One Deep River

‎We got the roller coaster piling along
The power and the glory with the song
Holy moly where did the time go?
I told you baby, now you know
I’m keeping the balls in the air
When I’m up here on the band
There’ll be a little bit here and there
I’ll still be trying to understand
But they’ll all be in the air
When I’m up here on the band
What it is, I’m juggling here
I’ve only got two pairs of hands
There’s a pin-drop, they follow a thread
And a lone voice cries out overhead
When the thunder bursts in the velvet night
There’s joy and wonder and delight
I’m keeping the balls in the air
Trying to keep up with the band
There’ll be a little bit here and there
Might get covered by the drifting sand
But they’ll all be in the air
When I’m up here on the band
What it is, I’m juggling here
I’ve only got two pairs of hands
They’re back in the streets and into the bars
The trams and the trains and back in their cars
Holy moly, where did the time go?
I told you baby, now you know
I’m keeping the balls in the air
Trying to keep up with the band
There’ll be a little bit here and there
Might get covered by the drifting sand
But they’ll all be in the air
When I’m up here on the band
What it is, I’m juggling here
I’ve only got two pairs of hands

It was nothing but the hits in a room downtown
They’re noisy as hell but nice
People don’t usually get to play in there
More than a time or twice
You had you a regular spot
They were even advertising your name
Better than the usual thing you got
Staying just ahead of the game
Ahead of the game
And I can’t tell you one thing new
About playing for the door
Some of my dream is back there too
With the sawdust on the floor
We’re worn out and weary, all of us
But we know why we came
Banged up and battered like this old bus
Staying just ahead of the game
Ahead of the game
The sky’s as big as nowhere
Which is where we’ve been
Left a dream behind there somewhere
You’ve got to have a dream
I gave your buddy a ride to the train
He was telling me he’d be back
There was a red light shining, love in vain
When we rolled across the tracks
Barista/bartender selling beat up car
Needs a ticket for a bus or a plane
Singer/songwriter heading for home
Staying just ahead of the game
Ahead of the game

The Santa Ana’s been kicking up sand
All the way from Utah to La La Land
Sways the fairy lights up in the boughs
The finger-lickers who test the blow
And make predictions for best in show
Say the smart money ain’t on your dog now
Ain’t on your dog now
Cinderella’s in the square
They wait in line to see her there
This little tootsie she’s showing ‘em how
Fresh out of fame school class
This little hoofer means to kick some ass
And the smart money ain’t on your dog now
Ain’t on your dog now
Helicopters overhead
Showbiz kids are getting wed
They already sold the shoot
The ring going on her finger
The slipper on her foot
Down on the river the wind’s turned cool
It’s blowing all the way from Boston to Liverpool
At least the summer knows when to take a bow
Groovy nights and golden days
Feel they could might just slip away
And the smart money ain’t on your dog now
Ain’t on your dog now

I closed my eyes and made a wish
Lord, don’t let me lose this fish
Scored myself a genuine squillionaire
I’m the drawing room boy with the pinky ring
I’m here to sell you anything
I’ve got a brand new friend
And we’re doing a good job there
Thought he’d come down to sniff around
In my old blood-stained hunting ground
Walked right in, I never should have stayed
He’s taking all my sage advice
So keep it shut, you’ll get your slice
We do him both ends twice and we both get paid
In Scavengers Yard where the wild things roam
Welcome – the bag man’s home
Come on down to where the tigers roar
In Scavengers Yard the wild things roam
Welcome – the bag man’s home
You’ll find me down on the killing floor
Now as someone I’d recommend
I bring you in, a dear old friend
Who knows just where there’s another shiny toy
It goes the way I want it to
There’s a major drink in this for you
Finder wins and seller too, old boy
He’s a greedy swine, he loves a steal
We tell him here’s one killer deal
I’ll hold his hand and a reaming there will be
I’ve let him know he’s number one
I’ve told him as a rule of thumb
I don’t trust anyone, not even me
Never had a sucker come on like this
He’s giving me arthritis
I feel like I have grown a set of claws
I’m not going to let this one slip
And I don’t intend to lose my grip
Now that I’ve got him in my jaws
In Scavengers Yard where the wild things roam
Welcome – the bag man’s home
Come on down to where the tigers roar
In Scavengers Yard the wild things roam
Welcome – the bag man’s home
You’ll find me down on the killing floor

So sorry for your trouble
Tell me to take a walk
And I would understand
Of course it’s good to talk
Here take my handkerchief,
No, I don’t need it back
Please don’t worry
So sorry for your trouble
And I was wondering
And I would understand
If you might have one to hand
If you had a photograph?
Of course I’d bring it back
Please don’t worry
And I wonder, if I stay in this
How hard boiled will I become?
As hard boiled as some
My friends in the newsroom
The Colins and Bobs
All done their black tie jobs
I have to go, so sorry
Walking back to the car
And I can hear your sobs
I hate these black tie jobs

In the Siskiyou Mountains the old railroad winds
Through the golds of the maples and the green of the pines
Up to Tunnel 13 the Southern she climbs
And three bandits waiting with evil in mind
The D’Autremont brothers had chosen their road
Chosen to live by a criminal code
Word was the mailcar was loaded with gold
The brothers had heard it, or had maybe been told
They wanted no witnesses, that was a fact
The brothers were bent on a barbarous act
Gold there was none, only sadness and tears
And the law coming after them year after year
Three bandits, hearts filled with resentment and hate
Killed mail clerk Elvyn Daugherty, engineer Sydney Bates
With shotgun and pistols they were panicking when
They killed brakeman Coyle Johnson and fireman Marvin Seng
Robbing and looting is as old as the hills
They’re still jumping freight trains with crowbars and drills
A hundred years later in Downtown LA
They rob the Union Pacific damn near every day
Four good men lay murdered in the dogwoods and pines
Leaving widows and children and heartbreak behind
Tunnel 13 is the place in the song
Where the beautiful redwood for my guitar came from

It’s the same old rodeo
Whenever it appears
The roughnecks and truck drivers
Pipeliners and engineers
Our dusty little cowtown
Turned into a boomtown fast
Guess we had to say so long
To our little town of the past
Janine my heart goes out to you
I know you’ve been trying
I’ve been trying too
Now there’s big rigs on the highway
Loaded up with sand and tools
Oil rigs on the skyline
New kids in the schools
The thing about a cowtown
There’s always dust
But it always rains eventually
And rain it must
Janine my heart goes out to you
I know you’ve been trying
I’ve been trying too
Janine my heart goes out to you
I know you’ve been trying
I’ve been trying too
I hope that you’ve been saving
A little of that boomtown pay
I hope that you’ve been holding on
To something for a rainy day
The thing about a cowtown
There’s always dust
The thing about a boom is
There’s always a bust
Janine my heart goes out to you
I know you’ve been trying
I’ve been trying too
Janine my heart goes out to you
I know you’ve been trying
I’ve been trying too

There was a train leaving
For a big beat in a big life
Are you coming?
I may have asked you once or twice
But I’d already left the hallway
With broken lights
Some dingy landing
We used to tumble from
Where the stairs were cracked and worn, whatever
Watch me go babe, watch me gone
And the songs were pushing
Harder all the time
Wasn’t your fault
Then again it wasn’t mine
Broke, frustrated
And obsessed
You saw me as ridiculous, I guess
And I didn’t know from nothing
Not even my own voice
But I knew there was something
And I knew there was no choice
I was leaving mostly heartache
But I was in no mood to rejoice
There was so much that was wrong, whatever
Watch me go babe, watch me gone
Watch me go babe, watch me gone
Well maybe I’ll hit the road with Bob
Or maybe hitch a ride with Van
It’s all gonna happen
And I’ll be a happening man
And God must still be laughing
At a boy and his plans
In the streets where they were born
And the hopscotch traces, well you can still see them here
The chalk lines faded and unclear
Time for me to disappear
Put my old boots back on, whatever
Watch me go babe, watch me gone
Watch me go babe, watch me gone
Watch me go babe, watch me gone
Watch me go babe, watch me gone

My hunter’s heart may not be merciless
But on this day of freezing snow
It’s as cold as the heart of the ice princess
Who didn’t want to know
I take my orders, ask few questions
It’s no real life for a decent man
Few clear cut lines or regulations
Low on prospects and future plans
If you should hearken to the devil’s bidding
Perchance you’ll bring me work to do
It may not be my heart’s true calling
But I will surely come for you
To you who live by rape and plunder
I’ll shoot or hang with scant remorse
My Old Reliable the avenging thunder
Else my rope and faithful horse
Your late companion in haste repented
I had him take a ride with me
Through this poor country he had so tormented
Until we came to the highest tree
He did reveal in his confession
That you were making for the train
This bitter snow will soon be melting
And nothing sweeter than the rain

That’s my train coming
I can hear the whistle blow
There’s something you should know
Before I leave you
And I hang up my guns
Before my train comes
Good times together
Can last you for a while
And a memory take you back in style
Some will fade away forever
But I know some will not
Yours all mean a lot
Well, a cloud can come from nowhere
Out of a blue sky
Sad to be leaving for somewhere
Without a goodbye
That’s my train coming
I can hear the whistle blow
There’s something you should know
Well, a cloud can come from nowhere
Out of a blue sky
Sad to be leaving for somewhere
Without a goodbye
That’s my train coming
I can hear the whistle blow
There’s something you should know
Before I leave you
And I hang up my guns
Before my train comes
Before my train comes

This one’s not going to end well
But after he’s gone
The traders will trade
Fliers will fly
Seafarers will ride on the swell
Shading their eyes in the glare of the sun
Though this one’s not going to end well
For anyone
This one’s not going to end well
But after he’s gone
The gypsy will smile
And the poets will dream
And their fortunes in crystal she’ll tell
As she looks in the glass where the stories are spun
Though this one’s not going to end well
For anyone
Chained to the oars below
Or bound to the wheel
Drums beating hard and slow
Under the heel
This one’s not going to end well
Still after he’s gone
They’ll whip up old lies
To ride into power
And history comes back from hell
Give a tyrant his way with the club and the gun
This one’s not going to end well
For anyone
This one’s not going to end well
For anyone

Now the highway is sleeping
The plains are still
The steel rails are silent
Sun’s going down behind the hills
And the night comes falling
With the evening star
Wherever you’re going
Wherever you are
You are one deep river, old friend
One deep river, amen
You’re one deep river, old friend
One deep river, amen
The wild geese are flying
Into the west
And your soul is heading
To its rest
But your light will keep on burning
Like that evening star
And your song will keep returning
Wherever you are
You are one deep river, old friend
One deep river, amen
You’re one deep river, old friend
One deep river, amen