Many people have e-mailed me to ask for the lyrics of Richie's songs - particularly ones that have inspired them. What I have done on this page is printed the lyrics of the most-requested songs, as well as some I have scanned from the text of Richie's book or from his only book of published songs, The Richie Havens Anthology, printed in 1970. If you go to the official website www.richiehavens.com, you'll find a link to buy the autobiography from Amazon as well as get details of other Richie Havens products you can obtain. It is also now possible to buy a DVD of Richie's guitar style. This is fascinating, as it consists as much of interview as of guitar tutor. The interview is easy-going and Richie is completely relaxed, allowing the interviewer to elicit a variety of stories from him. If you want to play guitar in the open tuning mode or learn the strumming style adopted by Richie, this is an essential buy. For everyone else, it's great entertainment.
The songs listed at present are given in this table. Click on the song to see the lyrics.
Let the river rock you like a cradle
Climb to the treetops, child, if you're able
Let your hands tie a knot across the table.
Come and touch the things you cannot feel.
And close your fingertips and fly where I can't hold you
Let the sun-rain fall and let the dewy clouds enfold you
And maybe you can sing to me the words I just told you,
If all the things you feel ain't what they seem.
And don't mind me 'cos I ain't nothin' but a dream.
The mocking bird sings each different song
Each song has wings - they won't stay long.
Do those who hear think he's doing wrong?
While the church bell tolls its one-note song
And the school bell is tinkling to the throng.
Come here where your ears cannot hear.
And close your eyes, child, and listen to what I'll tell you
Follow in the darkest night the sounds that may impel you
And the song that I am singing may disturb or serve to quell you
If all the sounds you hear ain't what they seem,
Then don't mind me 'cos I ain't nothin' but a dream.
The rising smell of fresh-cut grass,
Smothered cities choke and yell with fuming gas;
I hold some grapes up to the sun
And their flavour breaks upon my tongue.
With eager tongues we taste our strife
And fill our lungs with seas of life.
Come taste and smell the waters of our time.
And close your lips, child, so softly I might kiss you,
Let your flower perfume out and let the winds caress you.
As I walk on through the garden, I am hoping I don't miss you
If all the things you taste ain't what they seem,
Then don't mind me 'cos I ain't nothin' but a dream.
The sun and moon both are right,
And we'll see them soon through days of night
But now silver leaves on mirrors bring delight.
And the colours of your eyes are fiery bright,
While darkness blinds the skies with all its light.
Come see where your eyes cannot see.
And close your eyes, child, and look at what I'll show you;
Let your mind go reeling out and let the breezes blow you,
Then maybe, when we meet, suddenly I will know you.
If all the things you see ain't what they seem,
Then don't mind me 'cos I ain't nothin' but a dream .
And you can follow; And you can follow; follow...
Freedom (Traditional, arranged R Havens)
The following is taken from Richie's autobiography:
FREE-dom, FREE-dom, FREE-DOM, FREEDOM
FREE-dom, FREE-dom, FREE-DOM, FREEDOM
SOME-TIMES I FEEL - like a MOTH-ER-LESS CHI-LD
SOME-TIMES I FEEL - like a MOTH-ER-LESS CHILD
SOME-TIMES - I FEEL - LIKE A MOTH-ER-LESS CHILD
A LONG WAY FROM HOME.
The rhythm is strong and my foot is driving me when another phrase comes into in my head that was part of a song with the McCrae Gospel Singers in Brooklyn:
"There's a telephone in my bosom and I can call Him from my heart."
It's a phrase that seems connected to this motherless child I'm singing about. The two ideas flow together while I'm playing and my foot is driving my guitar with all the rhythm in my bones.
Deano and Daniel are following along, getting into it, chanting phrases back at me. But "FREE-dom" is always there like an unspoken bass line or distant refrain. This was the same feeling I'd been experiencing all along. The feeling that Bethelwas such a special place, a moment when we all felt we were at the exact center of true freedom.
In the dawning waking hour,
He'll lift his head and brush his eyes with gentle strokes
That will only blindly mislead him
Into the first day of creation,
Which he only sees in limitation.
Now he sits upon his empty bed,
His heart is warm, his heart is full;
And he can see, but it is impossible for him to retain me
For his arms are without form,
He cannot know the word,
As his mind cries out absurd.
Now he's standing inside the doorway.
He is afraid but he believes all that he sees
On the floor, where everything is merging.
And pictures he sees are tragic,
As he begins to believe in magic.
Now he lies down in a hole,
Down in the ground, where it is cold.
And now he knows; now he realises his biggest mistake
That he never had to grow old
That he never had to grow cold and die.
I was educated by myself - Richie Havens
I can buy the light and it don't matter
Even though I try to keep my health
It all seems the same, such a silly game
Played by silly fools who don't even follow their own rules
But go and the sunshine follows me around
Lifts my feet and takes me from the ground
High enough to see the shelf
And know that I was educated by myself
I have seen the streets groaning, not battered
Though amongst us all, we kept our wealth
And though the rain goes pitter patter,
It don't change the pain that we all felt
But oh, when the sunshine follows us around
Kicks our feet and lifts us from the ground,
High enough for us to tell
That we were educated by ourselves
It's a simple dream, a common pattern
A universal scheme for us to sell
And though it's a long long way between Mars and Saturn,
But right here on Earth, we know so well
That all we need is sunshine on the ground
And smiles and smiles and smiles from frown to frown
Just enough to make us yell Oh...
That we were educated by ourselves
That we were educated by ourselves
That we were educated by ourselves
That we were educated by ourselves
To all those outside the inner side
Let not your heart be heavy
There are those who understand
It is not easy
. . . It is not easy to tell a lie
To all those inside the outer side
Let not your head be heavy
There are those who understand
It is not easy
. . . It is not easy to know what to do
And to all those who understand
Let not your words be heavy
There is he who understands
It is not easy
. . . It is not easy to be a mother and a father.
The alarm clock . . . on the wall
And no-one sees . . . it at all.
You go have a pleasant dream
And try to find out what it means
As the hands, yeah, yeah
Point your way home.
The alarm clock . . . calls us all
To see just what's behind the wall.
You try to read those special signs while
I go look for better times
As we all . . . make our way home.
The darkness lights the way
As the clock runs out another day
You . . . may have nightmares now
Wait until you see how
We all pay . . . back the loan.
The alarm clock's striking one
And you think you're having fun.
The alarm clock's striking two
. . . Brother, you think you know what to do
The alarm clock's striking three
You hope . . . you know who to see.
Everybody, it's striking four
And you're pounding down another door
. . . striking five
Is there anyone here alive?
[Six!]
We're halfway home ... we're halfway home ... we're halfway home
The alarm clock moves the time
. . . And sends us out to find the rhyme
. . . We all know the words
And don't know just what we've heard
As we all go crawling home
Crawling home, crawling home.
Cautiously - Maury Hayden (a.k.a. Lotus Weinstock)
Cautiously you handed her a rose
Yes you did, yes you did.
Pretending to know all a lover knows
Yes you did, yes you did
She wore that rose, pretending that she knew
The reasons for that rose, as it grew.
Cautiously you said to her please be your bride
Yes you did, yes you did.
Pretending to believe that you could abide
Yes you did, yes you did.
She wore that pretence, wanting so to share
The reasons for that rose, though dead, she wears.
What More Can I Say, John? - R Havens
You have anticipated all the players
Your silent judgement growin'
And from time to time you pace the floor
Because you are a-knowin'
Yet you cannot stop your sowin'
All the stars that symbolise where you're goin'
And your heavy rains keep growin'
Hey, come on, you've got something better to do.
You have hidden your face from the people,
And to them you keep on denyin'
That far, far away across the sea,
For no reason their sons are dyin'
While it's Vietnam you're buyin'
Among all your conservatives a-sighin'
And all your murderous lyin'
Hey, it's me who's defyin'
Hey, come on, you've got something better to do.
What good are all those documents?
Those well-kept worthless scrolls;
When the hand you bit turns and slaps your face,
The hands you tried to mould,
And they leave you out in the cold,
With your pockets full of gold,
Yet you cannot pay the toll
Of the brave and the bold who are shoutin'
Hey, come on, you've got something better to do.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what's that you see
Marching to the fields of Concord?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with a musket in his hand,
Marching to the Concord war, hey marching to the Concord war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Gettysburg?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with a flintlock in his hand,
Marching to the Gettysburg war, hey marching to the Gettysburg
war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what's that you see
Marching to the fields of Dunkirk?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with a carbine in his hand,
Marching to the Dunkirk war, hey marching to the Dunkirk war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Korea?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with an M1 in his hand,
Marching to the Korean war, hey marching to the Korean war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Vietnam?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with an M15,
Marching to the Vietnam war, hey marching to the Vietnam war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Birmingham?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with his hand rolled in a fist,
Marching to the Birmingham war, hey marching to the Birmingham
war.
Hey, it's a long hard road, it's a long hard road,
It's a long hard road, before we'll be free.
Hey, what's the use of singing this song, some of you are not
even listening.
Tell me what it is we've got to do: wait for our fields to start
glistening,
Wait for the bullets to start whistling.
Here comes a hydrogen bomb, here comes a guided missile,
Here comes a hydrogen bomb: I can almost hear its whistle.
There is a secret that's been kept from man two thousand years
And that secret is . . . that there are only twelve people on
this earth at any given time.
And those people have been symbolised by many symbols:
They were called the 12 tribes of Israel, 12 roads to the city,
12 gates of Heaven,
12 inches in a foot, 12 months to the year, 12 men on the jury,
12 days of Christmas,
12 disciples of Jesus Christ, 12 manners of fruit on the tree
good for the healing of all nations.
And these people are:
Aries, who is . . . I am, ain't I;
Taurus, who is . . . I Have, don't I;
Gemini, who is . . . I think, I think, I think so much I wish I
could stop thinking;
Cancer, who is . . . I Feel, I feel, and there are no words that
describe how I feel, ever;
Leo, who is . . . I will, or my will;
Virgo, who is . . . I analyse, I analyse;
Libra, who is . . . I balance, I balance, I balance between those
who know and those who do not know;
Scorpio, who is . . . I desire, I desire, I desire, I desire, I
desire...
Sagittarius, who is . . . I see, I see, I see so much in what I'm
doing, I cannot finnish what I'm doing;
Capricorn, who is . . . I use, I use, I use all of my experiences
in order to survive.
Aquarius, who is . . . I know, I know . . . why do I know and no
one around me knows what I know
Pisces, who is . . . I believe, I believe . . . or there is
nothing for me to believe in.
These are the twelve people who inherit the Earth; You are one
of them and there are eleven others.
And if you get to know the other eleven, you will be able to get
along with everyone all over the world.
All over the world, all over the world . . . [leads in to Freedom]
Run, Shaker life, shake life eternal;
Shake it out of me, all that is carnal.
I'll be your Moses, I'll be your David'
I'll show Michael twice, how he behaved.
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.
Indian Rope Man - Richie Havens, Joe Price, Mark Roth
Fog dangling thick, can't see the right road, streets are
sick,
The eight day mill, it may grind slow, but it grinds fine.
Indian rope man, while lookin' on, tells common clay he's heaven
born;
Retired layman looks on in scorn, with a transplanted heart, kiss
him quick, he has to part. Yeah! Yeah!
Indian rope man sees the times, Splitting loose the edge of
minds
Catching losers in his line, in his line, yeah! Kiss him quick,
he has to part. Yeah! Yeah!
Indian rope man flexes his eye, Dissolving them for revealing the
lie
Indian rope man holds my trick in his heart, yeah! Kiss him
quick, he has to part. Yeah! Yeah!
Indian rope man sees all strife cutting down eternal life,
When his soul transcends his heart Oh! Oh! Kiss him quick, he has
to part. Yeah! Yeah!
You know the reason you act the way you do, and so do I, and
so do I, babe;
I've seen the things you've never shown me too, why should I cry,
babe.
Had you only heard me callin', from the rainbow limbo of now,
Where you never let me take you and with some strange power
You cancel the hour that comes bringing all that we can borrow.
So close your eyes to the hands upon the clock, there is no
time, no such thing as time, babe;
You sit so closely to the door, counting on the knock, there are
no signs babe.
If you could only see the thousands of the days I'm standing in
between,
All because you hold my hand so tightly. As we both walk
And we laugh and we talk all about tomorrow, tomorrow, . . .
The Parable of Ramon - Richie Havens, Mark Roth
Ramon, he drives a four wheel cart, his plough cracks the
hardened sod;
A fourth of which he grows for God in a land that God's forgotten.
Serene, they say, she bore his child, like some creature runnin'
wild;
Because old Ramon had been beguiled by someone much younger and
fairer than she.
Ramon, they say, he took his life, and killed both the new and
the older wife;
Because in the midst of earthly strife, his stars had turned
against him, his stars had turned against him.
Ramon, he drives a four wheel cart, his plough cracks the
hardened sod;
A fourth of which he grows for God in a land that God's
forgotten, in a land that God's forgotten.
Just Above My Hobby Horse's Head - Richie Havens, Mark Roth
Oh, day is near, darkness gone and the word is clear,
Children see the light, we close their eyes and we call it night.
And as they dream their dreams, we talk the hours away
And as we plan and scheme, we change tomorrow to yesterday.
Borrowed for the time, the life we share is a sacred right,
Choosing, we may find we're on the road and there are no signs.
And we say we love and we say we care
And we say we know and we say we're there
If we live our hates and we fight our wars,
And we burn our towns, what is going down?
Children raise their voice, questioning all has been their
choice,
Answers from within point the way to where we've been
And as the music plays and we become all the days
That become the years of our lives, of our lives.
So time flies, mmm, day by day, mmm, the hours they spend, the
minutes far away.
So I wait, thought by thought, my feet mm upon the sinking,
sinking sand.
You're there, somewhere, where are you?
Where are you? Where are you? I cannot see you, the sand gets
deeper, grain by grain.
Oh slow, slow is sleep, night by night, I'm reading words, I'm
reading words that now seem absurd. mmm,
And I'm there somewhere, where am I? Where am I? Where am I?
Where am I? Day by day, the sand gets deeper, grain by grain,
yeah!
I'm sinking, I'm sinking, grain by grain, grain by grain.
Yeah, I'm sinking, day by day, I'm sinking, grain by grain, grain
by grain....
There are people that you meet, along the busy street
They'll glance at you and turn away.
Call it fate or call it chance, I happened on your glance
My life since hasn't been the same.
At first I thought imagination; what trick my heart was playing?
And then I looked again and there your eyes were saying:
Everywhere you go, I go with every beat of your heart.
I will remember you that way; I will remember you that way.
You know people come and go, and some you'll know, you know
Their paths will cross again some day.
But it was more than that with you: I felt a light break through
More than words or songs could ever say.
Again, I thought imagination - or did she say she loved me?
Then all the earth stood still and I touched the stars above me.
Everywhere you go, I go with every beat of your heart.
I will remember you that way; I will remember you that way.
So when you're walking down the street, strange faces you may
meet.
You'll glance at them and turn away.
Call it fate or call it chance, you'll happen on a glance
And there your eyes will have to stay.
And can you think imagination - what trick your heart would be
playing?
Then you look again and there I'll be saying:
Everywhere you go, I go with every beat of your heart.
I will remember you that way; will you remember me that way?
I will remember you that way.
What Have We Done? - Jeffrey Kauffman
Oh oh, can you see, oh, can you see
What we have done, what we have done?
Life could have been so sweet if only
We were half we claim to be
They say that the fallen lives
Were for the peace of Man
But I couldn’t believe my ears
I fear a mighty thing – too bold without us still*
What have we done? Mmmm.
Oh, can you see, oh, can you see
What we have done, what we have done?
Flights of fancy were our dreams
But now we face reality.
Can answers still be found to our misery?
There are those who say it can
I feel an unjust cause has cost too many wars
Where is our sanity?
There’s no humanity, there’s no humanity.
I can’t sort it out. Mmmm.
Where will it end, if it will end? Ohhh
I’ll be leavin’ today. I’ll be leavin’ today.
Ohhh, can you see, oh, can you see
What we have done, what we have done?
Life could have been so sweet if only
We were half we claim to be
They say that the fallen lives
Can answers still be found to our misery?
There are those who say it can
I feel an unjust cause has cost too many wars
Where is our sanity?
There’s no humanity, there’s no humanity.
*This line was indistinct and I may have transcribed it wrongly.
There’s a Hole in the Future – R Havens
Like the smoke that rises to the ceiling, Mona,
I keep seeing the things I seen yesterday
Yet the wheels keep turning, they keep turning, Mona,
Things I am seeing, that I just can’t say.
Mmmmm, Do do do do do do ohhh, Yeah, etc
Like the sun that rises, I keep trying, Mona,
To let everyone know that I won’t give up
Yes, the water is drifting, can’t you taste it, Mona,
Lift up your head from that dreaded cup
Oh, Mona, don’t close the door
The fireman’s coming and he’s bringing more
Oh, Mona, the gardener’s here,
He’s got loads of dirt, he can plant your hurt
Oh, Mona, the water is on
The water is a-burning and it won’t be long
Won’t be long, Won’t be long, Won’t be long ….
Like a hole that’s waiting in the future, Mona
Already be filled when we get there
There’s a hole that’s waiting in the future, Mona
It’s already be filled when we get there
It could already be filled when we get there
It could already be filled when we get there
San Francisco Bay
Blues - Jesse Fuller
I got the blues from my baby down by the
San Francisco Bay,
The ocean liner's gone so far away.
Didn't mean to treat her so bad, she was the best girl I ever
have had,
She said goodbye, I can take a cry, I want to lay right down and
die.
I ain't got a nickel and I ain't got a lousy dime.
SIf she don't come back, I think I'm going to lose my mind.
If she ever gets back to stay, it's going to be another brand new
day,
Walking with my baby down by the San Francisco Bay.
Sitting down looking from my back door,
Wondering which way to go,
The woman I'm so crazy about, she don't love me no more.
Think I'll catch me a freight train, 'cause I'm feeling blue,
And ride all the way to the end of the line, thinking only of you.
Meanwhile, in another city,
Just about to go insane,
Thought I heard my baby, Lord, the way she used to call my name.
If I ever get her back to stay, it's going to be another brand
new day,
Walking with my baby down by the San Francisco Bay,
Walking with my baby down by the San Francisco Bay,
Walking with my baby down by the San Francisco Bay.
Lady Madonna - Lennon & McCartney
Lady Madonna, children at your feet.
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet.
Who finds the money? When you pay the rent?
Did you think that money was heaven sent?
Friday night arrives without a suitcase.
Sunday morning creep in like a nun.
Monday's child has learned to tie his bootlace.
See how they run.
Lady Madonna, baby at your breast.
Wonder how you manage to feed the rest.
Doo doo doo... Doo doo doo
Doo doo doo... Doo doo doo
See how they run.
Lady Madonna, lying on the bed,
Listen to the music playing in your head.
Tuesday afternoon is never ending.
Wednesday morning papers didn't come.
Thursday night you stockings needed mending.
See how they run.
Lady Madonna, children at your feet.
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet.
Tupelo Honey/Just Like a Woman - Bob Dylan/Van Morrison
You can take all the tea in China
Put it in a big brown bag for me
Sail right around the seven oceans
Drop it straight into the deep blue sea
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
She's an angel of the first degree
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee
You can't stop us on the road to freedom
You can't keep us 'cause our eyes can see
Men with insight, men in granite
Knights in armor bent on chivalry
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
She's an angel of the first degree
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee
You can't stop us on the road to freedom
You can't stop us 'cause our eyes can see
Men with insight, men in granite
Knights in armor intent on chivalry
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
She's an angel of the first degree
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee
You know she's alright
You know she's alright with me
She's alright, she's alright (she's an angel)
You can take all the tea in China
Put it in a big brown bag for me
Sail it right around the seven oceans
Drop it smack dab in the middle of the deep blue sea
Because she's as sweet as tupelo honey
She's an angel of the first degree
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like honey from the bee
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
She's an angel of the first degree
She's as sweet as tupelo honey
Just like the honey, baby, from the bee
She's my baby, you know she's alright....
Nobody feels any pain
Tonight as I stand inside the rain
Ev'rybody knows
That Baby's got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls.
She takes just like a woman, yes, she does
She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl.
Queen Mary, she's my friend
Yes, I believe I'll go see her again
Nobody has to guess
that Baby can't be blessed
Till she finally sees that she's like all the rest
With her fog, her amphetamine and her pearls.
She takes just like a woman, yes
She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl.
It was raining from the first
And I was dying of thirst
So I came in here
And your long-time curse hurts
But what's worse
Is this pain in here
I can't stay in here
Ain't it clear that?
I just can't fit
Yes, I believe it's time for us to quit
When we meet again
Introduced as friends
Please don't let on that you knew me when
I was hungry and it was your world.
Ah, you fake just like a woman, yes, you do
You make love just like a woman, yes, you do
Then you ache just like a woman
But you break just like a little girl.
On the Turning Away - Gilmour/Moore
On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we won't understand
"Don't accept that what's happening
Is just a case of others' suffering
Or you'll find that you're joining in
The turning away"
It's a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting it's shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we're all alone
In the dream of the proud
On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
And mesmerized as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night
No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It's not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there'll be
No more turning away?
Sometimes I think about Saturday's child
And all about the times when we were running wild
I've been out searching for the dolphins in the sea
Ah, but sometimes I wonder, do you ever think of me
This old world will never change the way it's been
And all the ways of war won't change it back again
I've been out searchin' for the dolphin in the sea
Ah, but sometimes I wonder, do you ever think of me
This old world will never change
Goin’ back to my roots – Lamont Dozier
Zippin’ up my boots
Goin’ back to my roots
To the place of my birth
Back down to earth
Not talkin’ ‘bout the roots in the land
I’m talkin’ ‘bout the roots in the man
Zippin’ up my boots
Goin’ back to my roots
I’m homeward bound
Got my head turned around
Goin’ back to find myself
I can’t live with nobody else
Who’s livin’ in a world of fantasy?
Goin’ back, goin’ back to where I can be
me
I’m searchin’ for riches I’ve had all
the time
Finding out that happiness is just a
state of mind
Just a state of mind
Zippin’ up my boots
Goin’ back to my roots
To the place of my birth
Back down to earth
Not talkin’ ‘bout the roots in the land
I’m talkin’ ‘bout the roots in the man
Zippin’ up my boots
Gettin’ back to my roots
I’m homeward bound
Got my head turned around
Goin’ home, goin’ home
Goin’ home, where I do belong
I found the riches and I’ve got the time
Finding out happiness was just a state
of mind
Just a state of mind Just a state of
mind
Just a state of mind Just a state of
mind
Zippin’ up my boots
Goin’ back to my roots
To the place of my birth
Get on down to earth
It’s not black, it’s not white
It’s not red, It’s not yellow
(Repeat until fade)
What About Me? – Jesse Otis Farrow
You poison my sweet waters; you chop
down my green trees
And the food you feed my children is the
cause of that ill disease
My world is slowly falling down and the
air is not fit to breathe
And those of us who care enough, we have
to do something
Oh, what you gonna do about me
Oh, what you gonna do about me
Your newspapers – they just put you on
They never tell you the whole story
They just put your young ideas down
I was wondering if this was the end of
their pride and glory?
Oh, what you gonna do about me
Oh, what you gonna do about me
I work in your factories and I study in
your schools
I fill your penitentiaries and your
military too
I can feel the future trembling as the
word is passed around
If you stick up for what you do believe
in, be prepared to be shot down
Oh, what you gonna do about me
Oh, what you gonna do about me
I feel just like a stranger in the land
where I was born
And I live just like an outlaw; I’m
always on the run
Always on the run, they got me always on
the run
Oh, your soldiers smoke marijuana, you
can’t put them behind your walls
Because most of what you taught them to
do is against most of your laws
We’re all fugitives from injustice now
but we’re going to be free
Because your rules and regulations don’t
do the things for me.
Oh, what you gonna do about me
Oh, what you gonna do about me
You may be the stronger now, but my time
will come around
You keep adding to my numbers as you
shoot my people down
I can feel the future trembling as the
word is passed around
We are going to stick up for what we do
believe in, and we’re prepared to be shot down
Oh, what you gonna do about me
Oh, what you gonna do about me
I feel just like a stranger in the land
where I was born
And I live just like an outlaw; I’m
always on the run
Always on the run, they got me always on the run (repeat until fade).
It’s late at night and we’re asleep, my
love and I
Had this little fight, now it’s
sugarplums all sweet and groovy.
Reach out my hand and find that I am all
alone
Just can’t understand, where’s my baby?
God, I must be dreaming.
There by the light, a little note, and
it’s for me
Saying that she’ll write, but I
shouldn’t ever try to find her.
The rest ain’t clear, too many tears,
can’t find the words
They ain’t even here, ‘cos I’m dreamin’.
God I must be dreamin’.
Don’t make no sense; can’t think of life
without sweet babe.
Just don’t make no sense and I’m dreamin’,
oh I must be dreamin’
It’s late at night and we’re asleep,
sweet babe and I
Had this little fight, now it’s
sugarplums all sweet and groovy
All sweet and groovy, all sweet and groovy.
I walk the streets of the city
People everywhere, none of them know my
name.
I see some things that aren’t pretty
Trouble everywhere, somehow even I’m to
blame
These buildings so tall, where are they
going
Reaching clear up to the sky.
Make me feel small, lost without knowin’
Where I am goin’, or why.
Mmm, yeah.
Tomorrow hangs like a promise
Will it let me down, like it did
yesterday.
Can’t count on nobody’s promise
People turn me down without pleasure or
dismay
But that don’t seem right, not if love’s
flowin’
Not if we’re really alive
The road to the life must be worth goin’
If we all plan to survive
But that don’t seem right, not if we’re
growin’
Not if we’re really alive
The road to the life must be worth
knowin’
If we all plan to survive
Mmm, yeah, yeah, yeah…
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