Blues, The Mississippi Way!
Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson,
Fats Waller, a'sweatin' at his piano,
Bo! You know Bo?
You don't know Diddley without Bo!
W. C. Handy, in a park in Memphis,
Frozen forever in stone, Trumpet in hand,
Eyes fixed on that Mighty, Muddy
Mississippi River, frozen for all time...
Soft, undulating hips swaying to the
Moaning, anguished notes of a horn,
Black eyes smiling at my tormented longing,
Teasing me with a smile and a glance
Over tender shoulders...
That River, awash on the banks,
Over the banks, bringing in black mud,
Rich, alive, flowing ever southward,
Flowing to its Delta home,
Teeming black dirt, pure white cotton,
Red hot jazz, and Blues...done right...
Souls, crying in the dark nights,
Lost, alone, hurting, forever in pain,
Longing... Begging...
Calling from the Riverboats,
From the shotgun shanties,
And the cotton fields,
From the bars and the juke joints,
Sweet notes, and blue,
Pouring into that soft, warm southern night...
From downtown Main Street to Natchez Under The Hill,
From downtown banks to the riverbanks,
From downtown mansions to the riverbank shanties,
From downtown highroads to the riverbank byways,
From downtown birthplaces of the rich and famous
To the riverbank birthplace of the music of a nation,
The blues will take you in, and tell of your heart's pain,
Or comfort you, like a motherless child...
Hearing the cries of the hurtin', hungry children,
Or the late night wail of the Midnight Flyer train,
Right on time, not stopping, passing through,
Leaving home, and wife, family and babies,
Going away...far, far away...
That train, dragging her cars behind her,
Northward, maybe to Detroit city,
Or Chicago...always away,
For the high cost of $16.95, you can leave,
But there might always be
The sound in your heart
Of Jimmie Rogers, the Singing Brakeman,
Wailing 'Mississippi Moon, '
The blues, oozing out of our hearts and souls,
Soaking into that rich, black Mississippi soil.
Linda Treat
March 11,2009
Copyrighted
poem by Scarlett Treat
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Downtown Train
(tom waits)
Outside another yellow moon
Has punched a hole in the night time mist
I climb through the window and down to the street
Im shining like a new dime
The downtown trains are full
Full of all them brooklyn girls
They try so hard to break out of their little worlds
You wave your hand and they scatter like crows
They have nothing thatll ever capture your heart
Theyre just thorns without the rose
Be careful of them in the dark
Oh if I was the one you chose to be your only one
Oh baby cant you hear me now, cant you hear me now
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
Every night, every night its just the same
On a downtown train
I know your window and I know its late
I know your stairs and your doorway
I walk down your street and past your gate
I stand by the light of the four way
And watch them as they fall, oh baby
They all having their heart attacks
They stay at the carnival
But theyll never win you back
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
Every night, every night its just the same
You leave me lonely
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
All my dreams, all my dreams fall like rain
On a downtown train
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
Every night, every night its just the same
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
All my dreams, all my dreams fall like rain
On a downtown train
On a downtown train
All my dreams fall like rain
On a downtown train
song performed by by Rod Stewart
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Down Town
(words and music by duran duran)
Deliver use from evil, we go with the flow.
Heres a little secret, I think you ought to know.
Providers and abusers, they know where to go.
With sundays refugees, from sunday tv shows.
(downtown!) all of the way down
(downtown!) all of the way downtown
(downtown!) all of the way down
(downtown!) all of the way downtown..
Lets sink imagination, past your wildest while (all of the way downtown)
Go way delow, below, below, is it such a crime?
Ahhhh the uptown, cant teach you how to live,
They dont have the time
cos where Im gonna take you, is a state of mind.
Ahhoouu
(chorus)
You better learn to use your heart
You gotta loose your money
You better use it all up
cos you cant take it with you when youre going down..
You never come home babe
You never come home baby
And youll never be alone, all of the way downtown
All of the way downtown
You never come home babe
You never come home baby
And youll never be alone, all of the way downtown (down, down)
All of the way downtown
You never come home babe
You never come home baby
And youll never be alone, all of the way downtown
All of the way downtown
You never come home babe
You never come home baby
And youll never be alone, all of the way downtown...
song performed by by Duran Duran
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Downtown
Downtown people gotta work a little harder working downtown
Downtown they got to think a little quicker cause theyre downtown
Downtown the breaks are harder
Downtown the thieves are smarter
Ive got this place Im renting
It cost me next to nothing downtown
Nobody comes around telling me I gotta turn the sound down
Broadway -- down on the corner
The Bible screamer, the plasma donor
Buses, carhorns, ghetto blasters
The shouts and cries of the human disasters
Its all music
Its all music
Downtown
Its all music
Its all music
I feel alright when Im downtown
My feet are light when Im downtown
I cast my hopes on the human tide
I place my bet and let it ride
Im open wide when Im downtown
Downtown theres every kind of people walkin round downtown
Downtown theres every language, every human sound downtown
Downtown the nights are longer
Downtown the sights are stronger
Downtown wandering all around downtown
Its all music
Eight blocks south of city hall
The rats run free and the winos crawl
Darkness falls on the vast machine
Where the future stalks the american dream
I feel alright when Im downtown
My head feels light when Im downtown
Its all in sight when Im downtown
I feel alright when Im downtown
song performed by by Jackson Browne
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Downtown Life
Music by daryl hall, john oates, rick iontosca
Lyrics by daryl hall, john oates, sara allen
Do it downtown in from the outside
Yeah, find the scene & work it brother
Moving thru sound
Citys like wild life
Overgrown & living undercover
Wound up so tight
We love the downtown life
Driftin thru the day
Waiting for the nite, oh
Downtown life. it feels so right
It keeps me hangin on
Velvet lou was a neighbor of mine
Now he walks the dog in jersey, brother
Yuppies in black doin white collar crime
Scared away the. local color
But they cant steal the nite
We love the downtown life
Driftin thru the day
Waiting for the nite, oh
Downtown life it feels so right
It keeps me hangin on
Downtown life
Drifting thru the nite
Waiting for the lite to come
Downtown life it feels so right
It keeps me hangin on
My baby knows shes got to go for this kind of life
'cause city love cant stand. to see the sunlite
Dawn patrol better leave me alone
'cause I can only take it for so long
Going down isnt hard to do
The king of clubs and.queen of hearts fall too
She says, if you believe this is only a lonely time,
Stay at home boys the blues are lost on you
Aint it true
We love the downtown life
Drifting thru the day
Waiting for the nite, oh
Downtown life it feels so right
It keeps me hangin on
Downtown life
Drifting thru the nite
Waiting for the night to come
Downtown life it feels so right
It keeps me hangin on
song performed by by Hall & Oates
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Downtown
Theres a place called downtown
Where the hippies all go
And they dance the charleston
And they do the limbo
Yeah, the hippies all go there
cause they want to be seen
Its like a room full of pictures
Its like a psychedelic dream
Downtown, lets go downtown...
Downtown tonight
Downtown, lets have a party...
Downtown at night
Yeah its right around the corner
Up and down the hill
When you hear the band playin
Its gonna give you a chill
Give your money to the gateman
Young blood in his eye
Hold on to your baby
When you slip into the sky
Downtown, lets go downtown...
Downtown tonight
Downtown, hear the band playin
Downtown all right
Jimis playin in the back room
Led zeppelin on stage
Theres a mirrol ball twirlin
And a note from page
Like a water-washed diamond
In a river of sin
Goin down like a whirlpool
When you get sucked in
Downtown, lets go downtown...
Downtown tonight
Downtown, hear the band playin
Downtown all right
Downtown, lets go downtown...
Downtown tonight
Downtown, lets have a party...
Downtown all right
song performed by by Neil Young
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Poem For Myself
I was born in Mississippi;
I walked barefooted thru the mud.
Born black in Mississippi,
Walked barefooted thru the mud.
But, when I reached the age of twelve
I left that place for good.
My daddy chopped cotton
And he drank his liquor straight.
Said my daddy chopped cotton
And he drank his liquor straight.
When I left that Sunday morning
He was leaning on the barnyard gate.
Left my mama standing
With the sun shining in her eyes.
Left her standing in the yard
With the sun shining in her eyes.
And I headed North
As straight as the Wild Goose Flies,
I been to Detroit & Chicago
Been to New York city too.
I been to Detroit & Chicago
Been to New York city too.
Said I done strolled all those funky avenues
I'm still the same old black boy with the same old blues.
Going back to Mississippi
This time to stay for good
Going back to Mississippi
This time to stay for good-
Gonna be free in Mississippi
Or dead in the Mississippi mud.
poem by Etheridge Knight
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Muddy Mississippi
Chorus:
I can hardly see my face in the waters of the muddy mississippi
But I can see the shadows of the cotton wood standing over me
The morning sun would find me
Swinging from the rope thats hanging free
And I drop in to the waters
And go swimming in the muddy mississippi
A boy came to the delta
And we would swing together from that tree
I could see my dreams in his eyes
As he held on to me
Swinging in the sunlight
Loving in the shadows
Wild and free
And I made him promise he would take me
Down to new orleans
Bright lights of the city made my red dress and shoes look brand new
While he worked the night shift
I turned on and I turned loose
I lost my pride I lost my man
I did things a girl like me shouldnt do
Now I cant face this living
With the swelling signs of new life
Showing through
I can hardly see my face in the waters of the muddy mississippi
But I can see the shadows of the cotton wood standing over me
The morning sun would find me
Hanging from the rope thats swinging free
And Ill swing for the last time over the waters
Of the muddy mississippi
Yeah the muddy mississippi
song performed by by Reba Mcentire
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Downtown
With A turn-around
If you wanna dance on the ceiling
If you wanna shake your money-maker now
If you wanna leave through the back door
Feeling fine but just cant take it anymore
If you wanna leave Im downtown
If you dont like sleaze Im downtown
Tell me what you need Im downtown
And everything will be ok hey hey!!!
If you wanna breathe in the background
If you wanna wait and see whats goin down
If you wanna soak in the sunshine
Call a cab and come and see me anytime
If you wanna leave Im downtown
If you dont like sleaze Im downtown
Tell me what you need Im downtown
And everything will be ok hey hey!!!
If you wanna go crazy
If youre dying to please
If youre low down and dirrrrty
Then come and get some of me
If you wanna leave Im downtown
If you dont like sleaze Im downtown
Tell me what you need Im downtown
And everything will be ok
If you wanna leave Im downtown
If you dont like sleaze Im downtown
Tell me what you need Im downtown
And everything will be ok hey hey!!!
Hey hey!!!(3)
song performed by by Zed
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Black Muddy River
When the last rose of summer pricks my finger,
And the hot sun chills me to the bone,
When I cant hear the song for the singer,
And I cant tell my pillow from a stone,
I will walk alone by the black muddy river,
And sing me a song of my own,
I will walk alone by the black muddy river,
And sing me a song of my own.
When the last bolt of sunshine hits the mountain,
And the stars start to splatter in the sky,
When the moon hits the southwest horizon,
With the scream of an eagle on the fly,
I will walk alone by the black muddy river,
And listen to the ripples as they moan,
I will walk alone by the black muddy river,
And sing me a song of my own.
Black muddy river, roll on forever,
I dont care how deep or wide, if youve got another side,
Roll muddy river, roll muddy river, black muddy river, roll.
When it seems like the night will last forever,
And theres nothing left to do but count the years,
When the strings of my heart begin to sever,
And stones fall from my eyes instead of tears,
I will walk alone, by the black muddy river,
And dream me a dream of my own,
I will walk alone, by the black muddy river,
And sing me a song of my own, sing me a song of my own.
song performed by by Grateful Dead
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Target
Uptown - downtown
No ones fussy Im a target
Black, white - day, night
No ones fussy Im a target
Somebody say Im crazy
Walking in this neighborhood
Say you cant be too careful
But that wont do no good
Im no one special
But any part of town
Someone could smile at me then
Shake my hand then gun me down
Uptown - downtown
No ones fussy Im a target
Black, white - day, night
No ones fussy Im a target
Somebody say Im crazy
Living in this crazy town
I say maybe youre just lazy
Got to either swim or drown
I know what Im doing
Im happy day to day
But then something happens
Takes my nerve away
Uptown - downtown
No ones fussy Im a target
Black, white - day, night
No ones fussy Im a target
song performed by by Joe Jackson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Downtown
When youre alone and life is making you lonely
You can always go downtown
When you got worries, all the noise and the hurry
Seems to help, I know, downtown
Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalks where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose?
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares
And go downtown
Thingsll be great when youre downtown
No finer place for sure, downtown
Everythings waiting for you
Dont hang around and let your problems surround you
There are movie shows, downtown
Or maybe you know some little places to go to
Where they never close, downtown
Just listen to the rhythm of the music that theyre playin
Making conversation while youre on the dance floor swayin
Happy again
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares
And go downtown
Where all the lights are bright, downtown
Waiting for you tonight, downtown
Youre gonna be alright now
And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you
Someone who is just like you and needs a gentle hand to guide them along
So maybe Ill see you there
You can forget all your troubles
Just forget all your cares
And go downtown
Thingsll be great when youre downtown
Dont wait a minute more, downtown
Everythings waiting for you
Downtown, where all the lights are bright
Downtown, waiting for you tonight
Downtown, youre going to be alright now
Get on, get on, get on downtown
Fade:
Downtown, where all the lights are bright
Downtown, waiting for you tonight
Downtown, youre going to be alright now
Get on, get on, get on downtown
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Downtown Lights
Sometimes I walk away
When all I really wanna do
Is love and hold you right
There is just one thing I can say
It's all right, can't you see
The downtown lights
In love we're all the same
We're walking down an empty street
And with nobody callin' your name
Empty streets, empty nights
The downtown lights
*How do I know you feel it
How do I know you feel it
How do I know you feel it
How do I know it's true
Can't you see
Nobody loves you this way
It's all right
Tonight and every night
Let's go walking down the city streets
Let's walk in the cool evening light
Wrong or right, the endless sight
The downtown lights
It will be all right
It will be all right
The downtown lights
Yeah, yeah, yeah
(*Repeat)
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Downtown lights
The neons and the cigarettes
The rented rooms and rented cars
The crowded streets, the empty bars
Chimneytops, trumpets
The golden lights, the loving prayers
Colored shoes, the empty trains
I'm tired of cryin' on the stairs
Downtown lights
It'll be all right
It'll be all right
song performed by by Rod Stewart
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ive Got The Blues More Than You Do Blues
Grew up in the mississippi delta
In a shotgun shack
Washboard for my pillow
til the tax man took that back
Moved out on my own
I was just eight years old ... top that
You think you got the blues
Look at my life
Ive got the blues more than you do ... blues
When I was an itty-bitty baby
I was my mamas only surviving son
She used my head as a washrag
I thought it was fun
Walked to school upway both ways
With no legs ... top that
You think you got the blues
Look at my life
Ive got the blues more than you do ... blues
Got so drunk the other night I couldnt find my way home
Had to have a blind man show me
When I finally did get there,
My own dog had disowned me
A womam in a bar just looks at me and coughed and said
I dont even know you, but I wish youd die off ... top that
You think you got the blues
Look at my life
Ive got the blues more than you do ... blues
song performed by by Jewel
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Cynical Baby Downtown
'Soothing voices are announcing,
cynical baby downtown,
another suppression of hope,
a day of compulsory dancing,
cynical baby downtown,
and subliminal sex, guns and dope.
The mistress of rude assumptions,
cynical baby downtown,
is trying to give us a clue,
displaying the bodily functions,
cynical baby downtown,
of what I might mean to you.
Old men are showing photographs,
cynical baby downtown,
of some of the targets we hit;
I guess the animal that laughs,
cynical baby downtown,
has had a testosterone fit.
And the party went ballistic,
cynical baby downtown,
but no one was to blame;
it was your explosive lipstick,
cynical baby downtown,
that had just spoken my name.'
poem by Nancy Ames
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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American Soul
Lights across the river
Blues from dens rich with pain
Pleasure numbs the lonely hearts
Searching for that refined door
Tenured in melodic Muddy Waters
Miles Davis on a trumpet of silk
Billy Holiday makes you want to cry
Cross that bridge where notes bend
Where church bells still ring
Southern hospitality on a slide guitar
Barbecues, lace, sweat, desire
Dreams as deep as forlorn immigrants
Chicago blues like working class dreams
Welcome to the belated souls
Welcome outsiders on a edge
Pound on your drums, your congas
Play those old Stratocaster Guitars
Play those fender and Gibson amps
Tonight we hear the American soul
poem by Joseph Narusiewicz
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Goin Downtown
I could cool out
I couls hang loose
I could lay my head back in this comfortable noose
I could watch the paint dry
On these rented walls
Or I could run wild with the first wild thing that calls
Goin downtown . . . goin downtown
Goin downtown . . . to stand round and stare
And put people down for not being there
Goin downtown . . . and Ill see you there
But I saw you laugh
At that girl having fun
To show some emotion . . . just isnt done
You can look but dont touch
Thats as far as it goes
Youre only as good as the cut of your clothes
Goin downtown . . . goin downtown
Goin downtown . . . to stand round and stare
And put people down for not being there
Goin downtown . . . and Ill see you there
song performed by by Joe Jackson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Bridging The Gap
[Nas talking]
"The light is there."
[Intro: Olu Dara singing]
See I come from Mississippi
I was young and runnin' wild
Ended up in New York City, where I had my first child
I named the boy Nasir, all the boys call him Nas
I told him as a youngster, he'll be the greatest man alive
[Verse 1: Nas]
Let's go!... Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey --
Tribrary of these rap skits, styles I mastered
Many brothers snatched it up and tried to match it
But I'm still number one, everyday real
Speak what I want, I don't care what y'all feel
'Cause I'm my own master, my Pop told me be your own boss
Keep integrity at every cost, and his home was Natchez Mississippi
Did it like Miles and Dizzy, now we gettin' busy
Bridging The Gap from the blues, to jazz, to rap
The history of music on this track
Born in the game, discovered my father's music
Like Prince searchin' through boxes of Purple Rain
But my Minneapolis was The Bridge, home of the Superkids
Some are well-known, some doin' bids
I mighta ended up on the wrong side of the tracks
If Pops wouldn't've pulled me back an said yo
[Olu Dara singing]
Greatest man alive (Nas: Yeah, turn it up!)
Gre-Gre-Gre-Gre-Greatest man alive!
[Verse 2: Nas]
The blues came from gospel, gospel from blues
Slaves are harmonizin' them ah's and ooh's
Old school, new school, know school rules
All these years I been voicin' my blues
I'm a artist from the start, Hip-Hop guided my heart
Graffiti on the wall, coulda ended in Spoffard, juvenile delinquent
But Pops gave me the right type'a tools to think with
Books to read, like X and stuff
'Cause the schools said the kids had dyslexia
In art class I was a compulsive sketcher of
Teachers in my homeroom, I drew pix to mess them up
'Cause none'a them would like my style
Read more books than the curriculum profile
Said, "Mr. Jones please come get your child
'Cause he's writin' mad poems and his verses are wild"
[Olu Dara singing]
Greatest man ? The great-greatest man alive
[Verse 3: Nas]
Hey-Hey-Hey -- My Poppa was not a Rollin' Stone
He been around the world blowin' his horn, still he came home
Then he got grown, changed his name to Olu
Come on, tell 'em 'bout the places you gone to
[Olu Dara singing]
I been to Saudi Arabia, Mozambique
Madagascar, Paris, Greece
The Middle Africa is where we lived
Better known as Queenbridge
[Nas]
Nas, Nas you don't stop
Olu Dara in the house, you don't stop
Muddy Waters' Howling Wolf you don't stop
From the Blues to Street Hop you don't stop
Tell 'em Pop
[Outro: Olu Dara singing / Nas adlibbing]
See I come from Mississippi (Let 'em know)
I was young and runnin' wild (Runnin' wild)
Ended up in New York City (Yeah!)
Where I had my first child (That's me)
I named the boy Nasir (Yeah, Daddy!)
All the boys call him Nas (Luh ya, boy)
I told him as a youngster
He'll be the greatest man alive (You the greatest, Pop)
Greatest man alive (You the greatest, Pop)
Gre-Gre-Gre-Gre-Greatest man alive!
Rest In Peace Ray Charles
song performed by by Nas
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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For Emma
If it were not for God
You could have found yourself at
The center of the
Altar of my being
You are my sun
When my moon left me
Extreme darkness
You are the river
Flowing to my life
Your soft sound
Of the flowing waters
Made me raise
All my goldfishes
In my own little garden
You are the center flower
And all the morning sunshine
That I can take shall all be yours
All my days shall talk about you
And I shall write
About all
About you
My last love
My lust
My moaning nights
A warm sweet scented blanket
You are my everyday longing
My quiver
My soundest sleep
Of such soft pillow
Inside a night of
Loving dreams
I am insatiable
Your white body on those black nights
Sparked a meteor
Into my vast universe
Your love
Moans
And I shall be
The wildest hunter for saber-tigers
In the safari
It is you,
After all these years
The queen
Who gave an extension
To my ending life
Another day
For better health
As you shall grow in my heart
You shall be forever
Unfathomable,
Ungrasped,
Untitled
You are my force-softness
Combined
My singing silence
My beating drum
My chant
Forever tireless
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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El Blanco
Uptown - downtown
No se enredan - soy el blanco
Black, white - day, night
No se enredan - soy el blanco
Se dijo que loco estoy
Vagando por este barrio
Mire que tenga cuidado
Pero para que sirve
Se que nadie soy
Pero por donde ande
Me pudieram sonreir
Dar la mano y matarme
Uptown - downtown
No se enredan - soy el blanco
Black, white - day, night
No se enredan - soy el blanco
Se dijo que loco estoy
Viviendo en loca ciudad
Le digo que son vagos
O se nada, o se unde
Yo se lo, que hago,
Feliz dia tras dia
Pero pasa algo
Y un cobarde soy
Uptown - downtown
No se enredan - soy el blanco
Black, white - day, night
No se enredan - soy el blanco
song performed by by Joe Jackson
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Evangeline
(robbie robertson)
She stands on the banks of the mighty mississippi
Alone in the pale moonlight
Waitin for a man, a riverboat gambler
Said that hed return tonight
They used to waltz on the banks of the mighty mississippi
Lovin the whole night through
He was a riverboat gambler off to make a killin
And bring it on back to you
Evangeline evangeline
Curses the soul of the mississippi queen
That pulled her man away
Bayou sam from south louisian
Had gamblin in his veins
Evangeline from the maritime
Was slowly goin insane
High on the top of a hickory hill
She stands in the lightning and thunder
Down on the river the boat was a sinkin
She watched that queen go under
Evangeline evangeline
Curses the soul of the mississippi queen
That pulled her man away
Evangeline evangeline
Curses the soul of the mississippi queen
That pulled her man away
song performed by by Emmylou Harris
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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