Townes Van Zandt Album

Well along come the ffv the swiftest on the line
Running long the c&o road 20 min behind
Running in the subhill headquaters on the line
Receivin' their strict orders from a station just behid
Well Georgie's mother come to him with a bucket on her arm
Saying my darlin' boy be careful how you run
Well it's many a man has lost his life in trying to make lost time
But if you run your engine right you'll make it just on time
Aw but off of the road she darted and into the rocks she crashed
Well the engine she laid upside down and Georgie's breast was smashed
Well his head lay gainst the firebox door and the flames were rolling high
Well i'm proud to be born for an engineer on the c&o road to die
Well the doctor come to Georgie my darlin' boy be still
Well your life can yet be saved if it is god's bless it will
Oh no no it will not do. I wanna fly so free
Well i wanna die with the engine i love a hundred fourty three
Then the doctor said to Georgie well you're life cannot be saved
Murdered out on the railroad, layed in a lonesome grave
But his face was all covered up with blood, his eyes they could not see
And the very last words that g spoke were near my god to thee

By townes van zandt
Come away with me,My little delta boyI wanna be your delta mama for awhileAnd if you stay you'll seeThat I bring you lots of joyI turn those little teardrops to a smile
Well, if you're blue don't cryJust wander right downtownYou can find your delta mama waitin' thereWell, I thought you knew that iWould never let you downI can ease your mind and take away your cares
Come away with me,My little delta boyI wanna be your delta mama for awhileAnd if you stay you'll seeThat I bring you lots of joyI turn those little teardrops to a smile

Well, if the grass goes brownDon't you hang your head too lowWell, there ain't no need for you to sit and pineIf you'll just ask aroundI'm sure someone will knowJust exactly what it takes to get you back to feelin fine
Well, if you don't know by nowWhat I've been tryin' so hard to sayWell my delta boy I'm afraid you're up to tightBut you take it slow and somehowYou come meandering out my wayAnd I'll take you in my arms and make it right
Ah, come away with me,My little delta boyI wanna be your delta mama for awhileAnd if you stay you'll seeThat I bring you lots of joyI turn those little teardrops to a smile

Don't go saying I'm leaving you
Thinking I never got close enough to stay
Time runs in, and then runs out
Starts again and it's always been that way
You're gonna drown tomorrow
If you cry to many tears for yesterday
Tomorrow's half of all you've got
So treat him good, 'cause when I'm gone, he'll stay

I won't be forgetting you
You won't be forgetting me, I know
If memory comes a summer cloud
Rains her sweetness down to me below
I see you like you look right now
Maybe wonder why I had to go
But heaven is the way she is
Rain falls and rivers flow

So here's to feelin' good
Here's to feelin' bad
Here's to bein' thankful
Sorry for the pleasures that we had
And autumn days and window panes
God, forgive us if you feel decieved
The clock don't know you like I do
And it's only him or me you got to believe

Well, I've been turnstyled,
Junkpiled
And railroaded too
I've been laid low
But don't you know
I'm still in love with you
I've been took down many a road
If anybody says I ain't day lie
But ain't got no plans
Except to be your man
And love you till I die

Well you got me under your spell
Won't you tell
Me all 'bout your wonderful charms
I got time to burn
And a lot to learn
Mama, take me in your lovin' arms
Well, I know that probably
You feel quite oddly
'bout you hear say
But if you hold me tight
It's gonna be all right
Mama, chase my blues away

So close and yet so far away
And all the things I'd hoped to say
Will have to go unsaid today
Perhaps until tomorrow
Your fears have built a wall between
Our lives and all what loving means
Will have to go unfelt it seems
And that leaves only sorrow
You built your tower strong and tall
Can't you see, it's got to fall someday

You close your eyes and speak to me
Of faith and love and destiny
As distant as eternity
From truth and understanding
The wind blows cold outside your door
It whispers words I've tried before
But you don't hear me anymore
Your pride's just too demanding
You built your tower strong and tall
Can't you see, it's got to fall someday

The end is coming soon it's plain
A warm bed just ain't worth the pain
And I will go and you'll remain
With the bitterness we've tasted
A mother's breast, a newborn child
A poet's tear and drunken smile
I can't help feelin' all the while
Their meaning won't be wasted
You built your tower strong and tall
Can't you see, it's got to fall someday

Could it be the season's changin'
The winds of winter rearranging
All the leaves like fallin' queens of sorrow
Could be the freezing rain a-fallin'
Could be sad September callin'
Or maybe its knowin' she'll be gone
Come tomorrow

Well, it's strange how many tortured mornings
Fell upon us with no warning
Lookin' for a smile to beg and borrow
It's over now, there is no returning
A thousand bridges sadly burning
And light the way I have to walk alone
Come tomorrow

I guess that no amount of lying
To myself will stop the crying
I guess I have to take things like they are
The facts are plain to see, it's only
That I ain't used to being lonely
Like I'm gonna be without you
Come tomorrow

Come tomorrow

I got a brand new companion
Man, I'm gonna do my best this time
I got a brand new companion
Man, I'm gonna do my best this time
You know she cools me with her breathin'
Chases away those howlin' bottles of wine

She fits just like my guitar
Man, she's near as tall as me
She fits just like my guitar
She's near as tall as me
She lives way out the d train
But she's texas as can be

She got a home-spun disposition
Man, she's just as gentle as you please
She got a home-spun disposition
Man, she's just as gentle as you please
She got arms just like two rattle snakes
Legs just like a billow in the breeze

I got a brand new companion
Man, I'm gonna do my best this time
I got a brand new companion
Man, I'm gonna do my best this time
I want to trace her with my body
I want to track her with my mind

By townes van zandt

Where I lead me I will travel
Where I need me I will call me
I'm no fool, I'll be ready
God knows I will be
And in the meantime make a little money
And buy a little mercy

Met this morning, now he loves me
Say's he loves me
It must be easy, look around you
All around you
But you see the motion, you're not movin'
You don't know how to hold on
Just keep it loose
Don't get excited, it'll pass before long

Now one is goin' one is stayin'
One is silent one is saying'
Here's your coat, take care of yourself


Sorry you're leavin'
A little sad you're all I had
Will you be returnin'

The boys upstairs are gettin' hungry
You can shout in the wind about how it will be
Or you can clench your fist, shake your head
And head to the country
I got no doubt about it my friend
That's where they'll find me
That's where they're gonna find me

Ask the boys down in the gutter
Now they won't lie cause you don't matter
The street's just fine if you're good and blind
But it ain't where you belong
Roll down your sleeves, pick up your money
And carry yourself home
Roll down your sleeves, pick up your money
And carry yourself home

By townes van zandt
Proofread and authorized by jeanene van zandt

I used to wake and run with the moon
I lived like a rake and a young man
I covered my lovers with flowers and wounds
My laughter the devil would frighten
The sun she would come and beat me back down
But every cruel day had it's nightfall
I'd welcome the stars with wine and guitars
Full of fire and forgetful

My body was sharp the dark air clean
And outrage my joyful companion
Whisperin' women how sweet did they seem
Kneelin' for me to command them
And time was like water but I was the sea
I'd have never noticed it passin'
Except for the turnin' of night into day


And the turnin' of day into cursin'

You look at me now, and don't think I don't know
What all your eyes are a sayin'
Does he want us to believe these ravings and lies
They're just tricks that his brains been a playin'?
A lover of women he can't hardly stand
He trembles he's bent and he's broken
I've fallen it's true but I say unto you
Hold your tongues until after I've spoken

I was takin' my pride in the pleasures I'd known
I laughed and thought I'd be forgiven
But my laughter turned 'round eyes blazing and
Said my friend, we're holdin' a wedding
I buried my face but it spoke once again
The night to the day we're a bindin'
And now the dark air is like fire on my skin
And even the moonlight is blinding

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 buying 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'