Lyrics (listed alphabetically)
A Ghost Whispers
When I sleep a ghost whispers / when I eat a ghost hungers / when I need a ghost wonders / what it’s like to be fed on the past (for a body in the past) / and the dreams that don’t last // When I need a note lingers / it plays across my fingers / the hollow man’s craft // In my hometown I can go under / a vicious spell of wonder / and be thrown asunder / and lose it all with a laugh (for a body in the past) / and the dreams I had that can’t last // Oh tell me how to conquer / the sweetness of longer / when I let go it wanders / free of illusions I cast (for a body in the past) / and the dreams I had that don’t last // When I need a note lingers / oh I play with my fingers / the hollow man’s craft
Baby’s in the Black Gold †
Poor Father Moon / night ain’t long / poor Father Moon / he’ll soon be gone // Poor Father Moon / oh his long sighs / his day’s full of nightmares / when he ain’t in those skies // Mother had a smile / down that coastline / Mother had a smile / but it faded in time // Nature Mother’s smile / down that rivertide / baby’s in the black gold / & money’s in the bribe // Ticky, tacky houses / all in a line / straight as can be / & a crooked waste of time / no regrets for all your debts / well you lost on all your bets / & watched them burn in the sea
Body Like A Bell †
Well my baby's got a body like a bell / well my baby's got a body like a bell / she's so fine, it's ringing all the time // Honey's in the kitchen mixing up a birthday pie / honey's in the kitchen mixing up a birthday pie / I'm at the table, working up an appetite // Time will tell if I'm a sweet farewell / or an angel just waiting to fly / please baby please, feels like I'm lost in the trees / won't you try and ease my mind, my mind // ooo, my babe / ooo, my babe // Well my baby she comes from a northern town / well my baby she comes from a northern town / she plays on the fiddle, Lord I live to hear that sound // Time will tell if I'm a sweet farewell / or an angel just waiting to fly / please baby please, don't ever let me be / won't you drop me a line, a line / my mind, my mind // ooo, my baby / ooo, my baby / ooo, body like a bell / ooo, body like a bell
Cloud Lookin’ In
There’s a cloud lookin’ in on you tonight / so sleep tight little darling inside / there’s a heart that’s broken, gonna sing its lonely song / but it won’t disturb you while you’re warm // There’s a tune that playing between the thickened trees / and it’s waiting just for you to walk by / there’s a love, hoping, to touch your silver hand / and to lose in the blues of your eyes // My heart was captured when we broke / safely tucked away when she spoke/ and all the plans that we made / broke like a careless promenade / and sailed away on their own // Well it’s late by now, and I think we’ll shut it down / the moon’s just a streetlight burning out / seek your love elsewhere, seek your heart elsewhere / 'cause mine’s too taxed to beat or care // Love was sewed by touch, yet worn and frayed too much / and broke through as the cold whispered in / whispered in, like your throat when you caught me unawares / breathe through me if you need to, dear // My heart was captured when we broke / safely tucked away when she spoke / and all the plans that we made / seemed like the very best laid / yet I find myself without a home // Leaving at the end, I’d do it all again / you have to fly pretty high to be this broke / there’s a strange fog of hope that’s brewing here / I guess we’ll see what’s there when this clears
Dirt Triangle †
It's a sandy lot in a great big city / where the thin burgers used to fly / all that's left is a wide foundation / with the highway speeding by // Just a dirt triangle in the heart of a city / with a fast food kind of past / it'll stay that way till a far off day / when a wig lays down the cash // Ain't that the way? guess I don't have much say / I’ve got a few ideas, but just a pocket full of change // It’s a dirt playpen by the old Shell station / where the brick and mortars died / if you close your eyes, try to go on vacation / you can almost hear the tide / the downtown spots where we love to hang around / are disappearing pretty fast / it'll go that way till all the folks say / this town’s worth more than cash // I, I'd build a place, with a great big dance floor space / with windows so wide, it'd be a square dance channel for the highway ride // So come on honey / sign the petition / tell the powerful men / that power’s an addiction / I'm a dirt triangle in the heart of a city / with a punk rock kind of past / and I'll stay that way at the end of the day / I'll be pushing hard till the last // Ain't that the way? / guess I don't have much say / got a few ideas, but just a pocket full of change / if I, oh If I had a way / to get around it babe / the windows would be so wide / you could see us all dancing from outside
Do What You Could
Do what you could, it don’t matter if you should / it don’t matter if you’re gone, it don’t matter if you’re gone / don’t slow down, the sun is moving fast about the town / it’ll set at any stoplight, set at any stoplight, with a crash // ‘Cause if you’re like me, you’re sitting at home / staring at the phone, staring at the drone of silence // Don’t call me, let me sit, let me what it out a bit / maybe it’ll pass, maybe it’ll pass, maybe I’ll last, like the last time you asked // A while ago, I was only so-so, now I’m so bored and oppressed / bored and oppressed, by nothing doing / my advice to you is to just do what you do, I ain’t your problem no more / problem no more, Lord, how I long to be // ‘Cause you’ve got big dreams and mine are done with it seems / why don’t you move on? / 'cause just looking at you is a dry life, on a rainy day / when your friends are outside and you want to go play // Don’t slow down, the sun is moving fast about the town / it’ll set at any stoplight, set at any stoplight, with a crash
Gamble/Drink All My Money
When I was a little boy, taken from my mama / down that dusty road I’d never see again / gamble all my money, drink all my money / give you all my money, just say you’ll love me true // Traveling to the west, my Chevy built for two / it rained like the dickens, the wet kept us blue / gamble all my money, drink all my money / give you all my money, just tell me what to do // And oh, oh I sing these blues, harder than I’ve ever done / if my love, my love ain’t for you, I got money, money for having fun // Schoolyards full of passion when I was passing through ‘em / breaking every bone and heart in sight / gamble all my money, drink all my money / give you all my money, just tell me what to do // Making love was easy, we’re too caught up for teasing / a lot of sleep was lost on us that night / gamble all my money, drink all my money / give you all my money, just let me be with you // And oh, oh I sing these blues, harder than I’ve ever done / if my love, my love ain’t for you, I got money, money for having fun // Embracing sin was easy when you were there to please me / wonder what I’ll do on cold nights now / gamble all my money, drink all my money / give all my money to someone new // And oh, oh I sing these blues, harder than I’ve ever done / if my love, my love ain’t for you, I got money, money for having fun
Gibson Town †
Walking around ol’ Gibson Town / ‘cross that dark Blue Water line, oh / flashes bright as lightening, police in the night / police in the night / oh Lord / oh well // Honey bee, did you see? / they caught a man on Ransom Street / he went out with loaded gun / now eight bullets gone / now eight bullets gone / oh Lord / oh well // Silence fell, deep and wide / and it crept up by my side, oh / you turned and said to me / “What can this darkness be?” / “What can this darkness be?” / oh Lord / oh well // Can a chain of a thousand hands / bear the pain of such a night / a thousand candles burning / to bring back the light / morning in the night / oh Lord, oh well
Hill Walkin’
It was blooming, on the hill, my need to follow you / whispering of a windy day, when I found you all alone / the careless step of a timid boy, into the light I seemed to fall / and you noticed my hand-me-downs and you liked me right away // You said ‘hello, I believe you’re walking to town' / I said ‘yes, I believe, I’ll never find another way to get around,’ // Simple lady, you seem to me, to see right through my coverings / I dress up to walk around into the smoke of a darkened crowd / when first we met you asked me ‘which way do you wish to go / shadowless in a firey sea, or free your soul eternally?’ // I said ‘yes, I believe, I could choose that easily / you tell me where you want to be, and we’ll walk that a-way directly,’ // I was roaming on the hill, while my soul did long to sleep / yet she lives so patiently, my baby in her widowed arms / cities swallow those who stray, and stray I did away from her / my baby in her widowed arms, and no time for a husband gone / my baby in her widowed arms, no time for me I’m dead and gone
Katy Came Breezing †
Katy came breezing in through the screen / Billy said “you're the prettiest thing I've seen, / I've flown this world with a broken wing / and now I've flown, where the dreams may flower / where the sun forgets to count the hour” // “slow down there, slow down my love / catch your tongue before it gets too rough / love proclaimed isn't near enough / to keep it up, against the stormy winds / trying to hold on, to a man of tin” // oh love, when will we be together? // “Have faith my Katy, have faith my bride / I'm flesh and bone with nothing to hide / my love won't turn with the moonlit tide / when we're thrown to jaws of night / I'll be your shelter, I'll be your sight” // “Many a bride hath sung this tune / love's a labor and can lead to ruin / so let's court a while before we jump the broom / on and on, by your side / I'll be yours, as long as you stay mine” // oh love, when will we be together?
Last Song of the Night
Oh sing it Michelle, make it a lullaby / then we’ll go to bed or drink or get high / the dark has crept in on our joy’s light / and we’ll all quiet down for the last song of the night // We’ll go up to Rokeby where the mountains are high / we’ll swim in the Hudson and eat birthday pie / but there’s thing I’m waiting for when the ghostly hours sigh / that one banjo playing the last song of the night // We’ll plant the three sisters, ‘neath that firey eye / and I hope to see some corn, come harvesting time / we’ll square dance in gravel, we’ll drink till we lie / but even a drunkard quiets down for the last song of the night // I’ll walk down with a pretty girl, she’ll be pretty for sometime / but when all that’s faded we’ll still have tonight / the band’s getting tired, they’ve been playing real fine / then quietly we request the last song of the line // Her hands are small but better than mine / she plays on her banjo as if saying goodbye / the years have scattered my friends / yet they sit close by, we sit as we once did / for the last song of the night // The dark has crept in on our joy’s light / and we’ll all quiet down, for the last song of the night
Long, Lost Bird
Oh where is my long lost bird / who roamed to meet the morning / the sun has risen and lost its song / and the day takes what it’s given // Well take a walk, to meet the dew / to greet the life there that’s warming / but without a song a sweeten your ear / it’s the loss of your heart you’ll be mourning // Want to be one part good, and one part cruel / and two parts out on the town / most all of me baby, most all of me honey / wants you around
Love of the City †
For the love of the city, I live in the city / for the love of you I’d go anywhere / living out of suitcases, hotels and bars / scratching out a living following the stars / my love, it’s a pity you’re traveling your scars / my love, your silence can travel so far // For the love of the dawn, I live in the dawn / if you’d take me on, I’d fall through the night / wandering a world that’s as dark as a stone / catching my rays from the streetlight’s hum / my love, here’s a song to send you on your way / my love, something pretty, just to break up your day // Oh, leave me in the middle / somewhere in between / joy and sorrow / my fortune received // From forced love to false love / to convenient pairings / on sidewalks caked in moon dust and smoke-filled cat-callings / my blue jeans are new, but my memories are torn / between finding the truth or just letting the years alone / my love, here’s a song you can burn / my love, another pretty thing you can spurn // Oh, leave me in the middle / somewhere in between / joy and sorrow / my fortune received
Marry Me
Oh Mary please, marry me tomorrow / let me in, let me follow / oh Mary please / let me in, let me follow you / marry me, my love // Oh Mary please, forgive me your sorrow / join with me, join me tomorrow / oh Mary please / join with me, join me tomorrow / marry me, my love // Oh Mary please, I spoke with your mother / your father’s last wish was for you to be with no other / oh Mary please / your father’s last wish was for you to be with no other / marry me, my love // Oh Mary please, I dream of you each and every night / there are children and I love you right / oh Mary please / there are children and I love you right / marry me, my love
Muddy Shore
Going down to the muddy shore / equipt with bloody money / going to make a deal down there / so don’t come near there honey // My rival I do aim to kill / 'been making eyes at you dear / my rival I do aim to kill / 'cause you’re all I have in this world // Steer clear of that damn shore / please dear it’ll break your mind / to find what you will find // The killer lives in a cold wood shack / and drinks away his money / I’ve been saving for two years / to have a little baby with you // I whisper to you in your sleep / may the Lord forgive me / I know it’s better this a-way / so we can be happy // Steer clear of that damn shore / please dear it’ll break your mind / to find what you will find
Oh Come to Town
Oh come to town and listen to our show / there’s plenty of stories that we sing soft and low / we’ll take you back to long before radio / so come on down and listen to our show // We got traveling tales and broken hearts too / murderous sales and drinking in the summer dew / we got lullabies and songs to marry you / so come on down and say “how do you do?” // Way over yonder in this weird century / everything we do is done digitally / buck that trend a little, my friend / 'cause I know of a show a little up the bend / they got real fine pickers and a lot of good beer // Oh come to town and listen to our show / there’s plenty of stories that we sing soft and low / we’ll take you back to long before radio / so come on down and listen to our show // Oh come on now, quit talking to yourself / heck we don’t even mind if’n you talk to somebody else / your trophy wife is sick of sitting on the shelf / so bring her down, it’ll be good for her health // Way over yonder in the minor key, all my friends sing so sweetly / come on up, you can a bow, ‘cause all my friends, they’re your friends now / we’re all friends somehow // Oh come to town and listen to our show / there’s plenty of stories that we sing soft and low / we’ll take you back to long before radio / so come on down and listen to our show
Queen Of The West & other stories †
Josie’s on the buffalo plains / fell in love with taking his day in his hands / you know he couldn’t stay, he’s a roaming man / in this town no more / with a world class tangle of under beard / coffee brown eyes and a practiced sneer / he’ll hug you tight if you get too near / he’s a good old friend of mine // He’s a good old friend of mine / he left his life a little at a time / he’s a good old friend of mine // Donald had some wild years / whiskey in his eyes, tears in his beers / woke up one day, looked in the mirror / to the stare of a stranger man / with a steady hand & a shaky voice / gave up drinking said he didn’t have a choice / got married in a barn, had a couple of boys / he’s a good old friend of mine // He’s a good old friend of mine / he built his life one board at a time / he’s a good old friend of mine // Annie probably knew I’d break her heart / I was sincere and crazy right from the start / we were thick & thin, & then drifted apart / hanging up the telephone line / she’s got a laugh that hits you right in your chest / she’s a spring born baby, a Queen of the West / we’ve been through hell & you know the rest / she’s a good old friend of mine // She’s a good old friend of mine / we spent a couple years lost in the pines / she’s a good old friend of mine // Oh & when it changes / in the middle of the night / your friends have not left you / they’ve just taken flight
Somewhere Between Montana & Michigan
She has beautiful handwriting / I long for her tattoos in the afternoon / but never to disappoint, only to fill my arms / with fairies and words and a kiss or a few // Now the dogged days and crooked books / keep me in the cabin and I’m wasting away / but finding a friend, in boredom’s brawl / in the evening, in the evening, we’ll fly away // Silent night, imagining the flight / of a small house and summer plans / we’ll go far, with two women, us three / one for the memories and the other for laughs // Now you’ve got to push, the covers back / sleep away all day, all day in the black / and with a coarse word, and a quick wink / we’ll file away the long faces / Silent night, imagining the flight / of a small house and summer plans / we’ll go far, with two women, us three / one for the memories and the other for laughs
Stone Song †
When I was but a little lad / 'bout ten or 12, says my dad / I’d make my way out to the graves / to the spirits in the grassy waves // & I leaned into the wind’s embrace / & I knew that my race was nearly run / I had to be going along // But now that I’m a man / I find my way out there again / a little stone song will set you free / little stone song sung for thee // When you’re locked in for release / crying to the Lord, please / a little stone song’s / all I need / oh, take me, take me // Mrs. Birch was a mean old gal / of regrets she had a pile / she sang to God on bended knee / he took her babies one, two, three // She was washing up when the shadows cast / & her furrowed brow bent its last / crooked look / & the stones they shook // Now she keeps some strange furnishings / the soot of undergrounded things / & sings her stone song gently / & coos her babies, one, two, three // & she spins her memories / her hands together she pleads / a little stone song’s all around / oh, I’m lost / I thought I was found / oh, take me, take me / please
Stupid Things at Night
I say stupid things at night / they make me feel alright / and in the morning everything has changed / we’ll never be the same / there’s solace in the fact, that I can withstand your attack / and by the afternoon you’ve forgotten everything // Oh I’m soured by your silence / you don’t explain / and I’ll frown with slow violence / at the expressions you feign / my voice will give in, my songs you will sing / and torture me with compliments // Oh I’ll roll and I’ll roll / through the mountains and your bed / and I’ll sing till I bleed / Lord, and I’ll sing till I’m dead / it’s a hopeless thought of life / that keeps me intrigued / I’ll follow the night, till she needs me // Oh our house sits crooked / our bodies break some laws / 'cause you were so good looking / I couldn’t wait too long / to sing to you, you said my voice was a gift / singing Chelsea Hotel / Go back to the beginning / how memory is a fog / people are just mountains / the forest just full of logs / and what of the truth / it’s different for each of you / and darling we’re a case in point // Oh I’ll roll and I’ll roll / though the words you said / I’ll sing till I bleed / Lord and I’ll sing till I’m dead / there ain’t no answers here / except the ones we missed / there ain’t no lies floating around, baby / except this
Sweet on You
Eating strawberries in an old canoe / there were fresh smelling flowers / but I was sweet on you / well you knew, I was sweet on you // My best friend, my family too / they all told me, I was sweet on you / they all knew, I was sweet on you // Got a pain in my side, dear / the other side too / a failing into my knees, from running after you / well you knew, I was sweet on you // You outrun me by a mile, dear / you outrun me by two / your sister told me yesterday / she said we were through / guess I’ll go visit someone else, forget about you // All the fine, rich chocolates, red candy canes too / in the whole, wide world dear, I’m with someone new / 'cause I’m sweet on some pretty blue eyes / and she’s sweet on me too // She outruns me by a mile, dear / she outruns me by two / then she sits and waits for me / to catch up too / that’s what love is baby, someone who’ll wait for you
The Road is my Skyway †
I’m gonna take my truck and pack it up / write you a letter from time to time/ gonna carry all those secrets I got / across the state line // Grass seed is caught in the wind / billboards are searching for my eyes / it ain’t very hard to see / it’s a waste of time // The road is my skyway / falling up where I lay / the road is my skyway / falling up, falling up, falling up / where I lay // A metal, busted hand / a claw to call out and cry / I am what I am / are you surprised? // Sweep me now, sweep me up / nickel and dime me into your tea cup / have the road greet me / like a little pup // The road is my skyway / falling up where I lay / the road is my skyway / falling up, falling up, falling up / where I lay
The Windmill #
These dark days I wear a blank disguise / but it all still hurts like hell / With all the rain and tears I've cried / it's no trouble to fill up the well // But what's the use in an old broken windmill / that no longer frees water from the ground / I feel everything / but no longer sing / even when the wind comes around // My glory days are somewhere framed / in a black and white photograph? / there are fragments of me / buried so deeply / and the seasons sing my epitaph // So what good is an old faded photograph / our lives framed in shadows and lines / I can't break through the frame to you / even with my hot hands on the glass // I feel everything, but no longer sing / even when the wind comes around // I have loved a string of scattered things / odds and ends that won't reform / around the yard lie broken wings / of a wheel that just helps me mourn
All songs © Michael Beauchamp/Michael Beauchamp-Cohen,
except (†) written by Michael Beauchamp and Laurel Premo,
and (#) written by Michael Beauchamp-Cohen and Brian Koenigsknecht
All rights reserved for the above works.
When I sleep a ghost whispers / when I eat a ghost hungers / when I need a ghost wonders / what it’s like to be fed on the past (for a body in the past) / and the dreams that don’t last // When I need a note lingers / it plays across my fingers / the hollow man’s craft // In my hometown I can go under / a vicious spell of wonder / and be thrown asunder / and lose it all with a laugh (for a body in the past) / and the dreams I had that can’t last // Oh tell me how to conquer / the sweetness of longer / when I let go it wanders / free of illusions I cast (for a body in the past) / and the dreams I had that don’t last // When I need a note lingers / oh I play with my fingers / the hollow man’s craft
Baby’s in the Black Gold †
Poor Father Moon / night ain’t long / poor Father Moon / he’ll soon be gone // Poor Father Moon / oh his long sighs / his day’s full of nightmares / when he ain’t in those skies // Mother had a smile / down that coastline / Mother had a smile / but it faded in time // Nature Mother’s smile / down that rivertide / baby’s in the black gold / & money’s in the bribe // Ticky, tacky houses / all in a line / straight as can be / & a crooked waste of time / no regrets for all your debts / well you lost on all your bets / & watched them burn in the sea
Body Like A Bell †
Well my baby's got a body like a bell / well my baby's got a body like a bell / she's so fine, it's ringing all the time // Honey's in the kitchen mixing up a birthday pie / honey's in the kitchen mixing up a birthday pie / I'm at the table, working up an appetite // Time will tell if I'm a sweet farewell / or an angel just waiting to fly / please baby please, feels like I'm lost in the trees / won't you try and ease my mind, my mind // ooo, my babe / ooo, my babe // Well my baby she comes from a northern town / well my baby she comes from a northern town / she plays on the fiddle, Lord I live to hear that sound // Time will tell if I'm a sweet farewell / or an angel just waiting to fly / please baby please, don't ever let me be / won't you drop me a line, a line / my mind, my mind // ooo, my baby / ooo, my baby / ooo, body like a bell / ooo, body like a bell
Cloud Lookin’ In
There’s a cloud lookin’ in on you tonight / so sleep tight little darling inside / there’s a heart that’s broken, gonna sing its lonely song / but it won’t disturb you while you’re warm // There’s a tune that playing between the thickened trees / and it’s waiting just for you to walk by / there’s a love, hoping, to touch your silver hand / and to lose in the blues of your eyes // My heart was captured when we broke / safely tucked away when she spoke/ and all the plans that we made / broke like a careless promenade / and sailed away on their own // Well it’s late by now, and I think we’ll shut it down / the moon’s just a streetlight burning out / seek your love elsewhere, seek your heart elsewhere / 'cause mine’s too taxed to beat or care // Love was sewed by touch, yet worn and frayed too much / and broke through as the cold whispered in / whispered in, like your throat when you caught me unawares / breathe through me if you need to, dear // My heart was captured when we broke / safely tucked away when she spoke / and all the plans that we made / seemed like the very best laid / yet I find myself without a home // Leaving at the end, I’d do it all again / you have to fly pretty high to be this broke / there’s a strange fog of hope that’s brewing here / I guess we’ll see what’s there when this clears
Dirt Triangle †
It's a sandy lot in a great big city / where the thin burgers used to fly / all that's left is a wide foundation / with the highway speeding by // Just a dirt triangle in the heart of a city / with a fast food kind of past / it'll stay that way till a far off day / when a wig lays down the cash // Ain't that the way? guess I don't have much say / I’ve got a few ideas, but just a pocket full of change // It’s a dirt playpen by the old Shell station / where the brick and mortars died / if you close your eyes, try to go on vacation / you can almost hear the tide / the downtown spots where we love to hang around / are disappearing pretty fast / it'll go that way till all the folks say / this town’s worth more than cash // I, I'd build a place, with a great big dance floor space / with windows so wide, it'd be a square dance channel for the highway ride // So come on honey / sign the petition / tell the powerful men / that power’s an addiction / I'm a dirt triangle in the heart of a city / with a punk rock kind of past / and I'll stay that way at the end of the day / I'll be pushing hard till the last // Ain't that the way? / guess I don't have much say / got a few ideas, but just a pocket full of change / if I, oh If I had a way / to get around it babe / the windows would be so wide / you could see us all dancing from outside
Do What You Could
Do what you could, it don’t matter if you should / it don’t matter if you’re gone, it don’t matter if you’re gone / don’t slow down, the sun is moving fast about the town / it’ll set at any stoplight, set at any stoplight, with a crash // ‘Cause if you’re like me, you’re sitting at home / staring at the phone, staring at the drone of silence // Don’t call me, let me sit, let me what it out a bit / maybe it’ll pass, maybe it’ll pass, maybe I’ll last, like the last time you asked // A while ago, I was only so-so, now I’m so bored and oppressed / bored and oppressed, by nothing doing / my advice to you is to just do what you do, I ain’t your problem no more / problem no more, Lord, how I long to be // ‘Cause you’ve got big dreams and mine are done with it seems / why don’t you move on? / 'cause just looking at you is a dry life, on a rainy day / when your friends are outside and you want to go play // Don’t slow down, the sun is moving fast about the town / it’ll set at any stoplight, set at any stoplight, with a crash
Gamble/Drink All My Money
When I was a little boy, taken from my mama / down that dusty road I’d never see again / gamble all my money, drink all my money / give you all my money, just say you’ll love me true // Traveling to the west, my Chevy built for two / it rained like the dickens, the wet kept us blue / gamble all my money, drink all my money / give you all my money, just tell me what to do // And oh, oh I sing these blues, harder than I’ve ever done / if my love, my love ain’t for you, I got money, money for having fun // Schoolyards full of passion when I was passing through ‘em / breaking every bone and heart in sight / gamble all my money, drink all my money / give you all my money, just tell me what to do // Making love was easy, we’re too caught up for teasing / a lot of sleep was lost on us that night / gamble all my money, drink all my money / give you all my money, just let me be with you // And oh, oh I sing these blues, harder than I’ve ever done / if my love, my love ain’t for you, I got money, money for having fun // Embracing sin was easy when you were there to please me / wonder what I’ll do on cold nights now / gamble all my money, drink all my money / give all my money to someone new // And oh, oh I sing these blues, harder than I’ve ever done / if my love, my love ain’t for you, I got money, money for having fun
Gibson Town †
Walking around ol’ Gibson Town / ‘cross that dark Blue Water line, oh / flashes bright as lightening, police in the night / police in the night / oh Lord / oh well // Honey bee, did you see? / they caught a man on Ransom Street / he went out with loaded gun / now eight bullets gone / now eight bullets gone / oh Lord / oh well // Silence fell, deep and wide / and it crept up by my side, oh / you turned and said to me / “What can this darkness be?” / “What can this darkness be?” / oh Lord / oh well // Can a chain of a thousand hands / bear the pain of such a night / a thousand candles burning / to bring back the light / morning in the night / oh Lord, oh well
Hill Walkin’
It was blooming, on the hill, my need to follow you / whispering of a windy day, when I found you all alone / the careless step of a timid boy, into the light I seemed to fall / and you noticed my hand-me-downs and you liked me right away // You said ‘hello, I believe you’re walking to town' / I said ‘yes, I believe, I’ll never find another way to get around,’ // Simple lady, you seem to me, to see right through my coverings / I dress up to walk around into the smoke of a darkened crowd / when first we met you asked me ‘which way do you wish to go / shadowless in a firey sea, or free your soul eternally?’ // I said ‘yes, I believe, I could choose that easily / you tell me where you want to be, and we’ll walk that a-way directly,’ // I was roaming on the hill, while my soul did long to sleep / yet she lives so patiently, my baby in her widowed arms / cities swallow those who stray, and stray I did away from her / my baby in her widowed arms, and no time for a husband gone / my baby in her widowed arms, no time for me I’m dead and gone
Katy Came Breezing †
Katy came breezing in through the screen / Billy said “you're the prettiest thing I've seen, / I've flown this world with a broken wing / and now I've flown, where the dreams may flower / where the sun forgets to count the hour” // “slow down there, slow down my love / catch your tongue before it gets too rough / love proclaimed isn't near enough / to keep it up, against the stormy winds / trying to hold on, to a man of tin” // oh love, when will we be together? // “Have faith my Katy, have faith my bride / I'm flesh and bone with nothing to hide / my love won't turn with the moonlit tide / when we're thrown to jaws of night / I'll be your shelter, I'll be your sight” // “Many a bride hath sung this tune / love's a labor and can lead to ruin / so let's court a while before we jump the broom / on and on, by your side / I'll be yours, as long as you stay mine” // oh love, when will we be together?
Last Song of the Night
Oh sing it Michelle, make it a lullaby / then we’ll go to bed or drink or get high / the dark has crept in on our joy’s light / and we’ll all quiet down for the last song of the night // We’ll go up to Rokeby where the mountains are high / we’ll swim in the Hudson and eat birthday pie / but there’s thing I’m waiting for when the ghostly hours sigh / that one banjo playing the last song of the night // We’ll plant the three sisters, ‘neath that firey eye / and I hope to see some corn, come harvesting time / we’ll square dance in gravel, we’ll drink till we lie / but even a drunkard quiets down for the last song of the night // I’ll walk down with a pretty girl, she’ll be pretty for sometime / but when all that’s faded we’ll still have tonight / the band’s getting tired, they’ve been playing real fine / then quietly we request the last song of the line // Her hands are small but better than mine / she plays on her banjo as if saying goodbye / the years have scattered my friends / yet they sit close by, we sit as we once did / for the last song of the night // The dark has crept in on our joy’s light / and we’ll all quiet down, for the last song of the night
Long, Lost Bird
Oh where is my long lost bird / who roamed to meet the morning / the sun has risen and lost its song / and the day takes what it’s given // Well take a walk, to meet the dew / to greet the life there that’s warming / but without a song a sweeten your ear / it’s the loss of your heart you’ll be mourning // Want to be one part good, and one part cruel / and two parts out on the town / most all of me baby, most all of me honey / wants you around
Love of the City †
For the love of the city, I live in the city / for the love of you I’d go anywhere / living out of suitcases, hotels and bars / scratching out a living following the stars / my love, it’s a pity you’re traveling your scars / my love, your silence can travel so far // For the love of the dawn, I live in the dawn / if you’d take me on, I’d fall through the night / wandering a world that’s as dark as a stone / catching my rays from the streetlight’s hum / my love, here’s a song to send you on your way / my love, something pretty, just to break up your day // Oh, leave me in the middle / somewhere in between / joy and sorrow / my fortune received // From forced love to false love / to convenient pairings / on sidewalks caked in moon dust and smoke-filled cat-callings / my blue jeans are new, but my memories are torn / between finding the truth or just letting the years alone / my love, here’s a song you can burn / my love, another pretty thing you can spurn // Oh, leave me in the middle / somewhere in between / joy and sorrow / my fortune received
Marry Me
Oh Mary please, marry me tomorrow / let me in, let me follow / oh Mary please / let me in, let me follow you / marry me, my love // Oh Mary please, forgive me your sorrow / join with me, join me tomorrow / oh Mary please / join with me, join me tomorrow / marry me, my love // Oh Mary please, I spoke with your mother / your father’s last wish was for you to be with no other / oh Mary please / your father’s last wish was for you to be with no other / marry me, my love // Oh Mary please, I dream of you each and every night / there are children and I love you right / oh Mary please / there are children and I love you right / marry me, my love
Muddy Shore
Going down to the muddy shore / equipt with bloody money / going to make a deal down there / so don’t come near there honey // My rival I do aim to kill / 'been making eyes at you dear / my rival I do aim to kill / 'cause you’re all I have in this world // Steer clear of that damn shore / please dear it’ll break your mind / to find what you will find // The killer lives in a cold wood shack / and drinks away his money / I’ve been saving for two years / to have a little baby with you // I whisper to you in your sleep / may the Lord forgive me / I know it’s better this a-way / so we can be happy // Steer clear of that damn shore / please dear it’ll break your mind / to find what you will find
Oh Come to Town
Oh come to town and listen to our show / there’s plenty of stories that we sing soft and low / we’ll take you back to long before radio / so come on down and listen to our show // We got traveling tales and broken hearts too / murderous sales and drinking in the summer dew / we got lullabies and songs to marry you / so come on down and say “how do you do?” // Way over yonder in this weird century / everything we do is done digitally / buck that trend a little, my friend / 'cause I know of a show a little up the bend / they got real fine pickers and a lot of good beer // Oh come to town and listen to our show / there’s plenty of stories that we sing soft and low / we’ll take you back to long before radio / so come on down and listen to our show // Oh come on now, quit talking to yourself / heck we don’t even mind if’n you talk to somebody else / your trophy wife is sick of sitting on the shelf / so bring her down, it’ll be good for her health // Way over yonder in the minor key, all my friends sing so sweetly / come on up, you can a bow, ‘cause all my friends, they’re your friends now / we’re all friends somehow // Oh come to town and listen to our show / there’s plenty of stories that we sing soft and low / we’ll take you back to long before radio / so come on down and listen to our show
Queen Of The West & other stories †
Josie’s on the buffalo plains / fell in love with taking his day in his hands / you know he couldn’t stay, he’s a roaming man / in this town no more / with a world class tangle of under beard / coffee brown eyes and a practiced sneer / he’ll hug you tight if you get too near / he’s a good old friend of mine // He’s a good old friend of mine / he left his life a little at a time / he’s a good old friend of mine // Donald had some wild years / whiskey in his eyes, tears in his beers / woke up one day, looked in the mirror / to the stare of a stranger man / with a steady hand & a shaky voice / gave up drinking said he didn’t have a choice / got married in a barn, had a couple of boys / he’s a good old friend of mine // He’s a good old friend of mine / he built his life one board at a time / he’s a good old friend of mine // Annie probably knew I’d break her heart / I was sincere and crazy right from the start / we were thick & thin, & then drifted apart / hanging up the telephone line / she’s got a laugh that hits you right in your chest / she’s a spring born baby, a Queen of the West / we’ve been through hell & you know the rest / she’s a good old friend of mine // She’s a good old friend of mine / we spent a couple years lost in the pines / she’s a good old friend of mine // Oh & when it changes / in the middle of the night / your friends have not left you / they’ve just taken flight
Somewhere Between Montana & Michigan
She has beautiful handwriting / I long for her tattoos in the afternoon / but never to disappoint, only to fill my arms / with fairies and words and a kiss or a few // Now the dogged days and crooked books / keep me in the cabin and I’m wasting away / but finding a friend, in boredom’s brawl / in the evening, in the evening, we’ll fly away // Silent night, imagining the flight / of a small house and summer plans / we’ll go far, with two women, us three / one for the memories and the other for laughs // Now you’ve got to push, the covers back / sleep away all day, all day in the black / and with a coarse word, and a quick wink / we’ll file away the long faces / Silent night, imagining the flight / of a small house and summer plans / we’ll go far, with two women, us three / one for the memories and the other for laughs
Stone Song †
When I was but a little lad / 'bout ten or 12, says my dad / I’d make my way out to the graves / to the spirits in the grassy waves // & I leaned into the wind’s embrace / & I knew that my race was nearly run / I had to be going along // But now that I’m a man / I find my way out there again / a little stone song will set you free / little stone song sung for thee // When you’re locked in for release / crying to the Lord, please / a little stone song’s / all I need / oh, take me, take me // Mrs. Birch was a mean old gal / of regrets she had a pile / she sang to God on bended knee / he took her babies one, two, three // She was washing up when the shadows cast / & her furrowed brow bent its last / crooked look / & the stones they shook // Now she keeps some strange furnishings / the soot of undergrounded things / & sings her stone song gently / & coos her babies, one, two, three // & she spins her memories / her hands together she pleads / a little stone song’s all around / oh, I’m lost / I thought I was found / oh, take me, take me / please
Stupid Things at Night
I say stupid things at night / they make me feel alright / and in the morning everything has changed / we’ll never be the same / there’s solace in the fact, that I can withstand your attack / and by the afternoon you’ve forgotten everything // Oh I’m soured by your silence / you don’t explain / and I’ll frown with slow violence / at the expressions you feign / my voice will give in, my songs you will sing / and torture me with compliments // Oh I’ll roll and I’ll roll / through the mountains and your bed / and I’ll sing till I bleed / Lord, and I’ll sing till I’m dead / it’s a hopeless thought of life / that keeps me intrigued / I’ll follow the night, till she needs me // Oh our house sits crooked / our bodies break some laws / 'cause you were so good looking / I couldn’t wait too long / to sing to you, you said my voice was a gift / singing Chelsea Hotel / Go back to the beginning / how memory is a fog / people are just mountains / the forest just full of logs / and what of the truth / it’s different for each of you / and darling we’re a case in point // Oh I’ll roll and I’ll roll / though the words you said / I’ll sing till I bleed / Lord and I’ll sing till I’m dead / there ain’t no answers here / except the ones we missed / there ain’t no lies floating around, baby / except this
Sweet on You
Eating strawberries in an old canoe / there were fresh smelling flowers / but I was sweet on you / well you knew, I was sweet on you // My best friend, my family too / they all told me, I was sweet on you / they all knew, I was sweet on you // Got a pain in my side, dear / the other side too / a failing into my knees, from running after you / well you knew, I was sweet on you // You outrun me by a mile, dear / you outrun me by two / your sister told me yesterday / she said we were through / guess I’ll go visit someone else, forget about you // All the fine, rich chocolates, red candy canes too / in the whole, wide world dear, I’m with someone new / 'cause I’m sweet on some pretty blue eyes / and she’s sweet on me too // She outruns me by a mile, dear / she outruns me by two / then she sits and waits for me / to catch up too / that’s what love is baby, someone who’ll wait for you
The Road is my Skyway †
I’m gonna take my truck and pack it up / write you a letter from time to time/ gonna carry all those secrets I got / across the state line // Grass seed is caught in the wind / billboards are searching for my eyes / it ain’t very hard to see / it’s a waste of time // The road is my skyway / falling up where I lay / the road is my skyway / falling up, falling up, falling up / where I lay // A metal, busted hand / a claw to call out and cry / I am what I am / are you surprised? // Sweep me now, sweep me up / nickel and dime me into your tea cup / have the road greet me / like a little pup // The road is my skyway / falling up where I lay / the road is my skyway / falling up, falling up, falling up / where I lay
The Windmill #
These dark days I wear a blank disguise / but it all still hurts like hell / With all the rain and tears I've cried / it's no trouble to fill up the well // But what's the use in an old broken windmill / that no longer frees water from the ground / I feel everything / but no longer sing / even when the wind comes around // My glory days are somewhere framed / in a black and white photograph? / there are fragments of me / buried so deeply / and the seasons sing my epitaph // So what good is an old faded photograph / our lives framed in shadows and lines / I can't break through the frame to you / even with my hot hands on the glass // I feel everything, but no longer sing / even when the wind comes around // I have loved a string of scattered things / odds and ends that won't reform / around the yard lie broken wings / of a wheel that just helps me mourn
All songs © Michael Beauchamp/Michael Beauchamp-Cohen,
except (†) written by Michael Beauchamp and Laurel Premo,
and (#) written by Michael Beauchamp-Cohen and Brian Koenigsknecht
All rights reserved for the above works.
