"LITTLE STORIES FROM THE MINE" - LYRICS
(c) 2005 Bob Leslie

I WILL BE THERE Child of the summer wind Run through a golden sky Roguish and yet innocent your China eyes Brook no lies, to you I must be true Wrapped in the printed word Dark as your sister's fair Loyal to the life you show me all the cares You lightly wear as leaves wear morning dew Girls in the times ahead Your dreams will be all at hand All the love I bear you is there at your command I'll be standing there for you You don't need to search for someone Who will walk that extra mile Who will be there at your side In your Springtime or your Fall I will be there	FIRST MAN ON THE MOON She slipped her hands into her pockets And slowly walked away Ah, but she had set her mark upon me And I was lost that day And all the violets burst into bloom And all the singers sang in tune And the air was filled with spice and exotic perfumes And I was the first man on the moon I'd heard the call to join love's army But always preferred to stay free But when she kissed me I was a Chosen Man And took her shilling willingly Time writes our lives and then it moves on And all our tears can't change a single line And memory's viewed through a glass darkly As if some foreign land, some far-off time Ah, but I recall her face so clearly Her wayward smile, her flashing eyes That easy passion, freely given That stole my senses for a while	THE TUNE THAT WAS BROKEN In the cold, grey hours When your lover has gone And you talk to the wall like a friend You hear some bird Cry to the dawn But the tune that was broken won't mend Harmony is torn asunder And tears without number Drown out the end Outside, that bird Cries to the dawn But the tune that was broken won't mend The story she told you Is older than time But its meaning you can't comprehend And you pray it's a dream But your hurt gives the lie And the tune that was broken won't mend The telephone stares at you Silent as stone She won't answer the letters you send Like a fool you keep hoping But inside you know That the tune that was broken won't mend
MARA Mara, you can't judge the distance Twixt love and the grave And God knows if I Am one of the damned or the saved Honey, you won't even tell me If I'm enamoured or just enslaved Oh, oh, Mara, I don't want to wait The next minute could be too late Had we but world enough We could both strut our stuff Till the cows come home And the making of love We could come to it easy and slow If we had time, I would Write you a symphony Carve out a palace from stone But, Mara, that way A body could end up alone Mara, we're running a race With the sun and the stars And they don't stand still While we step through the dance of the hours If you won't run with me, baby, We're not going to get very far Oh, but, Mara, we're stuck at the line Honey, let's cross it this time Mara, when all of the sound and the fury has gone And we all look back At this rock'n'roll ride we've been on Will all you have be a list Of all of the things you ain't done Oh, Mara, I'm pledging my time Let's make it while our sun's still shining	GATES OF THE PROMISED LAND I saw an ancient picture Of a young girl who just ran Clothed in fire and dressed in anguish The fine handiwork of man And I thought that it was all over now And the lessons had been learned But the sky still falls and Fathers weep And the young girl, she still burns And it's Hey, Johnny boy Where're you marching to With your gun cradled in your hand? Hey, Johnny boy, Where's the finish line? At the Gates of the Promised Land? At the Gates of the Promised Land Once more we hear our master's call As in centuries before Caesars, Kings and Emperors Summoned us to war And the turtle's voice cannot be heard And the singing birds are dumb And the vineyards stink of cordite Where Abraham was born How long before they take your youth As they've done oft-times before And they tell you it's a noble thing To fight on foreign shores And it's true, sometimes there's little choice And a struggle must be won But is it Liberty you're fighting for Or just the grease that oils the guns?	HER FATHER CALLED ME FRANKENSTEIN Her father called me Frankenstein I got the impression that he did not like me He was five foot six I was six foot three And he had a little fusty black beard Her father called me Frankenstein Her mother said I reminded him of Him in his youth when he ran quite wild And he thought he was another James Dean (still did) Lay a hand on his daughter And he'd lead you to the slaughter Even Elvis wasn't good enough for him She was dark, she was sweet, She was good enough to eat But I really didn't want to lose a limb (or worse) I would sing Wild Mountain Thyme For his folky friends up from Sandy Bell's T'was the only folk song I knew then And I hoped that it would drum up support But he still called me Frankenstein And strangely enough I grew to like him In old bottles there's fine wine But in his case it was crusty old port Her father called me Frankenstein All the time I was with his daughter Then I saw him in the pub one night After she and I'd been parted some time And it was . . . "Hello, laddie, you're looking fine, come on over here, son, I'm glad to see you" And he gave me the words to a song I'd liked But the drinks were still on Frankenstein
LOVE I love you more than ice-cream I love you more than snow I love you more than Santa Claus Or pretty maids all in a row I love you when I'm frightened And when I'm trying to be brave I love to say "I love you" And see that you believe I loved you when I met you I loved you once before Something in me knew you And it wanted to know more And all I can say is that Nothing can take that love away I love you like a poem I love you like a train I love you like the bluest note Ever played by John Coltrane I love you for a reason But I'm damned if I know why And you might think that's crazy But you know I wouldn't lie I loved you when you scratched me With the roses in your hair And you laughed and said "I told you so" And kissed me then and there And all I can say is that Nothing can take that love away Love's an outlaw yearning who Steals everything he sees A wayward child who'll never give parole Yet at times he'll treat you kindly Be a friend when you're in need And what he gives you then you'd better hold So love me like a shipwreck And love me like a song Love me when we have the right And love me when it's wrong Love me when you can't think And when you're sharp as pain Love me under Spanish skies Or Caledonian rain So let us now be lovers Made immortal with a kiss And Father Time can bless us Then go on the missing list For all I can say is that Nothing can take it All I can say is that Nothing can break it All I can say is that Nothing can take that love away	ADIOS TO ROCK'N'ROLL Life looks sunny And you got a little money And you got a little honey and a car And you play in a band And they say you're the man Blues shouter with a red guitar And you know that what you do will make the walls come tumbling down And you bask in the heat of the stage-lights You're the king of your home town Oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, Where'd it go? Twenty years of paying dues And all you've got is memories of the road And you never really made it And those memories keep nagging at your soul So you hung up your guitar And you said "Adios to Rock'n'Roll" So you turn your back on Muddy And you hurry and you study And you find yourself back in school Trying to climb the ladder That you used to turn your back on And you wonder if you'd been a fool And you know that what you do Will never make the walls fall down And though the kingdom that you had Was small, you miss that crown When life looks dark And times are hard And you work most every day and night Paying for your bad breaks Paying for your mistakes Paying for a busted life You pick up your old guitar And all the walls come tumbling down 'Cause what you really needed was the music not the crown Oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, Where'd it go? Twenty years of paying dues And yes, you got your memories of the road And if you never really made it Well, the music's still alive there in your soul and it's impossible to turn your back and say "Adios to Rock'n'Roll"	LADY LUCK RODE AWAY In every hand I have drawn There's been a few cards I could count on But each time that I made a big play Lady Luck rode away Sometimes she'd smile over her shoulder As though she wanted to say That if I had been bolder My bluff might have finally paid Aces in love, it would seem Are dealt to fools only in their dreams And my chips rarely backed up my play So Lady Luck rode away Just once my hand was flush with sweet hearts But that was so long ago Now I've walked into the Last Chance Saloon And it feels like I'm betting my soul I see she's looking my way And there's one pair in my hand today But it's the pair that I've wanted to play Since Lady Luck rode away The one time she dealt me a good hand I just folded from fear Now I'll tough it out on just two good cards Let it all ride on this deal Well, I've got something to say There's just one pair in my hand today But it's the pair that I've wanted to play Since Lady Luck rode away Yes, it's the pair that I've been waiting to play Since Lady Luck rode away
NO STRINGS AND NO REGRETS I had a night, during the Fair A perfect night to lose myself I'm glad you weren't there While many of the details are lost to recall I'd had a sip or two and I was ready to fall It was time les temps perdus started to pay some of their debts I wanted no strings and no regrets No strings and no regrets A simple combination but so hard to get Sometimes you don't need meaning You just want to forget That's when you look for No strings and no regrets Got to a point where things got hot And I had to ask myself "Boy, are you ready or not?" I found myself dancing with a belle Australienne She was leaving in two days, never see her again Put the moves right on me, she was ready, she was set, She wanted no strings and no regrets Well in the morning, head like a bear, I looked around my room But she sure wasn't there From what I could remember we'd done each other some good She'd grabbed me like a clam and called me something rude Played me like a guitar, polished up my frets, She bust all my strings and left me no regrets