Unreleased
- Tommorrow is Forever
(cf. instrumental version on Chance in a Million
coming soon
Do the splits in New York City till the street scene robs you blind,
Come back home to San Francisco and try to reclaim your mind,
Get drunk in San Diego on a fifth of dago red.
Find a blanket under the freeway, rest your weary head.
Go down to Mexico in a red and white Chevrolet
Come back home on a bolt of thunder. [You can | If they] tow your wheels away.
chorus
What do you want for all you've got?
What will you take for what you are?
Times are rough and it's no wonder,
Looking for love in the pits of thunder.
Down in the valley of greased blue lightning under a flame-out sun,
Dance with the bag man's [black-eyed | blacked-out] daughter on the head of a conga drum.
Here in the breech-born pits of thunder, land of the morning star,
Here in the circle once unbroken, you find out who you are.
A loaf of bread beneath the bough out of the mustard seed,
Pepper in the soup and a kiss in the cup, you are all I need.
chorus
Here in the morning of a new-born day, a street sweep on your heels,
Walking in the gutter where dead men play and the bell of judgment peals.
Find hope in a cup of coffee or a day-old jelly roll,
Duck out on the pits of thunder for the heartbeat of your soul.
You can find love if you care to look, where others would look away
Here in the whirlwind pits of thunder where the hounds of Heaven bay.
chorus
Yeah!
Sailing along on the summer tide,
The Holy Ghost, the virgin bride,
Love was enough, didn't trouble you
You had a heart, nothing else to do.
It looked okay when the world began,
Seemed like plot, played like a plan.
Freedom winds began to blow,
You had enough, you were free.
chorus
Roll me over on the tide,
Roll me over, roll me.
Back to back and side to side,
Roll me over on the tide
Flashing thunder, blinding rain,
You weren't aware you were causing pain.
Things of the world laid at your door,
You fed the hungry, you clothed the poor.
A sense of time was all you needed.
Your garden grew but never got weeded.
Things came up you didn't plan to grow.
They always do you know [-oh].
chorus
It's not my intention to call your bluff,
But hanging it up ain't good enough.
Get on down by the sweat of your brow.
There could be time if you started now.
Play the tune you began to play
Before I came and got in the way.
You said you could, I believe you can,
All this, baby, what's your plan?
chorus x2
Spoken for, since the first new morning of the world began,
Spoken for, slope of the mountain and the lay of the land,
Spoken for, roar of the water on the white sea sand,
Spoken for, the fruit of the valley where I make my stand.
I thought I heard a voice whisper in my ear,
A voice in the distance, but drawing near.
Spoken to, but they only hear what they want to hear,
Only when fighting for their lives does the truth ring clear.
Spoken by the face of a cliff scraping on the sky,
Spoken by the wind on the water as the waves roll high.
The winging of an eagle when it's on the fly,
The girl in the window with the laughing eye.
bridge
Spoken in the heat of the moment when the lamps are low,
Spoken in dead earnest or in jest, or just for show,
Spoken in a lingo of the heart only lovers know,
Spoken in drops of blood that trickle on the virgin snow.
Spoken to, by the white winged crow in my sleeping ear,
Spoken to, the promise of a reckoning day draws near,
Spoken for, defended to the death at Wounded Knee,
Spoken for, every acre by acre from sea to sea.
With lines in the sand no one else could see,
Awakened, by flame in the night, to reality.
Eight to ten years for possession,
I'm living at the state hotel.
I guess I learned my lesson.
I guess I learned it well.
The judge says, "I got no discretion.
The law upon that point is clear.
Either got to put you up at state expense
Or let you walk away from here.
"I see you got a prior conviction.
That just about ties my hands.
They took away my power of decision.
I've got to honor what the law commands.
"You were indicted for conspiracy
to obstruct the right of way."
The plea was civil liberty,
But it wasn't a judge that day.
chorus
Possession, nine points of the law they say
Possession, take that boy and salt him away.
Possession, teach him how to obey.
They'd rather let a killer walk the street,
Than another damn freak like me.
Got a wife and kid on the way.
I've never had a nose for crime.
Someone passed me a joint one day,
And now I'm doing federal time.
Got a letter from wife that read,
"I just met another man.
It ain't that I don't love you, it said.
"I hope you understand."
Guess my luck ain't all that bad,
Smiling through my tears.
Seems that the D.A. knew my dad
Or I might have got 20 years.
Killer comes and a killer walks,
While I sit rotting here.
The scene of the crime is the ballot box,
And people who vote from fear.
chorus
2nd chorus
Possession, nine points of the law they say
Possession, take that boy and lock him away
Possession, I've come to understand
They'd rather free a man with some blood on his hands,
Than another damn freak like me.
(after a first verse, not on the album)
Fifth and MacDougal, crossing the street,
Last rose of summer I happen[ed] to meet
She greeted my face with the back of her hand.
I checked it for blood, made no reprimand
It's been a long time, I said casually,
She said June 21st, 1983
In a voice with inflections heard in my dreams
A long time ago, not so long as it seems...
"I'll buy you some coffee," I said "Come inside.
Tell me who's living, tell me who's died,
Whatever happened-- what was his name?"
Like all of the rest, he went back where he came.
chorus
Eight below zero, too cold to snow
Eight below zero, nowhere to go
Eight below zero, face to the wind
It must have been written I'd see you again
I asked how it happened she still remained
She laughed without humor, "I'd ask you the same.
You climbed up the ladder, stepped off the top.
You never were someone who knew when to stop."
"I'll stop when I'm buried," I said in reply
And ordered two pieces of blueberry pie.
She picked out the berries, neglected the crust.
"Like you," she said, "I never knew who to trust"
We never knew when, we never knew how,
Never got cheated, and look at us now.
You've got protection, your gamble paid off
But the fact you came back shows it wasn't enough.
chorus
It's eight below zero, too cold to snow,
Catching her drift, I made motions to go
But she stuck out her foot. My balance collapsed,
Fell to my knees with my head in her lap.
I made up my mind to leave it right there,
Rightly or wrongly, I didn't much care.
Familiar perfume from the lap of her dress
Kingdoms have fallen defending much less.
chorus
(listed as I Want Your Love in A Box of Rain)
You walk in here so cool and wise, I like the way you [swear | stare]
Silver daggers in your eyes, and midnight in your hair
I don't want to tie you up, don't want to tie you down
Just want to pass the loving cup, and splash some on the ground.
chorus
Did I mention I want you? did it slip my mind?
Did I tell you I'm prepared to pay you back in kind?
Rock and roll will pull you through and out the other side,
Set you on a mountain top, above the raging tide.
Leading with the heart and chin like crazy people do,
Watch the burning bridges spin before a dream comes true.
Hey good lookin' I want you, your footprint's on my heart
I want you when two worlds collide, and the whole place blows apart
We can go to Mardi Gras, bathe in French champagne
See the side we never saw, [or make it | go naked] in the rain
We could go to Paris on the rock and roll express,
In the dark and by the dawn, [collapse | relax] in fancy dress
I know you know I want your love. I'm sunk beneath your spell.
First and last and always baby, the rest can go to Hell.
Hah.
sotto voce count-off:
(hut, hut, hut...)
Three for a dollar, six for a dime,
I've got to have a talk with that girl of mine,
Driving me every which way but sane,
I want to get that feeling again.
Now, I'm just sitting, watching TV,
With the plug pulled out, there ain't much to see.
Think about the way things used to be.
Think about monkeys in a monkey tree.
chorus
She gets on my case when I'm feeling high,
But she brings me up when I think [I'll die | I've died | I'm dyin'],
Ermaline.
Now Ermaline's cheap, she's so mean,
She uses cologne from a magazine.
She don't even buy them, and that's a fact.
Rub it on her body, puts it back on the rack.
Strange combination, her and me,
Make me believe in destiny.
Hang around till the gig is through,
I'll take you home and marry you.
chorus
Whoa, Ermaline.
Summertime and the living is rough.
The government sucks and I've had enough.
Come here, baby, show me your stuff.
You're soft in the middle with your outside tough.
I love you, you love me.
The rest costs money, [but] that's for free.
I'll split this can of [beans | peas] with you,
But we'll split the world before we're through
alternate chorus
You bring me down when I'm feeling high
Then you jack me up when I think I've died,
Ermaline,
Whoa, Ermaline.
(spoken)
Hey baby, this town ain't big enough for the both of us.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.