Poetry and Lyrics

[tungtied2u]

The Mississippi Delta was shining
Like a National guitar
I am following the river
Down the highway
Through the cradle of the civil war
I'm going to Graceland
Graceland
In Memphis Tennessee
I'm going to Graceland
Poorboys and Pilgrims with families
And we are going to Graceland
My traveling companion is nine years old
He is the child of my first marriage
But I've reason to believe
We both will be received
In Graceland

She comes back to tell me she's gone
As if I didn't know that
As if I didn't know my own bed
As if I'd never noticed
The way she brushed her hair from her forehead
And she said losing love
Is like a window in your heart
Everybody sees you're blown apart
Everybody sees the wind blow

I'm going to Graceland
Memphis Tennessee
I'm going to Graceland
Poorboys and Pilgrims with families
And we are going to Graceland

And my traveling companions
Are ghosts and empty sockets
I'm looking at ghosts and empties
But I've reason to believe
We all will be received
In Graceland

There is a girl in New York City
Who calls herself the human trampoline
And sometimes when I'm falling, flying
Or tumbling in turmoil I say
Oh, so this is what she means
She means we're bouncing into Graceland
And I see losing love
Is like a window in your heart
Everybody sees you're blown apart
Everybody feels the wind blow

In Graceland, in Graceland
I'm going to Graceland
For reasons I cannot explain
There's some part of me wants to see
Graceland
And I may be obliged to defend
Every love, every ending
Or maybe there's no obligations now
Maybe I've a reason to believe
We all will be received
In Graceland

 

[tungtied2u]

Take you to the cinema
and leave you in a Wimpy Bar --
you tell me that we've gone to far --
come running up to me.
Make the scene at Cousin Jack's --
leave him put the bottles back --
mends his glasses that I cracked --
well that one's up to me.
Buy a silver cloud to ride --
pack the tennis club inside --
trouser cuffs hung far too wide --
well it was up to me.
Tyres down on your bicicle --
your nose feels like an icicle --
the yellow fingered smoky girl
is looking up to me.
Well I'm a common working man
with a half of bitter -- bread and jam
and if it pleases me I'll put one on you man --
when the copper fades away.
The rainy season comes to pass --
the day-glo pirate sinks at last --
and if I laughed a bit to fast.
Well it was up to me.

 

[Angeline]

RIP

Brother Ray
1930-2004

I read an interesting article this morning that talked about the way Ray Charles mixed jazz. blues, and rock to help create modern R&B. Thanks Brother Ray.


HIT THE ROAD JACK
Ray Charles - 1961


Hit the Road Jack and don't you come back
No more no more no more no more,
Hit the Road Jack and don't you come back
No more
What'd you say

Old woman old woman, oh you treat me so mean,
You're the meanest old woman that I ever have seen,
Well I guess if you say so
I'll have to pack my things and go (that's right)

Now Baby, listen Baby, don't you treat me this-a way
'Cause I'll be back on my feet some day,
Don't care if you do, cause it's understood,
You got no money, and you just ain't no good
Well I guess if you say so
I'll have to pack my things and go (that's right)

Well ...
Uh, what you say?
I didn't understand you.
You can't mean that ...
Aw now Baby, Please.
What you trying to do to me!?

 

[tungtied2u]

Joni Mitchell

So as not to overcrowd the new poem-a-thon thread with poet/singers, I offer this, my favorite Joni tune. Emotionally, it connects on alevel that always makes me weep........so I listen to it often.

COME IN FROM THE COLD LYRICS



Back in 1957
We had to dance a foot apart
And they hawk-eyed us from the sidelines
Holding their rulers without a heart
And so with just a touch of our fingers
I could make our circuitry explode
All we ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(we were so young)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

We really thought we had a purpose
We were so anxious to achieve
We had hope
The world held promise
For a slave to liberty
Freely I slaved away for something better
And I was bought and sold
And all I ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(we were so sure)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

I feel your leg under the table
Leaning into mine
I feel renewed
I feel disabled
By these bonfires in my spine
I don’t know who the arsonist was
Which incendiary soul
But all I ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(you were so warm)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

I am not some stone commission
Like a statue in a park
I am flesh and blood and vision
I am howling in the dark
Long blue shadows of the jackals
Are falling on a pay phone by the road
Oh all they ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(I was so low)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

Is this just vulgar electricity
Is this the edifying fire
(it was so pure)
Does your smile’s covert complicity
Debase as it admires
(just a flu with a temperature)
Are you just checking out your mojo
(oohoo)
Or am I just fighting off growing old
(just a high fever)
All I ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(it was so pure)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

I know we never will be perfect
Never entirely clear
(when the moon shines)
We get hurt and we just panic
And we strike out
Out of fear
(you were only being kind)
I fear the sentence of this solitude
200 years on hold
(for my loving crime)
Oh and all we ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(when the moon shines)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

When I thought life had some purpose
Then I thought I had some choice
(I was running blind)
And I made some value judgments
In a self-important voice
(I was outa line)
But then absurdity came over me
And I longed to lose control
(into no mind)
Oh all I ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(you were so kind)
Please come in
(so kind)
Come in from the cold
Come in come in
Come in from the cold, etc.

____________________________

I'm crying again



::

 

[tungtied2u]

These lines do it:

I am not some stone commission
Like a statue in a park
I am flesh and blood and vision
I am howling in the dark

Every time.

 

[Angeline]

Re: Joni Mitchell

So as not to overcrowd the new poem-a-thon thread with poet/singers, I offer this, my favorite Joni tune. Emotionally, it connects on alevel that always makes me weep........so I listen to it often.

COME IN FROM THE COLD LYRICS



Back in 1957
We had to dance a foot apart
And they hawk-eyed us from the sidelines
Holding their rulers without a heart
And so with just a touch of our fingers
I could make our circuitry explode
All we ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(we were so young)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

We really thought we had a purpose
We were so anxious to achieve
We had hope
The world held promise
For a slave to liberty
Freely I slaved away for something better
And I was bought and sold
And all I ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(we were so sure)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

I feel your leg under the table
Leaning into mine
I feel renewed
I feel disabled
By these bonfires in my spine
I don’t know who the arsonist was
Which incendiary soul
But all I ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(you were so warm)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

I am not some stone commission
Like a statue in a park
I am flesh and blood and vision
I am howling in the dark
Long blue shadows of the jackals
Are falling on a pay phone by the road
Oh all they ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(I was so low)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

Is this just vulgar electricity
Is this the edifying fire
(it was so pure)
Does your smile’s covert complicity
Debase as it admires
(just a flu with a temperature)
Are you just checking out your mojo
(oohoo)
Or am I just fighting off growing old
(just a high fever)
All I ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(it was so pure)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

I know we never will be perfect
Never entirely clear
(when the moon shines)
We get hurt and we just panic
And we strike out
Out of fear
(you were only being kind)
I fear the sentence of this solitude
200 years on hold
(for my loving crime)
Oh and all we ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(when the moon shines)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

When I thought life had some purpose
Then I thought I had some choice
(I was running blind)
And I made some value judgments
In a self-important voice
(I was outa line)
But then absurdity came over me
And I longed to lose control
(into no mind)
Oh all I ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(you were so kind)
Please come in
(so kind)
Come in from the cold
Come in come in
Come in from the cold, etc.

____________________________

I'm crying again



::

Joni lyrics will do that to you.

That is a great one--Hissing of Summer Lawns? Or is it on Hejira? I forget...

 

[tungtied2u]

Re: Re: Joni Mitchell

Joni lyrics will do that to you.

That is a great one--Hissing of Summer Lawns? Or is it on Hejira? I forget...

Night Ride Home

Take my heart= please.

 

[eagleyez]

Kentucky Avenue- ~Tom Waits~




Eddie Graces buick got 4 bullet holes in the side,
Charlie Delisle sittin at the top of an avocado tree.
Mrs. Stormll stab you with a steak knife if you step on her lawn. I got a half pack of Lucky Strikes, man, come along with me! Lets fill our pockets with macadamia nuts, then go over to Bobby Goodmansons and jump off the roof! Hilda plays strip poker and her mamas across the street, Joey Navinski says she put her tongue in his mouth! Dicky Faulkners got a switchblade and some gooseneck risers that eucalyptus is a hunchback, there's a wind up from the south! Let me tie you up with kite string and I'll show you the scabs on my knee! Watch out for the broken glass, put your shoes and socks on and come along with me! Lets follow that fire track
I think your house is burnin down!
Then go down to the hobo jungle
and kill some rattlesnakes with a trowel!
We'll break all the windows in the old Anderson place
and steal a bunch of boysenberrys
and smear 'em on our face!
I'll get a dollar from my mamas purse
and buy that skull and crossbones ring
and you can wear it around your neck
on an old piece of string

Then we'll spit on Ronnie Arnold
and flip him the bird
and slash the tires on the school bus
now don't say a word!
I'll take a rusty nail
and scratch your initials on my arm
and I'll show you how to sneak up
on the roof of the drugstore

Take the spokes from your wheelchair
and a magpies wings
and tie 'em to your shoulders and your feet!
I'll steal a hacksaw from my dad
and cut the braces off your legs
and we'll bury them tonight in the cornfield

Put a church key in your pocket
we'll hop that freight train in the hall
and we'll slide down the drain all the way
to New Orleans in the fall!

 

[Snube11]

An Ending Dream by H.C.

You see, she was gonna be an actress
And I was gonna learn to fly.
She took off to find the footlights,
And I took off for the sky.
And here, she's acting happy,
Inside her handsome home.
And me, I'm flying in my taxi,
Taking tips, and getting stoned,
I go flying so high, when I'm stoned.

----Harry Chapin

 

[tungtied2u]

Townes Van Zandt

OK ladies and gents- a true troubador

Our mother the mountain
by Townes Van Zandt

My lover comes to me with a rose on her bosom
the moon's dancin' purple
all through her black hair
and a ladies-in-waiting she stands 'neath my window
and the sun will rise soon
on the false and the fair


She tells me she comes from my mother the mountain
her skin fits her tightly
and her lips do not lie
She silently slips from her throat a medallion
slowly she twirls it
in front of my eyes


I watch her, I love her, I long for to touch her
the satin she's wearin'
is shimmering blue
Outside my window her ladies are sleeping
my dogs have gone hunting
the howling is through


So I reach for her hand and her eyes turns to poison
and her hair turns to splinters,
and her flesh turns to brine
she leaps cross the room, she stands in the window
and screams that my first-born
will surely be blind


She throws herself out to the black of the nightfall
She's parted her lips
but she makes not a sound
I fly down the stairway, and I run to the garden
no trace of my true love
is there to be found


So walk these hills lightly, and watch who you're lovin'
by mother the mountain
I swear that it's true
Love not a woman with hair black as midnight
and her dress made of satin
all shimmering blue

 

[tarablackwood22]

I'll Second That

Townes Van Zandt


COME TOMORROW



Could it be the season's changin'
the winds of winter rearranging
all the leaves like fallin' queens of sorrow
Could be the freezing rain a-fallin'
could be sad September callin'
or maybe its knowin' she'll be gone
Come tomorrow

Well, it's strange how many tortured mornings
fell upon us with no warning
lookin' for a smile to beg and borrow
It's over now, there is no returning
a thousand bridges sadly burning
and light the way I have to walk alone
Come tomorrow

I guess that no amount of lying
to myself will stop the crying
I guess I have to take things like they are
The facts are plain to see, it's only
that I ain't used to being lonely
like I'm gonna be without you
Come tomorrow

 

[Angeline]

Oh Laura Nyro

God, I love her. Nobody writes like she did. Nobody sounds like she did.

The Confession
Laura Nyro

Super summer sugar copping in the morning,
do your shopping baby, love my lovething.
Super ride inside my lovething.
You may disappear, but you'll be back I swear.
Would you love to love me baby?
I would love to love you baby now.
Would you love to love me baby?
I would love to love you baby now.

Mama it's my pain.

Super summer sugar copping in the morning,
do your shopping baby, love my lovething,
super ride inside my lovething.
You may leave the fair but you'll be back I swear.
Would you love to love me baby?
I would love to love you baby now.
Would you love to love me baby?
I would love to love you baby now.

I keep hearing mother crying,
I keep hearing daddy through his grave,
"Little girl, of all the daughters,
you were born a woman, not a slave."

Oh, I hate my winsome lover,
tell him I've had others at my breast,
but tell him he has held my heart
and only now am I a virgin, I confess.

Love my love thing, love is surely gospel.

******
Emmie

Oo la, la, la, oo la, la, la, la.

Emily and her love to be,
carved in a heart on a berry tree.
But it's only a little farewell love spell,
time to design a woman.
Touch me, oh wake me, Emily you ornament the earth for me.

Emily, you're the natural snow,
the unstudied sea, you're a cameo.
And I swear you were born a weavers lover,
born for the loom's desire.
Move me, oh sway me. Emily, you ornament, the earth for me.

Emmie, your Momma’s been calling you.
Who stole Mama’s heart and cuddled in her garden?
Darling Emmie, la, la, la, oo la, la la.

You were my friend and I loved you,
Emily, Emily, Emily, Emily.

She got the way to move me, Emmie.
She got the way to move me, yeah.
She got the way to move me, Emmie.
She got the way to move me,
get up and move me.

******
Upstairs By A Chinese Lamp

Market in the cool white morning,
merchants sell while women buy
milk, tobacco, soap and matches.
Sweep the floor while the dishes dry,
Spring whispered in her ear
like soft Mediterranean wailing.

Sleepy woman by the window dreaming in the morning air
of the one who takes her sweetness by a Chinese lamp upstairs.

The steam of China tea, you could hear the woman sing in the soft flames of spring.

Spring has swept the scarlet side streets,
winds caress, undress, invite.
Upstairs by a China lamp,
they softly talk in the cool spring night.

 

[tungtied2u]

NEIL YOUNG LYRICS

"A Man Needs A Maid"

My life is changing
in so many ways
I don't know who
to trust anymore
There's a shadow running
thru my days
Like a beggar going
from door to door.

I was thinking that
maybe I'd get a maid
Find a place nearby
for her to stay.
Just someone
to keep my house clean,
Fix my meals and go away.

A maid. A man needs a maid.
A maid.

It's hard to make that change
When life and love
turns strange.
And old.

To give a love,
you gotta live a love.
To live a love,
you gotta be "part of"
When will I see you again?

A while ago somewhere
I don't know when
I was watching
a movie with a friend.
I fell in love with the actress.
She was playing a part
that I could understand.

A maid. A man needs a maid.
A maid.

When will I see you again?

 

[tungtied2u]

A Grateful Dead tune

Here's a Dead tune written by Rbert Hunter, music by Jerry Garcia witjh a nice analysis by Davd Dodd including some references to Samuel Taylor Coleridge.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ripple"


If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung
Would you hear my voice come through the music
Would you hold it near as it were your own?

It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken
Perhaps they're better left unsung
I don't know, don't really care
Let there be songs to fill the air


(Chorus)


Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow


Reach out your hand if your cup be empty
If your cup is full may it be again
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men


There is a road, no simple highway
Between the dawn and the dark of night
And if you go no one may follow
That path is for your steps alone


(Chorus)

You who choose to lead must follow
But if you fall you fall alone
If you should stand then who's to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home


Hunter has posted the manuscript of an early draft of the song in his archives.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Analysis
"Ripple" is a song lyric by Robert Hunter. Its genre, therefore, is song. A true song is meant to be sung, and so its words must be easy to remember, unless it is an experimental or art song. But Hunter wrote "Ripple" in the folk song tradition during the late 1960's, with overtones of that Haight-Ashbury era, such as a sense of cosmic oneness, and of East meeting West.
Hunter, in choosing the folk lyric format, has infused it with something new. The first verse, addressing the listener, is about song, about listening to the song and making it your own. Hunter begins the verse by invoking the elements of song: words and tune, so that the listener is prepared to think about the song. The poet expresses concern that the song be sung by other people, opening up a discussion of the relationship between the singer and the listener, who will also, it is hoped, come to be the singer, in turn.

So the relationship between poet and reader is unity; they are both the poet. In this way, the original poet breaks out of mortality, since his thoughts will continue to generate new thoughts.

The next verse continues this theme, but points out that the identification between singer and listener can never be total, since it is questionable whether any of the original poet's thoughts will actually occur to the person who is now singing the song. But the poet concludes that even though 'the thoughts are broken,' it is worthwhile to have songs.

The chorus is the main puzzle of the song, as highlighted by the title. It is set apart formally from the rest of the song, being a seventeen-syllable haiku. Following the first two verses, it suggests that thought is like a ripple, not caused by anything, and doomed to be fleeting, not to be held. Hunter chose an Asian verse form to express this idea, which is contrary to Western civilization's principle of logical, rational thought. Hunter poses a counter-argument. It is not worthwhile to believe that reason can be imposed on thinking, or that anything reasonable can come from thinking, since communication of thought will always be flawed. It is possible that Hunter's thoughts were born from the experience of altered states, and the frustration that goes with any attempt to describe experience in an altered state. His choice of a pool of water being momentarily disturbed by a ripple is in accordance with Samuel Taylor Coleridge's imagery in describing the fleetingness of the altered state in "Kubla Khan":


Then all the charm
Is broken--all that phantom-world so fair
Vanishes, and a thousand circlets spread,
And each mis-shape the other. Stay awhile,
Poor youth! who scarcely dar'st lift up thine eyes--
The stream will soon renew its smoothness, soon
The visions will return! And lo, he stays,
And soon the fragments dim of lovely forms
Come trembling back, unite, and now once more
The pool becomes a mirror."

The next two verses introduce new themes. The first contains a benediction, wishing the listener a "full cup," or a happy life. This cup, moreover, can be refilled at a fountain which, since it was not made by human hands, represents a cosmic or universal level of being. The next verse takes the song from the universal back to the individual. The path between dawn (birth) and dark (death) is a metaphor for life, each life being individual. (For an alternate take, see email from Linda Gershon)

The chorus follows, and in this context the ripple has become a symbol of an individual life, caused by nothing a disappearing back into still water, back into the fountain not made by people. A life is a ripple. All life is still water. The chorus, then, is interpreted differently each time. The first time a ripple is a thought in an individual mind; the second time a ripple is an individual life in the pool of universal life.

The final verse conveys optimistic hopelessness. The poet is compassionate, as shown by the last line, but wants us to realize that there are no guarantees about life.

 

[tungtied2u]

More Changes- Bowie

Changes

=======

I still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time

I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence and
So the days float through my eyes
But stil the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't tell them to grow up and out of it

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Where's your shame
You've left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me
But you can't trace time

Strange fascination, fascinating me
Changes are taking the pace I'm going through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older

Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time

 

[Angeline]

Robert Hunter

Ripple is a beautiful song, tungtied. You made me think of these Grateful Dead songs--probably my two favorites.

Box of Rain

Look out of any window
any morning, any evening, any day
Maybe the sun is shining
birds are winging or
rain is falling from a heavy sky -
What do you want me to do,
to do for you to see you through?
this is all a dream we dreamed
one afternoon long ago
Walk out of any doorway
feel your way, feel your way
like the day before
Maybe you'll find direction
around some corner
where it's been waiting to meet you -
What do you want me to do,
to watch for you while you're sleeping?
Well please don't be surprised
when you find me dreaming too

Look into any eyes
you find by you, you can see
clear through to another day
I know it's been seen before
through other eyes on other days
while going home --
What do you want me to do,
to do for you to see you through?
It's all a dream we dreamed
one afternoon long ago

Walk into splintered sunlight
Inch your way through dead dreams
to another land
Maybe you're tired and broken
Your tongue is twisted
with words half spoken
and thoughts unclear
What do you want me to do
to do for you to see you through
A box of rain will ease the pain
and love will see you through

Just a box of rain -
wind and water -
Believe it if you need it,
if you don't just pass it on
Sun and shower -
Wind and rain -
in and out the window
like a moth before a flame

It's just a box of rain
I don't know who put it there
Believe it if you need it
or leave it if you dare
But it's just a box of rain
or a ribbon for your hair
Such a long long time to be gone
and a short time to be there

******
Uncle John's Band

Well the first days are the hardest days, Don't you worry anymore,
'Cause when life looks like easy street, there is danger at your door.
Think this through with me, let me know your mind.
Woh - oh, what I want to know, is are you kind?

It's a buck dancer's choice my friend; better take my advice.
You know all the rules by now and the fire from the ice.
Will you come with me, won't you come with me?
Woh - oh, what I want to know, will you come with me?

Goddamn, well I declare, have you seen the like?
Their walls are built of cannonballs, their motto is Don't tread on me.
Come hear Uncle John's Band playing to the tide,
come with me or go alone, he's come to take his children home

It's the same story the crow told me; It's the only one he knows.
Like the morning sun you come and like the wind you go.
Ain't no time to hate, barely time to wait,
Woh - oh, what I want to know, where does the time go?

I live in a silver mine and I call it Beggar's Tomb;
I got me a violin and I beg you call the tune
Anybody's choice, I can hear your voice.
Woh - oh, what I want to know, how does the song go?

Come hear the Uncle John's Band by the riverside
Got some things to talk about, here beside the risin' tide
Come hear Uncle John's Band playing to the tide,
Come on along, or go alone, he's come to take his children home.

 

[tungtied2u]

Re: Robert Hunter

Ripple is a beautiful song, tungtied. You made me think of these Grateful Dead songs--probably my two favorites.

Box of Rain

Walk into splintered sunlight
Inch your way through dead dreams
to another land
Maybe you're tired and broken
Your tongue is twisted
with words half spoken
and thoughts unclear


******
Uncle John's Band

Yes, I love both those songs too. The verse above is so loaded
with metaphor and meaning. "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty" are my 2 favorite Dead albums as far as lyrics go. Jamming is a whole other question.

 

[Angeline]

Re: Re: Robert Hunter

Yes, I love both those songs too. The verse above is so loaded
with metaphor and meaning. "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty" are my 2 favorite Dead albums as far as lyrics go. Jamming is a whole other question.

Yes, they are my two favorites, too. I like the folkier vibe on them. I got up this morning and listened to American Beauty because of this thread.

 

[Opal pearl]

I always loved this one

Holiday by SCORPIONS
Music :Rudolf Schenker
Lyrics:Klaus Meine

Let me take you far away
You'd like a holiday
Let me take you far away
You'd like a holiday

Exchange the cold days for the sun
A good time and fun
Let me take you far away
You'd like a holiday

Let me take you far away
You'd like a holiday
Let me take you far away
You'd like a holiday

Exchange your troubles for some love
Wherever you are
Let me take you far away
You'd like a holiday

Longing for the sun you will come
To the island without name
Longing for the sun be welcome
On the island many miles away from home
Be welcome on the island without name
Longing for the sun you will come
To the island many miles away from home

 

[Tathagata]

Allan Sherman

One of the most brilliant parody song writers ever;

You have to hear this sung to get the genius but....

Shake Hands With Your Uncle Max
(Parody of "Shake Hands With Your Uncle Mike")



I sell a line of plastics
And I travel on the road
And I have a case of samples
Which believe me is a load

Every night a strange cafe
A strange hotel and then
Early in the morning
I am on the road again

When the season's over
And my lonesome journey ends
That's the only time I see
My family and my friends

I drive up Ocean Parkway
And before I stop the car
My ma leans out the window
And she hollers, "Here we are!"

Shake hands with your Uncle Max, my boy
And here is your sister Shirl
And here is your cousin Isabel
That's Irving's oldest girl
And you remember the Tishman twins
Gerald and Jerome
We all came out to greet you
And to wish you welcome home

Meet..
Merowitz, Berowitz, Handelman, Schandelman
Sperber and Gerber and Steiner and Stone
Boskowitz, Lubowitz, Aaronson, Baronson,
Kleinman and Feinman and Freidman and Cohen

Smallowitz, Wallowitz, Tidelbaum, Mandelbaum
Levin, Levinsky, Levine and Levi
Brumburger, Schlumburger, Minkus and Pinkus
And Stein with an "e-i" and Styne with a "y"

Shake hands with your Uncle Sol mein boy
And here is your brother Sid
And here is your cousin Yetta
Who expects another kid

Whenever you're on the road my boy
Wherever you may roam
We'll all be here when you come back
To wish you welcome home

 

[Angeline]

Good grief, Tath, Sounds like you just met my tribe lol.

Anyway here's my lyric for now (I like Judy Collins' version best, but Nina Simone has a lovely cover of it, too.)

Who Knows Where the Time Goes
Sandy Denny

Across the evening sky, all the birds are leaving
But how can they know it's time for them to go?
Before the winter fire, I will still be dreaming
I have no thought of time

For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?

Sad, deserted shore, your fickle friends are leaving
Ah, but then you know it's time for them to go
But I will still be here, I have no thought of leaving
I do not count the time

For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?

And I am not alone while my love is near me
I know it will be so until it's time to go
So come the storms of winter and then the birds in spring again
I have no fear of time

For who knows how my love grows?
And who knows where the time goes?

 

[Angeline]

For Tara

I love this song from Porgy and Bess--Phoebe Snow has a great version of it; I've used pieces of the lyric in sig lines--and it's one for city kids, eh Tara?

There's a Boat That's Leavin' Soon for New York
George & Ira Gershwin

There's a boat that's leavin' soon for New York
Come with me, that's where we belong sister
You an' me can live that high life in New York
Come with me, there we can't go wrong sister

I'll buy you the swellest mansion
Up on upper Fifth Avenue
An' thru Harlem we'll go struttin'
We'll go a struttin'
An' there'll be nuttin'
Too good for you

I'll dress you in silks and satins
In the latest Paris styles
And all your blues you'll be forgettin'
You'll be forgettin'
There'll be no frettin'
Just nothin' but smiles

Come along with me, that's the place
Don't be a fool. Come along, come along
There's a boat that's leavin' soon for New York
Come with me, that's where we belong, sister
That's where we belong

 

[tungtied2u]

Train of thought

a bit of free association lands me at this song- follow me- Porgy and Bess>>>Summertime>>>>Janis Joplin( I Love Her Rendition)>>>sexy singers>>>Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders- so for all you poetic priestesses of sex....


NIGHT IN MY VEINS

I SEE HIM STANDING SILHOUETTED
IN THE LAMP-LIGHT
I CROSS THE STREET
AND I QUICKEN MY PACE
HE CUPS HIS HANDS AND HE
LIGHTS A CIGARETTE
I FIND MYSELF IN THE BONES OF HIS FACE

IT'S JUST THE NIGHT IN MY VEINS
OH
MAKING ME CRAWL IN THE DUST AGAIN
IT'S JUST THE NIGHT
UNDER MY SKIN
SLIPPING IT IN

HE'S GOT HIS HANDS IN MY HAIR
AND HIS LIPS EVERYWHERE
OH YEAH
IT FEELS GOOD
IT'S ALRIGHT
EVEN IF IT'S JUST
THE NIGHT IN MY VEINS

HE'S GOT ME UP AGAINST THE BACK OF A
PICK-UP TRUCK
OUT OF SIGHT OF THE NEON AND GLARE
WE MIGHT AS WELL BE ON A BEACH
UNDER THE MOONLIGHT
LOVE'S LANGUAGE READS THE SAME
ANYWHERE YEAH

IT'S JUST THE NIGHT IN MY VEINS
OH
MAKING ME CRAWL IN THE DUST AGAIN
IT'S JUST THE NIGHT
UNDER MY SKIN
SLIPPING IT IN

HE'S GOT HIS CHEST ON MY BACK
ACROSS A NEW CADILLAC
OH YEAH
IT FEELS GOOD
IT'S ALRIGHT
EVEN IF IT'S JUST
THE NIGHT IN MY VEINS
EVEN IF IT'S JUST THE NIGHT IN MY VEINS

I'VE GOT MY HEAD ON THE
KERB AND I CAN'T PRODUCE
A WORD
OH YEAH
IT FEELS GOOD
IT'S ALRIGHT
EVEN IF IT'S JUST
THE NIGHT IN MY VEINS

IT FEELS GOOD
IT'S ALRIGHT
EVEN IF IT'S JUST
THE NIGHT IN MY VEINS

EVEN IF IT'S JUST
THE NIGHT IN MY VEINS
IT FEELS GOOD
IT'S ALRIGHT

 

[Angeline]

Re: Train of thought

a bit of free association lands me at this song- follow me- Porgy and Bess>>>Summertime>>>>Janis Joplin( I Love Her Rendition)>>>sexy singers>>>Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders- so for all you poetic priestesses of sex....


NIGHT IN MY VEINS

I SEE HIM STANDING SILHOUETTED
IN THE LAMP-LIGHT ...

Chrissy Hynde is one of my heroes, lol. She is such a hip, tough girl--I just love her. And this is my favorite Pretenders song--way cool lyric and the music just um rocks, don't it?

Middle of the Road
The Pretenders

The middle of the road,
Is trying to find me.
I'm standing in the middle of life with my pains behind me.

But, I got a smile
For everyone I meet.
Long as you don't try dragging my bay,
Or dropping a bomb on the street.

Come on baby,
Get in the road.
Come on now,
In the middle of the road, yeah.

In the middle of the road,
You see the darnest things.
Like fat cats driving around in jeeps through the city,
Wearing big diamond rings and silk suits.
Past corrugated tin shacks holed up with kids and
Man I don't mean a Hampstead nursery.
But when you own a big chunk of the bloody third world,
The babies just come with the scenery.

Come on baby,
Get in the road.
Come on now,
In the middle of the road, yeah.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.

In the middle of the road,
Is my private cul de sac.
I can't get from the cab to the curb,
Without some little jerk on my back,
Don't harass me kid,
Can't you tell I'm going home, I'm tired as hell,
I'm not the cat I used to be,
I've got a kid, I'm thirty-three baby.
Get in the road.
Come on now,
In the middle of the road.


Man, that's a good song.

 

[tungtied2u]

Elvis....Costello

How about a love song

Alison

Oh it's so funny to be seeing you after so long, girl.
And with the way you look I understand
that you are not impressed.
But I heard you let that little friend of mine
take off your party dress.
I'm not going to get too sentimental
like those other sticky valentines,
'cause I don't know if you are loving some body.
I only know it isn't mine.

Alison, I know this world is killing you.
Oh, Alison, my aim is true.

Well I see you've got a husband now.
Did he leave your pretty fingers lying
in the wedding cake?
You used to hold him right in your hand.
I'll bet he took all he could take.
Sometimes I wish that I could stop you from talking
when I hear the silly things that you say.
I think somebody better put out the big light,
cause I can't stand to see you this way.

Alison, I know this world is killing you.
Oh, Alison, my aim is true.
My aim is true.