Judy Collins - Winter Stories

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Ladies and gentlemen, Jonas Fjeld and Judy Collins. Whoo-hoo!

Laughs

Out on the street, it was raining today Homeless man stood in the cold Gave him five dollars And went on my way Big city blues in my soul Maybe like me, that man chose to live here Where there are days your heart dies Maybe he dreamed of a place far away Under the wide open skies Went on my way feeling strange all that day Wondering what had gone wrong And all along I could hear that voice call Haunting me all that day long Mountain girl in the city You've been gone far too long Find your way back to the mountains Where you know you belong Where your dreams can't go wrong I've seen the world and it's sights in my day Cities that blaze like the sun I've had my share of their riches and fame Done things I never should have done I've been broken-hearted and broken some hearts Tried running hard from my pain And all along, I could hear that voice call Come back to the mountains again Mountain girl in the city You've been gone far too long Find your way back to the mountains Where you know you belong Where your dreams can't go wrong Bought a ticket back again Heading home once more I feel that aching pain recede Like the waves on a shore I feel the heart of the mountains again Beating inside my breast Taking me back to the place I belong Bringing me home to the west No pain nor sorrow will keep me away I'd even walk that last, long mile Here in the mountains Where every sunrise starts I'll heal my heart for a while Mountain girl in the city You've been gone far too long Find your way back to the mountains Where you know you belong Where your dreams can't go wrong Mountain girl, mountain girl Mountain girl in the city

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Whoo-hoo!

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Thank you so much. Tusen takk. Thank you so much. Well, I'm thrilled to be here, and, of course, I want to just tell you that you're looking at the American Idol of 1956.

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I'm so privileged to be with Chatham County Line and, of course, your honored and famous and fabulous Jonas Fjeld. He's so marvelous.

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Of course, Jonas is a magnificent writer, and I'm going to turn things over to him, and he can tell you about this next beautiful song. Okay. So, this is a song from our brand-new album, "Winter Stories." And this is the title song from the album, and lyrics by the great Russell Walden.

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I feel a shiver through the curtain There's silver tracery on the pane And all I think I know for certain Is somehow, some way The light will come again Now the yellow moon is staring Like a lantern through the trees I have reached the point of daring To love you Love you My restless heart at ease I'll pull the covers up around my shoulders And feed the fire with my fading fears Some winter stories foretell a storm Some winter Winter Stories Can make you warm Can make you warm There's a chapter in the embers And a chapter in the frost And what the healing night remembers Is mostly what I've won Not what I have lost So I'll pull the covers up around my shoulders And feed the fire with my fading fears Some winter stories foretell a storm Some winter Winter Stories Can keep you warm Ooh, ooooh Ooh, ooh, oooooh Ooh, ooh, oooooh Ooh ooh, oooooh Ooh ooh, ooh Ooh, ooh One last flicker of old sorrow One last page to turn, and then I'll tell a newborn tale tomorrow Of winter Winter Stories How the light has come again The light has come again The light has come again Winter stories Winter stories Winter stories

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Thank you. A wonderful song, oh, my gosh. I love Jonas. I've known him for a number of years.

In fact, we made a record together a few years ago, and, finally, this all came together. And we met about, oh, 18 months ago and sang a little bit, and looked at each other and said, "Ooh, that sounds good."

Laughter

And we did the recording, and then our first job together as a group was in Colorado, in a little town called Alamosa, and I was raised in Colorado, but I was never in Alamosa. And we were hired by this fellow who, he's an unusual man because he's bought all the trains and the tracks and the railroads and many railroad cars in Alamosa, Colorado, and he has this whole business where he has a mountain stage where you go up and entertain. You have to go up there for two hours on the train. But it just so happens that he had bought and owned and put us in the car that was from the Rock Island line, which is the car that Steve Goodman wrote "City of New Orleans." So we're going to sing it for you.

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You can sing on the chorus if you want. Riding on the City of New Orleans Illinois Central Monday morning rail Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders There are three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail On the southbound odyssey That train pulls out at Kankakee Rolls along past houses, farms, and fields Passing trains that have no names Freight yards full of old black men And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles Good morning, America, how are you? Oh, don't you know me I'm your native son I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done Dealing card games with the old men in the club car At a penny a point, and no one keeping score Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle Feel the wheels rumbling 'neath the floor And the sons of Pullman porters Sons of engineers Ride their father's magic carpet made of steam And mothers with their babes asleep Just a-rockin' to the gentle beat And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel That's Dave Wilson. Good morning, America, how are you?

Oh, don't you know me, I'm your native son I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done John Teer.

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That's Mr. Russ Walden on the piano.

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Nighttime on The City of New Orleans We're changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee Halfway home, and we'll be there by morning Through the Mississippi darkness Rolling down to the sea And all the towns and people seem To change into a bad dream Oh, those steel rails still ain't heard the news The conductor sings his songs again Passengers will please refrain This train's got the disappearing railroad blues Good morning, America, how are you? Oh, don't you know me, I'm your native son I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done I'll be gone a million miles when the race is done I'll be gone, gone, gone

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Hey! Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you. Jonas and I have similar kinds of passions for certain songs, and when we first met up and talked about this album, altogether we decided that we had to sing this song.

It's a story that was written by a man named Stan Rogers, a Canadian songwriter. He's been gone for a long time, and I didn't know anything about him, which is unusual, 'cause I know -- I've recorded a lot of Canadians, as you know, but I missed him, and I heard his song when I was up there in Cape Breton, and I was at a festival called the Stan Rogers Festival. And I heard it being sung in the rain by this incredible audience. It was outdoors.

I was getting myself rea-- turning myself into Judy Collins, and I heard this song, and I just flipped out. And when I talked to Jonas about it, he said, "Well, I had the same experience, that I loved it when I heard it." So, this is Stan Rogers, "Northwest Passage," and it is the story of Lord Franklin's journey to try to find a way through the Northwest Passage. Westward from the Davis Strait 'Tis there 'twas said to lie The sea route to the Orient for which so many died Seeking gold and glory Leaving weathered, broken bones And a long-forgotten lonely cairn of stones Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage And make a Northwest Passage to the sea Three centuries thereafter, I take passage overland In the footsteps of brave Kelso Where his sea of flowers began Watching cities rise before me Then behind me sink again This tardiest explorer, driving hard across the plain Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage And make a Northwest Passage to the sea And through the night, behind the wheel The mileage clicking west I think upon Mackenzie, David Thompson, and the rest Who cracked the mountain ramparts Made a path for me To race the roaring Fraser to the sea To the sea Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage And make a Northwest Passage to the sea How then am I so different From the first men through this way? Like them, I left a settled life I threw it all away To seek a Northwest Passage at the call of many men To find there but the road back home again Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage And make a Northwest Passage to the sea And make a Northwest Passage to the sea

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Orsen Rudy on the Hardanger fiddle.

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Thank you. This is an old Joni Mitchell song. A new rendition. Well, it's coming on Christmas They're cutting down trees They're putting up reindeer Singing songs of joy and peace Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on But it don't snow here It stays pretty green I'm gonna make a lot of money I'm gonna quit this crazy scene I wish I had a river I could skate away on I wish I had a river so long, I could teach my feet to fly I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby cry But he tried hard to help me You know, he put me at ease And he loved me so naughty, made me weak in the knees I wish I had a river I could skate away on And I'm so hard to handle I'm selfish and I'm sad Now I've gone and left the best baby that I ever had I wish I had a river I could skate away on I wish I had a river so long I could teach my feet to fly Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby say goodbye Well, it's coming on Christmas They're cutting down trees They're putting up reindeer And singing songs of joy and peace I wish I had a river I could skate away on Oooooooh

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Thank you. Tusen takk, tusen takk. Thank you. You know, I've grown up in the folk-music and country-music business for most of my life, and, you know, I've known Joan Baez for so many years, and she and I really grew up together in the folk-music revival.

And we've sung songs together. She's always trying to get me to sing this song that goes, How long since I spent the whole night in a twin bed With a stranger With his warm arms all around me And I was online not too long ago, and I read that somebody had misunderstood the lyrics, and they thought that it said, "How long since I spent the whole night in a twin bed with a stranger with the Mormons all around me."

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I can't help it.

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I was a highwayman Along the coach roads I did ride With sword and pistol by my side And many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade And many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade The bastards hung me in the spring of '25 But I am still alive I was a sailor I was born upon the tide And with the sea I did abide I sailed a schooner 'round the Horn to Mexico I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow And when the yards broke off, they said that I got killed But I am living still I was a dam builder Across the river deep and wide Where steel and water did collide A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound But I am still around And I'll always be around and around and around And around and around and around and around I fly a starship Across the Universe divide And when I reach the other side I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can Perhaps I may become a highwayman again Or I may simply be a single drop of rain But I will remain And I'll be back again and again and again and again And again and again and again I'll be back again and again and again and again And again and again And I'll be back again

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Thank you. So, this next song has been known in this country for 30 years. And the Norwegian name is "Engler I Sneen."

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"Angels in the Snow." Engler I sneen har sin egen sang Nar natta er som svartest Synger de om soloppgang Jeg sto I skyggene I regn og vind Jeg var en fremmed til Du apnet deg og lot meg inn Caught in the wild, angels in the wind Silhouettes harmonize as the darkness takes them in The song has no words, just a sweet surprise Hearts that can hear it know the only chains are to the sky So, hold me, stay with and know me Hold me till the morning is trading a lover for a friend So let me be a part of you now Hear your body singing till heaven is breaking apart Angels find their way home again Engler I sneen har sitt eget liv De synger om vinteren men Nar varen kommer visner de Engler I sneen har sin egen sang De synger at alt som lever Her og na tar slutt en gang Footsteps and shadows slowly passing by What can they see When the evening light is in their eyes? Angels are in the snow, there's no escape They know when springtime comes They'll disappear without a trace So hold me, stay with and know me Hold me till the morning is trading a lover for a friend So let me be a part of you now Hear your body singing till heaven is breaking apart Angels find their way home again Og englene I sneen vender hjem Oh, angels find their way home again Angels Angels Angels Angels will find their way home again

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Wow. Tusen takk. Thank you. Okay.

So, the next song is also from the new record, "Winter Stories," and the song is "Frozen North." The cat is sleeping curled up on the bed Nestled soft against your naked breast And the snow is like a blanket on the Earth Pulled up snug against the window ledge I feel just like a child again Safe in loving arms Funny, I should feel so warm tonight Here in the frozen north I left my friends in Tennessee behind The southern nights had grown too cold for me I came here to try to hide my emptiness I didn't figure on your company I feel just like child again Safe in loving arms Who'd have thought you'd melt my heart tonight Here in the frozen north And the Earth is like a jewel in the dark It can only shine if love provides a spark Here with you I know that I'm a part Of a light that is reflecting to the stars The coldest night that winter ever knew Is warmer than the ice of loneliness Oh, and I have known a winter of the heart Found the summer of your gentleness I feel just like a child again Safe in loving arms As I lay me down with you tonight Here in the frozen north I didn't know that it could feel so right Here in the frozen north

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Beautiful. Beautiful. That was beautiful.

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Thank you, thank you! Judy, do you want to tell us one of your Mae West stories? Oh.

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My dad was on the radio for, well, 30 years, he had a radio show, and among other things, he would tell Mae West stories. He would read poetry, he'd read Emerson, and he'd read Dylan Thomas, and so he told about -- Mae West, of course, was Dolly Parton's origin sort of. And Mae West said things like, "Restraint is fine if it doesn't go too far." And she said, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful." And she said, "I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."

Laughter

And one night, her friend, a friend of hers came back to see her after the show, and she was wearing this long mink coat, and Mae said, "Why, darling, that's so beautiful. Where did you get that?" And her friend said, "Well, Mae, I met a man with $10,000."

Laughter

Good, you laughed.

Laughter

And the next time they met, it was Mae West who had on this fantastic coat, and her friend said, "Why, Mae, what happened? Did you meet a man with $10,000?" And Mae said, "Why, no, darling. I met 10,000 men with a dollar."

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Thank you.

Laughs

1, 2... 1, 2, 3! Picture me in the great Southwest Six guns hot, star on my chest I keep the peace the best I can Life is short, I understand You can bury me when I finally fall With boots and all Picture me, a riverboat man Mississippi The back of my hand Taking bets, run boilers hot Put the hammer down, see what she's got You'll find my bones in the final mile Wearing a smile Well, I ain't a cowboy I ain't a riverboat man I walk the walk I talk the talk Of a guitar man Picture me up on the stage Never one to act my age We all know that lightning strikes Maybe tomorrow, maybe tonight When I'm gone, sing a lonesome song Bury me with my guitar on Ya-ha! Picture me in the saddle tall That sunset a big burning ball Or blowing steam, moving paddle wheel Down that river the seconds I steal I'll still sing, long past gone If you bury me with a guitar on Yeah, I'll still sing, long past gone Bury me with a guitar on

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Thank you so much.

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Thank you. Rows and flows of angel hair And ice cream castles in the air Feather canyons everywhere I've looked at clouds that way And now they only block the sun They rain and snow on everyone So many things I would have done But clouds got in my way I've looked at clouds from both sides now Up and down and still somehow It's cloud's illusions I recall I really don't know clouds at all Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels The dizzy dancing way you feel When every fairy tale comes real I've looked at love that way And now it's just another show You leave them laughing when you go And if you care, don't let them know Don't give yourself away I've looked at love from both sides now Win and lose and still somehow It's love's illusions I recall I really don't know love at all Tears and fears and feeling proud To say I love you right out loud Dreams and schemes and circus crowds I've looked at life that way And now old friends, they're acting strange They shake their heads and say I've changed Well, something's lost, but something's gained In living every day I've looked at life from both sides now Win and lose and still somehow It's life's illusions I recall I really don't know life I really don't know life at all

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Miss Judy Collins!

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Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. I want to thank this wonderful hall. It's just so exciting to be here in this opera house, and thank you all for coming tonight.

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Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me I once was lost, but now I'm found Was blind but now I see We'd like to have you join us and sing that song. You could sing the melody or the harmony or another song entirely if you'd like.

Laughter

It's the spirit that counts, of course. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me I once was lost, but now I'm found Was blind but now I see Through many dangers, toils and snares we have already come. Through many dangers, toils and snares We have already come 'Twas Grace that brought us. 'Twas Grace that brought us safe thus far And Grace will lead us home Amazing Grace.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me I once was lost but now I'm found Was blind but now I see

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Bravo!

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[ Cheers and applause continues ] We love you, we love you, we love you.

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