Joan Baez

[fox69]

"The Tramp On The Street"

"The Tramp On The Street"


Only a tramp was Lazarus who begged.
He stood by the rich man's gate.
And, he begged for crumbs from the rich man to eat
But they left him to die, like a tramp on the street.

And, Jesus who died on Calvary's tree
Shed his life's blood for you and for me.
They pierced his side, his hands, and his feet
And, they left him to die just like a tramp on the street.

He was Mary's own darling; he was Mary's own son.
Once he was fair and once he was young.
And, Mary she rocked him, her little darlin' to sleep
But, they left him to die like a tramp on the street.

When the battles are over and the victory's won
Everyone mourns for the poor man's son.
Red, white, and blue and victory sweet
And, they left them to die like a tramp on the street.

 

[fox69]

"The Trees They Do Grow High"

"The Trees They Do Grow High"


The trees they grow high,
The leaves they do grow green
Many is the time my true love I've seen
Many an hour I have watched him all alone
He's young,
But he's daily growing

Father, dear father,
You've done me great wrong
You have married me to a boy who is too young
I'm twice twelve and he is but fourteen
He's young,
But he's daily growing

Daughter, dear daughter,
I've done you no wrong
I have married you to a great lord's son
He'll make a lord for you to wait upon
He's young,
But he's daily growing

Father, dear father, if you see fit
We'll send him to college for one year yet
I'll tie blue ribbons all around his head
To let the maidens know that he's married

One day I was looking o'er my father's castle wall
I spied all the boys as playing with the ball
My own true love was the flower of them all
He's young, but he's daily growing

At the age of fourteen, he was a married man
At the age of fifteen, the father of a son
At the age of sixteen, his grave it was green
And death had put an end to his growing

 

[fox69]

"The Unquiet Grave"

"The Unquiet Grave"


Cold blows the wind to my true love,
And gently drops the rain.
I've never had but one true love,
And in green-wood he lies slain.

I'll do as much for my true love,
As any young girl may,
I'll sit and mourn all on his grave,
For twelve months and a day.

And when twelve months and a day was passed,
The ghost did rise and speak,
"Why sittest thou all on my grave
And will no let me sleep?"

"Go fetch me water from the desert,
And blood from out the stone,
Go fetch me milk from a fair maid's breast
That young man never has known."

"How oft on yonder grave, sweetheart,
Where we were want to walk,
The fairest flower that e'er I saw
Has withered to a stalk."

"A stalk has withered and dead, sweetheart,
The flower will never return,
And since I've lost my own true love,
What can I do but yearn."

"When will we meet again, sweetheart,
When will we meet again?"
"When the autumn leaves that fall from the trees
Are green and spring up again."

 

[fox69]

"The Walls Of Redwing"
(originally by Bob Dylan)

"The Walls Of Redwing"
(originally by Bob Dylan)



Oh, the age of the inmates
I remember quite freely:
No younger than twelve,
No older 'n seventeen.
Thrown in like bandits
And cast off like criminals,
Inside the walls,
The walls of Red Wing.

From the dirty old mess hall
You march to the brick wall,
Too weary to talk
And too tired to sing.
Oh, it's all afternoon
You remember your home town,
Inside the walls,
The walls of Red Wing.

Oh, the gates are cast iron
And the walls are barbed wire.
Stay far from the fence
With the 'lectricity sting.
And it's keep down your head
And stay in your number,
Inside the walls,
The walls of Red Wing.

Oh, it's fare thee well
To the deep hollow dungeon,
Farewell to the boardwalk
That takes you to the screen.
And farewell to the minutes
They threaten you with it,
Inside the walls,
The walls of Red Wing.

 

[fox69]

"The Water Is Wide"

"The Water Is Wide"


The water is wide, I cannot get oer
Neither have I wings to fly
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row, my love and I

A ship there is and she sails the sea
She's loaded deep as deep can be
But not so deep as the love I'm in
I know not if I sink or swim

I leaned my back against an oak
Thinking it was a trusty tree
But first it bent and then it broke
So did my love prove false to me

I reached my finger into some soft bush
Thinking the fairest flower to find
I pricked my finger to the bone
And left the fairest flower behind

Oh love be handsome and love be kind
Gay as a jewel when first it is new
But love grows old and waxes cold
And fades away like the morning dew

Must I go bound while you go free
Must I love a man who doesn't love me
Must I be born with so little art
As to love a man who'll break my heart

When cockle shells turn silver bells
Then will my love come back to me
When roses bloom in winter's gloom
Then will my love return to me

 

[fox69]

"The Wild Mountain Thyme"

"The Wild Mountain Thyme"


For the summertime is coming.
And the leaves are sweetly blooming
And the wild mountain thyme
Blooms around the purple heather

[Chorus:]
Will you go lassie, go?
And we'll all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme
All around the purple heather
Will you go, lassie go?

If my true love will not go
I will surely find another
To pull wild mountain thyme,
All around the purple heather

[Chorus]

I will build my love a bower
By yon clear an crystal fountain
And in it I will pile
All the flowers of the mountain

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"There But For Fortune"

"There But For Fortune"


Show me the prison, show me the jail
Show me the prisoner, whose life has gone stale
And I'll show you a young man
With so many reasons why
And there but for fortune, go you or I......mm, mm

Show me the alley, show me the train
Show me the hobo, who sleeps out in the rain
And I'll show you a young man
With so many reasons why
And there but for fortune, go you or I, mm, mm

Show me the whiskey, stains on the floor
Show me the drunkard, as he stumbles out the door
And I'll show you a young man
With so many reasons why
And there but for fortune go you or I, mmm, mm

Show me the country, where the bombs had to fall
Show me the ruins of the buildings, once so tall
And I'll show you a young land
With so many reasons why
And there but for fortune go you and I, you and I.

 

[fox69]

"Three Fishers"

"Three Fishers"


Three fishers went sailing out into the west,
Out into the west as the sun went down,
Each thought on the woman that loves him the best,
And the children stood watching them out of the town.

For men must work and women must weep,
For there's little to earn and many to keep,
And the harbor bar be moaning.

Three wives sat up in the lighthouse tower,
They trimmed the lamps as the sun went down,
And they looked at the squall and they looked at the shower,
And the night-wrack came rolling in ragged and brown.

For men must work and women must weep,
'Though storms be sudden and the waters be deep
And the harbor bar be moaning.

Three corpses lay out on the shining sand,
In the morning gleam as the tide went down,
And the women were weeping and wringing their hands,
For those who would never come back to the town.

For men must work and women must weep,
And the sooner it's over, the sooner to sleep
And good-bye to that bar and its moaning.

For men must work and women must weep,
And the sooner it's over, the sooner to sleep
And good-bye to that bar and its moaning.

 

[fox69]

"Three Horses"

"Three Horses"


In the early dawn a stallion white
Prances the hills in the morning light.
His bridle is painted with thunder and gold,
Orchids and dragons, pale knights of old.
He is the horse of the ages past.
And now the children run to see
The stallion on the hill,
Bringing bags of apples
And of clover they have filled.
And the white horse tells his stories
Of the days now past and gone
And the children stand a-wondering
Believing every song.
How brightly glows the past.

When the sun is high comes a mare so red,
Trampling the graves of the living and dead.
Her mantle is heavy with mirrors and glass,
All is reflected when the red mare does pass.
She is the horse of the here and now.
And now there is confusion
Amongst the children on the hill.
They cling to one another
And no longer can be still.
While the red mare's voice is trembling
With a rare and mighty call,
The children start remembering
The bearers and the pall.
And though their many-colored sweaters
Are reflected in the glass,
And though the sun shines down upon them,
They are frightened in the grass.
How stark is the here and now.

When night does fall comes a stallion black,
So proud and tall he never looks back.
He wears him no emeralds, silver and gold,
Not even a covering to keep him from cold.
He is the horse of the years to come.
And I will get me down
Before this steed upon my knees
And sing to him the sorrows
Of a thousand centuries.
And the children now will scatter
As their mothers call them home,
For the sadness of the evening horse
No child has ever known.
And I will hang about him
A bell that's never rung
And thank him for the many words
Which from his throat have never sprung.
And I'll thank God and all the angels
That the stallion of the evening,
The black horse of the future,
Comes to earth but has no tongue.

 

[fox69]

"Through Your Hands"

"Through Your Hands"


You were dreaming on a park bench
'Bout a broad highway somewhere
When the music from the carillon
Seemed to hurl your heart out there
Past the scientific darkness
Past the fireflies that float
To an angel bending down
To wrap you in her warmest coat

[Chorus:]
And you ask, "What am I not doing?"
She says "Your voice cannot command.
In time, you will move mountains,
And it will come through your hands."

Still you argue for an option
Still you angle for your case
Like you wouldn't know a burning bush
If it blew up in your face
Yeah, we scheme about the future
And we dream about the past
When just a simple reaching out
Might build a bridge that lasts

[Chorus]

So whatever your hands find to do
You must do with all your heart
There are thoughts enough
To blow men's minds and tear great worlds apart

There's a healing touch to find you
On that broad highway somewhere
To lift you high
As music flying
Through the angel's hair.

Don't ask what you are not doing
Because your voice cannot command
In time we will move mountains
And it will come through your hands