Rider, Pass By - Joan Baez

Tell me when you see them

Gathered at the shore

Dancing on their broken chains

Ah, the ladies are no more

In their blue jeans and their necklaces

Against an evening sky

But some of them are weeping

Crying rider, please pass by

The ship with all the riders

Has drifted out to sea

Compass cracked and stars unnamed

It’s lost to history

And the riders in captivity

Watch ancient waves roll high

And hear the distant voices

Crying rider, please pass by

All you men who should have been

Your fathers beat you down

Your mothers loved you badly

Your teachers stole your crowns

And the wars you fought have taken toll

The price was far too high

You’ve buried all the images

Of riders passing by

The horses of the riders

Have waited at the tide

But years have passed, they know at last

Their heroes will not ride

So the women oh so gracefully

Mount noble horses high

Shattering the timelessness

Of rider, please pass by

But who can dare to judge us

The women or the men?

If freedom’s wings shall not be clipped

We all can love again

So the choice is not of etiquette

Or finding lonesome ways to die

But liberty to ships at sea

And riders passing by

But liberty to ships at sea

And riders passing by