1. |
Testament
04:35
|
|||
|
All night long I read your testament
And I felt my soul returning
Fevered again with that high malady
The storm, the salt, the yearning
I was standing in the vestibule
Of the dark woods' deep unknowing
When by the grave at Peredelkino
I saw the candle glowing
(Chorus)
My sister, my sister, life is calling
My sister, my sister, life is here
We look outside the window where the snow is falling
And we say to the children, what century is it out there?
The music played, I don't know what it was
It seemed to rise inside her breathing
We draped our clothes, wet from the river bank
'Cross the rafters in the ceiling
They hung like angels come to warm themselves
'Gainst the chill of starry heaven
The room dissolved into another realm
Where none refuse what earth has given
(Chorus)
Well it's a power that cannot force its way
It must be felt in its diffusion
Like a wave dispersing into spray
Like the spring in its profusion
The crowd grows still, I step onto the stage
Catch the echoes from the future
I'll play the role that's written on the page
Till it becomes a second nature
(Chorus)
|
||||
2. |
Don't Get on the Train
04:58
|
|||
|
The train has pulled into the station
It's putting out a poison steam
The cloud is rolling 'cross the platform
It's like you're moving in a fever dream
You can hear the conductor calling
He's calling you by name
But if you take that ticket, friend
You'll never be the same
(Chorus)
Don't get on the train, no
Don't get on the train
It ain't going where you want to go
So don't get on the train
Well the dining car is fancy
From the outside looking in
It's all carpet and curtains and brass and gold
Fine ladies and gentlemen
But the driver's got a body of iron
And the head of a crocodile
He'll be chewing on your spiritual innards
From here to the river Nile
(Chorus)
In the first-class carriage there's people
Who look a whole lot like you
They smile when they see you coming
Ain't no favor that they wouldn't do
But they give you rot-gut whiskey
Stewed from the water of graves
That burst their sides when Gabriel blowed his horn
And couldn't find a soul to save
(Chorus)
Well sister I know you need to leave here
And find a place where you can grow
Brother I now that you're seeking
Some people more simpatico
But it's just a one-way journey
On that beast of a machine
You'll be better off taking the backroads down
In the dirt that'll keep you clean
(Chorus)
|
||||
3. |
Scarlet Gown
04:15
|
|||
|
Give me your cast-off cigarette
The one your lips pressed on
Give me the glass that you left behind
Streaked with the traces of dawn
Give me the scrap of your scarlet gown
Whose hem tore when you slammed the door
Give me the ghost of your body and soul
That I'll never hold any more
Give me the light of the summer stars
That bathed us in your father's barn
Give me the fire of the horses below
As they stirred at the approach of the storm
Give me the scent of the pouring rain
That flavored the taste of your kiss
Give me the moment of ignorance
That I could ever lose something like this
(Chorus)
I'll take whatever I can get
From the wreckage of a love that's burned down
If it's just your cast-off cigarette
Or a scrap of your scarlet gown
Give me the road that we walked down
Before it forked to a future of pain
Give me the mist that clung to our skin
And the wind with its wordless refrain
Give me the smudge of mascara
That the night left beneath your dark eyes
Give me the world that you tore away
When you shrugged and said your goodbyes
(Chorus)
|
||||
4. |
Shifting Sands
03:40
|
|||
|
Every day I wake up in a different place
Lying in the same old bed
Every glass I pass shows me a different face
Stuck on the same old head
Every thing I think is with a different mind
Than the one I had the night before
Every day I step into a different world
Walking through the same old door
From moment to moment
You know the sands will shift
At the slightest mental breeze
One minute is filled with wonder and joy
The next with a queasy unease
I used to pray that I would be made whole
Made perfect, untroubled, complete
But now I know that the human soul
Is just a tumbleweed, a-tumbling
Down the street
One day I know she's going to run away
And find herself a singular man
Someone who ain't just some kind of haint
Trying to take any shape he can
And when she's gone you know it won't be long
Till what's left of me is scattered in the wind
Drifting here and there and just anywhere
Never to be gathered up again
|
||||
5. |
Sally's on the River
03:34
|
|||
|
Sally's on the river,
On the river once again
She's going down to Vicksburg
To see her special friend
Oh Sally, oh Sally
Where's this gonna end?
Mary's on the river
She's coming to the shore
She'll be here till the evening
Then she won't be here no more
Oh Mary, oh Mary
I can't help it that I'm poor
I followed this old river
Until I lost my way
I know it's going to kill me
If I go or if I stay
I've been on the river
Since back in '33
That's when my first love left me
For a man in Tennessee
Oh darling, oh my darling
Do you ever think of me?
Give me understanding
Go easy on my soul
One day you might be broken
And left out in the cold
Oh Sally, oh Mary
Oh my darling, my sweet lost darling
Can the river take me home?
|
||||
6. |
Mystic Cord
05:18
|
|||
|
Late one night the wind was blowing
Like an ocean through the trees
The air was charged with fearsome presence
And it drove me to my knees
I hugged the earth like Karamazov
And my tears bedewed the grass
I could feel the planet tremble
In my arms as he went past
(Chorus)
I was born to preach the gospel
I was born to praise the Lord
But he filled my mouth with silence
And he cut the mystic cord
In those days existence sparkled
A million diamonds filled the air
With every breath I drank in wonder
Saw secret wisdom everywhere
'Go seek the truth!' the Lord commanded
But the truth tore through the veil
Of the mystery and the meaning
Where my soul had sweetly dwelled
(Chorus)
Then there came the dreadful knowing
Of evil that is here
Interlaced with all the beauty
Co-created in one sphere
Now the doomsday book is written
And it's filled with human smoke
The heart is bitterly divided
Beyond belief, beyond all hope
(Chorus)
Now I'll live with what he's left me
These tangled weeds of thorn and briar
In the dark and empty desert
Where no voice calls from the fire
(Chorus)
|
||||
7. |
Sugar Water
03:27
|
|||
|
All night long we drank sugar water
Trying to keep the heat at bay
I was poor, she was a poor man's daughter
But we weren't too poor to play
We couldn't buy wine, we couldn't buy beer
Even Drag Donald's mash was a little too dear
So we just laid back with that sugar water
And we let the night roll on
It was late July, dry as a bone
Dust laying heavy on the fields
She'd sneak out of her unhappy home
And meet me by the water mill
She'd steal a little sugar, I'd bring a little cup
And when the sun went down we'd stir it all up
Yeah we just laid back with that sugar water
And we let the night roll on
(Chorus)
She's taking down her hair, slipping off her shoes
She's dancing to the rhythm of the midnight blues
The sugar and the sweat, trailing down her skin
You know it hit me harder than bath-tub gin – all right!
Time goes by, the world moves on
Age comes creeping up behind
The creek's been dammed, the water mill's gone
Ain't nobody pays the slightest mind
That poor man's daughter is a rich man's wife
She danced away from me into a whole other life
But I just keep tasting that sugar water
When we let the night roll on
(Chorus)
|
||||
8. |
Light of the Crown
03:46
|
|||
|
I started out as a preacher
I was on fire for the Lord
But I found a new way of burning
Down where the whiskey is poured
That's where I met Margarita
A sad and a sweet broken soul
She could dance like the Queen of Sheba
And wail with a grief dark as coal
(Chorus)
We took the wrong road down, boys
We took the wrong road down
We took the wrong road down, boys
We took the wrong road down
One night I told Margarita
We got to get out of this town
And go where the whiskey can't follow
Before we're pulled under and drown
She looked at me with the brightness
You sometimes see at the end
She said the lover you took me away from
Came back and claimed me again
She opened the front of her bodice
She showed me the wound in her breast
She died in my arms like an angel
Cast out of the realm of the blessed
(Chorus)
Now I just drift and I wander
I sleep in the streets and the fields
And if somebody gives me some whiskey
I ascend to God's holy hill
I know the devil will catch me
I know he'll drag me down
But tonight I'm almost in glory
I can see the light of the crown
(Chorus)
|
||||
9. |
Take This Stone
03:34
|
|||
|
We knew peace, but we'll know peace no more
We knew strife, and there is strife yet in store
We knew blood, that dread word, would find its way to our door
We knew peace, but we'll know peace no more
Hear me Lord, from the mouth of the grave
Hear me Lord, with this voice that you gave
Hear me Lord, note by note, tone by tone, stave by stave
Hear me Lord, from the mouth of the grave
Lay it down, let it go and be free
Your one task on this earth is to be
Any power that you seek will only leave you blind and weak
Lay it down, let it go and be free
Take this stone from my hand, it's for you
Ocean-glazed, shiny-smooth, deepest blue
All it holds is the soul of the world made anew
Take this stone from my hand, it's for you
Take this stone from my hand, it's for you
|
||||
10. |
Down Cana Way
04:22
|
|||
|
Well, he went to a wedding down Cana way
(Jesus turned the water into wine)
To bless the marriage bed and hear the music play
(Jesus turned the water into wine)
They made a joyful noise till the grape was gone
(Jesus turned the water into wine)
He said 'Draw up from the well, and let's carry on!'
(Jesus turned the water into wine)
(Chorus)
Oh Jesus turned the water into wine, wine, wine
Jesus turned the water into wine
I guess he thought a little alcohol was fine
Jesus turned the water into wine
You know them revels lasted till the sun came up
(Jesus turned the water into wine)
They hailed the consummation with the loving cup
(Jesus turned the water into wine)
(Chorus)
Come on pretty baby take a sip of this
(Jesus turned the water into wine)
He blesses every bottle, blesses every kiss
(Jesus turned the water into wine)
(Chorus)
|
||||
The Holy Fools Oxford, UK
The Holy Fools’ music combines deep traditional roots with cosmopolitan sensibilities to craft a unique brand of Americana. The Holy Fools are an Oxford-based band, playing original songs by Tennessee singer Chris Floyd and three seasoned veterans of the UK music scene: Jim Driscoll on lead guitar, Harry Brzezinski on dobro and Jason Neil on stand-up bass. ... more
If you like The Holy Fools, you may also like:
Where I've Been, isn't Where I'm Going
by Shaboozey
Fresh off his appearance on “Cowboy Carter,” Shaboozey presents his killer alt-country debut, available here on limited wax.
go to album
The Long Way
by Nicolette & The Nobodies
Nicolette Hoang's velvety vocals are the finishing touch on this pitch-perfect update on outlaw country with a touch of 60s glam.
go to album
The latest from acclaimed country musician Bonnie Montgomery delivers the raw, rustic sound for which she’s known.
go to album
Radiant country music lit up by pedal steel and sparkling guitar, centered on heart-stirring vocal melodies.
go to album
Weathervanes
by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
The Americana artist returns with songs that cover themes like love, transitions, and the danger of nostalgia.
go to album
Hailing from Houston, Alien Eyelid make Grateful Dead-ish psychedelic alt-country with a distinctly twangy Southern rock tinge.
go to album
I Saw the Arkansas
by Dylan Earl
Dylan Earl's blend of honky tonk, classic country music, and Southern rock has a poetic, tender heart.
go to album
