Joan Baez

[fox69]

"Time Is Passing Us By"

"Time Is Passing Us By"


The moon is low on the southland
The frogs are asleep on the lake
Did you know that tears run in rivulets
And hearts can repeatedly break?
And this may well be the last time
If my spirits don't pick up and fly
For though it's sad
It may well be true
That our time is passing us by

Occasionally you have called for me
I've always tried to be there
But it seemed whenever my train pulled in
You never did really care
And the only thing I could decipher
From the corner of your roving eye
Was that you and I
Were the first ones to know
That our time was passing us by

Well, it was fun for the first few years
Playing Legend In Our Time
And there were those who discussed the fact
That we drifted apart in our prime
And we haven't got too much in common
Except that we're so much alike
And I hate it for though
You're a big part of me
But our time is passing us by

So I can sit here in my silver chair
You can stay there on your gold
You can say you've got commitments
And I can say I'm growing old
And I can get up and make comments
On the color of the evening sky
But our ships have come home
And the night's rolling in
And our time is passing us by

But cast us adrift
And cross a few stars
And I'm good for one more try

 

[fox69]

"Time Rag"

"Time Rag"


Ripping along towards middle age
And my music career kind of missed a page
Record sales began to drop
The management all began to hop
Not worry, they said, you'll see
What you need is some fresh publicity
Just give us a nod and we'll all leap
Towards putting you back at the top of the heap
I said, Fine, I'll give it a whack
I hung up the phone and I turned my back
Began daydreaming I was somebody else
When the phone jumped over from the wall to the shelf
We just had a break, this is really fine
We can make the January issue of TIME
If you'll give us Monday, a week from today
From two to four, now what do you say?

I said, TIME, TIME mag, mag
You got me on the rag, rag
Take your insults about the queen
And shove them up your royal Timese machine

But I scribbled it down on the wall calendar
And wondered about my interviewer
Maybe he'd be just a real nice guy
Bright and sympathetic with a roving eye
We'd forget all about the assignment due
Formalities, photos, and the interview
We'd hop on into his big rent-a-car
Go for a lovely drive, not far....maybe France
As the big day approached it slipped my mind
Till my secretary showed up at the house to remind
Me to switch into gear for the big coup de gras
The meeting with the man from the media
I swept the driveway and polished the phone
Put on a Kenzo knit in two-tone
Fluffed the pillows in the burgundy chair
Made up my eyes and brushed my hair...all in that order
When he called to say he was three hours late
My cheerful facade began to disintegrate
The photographer'd be even later still
She was hopelessly lost in the nearby hills
He arrived not exactly the man of my dreams
Not bad for a rep from the Timese machine
Asked me a wandering question or three
And I thought he was actually listening to me

And I said, TIME, TIME mag, mag
You got me on the rag, rag
Take your insults about the queen
And shove them up your royal Timese machine

Curious about his interest
I babbled my way through the worldwide list
Ireland, Chile and the African states
Poetry, politics and how they relate
Motherhood, music and Moog synthesizers
Political prisoners and Commie sympathizers
Hetero, homo and bisexuality
Where they all stand in the nineteen-seventies
Then suddenly it stopped and he started to lobby
Said, Tell me some inside stuff about Bobby
Bobby who? I smiled and said
And the TIME man's face was laced with red
I know you guys used to know each other
I know you refer to him as being your brother
And I know that you know where he's coming from
I said, You know alot for being so Goddamned dumb

And I said, TIME, TIME mag, mag
You got me on the rag, rag
Take your insults about the queen
And shove them up your royal Timese machine

Well I never gave him quite what he came for
The inside story and it's really a shame
For I never made the January issue of TIME
And just before I run out of words that rhyme
I really should tell you that deep in my heart
I don't give a damn where I stand on the charts
Not as long as the sun sinks into the west
And that's going to be a pretty serious test.....of time

 

[fox69]

"To Bobby"

"To Bobby"


I'll put flowers at your feet and I will sing to you so sweet
And hope my words will carry home to your heart
You left us marching on the road and said how heavy was the load
The years were young, the struggle barely had its start
Do you hear the voices in the night, Bobby?
They're crying for you
See the children in the morning light, Bobby
They're dying

No one could say it like you said it, we'd only try and just forget it
You stood alone upon the mountain till it was sinking
And in a frenzy we tried to reach you
With looks and letters we would beseech you
Never knowing what, where or how you were thinking
Do you hear the voices in the night, Bobby?
They're crying for you
See the children in the morning light, Bobby
They're dying

Perhaps the pictures in the Times could no longer be put in rhymes
When all the eyes of starving children are wide open
You cast aside the cursed crown and put your magic into a sound
That made me think your heart was aching or even broken
But if God hears my complaint He will forgive you
And so will I, with all respect, I'll just relive you
And likewise, you must understand these things we give you

Like these flowers at your door and scribbled notes about the war
We're only saying the time is short and there is work to do
And we're still marching in the streets with little victories and big defeats
But there is joy and there is hope and there's a place for you
And you have heard the voices in the night, Bobby
They're crying for you
See the children in the morning light, Bobby
They're dying

 

[fox69]

"Told My Captain"

"Told My Captain"


Told my captain
My hands were cold.
God damn your hands, boy,
Let the wheelin' roll!
Told my captain
My feet were cold.
God damn your feet, boy,
Let the wheelin' roll!

Captain, captain
You must be blin'
Look at your watch
It's past quittin' time.
Captain, captain
How can it be,
Whistle done blow
You still workin' me?

Asked my captain
To give me my time
Dam' old captain
Wouldn't pay me no mind.
If I'd-a had my
Weight in lime
Would've whupped that captain
Till he went stone blind.

Raised my hand
To wipe the sweat from my head
Damned old captain
Shot my buddy dead.
If you don't believe
That my buddy's dead
Just look at the hole
In my buddy's head.

Captain walkin' up and down
Buddy's lyin' on the burning ground.
Buzzards circling 'round the sky
Buzzards sure know
Captain's gonna die.

 

[fox69]

"Travelin' Shoes"

"Travelin' Shoes"


Mama always reminds me that we're only passin' through
The treasures of this world are not for us to hold on to
She says the way we're headed
Will take us where we're bound
And we can not lay are journey down

[Chorus:]
Because all god's children need travelin' shoes
To walk the road that's narrow but it's true
We can't stop here we're just passin' through
That's why all god's children need travelin' shoes

My bags are pack and waiting and I'm headed for the door
The train Is at the station , got my ticket and I'll board
The brakeman swings his lantern
Lit with never ending love
And mama I can't thank you near enough

[Chorus 2x]

We can't stop here we're just passin' through

 

[fox69]

"Tumbleweed"

"Tumbleweed"


I feel like a lonesome tumbleweed
Rolling across an open plain,
I feel like something nobody needs
I feel my life drifting away,
Drifting away -

I feel like a broken wagon wheel
When I can't hop a slow-moving train
Think I know how a coyote feels
When he's howling just to
Ease the pain, since he's been away.

Lord, I feel like rolling,
Rolling along, so keep your big
Wind blowing till all my natural
Days are gone -
Till my days are all gone.

I'm just a lonesome tumbleweed
Turning end over end.
Once I pulled all my roots free
I became a slave to the wind,
A slave to the wind.

 

[fox69]

"Turquoise"
(originally by Donovan)

"Turquoise"
(originally by Donovan)



Your smile - beams like sunlight - on a gull's wing
And the leaves - dance and play - after you
Take my hand - and hold it - as you would a flower
Take care with my heart - oh darling - she's made of glass

Your eyes - feel like silence - resting on me
And the birds - cease to sing - when you rise
Ride easy - your fairy stallion - you have mounted
Take care how you fly - my precious - you might fall down

In the pastel skies - the sunset - I have wandered
With my eyes and ears and heart - strained to the full
I know I tasted the essence - in the few days
Take care who you love - my precious - he might not know

 

[fox69]

"Twelve Gates To The City"

"Twelve Gates To The City"


Three gates in the east
Three gates in the west
Three gates in the north
Three gates in the south
That makes twelve gates to the city Hallelujah

[Chorus:]
Oh what a beautiful city
Oh what a beautiful city
Oh what a beautiful city
There's twelve gates to the city Hallelujah

Walk right in, you're welcome to the city
Step right up welcome to the city
Walk right through those gates to the city
There are twelve gates to the city Hallelujah

[Chorus]

Who are those children all dressed in red
Twelve gates to the city
Must be the children that Moses sent
There are twelve gates to the city Hallelujah

Rich and the poor welcome to the city
Young and the old welcome to the city
Weak and the strong welcome to the city
There are twelve gates to the city Hallelujah

[Chorus 2x]

 

[fox69]

"Wagoner's Lad"

"Wagoner's Lad"


Oh, hard is the fortune of all woman kind
She's always controlled, she's always confined
Controlled by her parents until she's a wife
A slave to her husband the rest of her life

Oh, I'm just a poor girl my fortune is sad
I've always been courted by the Wagoner's lad
He's courted me daily, by night and by day
And now he is loading and going away

Oh, my parents don't like him because he is poor
They say he's not worthy of entering my door
He works for a living, his money's his own
And if they don't like it they can leave him alone

Oh, your horses are hungry, go feed them some hay
Then sit down here by me as long as you may
My horses ain't hungry, they won't eat your hay
So fare thee well darlin I'll be on my way

Oh, your wagon needs greasing your whip is to mend
Then sit down here by me as long as you can
My wagon is greasy, my whip's in my hand
So fare thee well darlin, no longer to stand

 

[fox69]

"Walkin' Down The Line"
(originally by Bob Dylan)

"Walkin' Down The Line"
(originally by Bob Dylan)



Well, I'm walkin' down the line,
I'm walkin' down the line
An' I'm walkin' down the line.
My feet'll be a-flyin'
To tell about my troubled mind.

I got a heavy-headed gal
I got a heavy-headed gal
I got a heavy-headed gal
She ain't feelin' well
When she's better only time will tell

Well, I'm walkin' down the line,
I'm walkin' down the line
An' I'm walkin' down the line.
My feet'll be a-flyin'
To tell about my troubled mind.

My money comes and goes
My money comes and goes
My money comes and goes
And rolls and flows and rolls and flows
Through the holes in the pockets in my clothes

Well, I'm walkin' down the line,
I'm walkin' down the line
An' I'm walkin' down the line.
My feet'll be a-flyin'
To tell about my troubled mind.

I see the morning light
I see the morning light
Well it's not because
I'm an early riser
I didn't go to sleep last night

Well, I'm walkin' down the line,
I'm walkin' down the line
An' I'm walkin' down the line.
My feet'll be a-flyin'
To tell about my troubled mind.

I got my walkin' shoes
I got my walkin' shoes
I got my walkin' shoes
An' I ain't a-gonna lose
I believe I got the walkin' blues

Well, I'm walkin' down the line,
I'm walkin' down the line
An' I'm walkin' down the line.
My feet'll be a-flyin'
To tell about my troubled mind.