100 Songs Read online

  TOO MUCH OF NOTHING

  Now, too much of nothing

  Can make a man feel ill at ease

  One man’s temper might rise

  While another man’s temper might freeze

  In the day of confession

  We cannot mock a soul

  Oh, when there’s too much of nothing

  No one has control

  Say hello to Valerie

  Say hello to Vivian

  Send them all my salary

  On the waters of oblivion

  Too much of nothing

  Can make a man abuse a king

  He can walk the streets and boast like most

  But he wouldn’t know a thing

  Now, it’s all been done before

  It’s all been written in the book

  But when there’s too much of nothing

  Nobody should look

  Say hello to Valerie

  Say hello to Vivian

  Send them all my salary

  On the waters of oblivion

  Too much of nothing

  Can turn a man into a liar

  It can cause one man to sleep on nails

  And another man to eat fire

  Ev’rybody’s doin’ somethin’

  I heard it in a dream

  But when there’s too much of nothing

  It just makes a fella mean

  Say hello to Valerie

  Say hello to Vivian

  Send them all my salary

  On the waters of oblivion

  YOU AIN’T GOIN’ NOWHERE

  Clouds so swift

  Rain won’t lift

  Gate won’t close

  Railings froze

  Get your mind off wintertime

  You ain’t goin’ nowhere

  Whoo-ee! Ride me high

  Tomorrow’s the day

  My bride’s gonna come

  Oh, oh, are we gonna fly

  Down in the easy chair!

  I don’t care

  How many letters they sent

  Morning came and morning went

  Pick up your money

  And pack up your tent

  You ain’t goin’ nowhere

  Whoo-ee! Ride me high

  Tomorrow’s the day

  My bride’s gonna come

  Oh, oh, are we gonna fly

  Down in the easy chair!

  Buy me a flute

  And a gun that shoots

  Tailgates and substitutes

  Strap yourself

  To the tree with roots

  You ain’t goin’ nowhere

  Whoo-ee! Ride me high

  Tomorrow’s the day

  My bride’s gonna come

  Oh, oh, are we gonna fly

  Down in the easy chair!

  Genghis Khan

  He could not keep

  All his kings

  Supplied with sleep

  We’ll climb that hill no matter how steep

  When we get up to it

  Whoo-ee! Ride me high

  Tomorrow’s the day

  My bride’s gonna come

  Oh, oh, are we gonna fly

  Down in the easy chair!

  THIS WHEEL’S ON FIRE

  (with Rick Danko)

  If your mem’ry serves you well

  We were goin’ to meet again and wait

  So I’m goin’ to unpack all my things

  And sit before it gets too late

  No man alive will come to you

  With another tale to tell

  But you know that we shall meet again

  If your mem’ry serves you well

  This wheel’s on fire

  Rolling down the road

  Best notify my next of kin

  This wheel shall explode!

  If your mem’ry serves you well

  I was goin’ to confiscate your lace

  And wrap it up in a sailor’s knot

  And hide it in your case

  If I knew for sure that it was yours . . .

  But it was oh so hard to tell

  But you knew that we would meet again

  If your mem’ry serves you well

  This wheel’s on fire

  Rolling down the road

  Best notify my next of kin

  This wheel shall explode!

  If your mem’ry serves you well

  You’ll remember you’re the one

  That called on me to call on them

  To get you your favors done

  And after ev’ry plan had failed

  And there was nothing more to tell

  You knew that we would meet again

  If your mem’ry served you well

  This wheel’s on fire

  Rolling down the road

  Best notify my next of kin

  This wheel shall explode!

  QUINN THE ESKIMO (THE MIGHTY QUINN)

  Ev’rybody’s building the big ships and the boats

  Some are building monuments

  Others, jotting down notes

  Ev’rybody’s in despair

  Ev’ry girl and boy

  But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here

  Ev’rybody’s gonna jump for joy

  Come all without, come all within

  You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn

  I like to do just like the rest, I like my sugar sweet

  But guarding fumes and making haste

  It ain’t my cup of meat

  Ev’rybody’s ’neath the trees

  Feeding pigeons on a limb

  But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here

  All the pigeons gonna run to him

  Come all without, come all within

  You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn

  A cat’s meow and a cow’s moo, I can recite ’em all

  Just tell me where it hurts yuh, honey

  And I’ll tell you who to call

  Nobody can get no sleep

  There’s someone on ev’ryone’s toes

  But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here

  Ev’rybody’s gonna wanna doze

  Come all without, come all within

  You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn

  I SHALL BE RELEASED

  They say ev’rything can be replaced

  Yet ev’ry distance is not near

  So I remember ev’ry face

  Of ev’ry man who put me here

  I see my light come shining

  From the west unto the east

  Any day now, any day now

  I shall be released

  They say ev’ry man needs protection

  They say ev’ry man must fall

  Yet I swear I see my reflection

  Some place so high above this wall

  I see my light come shining

  From the west unto the east

  Any day now, any day now

  I shall be released

  Standing next to me in this lonely crowd

  Is a man who swears he’s not to blame

  All day long I hear him shout so loud

  Crying out that he was framed

  I see my light come shining

  From the west unto the east

  Any day now, any day now

  I shall be released

  BILLY

  There’s guns across the river aimin’ at ya

  Lawman on your trail, he’d like to catch ya

  Bounty hunters, too, they’d like to get ya

  Billy, they don’t like you to be so free

  Campin’ out all night on the berenda

  Dealin’ cards ’til dawn in the hacienda

  Up to Boot Hill they’d like to send ya

  Billy, don’t you turn your back on me

  Playin’ around with some sweet señorita

  Into her dark hallway she will lead ya

  In some lonesome shadows she will greet ya

  Billy, you’re so far away from home

 
There’s eyes behind the mirrors in empty places

  Bullet holes and scars between the spaces

  There’s always one more notch and ten more paces

  Billy, and you’re walkin’ all alone

  They say that Pat Garrett’s got your number

  So sleep with one eye open when you slumber

  Every little sound just might be thunder

  Thunder from the barrel of his gun

  Guitars will play your grand finale

  Down in some Tularosa alley

  Maybe in the Rio Pecos valley

  Billy, you’re so far away from home

  There’s always some new stranger sneakin’ glances

  Some trigger-happy fool willin’ to take chances

  And some old whore from San Pedro to make advances

  Advances on your spirit and your soul

  The businessmen from Taos want you to go down

  They’ve hired Pat Garrett to force a showdown

  Billy, don’t it make ya feel so low-down

  To be shot down by the man who was your friend?

  Hang on to your woman if you got one

  Remember in El Paso, once, you shot one

  She may have been a whore, but she was a hot one

  Billy, you been runnin’ for so long

  Guitars will play your grand finale

  Down in some Tularosa alley

  Maybe in the Rio Pecos valley

  Billy, you’re so far away from home

  KNOCKIN’ ON HEAVEN’S DOOR

  Mama, take this badge off of me

  I can’t use it anymore

  It’s gettin’ dark, too dark for me to see

  I feel like I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door

  Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

  Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

  Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

  Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

  Mama, put my guns in the ground

  I can’t shoot them anymore

  That long black cloud is comin’ down

  I feel like I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door

  Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

  Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

  Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

  Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

  FOREVER YOUNG

  May God bless and keep you always

  May your wishes all come true

  May you always do for others

  And let others do for you

  May you build a ladder to the stars

  And climb on every rung

  May you stay forever young

  Forever young, forever young

  May you stay forever young

  May you grow up to be righteous

  May you grow up to be true

  May you always know the truth

  And see the lights surrounding you

  May you always be courageous

  Stand upright and be strong

  May you stay forever young

  Forever young, forever young

  May you stay forever young

  May your hands always be busy

  May your feet always be swift

  May you have a strong foundation

  When the winds of changes shift

  May your heart always be joyful

  May your song always be sung

  May you stay forever young

  Forever young, forever young

  May you stay forever young

  TANGLED UP IN BLUE

  Early one mornin’ the sun was shinin’

  I was layin’ in bed

  Wond’rin’ if she’d changed at all

  If her hair was still red

  Her folks they said our lives together

  Sure was gonna be rough

  They never did like Mama’s homemade dress

  Papa’s bankbook wasn’t big enough

  And I was standin’ on the side of the road

  Rain fallin’ on my shoes

  Heading out for the East Coast

  Lord knows I’ve paid some dues gettin’ through

  Tangled up in blue

  She was married when we first met

  Soon to be divorced

  I helped her out of a jam, I guess

  But I used a little too much force

  We drove that car as far as we could

  Abandoned it out West

  Split up on a dark sad night

  Both agreeing it was best

  She turned around to look at me

  As I was walkin’ away

  I heard her say over my shoulder

  “We’ll meet again someday on the avenue”

  Tangled up in blue

  I had a job in the great north woods

  Working as a cook for a spell

  But I never did like it all that much

  And one day the ax just fell

  So I drifted down to New Orleans

  Where I happened to be employed

  Workin’ for a while on a fishin’ boat

  Right outside of Delacroix

  But all the while I was alone

  The past was close behind

  I seen a lot of women

  But she never escaped my mind, and I just grew

  Tangled up in blue

  She was workin’ in a topless place

  And I stopped in for a beer

  I just kept lookin’ at the side of her face

  In the spotlight so clear

  And later on as the crowd thinned out

  I’s just about to do the same

  She was standing there in back of my chair

  Said to me, “Don’t I know your name?”

  I muttered somethin’ underneath my breath

  She studied the lines on my face

  I must admit I felt a little uneasy

  When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe

  Tangled up in blue

  She lit a burner on the stove

  And offered me a pipe

  “I thought you’d never say hello,” she said

  “You look like the silent type”

  Then she opened up a book of poems

  And handed it to me

  Written by an Italian poet

  From the thirteenth century

  And every one of them words rang true

  And glowed like burnin’ coal

  Pourin’ off of every page

  Like it was written in my soul from me to you

  Tangled up in blue

  I lived with them on Montague Street

  In a basement down the stairs

  There was music in the cafés at night

  And revolution in the air

  Then he started into dealing with slaves

  And something inside of him died

  She had to sell everything she owned

  And froze up inside

  And when finally the bottom fell out

  I became withdrawn

  The only thing I knew how to do

  Was to keep on keepin’ on like a bird that flew

  Tangled up in blue

  So now I’m goin’ back again

  I got to get to her somehow

  All the people we used to know

  They’re an illusion to me now

  Some are mathematicians

  Some are carpenters’ wives

  Don’t know how it all got started

  I don’t know what they’re doin’ with their lives

  But me, I’m still on the road

  Headin’ for another joint

  We always did feel the same

  We just saw it from a different point of view

  Tangled up in blue

  SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE

  They sat together in the park

  As the evening sky grew dark

  She looked at him and he felt a spark tingle to his bones

  ’Twas th
en he felt alone and wished that he’d gone straight

  And watched out for a simple twist of fate

  They walked along by the old canal

  A little confused, I remember well

  And stopped into a strange hotel with a neon burnin’ bright

  He felt the heat of the night hit him like a freight train

  Moving with a simple twist of fate

  A saxophone someplace far off played

  As she was walkin’ by the arcade

  As the light bust through a beat-up shade where he was wakin’ up

  She dropped a coin into the cup of a blind man at the gate

  And forgot about a simple twist of fate

  He woke up, the room was bare

  He didn’t see her anywhere

  He told himself he didn’t care, pushed the window open wide

  Felt an emptiness inside to which he just could not relate

  Brought on by a simple twist of fate

  He hears the ticking of the clocks

  And walks along with a parrot that talks

  Hunts her down by the waterfront docks where the sailors all come in

  Maybe she’ll pick him out again, how long must he wait

  Once more for a simple twist of fate

  People tell me it’s a sin

  To know and feel too much within

  I still believe she was my twin, but I lost the ring

  She was born in spring, but I was born too late

  Blame it on a simple twist of fate

  IDIOT WIND

  Someone’s got it in for me, they’re planting stories in the press

  Whoever it is I wish they’d cut it out but when they will I can only guess

  They say I shot a man named Gray and took his wife to Italy

  She inherited a million bucks and when she died it came to me

  I can’t help it if I’m lucky

  People see me all the time and they just can’t remember how to act

  Their minds are filled with big ideas, images and distorted facts

  Even you, yesterday you had to ask me where it was at

  I couldn’t believe after all these years, you didn’t know me better than that

  Sweet lady

  Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your mouth

  Blowing down the backroads headin’ south

  Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth

  You’re an idiot, babe

  It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe

  I ran into the fortune-teller, who said beware of lightning that might strike

  I haven’t known peace and quiet for so long I can’t remember what it’s like

  There’s a lone soldier on the cross, smoke pourin’ out of a boxcar door

  You didn’t know it, you didn’t think it could be done, in the final end he won the wars