Joan Baez

[fox69]

"Stones In The Road"

"Stones In The Road"


When we were young, we pledged allegiance every morning of our lives
The classroom rang with children's voices under teacher's watchful eye
We learned about the world around us at our desks and at dinnertime
Reminded of the starving children, we cleaned our plates with guilty minds
And the stones in the road shone like diamonds in the dust
And then a voice called to us to make our way back home

When I was ten, my father held me on his shoulders above the crowd
To see a train draped in mourning pass slowly through our town
His widow kneeled with all their children at the sacred burial ground
And the TV glowed that long hot summer with all the cities burning down

And the stones in the road flew out beneath our bicycle tires
Worlds removed from all those fires as we raced each other home

And now we drink our coffee on the run, we climb that ladder rung by rung
We are the daughters and the sons, and here's the line that's missing

The starving children have been replaced by souls out on the street
We give a dollar when we pass, and hope our eyes don't meet
We pencil in, we cancel out, we crave the corner suite
We kiss your ass, we make you hold, we doctor the receipt

And the stones in the road fly out from beneath our wheels
Another day, another deal, before we get back home

And the stones in the road leave a mark from whence they came
A thousand points of light or shame, baby, I don't know

 

[fox69]

"Strange Rivers"

"Strange Rivers"


There are voices in the mirror, faces at the door
That open on the rivers we've never seen before
Are there choices for the sparrow, or does he only fly
High above the rivers that are pulling you and I

Oh, there are strange rivers, rivers that we cannot see
There are strange rivers who know our destiny
There are strange rivers who brought your love to me

He could have been a builder, he could have been the one
Who turned his dreams to steel cathedrals in the sun
He could have been a builder, until he bought the gun
There are forces in that river that keep him on the run

Oh, there are strange rivers, rivers that we cannot see
There are strange rivers who know our destiny
There are strange rivers who brought your love to me

Have you ever turned the corner and wondered why you did?
You haven't been that way since you were just a kid
Nothing really happens and then you have to say
You wonder what would happen had you gone the other way

Oh, there are strange rivers, rivers that we cannot see
There are strange rivers who know our destiny
There are strange rivers who brought your love to me

 

[fox69]

"Streets Of Laredo"

"Streets Of Laredo"


As I walked out on the streets of Laredo.
As I walked out on Laredo one day,
I spied a poor cowboy wrapped in white linen,
Wrapped in white linen as cold as the clay.

"I can see by your outfit that you are a cowboy."
These words he did say as I boldly walked by.
"Come an' sit down beside me an' hear my sad story.
"I'm shot in the breast an' I know I must die."

"It was once in the saddle, I used to go dashing.
"Once in the saddle, I used to go gay.
"First to the card-house and then down to Rose's.
"But I'm shot in the breast and I'm dying today."

"Get six jolly cowboys to carry my coffin.
"Six dance-hall maidens to bear up my pall.
"Throw bunches of roses all over my coffin.
"Roses to deaden the clods as they fall."

"Then beat the drum slowly, play the Fife lowly.
"Play the dead march as you carry me along.
"Take me to the green valley, lay the sod o'er me,
"I'm a young cowboy and I know I've done wrong."

"Then go write a letter to my grey-haired mother,
"An' tell her the cowboy that she loved has gone.
"But please not one word of the man who had killed me.
"Don't mention his name and his name will pass on."

When thus he had spoken, the hot sun was setting.
The streets of Laredo grew cold as the clay.
We took the young cowboy down to the green valley,
And there stands his marker, we made, to this day.

We beat the drum slowly and played the Fife lowly,
Played the dead march as we carried him along.
Down in the green valley, laid the sod o'er him.
He was a young cowboy and he said he'd done wrong.

 

[fox69]

"Suzanne"

"Suzanne"


Suzzane takes you down
To a place by the river.
You can see the boats go by,
You could spend the night forever.
And you know that she's half crazy
And that's why you want to be there.
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China.
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her,
She takes you in her arms
And she lets the river answer
That you've always been her lover.

And you want to travel with her,
And you want to travel blind.
And you think you'll maybe trust her
'Cause she's touched you,
And she's moved you,
And she's kind.

Jesus was a sailor
When he walked up the water.
He spent a long time watching
From a lonely wooden tower.
And when He knew for certain
Only drowning men could see Him,
He said, "All men shall be sailors then,
Until the sea shall free them."
He Himself was broken
Long before the sky was open;
Forsaken, almost human,
He sank beneath your wisdom like a star.

And you want to travel with Him,
And you want to travel blind.
And you think you'll maybe trust Him
'Cause He's touched you
And He's moved you,
And He's kind.

Suzzane takes your hand,
And she leads you to the river.
She's wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters.
And the sun shines down in full
On our lady of the harbor.
And she shows you where to look
Beneath the garbage and the flowers.
There are heroes in the seaweed,
There are children in the morning.
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror

And you want to travel with her,
And you want to travel blind.
And you think you'll maybe trust her
'Cause she's touched you,
And she's moved you,
And she's kind.

 

[fox69]

"Sweet Sir Galahad"

"Sweet Sir Galahad"


Sweet Sir Galahad
Came in through the window
In the night when
The moon was in the yard.
He took her hand in his
And shook the long hair
From his neck and he told her
She'd been working much too hard.
It was true that ever since the day
Her crazy man had passed away
To the land of poet's pride,
She laughed and talked alot
With new people on the block
But always at evening time she cried.

And here's to the dawn of their days.

She moved her head
A little down on the bed
Until it rested softly on his knee.
And there she dropped her smile
And there she sighed awhile,
And told him all the sadness
Of those years that numbered three.
Well you know I think my fate's belated
Because of all the hours I waited
For the day when I'd no longer cry.
I get myself to work by eight
But oh, was I born too late,
And do you think I'll fail
At every single thing I try?

And here's to the dawn of their days.

He just put his arm around her
And that's the way I found her
Eight months later to the day.
The lines of a smile erased
The tear tracks upon her face,
A smile could linger, even stay.
Sweet Sir Galahad went down
With his gay bride of flowers,
The prince of the hours
Of her lifetime.

And here's to the dawn
Of their days,
Of their days.

 

[fox69]

"Sweeter For Me"

"Sweeter For Me"


Red telephone sitting by my bed
Practically bore your name
Lying alone in the twilight zone
Waiting for your call to come in
Hadn't been for the kid
Who was sleeping upstairs
You'd have found me well on my way
On that midnight plane to L.A.

You suffered sweeter for me
Than anyone I've ever known

I dared to look into the years
Would you still have your wife?
I dared to peer through my tears
Could we ever have a life?
Even thought I was pregnant by you
But I didn't care
I just talked to my son
Would he mind another one?

You suffered sweeter for me
Than anyone I've ever known

Once more the mist rolls to the sea
Like a hundred times we've known
Trees are faded and the clouds have stopped
Where the wind had blown
How I dread when the evening comes
And I cannot be
What you want me to be
When you are next to me

How silent you are as the veils come down
Before my eyes
Soft and reserved as you move away
Donning your disguise
While every folk song that I ever knew
Once more comes true
And loves grows old
And waxes cold

You suffered sweeter for me
Than anyone I've ever known

Just one favor of you, my love
If I should die today
Take me down to where the hills
Meet the sea on a stormy day
Ride a ridge on a snow white horse
And throw my ashes away
To the wind and the sand
Where my song began

You suffered sweeter for me
Than anyone I've ever known

 

[fox69]

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"


Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming to carry me home.
Swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.

And I looked over yonder and what did I see,
Coming for to carry me home?
So a band, a band of angels, it was a coming for me,
Coming for to carry you on home.

Swing low, swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.
Swing low, swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.
Swing low, swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.
Swing low, swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.

Well if you get there before I do,
Coming for to carry me home.
Tell all my friends, I'm a coming too,
Coming for to carry me home.

Swing low, swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.
Swing low, swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.
Swing low, swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.
Swing low, swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me home.

Swing low, swing low, sweet chariot,
Coming for to carry me, you, us on, them home.

Amen.

 

[fox69]

"Take Me Back To The Sweet Sunny South"

"Take Me Back To The Sweet Sunny South"


[Chorus:]
Take me back to the place where I first saw the light
To my sweet sunny south, take me home
Where the mocking birds sing me to sleep every night
Oh why was I tempted to roam

The path to our cottage they say has grown green
And the place is quite lonely around
I know that the smiles and the forms that I've seen
Now lie in the dark mossy ground

[Chorus]

Take me back to the place where the orange trees grow
To my plot in the evergreen shade
Where the flowers from the river green margin did grow
And spread their sweet scene through the glade

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Te Ador"

"Te Ador"


Te ador, tu amor,
Deixasse corpo da gente marcado,
Oh, porque se mina gente tatuado.

Te ador, tu amor,
Deixasse corpo da gente marcado,
Oh, porque se mina gente tatuado.

La la la, la la la la la, la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la.
La la la, la la la, lalalalalalala,
La la la la la la, la la la la.

Te ador, tu amor,
Deixasse corpo da gente marcado,
Oh, porque se mina gente tatuado,
Porque se mina gente tatuado.

 

[fox69]

"Te Recuerdo Amanda"

"Te Recuerdo Amanda"


[I Remember Amanda]

Te recuerdo Amanda
La calle mojada
Corriendo a la fabrica
Donde trabajaba Manuel.

La sonrisa ancha
La lluvia en el pelo
No importaba nada
Ibas a encontrarte
Con el, con el, con el, con el, con el,
Son cinco minutos
La vida es eterna en cinco minutos.

Suena la sirena
De vuelta al trabajo
Y tu caminando
Lo iluminas todo
Los cinco minutos
Te hacen florecer.

La sonrisa ancha
La lluvia en el pelo
No importaba nada
Ibas a encontrarte
Con el, con el, con el, con el, con el,
Que partio a la sierra
Que nunca hizo dano
Que partio a la sierra
Y en cinco minutos
Quedo destrozado.

Suena la sirena
De vuelta al trabajo
Muchos no volvieron
Tampoco Manuel.