Desdemona

by Gregg Allman

Rain falls on a sleepy Southern town
The midnight moon burning brightly
Memories rushing on a river forelorn
As you lay sleeping without me
A highway song keeps me rolling on
Still I long for you

Desdemona
I will be your only one

I make my living pouring out my pain
Trying to make it through another day
Arms reach for me, on a wind I can feel it
But they're a thousand miles away
Your eyes remind me of everything that's beautiful and blue
I won't feel myself till I'm with you

Desdemona
I will be your only one

So hold a candle till the darkness fades
Nighttime sleeps, but not for long
My heart is pounding like the ocean, my soul's empty as the sky
But I know someday I'll be coming home
Time goes by in the twinkling of an eye
Still I pine for you

Desdemona
I will be your only one

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

by Robbie Robertson

Virgil Cain is the name
And I served on the Danville train
'Til Stoneman's cavalry came
And tore up the tracks again
In the winter of '65
We were hungry, just barely alive
By May the tenth, 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

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 the people were singing

Like my father before me
I will work the land
Like my brother above me
Who took a rebel stand
He was just eighteen, proud and brave
But a Yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the mud below my feet
You can't raise a Cain 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 the people were singing

Ballad of a Thin Man

by Bob Dylan

You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked, and you say, 'Who is that man?'
You try so hard, but you don't understand
Just what you will say when you get home
Because something is happening here, but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

You raise up your head, and you ask, 'Is this where it is?'
And somebody points to you and says, 'It's his'
And you say, 'What's mine?' and somebody else says, 'Where what is?'
And you say, 'Oh my God, am I here all alone?'
But something is happening, and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

You hand in your ticket, and you go watch the geek
Who immediately walks up to you when he hears you speak
And says, 'How does it feel to be such a freak?'
And you say, 'Impossible,' as he hands you a bone
And something is happening here, but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

You have many contacts among the lumberjacks
To get you facts when someone attacks your imagination
But nobody has any respect; anyway they already expect you
To just give a check to tax-deductible charity organizations

You've been with the professors, and they've all liked your looks
With great lawyers you have discussed lepers and crooks
You've been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books
You're very well read, it's well known
But something is happening here, and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you, and then he kneels
He crosses himself, and then he clicks his high-heels
And without further notice he asks you how it feels
And he says, 'Here is your throat back, thanks for the loan'
And you know something is happening, but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

Now you see this one-eyed midget shouting the word 'NOW'
And you say, 'For what reason?' and he says, 'How?'
And you say, 'What does this mean?' and he screams back, 'You're a cow
'Give me some milk or else go home'
And you know something's happening, but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

Well, you walk into the room like a camel, and then you frown
You put your eyes in your pocket and your nose on the ground
There ought to be a law against you coming around
You should be made to wear earphones
'Cause something is happening, and you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

Blue, Red, and Grey

by Pete Townshend

Some people seem so obsessed with the morning
Get up early just to watch the sunrise
Some people like it more when there's fire in the sky
Worship the sun when it's high
Some people go for those sultry evenings
Sipping cocktails in the blue, red, and grey
But I like every minute of the day

I like every second
So long as you are on my mind
Every moment has its special charm
It's all right when you're around, rain or shine

I know a crowd who only live after midnight
Their faces always seem so pale
And then there's friends of mine who must have sunlight
They say a suntan never fails
I know a man who works the night shift
He's lucky to get a job and some pay
And I like every minute of the day

I dig every second
I can laugh in the snow and rain
I get a buzz from being cold and wet
The pleasure seems to balance out the pain

And so you see that I'm completely crazy
I even shun the south of France
The people on the hill, they say I'm lazy
But when they sleep I sing and dance
Some people have to have the sultry evenings
Cocktails in the blue, red, and grey
But I like every minute of the day

Thunder Road

by Bruce Springsteen
(edited by Steven Mitchell)

The screen door slams
————'s dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch
As the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey, that's me, and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone again

Don't run back inside
Darling, you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared, and you're thinking
That maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright
And that's alright with me

You can hide 'neath your covers
And study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers
Throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain
For a savior to rise from these streets
Well I'm no hero
That's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl
Is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow
What else can we do now?

Except roll down the window
And let the wind blow back your hair
Well the night's busting open
These two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back
Heaven's waiting down on the tracks

Come take my hand
We're riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road
Oh Thunder Road
Lying out there like a killer in the sun
I know it's late, we can make it if we run
Oh Thunder Road, sit tight, take hold
Thunder Road

Well I got this guitar
And I learned how to make it talk
And my car's out back
If you're ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open, but the ride, it ain't free
And I know you're lonely for words that I ain't spoken
But tonight we'll be free, when all the promises will be broken

There were ghosts in the eyes
Of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road
In the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets
They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines roaring on
But when you get to the porch they're gone
On the wind
So ————, climb in
It's a town full of losers
And I'm pulling out of here to win

And Can It Be

by Charles Wesley

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

'Tis mystery all: th'Immortal dies:
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine.
'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.

He left His Father's throne above
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race:
'Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

Still the small inward voice I hear,
That whispers all my sins forgiven;
Still the atoning blood is near,
That quenched the wrath of hostile Heaven.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th'eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.