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Im a soldier... soldier...
We’ve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
We’ve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
We’ve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
We’ve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
Rise up, shepherd, rise up
Your flock has roamed far from the hill
The stars have faded, the sky is still
The angels are shouting “Glory hallelujah”
We’ve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
We’ve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
Forty days and nights of rain washed this land
Jesus said the money changers in this temple will not stand
Find your flock, get them to higher ground
The floodwater’s rising, we’re Canaan bound
We’ve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
We’ve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
Tend to your flock or they will stray
We’ll be called for our service come judgment day
Before we cross that river wide
The blood on our hands will come back on us twice
Rise up, shepherd, rise up
Your flock has roamed far from the hill
Stars have faded the sky is still
Suns in the heavens and a new days rising
Weve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
Weve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
Weve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
Weve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
You use your muscle and your mind and you pray your best
That your best is good enough, the Lord will do the rest
You raise your children and you teach them to walk straight and sure
You pray that hard times, hard times come no more
You try to sleep, you toss and turn, the bottom’s dropping out
Where you once had faith, now there’s only doubt
You pray for guidance, only silence now meets your prayers
The morning breaks, you awake, but no one’s there
No ones there....
Theres a new day coming
Im a soldier
Oh, a new days coming
Im a soldier
Oh, a new days coming
Im a soldier
Theres a new day coming
Weve been traveling over
Rocky ground, rocky ground
Weve been traveling over
Rocky ground, rocky ground
Weve been traveling over
Rocky ground, rocky ground
Weve been traveling over
Rocky ground, rocky ground
Weve been traveling over
Rocky ground, rocky ground
Weve been traveling over
Rocky ground, rocky ground
Weve been traveling over
Rocky ground, rocky ground
Weve been traveling over
Rocky ground, rocky ground
We’ve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
We’ve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground
We’ve been traveling over rocky ground, rocky ground |
Theres nothing like being young and leaving someplace. That was a feeling that, oh, I loved. Maybe thats why I became a musician. Um, sleep late, stay up late, and you do an awful lot of leavin. The night I left Freehold for the last time, I laid back on the couch that was perched high atop a load of the bands junk furniture in the back of an open flatbed truck on a beautiful summer night. I was 19 years old. That felt pretty good. Soft ocean breeze of the shore was reaching all the way inland, and as we drew through town, for the very last time, we were stopped by the police, who informed us that there was a law against moving after dark. What the fuck?
Who the fuck would know that? Dont move your shit after dark? What are we running off: one of Freeholds great antiquities? The sun goes down, theyll bust your ass in Freehold, son. Anyway, they uh, they sent us on our way, glad to be rid of the town hippies I guess, and so I laid back on my couch, and I was watchin the tree branches brush above me and the stars glowing in the night sky, and I remember it felt absolutely wonderful
I had nothin. No parents, theyd moved away with my, little sister Pam, to California in 1969. My sister Virginia, great soul that she is, she got pregnant and had a baby at 18, she left high school, married a competitive bull rider, and they moved into the wilds of southern New Jersey because, thats where the cowboys live. The real joke is that fifty years later, theyre still together and they still go to the rodeo
But I had no money and no family and no realistic future but yet I remember layin on that couch with the summer wind rushin over me, and ya know that salt water smell in the air of the shore comin on, thinkin, I was just happy, I was happy. I got it all, ya know, maybe I did, ya know. Maybe there was nothing like that moment in your life with being young and leaving some place, all that youthful freedom, you feel, finally being untethered from everything youve ever known, the life youve lived, the past, your parents, the world youve gotten used to and that youve loved and hated
Your life laying before you like a blank page. Its the one thing I miss about getting older, I miss the beauty of that blank page, so much life in front of ya. Its promise, its possibilities, its mysteries, its adventures. That blank page, just layin there, daring you to write on it |
You treated me hard and made my heart ache
I know youre only human, and men they make mistakes
Your life with her turned to black
And now you want our love back
Well come into my arms and fall, my lover man
Was it a gypsys curse or a hex sign
Or was it just that simple thing that led you from these arms of mine
Oh yes, Ive had the days
To grow used to your foolish ways
And what is it really, after all, my lover man
I can see the change in your eyes
Theres no need to apologize
We stood at the wishing well
Our dreams like coins into the water fell
The water so cold and black
There was no going back
I dont mean to cause you hurt or cause you pain
Life is short and loves a dirty game
Now theres no need for our game to end
Come close and well begin
To find our beautiful selves again, my lover man
My lover man |
Ol catfish in the lake we called him Big Jim
When I was a kid my only wish was to get my line in him
Skipped church one Sunday rowed out and throwd in my line
Jim took that hook pole and me right over the side
Went driftin down past old tires and rusty cans of beer
The angel of the lake whispered in my ear
Before you choose your wish son
You better think first
With every wish there comes a curse
I fell in love with beautiful Doreen
She was the prettiest thing this old townd ever seen
I courted her and I made her mine
But I grew jealous whenever another mand
Come walkin down the line
And my jealousy made me treat her hard and cruel
She sighed Bobby oh Bobby youre such a fool
Dont you know before you choose your wish
Youd better think first
Cause with every wish there comes a curse
These days I sit around and laugh
At the many rivers Ive crossed
But on the far banks theres always another forest
Where a man can get lost
Well there in the high trees loves bluebird glides
Guiding us cross to another river on the other side
And there someone is waitin with a look in her eyes
And though my hearts grown weary
And more than a little bit shy
Tonight Ill drink from her waters to quench my thirst
And leave the angels to worry
With every wish |
My mom was a different story altogether. I wanna release you from suicide watch right now. Snap out of it, come on. Because my mother was bright, happy, shed merrily make conversation with a broom handle, she believed that there was good faith, good heart, good hope in all citizens. She gave the world a lot more credit perhaps than it deserves, but that was her way. Now on school mornings, I hated school, thats just rockstar 101. If you dont hate school in my business, please keep your fucking day job alright? Because its a sign, its a sign that, brother, youre going nowhere man, nowhere. You need to have hatred in your heart to get to the top where I am, alright? Youve got to hate on, uh - so of course I hated getting up and uh, my mom had perfected this technique in the morning where shed stand over my bed with a glass of ice water and give me 30 seconds, eh you know, Five, four, three, two, boom! Niagara Falls. I would get dressed, I would drift downstairs to breakfast where I would feast daily on a huge bowl of sugar pops, a fine product, with just one problem - they dont put enough sugar in those sugar pops. So I wasnt content until I snowed more sugar on my sugar pops until they looked like the Himalayas, and then mmm good, with a buzz on, and a kiss from my mom, I was off, with my sister, lumbering up the street with our book bags, as my moms high heels clicked lightly in the other direction toward Lawyers Title Insurance Company in town center, she was a legal secretary. That was a job she did since the day she got out of high school, fifty years to follow. Goes to work, doesnt miss a day, never sick, never down, never complains, work doesnt appear to be a burden for her but its a source of energy and of social pleasure. Now, some evenings I would meet my mother at closing time and we would be the last to leave the office and this was always a great privilege to me. I would have my mother all to myself, and with the building empty, her high heels would echo down the long linoleum hallway, and with the fluorescent lights out, lawyers cubicles empty, secretaries; desks empty, typewriters covered, silent, the building was so still, after all the noise of the day ya know it was so, it got so quiet, it was as if - it, it was as if the building itself was resting after a long day of service in the interest of our town. And then suddenly wed be through the front door and out on Main Street in five oclock rush hour and she would stride along, statuesque, and, Id be runnin alongside her just, trying to keep up and I would be, ya know, looking up at her, and uh, its a sight Ive never f-, never forgotten - my mother walking home from work, had some - just some eternal impact on me, ya know uh, she uh, she always had these very ethnic features, she had coal black hair, Italian olive skin, and when she was young she wore that red lipstick, that was very fashionable, in the 50s. And shed be looking down at me with a look that for me, was like the grace of Mary, Made me understand for the first time how good it feels, feel pride in somebody that you love, and who loves you back, ya know. She let the town know that we are handsome, responsible members of this shit dog bird, pullin our own individual weight doin what has to be done day after day, we have a place here that we have earned, and we have a reason to open our eyes at the break of each day and breathe in a life thats steady and good. My mom was truthfulness, consistency, good humor, professionalism, grace, kindness, optimism, civility, fairness, pride in yourself, responsibility, love, faith in your family, commitment, joy your work, and a never-say-die thirst for living - for living. For living and for life. And most importantly, for dancing. My mother and her two sisters were dancing machines, alright. They grew up in the 40s with the big bands and the swing bands, and they, and they learned the jitterbug, and, and uh, it was in their bones, ya know, uh, my mom is seven years into Alzheimers. And shes 93. But dancing, and the desire and need to dance is something that, it hasnt left her. Remains an essential primal part of who she is, its beyond language, its more powerful than memory, and when she comes in the door, we make sure theres music on. She wants to dance, ya know. These things were the embodiment of my mother, they were her heart, she carried on and she carries on as if they never, never deserted her |
I had a friend was a big baseball player
Back in high school
He could throw that speedball by you
Make you look like a fool boy
Saw him the other night at this roadside bar
I was walking in, he was walking out
We went back inside sat down had a few drinks
But all he kept talking about was
Glory days well theyll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girls eye
Glory days, glory days
Well theres a girl that lives up the block
Back in school she could turn all the boys heads
Sometimes on a Friday Ill stop by
And have a few drinks after she put her kids to bed
Her and her husband Bobby well they split up
I guess its two years gone by now
We just sit around talking about the old times
She says when she feels like crying
She starts laughing thinking about
Glory days well theyll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girls eye
Glory days, glory days
My old man worked 20 years on the line
And they let him go
Now everywhere he goes out looking for work
They just tell him that hes too old
I was 9 nine years old and he was working at the
Metuchen Ford plant assembly line
Now he just sits on a stool down at the legion hall
But I can tell whats on his mind
Glory days yeah goin back
Glory days aw he aint never had
Glory days, glory days
Now I think Im going down to the well tonight
And Im going to drink till I get my fill
And I hope when I get old I dont sit around thinking about it
But I probably will
Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture
A little of the glory of, well time slips away
And leaves you with nothing mister but
Boring stories of glory days
Glory days well theyll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girls eye
Glory days, glory days
Glory days well theyll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girls eye
Glory days, glory days |
Her brains they rattle and her bones they shake
Whoah, shes an angel from the Innerlake
Thundercrack, babys back
This time shell tell me how she really feels
Bring me down to her lightning shack
You can watch my partner reelin
She moves up, she moves back
Out on the floor there just is no one cleaner
She does this thing she calls the Jump back Jack
Shes got the heart of a ballerina
Shes straight from the Bronx
Hung off the line
She slips, she slides, she slops, she bops, she bumps, she grinds
Even them dance hall hacks
From the west side of the tracks
Move in close to catch her timin
She moves up, she moves back
Out on the floor there just is no one cleaner
She does this thing she calls the Jump back Jack
Shes got the heart of a ballerina
She aint no little girl, she aint got no curls
Her hair aint brown, and her eyes aint either
Round and round and round and round
My hearts wood, shes a carpenter
Shes an angel in the night, what she does is alright
Dance with me, partner, dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner, til the dawn
Thundercrack, babys back
This time shell tell me how she really feels
Bring me down to her lightning shack
You can watch my partner reelin
She moves up, she moves back
Out on the floor there just is no one cleaner
She does this thing she calls the Jump back Jack
Shes got the heart of a ballerina
She aint no little girl, she aint got no curls
Her hair aint brown, and her eyes aint either
Round and round and round and round
My hearts wood, shes a carpenter
Shes an angel in the night, what she does is alright
Dance with me, partner, dance with me, partner
Dance with me, partner, all night |
Well its Saturday night
Youre all dressed up in blue
I been watching you awhile
Maybe you been watching me too
So somebody ran out
Left somebodys heart in a mess
Well, if youre looking for love
Honey, Im tougher than the rest
Some girls they want a handsome Dan
Or some good-lookin Joe, on their arm
Some girls like a sweet-talkin Romeo
Well, round here, baby
I learned you get what you can get
So if youre rough enough for love
Honey, Im tougher than the rest
The road is dark
And its a thin thin line
But I want you to know Ill walk it for you any time
Maybe your other boyfriends
Couldnt pass the test
Well, if youre rough and ready for love
Honey, Im tougher than the rest
Well, it aint no secret
Ive been around a time or two
Well, I dont know, baby
Maybe youve been around too
Well, theres another dance
All you gotta do is say yes
And if youre rough and ready for love
Honey, Im tougher than the rest
If youre rough enough for love
Baby, Im tougher than the rest |
Remember the morning we dug up your gun
The worms in the barrel, the hanging sun
Those first nervous evenings of perfume and gin
The lost smell on your breath as I helped you get it in
The rush of your lips, the feel of your name
The beat in your heart, the devils arcade
You said, Heroes are needed, so heroes get made
Somebody made a bet, somebody paid
The cool desert morning and nothing to save
Just metal and plastic where your body caved
The slow games of poker with Lieutenant Ray
In the ward with the blue walls, a sea with no name
Where you lie adrift with the heroes of the devils arcade
You sleep and you dream, your buddies Charlie and James
And wake with a thick desert dust on your skin
Voice says, Dont worry, Im here
Just whisper the word tomorrow in my ear
House on a quiet street, a home for the brave
A glorious kingdom with the sun on your face
Rising from a long night as dark as the grave
On a thin chain of next moments and something like faith
On a morning to order, a breakfast to make
A bed draped in sunshine, a body that waits
For the touch of your fingers, the end of the day
The beat of your heart
The beat of your heart
The beat of your heart
The beat of your heart
The beat of your heart
The beat of your heart
The beat of your heart
The slow burning away
Of the bitter fires of the devils arcade |
All over the world the rain was pourin
I was scratchin where it itched
Oh heartbreak and despair got nothing but boring
So I grabbed you baby like a wild pitch
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
In your heart you must trust
Now your legs were heaven your breasts were the altar
Your body was the holy land
You shouted jump but my heart faltered
You laughted and said Baby dont you understand ?
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
In your heart you must trust
Now you were the Red Sea I was Moses
I kissed you and slipped into a bed of roses
The waters parted and love rushed inside
I was Jesus son sanctified
Tonight the moons looking young but Im feelin younger
Neath a veil of dreams sweet blessings rain
Honey I can feel the first breeze of summer
And in your love Im born again
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
In your heart you must trust |
Well you can go out with him
Play with all of his toys
But takin care of you darlin
Aint for one of the boys
Oh theres somethin in your soul
That hes gonna rob
And lovin you baby lovin you darlin
Lovin you woman is a mans mans job
Lovin yous a mans job baby
Lovin yous a mans job
Lovin yous a mans job baby
Lovin yous a mans job
Well now his kisses may thrill
Those other girls that he likes
But when it comes to treatin
A real woman right
Well all of his tricks
No they wont be enough
Cause lovin you baby lovin you woman
Lovin you darlin is a mans mans job
Lovin yous a mans job baby
Lovin yous a mans job
Lovin yous a mans job baby
Lovin yous a mans job
Youre dancin with him hes holding you tight
Im standing here waitin to catch your eye
Your hands on his neck as the music sways
All my illusions slip away
Now if youre lookin for a hero
Someone to save the day
Well darlin my feet
Theyre made of clay
But Ive got somethin in my soul
And I wanna give it up
But gettin up the nerve
Gettin up the nerve
Gettin up the nerve is a mans mans job
Lovin yous a mans job baby
Lovin yous a mans job
Lovin yous a mans job woman
Lovin yous a mans job |
Well, its Saturday night
Youre all dressed up in blue
I been watching you awhile
Maybe you been watching me too
So somebody ran out
Left somebodys heart in a mess
Well, if youre looking for love
Honey, Im tougher than the rest
Some girls, they want a handsome Dan
Or some good-lookin Joe
On their arm some girls like a sweet-talkin Romeo
Well, round here, baby
I learned you get what you can get
So if youre rough enough for love
Honey, Im tougher than the rest
Well, the road is dark
Its a thin thin line
But I want you to know Ill walk it for you any time
Maybe your other men
Couldnt pass the test
If youre rough and ready for love
Honey, Im tougher than the rest
Yeah, the road is dark
Its a thin thin line
But I want you to know Ill walk it for you any time
Maybe your other men
Couldnt pass the test
If youre rough and ready for love
Honey, Im tougher than the rest
Well, it aint no secret
Ive been around a time or two
Well, I dont know baby, maybe youve been around too
Well, theres another dance
All you gotta do is say yes
And if youre rough and ready for love
Honey, Im tougher than the rest
If youre rough enough for love
Baby, Im tougher than the rest |
Well its Saturday night
Youre all dressed up in blue
Ive been watching you awhile
Maybe youve been watching me too
And so somebody ran out
Left somebodys heart in a mess
Well, if youre looking for love
Honey, Im tougher than the rest
Some girls they want a handsome Dan
Or some good-lookin Joe
On their arm some girls want a sweet-talkin Romeo
But, around here, baby
Ive learned you get what you can get
So if youre looking for love
Honey, Im tougher than the rest
Oh, your road is dark
And its a thin, thin line
But I want you to know
Id walk it for you anytime
And all your other boyfriends
They couldnt pass the test
So if youre looking for love
Honey, Im tougher than the rest
Well, it aint no secret
Ive been around a time or two
Well, I dont know but maybe
Youve been around too
Well, theres another dance
All you gotta do is say yes
And if youre looking for love
Honey, Im tougher than the rest
And if youre ready for love
Honey Im tougher than the rest |
My sister and I, wed pick up the thrown rice from the weddings, pack it away in small brown paper bags and take it home and save it. Then run up the street and throw it at the next wedding, and the next wedding, and the next wedding. We also had front row seats to watch the townsmen in their Sunday suits carry out an endless array of dark wooden boxes to be slipped into the rear of the Freemans Funeral Home long black Cadillac for the short ride to Saint Rose Cemetery Hill on the edge of town. And there, all our Catholic neighbors, all the Zirillis, all the McNicholass, all the Springsteens who came before, they patiently waited for us. On Sundays, as my mom tended to our graves, my sister and I, we played hide and seek amongst the gravestones. I gotcha. Now when it rains in Freehold, when it rains, the moisture in the humid air blankets the whole town with the smell of moist coffee grounds wafting in from the Nescafe plant from towns eastern edge. Now I dont like coffee. But I love that smell. Was comforting, it united our town, just like our clanging rug mill, and a calm and sensory experience. There was a place here. You could see it. You could smell it. A place where people made lives, and where they worked, and where they danced, and where they enjoyed small pleasures and played baseball and, and suffered pain, where they had their hearts broke, where they made love, had kids, where they died, and drank themselves drunk on spring nights, and where they did their very best, the best that they could, to hold off the demons outside and inside that sought to destroy them, and their homes and their families, and their town. Here we lived in the shadow of the steeple crookedly blessed in Gods good mercy one and all. In the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, race-rioting, freak-hating, soul-shaking, redneck, love and fear-making, heartbreaking town, of Freehold, New Jersey |
Been on a barbed wire highway 40 days and nights
I aint complaining, its my job and it suits me right
I got a sweet soft fever rushing around my head
Im gonna sleep tonight in Marias bed
Got on a dead mans suit and a smiling skull ring
Lucky graveyard boots and a song to sing
I keep my heart in my work, my troubles in my head
And I keep my soul in Marias bed
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
I been up on sugar mountain, cross the sweet blue sea
I walked the valley of love and tears and mystery
I got run outa luck and gave myself up for dead
And I drank the cool clear waters from Marias bed
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
She gave me candy stick kisses neath a wolf-dog moon
One sweet breath and shell take you, mister, to the upper room
I was burned by the angels, sold wings of lead
Then I fell in the roses and sweet salvation of Marias bed
I been out in the desert, yeah, doing my time
Sifting through the dust for fools gold, looking for a sign
Holy man said Hold on, brother, theres a light up ahead
Aint nothing like a light that shines on me in Marias bed
Well Ill take my blessings at the riverhead
Im living in the light of Marias bed
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey |
Dont you know that I danced, I danced till a quarter to three
With the help, last night, of Daddy G
He was swingin on the sax like a nobody could
And I was dancin all over the room
Oh, dont you know the people were dancin like they were mad
It was the swinginest band they had, ever had
It was the swinginest song that could ever be
It was a night with Daddy G
Let me tell you now
I never had it so good
Yeah and I know you never could
Until you get hip with that jive
And take a band like the Church Street Five
Oh dont you know that I danced
I danced till a quarter to three
With the help last night of Daddy G
Everybody was as happy as they could be
And they were swingin with Daddy G
Blow Daddy!
Let me tell you now
I never had it so good
Yeah and I know you never could
Until you get hip with that jive
And take a band like the Church Street Five
Oh dont you know that I danced
I danced till a quarter to three
With the help last night of Daddy G
He was swingin on the sax like a nobody could
And I was dancin all over the room
Oh dont you know the
Dance, do bee wa dah
Dance, do bee wah dah
You can dance, do bee wah dah
You can dance, dance, dance |
Theres a wonderful world where all you desire
And everything youve longed for is at your fingertips
Where the bittersweet taste of life is at your lips
Where aisles and aisles of dreams await you
And the cool promise of ecstasy fills the air
At the end of each working day shes waiting there
Im in love with the Queen of the Supermarket
As the evening sky turns blue
A dream awaits in aisle number two
With my shopping cart I move through the heart
Of a sea of fools so blissfully unaware
That theyre in the presence of something wonderful and rare
The way she moves behind the counter
Beneath her white apron her secret remains hers
As she bags the groceries her eyes so bored
And sure shes unobserved
Im in love with the Queen of the Supermarket
Theres nothing I can say
Each night I take my groceries and I drift away
And I drift away
Guidance from the gods above
At night I pray for the strength to tell her
When I love I love I love I love her so
Take my place in the check-out line
For one moment her eyes meet mine
Im lifted up, lifted up, lifted up, lifted up
Im in love with the Queen of the Supermarket
Though her company cap covers her hair
Nothing can hide the beauty waiting there
The beauty waiting there
Im in love with the Queen of the Supermarket
Im in love with the Queen of the Supermarket
As I lift my groceries in to my car
I turn back for a moment and catch a smile
That blows this whole fucking place apart
Im in love with the Queen of the Supermarket
Im in love with the Queen of the Supermarket
Im in love with the Queen of the Supermarket
Im in love with the Queen of the Supermarket |
He lay his blanket underneath the freeway
As the evening sky grew dark
Took a sniff of toncho from his coke can
And headed through Balboa Park
Where the men in their Mercedes
Come nightly to employ
In the cool San Diego evening
The services of the border boys
He grew up near the Zona Norte
With the hustlers and smugglers he hung out with
He swallowed their balloons of cocaine
Brought them across to the Twelfth Street strip
Sleeping in a shelter
If the night got too cold
Running from the migra
Of the border patrol
Past the salvage yard across the train tracks
And in through the storm drain
They stretched their blankets out beneath the freeway
And each one took a name
There was X-man and Cochise
Little Spider, his sneakers covered in river mud
They come north to California
End up with the poison in their blood
He did what he had to for the money
Sometimes he sent home what he could spare
The rest went to high-top sneakers and toncho
And jeans like the gavachos wear
One night the border patrol swept Twelfth Street
A big car come fast down the boulevard
Spider stood caught in its headlights
Got hit and went down hard
As the car sped away, Spider held his stomach
Limped to his blanket beneath the underpass
Lie there tasting his own blood on his tongue
Closed his eyes and listened to the cars rushing by so fast |
Early North Jersey industrial skyline
Im an all-set cobra jet creepin through the night time
Gotta find a gas station, gotta find a pay phone
This turnpike sure is spooky at night when youre all alone
Im living on the edge of the world
Tryin to get my girl on the line
Livin on the edge of the world
But I think its just a waste of my time
Some jerk keeps breaking my connection, girl
Cause Im living on the edge of the world
Living on the edge of the world
Radio, radio, hear my tale of heartbreak
New Jersey in the morning like a lunar landscape
Got a counter girl at the Exit 24 HoJo
Down past the refinery towers where the great black river flows
Im living on the edge of the world
Tryin to get back to you, girl
Im living on the edge of the world
Tryin to get a message through
I gotta make a connection, girl
Because Im living on the edge of the world
Living on the edge of the world
Radios jammed with gospel stations
Lost souls callin long distance salvation
Hey mister deejay gotta hear my last prayer
Its a hey ho rock and roll, deliver me from nowhere
Im living on the edge of the world
Tryin to get back to you, girl
Living on the edge of the world
Tryin to get a message through
I gotta make some connection, girl
Because Im living on the edge of the world
Living on the edge...
I gotta make some connection, girl
Because Im living on the edge of the world
Living on the edge of the world
Now my boss dont dig me cause he put me on the night shift
It takes me two hours to get back to where my baby lives
In the wee wee hours my mind gets hazy
Relay towers, wont you lead me to my baby
Neath the overpass the trooper hits his party lights switch
Good night, good luck, one, two, powershift!
Living on the edge of the world... |
Downtown hipsters drinking up the drug line
Down in the kitchen, working in the coal mine
Got a special sin, mister, you cant quite confess
Messy little problem, maybe baby need a new dress
Razor-back diamond you shine too hard
Need a hammer help you handle little trouble in your backyard
Bring it on down to Harrys Place
Bring it on down to Harrys Place
When Harry speaks its Harrys streets, in Harrys house its Harrys rules
You dont want to be around, brother, when Harry schools
Harrys car, Harrys wife, Harrys dogs run Harrys town
Your blood and money spit shines Harrys crown
You dont fuck with Harrys money, you dont fuck Harrys girls
These are the rules, this is the world
When you bring it on down to Harrys Place
Bring it on down to Harrys Place
You need a little shot of something to improve your health
A taste of that one little weakness you allow yourself
Youre looking for the key of that box you locked yourself in
Just step up to the line and be one of Harrys friends
Shithole on the corner, no light, no sign
Nobody on the street except the deaf, dumb, and blind
Mayor Conners on the couch, Father McGowans at the bar
Chief Hortons at the door checking who the fuck you are
Seesaw Bobby dressed in drag and Mr. Nice
Carry me into the back room, dim the lights
My arms strapped to the table, a thousand angels spinning up the room
A voice whispers in my ear, We do what we must do
When we bring it on down to Harrys Place
Bring it on down to Harrys Place
Bring it on down to Harrys Place
Bring it on down to Harrys Place
Nobody knows his number, nobody knows his name
If he didnt exist, itd all go on just the same
Bring it on down to Harrys Place
Bring it on down to Harrys Place
Bring it on down to Harrys Place
Bring it on down to Harrys Place |
We left the toys out in the yard
I took my wife and kids and left my home unguarded
We packed what we could into the car
No one here knows how it started
Suddenly everything was just so out of control
Now I want some answers, mister, I need to know
I hear all the talk but I dont know what youre sayin
But I think I got a good idea of the game that youre playin
Roulette, thats the name
Roulette, thats the game now
Roulette, I dont know what theyre sayin
Roulette, everybodys playin
I grew up here on this street
Where nothin moves, just a strange breeze
In a town full of worthless memories
Theres a shadow in my backyard
Ive got a house full of things that I cant touch
Well all those things wont do me much good now
I was a fireman out at Rikers, I did my job
Mister, Ive been cheated, I feel like Ive been robbed
Im the big expendable, my lifes just canceled null and void
Well what you gonna do about your new boy
Roulette, youre playin with my life
Roulette, with my kids and my wife
Roulette, every day the stakes get bigger
Roulette, a different finger on the trigger
Down by the river that talks
The night speaks in searchlights
And shortwave radios squawk
The police patrol the streets
But Ive left behind the man I used to be
Everything he believed and all that belonged to me
I tried to find my way out to somewhere where I thought itd be safe
They stopped me at the roadblock they put up on the interstate
They put me in detention but I broke loose and then I ran
They said they want to ask me a few questions but I think they had other plans
Now I dont know who to trust and I dont know what I can believe
They say they want to help me but with the stuff they keep on sayin
I think those guys just wanna keep on playin
Roulette, with my life
Roulette, with my kids and my wife
Roulette, the bullets in the chamber
Roulette, whos the unlucky stranger
Roulette, surprise, youre dead
Roulette, the guns to your head
Roulette, the bullets spinning in the chamber
Roulette, pull the trigger, feel the click
No further danger |
Pony boy pony boy
Wont you be my pony boy
Giddy-up giddy-up giddy-up whoa
My pony boy
Ride with me ride with me
Wont you take a ride with me
Underneath the starry sky
My pony boy
Oer the hills and through the trees
Well go riding you and me
Pony boy pony boy
Wont you be my pony boy
Giddy-up giddy-up giddy-up whoa
My pony boy
Down into the valley deep
Neath the eaves we will sleep
Sky of dreams up above
My pony boy
Pony boy pony boy
Wont you be my pony boy
Giddy-up giddy-up giddy-up whoa
My pony boy
Pony boy pony boy
Wont you be my pony boy
Giddy-up giddy-up giddy-up whoa
My pony boy |
Oh Billy stares at Cherry in the hall
And walks out into the rain so blessed and tall
Standin on the corner with a gun underneath his coat
Beneath the stars on the street
Oh on Lexington Avenue they stand
Velvet aces they case the promised land
Reachin out across the hoods with both hands
Oh, tryin to catch a ride
Tonight were lovers in the cold
Running past the graveyards in the snow
Walking in the street with nowhere to go
And its no, no, no
Oh and the getaway driver waits outside the store
He pulls away just as Billy runs out the door
Oh and Billy wont run anymore, no, no, no
Oh baby I cant lay the stars at your feet
Oh but I think we could take it all, just you and me
Oh come on, youll see, theres a lot of room
For you baby, in this front seat
Tonight were lovers on that road
Running past the graveyards in the snow
Walking in the street with nowhere to go
And its oh, oh, oh |
I get up in the evening
And I aint got nothing to say
I come home in the morning
I go to bed feeling the same way
I aint nothing but tired
Man, Im just tired and bored with myself
Hey there, baby, I could use just a little help
You cant start a fire
You cant start a fire without a spark
This guns for hire
Even if were just dancing in the dark
Message just keeps getting clearer
Radios on and Im moving round the place
I check my look in the mirror
I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face
And I aint getting nowhere
Yeah, Im just living in a dump like this
Theres something happening somewhere
Baby, I just know that there is
You cant start a fire
You cant start a fire without a spark
This guns for hire
Even if were just dancing in the dark
You sit around getting older
Theres a joke here somewhere and its on me
Ill shake this world off my shoulders
Come on, baby, this laughs on me
Stay on the streets of this town
And theyll be carving you up alright
They say you gotta stay hungry
Hey, baby, Im just about starving tonight
Im dying for some action
Im sick of sitting round here trying to write this book
I need a love reaction
Come on, baby, gimme just one look
You cant start a fire
Sitting round crying over a broken heart
This guns for hire
Even if were just dancing in the dark
You cant start a fire
Worrying about your little world falling apart
This guns for hire
Even if were just dancing in the dark
Even if were just dancing in the dark
Even if were just dancing in the dark
Even if were just dancing in the dark |
The screen door slams, christines dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy orbison singing for the lonely
thats me and I want you only
Dont turn me home again
I just cant face myself alone again tonight
Dont run back inside, you know just what Im here for
So youre scared and youre thinking
That maybe you aint that young anymore
Show a little faith theres magic in the night
You aint a beauty but hey youre alright
And thats alright with me
This 4/4 shes gonna overheat
Make up your mind girl I gotta get her back out on the street
I know youre lonely like me so baby dont try and fake it
Im no prince and I cant lay the stars at your feet
But I got this old car and shes pretty tough to beat
Theres plenty of room in my front seat, baby if you wanna take it
Oh roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair
Its like the rushing touch, the dirty wings them highway angels wear
Well tonight were gonna find out how it feels
Im gonna trade in your wings - for wheels
Climb in back, heavens waiting down on the tracks
Ah, mama, come take my hand
Were gonna ride all the way to the promised land
Oh Im gonna dance all the way, dance all the way
(babe if youre born with nothing in your hands
Hey its your only chance)
Well I dont know but baby Ive been told
Theres something waiting for us, down that dirty road
Oh take a chance, take a chance, take a chance
(oh I wish you would come
So leave what youve lost, leave whats grown old on thunder road)
Well now I bought this guitar and I learned how to make it talk
I got my car parked out back if youre ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
Well I think we could take it all babe, just you and me
Climb in back baby, the rides for free
Oh come take my hand, were gonna ride all the way to the promised land
Well dance all the way
Oh baby I dont know but Ive been told
Theres something waiting for us, down that dirty road
If we take our chance, take our chance
Now the seasons over and I feel it getting cold
I wish I could take you to some sandy beach where wed never grow old
Ah but baby you know thats just jive
But tonights bustin open and Im alive
Oh do whay you can to make me feel like a man
But this 4/4/2s gonna overheat
Make up your mind girl, I gotta get her back out on the street
I know youre lonely like me, oh so dont fake it
And maybe I cant lay the stars at your feet
But I got this old car and shes pretty tough to beat
Theres plenty of room in my front seat
Oh if you think you can make it, climb in
This is town full of losers and baby I was born to win |
Well, John Henry was a little baby
Sitting on his daddys knee
He picked up a hammer and
A little piece of steel
And cried, Hammers going to
Be death of me, Lord, Lord
Hammers going to be the death of me
Now the captain he
Said to John Henry
Im going to bring that
Steam drill around
Im going to bring that
Steam drill out on these tracks
Im going to knock that
Steel on down, God, God
Im going to knock that
Steel on down
John Henry told his captain
Lord, a man is nothing but a man
But before I let that steam drill
Beat me down
Im going to die with a hammer
In my hand, Lord, Lord
Ill die with a hammer in my hand
John Henry driving
On the right side
That steam drill driving
On the left
Says, Before I let your
Steam drill beat me down
Im going to hammer
Myself to death, Lord, Lord
Ill hammer my fool self to death
Well captain said to John Henry
What is that storm I hear?
John Henry said, That
Is no storm captain
Thats just my hammer
In the air, Lord, Lord
Thats just my hammer in the air
John Henry said to his shaker
Shaker, why dont you sing?
Because Im swinging thirty pounds
From my hips on down
Yeah, listen to my cold steel
Ring, Lord Lord
Listen to my cold steel ring
John Henry he hammered
In the mountains
His hammer was striking fire
But he worked so hard
It broke his heart
John Henry laid down his hammer
And died, Lord, Lord
John Henry laid down his hammer and died
Well, now John Henry
He had him a woman
By the name of Polly Ann
She walked out to those tracks
Picked up John Henrys hammer
Polly drove steel like a man, Lord, Lord
Polly drove that steel like a man
Well every, every Monday morning
When a blue bird he began to sing
You could hear John Henry
From a mile or more
You could hear John Henrys hammer
Ring, Lord, Lord
You can hear John Henrys hammer ring
You can hear John Henrys hammer
Ring, Lord, Lord
You can hear John Henrys hammer ring |
I wanna build me a house on higher ground
I wanna find me a world where loves the only sound
High above this road filled with shadow and doubt
I want to shoulder my load and figure it all out
With Leah
I walk this road with a hammer and a fiery lantern
With this hand, Ive built and with this, Ive burned
I want to live in the same house, beneath the same roof
Sleep in the same bed, search for the same proof
As Leah
I got something in my heart I been waiting to give
I got a life I wanna start, one I been waiting to live
No more waiting, tonight I feel the light, I say the prayer
I open the door, I climb the stairs |
With you I dont hear the minutes ticking by
I dont feel the hours as they fly
I dont see the summer as it wanes
Just a subtle change of light upon your face
Walk away, walk away, walk away, walk away
This is our kingdom of days
I watched the sun as it rises and sets
I watched the moon trace its arc with no regret
My jacket around your shoulders, the falling leaves
The wet grass on our backs as the autumn breeze drifts through the trees
Walk away, walk away, walk away, walk away
This is our kingdom of days
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I do
You whispered then prove it, then prove it, then prove it, to me baby blue
When I count my blessings and youre mine for always
We laughed beneath the covers
And count the wrinkles and the grays
Sing away, sing away, sing away, sing away
Sing away, sing away, my darling, well sing away
This is our kingdom of days
This is our kingdom of days
This is our kingdom of days
This is our kingdom of days
This is our kingdom of days |
Now theres something coming through the air that softly reminds me
Tonight Ill park out on the hill and wait until they find me
Here slipping through the ether, a voice is coming through
So keep me in your heart tonight and Ill save my love for you
So turn up your radio and darling dial me in close
Were riding on the airwaves and were traveling coast to coast
Over river and highway your voice comes clear and true
Though were far apart tonight, Ill save my love for you
Hold me in your arms and our doubts wont break us
If we open up our hearts, love wont forsake us
Lets let the music take us and carry us home
Theres a prayer coming through the air like a shot straight through my heart
Tearing open the evening sky, tearing me apart
Now Ill ride that signal down the line till Im home again with you
So turn up your radio and Ill save my love for you
Turn up your radio and Ill save my love for you |
I met a little girl and I settled down
In a little house out on the edge of town
We got married and swore wed never part
Then little by little, we drifted from each others hearts
First I thought it was just restlessness
That would fade as time went by and our love grew deep
In the end it was something more I guess
That tore us apart and made us weep
Im driving a stolen car
Down on Eldridge Avenue
Each night I wait to get caught
But I never do
She asked if I remembered the letters I wrote
When our love was young and bold
She said last night she read those letters
And they made her feel one hundred years old
And Im driving a stolen car
On a pitch black night
And Im telling myself Im gonna be alright
But I ride by night and I travel in fear
That in this darkness I will disappear |
You may think Im foolish for the foolish things I do
You may wonder how come I love you when you get on my nerves like you do
Well, baby, you know you bug me, aint no secret bout that
Well, come on over here and hug me, baby, Ill show you where its at
Well, honey, it aint your money, baby, I got plenty of that
I love you for your pink Cadillac, crushed velvet seats
Riding in the back, oozing down the street
Waving to the girls, feeling out of sight
Spending all my money on a Saturday night
Honey, I just wonder what you do there in the back of your pink Cadillac
Pink Cadillac
Way back in the Bible, temptation always comes along
Theres always somebody tempting somebody into doing something they know is wrong
Well, they tempt you, man, with silver, and they tempt you, sir, with gold
And they tempt you with the pleasures the flesh does surely hold
They say Eve tempted Adam with an apple but, man, I aint going for that
Im going for the pink Cadillac, crushed velvet seats
Riding in the back, oozing down the street
Waving to the girls, feeling out of sight
Spending all my money on a Saturday night
Honey, I just wonder what it feels like in the back of your pink Cadillac
Pink Cadillac
Yeah, some folks say its a little too big and uses too much gas
Some folks say its too old, it goes just a little too fast
But my love is bigger than a Honda, its bigger than a Subaru
Hey man, theres only one thing and theres one car that will do
Anyway we dont have to drive it, we can park it out in back
Have a party in your pink Cadillac, crushed velvet seats
Riding in the back, oozing down the street
Waving to the girls, feeling out of sight
Spending all my money on a Saturday night
Honey I just wonder what it feels like in the back of your pink Cadillac
Pink Cadillac |
Take me now baby here as I am
Pull me close, try and understand
Desire is a hunger it’s the fire I breathe
Love is a banquet on which we feed
Come on now try and understand
The way I feel when Im in your hands
Take my hand come undercover
They cant hurt you now
Cant hurt you now
Cant hurt you now
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to lust
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
Have I doubt when Im alone
Love is a ring, the telephone
Love is an angel disguised as lust
Here in our bed until the morning comes
Come on now try and understand
The way I feel under your command
Take my hand as the sun descends
They cant touch you now
Cant touch you now, cant hurt you now
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to lust
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
With love we sleep
With doubt this vicious circle turns and burns
Without you I cannot live
Forgive the yearning burning
I believe its time
Too real to feel
So touch me now
Touch me now
Touch me now
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to lust
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to lust
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us |
Im standing in the backyard
Listening to the party inside
Tonight Im drinkin in the forgiveness
This life provides
The scars we carry remain but the pain slips away it seems
Oh wont you baby be in my book of dreams
Im watching you through the window
With your girlfriends from back home
Youre showing off your dress
Theres laughter and a toast
From your daddy to the prettiest bride hes ever seen
Oh wont you baby be in my book of dreams
In the darkness my fingers slip across your skin
I feel your sweet reply
The room fades away and suddenly Im way up high
Just holding you to me
As through the window the moonlight streams
Oh wont you baby be in my book of dreams
Now the ritual begins
Neath the wedding garland we meet as strangers
The dance floor is alive with beauty
Mystery and danger
We dance out neath the stars ancient light into the darkening trees
Oh wont you baby be in my book of dreams |
In the fields of the Lord stood Abel and Cain
Cain slew Abel neath the black rain
At night he couldnt stand the guilt or the blame
So he gave it a name
So he gave it a name
So he gave it a name
Billy got drunk, angry at his wife
He hit her once, he hit her twice
At night hed lie in bed, he couldnt stand the shame
So he gave it a name
So he gave it a name
So he gave it a name
Pa told me Son, one thing I know is true
Poison snake bites you, youre poison too
At night I can feel that poison runnin round my veins... |
My father worked as a 16 year old floor boy in that rug mill, and then he went off to war, and when he came home, got married, they shut the rug mill down, so he went to work on the Ford motor plant in New Brunswick, then he worked at the Nescafe plant in Freehold, worked in a plastics factory in town, he was a truck driver, bus driver, drove a taxi, he lived mostly at home, except for his second home which was a little local bar in the center of town. Now to a child, bars in Freehold were these citadels of great mystery. When you walked through bar room doors in my hometown, you entered the mystical realm of men. On the rare night, that my mother would call my father home, we would slowly drive through town until we drew to a stop outside of a single lit door, shed look at me and say, Go in and get your dad. This both thrilled and terrified me. It thrilled me because I had been given the license by my mother, the law, to go into the bar! Im a kid! But it terrified me because to enter the bar is to enter my fathers priveleged, private, and sacred space. He was not to be disturbed when hes down at the bar. Everybody knew that. So I would walk in, and I was waist-high, like a Jack who climbed some dark beanstalk into a land of giants, all I remember is the men towering over me on their way out the door. Now once you were in, to the left against the wall was a line of red leather booths that were filled with husband and wife tag team drinkers. Now there were your hardcore regulars there night after night after night, alright now to the right was the bar, a line of stools filled by a barricade of broad working class backs clinking glasses, too loud laughter, and very few women. I would stand there lost in the noise and the hustle of the crowd and I would drink in that dim smell of beer and booze and aftershave. Now to a kid, that was the scent of adulthood. It was the scent of manhood. I wanted some of that. And finally somebody would notice me, and draw me over to my pop, now my view from the Ford was the first thing Id see was the chrome legs of the barstool. Then Id see his black shoes, white socks, dark green work trousers, powerful legs and haunches, my dad til the day he died had the legs and the ass of a rhinoceros. And, and his trousers always looked like they were stretched. stretched over that legs and ass somehow, I dont know how. He was always bustin out ya know, uh, then I would see his black Garrison work belt, his green work shirt, and then his face. By the time I got there his face was flushed red, red as a tomato because he was Irish and whatever he drank went straight to his face, alright. He couldnt hide a thing when he came home, ya know, uh, and not only was it red, like it - it was like distorted too, into some sort of booze mask, by, by Mr. Schlitz and, and, it was so foreign to me as a child that, it - he - fuck I dont know, ha ha, but it was scary and hed be peering down over his shoulder, down at the cigarette smoke and hed be lookin at me like Ive never seen you before in my fuckin life. I then uttered the immortal words that I was sent to deliver - Mom wants you to come home. Id hear, Go outside, I will be right out, and I would follow my breadcrumb trail back out the bar room door, I would hop into the backseat, and I would inform my mother, Um, hell be right out, hell be right out |
You may think Im fooling
For the foolish things I do
You may wonder how come I love you
When you get on my nerves like you do
Well baby you know you bug me
There aint no secret about that
Well, come on over here and hug me
Baby Ill spill the facts
Well, honey it aint your money
Cause I got plenty of that
I love you for your pink Cadillac
Crushed velvet seats
Riding in the back, oozing down the street
Waving to the girls, peeling out of sight
Spending all my money on a Saturday night
Honey, I just wonder what you do
There in the back of your pink Cadillac
Pink Cadillac
Well, now way back in the Bible
Temptations always come along
Theres always somebody tempting you
Into doing something they know is wrong
Well, they tempt you, maam, with silver
And they tempt you, sir, with gold
And they tempt you with the pleasures
That flesh does surely hold
They say Eve tempted Adam with an apple
Man, I aint going for that
I know it was her pink Cadillac
Crushed velvet seats
Riding in the back, oozing down the street
Waving to the girls, peeling out of sight
Spending all my money on a Saturday night
Honey, I just wonder what youre doing
In the back of your pink Cadillac
Pink Cadillac
Now, now, now, some folks say its too big
And uses too much gas
Some folks say that its too old
And that it just goes too fast
Oh, but love is bigger than a Honda
And its bigger than a Subaru
Hey man theres only one thing
And one car that will do
Anyway we dont have to drive it
Honey, we can park it out in back
And have a party in your pink Cadillac
Crushed velvet seats
Riding in the back, oozing down the street
Waving to the girls, peeling out of sight
Spending all my money on a Saturday night
Honey, I just wonder what you do there
In the back of your pink Cadillac
You know the one I mean, Le Car
Woah! Cadillac |
HA!
In the day we sweat it out
On the streets of a runaway American dream
At night we ride through mansions of glory
In suicide machines
Sprung from cages on Highway 9
Chrome-wheeled, fuel-injected
And steppin out over the line
Oh, baby this town rips the bones from your back
Its a death trap, its a suicide rap
We gotta get out while were young
Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run
Wendy, let me in, I wanna be your friend
I wanna guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs round these velvet hips
And strap your hands cross my engines
Together we could break this trap
Well run till we drop, baby well never go back
Oh, will you walk with me out on the wire
Cause baby Im just a scared and lonely rider
But I gotta know how it feels
I wanna know your love is wild
Girl, I wanna know that love is real
Beyond the palace hemi-powered drones
Scream down the boulevard
Girls comb their hair in review mirrors
And the boys try to look so hard
The amusement park rises bold and stark
And kids are huddled on the beach in the mist
I wanna die with you Wendy on the streets tonight
In an everlasting kiss
Uh, uh, uh, UH!
Highways jammed with broken heroes
On a last-chance power drive
Everybodys out on the road tonight
But theres no place left to hide
Together Wendy we can live with the sadness
Ill love you with all the madness in my soul
Oh, someday girl I dont know when
Were gonna get to that place where really wanna go
And well walk in the sun
But till then, baby we were born to run
Baby we were born to run
Tramps like us, baby we were born to run
Whoa, ooh
Born to run |
Its cloudy out in Pittsburgh
Its raining in Saigon
Snows fallin all across the Michigan line
Well she sits by the light of her Christmas tree
With the radio softly on
Thinkin how a good man is so hard to find
Well once she had a fella
Once she was somebodys girl
And she gave all she had that one last time
Now theres a little girl asleep in the back room
Shes gonna have to tell about the meanness in this world
And how a good man is so hard to find
Well theres pictures on the table by her bed
Him in his dress greens and her in her wedding white
She remembers how the world was the day he left
And now how that world is dead
And a good man is so hard to find
She got time now for Casanovas
Yeah those days are gone
She dont want that anymore, shes made up her mind
Just somebody told her
As the nights get on
When a good man is so hard to find
Well she shuts off the TV
And without a word
Into bed she climbs
Well she thinks how it was all so wasted
And how expendable their dreams all were
When a good man was so hard to find |
They prosecuted some poor sucker in these United States
For teaching that man descended from the apes
They coulda settled that case without a fuss or fight
If theyd seen me chasin you, sugar, through the jungle last night
Theyda called in that jury and a one two three said
Part man, part monkey, definitely
Well the church bell rings from the corner steeple
Man in a monkey suit swears hell do no evil
Offers his lovers prayer but his soul lies
Dark and driftin and unsatisfied
Well hey bartender, tell me whaddaya see
Part man, part monkey, looks like to me
Well the night is dark, the moon is full
The flowers of romance exert their pull
We talk awhile, my fingers slip
Im hard and crackling like a whip
Well did God make man in a breath of holy fire
Or did he crawl on up out of the muck and mire
Well the man on the street believes what the bible tells him so
Well you can ask me, mister, because I know
Tell them soul-suckin preachers to come on down and see
Part man, part monkey, baby thats me |
Dark weekends in the sun out on Chelsea Road
Descending the stairs, Frankie, my one
Check your makeup in the mirror cmon babe lets go
Well dance round this dirty town til the night is all done
Let all the finer things sleep alone tonight
Let all the minor kings lose their thrones tonight
Dont worry about us, baby, well be alright
Well everybodys dying, this towns closing down
Theyre all sittin down at the courthouse waiting for em to take the flag down
I see strange flashes in the sky up above
Gonna spend the night at the drive-in with the one that I love
At dusk the stars all appear on the screen
Yeah, just like they do each night in my dreams
But tonights no dream, Frankie, I can feel myself too
Well now and forever my love is for you
Walk softly tonight little stranger
Yeah into these shadows were passing through
Talk softly tonight, little angel
You make all my dream worlds come true
Well lately Ive been standing out in the freezing rain
Readin them want ads out on Chelsea Road
Im winging down the street in search of new games
Hustling through these nightlights diamond glow
Well Frankie I dont know what Im gonna find
Maybe nothing at all, maybe a world I can call mine
Shining like these streetlights down here on the strand
Bright as the rain in the palm of your hand
Walk softly tonight, little stranger
Into the shadows where lovers go
Talk softly to me, little angel
Whisper your secrets, so soft and low |
At sixteen she quit high school to
Make her fortune in the promised land
She got a job behind the counter in an
All night hamburger stand
She wrote faithfully home to mama
Now mama dont you worry none
From small things, mama
Big things one day come
It was late one Friday he pulled in
Out of the dark
He was tall and handsome; first she
Took his order, then she took his heart
They bought a house up on the hillside
Where little feet soon would run
From small things, mama
Big things one day come
Oh but love is fleeting
Its sad but true
But when your heart is beating
You dont wanna hear the news
She packed her bags
And with a Wyomie County real estate man
She ran down to Tampa
In and El Dorado Grande
She wrote back home, Dear Mama
Life is just heaven in the sun
From small things, mama
Big things one day come
Well she shot him dead
On a sunny Florida road
When they caught her all she said
Was she couldnt stand the way he drove
Back home lonesome Johnny
Prays for his babys parole
He waits on the hillside
Where the Wyomie waters roll
At his feet and almost grown now
A blue-eyed daughter and a handsome son
Well from small things, mama
Big things one day come
Well from small things, mama |
Jesse James was a lad that killed many a man
He robbed the Glendale train
He stole from the rich and he gave to the poor
Hed a hand and a heart and a brain
Well it was Robert Ford, that dirty little coward
I wonder how he feel
For he ate of Jesses bread and he slept in Jesses bed
Then he laid poor Jesse in his grave
Well, Jesse had a wife to mourn for his life
Three children now they were brave
Well, that dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard
He laid poor Jesse in his grave
Jesse was a man, a friend to the poor
Hed never rob a mother or a child
There never was a man with the law in his hand
That could take Jesse James alive
It was on a Saturday night and the moon was shining bright
They robbed the Glendale train
And people they did say over many miles away
It was those outlaws, theyre Frank and Jesse James
Well, Jesse had a wife to mourn for his life
Three children now they were brave
Well, that dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard
He laid poor Jesse in his grave
Now the people held their breath when they heard of Jesses death
And wondered how he ever came to fall
Robert Ford,It was a fact,He shot Jesse in the back
While Jesse hung a picture on the wall
Now Jesse went to rest with his hand on his breast
The devil will be upon his knee
He was born one day in the County Clay
And he came from a solitary race
Well, Jesse had a wife to mourn for his life
Three children now they were brave
Well, that dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard
He laid poor Jesse in his grave |
One, two, three, four
Hey we shall overcome, we shall overcome
We shall overcome someday
Darling here in my heart, yeah I do believe
We shall overcome someday
Well well walk hand in hand, well walk hand in hand
Well walk hand in hand someday
Darling here in my heart, yeah I do believe
Well walk hand in hand someday
Well we shall live in peace, we shall live in peace
We shall live in peace someday
Darling here in my heart, yeah I do believe
We shall live in peace someday
Well we are not afraid, we are not afraid
We shall overcome someday
Yeah here in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome someday
Hey we shall overcome, we shall overcome
We shall overcome someday
Darling here in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome someday
We shall overcome someday |
He rode the rails since the Great Depression
Fifty years out on the skids
He said You dont cross nobody
Youll be all right out here kid
Left my family in Pennsylvania
Searching for work I hit the road
I met Frank in East Texas
In a freight yard blown through with snow
From New Mexico to Colorado
California to the sea
Frank, he showed me the ropes, sir
Just until I could get back on my feet
I hoed sugar beets outside of Firebaugh
I picked the peaches from the Marysville trees
They bunked us in a barn just like animals
Me and a hundred others just like me
We split up come the springtime
I never seen Frank again
Except one rainy night, he blew by me on a grainer
Shouted my name and disappeared in the rain and wind
They found him shot dead outside of Stockton
His body lying on a muddy hill
Nothing taken, nothing stolen
Somebody killing just to kill
Late that summer, I was rolling through the plains of Texas
A vision passed before my eyes
A small house sitting track-side
With the glow of the saviors beautiful light
A woman stood cooking in the kitchen
Kid sat at a table with his old man
Now I wonder, does my son miss me
Does he wonder where I am?
Tonight I pick my campsite carefully
Outside the Sacramento yard
Gather some wood and light a fire
In the early winter dark
Wind whistling cold I pull my coat around me
Heat some coffee and stare out into the black night
I lie awake, I lie awake, sir
With my machete by my side
My Jesus, your gracious, love and mercy
Tonight Im sorry could not fill
My heart like one good rifle
And the name of who I ought to kill |
The speculators made their money on the blood you shed
Your mommas pulled the sheets up off your bed
Profiteers on Jane Street sold your shoes and clothes
Aint nobody talking because everybody knows
We pulled your cycle up back the garage and polished up the chrome
Our gypsy biker coming home
Sister Mary sits with your colors, but Johnnys drunk and gone
This old towns been rousted, which side you on?
They would march up over the hill, this old fools parade
Shouting victory for the righteous, for you must hear the grace
Arent nobody talking, but just waiting by the phone
Our gypsy biker coming home
Whoa!
We rode into the foothills, Bobby brought the gasoline
We stood around the circle as she lit up the ravine
The spring hot desert wind rushed down us all the way back home
To the dead, well it dont matter much about whos wrong or right
You asked me that question, I didnt get it right
You slipped into your darkness, now all that remains
Is my love for you, brother, lifes still unchanged
To them that threw you away, you aint nothing but gone
My gypsy bikers coming home
And now Im out counting white lines
Counting white lines and getting stoned
My gypsy bikers coming home
Whoa!
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la |
Come to the door, Ma, and unlock the chain
I was just passing through and got caught in the rain
Theres nothing that I want, nothing that you need say
Just let me lie down for a while and Ill be on my way
I was no more than a kid when you put me on the Southern Queen
With the police on my back, I fled to New Orleans
I fought in the dockyards and with the money that I made
The fight was my home and blood was my trade
Baton Rouge, Ponchatoula and Lafayette town
They payed me their money, Ma, I knocked the man down
Well I did what I did, yeah it come easily
Restraint and mercy, Ma, were always strangers to me
I fought champion Jack Thompson in a field full of mud
Rain poured through the tent to the canvas and mixed with our blood
In the twelfth, slipped my tongue over my broken jaw
And I stood over him and pounded his bloodied body into the floor
Well the bell rang and rang and still I kept on
Until I felt my glove leather slip between his skin and bone
And the women and the money came fast and the days I lost track
The women red, the money green, but the numbers were black
I fought for the men in their silk suits to lay down their bets
I took my good share, Ma, I have no regrets
I took the fix at the state armory with big John McDonald
From high in the rafters, I watched myself fall
As they raised his arm, my stomach twisted, and the sky it went black
I stuffed my bag with their good money and never looked back
Understand, in the end, Ma, every man plays the game
Well if you know anyone different then speak out his name
Ma, if my voice now, you dont recognize
Well just open the door and look into your dark eyes
I ask of you nothing, not a kiss, not a smile
Just open the door and let me lie down for a while
Now the gray rain is falling and my ring fightins done
So in the work fields and alleys, I take all wholl come
If youre a better man than me, then just step to the line
And show me your money and speak out your crime
Theres nothing I want, Ma, nothing that you need say
Just let me lie for a while and Ill be on my way
Well tonight in shipyard, a man draws a circle in the dirt
I move to the center and I take off my shirt
I study him for the cuts, the scars, the pain, man, no time can erase
I move hard to the left and I strike to the face |
If your heart is restless from waiting too long
When youre tired and weary, and you cant go on
Well if a distant dream is a callin you
Then theres just one thing that you can do
Yeah, you gotta follow that dream wherever that dream may lead you
You gotta follow that dream to find the love you need
Now baby, I walk in dreams
And I talk in dreams
I need someone with a love I can trust
And together well search for the things that come to us
In dreams, baby in dreams
And Im gonna follow that dream wherever that dream may lead me
Im gonna follow that dream to find the love I need
Now every man has the right to live
The right to a chance to give what he has to give
The right to fight for the things he believes
For the things that come to him in dreams
Baby in dreams, I walk in dreams
I talk in dreams
I live in dreams |
I aint got no home, Im just a-ramblin round
I work when I can get it, I roam from town to town
Police make it hard, boys, wherever I may go
I aint got no home in this world anymore
I was farmin shares and always I was done
My debts, they was so many, my pay wouldnt go around
Drought got my crops and Mr. Bankers at my door
And I aint got no home in this world anymore
Six children I have raised, theyre scattered and theyre gone
And my darling wife, to heaven she has flown
She died of the fever upon the cabin floor
And I aint got no home in this world anymore
I mined in your mines and I gathered your corn
I been workin, mister, since the day that I was born
I worry all the time like I never did before
Cause I aint got no home in this world anymore
Well, now I just ramble round to see what I can see
This wide wicked world is sure a funny place to be
The gamblin man is rich and the workin man is poor
I aint got no home in this world anymore
And Im stranded on this road that goes from sea to sea
A hundred thousand others are stranded here with me
A hundred thousand others, yes, a hundred thousand more
I aint got no home in this world anymore |
Well far between sundowns finish and midnights broken toll
We ducked inside the doorway thunder crashin
As majestic bells of boats struck shadows in the sun
Sayin it may be the chimes of freedom flashin
Flashin for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
Flashin for the refugees on their unarmed road of flight
And for each and every underdog soldier in the night
We gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin
Well in the citys melted furnace unexpectedly we watched
With faces hidden here while the walls were tightenin
As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowing rain
Dissolved into the wild bales of lightnin
Yeah tollin for the rebel yeah tollin for the raked
Tollin for the luckless the abandoned and forsaked
Yeah tollin for the outcasts burnin constantly at stakes
And we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin
And then through a cloud-like curtain in a far off corner flashed
Theres a hypnotic splattered mist was slowly liftin
Well electric light still struck like arrows
Fired but for the ones condemned to drift or else be kept from driftin
Well tollin for the searching ones on this speechless secret trail
For the lonesome haunted lovers with too personal a tale
And for each young heart for each channeled soul misplaced inside a jail
Yeah we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin
Well starry eyed and laughin I recall when we were caught
Trapped by an old track of vows for the hands suspended
As we listened one last time and we watched with one last look
Spellbound and swallowed Has the tollin ended?
Yeah tollin for the achin ones whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless confused accused misused strung out ones at worst
And for every hung out person in the whole wide universe
We gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashin |
Hey little girl is your Daddy home
Did he go away and leave you all alone
Oh no, got a bad desire
Oh I’m on fire
Tell me little darling is he good to you
Can he do all the things that I could do oh no
I could take you higher
Oh I’m on fire
I’m on fire
I’m on fire
It’s like someone took a knife baby edgy and dull
Cut a six inch valley through the middle of my soul
At night I lie awake with the sheets soaking wet
And a freight train running through the middle of my head
Only you cool my desire
Oh I’m on fire
I’m on fire
It’s like someone took a knife baby edgy and dull
Cut a six inch valley through the middle of my soul
Cool my desire
Oh I’m on fire
Hey little girl is your Daddy Home
Did he go away and leave you all alone
Oh no, got a bad desire
Oh I’m on fire
Tell me little darling is he good to you
Can he do all the things that I could do oh no
I could take you higher
Oh I’m on fire
I’m on fire
I’m on fire
It’s like someone took a knife baby edgy and dull
Cut a six inch valley through the middle of my soul
At night I lie awake with the sheets soaking wet
And a freight train running through the middle of my head
Only you cool my desire
Oh I’m on fire
Oh I’m on fire |
Yeah. Cmon. Hoo!
I had a friend was a big baseball player
Back in high school
He could throw that speedball by you
Make you look like a fool boy
Saw him the other night at this roadside bar
I was walking in, he was walking out
We went back inside sat down had a few drinks
But all he kept talking about was
Glory days well theyll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girls eye
Glory days, glory days
Well theres a girl that lives up the block
Back in school she could turn all the boys heads
Sometimes on a Friday Ill stop by
And have a few drinks after she put her kids to bed
Her and her husband Bobby well they split up
I guess its two years gone by now
We just sit around talking about the old times
She says when she feels like crying
She starts laughing thinking about
Glory days well theyll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girls eye
Glory days, glory days
All right boy watch me working now!
Working now
Now I think Im going down to the well tonight
And Im going to drink till I get my fill
And I hope when I get old I dont sit around thinking about it
But I probably will
Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture
A little of the glory of, well time slips away
And leaves you with nothing mister but
Boring stories of...
Glory days well theyll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girls eye
Glory days, glory days
Glory days well theyll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girls eye
Glory days, glory days
What about this!
All right!
Ooh yeah
All right!
Woah, cmon now
Oh yeah
All right!
Its alright
Ooh yeah
Oh yeah
All right!
All right!
Cmon now
Oh yeah
All right boys!
Keep rockin now!
Glory days! |
You cant sleep at night
You cant dream your dream
Your fingerprints on file
Left clumsily at the scene
Your own worst enemy has come to town
Your own worst enemy has come to town
Yesterday the people were at ease
Baby, you slept in peace
You closed your eyes and saw her
You knew who you were
And your own worst enemy has come to town
Your own worst enemy has come
Your world keeps turning round and round
But everything is upside down
Your own worst enemy has come to town
Theres a face you know
Staring back from the shop window
The condition youre in
Now you just cant get out of this skin
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah
Hooo
The times, they got too clear
So you removed all the mirrors
Once the family felt secure
Now no ones very sure
Your own worst enemy has come to town
Your own worst enemy has come
Everything is falling down
Your own worst enemy has come to town
Your own worst enemy has come
Everything is falling down
Your own worst enemy has come to town
Your flag, it flew so high
It drifted into the sky |
In the room where fortune falls
On a day when chance is all
In the dark of fierce exile
I felt the grace of your smile
Honey, youre my lucky day
Baby, youre my lucky day
Well I lost all the other bets I made
Honey, youre my lucky day
When I see strong hearts give way
To the burdens of the day
To the weary hands of time
Where fortune is not kind
Honey, youre my lucky day
Baby, youre my lucky day
Well I lost all the other bets I made
Honey, youre my lucky day
Ive waited at your side
Ive carried the tears youve cried
But to win, darling we must play
So dont hide your heart away
Honey, youre my lucky day
Baby, youre my lucky day
Well I lost all the other bets I made
Honey, youre my lucky day |
Paul and Silas bound in jail
Had no money to go their bail
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
Paul and Silas thought
They was lost
Dungeon shook and
The chains come off
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
Freedoms name is mighty sweet
And soon were going to meet
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
I got my hand on the gospel plow
Wont take nothing for
My journey now
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
Hold on, Hold on
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
Only chain that a man can stand
Is that chain of hand and hand
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
Im going to board
That big Greyhound
Carry the love from
Town to town
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
Hold on, Hold on
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
The only thing I did was wrong
Was staying in the
Wilderness too long
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
The only thing we did was right
Was the day we started to fight
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
Hold on, Hold on
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
Hold on, Hold on
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
Hold on, Hold on
Keep your eyes on the prize
Hold on
Havent been to heaven
But I been told
Streets up there are
Paved with gold |
No one ever found it
Aint no school ever taught it
No one ever made it
Aint no one ever bought it
But baby, you’ve got it
Baby, you’ve got it
Cmon and give it to me
Aint no one can break it
Aint no one can steal it
Aint no one can fake it
You just know it when you feel it
But baby, you’ve got it
Baby, you’ve got it
Cmon and give it to me
You cant read it in a book
You cant even dream it
Honey, it ain’t got a name
You just know it when you see it
But baby, youve got it
Yeah baby, youve got it
Cmon and give it to me
Well, now, listen up my reckless love
Its precious so don’t waste it
Cant tell you what God made it of
But I know it when I taste it
Baby, youve got it
Yeah baby, youve got it
You got it in your bones and blood
Yeah, youre realer than real ever was
Baby, youve got it
Yeah baby, youve got it
Cmon and give it to me |
You put on your coat, I’ll put on my hat
You put out the dog, I’ll put out the cat
You put on your red dress for me tonight honey
We’re going on the town now
Looking for easy money
There’s nothing to it mister
You won’t hear a sound
When your whole world comes tumbling down
And all them fat cats, they’ll just think it’s funny
I’m going on the town now, looking for easy money
I got a Smith & Wesson 38
I got a hell fire burning and I got me a date
Got me a date on the far shore
Where it’s bright and sunny
I’m going on the town tonight, looking for easy money
You put on your coat, I’ll put on my hat
You put out the dog, I’ll put out the cat
You put on your red dress for me tonight honey
We’re going on the town now
Looking for easy money |
They broke your toys this morning, Henry
Rode your board right into dust
Surrounded you with strangers who you could not trust
And then they had the gall
To write your name up on the girls room wall
And send you out to Maria
Who spoke of babies and all
And wanted to shoot your joy
Its a hard world when youre the new kid in town
Aint it, Henry Boy
Well the North side is for diamond-studded woman
Subtly selling their wares
And the West side is for debutantes
And would be millionaires
Oh the East side is for lost boys
Who know their moves too well
The South side is for gamblers, Henry Boy
The train stops once for Hell
Its a hard world when theyre forcing you
To live your life out on Broadway
But Henry Im sure youre gonna like it well
The constellation she points to Gate Eleven
Thats where you got your connections
Let me take a look inside my magic book
I dont think youre beyond my inventions
Oh these doctors appendages Im giving you for wings
Im sure itll meet the occasion
Im gonna mix you some magic, youll spittin sparks
And ready for the invasion
Oh and the Milky Ways a trip for dippers
They saw ya coming a mile away
In the amusement park youll get clipped by rippers
Hiding behind candy cades
In the alleyway youll get ripped by strippers
All who know your name
In the stalls sit the soldier-boy kissers on leave for just a day
And Henry couldnt take it
Hes gonna be a submariner
Riding underground for the Pope
Gonna stand on the corner of Broadway
And scream: Up scope |
Cynthia, when you come walkin by youre an inspiring sight
Cynthia, you dont smile or say hi but baby thats alright
Cause I dont need to hold you or taste your kiss
I just like knowin, Cynthia, you exist
In a world like this
Cynthia, when you pass it seems like this whole town drops
Cynthia, or maybe its just me, baby, and these fools stuck here punchin this
Clock
Well you give us a reason to stop just for a while
Stop, stand and salute your style
Well now you aint the finest thing Ill never have
And when you go the hurt you leave, baby, it aint so bad
There aint a man in this whole town whod say you aint fine
You hear them guys talkin, tell me baby do you mind
Well you make us happy, honey, when we feel sad
To see something so good in a world gone bad
Theres still Cynthia
Cynthia, no one knows your number, no one knows where you live
Cynthia, I wonder do you understand this strange thing you give
Well baby is it your style, the mystery in your smile
Or just how cool you walk in a world gone wild
Tell me if you will, Cynthia
Well I gotta be pretty naive to believe in you
I know you aint ever gonna be my dream come true
Thats alright, I got other dreams as good as you, Cynthia
Yeah now baby, now this aint no come-on
Just walk on, Cynthia, walk on
You make me holler, yeah, yeah, alright
I said yeah, yeah, alright
Well shes a yeah, yeah, alright |
We said wed walk together
Baby, come what may
Back from the twilight
Should we lose our way
As we were walking
A hand should slip free
Ill wait for you
Should I fall behind
Wait for me
Swore wed travel together
Darling, side by side
Wed help each other
Stay in stride
Each lover steps on
So differently
So Ill wait for you
Should I fall behind
Wait for me
Everyone dreams of
A love lasting and true
You and I know what this world can do
So lets make ourselves be
That the other may see
And Ill wait for you
And should I fall behind
Wait for me
Theres a beautiful river
In the valley ahead
There beneath the oaks bough
Soon we will wed
Should we lose each other
In the shadow of the evening trees
Oh, Ill wait for you
Should I fall behind
Wait for me
Darling, Ill wait for you
And should I fall behind
Wait for me
Wait for me
If I should fall behind
Wait for me
Wait for me |
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Fe, fe, fi, fi, fo, fo, fum
Look at Molly now, here she come
Wearin a wig, hat, shades to match
High healed sneakers and an aligator hat
Wearin her diamons, wearin a big ring
She got rasors on her fingers and everything
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Wearin her perfume, Chanel number five
Got to be the finest looking woman alive
She looks so pretty every time she walks by
The boys are too nervous, even to say hi
Not too skinny, not too fat
Shes a real humdinger and I like it like that
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on
Good golly Miss Molly, sure like to ball
Good golly Miss Molly, sure like to ball
When youre rockin and rollin
Dont you hear your mama call
From the early, early morning to the early, early night
See Miss Molly rockin in the house of blue light
Good golly Miss Molly, sure like to ball
When youre rockin and rollin
Dont you hear your mama call
Well c., c.c. rider
Come on see just what youve done
Well I said c., c.c. rider
Come on see just what youve done
You made me loving you
And now, now, now your man has come
Well now Im goin c.c. rider
Goin to see my baby c.c. rider
And I wont be back c.c. rider |
When they opened up the strip I was young and full of zip
I wanted some place to call my home
And so I made the race and I staked me out a place
And settled down along the Cimarron
It blowed away , it blowed away
My Oklahoma home, it blown away
Well it looked so green and fair when I built my shanty there
My Oklahoma home, it blown away
Well I planted wheats and oats, got some chickens and some shoats
Aimed to have some ham and eggs to feed my face
Got a mule to pull the plow, I got an old red muley cow
And I also got a fancy mortgage on this place
Well it blowed away , it blowed away
All the crops that Ive planted blown away
Well you cant grow any grain if you aint got any rain
Everything except my mortgage blown away
Come on!
Well it looked so green and fair when I built my shanty there
I figured I was all set for life
I put on my Sunday best with my fancy scalloped vest
Then I went to town to pick me out a wife
She blowed away , she blowed away
My Oklahoma woman blown away
Mister, as I bent to kiss her, she was picked up by a twister
My Oklahoma woman blown away
Well then I was left alone just listening to the moan
Of the wind around the corners of my shack
So I took off down the road, yeah, when the south wind blowed
I traveled with the wind upon my back
I blowed away , I blowed away
Chasing that dust cloud up ahead
Well once it looked so green and fair and now its up in the air
My Oklahoma farm is over head
Come on!
And now Im always close to home, it dont matter where I roam
For Oklahoma dust is everywhere
Makes no difference where Im walking, I can hear my chickens squawking
I can hear my wife a-talking in the air
It blowed away , it blowed away
Yeah my Oklahoma home is blown away
But my home Sir, is always near, its up here in the atmosphere
My Oklahoma home is blown away
Come on!
Well Im a roamn Oklahoman but Im always close to home
And Ill never get homesick until I die
Cause no matter where Im found, my homes all around
My Oklahoma home is in the sky
It blowed away , it blowed away
And my farm down on Cimarron
But now all around the world wherever the dust is swirled
There is some from my Oklahoma home
It blowed away , it blowed away
Yeah my Oklahoma home is blown away
Yeah its up there in the sky in that dust cloud over n by
My Oklahoma home is blown away
Yeah!
Let me see that horn now, thank you!
Come on one more time!
Well its blown away , blown away
Oh my Oklahoma home is blown away
Yeah its up there in the sky in that dust cloud over n by
My Oklahoma home is the sky
Yeah! |
...2-3-4, 1-2-3-4!
Let the frozen cities crumble, crumble and fall
Thats alright, I dont mind at all
Let em all tumble right into the sea
Well thats just fine, thats alright with me
Since you came down the line
I cant sleep at night, I got one thing on my mind
Thats every day, every night
I wanna be with you
I wanna be with you, thats what I wanna do
Cause youre just so out of sight
I wanna be with you, thats what I wanna do
Now I lost my job at the Texaco station
Cause instead of pumping gas Id dream of you
I got thrown out of my house, I got such a bad reputation
Cause all I wanna do is be seen with you
They gave me my pay and said walk
I dont care what they say, go ahead and let em all talk
Til the world falls apart
I wanna be with you
I wanna be with you
Thats what I wanna do
Until they will rip out my heart
I wanna be with you, I wanna be with you
Well thats all I wanna do
Hold tight, love me just a little bit
Alright, a little bit more
Tonight, tonight give me just a little kiss
No I dont know, I dont know, I dont
I just cant understand it, youre not pretty at all
But I come when you whisper, I run when you call
When I see you on the street I fall on my face
I drop to my knees, I plead my case
Oh, oh I wanna be with you
I wanna be with you, thats what I wanna do
Oh, oh I wanna be with you
I wanna be with you, thats all I wanna do
Oh, oh I wanna be with you
I wanna be with you, darlin, dont you know
Oh, oh I wanna be with you
I wanna be with you, because I love you so |
Your voice comes calling through the mist
I awake from a dream and my heart begins to drift
Tonight were on our own
Tonight were all alone
Oh-oh, tonight
Someday well be together
And the night will fall around us
This love will last forever
Someday well be together
Together
I cant sleep so I lay awake listenin to the sounds of the city below
I get dressed and walk the streets but I got nowhere to go
Tonight its you I miss
Tonight my only wish is
Oh-oh, tonight
Someday well be together
And the night will fall around us
This love will last forever
Someday youll be mine
Tonight were on our own
Tonight were all alone
Oh-oh, tonight
Someday well be together
And the night will fall around us
This love will last forever
Someday youll be mine
Woah-whoaaa
Someday youll be mine
Woah-whoaaa
Someday youll be mine |
Now, real rock n’ roll band evolves out of a common place and time, fans come out of towns, out of city, out of neighborhood, and they come along in a particular moment. Bands are all about what happens, theyre musicians, who come from the same streets, the same passions and influences, who go in search of lightning and thunder. They come together in a whole that is greater than the sum of their parts. They may not be the best players, thats not necessary. They need to be the right players, and when they play together, there is a communion of souls, and a natural brotherhood, and sisterhood, manifests itself, and a quest, a quest is begun, you’re in search of something, an adventures undertaken, and you ride shotgun. In a real band, principles of math get stood on their head, and one plus one equals three |
Sleepy town aint got the guts to budge
Baby, this emptiness has already been judged
I wanna go out tonight, I wanna find out what I got
Youre a strange part of me, youre a preachers girl
And I dont want no piece of this mechanical world
Got my arms open wide and my blood is running hot
Well take the midnight road right to the devils door
And even the white angels of Eden with their flamin swords
Wont be able to stop us from hitting town in this dirty old Ford
Well it dont take no nerve when you got nothing to guard
I got tombstones in my eyes and Im running real hard
My baby was a lover and the world just blew her away
Once they tried to steal my heart, beat it right outta my head
But baby they didnt know that I was born dead
I am the iceman, fighting for the right to live
I say better than the glory roads of heaven better off riding
Hellbound in the dirt, better than the bright lines of the freeway
Better than the shadows of your daddys church
Better than the waiting
Baby better off is the search |
If you love this land of the free
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring them back from overseas
Bring em home, bring em home
It will make the politicians sad, I know
Bring em home, bring em home
They wanna tangle with their foe
Bring em home, bring em home
They wanna test their grand theories
Bring em home, bring em home
With the blood of you and me
Bring em home, bring em home
Now well give no more brave young lives
Bring em home, bring em home
For the gleam in someones eyes
Bring em home, bring em home
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
Bring em home, bring em home
Yeah and we will all turn out
Bring em home, bring em home
The church bells will ring with joy
Bring em home, bring em home
To welcome our darlin girls and boys
Bring em home, bring em home
We will lift their voice and song
Bring em home, bring em home
Yeah, when Johnny comes marching home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring them back from overseas
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
If you love this land of the free
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring them back from overseas
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring em home, bring em home
Bring them back from overseas
Bring em home, bring em home |
It was a beautiful fall November evening, it was going to writing in my book, and I drove back to my neighborhood where I grew up, looking for uh - I still dont have a fucking clue. But uh, all I know is the streets were dead empty and the whole place looked like itd been locked down since 1955. My corner church was silent and unchanged, no weddings, no funerals, I, rolled slowly another 50 yards up my block to visit my great tree and it was gone. Itd been cut to the street since the last time that I had drove through. So I got out of the car and I looked down, and there was a square of musty earth that held the remaining snakes of its roots on the edge of the parking lot. So I reached down, I picked up a handful of dirt and I just kinda ran it through my hands, and my heart sank like, like a kid who suffered from irretrievable loss, ya know, like, like some, some piece of me was gone. Um, I dont know I guess I, it was just it had been there long before I was, I assumed it would be there long after I was gone, and I liked that. It, it felt eternal. It was at the, it was at center of our street and it had rooted our neighborhood for so long. So I sat there for awhile just cursin the county and listenin to the sounds of the evening come on and I looked again and I realized it was gone but some, some essential piece of it was still there, the air and the space above its roots. I could still feel life, and soul, and the light, my childhood friend there. Its just that its leaves, its branches, and its massive trunk were now outlined, shot through by evening stars and sky. But my great trees life couldnt be ended or erased so easily, from this place because its history. And history matters. Its imprint was too great, it was too old, and it was too strong, it had been there too long, to be done away with so easily. It had stood witness to everything that had happened on these small streets beneath its arms. All the joy, and all the heartbreak, and all the life. And when we live amongst ghosts, always trying to reach us, from that shadow world, and theyre with us every step of the way. My dead fathers still with me every day and I miss him and if I had a wish, oh man I - I wish he couldve been here to see this. But I visit with him every night, little bit, thats a grace-filled thing. And Clarence, I get to, I get to see him be with Clarence a little bit every night. And Danny, Walter, and Bart, my own family, so many of them gone from these houses that are now filled by strangers but the... |
Well i rode that ribbon highway
I saw above me the endless sky
I saw below me the golden valley
This land was made for you and me
Ive roamed and rambled and followed my footsteps
Through the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was calling
This land was made for you and me
This land is your land
This land is my land
From california
To the new york island
From the redwood forest
To the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me
Well the sun came shining and i was strolling
Through wheat fields waving and dust clouds rolling
And a voice was sounding
As the fog was lifting
Saying this land was made for you and me |
Well every night I see a light up in your window
But every night you wont answer your door
But although you wont ever let me in
From the street I can see your silhouette sittin close to him
What must I do?
What does it take?
To get you to
Talk to me
Until the night is over
Come on, baby
Talk to me
Well until the night is over
I got a full weeks pay
And, baby, Ive been working hard each day
Im not asking for the world you see
Im just asking, girl
Talk to me
Well late at night I hear the music that youre playing soft and low
Yes and late at night I see the two of you swayin so close
I dont understand, darling, what was my sin?
Why am I down here below while youre up there with him?
What did I do?
What did I say?
What must I pay?
To get you to
Talk to me
Until the night is over
Little darling, wont you
Talk to me
Well until the night is over
Yea yea yea
I got a full weeks pay
And baby Ive been working hard each day
Im not asking for the world you see
Im just asking girl
Talk to me
I dont understand, darling, what was my sin?
Why am I down here below while youre up there with him?
What did I do?
What did I say?
What must I pay?
To get you to
Talk to me
Until the night is over
Come on, baby
Talk to me
Well until the night is over
Yea yea yea
I got a full weeks pay
And baby
Ive been working hard each day
Im not asking for the world you see
Im down on my bended knees
Im just asking darling please wont you
Talk to me
Until the night is over
Come on talk to me
Until the night is over
Talk to me
Till the sun comes up
Bruce Springsteen Music ASCAP |
You stare in the mirror at the lines in your face
And you try so hard to see, girl
The way things were when we were at your place
Everyday was just you and me, girl
And you cry because things aint like before
Well, dont you know it cant be that way anymore
But dont worry baby
I cant talk now, Im not alone
So put your ear close to the phone
This is the last dance, the last chance
For hearts of stone
If there was something, baby, that I could do
Something that would last, honey, I would
But you should know better than to think that you
Can return to the past
So close your eyes and Ill be there
Hold you once more,not go anywhere
I wish I could, babe
But I cant talk now, Im not alone
So put your ear close to the phone
This is the last dance, the last chance
For hearts of stone
And you cry because things get so strange so fast
And you cry because nothing good ever lasts
Well, I know babe
Yes, I know, babe
But I cant talk now, Im not alone
So put your ear close to the phone
Cause this is the last dance, the last chance
For hearts of stone
This is the last dance, the last chance
For hearts of stone
Bruce Springsteen Music ASCAP |
Tonight my bag is packed
Tomorrow Ill walk these tracks
That will lead me cross the border
Tomorrow my love and I
Will sleep neath auburn skies
Somewhere across the border
Well leave behind, my dear
The pain and sadness we found here
And well drink from the Brazos muddy waters
Where the sky grows gray and wide
Well meet on the other side
There across the border
For me, youll build a house
High up on a grassy hill
Somewhere across the border
Where pain and memory
Pain and memory have been stilled
There across the border
Sweet blossoms fill the air
Pastures of gold and green
Roll down into cool clear waters
And in your arms neath open skies
Ill kiss the sorrow from your eyes
There across the border
Tonight well sing the songs
And Ill dream of you, my Corazon
And tomorrow my heart will be strong
And may the Saints blessing and grace
Carry me safely into your arms
There across the border
For what are we
Without hope in our hearts?
That someday well drink from Gods blessed waters
And eat the fruit from the vine
I know love and fortune will be mine
Somewhere across the border |
I was driving through my hometown
I was just kinda killin time
When I seen a face staring out of a black velvet painting
From the window of the five and dime
I couldnt quite recall the name
But the pose looked familiar to me
So I asked the salesgirl Who was that man
Between the doberman and Bruce Lee ?
She said Just a local hero
Local hero she said with a smile
Yeah a local hero he used to live here for a while
I met a stranger dressed in black
At the train station
He said Son your soul can be saved
Theres beautiful women nights of low livin
And some dangerous money to be made
Theres a big town cross the whiskey line
And if we turn the right cards up
They make us boss the devil pays off
And them folks that are real hard up
They get their local hero
Somebody with the right style
They get their local hero
Somebody with just the right smile
Well I learned my job I learned it well
Fit myself with religion and a story to tell
First they made me the king then they made me pope
Then they brought the rope
I woke to a gypsy girl sayin Drink this
Well my hands had lost all sensation
These days Im feeling all right
Cept I cant tell my courage from my desperation
From the tainted chalice
Well I drunk some heady wine
Tonight Im layin here
But theres something in my ear
Sayin theres a little town just beneath the flood line
Needs a local hero
Somebody with the right style
Lookin for a local hero
Someone with the right smile
Local hero local hero she said with a smile
Local hero he used to live here for a while |
It was more like a dream than reality
I must have thought it was a dream
While he was here with me
When he was near, I didnt think he would leave
When he was gone it was too much to believe
So with tomorrow
I will borrow
Another moment of joy and sorrow
And another dream
And another with tomorrow
So if there someday wont be time
Just to look behind
No more reasons or descriptions
For my place and mind
There was so much I was told that was not real
So many things I could not taste but I could feel
So with tomorrow
I will borrow
Another moment of joy and sorrow
And another dream
And another with tomorrow
Hey little girl, is your daddy home
Did he go and leave you all alone
Ive got a bad desire
Ooh Im on fire
Tell me now baby
Is he good to you
Can he do to you things that I do
I can take you higher
Ooh Im on fire
Sometimes it feels like you took a knife
Edgy and dull
And cut a six inch valley
Through the middle of my soul
At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
And a freight train running
Through the middle of my head
And you cool my desire
Ooh Im on fire
Ooh Im on fire
Ooh Im on fire
Ooh Im on fire |
I met a little girl and I settled down
In a little house out on the edge of town
We got married, swore wed never part
Then little by little we drifted from each others hearts
At first I thought it was just restlessness
That would fade as time went by and our love grew deep
In the end it was something more I guess
Tore us apart and made us weep
Im driving a stolen car
Down on Eldridge Avenue
Each night I wait to get caught
But I never do
She asked if I remembered the letters I wrote
When our love was young and bold
She said last night she read those letters
And they made her feel one hundred years old
Im driving a stolen car
On a pitch-black night
And Im telling myself
Its going to be all right
I drive by night
And I travel in fear
That in this darkness
I will disappear |
Rainey Williams playground was the Mott Haven streets
Where he ran past melted candles and flower wreaths
Names and photos of the young black faces
Whose death and blood consecrated these places
Raineys mother said, Rainey, stay at my side
For you are my blessing, you are my pride
Its your love here that keeps my soul alive
I want you to come home from school and stay inside
Raineyd do his work and put his books away
There was a channel showed a Western movie everyday
And that brought him home books on the black cowboys of the Oklahoma range
The Seminole scouts that fought the tribes of the Great Plains
Summer come and the days grew long
Rainey always had his mothers smile to depend on
Along the street of stray bullets, he made his way
To the warmth of her arms at the end of each day
Come the fall, the rain flooded these homes
Here in Ezekiels valley of dry bones
It fell hard and dark to the ground
It fell without a sound
Lynette took up with a man whose business was the boulevard
Whose smile was fixed in a face that was never off guard
In the pipes neath the kitchen sink, his secrets are kept
In the day, behind drawn curtains in the next bedroom he slept
And she got lost in the days
The smile Rainey depended on dusted away
The arms that held him were no more his own
He lay at night his head pressed to her chest listening to the ghost in her bones
In the kitchen, Rainey slipped his hand between the pipes
From a brown bag pulled five hundred dollar bills and stuck it in his coat side
Stood in the dark at his mothers bed
Brushed her hair and kissed her eyes
In the twilight, Rainey walked to the station on streets of stone
Through Pennsylvania and Ohio, his train drifted on
Through the small towns of Indiana, the big train crept
As he lay his head back on the seat and slept
He woke and the towns gave way to muddy fields of green
Corn and cotton and endless nothing in between
Over the rutted hills of Oklahoma, the red sun slipped and was gone
The moon rose and stripped the earth to its bone |
I hauled myself up out of the ditch
And built me an ark of gopher wood and pitch
Sat down by the roadside and waited on the rain
I am the hunter of invisible game
Well, I awoke last night to the heavy clicking and clack
And a scarecrow on fire along the railroad tracks
There were empty cities and burning plains
I am the hunter of invisible game
We all come up a little short, and we go down hard
These days I spend my time skipping through the dark
Through the empires of dust, I chant your name
I am the hunter of invisible game
Through the bone yard rattle and black smoke, we rolled on
Down into the valley where the beast has his throne
There I sing my song, and I sharpen my blade
I am the hunter of invisible game
Strength is vanity, and time is illusion
I feel you breathing, the rest is confusion
Your skin touches mine, what else to explain
I am the hunter of invisible game
Now pray for yourself and that you may not fall
When the hour of deliverance comes on us all
When our hope and faith and courage and trust
Can rise or vanish like dust into dust
Theres a kingdom of love waiting to be reclaimed
I am the hunter of invisible game
I am the hunter of invisible game
I am the hunter of invisible game |
I know what its like to have failed, baby
With the whole world looking on
I know what its like to have soared
And come crashin like a drunk on a barroom floor
Now youve got no reason to trust me
My confidence is a little rusty
But if you dont feel like being alone
Baby, I could walk you all the way home
Well now our old fears and failures, oh baby, they do linger
Like the shadow of that ring that was on your finger
Those days, theyve come and gone
Baby, I could walk you all the way home
Love leaves nothin but shadows and vapor
We go on, as is our sad nature, baby
Now its some old Stones song the band is trashin
But if you feel like dancin, baby, Im askin
Its coming on closing time
Bartender, hes ringin last call
These days I dont stand on pride
I aint afraid to take a fall
So if youre seein what you like
Maybe your first choice, hes gone
Well, thats all right
Baby, I could walk you all the way home
Baby, I could walk you all the way home |
Well, a great black river
A man had found
So he put all his money
In a hole in the ground
And sent a big steel arm
Driving down, down, down
Man, now I live on the streets
Of Houston town
Packed up my wife and kids
When winter came along
And we headed down south
With just spit and a song
But they said, sorry, son
Its gone, gone, gone
Well, theres men hunkered down
By the railroad tracks
The Elkhorn special
Blowing my hair back
Tents pitched on the highway
In the dirty moonlight
And I dont know where
Im gonna sleep tonight
Parked in the lumberyard
Freezing our asses off
My kids in the backseat
Got a graveyard cough
Well, Im sleeping up
In front with my wife
Billyclub tapping on the windshield
In the middle of the night
Says move along, man, move along
Well, big limousine
Long, shiny and black
You dont look ahead
You dont look back
How many times can you get up
After youve been hit?
Well, I swear if I could
Spare the spit
Id lay one on
Your shiny chrome
And send you
On your way back home
So if youre gonna leave your town
Where the north wind blow
To go on down
Where that sweet soda river flow
Well, you better think twice on it, Jack
Youre better off buying a shotgun
Dead off the rack
You aint gonna find nothing down here, friend
Except seeds blowing up the highway
In the south wind
Moving on
Moving on
Its gone, gone, all gone |
Well ya know when youre young
Theres such a distance between you and your family
Just cant see things from the same point of view
Papa wants a lawyer and mama she wants an author
And all you want is for them to want you
Well, I saw lot of bad signs and we had some real bad timesback on the east coast
And I guess you could say it took california to bring us close
There was a lot of hard livin and some stone cold women on the east coast
And I saw my papa turn away when I need him the most
And california, shes an angel
Lo, so heavenly dressed
And the pacific shes a woman
The lord must have loved her best
I got a california rainbow to come give them thunder clouds a rest
And the mountain is my friend now, she put me to her test
Well you know every father has dreams and schemes for his own kid
And dreaming it aint been declaired no capital crime
But I just hope when I grow up to have my own kids
Ill love them all I can and let em make their own minds
Now you know how a mother can hold the son through understanding
And my father he once held me close by crying
Whoa, and my mamas love it dont ever leave me standing
And papas love it just leaves me smiling
Whoa, and my mama shes a rainbow
Gotta see hen on sunday when shes dressed
Whoa, and my papa hes a good man, he gives me and mama his best
Whoa, my mama shes a rainbow, come to give them thunder clouds a rest
And my family is my friend now california put us through her test |
Mister trouble come walkin this way
Year gone past feels like one long day
But Im alive and Im feelin all right
Well I run that hard road outta hearbreak city
Built a roadside carnival out of hurt and self-pity
It was all wrong well now Im movin on
Aint no chuch bells ringing
Aint no flags unfurled
Just me and you and the love were bringing
Into the real world
Into the real world
I built a shrine in my heart it wasnt pretty to see
Made out of fools gold memory and tears cried
Now Im heading over the rise
Im searching for one clear moment of love and truth
I still got a little faith
But what I need is some proof tonight
Im lookin for it in your eyes
Aint no chuch bells ringing
Aint no flags unfurled
Just me and you and the love were bringing
Into the real world
Into the real world
Well tonight I just wanna shout
I feel my soul waist deep and sinking
Into this black river of doubt
I just wanna rise and walk along the riverside
And when the morning comes baby I dont wanna hide
Ill stand right at your side with my arms open wide
Well tonight I just wanna shout
I feel my soul waist deep and sinking
Into this black river of doubt
I just want to rise and walk along the riverside
Til the morning comes
Ill stand right by your side
I wanna find some answers I wanna ask for some help
Im tired or running scared
Baby lets get our bags packed
Well take it here to hell and heaven and back
And if love is hopeless hopeless at best
Come on put on your party dress its ours tonight
And were going with the tumblin dice
Aint no chuch bells ringing
Aint no flags unfurled
Just me and you and the love were bringing
Into the real world
Into the real world
Oh into the real world |
...soul, soul is a stubborn thing. Doesnt dissipate so quickly. Souls remain. They remain here in the air, in empty space, in dusty roots, in sidewalks that I knew every single inch of like I knew my own body, as a child, and in the songs that we sing, ya know. That is why we sing. We sing for our blood and for our people, because thats all we have at the end of the day - each other and, maybe thats what Im lookin for when I go down there, I just wanna commune with the old spirits, stand in their presence, feel their hands on me. One more time. Um, anyway, once again I stood in the shadow of my old church ya know, you know what they say about Catholics - yeah, theres no gettin out. Nah, no, they gotcha, they gotcha, the bastards got ya when the gettin was good. They did their work hard and they did it well, cause the words of a very strange but all too familiar benediction came back to me that evening, and I wanna tell you these were words that as a kid, I mumbled these things, I sing-songed them, I chanted them, bored out of my fucking mind, in an endless drone before class every fucking day, every day the green blazer, the green tie, the green trousers, the green socks of all of Saint Roses unwilling disciples, ya know. But for some damn reason, as I sat there on my street that night, ya know, mourning, mourning my old tree, and once again surrounded by God, those were the words that came back to me and they flowed differently. Was Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, just give us this day and forgive us our sins, our trespasses, as we may forgive those who trespass against us, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, all of us, forever and ever, Amen. And may God bless you, your family, and all those that you love. And thanks for comin out tonight |
Bishop danced with a thumbscrew woman
Did a double-quick back flip and slid across the floor
The Catholic traffic flowed freely cross the river
And fiddlestick fiddled quick out the front door
Oh baby dumpling, mamas in the back tree
If the bow breaks mama might fall
Little sad and only, baby dont be lonely
Mama knows rithmatic, knows how to take a fall
Mama knows rithmatic, knows how to take a fall
And the kids are crying Flapjacks, makeem fat, early in the mornin
Little Jack, grab your hat, hear the breakfast call
Muskrat, bat a cat, kick him in the fireplace
Theres someone in the kitchen blowing Dinah on their horn
Theres someone in the kitchen blowing Dinah like theyre born
Well maverick daddy got one-eyed bridge
She glides like a monkey-mule kicking on the back slide
Over hill, over hill, daddy dont you spill now
Papa got a switch stick, hes pumping little Bill
Papa got a switch stick, hes pumping little Bill
And Billy, hes crying Tomahawk, tomahawk, daddy better duck now
The Mohawks, the Mohawks, theyre still out there in the woods
Monatuk, Ocanuk, runnin through my dreams now
With fire on their fingertips and indian screams
With fire on their fingertips and feathers made of moonbeams
Well early in the morning the cannoneer cried
I seen the sailors warning in the western sky
Well mountain man, if you can, cut me down a fir tree
Branches full of candlesticks for baby and me
And my darling cried, she said Honey, the weathervane
Lately its been pointing the way to heaven
Scatterbrains, scatterbrains, watch out where you fall
Champagne, champagne, a round for all the old choir boys
Theyre busting off the altar chasing Dinah through the hall
Theyre bustin off the altar chasing Dinah through the hall
And the kids are crying Flapjacks, makeem fat, early in the mornin
Little Jack, grab your hat, hear the breakfast call
Muskrat, bat a cat, kick him in the fireplace
Theres someone in the kitchen blowing Dinah on their horn
Theres someone in the kitchen blowing Dinah like theyre born |
Alright, alright, she is the queen of my heart. She is my flaming beauty. My Jersey girl. She is a great songwriter, shes one of the loveliest voices Ive ever heard. She is smart, tough, but fragile. Dont forget that part. If we love those in whose companies reflected the best of us, thats the light she shines on me. 1984 one night, hangin out at the Stone Pony and this beautiful redhead shows up and sits in with the Sunday night house band, and that is the night I fell in love with Pattis voice. She got on stage, this blaze of red, she performed a great version of The Exciters hit song Tell Him. So the first line of the first song I ever heard Patti sing was I know somethin about love. She does. Ladies and gentlemen Patti Scialfa |
Well, Ive been out of the woods for 6 days and nights, now
Well, Im a little hot wired but Im feeling alright
I got some money in my pocket and a long, lean ride, yeah
I got to make it down to Galveston by Saturday night, now
Well, Im a little down under but Im feeling okay
Got a little lost along the way
Im just around the corner to the light of day
Well, Im just around the corner to the light of day, yeah
Been driving 500 miles, got 500 to go, yeah
I got rock n roll music on the radio
I got a brother on a rig just off the Gulf Coast
He says the girls down there, well, theyre really the most, man
Well, Im a little down under but Im feeling okay
I got a little lost along the way
Just around the corner to the light of day, yeah
Just around the corner to the light of day, yeah
Im just around the corner to the light of day, yeah
Just around the corner to the light of day, yeah
Im driving 100 miles, 200 miles, 300 miles
Train kept on a-rollin
Going 400 miles, 500 miles, 600 miles
Train kept on a-rollin
Going 700 miles, 800 miles, 900 miles
1,000 miles, 2,000 miles, 3,000 miles
I came a long, long way tonight
All the way to Hollywood, California
Via Sweden, via Paris, via Italian, via France
Via via London, England
Via the great state of New Jersey
And halfway across the United States
I wanna thank yall for invitin me into your living room tonight
I know theres millions of ya out there
I know youre downhearted
I know youre disenchanted
I know youre disillusioned
I know theres 57 channels and nothing on
Just one thing I wanna know tonight
Theres just one thing I wanna know
But first I want you to get up off your couch
I want you to put the popcorn down
I want you to come on over to the TV set
I want you to turn it up real loud
I want you to take off all your clothes now
And what I want to know is anybody alive out there?
Well, I got thrown out of work on the Kokomo
Dont ask me what Im doing, I dont know
I hope he wasnt joking when he wrote me that letter
Things cant get any worse, they gotta get better
Im a little down under, feeling okay
Got a little lost along the way
Just around the corner to the light of day
Just around the corner to the light of day, yeah
Just around the corner to the light of day, yeah
Just around the corner to the light of day, yeah
Im just around the corner
Just around the corner
Just around the corner
Just around the corner
Just around the corner to the light of day
Just around the corner to the light of day
Just around the corner to the light of day |
The way your heart beats when I hold you tight
The way you sigh when we kiss goodnight
The way the wind blows through the trees
Well hey, thats the way you belong to me
The way you warm me baby when Im cold
The way you make me want you body and soul
The way the rivers run to the sea
Well hey, thats the way you belong to me
The way you soothe me when Im in pain
The way you make the blood rush in my veins
The way the winds rush through the trees
Well hey, thats the way you belong to me
When I lose faith you take my hand
The way you make me feel like Im a man
The way the sun belongs to the sea
Well hey, thats the way you belong to me
The way you make me feel like I belong
And if I could girl though I know itd be wrong
Id lock you deep inside till the last rains fall
And hide you from the emptiness of it all
Sometimes at night I lie awake
I pull you close and feel each breath you take
The way the rivers belong to the seas
Well hey, thats the way you belong to me
Well hey, thats the way you belong to me
Hmmmmm
Hmmmmm
Hmmmmm
Hmmmmm
Hmmmmm
Hmmmmm |
Taxi Cab, Taxi Cab, at the light
Wont you take me on a ride through this city of night
I got some money and Im feeling fine
I aint in no hurry so just take your time
Some people wanna die young and gloriously
But Taxi Cab driver, well that aint me
I got a cute little baby down at 12th and Vine
And she opens for business just about closing time
Ah hey hey, ah hey hey
City of night, city of night
And I dont believe what I see in this street
I dont know how people they can take the heat
Well baby Im a liar, Im a cheat, and I dont care
I got my money, I can take my fare
Ah hey hey, ah hey hey
City of night, city of night
Im riding tonight to see my sugar girl
You know she wears that dress without a care in the world
Yeah she got come loving thats as bright as the sun
And she brings it with her man when she comes
Hey, hey, city of night
Ah-hey, ah-hey, city of night
Ride on |
Take me now baby here as I am
Pull me close try and understand
I work all day out in the hot sun
Stay with me now till the mornin comes
Come on now try and understand
The way I feel when Im in your hands
Take my hand, come undercover
They cant hurt us now
They cant hurt us now
They cant hurt us now
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
What Ive got I have earned
What Im not, baby, I have learned
Desire and hunger is the fire I breathe
Just stay in my bed till the morning comes
Come on now try and understand
The way I feel when Im in your hands
Take me now as the sun descends
They cant hurt us now
They cant hurt us now
They cant hurt us now
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
Your love is here and now
The vicious circle turns and burns without
Though I cannot live forgive me now
The time has come to take this moment
Take my hand
Take me now
Take me now
Take me now
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us
Because the night belongs to lovers
Because the night belongs to us |
I aint afraid of no lions
I aint afraid of no grizzly bear
I got in a wrestlin match with old king kong
He didnt even muss my hair
Theres just one thing in the whole wide world
That make me doubt my stuff
Im a coward when it comes to love
Now bring down old hulk hogan
King kong bundy too
Bring down old big mike tyson
Ill show them what a real man can do
They say the tougher get goin
Now baby thats when the goin get tough
But Im a coward when it comes to love
Im a coward when it comes to love
Im a coward when it comes to love
You can bring on a different sexy girl
At every night of the week
Buddy thats okay
But I start tremblin, my knees get weak
Whenever I hear her say
do you love me baby?
do you love me baby?
do you love me baby?
I got a muscle of iron
I got another muscle made of steel
But when we start kissin n huggin
You may be the bravest man in the whole wide world
But buddy, that aint enough
Im a coward when it comes to love
Im a coward when it comes to love
Im a coward when it comes to love |
I hold you in my arms
As the band plays
What are those words whispered, baby
As you turn away?
I saw you last night
Out on the edge of town
I wanna read your mind
To know just what I got in this new thing I found
So tell me what I see
When I look in your eyes
Is that you baby
Or just a brilliant disguise?
I heard somebody call your name
From underneath our willow
I saw something tucked in shame
Underneath your pillow
Well, Ive tried so hard, baby
But I just cant see
What a woman like you
Is doing with me
So tell me who I see
When I look in your eyes
Is that you, baby
Or just a brilliant disguise?
Now look at me, baby
Im struggling to do everything right
And then it all falls apart
Oh, when out go the lights
Im just a lonely pilgrim
I walk this world in wealth
I want to know if its you I dont trust
Cause I damn sure dont trust myself
Now you play the lovin woman
Ill play the faithful man
But just dont look too close
Into the palm of my hand
Yeah, we stood at the altar
The gypsy swore our future was right
But come the wee wee hours
Maybe, baby, the gypsy lied
So when you look at me
You better look hard and look twice
Is that me, baby
Or just a brilliant disguise?
Tonight our bed is cold
Im lost in the darkness of our love
God, have mercy on the man
Who doubts what hes sure of
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm
Ooh |
Jimmy:
In the day we sweat it out on the streets stuck in traffic on the GWB
They shut down the tollbooths of glory because we didnt endorse Christie
Sprung from cages on Highway 9
We got three lanes closed, So Jersey get your ass in line
Ooohhh, baby this Bridgegate was just pay back
Its a bitch slap to the state Democrats
We gotta get out but we cant,
Were stuck in Governor Chris Christies Fort Lee New Jersey traffic jam.
Bruce:
Governor, let me in, I wanna be your friend
Theyll be no partisan divisions
Let me wrap my legs round your mighty rims
And relieve your stressful conditions
Weve got Wall Street masters stuck cheek to cheek
With blue-collar truckers, and man I really gotta take a leak
But I cant
Im stuck in Governor Chris Christies Fort Lee New Jersey traffic jam
1, 2, 3, 4!
Jimmy:
Highways jammed with pissed off drivers with no place left to go
And the press conference went on and on
Bruce:
It was longer than one of my own damn shows
Jimmy:
Some day Governor, I dont know when
This will all end, but til then
Together:
Youre killin the workin man.
Whos stuck in Governor Chris Christies Fort Lee New Jersey traffic jam.
Whoa whoa whoa!
Whoa whoa whoa!
Bruce:
I gotta take a leak! I really gotta take a leak!
Together:
Down in Jersey land! |
One night in a motel room
Eyes cast like steel
I drank the wine that they left on my table
I knew the morning was too far
I smoked my last cigarette
I stay only to defy
The night was dark and the land was cold
Now its frozen right to the bone
Just like fire would, I burn up
Just like fire would
Just like fire would, I burn up
500 miles Ive gone today
Tomorrows 500 more
Outside my window the world passes by, its
Stranger than a dream
Just like fire would, I burn up
Just like fire would
Just like fire would, I burn up
I go to work and I earn my pay, Lord
My sweat it falls to the ground
I see you now but we may never meet again child
The ice is hanging on the door
One night in a motel room
Eyes cast like steel
I drank the wine that they left on my table
I knew the morning was too far
Just like fire would, I burn up
Just like fire would
Just like fire would, I burn up
Just like fire would, I burn up
Just like fire would
Just like fire would, I burn up |
Well in Candys room there are pictures of her savior on the wall
But to get to Candys room youve gotta walk the darkness of Candys hall
Strangers from the city call my babys number and they bring Candy toys
But when I come knockin she smiles pretty
She knows tonight Im gonna be Candys boy
Well in the olden days when the Mongolian gangs rode herd out on Route 9
Wed go riding in the rain runnin south way down through the pines
Weekends in the sun in that cheap motel down by the dynamo
We loved each other till there was nothin left
And drove that old car as hard and fast as she would go
Well like a cold winter wind blowing in babe I needed you
But Candys got a man who takes care of her better than I do
Well theres machines and theres fire
Waiting for us on the edge of town
And theres some roughboys for hire
And theyre waiting to blow me and Candy down
Its all right cause they cant touch us now theyll never destroy
My sweet love for I will forever be Candys boy
My sweet love for I will forever be Candys boy |
Here she comes walkin down the stree-eet
You know shes walkin just like shes walkin to come and see me-ee
Oh shes so you-ou-ou-oung and shes so fi-ine
I know whats on your mind, know what you wanna do
But if you mess with her, Im gonna mess with you
You better watch your step, You better stay in line
This little girl is mi-i-ine, Oh-oh this little girl is mi-i-ine
Oh-oh this little girl, this little girl, this little gir-irl is mi-ine
Oh-oh this little girl is mi-i-ine, Oh-oh this little girl is mi-ine
Oh-oh this little girl, this little girl, this little gir-irl is mi-ine
Well if the world was mine to do with what I want to do sir
Well Id wrap it up in a bow and give it all to her-er, yeah
And all my lo-ove, all of the ti-i-ime
You know Id hold her tight, Id never let her go
And late at night, You know Id love her so
Yeah, Id treat her right, So shed never mind
But this little girl is mi-ine, Oh-oh this little girl is mi-i-ine
Oh-oh this little girl, this little girl, This little girl is mi-mi-mi-mine
Hey you better watch out, Im tellin you the score-ore
Are you gonna be sweepin your broken heart up off the floor-oor
Oh and that aint a-all, Im tellin you my frie-iend
I know whats on your mind, know what you wanna do
But if you mess with her, Im gonna mess with you
You like the way she moves, you like to watch her walk
You better listen up cause man this aint just talk
You better watch yourself, you better stay in line
Now mister I said
This little girl is mi-ine, Oh-oh this little girl is mi-i-ine
This little girl, this little girl, this little girl is mi-i-ine
Oh-oh this little girl, this little girl |
Hey little girl is your daddy home
Did he go away and leave you all alone
I got a bad desire ohhhh I’m on fire
Tell me now baby is he good to you
Can he do to you the things that I do oh
I can take you higher ohhhh I’m on fire
Sometimes it’s like someone took a knife baby
Edgy and dull and cut a six-inch valley
Through the middle of my skull
At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
And a freight train running through the middle of my head
Only you can cool my desire ohhhh I’m on fire
Sometimes it’s like someone took a knife baby
Edgy and dull and cut a six-inch valley
Through the middle of my skull
At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
And a freight train running through the middle of my head
Only you can cool my desire ohhhh I’m on fire
Ohhhh I’m on fire
Ohhhh I’m on fire
Ohhhh I’m on fire |
You broke my heart, tore it apart
Thought it was cute, thought it was smart
But now Im back and Ive got the strength of ten
So I got a message for you my friend
Im Daniel waiting in the lions den
Daniel waiting for that lion to come
Daniel waiting in the lions den
Dum dum dee dum dum dee dee dum dum
That old lions mean and long in the tooth
And like you, baby, hes out on the loose
Messing hearts up time and time again
Now its the time for that messing to end
Im Daniel waiting in the lions den
Daniel waiting for that lion to come
Daniel waiting in the lions den
Dum dum dee dum dum dee dee dum dum
At night I hear you out prowling around
Tearing guys up, scaring em down
Now all that growlings gonna come to no end
Cause Im just bidding my time, my little friend
Im Daniel waiting in the lions den
Daniel waiting for that lion to come
Daniel waiting in the lions den
Dum dum dee dum dum dee dee dum dum |
I had a dream our love would last forever
I had a dream tonight my dream comes true
And if youll hold me tight
Well be riders, girl, on the night
Ooh, I want a rendezvous
Havent I told you, girl, how much I like you
I got a feeling that you like me too
Well if you hold me tight
Well be riders, girl, on the night
Ooh, I want a rendezvous
You deserve so much more than this, girl
Well Im riding on the power and livin on the promise in your last kiss
Because I had a dream our love would last forever
I had a dream tonight my dream comes true
And if youll hold me tight
Well be riders, girl, on the night
Ooh, ooh, rendezvous
I want a rendezvous
I want a rendezvous |
Well, Billy bought a Chevy 40 coupe deluxe
Chrome wheels, stick shift, give her gas, pop the clutch
Girls on the corner, like a diamond they shine
Someday, Billy, Im gonna make em all mine
Hey girl, you wanna ride in Daddys Cadillac?
Cause I love the way your long hair falls down your back
Bo Diddley, Bo Diddleys at the Seaside Bar
Well run barefoot in the sand, listen to his guitar
You say your mamas gonna meet you when the morning comes
And your papas gonna beat you cause he knows youre out on the run
Im gonna live a life of love and tonight youre the one
The highway is alive tonight so baby do not be frightened
Theres something about a pretty girl on a sweet summer night
That gets this boy excited
The radioman finally understands and plays you something you can move to
You lay back, cut loose your drive power
Your girl leans over and says, Daddy, can you turn that radio up any louder?
The juke joints hummin, everybody came down
Little Willie and his Soul Brooms laying all this stuff now
Well dont let that daylight steal your soul
Get in your wheels and roll, roll, roll, roll, roll, roll, roll
Oh thats all right now
Oh go on, go on, go on
Oh mamas gonna meet you when the morning comes
And your daddys gonna beat you cause he knows youre out on the run
But I dont care, I wanna live a life of love while the nights still young |
Sun comes every morning but it aint no friend
I get dressed and I go back again
The rain it keeps on falling on twisted bones and dirt
Im buried to my heart here in this hurt
The fire keeps on burning
Youre waiting in the cold
Down in the hole
Dark and bloody autumn pierces my heart
The memory of your kiss tears me apart
The sky above is turning, the world belows gone gray
I thought that I could turn and walk away
The fire keeps on burning
Im working in the cold
Down in the hole
Radios crackling with the headlines
Wind in the phone lines
The sun upon your shoulder
Empty city skyline
The day rips apart
A dark and bloody arrow pierced my heart
I got nothing to hide this sky of sunshine
The things you left behind
I wake to find my citys gone to black
Days just keep on falling
Your voice it keeps on calling
Im going to dig right here until I get you back
The fires keep on burning
Im here with you in the cold
Down in the hole |
Alright. I never believed that people came to my shows, or rock shows in general, to be told anything. But I do believe that they come to be reminded of things, to be reminded of who they are, that theyre most joyous at their deepest, when life feels full. Its a good place to get in touch with your heart and your spirit. Its good to be amongst the crowd, be reminded of who we are and who we can be collectively, and music does those things pretty well. Sometimes, they can come in pretty handy. And particularly these days, some reminding of who we are and who we can be isnt such a bad thing, ya know, uh. I uh, I re- I refer back to the weekend of the March for our Lives when we saw all those young people in Washington and citizens all around the country remind us of what faith in America and what real faith in American democracy, and how sacred that is. When uh, that weekend, you just saw what it actually looked like and felt like. It was just encouraging, to see all those people out on the street and all that righteous passion alive in the service of something good, to see it still there at the center of the beating heart of our country, and, in spite of what weve been goin through, it was a good day ya know, it was just, it was just one good day. But it was a necessary day. Because these are the times when weve also seen folks marching, and in the highest offices of our land who want to speak to our darkest angels, who want to call up the ugliest and the most divisive ghosts of Americas past, and they want to destroy the idea of an America for all. Thats their intention. Thats what weve been seeing in the outrage of the broken families on the border, and in hate-filled marches on American streets, this year. Things I never thought I would see again in my lifetime. Things that I thought that were dead and gone forever, on the ash heap of history. Ya know uh, ya know weve come too far and worked too hard, too many good people paid too high a price, and paid, paid with their lives to allow this to happen now. Ya know. Theres been too much hard work done, and sacrifice. Theres a beautiful quote by Dr. King that says, The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice. It is important to believe in those words and to carry yourself, and to act accordingly, to live with compassion, and have faith in that what were seeing now, is just another hard chapter, in the long long ongoing battle for the soul of the nation |
So - so Im 20 years old, and Im livin and playin on the Jersey shore and Im waitin to be discovered. Now, I have some confidence. Ive been around a bit, and without a doubt, I am definitely the best thing that Ive ever seen. Ive already played in front of every conceivable audience. I had played firemans fairs, midnight madness supermarket openings, drive-in movies, uh, in front of the concession stand in between films, Ive played beach parties, offices, clubs, pizza parlors, coffee shops, bowling alleys, trailer parks, roller rinks, VFW halls, CYO canteens, the elks lodge, YMCA gymnasiums, hockey rinks, county fairs, carnivals, high school dances, weddings, fraternity parties, bar mitzvahs, soul revues, battle of the bands, Sing Sing Prison, and Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital. Send me your murderers and your maniacs and let me entertain em, alright? Its what I do. Thats all true. Thats all before I was 23 years old. Im frustrated, I listen to the radio and I think Im as good as that guy, Im better than that guy, so why not me? Answer: because I live in the fucking Boondocks, alright. Let me explain this to you. I live in the boondocks. There is nobody here and no one comes down here. Its a grave. There was no Jersey, Jersey, Jersey Shore, Jersey Almighty shit. I invented that. Before me, Jersey was Jeserkistan. Jeserkistan! One of the little -stan things that nobody knows a fuckin thing about, ya know. And New York was a million miles away from the Jersey Shore. In my little town as a child we knew no one who had ever been to New York City. Jesus Christ, it was only an hour away! But no, you might as well have said youre goin to the fuckin moon! Hey, were goin to the moon, you wanna go? No, no, no, no New York, were provincial, everybody was afraid ya know, everybody was afraid of the big city. And there was no internet, there was no ET, or MTV, or cable TV or satellite or, this is before anyone and everyones asscrack from any place U.S.A. could be seen all over the world, should they choose, in the push of a key, in the next instant. So who was gonna come to the Jersey shore, to discover the next big thing in 1971? Youre correct. No fuckin body. All we heard down there was the sound of, one hand clapping. Wasnt gonna happen |