Pearl Moon (Hooverville, 1932)

Lyrics

[Verse 1: Mike Roe] I said, "Have we sinned for something we don't know about? Does hunger have a lesson to teach?" As the silver moon shined like a pearl of great price Drifting over our heads, out of reach [Pre-Chorus 1: Derri Daughtery] In California, every which way you turn You can pluck a fat orange from a tree And there's plenty of work and good wages to earn And an end to our misery [Chorus 1: Terry Scott Taylor] Then the coyotes cried, "Hooverville!" And the lonesome wind sighed, "Hooverville!" And the pearl moon tried To turn the tide But those voices still cried, "Hooverville! Hooverville!" [Verse 2: Mike Roe] I said, "It's wisest to cross the desert by night So's we best be leaving soon" Ma said, "But our jalopy won't start, and I'm losing heart This place could become our tomb" [Pre-Chorus 2: Derri Daughtery] And the great pearl drifted in the western sky And weakened in the first light of dawn We worked under the hood, but it did us no good And the moon, she kept rolling along [Chorus 1: Terry Scott Taylor] Then the coyotes cried, "Hooverville!" And the lonesome wind sighed, "Hooverville!" And the pearl moon tried To turn the tide But those voices still cried, "Hooverville! Hooverville!" [Verse 3: Mike Roe] We vowed to stay strong when she took ghostly form And the phantom moon faded away Vanished in the fire of the harshest of suns And the heat of those ruinous days [Pre-Chorus 3: Derri Daugherty] And we prayed she'd come back, and believed in the chances That old engine would crank back into life And we'd catch that moon tangled in those orange-tree branches And lay hold of the pearl of great price [Chorus 2: Terry Scott Taylor] Then the night came again: "Hooverville!" Sighed the lonesome wind. "Hooverville!" Again the moon tried To turn the tide But our babies died And all of us cried, "Hooverville! Hooverville!" [Bridge: Terry Scott Taylor] And our babies died And our babies died! And our babies died! [Outro: Pastor Joe Daugherty] All of a sudden, there was a sound like a rushing, mighty wind. And it filled all the house where they were sitting! Cloven tongues like fire! What's this? The sound, the wind! Then all of the sudden, the hundred and twenty spills out into the street! And they're like drunken men under the influence of the Holy Spirit! And they're praising God in language of every nationality of people that was in Jerusalem at that time! And multitudes of them were spellbound! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!