Stephen Stills

[fox69]

"The Wrong Thing To Do"

"The Wrong Thing To Do"


Well, my daddy took me campin'
Out under the stars
Left me by the fire
While he hit the bars
And I broke my finger
On a trailer hitch
Mamma called daddy
That son of a bitch, alright

Well a hundred miles to go
You draggin' your ass
I'm in a Japanese car
That ain't gonna last
And you forever drivin'
On the wrong side of the road
Wearing dungarees
That your mother stole

[Chorus:]
Well my mamma loved me
But my daddy don't
I'm tryin' to work it all out
But I probably won't
I got a woman waiting
At the top of the stairs
It's the wrong thing to do
But I don't care

Well she was blond and tall
She was 23
Brought into the world
To get the best of me
And she never paid back
Half what she stole
She wanted my money
So I gave her my soul

[Chorus]

Well I was flying half mast
On the 4th of July
In a bar in Lake City
With a western tie
And I was thinkin' hard
About changin' my name
And headed for Miami
When the daylight came

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Thoroughfare Gap"

"Thoroughfare Gap"


Sometimes I consider my pace, I'm reminded of a train
Gathering speed for the climb to the pass in whose shadow
It already lies, a small metal dragon approaching
The ever present ascending rise to the Seventh Mountain

Reeling and snaking, and leaping it seems
That it wants to come loose from it's path cast in iron
But you can't slow down now as the earth has presented
A new crest to reach without barely a rest from the last one

Can you wonder what lies beyond? Though you've been
There before and forget about the effort and the strain
Always ascending, each yard as a mile to the never ending pull
Of the steepening grade that's before you

It's no matter, no distance, it's the ride

A valley, a forest, a desert, a stream and an over sized bridge
For the trickle beneath, you remember the torrent
It turned to last spring from the snow melting fast
And the river it became in the summer

Perhaps it is ruin from a fire that has scorched it
So badly that nothing will grow without rain to wash away
The blackened soil, now useless until called upon again
In a future as distant and far away as the next range of mountains

Then take it as far as you see and beyond
With eyes you don't use enough to gather up strength
As thoroughfare gap, what awaits is whatever you see
When you get there of even before

It's no matter, no distance, it's the ride

 

[fox69]

"To A Flame"

"To A Flame"


Drawn to a flame
She is far away, out of reach
Will she burn her wings? I can only watch
Out of touch, out of my mind

Wish I could tell if she's alright, feeling fine
Lucky for me I'm not a jealous man
Out of hand, out of my mind

When this love is over, start again
Find a new friend, fall in love again

Get yourself high someone
And then wave goodbye, don't you cry
Go ahead break your heart
But don't fall apart
It's like saying goodbye
To Paris for the first time

 

[fox69]

"To Mama From Christopher And The Old Man"

"To Mama From Christopher And The Old Man"


Believin' in you is believin' in me
All the same circle game that makes us feel free
So much behind us so much to do
Some days you eat the bear
Some days the bear eats you

Nothin' to worry 'bout
But the worries
That you make up yourself

Christopher's watching me carefully now
Wonderin' who I am listenin' to the sound
He knows the best and the worst of me now
I don't think I could go on if I let him down

Nothin' to worry 'bout
But the worries
That you make up yourself

So my love do the things you got to do
Never have to be afraid, I'm always with you
Believin' in me and you like Christopher does
Believin' is the magic that makes one from the two of us

Nothin' to worry 'bout
But the worries
That you make up yourself

 

[fox69]

"Treetop Flyer"

"Treetop Flyer"


I could be a rambler from the seven dials
I don't pay taxes 'cause I never file
I don't do business that don't make me smile
I love my aeroplane 'cause she's got style
I'm a treetop flyer

I'll fly any cargo, that you can pay to run the bush league pilots, they just can't get the job done
Got to fly down into the canyon, ya' don't ever see the sun
There's no such thing as an easy run
For a treetop flyer
I'm flyin' low, I'm in high demand

Go fifteen feet over the Rio Grande
I'll blow the mesquite right up of off the sand
Seldom seen, especially when I land
I'm a treetop flyer
Born Survivor

People been asking me, "Where'd you learn to fly that way?"
Ot was over in Vietnam, chasin' NVA
The government taught me, and they taught me right,
Stay down, under the treeline, you might be alright
Treetop flyer

So I'm comin' home, I'm runnin' low and fast
I promised my woman this is gonna be my last
I get the ship down, I tie her fast
Then some old boy walks up, and he says "Hey son" wanna' make some fast cash?
I'm a treetop flyer

Well there's things I am, and there's things I'm not
I am a smuggler and I could get shot
I ain't going to die, I ain't goin' to get caught,
See I'm a flyin' fool, in an aeroplane that's just too hot
I'm a treetop flyer
Born survivor
I usually work alone

 

[fox69]

"Turn Back The Pages"

"Turn Back The Pages"


I thought I knew you
I guess I took myself
Right down the wrong road
Leading to the past
I know you're trying
To rearrange your mind
But you were lying
Do you laugh in my face

Turn back turn back the pages
Who remembers names
Who remembers faces
Turn back don't drive yourself crazy
Life's too short for ritualistic chases

Maybe tomorrow
You'll find you have to cry
And in your sorrow
See the mirror it doesn't lie
Just like the last time
You try to pull me down
You are the past time
And blind and death to sound

Turn back turn back the pages
Who remembers names
Who remembers faces
Turn back don't drive yourself crazy
Life's too short for repetitious changes

No use denying
You wasted my time
And caused the crying
And the bitterness to hide

Just trying to prove
You need nobody else
But you're bound to lose
Lying to yourself

Turn back turn back the pages
Who remembers names
Who remembers faces
Turn back don't drive yourself crazy
Life's too short for ritualistic chases
Turn back turn back turn back the pages

 

[fox69]

"Uncle Pen"

"Uncle Pen"


Oh the people would come from far away
They'd dance all night till the break of day
When the caller hollered "do-se-do"
You knew Uncle Pen was ready to go

Late in the evening about sundown
High on the hill and above the town
Uncle Pen played the fiddle lord how it would ring
You could hear it talk, you could hear it sing

He played an old piece he called "Soldier's Joy"
And the one called "The Boston Boy"
The greatest of all was "Jenny Lynn"
To me that's where the fiddle begins

I'll never forget that mournful day
When Uncle Pen was called away
They hung up his fiddle, they hung up his bow
They knew it was time for him to go

 

[fox69]

"We Are Not Helpless"

"We Are Not Helpless"


We are not helpless we are men
What lies between us
It can be set aside and ended

Everyday we learn more how to hate
Shut the door
And then we'll tell ourselves we can't relate

Only to the ones who are the same
Yet even they are different
And ever so they shall remain

All are strangers, all are friends, all are brothers
Open up my friend and learn to hear
For even lying
When it has nothing you should fear

If you cannot let yourself be
Known by anyone
Then you are hiding and not whole
All are strangers, all are friends, all are brothers

We your children we would ask you all
Please do not hide your eyes
And listen when we will call
We will whisper shout or make a scene

We are the answer
For we can live the peace we dream
All are strangers, all are friends, all are brothers
Ohh yeah, ohh yeah

Yes America's children
Are askin' everybody some questions about how it is
Yes America's children
Are makin' it hard to look them in the eyes whoa it is

America's children
Are makin' it hard to live lies you know whoa it is
And America's children are diggin' that everywhere children
Are diggin' we live on the earth

We live on the earth we live on the earth right now
Yes, and it's right on children of the earth and it's right on
Children of the earth and it's right on
Children of the earth and it's right on right on, yeah

This is what has made our nation free
For life is change
And only blind men cannot see

The new order is upon us now it is the children
They have the wisdom to be free
All are strangers, all are friends, all are brothers

 

[fox69]

"We Will Go On"

"We Will Go On"


To forget about lovin' you at all is beyond me
I cannot understand, yeah
Here without you is loneliness
I called out in desperation
Give me back your hand

I can't believe I've heard you say forever
It may be my naivete
But life is real and not a play
Together we will go on

And I have not the faintest glimmer of the past
And tomorrow will come and go away
And my heart is broken but will last
My spirit cries out to you for space
It is good can you feel it, it is strong cannot defeat it
And I don't believe you've gone away

Don't believe I've heard you say forever
It may be my naivete
But life is real and not a play
Together we will go on

And as my future grows darker every day
I can't help wonderin' how you feel
About how high a price we have to pay
Broken dreams, broken hearts that will not heal
And I don't believe you've gone away

Don't believe I heard you say forever
It may be my naivete
But life is real and not a play
Together we will go on

 

[fox69]

"What To Do"

"What To Do"


Makin' it hard on each other
Makin' it hard on yourself
Makin' it hard on me
Makin' it hard on you
...Its all the same

I'm not the one to tell you what to do
I have no desire to run your life
Do you thing you know what to do
Just don't let nobody tell ya no lies

Could we retire
To a neutral corner
'Cause I'd like a chance
...To make myself...clear...
I said I'm still your friend
I've got a few things I'd love to say
And I'd like to think that you might want to hear...
For instance the...

[Chorus:]
Blind stubborn pride drove us apart
Can't you see the place we went wrong
You hide in your world
And I'll get lost in mine
All we got left is a song

[Chorus]

When you decide that you'd like to know
What it is that makes a person go
When you decide you believe and you're trustin'
Let somebody open your soul

[Chorus]