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Post by beth on Feb 18, 2013 11:49:42 GMT -5
Van Zandt earned his place as a notable American lyricist and song writer (folk and country) before he died much too young of health issues connected with substance abuse.
Tecumseh Valley
The name she gave was caroline Daughter of a miner Her ways were free It seemed to me That sunshine walked beside her
She came from spencer Across the hill She said her pa had sent her 'cause the coal was low And soon the snow Would turn the skies to winter
She said she'd come To look for work She was not seeking favors And for a dime a day And a place to stay She'd turn those hands to labor
But the times were hard, lord, The jobs were few All through tecumseh valley But she asked around And a job she found Tending bar at gypsy sally's
She saved enough to get back home When spring replaced the winter But her dreams were denied Her pa had died The word come down from spencer
So she turned to whorin' out on the streets With all the lust inside her And it was many a man Returned again To lay himself beside her
They found her down beneath the stairs That led to gypsy sally's In her hand when she died Was a note that cried Fare thee well... tecumseh valley
The name she gave was caroline Daughter of a miner Her ways were free It seemed to me That sunshine walked beside her
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Post by beth on Feb 23, 2013 0:12:42 GMT -5
This Van Zandt song is complex and strange but sometimes people are like that.
The Sake of the Song
Why does she sing Her sad songs for me, I'm not the one To tenderly bring Her soft sympathy I've just begun To see my way clear And it's plain, If I stop I will fall I can lay down a tear For her pain, Just a tear and that's all.
What does she want me to do? She says that she knows That moments are rare I suppose that it's true Then on she goes To say I don't care, And she knows That I do
Maybe she just has to sing, for the sake of the song And who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong.
She'd like to think that I'm cruel, But she knows that's a lie For I would be No more than a tool If I allowed her to cry All over me.
Oh my sorrow is real Even though I can't change my plan If she could see how I feel Then I know That she'd understand
Oh does she actually think I'm to blame? Does she really believe That some word of mine Can relieve All her pain? Can't she see that she grieves Just because she's been blindly deceived By her shame?
Nothin's what it seems, Maybe she'll start someday To realize If she abandons her dreams, Then all the words she can say Are only lies When will she see That to gain Is only to lose? All that she offers me Are her chains, I got to refuse
Oh but it's only to herself that she's lied She likes to pretend It's something that she must defend, With her pride And I don't intend To stand here and be the friend From whom she must hide
Who am I to stand here And decide that she's wrong? Maybe she just has to sing For the sake of the song.
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Post by beth on Mar 27, 2013 20:39:15 GMT -5
Pancho and Lefty
Living on the road my friend Was gonna keep you free and clean Now you wear your skin like iron Your breath's as hard as kerosene You weren't your mama's only boy But her favorite one it seems She began to cry when you said goodbye And sank into your dreams Pancho was a bandit boys His horse was fast as polished steel Wore his gun outside his pants For all the honest world to feel Pancho met his match you know On the deserts down in Mexico Nobody heard his dying words That's the way it goes All the federales say They could have had him any day They only let him hang around Out of kindness I suppose Lefty he can't sing the blues All night long like he used to The dust that Pancho bit down south Ended up in Lefty's mouth The day they laid poor Pancho low Lefty split for Ohio Where he got the bread to go There ain't nobody knows All the federales say They could have had him any day They only let him slip away Out of kindness I suppose The poets tell how Pancho fell Lefty's livin' in a cheap hotel The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold So the story ends we're told Pancho needs your prayers it's true, But save a few for Lefty too He just did what he had to do Now he's growing old A few gray federales say They could have had him any day They only let him go so wrong Out of kindness I suppose
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