Nanci Griffith

[fox69]

"Is This All There Is?"

"Is This All There Is?"


I have traveled far to be sitting here with you
And I will leave this place alone
That's a sad and simple truth
There is so little time and so much to say
And I'll be none the wiser
When I leave you here today

[Chorus:]
Is that all there is
I wanted so much more
The gold in those hills
The silver of the moores
And now that I'm here
Looking you head on
The treasure that I left behind
Is all I'll ever miss
The blame for losing love is blind
Is this all there is

It always stops me cold everytime I hear your name
The friends that we share
Know I'll never love the same
I still hear your voice echo through the days
Yet it never breaks my stride
Cuz we would always end this way

[Chorus]

We were really something
Holding hands and walkin
Now, no amount of talkin
Could lead this love a place to go

 

[fox69]

"It's A Hard Life Wherever You Go"

"It's A Hard Life Wherever You Go"


I am a backseat driver from America
They drive to the left on Falls Road
The man at the wheel's name is Seamus
We pass a child on the corner he knows
And Seamus says, "Now, what chance has that
Kid got?"
And I say from the back, "I don't know."
He says, "There's barbed wire at all of these exits...
And there ain't no place in Belfast for that kid
To go."

[Chorus:]
It's a hard life
It's a hard life
It's a very hard life
It's a hard life wherever you go
If we poison our children with hatred
Then, the hard life is all that they'll know
And there ain't no place in (Belfast) for
These kids to go

(Chicago)

(This world)
A cafeteria line in Chicago
The fat man in front of me
Is calling black people trash to his children
He's the only trash here I see
And I'm thinking this man wears a white hood
In the night when his children should sleep
But, they slip to their window and they see him
And they think that white hood's all they need

[Chorus]

I was a child in the sixties
Dreams could be held through TV
With Disney, and Cronkite, and Martin Luther
Oh, I believed, I believed... I BELIEVED
Now, I am the backseat driver from America
I am not at the wheel of control
I am guilty, I am war,... I am the root of all evil
Lord, and I can't drive on the left side of the road

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"It's Just Another Morning Here"

"It's Just Another Morning Here"


The telephone is ringin' in the middle of the night
And I pull the bed clothes higher
Will it stop calling out if I turn on the light?
I'm afraid of these shadows here
'Cuz my past is truly frightening
And I'm afraid of the warmth in the down
Of a feathered heart in flight

[Chorus:]
It's just another morning here (it's morning)
It's just another morning here
It's just another morning here (it's morning)
And it's a miracle that it comes around
Every day of the year

The neighbors scream and their baby cries
I'm hiding in the corner
I won't be them, pray I won't be them one day
Maybe it's just the breath of August
So hot upon my shoulder
Or an open window for a winged heart
To fly away

[Chorus]

The telephone is ringin' in the middle of the night
I pull the bed clothes higher
Will it stop calling out if I turn on the light?
I'm afraid of these shadows here
'Cuz my past is truly frightening
And I'm afraid of the warmth in the down
Of a feathered heart in flight

[Chorus 2x to fade out]

 

[fox69]

"It's Too Late"

"It's Too Late"


You pace the pool and talk about it
I read my book and think about it
You've walked on water
As I'm turning the page
You say, "What's the intrigue here...
In reading when the sky is clear?"
You are in the sun
And I am always in the shade

[Chorus:]
It's too late to leave you
You know that I will never leave you
It's too late to know you
You don't like to be known
You would never hold me
I don't like to be held
I will always love you
In spite of myself

I can feel the weather changing
The leaves are tired and turned with anger
They fall around us like a veil
Of golden tears
You have never needed me
And I'm not good at being needed
This season will be leaving us
But we will still be here

[Chorus]

Do you miss me when I'm far away?
Do you save me for your rainy days?
Is my picture on the mantle...
Or is it in the fire?
It's odd the way the years fly by
They leave us standing side by side
You have been my mystery
And I've been your desire

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"John Philip Griffith"

"John Philip Griffith"


He was a simple man only to a stranger.
And the kindness in his eyes
I still remember.
Now that he is old,
They say he's angry and he's cold,
That his soul is dying.

He's a wealthy man's dream,
And he's a working man's dime.
He has stood in both men's shoes
In his own damn time.
The hard times of the thirties
Still linger in his mind
When he is lonely.
He's out there in the cold,
Twenty years away from home.
Does he dream about his old home
In San Antone?
He's often watched the highways,
But he's a man of sixty-five.
Where ain't a soul in El Paso
Who would give an old drunk a ride.

Now, he traded in his draftsman's pen
For a fishing pole.
And his mansion on the hill
Is an alley in El Paso.
The anchors of the fifties
Still hold to broken dreams
When his sorrows grow.

He's out there in the cold,
Twenty years away from home.
Does he dream about his old home
In San Antone?
He's often watched the highways,
But he's a man of sixty-five.
There ain't a soul in El Paso
Who would give an old drunk a ride.

Now, they tell me that John Philip
Loved to gamble in his day.
And he burned his bridges well
When he walked away.
He closed those corporate doors,
Left his children and his home...
Now no one owns him.

 

[fox69]

"Julie Anne"

"Julie Anne"


An urban light hit's a bartender's smile
'Cause it's closin' time again
Last call rang out such a long time ago
In the heart of Julie Anne
Now she waits inside this midnight glow
To steal her dance of grace
White satin gloves on her hands these days
To cover the dancer's age

[Chorus:]
The wintertime's so sweet
Even wino's have their needs
They pretend that she is younger
When they are lonely
The bar room floor's her home
When the light's are low they'll call for more
How it hurt's to hear them say she is only
Old Julie Anne

Men don't fear the well's of time
For the years will bring them something
(something)
While the women count their wrinkles
And the children in their homes
But if I'm blinded here tomorrow
I am blessed in the beauty of chance
To remember the hands of a bird in flight
In the dance of Julie Anne

[Chorus]

Oh Julie Anne
Don't go to sleep
Just pick your heart up off that wino's knee
And let the whiskey be your lover
Who makes the winter sweet
And warms a dancer's feet

 

[fox69]

"Just Another Morning Here"

"Just Another Morning Here"


The telephone is ringin' in the middle of the night
I pull the bed clothes higher
Will it stop calling out if I turn out the light?
I'm afraid of these shadows here
Cuz my past is truly frightening
And I'm afraid of the warmth in the down
Of a feathered heart in flight

[Chorus:]
It's just another morning here (it's morning)
It's just another morning here
It's just another morning here (it's morning)
And it's a miracle what it comes around
Everday of the year

The neighbors scream and their baby cries
I'm hiding in the corner
I won't be them, pray I won't be them one day
Maybe it's just the breath of August
So hot upon my shoulders
Or the open window for the winged heart
To fly away

[Chorus]

The telephone is ringin' in the middle of the night
I pull the bed clothes higher
Will it stop calling out if I turn out the light?
I'm afraid of these shadows here
Cuz my past is truly frightening
And I'm afraid of the warmth in the down
Of a feathered heart in flight

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Last Song For Mother"

"Last Song For Mother"


If I promise not to cry
Will you look me in the eye
And tell me that you've known me
I was your late, your lonely child
I am enhanced by all you've shown me

And in my youth I did defy you to the end
Please forgive my wildness then
Even I can't comprehend
What a mother's love has lent
To all that is me

And will you sing this song again?
Let us sing it hand in hand
While the band is still playing
Before the light can loose your hand
Before I lose my voice again
Let us sing it while it's playing

And if I promise not to cry
Please look me in the eye
And say you've truly known me
'Tis the sweet sound of goodbye
Amazing grace how sweet the sound

Between your soul and mine
If I promise not to cry
If I promise not to cry

 

[fox69]

"Last Train Home"

"Last Train Home"


By the Time I Get to Phoenix
Was the last song on your mind the day you left
You woke up in Nogales
With Tequila with her name across your chest

You've stumbled through the morning
In these border tourists' dusty avenues
Singing Everyday's The Hurting Kind
And everyday you live, you're Born to Lose.

[Chorus:]
You missed the last train home
The whistle blew and now she's gone
West Texas dust beneath your nails
You're hammered down the heartbreak trail
And you've missed the last train home
That whistle blew... she's solid gone

Now, you're wandering El Paso
Searching for your broken heart and truth
She was all you ever had
And the only thing you ever had to lose

With a juke box playing Charlie Rich
You're lining up your shots at half past noon
You threw your ring across the bar
And sang along to Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues

[Chorus]

Now don't go to Tulsa where she's bound
You'll end up six feet underground
Your ex-friend, Charlie's there abouts
He never missed the last train out

You missed the last train home
That whistle blew... she's solid gone

You missed the last train home
That whistle blew... she's solid gone

 

[fox69]

"Late Night Grand Hotel"

"Late Night Grand Hotel"


I'm working on a morning flight to anywhere but here
I'm watching this evening fire burn away my tears
All my life I've left my troubles by the door
'Cos leaving is all I've ever known before

It's not the way you hold me when the sun goes down
It's not the way you call my name that left me stranded on the ground
It's not the way you'll say you'll hear my heart when the music ends
No... I am just learning how to fly away again

It's not the way you say you'll hear my heart when the music ends
I am just learning how to fly away again

And maybe you were thinking that you thought you knew me well
But no-one ever knows the heart of anyone else
I feel like Garbo in this Late Night Grande Hotel
'Cos living alone is all I've ever done well

It's not the way you hold me when the sun goes down
It's not the way you call my name that left me stranded on the ground
It's not the way you'll say you'll hear my heart when the music ends
No... I am just learning how to fly away again

It's not the way you hold me when the sun goes down
It's not the way you call my name that left me stranded on the ground
It's not the way you'll say you'll hear my heart when the music ends
No... I am just learning how to fly away again

It's not the way you'll say you'll hear my heart when the music ends
No... I am just learning how to fly away again