Song for America
Kansas
1975 ReleasedUpvote Your Favorite Album Today!
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Digging into Song for America - what's your favorite track or standout moment? 🤘
1
Down the Road
03 : 44
2
Song for America
10 : 03
3
Lamplight Symphony
08 : 14
4
Lonely Street
05 : 42
5
The Devil Game
05 : 04
6
Incomudro—Hymn to the Atman
12 : 12
7
Song for America (single edit)
03 : 01
8
Down the Road (live in Cleveland, OH, 1975)
03 : 48
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Track Lyrics
Down the Road Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I, I'm in a kind of foolish game I tried to get rich quick
But I'm going insane
The kind of freaks that hang out on 42nd Street
They're all pimpin’ Judy's and popping speed, well
It's a game of cat and mouse and I think it's got my soul
I think it's time for thinkin’ 'bout a time to roll on down the road
So here I go!
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 2]
Here come Big Mike, I kinda owe him some beans, well
He must be crazy, I guess that's why he's so mean
If I tell him I'm leaving, he would sure enough split my gut
'Cause he knows I sold to a sucker and I owe Big Mike a cut
But I'll slip him a twenty dollar bill till I get out of town
When I hit those white lines, I'm gonna be gone like a greyhound down the road
Down the road, yeah
[Outro]
It's a long, long road
Song for America Lyrics
[Instrumental Intro/Overture 00:00-03:03]
[Verse 1]
Virgin land of forest green, dark and stormy plains
Here all life abounds
Sunlit valley, mountain fields, unseen in the rain
Here all life abounds
[Chorus]
No man rules this land
No human hand has soiled this paradise
Waiting patiently, so much to see
So rich in Earth's delights
[Verse 2]
Painted desert, sequined sky, stars that fill the night
Here all life abounds
Rivers flowing to the sea, sunshine pure and bright
Here all life abounds
[Chorus]
No man rules this land
No human hand has soiled this paradise
Waiting patiently, so much to see
So rich in Earth's delights
[Verse 3]
So the maiden lies in waiting
For the sails to reach the shore
Land of beauty and abundance
Innocent, you opened wide your door
Wanderers found the waiting treasure
Full of gifts beyond their measure
Milk and honey for our pleasure
[Verse 4]
Across the sea there came a multitude
Sailing ships upon the wave
Filled with the visions of Utopia
And the freedom that they crave
Ravage, plunder, see no wonder
Rape and kill and tear asunder
Chop the forest, plow it under
[Instrumental Break 05:08-08:36]
[Keyboard Solo]
[Violin Solo]
[Verse 5]
Highways scar the mountainsides, buildings to the sky
People all around
Houses stand in endless rows, sea to shining sea
People all around
[Chorus]
So we rule this land, and here we stand
Upon our paradise
Dreaming of a place, our weary race
Is ready to arise
[Instrumental Outro]
Lamplight Symphony Lyrics
[Verse 1]
On a winter's night, stars are cold and bright in the sky
The slumber of the earth is pure and deep
From a distant wood, drifts the echo of a beast
The old man stirs and wakens in the night
[Chorus 1]
He stands before his window gazing at the grave
Forgotten dreams are flashing through his weary mind
And though his life is empty, he pretends that she's still there
[Verse 2]
With hunger in his soul, he yearns for life and love gone by
With memories his one and only joy
And all he has to give, you know he would gladly give to bring back the life
And raise the one who lies beneath the snow
[Chorus 2]
He lights a lamp and looks at pictures of the past
The faces of their youth still glow with newfound love
But the picture's faded, and time has stolen youth away
[Bridge]
With a spoken word that he thought he heard from her lips
He felt another presence in the room
He was filled with fear but filled with joy he arose
And turned to face the image that he knew
She stood before him and her hand reached out for his
A peaceful light shone in her eyes
She said she'd come to soothe him, and that someday they'd be as one
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 3]
She began to fade and her image disappeared
So he was left alone to face another night
Never in his life, had he been so held in awe
As he faced the apparition of his wife
[Chorus 3]
He stood before the window gazing at the grave
And with a lightened heart he saw the first of dawn
He knew that she was waiting, and that someday they'd be as one
[Outro]
Ohhh yeah
Lonely Street Lyrics
8 ContributorsLonely Street LyricsMmm
Sometimes when I'm walking down this lonely street
Well, it sure don't seem like it’s been twenty years
Since I went walking down this lonely street
And the smell of perfumed ladies filled the air, yeah
This street ain't got no name, dead end is in the river
And I lived where I hated life day by day
There wasn't nothing I could do to shake a cold night shiver
'Cause to move up lonely street you had to have some say
Gambling is bad luck down on lonely street
And it sure ain't no place to be when a man gets sore
You know I killed a man and I paid all I can
With twenty years on a chain gang
For the flesh and the blood on that jailhouse floor
Sometimes when I'm walking down this lonely street
I get caught up in a dream that won't let me go
And as the bright lights flash up and down this lonely street
My mind rolls back the years long time ago
I see my baby stumblin' round with tears in her eyes
And as I reach out for her she falls on the floor
She mumbles through bloody lips about a black man, robber, raper
And in my gut I know I got one to score
Take it baby!!
Ohhhhh yeah!!
Mmm
I need somebody
Oh yeah
I need somebody yeah yeah
And I need it!!
And I need it!!!
Yeah!!
And I need it!!
Ahhhh yeah!!
The word was comin' down, down on lonely street
That the black man was a dead man if he crossed my trail
Every night I'd walk up and down this lonely street
I get stinkin' drunk, and always in jail
One night they threw me in with a man they called the mangler
He was caught on the street rapin’ some old whore, yeah
I remember he was quite proud of that
So half-crazed, I shot him
And I cried in the blood on that jailhouse floor
Oh, I don't want no more
Oh yeah yeah
The Devil Game Lyrics
6 ContributorsThe Devil Game LyricsI've got books that say the good man's golden
And more that say the bad will fall
So many men have drowned in evil
And left Lucifer standing tall
Don't take the Devil's dare
Don't gamble when the game ain't fair
Lock and bolt the doors
Can't let the Devil use you anymore
You got to listen all you mugs and reivers
If you do any wrong you make it right
You can't be a make-believer
'Cause soon you're gonna pay the price
Lying, hate and pain
All part of the Devil game
Got his foot inside the door
But you can't let him use you anymore
Take, he will take, he will take, give him nothing
He'll will take, he will take, he will take
He will give nothing but he'll
Take, he will take, he will take, give him nothing
He'll will take, he will take, he will take
He will give nothing but he'll take
Pray, for devils have no reason
Satan waits to curse your ways
Have you seen it in his eyes in the sunset?
Have you wondered if he's laughing when you play?
Has he asked if you're alone, if what he sees is all you own?
Has he offered you happiness, money, or much better lays?
Satan leave me, leave me lonely
Satan leave me, leave us alone
Satan leave me, leave me lonely
I've got books that say the good man's golden
And more that say the bad will fall
Take a look at what the future's holdin'
Won't be yours if you don't heed the call
Life is a game, and the stakes will remain the same
Now you've gotta choose, is the Devil gonna win or lose again?
Incomudro—Hymn to the Atman Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Run a silent path to nowhere, everything is all
You could have a pleasant life if summer had no fall
Treat yourself so gently, though the task is often hard
Man is not a God it seems, who holds the final card
Close your eyes and feel the darkness, speak and hear the sound
We only catch a glimpse of all the life that is around
The man is not alive who knows the value of his soul
And when our lives are pulled away, there's more to fill the hole
[Refrain 1]
I wonder what you'd think if all the changes didn't come
For growing old is only going back to where you're from
[Instrumental Break]
[Keyboard Solo]
[Drum Solo]
[Verse 2]
Far beyond our senseless thoughts there lies a core of gold
Where essence of the newborn child is waiting in the old
The Master Plan is well conceived, it's there for all to see
And each day that is spent in thought is living harmony
Reach into the depths of being, pass beyond the years
Time is lost in stillness, where there are no hopes and fears
Linger in the void, and like a beacon in the night
Purity will fill your soul with ever-present light
[Refrain 2]
For everything you've seen is waiting patiently within
For growing old is only going back to where you've been
Song for America (single edit) Lyrics
[Instrumental Intro/Overture 00:00-03:03]
[Verse 1]
Virgin land of forest green, dark and stormy plains
Here all life abounds
Sunlit valley, mountain fields, unseen in the rain
Here all life abounds
[Chorus]
No man rules this land
No human hand has soiled this paradise
Waiting patiently, so much to see
So rich in Earth's delights
[Verse 2]
Painted desert, sequined sky, stars that fill the night
Here all life abounds
Rivers flowing to the sea, sunshine pure and bright
Here all life abounds
[Chorus]
No man rules this land
No human hand has soiled this paradise
Waiting patiently, so much to see
So rich in Earth's delights
[Verse 3]
So the maiden lies in waiting
For the sails to reach the shore
Land of beauty and abundance
Innocent, you opened wide your door
Wanderers found the waiting treasure
Full of gifts beyond their measure
Milk and honey for our pleasure
[Verse 4]
Across the sea there came a multitude
Sailing ships upon the wave
Filled with the visions of Utopia
And the freedom that they crave
Ravage, plunder, see no wonder
Rape and kill and tear asunder
Chop the forest, plow it under
[Instrumental Break 05:08-08:36]
[Keyboard Solo]
[Violin Solo]
[Verse 5]
Highways scar the mountainsides, buildings to the sky
People all around
Houses stand in endless rows, sea to shining sea
People all around
[Chorus]
So we rule this land, and here we stand
Upon our paradise
Dreaming of a place, our weary race
Is ready to arise
[Instrumental Outro]
Down the Road (live in Cleveland, OH, 1975) Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I, I'm in a kind of foolish game I tried to get rich quick
But I'm going insane
The kind of freaks that hang out on 42nd Street
They're all pimpin’ Judy's and popping speed, well
It's a game of cat and mouse and I think it's got my soul
I think it's time for thinkin’ 'bout a time to roll on down the road
So here I go!
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 2]
Here come Big Mike, I kinda owe him some beans, well
He must be crazy, I guess that's why he's so mean
If I tell him I'm leaving, he would sure enough split my gut
'Cause he knows I sold to a sucker and I owe Big Mike a cut
But I'll slip him a twenty dollar bill till I get out of town
When I hit those white lines, I'm gonna be gone like a greyhound down the road
Down the road, yeah
[Outro]
It's a long, long road