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1. |
Edith Piaf
04:22
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A kettle’s on in Oregon
And the wind is from the east.
How is the city treating you?
I haven’t heard in weeks.
There must be puddles now in the streets at night.
Do you turn your collar high?
There must be lovers now in your bed at night.
Do you turn your head and sigh?
I re-read your T.S. Eliot:
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
This was underlined many times,
And this: I do not think that they will sing to me.
Of this sea I take what I need,
What I need and nothing more.
My love, if not the turtle dove,
What are you looking for?
I pluck off the last of the MacIntosh
It is cold here, cold enough to frost.
The fire is stoked with that old dry oak
And the smoke, it lingers until it’s lost.
Radio plays a scratchy tune:
Mon Dieu, laissez-le-moi encore un peu. I’ll draw a bath.
My love you’re burning fast,
My love you remind me of Edith Piaf
If you choose to grow bold and you choose to grow old
But you cannot bear it alone
Come unto my bed, there’s a pillow for your head
A breast on which to rest your weary bones.
La Vie en Rose.
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2. |
Passage of Stars
05:20
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Our bed is cold tonight
Like every night since she’s been gone
And I am watching the passing cars
And the passage of stars into dawn
I used to be a lover, her black hair through my hands
I used to be a worker, my back bent to the land
But my fields are still now that I’ve gone,
It’s been so long I can’t recall
How white the snow, how low the Manitoba prairie,
How hard the rain did fall.
I used to be a sinner, sweet apple in my palm
I used to be a gambling man, what could go wrong?
I am quiet now that everyone is gone
It seems there’s no one left to tell it all to.
Besides, what are an old man’s stories but dreams of youth, lies,
A young man’s truth?
I used to be a father, little ones ‘round my knee
I used to be a poet, at least that’s what she told me.
I used to be a hero, I used to be a devil on bent knee,
I used to be a free wheelin son-of-a-bitch,
Now I’m just free
Free to watch the passing cars
Free to watch the passage of stars
Free
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3. |
Nashi Lyudi
03:26
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You never taught me the tongue
You never taught me the tongue
The things that it’s said
Living or dead
No, you never taught me the tongue
You never taught me the clothes
You never taught me the clothes
Plutok on the hair
Skirts down to there
No, you never taught me the clothes
You never taught me the food
You never taught me the food
The bread or the kvas
The borscht in the pot
No, you never taught me the food
You never taught me the prayers
You never taught me the prayers
The bedside pleas
In the dark on your knees
No, you never taught me the prayers
You didn’t want me to know
You didn’t want me to know
The pain of a child
Merciless and wild
No, you didn’t want me to know
But your protection
It felt like rejection
Because you never taught me the tongue
You never taught me nashi lyudi
You never taught me nashi lyudi
The things that we do
Vash narod, or you
No, you never taught me nashi lyudi
You never taught me the tongue
You never taught me the tongue
The things that it’s said
Living or dead
No, you never taught me the tongue
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4. |
Poor Man's Daughter
03:27
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I like cheap beer
I like expensive whiskey
I loved a married man
He loved the intrigue.
If none of it killed me
Why don’t I feel stronger?
I feel just as I am:
A poor man’s daughter
Mama said get an education
Just as fast as you can
But even with that ticket, Mama,
I’m still just pulling chain for some man
Because no piece of paper
Will ever get me far
From being just another
Poor man’s daughter
It took a long time
For me to realize
That I was never just weak at heart
Or weak of mind.
I was only ever shown
A rough and winding road
But no place to go.
There ain’t nothing special
About living on the edge
I’m just out here trying to get by
Before I am dead
So I’ll work and pray everyday,
Everyday harder
Because I am
A poor man’s daughter
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5. |
A Good Man
03:46
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I’ve got a man
He’s a good man
Treatin me right
Doin the best he can
I’ve got a man
He’s a good man
Treatin me right
Bein the best he can
He’s a good man
He’s a good man
I get blue
Low down blue
He says come on now
You’ll pull through
I get blue
Mean blue
He say come on now
I’m rootin for you
He’s a good man
He’s a good man
A good man can carve the hardest stone
A good man can climb the highest peak
A good man can build himself a home
And that man will still be wild and free
There ain’t nothing in this wide world a good man can’t do
There ain’t nothing in this wide world he’d rather do than be good to you
That’s a good man
I’ve got a man
He’s a good man
Treatin me right
Doin the best he can
I’ve got a man
He’s a good man
Treatin me right
Bein the best he can
He’s a good man
He’s a good man
He’s a good man
He’s a good man
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6. |
Wild Roses
05:31
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Old devil’s rope
Old devil’s rope
Old devil’s rope
Stretched from here to Idaho
Old devil’s rope
And wild roses
Smoke and dust on the plains
Smoke and dust on the plains
Smoke and dust on the plains
But this storm holds no rain
Just smoke and dust
For the wild roses
Long trucks they come
Long trucks they come
Long trucks they come
Where the buffalo did run
Long trucks they come
Through the wild roses
There’s crude in this land
There’s crude in this land
There’s crude in this land
Drumheller be damned
There’s crude in your land
‘Neath the wild roses
The prairie’s the bed of a woman fair
With big sky eyes and golden wheat hair
And blood slick and black as a crow in the air
Her face is a cowboy love song
Her heart is a deer-skin drum
And she’s an old soul
Of wild roses
Old devil’s rope
Old devil’s rope
Old devil’s rope
Stretched from here to Idaho
Old devil’s rope
And wild roses
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7. |
Logger's Lament
04:49
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The old mills are shut down, log decks are gone
The old man is ravin, 'bout the democrats and Clinton
And how they shut the woods down over some spotted bird
Didn't they know it'd put a lot of good men out of work?
He said: I ain't lazy
I never complained, not a day, the way some men like to
If you give me my caulks and my Stihl and my freedom
I'll do the work I know how to do
We were up before the bird song, we were out before dawn
Exhaust and sawdust all day long
Home before supper, put the evening news on,
Another round of layoffs, another mill gone
He said: I ain't lazy
I never complained, not a day, the way some men like to
If you give me my caulks, my Stihl, and my freedom
I'll do the work I know how to do
He said: Now they just pay me to sit at home going crazy
Idle hands without a damn thing to do
But if you give me my caulks, my Stihl, and my freedom
I'll do the work I know how to do
I heard John's son got on with PALCO after the fire
But old John he didn't so I guess now he's retired
Old Len's a drunk now, I guess he always was, that's true
But the woods, they kept him dry from 2:00 until 2:00
He said: I ain't lazy
I never complained, not a day, the way some men like to
If you give me my caulks and my Stihl and my freedom
I'll do the work I know how to do
Just give me my caulks, my Stihl, and my freedom
Give me work I can do
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8. |
Yoncalla Moon
03:46
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Yoncalla moon shinin bright
Yoncalla moon shinin bright
Yoncalla moon shinin bright
Kick off your boots, we stay tonight
Kick off your boots, we stay tonight
Kalapuya Creek is on the rise
Kalapuya Creek is on the rise
Kalapuya Creek is on the rise
Kick off your boots, we stay tonight
Kick off your boots, we stay tonight
Mighty Umpqua flow like a bird in flight
Mighty Umpqua flow like a bird in flight
Mighty Umpqua flow like a bird in flight
Kick off your boots, we stay tonight
Kick off your boots, we stay tonight
You can't ghost town when the moon is bright
You can't get across when the water's high
Only a fool could ever leave this sight
Kick off your boots, we stay tonight
Kick off your boots, we stay tonight
Yoncalla moon shinin bright
Yoncalla moon shinin bright
Yoncalla moon shinin bright
Kick off your boots, we stay tonight
Kick off your boots
Kick off your boots, we stay tonight
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9. |
Holding the Light
06:27
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Ain’t it strange how much can change
In a day or two? Like the day I met you.
And ain’t it strange how long real change can take?
But given what’s at stake we need a breakthrough
I had no choice, you helped me find my voice
So when it comes to you, falling in love was the least I could do.
We have no choice, we’ve gotta find our voices
Lift ‘em up and say: That’s enough. I’m gonna live for you and you, you’re gonna live for me too.
It’s ok if we ain’t perfect
It’s ok if we ain’t got it exactly right
It’s ok, it’ll be worth it
If we come on up holding the light
It’s too late, ain’t no one can save us now
We fell into that river and we’re gonna swim or we’re gonna drown.
It’s too late, there ain’t no one left to call
But if we get out we get out so much stronger than if we never fell in at all and
It’s ok if we ain’t perfect
It’s ok if we ain’t got it exactly right
It’s ok, it’ll be worth it
If we come on up holding the light
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10. |
Bones
03:17
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I never went digging for bones
They were buried inside me a long time ago
So I never went digging for bones
No, I never went digging for bones
I never went looking for ghosts
They walk alongside me wherever I go
So I never went looking for ghosts
No, I never went looking for ghosts
I never sought to carry this load
It was strapped to my back and I was sent down the road
No, I never sought to carry this load
Maybe I ought to let some of it go…
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Melissa Ruth Oregon
Doo-Wop Twang:The space of blues, the teeth of country, and the grit of rock n roll.
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