1. |
Robin Hood
04:36
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Armed with a stick tied by a string
You play Robin Hood
And with a curtain tied 'round my head
I am your faithful Maid Marion
Golden grasses higher than our heads
Never daunted you
As we foraged for a feast
By the edge of the alfalfa fields
And I remember picking blackberries
When the summer stretched as far as we could see
And the sunlight in your eyes, clear blue
Containing everything you knew
Summers passed, we both got older
You left your Legos for a grown-up job
You've grown a beard, and more recluse
You don't seem so tall
We sit together on another coast
And stack rocks until the sunlight falls
Your voice is quiet, but your eyes haven't changed at all
And we remembered picking blackberries
When the summer stretched as far as we could see
When the world didn't weigh so great
We didn't wonder how we'd make our way
Now it's a smokey, August Sunday
The summer's ending soon
And we're driving down to the Redwoods
Your new girlfriend's coming, too
And she sits by you, and speaks for you
I see your family worry
Are you strong enough to say what makes you
most happy?
But I remember picking blackberries
When the summer stretched as far as we could see
And the sunlight in your eyes, clear blue
Containing everything you knew
Yes I remember picking blackberries
With you leading, we could conquer anything
So what befalls you, be it hard or good
To me you'll always be a Robin Hood
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2. |
For Daddy
03:26
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Do you hear her voice
when I sing you my songs?
Do you see her eyes
when I smile?
More than twenty years
but I know it's not enough
to forget that empty room
I know I have her laugh, her face
I sing her songs, and I choose her faith
but I am choosing to make my own way, too
and I'm not her, and I will never
leave you
I remember it all
building Lego creations in my overalls
you made me wear sensible shoes
My braids weren't quite as straight
as the other girls in my grade
but I was a beloved child
and this I knew
Rainy school days
eating frozen burritos from the microwave
I thought they were the best in the world
Other kids watched T.V.
but my day always ended with you and me
reading a story, the Newberry-award-winning kind
But now I'm grown, and I am free
to sing her songs, and to choose her faith
but that don't mean that I've out-grown
loving you
I know I have her laugh, her face
I sing her songs, and I choose her faith
but half of me is of my loving Daddy, too
and I'm not her, and I will always
love you
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3. |
Haven't I Always?
03:20
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Stained glass eyes looking down on me
but I wonder sometimes, could they possibly see
how the thing I always want
is the thing He doesn't give
not that I'm not gratefulfor all the other gifts
Just that I'm ageing, and I can hear the clock tick
I need to know
that Your hand is on my shoulder
I need to know
that my story is far from over
I need to know
that someday, someone will love me
And the Lord said, "Why wouldn't he?"
We've packed up all the boxes
now we're packing paper bags
Mama's dusty cookbooks, Barbie shoes, old diaper rags
Have you forgotten them, Lord? How is it fair?
They lift their eyes to You
while their old dreams disappear
I need to know
that Your arms are around their shoulders
I need to know
that their story is far from over
I need to know
that You'll provide for them for all of their days
And the Lord said, "Haven't I always?"
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4. |
Inkling of Heaven
03:25
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Last night we watched a pair under sweet apple trees
promise their love to each other
We drank wine from Mason jars
danced in the grass under the stars
huddled close when the cool night air came
and I slept with a smile on my face
Thinking maybe You know
every want that I'm wanting
and maybe You care
about all my little cares
and what if it's true
that You knit me together
and every crease of my heart feels Your touch
how could anyone love me so much?
But sometimes these summer Oregon evenings
when the sun burns the apple trees gold
are so God-blessed beautiful
it hurts my heart to behold
so tell me Lord what can I do?
When my heart aches, Lord, what can I do?
But maybe You know
every want that I'm wanting
and maybe You care
about all my little cares
and what if it's true
that You knit me together
and every crease of my heart feels Your touch
how could anyone love me so much?
But if summer is just an inkling of Heaven
then I can put my sorry heart to rest
and all that I can do is pound my piano
and try to write a song worthy of You
and try to write a song worthy of You
Because I think You know
every want that I'm wanting
and I think You care
about all my little cares
and I think it's true
that You knit me together
and every sun-laden soul feels Your touch
how could anyone love us so much?
How could anyone love us so much?
How could anyone but You
love us so much?
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5. |
July
01:45
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6. |
What I'm From
03:46
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Antioch College taught him
be ashamed to die, till you've changed the world
so he lived with migrant workers
and taught in East L.A. middle schools
Daddy knew old friends were important
he held his family dearer still
as he ventured to Oregon, this is what I'm from
This is what I'm from, love
this love I'm from, yeah
oh, this is the passion he gave, this is what I'm from
With an oboe, and wide-eyes blue
my Mama left for Santa Cruz
first French kiss, some weird trips
read Karl Marx and lots of feminists
she wandered, and wondered and found her way
to Oregon, here to stay
Love the Lord, unafraid to change
this is what I'm from
This is what I'm from, love
this love I'm from, yeah
oh this is the faith that she gave, this is what I'm from
Planning the revolution, and fighting for unions
they fell in love
their baby didn't learn to crawl
'till Hannah-the-Van-ah came rumbling home
singing rounds on long hikes
reading gender-neutral nursery rhymes
free to be you and me, this is what I'm from
This is what I'm from, love
this love I'm from, yeah
oh this is the music they gave, this is what I'm from
Left the mid-west as a youth
with a will to explore and a rusty car
Matt dumpster-dived and learned a trade
and met crazy folks near the Everglades
cooking Devil's French Toast, grow out your hair
hike the wild, drink Mad Dog Beer
be strong inside yourself, this is what I'm from
This is what I'm from, love
this love I'm from, yeah
this is the strength that he gave, this is what I'm from
And Dawn was making wonderful friends,
smoking lots of pot, forcing rules to bend
philosophizing, school-bus driving
traveled to Greece, started compost heaps
the silliest leader in elderly care
doing what women never dared
love your friends, love the world, have a ball
this is what I'm from
This is what I'm from, love
this love I'm from, yeah
this is the joy that she gave, this is what I'm from
Well, years passed, decades spent
babies came, marriage went
home moved, we cried
new grandparents, boycotts died
but some things stayed, and these things grew
our hearts are strong, we all pull through
double the family, quadruple the fun
and this crazy jumble of love is what I'm from
This is what I'm from, love
this love I'm from, yeah,
oh I'm so lucky to be from what I'm from
This is what I'm from, love
this love I'm from, yeah
so thank you for making me from what I'm from
Thank you for making me from what I'm from
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7. |
Oregon
04:00
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Tracks running West from the city
through the leafy Hudson Valley, and hills
across the great Mississippi
where waving canola turns to wheat fields and windmills
Soon, I'll see the people who knew me before
I been a long time gone
but I want one day more
before this train takes me home
But I'm home
In the valley of the Cascades
the grasses, and Queen Anne's Lace
and the roadside fruit stands
Yes I'm home
where the air tastes like water
I'm a sister, I'm a daughter
where roots grow deep
Oregon
I see that Chris's farm's been growing without me
Amanda's gone off to grad school
Greg and Michelle have two beautiful babies
while hipsters are invading the old neighborhood
and monkey trees we climbed
and alfalfa fields we roamed
are turned into housing developments
I lie awake at night and wonder, what am I doing here
sleeping in my parents' basement?
But I'm home
in the valley of the Cascades
the grasses, and Queen Anne's Lace
and the roadside fruit stands
Yes I'm home
where the air tastes like water
I'm a sister, I'm a daughter
where roots grow deep
Oregon
But I wake up to a dew grass morning
Mama's got a breakfast on the stove
I swear, I had a life back in Brooklyn
but I wonder if the old things
can hold beginnings, too
Yeah, I'm wandering and wallowing
back in dirty overalls
But I can't deny
how good
it feels
But I'm home
in the valley of the Cascades
the grasses, and Queen Anne's Lace
and the roadside fruit stands
Yes I'm home
where the air tastes like water
I'm a sister, I'm a daughter
where roots grow deep
where roots grow deep
where roots still grow
Oregon
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8. |
Sing, Sing, Sing
03:30
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You're a fool, sometimes
Hearing what you wanna hear
believing what isn't there
and then you come back down
You hope too hard, sometimes
You want people to be better
though you know that you should never
ever imagine they will change for you
Girl, just close your eyes and
sing, sing, sing
You make mistakes, but you can
sing, sing, sing
I know it hurts, but you can
sing, sing, sing
Just don't forget to sing
You feel too old, sometimes
The boys your age are not grown up
they don't know what they really want
and you forget every time
You want too much, sometimes
You wish for less integrity
or a singular ability
for never feeling lonely
Girl, just close your eyes and
sing, sing, sing
You make mistakes, but you can
sing, sing, sing
I know it hurts, but you can
sing, sing, sing
Just don't forget to sing
Yes, you're a fool, sometimes
You push for things that shouldn't be
and then you're left there, wondering...
but God knows your whole heart
So, just close your eyes and
sing, sing, sing
You make mistakes, but you can
sing, sing, sing
I know it hurts, but you can
sing, sing, sing
Just don't forget to sing
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9. |
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You know that feeling you get
when you start thinking too much about health insurance
or paying back your student loans?
Or you feel like a sell-out
for getting your first cell phone or credit card?
Well, I know how you feel
Yes I know how you feel
Well maybe I'm too young to worry
but I'm too old to ignore
That life goes with or without you
I can't be waiting no more
I don't want to push bull-shit
I don't want to just get by
I want to jump from this gerbil wheel
and find my life
And I want to plant real trees
I want us to grow real change
I want our grand-kids to look up and see
the same real sky
Well, maybe I'm too young to worry
but I'm too old to ignore
that life goes with or without you
I can't be waiting no more
I don't want to just pay bills
I don't want to just survive
I want to jump from this train
that's running away with my life
And I want to sing real songs
I want to find out real love
I want to do what feels right by my heart
and with God above
Well maybe I'm too young to worry
but I'm too old to ignore
that life goes with or without you
I can't be waiting no more
I can't stay here where everyone's nice
and the grass is perpetually green
I gotta check out the world and see
what there is to see
And I want to hug lost souls
I want to find grass that's less green
I want to go where it's dark
and the light they need is me
Well maybe I'm too young and foolish
but I'm too old to ignore
that life goes with or without you
I can't be waiting no more
I can't be waiting no more
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10. |
Wide Desert Sky
03:30
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Throw another log on the dying campfire
let your fingers on the guitar play another song for me
Don't let the rising moon chase you to your cold bed
No, stay here and talk awhile with me
What would it feel like to walk with you
over Juniper hills, beneath Scorpio's eye?
What would it feel like to walk alone with you
under the wide desert sky?
Wonder how the bats flit so near the firelight
Listen to the nighthawks as they peep to the sky
Feel the desert breeze, how it hugs us good-night
Oh, stay here and talk awhile with me
What would it feel like to walk with you
sweet as river willow, and as soft as Indian rye?
What would it feel like to walk alone with you
under the wide desert sky?
Under the wide desert sky?
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Arbielle Portland
Feel free to visit arbielle.com for the artist's bio, show & tour dates, photos, and blog!
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