Joan Baez Album

Lily of the West

Arrangement by Joan Baez

When first I came to Louisville
Some pleasure there to find
A damsel there from Lexington
Was pleasing to my mind
Her rosy cheeks, her ruby lips
Like arrows pierced my breast
And the name she bore was Flora
The Lily Of The West

I courted lovely Flora
Some pleasure there to find
She turned unto another man
Which sore distressed my mind
She robbed me of my liberty
Deprived me of my rest
Still I love my faithless Flora
The Lily Of The West

Down in yonder shady grove
A man of high degree
Conversing with my Flora there
It seemed so strange to me
And the answer that she gave to him
It sure did me oppress
I was betrayed by Flora
The Lily Of The West

I stepped up to my rival
My dagger in my hand
I seized him by the collar and
I boldly made him stand
Being mad to desperation I pierced him in the breast
All for my lovely Flora
The Lily Of The West

I had to stand my trial
I had to make my plea
They placed me in the criminal box
And then commenced on me
Although she swore my life away
Deprived me of my rest
And I still love my faithless Flora
The Lily Of The West

SWEET SIR GALAHAD
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

Sweet Sir Galahad
came in through the window
in the night when
the moon was in the yard.
He took her hand in his
and shook the long hair
from his neck and he told her
she'd been working much too hard.
It was true that ever since the day
her crazy man had passed away
to the land of poet's pride,
she laughed and talked alot
with new people on the block
but always at evening time she cried.

And here's to the dawn of their days.

She moved her head
a little down on the bed
until it rested softly on his knee.
And there she dropped her smile
and there she sighed awhile,
and told him all the sadness
of those years that numbered three.
Well you know I think my fate's belated
because of all the hours I waited
for the day when I'd no longer cry.
I get myself to work by eight
but oh, was I born too late,
and do you think I'll fail
at every single thing I try?

And here's to the dawn of their days.

He just put his arm around her
and that's the way I found her
eight months later to the day.
The lines of a smile erased
the tear tracks upon her face,
a smile could linger, even stay.
Sweet Sir Galahad went down
with his gay bride of flowers,
the prince of the hours
of her lifetime.

And here's to the dawn
of their days,
of their days.

And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

Now when I was a young man I carried me pack
And I lived the free life of the rover.
Then in 1915, my country said, 'Son,
It's time you stop ramblin', there's work to be done.'
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun,
And they marched me away to the war.

And the band played 'Waltzing Matilda,'
As the ship pulled away from the quay,
And amidst all the cheers, the flag waving, and tears,
We sailed off for Gallipoli.

And how well I remember that terrible day,
How our blood stained the sand and the water;
And of how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter.

Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head,
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead
Never knew there was worse things than dying.

For I'll go no more 'Waltzing Matilda,'
All around the green bush far and free
To hump tents and pegs, a man needs both legs,
No more 'Waltzing Matilda' for me.

So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed,
And they shipped us back home to Australia.
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane,
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla.
And as our ship sailed into Circular Quay,
I looked at the place where me legs used to be,
And thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me,
To mourn grieve and the pity.
And the band plays 'Waltzing Matilda,'
And the young men still answer the call,
But as year follows year, more young men disappear
Someday, no one will march there at all.

Waltzing Mathilda, Waltzing Mathilda
Who'll come a-waltzing Mathilda with me
And their ghosts may be heard as you pass the Billabong
Who'll come a-waltzing Mathilda with me ?

Willie Moore was a king, his age twenty-one,
He courted a damsel fair;
O, her eyes was as bright as the diamonds every night,
And wavy black was her hair.

He courted her both night and day,
'Til to marry they did agree;
But when he came to get her parents consent,
They said it could never be.

She threw herself in Willie Moore's arms,
As oftime had done before;
But little did he think when they parted that night,
Sweet Anna he would see no more.

It was about the tenth of May,
The time I remember well;
That very same night, her body disappeared
In a way no tongue could tell.

Sweet Annie was loved both far and near,
Had friends most all around;
And in a little brook before the cottage door,
The body of sweet Anna was found.

She was taken by her weeping friends,
And carried to her parent's room,
And there she was dressed in a gown of snowy white,
And laid her in a lonely tomb.

Her parents now are left all alone,
One mourns while the other one weeps;
And in a grassy mound before the cottage door,
The body of sweet Anna still sleeps.

[Willie Moore never spoke that anyone heard,
And at length from his friends did part,
And the last heard from him, he'd gone to Montreal,
Where he died of a broken heart.]

This song was composed in the flowery West
By a man you may never have seen;
O, I'll tell you his name, but it is not in full

THE SWALLOW SONG
(Richard Farina, 1964)

Come wander quietly and listen to the wind
Come here and listen to the sky
Come walking high above the rolling of the sea
And watch the swallows as they fly

There is no sorrow like the murmur of their wings
There is no choir like their song
There is no power like the freedom of their flight
While the swallows roam alone

Do you hear the calling of a hundred thousand voice
Hear the trumbling in the stone
Do you hear the angry bells ringing in the night
Do you hear the swallows when they've flown?

And will the breezes blow the petals from your hand
And will some loving ease your pain
And will the silence strike confusion from your soul
And will the swallows come again?

It seems the songs we're singing
Are all about tomorrow
Tunes of promises you can't keep
Ev'ry moment bringing
The love I can only borrow
You're telling me lies in your sleep

Do you think I'm not aware of what you're saying
Or why you're saying it?
Is it hard to keep me where you want me staying?
Don't go on betraying it
Don't make promises you can't keep

We had a chance to find it
Our time was now or never
You promised me things that I need
But then the things behind it
Took away the chance forever
You're telling me lies in your sleep

Do you think I'm not aware of what you're saying
Or why you're saying it?
Is it hard to keep me where you want me staying?
Don't go on betraying it
Don't make promises you can't keep
Don't make promises you can't keep

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

Ring them bells ye heathen from the city that dreams
Ring them bells from the sanctuaries cross the valleys and streams
For they're deep and they're wide
And the world on its side
And time is running backwards
And so is the bride.

Ring them bells Saint Peter where the four winds blow
Ring them bells with an ironhand
So the people will know
Oh it's rush hour now
On the wheel and the plow
And the sun is going down upon the sacred cow.

Ring them bells Sweet Martha for the poor man's son
Ring them bells so the world will know that God is one
Oh the shepherd is asleep
Where the willows weep
And the mountains are filled with lost sheep
Ring them bells for the blind and the deaf
Ring them bells for all of us who are left
Ring them bells for the chosen few
Who will judge the many when the game is through
Ring them bells for the time that flies
For the child that cries
When innocence dies.

Ring them bells Saint Catherine from the top of the room
Ring them from the fortress for the lilies that bloom
Oh the lines are long and the fighting is strong
And they're breaking down the distance between right and wrong

Welcome me to The City of Angels
Devil prophets still hold my hand
I walked your stillborn streets for hours
Ethnic echoes spitting out their trials
They tell me I'll

I'll be the first to praise the sun
The first to praise the moon
The first to hold the lone coyote
Last to set it free

Welcome me to a haven given
Oh, it's well received into my open arms
Oh, I, I ran in my sleep through shaking tremors
I felt the splitting earth echoing in my ears
And I feel it all

I'll be the first to praise the sun
The first to praise the moon
The first to hold the lone coyote
The last to set it free

Welcome me to your City of Angels
There's a Devil monkey laying on our backs
Now tell me, where's the heart? Where's the bullet for breaking?
Who's gonna give me a weapon, a pacifying weapon?
An' I need it all

I'll be the first to praise the sun
The first to praise the moon, oh
The first to hold the lone coyote
The last to set it free
I said, I said, "Welcome me"

I'll be the first to praise the sun
The first to praise the moon, oh
The first to hold the lone coyote
The last to set it free
I said, "Welcome me"

Suzzane takes you down
To a place by the river.
You can see the boats go by,
You could spend the night forever.
And you know that she's half crazy
And that's why you want to be there.
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China.
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her,
She takes you in her arms
And she lets the river answer
That you've always been her lover.

And you want to travel with her,
And you want to travel blind.
And you think you'll maybe trust her
'Cause she's touched you,
And she's moved you,
And she's kind.

Jesus was a sailor
When he walked up the water.
He spent a long time watching
From a lonely wooden tower.
And when He knew for certain
Only drowning men could see Him,
He said, "All men shall be sailors then,
Until the sea shall free them."
He Himself was broken
Long before the sky was open;
Forsaken, almost human,
He sank beneath your wisdom like a star.

And you want to travel with Him,
And you want to travel blind.
And you think you'll maybe trust Him
'Cause He's touched you
And He's moved you,
And He's kind.

Suzzane takes your hand,
And she leads you to the river.
She's wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters.
And the sun shines down in full
On our lady of the harbor.
And she shows you where to look
Beneath the garbage and the flowers.
There are heroes in the seaweed,
There are children in the morning.

And you want to travel with her,
And you want to travel blind.
And you think you'll maybe trust her
'Cause she's touched you,
And she's moved you,
And she's kind.

Why is it that as we grow older and stronger
The road signs point us adrift and make us afraid
Saying, 'You never can win'
'Watch your back', 'Where's your husband?'
I don't like the signs that the signmakers made

So I'm going to steal out with my paint and brushes
I'll change the directions, I'll hit every street
It's the Tinseltown scandal, the robin hood vandal
She goes out and steals the king's English
And in the morning you wake up and the signs point to you

They say, "I'm so glad that you finally made it here
You thought nobody cared but I did, I could tell
And this is your year and it always starts here
And oh, you're aging well"

Well I know a woman with a collection of sticks
She could fight back the hundreds of voices she heard
She could poke at the greed, she could fend off her need
And with anger she found she could pound every word

But one voice got through, caught her up by surprise
It said, "Don't hold us back we're the story you tell"
And no sooner than spoken, a spell had been broken
And the voices before her were trumpets and tympani
Violins, basses and woodwinds and cellos, singing

"We're so glad that you finally made it here
You thought nobody cared, but we did, we could tell
And now you'll dance through the days while the orchestra plays
And oh, you're aging well"

Now when I was fifteen, oh I knew it was over
The road to enchantment was not mine to take
'Cause lower calf, upper arm should be half what they are
I was breaking the laws that the signmakers made

And all I could eat was the poisonous apple
And that's not a story I was meant to survive
I was all out of choices but the woman of voices
She turned round the corner with music around her
She gave me the language that keeps me alive, she said

"I'm so glad that you finally made it here
With the things you know now, that only time could tell
Looking back, seeing far, landing right where we are
And oh, you're aging, oh and I am aging oh, aren't we aging well?"

Pajarillo barranqueño
Autor: Anónimo

Pajarillo, pajarillo,
pajarillo barranqueño,
qué bonitos ojos tienes,
lástima que tengan dueño.

¿Qué pajarillo es aquél,
qué canta en aquella lima?
anda y dile que no cante,
que mi corazón lastima.

¿Qué pajarillo es aquél,
que canta en aquella higuera?
anda y dile que no cante,
que espere a que yo me muera.

It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It don't matter, anyhow
An' it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don't know by now
When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I'll be gone
You're the reason I'm trav'lin' on
Don't think twice, it's all right

It ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe
That light I never knowed
An' it ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe
I'm on the dark side of the road
Still I wish there was somethin' you would do or say
To try and make me change my mind and stay
We never did too much talkin' anyway
So don't think twice, it's all right

It ain't no use in callin' out my name, gal
Like you never did before
It ain't no use in callin' out my name, gal
I can't hear you any more
I'm a-thinkin' and a-wond'rin' all the way down the road
I once loved a woman, a child I'm told
I give her my heart but she wanted my soul
But don't think twice, it's all right

I'm walkin' down that long, lonesome road, babe
Where I'm bound, I can't tell
But goodbye's too good a word, gal
So I'll just say fare thee well
I ain't sayin' you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don't mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don't think twice, it's all right

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)