Joan Baez - Gulf Winds lyrics

It's only when the high winds blow that
I wish my hair was long
Sailing through the autumn leaves
Singing an ancient song
Or falling in love in the streets at night
At the edge of a local square
It's only that I'm here tonight
Thinking I was there

There are high winds on the pier tonight
My soul departs from me
Striding like Thalia's ghost south
On the murky sea
And into midnight's tapestry she fades
Ragged and wild
Searching down her ancestry in the
Costume of a Persian child

And gulf winds bring me flying fish
That shine in the crescent moon
Show me the horizon where the
Dawn will break anew
And cool me here on this lonely pier
Where the heron are flying low
Echo the songs my father knew
In the towns of Mexico
When I was young my eyes were wise
My father was good to me
Instead of having a flock of sons he
Had two other girls and me
And if we had used our Spanish names
Here's the way they'd run
Thalia, Margarita and Juanita
I'm the middle one

The screen door kept the demons in as
We moved from town to town
It's hard to be a princess in the
States when your skin is brown
And mama smoothed my worried brow as
I leaned on the kitchen door
Why do you carry the weight, she said
Of the world and maybe more?

And gulf winds bring me flying fish
That shine in the crescent moon
Show me the horizon where the
Dawn will break anew
And cool me here on this lonely pier
Where the heron are flying low
Echo the songs my father knew
In the towns of Mexico

My grandfathers were ministers and it
Came on down the line
My father preached in his
Parents' church when
He was ten years and nine
And mama dressed in parishoners' clothes
And didn't believe in hell
Her daddy fought the DAR
If he'd lived I'd have known him well

They said go find a Sunday School
We must have tried them all
I never stole from the silver plate
My sisters had more gall
One preacher said sing out loud and clear
It's the only life you've got
And the next one said be good on earth
You've another life at the feet of God

And gulf winds bring me flying fish
That shine in the crescent moon
Show me the horizon where the
Dawn will break anew
And cool me here on this lonely pier
Where the heron are flying low
Echo the songs my father knew
In the towns of Mexico
My father turned down many a job
Just to give us something real
It's hard to be a scientist in
The States when you've got ideals
And mama kept the budget book
She kept the garden, too
Bought fish from the man on Thursday
Fed all of us and strangers, too

But time will pass and so, alas
Will most of what we know
Though tonight my memory's eye is clear
As the story's being told
And I'll play ball with the underdog and
Sit with the child who's wrong
Be still when the earth is silent and
Sing when my strength is gone

And gulf winds bring me flying fish
That shine in the crescent moon
Show me the horizon where the
Dawn will break anew
And cool me here on this lonely pier
Where the heron are flying low
Echo the songs my father knew
In the towns of Mexico

Now father's going to India
Sometime in the fall
They tried to stay together but you
Just can't do it all
I'll think about him if he goes
There's a little grey in his hair
Though not much because he's
Mexican, they don't age, they just prepare

And if he goes to India I'll
Miss him most of all
He'll see me in the mudlarks' face
Hear me in the beggar's call
And mama will stay home, I guess
And worry if she did wrong
And I'll say a prayer for both of
Them and sing them both my song

And gulf winds bring me flying fish
That shine in the crescent moon
Show me the horizon where the
Dawn will break anew
And cool me here on this lonely pier
Where the heron are flying low
Echo the songs my father knew
In the towns of Mexico