Cowboy Junkies

[fox69]

"Renmin Park (Revisited)"

"Renmin Park (Revisited)"


Meet me on the banks of the Yangtze, Suzie
Beneath the glare of the New-West Yard
We’ll watch the barges cart away
The waste of another day
We’ll watch the barges cart away
The waste of another day

Meet me in the middle of Renmin Park
Where the stone bridge meets the pond
We’ll watch the ducklings gobbling bread
And the stealth of the approaching swan
We’ll watch the ducklings gobbling bread
And the stealth of the approaching swan

Listen for the song of the propane seller bouncing off the walls
A kiss before the morning knows I’m gone
A kiss before the new day finds me gone

Listen for the song of the propane seller drifting through our dreams
You at the end of your sky and me in the corner of my sea
His morning cry a promise to you from me
His morning song a blessing on you and me

Meet me on the steps of Gu Xian Temple
Where the old ways greet the dawn
We’ll watch the darkness leach away into the haze of another day
We’ll watch the darkness leach away into the haze of another day

 

[fox69]

"Ring On The Sill"

"Ring On The Sill"


She placed her ring on the sill,
dishes piled high
She's on the front porch step
and the air smells like snow
She's thinking of the siege to come
and how she'll miss those weekends
in the park with the sun on her face
and her book by her side and that
lingering taste that he left on her tongue
He lifts his glass from the table
It leaves a ring where it stood
He sees the light from the window
caress her like he knows he should
He's remembering the first time he kissed her
and how he'd wake
and immediately he'd miss her,
like a spell, with each breath,
he'd taste her breath like a haunting,
irritating as hell
Do you remember when you'd pray
to never see the day
when someone would make you feel this way
'Cause you knew
they would cut right through you
and once inside, you were afraid they'd find
nothing to hold on to
He puts her ring on her finger,
she brushes back his hair
He takes a sip from his glass,
she inhales the cold fall air
And they're thinking of the long road ahead
and the strength that they will need
just to reach the end
And there in the silence they search for
the balance between this fear that they feel
and a love that has graced their lives

 

[fox69]

"Ritual"

"Ritual"


Today's the day that the world becomes my oyster
Today's the day that I've set aside
To find a place in the new sunshine
Today's the day that I start using my voice, sir
Today's the day that I crack that shell
And probe it for a pearl or two
Today's the day, `cause that's my choice, sir

 

[fox69]

"River Waltz"

"River Waltz"


I'm going to find me a dying river
And strike a deal with her I'll say.
"I'll fold you in two and I'll carry you away
To a place where your headwaters will flow
Clean through to your mouth".
In return I'll request a small sanctuary
By her banks where we will live
With our small family
She will water our garden
And clean the dirt from our skin.
While the word clamours at our door
We will dance and not let them in.

And if one day we wake up to a bed dry as a bone
Find our river stolen, find our sanctuary gone
We will stand and take stock and be grateful
For what we've not lost.
We will pack up our bags, pack our small family
Head across the valley to where the aspen trees
Shiver as they ascend-
The green hills rising to blue.
At the edge of the shopping we will turn
And bid fond adieu".

All that I know to be true
Is the touch of your hand on my skin.
One look from you can so easily soothe
All this turmoil within.
As we dance cheek to cheek
With our feet so completely
Locked in a time all our own.
I stop to speak
But you gently keep me
Moving in time to the song.
And in a voice that is sloppy with gin
You say, "let the world spin".

I'm going to find me a dying river
And strike a deal with her I'll say,
I'll fold you in two and I'll carry you away
To place where your headwaters will flow
Clean through to your mouth".
In return I'll request a small sanctuary
By her banks where we will live
With our small family
She will water our garden
And clean the dirt from our skin.
While the world clamours at our door
We will dance and not let them in.

 

[fox69]

"Rock And Bird"

"Rock And Bird"


She captured both Rock and Bird
tied one to the leg of the other
kept them as prisoners
until they knew who was master
then she threw them to the sky

Bird with unbarred wings disappeared
Rock with weighted heart returned
and Rock became her anchor
and Bird became her dream

Now she stands on the forest floor
among the pines and towering firs
Rock still firm beneath her feet
Bird perched high above her
singing songs of love's betrayal

'I offered you my endless skies
you countered with hoods and chains
this song I sing will be the last
to be inspired by your memory'

 

[fox69]

"Sad To See The Season Go"

"Sad To See The Season Go"


Go Hollow boned and feathered she fell to him,
Wriggling perdition she plucked
From deep within
Feasted high on flowering branches
The fruit of his heart
He gave willingly for her song
From fresh wounds were gathered
Thick sheaves of love
He lay open palmed to her world:
She stretched in arched abeyance,
Holding thunderclap and starlight in one mind

Sad to see the season go
I'll miss the crackling of the air,
The loss of all I know
Sad to see the season go

Indian corn and the bitter taste of envy in the air
Mired now in cyclic decay. The nag of conquest
Skeletal arms embrace a withering world

Sad to see the season go
I'll miss the crackling of the air,
The loss of all I know
Sad to see the season go

Locked here these dreams of you,
Imperfect dormant seeds
There is a dignity to this solitude,
A sparkling ambiguity
Both liquid and solid at one time

 

[fox69]

"Secret Spy Decoder Ring"

"Secret Spy Decoder Ring"


Peering underneath the hedge
At my walkie-talkie on the ledge
Of the open kitchen window frame
Of the trusting Mrs. Paine
She’s taken Russians in
A wife and two small kids
Marina, Rachel, June
Their smirking daddy when there’s room
And now I’m off to history
And I got a front row seat
My Secret Spy Decoder Ring
Says, “Junior, follow me.
Fate is filing up her plate,
The paper route can wait.”
I let the dailies stack un-thrown
This mystery’s bigger than what’s known
The petty events of this world
Yellow on the drive
Until Thursday night at five
When “O.H. Lee” arrives
I sneak out in camouflage
And that night in the garage
A naked bulb illuminates
Sifting through the broken crates
Butcher paper in his teeth
The mousy ex-marine
Lifts from a blanket roll
A rifle with a scope
I caught my breath
As he clumsily drew the bolt action back
He was staring down the barrel right at me
Right at me!
Chased across the road
I burst into the kitchen of the cop next door
But he hardly looked up from his whisky neat, I shouted, “Come and see!”
Break
The cop said, “What’s that thing?
Is that a Secret Spy Decoder Ring?
Are those x-ray glasses hanging from your ears? Don’t you fear.
Your imagination’s wild
I got a motorcade to ride in, in just a few hours
You remind me of my daughter, God bless her soul
Now, get on home…”
The cop got on his motorbike
Waved to the gunman at first light
Walking out of Mrs. Paine’s front door
Package underneath his arm
“What you bringin’ to work’ Lee?”
“Curtain rods,” he said and winked at me
The morning paper hit the drive
“TODAY THE PRESIDENT ARRIVES”
Now, I’m off to misery
A kid not to be believed
My secret spy decoder ring
Is wryly mocking me:
“You could save his life
If you were old enough to drive…
If you were old enough to drive…
If you were old enough to drive…”
If I was old enough to drive…

 

[fox69]

"See You Around"

"See You Around"


Well, I'm sorry for my lack of communication
But as I'm staring out this fifth floor window
It seems like the least amount of communication is better
Oh well, what am I supposed to say?
There's a bloody effigy on my wall
And the complimentary carnation is falling apart
And I ain't got time for the niceties
Or rather, I was never, never fond of the niceties
Well, I will see you around, around, around
I will see you around
I will see you around, yeah, yeah
I will see you around
Well, I must admit I'm flattered
By your consecration
It's mind-numbing, spine-chilling
But never-the-less heartwarming gesture
But as you make your advances so clumsily
I'll save us both the hassle and leave
Hang out all night
In the familiar fluorescent light of Dunkin' Donuts
'Cause I ain't got time for the niceties
Or rather I was never, never fond of the niceties
I will see you around, yeah, yeah
I will see you around
I will see you around
I'll see you around
Well, how are you with issues?
Lately you've been a half-assed activist
You've been seen sashaying around the picket line
Wearing scarcely any sign
Oh, but I was vocal in love and strife
And the politics of your all important life
Well, I'm sorry
But your routine is coming off a bit ragged
And I ain't got time for the niceties
Rather I was never, never fond of the niceties
I will see you around, yeah
I will see you around
I'll see you around
I will see you around
Yeah, I will see you around
Um, I'll see you around, yeah
I will see you around, round
I'll see you around
I will see you around

 

[fox69]

"Senior Prom"

"Senior Prom"


Son, you got a lot of ‘splainin’ to do
Reporters round your neck like a beard of bees
That hit man at the back, he’s got his eye on you
But I’m the one who can take you where I please
So give me your elbow
A flash photo for the folks at home
This is just like my senior prom
The inside of your arm is soft as I lead you, Lee
Like a new-born Marxist colt at the county fair
You’d never know from that thin-lipped little smirk of yours
That the icy hand of fate was between your knees
Speaking of clammy hands
It’s like I’m back in Lubbock with Mary Francis
Working to retrieve that corsage pin that fell into her blouse
And she tried to shoot me too
In a theatre just like you
And it was when I wrestled that gun away
(Just like today) that I looked into her captivating,
Mesmerizing, hypnotizing,
Texas blue-sky, Russian-defecting eyes….
My nose at the back of your neck as the elevator slows
Doors cut in two by the axe of the TV lights
I want to tell the world what we both know is true
When that hit man from the first verse shatters you
Mouth to mouth
Your last breath in mine
Death cutting in
Like an All-State Lineman
Minus the blood
I could swear I was back at my senior prom
If this ambulance were a Fairlane
And your black eye was my school ring
I would swear it was my senior prom…

 

[fox69]

"Seven Years"

"Seven Years"


Haven't seen the sun for seven days
November's got her nails dug in deep
Haven't seen my son for seven years
and the chances are we'll never again meet

If truth be told I don't even know his name
If truth be told he doesn't even know my name

I spend my spare time with my rosary beads
although I never learnt to pray
but you don't need the light
and it's best to pretend
that you've seen the errors of your ways

The darkness in here
is as heavy as a judgement
This darkness, heavy as a judgement

My dreams are now filled with Gilead trees
and other sights that I've never seen
They used to be filled
with the fears of tomorrow
and the horror that it might bring

His eyes felt to me
as cold as a stone mason's chisel
His eyes fell on me, cold
like a stone mason's chisel

Strange how a mind can always recall
what the senses eagerly leave behind
I can remember his face, rage,
disgust and distaste
but to my fear I have grown blind

Memories are just dead men making trouble
this memory is just a dead man making trouble