The Way I Feel

I'm not ashamed
To say that i've loved you well
I'm not ashamed
To let you know
I'm just a name that's all
Scratched upon your wall
You've used it well but what the hell
That's what walls are for
I'm not ashamed
To listen to the fast-fallin' rain
In the morning upon my window
I'm not afraid to cry
I'm not ashamed to try
To be your friend once again
'cause that's what's friends are for

Friends are for sorting out the hang-ups that we hide
Walls are for shutting out the love we feel inside

I'm not ashamed no to talk it over once again
To rearrange my vocabulary
But i can't seem to find
Any words to change your mind
Because i left them all behind
And that's what words are for

Words are for explaining the mistakes we might have made
Names are for calling when there's nothing left to say

I'm not ashamed, no, to say that i've loved you well
I'm not ashamed, and yet i know
I'm just a name, that's all
Scratched upon your wall
You've used it well, but what the hell
That's what walls are for

I'm not ashamed of wearing out my old grey socks
Chasing you around the back woods
I'm not ashamed to darn
Nor to proud to find some yarn
To sew them up once again
'cause that's what socks are for

Oh the neon lights were flashin'
And the icy wind did blow
The water seeped into his shoes
And the drizzle turned to snow
His eyes were red, his hopes were dead
And the wine was runnin' low
And the old man came home
From the forest
His tears fell on the sidewalk
As he stumbled in the street
A dozen faces stopped to stare
But no one stopped to speak
For his castle was a hallway
And the bottle was his friend
And the old man stumbled in
From the forest

Up a dark and dingy staircase
The old man made his way
His ragged coat around him
As upon his cot he lay
And he wondered how it happened
That he ended up this way
Getting lost like a fool
In the forest

And as he lay there sleeping
A vision did appear
Upon his mantle shining
A face of one so dear
Who had loved him in the springtime
Of a long-forgotten year
When the wildflowers did bloom
In the forest

She touched his grizzled fingers
And she called him by his name
And then he heard the joyful sound
Of children at their games
In an old house on a hillside
In some forgotten town
Where the river runs down
From the forest

With a mighty roar the big jets soar
Above the canyon streets
And the con men con but life goes on
For the city never sleeps
And to an old forgotten soldier
The dawn will come no more
For the old man has come home
From the forest

The way i feel is like a robin
Whose babes have flown to come no more
A tall oak tree alone and cryin'
When her birds have flown and the nest is bare
Now a woman lord is like a young bird
And the tall oak tree is like a young man's heart
Among his boughs you will find her nesting
When the nights are cool she's warm and dry

Your coat of green will protect her
Her wings will grow your love will too
But all too soon your mighty branches
Will cease to hold her she'll fly from you

If i'd wings to fly
I'd follow you
If you'd wait for me
I'd fly away
I'd fly away

Beyond the wild misty mountain
Within the valley so free
There dwells a maid with a heart so mellow
Soft as the wind and wild as the sea
When will you love me
As i love thee
I have no gold to give her
Nor gowns of soft crimson hue
Nor poems of love no rhymes to bring her
Into my heart so strong so true
When will you love me
As i love you

Beyond the wild misty mountain
Within the valley so free
There dwells a maid with a heart so mellow
Soft as the wind and wild as the sea
When will you love me
As i love thee?

I'll be alright i'll be alright if i don't have to smile
If i don't to face the morning sunrise for a while
I'll get along you know i'll take tomorrow with a grin
If i never have to think about her love again
And i won't mind if words are spoken
In empty love songs as long as i don't have to hear
I'll be alright if i don't have to face the world again
And if i never love again i'll be alright

Last night she gave the final word, she said her last goodbye
And disappeared forever in the world outside
One kiss and then she took her leave to go i know not where
Into the misty shadows of the midnight air

But i won't mind if words are spoken
In empty love songs as long as i don't have to hear
I'll be alright if i don't have to face the world again
And if i never love again i'll be alright
And if i never love again i'll be alright

There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
But time has no beginnings and hist'ry has no bounds
As to this verdant country they came from all around
They sailed upon her waterways and they walked the forests tall
And they built the mines the mills and the factories for the good of us all

And when the young man's fancy was turnin' to the spring
The railroad men grew restless for to hear the hammers ring
Their minds were overflowing with the visions of their day
And many a fortune lost and won and many a debt to pay

For they looked in the future and what did they see
They saw an iron road runnin' from sea to the sea
Bringin' the goods to a young growin' land
All up through the seaports and into their hands

Look away said they across this mighty land
From the eastern shore to the western strand
Bring in the workers and bring up the rails
We gotta lay down the tracks and tear up the trails
Open 'er heart let the life blood flow
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow

Bring in the workers and bring up the rails
We're gonna lay down the tracks and tear up the trails
Open 'er heart let the life blood flow
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow
Get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow

Behind the blue rockies the sun is declinin'
The stars, they come stealin' at the close of the day
Across the wide prairie our loved ones lie sleeping
Beyond the dark oceans in a place far away

We are the navvies who work upon the railway
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun
Livin' on stew and drinkin' bad whiskey
Bendin' our old backs 'til the long days are done

We are the navvies who work upon the railway
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun
Layin' down track and buildin' the bridges
Bendin' our old backs 'til the railroad is done

So over the mountains and over the plains
Into the muskeg and into the rain
Up the st. lawrence all the way to gaspe
Swingin' our hammers and drawin' our pay
Drivin' 'em in and tyin' 'em down
Away to the bunkhouse and into the town
A dollar a day and a place for my head
A drink to the livin' and a toast to the dead

Oh the song of the future has been sung
All the battles have been won
O'er the mountain tops we stand
All the world at our command
We have opened up the soil
With our teardrops and our toil

For there was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
And many are the dead men too silent to be real