Rock Salt and Nails
Joan Baez Lyrics

On the banks of the river, where the willows hang down,
I recall the place where we met, by the river where the willows hang down.

Where the wild birds all warble with a low moaning sound,
I recall the birds' sad songs and the low moaning sounds they made.

Down in the hollow where the water runs cold,
I recall the hollow where the water runs cold and the shivers it gave me.

It's there I have listened to the lies that you told.
I recall the memories of all the lies you told me there.

Now I lie on my bed and I see your sweet face.
I see your face on my bed, and I long to forget you.

The past I remember, time cannot erase.
I cannot forget the memories of our past together.

The letters you wrote me were written in shame,
I recall the letters you wrote me in shame.

And I know that your conscience still echos my pain.
I know that your conscience still echoes the pain that you caused me.

Now the nights are so long, my sorrow runs deep.
My sorrow runs deep as the nights grow longer.

Nothing is worse than a night without sleep.
There is no worse feeling than not being able to sleep at night.

I walk out alone, I look at the sky,
I walk out alone and look up to the sky to feel better.

Too empty to sing, too lonesome to cry.
I'm too empty to sing and too lonely to even cry.

Now if the ladies were blackbirds and the ladies were thrushes,
If the ladies were birds like blackbirds and thrushes.

I'd lie there for hours in the chilly cold marshes.
I'd lie in the cold marshes for hours with them.

If the ladies were squirrels with them high bushy tails,
If the ladies were like squirrels with high bushy tails.

I'd fill up my shotgun with rock salt and nails.
I'd fill up my shotgun with rock salt and nails to get rid of them all.