Neil Young & Crazy Horse ~ Powderfinger from Rust Never Sleeps (1979)

Look out, Mama,
there's a white boat comin' up the river
With a big red beacon, and a flag, and a man
on the rail
I think you'd better call John,
'Cause it don't look like they're here to deliver
the mail
And it's less than a mile away
I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side and a gun
And it's makin' big waves.

Daddy's gone,
my brother's out hunting in the mountains
Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy-Lou
So the powers that be left me here to do the thinkin'
And I just turned twenty-two
I was wonderin' what to do
And the closer they got,
The more those feelings grew.

Daddy's rifle in my hand felt reassurin'
He told me,
Red means run, son, numbers add up to nothin'
But when the first shot hit the docks I saw it comin'
Raised my rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why.
Then I saw black,
And my face splashed in the sky.

Shelter me from the powder and the finger
Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger
Think of me as one you'd never figured
Would fade away so young
With so much left undone
Remember me to my love,
I know I'll miss her.

 

Iron Maiden ~ Rime Of The Ancient Mariner from Powerslave (1984)
based on
Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Poem (entertaining reading for folks that don't even like poetry BTW)

Hear the rime of the ancient mariner
See his eye as he stops one of three
Mesmerises one of the wedding guests
Stay here and listen to the nightmares of the sea.

And the music plays on, as the bride passes by
Caught by his spell and the mariner tells his tale.

Driven south to the land of the snow and ice
To a place where nobody's been
Through the snow fog flies on the albatross
Hailed in God's name, hoping good luck it brings.

And the ship sails on, back to the North
Through the fog and ice and the albatross follows on.

The mariner kills the bird of good omen
His shipmates cry against what he's done
But when the fog clears, they justify him
And make themselves a part of the crime.

Sailing on and on and north across the sea
Sailing on and on and north 'til all is calm.

The albatross begins with its vengeance
A terrible curse a thirst has begun
His shipmates blame bad luck on the mariner
About his neck, the dead bird is hung.

And the curse goes on and on AND ON at sea
And the thirst goes on and on for them and me.

"Day after day, day after day,
we stuck nor breath nor motion
as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean
Water, water everywhere and
all the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink."

There calls the mariner
There comes a ship over the line
But how can she sail with no wind in her sails and no tide.

See...onward she comes
Onward she nears out of the sun
See, she has no crew
She has no life, wait but there's two.

Death and she Life in Death,
They throw their dice for the crew
She wins the mariner and he belongs to her now.
Then...crew one by one
they drop down dead, two hundred men
She...she, Life in Death.
She lets him live, her chosen one.

"One after one by the star dogged moon,
too quick for groan or sigh
each turned his face with a ghastly pang
and cursed me with his eye
four times fifty living men
(and I heard nor sigh nor groan)
with heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
they dropped down one by one."

The curse it lives on in their eyes
The mariner he wished he'd die
Along with the sea creatures
But they lived on, so did he.

And by the light of the moon
He prays for their beauty not doom
With heart he blesses them
God's creatures all of them too.

Then the spell starts to break
The albatross falls from his neck
Sinks down like lead into the sea
Then down in falls comes the rain.

Hear the groans of the long dead seamen
See them stir and they start to rise
Bodies lifted by good spirits
None of them speak and they're lifeless in their eyes

And revenge is still sought, penance starts again
Cast into a trance and the nightmare carries on.

Now the curse is finally lifted
And the mariner sights his home
spirits go from the long dead bodies
Form their own light and the mariner's left alone.

And then a boat came sailing towards him
It was a joy he could not believe
The pilot's boat, his son and the hermit,
Penance of life will fall onto him.

And the ship it sinks like lead into the sea
And the hermit shrieves the mariner of his sins.

The mariner's bound to tell of his story
To tell this tale wherever he goes
To teach God's word by his own example
That we must love all things that God made.

And the wedding guest's a sad and wiser man
And the tale goes on and on and on.

 

Sacred Reich ~ 31 Flavors from The American Way (1990)

Vanilla is smooth chocolate is kickin' strawberry is sweet all deserve a
hearty lickin' have em all three scoops piled high variety is the spice of life
Well you can have soft serve and hard sugar cones root beer floats or my
banana split do you like nuts or some sticky whip creme come lick it off
and be my dairy queen

I love the Chilis freaky, uplift, mother's milk Faith No More Mike
Patton's voice is smooth as silk Metallica's music makes me want to rage
Sting's lyrics have something to say Jimi Hendrix plays guitar like a no
one else Black Sabbath Ozzy's voice is sick as hell Prince, Fishbone,
NWA these are the things that I like to play
Mr. Bungle is so very cool so don't be an ignorant fool there's so much
music for you to choose so don't just be a metal dude it's cool fool

 

Iron Maiden ~ Run to the Hills from The Number of the Beast (1982)

White man came across the sea
He brought us pain and misery
He killed our tribes, he killed our creed
He took our game for his own need

We fought him hard we fought him well
Out on the plains we gave him hell
But many came too much for Cree
Oh will we ever be set free?

Riding through dust clouds and barren wastes
Galloping hard on the plains
Chasing the redskins back to their holes
Fighting them at their own game
Murder for freedom a stab in the back
Women and children and cowards attack

Run to the hills, run for your lives
Run to the hills, run for your lives

Soldier blue in the barren wastes
Hunting and killing their game
Raping the women and wasting the men
The only good Indians are tame
Selling them whiskey and taking their gold
Enslaving the young and destroying the old

Run to the hills, run for your lives


Roberta Flack ~ The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face from First Take (1969)

The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and the stars were the gifts you gave
To the dark and endless sky

The first time ever I kissed your mouth
I felt the earth move in my hands
Like the trembling heart of a captive bird
That was there at my command, my love.

And the first time ever I lay with you
I felt your heart so close to mine
And I knew our joy would fill the earth
And last till the end of time

The first time ever I saw your face, your face,
your face, your face

 

Nine of diamonds, Nine of diamonds
Lord, that's a lucky card.
We'll celebrate it, when we've made it,
I'll jump all over your yard,
I'll jump all over your yard, I'll jump all over...

I don't know what hit me but I'm seeing Stars.
This comic book life is like being on Mars.
Thousands of warm hands are touching me.
All over, All over, I hope this will never be all over.
All over, All over, I hope this will never be all over.

The night queen fright wig street Parade may fade.
When we laugh at the statues of gods we have made.
Oceans of love waves are washing me
All over, All over, I hope this will never be all over.
All over, All over, I hope this will never be all over.

Nine of diamonds, Nine of diamonds
Lord, that's a lucky card.
We'll celebrate it, when we've made it,
I'll jump all over your yard,
I'll jump all over your yard, I'll jump all over...

When you feel that your train of thought's been derailed
Let out your wild wishes from where they've been jailed
You feel the future embracing you
All over, All over, I hope this will never be all over.
All over, All over, I hope this will never be all over.

 

And I watched the world surround me
From inside a phone booth
And it began to astound me
I tried to keep my couth
I said it must be Sunday
'Cause ev'rybody's tellin' the truth
And then again it might be Monday
Yeah it might be Monday
'Cause ev'rybody's drinkin' vermouth

She lent her hand
At the kissing stand
But she gave 'em away for free
With an acid joke and a box of smoke
She can barely see
She drives her bus at dusk
With headlights off
And headphones up
And for tomorrow
She has planned a shopping spree

There's a man who loved so hard
He was like a billboard grin
He toasted life and beauty
'Til his head began to spin
He pressed his cheek
On rainwashed streets
And he wept into his gin
Reincarnation
And he came back as himself again

December thirty-first
Is the very worst time of the year
You got to think of people
That you like enough
To share your beer
Just when you're having fun
It's January one
And you wait for explanations
To appear

7/17/1950 - 4/26/2011 R.I.P. Phoebe

 

I had forgotten about this one until I recently saw it in a Captain Morgan commercial.



It's quite possible that I'm your third man girl
But it's a fact that I'm the seventh son
It's quite possible that I'm your third man girl
But it's a fact that I'm the seventh son
And right now you could care less about me
But soon enough you will care, by the time I'm done

Let's have a ball and a biscuit sugar
And take our sweet little time about it
Let's have a ball girl
And take our sweet little time about it
Tell everyone in the place just to get out
We'll get clean together
And I'll find me a soapbox where I can shout it

You read it in the newspaper
Ask your girlfriends and see if they know
You read it in the newspaper
Ask your girlfriends and see if they know
That my strength is ten fold girl
And I'll let you see if you want to before you go

Let's have a ball and a biscuit sugar
And take our sweet little time about it
Let's have a ball
And take our sweet little time about it
Tell everyone in the place just to get out
We'll get clean together
And I'll find me a soapbox where I can shout it
and I can think of one or two things to say about it.. alright listen

It's quite possible that I'm your third man
But it's a fact that I'm the seventh son
It was the other two which/was made me your third
But it was my mother who made me the seventh son
And right now you could care less about me
But soon enough you will care by the time I'm done

Just wait
Stick around
You'll figure it out

 

Harry Chapin ~ Taxi

It was raining hard in 'Frisco,
I needed one more fare to make my night.
A lady up ahead waved to flag me down,
She got in at the light.

Oh, where you going to, my lady blue,
It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain.
She just looked out the window, and said
"Sixteen Parkside Lane".

Something about her was familiar
I could swear I'd seen her face before,
But she said, "I'm sure you're mistaken"
And she didn't say anything more.

It took a while, but she looked in the mirror,
And she glanced at the license for my name.
A smile seemed to come to her slowly,
It was a sad smile, just the same.
And she said, "How are you Harry?"
I said, "How are you Sue?
Through the too many miles
and the too little smiles
I still remember you."

It was somewhere in a fairy tale,
I used to take her home in my car.
We learned about love in the back of the Dodge,
The lesson hadn't gone too far.
You see, she was gonna be an actress,
And I was gonna learn to fly.
She took off to find the footlights,
And I took off to find the sky.

Oh, I've got something inside me,
To drive a princess blind.
There's a wild man, wizard,
He's hiding in me, illuminating my mind.
Oh, I've got something inside me,
Not what my life's about,
Cause I've been letting my outside tide me,
Over 'till my time, runs out.

Baby's so high that she's skying,
Yes she's flying, afraid to fall.
I'll tell you why baby's crying,
Cause she's dying, aren't we all.

There was not much more for us to talk about,
Whatever we had once was gone.
So I turned my cab into the driveway,
Past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns.
And she said we must get together,
But I knew it'd never be arranged.
And she handed me twenty dollars,
For a two fifty fare, she said
"Harry, keep the change."
Well another man might have been angry,
And another man might have been hurt,
But another man never would have let her go...
I stashed the bill in my shirt.

And she walked away in silence,
It's strange, how you never know,
But we'd both gotten what we'd asked for,
Such a long, long time ago.

You see, she was gonna be an actress
And I was gonna learn to fly.
She took off to find the footlights,
And I took off for the sky.
And here, she's acting happy,
Inside her handsome home.
And me, I'm flying in my taxi,
Taking tips, and getting stoned,
I go flying so high, when I'm stoned.


Gordon Lightfoot ~ The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
Then later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
When the wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too
'Twas the witch of November come stealin'
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashin'
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck
Sayin' "Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya"
At seven PM a main hatchway caved in
He said, "Fellas, it's been good to know ya"
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams
The islands and bays are for sportsmen
And farther below, Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early

 

If I had a mind to
I wouldn't wanna think like you
And if I had time to
I wouldn't wanna talk to you
whoa ooh oh
I don't care what you do
I wouldn't want to be like you

If I was high class
I wouldn't need a buck to pass
And if I was a fall guy
I wouldn't need no alibi
I don't care what you do
I wouldn't want to be like you
whoa ooh oh
I don't care what you do
I wouldn't want to be like you
whoa whoa whoa

Back on the bottom line
Diggin' for a lousy dime
And if I hit the mother lode
I'd cover anything that showed
whoa ooh oh
I don't care what you do
I wouldn't want to be like you

I don't care what you do
I wouldn't wanna
I wouldn't want to be like you
I wouldn't want to be like you

 

I'm gonna fight 'em off
A seven nation army couldn't hold me back
They're gonna rip it off
Taking their time right behind my back

And I'm talking to myself at night
Because I can't forget
Back and forth through my mind
Behind a cigarette
And the message coming from my eyes
Says leave it alone

Don't want to hear about it
Every single one's got a story to tell
Everyone knows about it
From the Queen of England to the hounds of hell

And if I catch it coming back my way
I'm gonna serve it to you
And that ain't what you want to hear
But that's what I'll do
And a feeling coming from my bones
Says find a home

I'm going to Wichita
Far from this opera forevermore
I'm gonna work this job
Make the sweat drip out of every pore
And I'm pleading, and I'm pleading, and I'm pleading
Right before The Lord
All the words are gonna bleed from me
And I will think no more
And the stains coming from my blood
Tell me "go back home"