Our Mother The Mountain

By townes van zandt

My lover comes to me with a rose on her bosom
The moon's dancin' purple
All through her black hair
And a ladies-in-waiting she stands 'neath my window
And the sun will rise soon
On the false and the fair


She tells me she comes from my mother the mountain
Her skin fits her tightly
And her lips do not lie
She silently slips from her throat a medallion
Slowly she twirls it
In front of my eyes


I watch her, i love her, i long for to touch her
The satin she's wearin'
Is shimmering blue
Outside my window her ladies are sleeping
My dogs have gone hunting
The howling is through


So i reach for her hand and her eyes turns to poison
And her hair turns to splinters,
And her flesh turns to brine
She leaps cross the room, she stands in the window
And screams that my first-born
Will surely be blind


She throws herself out to the black of the nightfall
She's parted her lips
But she makes not a sound
I fly down the stairway, and i run to the garden
No trace of my true love
Is there to be found


So walk these hills lightly, and watch who you're lovin'
By mother the mountain
I swear that it's true
Love not a woman with hair black as midnight
And her dress made of satin
All shimmering blue

By townes van zandt

It's plain to see, the sun won't shine today
But i ain't in the mood for sunshine anyway
Maybe i'll go insane
I got to stop the pain
Or maybe i'll go down to see kathleen.


A swallow comes and tells me of her dreams
She says she'd like to know just what they mean
I feel like i could die
As i watch her flying by
Ride the north wind down to see kathleen.


Stars hang high above, the oceans roar
The moon is come to lead me to her door
There's crystal across the sand
And the waves, they take my hand.
Soon i'm gonna see my sweet kathleen.


Soon i'm gonna see my sweet kathleen.

By townes van zandt

Mr ten dollar man
Let me tell where you're bound
Drink your green liqour, lord
You'll roll to the ground
But you come around here
With your money in your hand
Taste of my woman
Well, you die where you stand


Snake mountain blues
Got me down low
I could die in the morning
But noone would know
When my woman come around
My body she'd find
Go down to dundee
Have her a time


Snake mountain gonna crumble
And fall from the sky
Before that woman of mine
Stops tellin' her lies
If i'd die, lord, she'd weep
She'd weep and she'd mourn
Soon as i's buried
Forget i'd been born


Love of blackskin woman
She won't do you no wrong
Slow to start moaning
She don't moan for long
Yellow headed woman
Brings nothing but pain
Take all you give her
She leaves only shame


My daddy, lord, he rides
On a long holy train
First winds of winter
I see him again
In this farewell to this
Yellow headed misery i've known
Snake mountain's calling
Calling me home


Snake mountain blues
Got me down low
I could die in the morning
But noone would know
When my woman come around
My body she'd find
Go down to dundee
Have her a time

By townes van zandt

She came and she touched me
With hands made of heaven
Reflections sent spinnin'
Through a face laced in mist
Now i stand where she left me
Buried deep 'neath her shadow
And the mirror plead sadly
Does it all come to this
And i wonder: will she call my name?


The wind careens madly
Through wide windows paneless
Fragrancies mingle
In a room full of shade
The peons pick partners
And waltz cross the ceilings
But the violins whisper
That i've been betrayed
Tryin not to look ashamed


The drunkards drink deeply
From cups full of nothingness
Ghost lovers laugh
At the games that they play
The moments do somersaults
Into eternity
Cling to their coattails
And beg them to stay
Saying i got nothing to hide


Illusions projected
On walls made of tiffany
Mad men you adds to
A sad satin song
A harlequin mandolins
Harmonize helplessly
Hoping that endlessly
Won't last for long
Praying that their god ain't dying


Then i turn and i see her
In a dress made of moonlight
Teardrops like diamonds
Run slow down her face
Her arms surround me
Like chains made of velvet
And the demons fall faithfully
Into their place
And the rivers run with jewels


Now the morning lies open
The night went quite quickly
Memory harmlessly
Fractures and fades
All the poets do push-ups
On carpets of rubber foam
Loudly they laugh
At some joke that's been made
And the wise men speak like fools

By townes van zandt

Like silent she stands
Like laughter she falls
From a castle of sand
Like a memory she crawls
And the mockingbirds grieve
'cause they can't make her cry
They'll soon start to believe
That the lady has died
What it all goes to show
It ain't my job to say
For who am i to know
Why she's actin' this way


Once again turn away
If you're sure that it's done
Tell your prophets to pray
Tell your bandits to run
Take your eyelids of stone
They won't do you no harm
Take your cross made of bones
Take your your fly-paper arms
And when everything's placed
In your coffin and go
Through a scarf 'round your face
'cause the subway gets cold
Pack up your sunflower smile
And your bandana blues
Take your worthless denials
They're all you've got left to lose
Take your tinkerbell lies
And your weary desires
Take the tears in your eyes
Take your cup full of fire
Give your lover a call
If your legs start to fail
And he'll come break your fall
With a bed full of nails


No need to glance back again
There ain't nothin' to see
Just this drunken old man
And this woman and me
And you've made it quite plain
That we're just wastin' time
And you say that it seems strange
That i'm staying behind
But you don't worry 'bout me
I can make it alone
'cause i got no place to be
And i ain't far from home