Ballad of Silverheels

Swan River

Morning Song

Mount of the Holy Cross

Palomino

Mountain Child

Roamin' Fever
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

Ballad of Silverheels

she arrived one day by stagecoach
in a fancy eastern dress
they say she was the prettiest thing
to ever hit the west
when she smiled, the boys went wild
to them she was a queen
and when she danced it was the finest thing
them gold diggers had ever seen

Chorus:

Silverheels!  Silverheels!
they called this eastern belle
Silverheels!  Silverheels!
cause she danced so well
Silverheels!  Silverheels!
come and dance with me
I'm just an old gold miner, child,
you are a queen to me

now pannin' gold in the blazin' sun
can give a man a fever
and mosquitos are thicker than pine needles
on the mouth of the South Platte River
when the winter hits the gulch, my friend
and the wind, she starts to howlin'
there ain't no amount of yellow gold
can save you from the freezin' cold

so the men went down to Alma town
for women and for whiskey
and many a tall tale is still told
of men who fought and died over yellow gold
and the dancing lady from the east
who set many a heart on fire
she danced and twirled the whole night long
for the lonely en of Alma town

Chorus:

Silverheels!  Silverheels! 
never saw a face so pretty
Silverheels!  Silverheels!
she was a flawless beauty
Silverheels!  Silverheels!
come and dance with me
I'm just an old gold miner, child,
you are a queen to me

well, then one day a dread plague
came to those mining camps
and one-by-one the men came down
when smallpox fever hit the town
Silverheels became their nurse
their angel and lovin' mother
she stayed awake the whole night long
caring for the sick of Alma town

for many a week that long, cold winter
the men lay sick and cryin'
but the lovin' care of Miss Silverheels
kept many a man from dying
and one-by-one most got well
but one more finally came down
and nothing could be done to keep her
from the terrible smallpox fever

Chorus:

Silverheels!  Silverheels!
many a life she saved
Silverheels!  Silverheels!
kept us from a miner's grave
Silverheels! Silverheels!
now she has come down
and nothing could be done to keep her
from the terrible smallpox fever

though she lived her beauty was gone
her face was scarred for life
no more would she dance or play
without a word she slipped away
from Alma town she left one day

the miners had planned to give to her
a fortune in yellow gold
but she left before they had a chance
or so the story is told
a large reward was offered for
the whereabouts of Miss Silverheels
but she never came back, or so it's told
to claim a fortune in Colorado gold

Chorus:

Silverheels!  Silver heels!
come back to Alma town
Silverheels!  Silverheels!
where can she be found?
Silverheels!  Silverheels!
come and dance with me
I'm just an old gold miner, child,
you are a queen to me

they say a lady walks at night
in the graveyard above this place
they say she wears a long, dark veil
that covers up her face
could it be Miss Silverheels?
no one will ever know
for she disappears each and every night
well...so the story is told

Chorus:

Silverheels!  Silver heels!
come back to Alma town
Silverheels!  Silverheels!
where can she be found?
Silverheels!  Silverheels!
come and dance with me
I'm just an old gold miner, child,
you are a queen to me

 
In the morning, in the sunshine
the water here tastes like good wine
savoring the fragrance of sweet pine
give you my love, you give me love's sigh

In the morning, in the sunshine
the world seems to be all mine
nothing to break this timeless spell
Swan River's like a wishing well

Chorus:

Swan River, send my tears away
I'll play by your bank today
wash my soul clean of fear
Swan River, how I hold you dear

I was once an ocean sailor
spent time upon the seas
now I run a birch canoe
through rapids lined with towering trees

my home is by this playful stream
fed from spring-traveled mountain snow
my heart hovers like a hawk
above her cool, clear, singing waters

Refrain:

Once again I long to hold you
once again to see your face
fast asleep upon my shoulder
colored by the radiance of dawn

once again I long to kiss you
once again to feel you close
our fingers softly caressing each other
like the river caresses the earth

Chorus:

Swan River, send my tears away
I'll stay by your bank today
wash my soul clean of fear
Swan River, how I hold you dear
though the one I love is gone
I'll still sing a happy love song
 

 
When I woke up this morning
I was feelin' mighty good
saw you smiling back at me
babe, I knew you would

Every time I'm with you
You bring out the best of me
you make me feel just like a child
so happy and so free

Chorus:

I don't know how you might see me
as a sinner or a saint
a poet, fool, clown, or their
or all the things I ain't

What I see in you is mostly
the love comin' through your eyes
it's love that keeps us goin'
it's love that makes us wise

you know that deep-down we're the same
even though it's so hard to see
two souls alone/together
strivin' to live free
 
 
 

High in the Colorado Rockies
far above the cities neon glow
there is a tall and lovely mountain
on its peak Nature carved a cross of snow

This peak has always been a legend
as far back at the 16th century
when two lost priests suddenly found it, and,
with their faith renewed, made their way safely

Chorus:

Far in the golden west
sun-defying, its deep ravines
shining on a mountain-top
is one of the prettiest things I've seen

if you climb near the top
you will see that cross of snow
you can see for many hundreds of miles
from Vail to Mexico

William Jackson came to take its picture
Indian chiefs told him the way to go
for months he searched to find the sacred mountain
and, after giving up all hope
the storm clouds above suddenly parted
and he found himself beneath the cross of snow

In the 1880's came the Colorado gold rush
a miner's camp was built beneath the snowy cross
many came seeking an easy fortune
but gold was scarce, and many lives were lost

Chorus:

The miners came from the east
to steal the mountain's precious gold
but down came a mighty rock-slide
to crush them all below

beneath the cross is the figure of a lady
whose tears descend to form a little lake
many came and called this water holy
and sold the tears sweet Mary makes.

Repeat first chorus
 
 

 
Something keeps moving me on
sometimes its the words to a song
sometimes its the thought of your smile
you always looked like a child

Chorus:

Palomino, if you'll come back to me
tell you how I'd like it to be
we'll spend time travellin' into the wind
we'll get lost in each other again

Don't know why I feel this way
Palomino, I miss you every day
don't know why I cry for you
each lonely day and the whole night through

Chorus:

Palomino, won't you come back to me
tell you how I'd like it to be
we'll sleep together by a clear running stream
listen to the swift water sing
we'll play together again
once again you'll be my special friend
 
 

next  ~ top
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

Rape of the Blue River and Ten-Mile Creek

there's a sad, sad story
I have to sing for you
about the village of Ten-Mile Creek
and the rape of the River Blue

back in the 1880's
near the town of Breckenridge
a horde of greedy miners
camped upon the Ten-Mile ridge

Chorus:

There's a cold and evil feeling
that dwells in some men's hearts
what else could make a miner
tear a gentle stream apart?

I'm not talkin' of the poor men
who pan gold with their hands
shovelin' ore from dusk to dawn
for they replace the river's sand

It's the rich men with giant dredge machines
whose deeds I'm talking about
men with a heartless lust for gold
whose evil greed knew no bounds

that left upon the riverbanks
miles of grey rock piles
it's their own Mother Nature
that these crazy men defiled!

These lazy, tree-lined rivers
used to flow so clear and clean
before their foul desecration
by the men with dredge machines

Since the dawn of the Rocky Mountains
the rivers ran so wild and free
in only a few short years
the miners ruined their scenery

Over by the town of Leadville
at the mouth of the Ten-Mile Creek
the giant Moly-mine at Climax Mountain
has made its shining waters reek

The sewage from climax mine
is collected in tailing ponds
their minerals foul the water now
and all the plants and fish are gone

Please listen now, Colorado's people
these words you shouldn't ignore
for the waters from these rivers
flow into the Dillon reservoir

Please tell me, all you miners
searching for precious ore
is your own craving more important
than the priceless treasures you destroy?

All over this fine country
men still strip the land for ore
leaving a barren landscape
that takes many eons to restore

Repeat Chorus
 

 
Been in the city so many weeks now
want to hear the sound of a mountain stream
want to climb to the top of the nearest peak
and hear the laughter of the blowing wind

Chorus:

Mountain child, so soon I'll go back home
mountain child, now I've been a-cryin'
been in the city far too long
sometimes I feel that I must be dying

Beneath a sky darkened grey and still
I still knew where the sun was shining...
my heart went flying over the hills
to the valleys near the Great Divide

To the days of near endless sunshine
singing happily while daily walking
never caring where I might lay my head
playing music each night by the campfire's light

To the days when friends and strangers
around a tipi or cabin might gather...
some wondering which way to go,
while dreams come dancin' in the fire's glow

Repeat Chorus
 

 
Here's a song about my roamin' fever
that makes me want to leave this town...
hitchhiking from her to California
at least a dozen times or more...
seen mighty storms on the Great Planes,
the icy blizzards way up north...
I've seen the way the oceans play
upon our great seaboards

Chorus:

Now I'm bound to settle down,
yes, I'm so tired of movin' on...
please tell me now,
do you know a place
where I might find a home?

Had a mountain home in Colorado,
and girl whose love was kind and true,
but springtime made my mind so restless,
and even true love can turn cold and blue
so I left her early one morning,
and hitched back east toward the sun,
yes, I've seen the way my heart can play
with even a true loved one

There's nothing like a little travellin'
to see this land and its majesty...
I'll probably leave here tomorrow morning,
go where the hills meet the pounding sea...
still, one day, I'd like to own
a little Rocky Mountain cabin home...
I'll take off my shoes, you can spread the news
that I never more shall roam!

Repeat Chorus