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Writers Block
The Only Way We Know
The Lesson
Paul & Me
Friends You Love the Most
Passions Rainbow
Paper War
The Last Rail
Do You Know Love
Always Have Always Will
Here's To You Rounders
Christmas in the Trenches
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following sound clipsOther Releases:
PLAY
I lay on a hill at the side of a meadow
Waiting for lightning to strike from above
To be cut by the sword of devine inspiration
Cut by the sword of the angel of love
Far from the bar rooms away from the stages
Apart from the push and the shove
And there all alone with my quill and my paper
This old wooden box and strings made of steel
Fumbling numbly a scratcher and scraper
I endeavor in vainly to describe how I feel
An emotion invoking creative vocation
But which of my feelings is real
And just when I think it's all perfectly clear
Something inside me says stop
This is the worst thing you've written in years
It's better to live with a permanent block
Return to confusion and fluid illusion
Beginning again at the top
I lay on a hill at the side of a meadow
Waiting for lightning to strike from above
To be cut by the sword of divine inspiration
Cut by the sword of the angel of love
And still I am waiting, patiently waiting
I wait for the angel of love
PLAY
My river flows eternal
Rolling westward to the sea
And someday I will get there
If you leave the course to me
I'll soothe you in my waters
Till it's time for me to go
And I'll leave you as a lover
The only way I know
And Jesus was a troubadour
Who sang a different song
The holy Roman Legion tried to tell Him
He was wrong
They said love is not the answer
If you stop we'll let you go
And Jesus said I'll die instead
For the only way I know
We are so very human
You can cut me and I'll bleed
I'll hold you in these human arms
If proof is what you need
You can curse me, it won't hurt me
Or at least it will not show
Come tomorrow I'll forgive you
The only way I know
I thought I heard some harmony
While rolling down the line
I turned around and you were there
Your heart looked just like mine
So if you want this chance to love
Then please come tell me so
We'll live today forever and ever
The only way we know
We are so very human
You can cut me and I'll bleed
I'll hold you in these human arms
If proof is what you need
You can curse me, it won't hurt me
Or at least it will not show
Come tomorrow I'll forgive you
The only way I know
PLAY
Well, you come home to me crying
Cause little Johnny punched your nose
Claspered in your trembling hands
Fearing that the swelling shows
And you swear you didn't start it
And that Johnny is such a brute
And you hit me with those big sad eyes
Trying hard to be so cute
CHORUS
So why don't you just run along
If it's sympathy you seek
I heard that you done Johnny wrong
And he didn't turn the other cheek
You gotta stand behind the things you've done
And you can grow from there
I'm not trying to hurt you son
I'm only trying to show you that I care
I'm your father and your mother
And you're my only son
But I can not stand up for you
If it's evil that you've done
And I don't know who is right or wrong
Or which of you is worse
The fact that Johnny hit you back
Or the chance you hit him first
CHORUS
Well I could go to Johnny's house
And punch out his old man
And scare the hell out of the kid
The whole world knows I can
But that would leave me feeling bad
And sad it's very true
'Cause that would mean that I haven't learned
What I'm trying to teach to you
CHORUS
PLAY
Paul and me were childhood friends
A small but happy pair
And the world was at our fingertips
To conquer and to share
Games of war we fought the Huns
With wooden swords and BB guns
We always had them on the run
Paul and me
He taught me how to play guitar
To sing on even key
And I taught him how to tune his car
To perfect harmony
High school proms and beauty queens
Were well within our wayward means
And long haired girls in old blue jeans
For Paul and me
We found ourselves two ladies fair
And lord we loved them so
Paul became a married man
But mine would tell me no
I got a letter the other day
From his loving wife who had to say
That their baby child was on the way
And she signed it with a P.S.
Oh come on out and see us
Because we love you
Paul and me...
PLAY
David is a flower child
Who never has become of age
He's a writer and a reader
Who never tried to turn the page
And he tours the world in his old green van
Plays a mean guitar
He makes his way the best he can
And I wonder David where you are
CHORUS
Raise your glass pose a toast
To the friends you love the most
Though they're not around to share the brew
You love them all as they love you
Jackie works for IBM
He found a lady and settled down
Sells his time from nine to five
He doesn't want to move around
So he bought a house in San Jose
And as far as I can tell
He's looking forward to every day
And I hear he's doing well
CHORUS
Helen was my hometown girl
When she moved to Boston for her career
I called her on the telephone
She said why don't you see me here
Well, you won't believe the things I do
I'm working night and day
But I often stop and think of you
And those pretty songs you play
CHORUS
For those of you around me now
Well, I hope you have a friend to share
This old place has lots of room
So move on over, grab a chair
We can talk about the friends we know
Who are scattered shore to shore
And you can let your feelings go
Cause that's what friends are for
CHORUS
PLAY
You come in like a cyclone
The air's electric, you can feel the sound
I hear the static on my phone
I see the lightning flashing all around, all around
I feel the leaves start to quiver
Turning up a cup to the sky
It's going to come like a river
And I'll be there to catch it when you cloud up and cry
And we're
CHORUS
Riding on passions rainbow
Bending down to caress the sea
Gliding on passions rainbow
Bending down over me
Baby what does it matter
You can't do nothing 'bout it anyway
Just be thankful when you hear that splatter
Don't let someone else's rain spoil your day
CHORUS
So what if it runs your mascara
Take a walk through the forest, steamy and warm
To touch the flora and the fauna and terra
And we'll make love in the sunshine after the storm
And we're
CHORUS
Don't be afraid to get wet
You'll never regret the feeling
Ain't no big secret to hide
Like a roll in the tide with not a cloud in the sky
And we're
CHORUS
PLAY
CHORUS
I'm not gonna fight your paper war
I'm not gonna fight your paper war
You'll meet your demise by the children you bore
There not gonna fight your paper war
It's quiet in the concrete canyon land
Not a sign of the battle close at hand
Listen to the silence of the calculators roar
The weapons of the paper war
The troops are trained in universities
Enlisted by the system to do with what they please
The accountants and assessors and power brokers are the whores
For the generals who command the paper war
CHORUS
Parents pushed to the parting of the ways
The vulture lawyers swoop in and the loser always pays
Property is sacred and the children, they're ignored
The casualties of the paper war
It'll probably be too late but you will see
On the day that they devalue your precious currency
Man, I'm telling you now you've no idea what's in store
When they drop the atom bomb of the paper war
CHORUS
The pen can not defend itself against the angry hoard
There not gonna fight your paper war
And I'll live in a shack with dirt for a floor
But I won't die in your paper war
PLAY
Listen to the lonely whistle moan
Coming to the trestle 7 miles from home
The last of the iron ladies has run her final spur
I'm not one for wishing but I'm glad I'm not her
The romance with the rails has long since died
And now this proud old engines on her last ride
They'll put her in some museum
A testimony to there kind
But if they really opened up there eyes I think they'd find
CHORUS
That it's not what you feel
It's how you feel it
If I could fit it down my pants you know I think I'd steal it
And it's not how you honor them that keeps there soul alive
It's helping with there struggle to survive
Listen to the lonely whistle moan
Sitting on your back porch all alone
The sound of those 8 wheelers has long since passed us by
Progress is progress and sometimes I can't deny
CHORUS
Freight yards deserted dawn to dusk
Box cars sit and the rails they begin to rust
It's a distant fading empire succumb to the mighty buck
And a handful wants to save it now and I wish you lots of luck
CHORUS
PLAY
You can't see what I'm going through
Can't you see what I'm telling you is true
Could it be that you know love at all
All the times we've talked about breaking up
All our feelings shuffling and shaking up
Do you think that you know love at all
Even though we've grown apart in every way
Trying hard to save what we had yesterday
You can take all the love that I'm giving you
Look with your heart and you'll see the right thing to do
It would be easy if you knew love at all
If you knew love at all
If you knew love at all
PLAY
If we've lived our lives in other times
Then we must have loved before
I could have been your Johnny Reb
And lost you in the war
I held you in my trembling arms
As Sherman took the hill
And in that moment I loved you forever
Always have ... always will
I could have been a Centurion
The sword still fits my hand
I could have been a Ceaser
And the leader of the land
I surely was a Christian
When the lions came to kill
And in that moment I loved you forever
Always have ... always will
The love we shared in our time together
Was a day in a lifetime that lives forever
It was love you could not always see
Though it always was and will always be
We could have been sod busters
On the North Dakota plain
The house we built had earthen floors
And the roof leaked when it rained
And you gave to me a summer child
Who I remember still
And in that moment I loved you forever
Always have ... always will
There's a siren that a pilot hears
When the ship is going down
You can see your life behind the tears
As you tailspin to the ground
I was headed in for Camron Bay
The siren loud and shrill
And in that moment I loved you forever
Always have ... always will
The love we shared in our time together
Was a day in a lifetime that lives forever
It was love you could not always see
Though it always was and will always be
I feel a trembling in my hand
As my faithful pen bleeds dry
My eyes are red and misty
And I think we both know why
So I'll have to let you go for now
I've got this pen to fill
But from this moment I will love you forever
Always have ... always will
BONUS TRACKS
I never knew my grandad, he was always on the bum
Every September he'd grab him a south bound and he'd ride
Then along about Christmas me and my brothers, we'd get us some coins in the mail
We couldn't spend 'em but it was all he could send from the Mexico City jail
Back in the 30's when the going got hard old grandad, he hit the road
My mama was young then and she could only remember his name
So granny took work in the old canning factory and she took in some wash on the side
She promised herself, she would never forgive him, it was a promise she kept 'til she died
CHORUS
So here's to you rounders and here's to you rebel bums
Hope that you make it home soon
And here's to the women who married for love
Then lived with the man in the moon
One time near the end, he rode into town, he was riding on the Grayhound line
I suppose he got old and those box cars got harder to climb
And he dropped his last dime on a call to my grandma but no was her only reply
Then she hung up the phone, cursed him in German but I could see the pain in her eyes
CHORUS
I never knew my grandad, he was always on the bum
The salvation army sent us a note when he died
Now me and my brothers live with the memory of a face that we never did see
Like an old foreign coin stuck deep in the pocket of a young boy's faded blue jeans
CHORUS
My name is Francis Toliver and I come from Liverpool
Two years ago the war was waiting for me after school
To Belgium and to Flanders to Germany to here
I fought for king and country I love dear
T'was Christmas in the trenches where the frost so bitter hung
The frozen fields of France were still no Christmas song was sung
Our families back in England were toasting us that day
There brave and glorious lads so far away
I was lying with my mess mate on the cold and rocky ground
When across the lines of battle came a most peculiar sound
Says I, "Now listen up me boys," each solder strained to hear
As one young German voice sang out so clear
"He's singing bloody well you know," my partner said to me
Soon one by one each German voice joined in harmony
The cannons rested silent the gas clouds rolled no more
As Christmas brought us respite from the war
As soon as they were finished and a reverent pause was spent
God Rest Ye Merry Gentle Men struck up some lads from Kent
The next they sang was Stille Nacht "'tis Silent Night," says I
And in two tongues one song filled up that sky
"There's something coming toward us," the front line sentry cried
All sights were fixed on one long figure trudging from their side
His truce flag like a Christmas star shone on that plain so bright
As he bravely strode unarmed into the night
Then one by one on either side walked into no man's land
With neither gun nor bayonet we met there hand to hand
We shared some secret brandy and wished each other well
And in a flare lit soccer game we gave 'em hell
We traded chocolates, cigarettes, and photographs from home
These sons and fathers far away from families of their own
Young Sanders played his squeeze box, they had a violin
This curious and unlikely band of men
Soon daylight stole upon us and France was France once more With sad farewells we
each began to settle back to war But the question haunted every heart who lived that
wondrous night "Who's family have I fixed within my sights?" T'was Christmas in
the trenches where the frost so bitter hung
The frozen fields of France were warmed as songs of peace were sung
For the walls they'd kept between us to exact the work of war
Had crumbled and were gone forever more
My name is Frances Toliver and in Liverpool I dwell
Each Christmas come since World War I, I've learned its lessons well
That the ones who call the shots won't be among the dead and lame
And on each end of the rifle we're the same
Other Releases:
CREDITS
Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to do this album.
This album is dedicated to the memory of David "Doc" Adams
Will Hoppey
©"Writers Block, Passions Rainbow, Paper War, The Last Rail
Will Hoppey and Lenny Hayden
©Do You Know Love
Stu Kabak
© The Only Way We Know, The Lesson, Paul and Me, Friends You Love
the Most, Bag-O-Cats Music BMI.
Always Have Always Will (© Alleghenty Music BMI/Bag-O-Cats
Music).
Donald Lange
Here's to You Rounders ©
Barking Spider Music BMI
John McCutcheon
Christmas in the Trenches ©
Appalsongs ASCAP
© p. 1995 Bag-O-Cats Music BMI. All rights
reserved.