Hymns To The Here And Now: Lyrics

Lyrics – Hymns To The Here And Now

ORDINARY PEOPLE (Jefferson Ross)

(chorus)
i’ve been around for ages
you are a shimmering light
we  (sing and dance in…testify in…decorate)
this big round blue cathedral
there’s no such thing as ordinary people

at sunrise the crack of dawn cracks the whip
she works to keep those children fed
but late at night she writes a novel so compelling
it’s one that you will not forget

(repeat chorus)

he dreamed of painting when he was a boy
and now he’s selling real estate
but he just wrote a check to send some kids to art school
in secret so they’ll never know his name

(chorus)

there’s a wind of healing blowing through your lungs
like you’re walking down a golden street
you can strut and sashay in your coat of many colors
the rags of lazarus at your feet

(solo)

(repeat chorus and out)

LONG GONE TO DARIEN (Jefferson Ross)

honey bees around my shirt
pockets full of graveyard dirt
the smell of sweet young peaches on the wind
delilah is long gone to darien

sky is blue, whiskey’s brown
let me lay this shovel down
i do believe i heard a hoot owl screetch
i’m too high to work
and too low down to preach

(chorus)

hey hey please wait
don’t go
don’t be in such a hurry
no lord no
hey hey please stay my friend
delilah is long gone to darien

take my money take my time
but take my heart off my mind
wind me up and lead me anywhere
savannah or atlanta i don’t care

repeat chorus

LENA JEAN KOPINSKY (Jefferson Ross, Mary Ann Bernicky)

she was born up on Shawnee Ridge in southern Illinois
tough as sling shot rubber they say she should have been a boy
she never took no back talk that any fool would give her
but had a big heart and could move you like the Ohio River
she said if you gonna be bear be a grizzly
it’s stuff like that keeps on staying with me

(chorus)

when i’m scared and i wanna walk in someone else’s shoes
when it’s easier to lie but I need to tell the truth
when there’s no time to be an angel when it’s hell i’m going through
i wonder what the devil would lena jean kopinsky do?

she held her head up high when they tried to put her down
the only one who got a tattoo when the circus came to town
she had a nasty habit of saying what was on her mind
and it got her into trouble about three fourths of the time
but when i think of what she had to say
it makes me stand a little taller everyday
(repeat chorus)

(bridge)

she wrote fare thee well you rednecks on the water tower
someone saw her peeling out in the midnight hour
now she’s just a legend to those of us who left that town
and i wish that i could thank her wherever she is now

(second chorus)

when i’m scared and i wanna walk in someone else’s shoes
when it’s easier to lie but i need to tell the truth
when i’m up that well known creek and there’s a hole in my canoe
i wonder what the devil would lena jean kopinsky do
yeah, what the hell the would old lena jean kopinsky do?

HOUSE OF THE LORD (Jefferson Ross)

it’s a dusty manger on a starry night
that shields the child from caesar’s sword
and though it’s just a barn in bethlehem
it is the house of the lord

it’s a secret attic where the families pray
passover 1944 (above the store)
and while it hides the girl in amsterdam
it is the house of the lord

(chorus)

I’m a thief and I’m a liar
i’m a brief and uninspired fire
but I’m shelter while i’m warm
i’m a drunkard and i’m so lost
i’m the beggar on the third cross
but once in a while i know what i’m here for
i am the house of the lord

it’s a chain of people standing hand in hand
from chicago to darfur
and though it might need a fresh coat of love
it is the house of the lord

TRYING NOT TO LOSE MY MIND (Jefferson Ross)

(long ago in a galaxy far far away known as atlanta georgia
i wandered into a bar in the virginia highlands and there i ordered a beer
as i was just about to take the first sip of my frosty beverage
a man sat down right beside me, looked me in the eye and this is what he said..)

EVER SINCE I WAS A BOY I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING MORE
THAN THIS PLAIN OLD EVERYDAY REALITY
SO I SOUGHT REVELATION AND COSMIC ELEVATION
IN EVERYTHING FROM PRAYER TO LSD
I’VE BEEN BAPTIST BUDDHIST FANATIC FUNDAMENTALIST
RASTAFARIAN TOO
I BOUGHT A MANTRA ON THE INTERNET
FOLLOWED KRISHNA OPRAH DEEPAK CHOPRA
MOHAMMED AND MISTER MAGOO
I’VE SEARCHED AND SEARCHED BUT I AIN’T FOUND IT YET

(CHORUS)

WOULD SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE
AND EXPLAIN WHAT THIS ALL MEANS
LORD, I’M DOWN HERE ON MY KNEES
AND I CAN’T TELL YOU WHAT I’M TRYING TO FIND
I’M JUST TRYING NOT TO LOSE MY MIND

(SOLO)

FROM THE SHAMAN OF THE ZULU TO THE NEW AGE CHANTING GURUS
I BEFRIENDED EVERY DOGMA THAT I MET
SOME TV PREACHER DUDE I SAW SCREAMING ON THE TUBE
SCARED ME INTO WRITING HIM A CHECK
I’VE BEEN METHODIST MASOCHIST SKIN FASCIST SCIENTOLOGIST TOO
I BUILT SOME BARNS WITH THE MENNONITES
I’VE BEEN A SNAKE HANDLER DANCED WITH RATTLERS
WHAT ELSE COULD I DO
YOU’D THINK BY NOW I WOULD HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT

(CHORUS)

(well, i paid my little check, clapped him on the back and said sorry old
all i can tell you is what they told me…)

IN THE SWEET BYE AND BYE, WE’LL UNDERSTAND IT BETTER BYE AND BYE
BYE BYE

CARRY ON LIKE LARRY JON (Jefferson Ross)

so you want to follow beauty
so fiercely that it hurts
and the yearning for the glory
keeps a tugging at your shirt
well, yeah, rainbow gold inspires
but those leprechauns are liars
for the purest gold is found
here in your work

larry jon wilson was
was a peach of a guy
with a voice like slow cooked thunder
deep and low like the lord on high
and he never settled for the cheap rhymes
but he labored for the deep lines
that nestled in his songs
and ’round his eyes

(chorus)

so love the life you’re livin’
and hunker down to the diggin’
you can taste it once you’ve been bitten
just drop your bags and walk the artist way
and carry on like larry jon
carry on like larry jon

hey hey

the young boy wants to die
for something arrogant and grand
while the old boy wants to live
for something humble in his hands
like a paintbrush or a pencil
or an old guitar that can still
conjure up the magic
to help us understand

(repeat chorus)

BLANCHE DUBOIS MEETS LUCILLE BALL (Jefferson Ross)

my mama’s like brer rabbit
sharper than a briar patch
with a heart as big as north atlanta
and a cell phone bill to match
she’s a mini-van that runs hog wild
general patton meets julia child
she’s a hurricane with a southern drawl
scarlett o’hara meets lucille ball

she’s got 500 ailments
and a 1000 allergies
she finds it hard to find her purse
but she can whip you at jeopardy
she’s matzhoh balls and brunswich stew
and murder she wrote comes on at two
she’s new parquet from wall to wall
flannery o’connor meets lucille ball

(chorus)

but she’ll never meet a stranger
or rely on them all
oh my god my bread is burning
blanch dubois meets lucille ball (harper lee meets goldie hawn..fannie flagg meets all of y’all)

she serves soup at the mission
and she lobbies on capitol hill
tends to our grandmother
and reminds her to take her pills
she’s pedicures in brand new shoes
and shopping chases off the blues
her voice is ringing through the mall
paula deen meets lucille ball

(repeat chorus twice)

and from dunwoody georgia
i believe i can hear her call

SEVEN HILLS AND SEVAN VALLEYS (Jefferson Ross)

(chorus)

SEVEN HILLS AND SEVEN VALLEYS
ALL SURROUND MY TRUE LOVE
AND HER HOUSE BY THE OCEAN
ON THE HIGH SANDY BLUFF
HER BLACK HAIR IS WAVING
AS SHE LOOKS OUT TO SEA
BUT IT’S NOT NEAR AS BLACK AS
THE DARKNESS IN ME

down out the marina before we set sail
she gave me her locket then she kissed me twice
not three hours later some fool tried to steal it
i left him there bleeding on the shrimp and the ice

(repeat chorus)

the bells started ringing and i jumped from the bow
they searched until sunset and thought i’d died
but i hid in some old nets strapped to the starboard
when we pulled in to harbor i swam out of sight

(repeat chorus)

now all these years later i sit in the lighthouse
and through my old spyglass i focus in
that poor lighthouse keeper had no friends or family
and if i wanted to see her i had to be him

BALLAD OF A D-18 (Jefferson Ross)

well, i rolled of off the line up in nazareth, pennsylvania
way back in the spring of ’65
you’re a little too tight, a little too white, til somebody plays ya
and i was a hanging around just waiting to come alive

well, i fell into the hands of this dude from mississippi
with a rhinestone suit and a third hand cadillac
i got cigarette burns from playing turns with poets, drunks and hippies
and web of sequin scars on my back

(chorus)

so take me out and tune me up and strap me on all night
pick and pound and bend them guitar strings
i’m a 99 44/100ths pure authentic
bonified certified martin d-18

i’ve been spilt on urped on el kabonged on and kicked by horses
then sang the sweetest songs beneath the moon
i’ve been wagered, pawned and sold and bought and lost in divorces
but all that’s helped me ring a deeper tune

(repeat chorus)

well, you might see me on the opry or at gruhn’s up in nashville
or hiding underneath some farmer’s bed
i’m a work horse not a show horse, not pretty but i’m righteous
and, buddy, i ain’t even gotten started yet

(repeat chorus)

HYMN TO THE HERE AND NOW (Jefferson Ross)

CONSIDER THE LILIES THEY DON’T TOIL OR SPIN
BUT THEIR WISDOM IS FAR RICHER THAN KING SOLOMON
BRING ON THE RAIN BRING ON THE WIND
THEY DON’T CRY THEY DON’T KNOW HOW

(CHORUS)

WHEN THERE’S A SUNSET OVER JORDAN
THERE’S A SUNRISE OVER GEORGIA
WHAT A JOY TO SEE ETERNITY
IN ONE SINGLE GRAIN OF SAND
SO FEAR NOT FOR TOMORROW
OR HOW YOU’RE CROSSING OVER
SERENITY IS TO REST IN ME
FOR I AM THAT I AM
AND I AM THE HERE AND NOW
I AM THE HOLY HERE AND NOW.

CONSIDER THE RAVEN HE DON’T PLANT OR SOW
OR WORRY ‘BOUT WHAT MIGHT WOUND HIM WAY ON DOWN THE ROAD
OR WALLOW IN A YESTERDAY HE CAN’T CONTROL
HE DON’T FRET HE DON’T KNOW HOW

REPREAT CHORUS AND TAG

THE NEXT ROOM OVER (Jefferson Ross)

CLEAN FRESH SHEETS, DIRTY RICE
THOMAS WOLFE, REYNOLDS PRICE
THE SMELL OF LEMONS IN THE GROVE
HOT FRIED OKRA ON THE STOVE
IN A SKILLET THAT COULD NOT GET MUCH OLDER
AND YOUR FOOTSTEPS FROM
THE NEXT ROOM OVER

FIVE YEAR OLDS WHO LET IT RIP
CHURCH BELLS WHEN WE’RE ON A TRIP
LEVON HELM WHEN HE SINGS THE WEIGHT
COOKING SHOWS ON CHANNEL 8
ON A SLOW DAY THAT COULD NOT GET MUCH SLOWER
AND YOUR LAUGHTER FROM
THE NEXT ROOM OVER

(BRIDGE)

TO KNOW YOU’RE NEAR MAKE MY HEART A THUMPING FIRE
LIKE TENNIS SHOES TUMBLING IN THE DRYER
ANSEL ADAMS’ BLACK AND WHITES
HAM AND EGGS LATE AT NIGHT
MOTOWN SONGS YOU CAN’T FORGET
HOT TUB LOVE THAT MAKES YOU SWEAT
WITH A COLD BEER THAT COULD NOT GET MUCH COLDER
AND YOUR MUSIC FROM
THE NEXT ROOM OVER

(SOLO)

(REPEAT BRIDGE)

CLEAN FRESH SHEETS, DIRTY RICE
THOMAS WOLFE, REYNOLDS PRICE, REYNOLDS PRICE, REYNOLDS PRICE…
AND BILL WITHERS…CHRIS SMITHER

FRENCH POTATOES, BRADLEY TOMATOES
AND WHEN YOU SAY, BABY, COME HITHER
I’M IN THE NEXT ROOM OVER….

COURT HOUSE BELLS (Jefferson Ross, Lennie Gallant)

it’s the fourth of july in a southern town
they’re setting up chairs as the banner falls down
the smell of a bake sale’s in the air
flags and balloons in the old town square
and the bells ring

the brass band shows up one by one
at half past two the parade’s begun
there’s a little girl crying for another ice cream
on a ragtop car sits the cotton queen
and the bells ring

(chorus)

old men playing checkers drinking cold ice tea
in the shadow of the statue of robert e lee
there’s a whole lot of something going on
that they don’t tell
within the sound of the courthouse bells

(last chorus only)

are a ringing for a brand new birth
for a wedding for a wake when we leave this earth
a new year arriving with a sound we know so well
the sound of the courthouse bells
there’s brittany bales twirling her baton
last year her daddy nearly lost the farm
and the banker’s twins get a real good view
as they splash in the fountain ’til they get soaked through
and the bells ring

watch carl grave slipping out of faye brown’s house
with a bit of lipstick left on his moth
guess shelly’s got a new piece of gossip now
we know it anyway but she’ll tell it anyhow
and the bells ring

(chorus)

(bridge)

and they clang and toll and chime
and they mark time in our lives
they remind us we are free
with the ring in the crack of the sound of liberty

(solo)

now a little boy marches all alone
wearing a medal that his daddy owned
he said goodbye when he went away
now the bells are calling him home today

(repeat chorus and out)

OYSTERS AND BEER (Jefferson Ross)

IF YOU’RE EVER DOWN AROUND ABOUT SAVANNAH GEORGIA
IN A MONTH THAT HAS AN R
WHY DON’T YOU PEAL OUT PULL IN BOOGIE DOWN AND BELLY UP
TO A BIVALVE BAR
THEY GOT ROMANCE ON THE HALF SHELL
AND SOMETHING GOLD AND COLD AND CLEAR
OYSTERS AND BEER
THAT’S HOW WE GOT HERE

WELL, BEER IS THE GREATEST DRINK IN ALL CREATION
AND IT MAKES YOU WANT TO DANCE AND SING
AND OYSTERS FILL YOU WITH A FUNNY FEELING LIKE
HEY, BATTER BATTER SCHWING
BUT YOU’D BETTER BE CAREFUL OR YOU’LL GET A SURPRISE
IN ABOUT THREE FOURTHS OF A YEAR
OYSTERS AND BEER
THAT’S HOW WE GOT HERE

(CHORUS)

DADDY HAD HIS BUZZ AND HIS GOGGLES ON
WITH MAMA FEELING REALLY GOOD AND BAD TO THE BONE
LATER THEY WERE FOGGING UP THE REAR VIEW MIRROR
OYSTERS AND BEER

(SOLO)

YOU’D BETTER BE SURE TO WEAR THAT GLOVE
IF YOU WANT TO SHUCK THEM SHELLS
YOU’LL BE SIPPING AND SLURPING AND SLIDING AND MOANING
LIKE OLD BLIND WILLIE MCTELL
YOU’LL BE JITTERBUGGING PASSING THE JUG AND
FEELING NO PAIN OR FEAR
OYSTERS AND BEER
THAT’S HOW WE GOT HERE

(REPEAT CHORUS)

OLD BLUE JEANS (Jefferson Ross/Ken Beal)

LOVE IS NEVER EASY AT THE START
CAN YOU BELIEVE JUST HOW WE’VE COME SO FAR
NOW THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT WHERE WE’VE BEEN
WE SEE LOVE THOUGH OUR HEARTS ARE WEARING THIN

(CHORUS)

LIKE OLD BLUE JEANS NEW LOVE FADES
MORE COMFORTABLE THAN SOMETHING TAILOR MADE
WITH SNAGS AND TEARS AND WORN AT THE SEAMS
BABY, WE’VE GOT LOVE LIKE OLD BLUE JEANS

I COULD HAVE GONE MY OWN ROAD BY MYSELF
BUT, GIRL, YOU FIT ME LIKE NOBODY ELSE
I LOOK AT YOU AND I’M SO GLAD WE SAVED
WHAT ANYBODY ELSE WOULD THROW AWAY

(REPEAT CHORUS)

(BRIDGE)

WE CAN DO WHAT ALL YOUNG LOVERS DO
ONLY OURS IS BETTER THAN BRAND NEW

(REPEAT CHORUS)

LONG TORN VEILS (Jefferson Ross)

goodbye music city, if you don’t get me, that’s alright
you may have read me wrong but you taught me how to write
you ain’t got oysters roasting and there ain’t one shrimp in sight
lord, i should have done this long ago

(CHORUS)

I’M HEADED DOWN TO THE MARSHES OF SAVANNAH
GONNA LET THAT SALTY SEA WIND FILL MY SAILS
WHERE THE SPANISH MOSS HANGS LIKE SOULS A-YEARNIN’
TO HIDE MY SORROWS IN THEIR LONG TORN VEILS

there’s a bar on tybee, you can find me there at noon
by midnight i’ll be howling at a bonaventure moon
on river street i’ll play and sing a johnny mercer tune
and watch that muddy river roll

(chorus)

(bridge)

high tide low tide
old boat slow ride
strip down jump in
with some huckleberry friends

(solo)

(repeat bridge)

(chorus)