Biography:
Josh Ritter (born in Moscow, Idaho on October 21, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and author who performs and records with The Royal City Band (as Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band). Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006 he was named one of the "100 Greatest Living Songwriters" by Paste magazine.
Born to two neuroscientists, Ritter bought his first guitar from the local K-MART after hearing the Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash classic Girl From The North Country.
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Other songs:
- Empty Hearts
- Getting Ready To Get Down
- Good Man
- Kathleen
- Naked As A Window
- Next To The Last Romantic
- Temptation Of Adam
- To The Dogs Or Whoever
- Wolves
- A Big Enough Sky
- All Some Kind Of Dream
- Angels On Her Shoulders
- Anne
- Another New World
- Baby Thats Not All
- Bandits
- Beautiful Night
- Best For The Best
- Blame It On The Tetons
- Bone Of Song
- Bonfire
- California
- Cant Go To Sleep Without You
- Certain Light
- Change Of Time
- Come And Find Me
- Cry Softly
- Cumberland
- Darlin
- Dreams
- Drive Away
- Evil Eye
- Feels Like Lightning
- Folk Bloodbath
- Friendamine
- Girl In The War
- Golden Age Of Radio
- Ground Dont Want Me
- Harrisburg
- Henrietta Indiana
- Here At The Right Time
- Homecoming
- Hopeful
- Hotel Song
- Idaho
- In The Dark
- In Your Arms Again
- In Your Arms Awhile
- Joy To You Baby
- Labelship Down
- Lantern
- Lark
- Lawrence Ks
- Leaves And Kings
- Leaving
- Letter From Ohmaha
- Lights
- Lillian Egypt
- Little Ole Wine Drinker Me
- Long Shadows
- Loretta
- Love Is Making Its Way Back Home
- Make Me Down
- Man Burning
- Manburning
- Me And Jiggs
- Miles Away
- Minds Eye
- Monster Ballads
- Moon River
- Moons
- Murder On My Mind
- My Man On A Horse Is Here
- Myrna Loy
- New Lover
- Nightmares
- Oh Lord Part 3
- One More Mouth
- Open Doors
- Other Side
- Peter Killed The Dragon
- Rainslicker
- Rattling Locks
- Real Long Distance
- Right Moves
- Roll On
- Rumors
- Seeing Me Round
- Showboat
- Silver Blade
- Since Youve Gone
- Sir Galahad
- Snow Is Gone
- Song For The Fireflies
- Southern Pacifica
- Still Beating
- Strangers
- Stuck To You The Science Song
- The Appleblossom Rag
- The Bad Actress
- The Curse
- The Oak King
- The Stone
- The Temptation Of Adam
- Thin Blue Flame
- Third Arm
- Thunderbolts Goodnight
- Tonight You Belong To Me
- Train Go By
- Wait For Love
- When Will I Be Changed
- Where The Night Goes
- Wildfires
- Wings
- You Dont Make It Easy Babe
- Young Moses
- Youve Got The Moon
Four years of hard work!This month of May we celebrated four years on the air. We continue working on the dissemination of this wonderful instrument, thank you for participating in our story!
Capo 1
C F x2
C F
I became a thin blue flame
C F
Polished on a mountain range
C F
And over hills and fields I flew
C F
Wrapped up in a royal blue
Am
I flew over Royal City last night
C
A bullfighter on the horns of a new moon’s light
F
Caesar’s ghost I saw the war-time tides
C
The prince of Denmark’s father still and quiet
Am
And the whole world was looking to get drowned
C
Trees were a fist shaking themselves at the clouds
F
I looked over curtains and it was then that I knew
C
Only a full house gonna make it through
C F
I became a thin blue wire
That held the world above the fire
And so it was I saw behind
Heaven’s just a thin blue line
Am
If God’s up there he’s in a cold dark room
C
The heavenly host are just the cold dark moons
F
He bent down and made the world in seven days
C
And ever since he’s been a’walking away
Mixing with nitrogen in lonely holes
Where neither seraphim or raindrops go
I see an old man wandering the halls alone
Only a full house gonna make a home C
C F
I became a thin blue stream
The smoke between asleep and dreams
And in that clear blue undertow
I saw Royal City far below
Am
Borders soft with refugees
C
Streets a’swimming with amputees
F
It’s a Bible or a bullet they put over your heart
C
It’s getting harder and harder to tell them apart
Days are nights and the nights are long
Beating hearts blossom into walking bombs
And those still looking in the clear blue sky for a sign
Get missiles from so high they might as well be divine
Now the wolves are howling at our door
Singing bout vengeance like it’s the joy of the Lord
Bringing justice to the enemies not the other way round
They’re guilty when killed and they’re killed where they’re found
If what’s loosed on earth will be loosed up on high
It’s a Hell of a Heaven we must go to when we die
Where even Laurel begs Hardy for vengeance please
The fat man is crying on his hands and his knees
Back in the peacetime he caught roses on the stage
Now he twists indecision takes bourbon for rage
Lead pellets peppering aluminum
Halcyon, laudanum and Opium
Sings kiss thee hardy this poisoned cup
His winding sheet is busy winding up
In darkness he looks for the light that has died
But you need faith for the same reasons that it’s so hard to find
And this whole thing is headed for a terrible wreck
And like good tragedy that’s what we expect
C F x4
Am
At night I make plans for a city laid down
C
Like the hips of a girl on the spring covered ground
F
Spirals and capitals like the twist of a script
C
Streets named for heroes that could almost exist
The fruit trees of Eden and the gardens that seem
To float like the smoke from a lithium dream
Cedar trees growing in the cool of the squares
The young women walking in the portals of prayer
And the future glass buildings and the past an address
And the weddings in pollen and the wine bottomless
And all wrongs forgotten and all vengeance made right
The suffering verbs put to sleep in the night
The future descending like a bright chandelier
And the world just beginning and the guests in good cheer
In Royal City I fell into a trance
Oh it’s hell to believe there ain’t a hell of a chance
Am C F C x2
C F x2
C F
I woke beneath a clear blue sky
The sun a shout the breeze a sigh
My old hometown and the streets I knew
Were wrapped up in a royal blue
Am
I heard my friends laughing out across the fields
C
The girls in the gloaming and the birds on the wheel
F
The raw smell of horses and the warm smell of hay
C
Cicadas electric in the heat of the day
A run of Three Sisters and the flush of the land
And the lake was a diamond in the valley’s hand
The straight of the highway and the scattered out hearts
They were coming together they pulling apart
And angels everywhere were in my midst
In the ones that I loved in the ones that I kissed
I wondered what it was I’d been looking for up above
Heaven is so big there ain’t no need to look up
So I stopped looking for royal cities in the air
Only a full house gonna have a prayer
Am C F C x6 end Am
C F x2
C F
I became a thin blue flame
C F
Polished on a mountain range
C F
And over hills and fields I flew
C F
Wrapped up in a royal blue
Am
I flew over Royal City last night
C
A bullfighter on the horns of a new moon’s light
F
Caesar’s ghost I saw the war-time tides
C
The prince of Denmark’s father still and quiet
Am
And the whole world was looking to get drowned
C
Trees were a fist shaking themselves at the clouds
F
I looked over curtains and it was then that I knew
C
Only a full house gonna make it through
C F
I became a thin blue wire
That held the world above the fire
And so it was I saw behind
Heaven’s just a thin blue line
Am
If God’s up there he’s in a cold dark room
C
The heavenly host are just the cold dark moons
F
He bent down and made the world in seven days
C
And ever since he’s been a’walking away
Mixing with nitrogen in lonely holes
Where neither seraphim or raindrops go
I see an old man wandering the halls alone
Only a full house gonna make a home C
C F
I became a thin blue stream
The smoke between asleep and dreams
And in that clear blue undertow
I saw Royal City far below
Am
Borders soft with refugees
C
Streets a’swimming with amputees
F
It’s a Bible or a bullet they put over your heart
C
It’s getting harder and harder to tell them apart
Days are nights and the nights are long
Beating hearts blossom into walking bombs
And those still looking in the clear blue sky for a sign
Get missiles from so high they might as well be divine
Now the wolves are howling at our door
Singing bout vengeance like it’s the joy of the Lord
Bringing justice to the enemies not the other way round
They’re guilty when killed and they’re killed where they’re found
If what’s loosed on earth will be loosed up on high
It’s a Hell of a Heaven we must go to when we die
Where even Laurel begs Hardy for vengeance please
The fat man is crying on his hands and his knees
Back in the peacetime he caught roses on the stage
Now he twists indecision takes bourbon for rage
Lead pellets peppering aluminum
Halcyon, laudanum and Opium
Sings kiss thee hardy this poisoned cup
His winding sheet is busy winding up
In darkness he looks for the light that has died
But you need faith for the same reasons that it’s so hard to find
And this whole thing is headed for a terrible wreck
And like good tragedy that’s what we expect
C F x4
Am
At night I make plans for a city laid down
C
Like the hips of a girl on the spring covered ground
F
Spirals and capitals like the twist of a script
C
Streets named for heroes that could almost exist
The fruit trees of Eden and the gardens that seem
To float like the smoke from a lithium dream
Cedar trees growing in the cool of the squares
The young women walking in the portals of prayer
And the future glass buildings and the past an address
And the weddings in pollen and the wine bottomless
And all wrongs forgotten and all vengeance made right
The suffering verbs put to sleep in the night
The future descending like a bright chandelier
And the world just beginning and the guests in good cheer
In Royal City I fell into a trance
Oh it’s hell to believe there ain’t a hell of a chance
Am C F C x2
C F x2
C F
I woke beneath a clear blue sky
The sun a shout the breeze a sigh
My old hometown and the streets I knew
Were wrapped up in a royal blue
Am
I heard my friends laughing out across the fields
C
The girls in the gloaming and the birds on the wheel
F
The raw smell of horses and the warm smell of hay
C
Cicadas electric in the heat of the day
A run of Three Sisters and the flush of the land
And the lake was a diamond in the valley’s hand
The straight of the highway and the scattered out hearts
They were coming together they pulling apart
And angels everywhere were in my midst
In the ones that I loved in the ones that I kissed
I wondered what it was I’d been looking for up above
Heaven is so big there ain’t no need to look up
So I stopped looking for royal cities in the air
Only a full house gonna have a prayer
Am C F C x6 end Am
Josh.
Joshua Bassett
Joshua Dietrich
Joshua Hyslop
Joshua James