I am an orphan on God's highway But I'll share my troubles if you go my way I have no mother no father No sister no brother I am an orphan girl
I have had friendships pure and golden But the ties of kinship I have not known them I know no mother no father No sister no brother I am an orphan girl
But when He calls me I will be able To meet my family at God's table I'll meet my mother my father My sister my brother No more orphan girl
Blessed Savior make me willing And walk beside me until I'm with them Be my mother my father My sister my brother I am an orphan girl
Oh little red bird Come to my window sill Been so lonesome Shaking that morning chill Oh little red bird Open your mouth and say Been so lonesome Just about flown away
So long now I've been out In the rain and snow But winter's come and gone A little bird told me so
Oh little blue bird Pearly feather breast Five cold nickels all I got left Oh little blue bird What am I gonna do Five cold nickels Ain't gonna see me through
So long now I've been out In the rain and snow But winter's come and gone A little bird told me so
Oh little black bird On my wire line Dark as trouble In this heart of mine Poor little black bird Sings a worried song Dark as trouble 'Til winter's come and gone
So long now I've been out In the rain and snow But winter's come and gone A little bird told me so
So long now I've been out In the rain and snow But winter's come and gone A little bird told me so
In the black dust towns of east Tennessee All the work's about the same And you may not go to the job in the ground But you learn the miner's refrain
I'm down in a hole, I'm down in a hole, Down in a deep, dark hole I'm down in a hole, I'm down in a hole, Down in a deep, dark hole
When you search the rain for the silver cloud And you wait on days of gold When you pitch to the bottom And the dirt comes down You cry so cold, so cold
I'm down in a hole, I'm down in a hole, Down in a deep, dark hole I'm down in a hole, I'm down in a hole, Down in a deep, dark hole
Now there's something good in a worried song For the trouble in your soul 'Cause a worried man who's been a long way down Down in a deep dark hole
I'm down in a hole, I'm down in a hole, Down in a deep, dark hole I'm down in a hole, I'm down in a hole, Down in a deep, dark hole
Now I was just a girl of two Now I was just a girl of two With a golden heart and a button shoe
The devil had a hold of me The devil had a hold of me I turned my head and I could see The devil had a hold of me
There was something wrong with the butcher's boy Was something wrong with the butcher's boy He trembled in his hand and voice
The devil had a hold of me The devil had a hold of me The others knew to let him be But the devil had a hold of me
Now the tailpipe spit and the engine roared The tailpipe spit and the engine roared I's waving out the Plymouth door
And the devil had a hold of me The devil had a hold of me The old folks saw the last they'd see The devil had a hold of me
I dreamed last night that my time was done I dreamed last night that my time was done And my soul flew up to the holy son
But the devil had a hold of me The devil had a hold of me I snapped back down when he pulled my lead The devil had a hold of me
There're those who'll laugh and not believe There're those who'll laugh and not believe Until you feel that touch upon your sleeve
The devil had a hold of me The devil had a hold of me I turned my head and I could see The devil had a hold of me I turned my head and I could see The devil had a hold of me
I lease twenty acres and one Jenny mule From the Alabama trust Half of the cotton, a third of the corn Ya get a handful of dust
Chorus: And we can not have all things to please us No matter how we try Until we've all gone to Jesus We can only wonder why
I had a daughter called her Annabelle She's the apple of my eye Tried to give her something like I never had I didn't want to ever hear her cry
Chorus
When I'm dead and buried I'll take a hard life of tears For every day I've ever known Anna's in the churchyard, she's got no life at all She's only got these words on a stone
Chorus Until we've all gone to Jesus We only wonder why
I got an old V-8 from the year I was born Don't look like much, just a flat black Ford The engine's clean, I could paint it someday But most of the time I like it this way
Don't turn no head, don't catch no eye Just a wind on the road, gonna pass you by
Well I used to talk tough, I used to get loud Want to paint my name all over this town The folks lined up just to dog my day Now if i stay quiet, they stay out of my way
Don't turn no head, don't catch no eye Just a wind on the road, gonna pass you by
I got a brand new plan, I'm gonna help myself 'Cause it's a fat man's town, I'm gonna share the wealth Put the money in the bag, keep your hands in sight Turn around, count to ten, and I go back into the night
Don't turn no head, don't catch no eye Just a wind on the road, gonna pass you by Don't come over here, Don't scream don't cry Just a wind on the road, gonna pass you by
I got an old V-8 from the year I was born Don't look like much, just a flat black Ford
Oh the night came undone like a party dress And fell at her feet in a beautiful mess The smoke and the whiskey came home in her curls And they crept through the dreams of the barroom girls Well she tosses and turns because the sun is unkind And the heat of the day is coming in through the blinds But leave all the blue skies for the rest of the world Because the neon will shine for the barroom girls Oh the barroom girls go by your side Like the ponies who pass on a carousel ride And all of the colors go 'round in a swirl When you dance in the arms of the barroom girls Now she rolls to her feet when she can't sleep no more And looks at her clothes lying out on the floor Last night's spangles and yesterday's pearls Are the bright morning stars of the barroom girls Last night's spangles and yesterday's pearls Are the bright morning stars of the barroom girls
There's a hundred bluebirds Up above the clouds Putting all the color in the sky And twice as many teardrops There to wash it down Every one's another lullaby But there's only one and only Who could go and leave me lonely
There's a world of trouble Trying to take its turn I can hear it shaking underground And half a dozen lessons I might never learn Not until them troubles come around But there's only one and only Who could go and leave me lonely
There's a mile of blacktop Where the road begins It takes a time or two to recognize Growing at the roadside Scattered by the wind Are everybody's unsaid sad goodbyes But there's only one and only Who could go and leave me lonely
But there's only one and only Who could go and leave me lonely
The fairest bloom the mountain knows Is not an iris or a wild rose But the little flower of which I'll tell Known as the brave acony bell
Just a simple flower so small and plain With a pearly hue and a little known name But the yellow birds sing when they see it bloom For they know that spring is coming soon
Well it makes its home mid the rocks and the rills Where the snow lies deep on the windy hills And it tells the world "why should i wait This ice and snow is gonna melt away"
And so i'll sing that yellow bird's song For the troubled times will soon be gone