Play a ballad

[Inchworm]

Play a ballad from any genre.

You know, a song that tells a story about someone, something, or some place. I think that's what a musical ballad is :D

Here is mine. I left the chords there in case anyone wanted to play. :)
EDIT- no chords- ] and the opening bracket were used as separators

______________________

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR9dDdUmdtU

BIG BAD JOHN
Written and Recorded by Jimmy Dean

KEY: G

(Big John), (Big John)

(Spoken) Ever' mornin' the mine you could see him arrive
He stood six-foot six and weighed two forty-five
Kinda broad at the shoulders and narrow at the hip
Ever'- body knew you didn't give no "lip", to Big John;

(Big John), (Big John), Big Bad John, (Big John).

Nobody seemed to know where John called home
He just drifted into town and stayed all alone
He didn't say much, kinda quiet and shy
And if you spoke at all, you just said hi, to Big John;

Somebody said he came from New Orleans
Where he got in a fight over a Cajun Queen
And a crashin' blow from a huge right hand
Sent a Louisana fellow to the promised land, Big John;

(Big John), (Big John), Big Bad John, (Big John).

Then came the day at the bottom of the mine
When a timber cracked and men started cryin'
Miners were prayin' and hearts beat fast
And ever'body tho't that they'd breathed their last, 'cept John;

Thru the dust and the smoke of this man made hell
Walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well
Grabbed a sagging timber and gave out with a groan
And like a giant Oak tree just stood there alone, Big John;

(Big John), (Big John), Big Bad John, (Big John).

CHANGE TO A:
With all of his strength, he gave a mighty shove
Then a miner yelled out, there's a light up above
And twenty men scrambled from a would-be grave
And now there's only one left down there to save, Big John;

With jacks and timbers they started back down
Then came that rumble way down in the ground
And smoke and gas belched out of that mine
And ever'body knew it was the end of the line, for Big John;

(Big John), (Big John), Big Bad John, (Big John).

Now they never reopened that worthless pit
They just placed a marble stand in front of it
These few words are written on that stand
At the bottom of this mine lies one hell of a man Big John;

(Big John), (Big John), Big Bad John, (Big John), (fade) (Big John).

________________________

:hi:

[VenusRising]

1. One of my favorites evah!!!

RIP Hoyt Axton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8blnDoyhEZA

Della and the Dealer

It was Della and a dealer and a dog named Jake,
And a cat named Kalamazoo,
Left the city in a pick-up truck.
Gonna make some dreams come true.
Yeah, they rolled out west where the wild sun sets,
And the coyote bays at the moon.
Della and a dealer and a dog named Jake,
And a cat named Kalamazoo.

If that cat could talk, what tales he'd tell,
About Della and the Dealer and the dog as well.
But the cat was cool,
And he never said a mumblin' word.

Down Tucson way there's a small cafe,
Where they play a little cowboy tune.
And the guitar picker was a friend of mine,
By the name of Randy Boone.

Yeah, Randy played her a sweet love song,
And Della got a fire in her eye.
The Dealer had a knife and the dog had a gun,
And the cat had a shot of rye.

If that cat could talk, what tales he'd tell,
About Della and the Dealer and the dog as well.
But the cat was cool,
And he never said a mumblin' word.

Yeah, the Dealer was a killer; he was evil and mean,
And he was jealous of the fire in her eyes.
He snorted his coke through a century note,
And he swore that Boone would die.

And the stage was set when the lights went out,
There was death in Tucson town.
Two shadows ran for the bar back door,
But one stayed on the ground.

If that cat could talk, what tales he'd tell,
About Della and the Dealer and the dog as well.
But the cat was cool,
And he never said a mumblin' word.

If that cat could talk, what tales he'd tell,
About Della and the Dealer and the dog as well.
But the cat was cool,
And he never said a mumblin' word.

Two shadows ran from the bar that night,
And a dog and a cat ran too.
And the tires got hot on the pickup truck,
As down the road they flew.

It was Della and her lover and a dog named Jake,
And a cat named Kalamazoo.
Left Tucson in a pickup truck.
Gonna make some dreams come true.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

If that cat could talk, what tales he'd tell,
About Della and the Dealer and the dog as well.
But the cat was cool,
And he never said a mumblin' word.


:hi::hug:

[Inchworm]

5. One of my favorites too!

Thanks for sharing it :)

:hug::hi:

[VenusRising]

7. I wish I could find video of "Wild Bull Rider"

:(

Have to deal with the lyrics and sing it to yourself. :P

Dixie was a lady and a Rodeo Queen Billy was her lover ah you know what I mean
Billy rode the bulls in the big rodeo Dixie loved her man and she told him so
Dixie loved her man and she told him so

Brought a bad bull to the big rodeo said he killed a man out in New Mexico
Dixie said Billy please don't go don't ride that killer in the rodeo
You're the only man I love and I need you so

Then Billy he looked at Dixie looked her right in the eys
Said I'm a Wild Bull Rider and I love my rodeo
I'd ride that bull to hell and back for the money and the show
My pappy was a pistol I'm a son of a gun I ride wild bulls just to have some fun
And the higher they get a little too low for me
I said the higher they get a little too low for me

Billy rode that killer out of New Mexico
He rode him cross the Rockies through the rain and the snow
Rode across the desert to the shining sea rode across the water out to Hawaii
Rode across the water out to Hawaii
Aloha ha Aloha hey Aloha ha Aloha hey

Billy rode that bull around the world and then
He rode him out to Jupiter and back again
Picked up Dixie away they did fly like a shootin' star sailing through the sky
Like a shootin' star sailing through the sky

And I could hear Billy say
He said I'd rather be a lover than a fighter of wars
Be from Oklahoma than the nebulous stars
Spent a lot of time in some honky tonk bars
From Memphis to the China Sea yeah from Memphis to the China Sea

And I'm a Wild Bull Rider and I love my rodeo
I'd ride that bull to hell and back for the money and the show
My pappy was a pistol I'm a son of a gun I ride wild bulls just to have some fun
And the higher they get a little too low for me
I said the higher they get a little too low for me.

[Inchworm]

14. Neat

By the time I got to the end I was almost singing hehe. I think thats how ballads work huh? :D

:)

[hellbound-liberal]

2. Cocaine Blues by Johnny Cash live at Folsom Prison

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITsvPjbEPtc

Also done by George Thorogood

Early one mornin' while makin' the rounds
I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down
I went right home and I went to bed
I stuck that lovin' .44 beneath my head

Got up next mornin' and I grabbed that gun
Took a shot of cocaine and away I run
Made a good run but I ran too slow
They overtook me down in Juarez, Mexico

Late in the hot joints takin' the pills
In walked the sheriff from Jericho Hill
He said Willy Lee your name is not Jack Brown
You're the dirty heck that shot your woman down

Said yes, oh yes my name is Willy Lee
If you've got the warrant just a-read it to me
Shot her down because she made me sore
I thought I was her daddy but she had five more

When I was arrested I was dressed in black
They put me on a train and they took me back
Had no friend for to go my bail
They slapped my dried up carcass in that county jail

Early next mornin' bout a half past nine
I spied the sheriff coming down the line
Ah, and he coughed as he cleared his throat
He said come on you dirty heck into that district court

Into the courtroom my trial began
Where I was handled by twelve honest men
Just before the jury started out
I saw the little judge commence to look about

In about five minutes in walked the man
Holding the verdict in his right hand
The verdict read murder in the first degree
I hollered Lawdy Lawdy, have a mercy on me

The judge he smiled as he picked up his pen
99 years in the Folsom pen
99 years underneath that ground
I can't forget the day I shot that bad bitch down

Come on you've gotta listen unto me
Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be

[Inchworm]

6. Weeee!

Good morning!

I haven't heard that one in a while.

Thanks!

:hi:

[hellbound-liberal]

10. I heard it first on George Thorogood album and really liked it

Joaquin Phoenix played it in Walk the Line. he did a nice job too!:hi:

[RainDog]

3. Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll

Bob Dylan, 1964. Steve Allen Show

Lyrics at "about this video"

[hellbound-liberal]

4. Here's another ballad about a Hattie: Swamp Witch by Jim Stafford

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI2HxOOPnig

Growing up in Okeechobee, FL. It was nice to have our town mentioned in the song.

[Inchworm]

9. Excellent

Thanks.
___________

Black water Hattie lived back in the swamp
Where the strange green reptiles crawl
Snakes hang thick from the cypress trees
Like sausage on a smokehouse wall
Where the swamp is alive with a thousand eyes
An' all of them watching you
Stay off the track to Hattie's Shack in the back of the Black Bayou

Way up the road from Hattie's Shack
Lies a sleepy little Okeechobee town
Talk of swamp witch Hattie lock you in when the sun go down
Rumours of what she'd done, rumours of what she'd do
Kept folks off the track of hattie's shack
In the back of the Black Bayou

One day brought the rain and the rain stayed on
And the swamp water overflowed
'skeeters and the fever grabbed the town like a fist
Doctor Jackson was the first to go
Some say the plague wasa brought by Hattie
There was talk of a hang'n too
But the talk got shackled by the howls and the cackles
From the bowels of the Black bayou

Early one morn 'tween dark and dawn when shadows filled the sky
There came an unseen caller on a town where road run dry
You'd swear there was found a big black round
Vat full of gurgling brew

Whispering sounds as the folk gathered round
"It came from the Black Bayou"
There ain't much pride when you're trapped inside
A slowly sink'n ship
Scooped up the liquid deep and green
And the whole town took a sip
Fever went away and the very next day the skies again were blue
Let's thank old hattie for sav'n our town
We'll fetch her from the Black Bayou

Party of ten of the town's best men headed for Hattie's Shack
Said Swamp Witch magic was useful and good
And they're gonna bring hattie back
Never found Hattie and they never found the shack
Never made the trip back in
There was a parchment note they found tacked to a stump
Said don't come look'n again
______________________

:hi:

[RainDog]

16. Ragin' Cajun

hmm, this is not exactly a ballad, put reminded me of one of my zydeco favorites from your part of the swamp Boozoo Chavis

wonder if he ever got that paper out of his shoe?

okay, another ballad- The Foggy Dew

[Inchworm]

24. Wanted to say

There was a song that mentioned "Ore Knob Mines" here where I live, but for the life of me I cannot recall who sung it and am having no luck finding it. The abandoed mine was a dumping site for bodies.

I'll keep looking.

:hi:

[Inchworm]

11. Ole Dylan

I got the chillbumps.

Thanks.
_____________________

1964

Bob Dylan: "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll"

William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll
With a cane that he twirled around his diamond ring finger
At a Baltimore hotel society gath'rin'.
And the cops were called in and his weapon took from him
As they rode him in custody down to the station
And booked William Zanzinger for first-degree murder.
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

William Zanzinger, who at twenty-four years
Owns a tobacco farm of six hundred acres
With rich wealthy parents who provide and protect him
And high office relations in the politics of Maryland,
Reacted to his deed with a shrug of his shoulders
And swear words and sneering, and his tongue it was snarling,
In a matter of minutes on bail was out walking.
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

Hattie Carroll was a maid of the kitchen.
She was fifty-one years old and gave birth to ten children
Who carried the dishes and took out the garbage
And never sat once at the head of the table
And didn't even talk to the people at the table
Who just cleaned up all the food from the table
And emptied the ashtrays on a whole other level,
Got killed by a blow, lay slain by a cane
That sailed through the air and came down through the room,
Doomed and determined to destroy all the gentle.
And she never done nothing to William Zanzinger.
But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Take the rag away from your face.
Now ain't the time for your tears.

In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel
To show that all's equal and that the courts are on the level
And that the strings in the books ain't pulled and persuaded
And that even the nobles get properly handled
Once that the cops have chased after and caught 'em
And that the ladder of law has no top and no bottom,
Stared at the person who killed for no reason
Who just happened to be feelin' that way without warnin'.
And he spoke through his cloak, most deep and distinguished,
And handed out strongly, for penalty and repentance,
William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence.
Oh, but you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears,
Bury the rag deep in your face
For now's the time for your tears
_____________________

:hi:

[RainDog]

27. here's another one

a little more in yer face kinda thing Ballad of a Thin Man - from the unreleased (in its entirety) film Eat the Document. Scorsese used some of the footage, but not this part.

[Inchworm]

38. -hes a pinboy, he also wears suspenders-

Thanks for this one RainDog

Mr Jones dies
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003677447
_____________________

Bob Dylan- Ballad of a Thin Man

You walk into the room
With your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked
And you say, "Who is that man?"
You try so hard
But you don't understand
Just what yer gonna say
When you get home

Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

You walk in so politely
you say, "Is this where it is?"
somebody points to you and says
"It's his"
And you say, "What's mine?"
And somebody else says, "Where what is?"
And you say, "Oh my God
Am I here all alone?"

yes, something is happening here
and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

You hand in your money
And you go watch the geek
Who suddenly walks up to you
When he hears you speak
And says, "How does it feel
To be such a freak?"
And you say, "Impossible"
As he hands you a bone

you know something's happening
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

You have many contacts
up there among the lumberjacks
To get you facts
When someone attacks your imagination
But nobody has any respect
Anyway they already expect you
you to just give a check
To tax-deductible charity organizations

You've been with the professors
And they've all liked your looks
With great lawyers and scholars
you've Discussed lepers and crooks
You've been through all of
F. Scott Fitzgerald's books
You're very well read
It's well known

But something is happening now
and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

the sword swallower, he comes up to you
And then he kneels
He crosses himself
And then he clicks his high heels
And without further notice
He tells you how it feels
And he says, "Here is your mouth back
Thanks for the loan"

then you really know something's happening
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

Now you see this one-eyed midget
Shouting the word "NOW"
And you say, "For what reason?"
And he says, "How?"
And you say good god, "What does this mean?"
And he screams back, "You're a cow
Give me some milk
Or else go home"

now yer positive something's happening
and you wish you knew what it was
Don't you, Mister Jones?

Well, you walk into the room
Like a camel and then you frown
You put your eyes in your pockets
And your nose on the ground
There ought to be a law
Against you comin' around
You should be made
To carry at all times a telephone

Because something is happening
and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

__________________

:hi:

[RainDog]

41. You're welcome

I think the poet, John Berryman, had a lot of influence over that song. Dylan was reading lots of confessional poetry and at least some of the words fit this idea... not to mention that Mr. Bones became Mr. Jones, which is a "type" not a person.. and not even a person, but a way of thinking. The guy who got "named" had a pretty interesting life, huh?

Who is the speaker? In a preface to The Dream Songs, Berryman wrote, "The poem ... is essentially about an imaginary character (not the poet, not me) named Henry, in early middle age ... who ... talks about himself sometimes in the first person, sometimes in the third, sometimes even in the second; he has a friend, never named, who address him as Mr Bones and variants thereof." It becomes obvious through his description that "Henry" and "Mr Bones" are one and the same, and that Henry is the primary speaker. A change in speaker, to the unnamed friend who addresses Henry as Mr Bones (or back to Henry), is signified by a dash, as in the last 2 lines of his fourth "Dream Song:" "There ought to be a law against Henry / -Mr. Bones: there is."

[Heidi]

13. That's one of my Top Five "protest" songs EVER!

I was one year old in 1964. I was about 14 when my dad first played it for me. :thumbsup:

:yourock:

[Ptah]

8. Bruce Springsteen - Old Dan Tucker

Bruce Springsteen - Old Dan Tucker

http://youtube.com/watch?v=S-GHbDFrwlU


Well, Old Dan Tucker, was a fine old man,
Washed his face in a frying pan
Combed his hair with a wagon wheel
Died with a toothache in his heel

Get out of the way! Old Dan Tucker,
You're too late to get your supper.
Get out of the way! Old Dan Tucker,
You're too late to get your supper.

Old Dan Tucker, he'd come to town
Riding a billy goat, leading a hound
The hound dog barked, the billy goat jumped
Landed 'Ol Tucker on a stump!

Get out of the way! Old Dan Tucker,
You're too late to get your supper
Get out of the way! Old Dan Tucker,
You're too late to get your supper

Now Old Dan Tucker got drunk and fell
In the fire and kicked up holy hell
A red-hot coal fell in his shoe
And oh my Lord the ashes flew

Now old Dan Tucker has come to town
Swinging them ladies all around
First to the right and then to the left
Then to the gal that he loves best

Get out of the way! Old Dan Tucker,
You're too late to get your supper
Get out of the way! Old Dan Tucker,
You're too late to get your supper

[Inchworm]

21. Poor feller!

His middle name must have been "Lucky" hehe

Thanks!

:hi:

[lost-in-nj]

12. Heres one

By Garth Brooks
can't find an audio.....




Cowboy Bill lyrics

He told a good story and all of us kids listened
'Bout his life on the border and the way it was then
And we all believed him and when he would finish
We'd ask the old cowboy to tell 'em again

You could almost hear those prairie winds blowin'
His saddle a creakin' 'neath his old faded jeans
You could taste the dry dust from the trail he was ridin'
As he sat there and painted those west Texas scenes

And the grown-ups would tell us
You boys keep your distance, that old man's just tellin' you lies
But to all of us kids Cowboy Bill was a hero
Just as true as his blue Texas skies

He told of a time when he rode with the Rangers
Down on the pecos and he saved the day
Outnumbered by plenty, they were almost too cover
With thirty banditos headed their way

He looked back just in time to see a horse stumble
The captain went down and Bill pulled up on his rains
And through a flurry of bullets he rescued the captain
And they rode for a sunset, just the story remains

And the grown-ups would tell us
You boys keep your distance, that old man's just tellin' you lies
But to all of us kids Cowboy Bill was a hero
Just as true as his blue Texas skies

Well I still remember the day that it happened
We waited and we waited but Bill never showed
And the follks at the feed store said they hadn't seen him
So we set out for his place down Old Grist Mill Road

And we cried when we found him lying there with his mem'ries
The old trunk wide open, things scattered about
He was clutchin' a badge that said Texas Ranger
And an old "yeller" letter said Texas Is Proud

And the grown-ups that told us
You boys keep your distance, that old man's just tellin' lies
Well now they're all sayin' Cowboy Bill was a hero
Just as true as his blue Texas skies



lost

[Inchworm]

29. I looked and looked- no luck BUT!

I found this and can't stop laughing at video.
_______________________

Papa Loved Momma - Brooks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTE6t3zj6U0

Papa drove a truck nearly all his life
You know it drove mama crazy being a trucker's wife
The part she couldn't handle was the being alone
I guess she needed more to hold than just a telephone
Papa called Mama each and every night
Just to ask her how she was and if us kids were alright
Mama would wait for that call to come in
When Daddy'd hang up then she was gone again
Mama was a looker
Lord, how she shined
Papa was a good'n
But the jealous kind
Papa loved Mama
Mama loved men
Mama's in the graveyard
Papa's in the pen
Well, it was bound to happen and one night it did
Papa came home and it was just us kids
He had a dozen roses and a bottle of wine
If he was lookin' to surprise us, he was doin' fine
I heard him cry for mama up and down the hall
Then I heard a bottle break against the bedroom wall
That old diesel engine made an eerie sound
When Papa fired it up and headed into town
Well, the picture in the paper showed the scene real well
Papa's rig was buried in the local motel
The desk clerk said he saw it all real clear
He never hit the brakes and he was shifting gears
Mama was a looker
Lord, how she shined
Papa was a good'n
But the jealous kind
Papa loved Mama
Mama loved men
Mama's in the graveyard
Papa's in the pen

________________

:rofl:

[Heidi]

15. Two ballads from Roberta Flack | "Killing Me Softly" and "The First Time Ever . . ."

Killing Me Softly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zqss0y3I12o

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI7gzXz1cHo

[VenusRising]

18. I love Killing Me Softly!

I used to sing that at karaoke forever ago!

Hi, gf! Hope you're enjoying your weekend. :hi::hug::loveya:

[Heidi]

20. Howdy, honey!

My very, very, very favorite ballad is downthread: "Vincent," Don McLean. :cry:

[VenusRising]

23. I love Don McLean.

Vincent and Miss American Pie remind me of two very significant people in my life.

:hug:

[Inchworm]

30. Loverly

:hug:

Good ones. I love her. I got a little misty one the second one.

:loveya:
_________________________________

Killing Me Softly

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly
With his song...

ooooo....

I heard he sang a good song
I heard he had a style
And so I came to see him and listen for awhile
And there he was this young boy
A stranger to my eyes...

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly
With his song...

I felt all flushed with fever
Embarrassed by the crowd
I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud
I pray that he would finish
But he just kept right on...

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly
With his song...

He sang as if he knew me
In all my dark despair
And then he looked right through me as if I was not there
And he just kept on singing,
Singing clear and strong...

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly
With his song...

oooooo....la la la la la la.....ooooooooooo...la la laaaaa.la la la laaaaa

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly
With his song...

He was strumming my pain
Yeah he was singing my life
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly with his song...
___________________________

*grin*

Picture intermission

___________________________

Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave
To the dark and the empty skies, my love,
To the dark and the empty skies.

The first time ever I kissed your mouth
I felt the earth move in my hand

And felt your heart beat close to mine
Like the trembling heart of a captive bird
That was there at my command, my love
That was there at my command.

And felt your heart beat close to mine
The first time ever I lay with you
And felt your heart so close to mine
I knew our joy would fill the earth
And last 'till the end of time, my love,
And last 'till the end of time.

The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave
To the dark and the endless skies, my love,

The first time ever I saw your face

Your face.

_____________________

:cry::hug::hi:

[Heidi]

17. Phoebe Snow | Poetry Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OxTVxGhHFM

[Inchworm]

33. That is pretty

Thanks again Heidi!

:yourock:

____________________________

You make me laugh
Cause your eyes they
light the night
They look right through me

You bashful boy
You're hiding something sweet
Please give it to me yeah, to me

Talk to me some more
You don't have to go
You're the Poetry Man
You make things all rhyme

You are a genie
All I ask for is your smile
Each time I rub the lamp

When I am with you
I have a giggling teen-age crush
Then I'm a sultry vamp

Talk to me some more
You don't have to go
You're the Poetry Man
You make things all right

Talk to me some more
You don't have to go
You're the Poetry Man
You make things all right

So once again
It's time to say so long
And so recall the cull of life

You're going home now
Home's that place
somewhere you go each day
To see your wife

Talk to me some more
You don't have to go
You're the Poetry Man
You make things all rhyme

Talk to me some more
You don't have to go
You're the Poetry Man
You make things all right
________________________

:hi:

[Heidi]

19. Don McLean | Vincent

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5-kMXwkmPk

[VenusRising]

25. This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.

:cry:

[Inchworm]

34. yer rippin out mah heart!

:loveya:

Thanks!

:hug:
____________________________

Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills
Sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colors on the snowy linen land

Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free
They would not listen they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now

Starry, starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
Reflecting Vincent's eyes of China blue
Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hands

Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free
They would not listen they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now

For they could not love you
But still your love was true
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
But I could have told you Vincent
This world was never meant for one as
beautiful as you

Starry, starry night
Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
With eyes that watch this world and can't forget
Like the strangers that you've met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
A silver thorn on a bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow

Now I think I know
What you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free
They would not listen they're not listening still
Perhaps they never will
__________________________

:hug:

[RetroLounge]

22. Sunday Morning Coming Down - Johnny Cash

Sunday Morning Coming Down - (Words & Music by Kris Kristopherson)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuQKYOxV_h0

Well I woke up Sunday morning,
With no way to hold my head that didn't hurt.
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad,
So I had one more for dessert.
Then I fumbled through my closet for my clothes,
And found my cleanest dirty shirt.
An' I shaved my face and combed my hair,
An' stumbled down the stairs to meet the day.

I'd smoked my brain the night before,
On cigarettes and songs I'd been pickin'.
But I lit my first and watched a small kid,
Cussin' at a can that he was kicking.
Then I crossed the empty street,
'n caught the Sunday smell of someone fryin' chicken.
And it took me back to somethin',
That I'd lost somehow, somewhere along the way.

On the Sunday morning sidewalk,
Wishing, Lord, that I was stoned.
'Cos there's something in a Sunday,
Makes a body feel alone.
And there's nothin' short of dyin',
Half as lonesome as the sound,
On the sleepin' city sidewalks:
Sunday mornin' comin' down.

In the park I saw a daddy,
With a laughin' little girl who he was swingin'.
And I stopped beside a Sunday school,
And listened to the song they were singin'.
Then I headed back for home,
And somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringin'.
And it echoed through the canyons,
Like the disappearing dreams of yesterday.

On the Sunday morning sidewalk,
Wishing, Lord, that I was stoned.
'Cos there's something in a Sunday,
Makes a body feel alone.
And there's nothin' short of dyin',
Half as lonesome as the sound,
On the sleepin' city sidewalks:
Sunday mornin' comin' down.

Do do do do do do do do,
Do do do do do do do,
Do do do do do do do do,
Do do do do do do do.

RL

[Inchworm]

35. This used to be my theme song

Thanks Retro.

Have a super Sunday!

:hug:

[GenDem]

26. "The ballad of Sam Stone" and "Hello in There" by John Prine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OwEyXFhZ9g&feature=related

Sam Stone
©John Prine

Sam Stone came home,
To his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas.
And the time that he served,
Had shattered all his nerves,
And left a little shrapnel in his knee.
But the morphine eased the pain,
And the grass grew round his brain,
And gave him all the confidence he lacked,
With a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back.

Chorus:
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Mmm....

Sam Stone's welcome home
Didn't last too long.
He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
And Sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime.
And the gold rolled through his veins
Like a thousand railroad trains,
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose,
While the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes...

Repeat Chorus:

Sam Stone was alone
When he popped his last balloon
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
Well, he played his last request
While the room smelled just like death
With an overdose hovering in the air
But life had lost its fun
And there was nothing to be done
But trade his house that he bought on the G. I. Bill
For a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill.

Repeat Chorus


And another favorite by Prine --
Hello in There
John Prine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSufO2FlpAQ

We had an apartment in the city,
Me and loretta liked living there.
Well, itd been years since the kids had grown,
A life of their own left us alone.
John and linda live in omaha,
And joe is somewhere on the road.
We lost davy in the korean war,
And I still dont know what for, dont matter anymore.

Chorus:
Ya know that old trees just grow stronger,
And old rivers grow wilder evry day.
Old people just grow lonesome
Waiting for someone to say, hello in there, hello.

Me and loretta, we dont talk much more,
She sits and stares through the back door screen.
And all the news just repeats itself
Like some forgotten dream that weve both seen.
Someday Ill go and call up rudy,
We worked together at the factory.
But what could I say if asks whats new?
Nothing, whats with you? nothing much to do.

Repeat chorus:

So if youre walking down the street sometime
And spot some hollow ancient eyes,
Please dont just pass em by and stare
As if you didnt care, say, hello in there, hello.

I love all of Prine's work, and most are ballads. These two make me cry no matter how many times I hear them.

[Inchworm]

36. Sam Stone is by far my favorite Prine

(well in "spite of ourselves" is on top too for a different mood)

He writes 'em good.

That video version of Hello in There was done perfectly.

Thanks GenDem. I hope you are toasty warm up there.

:hug:

[GenDem]

37. Toasty warm inside -- snowstorm outside.

Just enjoying all these ballads on this thread, watching the Bills and the Browns play in the snowstorm and doing a lot of snacking -- fried bologna
w/caramelized onions, chips & salsa, and shrimp. Sometimes it's fun to be stuck inside.

I do love a good ballad!
Thanks, Inchworm!
:hug:

[Inchworm]

39. Oh yea! Food!

hehe, I've been listening to them all too. I have forgotten to eat lol

:hug:

[RainDog]

28. Cowboy Junkies

Misguided Angel

[Inchworm]

40. Nice- melikes

Another good'n!

:yourock:
_____________________

MISGUIDED ANGEL (lyrics)
intro:
(harmonica): D A D A G A D G D A D

Yeah, I said: "Momma he's crazy and he scares mAe
But I want him by my side
Though he's wild and he's bad and sometimes just plain mad
I need him to keep me satisfied"

I said: "Papa don't cry cause it's alright
And I see you in some of his ways
Though he might not give me the life that you wanted
I'll love him the rest of my days"

Misguided angel hangin over me
Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory
Soul like a Lucifer, black and cold like a piece of lead
Misguided angel, love you till I'm dead

I said "Brother you speak to me of passion
You said never to settle for anything less
Well it's in the way he walks, it's in the way he talks
His smile, his anger, and his kisses"

Yeah I said "Sister don't you understand?
He's all I ever wanted in a man
I'm tired of sittin alone by the t.v. every night
Hoping I'm finding a Mister Right"

Misguided angel hangin over me
Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory
Soul like a Lucifer, black and cold like a piece a lead
Misguided angel, love you till I'm dead

He says "Baby don't listen to what they say
There comes a time when you got to break away"
He says "Baby there are things we all cling to all our lives
It's time to let them go and become my wife"

Misguided angel hangin over me
Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory
Soul like a Lucifer, black and cold like a piece of lead

(A capella)Misguided angel, love you till I'm dead (less)

____________________

:hi:

[mitchum]

31. "Caroline Says II" by Mr Reed...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbBZtMCiFjk

[Inchworm]

42. It's so cold, in Alaska

Sad story. It's like one of those movies with no endings. I hope she shot dude in the next verse, or set his bed on fire after slipping him a micky.

Oops, a lil harsh :hide:

__________________

Lou Reed: Caroline Says II


Caroline says
As she gets up off the floor
Why is it that you beat me
It isnt any fun

Caroline says
As she makes up her eye
You ought to learn more about yourself
Think more than just i

But shes not afraid to die
All her friends call her alaska
When she takes speed, they laugh and ask her

What is in her mind
What is in her mind

Caroline says
As she gets up from the floor
You can hit me all you want to
But I dont love you anymore

Caroline says
While biting her lip
Life is meant to be more than this
And this is a bum trip

But shes not afraid to die
All her friends call her alaska
When she takes speed, they laugh and ask her

What is in her mind
What is in her mind

She put her fist through the window pane
It was such a funny feeling

Its so cold in alaska
Its so cold in alaska
Its so cold in alaska
_______________________

:hug:

[SPKrazy]

32. Johnny Cash - I Hung My Head

Here's a great one from Cash's last album :hi:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kfqM0AYAYCY

Early one morning
With time to kill
I borrowed Jebb's rifle
And sat on a hill
I saw a lone rider
Crossing the plain
I drew a bead on him
To practice my aim

My brother's rifle
Went off in my hand
A shot rang out
Across the land
The horse, he kept running
The rider was dead
I hung my head
I hung my head

I set off running
To wake from the dream
My brother's rifle
Went into the sheen
I kept on running
Into the south lands
That's where they found me
My head and my hands

The sheriff he asked me
Why had I run
And then it came to me
Just what I had done
And all for no reason
Just one piece of lead
I hung my head
I hung my head

Here in the court house
The whole town was there
I see the judge
High up in the chair
Explain to the court room
What went through you mind
And we'll ask the jury
What verdict they find

I felt the power
Of death over life
I orphaned his children
I widowed his wife
I begged their forgiveness
I wish I was dead
I hung my head
I hung my head

I hung my head
I hung my head

Early one morning
With time to kill
I see the gallows
Up on a hill
And out in the distance
A trick of the brain
I see a lone rider
Crossing the plain

And he'd come to fetch me
To see what they'd done
And we'd ride together
To kingdom come
I prayed for god's mercy
For soon I'd be dead
I hung my head
I hung my head

I hung my head
I hung my head

[Inchworm]

43. That's good Cash

Thanks Southpaw!

:pals:

[SPKrazy]

44. It's an interesting ballad

called a "murder ballad"

:pals:

:hi:

[hippywife]

45. Tom Russell's "Blue Wing"

Sung here by Dave Alvin with a Tom Russell video following it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0W6yxg-_ms

And Tom Russell doing Gallo Del Cielo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0W6yxg-_ms

Ballad of Ira Hayes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uih-Fm3qqws

Who's Gonna Build Your Wall?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh13cH9V3rI&feature=related

Tom Russell is the king of ballads! Enjoy! :hi:

[Inchworm]

51. I think thats a new one to me

Thanks a heap!

:applause:
__________________

Blue Wing
Tom Russell Band

He had a blue wing tattooed on his shoulder
Well it might have been a blue bird I don't know
But he gets stone drunk and talks about Alaska
The salmon boats and 45 below

He said he got that blue wing in jail in Walla Walla
And his cellmate there was Little Willy John
And Willy he was once a great blues singer
And winging Willy wrote him up a song.

CHORUS:
He said It's dark in here; can't see the sky
But I look at this blue wing and I close my eyes
And I fly away beyond these walls
Up above the clouds where rain don't fall
On a poor man's dreams..

They paroled Blue Wing in August, of 1963
He moved North picking apples to the town of Wenatchee
Then winter finally caught him in a run down trailer park
On the South side of Seattle where the days grow gray and dark

And he drank and he dreamt of visions when the salmon still ran free
And his fathers, fathers crossed that wild old Bering Sea
And the land belonged to everyone and there were old songs yet to sing
Now it's narrowed down to a cheap hotels and a tattooed prison wing

He said It's dark in here; can't see the sky
But I look at this blue wing and I close my eyes
And I fly away beyond these walls
Up above the clouds where rain don't fall
On a poor man's dreams.

Well he drank his way to LA; And that's where he died
And no one knew his Christian name and there was no one there who cried
But I dreamt there was a service; A preacher and a old pine box
And half way through the sermon, Blue wing began to talk.

He said It's dark in here; can't see the sky
But I look at this blue wing and I close my eyes
And I fly away beyond these walls
Up above the clouds where rain don't fall
On a poor man's dreams.

Hey hey, On a poor man's dreams;
Hey hey, On a poor man's dreams.

__________________

:hi:

[hippywife]

56. You're very welcome!

Totally my pleasure! :hi:

[hippywife]

61. Oops! I goofed!

This is Tom Russell doing Gallo del Ceilo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMJkMA7EW9E

[benny05]

46. Alice's Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie

Alice's Restaurant
By Arlo Guthrie

This song is called Alice's Restaurant, and it's about Alice, and the
restaurant, but Alice's Restaurant is not the name of the restaurant,
that's just the name of the song, and that's why I called the song Alice's
Restaurant.

You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant

Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, was on - two years ago on
Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the
restaurant, but Alice doesn't live in the restaurant, she lives in the
church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and
Fasha the dog. And livin' in the bell tower like that, they got a lot of
room downstairs where the pews used to be in. Havin' all that room,
seein' as how they took out all the pews, they decided that they didn't
have to take out their garbage for a long time.

We got up there, we found all the garbage in there, and we decided it'd be
a friendly gesture for us to take the garbage down to the city dump. So
we took the half a ton of garbage, put it in the back of a red VW
microbus, took shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed
on toward the city dump.

Well we got there and there was a big sign and a chain across across the
dump saying, "Closed on Thanksgiving." And we had never heard of a dump
closed on Thanksgiving before, and with tears in our eyes we drove off
into the sunset looking for another place to put the garbage.

We didn't find one. Until we came to a side road, and off the side of the
side road there was another fifteen foot cliff and at the bottom of the
cliff there was another pile of garbage. And we decided that one big pile
is better than two little piles, and rather than bring that one up we
decided to throw our's down.

That's what we did, and drove back to the church, had a thanksgiving
dinner that couldn't be beat, went to sleep and didn't get up until the
next morning, when we got a phone call from officer Obie. He said, "Kid,
we found your name on an envelope at the bottom of a half a ton of
garbage, and just wanted to know if you had any information about it." And
I said, "Yes, sir, Officer Obie, I cannot tell a lie, I put that envelope
under that garbage."

After speaking to Obie for about fourty-five minutes on the telephone we
finally arrived at the truth of the matter and said that we had to go down
and pick up the garbage, and also had to go down and speak to him at the
police officer's station. So we got in the red VW microbus with the
shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed on toward the
police officer's station.

Now friends, there was only one or two things that Obie coulda done at
the police station, and the first was he could have given us a medal for
being so brave and honest on the telephone, which wasn't very likely, and
we didn't expect it, and the other thing was he could have bawled us out
and told us never to be see driving garbage around the vicinity again,
which is what we expected, but when we got to the police officer's station
there was a third possibility that we hadn't even counted upon, and we was
both immediately arrested. Handcuffed. And I said "Obie, I don't think I
can pick up the garbage with these handcuffs on." He said, "Shut up, kid.
Get in the back of the patrol car."

And that's what we did, sat in the back of the patrol car and drove to the
quote Scene of the Crime unquote. I want tell you about the town of
Stockbridge, Massachusets, where this happened here, they got three stop
signs, two police officers, and one police car, but when we got to the
Scene of the Crime there was five police officers and three police cars,
being the biggest crime of the last fifty years, and everybody wanted to
get in the newspaper story about it. And they was using up all kinds of
cop equipment that they had hanging around the police officer's station.
They was taking plaster tire tracks, foot prints, dog smelling prints, and
they took twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles
and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each
one was to be used as evidence against us. Took pictures of the approach,
the getaway, the northwest corner the southwest corner and that's not to
mention the aerial photography.

After the ordeal, we went back to the jail. Obie said he was going to put
us in the cell. Said, "Kid, I'm going to put you in the cell, I want your
wallet and your belt." And I said, "Obie, I can understand you wanting my
wallet so I don't have any money to spend in the cell, but what do you
want my belt for?" And he said, "Kid, we don't want any hangings." I
said, "Obie, did you think I was going to hang myself for littering?"
Obie said he was making sure, and friends Obie was, cause he took out the
toilet seat so I couldn't hit myself over the head and drown, and he took
out the toilet paper so I couldn't bend the bars roll out the - roll the
toilet paper out the window, slide down the roll and have an escape. Obie
was making sure, and it was about four or five hours later that Alice
(remember Alice? It's a song about Alice), Alice came by and with a few
nasty words to Obie on the side, bailed us out of jail, and we went back
to the church, had a another thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat,
and didn't get up until the next morning, when we all had to go to court.

We walked in, sat down, Obie came in with the twenty seven eight-by-ten
colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back
of each one, sat down. Man came in said, "All rise." We all stood up,
and Obie stood up with the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
pictures, and the judge walked in sat down with a seeing eye dog, and he
sat down, we sat down. Obie looked at the seeing eye dog, and then at the
twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows
and a paragraph on the back of each one, and looked at the seeing eye dog.
And then at twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles
and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one and began to cry,
'cause Obie came to the realization that it was a typical case of American
blind justice, and there wasn't nothing he could do about it, and the
judge wasn't going to look at the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
pictures with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each
one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us. And
we was fined $50 and had to pick up the garbage in the snow, but thats not
what I came to tell you about.

Came to talk about the draft.

They got a building down New York City, it's called Whitehall Street,
where you walk in, you get injected, inspected, detected, infected,
neglected and selected. I went down to get my physical examination one
day, and I walked in, I sat down, got good and drunk the night before, so
I looked and felt my best when I went in that morning. `Cause I wanted to
look like the all-American kid from New York City, man I wanted, I wanted
to feel like the all-, I wanted to be the all American kid from New York,
and I walked in, sat down, I was hung down, brung down, hung up, and all
kinds o' mean nasty ugly things. And I waked in and sat down and they gave
me a piece of paper, said, "Kid, see the phsychiatrist, room 604."

And I went up there, I said, "Shrink, I want to kill. I mean, I wanna, I
wanna kill. Kill. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and
guts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill,
KILL, KILL." And I started jumpin up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL," and
he started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down
yelling, "KILL, KILL." And the sargent came over, pinned a medal on me,
sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy."

Didn't feel too good about it.

Proceeded on down the hall gettin more injections, inspections,
detections, neglections and all kinds of stuff that they was doin' to me
at the thing there, and I was there for two hours, three hours, four
hours, I was there for a long time going through all kinds of mean nasty
ugly things and I was just having a tough time there, and they was
inspecting, injecting every single part of me, and they was leaving no
part untouched. Proceeded through, and when I finally came to the see the
last man, I walked in, walked in sat down after a whole big thing there,
and I walked up and said, "What do you want?" He said, "Kid, we only got
one question. Have you ever been arrested?"

And I proceeded to tell him the story of the Alice's Restaurant Massacre,
with full orchestration and five part harmony and stuff like that and all
the phenome... - and he stopped me right there and said, "Kid, did you ever
go to court?"

And I proceeded to tell him the story of the twenty seven eight-by-ten
colour glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and the paragraph on
the back of each one, and he stopped me right there and said, "Kid, I want
you to go and sit down on that bench that says Group W .... NOW kid!!"

And I, I walked over to the, to the bench there, and there is, Group W's
where they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army after
committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly
looking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father
rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! And
they was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on the
bench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanest
father raper of them all, was coming over to me and he was mean 'n' ugly
'n' nasty 'n' horrible and all kind of things and he sat down next to me
and said, "Kid, whad'ya get?" I said, "I didn't get nothing, I had to pay
$50 and pick up the garbage." He said, "What were you arrested for, kid?"
And I said, "Littering." And they all moved away from me on the bench
there, and the hairy eyeball and all kinds of mean nasty things, till I
said, "And creating a nuisance." And they all came back, shook my hand,
and we had a great time on the bench, talkin about crime, mother stabbing,
father raping, all kinds of groovy things that we was talking about on the
bench. And everything was fine, we was smoking cigarettes and all kinds of
things, until the Sargeant came over, had some paper in his hand, held it
up and said.

"Kids, this-piece-of-paper's-got-47-words-37-sentences-58-words-we-wanna-
know-details-of-the-crime-time-of-the-crime-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-
you-gotta-say-pertaining-to-and-about-the-crime-I-want-to-know-arresting-
officer's-name-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-you-gotta-say", and talked for
forty-five minutes and nobody understood a word that he said, but we had
fun filling out the forms and playing with the pencils on the bench there,
and I filled out the massacre with the four part harmony, and wrote it
down there, just like it was, and everything was fine and I put down the
pencil, and I turned over the piece of paper, and there, there on the
other side, in the middle of the other side, away from everything else on
the other side, in parentheses, capital letters, quotated, read the
following words:

("KID, HAVE YOU REHABILITATED YOURSELF?")

I went over to the sargent, said, "Sargeant, you got a lot a damn gall to
ask me if I've rehabilitated myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I'm
sittin' here on the bench, I mean I'm sittin here on the Group W bench
'cause you want to know if I'm moral enough join the army, burn women,
kids, houses and villages after bein' a litterbug." He looked at me and
said, "Kid, we don't like your kind, and we're gonna send you fingerprints
off to Washington."

And friends, somewhere in Washington enshrined in some little folder, is a
study in black and white of my fingerprints. And the only reason I'm
singing you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar
situation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if your in a
situation like that there's only one thing you can do and that's walk into
the shrink wherever you are ,just walk in say "Shrink, You can get
anything you want, at Alice's restaurant.". And walk out. You know, if
one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick and
they won't take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony,
they may think they're both faggots and they won't take either of them.
And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in
singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an
organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day,I said
fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and
walking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement.

And that's what it is , the Alice's Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement, and
all you got to do to join is sing it the next time it come's around on the
guitar.

With feeling. So we'll wait for it to come around on the guitar, here and
sing it when it does. Here it comes.

You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant

That was horrible. If you want to end war and stuff you got to sing loud.
I've been singing this song now for twenty five minutes. I could sing it
for another twenty five minutes. I'm not proud... or tired.

So we'll wait till it comes around again, and this time with four part
harmony and feeling.

We're just waitin' for it to come around is what we're doing.

All right now.

You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Excepting Alice
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant

Da da da da da da da dum
At Alice's Restaurant


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_7C0QGkiVo

[Inchworm]

53. This is a favorite of mine

Go sit on that bench marked Row W ... NOW KID!

:hi:

[CreekDog]

47. Every Rose Has ItsThorn

Just like every night has it's dawwwwwaaaahhhhhaaaahaaaaannnn
Just like every cowboy sings a sad, sad song
Every rose has its thornnnnnnn

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YiEpLI5exrU

God I hate them but I loved that song. 80's kid, what can I do about it?!

[Inchworm]

54. This one was bound to show

Hehe.. I feel like you. Not a big fan, but this song kicks ass.

:hi:

__________________

Poison - Every Rose Has It's Thorn

We both lie silently still in the
dead of the night.
Although we both lie close together
we feel miles apart inside.
Was it something I said or something I did?
Did my words not come out right?
Though I tried not to hurt you,
though I tried.
But I guess that's why they say

ev'ry rose has its
thorn, just like
ev'ry night has its
dawn. Just like
ev'ry cowboy sings his
sad, sad song
ev'ry rose has its thorn.

listen to our favourite song playing on the radio
hear the D.J. say love's a game of easy come and easy go.
But I wonder does he know,
has he ever felt like this?
And I know that you'd be right now
if I could've let you know somehow.

I guess ev'ry rose has its
thorn, just like
ev'ry night has its
dawn. Just like
ev'ry cowboy sings his
sad, sad song
ev'ry rose has its thorn.

Though it's been a while now
I can still feel so much pain.
Like the knife thats cuts you, the wound heals,
but the scar, that scar remains

I know I could have saved our love that night if I'd
known what to say
Instead of making love we both made our separate ways.
Now I hear you've found somebody new
and that I never meant that much to you.
To hear that tears me up inside
and to see you cuts me like a knife.

I guess ev'ry rose has its
thorn, just like
ev'ry night has its
dawn. Just like
ev'ry cowboy sings his
sad, sad song

ev'ry rose has its thorn.
_____________________

:hi:

[hippywife]

48. The Road Goes On Forever...

And the Party Never Ends by Robert Earl Keene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glhrczA1ru4

It's Keene's song but I like Joe Ely's version better.

[GenDem]

49. Love that one, hippywife!

Thanks for sharing!

[hippywife]

50. Definitely a wild ride!

Glad you liked it. :hi:

[Inchworm]

57. Wowza! Perfect

I can relate to this. I know 6-7 couples who could say that was them.. well, 'til that whole blastin a cop thing.. and the chair.

:yourock:
____________________________

-Robert Earl Keen And the Party Never Ends

Sherry was a waitress at the only joint in town
She had a reputation as a girl who'd been around
Down Main Street after midnight with a brand new pack of cigs
A fresh one hangin' from her lips and a beer between her legs
She'd ride down to the river and meet with all her friends
The road goes on forever and the party never ends

Sonny was a loner he was older than the rest
He was going into the Navy but he couldn't pass the test
So he hung around town he sold a little pot
The law caught wind of Sonny and one day he got caught
But he was back in business when they set him free again
The road goes on forever and the party never ends

Sonny's playin' 8-ball at the joint where Sherry works
When some drunken outta towner put his hand up Sherry's skirt
Sonny took his pool cue laid the drunk out on the floor
Stuffed a dollar in her tip jar and walked on out the door
She's runnin' right behind him reachin' for his hand
The road goes on forever and the party never ends

They jumped into his pickup Sonny jammed her down in gear
Sonny looked at Sherry and said lets get on outta here
The stars were high above them and the moon was in the east
The sun was settin' on them when they reached Miami Beach
They got a hotel by the water and a quart of Bombay gin
The road goes on forever and the party never ends

They soon ran out of money but Sonny knew a man
Who knew some Cuban refugees that delt in contraband
Sonny met the Cubans in a house just off the route
With a briefcase full of money and a pistol in his boot
The cards were on the table when the law came bustin' in
The road goes on forever and the party never ends

The Cubans grabbed the goodies and Sonny grabbed the Jack
He broke a bathroom window and climbed on out the back
Sherry drove the pickup through the alley on the side
Where a lawman tackled Sonny and was reading him his rights
She stepped into the alley with a single shot .410
The road goes on forever and the party never ends

They left the lawman lyin' and they made their getaway
They got back to the motel just before the break of day
Sonny gave her all the money and he blew her a little kiss
If they ask you how this happened say I forced you into this
She watched him as his taillights disappeared around the bend
The road goes on forever and the party never ends

Its Main Street after midnight just like it was before
21 months later at the local grocery store
Sherry buys a paper and a cold 6-pack of beer
The headlines read that Sonny is goin' to the chair
She pulls back onto Main Street in her new Mercedes Benz
The road goes on forever and the party never ends
____________________________


:applause:

[hippywife]

59. Once again

you are very welcome. Like I said in my post, I really like Joe Ely's version better, probably because I like Ely better than Keene, but I couldn't find a decent video of it. Ely just plain rocks, anyway! His Live at Antone's in one of my top 10 favorites. Quite a few ballads on it, too.

Really glad you enjoyed these. :D

[Strawman]

52. The Book of Love - The Magnetic Fields

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox6aHGmfxB8

The book of love is long and boring
No one can lift the damn thing
It's full of charts and facts and figures
And instructions for dancing but

I...
I love it when you read to me and
You...
You can read me anything

The book of love has music in it
In fact that's where music comes from
Some of it is just transcendental
Some of it is just really dumb but

I...
I love it when you sing to me and
You...
You can sing me anything

The book of love is long and boring
And written very long ago
It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes
And things we're all too young to know but

I...
I love it when you give me things and
You...
You ought to give me wedding rings
I...
I love it when you give me things and
You...
You ought to give me wedding rings

[Inchworm]

58. Was that a proposal?

hehe. Definatly unique.

:hi:

[no name no slogan]

55. Big Iron

A true classic cowboy ballad, originally popularized by Marty Robbins.

This version is a live-in-studio version by another Arizona act, the Meat Puppets:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ13yGkwb2I

(link guaranteed rickroll-free)


To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day
Hardly spoke to folks around him didn't have too much to say
No one dared to ask his business no one dared to make a slip
for the stranger there among them had a big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip

It was early in the morning when he rode into the town
He came riding from the south side slowly lookin' all around
He's an outlaw loose and running came the whisper from each lip
And he's here to do some business with the big iron on his hip
big iron on his hip

In this town there lived an outlaw by the name of Texas Red
Many men had tried to take him and that many men were dead
He was vicious and a killer though a youth of twenty four
And the notches on his pistol numbered one an nineteen more
One and nineteen more

Now the stranger started talking made it plain to folks around
Was an Arizona ranger wouldn't be too long in town
He came here to take an outlaw back alive or maybe dead
And he said it didn't matter he was after Texas Red
After Texas Red

Wasn't long before the story was relayed to Texas Red
But the outlaw didn't worry men that tried before were dead
Twenty men had tried to take him twenty men had made a slip
Twenty one would be the ranger with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip

The morning passed so quickly it was time for them to meet
It was twenty past eleven when they walked out in the street
Folks were watching from the windows every-body held their breath
They knew this handsome stranger was about to meet his death
About to meet his death

There was forty feet between them when they stopped to make their play
And the swiftness of the ranger is still talked about today
Texas Red had not cleared leather fore a bullet fairly ripped
And the ranger's aim was deadly with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip

It was over in a moment and the folks had gathered round
There before them lay the body of the outlaw on the ground
Oh he might have went on living but he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the ranger with the big iron on his hip
Big iron on his hip

[Inchworm]

60. I love this one

They still play versions of it on radio stations here.

:applause:

[Inchworm]

62. Historical Ballad Sub-Thread

Gawd, no Scotts ballads, Irish.. they do em up! Don't make me break out the bluegrass :D

____________________________

Clancy Bros - Croppy Boy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQrCrIZtlVw

It was early, early all in the spring
The birds did whistle and sweetly sing
Changing their notes from tree to tree
And the song they sang was Old Ireland free.

It was early early all in the night,
The yeoman cavalry gave me a fright
The yeoman cavalry was my downfall
And taken was I by Lord Cornwall.

As I was walking up Wexford Hill
Who could blame me to cry my fill?
I looked behind, and I looked before
But my aged mother I shall see no more.

As I was going up Wexford Street
My own first cousin I chanced to meet;
My own first cousin did me betray
And for one bare guinea sold my life away.

And as I mounted the platform high
My aged father was standing by;
My aged father did me deny
And the name he gave me was the Croppy Boy.

It was in Dungannon this young man died
And in Dungannon his body lies.
And you good people that do pass by
Oh shed a tear for the Croppy Boy.
__________________________

:hi:

[CreekDog]

63. The Leader of The Band by Dan Fogelberg

Just seems appropriate right now. And it's a great song.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=l8mml7n4FmA


The leader of the band
Is tired and his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs thru' my instrument
And his song is in my soul
My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man
I'm just a living legacy
To the leader of the band

[Inchworm]

64. Thank you for that

A very nice tribute, CreekDog.

:hug: :patriot: :hug:
_______________________

The Leader of The Band by Dan Fogelberg

An only child alone and wild
A cabinet maker's son
His hands were meant for different work
And his heart was known to none
He left his home and went his lone and solitary way
And he gave to me a gift
I know I never can repay

A quiet man of music
Denied a simpler fate
He tried to be a soldier once
But his music wouldn't wait
He earned his love thru' discipline
A thundering velvet hand
His gentle means of sculpting souls
Took me years to understand

The leader of the band
Is tired and his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs thru' my instrument
And his song is in my soul
My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man
I'm just a living legacy
To the leader of the band

My brother's lives were different
For they heard another call
One went to Chicago and the other to St. Paul
And I'm in Colorado
When I'm not in some hotel
Living out this life I've chose
And come to know so well

I thank you for the music
And your stories of the road
I thank you for the freedom
When it came my time to go
I thank you for the kindness
And the times when you got tough
And papa I don't think I said
"I love you" near enough

The leader of the band
Is tired and his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs thru' my instrument
And his song is in my soul
My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man
I'm just a living legacy
To the leader of the band
I am the living legacy
To the leader of the band
________________________

:cry:

[benny05]

65. Ballad of John and Yoko

Standing in the dock at Southampton,
Trying to get to Holland or France.
The man in the mac said, "You've got to go back".
You know they didn't even give us a chance.

Christ you know it ain't easy,
You know how hard it can be.
The way things are going
They're gonna crucify me.

Finally made the plane into Paris,
Honey mooning down by the Seine.
Peter Brown called to say,
"You can make it O.K.,
You can get married in Gibraltar, near Spain".

Christ you know it ain't easy,
You know how hard it can be.
The way things are going
They're gonna crucify me.

Drove from Paris to the Amsterdam Hilton,
Talking in our beds for a week.
The newspaper said, "Say what you doing in bed?"
I said, "We're only trying to get us some peace".

Christ you know it ain't easy,
You know how hard it can be.
The way things are going
They're gonna crucify me.

Saving up your money for a rainy day,
Giving all your clothes to charity.
Last night the wife said,
"Oh boy, when you're dead
You don't take nothing with you
But your soul - think!"

Made a lightning trip to Vienna,
eating chocolate cake in a bag.
The newspaper said, "She's gone to his head,
They look just like two gurus in drag".

Christ you know it ain't easy,
You know how hard it can be.
The way things are going
They're gonna crucify me.

Caught the early plane back to London.
Fifty acorns tied in a sack.
The men from the press said, "We wish you success,
It's good to have the both of you back".

Christ you know it ain't easy,
You know how hard it can be.
The way things are going
They're gonna crucify me.
The way things are going
They're gonna crucify me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1U4zbdn1e0

[Inchworm]

66. Oh yea!

I had forgotten about this one :blush:

:hi:

[DS1]

67. The Ballad

Testament

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70L3ciyw3VA

[Inchworm]

69. Woot!

Nice jams.
_____________________

Testament - The Ballad

Im not one to say
Where my feelings are going when they wither away
I pray to see another day
My hearts feeling like a needle lost in the hay
Restrained to meet again
My friend do you think that we ever will
I know we are free...

The games are played with your life on the line
Some lose, you win if you keep on trying
I dont mind doing time, Im happier being alive
Now I know the means to my opression were all lies
The only truth is your own most sacred lesson Ive ever learned
I know we are free...

Ive been robbed, Ive been fooled
I intend now to make my own rules
Danger's edge cut the line, Ive been down that road
Too many times

Whats to fear, fear no more
Show my conscience what fear 's for
Now I know this is so real
Whats done is done so do as you will!

Im keeping alive! go on, no dont look back
Just realize where youve gone
Where are you going to, no lifes not done with you
Youre only just begun, to live your life!
For you...
__________________

:hi:

[benny05]

68. Just read that Dan Fogelberg passed away

Another ballad...Leader of the Band, which he wrote about his dad..

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cy3GHCy49Dw

[Inchworm]

70. Lovely song

Sad news. Here are the lyrics if you want to read along.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=7251103&mesg_id=7252430

:hug: