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© 1997 David Robert Carter (BMI), administered by Tracy Grammer Music

lyrics

lancelot rode on a swayback mare
he won in a card game up north somewhere
he was bottom-out lonesome, he was too tired to care
keepin one step ahead of the rain

well he blew into broken bow late last year
talkin up the vision of his lost guinevere
but he couldn't tell a grail from a glass of beer
so he settled for lady elaine

he sang, "yodelayhee, i ain't no untarnished galahad
down from arcadia like a dream in your head
but gentle lady, lend me the true heart i never had
and i'll wash the years from your bed
with all the salt tears i have shed," lancelot said

well mornin came sleepy and mornin came slow
and the mirror revealed a face she didn't know
and the last autumn robin was packin to go
as another year slipped by the way

so she rose and she dressed and she pushed back the night
she put up her hair by the dawn's early light
and the man in her bed was an eagle in flight
and a crooked old crow in the hay

he sang, "yodelayhee, i ain't no untarnished galahad
down from arcadia like a dream in your head
but gentle lady, lend me the true heart i never had
and i'll stain the lavenders red
with all of this good blood i've shed," lancelot said

so bugles blow golden and banners fly blue
but these days the castle's just drywall and glue
and tiltin at windmills is the best you can do
with the black knight of time on your lawn

so i wouldn't know if he left or he stayed
prospered or starved by the promise he made
or maybe he straggled and maybe he strayed
while the bright world went barrelin on

singin "yodelayhee, i ain't no untarnished galahad
down from arcadia like a dream in your head
but gentle lady, lend me the true heart i never had
and i'll bring you roses and bread
and we'll fashion gold out of lead
with all the illusions we shed," lancelot said

credits

from When I Go, released October 11, 1998

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Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer image

Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer Portland, Oregon

American folk duo Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer blend tradition and
innovation into a potent musical elixir. They transcend singer/songwriter stereotypes, delivering evocative, clear-eyed ruminations on death and life, love and ruin, that result in "music of haunting beauty and uncommon intelligence" (The
Oregonian). Carter died in 2002; Grammer curates their legacy and now performs solo. ... more

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