Lyrics

Bob Michel, "The Oystermen's Ball": Complete Lyrics

Tell Us Again

Tell us a story ye lords of the earth

Tell us the tale of your merit and worth

I know you've told us so often before

But it's such a good story please tell us once more

Let your wisdom come trickling down with your wealth

Tell us again how you did it yourself

Tell how your gifts brought you through in the crunch

Tell us how no one gave you a free lunch

Show us the shortcuts to get what you've got

The wristwork that severed the Gordian knot

Which rules are sacred and which we can bend

Tell us your secrets oh tell us again

Tell us your virtues again one by one

And how they've made possible all that you've done

All your fine qualities worthy of awe

How your success proves the natural law

Tell us how level the playing field was

Tell us how handsome is as handsome does

Tell us it's not about earthly rewards

Tell us how you owe it all to the Lord

Lift our poor hearts in our hour of need

Tell us which parts of the Bible to read

Tell us about your invisible friend

Pity us sinners and tell us again

Lift our poor hearts in our hour of need

Tell us which parts of the Bible to read

Tell us about your invisible friend

Tell us oh tell us oh tell us again

©2004 by Bob Michel

Bridge Is Down

Sweet Melinda come out of the rain

Seen the last of the hurricane

Spared the levee spared the town

But you can't get home cause the bridge is down

Ain't so dreadful ain't so bad

Sweet Melinda now don't be mad

No fun in fussin honey no need to fret

Come and sit beside me honey out of the wet

I can hear the barrelhouse piano

Crankin out the hokum in the cool damp air

They're kickin up a fuss back at the old Santa Anna

Bet you wish you was over there

Swear on the Good Book don't mean you no harm

Come on in the shack now where it's dry and warm

Good Book says a man should not be alone

Stay all night cause you can't get home

Cornbread's warm little fish are fryin

I got a old hemp hammock and a jug of wine

Stay with me and I'll treat you right

Keep you warm and happy till the mornin light

Old Mrs. Leary's out lookin for her daughter

You can hear her voice a callin all around the town

Hear how it carries cross the high muddy water

But she ain't gonna find you honey cause the bridge is down

Bridge is down in the river mud

Boat can't make it out in the flood

Ain't no other shelter for miles around

Ain't no use complainin honey cause the bridge is down

River's high can't get back

Hunker down beside me honey try to relax

Don't you like me just a little by the settin sun

Hope you like me better when the mornin come

I can hear the barrelhouse piano

Hear the hokum hangin on the soft night air

They're raisin up a ruckus out at the old Santa Anna

But the bridge is down honey we don't care

©2004 by Bob Michel

The Light Of Your Eyes

Come darling Molly sit down by my side

Here by the hearth where the fire has died

Linger awhile in the last light of day

Stay lovely Molly as long as you may

Outside the shadows lie deep on the lawn

Now that the long light of summer has gone

Shadows lie deep but the darkness can't hide

The warmth of your smile or the light of your eyes

The warmth of your smile or the light of your eyes

Here by the embers where I sat alone

I felt the autumn chill deep in my bones

I felt the breeze from the passing of time

Stay Molly dear put your warm hands in mine

Lighten my heart with the lilt of your laugh

Let me draw heat from the flames of the past

From the fire of our love in the long years gone by

Let me grow warm by the light of your eyes

Let me grow warm by the light of your eyes

I feel changes that I can't ignore

I'm not the laddie that I was before

I've years in me yet and I've no thought of dying

But I find I look backwards the most of the time

Back to the blaze of our love first begun

The passion that melted us two into one

How it kindles anew when you're here by my side

How I love you dear Molly and the light of your eyes

How I love you dear Molly and the light of your eyes

©2004 by Bob Michel

Leave This City

You never stop talkin

About the places you been

Now I hear you knockin

But you can't come in

Gonna leave this city

Gonna catch a southbound train

Gonna let the country

Drive the blues out of my brain

You never stop talking

About the things you need

But you made it clear

You got no need for me

Gonna leave this city

'Cause it's getting chilly and cold

I'm going up the country

Put some sunshine in my soul

You never stop talkin

About the people you know

I keep hearin your name

Every place I go

Gonna leave this city

My shoes are on my feet

'Cause you're makin the rounds

Like a police on his beat

I see you walk around talkin

On your telephone

But whenever I call

Babe you're not at home

Gonna leave this city

Gonna leave this town behind

'Cause these city women

Can't satisfy my mind

You need a brand new dress

You need a brand new car

And you're always complainin

About the way things are

I'm gonna leave this city

Before the whole place runs to rust

I'm goin back up the country

Where a man knows who to trust

You say come back baby

And I'll treat you right

But it's too late baby

I'll be home tonight

I'm gonna leave this city

I'm taking one last trip

I'm goin back up the country

I done packed my grip

©2004 by Bob Michel

Farewell To Ship John Shoal

Now the oystering's done and it's time to move on

I hear deep waters call

And for better or worse we're setting our course

Past the rocks of Miah Maull

So farewell to Cross Ledge to the windlass and dredge

To long days of wind and cold

Farewell to the lights leading seaward tonight

Farewell to Ship John Shoal

Now we left the old dock where the laughing gulls flock

On Cohansey's briny bank

And we're making our way out into the bay

Past the bar where Ship John sank

And we're turning our minds to the ones left behind

And the life we knew of old

To the fun we had then with our lovers and friends

Farewell to Ship John Shoal

Tomorrow we'll stand on the deck far from land

Out beyond the Brandywine

And we'll stare far away where the oyster beds lay

And we'll think of happier times

And my thoughts linger there in the salty bay air

Where the gentle breakers roll

Till I go to my rest it's the place I'll love best

Farewell to Ship John Shoal

©2004 by Bob Michel

Let's Go Back

I'd like to hear you play an old-time hoedown tune tonight

I'll back you up on guitar and I'll try to keep it tight

Let's play it ragged but let's play it right

So tune up that old fiddle take the guitar from its case

And let that old-time rhythm wipe the frown right off your face

And let's go back to another time and place

Just tune out all the city noise and the pounding city beat

And feel the way that Georgia shuffle makes you move your feet

Kick off your shoes let down your hair and cut yourself some slack

Tuck that fiddle underneath your chin and let's go back

Can't you hear the night train moaning as it rattles down the line

Smell the lint down at the mills and the dust down in the mines

And the woodsmoke hanging thick among the pines

Can't you see the careworn faces and the lines around the eyes

Feel the hope that's in them of a home beyond the skies

And that crazy stubborn faith that we shall rise

And I hear those dear old melodies beyond the city noise

Plain singing fancy picking honest lives and simple joys

And I wish that I was on that train and rolling down that track

I hear those ancient mountains calling honey let's go back

Well it's hard times and a hard life far away and long ago

But when I hear a sweet old mountain lullaby somehow I know

That that's my mama singing soft and low

So here's to Charlie and to Riley to Roscoe Dock and Wade

Here's to Sara Maybelle old A.P. to Gid and Uncle Dave

And here's to all the joyful noise they made

And when I think of all the joy they wrung from all that toil and pain

I see them all together playing on that midnight train

And I can close my eyes and hear the angel band and that's a fact

They're rolling over Jordan and they're singing let's go back

©2004 by Bob Michel

Out Beyond Good-Bye

The key still fits the lock when she goes off to work this morning

The engine still turns over when she goes to start the car

That could be her own old house there in the rearview as she's turning

And toys just like her own kids' toys are strewn around the yard

Pear trees like the ones she saw last week are in full flower

So there's such a thing as spring out here although she can't think why

And the radio gives local news at fifteen past the hour

From this undiscovered territory out beyond good-bye

A schoolbus drops the kids off at the house around four-thirty

They run in full of mischief like a thousand times before

Her voice says to go play awhile but not to get too dirty

And she hears herself reminding them to close the kitchen door

She looks around the room and sees that dinner's almost ready

Things take care of themselves here you don't even have to try

If you saw the way she moved through her routine so sure and steady

You'd almost think she knew this country out beyond good-bye

The candlelight is dancing on the wine that she is drinking

As the clock up on the mantel ticks the strange new hours away

It's midnight and the kids have gone to bed and she sits thinking

So it's true that you can live out here she's made it through a day

The landscape's looking clearer now it's like a fog is lifting

And the old familiar objects bring the first tear to her eye

For the center that once held her isn't there and she's just drifting

Where all that's changed is everything out beyond good-bye

Where all that's changed is everything out beyond good-bye

©2004 by Bob Michel

Relics of The Harbor

Look at all these wrecks he told her

As they crossed the bay

Half-submerged like you and I are

I can't live this way

Rusty hulks and oily waters

Seaweed clogs the lanes

Every sight's a weight to carry

Every day's the same

Built this boat myself he told her

Named her after you

Got to find a new horizon

Something else to do

Give me this one chance he said to

Take us far from here

From these relics of the harbor

Give me just one year

Took the boat he'd christened for her

Steered her out to sea

Left her by the dockside smiling

Brokenheartedly

Though ambition drove him on and

Kept them far apart

Every time he saw that name sweet

Pride would fill his heart

How he dreamed of one good season

How he hoped and yearned

Couldn't bear to turn her homeward

Till his luck had turned

Sold her for a few odd dollars

Too worn-down to cry

Left her in some far-off harbor

Wishing he could die

She grew stout around the middle

Sad around the eyes

Cursed the breaks that never happened

Cursed his stubborn pride

Swore she wasn't waiting for him

Laughed with other men

Stayed beside that rusting harbor

Never loved again

Now he does odd jobs at dockside

Years and miles from home

Spends his days inside a bottle

Used-up and alone

She stares out toward the sea-lanes

Breathes an angry prayer

One more relic of the harbor

Wishing he was there

©2004 by Bob Michel

Your Sunday Squeeze

Charlie played in a blues band

Played the bass with a slow hand

He liked to lay that rhythm down just so

Every Sunday for a whole spring

Had a date with a sweet thing

Took her out to lunch and to a show

Every Sunday right around one

Picked her up for a little fun

Just a quick bite and a movie nothing big

Brought her back around four or five or so

She gave a big sigh and said Don't go

He still made it home in time to play his gig

He didn't bring her no flowers didn't give her no ring

Every Sunday was the same thing

Old Charlie couldn't ask for one thing more

For just a cheap movie and a quick meal

He got a sweet girl and a sweet deal

Till one day he found a note taped to her door

It said don't call and don't come

I need a full-time honey and you're not the one

Six days a week I just cry and walk the floor

So don't come and don't call

If you lost my lovin' it's your own fault

I won't be your Sunday squeeze anymore

She said all week long I walk the floor

You don't ring my phone you don't knock at my door

I believe you've got just two things on your mind

One day a week you come round my place

The other six you're just playing that bass

But either way you're only marking time

Then she said every Sunday afternoon

Every time we play the same tune

And a girl gets tired of waiting all week long

Oh Charlie you don't ever change

You need to mix it up get a little range

Honey you just need to learn another song

Charlie's girl got a brand new squeeze

And he plays piano using all the keys

She says she never ever had more fun

Poor Charlie's got no place to go

So he stays at home and plays solo

He plays one to four one to five to one

She said don't call and don't come

I need a full-time honey and you're not the one

Six days a week I just cry and walk the floor

So don't come and don't call

If you lost my lovin' it's your own fault

I won't be your Sunday squeeze anymore

©2004 by Bob Michel

Let It Go

You've been out across a desert plain where no shower ever fell

Hunting for the one bare rock that hides a living spring

You've been staring countless hours down a dried-up wishing well

Hoping there's a spirit down below and that she'll sing

Let it go then turn away

It's come to endings now

You have nothing more to say

Not that matters anyhow

It's a clumsy sad misshapen thing you've managed in the end

But the paper goes to press now let it go and start again

Have you ever nursed a single thought or hummed a single bar

You thought within your heart of hearts was absolutely new

What profit could you ever draw announcing all you are

Why must you say I'm sorry it's the best that I could do

But let it go you've done your best

Good or bad you gave your all

Nudge it gently from the nest

Will it fly or will it fall

Have you found a grain of truth this time or at least a decent lie

Or will you feel again tomorrow you were mad to even try

Did you know what you were seeking from the moment you began

The thing that wasn't there before the hidden form you've found

Or is was it only when it showed itself and told you Here I am

That the aimless line rejoined itself and brought the circle round

Let it go then one more time

And say the same old prayer

That there's ore left in the mine

That the tank's not drained of air

There's a heartbeat's worth of wonder at this strange new thing you've done

And then the hollow terror will there be another one

©2004 by Bob Michel

The Oystermen's Ball

Out at the beds the day's nearly over

The men are all tired their work's nearly done

The schooners ride low on the face of the water

And the big sails creak upward in the low autumn sun

It's half a league back to the mouth of the Maurice

And from there to Port Norris makes an hour in all

And tonight Captain Bill has to be home by seven

He's taking his daughter to the Oystermen's Ball

There's sixty tall ships all turning upriver

Their decks piled high with the take of the day

Captain Bill smells the brine that clings to the oysters

He's torn from their beds far out in the bay

His men smoke their pipes as they lean on the gunwale

Twelve hours of hard work but they've made a great haul

He can pay for the dress he bought up in Bridgeton

For his daughter to wear at the Oystermen's Ball

The boxcars stand open on the siding at Bivalve

Beside the long shed where the schooners are tied

They'll speed through the night to New York and Chicago

With South Jersey's bounty her wealth and her pride

But Captain Bill's lost in a memory of courtship

Of waltzing with Rosa at the K. of P. Hall

She was the fairest young flower of Cumberland County

And the prettiest girl at the Oystermen's Ball

Well he built her a fine house with gingerbread on it

And she gave him a child the joy of his life

And he rose before dawn every day of the season

To earn a good living for his daughter and wife

But when just last Christmas his Rosa lay dying

He swore to himself he was through with it all

But now it's October and he's hurrying homeward

To escort a young girl to her very first ball

Now the oysters are gone and the old shed stands empty

The riverside pilings are rotting away

The great herons glide over bare windy marshes

And the sun sets in silence on the Delaware Bay

But sometimes in the twilight you can almost hear music

From the days that are gone when the schooners stood tall

From the days of the boxcars and the gingerbread houses

When Bill waltzed with Rosa at the Oystermen's Ball

©2004 by Bob Michel

Bob Michel, "The Farther Shore": Complete Lyrics

Back Where You Belong

Well my oh my

What a sight for sore eyes

Thought I'd never see the day

Throw your bags in the back

And hand me that pack

Looks like you're plannin on a nice long stay

Seems it's been years

Since you've been here

Never thought you'd last so long

Hope you'll bide a while

Sweet child

Back where you belong

Mama's at the sink

Just where you'd think

She's been cookin for three straight days

Now that you're home

She'll put some meat on your bones

She's gonna cure you of those city ways

All your friends and your kin

We're having them in

There's a tent up on the lawn

Can't you see all the smiles

Sweet child

Now you're back where you belong

Guess a girl from the country needs a double dose of luck

If she's gonna try and monkey with them city ducks

Guess a hardheaded girl got to see for herself

When she won't stop and listen to no one else

But that's how it goes

And everyone knows

All that you been through

And no one's ashamed

It's just the breaks of the game

And you done the best that you could do

And though we all know

We reap what we sow

No one's talkin bout right and wrong

You were young and wild

Sweet child

But you're back where you belong

Far Clare Mountains

Michael's ship is anchored in the Shannon

Michael's hands are wrapped around the rail

Far below he feels the engine shudder

Telling him he'll soon be setting sail

Deep within he feels his spirit answer

Feels his eyes begin to smart and burn

Sets his jaw to keep the tears from flowing

Swears a silent vow that he'll return

Hope and need combine to drive him onward

Already turning homeward in his mind

His eyes stare out across the endless ocean

But they see the far Clare mountains left behind

Anna smiles and stares into the camera

Michael's hands are resting on her own

He's found his countrywoman in this new land

He's looked into her eyes and called it home

Anna's eyes are fixed upon the future

Michael's eyes are fixed upon his bride

His last five dollars bought this wedding picture

He prays the Lord will help him to provide

Anna looks ahead and dreams of children

She's turned her back on all she's left behind

Michael dreams he'll earn their passage homeward

To see the far Clare mountains one more time

Michael throws a new pot on the wheel

Michael's hands are centering the clay

He plies his trade to feed his seven children

And now they have another on the way

He'll work to fix the sorry house he's rented

Day and night till all his strength is gone

Though every time he makes a home to live in

The landlord ups the rent and they move on

Anna's strong she holds them all together

Makes her plans and never looks behind

Michael shapes the new earth with his fingers

But he roams the far Clare Mountains in his mind

Anna's sons and daughters ring the casket

Michael's hands are stretched out by his sides

They've come to bury father in his new home

The far-off country where he worked and died

A year from now they'll send her back to Ireland

She'll send them each a card with country scenes

She'll send them each a trinket from a gift shop

A china plate with shamrocks etched in green

She'll write and say be glad of indoor plumbing

Be glad of sunny skies and modern times

Be glad your father raised himself from nothing

And left these far Clare mountains far behind

To The Glasshouse I'll Go No More

This morning the frost was thick on the glass

It was too cold and icy to go out to Mass

So I sat at the table and thought of the past

And the fruits of a lifetime of labor

I love this old town and I've always lived here

And I worked in the glasshouse for forty-three years

As a master glassblower I hadn't a peer

And I worked with my friends and my neighbors

But my wife died last year and my friends are all gone

And my kids and grandkids have long since moved on

So I live in this two room apartment alone

To the glasshouse I'll go no more

When I was a young man how I used to frown

At the old agitators when they came around

If they stood up to speak I shouted them down

And if they brought papers I didn't read them

For I was a craftsman and they treated me square

I was proud of my town and I earned my fair share

And now as I look back I'm wondering where

All those firebrands have gone now we need them

For the owners pulled out and they let us all go

And for forty-three years there's damn little to show

But the shell of the dear town that I used to know

To the glasshouse I'll go no more

Your roots grow so deep for as long as they may

Till a stroke of the pen takes your living away

To anyplace they can pay pennies a day

Where they say folks are happy to get them

And they tell you that's just in the nature of things

They've a right to whatever the market will bring

So trust in the market and let freedom ring

Yes they go on like that and we let them

And they say to relocate and go with the flow

They wish you good luck and then off they go

Wherever the fair winds of profit may blow

To the glasshouse I'll go no more

All over this country in the rusted-out towns

The brownfields and derelict factories abound

And it's not worth the trouble to tear them all down

So you stare straight ahead and drive by them

But if once in a while you'd just stop and look

You'd see all the costs that aren't on the books

All the terrible waste and the toll that it took

On trusting old fools such as I am

For if you'll think it over you'll find it's quite clear

That what they took with them when they left us here

Had something to do with my forty-three years

To the glasshouse I'll go no more

This morning my window was covered with frost

And I sat at my table and I thought of the cost

Of the fortunes they've made and the worlds we have lost

All vanished like yesterday's snows

On the table beside me a paperweight sits

It's as heavy as stone and as big as my fist

And I made it from sand with my own skill and wit

And inside there's a beautiful rose

And sometimes I think that's my heart sitting there

Hardened to glass and heavy with care

But deep at its core there's a sense of what's fair

To the glasshouse I'll go no more

Banjo Tramp

My daddy used to ride the rods on the old Atlanta line

He used to play the banjo for a dollar or a dime

My daddy always told me Son now don't you do the same

Don't live the life of a banjo tramp or ride that hellbound train

My daddy is a wagoner he hauls a heavy load

He rides behind an old mule team out on the old plank road

Six days a week he drives them up to Knoxville town and then

He drives to church on Sunday and he drives on home again

I drove up to Knoxville town I hauled a load of corn

I seen them high tone Knoxville girls and the pretty clothes they worn

I hitched my team in the wagon yard and went out on a spree

Corn whiskey made me crazy and the girls was kind to me

Now there's sweet corn in the fields stretchin out across the land

It's one thin dime a bushel but a dollar in the can

Sweet corn in the fields ripe melons on the vine

Oh how can a poor boy stay at home when the pretty girls dress so fine

God knows I love my mama she taught me right from wrong

God knows I love my daddy though we cannot get along

I love my little brother and my baby sister too

Ain't one of them can understand what this poor boy must do

I will not be a wagoner in all the hail and rain

But I will be a banjo tramp and ride that hellbound train

I will not be a wagoner behind an old mule team

I'll glide along them shiny rails and dream that devil's dream

The Hocking Hills

When I was a boy

And the world was new

My deepest joy

I shared with you

Where the wild ferns wave

By the quiet rill

Down by Old Man's Cave

In the Hocking Hills

And I'd have you know

That my heart is still

Where the hemlocks grow

In the Hocking Hills

Where the old moss clings

To a high rock wall

And a wild bird sings

By the waterfall

In the still green grove

At the heart of time

Many years ago

When your heart was mine

And I'd have you know

That my heart is still

Where the hemlocks grow

In the Hocking Hills

A country song

On the radio

Makes this old heart long

For the long-ago

And my heart still yearns

And it always will

For the rocks and ferns

Of the Hocking Hills

And I'd have you know

That my heart is still

Where the hemlocks grow

In the Hocking Hills

County Line

Listen up a while about a friend of mine

Lives about a mile past the county line

Has a little lady that he's sorry to leave

While he spends his days digging in the quarry with me

Keeps a rock in his pocket just to worry away

While he's smashing up the rocks in the quarry all day

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday quitting time

He'll be dashing like a rocket 'cross the county line

Friday nights he's digging with the quarry crowd

Where the jug band music's playing very loud

He'll be rocking while the music's playing nice and hot

He got his hand in his pocket and his eye on the clock

All the slinky items in the silky sleeves

Sidle up beside him just to give him a squeeze

They say dig it daddy come and get to know us some time

He says no dice ladies I'm toeing the line

Soon they'll tie the knot together once and for all

They'll be making whoopee winter spring summer and fall

They'll be making little babies count them one two three

He'll be rocking with his lady every night of the week

Every night he'll leave the quarry at half past eight

She won't have to worry 'cause he's never late

She'll have the jug band music turning all of the time

They'll be burning up the rug across the county line

Friday nights he's digging with the quarry crowd

Where the jug band music's playing very loud

He'll be rocking while the music's playing nice and hot

He got his hand in his pocket and his eye on the clock

But soon they'll tie the knot together once and for all

They'll be making whoopee winter spring summer and fall

They'll keep the jug band music turning all of the time

That old rug'll be a burning across the county line

The Farther Shore

No mansions grand

In phalanx stand

To mar the outward view

No highways wide

By wild bayside

Wall off the waters blue

No murmur loud

Of restless crowd

Or cities' sullen roar

Encroach upon

The timeless calm

Out on the farther shore

No frenzied race

For pride of place

In palaces of gold

No madness born

Of greed and scorn

Where dreams are bought and sold

No grifter's scheme

Befoul this scene

Where eagles cant and soar

Where Nature's spell

Charms all who dwell

Along the farther shore

The huckster's pitch

Can but enrich

A sly and haughty few

But let them fear

To meddle here

Or make bold to undo

This gentle rhyme

Of tide and time

This trove of life and lore

This quiet land

Of marsh and sand

Beside the farther shore

Lie Beside Me Awhile

Now the day's at an end

Just a few hours before the dawn

Just a few hours and I'll be gone

Don't know when we'll meet again

But let me see your sweet smile

Let me hold your body close to mine

Stay with me till the parting time

Lie beside me awhile

Though our sorrow draws near

Though tomorrow I'll be far away

Though I must go, love, and you must stay

In my heart I'll be here

Through the time of our trials

Through the heartache that we may face

Know I live for your soft embrace

Lie beside me awhile

And when you sleep may you dream

Of a day when all our sorrow's done

And in your sleep may it seem

That we can lie in bed tomorrow and smile to see the sun

So let me hear you laugh once more

In this world full of bitter tears

Let me feel your heart beating near

Remind me what I'm living for

Through the months and through the miles

We'll have these hours to see us through

Till the hour I come home to you

Lie beside me awhile

Mama's Gone Uptown

Glad to see you

Glad you're right on time

Clock is striking nine

I'm on my own

We're all alone

Had to be you

No one else comes round

Daddy's on the road again and Mama's gone uptown

It's so lonely

Here in Mama's place

I don't think that I could face another night

Just sitting tight

Time goes slowly

And I been very down

But the mice will play when Mama's gone uptown

There's a bottle

Up on the highest shelf

You can help yourself

I'll have one too

Well here's to you

Guess I ought to

Slip the inside lock

Mama comes a checking then at least she'll need to knock

Mama told me

You stay in all night

Told me don't you dare invite nobody round

You're honor bound

Come and hold me

Lay your troubles down

Let me be your mama babe when Mama's gone uptown

Wait here baby

Whenever Mama's gone

I put her music on

Real low

I like it slow

Later maybe

We can slip upstairs

Up in Mama's closet there's a robe I love to wear

Spin some Ella

On her stereo

Try to catch that special glow that I could feel

If you were real

Poor Cinderella's

Still waiting till her prince comes round

But a girl can dream when Mama's gone uptown

Old Maurice

Once we rose hours before it was day

To ride the old Maurice on down to the bay

We braved the rough waters and weathered the gale

To plunder the oyster beds under full sail

The work it was hard boys the hours they were long

In the cove of the Maurice we greeted the dawn

In the cove of the Maurice I spent my best days

Now glide on old Maurice away to the bay

Well I remember the old oyster towns

Shellpile upriver and Bivalve on down

The bustle at dockside that greeted first light

And the forest of masts in the harbor at night

All the ships at their moorings the trains on their tracks

And the trolley we rode up to Bridgeton and back

All run to rust now and all gone away

Glide on old Maurice away to the bay

Now my old shipmates have all gone before

And left me alone on the old Maurice shore

With the wind in my ears and the salt in my blood

And my feet planted firm in the old Maurice mud

But boys when you carry this old sailor down

Then bury me not in this soft marshy ground

Set me adrift on a bed of salt hay

And then glide on old Maurice away to the bay

Song For Phil

Wrote another song today

Just to pass the time away

Said what I set out to say

Worked it for a while

Railed against the troubled times

Made a couple clever rhymes

Nailed it in a dozen lines

Threw it on the pile

Took a walk around the town

To try to wrap my mind around

Every scrap of sense and sound

Every note and letter

Heard another voice instead

Brash and clear inside my head

Saying all the things I'd said

Saying them far better

Read the paper late last night

How the godly rage and fight

In their hearts they know they're right

Each anointed faction

Oil wars and torture cells

Public lies and private hells

While all the toys that sex can sell

Drug us to distraction

Guess that's why I thought of you

You said it all there's nothing new

And all those things you said were true

Your anger hope and sadness

Did you dream such things could be

As you fought for sanity

We know you lost and so did we

We've learned the cost of madness

Wrote another song today

Said the things I had to say

Then I threw the song away

It wasn't worth repeating

Wish I had the heart and ear

To make it brave and strong and clear

But it's your voice I want to hear

It's your song I'm needing

How we crave that voice again

All the songs that cheered us then

Gentle warrior dear old friend

To keep the old flame burning

Raise the song now let it ring

All the news that's fit to sing

And all the hope your voice can bring

Sing us through till morning

Flying To Dover

I took a walk down the bayshore today

To see the spring shorebirds down Oyster Creek way

And I heard a loud roar as I stood on the beach

And I saw a big C-5 fly in from the east

Westward across the wide marshes it sped

No more than a few hundred feet overhead

And it lowered its landing gear over the bay

It was flying to Dover nineteen miles away

And I don't know your face and I don't know your name

As they're bringing you back on the big transport plane

But you've given so much and you've traveled so far

Now welcome home Johnny whoever you are

I can remember when this all began

They called you a hero and a model young man

Now they're bringing you back out of sight out of mind

Guess you don't fit in the picture this time

And why did they call you and send you away

Which little lie did they tell you that day

And whose is the honor and whose is the shame

Now you're flying to Dover on the big transport plane

For there's no dignitaries to pay their respects

And no banners wave on a carrier deck

But we know that they never dared stand where you've stood

Now welcome home Johnny you're home now for good

I live on the bayshore in a sweet country town

It's peaceful and pretty for miles all around

The world and its troubles are far from my mind

I can ignore them for days at a time

But I walked down today to the end of the road

Far out in the marshes where no one much goes

And I saw a big C-5 fly low overhead

It was flying to Dover it was bringing the dead

Just one more sad picture from a botched little war

Don't tell me we haven't been here before

The worst give their orders and the best give their lives

Now welcome home Johnny dear Johnny good-bye

The Farther Shore: Complete Lyrics

Back Where You Belong

Well my oh my

What a sight for sore eyes

Thought I'd never see the day

Throw your bags in the back

And hand me that pack

Looks like you're plannin on a nice long stay

Seems it's been years

Since you've been here

Never thought you'd last so long

Hope you'll bide a while

Sweet child

Back where you belong

Mama's at the sink

Just where you'd think

She's been cookin for three straight days

Now that you're home

She'll put some meat on your bones

She's gonna cure you of those city ways

All your friends and your kin

We're having them in

There's a tent up on the lawn

Can't you see all the smiles

Sweet child

Now you're back where you belong

Guess a girl from the country needs a double dose of luck

If she's gonna try and monkey with them city ducks

Guess a hardheaded girl got to see for herself

When she won't stop and listen to no one else

But that's how it goes

And everyone knows

All that you been through

And no one's ashamed

It's just the breaks of the game

And you done the best that you could do

And though we all know

We reap what we sow

No one's talkin bout right and wrong

You were young and wild

Sweet child

But you're back where you belong