Dar Williams

My name is Joe Roberts I work for the state
I'm a sergeant out of Perrineville barracks number 8
I always done an honest job as honest as I could
I got a brother named Franky and Frank he ain't no good
Now ever since we was young kids it's been the same come down
I get a call on the shortwave Franky's in trouble downtown
Well if it was any other man, I'd put him straight away
But when it's your brother sometimes you look the other way

CHORUS 1:
Yeah, me and Franky laughing and drinking nothing feels better than blood on blood
Takin' turns dancin' with Marie as the band played Night of the Johnstown Flood
I catch him when he's straying like any brother would
Man turns his back on his family well he just ain't no good

Well Franky went in the army back in 1965
I got a farm deferment, settled down, took Maria for my wife
But them wheat prices kept on dropping 'till it was like we were getting robbed
Franky came home in '68, and me, I took this job

CHORUS 2:
Yea we're laughing and drinking nothing feels better than blood on blood
Takin' turns dancin' with Marie as the band played Night of the Johnstown Flood
I catch him when he's straying, teach him how to walk that line
Man turns his back on his family he ain't no friend of mine

Well the night was like any other, I got a call 'bout quarter to nine
There was trouble in a roadhouse out on the Michigan line
There was a kid lying on the floor lookin' bad bleedin' hard from his head
There was a girl crying at a table and it was Frank, they said
Well I went out and I jumped in my car and I hit the lights
But I must of done a hundred and ten through Michigan county that night
It was out at the crossroads, down round Willow bank
Seen a Buick with Ohio plates behind the wheel was Frank

Well I chased him through them county roads
'till a sign said Canadian border five miles from here
I pulled over to the side of the highway and watched his taillights disappear

CHORUS 3:
Me and Franky laughing and drinking nothing feels better than blood on blood
Taking turns dancing with Marie as the band played Night of the Johnstown Flood
I catch him when he's straying like any brother would
Man turns his back on his family well he just ain't no good

I don't go to therapy to find out if I'm a freak
I go and I find the one and only answer every week
And it's just me and all the memories to follow
Down any course that fits within a fifty minute hour
And we fathom all the mysteries, explicit and inherent
When I hit a rut, she says to try the other parent
And she's so kind, I think she wants to tell me something,
But she knows that its much better if I get it for myself...
And she says

What do you hear in these sounds?
What do you hear in these sounds?

I say I hear a doubt, with the voice of true believing
And the promises to stay, and the footsteps that are leaving
And she says "Oh," I say, "What?" she says, "Exactly,"
I say, "What, you think I'm angry
Does that mean you think I'm angry?"
She says "Look, you come here every week
With jigsaw pieces of your past
Its all on little soundbytes and voices out of photographs
And that's all yours, that's the guide, that's the map
So tell me, where does the arrow point to?
Who invented roses?"
and...

What do you hear in these sounds?
What do you hear in these sounds?

And when I talk about therapy, I know what people think
That it only makes you selfish and in love with your shrink
But oh how I loved everybody else
When I finally got to talk so much about myself...

And I wake up and I ask myself what state I'm in
And I say well I'm lucky, 'cause I am like East Berlin
I had this wall and what I knew of the free world
Was that I could see their fireworks
And I could hear their radio
And I thought that if we met, I would only start confessing
And they'd know that I was scared
They'd would know that I was guessing
But the wall came down and there they stood before me
With their stumbling and their mumbling
And their calling out just like me, and...

The stories that nobody hears, and...

I collect these sounds in my ears, and...

That's what I hear in these sounds, and...

That's what I hear in these,
That's what I hear in these sounds.

The Beauty of the Rain
By Dar Williams

And you know the light is fading all too soon
You're just two umbrellas one late afternoon
You don't know the next thing you will say
This is your favorite kind of day
It has no walls, the beauty of the rain
is how it falls, how it falls, how it falls

And there's nothing wrong, but there is something more
And sometimes you wonder what you love her for
She says you've known her deepest fears
Cause she's shown you a box of stained-glass tears
It can't be all, the truth about the rain
is how it falls, how it falls, how it falls

But when she gave you more to find
You let her think she'd lost her mind
and that's all on you
Feeling helpless if she asked for help
or scared you'd have to change yourself

And you can't deny this room will keep you warm
You can look out of your window at the storm
But you watch the phone and hope it rings
You'll take her any way she sings,
or how she calls, the beauty of the rain
is how it falls, how it falls, how it falls
How it falls, how it falls, how it falls

You can leave this house, leave this town.
Leave it all to me, or you'll never leave the ground.
Look at that tiny screen's too small for you.
I think you should learn to dream, just like the dreamers do.

What can you do with a day?
What will you wake up and see?
The farther you get, the closer to me.

Am I the habit you're too tired to break?
I want you to love me with every step you take.

What can you do with a day?
What will you wake up and see?
The farther you get, the closer to me.

Taj Mahal, Cameroon, back in time, to the moon,
frozen lake, cypress trees, Florida's missing keys,
El Dorado, Spain or bust, Eiffel Tower, Paris, just find your way in.

You should leave this house, leave this town,
all that's left to chart is nothing less than your own heart.

What can you do with a day?
What will you wake up and see?
The farther you get, the closer to me.

Down the river, down the road, Little Rock, Tokyo,
dusty trail, Flagstaff, in a faded photograph,
Thunderstorm, Golden Sands, Cape of Horn,
Pakistan, Surinam, Highway One, Chinatown, smoking gun.
Golden Gate, Baltic Sea, Painted Desert, Laramie,
Taj Mahal, Cameroon, back in time, to the moon,
frozen lake, cypress trees, Florida's missing keys,
El Dorado, Spain or bust, Eiffel Tower, Paris, just find your way in.

How can I ask love to hold the mystery
When just look at me
It's all push and pull collateral
I don't want to be the one who gets the next surprise
I'll plan it out this time
Though I used to think that things were meant to be

So farewell to the old me
Farewell to the old me
My life is working better now
It's always changing anyhow

I danced a lot of nights until the grass was wet
It wasn't over yet
'Round 'bout 3 a.m. you made a friend
And I followed a lot of vital crazy thoughts
Because it's where the meaning was
And I tried to find it every other way

So farewell to the old me
Farewell to the old me
My life is getting better now
But always changing anyhow

But I can turn on the charm
Show them nothing more
Than what I've done before
It's nothing much new
But it'll do
'Cause I don't wanna be the one who makes you laugh out loud
I wanna make you proud
And you always said you knew what I could be

So farewell to the old me
Farewell to the old me
Farewell to the old me
My life is working better now
But always changing anyhow
Time
And the old me
Farewell to the old me
Farewell...

Let's go fishing in the morning
Just like we've always gone
You can come inside and wake me up
We'll pack and leave by dawn,
We will pack and leave by dawn.

And you'll say I hear something
and I'll say never you mind.
It's just our two poles knocking in the back seat
and your truck is running fine today
and everything is fine.

And your truck will climb up slowly
and we'll see how far we've gone
and the hills will stretch before us
they are rolling on and on,
they are rolling on and on.

And the fish will watch our boat
with envy and with fear
because we will live forever
and our days are slow and dear,
and our days are slow and dear.

We'll go fishing in the morning
Even though we've never gone
We're two fishing poles in the backseat
we're the rolling on and on,
we're the rolling on and on.

I asked the habitual partygoer just how high she thought she'd get,
And I asked the ethereal girls if they were floating yet

And so I asked the light of the day, what's this rush for heaven,
Then I saw a bird fly away, and I could not ask again.

The tabloid-tainted actress knows the myth of higher ground.
The thing she got from playing a nun she got from sleeping around.

And so I asked the light of the day, what's this rush for heaven,
Then I saw a bird fly away, and I could not ask again.

And I've been running uphill, panting, punching at the air,
Fighting what's been pushing me down, as if it's really there.

And so I asked the light of the day, what's this rush for heaven,
Then I saw a bird fly away, and I could not ask again.

And I saw all this climbing, climbing, just as far from heaven,
Then I saw a bird fly away, and I started climbing again.

Oh my fair North Star
I have held to your dearly
I have asked you to steer me
To one cloud scattered night
I got lost in my travels
I met Leo the Lion
Met and a king and met a giant
With their errant light

There's the wind and the rain
And the mercy of the fallen
Who say they have no claim to know what's right
There's the weak and the strong
And the beds that have no answer
And that's where I may rest my head tonight

I saw all the bright people
In imposing flocks they landed
And they got what they demanded
And they scratched at the ground
Then they flew and the field
Grew as sweetly for the flightless
Who had longing yet despite
They could hear every sound

There's the wind and the rain
And the mercy of the fallen
Who say they have no claim to know what's right

And if your sister or your brother
Were stumbling on their last mile
In a self-inflicted exile
You'd wish for them a humble friend
And I hope someday
That the best of Falstaff's planners
Give me seven half-built manors
Where half-dreams may dream without end

There's the wind and the rain
And the mercy of the fallen
Who say hey it's not my place to know what's right
There's the weak and the strong
And the many stars that guide us
We have some of them inside us

The Beauty of the Rain
By Dar Williams

And you know the light is fading all too soon
You're just two umbrellas one late afternoon
You don't know the next thing you will say
This is your favorite kind of day
It has no walls, the beauty of the rain
is how it falls, how it falls, how it falls

And there's nothing wrong, but there is something more
And sometimes you wonder what you love her for
She says you've known her deepest fears
Cause she's shown you a box of stained-glass tears
It can't be all, the truth about the rain
is how it falls, how it falls, how it falls

But when she gave you more to find
You let her think she'd lost her mind
and that's all on you
Feeling helpless if she asked for help
or scared you'd have to change yourself

And you can't deny this room will keep you warm
You can look out of your window at the storm
But you watch the phone and hope it rings
You'll take her any way she sings,
or how she calls, the beauty of the rain
is how it falls, how it falls, how it falls
How it falls, how it falls, how it falls

Time it was I had a dream
And you're that dream come true.
If I had the world to give
I'd give it all to you.
I'll take you to the mountains,
I will take you to the sea.
I'll show you how this life became a miracle to me.

You'll fly away, but take my hand until that day.
So when they ask how far love goes
When my job's done you'll be the one who knows.

All the things you treasure most
will be the hardest won.
I will watch you struggle long
before the answers come.
But I won't make it harder,
I'll be there to cheer you on.
I'll shine the light that guides you down
The road you're walking on.

You'll fly away, but take my hand until that day.
So when they ask how far love goes
When my job's done you'll be the one who knows.

Before the mountains call to you,
before you leave this home,
Wanna teach your heart to trust
As I will teach my own.
But sometimes I will ask the moon
Where it shined upon you last
And shake my head and laugh and say
It all went by so fast.

You'll fly away, but take my hand until that day.
So when they ask how far love goes
When my job's done you'll be the one who knows.

If you find me in a gloom, or catch me in a dream
Inside my lonely room, There is no in between.
Whispering pines, rising of the tide. If only one star shines
That's just enough to get inside. I will wait until it all goes 'round
With you in sight, the lost are found. Foghorn through the night, calling out to sea
Protect my only light, 'cause she once belonged to me. Let the waves rush in. Let the seagulls cry
For if I live again, these hopes will never die. I can feel you standing there.
But I don't see you anywhere, standing by the well, wishing for the rains.
Reaching for the clouds, for nothing else remains, drifting in a daze, when evening will be done
try looking through a haze. At an empty house in the cold, cold sun.
I will wait until it all goes 'round. With you in sight, the lost are found.

Button up that shirt you're s'posed to wear,
don't forget your airline ticket or to brush your hair,
show that family that you care.

Could you wear something that celebrates
everything you love and maybe what your family hates,
cause that might be what it takes.

Cause that's your fire, that's your soul,
you shouldn't have to go.
That's your fire, that's your soul,
you shouldn't have to go.

First thing they say's "take off your shoes,"
and they'll say they want your story but they get confused,
by all those words you use.

A year ago your car went off a cliff,
and you saw an angel in midair, who said you'd live,
well that's a story you can give.

Cause that's your fire, that's your soul,
you shouldn't have to go.
That's your fire, that's your soul,
you shouldn't have to go.

And they say "you're family, you belong to us.
You can stay at home and have our love and trust.
Any day now one of us could die,
if we make you suffer don't you want to find out why,
cause we love to watch you try."

With your fire, your soul, your soul.
It's your fire, it's your fire,
it's your fire, it's your fire, it's your fire.

Then you'll fly home and get the flu,
and you'll keep staring at the ground you always do,
when they get their time with you.

You are not a punching bag my dear,
I think your darkest days should have some light this year,
oh I think you should stay right here.

With your fire and your soul you shouldn't have to go.
It's your fire, that's your soul, you shouldn't have to go.
That's your fire, that's your soul, you shouldn't have to go.
that's your fire, it's your fire, it's your fire, it's your fire.