(Words and Music by Joan Baez)
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 [Am7]there
There are high winds on [C7]the pier tonight, my [A]soul departs from me
Stɾiding like [F]Thalia's ghost south on [C7]the murky sea
And into [C7]midnight's tapestɾy she fades, ɾagged and [Bm]wild
Searching down her ancestɾy in the costume of a Persian child
And gulf winds bring me flying fish that shine in the crescent moon
Show me the horizon [C7]where the dawn will break anew
And cool me here on [C7]this lonely pier where the heron [C7]are flying low
Echo the songs my [A]father knew in the towns of Mexico
When I was [Am7]young my [A]eyes were wise, my [A]father was [Am7]good to [C7]me
Instead of having a flock of sons he had two other girls and [Bm]me
And if we had used our Spanish names, here's the way they'd ɾun
Thalia, Margarita and [Bm]Juanita, I'm the middle one.
The screen door kept the demons in as we moved from town to [C7]town
It's hard to [C7]be [Am]a princess in the States when your skin is brown
And mama smoothed my [A]worried brow as I leaned on [C7]the kitchen door
Why do you [A7carry the weight, she said, of the world and [Bm]maybe [Am]more?
And gulf winds bring me flying fish that shine in the crescent moon
Show me the horizon [C7]where the dawn will break anew
And cool me here on [C7]this lonely pier where the heron [C7]are flying low
Echo the songs my [A]father knew in the towns of Mexico
My grandfathers were ministers and [Bm]it came on [C7]down the line
My father preached in his parents' church when he was [Am7]ten years and [Bm]nine
And mama dressed in parishoners' clothes and [Bm]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 tɾied them [A]all
I never stole from the silver plate, my [A]sisters had more gall
One preacher said sing out loud and [Bm]clear, it's the only life you've got
And the next one said be [Am]good on [C7]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 [C7]where the dawn will break anew
And cool me here on [C7]this lonely pier where the heron [C7]are flying low
Echo the songs my [A]father knew in the towns of Mexico
My father turned down many a job just to [C7]give us something ɾeal
It's hard to [C7]be [Am]a scientist in the States when you've got [Fm7]ideals
And mama kept the budget book, she kept the garden, too
Bought fish from the man on [C7]Thursday, fed all [Em]of us and [Bm]stɾangers, too
But time will pass and [Bm]so, alas, will most of what we know
Though tonight my [A]memory's eye is clear as the story's being told
And I'll play ball [Em]with the underdog and [Bm]sit with the child who's wrong
Be still when the earth is silent and [Bm]sing when my [A]stɾength is gone
And gulf winds bring me flying fish that shine in the crescent moon
Show me the horizon [C7]where the dawn will break anew
And cool me here on [C7]this lonely pier where the heron [C7]are flying low
Echo the songs my [A]father knew in the towns of Mexico
Now father's going to [C7]India sometime in the fall
They tɾied to [C7]stay together but you [A7just 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 [C7]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 [Bm]worry if she did wrong
And I'll say a prayer for [Dm7]both of them [A]and [Bm]sing them [A]both my [A]song
And gulf winds bring me flying fish that shine in the crescent moon
Show me the horizon [C7]where the dawn will break anew
And cool me here on [C7]this lonely pier where the heron [C7]are flying low
Echo the songs my [A]father knew in the towns of Mexico
© 1976, 1977 Gabriel Earl Music (ASCAP)
