1. |
What Do I Know?
05:01
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What Do I Know?
Erik Yates, 2.14
Don’t you eat too little, don’t you eat too much
(but what do I know)
Don’t you be fooled by your lover’s touch
(but what do I know)
Don’t climb too high, but don’t you stay too low
And don’t you be fooled by what I know
‘Cause words are ships lost out at sea
(but what do I know)
‘Cause talk is cheap, even comin’ from me
(but what do I know)
It ain’t worth much more than the cold in the snow
So don’t you be fooled by what I know
Don’t you be fooled by what I say
Or the way I walk or the dues I pay
Every single soul’s got to make its own way
In its own sweet time
Yeah, don’t be fooled by the stories I tell
Or by what you hear about a heaven or a hell
Just close your eyes for a spell
And see what you find, see what you find
Don’t you love too strong, don’t you love too weak
(but what do I know)
Don’t you get too high on what you seek
(but what do I know)
Don’t run it down too fast, and don’t crawl too slow
And don’t you be fooled by what I know
Don’t you be fooled by what I said
Or the way my words echo in your head
‘Cause you gotta lie down in your own bed
At the end of the day
And when you do there ain’t no one there
Just a whole lotta thoughts hangin’ in mid-air
So sit up tall, with a little tiny smile
And jump into the fray
I gave up a whole kingdom to sit by a tree
(shows you what I know)
So don’t you take too long thinkin ‘bout me
(cause what do I know)
Just plant your seeds and watch them grow
And don’t you be fooled by what I know
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh, what I know
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh, what I know
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh, what I know
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh, what I know
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2. |
Middle Country Stars
05:30
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One thousand and twenty-five years ago
Su T’ung Po laid down his load
For one last mountain night
Beneath the stars so high
Aye, aye, aye . . .
I let myself into your apartment
The key was hidden in your heating vent
I read the words you wrote that night
and I drank most of your wine
Oh the night, oh the night, oh the starry night!
We made for the banks of the Yangtze
We followed the bells of a monastery
We wished our wives were near enough
to keep us warm on the mountain so high, aye, aye, aye . . .
I cried, ʻHelp me, I am mad tonight!ʼ
You cried, ʻSanity is a dreadful sight
ʻSave it for the valley down below!
Oh the night, oh the night, oh the starry night!
We made our beds of moss and stone
You lit your pipe and I lit my own
You sang a poem about the stars of the Middle Country
as they passed us by
You told me I could hear it in a thousand years
If the river ran high and the current was strong
And if singers still sang songs about singers singing songs long ago Oh the night, oh the night, oh the starry night!
He snored like a madman and I left him alone
I locked your back door, good friend, and I stumbled home
To make love to my wife
As the California stars moved to the East
One thousand and twenty five years ago
Su T’ung P’o laid down his load
For one last mountain night
Beneath the stars so high
Aye aye aye
Oh, the night, oh the night, oh the starry starry night
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3. |
How Short the Song
02:57
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How sweet the day, how short the song
You turn to listen, then it’s gone
You want to hear it all day long
Oh, but how short the song
You wonder if your heart’s ever gonna learn
You mutter somethin’ ‘bout the wheel and another turn
And platitudes don’t stop the burning
But they help a little bit
Help is what you needed, and help is what you got
Hell is the distance between what’s here and what’s not
Another night, another dawn
How short the song
You curse and scream and shout up at the sky
You know too well the reasons why
But that don’t stop makin’ goodbye
A four-letter word
Movin’ on’s like pullin’ teeth
The future’s dark, the past is sweet
You try to stand, but the ground beneath your feet
Just feels all wrong
Help is what you needed, and help is what you got
Hell is the distance between what’s here and what’s not
Another night, another dawn
How short the song
How short the song
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4. |
You Be the Fiddle
04:40
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You be the fiddle, babe, and I’ll be the bass guitar
And we’ll go honkytonkin’ out underneath the stars
You fly fast and free, honey, and I’ll keep steady time
Let’s paint the town, baby, while we’re in our prime
We got a long, long life to live, babe
There ain’t nothin’ we won’t lose
So put on that dress I love, the one that don’t hang low
Let’s make all them other dancers look like fools
‘Cause when your hips start swayin’, babe
I could swing you ‘round all day and night
Just show me the way into your arms
chorus
It’s been one hell of a year, baby
There ain’t nothin’ that ain’t gone wrong
I just wanna hear some moanin’ steel guitar
And I want you to come along
I’m tired of all this waitin’ round
My ears are dyin’ for the sound
Of some string band playin’ some old country tune
chorus
I don’t know what to do, don’t know what to say
To give more love to you, but there’s got to be a way
While I find it, babe, let’s hear those guitars play
There’s a full moon risin’ high, babe
Big as a midnight sun
Let’s find a neon sign and a place to hang our coats
And try to have ourselves a little fun
‘Cause somethin’ strong’s been tellin’ me
The whole day long that I can see
The world and all its charms in the way you move
chorus
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5. |
Sleeping Giants
05:00
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Oh, it’s a long way up
to the bottom of your soul
Where the sleeping giants dream up
all the things we think we know
Everything that’s gonna come
And everything that’s gonna go
And everything that ain’t never gonna be
Oh, it’s a long way down
to the beginning of it all
Yeah, it might not seem too far
but it’s one hell of a fall
So stay close to my side
and you may just be alright
With any luck, you’ll make it through the night
And if we get to the other side
We may find we are at war
And if we get to the other side
We may find we have to walk a little more
A little more
The shadows in the dark,
they’re the hardest ones to find
Soon as you do,
They go and scramble up your mind
They’ll show you the way to heaven
And it leads you right through hell
You gotta look for the water from a deeper well
There’s no tellin’ what you’ll find
When you pry away the years
That have covered up the things you thought
We long gone with your tears
You can cry and you can howl
It just might do you right
With any luck, we’ll make it through the night
And when we get to the other side
We may find we are at war
And when we get to the other side
We may find we have to fight a little more
A little more, a little more
Don’t you wanna see the other side of this?
Don’t you wanna run away and hide from this?
When you can’t decide I’ll be here to remind you
I will find you where you lay,
We will see another day
And when we get to the other side
We may find we are at war
And when we get to the other side
We may find we have to fight a little more
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6. |
I Wanna Know
04:35
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I want to sing with the angels, all fire and air
And there ain’t no room for this body up there
I want to dig down with the Devil into the dark, wet earth
And find out what my soul is worth
I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know
I wanna know what my soul is worth
I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know
I wanna know what my soul is worth
I want to see the moon rise high and full
I want to feel her rhythm tides push and pull me
I want to wake up to a dark sky and see the sun’s almighty birth
And find out what my soul is worth
I wanna know, I wanna know . . .
I want to have the whole world at my feet and give it all away
I want to see the thing they call forever in the clear light of the day
I want the wind to blow straight through me until I rock and sway
I wanna find out what my soul is worth before my body’s in the clay
I wanna swim the seven oceans, wanna climb 400 peaks
I wanna see those big birds flying over my head for weeks and weeks
I wanna run out with the wild ones to the edge of the earth
And find out what my soul is worth
I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know
I wanna know what my soul is worth (3x)
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7. |
Flying into Oakland
05:19
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Well, the night came by and found me all alone
In the place I share with my love but tonight, my love is gone
She is gone, gone, she is gone
She will be back tomorrow with stories new to tell
And the power in her voice that I have learned to love so well
Love so well, ahh, love so well
‘Cause she sings like a woman with something to sing for
And I long to hear her footsteps on the path outside our door
And the light in our window is just one light in a billion or so
And flying into Oakland tonight, I could see the city glow
And the only thing sweeter that I’ve found than knowing what you know
Is the way it feels when you let it go
In the garden close behind me corn is pushing through the soil
The Oakland dirt is rich, full of light and full of rain
it gives me so much for my clumsy toil
And that’s the way my baby is, that’s the way my baby is to me
She gives herself to this love and keeps this heart from misery
chorus
And oh, when we roll from the wedding bed into the grave
We will know the joy of loving all from the love that we have made
And may bone and spirit still recall all these things as they part
And go easy their separate ways with the last beat of our lovin' hearts
chorus
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8. |
Give it Time
02:11
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Well, go easy on yourself, give it time
'Cause there ain’t no way of knowin’ what’s to come
If bein’ indecisive was a crime
They’d lock you up ‘til you were deaf and dumb
But that don’t mean you have to suffer so
It’s only life, and don’t you know
It don’t last long enough for you to cry about the things you do
Just sit back down and take them as they come
Take pity on your crooked little heart
It beats the best it can both night and day
Tranquility would tear it right apart
And peace of mind would just get in its way
'Cause there's something in your chest that just won’t quit
And all that runnin’ round won’t help you find it
Just get your mojo workin’ boy and find out what’s been lurkin’
Underneath the moth and rust and the decay
Try and get yourself just a little definition
Lord knows you can’t do it all in your condition
It don’t matter why fate put you in this position
But you sure as hell can’t back down
You can't back down . . .
So go and rest your head upon the weary ground
It’s been upright there for far too many hours
Listen for the slow and steady sound
Of the animal that hunts what it devours
Give yourself the opportunity
To let your tired mind run free
Don’t back it up against the wall, just let the chips lie where they fall
You might just be surprised at your own power
'Cause life don't last long enough for you to cry about the shit you do
Just sit back own and take it as it comes
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9. |
Vatican Blues
05:16
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It’s plain to see we’re not the holy ones
No one will carve the likeness of the man outside the Vatican
Lying, waiting for his daily bread
No artist’s brush to touch the boils upon his weary head
No marble monument in the Basilica
Is gonna show for all to see his troubled replica
No seraphim will guard his gilded tomb
No organ stops announce his body’s passing from the womb
into the grave
And it’s plain to see that we are not the holy ones
It’s plain to see we’ll all fall into dust
Nothing could be easier here than knowing that the pieces of us
Will too soon be scattered far and wide
While these marble floors and painted walls will be so safe inside
To be sure, they know their day will come
The king of time can out-wait anyone
The greater mind is all that lasts
And even these things here must pass
But they know that they will have a longer run
And they know that we are not the holy ones
Holy, holy, holy beggar-man
Holy, holy, holy Vatican
Holy mind that holds the sight of them
And holy the decay that takes them both
And holds them to its (holy) breast
And lays the holy down to rest
And lays the holy down to rest
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10. |
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Don’t wait til you hit your stride, don’t let your pride stand in your way
Do what you got to do to get on up and start your day
This world ain’t a perfect place, it’s full of things that don’t make sense
But until they make a better one, we’ll just have to do the best we can
Until they make a better one, we’ll just have to do the best we can
You been carrying that rugged cross around with you
wherever you may go
But it ain’t yours to carry, I wanna hear you singin' sweet and low
This world ain’t a perfect place, it’s full of shit that don’t make sense
But until they make a better one, we’ll just have to do the best we can
Don’t torture yourself with what could be and would be
Be more for yourself now than anyone should be
Look to your health when the shit hits the fan
Whether it’s part of some larger plan or not,
Don't worry about a thing, just be glad for what you got
This world ain’t a perfect place, it’s full of things that don’t make sense
But until they make a better one, you’ll just have to do the best we can
But until they make a better one, we’ll just have to do the best we can
But until we make a better one, we’ll just have to do the best we can
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Erik Yates Lyons, Colorado
Erik Yates' many years of touring with his fellow progressive bluegrass pioneers in Hot Buttered Rum have done more than gain him a reputation; they've honed his singing, his songwriting and his work on multiple instruments. All of this is on display on his solo debut, "Give it Time"(Yates plays every instrument on the album), and the result is ones that fans and new listeners alike will cherish. ... more
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