Trampin'

jubilee
 

Oh glad day to celebrate
'Neath the cloudless sky
Air so sweet
Water pure
Fields ripe with rye
Come one, come all
Gather round
Discard your Sunday shoes
Come on now
Oh my land
Be a jubilee
Come on girl
Come on boy
Be a jubilee

Oh my land
Oh my good
People don't be shy
Weave the birth of harmony
With children's happy cries
Hand in hand
We're dancing around
In a freedom ring
Come on now
Oh my land
Be a jubilee
Come on girl
Come on boy
Be a jubilee

We will never fade away
Doves shall multiply
Yet I see hawks circling the sky
Scattering our glad day
With debt and despair
What good hour
Will restore our troubled air
Come on people
Gather round
You know what to do
Come on people
Oh my land
What be troubling
Oh my land
What be troubling
What be troubling
What be troubling you

We are love and the future
We stand in the midst of fury and weariness
Who dreams of joy and radiance?
Who dreams of war and sacrifice?
Our sacred realms are being squeezed
Curtailing civil liberties
Recruit the dreams that sing to thee
Let freedom ring

Freedom ring
Freedom ring
Jubilee
Oh my land
Oh glad day
Oh my land
Hear our cry
Freedom ring
Oh glad day
Oh my land
Jubilee
Jubilee

Written by Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye and Jay Dee Daugherty  

 

Mother rose


Mother rose 
Every little morn'
To tend to me 
There she stood
Waiting by the door 
Selflessly

Took my hand 
Took it with a smile tenderly
Mother rose 
Every little morn'
To tend to me 
Now's the time
To turn the view 
Now that I have you

And I'll rise 
Every little morn'
To tend to thee 
When you rise
Open up your eyes 
You will see
There I'll be 
Waiting by the door
Come to me 
Take my hand
Look into your heart 
There I'll be

Now's the time 
To turn the view
Now that I have you

Now's the time 
To turn the view
Now that I have you

Roses growing by my door 
Climbing up the vine
All the thorns and pain obscured 
Roses shall divine
Where we feel no pain 
And the love inside
Where roses climb 
Roses shall divine
Roses shall divine 
Holy mother
Mother of gold 
Mother with stories
Told and retold 
She felt our tears
Heard our sighs 
And turned to gold
Before our eyes 
She rose into the light
She rose into the light 
She rose into the light

Written by Patti Smith and Tony Shanahan

 

stride of the mind  
 
I took a walk out to the sun
But I just, just couldn't take it
I followed a dream
It was circular
But I just, just could not fake it

Step to the left the left the left
Step to the right the right the right
Pick up the sign the sign the sign
For a stride of the mind the mind the mind

Simon of the desert blew into town
On the scalding tail of a bright cold wind
Slipped through the sand
Footprints emerged
Where no one was walking
Simon had been

Dropped from heaven
To a ready made world
Said I'm no Sufi
But I'll give it a whirl
We booked passage on the Book of the Dead
Time to travel
Simon said

Step to the left the left the left
Step to the right the right the right
Pick up the sign the sign the sign
On the stride of the mind the mind the mind

Come on move where dreams increase
Where every man is a masterpiece
If you want to be counted
As another kind
And you're true, pursue

Stride of the mind the mind the mind
Stride of the mind the mind the mind

He bowed three times
Removed his fez
Pointed to heaven
And Simon says
The mind the mind the mind
Pick up the sign the mind the mind
It's a vertical climb the climb the climb
Stride of the mind the mind the mind
Pick up the sign the sign the sign
It's a vertical climb the climb
Take it in stride

Written by Patti Smith and Oliver Ray

 

cartwheels  
 
The lyrics to Cartwheels were written for my daughter Jesse Paris Smith. Jesse accompanies me on piano on the title song trampin'. It marks her recording debut. Jesse, like her brother Jackson, displays the musical gifts and poise of her late father, Fred 'Sonic' Smith.

Come my one, look at the world
Bird beast butterfly
Girls sing notes of heaven
Birds lift them up to the sky

Spring is departing
Spring is departing

Her thoughts are darting like a rabbit
Like a rabbit 'cross the moon
Shines of light over your hair
As boys croon

Pretty in pink
It makes me wonder
What could ever bring you down
I see tears falling
From those eyes of brown

Hearing a voice, you turn your head
You vanish into the mist
Of your thoughts
And I
Want to grasp
What brings you down
Open up those eyes of brown

The world is changing
Your heart is growing

Hearing a voice you turn your head
Girls turn by ones, by twos
Notes pour bad and tender
Eradicate your blues

The good world
The good world
Come my one, look around you
Bird, beast, butterfly
Girls sing notes from heaven
Birds lift them up to the sky

I see brown eyes
That see girls turning
Girls turning
Cartwheels

The good world
The good whirl
The good world
The good whirl

Come my one, look at your world
Don't let it bring you down
Come on open for me
Those eyes of brown

I see girls turning
Cartwheels
Cartwheels
Cartwheels
Cartwheels

Written by Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye

 

gandhi  
 
I had a dream Mr. King
If you'll beg my pardon
I was trespassing
A sacred garden
And the blossoms fell
And they dropped like candy
And nature cried
Gandhi Gandhi
And nature cried
Gandhi Gandhi

When he was a boy
He was afraid of the dark
His mother would fast
And pray at his feet
And the lamp burned as he slept
Slept as he dreamed
He was dreaming of his sisters
Dressed in white muslin
Dressed in white muslin
Dancing in a ring
He was afraid of the dark
And the lamp burned
And his mother fasted
And prayed as he slept
Dreaming of blossoms
They were burning his throat
He had eaten flowers
Fell burning
Flowers fell burning
From the young girls' hair
He was whispering
Into his god's ear
Let the children be so
Let the children be so
And the lamplight flickered flickered
And his mother withered like Job
And he lay there dreaming
And the blossoms fell
And Tilak's trumpet
Proceeded to call
And the blossoms fell
And they dropped like candy
And the people cried
Gandhi Gandhi
Gandhi Gandhi
Gandhi Gandhi
I had a dream Mr. King
If you'll beg my pardon
I was trespassing
The sacred garden
And the blossoms fell
Well, they dropped like candy
And nature cried
Gandhi Gandhi

Hey little man
Awake from your slumber
Get 'em with the numbers
Get 'em with the numbers

He was frail and shy
And the cast of his mind
Was mercurial
Was mercurial
As the sacred verbs
Scrawled
In the dust
On the floor
On the floor
Long live revolution
And the spinning wheel
And a handful of salt
And a handful of salt
The untouchables
Dropped like candy
They called to him
Gandhi Gandhi
The children of god
With hands full of candy
They called to him
Gandhi Gandhi
Feel our woes
Man of the giving
Rejoin the living
Rejoin the living
Awake from the net
Where you've been sleeping
And their climbing climbing
The flowing hair
And the golden flowers
Of the young girls
Well they dropped all around
They dropped like candy
And people cried
Gandhi Gandhi
Awake little man
Awake from your slumber
And get 'em with the numbers
Get 'em with the numbers

One
Two
Three
Four hundred
Thousand million people
People
People
People
people

Awake from your slumber
Awake from your slumber
Awake from your slumber
And get 'em with the numbers
Get 'em with the numbers
Long live revolution
And the spinning wheel
Awake awake
Is the mighty appeal
Oh, people awake
Awake from your slumber
And get 'em with the numbers
Get 'em with the numbers

I had a dream
Mr. King
If you'll beg my pardon
I was trespassing
The sacred garden
And the blossoms fell
Dropped like candy
And nature called
Gandhi Gandhi
Gandhi Gandhi

Awake from your slumber
Awake from your slumber
And get 'em with the numbers
Get 'em with the numbers

Written by Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye, Oliver Ray, Tony Shanahan and Jay Dee Daugherty

 

trespasses  
 
Life is designed
With unfinished lines
That another sings
Each story unfolds
Like it was gold
Upon a ragged wing

The bold and the fair
Suffer their share
He whispered to his kin
All of my debts
Left with regrets
I'm sorry for everything

Trespasses stretch like broken fences
Winding as they may
Trespasses stretch like broken fences
Hope to mend them one day

And she pinned back her hair
Shouldered with care
The burdens that were his
Mending the coat
That hung on the post
In heart remembering

Trespasses stretch like broken fences
Winding as they may
Trespasses stretch like broken fences
Hope to mend them one day

And her time was to come
Called to her son
This your song to sing
All of our debts
Wove with regrets
Upon a golden string
And he found the old coat
Hung on a post
Like a ragged wing
And took as his own
The sewn and unsown
Joyfully whistling

Written by Patti Smith and Jay Dee Daugherty

 

my blakean year
 

In my Blakean year
I was so disposed
Toward a mission yet unclear
Advancing pole by pole
Fortune breathed into my ear
Mouthed a simple ode
One road is paved in gold
One road is just a road

In my Blakean year
Such a woeful schism
The pain of our existence
Was not as I envisioned
Boots that trudged from track to track
Worn down to the sole
One road is paved in gold
One road is just a road

Boots that tread from track to track
Worn down to the sole
One road is paved in gold
One road is just a road

In my Blakean year
Temptation but a hiss
Just a shallow spear
Robed in cowardice

Brace yourself for bitter flack
For a life sublime
A labyrinth of riches
Never shall unwind
The threads that bind the pilgrim's sack
Are stitched into the Blakean back
So throw off your stupid cloak
Embrace all that you fear
For joy will conquer all despair
In my Blakean year

Written by Patti Smith

 cash  
 
Here we go around again
Curve of life spiraling
Everything we've ever known
As the seed of life gets blown
And the miracle of time
When will that time just end
Remember, you decide
Take that vow
Grab that ring
It's not a whim
Not a whim
When you be cashing in

Try to turn your life around
And all the things you do resound
And then you can't loose control
Say your time has come and then
Hard to pinpoint find the seam
Where that one time ends
Where that time begins
Remember, you decide
Take that vow
Take a stand
Grab that ring
It's not a whim
It's not a whim
It's only time
That you're cashing in

In the white noise of desire
We can't hear a single thing
Floating round the fragile bough
Afflictions of the human soul
Its beauty immaterial

You decide
Stand along
The fallen ones
Take revenge
Defeated sons
Rend that coat
From seam to seam
It's only time
It's only time
That you spend
You spend
Its only time
You spend
Its only time
You spend
Its only life
That you're cashing in

Written by Patti Smith and Oliver Ray

  Per la traduzione di Peaceable kingdom clicca qui

peaceable kingdom

Yesterday I saw you standing there
With your hand against the pane
Looking out the window
At the rain

And I wanted to tell you
That your tears were not in vain
But I guess we both knew
We'd never be the same
Never be the same

Why must we hide all these feelings inside?
Lions and lambs shall abide

Maybe one day we'll be strong enough
To build it back again
Build the peaceable kingdom
Back again
Build it back again

Why must we hide all these feelings inside
Lions and lambs shall abide

Maybe one day we'll be strong enough
To build it back again
Build the peaceable kingdom
Back again
Maybe one day we'll be strong enough
To build it back again
Build the peaceable kingdom
Build it back again

Build the peaceable kingdom
Build it back again

Written by Patti Smith and Tony Shanahan

 

radio baghdad

Suffer not
Your neighbor's affliction
Suffer not
Your neighbor's paralysis
But extend your hand
Extend your hand
Lest you vanish in the city
And be but a trace
Just a vanished ghost
And your legacy
All the things you knew
Science, mathematics, thought
Severely weakened
Like irrigation systems
In the tired veins forming
From the Tigris and Euphrates
In the realm of peace
All the world revolved
All the world revolved
Around a perfect circle
City of Baghdad
City of scholars
Empirical humble
Center of the world
City in ashes
City of Baghdad
City of Baghdad
Abrasive aloof

Oh, in Mesopotamia
Aloofness ran deep
Deep in the veins of
the great rivers
That form the base
Of Eden
And the tree
The tree of knowledge
Held up its arms
To the sky
All the branches of knowledge
All the branches of knowledge
Cradling
Cradling
Civilization
In the realm of peace
All the world revolved
Around a perfect circle
Oh Baghdad
Center of the world
City of ashes
With its great mosques
Erupting from the mouth of god
Rising from the ashes like
a speckled bird
Splayed against the mosaic sky
Oh, clouds around
We created the zero
But we mean nothing to you
You would believe
That we are just some mystical tale
We are just a swollen belly
That gave birth to Sinbad, Scheherazade
We gave birth
Oh, oh, to the zero
The perfect number
We invented the zero
And we mean nothing to you
Our children run through
the streets
And you sent your flames
Your shooting stars
Shock and awe
Shock and awe
Like some, some
Imagined warrior production
Twenty-first century
No chivalry involved
No Bushido

Oh, the code of the West
Long gone
Never been
Where does it lie?
You came, you came
Through the west
Annihilated a people
And you come to us
But we are older than you
You come you wanna
You wanna come and
rob the cradle
Of civilization
And you read yet you read
You read Genesis
You read of the tree
You read of the tree
Beget by god
That raised its branches into the sky
Every branch of knowledge
Of the cradle of civilization

Of the banks of the Tigris
and the Euphrates
Oh, in Mesopotamia
Aloofness ran deep
The face of Eve turning
What sky did she see
What garden beneath her feet
The one you drill
You drill
Pulling the blood of the earth
Little droplets of oil for bracelets
Little jewels
Sapphires
You make bracelets
Round your own world
We are weeping tears
Rubies
We offer them to you
We are just
Your Arabian nightmare
We invented the zero
But we mean nothing to you
Your Arabian nightmare

City of stars
City of scholarship
Science
City of ideas
City of light
City
City of ashes
That the great Caliph
Walked through
His naked feet formed a circle
And they built a city
A perfect city of Baghdad

In the realm of peace
And all the world revolved
And they invented
And they mean nothing to you
Nothing to you
Nothing

Go to sleep
Go to sleep my child
Go to sleep
And I'll sing you a lullaby
A lullaby for our city
A lullaby of Baghdad
Go to sleep
Sleep my child
Sleep
Sleep
Sleep
Run
Run
Run
Run

You sent your lights
Your bombs
You sent them down on our city
Shock and awe
Like some crazy t.v. show

They're robbing the cradle
of civilization
They're robbing the cradle
of civilization
They're robbing the cradle
of civilization

Suffer not
The paralysis of your neighbor
Suffer not
But extend your hand

written by Patti Smith and Oliver Ray

 

trampin'  

I'm trampin', trampin'
Try'n-a make heaven my home
I'm trampin trampin
Try'n-a make heaven my home
I'm trampin trampin
Try'n-a make heaven my home
I'm trampin trampin
Try'n-a make heaven my home

I've never been to heaven
But I've been told
Try'n-a make heaven my home
That the streets up there
Are paved with gold
Try'n-a make heaven my home

I'm trampin trampin
Try'n-a make heaven my home
I'm trampin trampin
Try'n-a make heaven my home
I'm trampin trampin
Try'n-a make heaven my home

(arrangement by Edward H. Boatner)
Negro Spiritual
Dedicated to Miss Marian Anderson

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