bird I The winter trees are bending Limbs heavy from the snow As this rusty car goes winding down That muddy, old dirt road My thoughts are not quite clear There are many things I know I’ll never know And only one thing that I’m sure of When it comes to you I can’t let go Though my lonely heart is aching To you I shall sing Not with the voice of an angel But a bird With broken wings II The crescent moon is weeping And the stars have lost their shine Darling, I still see your eyes each time that I close mine And my dreams are turning strange So many things I know I’ll never know And only one thing that I’m sure of When it comes to you I can’t let go Though my lonely heart is aching To you I shall sing Not with the voice of an angel But a bird With broken wings III The wind is getting heavy Sends shivers down my soul And these empty days and lonely nights They surely take their toll And the seasons go on changing There’s so many things I know I’ll never know And only one thing that I’m sure of When it comes to you I can’t let go Though my lonely heart is aching To you I shall sing Not with the voice of an angel But a bird With broken wings

stars I Well, there’s a hole in the road where the moon’s been cryin’ Near the shack by the bent-back stream And there’s a spot on the dirt where the stain’s still dryin’ From the tears of a whippoorwill’s dream Well, there was once a time I glimpsed the light of the stars - The moon hangin’ over the sea But now I wonder through the valley of the coal, black night And the stars won’t shine for me Stars won’t shine for me Stars won’t shine for me II Well, there’s a mud-caked mirror that lies in a ditch ‘Neith the curtain of a kudzu vine And there’s a message on its surface that’s carved with a switch From the lick of a lodgepole pine Like the restless apparition of a nightmare’s kiss A barrel-fire blooms to smoke the bees I carved a shadow in the sunlight with a ten-inch blade And now the stars won’t shine for me Stars won’t shine for me Stars won’t shine for me ******************************** WELL, There were 12 black ribbons Where 10 were forgiven There were 8 stitches sewn And 6 fuses blown And there were 4 pints of tar And 2 buried jars AND THERE WAS NONE SPOKE HIS NAME And 1 heart to blame There were 3 jugs of rain For the 5 on the train There were 7 widows wed With 9 twist of thread AND THE HAMMER SPLITS THE TEARS 11 nails are driven WHERE THERE WERE 12 BLACK RIBBONS 11 nails are driven Where 10 were forgiven With 9 twist of thread And the 8 stitches sewn And 7 widows wed And 6 fuses blown For the 5 on the train There were 4 pints of tar And 3 jugs of rain And there were 2 buried jars And 1 heart to blame AND THERE WAS NONE SPOKE HIS NAME NO NONE SPOKE HIS NAME and the hammer splits the tears and the hammer splits the tears ************************************* Like the restless apparition of a nightmare’s kiss Like the moon hangin’ over the sea The hammer splits the tears of the twelve gone by And now the stars won’t shine for me Stars won’t shine for me ************************************* III Well, there’s a hole in the road Where the moon’s been cryin’ ‘Neath the curtain of a kudzu vine And there’s a spot on the dirt where the stain’s still dryin’ Form the lick of a lodgepole pine There was once a time I glimpsed the light of the stars - the moon hangin’ over the sea I carved a shadow in the sunlight with a ten-inch blade And now the stars won’t shine for me Stars won’t shine for me Stars won’t shine for me IV Well, there’s a mud-caked mirror that lies in a ditch Near the shack by the bent-back stream And there’s a message on its surface that’s carved with a switch From the tears of a whippoorwill’s dream Like the restless apparition of a nightmare’s kiss A barrel-fire blooms to smoke the bees Now I wonder through the valley of the cold, black night And the stars won’t shine for me Stars won’t shine for me Stars won’t shine for me ***************************** ‘Neath the hold where the kudzu vine’s been cryin’ In the dirt where the lodgepole pine’s still dryin’ There’s a mud-cake message that lies in the ditch There’s a curtain on the road that’s stained from a switch And the lick of a whippoorwill dream And the kiss of a whippoorwill dream And the tears of a whippoorwill dream Stars won’t shine for me Stars won’t shine for me Stars won’t shine for me

rats* I Sweet Marie, My soul to bless I’m down beneath the valley of the shadow of the second guess Went down to the reservoir And buried her dreams in a canopic-jar Don’t roll away the stone Don’t roll away the stone II No one signed that poison note I soaked the thing in creosote Set it on fire and cried, “AMEN” Never spoke to that son of a bitch again Don’t roll away the stone Don’t roll away the stone ***************************** So thin are the chords that bind us So long are the hours of our days Enduring the walls that divide us So foolish (How foolish) To foretell how our days Our days go by ***************************** III Poor damned James had a loss for truth And left the church walking in a deadman’s suit Hung his head and lit a cheap cigar And buried his dreams in a canopic-jar Don’t roll away the stone Don’t roll away the stone IV Years gone by, my stove grown cold I bought that girl with a bag of gold Sat her up in an easy chair But I never could break that faraway stare Don’t roll away the stone Don’t roll away the stone ***************************** So thin are the chords that bind us So long are the hours of our days Enduring the walls that divide us So foolish to foretell how our days BUT I TOLD THAT GIRL A LIE (Our days go by) AND I TOLD THAT GIRL A LIE (Our days go by) ***************************** V Sweet Marie, My soul to bless I’m down beneath the valley of the shadow of the second guess Went down to the reservoir And buried her dreams in a canopic-jar Don’t roll away the stone Don’t roll away the stone

ribbons I I counted the ribbons that lay on your bed Worn not for me - woven, black, silken thread The rain soaked the hours And trees twisted bare in the night There in the night Oh my love What binds you to me? What secrets you wind in those ribbons you tie endlessly? Oh my love II And I leafed through the letters they’d written to you The lines laced with heartaches they never out grew The fuel nursed the flame of the lamp In a dim dance of spite That danced through the night Oh my love What binds you to me? What sins might I find as these words testify endlessly? Oh my love ************************ Come darling tell me truly Say you will only be mine And give your heart unto me Let no other’s with your arms entwine Oh my love ************************ III I drew back the curtains that hang in your den The coarse, yellowed fabric that time had worn thin The sun strangled the moon and I bowed down to bathe in its light There in the light Oh my love What binds you to me? What stirs in your mind as the days trickle by endlessly? Oh my love

the valley of the wind I Hold to me beloved, now The path grows darker still And the thorns, they only thicken further on Your overbearing mother And your drunken, wicked brother They aim to claim my skin before the dawn Your dreams foretell the future And my Love I do believe To stay another day would bring my end I smell the coming snow Let us keep our voices low For soon we cross the valley of the wind II I swear to you beloved, now I've tried long to forget But the memories come and churn my stomach ill How we weighted them with stones How the waves drank up their bones Those drowning, hollow eyes they linger still Your dreams foretell the future And my Love I do believe To stay another day would bring my end I smell the coming snow Let us keep our voices low For soon we cross the valley of the wind III I trust in you Beloved, now No lie can cross your lips I seen, myself, your visions come to bloom But I could not help but wonder When I saw them sinking under If the good Lord truly did intend their doom Your dreams foretell the future And my Love I do believe To stay another day would bring my end I smell the coming snow Let us keep our voices low For soon we cross the valley of the wind IV Hold to me beloved now The brambled trail unfolds The fullness of the moon returns again One cold thrust of your blade And I hear your laughter fade I'll never cross the valley of the wind And I'll never cross the valley of the wind Lord knows I'll never cross that valley Of the wind

the jealous sister I Sister, dear sister Come talk with me In the sun withered willow of dawn Our Mother is ill In sleep lay she Dear Father has risen and gone You’ve the spun golden mane of our mother - Flawless pure skin of milk-white While, I’ve the squared hands of our brother And my hair a dark, quarrelsome night II Sister, sweet sister Come walk with me Take my warm, loving hand I’ll wind us through The twisted trees That twine their way down to the strand My warm, trusted hand’s here to guide you O’er stone, through nettle and thorn Though boughs in the wind bend beside you You are safe in the cradle of morn’ III Oh sister, my sister Let’s rest us here On the banks where the swift river flows We’ll cool our heels My sister dear In the rushing black waters below My fool, tired hands cannot fetch you As you sink and you swim and you sink How clumsy of I to not catch you Now you’re swallowed in whole by the drink End Sister, poor sister Lord keep you then Forever with Mother reside My steady sure hands Can stitch and mend The cloth to keep Father’s eyes dried A cloth to keep Father’s eyes dried A cloth to keep Father’s eyes dried

p.s. I On the morrow I’ll go searching ‘Neath promissory tree For the petals I’m collecting To deliver to thee For the Night is a ribbon That you wear ‘Round your hair May the flowers That I’m sending Entwine with them there And I tired And I try To make you love me II Soon the midnight Sends me sifting Through the sands by sea To count those grains in darkness For an eternity For the Sun is a phantom Inflamed by your kiss And I am bond here in my blindness ’Til the dawning of this And I try And I tried To make you love me ***************************** Oft times I wonder When I dream of you Of whom are you dreaming? Could it be, that you dream of me too? ***************************** III Well, the words that I write you Pour out endlessly But I lay them in the shadows For no-one can see But one day When the wind blows Tis then I shall cast These letters from a window To find you at last And I tried And I try To make you love me

never* I He sleeps in the gutter And he only walks at night And though he talks with a stutter A million dreams he can recite And he calls to the widows To the orphans And the slaves To the poor men stacking pennies On the rich men’s gilded graves But you must Never Speak His Name II Two front teeth like crooked tombstones In the wild, weepin’ wind His icy fingers crack the wishbone And you can not comprehend When he offers you twelve fiddles And he takes from you ten dimes And he speaks to you in riddle And he talks to you in rhyme But you must Never Speak His Name ************************** OHs! AHs! ************************** III His legs like broken matchsticks And his eyes, so blue and fair He got a nine pound bag of Tophet tricks And raindrops in his hair He’s a legend among the liars! To the honest, he’s a king With every child that he sires, He carves a notch into his ring You may meet him in the Springtime In the Summer or the Fall And you may see him come this Winter But his songs, you won’t recall For he sing unto the valley And he sings unto the hill In some dirty, vacant alley, I know he’s sleeping still

the preacher’s son I My daddy stood tall About six foot four When he was my age now He’d come home from the war He took up the Good Book And laid down the sword Enlisted his allegiance to the service of the Lord The first thing I can recall That ever I heard Was his thunder booming voice Just a beltin' out the word It's as if I were asleep Until that moment then When I was ushered into life at his sweet Amen II The cancer came on quickly And he grew so weak A shrivelled figure in his bed, That could hardly speak I knelt down beside him Begged him not to go (There were) so many things about him (I’d) never get to know I was barely born When I leaned for sure Life is stricken with death And there ain't no cure I ran my fingers down his wrinkles Every crease I traced And I could read the man's life by the lines on his face III Even though my mother Did the best she could To raise up a son who was gentle and good Come a few years later I'm sittin’ in jail The temporary guest Of a cold grey cell Now there ain't no excusing For the things I done Seduced by the power and the glory of a gun And I can hear in every echo Of these walls of stone My thunder booming bullets Ripping flesh from bone IV Soon they'll lead me to the gallery And strap me down And all those who've come to witness They will gather 'round And they’ll send in the preacher man To pray and then I go drifting out of life At his sweet, Amen In this polished metal mirror My skin is smooth Not a crinkle, not a fold Not a ripple, nor a groove Just a blank and barren emptiness That proves the case That you can read a man's life by the lines on his face

carry me I The road is hard And the road is long Lift me up and carry me home I have wandered far Aimlessly I roam Lift me up and carry me home How I ache to be In her arms again Hold me close Don't never let me go If I had my way I’d’ve been there yesterday Lift me up and carry me home II I have grown so tired This world has stripped me clean to bone Lift me up and carry me home It's so dark out here I never should have gone Lift me up and carry me home How it sings to me And it calls me in Though much has changed Yes, surely this I know If I had my say I'd never left there anyway Lift me up and carry me home III All my ragged dreams Left me broken and alone Lift me up and carry me home If turn back now I could be there ‘fore the dawn Lift me up and carry me home How I wish to see This old journey end To bury all the burdens that I tow I'll be there soon I pray Though I know that I won't stay

no money I Ain’t got no money Ain’t got nobody to love Fired me from my job at the factory After I worked there for 25 years Found me snoozing between two boxes Said, “Boy, now you don’t work here” Ain’t got no money Ain’t got nobody to love II My old lady, she ran off on me And left me with a broken heart Took away my old, blind hound dog And drove off in my rusty car I hope it’ll get her to the railway station Lord, it never got me quite that far Ain’t got no money Ain’t got nobody to love III The policeman, come down from the station To take my house away The land lady said I ain’t paid the rent In about 495 days Ain’t got no money Ain’t got nobody to love IV So if you see me standin’ on the road, Don’t turn your eyes away If you see me sleeping by the road Don’t turn your heart away Just give me a little donation And I’ll get you back one of these days Ain’t got no money Ain’t got nobody to love