She found herself in moments,
in the cracks between the pavement,

staring at her moonlit reflection,
twisting the time left to her to perfection,

aged thirty & counting
clouds passing above,

she kissed a couple of frogs
one of them, a Mr Prince Jnr

20 years older, who she hoped
would leave her a fortune

instead, he left her out on the street
smashed up, in the soup kitchen she moaned

about his new, younger lover
getting angrier with every hit

then aimed a shiny gun
at him to prove her point but missed

one day a preacher came along
that showed her the error of her ways

' Come to him, our Lord, child' he said
& she did. People heard her sing gospel out in the street.

It turned out she had quite a voice
& this sweet gift did not go unnoticed

now she's a rich singer of great repute
a happy end you can't refute

We used to have a larger group
Ten thousand head at best
Once we had the largest herd
Of Longhorn in the west

But, times got tough, we sold a few
There was the drought back in '11
I didn't know it got so bad
But, now....we're down to seven

Yep, seven steers and cows and calfs
Out standing in our field
There's not a lot of meat out there
It's really a poor yield

The Longhorns down in Texas
Took our football tickets back
They said that our best looking cow
Was like a blanket on a rack

We've done our best to make amends
We'll be on top once more, I'm sure
But, we have to keep the calfs all fed
Or else ....we're down to four

There's lots of land for them to graze
They'll grow big, I am assured
But, now I find it difficult
To call seven head...a herd

I cherish my freedom
Hard earned though it was
Through the abolitionist railway
And those who supported the cause

An African slave,
though free upon birth
I was sold as a slave
And was now bound to the earth

Run for the caves boy
Run for the caves
Run for your freedom
Or die here a slave
Run for the caves boy
Run for the caves
Run for your freedom
Or die here a slave

Late in the dark
I heard of the routes
To the new land of freedom
I was resolute

I would run for my life
Leave my family behind
I would run for the caves
And the new life I'd find

Bound to plantation
I was just something to trade
I would run for my freedom
The decision was made

From South Carolina
I'd head to the coast
I'd run for my freedom
I'd then be a ghost

Follow the signs
That was all that I heard
They know you are coming
Just remember the word

Stray from the darkness
A dead slave you will be
With the last thought you'll have
That you'll never die free

Boats on the seacoast
Up to Salem they sail
Look for the sign
And remember the trail

Make for the caves
They'll find you where
The water is highest
They'll come get you there

From there up to Salem
And one more step to go
Stick with the railroad
The way that they know

Make way when the moon
Is down low in the sky
If you're found in the meantime
It's a fact you will die

Freedom is costly
But, it is within reach
Make for the caves
At the north end of the beach

From New England go on
to the north or the west
Both spell out freedom
The end of your quest

Don't look over your shoulder
just follow the signs
They know you are coming
stay deep in the pines

Remember all those
Who have made Freeman Cave
Follow their symbols
And don't die a slave

There are people who will
Help you free from the strife
But, for now find the caves
And son, run for your life....

Run for the caves boy
Run for the caves
Run for your freedom
Or die here a slave
Run for the caves boy
Run for the caves
Run for your freedom
Or die here a slave

Rules remain unwritten
They're known but left unsaid
You don't speak ill will of someone
Especially the dead

Keep off the grass
don't dare go there
Don't touch
and put that down
are nothing when you
hold them to
the people in the ground

You never ask a soldier
If he's seen somebody die
You will not get an answer
But, you see it in their eyes

They live with this deep secret
It burns a hole inside their heart
So, don't ever ask this question
Don't put the horse before the cart

Your grandad, earned our freedom
As did many others too
They fought for future generations
that means they fought for me and  you
Freedom is a concept
One that many do not get
It's a thing taken for granted
And that should make us all upset

The battles that they went through
both in real time and their mind
For a concept such as freedom
To which so many remain blind

You never ask a soldier
If he's seen somebody die
You will not get an answer
But, you see it in their eyes

Be grateful and respectful
To show they did not die in vain
don't ever ask a soldier
Don't make him show his pain

I went to the river
once there, I wandered in
I went to the river
and washed away my sin
i came back from the river
I found my truck up on the road
i came back from the river
ready to re-load

I'm not sure if this is how to say it
drinking with the devil takes it's toll
you have to walk away instead of staying
for if you stay the devil gets your soul

you can live a life of excess if you want to
an endless circle pushed to the extremes
the party seems like it is never ending
but when it does, you're left with broken dreams

you can reload if you want but just be cautious
the devil knows your weakness after all
he knows you wash your sins out in the river
but, he also knows, one day you'll hear his call

I went to the river
once there, I wandered in
I went to the river
and washed away my sin
i came back from the river
I found my truck up on the road
i came back from the river
ready to re-load

you have a choice when you go to the river
do you follow it, and just avoid the road
get on a boat and see where it is leading
or just have a splash, and meet at the cross road

life is full of twists and turns and effort
the river is just a stop along the way
but, the devil knows you never really mean it
once you wash your sins, you head on back to play

in the end you'll end up on the roadway
the river bed is dry and is long dead
the sins you washed away there are just dust now
because there was no truth in what you said

I went to the river
once there, I wandered in
I went to the river
and washed away my sin
i came back from the river
I found my truck up on the road
i came back from the river
ready to re-load

I went to the river
once there, I wandered in
I went to the river
and washed away my sin
i came back from the river
I found my truck up on the road
i came back from the river
ready to re-load

I remember it as if were yesterday
VE Day...well, not exactly
but, close enough for me
The actual surrender of Italy
May 2, 1945....but the **** Americans
Always the Americans wanted May 8
So, it's May 8th, but I'll always remember the second
We were in Milan...I love Milan
****** was dead, Mussolini was dead
I was alive, and in Milan
Rumours were out that the war in Europe was almost done
Nobody had told the Gerry's that though
Word came from Lubeck that they'd surrendered
I was twenty one years old, going on 50
War ages you...and not in a good way
I was in 6th Airborne and ready to go back
When the word came down
I remember kissing the waitress at our cafe
I kissed her hard, and with as much passion as a 21 yr. old can have
I didn't want to let her go
It was over
I kissed her for myself, and everyone in Milan
I kissed her for my folks in Clapham
I kissed her for her folks, wherever they were
I kissed her because we were free, they were free
I kissed her for my Uncle, who we lost early in 1941
Lost him during the blitz in London
England lost 430 people, we lost Uncle Cyril
That was enough, I was signing up
Now, it was over and I was moving on
I kissed her for everyone still waiting for the news
But, most of all, I kissed her for Leslie Testro, Rfn (18yrs)
Lance Cpl Thomas Wray (22 yrs), Lt. Dennis Edmonds (21 yrs)
and all the others attached to 6th Airborne
Who wouldn't know it was Victory in Italy
They were lost, not forgotten, never forgotten
Forever in our minds, our roll of honour
We celebrate them annualy
Few of us left now, but, those that are
go back to Italy every two or three years
back to Milan, and we toast them all
My waitress, Rosa Testrini
She was there as well, every year
Until five years back, we lost her
Now we toast her as well
We all have our honour roll
She was on mine
I found her again in 1950
We were on our second trip back
She met my wife, and I her husband
He's still there, and we talk
My Italian is better than his English
But, we talk as well as we can
I miss her, and the others
But that day, that glorious day in May
I've never kissed like that since
And my wife knows it
Sometimes she reminds me...
I laugh, and remind her....
What that day means...if it hadn't happened
We may not be kissing now
so, she'll never get that kiss
Only Rosa
Rest In Peace my waitress

The year of Eighteen Sixty Five
Lincoln, shot and dead
The war was all but over
Destruction in it's stead
Blue and Grey divided
A nation great and strong
Was there ever a true winner?
So much of this was wrong
Brothers against brothers
Tearing families apart
It was a war with different issues
At Fort Sumter did it start
Slaves were not the forefront
When the war became a war
It was a war to stop secession
Then it became so much more
Johnny Reb comes marching home
Not the home that he once knew
It was now a state of new rebuilding
There was no more Grey, just Blue
Did it truly make the country
Unified under one flag?
Or did it become so much more splintered
Under a torn and tattered rag?
A President was murdered
But, the war, continued on
The ties that once did bind them
Were now just truly gone
The beauty of the country
Burned on Shermans' seaward trek
Left the Southern states demolished
And the plantations, just a wreck
The slaves were granted freedom
Through Emancipation at the end
But, in the south, it never happened
The landowners had to bend
Although the war was over
Slaves were free men after all
But, with nowhere left to go to
It was like a game without a ball
Many stayed and cropshared
Worked the same land as before
Now, they worked the land as freemen
Nothing less, and nothing more
Brothers still divided
Blue and Grey deep in their souls
Almost eight score years have passed
And the nation is still not whole
Grant and Lee at Appomatox
Ended the war and sent men on their way
But, it took days for the message to be heard and
Many more died in those days
Three Quarters of a Million
Lost their lives, in this young nation
One thing never altered
The place of a man's station
It split apart the country
Broke it down, to build anew
But, did it really matter
Now, with Johnny Reb in Blue?

This sadness never ends. Parade of Scars.
A broken glass, broken hands.
Concrete walls, a soldierhead,
the memories will trick you.
A ritual of ghosts, angels of death,
attitude adjustment, auto-inflicted destruction.
Forceful behavior leds to the blackest tears,
empty eyes, empty minds,
prosthetic minds of fear and greed.
Live the American dream, unleash the ultimate scream!
Man spricht Deutsch
und die Alarme begann zu läuten.
Warum?
This could be anywhere in the world,
march on the kingdom of the dead,
we came to conquer!
Live the American dream, unleash the ultimate scream!
Carriers of the plague,
everything invaded, redemption.
This time's for real,
why do you tell me all these lies?
My patience is getting shorter
and killing you is killing me.
We stand as one, harvest, sacrifice...