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Hoops of Gold
It was a shotgun wedding in your mom's backyard Notary pages bind our names and blood
All our friends and family gathered round to hear The vows, and to see your diamond on hoops of gold
But star-crossed lovers have their Hell to pay Like beasts of burden on some judgment day In separate marriage hearses they roll away Let them roll away, let it roll...away Wearing a diamond on hoops of gold
He was Johnny Blue on Kinston Avenue Wearing whiskey smiles and gator shoes You were Martha Rae eating carrot cake Dancing barefoot with your father near the lake And now, you wear a diamond on hoops of gold
Still those star-crossed lovers have their Hell to pay Like beasts of burden on some judgment day In separate marriage hearses they roll away Let them roll away, let it roll...away In a diamond on hoops of gold
from The Iron Year
Standing in the shadows of a velvet morning To the thief reply, “leper,” as if a mother scorned
Whisper words of wisdom Tell me...
Your friends have died You can't stop forgiving them Even though they lied In your arms I'm safe, my music's on But the bell hour late, and I must be gone
Whisper words of wisdom Tell me everything’s alright
My song is playing but I can’t sing In the hope someday, that a feast we’ll faun For I know someday, I will too be gone
Whisper words of wisdom Tell me everything’s alright Alright
Saying a lot without talking about it I To keep the fires burning I’ll not lie down I’ve gotta learn to lie Whatever keeps the engines turning Something’s are gonna change
It’s been there all your life but you’ve never noticed
To keep the fires burning I’ll not lie down I’ve gotta learn to lie Whatever keeps the engines turning Something’s are gonna change
In the blinking eye the shooting star is gone
The trial is over, Lord, not light his load
I came to learn the hard way Nothing gold can stay
Reflecting on what could have might have been
They come to end, my candle burns
As sure as night must come to day Nothing gold can stay
The Pequod* is rounding the horn again *The Boat in Moby Dick So “starboard mastheaders,” after years in the bay We’re leaving Nantucket, leaving Nantucket
Bye, bye love today And these rose colored glasses I’ll put away Yes, it’s all part of the game
Deep water dwellers and denizens Are what I’ve been after, before losing my way So I’m leaving Nantucket, leaving Nantucket
Bye, bye love today And these rose colored glasses I’ll put away Yes, it’s all part of the game
In our empty garden, to sever for years
When all we’ve left to show is wasted time Say goodbye, sunshine Say goodbye
My secret fears hide in the afterglow
That all we’ve left to show is wasted time Say goodbye, sunshine Say goodbye
The clouds hide inside my head
So long run gone
The music is like perfume
So long run gone
The ruins stand in twos, apart, alone…
Dumb in the coming dark
So long run gone
Now the ruins stand in twos, apart, alone…
She took the rose with her And faced the thorn to me
In our bed of broken alms My violet, oh silent one Well now my story tell I have no soul to sell
I never meant to be so wrong My violet, oh silent one
The dead man's drums lie buried Lost from the cancer frost Beyond the brittle pond
Another boat to bail
Blowing naked over the land of Neverlust The tiger year shall starve us all
To never love again My violet, oh silent one My violet, oh silent one
for Robert Johnson
Another line’s been drawn With the midnight howling I must be moving on…yeah
Coming under the spell I now own a secret That I’ll never tell…yeah
Afraid of my own reflection, now
Till my page torn away We forget tomorrow Until today…yeah
The flames of regret U-turn useless The course now set…yeah
Afraid of my own reflection, now I’m running in the wrong direction I’ve been running in the wrong direction
Partners in crime apart, alone
Tough times hard what do they mean
Moves me down the road
Everything will be all right
Nothing is ever what they seem
To the fear I’ve known Hidden
behind
Moves me down the road
Everything will be all right
Detour Detour
The balloon man stands alone Once upon in glory The answer to our story is not clear
You have tasted this poet’s pain We are what we remember Even from our early, naked year
Where do we go from here?
To the one I have loved then lost Now there’s a hole in the sky Where a star once stood
Where do we go from here?
It was a shotgun wedding in your mom's backyard Notary pages bind our names and blood
All our friends and family gathered round to hear The vows, and to see your diamond on hoops of gold
But star-crossed lovers have their Hell to pay Like beasts of burden on some judgment day In separate marriage hearses they roll away Let them roll away, let it roll...away Wearing a diamond on hoops of gold
He was Johnny Blue on Kinston Avenue Wearing whiskey smiles and gator shoes You were Martha Rae eating carrot cake Dancing barefoot with your father near the lake And now, you wear a diamond on hoops of gold
Still those star-crossed lovers have their Hell to pay Like beasts of burden on some judgment day In separate marriage hearses they roll away Let them roll away, let it roll...away In a diamond on hoops of gold
from
IRON YEAR
Standing in the shadows of a velvet morning To the thief reply, “leper,” as if a mother scorned
Whisper words of wisdom Tell me...
Your friends have died You can't stop forgiving them Even though they lied In your arms I'm safe, my music's on But the bell hour late, and I must be gone
Whisper words of wisdom Tell me everything’s alright
My song is playing but I can’t sing In the hope someday, that a feast we’ll faun For I know someday, I will too be gone
Whisper words of wisdom Tell me everything’s alright Alright
Saying a lot without talking about it I To keep the fires burning I’ll not lie down I’ve gotta learn to lie Whatever keeps the engines turning Something’s are gonna change
It’s been there all your life but you’ve never noticed
To keep the fires burning I’ll not lie down I’ve gotta learn to lie Whatever keeps the engines turning Something’s are gonna change
In the blinking eye the shooting star is gone
The trial is over, Lord, not light his load
I came to learn the hard way Nothing gold can stay
Reflecting on what could have might have been
They come to end, my candle burns
As sure as night must come to day Nothing gold can stay
The Pequod* is rounding the horn again *The Boat in Moby Dick So “starboard mastheaders,” after years in the bay We’re leaving Nantucket, leaving Nantucket
Bye, bye love today And these rose colored glasses I’ll put away Yes, it’s all part of the game
Deep water dwellers and denizens Are what I’ve been after, before losing my way So I’m leaving Nantucket, leaving Nantucket
Bye, bye love today And these rose colored glasses I’ll put away Yes, it’s all part of the game
In our empty garden, to sever for years
When all we’ve left to show is wasted time Say goodbye, sunshine Say goodbye
My secret fears hide in the afterglow
That all we’ve left to show is wasted time Say goodbye, sunshine Say goodbye
The clouds hide inside my head
So long run gone
The music is like perfume
So long run gone
The ruins stand in twos, apart, alone…
Dumb in the coming dark
So long run gone
Now the ruins stand in twos, apart, alone…
She took the rose with her And faced the thorn to me
In our bed of broken alms My violet, oh silent one Well now my story tell I have no soul to sell
I never meant to be so wrong My violet, oh silent one
The dead man's drums lie buried Lost from the cancer frost Beyond the brittle pond
Another boat to bail
Blowing naked over the land of Neverlust The tiger year shall starve us all
To never love again My violet, oh silent one My violet, oh silent one
for Robert Johnson
Another line’s been drawn With the midnight howling I must be moving on…yeah
Coming under the spell I now own a secret That I’ll never tell…yeah
Afraid of my own reflection, now
Till my page torn away We forget tomorrow Until today…yeah
The flames of regret U-turn useless The course now set…yeah
Afraid of my own reflection, now I’m running in the wrong direction I’ve been running in the wrong direction
Partners in crime apart, alone
Tough times hard what do they mean
Moves me down the road
Everything will be all right
Nothing is ever what they seem
To the fear I’ve known Hidden
behind
Moves me down the road
Everything will be all right
Detour Detour
The balloon man stands alone Once upon in glory The answer to our story is not clear
You have tasted this poet’s pain We are what we remember Even from our early, naked year
Where do we go from here?
To the one I have loved then lost Now there’s a hole in the sky Where a star once stood
Where do we go from here?
My history is more than I have said But I am done trying to hide my heart away
And hope was a mystery I never knew But as I open your eyes I can see my wake up call
Your love remembered is my pot of gold And the tears are gone the sun is shining Looks like a beautiful day
I stir your scrambled eggs and try to ignore Where all the past years are...
Your love remembered is my pot of gold And the tears are gone the sun is shining Looks like a beautiful day
I'll be your Paris, you'll be my Helen of Troy
Your love remembered is my pot of gold And the tears are gone the sun is shining Looks like a beautiful day...
Feng Shui mirrored my dining and bedroom
Knocked driveway spider webs down with a broom I'm ready, I'm ready
Changed burnt-out light bulbs in every room
Watered all blooming flowers in the yard I'm ready, I'm ready
Oh, love why are you waiting?
Hung a rusty horseshoe over the front door
Ran red ribbons round and down the basement's hall I'm Ready, I'm ready
Love why are you waiting? To come into this house again Love why are you waiting?
They can not be regained Yesterday has come and gone But the journey travels on
Exposed by all I've tried to hide Stranded here alone Zero at the bone...
Starving for truth Crawling before you again...
I've hurt the ones I've loved Is everything we see and seem Some form of dream within a dream
Half the man I aimed to be Abandoned here alone Zero at the bone...
Starving for truth Crawling before you again...
He set out Sunday searching for the Holy Grail The same force that rusts Iron and ripens ale So we battened down the hatches buckled in closed all the doors Our second Adam prepares a face for a foreign shore
Your first cuts too deep to bleed The seed is sown your deed is down Searching for what can't be found From our pages he was torn With a brand upon his back since the day that he was born
Since the day that he was born
Or so the saying goes Though his claims often outrageous We alone knew his woes
From the quiver of this life Flying far too near the sun With feathers full of lead
Waiting for end of the line He says he's good doing fine The canvas empty with the wine
For the brand on his back since the day that he was born
Your first cuts too deep to bleed The seed is sown your deed is down Searching for what can be found From our pages he was torn With a brand upon his back since the day that he was born
Since the day that he was born
Struck out twice in New Orleans Vegas took my money Cleveland stole my steam
No stranger to the rain Like an empty bottle busted The past we can't regain
That's what I'll do
Many times before now These old dreams bended But never will they bow
I will survive--I will get by
You're my inspiration now Tucking in this Easter town With the songs I wrote for you
Even the crowd the crowd can't help me now
But nothing takes these blues Nothing takes my blues away
I smell Paris perfume In hotel closets and bedrooms Where we once hung your clothes
I don't know how I'm gonna carry on
But nothing takes my blues Nothing takes the blues away Nothing takes my blues away
I trust this letter will remind you of our dear professor that you keep
Oh...
Dear John to Julia
I won't again be free for tea So I'm cutting school, moving away After what was witnessed here today
His marijuana all in your head, Oh...
Dear John to Julia
As the day arose and burst into blaze But of those fruits we have only known Known but know no more... She was fake, just like me I signed in blood, but now I'm free...
Dear John to Julia
My warm shower on cold mornings But now there is only a hole in the sky
And give my story end... Without you, the writer no words The singer no song
That could never beat before, nor ever beat again
While outer worlds fall apart Gulfs between us will never stand Your gift, my song
That never beat before, nor ever beat again
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Turn Me On
This car is stalled and stranded in the mire Of a fog a haze that strangled my desires I'm Stranded, Crash Landed
My headlamps blown and signal lights broken The glove box locked, and all four hubcaps soaking In the river, by this lemon
But then I see you there And my system sparks And my pistons fire And my engine starts
Cause' you turn me on Yes, you…turn me on and on and on and on
My rearview mirror and back bumper busted Battery corroded my sparkplugs rusted And my brakes are shot, in a parking lot
The gears in neutral, steering wheel immobile The air vents closed and windshield wipers stolen But the bucket seats are hard in the salvage yard
As you appear And my system sparks And my pistons fire And my engine starts
Cause' you…turn me on Yes, you...turn me on and on and on and on
Tires stuck and bogged down in the mud My machine shut off covered in moss And my fuel was gone, and my hope was none
But then I see you there And my system sparks And my pistons fire And my engine starts
Cause' you turn me on Yes, you…turn me on and on and on and on
I was a Nomad my heart a hollow shell, a stranger to myself Until that April moon brought me to you, who turned my world around
Then I touch your hand, and your eyes meet mine And the look upon your face as we embrace again
Girl, you are the reason I'm smiling, my sun again shining down Girl, my arms are open wide, you are the place I can hide From the rain when it falls, my trains when it calls me on...
We give our hours to movies and to wine, to laughter and to tears And when we have to part, you know inside your heart, that I'll return again
And when I knock upon your door, and you swing it open wide Only then, does my heart beat again
Girl, you are the reason I'm smiling, my sun again shining down Girl, my arms are open wide, you are the place I can hide From the rain when it falls, my trains when it calls me on...
On again, I must go on again But your sweet love, will be the gloves that keep me warm again You are my shelter from the storm
Girl, you are the reason I'm smiling, my sun again shining down Girl, my arms are open wide, you are the place I can hide From the rain when it falls, my trains when it calls me on...
Somewhere in Time
I remember your weather blue eyes as you waved goodbye in the rain I was holding your umbrella; under my breath I heard your name But you never made it to your sister's bridal shower Voices on the line; a car crash near Hershey Park Tower Since you've been gone I stare at your photograph Remembering your butter blonde hair and hillbilly laugh
Somewhere in time when you were my girl We promised our lives; we changed the world My mistress mine where'd we go wrong? Maybe somewhere in time, I'll get you off my mind
The alarm rings Tuesday morning, and I awake alone Fetch the morning paper, messages from the phone But not a moment passes without some thought of you And I have to catch my breath when I think of what I'll do When I flashback on the way we were Watch our old home movies in the dark till those memories burn in me
Somewhere in time when you were my girl We promised our lives; we changed the world My mistress mine, where'd we go wrong? Maybe somewhere in time, I'll get you off my mind
Love is proved in the letting go But I can't get past the past, this I now know To rid myself of you, who haunts my silence and my name If this losing you is so real, then why do I still feel you here inside?
Somewhere in time when you were my girl We promised our lives; we changed the world My mistress mine where'd we go wrong? Maybe somewhere in time, I'll get you off my mind
I'm on Fire
A B In August we said goodbye and now it feels like a year I'm back at Ruby Orchard, with you at Santa Monica pier E E/G# A Flaming thoughts of me, touching you... A A G When I'm driving my car, when I'm peeling an orange, when I'm lying (on) in my bed B A B A I'm on fire; I'm on fire E/G# A/F# I'm burning for you, burning for you
A B I awake before the dawn with the sheets soaking wet I pace the wooden floor, wishing your face at my door E E/G# A Flaming (blazing) thoughts of me, holding you (Visions of me holding you) A A G When I'm passing street strangers, when I'm watching my TV, when I'm folding my clothes (Lying in my bed) B A B A I'm on fire; I'm on fire E/G# A/F# I'm burning for you, burning for you
D E (A/C#)? I wonder, when can I see you again? D E (A/C#)? When can I hold you again? C D/C C D/C I'm burning alive, with electric desire B A B A I'm on fire; I'm on fire E/G# A/C# I'm burning for you, burning (blazing) for you B A B A I'm on fire; I'm on fire
A/E B/E At Pierre's on 57th we sit alone in candle light A/E B/E Holding hands and ordering red wine (Sipping) We eat our veal (Kolb Salads) in silence walking home through Central Park And we hang on like we'll never let go
F#m G#m For you leave me in the morning on a train at ten past nine A/C# B/D# E And you can't be certain when you will return E/G# A But instead of counting down the minutes let's stay out a while E/G# A A woman like you has been so damn hard to find
C#m B A I know we only have hours together, girl F#m G#m A A/B But to me, (Let's try to make those hours) that can be all the time in the world
We've got all night We've got all night, baby All Night...if you believe in love
Even though you are traveling so far away from home And I can hardly bare the thought of you gone Let's dance a little longer And share (enjoy) the moments that we have Let's make sunrise seem a light year away
I know we only have these hours left together, girl But to me, that can be all the time in the world (But let's make that all the time in the world)
All Night...if you believe in love
A/C#m B/D# E A Tomorrow is promised to none Tomorrow is promised to none
But we've got all night We've got all night, baby All Night...if you believe in love
Omega (Because They Loved You)
G F C G Sha la sha la de da sha la la la da
We bury you today on a Glen near Handle Way near your house All your friends and family come to say their goodbye We bury you today on the twenty-third of May And bow our heads in silence under a dull grey sky
We cling to each other and share old stories you'd tell Like your wedding shower mishap at the Caroline Hotel (Tears in laughter) And I loved them, because they loved you...because they loved you
G F C G Sha la sha la de da sha la la la da
We bury you today and we huddle close and pray Open our Bibles and pray Release a blue balloon each to the spring day sky We bury you today and plant an Oak with mud and clay And sing your favorite songs to your coffin with no reply and cry
I looked at all the people gathered round your grave I tried to find you in their faces; I tried to find you in their eyes And I loved them, because they loved you, because they loved you
Change: F ("Pressure" Chord) C My Saturday songs and my Sunday rest My north and south gone, my east, my west F G/F And we bid you farewell but never goodbye (but can't say goodbye) F G/F F softly F G/F F (X4) Is this the end of love? Am7/D Is this the end of love?
G F C G Sha la sha la de da sha la la la da I looked at all the people gathered round your grave I tried to find you in their faces; I tried to find you in their eyes And I loved them, because they loved you, because they loved you G F C G Sha la sha la de da sha la la la da
Tons of trash line Canal's sidewalks, doubloons and beads still on the ground On Big Easy streets where once was laughter, now a requiem sounds Accordions all in their cases, fiddles on French Quarter shelves Ten million beer cans crushed and empty, as red Police lights spin the spell
At the end of Mardi Gras At the end of Mardi Gras Ash Wednesday's sober Lent starts now...At the end of Mardi Gras Forty days without my wine
New Orleans is my King Cake Island and Crescent City Ferry rolls While Fat Tuesday's flambeaux carriers slumber in their Catholic homes The smell of Bourbon Street at midnight can keep a drunk man on his feet Jangling Pirate's Alley guitars resonate their somber beat
At the end of Mardi Gras At the end of Mardi Gras Ash Wednesday's sober Lent starts now... At the end of Mardi Gras Forty days without my wine
A A/G# G Le Bon Temps masquerade is over No more purple, green, and gold F#m G#m A Feather masks hang in closets F#m G#m D Krewe parade floats hide in their abodes F#m G#m A As the city speaks its silence...I feel so alone
F#m B E At the end of Mardi Gras At the end of Mardi Gras G#7 A Ash Wednesday's sober Lent starts now...At the end of Mardi Gras A A/B F#m (or C#m after 2nd chorus or D after last chorus) Forty days without my wine
E/G# A/F# A E 1. Gambling and drinking can't stop me thinking about her the whole day through E/G# A/F# A E Joker on King, bottle of Jack won't bring her back to me D A/C# A A/B No peace I find in this heart (world) of mine hey--aaaaayyy! mind behind resign design dine pine kind E E/G# A A/B What she don't know can't hurt her
2. Other arms hold me tight and other (blue) eyes smile so tenderly But thoughts of her still so clear and bright in every face I see Chills me to the bone when I'm all alone My voice's tone in the twilight zone yeeeaaaahhh! What she don't know can't hurt her
3. I lie awake in bed at night and pull blankets (covers) over me Last thing on my mind as I click the light Is that my love can never be (is never to return to me) yeeeaaahhh! I am fading fast This can never last Never meant to last In a future past like a shotgun blast What she don't know can't hurt her
G A F# Bm G A F# B You were everything I'd hoped for, everything I'd need The happiest days of my life, can never return to me When that feeling comes along Lightning strikes once and then is gone
Blue Skies
Da da dum da da dum
Blue Skies light our way On our sunshine holiday I wonder where the hours go when we're alone
So pack up your bags Fill up the car All our worries in a jar Tie up your hair Bundle our clothes Cause where we're heading heaven knows
We'll fly...away Fly away You and I...
Da da dum da da da dum
Starring in our own screenplay Together we parade A romance matinee' We perform a matinee The dark clouds scatter-stray I feel like I am home again when we're alone
So pack up your bags Fill up the car All our worries in a jar Tie up your hair Bundle our clothes Cause where we're heading heaven knows
We'll fly...away Fly away You and I...
Da da dum da da da dum
The First Cut is the Deepest
We were lovers never friends When our little nightmare chose to begin Chasing my rainbow on a one-way line
There's no turning back there's no going home Forgive and forget she said, I said no Till that got me nowhere...oh why--why did you? Why did you make our love a lie?
The first cut is the deepest Why I don't understand The first cut is the deepest For a daggered man
The slamming door broke the mirrors On the wall above our pictures which crashed to the floor Right along with my heart Boxed up memories broken dreams I feel like I'm coming apart at the seams Lost when the sun goes down You ought ta, you ought ta know by now, baby
The first cut is the deepest Why I don't understand The first cut is the deepest For a daggered man
Sand in my shoes The beach is warm in the August sun I read the morning news
That's all over now
But, oh, the times have changed Her city sites faded now But memories remain
That's all over now
Catch the midnight... Catch the midnight train
Someday when you're free You'll look back on the happy time When you belonged to me
That's all over now
Catch the midnight... Catch the midnight train
How many times must I be? All alone here with the darkness Can my lonely heart ever be free?
Forgotten memories, black to fade A tired old body, now striped to fashion Just another guilty party, unbelieved
When I was taken where I didn't want to go All this time I was forsaken, now changed before my eyes They were mistaken so now I'm coming home Coming home...
To the land of the homeless where there is no cure I stand embarrassed in a damned tomorrow In a whored America, evermore
When I was taken where I didn't want to go All this time I was forsaken, changed before my eyes They were mistaken so now I'm coming home Coming home.. Coming home Coming home
You said you needed vacation From the town where you were born
As we say goodbye and you walk away I can't follow behind or beg you to stay I won't change your mind There are no words to say As we say goodbye and you walk away
Night comes the hour rung Soon the changing season's final song is sung
As we say goodbye and you walk away I can't follow behind or beg you to stay I won't change your mind There are no words to say As we say goodbye and you walk away Farewell...farewell
Born before the earthen mountains To last far beyond our graves
We are older than the mountains More ancient than the seas
Maybe I'll believe in me
It's been love we waited for
So stood alone in life's garden and hid behind a mask
Maybe I'll believe in me
It's been love we waited for...
Bowed with the weight of All their dreams that die
Looking back upon them
A call to action as the days go by
Forgotten on the canvas of my mind
From these dreams that remind me of the day I threw it all away...
But then the waves came And washed away Ruining the memory
I'm
singing in my chains Forgotten on the canvas of my mind
Now she's many miles away My sky returns to grey Night comes the hour is rung The days go I remain...
From these dreams that remind me of the day I threw it all away... |