Jolie Holland Lyrics, Photos, Pictures, Paroles, Letras, Text for every songs

B i o g r a p h y
(by Label)

The Living & the Dead is a work between worlds, of moving on and finding something new, of missed chances, and promises on distant horizons. From the past (the haunting simplicity of "Love Henry,"which Bob Dylan tells us pre-dates the Bible) to the future (the stunning emotional complexity of her song,"The Future"), the Texas-bred singer-songwriter navigates a new rock approach that is built upon the folk, blues and jazz spectors that populated her three acclaimed previous albums.

Holland composed these songs in her old home town of San Francisco, as well as on the road across North America and Europe. A few were born during a writing retreat in New Zealand. Arising out of her life stories, and from the rich estuaries of the mysterious tales of other adventurers, her songs are grounded by true experience.

The Living and the Dead is an exhilarating ride with a higher voltage than the previous albums, music that had already left fans and critics at a loss to describe her singular vision as performer and writer. Holland worked with co-producer Shahzad Ismaily (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Two Foot Yard, Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog) in sessions both in Brooklyn, New York and Portland, Oregon. With contributions from guitar maestros Marc Ribot (who played with Tom Waits and Elvis Costello) and M. Ward (who also produced one song and helped shape the sound of others) and drummer Rachel Blumberg (M. Ward, Bright Eyes, the Decemberists), Holland has created an album that serves as a career statement. Holland's voice is the same beautiful instrument, which has never before sounded so confident, relaxed or emotive.

With 2003's Catalpa (essentially home-made demos released due to popular interest and then nominated for the prestigious Short List Music Prize by Tom Waits), 2004's Escondida and 2006's Springtime Can Kill You (which Rolling Stone said "feels better than a good cry"), she evolved a sound that existed in its own time, as if it could have been recorded anywhere between God knows when and yesterday. The Living & the Dead shares that same quality, but its timelessness is rooted in the present. Take Holland's description of the song “Your Big Hands”:

"It's just terribly naļve—it’s the kind of song Daniel Johnston made me feel brave enough to write," she says. "It starts out with these beautiful dirty guitar chords from M Ward, almost like a Rolling Stones song...the overall feel of this song owes a debt to Waits' version of rock ala 'Downtown Train'...then, in the middle of the song, all that has disappeared...you feel as though you're wandering around in the woods--there are owls and shooting stars…but then the song burns out with a mess of distorted guitars.”

In many ways, this album is a chronicle of her own journey. The driven "Corrido Por Buddy" (about a friend who sunk so far into addiction that Holland didn't recognize him on the street) is both character study and self-examination/recrimination – a sense magnified for the singer by not just one, but two instances of eerily identical poltergeist phenomena in the studios while the band was recording "...Buddy." The phenomena were witnessed by three band members, and occurred both in Portland and New York, during the song's production.

"The Future" is a presentation of beautiful poetry which arose out of personal misery – "When I wrote that I was really kind of crying and holding on to the piano—it’s about the hell of breaking up and moving out at the same time.”

"Palmyra" is a prayer for the broken-hearted and traumatized, both individuals and communities. The first half paints a picture a love-lorn traveler pulling herself back together after a disastrous affair. The second half is lovingly and respectfully dedicated to the hard-pressed people of New Orleans' Ninth Ward, hallowed estuary of some of the finest music the world has ever witnessed.

Upon hearing the completed album, Holland says, "I hear a lot of interesting connections between the songs that I didn't premeditate. 'Sweet Loving Man,' (a very modern love song, based on South Louisiana dance music) is sitting right next to 'Love Henry' (which is ancient as hell.) The first song is about a lover who sets out to attempt a life free from heart-break, by any means necessary. And the second is a twisted tale of a scheming rich woman who kills her lover in a fit of jealousy. It's like putting two opposite colors next to each other on a painting.”

The perceived space between ancient and modern seems to fade away. If something speaks to you and is meaningful, dates can become irrelevant. In that way, Holland's work has always been characterized as timeless. This album lives and breathes through memories of the past via reflection and resurrection, and grows into the present tense. The Living and the Dead reflects those timeless elements that make Holland's songwriting so powerful. It's multi-faceted, emotionally rich, and a continuation of one songwriter's existence within her own worlds and outside others. Enjoy Yourself.

Alley Flowers

Some people say you got a psychadelic presense
Shining in the park with a bioluminescence
Down these city streets I see you comin'
From afar and I know

In this world ain't nobody's
Got the shine like you
Got to shine in this world
Ain't nobody's got the shine
Like you got to shine
In this world

Nobody sings like Mary Sue Bell
Nobody prays like Willie MacTell
Nobody walks a mile in my stolen shoes like I do

In this world ain't nobody's
Got the shine like you
Got to shine in this world
Ain't nobody's got the shine
Like you got to shine
In this world

I still miss my lonesome lover
And I cain't find no single other
To take his empty place in my heart of hearts
I told him

In this world ain't nobody's
Got the shine like you
Got to shine in this world
Ain't nobody's got the shine
Like you got to shine
In this world

The ghost of Shakespeare's on the street
Corderoy hat layin at his feet
Howlin in the harp these dirty city blues fallin hard

In this world ain't nobody's
Got the shine like you
Got to shine in this world
Ain't nobody's got the shine
Like you got to shine
In this world

Zora Neale Hurston told her story
And they kicked her out of new york city
Just like jesus christ in gallilee like I said

In this world ain't nobody's
Got the shine like you
Got to shine in this world
Ain't nobody's got the shine
Like you got to shine
In this world

Some people say I got a psychadelic presense
Shinin' in the park with a bioluminescense
Down these city streets I see you comin'
From afar, and I know
Ain't nobody's got the shine
Like you got to shine in this world
Ain't nobody's got the shine
Like you got to shine in this world.

All the Morning Birds

By three a.m. all the morning birds will be crying
And that old highway will be sighing
And my dreams feel as cold as my bones on the long walk home.

And my coat is old and growin thin
And my feet are numb and stumbling
And its many the thought of a long lost friend
That comes to me again and again.

And I want to thank my Sarah Bell
Who blessed me more than words can tell and who
Picked me straight up out of hell
And I miss her real bad but I love her well.

And I remember Don Clancy as a wild young man
But I haven't seen hide nor hair of him since he lost his mind
And was born again off the coast of Oregon.

Oh where are you now, oh where are you now
And do you even think of me
I'm telling you now
You are the stars that I'll follow
Endlessly, endlessly, endlessly, oh

Well, I'm singin' this song but it won't take long.
On these frozen streets I'm half way home
And the sky above me forms a beautiful dome
Of blue and pink and starry gold.

Oh where are you now, oh where are you now
And do you even think of me
I'm telling you now
You are the stars that I'll follow
Endlessly, endlessly, endlessly, oh

Roll my Blues by Mike Good

I've been knocked out
Drugged and loaded
River's roarin' on before me
And I look down at my reflection
Where its headed, no direction

River
Won't you roll my blues away

All my life I've been alone
And never have I had a home until you came
But now love's gone bad
Its kind of sad
But I guess that I'm to blame
'Cause I'm just untamed

Oh I can see that I have fallen
From your grace which was my calling
West wind is blowin' hard against me
Flat out road is all that I see

Highway
Won't you roll my blues away

All my life I've been alone
And never have I had a home until you came
But now love's gone bad
It's kind of sad
But I guess that I'm to blame
'Cause I'm just untamed

Oh never have I longed so dearly
My mind sees you oh so clearly
Freight train is coming fast and strong
Steady rollin' on and on

Freight train
Won't you roll my blues away

All my life I've been alone
And never have I had a home until you came
But now love's gone bad
It's kind of sad
But I guess that I'm to blame
'Cause I'm just untamed

Oh I can see that I have fallen
From your grace which was my calling
West wind is blowin' hard against me
Flat out road is all that I see

Highway
Won't you roll my blues away

Just take your black hand down
Just take your black hand down

Well this man is won all the money, good Lord
Take your black hand down

A rooster crowed in Germany
They heard him way in France
He said the flappers are doin' all the moochin, good Lord
Won't give the women no chance

A new pebble on your beach
A new pebble on your beach
A new pebble on your beach
But I cross my heart, I raise my hand, good Lord
I make no fool decree

You know the time ain't long
You know the time ain't long
You know the time ain't long
And if you don't believe I'm really leavin' you
Watch the train I'm on

Just take your black hand down
Just take your black hand down
Just take your black hand down
Well this man is won all the money, good Lord
Take your black hand down

Please don't three on me
Please don't three on me
If you just can seven or eleven, good Lord
Little bones please don't three
Little bones please don't three

December, 1999

I'll see you in the Springtime
After the battle is won
I know I'm crossin over
As far as we have come
And I want your hand in mine, dear
As we face that shining dawn
Eyes open
I'm hoping
You'll be there with me
So gently
I want your hand in mine
I want you by my side
In the midst
Of our great victory

The storm clouds had all gathered
We drew our forces nigh
And entered into battle
Though it clamoured to the sky
And we faced that fateful lightning
With saints on our side
Eyes open I'll follow that lonesome road
To the top of the mountain
Where the fire is blazing
And the heat is astounding
What's even more amazing
Is to see you by my side

I Wanna Die

I wanna die
I wanna die
Down south Louisiana
And the gray evening sky

I wanna die
I don't care how
I'm getting out
Down south Louisiana
And the lonesome highway sound

Well there's a cajun lady
Down in New Orleans
There's a cajun lady
And I saw her in my dream

Well if I'd held her in my arms, girls
Oh and if I'd held her in my arms
Our friendly love
Might have kept my heart from harm
But I'm out here on this road, girls
And I'm out here on the road
And I'm just a poor girl
And I ain't got a home

And I wanna die
I don't care how
I'm getting out
Down south Louisiana
And the lonesome highway sound

Oh I ain't got a home, girls
And I ain't got a home
And it's through this world I ramble
And it's through this world I roam

Well, as through this world I ramble
And as through this world I roam
I'm just a poor girl
And I ain't got a home

And I wanna die
I wanna die
Down south Louisiana
And the gray evening sky

Well I wanna die
I don't care how
I'm getting out
Down south Louisiana
And the lonesome highway sound

Demon Lover Improv

They hadn't been gone
But about two weeks
I swear it was not three
When she espied his cloven hoof
And wept most bitterly
They hadn't been gone
But about three weeks
I swear it was not four
When she espied his cloven hoof
And knew she'd never go home no more.

Catalpa Waltz

I waltzed this whole town
Through every nook and corner
And cranny and bar

I know you're out there somewhere
Wherever you are

Maybe the sun will rise
I saw it go down
And scattered its golden light
Across the ground
I held you in the alley
My hand on your waist
And your eyes were like diamonds
With the light on your face
Your gentle soul was open to me
And I am so in love
With who you be
With who you be

I always will love
To waltz across this city with you
From the rising of the moon
To the falling of the dew
There's a young catalpa tree
Out behind the record store
I'll always remember
The way you looked at me
Your light was so pure
I could hear the door of our fate creaking ajar
I could hear the key in the hand of God
Turning inside the lock

The Littlest Birds

(Sammy Parton/Jolie Holland/Syd Barrett)

Well, I feel like an old hobo
I'm sad, lonesome and blue
I was fair as a summer's day
Now the summer days are through
You pass through places
And places pass through you
But you carry them with you
On the soles of your travelling shoes

Well, I love you so dearly
I love you so clearly
I wake you up in the morning
So early just to tell you
I got the wandering blues
I got the wandering blues
And I'm going to quit
These rambling ways one of these
Days soon

And I sing
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs
the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs
And the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs

Well it's times like these I feel so small
And wild like the rambling footsteps
Of a wandering child
And I'm lonesome as a lonesome whippoorwill
Singing these blues with a warble and a trill
But I'm not too blue to fly
No I'm not too blue to fly

'Cause the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs
And the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs

But I love you so dearly
I love you so fearlessly
I wake you up in the morning so early
Just to tell you
I've got the wandering blues
I've got the wandering blues
And I don't want to leave you
I love you through and through

Well I left my baby on a pretty blue train
And I sang my songs to the cold and the rain
And I had the wandering blues
And I sang those wandering blues
And I'm gonna quit these rambling ways one of these
Days soon

And I sing
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs
And the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs

Well I don't care if the sun don't shine
And I don't care if nothing is mine
And I don't care if I'm nervous with you
I'll do my loving in the wintertime.

Wandering Angus

( Words by W.B. Yeats, Music by Brian Miller )

I went out to the hazelwood
Because a fire was in my head
I Cut and peeled a hazel wand
And hooked a berry to a thread

And when white moths were on the wing
And moth-like stars were flickering out
I dropped a berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout

When I had laid it on the floor
And went to blow the fire aflame
And something rustled on the floor
And something called me by my name
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossoms in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And vanished in the brightening air

Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands
I will find out where she has gone
And kiss her lips and take her hand

And walk through long green dappled grass
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon
And the golden apples of the sun

Periphery Waltz

When the supreme authorities of our culture
Tell us to get down on our knees
And beg for salvation from some divinity
Is it any wonder there are people
Begging on the street for salvation from poverty

Well, it's no surprise to me
It's no surprise to me

I left my home in the church
I left my home in the suburbs to wander
Now I did it all for my dreams
And the star that I followed fell from the periphery
And the street lights
Slipping down my windshield fell like falling stars

Down a dark country road
I first left my home when I was seventeen
And I paid my respects to my fellow rejects
But I tended to wander alone
Like I was listening to the words of a song
Whispered soft and low

Well it's kind of like dancing
It's kind of like losing your mind
And I've often considered
The impractibility of my life
And the moon behind the clouds is ill-defined

Well I got lost so many times
But I could not be consigned
To a fate of obsolescence and decline
So I'll take the chance again
And the Mockingbird is my friend
When he sings a song in the warm midnight wind
So I'll follow my old tune
And I'll wish you good morning

Ghost Waltz

Broken by the silence
That echoed in my heart
I couldn't help waving
When the waves rushed my way
And the world tilted over
I saw in my dreams
Things aren't the way
I hoped they would be

You are so kind to be civilized
Don't think that I haven't noticed
'Cause I've been too sad to think
And too sick to care
But someday I'll meet you in the cold midnight air

I've been a ghost in houses I've loved
I've been a stranger to heaven above
But as for the world below
This is the one I know
My poor beloved home.

You are so kind to be civilized
Don't think that I haven't noticed
I've been too sad to think
And too sick to care
But someday I'll meet you in the cold midnight air

I've been a ghost in houses I've loved
I've been a stranger to heaven above
But as for the world below
This is the one I know
My poor beloved home.

Tonight, my heart is full of a sad song
My lonesome lover has taken off
I'm wandering around on a cloud
Empty-hearted and down and out

It's been a week, I think, since he rolled into town
And it's been years that I've heard these stories about
This fellah he's so brave and so alive
Turning this world around from the out to the inside

Well, our courtship was brief and magnetic
I was singing at the corner bar
And we both felt so romantic
We took a walk with the moon
Down to the train yard

Well, it was too much for me
My gypsy heart was inflamed
Put me at the head of your list
And don't forget to call my name
Well, I fell in love with a boy
Who has a real live romance with a train

Oh, my beautiful lover and friend
This is exactly what I wanted
And now I'm feeling so haunted
And I can't get you out of my mind

I can't forget him as he's rolling away
And it's all I can do is just to stay here
Is just to stay

I saw you tonight by the light
Of the shining black stars that circle my heart
I saw you come in, though it was dim
I have been listening from the beginning

When you arrived
It was as if we had both died
And gone somewhere else
You and myself
That otherworldly feeling
Came over me stealing

My mind was reeling
Blood bleeding
Red like my guitar
Whoever you are
Cold in the night
I think you're right
To whisper and listen
Like flowers glisten
In a quiet garden
The moon is wizened and it is old
As a toad in a Chinese story

The fallen glory of my ego
Is laid at the feet of all our purposes
And my purpose is to keep on dreaming
I am fishing for wishes that's where you come in
Though it was dim when you arrived
It was as if we had both died
And gone somewhere else
You and myself

Old fashioned morphine

Give me that old fashioned morphine
Give me that old fashioned morphine
Give me that old fashioned morphine
It's good enough for me

What it was good enough for my Grandpa
It was good enough for my Grandpa
It was good enough for my Grandpa
It's good enough for me

Sister don't get worried
Sister don't get worried
Sister don't get worried
Because the world is almost done

Give me that old fashioned morphine
Give me that old fashioned morphine
Give me that old fashioned morphine
It's good enough for me

It was good enough for Billy Burroughs
It was good enough for Billy Burroughs
It was good enough for Billy Burroughs
It's good enough for me

Sister don't get worried
Sister don't get worried
Sister don't get worried
Because the world is almost done

Give me that old fashioned morphine
Give me that old fashioned morphine
Give me that old fashioned morphine
It's good enough for me

It was good enough for Isabelle Eberhardt
It was good enough for Isabelle Eberhardt
It was good enough for Isabelle Eberhardt
It's good enough for me

Sister don't get worried
Sister don't get worried
Sister don't get worried
Because the world is almost done

Amen

Amen
There’s a ring around the moon
I’m going to fly all night
Down to see you
I’m going to fly all night
Down to see you
There’s a road
Drifting through the mountains
I’m gonna fly down that road
Until I get to where I’m going

Amen
There’s a ring around the moon
I’m going to fly all night
Down to see you
I’m going to fly all night
Down to see you
There’s a light
Inside my chest
That switched on
When we first met
And it will
Not let me rest

Amen
There’s a ring around the moon
I’m gonna fly all night
Down to see you
I’m gonna fly all night
Down to see you
And the silvery moon so fine
And the air
Tastes like wine
And the road
Slips and slides

Amen
There’s a ring around the moon
I’m going to fly all night
Down to see you
I’m going to fly all night
Down to see you
There’s a road
Slipping through the mountains
I’m gonna fly
'Til I am there
I’ll put a kiss
Behind your ear

Amen
There’s a ring around the moon
I’m gonna fly all night
Down to see you
I’m gonna fly all night
Down to see you
There’s a road
Drifting through the mountains
I’m gonna fly down that road
Until I get go where I’m going

Mad Tom of Bedlam

To see Mad Tom of Bedlam
Ten thousand miles I've travelled
Mad Maudlin goes on dirty toes
To save her shoes from gravel

It's well that we sing bonney boys
Bonney mad boys
Bedlam boys are bonney
For they all go bare, and they live in the air
And they want no drink nor money

I went down to Satan's kitchen
For to break my fast one morning
And there I got souls popping hot
All on the spits a-turnin'

It's well that we sing bonney boys
Bonney mad boys
Bedlam boys are bonney
For they all go bare, and they live in the air
And they want no drink nor money

They' spirits got hot as lightning
Did on that journey guide me
The sun did shake and the pale moon quake
Wherever they did spy me

Yet it's well that we sing bonney boys
Bonney mad boys
Bedlam boys are bonney
For they all go bare, and they live in the air
And they want no drink nor money

My staff has murdered giants
And my pack a long knife carries
For to slice mince pies from children's thighs
From which to feed the faeries

It's well that we sing bonney boys
Bonney mad boys
Bedlam boys are bonney
For they all go bare, and they live in the air
And they want no drink nor money

Tonight I'll go a murderin'
The man in the moon to a powder
His dog I'll shake and his staff I'll break
And I'll howl a wee bit louder

It's well that we sing bonney boys
Bonney mad boys
Bedlam boys are bonney
For they all go bare, and they live in the air
And they want no drink nor money

To see Mad Tom of Bedlam
Ten thousand miles I've travelled
Mad Maudlin goes on dirty toes
To save her shoes from gravel

It's well that we sing bonney boys
Bonney mad boys
Bedlam boys are bonney
For they all go bare, and they live in the air
And they want no drink nor money

Poor girl’s blues

Oh maybe I’m a poor girl
But it doesn’t bother me at all
Maybe I’m a poor girl
But it doesn’t bother me at all
When this world comes crashing down
I know that I’ll be standing tall

I used to be an angel
Now I’m just like everybody else
I used to be an angel
Now I’m just like everybody else
I left my wings in the gutter
And my halo is lost
Dusty on a shelf

I know a rambling girl
She’s driving me crazy and wild
I know a rambling girl
She’s driving me crazy and wild
Wild wild wild
I’d have Austin as my footstool
And the world as my throne
If only she were by my side again

I got a couple of foodstamps
And a caffeine buzz
I got a couple of foodstamps
And a caffeine buzz
So I’d be set for right now, darling
If I only knew
Just where she was

I’d tell her to hold tight honey
Don’t you lose your spirit to the wind
I’d tell her to hold tight honey
Don’t you lose your spirit to the wind
I know you and I know you’ll be a long time rambling
Before you see your rest again

Oh maybe I’m a poor girl
But I don’t worry about it none
Maybe I’m a poor girl
But I don’t worry about it none
When this world comes crashing down
I know that I’ll be standing in the sun
I’ll be standing in the sun

I’m pre-meditating crime of a personal kind
I’m about to go out of my mind
I’m just about sick to death of taking breath
And walking this line of mine
Now, folks that know what’s good for them
Are good at ignoring them
But I just can’t put these thoughts down
I’m harrowed and abused
And broken and pursued
By this notion that follows me around

My heart is hurting
My spirit’s burdened
I feel like a liar and a thief
For taking air
For being here
Unwanted
I look for my final release

Goodbye, goodbye, California
Goodbye and I’ll be moving on
I sang you my songs
I know i’m wrong
Fare thee well
And I’ll be moving on

When I’m dead and gone
My immortal home
Will hold me in its bosom
Safe and cold
No more desires
Will light their fires
Or disturb my immaculate calm
And the birds of the air
And the beasts of the soil
And the fishes of the desperate seas
Will know who I am
And our substance will expand
As part of everything

As part of everything, my God
As part of everything
And the clouds will roll
And the wind will blow
And the beautiful birds will sing

Goodbye, goodbye, California
Goodbye to your waving trees
To you succulent wind
And all my friends
Fare thee well
Goodbye
So be it
Amen
Amen

Oh do you
Have to go crazy
Is that
The best thing that you can think
To do
I know I’m lost without a place
To go crazy

What did you do when I called
Did you hear me at all
It’s a long night that seems to have no end
There’s big stars falling and twinkling
As they fall

I know I’m lost without a place
To go crazy
I know there’s a sunrise on the other side
To pull me through

What did you do when I called
Did you hear me at all
You motherfucker
I wanted you

Darlin Ukulele
That I've been dreaming of
Darlin Ukulele
That I love

When I'm in San Francisco
I'm dreaming all the time
Deep in the park
Where the constellations shine

Darlin Ukulele
That I been dreaming of
Darlin Ukulele
That I love

Dreaming by the ocean
Walking by the sea
Talking to a starfish
And the mermaids sing to me

Damn shame

I hid out on the front porch
I laid up in my mind
I looked for me a love
The best one I could find
He got himself a ticket
On an international flight

Oh it’s nothing
But a goddamn shame
Is what it is
Oh it’s nothing
But a goddamn shame

The smell of burnt exhaust
Drifts into the bar
It’s midnight in California
It’s high noon where you are
Motorcycles and booze
Dirty old perfume

Oh it’s nothing
But a goddamn shame
Is what it is
Oh it’s nothing
But a goddamn shame

I tried to go to sleep
In my haunted little room
The shadows are churning
In the passage of the moon
It’d break my heart to tell you
I couldn’t come so soon

Oh it’s nothing
But a goddamn shame
Is what it is
Oh, it’s nothing
But a goddamn shame

Tell me one more time
Why you went away
It makes a little sense
In the light of day
When evening comes around
All my senses fly away

It’s nothing
But a goddamn shame
Is what it is
Oh it’s nothing
But a goddamn shame

Lil missy

Hey little Missy
Don’t think we won’t miss you
When you go out on the road
When you go out on the road
I know half of the story
Has never been told

Well, I heard you’re going up in California
Oh don’t you think we won’t be praying for you
Oh don’t you think we won’t be praying for you
Oh we can’t do nothing but adore you

Hey little Missy
Don’t think we won’t miss you
When you go out on the road
When you go out on the road
I know half of the story
Has never been told

*** Thanx a lot to Hannah for this one ***

Faded Coat of Blue

My brave lad sleeps in his faded coat of blue
In a lonely silent grave lies the heart that beat so true
He sank faint and hungry among the famish'd brave
And they laid him sad and lonely within his nameless grave

He cried, ";Give me water and just a little crumb
And my mother she will bless you in all the years to come
Oh! tell my sweet sister, so gentle, good and true
That I'll meet her up in heaven, in my faded coat of blue."

No more the bugle calls the weary one
Rest, noble spirit in thy grave unknown
I'll find you and know you among the good and true
When a robe of white is giving for the faded coat of blue

Long, long years have vanished, and though he comes no more
Yet my heart will startling beat with each footfall at my door
I gaze over the hill where he waved a last adieu
But no gallant lad I see, in his faded coat of blue

No more the bugle calls the weary one
Rest, noble spirit in thy grave unknown
I'll find you and know you among the good and true
When a robe of white is giving for the faded coat of blue

Crush in the Ghetto

I'm floating with the birds
I'm talking to the weeds
Look what you've done to me

I'm still dressed up from the night before
Silken hose and an old Parisian coat
And I feel like a queen at the bus stop on the street
Look what you've done to me

It's a beautiful morning in the ghetto
Finer than the day before
The ants are crawling over my pants as if to say
They know where the honey is

There's really old roses blooming in the ghetto
Birds of paradise are taller than me
The weeds grow high, the birds flicker by
Children are walking to school

In the midst of all of this profusion
The bus pulls up to take me back home
The bus driver looks like an African prince
The babies have tears in their eyes

And I feel like a queen
On this sunny city bus
Look what you've done to me

Mehitabel's Blues

Feeling my blues
I tear myself away
He will never have to hear
What I had to say
My little words
Are lost in the wind
With no where to go
And I am just like them

There's a voice in the alley
In the cold bare arms of a tree
When the moon sails high, a ghost ship
In a dark and lonely sea
Mockingbird, your song burns right through me

Like that little mockingbird
High up in the pine
All I do is worry, all I do is cry
We're lost in the shadows of a beautiful spring
Empty-handed lovers, all we do is sing

*** Thanx a lot to Emily for this one ****

Springtime can Kill You

Go down the backroads
Don't take it too slow
You don't have the time for a long flirtation
You don't have the time for the least hesitation

Roses all are blooming
Lilacs all aglow
Honeysuckle vine shine shine
Oh get out, get out of your house

Springtime, springtime can kill you
Just like it did poor me
Don't you see we're all hurt the same way
So get out, get out of your house

High on the moonshine bodies entwine
Don't you see it's better this way
Don't you see it's better this way

You can't be too shy
You know the reason why
If you don't go get what you need
Something's going to break on the inside

Springtime, springtime can kill you
Just like it did poor me
Don't you see we're all hurt the same way
So get out, get out of your house

*** Thanx a lot to Emily for this one ****

Crazy Dreams

Crazy dreams been calling me
Steam Whistle, state line
Wind did howl

Crazy dreams been calling me
Got caught in the thistle
Someone stumped on my pride
But I won't throw in the towel
I can't throw in the towel

Crazy dreams been calling me
Got my wooden pistol
I got my lucky dime
And I was bown a night owl

*** Thanx a lot to Emily for this one ****

You're Not Satisfied

No you're not satisfied with me
Still you call me your dearie
Oh you had your way but someday you'll pay
For the heartaches you brought to me

Oh we'll say goodbye forever
And I'll be a rolling stone
Oh sweetheart you know that I love you so
Though you're not satisfied with me

*** Thanx a lot to Emily for this one ****

Stubborn Beast

My sullen songs have taken me
Far down this darkened road
I have seen the campfires burning
I have heard the drunkards howl

I'm silent in my solitude
I'm quiet as a theif
I have stolen all these hours
I have gotten no relief

My crazy dreams and tragedies have taken me for a ride
But I can see strange glory on the other side
Oh this has been my misery and the source of my pride
But all along I'm thinking I've been taken for a ride

Why don't you take me when I'm willing
Why don't you take me when I'm willing

But like a stubborn beast when the barn is on fire
I might resist you when you try to save my life
I might resist you when you try to save my life
When the flames rise around us and I can't see the door
This is still my home and it has never burned before
This is where I've taken my solace and my peace
The walls are caving in but I am still a stubborn beast

Why don't you take me when I'm willing
Why don't you take me when I'm willing

*** Thanx a lot to Emily for this one ****

Please Don't

The twelfth day of never came faster than ever
For the likes of you and I
I used to adore you but now I implore you
To quietly pass me by

It's unseemly how I hate myself
I don't want anyone to see
Least of all someone like you
Who knows so much about me

Oh please don't tell 'em what you know about me

I can never be beholded to you
Our affairs are our own
Most of all for someone like me
Who is always alone

Oh please don't tell 'em what you know about me

*** Thanx a lot to Emily for this one ****

Moonshiner

Moonshiner, moonshiner
Pass it here one more time
Moonshiner, moonshiner
Pass it here one more time
You've got that good, hard stuff that always gets me high

You can break that ground and plant that field
Hole up in the backyard and work that still
You know we're gonna miss you around here
You've got that good, hard stuff,that always gets me high

Moonshiner, moonshiner
Why don't you come back home?
Now I got to drink this store-bought stuff and go to bed all alone
Moonshiner, moonshiner
Why don't you come back home to me?
By the time you get back, there's no telling where I'll be

I loved you in summertime, when we kissed goodbye
I loved you in the fall and I missed you all the time
I loved you in the winter, when you were far away
And the springtime almost killed me
With hot blood in my viens

Moonshiner, moonshiner
I know you're comin' back again
Moonshiner, moonshiner
Oh it's probably a sin, 'cause I'm down in the alley with my old drunk friend
Yes I'm down in the alley, with my old drunk friend

Ghostly Girl

Ghostly girl
Too light to stand on the ground
Nothing you do is done
All I can tell
You are not real
Girl, what are you doing here
I don't know why I am here myself
No one else seems to know
Nobody likes a spook
Or so I've deduced
But I have loved some ghosts in my time
But that doesn't mean I want them around
I'd rather be lost than found
I thought I would loose my mind
But through your eyes I see
Past the billboards to the trees
And the flowering weeds
Grow throught the cracks of the city
And all these things will go
And all these seeds will grow
And you'll be home in the sky

Nothing left to do but Dream

The sun's too bright
And the mountains are too far
And there's nowhere in town
I can get to in my broken car
I've got nowhere to go but to sleep
I would shut my eyes but I've got promises to keep
I can't go crazy and I can't get sane
And I don't want to leave-I'd just have to come back again
I've got nowhere to go but to sleep...
I remember, I remember something about who we were
I remember, I remember something about who we could be
I've had nothing to do for years but dream
I got reckless
And I broke my baby's rule
And I'm sick and restless
With the wandering blues
Cause most of my friends are gone down the line
And I'm sitting in town on the proceeds of my crimes
I've got nowhere to go but to sleep...
I took my sister to the river and I came back alone
And this sickness that's on me is settling in my bones
And my Daddy is suspicious but I know how he does
He won't find out about it till she's safe down in the mud
With nowhere to go but to sleep
I would follower her down but I've got promises to keep
I remember, I remember something about who we were
I remember, I remember something about who we could be
I've had nothing to do for years but dream

Adieu false heart, since we must part
May the joy of the world go with you
I've loved you long with a faithful heart
But I never anymore will I believe you

I've seen the time I'd have married you
And been your constant lover
But now I'll freely give you up
for one whose heart's more truer.

My mind is like the constant sun
From the east to the west it ranges
Yours is like unto the moon
It's every month a-changing

When I lay down to take my rest
No scornful morn to wake me
I'll go straight ways unto my grave
Just as fast as time can take me

Mexican Blue

You're like a saint's song to me
I'll try to sing it pure and easily
You're like a Mexican blue
So bright and clear and pale in the afternoon
I saw you riding on your bike
In a corduroy jacket in the night
Past the hydrangeas that were blooming in the alley
With a galloping dog by your side
When I was hungry you fed me
I don't mean to suggest that I'm like Jesus Christ
Your light overwhelmed me
When I lay beside you sleepless in the night
And when you dreamed my guardian spirits appeared
And the moon stretched out across your little bed
They said they'd started to get worried about me
They were happy we had finally met
We had finally met

A mysterious bird flies away
Seemed to be calling your name
And bounced off the top of a towering pine
And vanished in the drizzling rain
There's a mockingbird behind my house
Who is a magician of the highest degree
And I swear I heard him rip the world apart
And sew it back again with his fiery melody, melody

When you were mad at me I didn't care
And I just loved you all the same
And I waited for the wind to push the hurricane
Out to sea, and the sun could shine again
Oh I don't mean to give you advice
Its just like Delia said, "oh, Jesus Christ"
Just don't get so hight you leave the ground
Everything is so much better when you're around
Just don't float so hight you drift away
Stand tall, with your feet on the ground
I love your songs, I love your sound
Everything is so much better when you're around

When the moon is as clear as an opal
And the amethyst river sings a song
I'll remember all your dreams and the mysteries
You have borne in your crystalline soul
That you sing from your golden throat
That you shine from your sparkling eyes
That you feel from the goddess in your thighs

You're like a saint's song to me
I'll try to sing it pure and easily
You're like a Mexican blue
So bright and clear and pale in the afternoon
In the afternoon

Mexico city

Jack and Edie lying across my bed
Flying high like the spirits of the dead
The living and the dead
The living and the dead

Our Lady of Sorrows and the long dark night
How many candles could I light
For the living and the dead
The living and the dead

What's that black smoke rising Jack
Is the world on fire
What's that distant singing
Is it a heavenly choir
The living and the dead
The living and the dead

I think about you Jack, watching the tv
And drinking booze
Shame on you, shame on me
But how can we help it
There was no where else to go
I sent Julie and Billy out on that long hard road
on that long hard road
on that long hard road

I'm just back from Mexico city
I came back north to Texas
To rest my weary head
My true love is fresh from the battle field

Sewing up the dying and carting off the dead
My baby don't stand for no fighting
Amongst the living and the dead

What's that black smoke rising Jack
Is the world on fire
What's that distant singing
Is it a heavenly choir

The living and the dead
The living and the dead
The living and the dead
The living and the dead
The living and the dead
The living and the dead

Corrido Por Buddy

Oh, listen my dear friends
And I'll tell you a story about someone
I barely knew at all
He was a friend of my friends
And they told me about him
And how he had nothing to break his fall
He had that bad religion in his blood
The kind that brings you down
And can never lift you up

He was a beautiful young man on the streets of Austin
He was a ghost-faced junkie on the streets of New Orleans
I could barely recognize him when I saw him
He had to look me in the face and say my name
Before I knew it was him
Oh Buddy, I wish I'd been a better friend

What if they only gave you love when you lied
It's bound to really rip you up inside
Pressures a person into that horrible mouth
That leaves a bloody aftermath
Everything minus one is everything

He treated me with what I considered kindness
When I crawled off to sleep in my car he was worried about me
When we payed our respects to the moon on the outskirts of Austin
I'm sorry to say I was too shy to stay in touch with him

Oh Buddy, I wish I'd been a better friend

And I wonder what it takes just to save one little life
Icarus almost made it back to the shore
When I was really down there were three little words
From a couple of good people that kept me holding on

Oh, Buddy. I'll never get a chance again
Oh Buddy, I wish I'd been a better friend
Oh, Buddy. I'll never get a chance again
Oh Buddy, I wish I'd been a better friend

Palmyra

Only a few old petals left
On the rose that touched your hand
My little heart is a graveyard
It’s a no mans land

You could tell I didn't care
You kept pushing until I did
Woke up in a pit of despair on your bed
And I wondered how I could do without you
How absurd, how absurd
How absurd

Put my lipstick back on
Look myself in the eye
I'm heading out in the cold hard world
And I’m getting very good at saying my goodbyes
My goodbyes, my goodbyes, my goodbyes

Can you read the inscription
It seems to once have said
"He better take me with him, when he goes I’m good as dead"

Put some roses on the stones
Look your friends in the eye
If nothing else we've got that old second line
And I’ll dance at your funeral if you dance at mine
You dance at mine, you dance at mine
You dance at mine, you dance at mine

They took it all and I don't care
Already said my farewell
Sweet Palmyra and that old Ninth Ward
Have to hit that long road that passes straight through hell
Straight through hell, straight through hell

I wish you well
Sweet Palmyra
I wish you well
Sweet Palmyra
I wish you well
Sweet Palmyra

You paint the floor back up in the corner
And when the floor is shiny and wet
You have no choice but to rise over
The painted trap that you have set

So place your foot up on the air
And climb upon that invisible stair
And when you rise into the wind
Remember that's exactly the place

You painted yourself in
You have no choice except but to fly
So fly on invisible wings
Until you reach your secret home
And when you lay your weary head down
Dream a dream of the suffering ward

You painted yourself in
You painted yourself in
You have no choice
Except but to fly
So fly on

Invisible light in your lover’s heart
Will show the way through the fire and furnace
And what once up is torn away
And what remains is a beautiful promise
You painted yourself in
You painted yourself in
You have no choice except but to fly

Fox In Its Hole

I live just like a fox in its hole
I live just like a fox in its hole
And they'll never know.

A fox in the city, burrowed under the hive
You bees can buzz around all you want
You'll never know my life
I live just like a fox in its hole
And they'll never know

My teeth are just like razors
And sharp as the night is long
And honey holds no sway for me
I don't need what they got

I live just like a fox in its hole
I live just like a fox in its hole
And they'll never know

My God owns the ocean, the river belongs to him
And when that honey all dries up
Those bees won't know how to swim

And they'll never know
I live just like a fox in its hole
And they'll never know

Your big hands

Your big hands, your big heart and your pretty mouth
Saying all those sweet things to me
It’s plain to see you're as crazy as me
It only seems to set my mind at ease

Oh I’ve got a bird of silver, I’ve got a bird of gold
I've got a bunch of stories I should never told
Oh I’ve got the second best out of ???
You remind me of what I was shooting for

I wanted to let love come in and save me
Oh why you wanna break my heart
I wanted to let love come in and save me
Oh why you wanna break my heart sweet baby

Standing there where you left me
Like a stack of bones all the winds cut right through
Standing there where you left me
???

I wanted to let love come in and save me
Oh why you wanna break my heart
I wanted to let love come in and save me
Oh why you wanna break my heart
I wanted to let love come in and save me

Sweet loving man

Sweet loving man
You got something to prove
That's alright darling
I'm trying too

I'm trying to figure it out
That is the best I can do
Just to keep from flying
Off into the blue

My mind goes wandering
And I keep drifting south
Your velvet tongue
On the roof of my mouth

Your kiss break my heart
And I hope that stays true
My poor heart is shattered
And fixed with crazy glue

Sweet loving man
You got something to prove
That's alright darling
My moneys on you

You gotta figure it out
Let me know when you do
That dark horse you're riding
Has got to carry me too

Love Henry

( Bob Dylan Cover )

"Get down, get down, Love Henry," she cried
"And stay all night with me
I have gold chains, and the finest I have
I'll apply them all to thee"

"I can't get down and I shan't get down
Or stay all night with you
There’s a pretty little girl in Cornersville
I love far better than you."

She layed his head on a pillow of down
And kisses she gave him three
With a penny knife that she held in her hand
She murdered mortal he

"Get well, get well, Love Henry, " she cried
"Get well, get well," said she
"Oh don't you see my own heart's blood
Come flowing down so free?"

She took him by his long yellow hair
And also at her knee
She plunged him into well water, where
It runs both cold and deep

"Lie there, lie there, Love Henry," she cried
"Til the flesh rots off your bones
Some pretty little girl in Cornersville
Will mourn for your return"

"Hush up, hush up, my parrot," she cried
“Don’t tell any tells on me
Or these costly beads around my neck
I'll apply them all to thee

"I won't fly down, I can't fly down
And light on your right knee
A girl who would murder her own true love
Would kill a little bird like me"

"Fly down, fly down, pretty parrot," she cried,
"And light on my right knee
The doors to your cage shall be decked with gold
And hung on a willow tree"

"I won't fly down and I can't fly down
And light on your right knee
A girl who would murder her own true love
Would kill a little bird like me"

The Future

Everything around here makes me sad
Everything is part of the dreams that we had
That will never be the way
We wanted them to be
When we dreamed these dreams that we had
We wanted them to be the future
That is now is not how we dreamed of the future
With an abstinent love
That would ride into the future

With my arms around you tight
My love in your heart
My lust, on your shoulders
Like beautiful red barrettes
Flashing gallant as a Stallone on parade
Through the city

Of the beautiful dream
A bohemian love song
That would only sound more gallant
As the years would perfect it
But I can see in my heart
Which is beating in the present here and now
I can see that this is only a dream

Come on and wake up with me
Hey come on and wake up with me
Hey come on and wake up with me

Everything around here is so beautiful
Everything is part of the dreams we will paint
That will never look the way
We thought that they would look

When we began to step into the future
From the place that we are standing
It don't look too good right now
But I know you're a wonderful painter

You're a master with your colors
And as mine get fainter in your pallet
There will always be an afterglow
Of our beautiful dream
That will never be the way
We dreamed it to be, but hey

Come on and wake up with me
Hey come on and wake up with me
Hey come on and wake up with me

From our beautiful dream

( Traditional )

Enjoy yourself it's later than you think
Enjoy yourself it's later than you think
Enjoy yourself it's later than you think
Enjoy yourself it's later than you think
Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself
It's later than you think...