Nanci Griffith - There`S A Light Beyond These Woods (2002) by Nanci Griffith (보컬) on maniadb.com

(Nanci Griffith)

Oh, your golden lights of America,
Joseph sought your prairies and your buffalo
And the humming of the rails down through
Kansas, they brought Joseph in from Baltimore
The Cavalry the Indians and an old dan were his only friends
Then the old dan died and the Indian's plight
Made the Cavalry young Joe's enemy.

Oh, the oultlaws spilled the blood across
The Kansas plains in the '70s
Joseph took a badge for America
To defend you from your fantasies
Joseph wore that badge across the Kansas prairies
To save the railroads
But the heroes that we made, well, they were
Ruthless soldiers who'll kill for gold.

With a broken heart for the frontier plains
Joseph sat a-rocking in his front porch swing
That old tin badge is tarnished now
You know it was just a young man's dream
And old man's tales are hard to reach when you
Don't believe in your American dream
The Indians, the buffalo and old Joe Mason
They died from memory

Oh, your golden lights of America
Joseph sought your prairies and your buffalo
And the humming of the rails down through Kansas
They brought Joseph in from Baltimore
The Cavalry, the Indians and an old dan
Forsaken old man.

Oh, your golden lights of America.

(Nanci Griffith)

Wash away the tears, all the angry times we shared,
All the feelings and the sorrows come and gone,
We have left them slip away, because I'm standing here today,
And I'm smiling at your old west Texas sun.

I remember times when you'd weathered out my mind,
But you always had a peaceful word to say.
And you could bring always bring a smile with the mischief in your eyes
Still, I'm glad the miles kept me separate from your games.

You know you're still as wild as those old Texas plains.
Standing by the highway, do you still call my name?
Lord, I can't believe it's been such a long, long time
Since I've seen that Texas boy smile.

Well, I'll be heading out of town, I may stop by next time around.
Hell, it's raining, but at least that's something real.
I came shackled down with fears about our dreams and wasted years,
And now I know exactly how to feel.

Wash away the tears, all the angry times we shared,
All the feelings and the sorrows come and gone.
We have let them slip away, because I'm standing here today,
Smiling at your old west Texas sun.

There's a light beyond these woods, Mary Margaret.
Do you think that we will go there,
And see what makes it shine, Mary Margaret?
It's almost morning, and we've talked all night,
You know we've made big plans for ten-year-olds,
You and I.

Have you met my new boy friend, Margaret?
His name is John, and he rides my bus to school,
And he holds my hand.
He's fourteen, he's my older man.
But we'll still be the best of friends,
The three of us, Margaret, John, and I.

Let's go to New York City, Margaret!
We'll hide out in the subways
And drink the poets' wine, oh,
But I had John, so you went and I stayed behind.
But you were home in time for the senior prom,
When we lost John.

The fantasies we plan, I'm living them now.
All the dreams we sang when we knew how,
Well, they haven't changed.
There's never been two friends like you and me,
Mary Margaret.

It's nice to see you family growing, Margaret.
Your daughter and your husband there,
They really treat you right,
But we've talked all night
And what about the light, that glowed beyond
Our woods when we were ten?
You were the rambler then.

The fantasies we planned, well, Maggie,
I'm living them now.
All the dreams we sang, oh, we damn sure knew
How, but I haven't changed.
There'll never be two friends like you and me,
Maggie, can't you see?

There's a light beyond your woods, Mary Margaret.

Ronnie stood beneath the movie marquee
His memories all curled up inside
He was trying to remember
was it August or September
He'd seen her for the last time

He'd heard that she'd become an actress
Lord, she always had the prettiest face
And he stood with his hands
in his pockets and waited
For the dollar matinee

Lord, she's bigger than life on the screen
There's a laugh from the balcony, good Lord
And the sun will burn you and blind you
When you step back into the street

The theater, she smelled so familiar
She was a smokey old velvet delight
Yes, and he sat down front
just like he'd always done
With his feet hanging out in the aisles

And he watched her with eyes disbelieving
Felt something like time on his brain
And he told himself
don't you remember it's only
Just a part that she's playing

Lord, she's bigger than life on the screen
There's a laugh from the balcony, good Lord
And the sun will burn you and blind you
When you step back into the street

She stood by some window in Paris
While the captions translated the scene
Oh, and Ronnie stared back
at her body and breathed
"Christ, that's the first time I've seen it!"

Behind him the people were leaving
Well, the busses, they were humming outside
But old Ronnie never went
to the movies unless
He could stay and see it twice

Lord, she's bigger than life on the screen
There's a laugh from the balcony, good Lord
And the sun will burn you and blind you
When you step back into the street

In an old pickup truck, with his hat pulled down
He drives them old Montana backroads
Remembering half-forgotten times, and wondering where it's gone
And if he can still carry the load

Now, the summer sun is setting, and the moon is on the rise
As he pulls that old pickup into town
And he parks beside the place where the feed store used to be
And he heads for an old familiar sound

Those honky-tonk bands still play old-time songs
Remembering how things used to be
Sitting at the bar with his head down in his hands
So alone with his memories
Lord, he's so alone with his memories

He remembers back in '33, or was it '34
The year that he won the rodeo
The buckle that they gave him, well, he still wears today
For that Brahma bull that he rode

But his riding days are over now, his back is getting weak
And his eyesight, it just ain't as good
As the days he'd spot a deer at a hundred yards or more
And bring back a month's supply of food

Those honky-tonk bands still play old-time songs
Remembering how things used to be
Sitting at the bar with his head down in his hands
So alone with his memories
Lord, he's so alone with his memories

Now the bar is getting set to close, they say he's got to leave
But it feels like, Lord, he just arrived
So he downs his last shot as he's heading for the door
Getting ready for that long and lonely drive

In an old pickup truck, with his hat pulled down
He drives them old Montana backroads
Remembering half-forgotten times, and wondering where it's gone
And if he can still carry the load

Those honky-tonk bands still play old-time songs
Remembering how things used to be
And he tumbles through the door, and he falls down on his bed
Still alone with his memories
Lord, he's still alone with his memories

He was a simple man only to a stranger.
And the kindness in his eyes
I still remember.
Now that he is old,
they say he's angry and he's cold,
That his soul is dying.

He's a wealthy man's dream,
and he's a working man's dime.
He has stood in both men's shoes
in his own damn time.
The hard times of the thirties
still linger in his mind
When he is lonely.
He's out there in the cold,
twenty years away from home.
Does he dream about his old home
in San Antone?
He's often watched the highways,
but he's a man of sixty-five.
Where ain't a soul in El Paso
who would give an old drunk a ride.

Now, he traded in his draftsman's pen
for a fishing pole.
And his mansion on the hill
is an alley in El Paso.
The anchors of the fifties
still hold to broken dreams
When his sorrows grow.

He's out there in the cold,
twenty years away from home.
Does he dream about his old home
in San Antone?
He's often watched the highways,
but he's a man of sixty-five.
There ain't a soul in El Paso
who would give an old drunk a ride.

Now, they tell me that John Philip
loved to gamble in his day.
And he burned his bridges well
when he walked away.
He closed those corporate doors,
left his children and his home . . .
Now no one owns him.