Sunday Concert

Gordon Lightfoot Sunday Concert Lyrics
1.Apology

I remember everything
I've learned about survival
I've walked with fools and kings
And i've even read the bible

There i came upon some lines
Givin' me direction
Gather not your gold on earth
Your kingdom is in heaven

But i chose to live instead
Inside the shell they gave me
'til in spite of everything
Good fortune came to find me

I tried my best to run away
But i could not avoid the feelin'
Soon i was reelin' on my feet
I made a grab at anything
The earth was gone and i was on
A vicious circle then

After i'd gone and let myself surrender
I didn't want to die at all
I thought i'd live forever

Then she gave me everything
A king could never borrow
But i twisted all her gifts
Her wisdom was my sorrow

So i left her cryin'
And roamed across the river
The angels offered me their hands
But i could not forget her

So i came to where she was
By river, road and reason
I slept beneath her window
In the moonlight summer season

But i could not go inside
I heard the sound of laughter
And the rustle of her hair upon his skin
I made a grab at anything
The earth was gone and i was on
A vicious circle then

After i'd gone to cry down my sorrow
I didn't want to live no more
Nor face the bright tomorrow

Then i remembered everything
I've learned about survival
Havin' walked with fools and kings
I've even read the bible

I remember all those lines
Givin' me direction
Gather not your gold on earth
It will not pass inspection

And still i think when i'm alone
Away from all night splendor
If gold could buy one night with her
I wish i had some to send her


2.Ballad Of Yarmouth Castle

Well, it's four o'clock in the afternoon
And the anchors have been weighed
From miami to nassau,
She's bound across the waves

She'll be headin' south through biscayne bay
Into the open sea
Yarmouth castle, she's a-dyin' and don't know it

Now the many years she's been to sea
She's seen the better times
She gives a groan of protest
As they cast away her lines

And the grumble of her engines
And the rust along her spine
Tells the castle she's too old to be sailin'

But the sands run out within her heart
A tiny spark glows red
It smoulders through the evening
There's laughter overhead

Now the men are served, and the cards are dealt
And the drinks are passed around
Deep within the fire starts a-burnin'

Now it's midnight on the open sea
And the moon is shining bright
Some people join the party
And others say good-night

There's many who are sleeping now
It's been a busy day
And a tiny wisp of smoke is a-risin'

'oh lord,' she groans, 'i'm burning!'
'let someone understand!'
But her silent plea is wasted
In the playin' of the band

Everybody's dancin' on her deck
And they're havin' such a time
Then a voice says
'shut up and deal, i'm losin''

Deep within the yarmouth castle
The fire begins to glow
It leaps into the hallways
And climbs and twists and grows

And the paint she wore to keep her young
Oh lord, how well it burns
And soon that old fire is a-ragin'

Up beneath the bridge it's climbin' fast
The captain stands aloft
He calls up to the boatswain, 'n' says
'boatswain, we are lost'

For the ragged hoses in the racks
No pressure do they hold
And the people down below
Will soon be dyin'

All amidships, oh she's blazin' now
It's spreadin' fore and aft
The people are a-scramblin'
As the fire blocks their path

The evil smoke surrounds them,
And they're fallin' in their tracks
And the captain in his lifeboat is a-leavin'

Oh then the ship, bahama star
Comes steamin' through the night
She sees the castle blazin'
And 'tis a terrible sight

'jump down, jump down!' the captain cries
'we'll save you if we can!'
Then the paint on his funnels is a-fryin'

'god help the ones who sleep below
And cannot find the way!
Thank god for those we've rescued
Upon this awful day.'

Now the heroes, they are many,
But the times are growin' slim
And now from stern to bow
She's a-blazin'

Oh the yarmouth castle's moanin'
She's cryin' like a child.
You can hear her if you listen
Above the roar so wild

Is she cryin' for the ones who lie
Within her molten sides?
Or cryin' for herself, i'm a-wonderin'

But the livin' soon were rescued
The ones who lived to tell
From the star they watched her
As she died there in the swells

Like a toy ship on a mill pond
She burned all through the night
Then slipped 'neath the waves
In the mornin'


3.Bitter Green

Upon the bitter green she walked the hills above the town
Echo to her footsteps as soft as eider down
Waiting for her master to kiss away her tears
Waiting through the years
Bitter green they called her
Walking in the sun
Loving everyone that she met
Bitter green they called her
Waiting in the sun
Waiting for someone to take her home

Some say he was a sailor who died away at sea
Some say he was a prisoner who never was set free
Lost upon the ocean he died there in the mist
Dreaming of her kiss

Bitter green they called her
Walking in the sun
Loving everyone that she met
Bitter green they called her
Waiting in the sun
Waiting for someone to take her home

But now the bitter green is gone, the hills have turned to rust
There comes a weary stranger, his tears fall in the dust
Kneeling by the churchyard in the autumn mist
Dreaming of a kiss

Bitter green they called her
Walking in the sun
Loving everyone that she met
Bitter green they called her
Waiting in the sun
Waiting for someone to take her home


4.Boss Man

Boss man boss man what do ya say
I gotta get you alone in the mine some day
Boss man boss man turn it around
If you don't look away how can i sit down
Look at this load upon my back
Gotta get this wheel back on the track
I can't hold on but i can't let go
And i can't say yes i can't say 'no'

Holes in my pockets and holes in my shoes
If you're ready for me i'm ready for you
The company plan takes all my pay
Got a child in july and another last may

Boss man boss man what do ya say
Gonna get you alone in the mine some day
Push your face down in the coal
'cause you got no heart you got no soul

Country life's the life for me
In ten more years i'll a pensioner be
The younger lad knows when the girls are out
But you might say he's a rural sprout

Boss man boss man what do ya say
Gonna get you alone in the mine some day
Boss man boss man clear the track
You're gonna tear the skin right offa my back

Boss man, boss man what do ya say
If you can't lend a hand then get outta my way
It'll be murder in the first degree
If you ever lay your hands on me

Boss man boss man pay my rent
A dollar i've earned is a dollar i've spent
The company plan takes all my check
For breakin' my back and riskin' my neck

Boss man boss man what do ya say
I gotta get you alone in the mine some day
I can't hold on but i can't let go
And i can't say yes i can't say 'no'


5.Canadian Railroad Trilogy

There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
But time has no beginnings and hist'ry has no bounds
As to this verdant country they came from all around
They sailed upon her waterways and they walked the forests tall
And they built the mines the mills and the factories for the
good of us all

And when the young man's fancy was turnin' to the spring
The railroad men grew restless for to hear the hammers ring
Their minds were overflowing with the visions of their day
And many a fortune lost and won and many a debt to pay

For they looked in the future and what did they see
They saw an iron road runnin' from sea to the sea
Bringin' the goods to a young growin' land
All up through the seaports and into their hands

Look away said they across this mighty land
From the eastern shore to the western strand
Bring in the workers and bring up the rails
We gotta lay down the tracks and tear up the trails
Open 'er heart let the life blood flow
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow

Bring in the workers and bring up the rails
We're gonna lay down the tracks and tear up the trails
Open 'er heart let the life blood flow
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow
Get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow

Behind the blue rockies the sun is declinin'
The stars, they come stealin' at the close of the day
Across the wide prairie our loved ones lie sleeping
Beyond the dark oceans in a place far away

We are the navvies who work upon the railway
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun
Livin' on stew and drinkin' bad whiskey
Bendin' our old backs 'til the long days are done

We are the navvies who work upon the railway
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun
Layin' down track and buildin' the bridges
Bendin' our old backs 'til the railroad is done

So over the mountains and over the plains
Into the muskeg and into the rain
Up the st. lawrence all the way to gaspe
Swingin' our hammers and drawin' our pay
Drivin' 'em in and tyin' 'em down
Away to the bunkhouse and into the town
A dollar a day and a place for my head
A drink to the livin' and a toast to the dead

Oh the song of the future has been sung
All the battles have been won
O'er the mountain tops we stand
All the world at our command
We have opened up the soil
With our teardrops and our toil

For there was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not
run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
And many are the dead men too silent to be real


6.I'm Not Sayin' / Ribbon Of Darkness

I'm not sayin' that i love you
I'm not sayin' that i'll care if you love me
I'm not sayin' that i'll care
I'm not sayin' i'll be there when you want me

I can't give my heart to you
Or tell you that i'll sing your name up to the sky
I can't lay the promise down
That i'll always be around when you need me

Now i may not be alone each time you see me
Along the street or in a small cafe
But still i won't deny you or mistreat you
Baby if you let me have my way

I'm not sayin' i'll be sorry
For all the things that i might say that make you cry
I can't say i'll always do
The things you want me to
I'm not sayin' i'll be true but i'll try

Ribbon of darkness over me
Since my true love walked out the door
Tears i never had before
Ribbon of darkness over me

Clouds are gatherin' o'er my head
That chill the day and hide the sun
That shroud the night when day is done
Ribbon of darkness over me

Rain is falling on the meadow
Where once my love and i did lie
Now she is gone from the meadow
My love goodbye

Oh how i wish your heart could see
How mine just aches and breaks all day
Come on home and take away
This ribbon of darkness over me

Yes come on home and take away
Ribbon of darkness over me


7.In A Windowpane

I looked into a windowpane
Last evening in a city far away
I was feelin' sad and blue
I wondered then if i should really stay
Wanting someone to be with me in the light of this uncertain
time
Waiting by the window for the man inside
To please make up his mind

Will you be one who passed through but never saw
Never knowing never feeling anything
Will you live your whole life through never knowing what to do
Will you be one who passed through but never saw

I walked along the roadway to a fountain
Where lovers come to meet
A hobo walked up to me, i could tell
He didn't have enough to eat
He said, 'good sir you look so kind
And though the years have stripped me to the bone
It seems i am the better man
For in this place i've never walked alone

Will you be one who passed through but never saw
Never knowing never feeling anything
Will you live your whole life through never knowing what to do
Will you be one who passed through but never saw

'where will you be, my friendly, when your
Telephone ain't givin' out no calls
And when the seasons come to haunt you
Will you still find springtime in the fall
And when you're on your island
Will you wave at every ship that passes by
And will you feed a hungry man
I thank you, sir,
Now i'll just say goodbye'

Don't you be one who passed through but never saw
Never knowing never feeling anything
Will you live your whole life through never knowing what to do
Will you be one who passed through but never saw

Will you live your whole life through never knowing what to do
Will you be one who passed through but never saw


8.Leaves Of Grass

The leaves of grass will not pass on
Though the millstones grind them into dust
For the earth shall give life to them
But only the grass will grow once more

And the brave must fall to honor the names
Of the ones who have gone before
And the earth shall give new life to them
But only the grass will grow once more

If people could look into each other's eyes
What a wonderful place this world would be
All strife would end, we could start again
And dreams like these must not pass on

But the brave keep falling to honor the names
Of the ones who have gone before
And the earth shall give new life to them
But only the grass will grow once more

And the brave keep falling to honor the names
Of the ones who have gone before
And the earth shall give new life to them
But only the grass will grow once more

The leaves of grass will not pass on
Though the millstones grind them into dust
For the earth shall give new life to them
But only the grass will grow once more


9.Pussy Willows, Cat Tails

Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses
Rainbows in the woodland, water to my knees
Shivering, quivering, the warm breath of spring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

Catbirds and cornfields, daydreams together
Riding on the roadside the dust gets in your eyes
Reveling, disheveling, the summer nights can bring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

Slanted rays and colored days, stark blue horizons
Naked limbs and wheatbins, hazy afternoons
Voicing, rejoicing, the wine cups do bring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

Harsh nights and candlelights, woodfires a-blazin'
Soft lips and fingertips resting in my soul
Treasuring, remembering, the promise of spring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses


10.Softly

Softly she comes
Whispers the breeze with her passing
In secret love she is laughing
Softly she comes in the night
Softly she sighs
Sweetly she lies never sleeping
Her fragrance all in my keeping
Softly she comes in the night

Down the darkened hall
I hear her footsteps on my stair
And she is in my arms once more

Then softly she goes
Her shining lips in the shadows
Whisper goodbye at my window
Softly she goes in the dawn

Down the darkened hall
I hear her footsteps on my stair
And she is in my arms once more

Then softly she goes
Her shining lips in the shadows
Whisper goodbye at my window
Softly she goes in the dawn
Softly she goes in the dawn


11.The Lost Children

Down the hall their voices ring, their feet are on the run
Phantoms on the winter sky, together they do come
Faded lips and eyes of blue they're carried in the wind
Their laughter filled the countryside but they'll not laugh
again

All the games are ended now, their voices have been stilled
Their fathers built the tools of war by which they all were
killed
Their fathers made the uniforms showing which side they were on
And the young boys wear the middle name for guns to pray upon

You've seen the fires in the night, watched the devil as he
smiles
You've heard a mother's mournful cry as she searches for her
child
You've seen the lines of refugees, the faces of despair
And wondered at the wise men who never seem to care

Goodbye you lost children, god speed you on your way
Your little beds are empty now, your toys are put away
Your mother sings a lullaby as she gazes at the floor
Your father builds more weapons and marches out once more

Down the hall their voices ring, their feet are on the run
Phantoms on the winter sky, together they do come
Faded lips and eyes of blue they're carried in the wind
Their laughter filled the countryside but they'll not laugh
again