独乐乐——Joan Baez

ALL THE WEARY MOTHERS OF THE EARTH
( PEOPLE'S UNION # 1)
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

All the weary mothers of the earth will finally rest
We will take their babies in our arms and do our best
When the sun is low upon the field
To love and music they will yield
And the weary mothers of the earth shall rest

And the farmer on his tractor and beside his plow
Will stand there in confusion as we wet his brow
With the tears of all the businessmen
Who see what they have done to him
And the weary farmers of the earth shall rest

And the aching workers of the world again shall sing
These words in mighty choruses to all will bring
"We shall no longer be the poor
For no one owns us anymore"
And the workers of the world again shall sing

And when the soldiers burn their uniforms in every land
The foxholes at the borders will be left unmanned
General, when you come for the review
The troops will have forgotten you
And the men and women of the earth shall rest

THE ALTAR BOY AND THE THIEF
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

At night in the safety of shadows and numbers
Seeking some turf on which nothing encumbers
The buying and selling of casual looks
Stuff that gets printed in x-rated books
Your mother might have tried to understand
When you were hardly your daddy's little man
And you gave up saluting the chief
To find yourself some relief

Finely plucked eyebrows and skin of satin
Smiling seductive and endlessly Latin
Olympic body on dancing feet
Perfume thickening the air like heat
A transient star of gay bar fame
You quit your job and changed your name
And you're nearly beyond belief
As you hunt down a little relief

The seven foot black with the emerald ring
Broke up a fight without saying a thing
As the cops cruised by wanting one more chance
To send Jimmy Baldwin back over to France
And a trucker with kids and a wife
Prefers to spend half of his life
In early Bohemian motif
Playing pool and getting relief

My favorite couple was looking so fine
Dancing in rhythm and laughing in rhyme
In the light of the jukebox all yellow and blue
Holding each other as young lovers do
To me they will always remain
Unshamed, untamed, and unblamed
The altar boy and the thief
Grabbing themselves some relief

The altar boy and the thief
Catching a little relief

THE BALLAD OF SACCO AND VANZETTI, PART ONE
(Lyrics by Joan Baez, Music by Ennio Morricone)

"Give to me your tired and your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me."

Blessed are the persecuted
And blessed are the pure in heart
Blessed are the merciful
And blessed are the ones who mourn

The step is hard that tears away the roots
And says goodbye to friends and family
The fathers and the mothers weep
The children cannot comprehend
But when there is a promised land
The brave will go and others follow
The beauty of the human spirit
Is the will to try our dreams
And so the masses teemed across the ocean
To a land of peace and hope
But no one heard a voice or saw a light
As they were tumbled onto shore
And none was welcomed by the echo of the phrase
"I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

Blessed are the persecuted
And blessed are the pure in heart
Blessed are the merciful
And blessed are the ones who mourn

THE BALLAD OF SACCO AND VANZETTI, PART TWO
(Lyrics by Joan Baez, Music by Ennio Morricone)

Father, yes, I am a prisoner
Fear not to relay my crime
The crime is loving the forsaken
Only silence is shame

And now I'll tell you what's against us
An art that's lived for centuries
Go through the years and you will find
What's blackened all of history
Against us is the law
With its immensity of strength and power
Against us is the law!
Police know how to make a man
A guilty or an innocent
Against us is the power of police!
The shameless lies that men have told
Will ever more be paid in gold
Against us is the power of the gold!
Against us is racial hatred
And the simple fact that we are poor

My father dear, I am a prisoner
Don't be ashamed to tell my crime
The crime of love and brotherhood
And only silence is shame

With me I have my love, my innocence,
The workers, and the poor
For all of this I'm safe and strong
And hope is mine
Rebellion, revolution don't need dollars
They need this instead
Imagination, suffering, light and love
And care for every human being
You never steal, you never kill
You are a part of hope and life
The revolution goes from man to man
And heart to heart
And I sense when I look at the stars
That we are children of life
Death is small

THE BALLAD OF SACCO AND VANZETTI, PART THREE
(Lyrics by Joan Baez, Music by Ennio Morricone)

My son, instead of crying be strong
Be brave and comfort your mother
Don't cry for the tears are wasted
Let not also the years be wasted

Forgive me, son, for this unjust death
Which takes your father from your side
Forgive me all who are my friends
I am with you, so do not cry

If mother wants to be distracted
From the sadness and the soulness
You take her for a walk
Along the quiet country
And rest beneath the shade of trees
Where here and there you gather flowers
Beside the music and the water
Is the peacefulness of nature
She will enjoy it very much
And surely you'll enjoy it too
But son, you must remember
Do not use it all yourself
But down yourself one little step
To help the weak ones by your side

Forgive me, son, for this unjust death
Which takes your father from your side
Forgive me all who are my friends
I am with you, so do not cry

The weaker ones that cry for help
The persecuted and the victim
They are your friends
And comrades in the fight
And yes, they sometimes fall
Just like your father
Yes, your father and Bartolo
They have fallen
And yesterday they fought and fell
But in the quest for joy and freedom
And in the struggle of this life you'll find
That there is love and sometimes more
Yes, in the struggle you will find
That you can love and be loved also

Forgive me all who are my friends
I am with you
I beg of you, do not cry

SONG OF BANGLADESH
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

Bangladesh, Bangladesh
Bangladesh, Bangladesh
When the sun sinks in the west
Die a million people of the Bangladesh

The story of Bangladesh
Is an ancient one again made fresh
By blind men who carry out commmands
Which flow out of the laws upon which nation stands
Which is to sacrifice a people for a land

Bangladesh, Bangladesh
Bangladesh, Bangladesh
When the sun sinks in the west
Die a million people of the Bangladesh

Once again we stand aside
And watch the families crucified
See a teenage mother's vacant eyes
As she watches her feeble baby try
To fight the monsoon rains and the cholera flies

And the students at the university
Asleep at night quite peacefully
The soldiers came and shot them in their beds
And terror took the dorm awakening shrieks of dread
And silent frozen forms and pillows drenched in red

Bangladesh, Bangladesh
Bangladesh, Bangladesh
When the sun sinks in the west
Die a million people of the Bangladesh

Did you read about the army officer's plea
For donor's blood? It was given willingly
By boys who took the needles in their veins
And from their bodies every drop of blood was drained
No time to comprehend and there was little pain

And so the story of Bangladesh
Is an ancient one again made fresh
By all who carry out commands
Which flow out of the laws upon which nations stand
Which say to sacrifice a people for a land

Bangladesh, Bangladesh
Bangladesh, Bangladesh
When the sun sinks in the west
Die a million people of the Bangladesh

THE BELLS OF GETHSEMANI
(Music by Joan Baez, Words by Thomas Merton)

Sweet brother, if I do not sleep
My eyes are flowers on your tomb
And if I cannot eat my bread
My fasts shall live like willows where you died
If in the heat I find no water for my thirst
My thirst shall turn to springs for you, poor traveler

Come, in your labor find a resting place
And in my sorrows lay your head
Brother, take my life and bread
And buy yourself a better bed
Take my breath and take my death
Buy yourself a better rest beneath the bells of Gethsemani

When all the men of war are killed
And flags have fallen into dust
Your cross and mine will tell men still
He died on each for both of us
That we might become the brothers of God
And learn to know the Christ of burnt men

And the children are ringing the bells of Gethsemani

For in the wreckage of your April Christ lies slain
He weeps in the ruins of my spring
The money of whose tears shall fall
Into your weak and friendless hand
And buy you back to your own land

The silence of whose tears shall fall
Like bells upon your alien tomb
Hear them and come, they call you home
And the children are ringing the bells of Gethsemani

Yes, if they had been there
They would have taken that crown of thorns from his hair
And stayed for a while in that place of despair
Ah, but what do I see, my brother is there
And he's ringing the bells of Gethsemani

BLESSED ARE...
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

Blessed are the one way ticket holders
on a one way street.
Blessed are the midnight riders
for in the shadow of God they sleep.
Blessed are the huddled hikers
staring out at falling rain,
wondering at the retribution
in their personal acquaintance with pain.
Blessed are the blood relations
of the young ones who have died,
who had not the time or patience
to carry on this earthly ride.
Rain will come and winds will blow,
wild deer die in the mountain snow.
Birds will beat at heaven's wall,
what comes to one must come to us all.

For you and I are one way ticket holders
on a one way street.
which lies across a golden valley
where the waters of joy and hope run deep.
So if you pass the parents weeping
of the young ones who have died,
take them to your warmth and keeping
for blessed are the tears they cried
and many were the years they tried.
Take them to that valley wide
and let their souls be pacified.

CAMBODIA
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

We've watched them leaving, seen their ragged flight
Children of the jungle, mothers of the night
A boy of ten by the roadside lies
Hears his future in whispers and cries
And clutching a tiny Buddha charm
A baby dies in his mother's arms

Is there only sorrow in Cambodia?
Is there no tomorrow in Cambodia?

Leaving the graves of your ancestors after a thousand years
Leaving a few belongings after a thousand tears
How come you never left before through bombing, famine and flood?
Are the rivers useless now spilling over with blood?

Is there only sorrow in Cambodia?
Is there no tomorrow in Cambodia?

I hear there are very few children from ages one to five
It takes more than jungle leaves to keep the young ones alive
I hear some of the rice got through the outside's trying to send to you
There you sit in the ruins of war, the doctors are waiting at your door

And we will try and feed you, try and go to you
People of Kampuchea, Cambodia

A little way in from the border in the crowded camps
I've seen mothers giving birth, seen beautiful orphans dance
An old man turns and covers his eyes, he was never supposed to cry
With sons and daughters and home and wife
Taken from him in his autumn life

Should we try and feed you, say hello to you
Old man of Kampuchea, Kampuchea, Cambodia

Call another conference, write another song
Deliver another ton of rice and hope it gets where it belongs
And rival teams of bandits are really the only choice
Even if the people had their bellies filled, even if the people had a voice

And meanwhile, lovers are caught in the crossfire
Children are caught in the barbed wire
Military sinks in the mire
Let me show it to you

Is there only sorrow, only sorrow in Cambodia?
Is there no tomorrow, no tomorrow in Cambodia?
Still we'll try and feed you, try and show to you
People of Kampuchea, Kampuchea, Cambodia

CARUSO
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

Infinity gives me chills
So could the waters of Iceland
But there's a difference in finding diamonds in rust
And rhinestones in a dishpan
Miracles bowl me over
And often will they do so
Now I think I was asleep till I heard
The voice of the great Caruso

Bring infinity home
Let me embrace it one more time
Make it the lilies of the field
Or Caruso in his prime

A friend of mine gave me a tape
She'd copied from a record disc
It was made at the turn of the century
And found in a jacket labeled "misc."
And midst cellos, harps, and flugelhorns
With the precision of a hummingbird's heart
Was the lord of the monarch butterflies
One-time ruler of the world of art

Bring infinity home
Let me embrace it one more time
Make it the lilies of the field
or Caruso in his prime

Yes, the king of them all was Enrico
Whose singular chest could rival
A hundred fervent Baptists
Giving forth in a tent revival
True he was a vocal miracle
But that's only secondary
It's the sould of the monarch butterfly
That I find a little bit scary

Bring infinity home
Let me embrace it one more time
Make it the lilies of the field
Or Caruso in his prime

Perhaps he's just a vehicle
To bear us to the hills of Truth
That's Truth spelled with a great big T
And peddled in the mystic's booth
There are oh so many miracles
That the western sky exposes
Why go looking for lilacs
When you're lying in a bed of roses?

Bring infinity home
Let me embrace it one more time
Make it the lilies of the field
Or Caruso in his prime

CHILDREN AND ALL THAT JAZZ
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

Little Annie Fannie
Morgan and Christian
Katy and Nathan
Tommy and Zem Zem
Alex and J.J.
Tai and Ezekial
Amy and Josie
Matthew and Mosie
Sweet Pearl and Nicholas
Come here and tickle us
I don't like nicknames
I like to play games
One of them's Batman
That's where it's at man
Look at your t-shirt
I see you're all wet now
I'll give you a bath
If you'll go to bed now
Oh can't you see
I'm tired
I'm tired
I'm tired

Joey and Janet
Jennifer, Joshua
Justin and Jason
Jacob and Jordan
Heather and Shannon
Marisa and Kirsten
Kimmie and David
Who shall we play with?
Here comes my own son
Light of my life is
Younger than new leaves
Brighter than you please
Says that he loves me
Big as the world
and Gabriel Harris
You go to bed now
You go to bed now
It's quarter to nine
I'm tired
I'm tired
I'm tired

You heard what I said now
You go to bed now
It was a hard day
Never enough play
Iggy was sick
and couldn't come over
One of your mice died
That was when you cried
Get in the tub
And play with your boats now
Sit here beside me
I'll tell you a story
One about snakes
And anything gory
Ask me no questions
How far is the sky
And I'm falling asleep
And you're smarter than I am
Light of my life
Good night
Good night
Good night

CHILDREN OF THE 80'S
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

We're the children of the 80's, haven't we grown
We're tender as a lotus and we're tougher than stone
And the age of our innocence is somewhere in the garden

We like the music of the 60's
We think that era must have been nifty
Flower children, Woodstock and the War
Dirty scandals, cover-ups and more
Oh, but it's getting harder to deceive us
We don't care if Dylan's gone to Jesus
Jimi Hendrix is playing o
We know Janis Joplin was the rose
And we also know that that's the way it goes
With all the stuff that she put in her arm
Don't be alarmed

We are the children of the 80's, haven't we grown
We're tender as a lotus and we're tougher than stone
And the age of our innocence is somewhere in the garden

Some of us are the sisters and the brothers
Who prefer the nighttime for our cover
A leather jacket and a single golden earring
Hang out at discos, rock shows, lose our hearing
Put tattoos all up and down our thighs
Do anything our parents would despise
Take uppers, downers, blues and reds and yellows
Our brains are turning to Jello
We think that life is overrated
Loneliness was underestimated
We are looking forward to the days
When we live inside of a purple haze
Where the salvation of the soul is rock and roll

We are the children of the 80's, haven't we grown
We're tender as a lotus and we're tougher than stone
And the age of our innocence is somewhere in the garden

Some of us may offer a surprise
Recently have you looked in our eyes
Maybe we're your conscience in disguise
We're well informed and we are wise
Please stop telling us lies
We know Afghanistan's invaded
We know Bolivia's dictated
We know America's inflated
And although we do not move in masses
We have lit our candles from your ashes
We are the warriors of the sun
The golden boys and the golden girls
For a better world

We are the children of the 80's, haven't we grown
We're tender as a lotus and we're tougher than stone
And the age of our innocence is somewhere, somewhere in the garden

CHINA
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

In the month of May, in the glory of the day
Came the descendants of a hundred flowers
And their fight it did begin with the aging Mandarin
And they fought with an extraordinary power
Everyone was smiling, their hearts were one
In Tiananmen Square

But it seems that the Spring this year in Beijing
Came just before the Fall
There was no summer at all
In Tiananmen Square
China... China

There's peace in the emerald fields, there's mist upon the lakes
But something is afoot in the People's Hall
The spirit of Chu Ping is alive in young Chai Ling
And the Emperor has his back against the wall
Black sun rising over Tiananmen Square
Over Tiananmen Square

But it seems that the Spring this year in Beijing
Came just before the Fall
There was no summer at all
In Tiananmen Square
China... China

In the month of June, in the darkness of the moon
Went the descendants of a hundred flowers
And time may never tell how many of them fell
Like the petals of a rose in some satanic shower
Everyone was weeping in all of China
And Tiananmen Square

But it seems that the Spring this year in Beijing
Came just before the Fall
There was no summer at all
In Tiananmen Square
China... China

And even the moon on the fourth day of June
Hid her face and did not see
Black sun rising over Tiananmen Square

And Wang Wei Lin, you remember him
All alone he stood before the tanks
A shadow of forgotten ancestors in Tiananmen Square

And my blue-eyed son, you had no one
You could call a hero of your age
You have the rainbow warriors of Tiananmen Square, singing
China Shall Be Free
China Shall Be Free
China Shall Be Free

COCONUTS
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

Coconuts sitting in my hand
Remindin' me of my island man
And my island man sitting in his hut
Dreamin' about my coconuts

Coconuts floating in the sea
I remember you, I remember me
Coconuts dancing in the sand
And I'm in love again with my island man

Coconut milk is like a stream
That comes from the mountain pure and clean
And the man he comes to drink it up
Never tires of the taste of those coconuts

Coconuts floating in the sea
I remember you, I remember me
Coconuts dancing in the sand
And I'm in love again with my island man

Coconut flavor sweet and mild
Remindin' me of my island child
And my island child all grown up
Out in the carnival of life jugglin' coconuts

Coconuts floating in the sea
I remember you, I remember me
Coconuts dancing in the sand
And I'm in love again with my island man

THE CRIMES OF CAIN
(Lyrics by Joan Baez, Music by Georges Delerue)

Father, can you hear the tolling of the bells
Echo a hundred thousand sons who wish you well?
Tears will pour from the Golden Eagle now
He watches as your soul departs
The fields and the sanctuaries soon will overflow
With the solidarity of hearts

Into our lives you came
With us you will remain
You were given to the fight
To the terror of the night
And the many crimes of Cain

Gravely the Black Madonna walks the winter streets
Bright are the many flowers strewn about her feet
Strong is the spirit of a people scorned
Their freedom is a gift of God
Sweet are the children who hold the legacy
Of the solidarity of Hearts

Into our lives you came
With us you will remain
Oh, forgive us all our trespasses
And we will forgive
The many crimes of Cain
The many crimes of Cain