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The Pearl

from Local Life by Dave Perkins

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lyrics

The Pearl
Words and Music by Dave Perkins
Dreambox (ASCAP) 2014

When I was a young man, I ran with the kings
Drank deep from the glory proximity brings
Making a name was all I could see
And that one day the pearl would be handed to me

I took pleasure in freedom, took pleasure in youth
I took what came easy and I took that for truth
Never a question ‘bout my destiny
One day the pearl would be handed to me

She was a flower in the Tennessee hills
With uncommon powers and innocent skills
I told her my secrets and my victories
And how one day the pearl would be handed to me

Seasons blew over like pages from a book
She brought beauty all around me, when I remembered to look
‘Cause I was busy watching for the promise, the old prophecy
That one day the pearl would be handed to me

I worked to be worthy, I strove to get right
I climbed holy mountains like a mad Nazarite
To deliver a letter, a reminder you see
That one day the pearl would be handed to me

A prospector’s weakness is scratching for gold
In a way it don’t matter if the vein’s long gone cold
Smashing my mirror was the last vanity
Always thought I was a pilgrim, instead I am a refugee

A shelter, a compass, a map when you’re lost
A traveler’s comfort, she too knew the cost
Never did she say it never would be
That one day the pearl would be handed to me

One morning in sunlight I laid down my load
Lingered and turned and I looked back down the road
With the eyes of a blind man who suddenly sees
That the questions and answers have always agreed
Both for the pilgrim and for the refugee
For the man with no kingdom who had long held the key
She, she was the pearl that was handed to me

credits

from Local Life, released June 12, 2023

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Dave Perkins Tennessee

Dave Perkins' musical journey crisscrosses the map of American music. As guitarist, he played bluegrass and swing with Vassar Clements, renegade-country with Jerry Jeff Walker, singer-songwriter pop with Carole King, Americana with Guy Clark, blues-jazz with violinist Papa John Creach, alt-rock with Chagall Guevara, industrial hard-core with Passafist, and a video performance with Ray
Charles.
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