Remember the Mountain Bed
Do you still sing of the mountain bed we made of
limbs and leaves: Do you still sigh there near the
sky where the holly berry bleeds: You laughed as I
covered you over with leaves, face, breast, hips
and thighs, You smiled when I said the leaves
were just the color of your eyes.
Rosin smells and turpentine smells from
eucalyptus and pine Bitter tastes of twigs we
chewed where tangled woodvines twine Trees held
us in on all four sides so thick we could not see I
could not see any wrong in you, and you saw none
in me.
Your arm was brown against the ground, your
cheeks part of the sky, As your fingers played with
grassy moss, and limber you did lie: Your stomach
moved beneath your shirt and your knees were in
the air Your feet played games with mountain
roots as you lay thinking there.
Below us the trees grew clumps of trees, raised
families of trees, and they As proud as we tossed
their heads in the wind and flung good seeds
away: The sun was hot and the sun was bright
down in the valley below Where people starved
and hungry for life so empty come and go.
There in the shade and hid from the sun we freed
our minds and learned Our greatest reason for
being here, our bodies moved and burned There
on our mountain bed of leaves we learned life's
reason why The People laugh and love and dream,
they fight, they hate to die.
The smell of your hair I know is still there, if most
of our leaves are blown, Our words still ring in the
brush and the trees where singing seeds are sown
Your shape and form is dim, but plain, there on
our mountain bed I see my life was brightest
where you laughed and laid you head...
I learned the reason why man must work and how
to dream big dreams, To conquer time and space
and fight the rivers and the seas I stand here filled
with my emptiness now and look at city and land
And I know why farms and cities are built by hot,
warm, nervous hands.
I crossed many states just to stand here now, my
face all hot with tears, I crossed city, and valley,
desert, and stream, to bring my body here: My
history and future blaze bright in me and all my joy
and pain Go through my head on our mountain
bed where I smell your hair again.
All this day long I linger here and on in through
the night My greeds, desires, my cravings, hopes,
my dreams inside me fight: My loneliness healed,
my emptiness filled, I walk above all pain Back to
the breast of my woman and child to scatter my
seeds again.
Published by Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. (BMI)/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing
Corp./Words-Ampersand Music (BMI)/You Want A Piece Of This Music (ASCAP),
administered by Bug Music
Words: Woody Guthrie 1944
Music: Jeff Tweedy/Jay Bennett 1999
Leroy Bach: piano
Jay Bennett: organ, nylon-string guitar, backing vocal
Ken Coomer: drums
John Stirratt: bass, backing vocal
Jeff Tweedy: vocal, 12-string acoustic guitar
Story to Tell
I’ve been through hell
On my way to hell
I only fought with myself
So I’d have a story to tell
Once I cut off my arm
I sewed it back on all wrong
Now I don’t have to bend
To reach the bottom shelf
When I need a story to tell
The world is always on the brink
And love is dumber than you think
Singing songs of death and doom
With all the voices inside of you
Once I started a war
But I don’t fight anymore
I held the line until the old oak fell
I was left behind
With a story to tell
The world is always on the brink
Hearts are smarter than you think
Writing songs of death and doom
For all the voices inside of you
Once I looked you in the eye
And I told you lies
How I wish I could have treated you well
I wish I had more than
A story to tell
The world is always on the brink
Love is dumber than you think
Singing songs of death and doom
With all the voices inside of you
I’ve been through hell
On my way to hell
I only fought with myself
So I’d have a story to tell
written by Jeff Tweedy
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
I am an American aquarium drinker
I assassin down the avenue
I'm hiding out in the big city blinking
What was I thinking when I let go of you
Let's forget about the tongue-tied lightning
Let's undress just like cross-eyed strangers
This is not a joke so please stop smiling
What was I thinking when I said it didn't hurt
I want to glide through those brown eyes dreaming
Take you from the inside (baby) hold on tight
You were so right when you said I've been drinking
What was I thinking when we said good night
I want to hold you in the bible black predawn
You're quite a quiet domino bury me now
Take off your band aid cuz I don't believe in touchdowns
What was I thinking when we said hello
I always thought that if I held you tightly
You would always love me like you did back then
Then I fell asleep in the city kept blinking
What was I thinking when I let you back in
I am trying to break your heart
I am trying to break your heart
But still I'd be lying if I said it wasn't easy
I am trying to break your heart
Disposable Dixie cup drinker
I assassin down the avenue
I've been hiding out in the big city blinking
What was I thinking when I let go of you
(I'm the man who loves you)
I Am My Mother
Dangerous dreams have been detected
Streaming over the southern border
As bad as it seems it’s worse than expected
Fleeing through the night corridor
Oh I’ve done the math
With a stick in the sand
I’ve kicked the can
Into a dead end
Oh I can’t mend
Every broken fence
I’m a new man
But I am still my mother
If it was up to me I would have rejected
The idea that money could keep you poor
And as dark as it seems it’s worse than neglected
When you need the one who loves no more
Oh I’ve done the math
With a stick in the sand
I’ve kicked the can
Into a dead end
Oh I can’t mend
Every broken fence
I’m a new man
But I am still my mother
written by Jeff TweedyGwendolyn
I don’t think I can take another day
Oh I don’t know how I could ever say
I’m OK being so far away
Oh I don’t think that I can take another day
When Gwendolyn, when she starts to speak
To a county police with a plastic cup between her teeth
The sun beating down like a big trombone
That’s right when I start missing home
She holds my hand between her knees
It’s like a dream, I never know what it means
I only know I’m feeling alone
That’s right when I start missing home
Honestly Gwen I’m not ashamed to say
Between you and me I’m relieved they put you away
Sun coming up like a piece of toast
That’s right when I started heading home
That’s right when I started heading home
Well that’s right when I started heading home
Having Been Is No Way To Be
Oh I was naive
My shoes were untied
In heaven everything is just fine
But the phones are dead
And so is the light
And so are you
And honey so am I
But the earth still turns
For the unconcerned
Days pass below like train windows
I was a sapling tree
The birds looked like me
So I begged my nerves to kick me something new
From time to time
I’d watch you sleep
I wonder how much freedom we can dream
And I’m sorry when you wake up to me
I just got tired
Shining steady like a spider web
Is an empty stage
Now people say
“What drugs did you take?”
And “Why don’t you start taking them again?”
What difference would it ever make to them
But they’re not my friends
And if I was dead
What difference would it ever make to them
If I got high
From time to time
I wonder how much freedom you would need
And I’d be sorry when you wake to me
I’m reaching out to you
I’m writing all the time
I don’t see deep but I see far and wide
I see dead trees
But the roots have leaves
Just because I can’t describe it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try
To untwist the knife
To unmake my mind
Having been is no way to be alive
And I’m alive
When I watch you sleep
I wonder how much freedom we need
And I’m here
When you wake up to me
I’m still here
When you wake up to me
Country Song Upside-Down
I found
A
Song
Upside-down
A country song
Like a trout
Dying sky and water
Rainbow
Flickering out
Inside
A dark
Cabin
The more moonlike
I become
I’m rounding all of my edges
Because
I’m worried
It can’t be sung
This is the gist
It goes
Like this
I found
A
Song
Upside-down
A country song
Without a doubt
Dying sky and water
Rainbow
Flickering out
written by Jeff Tweedy
Hummingbird
his goal in life was to be an echo
riding alone, town after town, toll after toll
a fixed bayonet through the great southwest
to forget her
she appears
in his dreams
but in his car, and in his arms
a dream could mean anything
a cheap sunset on a television set could upset her
but he never could
remember to remember me
standing still in your past
floating fast like a hummingbird
his goal in life was to be an echo
the type of sound that floats around
and then back down like a feather
but in the deep chrome canyons of the loudest Manhattans
no one could hear him
or anything
so he slept, on a mountain
in a sleeping bag underneath the stars,
he would lie awake and count them
but the great fountain spray of the great Milky Way
would never let him
die alone
remember to remember me
standing still in your past
floating fast like a hummingbird
remember to remember me
standing still in your past
floating fast like a hummingbird
a hummingbird
a hummingbird
Instrumental Credits
Jeff Tweedy Vocals
John Stirratt Electric Rhythm Guitar & Background Vocals
Glenn Kotche Drums
Mikael Jorgensen Piano
Jim O'Rourke Bass & Electric Lead Guitar
Frankie Montouro Hammer Dulcimer
Karen Waltuch Viola
A Lifetime to Find
Oh death
Oh death
I was just getting dressed
The place is a mess
I was hoping you’d forget
But I can feel you in my chest
I can feel you in my chest
Oh yes
Oh yes
Death never rests
I can see you’ve done your best
The problem is just this
It’s too late for regrets
I am here to collect
It takes a lifetime to find
A life like the life
You had in mind
It takes a lifetime to find
A life like the life
You had in mind
Now you’re mine
Oh death
I confess
I should have known what to expect
But you’re so hard to accept
Last time I checked
I was neck and neck
As healthy as the next
Oh Yes
You were blessed
Blessed in the past tense
But it’s too late now
To make it make sense
It’s too late to pretend
This day won’t ever end
It takes a lifetime to find
A life like the life
You had in mind
It takes a lifetime to find
A life like the life
You had in mind
Now you’re mine
So alright
Today’s the day and
Tonight is the night
There’s no reason there’s no rhyme
It’s just time to go goodbye
But why can’t you try
To ease what’s on
my poor mind
O’ Jeff
Don’t obsess
It’s the best that I can do
To help you see the light
And help the light to see you
It’s true there was a truth
That was you and only you ever knew
It takes a lifetime to find
The life like the life you had in mind
It takes a lifetime to find
The life like the life you had in mind
It takes a lifetime to find
The life like the life you had in mind
Now you’re mine
written by Jeff Tweedy
New Madrid [Uncle Tupelo]
All my daydreams are disasters
She's the one I think I love
Rivers burn and then run backwards
For her, that's enough
They all come from New York City
And they woke me up at dawn
She walked with me to the fountain
And she held onto my arm
Come on, do what you did
Roll me under New Madrid
Shake my baby and please bring her back
'Cause death won't even be still
Caroms over the landfill
Buries us all in its broken back
There's a man of conviction
And although he's getting old
Mr. Browning has a prediction
And we've all been told
So come on back from New York City
Roll your trucks in at dawn
Walk with me to the fountain
And hold onto my arm
Come on, do what you did
Roll me under New Madrid
Shake my baby and please bring her back
'Cause death won't even be still
Caroms over the landfill
Buries us all in its broken back
originally appears on Anodyne / Uncle Tupelo
written by Jeff Tweedy
Ambulance
Once just by chance
I made a friend in an ambulance
I was half man half broken glass
She had a needle but I wasn’t afraid
I’d slap the cuffs right on my wrists
I’d get so high I’d arrest myself
For honeysuckle on a buckle
Broken teeth biting on my belt
High in a trance
My life smeared right past
In a blue light
I thought she was dancing
But she was just holding my cold hand
Cause everything can shine
Even the devil sometimes
And while I was busy dying
My lord she made some other plan
Traveling salesmen carrying trunks
You can smell them coming like skunks
In the distance, if your eyes can focus
That’s how God once spoke to us
Trying not to laugh
They pronounced me dead at half past
And that priest he pissed his pants
When he heard me start to say hello
Everything can shine
Even the devil sometimes
While I was busy dying
My lord she made some other plan
written by Jeff Tweedy
Jesus, Etc.
Jesus, don't cry
You can rely on me honey
You can combine anything you want
I'll be around
You were right about the stars
Each one is a setting sun
Tall buildings shake
Voices escape singing sad sad songs
Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
Bitter melodies turning your orbit around
Don't cry
You can rely on me honey
You can come by any time you want
I'll be around
You were right about the stars
Each one is a setting sun
Tall buildings shake
Voices escape singing sad sad songs
Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
Bitter melodies turning your orbit around
Voices whine
Skyscrapers are scraping together
Your voice is smoking
Last cigarettes are all you can get
Turning your orbit around
Our love
Our love
Our love is all we have
Our love
Our love is all of God's money
Everyone is a burning sun
Tall buildings shake
Voices escape singing sad sad songs
Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
Bitter melodies turning your orbit around
Voices whine
Skyscrapers are scraping together
Your voice is smoking
Last cigarettes are all you can get
Turning your orbit around
Last cigarettes are all you can get
Turning your orbit around
Last cigarettes are all you can get
Turning your orbit around
One By One
One by one the teardrops fall as I write you
One by one my words come falling on the page
One by one my dreams are fading in the twilight
One by one my schemes are fading fast away
One by one the flowers fade here in my garden
One by one the leaves are falling from the trees
One by one my hopes are vanished in the clouds clear
One by one like snowflakes melting in the breeze
One by one my hair is turning gray
One by one my dreams are fading fast away
One by one I read your letters over
One by one I lay them all away
One by one the days are slipping up behind you
One by one the sweetest days of life go by
One by one the moments stealing up behind you
One by one she'll come and find not you or I
One by one I hear the soft words that you whispered
One by one I feel your kisses soft and sweet
One by one I hope you'll say the words to marry
One by one to one by one forever be
Words: Woody Guthrie 1939
Music: Jeff Tweedy 1997
Jay Bennett: piano, organ
Ken Coomer: drums
Bog Egan: pedal steel
John Stirratt: electric bass
Jeff Tweedy: acoustic guitar, vocal
Evergreen
If I get back from wherever I travel
I'll tell you what I've seen
The good and the bad
The hearts and the hassle
In the cities under siege
I'll tell you all about where I have been
And I won't ever leave again
Now you might think it's a lie
When I say I'm going to write
But if I break my pen filling you in
Wouldn't that change your mind
Evergreen
Evergreen
Have you even seen anything?
Evergreen
Whenever I get back from
Wherever I go
I'll look for you in the shade
A marker in the grass
I'll tell you at last
You're not the reason I went away
Sometimes I wish you were the one
Who had left and I had stayed
Evergreen
Evergreen
Have you even seen anything?
Evergreen
Evergreen
Evergreen
Have you even seen anything?
Evergreen
Lou Reed Was My Babysitter
I want to sweat
Sweat next to you
With a sticky carpet
Sucking on my shoes
Rock n roll
Ain’t never gonna lose
No
I want you
To dance into me
Spill my drink
I want to feel the kick
Kicking in my teeth
My bleeding heart
Bleeding to the beat
Uh huh
I want you
To blow smoke in my eyes
Smoke in my eyes
I want to shake shake
Shake shake shake
Until my shoes untie
Rock n roll ain’t never gonna die
Not as long as you and I are alive
’Cause rock n roll is dead and the dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
I want to feel everything
I want to feel everything
I want to hear the idiot sing
Until I can’t feel anything
’Cause rock n roll is dead and the dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
written by Jeff Tweedy
California Stars
I'd like to rest my heavy head tonight
On a bed of California stars
I'd like to lay my weary bones tonight
On a bed of California stars
I'd love to feel your hand touching mine
And tell me why I must keep working on
Yes I'd give my life to lay my head tonight
On a bed of California stars
I'd like to dream my troubles all away
On a bed of California stars
Jump up from my starbed and make another day
Underneath my California stars
They hang like grapes on vines that shine
And warm the lovers' glass like friendly wine
So, I'd give this world
just to dream a dream with you
On our bed of California stars
Published by Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc./Warner-Tamerlane Publishing
Corp./Words-Ampersand Music [BMI]/Titanic Majesties Music [ASCAP] Words: Woody Guthrie [no date]
Music: Jay Bennett/Jeff Tweedy 1997
Jay Bennett: piano, backing vocal
Billy Bragg: acoustic guitar
Ken Coomer: drums and percussion
Corey Harris: lap steel guitar
Eliza Carthy: violin
John Stirratt: electric bass, backing vocal
Jeff Tweedy: acoustic guitar, lead vocal
You Are Not Alone
You're not alone
I'm with you
I'm lonely too
What's that song
Can't be sung
By two?
My broken home
A broken heart
Isolated and afraid
Open up this is a raid
I want to get it through to you
You're not alone
You're not alone
Every night
I stand in your place
Every tear
On every face
Tastes the same
A broken dream
A broken heart
Isolated and afraid
Open up this is a raid
I wanna get it through to you
You're not alone
An open hand
An open....
I'm the Man Who Loves You
All I can see
Is black and white
And white and pink
With blades of blue
That lay between
The words I think
On a page
I was meaning
To send to you
I couldn't tell
If it would
Bring my heart
The way I wanted
When I started
Writing this letter to you
But if I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you
All I can be
Is a busy sea
Of spinning wheels
And hands that feel
For stones to throw
And feet that run
But come back home
It makes no difference
Ever known
Makes no difference
Ever known to me
But if I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you
All I can see
Is black and white
And white and pink
With blades of blue
That lay between
The words I think
On a page
I was meaning
To send to you
I couldn't tell
If it would
Bring my heart
The way I wanted
When I started
Writing this letter to you
If I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you
If I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you
If I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you
I'm the man who loves you
I'm the man who loves you
I'm the man who loves you