Louis Rosen

Lyrics

JOHN EVERELDOWN (words by Edwin Arlington Robinson)

“Where are you going tonight, tonight, — / Where are you going, John Evereldown? / There’s never the sign of a star in sight, / Or a lamp that’s nearer than Tilbury Town. / Why do you stare as a dead man might? / Where are you pointing away from the light? / And where are you going tonight, tonight, — / Where are you going to, John Evereldown?”

“Right through the forest, where none can see, / That’s where I’m going, to Tilbury Town. / The men are asleep, — or awake, may be, — / But the women are calling to John Evereldown.

Ever and ever they call for me, / And while they call can a man be free? / So right through the forest, where none can see, / There’s where I’m going, to Tilbury Town.

“But why are you going so late, so late, — / Why are you going, John Evereldown? / Though the road be smooth and the way be straight, / There are two long leagues to Tilbury Town. / Come in by the fire, old man, and wait! / Why do you chatter out by the gate? / And why are you going so late, so late, — / Why are you going there, John Evereldown?”

“I follow the women wherever they call, — / That’s why I’m going to Tilbury Town. / God knows that I pray to be done with it all, / But God is no friend to John Evereldown.

(Ever and ever they call for me, / And while they call can a man be free? / So right through the forest, where none can see, / There’s where I’m going, to Tilbury Town.)

So the clouds may come and the rain may fall, / The shadows may creep and the dead men crawl, — / But I follow the women wherever they call, / That’s why I’m going to Tilbury Town.”

© 2012 Louis Rosen, Lullwater Music, ASCAP. All Rights Reserved.