Sunwheel Dance

Up above my shoulder the ragged rooftops rise
Casting shadows over streets they seem to despise

Come on, come on, wind and rain
I know the sun will shine again
Till then my lady and my Lord will keep me sane

I went down to the dead lake shore to see what I could see
Along the breeze came, away my cap went, my head it was set free

Come on, come on, wind and rain
I know the sun will shine again
Till then my lady and my Lord will keep me sane

And I hear a far away tune come drifting through the gray
It clears a path before my feet, it makes my fingers play

Come on, come on, wind and rain
I know the sun will shine again
Till then my lady and my Lord will keep me sane

Come on, come on, soot and storm
I know the sun will break your arm
Till then my lady and my Lord will keep me warm

released 1971 & 2005

Also On:
Sunwheel Dance – 2005

Feet fall on the road
Bound to motion
Though chains be of gold
They are chains all the same

Traveler on the bridge
Awakens to find
It’s not the river that flows
But the bridge that moves o’er

In the hand of the cloud
Liquid as time
The heron’s wings well
Know the grace of space

released 1971

Also On:
Waiting For A Miracle – 1987

Cloud pillars clinging like vines to the sky
Don’t cry
We’ll walk down the meadow with sunrise inside
So dry your eyes
The winds of all kingdoms meet where we stand

The gray forest people cast off their old clothes
Good-bye
Everything’s sleeping as winter draws near
So close your eyes
The mists of all twilights dance close at hand

The rust-coloured river is now slowing down
Going dry
Harvest has lifted the crown from the ground
But don’t you cry
The song of the seasons brings life to the land

released 1971

Also On:
Rumours Of Glory box set – disc 2 – 2014

Instrumental

released 1971 & 2005

Also On:
Speechless – 2005
Rumours Of Glory box set – disc 1 – 2014

Up on the hillside you can see the cross shine
Out in the alley hear the hungry dog whine
You and I, friend, sit waiting for a sign
See how the sunset makes the lake look like wine

Over the mountain I can hear myself called
I want to come running but my window’s too small
The cliffs are so high and I might fall
What were you saying? — oh, it’s nothing at all

Yes, the world’s in convulsions and the weather is fine
Buicks get bigger and five cents costs a dime
I must get going, you know, there’s not much time
The road is waiting and I’m running out of rhyme
Up on the hillside, see how the cross does shine

released 1971

Also On:
Waiting For A Miracle – 1987

Waves can’t break without rocks that dissolve into sand
We can’t dance without seasons upon which to stand
Eden is a state of rhythm like the sea
Is a timeless change

Turn your eyes to the world where we all sit and dream
Busy dreaming ourselves and each other into being
Dreaming is a state of death, can’t you see?
We must live through who we are

If we can sing with the wind song
Chant with thunder
Play upon the lightning
Melodies of wonder
Into wonder life will open

We are children of the river we have named “existence”
Undercurrent and surface pass in the same tense
Nothing is confined except what’s in your mind
Every footstep must be true

If we can sing with the wind song
Chant with thunder
Play upon the lightning
Melodies of wonder
Into wonder life will open

released 1971

Go tell the sergeant-major
To get that thing repaired
They’re losing their pawns in Asia
There’s slaughter in every square
Oh —
It’s going down slow
It’s going down slow

Go get the fire department
To bring that hose along
And them and the schoolboy bandits
Can water each other’s lawn
Oh —
It’s going down slow
It’s going down slow

Everybody seems to be leaving
Better say your travelling prayers
It don’t matter how you get it
It’s where do you go from there
Oh —
It’s going down slow
It’s going down slow
It’s going down slow
It’s going down slow

God, damn the hands of glory
That hold the bloody firebrand high
Close the book and end the story
Of how so many men have died
Let the world retain in memory
That mighty tongues tell mighty lies
And if mankind must have an enemy
Let it be his warlike pride
Let it be his warlike pride

released 1971

Also On:

Mummy Dust – 1981
Waiting For A Miracle – 1987

Update: 2003 – This song was rewritten and rerecorded for a compilation album put out by warchild.ca.

When the sun falls
The bird of paradise
Spreads his wings wide

When the rain shines
The earth sighs gratitude
And spreads her hues bright

You come to me
Bringing the sun and rain
Bringing my song

released 1971

He came from the mountain
To walk among the wounded
They couldn’t see him
But the snow did melt whenever he passed by

He came behind winter
His face was like the sun
They wouldn’t see it
But he sang on the bank and made the waters run

In his world we wait
In his hands our fate
Keep on climbing
We shall see his gate
In good time

He came to the lowlands
He said we must have faces
So we could see like him
Before our wings would ever come to fly

In his world we wait
In his hands our fate
Keep on climbing
We shall see his gate
In good time

released 1971

Also On:
Rumours Of Glory box set – disc 1 – 2014

Standing on a rock in a river
Staring at the splintered sun
You could drown yourself in jewels
Like a thousand other fools
While you stand there looking down at what you’ve won

Sitting on a mountain of ashes
Face to face with past regrets
You could roll down to the canyon
Piss away this incarnation
But remember that you pay for what you get

And he says, “But don’t you know
How hard it is
To hit the ground and mean it.
And mean it?”

Walk the jangling streets of the city
Trying to find the buried sun
You could drown yourself in jewels
Like a thousand other fools
While you wander waiting for it to be done

And he cries, “Why don’t we celebrate?
Why don’t we celebrate?
Love can make you sad.
Come on, let’s drive ourselves mad.”

And he’s aware
How hard it is
To kiss the sun and mean it.
And mean it.

And he screams, “Why don’t we celebrate?
Why don’t we celebrate?
Life can make you sad.
Come on, let’s drive ourselves mad.”

Standing on a rock in a river
Staring at the rain made one
On the surface flashing diamonds
Rolling down the twilight canyon
And we shall kiss the sun in spite of him

So why don’t we celebrate?
Why don’t we celebrate?
Why don’t we celebrate?

released 1971

Also On:
Circles In The Stream – 1977
Resume – 1981

Hmmm — every day
Flashes like a spray of blue jays
Hmmm — a golden crown upon each one

Like an eagle seen against the sun

released 1971

Wind chimes flicker
Brittle corners slide away
Smile back at the day
Shadows flying
Like the mist before the sun
See the sadness run
Silk-spun web of pearls
Glistens in the grass in summer
North wind changes all the fields
To dazzling glass in winter

Come near to me
Hear this song I sing to you
Are you singing, too?

Written in 1968 – released in 2005 – (also 1972 as b-side to It’s Going Down Slow)

Up above my shoulder the ragged rooftops rise
Casting shadows over streets they seem to despise

Come on, come on, wind and rain
I know the sun will shine again
Till then my lady and my Lord will keep me sane

I went down to the dead lake shore to see what I could see
Along the breeze came, away my cap went, my head it was set free

Come on, come on, wind and rain
I know the sun will shine again
Till then my lady and my Lord will keep me sane

And I hear a far away tune come drifting through the gray
It clears a path before my feet, it makes my fingers play

Come on, come on, wind and rain
I know the sun will shine again
Till then my lady and my Lord will keep me sane

Come on, come on, soot and storm
I know the sun will break your arm
Till then my lady and my Lord will keep me warm

released 1971 & 2005

Also On:
Sunwheel Dance – 2005