Gillian Welch

When the iceberg hit
How was I to know
That God moves on the water
Like Casey Jones?

So I walked downtown
On my telephone
Took a lazy turn
Through the red eye zone

It was a five-band bill
A two dollar show
Saw the van out in front
From Idaho

And the girl passed out
In the backseat trash
And there was no way they'd make
Even a half a tank of gas

They looked sick and stoned
And strangely dressed
No one showed from the local press

But I watched 'em awhile
Through the bottom land
And I wished I played
In a rock and roll band

Hey, hey
It was the fourteenth day of April

Then they closed it down
With the sails and rags
And they swept up the fags
And the local rags

And threw the plastic cups
In the plastic bags
And the cooks cleaned the kitchen
With the staggers and the jags

Ruination Day
The sky was red
I went back to work
And back to bed

And the iceberg broke
And the Okies fled
And the Great Emancipator
Took a bullet in the back of the head

Hey

I want to go all over the world
And start living free
I know that there's somebody who
Is waiting for me
I'll build a boat, steady and true
As soon as it's done
I'm going to sail along in the dreams
Of my dear someone

One little star, smiling tonight
Knows where you are
Stay, little star, steady and bright
To guide me afar
Blow, little wind, over the deep
For now I've begun
Hurry and take me straight into the arms
Of my dear someone
Hurry and take me straight into the arms
Of my dear someone

go to sleep little babe
go to sleep little babe

your momma's gone away and your daddy's gonna stay
didn't leave nobody but the baby

go to sleep little babe
go to sleep little babe

everybody's gone in the cotton and the corn
didn't leave nobody but the baby

you're a sweet little babe
you're a sweet little babe

honey in the rock and the sugar don't stop
gonna bring a bottle to the baby

don't you weep pretty babe
don't you weep pretty babe

she's long gone with her red shoes on
gonna need another loving babe

go to sleep little babe
go to sleep little babe

you and me and the devil makes three
don't need no other lovin' babe

go to sleep little babe
go to sleep little babe

come lay bones on the alabaster stones
and be my everlovin baby

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
Just a country boy that combed his hair
And put on a shirt his mother made and went on the air
And he shook it like a chorus girl
And he shook it like a Harlem queen
He shook it like a midnight rambler, baby
Like you never seen

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
How he took it all out of black and white
Grabbed his wand in the other hand and he held on tight
And he shook it like a hurricane
He shook it like to make it break
And he shook it like a holy roller, baby
With his soul at stake

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
He was all alone in a long decline
Thinking how happy John Henry was that he fell down and died
When he shook it and he rang like silver
He shook it and he shine like gold
He shook it and he beat that steam drill, baby
Well bless my soul

He shook it and he beat that steam drill, baby
Well bless my soul, what's wrong with me?

I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
I was thinking that night about Elvis
Day that he died, day that he died
Just a country boy that combed his hair
Put on a shirt his mother made and he went on the air
And he shook it like a chorus girl
He shook it like a Harlem queen
He shook it like a midnight rambler, baby
Like he never seen

Everything is free now,
That's what they say.
Everything I ever done,
Gotta give it away.
Someone hit the big score.
They figured it out,
That we're gonna do it anyway,
Even if doesn't pay.

I can get a tip jar,
Gas up the car,
And try to make a little change
Down at the bar.

Or I can get a straight job,
I've done it before.
I never minded working hard,
It's who I'm working for.

(Chorus)

Every day I wake up,
Hummin' a song.
But I don't need to run around,
I just stay home.

And sing a little love song,
My love, to myself.
If there's something that you want to hear,
You can sing it yourself.

'Cause everything is free now,
That what I say.
No one's got to listen to
The words in my head.
Someone hit the big score,
And I figured it out,
That we're gonna do it anyway,
Even if doesn't pay.

Oh I dream a highway back to you love
A winding ribbon with a band of gold
A silver vision come and rest my soul
I dream a highway back to you

John he's kicking out the footlights
The Grand Ole Opry's got a brand new band
Lord, let me die with a hammer in my hand
I dream a highway back to you.

I think I'll move down into Memphis
And thank the hatchet man who forked my tongue
I lie and wait until the wagons come
And dream a highway back to you.

The getaway kicking up cinders
An empty wagon full of rattling bones
Moon in the mirror on a three-hour jones,
I dream a highway back to you.

Oh I dream a highway back to you love
A winding ribbon with a band of gold
A silver vison come arrest my soul
I dream a highway back to you.

Which lover are you, Jack of Diamonds?
Now you be Emmylou and I'll be Gram
I send a letter, don't know who I am
I dream a highway back to you.

I'm an indisguisable shade of twilight
Any second now I'm gonna turn myself on
In the blue display of the cool cathode ray
I dream a highway back to you.

I wish you knew me, Jack of Diamonds
Fire-riding, wheeling when I lead em up
Drank whisky with my water, sugar in my tea
My sails in rags with the staggers and the jags
I dream a highway back to you.

Oh I dream a highway back to you love
A winding ribbon with a band of gold
A silver vision come molest my soul
I dream a highway back to you.

Now give me some of what you're having
I'll take you as a viper into my head
A knife into my bed, arsenic when I'm fed
I dream a highway back to you.

Hang overhead from all directions
Radiation from the porcelain light
Blind and blistered by the morning white
I dream a highway back to you.

Sunday morning at the diner
Hollywood trembles on the verge of tears
I watched the waitress for a thousand years
Saw a wheel inside a wheel, heard a call within a call
I dreamed a highway back to you.

Oh I dream a highway back to you love
A winding ribbon with a band of gold
A silver vision come molest my soul
I dream a highway back to you.

Step into the light, poor Lazarus
Don't lie alone behind the window shade
Let me see the mark death made
I dream a highway back to you.
I dream a highway back to you.

What will sustain us through the winter?
Where did last years lessons go?
Walk me out into the rain and snow
I dream a highway back to you.

Oh I dream a highway back to you love
A winding ribbon with a band of gold
A silver vision come and bless my soul
I dream a highway back to you

I dream a highway back to you
Oh I dream a highway back to you love
A winding ribbon with a band of gold
A silver vision come and bless my sould
I dream a highway back to you.

I had a real good mother and father
And they surely stood the test
And now they're in bright glory
And are sleeping on the savior's breast

They set a good example for me
And they taught me how to pray
Now I truly converted
And walking on the narrow way

I know that if I can not meet them on high
Then how lonely I will be
For what good is my journey
If I miss out on eternity

I had a real good mother and father
And they surely stood the test
And now they're in bright glory
And are sleeping on the savior's breast

I made a lover's prayer
I made a lover's prayer
Then watched the sky
Then wanted to cry
It's only you and I
And how I try

So, I made a lover's prayer

So, I made a lover's prayer
I made a lover's prayer
Help me rise above
What I'm thinking of
Just a little more love
Just a little more love

I made a lover's prayer
I made a lover's prayer
I made a lover's prayer

I want to sing that rock and roll.
I want to 'lectrify my soul,
'Cause everybody been making a shout
So big and loud, been drowning me out.
I want to sing that rock and roll.

I want to reach that glory land.
I want to shake my savior's hand,
And I want to sing that rock and roll.
I want to 'lectrify my soul,
'Cause everybody been making a shout
So big and loud, been drowning me out.
I want to sing that rock and roll.

I been a-traveling near and far,
But I want to lay down my old guitar,
And I want to sing that rock and roll.
I want to 'lectrify my soul,
'Cause everybody been making a shout
So big and loud, been drowning me out.
I want to sing that rock and roll.

I been a-traveling near and far,
But I want to lay down my old guitar,
And I want to sing that rock and roll.
I want to 'lectrify my soul,
'Cause everybody been making a shout
So big and loud, been drowning me out.
I want to sing that rock and roll.
I want to sing that rock and roll.

Some glad morning when this life is o'er,
I'll fly away;
To a home on God's celestial shore,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away).

*I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away).

When the shadows of this life have gone,
I'll fly away;
Like a bird from prison bars has flown,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away)

*Repeat

Just a few more weary days and then,
I'll fly away;
To a land where joy shall never end,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away)

*Repeat

Oh me, oh my-oh
Look at Miss Ohio
She's a-running around with her rag-top down
She says, I want to do right but not right now

Gonna drive to Atlanta
And live out this fantasy
Running around with the rag-top down
Yeah, I want to do right, but not right now

Had your arm around her shoulder
A regimental soldier
And mama starts pushing that wedding gown
Yeah, you want to do right, but not right now

Oh me, oh my-oh
Would you look at Miss Ohio
She's a-running around with the rag-top down
She says, I want to do right, but not right now

And I know all about it
So you don't have to shout it
I'm gonna straighten it out somehow
Yeah, I want to do right, but not right now

Oh me, oh my-oh
Look at Miss Ohio
She's a-running around with her rag-top down
She says, I want to do right, but not right now
Oh, I want to do right, but not right now

Saw a girl on the street from my home
Like a fire on the hillside she shone
And I knew right then that my best days were gone
And I'd been, been in the lowlands too long

Oh, I've been in the lowlands too long
Oh, I know, I know that I should go
And I've been in the lowlands too long

This is not how it was at the start
There's a doubt and a blame in my heart
And it's no one else, no fault but my own
And I've been in the lowlands too long

Oh, I've been in the lowlands too long
Oh, I know, I know that I should go
And I've been in the lowlands too long

What is this weight in my mind
And what is this new sense of time
It's the open fields and the friends that are gone
And I've been in the lowlands too long

I can sing out at all sing a song
I can do nothing all the day long
But I can't do right and I know I'm wrong
And I've been in the lowlands too long

Oh I've been in the lowlands too long
Oh, I know, I know that I should go
And I've been in the lowlands too long

Make me down a pallet on your floor
Make me down a pallet on your floor
Make me down a pallet soft and low
When I'm broke and I got nowhere to go

Been hanging 'round with a good-time friends of mine
Hanging around with a good-time friends of mine
Oh, they treat me very nice and kind
When I've got a dollar and a dime

We're in blues everywhere I see
We're in blues everywhere I see
We're in blues, honey, everywhere I see
No one ever had the blues like me

Way I'm sleeping, my back and shoulders tired
Way I'm sleeping, my back and shoulders tired
Come tomorrow, I'll be satisfied
If I can catch that fast train and ride

So, make me down a pallet on your floor
Make me down a pallet on your floor
Make me down a pallet soft and low
Babe, I'm broke and I got nowhere to go

my first lover
my first lover

he was tall and breezy with his long hair down
but he gets a little hazy when I think of him now

my first lover
my first lover

he was always talking tryin to bring me down
but i was not waiting for a white wedding gown
from my first lover

i do not remember any goin wrong
just a record playin that old steve miller song

quicksilver girl
quicksilver girl

at a surfer party with the whiskey porin
and the bottle rollin i was on the floor
with my first lover
my first lover

i do not remember any fights or fits
just shakey morning after callin it quits
with my first lover

quicksilver girl
quicksilver girl
quicksilver girl ... and she's free

Oh, my mother was just a girl, seventeen
Oh, my mother was just a girl, seventeen
And my dad was passing through
Doing things a man will do
And my mother was just a girl, seventeen

It's a wonder that I'm in this world at all
It's a wonder that I'm in this world at all
And I have a life to claim
Though I really don't know my name
It's a wonder that I'm in this world at all

Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
But it's written up in the sky
And I'll see it by and by
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name

Well, I had a good mother and dad just the same
Well, I had a good mother and dad just the same
And they took me to their rest
And they surely stood the test
Yes, I had a good mother and dad, the same

Well, there ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Just another baby born
To a girl lost and lorn
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name

Now and then, there's a lonesome thought in my mind
Now and then, there's a lonesome thought in my mind
And on the crowded street I see
A stranger's face that looks like me
Now and then, there's a lonesome thought in my mind

Well, there ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name
But I'll see it by and by
'Cause it's written up in the sky
Ain't one soul in the whole world knows my name

There's gotta be a song left to sing
'Cause everybody can't have thought of everything
One little song that ain't been sung
One little rag that ain't been wrung out completely yet
That's got a little left

One little drop of falling rain
One little chance to try again
One little bird that makes it home now and then
One little piece of endless sky
One little taste of cherry pie
One little week in paradise and I start thinking

There's gotta be a song left to sing
'Cause everybody can't have thought of everything
One little note that ain't been used
One little word ain't been abused a thousand times
In a thousand rhymes

One little drop of falling rain
One little chance to try again
One little bird that makes it every now and then
One little piece of endless sky
One little taste of cherry pie
One little week in paradise and I start thinking

Gotta be a song left to sign
'Cause everybody can't have thought of everything
One little song that ain't been sung
One little rag that ain't been wrung out completely yet
'Til there's nothing left

One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
So get on board

One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
So get on board

Here comes the freight train
Here comes the freight train
Here comes the freight train
So get on board

One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
So get on board

There is a purpose, a running keep
There is a captain with a steady wheel

One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
So get on board

One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
So get on board

Here comes the slow train
Here comes the slow train
Here comes the slow train
So get on board

One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
So get on board

She's at the station, running slow
Ready for leaving and she's gonna go

One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show

Here comes the freight train
Here comes the freight train
Here comes the freight train
So get on board

One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show

One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
So get on board

One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
One monkey don't stop the show
So get on board

Here comes the freight train
Here comes the freight train
So get on board

All the girls all dance with the boys from the city,
And they don't care to dance with me.
Now it ain't my fault that the fields are muddy,
And the red clay stains my feet.

And it's under my nails and it's under my collar,
And it shows on my Sunday clothes.
Though I do my best with the soap and the water,
But the damned old dirt won't go.

But when I pass through the pearly gate,
Will my gown be gold instead?
Or just a red clay robe with red clay wings,
And a red clay halo for my head?

Now it's mud in the spring and it's dust in the summer,
When it blows in a crimson tide.
Until trees and leaves and the cows are the colour,
Of the dirt on the mountainside.

But when I pass through the pearly gate,
Will my gown be gold instead?
Or just a red clay robe with red clay wings,
And a red clay halo for my head?

Now Jordan's banks they're red and muddy,
And the rolling water is wide.
But I got no boat, so I'll be good and muddy,
When I get to the other side.

And when I pass through the pearly gate,
Will my gown be gold instead?
Or just a red clay robe with red clay wings,
And a red clay halo for my head?

I'll take the red clay robe with the red clay wings,
And a red clay halo for my head.

Darling, remember
When you come to me
I'm the pretender
And not what I'm supposed to be
But who could know if I'm a traitor
Time's the revelator

They caught the katy
And left me a mule to ride
The fortune lady
Came along, she walked beside
But every word seemed to date her
Time's the revelator
The revelator

Up in the morning
Up and on the ride
I drive into Corning
And all the spindles whine
And every day is getting straighter
Time's the revelator
The revelator

Leaving the valley
And fucking out of sight
I'll go back to Cali
Where I can sleep out every night
And watch the waves and move the fader
Time's the revelator
The revelator

Queen of the fakes and imitators
Time's the revelator

Standing on the corner with a nickel or a dime
There used to be a rail car to take you down the line
Too much beer and whiskey to ever be employed
And when I got to Nashville, it was too much soldier's joy
Wasted on the wayside, wasted on the way
If I don't go tomorrow, you know I'm gone today

Back, baby, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine
Back, baby, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine

Black highway all-night ride
Watching the times fall away to the side
Clear channel way down low
Is coming in loud and my mind let go

Peaches in the summertime, apples in the fall
If I can't have you all the time, I won't have none at all
Oh, I wish I was in 'Frisco in a brand new pair of shoes
I'm sitting here in Nashville with Norman's Nashville blues
So come all you good time rounders listening to my sound
And then drink a round to Nashville before they tear it down

Back, baby, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine
Back, baby, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine

Hard weather, driving slow
The buggies and the hats in town for the show
Oh darling, the songs they played
Are all I got left of the love we made

Back, baby, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine
Back, baby, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine

Look out boys, 'cause I'm a rollin' stone.
That's what I was when I just left home.
I took every secret that I'd ever known
And headed for the wall
Like a wrecking ball.

Started down a little road of sin
Playin' bass under a pseudonym.
The days were rough, and it's all quite dim,
But my mind cuts through it all
Like a wrecking ball.

Oh, just a little 'Deadhead
Who's watching,
Who's watching.
I's just a little 'Deadhead.

Won a dollar on a scholarship.
I got tired and let my average slip.
And I's a farmer in the pogonip
Of a weed that I recall
was like a wrecking ball.

I met a lovesick daughter of the San Joaquin.
She showed me colors I'd never seen
And drank the bottom out of my canteen
Then left me in the fall
Like a wrecking ball.

Standin there in the morning mist,
A Jack & Coke at the end of my wrist.
Yes, I remember when first we kissed,
Though it was nothing at all
Like a wrecking ball.

Hey, boys, a little 'Deadhead
Who's watching,
Who's watching.
I's just a little 'Deadhead,

Too much trouble for me to shake
Oh, the weather and the blinding ache
We was ridin high 'til the eighty-nine quake
Hit the Santa Cruz Garden Mall
Like a wrecking ball.