2 Bob - Malaika

One by one, they followed the sun, One by one, until there were none. Two by two, to their lovers they flew, Two by two, into the foggy dew. Three by three, they danced on the sea, Four by four, they danced on the shore, Five by five, they tried to survive, Six by six, they were playing with tricks. How many paths did they try and fail? How many of their brothers and sisters lingered in jail? How much poison did they inhale? How many black cats crossed their trail? Seven by seven, they headed for heaven, Eight by eight, they got to the gate, Nine by nine, they drank the wine, Ten by ten, they drank again. How many tomorrow's have are they given away? How many compared to yesterday? How many more without any reward? How many more can they afford? Two by two, they stepped into the ark, Two by two, they step in the dark. Three by three, they're turning the key, Four by four, they turn it some more, One by one, they follow the sun, Two by two, to another rendezvous.

There's an evenin' haze settlin' over the town Starlight by the edge of the creek The buyin' power of the proletariat's gone down Money's gettin' shallow and weak Where the place I love best is a sweet memory It's a new path that we trod They say low wages are reality If we want to compete abroad My cruel weapons have been put on the shelf Come sit down on my knees You are dearer to me than myself As you yourself can see While I'm listenin' to the steel rails hum Got both eyes tight shut Just sitting here tryin' to keep the hunger from Creeping its way into my gut Meet me at the bottom, don't lag behind Bring me my boots and shoes You can hang back or fight your best on the front line Sing a little bit of these workingman's blues Well, I'm sailin' on back, ready for the long haul Tossed by the winds and the seas I'll drag 'em all down to hell and I'll stand 'em at the wall I'll sell 'em to their enemies I'm tryin' to feed my soul with thought Gonna sleep off the rest of the day Sometimes no one wants what we've got Sometimes you can't give it away Now the place is ringed with countless foes Some of them may be deaf and dumb No man, no woman knows The hour that sorrow will come In the dark I hear the night birds call I can hear a lover's breath I sleep in the kitchen with my feet in the hall Sleep is like a temporary death Meet me at the bottom, don't lag behind Bring me my boots and shoes You can hang back or fight your best on the front line Sing a little bit of these workingman's blues Well, they burned my barn and they stole my horse I can't save a dime I got to be careful, I don't want to be forced Into a life of continual crime I can see for myself that the sun is sinking How I wish you were here to see Tell me now, am I wrong in thinking That you have forgotten me? Now they worry and they hurry and they fuss and they fret They waste your nights and days Them I will forget But you I'll remember always Old memories of you to me have clung You've wounded me with words Gonna have to straighten out your tongue It's all true, everything you have heard Meet me at the bottom, don't lag behind Bring me my boots and shoes You can hang back or fight your best on the front line Sing a little bit of these workingman blues In you, my friend, I find no blame Wanna look in my eyes, please do No one can ever claim That I took up arms against you All across the peaceful sacred fields They will lay you low They'll break your horns and slash you with steel I say it so it must be so Now I'm down on my luck and I'm black and blue Gonna give you another chance I'm all alone, I'm expecting you To lead me off in a cheerful dance I got a brand new suit and a brand new wife I can live on rice and beans Some people never worked a day in their life Don't know what work even means Well, meet me at the bottom, don't lag behind Bring me my boots and shoes You can hang back or fight your best on the front line Sing a little bit of these workingman's blues

I'm walking through the summer nights The jukebox is playing low Yesterday, everything was going too fast Today, it's moving too slow Too many silver spoons Too much salt in my wounds I don't know if I saw you, if I would kiss you or kill you Probably it wouldn't make no difference to you anyhow You left me standing in the doorway, crying Nothing to go back to now The light in this place is really bad Make me sick in the head All the laughter is just gettin' me sad Even the stars have turned cherry red I've been strumming on this gay guitar Well, I'm smoking a cheap cigar Well, the ghost of our old love has not gone away It don't look it like it will anytime soon You left me standing in the doorway, crying Under the midnight moon Well, maybe they'll get me and maybe they won't But not tonight, and it won't be here I know, this horse that I'm riding on, could throw me, but it don't The mercy of God must be near It always means so much Even the softest touch I'd be crazy if I took you back again It would go up against every rule You left me standing in the doorway, crying Suffering like a fool When the last rays of daylight go down Buddy, you'll roll no more I can hear them silent bells in my head And I wonder who they're ringing for Don't pass me by Give me liberty or let me die Last night, I was dancing with a stranger But she just reminded me that you were the one You left me standing in the doorway, crying In the dark land of the sun I'll eat when I'm hungry, and I'll drink when I'm dry And I'll live my life on the square And even if the flesh falls off of my face I know someone will be there to care I've been riding on that midnight train Got ice water in my veins I see nothing to be gained by any explanation There's no words that need to be said Well, you left me standing in the doorway, crying With the blues wrapped around my head

Some of us turn off the lights and we live In the moonlight shooting by Some of us scare ourselves to death in the dark To be where the angels fly Pretty maids all in a row lined up Outside my cabin door The only one of them I ever wanted wanting me Was the girl from the Red River shore Well, I sat by her side and for a while I tried To make that girl my wife She gave me her best advice and she said "Go home and lead a quiet life" Well, I've been to the east and I've been to the west And I've been out where the black winds roar Somehow, though, I never did get that far With the girl from the Red River shore I knew when I first laid eyes on her I could never be free One look at her and I just knew She should always be with me Well, the dream dried up a long time ago Don't know where it is anymore True to life, true to me Was the girl from the Red River shore Well now I'm wearing the cloak of misery And I've tasted jilted love The frozen smile upon my face Fits me like a glove Well I can't escape from the memory Of the one that I'll always adore All those nights when I was in the arms Of the girl from the Red River shore Well, we're living in the shadows of a fading past Trapped in the fires of time I've tried not to ever hurt anybody And to stay out of a life of crime When it's all been said and done I never did know the score One more day is another day away From the girl from the Red River shore Well, I'm a stranger here in a strange land But I know this is where I belong I'll ramble and I'll gamble for the one I love And the hills will give me a song Nothing looks familiar to me But I know that I've stayed here before Once, a thousand nights ago With the girl from the Red River shore Well, I went back once to see about it I went back to straighten it out Everybody that I talked to had seen us there Said they didn't know who I was talking about Sun went down on me a long time ago I've had to fall back from the door I wish I could have spent every hour of my life With the girl from the Red River shore Now, I've heard of a guy who lived a long time ago A man full of sorrow and strife That if somebody around him died and was dead He knew how to bring 'em on back to life Well, I don't know what kind of language that he might have used Or if they do that kind of thing anymore Sometimes I think nobody ever saw me here at all Except the girl from the Red River shore