| Disc 1 | ||||||
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| 1. |
| 3:31 | 
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On a warm summer's evenin'
On a train bound for nowhere I met up with the gambler We were both too tired to sleep So we took turns a-starin' Out the window at the darkness When boredom overtook us He began to speak He said, "Son, I've made my life Out of readin' people's faces Knowin' what the cards were By the way they held their eyes So if you don't mind my sayin' I can see you're out of aces For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice" So I handed him my bottle And he drank down my last swallow Then he bummed a cigarette And asked me for a light And the night got deathly quiet And his face lost all expression He said, "If You're gonna play the game, boy You gotta learn to play it right" You've got to know When to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em Know when to walk away Know when to run You never count your money When you're sittin' at the table There'll be time enough for countin' When the dealin's done Now every gambler knows The secret to survivin' Is knowin' what to throw away And knowin' what to keep 'Cause every hand's a winner And every hand's a loser And the best you can hope for Is to die in your sleep" And when he finished speakin' He turned back toward the window Crushed out his cigarette And faded off to sleep And somewhere in the darkness The gambler - he broke even And in his final words I found An ace that I could keep You've got to know When to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em Know when to walk away Know when to run You never count your money When you're sittin' at the table There'll be time enough for countin' When the dealin's done You've got to know When to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em Know when to walk away Know when to run You never count your money When you're sittin' at the table There'll be time enough for countin' When the dealin's done |
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| 2. |
| 3:35 |
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In a bar in Toledo across from the depot
On a bar stool she took off her ring I thought I'd get closer so I walked on over I sat down and asked her name When the drinks finally hit her she said I'm no quitter But I finally quit livin' on dreams I'm hungry for laughter and here ever after I'm after what-ever the other life brings In the mirror I saw him and I closely watched him I thought how he looked out of place He came to the woman who sat there beside me Had a strange look on his face The big hands were calloused he looked like a mountain For a minute I thought I was dead But he started shaking his big heart was breaking He turned to the woman and said You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille With four hungry children and a crop in the field I've had some bad times lived through some sad times But this time your hurting won't heal You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille After he left us I ordered more whisky I thought how she'd made him look small From the lights of the bar room to a rented hotel room We walked without talking at all She was a beauty but when she came to me She must have thought I'd lost my mind I couldn't hold her 'cos the words that he told her Kept coming back time after time You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille .... |
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| 3. |
| 2:51 |
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You've painted up your lips
And rolled and curled your tinted hair Ruby are you contemplating Going out somewhere The shadow on the wall Tells me the sun is going down Oh Ruby Don't take your love to town It wasn't me That started that crazy Asian war But I was proud to go And do my patriotic chore And yes, it's true that I'm not the man I used to be Oh, Ruby I still need some company It's hard to love a man Whose legs are bent and paralyzed That my wants and needs of a woman of your age Ruby, I realized Oh Ruby Don't take your love to town She's leaving now cause I just heard the slamming of the door The way I know I've heard it Some 100 times before And if I could move I'd get my gun And put her in the ground Oh Ruby Don't take your love to town Oh Ruby for God's sake turn around |
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| 4. |
| 4:18 |
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Evryone considered him the coward of the county.
Hed never stood one single time to prove the county wrong. His mama named him tommy, the folks just called him yellow, But something always told me they were reading tommy wrong. He was only ten years old when his daddy died in prison. I looked after tommy cause he was my brothers son. I still recall the final words my brother said to tommy: Son, my life is over, but yours is just begun. Promise me, son, not to do the things Ive done. Walk away from trouble if you can. It wont mean youre weak if you turn the other cheek. I hope youre old enough to understand: Son, you dont have to fight to be a man. Theres someone for evryone and tommys love was becky. In her arms he didnt have to prove he was a man. One day while he was workin the gatlin boys came callin. They took turns at becky.... there was three of them! Tommy opened up the door and saw his becky cryin. The torn dress, the shattered look was more than he could stand. He reached above the fireplace and took down his daddys picture. As his tears fell on his daddys face, he heard these words again: Promise me, son, not to do the things Ive done. Walk away from trouble if you can. It wont mean youre weak if you turn the other cheek. I hope youre old enough to understand: Son, you dont have to fight to be a man. The gatlin boys just laughed at him when he walked into the barroom. One of them got up and met him halfway cross the floor. When tommy turned around they said, hey look! ol yellows leavin. But you coulda heard a pin drop when tommy stopped and blocked the door. Twenty years of crawlin was bottled up inside him. He wasnt holdin nothin back; he let em have it all. When tommy left the barroom not a gatlin boy was standin. He said, this ones for becky, as he watched the last one fall. And I heard him say, I promised you, dad, not to do the things you done. I walk away from trouble when I can. Now please dont think Im weak, I didnt turn the other cheek, And papa, I sure hope you understand: Sometimes you gotta fight when youre a man. Evryone considered him the coward of the county. |
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| 5. |
| 3:38 |
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All my life was a paper once plain, pure and white
Till you moved with your pen changing moods now and then Till the balance was right Then you added some music, every note was in place And anybody could see all the changes in me by the look on my face And you decorated my life, created a world where dreams are a part And you decorated my life by painting your love all over my heart You decorated my life Like a rhyme with no reason in an unfinished song There was no harmony life meant nothin' to me, until you came along And you brought out the colors, what a gentle surprise Now I'm able to see all the things life can be shining soft in your eyes And you decorated my life, created a world where dreams are a part And you decorated my life by painting your love all over my heart You decorated my life |
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| 6. |
| 2:39 |
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Reuben James, in my song you live again
And the phrases that I rhyme are just a footstep out of time From the time when I knew you, Reuben James Reuben James, all the folks around Hadison County Cussed your name You're just a no-count, sharecropping colored man You'd steal anything you can And everybody laid the blame on Reuben James Reuben James, for you still walk over fields of my mind Faded shirt, weathered brow, caloused hands upon the plow Loved you then and I love you now, Reuben James For a grave, the gossiper of Hadison County died with chid Although your skin was black You were the one that didn't turn your back On the hungry white child with no name, Reuben James Reuben James, with your mind on the soul And a bottle in your right hand You said turn the other cheek For there's a better world awaiting for the meek In my mind, these words remain from Reuben James Reuben James, for you still walk over fields of my mind Faded shirt, weathered brow, caloused hands upon the plow Loved you then and I love you now, Reuben James Reuben James, one dark cloudy day They brought you from the field And to your lonely pine box Came just a preacher, me and the rain Just to sing one last refrain to Reuben James Reuben James, for you still walk over fields of my mind Faded shirt, weathered brow, caloused hands upon the plow Loved you then and I love you now, Reuben James Reuben James, for you still walk over fields of my mind Faded shirt, weathered brow, caloused hands upon the plow Loved you then and I love you now, Reuben James |
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| 7. |
| 4:19 |
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In Cumberland Kentucky on a cool hot evening
Billy lay in love with Marrianne She was rich judge's daughter, he was a son of a miner But that night their love was more than they could stand The judge said to his daughter, that son of that coal miner Is some you'll go hell to leave alone She knew his dad so well, she knew she couldn't tell But the truth was bound to show before too long Their love had started growing on its own You can't out run the long arm of the law No, you can't out run the long arm of the law Billy place his hand on Mary and he felt the baby's moving Kissed her and said I'll see you when I can The judge had made a promise when he caught up with Billy He'd sent him far away from Marianne The whole town knew he'd do it too many times he'd proved it To at least a hundred men behind the wall He'd smiled behind that frown and when he brought that gavel down He called himself the long arm of the law And he'd set his mind on seeing Billy fall In a hot humid mine shack a mid-wife pulled the sheet back And placed a cool damp towel on Marianne Billy's eyes were wide with wonder from the spell he was under When she placed the new born baby in his hands He didn't hear the siren, just a baby's crying That miracle of lvoe was all he saw When the door came crashing down and Billy turned around He felt the heart and soul inside him fall He stood face to face with the long arm of the law You can't out run the long arm of the law No, you can't out run the long arm of the law You can hide out for a while, he says with a smile But you can't out run the long arm of the law Seemed like everybody down in Cumberland Kentucky Came out that day to see poor Billy's trial The court was called to order, there sat the judge's daughter She looked so pround, holding Billy's child When they brought Billy to him, the judge just look right thru him As he held that holy bible in his hand and he smiled at this grandson Then his eyes cut back to Billy And said I think this time the law will understand Son, I sentence you to live with Marianne You can't out run the long arm of the law No, you can't out run the long arm of the law He said to Billy with a smile, I know you hide out for a while Ah but you can't out run the long arm of the law No you can't out run the long arm of the law |
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| 8. |
| 4:19 |
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You lie in gentle sleep beside me
I hear your warm and rhythmic breathing I take your hand and hold it tightly Listen, can you not hear our young hearts beating I kiss the sleep from your eyes Your smile is sweeter than the morning And here it comes. Chorus: Can you feel it baby Can you feel it, here it comes Feel it, Feel it Fire, Fire Something's burning Something's burning Something's burning And I think it's love. And now the sun is burning brightly We lie in love so close together I get the feeling deep inside me My love for you will burn forever. I cup my hands to touch your face And once again I feel your fire And here it comes Chorus: Can you feel it baby Can you feel it, here it comes Feel it, Feel it Fire, Fire Something's burning Something's burning Something's burning And I think it's love. And I think it's love, love And I think it's love. And I think it's love, love And I think it's love. And I think it's love, love And I think it's love... |
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| 9. |
| 4:17 | 
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| 10. |
| 3:01 |
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You want things your way
And I want them mine And now we don't know Just where to draw the line How can love survive If we keep changing sides And who picks up the pieces Every time two fools collide You lay the blame on me And I the blame on you But why do we keep finding faults In everything you do And how long can we keep right in wrong So cut and dry And who picks up the pieces Every time two fools collide We can save our love We still have the time Oh, I know there must be a way That we still haven't tried To keep our hearts from breaking Every time two fools collide |
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