Tell Ol' Bill

The river whispers in my ear

I've hardly a penny to my name

The heavens have never seemed so near

All my body glows with flame.

The tempest struggles in the air

And to myself alone I sing

It could sink me then and there

I can hear the echoes ring

I tried to find one smilin' face

To drive the shadow from my head

I'm stranded in this nameless place

Lyin' restless in a heavy bed.

Tell me straight out if you will

Why must you torture me within?

Why must you come down off your high hill?

Throw my fate to the clouds and wind

Far away in a silent land

Secret thoughts are hard to bear

Remember me you'll understand

Emotions we can never share

You trampled on me as you passed

Left the coldest kiss upon my brow

All my doubts and fears have gone at last

I've nothing more to tell you now

I walk by tranquil lakes and streams

As each new season's dawn awaits

I lay awake at night with troubled dreams

The enemy is at the gate

Beneath the thunder-blasted trees

The words are ringin' off your tongue

The ground is hard in times like these

Stars are cold, the night is young

The rocks are bleak, the trees are bare

Iron clouds go floatin' by

Snowflakes falling in my hair

Beneath the gray and stormy sky.

The evenin' sun is sinking low

The woods are dark, the town is too

They''ll drag you down, they run the show

Ain't no tellin' what they'll do

Tell ol' bill when he comes home

Anything is worth a try

Tell him that I'm not alone

That the hour has come to do or die.

All the world I would defy

Let me make it plain as day

I look at you now and I sigh

How could it be any other way?