Devils & Dust (2005) _______________________________________________________________________ DEVILS & DUST I got my finger on the trigger But I don't know who to trust When I look into your eyes There's just devils and dust We're a long, long way from home, Bobbie Home's a long, long way from us I feel a dirty wind blowing Devils and dust I got God on my side I'm just trying to survive What if what you do to survive Kills the things you love Fear's a powerful thing It can turn your heart black you can trust It'll take your God filled soul And fill it with devils and dust Well I dreamed of you last night In a field of blood and stone The blood began to dry The smell began to rise Well I dreamed of you last night In a field of mud and bone Your blood began to dry The smell began to rise We've got God on my side I'm just trying to survive What if what you do to survive Kills the things you love Fear's a powerful thing It can turn your heart black you can trust It'll take your God filled soul And fill it with devils and dust Now every woman and every man They want to take a righteous stand Find the love that God wills And the faith that He commands I've got my finger on the trigger And tonight faith just ain't enough When I look inside my heart There's just devils and dust Well I've got God on my side I'm just trying to survive What if what you do to survive Kills the things you love Fear's a dangerous thing It can turn your heart black you can trust It'll take your God filled soul And fill it with devils and dust It'll take your God filled soul Fill it with devils and dust _______________________________________________________________________ ALL THE WAY HOME I know what it's like to have failed, baby With the whole world lookin' on I know what it's like to have soared And come crashin' like a drunk on a bar room floor Now you got no reason to trust me My confidence is a little rusty But if you don't feel like bein' alone Baby, I could walk you all the way home Well, now our old fears and failures Baby, they do linger Like the shadow of that ring That was on your finger Those days they've come and gone Baby, I could walk you all the way home Love leaves nothin' but shadows and vapor We go on, as is our sad nature Now it's some old Stones' Song the band is trashin' But if you feel like dancin' Baby, I'm askin' It's coming on closing time Bartender, he's ringin' last call These days I don't stand on pride And I ain't afraid to take a fall So if you're seein' what you like Maybe your first choice Well that's all right Baby, I could walk you all the way home Baby, I could walk you all the way home _______________________________________________________________________ RENO She took off her stockings I held them to my face She had your ankles I felt filled with grace "Two hundred dollars straight in, two-fifty up the ass" she smiled and said She unbuckled my belt Pulled back her hair And sat in front of me on the bed She said, "Honey how's that feel, do you want me to slow? My eyes drifted out the window Down to the road below I felt my stomach tighten The sun bloodied the sky and sliced through the hotel blinds I closed my eyes Sunlight on the Amatitlan Sunlight streaming thru your hair In the Valle de dos Rios Smell of mock orange filled the air We rode with the vaqueros down in to cool rivers of green I was sure the work and that smile coming out 'neath you hat was all I'd ever need Somehow all you ever need's Never really wuite enough you know You and I, Maria We learned it's so She slipped me out of her mouth "You're ready," she said She took off her bra and panties Wet her finger Slipped it inside her And crawled over me on the bed She poured me another whisky Said, Here's to the best you ever had" We laughed and made a toast It wasn't the best I ever had, not even close _______________________________________________________________________ LONG TIME COMIN' Out where the creek turns shallow and sandy And the moon comes skinnin' away the stars The wind in the mesquite comes rushin' over the hilltops Straight into my arms Straight into my arms I'm riding hard carryin' a catch of roses And fresh map that I made Tonight I'm gonna get birth naked and bury my old soul And dance on its grave And dance on its grave It's been a long time comin', my dear It's been a long time comin', but now it's here Well, my daddy he was just a stranger Lived in a hotel downtown When I was a kid he was just somebody Somebody I'd see around Somebody I'd see around Now down below and pullin' on my shirt I got some kids of my own Wll if I had one wish in this god forsaken world, kids It'd be that your mistakes would be your own Yea, your sins would be your own It's been a long time comin', my dear It's been a long time comin', but now it's here Out 'neath the arms of Cassiopeia Where the sowrd of Orion sweeps It's me and you, Rosie, cacklin' like crossed wires And you breathin' in your sleep You breathin' in your sleep Well there's just a spark of campfire burning Two kids in a sleeping bag beside I reach 'neath your shirt, lay my hands across your belly And feel another one kickin' inside I ain't gonna fuck it up this time It's been a long time comin', my dear It's been a long time comin', but now it's here It's been a long time comin', my dear It's been a long time comin', but now it's here _______________________________________________________________________ BLACK COWBOYS Rainey Williams' playground was the Mott Haven streets where he ran past melted candles and flower wreaths, names and photos of young black faces whose death and blood consecrated these places Rainey's mother said, "Rainey stay at my side, for you are my blessing you are my pride. It's you love here that keeps my soul alive. I want you to come home from school and stay inside." Rainey 'd do his work and put his books away. There was a channel showed a western movie everyday Lynette brought him home books on the black cowboys of the Oklahoma range and the Seminole scouts who fought the tribes of the Great Plains. Summer come and the days grew long, Rainey always had his mother's smile to depend on. Along a street of stray bullets he made his way, to the warmth of her arms at the end of each day. Come the fall the rain flooded these homes. Here in Ezekiel's valley of dry bones, it fell hard and dark to the ground. It fell without a sound. Lynette took up with a man whose business was the boulevard, whose smile was fixed in a face that was never off guard. In the pipes 'neath the kitchen sink his secrets he kept. In the day, behind drawn curtains, in Lynette's bedroom he slept. Then she got lost in the days. The smile Rainey depended on dusted away. The arms that held him were no more his home. He lay at night his head pressed to her chest listening to the ghost in her bones. In the kitchen Rainey slipped his hand between the pipes. From a brown bag pulled five hundred dollar bills and stuck it in his coat side, stood in the dark at his mother's bed, brushed her hair and kissed her eyes. In the twilight Rainey walked to the station along streets of stone. Through Pennsylvania and Ohio his train drifted on. Through the small towns of Indiana the big train crept, as he lay his head back on the seat and slept. He awoke and the towns gave way to muddy fields of green, corn and cotton and an endless nothin' in between. Over the ruttled hills of Oklahoma the red sun slipped and was gone. The moon rose and stripped the earth to its bone. _______________________________________________________________________ MARIA'S BED Been on a barbed wire highway 40 days and nights I ain't complain'n that's my job and it suits me right I got a sweet soul fever rushin' around my head I'm gonna sleep tonight in Maria's bed Got on a dead man's suit and smilin' skull ring Lucky graveyard boots and a song to sing I keep my heart in my work, my troubles in my head And I keep my soul in Maria's bed I been up on sugar mountain, 'cross the sweet blue sea I walked the valley of love and tears and mystery I got run out'a luck and gave myself up for dead Then I drank the cool clear waters from Maria's bed She give me candy stick kisses 'neath a wolf dog moon One sweet breath and she'll take you, mister, to the upper room I was burned by the angels, sold wings of lead Then I fell in the roses and sweet salvation of Maria's bed I been out in the desert, doin' my time Siftin' through the dust for fools gold, lookin' for a sign Holy may said, "Hold on, brother, there's a light up ahead." Ain't nothin' like the light that shines on me in Maria's bed Well I take my blessings at the riverhead I'm living in the light of Maria's bed _______________________________________________________________________ SILVER PALOMINO I was barely 13 years old She came out of the Guadalupe's on a night so cold Her coat was frosted diamonds in the sallow moon's glow My silver palomino Sixteen hands from her withers to the ground I lie in bed and listen to the sound Of the west Texas thunder roll My silver palomino I track her into the mountains she loved Watch her from the rocks above She'd dip her neck and drink from the winter flows My silver palomino Our mustaņeros were the very best, sir But they could never lay a rope on her No corral will ever hold The silver palomino In my dreams bareback I ride Over the pradera low and wide As the wind sweeps out the draw 'Cross the scrub desert floor I'd give my riata and spurs If I could be forever yours I'd ride into the serrania where no one goes For my silver palomino Summer drought come hard that year Our herd grazed the land so bare Me and my dad had to blowtorch the thorns off the prickly pear And mother, your hand slipped from my hair Tonight I wake early the sky is pearl, the stars aglow I saddle up my red roan I ride deep into the mountains along a ridge of pale stone Where the air is still with the coming snow As I rise higher I can smell your hair The scent of your skin, mother, fills the air 'Midst the harsh scrub pine the grows I watch the silver palomino _______________________________________________________________________ JESUS WAS AN ONLY SON Jesus was an only son As he walked up Calvary Hill His mother Mary walking beside him In the path where his blood spilled Jesus was an only son In the hills of Nazareth As he lay reaching the Psalms of David As his mother's feet A mother prays, "Sleep tight, my child, sleep well For I'll be at your side That no shadow, no darkness, no tolling bell, Shall pierce your dreams this night" In the garden of Gethsemane He prayed for the life he'd never live He beseeched his Heavenly Father to remove The cup of death from his lips Now there's a loss that can never be replaced A destination that can never be reached A light you'll never find in another's face A sea whose distance cannot be breached Well Jesus kissed his mother's hands Whispered, "Mother, still your tears For remember the soul of the universe Willed a world ad it appeared _______________________________________________________________________ LEAH I wanna build me a house, on higher ground I wanna find me a world, where love's the only sound High above this road, filled with shadow and doubt I want to shoulder my load, and figure it all out With Leah I walk this road, with a hammer and a fiery lantern With this hand I've built, and with this I've burned I wanna live in the same house, beneath the same roof Sleep in the same bed, search for the same proof As Leah I got somethin' in my heart, I been waitin' to give I got a life I wanna start, one I been waitin' to live No more waitin', tonight I feel the light I say the prayer I open the door, I climb the stairs... _______________________________________________________________________ THE HITTER Come to the door, Ma, and unlock the chain I was just passin' through and got caught in the rain There's nothin' that I want, nothin' that you need say Just let me lie down a while and I'll be on my way. I was no more than a kid when you put me on the Southern Queen With the police on my back I fled to New Orleans. I fought in the dockyards and with the money I made. I knew the fight was my home and blood was my trade Baton Rouge, Ponchatoula, and Lafayette town Well, they paid me their money, Ma, I knocked the man down I did what I did it come easily Restraint and mercy, Ma, were always strangers to me I fought champion Jack Thompson in a field full of mud Rain poured through the tent canvas and mixed with our blood In the twelfth I slipped my tounge over my broken jaw I stood over him pounded his bloody body into the floor Well the bell rang and rang and still I kept on 'Till I felt my glove leather slip 'tween his skin and bone Then the women and the money came fast and the days I lost track The women red, the money green, but the numbers were black. I fought for the men in their silk suits to lay down their bets Well I took my good share, Ma, I have no regrets I took the fix at the state armory with Big John MacDowell From high in the rafters I watched myself fall As they raised his arm my stomach twisted and the sky it went black I stuffed my bag with their good money and I never looked back Understand, in the end, Ma, every man plays the game Well if you know me one different then speak out his name Ma, if my voice now you don't recognize Then just open the door and look into your dark eyes I ask of you nothin', not a kiss not a smile, Just open the door and let me lie down for a while Now the gray rain's fallin' and my ring fightin's done So in the work fields and alleys, I take all who'll come If you're a better man than me then just step to the line Show me your money and speak out your crime Now there's nothin' I want, Ma, nothin' that you need say. Just let me lie for a while and I'll be on my way Tonight in shipyard a man draws a circle in the dirt I move to the center and take off my shirt I study him for the cuts, the scars, the pain, no time can erase I move hard to the left and I strike to the face _______________________________________________________________________ ALL I'M THINKING ABOUT Bling man wavin' by the side of the road I'm in a flat bed Ford carrying a heavy load With a sweet thing slippin' on a blueberry wine On a flat black highway down in Carolina Black bird slippin' in a sky of blue All I'm thinkin' about is you, baby All I'm thinkin' about is you, honey All I'm thinkin' about is you, baby All I'm thinkin' about is you Ain't nothin' in this world I can do about it All I'm thinkin' about is you Little boy carryin' a fishin' pole Little girl pickin' berries straight off the vine Brown bag filled with a little green load We hook 'em through the lip and throw 'em off of the line Your sweet brown legs get me feeling so blue All I'm thinkin' about is you, baby All I'm thinkin' about is you All I'm thinkin' about is you, baby All I'm thinkin' about is you Ain't nothin' in this world I can do about it All I'm thinkin' about is you Black car shinin' on a Sunday morn Mama go to church now Mama go to church now Friday night daddy's shirt is torn Daddy's goin' downtown daddy's goin' downtown Ain't no one understand this sweet thing we do All I'm thinkin' about is you, baby All I'm thinkin' about is you All I'm thinkin' about is you, baby All I'm thinkin' about is you Ain't nothin' in this world I can do about it All I'm thinkin' about is you Field turned up, the seed is sowed Rain comin' in from over 'cross the road Big black curtain comin' 'cross the field Blind 'll see, the lame will be healed Brown eyed girl, I turned my back on you, now it's lonely All I'm thinkin' about is you, babe All I'm thinkin' about is you All I'm thinkin' about is you, babe All I'm thinkin' about is you Ain't nothin' in this world take away the blues All I'm thinkin' about is you All I'm thinkin' about is you, babe All I'm thinkin' about is you All I'm thinkin' about is you All I'm thinkin' about is you Ain't nothin' in this world I can do about it All I'm thinkin' about is you _______________________________________________________________________ MATAMOROS BANKS For two days the river keeps you down Then you rise to the light without a sound Past the playgrounds and empty switching yards The turtles eat the skin from your eyes, so they lay open to the stars Your clothes give way to the current and river stone 'Till every trace of who you ever were is gone And the things of the earth they maske their claim That the things of heaven may do the same Goodbye, my darling, for your love I give God thanks, Meet me on the Matamoros Meet me on the Matamoros Meet me on the Matamoros banks Over rivers of stone and ancient ocean beds I walk on sandals od twine and tire tread My pockets full of dust, my mouth filled with cool stone The pale moon opens the earth to its bones I long, my darling, for your kiss, for your sweet love I give God thanks The touch of your loving fingertips Meet me on the Matamoros Meet me on the Matamoros Meet me on the Matamoros banks Your sweet memory comes on the evenin' wind I sleep and dream of holding you in my arms again The lights of Brownsville, across the river shine A shout rings out and into the silly red river I dive I long, my darling, for your kiss, for your sweet love I give God thanks A touch of your loving fingertips Meet me on the Matamoros Meet me on the Matamoros Meet me on the Matamoros banks Meet me on the Matamoros Meet me on the Matamoros Meet me on the Matamoros banks