The Telling Takes Me Home Utah Phillips

Let me sing to you all those songs I know
Of the wild, windy places locked in timeless snow
And the wide, crimson deserts where the muddy rivers flow
It's sad, but the telling takes me home

Come along with me to some places that I've been
Where people all look back and they still remember when
And the quicksilver legends, like sunlight, turn and bend
It's sad, but the telling takes me home

Walk along some wagon road, down the iron rail
Past the rusty Cadillacs that mark the boom town trail
Where dreamers never win and doers never fail
It's sad, but the telling takes me home

I'll sing of my amigos, come from down below
Whisper in their loving tongue the songs of Mexico
They work their stolen Eden, lost so long ago
It's sad, but the telling takes me home

I'll tell you all some lies, just made up for fun
And the loudest, meanest brag, it can beat the fastest gun
I'll show you all some graves that tell where the West was won
It's sad, but the telling takes me home

And I'll sing about an emptiness the East has never known
Where coyotes don't pay taxes and a man can live alone
And you've got to walk forever just to find a telephone
It's sad, but the telling takes me home