The Rubaiyat Lyrics

The Rubaiyat (excerpt)
Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston (1945)
Hard Travelin' - The Asch Recordings, Vol. 3

Don't give your money, not one penny spend
To learn the secret of your life, my friend
One little hair divides the false and true
And all that little hair, it starts and ends

One hair, I guess, divides the false and true (the false and true)
Find this one hair no matter what you do (what you do)
This hair will lead you to the drinking room
And to the wives of your great landlord too (it was)

I rolled in pain down on that sawdust floor (the drinkin' floor)
I prayed to heaven to open its golden door
I groaned and yelled: How long must I here roll? (here)
You must roll here till you are you no more (you no more)

I wasted lots of hours in the hot pursuit
Of this and that argument and dispute
Better to kiss the lip with laughin' grapes
Than eating sad or proud or bitter fruit

I'm glad I went off on my big carouse
And took my second wife into my house
Divorced old dried-up reason out of my bed
Took this daughter of the vine to spouse

What is and is not proof I rule in line (I rule in line)
And up and down by logic I define
I guess you thought I was a deep wise man
I never went deep in any thing but wine

My drinkin' door eased open late last late (last night late)
I saw a lady with an angel shape (pretty girl)
She handed me a gla*s of wisdom juice
I drank it down and found the juice was grape

This grapy juice can prove a billion things
Can make our racial haters dance in rings
Can make our set out to fightin' priests and princes
Sing simple songs, and tease my kings and queens (queens and kings both)

If God roiled my good wine, then would he dare (he wouldn't dare)
To make my viny grape a trap an' a snare
I drink my wine and I bless your sweet red mouth
If wine's a curse, well then, who set it there?

Woody Guthrie - Hard Travelin': The Asch Recordings, Vol. 3

May 1998

1. Hard Traveling
2. Farmer-Labor Train
3. Howdjadoo
4. Ship in the Sky
5. I Ain't Got No Home in This World Anymore
6. Mean Talking Blues
7. Better World A-Comin'
8. Miss Pavlichenko
9. So Long It's Been Good to Know You (War Version)
10. New Found Land
11. Oregon Trail
12. Vigilante Man
13. 1913 Massacre
14. Talking Columbia
15. Two Good Men
16. Sally Don't You Grieve
17. Talking Sailor (Talking Merchant Marine)
18. What are We Waiting On
19. Railroad Blues (Cripple Creek)
20. Ludlow Massacre
21. Ladies Auxilary
22. Miner's Song
23. When the Yanks Go Marching In
24. Union Maid
25. The Rubaiyat
26. The Many and the Few
27. Hanukkah Dance