Joan Baez

[fox69]

"Tears Of Rage"
(originally by Bob Dylan)

"Tears Of Rage"
(originally by Bob Dylan)



We carried you in our arms
On Independence Day,
And now you'd throw us all aside
And put us on our way.
Oh what dear daughter 'neath the sun
Would treat a father so,
To wait upon him hand and foot
And always tell him, "No"?
Tears of rage, tears of grief,
Why must I always be the thief?
Come to me now, you know
We're so alone
And life is brief.

We pointed out the way to go
And scratched your name in sand,
Though you just thought it was nothing more
Than a place for you to stand.
Now, I want you to know that while we watched,
You discover there was no one true.
Most ev'rybody really thought
It was a childish thing to do.
Tears of rage, tears of grief,
Must I always be the thief?
Come to me now, you know
We're so low
And life is brief.

It was all very painless
When you went out to receive
All that false instruction
Which we never could believe.
And now the heart is filled with gold
As if it was a purse.
But, oh, what kind of love is this
Which goes from bad to worse?
Tears of rage, tears of grief,
Must I always be the thief?
Come to me now, you know
We're so low
And life is brief.

 

[fox69]

"The 33rd Of August"

"The 33rd Of August"


Today, there's no salvation, the band's packed up and gone
Left me standing with my penny in my hand
There's a big crowd at the station where the blind man sings his song
But he can see what they cant understand.

[Chorus:]
Its the thirty-third of August and I'm finally touching down
Eight days from Sunday finds me Saturday bound.

Once I stumbled through the darkness, tumbled to my knees
A thousand voices screaming in my brain
Woke up in a squad car, busted down for vagrancy
Outside my cell as sure as hell, it looked like rain.

But now I've got my dangerous feelings under lock and chain
Guess I killed my violent nature with a smile
Though the demons danced and sang their song within my fevered brain
Not all my God-like thoughts, Lord, were defiled

 

[fox69]

"The Altar Boy And The Thief"

"The Altar Boy And The Thief"


At night in the safety of shadows and numbers
Seeking some turf on which nothing encumbers
The buying and selling of casual looks
Stuff that gets printed in x-rated books
Your mother might have tried to understand
When you were hardly your daddy's little man
And you gave up saluting the chief
To find yourself some relief

Finely plucked eyebrows and skin of satin
Smiling seductive and endlessly Latin
Olympic body on dancing feet
Perfume thickening the air like heat
A transient star of gay bar fame
You quit your job and changed your name
And you're nearly beyond belief
As you hunt down a little relief

The seven foot black with the emerald ring
Broke up a fight without saying a thing
As the cops cruised by wanting one more chance
To send Jimmy Baldwin back over to France
And a trucker with kids and a wife
Prefers to spend half of his life
In early Bohemian motif
Playing pool and getting relief

My favorite couple was looking so fine
Dancing in rhythm and laughing in rhyme
In the light of the jukebox all yellow and blue
Holding each other as young lovers do
To me they will always remain
Unshamed, untamed, and unblamed
The altar boy and the thief
Grabbing themselves some relief

The altar boy and the thief
Catching a little relief

 

[fox69]

"The Ballad Of Sacco And Vanzetti, Part 1"

"The Ballad Of Sacco And Vanzetti, Part 1"


"Give to me your tired and your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me."

Blessed are the persecuted
And blessed are the pure in heart
Blessed are the merciful
And blessed are the ones who mourn

The step is hard that tears away the roots
And says goodbye to friends and family
The fathers and the mothers weep
The children cannot comprehend
But when there is a promised land
The brave will go and others follow
The beauty of the human spirit
Is the will to try our dreams
And so the masses teemed across the ocean
To a land of peace and hope
But no one heard a voice or saw a light
As they were tumbled onto shore
And none was welcomed by the echo of the phrase
"I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

Blessed are the persecuted
And blessed are the pure in heart
Blessed are the merciful
And blessed are the ones who mourn

 

[fox69]

"The Ballad Of Sacco And Vanzetti, Part 2"

"The Ballad Of Sacco And Vanzetti, Part 2"


Father, yes, I am a prisoner
Fear not to relay my crime
The crime is loving the forsaken
Only silence is shame

And now I'll tell you what's against us
An art that's lived for centuries
Go through the years and you will find
What's blackened all of history
Against us is the law
With its immensity of strength and power
Against us is the law!
Police know how to make a man
A guilty or an innocent
Against us is the power of police!
The shameless lies that men have told
Will ever more be paid in gold
Against us is the power of the gold!
Against us is racial hatred
And the simple fact that we are poor

My father dear, I am a prisoner
Don't be ashamed to tell my crime
The crime of love and brotherhood
And only silence is shame

With me I have my love, my innocence,
The workers, and the poor
For all of this I'm safe and strong
And hope is mine
Rebellion, revolution don't need dollars
They need this instead
Imagination, suffering, light and love
And care for every human being
You never steal, you never kill
You are a part of hope and life
The revolution goes from man to man
And heart to heart
And I sense when I look at the stars
That we are children of life
Death is small

 

[fox69]

"The Ballad Of Sacco And Vanzetti, Part 3"

"The Ballad Of Sacco And Vanzetti, Part 3"


My son, instead of crying be strong
Be brave and comfort your mother
Don't cry for the tears are wasted
Let not also the years be wasted

Forgive me, son, for this unjust death
Which takes your father from your side
Forgive me all who are my friends
I am with you, so do not cry

If mother wants to be distracted
From the sadness and the soulness
You take her for a walk
Along the quiet country
And rest beneath the shade of trees
Where here and there you gather flowers
Beside the music and the water
Is the peacefulness of nature
She will enjoy it very much
And surely you'll enjoy it too
But son, you must remember
Do not use it all yourself
But down yourself one little step
To help the weak ones by your side

Forgive me, son, for this unjust death
Which takes your father from your side
Forgive me all who are my friends
I am with you, so do not cry

The weaker ones that cry for help
The persecuted and the victim
They are your friends
And comrades in the fight
And yes, they sometimes fall
Just like your father
Yes, your father and Bartolo
They have fallen
And yesterday they fought and fell
But in the quest for joy and freedom
And in the struggle of this life you'll find
That there is love and sometimes more
Yes, in the struggle you will find
That you can love and be loved also

Forgive me all who are my friends
I am with you
I beg of you, do not cry

 

[fox69]

"The Bells Of Gethsemani"

"The Bells Of Gethsemani"


Sweet brother, if I do not sleep
My eyes are flowers on your tomb
And if I cannot eat my bread
My fasts shall live like willows where you died
If in the heat I find no water for my thirst
My thirst shall turn to springs for you, poor traveler

Come, in your labor find a resting place
And in my sorrows lay your head
Brother, take my life and bread
And buy yourself a better bed
Take my breath and take my death
Buy yourself a better rest beneath the bells of Gethsemani

When all the men of war are killed
And flags have fallen into dust
Your cross and mine will tell men still
He died on each for both of us
That we might become the brothers of God
And learn to know the Christ of burnt men

And the children are ringing the bells of Gethsemani

For in the wreckage of your April Christ lies slain
He weeps in the ruins of my spring
The money of whose tears shall fall
Into your weak and friendless hand
And buy you back to your own land

The silence of whose tears shall fall
Like bells upon your alien tomb
Hear them and come, they call you home
And the children are ringing the bells of Gethsemani

Yes, if they had been there
They would have taken that crown of thorns from his hair
And stayed for a while in that place of despair
Ah, but what do I see, my brother is there
And he's ringing the bells of Gethsemani

 

[fox69]

"The Brand New Tennessee Waltz"

"The Brand New Tennessee Waltz"


Oh, my, but you have a pretty face
You favour a girl that I knew
I imagine that she's still in Tennessee
And, by God, I should be there, too
I've a sadness too sad to be true

Well I left Tennessee in a hurry, dear
The same way that I'm leaving you
But love is mainly just memories
And everyone's got him a few
So when I'm gone I'll be glad to love you

At the brand new Tennessee Waltz
You're literally waltzing on air
At the brand new Tennessee Waltz
There's no telling who will be there

When I leave it'll be like I found you, love
Descending Victorian stairs
Feeling like one of your photographs
Trapped while I'm putting on airs
And getting even by saying. "Who cares"

At the brand new Tennessee Waltz
You're literally waltzing on air
At the brand new Tennessee Waltz
There's no telling who will be there

So, let all of your passionate violins
Play a tune for a Tennessee kid
Who's feeling like leaving another town
With no place to go if he did
'Cause they'll catch you wherever you're hid

At the brand new Tennessee Waltz
You're literally waltzing on air
At the brand new Tennessee Waltz
There's no telling who will be there

 

[fox69]

"The Carol Of The Birds"

"The Carol Of The Birds"


When rose the eastern star, the birds came from a-far,
In that full might of glory.
With one melodious voice they sweetly did rejoice
And sang the wonderous story,
Sang, praising God on high, enthroned above the sky,
And his fair mother Mary.

The eagle left his lair, came winging through the air,
His message loud arising.
And to his joyous cry the sparrow made reply,
His answer sweetly voicing.
"Overcome are death and strife, this night is born new life",
The robin sang rejoicing.
When rose the eastern star, the birds came from a-far.

 

[fox69]

"The Cherry Tree Carol"

"The Cherry Tree Carol"


When Joseph was an old man, an old man was he
He married Virgin Mary, the Queen of Galilee
He married Virgin Mary, the Queen of Galilee

Joseph and Mary walked through an orchard green
There were cherries and berries, as thick as might be seen
There were cherries and berries, as thick as might be seen

Mary said to Joseph, so meek and so mild:
Joseph, gather me some cherries, for I am with child
Joseph, gather me some cherries, for I am with child

Then Joseph flew in anger, in anger flew he
Let the father of the baby gather cherries for thee!
Let the father of the baby gather cherries for thee!

Then up spoke baby Jesus, from in Mary's womb:
Bend down the tallest branches, that my mother might have some
Bend down the tallest branches, that my mother might have some

And bend down the tallest branches, it touched Mary's hand
Cried she: Oh look thou Joseph, I have cherries by command
Oh look thou Joseph, I have cherries by command