1. |
The Empty Sky
04:30
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I was out walking
Walking in the city one day
I heard the wind calling
Calling my name
Under the hot August sun
I went wandering west
With my boots and my gun
and a guitar across my chest
Come a ti yi yippee yi yay!
Come a ti yi yippee yi yay!
Come a ti yi yippee yi yay!
Under the empty sky I ride
Under the empty sky I fly
My destiny is on the other side
The other side of the empty sky
They say the streets are paved with silver
I hear there’s gold in the hills
And you can walk away with a sack full of cash
If you’ve got the guts and skills
Beneath the blue August moon
I lay me down to rest
Amidst the bleached bones and the desert dust
I dream of what comes next
Come a ti yi yippee yi yay!
Come a ti yi yippee yi yay!
Come a ti yi yippee yi yay!
Under the empty sky I ride
Under the empty sky I fly
My destiny is on the other side
The other side of the empty sky
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2. |
For The Love Of Mary Lee
03:48
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In the grim town where I was born
There was not much to see
The only thing that shone
was the girl named Mary Lee
I tried to win her when I was a boy
with flowers and smiles and wit
She looked away or looked annoyed
She would have none of it
I learned a trade
And I sailed away
And a fortune I made
At night I would dream of her beautiful face
And waking whisper her name
A man in full, I spent my days
Trying to track her down
Finally one day a message arrived
Mary Lee had been found
All I did for the love of Mary Lee
All these things I did for the love of Mary Lee
On Valentine’s Day I went to her home
And when I knocked at the door
Her husband answered, then he angered
He did shake and roar
“Is this the one for who you weep?”
“Yes!” cried Mary Lee
In violence he turned
and struck her savagely
I knocked him down
I pulled my gun
I shot him dead and then I fled
Before the sheriff could come
That was seven years ago
They’re still looking for me
At night I dream of her beautiful face
And hear her sob and weep
All I did for the love of Mary Lee
All these things I did for the love of Mary Lee
So take a good listen my lads, listen well to me
There’s nothing in this world to be done about a love not meant to be
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3. |
Tumbleweed
04:37
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Lazy day in Vegas
She just appeared
So elegant, intelligent
Grinning from ear to ear
She had that killer style
Looks that turn your eye
I liked the way she rolled
When I asked her what her name was
She said “Tumbleweed,
They call me ‘Tumbleweed’”
She moved in close and then
She took me out
She blew on my dice for luck
We shared whiskey
We shared a kiss
She said “Come on, let’s go”
We pulled off the bank job
She pulled off her clothes
Tumbleweed and me went for a roll
In the morning all the money was gone
And so was Tumbleweed
So was Tumbleweed
She left a note that said “Bye-bye, John...
Love, Tumbleweed”
In the firelight
My nerves are bad tonight
It’s them pills I took to bring it off
Let me tell you, son
There was never another one
Who ever matched up to her stuff
There are days I still see her face
Oh Tumbleweed, oh Tumbleweed
I don’t regret and I can’t forget
My Tumbleweed, my Tumbleweed
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4. |
Interstate Wasteland
04:51
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Across this interstate wasteland
Dry riverbeds
At my back a cold wind
The sounds of motors and horns
The ruins sigh and sing
In the rush
There’s a room full of photographs behind me
Torn up and thrown away
So much refuse
Left to burn
Memories of buildings
A trail of dust
I should stop
I could rest for a while
The things I would tell myself
The light’s been flickering for so long
Fueled by our youth
It dims and fades
The wheels turn
air rushes past
and there is no turning back
I grip the wheel
stare into the black
and there is no turning back
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5. |
The Ghost Town
04:13
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Walking alone in late February
Thinking on friends I’d lost
John and Sean and Christopher
Ryan, Ian, and Mark
Some of them fell to fever and drink
Some to women and song
One of them made it to the good life
But all of them are gone
All of them are gone
Found myself in a place forsaken
Where no one goes anymore
Empty streets and vacant stores
Deserted and forgotten
Dust to dust
And rust on rust
It’s strange how things change
The people and dreams and stuff all go
Only ghosts remain
Only ghosts remain
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6. |
What The Wire Said
10:02
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We’re closed now
Keep off
My Land
The plains turn to sand
That’s what the wire said
I hear trains coming
Smoke in the sky
Lines in the sand
That’s what the wire said
Ghosts of voices
Chant numbers and code
Steel lines in the sand
That’s what the wire said
The game is gone
Here is no water but only rock
An empire of sand
That’s what the wire said
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7. |
The Crossing
03:41
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When I crossed the desert
I left everything behind
My gun
My money
And the burdens of my mind
When I crossed the Mojave
There was nothing that I lacked
I left in the dead of night
And I never once looked back
When I crossed Death Valley
Forgave and forgot no one
Nor any of the things I had done
When I crossed Death Valley
As I neared the other side
I heard a lone rider coming
And I held my head up high
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Anu San Francisco, California
Anu has been creating music for more than three decades.
He studied electronic music at
Dartmouth College, with Jon Appleton and Christian Wolff.
He is a pioneer in the Internet music industry, and one of the creators of the Rhapsody Music Service.
He created and taught "A History of 20th Century Music" at Duke University's Talent Identification Program.
Anu currently lives in San Francisco.
... more
Anu recommends:
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