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Joy & Mischief!

by John Lyle

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1.
The Way of Things 04:38
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The Way Of Things All along the morning they were dancing in the dark Lost in restless fury with an action like a heart Sad eyed and lonely they were waiting for a sign To take their shadows to the broken edge of time The living waters drowned the immigrants of fame They made examples of those worthy of the name Within the messages that screamed above the waves Were well known passages forgotten from the page That's the way of things That’s the song they sing That’s the way yay yay of things Among the missing there were those they could not find Bound down to nothing like a picture for the blind Who knows what happened to the moments that they wore Wild roses always grow behind an open door That's the way of things That’s the song they sing That’s the way yay yay of things They tried to listen to the wisdom of the night But all the things they learned were moving out of sight So glad you made it said the beggar to the king You must be satisfied with losing everything That's the way of things That’s the song they sing That’s the way yay yay of things
2.
Nothin’ Nobody Can Do 03:47
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Nothin’ Nobody Can Do Passed a nomad down where no man Talks about things he can do I sat on the fence They were changing the tense Back to when it was shiny and new I don’t know but I been told There’s nothin’ nobody can do Nothin’ nobody can do Where’s the fun in being young when Everything withers in bloom You grow up so fast When you learn that what lasts Is nowhere to be found in this room I don’t know but I been told There’s nothin’ nobody can do Nothin’ nobody can do All those lies under clear blue skies When the world leaked out of you Some sweet guise came and filled your eyes With what you thought you had to do Try to call it something solid That which has no shadow don’t move Woven in stone Cut so close to the bone All that matters is shattered in two I don’t know but I been told There’s nothin’ nobody can do Nothin’ nobody can do
3.
A Song For Everyone 02:02
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A Song For Everyone Blue is the ocean yellow the sun Wild is the river see how it runs Bright is the moon that shines on the bay Long are the hours short is the day Where is the home I can call mine Why should I search with nothing to find Cold is the heart that hates what it loves Hard is the hawk that sleeps with the dove The movers and the shakers do it their way Conquer the world with a gun We’ll get along singing a song for everyone Gentle the sound that feels like a tear Never too proud to be of good cheer Slow is the dance that opens the heart Stout is the lance that pierces the dark
4.
You Broke Right Down and Cried 04:48
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You Broke Right Down and Cried You were nameless In the loss of your grief You thought that old time feeling Was beyond your reach, and then You broke right down and cried You built an altar As high as you could You cut an old growth forest For the firewood and then You broke right down and cried You were stranded there With nothing more to say Why did you even start What had to end that way You fought a battle You knew you would lose Against a host of shadows And a world of blues and then You broke right down and cried You climbed a mountain Like your heart didn’t care You held your arms wide open To the cold night air and then You broke right down and cried Before the falling sun Deserts the hollow ground They’ll all come runnin’ To hear you scream out loud You remembered You always exist Behind a world of sorrow In a sea of bliss, and then You broke right down and cried
5.
A Long Long Time Ago 03:30
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A Long Long Time Ago Took a flight on the back of the night A long long time ago Took a stand on an ocean of sand Why I did I’ll never know Ride on you broken angel The sun is sinking low How am I what I came to deny A long long time ago A long long time ago Not surprised by the look in their eyes A long long time ago Life was cheap at the end of my feet Where unknown shadows had to grow Ride on you broken angel The sun is sinking low How am I what I came to deny A long long time ago A long long time ago Such was I like a wheel on the fly A long long time ago Way behind with no shot at the line Hobbled down a slippery road Ride on you broken angel The sun is sinking low How am I what I came to deny A long long time ago A long long time ago
6.
Sweet Little Sister 02:39
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Sweet Little Sister She’s got a smile like Our lovin’ momma Done tickled her eye She’s done nothin’ But laughin’ since She touched us with Her sweet surprise She’s gone up so high She’s standing on the sky She done fell in love That sweet little sister of mine Got the makin's of a mother Was the very line They used to said When she pushed me around And said she’s gonna bust my head Now she’s all grown up She’s sleepin’ in Another man’s bed She done fell in love That sweet little sister of mine I think it’s fine she has Found somebody To care for Now If that ain’t what She’s all about I think I’m gonna lose my mind She’s got a smile like Our lovin’ momma Done tickled her eye She’s done nothin’ But laughin’ since She touched us with Her sweet surprise She’s gone up so high She’s gazing in God's eyes She done fell in love That sweet little sister of mine
7.
High Road 02:31
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High Road High Road true as a lie Who’ll be laughing On the the day that I die High Road rolling away Lost in darkness As the lights of tomorrow Dissemble the sorrow that Rains up and down my parade High Road rugged and still Hidden passage To the fount of the real High Road travelled by none Going nowhere As the ghost of a shadow Gets older and sadder Finished before it’s begun Against the black of night The stars were holding hands They fell upon themselves In wild array they made a shining path High road deepened with age Out of reach beyond The bounds of a cage High road tumbling down All the bodies On the road to forever Who thought they would never Be drinking the tears of a clown
8.
My Milk Is Hot and Ready 03:48
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My Milk Is Hot and Ready Just another coal train Pumping black smoke down the line Well, I better get a move on But I have no sense of time Everybody better call me But please call me twice Everybody better call me And they better all be nice My milk is hot and ready now Body got a habit gonna keep until it goes Well, if you want some answers Better find somebody who knows Just put away the wolf-trap Tear the scaffold from your heart Nobody in their right mind Gonna try tell you apart Sure pretty on the mountain In the year above the pain They say they got a fountain Spits out manna tastes like rain My milk is hot and ready now Body got a habit gonna keep until it goes Well, if you want some answers Better find somebody who knows My milk is hot, my milk is ready My milk is hot, my milk is ready My milk is hot, my milk is ready My milk is hot, my milk is ready
9.
There’s a Hole in My Lariat 03:16
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There’s a Hole in My Lariat I’m a lonesome cowboy With horseshoes for my wheels The nightwind for my blanket It all seems so unreal I beg you listen to me Ride a mile in my chaps And if the good Lord’s willing You won’t fall into this trap The dogies just get younger While Old Paint is getting grey He sighs beneath my weight But he’s too scared to say What we’ve both been thinking What we know is true That I’m gonna have To find somebody new There’s a hole in my lariat Where the dogies ought to go But how can I rope dogies When the horse I ride’s so slow There’s a hole in my lariat As empty as the sky You ain’t seen nothin’ ‘til you seen a cowboy cry They say poor workers Try to blame their tools But let me tell you partners I’d get more done with a mule All the girls are laughin’ Down at the saloon Talkin’ ‘bout the fun they have When they hear me croon There’s a hole in my lariat Where the dogies ought to go But how can I rope dogies When the horse I ride’s so slow There’s a hole in my lariat As empty as the sky You ain’t seen nothin’ ‘til you seen a cowboy cry
10.
Little Red Riding Hood 03:05
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11.
Everything’s True 03:49
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Everything’s True All the letters they sent Burning in the fire True to their desires Not a speck of regret For the mischief of a liar Foolishly admired Rain on the window tastes like the sea Birds in the birdbath bathing for tea Love in her fingers reaching for you Ashes to ashes everything’s true They gather today In the hills outside of town Where the poisons aren’t allowed They pattern their ways By the movements of a cloud Whose shadow stains the ground Rain on the window tastes like the sea Birds in the birdbath bathing for tea Love in her fingers reaching for you Ashes to ashes everything’s true Those who follow the trends Say the signs are always there Like a smile without a care Of all the friends no longer there I am nearer than the air Rain on the window tastes like the sea Birds in the birdbath bathing for tea Love in her fingers reaching for you Ashes to ashes everything’s true
12.
Pax 02:48
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Pax Pax is your name if you want it It suits you like your blue baby bonnet Our dream for you, you see Is to live your life in peace We love you, baby There’s nobody needing love So much as those who You’ll want to shove Remember it this way Nobody is to blame We love you, baby Don’t get stepped on You aren’t helping people By being their slave Stand up to them With the power of love Always We are products of our being Of everything we’ve seen And what we’re seeing Every move’s beyond control Relax, it will unfold We love you, baby
13.
The Moon Is Growing Old 04:11
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The Moon Is Growing Old Rise and shine in wounded time The moon is growing old Low down and swollen bound to burst From what she holds so far above me The moon is growing old Rise and shine in wounded time The moon is never new I sing her song and her song Is always blue so far above me The moon is growing old Alone in the night in wounded time About to turn on a dime so far above me The moon is growing old Rise and shine in wounded time All fragments of desire Burn cross Heaven as sacraments Of fire so far above me The moon is growing old Last time we met she had A garden in her eyes Filled with flowers you’d swear Could never die so far above me The moon is growing old Alone in the night in wounded time About to turn on a dime so far above me The moon is growing old Rise and shine in wounded time The moon is never new I sing her song and her song Is always blue so far above me The moon is growing old
14.
How to Take a Compliment 03:32
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How to Take a Compliment How to take a compliment I really wish I knew If you were to pay me some I’d learn after a few You know you owe it to me For the ones I paid to you But if you can’t think of anything Ignoring me will do Ignoring me will do Indifference sees me through I’ll get by but why not lie I did the same for you Ignoring me will do Indifference sees me through I’ll get by but why not lie I did the same for you How to take a compliment I guess after a while I’ll get kind of jaded And contempt will cloud my smile You can get things started By remarking on my shoes But if you can’t make the effort Than ignoring me will do Ignoring me will do Indifference sees me through I’ll get by but why not lie I did the same for you Ignoring me will do Indifference sees me through I’ll get by but why not lie I did the same for you How to take a compliment You’ve finally failed the test Leveling a criticism At my brand new vest After all the compliments I’ve sent along your way Is a vicious put down now The only thing that you can say Ignoring me will do Indifference sees me through I’ll get by but without your lies Cause you and I are through Ignoring me will do Your mom wears army boots I’ll get by but without your lies Cause you and I are through You and I are through
15.
Walking All Over the World 03:28
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Walking All Over the World Fear and desire had gone away Time meant nothing but a hill far away Where snow was all that counted And wounds were erased And Old Man Winter had to cover his face I spent what I had on what was there The world kept turning and the road was bare I climbed another mountain down to the sea Where deep blue shadows had a hold on me I followed my feet wherever they’d go Dancing on top of the tips of my toes I followed my feet wherever they’d go Walking all over the world I travelled far and I travelled wide Ain’t no different on the other side Wherever I would wander, wherever I’d roam Wherever I’m goin’, I’m already home I followed my feet wherever they’d go Dancing on top of the tips of my toes I followed my feet wherever they’d go Walking all over the world
16.
Dead On to the End of the Night 02:42
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Dead On to the End of the Night I knew a boy with a frozen face Lost at sea in his own embrace He couldn’t see the chains had come His hands were tied, his tongue was dumb I knew a girl with an open heart She closed her eyes and blew apart All that was found by the morning’s grace Left her there without a trace Dead on to the end of the night Both eyes blazing with a far-away light Dead on, let the four winds blow To the place where there ain’t nobody goes I knew a child with a broken wing The birds would cry to hear it sing How many wounds will a moment make A world awry is its own mistake Dead on to the end of the night Both eyes blazing with a far-away light Dead on, let the four winds blow To the place where there ain’t nobody goes

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released March 16, 2014

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John Lyle Sechelt, British Columbia

The lyrics for most of the songs appearing in these albums are available in book form: "The Kindest Lies: the Lyrics of John Lyle", published by Leaky Boot Press (June 28, 2013).

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