lyrics
Gitche Gumee
i’d woolen attire, head to feet
madness left behind, Twin Cities
if only for if only a week
as a boy’s intended to be
the kingdom of my youth is the north shore in autumn time
orange painted the leafs, october
bonfire upon the pebbled shores
paddle in the morn a birch canoe
beckoning the lone calling loon
the kingdom of my youth is the north shore in autumn time
my lady of the lake a child’s life you’ve shaped
love for the wild places
gitche gumee
gitche gumee
~~~~~~
Better with a Buddy
i keep candles and wine in the cellar neath by kitchen floor
and i have 12 croquet mallets but only one of them is worn
i’d share it all with you, just to have a buddy
to Spain, France, and Italy i went, alone
crossed the shamrock shore and sliced the last frontier in half
left my Minnesotan town and headed for the west and only once did I look back
Solitude is fine, as is a buddy
down on a knee i have sung for the queen with the entirety of her court, attentive
i’ve played the streets to a river of bodies, to the rushing of the people in the night
i’d trade a 1000 passerby's for a single buddy
it seems as though the older we grow we understand what we like and what we don’t
and knowing that i’m young and i’ve many a day to come
still i’m happy to speak of my discoveries
that a life is a more better with a buddy..
~~~~~~~
Kandinksy
“all the world’s amalgamated with flecks of color and super natural floating landscapes set before your roving eyes and picture boards: golden ages, castle people, a pauper life and a priest uniting, sitting down at your kitchen table, the social classes clash no more
after all you know there will never be anything as lovely as the way you paint your child’s face
all the work i’ve ever made is my attempt to finally escape intellectual chaperones and paint from a place where no one goes”
he says “pointillistic manners overtly speak in a cryptic language both vague and subtle yet somehow we do understand, yet somehow we do understand
after all you know there will never be anything as lovely as the way you paint your child’s face
~~~~~~~
Son
i know your story and how it haunts you everyday
just as a schoolboy you roam the halls for your great escape
poor retched creature chanting out against the night
what care dost thou retain in the madness of your heart?
so speak wanderer, what harbors you here?
“it’s the rustling of the reeds
the fulfillment in a service or a duty
a warm september breeze
the occasional lilt of a minstrel boy
oh the simple joys that fill the honest hearts of honest boys”
don’t you wanna make her proud?
don’t you wanna make her proud?
don’t you every mother’s son with all the life you’ve been given?
don’t you wanna make mom proud?
don’t you wanna make him proud?
don’t you wanna make him proud?
don’t you every father’s son yearn his validation?
don’t you wanna make dad proud?
peace on every mother’s son
may he always know kindness and union
peace on every father’s son
may the dreams of his youth be forever sung
~~~~~~~~
The Wild & the Untamed
finally your hair was hanging low, low and braided days ago
i found you hid neath the hay, there we remained til the dawning of day…
she said, “you will never be my burly man, instead a ballerina dance throughout the kitchen lacking pants and still i will forever love this man”
all i can offer is who i am
enchant the world perceived untamed and wildly as children do
and do it often please..
up until the furthest edge of night, a naughty poem to write then recite
there i do stand lengthy and light and still you will forever love me, right?
all i can offer is who i am
enchant the world perceived untamed and wildly as children do
and do it often please..
i would never ask of you to re-arrange your attributes
claim your own and call it mutiny
all I can offer is who I am
enchant the world perceived untamed and wildly as children do
and do it often please..
~~~~~~~
The Jolly Road
take the road through Cambridge town
past the miller and his creek
meet me where the two roads twine
in a golden field of wheat
in brotherhood this life we’ll wend
over fallow and field
we’ll speak not a word but we’ll sing each verse
to attain a lighter load
to adhere The Jolly Road
see that I stay good and true
as you’ve known me to be
see that I still keep my song among the rowdy and free
still the dividing line ponder I from time to time
where the fool and prophet is defined
must a man who follows his dream grow mad?
ring around the rowan tree with keen eyes and clever feet
where art thine trusty tarnished compass rose
even The Jolly Road at times through tangled wood may wind
~~~~~~~~
Shenandoah
oh Shenandoah I long to hear you, I long to feel you
oh missouri is a mighty river
far away you rolling river
with natives camped along her boarder
away we’re bound away across the wide missouri
yes a white man he loved a native maiden
far away you rolling river
with notions his canoe was laden
away we’re bound away across the wide missouri
oh Shenandoah i love your daughter
far away you rolling river
for her i would cross the open water
away we’re bound away across the wide missouri
oh Shenandoah i’m bound to leave you
far away you rolling river
oh Shenandoah i won’t deceive you
away we’re bound away across the wide missouri
even today why do we meddle?
spilling blood of red and white people
and why can’t I wed my own true love?
away we’re bound away across the wide missouri