The Captain - Gulches

Now the Captain called me to his bed He fumbled for my hand "Take these silver bars," he said "I'm giving you command" "Command of what, there's no one here There's only you and me All the rest are dead or in retreat Or with the enemy" "Complain, complain, that's all you've done Ever since we lost If it's not the Crucifixion Then it's the Holocaust" "May Christ have mercy on your soul For making such a joke Amid these hearts that burn like coal And the flesh that rose like smoke" "I know that you have suffered, lad But suffer this awhile Whatever makes a soldier sad Will make a killer smile" "I'm leaving, Captain, and I've got to go There's blood upon your hand But tell me, Captain, if you know Of a decent place to stand" "There is no decent place to stand In a massacre But if a woman take your hand Then go and stand with her" "I left a wife in Tennessee And a baby in Saigon I risked my life, but not to hear Some country-western song" "Ah but if you cannot raise your love To a very high degree Then you're just the man I've been thinking of So come and stand with me" "Your standing days are done," I cried "You'll rally me no more I don't even know what side We fought on, or what for" "I'm on the side that's always lost Against the side of Heaven I'm on the side of Snake-eyes tossed Against the side of Seven And I've read the Bill of Human Rights And some of it was true But there wasn't any burden left So I'm laying it on you" Now the Captain he was dying But the Captain wasn't hurt The silver bars were in my hand I pinned them to my shirt

Call up the captain tell him I ain't comin' in He can dig his own coal something else is happening This living that I'm making is doing a sin It's broken the lives of too many good men Been hauling coal since I was big enough to fight Some 30 odd shifts with out a glimpse of daylight The corporation likes to say that everythings alright Dig yourself a hole get outta sight There's a dark cloud above me that's blocking out the sun Burn another hundred coal listen to the engines run One half is starving while the others having fun So call the captain, call the captain, call the captain, call the captain Melinda close the door I ain't going down to the mines today I want clear blue skies and whole lot more I ain't going down to the mine There's a hole in this bucket I've been carrying around I fill it up to the top and watch it spill on the ground I go down to the mines and when I come back up I got nothin' to show but the sweat on my brow These hills are my own flesh and bones There all that I love and there all that I know Please don't ask me to destroy my home I'm not gonna choose between my heart and soul, so Call the Captain tell him I ain't coming in He can dig his own coal something else is happening This living that making is doing a sin So call the captain, call the captain,...call the captain Hear the whistle blow this morning Hear the whistle blow today Hear the whistle blow this morning I ain't going down to the mine I ain't going down to the mine

I am the cavalry captain I am the remedy to your heart I am the common collective I am imprinted upon your stars And when you shine Shine your eyes Looking lost Looking bright We'll away on the light brigade And if only for a second If only for a time And if only for a second And if only for a time We'll be alive We'll be alive I am the cavalry captain I am the remedy to your heart I am the common collective I am imprinted upon your stars There is a world There is a time Looking calm Looking kind We'll away at the break of day And if only for a second And of only for a time And if only for a second And if only for a time We'll be alive We'll be alive I am the cavalry captain I am the remedy to your heart I am the common collective I am imprinted upon your stars

It was way past midnight And she still couldn't fall asleep This night the dream was leavin' She tried so hard to keep And with the new day's dawning She felt it driftin' away Not only for a cruise Not only for a day Too long ago, too long apart She couldn't wait another day for The captain of her heart As the day came up she made a stop She stopped waiting another day for The captain of her heart Too long ago, too long apart She couldn't wait another day for The captain of her heart Too long ago, too long apart She couldn't wait another day for The captain of her heart As the day came up she made a stop She stopped waiting another day for The captain of her heart Too long ago, too long apart She couldn't wait another day for The captain of her heart

Well I used to be a farmer, and I made a living fine I had a little stretch of land along the sea be line But times went by and though I tried, the money wasn't there And the bankers came and took my land and told me fair is fair I looked for every kind of job the answer always no Hire you now they always laughed we just let 20 go The government they promised me a measly a little sum But I've got too much pride to end up just another bum Then I thought who gives a damn if all the jobs are gone I'm gonna be a pirate, on the river Saskatchewan And it's a heave ho hi ho coming down the plains Stealing wheat and barley and all the other grains And it's a ho hey hi hey farmers bar your doors When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores Well you think the local farmers would know that I'm at large But just the other day I found an unprotected barge I snuck up right behind them and they were none the wiser I rammed the ship and sank it and stole the fertilizer Bridge outside of Moose Jaw spans the mighty river Farmers cross with so much fear their stomach are a-quiver 'Cause they know that Captain Tractor's hiding in the bay I'll jump the bridge and knock 'em cold and sail off with their hay And it's a heave ho hi ho coming down the plains Stealing wheat and barley and all the other grains And it's a ho hey hi hey farmers bar your doors When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores Well Mountie Bob he chased me, he was always at my throat He followed on the shore lines cause he didn't own a boat But the cutbacks were coming and the mountie lost his job So now he's sailing with me and we call him Salty Bob A swinging sword and skull and bones and pleasant company I never pay my income tax and screw the GST (Screw it!) Sailing down to Saskatoon the terror of the sea If you want to reach the co-op boy you gotta get by me Ha har And it's a heave ho hi ho coming down the plains Stealing wheat and barley and all the other grains And it's a ho hey hi hey farmers bar your doors When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores Well the pirate life's appealing but you don't just find it here I hear in North Alberta there's a band of buccaneers They roam the Athabasca from Smith to Fort McKay And you're gonna lose your stetson if you have to pass their way Well winter is a-coming and a chill in the breeze But pirate days are over once the river starts to freeze But I'll be back in spring time, but now I have to go I hear there's lots of plundering down in New Mexico And it's a heave ho hi ho coming down the plains Stealing wheat and barley and all the other grains And it's a ho hey hi hey farmers bar your doors When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores And it's a heave ho hi ho coming down the plains Stealing wheat and barley and all the other grains And it's a ho hey hi hey farmers bar your doors When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores And it's a heave ho hi ho coming down the plains Stealing wheat and barley and all the other grains And it's a ho hey hi hey farmers bar your doors When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores