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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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