John Denver

[fox69]

"Polka Dots And Moonbeams"

"Polka Dots And Moonbeams"


A country dance was being held in a garden. I felt a bump and heard an "Oh, beg you pardon."
Suddenly I saw polka dots and moonbeams all around a pug-nosed dream.
The music started and was I the perplexed one.
I held my breath and said "May I have the next one?"
In my frightened arms, polka dots and moonbeams sparkled on a pug-nosed dream.

There were questions in the eyes of other dancers as we floated over the floor.
There were questions but my heart knew all the answers and perhaps a few things more.
Now in a cottage made of lilacs and laughter, I know the meaning of the words "ever after."
And I'll always see polka dots and moonbeams when I kiss my pug-nosed dream.

There were questions in the eyes of other dancers as we floated over the floor.
There were questions but my heart knew all the answers and perhaps a few things more.
Now in a cottage made of lilacs and laughter, I know the meaning of the words "ever after."
And I'll always see polka dots and moonbeams when I kiss my pug-nosed dream,
when I kiss my pug-nosed dream.

 

[fox69]

"Ponies"

"Ponies"


Somewhere out on the prairie is the greatest cowboy that's ever been.
And when he lays his hands upon the ponies, they shudder with an understanding skin.
And he says ponies, now ponies, don't you worry. I have not come to steal your fire away.
I want to fly with you across the heavens and discover what begins each shining day.

When the storm clouds in the west are quickly gathering,
The ponies they run wild there before it rains.
You'll see their sleek dark bodies brightly gleaming,
you know the fire is flying through their brains.
And he says ponies, now ponies, don't you worry. I have not come to steal your fire away.
I want to fly with you across the heavens and discover what begins each shining day.

And he says ponies, now ponies, don't you worry. I have not come to steal your fire away.
I want to fly with you across the heavens and discover what begins each shining day.
I want to fly.

 

[fox69]

"Postcard From Paris"

"Postcard From Paris"


Dear friend of mine, the weather's fine. Today I saw some ruins of the Roman world's decline.
And I climbed all those Spanish steps, you've heard of them, no doubt.
But Rome has lost its glory, I don't know what it's about.
I wish you were here (when the shadows fall and all the rushing traffic stills).
I wish you were here (And the bells are ringing on the seven hills).

I make my way to a small caf©, I wonder what you did today.
Wish you were here, dear one at home, I just flew in from Rome.
And Paris is a postcard, all decked out in color chrome.
And so I climbed the Eiffel Tower and prayed at Notre Dame,
but I just can't find the romance and I wonder why I came.
I wish you were here (On the Champs Elysees, lovers walking hand in hand).
I wish you were here (They take one look at me and seem to understand).

This city of light is a lovely sight, the first bright star I see tonight.
Wish you were here, now I write this from the plane, drinking cheap champagne.
Wondering why two people got so far apart.
I wish you were here (Here in London where the rain is pouring down).
I wish you were here (On this airplane headed back to New York town).
I'll never leave you alone again, I'm coming home, but until then,
Wish you were here, wish you were here, wish you were here.

 

[fox69]

"Potter's Wheel"

"Potter's Wheel"


The world is fast becoming younger, the news is all they've ever known.
They've seen the wars, the hurt, the hunger, how will they choose when they are grown.
What do you tell forever's children when it's their turn to hurt and heal?
Whatever spins a grim tornado can also turn a potter's wheel.

Take a little clay, put it on a wheel, get a little hint how God must feel.
Give a little turn, listen to it spin, make it into the shape you want it in.

Tell with your life the bloody story, teach to they're dreams not burning steel.
It's not in bombs where lies the glory but in what's shattered on the field.
The potter's wheel takes love and caring, skill and patience fast and slow.
The works it makes are easily broken once they survive the potter's throw

Take a little clay, put it on a wheel, get a little hint how God must feel.
Give a little turn, listen to it spin, make it into the shape you want it in.

Some day some children will be digging in some long forgotten ground
and they'll find our civilization or what's left of it to be found.
They'll find the weapons of destruction, but buried deeper in the hole,
they'll find a message and a promise in the sand, the potter's bowl.

Take a little clay, put it on a wheel, get a little hint how God must feel.
Give a little turn, listen to it spin, make it into the shape you want it in.
Earth and water and wind conspire with human hands, and love, and fire.

 

[fox69]

"Prisoners"

"Prisoners"


Josie works the counter at the downtown five and dime, anything at all to help her pass the time.
Her mama keeps the baby and grandpa rambles on about the good times playing in his mind.
It's a hard life living when you're lonely, it's a long night sleeping alone.
It's a hard time waiting for tomorrow, it's a long, long way home.

Josie spends the evening with the people in the pages of the paperback she picked up at the store.
Or sometimes it's the TV, or she'll try to write a letter, oh, they don't come too often anymore.
It's a hard life living when you're lonely, it's a long night sleeping alone.
It's a hard time waiting for tomorrow, it's a long, long way home.

I stare at the gray walls before me, I see her face in the stone.
I try to imagine our baby, I wish they would let me go home. I wish they would let me go home.
(I wish they would let me go home) It's a hard life living when you're lonely,
(I wish they would let me go home) It's a long night sleeping alone.
(I wish they would let me go home) It's a hard time waiting for tomorrow,
(I wish they would let me go home) It's a long, long way home.
(I wish they would let me go home) It's a long, long way home.
(I wish they would let me go home) Bringing me and the other boys home,
(I wish they would let me go home) Bringing me and the other boys home.

 

[fox69]

"Raven's Child"

"Raven's Child"


Raven's child is chasing salvation, black beak turned white from the crack and the snow.
On the streets of despair the answer is simple, a spoonful of mercy can set free the soul.
The drug king sits on his arrogant throne, away and above and apart.
Even children are twisted to serve him and greed has corrupted what once was a heart.

Raven's child keeps vigil for freedom, trades for the arms that once made her strong.
With nuclear warheads and lasers in heaven, fear does the choosing between right and wrong.
The arms king sits on his arrogant throne, away and above and apart.
Bankers assure him that he needn't care and greed makes a stone of what once was a heart.

Raven's child is washing the water, all of her wing-feathers blackened with tar.
Prince William shoreline's an unwanted highway of asphalt and anger an elegant scar.
The oil king sits on his arrogant throne, away and above and apart.
Lawyers have warned him he mustn't speak and greed has made silent what once was a heart.
You know there are walls that come tumbling down for people who yearn to be free.
Still there are hearts that long to be opened and eyes that are longing to see.

Raven's child is our constant companion, sticks like a shadow to all that is done.
Try as we may we just can't escape him, the source of our sorrow and shame, we are one.
The true King sits on a heavenly throne, never away nor above nor apart.
With wisdom and mercy and constant compassion, he lives in the love that lives in our hearts.

 

[fox69]

"Readjustment Blues"

"Readjustment Blues"


Just out of the infantry this morning, I had to pay my dues across the sea.
No one back in boot camp ever warned me
what the readjustment blues would do to me.
"Welcome to Havannah", said the pilot.
"We must have made a wrong turn on the way.
Let's buy some cigars and keep it quiet,
if they don't know we're here we'll get away."

Just as I had realized he was joking, I saw we were in Washington D.C.
'Cause there was all the patriotic buildings, just like I had seen them on TV.
It must have been a holiday, 'cause there was this parade.
People carried signs, I couldn't read, that they had made
'Till I got closer and my heart fell to my socks,
there was a battle raging and the air was filled with teargas and rocks.
There was the flag I'd fought against so often,
the one I fought for hanging upside down.
The wind was blowing hard, the dirt was flying,
it made the city sky look dark and brown.

I saw a girl, she could have been my sister,
except her hair was long and in her face.
She explained this was a demonstration against the war and for the human race.
Now, I've seen a lot of strange things in my travels. Cannibals, yes, and aliens galore.
But I never thought I'd see so many people saying we don't want your war!
The troops all had on uniforms just like the one I'd worn,
but they were all domestic and my duty chose war.
They carried guns just like the ones across the sea,
except this time, I was the citizen, and they were pointing their guns at me.
Yes, I was just a citizen, and I was walking down the street,
And it was just that night, the readjustment blues got through to me.

 

[fox69]

"Relatively Speaking"

"Relatively Speaking"


Relatively speaking, you make me who I am. I need you exactly like the ocean needs the land.
I need you like sunshine needs the shadows and the night,
I need you the way love needs the savage hurtful fight.
Relatively speaking, I'm nothing without you,
You are where I've been before, you are where I'm going to.
You are living out my dreams and you are all my fears.
You evoke my laughter; you unleash every tear.

The rich ones need the poor ones, the blind need those with sight.
Sinners need the pure of heart, the black ones need the white.
Relatively speaking, the contrast makes it go. Every action taken is related in the flow.
Stars and losers, kings and fools go dancing hand in hand.
Relatively speaking, you make me who I am.

The sick ones need the well ones, the living need the dead.
Heaven needs its hell, you know, and love needs lonely beds.
Relatively speaking, the contrast makes it go. Every action taken is related in the flow.
Stars and losers, kings and fools go dancing hand in hand.
Relatively speaking, you make me who I am, who I am.

 

[fox69]

"Rhymes And Reasons"

"Rhymes And Reasons"


So you speak to me of sadness and the coming of the winter,
The fear that is within you now that seems to never end,
and the dreams that have escaped you and the hope that you've forgotten,
and you tell me that you need me now and you want to be my friend,
and you wonder where we're going, where's the rhyme and where's the reason?
And it's you cannot accept: it is here we must begin to seek the wisdom of the children
and the graceful way of flowers in the wind.
For the children and the flowers are my sisters and my brothers,
their laughter and their loveliness would clear a cloudy day.
Like the music of the mountains and the colors of the rainbow,
they're a promise of the future and a blessing for today.

Though the cities start to crumble and the towers fall around us,
the sun is slowly fading and it's colder than the sea.
It is written: From the desert to the mountains they shall lead us,
by the hand and by the heart, they will comfort you and me.
In their innocence and trusting they will teach us to be free.
For the children and the flowers are my sisters and my brothers,
their laughter and their loveliness would clear a cloudy day.
And the song that I am singing is a prayer to non-believers,
come and stand beside us we can find a better way.

 

[fox69]

"Ripplin' Waters"

"Ripplin' Waters"


I've got rippling waters to wake me to the morning my woman in love,
tall pine trees are pointing us easily to heaven above.
Blue spruce flaming on the grate in the evening, takes the chill away fine,
cut the telephone line, the story's the same.
There's a worn red chair by the window that she found at a sale down the way,
when some old woman said that they needed more room for the winter.
People like pulling out the stuffing when they sit down, so it passes the time,
cut the telephone line, the story's the same.

Ooh, like a bubble on a windy day start to flutter when I hear you say,
That you feel too good to go away and you make me feel fine.
And you made the world a warmer place, by the sparkle of your diamond face.
On a gray spot, put a little lace and you make me feel fine,
warm as a mountain sunshine, on the edge of a snowline, in a meadow of columbine.

Oh, little Jennifer, I'd give a penny for what you've got on your mind,
seems like most of the time you're lying there dreaming.
Maybe in your vision you see how our mission is, slightly less than defined,
Cut the telephone line, the story's the same.
Now rippling waters flow through the ceiling and the walls and they're keeping me warm
and the closest I've been to my family for days is my music.
But to silently stare in the morning sky is like hearing her calling my name,
cut the telephone line, the story's the same.
Ooh, like a bubble on a windy day start to flutter when I hear you say,
That you feel too good to go away and you make me feel fine.
warm as a mountain sunshine, on the edge of a snowline, in a meadow of columbine.