I got the blues from my baby left me by the San Francisco Bay,
The ocean liner's gone so far away.
Didn't mean to treat her so bad, she was the best girl I ever have had,
She said goodbye, I can take a cry, I want to lay down and die.
I ain't got a nickel and I ain't got a lousy dime.
She don't come back, think I'm going to lose my mind.
If she ever gets back to stay, it's going to be another brand new day,
Walking with my baby down by the San Francisco Bay.
Sitting down looking from my back door,
Wondering which way to go,
The woman I'm so crazy about, she don't love me no more.
Think I'll catch me a freight train, 'cause I'm feeling blue,
And ride all the way to the end of the line, thinking only of you.
Meanwhile, in another city,
Just about to go insane,
Thought I heard my baby, Lord, the way she used to call my name.
If I ever get her back to stay, it's going to be another brand new day,
Walking with my baby down by the San Francisco Bay,
Walking with my baby down by the San Francisco Bay,
Walking with my baby down by the San Francisco Bay.
Whiskey in the Jar
From: A Faire To Remember
words and music traditional
As I was going over the far famed Kerry mountains
I met with captain Farrell and his money he was counting.
I first produced my pistol, and then produced my rapier.
Said stand and deliver, for I am a bold deceiver,
musha ring dumma do damma da
whack for the daddy 'ol
whack for the daddy 'ol
there's whiskey in the jar
I counted out his money, and it made a pretty penny.
I put it in my pocket and I took it home to Jenny.
She said and she swore, that she never would deceive me,
but the devil take the women, for they never can be easy
I went into my chamber, all for to take a slumber,
I dreamt of gold and jewels and for sure it was no wonder.
But Jenny took my charges and she filled them up with water,
Then sent for captain Farrel to be ready for the slaughter.
It was early in the morning, as I rose up for travel,
The guards were all around me and likewise captain Farrel.
I first produced my pistol, for she stole away my rapier,
But I couldn't shoot the water so a prisoner I was taken.
If anyone can aid me, it's my brother in the army,
If I can find his station down in Cork or in Killarney.
And if he'll come and save me, we'll go roving near Kilkenny,
And I swear he'll treat me better than me darling sportling Jenny
Now some men take delight in the drinking and the roving,
But others take delight in the gambling and the smoking.
But I take delight in the juice of the barley,
And courting pretty fair maids in the morning bright and early
These are some great lyrics. Please keep 'em coming.
As Tears Go By - The Rolling Stones
It is the evening of the day
I sit and watch the children play
Smiling faces I can see
But not for me
I sit and watch
As tears go by
My riches can't buy everything
I want to hear the children sing
All I hear is the sound
Of rain falling on the ground
I sit and watch
As tears go by
It is the evening of the day
I sit and watch the children play
Doing things I used to do
They think are new
I sit and watch
As tears go by
Road to the Isles
The far Coolins are pullin' me away
As take I wi' my cromack to the road.
The far Coolins are puttin' love on me
As step I wi' the sunlight for my load.
Chorus:
Sure by Tummel and Loch Rannoch
And Lochaber I will go
By heather tracks wi' heaven in their wiles.
If it's thinkin' in your inner heart
The braggart's in my step,
You've never smelled the tangle o' the Isles.
Oh the far Coolins are puttin' love on me
As step I wi' my cromack to the Isles.
It's by Shiel water the track is to the west
By Aillort and by Morar to the sea,
The cool cresses I am thinkin' of for pluck
And bracken for a wink on Mother knee.
It's the blue islands are pullin' me away
Their laughter puts the leap upon the lame;
The blue islands from the Skerries to the Lewis
Wi' heather honey taste upon each name.
Robert Earl Keen
The Road Goes On Forever
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
I was just reading through the Songs that tell a Story Number 1 thread.
I came upon one of my favorites, Summer Wages. The song was credited to Gordon Lightfoot, however, I do believe my good friend and neighbor Ian Tyson wrote the song.
Regardless, it's a wonderful song, well worth repeating in this thread.
Summer wages
Never hit seventeen
When you play against the dealer
For you know that the odds won't ride with you
And never leave your woman alone
When your friends are out to steal her
Years are gambled
And lost like summer wages
And we'll keep a rollin' on
'till we get to Vancouver
And the woman that I love is living there
It's been six long months and more
Since I've seen her
She may be gambled
And lost like like summer wages
And all the beer taverns
All down along yonge street
The dreams of the seasons
Are all spilled down on the floor
All the big stands of timber
Just waitin' for fallin'
And the hustlers sittin' watchfully
As they wait there by the door
So I'll work on them towboats
In my slippery city shoes
Which I swore I would never do again
Though the grey fogbound streets
Where the cedars stand watchin'
I'll be far off
And lost like summer wages
She's a woman so fine
I may never try to find her
For good memories are
What we had before
They sould never be changed
For they are all I'll take with me
Now I've gambled
And lost my summer wages
Years are gambled
And lost like summer wages
And speaking of Ian Tyson, Claude Dallas remains one of my favorite songs of his.
Claude Dallas
by Ian Tyson
album: All The Good 'Uns (1996)
In a land the Spanish once had called the Northern Mystery,
Where rivers run and disappear the mustang still is free.
By the Devil's wash and coyote hole in the wild Owyhee Range
Somewhere in the sage tonight the wind calls out his name.
Aye,aye,aye.
Come gather 'round me buckaroos and a story I will tell
Of the fugitive Claude Dallas who just broke out of jail.
You might think this tale is history from before the West was won,
But the events that I'll describe took place in nineteen eighty-one.
He was born out in Virginia,left home when school was through;
In the deserts of Nevada he became a buckaroo,
And he learned the ways of cattle,and he learned to sit a horse,
And he always packed a pistol,and he practiced deadly force.
Then Claude he became a trapper,and he dreamed of the bygone days,
And he studied bobcat logic and their wild and silent ways
In the bloody runs near Paradise, in monitors down south
Trapping cats and coyotes,living hand to mouth.
Aye,aye,aye.
Then Claude took to livin' all alone out many miles from town,
A friend--Jim Stevens--brought supplies and he stayed to hang around.
That day two wardens--Pogue and Elms--rode into check Claude out,
They were seeking violations and to see what Claude's about.
Now Claude had hung some venison,he had a bobcat pelt or two;
Pogue claimed they were out of season,he said "Dallas,you're all thru."
But Dallas would not leave his camp.He refused to go to town.
As the wind howled throught the bull-camp they stared each other down.
Its hard to say what happend next,perhaps we'll never know,
They were gonna take Claude in to jail,and he vowed he'd never go.
Jim Stevens heard the gunfire,and when he turned around
Bill Pogue was falling backwards,Conley Elms he fell face down.
Aye,aye,aye.
Jim stevens walked on over;there was a gun near Bill Pogue's hand.
It was hard to say who drawn his first,but Claude had made his stand.
Claude said "I am justified Jim,they were gonna cut me down,
And a man's got a right to hang some meat
When he's livin' this far from town."
It took eighteen men and fifteen months to finally run Claude down.
In the sage outside of Paradise they drove him to the ground.
Convicted up in Idaho--manslaughter by decree--
Thirty years at maximum,but soon Claude would break free.
There's two sides two this story,there may be no right or wrong,
The lawman and the renegade have graced a thousand songs.
The story is an old one.Conclusion's hard to draw,
But Claude's out in the sage tonight he may be the last outlaw.
Aye,aye,aye.
In a land the Spanish once had called the Northern Mystery,
Where rivers run and disappear the mustang still is free.
By the Devil's wash and the coyote hole in the wild Owyhee Range
Somewhere in the sage tonight the wind calls out his name.
Aye,aye,aye
Great tune...never heard it!
From Neal McCoy
If I was a drinking man
Like I used to be
I'd get myself a bottle and
You'd be history
You made me a thinking man
When you walked out
I've learned to live without you
One day at a time
Even though your always on my mind
There's a bar around the corner
If I wanted to forget
That I aint giving up on our love yet...
And if I was a drinking man
I wouldnt need you now
I'm not sure Ian gets alot of airplay in the US. Up here in Canada though, he's somewhat of an icon.
He's written alot of great songs over the years.
Probably my mistake for I have Summer Wages by JD Crowe and The New South and they do a couple of Gordo's tunes.
My fave by Tyson
There's a young man that I know whose age is twenty-one
Comes from down in southern Colorado
Just out of the service, he's lookin' for his fun
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon.
My parents can not stand him 'cause he rides the rodeo
My father says that he will leave me cryin'
I would follow him right down the roughest road I know
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon.
But when he comes to call,
My pa ain't got a good word to say
Guess it's 'cause he's
Just as wild in his younger days.
So blow, you old Blue Northern, blow my love to me
He's ridin' in tonight from California
He loves his damned old rodeo as much as he loves me
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon.
As I was out walking on the corner one day
I spied an old hobo, in the doorway he lay
His face was all covered in the cold sidewalk floor
I guess he'd been there for a whole night or more
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leaving nobody to carry it on
Leaving nobody to sing his sad song
Only a hobo, but one more is gone
A blanket of newspaper covered his head
The step was his pillow
The street was his bed
One look at his face
showed the hard road he'd come
and a fistful of money
showed the coins that he'd bummed
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leavin' nobody to sing his sad song
Leavin' nobody to carry it on
Only a hobo, but one more is gone
Does it take much of a man
to see a whole life go down
To look on the world
from a hole in the ground
Too late for your future
like a horse that's gone lame
To lie in the gutter
and die with no name
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leavin' nobody to sing his sad song
Leavin' nobody to carry it on
Only a hobo, but one more is gone
Wonderful Dylan tune but I always loved the way Rod Stewart covered it.
oh yes, Someday Soon, another keeper!! good tune.
What is the name of that Dylan song?
apoeticinjustice wrote:
What is the name of that Dylan song?
Only A Hobo - Bootleg Series 1-3
GUMBOOTS
I was having this discussion
In a taxi heading downtown
Rearranging my position
On this friend of mine who had
A little bit of a breakdown
I said breakdowns come
And breakdowns go
So what are you going to do about it
That's what I'd like to know
You don't feel you could love me
But I feel you could
It was in the early morning hours
When I fell into a phone call
Believing I had supernatural powers
I slammed into a brick wall
I said hey, is this my problem?
Is this my fault?
If that's the way it's going to be
I'm going to call the whole thing to a halt
You don't feel you could love me
But I feel you could
You don't feel you could love me
But I feel you could
I was walking down the street
When I thought I heard this voice say
Say, ain't we walking down the same street together
On the very same day
I said hey senorita that's astute
I said why don't we get together
And call ourselves an institute
You don't feel you could love me
But I feel you could
You don't feel you could love me
But I feel you could
The Parade's Still Passing By
By Harry Chapin
I got the news today
That you refused to play
Cause you never made number one
But it's not just the words
It's the deeds that are heard
When all is said and done
Kings take their crowns
They melt them all down
Trying to get the gold out
You went to hell and
Even when you weren't selling
You never ever sold out.
You weren't no leader,
You were more like a bleeder
Who was trying to cry for us all
You weren't no sage
But your sense of outrage
Sounded like a trumpet call
Fifteen years ago
In the old folky show
You were just one voice in the crowd
But now with so few singing
Your voice would have been ringing
Out 'bout twice as loud.
There but for fortune
Say a small circle of friends
Some may see the changes
So few see the ends
The pleasures of the harbor
Have come to you at last
You may not be marching anymore
But the parade's still going past.
I'm not taking the blame
That we killed you
You know you did that to yourself
But it was kind of a shame
That you played that game
You were better than anyone else
One shot of your bottle
Got you full throttle
It was the friend that was always there
But your greatest gift
And the curse you lived with
Was that you could always care.
Edgar, a fine tribute to a fine balladeer....Phil Ochs.
