THE OPEN WINDOW (Lombardo/Ramsey)

she walked away with the ring in her hand.
the back door open scattered coins on her night stand.
the room around her so silent and sill.
the echoes of the voices lingered from a time
when so long ago and far away,
how sweet the fiddled bow did play.
smiles around the table as they talked intimately.

when she would leave them her children alone,
their cries and protests made her want to stay back home
in isolation she worked into night,
her hands all calloused by the twisted vines she’d fight.
then she’d think of times so long ago,
the dinner embers still aglow
smiles around the table as they talked intimately.

the window was open, the daughter was pale
the steam pipes were broken and her hand
froze to the rail.

when so long ago and far away
how sweet the fiddled bow did play.
smiles around the table as they talked intimately.

the grief lay all around her. no food, heat, just war.
she looked in the tarnished mirror, her glowing eyes
traveled to a place
where the would drink and dance on dusty florid days.

the little boy sat and polished his shoes
he’d rub them with a cloth so shined he couldn’t lose.
a small green vase for his mom he wished to win,
to bring the life back to the face that’s always been
full of love and live and sparkle lay
a mother’s tear to make her stay.

the sky grew dark, the rain clouds pour,
she wouldn’t see her anymore.
so long ago and far away,
how sweet the fiddled bow did play
smiles around the table as they talked intimately.

the window was open, the daughter was pale
the steam pipes were broken and her hand
froze to the rail.

I BECAME ALONE (Lombardo/Ramsey)

cutting squares of cloth from scraps of old dresses,
sewn quilt hanging on the wall.
over there just to remind me how I became alone.

angled scissors to the life there devoted,
apple branches scent the air.
asking her who hasn’t been asked,
red the color of her hair.

I pulled the rope, and it broke.
laughing startled with surprise.
I knew there and then that everything had changed
no good days and no goodbyes.

I caught you in the web, you were standing there alone.
I could cry but then I hear voices.
just brittle flowers in the wind.

I woke the old man sleeping on a rumpled bed,
he grasped my hand so tight.
as the snow fell silent into the shadows holding breath
’tween slanted light.

all the boys are now far gone away, folded letter by the phone.
watch the mouths move but they not hearing
I became alone.

A NIGHTFALL (Lombardo/Ramsey)

late in the nighttime, met in a dream
I was only five in it and you
were probably nineteen
you were playing in the capitol
of Washington D.C.

I walked through corridors pale marble green
and then there you were playing
“The Streets of Baltimore” again
the fringe upon your coat sleeves
shook like leaves upon a tree.

maybe it was all because I played
your records just before
maybe it was something in your voice
that called to me again.
just like a sweater that wraps around
so close to me
you stayed with me there.

must have been summer porcelain clean

the room spread out a dome above me
line of figurines
you said it was a song for me,
your lamb a wild goose scene.

maybe it was all because I played
your records just before
maybe it was something in your voice
that called to me again.
just like a sweater that wraps around
so close to me
you stayed with me there.

I dreamed green darkness,
sound filled the room
you walked away from me strumming a guitar
I fell with you

maybe it was all because I played your records just before
maybe it was something in your voice
that called to me again.
just like a sweater that wraps around
so close to me
you stayed with me then, a nightfall.

RED WOODEN BEADS (Lombardo/Ramsey)

Marika stamped her feet saying hey hey listen to me
a face she’d never meet, saying hey hey listen to me
sitting in the kitchen light, prism crystal glass
the banking ledger overdrawn
a silent prayer as if to make it pass.

Marika’s days were spent thinking hey hey listen to me
her nights in argument thinking hey hey listen to me
running down the alleyway to catch the last Guignol
calling names of cities and a life she would never know.

late in the evening, sorting what to keep
the boxes in the bedsit, her clothes all in a heap.

Marika free at last signing hey hey listen to me
all through her autumn past signing hey hey listen to me
moving toward the telephone, dinner on the run
the spiral cord wrapped round her wrist, the table sold
a brand new day begun.

later in the evening, she found a missing key.
the lock turned in a jewel box
and there some red wood beads for her to wear.

GREENWOOD SIDEO/CRUEL MOTHER (traditional)

There was a lady lived in York - all the lee and loney
Fell in love with her father's clerk
down by the greenwood sideo

She loved him up, she loved him down - all the lee and loney
Loved him 'til he filled her arms
down by the greenwood sideo

She leant her back against an oak - all the lee and loney
First it bent and then it broke
down by the greenwood sideo

She leant her back against a thorn - all the lee and loney
There she had two fine babes born
down by the greenwood sideo

She took out her reaping knife - all the lee and loney
There she took those sweet babes' lives
down by the greenwood sideo

She wiped the blade against her shoe - all the lee and loney
The more she rubbed, the redder it grew
down by the greenwood sideo

She went back to her father's hall - all the lee and loney
Saw two babes a-playing at ball
down by the greenwood sideo

Oh babes oh babes if you were mine - all the lee and loney
I'd dress you up in scarlet fine
down by the greenwood sideo

Oh Mother Oh Mother if we were yours - all the lee and loney
Scarlet was our own hearts' blood
down by the greenwood sideo

Oh babes Oh babes it's Heaven for you - all the lee and loney
Mother Oh Mother it's Hell for you
down by the greenwood sideo

YOUR RETURN (Lombardo/Ramsey)

I’d wondered if you’d mind me
sitting here along the step,
I’d wondered if you’d mind me
looking for your silhouette
I counted tiny lights through cracks in the wall
for a little while a solitary day passed by.

I sat on the corner
a double rainbow in the sky,
I sat on the corner
where yesterday we said goodbye.
my drawings on the sidewalk now disappear
for a little while a solitary day passed by.

you asked me the time and I said to you:
“look at the clock over there....”
but then you went away, I had nothing to say
but I waited for your return.

a voice whispers softly the written word
the hope you gave
a voice whispers softly
from penny poems always saved.
behind the church a heart of snow melts to tears
for a little while a solitary day passed by.

you asked me the day and I said to you,
“look at the wall over there....”
but then you went away, I had nothing to say
but I waited for your return
for your return.

TWO WORLDS PARTED (Lombardo/Ramsey)

dancing around the public square
red stars shooting everywhere
no clouds to grey the morning sky
our tears will find a way to dry

once locked, now open over there
two worlds once parted:
there, now sewn together
with the past behind us

red guards pray will disappear
all our long journeys ended here
starlings can swarm back to the nest
now all our minds can be at rest

once locked, now open over there
two worlds once parted:
there, now sewn together
with the past behind us

woke up the day to something new
hung in the sky Chautauqua moon
box trees bloom from lifeless stone
families that left are coming home

once locked, now open over there
two worlds once parted:
there, now sewn together
with the past behind us

PETER O'TAVY (traditional)

instrumental

can't ignore the train

night walks in the valley silent
you could swear the earth just moved

can't ignore the train

dust to be kicked up
in the crack faced
idle sinister town
screen door to the rail station
devil in her shoe

ran along side the wasted tracks
hem pins darted her calves

can't ignore the train

one spoiled girl with the tidiest apology
some how wedged inside her throat

can't ignore the train

patience their virtue
but I never could abide by that
dungeon life with electric light
a clean towel and a basin
mantle figures mind their place
laughs where they belong

through adventure we are not adventuresome

rage to share with a wardrobe mirror
in a room so beige and cold

can't ignore the train

window days saw the children pick their
street games on thirty afternoons

Molly the boys are
starting in the rhymic again
teasing more and more....

the second daughter
how she fell
young locked in Some Folk's Prison
made to dwell
til they're braiding
her grey hair

sitting in the wishing chair
sitting in the wishing chair
sitting in the wishing chair

I WANTED YOU (Richard Hudson and John Ford)

my mind was like a roller coaster
shall I take a look or turn the other way?
you stood there like a day-glo poster
hoping to catch my eye,
then maybe I’d get excited.

oh I can only say, you made me in a funny way
you saved me, and later in the day
was the time I knew I wanted you.

I’m sure I found my way to heaven
when looking up at you
in that early morning light.

did it point the way to us forever?
’cause I needed you then,
but I want you even more now.

oh I can only say, you made me in a funny way
you saved me, and later in the day
was the time I knew I wanted you.

you say your love could feed a nation
that you’re saving for me
if this is the thing you kept me waiting for
I’ll stand the segregation of the waiting for you
that’s turned into a lifetime

oh I can only say, you made me in a funny way
you saved me, and later in the day
was the time I knew I wanted you.

PILES OF DEAD LEAVES (Lombardo/Ramsey)

piles of dead leaves, warm wing blowing crabapple trees
hands to the sky, eye at the keyhole on bended bare knees
lying face down, small eyes glancing room all around
dark at the stairs, the warm wind blowing breath through hair
without a home alone, suffering and not saying so
that lesser souls will never see me turning back again and again.

I went my way, looking around at scars on the ground
you went your way, naming the stars, the shells, the trees.
Susie and me, riding our bikes and swinging from trees
mud in our toes, the red rocks glowing in the glistening stream
and catching raindrops few, iridescence in the haze
the colors twisting in and out
the crunch the creek the crackle the crow

and you on your way to school
me sitting all alone
playing with the dusty things
waiting for the hall clock’s chime to ring

we were two, just two you, you, you, you
and everything we did so far lightning bugs in canning jars
rocks and rings and funny things: ashes, ashes we all fall down

late Sunday night, there on the table package from you,
woolen bright socks, stripes and dots of burgundy blues
soles having been worn playing around in different towns
sometimes when I sleep
the sounds from the window they bring me on back
when we went away dancing in the rain
I was splashing you here, everywhere you.

and you on your way to school, me sitting home alone
rocks and rings and funny things in our boxes all away.
I collected more than you, went fishing, this and that with you
rocks and rings and funny things all around you.

CLARE’S SCARF (Lombardo/Ramsey)

now she is living in the garret
from fear she never leaves her home
her neighbors sunning on their porches
the world enchanting down below
she knows them like they were a family
but it is she they never see.

ooh Clare wraps the scarf around her head
the one she loves, rubious red
peers through the looking glass
her heart sinks slowly.

Clare spends time with books
of fancy riddled rhymes
and she tries hard at learning new words
she’s making lists of every vow
she’ll never keep

Clare wraps the scarf around her head
the one she loves, rubious red
peers through the looking glass
her heart sinks slowly.

when sorting through her mind
she finds it hard to find
a memory that is all her own.
ooh you took all I ever wanted
as though your own

Clare wakes up, morning starts with a parade
the flags were snapping in the sun
she saw old soldiers on display
bowed and greyed but not afraid

Clare wraps the scarf around her head
the one she loves, rubious red
peers through the looking glass
she walks on slowly.
when sorting through her mind
ooh you took all I ever wanted
as though your own

RAGS OF FLOWERS (Lombardo/Ramsey)

city streets with noises abound
telephone wires sparkled with sound
all believed impeachably
world without end, amen, amen
and the grass grew yellow and brown
and the sky wasn’t blue
and at first when our radios worked
we wouldn’t believe it was true.

boy with friend awalking the land,
woman in fields a plow in the earth
goods a plenty in front of the store,
life was in love with the mushroom cap war
and the grass grew yellow and brown
and the sky wasn’t blue
and at first when our radios worked
we wouldn’t believe it was true.

looking for the fort we built by the old abandoned mine
but there was nothing, nothing we could find.
there was no place for seeking and hiding,
no time left for us finding
the worn-out whisky bottles
as my cold hands drawing crosses on the ground

searching for our secret tree, the one with both our names
but there was nothing, nothing we could find.
there was no place for seeking and hiding,
no time left for us finding
the worn-out whiskey bottles
as my cold hands drawing crosses on the ground.

stunted trees growing wild in the pool,
once summertime swims, now shade keeps us cool
Kunda’s baby never got born,
victory gardens all withered and worn
and the grass grew yellow and brown
and the sky wasn’t blue
and at first when our radios worked
we wouldn’t believe it was true.
the rags of flowers bloom
the clouds a living tomb
and Christmas is coming soon turn gladly back home.

ONE STEP BACKWARD (Lombardo/Ramsey)

stars shining through buildings,
I never could see
when I saw you there talk to the world
I was thinking it was me.
a foggy grey runway, pushing into the crowd
shutters bang in the night, in the wind
swollen eyes in the dark open wide
till they see flowers red
hang with love from the railings,

maybe fate all along.
flowers grey
pressed in glass painted cases
one step backward, I never felt so wrong

summer nights we would travel,
neon cities aglow
when you’d tell me the music’s too loud,
I would smile, “yes I know....”
kids would show off their cities,
be they ever so proud
just as a precaution at night
hold your house keys like penknives
and see through the dark flowers red

hang with love from the railings
maybe fate all along.
flowers grey
pressed in glass painted cases
one step backward, I never felt so wrong.

drawing faces of landscapes
driving home from afar
after calendar pages turned over
to find out where you are.
there are times I still see you
alone on the stairs

had I known for the asking
when gods choose to punished
it’s likely surprise how they answer our prayers.

ANGELS OF STONE (Lombardo/Ramsey)

the silence underneath the snow
footprints where the grass
won’t grow revealed.
promised I won’t be too late
through the dark the iron ate was sealed
someone came to lock our path

“boost me up, I’ll lift the latch,” we kneeled.
when night met day, day met night
there we stood beneath the sudden light

and did you listen?
it’s like I’ve heard this still sound before
sunlight prism wide awake
birds rest on the frozen lake, I saw them.
when day met night, night met day,
tough my hand, I think I know the way.
there in the park where we used to play
angels of stone, they would always pray.

a yellow room by candleglow
picnic snapshots long ago, just happy.
and father’s boat, his raging tales
the magic wind that filled its sails
could last me.
one chance, and it has passed me.
when day met night, night met day
all this time, I thought that I could stay
there in the park where we used to play
angles of stone, they would always pray

silence underneath the snow
footprints where the grass won’t grow.

Bye bye, tomorrow, jody's gone to the rodeo,
And you know some good old boys are ready to ride,
'cause it's almost saturday night.

Gonna push the clouds away, let the music have it's way,
Let it steal my heart away, and you know i'm-a-goin'!

Outside the ringing, the night train is bringin' me home,
When you hear that locomotion get ready to ride,
'cause it's almost saturday night.

Gonna push the clouds away, let the music have it's way,
Let it steal my heart away, and you know i'm-a-goin'!

Outside the ringing, the night train is bringin' me home,
When you hear that locomotion get ready to ride,
'cause it's almost saturday night.
Oh yeah!

'That's the end of the joke'
And loses herself
In her dreaming and sleep
And her lovers walk
Through in their coats

Pretty in pink
Isn't she?
Pretty in pink
Isn't she?

All of her lovers
All talk of her notes
And the flowers
That they never sent
And wasn't she easy
And isn't she
Pretty in pink
The one who insists
He was first in the line
Is the last to
Remember her name
He's walking around
In this dress
That she wore
She is gone
But the joke's the same

Pretty in pink
Isn't she?
Pretty in pink
Isn't she?

Caroline talks to you
Softly sometimes
She says
'I love you' and
'Too much'
She doesn't have anything
You want to steal
Well
Nothing you can touch
She waves
She buttons your shirt
The traffic
Is waiting outside
She hands you this coat
She gives you her clothes
These cars collide

Pretty in pink
Isn't she?
Pretty in pink
Isn't she?