Townes Van Zandt Album

When the wind don't blow in amarillo
And the moon along the gunnison don't rise
Shall I cast my dreams upon your love, babe
And lie beneath the laughter of your eyes

It's snowin' on raton
Come morning I'll be through them hills and gone

Mother thinks the road is long and lonely
Little brother thinks the road is straight and fine


Little darling thinks the road is soft and lovely
I'm thankful that old road is a friend of mine

Bid the years good-bye you cannot still them
You cannot turn the circles of the sun
You cannot count the miles until you feel them
And you cannot hold a lover that is gone

Tomorrow the mountains will be sleeping
Silently the blanket green and blue
All that I shall hear the silence they are keeping
I'll bring all their promises to you

By townes van zandt

Blue wind's blown my dreams away
My darling's flown and she's gone to stay
All I got now is yesterday
And I don't know what to do

I guess I'll go downtown and see
Just what downtown can do for me
Maybe set my lonesome free
Or maybe let me go

I loved her true and I told her so


I ask her too and she told me no
She said she had somewhere to go
And then she said good-bye

I wonder how long it can go on
How long I'll sing this same old song
I wonder which one done us wrong
Which one forgot to try

I loved her true and I told her so
I ask her too and she told me no
She said she had somewhere to go
And then she said good-bye

(feat. Kathy Mattea)

At my window
Watching the sun go
Hoping the stars know
It's time to shine
Daydreams
Aloft on dark wings
Soft as the sun streams
At days decline

Living is laughing
Dying says nothing at all
Baby and I are laying here
Watching the evening fall

Time flows
Through brave beginnings
And she leaves her endings
Beneath our feet
Walk lightly
Upon their faces
Leave gentle traces
Upon their sleep

Living is dancing
Dying does nothing at all
Baby and I are laying here
Wathing the evening fall

Three dimes
Hard luck and good times
Fast lines and low rhymes
Ain't much to say
Feel fine
Feel low and lazy
Feel grey and hazy
Feel far away

Living is sighing
Dying ain't flying so high
Baby and I are lying here
Watching the day go by

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
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
My sorrow is real even though I can't change my plans
If she could see how I feel then I know that she'd understand
Does she actually think I'm to blame
Does she really believe that some word of mine
Could relieve all her pain
Can't she see that she grieves just because she's been blindly deceived
By her shame
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

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
It's only to herself that she's lied
She likes to pretend there's something that she should defend with her pride
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

By townes van zandt
Mister gator he's a-glidin' down the bayouMister buzzard he's a-slidin' through the airMister turtle be a-hittin' the highwayI ain't goin' nowhere
I ain't leavin you love, babeI ain't leavin you love, babeNot for heaven above, babeI ain't leavin you love, babe

The poor man got him an airplaneTryin to cruise across the traffic jamThe rich man got him a chevroletI'm stayin' right where I am
Now hannibal he climbed the mountainsCleopatra danced down the nileLucky lindy made it all the way to gay parisI'm stayin right here awhile

By townes van zandt

I heard her sing in tongues of silver
I heard her cry on a summer storm
I loved her, but she did not know it
So I don't think about her anymore
Now she's gone, and I can't believe it
So I don't think about her anymore

If three and four was seven only
Where would that leave one and two?
If love can be and still be lonely
Where does that leave me and you?
Time there was, and time there will be
Where does that leave me and you?

If I had a buckskin stallion
I'd tame him down and ride away.


If I had a flyin' schooner
I'd sail into the light of day
If I had your love forever
Sail into the light of day

Pretty songs and pretty places
Places that I've never seen
Pretty songs and pretty faces
Tell me what their laughter means
Some look like they'll cry forever
Tell me what their laughter means.

If I had a buckskin stallion
I'd tame him down and ride away.
If I had a golden galleon
I'd sail into the light of day
If I had your love forever
Sail into the light of day

By townes van zandt

When I'm with you, babe,
I just can't be lonely
When I'm away, babe,
I think of you only
What can I do, babe,
To get back to you, babe,
I do anything that you say

The night she is a sapphire
Full of blue desire
Follow her love fire
Higher and higher
What can I do, babe,
To stay her with you babe
At least till the east turn to grey


Just you and me, girl,
The stars and the real whirl
Spinning the minutes away

The darkness is passing
She's never long lasting
But my love ain't leaving
Through hurtin' or pleasin'
I am tellin' you true, babe,
Ask me to do, babe,
I'll trade all my treasures for you

The daylight are flashing
Our hearts could be laughing
If only you wanted them to
For just you and me, girl,
The sun shine and turmoil
Will spill from a basket of blue

Ain't much I ain't tried
Fast livin' slow suicide
Then a-runnin' in a place to hide
Just looking for you

My friends they all agree
Ain't many a fool like me
I just tell them wait and see
Go looking for you

Looking low and looking high
Looking far and looking wide
Try to tell myself that I'm fine
But it just ain't true
It just ain't true
I'm still looking for you
Still looking for you

From the shadow of the darkest pine
To the edge of the sweet sunshine
I keep looking till they make you mine
Looking for you

When the curtain tumbles down
I'll be somewhere hanging round
With my heart laid on the ground
Just looking for you

Looking low and looking high
Looking far and looking wide
Try to tell myself that I tried
But it just ain't true
It just won't do
I'm still looking for you
Still looking for you

By townes van zandt
Well, little darling she ain't mean me no harmYou know, she loved me all night longNow she's gone, gone
Well, little darling in a dress so redNow she's gone, man
I'm stuck in chicago, illinoisLet me tell you, boysShe's gone, gone

I do believe she gone a mobil dealI do believe she made a fool of meShe's gone now
Little darling, won't you stay friendI want to do them things againAh, gone, gone
You know, she loved me all night longYou know, she didn't mean me no wrongNow she's gone, gone

By townes van zandt

Down at the bottom of that dirty ol' river
Down where the reeds and the catfish play
There lies a dream as soft as the water
There lies a bluebird that's flown away

Well, to meet is like springtime
And to love's like the summer
Her brown eyes shone for nobody but me
Then autumn forever, the fool come a fallin'
And the rain turned to freezin' inside of me.

I'll kindle my fires with the words
I can't send you
And the roads I can't follow
And the songs I can't sing

Well, all you young ladies
Who dream of tomorrow
While you're a listenin'
These words will I say


Cling to today with it's joy
And it's sorrow
You'll need all your memories
When youth melts away.

Well, the angel of springtime
He rides down the southwind
The angel of summer
He does just the same
The angel of autumn
She's blue and she's golden
And the angel of winter
Won't remember your name

Down at the bottom of that dirty ol' river
Down where the reeds and the catfish play
There lies a dream as soft as the water
There lies a bluebird that's flown away

There lies a bluebird
That's flown away