unknown

She was the rose of sharon from paradise lost
From the city of seven hills near the place of the cross.
I was playing a show in miami in the theater of divine comedy.
Told about jesus, told about the rain,
She told me about the jungle where her brothers were slain
By a man who danced on the roof of the embassy.

Was she a child or a woman, i can't say which
From one to another she could to easily switch
We went into the wall to where the long arm of the law could not reach.
Could i been used and played as a pawn?
It certainly was possible as the gay night wore on
Where men bathed in perfume and celebrated free speech.

And them caribbean winds still blow from nassau to mexico
Fanning the flames in the furnace of desire
And them distant ships of liberty on them iron waves so bold and free,
Bringing everything that's near to me nearer to the fire.

She looked into my soul through the clothes that i wore
She said, "we got a mutual friend over by the door,
And you know he's got our best interest in mind."
He was well connected but her heart was a snare
And she had left him to die in there,
There were payments due and he was a little behind.

The cry of the peacock, flies buzz my head,
Ceiling fan broken, there's a heat in my bed,
Street band playing "nearer my god to thee."
We met at the steeple where the mission bells ring,
She said, "i know what you're thinking, but there ain't a thing
You can do about it, so let us just agree to agree."

And them caribbean winds still blow from nassau to mexico
Fanning the flames in the furnace of desire
And them distant ships of liberty on them iron waves so bold and free,
Bringing everything that's near to me nearer to the fire.

Atlantic city by the cold grey sea
I hear a voice crying, "daddy," i always think it's for me,
But it's only the silence in the buttermilk hills that call.
Every new messenger brings evil report
'bout armies on the march and time that is short
And famines and earthquakes and hatred written upon walls.

Would i have married her? i don't know, i suppose.
She had bells in her braids and they hung to her toes
But i kept hearing my name and i had to be movin' on.
I saw screws break loose, saw the devil pound tin,
I saw a house in the country being torn from within.
I heard my ancestors calling from the land far beyond.

And them caribbean winds still blow from nassau to mexico
Fanning the flames in the furnace of desire
And them distant ships of liberty on them iron waves so bold and free,
Bringing everything that's near to me nearer to the fire.

Bad news, bad news,
Come to me where i sleep,
Turn, turn, turn again.
Sayin' one of your friends
Is in trouble deep,
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

Tell me the trouble,
Tell once to my ear,
Turn, turn, turn again.
Joliet prison
And ninety-nine years,
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

Oh what's the charge
Of how this came to be,
Turn, turn, turn again.
Manslaughter
In the highest of degree,
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

I sat down and wrote
The best words i could write,
Turn, turn, turn again.
Explaining to the judge
I'd be there on wednesday night,
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

Without a reply,
I left by the moon,
Turn, turn, turn again.
And was in his chambers
By the next afternoon,
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

Could ya tell me the facts?
I said without fear,
Turn, turn, turn again.
That a friend of mine
Would get ninety-nine years,
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

A crash on the highway
Flew the car to a field,
Turn, turn, turn again.
There was four persons killed
And he was at the wheel,
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

But i knew him as good
As i'm knowin' myself,
Turn, turn, turn again.
And he wouldn't harm a life
That belonged to someone else,
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

The judge spoke
Out of the side of his mouth,
Turn, turn, turn again.
Sayin', "the witness who saw,
He left little doubt,"
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

That may be true,
He's got a sentence to serve,
Turn, turn, turn again.
But ninety-nine years,
He just don't deserve,
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

Too late, too late,
For his case it is sealed,
Turn, turn, turn again.
His sentence is passed
And it cannot be repealed,
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

But he ain't no criminal
And his crime it is none,
Turn, turn, turn again.
What happened to him
Could happen to anyone,
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

And at that the judge jerked forward
And his face it did freeze,
Turn, turn, turn again.
Sayin', "could you kindly leave
My office now, please,"
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

Well his eyes looked funny
And i stood up so slow,
Turn, turn, turn again.
With no other choice
Except for to go,
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

I walked down the hallway
And i heard his door slam,
Turn, turn, turn again.
I walked down the courthouse stairs
And i did not understand,
Turn, turn to the rain
And the wind.

And i played my guitar
Through the night to the day,
Turn, turn, turn again.
And the only tune
My guitar could play
Was, "oh the cruel rain
And the wind."

Well, the rainman comes with his magic wand
And the judge says, "mona can't have no bond."
And the walls collide, mona cries,
And the rainman leaves in the wolfman's disguise.

I wanna be your lover, baby, i wanna be your man.
I wanna be your lover, baby,
I don't wanna be hers, i wanna be yours.

Well, the undertaker in his midnight suit
Says to the masked man, "ain't you cute!"
Well, the mask man he gets up on the shelf
And he says, "you ain't so bad yourself."

I wanna be your lover, baby, i wanna be your man.
I wanna be your lover, baby,
I don't wanna be hers, i wanna be yours.

Well, jumpin' judy can't go no higher.
She had bullets in her eyes, and they fire.
Rasputin he's so dignified,
He touched the back of her head an' he died.

I wanna be your lover, baby, i wanna be your man.
I wanna be your lover, baby,
I don't wanna be hers, i wanna be yours.

Well, phaedra with her looking glass,
Stretchin' out upon the grass.
She gets all messed up and she faints
That's 'cause she's so obvious and you ain't.

I wanna be your lover, baby, i wanna be your man.
I wanna be your lover, baby,
I don't wanna be hers, i wanna be yours.

Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.

Struck by the sounds before the sun,
I knew the night had gone.
The morning breeze like a bugle blew
Against the drums of dawn.
Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.

The ocean wild like an organ played,
The seaweed's wove its strands.
The crashin' waves like cymbals clashed
Against the rocks and sands.
Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.

I stood unwound beneath the skies
And clouds unbound by laws.
The cryin' rain like a trumpet sang
And asked for no applause.
Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.

The last of leaves fell from the trees
And clung to a new love's breast.
The branches bare like a banjo played
To the winds that listened best.

I gazed down in the river's mirror
And watched its winding strum.
The water smooth ran like a hymn
And like a harp did hum.
Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.

John brown went off to war to fight on a foreign shore.
His mama sure was proud of him!
He stood straight and tall in his uniform and all.
His mama's face broke out all in a grin.

"oh son, you look so fine, i'm glad you're a son of mine,
You make me proud to know you hold a gun.
Do what the captain says, lots of medals you will get,
And we'll put them on the wall when you come home."

As that old train pulled out, john's ma began to shout,
Tellin' ev'ryone in the neighborhood:
"that's my son that's about to go, he's a soldier now, you know."
She made well sure her neighbors understood.

She got a letter once in a while and her face broke into a smile
As she showed them to the people from next door.
And she bragged about her son with his uniform and gun,
And these things you called a good old-fashioned war.

Oh! good old-fashioned war!

Then the letters ceased to come, for a long time they did not come.
They ceased to come for about ten months or more.
Then a letter finally came saying, "go down and meet the train.
Your son's a-coming home from the war."

She smiled and went right down, she looked everywhere around
But she could not see her soldier son in sight.
But as all the people passed, she saw her son at last,
When she did she could hardly believe her eyes.

Oh his face was all shot up and his hand was all blown off
And he wore a metal brace around his waist.
He whispered kind of slow, in a voice she did not know,
While she couldn't even recognize his face!

Oh! lord! not even recognize his face.

"oh tell me, my darling son, pray tell me what they done.
How is it you come to be this way?"
He tried his best to talk but his mouth could hardly move
And the mother had to turn her face away.

"don't you remember, ma, when i went off to war
You thought it was the best thing i could do?
I was on the battleground, you were home . . . acting proud.
You wasn't there standing in my shoes."

"oh, and i thought when i was there, god, what am i doing here?
I'm a-tryin' to kill somebody or die tryin'.
But the thing that scared me most was when my enemy came close
And i saw that his face looked just like mine."

Oh! lord! just like mine!

"and i couldn't help but think, through the thunder rolling and stink,
That i was just a puppet in a play.
And through the roar and smoke, this string is finally broke,
And a cannon ball blew my eyes away."

As he turned away to walk, his ma was still in shock
At seein' the metal brace that helped him stand.
But as he turned to go, he called his mother close
And he dropped his medals down into her hand.

I got mixed up confusion
Man, it's a-killin' me

Well, there's too many people
And they're all too hard to please

Well, my hat's in my hand
Babe, i'm walkin' down the line

An' i'm lookin' for a woman
Whose head's mixed up like mine

Well, my head's full of questions
My temp'rature's risin' fast

Well, i'm lookin' for some answers
But i don't know who to ask

But i'm walkin' and wonderin'
And my poor feet don't ever stop

Seein' my reflection
I'm hung over, hung down, hung up!