WORDS FILL MY HEAD

 

The Early Seventies

 

Billy #1. 1

Billy #2. 2

Goodbye Holly. 3

If Dogs Run Free. 4

If Not For You. 5

Knockin' On Heaven's Door. 6

Time Passes Slowly. 9

Went To See The Gypsy. 10

When I Paint My Masterpiece. 10

Working On A Guru. 11

You Ain't Going Nowhere. 12

You Angel You. 13

 

 

Billy #1

 

There's guns across the river aimin' at you

Lawman at your trail, he'd like to catch you

Bounty hunters, too, they'd like to get you

Billy, they don't like you to be so free.

 

Campin' out all night on the berenda

Dealin' cards 'til dawn in the hacienda

Up to Boot Hill they'd like to send you

Billy, don't you turn your back on me.

 

There's mirrors inside the minds of crazy faces

Bullet holes and rifles inside their cases

There's always one more notch and four more aces

Billy, and you're playin' all alone.

 

Playin' around with some sweet senorita

Into her dark hallway she will lead ya

In the shadows of the ______ she will greet you

Billy, you're been runnin' for so long.

 

They say that Par Garret's got your number

So sleep with one eye open when you wonder

If every little sound just might be thunder

Thunder from the barrel of his gun.

 

Gypsy gueens will play your grand finale

Way down in some Tularosa alley

Maybe in the Rio Pecos valley

In the days when you were better known.

 

The business men from Taos want you to go down

So they hired Mr. Garrett to force you to slow down

Billy, don't it make you to feel so low-down

To be hunted by the man who was your friend?

 

So hang on to your woman if you got one

Remember in El Paso, once, you shot one

Up in Santa F` she was a hot one

Billy, you've been runnin' for so long.

 

Gypsy gueens will play your grand finale

Billy, you been so far from home

Billy, you're so far away from home.

 

[Source: the Mexico City tape]

 

[TOP]

 

Billy #2

 

There's guns across the river 'bout to pound you

There's a lawman on your trail, likes to surround you

Bounty hunters are dancin' all around you

Billy, they don't like you to be so free.

 

Campin' out all night on the berenda

Walk in the streets down by the hacienda

Up to Boot Hill they'd like to send you

Billy, don't you turn your back on me.

 

There's mirrors inside the minds of crazy faces

Bullet holes and rifles in their cases

There's always one more notch and four more aces

Billy, and you're playin' all alone.

 

Layin' around with some sweet senorita

Into her dark chamber she will greet ya

In the shadows of the ______ she will lead you

Billy, and you're goin' all alone.

 

They say that Par Garret's got your number

So sleep with one eye open when you wonder

If every little sound just might be thunder

Thunder from the barrel of his gun.

 

There's always another stranger sneakin' glances

Some trigger-happy fool willin' to take chances

Some old whore from San Pedro to make advances

advances on your spirit and your soul.

 

The business men from Taos want you to go down

So they hired Mr. Garrett to force you to slow down

Billy, don't it make you to feel so low-down

To be hunted by the man who was your friend?

 

So hang on to your woman if you got one

Remember in El Paso, once, you shot one

Up in Santa F` you bought one

Billy, you've been runnin' for so long.

 

Gypsy gueens will play your grand finale

Way down in some Tularosa alley

Maybe in the Rio Pecos valley

Billy, you're so far away from home

Billy, you're so far away from home

Billy, you're so far away from home.

 

[Source: the Mexico City tape]

 

[TOP]

 

 

Goodbye Holly

 

Goodbye Holly, Holly goodbye

Your wife's gonna miss you

Your baby's gonna cry

Goodbye Holly, Holly so long

All your good times have passed now and gone

 

Pat Garrett he shot you with a Colt .44

He dropped you 'cross the table

Now you're gone for ever more

 

Goodbye Holly, Holly goodbye

Your wife's gonna miss you

Your baby's gonna cry

Goodbye Holly, Holly so long

All your good times have passed now and gone

 

[Source: Some Other Kind Of Songs]

 

[TOP]

 

 

If Dogs Run Free

 

(Alternate version)

 

If dogs run free, why not we

Across the swooping plain?

My ears hear a symphony

Of two mules, trains and rain

The best is always yet to come

So they explain to me

Every way is the right way

If dogs run free

 

If dogs run free, why not we

If dogs run free

 

If dogs run free, then why not me

Across the swamp of time?

My mind weaves a tapestry

Of fine design and rhyme

Oh, winds which rush my tale to thee

So it may flow and be

To each his own, it’s all unknown

If dogs run free

 

If dogs run free, why not we

If dogs run free

 

If dogs run free, then what must be

Must be, and that is all

True love can make a blade of grass

Stand up straight and tall

In harmony with the cosmic sea

True love needs no company

It can cure the soul, it can make it whole

If dogs run free

 

If dogs run free, then why not me

If dogs run free

 

If dogs run free, why not we

If dogs run free

 

[Source: alternate version from Another Self Portrait]

 

[TOP]

 

If Not For You

(Alternate version)

 

If not for you

Babe, I couldn’t find the door

I couldn’t even see the floor

I’d be sad and blue

If not for you

 

If not for you

The night would see me wide awake

But day would surely have to break

It would not be new

If not for you

 

If not for you

My sky would fall

Rain would gather too

Without your love I’d be nowhere at all

I’d be lost if not for you

And you know it’s true

 

If not for you

Weather would have no rain

I couldn't even hear the robin sing

No, I wouldn't have a clue

If not for you

 

[Source: alternate version from Another Self Portrait]

 

[TOP]

 

Knockin' On Heaven's Door

 

Mama, take this badge off of me

I can't use it anymore

It's gettin' dark, too dark to see

I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

 

Mama, put my guns in the ground

I can't shoot them anymore.

That long black cloud is comin' down

I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

 

Mama, wipe the blood from my face

I'm sick and tired of the war

Got a lonely hard feeling and it's hard to trace

I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

 

Mama, put my guns in the ground

I can't shoot them anymore.

That long black train is a-pullin' on down

I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

 

Mama, wipe the blood off of my face

I can't see through it anymore

i need someone to talk to and I've no hiding place

I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

 

Mama, I can hear that thunder roar

Echoin' down from God's distant shore

I can hear 'em callin' out from my soul

I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Mama, put my guns in back the ground

I can't fire them anymore.

That long black cloud is fallin' down

I feel I'm lookin' at heaven's door.

 

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

 

Mama, take this blood off of my face

I can't see through it anymore

It's a feeling I just can't trace

Feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

 

Mama, tow my barge down to sea

Pull it down from shore to shore

Two brown eyes lookin' at me

Feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Knockin' on heaven's door

Knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Like so many times before

 

Goin' down by that road

Feelin' down more and more

Take a chain _________________        

Feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Just like so many times before

 

Mama, take my ______ and my __________

I don't want it anymore

Two brown eyes starin' into my face

I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Just like so many times before

 

Mama, take my poor star far away

Let it fall down to the floor

But it's so far so ________ to stay

Feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Just like so many times before

 

Mama, take this gun and put it far away

I won't fire it anymore

I'll be leavin' for far away

Feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Just like so many times before

 

Mama, wipe these tears off of my face

I can't see through them anymore

Gettin' out of here into some other place

I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Just like so many times before

 

Mama, wipe the blood from my face

I can't see through it anymore

Sometimes I feel so out of place

And I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door.

 

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Just like so many times before

Just like so many times before

Just like so many times before

And I feel like I'm a-knockin' on heaven's door.

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Just like so many times before

 

[Source: various live versions]

 

[TOP]

 

Time Passes Slowly

(Alternate version)

 

Time passes slowly up here in the mountains

We sit beside bridges and walk beside fountains

Catch the wild fishes that float through the stream

Time passes slow when you’re lost in a dream

 

Once I had a sweetheart, she was fine and good-lookin

We sat in her kitchen while her mama was cookin

Stared out the window to the stars high above

Time passes slowly when you’re searchin’ for love

 

Ain’t no reason to go in the morning to town

Ain’t no reason to go to the fair

Ain’t no reason to go up, ain’t no reason to go down

Ain’t no reason to go anywhere

 

Time passes slowly up here in the daylight

We stare straight ahead and try so hard to stay right

Like a cloud drifting over, that covers the day

Time passes slowly and fades away

 

[Source: alternate version from Another Self Portrait]

 

[TOP]

 

Went To See The Gypsy

(Demo)

 

I went to see the gypsy

Stayin’ in a big hotel

He smiled when he saw me coming

And he wished me well

And his room was dark and crowded

 Lights were low and dim

“How are you?” he asked of me

And I asked the same of him

 

I went down to the lobby

To make a small call out

A pretty dancing girl was there

And she began to shout

“Go on back to see the gypsy

He can rid you of your fear

He did it in Las Vegas

And he can do it here”

 

Oh, the lights were on the river

Shining from outside

I contemplated every move

Or at least I tried

 

I went back to see the gypsy

It was nearly early dawn

The gypsy’s door was open

But the gypsy was gone

And that pretty dancing girl

Oh, she could not be found

So I watched the sun come rising

In a little Minnesota town

 

[Source: demo version from Another Self Portrait]

 

[TOP]

 

When I Paint My Masterpiece

(Demo version)

 

Oh, the streets of Rome are filled with rubble,

Ancient footprints are everywhere.

You can almost think that you're seein' double

On a cold dark night by the Spanish Stairs.

Got to hurry on back to my hotel room

Where I've got me a date with a pretty little girl from Greece.

She promised that she'd be right there with me

When I paint my masterpiece.

 

Oh, the hours I've spent inside the Coliseum,

Dodging lions and wasting time.

Oh, those mighty kings of the jungle, I could hardly stand to see 'em.

It sure has been a long, hard climb.

Train wheels runnin' through the back of my memory,

When I ran on the hilltop following a pack of wild geese.

Someday, everything is gonna sound like a rhapsody

When I paint my masterpiece.

 

Sailin’ round the world in a dirty gondola

Sure I wish I hadn’t sold my old Victrola

Ain’t lovin’ like that good old rock’n’roll-a

 

I left Rome and pulled into Brussels

On a plane ride so bumpy that I almost cried

Clergymen in uniform and young girls pullin' muscles,

Everyone was there to beat me when I slipped inside.

Newspapermen eating candy

Had to be held down by big police.

Someday, everything is gonna be different

When I paint that masterpiece.

 

[Source: demo version from Another Self Portrait]

 

[TOP]

 

Working On A Guru

 

Rain on the ground, windshield wipers movin',

Water on the ground, sure don't feel like groovin'.

Working on a guru,

Working on a guru,

Working on a guru, before the sun goes down.

 

Rain all around, I need me an umbrella.

Water on the ground, I am that kind of fella.

Looking for a guru,

Working on a guru,

Working on a guru, before the sun goes down.

 

Walking on the street, I need me an umbrella.

Just to keep it sweet, I am that kind of fella.

Looking for a guru,

Working on a guru,

Working on a guru, before the sun goes down.

 

Play it again ...

 

Rain on the ground, windshield wipers movin',

Water all around, I sure don't feel like groovin'.

I'm working on a guru,

Yes, I'm working on a guru,

But I'm working on a guru, before the sun goes down.

 

Working on a guru,

Working on a guru,

Well, it's true, it could be you ...

I'm working on a guru.

 

[Source: Tape]

 

[TOP]

 

You Ain't Going Nowhere

(Recorded version)

 

Clouds so swift, rain fallin' in

Gonna see a movie called Gunga Din

Pack up you money, pull up your tent McGuinn

You ain't going nowhere

 

Whoo-ee! ride me high

Tomorrow's the day that my bride's a-gonna come

Whoo-ee! are we gonna fly down into the easy chair!

 

Djengis Khan and his brother Don

Couldn't keep on keepin' on

We'll climb that ridge after it's gone

After we're way past it.

 

Whoo-ee! ride me high

Tomorrow's the day that my bride's a-gonna come

Whoo-ee! are we gonna fly down into the easy chair!

 

Buy me some rings and a gun that sings

A flute that toots and a bee that stings

A sky that cries and a bird that flies

A fish that walks and a dog that talks.

 

Whoo-ee! ride me high

Tomorrow's the day that my bride's a-gonna come

Whoo-ee! are we gonna fly down into the easy chair!

 

Whoo-ee! ride me high

Tomorrow's the day that my bride's a-gonna come

Whoo-ee! are we gonna fly down into the easy chair!

 

[Source: recorded version from More Greatest Hits]

 

[TOP]

 

You Angel You

(Recorded version)

 

You angel you

You got me under your wing

The way you walk and the way you talk

I feel I could almost sing

 

You angel you

You're as fine as anything's fine

I just walk and watch you talk

With your memory on my mind.

 

You know I can't sleep at night for trying

Yes, I never did feel this way before

Never did get up and walk the floor

If this is love then give me more

And more and more and more and more.

 

You angel you

You're as fine as can be

The way you walk and the way you talk

Is the way it ought to be.

 

You know I can't sleep at night for trying

Never did feel this way before

Never did get up and walk the floor

If this is love then give me more

And more and more and more and more.

 

You angel you

You're as fine as can be

The way you walk and the way you talk

Is the way it ought to be.

 

You angel you

You got me under your wing

The way you walk and the way you talk

I swear it will make me sing.

 

[Source: recorded version from Planet Waves]

 

[TOP]

 

 

This page last updated 17 September 2013.