1. |
Goodnight Texas
04:48
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Goodnight Texas
I’ll see you in the morning from my sleeper car
Goodnight Texas
Let your heat settle into the dark
It’s a long way to the ocean
But a clear night can see the stars
Goodnight Texas
Hold me as the rails move into you
Goodnight Texas
My love is lying next to me, hold her too
It’s a long way through the desert
Through the flatlands and the hills
But the night sky brings comfort in what it reveals
Goodnight Texas
We’ll be leaving you in the afternoon
Goodnight Texas
But for now you are seen by the August moon
There are crows lined up on the telephone wires
And it’s a long road going into Arizona
So I will lay me down, let the engine take me further
Oh Goodnight Texas, mhmm
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2. |
No Ordinary Sinner
03:36
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She was in the shadows
Pulling at the beads on her rosary
She was at the far end of the room
When she first laid eyes on me
It was November, but she only wore a wool knit sweater
She turned, she bent, she said, “Baby you look good to me…”
She was no ordinary sinner
She took my heart in for the winter
And burned it up in a kitchen woodstove
So hot it made the room glow
She was in the shadows
Pulling up her collar into her throat
She was falling into herself
With her fingers deep in her coat
I tried to remember what had led me to the flames and the embers
She turned, she bent, she said, “Baby that was all that she wrote…”
She was no ordinary sinner
She took my heart in for the winter
And burned it up in a kitchen woodstove
So hot it made the room glow
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3. |
Send Good News
04:39
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Who can say for sure?
Who can foretell?
No one knows the future
No one knows what will happen
But I want someone to say
It will all be okay
Things will only change
For the better
What will happen?
Tell me now
Say it breaks every pattern
Say it’s all good news somehow
I want a string of days
A string of golden days
Good news for all the future
Good news for all I pray
And if you cannot grant this
Send me someone now
Who will hold my hand
And walk two miles
To see the swallows in the cliffs
Who will hold me while I cry
For who could help but cry at this?
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4. |
But There Are Stars
04:11
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There’s no streetlights in these country towns
If we lived here we’d be home by now
I don’t know how to get there, so I’m following your tail
We drive out west to Harvard, Mass
We park our cars out in the grass
We walk out to the edge of the vale
And we see stars
We see Venus and Jupiter, Saturn and Mars
There’s Vega up above
Little sister, I love you so
There’s a crescent moon up in the sky
A dozen children running by
A thousand mosquitos or more
And there are stars
There’s Venus and Jupiter, Saturn and Mars
There’s Vega up above
Little sister, I love you so
Over the rim we see the Shirley prison
I say to you what the hell are we doing
You say to me to be human is so hard
We’re fuck-ups in a universe of stars
But there are stars
There’s Venus and Jupiter, Saturn and Mars
There’s Vega up above
Little sister, I love you so
Little sister, I love you
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5. |
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Morning rings before the day has come
My limbs feel heavy, I think I can’t go on
But I keep on going, there’s all this work to be done
But in my mind the years go on and on and on
And the lights go up on another day
And my head is noisy and body aches
I don’t know why we have come this way, but we’ve come this way
I’m bone tired from such a long, long day
I hear the church bells ringing
I put supper in the microwave
I sit in my easy chair, the one my father made
My thoughts keep singing
“I can’t, I can’t, I can’t”
And the lights go down on another day
And my head is noisy and my body aches
I don’t know why we have come this way, but we’ve come this way
Where do we go from here?
Where are the dreamers, where are the seers?
How do we walk to make the road?
Where do we go from here?
What should we run to, what should we fear?
How do we sing our way back home?
I trim my lamps and light them slowly
I pray my prayers into the night
I try to do justice and love mercy
I try to walk humbly before my God
But dear God…
Where do we go from here?
Where are the dreamers, where are the seers?
How do we walk to make the road?
Where do we go from here?
What should we run to, what should we fear?
How do we sing our way back home?
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6. |
Damage
03:33
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I’ve done some damage in my time
Not enough to make the news
But enough to make me cry
If that was you on the other side
Of all my thoughtless words and stupid things I did
I wish I could go back in time but instead
All I have is small
I’m sorry
When I came to that lonesome valley
I walked through and was unharmed
I wish I could say the same
For what I’ve done
Goddamn, how slow I learn
Goddamn, how slow we turn
I wish I’d known back then
What I know now
These are simple lessons
But somehow
They take so long
Sometimes I sit at my window
Make confession to an empty room
But some nights my heart is full and forgiving
Point me to the moon
I am walking home
To the other shore
Like a snail when the rains have come
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7. |
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I used to believe when I was young and dumb
That life could be easy, just keep your eye on the ball
I thought I could see the substance of things to come
When really anything can happen at any time, that’s all
Now every day you call me and ask how I am
And every day I worry and worry and worry about anything I can
But under the low hum of menace, there is quiet, there is solace
There’s the sun and the rain and the moon
The church bells aren’t ringing, but I can hear my neighbors singing
Day, dayenu, dayenu, dayenu
I used to believe when I was young and dumb
That things should be easy, sweet and soft to the touch
I thought I could see a future of careless love
That somehow happiness was on the other side of this stuff
But the springtime is blooming between all the rain
And though all this time in my house is making me insane
I’m so goddamn grateful in the middle of all this sorrow
Thank you and thank you again
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8. |
I See the Days
03:54
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I see the days by the light of the sun, by the light of the earth burned bright
I see your goodness, I see your grace
I see the laugh lines at the corners of your eyes, I see your face
I see this place, I see the seasons change
I see us age, all light and empty space taking shape
And I want to be tender, as tender can be
I want to remember, I want to be free
I see my people, I see my way
I’ve got so much to practice, but sometimes I don’t have much to say
Sing your songs, as bright as the sun
Do your part, keep the faith, love those little ones
Oh the heart gathers what it grows
What you practice is what you know
And though I don’t know much about
Still I dream of wanting to be here now
Wake me up, wake me up, wake me up somehow
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9. |
Beloved
03:01
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I don’t the future, I just barely know the past
I don’t know where I am going, but there’s no need to go there fast
The sun, she sees me in the morning when she comes
To my third-floor walk-up, it’s the one
With violets in the window, with violets in the window
Little birds unlace the dawn
Little words, they go on and on and on
In my mind, but I ain’t listenin’ anymore, I’m doing fine
What did you want?
(What did you want, what did you want)
What did you want?
What did you want?
To call myself beloved on this earth
It’s June; there’s endless fields of summer coming soon
The milkweed and thistle are in bloom
Point me to the moon
I pray for my days to be shimmering in grace
For my heart to be full in this place of ordinary things
What did you want?
(What did you want, what did you want)
What did you want?
What did you want?
To feel myself beloved on this earth
I’m a fool, I keep forgetting lessons learned in school
I have to learn anew what I knew
The quiet is a prayer, shh
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10. |
Dream of Roses
02:41
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Lay your head upon my breast
Let me hold you, let you rest
Sleep, ‘til the morning wakes rosy and fair
Let your thoughts escape your head
Like steam from the kettle
Let your dreams be sweet
Dream of wine and bread and cheese
Dream of roses on the table
Dream of you and me
Let me hold you in my arms
Safe from danger, safe from harm
Sleep, ‘til the morning breaks tender and warm
No need to worry, no need to fight
For sleep will hold you gently, as I will through the night
Lay your head upon my breast
Let me hold you, let you rest
Sleep, and dream, of the sweet summer breeze
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11. |
Hey Grace
02:46
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Hey grace, I’m glad you’ve come around my friend
It’s good to see you here again
Maybe stay this time
Hey grace, the morning light is new
It’s coming into view
All pink and gold and blue
Kansas skies, they’re bigger than my eyes could ever see
The camera lies, I could never capture what’s in front of me
Hey grace, you’re pink and gold and gray
I’m in love with you today and these ordinary things
Keep the faith, keep walking through the valleys and the fields
This is sacred space, where the open sky comes down into the hills
Let my heart be full today
In this time and in this place
May these ordinary things lead the way
Hey grace
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