The Band Album

I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin' about half past dead
I just need some place where I can lay my head
"Hey, mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed?"
He just grinned and shook my hand, "no" was all he said

Take a load off, Annie
Take a load for free
Take a load off, Annie
And (and) (and) you put the load right on me
(You put the load right on me)

I picked up my bag, I went lookin' for a place to hide
When I saw Carmen and the Devil walkin' side by side
I said, "Hey, Carmen, come on let's go downtown"
She said, "I gotta go but my friend can stick around"

Take a load off, Annie
Take a load for free
Take a load off, Annie
And (and) (and) you put the load right on me
(You put the load right on me)

Go down, Miss Moses, there's nothin' you can say
It's just ol' Luke and Luke's waitin' on the Judgment Day
"Well, Luke, my friend, what about young Anna Lee?"
He said, "Do me a favor, son, won'tcha stay and keep Anna Lee company?"

Take a load off, Annie
Take a load for free
Take a load off, Annie
And (and) (and) you put the load right on me
(You put the load right on me)

Crazy Chester followed me and he caught me in the fog
He said, "I will fix your rack if you'll take Jack, my dog"
I said, "Wait a minute, Chester, you know I'm a peaceful man"
He said, "That's okay, boy, won't you feed him when you can"

Yeah, take a load off, Annie
Take a load for free
Take a load off, Annie
And (and) (and) you put the load right on me
(You put the load right on me)

Catch a cannon ball now to take me down the line
My bag is sinkin' low and I do believe it's time
To get back to Miss Fanny, you know she's the only one
Who sent me here with her regards for everyone

Take a load off, Annie
Take a load for free
Take a load off, Annie
And (and) (and) you put the load right on me
(You put the load right on me)

I know she's a tracker, any scarlet would back her
They say she's a chooser, but I just can't refuse her
She was just there, but then she can't be here no more
And as my mind unweaves, I feel the freeze down in my knees
But just before she leaves, she receives

She's been down in the dunes and she's dealt with the goons
Now she drinks from the bitter cup, I'm trying to get her to give it up
She was just here, I fear she can't be here no more
And as my mind unweaves, I feel the freeze down in my knees
But just before she leaves, she receives

It's long, long when she's gone, I get weary holding on
Now I'm coldly fading fast, I don't think I'm gonna last
Very much longer

"She's stoned" said the Swede, and the moon calf agreed
I'm like a viper in shock with my eyes in the clock
She was just there somewhere and here I am again
And as my mind unweaves, I feel the freeze down in my knees
But just before she leaves, she receives

They say everything can be replaced
They say every distance is not near
So I remember every face
Of every man who put me here

I see my light come shinin'
From the west down to the east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released

They say every man needs protection
They say that every man must fall
Yet I swear I see my reflection
Somewhere so high above this wall

I see my light come shinin'
From the west down to the east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released

Now yonder stands a man in this lonely crowd
A man who swears he's not to blame
All day long I hear him shouting so loud
Just crying out that he was framed

I see my light come shinin'
From the west down to the east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released

Rag Mama rag, I can't believe its true
Rag Mama rag, what did you do?
I crawled up to the railroad track
Let the 4:19 scratch my back

Sag Mama sag, what's come over you
Rag Mama rag, I'm pullin' out your gag
Gonna turn you loose like an old caboose
Got a tail I need to drag
I ask about your turtle
And you ask about the weather
I can't jump a hurdle and
We can't get together
We could be relaxin'
In my sleepin' bag
But all you want to do for me, Mama, is

Rag Mama rag, there's no where to go
Rag mama rag, come on, rosin up the bow

Rag Mama rag, where do you roam
Rag Mama rag, bring your skinny little body back home
It's dog eat dog and cat eat mouse
You can rag Mama rag all over my house

Hailstones beatin' on the roof
The bourbon is a hundred proof
And you and me and the telephone
Our destiny is quite well known
We don't need to sit and brag
All we gotta do is rag, Mama, rag, Mama, rag

Rag Mama rag, where do you roam
Rag Mama rag, bring your skinny little body back home

Virgil Kane is the name
And I served on the Danville train
'Till Stoneman's cavalry came
And tore up the tracks again

In the winter of '65
We were hungry, just barely alive
By May the 10th, Richmond had fell
It's a time I remember, oh so well

The night they drove old Dixie down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the people were singing
They went, "Na, na, la, na, na, la"

Back with my wife in Tennessee
When one day she called to me
"Virgil, quick, come see,
There goes Robert E. Lee!"

Now, I don't mind chopping wood
And I don't care if the money's no good
You take what you need
And you leave the rest
But they should never
Have taken the very best

The night they drove old Dixie down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singing
They went, "Na, na, la, na, na, la"

Like my father before me
I will work the land
And like my brother above me
Who took a rebel stand

He was just 18, proud and brave
But a Yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the mud below my feet
You can't raise a Kane back up
When he's in defeat

The night they drove old Dixie down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singing
They went, "Na, na, la, na, na, la"

The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the people were singing
They went, "Na, na, la, na, na, la"

When I get off of this mountain, you know where I want to go?
Straight down the Mississippi river, to the Gulf of Mexico
To Lake Charles, Louisiana, little Bessie, girl that I once knew
She told me just to come on by, if there's anything she could do

Up on Cripple Creek she sends me
If I spring a leak she mends me
I don't have to speak, she defends me
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one

Good luck had just stung me, to the race track I did go
She bet on one horse to win and I bet on another to show
The odds were in my favor, I had 'em five to one
When that nag to win came around the track, sure enough she had won

Up on Cripple Creek she sends me
If I spring a leak she mends me
I don't have to speak, she defends me
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one

I took up all of my winnings, and I gave my little Bessie half
She tore it up and threw it in my face, just for a laugh
Now there's one thing in the whole wide world, I sure would like to see
That's when that little love of mine, dips her doughnut in my tea

Up on Cripple Creek she sends me
If I spring a leak she mends me
I don't have to speak, she defends me
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one

Now me and my mate were back at the shack, we had Spike Jones on the box
She said, "I can't take the way he sings, but I love to hear him talk"
Now that just gave my heart a throb, to the bottom of my feet
And I swore as I took another pull, my Bessie can't be beat

Up on Cripple Creek she sends me
If I spring a leak she mends me
I don't have to speak, she defends me
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one

Now there's a flood out in California and up north it's freezing cold
And this living on the road is getting pretty old
So I guess I'll call up my big mama, tell her I'll be rolling in
But you know, deep down, I'm kind of tempted to go and see my Bessie again

Up on Cripple Creek she sends me
If I spring a leak she mends me
I don't have to speak, she defends me
A drunkard's dream if I ever did see one

Corn in the fields.
Listen to the rice when the wind blows 'cross the water,
King Harvest has surely come

I work for the union 'cause she's so good to me;
And I'm bound to come out on top,
That's where she said I should be
I will hear every word the boss may say,
For he's the one who hands me down my pay
Looks like this time I'm gonna get to stay,
I'm a union man, now, all the way

The smell of the leaves,
From the magnolia trees in the meadow,
King Harvest has surely come

A dry summer, and then come fall,
Which I depend on most of all
Hey, rainmaker, can't you hear the call?
Please let these crops grow tall!
Long enough I've been up on Skid Row
And it's plain to see, I've nothin' to show
I'm glad to pay those union dues,
Just don't judge me by my shoes

A scarecrow in a yellow moon,
Pretty soon, the carnival on the edge of town,
King Harvest has surely come

Last year, this time, wasn't no joke,
My whole barn went up in smoke
My horse Jethro, well, he went mad
And I can't ever remember things bein' that bad
Now here comes a man with a paper and pen
Tellin' us our hard times are about to end
And then, if they don't give us what we like
He said, "Men, that's when you gotta go on strike!"

Corn in the fields
Listen to the rice when the wind blows 'cross the water,
King Harvest has surely come

Now deep in the heart of a lonely kid
Who suffered so much for what he did
They gave this ploughboy his fortune and fame
Since that day he ain't been the same

See the man with the stage fright
Just standin' up there to give it all his might
And he got caught in the spotlight
But when we get to the end
He wants to start all over again

I've got fire water right on my breath
And the doctor warned me I might catch a death
Said, "You can make it in your disguise
Just never show the fear that's in your eyes"

See the man with the stage fright
Just standin' up there to give it all his might
He got caught in the spotlight
But when we get to the end
He wants to start all over again

Now if he says that he's afraid
Take him at his word
And for the price that the poor boy has paid
He gets to sing just like a bird, oh, ooh ooh ooh

Your brow is sweatin' and your mouth gets dry
Fancy people go driftin' by
The moment of truth is right at hand
Just one more nightmare you can stand

See the man with the stage fright
Just standin' up there to give it all his might
And he got caught in the spotlight
But when we get to the end
He wants to start all over again, hmm hmm
You wanna try it once again, hmm hmm
Please don't make him stop, hmm hmm
Let him take it from the top, hmm hmm
Let him start all over again

Go out yonder, peace in the valley
Come downtown, have to rumble in the alley
Oh, you don't know the shape I'm in

Has anybody seen my lady?
This living alone will drive me crazy
Oh, you don't know the shape I'm in

I'm gonna go down by the water
But I ain't gonna jump in, no, no
I'll just be looking for my neighbor
And I hear that's where she's been? Oh!

Out of nine lives, I spent seven
Now, how in the world do you get to Heaven?
Oh, you don't know the shape I'm in

I just spent 60 days in the jailhouse
For the crime of having no dough
Now here I am back out on the street
For the crime of having nowhere to go

Save your neck or save your brother
Looks like it's one or the other
Oh, you don't know the shape I'm in

Now two young kids might start a ruckus
You know they feel you trying to shuck us
Oh, you don't know the shape I'm in

Daniel, Daniel and the sacred harp
Dancing through the clover
Daniel, Daniel would you mind
If I look it over

I heard of this famous harp years ago back in my home town
But I sure never thought old Daniel be the one to come and bring it around
Tell me Daniel how the harp came into your posession
Are you one of the chosen few who will march in the the procession?
And Daniel said

The sacred harp was handed down, from father unto son
And me not being related, I could never be the one
So I saved up all my silver, and took it to a man
Who said he could deliver the harp, straight into my hand

Three years I waited patiently
'Till he returned with the harp from the sea of Galilee
He said there is one more thing I must ask
But not of personal greed
But I wouldn't listen I just grabbed the harp
And said take what you may need

Now Daniel looked quite satisfied, and the harp it seemed to glow
But the price that Daniel had really paid, he did not even know
Back to his brother he took his troubled mind
And he said dear brother I'm in a bind
But the brother would not hear his tale
He said Old Daniel's gonna land in jail
So to his father Daniel did run
And he said oh father what have I done
His father said son you've given in, you know you won your harp
But you lost in sin.

Then Daniel took the harp and went high on the hill
And he blew across the meadow like a whippoorwhill
He played out his heart just the time to pass
But as he looked to the ground, he noticed no shadow did he cast