Get all 25 Bill Ludwig releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Jenny, Rhymes With Banjo, Dark And Troubled Ways, Sinker Line And Hook, Bellbottom Overalls, Ode To A Chinese Spy Balloon, Songs Of Village Charm, (Run On) Shufflin' Joe - Single, and 17 more.
1. |
Elijah's Cloud
02:55
|
|||
Elijah holds a photograph
Can't recall the place it shows
Looks deep into
His own eyes
Like a veil held 'tween two times
In the picture there's an hourglass
Where it runs forevermore
In his hand there's a
Handkerchief
Stitched with flowers down the side
Through the grey there's an orange sky
In the corner there's a whisper of a cloud
Attempting rain
Elijah holds a photograph
Of a handkerchief an hourglass
And a cloud
(Instrumental verse)
On the ground there's a puddle there
Where you can just see a reflection of a girl
Smiling wide
Elijah folds the photograph
He can't remember anything it shows (Bm)
|
||||
2. |
Nowhere Left To Go
03:24
|
|||
Where were you when the sun went down
No more shadows on the ground
What do you do
With nowhere left to go
Where were you when smiles fade
And our loved ones turned away
Whadja do
With nowhere left to go
Where were you when they closed the doors
And the paychecks they came no more
Where you been
There's nowhere left to turn
And the bills all piled high
And the water well ran dry
Where did you go
With nowhere left to turn
Many years I thought we'd be just fine
Walking the high wire above it all
But the problems down below
When we fell swallowed us whole
Where did you go
Down in the undertow
All along I thought we'd see life through
Balancing on comfort's edge
Yet it seems I had it wrong
When the darkness came along
What we had was gone
And I was left alone
|
||||
3. |
Beautiful
03:45
|
|||
May the dust that's piled years or more
Be absent from your breath
And the waters risen round your feet
Recede nary a depth
May the storm that drowns out every noise
Dissolve to sunny climes
And hands that dig for cast off scrap
Be overfilled with dimes
Here's to days
Of working short, imbibing tall
Endless nights of song
May the years go by a painless flash
A joyous, royal ball
Though the sun may set on youthful eye
The aged laugh for all
Beautiful
The years make it more
A life fulfilled
Becomes
Beautiful
The ways through the door
Come often
With time
May the path which falls beneath your feet
Be ever clear from stones
And your shadow lie before your gaze
At your back, the sun she rose
For to strain an eye as pretty as
The ones your face adorned
Would for me to raise my fist to sky
And smite that blazing orb
Here's to then
When crying mouths will laugh again
Months of pain forgot
And if you would just accept my hand
A future we could share
Though the road we walk may all but clear
Tis better with you there
|
||||
4. |
New York
01:50
|
|||
Said I came to New York
By way of Detroit
That Greyhound ticket
Took me far from home
Spent a month in Cold Creek
Dirt roads and bare feet
Not a single good night's sleep
So, on I roamed
____
That moss done tried to catch
This rolling stone
While I chase that setting sun
Can't get me on the phone
Cause I'm a-shufflin' down the road
I came to Bridgeport
When my career fell short
Had myself a new day
Looking for one more
(Inst break)
____
There's no rust on a spinning wheel
That rolls along
Gonna grab that moon up high
Never rest these aching bones
While I'm a-shufflin' down the road
And that road goes on and on
And I'll a-go until the promised land's my home
Found myself in Shreveport
Took a left at Beaufort
Tryna find me a welcome voice
To call me home
Oh show me home
Gotta find my home
|
||||
5. |
River
03:50
|
|||
River forms up on the mountain
Dripping dew drops on the leaves
Puddling and roll down freed
Carve a brook along a cold face
Gather more along the way
Rolling a-down all day
Stream a-running down the hillside
Frog and fish and green
Salamander cold and clean
Splash along the wooded meadows
Bring a drink to rooted trees
Summer sun a blazing steam
A turtle snaps and crawfish plays his bow
The waterfall must crash on rocks below
River flowing through the valley
Under bridge and lock and key
Winds its way out to the sea
|
||||
6. |
Snapback
06:06
|
|||
As we wade through raging waters, I don’t mind
Find our way ‘round endless corners, I don't mind
Another day of hills for climbing, I don’t mind
Light of day not here to guide us, I don’t mind
As long as we move on together, I’m just fine
Lost our peace and lost our quiet, I don’t mind
Snarling beasts lash out behind us, I don’t mind
As long as we move on together, I’m just fine
Life sprouts new when fires end
Leaves reach to the sun
Underfoot and trampled down
Snapback tall and all then lift up those around you… carry on
I don’t mind it
We carry on
I’m just fine, yeah
We carry on
Carry on
|
||||
7. |
Walking Hand In Hand
03:02
|
|||
I don’t wanna be here without you
Walk the Earth or even find a way
Hey hey hey
I don’t wanna watch the time roll by
You and I cross off calendar days
Hey hey hey
_____
And if you don’t want to
I don’t wanna want to do it anyway
Hey hey hey
But if you want to come along
We’ll be walking hand in hand all day
Hey hey hey
Hey hey hey
Walking hand in hand all day
I don’t wanna even go outside
Have go alone to face the day
Hey hey hey
Unless you will come along with me
We will dance the endless hours ‘way
Hey hey hey
_____
And if you don’t want to
I don’t wanna want to do it anyway
Hey hey hey
But if you want to come along
We’ll be walking hand in hand all day
Hey hey hey
Hey hey hey
Walking hand in hand all day
It’s mostly me who doesn’t want to see the sky
I’m happy hanging here all warm and safe inside
Here in our happy home that we have made with love
Not in the big, bad world with creeping things above
So if you would like to go outside
Help me find the strength to face today
Hey hey hey
I need you to run along with me
We can jump and skip the miles ‘way
Hey hey hey
_____
And if you don’t want to
I don’t wanna want to do it anyway
Hey hey hey
But if you want to come along
We’ll be walking hand in hand all day
Hey hey hey
Hey hey hey
Walking hand in hand all day
|
||||
8. |
Ode To A Man With A Dog
04:21
|
|||
Does this road here go on to the ocean
I ask to the man with a dog
‘Cause it’s been far too long
Since I heard waves make song
But I can’t seem to find the right road
Take a left at the blue house in Portland
Where the widow stands tall and alone
If you see her, please wave
And wish her a good day
Won’t seem much, but it lightens her load
And that road takes a turn at the tavern
By an old, white birch tree near Shippan
Could you stop in and see
If my dear brother still be
Tending bar there for our mum and dad
It’s a straight shot from there to the seaside
With the sting of the salt in your eye
And the air fresh and clean
When you dig deep and breathe
If I could join you I’d sure be obliged
A man and a dog climb aboard
A weight seeming lifts from the world
And onward we roll further toward
There’s no more road
The length of my passengers age
Is counted by the wheels of my stage
A coach of whose fare is pre-paid
With the lines in his face
When the sun sets upon the horizon
And the blue turns to stars ‘cross the sky
And I’ll lie down to rest
Her handkerchief to my chest
And a river of tears from my eyes
|
||||
9. |
As Long As I Have You
02:41
|
|||
A flower in the rain
It dreams of sunshine all the same
Just like when I think of you
A bike without a chain
Will still go rolling down the lane
Just like when I think of you
A bird without a feather
Will sing a tune in stormy weather
Just like when I think of you
And a clam without a shell
Might rest his eyes there for spell
Just like when I think of you
(Chorus)
Life would be OK if our cups ran dry
I don't even mind if the sun don't shine
I can face whatever life might throw our way
Long as you're here by my side
If the flood it was a-rising around our knees
You'll still be like pollen to a honey bee
Ain't nothing that can bring me down
As long as I have you
A star without a wish
A puddle yearning for a fish
Just like when I think of you
A cloud that never breaks
A dusty skin that lost its snake
Just like when I think of you
A roof without a shingle
Gets a certain kind of tingle
Like when I think of you
A hole without a button's
Pretty sure it's good for nothing
Like when I'm without you
(Chorus)
|
||||
10. |
Past The Past
06:25
|
|||
At seventeen he drove his bike
Up the overpass above the old turnpike
A half a pint of whiskey in his coat
He propped upright and watched as cars
Skittered by like shooting stars
Thought a bit ‘bout jumping but he won’t
That old grey stone just sitting there
He shot it straight up in the air
He blinked and it just vanished from his sight
He realized then what he had done
The crash below him left him stunned
And frozen watched approaching flashing lights
The cuffs that bit into his wrist
They rattled coldly with the twist
That wrestled him into the waiting van
And off they sped to parts unknown
With buzzing lights and old grey stone
And bars between the air and this young man
___
No one died, but that's no matter
She survived, her sleep got better
She was there when he was locked up cold
Was then she swore that she'd move on
Forget that stone that fell upon her
Made her lose her sight and lose control
___
At twenty-six he woke up free
The board they voted four to three
That he had given time enough I guess
And Smith, his Parole Officer
Asked what he was released for
Did he still have the heart to find success
___
She was there, with him applying
She recognized, but she stayed quiet
'cause she'd forgiven him a near decade 'fore
And every morn' he walked right through her
When she looked up he smiled to her
And that shadow she dragged lifted from the floor
(her tattoo says)
“Get on past the past, my sister”
And he gets used to getting called “mister”
And one day don’t define what you become
Just get on past the past, my sister
And all those years of things he missed are
Fading with each day out on the run
|
Bill Ludwig Manchester, Connecticut
The founding member of MARMO (marmoband.bandcamp.com)
But mostly just a guy who writes and
records songs... mostly so I have stuff to listen to in my car on the way to and from work.
Sometimes I sing to my chickens.
... more
Streaming and Download help
If you like Bill Ludwig, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp