1. |
Bobby & Me
03:46
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Wrong place, wrong time, guess I should have paid some mind
Spoke up instead of playing blind, but how was I to know?
Bobby pulled the pistol from under his coat, he held it to the cashier's throat
All she had in her drawer was a twenty-dollar float, just enough to make him blow
I said, Bobby put the pistol down, he gave me a look, said I'm sick of this town
Everybody's always kicking us 'round, like we ain't worth a dime
I said, robbing this girl don't change a thing, he said, tell me now, are you out or in
I never had a chance before he did the thing, I had to watch that poor girl die
refrain:
And if I had the choice I suppose I'd go, someplace down in Mexico
Someplace where nobody knows my name
Yeah, I'd hop a freight or steal a car, sleep out underneath the stars
Just keep moving and see how far
I could go
The D.A. tried to cut me a deal, all I had to do was take the stand and squeal
Bobby'd get the chair, I'd pull a few years, but I was just as much to blame
I know what we did it wasn't right, I think about that girl most every night
Knowing that I should have seen the signs, like the sky before it rains
refrain
Bobby and me never had a real life, never held a job, never took a wife
Guess we drank too much and we liked to fight, but he was a friend of mine
I don't know where it all went wrong, what he thought this killing would solve
Or if he even thought about it at all, guess he just got broke' inside
refrain
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2. |
Cherokee Girl
03:20
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Coyote's in the wash, you know he never gets stuck
He drives a battered old '57 pickup truck
Cherokee girl's sitting right by his side
She's got straw-gold hair, she gives a prayer to the sky
Singing hey ya, hey ya, hey ya / hey ya, hey ya, hey ya
(after every verse and refrain)
Up in the Rincons, back in some canyon
There's a mesquite fire and the people are gathering
Rattlesnake rattle shake, stick on drum
And the Cherokee girl leads them in her song
refrain:
There are four directions, only one creator
Call him what you want, you know it doesn't matter
There's only one thing you've got to remember
Everything in this world is a brother or sister
The red-tailed hawk he's a brujo man
He's got a word or two about the care of the land
But nobody's listening, they don't understand
They just see a hawk, they don't see the man
Oh the aunts and uncles watch over the fire
While the people let the flames build higher and higher
Inside the lodge steam jumps from the rocks
And the Cherokee girl sings about the hawk
refrain
Down along the river where the sycamores grow
See the red rocks rise, hear the song of the crow
She's got the desert in her heart, so deep and old
But the Cherokee girl's got a sycamore soul
Coyote's in the wash, you know he never gets stuck
He drives a battered old '57 pickup truck
Jackrabbit's sitting in the shotgun seat
Tapping her foot to a Cherokee beat
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3. |
Old Blue Truck
03:35
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refrain:
I'm sitting in the backyard, in my old blue truck
The floor's half-gone, and the doors get stuck
It's got no motor, it's got no wheels
But I like to remember, the way it'd feel
When my dad was alive, and he drove us into town
In his shiny new Ford, with the windows down
We were young and free, maybe happier then
When I sit in this truck it's like it all comes back again
Sherry says its time we got rid of that heap
It's just an eyesore we don't need to keep
There's snakes in the grass, weeds in the wells
There's birds making nests, it just looks like hell
There's mice in the seat springs and under the hood
Well, a truck like that it ain't much good
I said it don't move an inch, but it's logging miles
Yeah, it don't do much, but it makes me smile
refrain
I said remember before the kids were born
We'd sit in that truck just to watch the corn
The moon'd come floating up over the trees
There was no one in the world, just you and me
And you held me close till I thought I might cry
Just to see how the stars shone in your eyes
I was thinking when the kids're grown up and gone
We might do it again, just sit here and watch the dawn
Sherry says I guess it won't be a trial
We could clean it up some, maybe keep it awhile
Everybody's got some crazy old load
We'll just have a truck we can't put on the road
refrain
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4. |
Highway 105
05:31
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refrain:
Get in the car, start to drive
Headin' up the line, highway 105
There's somethin' 'bout the motion, somethin' 'bout the ride
Somethin' 'bout the road makes you come alive
Highway 105
Crossing the bridge from Ottawa to Hull
Forget the casino and the shopping malls
You don't need the lights or the smoky bars
Just follow that highway underneath the stars
You've got the river on your right, the hills all around
Ghosting through Chelsea and the only sounds
Are your wheels on the pavement, the wind in your hair
You're passing Tenaga like it's not even there
When you
refrain
Get into Wakefield, there's the Black Sheep Inn
Have a beer, maybe check out the band
Ian Tamblyn, Mike Plume, Melwood Cutlery
Lynn Miles, Greg Brown, the Laws, the Kennedys
Keelaghan, Savoca, Blackie and the boys
Stacey Earle so full of joy
Tom Wilson, Fiftymen, Christine Graves
Fred Eaglesmith singing 'bout trains
yeah, I like trains, but when the night is done, I'd rather
refrain
These towns have a history, it's living there still
Alcove, Farrelton, Brennan's Hill
Logging camps, whiskey runners, mines in the hills
The river took the logs to the E.B. Eddy mill
People working farms now that don't hardly pay
It's all cottage country starting in May
Pass the dam in Low, and then Venosta
If you don't turn off you'll be in Kazabazua
That's not so bad, you can eat at Sue-Ellen's, or you can
refrain
Wright's got itself a fancy pedigree
But Gracefield was founded by my family
The land up here's just as pretty as it gets
We usually turn off when we get to Bouchette
We've got a little school bus sitting right on a lake
It's the perfect spot to catch a break
Lazing on the raft, soaking up the sun
Sitting 'round the campfire, have a little fun
But there comes a time when I've got to
refrain
Messines' next if you're not tired yet
'Round Maniwaki it's all an Indian rez
Keep on driving, there's more to be seen
At Grand-Remous catch the one-seventeen
Or you can
Go back to Wakefield and the Black Sheep Inn
Have another beer, check out the band…
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5. |
Great Big Moon
03:28
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There's a great big yellow moon, hanging low in the sky
It's watching over us, and I don't know why
Guess it thinks we need watching over, turns out it was right
Everything's changing back to front, day into the night
refrain:
Great big moon, hanging low, over us tonight
We couldn't be more different, it used to be all right
You were always shining, while I stepped out of the light
We're like pieces of two puzzles, got mixed up in a box
Each one's missing pieces, I guess too many got lost
refrain
When you can't see where you're going, it's hard remembering where you've been
The better times get swallowed by, all the troubles that you're in
Once we were on the same road, or is that just the way it seemed?
I don't know anymore, wish that moon would talk to me
refrain
Guess you think that I'm not listening, guess you think that I don't care
Guess we're feeling all alone, even when the other's there
I don't know the answers, or how they can be learned
I've been missing you a long time, and I don't know where to turn
refrain
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6. |
Sam's Song
03:04
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Sam's Gap on the top of the mountain
There's a pull-off along the road
That dog he's there every single day
You know he's got no place to go
That dog he's scared of people
Won't take nothing from your hand
Once a day old Jimmy Wilkes
Brings him dog food in his van
refrain:
That old dog he's living up in the hills
People say he's took to running wild
I see him waiting on the side of the road
He's just watching the cars go by
Joe and Mary died where they'd lived
In a holler off the county road
They had themselves a cabin there back in the hills
Was a place nobody would go
Guess they were dead a week or two
When the state troopers came
Didn't leave nothing but old black Ford
And a dog nobody could name
refrain
There's people living all over this land
Ain't got a friend to their name
Fell in the cracks that we build between us
Nobody's really to blame
Lost and waiting for something
That ain't broke' or torn
Like that dog we took to calling Sam
Waiting on an old black Ford
refrain
That old dog he's living up in the hills
People say he took to running wild
I see him waiting on the side of the road
He's just watching the cars go by
Second refrain:
That old dog he took to running wild
People say he's living up in the hills
I see him waiting on the side of the road
When I'm driving to Asheville
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7. |
Medicine Road
04:41
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Red Dog chasing Jackalope
Out in the badlands that's the way it can go
Driven by hunger, looking for something
Deep in the desert, deep in the soul
Medicine wheel, dreams in the moonlight
From each direction, the four winds blow
Coyote Woman, she has a vision
Sets them to travel on the Medicine Road
refrain:
They're on the Medicine Road, out in the desert
Thunder is talking, rumbling low
Bound by a promise laid upon them
To help each other on the Medicine Road
In the flight of the hawk there is a mystery
In the sound of a flute hear a raven's cry
In the beat of a drum there is a heartbeat
In the eyes of a lover is a medicine sky
refrain
Smoke is rising, sage and sweetgrass
Smoke is rising like an eagle's flight
Smoke is rising, tobacco burning
Smoke is rising from a medicine pipe
refrain
Brothers and sisters are guided by spirits
Some follow the Ghost Dance, some the buffalo
Los peyoteros are guided by Mescal
Coyote's children take the Medicine Road
refrain
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8. |
I Knew She Was Wild
04:08
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I met her at a carnival, by the Wall of Death
She was laughing her head off, I was holding my breath
I heard her say she likes whiskey, I had a small hip flask
When I offered her a shot, she said, I thought you'd never ask
refrain:
I knew she was wild, I didn't know she was crazy, too
Didn't know she was dangerous or what she might do
She's like an eighteen-wheeler chasing down the white line
Says the guy can keep up to me, I'll show him a good time
She says she knows Elvis, says she knows where he lives
Says it's not in Memphis, not anywhere you'd guess
Says he told her she was high class, told her she could go far
They had the chance to be real good friends, then she stole his car
refrain
She didn't come from Alabama, banjo on her knee
She doesn't know about coincidence or serendipity
Says there's no such thing as fate, we're living wild and free
There's no one you were meant to meet, except for her and me
refrain
bridge:
Sometimes late at night when the moon is high, I hear her crying in her sleep
I just hold her close till the feeling goes and she's smiling back at me
She was Tennessee born and bred, living up in the hills
If she hadn't joined the carnival, she'd be living there still
Her daddy makes moonshine, her mama's in the stir
Says she's got no problems, so long's I'm with her
refrain
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9. |
The Lost Highway
04:39
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They say the devil lives up the line
Got himself a place where the sun don't shine, you see
He's making whiskey out of people's souls
The kind that die young and never get old--not me
refrain:
I hear a voice and it's calling, high and lonesome in the rain
Says she's still waiting on me, waiting...on the lost highway
Mona went walking on a stormy night
She's dressed in black, just had a fight with me
I put the dog in the car and went looking for her
Drove up and down, all around the curves, you see
It's the little things that you can't forget
The night was dark, the road it was wet and cold
There were suicide frogs dying under my wheels
A crack of lightning and the thunder's peal, too close
refrain
I come around a curve and there she was
In the middle of the road, my heart filled with love for her
I couldn't stop, my tires just squealed
So I hit the gas and I yanked the wheel out of the curve
We tore through the rail, that old hound and me
And dropped into the night, down a hundred feet or more
When Mona found me, I'd dragged myself clear
There was rain in her eyes, though it might have been tears, she said don't go
I tried to hold on, coughing blood and rain
The dog was gone and there wasn't much pain no more
refrain
They say the devil lives up the line
Got himself a place where the sun don't shine, you see
If you see a ghost coming out of the fog
Got a long dark coat and a big black dog, that's me
refrain
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10. |
Save a Dance for Me
04:43
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The preacher's done talking and everybody's gone
Darling it's just you and me again
I know you're sleeping, guess you need your rest
But it's hard for me to let you go this way
refrain:
You said you'd save a dance for me, save a dance for me
You said you'd save a dance for me, you said you'd save
You said you'd save a dance for me
The first time we kissed was at the county fair
You pressed up close and I held on tight to you
You said whatever happens, I promise you this
In the end I'll always save a dance for you
refrain
The moment that I knew was when he took me aside
That doctor wouldn't look me in the eye
They were waiting on some paperwork, waiting on a bed
While they were waiting you just closed your eyes
refrain
See I brought you some flowers, the kind you always liked
A bunch of black-eyed Susies from our yard
Forty years together wasn't long enough to love you
I guess that's what makes all of this so hard
refrain
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Charles de Lint Ottawa, Ontario
A full-time writer and musician, this author of more than eighty adult, young adult, and children’s books has won the World Fantasy, Aurora, Sunburst, and White Pine awards, among others. Modern Library's Top 100 Books of the 20th Century poll, voted on by readers, put eight of de Lint's books among the top 100. De Lint is also a poet, artist, songwriter, performer and folklorist. ... more
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