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Canyon Joe Lyrics
Well I live in the canyon
Where the old coyotes howl
And they come down from the mountains when the dogs begin to growl
And they meet up in the darkness where they fight until the death
When the morning sun is rising I will bury who they left
And oh, they call me Canyon Joe
And I stay in the cabin
Where I work my hands to bleed
Swing the hammer to the nail
And I swing the axe onto the tree
And I once cleared these woods
-yeah there used to be a path
And now the trees have overgrown just to prove that nothing lasts
And oh, they call me Canyon Joe
The old man went crazy
He lives high up on the ridge
He used to tell me all the stories of the church house and the bridge
But the bridge, she washed away your sin
The church house- it got burned
'Cause this world has gone angry and some people never learn
And oh, they call me Canyon Joe
And I once loved a woman
Georgia was her name
And we met out in the foothills of the Ozark Mountain Range
And we saw the world together
And these sparks that we love most
She still comes to me in dreams
I am still haunted with her ghost
And oh, they call me Canyon Joe
And all my thoughts are heavy
My beard, it has grown long
And I search the face of six-strings for an old familiar song
But the chords, they all sound foreign like the places I have been
So I close my eyes to sleep
Tomorrow I will try again
And oh, they call me Canyon Joe
Oh, oh, they call me Canyon Joe
Singing oh, oh, they call me Canyon Joe
Where the old coyotes howl
And they come down from the mountains when the dogs begin to growl
And they meet up in the darkness where they fight until the death
When the morning sun is rising I will bury who they left
Where I work my hands to bleed
Swing the hammer to the nail
And I swing the axe onto the tree
And I once cleared these woods
-yeah there used to be a path
And now the trees have overgrown just to prove that nothing lasts
He lives high up on the ridge
He used to tell me all the stories of the church house and the bridge
But the bridge, she washed away your sin
The church house- it got burned
'Cause this world has gone angry and some people never learn
Georgia was her name
And we met out in the foothills of the Ozark Mountain Range
And we saw the world together
And these sparks that we love most
She still comes to me in dreams
I am still haunted with her ghost
My beard, it has grown long
And I search the face of six-strings for an old familiar song
But the chords, they all sound foreign like the places I have been
So I close my eyes to sleep
Tomorrow I will try again
Oh, oh, they call me Canyon Joe
Singing oh, oh, they call me Canyon Joe
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Its a song about growing up really. About regrets and realizing wrongs. The coyote lines are in a lot of older country/folk songs and show that things where better back before cars, TVs, and all the things people cant seem to live without today. And how those days and people are dying. Its about being an outlaw but only to those that you use to mean something to and how with time you start to mean nothing, and soon your just a fuzzy memory while they still mean everything to you. Its a hard song and thats what people like about Joe. Hes one of the few real artist out there that still sing from the heart.
The second verse is "And I stay in the cabin."
This is such a beautiful song, and although I don't know exactly what it means, I know it has a deep, sad meaning for Joe Purdy.
Simply lovely.
Thanks!
And yes, I agree. This song seems very personal and sad
this song is about depression