Yes, and some tell the story of young Mickey Free
Who lost an eye to a buck deer in the Tongue River Valley
Oh and some tell the story of California Joe
Who sent word through the Black Hills
there was a mountain of gold

(chorus)

And the gold she lay cold in their pockets

And the sun she sets down on the trees

And they thank the Lord

for the land that they live in

Where the white man does as he pleases

And the Easterner he read the news from the paper
And the old ones moved closer so's they could hear better
"Well it says here that Crazy Horse
was killed while trying to escape,
and that was some time last September,
it don't give the exact date"

(repeat chorus)
Where the white man does as he pleases

Then the talk turned back to whiskey and women
And cold nights on the plains, Lord
and fightin' them indians
And the Easterner he says he'll have one more
'fore he goes
He gives the paper to the Crow boy
who sweeps up the floor

(repeat chorus)
Where the white man does as he pleases
Where the white man does as he pleases
As he wants to, as he pleases

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More Than A Whisper

(Nanci Griffith/Bobby Nelson)

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How I wish that you would call... we have not spoken since last fall
now that smokey conversation's come and gone
Do I just read between your line?
Or could it be this winter wine?... so sweet upon my tongue tonight
recalls your tender eyes

(chorus)

O, I need more than a whisper... so much more than a whisper

It takes more than a whisper to wake this weary fool

Give me more than a whisper... if you're sayin' I love you

'cuz it's the whispers I have never understood

It's snowin' up in the northlands... I read your warm words from the plains
while the poets say that I should never be thinkin' of you this way
They say that I misread your lines 'cuz I've been lonely all my life
and here I'm reachin' for some silver and leavin' my heart out in the fire

(repeat chorus)

I will drink my winter wine... when I get home I'll change my mind
I'll only whisper that I love you in those smokey bars at night
And though the poets say I'm lonely... there's still this woman here inside
and I've never been a fool when my heart was on the line

(repeat chorus)

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I Would Bring You Ireland

(Nanci Griffith)

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I would bring you Ireland
The cool sweet of the Dublin rain
If you would keep my heart for me
In the quiet of your Texas days
And my old friend, will you shelter me from pain
In return I'd bring you Ireland

One day I'll build a tower
High upon my Texas plains
I can see from coast to coast
On hot platinum summer days
When the dust is still, and the cotton prays for rain
And the thirsty passers-by wonder why they came

I dreamed of Amarillo
On a foreign night in Dublin
The dust was on my pillow
When the raindrops started falling
In a hotel window, where I could see his rainbow
And I thought I'd send my heart to you
'Cause that's the way the wind blows

And I'll reclaim my heart one day
We'll sit and watch your children play
And I will bring you lullabies
From the Emerald Isles for back porch days
And my old friend we will always meet again
And I will bring you Ireland
I will bring you Ireland
I would bring you Ireland

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Roseville Fair

(Bill Staines)

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Oh, the night was clear and the stars were shinin'
and the moon came up,... so quiet in the sky
And all the people gathered round while the band was a-tunin'
I can hear them now ... playin' 'Comin' Through the Rye'

She was dressed in blue and she looked so lovely
just a gentle flower of a small town girl
Then he took her hand and they danced to the music
with a single smile ... she became his world

(chorus)

And they danced all night ... to the fiddle and the banjo

their driftin' tunes, seemed to fill the air

so long ago, but they still remember ...

when they fell in love, at the Roseville Fair

Now, they courted well, and they courted dearly
They'd rock for hours in the front porch chair
Then a year went by ... from the time that he met her
and he made her his, at the Roseville Fair

(repeat chorus)

So here's a song for all of the lovers
and here's a tune ... that you can share
May you dance all night ... to the fiddle and the banjo
Oh, the way they did at the Roseville Fair
Oh, the way they did ... at the Roseville Fair

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Workin' In Corners

(Nanci Griffith)

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It's a southern road west of New Orleans
I'm fightin' off a cold
from these winter rounds
Houston
She's just around the corner
But I think I'll stop off here in Lafayette
Lord and have me another round

(chorus)

I've been workin' in corners all alone at night

Pullin' down whiskey

Keepin' my eyes away from the lights

I'll never be a fool but I will gamble foolishly

I've never let go of love

till I lost it in my dreams

I don't want to go to sleep

'Cause I just might dream

I'm stronger now, there was a man in my hometown
He sang so pretty
I'm glad he turned my head around
But I'd forgotten how to play a one night stand
Lord I didn't have a word to say
Just holdin' that stranger's hand

(repeat chorus)

These city streets at five in the mornin'
I would've stopped to phone you
but I'm almost home
At my back door
there's a porch light that's shinin'
I just don't mind livin' here by myself
If I leave it on

(repeat chorus)

I don't want to go to sleep
'Cause I just might dream
Don't want to go to sleep
You know I sure can dream
And I sure can dream
Sure can dream

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Trouble In The Fields

(Nanci Griffith/Rick West)

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Baby I know that we've got trouble in the fields
When the bankers swarm like locust out there turning away our yield
The trains roll by our silos, silver in the rain
They leave our pockets full of nothing
But our dreams and the golden grain

Have you seen the folks in line downtown at the station
They're all buying their ticket out and talking the great depression
Our parents had their hard times fifty years ago
When they stood out in these empty fields in dust as deep as snow

(chorus)

And all this trouble in our fields

If this rain can fall, these wounds can heal

They'll never take our native soil

But if we sell that new John Deere

And then we'll work these crops with sweat and tears

You'll be the mule I'll be the plow

Come harvest time we'll work it out

There's still a lotta love, here in these troubled fields

There's a book up on the shelf about the dust bowl days
And there's a little bit of you and a little bit of me
In the photos on every page
Now our children live in the city and they rest upon our shoulders
They never want the rain to fall or the weather to get colder

(repeat chorus)

You'll be the mule I'll be the plow
Come harvest time we'll work it out
There's still a lotta love, here in these troubled fields

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The Wing And The Wheel

(Nanci Griffith)

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The wing and the wheel... they carry things away
whether it's me that does the leavin' or the love that flies away
The moon outside my window looks so lonely tonight
oh, there's a chunk out of it's middle... big enough for an old fool to hide

Where are all the dreamers... that I used know?
We used to linger beneath street lamps in the halos and the smoke
The wing and the wheel... came to carry them away
now they all live out in the suburbs where their dreams
are in their children at play

There's a pale sky in the east... all the stars are in the west
Oh, here's to all the dreamers... may our open hearts find rest
The wing and the wheel are gonna carry us along
And we'll have memories for company... long after the songs are gone

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From A Distance

(Julie Gold)

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From a distance the world looks blue and green
And the snow-capped mountains white
From a distance the ocean meets the stream
And the eagle takes to flight

From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace
It's the voice of every man

From a distance we all have enough
And no one is in need
There are no guns, no bombs, no diseases
No hungry mouths to feed

From a distance we are instruments
Marching in a common band
Playing songs of home, playing songs of peace
They're the songs of every man
God is watching us, God is watching us
God is watching us from a distance

From a distance you look like my friend
Even though we are at war
From a distance I can't comprehend
What all this war is for

From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
It's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves
It's the heart of every man

It's the hope of hopes, It's the love of loves
It's the song of every man

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Love At The Five And Dime

(Nanci Griffith)

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Rita was sixteen years... hazel eyes and chestnut hair
she made the Woolworth counter shine
Eddie was a sweet romancer, and a darn good dancer
they'd waltz the aisles of the five and dime

(chorus)

They'd sing, "Dance a little closer to me... dance a little closer now

Dance a little closer tonight

Dance a little closer to me... it's closing time

And love's on sale tonight at this five and dime

Eddie played the steel guitar and his mama cried 'cuz he played in the bars
And kept young Rita out late at night
So, they married up in Abilene... lost a child in Tennessee
still, that love survived

(repeat chorus)

One of the boys in Eddie's band... took a shine to Rita's hands
so, Eddie ran off with the bass man's wife
Oh' but he was back by June... singin' a different tune
And sportin' Miss Rita back by his side

(repeat chorus){He sang}

Eddie travelled with the barroom bands... till arthritis took his hands
now he sells insurance on the side
Rita's got a house to keep... dimestore novels and a love so sweet
they dance to the radio late at night

(repeat chorus)
(repeat 1st verse)

they'd waltz the aisles of the five and dime
they'd waltz the aisles of the five and dime

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Spin On A Red Brick Floor

(Nanci Griffith)

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I could use a little spin on a red brick floor
in that crazy 'ol bar when Tim locks the door
Where the walls are gonna ring and the strings are gonna bend
and it's a buss on the cheek from all my old lovers again

Oh. the Blue Ridge mountains at the fall of the night
it sure feels good when you cross that line
I'll tip my cup and holler at the moon
I'll say-a-Great White North ... honey here's to you sleep tight ...

(chorus)

I've gone crazy on this road ... with all of this travellin alone,

but the asphalt is burnin' tonight ...

The New England Spring's been good to me
there's been warmth to lend and good lines to sing
But, how I miss my native tongue
'cause ... New York City sorta brings out the stupids in me

I've got one more stop down in Tennessee
My sweetheart is there just a-waitin' on me
Then it's on down the road kickin' East Texas dust
I'll catch my breath with that hot Houston neon buzzin'

(repeat chorus)

Oh, here comes a little spin on a red brick floor
it's a crazy 'ol bar and Tim's locked the door
The wall's are ringin', the strings are gonna bend
and it's a buss on the cheek from all my old lovers again

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