WORDS FILL MY HEAD

 

The Early Seventies

 

Billy #1

Billy #2

Goodbye Holly

Knockin' On Heaven's Door

When I Paint My Masterpiece

Working On A Guru

You Ain't Going Nowhere

You Angel You

 

 

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]

 

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]

 

When I Paint My Masterpiece

(Recorded 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 on the Spanish Stairs.

Got to hurry on back to my hotel room

Where I've got me a date with Botticelli's niece.

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.

Yes, it sure has been a long, hard climb.

Train wheels runnin' through the back of my memory,

At the daylight I was doin' Greece.

Someday, everything is gonna be smooth like a rhapsody

When I paint my masterpiece.

 

I left Rome and landed in Brussels

With a picture of a tall oak tree by the side.

Clergymen in uniform and young girls pullin' muscles,

Everyone was there but no one tried to hide.

Newspapermen eating candy

Had to be held down by big police.

Someday, everything is gonna be different

When I paint my masterpiece.

 

[Source: recorded version from More Greatest Hits]

 

[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 sl