1. |
The Lowlands Of L.A.
04:49
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All them bully boys braggin on the backstreets
makin big noise on the back beat
Aint nobody you gonna wanna meet
In the lowlands of L.A.
mamas all yellin across the yards
Daddys at the corner playin twenty one cards
Annie just wanna be a movie star
In the lowlands of L.A.
Taggin all the bars with a shoeshine kit
Tryin a make a change tryin a make it legit
Bring it home to mama gone lickity split
In the lowlands of L.A.
Somebodys dreamin Somebodys markin time
Somebodys thinkin its OK
Somebodys hustlin tryin a make a dime
In the lowlands of L.A.
Ritchie got a tele and a real loud band
Wanna make a noise out in radioland
Damned if he didnt Well i'll be damned
In the lowlands of L.A.
Annie gonna meet ya by the walkin bridge
At the end of the street by the old Wolf Ledge
Layin every chip on the bet she hedged
In the lowlands of L.A.
Somebodys dreamin Somebodys killin time
Somebodys thinkin its OK
Somebodys hustlin turnin on a dime
In the lowlands of L.A.
Now the bully boys they all dead or in jail
Annies got her movies knows every detail
Ritchies on the road reachin for that Grail
In the lowlands of L.A.
Mama always told me gotta do what you must
But i tell ya right now if ya rest ya gonna rust
I spit on the ground I kicked up the dust
In the lowlands of L.A.
Somebodys dreamin Somebodys buyin time
Some 'll never get away
Somebodys hustlin aint ever got a dime
In the lowlands of L.A.
Somebodys dreamin Somebodys doin time
Somebodys thinkin its OK
Somebodys hustlin pocket full a dimes
in the lowlands in the lowlands In the lowlands
Of L.A.
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2. |
City With No Walls
05:35
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Ive Seen Bagmen under bridges
where the campfire girls make their deals
Where the taxis take no riders
and the angels ain't got no wheels
In the smoky hours of twilight frownin'
I hear my name called and I look down and
see my boots kick the concrete curbside stalls
Where the City's got no walls
All the dancin' eyed hobos
their pockets full o promises
find the answer to their hunger
in the cloud covered emptiness
They know it ain't no use to keep the doorman waitin'
they can smell the rain they know its gettin late n
the wind is gatherin' prowlin'
dancin' howlin' through the halls
Where the city got no walls
In the shadow of the canyons
in the alleys where the sun comes up blue
Written in the overcast
sleep the ones who keep fallin' through
And it hangs in the sky by gossamer webs
morning to night it flows and it ebbs
And its warm then its gone then its gone and that's all
Where the city got no walls
Then the sloe eyed drummer taps off
eight to the crowds delight
his brushes and his digits
beating wild in the black hole night
til he wakes to the dancers gathered all round
swayin' out of time to the steam grate sound
of the souls and the heels and the
underground waterfalls
Where the city got no walls
Now the blindman stumbles in the stairway as he taps his cane.
Hears footsteps up above in the dark and dusty sub terrain
And the doorways have dreamers days spent in dives
who's treasures are the flotsam of all the other lives
who's ironbound pillow carries no dreams at all
The famous gypsy wire walker
starts his journey in the evening air
He works without a net
as the crowd is gatherin' in the square
He knows he's rollin it all on this one trick
he ain't ever had a fall but now he's starin' at the bricks
while all the faces passin' by him down below him all begin to call
Where the city got no walls
Well now the girls by the fires
and the hobos starin' at the flames
Got one eye on the doorman
while the taxi drivers takin names
And the drummers rollin cadence in the alleyway
while the crowd in the square has all drifted away
And they're takin down the wires from the buildings that once were so tall
Where the city got no walls No Walls
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3. |
Papa And Marlena
05:21
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Papa and Marlena
Crossing in the night sky planets out of line
Papa and Marlena
Mighta been a full hand royal hand two of a kind
Blue Angel of the Silver Screen
Two lonely Islands in the Stream
Papa and Marlena
Breakin everybodys heart for a dime
Papa and Marlena
For a nickel you can come break mine
And the letters say take my heart
and the letters tear us apart
Papa and Marlena
One is of the sky One is of the dark blue sea
Papa and Marlena
Stranded on their island where the bell it never tolls for thee
Indigo on linen page
Ingenue and story sage
Papa said to Marlena
Send your heart to me
I will take it to the bulls in Spain
Papa said Marlena
Letters hold my heart
Letters hold my blue tear stain
Oh how I love you
Oh how its breakin' my heart
Played a loaded hand
Loaded hand from the start
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4. |
Three Quarter Time
05:14
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I ain't much at dancin Thats why I play this guitar
Lean in lean out I can do it without lookin down
Eye to eye...toe to toe...this do si do three to the bar
yeah the dancin begins and the music it spins you
Round and round and round
All them cowboys and sailors tinkers and tailors
couldn't a been far off the dime
Oh my how they fill ya every waltzing matilda
my heart beats in three quarter time
Now livin ain't what it once was
when it becomes just killin time
but hearts always let ya know
when to speed up or slow down
Hand in hand circle down
every step sayin that Im
Payin the piper he's
playin it all in threes
Round and round and round
All them cowboys and sailing ships Irish girls ruby lips
couldn'ta a been far off the dime
Oh my how they thrill ya every waltzing matilda
my heart beats in three quarter time
Yippee ay and Yo ho ho
sixteen men and a bottle o rhyme
Yippee ay and Yo ho ho
My heart beats in three quarter time
Stories Lies Mysteries
Funny how things come in threes
Father Son Holy Ghost
Dancin our lives mostly
Round and round and round
All them cowboys and sailors tinkers and tailors
couldn't a been far off the dime
Oh my how they thrill ya every waltzing matilda
my heart beats in three quarter time
All them cowboys and sailors Guy Clarks and James Taylors
couldn’t a been far off the dime
You don't know until ya go waltzing matilda
your heart beats in three quarter time
Yippee ay and Yo ho ho Sixteen dancers all in a line
Yippee ay and Yo ho ho My heart beats in three quarter time
My heart beats in three quarter time
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5. |
Tom O'Connor
03:49
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My name is Tom OConnor my age is twenty four
I have come into this country to be finally free of war
A day just south of Boston settled in to make a life
A dozen sheep a grazin three laddies and a wife
But cannon fire at Sumpter on the Carolina coast
Last thing I ever wanted was to resurrect the ghost
Of musket smoke and bravery Elysian fields and dearth
But Id seen enough of slavery in the county of my birth
Pass it around. Pass it around.
Pass it around round round round round
My name is Aaron Ezra I'll soon be thirty three
As I sail into the harbor neath the Lady Liberty
I step ashore with nothin but the numbers on my wrist
And drop onto my knees the earth of freedom for to kiss
And I left behind the life I knew and all my family
Who since the night of broken glass I never more will see
To make this land my children's land the cradle of their birth
a Shining City on a Hill the light of all the earth
Pass it around....
My name is Rosalita (Its not my real one)
I have come across the border for to save my only son
The gangs have took his brother and now it is my fear
That if I give no ransom he too will disappear
So now I dust the houses of the wealthy and the grand
And take care of their children the owners of this land
And I will take the wages whatever they will give
And whisper not a word of it for the chance that he will live
Pass it around
My name is Jusef Ibrahim my age is only four
I have come into this country....
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6. |
Hundred Year Old Charlie
05:01
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Born in the year of the signing at Compiegne
Came up in the delta upside a New Orleans
Poor boy was he never knew no family
Every body sayin’ that ain’t no way to be
No shoes no socks skippin’ rocks on the mississipp
Hangin out down by the docks shang hai’d a ship
Sailed all seven seas saw everything he could see
all women and whales and tails was a helluva trip
Hundred year old Charlie’s seen it all
Hundred year old Charlie’s seen it all
Seen em come, seen em go seen em rise and fall
Hundred year old Charlie’s seen it all
Dustbowl damned depression Life got hard
Thinkin he'd try his hand down in the baseball yard
Never did lack the nerve Just could not hit that curve
so its back to hidin’ from the bulls in the railroad yard
A thousand dusty backroads he did hitch
robbed and left for who knows in a ditch
When he got back on that road always kept to that hobo code
all the way to the day he caught up to that sonofabitch
Hundred Year Old Charlie’s seen it all
Hundred year old Charlie’s seen it all
Was there when the Babe he called his shot then hit it to that wall
Hundred year old Charlie’s seen it all
Joined up on the day the Arizona got sunk
went downtown that night and he got real drunk
Then he crowded in the LST
hit the beach at Normandy
now his ribbons and his medals all lie in the deep blue sea
Hundred year old Charlies seen it all
Hundred year old Charlies seen it all
From the beaches of Calais all the way to Omaha
Hundred year old Charlies seen it all
State side started life had a wife and a whole lotta kids
settled in did the walk never talk about things he did
Seen them men walkin out in space
ran in the human race
for a century and then some just in case
Hundred year old Charlies seen it all
Hundred year old Charlies seen it all
Married him three pretty women he outlived 'em all
Hundred year old Charlies seen it all
Hundred year old Charlies seen it all
Hundred year old Charlies seen it all
From the Grand Coulee Dam to that Mexico wall
Hundred year old Charlies seen it all
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7. |
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Baby star raised on stages sisters in the wings
Hoping for flowers in the green room any little thing
to give a heart its wings and let it go....
But when i sing i feel alright
i've got wings and i'm in flight i'm....
Looking for a star called Kansas she said
If i could only find the yellow road
I would lay me down I would lay my head
In fields and fields of gold.....
Fields of gold
Curtain call. take the bows and drink in the applause
After all who am i? Im standing here because
Ive always drawn the straws that made it so
But when I sing everything's alright
Im on wings and i take flight Im....
looking for a star called Kansas she said
If i could only find the yellow road
I would lay me down I would rest my head
In fields and fields of gold
fields of gold
Any more... life reels out upon a movie screen
Cutting floor no way out but for amphetamines
And so between the scenes i've come to know....
That when i sing i feel alright
When everything is under lights Im....
Looking for a star called Kansas she said
If i could only find the yellow road
I would lay me down I would rest my weary head
in fields and fields and fields and fields
and fields and fields...... of gold....
fields of gold
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8. |
Band Of Angels
03:40
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Band Of Angels
I was dancin’ in the mornin The moon sat low
The sun was breakin’ water I was movin’ slow
Then they came to find me Dancin’ behind me
I was frozen in the headlights I was caught in the glow
For just a moment in the morning I was in slo mo
The thought it started forming I couldn’t let it go
The air was gettin’ colder Touched me on the shoulder
Barely heard it at all The music sweet and slow
Then it brought me to my knees
Like a Band Of Angels singin’ just for me
There was not a soul around me Nobody I could tell
I wondered as they found me Is this heaven Is this hell?
Then I saw her eyes and I knew it was alright then
I touched the hem and I Gave in to the spell
Then I knew that I was free
Just like a Band Of Angels looking out for me
Floating in the air I Could see it all below
Saw the places where I Might come to know
And so I started breathin’ Knew that just as I was leavin’ I been
Touched by the voices Singin’ sweet and slow
And it brought me to my knees
Just like a Band Of Angels coverin’ for me
So it brought me to my knees
Just like a Band Of Angels
Just like a Band Of Angels singin’ just for me
Just for me….
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9. |
River Roll By
05:18
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Young boy runnin’ by the river
By the river he does run
Young boy playin’ by the river
Barefoot wadin’ in the morning sun
He don’t hear his mama callin’
Carryin’ down the wind
He don’t hear the water fallin’
Up the river where the river begin
And the river roll by
And the river roll by
Young man walkin’ by the river
River bend and river run
Young girl with him by the river
Hand in hand in the noonday sun
They don’t hear the rapids runnin’
White water undertow
So they move on down the river
Water ebb and water flow
And the river roll by
And the river roll by
And the river roll by
And the river roll by
Old man sittin’ by the river
Where the river’s race is run
Old man restin’ by the river
Starin’ into the setting sun
Turns his eyes across the river
To the bank on the other side
Sees a young boy runnin’ by the river
The water is deep….. and the water is wide
And the river roll by
And the river roll by
And the river roll by
And the river roll by
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10. |
Follow The Moon
05:37
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Seven oceans I have seen
Sailed glassy waters, country and king
A hundred mountains in between
Peaks of snow white. Evergreen
But everywhere I lay my head
Everyplace I make my bed
All o’ my sunsets crimson red
Become your sunrise comin’ up instead
Follow the moon
Follow the moon
I’ll meet you by the sea of tranquility
Follow the moon
Follow the moon
Spanish seaside Irish shore
Himalayas Mideast war
Outside my window oceans roar
Opalescence above my door
And when my dusk becomes your dawn
Half a world away I’m gone
When evening falls and you can’t go on
The wind will carry down my song
Follow the moon
Follow the moon
I’ll meet you by the sea of tranquility
Follow the moon
Follow the moon
Miles and measures maps and charts
Its only sky keeps us apart
Let Luna find you. She’ll take your part
And lead you straight back into my heart
Its just horizons. Its only time
Beyond the borders across the lines
I’ll be the couplet you be the rhyme
I’ll be the keeper you be the time
Seven oceans I have sailed
Thru angry waters, storm and gale
A million mountains a thousand vails
‘Cross plains of golden moonlight pale
Follow the moon
Follow the moon
I’ll meet you by the sea of tranquility
Follow the moon
Follow the moon
Follow the moon
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11. |
WE
05:10
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We breath in We breath out
We see sin We sing, shout
We live long We love strong
We right wrong Right now
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Jim Ballard Akron, Ohio
Jim Ballard
A native of NE Ohio, Jim Ballard has been, for many years a part of the recording/performing
community. After touring and performing all over the country with artists from 10,000 Maniacs to Gordon Lightfoot,The Mekons to Pete Seeger, he moved into his studio, Skylyne. There, he has recorded and worked with artists from Michael Stanley to Don Dixon and Alex Bevan.
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