Birmingham Shadows
Bruce Cockburn

Birmingham
Just behind the mountain
Sparse streelamps glow in hot half-moon haze
Shadows shorten into little black pools that elongate behind
We walk, talk some, laugh some
Worked hard, now wired, and hanging out
I'm curious what you might be all about
Curious, too, what that dark-shape in the hard shining cruiser might do
And you have no idea what you're getting
Out of of your own curiosity and tense energy
Tattoo on chest like the key to the puzzle of your pumping heart
Wearing your shadows all over your sleeve
Wearing the role of young upstart
Chorus:
Birmingham shadows fall
You show a little, I let something show too
It's now or not at all
Out on the road, it's always instant get-to-know-you

Under velvet trees, towering like the sides of a well
Before the empty two office blocks
Which we're admonished not to enter
Policeman studies us, finds us confusing
More amusing than threat
Moves on, bemused
Pavement spirals down ahead like the fossil of a giant shell
Along the kingdom's midnight marches
I wear my shadows where they're harder to see
But they follow me everywhere
I guess that should tell me that I'm travelling toward light
I guess something you sang made me remember that
I guess I'm saying thanks for that
Chorus:
Birmingham shadows fall
You show a little, I let something show too
It's now or not at all
Out on the road, it's always instant get-to-know-you
(Instrumental Break)
Got a head full of horrors and a heart full of night
At home in the darkness, but hungry for dawn
I only remember scenes, never the stories I live
The good things about that is, it's easy to forgive
Can't make assumptions about any of this
We're nomads following our own songlines
Who knows what could strike before we meet again?
But if I fall down and die
Without saying goodbye
I give you this: you'll have lost a friend
Chorus:
Birmingham shadows fall
You show a little, I let something show too
It's now or not at all
Out on the road, it's always instant get-to-know-you


  Purchase "Birmingham Shadows"   Purchase Entire Album   Email Video to Friends   Play Youtube "Birmingham Shadows" Video   Play Spotify "Birmingham Shadows" Song   View Wikipedia "Birmingham Shadows" Entry   Receive Emails for Future Bruce Cockburn Lyrics

Email:

  Link to "Birmingham Shadows"   Share on Facebook, Twitter, and more
  See Recommended Lyrics For You

Loading...

Lyrics by Bruce Cockburn

  12 String Warm-Up/The Trains Don't Run Here Anymor...   13th Mountain   A Dream Like Mine   A Life Story   A Long-Time Love Song   A Montreal Song   Actions Speak Louder   After The Rain   All Our Dark Tomorrows   All The Diamonds In The World   All The Ways I Want You   All's Quiet On The Inner City Front   All's Quiet On The Inner City Front   Always Look on the Bright Side of Life   And We Dance   Anything Anytime Anywhere   Anything Can Happen   Arrows Of Light   Avalon, My Home Town   Badlands Flashback   Badlands Flashback   Bearded Folksinger   Beautiful Creatures   Berlin Tonight   Bicycle Trip   Blueberry Hill   Bone In My Ear   Boundless   Bright Sky   Broken Wheel   Burden Of The Angel, Beast   Burn   Cader Idris [Instrumental]   Call It Democracy   Call Me Rose   Can I Go With You   Candy Man's Gone   Candy Man's Gone   Celestial Horses   Change Your Mind   Child of the Wind   Christmas Song   Civilization And Its Discontents   Clocks Don't Bring Tomorrow, Knives Don't Bring Go...   Closer To The Light   Creation Dream   Cry Of A Tiny Babe   Déjà Vu   Dancing In Paradise   Deep Lake   Deer Dancing Round a Broken Mirror [Instrumental]   Deja Vu   Dialogue With The Devil   Dialogue With The Devil (Or Why Don't We Celebrate...   Different When It Comes To You   Don't Feel Your Touch   Don't Forget About Delight   Don't Have To Tell You Why   Don't Feel Your Touch   Don't Forget About Delight   Don't Have To Tell You Why   Down Here Tonight   Down In Yon Forest   Down to the Delta   Driving Away   Dust And Diesel   Dweller By A Dark Stream   Early On One Christmas Morn   Embers of Eden   Embers Of Eden, The   Everywhere Dance   Facist Architecture   Fall   Fascist Architecture   Fascist Architecture [Architecture Fasciste]   Feast Of Fools   Feet Fall On The Road   Festival Of Friends   Five Fifty-One   For The Birds   Foxglove   Free To Be   Gavin's Woodpile   Gavin's Woodpile   Get Up Jonah   Gifts   Go Tell It On The Mountain   God Bless The Children   God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen   God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen   God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen   Going To The Country   Going Up Against Chaos   Golden Serpent Blues   Gospel Of Bondage   Great Big Love   Grim Travellers   Grim Travellers [Live][*]   Grim Travellers [Sombres Voyageurs]   Guerilla Betrayed   Guerrilla Betrayed   Hand-Dancing   Happy Good Morning Blues   He Came From The Mountain   High Winds White Sky   Hills Of Morning   Homme Brulant   Hoop Dancer   How I Spent My Fall Vacation   I Saw Three Ships   I Wanna Dance With You   I'm Gonna Fly Some Day   I'm Gonna Fly Some Day   Iesus Ahatonnia (The Huron Carol)   If A Tree Falls   If I Had A Rocket Launcher   If I Had a Rocket Launcher [*]   In The Falling Dark   Incandescent Blue   Indian Wars   Islands in a Black Sky   Isn't That What Friends Are For?   Isn't That What Friends Are For?   It Came Upon a Midnight Clear   It Came Upon The Midnight Clear   It Come Upon The Midnight Clear   It Won't Be Long   It Won't Be Long   It's An Elephants World   It's Going Down Slow   It's Going Down Slow   January In The Halifax Airport Lounge   Joy to the World   Joy Will Find A Way   Justice   Keep It Open   Kit Carson   Lament For The Last Days   Last Night Of The World   Laughter   Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes   Let The Bad Air Out   Let Us Go Laughing   Life Short Call Now   Life Short Call Now [Ça Presse - Appele Tout D...   Life Will Open   Life's Mistress   Life's Mistress   Lily of the Midnight Sky   Listen For The Laugh   Little Seahorse   Live On My Mind   Loner   Look How Far   Lord Of The Starfields   Love Loves You Too   Love Song   Lovers In A Dangerous Time   Making Contact   Mama Just Wants To Barrelhouse All Night Long   Man of a Thousand Faces   Mango   Mary Had A Baby   Maybe The Poet   Messenger Wind   Mighty Trucks Of Midnight   Mistress of Storms   More Not More   More Not More [Encore/Moins]   Musical Friends   My Beat   My Lady And My Lord   My Lady And My Lord [Solo Version] [*][Version]   My Lady and My Lord [Solo Version][*]   Mystery   Mystery [Mystère]   Nanzen Ji   Never So Free   Nicaragua   Night Train   No Footprints   Northern Lights   Nude Descending a Staircase   O Little Town Of Bethlehem   One Day I Walk   One of the Best Ones   Open   Open [Ouvert]   Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand   Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand...   Pacing The Cage   Pangs Of Love   Patches   Peace March   Peggy's Kitchen Wall   Peggy's Kitchen Wall   People See Through You   Planet Of The Clowns   Postcards From Cambodia   Prenons La Mer   Put It In Your Heart   Put Our Hearts Together   Radiance   Radium Rain   Rainfall   Red Brother Red Sister   Rise and Fall   Riu Riu Chiu   Rouler Sa Bosse   Rumours Of Glory   Sahara Gold   Salt Sun and Time   Salt, Sun and Time   Santiago Dawn   Scanning These Crowds   See How I Miss You   See You Tomorrow   See You Tomorrow [À Demain]   Seeds on the Wind   Shepherds   Shining Mountain   Shipwrecked At The Stable Door   Silent Night   Silver Wheels   Skylarking   Slow Down Fast   Slow Down Fast [Modère Vite]   Somebody Touched Me   Someone I Used To Love   Soul of a Man   Southland of the Heart   Spring Song   Stained Glass   Starwheel   Stolen Land   Strange Waters   Strong Hand of Love   Sunrise on the Mississippi   Sunwheel Dance   Tell The Universe   The Bicycle Trip   The Blues Got The World   The Blues Got The World...   The Charity Of Night   The City Is Hungry   The Coldest Night Of The Year   The Coming Rains   The Gift   The Iris Of The World   The Light Goes On Forever   The Mines Of Mozambique   The Pipes. The Pipes. [Instrumental]   The Rose Above The Sky   The Rose Above the Sky [La Rose Au-Dessus du Ciel]   The Strong One   The Thirteenth Mountain   The Trouble With Normal   The Whole Night Sky   This Is Baghdad   Thoughts On A Rainy Afternoon   Tibetan Side Of Town   Tie Me At The Crossroads   To Fit In My Heart   To Raise The Morning Star   Together Alone   Tokyo   Totem Pole   Train in the Rain   Tramps In The Street   Trickle Down   Tried And Tested   Tried And Tested [Éprouvé Et SuréprouvÃ...   Tropic Moon   Understanding Nothing   Up On The Hillside   Use Me While You Can   Vagabondage   Wait No More   Waiting For A Miracle   Waiting For The Moon   Wanna Go Walking   What About The Bond   What About the Bond [et le Lien Alors]   What About The Bond?   When The Sun Falls   When The Sun Goes Nova   When You Give It Away   Where The Death Squad Lives   Wise Users   Wondering Where The Lions Are   World Of Wonders   Yanqui Go Home   You Don't Have To Play The Horses   You Don't Have To Play The Horses   You Get Bigger As You Go   You Pay Your Money And You Take Your Chance   You Point To The Sky   You've Never Seen Everything   You've Never Seen Everything

Related Songs

  Birmingham - Patty Larkin  Birmingham - Duncan Sheik  Hello L.A., Bye Bye Birmingham - Blue Cheer  Hello L.A., Bye-Bye Birmingham - Nancy Sinatra  The Birmingham School Of Business School...  BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL OF BUSINESS SCHOOL - The Fall  Birmingham School Of Business School - Fall  Birmingham - Drive-By Truckers  Bus To Birmingham - John Michael Montgomery  Bus to Birmingham - Kelsey DiMarco  Call On Me - Drake  Birmingham Turnaround - Keith Whitley  The Birmingham Turnaround - Keith Whitley  Birmingham [#] - Randy Newman  Birmingham - Randy Newman  Birmingham - Clifford T. Ward  Road to Birmingham - Mott The Hoople  The Road to Birmingham - Mott The Hoople  The Road to Birmingham - Mott The Hoople  Birmingham Tonight - Delbert Mcclinton  Atlanta & Birmingham - Deana Carter  Paint Me A Birmingham - Tracy Lawrence  Down In the Valley - Dick Annegarn  Down In The Valley - Unknown  Paint Me A Birmingham - Josh Turner  When Jesus Left Birmingham [*]...  When Jesus Left Birmingham - Sounds Of Blackness  When Jesus left Birmingham - John Mellencamp  When Jesus Left Birmingham...  Train to Birmingham - Kevin Welch & The Overtones  Train to Birmingham - Kevin Welch  Goin' Back To Birmingham - Ten Years After  Birmingham - Attack In Black  Bethlehem In Birmingham - Toby Keith  Birmingham - Amanda Marshall  Down in the Valley - Jerry Garcia & David Grisman  Down in the Valley - Richard Dyer-Bennett  Down in the Valley - The Big 3  Down In The Valley - Flatt & Scruggs  Down In The Valley - Burl Ives  Birmingham - Mikey Wax  Alabama Birm Fight Song - Alabama Birm  Birmingham - Snow Machine  Birmingham - Snow Machine  Birmingham - The Wolfgang Press  Birmingham - The Almost  Birmingham - Melodie Crittenden  Birmingham - David Crowder Band  Birmingham - 1000 Reasons  Birmingham - David Crowder  Birmingham - Shovels & Rope  Birmingham Blues - Electric Light Orchestra  Halfway Back To Birmingham - Chesnutt Mark  28 - Erin McKeown  Postmarked Birmingham - Blackhawk  Tuxedo Junction - The Manhattan Transfer  TUXEDO JUNCTION - Manhattan Transfer  Hello Birmingham - Ani Difranco  Days Of Birmingham - Falls Whiskey  Roll On Buddy Roll On - Wilburn Brothers  Hear The Wind Blow - Flatt and Scruggs  Birmingham Blues [*] - Electric Light Orchestra  Birmingham Blues [Album Version]...  Halfway Back to Birmingham - Mark Chesnutt  Train To Birmingham (Live)...  Birmingham Bounce - Red Foley  Birmingham Breakdown - Dale Watson  Birmingham, Sometimes - Dolarhyde  Birmingham Sunday - Caroline Doctorow  Going To Birmingham...  Broken Hearted In Birmingham - Ingram Hill  Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey - Little Richard  Hey Hey Hey Hey - Little Richard  Godlike (Sinner Mix) - Birmingham 6  Who Do You Love? (Evil) - Birmingham 6  Who Do You Love? - Birmingham 6  Seek And Destroy - Birmingham 6  All Around The Watchtower - Birmingham 6  Hurricanes And Hand Grenades - Jason Isbell  O Little Girl from Birmingham...  Lights Out In Tupelo - Dan May  Ghost-Town Of My Brain - Jim White  Oh Mr. Porter - Herman's Hermits  One Note - Pearl Jam  Oh Mr. Porter - Herman's Hermits  Oh Mr. Porter - Hermans Hermits  Boulder To Birmingham - Starland Vocal Band  Old Country - Mark Chesnutt  Wabash Cannonball - Boxcar Willie  Wabash Cannonball [1930] - The Carter Family  The Wabash Cannonball - Johnny Cash  The Wabash Cannonball - The Carter Family  Wabash Cannonball - Hank Locklin  Wabash Cannonball - Earl Scruggs  Blues For Dixie - Merle Haggard  Old Country - Chesnutt Mark  Cannon Ball Blues - Carter Family  Birmingham Blues - John Lee Hooker  Birmingham 1982 - Maria Taylor  Birmingham Sunday - Joan Baez  Noctifer Birmingham - The Mountain Goats  Handsome Johnny [#] - Richie Havens  Handsome Johnny - Richie Havens  Handsome Johnny [*] - Richie Havens  Handsome Johnny [2009 Remastered Woodstock ][Live]...  Boulder To Birmingham - Fray  Airplane Blues - John Parish  Breakfast in Birmingham - David Lee Murphy  Vietnam - Lars Frederiksen & The Bastards  Wabash Cannonball - Eddy Arnold  Ol' Country - Mark Chesnutt  The Country - The Dirty Guv'nahs  Wabash Cannon Ball - Eddy Arnold  Wabash Cannonball - Bonnie Owens  Handsome Johnny (Richie Havens cover)...  Good Enough For Rock And Roll - Chuck Ragan  Kids On The Street - Angelic Upstarts  On God's Green Earth - Brush Arbor  A Picture Postcard - The Promise Ring  Uncle Sam - Tevin Campbell  Georgia's Most Wanted (Mixtape) - Gucci Mane  Wabash Cannonball - Hank Williams Jr.  Tuxedo Junction - Ella Fitzgerald  Tuxedo Junction - The Andrews Sisters  Wabash Cannonball - Wanda Jackson  Tuxedo Junction - Joe Jackson  Tuxedo Junction - The Four Freshmen  Tuxedo Junction - Fats Domino  Tuxedo Junction - Benny Goodman  Tuxedo Junction - Count Basie  Tuxedo Junction - The Glenn Miller Orchestra  Tuxedo Junction - Glenn Miller & His Orchestra  Wabash Cannonball - Roy Acuff  Tuxedo Junction - Glenn Miller  Wabash Cannonball - Hank Williams, Jr.  Tuxedo Junction - Andrews Sisters  Wabash Cannonball (Live) - Johnny Cash  Wabash Cannonball - Ernest Tubb  Wabash Cannonball - Flatt and Scruggs  Wabash Cannonball - Billy Walker  Lovie Joe - Ann-Margret  Wabash Cannonball - Flatt & Scruggs  Denim Demon - Savoy Brown  Black Panther - Mason Jennings  Boulder to Birmingham - The Walker Brothers  Boulder to Birmingham [Electric] - Joan Baez  Boulder To Birmingham - Emmylou Harris  Boulder To Birmingham - Walker Brothers  Boulder to Birmingham (Emmylou Harris cover)...  Shadows - Richard Clapton  Shadows - Bryan Malpass  shadows - Sinking Ships  Shadows - Jamie Scott And The Town  Shadows - Malcolm Middleton  Shadows - Joe Walsh  Shadows - Nana Grizol  Shadows - Nidji  Shadows - Versus The Ocean  Shadows - Grimus  Shadows - God Is an Astronaut  Shadows - Tetrafusion  Shadows - Mercyful Fate  Shadows - Orbital  Shadows - Lion's Share  Shadows - Bone Machine  Shadows - Honeycut  Shadows - Tragedy Machine  Shadows - Marie EP  Shadows - Opiate For The Masses  Shadows - Chris Erben  Shadows - Raining And Ok  Shadows - Agnostic Front  SHADOWS - Crimson Ghosts  Shadows - Vixtrola  Shadows - The Old Ceremony  Shadows - The Getaway Plan  Shadows - Midnight Juggernauts  Shadows - The Dayton Family  Shadows - Sandra  Shadows - David Lamotte  Shadows - Parabelle  Shadows - The Innocence Mission  Shadows - Teramaze  Shadows - The Strange Death Of Liberal England  Shadows - Resurrection Band  Shadows - Talk Show Hosts  Shadows - Breathe Carolina  Shadows - Forbidden Theory  Shadows - Pram  Shadows - Warpaint  Shadows - Ryan Adams  Shadows - Rufus Wainwright  Shadows - Tenth Avenue North  Shadows - Nasum  Shadows - Ibn Inglor  Shadows - Edith Frost  Shadows - A Skylit Drive  Shadows - Callenish Circle  Shadows - 12 Stones  Shadows - Kirsten Jones