into my mailbox
I'm gonna mail myself to you
When you find me in your mailbox
Cut the string and let me out
Wash the glue off of my fingers
Stick some bubble gum in my mouth
Take me out of my wrapping paper
Wash the stamps off of my head
Pour me full of some ice cream soda
Tuck me into a nice warm bed
227
C
C
C
G
FG
FG
F
C
Mairi's Wedding (aka the Lewis Bridal Song)
(John Roderick Bannerman) Note: Written, in Gaelic, for Mary C. MacNiven when she
won a gold medal for singing at the National Mod in 1934. Translated to English by Sir Hugh
Robertson
Chorus: Step we gaily on we go,
Heel for heel and toe for toe,
Arm in arm and row and row,
All for Mairi's wedding.
Over hill-way up and down,
Myrtle green and bracken brown,
Past the shieling through the town,
All for Mairi's wedding.
Chorus
Plenty herring plenty meal,
Plenty peat tae fill her creel,
Plenty bonny bairns as weel,
That's the toast for Mairi.
Chorus
Cheeks as bright as rowans are,
Brighter far than any star.
Fairest of them all by far,
Is my darling Mairi.
Chorus
228
Mama Tried
(Merle Haggard)
The first thing I remember knowing,
Was a lonesome whistle blowing,
And a young un's dream of growing up to ride,
On a freight train leaving town,
Not knowing where I'm bound,
No one could change my mind but Mama tried.
One and only rebel child,
From a family, meek and mild,
My Mama seemed to know what lay in store,
In spite of all my Sunday learning,
Towards the bad, I kept on turning,
Till Mama couldn't hold me anymore.
Chorus: And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole,
No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried,
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied,
That leaves only me to blame 'cause Mama tried.
Dear old Daddy, rest his soul,
Left my Mom a heavy load,
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes,
Working hours without rest,
Wanted me to have the best,
She tried to raise me right but I refused.
Chorus
229
Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys
(Patsy Bruce/ Bruce, Ed)
Chorus: Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys,
Don't let them pick guitars and drive them old trucks,
Make them be doctors and lawyers and such,
Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys,
They'll never stay home and they're always alone,
Even with someone they love.
Cowboys ain't easy to love and they're harder to hold,
And they'd rather give you a song than diamonds or gold,
Lonestar belt buckles and old faded Levis,
And each night begins a new day,
And if you don't understand him and he don't die young,
He'll probably just ride away.
Chorus
Cowboys like smoky old pool rooms, and clear mountain mornings,
Little warm puppies and children, and girls of the night,
And them that don't know him won't like him and them that do,
Sometimes won't know how to take him,
He ain't wrong, he's just different, but his pride won't let him,
Do things to make you think he's right.
Chorus
230
Mama's Lily
(Jed Marum)
She was just her Mama’s Lily, a pretty child, curious and bold,
As I stood there with Michael O’Reilly. she might have been seven years old,
She’d been placed high atop the piano and arranged there with love and with care,
By an African servant, her nanny, cutting locks of the little girl’s hair,
They were tear-soaked locks of her hair.
Chorus: And it’s a hard cold edge to the wind tonight, it’s a bitter wind, cuts to the bone,
Cruel is fate when its power and its might to both guilty and innocent are shown,
To both guilty and innocent shown.
Charlestown was easily taken, federal batteries had helped clear the way,
When we went down to see, Michael Reilly and me, the rebel force had melted away,
She’s been standing alone in the window watching soldiers retreat south and west,
There was nothing to do when a cannonball flew through the window and on through her chest,
Tore her arm and her heart from her breast.
Chorus
Now I know we must fight for the union, but what a terrible price must be paid,
And to make this land free, Michael Reilly and me, well we joined with the Irish Brigade,
Now I look through my tears on Miss Lily shattered before she could bloom,
Still through death on her face shine her beauty and grace though she died from a terrible wound,
And no child should ever die from such a wound.
Chorus
231
Mama's Opry
(Iris Dement)
She grew up plain and simple in a farming town,
Her daddy played the fiddle and used to do the calling when they had hoedowns,
The neighbors would come and they'd move all my grandma's furniture 'round,
And there'd be twenty or more on the old wooden floor dancing to a country sound.
The Carters and Jimmy Rodgers played her favorite songs,
And on Saturday nights there was a radio show and she would sing along,
And I'll never forget her face when she revealed to me,
That she'd dreamed about singing at The Grand Ole Opry.
Her eyes, oh, how they sparkled when she sang those songs,
She be hanging the clothes on the line, I was a kid just a humming along,
I'd be playing in the grass, to her, what might've seemed obliviously,
But there ain't no doubt about it, she sure made her mark on me.
She played old gospel records on the phonograph,
She turned them up loud and we'd sing along, but those days have passed,
Just now that I am older it occurs to me,
That I was singing in the grandest opry.
Chorus: And we sang Sweet Rose of Sharon, Abide With Me,
Till I ride The Gospel Ship to Heaven's Jubilee,
And In That Great Triumphant Morning my soul will be free,
And My Burdens Will Be Lifted when my Savior's face I see.
I Don't Want to Get Adjusted to This World below,
But I know He'll Pilot Me till it comes time to go,
Oh, nothing on this earth is half as dear to me,
As the sound of my Mama's Opry.
Chorus
Melody for the verses and the chorus are the same. The chorus is, of course, the
titles of lots of old gospel tunes run together.
Chords in G:
GC
DG
Em C
AD
GC
DG
Em C
GDG
232
Margaritaville
(Jimmy Buffett)
Nibbling on sponge cake, watching the sun bake,
All of those tourists covered with oil,
Strumming my six-string, on my front porch swing,
Smell those shrimp they're beginning to boil.
Chorus: Wasting away again in Margaritaville,
Searching for my lost shaker of salt,
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame,
But I know it's nobody's fault.
I don't know the reason, I stayed here all season,
Nothing to show but this brand new tattoo,
But it's a real beauty, a Mexican cutie,
How it got here I haven't a clue.
Chorus
I blew out my flip-flop, stepped on a pop-top,
Cut my heel had to cruise on back home,
But there's booze in the blender, and soon it will render,
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on.
Chorus
Old men in tank tops, are cruising the gift shops,
Picking up chiquitas down by the sea,
They dream about weight loss, and being their own boss,
These three-day vacations can be such a bore.
Chorus
233
Mary of the Wild Moor
(Joseph W. Turner)
It was on one cold winter night,
When the wind blew across the wild moor,
When Mary came wandering with a child in her arms,
Till she came to her own father's door.
"Father, oh father," she cried,
"Come down and open the door,
Or the child in my arms will perish and die,
From the winds that blow across the wild moor."
But her father was deaf to her cry,
Not a sound of a voice did he hear,
For the watchdog did howl and the village bells tolled,
And the wind blew across the wild moor.
Oh, how the old man must have felt,
Next morning when he opened the door,
And found Mary dead but the child still alive,
Wrapped close in its dead mother's arms.
In grief, the old man passed away,
And the child, to its mother went soon,
And no one, they say, lives there to this day,
And the old house has fallen to ruin.
But the villagers point out the spot,
Where the willows grew over the door,
Where young Mary died, once a fair village bride,
From the wind that blow across the wild moor.
234
Me and Bobby Magee
(Fred L. Foster/Kris Kristofferson)
Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train,
I's feeling nearly faded as my jeans,
Bobby thumbed a diesel down, just before it rained,
And rode us all the way to New Orleans,
I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana,
I was blowing soft while Bobby sung the blues,
Windshield wipers slapping time, I's, holding Bobby's hand in mine,
We sang every song that driver knew.
Chorus: Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing ain't worth nothing but it's free,
Yeah feeling good was easy Lord when Bobby sang the blues,
Feeling good was good enough for me,
Good enough for me and Bobby McGee.
From the Kentucky coal mines to the California sun,
Bobby shared the secrets of my soul,
Through all kinds of weather, through everything we done,
And every night she kept me from the cold,
One day near Salinas Lord, I let her slip away,
Looking for that home, and I hope she finds,
Now I'd trade all of my tomorrows for one single yesterday,
To be holding Bobby's body next to mine.
Chorus
235
Michelle
Michelle, my belle,
These are words that go together well, my Michelle,
Michelle, my belle,
Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble,
Très bien ensemble.
I love you, I love you, I love you, that's all I want to say,
Until I find a way,
I will say the only words I know that you'll understand.
Michelle, my belle,
I need to, I need to, I need to, I need to make you see,
Oh, what you mean to me,
Until I do I'm hoping you will know what I mean.
I want you, I want you, I want you, I think you know by now,
I'll get to you somehow,
Until I do I'm telling you so you'll understand.
Michelle, my belle,
I will say the only words I know that you'll understand, my Michelle.
236
The Midnight Choir (Mogen David)
(Larry Gatlin)
The doors to the mission open at seven,
And the soup will be ready about nine,
Right now it's six-thirty, they're ragged and dirty,
They're standing and sitting and laying in line,
First they'll do a little singing, then hear a little preaching,
And get saved for the third time this week,
A bowl of soup later and a pat on the shoulder,
And by midnight, they're back on the street.
They walk to the corner of 4th street and Broadway,
Then take the first alley on the right,
One of them asks a stranger, "How 'bout a hand"?
And he gives 'em one finger at a time,
Then they spot an old buddy with a bottle of heaven,
Then pass around what means everything,
One bottle for four, thank God, someone scored,
And now the midnight choir starts to sing.
Chorus: Will they have Mogen David in Heaven?
Dear Lord, we'd all like to know,
Will they have Mogen David in Heaven, sweet Jesus?
If they don't, who the hell wants to go?
Repeat Chorus endlessly
237
Mighty Day
(Trad)
I remember one September when storm winds swept the town,
The high tides from the ocean, Lord, put water all around.
Chorus: Wasn't that a mighty day (a mighty day), a mighty day (a mighty day),
A mighty day great God that morning when the storm winds swept the town
The winds began to blowing' , the rains began to fall'
The lightning shafts were crackling, Lord, and the thunder started to roll.
Chorus:
The trumpets warned the people, "You'd better leave this place",
But they never meant to leave their homes 'til death was in their face.
The seas began to rolling, the ships they could not land,
I heard a captain crying out, "Please save a drowning man!"
Chorus:
The trains they all were loaded with people leaving town,
The tracks gave way to the ocean, Lord, and the trains they went on down,
The waters like some river were rushing to and fro,
I saw my father drowning, Lord, and I watched my mother go.
Chorus
Now death your hands are icy, you've got them on my knee,
You took away my mother now, you're coming after me.
Chorus (2x)
238
Miles and Miles of Texas
(Tom Camfield/Diane Johnston)
I was born in Louisiana down on the old bayou,
Raised on shrimps and catfish and mammy's good gumbo,
I got the rambling fever, said goodbye to ma and pa,
Crossed that old Red River and this is what I saw.
I saw miles and miles of Texas all the stars up in the sky,
I saw miles and miles of Texas going to live here till I die.
I rode up in to Austin the cradle of the west,
Just ask any cowboy he'll tell you it's the best,
I met a Texas beauty I got friendly with her pa,
I looked in to her big blue eyes this is what I saw.
I started taming broncos I made every rodeo,
Until I met a tough one his name was devil Joe,
I grabbed hold of his bridle just to ride this old outlaw,
He threw me from the saddle and this is what I saw.
239
Mister Valentine's Dead
(Kevin Quain)
Mr. Valentine's dead, and he's drinking Manhattans, singing a coal miner's tune,
In his daddy's tuxedo and Fred Astaire shoes, he's the best looking corpse in the room,
Mr. Valentine's dead, and the angels are waiting down at the end of the bar,
They're drinking martinis and laughing at nothing, and smoking Habana cigars.
Chorus: Have you ever seen dead men dancing so lightly?
Have you ever heard corpses who sing?
Mr. Valentine's dead and the angels will take him,
But not 'till he's finished his drink.
Mr. Valentine's dead, but it won't slow him down, he's determined to stay on his feet,
And he bangs on the table and orders a round, and he pays with the gold in his teeth,
Mr. Valentine's dead, and he's singing in Spanish, wearing a rose in his hair,
Now the angels are howling and drinking tequila, shooting their guns in the air.
Chorus
Mr. Valentine's dead, but he still loves a party, he's always the last one to leave,
He hangs down his head and he cries like a baby when the band plays Good Night Irene,
Mr. Valentine's dead, but he never looked better, the priest will meet him tonight,
Tell his mom to stop crying and the band to keep playing, 'cause the angels are too drunk
to fly.
Chorus
240
The Miner's Lullaby
(Bruce "Utah" Phillips)
Once, long ago, he was handsome and tall and fit to be called to the war,
We left our village, family and all, never to return any more,
Now he takes his coat, his bucket and lamp and whistles away to the cage,
Where men young and old from all over the camp gather in search of a wage.
Chorus: Husband, sleep, lay your head back and dream,
A slow fallen leaf borne down to the stream,
Then carried away on the wings of morphine,
Homeward far over the sea.
My husband and I are Roman in faith and we have a secret to keep,
If ever his life is taken away then gentle and long will he sleep,
Now some men pass with family around and linens and blankets so clean,
But seldom a miner goes underground without his tin of morphine.
Chorus
And now here's a word, an explosion is heard, miners are trapped underground,
If any survive down there alive, I'm certain we never will know,
Although the families have vainly appealed no rescue attempt can be seen,
Our hope for loved ones in the dark earth sealed now lies in a tin of morphine.
Chorus
241
The Minstrel Boy
(Thomas Moore) Note: The tune is an old Irish air called The Moreen
The minstrel boy to the war is gone,
In the ranks of death you'll find him,
His father's sword he has girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him,
"Land of Song!" said the warrior bard,
"Though all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee!"
The Minstrel fell but the foeman's chain,
Could not bring his proud soul under,
The harp he loved never spoke again,
For he tore its chords asunder;
And said "No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and bravery!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free,
They shall never sound in slavery!"
(Additional verse added during the US Civil War, author anonymous)
The Minstrel Boy will return we pray,
When we hear the news we all will cheer it,
The minstrel boy will return one day,
Torn perhaps in body, not in spirit,
Then may he play on his harp in peace,
In a world such as heaven intended,
For all the bitterness of man must cease,
And every battle must be ended.
242
Mississippi You're On My Mind
(Jessie Winchester)
I think I see a wagon rutted road,
With the weeds growing tall between the tracks,
And along one side runs a rusty barbed wire fence,
Beyond it sits an old tar paper shack.
Chorus: Mississippi, you're on my mind,
Mississippi, you're on my mind,
Oh, oh, Mississippi you're on my mind.
I think I hear a noisy old John Deere,
In a field specked with dirty cotton lint,
And beyond that field runs a little country stream,
Down there you'll find the cool green leaves of mint.
Chorus
I think I smell the honeysuckle vine,
It's heavy sweetness like to make me sick,
And the dogs, my God, how they're hungry all the time,
And snakes are sleeping where the weeds are thick.
Chorus
I think I feel the angry oven heat,
The southern sun just blazing in the sky,
In the dusty weeds, an old fat grasshopper jumps,
I want to make it to that creek before I fry.
Chorus
243
Molly Malone
(Trad)
In Dublin's fair city,
Where the girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"
Chorus: Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh
Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh.
She was a fishmonger,
But sure 'twas no wonder,
For her father and mother were fishmongers, too,
And they each wheeled their barrows,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"
Chorus
She died of a fever,
And no one could save her,
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone,
But her ghost wheels her barrow,
Crying, Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!
Chorus
244
Moonshiner
(Trad)
I've been a moonshiner now for seventeen long years,
I've spent all my money on whiskey and beer,
Now I'll go to some hollow, and sit at my still,
And I'll sell you a gallon for a two dollar bill.
I'll go to some bar room and drink with my friends,
Where the women can't follow and see what I spend,
God bless them pretty women, I wish they was mine,
Their breath tastes as sweet as the good old moonshine.
It's red meat when I'm hungry, moonshine when I'm dry,
Greenbacks when I'm hard up, and religion when I die,
The whole world's a bottle and life's but a dram,
When the bottle gets empty, It ain't worth a damn.
I might go to heaven, I might go to hell,
Till I meet my maker I really can't tell,
But if he likes jug whiskey I'll live in the sky,
High on a hill with some good old moonshine.
245
Moorloch Mary
(Ethna Carbery) Note: pen name of Anna Johnston
Like swords of battle the scythes were plying,
The corn lay low in a yellow rout,
When down the stubble, dew-wet and glinting,
A golden shaft of the sun came out.
It was Moorloch Mary, the slender blossom,
Who smiled on me in the misty morn,
And since that hour I am lost with grieving,
Through sleepless nights, and through days forlorn.
Oh Moorloch lies in a world of heather,
Where Mary's little brown feet go bare,
And many a shadowy peak divides us,
Yet I will journey to find her there.
I will climb the mountains and swim the rivers,
I will travel the crests of the heath, wind-blown,
Her face in my heart like a star I carry,
And it shall guide me unto my own.
When I come at last to my Moorloch Mary,
I will take her little brown hands in mine,
And kiss her lips where the rowans tarry,
And kiss her hair where the sun-rays shine.
And whisper "A stoirin, my heart was haunted
By wistful eyes of the sweetest gray,
That drew it over the hills of Derry,
O Moorloch Mary, bid the wanderer stay."
246
Mr. Bojangles
(Jerry Jeff Walker)
I knew a man Bojangles and he'd dance for you in worn out shoes,
With silver hair, a ragged shirt, and baggy pants. did the old soft shoe,
He jumped so high, jumped so high, then he lightly touched down.
I met him in a cell in New Orleans I was down and out,
He looked to me to be the eyes of age and he spoke right out,
He talked of life, talked of life, he laughed, clicked his heels and said.
He said his name Bojangles and he danced a lick across the cell,
He grabbed his pants for a better stance, he clicked his heels,
He let go a laugh, let go a laugh, shook back his clothes all around.
Bridge: Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles,
Mr. Bojangles, he danced.
He danced for those at minstrel shows and county fairs throughout the south,
He spoke through tears of 15 years how his dog and him traveled about,
The dog up and died, he up and died, after 20 years he still grieves.
He said I dance now at every chance in honky tonks for drinks and tips,
But most the time I spend behind these county bars 'cause I drinks a bit,
He shook his head, and as he shook his head I heard someone ask him please.
Bridge: Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles,
Mr. Bojangles, won't you dance.
247
Mr. Record Man
(Willie Nelson)
Mr. Record Man I'm looking for a song I heard today,
There was someone blue singing not someone who went away,
Just like me his heart was yearning for a love that used to be,
It's a lonely song about a lonely man like me.
Bridge: There was something about a love that didn't treat him right,
And he'd wake from troubled sleep and cry her name at night,
Mr. Record Man get this record for me won't you please,
It's a lonely song about a lonely man like me.
I was driving down the highway with the radio turned on,
And a man that I heard singing sound so blue and all alone,
As I listen to his lonely song I wonder could it be,
Could there somewhere be another lonely man like me.
248
The MTA
(Words: Jacqueline Steiner and Bess Lomax Hawes/Music: Henry Clay
Work) Note: Tune first published in 1865 as The Ship That Never Returned
Let me tell you the story,
Of a man named Charlie,
On a tragic and fateful day,
He put ten cents in his pocket,
Kissed his wife and family,
Went to ride on the MTA.
Charlie handed in his dime,
At the Kendall Square Station,
And he changed for Jamaica Plain,
When he got there the conductor told him,
"One more nickel."
Charlie could not get off that train.
Chorus: Did he ever return,
No he never returned,
And his fate is still unlearned,
'neath the streets of Boston,
He's the man who never returned.
Now all night long,
Charlie rides through the station,
Crying, "What will become of me?
How can I afford to see,
My sister in Chelsea,
Or my cousin in Roxbury?"
Chorus
Charlie's wife goes down,
To the Scollay Square station,
Every day at quarter past two,
And through the open window,
She hands Charlie a sandwich,
As the train comes rumbling through.
Chorus
Now you citizens of Boston,
Don't you think it's a scandal,
How the people have to pay and pay,
And fight the fare increase,
249
Vote for George O'Brien!
Get poor Charlie off the MTA.
Final Chorus:
Or else he'll never return,
No he'll never return
And his fate will be unlearned,
He may ride forever,
'neath the streets of Boston,
He's the man who never returned,
He's the man who never returned,
He's the man who never returned.
250
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
(Sharon Vaughn)
I grew up a-dreaming of being a cowboy,
second verse
And loving the cowboy ways,
Pursuing the life of my high-riding heroes,
I burned up my childhood days,
I learned of all the ways of a modern-day drifter,
Don't you hold on to nothing too long,
Just take what you need from the ladies, then leave them,
With the words of a sad country song.
Chorus: My heroes have always been cowboys,
And they still are, it seems,
Sadly, in search of, but one step in back of,
Themselves and their slow-moving dreams.
Cowboys are special with their own brand of misery,
From being alone too long,
You could die from the cold in the arms of a nightmare,
Knowing well that your best days are gone.
Picking up hookers instead of my pen,
I let the words of my youth fade away,
Old worn-out saddles, and 'old worn-out memories,
With no one and no place to stay.
Chorus
251
D modulate to E
My Luve is Like a Red, Red Rose
(Words: Robert Burns/Music: Trad, Low Down in the Broom)
O my Luve is like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June,
O my Luve's like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play'd in tune.
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I,
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry:
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun,
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.
And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve!
And fare-thee-weel a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho’ it were ten thousand mile.
252
Nashville Wimmin
(Waylon Jennings)
If it wasn't for the powder and the fine tooth comb,
If it wasn't for the powder and the fine tooth comb,
You know the Nashville women might as well stay home.
If the blues was booze I'd stay drunk all the time,
If the blues was booze you know I'd stay drunk all the time,
Hanging out at the Boars Nest, and drinking you off of my mind.
Going down the alley to see what I can find,
Going down the Printer's Alley see what I might find,
Let some long time woman take me home and blow my mind.
You long legged woman you sure don't have to talk,
A long legged good looking thing you don't have to talk,
I can tell that you're from Nashville,
By the boogie, woogie, wiggle in your walk.
253
Nautical Wheelers
(Jimmy Buffett) Note: The Nautical Wheelers were a square dance club in Key West, Florida
Nautical wheelers who call themselves sailors,
Play fiddle tunes under the stars,
Petticoats rustling, working shoes they're shuffling,
Headed downtown to the bars,
Where the jukebox is blasting and the liquor is flowing,
An occasional bottle of wine,
That's cause everyone here is just more than contented,
To be living and dying in three quarter time.
Chorus: And it's dance with me, dance with me Nautical Wheelers,
Take me to stars that you know,
Come on and dance with me, Nautical Wheelers,
I want so badly to go.
Well the left foot it'll follow where the right foot has traveled,
Out to the sidewalks unglued,
Out in the streets of my city so neat,
Where nobody cares what you do,
And Sonja's just grinning and Phil is ecstatic,
Mason has jumped in the sea,
I'm hanging on to a line from my sailboat,
Oh, Nautical Wheelers save me.
Chorus
The sunrise will bring on the sleep that's escaped us,
Everyone's off to their bed,
There'll be hugging and squeezing, a little pleasing and teasing,
And rubbing of each others' head,
So dream on comrades, seems nothing affects you,
Nothing, no reason nor rhyme,
That's cause everyone here is just more than contented,
To be living and dying in three quarter time.
Chorus
254
Navaho Rug
(Ian Tyson/Tom Russell)
Well it's two eggs up on whiskey toast, home fries on the side,
You wash her down with the roadhouse coffee that burns up your inside,
It's just a Canyon, Colorado diner, and a waitress I did love,
We sat in the back 'neath an old stuffed bear, and an old Navajo rug.
Chorus: Aye, yi, yi, Katie,
Shades of red and blue,
Aye, yi, yi, Katie,
Whatever became of the Navajo rug and you?
Well, old Jack the boss, he left at six, it was, Katie, bar the door,
She'd pull down that Navajo rug and we'd spread it across the floor,
I saw lightning frame the sacred mountains and a weaving of a turtle dove,
Laying next to Katie on that old Navajo rug.
Chorus
Well, I saw old Jack about a year ago, he said the place burned to the ground,
All he saved was an old bear tooth and Katie she left town,
Well, Katie, got a souvenir too, Jack smiled as he spit out a big old plug,
Well, you should of seen her coming through the smoke dragging that Navajo rug.
Chorus
So every time I cross the sacred mountains and lightning jumps above,
It always takes me back in time to my long lost Katie love,
You know everything keeps on a moving, everybody's on the go,
You don't find things that last too long like a hand-woven Navajo.
Chorus
255
Night Rider's Lament
(Michael Burton)
As I was out a riding graveyard shift, midnight ‘till dawn,
The moon was as bright as a reading light for a letter from an old friend back
home.
He asked me why do you ride for your money, why do you rope for short pay,
You ain’t getting nowhere and you’re losing your share,
You must have gone crazy out there.
He tells me last night I run onto Jenny, she’s married and has a good life,
Ah, you sure missed the track when you never come back,
She’s a perfect professional’s wife.
She asked him why does he ride for his money, why does he rope for short pay,
He ain’t getting nowhere and he’s losing his share,
He must have gone crazy out there,
Bridge: But she’s never seen the Northern Lights,
Never seen a hawk on the wing,
Never seen Spring hit the Great Divide,
And never heard ole camp cookie sing.
Well I read up the last of that letter and tore off the stamp for Black Jim,
Little Dougie rode up to relieve me, he just looked at the letter and grinned.
He said now why do they ride for their money, why do they rope for short pay,
They ain’t getting nowhere and they’re losing their share,
Son, they all must be crazy out there,
Bridge: They've never seen the Northern Lights,
Never seen the hawk on the wing,
Ain't never seen spring hit the great divide,
No, they've heard old camp cookie sing.
256
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
(Robbie Robinson)
Virgil Kane is my name and I served on the Danville train,
'Till Stoneman's cavalry came and tore up the tracks again,
In the winter of '65 we were hungry, just barely alive,
By May the 10th, Richmond had fell,
It's a time I remember, oh so well.
C Am F Am
Chorus: The night they drove old Dixie down,
And the bells were ringing,
The night they drove old Dixie down,
And the people were singing,
They went, "Na, na, la, na, na, la".
C Am F C
C Am F Am
F C Am F
Am F
C Am F D
Am
C Am F C
Am
C Am D F
Back with my wife in Tennessee, when one day she called to me,
"Virgil, quick, come see, there goes Robert E. Lee!",
Now, I don't mind chopping wood, and I don't care if the money's no good,
You take what you need and you leave the rest,
But they should never have taken the very best
Chorus
Like my father before me, I will work the land,
And like my brother above me I took a rebel stand,
He was just 18, proud and brave, when a Yankee laid him in his grave,
I swear by the mud below my feet,
You can't raise a Kane back up when he's in defeat
Chorus
257
Nine Pound Hammer (Roll on Buddy)
(Trad)
Chorus (after every verse) Roll on, buddy, don't you roll so slow,
How can I roll when the wheels won't go.
This Nine Pound Hammer is a little too heavy,
For my size, baby for my size.
I'm a-going to the mountain, gonna see my baby,
But I ain't coming back, no I ain't coming back.
Well. it's a long way to Harlan, it's a long way to Hazard,
Just to get a little brew, just to get a little brew.
When I'm long gone, you can make my tombstone,
Out of number nine coal, Out of number nine coal.
Ain't one hammer in this tunnel,
That rings like mine, that rings like mine.
This nine pound hammer it rings like silver,
But it shines like gold, it shines like gold.
Somebody stole my nine pound hammer,
They've took it and gone, they've took it and gone.
This nine pound hammer it killed John Henry,
But it can't kill me, no it can't kill me.
Take this hammer, take it to the Captain,
Tell him I'm gone, babe, tell him I'm gone.
258
No Other Name
(Peter Yarrow)
Know me by the light of a fire shining bright,
Know me by your bed where I've lain,
Know me, and you might, if just for a night,
You'll know me by no other name.
Some men will bring you silver,
Some will bring you fine Spanish lace,
Some will say "I love you",
Some will have my face.
Some will bring you gold, babies to hold,
I'll bring you only pain,
You can know me, if you will, by the wind on the hill,
You'll know me by no other name.
Some men will die for money,
Some will die as they're born,
Some will swear they'd die for love,
Some die every morn.
I'll die alone, away from my home,
Nobody knows where I came,
The stone at my head will say I am dead,
It knows me by no other name,
It knows me by no other name.
259
No Telling
(Linda Thompson)
He came in the ballroom, just a crazy old man,
His eyes seemed to glaze in the light,
Just some old cowboy, to judge by his rags,
Come in from the cold of the night,
The whole room was dancing, they paid him no mind,
As he slipped to the bar and said, "Would you be so kind."
And the music kept ringing in the back of his mind,
No telling what a love song will do.
As the queen of the ballroom sang a favorite song,
He stood with his glass in his hand,
He was weary of living the days of his life,
And tonight was the last he could stand,
He shut out the future, he shut out the past,
And even the present was running out fast,
The queen of the ballroom said, "Let's make this the last."
As she started to sing for the very last time,
He trembled as he stood there alone,
And the pain he'd been holding inside for so long,
Just fell from his heart and was gone,
It was only a love song, simple and clear,
And he bowed as it shook him with every last tear,
And he cried from relief and he cried half from fear,
Oh, the queen of the ballroom still glitters and shines,
Each night at the old time parade,
And maybe it's something they put in the wine,
Her beauty refuses to fade,
They say she got married, to a stranger, they say,
Just a crazy old cowboy who rode in one day,
And the whole town still dances and the music still plays,
No telling what a love song will do,
260
Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
(Jimmie Cox)
Once I lived the life of a millionaire,
Spending all my money, Lord, I didn't care,
Taking all my friends out for a good time,
Buying high-priced liquor, champagne and wine.
Then I began to sink so low,
Didn't have a friends and no place to go,
If I ever get my hands on a dollar again,
I'm going to hang on to it till that eagle grins.
Bridge: Cause no, no, nobody knows you,
When you're down and out,
In your pocket, not a penny,
And as for friends, hell, you don't have any.
But if you ever get back up on your feet again,
Everybody wants to be your old long-lost friend,
It's mighty strange, but no doubt,
Nobody knows you when you're down and out.
No one can use you when you're down and out.
261
Norwegian Wood
I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me,
She showed me her room, isn't it good, Norwegian wood?
Bridge: She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere,
So I looked around and I noticed there wasn't a chair.
I sat on a rug, biding my time, drinking her wine,
We talked until two and then she said, "It's time for bed".
Bridge: She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh,
I told her I didn't and crawled off to sleep in the bath.
And when I awoke, I was alone, this bird had flown,
So I lit a fire, isn't it good, Norwegian wood.
262
Oklahoma Hills
(Woody Guthrie/Jack Guthrie)
Many a month has come and gone,
Since I wandered from my home,
In those Oklahoma hills where I was born,
Many a page of life has turned,
Many a lesson I have learned,
Well, I feel like in those hills I still belong.
Chorus: 'Way down yonder in the Indian Nation,
Riding my pony on the reservation,
'Way down yonder in the Indian Nation,
A cowboy's life is my occupation,
In those Oklahoma hills where I was born.
But as I sit here today,
Many miles I am away,
From a place I rode my pony through the draw,
While the oak and blackjack trees,
Kiss the playful prairie breeze,
Chorus
Now as I turn life a page,
To the land of the great Osage,
While the black oil it rolls and flows,
And the snow-white cotton grows,
Chorus
263
Old Blue
(Trad)
Had an old dog and his name was Blue,
Betcha five dollars he's a good dog, too,
Here old Blue, you good dog you.
Chased a 'possum up a 'simmon tree,
'Possum looked at Blue and Blue looked at me,
Here, Old Blue, you good dog you.
Baked that 'possum up good and brown,
Laid the sweet potatoes all around,
Singing come on Blue, you can have some, too.
Old Blue died and he died so hard,
Broke the ground in my backyard,
Singing go on, Old Blue, you good dog you.
Dug his grave with a silver spade,
Lowered him down with a golden chain,
Singing go on, Old Blue, I'm a'coming after you.
When I get to heaven tell you what I'll do,
I'll grab my horn and blow for Blue,
Here Old Blue, you good dog you.
264
Old Joe Clark
(Trad)
Chorus after every verse: 'Round and 'round Old Joe Clark,
'Round and 'round I say,
'Round and 'round Old Joe Clark,
I'm bound to go away.
Old Joe Clark had a mule,
His name was Morgan Brown,
And every tooth in that mule's head,
Was sixteen inches round.
Old Joe Clark had a yellow cat,
She would neither sing nor pray,
Stuck her head in a buttermilk jar,
And washed her sins away.
I will not go to Old Joe's house,
I'll tell you the reason why,
Every floor in Old Joe's house,
Was filled with chicken pie.
I went down to Old Joe's house,
He invited me to supper,
I stumped my toe on the table leg,
And stuck my nose in the butter.
Wished I had a sweetheart,
Put her on the shelf,
And every time she'd smile at me,
I'd get up there myself.
Wished I had a nickel,
Wished I had a dime,
Wished I had a pretty girl,
To kiss and call her mine.
I will not marry an old maid,
Her neck is so long and stringy,
I'm afraid she'll never die.
I asked my girl to marry me,
And what do you think she said,
Time enough to marry you,
When all the rest are dead.
265
Old Joe Clark, the preacher's son,
Preached all over the pain,
The only text he ever knew,
Was High, low, Jack and the game.
I won't go home with Old Joe Clark,
He blowed his nose in a cornbread crust,
And called it pumpkin pie.
I went up on the mountain top,
A' hunting sugar cane,
Stuck my foot in a holler log,
And out jumped Liza Jane.
Wish I was a sugar tree,
Standing in the town,
Every time a pretty girl passed,
I'd shake some sugar down.
I used to live on mountain top,
But now I live in town,
I'm boarding at the big hotel,
Courting Betsy Brown.
Old Joe Clark did take sick,
And what do you think ailed him,
He drank a churn of buttermilk,
And then his stomach failed him.
Old Joe Clark did get drunk,
And not a word could he utter,
He fell down on the supper table,
And stove his nose in the butter.
Old Joe Clark's no friend of mine,
Treats me like a pup,
Kicks my hound dog under the porch,
And drinks my booze all up.
Old Joe Clark was married,
His wife was ten feet tall,
And when her head was in the bed,
Her feet were in the hall.
I went down to Old Joe Clark's,
Old Joe wasn't home,
266
I ate all Joe's meat and bread,
And I gave his dog a bone.
I went down to see my gal,
She met me at the door,
Shoes and stockings in her hand,
And her bare feet on the floor.
Raccoon has a bushy tail,
'Possum's tail is bare,
Rabbit has no tail at all,
Except a bunch of hair.
Sixteen horses in my team,
The leaders they are blind,
And every time the sun goes down,
There's a pretty girl on my mind.
Eighteen miles of mountain road,
And fifteen miles of sand,
If ever travel this road again,
I'll be a married man.
And I wouldn't marry an old school-teacher,
Tell you the reason why,
She blows her nose in old corn bread,
And calls it pumpkin pie.
Old Joe Clark used to clean the bar,
Liquor was his pay,
Never saved a golden eagle,
Drank it all away.
I don't want your old time religion,
Or what you got to say,
But pass me down that barley jug,
And I'll be on my way.
Old Joe Clark walked downtown backwards,
People asked him, "Why?"
I come back for one more drink,
While waving you good-bye.
Now I wouldn't marry a widder,
Tell you the reason why,
She'd have so many children,
They'd make those biscuits fly.
267
I went down to old Joe's house,
Never been there before,
He slept on the feather bed,
And I slept on the floor.
Old Joe Clark he had a dog,
As blind as he could be,
Chased a redbug 'round a stump,
And a coon up a hollow tree.
I went down to old Joe’s house,
Old Joe wasn’t at home,
I ate up all of old Joe’s meat,
And left old Joe the bone.
Old Joe Clark he had a cow,
She was muley born,
It take a jaybird a week and a half,
To fly from horn to horn,
When I was a little boy,
I used to play with matches,
Now I am a great big boy,
Wearing a dad's moustaches.
Some chorus variations:
Fare thee well, Old Joe Clark,
Fare thee well (I sing) (I say) (I'm gone),
He'd follow me ten thousand miles,
(To hear my banjo ring) (To hear my fiddle play) (Goodbye Lucy Long).
Get out the way for Old Joe Clark,
Hide away your wine;,
Get out the way (Clear the tracks for) Old Joe Clark,
He ain't no friend of mine.
Round and round, old Joe Clarke,
Round and round, I say,
Round and round, old Joe Clarke,
I ain’t got long to stay.
Fare ye well, Old Joe Clark,
Fare ye well, I say,
Fare ye well, Old Joe Clark,
I'm a going away.
268
Old Man's Lament
As I was out walking one morning for pleasure,
Down by the river I joggled along,
I heard an old man making sad lamentation,
He was rocking the cradle and the child not his own.
Chorus: Hi ho, hi ho,
Hi there my laddie lie easy, lie easy,
Perhaps your own daddy might never be known,
And it's weary I am with weeping and sobbing,
And rocking a cradle and child not my own.
I'm sorry, my family, I married this fair one,
She favors the neighbors and none of her own,
She goes out every night, goes to bars, goes to parties,
Leaves me rocking the cradle and it's none of my own.
When first that I married your inconstant mother,
I thought myself lucky to be blessed with a wife,
But for my misfortune, sure I was mistaken,
She's proved both a curse and a plague on my life.
She goes out every night to a ball or a party,
And leaves me here rocking the cradle alone,
The innocent laddie, he calls me his daddy,
But little he knows that he's none of my own.
Now come all ye young men that's inclined to get married,
Take my advice and let the women alone,
For it's by the Lord Harry, if ever you marry,
They'll leave you with a baby that's none of your own.
269
Old Texas (aka The Cowman's Lament)
(Trad)
I'm going to leave old Texas now,
They've got no use for the long-horn cow,
They've plowed and fenced my cattle range,
And the people there are all so strange.
I'll take my horse and I'll take my rope,
And hit the trail upon a lope,
Say adios to the Alamo,
And turn my head toward Mexico.
270
The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly
(Trad)
I know an old lady who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.
I know an old lady who swallowed a spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.
I know an old lady who swallowed a bird,
How absurd to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider, etc.,
I know an old lady who swallowed a cat,
Imagine that, to swallow a cat!,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, etc
I know an old lady who swallowed a dog,
My, what a hog, to swallow a dog!
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat, etc.
I know an old lady who swallowed a goat,
Just opened her throat and swallowed a goat!
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog, etc.
I know an old lady who swallowed a cow,
I don't know how she swallowed a cow,
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat, etc.
I know an old lady who swallowed a horse,
She's dead, of course.
271
On Top of Old Smokey
(Trad)
On top of Old Smokey,
All covered with snow,
I lost my true lover,
For courting too slow.
Now, courting is a pleasure,
And parting is grief,
And a false-hearted lover,
Is worse than a thief.
A thief will just rob you,
And take what you have,
But a false-hearted lover,
Will lead you to the grave.
And the grave will decay you,
And turn you to dust;
Not one girl in a hundred,
A poor boy can trust.
They'll hug you and kiss you,
And tell you more lies,
Than the crossties on the railroad,
Or stars in the sky.
So, come all you young maidens,
And listen to me,
Never place your affection,
On a green willow tree.
For the leaves they will wither,
And the roots they will die,
You'll all be forsaken,
And never know why.
On top of Old Smokey,
All covered with snow,
I lost my true lover,
For courting too slow.
272
One More Town
(John Stewart)
Chorus: If there's one more town, I'll be going. A fight for the winning I'll be there,
If there's one more song, I'll be singing. I'm always going but I don't know where.
I spent seventeen years in West Virginia. Eight more years just a-running free,
But the girls back home in their blue gingham dresses only heard one thing from
me.
Chorus
Went down to New Orleans last summer on a flat boat working my way,
There were well-mannered ladies and streets that were shady, but as for me, I
never could stay.
Chorus
Sailed up to New York on a schooner, but I won't be staying there long,
There were bright city lights, girls in pink tights but their faces were all painted on.
Chorus
273
Oo-De-Lally
(Roger Miller) Note: Theme song for Disney's movie Robin Hood)
Robin Hood and Little John walking through the forest,
Laughing back and forth at what the other'n has to say,
Reminiscing this-'n'-that and having such a good time,
Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day.
C
C
C
C
Never ever thinking there was danger in the water,
They were drinking, they just guzzled it down,
Never dreaming that a scheming sherrif and his posse,
Was a-watching them and gathering around.
Bb
F
Dm
G G G
Robin Hood and Little John running through the forest,
Jumping fences, dodging trees and trying to get away,
Contemplating nothing but escape and finally making it,
274
C
C
C
C
F
G
F
G
C
C
C
C
Orphan Girl (for Mary)
(Terry McArthur/Audrey Auld) Note: The orphan girl in the song is Lousiana
singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier
Chorus: Orphan girl,
Orphan girl,
Meet me at the healing well,
Orphan girl,
Orphan girl,
Got your story to tell.
Story of blood,
Story of water,
Story of being a long lost daughter,
Story of grief,
Story of shame,
Story of seeking your true name.
Chorus
Story of fire,
Story of earth,
Story of a mother who gave birth,
Story of love,
Story of sin,
Story of where we all begin.
Chorus
275
The Outlaw's Song
(Domino Kings)
I lived the life of an outlaw, till the day that I turned twenty-five,
Then they threw me down here in this dungeon, said you'll never leave here alive.
Forty-eight years have gone by now, without one degree of regret,
They've beat me and chained me and starved me, ah, but they haven't broken me
yet.
But tonight a bad feeling came or me, and I heared a stranger's voice call,
I felt a great rumbling beneath me, and a hole opened up in the wall.
Chorus: Jailer, oh jailer please help me, jailer don't leave me alone,
There's a man in my cell with a slingblade, and he's come to take me below.
Then out of the hole stepped a figure, carrying a sickle and chain,
Said outlaw I've come here to take you, for a ride upon Lucifer's train.
Jailer go get me a preacher, or, man, won't you throw me your gun,
The walls of my cell are now burning, and I ain't got nowhere to run,
But the jailer just laughed at my begging, said who are you trying to fool,
You can't burn the stones of this prison, there ain't nobody in there but you.
Chorus
In shackles and chains he has bound me, there's a light shining out of the hole,
The walls of my cell are now fading, oh, jailer I'm going below.
Chorus
Oh, jailer I'm going below.
276
Pancho and Lefty
(Townes Van Zandt)
Living on the road my friend, is going to keep you free and clean,
Now you wear your skin like iron,
Your breath as hard as kerosene,
You weren't your momma's only boy, but her favorite one it seems,
She began to cry when you said goodbye,
And sank into your dreams.
Pancho was a bandit, boy, his horse was fast as polished steel,
He wore his gun outside his pants,
For all the honest world to feel,
Pancho met his match you know on the deserts down in Mexico,
Nobody heard his dying words, ah but that's the way it goes.
Chorus: All the Federales say, they could've had him any day,
They only let him slip away, out of kindness I suppose.
Lefty he can't sing the blues all night long like he used to,
The dust that Pancho bit down south ended up in Lefty's mouth,
The day they laid poor Pancho low, Lefty split for Ohio,
Where he got the bread to go, there ain't nobody knows.
Chorus
The poets tell how old Pancho fell, and Lefty's living in a cheap hotel,
The desert's quiet, Cleveland's cold, so the story ends we're told,
Pancho needs your prayers it's true, but save a few for Lefty too,
He only did what he had to do, and now he's growing old.
Chorus
A few gray Federales say, they could've had him any day,
They only let him go so long, out of kindness I suppose.
277
Paradise
(John Prine)
When I was a child my family would travel,
Down to Western Kentucky where my parents were born,
And there's a backwards old camp there that's often remembered,
So many times that my memories are worn.
Chorus: And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County,
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay,
I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking,
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away.
Sometimes we'd travel back down the Green River,
To the abandoned old prison down by Adrie Hill,
Where the air smelled like snakes and we'd shoot with our pistols,
But empty pop bottles was all we would kill.
Chorus
Then the coal company came with the world's largest shovel,
And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land,
Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken,
Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man.
Chorus
When I die let my ashes float down the Green River,
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam,
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waiting,
Just five miles away from wherever I am.
Chorus
278
The Parting Glass
(Trad)
Of all the money that ere I spent, I spent it in good company.
And of all the harm that ere I've done, alas it was to none but me.
And all I've done for want of wit, to memory now I cannot recall.
So fill me to the parting glass, "Goodnight and joy be with you all!"
Of all the comrades that ere I had, they're sorry for my going away,
And of all the sweethearts that ere I had , they wish me one more day to stay,
But since it falls unto my lot that I should rise while you should not,
I will gently rise and softly call, "Goodnight and joy be with you all!"
Oh, if I had money enough to spend and leisure time to sit awhile
There is a fair maid in this town that sorely has my heart beguiled
Her rosey cheeks and ruby lips, she alone has my heart in thrall.
So fill me to the parting glass, "Goodnight and joy be with you all!"
279
Pastures of Plenty
(Woody Guthrie)
It's a mighty hard row that my poor hands have hoed,
My poor feet have traveled a hot dusty road,
Out of your Dust Bowl and Westward we rolled,
And your deserts were hot and your mountains were cold.
I worked in your orchards of peaches and prunes,
I slept on the ground in the light of the moon,
On the edge of the city you'll see us and then,
We come with the dust and we go with the wind.
California, Arizona, I harvest your crops,
Well its North up to Oregon to gather your hops,
Dig the beets from your ground, cut the grapes from your vine,
To set on your table your light sparkling wine.
Green pastures of plenty from dry desert ground,
From the Grand Coulee Dam where the waters run down,
Every state in the Union us migrants have been,
We'll work in this fight and we'll fight till we win.
It's always we rambled, that river and I,
All along your green valley, I will work till I die,
My land I'll defend with my life if it be,
Cause my pastures of plenty must always be free.
280
Pick Up the Tempo
(Willie Nelson)
People are saying that time will take care of people like me,
That I'm living too fast and they say I can't last too much longer,
But little they know that their thoughts of me is my savior,
And little they know that the beat ought to go just a little faster.
Chorus: So pick up the tempo just a little and take it on home,
The singer ain't singing and the drummer's been dragging too long,
Time will take care of itself so just leave time alone,
And pick up the tempo just a little and take it on home.
Well I'm wild and I'm mean and I'm creating a scene I'm going crazy,
Well I'm good and I'm bad and I'm happy and I'm sad and I'm lazy,
I'm quiet and I'm loud and I'm gathering a crowd and I like gravy,
About half off the wall but I learned it all in the Navy.
Chorus
281
Piney Wood Hills
(Patrick Sky)
I'm a rambler and a rover and a wanderer it seems,
I've traveled all over chasing after my dreams,
But a dream should come true and a heart should be filled,
And life should be lived on the piney wood hills.
I'll return to the woodlands, I'll return to the snow,
I'll return to the hills and the valley below,
I'll return as a poor man or a king if God wills,
But I'm on my way home to the piney wood hills.
Chorus: I was raised on a song there, I done right I done wrong there,
And it's true I belong there and it's true it's my home.
From ocean to ocean I've rambled and roamed,
And now I'll return to my piney wood home,
Maybe someday I'll find someone who will,
Love as I love my piney wood hills.
Chorus
I'll return to the woodlands, I'll return to the snow,
I'll return to the hills and the valley below,
I'll return as a poor man or a king if God wills,
But I'm on my way home to the piney wood hills.
282
Pistol Packin' Mama
(Albert Dexter)
Drinking beer in a cabaret and I was having fun,
Until one night she caught me right, and now I'm on the run.
Chorus: Lay that pistol down Babe, lay that pistol down,
Pistol Packin' Mama, lay that pistol down.
She kicked out my windshield, she hit me over the head,
She cussed and cried, and said I lied, and I wished that I was dead.
Chorus
Drinking beer in a cabaret, and dancing with a blonde,
Until one night she shot out the light, bang! That blonde was gone.
Chorus
I'll see you every night Babe, I'll woo you every day,
I'll be your regular Daddy, if you'll put that gun away.
Chorus
Now then there was old Al Dexter, he always had his fun,
But with some lead. she shot him dead, his honking days are done.
Chorus
283
Please Don't Bury Me
(John Prine)
Woke up this morning, put on my slippers,
Walked in the kitchen and died,
And oh what a feeling when my soul went thru the ceiling,
And on up into heaven I did ride.
When I got there they did say, John, it happened this way,
You slipped upon the floor and hit your head,
And all the angels say just before you passed away,
These were the very last words that you said.
Chorus: Please don't bury me down in that cold, cold ground,
No, I'd rather have 'em' cut me up and pass me all around,
Throw my brain in a hurricane and the blind can have my eyes,
And the deaf can take both of my ears if they don't mind the size.
Give my stomach to Milwaukee if they run out of beer,
Put my socks in a cedar box just get 'em out of here,
Venus de Milo can have my arms, look out! I've got your nose,
Sell my heart to the junkman and give my love to Rose.
Chorus
Give my feet to the footloose careless, fancy free,
Give my knees to the needy, don't pull that stuff on me,
Hand me down my walking cane, it's a sin to tell a lie,
Send my mouth way down south and kiss my ass goodbye.
Chorus
284
Po' Lazarus
(Trad)
Well, the high sheriff,
He told the deputy,
Go out and bring me Lazarus,
Well, the high sheriff,
He told the deputy,
Go out and bring me Lazarus,
Bring him dead or alive,
Oh, Lawd, Lawd,
Bring him dead or alive.
Well the deputy he told the high sheriff,
I ain't going to mess with Lazarus,
Well the deputy he told the high sheriff,
Says I ain't going to mess with Lazarus,
Well he's a dangerous man,
Oh, Lawd, Lawd,
He's a dangerous man.
And the deputy began to wonder,
Just where in the world they could find him,
And the deputy began to wonder,
Just where in the world they could find him,
Well I don't know,
Just don't know,
Well I just don't know.
Well then the high sheriff, he found Lazarus,
He was hiding in the chill of a mountain,
two mountains,
Well the high sheriff, found Lazarus,
He was hiding in the chill of the mountain,
two mountains,
With his head hung down,
Oh, Lawd, Lawd,
With his head hung down.
Well they found, Po Lazarus,
They found him up between
Well then the high sheriff, he told Lazarus,
He says Lazarus I come to arrest you,
number,
Well the high sheriff, told Lazarus,
Says Lazarus I come to arrest you,
number,
And what they used was,
What they used was a great big
285
Well they found, Po Lazarus,
They found him up between
And they blowed him down,
Oh, Lawd, Lawd,
And they blowed him down,
And what they used was,
What they used was a great big
And bring you dead or alive,
Oh, Lawd, Lawd,
Bring you dead or alive.
Number forty-four,
Oh, Lawd, Lawd,
Number forty-four.
Well then Lazarus, he told the high sheriff,
Says I never been arrested,
Well Lazarus, told the high sheriff,
Says I never been arrested,
By no one man,
Oh, Lawd, Lawd,
By no one man.
And then the high sheriff, he shot Lazarus,
Well, he shot him with a mighty big number,
Well the high sheriff, shot Lazarus,
Well he shot him with a mighty big number,
With a forty five,
Oh, Lawd, Lawd,
With a forty five.
Well then they take old Lazarus,
Yes they laid him on the commissary gallery,
Well they taken poor Lazarus,
And the laid him on the commissary gallery,
He said my wounded side,
Oh, Lawd, Lawd,
My wounded side.
And Lazarus' po' mother,
She couldn't go to the funeral,
And Lazarus' po' mother,
She couldn't go to the funeral,
She didn't have no shoes,
Oh, Lawd, Lawd,
She didn't have no shoes.
286
Polly Von
(Trad)
I shall tell of a hunter whose life was undone,
By the cruel hand of evil at the setting of the sun,
His arrow was loosed and it flew through the dark,
And his true love was slain as the shaft found it's mark.
Chorus: She'd her apron wrapped about her and he took her for a swan,
But it's oh and alas it was she, Polly Von.
He ran up beside her and found it was she,
He turned away his head for he could not bear to see,
He lifted her up and found she was dead,
A fountain of tears for his true love, he shed.
Chorus
He bore her away to his home by the sea,
Crying Father, oh father, I murdered poor Polly
I've killed my fair love in the flower of her life,
I always intended that she be my wife.
Chorus
He roamed near the place where his true love was slain,
He wept bitter tears, but his cries were all in vain,
As he looked on the lake, a swan glided by,
And the sun slowly sank in the grey of the sky.
Chorus
Molly Bann
Come all ye young fellas,
That handle a gun,
Beware of night rambling,
By the setting of the sun,
And beware of an accident,
That happened of late,
To young Molly Ban,
And sad was her fate.
She was going to her uncles,
When a shower came on,
She went under a green bush,
The shower to shun.
287
Her white apron wrapped around her,
He took her for a swan,
But a hush and sigh,
Was his own Molly Ban.
He quickly ran to her,
And found she was dead,
And there on her bosom,
Where he soaked, tears he shed.
He ran home to his father,
With his gun in his hand,
Saying "Father dear father,
I have shot Molly Ban".
Her white apron wrapped around her,
He took her for a swan,
But a hush and a sigh,
'Twas his own Molly Ban.
He roamed near the place,
Where his true love was slain,
He wept bitter tears,
But his cries were in vain,
As he look on the lake,
A swan glided by,
And the sun slowly sank,
In the gray up sky.
288
Pretty Boy Floyd
(Woody Guthrie)
If you'll gather 'round me, children, a story I will tell,
'Bout Pretty Boy Floyd, an outlaw, Oklahoma knew him well.
It was in the town of Shawnee, on a Saturday afternoon,
His wife beside him in his wagon as into town they rode.
There a deputy sheriff approached him in a manner rather rude,
Using vulgar words of language, and his wife she overheard.
Pretty Boy grabbed a log chain, the deputy grabbed his gun,
In the fight that followed, he laid that deputy down.
Yes, he took to the trees and timber to live a life of shame,
Every crime in Oklahoma was added to his name.
Yeah, he took to the trees and timber on the Canadian river shore,
And the outlaw found a welcome at every farmer's door.
But a many a starving farmer the same old story told,
How the outlaw paid the mortgage and saved their little homes.
Others tell you of a stranger who came to beg a meal,
And underneath his napkin left a thousand-dollar bill.
It was in Oklahoma City, it was on a Christmas Day,
Come a whole car load of groceries and a note to say:
Well, you say that I'm a robber, and you say that I'm a thief,
Here's a Christmas dinner for the families on relief.
Yes, as through this world I've wandered I've seen lots of funny men,
Some will rob you with a six-gun, and some with a fountain pen.
But as through this world you travel, as through the world you roam,
You won't never see an outlaw drive a family from their home.
289
Pretty Fair Maid (was in her Garden)
(Trad)
Pretty fair maid was in her garden,
When a stranger came a-riding by,
He came up to the gate and called her,
Said pretty fair maid would you be my bride.
I've a true love who's in the army,
And he's been gone for seven long years,
And if he's gone for seven years longer,
I'll still be waiting for him here.
Perhaps he's on some watercourse drowning,
Perhaps he's on some battlefield slain,
Perhaps he's to a fair girl married,
And you may never see him again.
Well if he's drowning, I hope he's happy,
Or if he's on some battlefield slain,
And if he's to some fair girl married,
I'll love the girl that married him.
He took his hand out of his pocket,
And on his finger shined a golden ring,
And when she saw that band a-shining,
A brand new song her heart did sing.
And then he threw his arms all around her,
Kisses gave her one, two, three,
Said I'm your true and loving soldier,
That's come back home to marry thee.
290
Pretty Peggy-O (aka Fennario0
(Trad)
As we marched down to Fennario,
As we marched down to Fennario,
Our captain fell in love with a lady like a dove,
And they called her by name pretty Peggy-O.
Come tripping down the stairs, pretty Peggy-O,
Come tripping down the stairs, pretty Peggy-O,
Come tripping down the stairs tossing back your yellow hair,
The prettiest little girl in the area-O.
In a carriage you will ride pretty Peggy-O,
In a carriage you will ride pretty Peggy-O,
In a carriage you will ride with your true love by your side,
As fair as any lady in the area-O.
What will your mother think, pretty Peggy-O,
What will your mother think, pretty Peggy-O,
What will your mother think when she hears the guineas clink,
The soldiers all standing in order-O.
Our captain he is dead, pretty Peggy-O,
Our captain he is dead, pretty Peggy-O,
Our captain he is dead, and he died for a maid,
And we buried him down in Louisiana-O.
If ever I return pretty Peggy-O,
If ever I return pretty Peggy-O,
If ever I return all your cities I will burn,
Destroying all the ladies in the area-O.
291
Proud Mary
(John Fogerty)
Left a good job in the city,
Working for the man every night and day,
But I never lost one minute of sleeping,
Worrying 'bout the way things might have been.
Chorus:Big wheel keep on turning,
Proud Mary keep on burning,
Rolling, rolling, rolling on the river.
Cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis,
Pumped a lot of pain down in New Orleans,
But I never saw the good side of the city,
'Til I hitched a ride on a river boat queen.
Chorus
If you come down to the river,
Bet you gonna find some people who live.
You don't have to worry 'cause you have no money,
People on the river are happy to give.
Chorus
292
Puff the Magic Dragon
(Peter Yarrow)
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea,
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee,
Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff,
And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff.
Chorus: Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea,
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee,
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea,
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee.
Together they would travel on a boat with billowed sail,
Jackie kept a lookout perched on Puff's gigantic tail,
Noble kings and princes would bow whene'er they came,
Pirate ships would lower their flags when Puff roared out his name.
Chorus
A dragon lives forever but not so little boys,
Painted wings and giants rings make way for other toys,
One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more,
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.
His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain,
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane,
Without his lifelong friend, Puff could not be brave,
So Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave.
Chorus
293
Put Another Log on the Fire
(Shel Silverstein)
Put another log on the fire,
Cook me up some bacon and some beans,
Go out to the car and change the tire,
Wash my socks and sew my old blue jeans (Come on baby),
You can fill my pipe and then go fetch my slippers,
And boil me up another pot of tea,
Then put another log on the fire, baby,
And come and tell me why you're leaving me.
Don't I let you wash the car on Sunday,
Don't I warn you when you're getting fat,
Ain't I gonna take you fishing with me some day,
You know a man can't love a woman more than that,
Ain't I always nice to your kid sister,
And don't I take her driving every night,
Come and sit here by my feet 'cause I like you when you're sweet,
And you know it ain't feminine to fight.
Repeat first verse
294
Queen Eleanor's Confession (Child 156)
(Trad)
Queen Eleanor was a sick woman,
And afraid that she would die,
When she sent for two friars from France,
To come to her speedily.
When the King he heard the Queen had sent,
For friars from o'er the sea,
He called his noble Earl Marshal,
To come to him speedily.
Do you put on one friar's coat,
And I'll put on another,
And we shall to Queen Eleanor go,
One friar like another.
Oh God forbid, said Earl Marshal,
That such a thing should be,
If I should beguile and damn the Queen,
Then hanged I would be.
And the King he swore upon his oath,
His scepter and his crown,
That whatsoever Queen Eleanor said,
He would not write it down.
And thus attired they both did go,
Till they came to Whitehall,
The bells did ring, and the choristers sing,
And the torches did light them all.
Be you two friars of France, she said,
As I suppose you be,
But if you be two English friars,
Then hanged thou wouldst be.
We are two friars of France, they said,
As you suppose we be,
And we have not been at any mass,
Since we came over the sea.
The first vile sin that ere I did,
To you I will unfold,
Earl Marshal had my maidenhead,
Underneath this cloth of gold.
295
That is a vile sin, said the King,
God may forgiveith thee,
For men are men, quoth Earl Marshal,
With a heavy, heavy heart spoke he,
The next vile sin that ere I did,
To you I'll not deny,
I brewed a pot of poison strong,
To poison King Henry.
That is a vile sin, said the King,
God may forgiveith thee,
Amen, amen quoth Earl Marshal,
I wish it so may be.
Do you see yonder little child,
A-tossing of that ball?
That is Earl Marshal son, she said,
And I love him the best of all.
And do you see yonder little boy,
A-catching of that ball?
That is King Henry's son, she said,
And I love him the worst of all.
His head is like unto a bull,
His nose is like a boar,
No matter for that, King Henry said,
I love him the better therefore.
Then the King threw off his friar's coat,
He appeared all in red,
She shrieked, she cried, she wrung her hands,
She said she was betrayed.
And the King looked over his left shoulder,
And a grim look looked at he,
And he said, Earl Marshal, but for my oath,
Then hanged you would be.
296
Railroad Lady
(Jerry Jeff Walker/Jimmy Buffett)
She's a railroad lady, just a little bit shady,
Spent her whole life on the train,
She's a semi-good looker, the fast rails they took her,
Now she's trying, just trying to get home again.
South Station on Boston to the freight yards of Austin,
The Florida sunshine, the New Orleans rain,
Now that the rail packs have taken the best tracks,
She's trying, just trying to get home again.
Once a high-balling loner he thought he could own her,
He bought her a fur coat and a big diamond ring,
She hocked them for cold cash, left town on the Wabash,
Not thinking, not thinking of home way back then.
Spent her whole life on the trains,
Once a Pullman car traveler now the brakeman won't have her,
She's trying, just trying to get home again.
Now the rails are rusty, the dining car's dusty,
The gold-plated watches have taken their toll,
The railroads are dying and the lady sits crying,
On a bus to Kentucky and home that's her goal.
On a bus to Kentucky and home once again.
297
Rambling Boy
(Tom Paxton)
He was a man and a friend always,
We rambled 'round in the hard old days,
He never cared if I had no dough,
We rambled 'round in the rain and snow.
Chorus: And here's to you my rambling boy,
May all your rambling bring you joy,
And here's to you my rambling boy,
May all your rambling bring you joy.
In Tulsa town we chanced to stray,
We thought we'd try to work one day,
The boss said he had room for one,
Says my old pal, "We'd rather bum!"
Chorus
Late one night in a jungle camp,
The weather it was cold and damp,
He got the chills and he got them bad,
They took the only friend I had.
Chorus
He left me here, to ramble on,
My rambling pal, is dead and gone,
If when we die, we go somewhere,
I'll bet you a dollar, he's rambling there.
Chorus
298
Red Headed Stranger
(Carl Stutz/Edith Lindeman)
The red-headed stranger from Blue Rock, Montana rode into town one day,
And under his knees was a raging black stallion,
And walking behind was a bay,
The red-headed stranger had eyes like the thunder, his lips they were sad and tight,
His little lost love lay asleep on the hillside,
And his heart was heavy as night.
Chorus: Don't cross him, don't boss him, he's wild in his sorrow,
He's riding and hiding his pain,
Don't fight him, don't spite him, just wait till tomorrow,
Maybe he'll ride on again.
A yellow-haired lady leaned out of her window, and watched as he passed her way,
She drew back in fear at the sight of the stallion,
But cast greedy eyes on the bay,
But how could she know that this dancing bay pony, meant more to him than life,
For this was the horse that his little lost darling,
Had ridden when she was his wife.
Chorus
The yellow-haired lady came down to the tavern and looked up the stranger there,
He bought her a drink, and he gave her some money,
He just didn't seem to care,
She followed him out as he saddled his stallion, and laughed as she grabbed at the
bay,
He shot her so quick, they had no time to warn her,
She never heard anyone say:
Chorus
The yellow-haired lady was buried at sunset, the stranger went free, of course,
For you can't hang a man for killing a woman,
Who's trying to steal your horse,
This is the tale of the red headed stranger, and if he should pass your way,
Stay out of the path of the raging black stallion,
And don't lay a hand on the bay.
Chorus
299
Red Is The Rose
(Trad)
Come over the hills my handsome Irish lass,
Come over the hills to your darling,
You choose the rose love, and I will make the vow,
And I'll be your true love forever.
Chorus: Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows,
And fair is the lily of the valley,
Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne,
And my love is fairer than any.
Down by Killarney's green woodlands did we stray,
The moon and the stars they were shining,
The moon shone it's rays on her locks of golden hair,
And she swore she'd love me forever.
Chorus
It's not for the parting of my sister Kate,
It's not for the grief of my mother,
It's all for the loss of my bonnie Irish lass,
That my heart is grieving forever.
Chorus
300
Red River Valley
(Trad)
From this valley they say you are leaving,
We shall miss your bright eyes and sweet smile,
For you take with you all of the sunshine,
That has brighten our pathway a while.
Chorus: Then come, sit by my side if you love me,
Do not hasten to bid me adieu,
Just remember the red river valley,
And the cowboy that loved you so true.
For a long time, my darling, I've waited,
For the sweet words you never would say,
Now at last all my fond hopes have vanished,
For they say that you're going away.
Chorus
O there never could be such a longing,
In the heart of a poor cowboy's breast,
That now dwell in the heart you are breaking,
As I wait in my home in the west.
Chorus
Do you think of the valley you're leaving?
O how lonely and drear it will be,
Do you think of the kind heart you're breaking,
And the pain you are causing to me?
Chorus
As you go to your home by the ocean,
May you never forget those sweet hours,
That we spent in the Red River Valley,
And the love we exchanged mid the flowers.
Chorus
301
Redneck Mother
(Ray Wylie Hubbard)
He was born in Oklahoma,
His wife's name's Betty Lou Thelma Liz,
And he's not responsible for what he's doing,
Cause his mother made him what he is.
Chorus: And it's up against the wall Redneck Mother,
Mother, who has raised her son so well,
He's thirty-four and drinking in a honky tonk,
Just kicking hippies asses and raising hell.
Sure does like his Lone Star beer,
Likes to chase it down with that Wild Turkey liquor,
Drives a fifty-seven GMC pickup truck,
He's got a gun rack, "Goat ropers need love, too" sticker.
Chorus
M is for the mud flaps you give me for my pickup truck,
O is for the Oil I put on my hair,
T is for T-bird,
H is for Haggard,
E is for eggs, and,
R is for REDNECK.
Chorus
302
Red-Winged Blackbird
(Billy Edd Wheeler)
Oh can't you see that pretty little bird,
Singing with all his heart and soul,
He's got a blood red spot on his wing,
And all the rest of him is black as coal.
Of all the colors I ever did see,
Red and black are the ones I dread,
For when a man spills blood on the coal,
They carry him down from the coal mine, dead.
Oh fly away you red-winged bird,
Leave behind the miner's wife,
She'll dream about you when you're gone,
She'll dream about you all her life.
Oh can't you see that pretty little bird,
Singing with all his heart and soul,
He's got a blood red spot on his wing,
And all the rest of him is black as coal.
303
Richest Fool Alive
(Kostas/Bobby Boyd/Don Mealer)
There's just no way of going back to change what's come and gone,
But if I could go back in time I'd undo what you've done,
I wouldn't look into your eyes and go completely blind,
Or listen to your pretty words and leave my heart behind.
Chorus: If heartaches were treasures and pain could be sold,
If dreams were made of silver promises of gold,
Tear drops were diamonds measured in lies,
I'd have a broken heart worth millions and be the richest fool alive.
Next time I listen to my friends take their advice to heart,
And avoid all of this misery I could of ended from the start,
But fools in love don't listen they don't know right from wrong,
They see just what they want to see and miss it when its gone.
Chorus
304
Ring of Fire
(June Carter/Merle Kilgore)
Love is a burning thing,
And it makes a fiery ring,
Bound by wild desire,
I fell in to a ring of fire.
I fell in to a burning ring of fire,
I went down, down, down,
And the flames went higher,
And it burns, burns, burns,
The ring of fire,
The ring of fire.
The taste of love is sweet,
When hearts like our's meet,
I fell for you like a child,
Oh, but the fire went wild.
I fell in to a burning ring of fire,
I went down, down, down,
And the flames went higher,
And it burns, burns, burns,
The ring of fire,
The ring of fire.
305
The Rising of the Moon
(Words: John Keegan Casey/Music: Trad "The Wearing of the Green")
Oh! then tell me, Sean O'Ferrall, tell me why you hurry so?
Hush ma bouchal, hush and listen", and his cheeks were all a-glow,
I bear orders from the captain, get you ready quick and soon,
For the pikes must be together at the rising of the moon,
At the rising of the moon, at the rising of the moon,
For the pikes must be together at the rising of the moon.
Oh! then tell me, Sean O'Ferrall, where the gathering is to be?
In the old spot by the river, right well known to you and me,
One thing more s signal token, whistle up the marching tune,
With your pike upon your shoulder, by the rising of the moon,
By the rising of the moon, by the rising of the moon,
With your pike upon your shoulder, by the rising of the moon.
Now from many a mud walled cabin eyes were watching thro' that night,
Many a manly chest was throbbing as the moon came into sight,
Murmurs passed along the valleys like the banshee's lonely croon,
And a thousand blades were flashing at the rising of the moon,
And a thousand blades were flashing at the rising of the moon.
There beside the singing river that dark mass of men was seen,
Far above the shining weapons flew their own immortal green,
Death to every foe and traitor! Forward! strike the marching tune,
And we're all fine boys for freedom! 'Tis the rising of the moon,
'Tis the rising of the moon, 'tis the rising of the moon,
And we're all fine boys for freedom! 'Tis the rising of the moon.
Well they fought for poor old Ireland, and full bitter was their fate,
What glorious pride and sorrow fill the name of Ninety-Eight,
Yet, thank God, even still are beating hearts in manhood's burning noon,
Who would follow in their footsteps, at the rising of the moon,
Who would follow in their footsteps, at the rising of the moon.
306
Rock Of Ages
(Gillian Welch)
Round, round, I want to go round,
Want to see the rock of ages,
When my body gives out,
Going to read the final pages.
Oh, my mother who's gone,
She told me I should meet her,
Someday streets of gold,
Going to guide me on to greet her.
Once my father sat down,
And told me of the prophets,
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
They're gone but not forgotten.
Till my body gives out,
Going to read the gospel pages.
Moses heard a voice,
It called him up the mountain,
Forty days had set,
When Moses came a shouting.
When my body gives out,
Going to read the final pages.
307
Rocky Top
(Boudleaux Bryant/Felice Bryant)
Wish that I was on ole Rocky Top, down in the Tennessee Hills,
Ain't no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top, ain't no telephone bills.
Chorus: Rocky Top, you'll always be, home sweet home to me,
Good ole Rocky Top, Rocky Top Tennessee.
Once I had a girl on Rocky Top, half bear the other half cat,
Wild as the wind as sweet as soda pop, I still dream about that.
Chorus
Once two strangers climbed ole Rocky Top, looking for a moonshine still,
Strangers ain't come down from Rocky Top, reckon they never will.
Chorus
Corn won't grow up on ole Rocky Top, dirt's too rocky by far,
That's why all the folks on Rocky Top, get their corn from a jar.
Chorus
I've had years of cramped up city life, trapped like a duck in a pen,
All I know is it's a pity life, can't be simple again.
Chorus
308
Roddy McCorley
(Ethna Carbery) Note: pen name of Anna Johnston
O see the fleet-foot host of men, who march with faces drawn,
From farmstead and from fishers cot, along the banks of Ban,
They come with vengeance in their eyes. Too late! Too late are they,
For young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.
Oh Ireland, Mother Ireland, you love them still the best,
The fearless brave who fighting fall upon your hapless breast,
But never a one of all your dead more bravely fell in fray,
Than he who marches to his fate on the bridge of Toome today.
Up the narrow street he stepped, so smiling, proud and young,
About the hemp-rope on his neck, the golden ringlets clung,
There's ne'er a tear in his blue eyes, fearless and brave are they,
As young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.
When last this narrow street he trod, his shining pike in hand,
Behind him marched, in grim array, an earnest stalwart band,
To Antrim town! To Antrim town, he led them to the fray,
But young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.
The grey coat and its sash of green were brave and stainless then,
A banner flashed beneath the sun over the marching men,
The coat hath many a rent this noon, the sash is torn away,
And Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.
Oh, how his pike flashed in the sun, then found a foeman's heart,
Through furious fight, and heavy odds he bore a true man's part,
And many a red-coat bit the dust before his keen pike-play,
But Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.
There's never a one of all your dead more bravely died in fray,
Than he who marches to his fate in Toomebridge town today,
True to the last! True to the last, he treads the upwards way,
And young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.
309
Roll Your Leg Over
(Trad)
Chorus after every verse: Roll your leg over,
Roll your leg over,
Roll your leg over,
It's better that way.
I wish all the girls were like bats in the belfry,
Then no one would get it but Batman and me.
I wish all the girls were bells in a tower,
And I was a clapper, I'd bang one each hour.
I wish all the girls were fish in the ocean,
And I was a wave I would teach them the motion.
I wish all of the girls were fish in a pool,
And I was a whale with a waterproof tool.
I wish all the girls were little white rabbits,
And I was a hare, I would teach them bad habits.
I wish all the girls was up for improvement,
I'd give them some help with a ball-bearing movement.
I wish all the girls were little white kittens,
And I was the tom cat, I'd give them new fittin's.
I wish all the girls were like B-29's,
And I was a fighter, I'd buzz their behinds.
I wish all the girls were like bats in a steeple,
And I were a bat---there'd be more bats than people.
I wish all the girls were like diamonds and rubies,
And I were a jeweler, I'd shine up their boobies.
I wish all the girls were like wheels on a car,
Then I'd be the piston and go twice as far.
I wish all the girls were like rushes a-growing,
I'd take out my scythe and set out a-mowing.
I wish all the girls were like bricks on a pile,
Then I'd be the mason and I'd lay them in style.
If all the young girls were like fish in the brookie,
I'd be a trout and I'd get me some nookie.
I wish all the girls were like winds on the sea,
I'd be a sail and I'd have them blow me.
310
I wish all the girls were like cows in the pasture,
I'd be a bull and I'd fill them with rapture.
If all the young girls were like mares in the stable,
I'd be a stallion and show them I'm able.
I wish all the girls were like little red foxes,
And I was the grass, I would tickle their boxes.
I wish all the girls were like little white rabbits,
And I were a hare, I would teach them bad habits.
I wish all the girls were like trees in the forest,
And I were a woodsman, I'd split their clitoris.
I wish all the girls were like telephone poles,
I'd be a squirrel and stuff nuts in their holes.
I wish all the girls were like coals in the stoker,
I'd be a fireman and shove in my poker.
I wish all the girls were like statues of Venus,
And I was the only one with a petrified penis.
I wish all the girls were like Gypsy Rose Lee,
I'd be a G-string; oh, boy, what I'd see.
I wish all the girls were like sheep in the clover,
I'd be a ram and I'd ram them all over.
I wish all the girls were like pancakes in Texas,
I'd be a Texan and eat them for breakfast.
I wish all the girls were like grapes on a vine,
I'd be a plucker and have me a time.
I wish all the girls were like locks on a gate,
Then I’d be the key to insert and rotate.
I wish all the girls were like musical notes,
Then I’d be the huge pianist and I’d play them by rote.
If all the young ladies were singing this song,
It would be twice as dirty and three times as long.
On the other hand:
I wish all the young laddies were pipes in the yard,
After I drained them they’d still remain hard.
If laddies were watches in shiny gold cases,
Then I’d be the hands and I’d sit on their faces.
311
If all the young laddies were coconuts sweet,
Then I’d suck out their juices and chew on their meat.
If all the young laddies were needles and pins,
Then I’d be cushion to hold their pricks in.
If all the young laddies were puppies full grown,
Then I’d be the ground where they can bury their bone.
If all the young laddies were little white flowers,
I'd be a bee a suck them for hours.
If all the young laddies were keys to a gate,
I'd be the lock, insert and rotate.
If all the young laddies were cows by a stream,
I'd lay myself down and lick up the cream.
If all the young laddies were fish in the ocean,
I'd be the waves and show them the motion.
If all the young laddies were waves in the sea,
I'd be the shore and I'd let them lick me.
If all the young laddies were ships on the sea,
I'd be the waves and I'd let them ride me.
If all the young laddies were pies on a shelf,
I'd be the baker and eat them myself.
If all the young laddies were boards on the floor,
I'd lay myself down and make them creak more.
If all the young laddies were hounds on a spree,
I'd be the fox and I'd let them chase me.
If all the young laddies were flames in a fire,
I'd be the bellows and blow them all higher.
If all the young laddies were sharks in the sea,
I'd be a minnow and let them eat me.
If all the young laddies were bricks in a pile,
I'd be the mason and lay them with style.
If all the young laddies were steeds in a stable,
I'd be the groom and mount all I'm able.
If all the young laddies were grapes in the sun,
I'd grab a big bunch, squeeze their juice one by one.
If all the young laddies were bakers of pie,
I'd be the bread yeast and make them all rise.
312
If all the young laddies were potter of clay,
I'd sit on their wheels and rotate all day.
If all the young laddies were grapes on the vine,
I'd be the one to make them all wine.
If all the young laddies were Toms on the prowl,
I'd be the kitten that makes them all yowl.
If all the young laddies became nice chew toys,
I'd be the one who had trained all those boys.
If all the young laddies were barrels of whiskey rye,
I'd turn on their spigots and drink them all dry.
If all the young laddies were butchers so sweet
I'd hang on their hooks and I'd pound on their meat.
If all the young laddies were clouds puffy and gray
I'd be the wind and I'd blow them all day,
If all the young laddies were sailed in channels quite thin,
I'd be the light-house and guide them all in.
If all the young laddies were milk in a cup,
I'd be a kitten and lick them all up.
If all the young laddies were watches in shiny gold cases,
I'd be the hands and I'd sit on their faces.
If all the young laddies were big as they say,
Then nary a lass would be walking this day!
If all the young laddies were singing this ditty
It would be twice as long, but just half as witty
313
The Rose
(Amanda McBroom)
C
G
F
C
Some say love, it is a river that drowns the tender reed,
C
G
F
C
Some say love, it is a razor that leaves your soul to bleed,
C
C
F
G
Some say love, it is a hunger an endless aching need,
C
G
F
C
I say love, it is a flower and you, it's only seed.
C
G
F
C
It's the heart, afraid of breaking that never learns to dance
C
G
F
C
It's the dream, afraid of waking that never takes the chance
Em
Am
F
G
It's the one who won't be taken who cannot seem to give
C
G
F
C
And the soul, afraid of dying that never learns to live
C
G
F
C
When the night has been too lonely and the road has been too long
C
G
F
C
And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong
Em
Am
F
G
Just remember in the winter far beneath the raging snow
C
G
F
C
Lies the seed that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes The Rose
314
The Rose of Tralee
Note: The words of the song are credited to Edward Mordaunt Spencer and the music to Charles
William Glover, but a story circulated in connection with the Rose of Tralee festival claims that
the song was written by William Pembroke Mulchinock, a wealthy Protestant, out of love for
Mary O'Connor, a poor Catholic maid in service to his parents.
The pale moon was rising above the green mountains,
The sun was declining beneath the blue sea,
When I strayed with my love to the pure crystal fountain,
That stands in the beautiful Vale of Tralee.
She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,
Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me,
Oh no, 'twas the truth in her eyes ever dawning,
That made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee.
The cool shades of evening their mantle were spreading,
And Mary all smiling was listening to me,
The moon through the valley her pale rays was shedding,
When I won the heart of the Rose of Tralee.
Though lovely and fair as the Rose of the summer,
In the far fields of India, 'mid wars dreadful thunders,
Her voice was a solace and comfort to me,
But the chill hand of death has now rent us asunder,
I'm lonely tonight for the Rose of Tralee.
She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,
315
Roseville Fair
(Bill Staines)
Oh, the night was clear,
And the stars were a-shining,
The moon came up so quiet in the sky,
All the people gathered 'round,
And the band was a-tuning,
I can hear them now,
Playing "Coming Through The Rye."
Chorus: And we danced all night,
To the fiddle and the banjo,
Their drifting tunes seemed to fill the air,
So long ago, but I can still remember,
How we fell in love at the Roseville Fair.
You were dressed in blue and you looked so lovely,
Just a gentle flower of a small-town girl,
You took my hand and we stepped to the music,
And with a single smile, you became my world.
Chorus
Now we courted well, and we courted dearly,
And we'd rock for hours on your front porch chair,
Then a year went by from the time that I met you,
And I made you mine at the Roseville Fair.
Chorus.
So here's a song for all the lovers,
And here's a tune that they can share,
May they dance all night,
To the fiddle and the banjo,
The way we did at the Roseville Fair.
316
Rosin the Beau
(Trad) Note: Lincoln's campaign song Lincoln And Liberty Too is to the tune of Rosin the
Beau
I've traveled this wide world all over,
And now to another I go,
And I know that good quarters are waiting,
To welcome old Rosin the Beau,
And I know that good quarters are waiting,
To welcome old Rosin the Beau.
When I'm dead and laid out on the counter,
A voice you will hear from below,
Saying "Send down a hogshead of whiskey,
To drink with old Rosin the Beau,
Saying "Send down a hogshead of whiskey,
To drink with old Rosin the Beau".
Then get a half dozen stout fellows,
And line them all up in a row,
Let them drink out of half gallon bottles,
To the memory of Rosin the Beau,
Let them drink out of half gallon bottles,
To the memory of Rosin the Beau .
Then get a half dozen stout fellows,
And let them all stagger and go,
And dig a great hole in the meadow,
And in it put Rosin the Beau,
And dig a great hole in the meadow,
And in it put Rosin the Beau.
Then get ye a couple of bottles,
Put one at me head and me toe,
With a diamond ring scratch upon them,
The name of old Rosin the Beau,
317
With a diamond ring scratch upon them,
The name of old Rosin the Beau.
I feel that old tyrant approaching,
That cruel remorseless old foe,
And I lift up me glass in his honor,
Take a drink with old Rosin the Beau,
And I lift up me glass in his honor,
Take a drink with old Rosin the Beau.
I've only this one consolation,
As out of this world I go,
I know that the next generation,
Will resemble old Rosin the Beau,
I know that the next generation,
Will resemble old Rosin the Beau.
318
Sam Hall (American)
(Trad)
Well, my name it is Sam Hall, Sam Hall,
Yes, my name it is Sam Hall, it is Sam Hall,
My name it is Sam Hall and I hate you one an' all
You're a bunch of muckers all,
Goddamn your eyes.
I killed a man, they said, so they said.
I killed a man, they said, so they said.
I killed a man, they said, hell I smashed his bloody head.
And' I left him there for dead.
Goddamn his eyes.
Now the preacher he did come, he did come, he did come,
Oh the preacher he did come he did come,
Oh the preacher he did come but he looked so Goddamn glum,
As he talked of Kingdom Come (well he can kiss my ruddy bum),
Goddamn his eyes.
Well the sheriff he come, too, he come, too,
The sheriff he come, too, he come, too,
The sheriff he come, too, with his little boys in blue,
My God, what a bloody crew"
Goddamn their eyes.
I saw my Molly in the crowd, in the crowd,
I saw my Molly in the crowd, in the crowd,
I saw my Molly in the crowd so I hollered right out loud,
"Hey Molly, ain't you proud?"
Goddamn your eyes".
Let this be my parting knell, parting knell,
Let this be my parting knell, parting knell,
Let this be my parting knell, that I'll see you all in hell,
And I hope you sizzle well,
Goddamn your eyes.
319
Sam Hall (Irish)
(Trad)
Oh my name it is Sam Hall, chimney sweep, chimney sweep,
Oh my name it is Sam Hall, chimney sweep
Oh my name it is Sam Hall and I've robbed both great and small,
And my neck will pay for all when I die, when I die,
And my neck will pay for all when I die.
I have twenty pounds in store, that's not all, that's not all,
I have twenty pounds in store, that's not all,
I have twenty pounds in store and I'll rob for twenty more,
For the rich must help the poor, so must I, so must I,
For the rich must help the poor, so must I.
Oh they took me to Cootehill in a cart, in a cart,
Oh they took me to Cootehill in a cart,
Oh they took me to Cootehill where I stopped to make my will,
Saying the best of friends must part, so must I, so must I,
Saying the best of friends must part, so must I.
Up the ladder I did grope, that's no joke, that's no joke,
Up the ladder I did grope, that's no joke,
Up the ladder I did grope and the hangman pulled the rope,
And ne'er a word I spoke, tumbling down, tumbling down,
And ne'er a word I spoke tumbling down.
320
San Antonio Rose
(Bob Wills)
Deep within my heart lies a melody,
A song of old San Antone,
Where in dreams I lived with a memory,
Beneath the stars all alone,
It was there I found beside the Alamo,
Enchantment strange as the blue up above,
A moonlit path that only she would know,
Still hears my broken song of love.
Moon in all its splendor knows only my heart,
Call back my Rose, Rose of San Antone,
Lips so sweet and tender like petals falling apart,
Speak once again of my love my own,
Oh broken song empty words I know,
Still linger in my heart all alone,
For that moonlit path beside the Alamo,
And calls my Rose of San Antone.
321
San Francisco Bay Blues
(Jesse Fuller)
I got those blues for my baby, sitting down by the Frisco Bay,
Ocean liner carried her, carried her far away,
I didn't mean to treat her bad, she was the best gal I ever had,
She said goodbye, she like made me cry, want to lay down my head and die,
I ain't got a nickel and I ain't got a lousy dime,
She don't come back I think I'm going to lose my mind,
If she ever comes back to stay, it's going to be another brand new day,
Walking with my baby by the San Francisco Bay.
Well I'm sitting by my back door, wondering which way to go,
The girl that I'm so crazy about she don't want me anymore,
Going to ride me a fast freight train, cause I'm feeling blue,
Going to ride all the way to the end of the line, thinking only of you,
In every other city I just about go insane,
Sounds like I heard my baby the way she used to call my name,
If she ever comes back to stay, it's going to be another brand new day,
Walking with my baby by the San Francisco Bay.
322
Satisfied Mind
(Joe "Red" Hayes/Jack Rhodes)
How many times have,
You heard someone say,
If I had his money,
I could do things my way,
But little they know,
That it's so hard to find,
One rich man in ten,
With a satisfied mind.
Once I was winning,
In fortune and fame,
Everything that I dreamed for,
To get a start in life's game,
Then suddenly it happened,
I lost every dime,
But I'm richer by far,
Money can't buy back,
Your youth when you're old,
Or a friend when you're lonely,
Or a love that's grown cold,
The wealthiest person,
Is a pauper at times,
Compared to the man,
When my life has ended,
And my time has run out,
My friends and my loved ones,
I'll leave there's no doubt,
But one thing's for certain,
When it comes my time,
I'll leave this old world,
323
Scarlet Ribbons
(Music: Evelyn Danzig/Words: Jack Segal)
I peeked in to say goodnight,
And I heard my child in prayer,
"And for me some scarlet ribbons,
Scarlet ribbons for my hair".
All the stores were closed and shuttered,
All the shelves were dark and bare,
In our town, no scarlet ribbons,
Scarlet ribbons for her hair,
Break: Thru the night my heart was aching,
Just before the dawn was breaking.
I peeped in and on her bed,
In gay profusion lying there,
Lovely ribbons, scarlet ribbons,
Scarlet ribbons for her hair.
If I live to be a hundred,
I will never know from where,
Came those ribbons, scarlet ribbons,
Scarlet ribbons for her hair.
324
Scotch and Soda
(Discovered and recorded by the Kingston Trio) Note: attributed to Dave Guard, but
the real author remains unknown
Scotch and soda, mud in your eye,
Baby, do I feel high, oh, me, oh, my,
Do I feel high?
FM7 Bb9
C C/B A9 F- F/E-F-F/F#-G
G E7
Dry martini, jigger of gin,
Oh, what a spell you've got me in, oh, my,
Do I feel high?
Break: People won't believe me,
They'll think that I'm just bragging,
But I could feel the way I do,
And still be on the wagon.
FG
C Dm7 C
D7
D7-D7/9-G7
All I need is one of your smiles,
Sunshine of your eyes, oh, me, oh, my,
Do I feel higher than a kite can fly?
Give me loving, baby, I feel high.
E7(or C) A7
F G C
325
The Seine
(Burgess, Irving)
One night along the river at St. Germain de Pre,
I first met my beloved at a small sidewalk café,
We walked along the river, the shadows passing by,
But we only saw each other, the shining water and the sky.
Chorus: The Seine, the Seine,
When will I again,
Meet her there, greet her there,
On the moonlit banks of the Seine?
Standing there across the river 'mid sound of horn and tram,
In all her quiet beauty, the cathedral Notre Dame,
And as we passed beside her, I said a little prayer,
That when this dream was over, I'd awake and find you there.
Chorus
We walked along the river, till dawn was coming nigh,
Beneath the Eiffel Tower we said our last good-bye,
There on that splendid morning, I saw you all in tears,
And the beauty of that hour will shine within me through the years.
Chorus
The Seine, the Seine, when will I again meet her there on the Seine?
326
Seven Nights Drunk (Child 274)
(Irish Version of Our Goodman,)
I came home the other night as so drunk I could not see,
I saw a horse there in the stable where my horse ought to be,
So I said to my wife, my pretty little wife, explain this thing to me,
What's that horse doing there in the stable where my horse ought to be?
You blind fool, you drunken fool, can't you plainly see,
That horse ain't nothing but a milk cow my mama done sent to me,
Well, I've travelled this wide world over, ten-thousand miles or more,
But a saddle and a bridle on a milk cow, I never done seen before.
I came home the next night as so drunk I could not see,
I saw a hat there on the hat rack where my hat ought to be,
What's that hat doing there on the hat rack where my hat ought to be?
That hat ain't nothing but a chamber pot my mama done sent to me,
But a John B. Stetson chamber pot, I never done seen before.
I saw a coat there behind the door where my coat ought to be,
That coat ain't nothing but a blanket my mama done sent to me,
But buttons on a blanket I never done seen before.
I saw a pipe up on the chair where my pipe should be,
That pipe ain't nothing but a tin whistle my mama done sent to me,
But tobacco in a tin whistle sure I never done seen before.
I saw two boots beneath the bed where my boots ought to be,
Those boots ain't nothing but geranium pots my mother done sent to me,
But laces in Geranium pots I never done seen before.
I saw a head upon the bed where my old head should be,
That head ain't nothing but a baby boy that my mama done sent to me,
But a baby boy with whiskers on I never done seen before.
I spied a pole inside the hole where my own pole should be,
That pole ain't nothing but a broomstick my mama done sent to me,
But a broomstick with two balls I never done seen before.
I saw two mitts upon her tits where my old mitts should be,
Those mitts ain't nothing but a Wonder Bra that my mother done sent to me,
But a Wonder Bra with fingers, well, I never done seen before,
I saw a man running out the door with his pants down to his knees,
That's the tax collector that the Queen done sent to me,
But an Englishman who can go till three I never done seen before.
327
I saw some shorts upon the floor where my boxers should be,
That's a old dish rag that my mama done sent to me,
But an open fly on a dish rag I've never seen before.
I saw two hands upon her breasts where my old hands should be,
Those hands ain't nothing but a night gown that my mama done sent to me,
But fingers in a night gown sure I never saw before.
I saw a head there on the pillow where my head ought to be,
That head ain't nothing but a cabbage head my mama done sent to me,
But a mustache on a cabbage head I never done seen before.
I came home the next night as so drunk I could not see,
I saw a monster's face there in the bed where my face ought to be,
What's that monster's face doing there in the bed where my face ought to be?
That monster's face is my face, now give a kiss to me,
Still I kiss my wife most every night, but I got to get drunk before.
328
Seven Nights in Ireland
(Frederick Bennett/Michael Braun/Willie Braun)
The first pub we could stagger to was twelve steps from the plane,
A Virgin flight to Shannontown the day it didn't rain,
The laughing eyes of Ireland sparkling blue and green,
With hair as black as Guinness stout and barely seventeen,
We're back out on the cobblestones,
Whiskey drunk and high again,
Liquored up and gearing up for seven nights in Ireland.
The corner booth is waiting for the session to begin,
It's quiet as a mother's prayer till we all stumble in,
And it's fifty happy voices mixed with whistles made of tin,
And a piper man is blowing like the North Atlantic wind,
And an Aran island beauty is sawing on the violin,
I wonder will she miss me after seven nights in Ireland.
It's Ladies' Day in Galway and we watched the ponies run,
Fifty pounds against the odds and came in six to one,
McSwiggin heard the race report, he invited us on in,
So we drank Catholic whiskey with all our newfound friends,
They raised a glass to all of us and we all toasted them,
Here's to Michael, Tom and Pat and seven nights in Ireland.
Well we kissed all the girls goodbye and gathered in our gear,
And when she walked me to the gate I swear I saw a tear,
But then she looked into my eyes I knew she felt my pain,
And only then I realized we were standing in the rain,
So save our places at the pub and when the eyes are dry again,
We'll come back another day for seven nights in Ireland.
329
Seven Spanish Angels
(Troy Seals/Eddie Setser)
He looked down into her dark eyes,
And said, "Say a prayer for me",
She threw her arms around him,
And whispered "God will keep us free",
They could hear the riders coming,
He said "This is my last fight,
If they take me back to Texas,
They won't take me back alive."
Chorus: There were seven Spanish angels,
At the altar of the sun,
They were praying for the lovers,
In the valley of the gun,
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared,
There was thunder from the throne,
And seven Spanish angels, took another angel home.
She reached down and picked the gun up,
That lay smoking in his hand,
She said, "Father please forgive me,
I can't make it without my man"
And she knew the gun was empty,
And she knew she couldn't win,
But her final prayer was answered,
When the rifles fired again.
Chorus
330
Shady Grove
(Trad)
Shady Grove, my little love,
Shady Grove I say,
Shady Grove, my little love,
I'm bound to go away.
Cheeks as red a blooming rose,
And eyes are the prettiest brown,
She's the darling of my heart,
Sweetest girl in town.
I wish I had a big fine horse,
And corn to feed him on,
And Shady Grove to stay at home,
And feed him while I'm gone.
Went to see my Shady Grove,
She was standing in the door,
Her shoes and stockings in her hand,
And her little bare feet on the floor.
When I was a little boy,
I wanted a Barlow knife,
And now I want little Shady Grove,
To say she'll be my wife.
A kiss from pretty little Shady Grove,
Is sweet as brandy wine,
And there ain't no girl in this old world,
That's prettier than mine.
There's peaches in the summertime,
There's apples in the fall,
If I can't have the one I love,
I won't have none at all.
Well have you seen the mournful dove,
Flying from pine to pine,
She's mourning for her own true love,
Like I mourn for mine.
Kiss from pretty Shady Grove,
Sweet as cherry wine,
And there's not a girl in this whole world,
Prettier than mine.
331
Every time I walk this road,
It's always dark and cloudy,
Every time I see that girl,
I always tell her howdy.
Fly around, my pretty little dove,
Fly around, my daisy,
Fly around, my pretty little love,
About to drive me crazy
Some come here to fiddle and dance,
Some come here to tarry,
Some come here to fiddle and dance,
I come here to marry.
332
Shake Sugaree
(Elizabeth Cotton)
Have a little song, won't take long,
Sing it right, once or twice.
Chorus (after every verse): Oh, lordy me, didn't I shake sugaree?
Everything I got is done and pawned,
Everything I got is done and pawned.
Pawn my watch, pawn my chain,
Pawn everything that was in my name.
Pawn by buggy, horse and cart,
Pawn everything that was on my lot.
Pawn my chair, pawn my bed,
Ain't got nowhere to lay my head.
Pawn my tobacco, pawn my pipe,
Pawned everything that was in my sight.
Have a little secret, I ain't gonna tell,
I'm going to heaven in a brown pea shell.
Pawn my farm, pawn my plough,
Pawned everything, even pawned my old cow.
Pawn my hat, pawn my shoes,
Pawned everything that I could use.
Have a little secret, I ain't gonna tell,
I'm goin' to heaven and I ain't goin' to...
Chew my tobacco, spit my juice,
We raise cain but it ain't a bit 'a use.
333
Shule Aroon
(Trad)
Chorus (after every verse):Shule, shule, shule-a-roon,
Shule-a-rak-shak, shule-a-ba-ba-coo,
When I saw my Sally Babby Beal,
come bibble in the boo shy Lorey.
Here I sit on Buttermilk hill,
Who could blame me cry my fill,
And every tear would turn a mill,
Johnny's gone for a soldier.
I'll sell my rod, I'll sell my reel,
I'll sell my only spinning wheel,
To buy my love a sword of steel,
I'll dye my petticoats, I'll dye them red,
And 'round the world I'll beg my bread,
Until my parents shall wish me dead,
I wish, I wish, I wish in vain,
I wish I had my heart again,
And vainly think I'd not complain,
But now my love has gone to France,
To try his fortune to advance,
If he ever come back, 'tis but a chance,
His hair was black and his eyes were blue,
His arms were strong and his words were true,
I wish in my heart that I were with you,
Then the king, he was forced to flee,
Took my love across the sea,
I wish in my heart he were here with me,
I wish, I wish, I wish in vain,
I wish I had my heart again,
334
And vainly think I'd not complain,
Gaelic Chorus:
Siúil, siúil, siúil a ruin,
Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciuin,
Siúil go doras agus ealaigh liom,
Is go dte tu mo mhuirnin slan,
The chorus of this song is in Irish Gaelic; The last line of each verse is usually repeats the last
line of the chorus. Here is the phonetic spelling of the chorus:
shool, shool, shool, a roon,
shool go soccer agus, shule go kyoon,
shool go dorrus agus aylee (or aylig) lum,
iss guh jay too mavoorneen slahn.
Roughly translated:
Go, go, go my love,
Go quietly and peacefully,
Go to the door and flee with me,
And may you go safely my dear.
335
Silver Wings
(Merle Haggard)
Silver wings,
Shining in the sunlight,
Roaring engines,
Headed somewhere in flight
They're taking you away,
And leaving me lonely,
Silver wings,
Slowly fading out of sight.
Don't leave me I cry,
Don't take that airplane ride,
But you've locked me out of your mind,
And left me standing here behind.
Silver wings,
Shining in the sunlight,
Roaring engines,
Headed somewhere in flight,
They're taking you away,
And leaving me lonely,
Silver wings,
Slowly fading out of sight.
336
The Sinking of the Reuben James
(Woody Guthrie)
Have you heard of a ship called the good Reuben James,
Manned by hard fighting men both of honor and of fame?
She flew the Stars and Stripes of the land of the free,
But tonight she's in her grave at the bottom of the sea.
Chorus: Tell me what were their names, tell me what were their names?
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?
What were their names, tell me, what were their names?
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?
Well, a hundred men went down in that dark watery grave,
When that good ship went down only forty-four were saved,
It was the last day of October we saved the forty-four,
From the cold ocean waters on the cold icy shore.
Chorus
It was there in the dark of that uncertain night,
That we watched for the U-boats and waited for a fight,
Then a whine and a rock and a great explosion roared,
And they laid the Reuben James on that cold ocean floor.
Chorus
Now tonight there are lights in our country so bright,
In the farms and in the cities they're telling of the fight.
And now our mighty battleships will steam the bounding main,
And remember the name of that good Reuben James.
Chorus
(additional verse by Fred Hellerman)
Well, many years have passed since those brave men have gone,
And those cold icy waters are still and they're calm,
Many years have passed but still I wonder why,
The worst of men must fight and the best of men must die.
337
Sinner Man
(Trad)
Oh, sinner man, where you're gonna run to?
All on that day?
Run to the rock, rock won't you hide me?
All on that day?
Lord said sinner man, rock will be melting,
All on that day.
Run to the moon, moon won't you hide me?
Lord said sinner man, moon will be bleeding.
Run to the sea, sea won't you hide me?
Lord said, sinner man sea will be boiling.
Run to the sky, sky won't you hide me?
Lord said, sinner man sky will be falling.
Run to the sun, sun won't you hide me
Lord said, sinner man sun will be freezing.
Run to the Lord, Lord won't You hide me?
Lord said, sinner man you should've been a praying.
Run to the devil, devil won't you hide me?
Satan said, sinner man come right in.
338
Sloop John B
(Trad) Note: This version is in Carl Sandburg's The American Songbag. 1927; a version was
collected by Alan Lomax
We come on the sloop John B, my grandfather and me,
Around Nassau town we did roam,
Drinking all night. got into a fight,
Well, I feel so break up, I want to go home. (I want to go home).
Chorus: Hoist up the John B's sails,
See how the main sails set,
Call for the captain ashore, let me go home, (Let me go home)
Let me go home, (I want to go home)
I want to go home, (Why don't you let me go home?)
Well, I feel so break up, I want to go home. (I want to go home)
First mate, he got drunk,
Broke up the people's trunk,
Constable had to come and take him away,
Sheriff John Stone (Sheriff John Stone),
Why don't you leave me alone? (Why don't you leave me alone?)
Well, I feel so break up, I want to go home. (I want to go home)
Chorus
Well, the poor cook he caught the fits,
Throw away all of my grits,
Then he went and he ate up all of my corn,
Let me go home (I want to go home),
I want to go home, (Why don't you let me go home?)
This is the worst trip since I've been born. (since I have been born)
Chorus
339
Soalin'
(Trad / Arr: PEPAMAR Music)
Hey ho, nobody home, Meat nor drink nor money have I none,
Yet shall we be merry, Hey ho, nobody home,
Hey Ho, nobody home.
Chorus: Soal, a soal, a soal cake, please good missus a soul cake,
An apple, a pear, a plum, a cherry, any good thing to make us all merry,
One for Peter, two for Paul, three for Him who made us all.
God bless the master of this house, and the mistress also,
And all the little children that round your table grow,
The cattle in your stable and the dog by your front door,
And all that dwell within your gates we wish you ten times more.
Chorus
Go down into the cellar and see what you can find,
If the barrels are not empty we hope you will be kind,
We hope you will be kind with your apples and your pears,
For we'll come no more a soalin' till this time next year.
Chorus
The streets are very dirty, my shoes are very thin,
I have a little pocket to put a penny in,
If you haven't got a penny, a ha' penny will do,
If you haven't got a ha' penny then God bless you.
Chorus
Now to the Lord sing praises all you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood each other now embrace,
This holy tide of Christmas of beauty and of grace,
Oh tidings of comfort and joy.
340
Some Day I'll Get Out of These Bars
(Keith Sykes)
I walked into a rundown bar,
The sign said a one-man band,
He was sitting on top of a bar stool,
A guitar held in his hand,
And the lines he was singing brought memories ringing,
I heard this old broken-down star,
Singing bad women and whiskey, you know they will get you,
Someday I'll get out of these bars.
Chorus: Someday I'll get out, someday I'll get out,
Won't fight no more honky tonk wars,
Someday I'll get out, someday I'll get out,
Well I sat there drinking and dreaming and thinking,
Of a time not too long ago,
With iron bars all around me, and grey walls that bound me,
And years that went by too slow,
And the songs that I whispered to the blue sky above me,
As I walked that big prison yard,
Was bad women and whiskey, you know they will get you,
Chorus,
Well I paid for my drink and walked over to where,
He was singing his sad country song,
I said we're a lot alike guitar man you and I,
But your sentence is way too long,
Someday I'll get out, he began to shout,
As I walked toward that open bar door,
I'll find a song, and it won't take too long,
Until I get out of these bars.
Chorus
341
Someday Soon
(Ian Tyson)
There's a young man that I know whose age is twenty-one,
Comes from down in southern Colorado,
Just out of the service, he's looking for his fun,
Someday soon, going with him someday soon.
My parents cannot stand him 'cause he rides the rodeo,
My father says that he will leave me crying,
I would follow him right down the roughest road I know,
Break: But when he comes to call, my pa ain't got a good word to say,
Guess it's 'cause he's just as wild in his younger days.
So blow, you old Blue Northern, blow my love to me,
He's riding in tonight from California,
He loves his damned old rodeo as much as he loves me,
342
G
Something So Feminine About a Mandolin
(Jimmy Buffett/Jane Slagsvol)
It was late in the evening, just a few of us picking,
But the lady she played so easy and fine,
And the chords that she strummed were so tastefully clever,
They planted this song in my mind.
'Cause there's something so feminine about a mandolin,
The way that they feel, the way that they ring,
Just to see slender fingers, moving so quickly,
Made this boy want to sing.
And when I get older and I have a daughter,
I'll teach her to sing and play her my songs,
And I'll tell her some stories I can barely remember,
And hope that she will sing along.
And maybe one day she'll take a fancy to picking,
'cause when that bug bites you, you live with the sting,
And if she could just strum a few simple measures,
She could make some young man sing.
'Cause there's something so feminine about a mandolin,
Way that they feel, the way that they ring,
And that evening in a pasture somewhere near Austin
That mandolin made me sing.
Her mandolin made me sing.
343
Sonny's Dream
(Ron Hynes)
Sonny lives on a farm in the wide open space,
Where you can take off your sneakers and get out of the race,
You can lay down your head by a sweet river bed,
But Sonny always remembers what it was his Mama said.
Chorus: Sonny don't go away, I am here all alone,
Your daddy's a sailor who never comes home,
And the nights get so long and the silence goes on,
And I'm feeling so tired, I'm not all that strong.
Sonny carries a load though he's barely a man,
There ain't all that to do, still he does what he can,
And he watches the sea from a room by the stairs,
And the waves keep on rolling, they've done that for years.
Chorus
And it's a hundred miles to town, Sonny's never been there,
But he goes to the highway and stands there and stares,
And the mail comes at four and the mailman is old,
Oh, but he still dreams his dreams full of silver and gold.
Chorus
Sonny's dreams can't be real, they're just stories he's read,
They're just stars in his eyes, they're just dreams in his head,
And he's hungry inside for the wide world outside,
And I know I can't hold him though I've tried and I've tried.
Chorus
344
Sorrowful Angels
(Tommy Conners/Leslie Winn Satcher)
She loved him most when his eyes were gray,
The palest shade of a winter day,
They filled her with a raging fire,
And a bittersweet desire.
She shined for him like candlelight,
That softly beckons in the night,
But he said no right to her face,
Then simply turned and walked away.
Chorus: All Heaven watched from way on high,
True love given and denied,
And while her heart was broke and bleeding,
Sorrowful angels wept into their wings.
She wore him like a lock and chain,
Only in dreams she spoke his name,
By day it sleeped upon her tongue,
The taste of unrequited love.
Now her hair is long and gray,
The palest shade of a winter day,
She never took a ring of gold,
She swears she never loved a soul.
Chorus
She loved him most when his eyes were gray.
345
The Sound in Your Mind
(Willie Nelson)
Well, I've been feeling a little bad,
'Cause I've been feeling a little better without you,
It's a little like rain but it's a lot like a sunny day,
And it's hard to explain but the sound of your name,
Don't make music anymore,
It's more a sound of a love that I lost one day
Break: It's a little too late,
To start thinking about starting all over,
I'd rather stay where I am,
I can't take another slam in the mind
I've been feeling a little bad,
But remember my love is the sound that you hear in your mind,
Break: I've been running around,
Even laughing at half of the memories,
You're not hard to remember,
I just have to think of your name
I've been feeling a little bad,
But remember my love is the sound that you hear in your mind,
Remember my love, is the sound that you hear in your mind
346
The South Wind
(Words: (c) Jed Marum, 2012/Music: Trad)
My heart is alive where the south winds blows,
Where the rivers wind down to the sea,
Through the days of my life,
Where the south winds blows,
Winds a spirit affirming and free,
A man's a man, so the poet said,
In spite of the powers that be,
And the man of independent mind,
Like the South Wind is sovereign and free.
There’s a meaning to life where the south winds blows,
Where the rivers wind down to the sea,
There a man can be all that he's meant to be,
In command of his own destiny,
"Every knee must bend for the will of the state",
As the ruling class sages decree,
But the man of independent mind,
Like the South Wind is sovereign and free.
There's a sense of self-worth where the south winds blows,
Where the rivers run down to the sea,
And the blessing that heaven and earth bestows,
Is the life that is fruitful and free,
Give fools their silk, and give knaves their wine,
Their tinsel shows nothing of gold,
While the honest man, who will toil and grind,
Brings worth to his family and fold.
347
Spanish Lady of Dublin City
(Trad)
As I went down to Dublin city,
At the hour of twelve at night,
Who should I see but the Spanish Lady,
Washing her feet by candle-light,
First she washed them, then she dried them,
Over a fire of amber coal,
In all my life I ne'er did see,
A maid so sweet about the soul.
Chorus: She had twenty, eighteen, sixteen, fourteen, twelve, ten, eight, six, four,
two, one,
Nineteen, seventeen, fifteen, thirteen, eleven, nine, seven, five, three, none.
I stopped to look but the watchman passed,
Says he, "Young fellow, now the night is late,
And along with you home or I will wrestle you,
Straight away to the Bridewell gate,
I got a look from the Spanish lady,
Hot as a fire of ambery coals,
And in all my life I never did see,
A maid so neat about the soles.
As I went back through Dublin city,
At the hour of half-past eight,
Brushing her hair outside the gate,
First she brushed it, then she combed it,
On her hand was a silver comb,
A maid so fair as I did roam.
Chorus
As I came back through Dublin city,
As the sun began to set,
Catching a moth in a golden net.,
When she saw me then she fled me,
Lifting her petticoat over her knee,
A maid so shy as the Spanish Lady.
Chorus
348
As I walked back through Dublin City,
As the dawn of day was o'er,
Oh whom should I spy but the Spanish lady,
When I was weary and footsore,
She had a heart so filled with loving,
And her love she longed to share,
And in all my life I never did meet,
A maid who had so much to spare.
Chorus
I've wandered north and I've wandered south,
By Stoneybatter and Patrick's Close,
Up and around by the Gloucester Diamond,
And back by Napper Tandy's house,
Old age has laid her hand on me,
Cold as a fire of ashy coals,
But where o where is the Spanish Lady,
Neat and sweet about the soul?
Chorus
'Round and around goes the wheel of fortune,
Where it rests now wearies me,
Oh fair young maids are so deceiving,
Sad experience teaches me.
349
Star of the County Down
(Trad)
In Bainbridge town, in the County Down,
One morning in late July,
Down a bóithrín green came a sweet cailín,
And she smiled as she passed me by,
Oh she looked so sweet from her two bare feet,
To the sheen of her nut brown hair,
Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself,
To be sure I was standing there.
Chorus: From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay,
And from Galway to Dublin town,
No maid I've seen like the brown cailín,
That I met in the County Down.
As she onward sped I shook my head,
And I gazed with a feeling quare,
And I, says I, to a passerby,
Who's the maid with the nut-brown hair?
He smiled at me, and with pride says he,
That's the gem of old Ireland's crown,
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann,
She's the star of the County Down.
Chorus
I've travelled a bit, but never was hit,
Since my roving career began,
But fair and square I surrendered there,
To the charms of young Rose McCann,
I'd a heart to let and no tenant yet,
Had I met in a shawl or gown,
But in she went and I asked no rent,
From the star of the County Down.
Chorus
At the crossroads fair I'll sure be there,
And I'll dress in my Sunday clothes,
With my shoes shined bright and my hat cocked right,
For a smile from the nut-brown rose,
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke,
Though with rust my plow turns brown,
Till a smiling bride by my own fireside,
Sits the star of the County Down.
Chorus
350
Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer)
(Bob Wills)
Can't go home if you're going by the mill,
Cause the bridge washed out at the bottom of the hill,
Big Creek's up, Little Creek's level,
Plow my corn with a double shovel.
Chorus: Stay all night, stay a little longer,
Dance all night, dance a little longer,
Pull off your coat, throw it in the corner,
Don't see why you can't stay a little longer.
Sitting in the window, singing to my love,
Slop bucket fell from the window up above,
Mule and the grasshopper eating ice cream,
Mule got sick, so they laid him on the green.
Chorus
You ought to see my Blue Eyed Sally,
She lives way down on Shinbone Alley,
Number on the gate, the number on the door,
The next house over is the grocery store.
Chorus
Grab your partner, pat her on the head,
If she don't like biscuits, feed her cornbread,
Girls around Big Creek, 'bout half grown,
Jump on a man like a dog on a bone.
Chorus
351
Step It Out Mary
(Sean McCarthy) Note: the chorus is a child's skipping rhyme, McCarthy added the verses)
Chorus: Step it out, Mary, my fine daughter,
Step it out, Mary, if you can,
Step it out, Mary, my fine daughter,
Show your legs to the countryman.
In the village of Kilgory, there's a maiden young and fair,
She had eyes that shine like diamonds, she had long and golden hair,
The countryman comes riding up to her father's gate,
Mounted on a milk-white stallion, he comes at the stroke of eight.
Chorus
I have come to court your daughter, Mary of the golden hair,
I have gold and I have silver, I have goods beyond compare,
I will buy her silks and satin and a gold ring for her hand,
I will build for her a mansion, she'll have servants to command,
Chorus
I don't want your gold and silver, I don't want your house and land,
I am going with a soldier boy, I have promised him my hand,
But the father spoke up sharply you will do as you are told,
You'll get married on a Sunday and you'll wear that ring of gold.
Chorus
In the village of Kilgory there's a deep stream flowing by,
It was there at the stroke of midnight she drowned with her soldier boy,
In the cottage there is music, you can hear her father say,
Step it out, Mary, my fine daughter, Sunday is your wedding day.
Chorus
352
Stewball
(Trad)
Oh Stewball was a racehorse, and he held a high head,
And the mane on his foretop, was as fine as silk thread.
His bridle was silver, his mane it was gold,
And the price of his saddle has never been told.
I rode him in England, I rode him in Spain,
And I never did lose, boys, I always did gain.
So come all you gamblers, wherever you are,
And don`t bet your money on that little grey mare.
Oh the fairgrounds were crowded, and Stewball was there,
But the betting was heavy on the bay and the mare.
Most likely she`ll stumble, most likely she`ll fall,
But never you`ll lose, boys, on my noble Stewball.
I bet on the grey mare, I bet on the bay,
If I'd have bet on old' Stewball, I'd be a free man today.
Sit tight on your saddle, let slack on your rein,
And you never will lose boys, you always will gain.
As they were a-riding, `bout halfway round,
The grey mare she stumbled, and fell on the ground.
And a-way up yonder, ahead of them all,
Came a-prancing and a-dancing my noble Stewball.
Oh the hoot owl, she hollers, and the turtle dove moans,
I'm a poor boy in trouble, I'm a long way from home.
Oh Stewball was a racehorse, and I wish he were mine,
He never drank water, he always drank wine.
353
Stony
(Jerry Jeff Walker) Note: Stoney is Harry Robert Stoneback, Ph.D. and Fullbright scholar; a
Hemingway, Durrell, and Faulkner scholar of international distinction who hung around with
Walker, Bob Dylan, etc as a folk singer in the 1960s. "Books by Durrell" refers to British writer
Lawrence Durrell, best known for The Alexandria Quartet.
I first ran into Stony in a bar downtown,
Richmond, Virginia, we were bumming around,
Suitcase to suitcase, we started him talking,
Telling 'bout the things we shared, and the miles we've been.
He had a gray pillowcase full of books by Durrell,
And he had this old concertina, all beat up and she played like hell,
Until you got him started singing those gospel songs,
Well, he drank all night for nothing and told his stories till dawn.
Then he'd say, "Come on, get your bag, boy, sun's up, it's time to roll,
You know there ain't no better time than early in the morning to be walking down
this road,
Just feeling another day beginning while all those fools go rushing on by,
We'll be like some Mr. Independence, we be taking our own sweet time.
We walked on out that highway under a clear blue sky,
I'd listening to the tales he told and drink warm red wine,
'Bout the time he rolled a seven, 'bout some girl he'd done wrong,
Everything he could think of while we walked along.
Yeah, old Stony had a magic made him hard to forget
Like the night we flew down the highway, in an old pickup nearly wrecked,
With a crazy woman driving, all drunked up and carrying on,
Till Stony finally calmed her by singing those Gospel songs.
We split the road at Norwood, he just shook my hand,
He said, "I'll see you some day, friend, but you know he never has",
But we were that free then, walking down the road,
Never really caring where that highway goes.
Yeah, old Stony was a liar, bullshitter. ain't no doubt about it,
Maybe it was just the way he told things that made you never want to doubt him,
'Cause he kept you going when the road got rough,
And brought you through the lean times by making it up.
Hey, did I ever tell you the time I married my cousin up in Las Vegas?
Yeah, you did, Stony, but tell it again.
354
Storms are on the Ocean
(Trad, arr: A. P. Carter)
I'm going away to leave you love,
I'm going away for a while,
But I'll return to see you sometime,
If I go ten thousand miles.
Chorus: The storms are on the ocean,
The heavens may cease to be,
This world may lose its motion love,
If I prove false to thee.
Oh who will shoe your pretty little feet,
And who will glove your hand,
Oh who will kiss your rosy red cheeks,
When I'm in a foreign land.
Chorus
Papa will shoe my pretty little feet,
And Mama will glove my hand,
You may kiss my rosy red cheeks,
When you return again.
Chorus
Have you seen those mournful doves,
Flying from pine to pine,
A-mourning for their own true love,
Just like I mourn for mine.
Chorus
I'll never go back on the ocean love,
I'll never go back on the sea,
I'll never go back on my blue-eyed girl,
Till she goes back to me.
Chorus
355
Streets of Laredo
(Trad)
As I walked out in the streets of Laredo,
As I walked out in Laredo one day,
I spied a poor cowboy wrapped up in white linen,
All wrapped in white linen as cold as the clay.
I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy,
These words he did say as I proudly stepped by,
Come sit down beside me and hear my sad story,
I'm shot in the breast and I know I must die.
'Twas once in the saddle I used to go riding,
Once in the saddle I used to go gay,
First lead to drinking, and then to card-playing,
I'm shot in the breast and I'm dying today.
Let six jolly cowboys come carry my coffin,
Let six pretty gals come to carry my pall,
Throw bunches of roses all over my coffin,
Throw roses to deaden the clods as they fall.
Oh, beat the drum slowly, and play the fife lowly,
And play the dead march as you carry me along,
Take me to the green valley and lay the earth o'er me,
For I'm a poor cowboy and I know I've done wrong.
Then go write a letter to my grey-haired mother,
An' tell her the cowboy that she loved has gone,
But please not one word of the man who had killed me,
Don't mention his name and his name will pass on.
Then swing your rope slowly and rattle your spurs lowly,
And give a wild whoop as you carry me along,
And in the grave throw me and roll the sod o'er me,
For I'm a young cowboy and I know I've done wrong.
Go bring me a cup, a cup of cold water,
To cool my parched lips, the cowboy then said,
Before I returned, his soul had departed,
And gone to the round up – the cowboy was dead.
When thus he had spoken, the hot sun was setting,
The streets of Laredo grew cold as the clay,
We took the young cowboy down to the green valley,
And there stands his marker, we made, to this day.
356
We beat the drum slowly and played the Fife lowly,
Played the dead march as we carried him along,
Down in the green valley, laid the sod o'er him,
He was a young cowboy and he said he'd done wrong.
We beat the drum slowly and played the fife lowly,
And bitterly wept as we carried him along,
For we all loved our comrade, so brave, young and handsome,
We all loved our comrade although he done wrong.
357
Sugar Moon
(Bob Wills/Cindy Walker)
When it's sugarcane time,
And around about June,
I'll be walking with my sugar,
'Neath that old sugar moon.
All the loving I missed,
I'll be getting it soon,
I'll be getting it from my sugar,
I can see us right now,
Get the calendar down,
Draw a circle around,
The day we're altar bound,
All the birds will be singing,
I'll be walking with my sugar,
358
Sunday Morning Coming Down
(Kris Kristofferson)
Well I woke up Sunday morning,
With no way to hold my head that didn't hurt,
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad,
So I had one more for dessert,
Then I fumbled through my closet for my clothes,
And found my cleanest dirty shirt,
An' I washed my face and combed my hair,
An' stumbled down the stairs to meet the day.
I'd smoked my mind the night before,
With cigarettes and songs I'd been picking,
But I lit my first and watched a small kid,
Cussing at a can that he was kicking,
Then I crossed the empty street,
And caught the Sunday smell of someone frying chicken,
And it took me back to something,
That I'd lost somehow, somewhere along the way.
Chorus: On the Sunday morning sidewalk, wishing Lord, that I was stoned,
'Cause there's something in a Sunday, makes a body feel alone,
And there's nothing short of dying half as lonesome as the sound,
Of the sleeping city sidewalks and Sunday morning coming down.
In the park I saw a daddy,
With a laughing little girl who he was swinging,
And I stopped beside a Sunday school,
And listened to the song they were singing,
Then I headed back for home,
And somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringing,
And it echoed through the canyons,
Like the disappearing dreams of yesterday.
Chorus
359
Sweet is the Melody
(Iris Dement)
Chorus: Sweet is the melody, so hard to come by,
It's so hard to make every note bend just right,
You lay down the hours and leave not one trace,
But a tune for the dancing is there in its place.
Well, the dance floor's for gliding and not jumping over ponies,
Where boots and gold bracelets come and meet as they should,
It's for celebrating a Friday night romance,
Forgetting the bad stuff and just feeling good.
Chorus
Oh, an arm's just an arm till it's wrapped 'round a shoulder,
Looped side by side they go stepping out together,
A note's just a note till you wake from your slumber,
And dare to discover the new melody.
Chorus
360
Sweet Memories
(Thomas Derrick McElroy/Denzil Foster/Jay A. King)
My love is like a river as wide as it is deep,
Night after night in my lonely room trying hard to sleep,
My memory's just an endless stream of emptiness to me,
Filled only by the fleeting moments of her memories,
Sweet memories, sweet memories.
She slipped into the silence of my dreams last night,
Wondering from room to room turning on each light,
Her laughter spills like water from the river to the sea,
And I'm swept away from sadness clinging to her memories,
Sweet memories, sweet memories.
361
Sylvie
(Huddie Ledbettor)
Sylvie, Sylvie,
I'm so hot'n dry,
Sylvie, Sylvie,
Can't you hear, can't you hear me crying?
Bring me little water, Sylvie, bring me little water now,
Bring me little water, Sylvie, every little once in a while.
Sylvie says she loves me, but I believe she lies,
She hasn't been to see me since the last day in July.
Sylvie, Sylvie,
I'm so hot'n dry,
Sylvie, Sylvie,
Took a look up yonder, is that is that I see?
Well I thought it was little Sylvie, coming after me.
Sylvie, Sylvie,
I'm so hot'n dry,
Sylvie, Sylvie,
She brought me a little coffee, she brought me a little tea,
She brought me nearly every damned thing, but she didn't bring the jailhouse key.
Sylvie, Sylvie,
I'm so hot'n dry,
Sylvie, Sylvie,
Little drink of water wouldn't satisfy me,
Bring it in a bucket, Sylvie, Bring in a bucket now,
Bring it in a bucket, Sylvie, every little once in a while.
362
T for Texas (aka Blue Yodel #1)
(Jimmie Rodgers)
Well, T for Texas, T for Tennessee,
T for Texas, T for Tennessee,
T for Thelma, the gal that made a wreck out of me.
If you don’t want me mama, you sure don’t have to stall, oh no,
If you don’t want me mama, you sure don’t have to stall,
‘Cause I can get more women than a passenger train can haul.
But I’m going where the water drinks like cherry wine,
I’m going where the water drinks like cherry wine,
‘Cause this Georgia water tastes like turpentine.
I'm gonna buy me a pistol, just as long as I'm tall,
I'm gonna buy me a pistol, just as long as I'm tall,
I'm gonna shoot poor Thelma, just to see her jump and fall.
I'm gonna buy me a shotgun with a great long shiny barrel,
I'm gonna buy me a shotgun with a great long shiny barrel,
I'm gonna shoot that rounder that stole my gal.
I’d rather drink muddy water and sleep in a hollow log,
I’d rather drink muddy water and sleep in a hollow log,
Than to be here in Atlanta, get treated like a dirty dog.
If you’re ever down in Mobile you can look me up,
If you’re ever down in Mobile be sure to look me up,
And if you’re ever in Atlanta tell Lucille to go to hell.
Well, T for Texas, T for Tennessee,
T for Texas, T for Tennessee,
T for Thelma, the gal that made a wreck out of me.
363
Tail Toddle
(Trad)
Chorus: Tail toddle, tail toddle Tammie gars my tail toddle,
But an' ben wi' diddle doddle, Tammie gars my tail toddle.
When I'm deid I'm oot o' date,
When I'm seik I'm fu' o' trouble,
When I'm weel I stap aboot,
An' Tammie gars my tail toddle.
Chorus
Jennie Jack she gied a plack,
Helen Wallace gied a boddle,
Quo' the bride, "It's ower little,
For to mend a broken doddle."
Chorus
Oor guid-wife held ower to Fife,
For to buy a coal riddle,
Lang or she cam' back again,
O Tammie gart my tail toddle.
Chorus
364
Take Her in Your Arms
(Andy M. Stewart)
Have you seen him on the corner, his lip would reach the pavement,
He's been hiding from his razor, is he not an awful sight?
In love he was the purist, now he's frightening our tourists,
If he'd gone and asked his father I'm sure he'd set him right, saying,
Chorus: Take her in your arms and tell her that you love her,
Take her in your arms and hold that woman tight,
Won't you take her in your arms and tell her that you love her,
If you're going to love a woman be sure to do it right.
Now he met her at a disco in a dive in San Francisco,
And it all might have been different if he'd seen her in daylight,
She was painted, she was scented, But she drove your man demented,
If he'd gone and asked his father I'm sure he'd set him right, saying.
Chorus
Here's a pub with fun and laughter and the landlord's buying bevvy,
There's a session in the corner and the craic is grand tonight,
But your man who's lost his woman, he's still at home lamenting,
If he'd gone and asked his father I'm sure he'd set him right, saying.
Chorus
Now, depression's not a million laughs but suicide's too dangerous.
Don't go lepping out of buildings in the middle of the night,
It's not the fall, but landing that'll alter social standing,
So go first and ask your father, I'm sure he'll set you right, saying.
Chorus
Here's a health to all true lovers, their sisters and their brothers,
And their uncles and their grannies, for this thing is black and white,
If you're keen to start romancing with its lepping and its dancing,
Then go first and ask your father and I'm sure he'll set you right, saying.
Chorus
365
Take Her Out of Pity (aka The Old Maid's Lament)
(Trad, see also The Old Maid in the Garrett)
I had a sister Sally, she was younger than I am,
Had so many sweethearts, she had to deny them,
But as for sister Sarah, she never had many,
And if you knew her heart, she'd grateful for any.
Chorus:
Come a landsman, a pinsman, a tinker or a tailor,
A doctor, a lawyer, a soldier, or a sailor,
A rich man, a poor man, a fool or a witty,
Don't let her die an old maid, but take her out of pity.
I had a sister Sarah, she was ugly and illshapen,
By the time she was sixteen years old she was taken,
By the time she was eighteen, a son and a daughter,
Sally's nine and twenty now, and never had an offer.
Chorus
She never would be scolding, she never would be jealous,
Her husband would have money to go to the alehouse,
While he was there a-spending she'd be home a-saving,
And I leave it up to you if she is not worth having.
Chorus
366
Take Me Home Country Roads
(John Denver)
Almost heaven, West Virginia,
Blue Ridge Mountains,
Shenandoah River,
Life is old there,
Older than the trees,
Younger than the mountains,
Growing like a breeze.
Chorus: Country Roads, take me home,
To the place I belong,
West Virginia, mountain momma,
Take me home, country roads.
All my memories gather 'round her,
Miner's lady, stranger to blue water,
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky,
Misty taste of moonshine,
Teardrops in my eye.
Chorus
Break: I hear her voice,
In the morning hour she calls me,
The radio reminds me of my home far away,
And driving down the road I get a feeling,
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday.
Chorus
367
Take These Chains
(Hank Williams)
Take these chains from my heart and set me free,
You've grown cold and no longer care for me,
All my faith in you is gone but the heartaches linger on,
Take these chains from my heart and set me free.
Take these tears from my eyes and let me see,
Just a spark of the love that used to be,
If you love somebody new let me find a new love too,
Give my heart just a word of sympathy,
Be as fair to my heart as you can be,
Then if you no longer care,
For the love that's beating there,
368
Tell Me Ma (Belle of Belfast City)
(Trad)
Chorus: I'll tell me ma when I go home,
The boys won't leave the girls alone,
They pulled my hair and stole my comb,
But that's alright till I get home,
She is handsome she is pretty,
She is the belle of Belfast city,
She is courting one, two, three,
Please would you tell me who is she.
Albert Mooney says he loves her,
All the boys are fighting for her,
They knock at the door,
And they ring at the bell saying,
"Oh, my true love are you well",
Out she comes as white as snow,
With rings on her fingers,
And bells on her toes,
Jenny Murray says she'll die,
If she doesn't get the fellow with the roving eye.
Chorus
Let the wind and the rain and the hail blow high,
And the snow come tumbling from the sky,
She's as sweet as apple pie,
She'll get her own lad by and by,
When she gets a lad of her own,
She won't tell her ma when she gets home,
Let them all come as they will,
It's Albert Mooney she loves still.
Chorus
369
Tell Old Bill
(Trad)
Tell old Bill, when he comes home this morning,
Tell old Bill, when he comes home this evening,
Tell old Bill, when he comes home,
To leave those downtown women alone,
This morning, this evening, so soon.
Bill left by the alley gate this morning,
Bill left by the alley gate this evening,
Bill left by the alley gate,
And old Sal she told him, "Now don't be late."
Bill left here at half past eight, this morning,
Bill left here at half past eight, this evening,
Bill left here at half past eight,,
Old Bill left by the old front gate,
Bill's woman was a baking bread this morning,
Bill's woman was a baking bread this evening,
Bill's woman was a baking bread,
When they brought her the news that her Bill was dead,
Oh no, it can't be so, this morning,
Oh no, it can't be so, this evening so soon,
Oh no, it can't be so,
I saw my Bill about an hour ago,
Oh no, it can't be, this morning,
Oh no, it can't be, this evening so soon,
Oh no, it can't be,
They killed my Bill in the first degree,
They're bringing Bill home in a hurry-up wagon this morning,
They're bringing Bill home in a hurry-up wagon this evening,
They're bringing Bill home in a hurry-up wagon,
Can't you see how his shoes are dragging,
This morning, this evening, so soon,
This morning and this evening, so soon.
370
Tennessee Flattop Box
(Johnny Cash)
In a little cabaret in a South Texas border town,
Sat a boy and his guitar, and the people came from all around,
And all the girls from there to Austin,
Were slipping away from home and putting jewelry in hock,
To take the trip, to go and listen,
To the little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box.
And he would play: (Instrumental)
Well, he couldn't ride or wrangle, and he never cared to make a dime,
But give him his guitar, and he'd be happy all the time,
And all the girls from nine to ninety,
Were snapping fingers, tapping toes, and begging him: "Don't stop",
And hypnotized and fascinated,
By the little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box.
Then one day he was gone, and no one ever saw him 'round,
He'd vanished like the breeze, they forgot him in the little town,
But all the girls still dreamed about him,
And hung around the cabaret until the doors were locked,
And then one day on the Hit Parade,
Was a little dark-haired boy who played the Tennessee flat top box.
371
Tennessee Stud
(Jimmy Driftwood)
Along about eighteen and twenty-five,
I left Tennessee very much alive,
I never would have got through the Arkansas mud,
If I hadn't been a-riding on the Tennessee stud,
I had some trouble with my sweetheart's pa,
One of her brothers was a bad outlaw,
I sent her a letter by my Uncle Fud,
And I rode away on the Tennessee stud,
Chorus: The Tennessee stud was long and lean,
The color of the sun and his eyes were green,
Walkdown A-G-F#-E
-
He had the nerve and he had the blood,
And there never was a hoss like the Tennessee stud.
One day I was riding in the beautiful land,
And ran smack into an Indian band,
They grabbed their nags with a whoop and a yell,
But I rode away like a bat out of hell,
Well I circled their camp for a time or two,
And showed what a Tennessee hoss could do,
And them redskin boys never got my blood,
'Cause I was a-riding on the Tennessee stud.
Chorus
We drifted on down into no man's land,
We crossed the river called the Rio Grande,
I raced my hoss with the Spaniards bold,
Till I got me a skin full of silver and gold,
Me and a gambler we couldn't agree,
We got in a fight over Tennessee,
We jerked our guns, he fell with a thud,
And I got away on the Tennessee stud.
Chorus
Well, I got as lonesome as a man can be,
Dreaming of my girl in Tennessee,
The Tennessee stud's green eyes turned blue,
'Cause he was a-dreaming of a sweetheart too,
We loped on back across Arkansas,
I whipped her brother and I whipped her pa,
372
D
I found that girl with the golden hair,
And she was riding on a Tennessee mare.
Chorus
Stirrup to stirrup and side by side,
We crossed the mountains and the valleys wide,
We came to Big Muddy and we forded the flood,
On the Tennessee mare and the Tennessee stud,
Pretty little baby on the cabin floor,
Little hoss colt playing 'round the door,
I love the girl with golden hair,
And the Tennessee stud loves the Tennessee mare.
Chorus
373
The Titanic
(Trad, the tune is Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane)
Oh they built the ship Titanic, to sail the ocean blue,
And they thought they had a ship that the sea would not go through,
But the Lord's Almighty hand, said that ship it will not land,
It was sad when that great ship went down.
Chorus: It was sad, (Lord sad), it was sad (Lord sad)
It was sad when the great ship went down,
(to the bottom of the...),
Husbands and wives, little bitty children lost their lives,
It was sad when the great ship went down.
They sailed her from England and were almost to the shore,
When the rich refused to associate with the poor,
So they sent them down below, where they were the first to go,
It was sad when that great ship went down.
Chorus
The boat was full of sin and the sides about to burst,
When the captain shouted, "Women and children first!"
Oh, the captain tried to wire, but the wires was on fire,
Chorus
Oh, they swung the lifeboats out o'er the deep and raging sea,
When the band struck up with Nearer My God to Thee,
Little children wept and cried as the waves swept o'er the side,
Chorus
374
This Land Is Your Land
(Woody Guthrie)
This land is your land, this land is my land,
From California to the New York island,
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters,
This land was made for you and me.
As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway,
I saw below me that golden valley,
I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps,
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts,
And all around me a voice was sounding,
When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting,
As I went walking I saw a sign there,
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing.",
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.
In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people,
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?
Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway,
Nobody living can ever make me turn back,
375
This Train is Bound for Glory (Peter, Paul & Mary version)
(Trad)
This train don't carry no gamblers, this train,
This train don't carry no gamblers,
No crap shooters, no midnight ramblers,
This train don't carry no gamblers, this train.
This train, don't carry no jokers, well, this train,
This train, don't carry no jokers, well, this train,
This train, don't carry no jokers,
No high-tone women, no cigar smokers, well,
This train, don't carry no jokers, well, this train.
This train, done carried my mother, well, this train,
This train, done carried my mother, well, this train,
This train, done carried my mother,
My mother, my father, my sister and my brother,
This train, done carried my mother, well this train.
This train, she's bound for glory, well, this train,
This train, she's bound for glory,
If you want to get to heaven then you've got to be holy, well,
This train, she's bound for glory, well, this train.
376
This Train is Bound for Glory (Woody Guthrie version)
(Trad)
This train is bound for glory, this train,
This train is bound for glory, this train,
This train is bound for glory,
Don't carry nothing but the righteous and the holy,
This train is bound for glory, this train.
This train don't carry no gamblers,
Liars, thieves, nor big shot ramblers,
This train don't carry no liars, this train,
This train don't carry no liars, this train,
This train don't carry no liars,
She's streamlined and a midnight flyer,
This train don't carry no liars, this train.
This train don't carry no smokers, this train,
This train don't carry no smokers, this train,
This train don't carry no smokers,
Two bit liars, small time jokers,
This train don't carry no smokers, this train.
This train don't carry no con men, this train,
This train don't carry no con men, this train,
This train don't carry no con men,
No wheeler dealers, here and gone men,
This train don't carry no con men, this train.
This train don't carry no rustlers, this train,
This train don't carry no rustlers, this train,
This train don't carry no rustlers,
Side street walkers, two bit hustlers,
377
Till I Can Gain Control Again
(Rodney Crowell)
Just like the sun over the mountaintop,
You know I'll always come again,
You know I love to spend my morning time,
Like sunlight dancing on your skin.
I've never gone so wrong as for telling lies to you,
What you see is what I've been,
There is nothing I could hide from you,
You see me better than I can.
Chorus: Out on the road that lies before me now,
There are some turns where I will spin,
I only hope that you can hold me now,
Till I can gain control again.
Just like a lighthouse you must stand alone,
To landmark the sailor's journey's end,
No matter what sea I've been sailing on,
Your love will guide me home again.
Chorus
378
Tiny Bubbles
(Marin Denny and Leon Pober)
Intro: C G C NC
C
G
Tiny Bubbles in the wine,
C
Make me happy, make me feel fine,
C
C7
F
Tiny Bubbles make me warm all over,
C
G
C C7
With a feeling I'm going to love you 'til the end of time,
F
C
So here's to the golden moon, and here's to the silver sea
D7
G NC
But mostly here's a toast to you and me.
Tiny Bubbles (Tiny Bubbles) in the wine,(in the wine)
Make me happy,(make me happy) make me feel fine,(make me feel fine)
Tiny Bubbles (Tiny Bubbles) make me warm all over,
So here's to the ginger lei I give to you today,
And here's a kiss that will not fade away.
Tiny Bubbles (ooh a leke) in the wine,(ika ba na)
Make me happy,(ow halla owee) make me feel fine,(ika ba ow enu)
Tiny Bubbles ( ooh a leke) make me warm all over,
379
Tom Dooley(Kingston Trio Version)
(Trad)
There've been many songs written about the eternal triangle. This next one tells the
story of a Mr. Grayson, a beautiful woman, and a condemned man named Tom
Dooley. When the sun rises tomorrow, Tom Dooley must hang.
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Hang down your head and cry,
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Poor boy, you're bound to die.
I met her on the mountain,
There I took her life,
Met her on the mountain,
Stabbed her with my knife.
Chorus
This time tomorrow,
Reckon where I'll be,
Hadn't a-been for Grayson,
I'd a-been in Tennessee.
Chorus
This time tomorrow,
Reckon where I'll be,
Down in some lonesome valley,
Hanging from a white oak tree.
Chorus
Poor boy, you're bound to die,
Poor boy you're bound to die,
Poor boy, you're bound to die.
380
Tom Dooley(Doc Watson Version)
(Trad)
Chorus: Hang your head, Tom Dooley,
Hang your head and cry,
You killed poor Laurie Foster,
And you know you're bound to die.
You left her by the roadside,
Where you begged to be excused,
You left her by the roadside,
Then you hid her clothes and shoes.
You took her on the hillside,
For to make her your wife,
You took her on the hillside,
And there you took her life.
You dug the grave four feet long,
And you dug it three feet deep,
You rolled the cold clay over her,
And tromped it with your feet.
Trouble, oh it's trouble,
A-rolling' through my breast,
As long as I'm a-living, boys,
They ain't a-gonna let me rest.
I know they're gonna hang me,
Tomorrow I'll be dead,
Though I never even harmed a hair,
On poor little Laurie's head.
In this world and one more
Then reckon where I'll be,
If it wasn't for Sheriff Grayson,
I'd be in Tennessee.
You can take down my old violin,
And play it all you please,
For at this time tomorrow, boys,
It'll be of no use to me.
At this time tomorrow,
Where do you reckon I'll be?
Away down yonder in the holler,
Hanging on a white oak tree.
381
Tomorrow is a Long Time
(Bob Dylan)
If today was not an endless highway,
If tonight was not a crooked trail,
If tomorrow wasn't such a long time,
Then lonesome would mean nothing to you at all.
Chorus: Yes, and only if my own true love was waiting,
Yes, and if I could hear her heart a-softly pounding,
Only if she was lying by me,
Then I'd lie in my bed once again.
I can't see my reflection in the waters,
I can't speak the sounds that show no pain,
I can't hear the echo of my footsteps,
Or can't remember the sound of my own name.
Chorus
There's beauty in the silver, singing river,
There's beauty in the sunrise in the sky,
But none of these and nothing else can touch the beauty,
That I remember in my true love's eyes.
Chorus
382
Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down
(Merle Haggard)
Each night I leave the bar room when it's over,
Not feeling any pain at closing time,
But tonight your memory found me much too sober,
Couldn't drink enough to keep you off my mind.
Chorus: Tonight the bottle let me down,
And let your memory come around,
The one true friend I thought I'd found,
Tonight the bottle let me down.
I've always had a bottle I could turn to,
And lately I've been turning every day,
But the wine don't take effect the way it used to,
And I'm hurting in an old familiar way.
Chorus
383
A Tramp on the Street
(Hazel Cole/Grady Cole)
Only a tramp was Lazarus that day,
He who lay down at the rich man's gate,
He begged for some crumbs from the rich man to eat,
But they left him to die like a tramp on the street.
He was some mother's darling, he was some mother's son,
Once he was fair and once he was young,
Some mother once rocked him, her darling to sleep,
But they left him to die like a tramp on the street.
Jesus who died on Calvary's tree,
Shed His life's blood for you and for me,
They pierced His side, His hands and His feet,
And they left Him to die like a tramp on the street.
He was Mary's own darling, he was God's chosen Son,
Once He was fair and once He was young,
Mary, she rocked Him, her darling to sleep,
But they left Him to die like a tramp on the street.
If Jesus should come and knock on your door,
For a place to come in, or bread from your store,
Would you welcome Him in, or turn Him away,
Then God would deny you on the great judgment day.
384
Travelling Soldier
(Bruce Robison)
Two days past eighteen he was waiting for the bus in his army green,
Sat down in a booth at a cafe there, gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair,
He's a little shy so she gives him a smile, and says would you mind sitting down
for a while,
And talking to me, I'm feeling a little low,
She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go.
So they went down and they sat on the pier, he said I bet you got a boyfriend but I
don't care,
I've got no one to send a letter to,
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?,
Chorus: How I cried,
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy,
Too young for him they told her,
Waiting for the love of a traveling soldier,
Our love will never end,
Waiting for the soldier to come back again,
Never more to be alone,
When the letter says a soldier's coming home.
So the letters came from an army camp in California then Vietnam,
And he told her of his heart, it might be love,
And all of the things he was so scared of,
He said when it's getting kind of rough over here I think of that day sitting down at
the pier,
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile,
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for a while.
Chorus
One Friday night at a football game, the Lord's Prayer said and the anthem sang,
A man said folks would you bow your heads,
For a list of local Vietnam dead,
Crying all alone under the stands was a piccolo player in the marching band,
And one name read that nobody really cared,
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair.
Chorus
385
The Trooper and the Maid (Child 299)
(Trad)
A trooper lad came here at night, with riding he was weary,
A trooper lad came here at night, when the moon shone bricht and clearly.
Chorus: Lassie, I'll lie near you yet, bonnie lassie, I'll lie near you,
And I'll gar all your ribbons reel, in the morning air I'll leave you.
She's ta'en high horsie by the heid and led him to her stable,
She's gie him hay and oats to eat, muckle as he was able.
Then ta'en the trooper by the hand and led him to her chaumber,
She's given him breid and wine to drink, and the wine it was like amber.
Chorus
She's main her bed both lang and wide and made it like a lady,
She's pull wee coatie over her head, saying trooper are you ready?
He ta'en off his belted coat, likewise his hat and feather,
Leaned his sword agin the door, and noo he's doon beside her.
Chorus
They hadna been an hour in bed, an hour and half a quarter,
When drums came beating down the street and every beat was shorter.
And when weel you come back agin, my own dear soldier laddie,
When will you come back agin, and be your bairnie's daddy.
Lassie, I will leave you now, lassie I will leave you,
When heather bells grow cockle shells I'll come back to see you.
She pulled her coatie o'er her head and followed him up to Stirling,
She grew sae full she couldna boo, he left her in Dunfermline.
Chorus
386
Trouble in Mind
(Richard M. Jones)
Trouble in mind, I'm blue,
But I won't be blue always,
'Cause the sun's going to shine,
In my back door some day.
Trouble in mind, it's true,
I have almost lost my mind,
Never had so much,
Trouble in my life before.
I'm all alone at midnight,
And my lamp is burning low,
Ain't never had so much,
Trouble in my life before.
I'm going to lay my head,
On some lonesome railroad line,
Let the 2:19 train,
Ease my troubled mind.
Trouble in mind, I'm blue,
But I won't be blue always,
'Cause the sun's going to shine,
In my back door some day.
I'm going down to the river,
I'm going to take me a rocking chair,
and if the blues don't leave me,
I rock on away from here.
Trouble in mind, that's true,
I have almost lost my mind,
Life ain't worth living,
I feel like I could die.
387
Truale
(Sam Baker)
Drive an hour out of Dalhart, it's one long straight line,
There's a ranch house out of nowhere, there's a crossroad, there's a sign,
She is born that ranch house, her daddy slapped her alive,
The doctor's still in town cause he's too drunk to drive,
Singing truale, truale, truale, true.
There were horses, horses, horses to ride,
Dapples and grays and wide open skies,
There were pintos and bays, got to running full stride,
With the wind her face, it was like she could fly,
There was oil, oil, there was oil to be found,
Everywhere you put a boot, there was oil in the ground,
Oil in the ground and oil in the mud,
You pump long enough it gets in the blood,
She turned 15 took a roughneck with a hand-done tattoo,
They run off in his hotrod 442,
Got to driving all night, drinking all day,
She wound up down in Dallas in a family way,
(Pregnant Pause)
Signing truale, truale, truale, true.
Came back when she hit thirty, her and the girls,
Never said why she left, but she wore cultured pearls,
Said to her father, "No questions, no lies",
She drove a t-bird with the top down, cold beer between her thighs,
There were horses, horses, horses to ride,
Dapples and grays and wide open skies,
There were pintos and bays, got to running full stride,
With the wind her face, it was like she could fly,
388
Truck Driving Man
(Terry Fell)
Well I pulled into a road house down in Texas,
A little place called Hamburger Dan's,
The jukebox there kept on a 'playing,
A song about a truck driving man.
The waitress then brought me up some coffee,
I thanked her then called her back again,
I said that old song sure does fit me,
Cause I am a truck driving man.
Chorus: Pour me another cup of coffee,
It is the best in the land,
I put a nickel in the jukebox,
And play the Truck Driving Man.
Well I climbed back aboard my old semi,
Then with a roar I was gone,
I got them big truck wheels a rolling,
Going down that road to San Antone.
When I get my call up to glory,
They'll take me away from this land,
I'll turn them old truck up to heaven,
Cause I'm a truck driving man.
Chorus
389
Turn Around
(Malvina Reynolds)
Where are you going, my little one, little one,
Where are you going, my baby, my own?
Turn around and you're two,
Turn around and you're four,
Turn around and you're a young girl going out of my door.
Turn around, turn around,
Turn around and you're a young girl going out of my door.
Where are you going, my little one, little one,
Little dirndls and petticoats, where have you gone?
Turn around and you're tiny,
Turn around and you're grown,
Turn around and you're a young wife with babes of your own.
Turn around, turn around,
Turn around and you're a young wife with babes of your own.
390
Turtle Dove
(Trad)
Turtle dove done drooped his wings
Went on to Zion and he did sing
Chorus: Adam and Eve, oh, no
Adam and Eve, don't you tell it to me
Just meet me et the door, don't tell it to me
There's sa-sa-la-do on sa-la-sa-ree.
My name is written on David's line
I'm going to heaven the wheel of time
Chorus
When I get to heaven I know the rules
Keep going down to the bathing pool
Chorus
Repeat 1st verse
391
Two More Bottles of Wine
(Delbert McClinton)
We came out west together with a common desire,
The fever we had might of set the west coast on fire,
Two months later got trouble in mind,
My baby moved out and left me behind,
But it's all right 'cause it's midnight,
And I got two more bottles of wine.
The way she left sure turned my head around,
Seemed like overnight she just up and put me down,
Ain't going to let it bother me today,
I been working and I'm too tired anyway,
Bridge: I'm sixteen hundred miles from the people I know,
Been doing all I can but opportunity sure come slow.
Lord I'd be in the sun all day,
But I'm sweeping out a warehouse in west L.A.
392
Ukulele Lady
(Richard Whiting and Gus Kahn)
I saw the splendor of the moonlight on Honolulu Bay
There's something tender in the moonlight on Honolulu Bay
And all the beaches are full of peaches, who bring their ukes along
And in the glimmer of the moonlight they love to sing this song...
C
C
Am
C
If you like a ukulele lady
Ukulele lady like a you
If you like to linger where it's shady
Ukulele lady linger too
C
C
G
G C
G#7 G C
G#7 G C
Em
G#7 G
If you kiss a ukulele lady
While you promise ever to be true
And she see another ukulele
Lady fool around with you
Maybe she'll cry, maybe she'll sigh
Maybe she'll find somebody else, by and by
F C
D7 G
To sing to when it's cool and shady
Where the tricky wickie wackies woo
She used to sing to me by moonlight on Honolulu Bay
My memories sing to me by moonlight although I'm far away
Some day I'm going where, where breezes are blowing, and lips were made to kiss,
And in the glimmer of the moonlight I'll hear that song I miss...
If you like to linger where it's shady
Ukulele lady linger too
If you kiss a ukulele lady
While you promise ever to be true
And she see another ukulele
Lady fool around with you
Well, maybe she'll cry (an awful lot), maybe she'll sigh (or maybe not)
maybe she will find somebody else, by and by
To sing to when it's cool and shady
Where the tricky wicky wackies woo
Like me, like I like you, and we both like the same, and I'd like to say this very day ukulele lady like a you
393
Unchained Melody
(Words: Hy Zaret/Music: Alex North
Oh, my love, my darling,
I've hungered for your touch,
A long, lonely time,
And time goes by so slowly,
And time can do so much,
Are you still mine?
I need your love,
I need your love,
God speed your love to me!
Break: Lonely rivers flow,
To the sea, to the sea,
To the open arms of the sea,
Lonely rivers sigh Wait for me, wait for me,
I'll be coming home, wait for me!
Oh, my love, my darling,
I've hungered, hungered for your touch,
A long, lonely time,
And time goes by so slowly,
And time can do so much,
Are you still mine?
I need your love,
I need your love,
God speed your love to me.
394
Unclouded Day
(Josiah K. Alwood)
O they tell me of a home far beyond the skies,
O they tell me of a home far away,
O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise,
O they tell me of an unclouded day.
Chorus: O the land of cloudless day,
O the land of an unclouded day,
O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise,
O they tell me of an unclouded day.
O they tell me of a home where my friends have gone,
O they tell me of that land far away,
Where the tree of life in eternal bloom,
Sheds its fragrance through the unclouded day.
Chorus
O they tell me of a King in His beauty there,
And they tell me that mine eyes shall behold,
Where He sits on the throne that is whiter than snow,
In the city that is made of gold.
Chorus
O they tell me that He smiles on His children there,
And His smile drives their sorrows all away,
And they tell me that no tears ever come again,
In that lovely land of unclouded day.
Chorus
395
The Unfortunate Man
(Trad)
There once was a lawyer they called Mr. Clay, he had but two clients and they would not pay,
At last of starvation he grew so afraid, that he courted and married a wealthy old maid.
At the wedding the lawyer made one big mistake, 'twas not in omitting the wine or the cake,
The ring was well chosen, they had a big feed, but the lawyer did not get a warranty deed.
Chorus: He's a very unfortunate, very unfortunate, very unfortunate man,
Yes, he's a very unfortunate, very unfortunate, very unfortunate man.
At night in their chamber the lady arose, and began to prepare to retire and repose,
Her husband stood near her admiring her charms, that gave him such pleasure to hold in his arms.
She went to the washstand to bathe her fair face, and thus she destroyed all her beauty and grace,
The rose on her cheek quickly grew very faint, and he saw on the towel, 'twas nothing but paint.
Chorus
She went to the mirror to take down her hair, and when she had done so her scalp was all bare,
Said she: "Don't be frightened to see my bald head, I'll put on my cap when I get into bed."
She hung her false hair on the wall on a peg, then she proceeded to take off her leg,
Her trembling husband got quite a surprise, when she asked him to come and take out her glass eye.
Chorus
Her husband was biting his quivering lips, while she removed both her counterfeit hips,
Just then her false nose clattered down to the floor, and the lawyer ran screaming right out of the door.
Now all you young men who would marry for life, be sure to examine your intended wife,
Remember the lawyer who trusted his eyes, and a little bit later got quite a surprise.
Chorus
396
The Unicorn Song
(Shel Silverstein)
A long time ago, when the Earth was green,
There was more kinds of animals than you've ever seen,
They ran around free while the Earth was being born,
And the loveliest of all was the unicorn.
There was green alligators and long-necked geese,
Some humpty-backed camels and some chimpanzees,
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born,
The loveliest of all was the unicorn.
The Lord seen some sinning and it gave Him pain,
And He says, "Stand back, I'm going to make it rain",
He said, "Hey Noah, I'll tell you what to do,
Build me a floating zoo.
And take some of those green alligators and long-necked geese,
Don't you forget my unicorns."
Brother Noah was there to answer the call,
He finished up the ark just as the rain started to fall,
He marched the animals two by two,
And he called out as they came through,
"Hey Lord, I've got green alligators and long-necked geese,
Some cats and rats and elephants, but Lord, I'm so forlorn,
I just can't find no unicorns."
And Noah looked out through the driving rain,
Them unicorns were hiding, playing silly game,
Kicking and splashing while the rain was falling,
Oh, them silly unicorns,
There was green alligators and long-necked geese,
Noah cried, "Close the door because the rain is pouring,
And we just can't wait for no unicorns."
The ark started moving, it drifted with the tide,
The unicorns looked up from the rocks and they cried,
And the waters came down and sort of floated them away,
That's why you never see unicorns to this very day,
But...you'll see green alligators and long-necked geese,
You're never gonna see no unicorns.
397
Union Maid
(Woody Guthrie)
There once was a union maid, she never was afraid,
Of goons and ginks and company finks and the deputy sheriffs who made the raid,
She went to the union hall when a meeting it was called,
And when the Legion boys come 'round
She always stood her ground.
Chorus: Oh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union,
I'm sticking to the union, I'm sticking to the union,
Oh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union,
I'm sticking to the union till the day I die.
This union maid was wise to the tricks of company spies,
She couldn't be fooled by a company stool, she'd always organize the guys,
She always got her way when she struck for better pay,
She'd show her card to the National Guard,
And this is what she'd say.
Chorus
You gals who want to be free, just take a tip from me;
Get you a man who's a union man and join the ladies' auxiliary,
Married life ain't hard when you got a union card,
A union man has a happy life when he's got a union wife.
Chorus
398
Virginia's Real
(Guy Clark)
Gents to the middle said a young girl's fiddle,
And you ain't got nothing to lose,
Allemande right she can play it all night,
She can fiddle off the bottom of your shoes.
Chorus: Oh me, oh my, how she makes that bow hair fly,
How she hangs that music (crystal) in the air.
Promenade down to the lonesome sound,
Of a whippoorwill in the night,
Sashay back look at old mad Jack,
Hugging everything in sight.
Chorus
Banjo Bill he stopped stock still,
As the notes came a' rolling by,
It filled his ears and eased his fears,
And a tear come to his eye.
Chorus
The old string bass he lost his place,
And his arms they felt like steel,
The guitar man dropped both his hands,
And he swore it was not real.
Chorus
It's golden strings on eagle's wings,
To the calling of the squares,
There's fiddle tunes and there's fiddle tunes,
But Virginia's splitting hairs.
Chorus
She cast a spell no tongue can tell,
No prophet can reveal,
Quiet as death hold your breath,
She played Virginia's Real.
Chorus
399
The Wagoner's Lad
(Trad)
Oh hard is the fortune of all womankind,
They're always controlled, they're always confined,
Confined by their parents until they are wives,
Then slaves to their husbands for the rest of their lives.
Oh I am a poor girl, my fortune is sad,
I've always been courted by the Wagoner's Lad,
He's courted me daily, by night and by day,
And now he is loaded and going away.
Your parents don't like me because I am poor,
They say I'm not worthy of entering your door,
But I work for a living, my money's my own,
And if they don't like it, they can leave me alone.
Your horses are hungry, go feed them some hay,
Come sit down beside me as long as you stay,
My horses ain't hungry, they won't eat your hay,
So fare thee well darling I'll be on my way.
Your wagon needs greasing your whip is to mend,
Come sit down beside me as long as you can,
My wagon is greasy, my whip is in hand,
So fare-thee-well, darling, no longer to stand.
Pretty Mary, pretty Mary would you think me unkind,
If I were to see you and tell you my mind,
As sure as the dew drops fall on the green corn,
Last night I was with him, tonight he is gone.
Oh hard is the fortune of all womankind,
They're always controlled, they're always confined,
Confined by their parents until they are wives,
Then slaves to their husbands for the rest of their lives.
400
Wagon Wheel
(Bob Dyan/Ketch Secor)
G, D, Em, C
G, D, C 2x
Headed down south to the land of the pines,
And I'm thumbing my way into North Caroline,
Staring up the road and pray to God I see headlights,
I made it down the coast in seventeen hours,
Picking me a bouquet of dogwood flowers,
And I'm a hoping for Raleigh I can see my baby tonight.
Chorus: So rock me mama like a wagon wheel,
Rock me mama anyway you feel,
Hey, mama rock me,
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain,
Rock me mama like a south-bound train,
Hey, mama rock me.
Running from the cold up in New England,
I was born to be a fiddler in an old-time string band,
My baby plays the guitar, I pick a banjo now,
Oh, the North country winters keep a getting me now,
Lost my money playing poker so I had to up and leave,
But I ain't a turning back to living that old life no more.
Chorus
Walking to the south out of Roanoke,
I caught a trucker out of Philly, had a nice long toke
But he's a headed west from the Cumberland Gap to Johnson City, Tennessee,
And I gotta get a move on fit for the sun,
I hear my baby calling my name and I know that she's the only one,
And if I die in Raleigh at least I will die free.
Chorus
401
Waltz Across Texas
(Ernest Tubb)
When we dance together my world's in disguise,
It's a fairyland tale that's come true,
When you look at me girl with those stars in your eyes,
I could waltz across Texas with you.
Chorus: Waltz across Texas with you in my arms,
Waltz across Texas with you,
Like a storybook ending I'm lost in your charms,
And I could waltz across Texas with you.
My heartaches and troubles are just up and gone,
The moment you come into view,
With your hand in mine dear I could dance on and on,
And waltz across Texas with you.
Chorus
402
Wandering
(Trad)
My daddy was an engineer, my brother drives a hack,
My sister's on the corner, and the baby balls the jack,
And it looks like I'm never going to cease my wandering.
My daddy he wants me home, my brother'd share his bed,
My sister wants to see me with a roof o'er my head,
And it looks like I'm never going to cease my wandering,
Now I've wandered early and I've wandered late,
From New York City to that Golden Gate,
I've worked on a freighter and I've worked on a farm,
All I've got to show is the muscle in my arm,
My ma she died when I was young,
My daddy took to stealing and he got hung,
Fishes in the ocean, eels in the sea,
There's a redheaded woman made a fool out of me,
403
Way Downtown
(Words: Arthel "Doc" Watson)
Chorus: Way downtown just fooling around,
Took me to the jail,
It's oh me and it's oh my,
No one to go my bail.
It was late last night when Willie came around,
I heared him a-rapping on the door,
He's a-slipping and a-sliding with his new shoes on,
Mamma said Willie don't you rap no more.
Chorus
I wish I was over at my sweet Sally's house,
Sitting in that big arm chair,
One arm around my old guitar,
And the other one around my dear.
Chorus
Now, this one old shirt is about all I got own,
And a dollar is all that I crave,
I brought nothing with me into this old world,
Ain't going to take nothing to my grave.
Chorus
404
Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key
(Words: Woody Guthrie/Music: Billy Bragg)
I lived in a place called Okfuskee,
I had a little girl in a holler tree,
I said, little girl, it's plain to see,
Ain't nobody that can sing like me, ain't nobody that can sing like me.
She said it's hard for me to see,
How one little boy got so ugly,
I said my little girly that might be,
But there ain't nobody that can sing like me, ain't nobody that can sing like me.
Chorus: Way over yonder in the minor key, way over yonder in the minor key,
There ain't nobody that can sing like me.
We walked down by the Buckeye Creek,
To see the frog eat the goggle-eye bee,
To hear the west wind whistle in the east,
There ain't nobody that can sing like me, ain't nobody that can sing like me.
Oh my little girly will you let me see,
Way over yonder where the wind blows free,
Nobody can see in our holler tree,
And there ain't nobody that can sing like me, ain't nobody that can sing like me.
Chorus
Her mama cut a switch from a cherry tree,
And laid it on the she and me,
It stung lots worse than a hive of bees,
But there ain't nobody that can sing like me,
Ain't nobody that can sing like me.
Now I have walked a long, long ways,
And I still look back to my tanglewood days,
I've led lots of girls since then to stray,
Saying ain't nobody that can sing like me, ain't nobody that can sing like me.
Chorus
405
The Wayfaring Stranger
(Trad)
I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger,
I'm traveling through this world of woe,
There's no sickness, no toil nor danger,
In that bright land to which I go,
I'm going there to see my mother,
I'm going there no more to roam,
I'm only going over Jordan,
I'm only going over home.
I know dark clouds will rise before me,
I know my way is rough and steep,
Yet golden fields lie just before me,
Where God's redeemed their vigils keep,
I'm going there to see my father,
He said he's meet me when I come,
I'm only going over Jordan,
I'm only going over home.
I want to wear my crown of glory,
When I get home to that other land,
I want to shout salvation's story,
In concert with that blood-washed band,
I'm going there to meet my Savior,
To sing his praise forever more,
I'm just a-going over Jordan,
I'm just a-going over home.
406
The Wearing Of The Green
(Trad)
Oh, Paddy dear and did ye hear,
The news that's going round?
The shamrock is by law forbid,
To grow on Irish ground,
No more Saint Patrick's Day we'll keep,
His color can't be seen,
For there's a cruel law,
Against the Wearing o' the Green.
I met with Napper Tandy,
And he took me by the hand,
And he said, "How's poor old Ireland,
And how does she stand?"
"She's the most distressful country,
That ever yet was seen,
For they're hanging men and women,
For the Wearing o' the Green."
So if the color we must wear,
Be England's cruel red,
Let it remind us of the blood,
That Irishmen have shed,
And pull the shamrock from your hat,
And throw it on the sod,
But never fear, 'twill take root there,
Though underfoot 'tis trod.
When laws can stop the blades of grass,
From growing as they grow,
And when the leaves in summertime,
Their color dare not show,
Then I will change the color too,
I wear in my caubeen,
But till that day, please God, I'll stick,
To the Wearing o' the Green.
407
Welcome Poor Paddy Home
(Trad)
I am a true born Irishman,
I'll never deny what I am,
I was born in sweet Tipperary town,
Three thousand miles away.
Chorus: Hurray me boys hurray,
No more do I wish for to roam,
For the sun it will shine in the harvest time,
To welcome poor Paddy home.
The girls thay are gay and frisky,
They'd take you by the hand,
Saying Jimmy mo chroi will you come with me,
To welcome the stranger home.
Chorus
In came the foreign nation,
And scattered all over the land,
The horse, the cow, the goat, sheep and sow,
Came into the stranger's hands.
Chorus
The Scotsman can boast of the thistle,
And England can boast of the rose,
But Paddy can boast of the Emerald Isle,
Where the dear little shamrock grows.
Chorus
408
West Nashville Grand Ballroom Gown
(Jimmy Buffett)
Standing on side of the Highway 4 exit,
A lady in tie dye, a bag by her side,
Not really looking like anything special,
Saw Tennessee tags and she waved for a ride.
Verses in C, Break in G
Sat right beside me as the meter hit sixty,
Explaining her travels and her family background,
When she got thru I could not help but thinking,
She's a long way from a West Nashville grand ballroom gown.
Break: Her father had money and her mother had love,
Channeled entirely to her dear sister Dove,
Twenty-two years in society's plan,
Erased with a the swing of her dear mothers hand.
Six hours later we hit Cincinnati,
Yawning she woke and asked where we were,
When she found out she said "I must be going",
This close to Nashville was too close for her.
So I stopped by the roadside and I gave her five dollars,
She took it then kissed me and gave me a note,
She told me just to read it then mail it in Nashville,
On old loose leaf paper to her mother she wrote.
Break: She said Momma I'm fine if you happen to wonder,
I don't have much money but I still get around,
I haven't made church in nearly thirty-six Sundays,
So fuck all those West Nashville grand ballroom gowns.
Yeah, she's a long way from a West Nashville grand ballroom gown.
409
West Texas Wind
(© Jed Marum, 2004 )
If I could fly I know that I,
Would ride on that West Texas wind,
Spiraling high, over and back again,
Out on a West Texas wind,
Thousands and thousands of miles I’d roam,
My feet never touching the ground,
And I know through and through,
I’d come back home to you,
Riding a West Texas wind.
Sunlighted sky, eagles on high,
Are borne on a West Texas wind,
Morning birds cry, songs in reply,
Borne on a West Texas wind,
Morning light carries me miles from home,
My shadow slips over the ground,
But I'll fly straight and true,
I'll come back home to you,
Borne on a West Texas wind.
Bridge: Ever widening sky before me,
And the West Texas wind carries me home,
If I could fly I know that I,
Would ride on that West Texas wind,
Spiraling high, over and back again,
Out on a West Texas wind,
Thousands and thousands of miles I’d roam,
My feet never touching the ground,
And I know through and through,
I’d come back home to you,
Riding a West Texas wind.
I'll fly straight and true,
I'll come back home to you,
Borne on a West Texas wind.
410
What a Wonderful World
(Words: Bob Thiele/Music: George David Weiss)
C Cm7/B Am
F
C
I see trees of
green and red roses too,
F
Em
E7
Am
I see them bloom, for me and you,
F
Gb-G
C
G
I see skies of blue and clouds of white,
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night,
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world,
G
C
The colors of a rainbow are so pretty in the sky,
G
C
Are also on the faces of the people passing by,
Am Em
Am
Em
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do,
Am
Em C
Dm7-Am7-G
They’re really saying is I love you.
I hear babies cry, I watch them grow,
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know,
And I think to myself what a wonderful world,
Yes I think to myself, what a wonderful world
411
What Have They Done To The Rain
(Malvina Reynolds)
Just a little rain falling all around,
The grass lifts its head to the heavenly sound,
Just a little rain, just a little rain,
What have they done to the rain.
Just a little boy standing in the rain,
The gentle rain that falls for years,
And the grass is gone, the boy disappears,
And rain keeps falling like helpless tears,
And what have they done to the rain
Just a little breeze out of the sky,
The leaves nod their head as the breeze blows by,
Just a little breeze with some smoke in its eye,
Just a little boy standing in the rain,
The gentle rain that falls for years,
And the grass is gone, the boy disappears,
And rain keeps falling like helpless tears,
And what have they done to the rain,
412
When Johnny Comes Marching Home
(Louis Lambert, a pen name for Patrick Gilmore who was the Irish-American bandleader
for General Nathaniel Banks during the Civil War_
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200000024/default.html
When Johnny comes marching home again,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout,
The ladies they will all turn out,
And we'll all feel gay,
When Johnny comes marching home.
The old church bell will peal with joy,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
To welcome home our darling boy,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The village lads and lassies say,
With roses they will strew the way,
Get ready for the Jubilee,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give the hero three times three,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The laurel wreath is ready now,
To place upon his loyal brow,
When Johnny comes marching home,
Let love and friendship on that day,
Hurrah, hurrah!
Their choicest pleasures then display,
Hurrah, hurrah!
And let each one perform some part,
To fill with joy the warrior's heart,
413
Where Have All the Flowers Gone
(Pete Seeger)
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing,
Long time ago,
Girls have picked them every one,
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing,
Long time ago,
Gone to husbands every one,
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing,
Long time ago,
Gone for soldiers every one,
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing,
Long time ago,
Gone to graveyards every one,
414
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing,
Long time ago,
Gone to flowers every one,
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?
415
Whiskey In the Jar
(Trad)
As I was going over the far famed Kerry mountains,
I met with Captain Farrell and his money he was counting,
I first produced me pistol, and then produced me rapier,
Saying stand and deliver for you are the bold deceiver.
Chorus: Musha rig um du rum da,
Whack fol the daddy o, Whack fol the daddy o,
There's whiskey in the jar.
He counted out his money and it made a pretty penny,
I put it in me pocket and I took it home to Jenny.
She sighed and she swore that she never would deceive me,
But the devil take the women for they always lie so easy.
Chorus
I went into to me chamber all for to take a slumber,
I dreamt of gold and jewels and sure it was no wonder,
Me Jenny drew me charges and she filled them up with water,
And sent for Captain Farrell, to get ready for the slaughter.
Chorus
The next morning early in the morning before I rose for travel,
Up comes a band of footmen and likewise Captain Farrell,
I first produce my pistol, for she stole away my rapier,
But a prisoner I was taken, I couldna shoot the water.
Chorus
They put me into jail with a judge a'writing,
For robbing Captain Farrell in the Cork and Kerry mountains,
But they didna take me fists so I knocked the jailer down,
And bid a farewell to this tightfisted town
Chorus:
And if anyone can aid me, 'tis my brother in the army,
I don't know where he's stationed, in Cork or in Killarney.
Together we'd go roving o'er the mountains of Kilkenny,
I'm sure he'd treat me better than me darling, sporting Jenny.
Chorus
There's some that takes delight in the carriages and rolling,
Some that takes delight in the hurley or the bowling,
But I takes delight in the juice of the barley,
And courting pretty fair maids in the morning oh so early.
Chorus
416
Whistlers And Jugglers
(Shel Silverstein)
You take the lady and I'll take the lesson,
I can't say that anyone is doing me wrong,
'Cause I always knew the girl had a weakness,
For whistlers and jugglers and singers of songs.
She was a child back when I first found her,
And the dreamer inside her was just being born,
And I knew she'd come with me 'cause she had a feeling,
And the whistler will whistle a tune she can dance to,
The juggler will cheer her when she starts to cry,
The singer with sing her a bed of red roses,
(Where she might let you lie by her side.)
She'll laugh in the face of the wealthy and famous,
You never will lose her to the handsome or strong,
But all of your life, son, look over your shoulder,
Oh... the girl's got a weakness for singers of songs.
417
Why Don’t We Get Drunk
(Marvin Gardens) Note: Marvin Gardens is a tongue-in-cheek pseudonym for Jimmy Buffett
I really do appreciate the fact you’re sitting here,
Your voice sounds so wonderful,
But your face don’t look too clear,
So, bar maid bring a pitcher,
Another round of brew,
Honey, why don’t we get drunk and screw.
Why don’t we get drunk and screw,
I just bought a water bed,
It’s filled up for me and you,
They say you are a snuff queen,
Honey, I don’t think that’s true,
So, why don’t we get drunk and screw.
418
Wild Colonial Boy (Australian)
(Trad)
Chorus: Come along my hearties, we'll roam the mountains high,
Together we will plunder, together we will ride,
We'll scar over valleys, and gallop for the plains,
And scorn to live in slavery, bound down by iron chains.
It's of a wild Colonial Boy, Jack Doolan was his name,
Of poor but honest parents, he was born in Castlemaine,
He was his father's only son, his mother's pride and joy,
And so dearly did his parents love, the wild Colonial Boy.
When scarcely sixteen years of age, he left his father's home,
And through Australia's sunny shores, a bushranger did roam,
He'd rob the largest squatters, their stock he would destroy,
A terror to Australia was the wild Colonial Boy.
In sixty-one this daring youth commenced his wild career,
With a heart that knew no danger, no stranger did he fear,
He bailed up the Beechworth roll mail-coach, and robbed Judge MacEvoy,
Who trembled and gave up his gold to the wild Colonial Boy.
He bade the judge good morning, and told him to beware,
That he'd never rob a poor man who wafted on the square,
Three mounted troopers came in sight, Kelly, Davis and Fitzroy,
Who thought that they would capture him, the wild Colonial Boy.
Surrender now, Jack Doolan, you see we're three to one,
Surrender in the queen's high name, you daring highwayman,
Jack drew a pistol from his belt, and waved it like a toy,
I'll fight, but not surrender, cried the wild Colonial Boy.
He fired at Trooper Kelly, and brought him to the ground,
And in return from Davis, he received a mortal wound,
All shattered through the jaws he lay, still firing at Fitzroy,
And that's the way they captured him the wild Colonial Boy.
419
Wild Colonial Boy (Irish)
(Trad)
There was a wild colonial boy, Jack Duggan was his name,
He was born and raised in Ireland, in a place called Castlemaine,
He was his father's only son, his mother's pride and joy,
And dearly did his parents love the wild colonial boy.
At the tender age of sixteen years he left his native home,
And to Australia's sunny shore he was inclined to roam,
He robbed the rich, he helped the poor he shot James MacEvoy,
A terror to Australia was the wild colonial boy.
One morning on the prairie as Jack he rode along,
A-listening to the mocking bird sing a cheerful song,
Up stepped a band of troopers, Kelly, Davis and Fitzroy,
And they set out to capture him, the wild colonial boy.
Surrender now, Jack Duggan, for you see we're three to one,
Surrender in the Queen's own name for you are a plundering son,
Jack drew two pistols from his belt, he waved them up and high,
I'll fight, but not surrender, said the wild colonial boy.
He fired a shot at Kelly, which brought him to the ground,
And fired a shot at Davis, who fell dead upon the sound,
A bullet pierced his proud young heart from the pistol of Fitzroy,
And that was how they captured him, the wild colonial boy.
420
Wild Mountain Thyme
(Francis McPeake) Notes: McPeake's lyrics are a variant of the song "The Braes of Balquhither" by
Scottish poet Robert Tannahill (1774-1810), a contemporary of Robert Burns.
Oh, the summer time is coming,
And the trees are sweetly blooming,
And the wild mountain thyme,
Grows around the blooming heather,
Will you go, lassie, will you go?
Chorus: And we'll all go together,
To pull wild mountain thyme,
All around the blooming heather,
Will you go, lassie, go?
I will build my love a bower,
By yon clear and crystal fountain,
And all around the bower,
I'll pile flowers from the mountain,
Chorus
If my true love would ever leave me,
I will surely find another,
To pull wild mountain thyme,
All around the blooming heather,
Chorus
421
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
(A. P. Carter) Note: adaptation of a hymn written by Ada R. Habershon with music by Charles H. Gabriel
I was standing by my window,
On one cold and cloudy day,
When I saw that hearse come rolling,
For to carry my mother away.
Chorus: Will the circle be unbroken,
By and by, Lord, by and by,
There's a better home a-waiting,
In the sky, Lord, in the sky.
Thought I told that undertaker,
Undertaker, please drive slow,
For this body you are hauling,
Lord, I hate to see her go.
Chorus
I will follow close behind her,
Try to hold up and be brave,
But I could not hide my sorrow,
When they laid her in the grave.
Chorus
I went back home, my home was lonesome,
Missed my mother, she was gone,
All of my brothers, sisters crying,
What a home so sad and lone.
Chorus
We sang the songs of childhood,
Hymns of faith that made us strong,
Ones that Mother Maybelle taught us,
Hear the angels sing along.
Chorus
422
Willie Taylor
(Trad)
Willie Taylor and his youthful lover, full of mirth and loyalty,
They were going to the church to be married, he was pressed and sent on sea.
Dolly dilly dum dilly dum dum day.
She dressed herself up like a sailor, on her breast she wore a star,
Her lovely fingers long and slender, she gave them all just a smear of tar.
On the ship there being a skirmish, she was one amongst the rest,
A silver button flew off her jacket, there appeared her snow-white breast.
Said the captain to this fair maid, what misfortune has took you here,
I'm in search of my true lover, who you pressed on the other year.
If you're in search of your true lover tell me what might be his name,
Willie Taylor's what they call him, but Fitzgerald is his name.
If you'll get up tomorrow morning, early as the break of day,
There you'll spy your Willie Taylor, walking along with a lady gay.
So she got up the very next morning, early as the break of day,
And there she spied her Willie Taylor walking along with a lady gay.
She pulled out a brace of pistols, that she had at her command,
And there she shot her Willie Taylor with his bride at his right hand.
When the captain came to hear of the deed that she had done,
He made her a ship's commander o'er a vessel for the Isle of Man.
423
The Wind and the Rain
(Trad) Note: Appalachian version of The Twa Sisters (Child 10)
There were two sisters of county Clare,
Oh, the wind and the rain,
One was dark and the other was fair,
Oh, the dreadful wind and rain.
And they both had a love of the miller's son,
But he was fond of the fairer one,
So she pushed her into the river to drown,
And watched her as she floated down,
And she floated till she came to the millers pond,
Dead on the water like a golden swan,
As she came to rest on the riverside,
Where her bones were washed by the rolling tide,
Along the road came a fiddler fair,
And found her bones just a lying there,
So he made a fiddle peg of her long finger bone,
He a made a fiddle peg of her long finger bone, crying,
And he strung his fiddle bow with her long yeller hair,
He strung his fiddle bow with her long yeller hair,
And he made a little fiddle of her breast bone,
Oh the wind and rain,
The sound could melt a heart of stone,
Oh the dreadful wind and rain.
But the only tune that the fiddle would play was,
Oh, the wind and rain,
The only tune that the fiddle would play was,
424
Would You Lay with Me (in a Field of Stone)
(David Allan Coe)
Would you lay with me in a field of stone,
If my needs were strong would you lay with me,
Should my lips grow dry would you wet them dear,
In the midnight hour if my lips were dry.
Chorus: Would you go away to another land,
Walk a thousand miles through the burning sand,
Wipe the blood away from my dying hand,
If I give my love to you.
Would you bathe with me in the stream of life,
When the moon is full will you bathe with me,
Will you stand by me when I'm down and out,
In my time of trials will you stand by me.
Chorus
Would you lay with me in a field of stone,
Should my lips grow dry would you wet them dear,
Would you bathe with me in the stream of life,
Will you stand by me when I'm down and out.
Chorus
425
Wraggle Taggle Gypsies O
(Trad)
There were three gypsies came to out front door,
And downstairs ran this lady, oh!
One sang high and another sang low,
And the other sang bonny, bonny, Biscay, O!
Then she pulled off her silk finished gown,
And put on hose of leather, oh!
The ragged, ragged, rags about our door,
She's gone with the wraggle taggle gypsies, O!
It was late last night, when my lord came home,
Enquiring for his a-lady, oh!
The servants said, on every hand,
She's gone with the wraggle taggle gypsies, O!
O saddle to me my milk-white steed,
The big horse is not so speedy, oh!
That I may ride and seek my bride,
Who is gone with the wraggle taggle gypsies, O!
Oh. he rode east and he rode west,
He rode high and he rode low,
He rode till he came to a wide open field,
And there he espied his a-lady, O!
Why did you forsake your house and land?
Why did you forsake your money, O?
Why did you forsake your new wedded lord?
To be off with the wraggle taggle gypsies, O!
What care I for your house and land?
What care I for your money, O?
What care I for my new wedded lord?
I'm off with the wraggle taggle gypsies, O!
For you rode east when I rode west,
You rode high when I rode low,
And I'd rather have a kiss from the Gypsy's lips,
Than all your land and money, O.
426
The Wreck of Old 97
(Trad)
They handed him his orders in Monroe, Virginia,
Saying, "Steve, you're way behind time;
This is not 38, but it's Old 97,
You must get her into Spencer on time."
He turned around, said to his black, greasy fireman,
"Just shovel on more coal,
And when we reach that White Oak Mountain,
We'll just watch Old 97 roll."
It's a mighty rough road from Lynchburg to Danville,
And Lima's on a three-mile grade,
It was on that grade that he lost his air brakes,
You should of seen the jump he made.
He was going down grade, doing ninety miles an hour,
When his whistle broke into scream,
They found him in the wreck, with his hand on the throttle,
Scalded to death by the steam.
A message arrived at Washington Station,
And this is how it read,
Those two brave men who pulled Old 97,
Are lying in Danville dead."
All you ladies please take warning,
From this time on and learn,
Never speak harsh words to your true loving husband,
He may leave you and never return.
427
Wurlitzer Prize (I Don’t Want To Get Over You)
(Chips Moman and Bobby Emmons)
I'm not here to forget you I'm here to recall,
The things we used to say and do,
I don't want to get over you,
I don't want to get over you.
G
Am
D7 G
I haunt the same places we used to go,
Alone at a table for two,
They ought to give me the Wurlitzer prize,
For all the silver I led slide down the slot,
Playing those songs sung blue,
Help me remember you,
G
B7
C Am C
D7 G
Am
D7 G
A fresh roll of quarters same old song,
Missing you through and through,
428
The Yellow Rose of Texas
(Trad) Note: from a handwritten version circa 1836. The politically incorrect "darky" has long since been
changed to "soldier"
There's a yellow rose in Texas, that I am going to see,
No other darky knows her, no darky only me,
She cried so when I left her it like to broke my heart,
And if I ever find her, we nevermore will part.
Chorus: She's the sweetest rose of color this darky ever knew,
Her eyes are bright as diamonds, they sparkle like the dew,
You may talk about your Dearest May, and sing of Rosa Lee,
But the Yellow Rose of Texas is the only girl for me.
When the Rio Grande is flowing, the starry skies are bright,
She walks along the river in the quiet summer night,
She thinks if I remember, when we parted long ago,
I promised to come back again, and not to leave her so.
Chorus
Oh now I'm going to find her, for my heart is full of woe,
And we'll sing the songs together, that we sung so long ago,
We'll play the banjo gaily, and we'll sing the songs of yore,
And the Yellow Rose of Texas shall be mine forevermore.
Chorus
Verse added during the US Civil War:
Now I'm going to find her, and my heart is full of woe,
I'm going back to Georgia, to find my Uncle Joe,
You may talk about your Beauregard, and sing of General Lee,
But the gallant Hood of Texas, played hell in Tennessee.
Chorus
429
Yesterday's Wine
(Willie Nelson)
Miracles appear in the strangest of places,
Fancy meeting you here,
The last time I saw you was just out of Houston,
Sit down let me buy you a beer.
Your presence is welcome with me and my friends here,
This is a hangout of mine,
We come here quite often and listen to music,
Partaking of yesterday's wine.
Chorus: Yesterday's wine,
I'm yesterday's wine,
Aging with time,
Like yesterday's wine,
Yesterday's wine,
We're yesterday's wine,
Aging with time,
Like yesterday's wine.
You give the appearance of one widely travelled,
I'll bet you've seen things in your time,
So sit down beside me and tell me your story,
If you think you'll like yesterday's wine.
Chorus
430
You are My Sunshine
(Jimmie Davis)
Chorus: You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,
You make me happy when skies are gray,
You'll never know dear, how much I love you,
Please don't take my sunshine away.
The other night dear, as I lay sleeping,
I dreamed, I held you by my side,
When I awoke dear, I was mistaken,
And I hung my head and I cry.
Chorus
You told me once dear, you really loved me,
And no one else could come between,
But now you've left me and you love another,
And you have shattered all my dreams.
Chorus
I'll always love you and make you happy,
If you will only say the same,
But if you leave me to love another,
But you'll regret it all someday.
Chorus
431
You Don't Have to Call Me Darling, Darling
(aka The Perfect Country and Western Song)
(Steve Goodman)
It was all that I could do to keep from crying,
Sometimes it seems so useless to remain,
You don't have to call me darling, darling,
You never even called me by my name.
You don't have to call me Waylon Jennings,
And you don't have to call me Charlie Pride,
You don't have to call me Merle Haggard, anymore,
Even though you're on my fighting side.
Chorus: And I'll hang around as long as you will let me.
And I never minded standing in the rain,
You don't have to call me darling, darling,
You never even call me by my name.
I've seen my name a few times in your phone book,
I've seen it on signs where I've played,
But the only time I know, I'll hear David Allan Coe,
Is when Jesus has his final judgment day.
Chorus
Spoken: Well, a friend of mine named Steve Goodman wrote that song and he told me it was the
perfect country and western song I wrote him back a letter and told him it was NOT the perfect
country and western song because he hadn't said anything about Momma, or trains, or trucks,
or prison, or getting drunk. Well, he sat down and wrote another verse to the song and he sent it
to me and after reading it, I realized that my friend had written the perfect country and western
song. And I felt obliged to include it on this album. The last verse goes like this here:
Well, I was drunk the day my Mom got out of prison,
And I went to pick her up in the rain,
But, before I could get to the station in my pickup truck,
She got runned over by a damned old train.
Chorus
You don't have to call me darling, and I wonder why you don't call me,
You never even call me by my name.
432
You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive
(Darrell Scott)
In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky,
That's the place where I trace my bloodline,
And it's there I read on a hillside gravestone,
You will never leave Harlan alive.
Well my granddaddy's dad walked down Katahrin's Mountain,
And he asked Tillie Helton to be his bride,
He said, "Won't you walk with me out of the mouth of this holler,
Or we'll never leave Harlan alive.
Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning,
And the sun goes down about three in the day,
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew your drinking,
And you spend your life just thinking how to get away.
No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains,
Till a man from the northeast arrived,
Waving hundred dollar bills, he said I'll pay you for your minerals,
But he never left Harlan alive.
Granny, she sold out cheap and they moved out west to Pineville,
To a farm where Big Richland River winds,
And I'll bet they danced them a jig, and they laughed and sang a new song,
Who said we'd never leave Harlan alive?
But the times, they got hard and tobacco wasn't selling,
And old Granddad knew what he'd do to survive,
He went and dug for Harlan coal and sent the money back to Granny,
But he never left Harlan alive.
Where the sun comes up about ten in the morning,
And the sun goes down about three in the day,
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew your drinking,
And you spend your life digging coal from the bottom of your grave.
433
Your Cheating Heart
(Hank Williams)
Your cheating heart,
Will make you weep,
You'll cry and cry,
And try to sleep,
But sleep won't come,
The whole night through,
Your cheating heart, will tell on you.
When tears come down,
Like falling rain,
You'll toss around,
And call my name,
You'll walk the floor,
The way I do,
Your cheating heart,
Will pine some day,
And crave the love,
You threw away,
The time will come,
When you'll be blue,
434
Author Index
Alwood, Josiah K., 394
Andre, Fabian, 97
Arnold, Eddy, 160
Auld, Audrey, 57, 70, 274
Axton ,Mae B., 136
Baker, Sam, 387
Balch, Bob, 201
Bannerman, John Roderick, 228
Beddoe, Albert Frank, 72
Behan, Dominic, 71
Bennett, Frederick, 328
Bjork, Brant, 201
Blackwell, Otis, 104
Blenkhorn, Ada, 200
Boyd, Bobby, 303
Bragg, Billy, 404
Braun, Michael, 328
Braun, Willie, 328
Brooks, Harry, 15
Brown, Lester, 13
Bruce, Ed, 207
Bruce, Patsy, 230
Brumley, Albert E., 172
Bryant, Boudleaux, 307
Bryant, Felice, 307
Buffett, Jimmy, 64, 233, 254, 296, 342,
408, 417
Burgess, Irving, 325
Burns, Robert, 252, 420
Burton, Michael, 256
Callery, Bill, 131
Camfield, Tom, 239
Campbell, Tom, 80
Carbery, Ethna, 246, 308
Carmichael, Hoagy, 121
Carter, A. P., 42, 354, 421
Carter, June, 304
Casey, John Keegan, 305
Cash, Johnny, 94, 113, 116, 166, 370
Clark, Guy, 29, 58, 84, 202, 398
Clement, Cowboy Jack, 86, 197
Coe, David Allan, 424
Cofer, Kit, 123
Cole, Grady, 383
Cole, Hazel, 383
Conners, Tommy, 344
Cooley, Eddie, 104
Cotton, Elizabeth, 118, 332
Cowart, Donivan, 211
Cox, Jimmie, 261
Creatore, Luigi, 158
Crowell, Rodney, 211, 377
Danzig, Evelyn, 323
Davenport,John, 104
Davis, Brad, 201
Davis, Jimmie, 430
Davis, Rev Gary, 170
Davis, Scott, 115
Dement, Iris, 232, 359
Denny, Marin, 378
Denver, John, 213, 366
Dexter, Albert, 282
Dill, Danny, 220
Douglas, George, 182
Driftwood, Jimmy, 38, 133, 221, 371
Durden, Tommy, 136
Dyan, Bob, 400
Dylan, Bob, 48, 95, 122, 196, 381
Eaglesmith, Fred J., 191
Emmons, Bobby, 427
Entwisle, J. Howard, 200
Fell, Terry, 388
Fogerty, John, 291
Foster, Denzil, 360
Foster, Fred L., 235
Foster, Stephen, 132
Fowler, Wally, 160
Frank O'Meara, 146
Fraser and Bolt, 77
Frey, David, 115
Friend, Cliff, 224
Fry, Glenn, 83
Fuller, Jesse, 321
Gabriel, Charles H., 421
Gatlin, Larry, 237
Gibson, Bob, 13
435
Gilkyson, Terry, 103, 128
Gillette, Steve, 80
Gilmore, Jimmie Dale, 76
Gilmore, Patrick, 412
Glover, Charles William, 314
Goldman, Kat, 25
Goodman, Steve, 66, 431
Gorrell, Stuart, 121
Guard, Dave, 324
Guthrie, Jack, 263
Guthrie, Woody, 82, 91, 155, 263, 279,
288, 336, 374, 397, 404
Guthrie, Woody, 227
Habershon, Ada R., 421
Haggard, Merle, 229, 335, 382
Hall, 'Than, 49
Hall, Tom T., 167
Hardin, Tim, 171
Hawes, Bess Lomax, 249
Hayes, Alfred, 190
Hayes, Joe "Red", 322
Hayes, Lee, 169
Hellerman, Fred, 336
Henderson, Hamish, 32
Henley, Don, 83
Herrick, Collette, 123
Hill, Scott, 201
Hoffman, Martin, 82
Hubbard, Ray Wylie, 301
Hynes, Ron, 343
Jennings, Waylon, 157, 253
Jerry Leiber, 198
Johnston, Anna, 246, 308
Johnston, Diane, 239
Jones, Richard M., 386
Kahn, Gus, 392
Kahn, Gus, 97
Keen, Robert Earl, 223
Kevess, Arthur S., 93
Kilgore, Merle, 304
King, Jay A., 360
Kostas, 303
Kristofferson, Kris, 139, 235, 358
Lambert, Louis, 412
Ledbettor, Huddie, 125, 361
Lehrer, Tom, 179
Leitch, Donovan, 63
Lennon, John, 184, 236, 262
Lightfoot, Gordon, 27, 99, 114
Lindeman, Edith, 298
Lomax, Alan, 338
Lomax, John, 85, 125
Loudermilk, John D., 13
Marks, Gerald, 20
Marum, Jed, 69, 105, 231, 409
McArthur, Terry, 274
McBroom,Amanda, 313
McCarthy, Sean, 351
McCartney, Paul, 184, 236, 262
McClinton, Delbert, 391
McColl, Ewan, 87, 107
McCurdy, Ed, 209
McDill, Bob, 21, 126, 130
Mcdonald, Ben, 115
McElroy, Thomas Derrick, 360
McGuire, Leo, 129
McKuen, Rod, 90
McPeake, Francis, 420
Mealer, Don, 303
Mills, Irving, 224
Milne, A. A., 88
Moman, Chips, 427
Moore, Thomas, 242
Murphey, Michael Martin, 28
Nelson, Willie, 47, 74, 119, 137, 138, 157,
162, 183, 248, 280, 345, 429
Newton, John, 22
North, Alex, 393
Nunn, Gary P, 218
O’Neill, Canon Charles, 109
Owens, Buck, 75
Paxton, Tom, 60, 210, 297
Peretti, Hugo, 158
Peterson, Ron, 207
Phillips, Bruce "Utah\, 127, 241
Phillips, John, 78
Pober, Leon, 378
Polwart, Karine, 112
436
Presley, Elvis, 136
Prine, John, 277, 283
Pyle, Chuck, 185
Quain, Kevin, 240
Razaf, Andy, 15
Reeves, Goebel, 147
Resnick, Arthur, 52
Reynolds, Allen, 130
Reynolds, Malvina, 215, 389, 411
Reznor, Michael, 154
Reznor, Trent, 154
Rhodes, Jack, 322
Ritchie, Jean, 49
Robbins, Marty, 39
Robinson, Earl, 190
Robinson, Robbie, 257
Robison, Bruce, 384
Rodgers, Jimmie, 18, 175, 176, 362
Rose, Fred, 50
Russell, Tom, 59, 255
Sainte Marie, Buffy, 177, 194, 269
Sandburg, Carl, 338
Sands, Bobby, 27
Satcher, Leslie Winn, 344
Schlitz, Don, 120
Schwandt, Wilber, 97
Schwartz, Teddi, 93
Scott, Alicia, 26
Scott, Darrell, 432
Scroggie, George, 102
Seals, Troy, 329
Sean O'Meara, 146
Secor, Ketch, 400
Secunda, Sholom "Samuel", 93
Seeger, Pete, 169, 413
Segal, Jack, 323
Setser, Eddie, 329
Shaver, Billy Joe, 148, 173, 216
Silverstein, Shel, 187, 293, 396
Simon, Paul, 56
Simons, Seymour, 20
Sky, Patrick, 281
Slagsvol, Jane, 342
Smith, Michael, 98
Spencer, Edward Mordaunt, 314
Staines, Bill, 315
Steiner, Jacqueline, 249
Stewart, Andy M., 364
Stewart, John, 273
Stills, Stephen, 115
Stoller, Mike, 198
Stutz, Carl, 298
Suffett, Steve, 92
Sykes, Keith, 340
Tannahill, Robert, 420
Thiele, Bob, 410
Thiele, Bob, 182
Thompson, Linda, 260
Trad, 12, 16, 17, 19, 23, 24, 31, 34, 35, 37,
40, 42, 43, 45, 46, 51, 53, 54, 61, 62, 65,
67, 68, 73, 85, 106, 110, 111, 124, 134,
141, 150, 152, 156, 164, 178, 181, 188,
189, 192, 195, 199, 203, 206, 212, 214,
217, 219, 225, 244, 245, 252, 258, 264,
265, 270,鱤271, 272, 278, 284, 286, 289,
290, 294, 299, 300, 305, 309, 316, 318,
319, 330, 333, 337, 338, 339, 347, 349,
352, 354, 355, 363, 365, 368, 369, 373,
375, 376, 379, 380, 385, 390, 395, 399,
402, 405, 406, 407, 415, 418, 419, 422,
423, 425, 426, 428
Travis, Merle, 81
Troy, Michael, 208
Tubb, Ernest, 401
Turner, Joseph W., 234
Tyson, Ian, 117, 255, 341
Van Ronk, Dave, 30
Van Zandt, Townes, 276
Vaughn, Sharon, 251
Walker, Cindy, 357
Walker, Jerry Jeff, 163, 247, 296, 353
Wall, Chris, 161
Waller, Fats, 15
Watson, Arthel "Doc", 403
Weatherly, Frederic Edward, 79
Weiss, George David, 158, 182, 410
Welch, Gillian, 306
West, Hedy, 11
437
Wheeler, Billy Edd, 302
Wheeler, Mary, 17, 181
White, Bukka, 108
Whiting, Richard, 392
Wilkin, Marijohn, 220
Williams, Hank, 140, 149, 159, 165, 174,
186, 367, 433
Wills, Bob, 101, 320, 350, 357
Wills, John, 101
Winchester, Jessie, 243
Wolfe, Kate, 14
Work, Henry Clay, 249
Yarrow, Peter, 259, 292
Young, Adrienne, 100
Young, Kenny, 52
Zaret, Hy, 393
438

Song Lyrics

Transcription

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