Arlo Guthrie Album

words and music by Arlo Guthrie

Beneath this balcony of stars
Beyond the searchlight stage where we've become
The stuff of time amid the waves
Whose nets are cast along the shore when day is done

As the seabird flies aboce
My songs are sung to those I've come to love
The petals strung into the leis
The flowering of days I've just begun

A second chance to grasp a dance
Beneath the last rays setting of the sun
Tears along the trail of sand
Footprints in the water lead me back to who I am

When gods and goddesses decreed
The mountains raised up from beneath the seas
The sound of sovereign thrones
Above the hand tied bureaucrat who moans

This crazy love amazes me
As I just gaze into your eyes
The liquid sun is split upon the sea
I want to be where I can see the moon arise

A second chance to grasp a dance
Before the moment fades to summarize
Tears along the trail of sand
Footprints in the water lead me back to who I am

Along the lonely stretch of sand
Reduced to just a woman and a man
Bathed in the lunar light
The likes of which I might just understand

Among the myths I know are real
The goddess disguised as herself revealed
I sang her song out loud
She sat herself beside me in the crowd

A second chance to grasp a dance
Into the moment that she would allow
Tears along the trail of sand
Footprints in the water lead me back to who I am

This world is not my home
Passing through me
As clouds before the moon
The great depths of the ocean
Barely take notice
Of wind upon the waters
Therefore I from the depths of my soul
Laugh at distractions
Amusing myself with songs
The shadows of clouds above
Played upon the faves of time

words and music by James Rider

Just me and a friend roamin' around
Him a magician and I was a clown
Playin' the streets for a dollar a day
Waitin' for the right time and a sign to lead the way

Crossed over the border to a mystical land
Sort of unexpected didn't quite understand
On a razor's edge on a grain of sand
Onward we wandered to the gates of oblivion

On a roll of the dice we headed out west
Where the sage and and the spice attracted us
Shadows fell down like a dark groping hand
Saw the teeth of the wolves and the blood of the lambs

On a turn of the cards I lightened my load
Throwing off fear for the weakness it holds
On target and calm the vision was clear
Beyond the mirage I took for granted was here

On a flip of the coins we rode the coast
Tryin' to make the most of every situation
That we witnessed near at hand
On a drifter's crusade all over the land

Could it be in the stars in the passing of cars
At a table in the bar in a turn of the cards
In a change of your mind in the passing of time
In a ribbon of rhyme just down the line

Just me and a friend roamin' around
Him a magician I was a clown
Playin' the streets for a dollar a day
Waitin' for the right time and a sign to lead the way

words and music by Arlo Guthrie

Truth is you've been waiting so long
You're ripe and so insane
Can the tentacles of your mind stop the pain

How long will you sit there wondering
What's happening to your heart
Can't you fell the love surround you - That's a start

CHORUS:
I'll take to the road in a little while
Under cover of night
You come or you stay
Whatever seems right

I ain't looking for friends or lovers
Ain't looking for a pot of gold
Had it all when I was younger - It got old

Who will leave this world of sorrow
Who will die to all the fears
Kowning I'll be gone tommorow - Gone for years

CHORUS

Somewhere the sun's just rising
And the road comes in to view
There's a wanderer freed from dying - Could be you

Who will pay the price for freedom
Learn the disciplines of the road
Many tried but few succeed - So I'm told

Lyrics by Glen Anthony
Music by Charlie Chaplin

My love, you are the song
That sings inside of me
The song is always the same
It starts with love and ends with your name

The more that I love you
There's more in you to love
And yet I just don't know how
I could love you more than I do right now
They say that love grows old
But our love turned to gold
You kissed my sorrows away
You touched my heart
What more can I say

Each day my life is new
For God blessed me with you
And when my life is all through
Without a word you always knew
That all my life my life was you

words and music by Arlo Guthrie

If all the doors were closed in heaven
Where would all the angels go
Would they just fly around forever
Or would they come down here below

If the pearly gates were closed this morning
Would there be angels here tonight
And would they live their lives among us
And share the darkness with their light

If all the doors were close in heaven
They'd have to close the road to hell
We'd all be stuck here with each other
There would be nowhere else to dwell

If the pearly gates were closed this morning
And everyone there had to leave
And death was nothing but a moment
Beyond the breaths you took to breathe

If all the doors were closed in heaven
Who would dare abuse a child
Or let a little kid go hungry
Or not return a simple smile

If the pearly gates were closed this morning
And the host of heaven was on the street
I wonder if they'd look much different
From the likes of you and me

So I hope they close the doors to heaven
And all the angels up above
Come and build a home among us
Remind us what it is to love

If the pearly gates were closed this morning
Would there be angels here tonight
And would they live their lives among us
And share the darkness with their light

words and music by Arlo Guthrie

When I was younger
She'd come to me in dreams
Her face was hidden
In the mountain streams
Her voice disguised
As the sound of the wind
The rustling of leaves
She would call from within

Chorus:

Wake up, wake up, wake up, she said
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up dead

So many memories
Of those years have passed
Beyond the confusion
That [ thought would last forever
The countless veils
That I wore like clothes
Have been stripped away
Now [ stand here exposed

Chorus

In the night when the moon
Casts no shadows at all
We sat by the fire
As she started to call
Out to all who would hear
That the death of what's dead
Is the birth of what's living
And her words filled my head

Chorus

It's the life that lies sleeping
When you think you're awake
Forever is real
And the rest is just fake
And though volumes are written
On this subject alone
She used three simple words
And she brought it all home

Chorus

words and music by Arlo Guthrie

Halfway around the world tonight
In a strange and foreign land
A soldier packs his memories
As he leaves Afghanistan
And back home they don't know too much
There's just no way to tell
I guess you had to be there
For to know that war was hell

Chorus:
And there won't be any victory parades
For those that's coming back
They'll fly them in at midnight
And unload the body sacks
And the living will be walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seems to care these days
When a soldier makes it home

They'll say it wasn't easy
Just another job well done
As the government in Kabul falls
To the sounds of rebel guns
And the faces of the comrades
Being blown out of the sky
Leaves you bitter with the feeling
That they didn't have to die

Chorus

Halfway around the world tonight
In a strange and foreign land
A soldier unpacks memories
That he saved from Vietnam
Back home they didn't know too much
There was just no way to tell
I guess you had to be there
For to know that war was hell

And there wasn't any big parades
For those that made it back
They flew them in at midnight
And unloaded all the sacks
And the living were left walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seemed to care back then
When a soldier made it home

The night is coming quickly
And the stars are on their way
As I stare into the evening
Looking for the words to say
That I saw the lonely soldier
Just a boy that's far from home
And I saw that I was just like him
While upon this earth I roam

And there may not be any big parades
If I ever make it back
As I come home under cover
Through a world that can't keep track
Of the heroes who have fallen
Let alone the ones who won't
Which is why nobody seems to care
When a soldier makes it home

words and music by Arlo Guthrie

Every now and again when the world seems blue
And all of the trials there disappear in you
They say that there's a way to get across the bridge
But I wouldn't be standing here upon this ridge

If I thought that I knew
That the way to get across to you
Was this high and winding stair - I'd be there

I saw the destiny of nations on TV
I didn't want to miss it so I didn't go to sleep
It really was exciting when the whole world turned to rust
But I wouldn't be human and made out of this dust

You hold me very closely as we walk along the sand
You tell me that you'll meet me where the water meets the land
I know I ain't the only one to feel so minute
But I wouldn't be standing here looking so cute

There will be time enough for sorrow
I'll be there, I'll be there
Yesterday's gone until tommorow
I don't care, I don't care

Ever since the world began and back before that too
You took me in your confidence and told me I was you
It just seems kind of funny now to wlak along the path
And I wouldn't be standing here about to laugh

words and music by Arlo Guthrie

It ain't so much the boredom
But the fire in her soul
That made her life unbearable
While living in that hole
Of her dark surburban nightmare
'Till she went to see the Dead
And the self esteem she valued
Was immediately spent
And she had no one to turn to
So she just turned off her mind
She's a well adjusted wanderer
But all this stuff takes time

On the streets of old Wyoming
There's a couple from L.A.
They are post-environmentalists
Looking for to stay
'Till their friends all come to join them
In the quest for air to breathe
And when it gets too crowded
They will just pick up and leave
Like they did in New York City
When the coast seemed quite sublime
It don't take much but money
And money just takes time

Marie is on the lounge chair
Draped around the pool
Avoiding almost anyone who'd
Desecrate he cool
It's the reason she's attractive
She's already self abused
And her pride won't feel the loneliness
That comes with being used
She's the center of the universe
For which she was designed
Until she wakes up wandering
Why all this stuff takes time

Bill died of a heart attack
Beating up his wife
Now he's come back as a lesbian
That's looking for his wife
Who is now a psychoanalyst
That likes to work with plants
Except of course on weekends
When she likes to wear the pants
She's a leather goddess minister
Who works with the confined
It don't take much to realize
That all this stuff takes time

words and music by Arlo Guthrie

It's okay if you're all right
It's good to be here with you tonight
Dressed in moonlight and faded jeans
It ain't no mystery, all it means is
I can't believe I'll be with you tonight
I can't believe I'll be with you tonight

We'll be all right if it's ok
I know I'm crazy but I'm naturally that way
And by the look in your liquid eyes
It won't come as any big suprise but
I can't believe I'll be with you tonight
I can't believe I'll be with you tonight

Everybody's in their own little world
And I've been dreaming about you girl
I can't believe I'll be with you tonight

I'm here with you, you're here with me
Ain't it wonderful just how good it can be
I don't imagine it gets much better than this
But whatever it was it just got crossed off my list
I can't believe I'll be with you tonight
Can't believe I'll be with you tonight

Everybody's in their own little world
And I've been dreaming about you girl
I can't believe I'll be with you tonight