1. |
She
03:30
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She was a young girl, smart as a whip
Singing everywhere she went and shining like the sun.
He was a young boy, he could figure things out
Faithful as a hound dog, as loyal as they come.
One day they came into the wood
chasing rabbits as fast as they could.
Saw the other and they both did smile
and they stopped to take a rest for a while.
She was a mother, busy with child
Finding her way through a cloudy child haze.
He was a father, excited and afraid
Finding his rhythm and finding his way.
He was trying to find his way.
One day they came into the wood
chasing children as fast as they could.
Saw the other but they could not stay.
There was no time for rest those days.
She was an old woman, older than the hills,
She grew wiser with each passing day.
He was an old man, covered in grey.
When there was trouble, he had kind words to say.
He always knew what to say.
The roar of the ocean, the cry of the wind.
You can hear her calling to him.
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2. |
Audubon
02:54
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St. Dominque is where I made my start,
But my mother died too soon.
As a young one I loved to watch the birds in flight,
Underneath the sun, underneath the moon
And I went down to the Mississippi to watch and draw
And I listened to their song, as the river rolled along.
I set out across the ocean to the promised land,
‘Cause I wasn’t made for war.
Early on the yellow fever took me down,
But following my heart would take me far.
And I went down to the Mississippi to watch and draw
And I listened to their song, as the river rolled along.
I was never satisfied with what I’d done before,
So I set them all on fire.
I always knew I’d have to travel near and far,
But doing my best was my only desire.
And I went down to the Mississippi to watch and draw
And I listened to their song, as the river rolled along.
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3. |
Sarah Jean
03:51
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Sarah Jean was seventeen, when she lost her virginity
She always thought she could make him love her somehow.
When their love came undone, she ended up with no one, something her heart could not allow.
Love is hard to give. Love is hard to find.
But love is how we live.
Will you be mine? Can you be mine?
She would wait, by twenty-eight, she would have so many dates
But none would lead her to her wedding night.
She wanted to find someone before her days were done
But every man she met just wasn’t right.
Love is hard to give. Love is hard to find.
But love is how we live.
Will you be mine? Can you be mine?
Many years have come and gone, you wonder, has she found someone?
Where has her journey made her roam?
She is a kind and loving soul. There is one thing that we know
That love will always find its way back home.
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4. |
Mitzpah Café
04:37
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Early in the morning, she watched it all come down.
The city nearly fell into a hole in the ground.
She camped out for days and nights at Union Square downtown.
She had nowhere to go, but she was free.
She had nowhere to go, but she was free.
Stayed downtown until the fire and the soldiers drove her on.
Trudged on with her bundles ‘til night turned to dawn
Then laid herself upon a quilt, looking back at what was gone,
She’d found that park that stretched out to the bay.
At Golden Gate park, that’s where she’d stay.
Oh Anna, Anna Amelia,
with one tin can and a plate in her hand, she gonna heal ya
No matter where you come from or what the time of day.
You can get what you need at the Mitzpah Café.
Feeding nearly three hundred per day.
It was fractions of the thousands who’d already passed away
Gathering all around her, women, children, men.
She says “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin”,
Walking by you’d hear them up and down the row
Underneath the moonlight and everywhere you’d go
Mandolins and voices and guitars sounding low
The folks would gather round, not much to do
Enjoying the night and singin’ the blues.
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5. |
Bodhisattva Blues
03:34
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Well I’ve been workin’ every day, tryin’ to pay my dues
Preachin’ and teachin’ them Four Noble Truths
You know I took my vow just to see you through
Said I’d put Nirvana on burner number two
I ain’t havin’ all that much fun.
Can’t wait to merge into the One
I said I’m sick of being stuck in conditioned reality,
with them Bodhisattva blues
Well until you’re truckin’ down that old eightfold path
(Om, madne padme, om, om)
Them transmigratory blues, they gonna last and last
You know you’re pilin’ up bad karma like I’ve never seen
And if I wasn’t so compassionate, I’d be downright mean
You know if I was you I’d be pretty frightened.
Baby, you ain’t never gonna be enlightened
I said I’m sick of being stuck in conditioned reality,
with them Bodhisattva blues
You just sit down, assume that lotus.
Ain’t no need for hocus-pocus
And your mind will be in focus real soon.
Get down deep inside your breath
Break that cycle of life and death.
You know the gods are gonna be dancin’
When you sing ‘em that tune. Om…
He got the key, standing at the door
What you wanna make him hang around here for?
Them Bodhisattva Blues
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6. |
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Wake up, same thing every morn’, soap yourself and shave.
Put on your pants one leg by one,
This is what will save you. What will save you.
Surround yourself with friends,
With men who know what’s right, what’s true.
In your late night sea of doubt,
This is what carries you through, carries you through.
Face the crowd with your mighty tongue,
Last night’s fears will come undone
When you look into the eyes of suffering.
The hardest thing for us to learn
Is that the fire of hatred cannot burn.
Through the love of many hearts,
We’ll shine a light into the dark, into the dark.
We’ll shine a light.
Use me. Show me how to take who I am, and who I want to be and use it for a purpose greater than myself. Amen.
Guns are loaded, they’re all scared,
Carrying off what someone dared.
There’s a wall around their souls.
Rising heat, but hearts are cold, they’re so cold.
Their hearts seem so cold.
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7. |
Voice On the Wind
04:39
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I hear a voice on the wind, telling me to slow down
Sit a while in the shadows ‘til the sun goes down, all the way down.
I hear the darkness speak as colors leave the sky
Let me tell you a story as day turns to night.
Once upon a planet, once upon a time
All this sound and fury were not yours or mine, at the beginning of time
We grew out of the ocean, came out onto the land
We are not more important as woman or man, than the water or sand.
Don’t forget to dream, you know what it means
To keep me afloat. Don’t give up, don’t give up hope.
I hear a voice from the mountain, a song upon the wind
It’s a voice from our ancient mothers trying to send, to help us to mend.
They say, come together in your sadness, let your tears start to flow.
The salt and the water come through us, into the sea below
Our bodies are part of the ocean, our bodies are part of the land
Remember the precious the sacred we hold in our hand, we must do what we can.
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8. |
Finding What I Need
02:53
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I have been eaten, chewed up by the days,
Ship-wrecked and sinking, then saved and on my way
I am tired and frayed, like a worn out shoe,
Making it each day in a world with love like you.
You watch out for me like the shining sun.
You mirror my light back to me.
We are blood and bones, tied up for a few years,
Woken from a dream of warm and salty tears.
Summer oceans with silver rising tides,
Teaming with such life and shining with surprise.
I feel the urge to pray, to fall down to my knees,
Wandering all around in this sea of budding trees.
But they are thorny. I get stuck and bleed.
I may not have what I want, but I’m finding what I need.
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