Take ‘em away, take ‘em away, Lord
Take away these chains from me
My heart is broken ‘cause my spirit’s not free
Lord take away these chains from me
Videos by American Songwriter
Some birds’ feathers are too bright to be caged
I know I’m not that colorful but a bird just the same
Open up your gate now, let me put down my load
So I can feel at ease and go back to my home
Sun beatin’ down, my legs can’t seem to stand
There’s a boss man at a turnrow with a rifle in his hand
I’ve got nine children, nothin’ in the pan
My wife she died hungry while I was plowin’ land
Can’t see when I go to work, can’t see when I get off
How do you expect a man not to get lost
Every year I just keep getting deeper in debt
If there’s a happy day, Lord, I haven’t seen one yet
Land that I love is the land that I’m workin’
But it’s hard to love it all the time when your back is a-hurtin’
Gettin’ too old now to push this here plow
Please let me lay down so I can look at the clouds
Land that I know is where two rivers collide
The Brazos the Navaso and the big blue sky
Flood plains, freight trains, watermelon vines
Of any place on God’s green earth, this is where I choose to die
From “Take ’em Away”
Written by Critter Fuqua
This is my favorite from that album.
On another note to connect this with the Dylan articles I hear that the Wagon Wheel chorus was written By Dylan but I’ve never heard the outtake I hope it shows up somewhere one day.
the Dylan chorus for “wagon wheel” shows up somewhere on the Patt Garrett & Billy the Kid soundtrack album