1. |
Home
04:09
|
|||
|
As a kid I’d up and wander
Searchin’ back roads high and low
Stay ‘til dark then take the long way home
I would go off on the river
Pulling hard against the flow
Always seemed to take the long way home)
Never satisfied with the life I had around me
Always lookin’ for somethin’ better up ahead
I look around in the light of a new day
Lord knows I’ve strayed far far away
Set course by a wondrin’ star
Wanna go. Wanna go back home
Make my bed in the cold dark alleys
Dreamin’ of green river valleys
I have traveled much too far
Wanna go. Wanna go home
People tell me there’s no changin’:
The child is father to the man
And you will always take the long way home
Try to stay but I keep on movin’
Somethin’ I don’t understand
Must I always take the long way home?
Never satisfied with the love I have around me
Still looking for somethin’ better up ahead
I look around in the light of a new day
Lord knows I’ve strayed far far away
Set my course by a wonderin’ star
Wanna go. Wanna go back home
Make my bed in the cold dark alleys
Dreamin’ of green river valleys
I have traveled much too far
Wanna go. Wanna go home
|
||||
2. |
High Water Rising
03:01
|
|||
|
They told me keep your powder dry
Easier said than done
As I watch the waters risin’
Lord help us everyone
Heard it on the TV:
Judgement Day’s begun
I watch the water risin’
High water risin’
I watch the water risin’
They handed me a tinderbox
And a bellows for to blow
On a kindling of love letters
I set that pile aglow
A feeble protestation
Against the onward flow
I watch the water risin’
High water risin’
I watch the water risin’
High water risin’ - shook me from my sleep
Open my eyes and all I can see
High water risin’ - I look into the deep
See the water, water, water…
They tried to reassure me
My tears were not to blame
For the flooding of Manhattan
That’s far too big a claim
You’re just one among the many
Failed keepers of the flame
Now you must watch the water risin’
High water risin’
You must watch the water risin’
|
||||
3. |
||||
|
There was a time I hung on your every word
And my whole life was built upon what I heard
But that was yesterday
Now you got no say round here
There was a time I myself mostly through your eyes
And I didn’t see much and I didn’t ask why
But that was yesterday
No you got no say round here
I’m not listening to you
Get out of my way
Get out of my way
‘Cause you got no say
There was a time I clung to you all through the night
And I needed nothin’ ‘cept for you to set me right
But that was yesterday
Now you got no say
My voice was drowned out in the clamor
Now it’s coming in loud and clear
‘Cause this is another day
And you got no say round here
|
||||
4. |
||||
|
You took it
You shook it
Broken parts scattered all around
You wore it
You tore it
Pieces lay in tatters on the ground
I’m talkin’ ‘bout my love for you (2)
You brought it
You fought it
Locked it in a loving choke and counted down from three
You hugged it
You drugged it
Led it stumbling through the smoke in the rubble and debris
I’m talkin’ ‘bout my love for you
The rush of it
The crush when it was over and
The shape of it
Escape from it
I never really wanted to:
This all comes out
When I talk about
My love for you
You sung it
Wrung it
Dry of every kind of tenderness that I could understand
You held it
You killed it
The final breath was softy pressed between your smooth white hands
|
||||
5. |
Remember Me
03:48
|
|||
|
This is what I know - the blood was mine, it stain’d like wine at first until it burst out through the buttonholes
Let the record show - the blood blossomed like a rose and then it froze and I began to lose control
A movie played behind my eyes
Loosely based upon my life
A thousand parts yet to play
All ending with a knife
Here’s what I had to do - sent out, a scout, and all alone at dawn,
I was to spy upon an enemy parade
Every word is true - to my surprise my demise
came in a weeping willow dell. And there I fell, and there I lay
Leaves quickly covered up the spot
A rose grew right through my heart
A man and a wildflower
And no telling us apart
Willow tree. Remember me. Remember me. Weep for me. Willow tree.
This is what they found: reading glasses, weekend pass, chocolate bar, harmonica, and a ribbon Martha gave me caked in mud
Now there’s nothing on the ground but a single rose that grows beside a willow tree. That covers me. That covers up the blood.
The world keeps turning
Seasons come and go
Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
The blood-red petals show
Willow tree. Remember me. Remember me. Weep for me. Willow tree.
|
||||
6. |
Take Me To The East
03:12
|
|||
|
Take me to the east
I know you will
Take me where the Cherry Blossom
Blooms on the hill
Sweet scent of jasmine
From the windowsill
We’ll watch the sun rise
We’ll start all over once again
Take me to the east
Our future’s there
Mornin’ comes we’ll breathe in
The Oriental air
Walkin’ in a glen
Magnolia everywhere
We’ll watch the sun rise
We’ll start all over once again
There’s a painting on the bedroom wall
Full of Eastern scenes
Ancient walls, waterfalls
Floating mountains and ravines
There’s a painting on the bedroom wall
It’s all I got right now
To help me make it through
Can’t wait ‘til you
Take me to the east
I know you can
Shake me from my dreams
I want to wake up in Japan
You’ll be happy
I’ll be a better man
We’ll watch the sun rise
We’ll start all over once again
|
||||
7. |
Iowa's Darlin'
02:54
|
|||
|
Iowa’s darlin you’re something to be
Whatever is treasured, well, you’ve got the most
But Iowa’s darlin don’t see it that way
You’d like to strike out for the coast
Wipin’ the coffee shop countertop you can’t stop
Dreamin’ of movin on
Iowa girl, gonna take on the world
Iowa girl, gonna take on the world,
Go take on the world, Iowa girl
Iowa’s darlin you’re something to see
All the light from the prairie seems to flame in your eyes
But Iowa’s darlin’, you’d be on your way
Towards the promise of Western skies
You’ll wave down the greyhound cause this town’s
Too tiny for words
Send back your regards
From Sunset Boulevard
Iowa’s darlin you’d have to agree
That you serve up the coffee with a faraway gaze
Bein’ Iowa’s darlin just gets in the way
The boys all got questions and you count the days
Till you’re moving on going on you don’t belong here in
Iowa
Iowa girl, gonna take on the world
Iowa girl, gonna take on the world,
Go take on the world, Iowa girl
|
||||
8. |
Long Way To Go
03:40
|
|||
|
I’m afraid of the dark, she said
Just want you warn you in advance
And I’m scared of being alone
Leave now while you got the chance
Well, that’s the same fool this I’d say myself
Tryin’ to mess things up before they even start
So I pulled her close in the darkness
And she crawled into my heart
Me and Rosie got a long way to go
Me and Rosie got a long way to go
Just drive, she said
Can’t stand to be in this place anymore
She rolled her waitress car into a ball
And threw it on the floor
Then Rosie comes alive
Like she knows there’s something good over the next rise
And nothin’ cheers my weary soul more than
Seeing the fire come back into her eyes
Me and Rosie got a long way to go
Me and Rosie got a long way to go
She says: Dreams comin’ true
Do you suppose that’s ever for the likes of us?
That’s one thing I’d like to know
I tell her: There might be something up ahead
Could be a long way to go
Me and Rosie got a long way to go
Me and Rosie got a long way to go
|
||||
9. |
Wings Of Desire
04:00
|
|||
|
I came down through a vapor trail
By way of the moon on a smooth sunbeam
To see things on the human scale
Maybe blow off a little steam
I stomped my feet upon the ground
I shook the space-bugs from my wings
The lunar dust flew all around
So this is the rush that gravity brings
Seemed like I was a Leonardo sketch when I stretched my
Wings of desire.
I stepped into a circus tent
My feathers held down with some cord
The clowns and horses came and went
The music played. The lions roared
When you came in with those tiny wings,
Climbed every last rung up to the top,
I’d never seen a prettier thing
I was smiling ‘til I watched you drop
And no man-made straps could keep me from flapping my
Wings of desire
I thought if I could keep you here with me
I’d give up my celestiality
And my access to the galaxy
This could be no fall from grace
And as I brought you safely down
And a crowd had gathered round
To marvel at this new trick they’d found
It was human shoulders you embraced
I heard you whisper in my ear:
“That might seem like a close call
But I knew that you were here
And would break my fall
Won’t you let me hold you, let my fold you up in my
Wings of desire”
|
||||
10. |
When I Was God
02:46
|
|||
|
When I was God
Fortified and full of beer
I knew no fear
I was God
When I was God
Whiskey whispered in my ear:
Try swingin’ from that chandelier
I was game when I was God
I was game when I was God
When I was God
Tequila took me to the moon
‘Twas early in the afternoon
I was God
When I was God
Happy hour never came too soon
To the sanctuary of the saloon
Life was good when I was God
Life was good when I was God
And the craziest day was the happiest day
And an average day lasted one week or two
Twas my universe, you couldn’t take it away
I knew everything
And I knew what everyone was thinking
Cause I been drinking
And I was God
When I was God
And all alone ‘cause I was I
And tryin’ to drink the oceans dry
I was God
When I was God
Not knowin’ should I laugh or cry
I watched creation pass me by
I was gone when I was God
I was gone when I was God
|
||||
11. |
Carlos
04:35
|
|||
|
Story goes - Carlos was dyin’
When a big black crow comes swoopin’ by
So he thought he was flyin’
He was looking down from the sky
Seein’ all white though the sun’s gone down
Flyin’ all night high ‘bove the ground
Lookin’ for Yellowhair’s ghost dance, he’s goin’ round and round
Searchin’ everywhere his lost ancestors might be found
Sarah found him by the water pool
With the trucks on the freeway soundin’ just like buffalo
And she’s cursin’ at him: “O Carlos, Medicine Man my eye, go to Crazy Horse, you damn fool, you damn fool”
And she propped him up, facin’ east - so the story goes
Casino’s lean into the wind
A lone figure steps out of the dust-storm
Could be Carlos coming home, could be…
Could be Crazy Horse.
|
||||
12. |
The Mourning Dove
02:12
|
|||
|
Was a mourning dove in the old grey window
I heard his song, I don’t know when though
For my eyes did cloud with unknown sorrow
Blinding me to the day
Was a mourning dove on the highest rafter
The heartless spoke their final answer
To the waiting crowd whose moment shattered
Into pieces cold as clay
It’s a rising up and laying down
Of a boundless love and thorny crown
It’s a rising up and laying down
Was a mourning dove in the sweet hereafter
Who sang his song of joy and laughter
With an endless heart here all is looked after
And the rolling sky’s Never grey
It’s a rising up and laying down
Of a boundless love and thorny crown
It’s a rising up and laying down
|
||||
BobBradshawMusic Boston, Massachusetts
Irish-born, Boston-based Bob Bradshaw has been exploring many facets of Americana music in the thirty years he’s lived in the States – from the Texas singer-songwriters he strives to emulate to the high-energy roots-rock he plays in bar bands any night of the week. He has lived in New York City and in San Francisco, where his rock band ‘Resident Aliens’ was a fixture during the 90’s. ... more
If you like BobBradshawMusic, you may also like:
Downey to Lubbock
by Dave Alvin
Soulful guitar interplay form the heart of this lovely Americana collaboration from Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore.
go to album
Juxtaposing poetic balladry with roaring feedback and warped piano lines, the Vermonter's music is as stunning as it is unsettling.
go to album
Echo Dancing
by Alejandro Escovedo
The legendary Alejandro Escovedo returns with another country-rock scorcher.
go to album
Passion Fruit Boys
by Passion Fruit Boys
Nashville’s Passion Fruit Boys nail the effervescent janglepop of ’80s college radio with bright guitars and immediate hooks.
go to album
Play It On The Tannoys
by Stranger The Horse
Rich and carefully-sculpted songs that cross-wire country and roots music with jazz, samba, and more.
go to album
Zed For Zulu
by Those Pretty Wrongs
Jody Stephens of Big Star and Luther Russell of the Freewheelers team for a radiant LP packed full of slide guitar and pop smarts.
go to album
Realize
by Tumbleweed Wanderers
Epic, folksy psych-pop, diligently crafted from sessions recorded in a beach studio and an old San Francisco mansion.
go to album
