Marty Balin: "Comin' Back To Me"

The summer had inhaled and held its breath too long
The winter looked the same, as if it never had gone
And through an open window where no curtain hung
I saw you, I saw you, comin' back to me

One begins to read between the pages of a look
The shape of sleepy music, and suddenly you're hooked
Through the rain upon the trees, the kisses on the run
I saw you, I saw you, comin' back to me

You can't stay and live my way
Scatter my love like leaves in the wind
You always say you want to go away
But I know what it always has been, it always has been

A transparent dream beneath an occasional sigh
Most of the time I just let it go by
Now I wish it hadn't begun
I saw you, yes I saw you, comin' back to me

Strolling the hills overlooking the shore
I realize I've been here before
The shadow in the mist could have been anyone
I saw you, I saw you, comin' back to me

Small things like reasons are put in a jar
Whatever happened to wishes wished on a star?
Was it just something that I made up for fun?
I saw you, I saw you, comin' back to me

"Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key"

Billy Bragg sings Woody Guthrie
Chicago, Illinois
7/14/08

Shawn Colvin: "Catch The Wind"

in the chilly hours and minutes
of uncertainty
i want to be
in the warm hold of your loving mind
to feel you all around me
and to take your hand
along the sand
ah, but i may as well
try and catch the wind

when sundown pales the sky
i want to hide a while
behind your smile
and everywhere i'd look, your eyes i'd find
for me to love you now
would be the sweetest thing
t'would make me sing
ah, but i may as well
try and catch the wind

when rain has hung the leaves with tears
i want you near
to kill my fears
to help me to leave all my blues behind
for standing in your heart
is where i wanna be
and i long to be,
ah, but i may as well
try and catch the wind

Clancy Brothers: "Brennan on the Moor"

with Tommy Makem
Belfast 1984

'Tis of a brave young highwayman this story I will tell
His name was Willie Brennan and in Ireland he did dwell
It was on the Kilwood Mountain he commenced his wild career
And many a wealthy nobleman before him shook with fear

It was Brennan on the moor, Brennan on the moor
Bold, brave and undaunted was young Brennan on the moor

One day upon the highway as Willie he went down
He met the mayor of Cashiell a mile outside of town
The mayor he knew his features and said, young man, said he
Your name is Willie Brennan, you must come along with me

Now Brennan's wife had gone to town provisions for to buy
And when she saw her Willie she commenced to weep and cry
Said, hand to me that tenpenny, as soon as Willie spoke
She handed him a blunderbuss from underneath her cloak

Now with this loaded blunderbuss, the truth I will unfold
He made the mayor to tremble and he robbed him of his gold
One hundred pounds was offered for his apprehension there
So he with horse and saddle to the mountains did repair

Now Brennan being an outlaw upon the mountains high
With cavalry and infantry to take him they did try
He laughed at them with scorn until at last it was said
By a false-hearted woman he was cruelly betrayed

They took Brennan to the crossroads, there he hung and dried
But still they say that in the night some do see him ride
They see him with his blunderbuss in the midnight chill
And all along the King's Highway rides Willie Brennan still

Gillian Welch: "Throw Me A Rope"

with David Rawlings
Austin, Texas
9/28/08

Stephano Barbati: "Hasta Siempre Comandante"

Six Bars Jail, Firenze, Italy
5/10/08

Robin Williamson: "Facing West"

Ballyferriter, Ireland
2007

Facing west from California's shores,
Inquiring, tireless, seeking what is yet unfound,
I, a child, very old, over waves, towards the house of maternity,
the land of migrations, look afar,
Look off the shores of my Western sea, the circle almost circled;
For starting westward from Hindustan, from the vales of Kashmere,
From Asia, from the north, from the God, the sage, and the hero,
From the south, from the flowery peninsulas and the spice islands,
Long having wander'd since, round the earth having wander'd,
Now I face home again, very pleas'd and joyous,
(But where is what I started for so long ago?
And why is it yet unfound?)
--Walt Whitman (from "Leaves of Grass")

Show of Hands: "Cousin Jack"

10/1/08
Great Hall, Farnham, England

this land is barren and broken
scarred like the face of the moon
our tongue is no longer spoken
and the towns all around face ruin
will there be work in New Brunswick?
or will i find gold in the Cape?
if i tunnel way down to Australia
oh will I ever escape?
where there's a mine
or a hole in the ground
that's what i'm heading for
that's where i'm bound
look for me under the lode
or inside the vein
where the copper the clay
where the arsenic and tin
run in your blood
and under your skin
i'm leaving the county behind
and i'm not coming back
so follow me down
cousin Jack
--show of hands (from "cousin jack")