Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun

(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)

 

I pulled out my Stage Coach Times and I read the latest news,

I tapped my feet in dumb surprise, and of course I saw they knew;

The Pinkertons, they pulled out my bags and asked me for my name,

I stuttered out my answer and hung my head in shame.

 

Now they've found me, at last they've found me,

It's hard to run from a starving family,

Now they've found me I won't run,

I'm tired of hearing,

There goes a well-known gun.

 

Now I've seen this chain-gang, let me see my priest,

I couldn't have faced your desert sand, old burning brown-backed beast;

The poor house they hit me for my kin, and claimed my crumbling walls,

Now I know how Reno felt when he ran from the law.

 

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Come Down In Time

(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)

 

In the quiet silent seconds I turned off the light-switch,

And I came down to meet you in the half-light the moon left,

While a cluster of nightjars sang some songs out of tune,

A mantle of bright light shone down from a room.

 

"Come down in time," I still hear her say,

So clear in my ear like it was today,

"Come down in time," was the message she gave,

"Come down in time and I’ll meet you half way."

 

Well, I don’t know if I should have heard her as yet,

But a true love like hers is a hard love to get,

And I’ve walked most all the way and I ain’t heard her call,

And I’m getting to thinking if she’s coming at all..

 

"Come down in time," I still hear her say,

So clear in my ear like it was today,

"Come down in time," was the message she gave,

"Come down in time and I’ll meet you half way."

 

There are women and women and some hold you tight,

While some leave you counting the stars in the night.

 

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Country Comfort

(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)

 

Soon the pines will be falling everywhere,

Village children fight each other for a share;

And the six-o-nine goes roaring past the creek,

Deacon Lee prepares his sermon for next week.

 

I saw Grandma yesterday down at the store,

Well, she's really going fine for eighty-four,

Well, she asked me if some time I'd fix her barn,

Poor old girl, she needs a hand to run the farm.

 

And it's good old country comfort in my bones,

Just the sweetest sound my ears have ever known,

Just an old-fashioned feeling fully-grown,

Country comfort's any truck that's going home.

 

Down at the well they've got a new machine,

The foreman says it cuts man-power by fifteen,

But that ain't natural, well, so old Clay would say,

You see he's a horse-drawn man until his dying day.

 

Now the old fat goose is flying 'cross the sticks,

The hedgehog's done in clay between the bricks,

And the rocking chair's a-creaking on the porch,

Across the valley moves the herdsman with his torch.

 

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Son Of Your Father

(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)

 

"I'll catch the tramline in the morning,

With your leave," Van Bushell said;

He had further heard the cock crow

As he stumbled out the shed.

 

Then blind Joseph came towards him

With a shotgun in his arms;

He said, "You'll pay me twenty dollars

Before you leave my farm."

 

Van Bushell saw the hook

Which replaced Joseph's hand;

He said, "Now calm you down, my brother,

Let's discuss this man to man.

 

It's no good you getting angry,

We must try to act our age,

You're pursuing your convictions

Like some hermit in a cage."

 

You're the son of your father,

Try a little bit harder,

Do for me as he would do for you,

With blood and water, bricks and mortar,

He built for you a home;

You're the son of your father,

So treat me as your own.

 

Well, slowly Joseph, he lowered the rifle

And he emptied out the shells,

Van Bushell he came towards him,

He shook his arm and wished him well.

 

He said, "Now hey, blind man, that is fine,

But I sure can't waste my time,

So move aside and let me go my way,

I've got a train to ride."

 

Well, Joseph turned around,

His grin was now a frown,

He said, "Let me just refresh your mind,

Your manners, boy, seem hard to find."

 

Well there's two men lying dead as nails

On an East Virginia farm,

For charity's an argument

That only leads to harm.

 

So be careful when they're kind to you,

Don't you end up in the dirt,

Just remember what I'm saying to you

And you likely won't get hurt.

 

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My Father’s Gun

(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)

 

From this day on I own my father's gun;

We dug his shallow grave beneath the sun,

I laid his broken body down below the southern land,

It wouldn't do to bury him where any Yankee stands.

 

I'll take my horse and I'll ride the northern plain

To wear the colour of the greys and join the fight again,

I'll not rest until I know the cause is fought and won;

From this day on until I die I'll wear my father's gun.

 

I'd like to know where the riverboat sails tonight,

To New Orleans well, that's just fine all right

'Cos there's fighting there and the company needs men,

So slip us a rope and sail on round the bend.

 

As soon as this is over we'll go home

To plant the seeds of justice in our bones,

To watch the children growing and see the women sewing -

There'll be laughter when the bells of freedom ring.

 

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Where To Now, St. Peter?

(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)

 

I took myself a blue canoe,

And I floated like a leaf;

Dazzling, dancing,

Half-enchanted,

In my Merlin sleep.

 

Crazy was the feeling,

Restless were my eyes,

Insane they took the paddles,

My arms they paralysed.

 

So where to now, St. Peter?

If it's true I'm in your hands?

I may not be a Christian

But I've done all one man can;

I understand I'm on the road

Where all that was is gone,

So where to now, St. Peter?

Show me which road I'm on,

Which road I'm on.

 

It took a sweet young foreign gun,

This lazy life is short,

Something for nothing always ending

With a bad report.

 

Dirty was the daybreak,

Sudden was the change,

In such a silent place as this,

Beyond the rifle range.

 

I took myself a blue canoe

 

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Amoreena

(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)

 

Lately I've been thinking how much I miss my lady,

Amoreena's in the cornfield brightening the daybreak,

Living like a lusty flower, running through the grass for hours,

Rolling through the hay like a puppy child.

 

And when it rains the rain falls down

Washing out the cattle town;

And she's far away somewhere in her eiderdown,

And she dreams of crystal streams,

Of days gone by when we would lean

Laughing fit to burst upon each other.

 

I can see you sitting eating apples in the evening,

The fruit juice flowing slowly, slowly, slowly

Down the bronze of your body,

Living like a lusty flower, running through the grass for hours,

Rolling through the hay like a puppy child.

 

And when it rains the rain falls down

Washing out the cattle town;

And she's far away somewhere in her eiderdown,

And she dreams of crystal streams,

Of days gone by when we would lean

Laughing fit to burst upon each other.

 

Oh, if only I could nestle in the cradle of your cabin,

My arms around your shoulders, the windows wide and open;

While the swallow and the sycamore are playing in the valley,

I miss you, Amoreena, like a king bee misses honey.

 

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Talking Old Soldiers

(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)

 

Why, hello, say, can I buy you another glass of beer?

Well, thanks a lot,, that's kind of you,

It's nice to know you care.

These days there's so much going on,

No one seems to wanna know;

I may be just an old soldier to some,

But I know how it feels to grow old.

 

Yeah, that's right,

You can see me here most every night;

You'll always see me staring

At the walls and at the lights,

Funny I remember - oh it's years ago I'd say -

I'd stand at that bar

With my friends who've passed away

And drink three times the beer that I can drink today;

Yes, I know how it feels to grow old.

 

I know what they're saying son,

There goes old mad Joe again;

Well, I may be mad at that, I've seen enough

To make a man go out his brains;

Well, do they know what it's like

To have a graveyard as a friend?

'Cos that's where they are, boy, all of them

Don't seem likely I'll get friends like that again.

 

Well, it's time I moved off,

But it's been great just listening to you;

And I might even see yer next time I'm passing through -

You're right, there's so much going on,

No one seems to want to know;

So keep well, keep well, old friend

And have another drink on me;

Just ignore all the others, you got your memories.

 

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Burn Down The Mission

(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)

 

You tell me there's an angel in your tree,

Did he say he'd come to call on me?

For things are getting desperate in our home,

Living in the parish of the restless folks I know.

 

Bring your family down to the riverside,

Look to the east to see where the fat stock hide;

Behind four walls of stone the rich man sleeps,

It's time we put the flame-torch to their keep.

 

Burn down the mission

If we're gonna stay alive,

Watch the black smoke fly to heaven,

See the red flame light the sky.

 

Burn down the mission,

Burn it down to stay alive,

It's our only chance of living,

Take all you need to live inside.

 

Deep in the woods the squirrels are out today,

My wife cried when they came to take me away,

But what more could I do just to keep her warm

Than burn, burn, burn, burn down the mission walls.

 

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