1. |
Learning How to Listen
04:37
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Learning how to listen
how to hear a melody
how to hear the song I'm singing
how to breathe and let it be
and listen to the song
knowing how it goes
and listen for the melody that flows
Music is a lover
with shining golden wings
that whispers in the lovers' ears
and dances when it sings
it sings in variation
on an everlasting theme
it's either love or sorrow on the scene
Learning how to listen
how to holler, sing the blues
and I'm learning how to rise above
and wear somebody's shoes
I'm learning how to listen
for this song was given me
I'm learning how to listen
and I'm learning how to listen
and I'm learning how to listen and be free
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2. |
Africa
05:13
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There's a land of milk and honey
on the river they call the Nile
Everywhere is bright and sunny
on the river they call the Nile
it's a garden of Eden
with riches untold
and it's on this land of milk and honey
on the river they call the Nile
Beautiful wonderful Africa, someday I'm coming
I'm coming for to see the promised land
with those days of sunshine and nights of heavenly starlight
it's a paradise of sea and sky and sand
It's a garden of Eden
with riches untold
and it's on this land of milk and honey
on the river they call the Nile
With those talking drums that tell of lovely lovely laughter
they're telling of a new and a brighter day
they're telling all the people from here and ever after
there ain't gonna be no trouble on the way
It's a garden of Eden
with riches untold
and it's on this land of milk and honey
on the river they call the Nile
on the river they call the Nile
on the river they call the Nile
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3. |
Driva Man
02:54
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Driva man he made a life
but the mammy ain't his wife
choppin cotton don't be slow
better finish out your row
Keep a-moving with that plow
Driva man will show you how
Get to work and root that stump
Driva man will make you jump
Better make your hammer ring
Driva man will start to swing
Ain't but two things on my mind:
Driva man and quittin time
Driva man the kinda boss
ride a man and lead a horse
When his cat-o-nine-tail fly
you'd be happy just to die
Run away and you'll be found
by his big old redboned hound
Pat-e-roller bring you back
make you sorry you is black
Driva man he made a life
but the mammy ain't his wife
Ain't but two things on my mind:
Driva man and quittin time
Ain't but two things on my mind:
Driva man and quittin time
Driva man and quittin time
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4. |
Down Here Below
09:18
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Down here below
The winds of change are blowing through the weary night
I pray my soul will find me shining in the morning light
Down here below
Down here below
it's not so easy just to be
sometimes I'm really all at sea
You made me when the world was new
and skies were blue
and I am here because there's you
They say I'll never see your face
that we're all banished from your grace
the one you fashioned with your hand
and scattered all across the land
but I am happy just to know
that you will go where I must go
for there are wounds and scars to show
living here, down here below
Down here below
the setting sun is shining on my melancholy mood
I hear the distant thunder and the crying of the loon
down here below
I'm yours alone
the only one to call my own
the only one I've ever known
Sometimes I see you standing there
Sometimes I'm free
and you are here, down here with me
You made me just the way to be
a heart that feels and eyes to see
a strong embrace, a simple hand
a spirit free that says "I can"
and I am happy just to know
that you will go where I must go
for you will send me, this I know
living here, down here below.
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5. |
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The birds who live in cages never spread their wings
they sit with ruffled feathers upon their tiny swings
and speculate the birdseed and while away the days
tuck their heads in feathers of colorful arrays
I know why the caged bird sings a sweet and soulful song
I know why the caged bird sings when everything seems wrong
I know why the caged bird sings and flaps his tethered wings
birds were made to fly away and birds were made to sing
The birds who live in cages feel the morning sun
shining through the window where the captain lives by gun
and stretches forth his body and warbles for the day
moves his head from side to side and listens for the way
I know why the caged bird sings a sweet and soulful song
I know why the caged bird sings when everything seems wrong
I know why the caged bird sings and flaps his tethered wings
birds were made to fly away and birds were made to sing
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6. |
Blue Monk
01:55
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Going alone
Life is your own
but sometimes the cost is dear
being complete
knowing defeat
keeping on from year to year
it takes some doing
Monkery's the blues you hear
keeping on from year to year
Life is a school
'less you're a fool
but the learning brings you pain
knowing at once
you're just a dunce
trial and error, loss and gain
it takes some doing
Monkery's a slow, slow train
trial and error, loss and gain
Finding that one
place in the sun
doesn't come the easy way
shallow and deep
nothing is cheap
measured by the dues you pay
it takes some doing
Monkery's a blue highway
measured by the dues you pay
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7. |
Wholly Earth
06:46
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Oh the holy earth's a mural
seen from way up high
abstracted, natural, bas relief
witnessed from the sky
clouds that cast a single shadow
drifting, moving on the ground
creating an illusion
as the world goes round
Places where the folks inhabit
have a geometric grace
circles, squares, sometimes triangles
rules and lines in space
waterways and craggy mountains
seemingly reveal a plan
just as if somebody drew it
with a great big giant hand
Life's a repetition
it's an action of repeat
act of doing, act of saying
something bitter, something sweet
acts of life that keep occurring
ghosts appearing through the sound
waving at us from a distance
cause the whole wide world is round and round and round and round
the whole wide world is round
Generations generating
bring the people here en masse
we're living in a world
where everybody's second class
forming moving in a circle
ghosts appearing through the sound
waving at us from a distance
cause the whole wide world is round and round and round and round
the whole wide world is round
People came before us
leave their memories behind
actions done and actions written
acts impressed upon our mind
forming moving in a circle
ghosts appearing through the sound
waving at us from a distance
cause the whole wide world is round and round and round and round
the whole wide world is round
Round and round and round and round
the whole wide world is round
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8. |
Hey Lordy Mama
05:46
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Hey lordy mama
heard you wasn't feeling good
they're spreading dirty rumors
around the neighborhood
they say you're mean and evil
and don't know what to do
and that's the reason that he's gone gone
and left you black and blue
hey lordy mama
whatcha gonna do?
They say he left you all alone
to weather this old storm
he's got another woman now
hanging on his arm
that fool's telling everybody
he's sick and tired of you
hey lordy lordy mama
whatcha gonna do?
hey lordy mama
whatcha gonna do?
They say you love to fuss and fight
and keep a good man down
you don't know how to treat him
when you're out on the town
they say you're not behind him
and just don't understand
cause you're thinking you're a woman
but acting like a man
hey lordy mama
whatcha gonna do?
Get your nerves together mama
and set the record straight
let the whole round world know it wasn't you
that caused this bitter fate
all those years you loved him
and he knows it's true
cause what you wanting what you wanting for your man
is what he's wanting too
hey lordy mama
whatcha gonna do?
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9. |
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Down here below
The winds of change are blowing through the weary night
I pray my soul will find me shining in the morning light
Down here below
Down here below
it's not so easy just to be
sometimes I'm really all at sea
You made me when the world was new
and skies were blue
and I am here because there's you
They say I'll never see your face
that we're all banished from your grace
the one you fashioned with your hand
and scattered all across the land
but I am happy just to know
that you will go where I must go
for there are wounds and scars to show
living here, down here below
Down here below
the setting sun is shining on my melancholy mood
I hear the distant thunder and the crying of the loon
down here below
I'm yours alone
the only one to call my own
the only one I've ever known
Sometimes I see you standing there
Sometimes I'm free
and you are here, down here with me
You made me just the way to be
a heart that feels and eyes to see
a strong embrace, a simple hand
a spirit free that says "I can"
and I am happy just to know
that you will go where I must go
for you will send me, this I know
living here, down here below
living here, down here below
living here, down here below
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10. |
Prelude: A Wedding Song
04:54
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A hint of faint excitement when at first I saw him there
the merest comprehension of a silent somber stare
the pain that was apparent as the blackness of his hair
until a precious devil smile seemed to say "I care"
the sounding of my heart was heard to carry through the air
I held my breath a moment as I spoke a tiny prayer
The way it was to hear his lusty laughter overspill
a face that told of living much that caused my eyes to fill
was veiled as though anticipating faithless fortune still
and then he took my hand and led me to the highest hill
where shining stars and yellow moon did cause my heart to thrill
and all my life with all my love his bidding I'll be willing
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Kosi New York, New York
She's more than just a drama queen. She's got piercing eyes and a voice that's larger than her body. But, small as she is, she won't fit in a box. She switches styles more quickly than you can follow. First she's jazz, then she's blues, then she's rock, but always powerful. You definitely want to hear this girl sing... if you can handle it. ... more
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