Tell Ol' Bill (Alternate Version) [From the "North Country" Soundtrack] Lyrics

The river whispers in my ear
I've hardly a penny to my name
The heavens never seemed so near
And all my body glows with flame

The tempest struggles in the air
And to myself alone I sing
It could sink me then and there
I can hear the echo ring

I tried to find one smiling face
To drive the shadow from my head
I'm stranded in this nameless place
Lying restless in a heavy bed

Tell me straight out, if you will
Why must you torture me within?
Why must you come from your high hill?
And throw my fate to the clouds and wind

Far away in a silent land
Secret thoughts are hard to bear
Remember me, you'll understand
Emotions we can never share

You trampled on me, as you passed
Left the coldest kiss upon my brow
All my doubts and fears have gone at last
I've nothin' more to tell you now

I walk by tranquil lakes and streams
As each new season's dawn awaits
I lay awake at night with troubled dreams
The enemy is at the gates

Beneath the thunder-blasted trees
The words are ringin' off your tongue
The ground is hard in times like these
The stars are cold, the night is young

The rocks are bleak, the trees are bare
Iron clouds go floatin' by
Snowflakes fallin' in my hair
Beneath the gray and stormy sky

The evenin' sun is sinkin' low
The woods are dark, the town is too
They'll drag you down, they'll run the show
Ain't no telling what they'll do

Tell ol' Bill when he comes a-home
That anything is worth a try
Tell him that I'm not alone
And that the hour has come to do or die

All the world I would defy
Let me make it plain as day
I look at you now, and I sigh
How could it be any other way?