Song Lyrics
All songs © Kate MacLeod, Courier Music, ASCAP
unless otherwise noted.
Recording: Live - At Ken Sanders Rare Books
This page hosts the lyrics of the Kate MacLeod - At Ken Sanders Rare Books recording. All of these songs were inspired by books and span 30 years of songwriting. It can be purchased through Waterbug Records, and
through Ken Sanders Rare Books in Salt Lake City, UT.
Song 1 - Anam Cara
Based on the book Anam Cara by John O'Donohue
In searching the infinity of our interiority
A wholesome complexity is found
In satisfying our hungry transparency
Imagination befriends our unbound
In nurturing the honesty of our neglected beauty
Icons and imagery unfold
And though you can't go back
You clutch confessions of a traveler
While watching from the edges of your soul
While harvesting our abandonment
The tenderness that sorrow lent
Transfigures into whim
If once we were taught to embrace
The generous light from space
Why do we struggle now with within
Our invisible and exiled reach up for belonging
And guide us to a place of furthermore
Our hidden self will linger
In presence as the texture
Of the soul In the innocence of dawn
Do you ask what is behind, before
Why what is it you're waiting for
Why look for love, when it is yours
Beyond the inner fences
And the landscape of our senses
The soul knows the way
For the ongoing process of the heart that grows
Supported by the secret gathering of days
For the Anam Cara and the heart that knows
Supported by gathering ways
With the love of the Anam Cara
And the heart that grows
Blue Highways - Photo Montage
Song 2 - Love In and Out of Time
Inspired by the book The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger
I'll give you my lonely heart
It is the only one I have
And I am only me
When in the the present or our past
Our future always asks
That we will always be
CHORUS
In love, in and out of time
If our broken rhymes can fool the world
Then time can lead us to together
As sure as the meadow where we met
One of us is there
When the other's bare and bleeding
We've traveled years without regret
Sometimes in misstep
Other times in grieving
CHORUS
Paper wings and silver bands say
That in its secret way
Love comes from somewhere else
As it holds us to a day
We become as one
As we becomes ourselves
If love must be scattered over time
If we're lost, or if we die
Memories avail us
Somewhere in the crossing of the lines
In the questions of the mind
The truth has never failed us
CHORUS
Song 3 - Riding the White Horse Home
Based on the book of the same name
by Teresa Jordan
This story’s trying to make me cry
Or is this the chinook wind in my eye?
Was it the father’s fighting sons
The Iron Mountain mortgage
Or the passing on that won?
Oh the people buried there
Their silver spurs
Were always passed down to someone
They fixed the old corral
They saved the orphan calf
They built the hall where we had fun
CHORUS
We knew the land, so well
We knew each other well
I dream of riding my white horse
While nothing would keep fate
From taking the ranch away
Oh well, the ladies moved away
The local store and the station, they burned down
My Daddy broke another leg
I had my graduation day
Yet only the hog back hills will stay here
A drifting soul I did become
Until I wrote down my memories of my loved ones
And now my new love is sure the one
He knows where I come from
And we ride horses when we’re near some
CHORUS
I remember baking with my Mom
And the little stone under my tongue
How they kept thirst away when I was young
Now I love the life I have
And I’ve plenty of days to face
But I sure miss the old home place
CHORUS
Song 5 - The Annual Menhaden
Inspired by Men's Lives, Peter Matthiessen
Praise the Atlantic
And the Montauk SoundAnd the ghost of a chance
Of making a living, being a fisherman
Doing that seasonal dance
By hauling, hauling, hauling in the annual menhaden
It was once a year for the spring haul
When out of the earth came the need for menhaden
They're taking it inland to make the corn crops
So much better for the sake of them all
By hauling, hauling, hauling in the annual menhaden
CHORUS
And how many of them did it take
How many of them did it take
It took forty or fifty men
Hoping that the net won't break
And never did one stand alone
It was early in the morning to late in the day
Usually cold in the dusting of the spray
But somewhere between the hardline and what had to give
And the men that were lost
That would haunt all the rest of them
Everyone helped and the sea gave a way for them
Sun on the water
New hope for the day
CHORUS
Song 4 - PrairyErth
Based on the book of the same name by William Least Heat-Moon.
Song and title used by permission of the author.
Twisted river in the hills and the grass as tall as the Osage's horse's mane
They loved the cottonwood trees and the grasses' seventy seeds that prayed for fire and rain
It could be haunted from another time, from the hour that we first learned of stone
Now the arrows bury their heads in the sod by way of the white man's home
CHORUS
Grass on the prairie
Where the devil's angels fear to tread
A sigh over the grass of the prairie earth
There was a house on a hill when the prairie was still but a wind took it away last spring
There was a house in a flood but a little bit above you could see a second story wing
Your brother from New York drove US 50 across Kansas, said that he didn't see a thing
So the native birds laughed and the wind sang through the grass, now they love to haunt his every dream
Mud as thick as the blood that buried the battles that buried the tales untold
Who killed Frank Rinard in the barn was a mystery and will remain so
An unmarked grave, a well of water, the cattle graze as the cowhand lives
This bridge was made out of the finest stone that the earth can give
CHORUS
Dust that blows through the cracks that makes the proclaimed landlord a liar
The osage orange is bitter but it cuts the wind like a barb on a wire
A dry year now the crops won't grow, the birds are flying as if they're never coming back
We hope the rain comes as goes as it should as well the bluestem grass
Now we fly over the plains where the valley has risen and the mountains have been made low
How much do we know about the flint rock that could shave the pride from a soul
I could be walking with a wagon train, now I have the illusion that I'm free
Now I make a living with this pick-up truck, the boat of the inland sea
CHORUS
(Repeating last line three times)
Song 6 - Butch Cassidy Was Here
Based on reading Butch Cassidy: A Biography
by Richard Patterson
(research continues)
NOTE: There is an additional verse included here that was not written by the time the song was recorded, but is now included in performances of the song.)
Before he was a rustler he was Robert Leroy Parker
Born in Utah in 1866
He was the first of 13 children, once such a little babe
With no appetite for a simple life
And neither would he stay that way
The ground here is so dry here
It can choke the means of living
Nature's only kind itself, when it's being warm and giving
We've tamed it with provisions
With hats and farms and schemes
Why should Bob's life be tamed like that
For the sake of someone else's dreams
REFRAIN (Sung at whim after a verse of choice, sometimes repeating the refrain twice.)
Some say it's all in how you look at it Ma'am
They say it's all in how you look at it
We are an animal of language and when all is said and done
When he changed his name to Butch Cassidy
He sealed his fate on the tongues
Of the lawmen and women and the cowboys and the young
Now people still find wonder in his outlaw trail and the guns
So he took to rustling cattle from the long arms of the rich
He fought against the onset of big business
Then he took to stealing fortunes from the mining company's spit
And he grew to love the smell of cash and he grew to love the chase of it
The stories of his robberies became renowned beyond the west
He romanced the get away, his reputation would attest
That the discretion of the desert can breed the worst and the best
Where even the law is sometimes suspect by the needs of the rest
His wild bunch and their ladies grew more famous every year
From Castle Gate to Robber's Roost they reigned with little fear
And with the dubious distinction of being fair with the poor
Butch was square with himself in his own estimation, I'm sure
By the time his century ended and town lights began to glow
The wild men were driven from the Colorado Plateau
The banks increased in numbers, but so did the posse's grow
So he left his canyon country and echoed south through Mexico
(THIS VERSE IS NOT ON THE RECORDING)
Some say he died in gunfire
As many an outlaw can
Buried with no name in a Bolivian town
Some say he lived to haunt the west
An alias of a man
In Wyoming and Utah, and as far north as Spokane
In defining acts of bravery and our relation to fear
Who of us will spar with chance well enough to be revered
Or grapple with our enemies until our bodies are cold
We might live another year but we say Butch Cassidy was here
Song 7 - The Solace of the Broken
Based on the book Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
They sent you back from the war to your reservation
To walk your haunted roads of dust
A pick up truck pulls over your friends are in it
The middle seat is open
They're headed to the local bar
And of course they want you to join them
The fight at the bar was such an indication
Of your bitter sleep and useless medication
The amber buzz of the beer
Eases the stories that you share
But it won't take away the scars
And of course won't take the nightmares
CHORUS
Tayo, it's all inside of you
Everything you need to know
And a woman
And a medicine man
The stars are there even when they're hidden
And some people show up when you need them
With fragile links to being a human being
The blue cornmeal is eaten
And the little pouch of tea
Is as the shaman has spoken
You and Robert headed into Gallup
To find the hogan with the medicine man
In rags and relics, he says he can help you
If you are not afraid
And the night was long and strange
While the healing was made
CHORUS
A woman loves you in the shade of the open
And saves your life beyond the edges of town
While the boys that couldn't leave the pain behind
They try to hunt you down
But the violence of the lost
Won't win to the solace of the broken
CHORUS
Song 8 - Blue Highways
Inspired by the book of the same name
by William Least Heat-Moon
Song and title used by permission of the author
My name is William Least Heat Moon
I've seen America out on the by-roads
Roads that you travel when you are lost
I've quenched my thirst and prayed against the worst
Searching for six calendar cafes
Out on the blue highways
Some say the old ways are far behind
I'd say there're more living old ways than new ways
It takes the blue highways to show you the signs
I've seen first hand destruction of the land
Third degree, second and worse
Out on the Blue Highways
There's quicksilver lightning and old ghost towns
People have come and gone, Ghost Dancin' going on
Seems like I know all the folks here by name
With sugar running, fish in the rain
And monks in the mountains
Out on the blue highways
The least I have come to know are how my thoughts in a circle go
East by northwest, west by southeast
Signs of life in whoever you meet
With miles of highway there at my feet
I've been looking for some common ground
Out on the blue highways
Song 9 - Shadows of Avalon
Inspired by The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
As the ages have brought flowers of spring
Many lives of the Queens have borne the kings
And the names of the gods have been many by the world in sway
For there was a time when one could call a barge
And a cry implored the heavens and the stars
And a land of peace hidden by a mist would open as a thought would will
And as Avalon took courage to its fate
It could not avoid the impending hate
So as many lives that lived to breathe as many truths there were to tell
CHORUS
Call the boatman to come while they can
Sweet Avalon has drifted from the land
Fly the flag of the dragon beside the sign of the cross
For if not half the world could be lost
There was a sword made of meteor iron
In a scabbard of a priestesses design
So that in the hands of a king this Excalibur might defend the worlds
But while the soldiers believed it was their strength
That wielded power over the battles length
It was the Lady of the Lake and her faith that laid the power on the throne
CHORUS
And as women were robbed of their esteem
There was not much to do but spin and dream
But how strange the truth and the will always seek to find a way
And a plot is a plot to see
Whether from the rich or a subject be
And the ties of the born and the sworn are always sure to be in play
And if we once would not betray
One might someday see no other way
To what becomes of a heart that is vengeance or in desperation wills
CHORUS
And if ones dares to embrace their faith
The world their beliefs could shape
For indeed the thoughts that we speak make the shadows of what's to come
And who's to hold the regalia now
The sword and cup meant for a holy vow
And who will keep now the balance of the men and women free
While due west of the isles of priests
The mists of Avalon over the land decrease
So saddened by a double cross, drowned out by the Glastonbury bells
Song 10 - Lucy (Lucie) of Littletown
Based on The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy Winkle by Beatrix Potter
Lucy (Lucie) of Littletown
Lost her pocket handkerchiefs
And her little pinny
Somewhere on the ground
She's asking everywhereIn the barn, in the square
Hoping her handkins and pinny can be found
Tabby kitten just keeps on washing washing washing
Sally Henny Penny, clucking clucking clucking
Sally says I go barefoot barefoot barefoot
And Robin just flew around
She hears...
CHORUS
Lilly white and clean-oh with little frills between-oh
Smooth and hot red rusty spotNever here be seen-oh
If you please 'em, I wash if you please 'em
For all the little animals I'm the one to clean them
Lucy jumped a stile
Scrambled up the hillside
And found little footprints by the stream
They led her to a door
Underneath the forest floor
With a little a kitchen, ironing boards and cups of tea
There the laundry lady sniffle sniffle snuffles
Her little, brown eyes, they twinkle twinkle twinkle
Beneath her petticoat are prickles prickle prickles
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle sings
She sang: CHORUS
There in the basket were Lucy's lost handkerchiefs
Her pinny mingled with other clean clothes
Mittens and waistcoats, Peter Rabbit's blue coat
All inspected by Mrs. Tiggy Winkle's nose
They delivered the clothing, skipping, skipping, skipping
Jenny Wren sang, thank you, thank you, thank you
Everywhere, were squirrels and mice and bunnies
And all the little lambs were white and clean
They delivered clothing skipping, skipping skipping
Then Mrs Tiggy Winkle went running running
Lucy thought she saw a hedgehog
Leaving behind Mrs Tiggy Winkles clothes
Singing...CHORUS
Song 11 - Tom Egan
This song was written by request of the descendant family members of Thomas Egan who sent me this book
for information about the story...
Drop Him Till He Dies, by C. John Egan Jr.
Look at the waning moonHear the silence of the birds
Search the eye of the believer for the truth if you can find it
Where the air was like a shroud
And the crowd was there to watch it
When the gallows trap made a ghost of Thomas Egan
CHORUS
One time, two times, three times, a loophole beneath the gallows One time, two times, three times, a loophole
The South Dakota, where the earth and sky do meet
The fields so fertile, so beautiful beneath the feet
The perfect place to go, or paint a picture of
Or to find the one who shed their mother Mary's blood
The cabin was so small, the country was so young
The breaking of the ground had just begun
And the mark of Mary, the daughter of the free
Kept her secret like a jewel box without a key
And the folks they laid the blame
On the man who was most likely
But his name was not most likely
It was only Thomas Egan
CHORUS
The skirting dangling jewel
The jury and the rule
Not everything was clear, the sky and the story too
But just like a desert wash
That takes storm water in
All of the blame, seemed to run towards him
The details and the names
Lie in dakota dust
While the ragged way we rule the world is passed down to us
The daughters restless run, while innocence was hung
Will someday tell the truth to all of Tom Egan's sons
Beneath the July sun
With the silence of the birds
Perched beside the courthouse to observe the human beings
The air was like a shroud and the crowd was there to watch it When the gallows trap made a ghost of Thomas Egan
CHORUS
Song 12 - New Homeland
Inspired by the reading of James A. Michener's Chesapeake
Well did she sail across the sea
With her white sails a'riding the westward breeze
With her bow riding high like the proudest of things
The loveliest thing her hold will bring
Well did she sail across the sea
To bring my love nearer to me
With her head held high like the proudest of things
A promise of love her heart does bring
CHORUS
Today she will come to my island
Where I've planted the grasses green
And the house that I've built with my own hands
Will welcome her to a homeland
Soon did I rise with the light of the day
To be first in the line for the gangway
Well did I dress in the finest of things
To greet what that sturdy ship will bring
Long did I wait 'til the morning was gone
While I watched that ship she sailed on
She stood on the deck like the fairest of queens
A promise of love her heart does bring
CHORUS
Well did she look like I thought she would be
The finest of English ladies
With her head held high like the proudest of things
A promise of love her sight does bring
CHORUS
Song 13 - A Pilgrim's Progress
Inspired by The Pilgrim's Progress
by John Bunyan
(Song written in 1982)
This set of lyrics are as sung on the recording.
Kate has optional lyrics lines that are interchangeable.
In the progress of pilgrimage
You might fall many times
An ill wind can call you to question your mind
You pick up your feet, you work and you pray
While troubles and stormy hours, they threaten your day
A pilgrim's progress is a long day
CHORUS
Then angels answer the door
And show you the way
You don't know why you are there
They called (call) you by name
As if they knew
And had expected you there
Welcomes you in
To comfort your sin
You'll not be a pilgrim there
In the lessons of ages you may do well
You savor the Sunday service and the bells
When in the middle of a day or night
You lose your path
You cry for help, yes you pray for that
A pilgrim's progress is a lone path
CHORUS
Then angels answer the door
And show the way
You didn't know why you were there
They call you by name
As if they knew
And had expected you there
They welcome you in
To comfort your sin
You'll not be a pilgrim there