Townes Van Zandt

Why does she sing
Her sad songs for me,
I'm not the one
To tenderly bring
Her soft sympathy
I've just begun
To see my way clear
And it's plain,
If I stop I will fall
I can lay down a tear
For her pain,
Just a tear and that's all.

What does she want me to do?
She says that she knows
That moments are rare
I suppose that it's true
Then on she goes
To say I don't care,
And she knows
That I do

Maybe she just has to sing, for the sake of the song
And who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong.

She'd like to think that I'm cruel,
But she knows that's a lie
For I would be
No more than a tool
If I allowed her to cry
All over me.

Oh my sorrow is real
Even though
I can't change my plan
If she could see how I feel
Then I know
That she'd understand

Oh does she actually think I'm to blame?
Does she really believe
That some word of mine
Can relieve
All her pain?
Can't she see that she grieves
Just because she's been blindly deceived
By her shame?

Nothin's what it seems,
Maybe she'll start someday
To realize
If she abandons her dreams,
Then all the words she can say
Are only lies
When will she see
That to gain
Is only to lose?
All that she offers me
Are her chains,
I got to refuse

Oh but it's only to herself that she's lied
She likes to pretend
It's something that she must defend,
With her pride
And I don't intend
To stand her and be the friend
From whom she must hide

[Chorus:]
It's many a fine lady has laid down beside me
With their flesh made of velvet and their eyes made of rain
Some tried to hold me, to hurt me, to hide me
Some turned away, not to look back again

One stood among them, I remember most clearly
Her sorrows were heavy, and her laughter was slow
I courted her gently, for I loved her most dearly
And I came her majestic reflections to know

Her words, like the mountain, stood lonely and lofty
With her face like a daydream and her hair like the shawl
Worn by a mourner, who steals away softly
From those that would have him mourn nothing at all

Endlessly sorrow rode high on the north wind
Slashing and slicing to take him his toll
Endlessly creatures of darkness were cutting
Their paths through the walls that shelter the soul

No longer gypsy-like sadness unending
Her eyes - they lie hollow and her face petrified
Some will go laughing and others condemning
But who there among you could have told her goodbye?

[Chorus]

The name she gave was Caroline
Daughter of a miner
Her ways were free
It seemed to me
That sunshine walked beside her

She came from Spencer
Across the hill
She said her pa had sent her
'cause the coal was low
And soon the snow
Would turn the skies to winter

She said she'd come
To look for work
She was not seeking favors
And for a dime a day
And a place to stay
She'd turn those hands to labor

But the times were hard, Lord,
The jobs were few
All through Tecumseh valley
But she asked around
And a job she found
Tending bar at Gypsy Sally's

She saved enough to get back home
When spring replaced the winter
But her dreams were denied
Her pa had died
The word come down from Spencer

So she turned to whorin' out on the streets
With all the lust inside her
And it was many a man
Returned again
To lay himself beside her

They found her down beneath the stairs
That led to Gypsy Sally's
In her hand when she died
Was a note that cried
Fare thee well
Tecumseh valley

The name she gave was Caroline
Daughter of a miner
Her ways were free
It seemed to me
That sunshine walked beside her

by Townes Van Zandt

Don't you take it too bad
if you're feelin' unlovin'
if you're feelin unfeelin'
if you're feelin' alone
Don't take it too bad


'Cause it ain't you to blame, babe
Lord, it's just some kind of game made
out of all of this living
that we got left to do


And if you go searchin'
for rhyme or for reason
then you won't have the time
that it take just for talkin'
about the places you've been, babe
about the places you've seen, babe
and how soft the time flies
past your window at night


And we just can't have that, girl
'cause it's a sad, lonesome, cold world
and a man need a woman just to stand by his side
and whisper sweet words in his ears about daydreams
and roses and playthings
and the sweetness of springtime
and the sound of the rain

Why does she sing
Her sad songs for me,
I'm not the one
To tenderly bring
Her soft sympathy
I've just begun
To see my way clear
And it's plain,
If I stop I will fall
I can lay down a tear
For her pain,
Just a tear and that's all.

What does she want me to do?
She says that she knows
That moments are rare
I suppose that it's true
Then on she goes
To say I don't care,
And she knows
That I do

Maybe she just has to sing, for the sake of the song
And who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong.

She'd like to think that I'm cruel,
But she knows that's a lie
For I would be
No more than a tool
If I allowed her to cry
All over me.

Oh my sorrow is real
Even though
I can't change my plan
If she could see how I feel
Then I know
That she'd understand

Oh does she actually think I'm to blame?
Does she really believe
That some word of mine
Can relieve
All her pain?
Can't she see that she grieves
Just because she's been blindly deceived
By her shame?

Nothin's what it seems,
Maybe she'll start someday
To realize
If she abandons her dreams,
Then all the words she can say
Are only lies
When will she see
That to gain
Is only to lose?
All that she offers me
Are her chains,
I got to refuse

Oh but it's only to herself that she's lied
She likes to pretend
It's something that she must defend,
With her pride
And I don't intend
To stand her and be the friend
From whom she must hide

by Townes Van Zandt

Well, won't you lend your lungs to me?
Mine are collapsing
Plant my feet and bitterly breathe
up the time that's passing.
Breath I'll take and breath I'll give
pray the day ain't poison
stand among the ones that live
in lonely indecision.


Fingers walk the darkness down
mind is on the midnight
gather up the gold you've found
you fool, it's only moonlight.
If you try to take it home
your hands will turn to butter
You better leave this dream alone
try to find another.


Salvation sat and crossed herself
called the devil partner
wisdom burned upon a shelf
who'll kill the raging cancer
Seal the river at its mouth
take the water prisoner
fill the sky with screams and cries
bathe in fiery answers


Jesus was an only son
and love his only concept
strangers cry in foreign tongues
and dirty up the doorstep
and I for one, and you for two
ai'nt got the time for outside
just keep your injured looks to you
we'll tell the world we tried

I got a brand new companion
Man, I'm gonna do my best this time
I got a brand new companion
Man, I'm gonna do my best this time
You know she cools me with her breathin'
Chases away those howlin' bottles of wine

She fits just like my guitar
Man, she's near as tall as me
She fits just like my guitar
She's near as tall as me
She lives way out the D train
But she's Texas as can be

She got a home-spun disposition
Man, she's just as gentle as you please
She got a home-spun disposition
Man, she's just as gentle as you please
She got arms just like two rattle snakes
Legs just like a billow in the breeze

I got a brand new companion
Man, I'm gonna do my best this time
I got a brand new companion
Man, I'm gonna do my best this time
I want to trace her with my body
I want to track her with my mind

Don't go sayin' I'm leaving you
Thinkin' I never got close enough to stay
Time runs in and then runs out
Starts again and it's always been that way

You're gonna drown tomorrow
If you cry too many tears for yesterday
Tomorrow's half of all you've got, so treat him good
'Cause when I'm gone, he'll stay

I won't be forgetting you
You won't be forgettin' me, I know
If memory comes a summer cloud
Rains her sweetness down to me below

I see you like you look right now
Maybe wonder why I had to go
But Heaven is the way she is
Rain falls and rivers flow

So here's to feelin' good
An' here's to feelin' bad
Here's to bein' thankful
Sorry for the pleasures that we had

And autumn days ,and window panes
God, forgive us if you feel deceived
The clock don't know you like I do
And it's only him or me you got to believe

So close and yet so far away
And all the things I'd hoped to say
Will have to go unsaid today
Perhaps until tomorrow
Your fear has built a wall between
Our lives and all what lovin' means
Will have to go unfelt it seems
And that leaves only sorrow

You built your tower strong and tall
Can't you see it's got to fall some day

You close your eyes and speak to me
Of faith and love and destiny
As distant as eternity,
Truth and understanding
The wind blows cold outside your door
It whispers words I've tried before
But you don't hear me anymore
Your pride's just too demanding

The end is coming soon, it's plain
A warm bed just ain't worth the pain
And I will go and you'll remain
With the bitterness we tasted
A mother's breast, a newborn child
A poet's tear, and drunken smile
Can't help thinkin' all the while
Their meaning won't be wasted

If I needed you
Would you come to me,
Would you come to me,
And ease my pain?
If you needed me
I would come to you
I'd swim the seas
For to ease your pain

In the night forlorn
The morning's born
And the morning shines
With the lights of love
You will miss sunrise
If you close your eyes
That would break
My heart in two

The lady's with me now
Since I showed her how
To lay her lily
Hand in mine
Loop and Lil agree
She's a sight to see
And a treasure for
The poor to find

If I needed you
Would you come to me,
Would you come to me,
And ease my pain?
If you needed me
I would come to you
I'd swim the seas
For to ease your pain

by Townes Van Zandt

Won't say I love you, babe,
won't say I need you, babe,
but I'm gonna get you babe
and I will not do you wrong.
Living's mostly wasting time
and I'll waste my share of mine
but it never feels to good,
so let's don't take to long.
You're soft as glass
and I'm a gentle man;
we got the sky to talk about
and the earth to lie upon.


Days, up and down they come
like rain on a congadrum
forget most, remember some
but don't turn none away.
Everything is not enough
and nothin' is to much to bear.
Where you been is good and gone
all you keep is the getting there.


To live is to fly
Low and high,
so shake the dust off of your wings
and the sleep out of your eyes.


Goodbye to all my friends
it's time to go again
think of all the poetry
and the pickin' down the line
I'll miss the system here
the bottom's low
and the treble's clear
But it don't pay to think to much
on things you leave behind.
I will be gone
but it won't be long
I will be a'bringin' back the melodies
and rhythm that I find.


We all got holes to fill
them holes are all that's real.
Some fall on you like a storm,
sometimes you dig your own.
The choice is yours to make,
time is yours to take;
some sail upon/dive into the sea,
some toil upon the stone.


To live is to fly
Low and high,
so shake the dust off of your wings
and the sleep out of your eyes;


shake the dust off of your wings
and the tears out of your eyes.

If I needed you
Would you come to me,
Would you come to me,
And ease my pain?
If you needed me
I would come to you
I'd swim the seas
For to ease your pain

In the night forlorn
The morning's born
And the morning shines
With the lights of love
You will miss sunrise
If you close your eyes
That would break
My heart in two

The lady's with me now
Since I showed her how
To lay her lily
Hand in mine
Loop and Lil agree
She's a sight to see
And a treasure for
The poor to find

If I needed you
Would you come to me,
Would you come to me,
And ease my pain?
If you needed me
I would come to you
I'd swim the seas
For to ease your pain

Living on the road my friend,
Is gonna keep you free and clean
Now you wear your skin like iron,
Your breath as hard as kerosene.
You weren't your mama's only boy,
But her favorite one it seems
She began to cry when you said goodbye,
And sank into your dreams.

Pancho was a bandit boy,
His horse was fast as polished steel
He wore his gun outside his pants
For all the honest world to feel.
Pancho met his match you know
On the deserts down in Mexico
Nobody heard his dying words,
Ah but that's the way it goes.

All the Federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose.

Lefty, he can't sing the blues
All night long like he used to.
The dust that Pancho bit down south
Ended up in Lefty's mouth
The day they laid poor Pancho low,
Lefty split for Ohio
Where he got the bread to go,
There ain't nobody knows

The poets tell how Pancho fell,
And Lefty's living in cheap hotels
The desert's quiet, Cleveland's cold,
And so the story ends we're told
Pancho needs your prayers it's true,
But save a few for Lefty too
He only did what he had to do,
And now he's growing old

I got a brand new companion
Man, I'm gonna do my best this time
I got a brand new companion
Man, I'm gonna do my best this time
You know she cools me with her breathin'
Chases away those howlin' bottles of wine

She fits just like my guitar
Man, she's near as tall as me
She fits just like my guitar
She's near as tall as me
She lives way out the D train
But she's Texas as can be

She got a home-spun disposition
Man, she's just as gentle as you please
She got a home-spun disposition
Man, she's just as gentle as you please
She got arms just like two rattle snakes
Legs just like a billow in the breeze

I got a brand new companion
Man, I'm gonna do my best this time
I got a brand new companion
Man, I'm gonna do my best this time
I want to trace her with my body
I want to track her with my mind

by Townes Van Zandt

Don't you take it too bad
if you're feelin' unlovin'
if you're feelin unfeelin'
if you're feelin' alone
Don't take it too bad


'Cause it ain't you to blame, babe
Lord, it's just some kind of game made
out of all of this living
that we got left to do


And if you go searchin'
for rhyme or for reason
then you won't have the time
that it take just for talkin'
about the places you've been, babe
about the places you've seen, babe
and how soft the time flies
past your window at night


And we just can't have that, girl
'cause it's a sad, lonesome, cold world
and a man need a woman just to stand by his side
and whisper sweet words in his ears about daydreams
and roses and playthings
and the sweetness of springtime
and the sound of the rain

Why does she sing
Her sad songs for me,
I'm not the one
To tenderly bring
Her soft sympathy
I've just begun
To see my way clear
And it's plain,
If I stop I will fall
I can lay down a tear
For her pain,
Just a tear and that's all.

What does she want me to do?
She says that she knows
That moments are rare
I suppose that it's true
Then on she goes
To say I don't care,
And she knows
That I do

Maybe she just has to sing, for the sake of the song
And who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong.

She'd like to think that I'm cruel,
But she knows that's a lie
For I would be
No more than a tool
If I allowed her to cry
All over me.

Oh my sorrow is real
Even though
I can't change my plan
If she could see how I feel
Then I know
That she'd understand

Oh does she actually think I'm to blame?
Does she really believe
That some word of mine
Can relieve
All her pain?
Can't she see that she grieves
Just because she's been blindly deceived
By her shame?

Nothin's what it seems,
Maybe she'll start someday
To realize
If she abandons her dreams,
Then all the words she can say
Are only lies
When will she see
That to gain
Is only to lose?
All that she offers me
Are her chains,
I got to refuse

Oh but it's only to herself that she's lied
She likes to pretend
It's something that she must defend,
With her pride
And I don't intend
To stand her and be the friend
From whom she must hide

If I needed you
Would you come to me,
Would you come to me,
And ease my pain?
If you needed me
I would come to you
I'd swim the seas
For to ease your pain

In the night forlorn
The morning's born
And the morning shines
With the lights of love
You will miss sunrise
If you close your eyes
That would break
My heart in two

The lady's with me now
Since I showed her how
To lay her lily
Hand in mine
Loop and Lil agree
She's a sight to see
And a treasure for
The poor to find

If I needed you
Would you come to me,
Would you come to me,
And ease my pain?
If you needed me
I would come to you
I'd swim the seas
For to ease your pain

by Townes Van Zandt

It's plain to see, the sun won't shine today
but I ain't in the mood for sunshine anyway
maybe I'll go insane
I got to stop the pain
Or maybe I'll go down to see Kathleen.


A swallow comes and tells me of her dreams
She says she'd like to know just what they mean
I feel like I could die
as I watch her flying by
ride the north wind down to see Kathleen.


Stars hang high above, the oceans roar
the moon is come to lead me to her door
There's crystal across the sand
and the waves, they take my hand.
Soon I'm gonna see my sweet Kathleen.


Soon I'm gonna see my sweet Kathleen.

Oh Loretta she's a barroom girl
Wears them sevens on her sleeve
Dances like a diamond shines
Tell me lies I love to believe
Her age is always 22
Her laughing eyes a hazel hue
Spends my money like water falls
Loves me like I want her to

Oh, Loretta, won't you say to me
Darling, put your guitar on
Have a little shot of booze
Play a blue a and wailing song
My guitar rings a melody
My guitar sings, Loretta's fine
Long and lazy, blonde and free
And I can have her any time

Sweetest at the break of day
Prettiest in the setting sun
She don't cry when I can't stay
'Least not 'til she's all alone
Loretta, I won't be gone long
Keep your dancing slippers on
Keep me on your mind a while
I'll be back, babe, to make you smile

by Townes Van Zandt

Well, won't you lend your lungs to me?
Mine are collapsing
Plant my feet and bitterly breathe
up the time that's passing.
Breath I'll take and breath I'll give
pray the day ain't poison
stand among the ones that live
in lonely indecision.


Fingers walk the darkness down
mind is on the midnight
gather up the gold you've found
you fool, it's only moonlight.
If you try to take it home
your hands will turn to butter
You better leave this dream alone
try to find another.


Salvation sat and crossed herself
called the devil partner
wisdom burned upon a shelf
who'll kill the raging cancer
Seal the river at its mouth
take the water prisoner
fill the sky with screams and cries
bathe in fiery answers


Jesus was an only son
and love his only concept
strangers cry in foreign tongues
and dirty up the doorstep
and I for one, and you for two
ai'nt got the time for outside
just keep your injured looks to you
we'll tell the world we tried

by Townes Van Zandt

The wicked king of clubs awoke
it was to his queen turned
his lips were laughing as they spoke
his eyes like bullets burned
the sun's upon a gambling day
his queen smiled low and blissfully
let's make some wretched fool to play
plain it was she did agree


He send his deuce down into diamond
his four to hart, and his trey to spade
three kings with their legions come
preparations soon where made
they voted club the days commander
gave him an army face and number
all but the outlaw jack of diamonds
and the aces in the sky


He give his sevens first instructions
spirit me a game of stud
stakes unscarred by limitation
'tween a man named Gold and man named Mud
Club filled Gold with greedy vapors
'til his long, green eyes did glow
Mud was left with the sighs and trembles
watching his hard earned money go


Flushes fell on Gold like water
tens they paired and paired again
but the aces only flew through heaven
and the diamond jack called no man friend
The diamond queen saw Muds ordeal
began to think of her long lost son
fell to her knees with a mother's mercy
prayed to the angels every one


The diamond queen, she prayed and prayed
and the diamond angel filled Muds hole
the wicked king of clubs himself
fell in face down in front of Gold
now three kings come to Clubs command
but the angels from the sky did ride
three kings up on the streets of Gold
three fireballs on the muddy side


The club queen heard her husband's call
but Lord that queen of diamond's joy
when the outlaw in the heavenly hall
turned out to be a wandering boy
Now Mud he checked and Gold bet all
and Mud he raised and Gold did call
and the smile just melted off his face
when Mud turned over that diamond ace


Now here's what this story's told
if you feel like Mud you'll end up Gold
if you feel like lost, you'll end up found
so amigo, lay them raises down

-------------
Lyrics Powered by LyricFind
Written By VAN ZANDT, TOWNES
<i>Lyrics &copy; EMI Music Publishing</i>

If I had no place to fall
And I needed to
Could I count on you
To lay me down?

I'd never tell you no lies
I don't believe it's wise
You got pretty eyes
Won't you spin me 'round

I ain't much of a lover it's true
I'm here then I'm gone
And I'm forever blue
But I'm sure wanting you

Skies full of silver and gold
Try to hide the sun
But it can't be done
Least not for long

And if we help each other grow
While the light of day
Smiles down our way
Then we can't go wrong

Time, she's a fast old train
She's here then she's gone
And she won't come again
Won't you take my hand

If I had no place to fall
And I needed to
Could I count on you
To lay me down?

Don't go sayin' I'm leaving you
Thinkin' I never got close enough to stay
Time runs in and then runs out
Starts again and it's always been that way

You're gonna drown tomorrow
If you cry too many tears for yesterday
Tomorrow's half of all you've got, so treat him good
'Cause when I'm gone, he'll stay

I won't be forgetting you
You won't be forgettin' me, I know
If memory comes a summer cloud
Rains her sweetness down to me below

I see you like you look right now
Maybe wonder why I had to go
But Heaven is the way she is
Rain falls and rivers flow

So here's to feelin' good
An' here's to feelin' bad
Here's to bein' thankful
Sorry for the pleasures that we had

And autumn days ,and window panes
God, forgive us if you feel deceived
The clock don't know you like I do
And it's only him or me you got to believe

Living on the road my friend,
Is gonna keep you free and clean
Now you wear your skin like iron,
Your breath as hard as kerosene.
You weren't your mama's only boy,
But her favorite one it seems
She began to cry when you said goodbye,
And sank into your dreams.

Pancho was a bandit boy,
His horse was fast as polished steel
He wore his gun outside his pants
For all the honest world to feel.
Pancho met his match you know
On the deserts down in Mexico
Nobody heard his dying words,
Ah but that's the way it goes.

All the Federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose.

Lefty, he can't sing the blues
All night long like he used to.
The dust that Pancho bit down south
Ended up in Lefty's mouth
The day they laid poor Pancho low,
Lefty split for Ohio
Where he got the bread to go,
There ain't nobody knows

The poets tell how Pancho fell,
And Lefty's living in cheap hotels
The desert's quiet, Cleveland's cold,
And so the story ends we're told
Pancho needs your prayers it's true,
But save a few for Lefty too
He only did what he had to do,
And now he's growing old

Ride the blue wind high and free
She'll lead you down through misery
Leave you low, come time to go
Alone and low as low can be

If I had a nickel I'd find a game
If I won a dollar I'd make it rain
If it rained an ocean I'd drink it dry
And lay me down dissatisfied

Legs to walk and thoughts to fly
Eyes to laugh and lips to cry
A restless tongue to classify
All born to grow and grown to die

So tell my baby I said so long
Tell my mother I did no wrong
Tell my brother to watch his own
And tell my friends to mourn me none

I'm chained upon the face of time
Feelin' full of foolish rhyme
There ain't no dark till something shines
I'm bound to leave this dark behind

Ride the blue wind high and free
She'll lead you down through misery
Leave you low, come time to go
Alone and low as low can be

By townes van zandt

Among the strangest things I ever heard
Was when a friend of mine said "man, let's get some thunderbird"
I said "what's that? " he just started to grin
Slobbered on his shirt, his eyes got dim
He said "you got fifty-nine cents? "


I said "yeah, I got a dollar, but don't be a smart-aleck
I ain't gonna spend it on no indian relic"
And he said "thunderbird's not an old indian trinket,
It's a wine, man, you take it home and drink it."
I said "it sure don't sound like wine to me"
And he said he'd bet me the change from my dollar


We hustled on down to the nearest u-tate-um
The guy wanted my id, I whipped her out and showed him
He got a green bottle from the freezing vault
My friend started doing backward somersaults
Through the cottage cheese


Took it back to his house, started drinkin'
Pretty soon I set in to thinkin'


"man, this thunderbird tastes yummy, yummy, yummy
And I know it's doing good things to my tummy, tum..., t..."
It's so you reason when your on that crap


Got a few more bottles, chugged them down
I pulled myself up off the ground
Decided I go see my dearest sweet wife
Who met me at the door with a carving knife
Said "get them damn grape peel from between your teeth."


I could see we're gonna have a little misunderstanding
I said "dear, I better get in touch with you later"
She said "forget it, man, you're never touchin' me again!"


Now I've seen the light and heard the word
And I'm staying away from that ol' dirty thunderbird
A message come from heaven radiant, and fine,
All I drink now is communion wine
Six days a week

The name she gave was Caroline
Daughter of a miner
Her ways were free
It seemed to me
That sunshine walked beside her

She came from Spencer
Across the hill
She said her pa had sent her
'cause the coal was low
And soon the snow
Would turn the skies to winter

She said she'd come
To look for work
She was not seeking favors
And for a dime a day
And a place to stay
She'd turn those hands to labor

But the times were hard, Lord,
The jobs were few
All through Tecumseh valley
But she asked around
And a job she found
Tending bar at Gypsy Sally's

She saved enough to get back home
When spring replaced the winter
But her dreams were denied
Her pa had died
The word come down from Spencer

So she turned to whorin' out on the streets
With all the lust inside her
And it was many a man
Returned again
To lay himself beside her

They found her down beneath the stairs
That led to Gypsy Sally's
In her hand when she died
Was a note that cried
Fare thee well
Tecumseh valley

The name she gave was Caroline
Daughter of a miner
Her ways were free
It seemed to me
That sunshine walked beside her

by Townes Van Zandt

Won't say I love you, babe,
won't say I need you, babe,
but I'm gonna get you babe
and I will not do you wrong.
Living's mostly wasting time
and I'll waste my share of mine
but it never feels to good,
so let's don't take to long.
You're soft as glass
and I'm a gentle man;
we got the sky to talk about
and the earth to lie upon.


Days, up and down they come
like rain on a congadrum
forget most, remember some
but don't turn none away.
Everything is not enough
and nothin' is to much to bear.
Where you been is good and gone
all you keep is the getting there.


To live is to fly
Low and high,
so shake the dust off of your wings
and the sleep out of your eyes.


Goodbye to all my friends
it's time to go again
think of all the poetry
and the pickin' down the line
I'll miss the system here
the bottom's low
and the treble's clear
But it don't pay to think to much
on things you leave behind.
I will be gone
but it won't be long
I will be a'bringin' back the melodies
and rhythm that I find.


We all got holes to fill
them holes are all that's real.
Some fall on you like a storm,
sometimes you dig your own.
The choice is yours to make,
time is yours to take;
some sail upon/dive into the sea,
some toil upon the stone.


To live is to fly
Low and high,
so shake the dust off of your wings
and the sleep out of your eyes;


shake the dust off of your wings
and the tears out of your eyes.

So close and yet so far away
And all the things I'd hoped to say
Will have to go unsaid today
Perhaps until tomorrow
Your fear has built a wall between
Our lives and all what lovin' means
Will have to go unfelt it seems
And that leaves only sorrow

You built your tower strong and tall
Can't you see it's got to fall some day

You close your eyes and speak to me
Of faith and love and destiny
As distant as eternity,
Truth and understanding
The wind blows cold outside your door
It whispers words I've tried before
But you don't hear me anymore
Your pride's just too demanding

The end is coming soon, it's plain
A warm bed just ain't worth the pain
And I will go and you'll remain
With the bitterness we tasted
A mother's breast, a newborn child
A poet's tear, and drunken smile
Can't help thinkin' all the while
Their meaning won't be wasted

by Townes Van Zandt

Well, the clouds didn't look like cotton
they didn't even look like clouds
I was underneath the weather
my friends looked a crowd
The swimmin' hole was full of rum
I tried to find out why
All I learned was this my friend
you got to swim before you fly


I got two girls
one's in heaven and one's below
Oh, one I love with all my heart
and one I do not know.


Two lonesome dudes on an ugly horse
Passed by not long ago
They asked me where the action was
I said I did not know
As they disappeared into the brush
I heard the driver say
He's a little slow between the ears
He's always been that way.


Jolly Jane just lays around
and listens with her mouth
she's had about a dozen husbands
but the last one pulled out
Now, who's gonna bring her dinner
through the weary years ahead
all she'll get from me is sympathy
got no time to see she's fed.


It's cold down on the bayou
they say it's in your mind
but the moccasins are treadin' ice
and leavin strange designs
Cajuns say the last time
that this happend they weren't here
All Beaumont's full of penguins
and I'm a-playin' it by ear.

by Townes Van Zandt

I'm goin out on the highway
listen to them big trucks whine
I'm goin out on the highway
listen to them big trucks whine


White freight liner
won't you steal away my mind
Ah, New Mexico ain't bad, Lord
and the people there they treat you kind
and the people there they treat you kind


Well, it's bad news from Houston
half my friends are dying
Well, it's bad news from Houston
half my friends are dying


Ah, Lord, I'm gonna ramble
till I get back to where I came
Ah, Lord, I'm gonna ramble
till I get back to where I came


I'm goin out on the highway
listen to them big trucks whine
I'm goin out on the highway
listen to them big trucks whine

by Townes Van Zandt

It's plain to see, the sun won't shine today
but I ain't in the mood for sunshine anyway
maybe I'll go insane
I got to stop the pain
Or maybe I'll go down to see Kathleen.


A swallow comes and tells me of her dreams
She says she'd like to know just what they mean
I feel like I could die
as I watch her flying by
ride the north wind down to see Kathleen.


Stars hang high above, the oceans roar
the moon is come to lead me to her door
There's crystal across the sand
and the waves, they take my hand.
Soon I'm gonna see my sweet Kathleen.


Soon I'm gonna see my sweet Kathleen.

by Townes Van Zandt

She came and she touched me
with hands made of heaven
reflections sent spinnin'
through a face laced in mist
Now I stand where she left me
buried deep 'neath her shadow
and the mirror plead sadly
does it all come to this
and I wonder: Will she call my name?


The wind careens madly
through wide windows paneless
fragrancies mingle
in a room full of shade
The peons pick partners
and waltz cross the ceilings
but the violins whisper
that I've been betrayed
tryin not to look ashamed


The drunkards drink deeply
from cups full of nothingness
ghost lovers laugh
at the games that they play
the moments do somersaults
into eternity
cling to their coattails
and beg them to stay
saying I got nothing to hide


Illusions projected
on walls made of Tiffany
mad men you adds to
a sad satin song
A harlequin mandolins
harmonize helplessly
hoping that endlessly
won't last for long
Praying that their God ain't dying


Then I turn and I see her
in a dress made of moonlight
teardrops like diamonds
run slow down her face
her arms surround me
like chains made of velvet
and the demons fall faithfully
into their place
and the rivers run with jewels


Now the morning lies open
the night went quite quickly
memory harmlessly
fractures and fades
All the poets do push-ups
on carpets of rubber foam
loudly they laugh
at some joke that's been made
and the wise men speak like fools

by Townes Van Zandt

Mr ten dollar man
let me tell where you're bound
drink your green liqour, Lord
you'll roll to the ground
but you come around here
with your money in your hand
taste of my woman
well, you die where you stand


Snake mountain blues
got me down low
I could die in the morning
but no one would know
when my woman come around
my body she'd find
go down to Dundee
have her a time


Snake mountain gonna crumble
and fall from the sky
before that woman of mine
stops tellin' her lies
If I'd die, Lord, she'd weep
she'd weep and she'd mourn
soon as I's buried
forget I'd been born


Love of blackskin woman
she won't do you no wrong
slow to start moaning
she don't moan for long
yellow headed woman
brings nothing but pain
take all you give her
she leaves only shame


My daddy, Lord, he rides
on a long holy train
first winds of winter
I see him again
In this farewell to this
yellow headed misery I've known
Snake mountain's calling
calling me home


Snake mountain blues
got me down low
I could die in the morning
but no one would know
when my woman come around
my body she'd find
go down to Dundee
have her a time

The name she gave was Caroline
Daughter of a miner
Her ways were free
It seemed to me
That sunshine walked beside her

She came from Spencer
Across the hill
She said her pa had sent her
'cause the coal was low
And soon the snow
Would turn the skies to winter

She said she'd come
To look for work
She was not seeking favors
And for a dime a day
And a place to stay
She'd turn those hands to labor

But the times were hard, Lord,
The jobs were few
All through Tecumseh valley
But she asked around
And a job she found
Tending bar at Gypsy Sally's

She saved enough to get back home
When spring replaced the winter
But her dreams were denied
Her pa had died
The word come down from Spencer

So she turned to whorin' out on the streets
With all the lust inside her
And it was many a man
Returned again
To lay himself beside her

They found her down beneath the stairs
That led to Gypsy Sally's
In her hand when she died
Was a note that cried
Fare thee well
Tecumseh valley

The name she gave was Caroline
Daughter of a miner
Her ways were free
It seemed to me
That sunshine walked beside her

Mister Gator he's a-glidin' down the bayou
Mister Buzzard he's a-slidin' through the air
Mister Turtle be a-hittin' the highway
I ain't goin' nowhere

I ain't leavin you love, babe
I ain't leavin you love, babe
Not for heaven above, babe
I ain't leavin you love, babe

The poor man got him an airplane
Tryin to cruise across the traffic jam
The rich man got him a Chevrolet
I'm stayin' right where I am

Now Hannibal he climbed the mountains
Cleopatra danced down the Nile
Lucky Lindy made it all the way to gay Paris
I'm stayin right here awhile

If I had a dollar bill
Yes, I believe I surely will
Go to town and drink my fill
Early in the morning

Little darling, she's a red haired thing
Man, she makes my legs to sing
Gonna buy her a diamond ring
Early in the morning

Mother was a golden girl
I slit her throat just to get her pearls
Cast myself into a whirl
Before a bunch of swine

It's a long way down the Harlan road
Busted back and a heavy load
Won't get through to save my soul
Early in the morning

I've always been a gambling man
I've rolled them bones with either hand
Seven is the promised land
Early in the morning

Whiskey'd be my dying bed
Tell me where to lay my head
Not with me is all she said
Early in the morning

If I had a dollar bill
Yes, I believe I surely will
Go to town and drink my fill
Early in the morning

Why does she sing
Her sad songs for me,
I'm not the one
To tenderly bring
Her soft sympathy
I've just begun
To see my way clear
And it's plain,
If I stop I will fall
I can lay down a tear
For her pain,
Just a tear and that's all.

What does she want me to do?
She says that she knows
That moments are rare
I suppose that it's true
Then on she goes
To say I don't care,
And she knows
That I do

Maybe she just has to sing, for the sake of the song
And who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong.

She'd like to think that I'm cruel,
But she knows that's a lie
For I would be
No more than a tool
If I allowed her to cry
All over me.

Oh my sorrow is real
Even though
I can't change my plan
If she could see how I feel
Then I know
That she'd understand

Oh does she actually think I'm to blame?
Does she really believe
That some word of mine
Can relieve
All her pain?
Can't she see that she grieves
Just because she's been blindly deceived
By her shame?

Nothin's what it seems,
Maybe she'll start someday
To realize
If she abandons her dreams,
Then all the words she can say
Are only lies
When will she see
That to gain
Is only to lose?
All that she offers me
Are her chains,
I got to refuse

Oh but it's only to herself that she's lied
She likes to pretend
It's something that she must defend,
With her pride
And I don't intend
To stand her and be the friend
From whom she must hide

[Chorus:]
It's many a fine lady has laid down beside me
With their flesh made of velvet and their eyes made of rain
Some tried to hold me, to hurt me, to hide me
Some turned away, not to look back again

One stood among them, I remember most clearly
Her sorrows were heavy, and her laughter was slow
I courted her gently, for I loved her most dearly
And I came her majestic reflections to know

Her words, like the mountain, stood lonely and lofty
With her face like a daydream and her hair like the shawl
Worn by a mourner, who steals away softly
From those that would have him mourn nothing at all

Endlessly sorrow rode high on the north wind
Slashing and slicing to take him his toll
Endlessly creatures of darkness were cutting
Their paths through the walls that shelter the soul

No longer gypsy-like sadness unending
Her eyes - they lie hollow and her face petrified
Some will go laughing and others condemning
But who there among you could have told her goodbye?

[Chorus]