postcards

postcards for my father
from pennsylvania station
hey I'm in the big town
it only took imagination
things I haven't told you
I bet you already know
things you haven't told me yet
I'd pay good money to know
let's do some talkin'
willie is a proud man
willie is strong
I'd like to say I know him well
but he hardly talks at all
let's do some talkin'
the miles on your iron feet
and your calloused hands
evidence you work too hard
and that you always have
been waiting on the lottery
I'm waiting on a song
to rise up out of poverty
well maybe we've been rich
all along

arc

her majesty her royal crown
kingdoms for her lost and found
head of gold magic breath
future holds me in suspense
two flowers in a field
one day one revealed
you are the sun to me
where i lean instinctively
venus and the crescent moon
wax above this tender bloom
the space between us hums
the arc continuum

fireflies

funny how a moment can change a lot
one you're here the next you're not
and you never get no say
one of these days i'm going home
save your praise for the ones who mourn
count your blessings everyday
purple flowers and the moon
pass my way every june
some of us pass away too
fireflies fill the room
to light the night with la luna
maybe life's task is to notice
maybe love's task is like this
maybe the world is what it is

my love

under god's gray ceiling
warm thoughts of sun streaming
curling in your soft places
what an envious path light traces
my love my love
my love my love
slight movement of time passing
sun races moon everlasting
comets blaze in my chest
it's your face my joy reflects
it's your face my joy reflects
my love my love
my love my love
twilight blue road
how my tongue froze
soft words deep red
flowers on your step
my love my love
my love my love

maggie's farm

by bob dylan
© special rider music/sesac

yours

the moon in sagittarius
early january what is to be with us
you fill my head with delight
embodiment of my desire
singin' in my head quickening my breath
singin' in my head quickening my breath
you better get it while you can
i'll be your woman or your man
whatever you want i hope i am
you better get it while you can
i'll be your woman or your man
whatever you want i hope i am
if this song is for one day
it's still yours
if this song is for one day
it's still yours
my funny valentine
stay
stay funny valentine
stay

d train in spring (instrumental)

mule

i think his name was leonard
he been shot nine times
across from my front window
across the front lines
one more story one more boy on the back page
tracking all the numbers
of brothers killing brothers
and then charge by the grave
i come from the town
that suspended two cops
when a killer raped a boy
and stuffed him in a box
then two years later
when they thought we forgot
said "he was just a crazy queer
reinstate them cops"
you cannot rise above
your own level of consciousness
any prejudice reflects
a lack of willingness
to grow to change
to grow to change
change starts here
change starts here

maybe you should

sittin' on the south side by some greasy white guy
who says 'whattaya call that kind of hair?'
I call it mine you drunken swine
now shut your face and drink your beer
contents under pressure will explode
so be careful where your footsteps dare to go
my stomach's waging war with me
scars resemble memory
I told you what's the matter
but you don't believe the answer
why should any woman ever be afraid
why should any woman ever be afraid
I never really ever thought about it quite like that
I never really ever thought about it quite like that
maybe you should
maybe you should
on her tail he's on the train
so she switches cars
'cause he won't stop staring
that sick psycho-matic in dimestore glasses
he won't stop staring
why should any woman ever be afraid
I never really ever thought about it quite like that
maybe you should
maybe you should
maybe you should

love and dust

wild things run fast
the devil's on a joyride
forgiveness is my task
make the most of my time
i'm the polar night
that is never done
when the winter might
she lets no sun
i cannot hold a river
i cannot run a stream
take this message to my mother
i saw her in my dream
the moon is a maiden
next to god
here, my little poems
of love and dust

the devil's henchmen

hate on the trigger a deafening sound
faggot nigger hit the ground
a day in the life of the great machine
men in hoods of white parade in the street
another mistrial after murdering
a black man
i don't think they're done
i don't think they're done
i don't think they're done
hangin' us by the neck
lynching comes in subtle flavor
drugs and guns and heavy labor
you might get parole or a Ph.D
with selectively doled out opportunities
bought and sold for centuries
freedom comes but it ain't free
i don't think they're done
i don't think they're done
i don't think they're done
hangin' us by the neck

that's alright

so i'm sitting in the corner wondering what i'm fighting over.
well, it can't be over you, i just fight myself.
but, i want you to rescue me.
well, if you don't that's alright
sometimes in the evening you often cross my mind.
i wonder if i know you. i wonder if i ever really did.
now i never see you, but i hear you're doing well.
off in your own direction.
well that's alright
sometimes in the morning you're still on my mind
but that never really does me any good.
now i never see you, but i hear you're doing well.
off in your own direction.
well that's alright

if i were

if i were a painter, a painter of design,
i'd roll you in my flower base, and drink you up like wine.
if i were a telescope, looking over land,
high and low my gaze would go until i found your hand.
if i were, if i were
if i were a baker, i'd bake a loaf of bread.
but all i need sustaining me is the word inside my head.
if i had the power to bring you joy inside,
i'd take away the bitterness and fill you up with pride.
if i were, if i were
if i were a seamstress, sewing golden thread,
i'd wear you like a cloak and place a crown upon your head.
if i were a painter, a painter of design,
i'd roll you in my flower base and drink you up like wine.
if i were, if i were

little one

little, little one
lookin for your mama
where did she run to?
little, little one
lookin for your mama
where did she go?
flower of a child, flower of the sun
little, little one
i see your footsteps, hear you calling
i see your shadow, i fear you falling
i see your name across the sky
i see your name across the sky
i see your name across the big, big sky
little, little one
lookin for your mama
where did she run to?
little, little one
lookin for your mama
where did she go?
i heard she left you,
abandoned you alone
i heard she died and left you all alone
well that's too bad
little, little one
lookin for your mama
where did she run to?
little, little one
lookin for your mama
where did she go?

would i be strong enough

would i be strong if i were confronted with what i fear and despise
strong enough to turn away or to stand up straight and fight
would i be strong enough to let you go if you were to forsake me
strong enough not to cling to strings of hope that disappeared
would i be strong enough to let you in without regret or inhibition
strong enough to trust you without undue suspicion
would i be strong enough to walk away when it was my time to go
wise enough to know the difference and strong enough to let it go
would i be strong enough
would i be strong enough
would i be strong enough

jagged cow

jagged cow who winces at his unrelease and pummeled back
jagged moon slips underfoot of the jagged cows uncertain hoof
jagged cow enslaved by all and whipped until the stars do fall
have no pity or remorse the jagged cow has set his course
will god in heaven look down upon this sorry state and jagged one
will mercy save the fettered cow and wipe the sweat of his jagged brow
the jagged cow will find his peace through god in heaven as his release

and i wonder

sometimes i wonder if i need stress to survive
i wonder if that's true
cuz i sure can't seem to get enough
and i wonder if death is really like life itself
is it death that i fear
or just the means of its approach
and i wonder if love will be like it is in all my dreams
knights in shining armor
ringing bells and angel wings
all those false romantic notions embedded in my brain
and i wonder, and i wonder
nothing seems to matter
these mundane and trivial tasks
tax and debt and consequence
and i wonder when it will blow away
all this worry and care that multiplies, intensifies suspended overhead
and i wonder, and i wonder
sometimes i seem to wonder if you and i will ever fly
or even get off the ground
and i imagine what it would be like
and i wonder when the dawn will come
will i be prepared or not
no gravity or tax
or government or war
united in a manner that has never been before
and i wonder, and i wonder
for some i have the answer
and some i'll never know
but it keeps me active and pondering

truth

hangman billboards
they have no shame
40 ounces for your pain
addiction breeds complicity
is it accidental it infects the inner city
hey, truth is ammunition
hey, truth is ammunition
how alarming some were feigning
not that they would be caught
dead complaining
what an easy way to hide
a strategy of genocide
hey, truth is ammunition
hey, truth is ammunition
knowledge is power
love is political
every hour we're wasting is critical
don't try to keep me quiet
cuz you like it
when the lights don't shine on you
well look up now a killing rage
has got you standing center stage
hey, truth is ammunition
hey, truth is ammunition

postcards

postcards for my father
from pennsylvania station
hey I'm in the big town
it only took imagination
things I haven't told you
I bet you already know
things you haven't told me yet
I'd pay good money to know
let's do some talkin'
willie is a proud man
willie is strong
I'd like to say I know him well
but he hardly talks at all
let's do some talkin'
the miles on your iron feet
and your calloused hands
evidence you work too hard
and that you always have
been waiting on the lottery
I'm waiting on a song
to rise up out of poverty
well maybe we've been rich
all along

home

i had a moon
you had an ocean
right at your back door
you could go anytime you wanted
and I could pull you in
find me
i'm outside your doorway
and I ain't goin' nowhere
I never learned my grammar
but God gave me song
and I can tell you love me
I want to be your home
I want to be your home
I want to be your home

maybe you should

sittin' on the south side by some greasy white guy
who says 'whattaya call that kind of hair?'
I call it mine you drunken swine
now shut your face and drink your beer
contents under pressure will explode
so be careful where your footsteps dare to go
my stomach's waging war with me
scars resemble memory
I told you what's the matter
but you don't believe the answer
why should any woman ever be afraid
why should any woman ever be afraid
I never really ever thought about it quite like that
I never really ever thought about it quite like that
maybe you should
maybe you should
on her tail he's on the train
so she switches cars
'cause he won't stop staring
that sick psycho-matic in dimestore glasses
he won't stop staring
why should any woman ever be afraid
I never really ever thought about it quite like that
maybe you should
maybe you should
maybe you should

make way

I'm pullin' knots out of my head
strands of DNA
I am finding a name and all that
has remained within the recess of my brain
I'm tall as a whisper
a blowing seed
I need forgiveness and eyes that see
that I'm sandpaper underneath the layers
of this scaly shedding see-through skin
I am not confident of change
You know, I never am
but that doesn't mean, doesn't mean, doesn't mean
that I can't, I can
I tried my very best
to muffle those monumental screams
that never had a moment, never had a voice
to be heard
to be seen
to be released
and make way for the healing
make way
we chose different things still we chose each other
I know I am not a child and you are not my mother
but I'm still lookin', still lookin', still lookin'
make way, make way

many mountains

I came to the coast to try out my wings and fly
but I flap on the ground afraid to touch the sky
Born on a flat land over a flat lake
and I move in straight lines
Far from the river and further from home
stave off the darkness whither I roam
To be all the wiser and know who I am
I am afraid of the sea
So I stay on the land
but there are many mountains
I am a candle that stands on a stone
for all my light to see
but I stumble
and stutter
and mutter
and flutter
and flee
To be all the wiser and know who I am
I'm afraid of sea so I stay on the land
but there are many, many mountains

uncle

uncle and his porno
and his dog named luck
shot of bourbon on his hipbone
he can't leave the little girls alone
no he can't leave the little girls alone
underneath the river
running with the trains
is where i wanna bury
this endless shame
say uncle
say uncle
maybe he was a victim
when he was a little boy
now all he is is angry
rotting from the inside out
rotting from the inside out
now all he is is drinking
and blacking out
where are your excuses
rotting from the inside out
rotting from the inside out
say

pill

you didn't come here to be my friend
you just came to play your new songs
you came to share an opinion
about how i share mine
i call it like i see it
i sing it like i feel it
sometimes it's a razor
so do me a favor
travel in my shoes
color with my blues
gather a few clues
you didn't come here to be my friend
are you pleasing the masses
the men in the music business
who want an easy pill to take
i don't need to be
i don't need to be
swallowed easily
swallowed easily
you didn't come here to be my friend

fine

you don't have to touch me when you talk to me
i can hear you fine
when you take a walk in my world
be a woman a black girl
maybe then, maybe then, maybe then
you can have a word to say, to say
my skin is brown without a tan
my will is strong without a man
i've unlearned that conditioning
i don't need your approval to stand up and sing about it
shakin' it for the swinger
with the swing between his legs
who's stickin' it to the movie girl
while he's stickin up in your bed
shakin it for the master
who just forgot your name
shakin' it for the sinner
who thinks we're all to blame
we're all to blame
so you don't have to touch me when you talk to me
i can hear you fine
fine
fine

redwood

i believe that souls touch
and wrap around each other
and love so much
if ever i loved
if ever i loved
it was you
redwood tall and true
redwood tall and true
we stood at the sea
spraying our faces
threw rocks in the water
between embraces
ithaca town
up and down
you traded the sea
to walk that ground
redwood
redwood
wide enough to walk through
wide enough to walk through

difference

i was lookin' for a fight that day
just let her say one word
but anger burns your guts away
what i need will not be heard
what i need will not be heard
who's afraid of a woman
learned to speak her mind
you stand on the other side of justice
vengeance is not blind
vengeance is not blind
the silence will choke you
and rip you to shreds
the silence will keep all your enemies fed
anger is poison if never revealed
your silence will not shield you
your silence will not shield you
where did you learn just how to act
why do your words seem an attack
you've become desensitized and out of touch
with other peoples lives who do not walk
in the same lines
our differences will make us strong
we should stand together
our difference will make us one
we should stand together

mesa verde

(instrumental)-mesa verde, co 5/96

that's alright

so i'm sitting in the corner wondering what i'm fighting over well it can't be over you i just fight myself but i want you to rescue me oh well if you don't that's alright sometimes in the evening you often cross my mind i wonder if i know you i wonder if i ever really did cuz now i never see you but i hear your doing well off on your own direction well that's alright sometimes in the morning you're still on my mind but that never really does me any good now i never see you...that's probably a good thing

black boots

black boots
right angles
well that's all she remembers
standing in her sundress
naked underneath
tangled up in his fist
in twisted fantasies
black boots right angles
well that's all i remember
and a little red dress
up above the tavern
hold me up over his head
don't you tell me what he did
don't you tell
they said call him uncle well
now he's dead
underneath the table
with a bullet in his heart
on a sunday morning

potholes

two minutes til tomorrow
and i'll be on a plane
drop me in new eng-
land i'll land on my
name fill the ocean
with my mouth and
bring you salty kisses
the sky opens up and
i'm in massachusetts they
say the things that you hate
in someone else are merely
characteristics of yourself you
always need reassuring i get tired i get tired
but i need the same i am the same way don't
do that to me i know this shoulder and where
the potholes lie i cast my shadow on the gravel
a thousand times i wanna move and i'm afraid
of my father dying don't do that to me

little one

little little one lookin for
your mama now where did
she go flower of a child
flower of the sun little little
one i see your footsteps i
hear you calling i see your
shadow i fear you falling i
see your name across the
sky...i heard she left you
all alone well that's too bad
little little one

carousel

once i saw a crystal carousel
dancing on a wave i must
admit it was awhile ago i don't
remember everything everything
seems so different when you finally
reach that age it's not all you imagine
once you finally turn the page i wish i could
talk to you now and know you as you are i got so many questions in my head so many words that i though you said so many stories i'd like to know i remember when your spirit left the room i just stared at the ceiling and wondered if you were there anywhere above me and looking down at my pitiful state as i held your lifeless hand and i wonder where you are what it's like you must remember me...

lately

lately they been saying tomorrow ain't gonna come
lately i've been praying la da da da dum
i was reading on the bathroom wall
"tomorrow has been cancelled due to a lack of interest" everybody
listen kindly bend your ear you find out what's been missing when you lay down all your fear lately they been saying the world is about to end you better grab all your possessions you better make up with your friends cuz when the fire comes down like rain and it will the devil's gonna dance on your grave with a smile lately they been saying look like it's gonna rain lately i been praying that i can stand the rain lately...

if i were

if i were a painter a painter of design i'd roll you in my flower base and drink you up like wine if i were a telescope looking over land high and low my gaze would go until i found your hand
if i were if i were
if i were a baker i'd bake a loaf of bread but all i need sustaining me is the word inside my head if i had the power to bring you joy inside i'd take away the bitterness and fill you up with pride
if i were if i were
if i were a seamstress sewing golden thread i'd wear you like a cloak and place a crown upon your head if i were a painter a painter of design i'd roll you in my flower base and drink you up like wine
if i were if i were

up to here

one more word from you
and i am gone
i've had it up to here
you are too persistent
is that how you got attention from your parents
nag and nag and nag...
till you get what you want
i am not your parents and i've had it up to here
i will not ask again what part of "no"
don't you understand

scary dog man

i've got a bad reputation preceding me my only consolation is my salary i'm gonna take from you if you give me your hand i'm gonna take you i'm that kind of man watch out for the scary dog man watch out...she is so far from her home and everything she has ever owned including herself she cuts all her hair off in the bathroom sink stumbles to the kitchen and begins to think about direction well to be honest honey i don't even try wanna talk about trust girl i'm right behind the next guy and he said "i don't believe that your god has been good to me and i'll stick it to the devil if he comes hounding me this is mine it's all for me you get what you can that's my philosophy" well i said "that's pretty scary dog man" i said "that's pretty scary dog man..."

speak..(w/ani difranco)

if you got something to talk about why don't you raise your voice if you got something you want somebody to hear let your voice ring out let your words be heard get your message loud and clear if you got something to talk about why don't you raise your voice