| Disc 1 | ||||||
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Come gather 'round friends, and I'll tell you a tale
Of when the red iron ore pits ran plenty But the cardboard-filled windows and old men on the benches Tell you now that the whole town is empty In the north end of town, my own children have grown But I was raised on the other In the wee hours of youth, my mother took sick And I was brought up by my brother The iron ore poured as the years passed the door The drag lines and shovels, they was humming 'Til one day my brother failed to come home The same as my father before him Well, a long winter's wait from the window, I watched My friends, they couldn't have been kinder And my schooling was cut as I quit in the spring To marry John Thomas, a miner Oh, the years passed again and the givin' was good With a lunch bucket filled every season But with three babies born, the work was cut down To a half a day's shift with no reason And the shaft was soon shut and more work was cut And the fire in the air, it felt frozen 'Til a man come to speak and he said in one week That number eleven was closing They complained in the east, they are paying too high They say that your ore ain't worth diggin' That it's much cheaper down in the South American towns Where the miners work almost for nothin' So the mining gates locked and the red iron rotted And the room smelled heavy from drinkin' And the sad silent song made the hour twice as long As I waited for the sun to go sinkin' I lived by the window as he talked to himself This silence of tongues, it was building 'Til one morning's wake, the bed, it was bare And I was left alone with three children The summer is gone, the ground's turning cold The stores one by one, they're a-foldin' My children will go as soon as they grow Well, there ain't nothin' here now to hold them |
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Oh, my name, it ain't nothin', my age, it means less
The country I come from is called the Midwest I's taught and brought up there, the laws to abide And that the land that I live in has God on its side Oh, the history books tell it, they tell it so well The cavalries charged, the Indians died Oh, the country was young With God on its side The Spanish-American War had its day And the Civil War too was soon laid away And the names of the heroes I was made to memorize With guns in their hands and God on their side The First World War, boys, it came and it went The reason for fighting I never did get But I learned to accept it, accept it with pride For you don't count the dead when God's on your side The Second World War came to an end We forgave the Germans and then we were friends Though they murdered six million, in the ovens they fried The Germans now too have God on their side I learned to hate the Russians all through my whole life If another war comes, it's them we must fight To hate them and fear them, to run and to hide And accept it all bravely with God on my side But now we got weapons of chemical dust If fire them we're forced to, then fire them we must One push of the button and a shot the world wide You never ask questions when God's on your side Through many a dark hour I been thinkin' about this That Jesus Christ was betrayed by a kiss But I can't think for you, you'll have to decide Whether Judas Iscariot had God on his side So now as I'm leavin', I'm weary as hell The confusion I'm feelin' ain't no tongue can tell The words fill my head and they fall to the floor That if God's on our side, he'll stop the next war |
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Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for? "Not I," says the referee, "Don't point your finger at me. I could've stopped it in the eighth An' maybe kept him from his fate, But the crowd would've booed, I'm sure, At not gettin' their money's worth. It's too bad he had to go, But there was a pressure on me too, you know. It wasn't me that made him fall. No, you can't blame me at all." Who killed Davey Moore, Why an' what's the reason for? "Not us," says the angry crowd, Whose screams filled the arena loud. "It's too bad he died that night But we just like to see a fight. We didn't mean for him t' meet his death, We just meant to see some sweat, There ain't nothing wrong in that. It wasn't us that made him fall. No, you can't blame us at all." Who killed Davey Moore, Why an' what's the reason for? "Not me," says his manager, Puffing on a big cigar. "It's hard to say, it's hard to tell, I always thought that he was well. It's too bad for his wife an' kids he's dead, But if he was sick, he should've said. It wasn't me that made him fall. No, you can't blame me at all." Who killed Davey Moore, Why an' what's the reason for? "Not me," says the gambling man, With his ticket stub still in his hand. "It wasn't me that knocked him down, My hands never touched him none. I didn't commit no ugly sin, Anyway, I put money on him to win. It wasn't me that made him fall. No, you can't blame me at all." Who killed Davey Moore, Why an' what's the reason for? "Not me," says the boxing writer, Pounding print on his old typewriter, Sayin', "Boxing ain't to blame, There's just as much danger in a football game." Sayin', "Fist fighting is here to stay, It's just the old American way. It wasn't me that made him fall. No, you can't blame me at all." Who killed Davey Moore, Why an' what's the reason for? "Not me," says the man whose fists Laid him low in a cloud of mist, Who came here from Cuba's door Where boxing ain't allowed no more. "I hit him, yes, it's true, But that's what I am paid to do. Don't say 'murder,' don't say 'kill.' It was destiny, it was God's will." Who killed Davey Moore, Why an' what's the reason for? |
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A bullet from the back of a bush
Took Medgar Evers' blood A finger fired the trigger to his name A handle hid out in the dark, a hand set the spark Two eyes took the aim, behind a man's brain But he can't be blamed He's only a pawn in their game A South politician preaches to the poor white man "You got more than the blacks, don't complain You're better than them, you been born with white skin" They explain And the Negro's name is used, it is plain For the politician's gain as he rises to fame And the poor white remains on the caboose of the train But it ain't him to blame, he's only a pawn in their game The deputy sheriffs, the soldiers, the governors get paid And the marshals and cops get the same But the poor white man's used in the hands of them all like a tool He's taught in his school from the start, by the rule That the laws are with him, to protect his white skin To keep up his hate, so he never thinks straight 'bout the shape that he's in But it ain't him to blame, he's only a pawn in their game From the poverty shacks he looks from the cracks to the tracks And the hoof beats pound in his brain And he's taught how to walk in a pack, shoot in the back With his fist in a clinch To hang and to lynch, to hide 'neath a hood To kill with no pain like a dog on a chain He ain't got no name, but it ain't him to blame He's only a pawn in their game Today Medger Evers was buried from the bullet he caught They lowered him down as a king But when the shadowy sun sets on the one That fired the gun You'll see by his grave On the stone that remains Carved next to his name, his epitaph plain "Only a pawn in their game" |
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Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come followin' you Though I know that evening's empire Has returned into sand Vanished from my hand Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping My weariness amazes me I am branded on my feet I have no one to meet And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come followin' you Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship My senses have been stripped, my hands can't feel to grip My toes too numb to step Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade Into my own parade Cast your dancing spell my way I promise to go under it Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come followin' you Though you might hear laughing spinning, swinging madly across the sun It's not aimed at anyone It's just escaping on the run And, but for the sky, there are no fences facing And if you hear vague traces of skipping reels of rhyme To your tambourine in time It's just a ragged clown behind I wouldn't pay it any mind It's just a shadow you're seeing that he's chasing Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come followin' you Then take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves Let me forget about today until tomorrow Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come followin' you |
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Well, it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If'n you don't know by now And it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe It'll never do somehow When your rooster crows at the break of dawn Look out your window and I'll be gone You're the reason I'm a-travellin' on But don't think twice, it's all right And it ain't no use in a-turnin' on your light, babe The light I never knowed And it ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe I'm on the dark side of the road But I wish there was something you would do or say To try and make me want to change my mind and stay But we never did much talkin' anyway But don't think twice, it's all right So it ain't no use in callin' out my name, gal Like you never done before And it ain't no use in callin' out my name, gal I can't hear you anymore I'm a-thinkin' and a-wonderin', walkin' down the road I once loved a woman, a child I'm told I give her my heart but she wanted my soul But don't think twice, it's all right So long, honey baby Where I'm bound I can't tell And goodbye's too good a word, babe So I'll just say "fare thee well" I ain't a-sayin' you treated me unkind You could've done better, but I don't mind You just kind of wasted my precious time But don't think twice, it's all right |
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Far between sundown's finish and midnight's broken toll
We ducked inside a doorway as thunder went crashing As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight And for each and every underdog soldier in the night And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing Through the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched With faces hidden as the walls were tightening As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain Dissolved into the bells of the lightning Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake Tolling for the luckless, they abandoned and forsaked Tolling for the outcast, burning constantly at stake And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing Through the mad, mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder As the clanging of the church bells blew far into the breeze Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind And the poet and the painter far behind his rightful time And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin' In the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales For the disrobed faceless forms of no position Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts All down in taken-for-granted situations Tolling for the deaf and blind, tolling for the mute For the mistreated, mate-less mother, the mis-titled prostitute For the misdemeanor outlaw, chained and cheated by pursuit And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing Even though a cloud's white curtain in a far-off corner flared And the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting Electric light still struck like arrows fired but for the ones Condemned to drift or else be kept from driftin' Tolling for the searching ones on their speechless seeking trail For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale And for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing Starry-eyed and laughing as I recall when we were caught Trapped by no track of ours for they hang suspended As we listened one last time and we watched with one last look Spellbound and swallowed 'til the tolling ended Tolling for the aching whose wounds cannot be nursed For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones and worse And for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin' |
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Listen to me, baby
There's something you must see I want to be with you, gal If you want to be with me But if you got to go It's all right But if you got to go, go now Or else you gotta stay all night It ain't that I'm questionin' you To take part in any quiz It's just that I ain't got no watch An' you keep askin' me what time it is But if you got to go It's all right But if you got to go, go now Or else you gotta stay all night I am just a poor boy, baby Lookin' to connect But I certainly don't want you thinkin' That I ain't got any respect But if you got to go It's all right But if you got to go, go now Or else you gotta stay all night You know I'd have nightmares And a guilty conscience, too If I kept you from anything That you really wanted to do But if you got to go It's all right But if you got to go, go now Or else you gotta stay all night It ain't that I'm wantin' Anything you never gave before It's just that I'll be sleepin' soon It'll be too dark for you to find the door But if you got to go It's all right But if you got to go, go now Or else you gotta stay all night |
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My love, she speaks like silence
Without ideals or violence She doesn't have to say she's faithful Yet she's true like ice, like fire People carry roses And make promises by the hours My love, she laughs like the flowers Valentines can't buy her In the dime stores and bus stations People talk of situations Read books, repeat quotations Draw conclusions on the wall Some speak of the future My love, she speaks softly She knows there's no success like failure And that failure's no success at all The cloak and dagger dangles Madams light the candles In ceremonies of the horsemen Even the pawn must hold a grudge Statues made of matchsticks Crumble into one another My love winks, she does not bother She knows too much to argue or to judge The bridge at midnight trembles The country doctor rambles Banker's nieces seek perfection Expecting all the gifts that wise men bring The wind howls like a hammer And the night blows rainy My love, she's like some raven At my window with a broken wing |
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Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come followin' you Though I know that evening's empire Has returned into sand Vanished from my hand Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping My weariness amazes me I am branded on my feet I have no one to meet And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come followin' you Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship My senses have been stripped, my hands can't feel to grip My toes too numb to step Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade Into my own parade Cast your dancing spell my way I promise to go under it Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come followin' you Though you might hear laughing spinning, swinging madly across the sun It's not aimed at anyone It's just escaping on the run And, but for the sky, there are no fences facing And if you hear vague traces of skipping reels of rhyme To your tambourine in time It's just a ragged clown behind I wouldn't pay it any mind It's just a shadow you're seeing that he's chasing Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come followin' you Then take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves Let me forget about today until tomorrow Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle-jangle morning I'll come followin' you |
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