1. |
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Quick flash from red to green
Sudden sound of rushing feet
Everybody's got someplace to be - but me.
I stick to the shadowy side of the street
Cause people always look but they never see
Everyone has got someplace to be
Refrain
I need to hear your voice
Why was I never given a choice?
I need to see something go right
Eyes are burnin' right through my skin
It's hard to believe they were my kin
Now they've all got places to be
People hurt more than needles ever could
But I don't feel it when the drugs are good
And everyone is where they need to be
Refrain
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2. |
Hurtin'
05:17
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Times are tough way down south
I haven't seen a cloud that would open it's mouth
and all my wheat and barley heads were wearing thin
The barn is empty of last year's crops
Well I've been givin' all of my rations up
So little Johnny's bones don't go wearing thin
Refrain
Hurtin' for my sons
I've been hurtin' for my daughter
and hurtin' for my dear old wife
When there ain't no bread
No rain and no water
Hurtin' is the only way of life
No time to play my dixieland
I've gotta keep this old hoe in my hand
to ensure my plants will overcome
Now that heat was getting into my head
By the time I finally crawled into bed
my wife could see that I'd been beat by old man sun.
Refrain
When I woke up on the harvest day
There was no sign of my measly hay
Some bandits must've scythed it down at nightfall
So I packed my gun with powder and lead
I remembered what my old father said
He said 'Blood for family's sake ain't no blood at all'
Refrain
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3. |
I'm a Sinner Man
06:06
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Smoke rose from the barrel of the rifle that I held
Blood flowed from the body of the man that I had felled
and tears rolled down the cheeks of the woman at the well.
That was when I knew I'd surely go to hell.
Well I have never been a man of any sort of faith
but at that moment I felt I could use a little grace.
I cried 'Holy righteous Father, I've killed a man today'
then I fell down to the ground and I prayed:
Refrain
I wanna see a holy beam of light
I wanna see a heavenly sight
I wanna be better than the man I am
I wanna know the wrong from the right
I wanna know just how to be polite
Lord have mercy on me, you know I'm a sinner man.
Then a man in priestly robes came up and told me that I'd been saved
He said 'try and love the good Lord like Peter the saint'
Well I said 'I'm sorry sir, I think you've made a mistake -
You see I can't be someone who I know I ain't'
'Well I ain't ever seen no saint who shot a man down
and it won't be too long before I'm locked up in town'
He said 'It ain't ever too late to turn around,
You once were lost, but now son, you've been found!
Refrain
I've heard Paul he had an angel to break off his chain
Well if you see him on the street could you send him my way?
Tell him that I don't deserve to see the light of day
But I sure would love to see my family again.
Refrain
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4. |
Trucker's Blues
13:20
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I am a lonely trucker driving down a lonesome road
The radio speaks to me; at times I speak to the radio
I love a woman, but she no longer loves me
Now I've got a cigarette to kiss; her picture lies broken on the passenger seat.
I got to the grain mill and the lineup ran for a mile
That old farmer wants his feed - I think he's gonna have to wait a while
Ol' Joe was up ahead, and I asked him 'have you got any grass?'
'One trucker to another, I think you know just why I ask'
Time I got out of there - It was getting to be quite late
I could sleep, but I would rather get more pay
I slept three hours last night and one the night before that
It don't bother me much - I've driven on less sleep in the past
I must have dozed off, cause I woke up in a ditch
I thought about my woman - the thought it left a certain itch
I was bleedin' from ten different places, but I still managed to get high
Didn't want the thought of my woman to be my last before I die
I don't think that I will go to heaven but I sure don't wanna go down to hell
But I suppose that wherever I may go, I will be lonesome there as well.
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5. |
You Ain't the Only One
03:58
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Staring up past every sun
Wondering about every one
You know that there ain't nothin' to fight about
And you ain't the only one
Watching the time as it flies
Wondering if you will ever dare try
You know that there are much bigger birds in the sky
No you ain't the only one
Wondering what it is you've done wrong
Searching the eyes for a smile or a song
And You know that there are much better ways to get along
This ain't the only one
Just sit on your own and smoke that cigarette
And think about the things you didn't say
You're thinking and thinking every single day
You know that you were made to feel like you're alone
Oh but You ain't the only one
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6. |
Strayin' From My Blues
03:35
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Take me on down the line
Take me to my home
Take me where the water turns to wine
Take me on down the track
No matter where it goes
Take me where the wind is at my back
Tell me that good news
Tell me what to say
Tell me where you got them walking shoes
Don't give me nothin' to prove
Don't you give me no wealth or fame
Don't ever let me stray too far from my blues
Refrain
Well I've been feelin' cool
Lord, I'm strayin' from my blues
Lock me up inside
The room with no windows
Lock me up and steal away my pride
When I come out again
When I see the sun once more
Then I will keep on walkin' through the plains
Refrain
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7. |
No One Ever Heard
07:03
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'I carry the burdens of many' an old man once claimed.
'I don't quite understand them but I feel them all the same.
I spend many a night just thinking on what I have seen
Wondering who or what is to blame -
Maybe we're all to blame'
'I've seen the poor just wandering; no safe place to cry
Helplessly beggin' for a nickel or a dime
and I've seen many others in the safety of their own cars
Driving on past 'cause they don't got much time
Well they were late anyways.'
'People are hurting in silence 'cause they don't know what for
All they know is that they're feelin' too much pressure to endure
At times there may seem to be a light far up ahead
But in a world of illusions, nothing is for sure
When everyone needs to be sure.'
'There was a murderous man; his hands were a dark shade of red.
He walked to the guillotine while they screamed for his head
The witnesses felt that justice was greatly deserved
But their pain was not relieved when he was dead
No they just felt guilty instead.'
'And in my time of pondering, I've discovered something else
That all people on earth must lay their defences on a shelf
Do not fear your neighbour and do not fear your own death
But we should all be afraid of what's inside of ourselves.'
With those last words the old man did suddenly die
With the stars smilin' down on the place where he lie
But the boy to whom he spoke had long since disappeared,
and no one ever heard the stories of old Jerry the Wise.
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8. |
Take These Demons Away
05:10
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Lord, take these demons away
Don't you see the people dying or hear them crying?
They're cryin' 'Lord, take these demons away.'
I heard the earth cry out today
Said the mountains and the briars, 'O Lord, we've grown so tired,
Won't you take these demons away?'
Don't let your sheep be led astray
Don't you feel no shame when men are killing in your name?
Lord take these demons away.
This world will tremble at your name
I have heard of your wrath, your rod and your staff
Won't you take these demons away?
Lord, take these demons away
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9. |
There Will Come a Day
05:38
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You've been left behind
You've been left for dead
You've been left out in the cold with no pillow for your head
You've been trampled in the dirt
You've been kicked in the teeth
Well the good Lord says that you had better turn the other cheek
Refrain
But there will come a day when you will reap what you have sown
Blessed are those who suffer.
You've been made a fool
You've been robbed blind
Now you've got a hundred things a-runnin' through your mind
You want to get even;
you've been cheated by a whim
Well the good Lord says you'd better leave the judging up to him
Refrain -
Blessed are those who show mercy
They've shaved off all your hair
But your head still weighs a tonne
You've been told that the wrath of God is in the barrel of your gun
So you've been writing letters
to the head of the military
Sayin' that the good Lord says that you had better love your enemy
Refrain -
Blessed is the peacemaker
You've been preaching kindness
But practicing hate
Been using salvation like some kind of bait
You've puffed out you're chest
You've taken all the best
Well the good Lord says that all the first will one day be the last
Refrain -
Woe to the hypocrite
You can change your ways
and I can change my ways
Refrain
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