JOAN BAEZ : BIOGRAPHY
DIAMONDS AND RUST
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)
Well I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall
As I remember your eyes
Were bluer than robin's eggs
My poetry was lousy you said
Where are you calling from?
A booth in the Midwest
Ten years ago
I bought you some cufflinks
You brought me something
We both know what memories can bring
They bring diamonds and rust
Well you burst on the scene
Already a legend
The unwashed phenomenon
The original vagabond
You strayed into my arms
And there you stayed
Temporarily lost at sea
The Madonna was yours for free
Yes the girl on the half-shell
Would keep you unharmed
Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white clouds
Mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there
Now you're telling me
You're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who are so good with words
And at keeping things vague
Because I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid
WINDS OF THE OLD DAYS
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)
The lady's adrift in a foreign land
Singing on issues both humble and grand
A decade flew past her and there on the page
She read that the prince had returned to the stage
Hovering near treacherous waters
A friend saw her drifting and caught her
Unguarded fantasies flying too far
Memories tumbling like sweets from a jar
And take me down to the harbor now
Grapes of the summer are low on the bough
Ghosts of my history will follow me there
And the winds of the old days will blow through my hair
Breath on an undying ember
It doesn't take much to remember
Those eloquent songs from the good old days
That set us to marching with banners ablaze
But reporters, there's no sense in prying
Our blue-eyed son's been denying
The truths that are wrapped in a mystery
The sixties are over so set him free
And take me down to the harbor now
Grapes of the summer are low on the bough
Ghosts of my history will follow me there
And the winds of the old days will blow through my hair
Why do I sit the autumnal judge
Years of self-righteousness will not budge
Singer or savior, it was his to choose
Which of us knows what was his to lose
Because idols are best when they're made of stone
A savior's a nuisance to live with at home
Stars often fall, heroes go unsung
And martyrs most certainly die too young
So thank you for writing the best songs
Thank you for righting a few wrongs
You're a savage gift on a wayward bus
But you stepped down and you sang to us
And get you down to the harbor now
Most of the sour grapes are gone from the bough
Ghosts of Johanna will visit you there
And the winds of the old days will blow through your hair
THE NIGHT THEY DROVE
OLD DIXIE DOWN
Am
C F Dm
Virgil Caine is my
name, and I drove on the Danville train,
Am
C F Dm
Til Stonewall's
cavalry came and tore up the tracks again.
C
F C F
In the winter of '65,
we were hungry, just barely alive.
Am
F
I took the train up to
Richmond that fell,
C
Am D-D7
It was a time I
remember oh so well.
(chorus)
C
F C Am
The night they drove
old Dixie down, and all the bells were ringing.
C
F C Am
The night they drove
old Dixie down, and all the people were singing.
C
Am D F
They went, "Na na na
na na na na na na na na na na na."
Am C F Dm
Back with my wife in
Tennessee, one day she said to me.
Am
C F Dm
"Virgil, quick come
see, here comes the Robert E. Lee."
C F
Well I don't mind
chopping wood,
C F
And I don't care if
the money's no good.
Am
C F
You take what you need
and leave the rest,
C Am D-D7
But they should never
have taken the very best.
(chorus)
Am
C F Dm
Like my father before
me, I will work the land.
Am
C F Dm
And like my brother
before me, I took a rebel stand.
C
F C F
He was just eighteen,
proud and brave, but a Yankee laid him in his grave.
Am C
F
I swear by the blood
below my feet,
C Am D-D7
You can't raise a
Caine back up when he's in defeat.
(chorus)
Lyrics: JESSE
Jesse come home, there's a hole in the bed
Where we slept; now it's growing cold.
Jesse your face, in the place where we lay
By the hearth, all apart, it hangs on my heart
And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No I'm not scared; I wait for you
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home.
Jesse the stairs in the halls, recalling
Your step; and I remember too.
All the pictures are shaded and fading in grey
And I still set a place on the table at noon
And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No I'm not scared; I wait for you
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home.
Jesse the spread on the bed,
It's like when you left, I kept it for you.
All the blues and the greens have been recently cleaned
And are seemingly new; hey Jess, me and you.
We'll swallow the light on the stairs
I'll fix up my hair, we'll sleep unawares
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home
SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE-
They sat together in the park
As the evening sky grew dark
She looked at him and he felt a spark
Tingle to his bones
'Twas then he felt alone
And wished that he'd gone straight
And watched out for a simple twist of fate
They walked along the old canal
A little confused, I remember well
And stopped into a strange hotel
With the neon burning bright
He felt the heat of the night
Hit him like a freight
Train moving with a simple twist of fate
A saxaphone someplace far off played
As she was walking down by the arcade
As the light burst through a beat up shade
Where he was waking up
She dropped a coin into the cup
Of a blind man at the gate
And forgot about a simple twist of fate
He woke up, the room was bare
He didn't see her anywhere
He told himself he didn't care
Pushed the window open wide
Felt an emptiness inside
To which he just could not relate
Brought on by his simple twist of fate
He hears the ticking of the clocks
And walks along with a parrot that talks
Hunts her down by the waterfront docks
Were the saliors all come in
Maybe she'll pick him out again
How long must he wait?
One more time for his simple twist of fate
People tell me its a sin
To know and feel too much within
I still believe she was my twin
But I lost the ring
She was born in spring
But I was born too late
Blame it on a simple twist of fate
C AM C F F C F C G F C
ONE TIN SOLDIER
Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago
About a kingdom on a mountain
And a valley far below
On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath a stone
And the valley people swore
They'd have it for their very own
Chorus:
Go ahead and hate your neighbor
Go ahead and cheat your friend
Do it in the name of heaven
You can justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing
On that judgement day
On the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away.
So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill
Asking for the buried treasure
Tons of gold for which they'd kill
Came the answer from the kingdom
With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain
All the riches buried there.
(chorus)
Now the valley cried in anger
'Mount your horses! Draw your swords!'
And they killed the mountain people
Swore they'd won their just reward.
Down they stood beside the treasure
On the mountain dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it
'Peace on earth' was all it said.
(chorus)
It Ain't Me Babe
Go away from my window, leave at
your own chosen speed.
I'm not the one you want, babe, I'm not the one you need.
You say you're looking for someone, never weak but always strong,
to protect you and defend you, whether you are right or wrong.
Someone to open each and every door.
But it ain't me, babe, no, no, no, it ain't me, babe,
it ain't me you're looking for, babe.
Go lightly from the ledge, babe, go lightly on the ground.
I'm not the one you want, babe, I will only let you down.
You say you're looking for someone, who will promise never to part.
Someone to close his eyes for you, someone to close his heart.
Someone who will die for you and more. + CHORUS
Go, melt back in the night, babe, everything inside is made of stone.
There's nothing in here moving, and anyway I'm not alone.
You say you're looking for someone,
who'll pick you up each time you fall.
To gather flowers constantly, and to come each time you call.
A love of your life and nothing more. + CHORUS
House Of The Rising Sun song lyrics |
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IMAGINE
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living in peace
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed nor hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
-
Blowing in the wind
How many roads must a man walk down
Before they call him a man
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand
How many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they are forever banned
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind
How many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea
How many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free
How many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky
How many years must one man have
Before he can hear people cry
How many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind
Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I'm found,
was blind, but now I see.
't Was Grace that taught my heart to fear,
and Grace my fear relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear,
the hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares
we have already come.
‘t Was Grace that brought us safe thus far,
Grace will lead us home.
When we've been there ten thousands years,
bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
than when we first begun.
Colours
Yellow is the color of my true
love's hair
In the morning, when we rise, In the morning, when we rise
That's the time
That's the time
I love the best
Green is the color of the sparkling corn
In the morning, when we rise, In the morning, when we rise
That's the time
That's the time
I love the best
Blue is the color of the sky
In the morning, when we rise, In the morning, when we rise
That's the time
That's the time
I love the best
Mellow is the feeling that I get
When I see her, uhh-hmm, When I see her, oh yeah
That's the time
That's the time
I love the best
Freedom is a word I rarely use
Without thinking, oh yeah, Without thinking, hm-m
Of the time
Of the time
When I've been loved
Yellow is the color of my true love's hair
In the morning, when we rise, In the morning, when we rise
That's the time
That's the time
I love the best
from The Free wheelin' Bob Dylan,
1963
Oh, where have you been, my blue eyed son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways
I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard
And it's a hard rain's a gonna fall
Oh, what did you see, my blue eyed son?
Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin'
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a bleedin'
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard
And it's a hard rain's a gonna fall
And what did you hear, my blue eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin'
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a blazin'
Heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin'
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin'
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard
And it's a hard rain's a gonna fall
Oh, who did you meet, my blue eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony
I met a white man who walked a black dog
I met a young woman whose body was burning
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded with hatred
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard
It's a hard rain's a gonna fall
Oh, what'll you do now, my blue eyed son?
Oh, what'll you do now, my darling young one?
I'm a goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a fallin'
I'll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
Where the executioner's face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I'll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin'
But I'll know my song well before I start singin'
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard
It's a hard rain's a gonna fall
Suzanne
Suzzane takes you down
To a place by the river.
You can see the boats go by,
You could spend the night forever.
And you know that she's half crazy
And that's why you want to be there.
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China.
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her,
She takes you in her arms
And she lets the river answer
That you've always been her lover.
And you want to travel with her,
And you want to travel blind.
And you think you'll maybe trust her
'Cause she's touched you,
And she's moved you,
And she's kind.
Jesus was a sailor
When he walked up the water.
He spent a long time watching
From a lonely wooden tower.
And when He knew for certain
Only drowning men could see Him,
He said, All men shall be sailors then,
Until the sea shall free them.
He Himself was broken
Long before the sky was open;
Forsaken, almost human,
He sank beneath your wisdom like a star.
And you want to travel with Him,
And you want to travel blind.
And you think you'll maybe trust Him
'Cause He's touched you
And He's moved you,
And He's kind.
Suzzane takes your hand,
And she leads you to the river.
She's wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters.
And the sun shines down in full
On our lady of the harbor.
And she shows you where to look
Beneath the garbage and the flowers.
There are heroes in the seaweed,
There are children in the morning.
And you want to travel with her,
And you want to travel blind.
And you think you'll maybe trust her
'Cause she's touched you,
And she's moved you,
And she's kind.
