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Cool Fire

by John Lyle

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1.
When the Wind Gets High 03:06
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WHEN THE WIND GETS HIGH The carousel is finally winding down They’ve pulled up stakes And scraped the makeup off the clown Not even time can mend this broken-hearted town I would run away and quit the circus now If I could overcome the things that make me proud I would stand so tall my head would be a cloud I’ve been counting backward in my sleep Breaking down the horror of belief I’ve been laughing at things that give me grief I’m gonna shave my head And put my hat on backwards They say that works When the wind gets high You and me, we’re lost inside a bud Dizzy with a fever in the blood Let me close my eyes And sink into the flood My old red rooster crows at dawn When everything I’ve prayed against is gone He leans his back against the fence And sings a song I’m gonna shave my head And put my hat on backwards They say that works When the wind gets high
2.
Walk It on Down 02:30
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WALK IT ON DOWN Scientologists are coming, there’s a Mormon at the door There’s a Witness counting heads but he don’t know what for The glory train has left the track, it’s barrelling down the street Scaring the bejesus out of everyone it meets Walk it on down, walk it on down Walk it on down to the best guy in town The sound of distant thunder makes him dream about his past Just how many blunders can one guy amass? He searches for his Bible in the rushes, sweet and low A desperate guy is liable to find anywhere to go Walk it on down, walk it on down Walk it on down to the best guy in town If I told you the dye was cast you’d laugh into my face You’d write my name upon the wind and turn another page The book of life is filled with lies claiming to be true I’ll bet you any money the biggest lie is you Walk it on down, walk it on down Walk it on down to the best guy in town
3.
A Dog Lies Down Sometime 03:38
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A Dog Lies Down Sometime You scream around the corner, like Little Jack Horner Who knows what’s down the line? It’s a stone-cold fact, they’ll be bringing you back In a box of yellow pine We all have our moments, but yours takes an hour If it does not take a day I’d cut you some slack, but it’s down the track Where my best intentions stay Meet your maker, he’s an undertaker With an old Econoline He’s got a black pomade, a Tibetan maid, And he loves his life of crime You run around in circles like a dog in a circus But a dog lies down sometime If you swear at the moon and it breaks in two You can take it as a sign Scrape the haggis off the wall at the lesbians’ ball Take your big foot off my throat Write a letter to the Pope, we gotta legalize dope And don’t forget to vote Meet your maker, he’s an old heart-breaker With his own line of clothes He’s got a straw-bale shack, by the railroad track And he breathes through his nose You run around in circles like a dog in a circus But a dog lies down sometime If you swear at the moon and it breaks in two You can take it as a sign
4.
Do Whales Have Scales? 02:24
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DO WHALES HAVE SCALES? Do whales have scales? Do they go ‘do-re-me’ for so long, Or, are they the avante coast guard? Do they go ‘do-re-me’? Do whales tell tales? Do they meet and sound and then go ‘round To Namu’s bar and shoot the bull, until the cows come home? Do whales feel frail? Do they start to blubber like a real land-lubber. When they think about the journey’s end, then, do they get the bends? Of the many mammals in history, could there be one smarter than me? Was it shrewd for whales to conclude they’d be better off back in the sea? I wanna know! Will whales prevail? Will they grow immune to our harpoons And live to learn to be like us, awfully omnivorous? Of the many mammals in history, could there be one smarter than me? Was it shrewd for whales to conclude, was it wise for whales to surmise, Was it bright for whales to think they might be better off back in the sea? I’m gonna find out
5.
Too Much Compassion 03:56
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Too Much Compassion The biggest bully in the yard Could always put me off my guard By pulling out a hanky with his hand This guy’s not half so bad, he’s got a cold just like I had And some sisters, and a mother with a womb Then he’d turn into a viper, and I’d wish I’d stayed hyper As a seismograph about to overload Lift the veil of paranoia and the devil’s damn destroyers Zero in and aim to blow me off the globe Too much compassion can kill a nervous man And too much pity’s bound to drown him on dry land Tender-hearted heartlessness is how it all began It takes two to tangle in this cock-eyed caravan Trillions of gifts beneath the tree And there was only one for me Just a cap gun, but it really rang the bell I’d wanted it like sin, since my last pistol’d packed it in Brand new, it bit the dust, and rusted in the rain Then somebody said, aw, honey, We just could not find the money to give you your due That broke me up inside Drop the veil of paranoia, and the devil’s damn destroyers Zero in and aim to blow me off the globe Too much compassion can kill a nervous man And too much pity’s bound to drown him on dry land Tender-hearted heartlessness is how it all began It takes two to tangle in this cock-eyed caravan
6.
Nobody's Baby 03:00
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NOBODY’S BABY (by Garry MacPherson) Well, she was nobody’s baby She wasn’t even anybody’s child I met her in her garden on my way to kindergarten And I said, ain’t you no one’s love at all She said, no, no, no I’m only waiting Like we children gotta do I’m nobody’s baby, I’m nobody’s child I’m all alone like you Well, she was nobody’s lover She wasn’t even anybody’s whore She was walkin’ through the door, though From the time that she was four And she heard the hobo’s call She spent a lot of time at her window Lookin’ through her window pane Saying, I’m nobody’s baby, I’m nobody’s child To me it’s all the same She was nobody’s honky-tonk lady Nobody’s pride and joy I met her in the ocean, when I took a secret potion I said, I’d like to be your boy She said, no, no, no I’m only waiting Like we children have to do I’m nobody’s baby, I’m nobody’s child I’m all alone like you I’m all alone and blue
7.
Blind Love 03:23
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BLIND LOVE Evil forces gather in the half-light Dark with blood, but only in the mind In the cold desert bloom There’s nothing left but room For pride in knowing love is blind Tongues so thick, They cannot speak of weather Bodies ache, with things they have not done To see what is true, and have to live it too Is a fate that should not befall anyone I’ve lived most of my life paralyzed Pretending I can see When I’ve been looking through The wrong set of eyes When I can just let go Like an angel in the snow I’ll be the King of the Cowboys On this sweet little pony of mine
8.
Old Hontana Road 03:50
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OLD HONTANA ROAD Inga said a mouthful when she said I could get her back after she’s dead You should hear what people say About her now she’s gone But I will take the high road from now on Rain comes down like bullets from above Money can’t buy this kind of love Some old twister, spinning like a top The way he moves, you think he’ll never stop Just when you think you know someone You find out they’re like you Living in a room without a view Sun burns down on Old Hontana Road Turn your head, and you won’t see them go You won’t see scarecrows smile At nothing in the dirt You won’t see them leave a world of hurt
9.
I Won't Be Lonesome When I'm Gone 02:54
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I Won't Be Lonesome When I'm Gone I may have been in China When you came to break the news Trying to give me something I can use I remember kind of peeling back into my blues Fetching for a pail to fill my shoes All graven images, from sea to shining sea Another smiling Christ, smiling back at me Woke up this morning with a hammer and a tong I won’t be lonesome when I’m gone I’m gonna backslide ‘til I find an open door Backslide ‘til I can’t backslide no more Every cold idea that thinks it knows the score Don’t seem to mean so much no more It must have been a foggy night, when you fell for me Everything you could forget, you managed not to see Woke up this morning with a hammer and a tong I won’t be lonesome when I’m gone One hand on the shovel, one foot in the grave Watch another breath go down the drain If you see my double, ask him if he has a name And if he’s taking rest inside the shade Everything you love in me, you hide inside yourself Turn it outside over, you don’t need no one’s help Woke up this morning with a hammer and a tong I won’t be lonesome when I’m gone
10.
Sparkling River 02:57
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SPARKLING RIVER Like a faded leaf, hanging by a thread I blow into the wind and tumble down like I was dead I say I’m not a thief but I won’t stand in the light So you can wash my face and give my empty mouth a bite How can I be angry with someone so nice Are my fingers made of silver, is my heart made of ice? I hide beside the fire with tears in my eyes Mourning the desire I’ve learned to despise You know where I’m going, you know where I’ve been You know which wind’s blowing and you know it’s not a sin You make a good sheepdog moving me along All tangled up in what don’t last long On the outskirts of the meadow, in the shadow of fright Crazy wolves are mending fences in the starry, starry night You know where I’m going, you know where I’ve been You know which wind’s blowing and you know it’s not a sin There is a sparkling river flowing through my head Bringing understanding who I thought I was is dead Rollin’ and ‘a tumblin,’ through wind, and stone and sea Laughing like a baby when a baby is free

credits

released October 10, 2005

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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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