Jesse Likes Birds

Red Winged Black birds
Jesse likes a sparrow
Jesse likes a Whippoorwill
Jesse likes the sound through the window of a mockingbird late at night

And if that Mockingbird don’t sing
Mama gonna buy you a diamond ring

Jesse likes wind
Jesse likes water
Jesse likes the sky
Jesse likes kids
Jesse likes the sound from the window of a car passing by

And if that Mockingbird don’t sing
Mama gonna buy you a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring turns brass
Mama gonna buy you a looking glass

Jesse likes drums
Jesse likes fire
Jesse likes the soul
Jesse likes parades
Jesse likes the sound through the window in the distance of a soul parade

And if that mocking bird don’t sing
Mama gonna buy you a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring turns brass
Mama gonna buy you a looking glass
And if that looking glass gets broke
Mama gonna buy you a billy goat

But if that mockingbird don’t sing
Jesse don’t need no diamond ring
Jesse need the sound of his mamas voice

She says Jesse likes birds
Red Winged Black birds
And Jesse likes a sparrow
Jesse likes a whippoorwill
Jesse likes a mockingbird

Jesse Likes Birds

Red Winged Black birds
Jesse likes a sparrow
Jesse likes a Whippoorwill
Jesse likes the sound through the window of a mockingbird late at night

And if that Mockingbird don’t sing
Mama gonna buy you a diamond ring

Jesse likes wind
Jesse likes water
Jesse likes the sky
Jesse likes kids
Jesse likes the sound from the window of a car passing by

And if that Mockingbird don’t sing
Mama gonna buy you a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring turns brass
Mama gonna buy you a looking glass

Jesse likes drums
Jesse likes fire
Jesse likes the soul
Jesse likes parades
Jesse likes the sound through the window in the distance of a soul parade

And if that mocking bird don’t sing
Mama gonna buy you a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring turns brass
Mama gonna buy you a looking glass
And if that looking glass gets broke
Mama gonna buy you a billy goat

But if that mockingbird don’t sing
Jesse don’t need no diamond ring
Jesse need the sound of his mamas voice

She says Jesse likes birds
Red Winged Black birds
And Jesse likes a sparrow
Jesse likes a whippoorwill
Jesse likes a mockingbird

Guilty Hands

I put my hand upon the bible
Put my hand upon the bible
Drank wine from the well
I drank wine from the well

I dreamt about Gethsemane
Dreamt about Gethsemane
Where Jesus hung his head and prayed
He hung his head and he prayed
Dear god I am so sorrowful
Is there no other way?

I put my hand upon the bible
Put my hand upon the bible
I tried to believe
Oh I tried to believe

The olive tree bent over him
The olive tree bent over him
And all I could say is
What have you done for me?
Dear god if it is possible
Let this love pass by me

Guilty hand upon the bible
Guilty hand upon the bible
I remembered where I came from
I remembered where I came from

When I blew the roof off the church
I blew the roof off the church
I was screaming out my demons
I was screaming out my demons
Dear god please forgive me
It’s the only way I know to be
Dear god please forgive me
It’s the only way I know to be

Latin Translation:
“Where clarity and love are found, god is there.”

Lift up the Anchor

I got me a man and that crown rules his world
Gives him his power, and his weakness with girls
He finds himself thinking he’s no good with these strings
Cause he plays ‘em so hard, he can’t see what life brings

CHORUS
So lift up the anchor
It’s been raining for days
The back yards a floodin’
I’ll go a floatin’ away
Just lift up the anchor
I’ll be wild in my way
You’ll say who’s that pretty girl
She’s gone a floatin’ away

Been lookin’ for forgiveness
Been lookin’ for release
Been looking for the other side
Of where I wanna be
Been looking for a reason
Been looking for a light
Been looking for a weightless heart
Been trying to treat you right

CHORUS

BRIDGE:
And all I ask of god
Is to show me the time
And all I ask of you
Is to love me right now
And all I ask of you
Is to love me right

CHORUS

The Things we’re afraid of

Feet clenched up tight under the covers
The jaws clenched up just right
My minds just busy to busier
And all this snoring keeps me up at night
And I can’t say, I’ll live on forever
There was a time when my chest got tight
But I’ll be there in one way or the other
It’s just another day’s work

How will I fill up my time?
I used to fill up my night
But now I’m fighting with the stars
You said the stars wouldn’t fight
And how will I love my wife?
Will I think of the words to say?
Will she think I’m a boring man?
Am I a boring man?

She lays next to me
Our feet all tangled up in bed
I don’t hear quite so good
But I heard every word she said.
She said,”I’m no paragon of virtue,
I’m not writer in the sky
There were times I didn’t see you.
There were times when all the time just went by.
But I tried to love you just the same.
I tried to love you twice as much.
When those ideas in your head
Took the place of your touch
When those ideas in your head
Took the place of your touch.”

Song written by Dar Williams

Landeth by Sea

I can just see you, whilst you sail across the waters
And the winds will knock your heart free
You’ll take the pictures of life as a sailor
And you’ll send them to me
You’ll write me a story about waves that came crashing
And how they helped you find peace
I’ll write you a story about my garden of daisies
And tell ya it’s where I’m meant to be

Cause you’ve found your quiet now
And I’ve found my quiet
By landeth and by sea
But one can’t exist without the other to feed it
What’s that say about you and me
I’ve been meaning to ask
About you and me

No one ever really knows the reasons for breaking
Or the reasons to set a heart free
But I know I’ll miss you when I’m working ‘neath the willows
And my hands are blistered and bleeding
And I know you’ll miss me when you cast out the long lines
And catch fish to fill bellies of the weak
I’m feeling full now and you’re feeling full now
By landeth and by sea
I’ve been meaning to ask
About you and me

If you should decide to come back from the water
We’ll rest neath that ol’ willow tree
Cause I’m willing to take it and I’m willing to lose it
Guess that’s the way
Love’s supposed to be
I’ve been meaning to ask
What loves supposed to be

You’ve found your quiet now
And I’ve found my quiet
By landeth and by sea
One can’t exist without the other to feed it
What’s that say about you and me
I’ve been meaning to ask
About you and me

Shots Rang Out

Shots rang out shots rang out
Don’t remember much that night
I was takin’ in the mess
But there was just one pretty site
The tattoo on her chest
I only saw the wing
It was sticking out bright orange

And I wish that bird
Would just take her away
Far away far away from here

Shots rang out shots rang out
She just shivered in the cold
She just wore a wedding band
She had a daughter three years old
And a hand full of men

Oh I still have dreams
About the hands of those men
They would pay her and rape her again

Shots rang out shots rang out
She went running through the night
Went running through the storm
Watched the bullet taking flight
Heard his head hit the floor
Heard the sirens coming fast
She just waited in the door

And here we sit
‘neath these prison walls
wearing stripes
wearing birds
and that’s all
wearing stripes
wearing birds
and that’s all

Berlin

The girls like berlin like berlin in the snow
The walls come a fallin’ just as she knows
To open up wide and show the side she’s been meaning to show.

But just like a candle like a candle outside
It goes out sometimes, but still shows the light
The light of a life, the light of a child, it’s been meaning to grow

Chorus:
And just as I’ve known you, you’ve shown me somehow
Wearing back the braids you were kissed like a child
And just as I’ve held you, you hold me somehow
The flow is our right, just let it go now
Just as I feel it from deep in this lung, I can breath it all clean
The center of you and the center of me
And the side we don’t see

The girls got an arm, she’s got an arm like a frame
She’ll wrap it around you, and you’ll never feel the pain
Lift it up high or scoop it down low, she’s got nothing to show, no.
But just like her window like her window outside
The ball hits sometimes and shatters in the night
It shatters the life, oh the life she’s been meaning to grow.

Chorus

The girls like berlin like berlin in the snow
The walls come a fallin’ just as she knows
To open up wide and show the side she’s been meaning to show.

Chorus

St. Louis

I met St. Louis on a plane
He was sitting there quiet
I was doing much the same
‘Till he touched my arm just once
And I started to cry

He said did you know the arch moves
I said no take me there, I need to be moved
It’s been a long long while since my face touched the sky

CHORUS:
The same glasses that fill me
Eventually fall
And I take the pieces
And I plant them all
And I call it my garden
I call it my daughter
I call it life
And my life’s pretty good

I met St. Louis on a plane
He ordered me a whiskey
And I told him ‘bout the shame I felt
Every last time I broke a heart
I said did you know I got a man of many moons
He said no but I get it, and I’d take me with you
Every time the clock strikes twelve
And you’re feeling along

The same glasses that fill me
Eventually fall
And I take the pieces
And I plant them all
And I call it my garden
I call it my daughter
I call it my savior
I call it my prayer
I call it what matters
I call it my grace
I call it life
And my life’s pretty good

Dear Sam

Dear Sam, dear Sam
I thought of you today
You were ridin’ a train
And it was safe
Cause where we live
We don’t much see
The things that you see
And sometimes I feel guilty
For complaining ‘bout a thing

And Dear Sam, dear Sam
I think you’re like a brother
Even though I wanna kiss you sometimes
Cause your broken heart
It ain’t nothin’ like mine

And somehow it seems
When gravity’s doubled
When weights had its way
You’re still laughter and trouble
You’ve found a way
To live free in the mess
And you’ve found a way
To break bread with the rest

Dear Sam, Dear Sam
I thought of you today
You were ridin’ a train
And it was safe
Cause where we live
We don’t much see
The things that you’ve seen
And sometimes I feel guilty
For complaining ‘bout a thing.

Edge of the World

We act like ourselves, but is it self that we want?
Or is it just some small piece of that woman over there?
Cause she’s dipped in gold and covered in pearls
OH NO, I wanna go to the edge of the world
And you can come along and dance with me some,
And we’ll twist and we’ll twirl ‘till our hearts come undone
And I’ll carve you a space; you can rest with me there
And you’ll tell me you love me every day of the year. Oh….

We’ll build us a house use the mud from our insides
Get rid of all the things that make us unclear
And that house will be free cause we’re so goddamn clouded
And then we’ll be free, free of all the free of all the
Things we’re afraid of and the things left unsaid
And the things ain’t got no business that dance in our heads
There’s so much room for silence when there’s no one else around
There’s so much room for you and me to be found. Oh….

We’ll plant ourselves a garden and work ‘till we’re tired
And then take our weary bodies, and lay down by the fire
We’ll wake when it’s dark feel the silence of night
We’ll squeeze out the palm leaves use the oil for lamplight
We’ll walk with the stars and sing with the wind
To the baby on your shoulders and god in our hands
And I’ll say a little prayer, kiss you on the cheek
I’ll say it’s time for bed oh, it’s time for sleep
And I’ll dream about the woman who’s dipped in gold
And I’ll wake to remember the time we chose the edge of the world.

Black Lung

My daddy he worked in a coal mine
Twenty years nine to five
It was dark
And he died
Darker than the lung
Inside
Darker than his face
When he stepped out into the night
Wiped the dust from his eyes

They said I cried
But I don’t remember
The day that he died
I was nine
It was the day before his birthday
And the day after mine
Oh it was the day after mine

Just in between
Isn’t it funny how we like
To create this balance in life sometimes
With a six pack of beer
He was spittin’ in a tin
And kissing my mama goodnight
And she said to breathe
But his lungs were full
Of something instead of air
She watched him fall
It was sort of sweetly
Neath the firelight
Over the arm of his chair

And she said to breathe
But his lungs were full
Of something instead of air
It was sort of sweetly
She watched him fall
And she said to breathe

Broke TV

I got nothing in my heart
That you can’t have
I got nothing in my heart
That you can’t have
Cause it’s rainin’ I’m cold and lonely
And I’d swim to the bottom of the sea
To find you there just waiting to hold me
Who’d a known that the jokes on me

Oh there’s nothing in my heart
That you can’t have
Oh there’s nothing in my heart
That you can’t have
This tiny vessel does nothing to protect me
It barely beats and I barely breath
Still find a way to make it to your doorstep
You look through me like a broke tv

There’s nothing in my heart
You can’t have
Oh there’s nothing in my heart you can’t have
He took it all while I was walking backwards
And wouldn’t you know it was impossible to see
He swung his arm round
And tore my heart out
And light flickered like a broke tv
But it’s okay cause he carved a space
For you and me to swim so low
The good thing is you can leave me down there
My heart don’t beat
So you’ll never know
You’ll never know

Did She Do Her Best

His heart is full
With steal wool
And the bottom of his feet
Have been put to rest
He can’t dig that deep no more
Cause the guilt she laid upon him
When she came undressed
Madness swirled around
It was unfolded unpressed
And all she wants to know is darlin’
Did she do her best?

She just started smoking again
She opened up her mouth
Let the sin back in
And it choked her
She can’t see in the dark no more
Cause he took away the space
She’d been saving it for denial
Madness twirled round in her heart
Like it hasn’t in a while

Did she do her best
To put her world at unrest
Did she do her best
To put her man at rest
He must have known the time
But the clock was like a brick on her chest

She wrote bout the jeopardy of circumstance
With the ground so soft
The trees are falling through the earth
And she’s just willing for one more chance
To burn it all down
And give back whatever it’s worth
Madness swirled round
And the whole damn thing was unearthed

Did she do her best
To put her life at unrest
Did she do her best
To put her man at rest
He must have known the time
But the clock was like a brick on her chest
And all she wants to know is darling
Did she do her best
And all she wants to know is darling
Did she do her best
And all she wants to know is darling.

Gospel Song

Did you hear me
Come down from that mountain today
Did you hear me
When I had nothing to say to you
I think you asked about the weather
So now, I’ll go no place with you
So now, will you go no place with me too
We’ll go no place together
I’d like to sit
On this old chair outside with you
Carved out of wood
We’ll pretend it was made just for me and you
We’ll sing our gospel together

We’ll sing
Oh amen
We’ll sing
Oh, amen.

What’s real in this life
Is what I wanna know
What’s real
In all the noise and the lights
Of this one man show
So disconnected
They say that three’s a charm
But I don’t know
Two’s done so much harm
In this great big world
We’ll sing our gospel together

We’ll sing
Oh amen
We’ll sing
Oh amen

So why won’t you
Walk to the mountains with me
Why won’t you
See things the way that I see
Why won’t you
Share this here gospel with me

Obadiah

Why would I want to go to heaven
The people here don’t think much of me now
And they’ll be up there one day
Just when I think I got it all figured out
And why would I want to be the ocean
Water can’t wash away these sins
Just now or ever

But I’m growing older
Got a small piece of land
And a cross too big to hold her
And a drought sneaking in

Did you feel the light move
Out from under me and into you
The moon opened it’s mouth up
Took the night before the night was through
Obadiah found me breaking free of chains
Chains you thought you knew

And I’m growing older
Got a small piece of land
And a cross too big to hold her
And a drought sneaking in

Grab on to the solace of her heart
Let her go let her go
Breznichar in bohemiah
She swears you’ll never know
Swears you’ll never know
She swears you’ll never know
She swears you’ll never

But I’m growing older
Got a small piece of land
And a cross too big to hold her
And a drought sneaking in.

Ode to Ogallala

It’s the end of the Texas trail
And it’s where I begin
A town too tough for Texans
Lord I think I’ll fit right in
Transcontinental railroad
Running by my door
Was headed east to the ocean
But I don’t belong there anymore

Ogallala I really want ya
Sweet Nebraska, I meant to ask ya
How long?

Must have fell off the wagon
The tinhorn gamblers
Were drawing me in
Then a dance with a cowboy
My feet were flyin’
My heart was sinned
The smell of smoke in the timbers
I coulda swore I saw a neon light
Shinin’ down on me whiskey
A hard days work means a drinking night

Ogallala I really want ya
Sweet Nebraska I meant to ask ya
How long?
Oh how long?

Smell of smoke in the timbers
I coulda swore I saw a neon light
Shinin’ down on me whiskey
A hard days work means a drinking night
Shinin’ down on me whiskey
A hard days work means a drinking night.

Questions About Angels

He had questions about angels
And all them things were black and white to you
You can’t question and angel
When greeds got your tongue
The devil, god and greed become one

And on and on
Show me a sign
The heart is drunk
With whiskey and crime
He took to drinking
As to not lose the mind
And it went on and on and on and on

He sang on Sunday’s
Sacrificed his words to get to you
But sacrifice ain’t no good
Till you give god his due
Oh the money
It just won’t get him through

And on and on
Show me a sign
The heart is drunk
With whiskey and crime
He took to stealing
Tried to take back the time
But it went on and on and on and on

The god in him made him lie
While the devil in us rest beside his tomb
He’s got a funny way of seeing through the night
Now he lives in the darkest room

He’s found his `way home now
And mamma said he’s so far from blue
Cause when the inside becomes the outside
And the outside was all
What you get is a heart with a view

And on and on
Show me a sign
The heart is drunk
With whiskey and crime
You whittle down to nothing
Fore the heart can unwind
And it goes on and on and on and on

on and on and on and on……

Roots & Wings

She kept the cardboard pieces
In a box made of twine
It shriveled and died
I guess the love was a lie
You can go it alone
When the sky turns to stone
Hammer and tong
Boulder and bone

She’s got roots
She’s got wings
She can fly
When she’s not strapped
To the root of his pride
There is a line
No one can find
She’s got roots
She’s got wings
And she’s gonna fly

Where should he take her
She’s so far away
The joker or the faker
And she’s in it to stay

His heart looks like an orange
When the blood leaves the day
Her bones are just tired
From the guilt
That she weighs

She’s got roots
She’s got wings
She can fly
When she’s not strapped
To the root of his pride
There is a line
No one can find
She’s got roots
She’s got wings
And she’s gonna fly

Shell of a Man

Don’t knock against me
You’ll find out I’m empty
You’ll find out I’m a shell of a man
Got nothing to lose but a broken heart
Feel free to take it with you
Cause it’s tearing me apart

Faith was never with me
I found it all out early
I found it in the palm of my hand
The old lady said I had a few years left
But I just kept runnin’
Didn’t give the girls my best

Oh goodnight, goodnight
I might not wake tomorrow
I might not say good morning
But I’ll always say goodnight

Don’t knock against me
You’ll find out I’m empty
You’ll find out I’m a shell of a man
Got seven angels singin’ from a mountain on high
Hallelujah to the man with the short lifeline

Thought jesus never loved me
With a knife hangin’ bove me
I’m inclined to stand on bended knee
I got one hand in my pocket so the world won’t see
Where the old lady said they gonna bury me

Oh goodnight, goodnight
I might not wake tomorrow
I might not say good morning
But I’ll always say goodnight

Goodnight, goodnight
I might not wake tomorrow
I might not say good morning
But I’ll always say goodnight

Don’t knock against me
You’ll find out I’m empty
You’ll find out I’m a shell of a man.

Year Before the War

Somehow my Helen died
A year before the war
So I drank up
And I married Claire
But it don’t much matter anymore
Cause I can’t take a picture
These old eyes are worn
They’re worn

I’ve lied to myself before
And I guess that’s like lying to god
But I loved her before I loved you
And there’s something to be said
For the first wife that’s dead
And I can’t take a picture
These old eyes are worn
No I can’t take a picture these old eyes are worn

But on with this life
You can cut me
Where I used to shine
I look dull around the edges
But I’m doing fine
I’m going fine

I can’t take a picture
These old eyes are worn.

2 Hours 3 Beers and a Breakdown

it’s only 2 hours 3 beers and a breakdown
i keep hearing thunder
but it’s only in a song
it fills me all night
lie awake have you done it
when the mind doesn’t stop
surfaces to something
then you shut it off

[chorus] i don’t want to see
i don’t want to see
i pull the shades and
hope for the day to turn to night
i don’t want to see
i don’t want to see
i pull the shades and
hope for the day to turn to night

it’s only 3 hours 5 beers and a breakdown
i sit in the car singing songs to myself
i shouldn’t be in my car
lie awake, every night
and bring it up to the surface
try to be me
try to be
and then you shut it off

Fight of Your Life (Can't Stop)

bring me in silence
to find a place
that doesn’t work sometimes
and i’ll try to shoot
right through it
how much time does it take
to get lost
in the words
in the fight of your life
finger biting
leg twitching
and i’m not willing
to give up this time

[chorus] now i’m stuck
with broken fingers
broken bones
and i’ve gone down and found
something there belongs
and i can’t stop
no, i can’t stop

i know this is
filling a space for me somehow
not anyone else
a selfish act or
just a wild attack or
just the fact that i wasn’t breast-fed
that’s what freud said

well, it feels like a broken heart
keep tearing apart
from the surface
and you find there’s nothing left
but a certain satisfaction
of get-ting something
that someone else can’t get

the pain and the rawness
of broken fingers
broken bones
i’ve gone down and found
something there belongs
and i can’t stop
no, i can't stop

Falling

how long can I speak in silence
when you never hear me
or my body
shaking like the drum
do you feel it beat
do you feel the whisper
standing on two feet
holding the wheel
but the feet aren’t planted
and the hands no time to heal

i know your eyes
and I see where you’re going
can’t wait to slow down
watch in slow motion
your head toward the sky
your knees to the ground
as you’re falling down
as you’re falling down

[bridge] i’ve seen it a thousand times
a fist like this
do you feel it in the light
as i'm reaching for....

Darkness Falls

this new house
has burned to the ground
the siding and all
the wind picked up
lights have all gone down
and darkness falls
and darkness falls

he’s working hard in boston
and she says, “hammer away”
there she stands alone by the stove
there she stands an object
no one to hold
beautiful
beautiful

four in love is all that woman knows
three in love and now there’s
one heart of stone
none in love and the wind picked up
blew the life away
yeah, that’s how the story goes
when the darkness falls
and it was beautiful

Arms

i’ve thrown you a line
so many times
my arms are getting sore
and my sore arms keep
picking you up
and my legs they can’t take anymore
no more

[chorus] i gave you my mind
so you could think a little more
i gave you my heart
so yours could keep beating
i gave you my soul
so you could dig a little deeper
and you
you went and stole it all away
with your anger
all with your anger

[bridge] i don’t deal well
with a weak possessive mind
you should know by now
this energy is mine
so when you walk with me
let me walk a step behind
and when you run with me
let me run
oh, baby let me run

i’ve thrown you a line
so many times
my arms are getting sore
and my sore arms keep
picking you up
and my legs they can’t take anymore
no more

[chorus]

The Waltz

you can walk behind
but don’t look to the past
i've got nothing to lose now
the past is always worse than that
there’s plenty of losing
plenty of eyes falling down
plenty of unbroken hearts
ready to break someone’s now

the girl’s got a secret
she doesn’t want to hear
you can see it in the rhythm
of everything she holds
she’s crying out loud
with nothing to say
she turns ahead and he walks away

[chorus] the girl gets going somehow
and she lifts her head tonight
how does this woman
know when to stop
and give up the fight
aren’t you glad we’ve got
what we’ve got
we don’t have to choose
we don’t have to stop

[bridge] oh you wish we could never
slow down to hear
the words never said
he’s got a backward feeling
about noise instead

Berlin

the girls like berlin like berlin in the snow
the walls come'a falling
just as she knows
to open up wide
show the side
she’s been meaning to show

just like a candle, like a candle outside
it goes out sometimes
and still shows the light
the light of a life
the light of a child
it’s been meaning to grow

[chorus] just as i’ve known you
you’ve shown me somehow
wearing back the braids
you were kissed like a child
and just as i’ve held you
you hold me somehow
the flow is our right
just let it go now
and just as i feel it
from deep in this lung
i can breath it all clean
the center of you
and the center of me
and the side we don’t see

the girl’s got an arm
she’s got an arm like a frame
she’ll wrap it around you
you’ll never feel the pain
lift it high
scoop it down low
she’s got nothing to show, no

but just like her window
like her window outside
the ball hits sometimes
shatters in the night
shatters the life
oh the life she’s been meaning to grow

Right Kind of Right

do we live without knowing another's heart
do we cry without pride
do we live without freedom

do you wake in the morning
and are you proud of what you see?
let me ask you this
are you proud of me?

can we get past the ugly move into the heart
the heart never means to be broken apart

she moves from a space
it's darker than the night
says she can't seem to find
can't seem to find
the right kind of right

and when i'm lost
will he show me another way to be found
i deserve to be found
i deserve to be found

The Last Song

she’s got nothing to lose but the mind
it’s been a long time coming
and i’ve got no where to hide
no where to go
but to the top
i think i’ve been there before

a bad feeling to fall from the sky
do you pick yourself up and keep going
do you lay back down and scream
take me away from this hell i’ve been living
i think i’ve been there before

and i say why
why does my mind keep racing through time
when the bottom of the line is
i’m gone when he’s gone
and i can’t move
no need to show me now
i think i’ve been there before