Ol' 55
Well my time went so quickly,
I went lickety-splickly out to my old '55
As I drove away slowly, feeling so holy,
God knows, I was feeling alive.
Now the sun's coming up,
I'm riding with Lady Luck,
freeway cars and trucks,
Stars beginning to fade,
and I lead the parade
Just a-wishing I'd stayed a little longer,
Oh, Lord, let me tell you
that the feeling's getting stronger.
And it's six in the morning,
gave me no warning; I had to be on my way.
Well there's trucks all a-passing me,
and the lights are all flashing,
I'm on my way home from your place.
And now the sun's coming up,
I'm riding with Lady Luck,
freeway cars and trucks,
Stars beginning to fade,
and I lead the parade
Just a-wishing I'd stayed a little longer,
Oh, Lord, let me tell you
that the feeling's getting stronger.
And my time went so quickly,
I went lickety-splickly out to my old '55
As I pulled away slowly, feeling so holy,
God knows, I was feeling alive.
Now the sun's coming up,
I'm riding with Lady Luck,
Freeway cars and trucks,
freeway cars and trucks,
freeway cars and trucks...
 
I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You
Well I hope that I don't fall in love with you
'Cause falling in love just makes me blue,
Well the music plays and you display
your heart for me to see,
I had a beer and now I hear you
calling out for me
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you.
Well the room is crowded, people everywhere
And I wonder, should I offer you a chair?
Well if you sit down with this old clown,
take that frown and break it,
Before the evening's gone away,
I think that we could make it,
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you.
Well the night does funny things inside a man
These old tom-cat feelings you don't understand,
Well I turn around to look at you,
you light a cigarette,
I wish I had the guts to bum one,
but we've never met,
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you.
I can see that you are lonesome just like me,
and it being late, you'd like some some company,
Well I turn around to look at you,
and you look back at me,
The guy you're with has up and split,
the chair next to you's free,
And I hope that you don't fall in love with me.
Now it's closing time, the music's fading out
Last call for drinks, I'll have another stout.
Well I turn around to look at you,
you're nowhere to be found,
I search the place for your lost face,
guess I'll have another round
And I think that I just fell in love with you.
 
 
Virginia Avenue
Well, I'm walking on down Virginia Avenue
Trying to find somebody to tell my troubles to.
Harold's club is closing,
and everybody's going on home:
What's a poor boy to do?
I'll just get on back into my short,
make it back to the fort
Sleep off all the crazy lizards inside of my brain.
There's got to be some place
that's better than this
This life I'm leading's driving me insane
And let me tell you I'm dreaming...
Let me tell you that
I'm dreaming to the twilight,
this town has got me down.
I've seen all the highlights,
I've been walking all around
I won't make a fuss, I'll take a Greyhound bus,
carry me away from here:
Tell me, what have I got to lose?
'Cause I'm walking on down Columbus Avenue
The bars are all closing,
'cause it's quarter to two
Every town I go to is like a lock without a key
Those I leave behind are catching up on me,
Let me tell you they're catching up on me,
they're catching up on me
Catching up on me, catching up on me,
catching up on me.
 
Old Shoes (And Picture Postcards)
I'm singing this song, it's time it was sung
I've been putting it off for a while,
But it's harder by now, 'cause the truth is so clear
That I cry when I'm seeing you smile.
So goodbye, so long, the road calls me dear
And your tears cannot bind me anymore,
And farewell to the girl with the sun in her eyes
Can I kiss you, and then I'll be gone.
Every time that I tried to tell
that we'd lost the magic we had at the start,
I would weep my heart when I looked in your eyes
And I searched once again for the spark.
So goodbye, so long, the road calls me dear
And your tears cannot bind me anymore,
And farewell to the girl with the sun in her eyes
Can I kiss you, and then I'll be gone.
I can see by your eyes, it's time now to go
So I'll leave you to cry in the rain,
Though I held in my hand, the key to all joy
Honey my heart was not born to be tamed.
So goodbye, so long, the road calls me dear
And your tears cannot bind me anymore,
And farewell to the girl with the sun in her eyes
Can I kiss you, and then I'll be gone.
So goodbye, so long, the road calls me dear
And your tears cannot bind me anymore,
And farewell to the girl with the sun in her eyes
Can I kiss you, and then I'll be gone,
Can I kiss you, and then I'll be gone,
can I kiss you, and then I'll be gone.
 
Midnight Lullaby
Sing a song of sixpence, pocket full of rye
Hush-a bye my baby, no need to be crying.
You can burn the midnight oil with me
as long as you will
Stare out at the moon
upon the windowsill, and dream...
Sing a song of sixpence, pocket full of rye
Hush-a bye my baby, no need to be crying.
There's dew drops on the window sill,
gumdrops in your head
Slipping into dream land,
you're nodding your head, so dream...
Dream of West Virginia, or of the British Isles
'Cause when you are dreaming,
you see for miles and miles.
When you are much older, remember when we sat
At midnight on the windowsill,
and had this little chat
And dream, come on and dream,
come on and dream, and dream, and dream...
 
Martha
Operator, number, please:
it's been so many years
Will she remember my old voice
while I fight the tears?
Hello, hello there, is this Martha?
this is old Tom Frost,
And I am calling long distance,
don't worry 'bout the cost.
'Cause it's been forty years or more,
now Martha please recall,
Meet me out for coffee,
where we'll talk about it all.
And those were the days of roses,
poetry and prose and Martha
all I had was you and all you had was me.
There was no tomorrows,
we'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day.
And I feel so much older now,
and you're much older too,
How's your husband?
and how's the kids?
you know that I got married too?
Lucky that you found someone
to make you feel secure,
'Cause we were all so young and foolish,
now we are mature.
And those were the days of roses,
poetry and prose and Martha
all I had was you and all you had was me.
There was no tomorrows,
we'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day.
And I was always so impulsive,
I guess that I still am,
And all that really mattered then
was that I was a man.
I guess that our being together
was never meant to be.
And Martha, Martha,
I love you can't you see?
And those were the days of roses,
poetry and prose and Martha
all I had was you and all you had was me.
There was no tomorrows,
we'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day.
And I remember quiet evenings
trembling close to you...
 
Rosie
Well I'm sitting on a windowsill, blowing my horn
Nobody's up except the moon and me,
And a lazy old tomcat on a midnight spree
All that you left me was a melody.
Rosie, why do you evade? Rosie,
how can I persuade? Rosie...
And the moon's all up, full and big,
apricot tips in an indigo sky,
And I've been loving you, Rosie,
since the day I was born
And I'll love you, Rosie 'til the day I die.
Rosie, why do you evade? Rosie,
how can I persuade? Rosie...
Rosie, why do you evade? Rosie,
how can I persuade? Rosie...
And I'm sitting on a windowsill, blowing my horn
Nobody's up except the moon and me,
And a lazy old tomcat on a midnight spree
All that you left me was a melody.
Rosie, why do you evade?
Rosie, how can I persuade? Rosie...
 
Lonely
Lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely eyes,
lonely face, lonely lonely in your place.
Lonely, lonely, lonely eyes, lonely face,
lonely lonely in your place.
I thought that I knew all that there was to,
lonely, lonely, lonely...
Melanie Jane, won't feel the pain.
Lonely, lonely, lonely eyes, lonely eyes,
lonely lonely in your place.
And I thought that I knew all that there was to
Lonely, lonely, lonely eyes, lonely eyes,
lonely lonely in your place, and
I still love you, I still love you,
lonely, lonely...
 
Ice Cream Man
I'll be clickin' by your house about two forty-five
Sidewalk sundae strawberry surprise,
I got a cherry popsicle right on time
A big stick, mamma, that'll blow your mind
'Cause I'm the ice cream man,
I'm a one-man band (yeah)
I'm the ice cream man, honey,
I'll be good to you.
Baby, missed me in the alley, baby, don't you fret
Come back around and don't forget,
When you're tired and you're hungry
and you want something cool,
Got something better than a swimming pool
'Cause I'm the ice cream man,
I'm a one-man band
I'm the ice cream man, honey,
I'll be good to you.
'Cause I'm the ice cream man,
I'm a one-man band
I'm the ice cream man, honey,
I'll be good to you.
See me coming, you ain't got no change
Don't worry baby, it can be arranged:
Show me you can smile, baby just for me
Fix you with a drumstick, I'll do it for free
'Cause I'm the ice cream man, I'm a one-man band
I'm the ice cream man, honey, I'll be good to you.
Be good to you, be good to you,
Good to you yeah, good to you yeah,
good to you yeah, good to you yeah,
Good to you yeah, good to you,
'll be good to you, I'll be good to you...
 
Little Trip to Heaven (On the Wings of your Love)
Lazy trip to heaven on the wings of your love
Banana moon is shining in the sky,
Feel like I'm in heaven when you're with me
Know that I'm in heaven when you smile,
Though we're stuck here on the ground,
I got something that I've found
And it's you.
And I don't have to take no trip to outer space
All I have to do is look at your face,
And before I know it, I'm in orbit around you
Thanking my lucky stars that I've found you,
When I see your constellation,
honey, you're my inspiration,
and it's you.
You're my north star when I'm lost and feeling blue,
The sun is breaking through the clouds
don't you, don't you know it's true?
Honey, all the other stars seem dim around you
Thanking my lucky stars that I've found you,
When I see your smiling face, honey,
I know nothing ever going to take your place,
and it's you.
And it's you, and it's you,
and it's you, and it's you, and it's you
And it's you, and it's you, shoo-be-doo, ba-da-da.
 
Grapefruit Moon
Grapefruit moon, one star shining,
shining down on me.
Heard that tune, and now I'm pining,
honey, can't you see?
'Cause every time I hear that melody,
well, something breaks inside,
And the grapefruit moon, one star shining,
can't turn back the tide.
Never had no destination, could not get across.
You became my inspiration, oh but what a cost.
'Cause every time I hear that melody,
well, something breaks inside,
And the grapefruit moon, one star shining,
is more than I can hide.
Now I'm smoking cigarettes
and I strive for purity,
And I slip just like the stars into obscurity.
'Cause every time I hear that melody,
well, puts me up a tree,
And the grapefruit moon, one star shining,
is all that I can see.
 
Closing Time
[Instrumental]
 
 
 
New Coat Of Paint
 
Let's put a new coat of paint on this lonesome old town
Set 'em up, we'll be knockin' em down.
You wear a dress, baby, and I'll wear a tie.
We'll laugh at that old bloodshot moon in that burgundy sky
All your scribbled lovedreams, are lost or thrown away,
Here amidst the shuffle of an overflowing day
Our love needs a transfusion so let's shoot it full of wine
Fishin' for a good time starts with throwin'in your line.
 
 
San Diego Serenade
 
I never saw the morning 'til I stayed up all night
I never saw the sunshine 'til you turned out the light
I never saw my hometown until I stayed away too long
I never heard the melody, until I needed a song.
I never saw the white line, 'til I was leaving you behind
I never knew I needed you 'til I was caught up in a bind
I never spoke 'I love you' 'til I cursed you in vain,
I never felt my heartstrings until I nearly went insane.
I never saw the east coast 'til I move to the west
I never saw the moonlight until it shone off your breast
I never saw your heart 'til someone tried to steal,
tried to steal it away
I never saw your tears until they rolled down your face.
 
 
 
Semi Suite
 
Well you hate those diesels rollin'
And those Friday nights out bowlin'
When he's off for a twelve hour lay over night
You wish you had a dollar
For every time he hollered
That he's leavin'
And he's never comin' back
But the curtain-laced billow
And his hands on your pillow
And his trousers are hangin' on the chair
You're lyin' through your pain, babe
But you're gonna tell him he's your man
And you ain't got the courage to leave
He tells you that you're on his mind
You're the only one he's ever gonna find
It's kind-a special, understands his complicated soul...
But the only place a man can breathe
And collect his thoughts is
Midnight and flyin' away on the road.
But you've packed and unpacked
So many times you've lost track
And the steam heat is drippin' off the walls
But when you hear his engines
You're lookin' through the window in the kitchen and you know
You're always gonna be there when he calls
'Cause he's a truck drivin' man
Stoppin' when he can
He's a truck drivin' man
Stoppin' when he can
 
 
 
Shiver Me Timbers
 
I'm leavin' my fam'ly
Leavin' all my friends
My body's at home
But my heart's in the wind
Where the clouds are like headlines
On a new front page sky
My tears are salt water
And the moon's full and high
And I know Martin Eden's
Gonna be proud of me
And many before me
Who've been called by the sea
To be up in the crow's nest
Singin' my say
Shiver me Timbers
'Cause I'm a-sailin' away
And the fog's liftin'
And the sand's shiftin'
I'm driftin' on out
Ol' Captain Ahab
He ain't got nothin' on me, now.
So swallow me, don't follow me
I'm trav'lin' alone
Blue water's my daughter
'n I'm gonna skip like a stone
So please call my missus
Gotta tell her not to cry
'Cause my goodbye is written
By the moon in the sky
Hey and nobody knows me
I can't fathom my stayin'
Shiver me timbers
'Cause I'm a-sailin' away
And the fog's liftin'
And the sand's shiftin'
I'm driftin' on out
Ol' Captain Ahab
He ain't got nothin' on me
So come and swallow me, follow me
I'm trav'lin' alone
Blue water's my daughter
'n I'm gonna skip like a stone
And I'm leavin' my family
Leavin' all my friends
My body's at home
But my heart's in the wind
Where the clouds are like headlines
Upon a new front page sky
And shiver me timbers
'Cause I'm a-sailin' away
 
 
 
Diamonds on my Windshield
 
Diamonds on my windshield
Tears from heaven
Pulling into town on the Interstate
Pulling a steel train in the rain
The wind bites my cheek through the wing
Fast flying, freway driving
Always makes me sing
There's a Duster tryin' to change my tune
Pulling up fast on the right
Rolling restlessly, twenty-four hour moon
Wisconsin hiker with a cue-ball head
Wishing he was home in a Wiscosin bed
fifteen feet of snow in the East
Colder then a welldigger's ass
Oceanside it ends the ride, San Clemente coming up
Sunday desperadoes slip by, gas station closed,
cruise with a dry back
Orange drive-in the neon billin'
Theatre's fillin' to the brim
Slave girls and a hot spurn bucket full of sin
Metropolitan area with interchange and connections
Fly-by-nights from Riverside
Black and white plates, out of state,
running a little bit late
Sailors jockey for the fast lane
101 don't miss it
Rolling hills and concrete fields
The broken line's on your mind
Eights go east and the fives go north
The merging nexus back and forth
You see your sign, cross the line,
signalling with a blink
The radio's gone off the air
Gives you time to think
You ease it out and you creep across
Intersection light goes out
You hear the rumble
As you fumble for a cigarette
Blazing through this midnight jungle
Remember someone that you met
One more block; the engine talks
And whispers 'home at last'
It whispers, whispers, whispers
'home at last', home at last
 
 
 
(Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night
 
Well you gassed her up
Behind the wheel
With your arm around your sweet one
In your Oldsmobile
Barrelin' down the boulevard
You're looking for the heart of Saturday night
And you got paid on Friday
And your pockets are jinglin'
And you see the lights
You get all tinglin' cause you're cruisin' with a 6
And you're looking for the heart of Saturday night
Then you comb your hair
Shave your face
Tryin' to wipe out ev'ry trace
All the other days
In the week you know that this'll be the Saturday
You're reachin' your peak
Stoppin' on the red
You're goin' on the green
'Cause tonight'll be like nothin'
You've ever seen
And you're barrelin' down the boulevard
Lookin' for the heart of Saturday night
Tell me is the crack of the poolballs, neon buzzin?
Telephone's ringin'; it's your second cousin
Is it the barmaid that's smilin' from the corner of her eye?
Magic of the melancholy tear in your eye.
Makes it kind of quiver down in the core
'Cause you're dreamin' of them Saturdays that came before
And now you're stumblin'
You're stumblin' onto the heart of Saturday night
Well you gassed her up
And you're behind the wheel
With your arm around your sweet one
In your Oldsmobile
Barrellin' down the boulevard,
You're lookin' for the heart of Saturday night
Is the crack of the poolballs, neon buzzin?
Telephone's ringin'; it's your second cousin
And the barmaid is smilin' from the corner of her eye
Magic of the melancholy tear in your eye.
Makes it kind of special down in the core
And you're dreamin' of them Saturdays that came before
It's found you stumblin'
Stumblin' onto the heart of Saturday night
And you're stumblin'
Stumblin onto the heart of Saturday night
 
 
 
Fumblin' With the Blues
 
Friday left me fumblin' with the blues
And it's hard to win when you always lose
Because the nightspots spend your spirit
Beat your head against the wall
Two dead ends and you've still got to choose
You know the bartenders
They all know my name
And they catch me when I'm pulling up lame
And I'm a pool-shooting-shimmy-shyster shaking my head
When I should be living clean instead
You know the ladies I've been seeing off and on
Well they spend your love and then they're gone
You can't be lovin' someone who is savage and cruel
Take your love and then they leave on out of town
No they do
Well now fallin' in love is such a breeze
But its standin' up that's so hard for me
I wanna squeeze you but I'm scared to death I'd break your back
You know your perfume
Well it won't let me be
You know the bartenders all know my name
And they catch me when I'm pulling up lame
And I'm a pool-shooting-shimmy-shyster shaking my head
When I should be living clean instead
Come on baby
Let your love light shine
Gotta bury me inside of your fire
Because your eyes are 'nough to blind me
You're like a-looking at the sun
You gotta whisper tell me I'm the one
Come on and whisper tell me I'm the one
Gotta whisper tell me I'm the one
Come on and whisper tell me I'm the one
 
 
 
Please Call Me, Baby
 
The evening fell just like a star
Left a trail behind
You spit as you slammed out the door
If this is love we're crazy
As we fight like cats and dogs
But I just know there's got to be more
So please call me, baby
Wherever you are
It's too cold to be out walking in the streets
We do crazy things when we're wounded
Everyone's a bit insane
I don't want you catching your death of cold
Out walking in the rain
I admit that I ain't no angel
I admit that I ain't no saint
I'm selfish and I'm cruel and I'm blind
If I exorcise my devils
Well my angels may leave too
When they leave they're so hard to find
(Chorus)
We're always at each other's throats
It drives me up the wall
Most of the time I'm just blowing off steam
And I wish to God you'd leave me
And I wish to God you'd stay
Life's so different than it is in your dreams
(Chorus)
 
 
 
Depot, Depot
 
Depot, depot, what am I doing here?
Depot, depot, what am I doing here?
I ain't coming, I ain't going
My confusion is showing
Outside the midnight wind is blowing Sixth Avenue
I'm gonna paint myself blue
At the depot
I watch the taxis pull up and idle
I can't claim title to a single memory
He offered me a key
'Cause opportunity don't knock
He has no tongue and she cannot talk
You're gonna shuffle when you walk
At the depot
This peeping-Tom needs a peephole
And an uptempo song
To move me along
When I find this depot baby
I'm on a roll just like a pool ball baby
I'm gonna be there at the roll call maybe
At the depot
Outside the midnight wind is blowing Sixth Avenue
Oh, tell me what a poor boy to do
At the depot
I'm on a roll just like a pool ball baby
I'm gonna be there at the roll call maybe
At the depot
The depot
 
 
 
Drunk on the Moon<br>  
Tight-slacked clad girls on the graveyard shift
'Neath the cement stroll
Catch the midnight drift
Cigar chewing charlie
In that newspaper nest
grifting hot horse tips
On who's running the best
And I'm blinded by the neon
Don't try and change my tune
'Cause I thought I heard a saxophone
I'm drunk on the moon
And the moon's a silver slipper
It's pouring champagne stars
Broadway's like a serpent
Pulling shiny top-down cars
Laramer is teeming
With that undulating beat
And some Bonneville is screaming
It's way wilder down the street
(Chorus)
Hearts flutter and race
The moon's on the wane
Tarts mutter their dream hopes
The night will ordain
Come schemers and dancers
Cherry delight
As a Cleveland-bound Greyhound
And it cuts throught the night
And I've hawked all my yesterdays
Don't try and change my tune
'Cause I thought I heard a saxophone
I'm drunk on the moon
 
 
 
The Ghosts of Saturday Night
(After Hours at Napoleone's Pizza House)
 
A cab combs the snake,
Tryin' to rake in that last night's fare,
And a solitary sailor
Who spends the facts of his life
like small change on strangers...
Paws his inside P-coat pocket
for a welcome twenty-five cents,
And the last bent butt from a package of Kents,
As he dreams of a waitress with Maxwell House eyes
And marmalade thighs with scrambled yellow hair.
Her rhinestone-studded moniker says, "Irene"
As she wipes the wisps of dishwater blonde from her eyes
And the Texaco beacon burns on,
The steel-belted attendant with a 'Ring and Valve Special'...
Cryin' "Fill'er up and check that oil"
"You know it could be a distributor and it could be a coil."
The early mornin' final edition's on the stands,
And that town cryer's cryin' there with nickels in his hands.
Pigs in a blanket sixty-nine cents,
Eggs - roll 'em over and a package of Kents,
Adam and Eve on a log, you can sink 'em damn straight,
Hash browns, hash browns, you know I can't be late.
And the early dawn cracks out a carpet of diamond
Across a cash crop car lot
filled with twilight Coupe Devilles,
Leaving the town in a-keeping
Of the one who is sweeping
Up the ghost of Saturday night...
 
Emotional Weather Report
 
late night and early morning low clouds
with a chance of fog
chance of showers into the afternoon
with variable high cloudiness
and gusty winds, gusty winds
at times around the corner of
Sunset and Alvorado
things are tough all over
when the thunder storms start
increasing over the southeast
and south central portions
of my apartment, I get upset
and a line of thunderstorms was
developing in the early morning
ahead of a slow moving coldfront
cold blooded
with tornado watches issued shortly
before noon Sunday, for the areas
including, the western region
of my mental health
and the northern portions of my
ability to deal rationally with my
disconcerted precarious emotional
situation, it's cold out there
colder than a ticket taker's smile
at the Ivar Theatre, on a Saturday night
flash flood watches covered the
southern portion of my disposition
there was no severe weather well
into the afternoon, except for a lone gust of
wind in the bedroom
in a high pressure zone, covering the eastern
portion of a small suburban community
with a 103 and millibar high pressure zone
and a weak pressure ridge extending from
my eyes down to my cheeks cause since
you left me baby
and put the vice grips on my mental health
well the extended outlook for an
indefinite period of time until you
come back to me baby is high tonight
low tomorrow, and precipitation is
expected
 
 
On a Foggy Night
 
On a foggy night, an abandoned road
in a twilight mirror mirage
with no indication of a service station
or an all night garage, I was misinformed
I was misdirected cause the interchange
never intersected leaving me marooned
beneath a bloodshot moon
all upon a foggy night, on a foggy night
an abandoned road, in a blurred brocade
collage, is that a road motel?
I can't really tell, is that what you
might call some kind of a vacancy lodge
cause there's no consolation, what
kind of situation to be aimlessly skewed
amidst a powder blue?
no tell tail light clue
spun like the spell you spin
this precarious pandemonium
I'm stranded, all upon a foggy night
all upon a foggy night
on a foggy night
 
 
Eggs & Sausage
(In a Cadillac With Susan Michelson)
 
Nighthawks at the diner
of Emma's 49er, there's a rendezvous
of strangers around the coffee urn tonight
all the gypsy hacks, the insomniacs
now the paper's been read
now the waitress said
eggs and sausage and a side of toast
coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
chile in a bowl with burgers and fries
what kind of pie?
In a graveyard charade, a late shift masquerade
2 for a quarter, dime for a dance
with Woolworth rhinestone diamond
earrings, and a sideway's glance
and now the register rings
and now the waitress sings
(chorus)
the classified section offered no direction
it's a cold caffeine in a nicotine cloud
now the touch of your fingers
lingers burning in my memory
I've been 86ed from your scheme
I'm in a melodramatic nocturnal scene
I'm a refugee from a disconcerted affair
as the lead pipe morning falls
and the waitress calls
(chorus)
 
 
Better Off Without a Wife
 
All my friends are married
every Tom and Dick and Harry
you must be strong
to go it alone
here's to the bachelors
and the bowery bums
and those who feel that they're the ones
who are better off without a wife
I like to sleep until the crack of noon
midnight howlin' at the moon
goin' out when I wanto, comin' home when I please
I don't have to ask permission
if I want to go out fishing
and I never have to ask for the keys
never been no Valentino
had a girl who lived in Reno
left me for a trumpet player
didn't get me down
he was wanted for assault
though he said it weren't his fault
well the coppers rode him right
out of town
(chorus)
selfish about my privacy
as long as I can be with me
we get along so well I can't believe
I love to chew the fat with folks
and listen to all your dirty jokes
I'm so thankful for these friends
I do receive
(chorus)
 
 
Nighthawk Postcards (From Easy Street)
 
There's a blur drizzle down the plateglass
as a neon swizzle stick stirrin up the sultry night air
and a yellow biscuit of a buttery cue ball moon
rollin' maverick across an obsidian sky
as the busses go groanin' and wheezin',
down on the corner I'm freezin';
on a restless boulevard at a midnight road
I'm across town from EASY STREET
with the tight knots of moviegoers and out of towners
on the stroll
and the buildings towering high above
lit like dominoes or black dice
all the used car salesmen dressed up in
Purina Checkerboard slacks
and Foster Grant wrap-around,
pacing in front of EARL SCHLEIB
$39.95 merchandise
like barkers at a shootin' gallery
they throw out kind of a Texas Guinan routine
"Hello sucker, we like your money
just as well as anybody else's here"
or they give you the P.T. Barnum bit
"There's a sucker born every minute
you just happened to be comin' along at the right time"
come over here now
you know... all the harlequin sailors are on the stroll
in a search of "LIKE NEW," "NEW PAINT,"
decent factory air and AM-FM dreams
and the piss yellow gypsy cabs
stacked up in the taxi zones waitin' like
pinball machines
to be ticking off a joy ride to a magical place
waitin' in line like "truckers welcome" diners
with dirt lots full of
Peterbilts, Kenworths, Jimmy's and the like, and
they're hiballin' with bankrupt brakes, over driven
under paid, over fed, a day late and a dollar short
but Christ I got my lips around a bottle and
my foot on the throttle and I'm standin' on the corner
standin' on the corner like a "just in town"
jasper, on a street corner with a gasper lookin'
for some kind of Cheshire billboard grin
stroking a goateed chin, and using parking meters
as walking sticks on the inebriated stroll
with my eyelids propped open at half mast
but you know... over at Chubb's Pool Hall and Snooker
it was a nickle after two, yea it was a nickle after two
and in the cobalt steel blue dream smoke, it
was the radio that groaned out the hit parade
and the chalk squeaked, the floorboards creaked
and an Olympia sign winked through a torn yellow
shade, old Jack Chance himself leanin' up against
a Wurlitzer and eyeballin' out a 5 ball combination shot
impossible you say? ...hard to believe?, perhaps
out of the realm of possibility? naaaa
he be stretchin' out long tawny fingers out across a
cool green felt with a provocative golden gate
and a full table railshot that's no sweat and I leaned
up against my bannister and wandered over to the
Wurlitzer and I punched A-2 I was lookin' for
something like Wine, Wine, Wine by the Night Caps
starring Chuck E. Weiss or High Blood Pressure
by George (cryin' in the streets) Perkins - no dice
"that's life," that's what all the people say ridin' high
in April, seriously shot down in May, but I know I'm
gonna change that tune when I'm standing underneath
a buttery moon that's all melted off to one side
It was just about that time that the sun
came crawlin' yellow out of a manhole
at the foot of 23rd Street
and a dracula moon in a black disguise
was making its way back to its
pre-paid room at the St. Moritz Hotel (scat)
and the El train came tumbling
across the trestles and it sounded
like the ghost of Gene Krupa
with an overhead cam and glasspacks
and the whispering brushes of wet radials
on a wet pavement and there's a
traffic jam session on Belmont tonight
and the rhapsody of the pending
evening, I leaned up against
my bannister and I've been looking
for some kind of an emotional
investment with romantic dividends
kind of a physical negociation
is underway
as I attempt to consolidate all my
missed weekly payments, into
one-low-monthly payment
through the nose
with romantic residuals and leg akimbo
but the chances are more than likely I'll probably
be held over for another smashed weekend
 
 
Warm Beer and Cold Women
 
Warm beer and cold women, I just don't fit in
every joint I stumbled into tonight
that's just how it's been
all these double knit strangers with
gin and vermouth and recycled stories
in the naugahyde booths
with the platinum blondes
and tobacco brunettes
I'll be drinkin' to forget you
lite another cigarette
and the band's playin' something
by Tammy Wynette
and the drinks are on me tonight
all my conversations I'll just be
talkin' about you baby
borin' some sailor as I try to get through
I just want him to listen
that's all you have to do
he said I'm better off without you
till I showed him my tattoo
now the moon's rising
ain't got no time to lose
time to get down to drinking
tell the band to play the blues
drink's are on me, I'll buy another round
at the last ditch attempt saloon
warm beer and cold women, I just don't fit in
every joint I stumbled into tonight
that's just how it's been
all these double knit strangers with
gin and vermouth and recycled stories
in the naugahyde booths
with the platinum blondes
and tobacco brunettes
I'll be drinking to forget you
lite another cigarette
and the band's playing somethin'
by Johnnie Barnett
and the drinks are on me tonight
 
 
Putnam County
 
I guess things were always quiet
around Putnam County
kind of shy and sleepy as it clung to the skirts
of the 2-lane, that was stretched out like an
asphalt dance floor where all the oldtimers would
hunker down in bib jeans and store bought boots
lyin' about their lives and the places that they'd been
suckin' on Coca Colas and be spittin' Days Work
they's be suckin' on Coca Colas
and be spittin' Day's Work
until the moon was a stray dog on the ridge and
the taverns would be swollen until the naked eye
of 2am, and the Stratocaster guitars slung over
Burgermeister beer guts, and the swizzle stick legs
jacknifed over naugahyde stools and the
witch hazel spread out over the linoleum floors,
the pedal pushers stretched out over midriff bulge
and the coiffed brunette curls over Maybelline eyes
wearing Prince Machiavelli, Estee Lauder,
smells so sweet
I elbowed up at the counter with mixed feelings
over mixed drinks
and Bubba and the Roadmasters moaned in pool hall
concentration as they knit their brows to
cover the entire Hank Williams Song Book
and the old National register was singing to the
tune of $57.57
until last call, one last game of 8 ball
and Berneice would be putting the chairs on the tables,
someone come in say "Hey man, anyone got
any Jumper Cables, is that a 6 or a 12 volt?"
and all the studs in town would toss 'em down
and claim to fame as they stomped their feet
boasting about being able to get more ass
than a toilet seat.
And the GMCs and the Straight 8 Fords
were coughing and wheezing and they
perculated as they tossed the gravel
underneath the fenders to weave home
a wet slick anaconda of a two lane
with tire irons and crowbars a rattlin'
with a tool box and a pony saddle
you're grinding gears, shifting into first
yea and that goddam tranny's just getting worse
with the melodies of "see ya later"
and screwdrivers on carburettors
talkin' shop about money to loan
and palominos and strawberry roans
See ya tomorrow, hello to the Mrs.
money to borrow and goodnight kisses
the radio spittin' out Charlie Rich
sure can sing that sonofabitch
and you weave home, weavin' home
leaving the little joint winking in the
dark warm narcotic American night
beneath a pin cushion sky and it's
home to toast and honey, start
up the Ford, your lunch money's there on the
draining board, toilet's runnin' shake the
handle, telephone's ringin' it's Mrs Randal
where the hell are my goddam sandals
and the porcelain poodles and the glass swans
staring down from the knick knack shelf
with the parent permission slips for the
kids' field trips
pair of Muckalucks scraping across
the shag carpet
and the impending squint of
first light, that lurked behind
a weeping marquee in downtown Putnam
and would be pullin' up any minute now
just like a bastard amber
Velveeta yellow cab on a rainy corner
and be blowin' its horn, in every window
in town.
 
 
Spare Parts I (A Nocturnal Emission)
Written by Tom Waits and Chuck E. Weiss
 
 
Well the damn cracked hard just like a bull whip
cause it wasn't takin' no lip from the night before
as it shook out the street, the stew bums showed up
just like bounced checks, rubbin' their necks
and the sky turned the color of Pepto-Bismol
and the parking lots growled
and my old sports coat full of promissory notes
and a receipt from a late night motel
and the hawk had his whole family out
there in the wind, and he's got a message
for you to beware cause he be kickin' your
ass in, in a cold blooded fashion
dishin' out more than a good man can bear
I got shoes untied, shirt tail's out, ain't got a
ghost of a chance with this old romance
just an apartment for rent down the block
Ivar Theater with live burlesque
and the manager's scowlin', feet on his desk
boom boom against the curtain
you're still hurtin'
and then push came to shove, shove came to biff
girls like that just lay you out stiff
maybe I'll go to Cleveland or
get me a tattoo or somethin', my brother
in law's there
skid mark tattoo on the asphalt blue
was that a Malibu
Liz Taylor and Montgomery Clift
cumming on to the broads with the
same ol' riff. Hey baby come up to
my place, we'll listen to some
smooth music on the stereo, no thank you
got any Stan Getz records
no I got Smothers Brothers
so I combed back my Detroit
jack up my pegs, wiped my Stacy Adams
jacknifed my legs, yea I got designs
on a moving violation
hey baby, you put me on hold and I'm
out in the wind and it's getting
mighty cold...
colder than a gut shot bitch wolf dog
with 9 sucking pups pullin' a 4 trap
up a hill in the dead of winter
in the middle of a snowstorm
with a mouth full of porcupine quills
(scat)
yea well I don't need you baby
It's a well known fact
I'm 4 sheets to the wind
I'm glad you're gone
I'm glad you're gone
I'm finally alone
glad you're gone, but I
wish you'd come home
and I struggled out of bed
cause the dawn was crackin' hard like a bullwhip
cause it wasn't takin' no lip from the night before
as it shook out the streets the stew bums
showed up just like bounced checks
rubbin' their necks, and the sky turned the
color of Pepto-Bismol
and my old sports coat full of promissory notes
and the hawk had his whole family out there
in the wind, he got a message for you to beware
kickin' your ass in, in a cold blooded fashion
he be dishin' out more than a good man can bear
well hey baby let's take it to Bakersfield
get a little apartment somewhere
 
 
Nobody
 
Nobody, Nobody
will ever love you
the way I could love you
cause nobody is that strong
love is bitter sweet
and life's treasures deep
but no one can keep
a love that's gone wrong
Nobody, Nobody
will ever love you
the way I could love you
cause nobody's that strong
cause nobody's that strong
Nobody, Nobody
will ever love you
the way I could love you
cause nobody is that strong
you've had many lovers
you'll have many others
but they'll only just break
your poor heart in two
Nobody, Nobody
will ever love you
the way I could love you
cause nobody's that strong
cause nobody's that strong
 
 
Big Joe and Phantom 309
Written by Tommy Faile
 
 
Well you see I happened to be back on the east coast
a few years back tryin' to make me a buck
like everybody else, well you know
times get hard and well I got down on my luck
and I got tired of just roamin' and bummin'
around, so I started thumbin' my way
back to my old hometown
you know I made quite a few miles
in the first couple of days, and I
figured I'd be home in a week if my
luck held out this way
but you know it was the third night
I got stranded, it was out at a cold lonely
crossroads, and as the rain came
pouring down, I was hungry, tired
freezin', caught myself a chill, but
it was just about that time that
the lights of an old semi topped the hill
you should of seen me smile when I
heard them air brakes come on, and
I climbed up in that cab where I
knew it'd be warm at the wheel
well at the wheel sat a big man
I'd have to say he must of weighed 210
the way he stuck out a big hand and
said with a grin "Big Joe's the name
and this here rig's called Phantom 309"
well I asked him why he called his
rig such a name, but he just turned to me
and said "Why son don't you know this here
rig'll be puttin' 'em all to shame, why
there ain't a driver on this
or any other line for that matter
that's seen nothin' but the taillights of Big Joe
and Phantom 309"
So we rode and talked the better part of the night
and I told my stories and Joe told his and
I smoked up all his Viceroys as we rolled along
he pushed her ahead with 10 forward gears
man that dashboard was lit like the old
Madam La Rue pinball, a serious semi truck
until almost mysteriously, well it was the
lights of a truck stop that rolled into sight
Joe turned to me and said "I'm sorry son
but I'm afraid this is just as far as you go
You see I kinda gotta be makin' a turn
just up the road a piece," but I'll be
damned if he didn't throw me a dime as he
threw her in low and said "Go on in there
son, and get yourself a hot cup of coffee
on Big Joe"
and when Joe and his rig pulled off into
the night, man in nothing flat they was
clean outa sight
so I walked into the old stop and
ordered me up a cup of mud sayin'
"Big Joe's settin' this dude up" but
it got so deathly quiet in that
place, you could of heard a pin drop
as the waiter's face turned kinda
pale, I said "What's the matter did
I say somethin' wrong?" I kinda
said with 8a half way grin. He said
"No son, you see It'll happen every
now and then. You see every driver in
here knows Big Joe, but let me
tell you what happened just 10 years
ago, yea it was 10 years ago
out there at that cold lonely crossroads
where you flagged Joe down, and
there was a whole bus load of kids
and they were just comin' from school
and they were right in the middle when
Joe topped the hill, and could
have been slaughtered except
Joe turned his wheels, and
he jacknifed, and went
into a skid, and folks around here
say he gave his life to save that bunch
of kids, and out there at that cold
lonely crossroads, well they say it
was the end of the line for
Big Joe and Phantom 309, but it's
funny you know, cause every now and then
yea every now and then, when the
moon's holdin' water, they say old Joe
will stop and give you a ride, and
just like you, some hitchhiker will be
comin' by"
"So here son," he said to me, "get
yourself another cup of coffee, it's on the
house, you see I want you to hang on
to that dime, yea you hang on to that
dime as a kind of souvenir, a
souvenir of Big Joe and Phantom 309"
 
 
Spare Parts II and Closing
 
[Instrumental]
 
Tom Traubert's Blues
 
Wasted and wounded, it ain't what the moon did
I've got what I paid for now
see ya tomorrow, hey Frank, can I borrow
a couple of bucks from you, to go
Waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda, you'll go waltzing
Mathilda with me
I'm an innocent victim of a blinded alley
and I'm tired of all these soldiers here
no one speaks English, and everything's broken
and my Stacys are soaking wet
to go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda, you'll go waltzing Mathilda with me
now the dogs are barking
and the taxi cab's parking
a lot they can do for me
I begged you to stab me
you tore my shirt open
and I'm down on my knees tonight
Old Bushmill's I staggered, you buried the dagger in
your silhouette window light go to go
waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda, you'll go waltzing
Mathilda with me
now I lost my Saint Christopher now that I've kissed her and the one-armed bandit
knows, and the maverick Chinamen, and the cold-blooded signs
and the girls down by the strip-tease shows go
waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda, you'll go waltzing Mathilda with me
no, I don't want your sympathy, the fugitives say that the streets aren't for dreaming
now
manslaughter dragnets and the ghosts that sell memories
they want a piece of the action anyhow go
waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda, you'll go waltzing Mathilda with me
and you can ask any sailor, and the keys from the jailor
and the old men in wheelchairs know
that Mathilda's the defendant, she killed about a hundred
and she follows wherever you may go
waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda, you'll go waltzing
Mathilda with me
and it's a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace
and a wound that will never heal
no prima donna, the perfume is on
an old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey
and goodnight to the street sweepers
the night watchman flame keepers
and goodnight to Mathilda too
 
Step Right Up
 
Step right up
step right up
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Everyone's a winner, bargains galore
That's right, you too can be the proud owner
Of the quality goes in before the name goes on
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one-tenth of a dollar
we got service after sales
You need perfume? we got perfume
how 'bout an engagement ring?
Something for the little lady
something for the little lady
Something for the little lady, hmm
Three for a dollar
We got a year-end clearance, we got a white sale
And a smoke-damaged furniture
you can drive it away today
Act now, act now
and receive as our gift, our gift to you
They come in all colors, one size fits all
No muss, no fuss, no spills
you're tired of kitchen drudgery
Everything must go
going out of business
going out of business
Going out of business sale
Fifty percent off original retail price
skip the middle man
Don't settle for less
How do we do it?
how do we do it?
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Now you've heard it advertised, don't hesitate
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Don't be caught with your drawers down
You can step right up, step right up
That's right, it filets, it chops
It dices, slices, never stops
lasts a lifetime, mows your lawn
And it mows your lawn
and it picks up the kids from school
It gets rid of unwanted facial hair
it gets rid of embarrassing age spots
It delivers a pizza
and it lengthens, and it strengthens
And it finds that slipper that's been at large
under the chaise longe for several weeks
And it plays a mean Rhythm Master
It makes excuses for unwanted lipstick on your collar
And it's only a dollar, step right up
it's only a dollar, step right up
'Cause it forges your signature.
If not completely satisfied
mail back unused portion of product
For complete refund of price of purchase
Step right up
Please allow thirty days for delivery
don't be fooled by cheap imitations
You can live in it, live in it
laugh in it, love in it
Swim in it, sleep in it
Live in it, swim in it
laugh in it, love in it
Removes embarrassing stains from contour sheets
that's right
And it entertains visiting relatives
it turns a sandwich into a banquet
Tired of being the life of the party?
Change your shorts
change your life
change your life
Change into a nine-year-old Hindu boy
get rid of your wife
And it walks your dog, and it doubles on sax
Doubles on sax, you can jump back Jack
see you later alligator
See you later alligator
And it steals your car
It gets rid of your gambling debts, it quits smoking
It's a friend, and it's a companion
And it's the only product you will ever need
Follow these easy assembly instructions
it never needs ironing
Well it takes weights off hips, bust
thighs, chin, midriff
Gives you dandruff, and it finds you a job
it is a job
And it strips the phone company free
take ten for five exchange
And it gives you denture breath
And you know it's a friend, and it's a companion
And it gets rid of your traveler's checks
It's new, it's improved, it's old-fashioned
Well it takes care of business
never needs winding
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Gets rid of blackheads, the heartbreak of psoriasis
Christ, you don't know the meaning of heartbreak, buddy
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon
'Cause it's effective, it's defective
it creates household odors
It disinfects, it sanitizes for your protection
It gives you an erection
it wins the election
Why put up with painful corns any longer?
It's a redeemable coupon, no obligation
no salesman will visit your home
We got a jackpot, jackpot, jackpot
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How do we do it
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We need your business
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Get on the business
end of our going-out-of-business sale
Receive our free brochure, free brochure
Read the easy-to-follow assembly instructions
batteries not included
Send before midnight tomorrow, terms available
Step right up
step right up
step right up
You got it buddy: the large print giveth
and the small print taketh away
Step right up
you can step right up
you can step right up
C'mon step right up
(Get away from me kid, you bother me...)
Step right up, step right up, step right up
c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon
Step right up
you can step right up
c'mon and step right up
C'mon and step right up
 
Jitterbug Boy
 
Well, I'm a jitterbug boy
by the shoe-shine
resting on my laurels
and my Hardys too
life of Riley on a swing shift
gears follow my drift
Once upon a time I was
in show-biz too
I seen the Brooklyn Dodgers
playin at Ebbets Field
seen the Kentucky Derby too
it's fast women, slow horses, I'm reliable sources
and I'm holding up a lamp post
if you want to know
I seen the Wabash Cannonball,
buddy, I've done it all
beause I slept with the lions
and Marilyn Monroe
had breakfast in the eye
of a hurricane
fought Rocky Marciano,
played Minnesota Fats
burned hundred-dollar bills,
I eaten Mulligan stew
got drunk with Louis Armstrong
what's that old song?
I taught Mickey Mantle
everything that he knows
and so you ask me
what I'm doing here
holding up a lamp post
flippin this quarter,
trying to make up my mind
and if it's heads I'll go to
Tennessee, and tails I'll buy a drink
if it lands on the edge
I'll keep talking to you
 
I Wish I Was in New Orleans
 
Well, I wish I was in New Orleans
I can see it in my dreams
arm-in-arm down Burgundy
a bottle and my friends and me
hoist up a few tall cool ones
play some pool and listen to that
tenor saxophone calling me home
and I can hear the band begin
"When the Saints Go Marching In"
by the whiskers on my chin
New Orleans, I'll be there
I'll drink you under the table
be red nose go for walks
the old haunts what I wants
is red beans and rice
and wear the dress I like so well
and meet me at the old saloon
make sure there's a Dixie moon
New Orleans, I'll be there
and deal the cards roll the dice
if it ain't that ole Chuck E. Weiss
and Clayborn Avenue me and you
Sam Jones and all
and I wish I was in New Orleans
I can see it in my dreams
arm-in-arm down Burgundy
a bottle and my friends and me
New Orleans, I'll be there
 
The Piano Has Been Drinking
 
The piano has been drinking
my necktie is asleep
and the combo went back to New York
the jukebox has to take a leak
and the carpet needs a haircut
and the spotlight looks like a prison break
cause the telephone's out of cigarettes
and the balcony's on the make
and the piano has been drinking
the piano has been drinking...
and the menus are all freezing
and the lightman's blind in one eye
and he can't see out of the other
and the piano-tuner's got a hearing aid
and he showed up with his mother
and the piano has been drinking
the piano has been drinking
cause the bouncer is a Sumo wrestler
cream puff casper milk toast
and the owner is a mental midget
with the I.Q. of a fencepost
cause the piano has been drinking
the piano has been drinking...
and you can't find your waitress
with a Geiger counter
And she hates you and your friends
and you just can't get served
without her
and the box-office is drooling
and the bar stools are on fire
and the newspapers were fooling
and the ash-trays have retired
the piano has been drinking
the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
not me, not me, not me, not me, not me
 
Invitation to the Blues
 
Well she's up against the register
with an apron and a spatula
with yesterday's deliveries,
and the tickets for the bachelors
she's a moving violation
from her conk down to her shoes
but it's just an invitation to the blues
and you feel just like Cagney
looks like Rita Hayworth
at the counter of the Schwab's drug store
you wonder if she might be single
she's a loner likes to mingle
got to be patient and pick up a clue
she says howyougonnalikem
over medium or scrambled
anyway's the only way
be careful not to gamble
on a guy with a suitcase
and a ticket gettin out of here
it's a tired bus station
and an old pair of shoes
but it ain't nothing but an
invitation to the blues
but you can't take your eyes off her
get another cup of java
and it's just the way she pours it for you
joking with the customers
and it's mercy mercy Mr. Percy
there ain't nothin back in Jersey
but a broken-down jalopy of a
man I left behind
and a dream that I was chasin
and a battle with booze
and an open invitation to the blues
but she's had a sugar daddy
and a candy apple Caddy
and a bank account and everything
accustom to the finer things
he probably left her for a socialite
and he didn't love her 'cept at night
and then he's drunk and never
even told her that he cared
so they took the registration
and the car-keys and her shoes
And left her with an invitation
to the blues
'Cause there's a Continental Trailways leaving
local bus tonight, good evening
you can have my seat
I'm stickin round here for a while
get me a room at the Squire
the filling station's hiring
I can eat here every night
what the hell have I got to lose
got a crazy sensation,
go or stay and I've got to choose
and I'll accept your invitation to the blues
 
Pasties and a G-string
 
Smelling like a brewery,
looking like a tramp
I ain't got a quarter
got a postage stamp
Been five o'clock shadow boxing
all around the town
Talking with the old men
sleeping on the ground
Bazanti bootin
al zootin al hoot
and Al Cohn
sharin this apartment
with a telephone pole
and it's a fish-net stockings
spike-heel shoes
Strip tease, prick tease
car kease blues
and the porno floor show
live nude girls
dreamy and creamy
and the brunette curls
Chesty Morgan and a
Watermelon Rose
raise my rent and take off
all your clothes
with the trench coats
magazines bottle full of rum
she's so good, it make
a dead man cum, with
pasties and a g-string
beer and a shot
Portland through a shot glass
and a Buffalo squeeze
wrinkles and cherry
and twinky and pinky
and FeFe live from Gay Paree
fanfares rim shots
back stage who cares
all this hot burlesque for me
cleavage, cleavage thighs and hips
from the nape of her neck
to the lip stick lips
chopped and channeled
and lowered and louvered
and a cheater slicks
and baby moons
she's hot and ready
and creamy and sugared
and the band is awful
and so are the tunes
crawlin on her belly shakin like jelly
and I'm getting harder than
Chinese algebraziers and cheers
from the compendium here
hey sweet heart they're yellin for more
squashing out your cigarette butts
on the floor
and I like Shelly
you like Jane
what was the girl with the snake skins name
it's an early bird matinee
come back any day
getcha little sompin
that cha can't get at home
getcha little sompin
that cha can't get at home
pasties and a g-string
beer and a shot
Portland through a shot glass
and a Buffalo squeeze
popcorn, front row
higher than a kite
and I'll be back tomorrow night
and I'll be back tomorrow night
 
Bad Liver and a Broken Heart
 
Well I got a bad liver and a broken heart
yea I drunk me a river since you tore me apart
and I don't have a drinking problem
cept when I can't get a drink
And I wish you'd a known her
we were quite a pair
she was sharp as a razor
and soft as a prayer
so welcome to the continuing saga
she was my better half
and I was just a dog
and so here am I slumped
I been chippied I been chumped
on my stool
so buy this fool, some spirits and libations
it's these railroad station bars
with all these conductors and the porters
and I'm all out of quarters
and this epitaph is the aftermath
yea I choose my path
hey come on Cath, he's a lawyer,
he ain't the one for ya
and no the moon ain't romantic
it's intimidating as hell
and some guy's trying to sell
me a watch
And so I'll meet you at the
bottom of a bottle of
bargain Scotch
I got me a bottle and a dream
it's so maudlin it seems
you can name your poison
go on ahead and make some noise
I ain't sentimental
this ain't a purchase it's a rental
and it's purgatory, hey
what's your story, well
I don't even care
cause I got my own double-cross to bear
and I'll see your Red Label
and I'll raise you one more
and you can pour me a cab,
I just can't drink no more
cause it don't douse the flames
that are started by dames
It ain't like asbestos
it don't do nothing but
rest us assured
and substantiate the rumors
that you've heard.
 
The One That Got Away
 
The jigolo's jumpin salty
ain't no trade out on the streets
half past the unlucky
and the hawk's a front-row seat
dressed in full orquestration
stage door johnnys got to pay
and sent him home
talking bout the one that got away
could a been on easy street
could a been a wheel
with irons in the fire
and all them business deals
But the last of the big-time losers
shouted before he drove away
I'll be right back as soon as I crack
the one that got away
the ambulance drivers don't give a shit
they just want to get off work
and the short stop and the victim
have already gone berserk
and the shroud-tailor measures him
for a deep-six holiday
the stiff is froze, the case is closed
on the one that got away
Jim Crow's directing traffic
with them cemetery blues
with them peculiar looking trousers
them old Italian shoes
the wooden kimona was all ready
to drop in San Francisco Bay
but now he's mumbling something
all about the one that got away
Costello was the champion
at the St. Moritz Hotel
and the best this side of Fairfax,
reliable sources tell
but his reputation is at large
and he's at Ben Frank's every day
waiting for the one that got away
he's got a snake skin sportshirt,
and he looks like Vincent Price
with a little piece of chicken
and he's carving off a slice
but someone tipped her off
she'll be doing a Houdini now any day
she shook his hustle
and a Greyhound bus'll
take the one that got away
Andre is at the piano
behind the Ivar in the sewers
with a buck a shot for pop tunes,
and a fin for guided tours
He could of been in Casablanca
he stood in line out there all day
but now he's spilling whiskey
and learning songs about a one that got away
well I've lost my equilibrium
my car keys and my pride
tattoo parlor's warm
and so I huddle there inside
the grinding of the buzz saw
whatchuwanthathingtosay
just don't misspell her name
buddy she's the one that got away
 
Small Change
(Got Rained on with His Own .38)
 
Well small change got rained on with his own .38
and nobody flinched down by the arcade
and the marquise weren't weeping
they went stark-raving mad
and the cabbies were the only ones
that really had it made
and his cold trousers were twisted,
and the sirens high and shrill
and crumpled in his fist was a five-dollar bill
and the naked mannikins with their
cheshire grins
and the raconteurs
and roustabouts said buddy
come on in
cause the dreams ain't broken down here now
now ...they're walking with a limp
now that
small change got rained on with his own .38"
and nobody flinched down by the arcade
and the burglar alarm's been disconnected
and the newsmen start to rattle
and the cops are tellin' jokes
about some whore house in Seattle
and the fire hydrants plead the 5th Amendment
and the furniture's bargains galore
but the blood is by the jukebox
on an old linoleum floor
and it's a hot rain on 42nd Street
and now the umbrellas ain't got a chance
And the newsboy's a lunatic
with stains on his pants cause
small change got rained on with his own .38
and no one's gone over to close his eyes
and there's a racing form in his pocket
circled "Blue Boots" in the 3rd
and the cashier at the clothing store
he didn't say a word as the
siren tears the night in half
and someone lost his wallet
well it's surveillance of assailants
if that's whatchawannacallit
and the whores hike up their skirts
and fish for drug-store prophylactics*
with their mouths cut just like
razor blades and their eyes are like stilettos
and her radiator's steaming
and her teeth are in a wreck
now she won't let you kiss her
but what the hell do you expect
and the Gypsies are tragic and if you
wanna to buy perfume, well
they'll bark you down like
carneys... sell you Christmas cards in June
but...
small change got rained on with his own .38
and his headstone's
a gumball machine
no more chewing gum
or baseball cards or
overcoats or dreams and
someone is hosing down the sidewalk
and he's only in his teens
small change got rained on with his own .38
and a fistful of dollars can't change that
and someone copped his watch fob
and someone got his ring
and the newsboy got his porkpie Stetson hat
and the tuberculosis old men
at the Nelson wheeze and cough
and someone will head south
until this whole thing cools off cause
small change got rained on with his own .38
yea small change got rained on with his own .38
*this line omitted from lyric sheet
 
I Can't Wait to Get Off Work
(And See My Baby on Montgomery Avenue)
 
Well I don't mind working
cause I used to be jerkin off
most of my time in the bars
I been a cabbie and a stock clerk
and a soda fountain jock jerk
and a manic mechanic on cars
It's nice work if you can get it
now who the hell said it
I got money to spend on my gal
but the work never stops
and I'll be busting my chops
working for Joe and Sal.
And I can't wait to get off work
and see my baby
she said she'd leave the porch lite
on for me
I'm disheveled I'm disdainful
and I'm distracted and it's painful
but this job sweeping up here is
is gainfully employing me tonight
Tom do this Tom do that
Tom, don't do that
count the cash, clean the oven
dump the trash oh your lovin
is a rare and a copasetic gift
and I'm a moonlight watchmanic
it's hard to be romantic
(sweeping up over by the
cigarette machine
sweeping up over by the cigarette machine...)
I can't wait to get off work
and see my baby
she'll be waiting up with a magazine for me
clean the bathrooms, clean um good
oh your lovin I wish you would
come down here and sweepameoffmyfeet
this broom'll have to be my baby
if I hurry, I just might
get off before the dawns early light.
 
 
Cinny's Waltz
 
[Instrumental]
 
 
 
Muriel
 
muriel since you left town the clubs closed down
and there's one more burned out lamppost down on the main street
down where we used to stroll
and muriel i still hit all the same old haunts
and you follow me wherever i go
and muriel i see you on a saturday night
in a penny arcade with your hair tied back
and the diamond twinkle in your eye
is the only wedding ring i'll buy you
muriel
and muriel how many times i've left this town
to hide from your memory
and it haunts me
but i only get as far as the next whiskey bar
i buy another cheap cigar and i'll see you every night
hey muriel muriel
hey buddy got a light
 
 
 
I Never Talk To Strangers
 
stop me if you've heard this one
i feel as though we've met before
perhaps i'm mistaken
but it's just that i remind you
of someone you used to care about
but that was long ago
do you think i'd fall for that
i wasn't born yesterday
besides i never talk to strangers anyway
i ain't a bad guy when you get to know me
i just thought there ain't no harm
hey just try minding your own business
bud who asked you to annoy me
with your sad repartee
besides i never talk to strangers anyway
your life's a dimestore novel
this town is full of guys like you
and you're looking for someone to take the place of her
and you're bitter cause he left you
that's why you're drinkin in this bar
well only suckers fall in love
with perfect strangers
it always takes one to know one stranger
maybe we're just wiser now
and been around the block so many times
that we don't notice
that we're all just perfect strangers
as long as we ignore
that we all begin as strangers
just before we find
we really aren't strangers anymore
 
 
 
Medley: Jack & Neal/California, Here I Come
(California, Here I Come by Joseph Meyer, Al Jolson and Buddy G. De Sylva)
 
jack was sittin poker faced with bullets backed with bitches
neal hunched at the wheel puttin everyone in stitches
braggin bout this nurse he screwed while drivin through nebraska
and when she came she honked the horn and neal just barely missed a
truck and then he asked her if she'd like to come like that to californy
see a red head in a uniform will always get you horny
with her hairnet and those white shoes and a name tag and a hat
she drove like andy granatelli and knew how to fix a flat
and jack was almost at the bottom of his md 2020 neal was yellin
out the window tryin to buy some bennies from a lincoln
full of mexicans whose left rear tire blowed and the sonsobitches
prit near almost ran off the road
well the nurse had spilled the manoshevitz all up and down her dress
then she lit the map on fire neal just had to guess
should we try and find a bootleg route or a fillin station open
the nurse was dumpin out her purse lookin for an envelope and
jack was out of cigarettes we crossed the yellow line
the gas pumps looked like tombstones from here
felt lonelier than a parking lot when the last car pulls away
and the moonlight dressed the double breasted foothills
in the mirror weaving outa negligee and a black brassiere
the mercury was runnin hot and almost out of gas
just then florence nightingale dropped her drawers and
stuck her fat ass half way out of the window with a
wilson pickett tune
and shouted get a load of this and gave the finger to the moon
countin one eyed jacks and whistling dixie in the car
neal was doin least a hundred when we saw a fallin star
florence wished that neal would hold her stead of chewin
his cigar jack was noddin out and dreamin he was in a bar
with charlie parker on the bandstand not a worry in the world
and a glass of beer in one hand and his arm around a girl
and neal was singin to the nurse
underneath a harlem moon
and somehow you could just tell we'd be in california soon
 
 
 
A Sight For Sore Eyes
 
hey sight for sore eyes it's a long time no see
workin hard hardly workin hey man you know me
water under the bridge didya see my new car
well it's bought and it's payed for parked outside of the bar
and hey barkeeper what's keepin you keep pourin drinks
for all these palookas hey you know what i thinks
that we toast to the old days and dimagio too
and old drysdale and mantle whitey ford and to you
no the old gang ain't around everyone has left town
'cept for thumm and giardina said they just might be down
oh half drunk all the time and i'm all drunk the rest
yea monk's till the champion but i'm the best
i guess you heard about nash he was killed in a crash
hell that must of been two or three years ago now
yea he spun out and he rolled he hit a telephone pole
and he died with the radio on
no she's married and with a kid finally split up with sid
he's up north for a nickle's worth for armed robbery
hey i'll play you some pin ball hell you ain't got a chance
well then go on over and ask her to dance
 
 
 
Potter's Field
 
well you can buy me a drink and i'll tell you what i seen
and i'll give you a bargain from the edge of a maniac's dream
that buys a black widow spider with a riddle in his yarn
that's clinging to the furrow of a blindman's brow
i'll start talking from the brim of a thimble full of whiskey
on a train through the bronx that will take you just as far
as the empty of a bottle to the highway of a scar
that stretched across the blacktop of my cheek like that
and then ducks beneath the brim of a fugitive's hat
and you'll learn why liquor makes a stool pigeon rat on every face
that ever left his shadow down on saint marks place
hell i'd double cross my mother if it was whiskey that they payed
and so an early bird says nightsticks on the hit parade
and he ain't got a prayer and his days are numbered
and you'll track him down like a dog
well it's a tough customer you're getting in this trade
cause the nightstick's heart pumps lemonade
well whiskey keeps a blindman talkin alright
and i'm the only one who knows just where he stayed last night
he was in a wreckin yard in a switchblade storm
in a wheelbarrow with nothing but revenge to keep him warm
and a half a million dollars in unmarked bills
was the nightstick's blanket in a febuary chill
and as the buzzard drove a crooked sky
he was dealin high chicago in the mud
and stackin' the deck against a dragnet's eye
a shivering nightstick in a miserable heap
with the siren for a lullaby singing him to sleep
he was bleeding from a buttonhole
torn by a slug fired from the barrel of a two dollar gun
that scorched a blister on the grip of a punk by now
is learnin what you have to pay to be a hero anyhow
he dressed the hole in his gut with a hundred dollar bandage
a king's ransom for a bedspread that don't amount to nuttin
just cobweb strings on a busted ukulele
and the nightstick leaned on a black shillelagh
with the poison of a junkie's broken promise on his lip
he staggered in the shadows screaming i ain't never been afraid
and he shot out every street light on the promenade
past the frozen ham and eggers at the penny arcade
throwin out handfuls of a blood stained salary
they were dead in their tracks at the shootin gallery
and they fired off a twenty one gun salute
and from the corner of his eye he caught the alabaster orbs
and from a dime a dance hall girl and stuffed a thousand dollar bill
in her blouse and caught the cruel and unusual punishment of her smile
and the nightstick winked beneath a rainsoaked brim
ain't no one seen hide nor hair of him see
no one but a spade on rikers island and me
and so if you're mad enough to listen to a full of whiskey blindman
then you're mad enough to look beyond where bloodhounds dare to go
so if you want to know just where the nightstick's hidin out
you be down at the ferry landin oh let's say bout half past a nightmare
when it's twisted on a clock you tell 'em nickels sentcha
whiskey always makes him talk
and you ask for captain charon with the mud on his kicks
he's the skipper of the deadline steamer
and she sails from the bronx across the river styx
and a riddle's just a ticket for a dreamer
cause when the weathervane's sleepin and the moon turns his back
you crawl on your belly long the railroad tracks
and cross your heart and hope to die and stick a needle in your eye
cause he'd cut my bleedin heart out if he found out that i squealed
cause you see a scarecrow's just a hoodlum
who marked the cards that he dealed
and pulled a gypsy switch
out on the edge of potter's field
 
 
 
Burma Shave
 
licorice tattoo turned a gun metal blue scrawled across the shoulders
of a dying town the one eyed jacks across the railroad tracks
and the scar on its belly pulled a stranger passing through
he was a juvenile delinquent never learned how to behave
but the cops would never think to look in
burma shave
and the road was like a ribbon and the moon was like a bone
he didn't seem to be like any guy she'd ever known
he kinda looked like farley granger with his hair slicked back
she says i'm a sucker for a fella in a cowboy hat
how far are you going he said depends on what you mean
he says i'm going thataway just as long as it's paved
i guess you'd say i'm on my way to
burma shave
and her knees up on the glove compartment
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
and she popped her gum and arched her back
hell marysville ain't nothing but a wide spot in the road
some night my heart pounds just like thunder
i don't know why it don't explode
cause everyone in this stinking town has got one foot in the grave
and i'd rather take my chances out in
burma shave
presley's what i go by why don't you change the station
count the grain elevators in the rearview mirror
mister anywhere you point this thing
has got to beat the hell out of the sting
of going to bed with every dream that dies here every mornin
and so drill me a hole with a barber pole
i'm jumping my parole just like a fugitive tonight
why don't you have another swig
and pass that car if you're so brave
i wanna get there before the sun comes up in
burma shave
and the spider web crack and the mustang screamed
smoke from the tires and the twisted machine
just a nickel's worth of dreams and every wishbone that they saved
lie swindled from them on the way to
burma shave
and the sun hit the derrick and cast a bat wing shadow
up against the car door on the shot gun side
and when they pulled her from the wreck you know she
still had on her shades
they say that dreams are growing wild just this side of
burma shave
 
 
 
Barber Shop
 
good mornin mr. snip snip snip witchur haircut jus as short as mine
bay rum lucky tiger butch wax cracker jacks shoe shine jaw breaker
magazine racks hangin round the barber shop a side burnin close crop
mornin mr. furgeson what's the good word witcha been
stayin outa trouble like a good boy should i see you're still cuttin hair
well i'm still cuttin classes i just couldn't hep myself
i got a couple of passes to the ringle bros. barn bail circus afternoon
i see you lost a little round the middle and your lookin reel good
sittin on the wagon stead of under the hood
what's the low down mr. brown heard you boy's leavin town
i just bought myself a struggle buggy suckers powder blue
throw me over sports page cincinnati's lookin' good
always been for pittsburgh lay you 10 to 1
that the pirates get the pennant and the series for their done
you know the hair's gettin longer and the skirts gettin shorter
you can get a cheaper haircut if you wanna cross the border
now if your mama saw you smokin why she'd kick your ass
put it out you little juvenile and put it out fast
oh if i had a million dollars well what would i do
probly be a barber not a bum like you
still gotchur paper route now that's just fine
now you can pay me double cause you gypped me last time
you be keepin little circus money and spend it on a girl
know i give the best haircuts in the whole wide world
 
 
 
Foreign Affair
 
when travelling abroad in the continental style
it's my belief one must attempt to be discreet
and subsequently bear in mind your transient position
allows you a perspective that's unique
though you'll find your itinerary's a blessing and a curse
your wanderlust won't let you settle down
and you'll wonder how you ever fathomed that you'd be content
to stay within the city limits of a small midwestern town
most vagabonds i knowed don't ever want to find the culprit
that remains the object of their long relentless quest
the obsession's in the chasing and not the apprehending
the pursuit you see and never the arrest
without fear of contradiction bon voyage is always hollered
in conjunction with a handkerchief from shore
by a girl that drives a rambler and furthermore
is overly concerned that she won't see him anymore
planes and trains and boats and buses
characteristically evoke a common attitude of blue
unless you have a suitcase and a ticket and a passport
and the cargo that they're carrying is you
a foreign affair juxtaposed with a stateside
and domestically approved romantic fancy
is mysteriously attractive due to circumstances knowing
it will only be parlayed into a memory
 
Somewhere (from West Side Story)
Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim
 
There's a place for us
Somewhere a place for us
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us
Somewhere
There's a time for us
Someday a time for us
Time together with time to spare
Time to learn
Time to care
Someday, somewhere
We'll find a new way of living
We'll find a way of forgiving
Somewhere
There's a place for us
A time and a place for us
Hold my hand and we're half way there
Hold my hand
And I'll take you there
Somehow
Someday, somewhere
 
 
Red Shoes by the Drugstore
 
She wore red shoes by the drugstore
as the rain splashed the nickel
spilled like chablis along the midway
theres a little bluejay
in a red dress, on a sad night
one straw in a rootbeer
a compact with a cracked mirror
and a bottle of evening in paris perfume
he told her to wait in by the magazines
he had to take care of some buisness it seems
bring a raincoat and a suitcase
and your dark eyes
and wear those red shoes
theres a dark huddle at the bus stop
umbrellas arranged in a sad bouquet
li'l cesaer got caught
he was going down to second
he was cooled
changing stations on the chamber
to steal a diamond
from a jewelry store for his baby
he loved the way she looked in those red shoes
she waited by the drugstore
cesaer had never been this late before
and the dogs bayed the moon
and rattled their chains
and the cold jingle of taps in a puddle
was the burglar alarm
snitchin on ceasar
now the rain washes memories from the sidewalks
and the hounds splash down the nickel
full of soldiers
and santa claus is drunk in the ski room
and it's christmas eve in a sad cafe
when the moon gets this way
there's a little blue jay
by the newstand
wearing red shoes
so meet me tonight by the drugstore
we're goin out tonight
wear your red shoes
 
 
 
Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis
 
hey Charlie I'm pregnant
and living on 9th street
right above a dirty bookstore
off euclid avenue
and I stopped takin dope
and I quit drinkin whiskey
and my old man plays the trombone
and works out at the track
and he says that he loves me
even though its not his baby
and he says that he'll raise him up
like he would his own son
and he gave me a ring
that was worn by his mother
and he takes me out dancin
every saturday night.
and hey Charlie I think about you
everytime I pass a fillin' station
om account of all the grease
you used to wear in your hair
and I still have that record
of little anthony & the imperials
but someone stole my record player
now how do you like that?
hey charlie I almost went crazy
after mario got busted
so I went back to omaha to
live with my folks
but everyone I used to know
was either dead or in prison
so I came back to minneapolis
this time I think i'm gonna stay.
hey charlie I think i'm happy
for the first time since my accident
and I wish I had all the money
that we used to spend on dope
i'd buy me a used car lot
and I wouldn't sell any of em
i'd just drive a different car
every day, dependin on how
i feel
hey charlie for chrissakes
do you want to know the
truth of it?
i don't have a husband
he don't play the trombone
and I need to borrow money
to pay this lawyer
and charlie, hey
i'll be eligible for parole
come valentines day
 
 
 
Romeo is Bleeding
 
romeo is bleeding but not so as you'd notice
he's over on 18th street as usual
looking so hatd against the hood of his car
ans putting out a cigarette in his hand
and for all the pachucos at the pumps
at romeros paint and body
they all seein how far they can spit
well it was just another night
but now they're huddled in the brake lights of a 58 belair
and listenin how romeo killed a sherif with his knife
and they all jump when they hear the sirens
but romeo just laughs and says
all the racket in the world ain't never gonna
save that coppers ass
he'll never see another summertime
for gunnin down my brother
and leavin him like a dog
beneath a car without his knife
and romeo says hey man gimme a cigatette
and they all reach for their pack
and frankie lights it for him and pats him on the back
and throws a bottle at a milk truck
and as it breaks he grabs his nuts
and they all know they could ve just like romeo
if they only had the guts
but romeo is bleeding but nobody can tell
amd he sings along with the radio
with a bullet in his chest
and he combs back his fenders
and they all agree its clear
that everything is cool now that romeos here
but romeo is bleeding
and he winches now and then and he leans against
the car door and feels the blood in his shoes
and someones crying in the phone booth
at the 5 points by the store
romeo starts his engine
and wipes the blood of the door
and he brodys through the signal
with the radio full blast
leavin the boys there hikin up their chinos
and they all try to stand like romeo
beneath the moon cut like a sickle
and they're talkin now in spanish about their hero
but romeo is bleeding as he gives the man his ticket
and he climbs to the balcony at the movies
and he'll die without a whimper
like every heros dream
just an angel with a bullet
and cagney in the screen
 
 
 
$29.00
 
little black girl in a red dress
on a hot night with a broken shoe
little black girl you shoulda never left home
theres probly someone thats still waitin up for you
its cold back in chicago
but in los angeles its worse
when all you got is $29.00 and an alligator purse
i see already that vulture in the fleetwood
with the shartruse hood
can see you're trying to get your bearings
and you say hey which ways the main stem
and where ever you say you're from
he'll say he grew up there himself
and he'll comeon and make you feel
like you grew up right next door to him
and you say take a left on central
and he throws it in reverse
cause you only got $29.00 and an alligator purse
and he'll come on like a gentleman
and you'll be a little shy
you say your ex old man was a sax player
he'll say baby I used to play bass for sly
and you say you like his cadillac,
say honey I got 2 or 3
he'll say sweetheart you're sure fortunate
that you ran into me
when you've done a dime in the joint
you figure nothin could be worse
and you got $29.00 in an alligator purse
well he got pharoh on the 8 track
you start smokin a little boo
you thinkin gettin out of chicago was the
best thing ever happened to you
but he ain't no good samaritan
he'll make sure he's reimbursed
lot more than $29.00 and an alligator purse
now when the streets get hungry, baby
you can almost hear them growl
someone's setting a place for you
when the dogs begin to howl
well the streets are dead
they creep up and ??? but it was left on the pole
they make... suckers always make mistakes
when they're far away from home
Chicken in a pot
Whoever gets their first
Gonna get himself 29.00
and an alligator purse
now the sirens just an epilog
the cops always get there too late
they always stop for coffee
on the way to the scene of the crime
they always try so hard to look like movie stars
they couldnt catch a cold
you only wasting your dime
and she's lucky to be alive
the doctor whispered to the nurse
she only lost a 1/2 pint of blood
$29.00 and an alligator purse
 
 
 
Wrong Side of the Road
 
put a dead cat on the railroad tracks
when the wolf bains blooming by the tressel
and get the eyeball of a rooster
and the stones from a ditch
and wash em down with bilge water
and you say you'll never snitch
take the buttons from a yellow jacket
the feafrom a buzzard
and thr blood from a bounty hunters cold black heart
catch the tears of a widow
in a thimble made of glass
tell your mama and papa
they can kick your ass
poison all the water in the wishin well
and hang all them scarecrows from a sycamore tree
burn down all those honeymoons
put em in a pillow case
and wait next to the switch blades
at the amusement park for me
strangle all the christmas carols
scratch out all your prayers
tie em up with barbed wire
and push them down the stairs
and i'll whittle you a pistol
for keeping nightmares of the blinds
those sunabitches always seem to sneake up from behind
syphon all the gas from your daddys pickup truck
fill up johnnys t bird
i got a couple of bucks
put a little perfume and ribbon in your hair
careful that you don't wake up the hounds
tear a bolt of lightning
of the side of the sky
and throw it in the cedar chest
if you want to tell me why
bring the gear shift knob from a 49 merc
and lay down here beside me
let me hold you in the dirt
and you'll tremble as the flames
tear the throat out of the night
sink your teeth into my shoulder
dig your nails into my back
tell that little girl to let go of my sleeve
you'll be a woman when I catch you
as you fall in love with me
then with my double barrel shotgun
and a whole box of shells
we'll celebrate the 4 of july
we'll do 100 mph
spendin someone elses dough
and we'll drive all the way to reno
on the wrong side of the road
 
 
 
Whistlin' Past the Graveyard
 
well I come in on a night train
with an arm full of box cars
on the wings of a magpie
cross a hooligan night
and I busted up a chifforobe
way out by the cocomo
cooked up a mess a mulligan
and got into a fight
CHORUS: whistlin past the graveyard
steppin on a crack
i'm a mean motherhubbard
papa one eyed jack
you propably seen me sleepin
out by the railroad tracks
go on and ask the prince of darkness
what about all thet smoke
come from the stack
sometimes I kill myself a jacket
suck out all the blood
steal myself a stationwagon
drivin through the mud
CHORUS
i know you seen my headlights
and the honkin of my horn
i'm callin out my bloodhounds
chase the devil through the corn
last night I chugged the mississippi
now that suckers dry as a bone
born in a taxi cab
i'm never comin home
CHORUS
my eyes have seen the glory
of the draining of the ditch
i only come to baton rouge
to find myself a witch
i'm-ona snatch me up a
couple of em every time it rains
you see a locomotive
probably thinkin its a train
CHORUS
what you think is the sunshine
is just a twinkle in my eye
that ring around my fingers
just the 4th of july
when I get a little bit lonesome
and a tear falls from my cheek
theres gonna be an ocean in
the middle of the week
CHORUS
i rode into town on a night train
with an arm full of box cars
on the wings of a magpie
cross a hooligan night
i'm-ona tear me off a rainbow
and wear it for a tie
i never told the truth
so I can never tell a lie
CHORUS
 
 
 
Kentucky Avenue<br>  
eddie graces buick got 4 bullet holes in the side
charlie delisle sittin at the top of an avocado tree
mrs stormll stab you with a steak knife if you step on her lawn i got a
half pack of lucky strikes man come along with me lets fill our pockets
with macadamia nuts then go over to bobby goodmansons and jump off
the roof hilda plays strip poker and her mamas across the street joey
navinski says she put her tongue in his mouth dicky faulkners got a
switchblade and some gooseneck risers that eucalyptus is a hunchback
theres a wind up from the south let me tie you up with kite string and i'll
show you the scabs on my knee watch out for the broken glass, put your
shoes and socks on and come along with me lets follow that fire track
i think your house is burnin down
the go down to the hobo jungle
and kill some rattle snakes with a trowel
we'll break all the windows in the old anderson place
and steal a bunch of boysenberrys
and smear em on our face
i'll get a dollar from my mamas purse
and buy that skull and crossbones ring
and you can wear it around your neck
on an old piece of string
then we'll spit on ronnie arnold
and flip him the bird
and slash the tires on the school bus
now don't say a word
i'll take a rusty nail
and scratch your initials on my arm
and i'll show you how to sneak up
on the roof of the drugstore
take the spokes from your wheelchair
and a magpies wings
and tie em to your shoulders and your feet
i'll steal a hacksaw from my dad
and cut the braces off your legs
and we'll bury them tonight in the cornfield
put a church keey in your pocket
we'll hop that freight train in the hall
and we'll slide down the drain all the way
to new orleans in the fall
 
 
 
A Sweet Little Bullet from a Pretty Blue Gun
 
it's raining it's pouring
and you didn't bring a sweater
nebraska will never let you come back home
and on hollywood and wine
by the thrifty mart sign
any night i'll be willin to bet
there's a young girl
with sweet little wishes
and pretty blue dreams
standin there and gettin all wet
now there's a place off the drag
called the gilbert hotel
there's a couple letters burned out in the sign
and it's better than a bus stop
and they do good buisness
every time it rains
for sweet little girls
with nothing in their jeans
but sweet little wishes
and pretty blue dreams
now it's raining it's pouring
the old mam is snoring
now I lay me down to sleep
i hear the sirens in the street
all the dreams are made of chrome
i have no way to get back home
i'd rather die before I wake
like marilyn monroe
and throw my jeans out in
the street and the rain will make 'em grow
now the night clerk he got a club foot
and he's heard every hard luck story
at least a hundred times or more
he says check out time is 10 am
and that's just what he means
and you go up the stairs
with sweet little wishes
and pretty blue dreams
now it's raining it's pouring
and hollywods just fine
swindle a little out of her dreams
put a letter in the sign
never trust a scarecrow
wearin' shades after dark
be careful of that old bow tie he wears
it takes a sweet little bullet
from a pretty blue gun
to put those scarlet ribbons in your hair
no that ain't no cherry bomb
4th of july's all done
just some fool playin' that second line
from the barrel of a pretty blue gun
no that ain't no cherry bomb
4th of july's all done
just some fool playin' that second line
from the barrel of a pretty blue gun
 
 
 
Blue Valentines
 
She sends me blue valentines
All the way from Philadelphia
To mark the anniversary
Of someone that I used to be
And it feels just like theres
A warrant out for my arrest
Got me checkin in my rearview mirror
And I'm always on the run
Thats why I changed my name
And I didn't think you'd ever find me here
To send me blue valentines
Like half forgotten dreams
Like a pebble in my shoe
As I walk these streets
And the ghost of your memory
Is the thistle in the kiss
And the burgler that can break a roses neck
It's the tatooed broken promise
That I hide beneath my sleeve
And I see you every time I turn my back
She sends me blue valentines
Though I try to remain at large
They're insisting that our love
Must have a eulogy
Why do I save all of this madness
In the nightstand drawer
There to haunt upon my shoulders
Baby I know
I'd be luckier to walk around everywhere I go
With a blind and broken heart
That sleeps beneath my lapel
She sends me my blue valentines
To remind me of my cardinal sin
I can never wash the guilt
Or get these bloodstains off my hands
And it takes a lot of whiskey
To take this nightmares go away
And I cut my bleedin heart out every nite
And I die a little more on each St. Valentines day
Remember that I promised I would
Write you...
These blue valentines
blue valentines
blue valentines
 
Heartattack and Vine
 
liar liar with your pants on fire,
white spades hangin' on the telephone
wire, gamblers reevaluate along the dotted line,
you'll never recognize
yourself on heartattack and vine.
doctor lawyer beggar man thief,
philly joe remarkable looks on in disbelief,
if you want a taste of madness,
you'll have to wait in line, you'll probably
see someone you know on heartattack and vine.
boney's high on china white, shorty found a punk,
don't you know there ain't
no devil, there's just god when he's drunk,
well this stuff will probably kill
you, let's do another line,
what you say you meet me down
on heartattack and vine.
see that little jersey girl in the see-through top,
with the peddle pushers sucking on a soda pop,
well i bet she's still a virgin
but it's only twenty-five 'til nine,
you can see a million of 'em
on heartattack and vine.
better off in iowa against your scrambled eggs,
than crawling down cahuenga on a broken pair of legs,
you'll find your ignorance is blissful every goddamn time,
your're waitin' for the rtd on heartattack and vine.
In Shades
 
[Instrumental]
Saving All My Love For You
 
It's too early for the circus,
It's too late for the bars,
no one's sleepin' but the paperboys,
and no one in this town is makin' any noise,
but the dogs and the milkmen and me.
 
The girls around here all look like cadillacs,
no one likes a stranger here,
I'd come home but i'm afraid
that you won't take me back,
but i'd trade off everything just to have you near.
I know i'm irresponsible and i don't behave,
and i ruin everything that i do,
and i'll probably get arrested when i'm in my grave,
but i'll be savin' all my love for you.
I paid fifteen dollars for a prostitute,
with too much makeup and a broken shoe,
but her eyes were just a counterfeit,
she tried to gyp me out of it,
but you know that i'm still in love you.
Don't listen to the rumors that you hear about me,
cause i ain't as bad as they make me out to be,
well i may lose my mind but baby can't you see,
that i'll be savin' all my love for you.
Downtown
 
Red pants and the sugarman in the temple street gloom,
drinkin' chivas regal in a four dollar room,
just another dead soldier in a powder blue night,
sugarman says baby everything's alright,
goin' downtown down downtown.
Montclaire de havelin doin' the st. vitus dance,
lookin' for someone to chop the lumber in his pants,
how am i gonna unload all of this ice and all this mink,
all the traffic in the street but it's so hard to think,
goin' downtown down downtown.
Frankie's wearin' lipstick pierre cardin,
i swear to god i seen him holdin' hands with jimmy bond,
sally's high on crank and hungry for some sweets,
she's fem in the sheets but she's butch in the streets,
goin' downtown down downtown.
It's the cool of the evening the sun's goin' down,
i want to hold you in my arms i want to push you around,
i want to break your bottle and spill out all your charms,
come on baby we'll set off all the burglar alarms,
goin' downtown down downtown.
Red pants and the sugarman in the temple street gloom,
drinkin' chivas regal in a four dollar room,
just another dead soldier in a powder blue night,
red pants turns to sugarman and says everything's alright,
goin' downtown down downtown.
Jersey Girl
 
Got no time for the corner boys,
down in the street makin' all that noise,
don't want no whores on eighth avenue,
cause tonight i'm gonna be with you.
'cause tonight i'm gonna take that ride,
across the river to the jersey side,
take my baby to the carnival,
and i'll take you on all the rides,
sing sha la la la la la sha la la la.
Down the shore everything's alright,
you're with your baby on a saturday night,
don't you know that all my dreams come true,
when i'm walkin' down the street with you,
sing sha la la la la la sha la la la.
You know she thrills me with all her charms,
when i'm wrapped up in my baby's arms,
my little angel gives me everything,
I know someday that she'll wear my ring.
So don't bother me cause i got no time,
I'm on my way to see that girl of mine,
nothin' else matters in this whole wide world,
when you're in love with a jersey girl,
sing sha la la la la la la.
and i call your name, i can't sleep at night,
sha la la la la la la.
'Til the Money Runs Out
 
check this strange beverage that falls out from the sky,
splashin' bagdad on the hudson in panther martin's eyes,
he's high and outside wearin' candy apple red,
scarlet gave him twenty seven stitches in his head,
with a pint of green chartreuse ain't nothin' seems right,
you buy the sunday paper on a saturday night.
can't you hear the thunder someone stole my watch,
I sold a quart of blood and bought a half a pint of scotch,
some one tell those chinamen on telegraph canyon road,
when you're on the bill with the spoon there ain't no time
to unload, so bye bye baby baby bye bye.
droopy stranger lonely dreamer toy puppy and the prado,
we're laughin' as they piled into olmos' el dorado,
jesus whispered eni meany miney moe,
they're too proud to duck their heads
that's why they bring it down so low,
so bye bye baby baby bye bye.
the pointed man is smack dab in the middle of july,
swingin' from the rafters in his brand new tie,
he said i can't go back to that hotel room
all they do is shout,
but i'll stay wichew baby till the money runs out,
so bye bye baby baby bye bye.
On the Nickel
 
sticks and stones will break my bones,
but i always will be true, and when
your mama is dead and gone,
i'll sing this lullabye just for you,
and what becomes of all the little boys,
who never comb their hair,
well they're lined up all around the block,
on the nickel over there.
so you better bring a bucket,
there is a hole in the pail,
and if you don't get my letter,
then you'll know that i'm in jail,
and what becomes of all the little boys,
who never say their prayers,
well they're sleepin' like a baby,
on the nickel over there.
and if you chew tobacco, and wish upon a star,
well you'll find out where the scarecrows sit,
just like punchlines between the cars,
and i know a place where a royal flush,
can never beat a pair, and even thomas jefferson,
is on the nickel over there.
so ring around the rosie, you're sleepin' in the rain,
and you're always late for supper,
and man you let me down again,
i thought i heard a mockingbird, roosevelt knows where,
you can skip the light, with grady tuck,
on the nickel over there.
so what becomes of all the little boys,
who run away from home,
well the world just keeps gettin' bigger,
once you get out on your own,
so here's to all the little boys,
the sandman takes you where,
you'll be sleepin' with a pillowman,
on the nickel over there.
so let's climb up through that button hole,
and we'll fall right up the stairs,
and i'll show you where the short dogs grow,
on the nickel over there.
Mr. Siegal
 
I spent all my money in a mexican whorehouse,
across the street from a catholic church,
and then i wiped off my revolver,
and i buttoned up my burgundy shirt,
i shot the morning in the back,
with my red wings on,
i told the sun he'd better go back down,
and if i can find a book of matches,
i'm goin' to burn this hotel down.
you got to tell me brave captain,
why are the wicked so strong,
how do the angels get to sleep,
when the devil leaves the porchlight on.
well i dropped thirty grand on the nugget slots,
i had to sell my ass on fremont street,
and the drummer said there's sanctuary,
over at the bagdad room,
and now it's one for the money, two for the show,
three to get ready, and go man go,
i said tell me mr. siegel,
how do i get out of here.
well willard's knocked out on a bottle of heat,
drivin' dangerous curves across the dirty sheets,
he said man you ought to see her,
when her parents are gone,
man you ought to hear her when the siren's on.
you got to tell me brave captain,
why are the wicked so strong,
how do the angels get to sleep,
when the devil leaves the porchlight on.
don't you know that ain't no broken bottle,
that i picked up in my headlights,
on the other side of the nevada line,
where they live hard die young,
nd have a good lookin' corpse every time,
well the pit-boss said i should keep movin',
this is where you go when you die,
and so i shot a black beauty,
and i kissed her right between the eyes.
well willard's knocked out on a bottle of heat,
drivin' dangerous curves across the dirty sheets,
he said man you ought to see her,
when her parents are gone,
man you ought to hear her when the siren's on.
you got to tell me brave captain,
why are the wicked so strong,
how do the angels get to sleep,
when the devil leaves the porchlight on.
Ruby's Arms
 
I will leave behind all of my clothes,
I wore when i was with you,
all I need's my railroad boots,
and my leather jacket,
as i say goodbye to ruby's arms,
although my heart is breaking,
i will steal away out through your
blinds, for soon you will be waking.
The morning light has washed your face,
and everything is turning blue now,
hold on to your pillow case
there's nothing i can do now,
as i say goodbye to ruby's arms,
you'll find another soldier,
and i swear to god by christmas,
there'll be someone else to hold you.
The only thing i'm taking is
the scarf off of your clothesline,
i'll hurry past your chest of drawers,
and your broken window chimes,
as i say goodbye
i'll say goodbye,
say goodbye to ruby's arms.
i'll feel my way down the darken hall,
and out into the morning,
the hobos at the freightyards,
have kept their fires burning,
so jesus christ this goddamn rain,
will someone put me on a train,
i'll never kiss your lips again,
or break your heart,
as i say goodbye
i'll say goodbye,
say goodbye to ruby's arms.
 
Mr. Henry
 
Mr. Henry stumbles home
When the evening's done
He's as poor as a church mouse
High on the Meyer's rum
Tugging at his shirttail
Jiggling a church key
Chewing on a toothpick
On another binge
Trampling the rosebush
Whistin' to himself...
Now don't wake up the neighbours
Spitting on the hinge
Rattling the milkbottles
Tripping on a skate
Hidin' from the Newsboys
Before it's too late
The Screen door's open
Don't make no noise in the Kitchen
Got no excuse
For a cold, grey wife that starts bitchin'
That the no good bum's at it again
After she's given him
The best years of her life
He'll tell her he was celebrating
Savage's divorce
Played a hunch out at Yonkers
You can never trust a horse
And thrown in jail
Swore he'd never do these things again
He's got an alibi
But never tells her where he's been
"Henry! Henry!"
 
Is There Any Way Out Of This Dream
 
I can see clearly nothing as clear
I keep falling apart ev'ry year
Let's take a hammer to it
There's no glamour in it
Is there any way out of this dream
I'm as blue as I can possibly be
Is there someone else out there for me
Summer is dragging it's feet
I feel so incomplete
Is there any way out of this dream
 
Picking Up After You
 
Here comes the bride
And there goes the groom
Looks like a hurricane
Went thru this room
Smells like a poolhall
Where's my other shoe
And I'm sick and tired of pickin' up after you
Looks like you spent the nite in a trench
And tell me,
How long have you been combing your hair with a wrench
Blue roses are dead
And the violets are too
And I'm sick and tired of pickin' up after you
Well, I've told you before
I won't tell you again
You don't defrost the icebox
With a ball point pen
This railroad apartment
Is held together with glue
And I'm sick and tired of pickin' up after you
Because I know
I been swindled
I never bargained for this
Once more you never cared about me
Why don't you get your own place
So you can live like you do
And I'm sick and tired of pickin' up after you
Take all your relatives
And all of your shoes
Believe me I'll really swing
When you're gone
I'll be living on chicken and wine
After we're thru
With someone I pick up after you
With someone I'll pick up after you
With someone I'll pick up after you
with someone I'll pick up after you
 
Old Boyfriends
 
Old Boyfriends,
Lost in the pocket of your overcoat,
Like burned out lite bulbs on a Ferris Wheel.
Old Boy friends,
You remember the kinds of cars they drove,
Parking in an orange grove.
He fell in love you see,
With someone that I used to be.
Tho I very seldom think of him,
Nevertheless sometimes a mannequin's
Blue satin dress can make the window
Like a dream
Ah but now those dreams belong to someone else,
Now they talk endlessly
In a drawer where I keep
All my
Old Boyfriends
Remember when you were burning for them?
Why do you keep turning them into
Old Boyfriends?
They look you up when they're in town
To see if they can still burn you down
You fell in love you see
With someone that I used to be
Old Boyfriends
Turn up every time it rains,
Fall out of the pages in a magazine
Old Boyfriends.
Girls fill up the bars every spring,
Not places for remembering.
Old boyfriends
All my old boyfriends
Old boyfriends
 
Broken Bicycles
 
Broken bicycles,
Old busted chains,
With busted handle bars
Out in the rain.
Somebody must
Have an orphanage for
All these things that nobody
Wants any more
September's reminding July
It's time to be saying good-bye.
Summer is gone,
Our love will remain.
Like old broken bicycles
Out in the rain.
Broken Bicycles,
Don't tell my folks;
There's all those playing cards
Pinned to the spokes,
Laid down like skeletons
out on the lawn.
The wheels won't turn
When the other has gone.
The seasons can turn on a dime,
Somehow I forget every time;
For all the things that you've given me
Will always stay
Broken, but I'll never throw them away
 
I Beg Your Pardon
 
I'm just a scarecrow
with out you
baby please don't disappear
I beg your pardon dear
I gotta a bottle full of trumpet
a hatbox full of drum
I beg your pardon dear
I got upset
I lost my head
I didn't mean
the things I said
You are the landscape
Of my dreams
Darlin' I beg your pardon
I'd give your Boardwalk
And Park Place
And all of my hotels
I beg your pardon dear
Please don't go back to St. Louis
Can't you tell that I'm sincere
I beg your pardon dear
 
 
Little Boy Blue
 
Little Boy Blue
come blow your horn
the dish ran away with the spoon
home again home again
saturday morn
never gets up before noon
she used to render
you legal and tender
when you used to
send her your promises boy
a dill or a dollar
unbutton your collar
come out and holler
out all of your noise
little boy blue
come blow your top
cut it rite down to the quick
don't sit home and cry
on the fourth of july
around now you're hittin' bricks
so abracadabra
now she disappeared
now everything's Canada dry
so watch your behavior
and rattle your cane
with a bottle of bourbon
Good-bye
little boy blow
lost little bo peep
she fell thru a hole in the nest
Now ain't it peculiar
that she's finally cooled your
big wheels just like all of the rest
whenever it rains
the umbrella complain
they're always gettin' played for a chump
so mark and strike it
she's history now
and you're hangin' out at the pump
Little Boy Blue...
she used to render...
 
 
You Can't Unring a Bell
 
You can't unring a bell, junior
It'll cost ya to get out of this one, junior
Cause he's got big plans
That don't include you
take it like a man
cause you, you can't unring a bell, sucker
you'll need an attorney for this journey, junior
how's it feel
how do you like it in the slam
you're a little man in a great big town
perhaps you were a little hasty
heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh
you can't take back the things you said, man
Cause you can't unring a bell, Junior
aaghhhh
hurts don't it
take it like a man
get it thru your head
suffer
heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh
 
 
This One's From the Heart
 
As you go out it's Independence Day;
But instead I'll just pour myself a drink.
It's got to be love, I've never felt this way.
Oh baby, this one's from the heart
The shadows in the road look like a railroad track.
I wonder if he's (ever) really comin' back.
The moon's a yellow stain across the sky.
Oh baby, this one's from the heart
(Maybe) And I'll go down to the corner and get a racin' form,
(But) And I should prob'ly wait here by the phone.
And the brakes need adjustment on the convertible
Oh baby, this one's from the heart
The worm is climbin' the other color tree
Robin is back against the wall;
Pour myself a double sympathy
Oh baby, this one's from the heart.
Blondes, brunettes, and redheads put their hammer down
(To put ) don't pound a cold chisel thru my heart.
But they were nothin' but apostrophes.
O baby, this one's from the heart.
I can't tell, is that a siren or a saxophone?
But the roads get so slipp'ry (when it rains)
I love you more than all these words can ever say
Oh baby, this one's from the heart.
 
 
Take Me Home
 
take me home
you silly boy
put your arms around me
take me home
you silly boy
all the world's not round without you
I'm so sorry that I broke your heart
please don't leave my side
take me home
you silly boy
cause I'm still in love you
 
 
Once Upon a Town
 
I wish I had a dollar for
Each time I took a chance
___ ___ ___two-bit romeos
Who __ ___ __ romance
Somehow I was thinking of
Last time I fell down
Knowing that you fall in love
Once upon a town
 
 
The Wages of Love
 
Down thru the ages
All the sages
said don't spend your wages on Love
Graft and collusion
_____ the intrusion
and proceeding foreclosures
there's overexposures
down at the crossroads
the question is posed
bridge is washed out
and the highway's closed
___ ___ ___ reason
firmly believe
love was designed
to exploit and deceive
There's a _____
Wherever you send 'em
Every ball ___ ___ in your chest
You will see
simple addition
keeps with tradition
Don't spend your wages on Love
Taking any burgh any city or town
Just get on main street and
drive all the way down
You see love has a graveyard
___ ___ __ ___
___ ___ ___ ___ ___
and paid thru the nose
your shovel's a shot glass
dig your own hole
bury what's left of your miserable soul
Down thru the ages
All the sages
said don't spend your wages on Love
Graft and collusion
_____ the intrusion
and proceeding foreclosures
there's overexposures
down at the crossroads
the question is posed
bridge is washed out
and the highway's closed
 
Underground
 
Rattle Big Black Bones
in the Danger zone
there's a rumblin' groan
down below
there's a big dark town
it's a place I've found
there's a world going on
UNDERGROUND
they're alive, they're awake
while the rest of the world is asleep
below the mine shaft roads
it will all unfold
there's a world going on
UNDERGROUND
all the roots hang down
swing from town to town
they are marching around
down under your boots
all the trucks unload
beyond the gopher holes
there's a world going on
UNDERGROUND
 
 
Shore Leave
 
Well with buck shot eyes and a purple heart
I rolled down the national stroll
and with a big fat paycheck
strapped to my hip sack
and a shore leave wristwatch underneath
my sleeve
in a Hong Kong drizzle on Cuban heels
I rowed down the gutter to the Blood Bank
and I'd left all my papers on the Ticonderoga
and was in a bad need of a shave
and so I slopped at the corner on cold chow mein
and shot billards with a midget
until the rain stopped
and I bought a long sleeved shirt
with horses on the front
and some gum and a lighter and a knife
and a new deck of cards (with girls on the back)
and I sat down and wrote a letter to my wife
and I said Baby, I'm so far away from home
and I miss my Baby so
I can't make it by myself
I love you so
Well I was pacing myself
trying to make it all last
squeezing all the life
out of a lousy two day pass
and I had a cold one at the Dragon
with some Filipino floor show
and talked baseball with a lieutenant
over a Singapore sling
and I wondered how the same moon outside
over this Chinatown fair
could look down on Illinois
and find you there
and you know I love you Baby
and I'm so far away from home
and I miss my Baby so
I can't make it by myself
I love you so
Shore Leave...
Shore Leave...
 
 
Dave the Butcher
[Instrumental]
 
 
Johnsburg, Illinois
 
She's my only true love
she's all that I think of
look here in my wallet
that's her
She grew up on a farm there
there's a place on my arm
where I've written her name
next to mine
you see I just can't
live without her
and I'm her only boy
and she grew up outside McHenry
in Johnsburg, Illinois
 
 
16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought-Six
 
I plugged 16 shells from a thirty-ought-six
and a Black Crow snuck through
a hole in the sky
so I spent all my buttons on an
old pack mule
and I made me a ladder from
a pawn shop marimba
and I leaned it up against
a dandelion tree
And I filled me a sachel
full of old pig corn
and I beat me a billy
from an old French horn
and I kicked that mule
to the top of the tree
and I blew me a hole
'bout the size of a kickdrum
and I cut me a switch
from a long branch elbow
Chorus
I'm gonna whittle you into kindlin'
Black Crow 16 shells from a thirty-ought-six
whittle you into kindlin'
Black Crow 16 shells from a thirty-ought-six
Well I slept in the holler
of a dry creek bed
and I tore out the buckets
from a red Corvette, tore out the buckets from a red Corvette
Lionel and Dave and the Butcher made three
you got to meet me by the knuckles of the skinnybone tree
with the strings of a Washburn
stretched like a clothes line
you know me and that mule scrambled right through the hole
Repeat Chorus
Now I hold him prisoner
in a Washburn jail
that stapped on the back
of my old kick mule
strapped it on the back of my old kick mule
I bang on the strings just
to drive him crazy
I strum it loud just to rattle his cage
strum it loud just to rattle his cage
Repeat Chorus
 
 
Town With No Cheer
 
Well it's hotter 'n blazes and all the long faces
there'll be no oasis for a dry local grazier
there'll be no refreshment for a thirsty jackaroo
from Melbourne to Adelaide on the overlander
with newfangled buffet cars and faster locomotives
the train stopped in Serviceton less and less often
There's nothing sadder than a town with no cheer
VicRail decided the canteen was no longer necessary
there no spirits, no bilgewater and 80 dry locals
and the high noon sun beats a hundred and four
there's a hummingbird trapped in a closed down shoe store
This tiny Victorian rhubarb
kept the watering hole open for sixty five years
now it's boilin' in a miserable March 21 st
wrapped the hills in a blanket of Patterson's curse
the train smokes down the xylophone
there'll be no stopping here
all ya can be is thirsty in a town with no cheer
no Bourbon, no Branchwater
though the townspeople here
fought the Vic Rail decree tooth and nail
now it's boilin' in a miserable March 21 st
wrapped the hills in a blanket of Patterson's curse
the train smokes down the xylophone
there'll be no stopping here
all ya can be is thirsty in a town with no cheer
 
 
In the Neighborhood
 
Well the eggs chase the bacon
round the fryin' pan
and the whinin' dog pidgeons
by the steeple bell rope
and the dogs tipped the garbage pails
over last night
and there's always construction work
bothering you
In the neighborhood
In the neighborhood
In the neighborhood
Friday's a funeral
and Saturday's a bride
Sey's got a pistol on the register side
and the goddamn delivery trucks
they make too much noise
and we don't get our butter
delivered no more
In the neighborhood
In the neighborhood
In the neighborhood
Well Big Mambo's kicking
his old grey hound
and the kids can't get ice cream
'cause the market burned down
and the newspaper sleeping bags
blow down the lane
and that goddamn flatbed's
got me pinned in again
In the neighborhood
In the neighborhood
In the neighborhood
There's a couple Filipino girls
gigglin' by the church
and the windoe is busted
and the landlord ain't home
and Butch joined the army
yea that's where he's been
and the jackhammer's diggin'
up the sidewalks again
In the neighborhood
In the neighborhood
In the neighborhood
 
 
Just Another Sucker on the Vine
[Instrumental]
 
 
Frank's Wild Years
 
Well Frank settled down in the Valley
and hung his wild years
on a nail that he drove through
his wife's forehead
he sold used office furniture
out there on San Fernando Road
and assumed a $30,000 loan
at 15 1/4 % and put down payment
on a little two bedroom place
his wife was a spent piece of used jet trash
made good bloody marys
kept her mouth shut most of the time
had a little Chihuahua named Carlos
that had some kind of skin disease
and was totally blind. They had a
thoroughly modern kitchen
self-cleaning oven (the whole bit)
Frank drove a little sedan
they were so happy
One night Frank was on his way home
from work, stopped at the liquor store,
picked up a couple Mickey's Big Mouths
drank 'em in the car on his way
to the Shell station, he got a gallon of
gas in a can, drove home, doused
everything in the house, torched it,
parked across the street, laughing,
watching it burn, all Halloween
orange and chimney red then
Frank put on a top forty station
got on the Hollywood Freeway
headed north
Never could stand that dog
 
 
Swordfishtrombones
 
Well he came home from the war
with a party in his head
and modified Brougham DeVille
and a pair of legs that opened up
like butterfly wings
and a mad dog that wouldn't
sit still
he went and took up with a Salvation Army
Band girl
who played dirty water
on a swordfishtrombone
he went to sleep at the bottom of
Tenkiller lake
and he said "gee, but it's
great to be home."
Well he came home from the war
with a party in his head
and an idea for a fireworks display
and he knew that he'd be ready with
a stainless steel machete
and a half a pint of Ballentine's
each day
and he holed up in room above a hardware store
cryin' nothing there but Hollywood tears
and he put a spell on some
poor little Crutchfield girl
and stayed like that for 27 years
Well he packed up all his
expectations he lit out for California
with a flyswatter banjo on his knee
with a lucky tiger in his angel hair
and benzedrine for getting there
they found him in a eucalyptus tree
lieutenant got him a canary bird
and shaked her head with every word
and Chesterfielded moonbeams in a song
and he got 20 years for lovin' her
from some Oklahoma governor
said everything this Doughboy
does is wrong
Now some say he's doing
the obituary mambo
and some say he's hanging on the wall
perhaps this yarn's the only thing
that holds this man together
some say he was never here at all
Some say they saw him down in
Birmingham, sleeping in a
boxcar going by
and if you think that you can tell a bigger tale
I swear to God you'd have to tell a lie...
 
 
Down, Down, Down
 
He went down down down
and the devil called him by name
he went down down down
hangin' onto the back of a train
he went down down down
this boy went solid down
always chewed tobacco
and the bathtub gin
always chewed tobacco
and the bathtub gin
he went down down down
this boy went solid down
he went down
Well he went down down down
and the jumped on his head
he went down down down
stayin' in a broken down shed
he went down down down
sleepin' in the devil's bed
he went down down down
never listened to the words I said
he went down down down down
he went down
Well he went down down down
and the devil said where you been
he went down down down
he screamin' down around the bend
down down down
this boy went solid down
He was always cheatin'
and he always told lies
he was always cheatin'
and he always told lies
he went down down down
down down down
this boy went solid down
he went down
 
 
Soldier's Things
 
Davenports and kettle drums
and swallow tail coats
table cloths and patent leather shoes
bathing suits and bowling balls
and clarinets and rings
and all this radio really
needs is a fuse
a tinker, a tailor
a soldier's things
his rifle, his boots full of rocks
and this one is for bravery
and this one is for me
and everything's a dollar
in this box
Cuff links and hub caps
trophies and paperbacks
it's good transportation
but the brakes aren't so hot
neck tie and boxing gloves
this jackknife is rusted
you can pound that dent out
on the hood
a tinker, a tailor
a soldier's things
his rifle, his boots full of rocks
oh and this one is for bravery
and this one is for me
and everything's a dollar
in this box
 
 
Gin Soaked Boy
 
I got a belly full of you
and that Leavenworth stuff
now I'm gonna get out
And I'm gonna get tough
you been lying to me
How could you crawl so low
with some gin-soaked boy
that you don't know
I come home last night
full a filth of Old Crow
you said you goin' to your ma's
but where the hell did you go
you went and slipped out nights
you didn't think that I'd know
with some
gin-soaked boy that you don't know
Well I would bet you as far
as Oklahoma by now
the dogs are barking out back
and you're knittin' your brow
well I'm on your tail I sussed your M.O.
from some gin-soaked boy
boy that you don't know
 
 
Trouble's Braids
 
Well I pulled on trouble's braids
and I hid in the briars
out by the quick mud
stayin' away from the main roads
passin' out wolf tickets
downwind from the blood hounds
and I pulled on trouble's braids
and I lay by a cypress
as quiet as a stone
'til the bleeding stopped
I blew the weather vane
off some old road house
I build a fire in the
skeleton back seat of an old Tucker
and I pulled on trouble's braids
I spanked cold red mud
where the hornet stung deep
and I tossed in the ditch
in a restless sleep
and I pulled on trouble's braids
I hung my rain-soaked jacket
on some old barbed wire
poured cold rusty water
on a miserable fire
I pulled on trouble's braids
the creek was swollen by daybreak and I could just
barely see
and I floated downstream
on an old dead tree
and I pulled on trouble's braids
I pulled on trouble's braids
I pulled on trouble's braids
I pulled on trouble's braids
 
 
Rainbirds
[Instrumental]
 
Singapore
 
We sail tonight for Singapore,
we're all as mad as hatters here
I've fallen for a tawny Moor,
took off to the land of Nod
Drank with all the Chinamen,
walked the sewers of Paris
I danced along a colored wind,
dangled from a rope of sand
You must say goodbye to me
We sail tonight for Singapore,
don't fall asleep while you're ashore
Cross your heart and hope to die
when you hear the children cry
Let marrow bone and cleaver choose
while making feet for children shoes
Through the alley, back from hell,
when you hear that steeple bell
You must say goodbye to me
Wipe him down with gasoline
'til his arms are hard and mean
From now on boys this iron boat's your home
So heave away, boys
We sail tonight for Singapore,
take your blankets from the floor
Wash your mouth out by the door,
the whole town's made of iron ore
Every witness turns to steam,
they all become Italian dreams
Fill your pockets up with earth,
get yourself a dollar's worth
Away boys, away boys, heave away
The captain is a one-armed dwarf,
he's throwing dice along the wharf
In the land of the blind
the one-eyed man is king, so take this ring
We sail tonight for Singapore,
we're all as mad as hatters here
I've fallen for a tawny Moor,
took off to the land of Nod
Drank with all the Chinamen,
walked the sewers of Paris
I drank along a colored wind,
I dangled from a rope of sand
You must say goodbye to me
 
 
Clap Hands
 
Sane, sane, they're all insane,
fireman's blind, the conductor is lame
A Cincinnati jacket and a sad-luck dame
Hanging out the window with a bottle full of rain
Clap hands, clap hands, clap hands, clap hands
Said roar, roar, the thunder and the roar
Son of a bitch is never coming back here no more
The moon in the window and a bird on the pole
We can always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal
Clap hands, clap hands, clap hands, clap hands
Said steam, steam, a hundred bad dreams
Going up to Harlem with a pistol in his jeans
A fifty-dollar bill inside a palladin's hat
And nobody's sure where Mr. Knickerbocker's at
Roar, roar, the thunder and the roar
Son of a bitch is never coming back here no more
Moon in the window and a bird on the pole
Can always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal
Clap hands, clap hands, clap hands, clap hands
I said steam, steam, a hundred bad dreams
Going up to Harlem with a pistol in his jeans
A fifty-dollar bill inside a palladin's hat
And nobody's sure where Mr. Knickerbocker's at
Shine, shine, a Roosevelt dime
All the way to Baltimore and running out of time
Salvation Army seemed to wind up in the hole
They all went to heaven in a little row boat
Clap hands, clap hands, clap hands, clap hands
Clap hands, clap hands, clap hands, clap hands
Clap hands, clap hands, clap hands, clap hands
 
 
Cemetery Polka
 
Uncle Vernon, Uncle Vernon, independent as a hog on ice
He's a big shot down there at the slaughterhouse
Plays accordion for Mr. Weiss
Uncle Biltmore and Uncle William
Made a million during World War Two
But they're tightwads and they're cheapskates
And they'll never give a dime to you
Auntie Mame has gone insane
She lives in the doorway of an old hotel
And the radio is playing opera
All she ever says is "Go to hell"
Uncle Violet flew as a pilot
And there ain't no pretty girls in France
Now he runs a tiny little bookie joint
They say he never keeps it in his pants
Uncle Bill will never leave a will
And the tumor is as big as an egg
He has a mistress, she's Puerto Rican
And I heard she has a wooden leg
Uncle Phil can't live without his pills
He has emphysema and he's almost blind
And we must find out where the money is
Get it now before he loses his mind
Uncle Vernon, Uncle Vernon, independent as a hog on ice
He's a big shot down there at the slaughterhouse
He plays accordion for Mr. Weiss
 
 
Jockey Full of Bourbon
 
Edna Million in a drop dead suit
Dutch Pink on a downtown train
Two-dollar pistol but the gun won't shoot
I'm in the corner on the pouring rain
Sixteen men on a dead man's chest
And I've been drinking from a broken cup
Two pairs of pants and a mohair vest
I'm full of bourbon, I can't stand up
Hey little bird, fly away home
Your house is on fire, children are alone
Hey little bird, fly away home
Your house is on fire, your children are alone
Schiffer broke a bottle on Morgan's head
And I'm stepping on the devil's tail
Across the stripes of a full moon's head
And through the bars of a Cuban jail
Bloody fingers on a purple knife
Flamingo drinking from a cocktail glass
I'm on the lawn with someone else's wife
Admire the view from up on top of the mast
Hey little bird, fly away home
House is on fire, children are alone
Hey little bird, fly away home
House is on fire, your children are alone
I said hey little bird, fly away home
Your house is on fire, your children are alone
Hey little bird, fly away home
House is on fire, your children are alone
Yellow sheets on a Hong Kong bed
Stazybo horn and a Slingerland ride
"To the carnival" is what she said
A hundred dollars makes it dark inside
Edna Million in a drop dead suit
Dutch Pink on a downtown train
Two-dollar pistol but the gun won't shoot
I'm in the corner on the pouring rain
Hey little bird, fly away home
Your house is on fire, your children are alone
Hey little bird, fly away home
Your house is on fire, your children are alone
 
 
Tango 'Til They're Sore
 
Well you play that tarantella all the hounds will start to roar
The boys all go to hell and then the Cubans hit the floor
They drive along the pipeline, they tango 'til they're sore
They take apart their nightmares and they leave them by the door
Let me fall out of the window with confetti in my hair
Deal out Jacks or Better on a blanket by the stairs
I'll tell you all my secrets, but I lie about my past
And send me off to bed for evermore
Make sure they play my theme song, I guess daisies will have to do
Just get me to New Orleans and paint shadows on the pews
Turn the spit on that pig and kick the drum and let me down
Put my clarinet beneath your bed 'til I get back in town
Let me fall out of the window with confetti in my hair
Deal out Jacks or Better on a blanket by the stairs
I'll tell you all my secrets, but I lie about my past
So send me off to bed for evermore
Just make sure she's all in calico and the color of a doll
Wave the flag on Cadillac day, and a skillet on the wall
Cut me a switch or hold your breath 'til the sun goes down
Write my name on the hood, send me off to another town, and just
And just let me fall out of the window with confetti in my hair
Deal out Jacks or Better on a blanket by the stairs
Tell you all my secrets, but I lie about my past
Will you send me off to bed for evermore
Fall out of the window with confetti in my hair
Deal out Jacks or Better on a blanket by the stairs
I'll tell you all my secrets, but I lie about my past
Send me off to bed for evermore, send me off to bed for evermore
 
 
Big Black Mariah
 
Well cutting through the cane break, rattling the sill
Thunder that the rain makes when the shadow tops the hill
Big light on the back street, hill to ever more
Packing down the ladder with the hammer to the floor
Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the Big Black Mariah
Here come the Big Black Mariah, I seen the big black Ford
Well he's all boxed up on a red belle dame
Hunted Black Johnny with a blind man's cane
A yellow bullet with a rag out in the wind
An old blind tiger, got an old bell Jim
Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the Big Black Mariah
Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the big black Ford
Sent to the skies on a Benny Jag Blue
Off to bed without his supper like a Linda brides do
He got to do the story with the old widow Jones
Got a wooden coat, this boy is never coming home
Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the Big Black Mariah
Here come the Big Black Mariah, I seen that big black Ford
Cut through the canebrake, oh yeah
Well he's all boxed up on a red belle dame
Flat Blue Johnny with a blind man's cane
A hundred yellow bullets shook a rag out in the wind
An old blind tiger, on a bell you win
Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the Big Black Mariah
Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the big black Ford
 
 
Diamonds and Gold
 
Broken glass, rusty nails where the wild violets grow
Say goodbye to the railroad, the mad dogs of summer
And everything that I know
What some men will do here for diamonds
What some men will do here for gold
They're wounded but they just keep on climbing
And sleep by the side of the road
There's a hole in the ladder, a fence we can climb
Mad as a hatter, you're thin as a dime
Go out to the meadow, the hills are a-green
Sing me a rainbow, steal me a dream
Small-time Napoleon's shattered his knees
But he stays in the saddle for Rose
And all his disciples, they shave in the gutter
And they gather what's left of his clothes
What some men will do here for diamonds
What some men will do here for gold
They're wounded but they just keep on climbing
And sleep by the side of the road
 
 
Hang Down Your Head
 
Hush a wild violet, hush a band of gold
Hush you're in a story I heard somebody told
Tear the promise from my heart, tear my heart today
You have found another, oh baby I must go away
So hang down your head for sorrow, hang down your head for me
Hang down your head tomorrow, hang down your head Marie
Hush my love the rain now, hush my love was so true
Hush my love a train now well it takes me away from you
So hang down your head for sorrow, hang down your head for me
Hang down your head, hang down your head, hang down your head
Marie
So hang down your head for sorrow, hang down your head for me
Hang down your head, hang down your head, hang down your head
Marie
 
 
Time
 
Well the smart money's on Harlow and the moon is in the street
And the shadow boys are breaking all the laws
And you're east of East Saint Louis and the wind is making speeches
And the rain sounds like a round of applause
And Napoleon is weeping in a carnival saloon
His invisible fiancee's in the mirror
And the band is going home, it's raining hammers, it's raining nails
And it's true there's nothing left for him down here
And it's time time time, and it's time time time
And it's time time time that you love
And it's time time time
And they all pretend they're orphans and their memory's like a train
You can see it getting smaller as it pulls away
And the things you can't remember tell the things you can't forget
That history puts a saint in every dream
Well she said she'd stick around until the bandages came off
But these mama's boys just don't know when to quit
And Mathilda asks the sailors "Are those dreams or are those prayers?"
So close your eyes, son, and this won't hurt a bit
Oh it's time time time, and it's time time time
And it's time time time that you love
And it's time time time
Well things are pretty lousy for a calendar girl
The boys just dive right off the cars and splash into the street
And when they're on a roll she pulls a razor from her boot
And a thousand pigeons fall around her feet
So put a candle in the window and a kiss upon his lips
As the dish outside the window fills with rain
Just like a stranger with the weeds in your heart
And pay the fiddler off 'til I come back again
Oh it's time time time, and it's time time time
And it's time time time that you love
And it's time time time
And it's time time time, and it's time time time
And it's time time time that you love
And it's time time time
 
 
Rain Dogs
 
Inside a broken clock, splashing the wine with all the rain dogs
Taxi, we'd rather walk, huddle a doorway with the rain dogs
For I am a rain dog, too
Oh, how we danced and we swallowed the night
For it was all ripe for dreaming
Oh, how we danced away all of the lights
We've always been out of our minds
The rum pours strong and thin, beat out the dustman with the rain dogs
Aboard a shipwreck train, give my umbrella to the rain dogs
For I am a rain dog, too
Oh, how we danced with the Rose of Tralee
Her long hair black as a raven
Oh, how we danced and you whispered to me
You'll never be going back home
Oh, how we danced with the Rose of Tralee
Her long hair black as a raven
Oh, how we danced and you whispered to me
You'll never be going back home
 
 
Midtown
[Instrumental]
 
 
9th & Hennepin
 
Well it's Ninth and Hennepin
All the doughnuts have names that sound like prostitutes
And the moon's teeth marks are on the sky
Like a tarp thrown all over this
And the broken umbrellas like dead birds
And the steam comes out of the grill
Like the whole goddamn town's ready to blow...
And the bricks are all scarred with jailhouse tattoos
And everyone is behaving like dogs
And the horses are coming down Violin Road
And Dutch is dead on his feet
And all the rooms they smell like diesel
And you take on the dreams of the ones who have slept here
And I'm lost in the window, and I hide in the stairway
And I hang in the curtain, and I sleep in your hat...
And no one brings anything small into a bar around here
They all started out with bad directions
And the girl behind the counter has a tattooed tear
"One for every year he's away", she said
Such a crumbling beauty, ah
There's nothing wrong with her that a hundred dollars won't fix
She has that razor sadness that only gets worse
With the clang and the thunder of the Southern Pacific going by
And the clock ticks out like a dripping faucet
'til you're full of rag water and bitters and blue ruin
And you spill out over the side to anyone who will listen...
And I've seen it all, I've seen it all
Through the yellow windows of the evening train...
 
 
Gun Street Girl
 
Falling James in the Tahoe mud
Stick around to tell us all the tale
Well he fell in love with a Gun Street girl
And now he's dancing in the Birmingham jail
Dancing in the Birmingham jail
He took a hundred dollars off a slaughterhouse Joe
Brought a brand new Michigan twenty-gauge
He got all liquored up on that road house corn
Blew a hole in the hood of a yellow Corvette
A hole in the hood of a yellow Corvette
He bought a second-hand Nova from a Cuban Chinese
And dyed his hair in the bathroom of a Texaco
With a pawnshop radio, quarter past four
He left for Waukegan at the slamming of the door
Left for Waukegan at the slamming of the door
I said John, John, he's long gone
Gone to Indiana, ain't never coming home
I said John, John, he's long gone
Gone to Indiana, ain't never coming home
He's sitting in a sycamore in St. John's wood
Soaking day-old bread in kerosene
Well he was blue as a robin's egg and brown as a hog
He's staying out of circulation 'til the dogs get tired
Out of circulation 'til the dogs get tired
Shadow fixed the toilet with an old trombone
He never get up in the morning on a Saturday
Sitting by the Erie with a bull-whipped dog
Telling everyone he saw, "They went that-a-way, boys"
Telling everyone he saw, "They went that-a-way"
Now the rain's like gravel on an old tin roof
And the Burlington Northern pulling out of the world
Now a head full of bourbon and a dream in the straw
And a Gun Street girl was the cause of it all
A Gun Street girl was the cause of it all
Well he's riding in the shadow by the St. Joe ridge
Hearing the click-clack tapping of a blind man's cane
He was pulling into Baker on a New Year's Eve
One eye on a pistol and the other on the door
One eye on a pistol and the other on the door
Miss Charlotte took her satchel down to King Fish Row
Smuggled in a brand new pair of alligator shoes
With her fireman's raincoat and her long yellow hair
Well they tied her to a tree with a skinny millionaire
They tied her to a tree with a skinny millionaire
I said John, John, he's long gone
Gone to Indiana, ain't never coming home
I said John, John, he's long gone
Gone to Indiana, ain't never coming home
Banging on the table with an old tin cup
Sing I'll never kiss a Gun Street girl again
Never kiss a Gun Street girl again
I'll never kiss a Gun Street girl again
I said John, John, he's long gone
Gone to Indiana, ain't never coming home
I said John, John, he's long gone
Gone to Indiana, ain't never coming home
 
 
Union Square
 
Well time is always money for the boys on Union Square
Go on and bust your ass 'til doomsday, don't forget to say your prayers
Someone's riding down the backstreet, said papa got a brand new slack
And your baby is handcuffed on the front seat
Sit right there, boy and you relax, c'mon honey
We're all going down down down downtown, down downtown
We're going down downtown, We're going down downtown
Well you spill out of the Cinema Fourteen
To that drag bar there on the block
Whizzin' on down in front of the East Coast
Bank rolled up on your sock
She stand right there for your pleasure, half Puerto Rican Chinese
You got to find your baby somebody to measure
I'm going to get me some of these, baby
C'mon honey, do you hear what I'm doing now?
Down down down, down down down downtown
Down downtown, I'm going down downtown
'Bout four in the morning on a Sunday
Sacco drinking whiskey in church
Half pint of Festival brandy
That boy 'bout to fall right off his perch
Well that guy in the sweater's off duty
Well he's out in front of that welfare hotel
The guy in the dress is a beauty
Go all the way, I swear you never can tell
C'mon honey, and pull up your socks
Down down down, I'm going down down down downtown
Down downtown, down down down
Down down down, c'mon down downtown
Going down downtown, I'm going down downtown
 
 
Blind Love
 
Now you're gone, and it's hotels and whiskey and sad-luck dames
And I don't care if they miss me, I never remember their names
They say if you get far enough away, you'll be on your way back home
Well, I'm at the station, and I can't get on the train
Must be blind love, only kind of love is stone blind love
Blind love, the only kind of love is stone blind love
With your blind love, oh it's blind love, stone blind love
It's your stone blind love
Now the street's turning blue, the dogs are barking and the night has
come
And there's tears that are falling from your blue eyes now
I wonder where you are and I whisper your name
The only way to find you is if I close my eyes
I'll find you with my blind love, the only kind of love is stone blind love
The only kind of love is stone blind love
The only kind of love is stone blind love
With your blind love, oh your blind love, your stone blind love
It's your blind love, the only kind of love is stone blind love
Stone blind love, the only kind of love is stone blind love
With your blind love, the only kind of love is stone blind love
Stone blind love, stone blind love
 
 
Walking Spanish
 
He's got himself a homemade special
You know his glass is full of sand
And it feels just like a jaybird the way it fits into his hand
He rolled a blade up in his trick towel
They slap their hands against the wall
You never trip, you never stumble
He's walking Spanish down the hall
Slip him a picture of our Jesus
Or give him a spoon to dig a hole
What all he done ain't no one's business
But he'll need blankets for the cold
They dim the lights over on Broadway
Even the king has bowed his head
And every face looks right up at Mason
Man he's walking Spanish down the hall
Litella's screeching for a blind pig
Punk Sanders carved it out of wood
He never sang when he got hoodwinked
They tried it all but he never would
Tomorrow morning there'll be laundry
But he'll be somewhere else to hear the call
Don't say goodbye, he's just leaving early
He's walking Spanish down the hall
All St. Barthelemew said
Was whispered into the ear of Blind Jack Dawes
All Baker told the machine was that he never broke the law
Go on and tip your hat up to the Pilate
Take off your watch, your rings and all
Even Jesus wanted just a little more time
When he was walking Spanish down the hall
 
 
Downtown Train
 
Outside another yellow moon
Has punched a hole in the nighttime, yes
I climb through the window and down to the street
I'm shining like a new dime
The downtown trains are full with all of those Brooklyn girls
They try so hard to break out of their little worlds
Well you wave your hand and they scatter like crows
They have nothing that will ever capture your heart
They're just thorns without the rose
Be careful of them in the dark
Oh, if I was the one you chose to be your only one
Oh baby can't you hear me now, can't you hear me now
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
Every night it's just the same, you leave me lonely now
I know your window and I know it's late
I know your stairs and your doorway
I walk down your street and past your gate
I stand by the light at the four-way
You watch them as they fall, oh baby, they all have heart attacks
They stay at the carnival, but they'll never win you back
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
Where every night, every night it's just the same, oh baby
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
All of my dreams they fall like rain, oh baby on a downtown train
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
Where every night, every night it's just the same, oh baby
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
All of my dreams just fall like rain, all on a downtown train
All on a downtown train, all on a downtown train
All on a downtown train, a downtown train
 
 
Bride of Rain Dog
[Instrumental]
 
 
Anywhere I Lay My Head
 
My head is spinning round, my heart is in my shoes, yeah
I went and set the Thames on fire, oh, now I must come back down
She's laughing in her sleeve boys, I can feel it in my bones
Oh, but anywhere I'm gonna lay my head, I'm gonna call my home
Well I see that the world is upside-down
Seems that my pockets were filled up with gold
And now the clouds, well they've covered over
And the wind is blowing cold
Well I don't need anybody, because I learned, I learned to be alone
Well I said anywhere, anywhere, anywhere I lay my head, boys
Well I gonna call my home
 
Hang On St. Christopher
 
 
Hang on st. christopher through the smoke
and the oil
Buckle down the rumble seat
let the radiator boil
got an overhead downshift
and a two dollar grill
got an 85 cabin
on an 85 hill
Hang on st. christopher on the passenger side
open it up tonight the devil can ride
hang on st. christopher with a barrel house dog
kick me up mt. baldy
throw me out in the fog
tear a hole in the jack pot
drive a stake through his heart
do a 100 on the grapevine
do a jump on the start
hang on st. christopher now don't let me go
get me to reno and bring it in low, yeah
hang on st. christopher with the hammer to the floor
put a hi ball in the crank case
nail a crow to the door
get a bottle for the jockey
gimme a 294
there's a 750 norton bustin down january's door
hang on st. christopher on the passenger side
open it up tonight the devil can ride
hang on st. christopher now don't let me go
get to me reno got to bring it in low
put my baby on the flat car
got to burn down the caboose
get 'em all jacked up on whiskey
then we'll turn the mad dog loose
hang on st. christopher on the passenger side
open it up tonight the devil can ride
 
Straight To the Top (Rhumba)
Written by Tom Waits and Greg Cohen
 
 
I'm going straight to the top
oh yea up where the air is
fresh and clean
I'm going straight up to the top
if you know me, you know what I mean
I can't let sorrow
try and pull ol' Frankie down
live for tomorrow I have found you
I'm going straight up to the top
up where the air is fresh and clean
i know that I will never stop, oh no
until I know I'm wild and free
just like a champagne bubble
pop pop pop
I'm like those birdies
high up in the trees
I can't let sorrow
pull ol' Frankie down
live for tomorrow
I have found you
I'm going straight up to the top oh yeah
up where the air is fresh and clean
 
 
Blow Wind Blow
 
 
Mary's on the black top
There's a husband in
the dog house
In the middle of a shakedown
She got
quiet as a church mouose
She found Raleigh's on
the dashboard
Sugar daddy caught a polocar
Ain't no solitary
tap dance way down here
I swear I's riding
on a field mouse
we were dancin' in the slaughterhouse
If you swing along the beltway
then you skid along the all day
cause I went a little crazy
and I sat upon a high chair
And I'm smokin like a diesel
way out here
Blow wind blow - blow me away here -
blow wind blow (repeat)
 
 
Temptation
 
 
Rusted brandy in a diamond glass
everything is made from dreams
time is made from honey slow and sweet
only the fools know what it means
temptation, temptation, temptation
oh, temptation, temptation, I can't resist
I know that she is made of smoke
but I've lost my way
she knows that I am broke
so that I must play
temptation, temptation, temptation
oh, whoa, temptation, temptation, I can't resist
Dutch pink and Italian blue
she is waiting there for you
my will has disappeared
now my confusion's oh so clear
temptation, temptation, temptation
whoa, whoa, temptation, temptation
 
 
Innocent When You Dream
 
 
The bats are in the belfry
the dew is on the moor
where are the arms that held me
and pledged her love before
and pledged her love before
Chorus:
It's such a sad old feeling
the fields are soft and green
it's memories that I'm stealing
but you're innocent when you dream
when you dream
you're innocent when you dream
Running through the graveyard
we laughed my friends and I
we swore we'd be together
until the day we died
until the day we died
Repeat chorus
I made a golden promise
that we would never part
I gave my love a locket
and then I broke her heart
and then I broke her heart
Repeat chorus
 
 
I'll Be Gone
Written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan
Tonight I'll shave the mountain
I'll cut the hearts from pharoahs
I pull the road off of the rise
tear the memories from my eyes
and in the morning I'll be gone
I drink 1000 shipwrecks
tonight I'll steal your paychecks
I paint the sheets across my bed
the birds will all fly from my head
and in the morning I'll be gone
take every dream that's breathing
find every boot that's leaving
shoot all the lights in the cafe
and in the morning I'll be gone
I bet 1000 dollars
I have a french companion
I tie myself below the deck
I pull the rope around my neck
and in the morning I'll be gone
it takes a life to win her
there is a drum of bourbon
800 pounds of nitro
his boots are thunder as he plays
theree is a stone inside it
tonight his bones will ride it
I'll need a tent to hide it
and in the morning I'll be gone
and in the morning I'll be gone
and in the morning I'll be gone
 
 
Yesterday Is Here
Written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan
 
 
If you want money in your pocket
and a top hat on your head
a hot meal on your table
and a blanket on your bed
well today is grey skies
tomorrow is tears
you'll have to wait til yesterday is here
Well I'm going to New York City
and I'm leaving on a train
and if you want to stay behind and
wait til I come back again
well today is grey skies
tomorrow is tears
you'll have to wait til yesterday is here
If you want to go
where the rainbows end
you'll have to say goodbye
all our dreams come true
baby up ahead
and it's out where your memories lie
well the road's out before me
and the moon is shining bright
what I want you to remember
as I disappear tonight
today is grey skies
tomorrow's tears
you'll have to wait til yesterday is here
 
 
Please Wake Me Up
Written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan
 
 
I put my chips on her shoulder
running in the carnival time
she bought the things that I told her
they made her eyes sparkle and shine
together we'll ring in the new year
I know that she'll be my queen
and if I fall asleep in your arms
please wake me up in my dreams
Her out-fit was all made of vinyl
like nothing I've ever seen
when our divorces are final
She'll fit right into my scheme
next to the pawnshop's a chapel
I'll show you just what I mean
and if I fall asleep in your arms
please wake me up in my dreams
 
 
Frank's Theme
 
 
Dream away the tears in your eyes
Dream away your sorrows
Dream away all your goodbyes
Dream away tomorrow
I promise when the sun comes up
I promise I'll be true
and just like before the band starts to play
they always play your favorite tune
and dream awawy when everyone's gone
dream away your grey skies tooo
dream away and nothing is wrong
dreams have wishes that are waiting for you
and up ahead the road is turning
turning for you and me
and just like before
the band starts to play
now there's that twinkle in your eye
and dream away
 
 
 
 
 
Act II
 
 
 
 
 
 
More Than Rain
 
 
It's more than rain that falls on our parade tonight
it's more than thunder it's more than thunder
it's more than a swindle this crooked card game
it's more than sad times it's more than sad times
none of our pockets are filled with gold
nobody's caught the boquet
there are no dead presidents we can fold
nothing is going our way
and it's more than goodbye I have to say to you
it's more than woe-be-gotten grey skies now
 
 
Way Down in the Hole
 
 
When you walk through the garden
you gotta watch your back
well I beg your pardon
walk the straight and narrow track
if you walk with Jesus
he's gonna save your soul
you gotta keep the devil
way down in the hole
he's got the fire and the fury
at his command
well you don't have to worry
if you hold on to Jesus hand
we'll all be safe from Satan
when the thunder rolls
just gotta help me keep the devil
way down in the hole
All the angels sing about Jesus' mighty sword
and they'll shield you with their wings
and keep you close to the lord
don't pay heed to temptation
for his hands are so cold
you gotta help me keep the devil
way down in the hole
 
 
Straight To the Top (Vegas)
Written by Tom Waits and Greg Cohen
 
 
I'm going straight to the top
oh yea up where the air is
fresh and clean
I'm going straight up to the top
if you know me, you know what I mean
I can't let sorrow
try and pull ol' Frankie down
live for tomorrow I have found you
I'm going straight up to the top
up where the air is fresh and clean
i know that I will never stop, oh no
until I know I'm wild and free
just like a champagne bubble
pop pop pop
I'm like those birdies
high up in the trees
I can't let sorrow
pull ol' Frankie down
live for tomorrow
I have found you
I'm going straight up to the top oh yeah
up where the air is fresh and clean
 
 
I'll Take New York
 
 
I'll tip the newsboy
I'll get a shine
I'll ride this dream
to the end of the line
I'm goin places
I'll take a ride
Up to the Riverside
I'll take NY
I'll let it happen
I'll pop the cork
tear off the wrappin'
I'll make a splash on the Hudson
that's how I will arrive
Hey, do you have two tens for a five?
Roll out the carpet
Strike up the band
break into the best
champagne when I land
Beat the parade drum
hit all the bars
I want the moon and stars
But I'll take NY
I'll make it happen
Blow out the candlels
tear off the wrappin'
And I know someday
they'll have to name a street after me
right next door to old Franklin D
 
 
Telephone Call From Istanbul
All night long on the broken glass
livin in a medicine chest
mediteromanian hotel back
sprawled across a roll top desk
the monkey rode the blade on an
overhead fan
they paint the donkey blue if you pay
I got a telephone call from Istanbul
my baby's coming home today
will you sell me one of those if I shave my head
get me out of town is what fireball said
never trust a man in a blue trench coat
never drive a car when you're dead
Saturday's a festival
Friday's a gem
dye your hair yellow
and raise your hem
follow me to beulah's on
dry creek road
I got to wear the hat that my baby done sewed
take me down to buy a tux
on red rose bear
got to cut a hole in the day
I got a telephone call from Istanbul
my baby's coming home today
 
 
Cold Cold Ground
 
 
Crest fallen sidekick in an old cafe
never slept with a dream before he had to go away
there's a bell in the tower
Uncle Ray bought a round
don't worry about the army
in the cold cold ground
now don't be a cry baby
when there's wood in the shed
there's a bird in the chimmney
and a stone in my bed
when the road's washed out
they pass the bottle around
and wait in the arms
of the cold cold ground
cold cold ground
there's a ribbon in the willow
and a tire swing rope
and a briar patch of berries
takin over the slope
the cat'll sleep in the mailbox
and we'll never go to town
til we bury every dream in
the cold cold ground
cold cold ground
gimme a Winchester rifle and a whole box of shells
blow the roof off the goat barn
let it roll down the hill
the piano is firewood
times square is a dream
I find we'll lay down together in the cold cold ground
cold cold ground
cold cold ground
call the cops on the Breedloves
bring a bible and a rope
and a whole box of rebel
and a bar of soap
make a pile of trunk tires
and burn 'em all down
bring a dollar with you baby
in the cold cold ground
cold cold ground
take a weathervane rooster
throw rocks at his head
stop talking to the neighbors
til we all go dead
beware of my temper
and the dog that I've found
break all the windows in the
cold cold ground
cold cold ground
 
 
Train Song
 
 
Well I broke down in E. St. Louis
On the Kansas City line
and I drunk up all my money
that I borrowed every time
and I fell down at the derby
and now the night's black as a crow
It was a train that took me away from here
but a train can't bring me home
What made my dreams so hollow
was standing at the depot
with a steeple full of swallows
that could never ring the bell
and I come ten thousand miles away
with not one thing to show
well it was a train that took me away from here
but a train can't bring me home
I remember when I left
without bothering to pack
you know I up and left with
just the clothes I had on my back
now I'm sorry for what I've done
and I'm out here on my own
well it was a train that took me away from
here but a train can't bring me home
 
 
Innocent When You Dream (78)
 
 
The bats are in the belfry
the dew is on the moor
where are the arms that held me
and pledged her love before
and pledged her love before
Chorus:
It's such a sad old feeling
the fields are soft and green
it's memories that I'm stealing
but you're innocent when you dream
when you dream
you're innocent when you dream
Running through the graveyard
we laughed my friends and I
we swore we'd be together
until the day we died
until the day we died
Repeat chorus
I made a golden promise
that we would never part
I gave my love a locket
and then I broke her heart
and then I broke her heart
Repeat chorus
 
Falling Down
(Tom Waits)
I have come 500 miles just to see a halo
Come from St. Petersburg, Scarlett and me
Well I open my eyes, I was blind as can be
When you give a man luck, he must fall in the sea
And she wants you to steal and get caught
For she loves you for all that you are not
When you're falling down, falling down
When you're falling down, falling down, falling down
You forget all the roses, don't come around on Sunday
She's not gonna choose you for standing so tall
Go on and take a swig of that poison and like it
And don't ask for silverware, don't ask for nothing
Go on and put your ear to the ground
You know you will be hearing that sound......falling down.
You're falling down, falling down
Falling down, Falling down, falling down
When you're falling down, falling down, falling down
 
Go on down and see that wrecking ball come swinging on along
Everyone knew that hotel was a goner
They broke all the windows, they took all the door knobs
And they hauled it away in a couple of days
Now someone yell timber and take off your hat
It's a lot smaller down here on the ground
You're falling down, falling down, falling down
Falling down, falling down, falling down
Someone's falling down, falling down, falling down
Falling down, falling down, falling down
Strange Weather
(Tom Waits for Marianne Faithful)
Will you take me across the Channel,
London Bridge is falling down.
Strange a woman tries to save
What a man will try to drown.
And he's the rain that they predicted,
Its the forecast every time.
The rose has died because you picked it
And I believe that brandy's mine.
And all over the world
Strangers
Talk only about the weather.
All over the world
It's the same
It's the same
It's the same.
The world is getting flatter,
The sky is falling all around.
And nothing is the matter
For I never cry in town.
And a love like ours, my dear,
Is best measured when its down.
And I never buy umbrellas,
For there's always one around.
And all over the world Strangers Talk only about the weather. All over
the world It's the same
It's the same
It's the same.
And you know that its beginning,
And you know that its the end
When once again we are strangers
And the fog comes rolling in.
And all over the world
Strangers
Talk only about the weather.
All over the world
It's the same
It's the same
It's the same.
 
Goin' Down Slow
 
Well It's a quarter a two
and looking at you
and going down, going down slow
Well It's a quarter a two
and looking at you
and going down, going down slow
TV went off about one, we have only begun
I know that the Wednesday may come
but I have no intention of going home
Well It's a quarter a three
digging on me
and going down, going down slow
Could stay here all night,
they claim your outta sight
please get up and turn out the light
There ain't nothing better than the middle of the night
And It's a quarter a four
begging for more
and going down, going down slow
going down, going down slow
going down, going down slow
going down, going down slow
 
 
Poncho's Lament
 
Well the stairs sound so lonely without you
And I ain't made my bed in a week
Coffee stains on the paper I'm writing
And I'm too choked up inside to speak
And Yes, I know our differences pulled us apart
Never spoke a word heart to heart
And I'm glad that you're gone
But I wish to the lord that you'd come home
And I'm glad that you're gone
Got the feeling so strong
And I'm glad that you're gone
But I wish to the lord that you'd come home
Well my guitar still plays your favorite song
though the strings have been outta tune for some time
Every time I strum a cord, I pray out to the lord
That you'll quit your honkey-tonkin' sing my song
And I'm glad that you're gone
Got the feeling so strong
And I'm glad that you're gone
But I wish to the lord that you'd come home
So I'll throw another log onto the fire
And I'll admit I'm a lousy liar
As the coals die down and flicker
I hear that guitar picker
Play the song we used to sing so long ago
I'm glad that you're gone
Got the feeling so strong
And I'm glad that you're gone
But I wish to the lord that you'd come home
And I'm glad, damn glad you're gone
Got the feeling so strong
And I'm glad that you're gone
But I wish to the lord that you'd come home
 
 
I'm Your Late Night Evening Prostitute
 
Well I got here at eight and I'll be here till two
I'll try my best to entertain you and
Please don't mind me if I get a bit crude
I'm your late night evening prostitute
So drink your martinis and stare at the moon
Don't mind me I'll continue to croon
Don't mind me if I get a bit loon
I'm your late night evening prostitute
And dance, have a good time
I'll continue to shine
Yes Dance, have a good time
Don't mind me if I slip upon a rhyme
Well I got here at eight and I'll be here till two
I'll try my best to entertain you and
Please don't mind me if I get a bit crude
I'm your late night evening prostitute
I'm your late night evening prostitute
 
 
Had Me A Girl
 
Well I had me a girl in LA
I knew she couldn't stay
Had me a girl in San Diego
One day she just had to go
And I had me a girl Tallahassee
Boy what a foxy lassie
(chorus)
And my doctor says I'll be alright
But I'm feelin' blue
And my doctor says I'll be alright
And my doctor says I'll be alright
And my doctor says I'll be alright
But I'm feelin blue
And my doctor says I'll be alright
And my doctor says I'll be alright
And my doctor says I'll be alright
And I had me a girl in Mississippi
Oh she sure was kippy
Had me a girl in England
She done split for the mainland
And I had me a girl in New York
She up and pulled my cork
(repeat chorus)
Then I had me a girl in North Dakota
She was just fillin' her quota
Then I had me a girl in Chula Vista
I was in love with her sister
Then I had me a girl in
(repeat Chorus)
Then I had me a girl in France
Just wanted to get in my pants
had me a girl in Toledo
Boy she sure was neato
Then I had me a girl in North Carolina
She's still on my mind
(repeat chorus)
 
 
Ice Cream Man
 
Clickin' by your house about two forty-five
With Sidewalk sundae strawberry surprise,
I got a cherry popsicle right on time
I got a big stick, mamma, that'll blow your mind
'Cause I'm your ice cream man, I'm a one-man band
I'm your ice cream man, baby, I'll be good to you.
If you missed me in the alley, baby, don't you fret
Come back around and don't forget,
When you're tired and you're hungry and you want something cool,
Got something better than a swimming pool
'Cause I'm your ice cream man, I'm a one-man band
I'm your ice cream man, honey, I'll be good to you.
'Cause I'm your ice cream man, I'm a one-man band
I'm your ice cream man, honey, I'll be good to you.
Well if you see me coming, you ain't got no change
Don't worry baby, it can be arranged
Show me you can smile, baby just for me
Fix you with a drumstick, I'll do it for free
'Cause I'm your ice cream man, I'm a one-man band
I'm your ice cream man, and I'll be good to you.
Be good to you, be good to you,
I'm your ice cream man, I'm a one-man band
I'm your ice cream man, and I'll be good to you
I'm your ice cream man, and I'm your ice cream man
I'm your ice cream man, and I'm your ice cream man
I'm your ice cream man, and I'm your ice cream man ...
 
 
Rockin' Chair
 
Well I'm sittin' right here in my rockin chair
Running my fingers right through my hair
Fire is flicken with a yellow and gold
Makin me quiver in the snowy cold
Got a lazy old woman
Screaming bout my money
She took every cent
And she didn't leave me any
Times were never so good, got a fly for food
Got no woman to spend my money
Well she blew and took all my money
So I'm sittin' right here in my rockin chair
Running my fingers right through my hair
Spider caught the fly in his web
Do believe he may be dead
Times were never so good, got a fly for food
Got no woman to spend my money
Well she blew and took all my money
Well I'm sittin' and I'm sittin' and I'm sittin' right here
In my rockin chair
Watchin' my old dog loosing his hair
 
 
Virginia Ave.
 
Well, I'm walking down Virginia Avenue
I'm trying to find somebody to tell my troubles to.
Harold's club is closing, everybody's going on home
What's a poor sailor to do?
I guess I'll get on back into my short, make it back to the fort
Sleepin off all the crazy lizards inside of my brain.
got to be some place that's better than this
This life I'm leading's driving me insane
And I'm dreaming...
And I'm dreaming to the twilight, this town has got me down.
I've seen all the highlights, I've been walking all around
I won't make a fuss, I'll take a Greyhound bus, carry me away from
here
Now what have I got to lose?
'Cause I'm walking on down Columbus Avenue
The bars are all closing, 'cause it's quarter a' two
Every town I go to is like a lock without a key
Those I leave behind are catching up on me,
catching up on me, they're catching up on me
Catching up on me, catching up on me, catching up on me.
 
 
Midnight Lullabye
 
Sing a song a sixpence, pocket full a rye
Hush by my baby, no need to be cryin'
Burn the midnight oil with me, as long as you wish
Stare out at the moon, upon the window sill
And dream sing a song a sixpence, pocket full a wry
I tell you another story, tell you no lie
Dew drops on the window sill, gum drops in your hair
Your slippin into dreamland, Your noddin' your head
Oh dream
Dream of West Virginia, of the British Isles
When you are dreaming, you see for miles and miles
When you are much older, remember when we sat
At midnight on the windowsill, and had this little chat
And dream, dream, dream, dream
 
 
When You Ain't Got Nobody
 
Well when you ain't got nobody, anybody looks nice
Don't take much to make you stop and look twice
And it's either feast or famine, I've found out that it's true
And I'm hungry as a bull dog, baby how about you
And when you ain't got no big mama, all the mamas look hot
And when lovin' is you weakness, your just bound to get caught
And the story never changes, history tells it so plain
And I'll be your Dick, honey, if you'll just be my Jane
And when you ain't got nobody, anybody looks nice
It don't take much to make you stop and look twice
And it's either feast or famine, I've found out that it's true
And I'm hungry as a bull dog, baby how about you, baby how about you
 
 
Little Trip To Heaven
 
Little trip to heaven on the wings of your love
Banana moon is shining in the sky
I feel like I'm in heaven when your with me
I know that I'm in heaven when you smile
Though were stuck here on the ground
I got something that I've found, and it's you
I don't need to take no trip to outer space
All I have to do is look in your face
And before I know it I'm in orbit around you
Thanking my lucky stars that I found you
When I see your constellation, your my inspiration
And it's you
Your my North Star when I'm lost and feeling blue
Your my sun that's breaking through, it's true
And all the other stars seem dim around you
I thank my lucky stars that I found you
When I see your smilin face
I know nothing' gonna take your place
And it's you, and it's you, and it's you,
and it's you, and it's you, and it's you
 
 
Frank's Song
 
That woman will take you, that woman will break you
That woman will make you something you've never seen
That woman's got claws, that woman's got laws
Now look out man, you're gonna loose your mind
I had a friend, his name was Frank
He walked on the water and lord he sank
We used to go stag, now he's got a hag
It looks like Frank's got a new bag
That woman will take you, that woman will break you
That woman will make you something you've never seen
That woman's got claws, that woman's got laws
Now look out Frank, you're gonna loose your mind
What happened to Frank, can happen to you
Just find you a woman and watch what she'll do
That woman will take you, that woman's gonna break you
Look out man you're gonna loose, you're gonna loose your mind
 
 
Looks Like I'm Up Shit Creek Again
 
Well the sun came in my window Wednesday morning
And your love was like the golden rays again
Now I'm lying here on a Thursday, and you're lovin someone new
And it looks like I'm up shit creek again
And I can't help thinking of your lovin ways
And I cried a quart of tears since you've been gone
And I can't face the morning by myself love
And it looks like I'm up shit creek again
Since you've been gone, I cry all the time
And I cannot stand leavin you behind
So I'll pull myself together, And I'll dry away my tears
But the morning light has brought back memories
And I can't face the morning by myself love
And it looks like I'm up shit creek again
So I'm out a walkin on this dusty highway
Cause you've given me no reason for to stay
And I'll walk until I've found someone who loves me not in vain
And it looks like I'm up shit creek again
And it looks like I'm up shit creek again
 
 
So Long I'll See Ya
 
Mamas in the kitchen, Daddies on the phone
And nobody knows what's going on
But I've got those
so long I'll see you cause my Buick's outside waiting blues
Well one for the money, two for the show
Three to get ready, Tom's gotta go
He's got them
so long I'll see you cause my Buick's outside waiting blues
Well bye-bye-bye, well bye-bye-bye
Sing bye-bye Shooby-do-bye-bye
Gotta skeet-skat outta here, skeet-skat outta here
And mamas in the kitchen, daddies on the phone
And nobody knows what's going on
But I've got those
so long I'll see you cause my Buick's outside waiting blues
Well Tommy's gotta skeet-skat, skeet-skat outta here
Skeet-skat right outta here
And one for the money, two for the show
Three to get ready, I gotta go
Cause I've got them
so long I'll see you cause my Buick's outside waiting blues
And skeet-skat outta here, gonna skeet-skat outta here,
Gonna skeet-skatJoutta here, gonna skeet-skat outta here
Got so long I'll see you cause my Buick's outside waiting blues
Gonna skeet-skat outta here, gonna skeet-skat outta here,
Gonna skeet-skatJoutta here, gonna skeet-skat outta here
I got so long I'll see you cause my Buick's outside waiting blues
 
Hope I Don't Fall In Love With You
 
Well I hope that I don't fall in love with you
'Cause falling in love just makes me blue,
Well the music plays and you display
your heart for me to see,
I had a beer and now I hear
you calling out for me
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you.
Well the room is crowded, there's people everywhere
And I wonder, should I offer you a chair?
Well if you sit down with this old clown,
take that frown and break it,
Before the evening's gone away,
I think that we could make it,
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you.
I can see that you are lonesome just like me,
and it being late, you'd like some some company,
Well I've had two, I look at you,
and you look back at me,
The guy you're with has up and split,
the chair next to you's free,
And I hope that you don't fall in love with me.
And I hope that you don't fall in love with me.
Now it's closing time, the music's fading out
Last call for drinks, I'll have another stout.
Turn around to look at you,
you're nowhere to be found,
I search the place for your lost face,
guess I'll have another round
And I think that I just fell in love with you.
 
Ol' 55
 
My time went so quickly,
I went lickety-splickly
out to my old '55
Pulled away slowly, feeling so holy,
God knows, I was feeling alive.
And now the sun's coming up,
I'm riding with Lady Luck,
freeway cars and trucks,
Stars beginning to fade,
and I lead the parade
Just a-wishing I'd stayed a little longer,
Oh, Lord, that the feeling's getting stronger.
Now six in the morning, gave me no warning;
I had to be on my way.
Lights passing and trucks a flashing,
I'm on my way home from your place.
And now the sun's coming up,
I'm riding with Lady Luck,
freeway cars and trucks.
 
 
Mockin' Bird
 
Mocking Bird high in a tree
Looks like you got the best of me
Mocking Bird singing his song
Well Mocking Bird mocking me
now that you're gone
Mocking Bird high in a loof
Well he's blowing notes on top my roof
Mocking Bird singing his song
Well Mocking Bird mocking me
now that you're gone.
Mocking Bird high in a tree
Looking up at you, you're looking down at me
Mocking Bird high in a loof
Well he's blowing notes on top my roof.
Mocking Bird high in a tree
Looking up at you, you're looking down at me
Mocking Bird singing his song
Well Mocking Bird mocking me
now that you're gone.
Throwed some papers, tried to scare him away
Just looked down at me and this is what he said
Mocking Bird high in a tree
Looks like you got the best of me
Mocking Bird singing his song
Well Mocking Bird mocking me
now that you're gone
 
 
In Between Love
 
In between love and trying to scheme love
Who can tell what we may find
Never thought love, not get caught love
Between the magic in your eyes
And loves like women, it's cool and breezy
Never thought that love could be so easy
In between love and trying to scheme love
And in between love again
In between love and trying to scheme love
Who can tell what we may find
All this time love, I sublime love
To the feelings in my mind
Loves like women, it's cool and breezy
Never thought that love could be so easy
In between love and trying to scheme love
And in between love again
 
 
Blue Skies
 
Blue skies over my head
Give me another reason to get out of bed
And blue skies shine on my face
Give me another woman to take her place
Ain't got no money, cupboards are bare
No cigarettes and the kids got nothing to wear
She walked out without a word
Now the only sound left is the morning bird
singing ...
Blue skies over my head
Give me another reason to get out of bed
And blue skies shine on my face
Give me another woman to take her place
Blue skies over my head
Give me another reason to get out of bed
And blue skies shine on my face
Give me another woman to take her place
Give me another woman to take her place
 
 
Nobody
 
Nobody, nobody, will ever love you
the way that I love you
Cause nobody's that strong
Love's bittersweet, life's treasures deep
No one can keep a love that's gone wrong
Nobody, nobody, gonna love you
the way I could
Cause nobody's that strong
No nobody's that strong
Nobody, nobody, is gonna love you
the way that I love you
Cause nobody is that strong
You've had many lovers,
you'll have many others
But they'll only just break
your poor heart in two
And nobody, nobody, will love you
the way I could
Cause nobody's that strong,
no nobody's that strong
 
 
I Want You
 
I want you, you, you
All I want is you, you, you
All I want is you
Give you the stars above, Sun on the brightest day
Give you all my love, if you would only say
I want you, you, you
All I want is you, you, you
All I want is you
 
 
Shiver Me Timbers
 
I'm leavin' my fam'ly
And leavin' my friends
My body's at home
But my heart's in the wind
Where the clouds are like headlines
On a new front page sky
My tears are salt water
And the moon's full and high
And I know Martin Eden's
Gonna be proud of me
And many before me
Who've been called by the sea
To be up in the crow's nest
And singin' my say
Shiver me Timbers
'Cause I'm a-sailin' away
The fog's liftin'
And the sand's shiftin'
and I'm driftin' on out
And Ol' Captain Ahab
He ain't got nothin' on me.
So come on and swallow me, don't follow me
I'm trav'lin' alone
Blue water's my daughter
'n I'm gonna skip like a stone
So please call my missus
Tell her not to cry
'Cause my goodbye is written
By the moon in the sky
And nobody knows me
I can't fathom my stayin'
Shiver me timbers
I'm a-sailin' away
And the fog's liftin'
And the sand's shiftin'
I'm driftin' on out
Ol' Captain Ahab
He ain't got nothin' on me
So come on and swallow me, don't follow me
I'm trav'lin' alone
Blue water's my daughter
'n I'm gonna skip like a stone
And I'm leavin' my family
Leavin' my friends
My body's at home
But my heart's in the wind
Where the clouds are like headlines
On a new front page sky
And shiver me timbers
I'm a-sailin' away
 
 
Grapefruit Moon
 
Grapefruit moon, one star shining,
shining down on me.
I heard that tune, and now I'm pining,
honey, can't you see?
That every time I hear that melody,
something breaks inside,
And grapefruit moon, one star shining,
can't turn back the tide.
Never had no destination, could not get across.
You became my inspiration, oh but what a cost.
'Cause every time I hear that melody,
puts me up a tree,
And grapefruit moon, one star shining,
is all that I can see.
Now I'm smoking cigarettes
and I strive for purity,
And I slip just like the stars
into obscurity.
'Cause every time I hear that melody,
well, something breaks inside,
And the grapefruit moon, one star shining,
is much too big to hide.
 
 
Diamonds On My Windshield
 
Diamonds on my windshield
Tears from heaven
Pulling into town on the Interstate
Pulling a steel train in the rain
The wind bites my cheek through the wing
Fast flying, freway driving
Always makes me sing
There's a Duster tryin' to change my tune
Pulling up fast on the right
Rolling restlessly, twenty-four hour moon
Wisconsin hiker with a cue-ball head
Wishing he was home in a Wiscosin bed
fifteen feet of snow in the East
Colder then a welldigger's ass
Oceanside it ends the ride, San Clemente coming up
Sunday desperadoes slip by, gas station closed,
cruise with a dry back
Orange drive-in the neon billin'
Theatre's fillin' to the brim
Slave girls and a hot spurn bucket full of sin
Metropolitan area with interchange and connections
Fly-by-nights from Riverside
Black and white plates, out of state,
running a little bit late
Sailors jockey for the fast lane
101 don't miss it
Rolling hills and concrete fields
The broken line's on your mind
Eights go east and the fives go north
The merging nexus back and forth
You see your sign, cross the line,
signalling with a blink
The radio's gone off the air
Gives you time to think
You ease it out and you creep across
Intersection light goes out
You hear the rumble
As you fumble for a cigarette
Blazing through this midnight jungle
Remember someone that you met
One more block; the engine talks
And whispers 'home at last'
It whispers, whispers, whispers
'home at last', home at last
 
 
Please Call Me, Baby
 
The evening fell just like a star
Left a trail behind
You spit as you slammed out the door
If this is love we're crazy
As we fight like cats and dogs
But I just know there's got to be more
So please call me, baby
Wherever you are
It's too cold to be out walking in the streets
We do crazy things when we're wounded
Everyone's a bit insane
I don't want you catching your death of cold
Out walking in the rain
I admit that I ain't no angel
I admit that I ain't no saint
I'm selfish and I'm cruel and I'm blind
If I exorcise my devils
Well my angels may leave too
When they leave they're so hard to find
(Chorus)
We're always at each other's throats
It drives me up the wall
Most of the time I'm just blowing off steam
And I wish to God you'd leave me
And I wish to God you'd stay
Life's so different than it is in your dreams
(Chorus)
 
 
So It Goes
 
If I was a seagull high and aloof
I'd sail to the highest perch on your roof
But I ain't no seagull, you know my name
And the wind's blowin fortune, the wind's blowin pain
And so it goes, nobody knows
How to get to the sky, how to get to the sky
If I was a puppy dog in the early dawn
I'd make it to your house and sleep on your lawn
but I ain'ty no puppydog, you know my name
And the wind blows fortune, the wind blows pain
And so it goes, nobody knows
How to get to the sky, how to get to the sky
How to get to the sky, how to get to the sky
 
 
Old Shoes
 
Well I'm singing this song, cause it's time it was sung
I've been putting it off for a while,
Cause it's harder by now, and the truth is so clear
That I am crying when I'm seeing you smile.
So goodbye, so long, the road calls me dear
And your tears cannot bind me anymore,
And farewell to the girl with the sun in her eyes
Can I kiss you, and then I'll be gone.
And every time that I tried to tell you
that we'd lost the magic we had at the start,
I would weep my heart when I looked in your eyes
And I searched once again for the spark.
So goodbye, so long, the road calls me dear
And your tears cannot bind me anymore,
And farewell to the girl with the sun in her eyes
Can I kiss you, and then I'll be gone.
Oh you know that there's something calling me dear
and by morning, I'm sure to be gone
For I'm older than you and you know so well
That our time for to love was a song
So goodbye, so long, the road calls me dear
And your tears cannot bind me anymore,
And farewell to the girl with the sun in her eyes
Can I kiss you, and then I'll be gone.
Now I can see by your eyes, it's time now to go
So I'll leave you crying in the rain,
Though I held in my hand, the key to all joy
Honey my heart was not born to be tamed.
And goodbye, so long, the road calls me dear
And your tears cannot bind me anymore,
And farewell to the girl with the sun in her eyes
Can I kiss you, and then I'll be gone.
Can I kiss you, and then I'll be gone.
 
Back in the Good Old World
(gypsy)

When I was a boy, the moon was a pearl the sun a yellow gold.
But when I was a man, the wind blew cold the hills were upside down.
But now that I have gone from here there's no place I'd rather be
than to float my chances on the tide Back in the good old world.
On October's last I'll fly back home rolling down winding way.
Scare crows are all dressed in rags out at the edge of the field I lay
and all I've got's a pocket full of flowers on my grave.
Oh but summer is gone I remember it best
Back in the good old world.
 
On the Other Side of the World
There's a blue eyed girl with a red bow tie
and a string of pearls with one good eye
in a rainy town the chimney smoke will curl
no one likes clowns on the other side of the world
and the children know she'll never let me go.
there's a one legged priest that tangos with the farmers wife
Beauty and the beast is taking her own life
and a tear on a letter back home turns into a lake of your own
and a crow turns into a girl on the other side of the world
and she tastes like the sea and she's waiting for me
in the spring the weeds will show that he brought back the only rose
and he gave it to his girl on the other side of the world.
And I drink champagne from your thin blue veins
She visits his grave wearing her mother's shawl
should I shave or end it all.
There's an old sailor song that the children know
as their fingers curl around the other side of the world
on a bone white mare lost in Kathleen's hair
in the spring the weeds will show that he brought back the only rose
and he gave it to his girl on the other side of the world.
 
Earth Died Screaming
Rudy's on the midway
And Jacob's in the hole
The monkey's on the ladder
The devil shovels coal
With crows as big as airplanes
The lion has three heads
And someone will eat the skin that he sheds
And the earth died screaming
The earth died screaming
While I lay dreaming of you
Well hell doesn't want you
And heaven is full
Bring me some water
Put it in this skull
I walk between the raindrops
Wait in Bug House Square
And the army ants
They leave nothin' but the bones
And the earth died screaming
While I lay dreaming of you
There was thunder
There was lightning
Then the stars went out
And the moon fell from the sky
It rained mackerel
It rained trout
And the great day of wrath has come
And here's mud in your big red eye
The poker's in the fire
And the locusts take the sky
And the earth died screaming
While I lay dreaming of you
Dirt in the Ground
(Tom Waits/K. Brennan)
What does it matter, a dream of love
Or a dream of lies
We're all gonna be in the same place
When we die
Your spirit don't leave knowing
Your face or your name
And the wind through your bones
Is all that remains
And we're all gonna be
We're all gonna be
Just dirt in the ground
The quill from a buzzard
The blood writes the word
I want to know am I the sky
Or a bird
'Cause hell is boiling over
And heaven is full
We're chained to the world
And we all gotta pull
And we're all gonna be
Just dirt in the ground
Now the killer was smiling
With nerves made of stone
He climbed the stairs
And the gallows groaned
And the people's hearts were pounding
They were throbbing, they were red
As he swung out ofver the crowd
I heard the hangman said
We're all gonna be
Just dirt in the ground
Now Cain slew Abel
He killed him with a stone
The sky cracked open
And the thunder groaned
Along a river of flesh
Can these dry bones live?
Ask a king or a beggar
And the answer they'll give
Is we're all gonna be
Yea yeah
We're all gonna be just
Dirt in the ground
Such A Scream
(Tom Waits)
Well pale face said
To the eyeball Kid
She just goes clank and boom and steam
A halo, wings, horns and a tail
Shoveling coal inside my dreams
There are no laws
She's made of cream
She's such a scream
Qui bon tres bien, nails in cement
A Donnie gal from mortal clay
The plow is red
The well is full inside
The dollhouse of her skull
A cheetah coat fills up with steam
She's such a scream
All crooked lines
Her fireplace
A milktrain so clean
Machine gun haste
You'll ride the only wall of shame
And drag that chain across the state
Her lips are red
She is the queen
She's such a scream
All Stripped Down
(Tom Waits)
Well the time will come
When the wind will shout
All stripped down
All stripped down
And all the sinners know
What I'm talking about
All stripped down
All stripped down
When all the creatures of the world
Are gonna line up at the gate
And you better be on time
And you better not be late
All stripped
All stripped down
Well you know in your heart
What you gotta bring
All stripped down
All stripped down
No big mink coat
No diamond ring
All stripped down
All stripped down
Well take off your paint
Take off your rouge
All stripped down
All stripped down
Let your backbone flip
ANd let your spirit shine through
I want you all stripped
All stripped
All stripped down
All the men we got
Well they're goin' down the drain
All stripped down
All stripped down
And when I see your sadness
On a river of shame
All stripped down
All stripped down
You got to raise up
Bot the quick and the dead
All stripped down
All stripped down
With no shoes on your feet
No hat on your head
I want you all stripped down
All stripped
All stripped down
Ain't nothin' in my heart
But fire for you
All stripped down
All stripped down
With my rainy hammer
And a heart that's true
I want you all stripped
All stripped
All stripped down
Who Are You
(Tom Waits/K. Brennan)
They're lining up
To mad dog your tilta whirl
3 shots for a dollar
Win a real live doll
All the lies that you tell
I believed them so well. Take them back
Take them back to your red house
For that fearful leap into the dark
I did my time
In the jail of your arms
Now Ophelia wants to know
Where she should turn
Tell me...what did you do
What did you do the last time?
Why don't you do that
Go on ahead and take this the wrong way
Time's not your friend
Do you cry. Do you pray
Do you wish them away
Do you still leave nothing
But bones in the way
Did you bury the carnival
Lions and all
Excuse me while I sharpen my nails
And just who are you this time?
You look rather tired
(Who drinks from your shoe)
Are you pretending to love
Well I hear that it pays well
How do your pistol and your Bible and your
Sleeping pills go?
Are you still jumping out of windows in expensive clothes?
Well I fell in love
With your sailor's mouth and your wounded eyes
You better get down on the floor
Don't you know this is war
Tell me who are you this time?
Tell me who are you this time?
The Ocean Doesn't Want Me
(Tom Waits)
The ocean doesn't want me today
But I'll be back tomorrow to play
And the strangles will take me
Down deep in their brine
The mischievous braingels
Down into the endless blue wine
I'll open my head and let out
All of my time
I'd love to go drowning
And to stay and to stay
But the ocean doesn't want me today
I'll go in up to here
It can't possibly hurt
All they will find is my beer
And my shirt
A rip tide is raging
And the life guard is away
But the ocean doesn't want me today
The ocean doesn't want me today
Jesus Gonna Be Here
(Tom Waits)
Well, Jesus will be here
Be here soon
he's gonna cover us up with leaves
With a blanket from the moon
With a promise and a vow
And a lullaby for my brow
Jesus gonna be here
Be here soon
Well I'm just gonna wait here
I don't have to shout
I have no reason and
I have no doubt
I'm gonna get myself
Unfurled from this mortal coiled up world
Because Jesus gonna be here
Be here soon
I got to keep my eyes open
So I can see my Lord
I'm gonna watch the horizon
For a brand new Ford
I can hear him rolling on down the lane
I said Hollywood be thy name
Jesus gonna be
Gonna be here soon
Well I've been faithful
And I've been so good
Except for drinking
But he new that I would
I'm gonna leave this place better
Than the way I found it was
And Jesus gonna be here
Be here soon
A Little Rain
(Tom Waits/K. Brennan)
The Ice Man's mule is parked
Outside the bar
Where a man with missing fingers
Plays a strange guitar
And the German dwarf
Dances with the butcher's son
And a little rain never hurt no one
And a little rain never hurt no one
They're dancing on the roof
And the ceiling's coming down
I sleep with my shovel and my leather gloves
A little trouble makes it worth the going
And a little rain never hurt no one
The world is round
And so I'll go around
You must risk something that matters
My hands are strong
I'll take any man here
If it's worth the going
It's worth the ride
She was 15 years old
And never seen the ocean
She climbed into a van
With a vagabond
And the last thing she said
Was, "I love you mom."
And a little rain
Never hurt no one
And a little rain
Never hurt no one
In the Colosseum
(Tom Waits/K. Brennan)
The women all control their men
With razors and with wrists
And the princess squeezes grape juice
On a torrid bloody kiss
What will you be wearing there
The lion or the raven hair?
The flesh will all be tearing
But the tail will be my own
In the colosseum tonight
This one's for the balcony
And this one's for the floor
As the senators decapitate
The presidential whore
The bald headed senators
Are splashing in the blood
The dogs are having someone
WHo is screaming in the mud
In the colosseum tonight
Now it's raining and it's pouring
On the pillaging and goring
The constable is swinging
From the chains
For the dead there is no story
No memory no blame
Their families shout blue murder
But tomorrow it's the same
In the colosseum
A slowly acting poison
Will be given to the favorite one
THe dark horse will bring glory
To the jailer and his men
It's always much more sporting
When there's families in the pit
And the madness of the crowd
Is an epileptic fit
In the colosseum
No justice here, no liberty
No reason, no blame
There's no cause to taint the sweetest taste of blood
And greetings from the nation
As we shake the hands of time
They're taking their ovations
The vultures stay behind
In the colosseum, in the colosseum
In the colosseum tonight
Goin' Out West
(Tom Waits/K. Brennan)
Well I'm goin' out west
Where the wind blows tall
'Cause Tony Franciosa
Used to date my ma
They got some money out there
They're giving it away
I'm gonna do what I want
Do what I want
And I'm gonna get paid
Little brown sausages
Lying in the sand
I ain't no extra baby
I'm a leading man
Well my parole officer
WIll be proud of me
With my Olds 88
And the devil on a leash
My Olds 88
And the devil on a leash
Well I know karate, Voodoo too
I'm gonna make myself available to you
I don't need no make up
I got real scars
I got hair on my chest
I look good without a shirt
Well I don't lose my composure
In a high speed chase
Well my friends think I'm ugly
I got a masculine face
I got some dragstrip courage
I can really drive a bed
I'm gonna change my name
To Hannibal or maybe
Just Rex
Change my name to Hannibal
Or maybe just Rex
I'm gonna drive all night
Take some speed
I'm gonna wait for the sun
To shine down on me
I cut a hole in my roof
In the shape of a heart
And I'm goin' out west
Where they'll appreciate me
Goin' out west
Goin' out west
Murder in the Red Barn
(Tom Waits/K. Brennan)
There was a murder in the red barn
Murder in the red barn
The trees are bending over
The cows are lying down
The autumn's taking over
You can hear the buckshot hounds
The watchman said to Reba the loon
Was it pale at Manzanita
Or Blind Bob the raccoon?
Pin it on a drifter
They sleep beneath the bridge
One plays the violin
And sleeps inside a fridge
There was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
Someone's crying in the woods
Someone's burying all his clothes
Now Slam the Crank from Wheezer
Slept outside last night and froze
Road kill has its seasons
Just like anything
It's possums in the autumn
And it's farm cats in the spring
There was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
Now thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house
Or covet thy neighbor's wife
But for some
Murder is the only door thru which they enter life
Now they surrounded the house
They smoke him out
They took him off in chains
The sky turned black and bruised
And we had months of heavy rains
Now the raven's nest in the rotted roof
Of Chenoweth's old place
And no one's asking Cal
About that scar upon his face
'Cause there's nothin' strange
About an axe with bloodstains in the barn
There's always some killin'
You got to do around the farm
A murder in the red barn
Murder in the red barn
Now the woods will never tell
What sleeps beneath the trees
Or what's buried 'neath a rock
Or hiding in the leaves
'Cause road kill has it's seasons
Just like anything
It's possums in the autumn
And it's farm cats in the spring
A murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
Now a lady can't do nothin'
Without folks' tongues waggin'
Is this blood on the tree
Or is it autumn's red blaze
When the ground's soft for diggin'
ANd the rain will bring all this gloom
There's nothing wrong with a lady
Drinking alone in her room
But there was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
Black Wings
(Tom Waits/K. Brennan)
Take an eye for an eye
Take a tooth for a tooth
Just like they say in the Bible
Never leave a trace or forget a face
Of any man at the table
When the moon is a cold chiseled dagger
Sharp enough to draw blood from a stone
He rides through your dreams on a coach
And horses and the fence posts
In the midnight look like bones
Well they've stopped trying to hold him
With mortar, stone and chain
He broke out of every prison
Boots mount the staircase
The door is flung back open
He's not there for he has risen
He's not there for he has risen
Well he once killed a man with a guitar string
He's been seen at the table with kings
Well he once saved a baby from drowning
There are those who say beneath his coat there are wings
Some say they fear him
Others admire him
Because he steals his promise
One look in his eye
Everyone denies
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
He can turn himself into a stranger
Well they broke a lot of canes on his hide
he was born away in a cornfield
A fever beats in his head like a drum inside
Some say they fear him
Others admire him
Because he steals his promise
One look in his eye
Everyone denies
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
Whistle Down the Wind
(Tom Waits)
I've grown up here now
All of my life
But I dreamed
Someday I'd go
Where blue eyed girls
And red guitars and
Naked rivers flow
I'm not all I thought I'd be
I always stayed around
I've been as far as Mercy and Grand
Frozen to the ground
I can't stay here and I'm scared to leave
(Just kiss me once and then)
I'll go to hell
I might as well
Be whistlin' down the wind
The bus at the corner
The clock's on the wall
Broken windmill
There's no wind at all
I've yelled and I cursed
If i stay here I'll rust
I'm stuck like a shipwreck
Out here in the dust
Sky is red
And there world's on fire
And the corn is taller than me
The dog is tied
To a wagon of rain
And the road is as wet as the sea
And sometimes the music from a dance
Will carry across the plains
And the places that I'm dreaming of
Do they dream only of me?
There are places where they never sleep
And the circus never ends
So I will take the Marley Bone Coach
And whistle down the wind
I Don't Wanna Grow Up
(Tom Waits/K. Brennan)
When I'm lyin' in my bed at night
I don't wanna grow up
Nothin' ever seems to turn out right
I don't wanna grow up
How do you move in a world of fog
That's always changing things
Makes me wish that I could be a dog
When I see the price that you pay
I don't wanna grow up
I don't ever wanna be that way
I don't wanna grow up
Seems like folks turn into things
That they'd never want
The only thing to live for
Is today...
I'm gonna put a hole in my TV set
I don't wanna grow up
Open up the medicine chest
And I don't wanna grow up
I don't wanna have to shout it out
I don't want my hair to fall out
I don't wanna be filled with doubt
I don't wanna be a good boy scout
I don't wanna have to learn to count
I don't wanna have the biggest amount
I don't wanna grow up
Well when I see my parents fight
I don't wanna grow up
They all go out and drinking all night
And I don't wanna grow up
I'd rather stay here in my room
Nothin' out there but sad and gloom
I don't wanna live in a big old Tomb
On Grand Street
When I see the 5 o'clock news
I don't wanna grow up
Comb their hair and shine their shoes
I don't wanna grow up
Stay around in my old hometown
I don't wanna put no money down
I don't wanna get me a big old loan
Work them fingers to the bone
I don't wanna float a broom
Fall in love and get married then boom
How the hell did I get here so soon
I don't wanna grow up
Let Me Get Up On It
(Tom Waits)
C'mon let me get up on it
That Feel
(Keith Richards/Tom Waits)
Well there's one thing you can't lose
It's that feel
Your pants, your shirt, your shoes
But not that feel
You can throw it out in the rain
You can whip it like a dog
You can chop it down like an old dead tree
You can always see it
When you're coming into town
Once you hang it on the wall
You can never take it down
But there's one thing you can't lose
And it's that feel
You can pawn your watch and chain
But not that feel
It always comes and finds you
It will always hear you cry
I cross my wooden leg
And I swear on my glass eye
It will never leave you high and dry
Never leave you loose
It's harder to get rid of than tattoos
But there's one thing you can't do
Is lose that feel
You can throw it off a bridge
You can lose it in the fire
You can leave it at the altar
But it will make you out a liar
You can fall down in the street
You can leave it in the lurch
Well you say that it's gospel
But I know that it's only church
And there's one thing you can't lose
And it's that feel
It's that feel
 
 
 
 
 
Lucky Day Overture
Ladies and gentlemen
Harry's Harbour Bizarre is proud to present
Under the Big Top tonight
Human Oddities
That's right
You'll see the Three Headed Baby
You'll see Hitler's brain
See Lea Graff the German midget who sat in J.F. Morgan's lap
You'll see Priscilla Bajano
The monkey woman
Jo Jo the dog face boy
I'm Milton Malone, the human skeleton
See Grace McDaniel's
The mule faced woman
And she's the homeliest woman in the world
Under the Big Top tonight
Never before seen
And if you have a heart condition, please be warned
Don't forget to visit our snack bar at Charleston Grotto
All sales are final
Void where prohibited by law
You'll see Sealo the seal boy who has flippers for arms
You'll see Johnny Eck, the man born without a body
He walks on his hands
He has his own orchestra and is an excellent pianist
See Gerd Bessler, the human pincusion
And don't forget, it's ladies' night at Harvy's Harbour Bizarre
You'll see Ko Ko the bird girl
Mortando, the human fountain
Step a little
A little closer ladies and gentlemen and don't be shy
Dig deep in your pockets
You'll see Radion, the human torso
Deep from the jungles of Africa
Ladies and gentlemen, Harry's Harbour Bizarre
Ladies and gentlemen
 
The Black Rider
Come on along with the Black Rider
We'll have a gay old time
Lay down in the web of the black spider
I'll drink your blood like wine
So come on in
It ain't no sin
Take off your skin
And dance around your bones
So come along with the Black Rider
We'll have a gay old time
Anchors away with the Black Rider
I'll drink your blood like wine
I'll drop you off in Harlem with the Black Rider
Out where the bullets shine
And when you're done
You cock your gun
The blood will run
Like ribbons in your hair
So come along wit hthe Black Rider
We'll have a gay old time
Come on along with the Black Rider
I've got just the thing for thee
Come on along with the Black Rider
I want your company
I'll have the veal
A lovely meal
That's how I feel
May I use your skull for a bowl
Come on along with the Black Rider
We'll have a gay old time
 
November
No shadow
No stars
No moon
No care
November
It only believes
In a pile of dead leaves
And a moon
That's the color of bone
No prayers for November
To linger longer
Stick your spoon in the wall
We'll slaughter them all
November has tied me
To an old dead tree
Get word to April
To rescue me
November's cold chain
Made of wet boots and rain
And shiny black ravens
On chimney smoke lanes
November seems odd
You're my firing squad
November
With my hair slicked back
With carrion shellac
With the blood from a pheasant
And the bone from a hare
Tied to the branches
Of a roebuck stag
Left to wave in the timber
Like a buck shot flag
Go away you rainsnout
Go away, blow your brains out
November
Just the Right Bullets
There is a light in the forest
There is a face in the tree
I'll pull you out of the chorus
And the first one's always free
You can never go hunting
With just a flintlock and a hound
You won't go home with a bunting
If you blow a hundred rounds
It takes much more than wild courage
Or you'll hit just the tattered clouds
You must have just the right bullets
And the first one's always free
You must be careful in the forest
Broken glass and rusty nails
If you're to bring back something for us
I have bullets for sale
Why be a fool when you can chase away
Your blind and your gloom
I have blessed each one of these bullets
And they shine just like a spoon
To have sixty silver wishes
Is a small price to pay
They'll be your private little fishes
And they'll never swim away
I just want you to be happy
That's my only wish
I'll fix your wagon and your musket
And the spoon will have his dish
And I shudder at the thought of your
Poor empty hunter's pouch
So I'll keep the wind from your barrel
And bless the roof of your house
Black Box Theme
[Instrumental]
T'ain't No Sin
(Walter Donaldson/Edgar Leslie)
When you hear sweet syncopation
And the music softly moans
T'ain't no sin to take off your skin
And dance around in your bones
When it gets too hot for comfot
And you can't get an ice cream cone
T'ain't no sin to take off your skin
And dance around your bones
Just like those bamboo babies
Down in the South Sea tropic zone
T'ain't no sin to take off your skin
And dance around your bones
Flash Pan Hunter/Intro
[Instrumental]
That's the Way
 
(Tom Waits/William Burroughs)
That's the way the stomach rumbles
That's the way the bee bumbles
That's the way the needle pricks
That's the way the glue sticks
That's the way the potato mashes
That's the way the pan flashes
That's the way the market crashes
That's the way the whip lashes
That's the way the teeth knashes
That's the way the gravy stains
That's the way the moon wanes
The Briar and the Rose
I fell asleep down by the stream
And there I had the strangest dream
And down by Brennan's Glenn there grows
A briar and a rose
There's a tree in the forest
But I don't know where
I built a nest out of your hair
And climbing up into the air
A briar and a rose
I don't know how long it has been
But I was born in Brennan's Glenn
And near the end of spring there grows
A briar and a rose
Picked the rose one early morn
I pricked my finger on a thorn
It had grown so high
It's winding wove the briar around the rose
I tried to tear them both apart
I felt a bullet in my heart
And all dressed up in springs and clothes
The briar and the rose
And when I'm buried in my grave
Tell me so I will know
Your tears will fall
To make love grow
The briar and the rose
Russian Dance
[Instrumental]
Gospel Train/Orchestra
[Instrumental]
I'll Shoot the Moon
I'll shoot the moon
Right out of the sky
For you baby
I'll be the pennies
On your eyes
For you baby
I want to take you
Out to the fair
Here's a red rose
Ribbon for your hair
I'll shoot the moon
Right out of the sky
For you baby
I'll shoot the moon
For you
A vulture circles
Over your head
For you baby
I'll be the flowers
After you're dead
For you baby
I want to build
A nest in your hair
I want to kiss you
And never be there
I'll shoot the moon
Right out of the sky
For you baby
I'll shoot the moon
For you
Flash Pan Hunter
 
(Tom Waits/William Burroughs)
The flash pan hunter sways with the wind
His rifle is the sound of the morning
Each sulfurous bullet way have it's own wit
Each cartridge comes with a warning
Beware of elaborate telescopic meats
They will find their way back to the forest
CHORUS
For Wilhelm can't wait
To be Peg Leg's crown
As the briar is strangling
The rose back down
His back shall be my slender new branch
It will sway and bend in the breeze
As the devil does his polka
Wit ha hatchet in his hand
As a sniper in the branches of the trees
As the vulture flutters down
As the snake sheds his dove
Wilhelm's cutting off his fingers
So they'll fit into his glove
Crossroads
 
(Tom Waits/William Burroughs)
Now, George was a good straight boy to begin with, but there was bad
blood
In him; someway he got into the magic bullets and that leads straight to
Devil's work, just like marijuana leads to heroin; you think yo ucan take
Them bullets or leave 'em, do you?
Just save a few for your bad days
Well, now, we all have those bad days when you can't shoot for shit.
The more of them magics you use, the more bad days you have without
them
So it comes down finally to all your days being bad without the bullets
It's magics or nothing
Time to stop chippying around and kidding yourself,
Kid, you're hooked, heavy as lead
And that's where old George found himself
Out there at the crossroads
Molding the Devil's bullets
Now a man figures it's his bullets, so it will
Hit what he wants to hit
But it don't always work that way
You see, some bullets is special for a single aim
A certain stag, or a certain person
And no matter where you are, that's where the bullet will end up
And in the moment of aiming, the gun turns into a dowser's wand
And point where the bullet wants to go
(George Schmid was moving in a series of convulsive spasms, like
someone
with an epileptic fit, with his face distorted and his eyes wild like a
lassoed horse bracing his legs. But something kept pulling him on. And
now
he is picking up the skulls and making the circle.)
I guess old George didn't rightly know what he's getting himself into
The fit was on him and it carried him right to the crossroads
Gospel Train
Come on people
Got to get on board
Train is leavin'
And there's room for one more
God, don't listen to the devil
He got ways to move you
This train don't carry no smokers
This train...
Well, come on people
'Cause it's startin' to rain
Get on board, it's the gospel train
Don't listen to the devil
Don't listen to the devil
Satan will fool you
Satan will fool you
I said Satan will fool you
Well, this train don't carry no smokers
This train
This train
Wooo
Wooo
Come on people: get on board
Train is leavin'
ANd there's room for one more
Just trust in the Lord
Wooo
Woooo
Woooo
Listen to me
Come on people
'Cause it's starting to rain
Get on board
Ride the gospel train
Don't listen to the devil
He got ways to move you
Interlude
 
(Greg Cohen)
[Instrumental]
 
Oily Night
Oily night (repeated)
Lucky Day
The prettiest girl
In all the world
Is in a little Spanish town
But I left her for a Bonnie lass
And I told her
I'd see her around
But that Bonnie lass
And her heart of glass
Would not hold a candle
To bumming around
So don't cry for me
For I'm going away
And I'll be back some lucky day
Tell the boys back home
I'm doing just fine
I left my troubles and woe
So sing about me
For I can't come home
I've many more miles to go
Why, there's Miss Kelsey
You taught dance at our school
And old Johnny O'Toole
I'll still beat you at pool
So don't cry for me
For I'm going away
And I'll be back some lucky day
Now when I was a boy
My daddy sat me on his knee
And he told me
He told me many things
And he said sone
There's a lot of things in this world
You're gonna have no use for
ANd when you get blue
And you've lost all your dreams
There's nothin' like a campfire
And a can of beans
Why, there's Miss Kelsey
She taught dance at our school
And old Johnny O'Toole
I'll still beat you at pool
So don't cry for me
For I'm going away
And I'll be back some lucky day
The Last Rose of Summer
I love the way
The tattered clouds
Go wind across the sky
As summer goes
And leave me
With a tear in my eye
I'm taking out my winter clothes
My garden knows what's wrong
The petals of my favorite rose
Be in the shadows dark and long
Through every year
It's very clear
I should be used
To carrying on
But I can't be found
In the garden
Singing this song
When the last
Rose of summer is gone
Carnival
[Instrumental]