Saddest lyrics ever... [Archive]

LegendRider

11-04-2008, 11:50 AM

From a bluegrass tune I recently heard:

Old Home Place

It's been ten long years since I left my home
In the hollow where I was born
Where the cool fall nights make the wood smoke rise
And the foxhunter blows his horn

I fell in love with a girl from the town
I thought that she would be true
I ran away to Charlottesville
And worked in a sawmill or two

What have they done to the old home place
Why did they tear it down
And why did I leave the plow in the field
And look for a job in the town

Well my girl she ran off with somebody else
The taverns took all my pay
And here I stand where the old home stood
Before they took it away

Now the geese they fly south and the cold wind blows
As I stand here and hang my head
I've lost my love I've lost my home
And now I wish that I was dead

Blue Jays

11-04-2008, 11:52 AM

Does this remind you of a sad occasion when you lost/sold a favorite bicycle?

BumbleBeeDave

11-04-2008, 12:00 PM

paczki

11-04-2008, 12:20 PM

[QUOTE=LegendRider]From a bluegrass tune I recently heard:

[B]Old Home Place[/B

Great tune, and great performance by J. D. Crowe (and one of the greatest banjo breaks of all time). I think the saddest folk/pop/rock song is Black Eyed Dog by Nick Drake.

A black eyed dog he called at my door
The black eyed dog he called for more
A black eyed dog he knew my name
A black eyed dog he knew my name
A black eyed dog
A black eyed dog.

I'm growing old and I wanna go home
I'm growiing old and I don't wanna know
I'm growing old and I wanna go home.

A black eyed dog he called at my door
A black eyed dog he called for more.

girlie

11-04-2008, 12:33 PM

I met God On the edge of town
Where the wind meets the stillness
Where the darkness meets the light
Where the ocean meets the sky
Where the desert meets the rain
Where the earth meets the heavens
On the edge of town I met God

I asked God
Do one thing for me
Send me back in time
Send me to Seattle
Let me go
Find Kurt Cobain
Take away his gun
Take away his bullets
Talk to him
Make him wanna live
Tell him how we love him
Help him see his glory
God Said No
If I sent you back
If you really found him
You would only ask him
If he could
Help you get a deal
If he knows a lawyer
If he can help you
God Said No

I asked God
Do one thing for me
Send me back in time
Send me to Berlin
Let me find
The one they call Hitler
I will stalk him
I will bring him down
I will bring along
A powerful gun
Loaded with bullets
Obliterate his memory
God Said No
If I sent you back
You would get caught up
In theory and discussion
You would let your fears
Delay and distract you
You would make friends
You would take a lover
God Said No

I asked God
Do one thing for me
Send me back in time
Send me to Jerusalem
Let me go
Let me go find Jesus
Let me save his life
As they try to kill him
Let me take him down
Down from the cross
Take the iron from his body
Try to heal his wounds
God Said No
If I let you go
If you really found him
Walking with the cross
You would stare
Your tongue no longer working
Eyes no longer seeing
Ears no longer hearing
God said Time
Time belongs to me
Time's my secret weapon
My final advantage
God turned away
From the edge of town
I knew I was beaten
And that now was all I had
God Said No

Lifelover

11-04-2008, 12:48 PM

I'm not even going to google the lyrics but "Tears in Hevean" is the sddest song ATMO

Chris

11-04-2008, 12:58 PM

On the day that she was buried
Her Daddy stood out by the cemetery fence
Prayed to God for forgiveness
For surely all of this is punishment for my sins

They put her in the family garden
Said you could hear his heart breaking miles away
All the men pitched in and bought a marble angel
To mark the piece of land where little Bonnie lay

My Grandma said she would keep her in the mornings
So her Mama could sleep a bit and do the chores and such
She'd read her stories about little girls and magic powers
That would never let a pretty angel hurt

Her Mama's always been a beauty
She's still beautiful to this very day
But they say Bonnie's crystal eyes put the stars to shame
Maybe heaven needed Bonnie's face

My Grandma said she would keep her in the mornings
A swollen angel who never would complain
She'd read her stories about little girls and princesses
Whose Daddy's don't feel punished for what heaven takes away

Little Bonnie never married
Little Bonnie never even made it four
But I grew up in her presence
Even though she was gone before I'z born
Even though she was gone before I'z born

joelh

11-04-2008, 01:10 PM

I always thought that line in "I believe in Father Christmas"

Hallelujah, Noel,
Be it Heaven or Hell
The Christmas we get
We deserve.

One of the darkest lines in any song and yet it is played every christmas.

trophyoftexas

11-04-2008, 01:11 PM

One morning when the office had opened
a man quite old in years
Entered the express office
showing signs of grief and fear
When the clerk approached him
his trembling voice did say
I'm waiting for my boy, sir
he's coming home today

You have made a small mistake
and you must surely know
This is the express office, sir
and not a town depot
If your boy is coming home
this cold rainy day
You'll find him with the passengers
at the station just over the way

You do not understand me, sir
the old man shook his head
He's not a-coming as a passenger
but by express instead
He's coming home to mother
the old man gently said
He's coming home in a casket, sir
he's coming to us dead

Just then a whistle pierced the ears
the express came in on time
The old man rose in a breathless haste
and quickly rushed outside
Then a long white casket
was lowered to the ground
The scene was filled with the grief and tears
of those who gathered around

Don't handle that box roughly, boys
it contains our darling Jack
He went away as you boys are
see the way he's coming back
He broke his poor mother's heart
her saying's all come true
She said, this is the way that he'd come back
when he joined the boys in blue

girlie

11-04-2008, 01:14 PM

Viper

11-04-2008, 01:15 PM

The opposite of sadness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbSghPrDyj0&feature=related

(atmo)

gdw

11-04-2008, 01:19 PM

Here's a couple classics:

Dolly Parton & Porter Wagoner
Jeanie's Afraid of the Dark

Her two little feet would come running into
Our bedroom almost every night
Her soft little face would be wet from her tears
And her little heart pounding with fright
She'd hold out her arms, then she'd climb in beside us
In a small voice, we'd hear her remark
"Mommie and Daddy, can I sleep here with you
'Cause Jeannie's afraid of the dark"
One day in the summer, we took some flowers
To place on some old family graves
Jeannie said, "Mommy, ain't it dark in the ground?
Oh, Daddy, I'd be so afraid"
Then she looked up at her daddy and me
And said somethin' that broke both our hearts
She said, "When I die, please don't bury me
'Cause Jeannie's afraid of the dark"

Jeannie was always afraid of the dark
And we never could understand why
'Cause we looked after Jeannie with the very best of care
Because Jeannie was our only child
Perhaps it was death that she was so afraid of
'Cause it took her one dark, stormy night
I think we always knew that we'd never see Jeannie grown
'Cause it seemed that she was destined to die
But on Jeannie's grave, we placed an eternal flame
That glows and never loses its spark
And on the darkest night, there's always a light
'Cause Jeannie's afraid of the dark

Our Jeannie's afraid of the dark

Kris Kristofferson
Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down

Well I woke up Sunday morning
With no way to hold my head, that didn't hurt
And the beer I had for breakfast
Wasn't bad so I had one more for dessert
Then I fumbled through my closet for my clothes
And found my cleanest dirty shirt
It's the one I'm wearin'
And I shaved my face and combed my hair
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day

I'd smoked my brain the night before
Or I smoked so much the night before
With cigarettes and songs that I've been pickin'
My mouth was like an ashtray I'd been lickin'
But I lit my first and watched a small kid
Cussin' at a can that he was kicking
Then I crossed the empty street
And caught the Sunday smell of someone fryin' chicken
And it took me back to somethin'
That I'd lost somehow somewhere along the way

Chorus:
On the Sunday morning sidewalks
Wishing Lord that I was stoned
'Cause there is something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone
And there's nothin' short of dyin'
Half as lonesome as the sound
On the sleepin' city side walks
Sunday mornin' comin' down

In the park I saw a daddy
With a laughing little girl who he was swingin'
And I stopped beside a Sunday school
And listened to the song that they were singin'
Then I headed back for home and
Somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringin'
And it echoed thru the canyon like
The disappearing dreams of yesterday.

Chorus:
On the Sunday morning sidewalks
Wishing Lord that I was stoned
'Cause there is something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone
And there's nothin' short of dyin'
Half as lonesome as the sound
On the sleepin' city side walks
Sunday mornin' comin' down.

Dekonick

11-04-2008, 01:39 PM

How about an entire album?

The Wall....

fiamme red

11-04-2008, 01:40 PM

My pocket book is empty
And my heart is filled with pain,
I'm a thousand miles away from home
Just waiting for a train.
--Jimmie Rodgers

girlie

11-04-2008, 01:46 PM

The opposite of sadness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbSghPrDyj0&feature=related

(atmo)

Love that movie:)
You are so random.
girlie

rounder

11-04-2008, 01:46 PM

This song is pretty sad...

Well, it was all that I could do to keep from cryin'
Sometimes it seems so useless to remain
You don't have to call me darlin'...darlin'
You never even call me by my name.

Well, you don't have to call me Waylon Jennings
And you don't have to call me Charley Pride.
And you don't have to call me Merle Haggard, anymore.
Even though your on my fightin' side.

And I'll hang around as long as you will let me
And I never minded standin' in the rain.
You don't have to call me darlin'...darlin'
You never even call me by my name.

Well, I've heard my name a few times in your phone book
And I've seen it on signs where I've played But the only time I know I'll hear David Allan Coe
Is when Jesus has his final judgement day.

So I'll hang around as long as you will let me
And I never minded standin' in the rain.
You don't have to call me darlin'...darlin'
You never even call me by my name.

Well, a friend of mine named Steve Goodman wrote that song
And he told me it was the perfect country-western song
I wrote him back a letter and told him it was NOT the perfect country-western song because he hadn't said anything at all about
mama, or trains, or trucks, or prison, or gettin' drunk.
Well, he sat down and wrote another verse to the song and he sent it to me
And after reading it, I realized that my friend had written the perfect country-western song.
And I felt obliged to include it on this album. The last verse goes like this here:

(here is the really sad part)

Well, I was drunk the day my Mom got outta prison.
And I went to pick her up in the rain.
But, before I could get to the station in my pickup truck
She got runned over by a damned old train.

And I'll hang around as long as you will let me
And I never minded standin' in the rain. No,
You don't have to call me darlin'...darlin'
You never even call me
Well, I wonder why you don't call me
Why don't you ever call me by my name?

Viper

11-04-2008, 01:55 PM

In a thread of sad, rock, paper, scissors, Bob Marley is a lightsaber. :)

LegendRider

11-04-2008, 02:30 PM

George Jones - He Stopped Loving Her Today

He said I'll love you 'til I die
She told him you'll forget in time
As the years went slowly by
She still preyed upon his mind

He kept her picture on his wall
Went half crazy now and then
He still loved her through it all
Hoping she'd come back again

Kept some letters by his bed
Dated 1962
He had underlined in red
Every single I love you

I went to see him just today
Oh but I didn't see no tears
All dressed up to go away
First time I'd seen him smile in years

(Chorus)
He stopped loving her today
They placed a wreath upon his door
And soon they'll carry him away
He stopped loving her today

(Spoken)
You know she came to see him one last time
Oh and we all wondered if she would
And it kept running through my mind
This time he's over her for good

Viper

11-04-2008, 02:51 PM

Tried to amend my carnivorous habits.
Made it nearly seventy days,
Losin' weight without speed, eatin' sunflower seeds,
Drinkin' lots of carrot juice and soakin' up rays.

But at night I'd have these wonderful dreams
Some kind of sensuous treat.
Not zucchini, fettuccini, or bulgur wheat,
But a big warm bun and a huge hunk of meat.

Cheeseburger is paradise.
Heaven on earth with an onion slice.
Not too particular, not too precise.
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise.

I like mine with lettuce and tomato,
Heinz Fifty-seven and French fried potatoes.
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer.
Well, good God Almighty, which way do I steer
For my cheeseburger in paradise.

Heard about the old time sailor men,
They eat the same thing again and again;
Warm beer and bread they say could raise the dead.
Well, it reminds me of the menu at a Holiday Inn.

But times have changed for sailors these days.
When I'm in port I get what I need;
Not just Havanas or banana or daiquiris,
But that American creation on which I feed!

Cheeseburger is paradise medium rare with mustard'd be nice
Not too particular, not too precise
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise.

I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draught beer
Well, good god Almighty which way do I steer

For a cheeseburger in paradise
Makin' the best of every virtue and vice.
Worth every damn bit of sacrifice
To get a cheeseburger in paradise;
To be a cheeseburger in paradise.
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise.

:beer: :beer: :beer:

cmg

11-04-2008, 02:59 PM

from The Replacements - Sadly Beautiful

From the very first day that you were born
to the very last time you waved and honked your horn
I had no chance at all to watch you grow
up so sadly, beautiful
up so sadly, beautiful

Baby needs a brand new pair of eyes
cause the ones you got now see only goodbyes
had no chance at all to let you know
oh so sadly, beautiful
sadly, beautiful

Well you got your father's hair
and you got your father's nose
but you got my soul
sadly, beautiful

From the very last time you waved and honked your horn
to a face that turned away pale and worn
had no chance at all to let you know
you left me sadly, beautiful
left me sadly, beautiful

Sadly, beautiful
so sadly
so sadly

Fixed

11-04-2008, 03:03 PM

A little dream castle
With every dream gone
Is lonely and silent
The shades are all drawn
And my heart is heavy
As I gaze upon
A cottage for sale
The lawn we were proud of
Is waving in hay
A beautiful garden
Has withered away

Where you planted roses
The weeds seem to say
A cottage for sale
From every single window
I see your face
But when I reach the window
There's empty space
The key's in the mailbox
The same as before
But no one is waiting
For me anymore
The end of our story
Is there on the door
A cottage for sale

cheers

ti_boi

11-04-2008, 03:06 PM

Me and my best friend Lillian
And her blue tick hound dog Gideon,
Sittin on the front porch cooling in the shade
Singin every song the radio played
Waitin for the Alabama sun to go down
Two red dirt girls in a red dirt town
Me and Lillian
Just across the line and a little southeast of Meridian.

She loved her brother I remember back when
He was fixin up a '49 Indian
He told her 'Little sister, gonna ride the wind
Up around the moon and back again"
He never got farther than Vietnam,
I was standin there with her when the telegram come
For Lillian.
Now he's lyin somewhere about a million miles from Meridian.

She said there's not much hope for a red dirt girl
Somewhere out there is a great big world
Thats where I'm bound
And the stars might fall on Alabama
But one of these days I'm gonna swing
My hammer down
Away from this red dirt town
I'm gonna make a joyful sound

She grew up tall and she grew up thin
Buried that old dog Gideon
By a crepe myrtle bush in the back of the yard,
Her daddy turned mean and her mama leaned hard
Got in trouble with a boy from town
Figured that she might as well settle down
So she dug right in
Across a red dirt line just a little south east from Meridian

She tried hard to love him but it never did take
It was just another way for the heart to break
So she dug right in.
But one thing they don't tell you about the blues
When you got em
You keep on falling cause there ain't no bottom
There ain't know end.
At least not for Lillian

Nobody knows when she started her skid,
She was only 27 and she had five kids.
Coulda' been the whiskey,
Coulda been the pills,
Coulda been the dream she was trying to kill.
But there won't be a mention in the news of the world
About the life and the death of a red dirt girl
Names Lillian
Who never got any farther across the line than Meridian.

Now the stars still fall on Alabama
Tonight she finally laid
That hammer down
Without a sound
In the red dirt ground

Viper

11-04-2008, 03:13 PM

For all the crooners and swooners wherever they may be
Moonlight and magnolias, starlight in your hair
All the world a dream come true
Did it really happen, was I really there
Was I really there with you

We lived our little drama, we kissed in a field of white
And stars fell on Alabama that night
I cant forget the glamour, your eyes held a tender light
And stars fell on Alabama last night

I never planned in my imagination, a situation so heavenly
A fairy land that no one else could enter
And in the center, just you and me, dear
My heart beat like a hammer, my arms wound around you tight
And stars fell on Alabama last night

Alright, lets take it on down from muscle shoals through decatur
Mmmm, Birmingham, ooh Montgomery
Right up over spanish fort into Mobile, my hometown
Mister t...

(harmonica solo)

I never planned in my imagination, a situation so heavenly
A fairy land that no one else could enter
And in the center, just you and me, dear
My heart beat like a hammer, my arms wound around you tight
Ah, stars fell on Alabama last night

Yes, we lived our little drama
We kissed on the dunes so white
And stars fell on Alabama
Last night

:beer: :beer: :beer:

bocarider

11-04-2008, 03:23 PM

A little voice Inside my head said, "Don't look back. You can never look back."
I thought I knew what love was
What did I know?
Those days are gone forever
I should just let them go but-

Don Henley - Boys of Summer

konstantkarma

11-04-2008, 03:40 PM

By Tom Waits

From the album "Mule Variations"

Cold was the night, hard was the ground
They found her in a small grove of trees
Lonesome was the place where Georgia was found
She's too young to be out
On the street.

Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there for
Georgia Lee?

Ida said she couldn't keep Georgia
From dropping out of school
I was doing the best that I could
But she kept runnin away from this world
These children are so hard to raise good

Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there for
Georgia Lee?

Close your eyes and count to ten
I will go out and hide but then
Be sure to find me. I want you to find me
And we'll play all over
We will play all over again

There's a toad in the witch grass
There's a crow in the corn
Wild flowers on a cross by the road
And somewhere a baby is crying
For her mom
As the hills turn from green back
To gold

Why wasn't God watching?
Why wasn't God listening?
Why wasn't God there
for Georgia Lee?

PDXaero

11-04-2008, 03:45 PM

I'm standing outside your window, baby
And there you are
Another year, another candle's burning
for the party girl
No one even knows that you're there
Happy Birthday, no one cares

(Chorus)
You come around here,
You'd better bring a witness
Everyone in here's on the guest list
And when you're gone you won't be missed
Keep one eye open
when you kiss

Your wishes won't be coming true this year
Now darling don't you cry
We're going to teach you everything
You'll learn to get by
Now lesson number one in homicide
is emotional murder is no crime

(chorus)

Now sticks and stones, baby, break your bones
But the names, in here, can kill
We'd let you leave
but no one else wants you
Your ransom was not made
Now you ain't got to stand up tall
But now baby, you must stand up

(chorus)

csm

11-04-2008, 03:49 PM

Shirts in the closet, shoes in the hall
Mama's in the kitchen, baby and all
Everything is everything
Everything is everything
But you're missing

Coffee cups on the counter, jackets on the chair
Papers on the doorstep, you're not there
Everything is everything
Everything is everything
But you're missing

Pictures on the nightstand, TV's on in the den
Your house is waiting, your house is waiting
For you to walk in, for you to walk in
But you're missing, you're missing
You're missing when I shut out the lights
You're missing when I close my eyes
You're missing when I see the sun rise
You're missing

Children are asking if it's alright
Will you be in our arms tonight?

Morning is morning, the evening falls I have
Too much room in my bed, too many phone calls
How's everything, everything?
Everything, everything
You're missing, you're missing

God's drifting in heaven, devil's in the mailbox
I got dust on my shoes, nothing but teardrops

yodelinpol

11-04-2008, 04:40 PM

Viper

11-04-2008, 04:42 PM

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear _________ (insert your name)
Happy birthday to you!

LOL!!!

TimD

11-04-2008, 05:01 PM

He had white horses...

saab2000

11-04-2008, 05:19 PM

Mr. Johnathan Cash sings it well and hauntingly. But they are the words of another scribe.

Still, solid work from the man in black.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-KueBsUAEo

We can do better than that!

BBD

=============

Artist: Johnny Cash
Album: American IV: The Man Comes Around
Song: Hurt

Lyrics:

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stain of time
The feeling disappears
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

chuckroast

11-04-2008, 07:20 PM

And so begins the task
I have dreaded the coming of
For so long
I wait for the sun
To remind my body
It needs restin'
And I must learn to "live" without you now
I must learn to give only part some how
Camping on the edge
Of your city I wait
Hoping someday
You might
See
Beyond yourself
The shadows on the ceiling
Hard
But not real
Like the bars that cage
You within yourself
And I must learn to live without you now
I must learn to give only part some how
And I must learn to live without you now
As I cannot learn to give only part some how
All of these cages
Must
And shall be set aside
They will only
Keep
Us from the knowing
Actors
And stages
Now fall before the truth
As the love
Shared
Between us
Remains
...Growing
And I must learn to live without you now
As I cannot learn to give only part some how

chuckroast

11-04-2008, 07:24 PM

As I look at the letters that you wrote to me
It's you that I am thinking of
As I read the lines that to me were so sweet
I remember our faded love

I miss you darling more and more every day
As heaven would miss the stars above
With every heartbeat I still think of you
And remember our faded love

As I think of the past and all the pleasures we had
As I watch the mating of the dove
It was in the springtime when you said goodbye
I remember our faded love

I miss you darling more and more every day
As heaven would miss the stars above
With every heartbeat I still think of you
And remember our faded love

Blue Jays

11-04-2008, 07:25 PM

"...Mr. Johnathan Cash sings it well and hauntingly. But they are the words of another scribe. Still, solid work from the man in black..."Trent Reznor's voice sure sounds great, too.

Climb01742

11-04-2008, 07:33 PM

"hurt" is it for great music. it's not in the same league but harry nilsson's "without you" seemed so sad in high school.

rounder

11-04-2008, 07:50 PM

Ralph and Carter Stanley - doesn't matter... could sing the phonebook and I need a poncho...
Randy Newman - "I think its going to rain today"
Ray Charles - his version of Eddy Arnold's 'You Don't Know Me"
Buck Owens - "Why Don't Mommy Stay With Daddy and Me"
Bruce Springsteen - "Highway Patrolman" (heck that whole record eats me up)
Sam Cooke - "A Change is Gonna Come" (kinda positive but makes me sad listening to that voice and that arrangement and thinking about how insanely talented a person like him was and how he died so young... and the context of when it was written)
Nick Dake - (every time he opened his mouth...)
Townes Van Zandt - (see Nick Drake)
way too many more to mention but maybe as close as I can get to the saddest is Mr. Hank Williams:

I'm so lonesome I could cry

Oh Hear that lonesome whippoorwill,
He sounds too blue to fly.
The midnight train is whining low,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.
I've never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by.
The moon just went behind a cloud
To hide its face and cry.

Did you ever see a robin weep,
When leaves began to die?
That means he's lost the will to live,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.

The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky.
And as I wonder where you are
I'm so lonesome I could cry.

"There's only two kinds of music,
the blues and zippity-doo-da"
Townes Van Zandt

I was just getting ready to post those lyrics...the song is sad but beautiful. Before that, i was going to post the lyrics to Tecumseh Valley by Townes Van Zandt, but thought no because it would be too depressing and didn't wanted to bum everyone out. So anyway, this was my next choice, another Hank song -

We met in the springtime
When blossoms unfold
The pastures were green and
Meadows were gold

Our love was in flower as summer grew on
A love like the leaves has withered and gone
The roses have faded
There's frost at my door
The birds in the morning don't sing anymore

The grass in the valley has started to die
Out in the darkness the whippets will cry

Alone and forsaken
Oh lord if you hear me then please hold to my hand
Oh please understand

Where has she gone to, oh where can she be
She may have forsaken some other like me
She promised to honor, to love and obey
Each vow was a plaything that she threw away

The darkness is falling
The sky has turned gray
A hound in the distance is starting to bay

I wonder, I wonder what she's thinking of
Forsaken, forgotten without any love

Alone and forsaken
By Fate and by man
Oh lord if you hear me then hold to my hand
Oh please understand
Oh please understand

Louis

11-04-2008, 09:17 PM

OK, lets go eclectic:

I guess you'll have to take my word on this one, but this song is a real bummer. The lyrics are in Creole. It's a true story about a young girl (Lumane Casimir) from the provinces who goes to Port-au-Prince with her guitar under her arm ("Yon gita anba bra l") and becomes an overnight sensation. Unfortunately she contracts pneumonia and dies penniless and abandoned. The images are incredible - though apocryphal. The day of her funeral "se te yon jounen san sol�y, Sy�l la t ape kriye tout nyaj yo te pran d�y" - it was a day without sun (which if you know Haiti, never ever happens), the sky was crying and all the clouds are in mourning, etc.

This version of this song, sung by Carole Demesmin, is my favorites:YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnPUF_6QMTM)

(Caveat: I can't really vouch for the quality of the audio, I just now searched for and found this, and since I only have dialup I can't really watch the vid.)

"Lumane Casimir"

Si Lakansy�l te gen vwa
Si lakansy�l te ka chante
Se tankou Lim�n li ta chante
Kote Lim�n pran lavwa
Gen yon toubiyon ki leve
Mande pye palmis yo danse
Ep�k sa a se nan tan Bisantn�
Si ou f�t avany�
Ou pa sa konnen
Kouman ayisyen te fou pou li
Kouman yo te renmen
Lim�n Kazimi.
Yon tifi, yon ti k�m� pwovens
Ki rive P�toprens
Vini chache lavi
Yon tifi, san fanmi san zanmi
Yon gita anba bra l
Ak yon espwa nan vwa l
L� l kanpe, l� l kanpe pou l chante
Wosiy�l k ap pase vin poze pou tande
Se konsa anvan 1 an pase
B�l� kou Bwav�na se de li y ap pale.
Nan yon ti kay san limy�
Ki te nan lakou F� Senkl�
Genyen yon fi ki pwatrin�
Se la yo di l remize
Gen yon s�l moun k ap okipe l
E se pa toulejou l vini
Se de twa timoun nan vwazinay
Ki konn f� ti goutay
Pou ba li manje
San konnen se yon d�nye zanmi
Se yon d�nye fanmi:
Lim�m Cazimi
L� l mouri, lant�man l ap chante
Tout moun li te f� byen yo youn pa prezante
Men se te yon jounen san sol�y
Sy�l la t ape kriye tout nyaj yo te pran d�y
Pye lorye ki gen sou plas Sent�n
Yo pliye yo panche pou yo salye Lim�n
E nan van, nan van ki t ap pase
Gen moun ki f� s�man yo tande l ap chante:
Papa Gede b�l gason
Gede Nibo b�l gason

konstantkarma

11-04-2008, 09:22 PM

Townes was a happy ball of pain.

Lucinda Williams does a haunting cover of this song.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss also cover it.

Nothin'

Hey mama, when you leave
Don't leave a thing behind
I don't want nothin'
I can't use nothin'

Take care into the hall
And if you see my friends
Tell them I'm fine
Not using nothin'

Almost burned out my eyes
Threw my ears down to the floor
I didn't see nothin'
I didn't hear nothin'

I stood there like a block of stone
Knowin' all I had to know
And nothin' more
Man, that's nothin'

As brothers our troubles are
Locked in each others arms
And you better pray
They never find you

Your back ain't strong enough
For burdens doublefold
They'd crush you down
Down into nothin'

Being born is going blind
And bowing down a thousand times
To echoes strung
On pure temptation

Sorrow and solitude
These are the precious things
And the only words
That are worth rememberin'

myette10

11-04-2008, 09:23 PM

harlond

11-05-2008, 05:22 AM

Nobody loves me but my mother.
And she could be jiving, too.

BB King

Tom

11-05-2008, 06:07 AM

Townes Van Zandt - that guy could write.

..."Pancho needs your prayers, it's true
but save a few for Lefty,too
He only did what he had to do
And now he's growing old."

djg

11-05-2008, 06:31 AM

"Annabelle" by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

I lease twenty acres and one Jenny mule
From the Alabama trust
Half of the cotton, a third of the corn
Ya get a handful of dust

Chorus:
We cannot have all things to please us
No matter how we try
Until we've all gone to Jesus
We can only wonder why

I had a daughter called her Annabelle
She's the apple of my eye
Tried to give her something like I never had
I didn't want to ever hear her cry

We cannot have all things to please us
No matter how we try
Until we've all gone to Jesus
We can only wonder why

When I'm dead and buried I'll take a hard life of tears
For every day I've ever known
Anna's in the churchyard, she's got no life at all
She's only got these words on a stone:

We cannot have all things to please us
No matter how we try
Until we've all gone to Jesus
We can only wonder why
Until we've all gone to Jesus
We only wonder why

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEstpk1ucnU

konstantkarma

11-05-2008, 08:17 AM

Love that song! Although the optimism of the afterlife brightens it a bit.

"Annabelle" by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

I lease twenty acres and one Jenny mule
From the Alabama trust
Half of the cotton, a third of the corn
Ya get a handful of dust

Chorus:
We cannot have all things to please us
No matter how we try
Until we've all gone to Jesus
We can only wonder why

I had a daughter called her Annabelle
She's the apple of my eye
Tried to give her something like I never had
I didn't want to ever hear her cry

We cannot have all things to please us
No matter how we try
Until we've all gone to Jesus
We can only wonder why

When I'm dead and buried I'll take a hard life of tears
For every day I've ever known
Anna's in the churchyard, she's got no life at all
She's only got these words on a stone:

We cannot have all things to please us
No matter how we try
Until we've all gone to Jesus
We can only wonder why
Until we've all gone to Jesus
We only wonder why

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEstpk1ucnU

konstantkarma

11-05-2008, 08:20 AM

....."The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold
and so the story ends were told"...

Think John McCain is singing these words today?

Townes Van Zandt - that guy could write.

..."Pancho needs your prayers, it's true
but save a few for Lefty,too
He only did what he had to do
And now he's growing old."

Charles M

11-05-2008, 09:11 AM

I'm a Loser baby...

So why don't you kill me...

Ray

11-05-2008, 09:24 AM

Sad, but also beautiful, uplifting, depressing, and scathing...
(much better with the music, btw)

Will there be any bartenders up there in Heaven?
Will the pubs never close, will the glass never drain
No more D.T.'s and no shakes
And no horrors
Very next morning you feel right as rain

O God loves a drunk, the lowest of men
With the dogs in the street and the pigs in the pen
But a drunk's only trying to get free of his body
And soar like an eagle high up there in heaven
His shouts and his curses are just hymns and praises
To kick-start his mind now and then
O God loves a drunk, come raise up your glasses, amen

Does God really care for your life in the suburbs
A dull little life of dull little things
and bring up the babies to be just like Daddy
And maybe you'll be there when He gives out wings

But God loves a drunk, although he's a fool
He wets in his pants and he falls off his stool
He can't hear the insults and whispers go by him
As he leans in the doorway and sings Sally Racket
Can't feel the cold rain beat down on his body
And soak through his clothes to the skin
O God loves a drunk, come raise up your glasses, amen

Will there be any pen-pushers up there in Heaven?
Does clerking and wage-slaving win you God's love
I pity you worms with your semis and pensions
If you think that'll get you to the kingdom above

But God loves a drunk, although he's a clown
You can't help but laugh as he gags and falls down
He don'T give a cuss for what people think of him
He screams at his demons alone in the darkness
He's staying alive for just one more pint bottle
Won't you throw him few pennies, friend
God loves a drunk, for ever and ever, amen

Ray

11-05-2008, 09:30 AM

The End Of The Rainbow :

I feel for you, you little horror
Safe at your mother�s breast
No lucky break for you around the corner
�Cos your father is a bully
And he thinks that you�re a pest
And your sister, she�s no better than a whore

Life seems so rosy in the cradle
but I�ll be a friend, I�ll tell you what�s in store
There�s nothing at the end of the rainbow
There�s nothing to grow up for anymore

Tycoons and barrow boys will rob you
And throw you on the side
And all because they love themselves sincerely
And the man holds a bread-knife
Up to your throat, is four feet wide
And he�s anxious just to show you what it�s for

Your mother works so hard to make you happy
But take a look outside the nursery door
There�s nothing at the end of the rainbow
There�s nothing to grow up for anymore

All the sad and empty faces
That pass you on the street
All running in their sleep, all in a dream
Every loving handshake
Is just another man to beat
How your heart aches just to cut him to the core

Life seems so rosy in the cradle
but I�ll be a friend, I�ll tell you what�s in store
There�s nothing at the end of the rainbow
There�s nothing to grow up for anymore

djg

11-05-2008, 10:38 AM

Love that song! Although the optimism of the afterlife brightens it a bit.

Optimism? I hear it as bitter and broken. The last time we hear the chorus it's introduced with "she's only got these words on a stone."

Larry8

11-05-2008, 11:00 AM

Billie Holliday----Gloomy Sunday

Sunday is gloomy,
My hours are slumberless
Dearest the shadows
I live with are numberless
Little white flowers
Will never awaken you
Not where the black coaches
Sorrow has taken you
Angels have no thoughts
Of ever returning you
Wouldn't they be angry
If I thought of joining you?

Gloomy sunday

Gloomy is sunday,
With shadows I spend it all
My heart and i
Have decided to end it all
Soon therell be candles
And prayers that are said I know
But let them not weep
Let them know that Im glad to go
Death is no dream
For in death Im caressin you
With the last breath of my soul
Ill be blessin you

Gloomy sunday

Dreaming, I was only dreaming
I wake and I find you asleep
In the deep of my heart here
Darling I hope
That my dream never haunted you
My heart is tellin you
How much I wanted you
Gloomy sunday

Larry8

11-05-2008, 11:03 AM

The MASH theme song, "Suicide is Painless"

Through early morning fog I see visions of the things to be
The pains that are withheld for me I realize and I can see . . .
That suicide is painless it brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please.

I try to find a way to make all our little joys relate
Without that ever-present hate but now I know that it�s too late,

and . . .That suicide is painless it brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please.

The game of life is hard to play. I�m gonna lose it anyway.

The losing card I�ll someday lay so this is all I have to say.

That suicide is painless it brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please.

The only way to win is cheat and lay it down before I�m beat,

and to another give my seat for that�s the only painless feat.

That suicide is painless it brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please.

The sword of time will pierce our skins it doesn�t hurt when it begins

But as it works its way on in the pain grows stronger . . . watch it grin, but . . .
That suicide is painless it brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please.

A brave man once requested me to answer questions that are key
'Is it to be or not to be' and I replied 'oh why ask me?'
That suicide is painless it brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please.
And you can do the same thing if you choose.

yodelinpol

11-05-2008, 11:19 AM

Oh crap that one kills me bad.. how about 1952 Vincent Black Lightning? I get sad just copying and pasting the lyrics.. now that's sad. And he plays pretty good guitar too :)... just substitute motorbike for a bicycle and cry cry cry... then it ain't OT anymore either :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lepOPV0YIaY&feature=related

Lyrics to 1952 Vincent Black Lightning :

Oh says Red Molly to James "That's a fine motorbike.
A girl could feel special on any such like"
Says James to Red Molly "My hat's off to you
It's a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952.
And I've seen you at the corners and cafes it seems
Red hair and black leather, my favourite colour scheme"
And he pulled her on behind and down to Boxhill they did ride

Oh says James to Red Molly "Here's a ring for your right hand
But I'll tell you in earnest I'm a dangerous man.
For I've fought with the law since I was seventeen,
I robbed many a man to get my Vincent machine.
Now I'm 21 years, I might make 22
And I don't mind dying, but for the love of you.
And if fate should break my stride
Then I'll give you my Vincent to ride"

"Come down, come down, Red Molly" called Sergeant McRae
"For they've taken young James Adie for armed robbery.
Shotgun blast hit his chest, left nothing inside.
Oh come down, Red Molly to his dying bedside"
When she came to the hospital, there wasn't much left
He was running out of road, he was running out of breath
But he smiled to see her cry
He said "I'll give you my Vincent to ride"

Says James "In my opinion, there's nothing in this world
Beats a 52 Vincent and a red headed girl.
Now Nortons and Indians and Greeves won't do,
Ah, they don't have a soul like a Vincent 52"
Oh he reached for her hand and he slipped her the keys
Said "I've got no further use for these.
I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome,
Swooping down from heaven to carry me home"
And he gave her one last kiss and died
And he gave her his Vincent to ride

The End Of The Rainbow :

I feel for you, you little horror
Safe at your mother�s breast
No lucky break for you around the corner
�Cos your father is a bully
And he thinks that you�re a pest
And your sister, she�s no better than a whore

Life seems so rosy in the cradle
but I�ll be a friend, I�ll tell you what�s in store
There�s nothing at the end of the rainbow
There�s nothing to grow up for anymore

Tycoons and barrow boys will rob you
And throw you on the side
And all because they love themselves sincerely
And the man holds a bread-knife
Up to your throat, is four feet wide
And he�s anxious just to show you what it�s for

Your mother works so hard to make you happy
But take a look outside the nursery door
There�s nothing at the end of the rainbow
There�s nothing to grow up for anymore

All the sad and empty faces
That pass you on the street
All running in their sleep, all in a dream
Every loving handshake
Is just another man to beat
How your heart aches just to cut him to the core

Life seems so rosy in the cradle
but I�ll be a friend, I�ll tell you what�s in store
There�s nothing at the end of the rainbow
There�s nothing to grow up for anymore

fiamme red

11-05-2008, 11:41 AM

Rules for singing the blues:

http://www.nesbary.com/politics/blues.htm

:D

paczki

11-05-2008, 01:44 PM

Oh crap that one kills me bad.. how about 1952 Vincent Black Lightning? I get sad just copying and pasting the lyrics.

You know it's funny but the song doesn't make me sad. Maybe it's because I associate it with Del McCoury and he just seems to enjoy singing it so much that even though the song was sad I find it had to think of it that way.
If we're getting into the world of bluegrass, I'll have to add "Georgia Rose" and Carter Stanley singing "Come all ye tenderhearted'. Killers.

katematt

11-05-2008, 01:57 PM

We can do better than that!

BBD

=============

Artist: Johnny Cash
Album: American IV: The Man Comes Around
Song: Hurt

Lyrics:

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stain of time
The feeling disappears
You are someone else
I am still right here

What have I become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt

If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

Trent Reznor wrote it but considering all the Man in Black was going through at the time, it fit, and boy did he do it well.

Also on the same Cash album, check out the Mercy Seat written by Nick Cave....."into the mercy seat I climb/ my head is shave my head is wired /and like a moth that tries to enter the bright light/ I go shuffling out of life/just a hiding death a while/ and I am not afraid to die." Hope I got that right.

konstantkarma

11-06-2008, 11:46 AM

Optimism? I hear it as bitter and broken. The last time we hear the chorus it's introduced with "she's only got these words on a stone."

Well. I am not gonna argue that point :) .

abqhudson

11-06-2008, 12:06 PM

For Sad and Haunting - "Waiting in the weeds"
Eagles CD: "Long road out of Eden"

PBWrench

11-06-2008, 12:26 PM

Wow. This thread is so uplifting!

Makes No Difference (Rick Danko)

It makes no difference where I turn
I can't get over you and the flame still burns.
It makes no difference night or day
The shadows never seem to fade away.

And the sun don't shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door.
Now there's no love as true as the love that dies untold.
But the clouds never hung so low before.

It makes no difference how far I go.
Like the scar the hurt will always show.
It makes no difference who I meet
They're just a face in the crowd on a dead-end street.

These old love letters I just can't keep.
Just like the gambler says read `em and weep.

And the dawn don't rescue me no more.

Without your love I am nothing at all.
Like an empty hall, it's a lonely fall
Since you've gone it's a losin' battle
Stampedin' cattle they rattle the walls.

Well I love you so much. And it's all I can do
Just to keep myself from tellin you
that I've never felt so alone before.

Ray

11-06-2008, 12:36 PM

You know it's funny but the song doesn't make me sad. Maybe it's because I associate it with Del McCoury and he just seems to enjoy singing it so much that even though the song was sad I find it had to think of it that way.

Yeah, I don't find 1952 Vincent Black Lightning sad either. I mean, yeah, the guy dies at the end, but its basically a love song, a song about a life lived intensely, and he goes out in a blaze of glory at the end, giving his motorcycle to his red-headed girl. And its played and sung with such energy and force that it just never bummed me out at all. Its a life affirming song about death. Whereas "The End of the Rainbow" is just a stone bummer from start to finish, about the worthlessness and futility of life. Even "God Loves A Drunk" finds some beauty and dignity in the worthlessness and futility of life, but its a bummer too. Both of 'em are gorgeous though.

-Ray

johnnymossville

11-06-2008, 12:42 PM

I'm only into happy feelgood songs these days.

dogdriver

11-06-2008, 02:02 PM

"Sunday Morning Coming Down"-- the Waylon version, though Willie did a pretty good job with it, too. Doesn't get any more lonely than that...

chris175

11-06-2008, 02:50 PM

moonlight mile-rolling stones

When the wind blows and the rain feels cold
With a head full of snow
With a head full of snow
In the window there's a face you know
Don't the night pass slow
Don't the nights pass slow

The sound of strangers sending nothing to my mind
Just another mad mad day on the road
I am just living to be lying by your side
But I'm just about a moonlight mile on down the road

Made a rag pile of my shiny clothes
Gonna warm my bones
Gonna warm my bones
I got silence on my radio
Let the air waves flow
Let the air waves flow

Oh I'm sleeping under strange strange skies
Just another mad mad day on the road
My dreams is fading down the railway line
I'm just about a moonlight mile on down the road
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

I'm hiding sister and I'm dreaming
I'm riding down your moonlight mile
I'm hiding baby and I'm dreaming
I'm riding down your moonlight mile
I'm riding down you moonlight mile

Let it go now, come on up babe
Yeah, let it go now
Yeah, flow now baby
Yeah move on now yeah

Yeah, I'm coming home
'Cause, I'm just about a moonlight mile on down the road
Down the road, down the road
Yeah, yeah, hey hey hey baby, now

Fixed

11-06-2008, 03:01 PM

Suicide Song Collections
http://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Song-Collections-Ten/lm/97U2NM1TJJAM

chris175

11-06-2008, 03:03 PM

also very uplifting. good for family celebrations and such....

Baby
Black, black, black
is all you see
Don't you want to be free?
Baby
Red, red fire is
what you breathe
Don't you want to be clean?
[ Find more Lyrics at www.mp3lyrics.org/A8X ]
Honey, the shape you're in
Is worth every dime you spent
Baby Doll
Turn out the lights
Set yourself on fire
Say goodnight
Did you have a real cool time?
Baby
Black, black, black
is all you see
Don't you want to be free?

A.L.Breguet

11-06-2008, 07:11 PM

Descendents � Hope
Why can't you see you torture me
You're already thinking about someone else
When he comes home you'll be in your arms and I'll be gone
But I know
My day will come
I know someday
I'll be the only one
So now you wait for his spark
You know it'll turn you on
He's gonna make you feel the way you want to feel
When he starts to lie when he makes you cry you know I'll be there
My day will come
I know someday
I'll be the only one
Call me selfish call me what you like
I think it's right to want someone for all your own
And not to share her love
And I'll have my way and won't have to say anyway
I've got you
You didn't stand a chance
You want perfection
I see your self destruction
You don't know what you want
It's gonna take you years to find out
I'm not giving up
And when you've had enough you'll take your bruised little head
And you'll come running back to me
You know that I'm gonna be the only one.

rounder

11-06-2008, 09:37 PM

[QUOTE=PBWrench]Wow. This thread is so uplifting!

Makes No Difference (Rick Danko)

Makes No Difference was a really good song. Rick Danko was great...wish he was still here. Here is another uplifting song. It souds really pretty but the words are deep.

The name she gave was caroline
Daughter of a miner
Her ways were free
It seemed to me
That sunshine walked beside her

She came from spencer
Across the hill
She said her pa had sent her
'cause the coal was low
And soon the snow
Would turn the skies to winter

She said she'd come
To look for work
She was not seeking favors
And for a dime a day
And a place to stay
She'd turn those hands to labor

But the times were hard, lord,
The jobs were few
All through tecumseh valley
But she asked around
And a job she found
Tending bar at gypsy sally's

She saved enough to get back home
When spring replaced the winter
But her dreams were denied
Her pa had died
The word come down from spencer

So she turned to whorin' out on the streets
With all the lust inside her
And it was many a man
Returned again
To lay himself beside her

They found her down beneath the stairs
That led to gypsy sally's
In her hand when she died
Was a note that cried
Fare thee well... tecumseh valley

The name she gave was caroline
Daughter of a miner
Her ways were free
It seemed to me
That sunshine walked beside her.

Tony Edwards

11-06-2008, 10:22 PM

For me there is a clear winner - And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda, originally written by Eric Bogle but performed most famously by the Pogues. It was written in the Vietnam era but memorializes the battles at Gallipoli, as portrayed in the film Gallipoli (duh!). This one makes me cry every time I listen and pay attention:

When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli

How well I remember that terrible day
How the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He showered us with bullets, he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
And we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
And we started all over again

Now those that were living, did their best to survive
In a mad world of blood, death and fire
And for seven long weeks I kept myself alive
While around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, Christ I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
To the green bushes far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

So they collected the cripples, the wounded and maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless, the blind and insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
And they turned their faces away

And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving the dreams of past glory
I see the old men, all twisted and torn,
The forgotten heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask me, "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me?

jimcav

11-06-2008, 10:42 PM

crappy wars and a dead a child always top my list
I have older sisters. I remember them playing American Pie, over and over. one day I got to listen to the other songs:
The Grave
The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors,
And the brown earth bleached white at the edge of his gravestone.
He's gone.
When the wars of our nation did beckon,
A man barely twenty did answer the calling.
Proud of the trust that he placed in our nation,
He's gone,
But Eternity knows him, and it knows what we've done.
And the rain fell like pearls on the leaves of the flowers
Leaving brown, muddy clay where the earth had been dry.
And deep in the trench he waited for hours,
As he held to his rifle and prayed not to die.
But the silence of night was shattered by fire
As guns and grenades blasted sharp through the air.
And one after another his comrades were slaughtered.
In morgue of Marines, alone standing there.
He crouched ever lower, ever lower with fear.
They can't let me die! The can't let me die here!
I'll cover myself with the mud and the earth.
I'll cover myself! I know I'm not brave!
The earth! the earth! the earth is my grave.
The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors,
And the brown earth bleached white at the edge of his gravestone.
He's gone.

gdw

11-06-2008, 11:14 PM

Well how do you do, young Willie McBride,
Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside
And rest for a while 'neath the warm summer sun
I've been working all day and I'm nearly done.
I see by your gravestone you were only nineteen
When you joined the dead heroes of nineteen-sixteen.
I hope you died well and I hope you died clean
Or Willie McBride, was it slow and obscene.

Chorus :
Did they beat the drum slowly, did they play the fife lowly,
Did they sound the dead-march as they lowered you down.
Did the bugles play the Last Post and chorus,
Did the pipes play the 'Flooers o' the Forest'.

And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind
In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined
Although you died back there in nineteen-sixteen
In that faithful heart are you ever nineteen
Or are you a stranger without even a name
Enclosed and forgotten behind the glass frame
In a old photograph, torn and battered and stained
And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame.

The sun now it shines on the green fields of France
The warm summer breeze makes the red poppies dance
And look how the sun shines from under the clouds
There's no gas, no barbed wire, there's no guns firing now
But here in this graveyard it's still no-man's-land
The countless white crosses stand mute in the sand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man
To a whole generaation that were butchered and damned.

Now young Willie McBride I can't help but wonder why
Do all those who lie here know why they died
And did they believe when they answered the cause
Did they really believe that this war would end wars
Well the sorrow, the suffering, the glory, the pain
The killing and dying was all done in vain
For young Willie McBride it all happened again
And again, and again, and again, and again.

Lazy Bill

11-07-2008, 08:37 AM

As a kid, this one always got me choked up.
The repetition of the simple, generalized lyrics reinforces the idea of an endless cycle of loss & grief
stemming from a stubborn ignorance (helloooo Santayana).
by Pete Seeger

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing.
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago.
Where have all the flowers gone?
The girls have picked them ev'ry one.
Oh, when will you ever learn?
Oh, when will you ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing.
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago.
Where have all the young girls gone?
They've taken husbands, every one.
Oh, when will you ever learn?
Oh, when will you ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing.
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago.
Where have all the young men gone?
They're all in uniform.
Oh, when will you ever learn?
Oh, when will you ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing.
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago.
Where have all the soldiers gone?
They've gone to graveyards, every one.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing.
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago.
Where have all the graveyards gone?
They're covered with flowers, every one.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing.
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago.
Where have all the flowers gone?
Young girls picked them, every one.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?