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They paved paradise and put up a parking lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin hot spot Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone? They paved paradise, put up a parking lot (Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop) They took all the trees, put em in a tree museum And they charged the people a dollar and a half just to see em Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone? They paved paradise, put up a parking lot (Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop) Hey farmer, farmer, put away the DDT now Give me spots on my apples But leave me the birds and the bees, please Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone? They paved paradise, put up a parking lot (Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop) Late last night, I heard the screen door slam And a big yellow taxi took away my old man Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone? They paved paradise, put up a parking lot I said, dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone? They paved paradise, put up a parking lot They paved paradise, put up a parking lot They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
Just before our love got lost you said I am as constant as a northern star And I said, Constantly in the darkness Wheres that at? If you want me Ill be in the bar On the back of a cartoon coaster In the blue TV screen light I drew a map of Canada Oh, Canada With your face sketched on it twice Oh, you are in my blood like holy wine You taste so bitter and so sweet Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling And I would still be on my feet Oh, I would still be on my feet Oh, I am a lonely painter I live in a box of paints Im frightened by the devil And Im drawn to those ones that aint afraid I remember that time you told me, you said Love is touching souls Surely you touched mine Cause part of you pours out of me In these lines from time to time Oh, you are in my blood like holy wine You taste so bitter and so sweet Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling Still Id be on my feet I would still be on my feet I met a woman She had a mouth like yours She knew your life She knew your devils and your deeds And she said Go to him, stay with him if you can But be prepared to bleed Oh, but you are in my blood, you are my holy wine Youre so bitter, bitter and so sweet Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling Still Id be on my feet I would still be on my feet
Rows and floes of angel hair And ice cream castles in the air And feather canyons everywhere Ive looked at clouds that way But now they only block the sun They rain and snow on everyone So many things I would have done But clouds got in my way Ive looked at clouds from both sides now From up and down, and still somehow Its cloud illusions I recall I really dont know clouds at all Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels The dizzy dancing way that you feel As every fairy tale comes real Ive looked at love that way But now its just another show You leave em laughing when you go And if you care, dont let them know Dont give yourself away Ive looked at love from both sides now From give and take, and still somehow Its loves illusions I recall I really dont know love at all Tears and fears and feeling proud To say I love you right out loud Dreams and schemes and circus crowds Ive looked at life that way But now old friends are acting strange They shake their heads, they say Ive changed Well somethings lost, but somethings gained In living every day Ive looked at life from both sides now From win and lose and still somehow Its lifes illusions I recall I really dont know life At all Ive looked at life from both sides now From up and down and still somehow Its lifes illusions I recall I really dont know life At all
Its coming on Christmas Theyre cutting down trees Theyre putting up reindeer And singing songs of joy and peace Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on But it dont snow here It stays pretty green Im gonna make a lot of money Then Im gonna quit this crazy scene I wish I had a river I could skate away on I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby cry He tried hard to help me You know, he put me at ease And he loved me so naughty Made me weak in the knees Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on Im so hard to handle Im selfish and Im sad Now Ive gone and lost the best baby That I ever had I wish I had a river I could skate away on I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby say goodbye Its coming on Christmas Theyre cutting down trees Theyre putting up reindeer And singing songs of joy and peace I wish I had a river I could skate away on
I slept last night in a good hotel I went shoppin today for jewels The wind rushed around in the dirty town And the children let out from their school I was standin on a noisy corner Waitin for the walkin green Across the street, he stood And he played real good On his clarinet for free Now me, I play for fortunes And those velvet curtain calls Ive got a black Limousine and two gentlemen Who escort me through these halls And Ill play if youve got the money Or if youre a friend to me But the one-man band by thе quick lunch stand Hes been playin real good for free Nobody stopped to hеar him Though he played so sweet and high They knew he had never been on the TV So they passed his music by I meant to go over and ask for a song Maybe put on a harmony I heard his refrain as the signal changed He was playin real good for free
What’s, what’s the next song? The one about me Oh, yeah, I like this one… uh, uh, like Joni says Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone Have a feeling, now believing that you Were the one I was meant to be with Oh how I’m wishing, thinking, dreaming Bout you, and the love How’d I ever let you get away Don’t it always seem Don’t it always seem Don’t it always seem Don’t it always seem Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone Joni Mitchell never lies That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone If I could turn back the hands of time Make you, fall in love, in love with me again So would you give me another chance to love To love you, love you the right way, no games Got til its gone Got til its gone Joni Mitchell never lies Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got til... One two, one two, yo Let me just fuck with it for a minute, what Now you realizing when them nights go long, right Campaign for me to stay when you know that I’m gone, right You act all wild, when I tell you to settle I was working round the clock, but your girls want to meddle Talk about I heard he swims with this chick on the beach That was out with the tide but my love you impeach Now you looking at the walls, head in hands, cold jonezin Ringing my house, hanging up and imposing And why you wanna go and do that love, huh Now why you wanna go and do that and do that huh And why you wanna go and do that love, huh Now why you wanna go and do that and do that huh And why you wanna go and do that love, huh Now why you wanna go and do that and do that huh And why you wanna go and do that love, huh Now why you wanna go and do that Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone Joni Mitchell never lies That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone Yo, do you feel that? That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone That you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone Dust
Blue Songs are like tattoos You know Ive been to sea before Crown and anchor me Or let me sail away Hey, blue There is a song for you Ink on a pin Underneath the skin An empty space to fill in Well, theres so many sinking now You gotta keep thinking You can make it through these waves Acid, booze, and ass Needles, guns, and grass Lots of laughs Lots of laughs Everybodys saying that Hells the hippest way to go Well, I dont think so But Im gonna take a look around it, though Blue, I love you Blue, there is a shell for you Inside youll hear a sigh A foggy lullaby There is your song from me
Sitting in a park in Paris, France Reading the news and it sure looks bad They wont give peace a chance That was just a dream some of us had Still a lot of lands to see But I wouldnt wanna stay here Its too old and cold and settled in its ways here Oh, but California California, Im coming home Im going to see the folks I dig Ill even kiss a Sunset pig California, Im coming home I met a redneck on a Grecian isle Who did the goat dance very well He gave me back my smile But he kept my camera to sell Oh, the rogue, the red red rogue He cooked good omelets and stews And I might have stayed on with him there But my heart cried out for you, California Oh, California, Im coming home Oh, make me feel good rock n roll band Im your biggest fan California, Im coming home Oh, it gets so lonely When youre walking And the streets are full of strangers All the news of home you read Just gives you the blues Just gives you the blues So I bought me a ticket I got on a plane to Spain Went to a party down a red dirt road There were lots of pretty people there Reading Rolling Stone, reading Vogue They said, How long can you hang around? I said a week, maybe two Just until my skin turns brown Then Im going home to California California, Im coming home Oh, will you take me as I am Strung out on another man California, Im coming home Oh, it gets so lonely When youre walking And the streets are full of strangers All the news of home you read More about the war And the bloody changes Oh, will you take me as I am? Will you take me as I am? Will you? Will you take me as I am? Hmmm mmmmm Take me as I am
I am on a lonely road and I am traveling Traveling, traveling, traveling Looking for something, what can it be? Oh, I hate you some, I hate you some, I love you some Oh, I love you when I forget about me I want to be strong, I want to laugh along I want to belong to the living Alive, alive, I want to get up and jive I want to wreck my stockings in some jukebox dive Do you want, do you want, do you want to dance with me, baby? Do you want to take a chance On maybe finding some sweet romance with me, baby? Well, come on All I really, really want our love to do Is to bring out the best in me and in you too All I really, really want our love to do Is to bring out the best in me and in you I want to talk to you, I want to shampoo you I want to renew you again and again Applause, applause, life is our cause When I think of your kisses, my mind see-saws Do you see, do you see, do you see how you hurt me, baby? So I hurt you too Then we both get so blue I am on a lonely road and I am traveling Looking for the key to set me free Oh, the jealousy, the greed is the unraveling Its the unraveling And it undoes all the joy that could be I want to have fun, I want to shine like the sun Want to be the one that you want to see I want to knit you a sweater Want to write you a love letter I want to make you feel better I want to make you feel free Want to make you feel free I want to make you feel free
Its coming on Christmas Theyre cutting down trees Theyre putting up reindeer And singing songs of joy and peace Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on But it dont snow here It stays pretty green Im gonna make a lot of money Then Im gonna quit this crazy scene Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on Oh, I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby cry He tried hard to help me You know, he put me at ease And he loved me so naughty Made me weak in the knees Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on Im so hard to handle Im selfish and Im sad Now Ive gone and lost the best baby That I ever had Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on Oh, I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby say goodbye Its coming on Christmas Theyre cutting down trees Theyre putting up reindeer And singing songs of joy and peace Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on
Born with the moon in Cancer Choose her a name she will answer to Call her green and the winters cannot fade her Call her green for the children whove made her Little green, be a gypsy dancer He went to California Hearing that everythings warmer there So you write him a letter and say Her eyes are blue He sends you a poem and shes lost to you Little green, hes a non-conformer Just a little green Like the color when the spring is born Therell be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow Just a little green Like the nights when the Northern lights perform Therell be icicles and birthday clothes And sometimes therell be sorrow Child with a child pretending Weary of lies you are sending home So you sign all the papers in the family name Youre sad and youre sorry but youre not ashamed Little green, have a happy ending Just a little green Like the color when the spring is born Therell be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow Just a little green Like the nights when the Northern lights perform Therell be icicles and birthday clothes And sometimes therell be sorrow
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin hot spot Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what you got til its gone They paved paradise and put up a parking lot Ooooh, bop bop bop Ooooh, bop bop bop They took all the trees, and put them in a tree museum And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them No, no, no Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what you got till its gone They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot Ooooh, bop bop bop Ooooh, bop bop bop Hey farmer, farmer, put away your DDT I dont care about spots on my apples Leave me the birds and the bees Please Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what you got till its gone They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot Hey now! They paved paradise, to put up a parking lot Ooooh, bop bop bop Ooooh, bop bop bop Listen, late last night, I heard the screen door slam And a big yellow taxi took my girl away Now, dont it always seem to go That you dont know what you got til its gone They paved paradise and put up a parking lot Hey na na, dont it always seem to go That you dont know what you got til its gone They paved paradise to put up a parking lot Why not? They paved paradise and put up a parking lot Hey, hey, hey Paved paradise and put up a parking lot Ooooh, bop bop bop Ooooh, bop bop bop I dont wanna give it Why you wanna give it Why you wanna giving it all away Hey, hey, hey Now you wanna give it I should wanna give it Now you wanna giving it all away I dont wanna give it Why you wanna give it Why you wanna give it all away Hey, hey, hey Now you wanna give it I should wanna give it Now you wanna giving it all away Why do you want me? Why do you want to? Cos youre givin it all away Hey, paved paradise to put up a parking lot
Well, I came upon a child of God He was walking along the road And I asked him, tell me, where are you going? This he told me Said, Im going down to Yasgurs Farm Gonna join in a rock and roll band Got to get back to the land And set my soul free We are stardust, we are golden We are billion-year-old carbon And weve got to get ourselves Back to the garden Well, then can I walk beside you? I have come to lose the smog And I feel myself a cog In somethin turning And maybe its the time of year Yes, and maybe its the time of man And I dont know who I am But life is for learning We are stardust, we are golden We are billion-year-old carbon And we got to get ourselves Back to the garden We are stardust, we are golden We are billion-year-old carbon And we got to get ourselves Back to the garden By the time we got to Woodstock We were half a million strong And everywhere was a song And a celebration And I dreamed I saw the bomber jet planes Riding shotgun in the sky Turning into butterflies Above our nation We are stardust, we are golden We are caught in the devils bargain And we got to get ourselves Back to the garden
My old man Hes a singer in the park Hes a walker in the rain Hes a dancer in the dark We dont need no piece of paper From the city hall Keeping us tied and true My old man Keeping away my blues Hes my sunshine in the morning Hes my fireworks at the end of the day Hes the warmest chord I ever heard Play that warm chord, play and stay, baby We dont need no piece of paper From the city hall Keeping us tied and true My old man Keeping away my blues But when hes gone Me and them lonesome blues collide The beds too big The frying pans too wide Then he comes home And he takes me in his loving arms And he tells me all his troubles And he tells me all my charms We dont need no piece of paper From the city hall Keeping us tied and true, no My old man Keeping away my blues But when hes gone Me and them lonesome blues collide The beds too big The frying pans too wide My old man Hes a singer in the park Hes a walker in the rain Hes a dancer in the dark We dont need no piece of paper From the city hall Keeping us tied and true, no My old man Keeping away my lonesome blues
The wind is in from Africa Last night I couldnt sleep Oh, you know it sure is hard to leave here, Carey But its really not my home My fingernails are filthy I got beach tar on my feet And I miss my clean white linen And my fancy French cologne Oh, Carey, get out your cane And Ill put on some silver Oh, youre a mean old Daddy But I like you fine Come on down to the Mermaid Café and I will Buy you a bottle of wine And well laugh and toast to nothing And smash our empty glasses down Lets have a round for these freaks and these soldiers A round for these friends of mine Lets have another round for the bright red devil Who keeps me in this tourist town Come on, Carey, get out your cane Ill put on some silver Oh, youre a mean old Daddy But I like you I like you, I like you, I like you Maybe Ill go to Amsterdam Or maybe Ill go to Rome And rent me a grand piano And put some flowers round my room But lets not talk about fare-thee-wells now The night is a starry dome And theyre playin that scratchy rock and roll Beneath the Matala Moon Come on, Carey, get out your cane And Ill put on some silver Youre a mean old Daddy But I like you The wind is in from Africa Last night I couldnt sleep Oh, you know it sure is hard to leave here But its really not my home Maybe its been too long a time Since I was scramblin down in the street Now they got me used to that clean white linen And that fancy French cologne Oh, Carey, get out your cane Ill put on my finest silver Well go to the Mermaid Café Have fun tonight I said, oh, youre a mean old Daddy But youre out of sight
Its coming on Christmas Theyre cutting down trees Theyre putting up reindeer And singing songs of joy and peace Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on But it dont snow here, it stays pretty green Im going to make a lot of money Then Im going to quit this crazy scene Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby cry He tried hard to help me You know, he put me at ease And he loved me so naughty Made me weak in the knees Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on Im so hard to handle Im selfish and Im sad Now Ive gone and lost the best baby that I ever had I wish I had a river I could skate away on I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby say goodbye Its coming on Christmas Theyre cutting down trees Theyre putting up reindeer And singing songs of joy and peace Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on
I came upon a child of God He was walking along the road And I asked him, Where are you going? And this he told me Im going on down to Yasgurs Farm Im gonna join in a rock and roll band Im gonna camp out on the land Im gonna try and get my soul free We are stardust We are golden And weve got to get ourselves back to the garden Then can I walk beside you? I have come here to lose the smog And I feel to be a cog in something turning Well maybe it is just the time of year Or maybe its the time of man I dont know who I am But you know life is for learning We are stardust We are golden And weve got to get ourselves back to the garden By the time we got to Woodstock We were half a million strong And everywhere there was song and celebration And I dreamed I saw the bombers Riding shotgun in the sky And they were turning into butterflies Above our nation We are stardust Billion year old carbon We are golden Caught in the devils bargain And weve got to get ourselves back to the garden
Just before our love got lost, you said I am as constant as a northern star And I said, Constantly in the darkness Wheres that at? If you want me Ill be in the bar On the back of a carton coaster In the blue TV screen light I drew a map of Canada Oh, Canada With your face sketched on it twice Oh, youre in my blood, youre my holy wine You taste so bitter and so sweet Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling And I would still be on my feet Oh, I would still be on my feet Oh, I am a lonely painter I live in a box of paints Im frightened by the Devil And Im drawn to those ones that aint afraid I remember that time that you told me You said, Love is touching souls Surely you touched mine Cause part of you pours out of me In these lines from time to time Oh, youre in my blood, youre my holy wine You taste so bitter and so sweet Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling Still Id be on my feet I would still be on my feet I met a woman, she had a mouth like yours She knew your life She knew your Devils and your deeds And she said, Go to him, stay with him if you can But be prepared to bleed Oh, but you are in my blood, youre my holy wine Youre so bitter, bitter and so sweet Oh, I could drink a case of you darling Still Id be on my feet I would still be on my feet
Hey love, thought that I’d just share my day It felt a little bit crazy, baby I cleaned the closet so I’m out of your way Guess you can have your space Well, I thought that I should write a letter Then I thought this would be better, don’t yell There’s a million ways that I could tell you But I think I’d rather show you it’s over And I won’t be back no more Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone Gave you my heart, it slipped through your fingers Now youre the one to blame Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone Oh love, your dinner’s waiting down the street And you can have it your way So love, the mess you made is yours to clean So don’t be looking at me See, I don’t mean to disrespect you But I think you could’ve done me better, don’t you? You fool There’s a million ways that I could tell you But I think I’d rather show you it’s over And I won’t be back no more Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone Gave you my heart, it slipped through your fingers Now youre the one to blame Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone Where you going? What you doing? Oh, you must be at the point Where you cant take this no more So you grabbing your stuff, walking out the door Moving so fast, forgot what we was even arguing for Man, I know you like the back of my hand You like to break up then make up Roll me up a joint soon as I wake up When I put it down, mess up your makeup Everything provided when you rolling with a rider You been in Hollywood so long Your ass starting to act Hollywood Talking bout you go leave, probably should I aint trippin, just a bunch of extra shit I aint missing, my sister tried to tell me bout you I aint listen, now we going down this road Hit the smoke, said bro, Ive been here before And you know Kelly never lied So you can get your stuff and get to going Ill get back to getting high There’s a million ways that I could tell you But I think I’d rather show you it’s over And I won’t be back no more Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone Gave you my heart, it slipped through your fingers Now youre the one to blame Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone Sing Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve... One more time That you dont know what youve got til its gone Good try Slip through your fingers now youre the one done changed... Oh, my, shut the fuck up
The last time I saw Richard was Detroit in 68 And he told me, All romantics meet the same fate someday Cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark café You laugh, he said, you think youre immune Go look at your eyes, theyre full of moon You like roses and kisses and pretty men to tell you All those pretty lies, pretty lies When you gonna realize theyre only pretty lies? Only pretty lies, just pretty lies He put a quarter in the Wurlitzer And he pushed three buttons and the thing began to whirr And a bar maid came by in fishnet stockings and a bow tie And she said Drink up now, its gettin on time to close. Richard, you havent really changed, I said, its just that Now youre romanticizing some pain thats in your head You got tombs in your eyes, but the songs you punched are dreamy Listen, they sing of love so sweet, love so sweet When you gonna get yourself back on your feet? Oh and love can be so sweet, love so sweet Richard got married to a figure skater And he bought her a dishwasher and a coffee percolator And he drinks at home now most nights with the TV on And all the house lights left up bright Im gonna blow this damn candle out I dont want nobody comin over to my table I got nothing to talk to anybody about All good dreamers pass this way someday Hidin behind bottles in dark cafés Dark cafés, only a dark cocoon Before I get my gorgeous wings and fly away Only a phase, these dark café days
Yesterday a child came out to wonder Caught a dragonfly inside a jar Fearful when the sky was full of thunder And tearful at the falling of a star And the seasons, they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down Were captive on the carousel of time We cant return, we can only look Behind from where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game Then the child moved ten times round the seasons Skated over ten clear frozen streams Words like when youre older must appease him And promises of someday make his dreams And the seasons, they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down Were captive on the carousel of time We cant return, we can only look Behind from where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town And they tell him, Take your time, it wont be long now Til you drag your feet to slow the circles down And the seasons, they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down Were captive on the carousel of time We cant return, we can only look Behind from where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game So, the years spin by and now the boy is twenty Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true Therell be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty Before the last revolving year is through And the seasons, they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down Were captive on the carousel of time We cant return, we can only look Behind from where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game And go round and round and round In the circle game
Tonight youre mine completely You give your love so sweetly Tonight the light of love is in your eyes But will you love me tomorrow? Is this a lasting treasure Or just a moments pleasure? Can I believe the magic in your sighs? Will you still love me tomorrow? Tonight with words unspoken You said that Im the only one But will my heart be broken When the night Meets the morning sun? Id like to know that your love Is love I can be sure of So tell me now and I wont ask again Will you still love me tomorrow? Will you still love me tomorrow?
Bows and flows of angel hair And ice cream castles in the air And feathered canyons everywhere Ive looked at clouds that way But now they only block the sun They rain and they snow on everyone So many things I would have done But clouds got in my way Ive looked at clouds from both sides now From up and down and still somehow Its clouds illusions I recall I really dont know clouds at all Moons and Junes and ferris wheels The dizzy dancing way you feel When every fairy tale comes real Ive looked at love that way But now its just another show You leave em laughin when you go And if you care dont let them know Dont give yourself away Ive looked at love from both sides now From win and lose and still somehow Its loves illusions I recall I really dont know love at all Tears and fears and feeling proud To say, I love you right out loud Dreams and schemes and circus crowds Ive looked at life that way But now old friends are acting strange They shake their heads, they say Ive changed Well somethings lost but somethings gained In living every day Ive looked at life from both sides now From Win and Lose and still somehow Its lifes illusions I recall I really dont know life at all
Its coming on Christmas They’re cutting down trees Theyre putting up reindeer And singing songs of joy and peace Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on But it dont snow here It stays pretty green I’m gonna make a lot of money Then Im going to quit this crazy scene Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby cry He tried hard to help me You know, he put me at ease And he loved me so naughty Made me so weak in the knees Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on Im so hard to handle Im selfish and Im sad Now Ive gone and lost the best baby That I ever had I wish I had a river I could skate away on Oh, I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby say goodbye Its coming on Christmas Theyre cutting down trees They’re putting up reindeer And singing songs of joy and peace Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on
No regrets Coyote We just come from such different sets of circumstance Im up all night in the studios And youre up early on your ranch Youll be brushing out a broodmares tail While the sun is ascending And Ill just be getting home with my reel-to-reel Theres no comprehending Just how close to the bone and the skin and the eyes And the lips you can get And still feel so alone And still feel related Like stations in some relay Youre not a hit and run driver no no Racing away You just picked up a hitcher A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway We saw a farmhouse burning down In the middle of nowhere In the middle of the night And we rolled right past that tragedy Till we turned into some road house lights Where a local band was playing Locals were up kicking and shaking on the floor And the next thing I know That coyotes at my door He pins me in a corner and he wont take no He drags me out on the dance floor And were dancing close and slow Now hes got a woman at home Hes got another woman down the hall He seems to want me anyway Whyd you have to get so drunk And lead me on that way You just picked up a hitcher A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway I looked a coyote right in the face On the road to Baljennie near my old home town He went running thru the whisker wheat Chasing some prize down And a hawk was playing with him Coyote was jumping straight up and making passes He had those same eyes just like yours Under your dark glasses Privately probing the public rooms And peeking thru keyholes in numbered doors Where the players lick their wounds And take their temporary lovers And their pills and powders to get them thru this passion play No regrets Coyote I just get off up aways You just picked up a hitcher A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway Coyotes in the coffee shop Hes staring a hole in his scrambled eggs He picks up my scent on his fingers While hes watching the waitresses legs Hes too far from the Bay of Fundy From appaloosas and eagles and tides And the air conditioned cubicles And the carbon ribbon rides Are spelling it out so clear Either hes going to have to stand and fight Or take off out of here I tried to run away myself To run away and wrestle with my ego And with this flame You put here in this Eskimo In this hitcher In this prisoner Of the fine white lines Of the white lines on the free free way
Look out the left, the captain said The lights down there, thats where well land I saw a falling star burn up Above the Las Vegas sands It wasnt the one that you gave to me That night down south between the trailers Not the early one That you can wish upon Not the northern one That guides in the sailors Oh, starbright, starbright Youve got the lovin that I like all right Turn this crazy bird around I shouldnt have got on this flight tonight You got the touch so gentle and sweet But youve got that look so critical Now I cant talk to you, baby, I get so weak Sometimes I think love is just mythical Up theres the heavens Down theres a town Blackness everywhere and little lights shine Oh, blackness, blackness dragging me down Come on, light the candle in this poor heart of mine Oh, starbright, starbright Youve got the lovin that I like all right Turn this crazy bird around I shouldnt have got on this flight tonight Im drinking sweet champagne Got the headphones up high Cant numb you out Cant drum you out of my mind Theyre playing Goodbye, baby Baby, goodbye Ooh ooh, love is blind Up go the flaps, down go the wheels I hope you got your heat turned on, baby I hope they finally fixed your automobile I hope its better when we meet again, baby Starbright, starbright Youve got the lovin that I like all right Turn this crazy bird around Shouldnt have got on this flight tonight
Look out the left, the captain said The lights down there, thats where well land Saw a falling star burning High above the Las Vegas sand It wasnt the one that you gave to me That night down south between the trailers Not the early one that you wish upon Not the northern one that guides in the sailors Youve got that touch so gentle and sweet But youve got that look so cryptical Cant talk to you babe, you know I get so weak Sometimes I think that love is just mythical Up theres a heaven, down theres a town Blackness everywhere any little lights shine Blackness, blackness draggin me down Come on light a candle in this heart of mine Starbright, starbright, youve got the lovin that I like Turn this crazy bird around Should not have got on this flight tonight Im drinkin sweet champagne, got the headphones up high Cant numb you, cant drum you out of my mind Theyre singin, Goodbye baby Baby bye-bye Ooh! Love is blind Up go the flaps, down go the wheels Hope you got your heat turned on, baby Hope theyve finally fixed your automobile Hope its better when we meet again, babe Starbright, starbright, youve got the lovin that I like Turn this crazy bird around Should not have got on this flight tonight Should not have got on this flight tonight
Comin on Christmas Theyre cuttin down trees Theyre puttin up reindeer And singin songs of joy and peace Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on But it dont snow here It stays pretty green Im gonna make a lotta money Then Im gonna quit this crazy scene Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby cry He tried hard to help me You know, he put me at ease And he loved me so naughty Made me weak in the knees Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on Im so hard to handle Im selfish and Im sad And now Ive gone and lost the best baby that I ever had Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby say goodbye Its comin on Christmas Theyre cuttin down trees Theyre puttin up reindeer And singin songs of joy and peace Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on
I was driving across the burning desert When I spotted six jet planes Leaving six white vapor trails across the bleak terrain It was the hexagram of the heavens It was the strings of my guitar Amelia it was just a false alarm The drone of flying engines Is a song so wild and blue It scrambles time and seasons if it gets thru to you Then your life becomes a travelogue Of picture post card charms Amelia it was just a false alarm People will tell you where theyve gone Theyll tell you where to go But till you get there yourself you never really know Where some have found their paradise Others just come to harm Oh, Amelia it was just a false alarm I wish that he was here tonight Its so hard to obey His sad request of me to kindly stay away So this is how I hide the hurt As the road leads cursed and charmed I tell Amelia it was just a false alarm A ghost of aviation She was swallowed by the sky Or by the sea like me she had a dream to fly Like Icarus ascending On beautiful foolish arms Amelia it was just a false alarm Maybe Ive never really loved I guess that is the truth Ive spent my whole life in clouds at icy altitude And looking down on everything I crashed into his arms Amelia it was just a false alarm I pulled into the Cactus Tree Motel To shower off the dust And I slept on the strange pillows of my wanderlust I dreamed of 747s Over geometric farms Dreams Amelia - dreams and false alarms
Im traveling in some vehicle Im sitting in some cafe A defector from the petty wars That shell shock love away Theres comfort in melancholy When theres no need to explain Its just as natural as the weather In this moody sky today In our possessive coupling So much could not be expressed So now Im returning to myself These things that you and I suppressed I see something of myself in everyone Just at this moment of the world As snow gathers like bolts of lace Waltzing on a ballroom girl You know it never has been easy Whether you do or you do not resign Whether you travel the breadth of extremities Or stick to some straighter line Now heres a man and a woman sitting on a rock Theyre either going to thaw out or freeze Listen Strains of Benny Goodman Coming through the snow and the pinewood trees Im porous with travel fever But you know Im so glad to be on my own Still somehow the slightest touch of a stranger Can set up trembling in my bones I know no ones going to show me everything We all come and go unknown Each so deep and superficial Between the forceps and the stone Well I looked at the granite markers Those tribute to finality to eternity And then I looked at myself here Chicken scratching for my immortality In the church they light the candles And the wax rolls down like tears Theres the hope and the hopelessness Ive witnessed thirty years Were only particles of change I know I know Orbiting around the sun But how can I have that point of view When Im always bound and tied to someone White flags of winter chimneys Waving truce against the moon In the mirrors of a modern bank From the window of a hotel room Im traveling in some vehicle Im sitting in some cafe A defector from the petty wars Until love sucks me back that way
Help me, I think Im falling in love again When I get that crazy feeling, I know Im in trouble again Im in trouble cause youre a rambler and a gambler And a sweet taIking ladies man and you love your lovin But not like you love your freedom Help me, I think Im falling in love too fast Its got me hoping for the future and worrying about the past Cause Ive seen some hot hot blazes Come down to smoke and ash We love our lovin but not like we love our freedom Didnt it feel good, we were sitting there talking Or lying there not talking, didnt it feel good You dance with the lady with the hole in her stocking Didnt it feel good Didnt it feel good Help me, I think Im falling in love with you Are you going to let me go there by myself Thats such a lonely thing to do Both of us flirting around flirting and flirting, hurting too We love our lovin but not like we love our freedom
Theres a man whos been out sailing In a decade full of dreams And he takes her to a schooner And he treats her like a queen Bearing beads from California With their amber stones and green He has called her from the harbor He has kissed her with his freedom He has heard her off to starboard In the breaking and the breathing Of the water weeds While she was busy being free Theres a man whos climbed a mountain And hes calling out her name And he hopes her heart can hear three thousand miles He calls again He can think her there beside him He can miss her just the same He has missed her in the forest While he showed her all the flowers And the branches sang the chorus As he climbed the scaly towers Of a forest tree While she was somewhere being free Theres a man whos sent a letter And hes waiting for reply He has asked her of her travels Since the day they said goodbye He writes Wish you were beside me We can make it if we try He has seen her at the office With her name on all his papers Through the sharing of the profits He will find it hard to shake her From his memory And shes so busy being free Theres a lady in the city And she thinks she loves them all Theres the one whos thinking of her Theres the one who sometimes calls Theres the one who writes her letters With his facts and figures scrawl She has brought them to her senses They have laughed inside her laughter Now she rallies her defenses For she fears that one will ask her For eternity And shes so busy being free Theres a man who sends her medals He is bleeding from the war Theres a jouster and a jester and a man who owns a store Theres a drummer and a dreamer And you know there may be more She will love them when she sees them They will lose her if they follow And she only means to please them And her heart is full and hollow Like a cactus tree While shes so busy being free Like a cactus tree Being free
I slept last night in a good hotel I went shopping today for jewels The wind rushed around in the dirty town And the children let out from the schools I was standing on a noisy corner Waiting for the walking green Across the street he stood And he played real good On his clarinet for free Now me I play for fortunes And those velvet curtain calls I got a black limousine and two gentlemen Escorting me to the halls And Ill play if you have the money Or if youre a friend to me But the one man band By the quick lunch stand He was playing real good for free Nobody stopped to hear him Though he played so sweet and high They knew he had never been on their TV So they passed his music by I meant to go over and ask for a song Maybe put on a harmony I heard his refrain As the signal changed He was playing real good for free
The way I see it he said You just cant win it Everybodys in it for their own gain You cant please em all Theres always somebody calling you down I do my best and I do good business Theres a lot of people asking for my time Theyre trying to get ahead Theyre trying to be a good friend of mine I was a free man in Paris I felt unfettered and alive There was nobody calling me up for favours And no ones future to decide You know Id go back there tomorrow But for the work Ive taken on Stoking the star maker machinery Behind the popular song I deal in dreamers And telephone screamers Lately I wonder what I do it for If l had my way Id just walk through those doors And wander down the Champs-Élysées Going café to cabaret Thinking how Ill feel when I find That very good friend of mine I was a free man in Paris I felt unfettered and alive Nobody was calling me up for favours No ones future to decide You know Id go back there tomorrow But for the work Ive taken on Stoking the star maker machinery Behind the popular song
Rows and floes of angel hair And ice cream castles in the air And feather canyons everywhere Ive looked at clouds that way But now they only block the sun They rain and snow on everyone So many things I would have done But clouds got in my way Ive looked at clouds from both sides now From up and down, and still somehow Its cloud illusions I recall I really dont know clouds at all Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels The dizzy dancing way you feel As every fairy tale comes real Ive looked at love that way But now its just another show You leave em laughing when you go And if you care, dont let them know Dont give yourself away Ive looked at love from both sides now From give and take, and still somehow Its loves illusions I recall I really dont know love at all Tears and fears and feeling proud To say I love you right out loud Dreams and schemes and circus crowds Ive looked at life that way But now old friends are acting strange They shake their heads, they say Ive changed Well somethings lost, but somethings gained In living every day Ive looked at life from both sides now From win and lose and still somehow Its lifes illusions I recall I really dont know life at all Ive looked at life from both sides now From up and down and still somehow Its lifes illusions I recall I really dont know life at all
Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning And the first thing that I heard Was a song outside my window And the traffic wrote the words It came ringing up like Christmas bells And rapping up like pipes and drums Oh, wont you stay Well put on the day And well wear it till the night comes Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning And the first thing that I saw Was the sun through yellow curtains And a rainbow on the wall Blue, red, green and gold to welcome you Crimson crystal beads to beckon Oh, wont you stay Well put on the day Theres a sun show every second Now the curtain opens On a portait of today And the streets are paved with passersby And pigeons fly And papers lie Waiting to blow away Woke up, it was a Chelsea morning And the first thing that I knew There was milk and toast and honey And a bowl of oranges, too And the sun poured in like butterscotch And stuck to all my senses Oh, wont you stay Well put on the day And well talk in present tenses When the curtain closes And the rainbow runs away I will bring you incense owls by night By candlelight By jewel-light If only you will stay Pretty baby, wont you Wake up, its a Chelsea morning
Trina wears her wampum beads She fills her drawing book with lines Sewing lace on widows weeds And filigree on leaf and vine Vine and leave are filigree And her coats a second hand one Trimmed with antique luxury She is a lady of the canyon Annie sits you down to eat She always makes you welcome in Cats and babies round her feet And all are fat and none are thin None are thin and all are fat She may bake some brownies today Saying you are welcome back She is another canyon lady Estrella, circus girl Comes wrapped in songs and gypsy shawls Songs like tiny hammers hurled At bevelled mirrors in empty halls Empty halls and bevelled mirrors Sailing seas and climbing banyans Come out for a visit here To be a lady of the canyon Trina takes her pins and her threads And she weaves a pattern all her own Annie bakes her cakes and her breads And she gathers flowers for her home For her home she gathers flowers And Estrella, dear companion Colors up the sunshine hours Pouring music down the canyon Coloring the sunshine hours They are the ladies of the canyon
Mustve drank a lot of pain Judging by the way it aches I mustve sold a lot of secrets Everyone a heavy weight Of all the fears that I face Youre the first one I defeated Everything I know And everything I dont You took em all and shook em to the floor Now Ive laid the ghost Of what I hate the most You blew them all away and closed the door And Im healed when you love me like You love me like that Yeah Im healed when you love me like You love me like that Love has such a bitter taste When youre lying in its wake At least I know Ive got a reason Now Im all that can relate In a better place When I know Ive broken even Everything I know And everything I dont You took em all and shook em to the floor Now Ive laid the ghost Of what I hate the most You blew them all away and closed the door And Im healed when you love me like You love me like that Yeah Im healed when you love me like You love me like that Nobody knows like my baby knows Nobody goes like my baby goes Nobody knows like my baby knows Nobody, nobody And Im healed when you love me like You love me like that Yeah Im healed when you love me like You love me like that And Im healed when you love me like You love me like that Yeah Im healed when you love me like You love me like that
All the people at this party Theyve got a lot of style Theyve got stamps of many countries Theyve got passport smiles Some are friendly, some are cutting Some are watching it from the wings Some are standing in the centre Giving to get something Photo beauty gets attention Then her eye paints running down Shes got a rose in her teeth And a lampshade crown One minute shes so happy Then shes crying on someones knee Saying laughing and crying You know its the same release I told you when I met you I was crazy Cry for us all beauty Cry for Eddie in the corner Thinking hes nobody And Jack behind his joker And stone-cold Grace behind her fan And me in my frightened silence Thinking I dont understand I feel like Im sleeping Can you wake me You seem to have a broader sensibility Im just living on nerves and feelings With a weak and a lazy mind And coming to peoples parties Fumbling deaf dumb and blind I wish I had more sense of humor Keeping the sadness at bay Throwing the lightness on these things Laughing it all away Laughing it all away Laughing it all away
Love came to my door With a sleeping roll And a madmans soul He thought for sure Id seen him Dancing up a river in the dark Looking for a woman To court and spark He was playing on the sidewalk For passing change When something strange happened Glory train passed through him So he buried the coins he made In Peoples Park And went looking for a woman To court and spark It seemed like he read my mind He saw me mistrusting him and still acting kind He saw how I worried, sometimes I worry sometimes All the guilty people, he said Theyve all seen the stain On their daily bread On their Christian names I cleared myself, I sacrificed my blues And you could complete me Id complete you. His eyes were the color of the sand And the sea And the more he talked to me, you know The more he reached me But I couldnt let go of L.A City of the fallen angels
Jag steg och föll med skjutna vingar Genom glass-slott i aprilskyar Och fjädergrottor överallt Har sett de bästa moln Men nu skymmer de solen De regnar och snöar på varenda en Och allt jag borde ha gjort men Moln kom ivägen Jag har sett på moln från båda sidor nu Från in och ut, och ändå ser jag nu bara molnillusioner Och nu minns jag Har aldrig förstått mig på moln Inte det minsta Kom sommarnätter under stjärnor, kom Med ensamhet dör dagen och Om du behöver den finns aldrig gryningen Har sett hur kärlek vunnit Försvunnit och förlorat Och du lämnar nån skrattande när du gått Och om du brydde dig, säg inte till nån Ge inte bort dig själv Jag har sett kärlek från båda sidor nu Från att ge och ta, och ändå ser jag bara kärleksillusioner Men nu minns jag Jag förstår inte kärlek Inte det minsta Och jag skulle ha ringt dig ikväll Men handen fastnade framför mig Och jag skulle sagt Jag älskar dig Men stolthet kom i vägen Du eller jag, vem är konstigast? Är det bara jag som förändrats? Ja, nåt är borta, men nåt hittas Varje dag Jag har sett livet från båda sidor nu Från upp och ner, och ändå ser jag bara livsillusioner Och nu minns jag Jag förstår inte livet Inte det minsta Har sett allt från båda sidor nu Från in och ut, och ändå ser jag nu bara illusioner
I went to Staten Island, Sharon To buy myself a mandolin And I saw the long white dress of love On a storefront mannequin Big boat chuggin back with a belly full of cars All for something lacy Some girls going to see that dress And crave that day like crazy Little Indian kids on a bridge up in Canada They can balance and they can climb Like their fathers before them Theyll walk the girders of the Manhattan skyline Shine your light on me Miss Liberty Because as soon as this ferry boat docks Im headed to the church To play Bingo Fleece me with the gamblers flocks I can keep my cool at poker But Im a fool when loves at stake Because I cant conceal emotion What Im feelings always written on my face Theres a gypsy down on Bleecker Street I went in to see her as a kind of joke And she lit a candle for my love luck And eighteen bucks went up in smoke Sharon, I left my man At a North Dakota junction And I came out to the Big Apple here To face the dreams malfunction Loves a repetitious danger Youd think Id be accustomed to Well I do accept the changes At least better than I used to do A woman I knew just drowned herself The well was deep and muddy She was just shaking off futility Or punishing somebody My friends were calling up all day yesterday All emotions and abstractions It seems we all live so close to that line And so far from satisfaction Dora says Have children Mama and Betsy say Find yourself a charity Help the needy and the crippled or put some time into Ecology Well theres a wide wide world of noble causes And lovely landscapes to discover But all I really want to do right now Is find another lover When we were kids in Maidstone, Sharon I went to every wedding in that little town To see the tears and the kisses And the pretty lady in the white lace wedding gown And walking home on the railroad tracks Or swinging on the playground swing Love stimulated my illusions More than anything And when I went skating after Golden Reggie You know it was white lace I was chasing Chasing dreams Mamas nylons underneath my cowgirl jeans He showed me first you get the kisses And then you get the tears But the ceremony of the bells and lace Still veils this reckless fool here Now there are twenty-nine skaters on Wollman Rink Circling in singles and in pairs In this vigorous anonymity A blank face at the window stares and Stares and stares and stares and stares And the power of reason And the flowers of deep feeling Seem to serve me Only to deceive me Sharon youve got a husband And a family and a farm Ive got the apple of temptation And a diamond snake around my arm But you still have your music And Ive still got my eyes on the land and the sky You sing for your friends and your family Ill walk green pastures by and by
I’m a lonely painter I live in a box of paints I used to be frightened by the devil And drawn to those ones that werent afraid Remember you told me Love was touching souls? Surely you touched mine Part of you pours out of me from time to time in these lines You’re in my blood like holy wine You’re so bitter and so sweet, oh I could drink a case of you, oh darling And still be on my feet Still be on my feet You’re in my blood like holy wine So bitter, so bitter, so, so sweet, oh I could drink a case of you darling, oh yeah yeah And I’d still be on my feet And I’d still be on my Still be on my feet I’d still
Paved paradise and put up a parking lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin hot spot Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone? Paved paradise, put up a parking lot (Ooo-bop-bop-bop Ooo-bop-bop-bop) Took all the trees, put em in a tree museum And they charged the people a dollar and a half just to see them Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone? They paved paradise, put up a parking lot (Ooo-bop-bop-bop Ooo-bop-bop-bop Ooo-bop-bop-bop Ooo-bop-bop-bop) Hey farmer, farmer, put away the DDT now Give me spots on my apples But leave me the birds and the bees, please Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone? Paved paradise, put up a parking lot Paved paradise, put up a parking lot Late last night, I heard the screen door slam And a big yellow taxi took away my old man Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone? Paved paradise, put up a parking lot Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone? 2-3-4 Paved paradise, put up a parking lot Paved paradise, put up a parking lot Paved paradise, put up a parking lot ah-ah
He bought her a diamond for her throat He put her in a ranch house on a hill She could see the valley barbecues From her window sill See the blue pools in the squinting sun Hear the hissing of summer lawns He put up a barbed wire fence To keep out the unknown And on every metal thorn Just a little blood of his own She patrols that fence of his To a latin drum And the hissing of summer lawns Darkness Wonder makes it easy Darkness With a joyful mask Darkness Tubes gone, darkness, darkness, darkness No color no contrast A diamond dog Carrying a cup and a cane Looking through a double glass Looking at too much pride and too much shame Theres a black fly buzzing Theres a heat wave burning in her masters voice Hissing summer lawns He gave her his darkness to regret And good reason to quit him He gave her a roomful of Chippendale That nobody sits in Still she stays with a love of some kind Its the ladys choice The hissing of summer lawns
I met you on a midway at a fair last year And you stood out like a ruby in a black mans ear You were playin on the horses; you were playin on the guitar strings; You were playin like a devil wearin wings Wearin wings, you looked so grand wearin wings Do you tape them to your shoulders just to sing? Can you fly? I heard you can, can you fly? Like an eagle doin your huntin from the sky I followed with the sideshows to another town And I found you in a trailer on the camping grounds You were betting on some lover; you were shaking up the dice; And I thought I saw you cheatin once or twice Once or twice, I heard your bid once or twice Were you wondrin was the gamble worth the price? Pack it in, I heard you did, pack it in Was it hard to fold a hand you knew could win? So lately youve been hidin, it was somewhere in the news; And Im still at these races with my ticket stubs and my blues; And a voice calls out the numbers and it sometimes mentions mine; And I feel like Ive been workin overtime Over time, Ive lost my fire, over time Always playin one more hand for one more dime Slowin down, Im gettin tired, slowin down; And I envy you the valley that youve found Cause Im midway down the midway Slowin down Down, down, down
If youre driving into town With a dark cloud above you Dial in the number Whos bound to love you Oh honey, you turn me on Im a radio Im a country station Im a little bit corny Im a wildwood flower Waving for you Im a broadcasting tower Waving for you And Im sending you out This signal here I hope you can pick it up Loud and clear I know you dont like weak women You get bored so quick And you dont like strong women Cause theyre hip to your tricks Its been dirty for dirty Down the line But you know I come when you whistle When youre loving and kind But if youve got too many doubts If theres no good reception for me Then tune me out, cause honey Who needs the static It hurts the head And you wind up cracking And the day goes dismal From Breakfast Barney To the sign-off prayer What a sorry face you get to wear Im going to tell you again now If youre still listening there If youre driving into town With a dark cloud above you Dial in the number Whos bound to love you If youre lying on the beach With the transistor going Kick off the sandflies, honey The loves still flowing If your head says forget it But your hearts still smoking Call me at the station The lines are open
Everything comes and goes Marked by lovers and styles of clothes Things that you held high And told yourself were true Lost or changing as the days come down to you Down to you Constant stranger Youre a kind person Youre a cold person too Its down to you It all comes down to you You go down to the pick up station Craving warmth and beauty You settle for less than fascination A few drinks later youre not so choosy When the closing lights strip off the shadows On this strange new flesh youve found Clutching the night to you like a fig leaf You hurry To the blackness And the blankets To lay down an impression And your loneliness In the morning there are lovers in the street They look so high You brush against a stranger And you both apologize Old friends seem indifferent You must have brought that on Old bonds have broken down Love is gone Oooh love is gone Written on your spirit this sad song Love is gone Everything comes and goes Pleasure moves on too early And trouble leaves too slow Just when youre thinking Youve finally got it made Bad news comes knocking At your garden gate Knocking for you Constant stranger Youre a brute youre an angel You can crawl you can fly too Its down to you It all comes down to you
I thought I met a man Who said he knew a man Who knew what was going on I was mistaken Only another stranger That I knew And I thought that Id found a light To guide me through My night and all this darkness I was mistaken Only reflections of a shadow That I saw And I thought Ive seen someone Who seemed at last To know the truth I was mistaken Only a child laughing In the sun
As every day goes by How can we close our eyes Until we open up our hearts We can learn to share And show how much we care Right from the moment that we start Seems like overnight We see the world in a different light Somehow our innocence is lost How can we look away Cause every single day Weve got to help at any cost We can bridge the distance Only we can make the difference Dont ya know that tears are not enough If we can pull together We could change the world forever Heaven knows that tears are not enough Its up to me and you To make the dream come true Its time to take our message everywhere Cest lamour qui nous rassemble Dici ?lautre bout du monde Lets show them Canada still cares You know that well be there If we should try together you and I Maybe we could understand the reasons why If we take a stand every woman, child and man We can make it work for Gods sake lend a hand
I had a king in a tenement castle Lately hes taken to painting the pastel walls brown Hes taken the curtains down Hes swept with the broom of contempt And the rooms have an empty ring Hes cleaned with the tears Of an actor who fears for the laughters sting- I cant go back there anymore You know my keys wont fit the door You know my thoughts dont fit the man They never can, they never can I had a king dressed in drip-dry and paisley Lately hes taken to saying Im crazy and blind He lives in another time Ladies in gingham still blush While he sings them of wars and wine But I in my leather and lace I can never become that kind I cant go back there anymore You know my keys wont fit the door You know my thoughts dont fit the man They never can, they never can I had a king in a salt-rusted carriage Who carried me off to his country for marriage too soon Beware of the power of moons Theres no one to blame No theres no one to name as a traitor here The kings on the road And the queens in the grove till the end of the year I cant go back there anymore You know my keys wont fit the door You know my thoughts dont fit the man They never can, they never can
He comes for conversation I comfort him sometimes Comfort and consultation He knows thats what hell find I bring him apples and cheeses He brings me songs to play He sees me when he pleases I see him in cafes And I only say, Hello And turn away before his lady knows How much I want to see him She removes him, like a ring To wash her hands She only brings him out to show her friends I want to free him Secrets and sharing soda Thats how our time began Love is a story told to a friend Its second hand But Ill listen to his questions Ill give my answers when theyre found He says she keeps him guessing But I know she keeps him down She speaks in sorry sentences Miraculous repentances I dont believe her Tomorrow he will come to me And hell speak his sorrows endlessly and hell ask me why Why cant I leave her? He comes for conversation I comfort him sometimes Comfort and consultation He knows thats what hell find He knows thats what hell find
Again and again the same situation For so many years Tethered to a ringing telephone In a room full of mirrors A pretty girl in your bathroom Checking out her sex appeal I asked myself when you said you loved me Do you think this can be real? Still I sent up my prayer Wondering where it had to go With heaven full of astronauts And the Lord on death row While the millions of his lost and lonely ones Call out and clamour to be found Caught in their struggle for higher positions And their search for love that sticks around Youve had lots of lovely women Now you turn your gaze to me Weighing the beauty and the imperfection To see if Im worthy Like the church, like a cop, like a mother You want me to be truthful Sometimes you turn it on me like a weapon though And I need your approval Still I sent up my prayer Wondering who was there to hear I said, Send me somebody Whos strong and somewhat sincere With the millions of the lost and lonely ones I called out to be released Caught in my struggle for higher achievements And my search for love That dont seem to cease
Old Beale Street is coming down Sweeties Snack Bar boarded up now And Egles the Tailor and the Shine Boys gone Faded out with ragtime blues Handys cast in bronze And hes standing in a little park With a trumpet in his hand Like hes listening back to the good old bands And the click of high heeled shoes Old Furry sings the blues Propped up in his bed With his dentures and his leg removed And Ginnys there For her kindness and Furrys beer Shes the old mans angel overseer Pawn shops glitter like gold tooth caps In the grey decay They chew the last few dollars off Old Beale Streets carcass Carrion and mercy Blue and silver sparkling drums Cheap guitars eye shades and guns Aimed at the hot blood of being no one Down and out in Memphis Tennessee Old Furry sings the blues You bring him smoke and drink and hell play for you Its mostly muttering now and sideshow spiel But there was one song he played I could really feel Theres a double bill murder at the New Daisy The old girls silent across the street Shes silent waiting for the wreckers beat Silent staring at her stolen name Diamond boys and satin dolls Bourbon laughter ghosts history falls To parking lots and shopping malls As they tear down old Beale Street Old Furry sings the blues He points a bony finger at you and says I dont like you Everybody laughs as if its the old mans standard joke But its true Were only welcome for our drink and smoke W. C. Handy Im rich and Im fey And Im not familiar with what you played But I get such strong impressions of your hey day Looking up and down old Beale Street Ghosts of the darktown society Come right out of the bricks at me Like its a Saturday night Theyre in their finery Dancing it up and making deals Furry sings the blues Why should I expect that old guy to give it to me true Fallen to hard luck And time and other thieves While our limo is shining on his shanty street Old Furry sings the blues
Ive got a blue motel room With a blue bedspread Ive got the blues inside and outside my head Will you still love me When I call you up when Im down Here in Savannah its pouring rain Palm trees in the porch light like slick black cellophane Will you still love me When I call you up when I get back to town I know that youve got all those pretty girls coming on Hanging on your boom-boom-pachyderm Will you tell those girls that youve got German Measles Honey, tell them youve got germs I hope youll be thinking of me Because Ill be thinking of you While Im traveling home alone Tell those girls that youve got Joni Shes coming back home Ive got road maps From two dozen states Ive got coast to coast just to contemplate Will you still love me When I get back to town Its funny how these old feelings hang around You think theyre gone No, no They just go underground Will you still love me When I get back to L.A. town You and me, were like America and Russia Were always keeping score Were always balancing the power And that can get to be a cold cold war Were going to have to hold ourselves a peace talk In some neutral café You lay down your sneaking round the town honey And Ill lay down the highway Ive got a blue motel room With a blue bedspread Ive got the blues inside and outside my head Will you still love me When I get back to town
When I first saw your gallery I liked the ones of ladies Then you began to hang up me You studied to portray me In ice and greens And old blue jeans And naked in the roses Then you got into funny scenes That all your work discloses Lady, dont love me now I am dead I am a saint, turn down your bed I have no heart, thats what you said You said, I can be cruel But let me be gentle with you Somewhere in a magazine I found a page about you I see that now its Josephine Who cannot be without you I keep your house in fit repair I dust the portraits daily Your mail comes here from everywhere The writing looks like ladies Lady, please love me now, I am dead I am a saint, turn down your bed I have no heart, thats what you said You said, I can be cruel But let me be gentle with you I gave you all my pretty years Then we began to weather And I was left to winter here While you went west for pleasure And now youre flying back this way Like some lost homing pigeon Theyve monitored your brain, you say And changed you with religion Lady, please love me now I was dead I am no saint, turn down your bed Lady, have you no heart, thats what you said Well, I can be cruel But let me be gentle with you When I first saw your gallery I liked the ones of ladies But now their faces follow me And all their eyes look shady
My analyst told me That I was right out of my head The way he described it He said Id be better dead than live I didnt listen to his jive I knew all along That he was all wrong And I knew that he thought I was crazy but Im not Oh no My analyst told me That I was right out of my head He said I need treatment But Im not that easily led He said I was the type That was most inclined When out of his sight To be out of my mind And he thought I was nuts No more ifs or ands or buts They say as a child I appeared a little bit wild With all my crazy ideas But I knew what was happening I knew I was a genius Whats so strange when you know That youre a wizard at three I knew that this was meant to be Now I heard little children Were supposed to sleep tight Thats why I got into the vodka one night My parents got frantic Didnt know what to do But I saw some crazy scenes Before I came to Now do you think I was crazy I may have been only three But I was swinging They all laugh at angry young men They all laughed at Edison and also at Einstein So why should I feel sorry If they just couldnt understand The idiomatic logic That went on in my head I had a brain, it was insane Oh, they used to laugh at me When I refused to ride On those double decker buses All because there was no driver on the top My analyst told me That I was right out of my head But I said, Dear doctor I think that its you instead Because I, I got a thing Thats unique and new To prove it Ill have The last laugh on you Cause instead of one head I got two And you know two heads are better than one
Rows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air And feather canyons everywhere Ive looked at clouds that way But now they only block the sun They rain and they snow on everyone So many things I would have done but clouds got in my way But Ive looked at clouds from both sides now From up and down, and still somehow Its cloud illusions I recall I really dont know clouds at all Moons and Junes and ferris wheels The dizzy dancing way that you feel As every fairy tale comes real; Ive looked at love that way But now its just another show You leave em laughing when you go And if you care, dont let them know Dont give yourself away Ive looked at love from both sides now From give and take, and still somehow Its loves illusions that I recall I really dont know love at all Tears and fears and feeling proud To say I love you right out loud Dreams and schemes and circus crowds Ive looked at life that way But now old friends are acting strange They shake their heads, tell me that Ive changed Somethings lost but somethings gained in living every day Ive looked at life from both sides now From win and lose, and still somehow Its lifes illusions I recall I really dont know life at all Ive looked at life from both sides now From up and down, and still somehow Its lifes illusions I recall I really dont know life I really dont know life I really dont know life at all
I heard it in the wind last night It sounded like applause Did you get a round resounding for you Way up here It seems like many dim years ago Since I heard that face to face Or seen you face to face Though tonight I can feel you here I get these notes On butterflies and lilac sprays From girls who just have to tell me They saw you somewhere In some office sits a poet And he trembles as he sings And he asks some guy To circulate his soul around On your mark red ribbon runner The caressing rev of motors Finely tuned like fancy women In thirties evening gowns Up the charts Off to the airport Your names in the news Everythings first class The lights go down And its just you up there Getting them to feel like that Remember the days when you used to sit And make up your tunes for love And pour your simple sorrow To the soundhole and your knee And now youre seen On giant screens And at parties for the press And for people who have slices of you From the company They toss around your latest golden egg Speculation well whos to know If the next one in the nest Will glitter for them so I guess I seem ungrateful With my teeth sunk in the hand That brings me things I really cant give up just yet Now I sit up here the critic And they introduce some band But they seem so much confetti Looking at them on my TV set Oh the power and the glory Just when youre getting a taste for worship They start bringing out the hammers And the boards And the nails I heard it in the wind last night It sounded like applause Chilly now End of summer No more shiny hot nights It was just the arbutus rustling And the bumping of the logs And the moon swept down black water Like an empty spotlight
Funny day, looking for laughter and finding it there Sunny day, braiding wild flowers and leaves in my hair Picked up a pencil and wrote I love you in my finest hand Wanted to send it, but I dont know where I stand Telephone, even the sound of your voice is still new All alone in California and talking to you And feeling too foolish and strange to say the words that I had planned I guess its too early, cause I dont know where I stand Crickets call, courting their ladies in star-dappled green Thickets tall, until the morning comes up like a dream All muted and misty, so drowsy now Ill take what sleep I can I know that I miss you, but I dont know where I stand I know that I miss you, but I dont know where I stand
Downtown My darling dime store thief In the War of Independence Rock n roll rang sweet as victory Under neon signs A girl was in bloom And a woman was fading In a suburban room I said take me to the dance Do you want to dance? I love to dance And I told him They dont take chances They seem so removed from romance Theyve been broken in churches & schools And molded to middle class circumstance And we were rollin Rollin Rock n rollin Downtown The dance halls and cafes Feel so wild you could break somebodys heart Just doing the latest dance craze Gail and Louise In those push up brassieres Tight dresses and rhinestone rings Drinking up the bands beers Young love was kissing under bridges Kissing in cars Kissing in cafes And we were walking down Main Street Kisses like bright flags hung on holidays In France they kiss on Main Street Amour, mama, not cheap display And we were rollin Rollin Rock n rollin Downtown In the pinball arcade With his head full of pool hall pitches And songs from the hit parade Hed be singing Bye, Bye, Love While hes racking up his free play Let those rock n roll choir boys Come and carry us away Sometimes Chickie had the car Or Ron had the car Or Lead Foot Melvin with his hotwire head Wed all go looking for a party Looking to raise Jesus up from the dead And Id be kissing in the back seat Thrilling to the Brando-like things that he said And wed be rollin Rollin Rock n rolling Rollin Rollin Rock n rollin Rollin Rollin Rock n rollin
When morning comes to Morgantown The merchants roll their awnings down The milk trucks make their morning rounds In morning Morgantown Well rise up early, with the sun To ride the bus while everyone is yawning And the day is young In morning Morgantown Morning Morgantown Buy your dreams, a dollar down Morning any town you name Mornings just the same Well find a table in the shade And sip our tea and lemonade And watch the morning on parade In morning Morgantown Ladies in their rainbow fashions Colored stop and go lights flashing Well wink at total strangers passing In morning Morgantown Morning Morgantown Buy your dreams, a dollar down Morning in any town you name Mornings just the same Id like to buy you everything A wooden bird with painted wings A window full of colored rings In morning Morgantown But the only thing I have to give To make you smile, to win you with Are all the mornings still to live In morning Morgantown Morning Morgantown Buy your dreams, a dollar down Morning any town you name Mornings just the same Mornings just the same
Down in the cellar in the Boho Zone I went looking for some sweet inspiration, oh well Just another hard-time band With Negro affectations I was a hopeful in rooms like this When I was working cheap Its an old romance, the Boho dance It hasnt gone to sleep But even on the scuffle The cleaners press was in my jeans And any eye for detail Caught a little lace along the seams And you were in the parking lot Subterranean by your own design The virtue of your style inscribed On your contempt for mine Jesus was a beggar, he was rich in grace And Solomon kept his head in all his glory Its just that some steps outside the Boho dance Have a fascination for me A camera pans the cocktail hour Behind a blind of potted palms And finds a lady in a Paris dress With runs in her nylons You read those books where luxury Comes as a guest to take a slave Books where artists in noble poverty Go like virgins to the grave Dont you get sensitive on me Cause I know youre just too proud You couldnt step outside the Boho dance now Even if good fortune allowed Like a priest with a pornographic watch Looking and longing on the sly Sure its stricken from your uniform But you cant get it out of your eyes Nothing is capsulized in me On either side of town The streets were never really mine Not mine these glamour gowns
Verse And I awoke today and found the frost perched on the town It hovered in a frozen sky and gobbled summer down When the sun turns traitor cold And shivering trees are standing in a naked row Chorus I get the urge for going but I never seem to go And I get the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning brown Summertime is falling down winters closing in Verse I had a girl in summertime with summer colored skin And not another man in town my darlings heart could win But when the leaves fell trembling down And bully winds did rub their face down in the snow Chorus She got the urge for going I had to let her go She got the urge for going when the meadow grass was turning brown And summertime was falling down and winters closing in Verse Now the warriors of winter they give a cold triumphant shout All that stays is dying all that lives is getting out See the geese in chevron flight Flapping and a-racin on before the snow Chorus Got the urge for going theyve got the wings to go And they get the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning brown Summertime is falling down and winters closing in Verse Ill ply the fire with kindling, Ill pull the blankets to my chin Ill lock the vagrant winter out Ill bolt my wandering in Id like to call back summertime And have her stay for just another month or so Chourus But shes got the urge for going I guess shell have to go And shes gets the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning Brown All her empires are falling down winters closing in And I get the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning brown And summertime is falling down
I pulled up behind a Cadillac We were waiting for the light I took a look at his license plate It said Just Ice Is justice just ice? Governed by greed and lust Just the strong doing what they can And the weak suffering what they must Oh, and the gas leaks And the oil spills And sex sells everything Sex kills Oh, sex kills Doctors pills give you brand new ills And the bills bury you like an avalanche And lawyers havent been this popular Since Robespierre slaughtered half of France And Indian chiefs with their old beliefs Know the balance is undone, crazy ions You can feel it out in traffic Everyone hates everyone And the gas leaks And the oil spills And sex sells everything Sex kills Oh, sex kills All these jack-offs at the office The rapist in the pool Oh, and the tragedies in the nurseries Little kids packing guns to school The ulcerated ozone These tumors of the skin This hostile sun beating down On the massive mess were in And the gas leaks And the oil spills And sex sells everything Sex kills Sex kills Sex kills Oh, sex kills Sex kills
Varnished weeds in window jars Tarnished beads on tapestries Kept in satin boxes are Reflections of loves memories Letters from across the seas Roses dipped in sealing wax Valentines and maple leaves Tucked into a paperback Guess Ill throw them all away I found someone to love today Dark with darker moods is he Not a golden Prince whos come Through columbines and wizardry To talk of castles in the sun Still Ill take a chance and see I found someone to love today Theres a sorrow in his eyes Like the angel made of tin What will happen if I try To place another heart in him In a Bleecker Street cafe I found someone to love today I found someone to love today
He was sitting in the lounge of the Empire Hotel He was drinking for diversion He was thinking for himself A little money riding on the Maple Leafs Along comes a lady in lacy sleeves She says: Let me sit down You know, drinkin alones a shame Look at those jokers Glued to that damn hockey game Hey honey, youve got lots of cash Bring us round a bottle And well have some laughs Gins what Im drinking I was raised on robbery Im a pretty good cook Im sitting on my groceries Come up to my kitchen Ill show you my best recipe I try and I try but I cant save a cent Im up after midnight cooking Trying to make my rent Im rough but Im pleasin I was raised on robbery We had a little money once They were pushing through a four lane highway Government gave us three thousand dollars You should have seen it fly away First he bought a 57 Biscayne He put it in a ditch He drunk up all the rest That son of a bitch His bloods bad whiskey I was raised on robbery You know you aint bad looking I like the way you hold your drinks Come home with me honey I aint asking for no full length mink Hey, where you going? Dont go yet Your glass aint empty and we just met Youre mean when youre loaded I was raised on robbery
And so, once again My dear Johnny, my dear friend And so, once again, you are fighting us all And when I ask you why You raise your sticks and cry, and I fall Oh, my friend, how did you come To trade the fiddle for the drum? You say I have turned Like the enemies youve earned But I can remember All the good things you are And so, I ask you, please Can I help you find the peace and the star? Oh, my friend, what time is this To trade the handshake for the fist? And so, once again Oh, America, my friend And so, once again You are fighting us all And when we ask you why You raise your sticks and cry, and we fall Oh, my friend, how did you come To trade the fiddle for the drum? You say we have turned Like the enemies youve earned But we can remember All the good things you are And so, we ask you, please Can we help you find the peace and the star? Oh, my friend, we have all come To fear the beating of your drum
Willy is my child, he is my father I would be his lady all my life He says hed love to live with me But for an ancient injury That has not healed He said I feel once again Like I gave my heart too soon He stood looking through the lace At the face on the conquered moon And counting all the cars up the hill And the stars on my window sill There are still more reasons why I love him Willy is my joy, he is my sorrow Now he wants to run away and hide He says our love cannot be real He cannot hear the chapels pealing silver bells But you know its hard to tell When youre in the spell if its wrong or if its real But youre bound to lose If you let the blues get you scared to feel And I feel like Im just being born Like a shiny light breaking in a storm There are so many reasons why I love him Willy is my child, he is my father
It was a rainy night We took a taxi to your mothers home She went to Florida and left you With you fathers gun, alone Upon her small white bed I fell into a dream You sat up all the night and watched me To see, who in the world I might be I am from the Sunday school I sing soprano in the upstairs choir You are a holy man On the FM radio I sat up all the night and watched thee To see, who in the world you might be You called me beautiful You called your mother - she was very tanned So you packed your tent and went To live out in the Arizona sand You are a refugee From a wealthy family You gave up all the golden factories To see, who in the world you might be
Bad boy Rows and floes of angel hair And ice cream castles in the air And feather canyons everywhere Ive looked at clouds that way Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels The dizzy dancing way you feel When every fairy tale comes real Ive looked at clouds that way But now they only block the sun They rain and snow on everyone So, so many things I couldve done But clouds got in my Angel dust gets in your eyes, your hair On acid stars youre getting there My bodys assembled into a gift to you When you die, Ive looked at life that way But now its just another show You leave em laughing when you go So dont let them inside, dont let them know Dont give yourself ohh away But now my friends are acting strange They shake their heads, man, they say Ive changed, well Well, somethings lost and rearranged From living every, every Ive looked at life from both sides now From , and still somehow Its, its just illusions, I recall I, I really dont know, I really dont know I really dont know, I really dont know I really dont, I really dont clouds at all Why are we here, terrified, terrified Wow!
The big man arrives Disco dancers greet him Plainclothes cops greet him Small town, big man, fresh lipstick glistening Sophomore jive From victims of typewriters The band sounds like typewriters The big man hes not listening His eyes hold Edith His left hand holds his right What does that hand desire That he grips it so tight Edith in the ring The passed-over girls are conferring The man with the diamond ring is purring All claws for now withdrawn One by one they bring His renegade stories to her His crimes and his glories to her In challenge they look on Women he has taken grow old too soon He tilts their tired faces Gently to the spoon Edith in his bed A plane in the rain is humming The wires in the walls are humming Some song - some mysterious song Bars in her head Beating frantic and snowblind Romantic and snowblind She says - his crime belongs Edith and the Kingpin Each with charm to sway Are staring eye to eye They dare not look away You know they dare not look away
Dont interrupt the sorrow Darn right In flames our prophet witches Be polite A room full of glasses He says, Your notches, liberation doll And he chains me with that serpent To that Ethiopian wall Anima rising Queen of Queens Wash my guilt of Eden Wash and balance me Anima rising Uprising in me tonight Shes a vengeful little goddess With an ancient crown to fight Truth goes up in vapors The steeples lean Winds of change patriarchs Snug in your bible belt dreams God goes up the chimney Like childhood Santa Claus The good slaves love the good book A rebel loves a cause Im leaving on the 1:15 Youre darn right Since I was seventeen Ive had no one over me He says Anima rising- So what- Petrified wood process Tall timber down to rock! Dont interrupt the sorrow Darn right He says, We walked on the moon You be polite Dont let up the sorrow Death and birth and death and birth and death and birth He says, Bring that bottle kindly And Ill pad your purse- Ive got a head full of quandary And a mighty, mighty, mighty thirst Seventeen glasses Rhine wine Milk of the Madonna Clandestine He dont let up the sorrow He lies and he cheats It takes a heart like Marys these days When your man gets weak
Cold Blue Steel out of money One eye for the beat police Sweet Fire calling You cant deny me Now you know what you need Underneath the jungle gym Hollow-grey-fire-escape-thief Looking for Sweet Fire Shadow of Lady Release Come with me I know the way she says Its down, down, down the dark ladder Do you want to contact somebody first? Leave someone a letter? You can come now Or you can come later A wristwatch, a ring, a downstairs screamer Edgy - black cracks of the sky Pin-cushion-prick- Fix this poor bad dreamer! Money cold shadows reply Pawnshops crisscrossed and padlocked Corridors spit on prayers and pleas Sparks fly up from Sweet Fire Black soot of Lady Release Come with me I know the way she says Its down, down, down the dark ladder Do you want to contact somebody first? Does it really matter You can come now Or you can come later? Red water in the bathroom sink Fever and the scum brown bowl Blue Steel still begging But its indistinct Someones HI-Fi drumming Jelly Roll Concrete concentration camp Bashing in veins for peace Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire Fall into Lady Release Come with me I know the way she says Its down, down, down the dark ladder Do you want to contact somebody first? I mean what does it really matter? Youre going to come now Or youre going to come later
Rousseau walks on trumpet paths Safaris to the heart of all that jazz Through I bars and girders-through wires and pipes The mathematic circuits of the modern nights Through huts, through Harlem, through jails and gospel pews Through the class on Park and the trash on Vine Through Europe and the deep deep heart of Dixie blue Through savage progress cuts the jungle line In a low-cut blouse she brings the beer Rousseau paints a jungle flower behind her ear Those cannibals-of shuck and jive Theyll eat a working girl like her alive With his hard-edged eye and his steady hand He paints the cellar full of ferns and orchid vines And he hangs a moon above a five-piece band He hangs it up above the jungle line The jungle line, the jungle line Screaming in a ritual of sound and time Floating, drifting on the air-conditioned wind And drooling for a taste of something smuggled in Pretty women funneled through valves and smoke Coy and bitchy, wild and fine And charging elephants and chanting slaving boats Charging, chanting down the jungle line Theres a poppy wreath on a soldiers tomb Theres a poppy snake in a dressing room Poppy poison-poppy tourniquet It slithers away on brass like mouthpiece spit And metal skin and ivory birds Go steaming up to Rousseaus vines They go steaming up to Brooklyn Bridge Steaming, steaming, steaming up the jungle line
I met a friend of spirit He drank and womanized And I sat before his sanity I was holding back from crying He saw my complications And he mirrored me back simplified And we laughed how our perfection Would always be denied Heart and humor and humility He said Will lighten up your heavy load I left him for the refuge of the roads I fell in with some drifters Cast upon a beachtown Winn Dixie cold cuts and highway hand me downs And I wound up fixing dinner For them and Boston Jim I well up with affection Thinking back down the roads to then The nets were overflowing In the Gulf of Mexico They were overflowing in the refuge of the roads There was spring along the ditches There were good times in the cities Oh radiant happiness It was all so light and easy Till I started analyzing And I brought on my old ways A thunderhead of judgment was Gathering in my gaze And it made most people nervous They just didnt want to know What I was seeing in the refuge of the roads I pulled off into a forest Crickets clicking in the ferns Like a wheel of fortune I heard my fate turn turn turn And I went running down a white sand road I was running like a white-assed deer Running to lose the blues To the innocence in here These are the clouds of Michelangelo Muscular with gods and sungold Shine on your witness in the refuge of the roads In a highway service station Over the month of June Was a photograph of the earth Taken coming back from the moon And you couldnt see a city On that marbled bowling ball Or a forest or a highway Or me here least of all You couldnt see these cold water restrooms Or this baggage overload Westbound and rolling taking refuge in the roads
I am a woman of heart and mind With time on her hands No child to raise You come to me like a little boy And I give you my scorn and my praise You think Im like your mother Or another lover or your sister Or the queen of your dreams Or just another silly girl When love makes a fool of me After the rush when you come back down Youre always disappointed Nothing seems to keep you high Drive your bargains Push your papers Win your medals Fuck your strangers Dont it leave you on the empty side Im looking for affection and respect A little passion And you want stimulation-nothing more Thats what I think But you know Ill try to be there for you When your spirits start to sink All this talk about holiness now It must be the start of the latest style Is it all books and words Or do you really feel it? Do you really laugh? Do you really care? Do you really smile When you smile? You criticize and you flatter You imitate the best And the rest you memorize You know the times you impress me most Are the times when you dont try When you dont even try
Ive been sitting up waiting for my sugar to show Ive been listening to the sirens and the radio He said hed be over three hours ago Ive been waiting for his car on the hill He makes friends easy Hes not like me I watch for judgement anxiously Now where in the city can that boy be Waiting for a car Climbing Climbing Climbing the hill Hes a real good talker, I think hes a friend Fast tires come screaming around the bend But theres still no buzzer, they roll on And Im waiting for his car on the hill It always seems so righteous at the start When theres so much laughter When theres so much spark When theres so much sweetness in the dark Waiting for a car Climbing Climbing Climbing the hill
I came upon a child of God He was walking along the road And I asked him where are you going And this he told me Im going on down to Yasgurs farm Im going to join in a rock n roll band Im going to camp out on the land Im going to try an get my soul free We are stardust We are golden And weve got to get ourselves Back to the garden Then can I walk beside you I have come here to lose the smog And I feel to be a cog in something turning Well maybe it is just the time of year Or maybe its the time of man I dont know who I am But you know life is for learning Oh, we are stardust We are golden And weve got to get ourselves Back to the garden By the time we got to Woodstock We were half a million strong And everywhere there was song and celebration And I dreamed I saw the bombers Riding shotgun in the sky And they were turning into butterflies Above our nation We are stardust We are golden And weve got to get ourselves Back to the garden Ooh, ooh, ooh... Hmm...
The story hit the news From coast to coast They said you beat the girl You loved the most Your charitable acts Seemed out of place With the beauty With your fist marks on her face Your buddies all stood by They bet their fortunes And their fame That she was out of line And you were not to blame Six hundred thousand doctors Are putting on rubber gloves And theyre poking At the miseries made of love They say theyre learning How to spot The battered wives Among all the women They see bleeding through their lives I bleed For your perversity These red words that make a stain On your white-washed claim that She was out of line And you were not to blame I heard your baby say When he was only three Daddy, lets get some girls One for you and one for me. His mother had the frailty You despise And the looks You love to drive to suicide Not one wet eye around Her lonely little grave Said: He was out of line, girl You were not to blame.
A strange boy is weaving A course of grace and havoc On a yellow skateboard Thru midday sidewalk traffic Just when I think hes foolish and childish And I want him to be manly I catch my fool and my child Needing love and understanding What a strange strange boy He still lives with his family Even the war and the navy Couldnt bring him to maturity He keeps referring back to school days And clinging to his child Fidgeting and bullied His crazy wisdom holding onto something wild He asked me to be patient Well I failed Grow up! I cried And as the smoke was clearing he said Give me one good reason why What a strange strange boy He sees the cars as sets of waves Sequences of mass and space He sees the damage in my face We got high on travel And we got drunk on alcohol And on love the strongest poison and medicine of all See how that feeling comes and goes Like the pull of moon on tides Now I am surf rising Now parched ribs of sand at his side What a strange strange boy I gave him clothes and jewelry I gave him my warm body I gave him power over me A thousand glass eyes were staring In a cellar full of antique dolls I found an old piano And sweet chords rose up in waxed New England halls While the boarders were snoring Under crisp white sheets of curfew We were newly lovers then We were fire in the stiff blue-haired house rules
Heatwaves on the runway As the wheels set down He takes his baggage off the carousel He takes a taxi into town Yellow schools of taxi fishes Jonah in a ticking whale Caught up at the light in the fishnet windows Of Bloomingdales Watching those high fashion girls Skinny black models with Raven curls Beauty parlor blonds with credit card eyes Looking for the chic and the fancy To buy He opens up his suitcase In the continental suite And people thirty stories down Look like colored currents in the street A helicopter lands on the Pan Am roof Like a dragonfly on a tomb And business men in button downs Press into conference rooms Battalions of paper-minded males Talking commodities and sales While at home their paper wives And paper kids Paper the walls to keep their gut reactions hid Yellow checkers for the kitchen Climbing ivy for the bath She is lost in House and Gardens Hes caught up in Chief of Staff He drifts off into the memory Of the way she looked in school With her body oiled and shining At the public swimming pool The more Im with you, pretty baby The more I feel my love increase Im building all my dreams around you Our happiness will never cease Cause nothings any good without you Baby youre my centerpiece Well find a house and garden somewhere Along a country road a piece A little cottage on the outskirts Where we can really find release Cause nothings any good without you Baby youre my centerpiece Shining hair and shining skin Shining as she reeled him in To tell him like she did today Just what he could do with Harrys House And Harrys take home pay
Up in a sterilized room Where they let you be lazy Knowing your attitudes all wrong And you got to change And thats not easy Dragon shining with all values known Dazzling you, keeping you from your own Where is the lion in you To defy him when youre this weak And this spacey So what are you going to do about it You cant live life and you cant leave it Advice and religion, you cant take it You cant seem to believe it The peacock is afraid to parade Youre under the thumb of the maid You really cant give love in this condition Still you know how you need it They open and close you Then they talk like they know you They dont know you Theyre friends and theyre foes too Trouble child Breaking like the waves at Malibu So why does it come as such a shock To know you really have no one Only a river of changing faces Looking for an ocean They trickle through your leaky plans Another dream over the dam And youre lying in some room Feeling like your right to be human Is going over too Well, some are gonna knock you And somell try and clock you You know its really hard to talk sense to you Trouble child Breaking like the waves at Malibu
Michael wakes you up with sweets He takes you up streets and the rain comes down Sidewalk markets locked up tight And umbrellas bright on a grey background Theres oil on the puddles in taffeta patterns That run down the drain In colored arrangements That Michael will change with a stick that he found Michael from mountains Go where you will go to Know that I will know you Someday I may know you very well Michael brings you to a park He sings and its dark when the clouds come by Yellow slickers up on swings Like puppets on strings hanging in the sky Theyll splash home to suppers in wallpapered kitchens Their mothers will scold But Michael will hold you To keep away cold till the sidewalks are dry- Michael from mountains Go where you will go to Know that I will know you Someday I may know you very well Michael leads you up the stairs He needs you to care and you know you do Cats come crying to the key And dry you will be in a towel or two Theres rain in the window Theres sun in the painting that smiles on the wall You want to know all But his mountains have called so you never do- Michael from mountains Go where you will go to Know that I will know you Someday I may know you very well Someday I will know you very well
Daylight falls upon the path, the forest falls behind Today I am not prey to dark uncertainty The shadow trembles in its wrath, Ive robbed its blackness blind And tasted sunlight as my fear came clear to me I think I understand Fear is like a wilderland Stepping stones or sinking sand Now the way leads to the hills, above the steeples chime Below me sleepy rooftops round the harbor Its there Ill take my thirsty fill of friendship over wine Forgetting fear but never disregarding her Oh, I think I understand Fear is like a wilderland Stepping stones and sinking sand Sometime voices in the night will call me back again Back along the pathway of a troubled mind When forests rise to block the light that keeps a traveler sane Ill challenge them with flashes from a brighter time Oh, I think I understand Fear is like a wilderland Stepping stones or sinking sand
Im always running behind the time Just like this train Shaking into town With the brakes complaining I used to count lovers like railroad cars I counted them on my side Lately I dont count on nothing I just let things slide The station masters shuffling cards Boxcars are banging in the yards Jealous lovinll make you crazy If you cant find your goodness Cause you lost your heart I went looking for a cause Or a strong cat without claws Or any reason to resume And I found this empty seat In this crowded waiting room Everybody waiting Old man sleeping on his bags Women with that teased up kind of hair Kids with the jitters in their legs And those wide, wide open stares And the kids got Cokes and chocolate bars Theres a thin man smoking a fat cigar Jealous lovinll make you crazy If you cant find your goodness Cause youve lost your heart What are you going to do now Youve got no one To give your love to Well Ive got this berth and this pull down blind Ive got this fold up sink And these rocks and these cactuses going by And a bottle of German wine to drink Settle down into the clickety clack With the clouds and the stars to read Dreaming of the pleasure Im going to have Watching your hairline recede, my vain darling Watching your hair and clouds and stars Im rocking away in a sleeping car This jealous lovins bound to make me crazy I cant find my goodness I lost my heart Oh, sour grapes because I lost my heart
I came upon a child of God He was walking along the road When I asked him, where are you going? This, he told me: Im going down to Yasgurs farm Think Ill join a rock and roll band Ill camp out on the land Ill try and set my soul free We are stardust We are golden And weve got to get ourselves back to the garden Then, can I walk beside you? I have come here to lose the smog And I feel just like a cog In something turning Well, maybe its the time of year Or maybe its the time of man And I dont know who I am But lifes for learning We are stardust We are golden And weve got to get ourselves back to the garden By the time I got to Woodstock They were half a million strong Everywhere there were songs and celebration And I dreamed I saw the bombers Riding shotgun in the sky Turning into butterflies Above our nation We are stardust We are golden And weve got to get ourselves back to the garden We are stardust We are golden And weve got to get ourselves back to the garden We are stardust We are golden And weve got to get ourselves back to the garden
Lady called the blue boy, love She took him home Made himself an idol, yes So he turned to stone Like a pilgrim she travelled To place her flowers Before his granite grace And she prayed aloud for love To waken in his face In his face, oh Sometimes in the evening He would read to her Roll her in his arms And give his seed to her She would wake in the morning Without him And go to the window And look out through the pane But the statue in her garden He always looked the same He looked the same, ah Bring her boots of leather And she will dance for him Shyly from a feather fan Shell glance for him Here he comes after midnight To find her again He will come few times more Till he finds a lady statue Standing in a door In her door
Theres a crow flying Black and ragged Tree to tree Hes black as the highway thats leading me Now hes diving down To pick up on something shiny I feel like that black crow Flying In a blue sky I took a ferry to the highway Then I drove to a pontoon plane I took a plane to a taxi And a taxi to a train Ive been traveling so long Howm I ever going to know my home When I see it again Im like a black crow flying In a blue blue sky In search of love and music My whole life has been Illumination Corruption And diving diving diving diving Diving down to pick up on every shiny thing Just like that black crow flying In a blue sky I looked at the morning After being up all night I looked at my haggard face in the bathroom light I looked out the window And I saw that ragged soul take flight I saw a back crow flying In a blue sky Oh Im like a black crow flying In a blue sky
Fly silly seabird No dreams can possess you No voices can blame you For sun on your wings My gentle relations Have names they must call me For loving the freedom Of all flying things My dreams with the seagulls fly Out of reach out of cry I came to the city And lived like old Crusoe On an island of noise In a cobblestone sea And the beaches were concrete And the stars paid a light bill And the blossoms hung false On their store window trees My dreams with the seagulls fly Out of reach out of cry Out of the city And down to the seaside To sun on my shoulders And wind in my hair But sandcastles crumble And hunger is human And humans are hungry For worlds they cant share My dreams with the seagulls fly Out of reach Out of cry I call to a seagull Who dives to the waters And catches his silver-fine Dinner alone Crying where are the footprints That danced on these beaches And the hands that cast wishes That sunk like a stone My dreams with the seagulls fly Out of reach Out of cry
I think of tears, I think of rain on shingles I think of rain, I think of roses blue I think of Rose, my heart begins to tremble To see the place shes lately gotten to Gotten to, gotten to Shes gotten to mysterious devotions Shes gotten to the zodiac and Zen Shes gotten into tarot cards and potions Shes laying her religion on her friends On her friends, on her friends Friends who come to ask her for their future Friends who come to find they cant be friends Because of signs and seasons that dont suit her Shell prophesy your death, she wont say when Wont say when, wont say when When all the black cards come you cannot barter No, when all your stars are stacked you cannot win Shell shake her head and treat you like a martyr It is her blackest spell she puts you in Puts you in, puts you in In sorrow she can lure you where she wants you Inside your own self-pity there you swim In sinking down to drown her voice still haunts you And only with your laughter can you win Can you win, can you win You win the lasting laurels with your laughter It reaches like an arm before you sink To win the solitary truth youre after You dare not ask the priestess how to think How to think, how to think I think of tears, I think of rain on shingles I think of rain, I think of roses blue I think of Rose, my heart begins to tremble To see the place shes lately gotten to Gotten to, gotten to
Marcie in a coat of flowers Steps inside a candy store Reds are sweet and greens are sour Still no letter at her door So shell wash her flower curtains Hang them in the wind to dry Dust her tables with his shirt and Wave another day goodbye Marcies faucet needs a plumber Marcies sorrow needs a man Red is autumn green is summer Greens are turning and the sand All along the ocean beaches Stares up empty at the sky Marcie buys a bag of peaches Stops a postman passing by And summer goes Falls to the sidewalk like string and brown paper Winter blows Up from the river theres no one to take her To the sea Marcie dresses warm its snowing Takes a yellow cab uptown Red is stop and greens for going Sees a show and rides back down Down along the Hudson River Past the shipyards in the cold Still no letters been delivered Still the winter days unfold Like magazines Fading in dusty grey attics and cellars Make a dream Dream back to summer and hear how He tells her Wait for me Marcie leaves and doesnt tell us Where or why she moved away Red is angry green is jealous That was all she had to say Someone thought they saw her Sunday Window shopping in the rain Someone heard she bought a one-way ticket And went west again
You could have been more than a name on the door On the thirty-third floor in the air More than a credit card Swimming pool in the backyard While you still have the time you could get away and find A better life, you know the grind Is so ungrateful Racing cars, whisky bars No one cares who you really are Youre the keeper of the cards Yes I know it gets hard Keeping the wheels turning And the wife she keeps the keys She is so pleased to be A part of the arrangement You could have been more than a name on the door On the thirty-third floor in the air More than a consumer Lying in some room trying to die More than a credit card Swimming pool in the backyard You could have been more than a name on the door You could have been more than a name on the door You could have been more You could have been more You could have been more
No tongue in the bell And the fishwives yell But they might as well be mute So you get to keep the pictures That dont seem like much Cold white keys under your fingers Now youre thinking Thats no substitute It just dont do it Like the song of a warm warm body Loving your touch In the court they carve your legend With an apple in its jaw And the women that you wanted They get their laughs Long silk stockings On the bedposts of refinement Youre too raw They think youre too raw Its the judgement of the moon and stars Your solitary path Draw yourself a bath Think what youd like to have For supper Or take a walk A park A bridge A tree A river Revoked but not yet cancelled The gift goes on In silence In a bell jar Still a song Youve got to shake your fists at lightning now Youve got to roar like forest fire Youve got to spread your light like blazes All across the sky Theyre going to aim the hoses on you Show em you wont expire Not till you burn up every passion Not even when you die Come on now Youve got to try If youre feeling contempt Well then you tell it If youre tired of the silent night Jesus well then you yell it Condemned to wires and hammers Strike every chord that you feel That broken trees And elephant ivories conceal
I used to think the world was flat Rarely threw my hat into the crowd I felt I had used up my quota of yearning Used to look in on the children at night In the glow of their Donald Duck light And frighten myself with the thought of my little ones burning But, oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning The tide is turning Satellite buzzing through the endless night Exclusive to moonshots and world title fights Jesus Christ imagine what it must be earning Who is the strongest Who is the best Who holds the aces The East Or the West This is the crap our children are learning But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning The tide is turning Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning Now the satellites confused Cause on Saturday night The airwaves were full of compassion and light And his silicon heart warmed To the sight of a billion candles burning Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning The tide is turning Billy Im not saying that the battle is won But on Saturday night all those kids in the sun Wrested technologys sword from the hand of the war lords Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning The tide is turning Sylvester The tide is turning Thats it! Now the past is over but you are not alone Together well fight Sylvester Stallone We will not be dragged down in his South China Sea Of macho bullshit and mediocrity
Out of the fire like Catholic saints Comes Scarlett and her deep complaint Mimicking tenderness she sees In sentimental movies A celluloid rider comes to town Cinematic lovers sway Plantations and sweeping ballroom gowns Take her breath away Out in the wind in crinolines Chasing the ghosts of Gable and Flynn Through stand-in boys and extra players Magnolias hopeful in her auburn hair She comes from a school of southern charm She likes to have things her way Any man in the world holding out his arm Would soon be made to pay Friends have told her not so proud Neighbors trying to sleep and yelling not so loud Lovers in anger block of ice Harder and harder just to be nice Given in the night to dark dreams From the dark things she feels She covers her eyes in the x-rated scenes Running from the reels Beauty and madness to be praised cause it is not easy to be brave To walk around in so much need To carry the weight of all that greed Dressed in stolen clothes she stands Cast iron and frail With her impossibly gentle hands And her blood-red fingernails Out of the fire and still smoldering She says a woman must have everything Shades of scarlett conquering She says a woman must have everything
Peridots and periwinkle blue medallions Gilded galleons spilled across the ocean floor Treasure somewhere in the sea and he will find where Never mind their questions theres no answer for The roll of the harbour wake The songs that the rigging makes The taste of the spray he takes And he learns to give He aches and he learns to live He stakes all his silver On a promise to be free Mermaids live in colonies All his seadreams come to me City satins left at home I will not need them I believe him when he tells of loving me Something truthful in the sea your lies will find you Leave behind your streets he said and come to me Come down from the neon nights Come down from the tourist sights Run down till the rain delights you You do not hide Sunlight will renew your pride Skin white by skin golden Like a promise to be free Dolphins playing in the sea All his seadreams come to me Seabird I have seen you fly above the pilings I am smiling at your circles in the air I will come and sit by you while he lies sleeping Fold your fleet wings I have brought some dreams to share A dream that you love someone A dream that the wars are done A dream that you tell no one but the grey sea Theyll say that youre crazy And a dream of a baby Like a promise to be free Children laughing out to sea All his seadreams come to me All his seadreams come to me
And so once again My dear Johnny my dear friend And so once again you are fightin us all And when I ask you why You raise your sticks and cry, and I fall Oh, my friend How did you come To trade the fiddle for the drum You say I have turned Like the enemies youve earned But I can remember All the good things you are And so I ask you please Can I help you find the peace and the star Oh, my friend What time is this To trade the handshake for the fist And so once again Oh, America my friend And so once again You are fighting us all And when we ask you why You raise your sticks and cry and we fall Oh, my friend How did you come To trade the fiddle for the drum You say we have turned Like the enemies youve earned But we can remember All the good things you are And so we ask you please Can we help you find the peace and the star Oh my friend We have all come To fear the beating of your drum
Come to the dinner gong The table is laden high Fat bellies and hungry little ones Tuck your napkins in And take your share Some get the gravy And some get the gristle Some get the marrow bone And some get nothing Though theres plenty to spare I took my share down by the sea Paper plates and Javex bottles on the tide Seagulls come down And they squawk at me Down where the water-skiers glide Some turn to Jesus And some turn to heroin Some turn to rambling round Looking for a clean sky And a drinking stream Some watch the paint peel off Some watch their kids grow up Some watch their stocks and bonds Waiting for that big deal American Dream I took my dream down by the sea Yankee yachts and lobster pots and sunshine And logs and sails And Shell Oil pails Dogs and tugs and summertime Back in the banquet line Angry young people crying Who let the greedy in And who left the needy out Who made this salty soup Tell him were very hungry now For a sweeter fare In the cookie I read Some get the gravy And some get the gristle Some get the marrow bone And some get nothing Though theres plenty to spare
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin hot spot Don’t it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got ’til its gone? They paved paradise, put up a parking lot They took all the trees, put em in a tree museum And they charged the people a dollar and a half just to see em Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til it’s gone? They paved paradise, put up a parking lot Hey farmer, farmer, put away the DDT now Give me spots on my apples But leave me the birds and the bees, please Don’t it always seem to go That you dont know what you’ve got til its gone? They paved paradise, put up a parking lot Oh-la-la-la Oh-la-la-la Late last night, I heard the screen door slam And a big yellow taxi took away my old man Dont it always seem to go That you don’t know what youve got til its gone? They paved paradise, put up a parking lot, yeah Oh-la-la-la Oh-la-la-la Dont it always seem to go That you dont know what youve got til its gone? They paved paradise, put up a parking lot Oh-la-la-la Oh-la-la-la Oh, They paved paradise, put up a parking lot Oh-la-la-la Oh-la-la-la They paved paradise, put up a parking lot I didnt wanna end