1. |
bird
04:21
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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
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2. |
stars
04:32
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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
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3. |
rats*
04:01
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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
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4. |
ribbons
03:45
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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
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5. |
the valley of the wind
03:39
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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
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6. |
the jealous sister
03:34
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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
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7. |
p.s.
03:54
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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
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8. |
never
03:39
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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
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9. |
the preacher's son
04:29
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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
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10. |
carry me
03:08
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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
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11. |
no money
02:46
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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
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Mitchell Snow Toronto, Ontario
Singer/ songwriter from Mocksville (and Winston-Salem) North Carolina, currently living in Toronto Canada
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