Folk Music Ramblings: August 2013

Al Grierson sadly passed in November 2000. His lyrical talent was so far and above the normal realm, right up there with the late Dave Carter.

COYOTE
(Al Grierson)

I've been reading all about it in the annals of some ancient lore,
How you were smuggled through the garden by the angel at the basement door,
And while the serpent in the branches held the mother of the world beguiled,
You were pissin' on the Tree of Knowledge while the Good Lord smiled.

Old coyote
Little brother of necessity and the seeker of the sacred clown,
Old Coyote,
You're the fire in the water and the diamonds in the cold cold ground.

On the mountain top with Moses and with Daniel in the lions den,
In the bedroom with Delilah -- in the hollow in the hearts of men,
On the hill on Friday Evening when the soldiers rolled them bones,
In the garden Sunday mornin' when they rolled away the stone.

Old Coyote,
On the edges of eternity dancin' through the crack of dawn,
Old Coyote,
With a pearly white Madonna and the devil with the blue dress on.

In the bed between the Travellin' Salesman and the Farmer's Daughter,
At the elbow of the preacher when the wine turned back to water,
In the cabin of a smokin' locomotive on a high speed train,
Between the Tower of Babel and the cities of the plain.

Old Coyote,
You're a 30-carat Buddha in a barrel full of old tin cans,
Old Coyote,
Just a loose screw messin' with the engine of our best laid plans.

Now there's an ancient city hidden deep beneath the waves,
It was founded on the principles of justice -- and the sweat of slaves,
And I heard a lot about it in a New Age gospel hymn,
But I ain't never gonna wade in any water where the fish won't swim.

Old Coyote,
In a verticle position while the world walks upside down,
Old Coyote,
At the center of the circle while the wheel goes 'round and 'round.

Now there's a big wind blowin' down the cities from the outlaw trail
You can even hear it whistle in the belly of the great white whale,
Hear it howlin' through the desert where Ezekial saw the wheel,
From the breath upon the water to the breaking of the seventh seal.

Is this the end of history or just a wagon full of roses standin' at the gates of Rome
The devil's army on the deep blue sea,
Or just the legions of the lonely only lookin' for the long way home.

'Cause there's an angel with a trumpet in the graveyard where the night wind groans,
Hear it echo from the brothel on the bayou where the black snake moans,
From the Playboy mansion to the penthouse to the pool,
From the palace of the kingdom to the alley where the mad dogs rule.

Waitin' for the holocaust--
waitin' for the fire that was promised at the end of time,
Waitin' for the Pentacost
Hidin' like a phoenix in the ashes and the ice cold lime.

Old Coyote,
At the center of the chaos waitin' since the Lord knows when,
Old Coyote,
Gonna wait a little longer 'till it all comes 'round again.

Little brother of necessity -- the seeker and the sacred clown,
You're the fire in the water and the diamonds in the cold cold ground,
A 30-carat Buddha in a barrel full o' old tin cans,
Just a loose screw messin' with the engine of our best laid plans,

Old Coyote,
In a vertical position while the world walks upside down,
Old Coyote,
At the center of the circle while the wheel goes 'round and 'round.
Old Coyote,
At the center of the circle while the wheel goes 'round and 'round.

+++++

THE PETALS
(Al Grierson)

Come with me and be my love and we'll go high above the city
To the mountains where the olden rivers run
And I'll lay for you a table just as fine as I am able there
To eat the golden apples of the sun

And it'll be you and me, honey, at the dawn of all creation
Watching God set down the needle in the groove
And we'll both just sit and gaze into the empty face of darkness
Till we notice something move
Where the necessity of sin has yet to blossom or begin
Though you can feel the heavy purpose in the air
As in the beauty of His grace He comes to look upon your face
And kiss the petals on the flowers in your hair

Come with me and be my love, oh lay me down among the lilies
Lay beside me like an autumn afternoon
Lay beside me till I shiver in that place inside the river
Where you hide the silver apples of the Moon

And it'll be you and me, honey, at the fall of Rome
And off in China at the building of the wall
And with an unknown soldier who was buried with the king
For running naked with a message down the hall
To tell them Pharaoh's drunken army wasn't even after Moses
They were looking for the answer everywhere
To the riddle of the sphinx; it's not where anybody thinks
It's in the petals on the flowers in your hair

So come with me and be my lover in the shadow of the furnace
Where another holy chamber used to be
And a chilly wind's still blowing there to keep the embers glowing
In the ashes of some other century

And it'll be you and me, honey, at the burning of St. Joan
Pulling meaning from a senseless sacrifice
Like a pair of lonely pilgrims on our way to find forgiveness
In a place between the fire and the ice
And the streets are all embarrassed at the sound of her confession
And there's incense in the smoke that fills the square
As the smell of holy flesh from Burgundy to Bangladesh
Recalls the petals on the flowers in your hair

Then come with me and be my love and we'll go round and round the riddle
Whether God should be a lady or a lord
Or if a fate not fully flowered was protecting Mr. Howard
Or rehearsing in the hands of Robert Ford

And it'll be you and me, honey there in Northfield, Minnesota
Where the living ended bloodied up in chains
And as we drag them from the streets we'll be ashamed to tell the dying
That they maybe should have stuck to robbing trains
And though love is like a river, you can never really break it
You can shape it on the anvil of despair
And is there still a trace of lead there on the fingers of the dead
That pull the petals from the flowers in your hair

Then come with me and be my love, oh give me hope and give me shelter
Lay me down between the lion and the lamb
See me safely through the slaughter, down beside the peaceful waters there
And love me till I don't know who I am

And it'll be you and me at the apocalypse, honey
As the world goes up in flames
And everybody acts surprised; they got that look there in their eyes
But there's a man been going round just taking names
And it looks like Rhett and Scarlet with the burning of Atlanta
In the background on some old-time movie screen

Or like Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton all wrapped up in each other's arms
While a movie orchestra plays "The Internationale" and in the background the
Bolsheviks are busy taking the city and they're so wrapped up in each other
They don't even seem to notice and you gotta wonder-if that's what he was
Really doing, how John Reed ever even wrote "Ten Days That Shook the World"

And it's a long way back to 1917

And there ain't no second coming, ain't no "comes the revolution"
Just a rainbow sign dissolving the air
Time was but time shall be no more, there's no more peace and no more war
And no more petals on the flowers in your hair

Until there's you and me, honey, at another new creation
Watching God set down the needle in the groove.

+++++

Melanie and Sherry-Lynn
(Al Grierson)

Now Melanie and Sherry-Lynn, they can fill most any days
With crocuses and daffodils and independent ways.
And if their dreams should disappear, like a hobo leaving town
They'll carry on until the rainbow comes around.

And the world goes round in circles
Like a crazy ferris wheel
And it's good to know there's a place to go
'Til the hurt begins to heal.
Where your troubles melt like starlight
On a chocolate ice-cream cone
And you're old enough to make it on your own.

The moon fell out of bed last night
And got caught between the leaves
Where the branches look like elbows
In a pair of silver sleeves.
And a whistle whispers lullaby
To all the cities and all the farms,
Like a mother train, with a baby in her arms.

And the world goes round in circles
Like a crazy ferris wheel
And it's good to know there's a place to go
'Til the hurt begins to heal.
Where your troubles melt like starlight
On a chocolate ice-cream cone
And you're old enough to make it on your own.

Now grownups, just like little folks,
They get bruises when they fall.
But little folks, they don't ever say
That it don't hurt at all.
And Melanie and Sherry-Lynn
Know its easier than pie;
But grownups hardly ever seem to cry.

And the world goes round in circles
Like a crazy ferris wheel
And it's good to know there's a place to go
'Til the hurt begins to heal.
Where your troubles melt like starlight
On a chocolate ice-cream cone
And you're old enough to make it on your own.

Now the whistle hangs its handkerchief
Like a brakeman on the fly
Where the stars are hung like lanterns
On the eyelids of the sky.
And the words come back in an echo
Of a smokey, sad, "So long" --
If we hold each other close, we'll all be strong.

And the world goes round in circles
Like a crazy ferris wheel
And it's good to know there's a place to go
'Til the hurt begins to heal.
Where your troubles melt like starlight
On a chocolate ice-cream cone
And you're old enough to make it on your own.

And the world goes round in circles
Like a crazy ferris wheel
And it's good to know there's a place to go
'Til the hurt begins to heal.
Where your troubles melt like starlight
On a chocolate ice-cream cone
And you're old enough to make it on your own.

+++++

Here is a review of Grierson's pair of releases.

Below is a recording of another of Grierson's best: