LYRICS

All Lyrics by Claudia Gibson - except for “The Night Visiting Song” - Traditional
©Claudia Gibson/Bessie Music (BMI)  All Rights Reserved

 

The Fields of Chazy 

Grandpa died when I was young
A farmer and a farmer’s son
His heart was in the North Country
Among the fields of Chazy

Albina was young Joseph’s bride
For 8 years she was at his side
Thru summer, winter, spring and fall
Working the fields of Chazy

Their bond was strong enough to bear
The hard times and the trials they shared
But 1915 winter came
And his love could not save her

Albina’s first child was her last
Just 29 years when she passed
Joe buried them in frozen ground
Ten miles north of Chazy

For ten long years, Joe walked alone
The sorrow settled in his bones
He sowed 500 apple trees
Some said that he’d gone crazy

In May of 1925
Joe took Elizabeth for his bride
My dad arrived in ‘29
Born in the town of Chazy

Grandpa played accordion 
With gnarled hands when I was young
The songs of old Acadia
200 miles from Chazy

The snow-white winter orchids bloomed
The day we heard of Grandpa’s news
His heart had stopped, his spirit flew
From Albany straight up to Lake Champlain

Today I walk a winding road
I touch the trees my Grandpa sowed
My heart’s here in the North Country
Among these fields of Chazy

The twisted ancient apple trees
The sweet fruit of his legacy 
Yes, this my Grandpa left to me
These verdant fields of Chazy

Grandpa died when I was young
A farmer and a farmer’s son
His heart was in the North Country
Among the fields of Chazy


Unbound        

Coffee in a paper cup
Swirl it ‘round and drink it up
Sunrise, shining on my skin
Pull out on the interstate
Signaling my change of fate
Unbound and ready to begin

Sixteen hundred miles to go
Just a couple days or so
There's time to contemplate my sins
Headed back from where I came
Where everybody knows my name
Unbound, I'm starting out again

Unbound - love can’t live on the dark side of town
It needs some hope to stick around
Unbound - and I can't spend my life on the ground
We just held each other down

Passing kids who smile and wave
Billboards and license plates
Reminders of the state I’m in
At a truck stop in Ohio
A stray dog’s running down the road
Unbound - He’s looking for a friend

Unbound - love can’t live on the dark side of town
The lights smashed out and the shades pulled down
Unbound - maybe now your own life will turn ‘round
‘Cause baby we just held each other down

Coffee in a paper cup
I swirl it ‘round and drink it up
Tonight will see my journey’s end
Pull off from the interstate 
A different kind of road awaits
Unbound I’m starting out again, yeah I’m Unbound 
And ready to begin


Laura’s Song (The Ballad of Laura Bullion)

Daughter of an outlaw
And I led an outlaw’s life
From Abilene to Cody
And across the Great Divide
True love was my treasure
Though I never was a wife
But I will tell my story now to you

Mama barely raised me
Then she left me with her kin
They did the best they could to keep
A restless child from sin
Bound for San Antonio
The red lights reeled me in
And I was no one’s angel anymore

Fannie Porter schooled me 
In the ways of pleasing men
I took up with Will Carver of 
Black Jack Ketchum’s gang
Will died in Sonora
Then I fell for blue-eyed Ben
Yes, I was the Tall Texan’s girl

Running with the Wild Bunch
We robbed the banks and trains
I would hold the horses
‘Til we made a getaway
We hit the Great Northern and
The boys blew up the safe
Sixty thousand dollars was the take

July to November 
Of ‘01 was quite the time
Montana down to Little Rock
On the run and living high
It ended in St. Louis
Where we both were caught and tried
They gave me 5, but Ben got 15 years

Out on good behavior
Seven more years did I pine
I walked the straight and narrow path
While Ben did his hard time
In letters sent from prison he said,
“Laura, please stay mine,
And I will make this up to you someday”

Well Ben had good intentions
But his outlaw ways ran deep
The promise of an honest life
Was one he could not keep
‘Cause nine months after exiting
That penitentiary
Ben died near Dryden, 
Robbing the #9 train

Daughter of an outlaw
And I led an outlaw’s life
But 50 years have passed
Now I’m the last one of their kind
My secrets will die with me
And my name will fade with time
It’s Laura, the Tall Texan’s girl
Laura, the Tall Texan’s girl


Rain

I heard the news come thru this morning
You’re gone, shook off your earthly chains
Blue skies have turned to black
And you ain’t coming back
And sometimes all it does is rain

You carried the heaviest of burdens
Weathered and worn out by the strain
Your bright star faded into black
That light ain’t coming back
And sometimes all it does is rain

It rains like the human condition
Like sorrow, music love & pain
It rains like the darkness on a mission
To shut out any light that might remain

Some people, they just ain't made for livin'
The spirit’s too pure to be sustained
A cavern from a tiny crack
Then there’s no getting back
And sometimes all it does is rain

It rains like the human condition
Like sorrow, life and loss and gain
It rains like the darkness on a mission
To snuff out any light that might remain

A voice as pure as heaven’s angels
A beauty untouched but for her pain
She took the one-way track
That girl ain’t coming back
And sometimes all it does is rain -yeah -
Sometimes all it does is rain
Sometimes all it does --
Is rain


The Days

Thinking back to those early days
Memories as warm as the nights of June and July 
The summer haze
County roads and cityscapes
We laughed till we nearly cried
And loved so hard
I thought that we would break

It was our world, and it was our time
Made all our plans to leave the old behind
Those were our days, those were our days

Maybe it's not our world anymore
It's burning like a house on fire
Hard to keep up the way we did before
But the truth still resonates
The spark in your loving eyes
Clear blue skies
And what feels like fate

This is our world, and these are the times
Taking what’s best, we’ll leave the rest behind
These are the days, these are the days
These are the days, these are the days

It’s a new world, and these are new times
But still there’s two hands, yours and mine
These are the days, these are the days
These are the days, these are the days
The days 
The days


Promised Land

Papa died the 19th of September
They sent us off one month to the day
Me and Lina, with a tattered old brown suitcase
Papa’s portrait tucked inside and safe
From Liverpool in steerage class
Noses pressed to dirty glass
Tossing on the ocean ten long days

Oh Lina, sister take my hand
See the lady with the torch
Could this be the promised land
Oh Lina, she’s reaching out her hand
Shining at us from the shore
Welcome to the promised land
The promised land

Crowded into Minnie’s flat on Broome Street
Lina asks, but I’m too tired to play
‘Cause I’m 14 and working in a factory
Sewing ribbons on for 50 cents a day
Light the candles Friday night
Saturday is clear and bright
Taking Lina on the streetcar to the bay

Oh Lina, sister take my hand
There’s the lady with the torch
We’re living in the promised land
Oh Lina, Liberty she stands 
Shining in our newfound home
Welcome to the promised land, the promised land

She still gives me hope, Lina
For the future, for you and me
‘Cause I still dream of more, Lina
Our lives, unburdened and free

Oh Lina, sister take my hand
There’s the lady with the torch
This could be the promised land
Oh Lina, Liberty she stands 
Shining in our newfound home
Welcome to the promised land, the promised land, the promised land


The Night Visiting Song (traditional)

I must away love, no longer tarry
The morning’s tempest I have to cross
I will be guided without a stumble
Into the arms I love the most

And when he came to his true love’s dwelling
He knelt down gently upon a stone
And thru the window whispered lowly
Is my true lover within at home

She raised her up from her downy pillow
She raised the blanket from off her breast
And thru the windowwhispered lowly
Who’s that disturbing my night’s rest

‘Tis I, ‘tis I love, thine own true lover
Wake up wake up love and let me in
For I am wet love and oh so weary
For I am wet love to the skin

She raised her up with the greatest pleasure
She raised up and she let him in
And they were locked in each other’s arms
Until that long night was past and gone

And when the long night was past and over
And the when the storm clouds began to form
He’s taken her small hand, they kissed and parted
Saddled and mounted away he rode

I must away love, no longer tarry
The morning’s tempest I have to cross
I will be guided without a stumble
Into the arms I love the most

 

Angels Fly

Your photo fell out from a book
An old one I had overlooked
I saw us in our younger days
With “True Love” on the title page

Now Willie’s on the radio
He’s singing what I asked to know
If somewhere you are still ok
Just traveling in a different way

Walk outdoors, gaze at the sky
Birds and planes and
Angels fly

So vividly you laughed and spoke
Still heard your voice as I awoke
Saying, “You can talk to me anytime,
I’m always listening nearby”

How hard it was to reconcile
The man I loved with one reviled
You were not then what you became
But now I know love’s what remains

Walk outdoors, gaze at the sky
Birds and planes and
Angels fly

I look up at the sky
Where birds and planes and 
Angels fly, fly, fly


Shine On

Cast your old cares away at the end of the day
And lay down beside me and close weary eyes
When our work here is done, we will fly to the sun
And shine on forever in light

Sometimes the world feels so heavy
The burden of years as we toil and strive
When luck is not even or steady
Keep your hand on the tiller
And eyes on the prize

Cast your old cares away, at the end of the day
And lay down beside me, and close weary eyes
When our work here is done, we will fly to the sun
And shine on forever in light

Remember my lifetime companion
For better or worse
We have carved out a life
Now love can bridge rivers and canyons
Take my hand and together
We’ll cross this divide

Cast your old cares away, at the end of the day
And lay down beside me and close weary eyes
When our work here is done, we will fly to the sun
And shine on forever in light

Wade into cool waters
Let them wash over you
Take leave of old sorrows
‘Cause those hard times are through
Yes they’re through

Cast your old cares away, at the end of the day
And lay down beside me and close weary eyes
When our work here is done, we will fly to the sun
And shine on forever in light
And shine on forever in light
 

LOUISIANA SKY

by Claudia Gibson

Sixty miles from nowhere
City lights left behind
Just me and the highway
And a Louisiana Sky
Heard the past come a-callin’
Like a voice from up high
Saying, “We all once lived here, 
Under Louisiana skies”

Crossed a bridge over the bayou
Sugar cane grows tall and wide
Plantation cabins down an old gravel road
There’s ghosts in the live oaks
Telling tales from old souls

Blue beads in their pockets
Keepin’ off the evil eye
Couldn’t lift them to freedom
Under Louisiana skies

And on their papers, first names only
Moses, Martha and a child
Life stories left here
In cypress and stone
Once flesh and blood
Now dust and bone

Clouds darkened and swirled down
Lightning crackled and cried
Tears of history were streaming
From the Louisiana sky

Cabins empty and dusty
Voices stilled by the time
Said my prayer to the nameless
And the Louisiana sky
Said, “You won’t be forgotten
Under Louisiana skies”

 

Dreamers by Claudia Gibson

She has walked through desert sands
Huddled down inside a truck
Clutching at her mama’s hand
Both praying for a little luck

Crawling underneath barbed wire
He was barely three years old
Daddy carried him for miles
Not a peep, just like he was told

Dreamers - they have lived here
All their lifetime
In this land they call home
All of their school days
And every friend’s face
All from this place
The only life they’ve known

Growing up between two worlds
Homework, friends and football games
Knowing just one traffic stop
Could leave her life forever changed

Go to college, find a job
Serve your country, make your way
Choices that he cannot make
When it’s a fight just to remain

Dreamers - they have lived here
All their lifetime
This country they call home
All of their school days
And every friend’s face
All from this place
The only lives they’ve known

Foreign to the land where they were born
Could it be the dreams they share
Are big enough for us all?
For us all?

Dreamers - they have lived here
All their lifetime
This country is their home
All of their school days
Every friend’s face
All from this place
The only life they’ve known


STEP BY STEP

RIDING ‘ROUND IN YOUR OLD CAR
WISHING ON AN EVENING STAR
AS IF WISHING MADE THINGS TRUE
SO YOUNG, BUT WE WERE GAME
LEAP OF FAITH TO CHANGE MY NAME
ALL WE HAD WAS ME AND YOU
 
BUT STEP BY STEP, BRICK BY BRICK
LINE BY LINE, STICK BY STICK
DAY BY DAY, BABY YEAH WE BUILT IT UP AND MADE
SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING
ONE BY ONE, TWO BY TWO
TRAVELING ALONE AND MAYBE WITH YOU
DAY AND NIGHT BABY, GONNA BUILD IT UP AND MAKE
A LIFETIME THAT IS SOMETHING, ME AND YOU,
BABY ME AND YOU, IT’S TRUE
 
GOT A JOB, YEAH WE BOTH DID
MADE A HOME AND RAISED OUR KIDS
EVERY PHASE WITHOUT A CLUE
AND EACH TIME WE NEARLY SPLIT
YOU ALWAYS RAISED YOUR GAME A BIT
FINDING WAYS TO MAKE IT NEW
 
STEP BY STEP, BRICK BY BRICK
LINE BY LINE, STICK BY STICK
DAY BY DAY, BABY YEAH WE BUILT IT UP AND MADE
SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING
ONE BY ONE, TWO BY TWO
TRAVELING ALONE AND BABY WITH YOU
DAY AND NIGHT BABY, GONNA BUILD IT UP AND MAKE
A LIFETIME THAT IS SOMETHING, ME AND YOU
BABY ME AND YOU
ME AND YOU, IT’S TRUE

YOU SAID YOU’D MARRY ME SOMEDAY
AND NOW WE’RE LOOKING BACK
I GUESS YOU HAD YOUR WAY

STEP BY STEP, BRICK BY BRICK
LINE BY LINE, STICK BY STICK
DAY BY DAY, BABY YEAH WE BUILT IT UP AND MADE
SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING
ONE BY ONE, TWO BY TWO
TRAVELING ALONE AND BABY WITH YOU
DAY AND NIGHT BABY, GONNA BUILD IT UP AND MAKE
A LIFETIME THAT IS SOMETHING, ME AND YOU
BABY ME AND YOU
ME AND YOU, IT’S TRUE


REAL LOVE 
 
DID THEY FIND REAL LOVE, WERE THE STARS ALIGNED
OR WAS IT JUST CHANCE AND FATE COMBINED
DID THEY FIND REAL LOVE, DID THEY FIND REAL LOVE
IF YOU TOOK ANY GIVEN WOMAN AND MAN
JOINED THEM TOGETHER FOR A WHOLE LIFE SPAN
WOULD THEY FIND REAL LOVE, WOULD THEY FIND REAL LOVE
 
CHORUS:
REAL LOVE -- THE LOVE FOR  A LIFETIME
THAT BENDS AND TWISTS LIKE A VINE
GROWING STRONG AND ENTWINED
REAL LOVE -- THE KIND THAT CAN CARRY THE WEIGHT
TOUGH ENOUGH TO WEATHER THE FATES
A LOVE THAT SURVIVES
 
DID THEY FIND REAL LOVE AS THE STARS GAVE WAY
AND SEE IT SURVIVE INTO THE LIGHT OF DAY
DID THEY FIND REAL LOVE, DID THEY FIND REAL LOVE
WHEN THE CLOUDS TURN BLACK AND THE WINDS BLOW COLD
BUILDING A SHELTER - FOR TO HAVE AND HOLD
WILL THEY FIND REAL LOVE, WILL THEY FIND REAL LOVE
 
CHORUS
 
DID THEY FIND REAL LOVE
WHEN THEIR DAY WAS DONE
LENGTHENING SHADOWS IN THE SETTING SUN
DID THEY FIND REAL LOVE, DID THEY FIND REAL LOVE
WERE THE YEARS THEY SHARED AND THE LIFE THEY MADE
WORTHY OF EVERYTHING THAT THEY BOTH GAVE
DID THEY FIND REAL LOVE, DID THEY FIND REAL LOVE
 
CHORUS
 
DID THEY FIND REAL LOVE, WERE THE STARS ALIGNED
OR WAS IT JUST CHANCE AND FATE COMBINED....
 


CLEVELAND OHIO                                                                               
 
CLEVELAND OHIO IT'S 10AM THURSDAY
CHECKED OUT OF MY MOTEL AND WENT FOR A WALK
THE LAKEFRONT IS QUIET EXCEPT FOR MEN FISHING
THEY STAND ON THE DOCKSIDE, CAST THEIR LINES OUT AND TALK
 
AND HOW AM I LIVING WITHOUT YOU
AND HOW CAN I BE IN THIS WORLD ON MY OWN
DID YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD DOUBT YOU
DID YOU REALLY LEAVE, DID YOU REALLY LEAVE ME ALONE
 
YOUNGSTOWN OHIO, THE STATE LINE BY LUNCHTIME
GRABBED A COFFEE AT THE QUICK MART, FOUND SOME TALK RADIO
THE CALLERS ARE ANGRY, THEY SAY THEY'RE FORGOTTEN
THOUGH MY REASONS ARE DIFFERENT, IT'S A FEELING I KNOW
 
AND HOW CAN I MAKE IT WITHOUT YOU
AND HOW CAN I LIVE IN THIS WORLD ON MY OWN
DID YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD DOUBT YOU
DID YOU REALLY LEAVE, DID YOU REALLY LEAVE ME ALONE
 
ROUTE 80 PA SEEMS TO STRETCH ON FOR DAYS
I COUNT OFF THE SMALL TOWNS AND MILES
WATER GAP INTO JERSEY AND THE SUBURBAN HAZE
BUT THE NEW YORK CITY SKYLINE IS A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES
 
HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, ITS 6PM THURSDAY
PARKED THE CAR BY THE FERRY, AND I BOARDED THAT BOAT
HALFWAY ‘CROSS THE HUDSON, TOOK A BOX FROM MY BACKPACK
I SHOOK OUT YOUR ASHES, WATCHED YOU BLOW OFF AND FLOAT
 
SO HOW AM I LIVING WITHOUT YOU
AND WHY AM I HERE IN THIS WORLD ON MY OWN
NO CHOICE BUT TO GO ON WITHOUT YOU
BUT HOW COULD YOU LEAVE
HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME ALONE

 
END OF DAYS
 
HURRICANES, WILDFIRES
SEEMS LIKE MOTHER NATURE’S RUNNING WILD
IS THIS THE END OF DAYS?
FEELS LIKE THE END OF DAYS
 
RIVER FLOODS, HOUSE IS GONE
LEFT IN MUD JUST TO CARRY ON
IS THIS THE END OF DAYS?
FEELS LIKE THE END OF DAYS
 
PREACHER SAYS, BROTHER, YOU NEED RELIGION
GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AND SEEK A VISION
WIND BLOWING IN LIKE IT’S JUDGEMENT DAY
MAYBE THIS WORLD’S GONNA WASH AWAY
 
TWO BY TWO WAS HIS PLAN
FORTY DAYS TIL THEY HIT THE LAND
WAS IT THE END OF DAYS?
SEEMED LIKE THE END OF DAYS
 
RAINBOW SKY, JOURNEY’S END
SEND ‘EM OUT JUST TO START AGAIN
WAS IT THE END OF DAYS?
SEEMED LIKE THE END OF DAYS
 
FORGET WAITING SISTER, FOR YOUR DELIVERANCE
JUST MAKING A MOVE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
NO USE WORRYING ‘BOUT THE JUDGEMENT DAY
ALL OF THOSE FEARS GONNA FADE AWAY
 
-BREAK-
 
I CAN’T WAIT BABY, ANOTHER MINUTE
GOT TO LIVE THIS LIFE AND ALL THAT’S IN IT
TIME KEEPS TICKING TO THE JUDGEMENT DAY
DON’T WANT THESE YEARS JUST TO WASTE AWAY
 
ARE WE LOST – ME AND YOU?
WHERE IS LOVE? CAN WE MAKE IT THROUGH?
IS THIS OUR END OF DAYS? IS THIS OUR END OF DAYS?
IS THIS OUR END OF DAYS? IS THIS OUR END OF DAYS?
IS THIS THE END OF DAYS? IS IT THE END OF DAYS?


Anthony’s Tune (Song for St. Michael)
Dedicated to the memory of Anthony Yannitelli, and his incandescent smile.
 
It is more than I can bear
To be standing at this grave
And staring at the ashes
Of a child I could not save
‘cause his hair was sand and sunlight
And his smile a river wide
And he lit up incandescent
Every room he stepped inside
 
Chorus:
I can’t tell you what to do
I can’t show you how to be
‘Cause every mother’s child
Walks their own road willingly
I won’t draw you any maps
But I’ve walked some crooked miles
keep a torchlight in your pocket
And St. Michael at your side
 
Another sad reunion
For a friend forever missed
How many more left dangling
In the depths of that abyss
And no words can I offer
To alleviate her pain
A child is brought into this world
And taken back again
 
Chorus 2
I can’t tell you what to do
I can’t show you how to be
‘Cause every mother’s child
Has their own path to be free
I won’t draw you any maps
If you walk that crooked mile
keep a torchlight in your pocket
And St. Michael at your side
 
Verse 3:
St. Michael, if you’re listening
My petition is this song
To cast out every devil
From each place they don’t belong
Relentless quests for pleasure
Deeper thrills and bigger highs
Let love and grace replace them
May this not be compromised
 
Chorus 3
I can’t tell you what to do
I can’t show you how to be
We walk into the fires
Of our demises willingly
I won’t draw you any maps
When you walk that crooked mile
keep a torchlight in your pocket
And St. Michael
keep a torchlight In your pocket
And St. Michael
keep a torchlight In your pocket
And St. Michael at your side


TROUBLE
 
WENT TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY
TO PUT MY SINS BEHIND ME
WHEN I WOKE UP ON MONDAY
THE DEVIL STILL DID FIND ME
 
CHORUS:
I SEEN TROUBLE, TROUBLE ALL MY DAYS
SEEN TROUBLE, TROUBLE ALL MY DAYS
 
TUESDAY BROUGHT ME TRUE LOVE
HE SWORE THERE WAS NO OTHER
WE MARRIED ON A WEDNESDAY
BUT HE WAS A FAITHLESS LOVER
 
CHORUS
 
THURSDAY NIGHT I HIT THE TOWN
THE WHISKEY IT WAS FLOWING
FRIDAY I WAS BUSTED FLAT
AND NO ONE SEEMED TO KNOW ME
 
SATURDAY BROUGHT HELL TO PAY
A HOLE TOO DARK TO MENTION
BY SUNDAY I WAS ON MY KNEES
I WAS BEGGING FOR REDEMPTION
 
I SEEN TROUBLE, TROUBLE ALL MY DAYS
SEEN TROUBLE, TROUBLE ALL MY DAYS
I SEEN TROUBLE, TROUBLE ALL MY DAYS
SEEN TROUBLE, TROUBLE ALL MY DAYS


LOVE’S SWEET AND SHELTERED SLEEP
 
LOVE'S AN ENDLESS JOURNEY THAT WE NAVIGATE BY HEART
SOMETIMES OUR SENSES FAIL US
THEN WE GO BY FAITH THAT WE WONT FALL OR DROWN OR SPLIT APART
WE HOIST OUR TATTERED SAILS UP
 
I WOULD CIRCLE AROUND THIS EARTH
AND WRESTLE THE DEMONS OF THE DEEP
JUST TO LAY DOWN AT YOUR SIDE
IN LOVE’S SWEET AND SHELTERED SLEEP
IN LOVE’S SWEET AND SHELTERED SLEEP
 
LIFE CAN BE A DISTANCE RACE THAT WE ARE RUNNING DEAF AND BLIND
WITHOUT MUCH SENSE OR REASON
FEELING OUT THE RUTS AND HOLES AND TRYING NOT TO LAG BEHIND
WE PUSH ON WITH THE SEASONS
 
I WOULD CRAWL DOWN THAT ENDLESS ROAD
ON BARE SCRAPED HANDS AND BLOODIED KNEES
JUST TO LAY DOWN AT YOUR SIDE
IN LOVE’S SWEET AND SHELTERED SLEEP
IN LOVE’S SWEET AND SHELTERED SLEEP
 
I WOULD LIVE OUT MY LIFE ALONE
IF AT THE END OUR EYES COULD MEET
THEN YOU’D PULL ME CLOSE TO LIE
IN LOVE’S SWEET AND SHELTERED SLEEP
IN LOVE’S SWEET AND SHELTERED SLEEP