Wilderness

(c.w. mccall, bill fries, chip davis)

One green april mornin', when i was a young boy
I lay by the window, a-watchin' the rain
And i wondered if ever the sun would come shinin'
So i could go somewhere to play

Then down from the sky flew a little brown sparrow
And he lit on the branch of an old willow tree
And he sit there, watchin', as i lay wond'rin'
Just the little brown sparrow and me

On a green april mornin', when i was a young boy
And little brown sparrows were free

Then he looked in my window and he spied his reflection
There was the willow, there was the sky
And he wondered if ever the sun would come shinin'
And which was the way for the sparrow to fly

Well, he spread out his wings and he flew to the window
Fast as the wind, sure as could be
But the sky in the window was only a wishin'
For the little brown sparrow and me

On a green april mornin', when i was a young boy
And little brown sparrows were free

So there by the window, the sparrow had fallen
He died on the ground in the cold april rain
And i wondered if ever the sun would come shinin'
And someone could only explain

Then i laid there and saw the wind blow through the willow
And cover him over with yesterday's leaves
And there in the rain, i cried for a sparrow
For a little brown sparrow and me

On a green april mornin', when i was a young boy
And little brown sparrows were free
On a green april mornin', when life was a window
For a little brown sparrow and me

(c.w. mccall, bill fries, chip davis)

Well, packin' on back to jackson
Eighteen-thirty-an'-six
Fifteen wagons an' forty-five orn'ry mules
Packin' on back to jackson
Workin' the beaver trail
Ten more moons an' we gonna rendevous

[chorus]
Jackson hole, wyomin'
Fifteen wagons an' forty-five orn'ry mules
Jackson hole, wyomin'
Ten more moons an' we gonna rendevous

Yeah, packin' on back to jackson
Nineteen-thirty-an'-six
Four flat tires an' a worn-out chevy coupe
Packin' on back to jackson
Workin' the teton trail
Ten more moons an' we gonna rendevous

[chorus]
Jackson hole, wyomin'
Four flat tires an' a worn-out chevy coupe
Jackson hole, wyomin'
Ten more moons an' we gonna rendevous

[oh, yeah. time for the instrumental portion of our program. banjo pickin', of course.]

[chorus]
Jackson hole, wyomin'
Fifteen wagons an' forty-five orn'ry mules
Jackson hole, wyomin'
Four flat tires an' a worn-out chevy coupe

Packin' on back to jackson
Nineteen-seventy-six
Goose down socks an' forty-dollar walkin' shoes
Packin' on back to jackson
A-workin' the backpack trail
Ten more moons an' we gonna rendevous

[chorus]
Jackson hole, wyomin'
Goose down socks an' forty-dollar walkin' shoes
Jackson hole, wyomin'
Ten more moons an' we gonna rendevous

(c.w. mccall, bill fries, chip davis)

From the album wilderness

Come along and sing
A song you knew before
Come along and sing
Once more

Come along and live
A life you knew before
Come along and live
Once more

[c.w. and backup singers]
Wake with me and feel the misty blue dawn
Come hear the wild bird sing her mornin' song
See the sun that only wilderness sees
Then walk with me and let your heart run free

Come on along and chase the wind once more
Come on along and try one more time
Come on along and find the trail once more
Come on along and live again

[c.w. and backup singers]
Come with me and see the ridge run wild
Come hear the canyon call her wanderin' child
Breathe the air that only wilderness breathes
Then walk with me and let your heart run free

[musical interlude. slow banjo pickin' and violins.]

Come on along and climb the mountain once more
Come on along and try one more time
Come on along and cross the river with me
Come on along and live again

[c.w. and backup singers]
Come with me and hear the night bird cry
And see the starlight fill the wonderous sky
Feel the joy that only wilderness feels
Come on along along and we'll be free

Fly with me and find the end of time
Run with me and feel the wilderness high
Come on along and live forever with me
Come on along along and we'll be free

(c.w. mccall, bill fries, chip davis)

One cold, black night of a colorado winter
It snowed on red mountain pass
We warned ev'rybody that the slide was runnin'
An' 5-5-oh was a mess
But outta the plowshed, south a' town
Come a blade with a flashin' blue light
We told that boy: "whatever you do,
Beware of the riverslide slide."

Now that plow-jockey knew he had a job to do
Been dodgin' them slides for years
But we all knew, deep down inside,
He was livin' with a thing called fear
'cause you don't mess around with an avalanche, son
A lotta men tried, and died
Yeah, you get them plows past bear creek falls,
You lookin' at the riverside slide

Now all a' us folks around ouray county
Seen a lotta them cold, black nights
When the only thing movin' is a big ol' plow
Flashin' them weird blue lights
You drive them snowplows around these parts
You gotta have a real thick hide
'cause ya never quite know what time a' the night
You gonna die in the riverside slide

Well, it snowed six feet on the mountain that night
An' we knew what was comin' on down
An' so did the boy an' his flashin' blue light
When he rolled that blade outta town
Well, he took that plow up 5-5-oh
An' he felt it lean to one side
An' before he knew it, he was buried alive
At the bottom of the riverside slide

Yeah, all a' us folks around ouray county
Seen a lotta them cold, black nights
When the only thing movin' is a big ol' plow
Flashin' them weird blue lights
We found the boy in the early spring
Still settin', the plow on its side
Yeah, ya never quite know what time a' the night
You gonna die in the riverside slide

(c.w. mccall, bill fries, chip davis)

Well, now, pay attention people
Just in case you hadn't heard
There's some folks messin' 'round
With mother nature's little world, baby
And what they do is really freaky
They gets themselves a plane
And they fly it around with chemicals, baby
Tryin' ta make it rain
So when you're out there in that blizzard,
Shiverin' in the cold
Just look up to the sky
And thank the government for the snow
And sing the low-down, experimental, cloud-seedin',
Who-needs-'em-baby? silver i-i-o-dide blues

Oh, yeah.

Woo!

(there won't be no rock 'n' roll)
(c.w. mccall, bill fries, chip davis)

Well, it's only gonna be about an hour, friend
'til they dam your favorite river
So you can water-ski just one more reservior
And them supersonic ships are gonna take you
'cross a sea of pavement
To one more faceless brickyard on the shore

Yeah, it's only gonna be about an hour or so
'til they rip off all your mountains, boy
And that one last tired old eagle bites the sand
And all of that high-and-mighty scenery's
Gonna be leveled to the ground, boy
By a bunch a' them mindless strip mines on the land

[chorus]
So listen well, my brothers
When you hear the night wind sigh
And you see the wild goose flying
Through the gray, polluted sky
There won't be no country music
There won't be no rock 'n' roll
'cause when they take away our country
They'll take away our soul

Well, it's only gonna take about a minute or so
'til the junkyards fell the prairies, boy
And them smokin' yellow grass fires start to burn
And the warnings on them beer cans
Gonna be buried in them landfills
No deposit, no sad songs, and no returns

Yeah, it's only gonna take about a minute or so
'til the factories blot the sun out
You gonna have to turn your lights on just to see
And them lights are gonna be neon, sayin'
"fly our jets to paradise"
And the whole damn world is gonna be made of styrene

[chorus]
So listen well, my brothers
When you hear the night wind sigh
And you see the wild goose flying
Through the gray, polluted sky
There won't be no country music
There won't be no rock 'n' roll
'cause when they take away our country
They'll take away our soul

Yeah, it's only gonna be about a second, boy
'til they take away all'a this country
And they'll tell you not to listen to this here song
And that far-off sound of freedom's
Gonna be an echo from the past
And the final tune is gonna be sad and long

And it's only gonna be about an eye-blink, boy
'til they pull out the wool to blind us
So we just can't read all the messages on the wall
But the only words that matter
Oughta be scribbled all over them billboards
In big old black and bloody letters, ten feet tall

[chorus]

There won't be no country music
There won't be no rock 'n' roll
'cause when they take away our country
They'll take away our soul

There won't be no country music
There won't be no rock 'n' roll
'cause when they take away our country
They'll take away our soul

There won't be no country music
There won't be no rock 'n' roll
'cause when they take away our country
They'll take away our soul

There won't be no country music
There won't be no rock 'n' roll
'cause when they take away our country
They'll take away our soul
'cause when they take away our country
They'll take away our soul