Saturday, July 10, 2010

Heart on a tether - Lonely Road

One of the reasons that Mark Heard's songs are so dear to me is that they continue to be a wellspring of meditation, challenge, and inspiration. Here's one of the best examples I can think of:

A Broken Man - Mark Heard
listen

1.Sun come up like a yellow bus
Tracking over the oceans of dust
One day's miracle is another day's rut
But day keeps breaking like it always does

I'm not a loner, no sack-cloth and ashes
Just a heart on a tether with a vagabond min
But this will be a broken man
Come shivering out of his wintertime [Chorus]

[Chorus]
I'm a broken man, a broken man
Outcast on the outskirts of the promised land
A broken man
A broken man
A broken man

2. I have faltered in my strength
I have wanted to do everything right
I swallow hard while the second hand blinks
Shut the back door to keep out the night

Is it just a game? Is this a maze
To lead me right back where I started from?
This will be a broken man
Come shattered from this marathon [Chorus]

3.Maybe I fear the crush of guilt
I can't take that kind of weight
Maybe I'm afraid when the thunder breaks
Scared of losing the things I love so much

I pretend I ain't scared
I ain't frightened by no third degree
But this will be a broken man
Come begging for your charity [Chorus]

listen
(yes that is a hammered dulcimer that you hear once in a while)

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