Neil Young - American Stars 'n Bars Album Lyrics

Gotta change the vocal mic on the piano

I'm playing that old country waltz
In this empty hall, bouncin' off the wall
Ain't got no excuses, I just want to play
That good old country waltz

Well, I loved, and I lost, and I cried
The day that the two of us died
Ain't got no excuses, I just want to ride
While the band plays the old country waltz

Out the window, the moonlight shines on the roofs of the cars
While the bar serves tequila and salt, oh
And the band plays the old country waltz

This old music has kept me on top
When you're down, it's a hard thing to stop
I don't need no excuses, I just want to play
That good old country waltz

And I'm playing it, that old country waltz
In this empty hall, echoin' off the wall
Ain't got no excuses, I just want to play
That good old country waltz

Ain't got no excuses, I just need to play
That good old country waltz

Oh, oh, Carmelina
The daughter of the wealthy banker
Since she came to town all my friends are gone
And I'm stuck out here with melody

Saddle up the palomino, the sun is going down
The way I feel, this must be real

If you can't cut it, don't pick up the knife
There's no reward in your conscience stored
When you're sleepin' with another man's wife

Saddle up the palomino, the sun is going down
The way I feel, this must be real

I want to lick the platter, the gravy doesn't matter
It's a cold bowl of chili when love lets you down
But it's the neighbor's wife I'm after

Saddle up the palomino, the sun is going down
The way I feel, this must be real

Hey babe, say you're mine, all mine
I need it oh so bad
Hey babe, hey babe
I know that all things pass
Let's try to make this last

Oh, can you see my love shining for you?
Oh, can you see my love shining for you?

Hey babe, can I count on you
To see me through?
Hey babe, hey babe
All I need is your love
And the stars above

Oh, can you see my love shining for you?
Oh, can you see my love shining for you?

Hey babe, say you're mine, all mine
I need you oh so bad
Hey babe, hey babe
I know that all things pass
Let's try to make this last

Oh, can you see my love shining for you?
Oh, can you see my love shining for you?

Hey babe, I know that all things pass
Let's try to make this last

Hello, my old friend
It's good to see you smiling
You've been around so long, you must be strong
And single life really has its fine points
Like friends to help you out when things go wrong

Hold back the tears
That you've been cryin'
Push off the fears
When they come around

Hold back the tears
And keep on trying
Just around the next corner
May be waiting your true love

I call her name out in the night
I feel for someone but still something isn't right
Ah, those streets I hesitate to use
Start looking better when night brings on the blues

Hold back the tears
That you've been cryin'
Push off the fears
When they come around

Hold back the tears
And keep on trying
Just around the next corner
May be waiting your true love

Two lying fools
And then four cryin' eyes
Counting on one another to survive
Crazy love must surely have its pain
When getting up means going down again

Hold back the tears
That you've been cryin'
Push off the fears
When they come around

Hold back the tears
And keep on trying
Just around the next corner
May be waiting your true love

Hello, my old friend
It's good to see you smiling

There's a bar hall queen
down in Charlotte town.
I'd sure like to see her
when the sun goes down.
I swear her hair
is midnight black.
And I can't wait
till I get back.

Carolina queen,
She's a walking love machine.
I'd like to make her scream,
When I bite the bullet.
Bite the bullet.

Born and raised
at the top of the South.
You know she knows
what it's all about.
Good old boys are coming
from miles around.
Wanna watch that bullet
lay 'em down.

Carolina queen,
She's a walking love machine.
I'd like to make her scream,
When I bite the bullet.
Bite the bullet.

There's a bar hall queen
down in Charlotte town.
I'd sure like to see her
when the sun goes down.
Good old boys are coming
from miles around.
Wanna watch that bullet
lay 'em down.

Carolina queen,
She's a walking love machine.
I'd like to make her scream,
When I bite the bullet.
Bite the bullet.

Ain't it hard when you wake up in the morning
And you find out that those other days are gone?
All you have is memories of happiness
Lingerin' on

All your dreams and your lovers won't protect you
They're only passing through you in the end
They'll leave you stripped of all that they can get to
And wait for you to come back again

Yet still a light is shining
From that lamp on down the hall
Maybe the star of Bethlehem
Wasn't a star at all

La la la la, la la la la
La la la la, la la la la

It has often been my dream
To live with one who wasn't there
Like an ocean fish who swam upstream
Through nets, by hooks, and hungry bears

When the water grew less deep
My fins were aching from the strain
I'm swimming in my sleep
I know I can't go back again
Can't go back, I'd never lose

(Got the will to love) never lose the will to love
(Got the will to love) never lose the will
(Got the will to love) it's something from above
(Got the will to love) never lose the will to love

I can be like a fire in the night
Always warm and giving off light
But there comes a time when I shine too bright
Oh, I'm just a fire in the night

And now my fins are in the air
And my belly's scraping on the rocks
I still think someone really cares
And I'll keep swimming 'til I stop
No, no

Never lose the will to love (got the will to love)
I got the will to love (got the will to love)
I got the will to love (got the will to love)
It's like something from above (got the will to love)
I never lose the will to love (got the will to love)

La la la la, la la la la
La la la la, la la la la

I'm like a singer on the stage
With the golden lights and liquid rage
Down from the mountains to the sea
Cool running love keeps cleansing me

It keeps my gills from getting dry
But it distorts things in my eyes
Sometimes I see what really isn't there
Like my true lover, and I care

But I'll never lose (got the will to love) the will to love
(I got the will to love) never lose the will to love
(Got the will to love) it's like something from above
(Got the will to love) got the will to love
(Got the will to love) got it bad

La la la la, la la la la
La la la la, la la la la

Sometimes I ramble on and on
And I repeat myself 'til all my friends are gone
Get lost in snow, drown in rain
And never feel the same again

I remember the ocean from where I came
Just one of millions all the same
But somewhere someone calls my name
I'm a harpoon dodger, and I can't, won't be tamed

I'll never lose the will to love (got the will to love)
Never lose the will to love (got the will to love)
Never lose it (I got the will to love)
It's like something from up above
I'm not gonna lose the will to love

La la la la, la la la la
La la la la, la la la la

Baby, if I see boredom in your eyes
I'll know my river has run dry
But I won't turn back with that lonely tide
I bought that ticket and I'll take that ride

If we meet along the way
Please sway beside me, let us sway together
Our tails together and our fins and mind
We'll leave this water and let our scales shine
In the sun above and the sky below
So all the water and earth will know

It has often been my dream (la la la la, la la la la)
To live with one who wasn't there

Once I thought I saw you in a crowded hazy bar
Dancing on the light from star to star
Far across the moonbeam I know that's who you are
I saw your brown eyes turning once to fire

You are like a hurricane
There's calm in your eye
And I'm gettin' blown away
To somewhere safer where the feeling stays
I want to love you but I'm getting blown away

I am just a dreamer, but you are just a dream
You could have been anyone to me
Before that moment you touched my lips
That perfect feeling when time just slips
Away between us on our foggy trip

You are like a hurricane
There's calm in your eye
And I'm gettin' blown away
To somewhere safer where the feeling stays
I want to love you but I'm getting blown away, blown away

You are just a dreamer, and I am just a dream
You could have been anyone to me
Before that moment you touched my lips
That perfect feeling when time just slips
Away between us on our foggy trip

You are like a hurricane
There's calm in your eye
And I'm gettin' blown away
To somewhere safer where the feeling stays
I want to love you but I'm getting blown away

"You sound like you've been playing together for ten years"
"Yeah, yeah, that was a nice jam"

Homegrown's all right with me
Homegrown is the way it should be
Homegrown is a good thing
Plant that bell and let it ring

The sun comes up in the morning
And it shines that light around
One day, without no warning
Things start jumping up from the ground

Homegrown's all right with me
Homegrown is the way it should be
Homegrown is a good thing
Plant that bell and let it ring

Homegrown's all right with me
Homegrown is the way it should be
Homegrown is a good thing
Plant that bell and let it ring
Plant that bulb and let it blow