Artist: Michael Nesmith Album: The Older Stuff The Best Of The Early Years {1991}

Her name was Joanne and she lived in a meadow by a pond
And she touched me for a moment with a look that spoke to me of her sweet love
Then the woman that she was drove her on with desperation
And I saw as she went a most hopeless situation
For Joanne and the man and the time that made them both run

She was only a girl, I know that well, but still I could not see
That the hold that she had was much stronger than the love she felt for me
But staying with her and my little bit of wisdom
Broke down her desires like a light through a prism
Into yellows and blues and a tune that I could not have sung

Though the essence is gone, I have no tears to cry for her
And my only thoughts of her are kind

Her name was Joanne and she lived in a meadow by a pond
And she touched me for a moment with a look that spoke to me of her sweet love
Then the woman that she was drove her on with desperation
And I saw as she went a most hopeless situation
For Joanne and the man and the time that made them both run
For Joanne and the man and the time that made them both run

Slowly I walk through the gently falling rain
I know that I will never pass this way again
Never wondering why
Teardrops chafing my eyes

Longing to be where the noted kisses fall
Lingering and still, while quietly they tell their all
Blue is the color of the sun
And nothing stops when everything is done

Now my whole world opens up in different rhymes and tunes
With highways making up the verse
And then suddenly I see the light of something called the moon
And though my path is planned, it's not rehearsed

So, I move along to the next thing on the list
Knowing full well that some of them just don't exist
But I am finally alone
And where my foot steps down is where it's home

So, I move along to the next thing on the list
Knowing full well that some of them just don't exist
But I am finally alone
And where my foot steps down is where it's home
And where my foot steps down is where it's home

I fall to pieces each time I see you again
I fall to pieces, how can I be just a friend
You want me to act like we've never kissed
You want me to forget, pretend we never met
And I've tried and I've tried but I haven't yet
You walk by and I fall to pieces

I fall to pieces each time someone speaks your name
I fall to pieces, time only adds to the flame
My friends tell me find someone new to love
Someone who'll love me, too, the way you used to do
But each time I go out with someone new
You walk by and I fall to pieces
You walk by and I fall to pieces

Hey, hey, mercy woman, plays a song and no one listens
I need help, I'm falling again
Yeah, play the drum a little bit louder, tell me I can live without her
If I only listen to the band, listen to the band
Oh, weren't they good, they made me happy
I think I can make it alone

Whoa, mercy woman, plays a song and no one listens
I need help, I'm falling again
Yeah, play the drum a little bit louder, tell me I can live without her 
If I only listen to the band, listen to the band
Oh, weren't they good, they made me happy
I think I can make it alone

Yeah, mercy woman, plays a song and no one listens
I need help, I'm falling again
Yeah, play the drum a little bit louder, tell me I can live without her 
Now that I have listened to the band - play
Oh, weren't they good, they made me happy
I think I can make it alone

Whoa, mercy woman, plays a song and nobody listenin'
I need help, I'm falling again, woo
Yeah, lay the drum a little louder, Johnny, tell me I can live without her 
Now that I have listened to the band - my, my

See the lazy windmills slowly turning
Cutting up the marble canyons of the sky
See the dust around my feet go churning
Moving with the winds down the highways of goodbyes

Standing in the lonely light of the silver moon
Looking over maps of memories for the road
Standing in the lonely light of the silver moon
With the unexpected destination of my home

Half the thoughts I'm thinking speak in sighs
As that same old wave of lonliness returns
And I can see you when I close my eyes
Speaking very softly as you turn

Standing in the lonely light of the silver moon
Looking over maps of memories for the road
Standing in the lonely light of the silver moon
With the unexpected destination of my home

Now I must go
Go and let go

Standing in the lonely light of the silver moon
Looking over maps of memories for the road
Standing in the lonely light of the silver moon
With the unexpected destination of my home

I've known for a long time the kind of girl you are
Of a smile that covers tear drops, the way your head yields to your heart
Of things you've kept inside that most girls couldn't bear
I've known you for a long time but I've just begun to care

I've known of all the heartache and I've known of all the pain
I've seen you when the sun shines and I've seen you when it rains
I've seen you make a look of love from just an icy stare
I've known you for a long time but I've just begun to care

I know I've been blind
To not have loved you all this time
But the image of you wasn't clear
I guess I've been standing too near

Oh, it's taken me a while but I have finally found
What you are to me and that's what really counts
And what you are to me is something we can share
I've known you for a long time but I've just begun to care

Oh, it's taken me a while but I have finally found
What you are to me and that's what really counts
And what you are to me is something we can share
I've known you for a long time but I've just begun to care
Yes, I've known you for a long time but I've just begun to care

She took my hand, tried to make me understand
That she would always be there
I looked away, then she ran away from me today
I'm such a lone, lonely man

Came as a surprise to me
She left me here in misery
Seemed like only yesterday
She made a vow she'd never go away

She took my hand, tried to make me understand
That she would always be there
I looked away, then she ran away from me today
I'm such a lone, lonely man

Seemed to me like such a sin
For me to love another man's woman
But I guess I'll keep on sinnin'
Lovin' you till my very last day, yeah, yeah

I looked away then she ran away from me today
I'm such a lone, lonely man

Facing left, facing right
Saves the rest, Nevada fight
Left on the desert out in the cold
He thought Sam would remember, but he was too old
And the bygone, half-grown, high-flown cyclone rides

Saving day, saving night
Spend the rest, Nevada fight
Left on the highway outside of town
He thought someone would answer, but no one was around
And the bygone, half-grown, high-flown cyclone rides
Woo, mama, play it all around, jam

Lonely start, lonely time
Lonely heart, Nevada dies
Lands of the people drying in the sun
Waiting for the promised help that never seemed to come
And the bygone, half-grown, high-flown cyclone rides

See them rolling around
Pledging their love to the ground
Here on the range I'll be found
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

See them rolling along
Pledging their love with a song
Here on the range I belong
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

I know when day is done
That a new world awaits at dawn

See them rolling along
Pledging their love with a song
Here on the range I belong
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

I know when day is done
That a new world awaits at dawn

See them rolling along
Pledging their love with a song
Here on the range I belong
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

Slowly into winter goes the ash of life
Wholly independent windows framing time
Downward drops the ridiculing eye so blind
Love has conquered once again uneven rhyme
Marie, my sweet Marie - here I am

Holding on to moments meant for each to share
Grasping at the veils as they began to tear
Wearily the healing comes to lift the care
Opening your hand and finding mine still there
Marie, my sweet Marie - here I am

Letting go of a rusty old beginning
Turning to the sun

Easily I give you now the thoughts I can
Gentle reassurance from a gentle man
Toppling the barrier that spoiled the view
Let me offer what I've taken back to you
Marie, my sweet Marie - here I am
Here I am

Tell me just one more time the reasons why you must leave
Tell me once more why you're sure you don't need me
Tell me again, but don't think that you'll convince me

Now you've said before falling in love again you'd rather be dead
Cos when someone breaks your heart, you cry your eyes red
But there's nothing so hard about the life that you've led

As far as I can see there's no reason for goodbyes
You're just running scared and that's something I won't buy

So you lose - I won't let you go with nothing to show but more blues
And all this talk about leaving is strictly bad news
So, you settle down and stay with the man that loves you

So you lose - I won't let you go with nothing to show but more blues
And all this talk about leaving is strictly bad news
So, you settle down and stay with the man that loves you
Yes, you settle down and stay with the man that loves you
Yes, you settle down and stay with me, babe

Born to love you, born to love you
Born to share your smiles and tears
Born to be near if you need me dear
Born to love you till I die

My life was empty, so blue and forlorn
And then you put your hand in mine and I knew why I was born

Born to love you, born to love you
Born to share your smiles and tears
Born to be near if you need me dear
Born to love you till I die

My life was empty, so blue and forlorn
Then you put your hand in mine and I knew why I was born

Born to love you, born to love you
Born to share your smiles and tears
Born to be near if you need me dear
Born to love you till I die
Born to love you till I die

Well, you and I travel to the beat of a different drum
Can't you tell by the way I run
Every time you make eyes at me
Yes, you cry and moan and say it'll work out
But honey child, I've got my doubts
You can't see the forest for the trees

Now, don't get me wrong, it's not that I knock it
It's just that I am not in the market
For a girl who wants to love only me
And I'm not saying that you ain't pretty
All's I saying's that I'm not ready
For any person place or thing to try and pull the reins in on me

Well, I feel pretty sure that you'll find a man 
Who will take a lot more than I ever could or can
And you'll settle down with him and I know that you'll be happy
So goodbye, I'm a-leavin'
I see no sense in you cryin' and grievin'
We'll both live a lot longer if you live without me, babe
Oh, go Red

Well, I feel pretty sure that you'll find a man 
Who will take a lot more than I ever could or can
And you'll settle down with him and I know that you'll be happy
So goodbye, I'm a-leavin'
I see no sense in you cryin' and grievin'
We'll both live a lot longer if you live without me, babe
If you live without me, woman, woo
If you live with out me

While lightly perusing my state of affairs
With nothing apparently wrong
A silent and quiet restoration occurs
Of emotions forgotten and gone
Then slowly my eyes start an effortless rise
Exposing the past to review
And the harmony constant in all of these things
Is the thought of the future with you

Unlimited joy, unlimited time
And the beauty of infinite light
Unlimited freedom that's rightfully mine
And is yours, is unlimited life
The concept of loving as ultimate might
The power of peace and truth
And the harmony constant in all of these things
Is the thought of the future with you
Play, Red

Unlimited joy, unlimited time
And the beauty of infinite light
Unlimited freedom that's rightfully mine
And is yours, is unlimited life
The concept of loving as ultimate might
The power of peace and truth
And the harmony constant in all of these things
Is the thought of the future with you

There was something reflected inside
Her remarkably curious eyes
So the shock that she felt didn't show
When I told her that I had to go

She just stood there somewhere in between
A smile and an unpleasant scene
Then she, with her back to the sun
Said, "If you think it's best, then it's done."

But oh, it seemed so cold
The compassion that I felt just didn't show
I haven't seen her since
And there was much about our parting which seemed amiss
For the love that I felt hadn't died
But by cruel circumstances denied
And her feelings and trust weren't misplaced
Nor are they now in her new lover's face

Oh, it seemed so cold
The compassion that I felt just didn't show
I haven't seen her since
And there was much about our parting which seemed amiss
For the love that I felt hadn't died
But by cruel circumstances denied
And her feelings and trust weren't misplaced
Nor are they now in her new lover's face

Shadows slowly creepin' down the prairie trail
Everything is sleepin', oh, but the nightingale
Moon will soon be climbin' in the purple sky
Night winds all a-hummin' this tender lullaby

Cares of the day have fled my little sleepyhead
Stars are in the sky
Time that the prayers were said, my little sleepyhead
To a prairie lullaby

Saddle up your pony, Sandman's here
To guide you down the trail of dreams
Tumble in bed my tired, my little sleepyhead
To a prairie lullaby

Saddle up your pony, Sandman's here
To guide you down the trail of dreams
Tumble in bed my tired, my little sleepyhead
To a prairie lullaby


I felt like that was it
Dynamite - it sure did
Worked - golly

Please don't let fear hold back the tears
If you feel that's the way that it need be
Walking down halls with echoing walls
The past looming small with new feelings

Time's on your side, your conscience was guide
And he's gone, but perhaps it's for the better
For the stand that you made with such courage displayed
Lets you laugh in the face of disaster

But now it's over and done
And your need for such boldness is gone
You're alone and you sigh and you try not to cry
But if it's coming, just let it come

And don't let fear hold back the tears
If you feel that's the way that it need be
Walking down halls with echoing walls
The past looming small

She was a lackluster lover who thought of another
When I offered her my hand to help her in out of the rain
Then she became quite possessive when I gave her the message
That I had to leave on the outbound ten o'clock train
She said, "I thought you were stable and that I might be able
To talk you into sticking around for a couple of years."
I said, "I roll with the flow wherever it goes
And it's rolling out of here."

There was this didactic minister who told me of sinister things
Which would happen if I were to do something wrong
He spoke at length about brimstone and lives that were based on
Belief that the bad and the good were equally strong
That's why I think I undid him when I started to kid him
Cos he said, "If you'll give me some time I'll make it quite clear."
I said, "I roll with the flow wherever it goes
And it's rolling out of here."

Those are two fine examples of the way that I handled
The pressure that tried to draw me away from the light
And in the final analysis it's foolish if you resist
The changes that come into your everyday life
There might be some trepidation, but don't let hesitation
Deprive you of hope and try to replace it with fear
Just roll with the flow wherever it goes
Even if it rolls out of here
You just roll with the flow wherever it goes
Even if it rolls out of here
Just roll with the flow wherever it goes
Even if it rolls out of here