Joan Baez

[fox69]

"Jackaroe"

"Jackaroe"


There was a wealthy merchant,
In London he did dwell
He had a lovely daughter,
The truth to you I'll tell
Oh the truth to you I'll tell

She had sweethearts a-plenty
And men of high degree
There was none but Jack the sailor,
Her true love e'er could be
Oh her true love e'er could be

Now Jackie's gone a-sailing
With trouble on his mind
To leave his native country
And his darling girl behind
Oh, his darling girl behind.

She went into a tailor shop
And dressed in men's array
And stepped on board a vessel
To convey herself away
Oh, to convey herself away.

"Before you step on board, sir,
Your name I'd like to know"
She smiled all in her countenance,
"They call me Jackaroe"
Oh, they call me Jackaroe.

"Your waist is light and slender,
Your fingers are neat and small
Your cheeks too red and rosy
To face the cannonball"
Oh, to face the cannon-ball.

"I know my waist is slender,
My fingers neat and small
But it would not make me tremble
To see ten thousand fall"
Oh, to see ten thousand fall.

The war soon being over,
They hunted all around
And among the dead and dying
Her darling boy she found
Oh, her darling boy she found.

She picked him up all in her arms
And carried him to the town
And sent for a physician who
Quickly healed his wounds
Oh, who quickly healed his wounds.

This couple they got married
And well they did agree
This couple they got married,
So why not you and me
Oh, so why not you and me.

 

[fox69]

"James And The Gang"

"James And The Gang"


Can you find another star to dream on
The summer's coming to an end
Say goodbye to all your wandering friends
And lovers, casual confidants
Who shared your dreams
When you were sixteen

And you walked on the sands of glory
With James and the gang
You were one magnificent story
You and James and the gang

Pass the pipe and like the sun get higher
In pack of roving wolverines
Placing bets on every girl in teens and jeans
Who eyed you suspiciously
With your biblical hair
And your mystical stare

As you walked on the sands of glory
With James and the gang
You were one magnificent story
You and James and the gang

When all your illusions did lie in the palm of your hand
And your limits were only the sky and the rolling sand
And of every summer to come
This summer would be the one
You'd remember forever
In your dreams

Oh, twinkle, twinkle little star
Did you ever wonder who you are
And do you think that life is just a Belushi movie
And the heartbreak years that lie ahead
Be true to yourself and the Grateful Dead
And remember the summer when all was hip and groovy

And you walked on the sands of glory
With James and the gang
You were one magnificent story
You and James and the gang

Hush little baby, momma once was sixteen
On the back of a Harley Davidson
Boyfriend was a born again
He shouted from the word of Jesus while doing 105
Down the coast highway
Only half a day from where

You walked on the sands of glory
With James and the gang
You were one magnificent story
You and James and the gang

 

[fox69]

"Jericho Road"

"Jericho Road"


I was walkin'
Walkin' down the Jericho road
And every mile that I traveled showed
And I'm walkin' down the Jericho road
I just kept on walkin'
Walkin' down the Jericho road
And the sun set red over fields of gold
And I'm walkin' down the Jericho road
Well Joshua fit the battle, that's how the story goes
And the walls come a-tumb-a-lin' down I know
But I'm still walkin'
Walkin' down the Jericho road

I met my mother walkin' down the Jericho road
Tears in her eyes and her head hung low
And she was walkin' down the Jericho road
I met my father walkin' down the Jericho road
His back bent over from a heavy load
And he was walkin'down the Jericho road
I said "papa, don't you know me? Won't you lay your burden down?"
He just shook his head and told me "son, you better turn around"
And he kept on walkin'
Walkin' down the Jericho road

I met my brother walkin' down the Jericho road
And his hands were bloody but his face was clean
And he was walkin' down the Jericho road
I met my sister walkin' down the Jericho road
With a babe in her arms that I'd never seen
And she was walkin' down the Jericho road
She said "it's just a little orphan child I found along the way
I'll raise him as my own and he'll forgive us all someday"
And she kept on walkin'
Walkin' down the Jericho road

I met my mother
I met my father
I met my brother
I met my sister

 

[fox69]

"Jerusalem"

"Jerusalem"


I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good
And death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothin' anyone could do or say

And I almost listened to him
Yeah, I almost lost my mind
Then I regained my senses again
And looked into my heart to find

That I believe that one fine day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school
But somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again
But I still find some comfort now and then

Then the storm comes rumblin' in
And I can't lay me down
And the drums are drummin' again
And I can't stand the sound

But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb
Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem

And there'll be no barricades then
There'll be no wire or walls
And we can wash all this blood from our hands
And all this hatred from our souls

And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

 

[fox69]

"Jesse"

"Jesse"


Jesse come home, there's a hole in the bed
Where we slept; now it's growing cold.
Jesse your face, in the place where we lay
By the hearth, all apart, it hangs on my heart

And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No I'm not scared; I wait for you
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home.

Jesse the stairs in the halls, recalling
Your step; and I remember too.
All the pictures are shaded and fading in grey
And I still set a place on the table at noon

And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No I'm not scared; I wait for you
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home.

Jesse the spread on the bed,
It's like when you left, I kept it for you.
All the blues and the greens have been recently cleaned
And are seemingly new; hey Jess, me and you.

We'll swallow the light on the stairs
I'll fix up my hair, we'll sleep unawares
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home

 

[fox69]

"Joe Hill"

"Joe Hill"


I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
Alive as you and me.
Says I "But Joe, you're ten years dead"
"I never died" said he,
"I never died" said he.

"The Copper Bosses killed you Joe,
They shot you Joe" says I.
"Takes more than guns to kill a man"
Says Joe "I didn't die"
Says Joe "I didn't die"

"In Salt Lake City, Joe," says I,
Him standing by my bed,
"They framed you on a murder charge,"
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead,"
Says Joe, "But I ain't dead."

And standing there as big as life
And smiling with his eyes.
Says Joe "What they can never kill
Went on to organize,
Went on to organize"

From San Diego up to Maine,
In every mine and mill,
Where working men defend their rights,
It's there you find Joe Hill,
It's there you find Joe Hill!

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
Alive as you and me.
Says I "But Joe, you're ten years dead"
"I never died" said he,
"I never died" said he.

 

[fox69]

"John Henry"

"John Henry"


When John Henry was a little baby boy, sitting on the his papa's knee
Well he picked up a hammer and little piece of steel
Said Hammer's gonna be the death of me, lord, lord
Hammer's gonna be the death of mine

The captain said to John Henry
I'm gonna bring that steam drill around
I'm gonna bring that steam drill out on the job
I'm gonna whup that steel on down

John Henry told his captain
Lord a man ain't nothing but a man
But before I'd let your steam drill beat me down
I'd die with a hammer in my hand

John Henry said to his shaker
Shaker why don't you sing
Because I'm swinging thirty pounds from my hips on down
Just listen to that cold steel ring

Now the captain said to John Henry
I believe that mountain's caving in
John Henry said right back to the captain
Ain't nothing but my hammer sucking wind

Now the man that invented the steam drill
He thought he was mighty fine
But John Henry strove fifteen feet
The steam drill only made nine

John Henry hammered in the mountains
His hammer was striking fire
But he worked so hard, it broke his poor heart
And he laid down his hammerand he died

Now John Henry had a little woman
Her name was Polly Anne
John Henry took sick and had to go to bed
Polly Anne drove steel like a man

John Henry had a little baby
You could hold him in the palm of your hand
And the last words I heard that poor boy say
My daddy was a steel driving man

So every Monday morning
When the blue birds begin to sing
You can hear John Henry a mile or more
You can hear John Henry's hammer ring

 

[fox69]

"John Riley"

"John Riley"


Fair young maid all in a garden
Stange young man, passerby
He said, "Fair maid, will you marry me?"
This then, sir, was her reply:

Oh, no, kind sir, I cannot marry thee
For I've a love who sails all on the sea.
He's been gone for seven years
Still no man shall marry me

What if he's in some battle slain
Or if he's drowned in the deep salt sea
What if he's found another love
And he and his love both married be?

Well, if he's in some battle slain
I will die when the moon doth wane
And if he's drowned in the deep salt sea
I'll be true to his memory

And if he's found another love
And he and his love both married be
I'll wish them health and happiness
Where they dwell across the sea

He picked her up all in his arms
Kisses gave her: One, two, three
Said, weep no more, my own true love
I am your long-lost John Riley!

 

[fox69]

"Johnny Cuckoo"

"Johnny Cuckoo"


Here comes one Johnny cuckoo,
Cuckoo, cuckoo.
Here comes one Johnny Cuckoo,
On a cold and stormy night.

What did you come for,
Come for, come for?
What did you come for,
On a cold and stormy night?

I come to be a soldier,
Soldier, soldier,
I come to be a soldier,
On a cold and stormy night.

You are too black and dirty,
Dirty, dirty.
You are too black and dirty
On a cold and stormy night.

I'm just as good as you are
You are, you are.
I'm just as good as you are
On a cold and stormy night.

 

[fox69]

"Juan De La Cruz"

"Juan De La Cruz"


Once again the workers rise with the lark
There's a mass going on in the people's park
Silent and determined they set to embark
On a three day fast and a five mile march
For a man's been shot on the picket line
Sixty years of strength was young for dying
His family is here with eyes of red
His wife steps down with feet of lead

And the sun shines down upon
The old man whose days are done
For a martyr has been taken
He is old Juan de la Cruz

And a century of women pray
At the casket before them laid
And the Virgin of Guadalupe
Watches over de la Cruz

As the heat poured down on the field below
The lead came a-flying from the vineyard row
De la Cruz and his wife never ducked or ran
Union folks since the fight began
People scattered out laying low to the ground
And slowly arose as the dust died down
Birds fluttered soft in his sweet wife's breast
As the bullets sank deep in the old man's chest

The tears fell as Cesar read
The eulogy for the dead
And the Bishop broke the people's bread
Over old Juan de la Cruz

In the pitch of night a deal was made
The deck's oldest card was played
And the devil watched someone get paid
For the death of de la Cruz

Thirty years ago in the same damn spot
The people who ordered the workers shot
Fought as the poor for the same damn right
Of their children to sleep well fed at night
Oh Children of Brotherhood how you've grown
But the seeds of hate were early sown
I see that your souls have long since flown
To the river of greed where angels moan

Midst flowered veils and weathered graves
And flags where the great black eagle waves
Nosotros Venceremos plays
For old Juan de la Cruz

There's work today that must be done
Pray for the man who held the gun
And with sightless eyes shot down the one
Called old Juan de la Cruz

The rest of our story now soft and clear
How half our daily bread appears
Picked through the summer by young and old
Whose earnings must last through the winter's cold
By children who have stood with their backs bent down
To scrape the roots from the grower's ground
And mothers who have wept the night away
For a child born dead on a rainy day

Well it's true that blessed are the poor
Through an iron mist - I can't be sure -
It looks like I see heaven's door
Swinging wide for de la Cruz

The nuns, the priests and the workers sing
Through a valley of blood their voices ring
Hallelujah, he is risen, and thank you, Lord
For old Juan de la Cruz

Hallelujah, he is risen, and thank you, Lord
For old Juan de la Cruz