​TAKE ME TO THE WATER
Heart of spring
Dances in a robin’s throat
And out from nowhere comes
The sun’s first sudden glow.
Bound to the struggle
Bound to the rhythm and rhyme
And from the hills and valleys
Rise men and towns
​​
Take me to the water
Let the water flow down
Take me to the water
Let it take me where I’m bound
​​
Into the clearing
Strides a buck in stoic grace
And the archer’s arrow flies
Right into place
Before the evening fire
Eyes lock in passionate heat
While the ever changing nature
Of time strikes a beat
​
Take me to the water
Let the water flow down
Take me to the water
Let it take me where I’m bound
Down from the mountain
Float leaves of gold and brown
While the remnants of winter lay scattered
Cross frozen ground
Whispers in the lamplight
Whispers in the wind on high
And in the cold hour of dawn
Comes a new born baby’s cry.
​
Take me to the water
Let the water flow down
Down, down, down
Down, down, down, down!
EMMA MAE
​
There ain't no doctor
That can cure this achin' heart
There ain't no lawyer
Gonna tear these laws apart
Just a pretty blue-eyed girl
Somewhere in the world, it’s up to her.
​
I leave a crowded club
And go walkin along the curb of the street
I go out to the pier
And stand looking out to sea
And as I turn
I see her starin at me
Come slowly, come softly
Emma Mae!
​
Children in rags they search
And through the streets they run
And all around them now
Pours the sound of foreign tongues
But the ringing note we make
Is quite clearly sung
That lonesome beggar finds me
And tells me with a sigh
There's no hope left for us now
And the time is drawing nigh
I look past his face
To the stars up in the sky
​
Come slowly, come softly
Emma Mae!
​
I take the path that climbs the hills
Up, up into the night
And breathless at the top I stand
Peaceful in the night
From here the town
Is but yellow squares of light
​
All the ancient stones and paths
Lay covered in the rain
But the design is everywhere
Every object calls your name
And the beat of the sea
Is like the blood in my veins
​
Come slowly, come softly
Emma Mae!
​
My hand is now outstretched
And it will not go away
My voice has joined the wind
And there it seems to stay
And the ship with white sails
Is waiting in the bay
​
Come slowly, come softly
Emma Mae!
​
DARK MOON
A wind kicks up from nowhere, rattling the panes
Slams all the doors shut, then opens them again
People look around them and they know that something’s up
But they just can’t find the pulse and they feel so out of touch
Hear the people talking, talking about events
They talk around in circles, then they come back again
No one’s ever told them how to exit from this room
But there’s no talking sense up in Quicktown in the light of this dark moon
Dark moon, lost in reddish haze...
Dark moon, affecting all our days...
Better to live your own life by your own device
In a time when the laws of nature are the only that apply
You might get lonely but at least you’re standing in the sun
Just don’t let them kill you by degrees, make them take you all at once
I remember your sweet face the last time that we met
You turned to walk away, then you stood there on the step
We both had words to say but it was happening too soon
And then you disappeared into the light of this dark moon
Dark moon, in my heart you dwell...
Dark moon, when will you break your spell?
In the abandoned chapel lays an open book
The wind blows through the pages as if to take a better look
Babies are crying, men are strategizing war
And the threat of the ages shakes the people right down to their core
The curse of Oppolamayah lingers around like smoke
The more the people hear those words, they know that they’re no joke
And from the firelight they wander in the gloom
With all eyes on the sky in the light of this dark moon
With all eyes on the sky in the light of this dark moon
With all eyes on the sky in the light of this dark moon
​
​
CALIFORNIA BREEZES
​
California breezes
Shake your raven hair
Smile that smile of pleasure
That would be noticed anywhere
She came in over the ranges
She came in over the sea
She got mixed up with moonlight
And some ancient mystery
And in our seaside tower
We dance a dance no dance can be
And I can only watch in wonder
As she walks in the evening breeze
And she turns in a certain fashion
And her eyes burn dark and bright
Her hips twitch just like a kitten’s
And her lips seem so full of life
She says, there’s a storm comin honey
You need to hold me tight
I came in here from nowhere
Even the wind didn’t know my name
I feel flocks of birds sailing
Over a sea of black and gold
Tropical winds a-blowing
Across this planetary soul
Nighttime curtain’s falling
The stars turning blue and cold
Come here and touch me
And make this moment unfold
California breezes
Shake your raven hair
Smile that smile of pleasure
That would be noticed anywhere
​
​
​
MYSTERY
When that mockingbird sings at midnight
The world is like a dream
Nothing's what it used to be
There’s a veil over everything
Reflections on the water
Reflections in my eyes
It seems all these reflections
Are but a thin disguise
No answer to my question
But silence is the key
I will go as I came
Lost in mystery
My best thoughts come at midnight
My mind goes out for miles
It roams the rings of Saturn
And stays here all the while
My past plays like a movie
It's such a ribald tale
The people I have known
I see in fine detail
No answer to my question
But silence is the key
I will go as I came
Lost in mystery
Li li li li li ….
I keep trying to pull that curtain
From that hidden face
I think I catch a glimpse of it
But it keeps falling back in place.
Everywhere there’s a voice
That’s sings in no man’s tongue
Everyone gets to hear it
They just can’t tell anyone.
No answer to my question...
But silence is the key
I will go as I came
Lost in mystery
Li li li li li ....
There’s no way to name
With what I commune
The night is my cathedral
My chalice is the moon
The sky’s a velvet blanket
The stars are silver jewels
And the mockingbird sings his heart out
Are we angels or are we fools?
No answer to my question...
But silence is the key
I will go as I came
Lost in mystery
I will go as I came
Lost in mystery
NO TIME LIKE THIS
There’s something happenin here baby
Come take a look
This breeze blowin through the window
Just shut my book
The neighbor lady’s plantin flowers
There’s mud on her knees
The dog’s runnin circles all through the trees
Sunshine pourin down
Castin patterns of shade
Honey grab your hat
Let’s promenade
Beneath the branches
Of the blowin trees
Let’s just keep them company
And down that road
Where your footsteps flow
You can see all the way to where your heart
Wants to go
And there’s no time like this to make dreams come true
Yes, no time like this to make dreams come true!
Crescent moon arisin
Through that indigo sky
That cow that jumped over
Man how she could fly!
Little kids tellin stories
On the old stone wall
Laughter and whispers
Tell it all
Old man standin straight and tall
Red bird singin
Hear him call
Hear him call, hear him call, hear him call, hear him call
Hear him call, hear him call, hear him call, hear him call
Hear him call!
And down that road
Where your footsteps flow
You can see all the way to where your heart
Wants to go
And there’s no time like this to make dreams come true
Yes, no time like this to make dreams come true!
BOY GOIN HOME
​
When first you came knocking
To my door
Barefoot and smiling
How innocent we were
Love striking two hearts
To start a boy going home
​​
When first you came knocking
To my door
Barefoot and smiling
How innocent we were
Love striking two hearts
To start a boy goin home
​​
Cats in the window
In our house on the hill
From all appearances
All was going well
Except for a certain unpaid debt
Of a boy going home
​​
Lights of the city
Burning busy and bright
Where the eyes of a stranger
Could seem so full of light
Until the dealer flicked the switch
On a boy going home.
​
Drawn to a fire
I fed from dusk to dawn
Little knowing that what I burned
Was the love I lived on.
Such is the darkness of the road sometimes
For a boy going home
​
Now I’m doing solitary
There’s not a soul around
It’s a funny prison though
All the walls are blown down
It takes some time for the world to return
To a boy going home
​​
New moon rising
Eyes growing clear
The feeling that someone I know
Is standing so near
The reflection in the water shows
The boy that came home.
​
​​​
AMERICAN SKY
Red dirt field in muscadine shade
Pretty little girl selling lemonade
You get your brothers and I’ll get mine
And we’ll play ball till whippoorwill time
Crack of the bat and roll of the ball
Can’t you hear your momma call?
Laundry hanging on the line
We might get home by suppertime
Red dirt field
Warm and bright
There, it burns in my memory.
Don’t you know we were growing up?
Don’t you know we were wild and tough?
Don’t you know we were drinking from the cup
Of the American sky?
Bully coming on way too strong
I beat him on the bases all day long
He came at me with fist and foot
I gave to him as good as I got
Blue jay in the persimmon tree
Jody Turner waving at me
Blood running fast in my veins
A thousand dreams running through my brain
Red dirt field
Warm and bright
There, it burns in my memory.
Don’t you know we were growing up?
Don’t you know we were wild and tough?
Don’t you know we were drinking from the cup
Of the American sky?
Scarlet sun hanging low
Rollin river in the afterglow
Fisherman casts in his line
The wind rises softly in the pines
Chorus of calls in the night
Ancient book opened to the light
Moths against my window pane
Tomorrow comes another day
Red dirt field
Warm and bright
There, it burns in my memory.
Don’t you know we were growing up?
Don’t you know we were wild and tough?
Don’t you know we were drinking from the cup
Of the American sky?
​
​
​
​ A MILLION MILES FROM SALVATION
​
You’re playing blackjack in the anteroom with a monkey and a priest
The monkey won’t stop jabberin about how you’re such a beast
Your skin is crawling from the awful thought that the monkey's really where it’s at
Well you’re a million miles from salvation
But two steps away from a tin foil hat
​
There’s ten men in a darkened room deciding all our fates
You’ve given up on everything and now all you do is wait
Every time your teacher calls out to you, you think that it’s a trap
You’re a million miles from salvation
But two steps away from a tin foil hat
​
When the wise man approaches you and tries to tell the truth
You point your pistol to your head and say, “One step closer or I’ll shoot!”
When he stoops to tie your shoelace you run screaming off the map
You’re a million miles from salvation
But two steps away from a tin foil hat
​
Your savior was coming back for you just about any day
But it seems he got distracted somewhere along the way
So you throw the knowledge of the ages on the junkheap and sell it off as scrap
Well you’re a million miles from salvation
But two steps away from a tin foil hat
​
Someone yells there’s a concrete wall just around the bend
And you grab the wheel and hit the gas and scream “Full speed ahead!”
You can’t help but smile and say, “I’m no fool for this conspiracy crap.”
I’m a million miles from salvation
Now will you please hand me that tin foil hat!
​​​​​
WALKIN INTO TOWN
Walked on down the forested hillside through the slowly‑rising silver of early winter haze
Tired trees smothered in some clinging vine, woods littered with plastic jugs, old tires and battered cans
of paint
Reached the border of the new six‑lane expressway and watched my shadow dance along the base of a
thirty foot retaining wall
And crossed high above it all on a catwalk covered with wire‑mesh to keep the people from throwing
rocks on the cars below
With "I love Chrissie" on the wall, along with hearts and swastikas...
With the life‑blood of the city flowing at sixty miles an hour beneath my feet
Toss a prayer to the open skies
Like a magic arrow piercing concrete lies
Into the heart of history's long lonesome cries
And now I’m standing here so revitalized
Overhead, like an arrowhead, a Cooper's hawk folds its wings and disappears into distant country
I pass the cold foundations of demolished homes jutting out of the hillside like old man's rotted, broken teeth
Worn cellar stairs leading nowhere...except maybe the imaginary beds and living rooms of just faded
years
Where the ghosts of conversation, prayers, and oaths, and incantations still linger
Each step like a question mark to which all these ghosts have no reply...
And a dry wind blows across town and scrapes the weeds against the stones
Old Man King, come and see
Pass some judgement, let it be
So these children can finally shake free
From all these wagon loads of destiny
In front of the old corner church a faded poster of paradise beckons all souls to come on in
I nearly slip on a gob of infected spit in front of the x‑rated theatre promising unknown passion and
forbidden sin
Across the oily river the city hums and gleams like some silver-platinum castle in the sun
Where the sun itself is split into ten‑thousand images of hungry, burning tongues of flame
Some guy on the corner says "What you starin' at?" And I say "Never mind, the wizard is gone."
Meanwhile behind curtains of light and shade a hand moves that is really no hand at all...
In this jumble of love and waste
Try and find some sacred place
To hold these myths you've finally traced
Search in every changing face...