Vigilantes of Love
Resplendent (Live at the Axiom)
[Spoken Intro]
This is a song about our--it happened during our Great Depression in the U.S. It was the Dust Bowl that basically took most of the topsoil from the northern part of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, and just blew it away, so all the farmers were completely without the ability to sustain their lives. This was during the early '30s, and it was immortalized in a lot of songs by Woody Guthrie. We were lucky enough to have Emmylou Harris sing on this track. We'd like to be releasing the "Audible Sigh" record over here in the UK pretty soon. We'd like to thank Bob Harris, BBC 2, for playing this track a lot. This song is called "Resplendent."
[Verse 1]
Well, I remember the dark clouds
Raining dust for days on end
Blew all the earth out to California
And just left us all here with the wind
In desperate times you know everybody's part
When it's your own lines you're like to forget
'Til what you were meets what you've now become
Grins and says, "Hey, haven't we met?"
[Verse 2]
Lost my firstborn that winter
And my wife on the first day of spring
So I poured my sweat into the earth
Yeah, to see what that harvest would bring
And I remember howling fury
Just like a plague of locusts
Egypt's punishment for sins of pride
Is that now what has come over us?
[Chorus 1]
How much of this was meant to be?
How much the work of the devil?
How far can one man's eyes really see
In these days of toil and trouble?
[Guitar Solo]
[Verse 3]
Yeah, honey, we're all resplendent
Yeah, honey, we are all thrift store
I'm like a wino with a twenty-dollar bill
Forever and eternally yours
Yeah, and I can make you promises
If you don't expect too much
Yes, and I will go the distance
If you'll please, please excuse my crutch
[Chorus 1]
How much of this was meant to be?
How much the work of the devil?
How far can one man's eyes really see
In these days of toil and trouble?
[Chorus 2]
How much of this is failing flesh?
How much the course of retribution?
My, my, how loudly we plead our innocence
Long after we've made our contribution
[Guitar Solo]
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
[Spoken Word Outro]
Thanks a lot. Thanks and goodnight. Thanks for being part of our party tonight. Kenny Hutson on guitars, mandolin, background vocals. Ken Hutson! Jake Bradley, bass guitar. And suede jacket. Kevin Heuer, drums. Blessings.