Homeless Brother(Written by Don) I was walking by the graveyard, late last Friday night, I heard somebody yelling, it sounded like a fight. It was just a drunken hobo dancing circles in the night, Pouring whiskey on the headstones in the blue moonlight. So often have I wondered where these homeless brothers go, Down in some hidden valley were their sorrows cannot show, Where the police cannot find them, where the wanted men can go. There's freedom when your walking, even though you're walking slow. Smash your bottle on a gravestone and live while you can, that homeless brother is my friend. It's hard to be a pack rat, it's hard to be a 'bo, but living's so much harder where the heartless people go. Somewhere the dogs are barking and the children seem to know That Jesus on the highway was a lost hobo. And they hear the holy silence of the temples in the hill, And they see the ragged tatters as another kind of thrill. And they envy him the sunshine and they pity him the chill, And they're sad to do their living for some other kind of thrill. Smash your bottle on a gravestone and live while you can, that homeless brother is my friend. Somewhere there was a woman, somewhere there was a child, Somewhere there was a cottage where the marigolds grew wild. But some where's just like nowhere when you leave it for a while, You'll find the broken-hearted when you're travelling jungle-style. Down the bowels of a broken land where numbers live like men, Where those who keep their senses have them taken back again, Where the night stick cracks with crazy rage, where madmen don't pretend, Where wealth has no beginning and poverty no end. Smash your bottle on a gravestone and live while you can, that homeless brother is my friend. The ghosts of highway royalty have vanished in the night, The Whitman wanderer walking toward a glowing inner light. The children have grown older and the cops have gripped us tight, There's no spot round the melting pot for free men in their flight. And you who leave on promises and prosper as you please, The victim of your riches often dies of your disease, He can't hear the factory whistle, just the lonesome freight train's wheeze, He's living on good fortune, he ain't dying on his knees. Smash your bottle on a gravestone and live while you can, that homeless brother is my friend. that homeless brother is my friend.
Wonderful Baby(Written by Don)
Wonderful baby livin' on love
the sandman says maybe he'll take you above,
up where the girls fly on ribbons and bows,
where babies float by, just counting their toes.
Wonderful baby nothin' but new,
the world has gone crazy, I'm glad ,I'm not you.
At the beginning or is it the end?
It goes in and comes out and starts over again.
Wonderful baby livin' on love
the sandman says maybe he'll take you above,
up where the girls fly on ribbons and bows,
where babies float by, just counting their toes.
Wonderful baby I'll watch while you grow.
If I knew the future you'd be first to know.
But I don't know nothin' of what life's about,
Just as long as you live, you'll never find out.
Wonderful baby, nothin' to fear.
Love whom you will, but doubt what you hear.
They'll whisper sweet things to make untrue.
So be good to yourself, that's all you can do.
You're a wonderful baby livin' on love
the sandman says maybe he'll take you above,
up where the girls fly on ribbons and bows,
where babies float by, just counting their toes,
where babies float by, just counting their toes... Ooh...
Don Mclean-mp3playlist
Don Mclean preforms his beautiful song ~And I Love You So. Cesarea, Israel. January 1979.
Winter Has Me In Its Grip (Written by Don) Chorus: ***Winter has me in it's grip Think I'll take a summer trip On a sunny sailing ship Where the shells lie in the sand.*** I feel so lonely, I'm too young to feel this old. I need you and you only When the weather gets this cold. (chorus) No use in going 'cause it's cold inside my heart And it's always snowing Since the day we broke apart. (chorus) I try to run from winter Like the spring and summer run to fall But when the weather's in you There's no hiding place at all.
Castles In The Air(Written by Don) And if she asks you why, you can tell her that I told you That I'm tired of castles in the air. I've got a dream I want the world to share And castle walls just lead me to despair. Hills of forest green where the mountains touch the sky, A dream come true, I'll live there till I die. I'm asking you to say my last goodbye. The love we knew ain't worth another try. Save me from all the trouble and the pain. I know I'm weak, but I can't face that girl again. Tell her the reasons why I can't remain, Perhaps she'll understand if you tell it to her plain. But how can words express the feel of sunlight in the morning, In the hills, away from city strife. I need a country woman for my wife; I'm city born, but I love the country life. For I cannot be part of the cocktail generation: Partners waltz, devoid of all romance. The music plays and everyone must dance. I'm bowing out. I need a second chance. Save me from all the trouble and the pain. I know I'm weak, but I can't face that girl again. Tell her the reasons why I can't remain, Perhaps she'll understand if you tell it to her plain. And if she asks you why, you can tell her that I told you That I'm tired of castles in the air. I've got a dream I want the world to share And castle walls just lead me to despair.
Till Tomorrow(Written by Don)
What can this be - can you tell me
Would you like to discover
Why we're not free - to be lovers
I've been wanting to ask you
Where has all the love gone
And what have we become
Storm clouds full of thunder
Move silent as they drum
And when they're gone, we'll be fine
till tomorrow
Oh I hope it won't raining
You will be mine - and my sorrow
Will take wings in the morning
High above the heavens
A rainbow paints the sky
White doves sing their songs of love
I watch them as they fly - and wonder
What can this be - can you tell me
Would you like to discover
Why we're not free - to be lovers...
Don McLean (part 3)
Killing me solfly with his song是Charles Fox寫給Roberta Flack唱的，此曲奪得73年格林美全年最佳歌曲、詞、及女歌手獎。作者因某次欣賞過Don Mclean 的現場演出，便觸發靈感寫下這首作品，表示對Don的欣賞，曲中的his便是指Don mClean；而Don亦基於對Buddy Holly的欣賞和懷念，寫了經典的American pie。似乎每个人心目中都有自己的英雄而受到感染、、、、、
**Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly With his song...ooooo....**
I heard he sang a good song
I heard he had a style
And so I came to see him and listen for awhile
And there he was this young boy
A stranger to my eyes...
Strumming my pain with his fingers....**
I felt all flushed with fever
Embarrassed by the crowd
I felt he found my letters
and read each one out loud
I pray that he would finish
But he just kept right on...
Strumming my pain with his fingers....**
He sang as if he knew me
In all my dark despair
And then he looked right through me
as if I was not there
And he just kept on singing,Singing clear and strong...
Strumming my pain with his fingers.....**
...oooooo....la la la la la la.....ooooooooooo...
la la laaaaa.la la la laaaaa......
 Don McLean 於1945年10月2日 在 美 國 New York State 紐 約 州 New Rochelle 出 世。由 童 年 開 始 已 對各 種 樂 器 演 奏 有 莫 大 興 趣，除 了 結 他 彈 得 非 常 好 之 外，綱 琴 及Banjo的 措 藝 也 非 常 不 錯。 60年 代 在 Villanova University 讀 書 時 期 的Don mclean 已 開 始 作 曲 及 唱 歌 賺 錢，也 曾 在 1964年 在New York City 的Café Lena任 當 時 很 流 行 的 Coffee House 駐 場 歌 手。後 來 幫 老 牌 民 歌 樂 隊Weavers 的 靈 魂Pete Seeger 在 一 艘 環 保 船 'The Clearwater'，在 美 國 東 岸 Hudson River 航 行，唱 出 宣 揚環 保 訊 息。 事 實 上，Villanova University 除 了 有Don Mclean ，同 一 時 期 還 有 另 一 位 後 來 成 為 一位 很 受 人 喜 愛 的 民 歌 手 Jim Croce，近 年 有 唱 片 公 司 將 Don McLean 及 Jim Croce 的 多 首 著 名 歌曲 一 同 放 於 一 張 名 Back To Back Hits 的 唱 片 內，裡 面 包 括 Don McLean 一 隻 好 有 民 歌 味 道，來 自他 1972 年 第 3 隻 大 碟 Don McLean 的 'If We Try'。 摘自：uncle Michael~ http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/michaeluncle/article?mid=21
The story behind American Pie 
Don Mclean-mp3playlist
Empty Chairs(Written by Don) I feel the trembling tingle of a sleepless night Creep through my fingers and the moon is bright Beams of blue come flickering through my window pane Like gypsy moths that dance around a candle flame And I wonder if you know That I never understood That although you said you'd go Until you did I never thought you would Moonlight used to bathe the contours of your face chestnut hair fell all around the pillow case the fragrance of your flowers rest beneath my head A sympathy bouquet left with the love that's dead And I wonder if you know That I never understood That although you said you'd go Until you did I never thought you would Never thought the words you said were true Never thought you said just what you meant Never knew how much I needed you Never thought you'd leave, until you went Morning comes and morning goes with no regret And evening brings the memories I can't forget Empty rooms that echo as I climb the stairs And empty clothes that drape and fall on empty chairs And I wonder if you know That I never understood That although you said you'd go Until you did I never thought you would
If We Try
If We Try(Written by Don)
***When I see you on the street,
I lose my concentration.
Just the thought that we might meet, creates anticipation.
Won't you look my way, one before you go,
and my eyes will say, what you ought to know.
Well, I've been thinkin' about you day and night
an' I don't know if it'll work out right.
But somehow I think that it just might,
if we try. ***
Faces come and faces go, in circular rotation.
But something yearns within to grow beyond infatuation.
Won't you look my way, one before you go,
and my eyes will say, what you ought to know.
you got me standin' deaf and blind.
'Cause I see love as just a state of mind.
And who knows what it is that we might find,
if we try.
You're walkin' a different direction from most people I've met.
You're givin' me signs of affection I don't usually get.
I don't want you to pledge your future,
the future's not yours to give.
Just stand there a little longer and let me watch while you live.
**
Dreidel (Written by Don)
*** I feel like a spinning top or a dreidel.
The spinning don't stop when you leave the cradle.
You just slow down.
Round and around the world you go
Spinning through the lives of the people you know.
We all slow down.
How you gonna keep on turning from day to day?
How you gonna keep from turning your life away? ***
No days you can borrow, no time you can buy.
No trust in tomorrow. It's a lie.
***
And I feel like I'm dippin' and a divin'.
My sky shoes are spiked with lead heels.
I'm lost in this star car I'm a drivin'.
But my air sole keeps pushin' big wheels.
My world is a constant confusion.
My mind is prepared to attack.
My past, a persuasive illusion.
I'm watchin' the future it's black.
What do you know? You know just what you perceive.
What can you show? Nothing of what you believe.
And as you grow, each thread of life that you leave
Will spin around your deeds and dictate your needs
As you sell your soul and you sow your seeds
And you wound yourself and your loved one bleeds
And your habits grow, and your conscience feeds
On all that you thought you should be
I never thought this could happen to me.
***
I feel like a spinning top or a dreidel.
The spinning don't stop when you leave the cradle.
You just slow down.
Round and around the world you go
Spinning through the lives of the people you know.
We all slow down.
How you gonna keep on turning from day to day?
How you gonna keep from turning your life away? Oh..
I feel like a spinning top or a dreidel.
The spinning don't stop when you leave the cradle.
You just slow down.
You just slow down.
You just slow down...
In Nineteen Sixty Seven (Written by Don)
In Nineteen Sixty Seven the draft caught up with me,
me and my pal Joe went off to war.
We might find hero's heaven, but we'd keep the country free.
We would surely win just like before.
Roy Rogers he was on his horse, and Buck Jones drew his gun.
We would surely win of course when the battle was all done.
Nineteen Sixty Seven I came back alone,
they brought Joe back in plastic on the plane.
Nineteen Sixty Seven seems so long ago,
but I can't forget my friend or ease my pain.
His family may forget him, his children may regret him,
his wife may find another and go on.
His picture may grow faded and the world he knew gone jaded
but as long as I shall live I surely know,
I never will forget my buddy Joe.
In Nineteen Sixty Seven, the war was raging on,
our country was divided and reborn.
While I was back at home, I had never left Saigon,
'cause all I got was ridicule and scorn.
This was no place for hero's now, they all seemed to resent me,
They said "Why did you ever go? I said "Because they sent me.
Nineteen Sixty Seven they buried my friend Joe,
and I was flashing back while people wept.
I thought of how he saved us and I watched the land-mine blow,
and I looked down at his dog-tag that I kept.
You'll always be a young man, you always will be smiling,
you always will be confident and true.
Your picture may grow faded and the world you knew gone jaded,
but as long as I shall live I surely know,
I never will forget my buddy Joe.
Long as I shall live I surely know,
I never will forget you buddy Joe...
The Grave(Written by Don)
The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors,
And the brown earth bleached white at the edge of his gravestone.
He's gone.
When the wars of our nation did beckon,
A man barely twenty did answer the calling.
Proud of the trust that he placed in our nation,
He's gone,
But Eternity knows him, and it knows what we've done.
And the rain fell like pearls on the leaves of the flowers
Leaving brown, muddy clay where the earth had been dry.
And deep in the trench he waited for hours,
As he held to his rifle and prayed not to die.
But the silence of night was shattered by fire
As guns and grenades blasted sharp through the air.
And one after another his comrades were slaughtered.
In morgue of Marines, alone standing there.
He crouched ever lower, ever lower with fear.
"They can't let me die! The can't let me die here!
I'll cover myself with the mud and the earth.
I'll cover myself! I know I'm not brave!
The earth! the earth! the earth is my grave."
The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors,
And the brown earth bleached white at the edge of his gravestone.
He's gone.
Mountains O'Mourne
Oh, Mary, this London's a wonderful sight
With people here working by day and by night
They don't sow potatoes nor barley nor wheat
But there's gangs of them diggin' for gold in the street
At least when I asked them, that's what I was told
So I just took a hand at this diggin' for gold
But for all that I've found there, I might as well be
In the place where the dark Mourne sweeps down to the sea
I believe that when writin' a wish you expressed
As to how the fine ladies of London were dressed
But if you'll believe me, when asked to a ball
They don't wear no tops to their dresses at all
Oh, I've seen them myself and you could not in truth
Tell if they were bound for a ball or a bath
Don't be startin' them fashions now, Mary McRee,
In the place where the dark Mourne sweeps down to the sea
There's beautiful girls here, oh, never you mind
Beautiful shapes Nature never designed
Lovely complexions of roses and cream
But let me remark with regard to the same
That if at those roses you venture to sit
The colors might all come away on your lip
So I'll wait for the wild rose that's waitin' for me
In the place where the dark Mourne sweeps down to the sea
You remember young Diddy McClaren, of course
But he's over here with the rest of the force
I saw him one day as he stood on the strand
Stopped all the traffic with a wave of his hand
As we were talking of days that are gone
The whole town of London stood there to look on
But for all his great powers, he's wishful like me
To be back where the dark Mourne sweeps down to the sea
Winterwood (Written by Don)
No-one can take your place with me,
And time has proven that I'm right.
There's no place I'd rather be,
Than at your place for the night.
No time can pass your sight unseen.
No moment steals away unfound.
Lifetime lived in such a dream,
Floats like a feather to the ground.
(Chorus)
And for the first time I've been seeing
The things I'd never notice, without you.
And for the first time I'm discovering
The things I use to treasure, about you.
The birds like leaves on Winterwood,
Sing hopeful songs on dismal days.
They've learned to live life as they should.
They are at peace with natures ways.
You are as natural as the night,
And all that springs from you is good.
And the children born beneath your light,
Are like the birds on Winterwood.
(Chorus)
Oh My What A Shame (1972)
(Don McLean~Part2)
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