STICKEEN

HAPPY ALL THE TIME Miss Berryessa was a blackberry picker
And in turn a blackberry pie baker
She got cinnamon simmerin' in her sugar pan
Soaking in the firewater hiding from the man
Talkin' moonshine, moonshine yeah
Picking from the berries for to sweeten up her pan
Full of moonshine, moonshine
I¹m never to stray too far away from

Miss Berryessa, she's happy all the time
' Cause of moonshine, moonshine yeah
She got another batch of berries on the vine
Moonshine, moonshine
Her cinnamon is simmerin'
Gotta get a little taste of that sugar yeah yeah
I never care much where she been
As long as she come back home to blackberry heaven

Miss Berryessa was a third-eye thinker
Known more better as a firewater drinker
Buried in the briar bloody scratches on her hands
Pickin' from the berries for to sweeten up her pan
Full of moonshine, moonshine yeah
Later that night she got hassled by the man he drank her
Moonshine, moonshine
I¹m never to stray too far away

BLACK ICE 1989 and we're skating to school
In the not-so-pleasant weather
Think January in your home town
Where Ye Olde Sierra Belle
Would bake for less when the temperature fell
Sugar, glazed, and maple bars
Were half-price when the ice formed upon the ground

So you better take that turn, at speed, like a man
You can't fault the fall line for taking charge
Black tar, fair weather friend
Still you better take that hill, at speed, like a man
Water seals my unsteady eyes
And you're blinded by the air in your eyes on the way down

I¹m thinking 'bout Monday morning, and how I'm gonna wake up then
There's a low pressure system building
The last night it couldn't keep the heat in
So it's one push, two push, three push, four, and on down the mountain
One push, two push, three push, four
Ye Olde Sierra Belle, I'm comin' home

WAIT ON ME If my sticking around wasn't for the best I wouldn't love you less,
God-willing
God knows I'm guessing at the mess I am missing otherwise
Yeah I may crawl around, after hours with the hounds
In the meantime baby, wait on me

Kneeling in the needles on the ground undressing wearing less than
What we were wearing when I found you in my dreams
Yeah I may crawl around, after hours with the hounds
In the meantime baby, wait on me

Hark the herald angels singing down along the way
Their black robes weigh heavy on my shoulders
But their eyes are burning bright
A great white golden guiding light

SEVENTEEN YEAR CICADA Pulling bluegill from the pond
A largemouth if you're strong
Cicadas sing at night
Wishing me goodnight

Seventeen more years
Where will we be then?
Will we still be friends?
And will the summer end?

Tadpoles in the pond
Hazy summers long
The fireflies at night
Bottle them up tight

Kiwanis league at dusk
Porch-swing corncob husk
Home runs from the park
Lightning strikes at dark

At the county fair
Your schoolmates will be there
Candy apple cheeks
School in three more weeks

But seventeen more years
Bottle up my fears
Where will we be then?
And will the summer end?

The freckles on your nose
The grass between your toes
The fireflies at night
Bottle them up tight

FELTPICKER Picking felt from a cattail shaft
Floating on a barrel-drum and plywood raft
Out where I'm not supposed to be
Next to you next to me
Here comes the aftermath

Picking felt from a cigarette blanket
Inside a motel outside of Davis
Back where I¹m not supposed to be
Next to you next to me
Here comes the aftermath

Picking up where we left off-axis
Blacking out as the memory's bearing down on
What comes next after what just passed
We¹ve only just begun to feel the heat

It's been a long time coming since
We let a little control slide
It's been a long time coming since
We let a little control slip by

CATALINA I'm headed out to Catalina, sailing on a cypress log
I'm a catch my shooting star I seen it
Shoot out past the outer harbor fog
I'm gonna catch up with my darlin'
She been catching all kind of waves when I¹m not around
So I'll chase that star across the channel
To where my Catalina darling can be found

By the time I get there I¹ll be waterlogged
Soaked to the bone by the outer harbor fog
But my star is shooting straight and true
And my darling Catalina's sailin' on

CLOUD¹S REST Cloud's Rest is where
Wearily drearily drowsy
Feathery heavenly pillow
Where I rest my head

TAKE COVER Cold Nevada rising around our knees
That was all the world to me
I couldn't ask for a better day Lord, no no, no matter
Low sun weather crawls across the scene
Woodstove conjures up a smoky dream
About the warmest mornings I've ever known, no, no matter
Low sun dawn fades in from the East
Honey and the cinnamon takin' heat
On the warmest morning I've ever known, no, no matter
There's cold Nevada outside the door
Tired dogs sprawled about the floor
Chains crawl in the distance

Come over, come in from the cold
Take cover, on such a nice day

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