Dar Williams Album

I know change is a bad thing,
Breaks me down into a sorry sad thing
Not some iridescent grateful butterfly.
I'll resist with defiance,
Not the valor of a mystic silence,
I will fight the dizzy spiral of goodbye.

And it's alright, it's alright, it's alright
And it's alright, it's alright, it's alright

Please don't say you don't love me,
Never dangle any sword above me,
With the kind of change that severs me in two.
Give me amberizing glasses.
Could you slow it down like molasses,
As I salvage my old self away from you.

And it's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
And it's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
And it's alright, it's alright, it's alright.

Because I have seen insane things,
All those grand, historic paintings.
Morning light on polished swords and burnished pride.
Anxious smiles encased in whalebone,
Spines of steel from head to tailbone,
Cannons poised to blast the turning of the tide.

It's a sad and a strange thing.
But it's time and I am changing.
Into something good or bad, well that's your guess.
I'm my own sovereign nation,
Dedicated to a transformation,
Marching on with this target on my chest, oh yes,
And it's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
And it's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
And it's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
And it's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
And it's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
And it's alright, it's alright, it's alright.

Tell me what you see, is it close to what you dreamed?
If I play a part can I be redeemed?
We pore through the passages from leather volumed shelves,
But they only leave us wondering, can we find ourselves
In the book of love?
In the book of love?

Looking for the one, waiting on a day,
Countless dinner parties, and all the games we play,
All for some processional, a solemn wedding vow,
A picture in a picture frame that Beauty can allow
In the book of love.
In the book of love.

Love becomes a temple, and we begin to fear
That an unfeeling oracle will say, "You did come near,
But you are not welcome here."

This is who I am, it's all the places I have been,
The fondness and regret, and every love that I've been in.
And I've played all the characters, the fool, the friend, the wife,
And no matter what the ending is, the story of my life
Is the book of love.
Is the book of love.

I knew a guy, I thought he was my first love,
But he had to decide between me and the one before,
And she stacked it all up, like a house of cards,
Said if he didn't come back, he'd find her flattened on the floor.
And though I went and lived in my own Hell,
Thought that I could die as well,
I let him go where he thought he had to go.
Cause I never took heavy words for granted,
And I never took the undeserved advantage,
No I never took the easy way,
So why don't you take it a little easy on me now.

Out on the road, I had so many questions,
I thought I would explode just for some attention,
Like an acolyte, I saw the flames of towering tapers,
Almost proselytized by those gleaming piles of paper,
Yeah I watched those power huddles
And their coats draped over puddles,
And their "Trust me, baby, I'm the one you need."
But I never took heavy words for granted,
And I never took the undeserved advantage,
No I never took the easy way,
So why don't you take it a little easy on me now.

We don't want to be the ones to lie and cheat and slander,
So we hold each other up to the higher standard,
But I'll tell you what; I'll never try to make it hard.
Cause when you're hard just to be hard,
The only thing that's hard is you.

So here's what I took, I kept the wine and laughter,
Until every path just grew up and ever after,
Through the peaks and twisty canyons,
I made many great companions,
Best of all is the one who loves me like you do.
I never took heavy words for granted,
And I never took the undeserved advantage,
No I never took the easy way,
So why don't you take it a little easy on me now.

I never took heavy words for granted,
And it's much too late to even want the shortcut,
Yeah, I never took the easy way,
So you can take it a little easy on me now.
Cause we know that easy's never easy anyhow.

I walked a spiraling village one night,
Drawn by the word of a bell or a light.
Out on the flats saw it rose to a spire.
It all becomes clear as the tide falls away.

Parent and child and an ocean between.
One is not heard and the other not seen.
Too many bottles but each had a message inside.
It all becomes clear as the tide falls away.
It all becomes clear as the tide falls away.

Lucky we are when the starts leave us singing
A hymn or a dirge when the surge of the ocean is gone, is gone.

And the old woman just stares at her hands,
So many heroes have crumbled to sand.
All those cathedrals were merely by men.
It all becomes clear as the tide falls away.
It all becomes clear as the tide falls away.
All falls away.

Sitting with the number eight platter at the restaurant,
Four twenty-nine for almost anything I want,
Add it up, it's cheaper than the stuff I make myself,
I get by, I never needed anybody's help,
And I tore out an ad and they told me that I
Would press the buzzer, press the buzzer,
At the graduate lab, they were doing some tests,
I pressed the buzzer, pressed the buzzer.

Ride the circle off of the highway.
Spiral into the driveway,
In the maze of old prefabs
They'll be waiting at the lab.

I don't know how everybody makes it through the daily drill,
Paint the nails, walk a dog, pay every bill,
I'm feeling sorry for this guy that I press to shock,
He gets the answers wrong, I have to up the watts
And he begged me to stop, but they told me to go,
I press the buzzer, I press the buzzer.
So get out of my head, just give me my line.
I press the buzzer, I press the buzzer.

Ride the circle off of the highway,
Spiral into the driveway,
In the maze of old prefabs
They'll be waiting at the lab.

They called me back to the lab to discuss the test,
I put my earrings on, found my heels, wore a dress.
Right away I knew, it was like I'd failed a quiz
The man said "Do you know what a fascist is?"
I said, "Yeah, it's when you do things you're not proud of,
But you're scraping by, taking orders from above."
I get it now, I'm the face, I'm the cause of war
We don't have to blame white-coated men anymore.

When I knew it was wrong, I played it just like a game,
I pressed the buzzer, I pressed the buzzer,
Here's your seventy bucks, now everything's changed,
I press the buzzer, I press the buzzer
But tell me where are your stocks, would you do this again?
I press the buzzer,
And tell me who made your clothes, was it children or men?
I press the buzzer.

It's a cold, cold time. It's a cold, cold time,
And it makes me wonder
If I'll ever forget
How cold I
How cold I and the world can be.

And the line gets drawn, and we draw the line,
And we say it's only
The business of things.
How can it be?
How can it be when it's you and me?

I can't live in the past,
Hard-shelled and moving fast,
Change, it's the racecar of time.
Everyone nods along,
I have done nothing wrong,
And it feels like a crime.

And it's a bright new day,
It's a bright new day,
And the crazy thing is
That I wish my old friend
Would say that it's fine,
Say I'll be fine in a cold, cold time.

I went and found a house in the northern woods
And I was doing fine until the night
But then I couldn't take the sun in Los Angeles
Everything was blazing much too bright
I know that I should sit out on a darkened pier
Feeling the life that is not lived by chance
And yes I know it's just blousy old Hollywood
Jostling for one more song and dance
But you are everyone, you are everyone
I ever trusted that never made a fool out of me

Early again today I rushed myself around
I thought that I would miss the morning train
Angry that I had lain in my bed too long
Watching all the patterns of the rain
So many trips I took to seek somebody out
Gaining some ground but maybe losing more
So many pages scrawled to justify myself
I don't know who I did that for
But you are everyone, you are everyone
I ever trusted that never made a fool out of me

You took a couple pictures of me once
On some winter night long ago
Simply of me, you might not call them beautiful
I take them everywhere I go
But you are everyone, you are everyone
I ever trusted that never made a fool out of me

Rambling and rambling, rambling and rambling

It's the woods! What do you see?
In all the spooky shadows, in the forest of green
Is there a windy path, angry ass woman who will eat you?
Sad-eyed lumberjack, savior who will greet you?
It's a different story for you and for me
Go to the woods and see

Out in the storybook land are many leagues of the wild
Wise and uncontainable as a windy-haired child
There are the youth truth movements and they're springing from the ground
Freak flag wavers and you cannot chop them down
Hey, it's the home of the brave, you'll get the threat of the free
Go to the woods and see

Are you afraid of the woods?
Are you afraid of the woods?

And if I was your memory, what would you do?
'Cause you know if you go back in time there's something waiting for you
You've got your forest path, reading, math, dappling of shade
You can just admit it, there's a promise that you made
And you can't have the past back, but you can hold me
Go to the woods and see

I am afraid of the woods

I am afraid of the woods
But what I fear more, what I fear most
More than the man, the beast, or the ghost
Is that the woods are disappearing
So when I go back, when I finally dare
You know the woods'll be gone
You know they just won't be there

Rambling and rambling, rambling and rambling

When the robin builds in the holly tree,
It’s a sign of life, its gentle victory.
Well, today as I set to go,
I saw a nest in a tree hollow.

Oh Emily, you’re a brave girl,
With your husband gone to the other world.
Sing a hymn while I light the fire;
We’ll be joined by a heavenly choir.

Here’s the tansy and the chamomile tea for you to drink,
As the pain increases, well you only have to think
About a baby. We’ll save the baby.

I placed a holly sprig by the doctor’s door.
He has done this well and many times before,
He’ll be careful which way he goes,
But he’s been kind to us farm widows.

And this I heard just the other day
That they came to buy, and you chose to stay.
Soon a child will help you reap and sow,
May he cast a long shadow.

But you say the trials are coming, you have felt the gathering forces,
And the galloping you hear is of one too many horses,
But rest your head my darling girl, there won’t be any danger,
Any Christian ever loved an infant in a manger
Saves the baby. They’ll save the baby.

Now the pastor comes, shakes the farmer’s hand.
Says, “The earth will bear like the Promised Land.
You have heard the stories down below,
But God will bless this farm hollow.”

Now the farmer’s wife shudders, pulls the shawl up to her shoulder.
Every time she nears the hearth she feels a little colder.
Where’s the baby? There was a baby.

When you think you've found something worth holding on to
Were you reaching for attention, hoping she would notice you
Collecting bottles and thrown-away cans
Like she was returnable
One day would refill your hands
How she loved you, all you imagined
Fit so well into your plans

Maybe one day soon
It will all come out
How you dream about each other sometimes
With the memory of
How you once gave up
But you made it through the troubled times

Pining away every hour in your room
Rolling with the motion, waiting til it's opportune
Sitting there watching time fly past you
Why do tomorrow
What you could never do
How she loved you
All you imagined
Everything you put her through

Maybe one day soon
It will all come out
How you dream about each other sometimes
With the memory of
How you once gave up
But you made it through the troubled times

And it takes a lot of nerve to ask how she is doing
Start with a weak foundation, you will end in ruins
The ways the days and hours pass you'll never understand
Falling like rain through your hands

Maybe one day soon
It will all come out
How you dream about each other sometimes
With the memory of
How you once gave up
But you made it through the troubled times

Rain falls hard
Burns dry
A dream
Or a song
That hits you so hard
Filling you up
And suddenly gone

Breathe Feel Love
Give Free
Know in your soul
Like your blood knows the way
From your heart to your brain
Know that you're whole

And you're shining
Like the brightest star
A transmission
From a midnight radio
And you're spinning
Like a 45
Ballerina
Dancing to your rock and roll

Here's to Patti
And Tina
And Yoko
Aretha
And Nona
And Nico
And me

And all the strange rock and rollers
You know you're doing alright
So hold on to each other
You gotta hold on tonight

And you're shining
Like the brightest stars
A transmission
On a midnight radio
And you're spinning
Your new 45's
All the misfits
And the losers
Well you know you're rock and rollers
Spinning to your rock and roll

Lift up your hands...

From the ship, we could see it in the distance
As the fog was finally lifting
We had come to the shores of Summerday
Gently landing, we jumped out on the sand and found our way
Where the dirt was soft and black
We started digging a garden
And soon we found the woods that we'd call
The forest of Arden for to play

When we came to Summerday
On the shores of Summerday
We will live in Summerday

And we climbed a stony mountain
We were boisterous then quiet
As we thought about what instruments to make
Soon we started to build the uillean pipes and fine guitars
Then we scouted out the hollows for solitude and silence
And we found the places we could meet by the blue and glassy river
Under stars where the paper lanterns sway

In the streets of Summerday
Trust the night and trust the day
Sun and moon of Summerday

We are pilgrims in the land between religions
We are following our children
And we paint in different colors every day
And if we're true to our hearts they will grow up and want to stay
We will work beside them as they build modest houses
And on a misty April morning we'll rest the shovels on the fence
And die and become a summer day

Oh, the fields of Summerday
And the flowers of Summerday
They will live in Summerday

To the shores of Summerday
So we sail to Summerday
We will live in Summerday