1. LATE NOVEMBER

The wine it was drunk, the ship it was sunk,
The shot it was dead, all the sorrows were drowned.
The birds they were clouds, the brides and the shrouds
And as we drew south the mist it came down.

The wooded ravine to the wandering stream,
The serpent he moved, but no-one would say.
The depths of the waters, the bridge which distraught us
And brought to me thoughts of the ill-fated day.

The temples were filled with the strangest of creatures
One played it by ear on the banks of the sea.
That one was found but the others they went under.
Oh the tears which are shed, they won't come from me.

The methods of madness, the pathos and the sadness,
God help you all, the insane and wise.
The black and the white, the darkness of the night,
I see only smoke from the chimneys arise.

The pilot he flew all across the sky and woke me.
He flew solo on the mercury sea.
The dream it came back, all about the tall brown people,
The sacred young herd on the phosphorus sand.


2. BLACKWATERSIDE

One evening fair I took the air
Down by Blackwaterside
'Twas gazing all around me
When the Irish lad I spied

All through the first part of that night
We did lie in sport and play,
When this young man arose and he gathered his clothes,
Saying, "Fare thee well today''.

That's not the promise that you gave to me
When the first you lay on my breast,
You could make me believe with your lying tongue
That the sun rose in the west.

Go home, go home, to your father's garden
Go home and weep your fill,
And think upon your own misfortune
Which you bought with your wanton will.

There's not one girl in this whole town
As easily led as I,
And when the sky does fall and the seas will run dry,
Why, it's then you'll marry I.


3. THE SEA CAPTAIN

To cross the wide sea I deserted,
From the shore I did fly.
I thought it time that I travelled,
So I took to the roads of the sky.

It was late and the wind it did gently blow,
Oh the night it was calm.
I saw the flower of the ocean
And the universe did me no harm,
It said to fly on.

The sea captain he loved the ocean,
But his ship was on fire.
His hands they did stretch out before him,
For to take one of many desires,
But there was no time.

Across the wide sea he departed,
From the ship he did fly.
He thought it time that he travelled
And I saw him as he passed by,
And I saw him as he passed by.


4. DOWN IN THE FLOOD

Crash on the levee, mama,
Water's gonna overflow,
Swamp's gonna rise,
No boat's gonna row.
Now, you can train on down
To Williams Point,
You can bust your feet,
You can rock this joint.
But oh mama, ain't you gonna miss your best friend now?
You're gonna have to find yourself
Another best friend, somehow.

Now, don't you try an' move me,
You're just gonna lose.
There's a crash on the levee
And, mama, you've been refused.
Well, it's sugar for sugar
And salt for salt,
If you go down in the flood,
It's gonna be your own fault.
Oh mama, ain't you gonna miss your best friend now?
You're gonna have to find yourself
Another best friend, somehow.

Well, that high tide's risin',
Mama, don't you let me down.
Pack up your suitcase,
Mama, don't you make a sound.
Now, it's king for king,
Queen for queen,
It's gonna be the meanest flood
That anybody's seen.
Oh mama, ain't you gonna miss your best friend now?
Yes, you're gonna have to find yourself
Another best friend, somehow.


5. JOHN THE GUN

"My shadow follows me
Wherever I should chance to go",
John the Gun did say.
"If you should chance to meet me
As I wander to and fro,
Sad would be your day."

"My life is mine and the light did shine
Till the guns they did go through me,
So now I shall never fall.
Ideals of peace are gold which fools have found
Upon the plains of war.
I shall destroy them all."

Put away your guns of steel,
Death comes too soon for all.
Your Master he may need you soon,
And you must heed his call.

"I am the master of the games
That you will hardly ever play,
So I will teach your sons.
And if they should die
Before the evening of their span of days,
Why, then they will die young."

Put away your guns of steel,
Death comes too soon for all.
Your Master he may need you soon,
And you must heed his call.

"Condemn me not,
For always will I play the game of war,
In moonshine or in sun.
And if any cross the path I choose to tread,
Their chances they are poor.
My name is John the Gun."

Put away your guns of steel,
Death comes too soon for all.
Your Master he may need you soon,
And you must heed his call.


6. NEXT TIME AROUND

Then came the question and it was about time.
The answer came back and it was long.
The house it was built by some man in a rhyme,
But whatever came of his talented son?
Who wrote me a dialogue set to a tune?
Always you told me of being alone,
Except for the stories about God and you,
And do you still live there in Buffalo?

They put up the walls with no more to say,
Nobody stopped to ask why it was done.
The stream was too far and the rain was too high,
So into the city the river did run.
Because of the architect the buildings fell down,
Smothered or drowned all the seeds which were sown.
I wish I were somewhere, but not in this town.
Maybe the ocean next time around.

I seem to remember the face and the name,
But if it's not you I won't care.
I know of changes, but nothing would change you
To Theo the sailor who sings in his lair.
And then I'll turn and he won't be there,
Dusky black windows to light the dark stair,
Candles all gnarled in the musty air
All without flames for many's the year.


7. THE OPTIMIST

The steps he took were nice and easy.
He never knew he could stumble and go down.
As he saw the buildings and the mountains crumble,
Over the road he would take to the town.
He said, Next year I'm coming back, I'll see you later.
It takes longer when you're far away.

There's a tale which says he was pursued by an assassin.
What he knows of that, no-one can tell.
How close he came to the trapper,
But he stopped by a wishing well.
He said, Next year there will be many flowers,
Each one much brighter than the one before.

As he turned he caught the feeling,
And he smiled as he walked down the road.
All my days they are filled with meaning,
But I have yet to fathom the code.
But next year I'll call the tune and it won't be easy,
The timing's all out of place with how you feel.

Next year I'm coming back, I'll see you later.
It takes longer when you are far away.
Next year there will be many flowers,
Each one much brighter than the one before.
Next year I'll call the tune and it won't be easy,
The timing's all out of place with how you feel.


8. LET'S JUMP THE BROOMSTICK

Well, come a little baby lets jump the broomstick,
Come a let's tie the knot
Come a little baby lets jump the broomstick,
Come a let's tie the knot
My father don't like it, my brother don't like it,
My sister don't like it, my mother don't like it.
Come a little baby, let's jump the broomstick,
Come a let's tie the knot

Goin' to Alabama back from Texarkana,
Goin' all around the world
I'm goin' to Alabama back from Texarkana,
Goin' all around the world
My father don't like it, my brother don't like it,
My sister don't like it, my mother don't like it
Come a little baby lets jump the broomstick,
Come a let's tie the knot

Come a little baby, I don't a mean maybe, lets settle down
Come a little baby, I don't a mean maybe, lets settle down
My father don't like it, my brother don't like it,
My sister don't like it, my mother don't like it
Come a little baby lets jump the broomstick,
Come a lets tie the knot

Well, come a little baby lets jump the broomstick,
Come a let's tie the knot
Come a little baby lets jump the broomstick,
Come a let's tie the knot
My father don't like it, my brother don't like it,
My sister don't like it, my mother don't like it.
Come a little baby, let's jump the broomstick,
Come a let's tie the knot

Goin' to Alabama back from Texarkana,
Goin' all around the world
Ah, goin' to Alabama back from Texarkana,
Goin' all around the world
My father don't like it, my brother don't like it,
My sister don't like it, my mother don't like it
Come a little baby lets jump the broomstick,
Come a lets tie the knot


9. WRETCHED WILBUR

The summer was the reason
Why it took so long to see
That even if I do possess
Some seeds of honesty,
There is no garden,
So how come I have no land?
I shall be waiting here awhile
To see what comes to hand.

Misers mise and compromise;
I know what I have seen.
The wanderers are in the east;
That's where I should have been.
But I did not go there;
I couldn't find the way.
I do believe I made a try,
But I really couldn't say.

Oh, that wretched Wilbur,
He keeps ploughing up the land.
He fights the battle thoughtfully
With roses in his hands.
But where is the fight now?
So play us your merry song.
The autumn, it has blown away,
And the winter, it is long.


10. THE NORTH STAR GRASSMAN AND THE RAVENS

They stood upon the deck
As the ship went out to sea.
The wind it took the sails
And left the land a memory.
All upon the shore for
To wonder why the sailor goes.
All to close their eyes
And wonder what the sailor knows.

That is you to them,
That is how they think you are.
Never on the land,
But sailing by the North Star.

To the tower and to the ravens
And the tale that hopes they'll never leave.
What if they should go?
We always dread to think of them.
I wonder if they flew one day
And no-one ever knew they'd gone
To circle over ships at sea,
Claiming yet another son.

That is you to me,
That is where I think you are.
Never on the land,
But gone to find the North Star.


11. CRAZY LADY BLUES

Missed the morning too, didn't rise before noon.
She's a lazy lady today.
Always yawning, you with your eyes on the moon.
You're a crazy lady I'd say, da da da.

Now should I say more, for I know so well
And you're no hazy maiden in grey.
How can I be sure, it's not easy to tell.
But you're a crazy lady, I'd say.
Crazy lady.