Natalie Merchant Lyrics, Photos, Pictures, Paroles, Letras, Text for every songs

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

First rising to fame at the helm of the popular folk-rock band 10,000 Maniacs, Natalie Merchant subsequently enjoyed even greater success as a solo performer as her plaintive vocals and literate, socially conscious songs established her among the preeminent female performers in contemporary pop. Born October 26, 1963 in Jamestown, NY, Merchant joined 10,000 Maniacs at the age of 17, quickly becoming the band's driving artistic force; after a pair of successful independent releases, they signed to Elektra in 1985, and in the years to follow emerged among the most popular acts in alternative rock, shooting into the Top 40 with 1987's superb In My Tribe. However, around the time of recording 1992's Our Time in Eden, Merchant gave her bandmates two years notice, and after the release of 1994's MTV Unplugged publicly announced she was leaving their ranks. Her 1995 solo debut, Tigerlily, debuted just shy of the Top Ten, scoring a hit with the single "Carnival; " it was followed in 1998 by Ophelia. Live in Concert, recorded at New York's Neil Simon Theatre, appeared a year later. A prominent social activist, Merchant also regularly campaigned in the name of such hot-button issues as animal rights, domestic violence, and homelessness.

Go west
Paradise is there
You'll have all that you can eat
Of milk & honey over there

You'll be the brightest star
The world has ever seen
Sun-baked slender heroine
Of film & magazine

Go west
Paradise is there
You'll have all that you can eat
Of milk & honey over there

You'll be the brightest light
The world has ever seen
The dizzy height of a jet-set life
You could never dream

Your pale blue eyes
Strawberry hair
Lips so sweet
Skin so fair

Your future bright
Beyond compare
It's rags to riches
Over there

San andreas fault
Moved its fingers
Through the ground
Earth divided
Plates collided
Such an awful sound

San andreas fault
Moved its fingers
Through the ground
Terra cotta shattered
And the walls came
Tumbling down

O, promised land
O, wicked ground
Build a dream
Tear it down

O, promised land
What a wicked ground
Build a dream
Watch it all fall down

Wonder

Doctors have come
From distant cities
Just to see me
Stand over my bed
Disbelieving what they're seeing

They say I must be one of the wonders
Of god's own creation
And as far as they can see they can offer
No explanation

Newspapers ask
Intimate questions
Want confessions
They reach into my head
To steal the glory
Of my story

They say I must be one of the wonders
Of god's own creation
And as far as they can see they can offer
No explanation

I believe
Fate smiled and destiny
Laughed as she came to my cradle
"Know this child will be able"

Laughed as my body she lifted
"Know this child will be gifted
With love, with patience
And with faith
She'll make her way"

People see me
I'm a challenge
To your balance
I'm over your heads
How I confound you
And astound you
To know I must be one of the wonders
Of god's own creation
And as far as you can see you can offer me
No explanation

I believe
Fate smiled and destiny
Laughed as she came to my cradle
"Know this child will be able"
Laughed as she came to my mother
"Know this child will not suffer"
Laughed as my body she lifted
"Know this child will be gifted
With love, with patience
And with faith
She'll make her way"

Beloved Wife

You were the love
For certain of my life
You were simply my beloved wife
I don't know for certain
How I'll live my life
Now alone without my beloved wife
My beloved wife

You were the love
For certain of my life
For 50 years simply my beloved wife
With another love I'll never lye again
It's you I can't deny
It''s you I can't defy
A depth so deep
Into my grief
Without my beloved soul
I renounce my life
As my right
Now alone without my beloved wife
My beloved wife

My beloved wife
My love is gone she suffered long
In hours of pain
My love is gone
Now my suffering begins
My love is gone
Would it be wrong if I should
Surrender all the joy in my life
Go with her tonight?

My love is gone she suffered long
In hours of pain
My love is gone
Would it be wrong if I should
Just turn my face away from the light
Go with her tonight?

River

Young and strong Hollywood son
In the early morning light
This star fell down
On Sunset Boulevard

Let the youth of America mourn
Include him in their prayers
Let his image linger on
Repeat it everywhere

Why don't you let him be?
He's gone
We know
Give his mother and his father peace
Your vulture's candor
Your casual slander
You murder his memory
He's gone
We know
It's nothing but a tragedy

Lay to rest your soul and body
Lay beside your name
Lay to rest your rage
Your hunger and amazing grace

I saw cameras expose your life
I heard rumors explode with lies
I saw children in tears
Cry and crowd around the sight
Of where you had collapsed that day
Where your last breath and word
Had been sighed
Where your heart had burst
Where you had died

I saw how they were lost in grieving
All half believing you were gone
The loss and pain of it
Crime and shame of it
You were gone
It was such a nightmare raving,
"How could we save him from himself?"

Carnival

I've walked these streets
A virtual stage
It seemed to me
Make up on their faces
Actors took their
Places next to me

I've walked these streets
In a carnival
Of sights to see
All the cheap thrill seekers
The vendors and the dealers
They crowded around me

Have I been blind
Have I been lost
Inside my self and
My own mind
Hypnotized
Mesmerized
By what my eyes have seen?

I've walked these streets
In a spectacle of wealth and poverty
In the diamond markets
The scarlet welcome carpet
That they just rolled out for me

I've walked these streets
In the mad house asylum
They can be
Where a wild eyed misfit prophet
On a traffic island stopped
And he raved of saving me

Have I been blind
Have I been lost
Inside my self and
My own mind
Hypnotized
Mesmerized
By what my eyes have seen?

Have I been wrong
Have I been wise
To shut my eyes
And play along
Hypnotized
Paralyzed
By what my eyes have found
By what my eyes have seen
What they have seen?

Have I been blind
Have I been lost
Inside my self and
My own mind
Hypnotized
Mesmerized
By what my eyes have found
In that great street carnival
In that carnival?

I May Know The Word

I may know the word
But not say it
I may know the truth
But not face it
I may hear a sound
A whisper sacred and profound
But turn my head
Indifferent

I may know the word
But not say it
I may love the fruit
But not taste it
I may know the way
To comfort and to soothe
A worried face
But fold my hands
Indifferent

If I'm on my knees
I'm begging now
If I'm on my knees
Groping in the dark
I'd be paying for deliverance
From the night into day

I may know the word
But not say it
This may be the time
But I might waste it
This may be the hour
Something move me
Someone prove me wrong
Before the night comes
With indifference

If I'm on my knees
I'm begging now
If I'm on my knees
Groping in the dark
I'd be praying for deliverance
From the night into the day

I recognize the walls inside me
I recognize them all
I've paced between them
Chasing demons down
Until they fall
In fitful sleep
Enough to keep their strength
Enough to crawl
Into my head
With tangled threads
They riddle me to solve

If I ever write this letter
The pages I could write
But I don't know where to send it
You have vanished
Heaven knows where you live
Heaven only knows

If I ever write this letter
Bitter words it would contain
Just and unrequited lover
Wishing she had never
Spoken your name
Had never known your name

But if I ever write this letter
The truth it would reveal
Knowing you brought me pleasure
How I'll often treasure
Moments that we knew
The precious, the few

Cowboy Romance

It's a Saturday afternoon romance
Between a cowboy and a fool
A drunken meet up
In a crude saloon
A poor Rocky Mountain town
He's a scoundrel and
She's no pearl
Together they are two lovers cruel

As he grows sober
Sees his love anew
In morning light so true
He gets on the move
On the move

Jealousy

Does she talk
The way I do
Is her voice reminding you
Of the promises
The little white lies too
Sometimes, tell me
While she's touching you
Just by mistake
Accidentally do you say my name?

Where I Go

Well I go to the river
To soothe my mind
Ponder over
The crazy days of my life
Just sit and watch the river flow

Find a place
On the riverbank
Where the green rushes grow
See the wind
In the willow tree
In the branches hanging low

Well I go to the river
To soothe my mind
To ponder over
The crazy days of my life
Watch the river flow
Ease my mind and my soul
Where I go

Well I will go to the river
From time to time
Wander over
These crazy days in my mind
Watch the river flow
Where the willow branches grow
By the cool rolling waters
Moving gracefully and slow

Child it's lovely
Let the river take it all away
The mad pace, the hurry
The troubles, the worries
Just the river take them all away
Flow away

Seven Years

How did I love you?
There was no measuring
Far above this dirty world
Far above everything
In your tower over it
You were clean

So warm and insightful
Were you in my eyes
I was sure the rightful
Guardian of my life
Damn you betrayer
How you lied

I've got my sight now
I see everything you hid
So don't you try to right now
All the wrong you did
I might forget you
But never forgive

For seven years
You were so revered
I made offerings of
Anything and everything I had

Ophelia

Ophelia

Ophelia was a bride of god
A novice Carmelite
In sister cells the cloister bells
Tolled on her wedding night

Ophelia was a rebel girl
A blue stocking suffragette
Who remedied society
Between her cigarettes

Ophelia was a sweetheart
To the nation overnight
Curvaceous thighs
Vivacious eyes
Love was at first sight...

Ophelia was a demigoddess
In pre-war Babylon
So statuesque a silhouette
In black satin evening gowns

Ophelia was the mistress to a
Vegas gambling man
Signora Ophelia Maraschina
Mafia courtesan

Ophelia was a circus queen
The female cannonball
Projected through five flaming hoops
To wild and shocked applause...

Ophelia was a cyclone, tempest
A god damned hurricane
Your common sense
Your best defense
Lay wasted and in vain

Ophelia'd know your every woe
And pain you'd ever had
She'd sympathize
And dry your eyes
And help you to forget...

Ophelia's mind went wandering
You'd wonder where she'd gone
Through secret doors
Down corridors
She'd wander them alone
All alone...

fade to different spoken languages

Life is Sweet

It's a pity
It's a crying shame
Who pulled you down again?
How painful it must be
To bruise so easily inside

It's a pity
It's a downright crime
But it happens all the time
You wanna stay little daddy's girl
Wanna hide from the vicious world outside

But don't cry
Know the tears'll do no good
So dry your eyes

Your daddy he's the iron man
A battleship wrecked on dry land
Your mama she's a bitter bride
She'll never be satisfied,
And you know
That's not right

But don't cry
Know the tears'll do no good
So dry your eyes

They told you life is hard
It's misery from the start
It's dull and slow and painful

I tell you life is sweet
In spite of the misery
There's so much more
Be grateful

Who do you believe?
Who will you listen to
Who will it be?
It's high time that you decide
In your own mind

Tried to comfort you
Tried to tell you to be patient
They are blind
They can't see

Fortune gonna come some day
All gonna fade away
Your daddy the war machine and
Your mama the long and suffering
Prisoner of what she cannot see

They told you life is hard
It's misery from the start
It's dull and slow and painful

I tell you life is sweet
In spite of the misery
There's so much more
Be grateful

Who do you believe?
Who will you listen to
Who will it be?

It's high time you decide
It's time you make up your own sweet little mind

They told you life is long
Be thankful when it's done
Don't ask for more
You should be grateful

But i tell you life is short
Be thankful because before you know
It will be over

Cause life is sweet
And life is also very short
Your life is sweet

Kind and Generous

You've been so kind and generous
I don't know how you keep on giving
For your kindness i'm in debt to you
For your selflessness, my admiration
And for everything you've done

You know i'm bound...
I'm bound to thank you for it

You've been so kind and generous
I don't know how you keep on giving
For your kindness i'm in debt to you
And i never could have come this far without you
So for everything you've done

You know i'm bound...
I'm bound to thank you for it

I want to thank you
For so many gifts
You gave with love and tenderness
I want to thank you

I want to thank you
For your generosity
The love and the honesty
That you gave me

I want to thank you
Show my gratitude
My love and my respect for you
I want to thank you

I want to...

Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you

Frozen Charlotte

Blue like the winter snow in this full moon
Black like the silhouettes of the trees
Late blooming flowers lye frozen underneath the stars
I want you to remember me that way

Far away
I''ll be gone
Will you wait for me here?
How long?
I don't know
But wait for me here

Still as the river grows in december
Silent and perfect blinding ice
Spring keeps her promises
No cold can keep her back
I want you to remember me that way

Far away
I'll be gone
Will you wait for me here?
How long?
I don't know
But wait for me here
Follow
Don't follow me to where i'll go

Far away
I'll be gone
Will you wait for me here?
How long?
I don't know
But wait for me here
Follow
Don't follow me to where i've gone
Someday you'll take my place
And i'll wait for you herea

My Skin

Take a look at my body
Look at my hands
There's so much here that I don't understand
Your face-saving promises
Whispered like prayers
I don't need them

Because I've been treated so wrong
I've been treated so long
As if I'm becoming untouchable
Well, contempt loves the silence
It thrives in the dark
With fine winding tendrils
That strangle the heart
They say that promises sweeten the blow
But I don't need them, no
I don't need them

I've been treated so wrong
I've been treated so long
As if I'm becoming untouchable
I'm the slow dying flower
In the frost killing hour
Sweet turning sour and untouchable

Oh, I need the darkness
The sweetness
The sadness
The weakness
Oh, I need this
I need a lullaby
A kiss goodnight
Angel sweet love of my life
Oh, I need this

I'm the slow dying flower
In the frost killing hour
Sweet turning sour and untouchable
Do you remember the way that you touched me before
All the trembling sweetness I loved and adored
Your face-saving promises whispered like prayers
I don't need them

I need the darkness
The sweetness
The sadness
The weakness
Oh, I need this
I need a lullaby
A kiss good night
Angel sweet love of my life
Oh, I need this

Well is it dark enough
Can you see me
Do you want me
Can you reach me
Or I'm leaving

You better shut your mouth
And hold your breath
And kiss me now
And catch your death
Oh, I mean this
Oh, I mean this

*** Thanx a lot to Charlotte who corrected me for this one ***

Break Your Heart

Oh, people downcast in despair
See the disillusion everywhere
Hoping that their luck will change
It's a little harder every day

People struggle, people fight
For the simple pleasures in their lives
The trouble comes from everywhere
It's a little more than you can bear

I know it will be hurt
I know it will break your heart the way things are
And the way they've been
And the way they've always been

People shallow self absorbed
See the push and shove for their rewards
With nothing nice on their minds
You can read about it in their eyes

People ruthless, people cruel
The damage that some people do
Full of hatred, full of pride
It's enough to make you lose your mind

I know that it will hurt
I know that it will break your heart the way things are
And the way they've been
Yeah I know that it will hurt
I know it will hurt
I know that it will break your heart
The way things are and the way they've been
Don't spread discontent, don't spread the lies
Don't make the same mistakes with your own life
You know it will always came back

Yeah, I know that it will hurt
I know that it will hurt
I know that it will break your heart
The way things are and the way they've been
Don't spread discontent, don't spread the lies
Don't make the same mistakes with your own life
And don't disrespect yourself, don't lose your pride
And don't think everybody is gonna chose your side
Oh no... Oh no... no..

King of May

Farewell today
Travel on now
Be on your way

Go safely there
And never worry, never care
Beyond this day

Farewell tonight
To all joy and to all the life
Go on, go peacefully
We can't keep your majesty
Be on your way

Make may for the last king of May
And make a cardboard crown for him
And make your voices one
Praise the crazy mother's son, who loved his life

Farewell today
Travel on now
Be on your way
Can't bear the very thought that we
That we could keep your majesty
Be on your way

Make way for the last king of May
And make a hole in the cloud for him
Raise your voices up
Drink your loving cup
To his long life
To his long life
Make way for the last king of May
Make a hole in the sky for him
And raise your voices up
Lift your loving cup
To his long life
His long life

And raise your voices up
Lift you loving cup
To his long life
To his long life
His long life
His long life

Thick as Thieves

Remember how it all began
The apple and the fall of man
The price we paid
So the people say
Down a path of shame it led us
Dared to bite the hand that fed us
The fairy tale
The moral end
The wheel of fortune
Never turns again

The worst of it has come and gone
In the chaos of millennium
In the falling out of the doomsday crowd
Their last retreat is moving slow
They burn their bridges as they go
The heretic is beatified
He'll teach the harlot's child to smile

Wracked again by indecision
Should we make that small incision
Testify to the bleeding heart inside?
We cut, we scratched
We rent, we slashed
And when he opened up at last
Found a cul-de-sac
Deep and black
Of smoke and ash

The wicked king of parody
Is kissing all his enemies
On the seventh day
Of the seventh week
The tyrant's voice is softer now
But just for one forgiving hour
Before the rise of his
Iron fist again

I've come tonight
I've come to know
The way we are
The way we'll go
Come to measure this
The width of the wide abyss

I come to you in restless sleep
Where all your dreams turn bittersweet
With voodoo doll philosophies
And day-glow holy trinities

The crooked raft that leaves the shore
Ferries drunken souls aboard
Pilgrims march to compestela
Visions of their saint in yellow

All follow deep in trance
Lost in a catatonic dance
Know no future
Damn the past
Blind, warm, ecstatic
Safe at last...

*** Thanx a lot to Mia & TheGoodbyeGirl who corrected a mistake ***

Effigy

I'm an effigy
A parody of
Who I appear to be
Put your flaming torches under me

I'm an effigy
A parody of
Who I appear to be
Put your flaming torches under me

I'm an effigy
A parody of
Who I appear to be
Put your flaming torches under me

Endless so far in myself, follow me

fade to Tibetan singer, Yungchen Lhamo

The Living

What's it like there outside
With the living, with the living
Here I've found a place I can hide
From the living, from the living
Because I don't care to stay with the living

Oh, the bottle has been to me
My closest friend, my worst enemy
For a flavor I walked a fine life
Squandered it all and wasted my time
And I don't stand a chance among the living

For the lovers I've gambled and lost
Count my mistakes whatever the cost
I'll go off, I'll make myself scarce
Oh, come tomorrow
You won't find me here

Because I don't care to stay with the living
I don't think I'll remain with the living

And I don't care to stay with the living
No, I don't care to stay

When They Ring the Golden Bells

There's a land beyond the river
That they call the sweet forever
And we only reach that shore by faith's decree
One by one we'll gain the portals
There to dwell with the immortals
When they ring the golden bells for you and me

Don't you hear the bells now ringing
Don't you hear the angels singing
'Tis the glory hallelujah Jubilee
In that far off sweet forever,
Just beyond the shining river
When they ring the golden bells for you and me

We shall know no sin or sorrow
In that heaven of tomorrow
When our hearts shall sail beyond the silvery sea
We shall only know the blessing
Of our Father's sweet caressing
When they ring the golden bells for you and me

Don't you hear the bells now ringing
Don't you hear the angels singing
'Tis the glory hallelujah Jubilee
In that far off sweet forever
Just beyond the shining river
When they ring the golden bells for you and me

When our days shall know their number
When in death we sweetly slumber
When the King commands the spirit to be free
Nevermore with anguish laden
We shall reach that lovely Eden
When they ring the golden bells for you and me
When they ring the golden bells for you and me

This house is on fire!

Kick off your boots, come sit a spell.
Listen to me worry, come and listen well.

All you better best come and lean in boys
I don't dare raise my voice

I've been sitting here for the longest time
Reading all the warning and the danger signs
I don't have the gift of the prophecy
Telling everybody how it's going to be

Soon come, soon come the day
This tinderbox is gonna blow in your face.
Your face, your face
I don't have the gift of the prophesy
Telling everybody how it's going to be.
You go passing wrong for right and right for wrong
People only stand for that for just so long.

It's all gonna catch like a house on fire
Spark an evil blaze and burn higher

Well, I don't have the gift of the prophesy
Telling everybody how it's going to be
You go passing wrong for right and right for wrong
People only stand for that for just so long

I don't have the gift of the prophesy
Telling everybody how it's going to be.
There's a wild fire catching in the whip of the wind
That could start a conflagration like there has never been

Where in the hell can you go
Far from the things that you know
Far from the sprawl of concrete that keeps crawling its way
About 1,000 miles a day

Take one last look behind
Commit this to memory and mind
Don't miss this wasteland, this terrible place
When you leave
Keep your heart off your sleeve.

Motherland cradle me
Close my eyes, lullaby me to sleep
Keep me safe, lie with me
Stay beside me don't go
Don't you go

Oh, my five & dime queen
Tell me what have you seen
The lust and the avarice
The bottomless, cavernous greed
Is that what you see?

Oh Motherland cradle me
Close my eyes, lullaby me to sleep
Keep me safe, lie with me, stay beside me don't go.

It's your happiness
I want most of all
And for that I'd do anything at all
Oh mercy me!
If you want the best of it
Or the most of all
If there's anything I can do at all.

Now come on shot gun bride
What makes me envy your life?
Faceless, nameless, innocent, blameless and free
What's that like to be?

Oh Motherland
Cradle me
Close my eyes, lullaby me to sleep
Keep me safe, lie with me
Stay beside me don't go
Don't go, don't go

Motherland
Cradle me
Close my eyes, lullaby me to sleep
Keep me safe, lie with me
Stay beside me don't go
Don't go, don't go

Saint Judas

Saddle up the horses and wear your Sunday best
Sing your Sacred Harp, you be holier than the rest
Fill up the room with a grand and thunderous song
Let it rattle out the windows
Let it spill out on the lawn

Shout, shout your praises to the man who kissed the Lord
To the back stabbing brother that betrayed all of this world, your Judas!

Yeah, though you may walk in the valley in the dark
There's no greater evil than the darkness in your heart
With your stun guns, bloodhounds
Needle and your razor wire
Your nylon shackle whipping post
And your high tech burning tire, your Judas, Judas, Judas.

Whiplash crack across the back, across the arms
Although you bound his feet, he running fast he running hard
Through them crickets in the corn
And them horses in the field
Hear the "caw, caw" of the crows
See the devil at the wheel y'all, Judas, Judas, Judas, Judas...

Go on down to Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas
Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, Florida
Louisiana and Tennessee
Georgia, Carolina, Carolina.

There's no greater evil
Than the darkness in your heart

Put The Law On You

Do I have to put the law on you baby
For all the wicked things you do?
Am I gonna have to put the law on you baby?
That was not what I wanted to do

Do I have to put the law on you baby
To try and make you come out clean for every evil deed?
You're just about the lowest and the dirtiest thing
I've ever seen

Did you really think you could pull it off
The perfect crime, crime of the heart?
Do you really think that you'll get away
Do the crime and never ever pay?

Do I have to put the law out on you baby
Lock you up and throw away the key
For the countless counts of low down double-cross you've been about have you no decency?

Did you really think that you could pull it off
The perfect crime, crime of the heart?
Did you really think that you'll get away
Escape my justice until you're dying day?

Though you made it clear from the very start
There was no trusting you in my foolish heart
Though you maybe made it clear that didn't make it right
???
Do you really really think you'll get away
You can't escape my justice 'til my dying day.

Build A Levee

When I was just a little girl
My mama said to me
"Beware of the devil my child in the dark rocky places he'll keep.
Beware of the devil my child.
Beware of his charming ways.
You'll fall under a spell just looking at his beautiful face.
You gotta build yourself a levee deep inside
You gotta build yourself a levee deep inside."

"Don't go walking by the riverside alone in the pale moonlight
He'll come up upon you girl with no earthly body in sight
Come up on you girl and and he'll whisper something sweet
And take you where the waters rise so high and run so deep."

"You gotta build yourself a levee deep inside
Gotta build yourself a levee deep inside
Build yourself a levee girl when the waters run high."

Now when I was just a little girl my mama said to me
"Beware of the the devil my child but if by chance you should meet
Beware his cold dark eyes full of bold and unholy deceit
He'll tempt you with a whirling pool of lies
And promises he'll deny or that he will never keep."

"You gotta build yourself a levee deep inside
Build yourself a levee deep inside
Build yourself a levee deep inside
Build yourself a levee girl when the waters run high."

Golden Boy

Top of the fold
Toast of the town
Everyone stops when you come around
They hold their breath for you

Heroes are born
Idols are made
We're all fools for this factory fame
And you've got the brand new face
And you've got the brand new face
Golden boy

Beauty untamed
Stupid and wild poster boy you're society's child
Cut your teeth, cut your mouth, cut it out

Meteor rise from obscurity
All it took was a killing spree
And the whole world was lying at your feet
Golden boy, golden boy

I know my place, stick to my lines
Stay in your shadow, don't block your light
So you can shine divine
So you can shine divine
Golden boy, golden boy, golden boy

The Ballad of Henry Darger

Who'll save the poor little girl?
Henry Darger, Henry Darger
Who'll save the poor little girl?
Henry, Henry
Oh Henry Oh
Henry, Henry

Who'll tell the story of her?
Henry Darger, Henry Darger
Who'll tell it to all the world?
Henry, Henry
Oh Henry Oh
Henry, Henry

Who'll buy the carbon paper now?
Henry Darger, Henry Darger
Who'll trace the lines of her mouth?
Henry, Henry
Oh Henry Oh
Henry, Henry

Who will conquer foreign worlds searching for the stolen girls?
Princesses you'll never fear the patron saint of girls is here!
Who will draw the cavalry in and risk his very own precious skin
To make our Angelina a free and beautiful land again?
Henry

Who'll love a poor orphan child
Henry Darger, Henry Darger
Lost, growing savage and wild?
Henry, Henry
Oh Henry Oh
Henry, Henry..

The Worst Thing

So you're in love, it's so good for you
Live it up girl 'cause it never lasted long

It's heaven for now but not for long
It's gonna hurt you
It's gonna make you feel so bad.

Once I could love, I could trust, I could not doubt
But that was just about the worst thing that I could do
It was just about the worst thing that I could do.

Maybe not now
But it won't take long before it's
Gonna hurt you
Truly do you some harm.

Once I was open, could hope, I had no doubt
But that was the worst thing that I could do
It was just about the worst thing that I could do.
It was just about the worst thing that I could do.

Once I came close to that most elusive fire
Burning with hopeless love and desire but
It was just about the worst thing that I could do
It was just about the worst thing that I could do
It was just about the worst thing that I could do
It was just about the worst thing that I could do

En el pasado estuve ciega como tu
(In the past I was blind as you)
Atrapada y perdida como tu
(Trapped and lost like you)
Embelesada y suspendida en mi jaula de plata
(With no escape, suspended in my silver cage)
Esos recuerdos te acompanaran toda la vida
(These memories will remain with you forever)

Tell Yourself

I know what you tell yourself you tell yourself
I know what you tell yourself you tell yourself
Look in the mirror
Look in the mirror what does it show?

I hear you counting
I know you're adding up the score
I know, oh yes I know
What you tell yourself, you tell yourself.
I know what you tell yourself, you tell yourself.

Ever since Eden
We're built for pleasing everyone knows
Ever since Adam
Cracked his ribs and let us go
I know, oh yes I know
What you tell yourself, you tell yourself.
I know what you tell yourself, you tell yourself.
I know what you tell yourself, you tell yourself.

Who taught you how to lie
So well and to believe
In each and every word you say?

Who told you that nothing about you is alright
It's just no use, it's just no good you'll never be ok?

Well I know, I know that wrong's been done to you
"It's such a tough world,"
That's what you say
And I know, I know it's easier said than done
But that's enough girl
Give it away
Give it, give it all away

Tell yourself that you're not pretty
Look at you, you're beautiful.
Tell yourself that no one sees
Plain Jane invisible to me

Just tell yourself
Tell yourself
Tell yourself you'll never be like the anorexic beauties in the magazines
Like a bargain basement Barbie doll, no belle du jour, no femme fatale
Just tell yourself, tell yourself
Tell yourself there's nothing worse than the pain inside and the way it hurts
But tell yourself it's nothing new cause everybody feels it too
They feel it too
And there's just no getting 'round the fact that you're thirteen right now.

Just Can't Last

Well I know I
Swear I know your face
I wish I knew your name
I wish I could take you by the hand
If I could name it, if I could just explain it
If I could only help you, help you understand

Well I can
I can see that you're hurting
Weighed down like a beast of burden about to break your back
God only knows that you're human
So what are they trying to do then?
Believe me, they don't understand
That you have the weight of the world today
It's on your back
A heavy load like that is gonna hold you back
It's gonna drag you down

You know it just can't last
It just can
You know it just can't last.

Well they thought they could use you
Push you down and abuse you and what's so sad
Is you've decided to hide all your feelings
Got more pain than you can deal with but ask yourself, how can this last?

I know you have the weight of the world today
It's on your back
A heavy load like that is gonna hold you back
It's gonna drag you down

You know it just can't last
It just can
You know it just can't last...

Not In This Life

Oh lately i've been walking all alone
Through the wind and through the rain
Been walking through the streets
Finding sweet relief in knowing that it won't be long

Lately it's occurred to me
That i've had enough of that
And lately i've been satisfied by simple things
Like breathing in and breathing out

Never again, not in this life
Will I be taken twice
Never again, not on your life
Will I make that same mistake
I can't make it twice

Lately it's occurred to me
Exactly what went wrong
I realized I compromised, I sacrificed
Far too much for far too long

Never again, not in this life
Will I be taken twice
Never again, not on your life
Will I make that same mistake
I can't make it twice

Starting out from here today
Swear I'm gonna change my ways
Once mistaken in this life
But never twice

Never again, not in this life
Will I be taken twice
Never again, not on your life
Will I make that same mistake
Never again, not on your life
Will I make that same mistake
Can't make it twice

Starting out from here today...

I'm Not Gonna Beg

I'm not gonna beg you for nothing
I'm not gonna beg you for love.

Straight talk, give me the straight talk
Tell me what's on your mind if it ain't love
I'm not gonna beg you for nothing
I'm not gonna beg you for your love.

Scared now, what are you scared of ?
Afraid I might fall on my knees and break down?
I'm not gonna beg you for nothing.
I'm not gonna beg you for your love.

Don't you think you can take me for pretty little ride
I know "once upon a time" and "ever after" is a lie
I'm not gonna beg you for nothing at all
There's nothing I want from you, nothing you can say or do
There is nothing I want for you to say anyway.

I'm not gonna beg you for nothing
I'm not gonna beg you for your love

A woman of beauty
A woman of pain
In France or Jakarta
Her shadow�s the same
You go home with Sally Ann
You go home with Sally Ann
You go home

A woman of kindness
With bracelets of jade
In China, in Japan
Choices are made
You go home with Sally Ann
You go home with Sally Ann
You go home

A woman of chances
With no family or friends
In Argentina
She knows only men
You go home with Sally Ann
You go home with Sally Ann
You go home

A woman of color
With debts to be paid
In Trenton or Detroit
She lives by the blade
You go home with Sally Ann
You go home with Sally Ann
You go home

Which side are you on ?

Come all you good workers
Good news to you i�ll tell
Of how the good old union
Has come in here to dwell

Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?

My daddy was a miner
He�s now in the air and sun
He�ll be with you fellow workers
Until the battle�s won

Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?

They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there
You�ll either be a union man
Or a thug for J. H. Claire

Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?

Oh workers can you stand it?
Oh tell me how you can
Will you be a lousy scab
Or will you be a man?

Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?

Don�t scab for the bosses
Don�t listen to their lies
Poor folks ain�t got a chance
Unless they organize

Which side are you on boys?
Which side are you on?

Crazy man Michael

Within the fire
And out upon the sea
Crazy man Michael was walking
He met with a raven
With eyes black as coal
And shortly they were talking

�your future, your future
I will tell to you
Your future
You often have asked me
Your true love will die
By your own right hand
And crazy man Michael
Will cursed be�

Michael he ranted
And Michael he raved
And he beat at the four winds
With his fists-o
He laughed and he cried
He shouted and he swore
For his mad mind
Entrapped him with a fist-hold

�you speak with an evil
You speak with a hate
You speak for the devil
That haunts me
For is she not the fairest
In all the broad land?
Your sorcerer�s words
Are to taunt me�

He took out his dagger
Of fine and broad steel
And he struck down the raven
Through the heart-o
The bird fluttered long
And the sky it did spin
And this cold earth did
Wander �round startled

Oh where is the raven
That I struck down dead
And here did lye
On the ground-o?
I see my true love
With a wound so red
Where her lover�s heart
It did pound-o

Crazy man Michael
He wanders I�m told
And he talks through
The night and the day-o
But his eyes they are sane
And his speech is plain
But he longs to be far away-o

Michael he whistles
The simplest of tunes
As he asks of the wild wolves
Their pardon
But his true love has flown
Into every flower grown
And he must be keeper
Of the garden

Diver boy

Young Emily was fair lady bright
She loved her diver boy
Who sailed over the ocean
To gather up some gold
Seven long years returning,
His money for to show
He�d been sailing over the main
Down in the low land, low

�my father runs a big hotel
Down by the river side
You go there go for to stay
And I shall be your bride
Meet me early morning
Don�t let my parents know
You have been the diver boy
Down in the low land, low�

Young Henry taking a drink
That night before he went to bed
Not thinking of the danger
That crowned all over his head
Young Edward said to his father,
�let�s take his money sure
And send his body sinking fast
Down in the low land, low�

Young Emily went to be that night
She dreamed an awful dream
She dreamed she saw
Her true love�s blood
Go flowing down the stream
Waking early morning
To parents she did say,
�where could be that stranger boy
Who came here for to stay?�

�oh, father you�re a robber
You robbed me of my wren!
Oh brother you have murdered
The one that I loved best!
The trees on yonder mountain
Are bending to and fro
They remind me of my diver boy
Down in the low land, low�

Weeping pilgrim

If you see them father
Please tell them
I�m a poor mourning pilgrim
Bound for Canaan land

Well I weep and I moan
And I move slowly on
I�m a poor mourning pilgrim
Bound for Canaan land

If you see them sister
Please tell them
I�m a poor mourning pilgrim
Bound for Canaan land

Well I weep and I moan
And I move slowly on
I�m a poor mourning pilgrim
Bound for Canaan land

If you see them brother
Please tell them
I�m a poor mourning pilgrim
Bound for Canaan land

Well I weep and I moan
And I move slowly on
I�m a poor mourning pilgrim
Bound for Canaan land

If you see them mother
Please tell them
I�m a poor mourning pilgrim
Bound for Canaan land

Well I weep and I moan
And I move slowly on
I�m a poor mourning pilgrim
Bound for Canaan land

Soldier, Soldier

Said, �soldier, now soldier
Would you marry me
Before the fight comes on?�

�how can I marry
Such a pretty little girl
When I got no suit to put on?�

Well she went to the dry goods store
Hard as she could run
She bought the finest
Little suit in the store,
�come on soldier put this on�

Said, �soldier, now soldier
Would you marry me
Before the fight comes on?�

�how can I marry
Such a pretty little girl
When I got no shoes to put on�

Well she went to the dry goods store
Hard as she could run
She bought the finest
Little shoes in the store
�come on soldier put these on�

Said, �soldier, now soldier
Would you marry me
Before the fight comes on?�

�how can I marry
Such a pretty little girl
When I got no hat to put on?�

Well she went to the dry goods store
Hard as she could run
She bought the finest
Little hat in the store
�come on soldier put this on�

Said, �soldier, now soldier
Would you marry me
Before the fight comes on?�

�how can I marry
Such an ugly little girl
When I got a pretty wife at home?�

Bury me under the weeping willow

Well, my heart is sad
And I am lonesome
For the only one I love
When shall we meet?
Oh no never
Till we meet in heaven above

So bury me underneath the willow
Under the weeping willow tree
So that he may know
Where I am sleeping
And perhaps he�ll weep for me

Well, he told me that
He dearly loved me
Oh how could it be untrue?
Until the angels softly whispered,
�he will prove untrue to you�

So bury me underneath the willow
Under the weeping willow tree
So that he may know
Where I am sleeping
And perhaps he�ll weep for me

Well, tomorrow was to be
Our wedding day
But oh my god
Where can he be?
He�s out a courting with another
And no longer cares for me

So bury me underneath the willow
Under the weeping willow tree
So that he may know
Where I am sleeping
And perhaps he�ll weep for me

House Carpenter

"Well met, well met
And I know true love
Well met, well met�, said he
�I�m just returning 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 with me
It�s been three-fourths
Of a long, long year
Since together we have been�

�no I can�t come in
And I can�t sit down
For I have but a moment�s time
They say that you�re married
To a house carpenter
And your heart shall never be mine�

�well I could have married
The king�s daughter fair
She would have married me
But I forsaked upon
Her crowns of gold
And it�s all for the love of thee�

�now will you forsake on
Your house carpenter
And go along with me?
I�ll take you where
The grass grows green
On the banks of the bitter reeds�

She pick�d up her wee little babe
And kisses, gave it three saying,
�stay right here my darling little one
Keep your papa company�

Now they had not been
On the ship two weeks
I swear it was not three
When his true love began
To weep and moan
And she wept most bitterly

�are you weeping
For my silver and gold
Are you weeping for my store or are
You weeping for that house carpenter
That you ne�er shall see no more?�

�a curse on the sailor she swore
A curse, a curse she swore
You robbed me of my sweet little babe
That I never shall see no more!�

Well, they had not been
On the ship three weeks
I swear it was not four
Until there came a leak in the ship
And she sank
To rise no more�

Owensboro

Well, I lived in a town
Way down south
By the name of Owensboro
And I worked in a mill
With the rest of the �trash�
As we�re often called
As you know

Well, we rise up early
In the morning
And we work all day real hard
To buy our little meat and bread
Buy sugar, tea, and lard

Well, our children
Grow up unlearned
With no time to go to school
Almost before they learn to walk
They learn to spin and spoon

Well, the folks in town
They dress so fine
And spend their money free
But they would hardly look
At a factory hand
Who dresses like you or me

Would you let them wear
Their watches fine
Let them wear their gems
And pearly strings

But when that day
Of judgement comes
They�ll have to share
Their pretty things

Down on Penny's farm

Come here ladies and gentleman
Listen to my song
Play it to you right
But you may think it wrong
May make you mad
But I mean no harm
It�s just about the renters
On Penny�s farm
It�s a hard time in the country
Down on Penny�s farm

Go into the fields
And you work all day
Deep into the night
But you get no pay
Promise you some meat
Or a little bucket of lard
It�s hard to make a living
On Penny�s farm
It�s a hard time in the country
Down on Penny�s farm

Hear George Penny
He�ll be coming into town
With a wagon load of peaches
Not a one of them sound
Gotta get his money
Gotta get a check
Pay you for a bushel
But you never get a peck
It�s a hard time in the country
Down on Penny�s farm

George Penny�s renters
They be coming into town
With their hands in their pockets
And their heads hanging down
Go to the merchant
And the merchant he�ll say,
�your mortgage it is due
And I�m looking for my pay�
It�s a hard time in the country
Down on Penny�s farm

Deep into his pocket
With a trembling hand,
�can�t pay you what I owe
But i�ll pay you what I can�
Down to the merchant
And the merchant make a call
Put you on the chain gang
Don�t pay at all
It�s a hard time in the country
Down on Penny�s farm

Poor Wayfaring Stranger

I am a poor wayfaring stranger
Travelling through this world of woe
But there�s no sickness, toil or danger
In that bright land to which I go

Well I�m going there
To meet my mother
Said she�d meet me when I come
I�m only going over Jordan
I�m only going over home

I know dark clouds
Will gather �round me
I know my way
Will be rough and steep
But beautiful fields lie just before me
Where God�s redeemed
Their vigils keep

Well I�m going there
To meet my loved ones
Gone on before me, one by one
I�m only going over Jordan
I�m only going over home

I�ll soon be free of earthy trials
My body rest in the old church yard
I�ll drop this cross of self-denial
And i�ll go singing home to God

Well I�m going there
To meet my Savior
Dwell with Him and never roam
I�m only going over Jordan
I�m only going over home

After The Gold Rush

[ Neil Young / Live ]

Well, I dreamed I saw the knights
In armor coming,
Saying something about a queen.
There were peasants singing and
Drummers drumming
And the archer split the tree.
There was a fanfare blowing
To the sun
That was floating on the breeze.
Look at Mother Nature on the run
In the nineteen seventies.
Look at Mother Nature on the run
In the nineteen seventies.

I was lying in a burned out basement
With the full moon in my eyes.
I was hoping for replacement
When the sun burst thru the sky.
There was a band playing in my head
And I felt like getting high.
I was thinking about what a
Friend had said
I was hoping it was a lie.
Thinking about what a
Friend had said
I was hoping it was a lie.

Well, I dreamed I saw the silver
Space ships flying
In the yellow haze of the sun,
There were children crying
And colors flying
All around the chosen ones.
All in a dream, all in a dream
The loading had begun.
They were flying Mother Nature's
Silver seed to a new home in the sun.
Flying Mother Nature's
Silver seed to a new home.

All I Want

[ Joni Mitchell ]

I'm on a lonely road and I'm traveling,
traveling, traveling, traveling,
looking for something, what can it be
Oh I hate you some, I hate you some, I love you some,
Oh I love you, when I forget about me,
I wanna be strong, I wanna to laugh along,
I wanna belong to the living,
alive, alive, I wanna get up and jive
I want to wreck my stockings in some juke box dive

Do you want? Do you want?
Do you want to dance with me, baby?
Do you want to take a chance
on maybe finding some sweet romance with me baby?
Well, come on.

All I really, really want our love to do
is to bring out the best in me and in you too
All I really, really want our love to do
is to bring out the best in me and in you

I want to talk to you,
I want to shampoo you,
I want to renew you again and again,
Applause, Applause, life is our cause
When I think of your kisses,
my mind see-saws,
do you see, do you see, do you see, how you hurt me, baby
so I hurt you too, and we both get so blue

I am on a lonely road and I am traveling
looking for the key to set me free
oh the jealousy, the greed is the unraveling, it's the unraveling
and it undoes all the joy that could be

I want to have fun,
I want to shine like the sun
I want to be the one that you want to see
I want to knit you a sweater,
I want to write you a love letter,
I want to make you feel better,
I want to make you feel free
oh oh oh, I want to make you feel free,
I want to make you feel free

Baby I Love You

[ Ronnie Shannon ]

If you want my lovin'
If you really do
Don't be afraid, just ask me
And you know I'm gonna give it to you
Oh I do declare (I do), wanna see ya willing
Stretch out your arms and boy you're gonna get it

'Cause I love you
Baby baby baby I love you
Now ain't no doubt about it
Baby I love you
Baby baby baby I love you
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you

If you feel you wanna kiss me
Go right ahead, I don't mind
All you got to do is snap your fingers
And I'll come runnin', I ain't lyin'
O what'cha want little boy, ya know ya got it
I'll deny myself before I see you without it

'Cause I love you
Baby baby baby I love you
Now ain't no doubt about it
Baby I love you
Baby baby baby I love you
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you

Some day you might wanna run away?
Leave me standin' here and cryin'
But if it's all the same to you baby
I'm gonna stop you from sayin' goodbye
Baby I love you (baby, baby)
Baby I need ya (baby, baby)
Baby I want ya (baby, baby)
Baby I love you (baby, baby)
Don't let your neighbors tell you that I don't love you
Don't let your low down friends tell you I don't need you

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility

We passed the school where children played
At wrestling in a ring

We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling in the ground
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound

Since then �tis centuries but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses� heads
Were toward eternity

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality

Birds & Ships

( Woody Guthrie / with Billy Brag )

The birds are singing in your eyes today
Sweet flowers blossom in your smile
The wind and sun are in the words you say
Where might your lonesome lover be?

Birds may be singing in my eyes this day
Sweet flowers blossoms when i smile
But my soul is stormy and my heart grows wild
My sweetheart rides a ship on the sea

Well, my soul is stormy and my heart grows wild
Where might my lonesome lover be?

(From) Both Sides Now

[ Joni Mitchell ]

Bows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and ferris wheels
The dizzy, dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way

But now it's just another show
You leave them laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away

I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
But something's lost and something's gained
In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

Crowds gather round
Kneeling at the feet of common thieves
Hungry for the word but
God would never speak through such as these
Such as these

Who offer healing hands and balms
And redemption if you would cross their palms
They'll tell your troubles to the lord
For how ever much you can afford

Hands holding hands in the circle
Of the sinners and the saved
Memories that linger from the cradle
Placing puzzles in the grave
In the grave

No mortal skin and bone
Can live on bread and circuses alone
The spirit needs must drive
The mystery of why we are alive

They look in their book and they read
But their cold hearts say, "follow me"

Dance in the dust
In the frenzy of the desperately in need
Led by the voices of the men
Who invoke ritual to hide their greed
Hide their greed

Come every tongue, every eye
Across the crumbling earth and cracking sky
The gates of hell stand open wide but
The path of glory you walk single file

They look in their book and they read
But their cold hearts say, "follow me"

These men make a cage
For the very souls that came here to be free
Then they turn off their lights, fold their tents
They're fixing to leave

They look in their book and they read
But their cold hearts say, "follow me"

They'll close their book and leave
But you'll remain
Still in pain

They�re writing songs of love, but not for me
A lucky star�s above, but not for me
With love to lead the way, i�ll have more clouds of gray
Than any russian play could guarantee

I was a fool to fall and get that way
Heigh-ho, a-las, and also lack-a-day
Although i can't dismiss the memory of his kiss,
I guess he's not for me

I know that love's a game; i'm puzzled just the same
Was i the moth or the flame?
I'm all at sea

It all began so well, but what an end
This time a gal could sure use a friend
When every happy plot ends with a marriage knot
And there's no knot for me

Children Go Where I Send Thee

( From the album "A Very Happy Christmas" )

Children go where I send thee
How shall I send thee?
Well, I�m gonna send thee one by one
One for the iddy biddy baby
Wrapped in swaddling clothing
Lying in a manger
He was born, born, born in Bethlehem

Children go where I send thee
How shall I send thee?
Well, I�m gonna send thee two by two
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the iddy biddy baby
Wrapped in swaddling clothing
Lying in a manger
He was born, born, born in Bethlehem

Children go where I send thee
How shall I send thee?
Well, I�m gonna send thee three by three
Three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the iddy biddy baby
Wrapped in swaddling clothing
Lying in a manger
He was born, born, born in Bethlehem

Children go where I send thee
How shall I send thee?
Well, I�m gonna send thee four by four
Four for the four knocking at my door
Three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the iddy biddy baby
Wrapped in swaddling clothing
Lying in a manger
He was born, born, born in Bethlehem

Children go where I send thee
How shall I send thee?
Well, I�m gonna send thee five by five
Five for the gospel preachers
Four for the four knocking at my door
Three for the Hebrew children
Two for Paul and Silas
One for the iddy biddy baby
Wrapped in swaddling clothing
And lying in a manger
He was born, born, born in Bethlehem

Once, I loved a sailor.
Once, a sailor loved me.
But he was not a sailor,
That sailed on the wide blue sea.
He, sailed in an airship;
Sailed like a bird on the wind;
And every evening at midnight,
He would come to my window and sing:

Come take a Trip in my Airship,
Come sail away to the stars!
We'll travel to Venus,
We'll sail away to Mars!
No one will see while we're kissing
No one will know as we swoon.
So come take a Trip in my Airship,
And we'll visit the Man in the Moon!

One night while sailing away from the crowds,
We passed by the Milky White Way.
While idly drifting, watching the stars,
He asked if I'd name the day!
Just by the Dipper, I gave him my heart,
The sun shone on our honeymoon.
We swore to each other, we never would part,
And we'd teach all the babies this tune.

Everybody needs practice in the art of love
Twenty years of practice and Lord above
I know how to do it, I know how to do it
I know how to do it good enough for anyone
If you love your man you better take good care
You'll wake one morning and he won't be there
Cause I know how to do it, I know how to do it
I know how to do it good enough for anyone

I may be old fashioned, I may be dumb
May be a square and I may be a bum
But I know how to do it, I know how to do it
I know how to do it and I dish it out with ease

So don't encourage me daddy or I'll go too far
When you say, "please me mama, eight to the bar"
Cause I know how to do it, I know how to do it
I know how to do it good

So if you see a fella who's mellow and fine
Tell him to come and see me any old time
Cause I know how to do it, I know how to do it
I know how to do it good enough for anyone

( Mac Scott Davis Cover )

As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto
And his mama cries
'Cause if there's one thing that she don't need
It's another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto

Oh, well People, don't you understand
The child needs a helping hand
O-or he'll grow to be an angry young man some day
Oh, people look at you and me,
Are we too blind to see,
Do we simply turn our heads
And look the other way

As the world turns
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto (in the ghetto)

And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
Where he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghetto

Oh, People, don't you understand
This child needs a helping hand
O-or he'll grow to be an angry young man some day
People look at you and me,
Are we too blind to see,
Do we simply turn our heads
And look the other way
As the world turns

Then one night in desperation
A young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car,
Tries to run, but he don't get far
And his mama cries

As a crowd gathers 'round an angry young man
Face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto (In the ghetto)

As her young man dies,
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin',
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto x 2 (In the ghetto x 2)

This is our last goodbye
I hate to feel the love between us die
But it's over
Just hear this and then I'll go
You gave me more to live for
More than you'll ever know

This is our last embrace
Must I dream and always see your face
Why can't we overcome this wall
Ouh, maybe baby it's just because
I didn't know you at all

Kiss me, please kiss me
Oh kiss me out of desire, babe, and not consolation
Oh you know it makes me so angry 'cause i know that in time
I'll only make you cry
This is our last goodbye

Did you say "no, this can't happen to me,"
Did you rush to the phone to call
Was there a voice unkind in the back of your mind
Saying maybe
You didn't know him at all
You didn't know him at all
You didn't know, you didn't know

Well, the bells out in the church tower chime
Burning clues into this heart of mine
Thinking so hard on her soft eyes and the memories
Offer signs that it's over... it's over

Ode To Billy Joe

It was the 3rd of june another sleepy dusty delta day
I was out choppin' cotton and my brother was bailin' hay.
At dinner time we stopped off on down to the house to eat
And mama hollered out the backdoor y'all remember to wipe your feet.

She said i heard bit of news this mornin' from choctaw ridge
Seems that billy joe macallister's jumped off the tallahatchee bridge.

Well papa said to mama as he passed around the black eyed peas
Billy joe never had a lick of sense, pass the biscuits please
There's 5 more acres in the lower 40 i got to plow
Mama said was a shame about billy joe anyhow
Seems that nothin' never comes to no good up on choctaw ridge and now you
Tell me billy joe has jumped off the tallahatchee bridge.

Brother recollected when he and tom and billy joe
Put a frog down my back at the carol couty picture show
And wasnt i talkin' to him after church last sunday night
I'll have another peice of apple pie but oh it dont seem right
Saw him at the sawmill yesterday up on choctaw ridge
And now you tell me billy joe has jumped off the tallahatchee bridge

Mama said to me child what's happened to your appetite?
I've been cooking all morning and you havent touched a single bite

That nice young preacher brother taylor dropped by today,
Said he'd be pleased have dinner on sunday,
Oh by the way
Said he saw a girl who looked alot like you up on choctaw ridge
And she and billy joe was throwin' something off the tallahatchee bridge.

A year's come and gone since we heard the news about billy joe
Brother married becky thompson and they bought a store in tupelo
Was a virus goin round and papa caught and he died last spring
Now mama doesnt seem to wanto do much of anything
Me i spend alot of my time pickin flowers up on choctaw ridge
And throw 'em into the muddy water off the tallahatchee bridge.

( The Chiffons / Carole King and Gerry Goffin )

One fine day, you�ll look at me
And you will know our love was, meant to be
One fine day, you�re gonna want me for your girl

The arms I long for, will open wide
And you�ll be proud to have me, right by your side
One fine day, you�re gonna want me for your girl

Though I know you�re the kind of boy
Who only wants to run around
I�ll keep waiting, and, someday darling
You�ll come to me when you want to settle down

One fine day, we�ll meet once more
And then you�ll want the love you threw away before
One fine day, you�re gonna want me for your girl

One fine day, you�re gonna want me for your girl

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

( With Billy Bragg / christian burial music �1990 )

In a busy street
A man sits down
Oblivious to the traffic sounds
No chaos, no frenzied shrieking crowd
They guard their silence
Walking heads bent down

Count the hours in their lethargy
The treadmill turns
There down below their feet

Should i pray for an end to come quickly?

Or cross the waves of an angry sea
Risking and braving
The shipwreck and the mutiny assailing

In a haunted doorway
Hid from the light of day
See another life fall to ruin and pain
False smiles from even children it seems
A landlocked ground for empty and lost dreams

"A league against me", i hear him say
It's not worth half the effort
Or the price you pay

Should i pray for an end to come quickly?

Or should i raise my face
To the heavens above and tell god,
"Stop jeering at all our human frailties and our failings"
Are we failing?

Pound, pound on an endless street
Again and again the nightmare scene
All strained against the tightened rope
Not one with a lasting lingering hope

There's evidence everywhere you see
Put a quarter down at the newsstand
So that you can read

Should i pray for an end to come quickly?

Or should i raise my face
To the clouds above
Entreating their mercy

But as clouds will do they'll rain down
First gently and sweetly until they silence me
With a burst of thunder and lightning

Helpless landlocked screaming
I know god must be agreeing
It's the worst part of watching
It's the worst part of watching
It's the worst part of watching
It's the worst part

Landlocked and screaming
God must be agreeing
To be helpless is the worst
Must be the worst part of watching
The worst part of watching

Photograph

( With Michael Stipe / night garden music �1993 )

I found this photograph
Underneath broken picture glass
Tender face of black & white
Beautiful, a haunting sight
Looked into an angel's smile
Captivated all the while
From her hair and clothes she wore
I'd have placed her in between the wars

Was she willing when she sat
And posed a pretty photograph
To save her flowering and fair
For days to come
For days to share
A big smile for the camera
How did she know
The moment could be lost forever
Forever more

I found this photograph
In stacks between the old joist walls
In a place where time is lost
Lost behind where all things fall
Broken books and calendars,

Letters script in careful hand,
The music to a standard tune by
Some forgotten big brass band

From the thresh hold what's to see
Of our brave new century
Television's just a dream
Of radio and silver screen
A big smile for the camera
How did she know
The moment could be lost forever
Forever more

Was her childhood filled with rhyme
Or stolen books of passion crimes
Was she innocent or blind to the cruelty of her time
Was she fearful in her day
Was she hopeful
Did she pray
Were there skeletons inside
Family secrets sworn to hide
Did she feel the heat that stirs
The fall from grace of wayward girls
Was she tempted to pretend
In love and laughter until the end

She devil

(out-take from "ophelia")

Look out she's coming at ya
Big dark eyes like cleopatra
The eyes of a femme fatale
Bet you get the ominous feeling
A cold blooded creature in the
Dark is stealing toward you
You best beware, take care
She's better than a work of fiction
Half ing�nue, half a vixen
Your little paper doll
But brother she's a wicked sister
Subtle and sly, watch it mister
And take my advice, stay away
Or number your days

Opiate clouds surround you
An addiction to love has found you out
Half out of your mind
Fool, when i think about you
I want to wrap my arms around you
And tell you more than words can say

She devil, she conquer
She devil, you want her
You're unaware tonight
Of the danger everywhere

My poor little sleeping giant
Dreaming warm and silent
Where has your delilah gone?
Why don't you wake and see through
Every way that she's deceived you
How she moves within?

See, everything the woman touches
It withers and dies in her clutches
Why should your fate be
Any different from these?

Oh, well i've heard about you
Every word that's said about you
The man in the silvery web
He fell for the sweet persuasion
Of a black widow spider
Now nothing can save him
It's just a matter of time

She devil, she conquer
She devil, you want her
You're unaware tonight
Of the danger everywhere

She devil, she conquer
She devil, you want her
You're well aware tonight
Of the danger everywhere
But you don't care

Son Of A Preacher Man

[ John Hurley/Ronnie Wilkins ]

Billy Ray was a preacher's son
And when his daddy'd visit he'd come along
When they gathered round and started talking
That's when Billy would take me walking,
All through the backyard we'd go walking,
Then he'd looked into my eyes,
Lord knows to my surprise

The only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
And the only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, was, yes he was

Bein' good isn't always easy,
No matter hard I try,
When he started sweet talking to me,
He'd come and tell my everything is allright
He'd kiss it down and everything's allright
Can I get away again tonight ?

The only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
And the only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, was, yes he was

Oh yes he was
How will I remember
The look within his eyes
Stealin' kisses from me on the sly
Takin' time to make time
Tellin' me that he's all mine
Learnin' from each other's knowin'
Looking to see how much we've grown

And the only one who could ever reach me
was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was, oh yes he was

The only boy who could ever reach me
Was the sweet-talkin' son of a preacher man

Space Oddity

[ David Bowie ]

Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

Ground Control to Major Tom
Commencing countdown, engines on
Check ignition and may God's love be with you

(spoken)
Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Liftoff

This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare

"This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today

For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do

Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles
I'm feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much she knows"

Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you....

"Here am I floating round my tin can
Far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do."

Sympathy For The Devil

[ Mick Jagger/Keith Richards ]

Yow! Yow! Yow!
Umph, ca, umph, umph

Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man's soul and fate

And I was 'round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game

Stuck around St. Petersberg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the Czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain

I rode a tank
In a general's rank
When the Blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
What's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah

I watched the gleam [Who, Who]
While you kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the Goth they made

I shouted out
"Who killed the Kennedys?"
When after all
It was you and me

Let me please introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
And I laid tracks for troubadors
Who get killed before they reached Bombay

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby

Ma, oo
Oooa

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
But what's confusing you
Is just the nature of my game

Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners Saints
As I end this tale
Just call me Lucifer
'Cause I'm in need of some restraint

So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well learned qualities
Or I'll lay your soul to waste, um yeah

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, um yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, um baby, get down

Woo, who
Oh yeah, get on down
Oh yeah
Oh yeah!

Tell me baby, what's my name
Tell me honey, baby guess my name
Tell me baby, what's my name
I tell you one time, your to blame

Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah

What's me name
Tell me, baby, what's my name
Tell me, sweetie, what's my name

Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah

Take A Look

[ Allen Toussaint ]

Take a look at this heart
It's the one I'm gonna ust to love you
Take a look at these arms
These are the arms I'm gonna use to hug you
Look at these eyes
These are the eyes that will haunt you
Ohhhh take a look at this girl
She's the girl that wants you

Take a look at my feet
that are gonna walk up to your door
Take a look at this head, Take a look at these hips, It's gonna knock(?)

like n
Look at these lips
There gonna kiss you and
I know they'll haunt you
Ohhh Take a look at this girl
I'm the girl that wants you

Ohhh take a look at that reef
That you see lying in the window
Take a look at that poor little dimple spot on my third finger

If you wanna see someone who's gonna be happy as can be
Take a look at me
Take a look at me
Tame eeee

Take a look at this heart
It's the one I'm gonna ust to look at these arms
There the ones I'm gonna use to hold you

The Gulf of Araby

[ Katell Keineg ]

The Gulf of Araby
If you could fill a veil with shells from Killiney's shore
And sweet talk in a tongue that is no more
If wishful thought could bridge
The Gulf of Araby
Between what is
What is
What is
And what can never be

If you could hold the frozen flow of New Hope Creek
And hide out from the one they said you might meet
If you could unlearn all the words
That you never wanted heard
If you could stall the southern wind
That's whistling in your ear
You could take what is
What is
What is
To what can never be

One man of seventy whispers free at last
Two neighbours who are proud of their massacres
Three tyrants torn away in a winter's month
Four prisoners framed by a dirty judge
Five burned with tyres
Six men still inside
And seven more days to shake at the great divide

We would plough and part the earth to bring you home
We would harvest every miracle ever known
If they laid out all the things
That these ten years want to bring
We would gladly give them up
To bring you back to us
O, there is nothing we would not give
To kiss you and believe we can take what is
What is
What is
To what can never be

One man at seventy whispers not free yet
Two neighbors who wake up knee-deep in their death
Three tyrants grab the reins in the summer's heat
Four prisoners lost in the fallacy
Five, on my life
Six, I'm dead inside
And seven more days to shake at the great divide

*** Thanx a lot to Mike for some corrections ***

The Lowlands Of Holland

( Traditional / with The Chieftains)

On the night that I was married
And upon my marriage bed
There came a bold sea captain
And stood at my bedhead
Saying, "arise, arise, young wedded man
And come along with me
To the lowlands of Holland
To fight the enemy"

Now then, Holland is a lovely land
And upon it grows fine grain
Surely 'tis a place of residence
For a soldier to remain
Where the sugar cane is plentiful
And the tea grows on the tree
Well, I never had but the one sweetheart
And now he's gone far away from me

I will wear no staysail around my waist
Nor combs are in my hair
I will wear no scarf around my neck
For to save my beauty there
And never will I marry
Not until the day I die
Since these four winds and these stormy seas
Came between my love and I