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On The Night You Were Born
1. You & I (4:28)
2. Jenell (3:31)
3. On The Night You Were Born (4:27)
4. Roberta (5:37)
5. Orphan Trains (5:18)
6. Independence Day (3:31)
7. Everytime (4:05)
8. If I Was Away (5:12)
9. Calling You Home (4:47)
10. Glad Man (3:15)
11. Oh, Mary (5:42)
12. Bethlehem (6:15)
13. Goodnight, My Love (4:35)
You & I
Words and Music by Jay Thomas Wolff Bowden © 2007 ASCAP
When I look in your eyes
I watch the carousel ride
blue horses are spinnin with all of the children
who want to fly
You say you want to change the world
You couldn’t stop it changing if you tried
Everything’s changing day after day
except you and I
That’s a life I want to live
A life I want to try
Everything’s changing day after day
except you and I
We meet in the trees of the night
and kiss as if setting a fire
somehow I know, wherever we go
we’ll be burning bright
You say you want to change the world…
So let that old carousel spin
as tigers and unicorns sigh
forgiveness is wind on all of the things
that we’ve left behind
You say you want to change the world…
There’s an ocean we have to swim
like swans in the water of time
but somehow I’m sure when we reach the shore
you’ll be by my side
You say you want to change the world…
Jenell
Words and Music by Amanda Birdsall © 2007 ASCAP
when you were a little girl
you were taken from your family
your mama was young and wild
your daddy was a mystery
Hey..........Jenell, I wish you well
Hey....... mmm hmmm
when the circus came to town
you rode on an elephant
but in your secret heart
you loved the lion best
Hey..........Jenell, I wish you well
Hey....... mmm hmmm
you spilled your ice cream cone
down the front of your yellow dress
trying to save a baby bird
that had fallen from its mother’s nest
Hey..........Jenell, I wish you well
Hey....... mmm hmmm
you dream you’re an angel
you dream that you can fly
you sleep on a bed of stars
while the moon sings a lullaby
ooooo.....
I don’t know where you are today
but I hope that you’re alright
10 years since you left my door
I still pray for you every night
Hey..........Jenell, I wish you well
Hey....... mmm hmmm
On the Night You Were Born
Words and Music by Jay Thomas Wolff Bowden © 2007 ASCAP
Woooooooo Ooooooooo
Your father ran out through the hospital doors
and he started to shout, I’ve got me a boy.
Your mother lay vanquished and smiling and sore.
You were too young to thank her
on the night you were born.
Through night blooming Cactus your grandmother came
and said that the angels put your soul in a frame.
And while logs in the fire crackled and roared
the world thought of lions
on the night you were born.
Woooooooo Ooooooooo
Deep in the ocean, two whales sang a song.
Some say that you heard them, that you hummed along.
You opened your eyes and you stared at the door
but you were tired of swimming
on the night you were born.
Your grandpa in Georgia saddled his horse
and rode down to Valdosta where whiskey was poured.
Snow fell like secrets that had never been told
and you learned to keep them
on the night you were born.
Woooooooo Ooooooooo
The windows were open in your nursery.
The treefrogs were singing while you fell asleep.
The people were sleeping but the animals roamed
and you dreamt you were with them
on the night you were born.
Your parents went down to the lake late that night.
The water was silver, the wind was alive.
It lifted their voices and turned them to song
and the stars were all smiling
on the night you were born.
Woooooooo Ooooooooo
Roberta
Words and Music by Amanda Birdsall © 2007 ASCAP
You woke up in a wedding dress outside of New Orleans
something borrowed, something blue, somebody else’s dream
and you heard the organ playing as your families shuffled in
and you knew that it was over even before it would begin
sometimes when what you’ve waited your whole life for finally comes along
you find your heart gave up long ago, packed her suitcase and moved on
and you ache but you cannot deny the truth that haunts your sleep
so you break another heart but it doesn’t make you free
Roberta, rest your weary head
You were born to roam and never to wed
a woman as bold as truth
you did the only thing that you could do
Roberta
you are sure that in your life you’ve let a lot of people down
you keep trying to start over in another rainy winter town
but these bars are filled with gamblers the downtrodden and the mean
and you’re just one more loveless face in the shadows on your knees
sometimes you feel like you’re the only one who ever did somebody wrong
but whose life are you living, someone else’s or your own
we all do the best we can in this life with what we’ve got
each day a little wiser for knowing who we are and who we’re not
Roberta, rest your weary head
You were born to roam and never to wed
a woman as bold as truth
you did the only thing that you could do
Roberta
You woke up in a wedding dress outside of New Orleans
something borrowed, something blue, somebody else’s dream
Orphan Trains
Words and Music by Jay Thomas Wolff Bowden © 2007 ASCAP
A thousand ragged orphans board
a train on Saturday.
The sun is out there somewhere
though the sky is damp and gray.
Little Alfred sits with his
small cardboard suitcase,
his face pressed to the window New York
City falls away.
The Orphan trains
roll west through the rain
and no one knows these kids are coming
no one knows their names
And all the orphans sit beside their windows, cry and say
Who would ever really want to love me anyway?
Who would ever really want to love me anyway?
The Orphan trains, The Orphan trains,
The Orphan trains, The Orphan trains.
All the children line up on a
broken plywood stage.
Their faces have been washed and
their clothes are clean and straight.
A farmer fingers Emma’s teeth
just like he would a mule.
But Emma kicks him, screaming
I’m not going home with you!
The Orphan trains…
Emma is adopted
grows up laughing by a pond.
Into Texas into Kansas
the train moves Alfred along.
When they reach Nebraska
a town merchant takes him in,
sits him on his knee and says
from now on you’re my kin.
The Orphan trains…
Independence Day
Words and Music by Amanda Birdsall © 2008 ASCAP
I was born a poor girl on the 4th day of July
Nothing to look up to but that eagle in the sky
Mama took in laundry and Daddy hoed a field
We had a little wood shack with a john out back and a beat up Oldsmobile
Daddy liked his whiskey, and Mama loved to dance
Between the booze and the fightin’ and the runnin’ ‘round at night
Lord I never stood a chance
And it’s a long way back to Redbird
If you want to, you can go
If you ask me, you’re just wasting your time
But what the hell do I know
I was held by hard hands, red and cracked as that Colorado dirt
Seems we should’ve had it better, long and hard as Mama and Daddy worked
But Josie had a TV and we watched it late at night
Seein’ all the fancy people doin’ fancy things under them neon lights
Swore that we’d get outta this town before we turned 18
Just a couple of starry-eyed country girls in dollar-store blue jeans
And it’s a long way back to Redbird
If you want to, you can go
If you ask me, you’re just wasting your time
But what the hell do I know
Now I’ve been waitin’ tables, and I’m still waitin’ for my piece of the pie
But it looks like it passed me over, like that eagle in the sky
Mama calls me up sometimes and asks me to come home,
Sayin’ “Your pop’s a sorry shit, and I’ve been sick, and I never felt so alone
Baby come home and take care of us, that’s what a daughter’s for”
But I got plans, you gotta take a chance,
And make your own way in this world
And it’s a long way back to Redbird
And I have no desire to go
If you ask me, you’re just wasting your time
But what the hell do I know
Everytime
Words and Music by Jay Thomas Wolff Bowden © 2007 ASCAP
Everytime I run, everytime I fall
Everytime the sun paints the Western wall
Everytime I stand before the ocean blue
my feet covered in sand, I think of you
Everytime the rain, paints the bushes black
Everytime the wind makes the treetops laugh
Every single thing I win, single thing I lose
when I touch my lips, I think of you
Everytime my face hits the pillowcase
Everytime the clouds drift in funny shapes
Everytime the stars gather round the moon
no matter where you are, I think of you
Everytime the night brings the cold around
Everytime I leave this sleepy mountain town
Everywhere I go, everything I do
my boots covered in snow, I think of you
If I Was Away
Words and Music by Jay Thomas Wolff Bowden © 2007 ASCAP
Maybe next winter I’ll send you a ring
to wear on your finger, to help you to sing
a song for a man who is too far away
who sits in the distance with nothing to say.
If I was a radio, I’d tune this song for you
about the things I might have been in worlds we never knew.
If I was a record I would spin and spin and spin
‘cause time is just a needle on this skin I’m living in.
If I was some speakers I would roar to outer space
and if I was awaaaaaay, I’d come back to you someday
and if I was awaaaaaay, I’d come back to you someday.
This is the distance between you and me.
How many footsteps more do I need?
How many fires until we find wood?
How many nights don’t we sleep when we should?
If I was a river I would flow right through your life
and wash away the darkness like the day erases night.
If I was a house I would hold back heavy snow
and keep your books and blankets warm each time you go.
If I was a dancer I would cross this open stage
and if I was awaaaaaay, I’d come back to you someday
and if I was awaaaaaay, I’d come back to you someday.
Maybe next summer or I don’t know when
I’ll drive across Kansas and find you again.
In your yellow dress with those tears still on your face
I’ll lift you and kiss you and take you away.
If I was a breath, I would fill your empty chest
with all wind that I could fit inside my fishing net.
If I was a fire I would burn right through this wind
and let you know the kind of smoke and ash I’m living in.
If I was a poet I would know just what to say
and if I was awaaaaaay, I’d come back to you someday
and if I was awaaaaaay, I’d come back to you someday.
Calling You Home
Words and Music by Amanda Birdsall © 2007 ASCAP
they tried to warn you
you had to find out
always the one
in the horse’s mouth
how many times
have you walked down this road
I’m on your side
I am calling you home
calling you home
these dreams have burned
a home in your head
you’ve always been
too hard on yourself
I know you’re trying
to make it alone
but I’m on your side
I am calling you home
calling you home
one rainy winter
you’ll turn around
I’ll light a candle
you’ll lay it down
I know it’s hard
to be out on your own
I’m on your side
I am calling you home
calling you home
Glad Man
Words and Music by Jay Thomas Wolff Bowden © 2007 ASCAP
Woo hooo oooooooo. Woo hooo hooo hooo.
I can hear my neighbor’s windchimes they are chimin’ in the night
and you won’t be here tomorrow though you were here tonight.
And I’m a sad, sad man, saddest man I ever been.
I can see you in your nightclothes I can feel you next to me.
When it’s time for you to go I curl up in the sheets.
And I’m a sad, sad man, saddest man there’s ever been.
Woo hooo oooooooo. Woo hooo hooo hooo.
I listen to the whippoorwills in the woods outside my house.
I don’t want you someday, baby I want you right now.
And I’m a sad, sad man, saddest man I ever been.
You’ll be back again love when your hard work is done
until then I close my eyes I cannot stand the sun.
And I’m a sad, sad man, saddest man there’s ever been.
Woo hooo oooooooo. Woo hooo hooo hooo.
And though it’s only Thursday night I know it won’t be long
‘till you’re right-here-with-me in this room till you’re right here in my arms.
And I’m a glad, glad man, gladdest man I ever been.
I can hear my neighbor’s windchimes they are chimin’ in the night
and you’ll be here tomorrow though you were not here tonight.
And I’m a glad, glad man, gladdest man there’s ever been.
Woo hooo oooooooo. Woo hooo hooo hooo.
Oh Mary
Words and Music by Amanda Birdsall © 2007 ASCAP
oh Mary we’ve been praying for a peaceful end
you’ve been in this bed for years no sign of waking
and please forgive me now for saying that I’ve been a loyal friend
but it seems like my life too is being taken
so now I will send you home, all the angels to meet
with the true love of a friend in your heart and a rainbow around your feet
mmmm, mmmmm, and a rainbow ‘round your feet
oh Mary I’ve been knitting these bright socks to keep you warm
you know it helps to keep my mind and my hands busy
and all these years that I’ve been sitting, you know it doesn’t seem that long
since the days when you were often the one giving
but now I will send you home all the angels to meet
with the true love of a friend in your heart and a rainbow around your feet
mmmm, mmmmm, and a rainbow ‘round your feet
oh Mary you were with me on my wedding day
when I feared it all was happening too quickly
and all those cold nights in my kitchen when my baby passed away
you said the best thing I could do was go on living
and now my friend it’s come down to you
the only precious thing I have left to lose
but now I will send you home all the angels to meet
with the true love of a friend in your heart and a rainbow around your feet
mmmm, mmmmm, and a rainbow ‘round your feet
oh Mary they’ve decided it’s time to let you go
I don’t think my heart has ever felt this quiet
but I know I’ll see your smile at the end of my own road
when my feet have walked ten thousand lonely miles
but now I will send you home all the angels to meet
with the true love of a friend in your heart and a rainbow around your feet
mmmm, mmmmm, and a rainbow ‘round your feet
mmmm, mmmmm, and a rainbow ‘round your feet
Bethlehem
Words and Music by Jay Thomas Wolff Bowden © 2007 ASCAP
The baby Jesus fell asleep beside a newborn lamb
when they woke the blood and love and stars were everywhere.
Three young women stood nearby, their breasts swollen with milk
waiting to give the orphans something beautiful to drink.
Bethlehem, O, Bethlehem
Just you and I and the big night against our newborn skin.
Bethlehem, O, Bethlehem
Sometimes I just walk away I don’t know what to sing.
O, Bethlehem O, Bethlehem
My handsome father bought a sawed-off shotgun yesterday
and went to hunt his cancer like a fox out in the rain.
He shot it dead and took it’s ragged body to the church
and asked the Lords forgiveness for undoing his dark work.
Bethlehem, O, Bethlehem
Just you and I and the big night against our newborn skin.
Bethlehem, O, Bethlehem
Sometimes I get quiet cause there’s nothing left to sing.
O, Bethlehem O, Bethlehem
And every one of us a walking drum.
And every one of us knows how to cry and run.
And every one of us comes home sometime.
And every one of us becomes a ghost by and by.
The hurricanes blow in from somewhere we don’t understand
the little orphan learns guitar because no one thinks he can.
He sits out on the broken bridge and strums his humble strings
he sings about the days to come when strangers take him in.
Bethlehem, O, Bethlehem
Just you and I and the big night against our newborn skin.
Bethlehem, O, Bethlehem
Sometimes I just lift my eyes before I start to sing.
O, Bethlehem O, Bethlehem
I saw the baby Jesus in a seashell on the sand.
He was telling stories to an ancient, naked clam.
I leaned in close so I could know exactly what he said
and heard the sound of ocean waves crashing in his head.
Bethlehem, O, Bethlehem
Just you and I and the big night against our newborn skin.
Bethlehem, O, Bethlehem
Sometimes I just close my eyes and open up my wings.
O, Bethlehem O, Bethlehem
Goodnight My Love
Words and Music by Amanda Birdsall © 2007 ASCAP
Goodnight my love, goodnight my love
the sun’s gone down, another day is done
cuddles and kisses wore you out
now it is time to lay you down
Goodnight my love, goodnight my love
you’re the one I’m always thinking of
turn out the light and say a prayer
when you awake you know I’ll be there
Goodnight my love, goodnight my love
how I wonder what you’re dreaming of
Drift through the stars on a gold balloon
miles above the ocean blue
Goodnight my love, goodnight my love
you’re the one I will always love
no matter how near or far away
I’ll always adore your smiling face
Intellectual Property Rights Owner for All Songs: The Orphan Trains
(Amanda Birdsall & Jay Thomas Wolff Bowden) ASCAP
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ON THE NIGHT YOU WERE BORN |
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