TOM OVANS   INDUSTRIAL DAYS LYRICS


       the fabulous valiant

 

 

WILD WIND BLOWING

Oh pretty
Don't do me no damage
You know I ain't looking
For no football scrimmage
Well I've come down the road
And my eyes are on fire
You know I seen too much
To believe all these liars

And there's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing

Oh your boys in Washington
I don't know what they're doing
They're selling you out
There's trouble a brewing
From your New York island
To the San Francisco bay
This melting pot is melting
It's getting hotter everyday

Cause there's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing

Oh pretty baby
Please open up your eyes
And see the pollution at your feet
And hear your sick and homeless cry
Before it gets too late
Before they throw you in chains
Before your torch of freedom
Is left to die in this rain

Cause there's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing

 

LITTLE CHILD

You've seen the fighting
You've seen the fires
You've seen the soldiers
Killers for hire
Little child

Ah little child
Ah little child
Ah little child
Don't forget to smile little child

They shot your father
Tortured your mother
They raped your sister
Took away your brother
Little child

Ah little child
Ah little child
Ah little child
Don't forget to smile
Little child

I would give anything
To dry your tears
I would give anything
To stop this fear
Little child

Ah little child
Ah little child
Ah little child
Don't forget to smile
Little child

Ah little child
Ah little child
Ah little child
Don't forget to smile

Little child

 

SAD STREETS

Tell me baby
Are you near me
Can you hear me
Was it so long ago
That I held you
On these sad streets
Where hearts meet
And get lost in the snow
Well time it has passed
The years I can't count
As I stand in the wind
With a horse trying to mount
These loves come and go
Leave nothing to show

But these wounds
How we use them
Confuse them
With what we must do
Ah my own words
I do mean well
But it's hard to tell
Just what gets through
I lay down at night
On the roads that lead
To the cities of fortunes
To the valleys of need
I know what I see
But I just can't believe

Do you love me
Shall I stay here
Are my reasons clear
Or shall I go
My heart leaps
With the sirens
The sacred dreams
The mindless control
The rebel lays dead
With a gun by his side
Drunken and tortured
They call it suicide
But I can't understand
These holes in his hands

You Send Flowers
To The Grave Yard
But His Ashes Are
Buried In The Sea
You Live In Poverty
Your Eyes Grow Sad
Your Mind Gets Mad
You Must Take Your Leave
But The Fire Is Raging
On The Mask Of The Bandit
Who Understood Nothing
Until He Was Stranded
And Somebody Says
Just Get Out Of The Way

You're in the barroom
You're in the mirror
You tried to love her
You got reasons to drink
You are loneliness
You are the hero
You kiss the widows
You got reasons to sink
Your eyes get blackened
From just hanging around
You look for your face
But it's gone underground
You'd hide in the forest
But they've got your address

You try to sleep
On a bed too soft
To the sound of locks
You follow the trials
All these people
They do work hard
You send your regards
Every once in a while
Around and around
My head starts to spin
He gives you to me
I give her to him
Can there be any chance
For a second romance

Tell me baby
Are you near me
Can you hear me
Was it so long ago
That I held you
On these sad streets
Where hearts meet
And get lost in the snow
I drifted, you missed it
I resisted, you kissed it
We fell from the place
Where no one existed
And now these wheels
Are all that I feel

 

GONNA BE MISSING YOU

Twisted dreams and broken doors
The bloody face screaming for one punch more
Somebody answers baby somebody calls
You can hear the steel ball breaking down these walls

I'm gonna be missing you
Gonna be missing you

I been working hard down on factory lane
I been banging nails hanging my head in shame
I hear the radio playing all the same songs
It sounds alright but it feels all wrong

I'm gonna be missing you
Gonna be missing you

The crowded house the lonely room
You choose your fate babe you seal your doom
Find yourself crawling down the polluted streets
You're at the mercy of every fool you meet

I'm gonna be missing you
Gonna be missing you

Voices in the dark they remember your name
They leave you hungry for your moment of fame
See the bitterness in the old man's eyes
It's hard to live a life full of compromise

I'm gonna be missing you
Gonna be missing you

Teardrops falling from the heavens above
Another woman crying another woman in love
Horses running free on a moonlit road
God help the man in search of his soul

I'm gonna be missing you
Gonna be missing you

Walking the streets of a steel gray dawn
You know the next flight is the one I'll be on
Fires burning down by the railroad tracks
Sometimes goodbye is the only way back

I'm gonna be missing you
Gonna be missing you
Gonna be missing you
Gonna be missing you

 

HALLELUJAH CHILD

Standing at the station waiting on salvation
But there's nothing happening here
Just some crooked politicians thieving morticians
Preachers pushing bibles of fear
Dealers on the street
Sun going down in the rain
Another smoking gun
Another cross burning in flames

Hey, hey, hey
Sing hallelujah child
Hallelujah child

Propaganda and hatred, phonies and hypocrites
Burning out every single spark
Sometimes I need a flood light, sometimes I need a search light
Sometimes it gets this dark
Rebel on the corner
You know he's standing all alone
For in the halls of justice
There's just ain't nobody home

Hey, hey, hey
Sing hallelujah child
Hallelujah child

Well this train leaves tomorrow, beg, steal or borrow
Where it goes that's where I'm bound
Like some old gunslinger like some old blues singer
I'm going where I can't be found
So don't look back baby
Dry those tears of pity from your eyes
On this road to freedom
Everyday you got to fight to survive

Hey, hey, hey
Sing hallelujah child
Hallelujah child

 

LAY DOWN BY MY SIDE

We could be lovers, we could light this world on fire
For a life time
We could be special, we could be the envy
Of all mankind
So girl listen to your heart
Don't be afraid of the spark
Turn out the lights close the door
And come and lay down by my side

You can go back home, to your lonely rooms
To your lonely bed that waits for you
You can go back home to your memories of broken hearts
That keep you blue
Or you could stay the night
In my arms girl
I'll give you something real
To dream on
Turn out the lights close the door
And come and lay down by my side

Girl it's been such a long time
Since I've felt this way
We got a chance here, we got to take
Before it forever slips away
Baby listen

This world is crazy, it spins round and round
And who knows what tomorrow brings
But I swear what I'm saying girl what I'm feeling
Is something worth believing in
So take your coat off, turn around
Step from your dress and let your hair hang down
Turn out the lights close the door
And come and lay down by my side

 

TRUE LOVE TRAVELS A ROCKY ROAD

I sleep with my clothes on baby I don't care
Leather jacket thrown over my chair
Blood on my boots honey I'm still on the run
I hear the sounds of the hurricane
Carrying the news of the runaway trains
I smell the smoke and the fire from the rebels' guns
And I dream of holding you in the pine tree forest
In the summer with the city far below
But any stranger will realize
With one look into my bloodshot eyes
That true love travels a rocky road

Sailing ships across the ocean
War criminals and soldiers of fortune
Sealing the fate of a land that knows no hope
In the cafes with the gypsy singers
Hash burns on the tip of our fingers
Making love in the shadows of a hangman's rope
Through the window you can hear the prayers calling
From the ancient rivers to the capital
But everyday I wake up to find
Another day you'll never be mine
Oh true love travels a rocky road

From out of nowhere rumors finally give way
Assassinations and suicide raids
Death squads rape and torture, massacres on the street
Soaked in blood a new leader is born
Mothers weep revenge is sworn
As the world cries out for a worthless peace
And through the desert a caravan rides on
Across the border where another war explodes
Looking out on an endless night
If only I was holding you tight
Ah true love travels a rocky road

 

THOSE DAYS

I said come here baby and talk to me
You know the rain is falling outside this window
She said hush now child don't you know you're just lucky
A girl like me 'got other places to go
Then she smiled and said baby don't look so worried
You know I know what it is that gets you high
So baby be cool
There's nobody here to fool
Besides those days have passed us by

I said please girl you don't have to be talking that way
You know we both can't be that far gone things can't be that bad
She said you boys from the north sure talk a lot of nonsense
You just keep it up you'll be driving me mad
Then she kicked off her shoes said baby who are you kidding
You know I can see a distant light in your eyes
So baby be real
There's nothing here to steal
Besides those days have passed us by

Outside the rain kept falling
As we fell into each others arms
For a moment I swear I heard her heart calling
Ah but in the next somehow it was gone

From a dream I woke up to see her dressing
The stars outside beginning to shine
She said you know my name baby you got my number
You just call me anytime
But don't be expecting this and don't be expecting that
And don't be looking for a place to whimper or cry
You know what I'm saying baby
You know what I mean
Besides those days have passed us by

 

EARLY ONE MORNING

Hanging around the corner
When I was just a kid
Looking for what to do
I ran into the holy man
I ran into the voodoo man
I ran into everything but the truth

Early one morning
I stood out on the road
Early one morning
The dice began to roll

Working a job
Straight out of school
Hanging around those late night joints
Boss man comes near
I couldn't help but sneer
Man can you tell me what's the point

Early one morning
I stood out on the road
Early one morning
The dice began to roll

Looking in your eyes girl
Is breaking my heart
Tell me what you want me to do
I give it to you all night
Until you're feeling alright
But you know that never will do

Early one morning
I stood out on the road
Early one morning
The dice began to roll

 

WHY DO YOU TREAT LOVE THIS WAY

I see the lightning in your eyes
I hear the thunder of your lies
Oh baby why do you treat love this way
You like to joke about our loving
You like to say that it could be nothing
Oh baby why do you treat love this way

Goodbye and good luck
Is that what I'll get from you
If you know so much
Then why can't you tell me the truth

You're like a shadow in the night
You disappear with the morning light
Oh baby why do you treat love this way

Goodbye and good luck
Is that what I'll get from you
If you know so much
Then why can't you tell me the truth

I sit and watch the sun go down
I hear my heart beat this lonesome sound
Oh baby why do you treat love this way
Oh baby why do you treat love this way

 
CRAZY
 
Crazy
Crazy
 
I got this all night job working out on the interstate
Selling gasoline and oil, cigarettes and beer, souvenirs and junk food
I meet people from everywhere in almost every kind of imaginable state
I know most are just tired from driving so I try to keep it cool
Truck drivers come in strung out sometimes I slip them some caffeine pills
Cause I know what it's like to be dodging the law on that all night drive
Tourists come in with their blushing excitable young daughters
I find it kind of funny how young girls can sense something different
About some guys
 
Crazy
Crazy
 
I used to play in a rock and roll band in all the clubs up and down this coast
But that gets old when you don't make no money and the fun wears out
If you know what I mean
Now I don't even listen to the radio and I'll be damned if I watch them dumb videos
I prefer the sounds of the rain and the color of my own dreams
I got an ex wife and daughter living somewhere but I don't know where
Sometimes if I don't look at their pictures I can remember to forget
what they look like
I got a few friends but not too many but I don't think I'm missing out on anything
Anyway for the way I am for the way things are you could say I'm doin alright
 
Crazy
Crazy
 
My boss says I should open up more and try to be friendlier to people
he says it's a tough tough world out there and they need all the smiles they can get
I say look at me man can't you see I'm trying to be the friendliest person
In the world
But I was born this way I can't help it if I'm a little frayed around the edge
Well a couple of weeks ago this guy walks in with a shotgun and held me up
All the cops nodded their heads when one cop said I was lucky I didn't get blown away
But I wasn't afraid cause I knew that guy wasn't gonna pull the trigger
Cause I could tell that he could tell we were brothers in some kind of strange way
 
Crazy
Crazy
 
Well I guess you're wondering how a guy like me can keep anything together.
Well I find most people want to believe in something and are so easy to fool
I mean just ask any preacher or politician or salesman down your street
And anyway I'm not greedy I don't steal well except for maybe a beer or two
Well I got this girl friend waiting for me tonight when my shift is through
Sometimes we drive down to the beach and just lay there while the sun comes up
Light a few cigarettes drink some wine and watch those freighters crawl on down the coast
Then maybe we go back to my place and get real lazy and make some love
 
Crazy
Crazy

 

 
All songs © 1991 by Tom Ovans
Except "Crazy" © 1989 Tom Ovans
 
 

Back to Industrial Days           

                        

nsr home    tom ovans   lou ann bardash   catalogue   links    contact nsr