1. |
Queen Of The West
05:00
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Not for the cold evening breeze on my face
Nor for the silence have I come to this place
I’ve tracked her here
To the desert
The queen of the west
Not just because quiet men stare off in the night
While their women keep talking do I know that I’m right
They’ve seen her here
In the desert
The queen of the west
Once, once when we danced
She whispered to me
“I’m lost.”
Once, once when we danced
She whispered to me
“You’ll cross
Over the mountainside
Over the deserts wide
And you’ll have no rest
Until you find the
Queen of the West.”
Not just ‘cause my name’s on the locket she wears
Do I bless myself twice before climbing the stairs
She’s a light sleeper
And a better shot than me
The queen of the west
Once, once when we danced
She whispered to me
“I’m lost.”
Once, once when we danced
She whispered to me
“You’ll cross
Over the mountainside
Over the deserts wide
And you’ll have no rest
Until you find the
Queen of the West.”
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2. |
Role Of A Lifetime
03:57
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She told him she was all cried out
And she caught that evening’s flight
Back to New York City
Overnight
He called her twice next mornin’:
“You better get your ass back here
Or you’ll never work in this town again
Is that clear?”
“Role of a lifetime, baby –
You were born to play Queen of the West
Role of a lifetime, maybe,
You should listen to those who know what’s best.”
A can of film is a can of worms
She shoulda’ never gone to that place
Just her and the queen in the mirror
Face to face
Will have her back on Broadway?
She can be queen here too, right?
A little song and dance to kill the blues
Each night
“Role of a lifetime, baby –
You were born to play Queen of the West
Role of a lifetime, maybe,
You should listen to those who know you best.”
They say the Queen of the West killed a dozen men
They say she wed a dozen more
They say she led a cavalry charge
In the Spanish-American war
He pleaded with her night and day:
“Please come back on the set.
And all the shit you put me through
I’ll forget.”
First day back in Hollywood,
He shouted: “Action. Cameras. Shoot.”
She pulled a real gun right
Out of her boot.
“Role of a lifetime, baby –
I was born to play Queen of the West
Role of a lifetime, maybe,
I should listen to those who know me best.”
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3. |
Ruby Black
03:44
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High heels echo in the empty church
Sounds like a small posse
Rosary beads balled in a clutch
It cuts into her palm - the cross,
She lights a candle, lifts her hands
kneels before the alter
The saddest outlaw in the land
Her daddy’s tragic daughter
“O saints above, please hear me out
It’s true I am a stranger
I forget who’s in charge of what
I guess I need you all
My child is sick, he’s innocent
Please get him out of danger
He’s the only thing I done that’s good
O saints, please hear my call.”
It pierces through her grief and pain
The honkin’ of the tour bus horn
The band’s ready for the road again
Four hundred miles to go ‘fore morning
Drivin’ through the gusty night
The ‘Outlaw Country Band’ express
Snazzy big letters on the side:
“Ruby Black: Queen Of The West”
Ruby - yes we see you and we hear you
We have put your case on file
Ruby - we are glad to see you’ve quit your honky tonkin’
for a while
Ruby - you sure got a lotta’ moxy askin’ favors from us now
Ruby - why doncha’ check in with us anytime your calendar allows
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4. |
1-800-SOSAINT
03:10
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Call me Christopher
Once a sinner, now a saint
I’ll carry you anywhere
Without constraint
I’ll put you on my shoulders
And hear out your complaints
So call for Christopher
Once a sinner, now a saint
Call me Valentine
Saint of love and lovers too
I’m a prince
Among the beatific crew
I’ll fix up your loneliness
I’ll find the perfect mate for you
To talk with Valentine
Please press two
Call me Anthony
I work closely with the boss
If you ask nicely
I’ll find the things you lost
I’ll throw in a blessing
At little extra cost
So call for Anthony
I work closely with the boss
Call me Tommy
Right now I’m living in my car
I don’t get much attention
I’m not one of the stars
But if you get stranded
I’ll come to where you are
So call for Tommy
I’ll come get you in my car
Call for Tommy
I’ll come get you in my car
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5. |
Child
03:22
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Sometimes I think I see you in the doorway when the light’s just so
And I know to keep still and I know not to cry or you’ll just up and go
And I sit and stare from my kitchen chair
As you wave to me and smile
then I close my eyes and listen listen
Listen for my
Child, o child
Sometimes I think you’ve just stepped outside and gone to play
And I stand at the sink listening hard to the sound of a Summer’s day
And then I recall you’re not here at all but I’m
glad you stopped by for a while
still I close my eyes and listen listen
Listen for my
Child, o child
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6. |
The Wearing Of The Black
05:11
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“You came out of a rainbow.”
That’s what your mother said.
Little more than a child herself,
She said goodbye and kissed you on the head
The church door opened just a crack
For her to see the wearing of the black
Heads bowed for benediction
The Sisters kneeling in a row
Sacred light through the high windows
The Holy ghost flies in to say hello
And check that everything’s on track
With the wearing of the black
And who sat by you in the classroom?
The pale girl held your hand in fear
You watched as she grew paler, day by day
And paler still, and disappeared
She could not find her way back
To the wearing of the black
And every week for five long years
Your mother walked the Dublin road in tears
She called in anguish to the nuns
“I want my son. Give me back my son”
Two perfect awkward strangers
When at last you meet
She marvels at the likeness
She watches as you eat
The kind of scrutiny you lack
With all the wearing of the black
Well, she’s now long departed
and you’re back here in Tuam
You pause where once it stood:
St. Mary’s Mother And Baby Home
Here’s where you learnt the knack
For the wearing of the black
And how much rainbow’s left inside?
How much color did you hide?
Outside these gates she broke into a run
“I want my son. Give me back my son.”
T'was here you learnt the knack
For the wearing of the black
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7. |
High Horse
03:23
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I can see
Clearly
You and me
And everything
And everybody
Far into the blue
I’m not comin’ down
off my high horse
I’m goin’ ride ‘round
On my high horse
I can see
Perfectly
You and me
As we go ridin’
Fearlessly
Far into the blue
I’m not comin’ down
off my high horse
I’m goin’ ride ‘round
On my high horse
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8. |
Story Goes
03:44
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Here’s the tale of Tom and Ruby
They’re half way through a movie
Sittin’ on a sofa in New Mexico
Tom Green was Ruby’s driver
Rode coast to coast beside her
Now they’re side by side in New Mexico
Story goes
She stays
She lives to fight
another day
Story goes
He stays
He lives to fight
Another day
The glory days are now behind her
His sorry ass a cruel reminder
No one’s baskin’ in the afterglow
He lets it go – she can’t seem to
She lashes out – she don’t mean to
God damn sofa, god damn New Mexico
Where’d she leave her ramblin’ shoes
God only knows
She sure got the ramblin’ blues
Ruby Black, queen of the West
And Tom, the man who knows her best
Well, that’s the story
And look at how the story goes
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9. |
Albuquerque
04:22
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The night that I drove south from Albuquerque
With the top of my convertible rolled down
I little dreamed by morning light I'd park me
In a sleepy, dusty, tranquil border town
I left a girl behind in Albuquerque
Though many times I thought to turn around
Maybe there's a lace she cannot hurt me
A sleepy, dusty, tranquil border town
I knew the mystery of that woman
Would follow me forever
Would folio but nevermore
Have power to put me down
So I parked my mustang here in Escondido
A sleepy, dusty, tranquil border town
I must be three hundred miles from Albuquerque
Here, surely, I will not be run to ground
Does she have a satellite that marks me
To this sleepy, dusty, tranquil border town
But I know I'm going back to Albuquerque
And so, once more, I find I'm homeward bound
That girl, well, she sure knows just how to work me
I must leave this sleepy, dusty, tranquil border town
I know the mystery of that woman
It called to me forever
It calls to me though never
does she need to make a sound
I'm returning once again to Albuquerque
I must leave this sleepy, dusty, tranquil border town
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10. |
Every Little Thing
03:24
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Every little fight is World War Three
Every little quarrel’s in 3-D
Every little room’s a combat zone
Every little cut cuts to the bone
Here we go again
For one more round
Toe to toe again
For one more round
Every little thing that falls apart
Doesn’t have to bring a broken heart
Do you recall the way we were?
When times got bad, we stood together
I’d give it all to be back there
Hope what we had’s not gone forever
Every little thing that falls apart
Doesn’t have to mean a broken heart
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11. |
How You Disappear
03:46
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How you disappear
Beats me – I swear
It happens quick
Your famous trick:
You’re there then you’re not there
How you disappear
Into thin air
A sleight of hand
Don’t understand
How
you’re there and you’re not there
So this is it
I see you’ve split
The vacant stare
The going elsewhere
The vanishing vanishing
You’ve taken wing
Away you fly
Before my eyes
How you disappear
Beats me – I swear
Where you once were
Is now a blur
You’re there but you’re not there
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12. |
Take Me To The East
03:28
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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
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13. |
Your Song
04:15
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The tiki-torch – a pyro’s dream -
Watch it catch the underbrush
Wildlife runnin’ to the stream
The mob’s in charge
Smoke is risin’ through the trees
Your song is carried off on the breeze
I heard your song
Above the roar
Above the throng
Heard it soar
Your song of hope
I heard your song
First light reveals a raft at sea
Wind and waves, rough undertow
A rough night’s crossing for the refugees
So close to land
Gunboats on the starboard side
Your song is carried off on the tide
The fighting’s only miles away
Children singing as they play
And skip the rope
At the point of no return
Give me strength that I might learn
Their song of hope
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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
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