lyrics by Joel Mabus
songs from
Time & Truth
(fossil 2719)
To learn more about this CD, Time & Truth, click here
To order this or any other Joel Mabus CDs, click here
All ten tracks on Time & Truth feature lyrics as well as music. Joel
Mabus wrote the music to all 10 songs, and the lyrics to all but one. The
words to track #9, Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, are by Robert Frost
under the same title. It was published in 1923 as part of his book, New
Hampshire. As of 2019, the poem is in the public domain under US copyright
law.
All the songs are published by Fingerboard Music, BMI -- All Rights
Reserved. Please do not copy these lyrics to paste at another website.
That would be breaking the law. They are here for your private use and may be
copied for scholarly work only as in excepts of review, etc. Seek
permission for all other uses.
Scroll down for all the lyrics in order, or click on a title to jump to that
song's lyric.
THE SONGS:
The Moon May Never Shine This Way
Again
Walking
Liberty
Thank
A Teacher
A
Special Kind Of Hell
The
Exaltation Of Blue
Analog
Joe
When
All the Famous People Are Forgot
Yes
Truth
Stopping
By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Last
Train Home
THE LYRICS:
The Moon May Never Shine This Way Again
By Joel Mabus ©2019
Moon come lifting - lifting through the trees…
Silver shadows dancing - dancin' on the breeze…
The water slapping rhythm in the sand --
Oh the moon may never shine - this way again
Midnight dancing - dancing on the dune …
Take my hand and kiss me - kiss me soon…
Forever never comes, but let's pretend --
For the moon may never shine - this way again
Walk a while with me…
Beside this mighty sea…
The waters of old Michigan…
Are playing catch-me-if-you-can…
Hear the Manitou…
Whispering to you…
Careful - it's a sleeping bear…
Dreaming of her children there
That laughin' loon is laughing now at me
This sand is shifting - shifting constantly
This lake is takin' back her piece of land
And the moon may never shine - this way again
Careful - it's a sleeping bear…
Dreaming of her children there
That laughing loon, laughin' now at me
This sand is shifting - shifting constantly
This lake is takin' back her piece of land
And the moon may never shine -
O, The moon may never shine -
O. The moon may never shine - this way again
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Walking Liberty
By Joel Mabus ©2019
Flip that silver, make it ring
Flip that silver, make it ring
Flip that silver, make it ring
Walking Liberty
Yessir, yessir
Walking Liberty
Walking Liberty
Flip it, call it heads or tails
Flip it, call it heads or tails
Flip it, call it heads or tails
Walking Liberty
Yessir, yessir
Walking Liberty
Walking Liberty
Grab your corner by the hand
Allemande left and come to stand
Bow to your partner, thank the band!
Walking Liberty
Yessir, yessir
Walking Liberty
Walking Liberty
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Thank A Teacher
By Joel Mabus ©2019
If you can sign your name on the bottom line
Thank a teacher Thank a teacher
If you know that Longfellow wrote Evangeline
Thank a teacher an English teacher
If you can drive a Car, Pick a banjo or guitar
Name a constellation just by looking at the star
No matter where you're at or who you think you are…
Thank a teacher…
If you can grow tomatoes, if you can read a book
If you had a granny in the kitchen teachin' you to cook
Remember all the little lessons you learned when you were young
Like how to tie your tennis shoes and when to hold your tongue
I'm still workin' on that last one
If you know the seven deadly sins by name
Thank a teacher Maybe a nun
If you can keep a scorecard at a baseball game
Thank a teacher Maybe a coach
There's a teacher in a mother, a teacher in a dad,
A teacher in the lover that left you feeling sad
No matter what the good, no matter what the bad…
Thank a teacher…
If you can count to twenty, play a game of twenty-one
You know enough to cover up when you're in the sun
You spent a summer getting' swimming lessons at the pool
You might have even had -- a teacher in a school
Imagine that!
If you can ride a bicycle up and down a hill
Thank a teacher Thank a teacher
If you know that photosynthesis depends on chlorophyll
Thank a teacher A science teacher
If you can row a boat or ride in a toboggan
While you're Tweetin' and a-textin', postin' and a-bloggin'
Every little notion up there in your noggin…
Thank a teacher…
So Thank you Mr Llewellyn
Thank you Miss Wirtz
Thank you Mrs Eckhart
I'm not forgettin' you, Doctor Phenice
Thank a teacher Thank a Teacher
Thank a teacher Thanks TEACH!
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A Special Kind Of Hell
By Joel Mabus ©2019
So you think you got away with it
You think nobody knows
You're the smartest person in the room
That's what you're thinking, I suppose
But there must come a reckoning
That's why I'm here to tell
They're building you a special kind of hell
There's a special kind of hell for folks like you
For all the things you've done and those things you plan to do
There's a hundred little devils just waiting in a line
Sharpening their pitchforks to stick in your behind…
They'll burn brimstone by the ton, to hide your smell
Down there in your special kind of hell
There's a special kind of hell for bums like you
You'll be drinking kerosene -- eating polecat barbecue
Your roommates will be crocodiles, snapping at your toes
And smelly little rats will be nibbling your nose…
And they got bagpipes playing out of tune as well
Down there in your special kind of hell
There's a special kind of hell for trash like you
You'll get lectures every hour from those old friends you have screwed
While exfoliating warthogs with a toothpick and a spoon
And licking clean the backside of a very sick baboon…
That's just one of many games they play so well
Down there in your special kind of hell
O, there's many more surprises, but I don't have time to tell
Down there in your special kind of hell
In your dismal -- and artisanal -- kind of hell
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The Exaltation Of Blue
By Joel Mabus ©2019
Had an old dog and I called him Blue…
Betcha any money he's a good 'un too…
Said betcha any money he's a good dog too
Come 'ere Blue, you good dog you
I went huntin' one fine day
My old Blue dog , he led the way
He sniffed a possum down by the brook
Just one look and away they took
Chased that possum through a hollow log…
That weren't nuthin for my old dog
They ran so fast I could not see
Where old Blue got to 'tween them trees
So I cupped my hands and I called for blue…
I said… Blue - OOO, where are you-OOO
And he hollered back ---
Whoop, Whoop, here I am
Whoop Whoop here I am
Whoop, Whoop, here I am
Whoop Whoop here I am
Blue had that possum up an old gum tree
That possum grinning down at me
Possum hissed at old dog Blue hisss
But Blue he knew just what to do
He stood there still -- he stood there true
That possum knew -- his time was through
Come 'ere Blue, you good dog you
Up the holler, down the bog
Had many a time with that old dog
Had many a time with old dog Blue
I never had a friend so true
Bake that possum good and brown
Lay them taters round and round
When dinner's done, know what to do
Give the bones to old dog Blue …
Come 'ere Blue, you good dog you
Blue got so old he could hardly hear…
So he always stuck right by me near…
Got so old he could hardly see…
But that dog could always tell when it was me …
Come 'ere Blue, you good dog you
When Old Blue died, I cried so bad…
Hardest day I ever had…
Hardest day and the hardest week
Hardly eat and hardly sleep …
Dug his grave with a silver spade…
Laid him down with a golden chain…
Yeah, I said I laid him down with a golden chain…
Now every night I call his name:…
Blue - where are you Blue - where are you
Well, I don't know but I been told
The streets of heaven are made out o'gold
Ever make it up to that promised land
I promise you I've got a plan
Get up to heaven first thing I'll do…
I'm gonna cup my hands -- and call for Blue
I'll go: Blue - OOO, where are you-OOO
Blue - OOO, where are you-OOO
And I'll soon find out if that place is truly heaven,
If it truly is our last reward
If it truly is our home so dear
I know just what I'm gonna hear
Whoop, Whoop, here I am
Whoop Whoop here I am
Whoop, Whoop, here I am
Whoop Whoop here I am
Come 'ere Blue, you good dog you
Had an old dog and I called him Blue…
Betcha any money he's a good 'un too…
Said, betcha any money he's a good dog too
Come 'ere Blue, you good dog you
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Analog Joe
By Joel Mabus ©2019
I'm an analog kind of guy, you can call me analog Joe
Just keep it analog, buddy, that's the way I roll
Don't need no algorithm, I take my rhythm with me where I go
I got a watch in my pocket, all it does is tell the time
Got a little clock face - Buster, that suits me fine
Don't need to put my glasses on, just to see that its half past nine
Don't need no digital reminder to tell me when to take my pill
I don't need no app to figure the tip on my waiter's bill
Don't take no telephone movies, -- 'cuz I ain't no Cecil B DeMille
Analog, analog, call me analog Joe
Analog, analog. Buster, That's the way I roll
Don't need no algorithm, I take my rhythm with me where I go
I gotta analog hat - analog shoes
Analog Guitar - to sing my analog blues
Just gimme twenty digits, I call 'em fingers and toes
Fingers play the music, keep the toes tapping as I go
Here I go…
Now when I'm gone, good people, there's just one thing I want you to hear
Don't send no digital flowers, spare me the virtual tears
Just show up at my wake, and drink my good old analog beer
Analog, analog, call me analog Joe
Analog, analog. Buster, that's the way I roll
Keep your algorithms, I'll take my rhythm with me when I go
Here I go…
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When All The Famous People Are Forgot
By Joel Mabus ©2019
Time has come to get this figured out
Deciding what is what
And, sadly, what is not
When all the famous people are forgot
It will be me and you
And what we do
And nothing else will matter after that
Back when I was Johnny on the spot
When rosy fingered dawn
Spread her diamonds on the lawn
And the grand ideas were served with tea and jam
There was you and me
And things to see
The world was simply just as big as that
But Time is swift, and Time is soon
Setting sun, rising moon
Twirling planets marking time with every blow
Counting hours - counting years
Counting struggles and the tears
And the joys that melt a-way like April snow
As for all of that: Where did it go
If you remember let me know
Right now, I'm simply happy to be here
So I think I finally got it figured out
Deciding what is what
And, gladly, what is not
When all the famous people are forgot
It's up to me and you
And what we do
It's all that really matters after that
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Yes Truth
By Joel Mabus ©2019
For all the lying voices shouting in our ears
Louder every hour, stronger every year
Drowning out reality with mendacity and fear
Yet Truth goes marching on
CHORUS:
Sing Hallelujah Hallelujah
Sing Hallelujah Hallelujah
Sing Hallelujah Hallelujah
YES Truth goes marching on
My eyes have seen destruction - no more can I afford
Of the fire and the lightning, and the terrible swift sword
There is poison in the well where our sweetest water flowed
Yet Truth goes marching on CHO
When the speeches all are spoken and the prayers all are prayed
The eulogies delivered, and the canticles are played
And the last defeated martyr lies a-moldering in the grave
Yet Truth goes marching on CHO
People cannot listen to those words they will not hear
But truth is all around us, it's floating in the air
If you listen closely, you can hear it everywhere
Yes Truth goes marching on CHO
Come my brother won't you join us
Come my sister won't you join us
Come all good people won't you join us
As Truth goes marching on CHO
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Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
By Joel Mabus ©2019,
lyrics in public domain by Robert Frost, 1923
Whose woods these are I think I know
His house is in the village though
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake
The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep
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Last Train Home
By Joel Mabus ©2019
The longest train I ever saw
Ran up that old Soo Line
And the hardest time I ever knew
Was leavin' you behind
CHORUS:
It's a long steel rail and a short cross tie
I'm on my way back home
So, fare-thee-well, so long, goodbye
I caught my last train home
It's the kindness of strangers on which I do depend
You folks have been mighty kind to me
I hope that maybe someday I can pass this way again
But now, there's someplace else I need to be CHO
Hear that rail a hummin' - we're barrelin' down the line
Time to slow her down to make the bend
She'll slide into the station - I'll be grinnin' wide
And walk the track to my back door again CHO
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