Saturday, June 25, 2016

Slaid Cleaves - Voice of Midnight

Slaid Cleaves is a good ol' boy from Maine.  He moved to Austin where he writes and sings.  It's honest, workingman's music, and Country enough for me.



Voice of Midnight (Songwriter: Slaid Cleaves):
Don’t want to go too soon
Don’t want to stay too long
Don’t want to go too quick into the night
Don’t want to linger on and on
Don’t want to leave you a mess
Don’t want to cause a fuss
Roll me into the hole
And cover me up
I’d like to know when it’s coming
Just a little time to prepare
When the voice of midnight comes
And into oblivion I stare
There’s no one waitin’ on me
No heaven or hell
The only vow I make
To live true and die well
And when I’m gone, that’s all
I’ll be blowin’ in the wind
Up to the great beyond
Back to where we begin
Will I hold onto the courage
To say goodbye to a life so dear
When the voice of midnight comes
Will grace overcome fear
I was born under a lucky star
And I’m thankful every day
And I know that in the blink of an eye
It will all be taken away
Maybe an open field
Under the stars and moon
With the smell of the land and the air
And not some hospital room
I’ll take my comfort in song
To the bittersweet end
I’ll gently take my leave
Safe in the memory of friends
I’d like to know when it’s coming
Just a little time to prepare
When the voice of midnight comes
I hope you will be there

1 comment:

Bob said...

I've met Slaid, hosted him at the hotel I work at when he plays in Charlotte. Good man. My personal favorites of his are Broke Down, Lydia, and One Good Year.

Voice of Midnight appears to be a popular euphemism for death among the Austin crowd; Producer/Guitarist Gurf Morlix, who produced and played on two of Slaid's albums, has his own version of the song:

https://youtu.be/eqp9Q4t4gZI