Song of the Day Lyrics, Survey of American Lit I, Summer 07
Fever (John Davenport and Eddie Cooley) perf. Peggy Lee/Madonna
Never know how much I love you
Never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me
I get a fever that's so hard to bear
You give me fever
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever, in the morning
Fever all through the night
Sun lights up the daytime
And moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name
And you know I'm gonna treat you right
You give me fever
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever, in the morning
And fever all through the night
Everybody's got the fever
That is something you all know
Fever isn't such a new thing
Fever started long ago
Romeo loved Juliette
Juliette she felt the same
When he put his arms around her
He said, Julie, Baby
You're my flame
Thou giveth fever
When we kisseth
Fever with thy flaming youth
Fever, I'm afire
Fever, yeah, I burn, forsooth
Cap'n Smith and Pocahontas
Had a very mad affair
When her daddy tried to kill him
She said, Daddy
Oh, don't you dare
He gives me fever
With his kisses
Fever when he holds me tight
Fever, I'm his misses
So Daddy, Won't you treat him right
Now you've listened to my story
Here's the point that I have made
Chicks were born to give you fever
Be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade
They give you fever
When you kiss them
Fever if you live and learn
Fever, 'till you sizzle
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn
Bankrobber (Joe Strummer/Mick Jones)
My daddy was a bankrobber
But he never hurt nobody
He just loved to live that way
And he loved to steal your money
Some is rich, and some is poor
Thats the way the world is
But I dont believe in lying back
Sayln how bad your luck is
So we came to jazz it up
We never loved a shovel
Break your back to earn your pay
An dont forget to grovel
The old man spoke up in a bar
Said I never been in prison
A lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison
Imagine if all the boys in jail
Could get out now together
Whadda you think theyd want to say to us?
While we was being clever
Someday youll meet your rocking chair
Cos thats where were spinning
Theres no point to wanna comb your hair
When its grey and thinning
Run rabbit run
Strike out boys, for the hills
I can find that hole in the wall
And I know that they never will
“O Death” (trad.) perf. Ralph Stanley/ Pace Jubilee Singers
O, Death
O, Death
Won't you spare me over til another year
Well what is this that I can't see
With ice cold hands takin' hold of me
Well I am death, none can excel
I'll open the door to heaven or hell
Whoa, death someone would pray
Could you wait to call me another day
The children prayed, the preacher preached
Time and mercy is out of your reach
I'll fix your feet til you cant walk
I'll lock your jaw til you cant talk
I'll close your eyes so you can't see
This very air, come and go with me
I'm death I come to take the soul
Leave the body and leave it cold
To draw up the flesh off of the frame
Dirt and worm both have a claim
O, Death
O, Death
Won't you spare me over til another year
My mother came to my bed
Placed a cold towel upon my head
My head is warm my feet are cold
Death is a-movin upon my soul
Oh, death how you're treatin' me
You've close my eyes so I can't see
Well you're hurtin' my body
You make me cold
You run my life right outta my soul
Oh death please consider my age
Please don't take me at this stage
My wealth is all at your command
If you will move your icy hand
Oh the young, the rich or poor
Hunger like me you know
No wealth, no ruin, no silver no gold
Nothing satisfies me but your soul
O, death
O, death
Wont you spare me over til another year
Wont you spare me over til another year
Wont you spare me over til another year
“Flushed from the Bathroom of your Heart” Perf. Johnny Cash
From the backdoor of your life you swept me out dear
In the bread line of your dreams I lost my place
At the table of your love I got the brush off
At the Indianapolis of your heart I lost the race
I've been washed down the sink of your conscience
In the theater of your love I lost my part
And now you say you've got me out of your conscience
I've been flushed from the bathroom of your heart
In the garbage disposal of you dreams I've been ground up dear
On the river of your plans I'm up the creek
Up the elevator of your future I've been shafted
On the calendar of your events I'm last week
I've been washed down the sink of your conscience
In the theater of your love I lost my part
And now you say you've got me out of your conscience
I've been flushed from the bathroom of your heart
Roll On Columbia Woody Guthrie (1940)
Roll on, Columbia, roll on
Roll on, Columbia, roll on
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
Green Douglas firs where the waters cut through
Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew
Canadian Northwest to the oceans so blue
Roll on Columbia, roll on
Other great rivers add power to you
Yakima, Snake, and the Klickitat, too
Sandy Willamette and Hood River too
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
Tom Jefferson's vision would not let him rest
An empire he saw in the Pacific Northwest
Sent Lewis and Clark and they did the rest
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
It's there on your banks that we fought many a fight
Sheridan's boys in the blockhouse that night
They saw us in death but never in flight
So roll on Columbia, roll on
At Bonneville now there are ships in the locks
The waters have risen and cleared all the rocks
Shiploads of plenty will steam past the docks
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
And on up the river is Grand Coulee Dam
The mightiest thing ever built by a man
To run the great factories and water the land
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
These mighty men labored by day and by night
Matching their strength 'gainst the river's wild flight
Through rapids and falls, they won the hard fight
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
John Henry (trad)
John Henry was a steel drivin' boy
But he went down
Yes, he went down
He went down
Take my hammer and give it to the capt'n
Boys, tell him I'm gone
You can tell him I'm gone
Yes, tell him I'm gone
This old hammer done kill John Henry
And it don't kill me
No it won't kill me
Ain't gonna kill me
It's a long way from East Colorado
Honey, to my home
Honey, to my home
Honey, to my home
John Henry left his hammer
All paint' in red
All shinin' red
John Henry's dead
Take this hammer and carry it to the capt'n
You can tell him I'm gone
Boys, tell him I'm gone
You're sure he's gone
16 Tons (Weavers)
Some people say man is made out of mud
A poor man's made out of muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bone
A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong
You load sixteen tons and what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the store-boss said the "Well-a bless my soul"
You load sixteen tons and what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
I was born one mornin', it was drizzlin' rain
Fightin' and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in the cane-brake by an old mama lion
Cain't no a high-tone woman make me walk the line
You load sixteen tons and what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
If you see me comin', better step aside
A lot of men didn't and a lot of men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don't git ya, then the left one will
You load sixteen tons and what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
Greenland Whalefisheries (trad. Late 18th cent/19th cent)
'Twas in eighteen hundred and fifty-three
And of June the thirteenth day,
That our gallant ship her anchor weighed
And for Greenland bore away, brave boys,
And for greenland bore away.
The lookout in the crosstrees stood
With his spy glass in his hand;
"There's a whale, there's a whale, there's a whale fish!" he cried.
"And she blows at every span, brave boys,
She blows at every span!"
And the captain stood on the quarterdeck,
And a fine little man was he;
"Overhaul, overhaul! Let your davit tackles fall,
And launch your boats for sea, brave boys,
And launch your boats for sea!"
Now the boats were launched and the men aboard,
And the whale was in full view;
Resolved was each seaman bold
To steer where the whale fishes blew, brave boys,
To steer where the whale fishes blew!
We struck that whale and the line paid out,
But she gave a flourish with her tail;
And the boat capsized and four men were drowned,
And we never caught that whale, brave boys,
And we never caught that whale!
"To lose the whale," our captain cried,
"It grieves my heart full sore!
But, oh to lose four gallant men
It grieves me ten times more, brave boys,
It grieves me four times more!"
Oh, Greenland is a dreadful place,
A land that's never green;
Where there's ice and snow, and the whale fishes blow
And the daylight's seldom ever seen, brave boys,
And the daylight's seldom ever seen.
“Slavery Time” (Lightning Hopkins)
“Who Paid the Rent for Mrs. Rip Van Winkle?” (Bing Crosby/Al Jolson)
“The Raven” (Lou Reed)
lyrics not available
Grand Coulee Dam (Woody Guthrie 1941)
Well, the world has seven wonders that the trav'lers always tell,
Some gardens and some towers, I guess you know them well,
But now the greatest wonder is in Uncle Sam's fair lang,
It's the big Columbia River and the big Grand Coulee Dam.
She heads up the Canadian Rockies where the rippling waters glide,
Comes a-roaring down the canyon to meet the salty tide,
Of the wide Pacific Ocean where the sun sets in the West
And the big Grand Coulee country in the land I love the best.
In the misty crystal glitter of that wild and wind ward spray,
Men have fought the pounding waters and met a watery grave,
Well, she tore their boats to splinters but she gave men dreams to dream
Of the day the Coulee Dam would cross that wild and wasted stream.
Uncle Sam took up the challenge in the year of 'thrity-three,
For the farmer and the factory and all of you and me,
He said, "Roll along, Columbia, you can ramble to the sea,
But river, while you're rambling, you can do some work for me."
Now in Washington and Oregon you can hear the factories hum,
Making chrome and making manganese and light aluminum,
And there roars the flying fortress now to fight for Uncle Sam,
Spawned upon the King Columbia by the big Grand Coulee Dam.
Volunteers Jefferson Airplane
Look whats happening out in the streets
Got a revolution got to revolution
Hey Im dancing down the streets
Got a revolution got to revolution
Aint it amazing all the people I meet
Got a revolution got to revolution
One generation got old
One generation got soul
This generation got no destination to hold
Pick up the cry
Hey now its time for you and me
Got a revolution got to revolution
Come on now were marching to the sea
Got a revolution got to revolution
Who will take it from you
We will and who are we
We are volunteers of America
Walt Whitman´s Niece (Woody Guthrie 1946)
Last night or the night before that,
I won´t say which night
A seaman friend of mine,
I´ll not say which seaman,
Walked up to a big old building,
I won´t say which building,
And would not have walked up the stairs,
not to say which stairs,
If there had not been two girls,
leaving out the names of those two girls.
I recall a door, a big long room,
I´ll not tell which room,
I remember a big blue rug,
but I can´t say which rug,
A girl took down a book of poems,
not to say which book of poems
And as she read I laid my head,
and I can´t tell which head,
Down in her lap, and I can mention which lap
My seaman buddy and girl moved off
after a couple of pages and there I was,
All night long, laying and listening
and forgetting the poems.
And as well as I could recall,
or my seaman could recollect,
My girl had told us that she was a niece
of Walt Whitman, but not which niece,
And it takes a night and a girl
and a book of this kind
A long long time to find its way back
“We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder” (trad. Perf. Bernice Johnson Reagon)
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
Brothers, sisters, all
Every rung goes higher and higher
Every rung goes higher and higher
Every rung goes higher and higher
Brothers, sisters, all
We are dancing Sarah's circle
We are dancing Sarah's circle
We are dancing Sarah's circle
Sisters, brothers, all
Every round a generation
Every round a generation
Every round a generation
Sisters, brothers, all
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
Brothers, sisters, all
“Abraham Lincoln” (Leadbelly) /TBA
lyrics not available