1. |
If I Had You
04:14
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If I had you I’d make you a deal a morning
It wouldn’t be fair because I would let you win
And early in the evening we could renegotiate
As the sun goes down and the moon moves in
If I had you, I’d pick you up in the afternoon
And we would ride to our favorite hiding place
And we would would laugh away the rest of a lovely day
As the sun goes down and the moon moves in
It won’t be long before we are together
It won’t be long before we know
It won’t be long before we’re living in harmony
As the sun goes down and the moon moves in
We went to be laughing at something you said
And when I woke in the morning, you sent me out laughing again
If I had you there’d be no reason to think it through
Not even a second thought when I’m down and beaten blue
Let the night fall down upon us, let the world be the way it found us
When the sun went down and the moon moved in
It won’t be long before we are together
It won’t be long before we know
It won’t be long before we’re living in harmony
As the sun goes down and the moon moves in (repeat last line)
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2. |
Leaf on the Vine
01:59
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There’s a leaf on the vine
a leaf on the vine
a leaf on the vine
turned brown with age
but the loam is rich
and the sun the right pitch
a new leaf will soon take its place
When I call to the wood
there’s a voice that I should
remember in just such a way
the echo comes round
with a familiar sound
calling me back to this place
There’s a pool in the stream
a pool in the stream
a pool in the stream
older than we’ll ever be
and the song I hear
is a stream running clear
where a new generation will be
(repeat refrain)
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3. |
Lilly
04:23
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Lilly’s crackin’ eggshells on a morning in July
Thinking about the price she had to pay
Except for me she was more or less free
Like the sun on that warm July day
She was blessed with a woman’s mind
And it raced like the hands on a clock
And her dreams would take her where her love for me was not
And I’d be forgot
She don’t know where she’s goin’, maybe down the coast a ways
Says she wants to see where she was born
Right about now that July sun finally gone down
Sad eyes lookin’ out through a storm
Another way to say goodbye
Different from the ones we usually try
I hope she finds California fair
She’s probably already there
Lilly, you can travel but I like it where I am
Fix me a pot of your homemade stew
I’ll get by like I always do
But make me a promise, too
I’m a man of many miles
And not a one has treated me kind
I know about distance
And what it does to a lonely mind
It will steal you blind
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4. |
The Belgians
05:58
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Though I am just a sea man
I’m the first one to deny
That what goes on astern and port
Is all that’s on my mind
The ship’s wheel is before me
And the crew is in my hands
But my thoughts are somewhere back at home
With the Belgians on my land
And oh the Belgians
How they step so high
And I could sit and watch them
Til my mind goes and I die
But my captain he’s a calling me
to keep a steady line
Or we will all be driftwood
And the fault will all be mine
Hear the wood crack cried the captain
Feel the wind tear through our masts
We’ll be putting into Boston
To see the loved ones from our past
The fishing boats will guide us
With their nets drawn to the bow
Like the Belgians with their bridles
In their service for the plow
And oh the Belgians
They step so high
And I could sit and watch them
Til my mind goes and I die
But my captain he’s a calling me
And my loved ones I’ve embraced
And I’m out on the water now
And my Belgians not a trace
Well the sea can be tempestuous
I’ve seen it once or twice
When the crow’s nest filled with water
Or the bow was locked in ice
And if those storms should come for me
Well then I say let them come
Because to me it’s worth the price I pay
To watch my Belgians run.
And oh the Belgians
How they step so high
And I could sit and watch them
Til my mind goes and I die
But my captain he’s a calling me
And he says “it’s time to go!”
The old man’s getting restless
And the sea is all he knows
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5. |
Lady Highway
03:53
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Just another road song
I know you’ve heard it all before
A little to the right of the white line
In my Econoline Ford
A little to the left of a lonely mind
A little too long til morning time
So let the starlight pour
Someone said about traveling
That’s what the night was for
Not a lot of scenery
Just a rumbling in my floorboards
But it’s better than walking
I found out a long time ago
Not as smooth as a bird with wings
Seems I always want so many things
And I can’t decide my mind
I gotta find out what’s in front of me
And I need what I left behind
Seems I only love this lady highway
Seems I only woo this woman road
Put it in overdrive
Get out of my way
I won’t be happy til I hit the road
Once again I see the morning light
It’s worth waitin’ up half the night
Now I know how those truckers feel
And those guys who sleep in their automobiles
With no regards for my body’s rest
That black top beckons me
And she wants me at my best
And she won’t let me unravel
That callous concubine of mine
Is a stretch of tar and gravel
Seems I only love this lady highway
Seems I only woo this woman road
Put it in overdrive
Get out of my way
I won’t be happy til I hit the road
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6. |
Local Downs
05:47
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Can I tell you a story
About some time ago
Back in my little home town
Where the houses was few
But our name people knew
From the race track we called
Local Downs
Along about May, June and July
The weather was getting hot
And I wished I had a nickel
For every horse trailer
That pulled into that parking lot.
The stables got straw
While my eyes got raw
And the radio played the new sound
And I was a nine year old water boy
Chasing my own dreams around
Chasing my dreams around
They’re never really lost til they’re found
And I wished I had a nickel
For every horse trailer
That pulled into that parking lot
Now I was just nine
But I wasn’t blind
When the thoroughbreds broke through the gates
There was a fever residing
There was big money riding
It was a feeling I couldn’t relate
Ten thousand screaming at the top of their lungs
As their horses fell into the groove
You could lay down your bet
To the strong smell of sweat
But those horses had nothing to prove
Round and around
Like a merry go round
Four or five losing the lead
And with a flip of her tail
From my filly on the rail
That horse race was history
Chasing my dreams around
With a fortune I felt was profound
Still I wished I had a penny
For every luckless old ticket stub
That lay there wasted on the ground
A winner as always
Did come from it all
She was limping back down to her stall
And the vet in attendance
Said the tendon was bowed
We could pack her up and drive her on home
But we all shared the thought
As a pasture was sought
That she’d be running her last race for free
In a field full of foals,
She’d be twenty years old
When that horse went down in dignity
But the loss of that filly
It did shake me indeed
Some thought I might never come round
I was too busy wondering
Which end was up
To realize I was upside down.
As I grew, I grew bad
I laid it all on the line
You’d have thought that them police was blind
I was running for fun
I was a twenty to one
But my finish was right on time.
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7. |
Me and the Wind
04:16
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From time to time
I leave the main road
To walk on the railroad
It’s just my calling
Me and the wind
It’s just my calling
Me and the wind
And I know I’m not the only one
Walking on this railroad…no
But all I see for miles and for miles
Is railroad ties
And my legs are tired
And my eyes need resting
And I know I can’t stay
But I can feel anyway
About a place that I knew so well
A little bit like home to me
A little hard on my soul
A little bit like home to me
And I don’t want to go
But I know I’m not the only one
Walking on this railroad… no
All I see for miles and for miles
Is railroad ties
And my legs are tired
And my eyes need resting
From time to time
I leave the main road
To walk on the railroad
It’s just my calling
Just me and the wind
It’s just my calling
Just me and the wind
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8. |
Waitress in a Dress
05:48
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Seven people playing cards
One came in to win
Said to the other six
“my friends, let this game begin”
I left my wife
She threw me out
Said I was no good
The cows all died this winter
And we burned up all the wood
And I come to win your money
Take home some extra bucks.”
And a smile found its way to faces
Raised on lady luck
The bartender he locked the door
Started shining glass
Asked his waitress to stick around
And bring them what they asked
They’ll be going late tonight
Like shadows on the town
Till all their drinks are empty
And all their chips are down
And luckless eyes will be following
The lady with the booze
While the winner knows that waitress is
Helping them to lose.
Smoke rose to the ceiling
An ace fell to the floor
One last lucky cheat cashed in
Stumbled for the door
The winner laid his cigarette
Butt end on the table
Called for whiskey any kind
He couldn’t read the label
And with that bottle in his hand
He was the last to leave
And as he made his way back home
He thought of some reprieve
The kettle’s on the kitchen stove
Food enough for one
And I finally concede
That my family’s come undone
The warmth I had to offer him
Could melt the morning stars
But I’m never giving in
While ‘ living in the bars
The world’s built on give and take
And not another loaf of bread I bake
I wanted a farm
But this deal ain’t worth a darn
His wife would not forgive him
She smelled the liquor on his breath
And made him sleep outside
Where she hoped he’d freeze to death
There was a motion in the moonlight
And a slim silhouette
Nothing quite so beautiful
As that waitress in a dress
She said “I like the way you play your cards
I like your sober charm
But promise me just one thing
You’ll never buy a farm.”
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9. |
Bandita
04:15
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Bandita, you stole my heart
Though our time was oh so sweet
I got to hand it to you
You paid back every part
But I still think you’re a thief
Bandita, you deal in trust
Manipulate men like they’re fools
Well I tried hard
But not hard enough
And you’re still out on the loose
I saw your picture in the paper
Wanted dead or alive
Ten thousand dollars for your body
And nothing for your mind
Bandita, you photograph like a paper doll
Bandita you’ve had your laughs
Your photograph’s on every wall
Bandita, you won’t get far
you leave a trail of tears and blood
There’s men out there
Who know who you are
You robbed the train that they called love
I saw your picture in the paper
Wanted dead or alive
Ten thousand dollars for your body
And nothing for your mind
Bandita, you photograph like a paper doll
Bandita, you’ve had your laughs
Your photograph’s on every wall
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10. |
Have I Told You Lately
03:53
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Have I told you how I just how much I love you
Have I told you this in no uncertain terms
In the shadow of a a half moon,
In the silence of a special room,
No madness and no concern
Have I told you that I just can live without you
Have I told you this a thousand times before
So Please stop asking why,
In the twilight of our lovely lives
I’m going to tell you this a thousand times more
Refrain:
You don’t have to cry for me
You’ll never have to lie for me
There isn’t anything you’ll ever have to say
You don’t have to try with me
And you’ll never have to bribe me
There isn’t anything I wouldn’t give you anyway
Have a showed you how the stars line up tonight
And promised you that nothing would interfere
I know that you are shy sometimes
You know that I’m a patient guy
Make all of your trouble disappear
Refrain
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