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    Scott Cook

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    lyrics from Moonlit Rambles 

    Song For the Slow Dancers 

    People just don't see the way you see, boy 
    Maybe you could change your name to Leeroy 
    Give 'em something recognizable, 
    In a newsbite-sizeable way 

    I'm told it's all about the branding 
    Not that old peace, love, and understanding 
    And if honesty is as good as we say it is, 
    How come it doesn't pay? 

    Saskatchewan rappers sound like they're from Compton 
    And for the reggae singers it's the Caribbean 
    If you're country it's Houston or old San Antone 
    Or any old place but your very own 
    That's what they're callin' authentic 
    Couldn't even say what they mean if they meant it 
    They never told me their secrets, they never 
    Let themselves be known 

    But I've heard songs that broke my heart open wide 
    Let all these tears spill out and let the light inside 
    The drunken throng'll jump around to any old thing 
    But a song strong enough for world-changing must be 
    Clear as the moonlight, clear as a straight answer 
    Play a song for the slow dancers 

    Some sell it actin' sleazy 
    Some sell it with free and easy 
    Some sell it with bad sweaters and ironic moustaches 
    Some sell it with porn 
    And they're filling the air with all that traffic 
    Trying to turn the revolution into a demographic 
    Don't you think it's high time to lay it on the line? 
    All they got is lines to lay it on 

    But I've heard songs that wore their hearts on their sleeve 
    Got some words on this napkin I really believe 
    Under all the zippity-do-dah-dey 
    Your heart & mine are longing to say something 
    Clear as the moonlight, clear as a straight answer 
    Play a song for the slow dancers 

    They tell us that the industry's dying 
    But I can assure you, good people, they're lying 
    It's already dead, devoured its own head 
    After killing all its brightest kids 
    Thank God for the real singers I know 
    House concerts, and community radio 
    They'll only keep lying as long as we're listening 
    What if nobody did? 

    I've heard songs that told me I am not alone 
    And the only life for me to live is my own 
    Songs that held me in the palm of their hand 
    And spoke to me in words that I understand 
    Clear as the moonlight, clear as a straight answer 
    Play a song for the slow dancers 

    Goin Up to the Country 

    Goin up to the country 
    Come on along 

    We're gonna leave behind our phones and watches 
    Slip into our beards and moustaches 
    Swim in our birthday suits 
    Dance and get a little loose 
    If you got the gin, I got the juice, come on along 
    All this staring at a screen can't be good 
    Let's go out into the trees and burn some wood 
    We're gonna dirty up our hands 
    Abandon our elaborate plans 
    If you hear me, and you understand, come on along 

    We're gonna learn things that can't be put in books 
    Hang our hats on mother nature's hook 
    Sit by a stream, and have a think 
    Wash my face in mother nature's sink 
    We got lots to eat and drink, come on along 
    Good people, I believe, for what it's worth 
    We're gonna make a little heaven right here on earth 
    The New Best Friends will be swinging 
    Carolyn Mark will be singing 
    I got a big tent I'm bringing, come on along 

    But I gotta warn ya, 
    I've been known to hold hands and dance around in a circle 
    You know I might even wear purple 
    There'll be cowboys and hippies waltzing together 
    There'll be a whole lot of "I haven't seen you in forever" 
    If you can take the weather, come on along 
    And it must be fifteen years ago by now 
    A light went on in my head that never went out 
    Saw how it all fit together with room for me 
    Knew I'd always find family 
    Ain't that a lucky place to be? Come on along 
    If you still don't understand 
    Somebody's gonna take you by the hand 
    And they'll say, welcome home, my friend, welcome home 

    Ain't this just about all there is to life? 
    The mornings, the days, the evenings and the nights 
    If you got love, you don't need a lot 
    Every day is a gift you got 
    So whether you're s'posed to work or not, come on along 

    Let Your Horses Run 

    Of all the known and unknown people and places, and tonight of all nights 
    How is it that you and I are facing underneath a moon this bright? 
    Leading or being led, we can never know 
    Stones from distant ranges meet in a riverbed, gathered by the flow 

    While we're side by side, let the wagers ride 
    While we're in the sun, let your horses run 

    Knowing what I know it's hard startin', this old world's so sick & sad 
    But you make me wanna grow a garden, & you know that can't be bad 
    I've been blind and selfish, but I'm hopin', while our paths entwine 
    To keep my eyes wide open, and your heart with mine 

    While we're side by side, let the wagers ride 
    While we're in the sun, let your horses run 

    High and Lonesome Again 

    There's not many sounds as wild and lonesome 
    As a far-away train in the night 
    They used to carry my young mind with them off down the line 
    And I'd shiver to think of the distance 
    And some nights I'd walk out past the lights 
    To gape at the stars and hear the highway whine 

    I followed that high lonesome sound 
    Been down some good roads and I've known some good friends 
    After all that travelin' round 
    Here I am high and lonesome again 

    The songs of the open country 
    And the words of the traveling men 
    Drew my young eyes away toward the horizon 
    They said a heart that always runs free 
    Will never find rest but within 
    The fleeting space between voices harmonizing 

    Hank's playing on lousy speakers 
    And every word that he sings is true 
    Tonight it's just him and me, this storm, this stupor 
    This hotel room, and these thoughts of you 

    I don't know if I'm tired of always running 
    Or just tired of always getting away 
    I keep blowing through with nothing that I can call mine 
    But there's something kindred and healing 
    In the sound of a loon on the lake 
    Or the cold whistle of the wind as it runs through the pines 

    A Million Miles 

    When I came to the city I was green as green could be 
    Didn't know myself, and hung on what they thought of me 
    But I got a feeling these ain't my kind of folks 
    They laughed at my clothes and not at my jokes 
    And I wished I could fly a million miles from here 

    The change in me is frightening to behold 
    Cash burns holes in your pockets, work burns holes in your soul 
    I can feel the eyes of the voiceless crowd 
    Might even be scared to live out loud 
    And just dream of being free a million miles from here 

    Gone, gone, gone, gone ain't a place, no road'll take you there 

    There's a few kinds of trouble just seem to follow me around 
    They show their old faces any time that I slow down 
    They followed me out to the golden coast 
    Introduced themselves to those I loved the most 
    And they'll be hounding me a million miles from here 

    Some folks say there's a heaven up above 
    And this vale of tears ain't no place to put your love 
    Some other folks say the world's whatever they call it 
    They say open your mind, and open your wallet 
    And you'll wake up a million miles from here 

    Gone, gone, gone, gone ain't a place, no road'll take you there 
    Gone, gone, gone, gone ain't a place, there's no way to nowhere 

    There's no such place, there's no such place, 
    There's no such place as gone 
    Wherever you go, there you go along 
    There's no such place as gone 

    In the country they're living like we all might have to do (and it might be real soon!) 
    You taking care of me, me looking after you 
    They said welcome home, what a sound to hear 
    Welcome home, let go your fear 
    But it feels like a million miles from here 

    Gone, gone, gone, gone ain't a place, no road'll take you there 
    Gone, gone, gone, gone ain't a place, there's no way to nowhere 

    The Lord Giveth (and the Landlord Taketh Away)

    It's a fine line 'tween making ends meet and sleeping in the rain 
    Broke down and wishing you were back on that 8am train 
    Seems like the screw keeps tightening every single day 
    The Lord giveth and the landlord taketh away 

    Well, they'll sell you a dream, loan you the money for a house 
    And it don't matter if you can't make the payments when all the jobs head South 
    See, they bet on both sides, so they win either way 
    That's how the Lord giveth and the landlord taketh away 

    We just hang around drinking coffee from a paper cup 
    They say it'll trickle down, but it just keeps tricklin' up 
    And the first hit's free, but after that you gotta pay 
    That's how the Lord giveth and the landlord taketh away 

    Well, they say there's a crisis, every TV's talking about 
    How the same folks who got us into this need us to bail them out 
    Guess when you're too big to fail, it means you're too big to pay 
    Ain't it clever how the Lord giveth and the landlord taketh away 

    Big men got big plans, big plans only expand 
    They got no friends, only interests, little men are pawns in their hands 
    And they send them to fight for reasons that aren't what they say 
    Poor boys don't you know, the Lord giveth and the landlord taketh away 

    We just hang around drinking coffee from a paper cup 
    They say it'll trickle down, but it just keeps tricklin' up 
    Everybody gets a cut, and the newsmen just look the other way 
    While the Lord giveth and the landlord taketh away 

    They been writing up laws for as long as they been stealing the land 
    Make it so convoluted that ordinary folks can't understand 
    And it's a grim reminder every year on Columbus Day 
    Of just how the Lord giveth and the landlord taketh away 

    We just hang around drinking coffee from a paper cup 
    They say it'll trickle down, but it just keeps tricklin' up 
    It's just bottom lines and lines on the map, people affected get no say 
    That's how the Lord giveth and the landlord taketh away 
    That's how the Lord giveth and the landlord taketh away 

    All My Moonlit Rambles 

    Lonely crescent moon tonight, I know you're bright on the other side 
    But from here you're only an eyelid of light and a bit of empty sky 
    Still you're quite a companion, especially for one who's got none, 
    And I know you understand me, you've seen all the moonlit deeds I've done 
    Yes, on all my moonlit rambles, yes on all my moonlit nights 

    My dance partner when I staggered, you meant more than all the stars above 
    And every time I catch your eye I can't help but think of the girl I love 
    When you're wide open the world is written large, moon shadows play on the grass 
    Your frosty halo casting a rainbow like the sun in my love's eyelash 
    Shine on all my moonlit rambles, shine on all my moonlit nights 

    You watch us run in place not knowing what we're racing to find 
    I'm told you're a cold stone hung in space, but you feel like an eye in my mind 
    Watching all my moonlit rambles, watching all my moonlit nights 

    I poured my weary mind out to you, as if you knew how I'm thinking 
    And now and then when I played the fool, I swore I saw you winking 
    Here's to all my moonlit rambles, here's to all my moonlit nights 

    Time With You 

    It's a warm moonlit night, let's walk out in it 
    Seems these days we rarely do 
    You and I are tired, but we got these minutes 
    I wanna spend some with you 

    These streets can feel so cold and distant 
    You know I feel it in me too 
    Any place, all we ever have are these very instants 
    I wanna spend some with you 

    How did we all get so beaten down? 
    How'd we get so over run? 
    Working so hard all these years now, 
    Can't buy yourself another one 

    It's hard to keep your head above the headlines 
    Repeating lies 'til they sound true 
    Those who say time is money want both of mine, 
    I wanna spend some with you 

    How did we all get so beaten down? 
    How'd we get so over run? 
    Sometimes a strong drink'll block it out 
    And you buy yourself another one 

    I'd turn it around if I had the power 
    Maybe enough of us together do 
    I may not see that day, but while I've got these hours 
    I wanna spend some with you 

    How did we all get so beaten down? 
    How'd we get so over run? 
    The ones you love are like a hometown 
    You can't buy yourself another one 

    It's a warm moonlit night, let's walk out in it 
    Seems these days we rarely do 
    You and I are tired, but we got these minutes 
    I wanna spend some with you 

    Go On, Ray 

    Ray, I got the news in a motel room that rainy night 
    And I wondered just what I'd been waiting for 
    Wondered if I could write you a song you'd like 
    And why I never wrote you one before 
    You never were the kind to talk about your heart 
    But you never let us doubt how much you cared 
    Never liked to dress up, never tried to sound smart 
    Never had much patience for folks who put on airs 
    Never learned to swim, never learned to dance 
    Never left the continent, through you drove its whole expanse 
    While the country lost its way, somehow you stayed true 
    A boy from Levering, Michigan, 1922 

    Takes a certain kind of man to farm for fifty years 
    While the cost of living and corporate profits soar 
    He just pushed on, bull-headed, we never saw his tears 
    They don't make quite that kind of man no more 
    Opened two hardware stores, made furniture by hand 
    Carried mail while Grandma taught the kids in town 
    When the money got tighter he had to sell off some land 
    And when the big stores came, he had to close one of his down 
    He watched the land he loved turn suspicious and cold 
    Saw the countryside carved up by walls 
    But he never bought the lies, never prejudged a soul 
    Said don't the good book say "whosoever calls"? 

    So go on, Ray, we're coming after you 
    You passed through well, and that's all a man can do 
    My dad's following, in time I'm going too 
    Go on, Ray, we're coming after you 

    He was an artist with wood and jerry-rigging things 
    Hands gnarled from eighty years of hard use 
    I saw him hit himself with a hammer, and he didn't even wince 
    Somehow nine out of ten fingers made it through 
    Had the kind of smarts you might call old-fashioned 
    Built a hydro plant himself by trial and error 
    He loved tractor shows, music boxes, clockworks and gadgets 
    Built us a merry-go-round with a washing machine motor 
    When he couldn't walk too far, it really slowed him down 
    But he loved his work too much to stop 
    He'd still plant a little crop in that old Michigan ground 
    And ride his lawn tractor out to the wood shop 

    So go on, Ray, we're coming after you 
    You passed through well, and that's all a man can do 
    My dad's following, in time I'm going too 
    Go on, Ray, we're coming after you 

    Last time I saw him he was leaving for South Dakota 
    Taking a vanload of clothes on his own dime 
    To a poor kids' school on the land of the Lakota 
    I think he knew that trip would be his last time 
    No one knows what it's like to lay this body down 
    Though some folks say that they do 
    I just know he went a long way, and came back around 
    And there's a lot of people better off for him passing through 
    Ray, they bought you a new chair just before you died 
    We hoped you'd have a few more years at home 
    But then you had to take another ambulance ride 
    And I reckon you just didn't want to go 

    Go on, Ray, we're coming after you 
    You passed through well, and that's all a man can do 
    My dad's following, in time I'm going too 
    Go on, Ray, we're coming after you 

    Song for a Pilgrim 

    Wanna find a new song and shake these city blues 
    Set out at the break of day with a pair of sturdy shoes 
    A pair of sturdy shoes, a bedroll and a knife 
    Set out at the break of day to look for my life 

    I don't feel at home here, or believe what they're talkin' 
    Even when I walk alone I'm glad to be walkin' 
    I'm glad to be walkin', and proud of you my company 
    Even when I walk alone I take you all with me 

    Around the bend a ways, sun is shining on the road 
    And I can slow down this fevered pace, and I can lay down this load 

    Nothing's as sure or scary as thinking makes it so 
    All of 34 years old & what do I know? 
    What do I know? Only what I've felt 
    All of 34 years old, I played what I was dealt 

    Around the bend a ways, sun is shining on the road 
    And I can slow down this fevered pace, and I can lay down this load 

    I thank my unknown maker, and try to take 'er slow 
    Heart yearning, by going, learning where I have to go 
    Where I have to go, and when to stay in place 
    Heart yearning, by going, learning, stumbling into grace 

    Around the bend a ways, sun is shining on the road 
    And I can slow down this fevered pace, and I can lay down this load

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