Biography:
Tom Russell (born in Los Angeles in either 1947 or 1948) is an American singer-songwriter from California, currently living in El Paso, Texas. His music incorporates elements of folk, traditional country & western, border and cowboy music of the American West. Russell's songs have been recorded by artists such as Johnny Cash, Ian Tyson, Nanci Griffith, Dave Alvin and others. In addition to his music, he is also an artist and published author.
In the 1980s Russell made four albums credited to the Tom Russell Band.
Read more on Last.fm
Other songs:
- A Bowl Of Red
- A Hard Rains A
- A Land Called Way Out There
- Acres Of Corn
- Aint No More Cane On The Brazos
- Alkali
- All This Way For The Short Ride
- Amelias Railroad Flat
- America The Beautiful
- American Rivers
- Angel Of Lyon
- Beyond The Blues
- Box Of Visions
- Bucking Horse Moon
- Bus Station
- Canadian Whisky
- Carrickfergus
- Claude Dallas
- Criminology
- Cropduster
- Dance Hall Girls
- Down The Rio Grande
- East Of Woodstock West Of Viet Nam
- El Llano Estacado
- En Canadien Errant
- Evangeline Hotel
- Finding You
- Furious Love For Liz
- Gallo Del Cielo
- Guadalupe
- Gulf Coast Highway
- Hallie Lonnigan
- Hills Of Old Juarez
- If I Had A Gun
- Isaac Lewis
- Little Blue Horse
- Love Abides
- Love Makes A Fool Out Of The Wise
- Mandarin Oranges
- Manzanar
- Mineral Wells
- Navajo Rug
- Oil Field Girls
- Old Blue
- Pilgrim Land
- Racehorse Haynes
- Rambler Gambler
- Rider On An Orphan Train
- Rose Of San Joaquin
- Santa Fe At Midnight
- Sitting Bull In Venice
- Somebodys Husband Somebodys Son
- Sonoras Death Row
- Spanish Burgundy
- Stealing Electricity
- The Ballad Of Edward Abbey
- The Dutchman
- The Eyes Of Robert Duran
- The Eyes Of Roberto Duran
- The Greatest Show On Earth
- The John Bull Tin
- The Kid From Spavinaw
- The Man From God Knows Where
- The Next Thing Smokin
- The Old Rugged Cross
- The Railroad Boy
- The Rose Of Roscrae
- The Rose Of The San Joaquin
- The Santa Fe At Midnight
- The Sky Above The Mud Below
- The Water Is Wide
- Throwin Horseshoes At The Moon
- Throwing Horseshoes At The Moon
- Tonight We Ride
- Touch Of Evil
- Veterans Day
- Walkin On The Moon
- Walking On The Moon
- Wayfarin Stranger
- What Work Is
- When Sinatra Played Juarez
- When The Wolves No Longer Sing
- Where The Dream Begins
- Whos Gonna Build Your Wall
- Winnipeg
- Woodrow
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!
Tom Russell - Isaac Lewis
CAPO: 3rd Fret
[Intro]
G
[Verse 1]
C G
My name is Isaac Lewis, I'm an able-bodied man
Am D
On the ship the Royal Charter, bound off for Van Diemen's Land
G C
Oh, the sea that took six months to cross, we could do in two
Bm Am D
So it's up that Mersey River, out of Liverpool we flew
[Verse 2]
G C
And some of us were sailors, all hardy, young and old
Bm C D
And some of us were pioneers, bound off for the gold
G C
There were merchants and musicians, Christian soldiers of the cross
Bm Am D
We stared into that foamy sea, saw our dreams there in the broth
[Chorus]
G C D G
Sail on, sail on and on and on
C Bm Am G
My name is Isaac Lewis, this shall be my song
[Verse 3]
C G
So we landed there in Botany Bay, and the boys went on the town
Am D
And I met a girl named Emma Gray, I loved her up and down
G C
And I swore that I'd return for her, one more tour at sea
Bm Am D
But I had to tell my father what he meant to me
[Verse 4]
G C
For every night, I dreamed a dream, as the wind swept through the sails
Bm C D
That I was in my father's house, back in northern Wales
G C
And I reached out for my father, I said, "I love you very much,"
Bm Am D
But the ship rolled o'er and the dream was drowned before we got to touch
[Chorus]
G C D G
Sail on, sail on and on and on
C Bm Am G
My name is Isaac Lewis, this shall be my song
[Verse 5]
C G
So I kissed the lips of Emma Gray and set sail for Liverpool
Am D
And the parrots perched in the riggings, boys and the dolphins swam in schools
G C
Our trip, it was a pleasant one, till we reached the coast of Wales
Bm Am D
And one day out from Liverpool, god unleashed a gale
[Verse 6]
G C G
Good lord, I've seen some squalls, me boys and hurricanes at sea
Am D
And many nights I'd rediscovered, faith on bended knee
G C
But I never seen it blow so hard, we anchored her at last
Bm Am D
But the waves rolled o'er the top of us, we had to cut the mast
[Verse 7]
G C G
And all the mining magnates clutched their gold, believing they'd be saved
Am D
But their bloody greed destroyed them first, beneath the angry waves
G C
All the women and the children, lost to eternity
Bm Am D
Ah, man has tamed and shaped the land, he'll never tame the sea
[Verse 8]
G C
And every night I had dreamed a dream, as the wind swept through the sails
Bm Am D
That I was in my father's house, back in northern Wales
G C
And I reached for my father, I said, "I love you very much,"
Bm Am D
But the ship rolled o'er and the dream was drowned before we got to touch
[Chorus]
G C D G
Sail on, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm
C Bm Am G
hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm
[Verse 9]
C G
We were caught upon the rocks, just ten yards from the shore
Am D
And we saw men standing on the rocks, maybe three or more
G C
And I swear I saw my father waving at me through the squall
Bm Am D
And I screamed that I was coming home, that's all that I recall
[Verse 10]
G C G
For the waves they swept me overboard with the broken mast and sails
Bm C D
And I drowned, where as a child I'd fished, on the rocks of northern Wales
G C
And in three days time I washed up on the whitened sandy shore
Bm Am D
One hundred yards from Moelfre and my father's white oak door
[Chorus]
G C D G
Sail on, sail on and on and on
C Bm Am G
My name is Isaac Lewis, this shall be my song
[Verse 11]
C G
And some will shout coincidence, or say this can't be true
Am D
I only say, just tell your loved ones what they mean to you
G C
For you shall sail the seas of life, pursuing golden schemes
Bm Am D
Yet, drown so closely to your home, the cradle of your dreams
[Chorus]
G C D G
Sail on, sail on and on and on
C Bm Am G
My name is Isaac Lewis and this has been my song
C Bm Am G
My name is Isaac Lewis and this has been my song
CAPO: 3rd Fret
[Intro]
G
[Verse 1]
C G
My name is Isaac Lewis, I'm an able-bodied man
Am D
On the ship the Royal Charter, bound off for Van Diemen's Land
G C
Oh, the sea that took six months to cross, we could do in two
Bm Am D
So it's up that Mersey River, out of Liverpool we flew
[Verse 2]
G C
And some of us were sailors, all hardy, young and old
Bm C D
And some of us were pioneers, bound off for the gold
G C
There were merchants and musicians, Christian soldiers of the cross
Bm Am D
We stared into that foamy sea, saw our dreams there in the broth
[Chorus]
G C D G
Sail on, sail on and on and on
C Bm Am G
My name is Isaac Lewis, this shall be my song
[Verse 3]
C G
So we landed there in Botany Bay, and the boys went on the town
Am D
And I met a girl named Emma Gray, I loved her up and down
G C
And I swore that I'd return for her, one more tour at sea
Bm Am D
But I had to tell my father what he meant to me
[Verse 4]
G C
For every night, I dreamed a dream, as the wind swept through the sails
Bm C D
That I was in my father's house, back in northern Wales
G C
And I reached out for my father, I said, "I love you very much,"
Bm Am D
But the ship rolled o'er and the dream was drowned before we got to touch
[Chorus]
G C D G
Sail on, sail on and on and on
C Bm Am G
My name is Isaac Lewis, this shall be my song
[Verse 5]
C G
So I kissed the lips of Emma Gray and set sail for Liverpool
Am D
And the parrots perched in the riggings, boys and the dolphins swam in schools
G C
Our trip, it was a pleasant one, till we reached the coast of Wales
Bm Am D
And one day out from Liverpool, god unleashed a gale
[Verse 6]
G C G
Good lord, I've seen some squalls, me boys and hurricanes at sea
Am D
And many nights I'd rediscovered, faith on bended knee
G C
But I never seen it blow so hard, we anchored her at last
Bm Am D
But the waves rolled o'er the top of us, we had to cut the mast
[Verse 7]
G C G
And all the mining magnates clutched their gold, believing they'd be saved
Am D
But their bloody greed destroyed them first, beneath the angry waves
G C
All the women and the children, lost to eternity
Bm Am D
Ah, man has tamed and shaped the land, he'll never tame the sea
[Verse 8]
G C
And every night I had dreamed a dream, as the wind swept through the sails
Bm Am D
That I was in my father's house, back in northern Wales
G C
And I reached for my father, I said, "I love you very much,"
Bm Am D
But the ship rolled o'er and the dream was drowned before we got to touch
[Chorus]
G C D G
Sail on, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm
C Bm Am G
hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm
[Verse 9]
C G
We were caught upon the rocks, just ten yards from the shore
Am D
And we saw men standing on the rocks, maybe three or more
G C
And I swear I saw my father waving at me through the squall
Bm Am D
And I screamed that I was coming home, that's all that I recall
[Verse 10]
G C G
For the waves they swept me overboard with the broken mast and sails
Bm C D
And I drowned, where as a child I'd fished, on the rocks of northern Wales
G C
And in three days time I washed up on the whitened sandy shore
Bm Am D
One hundred yards from Moelfre and my father's white oak door
[Chorus]
G C D G
Sail on, sail on and on and on
C Bm Am G
My name is Isaac Lewis, this shall be my song
[Verse 11]
C G
And some will shout coincidence, or say this can't be true
Am D
I only say, just tell your loved ones what they mean to you
G C
For you shall sail the seas of life, pursuing golden schemes
Bm Am D
Yet, drown so closely to your home, the cradle of your dreams
[Chorus]
G C D G
Sail on, sail on and on and on
C Bm Am G
My name is Isaac Lewis and this has been my song
C Bm Am G
My name is Isaac Lewis and this has been my song
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