The Sound Of Silence
Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again, Because a vision softly creeping, Left its seeds while I was sleeping, And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound of silence. In restless dreams I walked alone Narrow streets of cobblestone, 'Neath the halo of a street lamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light That split the night And touched the sound of silence. And in the naked light I saw Ten thousand people, maybe more. People talking without speaking, People hearing without listening, People writing songs that voices never share And no one dared Disturb the sound of silence. "Fools," said I, "You do not know. Silence like a cancer grows. Hear my words that I might teach you. Take my arms that I might reach you." But my words like silent raindrops fell And echoed in the wells of silence And the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made. And the sign flashed out its warning In the words that it was forming. And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls And tenement halls And whispered in the sounds of silence."
Leaves That Are Green
I was twenty-one years when I wrote this song. I’m twenty-two now but I won’t be for long Time hurries on. And the leaves that are green turn to brown, And they wither with the wind, And they crumble in your hand. Once my heart was filled with the love of a girl. I held her close, but she faded in the night Like a poem I meant to write. And the leaves that are green turn to brown, And they wither with the wind, And they crumble in your hand. I threw a pebble in a brook And watched the ripples run away And they never made a sound. And the leaves that are green turned to brown, And they wither with the wind, And they crumble in your hand. Hello, Hello, Hello, Good-bye, Good-bye, Good-bye, Good-bye, That’s all there is. And the leaves that are green turned to brown, And they wither with the wind, And they crumble in your hand.
Blessed
Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit. Blessed is the lamb whose blood flows. Blessed are the sat upon, Spat upon, Ratted on, O Lord, Why have you forsaken me? I got no place to go, I’ve walked around Soho for the last night or so. Ah, but it doesn’t matter, no. Blessed is the land and the kingdom. Blessed is the man whose soul belongs to. Blessed are the meth drinkers, Pot sellers, Illusion dwellers. O Lord, Why have you forsaken me? My words trickle down, like a wound That I have no intention to heal. Blessed are the stained glass, window pane glass. Blessed is the church service makes me nervous Blessed are the penny rookers, Cheap hookers, Groovy lookers. O Lord, Why have you forsaken me? I have tended my own garden Much too long.
Kathy’s Song
I hear the drizzle of the rain Like a memory it falls Soft and warm continuing Tapping on my roof and walls. And from the shelter of my mind Through the window of my eyes I gaze beyond the rain-drenched streets To England where my heart lies. My mind’s distracted and diffused My thoughts are many miles away They lie with you when you’re asleep And kiss you when you start your day. And as a song I was writing is left undone I don’t know why I spend my time Writing songs I can’t believe With words that tear and strain to rhyme. And so you see I have come to doubt All that I once held as true I stand alone without beliefs The only truth I know is you. And as I watch the drops of rain Weave their weary paths and die I know that I am like the rain There but for the grace of you go I.
Somewhere They Can’t Find Me
I can hear the soft breathing of the girl that I love, As she lies here beside me asleep with the night. Her hair in a fine mist floats on my pillow, Reflecting the glow of the winter moonlight. But I’ve got to creep down the alley way, Fly down the highway, Before they come to catch me I’ll be gone. Somewhere they can’t find me. Oh baby, you don’t know what I’ve done, I’ve committed a crime, I’ve broken the law. While you were here sleeping and just dreaming of me, I held up and robbed a liquor store. But I’ve got to creep down the alley way, Fly down the highway, Before they come to catch me I’ll be gone. Somewhere they can’t find me. Oh my life seems unreal, my crime an illusion, A scene badly written in which I must play. And thought it puts me up tight to leave you, I know it’s not right to leave you, When morning is just a few hours away. But I’ve got to creep down the alley way, Fly down the highway, Before they come to catch me I’ll be gone. Somewhere they can’t find me.
Richard Cory
They say that Richard Cory owns one half of this whole town, With political connections to spread his wealth around. Born into society, a banker’s only child, He had everything a man could want: power, grace, and style. But I work in his factory And I curse the life I’m living And I curse my poverty And I wish that I could be, Oh, I wish that I could be, Oh, I wish that I could be Richard Cory. The papers print his picture almost everywhere he goes: Richard Cory at the opera, Richard Cory at a show. And the rumor of his parties and the orgies on his yacht! Oh, he surely must be happy with everything he’s got. But I work in his factory And I curse the life I’m living And I curse my poverty And I wish that I could be, Oh, I wish that I could be, Oh, I wish that I could be Richard Cory. He freely gave to charity, he had the common touch, And they were grateful for his patronage and thanked him very much, So my mind was filled with wonder when the evening headlines read: "Richard Cory went home last night and put a bullet through his head." But I work in his factory And I curse the life I’m living And I curse my poverty And I wish that I could be, Oh, I wish that I could be, Oh, I wish that I could be Richard Cory.
A Most Peculiar Man
He was a most peculiar man. That’s what Mrs. Riordan said and she should know; She lived upstairs from him She said he was a most peculiar man. He was a most peculiar man. He lived all alone within a house, Within a room, within himself, A most peculiar man. He had no friends, he seldom spoke And no one in turn ever spoke to him, 'Cause he wasn’t friendly and he didn’t care And he wasn’t like them. Oh, no! he was a most peculiar man. He died last Saturday. He turned on the gas and he went to sleep With the windows closed so he’d never wake up To his silent world and his tiny room; And Mrs. Riordan says he has a brother somewhere Who should be notified soon. And all the people said, "What a shame that he’s dead, But wasn’t he a most peculiar man?"
April Come She Will
April come she will When streams are ripe and swelled with rain; May, she will stay, Resting in my arms again. June, she’ll change her tune, In restless walks she’ll prowl the night; July, she will fly And give no warning to her flight. August, die she must, The autumn winds blow chilly and cold; September I’ll remember A love once new has now grown old.
We’ve Got A Groovy Thing Goin'
Bad news, bad news! I heard you’re packing to leave! I come arunning right over; I just couldn’t believe it, I just couldn’t believe it. Oh, baby, baby You must be out of your mind. Do you know what you’re kicking away? We’ve got a groovy thing goin', baby, We’ve got a groovy thing. I never done you no wrong, I never hit you when you’re down, I always gave you good loving, I never ran around, I never ran around. Oh, baby, baby You must be out of your mind. Do you know what you’re kicking away? We’ve got a groovy thing goin', baby, We’ve got a groovy thing. There’s something you ought to know If you’re fixing to go, I can’t make it without you; No no no no, no, no, no, no, No no no no, no, no, no. Oh, baby, baby You must be out of your mind. Do you know what you’re kicking away? We’ve got a groovy thing goin', baby, We’ve got a groovy thing. We’ve got a groovy thing goin', baby, We’ve got a groovy thing.
I Am A Rock
A winter’s day In a deep and dark December; I am alone, Gazing from my window to the streets below On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow. I am a rock, I am an island. I’ve built walls, A fortress deep and mighty, That none may penetrate. I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain. I am a rock, I am an island. Don’t talk of love, But I’ve heard the words before; It’s sleeping in my memory. I won’t disturb the slumber of feelings that have died. If I never loved I never would have cried. I am a rock, I am an island. I have my books And my poetry to protect me; I am shielded in my armor, Hiding in my room, safe within my womb. I touch no one and no one touches me. I am a rock, I am an island. And a rock feels no pain; And an island never cries.
Blues Run The Game
Catch a boat to England, baby, Maybe to Spain Wherever I have gone, Wherever I’ve been and gone Wherever I have gone The blues run the game Send out for whiskey, baby, Send out for gin Me and room service, honey Me and room service, babe Me and room service, whoa We’re livin' a life of sin When I ain’t drinkin', baby You are on my mind When I ain’t sleepin', honey When I ain’t sleepin', momma When I ain’t sleepin', well You know you’ll find me crying Catch a boat to England, baby, Maybe to Spain Wherever I have gone, Wherever I’ve been and gone Wherever I have gone The blues run the game Livin' is a gamble, baby Lovin’s much the same Wherever I have played Wherever I throw those dice Wherever I have played The blues run the game Maybe when I’m older, baby Someplace down the line I’ll wake up older So much older, momma Wake up older And I’ll just stop all my tryin' Catch a boat to England, baby, Maybe to Spain Wherever I have gone, Wherever I’ve been and gone Wherever I have gone The blues are all the same.
Barbriallen
It was in the merry month of May When green bugs were a-swelling Sweet William on his death bed lay For the love of Barbriallen He sent his servant to the town The place where she’d been dwelling Say master dear has sent me here If your name be Barbriallen And slowly, slowly she got up And slowly she went to him And all she said when she got there Young man I think you are dying Oh, don’t you remember the other day When we where in a tavern You drank your health to the ladies there And you slided Barbriallen He turned his face unto the wall He turned his back upon her Adieu, adieu to all my friends Be kind to Barbriallen She looked to the east, she looked to the west She saw his corpse a-coming Oh, put him down for me she cried That I may gaze upon him The more she looked, the more she grieved She bursted it out in crying Oh, pick me up and carry me home For I feel like I am dying They buried sweet Willy in the old church yard And Barbara in the new one From Willy’s grave there grew a rose From Barbara’s a green briar They grew and they grew on the old church wall And could not grow no higher And there they tied in a true love’s knot The rose bush and the briar.
Rose Of Aberdeen
(Traditional) I’m a rambler I’m a gambler I’m a long way from my home If you people don’t like me I can make out on my own 'Casue it’s dark And it’s rainin' And the Moon gives no light And my pony can hardly travel On this darkened road at night You know once I had a true love Though her age was just sixteen She was the flower of Belton And the rose of Aberdeen But her parents did not like me And now she feels much the same If I’m writ on in your Diary Well blot out my name 'Cause there’s changes in the ocean And there’s changes in the sea And there’s changes in my own true love But there ain’t to changin' me
Roving Gambler
I am a roving gambler I gamble down in town Wherever I meet with a deck of cards I lay my money down I lay my money down I lay my money down I had not been in Washington Many more weeks than three When I fell in love with a pretty little girl She fell in love with me She fell in love with me She fell in love with me She took me to her parlor She cooled me with her fan She whispered low in her mama’s ear "I love that gamblin' man I love that gamblin' man I love that gamblin' man" "Oh Mother, dear Mother Why do you treat me so? The love I feel for the gambling man No human tongue can tell No human tongue can tell No human tongue can tell" "…Oh daughter, dear daughter… With a gambler go With a gambler go With a gambler go" I’ve gambled down in Washington I gambled down in Spain I’m going down to Georgia To gamble my last game To gamble my last game To gamble my last game Brakes on for Atlanta I am a roving gambler I’ve gambled down in town Wherever I meet with a deck of cards I lay my money down I lay my money down I lay my money down I had not been in Washington For many more weeks than three When I fell in love with a pretty little girl She fell in love with me She fell in love with me She fell in love with me.