Click Here to go to the Part 2 of The Walkabouts lyrics

See Beautiful Rattlesnake Gardens

Jumping off

 Dressed in jealous clothes
She drove to the black hole
Out past to where the roads turn into sand
No crmies worth a dime
'Less you look it in the eye

And she drove
And she drove
Past the debts that he owed
Past the ends she can't meet

Jumping off is the air that I breathe
Jumping off is the air that I breathe
And I should have swindled And I should have lied
And I should have jumped
When the chance was mine

Tied up in your sleep
Like a tiger with no teeth
Can't confess to things you've never done
Soup left on the stove
And the cellar barred and closed

And she drove
And she drove
Past the debts that he owed
Past the ends she can't keep
Jumping off is the air that I breathe
Jumping off is the air that I breathe
And I should have swindled
And I should have lied
And I should have jumped
When the chance was mine

Hold your horses
And hold your britches
And hold the handle
on you suspicious drink
Drink to your health
Drink to your wealth
Drink if you think it will make a difference

And hold your britches
And hold the handle
on you suspicious drink
Drink to your health
Drink to your wealth
Drink if you think it makes a difference

Breakneck Speed

The season has come
When nothing gets done
Save copycat killin'

Away from windows
asleep on the floor
The wheel of misfortune spins in the yard

And by the way
And by the way
I'm . . .
(And) by the way
(And) by the way
I'm almost moving breakneck speed

Good news is no news
The whole things comes down
To character murder

Cattle are driven
To market or prison
Hindsight a genius lost in the blood

And by the way
And by the way
I'm . . .
(And) by the way
(And) by the way
I'm almost moving breakneck speed

Tip my hat
And then I'm good as gone
I'm good and ready
Beside myself - breakneck speed

Stretch my reach
You know I'd steal the shoes
Right off a dead man's feet
Beside myself - breakneck speed

The Wellspring

Knock yourself
And knock again
Roll it all into your hand
And let it spin

There's a wind blowin' hell
From the bottom of the well

Let it fall
Below the belt
Calm, cool and collected
Who could have known
Just how it felt

There's a wind blowin' hell
From the bottom of the well

Anytime at all
Anytime at all

John Reilly

Fair young maiden
All in the garden
Strange young man
Passed her by
Said: "Fair maid
Will you marry me?"
This, then, sir,
Was her reply

"Oh no, kind sir
I canot marry thee
For my beloved
Who sails out on the sea
He's been gone
For seven years
And still no man
Shall marry me

Well if he's in
Some battle salin
Well I will die
When the moon [ ? ]
Or if he's drowned
In the dark salt sea
I'll be true
To his memory."

He picked her up
All in his arms
And kisses gave her
One, two and three
Said: "Weep no more
My own dear true love
I am your love
Lost John Reilly"

Said: "Weep no more
My own dear true love
I am your love
Lost John Reilly"

This Rotten Tree

Liars left their roost last night
I heard it from some talkshow host
Fangs and venom working hard
In simulcast from coast to coast

Hey ho, 'round we go
This rotten tree will never grow
Hey ho, 'round we go
This rotten tree will never grow

Dogs and colonels laugh in packs
And take us for the fools we've been
Some patriots got drunk and begged
To all go bottoms up

Hey ho, 'round we go
This rotten tree will never grow
Hey ho, 'round we go
This rotten tree will never grow

This rotten tree will never grow
This rotten tree . . .
This rotten tree . . .
This rotten tree will never grow

Laughingstock

Why we can't fake it you won't ever say
Both arms hangin' from the ball and chain
Tongue tied and twisted from braidin' the rope
Both arms hangin' from this faded hope
Both arms hangin' from this faded hope

Heard it in a whisper
Heard it from a jailor's song
Packed it in a suitcase
Lost it halfway 'round the world

Out beyond harm's way you gave a lift
Past the shipyard and the empty pit
And you saif that my cover was already blown
And one too many is the one I've known
And one too many is the one I've known

Heard it in a whisper
Heard it from a jailor's song
Packed it in a suitcase
Lost it halfway 'round the world

Oh, I wish you wary and I wish you wise
And then of course I wish you well
Rode into town on the back of surprise
And then of course I laughed like hell
And then of course I laughed like hell

Oh, I wish you wary and I wish you wise
Drove into town on the back of surprise

Oh, I wish you wary and I wish you wise
Then of course I wish you well
Rode into town on the back of surprise
And then of course I laughed like hell
And then of course I laughed like hell

Glass Palace

A crooked road on a country mile
The widow walks from a letter found
(And) ties her hands in knots and chokes her disbelief
(That) what's done is done and it's dine for good

Afterwards
Aftershocks in afterhours
The truth it blurs
O glass palace
O glass palace

Cleaned his guns for those who dug his grave
The bullets flew, his luck it finally came
That crooked road was long and he would never see it
Crawled in a ditch and then he almost prayed

Afterwards
Aftershocks in afterhours
The truth it blurs
O glass palace
O glass palace
Heard it all
I heard it shatter

Afterwards
Aftershocks in afterhours
The truth it blurs
O glass palace
O glass palace
Heard it all
I heard it shatter

Feast Or Famine

In a trailer park with hungry dogs
Eat stolen bread
With stolen credit cards

With half a brain
I'd torch this mess

Have all these things
So I don't ask for more

Never sure it's about to happen
Wait for sweepstakes in the mail
What you don't know it will rip you open

Feast or famine
Feast or famine

Took a leave from better sense
A hypocrite who bit on every line

Have no time for another laugh
Bought a car and drove it off a cliff

Never sure it's about to happen
Wait for sweepstakes in the mail
What you don't know it will rip you open

Feast or famine
Feast or famine

Who-Knows-What

I waited all day
And it seemed like one day too many

To find out who knows what
And why all the gallons are hanging

Deadmen are sneaking
Over thr hills
Something forgotten
Is going on there still

I waited all day
and still it seemed like one day too many

Down in the basement
With gunfire closer than distant

And upstairs the band
Played a cynical waltz

The whole world a blamin'
When it's everyone's fault

Who knows what
Who knows what

Tell me what kind of
Is at the end of the world who knows what

What kind of [?] is at the end of the world who knows what

Cataract

Whiskey XXX

Whiskey hold me well
And never let me spill
From the blind man's bluff
Across the frozen lake

Oh chance me, chance me not,
With the last chance that you've got
Keep it rising like the river
And sinking with my fear

Somewhere out of these
Somewhere out of these woods
Somewhere out of these
Somewhere out of these woods

Whiskey hold me well
Ain't nothing you can't kill
Now the pain is just forgiveness
In a borrowed suit of clothes

Agree to disbelieve
Leave the thinking for the thieves
Left my empties at your doorstep
Left my judgement on your trail

Somewhere out of these
Somewhere out of these woods
Somewhere out of these
Somewhere out of these woods

Hell's Soup Kitchen

Rolled in the mud
But I could never come clean
Counting blessings on my middle finger
There in the back shed
Pricing heads to the pound
Told to shut up, I was only breathin'

Hell's soup kitchen
There you're listening now
Heard you coming
I heard you deep in the ground

The job was dizzy on the carnival wheel
Coins a-flipping a siren's screaming
Told quit the ride
And you'll go straight to the dogs
But dogs they come home
And dogs they listen

Hell's soup kitchen
There you're listening now
Heard you coming
I heard you deep in the ground

And my nerves were wire
And the shots they fell wide
Pearls of wisdom dripping from my forehead
Crawled in a sleeping bag
And watched them close in
Tires spitting all my trust to the sky

Hell's soup kitchen
There you're listening now
Heard you coming
I heard you deep in the ground

Whereabouts Unknown

Cross your heart gently
The best days are with us
Don't be dark-hearted
You'll just disappear

Trust you won't stumble
I trust you won't walk blind
Trust you won't miss
What has never been found

Whereabouts
(no compass, no bearing)
Whereabouts unknown
(leave it alone)

Whereabouts
(no compass, no bearing)
Whereabouts unknown
(leave it alone)

Fortune it tells you
It's time for the good news
Came on the porch
And poured gasoline down

Time for the razing
The great leap fast-forward
How can I miss you?
You never were found.

Whereabouts
(no compass, no bearing)
Whereabouts unknown
(leave it alone)

Whereabouts
(no compass, no bearing)
Whereabouts unknown
(leave it alone)

Love is the crank on a black-water well
Don't turn for pleasure
It's turning deeper (?)
Know you'd believe it if we ever met
Know you'll believe it when you're finally found

Whereabouts
(no compass, no bearing)
Whereabouts unknown
(leave it alone)

Whereabouts
(no compass, no bearing)
Whereabouts unknown
(leave it alone)

Cross your heart gently
The best days are with us
Don't swim black water
You'll just disappear

Love is the crank on a black-water well
Don't turn for pleasure
It's turning deeper (?)
Know you'd believe it if we ever met
Know you'll believe it when you're finally found

Whereabouts
(no compass, no bearing)
Whereabouts unknown
(leave it alone)

Whereabouts
(no compass, no bearing)
Whereabouts unknown
(leave it alone)

End-in-Tow

Storm it shook ya down
From the burial ground
There was mud on your face
Barely lost and barely found

And the shrunken heads around your neck
Just replicas of thoughts
Whose day had finally come

You drag it fast
You can drag it slow
But don't drag it this way
End-in-tow

Walked beneath the river bridge
And grabbed the ol' rope swing
Said "Out there
You'll see the bottom
And it swallows while it sings

And the only gold you'll find there
Are caps on these two feet."
Dead dogs float on by

You drag it fast
You can drag it slow
But don't drag it this way
End-in-tow

Better graves than ditches
On this we will agree
There is good earth on the west bank
Good nails and rope and pine

You can picnic at the Cataract
Or paddle to the shore
But you'll join the diggin' party
Just like you did before.

You drag it fast
You can drag it slow
But don't drag it this way
End-in-tow
End-in-tow
End-in-tow

Bones of Contention

Well the fires are tended
And my blood it just boils
(Hey there pass your hat)
And the fruits of hard labor
Have been drowned in snake oil
(Hey there pass your hat)

The dead are thin
Their houses fat
Once you steal you can't give back
From the scaffold greed explodes
Down to nothing
Down where nothing brings you down

Well we've all been to heaven
And we've all been to hell
(Hey there pass your hat)
And the door-to-door salesmen there
Have nothing left to sell
(Hey there pass your hat)

And the poison you choose
Is the source of my confusion
And I spend all my time
Trying to figure what you're using

Well the bones of contention
Are at the top of your stairs
(Hey there pass your hat)
And they'll shake and they'll rattle
'Til somebody cares
(Hey there pass your hat)

The dead are thin
Their houses fat
Once you steal you can't give back
From the scaffold greed explodes
Down to nothing
Down where nothing brings you down


And the poison you choose
Is the source of my confusion
And I spend all my time
Trying to figure what you're using

Please pass your hat X5
Won't you pass your hat

Home as Found

Well it should have been the first place
But instead it was the last
It was a place that only you could love

All the gin was spiked with water
From a fever or a storm
All the business went as usual
Ripped and forever torn

I'm going home as found
Going home as found
I'm going home as found
Going home as found

It was a good day for the panther
It was a bad day for the sheep
It was a shot of certain wisdom
That you could never keep

Threw some cash upon the table
Shot some noise into the phone
Saying all the guilty pleasures
Are not for you alone

I'm going home as found
Going home as found
I'm going home as found
Going home as found

Smokestack

Swept the floor of dreams
Live ones in the cracks
Crawling from the woodwork
Just to break your mother's back

Hail the future king
No surprises left
Formula is widely know by chemists
And the minds they've blown

Smokestack
Smokestack
Smokestack

Count 'em 1 in 10
Can't hold on to those threats
Not-so-distant cousins
Of the nails on which you slept

Amateur contortionist
With pyrotechnic skill
This is not a mob you rule
It's just the family barbecue

Smokestack
Smokestack
Smokestack

Smokestack
Smokestack
Smokestack

Standing on my head
And just in time to see
A promise in each pocket
And a liar in each sleeve
The spoils have been crudely cut
In out of balance halves
Nothing left to peace or calm
That explosions couldn't bring along

Drille Terriers

Every morn at sven o'clock
There's twenty terriers drilling on the rock
And the boss comes round and he says to the (?)
"Come down hard on the cast-iron (?)"
And drille terriers, drille."

Drille terriers, drille
For it's work all day
For the sugar in your tea
Down behind the railway
And drille terriers, drille
Now our boss is Jim McCann
My guardian's the (??)
(?)
(?)

Drille terriers, drille
For it's work all day
For the sugar in your tea
Down behind the railway
And drille terriers, drille

Drille terriers, drille
For it's work all day
For the sugar in your tea
Down behind the railway
And drille terriers, drille

Finally pay day came around
A dollar short - Jim was found
When he asked why, came this reply:
"You were docked for the time
You spent up in the sky."

Drille terriers, drille
For it's work all day
For the sugar in your tea
Down behind the railway
And drille terriers, drille

Drille terriers, drille
For it's work all day
For the sugar in your tea
Down behind the railway
And drille terriers, drille
And blast
And fire

Specimen Days

Oh one night of mercy
Give me one night of merciful
Shocks to the skull
Watching these specimens grow

Small miracles stuffed
In old powder kegs
Can't mix boot leather
With common-sense rags
Watching these specimens grow

I may know nothing
But it never says no
Won't answer in good turn
Earth rumbling below
Got hope in the backseat
And truth on the roof
Look out below
This rumbling needs somewhere to go

All cut up and painless
Brake lights blown out
On the back of your skull
Watching these specimens grow

O misery's daughter
Please know when to quit
Not a hose for the fire
There's a snake in the pit
Watching these specimens grow

I may know nothing
But it never says no
Won't answer in good turn
Earth rumbling below
Got hope in the backseat
And truth on the roof
Look out below
This rumbling needs somewhere to go

One night of mercy
Give me one night so merciful
One night of mercy

Long Black Veil

Beyond the reach
There are rows of tender hooks
Where nothing seems
To justify a second look
And not a soul is found
To tear them hooks on down

Famous times
Tattooed on this burlap skin
And gun cold days
Shot to pieces above my head
Now tell who's that clown
Who pulled this veil on down

Long black veil
Long black
Long black veil
Long black

If light's a brighter grey
Please then turn it up
This whole town wears its veil down
And wrestles with some all-night clown
And he don't sleep
And he don't sleep

Long black veil
Long black
Long black veil
Long black
Long black veil
Long black
Long black veil
Tell me long black

Goodbye (To All That)

Wisecracks and hijacks
And contracts to sell
Old wine in new bottles
Times are the same
Diggin' the ditch quick
And quick to escape
The patent is pending
On flood tides and bones
Goodbye
To all that
Goodbye
To all that

Brittle and hollow
And sharp as the hills
It hasn't rained on us
In 25 years
Home fires burning
The branches of trees
No train well
No train has ever stopped here

Goodbye
To all that
Goodbye
To all that

Wake it up
Wake it up
Wake it up
Wake it up
Wake it up

Short cut to nowhere
Long haul to desperate
Roots in the cellar
And bombs in the pipes.
Don't call me river
I'd rather be nameless
River don't choose
What she carries away

Goodbye
To all that
Goodbye
To all that

Wake it up
Wake it up
Wake it up
Wake it up
Wake it up

Rag & Bone

The Anvil Song

Lose your coat and roll your sleeves
This is demolition time
Inventions full of spit and blood
With blinders for the faint of heart
Fortune's ashes crowd this map
But if I lose, well I don't care
As long as I get good and gone

Let the anvil break
Steal door lies into a whisper
Now who can wait for the perfect fit
I'm hearing the anvil sing
I'm hearing the anvil sing

Machine he took a picture of
Of himself for children's walls
For forty miles the word went out
That he would someday drown us all
Deep inside this vodka clear

But if I lose then I don't care
As long as I get good and gone

Let the anvil break
Steal door lies into a whisper
Now who can wait for the perfect fit
I'm hearing the anvil sing
I'm hearing the anvil sing

Let the anvil break
Steal door lies into a whisper
This is demolition time
And if I lose, well I don't care
I'm hearing the anvil sing
I'm hearing the anvil sing

Ahead of the Storm

Gotta trust my name
No fork in my tongue
Gotta trust my name

Never saw it blow
Never saw it blow
The clouds rained money
Never saw it blow
The clouds rained money
Never saw it blow

Shoulda locked my jaw
The words are devils
Shoulda locked my jaw

It wasn't what I saw
It wasn't what I saw
Their barrels pointing
Wasn't what I saw
Their barrels pointing
Wasn't what I saw

Ahead of the storm
Is where I belong
Ahead of the storm
With thunder laughing

Gotta trust my name
But it can't be done
Gotta trust my name
But it can't be done

The clouds rained money
Never saw it blow
The clouds rained money
Never saw it blow

Ahead of the storm
Is where I belong
Ahead of the storm
With thunder laughing
On and on and on...

Medicine Hat

Steal it from the yard
Medicine hat she wore
Mother's protection
Protection from the open sun
What is gone was never here
And what is here is second-hand

Trust in only shadows
'Cause they never know they're wrong
Steal it from the yard
Medicine hat she wore
What is gone was never here
And what is here is second-hand

Medicine Hat
Medicine Hat

You could all but disappear
At the drunk electric show
Just fall into the whirlpool
That's spinning on the Grange Hall floor
Then go outside and burn the fence
That splits into the coal-black sky

Got more strength than weakness
Got the strength to tell this lie.
You could all but disappear
At the drunk electric show.

Medicine hat X4

Wreck of the Old #9

T'was a cold wintry night
Not a star was in sight
And he north wind was howling down the line

Went a brave engineer
With a sweetheart so dear
With an order to pull Old # 9.

His heart hung with his song
And his train rolled along
Black smoke was pouring from his stack

His headlight it seemed
To brighten his dream
Of tomorrow, when he'd be coming back

Well he sped round the hill
And his brave heart stood still
A headlight flashing in his face

He threw only air
And he murmured a prayer
'Cause he knew this would be his final race

(The crash...)
In the wreck he was found
Lying dying on the ground
And he asked them to raise his weary head

As his breath slowly went
This message he sent
To the maiden who thought she would be wed

"I leave a white home
That I bought for your own
And I dreamed we'd be happy by-and-by.

I'm gonna leave it all to you
'Cause I know that you'll be true
'Til we meet at the pearly gates -- good-bye."

Mr. Clancy

If you're ready and the creek don't rise
If you're ready with the furnace full
Trees were shakin' and the break was good
Finally lost him in the neck of the woods
If you're ready and the creek don't rise

Mr. Clancy was a dog of prey
Took the decent and the laughin' sheep
Mr. Clancy took his hand to you
But I'm not waiting just to prove it's true
If you're ready and the creek don't rise

There's something you must do
With head turned off and you knew (?)

If you're ready and the creek don't rise

Last Ditch

This is the last ditch ever I dug
Once there were motives but they have been lost
Dig through the sand still you end at the rock
This is the ditch that I dug

These are the blankets that we should have worn
Now marrow is soaking and taken with cold
Us rag and bone merchants have just greed to lose
This is the ditch that I dug

The ditch it lies empty and waits for your laugh
My head was your shovel and I was your back
And sweat made the river that cut through the flat
This is the ditch that I dug
This is the ditch that I dug

The crows haven't eaten the scraps they were fed
The crows they stay honest and keep to themselves
Their silence infected my stitches gone loose
There will be rain today, yes
There will be rain today

Scavenger

Dead Man Rise

Wake up dead man, there's a noise
You must attend
It will not quit

Wake up dead man, there's a noise
Your sleep is done
Your secret's out

Dead man rise
You're been away from here too long
Dead man rise
Dead man rise

Wake up dead man, fate has spoke
I'm yours to kiss
He's yours to forget

Cause much has changed since you've been gone
Love's grown wise
It's rules have broken

Dead man rise
You're been away from here too long
Dead man rise
Dead man rise

Wake up dead man, there's a noise
There's a noise you must attend
Wake up dead man, there's a noise
There's a noise you must attend
Wake up dead man, there's a noise
There's a noise that will not quit

Stir the Ashes

All dressed up for the day of the dead
I have been waiting
It's coming soon enough

The doors are open and the prowlers have all fled
So tired of waiting
So tired of hanging tough

Stir the ashes round
Underneath my shoes
Just stir the ashes round
Make 'em dizzy, in the mud
Make 'em dizzy
Round and round and round

Come and sit by the lonesome potter's grave
Come and pull the weeds
Come and write your name

Sitting here the sirens seem so far away
They're back in timber town
Three cheers for timber town

Stir the ashes round
Underneath my shoes
Just stir the ashes round
Make 'em dizzy, in the mud
Make 'em dizzy
Round and round and round

Pull me right out of the dark
My vision's never been this true
The spoils have been crudely cut
The balance has been lost for good
Stir the ashes round

The Night Watch

I'm the nightwatchman and nothing gets behind my back
Work out at the goldmine in a tin can shack
Don't come up behind cause I won't be mincing my words
Don't play twenty questions with all of the scavenger birds

I'm the nightwatchman

It's up to me and the devil to do all the dirty work
Got a thousand dirty secrets rolled up in the sleeve of my shirt
Don't come up behind me, I will be playing for keeps
Don't do this for good looks, I'll do this so someday I'll sleep

I'm the nightwatchman

I know about secrets, I know what secrets are worth
Gold is a secret, they're draggin it out of the dirt

Yes, I'm the nightwatchman

Hangman

Hangman take these heads from me
And swing 'em from your money tree
Hear me laughing in my steps
These heads are yours, they're yours to keep

Please don't skip the last details
Rewards are yours beyond the pale
And if you slip, just look around
Your wrists are shackled to the crowd

Hangman is your passenger
Hangman is your passenger
Hangman is your passenger
The hangman is your passenger tonight

Stretching the rope with one of his hands
And in one of his hands he holds a bible
Looks at the road with one of his eyes
And with one of his eyes he will watch you driving

Hangman is your passenger
The hangman is your passenger tonight

Hangman take these heads from me
And swing 'em from your money tree
Wagered on the judgement call
But every time you lost it all

Where the Deepwater Goes

Into the heart of this old sunken ship
A white knuckle journey you won't soon forget

Out where the deepwater goes

Into the veins of this old lizard skin
To Tierra Del Fuego and then back again

That's where the deepwater goes
That's where the deepwater goes

Soon you will fathom how deep it goes down
And the bottom's a good place to start
Our bottle is empty
The searchlight is off
Oh, the bottom's a good place to start

Out of the tumbler and into the flame
Out from the shadows where no one gets blamed

That's where the deepwater goes
That's where the deepwater goes

It's all muddy ground there with no place to build
But the deepwater never complains
Our slow boat to China will get slower still
But the deepwater never complains
That's where the deepwater goes
And it goes

Blown Away

Out past the trees there is nothing to burn
Just an empty gas station, left to me in a will
Just a plate of bad habits and plenty of salt for the wounds
Just a plate of bone china and plenty of salt for the wounds
At night there are voices
By the old station house
They come from an angel with a kerosene tongue
She say's: "there is trouble, a trouble that no one can name"
She say's: "help is too late when the memory doesn't remain"

Blown down the wind
Let the trouble begin
Get blown away
Never look back again

Down on the troubled wind
Down on the troubled wind

You can come on the nightbus and spend a few days
You can set some explosions and fall asleep in this bed
But I know that you won't stay with hundreds of miles to go
Trouble has no friends when trouble needs some place to go

Blown down the wind
Let the trouble begin

Nothing is a Stranger

Spent another season in the valley of the bones
But higher grounds was callin, callin me back home
109 answers to 110 proofs
Back up to my bed o' nails and my leakin roof

Hold me sober and hold me still
Hold my past up against my will
Nothing's wrong when your head is gone
Nothing is a stranger to me now

All that good behavior I knew it wouldn't last
At the funeral of fossils, I buried up the past
But just like I predicted the past came jumpnig up
Jumped up like a devil who had finally seen enough

Hold me sober and hold me still
Hold my past up against my will
Nothing's wrong when your head is gone
Nothing is a stranger to me now

Saw a lighthouse in the wheatfield where I drove off the road
But, when I got there, there was nothing but darkness in a hole
And down inside I saw my favorite place
Furniture all busted and the arson on her face

Nothing is a stranger to me
Nothing is a stranger to me
Nothing is a stranger to me now

Let's Burn Down the Cornfield

Let's burn down the cornfield
Let's burn down the cornfield
We can listen to it burn

We'll hide behind the oak tree
Hide behind the oak tree
Stay out of danger 'til I return

Oh, it's so good
On a cold night
To have the fire burning bold and bright

You hide behind the oak tree
Hide behind the oak tree
Stay out of danger 'til I return

Let's burn down the cornfield
Let's burn down the cornfield
We'll make love while it burns
We'll make love while it burns

We'll make love while it burns

River Blood

Highwater is everywhere, highwater is telling me to go
There's poison in the course it runs, there's ashes from the factory on the hill

Watch it all fall down
From the mountain to the ground
Watch it all say no
River Blood
Oh, River Blood
I've always found that river

Test my grip and then I'm sure you will believe that I cannot let go
I live on fruit I have preserved in mason jars beneath the basement floor

Watch it all fall down
From the mountain to the ground
Watch it all say no
River Blood
Oh, River Blood
I've always found that river

These walls are covered in black bullet holes and each one has a christian name
One's my father, one's my son, I stick my fingers in to prove they're real

Watch it all fall down
From the mountain to the ground
Watch it all say no
River Blood
Oh, River Blood
I've always found that river

Train to Mercy

Last time that I saw you, you were on the killing floor
Last time that I saw you, all the tears had turned to clay

Still I haven't panicked, come and pull the stitches tight
No room for the panic, come and pull the stitches tight

There is late train to Mercy
But I hope it never comes
There is late train to Mercy
But I hope it never comes

Well it moves like winter, it moves with brute force
Well it moves like winter, leaves an empire in its course

Heard the breakman holler: "Cannot slow it down"
Heard the breakman holler: "Cannot slow it down"

There is late train to Mercy
But I hope it never comes
There is late train to Mercy
But I hope it never comes

Help me poor Melissa, hide the hope behind your door
Help me poor Melissa, put the hope into your trust

Is the whole world big enough, for the bitter and the sweet ?
Is the whole world big enough, for the wicked and the few ?

There is late train to Mercy
But I hope it never comes
There is late train to Mercy
But I hope it never comes

Makes you beg, steal and borrow
So I hope it never comes
There is late train to Mercy
But I hope it never comes

New west motel

Jack Candy

Jack Candy was as old as my father
But still I took a likin' to him
He said: "You will be somebody's treasure,
But no one has discovered you yet."

Jack Candy lived on Sky Valley Road
And that's where he did business I guess
Some say he sold a suitcase of cocaine
But he never showed me any of that

This is a story that I've prayed to tell X2
About the day they drove him from this town
About the day I lost: Jack Candy

I was walkin' up to Jack Candy's trailer
When he shouted that I('d) better head home
The curtains closed as he went back inside
And I trembled 'cause he wasn't alone

This is a story that I've prayed to tell X2
About the day they drove him from this town
About the day I lost: Jack Candy

Some say they took him out to a clearin'
And made him crawl until he confessed
Some say they hung him up by his bootstraps
Some say they let him swing in the wind

I walked along (the) Sky Valley Road
And out onto the great northern bridge
And for hours I stared into the cold
Sick and tired of denying I loved him

This is a story that I've prayed to tell X2
About the day they drove him from this town X2

I've lived a lie and I have lived it well
This is the story that I've prayed to tell
About a love and how I let him down
About the day I lost: Jack Candy

Sundowner

Deaf as a fence post
Alone on a winter's night
I'm drunk as a racehorse
But I'll never fade outta sight

There's a wild below me
A wild up there in the stars
There's a history behind me
A child gone cold in my arms

Tell George and Tammy
I'm ripe for the taking these days
It's a good year for roses
(And) a bad year for runnin' in place

But if they don't believe me
I'll do what I always have done
I won't be the sundowner
No I'll never cheat on the sun

'Cause when the sun comes up
And the moon is gone
To the bridge I go
To the bridge I run

And when I reach the edge
Onto the bridge I crawl
And when I find you my friend
From the bridge I fall

This is the last place
That I've ever been, ever been
It's the last best place
That I've ever been, ever been

And in spite of my weakness
And all my desires to win
I won't be the sundowner
Tomorrow I'll leave here again

'Cause when the sun comes up
And I need a friend
To the bridge I run
When I need a friend

And when I meet the edge
Onto the bridge I crawl
And when I find you my friend
It's from the bridge I fall

Grand Theft Auto

In this town
The blood will make you rich
Yeah, in this town
The blood will make you rich

In this town
I will do you one better
I'll change the truth
When I change the weather

In this town
The blood will make you rich

And when you're down
You can buy the Jesus pose
'Cause in this town
All roads lead to this

And when you're down
I will kill it again
I'll give ya something
To forget about him

In this town
All roads lead to this

And come tonight, yeah come tonight
We'll take a ride
And come tonight, yeah come tonight
We'll see the lights

You will lead and I will follow
You will lead me, down to the hollow
You will lead me down
Grand theft auto
You will lead me down

In this town
We have got the Midas touch
Yeah in this town
The gold will make you blush
Some of it's cooling
And some of it's glitters
All of it's cold
And it gives me the shivers

In this town we've got the Midas touch

And come tonight, yeah come tonight
We'll take a ride
And come tonight, yeah come tonight
We'll see the lights

You will lead and I will follow
You will lead me, down to the hollow
You will lead me down
Grand theft auto
You will lead me down

Break It Down Gently

It soon appears
Long rented shores
Too big to name
And second to none

Save horses' hair
In pockets deep
Remember skies
Second to none

Black rain
Black rain will come
Black rain
Black rain will come

Word to the wise
Don't you sit on this fence
Electric and live
With evangelistic zeal

Spin doctors gave you
All those remedies to choose
So you'd be the weathervane
For clouds that never move

Black rain
Black rain will come
Black rain
Black rain will come

To break it down gently
To wash it down slow
Goin' straight to the bottom
With a mind . . . . of it's own

Black rain, Black rain, Black rain will come X3
Black rain will come

Your Hope Shines

Lay my body down
By the shallows of the creek
You can lay my body down
Lay me in your reach

And when my body's down
We'll steal the thunder from the rain
And when my body's down
We'll shake the dirt right from the pain

I was going nowhere
Nowhere very fast
Threw my poison out the window
But it came blowin' back

Out along the highway
Right through the night of crime
Somewhere in the darkness
Your hope shined

Whisper wisdom's words
You can whisper wisdom's lies
But all of wisdom's words
Never helped me to survive

Days of all my arrogance
When you were not afraid
Threw my paycheck out the window
You threw it all away

Walked the devil's highway
Across the county line
Somewhere in the darkness
Your hope shined

Your hope shined, your hope shined X2
Walked the devil's highway, across the county line
But your hope shined, your hope shined
First light in the mornin', right through the night of crime
Your hope shined, your hope shined

Lay my body down
By the shallows of the creek

Murdering Stone

Man came down from the field
A lonely horseman
Headin' back to the stable
Said he was sorry
But his cain was not able
To save us all from ourselves

Man sees the blood on every door
And hears the laughter
In the good people's hearts
Their pocket's empty
And their coats ripped apart
And the man makes a promise to the town

I wanna give you my murdering stone
Give you my murdering stone

Happy-go-lucky's back in town
Happy-go-lucky's says he's fit to be tied
Now that his hands have done
A sin worse than pride
And the man makes a promise to us all

I wanna give you my murdering stone
Give you my murdering stone

Won't you take my X2
I wanna give you my murdering stone

My hands are heavy now that all the guns are home
Take my murdering stone

And I wanna give you my murdering stone
Please take my murdering X2
Please take my murdering stone

Sweet Revenge

Fourteen and one half years
You know I was good fortune's slave
Road map on my face
Up to my neck in lucky breaks

Cover your eyes
Don't look now

And durin' all that time
You know I wore this reckless coat
Filled up with matchstick men
And all the bibles that you wrote

Cover your eyes, Don't look now X2

First I'll get even
And then I'll make you proud
Revenge is sweeter
When you can laugh out loud

And from these bitterroots
You know I made a potent shine
One-half kerosene
One-half justice all gone blind

First I'll get even
And then I'll make you proud
Revenge is sweeter
When you can laugh out loud

Swing it low, swing it low
Swing it: sweet revenge X2
Swing it low
Sweet revenge

First I'll get even
And then I'll make you proud
Revenge is sweeter
When you can laugh out loud

Swing it low, swing it low
Swing it: sweet revenge X2
Swing it low
Sweet revenge

Glad Nation's Death Song

These are the ghosts that I half believed
Guns & liquor & the carnival freak
But then one day the whole world shook
And I got arrested for stealin' a look

And the glad nation's death song sings X2
And I wanna hear you sing
And I wanna hear you . . . . hear you sing

Well they dragged me down to the deptor's jail
Where no one cried 'cause the drinks were free
And there I met you, you were passin' the hat
Sayin' give to the memory of a long gone dream

And the glad nation's death song sings X2
And I wanna hear you sing
And I wanna hear you . . . . hear you sing

This is the sound of one hand clappin'
This is the sound of one man laughin'
Sayin' we are lucky, yeah lucky is us
'Cause behind these bars we've been stuck

And the glad nation's death song sings X4
And I wanna hear you sing
And I wanna hear you . . . . hear you sing

Long Time Here

If you want good times
I know where to look
And if you want good times I will

They're thrown on your bed
With your junkyard religion
At the best of the western motels

Thrown with the pawns
And the hardscrabble rooks
Thrown with our ransom of kings

But if you want goodtimes
I know where to look
And I know it's goodtimes you want

Long time here X2
I'll keep you around
Holding this ground
I'll keep you a long time here

In 24 hours
We could be in Vegas
Where the heat is a possible friend

Where snake eyes and boxcars
Could wet down your whistle
And steal all the noise from your head

But your hell is hotter
Then the typical thirst
And in Vegas the ice is not cheap

And heaven's a backroom
Where the gamblin' don't finish
And you keep makin' the same mistakes

Long time here X2
I'll keep you around
Holding this ground
I'll keep you a long . . . .

Long time here X4
I'll keep you around
Holding this ground
I'll keep you a long time here

Wondertown (part one)

I'll break the jackpot open
In a wondertown, wondertown
I'll break the jackpot open
In a wondertown, wondertown
With my hands of ivory
And my nerves of steel
I'll break the jackpot open
Just to prove it's real
I'll break the jackpot open
In a wondertown, wondertown

Drag This River

Quick, burn it down to the wick
Burn it down to the heart
So the ending can start

Here, behind the riverhaus door
With an unloaded gun
And an unsettled score

Well I'll never drag this river
I'll never drag this river X2
I'll never drag this river down

You, nothin' comes to you slow
Nothin' comes to you hard
Though you beg like you're hard

And me, don't shake the barrel ar me
And don't treat idle threats
Like you treat all your friends

Well I'll never drag this river
I'll never drag this river X2
I'll never drag this river down

And if you walk out that door
Don't come back
Because there'll be no door

And if you walk out that door
Silence greets you
Silence, will be yours

I hear ya callin' from a long distant shore
But you won't come back, [well / 'cause] you can't come back

The water's risin' and the levee is not sure
And you won't be found, no you can't be found

Drag this river down

Snake Mountain Blues

Mr. ten dollar man
Let me tell you where you're bound
When you drink your green liquor
Lord, you'll roll to the ground

But you come around here
With your money in your hand
Tasted my woman
You'll die where you stand

Snake Mountain's gonna crumble
Lord, and fall from the sky
'Til that woman of mine
Keeps on telling her lies

If I'd die Lord, she'd weep
And she'd weep and she'd mourne
As soon as I was buried
Forget I been born

Well my daddy, he rides on a long holy train
And the first winds of winter
Well, I'll see him again

And it's goodbye to that yellow-headed misery I've known
Snake Mountain is callin'
Is callin' me home

Got the Snake Mountain blues X4

Got the Snake Mountain blues X4

*[One verse of the original is left out.
It goes something like this:

Well the Snake Mountain blues
Have got me down low
I could die in the morning
And no one would know
Well, my woman comes 'round
My body she'd found
Go down to Dundee
(And) Have her a time]

Findlay's Motel

Findlay was on his last legs
But he made the rules
Said suffer fools gladly
But never end up as the sufferin' fool

He shook me down
Though it was my first week on the job
Said travellers will trick you
But you will find out all them things for yourself
Yes you will

Findlay he threw me the keys
As he walked outside
And he turned on the big neon sign
But only half of it burned

And I was there fightin' off dreams
When she pulled in the drive
The sound of her wheels woke me up
And there she was, standin' inside

By the stretch
Of a pine barren road
Where the night
Never did what was told
(I never did what was told)
Rooms for the night
Room for your rest
Rooms for the night
At Findlay's Motel

She looked like she had come down
From the rattlesnake hills
And she pushed the gun to my jaw
And told me to clean out the till

As I handed her over the cash
Findlay limped in
The old man he reached for her gun
But she was stronger than him
Yes she was

By the stretch
Of a pine barren road
Where the night
Never did what was told
(I never did what was told)
Rooms for the night
Room for your rest
Rooms for the night
At Findlay's Motel

Now bullets don't care what they hit
And Findlay went down
And she dropped the gun to the floor
And said, you best call somone now

But my eyes they were fixed on the door
And I walked straight outside
Said suffer fools gladly
As long as this sufferin' keeps you alive
For a spell

Unholy Dreams

(Well) I dreamed I saw the devil's club
Growin' by the burnin' bush
And I dreamed that all your razor teeth
Grabbed tomorrow by the root
And I dreamed the long arm of the law
Was a one-armed acrobat

Yeah I dreamed
Unholy dreams

And I dreamed that all the sacred cows
Had been trampled under hoof
And I dreamed the moon had finally crashed
And lit fire to your roof
And I dreamed that there were sights unseen
And their visions could be sold

Yeah I dreamed
Unholy dreams

Unholy dreams X2
Last night, I dreamed unholy dreams

And in the mornin' when I woke
And you were gone
(Well) I believed unholy dreams
Yeah I believed
Unholy dreams
Yeah I believed

Satisfied mind

Satisfied Mind

How many times have you heard someone say
"If I had his money, I could do things my way?"
Little they know that it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind.

Once I was waitin' for fortune and fame
Everything that I dreamed for to get a start in life's game
Suddenly it happened, I lost every dime
But I'm richer by far with a satisfied mind

Money can't buy back your youth when you're old
Or a friend when you're lonely, or a love that's grown cold
The wealthiest person is a pauper at times
Compared to the man with a satisfied mind

When my life is ended, my time has run out
My trials and my loved ones, I'll leave them no doubt
But one thing's for certain, when it comes my time
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind X2

Loom of the Land

It was the dirty end of winter
Along the loom of the land
When I walked with sweet Henry
Hand upon hand

And the wind it bit bitter
For a girl of no means
With no shoes on her feet
And a knife in her jeans

Along the loom of the land
The mission bells peeled
From the tower at Saint Mary's
Down to Reprobate Fields

And I saw (that) the world
(Was) all blessed and bright
And Henry breathed softly
In the majestic night

O baby please don't cry
And try to keep
Your little head upon my shoulder
Now we'll go to sleep

The elms and the poplars
Were turning their backs
Past the rumbling station
We followed their tracks

My hands they burned
In the folds of his coat
Breathing milky white air
From deep in his throat

O baby please don't cry
And try to keep
Your little head upon my shoulder
Now we'll go to sleep

I told him the moon
Was a magical thing
That it shone gold in winter
And silver in spring

And we walked and we walked
Across the endless sands
Just me and my Henry
Along the loom of the land

O baby please don't cry
And try to keep
O baby please don't cry
And try to keep
Your little head upon my shoulder
Now we'll go to sleep

The River People

Down here everyone says that the River People don't really belong here.
I know what it's like to be a stranger and divide a town beside a frontier.
People want your business and little more
I've watched shadows lengthen from a closed door.

Mountains wide, nothing is clearer to the River People than what the others try and hide.
You spoke, pushed your chair back at the meeting and I could tell that you were petrified.
You said the best people can suddenly oppose
The sight of good will and then it arose.
Two people, four people crossed the floor
I saw children run, I wept amidst the uproar

Around here your stranded face before moonlight, the color of the sea.
You came up to the house after swimming on sunset and the flattened sea.
The sky had opened, it had gone bust
You and I watched the River People swim before us
The sky had opened, it had gone bust
You and I watched the river people swim before us

You said the best people could suddenly oppose
The sight of good will and then it arose.
Two people, four people crossed the floor
I saw children run, I wept amidst the uproar
Down here . . .
You came . . .

Polly

If the wild-bird could speak
He'd tell of places you have been
He's been in my dreams
And he knows all the ways of the winds

Polly, come home again
Spread your wings to the wind
I fell much of the pain
As it begins

Dreams cover much time
Still they leve blind the will to begin
I searched for you there
And now look for you within

Polly, come home again
Spread your wings to the wind
I fell much of the pain
As it begins

Polly, come home again
Spread your wings to the wind
I fell much of the pain
As it begins

Buffalo Ballet

When Abilene was young and gay
And thunder storms filled up the days
The cattle roam outside the town

Sleeping in the midday sun X4

Then tracks were laid across the plain
By broken old men in torrid rain
The towns grew up, and the people were still

Sleeping in the midday sun X4

We all joined in
(And) We all joined hands
We all joined in
To help run this land

Then the soldiers came, long long ago
Rode through the town
And mowed down those

Sleeping in the midday sun X4

Gold came and went, quickly spent
And the people broke down
And often drowned
From the wealth and the pain
Of old Abilene

Sleeping in the midday sun X8

Lover's Crime

Way up north, my love lies sleepin'
Her lonely grave, beneath the pines
How sadly I recall her memory
She was my own true love devine

One night I found her with another
They did not know I was around
In a blinded rage I drew my pistol
I killed them both and fled that town

For many days I wandered over
Across the sea and desert sands
My heart filled with grief and sadness
I could not clense these, my blooded hands

For many years I've been a prisoner
My grayin' hair marks off the time
I'm going back to my old north-lands
To wash away my sin and pride X2

Shelter for an Evening

Howling like a banshee in the middle of the night
Don't you know it's me at your back door
I'm wounded and scared with no place to go
Won't you give me home for the night

Shelter for an evening, shelter for the rain
Just for tonight, you'll never see me again
I'm wounded, oh baby, cant you see?
I got no one to blame but me

And I know this shit is killin' me
I can't stop, no, I can't stop
And it's getting to the point where I don't care
Just who or what you're sleeping with

I'm wounded and scared with no place to go
Won't you give me home for the night

Shelter for an evening, shelter for the rain
Just for tonight, you'll never see me again
I'm wounded, oh baby, cant you see?
I got no one to blame but me
I got no one to blame but me
I got no one to blame . . . . but me

Dear Darling

Why would you run ?
I beg stars above
A thing of such beauty
Must be called love
Why would you go
And give me to cry?
A thing of such beauty
Might never die

You bust loose from heaven
And now your life starts
So soon you will see
You've broken two hearts
And when you discover
The love I still know
You'll worry dear darling
Why you had to go

Why would you run?
I beg stars above
A thing of such beauty
Must be called love

Poor Side of Town

How can you tell me how much you miss me
When the last time I saw you, you wouldn't even kiss me
The rich guy you're seein' must have put you down
So welcome back, baby, to the poor side of town

To him you ain't nothin' but a play-thing
Not much more than an overnight-thing
To me you're the greatest that I've ever found
And it's hard to find nice things on the poor side of town

I can't blame you for trying
I'm trying to make it true
I got one kind of [ ? ]
I can't make it without you

So tell me, are you gonna stay now?
Would you stand by me, all the way now?
With you by my side, they can't keep us down
Together we can make it from the poor side of town
Together we can make it from the poor side of town
So welcome back, baby, to the poor side of town

Free Money

Every night before I go to sleep
I find a ticket and I win a lottery
I scoup them pearls up from the sea
I cash them in and buy you all the things you need

Every night before I rest my head
See them dollar bills go swirling 'round my bed
I know they're stolen, but I don't feel bad
I take that money and buy you things you never had

Oh baby, it would mean so much to me
Oh baby, buy you all the things you need, for free

Buy you a jet-plane, take you to the stratosphere
I'll buy you a jet-plane so we can check out all that's there
Where it's hot, hot, and ready and baby and cool, cold, you can feel the snow
It's a long way, a long way, got a long way left to go

When we're dreaming X2

Every night before I go to sleep
I find a ticket and I win a lottery
Every night before I rest my head
See them dollar bills go swirling 'round my bed

Oh baby, it would mean so much to me
Oh baby, buy you all the things you need, for free

When we're dreaming X2
When we're dreaming: free money, free money X2

The Storms Are on the Ocean

(Well) I'm going away to leave you
And I'm going away for a while
Well, I'm coming back to you someday
When I've gone ten thousand miles

Where the storms are on the ocean
And the heavens will cease to be
And this world will lose its motion
If you don't come back to me

Well, I left you in Whiskey Valley
With the crimes upon your face
And the storms were in the deep part
In the deepest darkest plain

Where the storms are on the ocean
And the heavens will cease to be
And this world will lose its motion
If you don't come back to me

Feel Like Going Home

Lord, I feel like going home
I've tried and I fell and I'm tired and weary
Everything I've done is wrong
And I feel like going home

Lord, I tried to see you through
But it was too much for me
Now I'm coming home to you
Yeah, I feel like going home

Clouded skies are closing in
And not a friend around to help me
Of all the places I've been
Lord, I feel like going home

Lord, I feel like going home
I've tried and I fell and I'm tired and weary
Everything I've done is wrong
Lord, I feel like going home

Lord, I tried to see you through
But it was too much for me
Now I'm coming home to you
Yes, I feel like going home

Lord, I feel like going home
I've tried and I fell and I'm tired and weary
Everything I've done is wrong
Lord, I feel like going home

Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone

When death shall close these eyelids
And this heart shall cease to beat
And they lay me down to rest
In some flowery-bound retreat

Will you miss, miss me, when I'm gone
Will you miss, miss me, miss me when I'm gone X2
Will you miss when I'm gone

Perhaps you'll plant a flower
On my poor unworthy grave
And come sit alone beside me
When the roses nod and wave

Will you miss, miss me, when I'm gone
Will you miss, miss me, miss me when I'm gone X2
Will you miss when I'm gone

One sweet thought my soul shall cherish
Till this fleeting life has flown
This sweet thought will cheer when dying
You will miss me when I'm gone

Will you miss, miss me, when I'm gone
Will you miss, miss me, miss me when I'm gone X2
Will you miss when I'm gone

Setting the woods of fire

Good Luck Morning

Maybe you should disappear,
And now I've warned you so.
Bury your clothes out in the woods,
And hide your letters 'neath the stove.

There's a big house down in Wilkeson, where you can dance on tabletops.
There's a card room in the back, where you can dance on tabletops.

You'd better light a fire, underneath yourself,
You'd better light a fire, right here where it counts,
You'd better light a fire, you'd best believe the warning,
You'd better light a fire, this is your good luck morning.

Take my savings and my ring
And buy yourself somethin' to wear.
The bus rolls out of here at five,
They'll still be up when you get there.

Say hello to them in Wilkeson and tell 'em that I'll be back soon.
I know you'll do alright in Wilkeson, you tell 'em that I'll be back soon.

You'd better light a fire, underneath yourself,
You'd better light a fire, right here where it counts,
You'd better light a fire, you'd best believe the warning,
You'd better light a fire, this is your good luck morning.

You'd better light a fire, underneath yourself,
You'd better light a fire, right here where it counts,
You'd better light a fire, you'd best believe the warning,
You'd better light a fire, this is your good luck morning.

This is your good luck day,
This is your good luck charm,
They'll try to do you right,
Won't ever do you harm,
You'd better light a fire, you'd best believe the warning,
You'd better light a fire, this is your good luck.

Firetrap

Come back in the winter,
Won't steal away too long.
And when I'm back I'll set it all ablaze.
Got Jesus in my pocket
And matches in my coat.
I won't have to work alone this time.

From the trees upon the hill top,
I'll watch the old house close.
You can guard your back but my patience will be endless.
And all your stiff-jaw quiet, won't conceal what you have done.
You warned us all to sell or pay the price.

Now I wanna burn, I wanna burn,
Not only you can burn.

The newspaper and TV fools came trudging 'cross our fields.
Said the shots that killed my brother came from his own hand.
But that don't explain the tire tracks that came down from your house.
To make it look like suicide had always been your plan.

Now I wanna burn, I wanna burn,
Not only you can burn.
I wanna burn this signal fire, I wanna burn this firetrap,
Not only you can burn.
And it belongs to me now,
Right or wrong,

I'll come back in the winter,
On a trail of no remorse.
And my footprints will get covered by the frozen snow.
And no one in your family, will talk of me again.
Flames will die, and silence will return.

Now I wanna burn, I wanna burn,
Not only you can burn.
I wanna burn this signal fire, I wanna burn this firetrap,
Not only you can burn.
And it belongs to me now,
Right or wrong.
And it belongs to me now,
Right or wrong.

Bordertown

I can sleep it off,
Sleep it back to sleep,
I can be most anything I want.
A long way from the shade,
The north side of the moon.
Down here only rich men lose their shirts.

And John Law wakes to sweep,
The morning off the street,
But no one cares if he has done his job.
And postcards never came,
From race tracks by the sea.
From a gambler who says: "You are still my lucky thing."

Bordertown,
There's been an accident in Bordertown.
Bordertown,
I am your accident in Bordertown.

Coyotes stirs the drinks,
And drives his stolen jeep,
And drives the kingsnake to its happy hole.
But I stand in the clear,
The only place he fears,
The only place he's never seen me stand.

Bordertown,
There's been an accident in Bordertown.
Bordertown,
I am your accident in Bordertown.

There ain't no seasons here,
But the freezin' still appears,
Everytime I call this home.
Can't be enough alone.

I can sleep it off,
Sleep it back to sleep,
I can be most anything I want.
A long way from the shade,
The north side of the moon.
Down here only taxi drivers know my name.

Feeling No Pain

Will you crash the engine of our ruin?
Who'll spill the flat cars of our shame?

I'm beat up tired from always doin',
What I shoulda done in the first place.

You can call in sick, no need to fear the morning.
You will drink by numbers, I will drink by faith.
The stairs are crashin', so is all the danger.
Shoulda took a breath, but I's too drunk to wait.

Can you still prescribe,
The remedies and lies,
'Til we feel no pain?
'Til we all have risen.X2

Porchlights shattered, but the veins still glow here.
Met you in a bar, out by the switchin' yard.
My best attempts, can only knock you down here.
You should wear this badge, or wear nothin' at all.

Can we reconcile,
The bottom of the pile,
'Til the poison tastes good?
'Til we all have risen.
'Til we all have risen.

Can you help explain,
The senseless and the vain,
'Til the vial's empty?
Can you still prescribe,
The remedies and lies,
'Til we feel no pain?
'Til we all have risen.X4

Will you crash the engine of our ruin?
Will you give me up to feel no pain?

Old Crow

Now all of us knew Old Crow as the patron drinker's curse.
He paced along the barstools, beggin' quarters for his thirst.
Nobody knew where he came from,
And nobody cared to ask.

Then along came Billy Sunday, tellin' stories 'bout the past.
He said Crow had stole some gold and sunk it in the lake,
Held down by cement blocks in a broken apple crate.
Billy said it came from the murdered father of the bride.
Crow had worked their orchard land, until the night he did his crime.

Old Crow lied. X2

Night heat chokes the valley,
Hiss of anger travels far.
A door is slammed, somebody's drunk,
The daughter jumps in Billy's car.

Speedin' down the driveway,
Outside her father bleeds and prays.
Old Crow is in the shadows,
As Billy Sunday gets away.

Old Crow lied. X4

Gave Old Crow a quarter, asked him if he was the man.
That Billy Sunday said he was, and Old Crow grabbed my hand.
Said: "I loved that Orchard girl and to protect her I have lied."
Now Billy Sunday owns the truth.
'Cause Billy Sunday robbed it blind.

Old Crow lied. X8

Almost Wisdom

Got an earthquake shack near Elbe.
Got a garden of dyin' cars.
Covered up deep in the mud of the powerline road.

And at night I can hear the lockjaw,
And the swagger of the devil's tongue.
Comin' on down from the wires of the powerline road.

Sayin' that tomorrow's just a cheap shot at today.
And that we've gone beyond our reckoning.
And if we don't face the troubles now, our families will betray.
And that's the one good reason left to give.
And it's almost wisdom.

Geneva took the kids back home,
Never heard from her again.
That's back when I worked all them 12-hour days.
Now I idle here wickedly, right through the thick and thin.
Never to believe what I cannot live.

Knowin' that tomorrow's just a cheap-shot at today,
And that we've gone beyond our reckoning.
And if we don't face the troubles now, our families will betray.
They'll take the one good reason left to give.

I was drunk on her suspicions,
And a fifth of Early Times.
I went down into Elbe just to pick a fight.
And there behind the laundry house, was Geneva in a car
She opened the front door and shouted to the night.

Shouted that tomorrow is the last chance for today.
Shouted soon we'll have our reckoning.
Shouted that the trouble here leaves us nothin' to betray.
And nothin' is the one thing left to give.
And it's almost wisdom.
Almost wisdom. X3

Sand & Gravel

The sky is always heavy here,
And the mules they roam in packs.
And the skulls we dragged from waterholes,
By the woodshed in a stack.

And fear don't ever come out alone.
And the bad moon flies by night.
And the choices made won't come again.
'Cause the first choice wasn't right.

No time for me to wash,
The sand & gravel.

Downwinders, we still watch the sky.
And each cloud has a name.
Thunderhead & casket face.
Keep your head on, don't breathe.

The hills will slowly cover you,
'Til their blessings are disguised.
And the choices made will travel home.
Leaving all their junk behind.

No time for me to wash,
The sand & gravel.

Got bags of ash and worry stones,
Buried by the fence.
And some Army water from a can,
Left over from the tests.

The great unwashed is out my door,
And it will lose you in a pinch.
And now that sorry don't mean spit.
I have memorized each inch.

No time for me to wash,
The sand & gravel here.

Nightdrive

Check the main road one more time.
Check the main road but I'm sure that you will find.

It is late and closin' down.
There are lights out there but they do not seem close.

Take these long knives for the ride.
One for every day we missed.
Cut it deep, then cut it wide.
'Til the blood runs clear.
On the night drive.

Lizards blinded by the center line.
Lava black, let mystery take its own sweet time.

Grab the antenna and hold it tight.
Turn it 'round til you find somethin' we can sing.

Take these long knives for the ride.
One for every day we missed.
Cut it deep, then cut it wide.
'Til the blood runs clear.
On the night drive.X2

If we don't move, then we can never scar.
If we don't regret, it means we never pushed this far.
Cut it deep, then cut it wide.
'Til the blood runs clear.
On the night drive....

Hole in the Mountain

Carved your name on the numbering hill,
Now it looks on the town with the promise to kill everything.
We lit this valley with atomic power,
But the lights went down in the closing hour yesterday.

And ghosty Bonny spins atop her grave.
Sayin' we had better save what we can save.

Oh no,
Oh no, hole in the mountain.

No this ain't the end of the world.
But I'm sure you'll find it waitin' its turn close to here.
All that's left is the salvage we brought,
Soon we won't recognize the things that we got, close to here.

And ghosty Bonny spins atop her grave.
Sayin' we had better save what we can save.

Oh no,
Oh no, hole in the mountain.

Send the storm kings across the flat.
Take it back while there's somethin' to take back.
Shake the cans 'til the crows go flyin'.
Bedlam's breakin' but that won't stop us from tryin'.

Hole in the mountain.
Oh no,
Oh no, hole in the mountain.

Pass Me On Over

Lead you over to the water,
Said "Hold it down until it does not breathe."
Tried drowning it on dry land for too long,
But it was not supposed to be.
This recklessness might kill you,
But I know you would miss it if it died.
This recklessness is not a curse,
It's just the old convictions runnin' out of time.

Pass me on over,
Let it pass me by.
We'll keep on movin',
Leave this shit behind.
Take all our money,
but ya know we'll never quit.
Pass me on over,
But don't pass,
Me back to this.

Birds on empty watertowers,
Owned it all but did not own a thing.
Prisoners of dry land for to long,
Until only our love remained.
By this river, we laugh loud
And leave for dead what we cannot explain.
Head out to the hiding place,
Covered in the strong arms of the aspen trees.

Pass me on over,
Let it pass me by.
We'll keep on movin',
Leave this shit behind.
Take all our money,
but ya know we'll never quit.
Pass me on over,
But don't pass,
Me back to this.

Up in the Graveyard

The graveyard sits by the Prescott mill.
Where my old man lost his arm,
And for that I was ready to kill.
But he just looked tired,
And said: "Don't bury me near that place."

When he finally died
I was in the desert war.
But no one makes a funeral wait,
So they dressed him up in his wedding clothes,
And buried him by the mill,
In the place he said he'd never stay.

All you gotta do, is look around.
You can change the darkness
Into somethin' proud.
But up in the graveyard,
Some things never change.

Came back stateside,
Tried to set things right.
Drove out to the graveyard,
Underneath a half-moon sky.
With a pick and a shovel
I started turning over stones.

Just past midnight
I got cornered by some lights.
Two sirens howlin',
Patrol cars coming down from both sides.
The sheriff put on the handcuffs.
Said: "A night in jail will cool your head."

All you gotta do, is look around.
You can change the darkness
Into somethin' proud.
But up in the graveyard,
Some things never change.

Now he still lies 'neath the mill fire smoke.
A good man to his well-made bed,
Another ten, just ready to go.
But the ground there don't rest easy,
'Cause he won't let it rest that way.

You can bury deep, but you won't forget.
A heart will never leave you alone,
Even if you want to be left,
Up in the graveyard
Where some things never change.

All you gotta do, is look around.
You can change the darkness
Into somethin' proud.
But up in the graveyard,
Some things never change.

Some things never change. X3

Promised

Promise me my soul to keep.
And promise me you'll never sleep.
And promise me that when it's over,
We will drink the whole world sober.

Promise me that lines get drawn.
Point no point to wish me well.
Promise me there's no denying,
And you will stop to wish me well.

Oh promise me.

Promise me it'll all get done.
And a lion's share of good will last.
Promise me you'll turn away first,
And promise me you won't turn back.

For all the years we kept on trying,
It wasn't 'cause we were scared to quit.
Promise me there'll be no pity,
And promise me there'll be safer bets.

Oh promise me
You won't make these promises.

With calloused hands we forged this hammer,
Broke these rocks into equal parts.
Sent the sparks, flyin' off the handle.
Asked for nothing, but delivered much.

Never were the main event,
Always played the sideshow tent.
The drunken cowards came to look us over.
Can you promise we did not belong there?

Oh promise me
You won't make these promises.

Promise me the best you know.
And promise me you'll break down slow.
And when you find the nerve to quit,
Pass it 'round and we'll share in it

There is somethin' cruel about this,
But I know hopeful it's not far behind.
What was unknown just hours ago,
Is now the killer with the angel's eye.

Oh promise me. X2

Devil's road

The light will stay on

I go to sleep, before
the devil wakes
and I wake up, before
the angels take

all my worldly desires
all my yardsticks of fear

all my secrets untold
all my motives unclear

hangin' down in the fire
burnin' them higher
won't take them away from here

and long after we're gone
the light will stay on X2

watched the city ... city of crows
watched them fly, watched
'em all flyin' low

out above the flood plain
just above the dirt road
they were hungry as winter,
hungry as us
not afraid to be flyin', not
afraid to be lost

and long after we're gone
the light will stay on X2

and if you bury me, add
three feet to it
one for your sorrow, two
for your sweat
three for the strange
things we never forget

and long after we're gone
the light will stay on X2

and long after we're safe
the lights will not fade X2

Rebecca Wild

Gathered by the riverside
the current pulls 100 years
each way

savin' souls and singin' songs
They beg and smile, but
murder just the same

watch me slip into the trees
breakin' brush past darkness
and the cold

gray crosses mark the ridge
reached her grave and fell
down in the snow

that's when I dreamed
that I was Rebecca Wild
that's when I dreamed who she was

who she was

Rebecca stood in the union hall
said: "your hands are weak from
holdin' on too strong"

that was the lost night she ever spoke
a company man, he drove
her off the road

that's when I dreamed that
I was Rebecca Wild
that's when I dreamed who she was

who she was

that's when I dreamed that
I was Rebecca Wild
that's when I dreamed who she was

last night I dreamed that
I was Rebecca Wild
last night I dreamed who she was

Rebecca Wild

The Stopping-Off Place

well the fog's rollin' thick in the trees
and the fire burns deep in the hole
my conscience a wound with no salve
it betrays me wherever I go

said the best way a man can go down
is to die with his face to the street
and you guessed that the
way I'd go down
like a gambler who rolls off to sleep

but that night on the mountain,
I staged my own death
left my clothes scattered far
down the trail
and I dreamed of your neck,
your raven-haired crown
with no trace, I jumped over the rail

Move along, cannot stay
The Stoppin'-off place
Move along, cannot stay
The Stoppin'-off place

plain clothes knows nothin' bout me
and plain clothes knows
nothin' bout you
he'll call off the chase in a snap
he'll give up the chase if you ask

and I promised to you, that I'd
see my way clear
and I'd come back to get
you someday
with silver for teeth and blood
in my hair
I'd come back and get you someday

Move along, cannot stay
The Stoppin'-off place
Move along, cannot stay
The Stoppin'-off place

Move along, cannot stay
The Stoppin'-off place
Move along, cannot stay
The Stoppin'-off place

Cold Eye

painted so many towns
painted them up and down
down to the broken ground
pointed the last one, for now

soon I will stow away
into the cool nightshade
watching fireworks fly
in the reservation sky

found only hell to pay
draggin' these bones all day
sun-up to cocktail time
dragged 'em till I was blind

the field full of also-rans
stealin' my used up plans
all of my friends were there
They couldn't believe I cared

when I put my cold eye to it X2
and I couldn't say no

luck is the thing I make
luck is the thing you break
after it all went wrong
before I was good as gone

deep in the beggin' bowl
I found some scraps to take
drank from your poison jar
found I was wide awake

when I, put my cold eye to it X2
and I never said no, no I
never said no

when I, put my cold eye to it X2
Yes, I put my cold eye to it
and I never said no, no I
never said no

Christmas Valley

It's breathin' time
In Christmas Valley
herons fly by night
and crash into the pines
and when we're gone
from Christmas Valley
no one will remember you
leave nothin' to remind
to remind

climbed up onto Fort Rock
and I looked unto the town
the aquifer works so hard
to consecrate the ground

all the way to Wagontire
just a shimmer in the haze
all the way to Wagontire
no one's beggin' us to stay

It's breathin' time
in Christmas Valley
herons fly by night
and crash into the pines
and when we're gone
from Christmas Valley
no one will remember you
leave nothin' to remind
to remind

If what you want is tarpaper
blown off in the wind
If what you want is tarpaper
then hold here to the end

Sister says in Lewiston
three rivers come to meet
she'll get us jobs in a restaurant
we can stagger home each night

It's breathin' time
in Christmas Valley
herons fly by night
and crash into the pines
and when we're home
from Christmas Valley
no one will remember you
leave nothin' to remind
to remind

Blue Head Flame

tongue tied, said my prayers
20 years or more
seems like yesterday

hung your secrets from
the judas tree
watched 'em blow down
to the valley floor
blowin' home, watched
'em blow away

and what I fear is what we all fear
a fortune lost, a fortune gained
cursed by the power of the
blue head flame

got so drunk, I took things back
things I never said
things I never stole from anyone

dug in the clay, red on my hands
guilty to the elbows,
never mind my hands
kept my nose clean,
kept it that way for you

now what I fear, is what we all fear
a fortune lost, a fortune gained
cursed by the power of the
blue head flame

watched the freights from
the railroad tie
spun a rusty nail, and I closed
both eyes
as I told my tale, as the
freights went by

straw of pity on the
courthouse stairs
wait till doomsday, you said
wait for years
I couldn't wait that long,
I shoulda' killed for less

now what I fear, is what we all fear
a fortune lost, a fortune gained
cursed by the power of the
blue head flame

ya what I fear, is what we all fear
humble origins all betrayed
lost to the power, we were
lost to the flame

tongue tied, said my prayers
20 years or more
seems like yesterday

got so drunk, I took things back
things I never stole, things
I never said to anyone
I should'a killed for less

When Fortune Smiles

even the mightiest rivers will bend
before they vanish, in the sand
even the tallest of timbers will fall
easy to fall, ain't easy to land

well that's a curse of mine
seems everything I find
keeps fallin' till it cannot fall
well that's a curse of mine
in the best of times
keep fallin' till I cannot fall

That's when fortune smiled on you
I'd say fortune smiled
when you went runnin'
away from these arms

the first will be last and the
last will be drunk
goes down, easy, easy come

well that's a curse of mine
never look behind
don't look into the swath I cut
well that's a curse of mine
never look behind
deep into the swath I cut

That's when fortune smiled on you
I'd say fortune smiled
when you went runnin'
away from these arms
these are the last things,
the things that will last
the knife in my tears, the
jail of my fears

well that's a curse of mineX3
wicked and divine
shoulda' never tried to love me

That's when fortune smiled on you
I'd say fortune smiled
when you went runnin'
away from these arms

when you went runnin'
away from these arms
hmmmmm ... when you went runnin'

All For This

I come from nowhere
I was nowhere bound

never once believed
this was my restin' ground

but somewhere between
here and that rest
I heard ya callin' my name

All for this, I have traveled
All for this, I have roamed
All for this, I have stumbled
All for this, I will carry you home

9 days of rain washed across my face
9 days of liquor, 9 days of fate
watched me blow it up to
blow it back again
but you kept callin' my name

All for this, I have traveled
All for this, I have roamed
All for this, I have stumbled
All for this, I will carry you home

comfort me, and bring no sorrow
keep on movin', gone tomorrow
I don't care
I just don't care

gone to heaven, gone to hell
they both looked the same
everywhere I go
you called my name

All for this, I have traveled
All for this, I have roamed
All for this, I have stumbled
All for this, I will carry you home

heard ya callin'
gone tomorrow
heard ya callin'
heard ya call my name

and when I find you, gone tomorrow
when I find you, I'll carry you home

Fairground Blues

I can still remember
the coat I wore that day
yellow as a plastic moon
with a weave as thick as chains

walkin' past the sideshow tents
drunker than we knew
could never fill my brother's shoes
got them Fairground Blues
got them Fairground Blues

was gone so long, I didn't know
if my brother'd still be there
when I got back to the
burlesque show
four cops were standin' on the stairs

brother's hands were stuck in irons
sweat had soaked his hair
said "you missed the fun in there
missed all the fun in there
you missed the fun in there"

brother's face was red and wild
cop said: "do you know this boy?
Choked a man for just his smile
this one's a killer not a boy."

My brother spit and laughed
and said: "I shoulda' stuck with you
big brother shoulda' stuck with you."

got them Fairground Blues X4

The Leaving Kind

Trying hard to remember your voice
it seems so faraway

all choked up by the heat and
the dust
it seems so faraway

I'm gonna give you a call, from this
air conditioned bar
gonna give it one more crack

before these cocktail lights
all disappear
like the night wind on my back

I'm not the leavin' kind
but I've got leavin'on my mind
from Jim Town, to Halfway, then back
across the riverside

it's not hard to build a flat,
straight road
across this treeless plain

just follow, the sharp-edge
of the earth
and never, never stray

I'm not the leavin' kind
though I've got leavin' on my mind

from Jim Town, to Halfway,
then back across the riverside
I'm not the leavin' kind
though I'll be leavin' one more time
from Jim Town, to Flatop, then down
across the riverside

from Jim Town, to Halfway,
then back across the riverside
from Jim Town, to Flatop,
then down along the riverside
from Jim Town, to Halfway,
then back across the riverside
from Jim Town, to Flatop...

Forgiveness Song

Bang out the night song
on an old kettle drum
don't ask for no ransom
ain't payin you none

ground to a halt
with suspicion for all
you say "watch me fly"

I suppose that you're gone
but I don't care to look
don't give me the truth
give me shackles

bang out the night song
from deep in my chest
are you listening?

But last night (Oh last night)
late last night (late last night)
last night, you were forgiveness
And last night (Oh last night)
late last night (late last night)
last night you were the end

walked to the dawn
along rnisery's mile
stopped under a streetlight
and burned off my smile

trust was your mirror
and trust was your fool
are you listenin'

and now that I'm gone
give the tears to your friends
I'll take what I'm due
then I'll strangle

bang out the night song
you can beat it to death
you can watch me fly

But last night (Oh last night)
late last night (late last night)
last night, you were forgiveness
And last night (Oh last night)
late last night (late last night)
last night you were the end

raisin' my spirits
my head on the floor
turned around fast
walkin' back to your door

this run of bad luck
stuck like sleep in yer eyes
couldn't see a thing

But last night, late last night
last night, you were forgiveness
oh last night, late last night
last night you were the end

I'm comin' back to ya
no religion to sell
bang out the night song
ain't stuck in this hell
oh last night
late last night
last night you were forgivin