Austria (The Nights Of Freedom)
Well, I guess I’ve been already thrilled to bits some days before
Kris and Borderlords on tour again
Working hard on the letters of the shirt I fin’ly wore
While driving down into the Austrian land
I reached the first town after I left miles and hours behind
The concert hall was in its outskirts
In the foyer I met two boys at the age of mine
Wearing handmade Kristofferson-Shirts
We didn’t take much time ‘til we got special friends
Together enjoying the soundcheck at the chained door
Andi, Bernie and me, three dyed-in-the-wool fans
Thinkin’ of the night we been headin’ for
Five past eight, as usual Billy Swan opened the show
With a few of his old hits he used to start
Me and the boys were as close to the stage as we could go
And caught the warmth of Billy in our hearts
And then the light grew dim and Billy stepped aside
To leave the middle space for Kris
God gave us songwriters to hold a candle in the night
And Lord, he is the brightest sun there is
He started with a new song, unpublished at that time
So no one of the audience could know
But I knew the words and I sang with him every line
Due to live recordings I did two years ago
He saw it on my lips that I knew almost every song
And every look of him filled me with pride
Then suddenly in a singing break he cried past the microphone
“My God, how do you know all the words?” and then he smiled
Andi turned his head and grinned at me, Bernie started grinning, too
I turned back Kris’ smiles, happy as a child
The Borderlords were grinning, maybe not all but quite a few
What a fool I was to think life ain’t worthwhile
Kris had touched my heart and changed the sadness of my soul
His spirit rose above that sleepy town
And I guess I’m not the only one whose life yearns for that goal
Freedom, love and no one gettin’ no one down
Spoken:
That night when the first show was over Andi, Bernie and me
Still excited about feeling free without any thought of any tie that could bind
Decided to get a cup of coffee in a small pub beneath the concert hall
Then just as we left the foyer the bus with all members of the band crossed our way
And suddenly it stopped beside us and Kris came out of the front door
I stood there, not sure if I was dreaming, and he came to me with a brandnew smile
Shook my hand and said, “Hey man, you’ve been wonderful, thank you very much!”
Just to vanish inside of the bus before I could even notice what was happening
Day by day, miles by miles I moved from town to town
Friendly people everywhere I met
Shakin’ off that sadness I took long enough around
And I found a love for life I never had
Seems like every Borderlord knew my name, and I felt closer every day
And Lord, whenever I met Billy Swan
“Hello, nice to see you!” or “How are you?” he did say
Shook my hand, and his smiles yet ain’t gone
And it seems like just another precious highlight of the tour
Once working as a roadie for the band
Funny just to lug around the bass of Tommy McClure
Or watching Kris’ son how to tune the instruments
The last show that I saw was a very moving one
Next to mine a boy who was in sweet caress
With his girl who kissed him softly throughout the tender songs
And I felt the pain of parting and a kind of sadness
In the morning after sleepin’ in my car that night
I started back home in a special mood
In my mind I saw lots of faces, smiling so bright
And thought of them just like a good friend would
I can’t explain the feeling, Lord, a dream has been fulfilled
Yet too less, it’s been more than enough
But haven’t I found two new friends for sharing every thrill
Of the sun in our hearts on the way of love
© 1990 by Hank Blöchinger