Lyrics from Dark So Gold (2012)

Cry, Cry, Crow

In the morning, I buckle my shoes like a pilgrim
And make my way to the highway
In the silhouette of silos
Cry, cry, crow

I love you, more than you'll ever know dear
Before I was born I could hear you
Calling my name from far away
Cry, cry, crow

In the distance, all the way from Iowa
The city glows like a beating
Heart upon the table
Cry, cry, crow

In the dome-light, wherever you are going
The hourglass your holding
Is filled with falling snow
Cry, cry, crow

If By Morning

My bell tower's ringing but it isn't you singing
we don't know that song anymore
and winter bones breaking if it ain't shook it's shaking
this tangle of fate outside my door

Oh threadbare in peril this cold christmas carol
we jump from the bridge in our mind
it's one for the money, at two you go hungry
my blue shoes are draggin the line

Leave a lantern, on the trail
I'm not asking for much just your meadowsweet touch
If by morning you're ready to sail
don't wait for so long cause you know that I'm gone

You can lock up your treasure and take drastic measures
we march toward the grave all the same
it's a short life of trouble your church turns to rubble
and beauty has never had a name

well my head's in your branches, I squandered my chances
I've given the last I can give
this empire's falling the pace is appalling
how can a poor man stand such time and live

So leave a lantern on the trail
I'm not asking for much just your meadowsweet touch
If by morning you're ready to sail
don't wait for so long cause you know that I'm gone

All The While

Oh, the heart shines red and the stars shine gold
Its getting late and its so cold
All the while my heart beats
For my love through the empty streets
All the while

With a silver arrow buried in my chest
I fell asleep in the earliness
And, had the most vivid dream
I was just a sailor and I was lost at sea
All the waves crash over me
I was lost but I was free
All the while

With a broken watch around my wrist
I check the time and shake my fist
As we walk along the graveyard fence
If time aint real and time don't exist
Then why?
All the while

Rise Up and Be Lonely

Whose woods these are I think I know
they stole them when they found the gold
well a broken little treaty holds the proof

Now it's snowblind madness on the plains
I clamor for a purer strain
well you don't need many words to speak the truth

Rise up and be lonely

Where daisies burn and kisses fade
from lack of light in heart and mind
cold hymns explode and voodoo scenes erupt in time
I make my way in leaves and roots
I'm trembling in my travelin shoes
I don't believe, but I believe I'll dust my broom

Rise up and be lonely

Stripes on my shoulders, chains on my feet
all the money in the world is a lame retreat
from the shelter behind our eyes

Look now the sun hangs like a thief
over branches leaf to leaf
and I'm out walking 
under corporate criminal skies

Rise up in the morning
Rise up and be lonely

Be There In Bells

Late at night, watching the satellites
North Carolina and the rolling hills

Orion, draws back the arrow
Aiming at the heart of a scarecrow

Cloud to cloud, hour to hour
Dust to dust, flower to flower
I close my eyes, so I might dream
Won't you meet me,
When the Sun stands still?
And I will, be there in bells

I thought I was in love once, I don't know
I was over dressed and scared to be alone

The pain is there, for to protect
If it didn't hurt then we'd all bleed to death

Black to black, reel to reel,
Heart to heart, shield to shield
I close my eyes, so I might dream
Won't you meet me,
When the Sun stands still?
And I will, be there in bells

The Great Spirit rose over ol' St. Paul
You are forever forgiven and all

I fell asleep and woke up in the sky
There was a light so bright, I could see through my skin
All the sorrow and the cold north wind
I had to go through
I had to find you

Dollar to dollar, broke to broke,
Ash to ash, smoke to smoke
I close my eyes, so I might dream
Won't you meet me,
When the Sun stands still?
And I will, be there in bells
I will be there in bells

Chimes

If you don't believe I'm leaving you can follow me to the train
I'm going where the digital dream don't roam
through the corn and through the cold to find me something I can hold
and wander nevermore in search of home

Oh the rain is my shepherd it makes me lie with you
back before the moon fell from the sky
now it's sudden death, overtime
in the darkest corners of my mind
and I've lost the thread, I cannot tell a lie

If you leave now there still is time
to catch me falling down the line
when the train hits the chimes

Well there's peace in the valley, but there's trouble in the hills
whatsoever comes we'll make it through
you can save the earth or save your home
but the life you save may be your own
there's nothing really left for you to prove

If you leave now there still is time
to catch me falling down the line
before the train hits the chimes

Dead Feathers

Ah, dead feathers, tied to a dreamcatcher
That hangs down from a midwest moon
As smoke rolls, out of the windows
Of my heart into the sky
Where falling stars disappear

It's an old, lonely city
We brush our teeth to the sound of sirens
An illusion of safety
A harpsichord on a gravel road
My heart's on fire but my hands are cold

We tremble in the bow echo

So much beauty and kindness
In the world it makes me cry
I beg of you, your Highness
Please show mercy on the tender ones
In the low and lonesome glow

We tremble in the bow echo
We lay awake in the dark so gold

We worry all the night
We hurry away the days
Through the frugalness
We go…

We tremble in the bow echo
We lay awake in the dark so gold

Track Listing:

1. Cry, Cry, Crow

2. If By Morning

3. All The While

4. Moonrise, Iowa

5. Rise Up and Be Lonely

6. Be There in Bells

7. Grace Hill

8. Chimes

9. Dead Feathers

10. Losing The Stars

Pray Tell

Who hung the moon so low in the sky?
It taps it’s feet round my bedside and
It breaks the locks on all my dreams
Who hung the moon with its twisted beams?

Who pulled the stars down over my eyes?
I lost my way now I’m in disguise and
I asked for truth all I got was lies
Who pulled the stars down over my eyes?

As for the fall of man, where was it that he fell?
Pray tell, pray tell, where was the fall of man
Pray tell

Where is the sweet field of my youth?
I been banished to the bone and tooth and
Lost in the turnstile of greed and fear
Where is the sweet field if not here?

Where are the people who won’t back down?
Who rise up singing over city and town and
Who take the streets just to raise some hell
Where are the people with the rebel yell?
Who opens up the door between heaven and hell?
Pray tell, pray tell, who opens up the door?
Pray tell

Heart and Bones

Last night you were in my dreams
Heart and bones
When I woke up you were next to me
Heart and bones

Blood is red and the sky is blue
Heart and bones
And I've never met anyone like you
Heart and bones

Big bright moon over old St. Paul
Heart and bones
I met you when the apples fall
Heart and bones

Shine On Moon

The night owls howl and feed until dawn
I  turn my collar from the right to the wrong
On the blown-cold reservations of my mind
There never has been such a thing as time
I look for mine in everyone else
Shine on moon, I’m by myself

One of these days about twelve o’clock
This old world’s gonna reel and rock
Silver daggers rain down from capitol hill
Twenty-nine years but I’m shackled still
Take the best weapon down from the shelf
Shine on moon, I’m by myself

From Granada gypsies on their dark horse ride
To hobo jungles with their shanty town brides
Oh the world’s more full of weeping than you can surmise
But it’s so hard to see with your eyes on the prize
All fallen with wonders, are those towers of wealth
Shine on moon, I’m by myself

Lonesome Tremolo Blues

The harness eyes are breaking
What's this world a coming too
If it wasn't for you I don't know what I'd do
My heart is aching, can I take a little booze
I'm waiting at the window
With the lonesome tremolo blues

The world is on fire
The moon is hanging from a string
I wake up in the night, Lift my head up and start to dream
What's wrong with everyone? How far does it gotta go?
Until the dogs of greed, fall down,
And drown in snow

You give them all your time
And you do your work well
But your compensation, is just a fraction of the sale
You fell like a buffalo in the belly of a whale
While the sick and the poor still,
Hanging on the nail

I'm a stranger here and
I'm a stranger everywhere
I could go home but, I'm a stranger there
Aint it hard to stumble,When you got no place to fall
I aint' got no place, babe,
In this world at all

Meadows of Dawn

I’ll put out the eyes of the moon tonight
There’s nothing I want to be seen tonight
I’m dreaming in seven, up at the heavens
And I doubt if the scriptures will hold tonight

The counter-intelligence was wrong tonight
More has been lost here than songs tonight
Oh the heart is a cage, in this perilous age
And I’m quite sure the lantern’s will dim tonight

And it’s bad enough if your arm is cut off
But it’s worse to be lured by the diamond
And it’s thunderous doubt when time has run out
We will meet in the meadows of dawn

In bell towers voices will call tonight
Ghosts of Little Earth they dance on tonight
And I fumble with prayers empty as stares
That the stars give softly to me tonight

Six years it isn’t no great long time
To be haunted and hassled and bothered by time
Oh my faith is obscured by the sad news I heard
Of the punishment you have endured at times

And it’s known through the land
Not  to question the man
But it’s worse to be stifled by a flower
And the polling has closed, and we all stand exposed
Shivering in the meadows of dawn

Skipper and His Wife

(words by Spider John Koerner; arranged by The Pines)

Skipper and his wife traveled all their life
Leaving their friends to wonder
For many long days and a many long year
They turned to one another
And they cried,
All I had, in this world done gone

Sitting on a hillside, a moon lit night
A young girl and her lover
For may long hour till it come sunrise
They turned to one another
And they're cryin',
All I had, in this world done gone

The old man with the money in his hand
Lookin' for a place to hide
Along comes a a young man, gun in his hand
And they both sat down and cried,
And they're cryin',
All I had, in this world done gone

Well, gettin' ahead is harder than you think
But gettin behind is easy.
When everyone is going for the same damn thing,
Gettin' behind is easy
And your crying,
All I had in this world done gone

Nothing in your hands, nothing in your head
All you got is to borrow
Nothing in your hands is how you feel today
And there is nothing in your head tomorrow
And your crying,
All I had in this world done gone

Spike Driver Blues
(words by Mississippi John Hurt; arranged by The Pines)

Take this hammer and carry it to the captain
Tell him I’m gone, won’t you tell him I’m gone
Take this hammer and carry it to the captain
Tell him I’m gone, cause I sure is gone

This is the hammer that killed John Henry
But it won’t kill me, no it won’t kill me
This is the hammer that killed John Henry
But it won’t kill me, that’s why I’m going

It’s a long way from east Colorado
To my home, to my home
It’s a long way from east Colorado
To my home, that’s where I’m going

John Henry was a steel driving man
But he went down, oh he went down
John Henry was a steel driving man
But he went down, down in the ground, that’s where I’m goin

Behind The Time

These are the days that send a shiver to the heart
Oh my love, the sidewalks still lead to spring
As surely as the swan song plays its vital part
Like a stone that goes on missing from a ring

Moon cycles never bend for passers-by
Oh it’s true, I never saw the future clear
But the ceremony grounds are thawing dry
And I know the way to get there from here

The town crier and the torch-bearer missed the sign
But I knew you when I saw you , behind the time

The people’s history of resistance to the fears
That pasture’s of plenty will never find their door
And justice withheld that was held so dear
So that them that have can have a little more

When the clock strikes twelve on the little farm towns
And the wind blows the dust as thick as thieves
The bough that breaks and the cradle that falls down
And the world that unto our children we will leave

I  remember the night train down the line
Oh running right on schedule, behind the time

If I could leave you as I found you blessed
As the flakes of snow  into May extend
There’s nothing I would take from who you are
That wasn’t given, or wasn’t there to mend

There is a touch that can free the captive mind
To be done, at once, right here, behind the time

Shiny Shoes

We talk about the end of the world
As we go walking at night
And the nightengale, brings the mail
At dawns' early light

Falling down the street
You reached out and took my hand
And sat next next to me by the light of a movie
On the witness stand

We surrender, just to survive
But no matter how hard you try
No, you can't put the tears
Back into your eyes

Boxes of books and clothes
Oh, the compass you gave to me
So I can find, till the end of time
My way to thee

The bells of midnight chime
The moon and your shiny shoes
I've stumbled around, so many towns
Dreaming of you

Track Listing:

1. Pray Tell

2. Heart & Bones

3. Shine On Moon

4. Lonesome Tremolo Blues

5. Meadows of Dawn

6. Skipper & His Wife

7. Spike Driver Blues

8. Behind the Time

9. Avenue of the Saints

10. Shiny Shoes

Lyrics from Sparrows in the Bell (2007)

Horse and Buggy

A horse and buggy slowly roll through the Cedar trees along beside me
Caught between the myth of freedom and this sad and lonely world
A wild wind blows around it blows me from town to town without you
Oh, in this world gone wrong

A desperate full moon rises up behind me as I go walking
Saw the Baron In the Trees swing from the olives into the pines
There ain't no heaven without Earth and no Earth without a war under heaven
Oh, in this world gone wrong

Don't Let Me Go

I'm all dressed up
Ain't got nowhere to go
Is there something on your mind
Is there something I should now

Take me, take me
Far away into your dreams
And just leave me be
Just leave me there for evermore

Don't let me go
Not even if I start to cryin'
If true love lasts forever
Then I guess it don't matter if we die then

Don't let me go

I got a bird that whistles
I got a bird that sings
I got a little baby bird
With a big broken wing

I'm gonna pretend this is heaven
You know, just in case
I get up to the gates
And they don't recognize my face

Without A Kiss

The night is strong medicine the night
Broken like a watch upon the floor
Opens and will not give in ‘til dawn
The first word from you and not one more
While the heart attacks the thief, the heart attacks the night

With tender hands and lips and with tender
Words like yes and no a wish is shadowed
On the back wall where all the music’s kept
And the little time I had with you is widowed
While we dream aloud all night that we are tender

Two things are true and one will keep and
Tender will lay us all to sleep
Without a kiss, oh without a kiss
Well thehours in the day are lost the hours
Where a rich man scrapes his little treasures
Off plates all empty to begin
And wise men build their worlds with prudent measures
Just to watch them turn to dust and fade like a myth

Where one laughs loud and one softly weeps
Oh the hours will lay us all to sleep
Without a kiss, oh without a kiss

The earth it hides the raven on the earth
Mud houses and clay bodies soft and trembling
The stars like a tarp over our bed
The ones in danger and the ones in need of mending
While the raven hides the night,  and those tender hours

Tie a stone around your neck and throw it in the deep
For the earth will lay us all to sleep
Without a kiss, oh without a kiss

Throw Me In the River

I gathered up the feathers
From the wings that have fallen
Sparrows in the bells
That nevermore ring
And millions of dollars
For a palace of ice
Is worth every penny
To watch it melt in the spring

Throw me in the river
And met me at the bottom, babe

Oh, death has no shame
I don't care what you say
There is nothing you can do
To stop from being born
At the end of the day
When the bugler blows his horn
There's a reason that roses have their thorns

Throw me in the river
And met me at the bottom, babe

I am no sparrow
I have no wings
Will you still love me baby, even though
I'll never fly
Oh if I could sew
I would sew you to my side and
Down the road we'd go

Throw me in the river
And met me at the bottom, babe

Let's go

Ain't got no money
Ain't got no job
You want to steal
And you want to rob
Just let it all fall apart

You gotta move
Do you want a ride
Just leave all your worries behind
Let's go

You can't sleep
You can't dream
How could this little ol' world
Be so mean
Your counting days
Your counting sheep
You count the cars
Coming down the street

You gotta move
Do you want a ride
Just leave all your worries behind
You gotta move

Circle Around the Sun

The first day of the festival, the last day of the fall
A sympathetic breeze blew through, the buttons of your shawl
In the world of charming dandies, still the arrows pierced the skin
Of the hearts of human kindness from the lords of war-torn sin
Seven years in exile, now the high sea brings you back
I didn’t even know you in the days before attack
On golden pond you took my hand and led me to the place
Where somehow there was still some space for our embrace

Without a word I soon agreed to holding first things first
The desert song you sang to me I memorized each verse
When so much depends on making sure the damage is never done
Throw your arms around me babe, like a circle round the sun

Riverside with sad lament, no money for the fare
We watched the boats for hourse, we weren’t going anywhere
All the celebrated captains and those ladies so and such
Every single one looked so fragile to the touch

With discount visions of ecstasy and borrowed solitude
A song condemning nations exploded from the flute
As a medicine for bad-heart lands riddled by disease
And hoarding every penny in this country with no peace

With a silver stone deep in my hand I had nothing to fear
The pattern of the brightest beads hung gently from your ear
The fighting never keeps the very things that fighting won
Throw your arms around me babe, like a circle round the sun

Light Under the Door

The end of the night is near
The blue light of dawn is glowing
I'll follow you through the lightning and the snowing
There's a light under the door

I remember the last time I saw you
You were sitting on the porch with your wife
You had a big smile on your face and a baby on the way

But now you've gone away
To a place where you'll never grow old
The hanging garden is hanging low
There's a light under the door

Your little red house is for sale
And every now and then you still get mail
If it's true, it's a sin to be born
Then death is forgiveness, I guess

But you will always be my friend
No matter where we go
I'll follow you through the lightning and the snow
and there's a light under the door

Midnight Sun

In the merry month of May, when the flowers grow
We know how it goes, we've done this before
But now it feels new, now that I'm with you

Some see the savior, up in the moon
I see your silloutte, up in your room
As I walk through the garden and gather stones to throw

I'm waiting on, the midnight sun

It's a big city, in a small world
There's people everywhere, running scared
Oh i forgive you, I  forgive you now

Eyes of illusion, life slips by
With nowhere to run to, no reason why
It will be alright, it's okay to get sad

I'm waiting on, the midnight sun

There's a blackbird nailed, to the front door
I sacrificed the nightbird to the midnight sun
oh surely soon, it will rise

I'm going to hold your hand, as long as I can
I'm going down the road, with a song in my head
And I know, what I'm here to do

I'm waiting on, the midnight sun

Goin' Home

I'm going home
I'm goin' home
I'm gonna see my friend
That I left behind
I miss you babe
And maybe
You miss me too

Things go wrong
There ain't nothing
You can do
Oh the silver moon
Is a hanging low
It's a sad old world
And the leaves are falling
On this sad old world