1. |
King of Arkadia
03:58
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When we go to see the king
We will only carry what we can
of what's fit for a king -
King of Arkadia.
When we go to see the king
We will seek an augury of birds,
Then watch them as they pass
Into our slipstream.
On our way to see the king
We will travel through a lawless land
Where error is the rule
And lies are legion.
When we reach Arkadia
We will be expectant as the dawn
That opens like a rose
Above Arkadia.
If by chance we see the king
We will ask for what is ours to know
Perhaps a cardinal rule
Or some equation.
When we leave Arkadia
Through the dry dominions of the king
Doves in the limber pines
Will mourn our passing.
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2. |
A Thousand Suns
03:33
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Eye to the sky, ear to the ground
Wheels are turning
Miles and miles down
Copper, Pyrite, Serpentine
Rain below and stone that flies.
I'll drink the water, I'll toe the line
I'll keep the fire through the night
My heart's a bonfire you can navigate by
A thousand suns to keep in sight.
Let the west wind come and roll me down the dunes!
Let the wild dogs call the tune -
There will be light enough to get home again
As long as I'm breathing out and breathing in.
I'll follow the tide, I'll ride the flood.
Wherever it leaves me, I'll send up
A chrysanthemum of red and gold
To burn away the bitter cold
When all else has come undone
I'll be burning like a thousand suns.
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3. |
Aurora Borealis
04:29
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One too many wannabe outlaws
One too many wannabe kings
One too many brushes with history
One too many "one of those things."
Too much scene, not enough scenery
Too much watching out, nothing to see
Too much wondering, not enough mystery
A hidebound town by a wandering sea.
She wants to lay her head in the Aurora Borealis
Mend some fences in the midnight sun
Say goodbye to the hard road from Denton down to Dallas
In the great white north when the long day is done.
She ain't going to wait for John the Revelator
Ain't going to wait for the seas to burn
She ain't going to wait for whatever comes later
She ain't going to wait for nobody's return.
She ain't got no use for the rear view mirror
Ain't got no use for the ball and chain
Going to leave the temple of accumulated error
Going to leave her mark in the book of names
Mark her days with the rising tide
Rise up singing at the break of day
Going to break away running like a northbound train
Leave the outlaw kings to the wind and the rain.
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4. |
Liberty Bell
04:12
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Her heart's the Liberty Bell
Nothing can break it
She stands on one true love
Nothing can shake it.
Out on a red dirt road
Running in bare feet
Don't have to watch her back
Or turn the latchkey.
There is no twist of fate
Time can't make loose.
All the wild waters
Turn rough to smooth.
She has forgot the eyes
Of those that took advantage
No absolution when a calico heart's unravelled.
Her heart's the Liberty Bell
It rings in the old language
It brought her home to sweep the halls
And take her salvage
She's not no cinnamon girl
Of sweet 16 or twenty
Long is the road that ends
In the land of milk and honey
Her heart's the Liberty Bell
It rings like rain in summer
Life's ginger candy and the sun's a ball of butter
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5. |
Big Red Ford
03:29
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Ain't nobody where I'm going
Nothing but wind and rain and stone
-Shotgun shack on a mountain
Lonely place to call home!
I got my chainsaw and my china
Hammers in my knitting bag
Shing, shang, shimmy, keep on rolling
My hand-me-down life is in your hands!
Climb the mountain
Don't give out on me!
Big red Ford, if you will,
Get me there in one piece!
Mountains hollowed out to make you
Steel from a crucible of fire
One day the elements will break you,
But you and me, we still got one more mile
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6. |
Go Down, Boys
04:08
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The sea will have its sailors
Though their hearts turn ashore
And so they stare into the fire
The salt wind at the door
The sea forgives the sailor
Who'll raise again the sail
She welcomes those with open arms
Who slip beneath the rail
Roses, go down
You blood red roses, go down
Go down, boys, and farewell
The moonlight on the water
Is a transit to the shore
She works her will upon the waves
Though sailors sail no more
It's tides that tell the time here
It's we who wax and wane
Carried homeward on the swell
From half a world away
Singing Roses, go down
You blood red roses, go down
Go down boys, and farewell
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7. |
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It was the time of year when the hurricanes blow
Lift the baby from the cradle, lay the steeple low
Lust grabbed his heart like a fist of steel
Rolled him over the edge like a Catherine Wheel
When the Hunter's Moon rose over the farm
He thought he'd take that girl out back of the barn
But by the time the moon went over the ridge
He was swinging in the moonlight under the bridge
Jump up, little children, yes, yes yes!
Have you heard the news about Typhoon Ted?
Lonely ghost rider from the book of the dead
Last I heard, he was in defeat
With the army of souls down on Azusa Street
Well, it may well be that when they crack the seal
He'll be hanging out in the City on the hill
But I suspect that when the rapture falls
He'll have a candle and a spoon at the dark end of the hall
It's sauce for the goose, grist for the mill
Bottom feeders playing King of the Hill
It's a lump of clay on a bag of bones
They can't find their knees, so they can't crawl home
Steve Hayten, John Havard, George Pedersen, Rest in Peace
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Springhouse California
Music from the Americana Borderlands - from artsong to the roadhouse and places in between:
Chris Kee and Jane
Selkye met in the San Francisco band Me Jane, and have played with David Phillips in various
groups for the last twenty years.
... more
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