Johnny Cash - Before My Time

I know that hearts were loving
Long before I was here
And I'm not the first to ever cry
In my bed or in my beer
There were songs before there was radio
Of love that stays and love that goes
They were writing meloncholy tunes
And tearful words that rhyme
Before my time
Before my time

There were songs in old dusty books
Of love thats always been
Sweet lovers in their glory
Who are now gone with the wind
Old fashion love words spoken then
Keep coming back around again
Nothings changed except the names
Their love burns just like mine
Before my time
Before my time

And in the dim of yesterday
I can clearly see
That flesh and blood cried out to someone
As it does in me
And there was some old song that said
I love you 'til I die
Before my time
Before my time

But what the old time masters had
Is what I feel for you
Love is love and doesn't change
In a century or two
If someway they had seen and knew
How it would be for me and you
They'd wish for love like yours
And they would wish for love like mine
Before my time
Before my time

Bob Dylan - I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine

I dreamed I saw St. Augustine,
Alive as you or me,
Tearing through these quarters
In the utmost misery,
With a blanket underneath his arm
And a coat of solid gold,
Searching for the very souls
Whom already have been sold.

Arise, arise, he cried so loud,
In a voice without restraint,
Come out, ye gifted kings and queens
And hear my sad complaint.
No martyr is among ye now
Whom you can call your own,
So go on your way accordingly
But know you're not alone.

I dreamed I saw St. Augustine,
Alive with fiery breath,
And I dreamed I was amongst the ones
That put him out to death.
Oh, I awoke in anger,
So alone and terrified,
I put my fingers against the glass
And bowed my head and cried.

Townes Van Zandt - For The Sake Of The Song

Why does she sing
her sad songs for me,
I'm not the one
to tenderly bring
her soft sympathy
I've just begun
to see my way clear
and it's plain,
if I stop I will fall
I can lay down a tear
for her pain,
just a tear and that's all.


What does she want me to do?
she says that she knows
that moments are rare
I suppose that it's true
then on she goes
to say I don't care,
and she knows
that I do


Maybe she just has to sing, for the sake of the song
and who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong.


She'd like to think that I'm cruel,
but she knows that's a lie
for I would be
no more than a tool
if I allowed her to cry
all over me.


Oh my sorrow is real
even though
I can't change my plan
If she could see how I feel
then I know
that she'd understand


Oh does she actually think I'm to blame?
Does she really believe
that some word of mine
can relieve
all her pain?
Can't she see that she grieves
just because she's been blindly deceived
by her shame?


Nothin's what it seems,
maybe she'll start someday
to realize
If she abandons her dreams,
then all the words she can say
are only lies
when will she see
that to gain
is only to lose?
All that she offers me
are her chains,
I got to refuse


Oh but it's only to herself that she's lied
she likes to pretend
it's something that she must defend,
with her pride
and I don't intend
to stand her and be the friend
from whom she must hide

Maybe she just has to sing for the sake of the song
Who do I think that I am to decide that she's wrong.

Townes Van Zandt - St. John The Gambler

When she had twenty years she turned to her mother
saying Mother, I know that you'll grieve
but I've given my soul to St John the gambler
tomorrow comes time to leave
for the hills cannot hold back my sorrow forever
and dead men lay deep 'round the door
the only salvation thats mine for the asking
so mother, think on me no more


Winter held high round the mountains breast
and the cold of a thousand snows
lay heaped upon the forests leaf
but she dressed in calico
for a gambler likes his women fancy
fancy she would be
and the fire of her longing would keep way the cold
and her dress was a sight to see


But the road was long beneath the feet
she followed her frozen breath
in search of a certain St John the gambler
stumbling to her death
she heard his laughter right down from the mountains
and danced with her mothers tears
to a funeral drawn a calico
'neath the cross of twenty years


To a funeral drawn a calico
'neath the cross of twenty years

The Dubliners - On Raglan Road

On Raglan Road of an Autumn day,
I saw her first and knew
That her dark hair would weave a snare
That I might one day rue.
I saw the danger and i passed
Along the enchanted way
And I said let grief be a fallen leaf
At the dawning of the day.

On Grafton Street in November,
We tripped lightly along the ledge
Of a deep ravine where can be seen
The worst of passions pledged.
The Queen of Hearts still making tarts
And I not making hay,
Oh I loved too much; and such by such
Is happiness thrown away.

I gave her the gifts of the mind.
I gave her the secret sign
That's known to the artists who have
Known true gods of sound and stone.
With word and tint I did not stint.
I gave her poems to say
With her own name there and her own dark hair
Like the clouds over fields of may.

On a quiet street where old ghosts meet,
I see her walking now away from me,
So hurriedly. my reason must allow,
That I have loved, not as I should
A creature made of clay.
When the angel woos the clay, he'll lose
His wings at the dawn of the day.