Greatest Hits Volume 2 : JamesTaylor.com

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Greatest Hits Volume 2

Released: November 2000

The second compilation of Greatest Hits.

Greatest Hits Volume 2

Secret O’ Life

Secret O’ Life

X

Oh, the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time
Any fool can do it
There ain’t nothin’ to it
Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill
But since we’re on our way down
We might as well enjoy the ride

The secret of love is in opening up your heart
It’s okay to feel afraid
But don’t let it stand in your way no longer
‘Cause everyone knows that love is the only road
And since we’re only here for a while
We might as well show some style

Give us a smile now, isn’t that a lovely ride
Sliding down, gliding down
Try not to try too hard
It’s just a lovely ride

Now the thing about time is that time isn’t really real
It’s all on your point of view
How does it feel for you in there, yeah
Einstein said that he could never understand it all
Planets spinning through space
The smile upon your face

Welcome to the human race, yeah, yeah
some kind of lovely ride
See me sliding down and gliding down
And try not to try too hard
It’s just a lovely ride

Isn’t that a lovely ride
Sliding down and gliding down
Try not to try too hard
It’s just a lovely ride ♪

Now the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time
Handy Man

Handy Man

X

Hey girls, gather ’round
Listen to what I’m putting down
Hey baby, I’m your handy man
I’m not the kind to use a pencil or rule
I’m handy with love and I’m no fool
I fix broken hearts, I know that I truly can

If your broken heart should need repair
Then I am the man to see
I whisper sweet things, you tell all your friends
They’ll come running to me
Here is the main thing that I want to say
I’m busy 24 hours a day
I fix broken hearts, I know that I truly can

Comma, comma, comma, comma, come, come, comma
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Comma, comma, comma, comma, come, come
Oh, they’ll come running to me
Here is the main thing I want to say
I’m busy 24 hours a day
I fix broken hearts, baby I’m your handy man

Comma, comma, comma, comma, come, come, comma
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Comma, comma, comma, comma, come, come, comma
Yeah, yeah, yeah
That’s me (comma, comma, comma, comma, come, come)
I’m your handy man (yeah, yeah, yeah)
That’s me (comma, comma, comma, comma, come, come)
I’m your handy man (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Your Smiling Face

Your Smiling Face

X

Whenever I see your smiling face
I have to smile myself
Because I love you
And when you give me that pretty little pout
It turns me inside out
There’s something about you, baby
I don’t know

Isn’t it amazing a man like me
Can feel this way
Tell me how much longer
If it grows stronger every day
Oh, how much longer

I thought I was in love a couple of times before
With the girl next door
But that was long before I met you
Now I’m sure that I won’t forget you

And I thank my lucky stars
That you are who you are
And not just another lovely lady
Sent down to break my heart

Isn’t it amazing a man like me
Can feel this way
Tell me how much longer
If it grows stronger every day, yeah
How much longer?

No one can tell me that I’m doing wrong today
Whenever I see you smile at me
No one can tell me that I’m doing wrong today
Whenever I see your smiling face my way

No one can tell me that I’m doing wrong today
No one can tell me that I’m doing wrong today
Up On The Roof

Up On The Roof

X

When this old world starts a getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I’m gonna climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space

On the roof it’s peaceful as can be
And there the world below, it don’t bother me

No no no

So when I come home feeling tired and beat
I’ll go up where the air is fresh and sweet for me now
I’get far away from the hustling crowd
And all that rat race noise down in the street

Oh on the roof, that’s the only place that I know
Look at the city baby
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Lets go up on my roof

And at night the stars, they put on a show for free
And darlin’ you can share it all with me

Hear what I say
Keep on tellin’ you that

Right smack dab in the middle of town
I’ve found a paradise just about trouble proof
And if this old world starts a getting you down
Well there’s room enough for two up on my roof

Up on the roof
Up on the roof
Up on the roof, ohh
Everything is alright
Everything is alright
Come on

Put down what your doing tonight
And climb up the stairs and then you’ll see me
We got the stars up above us and the city lights below
ohh ohhh ohhh
Up on the roof
Her Town Too

Her Town Too

X

She’s been afraid to go out
She’s afraid of the knock on her door
There’s always a shade of a doubt
She can never be sure
Who comes to call
Maybe the friend of a friend of a friend
Anyone at all
Anything but nothing again

It used to be her town
It used to be her town, too
It used to be her town
It used to be her town, too

Seems like even her old girlfriends
Might be talking her down
She’s got her name on the grapevine
Running up and down
The telephone line
Talking ’bout
Someone said, someone said
Something ’bout, something else
Someone might have said about her
She always figured that they were her friends
But maybe they can live without her

It used to be her town
It used to be her town, too
It used to be her town
It used to be her town, too

Well, people got used to seeing them both together
But now he’s gone and life goes on
Nothing lasts forever, oh no
She gets the house and the garden
He gets the boys in the band
Some of them his friends
Some of them her friends
Some of them understand
Lord knows that this is just a small town city
Yes, and everyone can see you fall
It’s got nothing to do with pity
I just wanted to give you a call

It used to be your town
It used to be my town, too
You never know ’till it all falls down
Somebody loves you
Somebody loves you
Darling, somebody still loves you
I can still remember
When it used to be her town, too
It used to be your town
It used to be my town, too
That’s Why I’m Here

That’s Why I’m Here

X

Person to person
And man to man
I’m back in touch
With my long lost friend

Listen to reason
And understand
And think of me
From way back when

He said me and Melissa
Well, we fell out of love
Ran out of luck
Seems like lightning struck

I’ve been thinkin’ of leavin’
But I can’t raise a buck
James, I’m wondering
Could I borrow your truck

I said that’s why I’m here
(That’s why I’m here)
Got no better reason
That’s why I’m standing before you
(That’s why I’m here)
That’s why I’m here

John’s gone found dead
He dies high he’s brown bread
Later said to have
Drowned in his bed

After the laughter
The wave of dread
It hits us like a ton of lead

It seems “learn not to burn”
Means to turn on a dime
Walk on if you’re walking
Even if it’s an uphill climb

Try to remember that
Working’s no crime
Just don’t let ’em take
And waste your time

That’s why I’m here
(That’s why I’m here)
There’ll be no more message tonight
That’s why I’m here
(That’s why I’m here)
(Whoa) That’s why I’m here

This is an I.O.U.
I reckon I owe you one now
Listen Wendy and listen Gloria
This’ll be better tomorrow

Oh, fortune and fame’s
Such a curious game
Perfect strangers
Can call you by name

And pay good money to hear
“Fire And Rain”
Again and again and again

Oh, some are like summer
Coming back every year
Got your baby, got your blanket
Got your bucket of beer

I break into a grin
From ear to ear
And suddenly
It’s perfectly clear

That’s why I’m here
(That’s why I’m here)
Singing tonight, tomorrow
And every day
That’s why I’m standin’
(That’s why I’m here)
Whoa, that’s why I’m here

This is the part
About Kitty and Bim
He loved her
And she loved him

Wake ’em up, shake ’em up
The middle of the night
You got to tell me
Everything’s all right

I said that’s why I’m here
(That’s why I’m here)
You got me walkin’ and
Talkin’ like a natural man
That’s why I’m here
(That’s why I’m here)
That’s why I’m here

That’s right
Only A Dream In Rio

Only A Dream In Rio

X

More than a distant land
Over a shining sea
More than the steaming green
More than the shining eyes

Well they tell me
It’s only a dream in Rio
Nothing could be as sweet as it seems
On this very first day down
They remind me
Some others so soon forgotten
Often as not it’s rotten inside
And the mask soon slips away

Strange taste of a tropical fruit
Romantic language of the Portugese
Melody on a wooden flute
Samba floating in the summer breeze

Take it easy, now

It’s alright
Yankee stay and sleep
You can close your eyes
You can trust the people of paradise
To call your keeper
And tender your good-byes

Oh what a night
Wonderful one in a million
Frozen fire Brazilian stars
Oh holy Southern Cross
Later on
Take me way downtown in a tin can
I can’t come down from the bandstand
I’m never thrown for such a loss
When they sing

Quando a nossa mae acordar
Andareimos au sol
Quando a nossa mae acordar
Cantara pelos sertao
Quando a nossa mae acordar
Todos os filios saberao
Todos os filios saberao
E regozijarao

Caught in the rays of the rising sun
On the run from the soldiers gun
Shoutin’ out loud from the angry crowd
The mild the wild and the hungry child

I’ll tell you
There was more than a dream in Rio
I was there on the very day
And my heart came back alive

There was more
More than the singing voices
More than the upturned faces
And more than the shining eyes
But it’s more than the shining eye
More than the steaming green
More than the hidden hills
More than the concrete Christ
More than a distant land
Over a shining sea
More than the hungry child
More like another time
Born of a million years
More than a million years
Everyday

Everyday

X

Oh every day
It’s a getting closer
Going faster than a roller coaster
With a love like yours
Will surely come my way

Yeah, every day
Seems a little faster
All my friends
They say go on up and ask her
With a love like yours
Will surely come my way

Oh every day seems a little stronger
And every day lasts a little longer
Come what may baby
Do you ever long for
True love from me
Oh

Oh, every day
It’s a little closer
Going much faster than a roller coaster
With a love like yours
Will surely come my way

Yes, a love like yours
Will surely come my way
Every day

(Every day) Every day seems a little stronger
(Every day) It lasts a little longer
come what may do you ever long for
True love from me
Like I longed for yours baby say

Every day
It’s a little closer
Going much faster than a roller coaster
With a love like yours
Will surely come my way
Surely come my way

Oh every day
I say every day babe yeah
Every day every day every day
Oh every day every day every day….
Song For You Far Away

Song For You Far Away

X

people around
me are at it again
god only knows how they do it
one to another then back again
something keeps putting them through it
me i’ve been watching more than fifteen years
and it hasn’t changed a bit
people keep talking ’bout a different line
but it never seems to fit

this is a song for you
far away far away
this is a song for you
far away from me
this is a song for you
far away far away
this is a song for you
far away from me

sitting here all alone
is bringing it on again i’m gone again
sitting here thinking of you
is driving it home again
this is a song for you far away so far away
this is a song for you far away from me
open the door it takes me back
oh it takes me back
mention your name and i’m gone again
oh i’m gone again
this is a song for you far away from me
far away from me
Never Die Young

Never Die Young

X

We were ring-around-the-rosy children
They were circles around the sun
Never give up, never slow down
Never grow old
Never ever die young

Synchronized with the rising moon
Even with the evening star
They were true love written in stone
They were never alone, they were never that far apart

And we who couldn’t bear to believe they might make it
We got to close our eyes
To cut up our losses into doable doses
And ration our tears and sighs

You could see them on the street on a Saturday night
Everyone used to run them down
They’re a little too sweet, they’re a little too tight
They’re not enough tough for this tough town

We couldn’t touch them with a 10-foot pole
No, it didn’t seem to rattle at all
They were fused together body and soul
That much more with their backs up against the wall

Oh, hold them up, hold them up
Never do let them fall
Prey to the dust and the rust and the ruin
That names us and claims us and shames us all

Oh, it had to happen someday soon
There wasn’t nothing to hold them down
They would rise from among us like a big balloon
Take the sky and forsake the ground

Oh, yes, other hearts were broken
I know other dreams ran dry
But our golden ones sail on and on
To another land beneath another sky

Let other hearts be broken
Let other dreams run dry
But let our golden ones sail on and on
To another land beneath another sky
Beneath another sky

Hold them
Hold them up
Hold ’em up
Won’t you hold ’em up
Can’t you hold them up
(I’ve Got To) Stop Thinkin’ ‘Bout That

(I’ve Got To) Stop Thinkin’ ‘Bout That

X

Whoa, Lucy said, God have mercy
I’ve got to stop thinkin’ ’bout that
Yeah

I’m sure I love thinkin’ about the time I met you
Living with your people in New Orleans
Mad at your mom ’cause she’d never let you
Ride in those nasty limousines
Met on the levy with the moon up above
Lost my heart and confessed my love

I said, whoa, Lucy said, God have mercy
I’ve got to stop thinkin’ ’bout that

It was one summer night in a field of wheat
God’s sweet lanterns hanging in the sky
Moving light on your tiny feet
I knew I had to love you ’till the day I die
Think about talkin’ about Amazing Grace
It meant something when I saw your face

I said, whoa, now Lucy said, God have mercy
I’ve got to stop thinkin’ ’bout that
Whoa, Lucy said
I’ve got to stop thinkin’ ’bout that

I think of all the little things that I never told you
I think I may get to hold you someday
It’s in my brain just like a man possessed
I can’t do me no work I can’t get me no rest

Walk on
Walk on

I hate thinkin’ ’bout the way it ended
I hate remembering the things that I said
I dream a dream of love so splendid
I wake up hot in an empty bed
I wonder who’ll be loving you next
Some fool who will be writing bad checks

I said, whoa, Lucy said, God have mercy
I’ve got to stop thinkin’ ’bout you
Somehow, baby, Lord have mercy
I’ve got to stop thinkin’ ’bout you
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa
Shed A Little Light

Shed A Little Light

X

Oh let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King
And recognize that there are ties between us
All men and women, living on the earth
Ties of hope and love, sister and brotherhood
That we are bound together
With a desire to see the world become
A place in which our children can grow free and strong
We are bound together by the task that stands before us
And the road that lies ahead, we are bound then we are bound

There is a feeling like the clenching of the fist
There is a hunger in the center of the chest
There is a passage through the darkness and the mist
Though the body sleeps the heart will never rest

(Shed a little light ohh lord) Shed a little light oh lord
(So that we can see) Ohh now
(Just a little light ohh lord) Just a little light oh lord
(Gonna stand it on up) Stand it on up
(Stand it up ohh Lord) Get down
(Gonna walk it on down) Gonna shed a little
(Shed a little light ohh lord)

(Can’t get no light from a dollar bill)
(Don’t give no light from the TV screen) No No No No
(When I open my eyes, I want to drink my fill)
(From the well on the hill)
Then you know where I’ll be

(Shed a little light ohh lord) Shed a little light oh lord
(So that we can see) Ahh yes
(Just a little light ohh lord) Just a little light oh lord
(We’re gonna stand it on up) Stand it on up
(Stand it up ohh Lord, Stand it up ohh lord)
(Gonna walk it on down) Gonna shed a little
(Shed a little light ohh lord)

There is a feeling like the clenching of the fist
There is a hunger in the center of the chest
There is a passage through the darkness and the mist
Though the body sleeps the heart will never rest

Oh let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King
And recognize that there are ties between us
All men and women, living on the earth
Ties of hope and love, sister and brotherhood
That we are bound together
With a desire to see the world become
A place in which our children can grow free and strong
We are bound together by the task that ties before us
And the road that lies ahead, we are bound and we are bound
Copperline

Copperline

X

Even the old folks never knew
Why they call it like they do
I was wondering since the age of two
Down on Copperline

Copperhead, copper beech
Copper kettle sitting side by each
Copper coil, cup o’ Georgia peach
Down on Copperline

Half a mile down to Morgan Creek
I’m only living till the end of the week
Hercules and a hognose snake
Down on Copperline
Take me down on Copperline

Warm summer night, Copperline
Slip away past suppertime
Wood smoke and moonshine
Down on Copperline

One time
I saw my daddy dance
Watched him moving like a man in a trance
He brought it back from the war in France
Down on Copperline

Branch water and tomato wine
Creosote and turpentine
Sour mash and new moonshine
Down old Copperline
Take me down on Copperline

Oh, first kiss ever I took
Stole a page from a romance book
The sky opened and the earth shook
Down on Copperline
Walk me down

I took a fall from a windy height
I only knew how to hold on tight
And pray for love enough to last all night
Down on Copperline

Day breaks and the boy wakes
And the dog barks and the bird sings
And the sap rises and the angels sigh

I tried to go back, as if I could
All spec house and plywood
Tore up, tore up good
Down on Copperline

It doesn’t come as a surprise to me
It never touched my memory
Well, I’m lifting up and rising free
Down over Copperline

Half a mile down to Morgan Creek
I’m only living till the end of the week
Hercules and a hognose snake
Down on Copperline
On Copperline
We were down on Copperline
Oh, down on Copperline
Take me back down on Copperline
Lay me down on Copperline
Another Day

Another Day

X

Oh, wake up Susie
Put your shoes on
Walk with me into this light
Finally this morning
I’m feeling whole again
It’s been a hell of a night

Just to be with you by my side
Just to have you near in my sight
Just to walk a while in this light
Just to know that life goes on

Wake up Susie
Put your shoes on
And walk with me into this light

Another night has gone
Life goes on
Another dawn is breaking
Turn and face the sun
One by one
The world outside is waking

Morning light has driven away
All the shadows that hide your way
And night has given away
To the promise of another day

Another day
Another chance that we may
Finally find our way
Another day

Ol’ sundown’s begun to melt
all our fears away
Another day
Another day

Oh, wake up Susie
Put your shoes on
And walk with me into this light
Little More Time With You

Little More Time With You

X

Gotta watchdog watching me, doggy
Watching me packing my bags
He knows I’m leaving town
I can see that it’s a drag
Why leave the life I love
Here in the great state of Maine
Just to ride that shining rail
Just to size that ball and chain

Oh, I’ve gotta spend just a little more time with you, yeah, yeah
That’s why
Gotta spend just a little more time with you, my girl
Oh, oh, oh
Gotta spend just a little more time with you, baby
Yes I do, yes I do
Gotta spend just a little bit more time with you, yeah, yeah
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

I passed on the cocaine
Said bye-bye to my methadone
Put down the bottle for one more day
Backing off of my tobacco jones
Still I feel like a hopeless junkie
Like a man who can’t say no
I look back and there’s that monkey
Rascal won’t let go, let me go

I gotta spend just a little more time with you, oh yeah
So help me now
Gotta spend just a little more time with you, my baby
Oh, oh, oh
Gotta spend just a little more time with you
Yes I do now, yes I do now, baby
Gotta spend just a little more time with you, yeah, yeah
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

I get high and I can’t come down
I get high just hanging around
I get high, I go lost and found
I get high, oh, I oh, I

Gotta spend just a little more time with you, baby
Help me walking in the light
Gotta spend just a little more time with you, yeah
Oh, oh, oh
Gotta spend just a little more time with you
Give me just a little more time, just a little more time
Gotta spend just a little bit more time with you, yeah, yeah
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Gotta spend just a little more time with you
Gotta spend just a little more time with you, yeah, yeah
Oh, oh, oh
Gotta spend just a little more time with you
Enough To Be On Your Way

Enough To Be On Your Way

X

So the sun shines on this funeral
Just the same as on a birth
The way it shines on everything
That happens here on Earth

It rolls across the western sky
And back into the sea
And spends the days’ last rays
Upon this fucked-up family
So long old pal

The last time I saw Alice
She was leaving Santa Fe
With a bunch of round-eyed Buddhists
In a killer Chevrolet

Said they turned her out of Texas
Yeah, she burned ’em down back home
Now she’s wild with expectation
On the edge of the unknown singing

Oh, it’s enough to be on your way
It’s enough to cover ground
It’s enough to be moving on
Home, build it behind your eyes
Carry it in your heart
Safe among your own

They brought her back on a Friday night
Same day I was born
We sent her up the smoke stack
Yes, and back into the storm

She blew up over the San Juan Mountains
She spent herself at last
The threat of heavy weather
That was what she knew the best

Oh, it’s enough to be on your way
It’s enough just to cover ground
It’s enough to be moving on
Home, better build it behind your eyes
Carry it in your heart
Safe among your own

It woke me up on a Sunday
An hour before the sun
It had me watching the headlights
Out on highway 591

‘Til I stepped into my trousers
‘Til I pulled my big boots on
I walked out on the mesa
And I stumbled on this song

Oh, it’s enough to be on your way
It’s enough to cover ground
It’s enough to be moving on
Home, boy, build it behind your eyes
Carry it in your heart
Safe among your own

So long, old gal

Discography

Greatest Hits Volume 2

Greatest Hits Volume 2

Secret O’ Life

Handy Man

Your Smiling Face

Up On The Roof

Her Town Too

That’s Why I’m Here

Only A Dream In Rio

Everyday

Song For You Far Away

Never Die Young

(I’ve Got To) Stop Thinkin’ ‘Bout That

Shed A Little Light

Copperline

Another Day

Little More Time With You

Enough To Be On Your Way