1. |
RAGTIME SHOELESS JOHN
03:53
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Out in Colorado where the bold men are
and the only friend to guide you is an evening star
the roughest, toughest man by far
is Ragtime Shoeless John!
Got his name from singin' to the cows and sheep
every night they say he sings the herd to sleep
in a basso rich and deep
croonin' 'til the dawn
He always sings
raggedy music to the cattle as he swings
back and forward in his saddle on his horse (pretty good horse!)
who is syncopated-gaited
and there's such a funny meter
to the roar of his repeater
How they run
when they hear that fellow's gun
is when the Western folk get gone
'cause he's a high-falutin, rootin'-tootin',
son of a gun from Colorado
Ragtime Shoeless John!
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2. |
TUMBLING TUMBLEWEEDS
03:22
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See them tumbling down
pledging their love to the ground
lonely but free I'll be found
drifting along with the Tumbling Tumbleweeds
Cares of the past are behind
nowhere to go, but I'll find
just where the path will wind
drifting along with the Tumbling Tumbleweeds
I know when night is gone
that a new world's born at dawn
I'll keep rolling along
deep in my heart is a song
here on the range I belong
drifting along with the Tumbling Tumbleweeds
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3. |
YOUR CHEATIN' SUNSHINE
03:24
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You are my heart, will make you sunshine
You make me cry and try to grey
You'll never come the whole night love you
Please don't heart will tell on you
Your cheatin' sunshine, my only weep
You'll cry and happy when skies are sleep
But sleep won't know, dear, how much I through
Your cheatin' take my sunshine away
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4. |
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In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans
[Chorus:]
We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin'
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago
We fired once more and they began to runnin'
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
We looked down the river and we seed the British come
And there must have been a hundred of 'em beatin' on the drum
They stepped so high and they made the bugles ring
We stood by our cotton bales and didn't say a thing
[Chorus]
Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise
If we didn't fire our muskets 'til we looked 'em in the eye
We held our fire 'til we seed their faces well
Then we opened up with squirrel guns and really gave 'em ... well
[Chorus]
Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
They ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round
We filled his head with cannon balls and powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind
[Chorus]
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5. |
COOL, CLEAR WATER
04:25
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All day I've faced
the barren waste
without a taste
of water: cool, clear water.
Old Dan and I
with throats burned dry
and souls that sigh
for water: cool, clear water.
The shadows sway
and seem to say
tonight we pray
for water: cool, clear water.
And way up there
he'll hear our prayer
and show us where
there's water: cool, clear water.
The nights are cool
and I'm a fool:
each star's a pool
of water: cool, clear water.
And with the dawn
I'll wake and yawn
and carry on
for water: cool, clear water.
Keep a-moving, Dan
Don't you listen to him, Dan:
he's a devil, not a man
and he spreads the burning sands
with water: cool, clear water.
Say, Dan, can't you see
that big green tree
it's waiting there for you and me
and water: cool, clear water.
Dan's feet are sore
he's yearning for
just one thing more
than water: cool, clear water.
Like me I guess
he'd like to rest
where there's no quest
for water: cool, clear water.
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6. |
RING OF FIRE
04:43
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Love is a burning thing
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell in a ring of fire
The taste of love is sweet
When hearts like ours meet
I fell for you like a child
Oh, but the fire went wild
I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down and the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns, that ring of fire
That ring of fire
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7. |
GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY
04:40
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An old cowpoke went ridin' out one dark and windy day
Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way
When all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he saw
A-plowing through the ragged sky and up a cloudy draw
Their hooves were made of iron and their horns were made of steel
Their brands were still on fire and their hot breath he could feel
A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky
For he saw the Riders comin' hard and heard their mournful cry
Yippie ki oh
Yippie ki yay
Ghost Riders in the Sky
Their faces gaunt, their eyes were blurred, their shirts were soaked with sweat
They're ridin' hard to catch that herd, but they ain't caught 'em yet
'Cause they've got to ride forever on that range up in the sky
On horses snorting fire
As they ride on, hear their cry
Yippie ki oh
Yippie ki yay
Ghost Riders in the Sky
As the riders loped on by him, he heard one call his name:
"If you want to save your soul from hell a-ridin' on our range
Then cowboy, change your ways today or with us you will ride
Tryin' to catch the Devil's herd across these endless skies!"
Yippie ki oh
Yippie ki yay
Ghost Riders in the Sky
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8. |
DEAR DOCTOR
03:38
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Oh help me, please doctor, I'm damaged
There's a pain where there once was a heart
It's sleepin, it's a-beatin'
Won't you please tear it out, and preserve it
Right there in that jar?
Oh help me, please mama, I'm sickening
It's today that's the day of the plunge
Oh the gal I'm to marry
Is a bow-legged sow
I've been soakin' up drink like a sponge
"Don't you worry, get dressed," cried my mother
As she plied me with bourbon so sour
"Pull your socks up, put your suit on
Comb your long hair down,
For you will be wed in the hour."
I was tremblin' as I put on my jacket
It had creases as sharp as a knife
I put the ring in my pocket
But there was a note
And my heart it jumped into my mouth
It read, "Darlin', I'm sorry to hurt you.
But I have no courage to speak to your face.
But I'm down in Virginia with your cousin Lou
There be no wedding today."
So help me, please doctor, I'm damaged
You can put back my heart in its hole
Oh mama, I'm cryin'
Tears of relief
And my pulse is now under control
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Tom Ross Colorado Springs, Colorado
Music, art, poetry spoken here!
As E Dickinson says:
Nature is what we know
but have no art to say
so impotent our wisdom is
to her simplicity
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