BLACK WIDOW BLUES
I gotta black widow spider for a mama Lord
I gotta diamond-backed rattler for a pa
I got me a woman down in New Orleans
Got a friend in Arkansas
Got a morning full of make believe
Got an evening full of time
I got the hands pretty lady
Gonna make you grieve
Lovin', gonna make you mine.
Ain't never seen your town before
And I won't be back again
I need me a place to hide my face
From the howlin' of the wind
Got the blues sewn into my jacket sleeve
Got a goatskin full of wine
I got the hands pretty lady
Gonna make you grieve
The lovin', gonna make you mine
So light the lantern above your door
And hold your curtains wide
Take the ribbon from your hair
And lay it by your side
I ain't looking for a lie to believe
My own will do me fine
I got the hands pretty lady
Gonna make you grieve
Lovin', gonna make you mine
MARYETTA'S SONG
She stands all alone with her sorrow
Like a bird that's afraid to sing
She lives for the pain tomorrow
Will bring
Will she call if she starts to fall
Or will she silent go
Her scarlet jasmine is tucked away
'Neath her vest of purest gold
And her eyes can't hardly help but say
I'm cold
Will she call if she starts to fall
Or will she silent go
The winds that howl behind her face
Through the falsehoods in her mind
Ain't strong enough to leave her lace
Behind
Her shelter starts to tremble
As it holds her mind away
From the golden flashin' cymbals
That say
Will she call if she starts to fall
Or will she silent go
Then a virgin mistress again she comes
Now no longer is she free
To play upon her gypsy drums
For me
Will she call if she starts to fall
Or will she silent go
HUNGER CHILD BLUES
Some have called me Hunger's Child
Some have turned away
Some said wild
And a few said free
Some have refused to say
Do you think that you know my name
The songbird somehow sweetly sings
The sun somehow she shines
The fireflies cut the cold black wind
To paint their strange designs
And the wind she sings my name
Take your armies, take them from my door
Your battle's built on doom
Your standards all lie shattered now
'neath the portals of my room
And the walls they sing my name
Some have called me Hunger's Child
Some have turned away
Some said wild
And a few said free
Some have refused to say
Do you think that you know my name
GYPSY FRIDAY
If a dream's enough to ease your hungry sorrows
And a song's enough to blow your tears away
And all you need's a rhyme
To help you pass your time
Meet me down the line
On Gypsy Friday
If all you need's a rhyme
To help you pass your time
Meet me down the line on Gypsy Friday
If your mind's alive and free and flying easy
And I'd like to take you with me if I may
Listen to me friend
You better just begin
Blowin' secrets to the winds
Of Gypsy Friday
If you want to call me friend
Then friend you best begin
Blowin' secrets to the winds
Of gypsy Friday
You can lay aside your bucket full of teardrops
But believe me friend it ain't a game I play
When you can give your soul
And come in from the cold
There's stories to be told
Of Gypsy Friday
When you can give your soul
And come in from the cold
There's stories to be told
Of Gypsy Friday
So if you're feeling scared and just a little lonesome
You can dry your eyes and put your fears away
When all the tears are gone
And you want to come along
I'll sing you a song
Of Gypsy Friday
WAITIN' FOR THE DAY
I no longer can recall
All the times you made me crawl
All the times you made me hang my head and cry
But still the teardrops fall
And lord, what's worst of all
I just ain't got the nerve to say goodbye
I'm waiting for the day
When I can hide my love away
And stand up like a man so tall and free
Then you'll be the one to say
Oh darlin', can't you stay
I don't know what I'd do if you should leave me
Girl, I don't know why
You always have to try
To hurt me to make me feel ashamed
But some day by and by
You're gonna be the one to cry
And walk the floor and sadly call my name
I'm waitin' for the day
When I can hide my love away
And stand up like a man
So tall and free
Then you'll be the one to say
Oh darlin' can't you stay
I don't know what I'd do if you should leave me
But it looks like until then
I'll throw pride to the wind
And try to make believe that I don't know
That a day is coming when
You won't do me wrong again
And I will be the one to turn and go
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BLACK JACK MAMA
Big blonde mama, lord, Apartment 213
Moves like a cobra snake and she treats me like a king
Roll me over easy mama, roll me over slow
Do your best to please me, lord
And I'm bound to take you with me when I go
Got a Nashville woman lord, she calls me on the phone
Tells me to leave them Houston girls alone
Roll me over easy mama, roll me over slow
Do your best to please me, lord
And I'm bound to take you with me when I go
Motorcycle mama, lord, monkey on her back
Takes dm from her saddlebags, cocaine from a sack
Roll me over easy mama, roll me over slow
Do your best to please me, lord
And I'm bound to take you with me when I go
I gotta blackjack baby, lord, she lives in New Orleans
Treats me like an orphan, yeah, she calls me Mr. Clean
Roll me over easy, mama, roll me over slow
Do your best to please me, lord
And I'm bound to take you with me when I go
Big blonde mama, lord, apartment 213
Moves like a cobra snake, treats me like a king
Roll me over easy mama, roll me over slow
Do your best to please me, lord
And I'm bound to take you with me when I go
Do your best to please me, lord
And I'm bound to take you with me when I go
LINER ART:
Painting of Townes
by Melene Marie Brown.
"Townes with Cowboy Hat"
20"x14" acrylic on wood
WHEN YOUR DREAM LOVERS DIE
When your sky starts to tumble and your rhymes start to lose
The meaning so tenderly given
When all your dreams lie down and die at your shoes
You can turn to me for livin'
When your sweet words begin to turn black on their vines
And they bear their fruit no longer
And lay down your love songs and leave them behind
I'll show you something stronger
The shadow you're chasing will fade in the sun
Don't let disbelief deceive you
As you hide from your sorrow remember there's one
That only seeks to please you
And now you must follow your dreams as they fly
Leaving trails of empty feeling
Perhaps when you watch all your dream lovers die
You'll decide that you need a real one
COLORADO BOUND
It's a mighty lonesome feeling, listening to the wind a-howlin'
Watchin' raindrops come a-fallin' to the pavement outside your door
It's a fool I am for waitin' for the sound of your returnin'
For the sound of gentle breathin', footsteps 'cross the floor
I can remain no longer, I'm headed out to Colorado
When the sun brings in the mornin', I'll be leavin' on my way
The grass is growin' green here, a warm wind's rollin' down the mountain
Down inside some lonesome canyon, that's where I mean to stay
If you ever come to Denver, Mama please don't try to find me
All you'll do is just remind me of the way you let me down
Dreams they're easily shattered, but you've got to go on livin'
And maybe that's the reason, I'm Colorado bound
BIG COUNTRY BLUES
I been up the Mississipi to the Manitoba line
I've been downstream to the Gulf of Mexico
Followed the sun out west to Californ
And there just ain't no place left for me to go
Spent a lonesome month in Maine, and a year in Louisian
Packed my bags and hit the Western Trail
Rambled down through Texas 'til I came to El Paso
Spent a week in a stinkin' Juarez jail
I rambled through Nevada, gamblin' most my life away
I headed north when I heard Dakota call
I stayed until the Northerns came rollin' down the line
Headed south when summer turned to fall
I been north and east and south where the cotton grows
Out in the west where the sun forever shines
I've bent my back for a dollar a day in a Texas sugar field
Labored in a Minnesota mine
I've seen your hungry babies scream, I watched their mamas cry
Seen a worn out prostitute beg for a dime
I've seen men come out of gutters, ready to give their lives away
For a slug at a lousy bottle of rot gut wine
I been up the Mississippi to the Manitoba line
Downstream to the Gulf of Mexico
Followed the sun out west to Californ
There just ain't no place left for me to go
BLACK CROW BLUES
Babe, don't lie lonesome after I'm gone
Don't mourn your young life away
Just lower me down with a prayer and a song
Just 'fore the breaking of day
Just 'fore the breaking of day
Just 'for the breaking of day
It's a life worth the living, but we all gotta die
All your crying can't do me no good
Lower me down with a quick said goodbye
Pour in the black Texas mud
Pour in the black Texas mud
It's a hard road you're travelin', you can't walk it alone
Find a big man to stand beside you
Take him down to the river and show him my bones
Tell him, there lies a friend I once knew
There lies a friend I once knew
The black crow's a-screaming, the yellow sun's warm
The grass tumbles tall down the hill
There's a cold wind is building, it's bringin' a storm
When the call of the black crow goes still
When the call of the black crow goes still
IN THE BEGINNING was released on April 22, 2003, by
Compadre Records, Houston, Texas.
Whenever possible please purchase your copy from
Jeanene Van Zandt at http://www.townesvanzandt.com
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