Townes Van Zandt

[fox69]

 

[fox69]

"(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle"

"(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle"


I was ridin' number nine
Headin' south from Caroline
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
Got in trouble had to roam
Left my gal and left my home
I heard that lonesome whistle blow

Just a kid actin' smart
I went and broke my darlin's heart
I guess I was too young to know
They took me off the Georgia Main
Locked me to a ball and chain
I heard that lonesome whistle blow

All alone I bear the shame
I'm a number not a name
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
All I do is sit and cry
When the ev'nin' train goes by
I heard that lonesome whistle blow

I'll be locked here in this cell
Til my body's just a shell
And my hair turns whiter than snow
I'll never see that gal of mine
Lord, I'm in Georgia doin' time
I heard that lonesome whistle blow

 

[fox69]

"(Quicksilver Daydreams Of) Maria"

"(Quicksilver Daydreams Of) Maria"


Well, a diamond fades quickly when matched to the face of Maria
All the harps they sound empty when she lifts her lips to the sky
Ah the brown of her skin makes her hair seem a soft golden rainfall
that spills from the mountains to the bottomless depths of her eyes

She stands all around me her hands slowly siftin' the sunshine
All the laughter that lingers down deep 'neath her smilin' is free
Well, it spins and it twirls like a hummingbird lost in the morning
then caresses the south wind and silently sails to the sea

As softly she wanders I'll desperately follow her footsteps
I chase after shadows that offer a trace of her sigh
They promise eternally that she lies hidden within them
but I find they've decieved me and sadly I bid them goodbye

So the serpent slides slowly away with his moments of laughter
and the old washer-woman has finished her cleanin' and gone
but the bamboo hangs heavy in the bondage of quicksilver daydreams
and a lonely child longingly looks for a place to belong

 

[fox69]

"A Song For"

"A Song For"


Ribbons of love
Please keep me true sane
Until I reach home on the morrow
Never never to wander again
I'm weak and I'm weary of sorrow
London to Dublin
Australia to Perth
I gazed at your sky
I tasted your earth
Sung out my heart
For what it was worth
Never again shall I ramble
There's nowhere left
In this world where to go
My arms, my legs they're a-tremblin'
Thoughts both clouded and blue as the sky
Not even worth the rememberin'
Now as I stumble
And reel to my bed
All that I've done
All that I've said
Means nothin' to me
I'd soon as be dead
All of this world be forgotten
No words of comfort
No words of advice
Nothin' to offer a stranger
Gone the love, gone the spite
It just doesn't matter no longer
My sky's getting far
The ground's gettin' close
My self goin' crazy
The way that it does
I'll lie on my pillow
And sleep if I must
Too late to wish I'd been stronger
Too late to wish I'd been stronger

 

[fox69]

"Ain't Leavin' Your Love"

"Ain't Leavin' Your Love"


Mister gator he's a-glidin' down the bayou
Mister buzzard he's a-slidin' through the air
Mister turtle be a-hittin' the highway
I ain't goin' nowhere

I ain't leavin you love, babe
I ain't leavin you love, babe
Not for heaven above, babe
I ain't leavin you love, babe

The poor man got him an airplane
Tryin to cruise across the traffic jam
The rich man got him a chevrolet
I'm stayin' right where I am

Now hannibal he climbed the mountains
Cleopatra danced down the nile
Lucky lindy made it all the way to gay paris
I'm stayin right here awhile

 

[fox69]

"All Your Young Servants"

"All Your Young Servants"


You live on your hill so high and so lonely
You toss out your bread crumbs to those down below
They think you're a king, believe me it's only
Because they're too blinded to know

Your castle is dingy and dirty and dismal
Your carpets are faded, your walls are all grey
There's dust on your silver and cracks in your crystal
And all your young servants have drifted away

Well, there once was a time when your money had meaning
Your diamonds had glitter but now it's all gone
It poisoned your laughter and muffled your singing
You can't even see that it's wrong

Your castle is dingy and dirty and dismal
Your carpets are faded, your walls are all grey
There's dust on your silver and cracks in your crystal
And all your young servants have drifted away

So go back to your sadness, go back to your sorrow
I'll make my bed on a hill 'neath the sky
And lay there a-listening 'till the sun comes tomorrow
Counting the tears that you cry

Oh, your castle is dingy and dirty and dismal
Your carpets are faded, your walls are all grey
There's dust on your silver and cracks in your crystal
And all your young servants have drifted away

Your castle is dingy and dirty and dismal
Your carpets are faded, your walls are all grey

 

[fox69]

"Alone & Forsaken"

"Alone & Forsaken"


We met in the springtime when blossoms unfold
The pastures were green and the meadows were gold
Our love was in flower as summer grew on
Her love like the leaves now has withered and gone.
The roses have faded, there's frost at my door
The birds in the morning don't sing anymore
The grass in the valley is starting to die
And out in the darkness the whippoorwills cry.
Alone and forsaken by fate and by man
Oh, lord, if you hear me please hold to my hand
Oh, please understand.
Oh, where has she gone to, oh, where can she be
She may have forsaken some other like me
She promised to honor, to love and obey
Each vow was a plaything that she threw away.
The darkness is falling, the sky has turned gray
A hound in the distance is starting to "bay"
I wonder, I wonder - what she's thinking of
Forsaken, forgotten - without any love.
Alone and forsaken by fate and by man

 

[fox69]

"At My Window"

"At My Window"


At my window
Watching the sun go
Hoping the stars know
It's time to shine
Daydreams
Aloft on dark wings
Soft as the sun streams
At days decline
Living is laughing
Dying says nothing at all
Baby and I are laying here
Watching the evening fall
Time flows
Through brave beginnings
And she leaves her endings
Beneath our feet
Walk lightly
Upon their faces
Leave gentle traces
Upon their sleep
Living is dancing
Dying does nothing at all
Baby and I are laying here
Watching the evening fall
Three dimes
Hard luck and good times
Fast lines and low rhymes
Ain't much to say
Feel fine
Feel low and lazy
Feel grey and hazy
Feel far away
Living is sighing
Dying ain't flying so high
Baby and I are lying here
Watching the day go by

 

[fox69]

"Automobile Blues"

"Automobile Blues"


I seen you drivin' 'round
In your brand new automobile
I see you drivin' 'round
Babe, in your brand new automobile
You're lookin' happy baby with your handsome
Your handsome driver at the wheel
Well, come on, get me
Baby, let's go and have some fun
I just wanna see
Baby, well that new car run
Everything will be alright
Long about the break of dawn
In your brand new automo
Come on, get me
Baby, let's go and have some fun
I just wanna see
Oh, baby, well that new car run
Everything will be alright, be alright
Long about the break of dawn
I seen you drivin' 'round
Babe, in your brand new automobile
I seen you drivin' 'round
Man, in your brand new automobile
You're lookin' happy with your handsome driver
Than in your automobile

 

[fox69]

"Be Here To Love Me"

"Be Here To Love Me"


Your eyes seek conclusion in all this confusion of mine
Though you and I both know it's only the warm glow of wine
That's got you to feeling this way,
but I don't care, I want you to stay
And hold me and tell me you'll be here to love me today
The children are dancin', the gamblers are chancin' their all
The window's accusing the door of abusing the wall
But who cares what the night watchmen say
The stage has been set for the play
So just hold me and tell me you'll be here to love me today
The moon's come and gone but a few stars hang on on to the sky
Well the wind's runnin' free though it ain't up to me ask why
But the poets are demanding their pay
And they've left me with nothin' to say
'cept hold me and tell me you'll be here to love me today
Just hold me and tell me you'll be here to love me today