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Joan Baez
Joan Baez





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Joan Baez Album


Greatest Hits (1996)
1996
1.
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In The Quiet Morning (For Janis Joplin)
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Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer
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. . .


Well I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall

As I remember your eyes
Were bluer than robin's eggs
My poetry was lousy you said
Where are you calling from?
A booth in the midwest
Ten years ago
I bought you some cufflinks
You brought me something
We both know what memories can bring
They bring diamonds and rust

Well you burst on the scene
Already a legend
The unwashed phenomenon
The original vagabond
You strayed into my arms
And there you stayed
Temporarily lost at sea
The Madonna was yours for free
Yes the girl on the half-shell
Would keep you unharmed

Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white clouds
Mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there

Now you're telling me
You're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who are so good with words
And at keeping things vague
Because I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid

. . .


Virgil Caine is my name and I drove on the Danville train
Til Stonewall's cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
In the winter of '65, we were hungry, just barely alive
I took the train to Richmond that fell
It was a time I remember, oh, so well

(CHORUS)
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringin
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singin'
They went, na na na na na, na na na na

Back with my wife in Tenessee
And one day she said to me,
Virgil, quick come see
There goes the Robert E. Lee
Now I don't mind chopping wood
And I don't care if the money's no good
Just take what you need and leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best

(CHORUS)

Like my father before me, I'm a working man
And like my brother before me, I took a rebel stand
Oh, he was just 18, proud and brave
But a yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the blood below my feet
You can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat

(CHORUS)

. . .


They sat together
In the park
As the evening sky grew dark
She looked at him
He felt a spark tingle to his bones
'Twas then he felt alone
And wished that he'd gone straight
And watched out for a simple twist of fate

They walked down by the old canal
Got a little confused, I remember well
And then they stopped
In a strange hotel
With the neon burning bright
He felt the heat of night
Hit him like a freight train
And moving with a simple twist of fate

Saxophone some place nearby played
She was walking on by the arcade
As a light burst through a beat up shade
But he was waking up
She dropped a coin into a cup
Of a blind man at the gate
And forgot about a simple twist of fate

He woke up
And the room was bare
He didn't see her
Anywhere
He told himself
He didn't care
He pushed the window
Open wide
He felt an
Emptiness inside
To which he just could not relate
Brought on by a simple twist of fate

He hears the ticking of the clocks
Small waves whisper to the rocks
He hunts her down
By the waterfront docks
Where the sailors all come in
Perhaps he'll see her once again
How long must he wait
Once more
For a simple
Twist of fate

People tell me it's a crime
To feel too much
At any one time
All it cost me was a dime
But the bells refuse to ring
He was born in the spring
But I was born too late
To blame it on
A simple twist of fate

. . .


Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living in peace

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed nor hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

. . .


In the quiet morning
There was much despair
And in the hours that followed
No one could repair

That poor girl
Tossed by the tides of misfortune
Barely here to tell her tale
Rolled in on a sea of disaster
Rolled out on a mainline rail

She once walked right at my side
I'm sure she walked by you
Her striding steps could not deny
Torment from a child who knew

That in the quiet morning
There would be despair
And in the hours that followed
No one could repair

That poor girl
She cried out her song so loud
It was heard the whole world round
A symphony of violence
The great southwest unbound

la laa laa laa la la la laa laa
la laa laa laa la la laa laa
la laa laa laa la la la laa laa
la la la laa laa
la la la laa

In the quiet morning
There was much despair
And in the hours that followed
No one could repair

That poor girl
Tossed by the tides of misfortune
Barely here to tell her tale
Rolled in on a sea of disaster
Rolled out on a mainline rail

. . .


We may not always be the best of lovers
But if you leave it to me I think I can see
We'll always be the best of friends

And one day when I am old and on the porch
With knittings around my knees you hear me say
Excuse me please,but aren't you the one
And wasn't it fun way back when

Or maybe in a year you'll reappear
And if that should come true
I'd throw my arms around you and watch you smile
Just for awhile once again

We may not be the best of lovers
But if you leave it to me I think I can see
We'll always be the best of friends

La la la
The best of friends
La la la

. . .


FOREVER YOUNG

May God bless and keep you always.
May your wishes all come true.
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.

May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
And may you stay
Forever young.

May you grow up to be rightous.
May you grow up to be true.
May you always know the truth
And see the light surrounding you.

May you always be courageous,
Stand upright, and be strong
And may you stay
Forever young.

Forever young.
Forever young.
May you stay
Forever young.

May your hands always be busy.
May your feet always be swift.
May you have a strong foundation
When the winter changes shift.

May your heart always be joyful.
May your song always be sung
And may you stay
Forever young.

Forever young.
Forever young.
May you stay
Forever young.

. . .


Billy Rose was a low rider, Billy Rose was a night fighter
Billy knew trouble like the sound of his own name
Busted on a drunken charge driving someone else's car
The local midnight sheriffs claim to fame

In an Arizona jail there are some who tell the tale how
Billy fought the sergeant for some milk that he demanded
Knowing they'd remain the boss, knowing he would pay the cost
They saw he was severely repremanded

In the blackest cell on "A" Block
He hanged himself at dawn
With a note stuck to the bunk head
Don't mess with me, just take me home

Come lay, help us lay
Young Billy down

Luna was a Mexican the law called an alien
For coming across the border with a baby and a wife
Though the clothes upon his back were wet still he thought
That he could get some money and things to start a life

It hadn't been to very long when it seemed like everything went wrong
They didn't even have the time to find themselves a home
This foreigner, a brown-skin male thrown into a Texas jail
It left the wife and baby quite alone

He eased the pain inside him
With a needle in his arm
But the dope just crucified him
He died to no one's great alarm

Come lay, help us lay young Luna down
Were gonna raze, raze the prisons to the ground

Kilowatt was an aging con of 65 who stood a chance to stay alive
And leave the joint and walk the streets again
As the time he was to leave drew near he suffered all the joy and fear
Of leaving 35 years in the pen

And on the day of his release he was approached by the police
Who took him to te warden walking slowly by his side
The warden said "You won't remain here but it seems a state retainer
claims another 10 years of your life"

He stepped out in the Texas sunlight
The cops all stood around
Old Kilowatt ran 50 yards
Then threw himself on the ground

They may as well just laid the old man down
And we're gonna raze, raze the prisons to the ground
Help us raze the prisons to the ground

. . .


Jesse come home, there's a hole in the bed
Where we slept; now it's growing cold.
Jesse your face, in the place where we lay
By the hearth, all apart, it hangs on my heart

And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No I'm not scared; I wait for you
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home.

Jesse the stairs in the halls, recalling
Your step; and I remember too.
All the pictures are shaded and fading in grey
And I still set a place on the table at noon

And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No I'm not scared; I wait for you
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home.

Jesse the spread on the bed,
It's like when you left, I kept it for you.
All the blues and the greens have been recently cleaned
And are seemingly new; hey Jess, me and you.

We'll swallow the light on the stairs
I'll fix up my hair, we'll sleep unawares
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home

. . .


(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

Little Annie Fannie
Morgan and Christian
Katy and Nathan
Tommy and Zem Zem
Alex and J.J.
Tai and Ezekial
Amy and Josie
Matthew and Mosie
Sweet Pearl and Nicholas
Come here and tickle us
I don't like nicknames
I like to play games
One of them's Batman
That's where it's at man
Look at your t-shirt
I see you're all wet now
I'll give you a bath
If you'll go to bed now
Oh can't you see
I'm tired
I'm tired
I'm tired

Joey and Janet
Jennifer, Joshua
Justin and Jason
Jacob and Jordan
Heather and Shannon
Marisa and Kirsten
Kimmie and David
Who shall we play with?
Here comes my own son
Light of my life is
Younger than new leaves
Brighter than you please
Says that he loves me
Big as the world
and Gabriel Harris
You go to bed now
You go to bed now
It's quarter to nine
I'm tired
I'm tired
I'm tired

You heard what I said now
You go to bed now
It was a hard day
Never enough play
Iggy was sick
and couldn't come over
One of your mice died
That was when you cried
Get in the tub
And play with your boats now
Sit here beside me
I'll tell you a story
One about snakes
And anything gory
Ask me no questions
How far is the sky
And I'm falling asleep
And you're smarter than I am
Light of my life
Good night
Good night
Good night

© 1975 Chandos Music (ASCAP)

. . .


Please come to Boston for the springtime
I'm stayin' here with some friends and they've got lots of room
You can sell your paintings on the sidewalk
By a cafe where I hope to be workin' soon
Please come to Boston
She said no, would you come home to me

And she said, hey ramblin' boy, why don't you settle down
Boston ain't your kind of town
There ain't no gold and there ain't nobody like me
I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee

Please come to Denver with the snowfall
We'll move up into the mountains so far that we can't be found
And throw "I love you" echoes down the canyon
And then lie awake at night till they come back around
Please come to Denver
She said no, boy, would you come home to me

And she said, hey ramblin' boy, why don't you settle down
Boston ain't your kind of town
There ain't no gold and there ain't nobody like me
I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee

Now this drifter's world goes 'round and 'round
And I doubt that it's ever gonna stop
But of all the dreams I've lost or found
And all that I ain't got
I still need to cling to
Somebody I can sing to

Please come to LA to live forever
California life alone is just too hard to build
I live in a house that looks out over the ocean
And there's some stars that fell from the sky
Livin' up on the hill
Please come to LA
She just said no, boy, won't you come home to me

And she said, hey ramblin' boy, why don't you settle down
Boston ain't your kind of town
There ain't no gold and there ain't nobody like me
I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee

I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee

. . .

Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer

[No lyrics]

. . .


Gracias A La Vida
(Violeta Parra)

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.
Me dio dos luceros, que cuando los abro,
Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco
Y en el alto cielo su fondo estrellado
Y en las multitudes el hombre que yo amo.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.
Me ha dado el oído que en todo su ancho
Graba noche y día, grillos y canarios,
Martillos, turbinas, ladridos, chubascos,
Y la voz tan tierna de mi bien amado.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.
Me ha dado el sonido y el abecedario;
Con él las palabras que pienso y declaro:
Madre, amigo, hermano, y luz alumbrando
La ruta del alma del que estoy amando.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.
Me ha dado la marcha de mis pies cansados;
Con ellos anduve ciudades y charcos,
Playas y desiertos, montañas y llanos,
Y la casa tuya, tu calle y tu patio.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.
Me dio el corazón que agita su marco
Cuando miro el fruto del cerebro humano,
Cuando miro al bueno tan lejos del malo,
Cuando miro al fondo de tus ojos claros.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.
Me ha dado la risa y me ha dado el llanto.
Así yo distingo dicha de quebranto,
Los dos materiales que forman mi canto,
Y el canto de ustedes que es mi mismo canto,
Y el canto de todos que es mi propio canto.
Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.

. . .


(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

Red telephone sitting by my bed
Practically bore your name
Lying alone in the twilight zone
Waiting for your call to come in
Hadn't been for the kid
Who was sleeping upstairs
You'd have found me well on my way
On that midnight plane to L.A.

You suffered sweeter for me
Than anyone I've ever known

I dared to look into the years
Would you still have your wife?
I dared to peer through my tears
Could we ever have a life?
Even thought I was pregnant by you
But I didn't care
I just talked to my son
Would he mind another one?

You suffered sweeter for me
Than anyone I've ever known

Once more the mist rolls to the sea
Like a hundred times we've known
Trees are faded and the clouds have stopped
Where the wind had blown
How I dread when the evening comes
And I cannot be
What you want me to be
When you are next to me

How silent you are as the veils come down
Before my eyes
Soft and reserved as you move away
Donning your disguise
While every folk song that I ever knew
Once more comes true
And loves grows old
And waxes cold

You suffered sweeter for me
Than anyone I've ever known

Just one favor of you, my love
If I should die today
Take me down to where the hills
Meet the sea on a stormy day
Ride a ridge on a snow white horse
And throw my ashes away
To the wind and the sand
Where my song began

You suffered sweeter for me
Than anyone I've ever known

© 1976, 1977 Gabriel Earl Music (ASCAP)

. . .


How long since I've spent a whole night in a twin bed with a stranger
His warm arms all around me?
How long since I've gazed into dark eyes that melted my soul down
To a place where it longs to be?
All of your history has little to do with your face
You're mainly a mystery with violins filling in space

You stood in the nude by the mirror and picked out a rose
From the bouquet in our hotel
And lay down beside me again and I watched the rose
On the pillow where it fell
I sank and I slept in a twilight with only one care
To know that when day broke and I woke that you'd still be there

The hours for once they passed slowly, unendingly by
Like a sweet breeze on a field
Your gentleness came down upon me and I guess I thanked you
When you caused me to yield
We spoke not a sentence and took not a footstep beyond
Our two days together which seemingly soon would be gone

Don't tell me of love everlasting and other sad dreams
I don't want to hear
Just tell me of passionate strangers who rescue each other
From a lifetime of cares
Because if love means forever, expecting nothing returned
Then I hope I'll be given another whole lifetime to learn

Because you gave to me oh so many things it makes me wonder
How they could belong to me
And I gave you only my dark eyes that melted your soul down
To a place where it longs to be

. . .


Di Da (Repeat through the whole song)

. . .


Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I'm found,
was blind, but now I see.

't Was Grace that taught my heart to fear,
and Grace my fear relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear,
the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
we have already come.
‘t Was Grace that brought us safe thus far,
Grace will lead us home.

When we've been there ten thousands years,
bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
than when we first begun.

. . .


Here's to you Nicholas and Bart
Rest forever here in our hearts
The last and final moment is yours
That agony is your triumph!

(repeated over and over)

. . .


Oh happy day
Oh happy day
Oh happy day
When Jesus washed
Oh When he washed
When Jesus washed
He Washed my sins away
Oh happy day
Oh no God

Oh happy day (oh happy day)
Oh happy day (oh happy day)
Oh happy day (ooh)
When Jesus washed (when Jesus washed)
Oh, When he washed (when Jesus washed)
When Jesus washed (when Jesus washed)
He Washed my sins away
Oh it's a happy day
Oh no god

He taught me how
To wash
Fight and pray
Fight and pray
He taught me how
To wash
All my sins
Sins away
Fight and pray

Oh happy day (oh happy day)
Oh happy day (oh happy day)
Oh happy day (ooh)
When Jesus washed (when Jesus washed)
Oh, When he washed (when Jesus washed)
When Jesus washed (when Jesus washed)
He Washed my sins away
Oh it's a happy day
Oh no god

He taught me how
To wash
Fight and pray
Fight and pray
He taught me how
To wash
All my sins
Sins away

Oh happy day (oh happy day)
Oh happy day (oh happy day)
Oh happy day (ooh)
When Jesus washed (when Jesus washed)
Oh, When he washed (when Jesus washed)
When Jesus washed (when Jesus washed)
He Washed my sins away
Oh it's a happy day
Oh no god

. . .


I am less than the song I am singing
I am more than I thought I could be
Spent some time as a child in day dreaming
As a young one I sailed on the sea

So come stand by my side where I am going
Take my hand if I stumble to fall
It's the strength that you share when your growing
That gives me what I need most of all
That gives me what I need most of all

Diffrent minds, diffrent ways
Diffrent reasons to believe
Some far journeyswe have taken
Some sweet dreams we've had to leave

And I want you to be happy
And I hope you always will
Or I cannot rest easy
Till all your dreams are real
Till all your dreams are real

. . .


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