1. |
Fortune Will Smile
03:15
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I don’t know where you go
I don’t know what you do
I don’t know where to begin
I don’t know how to get through
I don’t even have the mojo
To get from April to May
I’m hoping fortune will smile on my back door some day
I cannot see no sunshine
Through the drizzling rain
I cannot find no redemption
At this crossroad of pain
I do believe in the Spirit
But it floated away
I’m hoping fortune will smile on my back door some day
Mr. Time, Mr. Time, you’re like a bandit with a gun
It’s a crime, it’s a crime, to be stumbling like a rabbit on the run
I've got mountains to conquer
But there’s rocks in my way
(I’m hoping) fortune will smile on my back door some day
Nighttime is falling, like a shroud on a tomb
Night creatures are crawling from a cauldron of doom
I see the Angels of Light
But they’re clouded in gray
I’m hoping fortune will smile on my back door some day
(yes I’m hoping) fortune will smile on my back door some day
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2. |
Somewhere Along the Way
05:05
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You’re heading out there
But you’re not sure exactly where
You’re feeling troubled
By the graying of your hair
You’re working hard
But you can't be sure it’s gonna pay
There’s many a dragon
Somewhere along the way
We’re all doing time
And the clock is ticking fast
We found some pleasure
But we can’t be sure it’s gonna last
We need a messiah
But it seems there’s been some kind of delay
Maybe She got stranded
Somewhere along the way
They say life is short, but Art is forever
Don’t leave me baby, not in this kind of weather
Lord above,
please protect my child
Angel of Mercy,
this political bullshit is driving me wild
I’m digging deep
For the gold beneath the clay
I know I will find it
Somewhere along the way
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3. |
Prisoner's Lament
04:39
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I’ve been locked down near the guardhouse
For five years and a day
I'm gazing out the window
As the daylight fades away
Wondering if my woman
Has found herself a man
Was I just a flash in the pan?
Thinking did she love me
Or did she love me not
You do a lot of thinking
When time is all you’ve got
At a distance from my window
Stands a lonesome broken pine
I can’t accept the judgment
That’s been rendered for my crime
I’m hanging by my whiskers
In misery and fright
A straggler in the armies of the night
Remembering her beauty
I hang my head and weep
I paid for all these blues
But the price was awful steep
The evening casts its shadow
On my pale and grievous heart
I thought she said she loved me
But she lied right from the start
The emptiness is endless
This prison is a tomb
A dark and dingy loveless little room
I hear the warden shouting
Like sulfur on my brain
The early morning sunrise
Brings another day of pain
But the seasons do their turning
I’m approaching my parole
But how to mark the damage
That has wintered in my soul?
I’ll try to find a woman
Or maybe just a friend
It probably makes no difference in the end
I tried my best to love her
But evil froze my mind
I got tangled in a love knot
I’m unable to unwind
(please tell me)
How can God’s creation
Reflect some master plan?
When heaven turns to heartbreak
Between a woman and her man
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4. |
The Crying World
03:56
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When the world was new
Cain killed brother Abel
I wonder what Jesus knew?
At the Judas table
People of the desert, they're wailin’ and fryin’
Bringing Armageddon to the hills of Zion
What should a good man do?
When the whole world is dying
I want to know what’s true
‘Cause somebody’s lying
Can I count on you?
When the bullets start flying
There’s a broken mast on this sinking ship
We got a drunken captain with a python grip
What will the good folks do?
When they hear those children crying
What should a good man do?
In this time of dying
Should he push on through?
Or maybe lay down his trying
Got a heaving smokestack on a runaway train
I got an icepick headache on a fevered brain
What should a good man do?
When the whole world is crying
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5. |
Detective Blues
03:32
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I’m looking for my woman
But my woman can’t be found
I’m looking for my woman
But my woman can’t be found
I’m gonna hire a detective
And pay that private eye to snoop around
I got a burning fever
And that fever won’t cool down
I got a burning fever
And that fever won’t cool down
I got a burning suspicion
That my woman’s on the other side of town
I’m staring into darkness
And I can feel the hand of fate
I’m staring into darkness
And I can feel the hand of fate
I see the shadow of St. Peter
And he’s leanin’ on the pearly gate
Detective found my woman
But we still don’t see eye-to-eye
Detective found my woman
But we still don’t see eye-to-eye
(the truth is) All I see is trouble
And I can’t detect no reason why
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6. |
The Loving Kind
05:40
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Can I be your sailboat, tacking toward the sun?
Can I be your Buddha, can I be the one?
Can I win this race, I feel so far behind?
I've got to know, are you the loving kind?
In a trance, I dream of a rendezvous
A furtive glance into eyes of sapphire blue
A swirling dance, with no form or design
I've got to know, are you the loving kind?
My words come slow, my feet are made of clay
Please don't turn and look away
A ragged clown that’s sleeping on a shelf
A searching heart that's beating all by itself
A puzzle piece that seems so hard to find
I've got to know, are you the loving kind?
That's me, with the bright bouquet by the taxi stand
Please receive them from my hand
Forlorn is the feeling in a Spanish poem
Like a homesick cat that wandered far from home
This plaintive phrase that echoes through my mind
I've got to know, are you the loving kind?
Can I be your sailboat, tacking toward the sun?
Can I be your Buddha, can I be the one?
Can I win this race, I’ve fallen far behind?
I've got to know, are you the loving kind?
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7. |
Early Morning Rhyme
02:29
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Bighorn sheep on a lonesome hill
Got a lambskin coat for the morning chill
But I ain't got more than twenty minutes time
So I put my thoughts in this early morning rhyme
Spinning wheel goes 'round and 'round
Pretty white birds going up and down
I'm going back and forth like a convict doing time
But I'm busting loose with this early morning rhyme
Silly geese on an all-day flight
Hope they find the lake 'fore they lose the light
If you lose your way, it's a low-down dirty crime
There's some bitter truth in this early morning rhyme
I passed a chicken shack on my morning run
I'm serving chicken-fried eggs on a homemade bun
I will trade you a quarter for a nickel and a dime
Guess I won't get rich on an early morning rhyme
Moses met God on a vision quest
When my work is done I'll be heading west
Then just like Moses I will make that mountain climb
And I will carry down this early morning rhyme
And set in stone this early morning rhyme
And I will carry down this early morning rhyme
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8. |
Way Up High
03:14
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Way up high
Above the earth
Way up high
Above the clouds
I saw a bird
Beautiful bird
Way up high
Way down here
Upon the earth
Way down here
Among the crowds
I saw a girl
Beautiful girl
Way down here
And through the night
The rain came down
Watered the flowers
All around
I picked a rose
Beautiful rose
For my girl
One sweet day
Down here on earth
One sweet day
I fell in love
And my heart
Soared way up high
Among the clouds
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9. |
Winter's Clouds
03:57
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I climbed the stairs to the Paddington Station
And boarded the afternoon train
Some old souls were ensconced in the bar car
Battle-scarred, and benumbed to their pain
(Battle-scarred, and benumbed to their pain)
Amongst them was Joe, my old partner
Forty years at the money machine
I said “Joe, this is no way to dwindle”
He said “Sam, the ordeal picked me clean”
(He said “Sam, the ordeal picked me clean”)
In a world that’s gone mad
He gave all that he had
Now it’s winter, and dark lay the clouds
(Now it’s winter, and dark lay the clouds)
Joe said “Sam, you don’t hear the bullet
When the Reaper sends one your way
We've exhausted our tour of the limelight
Now it’s shutters, and ashes and gray
(Now it’s shutters, and ashes and gray)
I said “Joe, it’s a rank scourge of justice
A pox on the world and its ways
For your manhood to swallow these bitters
And to dwell in these wintery days
(And to dwell in these wintery days)
Joe said “Sam, take your leave of this tap room
Let the afternoon train run its rail”
I dropped a tear for the fate of my partner
And cursed the sickness that colored him pale
(Cursed the sickness that colored him pale)
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10. |
The Colors of Fall
03:51
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No, I can't forget the feeling
When love unfolded like a dream
Stealing a kiss, by the old wooden bridge
Sailing our boats down an innocent stream
These scenes, but a glimmer in my memory
Envisioned fondly, as through a veil
All settled in, somewhat hollowed within
At rest, past the crest, of the trail
Let's feed the fire, and temper the chill
As evening-time softens to black
Stars will appear, we'll clasp hands until
The man in the moon says it's time to go back
Let's share a laugh at the joke of it all
Let our eyes moisten with tears
The colors have turned, we're well into fall
Wistful and weathered, ragged and real
The days feel so long now, won't you hold me?
My heart's grown weary of the strain
I'm praying for solace, a lamp, or a compass
The music is lovely, can't we dance it again?
Oh please can't we dance it again
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11. |
Burn Slowly Sweet Candle
03:37
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I hadn’t a feel for the blues when I was twenty
Though the harrows of heartbreak found me ‘round twenty-one
I’ve seen lockdowns, and comedowns, and turndowns, and sundowns a-plenty
I got old before the music of happiness had even begun
Please don’t say that my time in the garden has yielded no flowers
Please don’t say that my baubles and trinkets will tarnish and rust
That I wasted the minutes and squandered the thousands of hours
Sifting ashes, and singing the blues while my dreams turned to dust
Can a man stand the strain when he carries the world on his shoulders?
Step after step, it seems like the right thing to do
Then to carry remorse and regret through a world that’s grown colder
That’s the baggage I’ll drag to the platform when the last train comes through
How the sunlight danced in your hair when we were both twenty
The garlands of innocence blessed by the light of the moon
I have circled the sun, I have bowed to the dragon of destiny
Burn slowly, brief candle, or the darkness will deepen too soon
(Burn slowly, brief candle, or the darkness will deepen too soon)
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12. |
Climbing the Walls
03:26
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I’m climbing the walls
Without you
I need your love
To get me through
I’m wearing a frown
The whole day long
Baby help me come down, 'cause
I’m climbing the walls
I’m feeling so blue
In this lonesome room
I’m losing my cool
Baby please come home
And place your body
In my feather bed
Let’s share a hobby
Like the night that we wed
I’m pacing the floors
I’m haunting the halls
Baby open your doors 'cause
I’m climbing the walls
I’m feeling the pain
I’m so all alone
I need to complain
Hell, I need to weep and moan ('cause)
My elbows are scraped
My fingers are numb
I could be climbing these walls
‘til I’m deaf, blind, and dumb
I’m playing with matches
Cutting out paper dolls
Baby bring me your love, because
I’m climbing the walls
(Baby bring me your love, because
I’m climbing the walls)
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13. |
Hound Dog for Your Love
02:55
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Girl, I'm stuck on you
Like a hound dog on a bone
Girl, I'm stuck on you
Like a hound dog on a bone
If I had me a dime
I would call you on the telephone
I need some reassurance
That you have got me on your mind
I need some reassurance
That you have got me on your mind
I get a bad, bad feeling
When I can't hear you on the end of the line
Girl I cannot find your number
That's why I'm drinking all alone
I cannot find your number
That's why I'm drinking all alone
If I can't have your love
Please throw me that hound dog bone
Girl, I'm stuck on you
Like a hound dog on a bone
Girl, I'm stuck on you
Like a hound dog on a bone
Can't you hear me howling?
Please call me on the telephone
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14. |
Asking for Mercy
08:06
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I heard you talking in the middle of the night
There was no one, no one there
I saw you walking in the middle of the gutter
You were mumbling, mumbling a prayer
Little baby crying from the bottom of a well
Can you hear, can you hear?
Villagers are dying in the outer rings of Hell
Smell the fear, smell the fear
Church bells tolling at an uncertain hour
Gargoyles are leering from the citadel of power
I’m tempted to explode but I’m driven to cower
Don’t you care?
Birth sounds in the manger, wise men gather presents
Mount your camels, and travel west
Precious, benedictions, and miracles in the desert
By Grace, we're doubly blessed
The condemned endure the mocking, carrying crosses
To the crests of the hills, of the hills
The Beast will only tolerate a modicum of teasing
Then it kills, then it kills
The actors know their roles well, they seen this film before
The backroom deal, the dirty hands, the scapegoat, and the gore
We leave the theater trembling, and then come back for more
Don't you care?
I cannot hear the angels, only whispers of the missiles
In the air, in the air
Peace is but a shadow when the uniforms are lurking
In the square, in the square
Sealed up like a ghetto while the Cossack horsemen circle
Hear them yell, hear them yell
The world seemed finely balanced on the topside of a turtle
‘til it fell, ‘til it fell
My heart is like a scarecrow that torches put to flame
Is charity illusion, when criminals run the game?
I ask the Lord for mercy, I’m asking you the same
Don’t you care?
Distortion on the airwaves, transmission from the tower
Needs repair, needs repair
Send an expedition, monks are stranded in the desert,
Who knows where, who know where?
The missives of the sages appear to be forgotten
Well, memory, memory’s short
This mission is in jeopardy, the gravity seems rotten
It may be time, time to abort
Every song that I’ve written is a song for the martyrs
I cried myself a river at a thousand departures
I offered up my soul for ransom and for barter
Don’t you care?
Don’t you care?
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15. |
Not Again Lord
04:00
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I open up the paper
There’s blood on every page
I choke back my revulsion
My horror and my rage
There seems to be no exit
From this labyrinth of hate
Send ministers and stretchers
The Beast is at the gate
Not again, Lord
No, no, not again Lord
Am I seeing fact or fiction?
Is the nightmare turning real?
I don’t know who to pray to
Or where to bend and kneel
It’s greed, and soul-deep sickness
Far past all amends
With angels as my witness
I won’t breathe until it ends
Not again, Lord
No, no, not again Lord
The people of black shadows
The people of the lie
Who think they’ll live forever
If other people die
We are stumbling toward madness
Gasping from the strain
Who will dam this river?
Who will stop this train?
I am reaching for that tree branch
From Noah’s mourning dove
To plant a sacred garden
To remember what I love
If my words seem too dramatic
I’m just trying to do my best
For the martyrs and the innocents
Slain and laid to rest
Not again, Lord
No, no, not again Lord
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Eric Diamond Gainesville, Florida
song writer, guitarist, psychotherapist, men's work leader and poet--
grew up with New York radio playing the
radical music that formed a soundtrack for his life. Immersed in study of the human condition, his life's work and his music circle around grief, longing, and struggle, reaching towards awe and gratitude for Life.
... more
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