Ruby's shoes would take her A mile or so to school every day Where the white people hated her They'd scream and hold signs and tell her to go away
But Ruby's will was stronger Than the bigots with the signs could ever know She stopped every morning on the corner And prayed that someday the pain would go
And she'd stop and she'd pray That all the hatred would go away She was only six years old but she knew Walk a mile in Ruby's shoes
Ruby sat alone in the classroom She never dreamed the other children wouldn't come They hated her for the color of her skin Well color is such an amazing illusion
She'd stop and she'd pray That all the hatred would go away She was only six years old but she knew Walk a mile in Ruby's shoes
Now Ruby knew about Dorothy And the ruby shoes that she wore She wondered about Oz sometimes Well, well no other child ever walked her shoes before
And she'd stop and she'd pray That all the hatred would go away She was only six years old but she knew Walk a mile in Ruby's shoes
Ruby, if birds can always fly Why oh why can't you and I?
Ruby's shoes would take her A mile or so to school every day Where the white people hated her They'd scream and hold signs and tell her to go away
And she'd stop and she'd pray That all the hatred would go away She'd stop and she'd pray That no other children would be raised this way Ruby's shoes
If birds can fly Then why oh why If birds can fly then why oh why can't I
This is cold and dark, this place You are broken, what will replace The hole that has been dug here Emptiness left where Once I was so aware Aware of you
You are quiet, you are meek Unlike me so indiscreet I am plainly alone Once you open up, you close I fell, I'm winning, then I don't know Who you are
You came to me so battered and alone You wondered how to go on Life is unforgiving And you need to forgive Well look at me, your childhood friend Who's never had the trouble to be stepped on I wish you'd see That you can borrow me So push me where you want Let in all the ghosts to haunt I welcome such trouble But what if things don't change And you find yourself to blame For all this alone
Well I have listened to your silence These walls are beaming with forgiveness You are up and then you're down But mostly you're somewhere in-between You should be free Until then borrow me Borrow me Carry your troubles so heavy Over your heart and then through me Your mind's a separate matter When your eyes are blind, I see When your voice is swallowed, I speak free And love you like I do
Well I am not an angel Sent from heaven to save your soul I am just a no good sinner Who loves you more than life You could be free Wouldn't you rather borrow me?
You and I for so many years It's just not that easy to pack up the tears and the pain And forget We just can't end it when I'm not through with it yet We build our walls and divide And it's so much simpler when we don't have to decide Who is right... as if it matters There's never any doors and we've burned all our letters
But it's wrong To live life without you It's gone, I know it's gone But I can't let it go Knowing it will never be back
You and I through so many fights And it's not about the one that we had the other night It's the ones we've never had When you close your eyes to me and pretend you're not mad
What if this is our one chance? What if it's a test And we failed? We failed
You and I for so many years It's just not that easy to pack up the tears and the pain And forget We just can't end it when I'm not through with it yet
And it's wrong To live life without you It's gone, I know it's gone But I can't let it go Knowing it will never Well I can't let it go Knowing it will never I can't let it go Knowing it will never be back Knowing it will never be back
HOLY WATER (recorded live at The Blackthorne Tavern, per liner notes) by Lori McKenna
Ain't going to sell my soul, well I'm not that dumb Things are never what they seem. Down at the cross roads I got better things to sell, I'm going to sell some of my dreams...
Going to package them up, Two for a buck, And with any luck I'll buy me some Holy Water, gonna to wash me clean, And that Holy Water is gonna to wash me clean...
Well, I've seen the devil, says he's going to buy me time, make my dreams come true I say baby, baby, baby you don't know my kind. this is what I'm going to do.
Going to package them up, Two for a buck, I'm going to sell them cheap and keep the water running. Gimme some Holy Water, going to wash me clean And that Holy Water is going to wash me clean...
If you see me with the devil by my side Well I am guilty by association, I can't lie. But I can hear their cries and I can hear their screams I'm going down to the crossroads to sell myself some dreams...
Oh hear me now, hear me now....
I line up with the sinners and wait my time, saying I'm the one with dreams for sale Dreams aplenty, two for ten dimes, buy a lot and they won't fail...
Going to package them up, Two for a buck, I'm going to sell them cheap and keep the water running. Gimme some Holy Water,
You gotta get me some, you gotta get me some Holy Water, it's going to wash me clean...
don't tell her that I drink tea and not coffee I'd prefer if you didn't talk at all about me even in a brief casual chat don't tell her how I loved your smile, or things like that
don't tell her how I was your best friend don't tell her how it could never work out in the end don't tell her how you learned a lesson from me and that's why you have to take things slow and easy
if you can forgive me for my faults then maybe it can work out after all I can't stand anybody knowing me the way you do and I can't stand the thought of her knowing you
don't tell her about that camping trip we took don't tell her how I bite my lip and never finish a book don't tell her how I like to sleep in late or that I believe in romance and fate
well, what if we meet on some cross-town street? and you'll introduce us and we'll finally meet and I'll be alone when you're walking away and I'll be wondering what she's going to say well, I know we'll never be the way we were but don't tell her
don't tell her that I'm too old for my age don't tell her that this love of mine was just a stage she doesn't need to know my point of view she'll never love you like the way that I do
You say you think you can help me Think of me as someone who bleeds Well I never told you to love me That's your sort of greed I can make my own decisions I can do what I want to do And I don't have to share my addiction With any of you
I'll be just fine out of my mind I like it this way, I know when to pray I'm in control till it swallows me whole
I know you'd like to control me You always need to be right Because I'm late once or twice Lose a job or stay out all night But I can see high above it The world is a boundary for you And I know that you'd like to see through it The way that I do
I'll be just fine out of my mind I like this it this way, I know when to pray And I don't need any until I need more I said I was sorry a hundred times before And I'm in control till it swallows me whole
Well you say that you have to leave now You can't stand the things that I do And you know that I'll need this more Than I'll ever need you
I'll be just fine out of my mind I like this it this way I know when to pray And I don't need any until I need more And I don't need any until I need more And I don't need any until I need more And I'm in control Till it swallows me whole Till it swallows me whole Swallows me whole
One thing I've never learned is how to give up So it's my destiny to bear this fate They say that I'm still young but I'd better hurry up And they're talking 'bout change And it's a little too late
I'm really not just jumping to conclusions It's all a matter of fact clear of illusions You'll never love me the way I love you So I'm paying the price All my life
Just when I think I'm moving along You come back singing a different song A song of love, a song of sweet regret Full of promises which are never met And I'm paying the price All my life
I know I'll love you still when I have grown old Though you'll have taken all of my good years And you'll have taken every chance away from me My master for life All my life
Just when I think you'll let me be I'll awake knowing you've been haunting me All day long I'll hear you singing in my head The voice I love, the voice I dread And I'm paying the price All my life
Just when I think I'm finally free I hear a voice gently calling me Saying I'm just a little melody What could be the harm in writing me? And I'm paying the price All my life
And I'm paying the price All my life Paying the price All my life Paying the price
It's easy when you smile We can talk a while Just lie here in my arms Safe and warm Outside the night is so unclear Stay here And everything will disappear
It's easy when you laugh Troubles cut in half Where I will go without you? I don't know Outside the night is breezing by Don't cry And everything will be alright
Hold me, hold me, stay Tomorrow's far a way And so are we And that's why it's easy It's easy when you say We can find a way Don't worry about it now We'll get through it some how Outside the night is almost gone Stay strong And maybe we can still go on
Hold me, hold me, stay Tomorrow's far away And so are we
It's easy when you smile We can talk a while Just lie here in my arms Safe and warm Oh... oh easy It's so easy when you smile
Well I know your life has been hard I see it in your eyes and I feel it in your heart When your eyes move down to the floor And your mouth changes shape, and your voice sounds sore I can hold you close in my arms And tell you that you're special And that you treasure such great charms And that you always keep my heart full But I'm hardly speaking a word I'm hardly speaking a word
And I know these things should be heard But I'm hardly speaking a word And your struggle never changes me I'll never be able to see the things you see They say that you see things differently Just because it's different doesn't mean it can't be free But I'm hardly speaking a word I'm hardly speaking a word
So I wonder, what do they know Maybe the problem is me not letting go Of a little boy who's smarter than me Who can't sit still and sees things differently And I'm yelling when I should be whispering I'm pushing when I should be carrying And I don't understand anything I've heard I should be yelling I love you But I'm hardly speaking a word
So I wonder, what do I know Maybe the problem is me not letting go Of a little boy who's smarter than me Who can't sit still and sees things differently And I'm yelling when I should be whispering And I'm pushing when I should be carrying And I don't understand anything I've heard
I should be yelling I love you I should be yelling I love you I should be yelling I love you But I'm hardly speaking a word
I can see clear through your thoughts some times I know I can When you say you need more time And you think that I'll under stand Well you can put your finger to your nose You can tell me just where I should go Then you can fly And I'll wonder why
What if I could leap tall buildings in a In a single bound? What if I could tell the world I loved you Without even making a sound? What if I was smarter than Einstein's daughter? What if I had x-ray eyes? What if I could run to the top of the sun And not even look like I tried? Would you love me then?
Things are never easy Nothing's ever clear cut Just when I thought you wanted more You tell me that you've had enough Well I know I'm not beautiful And I'll never be tall and thin But these things mean so much When you feel with your eyes and not within
What if I could leap tall buildings in a In a single bound? What if I could walk a cross the country With out even touching the ground? What if I was sorry for your sins? What if I was Prince Charles's next of kin? What if could change the world for you I could make you love me if I wanted to Would you love me then? Would you love me then? Would you love me then?
What if I could leap tall buildings in a In a single bound? What if I could tell the world I loved you Without even making a sound? What if I was smarter than Einstein's daughter? What if I had x-ray eyes? What if I could run to the top of the sun And not even look like I tried? Would you love me then?
You never woke up beside a stranger But you never spent the night alone In your jacket is a flask of Southern Comfort In your pocket you got a comb I know you I know you
You've been pushed right to the limit Lived on a lonesome road Chopped up an old pine dresser To heat the house once in the cold I know you Yeah, I know you
Well, I know where you go when you want to be alone I know just how hard you work and how much money you bring home You love the sound of church bells but you hate sitting in the pew Baby, I know you
D.H. Lawrence wouldn’t be your favourite poet If you thought poetry was cool You have too much pride to be a thief And just enough gut to be a fool Baby, I know you, I know you
Well, I know the sound of your thunder And I know the smell of your rain I know every time you walk out that door You might stumble back in it again Yeah, I know you Yes I do, baby blue, I know you
Well, I know that you feel bad for every bad thing that you do You got a scar on your right cheek and the fear of God embedded in you Your mother had a wooden spoon and a shamrock tattoo Baby, I know you
Well, no other woman's gonna feel beneath the skin that you are in No other woman's gonna read your mind or be sorry for your sins I know you I know you
Well, I know what you look like just before you cry I know how to make you sick and I know how to make you die The only thing I could never do is let you say goodbye Say goodbye ‘Cause I know you I know you
You never woke up beside a stranger But you never spent the night alone In your jacket is a flask of Southern Comfort In your pocket you got a comb
Tell me once that you love me, love me Tell me lies that you'll call but I know you won't I know you don't All you want is to meet discretely To make sure you don't still love me And talk over coffee
I have cried your name so many times What's one more time I have cried these tears for you So many times
Tell me once that you need me, need me Not now, but you did need me then I like to pretend The place is cold and the table's sticky I take a napkin, you watch me wipe it down I'm just spinning round
I have cried your name so many times What's one more time I have cried these tears for you So many times What's one more time
And you will pay for my coffee So you don't feel guilty And then you'll go on and on about How it's not me, it's you
I have cried your name so many times What's one more time I have cried these tears for you So many times What's one more time
I never took to smoking cigarettes I never finish any drink I start But you broke my heart
Well the sky might fall and I'm Chicken Little yelling While I am floating out to sea Well I am tugging at your ear for some attention Don't you give a damn about me?
I'll be the first to say there's a child inside my body Can't pay the bills but I can spend Will you love me when I am torn and terrible? Will you even know me then?
I am a lion, I am lamb Will you love me as I am? As I am
Well the earth is shaking right below your feet you know 'Cause I am crawling underground Say you love me, you can tell and I will show Don't you even know what you've found?
I am a lion, I am lamb Will you love me as I am? As I am
Well you can take or you can leave me I am not God so don't believe me Tell me how you'd like to need me Love is all Love is all
Will you love me for what is right before you? What you see is what you get Well I am growing old and life may be downhill Don't think I haven't reached my potential yet
I am a lion, I am lamb Will you love me as I... As I am As I am
I am six years old in the back of my mother's car And I will be seven in December She will be gone by the beginning of next spring And I will be left to remember To remember
I ask my little questions and she laughs a little laugh But she won't tell me where we're going She looks in my eyes with her eyes in the mirror And says, "Some things you're better off not knowing" Not knowing
But I don't know what her voice sounds like I don't know what her skin feels like I only know what it might feel like When a mother holds her daughter When that mother knows she's leaving this life Leaving this life
She's left with that reflection of me at six years old And I have her eyes in the mirror Well, she and I, we are defined by what we have lost Don't you wonder whose loss is dearer? Dearer
She doesn't know what my voice sounds like She doesn't know what my skin feels like And I only know what it might feel like When a mother holds her daughter When that mother knows she's leaving this life Leaving this life
And I don't know what her voice sounds like And I don't know what her skin feels like I only know what it might feel like When a mother holds her daughter When that mother knows she's leaving this life Leaving this life
Leaving this life Leaving this life Leaving this life
The number to the house is on the door But every time you open it as if you are not sure If you even live here anymore Anymore
Well, I know what you're about to say I know that look there on your face But I'm tired of reading your mind this way So why don't you say it?
You're tearing me up inside Tearing me up inside It feels like something in me died Feels like something in me died All of the bright colours that lived inside of me Are now just tiny little pieces of what used to be And it just feels like confetti
Well, I remember on our wedding day Thinking that all of those flowers would all just fade away And it seemed like such a waste Of beauty
And now you're tearing me up inside Tearing me up inside It feels like something in me died Feels like something in me died All of the bright colours that lived inside of me Are now just tiny little pieces of what used to be And it just feels like confetti Confetti
Isn't it a crying shame That nothing ever stays the same? I can't fit into that wedding dress Or be twenty-three again But you're looking at me now Like you don't know who I am
And it's tearing me up inside All of the bright colours that lived inside of me Are now just tiny little pieces of who I used to be And it just feels like confetti Confetti Confetti
