Don Quixote

The oceans of the world were the home of big blue
He was the greatest monster that the world ever knew
And the place that he loved best
Was the waters to the west
Around the blue pacific he did roam

Big blue moved alone for a mighty blue was he
And the battles of the whales was an awesome sight to see
And he took them one by one and he drove them all away
In the mating of the day he was the king

Big blue had fifty wives and he sired forty sons
Though most of them feel victim to the cruel harpoon guns
Ah but he was too much wise to get caught by the gunners' eyes
And so he lived at sea a hundred years

His mouth was as large as a tunnel so they say
His hide was thick as leather and his eyes quick and small
And his back was all scarred by the times he got away
And he knew the smell of whalers did big blue

Big blue passed away to his natural decay
Beside the arctic circle as he travelled up that way
And there never was a man who was born with a gunner's hand
Who ever took a pan to big blue

Now the gray whale has run and the sperm is almost done
The finbacks and the greenland rights have all passed and gone
They've been taken by the men for the money they could spend
And the killing never ends, it just goes on

The oceans of the earth were the home of big blue
He was the greatest monster that the world ever knew
And the place that he loved best was the waters to the west
Around the blue pacific he did roam

I'm on my second cup of coffee and i still can't face the day
I'm thinking of the lady who got lost along the way
And if i don't stop this trembling hand from reaching for the phone
I'll be reachin' for the bottle, lord, before this day is done
I'm on my second cup of coffee and i still can't face the day
The room was filled with laughs as we danced the night away
But my sleep was filled with dreaming of the wrongs that i had done
And the gentle sweet reminder of a daughter and a son

Sitting alone, my friends have all gone home
You never know when they'll come droppin' in
Thinking of girls with their fingers in my curls
Too young to understand how love begins

I'm on my second cup of coffee and i still can't face the dawn
The radio is playin' a soft country song
And if i don't stop this trembling hand from reaching for the phone
I'll be reachin' for the bottle, lord, before this day is done

I'm sailing down the summer wind
I got whiskers on my chin
And i like the mood i'm in
As i while away the time of day
In the lee of christian island
Tall and strong she dips and reels
I call her silver heels
And she tells me how she feels
She's a good old boat and she'll stay afloat
Through the toughest gales and keep smilin'
But for one more day she would like to stay
In the lee of christian island

I'm sailing down the summer day
Where the fish and seagulls play
I put my troubles all away
And when the gales comes up i'll fill my cup
With the whiskey of the highlands
She's a good old ship and she'll make the trip
From the lee of christian island

Tall and strong she slips along
I sing for her a song
And she leans into the wind
She's a good old boat and she'll stay afloat
Through the toughest gales and keep smilin'
When the summer ends we will rest again
In the lee of christian island

Born in the country and i like that country smile
Of the little girls and boys, they remind me of a child
That i knew and a big harvest moon
That shon' by suppertime in the dusty afternoon
And i need to be there
When the autumn wind goes whistlin' through the trestle we would climb
Like brave mountaineers
We never were much bothered by time

Born in the country and i like that country song
We played for just a nickel every time we got to town
And i bought you a dime diamond ring
In the hayloft we would play, we were princesses and kings

And i need to be there
When the world gets too heavy and the shadows cross my mind
Like brave mountaineers
We never were much bothered by time

Born in the country and i like that country way
Of the uncles and the cousins and the card games they would play
While the young ones slept overhead
Beneath the quilts that mother made, when all the prayers were said

And i need to be there
When the autumn wind goes whistlin' through the trestle we would climb
Like brave mountaineers
We never were much bothered by time

And i need to be there
When the world gets too heavy and the shadows cross my mind
Like brave mountaineers
We never were much bothered by time

The songs of the wars are as old as the hills
They cling like the rust on the cold steel that kills
They tell of the boys who went down to the tracks
In a patriotic manner with the cold steel on their backs

The patriot's dream is as old as the sky
It lives in the lust of a cold callous lie
Let's drink to the men who got caught by the chill
Of the patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills

The train pulled away on that glorious night
The drummer got drunk and the bugler got tight
While the boys in the back sang a song of good cheer
While riding off to glory in the spring of their years

The patriot's dream still lives on today
It makes mothers weep and it makes lovers pray
Let's drink to the men who got caught by the chill
Of the patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills

Well there was a sad, sad lady
Weeping all night long
She received a sad, sad message
From a voice on the telephone
Her children were all sleeping
As she waited out the dawn
How could she tell those children
That their father was shot down
So she took them to her side that day
And she told them one by one
Your father was a good man ten thousand miles from home
He tried to do his duty and it took him straight to hell
He might be in some prison, i hope he's treated well

Well there was a young girl watching in the early afternoon
When she heard the name of someone who said he'd be home soon
And she wondered how they got him, but the papers did not tell
There would be no sweet reunion, there would be no wedding bells
So she took herself into her room and she turned the bed sheets down
And she cried into the silken folds of her new wedding gown
He tried to do his duty and it took him straight to hell
He might be in some prison, i hope he's treated well

Well there was an old man sitting in his mansion on the hill
And he thought of his good fortune and the time he'd yet o kill
Well he called to his wife one day, "come sit with me awhile"
Then turning toward the sunset, he smiled a wicked smile
"well i'd like to say i'm sorry for the sinful deeds i've done
But let me first remind you, i'm a patriotic son"
They tried to do their duty and it took 'em straight to hell
They might be in some prison, i hope they're treated well

The songs of the wars are as old as the hills
They cling like the rust on the cold steel that kills
They tell of the boys who went down to the tracks
In a patriotic manner with the cold steel on their backs

The train pulled away on that glorious night
The drummer got drunk and the bugler got tight
While the boys in the back sang a song of good cheer
While riding off to glory in the spring of their years

The patriot's dream still lives on today
It makes mothers weep and it makes lovers pray
Let's drink to the men who got caught by the chill
Of the patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills