Big River

Words and music by peter lee stirling

When the night is cold and my arms want
Something to hold,
I think of you
When the rain falling i hear you calling to me,
I think of you
I think of you every minute,
I lie awake each lonely night
I think of you yeah that day you walked away, and out of my sight
But now my arms just long to hold you
Like they used to do before
But i'm a broken man now you don't love me no more

When the night is cold and my arms want
Someone to hold,
I think of you
When the rain is falling i hear you calling to me,
I think of you

I think of you

Words and music by jimmy nail

Walking on cobble stone, little bits of skin and bone
Jumping on the tram car for a ride
I can remember then, i was just a boy of ten
Hanging out along the old quayside
Not all the capstans and the cargo boats
And stevadores are gone
To where all the old ships go
But memories just like the seas live on

That was when coal was king,
The river a living thing
And i was just a boy, but it was mine,
The coaly tyne

This was a big river,
I want you all to know that i was proud
This was a big river, but that was long ago,
That's not now, that's not now

My father was a working man,
He earned our living with his hands
He had to cross the river every day
He picked up a union card out of the neptune yard
Mouths to feed and the bills to pay
Then came a time for him to sail across the sea
And far away
Finally when the war was won
You brought him home and home he stayed

And when his days were done, under a golden sun
You carried him to where he longed to be,
Back to the sea

This was a big river,
I want you all to know that i was proud
This was a big river, but that was long ago,
That's not now

The neptune was the last to go,
I heard it on my radio
And then they played the latest number one
But what do they do all day?
And what are they supposed to say?
What does a father tell his son?
If you you believed that there's a bond between our future
And our past
Then try to hold on to what we had,
We build them strong, we built to last

'cause this is a mighty town,
It's built upon solid ground
And everything they tried so hard to kill,
We will rebuild

This was a big river
I want you all to know that i was proud
This was a big river, but that was long ago,
That's not now
This is a big river,
And in my heart i know it will rise again
The river will rise again

Words by jimmy nail
Music by jimmy nail/andy caine/danny schogger

On a day like today i could blow my cares away
Not a sign of a cloud to make me blue
But then you said goodbye, took the sun out of my sky
When you told me that you and me were through

Catch a falling star, fall down from above
Put it where you are, wrap it up in love

On a day like today i could blow my cares away
Not a sign of a cloud above my head
But then you said goodbye, took the sun out of my sky
When you told me of something that you'd said

Take me as i am, it's all i have to give
Give you all i have, for all the days i live

On a day like today, i could blow my cares away
Not a sign of a cloud to make me sad
But then you said goodbye, took the sun out of my sky
When you walked away from something that we had

Words and music by jimmy nail

Since you've been gone, i've cried a river for you
But i'm just wastin' time, and wastin' water, too
I'm hanging out these nights, in these twilight worlds
With all the late-night news, and the weather-girls
No-one here but me, so i sit and cheer,
Watchin' sports t.v., sipping luke-warm beer
I can take the pain, i can stand the rain
But what i cannot bear, is that bum givin' you his name

I'd like to tell all the whole wide world,
What a cryin' shame this is
But i get tongue-tied up,
Just tryin' to say my name without sayin' his

What kind of a man am i? givin' up on love without a try
Thought what we had was, like, a special thing,
Now i find your wearin' that bum's ring!
And what kind of a girl are you,
Tell me you love me then you tell him, too
Guess i'll be wonderin' 'til the day i die,
What kind of man am i?

It's a cryin' shame, what's become of me
I'm not half the man, that i used to be
And it's you's to blame, with your dirty tricks
Give a dog a name, you'd best beleave it sticks

I can't compete with the fancy cars
And the limousines he owns
But there's a heart beatin' ten feet tall
Inside of all of this skin an' bones

What kind of a man am i? i read the papers,
Let the world go by
I let him walk you right through the door,
When i should'a punched him on the jaw
And what kind of a girl are you,
Tell me you love me then you tell him, too
Too dumb to laugh and too proud to cry,
What kind of man am i?

Instrumental solo

It's bad enough tryin' to hold my head up
On the streets of our tiny town
If ther's a god up in heaven,
I wonder if he'd send a bolt of lightnin' down?

What kind of a man am i?
I'd love to tell you but i'm too damn shy
I stood an' let him give me all that grief,
When i should'a kicked him in the teeth!
And what kind of a girl are you,
Tell me you love me then you tell him too
Guess i'll be wonderin' 'til the day i die,
What kind of man am i?

If i could turn back the hands of time
If i could turn back the clock
I wouldn't be in the place i'm in
I wouldn't be in the dock
Where's your friends when you need them most
Probably hidin' under a rock
If i could undo the things i did
If i could turn back the clock

It started out like any other day
Lazin' around with nothing to do
My mind started wondering onto criminal things
And how to make a dollar or two
I called the guys on my telling phone
And told them of my little scheme
We drank some beer, we ate some pills,
I shared with them my dream

I can't recall exactly how
I got to where i shouldn't have been
]my head seemed filled with hombre stuff
I fealt like i was on the screen
I drank more beer, i ate more pills
Gained myself a spinning head
I raised a gun, i killed a man
I'm told it was for something he said

It's been a year since i said a prayer
But god almighty, if your listening up there

If i could turn back the hands of time
If i could turn back the clock
I wouldn't be in this cell right now
I wouldn't be in the dock
Where's your friends when you need them most
Probably hidin' under a rock
If i could undo the things i did
If i could turn back the clock

Misters life and death drone on
In their salutary tones
While i stand in that wooden dock
All sober and alone
The papers say it's such a crime
What's been dished to me
And people who i do not know
Are banging on for clemency

Now i have the best of cells
With ladies on my walls
When i'm moved they holler "dead man walking"
The words echo around the halls
I ponder on where my soul is bound
As i stare up at the moon
Above the clouds, beneath the ground
I'm gonna find out real soon

Strap me in to the killing chair
Give me the volts, straighten out my hair
It's been a year since i said a prayer
But god almighty, if your listening up there

If i could turn back the hands of time
If i could turn back the clock
I wouldn't be in this place right now
I wouldn't be in the dock
Where's your friends when you need them most
Probably hidin' under a rock
If i could undo all the things i did
If i could turn back the clock