Gordon Lightfoot

[fox69]

"The Mountains And Maryann"

"The Mountains And Maryann"



All is well
I've made my peace where highways never end
Yesterday's a memory today is just a friend
For the mountains and Maryann are calling me again
And the red pines will bow their heads
The rivers and the watersheds will swallow up my tears
All is well
I left the cold midwestern towns behind
There's a semi up the road ahead I'll take him in my time
For the hot-blooded mountain love is calling me again
And the vagabond within me cries
The wind and rain might burn my eyes but I won't feel the pain
For the mountains and Maryann will greet me there as only she can do

All is well
As I swing up to the border bent for hell
And the service station man agreed I didn't look too well
But the mountains and Maryann are calling out to me
And I got my bedroll on my back
And everything that I could pack to see me on my way

All is well
I've made my peace and man, I'm feelin' fine
And the losers that I left behind I'll think about some other time
For the border men were all my friends they couldn't find a dime
And the prairie towns go sailing by
Saskatchewan there's mud in your eye I'm leavin' you behind
There'll be hot-blooded mountain love to satisfy my soul
And the red pines will bow their heads
The rivers and the watersheds will carry us along
And the mountains and Maryann will greet me there as only she can do

All is well
The foothills are coming into sight
Today is just a memory the future is tonight
And the red pines will bow their heads
The rivers and the watersheds will carry us along
And the mountains and Maryann will greet me there as only she can do

 

[fox69]

"The No Hotel (Live)"

"The No Hotel (Live)"



Down around the No Hotel, look for me, they know me well.
Travelers come and travelers go down around the Hotel No.
If you choose the No Hotel, be prepared to run pell mell,
Be another burnt out shell, you checked in the No Hotel.

Down around the No Hotel, water there don't flow so well.
Problems come and problems go, freezing shower say hello.
If you choose the No Hotel, the bellhop never rings the bell,
Why there's another ne'er do well, just checked in the No Hotel.

Down around the No Hotel, look for me, the human shell.
Strangers moving to and fro all around the Hotel No.
When dining at the No Hotel, there's caterers who cater not,
And waiters who don't wait a lot, you've checked in the No Hotel.

Living at the No Hotel, just another ne'er do well,
seasons ebb and seasons flo down around the Hotel Ho.
Snug in your No Hotel room, see the little critters fly
Above the bed sheets telling lies, you've checked in the No Hotel.

Down around the No Hotel, look for me, they know me well.
Travelers come and travelers go, it's the only world they know.
If you choose the No Hotel, the bellhop never rings the bell,
Now he's another burnt out shell, you've checked in the No Hotel.

 

[fox69]

"The Patriot's Dream"

"The Patriot's Dream"



The songs of the wars are as old as the hills
They cling like the rust on the cold steel that kills
They tell of the boys who went down to the tracks
In a patriotic manner with the cold steel on their backs

The patriot's dream is as old as the sky
It lives in the lust of a cold callous lie
Let's drink to the men who got caught by the chill
Of the patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills

The train pulled away on that glorious night
The drummer got drunk and the bugler got tight
While the boys in the back sang a song of good cheer
While riding off to glory in the spring of their years

The patriot's dream still lives on today
It makes mothers weep and it makes lovers pray
Let's drink to the men who got caught by the chill
Of the patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills

Well there was a sad, sad lady, weeping all night long
She received a sad, sad message from a voice on the telephone
Her children were all sleeping as she waited out the dawn
How could she tell those children that their father was shot down
So she took them to her side that day and she told them one by one
Your father was a good man ten thousand miles from home
He tried to do his duty and it took him straight to hell
He might be in some prison, I hope he's treated well

Well there was a young girl watching in the early afternoon
When she heard the name of someone who said he'd be home soon
And she wondered how they got him, but the papers did not tell
There would be no sweet reunion, there would be no wedding bells
So she took herself into her room and she turned the bed sheets down
And she cried into the silken folds of her new wedding gown
He tried to do his duty and it took him straight to hell
He might be in some prison, I hope he's treated well

Well there was an old man sitting in his mansion on the hill
And he thought of his good fortune and the time he'd yet o kill
Well he called to his wife one day, "Come sit with me awhile"
Then turning toward the sunset, he smiled a wicked smile
"Well I'd like to say I'm sorry for the sinful deeds I've done
But let me first remind you, I'm a patriotic son"
They tried to do their duty and it took 'em straight to hell
They might be in some prison, I hope they're treated well

The songs of the wars are as old as the hills
They cling like the rust on the cold steel that kills
They tell of the boys who went down to the tracks
In a patriotic manner with the cold steel on their backs

The train pulled away on that glorious night
The drummer got drunk and the bugler got tight
While the boys in the back sang a song of good cheer
While riding off to glory in the spring of their years

The patriot's dream still lives on today
It makes mothers weep and it makes lovers pray
Let's drink to the men who got caught by the chill
Of the patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills

 

[fox69]

"The Pony Man"

"The Pony Man"



When it's midnight on the meadow
And the cats are in the shed
And the river tells a story
At the window by my bed
If you listen very closely
Be as quiet as you can
In the yard you'll hear him
It is the pony man
We're always there to greet him
When he tumbles into town
He leads a string of ponies
Some are white and some are brown
And they never seem to kick or bite
They only want to play
And they live on candy apples
Instead of oats and hay

And when we're all assembled
He gives a soft command
And we climb aboard our ponies
As in a row the stand
Then down the road we gallop
And across the fields we fly
And soon we all go sailing off
Into the midnight sky

And as we gaily rock along
Beside a ripplin' sea
There's Tom 'n Dick 'n Sally
And Mary Joe and me
And the pony man is leading
Cause he's travelled here before
And he gives a whoop and a holler
At Mr. Moon's front door

And then we stop to rest a while
Where the soda river glides
Up to the slip comes a pirate ship
To take us for a ride
And the pony man's the captain
And the children are the crew
And we go in search of treasure
And laugh the whole night through

And when the hold is filled with gold
And the sails begin to strain
And the deck's piled high with apple pie
We head for port again
Then down the whirling starcase
So swift our ponies fly
And we're safely in our beds again
When the sunbeams kiss the sky

When it's midnight on the meadow
And the cats are in the shed
And the river tells a story
At the window by my bed
If you listen very closely
Be as quiet as you can
In the yard you'll hear him
It is the pony man

 

[fox69]

"The Soul Is The Rock"

"The Soul Is The Rock"



The soul is the rock and the rock will not be moved
Nothing is disputed, yet nothing is disproved
And the seeds of the earth that were planted long ago
Still yield a better harvest than the rock was prone to grow
Say what you like to, do what you do
Everyone's sleeping now two by two
Bats in the roof, cats in the hall
Dust on the stairway, gnats on the wall

Big rain comin'
Big rain comin' this way
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock

The sea is the space which the rock has displaced
The mind is some stranger that some soul has embraced
And somewhere between, in a no-man's land of dreams
The heart becomes the soldier yet the rock is not redeemed

Say what you like to, do what you can
Live like a sheep, die like a lamb
Bats in the roof, cats in the hall
Dust on the stairway, gnats on the wall

Big rain comin'
Big rain comin' this way
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock

The soul is the rock and the rock will always roll
In circles 'round the sun doing rings around the pole
When the mind is not sure what the heart will do next
The rock becomes the master and the road becomes what's left

Late one night when the moon shone down
We went to the mill on the edge of the town
She wore white, I wore black
The town was sleeping when we got back

Big rain comin'
Big rain comin' this way
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock

The soul is the rock and the rock will not be harmed
Though man must be cheated just as women must be charmed
And the mind is the light for the heart which cannot see
The soul becomes the stranger but the rock will always be

Say what you like to, do what you do
Everyone's sleeping now two by two
Bats in the roof, cats in the hall
Dust on the stairway, gnats on the wall

Oh.. Big rain comin'
Big rain comin' this way
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock
Rain on the rock

The soul is the rock and the rock will not be moved
Nothing is disputed yet nothing is disproved
And the seeds of the earth that were planted long ago
Still yield a better harvest than the rock was prone to grow

And the seeds of the earth that were planted long ago
Still yield a better harvest than the rock was prone to grow

 

[fox69]

"The Watchman's Gone"

"The Watchman's Gone"



Just like birds of a feather
We too have followed the golden sun
It feels so good,
Knowin' the watchman's gone
If I give you a rose, buddy
Would you please bury it in the fields?
I seen a rose
Watchin' it all fold out

There's a train down at the station
It's come to carry my bones away
Two engines on
Twenty-one coaches long
End to end
Twenty-one coaches bend
The watchman's out
Kickin' the bums about

If I wait for the right moment
You can bet I'll climb aboard unseen
I've done it before
I know I can do it in my sleep

The watchman's out
Kickin' the bums about
The watchman's out
Kickin' your dreams about

As I leave you in the sunset
Got one more nothin' I'd like to say
"You don't know me
A son of the sea am I"
As I say to you, my brother
If you live to follow the golden sun
You better beware
Knowin' the watchman's always there

If you find me feedin' daisies
Please turn my face up to the sky
And leave me be
Watchin' the moon roll by
Whatever I was
You know it was all because
I've been on the town
Washin' the bullshit down

The watchman's out
Kickin' your dreams about
It feels so good
Knowin' the watchman's gone
It's like a song
Knowin' the watchman's gone

 

[fox69]

"The Way I Feel"

"The Way I Feel"



The way I feel is like a robin
whose babes have flown to come no more
like a tall oak tree alone and cryin'
when the birds have flown and the nest is bare
Now a woman Lord is like a young bird
and the tall oak tree is a young man's heart
among his boughs you'll find her nesting
when the nights are cool she's warm and dry

Your coat of green it will protect her
her wings will grow your love will too
But all too soon your mighty branches
will cease to hold her and she'll fly from you

Now the way I feel is like a robin
whose babes have flown to come no more
like a tall oak tree alone and cryin'
when the birds have flown and the nest is bare
when the birds have flown and the nest is bare

 

[fox69]

"The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald"

"The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald"



The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
Then later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
When the wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too
'Twas the witch of November come stealin'
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashin'
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck
Sayin' "Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya"
At seven PM a main hatchway caved in
He said, "Fellas, it's been good to know ya"
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams
The islands and bays are for sportsmen
And farther below, Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early

 

[fox69]

"Too Late For Prayin'"

"Too Late For Prayin'"



It was only yesterday
When I heard the teacher say
Patiently, one and two make three
We were children, you and me
Let us pray for the ones they call
The children of today
Nothin' left but promises
Nothin' much is certain
All we see is want and need across the board, why thank you lord
We're livin' in the glory of your care
Skies of blue have all turned brown
To the sound of cryin
Lord abide, let us stem the tide
Of broken dreams
Sometimes you seem to tell us
It's too late for prayin'

See the ocean wild and blue
Think of all that's in her
She will not surrender to the likes of us, but then she must
They tell us, wise men tell us, it's too late
For each child with eyes that smile
There'll be ten more cryin'
Lord abide, let us stem the time
Of helplessness
But then I guess we're livin'
Is it too late for prayin'

Nothin' here but grains of sand
Nothin' much worth savin'
Guess we've all got problems of our own to bear, and still we share
Tomorrow could get better than today
To the ones who've loved in vain
Will ya be beholden
Lord abide, let us stem the tide
Of broken dreams
Sometimes ya seem to tell us
It's too late for prayin'

 

[fox69]

"Too Many Clues In This Room"

"Too Many Clues In This Room"



The space shuttle ends where the subway begins
There's a tear on the face of the moon
From dusk until dawn they have searched all day long
But there's too many clues in this room
At best it is said we've been locked deep inside
Of an old sea man's chest full of charts
Where maps are contained and what's left of his brains
When his crew threw his balls to the sharks

All around the looking glass
Dancing to a tune
Sweeping out the house with a fine tooth comb
Which history's shown
Leads to ruin

In a word it is said that at times we must fall
But the worst of it all was the lies
We died for the cause just like regular outlaws
In the dust of an old lawman's eyes
In times best forgot there was peace there was not
In her pains mother earth came to bloom
Her children were born in the eye of the storm
And there's too many clues in this room

The power that is stored in this no man's land of chance
Is the someone who knows what they're doin'
The old soldiers say in their own crusty way
We've got too many troops in this room

All around the looking glass
Dancing to a tune
Sweeping out the house with a fine tooth comb
Which history's shown
Leads to ruin

The space shuttle ends where the subway begins
Praise the lord there's a train leavin' soon
From dusk until dawn they have searched all day long
But there's too many clues in this room