1. |
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I dreamed I saw St. Augustine
Alive as you or me
Tearing through these quarters
In the utmost misery
With a blanket underneath his arm
And a coat of solid gold
Searching for the very souls
Whom already have been sold
Arise, arise, he cried so loud
In a voice without restraint
Come out, ye gifted kings and queens
And hear my sad complaint
No martyr is among ye now
Whom you can call your own
So go on your way accordingly
But know you're not alone
I dreamed I saw St. Augustine
Alive with fiery breath
And I dreamed I was amongst the ones
That put him out to death
Oh, I awoke in anger
So alone and terrified
I put my fingers against the glass
And bowed my head and cried
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2. |
Billy the Kid
02:22
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I'll tell you the story of Billy the Kid,
And I'll tell of the things that this young outlaw did
Say out in the west when the country was young
When a gun was your law and your law was your gun
Now the Mexican maidens liked Billy so well
How many he had, no expert could tell
While singing and drinking he come to his end
Shot down by Pat Garrett who once was his friend
Pat Garrett rode up to the window that night
And the desert was still and the moonlight was bright
And he listened awhile as the Kid told his tale
Of shooting the guard at the Las Cruces jail
You sweet Mexican maidens, come give me your hand
At the age of sixteen I killed my first man
It was out in New Mexico, long long ago
When a man's only chance was his old .44
I rode down the border and robbed in Juarez
I drank to the maidens, the happiest of days
My picture is posted from Texas to Maine
And women and riding and robbing's my game
On the same night, that young Billy died
He said to his friends, "I just ain't satisfied.
There's twenty-one men that I've put bullets through
And the sheriff of this county's gonna make twenty-two."
Pat Garrett then fired and his thumb-buster cracked
And Billy fell dead, he was blowed through the back
Pat rode away and the Kid's laying dead
And this was the last song of Billy the Kid
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3. |
Pastures of Plenty
02:18
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It's a mighty hard row that my poor hands have hoed
My poor feet have traveled a hot dusty road
Out of your Dust Bowl and westward we rolled
And your deserts were hot and your mountain was cold
I worked in your orchards of peaches and prunes
Slept on the ground in the light of your moon
On the edge of the city you'll see us and then
We come with the dust and we go with the wind
California and Arizona, I make all your crops
And its North up to Oregon to gather your hops
Dig the beets from your ground, cut the grapes from your vine
To set on your table your light sparkling wine
Green pastures of plenty from dry desert ground
From the Grand Coulee Dam where the waters run down
Every state in this Union us migrants have been
We'll work in this fight and we'll fight till we win
Well, it's always we rambled, that river and I
All along your green valley, I will work till I die
My land I'll defend with my life if it be
'Cause my pastures of plenty must always be free
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4. |
The Talking Voting Blues
03:04
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I went down to the voting poll
And I got into a voting hole
A big old line of older folks
When I finally got my paper my pencil broke
There was no sharpener around
They said “times up!”
I had to go back to the end of the line
When I got back to the front again
They hand me some ink and a fountain pen
They send me to a booth that’s painted green
But my pen don’t work on the computer screen
They ask me what day it is
I said its Thursday
They said go back to the end of monday’s line
Come Monday
I went down to the voting poll
And I got into a voting hole
A big old line of older folks
I give a yell and I take a poke
It was a police officer
He said no yelling
I said I’ve been here for four days
He said, oh really? There’s extra booths in the next room
I ask him why and he just shrugs
I give up and go into the voting booth
I look down at the voting paper
It looks back and says meet your maker
A hundred little eyes staring back at me
And off all the questions I understand three
What’s your name
Who do you want for president
And should we legalize marijuana
Yes yes and yes
I finished filling in all those bubbles
The man at the desk says hey we’ve got trouble
You went over the line with your pencil here
And your signature well it just says yes
you’re gonna have to redo this
But first
You’re gonna have to get back to the end of the line
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5. |
World War Three
03:33
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I had a dream it was world war three
And everything was on fire
Helicopters were going around
Looking for something important
Looking for something I had
I ran down the street then
Yeah I ran as fast as fast
I stopped to catch my breath at last
When someone there approached me
Someone there approached
They told me that they heard a rumor
That someone said I was a boomer
I said I don’t know what your talking about
And threw my belongings away
They said what a boomer thing to say
I ran ‘till I came to a water
And I hitched a ride on the ferry
Looking around I saw people in places
All of them hiding there faces
All of them hid there face
I start to ask one a question
Im half finished when they reply
Sorry I’m not that kind of guy
To answer to some type of stranger
To answer to some type of stranger
So I leave the ferry
And I meet a strange looking man
He has orange hair and he has an orange face
And he says he has some type of plan, babe
He says he has some type of plan
I ask him what his plan is
I ask him to please end the war
He says, “If I did that I’d be out of a job.”
And he gives me a one dollar bill, Crisp
Says one day his face will be on, this
Instead of whoever this is
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6. |
Pretty Boy Floyd
03:12
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If you'll gather 'round me, children,
A story I will tell
'Bout Pretty Boy Floyd, an outlaw,
Oklahoma knew him well.
It was in the town of Shawnee,
It was Saturday afternoon,
His wife beside him in his wagon
And into town they rode.
There a deputy sheriff approached him
In a manner rather rude,
Vulgar words of language,
An' his wife she overheard.
Pretty Boy grabbed a log chain,
And the deputy grabbed his gun;
In the fight that followed
He laid that deputy down.
There’s a many a starving farmers
The same old story told
How this outlaw paid their mortgage
And saved their little homes.
Others tell you of a stranger
That come to beg a meal,
And Underneath his napkin
Left a thousand dollar bill.
It was in Oklahoma City,
It was on a Christmas Day,
There was a whole car load of groceries
With a letter that did say:
Well, you say that I'm an outlaw,
You say that I'm a thief.
Here's a Christmas dinner
For the families on relief.
Now, as through this world I ramble
I've seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.
But as through your life you travel,
And, as through your life you roam,
You will never see an outlaw
Drive a family from their home.
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7. |
Dead Man's Wine
06:42
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Good evening kind ladies and gentlemen I bring you a story
About a life well fought for and another that just wanted glory
It was a time in our history where we were heavy handed
We had to live our lives fast but we didn’t take them for granted
This is the story of someone who was told to keep trying
When they raised their concerned they were quieted by someone who was lying
So they kept they’re head down and they payed the ultimate price
By becoming an economical sacrifice
When you’re waiting for death, and to be replaced by some other man
In a vacuum of time where you can’t bury your head in your hands
For fear that it might end up making you terribly ill
And I hope the poor bastard knows that he’s taking over the bill
When you’re waiting for life to be replaced with some other plan
Just go and look back later on to know where you began
They say when you die your soul goes ever higher
Twirling around like some kind of psychic fire
Caught for one thing, hiding many, giving little taking plenty
The world is hollow for everyone made it all empty
This is the story of someone who does what they need to
To command your undivided attention so that they can bleed you
She manages tricking an older man, kissing his cheeks
And she buries his body knowing no one will check for two weeks
Every night 8 pm all the quarantined step on outside
And they Howl like the wolves in the dark to feel that they’re alive
It’s a very loud sound that could muffle a bang or a yell
So listen here closely to the story that I tell
There’s a harlett in the street her Scarlett heart beats for power and money
After all the mad hatters she flattered with flowers and honey
She is whispering to you and you make her words out barely
That she’s always felt naked but with you she feels naked rarely
Every night eight pm I can hear a growling choir
Is she out there with you? Stealing your physic fire?
Caught for one thing, hiding many, giving little taking plenty
The world is hollow for everyone made it all empty
Kind ladies and gentlemen I bring you to the end of our tale
From a time when our country was wobbling and looking quite frail
Some good people died trying hard to make everything fine
And some bad people sit in big homes, drinking dead mans wine
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8. |
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I was taking a shower the other day
When a heard a siren a coming my way
I couldn’t believe just what I saw
It was red and blue lights from the man of the law
I had to pull over
I turned off the water
Grabbed my shampoo
Left the conditioner
Cop said hey sir don’t you know
You were driving too fast
And you signaled too slow
You california rolled at a 4 way stop
You’re hands were on the wheel but they were both on top
I’m gonna have to fine you
I’m taking your towel down to the station - confiscation
Lawbreakers have to air dry
The cop walked away and I started my tub
And I thanked my lucky stars above
For all of the water and all of the suds
Had rinsed off the price on the ticket stub
I don’t really mind
But I had to dry off with the New York times
I got paper cuts on my knees
It cut my shoulders
It cut my hair
The stock markets going down the drain
Well I looked up and I looked down
I looked everywhere I looked all around
The sun was a shining the lane lines were lining
There was nothing I was wearing
And a lot of people staring
That’s when I remembered
I had run out of body wash
Gone out to the store to fetch it
Took the bath with me
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Oscar Shorts Colorado Springs, Colorado
Oscar Shorts is the Folk Project of Colorado born Singer/Songwriter Daniel James Eton. Stripped down, hard lipped folk storytelling with a surreal moment here and there.
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