Storytellers

[lucimay]

two of my favorites...

Easy Money
rickie lee jones

There was a Joe
Leanin' on the back door
A couple Jills with their eyes on a couple bills
Their eyes was statin'
They was waitin'
To get their hands on some easy money

They flipped a dime
One said " well, I'll take heads this time"
One stepped up
One stepped back
One loosened her shoulder strap
She couldn't speak,
Her knees got weak
She could almost taste that easy money

There was this old black cat
Sittin' in a old black cadillac
The Joe smelled sweet
She curled up at her boyfriend's feet
She said "I got a plan
Listen, Sam, how'd ya like to make some easy money ? "
He say, "yes! oh yes!
Jus' tell me what you want me to do "
She said, "Baby, you can trust me
Baby, but you must be hidin' in my room
At a quarter to two"
Well, the cat told the boy
"Come up to the room and play with my toy"
But the Jill set the bait
And she wasn't gonna sit around and wait
But this guy was wise to all the lies
And he flies out the door
With the easy money

Because there ain't no man
Who got the money in his hand
Who got any of that bread
Bein' slow in the head
The easier it looks
The hotter it hooks
There ain't no such thing as easy money
We say, "yes! oh yes!"
Saturday night
There was a terrible, terrible fight
Between two dames who was losin' the same game
It wasn't clear,
But I hear somebody was lookin' for some easy money


Jungleland
bruce springsteen

The rangers had a homecoming in harlem late last night
And the magic rat drove his sleek machine
over the jersey state line
Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a dodge
Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
The rat pulls into town rolls up his pants
Together they take a stab at romance
and disappear down flamingo lane

Well the maximum lawman run down flamingo
chasing the rat and the barefoot girl
And the kids round here look just like shadows
always quiet, holding hands
From the churches to the jails
tonight all is silence in the world
As we take our stand
down in jungleland

The midnight gang’s assembled
and picked a rendezvous for the night
They’ll meet `neath that giant exxon sign
that brings this fair city light
Man there’s an opera out on the turnpike
There’s a ballet being fought out in the alley
Until the local cops' cherry tops rips this holy night
The street’s alive as secret debts are paid
Contacts made they vanish unseen
Kids flash guitars just like switch-blades
hustling for the record machine
The hungry and the hunted explode into rock’n’roll bands
That face off against each other out in the street
down in jungleland

In the parking lot the visionaries dress in the latest rage
Inside the backstreet girls are dancing to the records that the d.j. plays
Lonely-hearted lovers struggle in dark corners
Desperate as the night moves on,
just a look and a whisper and they’re gone

Beneath the city two hearts beat
Soul engines running through a night so tender
in a bedroom locked in whispers of soft
refusal and then surrender
in the tunnels uptown
The rat’s own dream guns him down
as shots echo down them hallways in the night
No one watches when the ambulance pulls away
Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light

Outside the street’s on fire in a real death waltz
Between what's flesh and what’s fantasy
oh man the poets down here don’t write nothing at all
they just stand back and let it all be
And in the quick of the night
they reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand
but they wind up wounded,
and not even dead
Tonight in jungleland

[wayfriend]

... I'll see your Springsteen, and raise you a Caroline's Spine.

(Why does this feel like a Harry Chapin tune?)

Sullivan
Caroline's Spine

It's not hard to reach back to the day
underneath an Iowa sun.
running to the tower of waterloo,
looking for the sullivan train to come.
His five boys would run to the top
and salute him as he went bye.
First we'd wave hello.
Then we'd wave goodbye. Goodbye!

It's not hard to reach back to the days
after the attack on Pearl.
And overnight my buddies turned into men,
running out of time for games and girls.
The Sullivan boys were not overlooked
Uncle Sam calling each by name.
The very next day they left
on a mystery train.

Say goodbye, bye, bye, Mrs. Sullivan.
Don't you cry, cry, cry, cry, cry.
"We regret to inform you
the Navy has taken your sons away."
All five, five, five, five.

So put your blue star in the window.

It's not hard to reach back to her smile,
when she received the letter.
The letters, they sounded generally the same.
It said, if they coudn't be home,
at least they were together
on a mighty fighting battleship,
somewhere in the south pacific.
The letters never got much more specific.

Say goodbye, bye, bye, Mrs Sullivan.
Dont you cry, cry, cry, cry, cry.
"We regret to infrom you
the Navy is keeping your sons away."
All five, five, five, five.

So keep your blue star in the window.

It's not hard to reach back to the day
when the war finally came home.
Uncle Sam will send you a telegram,
so he doesnt have to tell you over the phone.
I heard she cracked up,
when they found out what a war could cost,
when all five of her boys
were lost.

They were ....

Say goodbye, bye, bye, Mrs. Sullivan.
Go ahead and cry. You can go ahead and cry now.
"We regret to inform you
that all your sons have passed away."
.....All five, five, five, five.

So change your blue star to gold.

[lucimay]

i've never heard of Caroline's Spine but i liked it!!

how bout some JT?


Captain Jim's Drunken Dream

Well you country fools in your one horse town you can laugh at me
but it's plain as rain that you've never been down to the southern sea
To see me now is like watching a fish swimmin on dry land
I only wish you could see me down in the islands
Mister, that's my home.
What a fool I was to leave the only happiness I've known

When you see me coming, you smile and wink and call me Captain Jim
And when I don't do nothin' but walk on by you say baby get a load of him
All I need is the sea and the sky and I know where I stand
Instead of you hicks straight out of the sticks callin me half a man
You'll never understand
You see, up here I'm just a whisky bum but down there I'm a king
and it sounds just like the angels up in heaven
When they sing

Welcome home, welcome home
Such a sight to see
and not some sad salvation army sister
Singing "Nearer My God To Thee"

Now I know that your yankee whisky has taken away my mind
and I know that rum is the only drink suitable to mankind
and I know this tree I'm under is shaped entirely wrong
I need to see a gentle palm tree and I won't wait to long
I can feel that it's coming on strong
The first cold wind of winter is flapping in my clothes
Showing me the way with the direction that it blows

Welcome home, welcome home
you're such a sight to see
and not some sad salvation army sister
Singing "Nearer My God To Thee

[lucimay]

If You Could Read My Mind
gordon lightfoot


If you could read my mind love
What a tale my thoughts could tell
Just like an old time movie
’bout a ghost from a wishin’ well
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
With chains upon my feet
You know that ghost is me
And I will never be set free
As long as I’m a ghost that you can’t see
If I could read your mind love
What a tale your thoughts could tell
Just like a paperback novel
The kind that drugstores sell
When you reach the part where the heartaches come
The hero would be me
But heroes often fail
And you won’t read that book again
Because the ending’s just too hard to take

I’d walk away like a movie star
Who gets burned in a three way script
Enter number two
A movie queen to play the scene
Of bringing all the good things out in me
But for now love, let’s be real
* I never thought I could act this way *
And I’ve got to say that I just don’t get it
I don’t know where we went wrong
But the feelin’s gone
And I just can’t get it back

If you could read my mind love
What a tale my thoughts could tell
Just like an old time movie
’bout a ghost from a wishin’ well
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
With chains upon my feet
But stories always end
And if you read between the lines
You’ll know that I’m just tryin’ to understand
The feelin’s that you lack
I never thought I could feel this way
And I’ve got to say that I just to get it
I don’t know where we went wrong
But the feelin’s gone
And I just can’t get it back

[The Laughing Man]

Chapter 27 - Esmers Mesmers

He was a hard-headed man he was brutally handsome
And she was terminally pretty
She held him up and he held her for ransom
In the heart of the cold, cold city
He had a nasty reputation as a cruel dude
They said he was ruthless said he was crude
They had one thing in common
They were good in bed
She said, ’faster, faster.
’the lights are turning red.’

Life in the fast lane
Surely make you lose your mind
Life in the fast lane

Are you with me so far?

Eager for action hot for the game
The calling attraction the drop of the name
They knew all the right people
They took all the right pills
They threw outrageous parties
They paid heavenly bills
There were lines on the mirror, lines on her face
She pretended not to notice she was caught up in the race
Out every evening until it was light
He was too tired to make it she was too tired to fight about it

Life in the fast lane
Surely make you lose your mind
Life in the fast lane
Life in the fast lane
Everything all the time
Life in the fast lane

Bloated and burning blinded by thirst
They didn’t see the stop sign
Took a turn for the worse
She said, ’listen baby. you can hear the engine rev.
’we’ve up and down this highway, haven’t seen a goddamn thing.’
He said, ’call the doctor. I think I’m gonna crash.’
’the doctor say he’s coming but you gotta pay in cash.’
They were rushing down that freeway,
Messed around and got lost
They didn’t care they were just dying to get off and it was

Life in the fast lane
Surely make you lose your mind
Life in the fast lane
Everything all the time

[lucimay]

and this...

A Month of Sundays


I used to work for harvester
I used to use my hands
I used to make the tractors and the
Combines that plowed and harvested this great land
Now I see my handiwork on the block everywhere I turn
And I see the clouds cross the weathered faces
and I watch the harvest burn

I quit the plant in ’57
Had some time for farmin’ then
Banks back then was lendin’ money
The banker was the farmer’s friend
And I’ve seen dog days and dusty days
Late spring snow and early fall sleet
I’ve held the leather reins in my hands
And I’ve felt the soft ground under my feet
Between the hot, dry weather and the taxes
And the cold war it’s been hard to make ends meet
But I always kept the clothes on out backs
I always put the shoes on our feet

My grandson, he comes home from college
He says, we get the government we deserve.
My son-in-law just shakes his head and says,
That little punk, he never had to serve.
And I sit here in the shadow of suburbia
And look out across these empty fields
I sit here in earshot of the bypass
and all night I listen to the rushin’ of the wheels

The big boys, they all got computers
Got incorporated, too
Me, I just know how to raise things
That was all I ever knew
Now, it all comes down to numbers
Now I’m glad that I have quit
Folks these days just don’t do nothin’
Simply for the love of it

I went into town of the fourth of july
Watched ’em parade past the union jack
Watched ’em break out the brass and beat on the drum
One step forward and two steps back
And I saw a sign on easy street,
that said be prepared to stop.
Pray for the independent little man
cause I don’t see next year’s crop
And I sit here on the back porch in the twilight
And I hear the crickets hum
I sit and watch the lightning in the distance
But the showers never come
I sit here and listen to the wind blow
I sit here and rub my hands
I it here and listen to the clock strike,
And I wonder when I’ll see my companion again

[sgt.null]

Blister In the Sun

Album: Violent Femmes / Add It Up

When I'm out walking
I strut my stuff
And I'm so strung out
I'm high as a kite
I just might stop to check you out.

[chorus]
Let me go on like I
Blister in the sun
Let me go on
Big hands, I know you're the one.

Body and beats,
I stain my sheets
I don't even know why
My girlfriend, she's at the end,
She is starting to cry.

Let me go on like I
Blister in the sun
Let me go on
Big hands, I know you're the one.

[repeat first stanza twice, quietly (or until Gordon says you can stop)]
[repeat second stanza once]
[repeat first stanza once, in a whisper]
[repeat chorus]

--G. Gano

[lucimay]

1952 Vincent Black Lightning
richard thompson

Oh says Red Molly to James "That's a fine motorbike.
A girl could feel special on any such like"
Says James to Red Molly "My hat's off to you
It's a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952.
And I've seen you at the corners and cafes it seems
Red hair and black leather, my favourite colour scheme"
And he pulled her on behind and down to Boxhill they did ride

Oh says James to Red Molly "Here's a ring for your right hand
But I'll tell you in earnest I'm a dangerous man.
For I've fought with the law since I was seventeen,
I robbed many a man to get my Vincent machine.
Now I'm 21 years, I might make 22
And I don't mind dying, but for the love of you.
And if fate should break my stride
Then I'll give you my Vincent to ride"

"Come down, come down, Red Molly" called Sergeant McRae
"For they've taken young James Adie for armed robbery.
Shotgun blast hit his chest, left nothing inside.
Oh come down, Red Molly to his dying bedside"
When she came to the hospital, there wasn't much left
He was running out of road, he was running out of breath
But he smiled to see her cry
He said "I'll give you my Vincent to ride"

Says James "In my opinion, there's nothing in this world
Beats a 52 Vincent and a red headed girl.
Now Nortons and Indians and Greeves won't do,
Ah, they don't have a soul like a Vincent 52"
Oh he reached for her hand and he slipped her the keys
Said "I've got no further use for these.
I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome,
Swooping down from heaven to carry me home"
And he gave her one last kiss and died
And he gave her his Vincent to ride.

[sgt.null]

Bob Mould - Brasilia Crossed With Trenton

I walk through the day
Through the open fields
I walk to my truck
To my truck and drive away
To the road
Through the broken roads, trusty road
I was headed for the road
The road that runs that way

And i, I see the train
The trains don’t run to brasilia
I walked through the fields
Through the fields to brasilia
My ticket stub says I’m going
I’m going to trenton

When my friends stop by
I try to impress them, no buildings over two stories high
Except my house, oh my my, I see
See crossed lattice work made out of brick
I see buildings
With laundry hanging out of the window
Never in my wildest dreams would I think I’d see
Brasilia crossed with trenton

When you live in the middle of nowhere
Your imagination runs away and wild
You make games, I make games that I play most once a day
I pretend brasilia turned to trenton
Brasilia crossed with trenton

Department store
The only place that I buy clothes anymore
I used to be a big shopper ’round the world
Big credit cards, they don’t matter anymore
’cause I can’t pay any money that I owe
To these cards anymore
They don’t take these things down at the bank
They just take money

Imagine yourself in the middle of nowhere
Imagination runs away for a while
I play games about once a day or so
I don’t know, that’s where I’d rather go
Brasilia crossed with trenton

I wish that I could tell my story
To all the people that listened to my story long ago
I knew that this would happen sooner or later
That I’d get disillusioned with it all
Just throw my hands up to the sky and say
Oh lord, what happened, what happened
To make things run this way

Imagine yourself in the middle of nowhere
Your imagination runs away for a while
You learn to play games about once every day or so
I walked to brasilia crossed with trenton
Brasilia crossed with trenton

[lucimay]

the speed of the sound of lonliness
john prine


You come home late and you come home early
You come on big when you're feeling small
You come home straight and you come home curly
Sometimes you don't come home at all

So what in the world's come over you
And what in heaven's name have you done
You've broken the speed of the sound of loneliness
You're out there running just to be on the run

Well I got a heart that burns with a fever
And I got a worried and a jealous mind
How can a love that'll last forever
Get left so far behind

So what in the world's come over you
And what in heaven's name have you done
You've broken the speed of the sound of loneliness
You're out there running just to be on the run

It's a mighty mean and a dreadful sorrow
It's crossed the evil line today
Well, how can you ask about tomorrow
We ain't got one word to say

So what in the world's come over you
And what in heaven's name have you done
You've broken the speed of the sound of loneliness
You're out there running just to be on the run
You're out there running just to be on the run
You're out there running just to be on the run
You're out there running just to be on the run

[sgt.null]

The Road Goes On Forever
By Robert Earl Keen, from the CD: No. 2 Live Dinner
Sherry was a waitress, at the only joint in town.
She had a reputation, as a girl who had been around.
On Main street after midnight, a brand new pack of cigs,
A fresh one hanging from her lips, a beer between her legs.
She'd ride down to the river, and meet with all her friends.
The road goes on forever, and the party never ends.

Sonny was a loner, he was older than the rest.
He was goin' in the Navy, but he couldn't pass the test.
So he hung around town, he sold a little pot.
The law caught wind of Sonny, and one day he got caught.
But he was back in business, when they set him free again.
The road goes on forever, and the party never ends.

Sonny's playing eight-ball, in the joint where Sherry works
When some drunken out-of-towner, put his hand up Sherry's skirt.
Sonny took his pool cue, laid the drunk out on the floor.
Stuffed a dollar in her tip jar, walked on out the door.
She's running right behind him, reaching for his hand.
The road goes on forever and the party never ends.

They jumped into his pickup, Sonny jammed it down in gear.
Sonny looked at Sherry, said "Let's get on out of here."
The stars were high above them, the moon was in the east.
The sun was setting on them, when they reached Miami Beach.
They got a hotel by the water, and a quart of Bombay Gin.
The road goes on forever, the party never ends.

They soon ran out of money, but Sonny knew a man,
Who knew some Cuban refugees, who dealt in contraband.
Sonny met the Cubans, at a house just off the route,
With a briefcase full of money, a pistol in his boot.
The cards were on the table, when the law came bustin' in.
The road goes on forever and the party never ends.

The Cubans grabbed the goodies, and Sonny grabbed a jack,
He broke the bathroom window, and climbed on out the back.
Sherry drove the pickup, through the alley on the side,
Where a lawman tackled Sonny, and was reading him his rights.
She stepped out in the alley, with a single shot four-ten
The road goes on forever and the party never ends.

They left the lawman lying, they made their get-away.
Got back to the motel, just before the break of day.
Sonny gave her all the money, and he blew her a little kiss.
"If they ask you how this happened, say I forced you into this."
She watched him as his tail lights, disappeared around the bend.
The road goes on forever, the party never ends.

Well it's main street after midnight, just like it was before,
Twenty-one months later, at the local grocery store.
Sherry buys a paper, and a cold six-pack of beer.
The headlines readin' Sonny is going to the chair.
She pulls back onto mainstreet, in her new Mercedes Benz.
The road goes on forever, and the party never ends!

[lucimay]

You were the woman in the blue mask,
standin there beside your dress.
All the things I wanted from you,
I never could express.
I thought I saw you once in Munich,
but you slipped away.
I'm in the corner with the coffee
at The Dream Cafe.

For once I didn't say anything stupid--
my lover never once looked bored.
And soldiers come in smeared with lipstick,
like the last day of war.
The band divided up the money,
but the drummer could not stay.
He said he's gonna meet us later,
at The Dream Cafe.

When you turned from the window,
in your worn out slip,
put your eyes to my fingers,
while the ceiling dripped,
I just could not leave you.
I heard a motorcycle pull away.
Yes, I'll meet you after midnight,
at The Dream Cafe.

There's flowers now on Linn Street,
and the new moon just above.
They tore down all the houses,
where we used to make love.
But, they'd been long abondoned,
when we went there, anyway.
And I can still smell the lilacs,
in the corner of The Dream Cafe.

We we've only been fighting ten years--
do you really have to go?
Couldn't you reconsider,
and do it real, real slow?
I like living with you--
I don't care what you say.
I don't care who you meet,
at The Dream Cafe.

Your eyes roll back to midnight--
lost in a fantasy.
I heard you cry out someone's name,
and baby it was me.
But later as we're walkin',
you seemed so far away.
Am I the man you thought you met,
at The Dream Cafe?

I've come down with a sickness--
I thought you were the cure.
But passion seems to promise more,
than friendship can endure.
You spelled it out in black and white--
my eyes saw shades of gray,
and, so I sit alone tonight,
at The Dream Cafe.

Heat lightning in the mirror,
and the thunder cries out loud.
I can be to you--
you could be to me,
just another face in the crowd.
The plane don't leave 'til midnight--
come with me today.
They'll be plenty of time to be alone,
at The Dream Cafe.


~greg brown

[lorin]

Harry Chapin
What Made America Famous Lyrics:

It was the town that made America famous.
The churches full and the kids all gone to hell.
Six traffic lights and seven cops and all the streets kept clean.
The supermarket and the drug store and the bars all doing well.

They were the folks that made America famous.
The local fire department stocked with shorthaired volunteers.
And on Saturday night while America boozes
The fire department showed dirty movies,
The lawyer and the grocer seeing their dreams
Come to life on the movie screens
While the plumber hopes that he won't be seen
As he tries to hide his fears and he wipes away his tears.
But something's burning somewhere. Does anybody care?

We were the kids that made America famous.
The kind of kids that long since drove our parents to dispair.
We were lazy long hairs dropping out,
lost confused, and copping out.
Convinced our futures were in doubt and trying not to care.

We lived in the house that made America famous.
It was a rundown slum, the shame of all the decent folks in town.
We hippies and some welfare cases,
Crowded families of coal black faces,
Cramped inside some cracked old boards,
The best that we all could afford
But still too nice for the rich landlord
To tear it down and we could hear the sound
Of something burning somewhere. Is anybody there?

We all lived the life that made America famous.
Our cops would make a point to shadow us around our town.
And we love children put a swastika on
the bright red firehouse door.
America, the beautiful, it makes a body proud.

And then came the night that made America famous.
Was it carelessness or someone's sick idea of a joke.
In the tinder box trap that we hippies
lived in someone struck a spark.
At first I thought I was dreaming,
Then I saw the first flames gleaming
And heard the sound of children screaming
Coming through the smoke. That's when the horror broke.

Something's burning somewhere. Does anybody care?

It was the fire that made America famous.
The sirens wailed and the firemen stumbled sleepy from their homes.
And the plumber yelled: "Come on let's go!"
But they saw what was burning and said: "Take it slow,
Let'em sweat a little, they'll never know
And besides, we just cleaned the
chrome." Said the plumber: "I'm
going alone."

He rolled on up in the fire truck
And raised the ladder to the ledge
Where me and my girl and a couple of kids
Were clinging like bats to the edge.
We staggered to salvation,
Collapsed on the street.
And I never thought that a fat man's face
Would ever look so sweet.

I shook his hand in the scene that made America famous
And a smile from the heart that made America great
You see we spent the rest of that night in
the home of a man I'd never known
before.
It's funny when you get that close it's kind of hard to hate.

I went to sleep with the hope that made America famous.
I had the kind of a dream that maybe they're
still trying to teach in school.
Of the America that made America famous...and
Of the people who just might understand
That how together yes we can
Create a country better than
The one we have made of this land,
We have a choice to make each man
who dares to dream, reaching out his hand
A prophet or just a crazy God damn
Dreamer of a fool - yes a crazy fool

There's something burning somewhere.
Does anybody care?
Is anybody there?

[lorin]

Harry Chapin Corey's Coming Lyrics:


Old John Joseph was a man with two first names
They left him in the railroad yard when they took away the trains
And only one run a week comes on roarin' down that line
So all he got to worry 'bout is time.

He sits in the breakhouse with his hands out to the fire
Movin' through his memories of love and desire
Retelling me the stories of the glories of his past
But he always saves the story of his Corey for the last.

[CHORUS:]
Can't you see - My Corey's coming. No more sad stories coming
My midnight-moonlight-morning-glory's coming aren't you girl?
And like I told you, when she holds you
She enfolds you in her world.

I'd come by in the evening to find out where he'd been
And he'd say- "Come on sit down Kid, where shall I begin?"
And I'd say, "You know my favorite, though you know I like the rest,
But I love they way you tell me of your Corey the best"

And so I'd hear his lifelong love re-created by his tongue
He'd turn back the years... she'd seem forever young
Though the other stories changed as they rolled through his head,
He'd say the same words about Corey just before he went to bed.

And then he'd send me away, but he'd be smilin' as he said:

I was quite surprised to find out all the places that he knew
And so I asked the townsfolk if his stories were true
Well they said - "Old John was born here, he's lived here all his life
Never had a woman, let alone a wife.

"And very soon you'll find out as you check around
That no one named Corey's ever lived in this town"
So I chided the old man 'bout the truth that I had heard
Well he smiled and said - "Reality is only just a word."

I came by one evening but he did not hear my shout
I looked in the window and I saw the fire was out
When he would not wake up, well I forced in the door
And I found that Old John Joseph would tell stories no more.

There was a scene at the graveyard, just three of us were there
There was me and the gravedigger, and we heard the parson's prayer
He said - "We need not grieve for this man,
For we know that God cares!"

Well, they put the cold dirt over him, left me on my own
When at last I looked up I saw I was not alone
Standing there in silence with a shawl around her head
Was a beautiful young woman. I remember what she said.

"Is that John Joseph there?"
I nodded my head yes.
That brought a soft smile from her.
She said "It's time he, he got some rest"
So I said - If you're a relative, he had a peaceful end.
That's when she said - My name is Corey - you can say I'm just a friend.

So that's the old man's story, I'm glad you came tonight
You see, a busted down old railroad yard sure makes a lonely sight
You may wonder why a young man would work out here alone
Well the job pays enough to keep some flesh on my bones.

And I confess I get to missing the old man a bit
Yes there's one other reason I guess I could admit -

Can't you see my Corey's coming, no more sad stories coming
My midnight-moonlight-morning-glory's coming aren't you girl?
Yes and like he told me, when she holds me
She enfolds me in her world!

[stonemaybe]

Squeeze - Up The Junction

I never thought it would happen
With me and the girl from Clapham
Out on the windy common
That night I ain't forgotten
When she dealt out the rations
With some or other passions
I said you are a lady
Perhaps, she said, I may be

We moved into a basement
With thoughts of our engagement
We stayed in by the telly
Although the room was smelly
We spent our time just kissing
The Railway Arms we're missing
But loving got us hooked up
And all our time it took up

I got a job with Stanley
He said I'd come in handy
And started me on Monday
So I had a bath on Sunday
I worked eleven hours
And bought the girl some flowers
She said she'd seen a doctor
And nothing now could stop her.

I worked all through the winter
The weather brass and bitter
I put away a tenner
Each week to make her better
And when the time was ready
We had to sell the telly
Late evenings by the fire
and little kicks inside her

This morning at four fifty
I took her rather nifty
Down to an incubator
Where thirty minutes later
She gave birth to a daughter
Within a year a walker
She looked just like her mother
If there could be another

And now she's two years older
Her mother's with a soldier
She left me when my drinking
Became a proper stinging
The devil came and took me
From bar to street to bookie
No more nights by the telly
No more nights nappies smelly

Alone here in the kitchen
I feel there's something missing
I beg for some forgiveness
Though begging's not my business
And she won't write a letter
Although I always tell her
And so it's my assumption
I'm really up the junction

[Auleliel]

The Saga Begins
Weird Al

A long, long time ago
In a galaxy far away
Naboo was under an attack
And I thought me and Qui-Gon Jinn
Could talk the federation in
To maybe cutting them a little slack
But their response, it didn't thrill us
They locked the doors and tried to kill us
We escaped from that gas
Then met Jar Jar and Boss Nass
We took a bongo from the scene
And we went to Theed to see the Queen
We all wound up on Tatooine
That's where we found this boy

Oh
My my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later
Now he's just a small fry
He left his home
And kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin'
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"

Did you know this junkyard slave
Isn't even old enough to shave
But he can use the Force, they say

Ahh, do you see him hitting on the queen
Though he's just nine and she's fourteen
Yeah, he's probably gonna marry her someday

Well, I know he built C-3PO
And I've heard how fast his pod can go
And we were broke, it's true
So we made a wager or two
He was a prepubescent flyin' ace
And the minute Jabba started off that race
Well, I knew who would win first place
Oh yes, it was our boy

We started singin'
My my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later
Now he's just a small fry
And he left his home
And kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin'
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"

Now we finally got to Coruscant
The Jedi Council we knew would want
To see how good the boy could be
So we took him there and we told the tale
How his midi-chlorians were off the scale
And he might fulfill that prophecy
Oh the Council was impressed of course
Could he bring balance to the Force?
They interviewed the kid
Oh, training they forbid
Because Yoda sensed in him much fear
And Qui-Gon said "Now listen here"
"Just stick it in your pointy ear"
"I still will teach this boy"

He was singin'
My my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later
Now he's just a small fry
And he left his home
And kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin'
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"

We caught a ride back to Naboo
'Cause Queen Amidala wanted to
I frankly would've liked to stay
We all fought in that epic war
And it wasn't long at all before
Little hotshot flew his plane and saved the day
And in the end some Gungans died
Some ships blew up and some pilots fried
A lot of folks were croakin'
The battle droids were broken
And the Jedi I admire most
Met up with Darth Maul and now he's toast
Well, I'm still here and he's a ghost
I guess I'll train this boy

And I was singin'
My my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later
Now he's just a small fry
And he left his home
And kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin'
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"

We were singin'
My my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later
Now he's just a small fry
And he left his home
And kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"

[dANdeLION]

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant -Billy Joel

A bottle of white, a bottle of red
Perhaps a bottle of rosé instead
We'll get a table near the street
In our old familiar place
You and I - face to face hm, hm
A bottle of red, a bottle of white
It all depends upon your appetite
I'll meet you any time you want
In our Italian Restaurant.
Things are okay with me these days
I got a good job, I got a good office
I got a new wife, got a new life
And the family is fine
Oh we lost touch long ago
You lost weight - I did not know
you could ever look so nice after so much time.
Do you remember those days hanging out at the village green?
Engineer boots, leather jackets and tight blue jeans
Oh you drop a dime in the box play a song about New Orleans
Cold beer, hot lights, my sweet romantic teenage nights ooh, ooh
Oh, oh, oh, oh…..
Brenda and Eddie were the popular steadies
And the king and the queen of the prom
Riding around with the car top down and the radio on
Nobody looked any finer
Or was more of a hit at the Parkway Diner
We never knew we could want more than that out of life
Surely Brenda and Eddie would always know how to survive.
Oh, oh, oh, oh…..
Brenda and Eddie were still going steady in the summer of '75
When they decided the marriage would be at the end of July
Everyone said they were crazy
"Brenda you know that you're much too lazy
and Eddie could never afford to live that kind of life."
Oh, but there we were wavin' Brenda and Eddie goodbye.
Oh, oh, oh
Well they got an apartment with deep pile carpets
And a couple of paintings from Sears
A big waterbed that they bought with the bread
They had saved for a couple of years
but they started to fight when the money got tight
And they just didn't count on the tears.
Oh, oh yeah rock 'n roll
Oh, oh, oh
Well, they lived for a while in a very nice style
But it's always the same in the end
They got a divorce as a matter of course
And they parted the closest of friends
Then the king and the queen went back to the green
But you could never go back there again
Oh, oh
Brenda and Eddie had had it already by the summer of '75
From the high to the low to the end of the show
For the rest of their lives
They couldn't go back to the greasers
The best they could do was pick up their pieces
We always knew they would both find a way to get by
Oh and that's all I heard about Brenda and Eddie
Can't tell you more 'cause I've told you already
And here we are wavin' Brenda and Eddie goodbye
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Yeah
A bottle of reds, a bottle of whites
Whatever kind of mood you're in tonight
I'll meet you anytime you want
In our Italian Restaurant.

[lucimay]

*sigh*

good one dAN.

[Menolly]

*sigh*

good one dAN.

[lorin]

A Better Place To Be
Harry Chapin

It was an early morning bar room,
And the place just opened up.
And the little man came in so fast and
he started at his cups.
And the broad who served the whisky
She was a big old friendly girl.
Who tried to fight her empty nights
By smilin' at the world.

And she said "Hey Bub, It's, It's been awhile
Since you been around.
Where the hell you been hidin'?
And why you look so down?"

Well the little man just sat there
like he'd never heard a sound.

The waitress she gave out with a cough,
And acting not the least put off,
She spoke once again.

She said, "I don't want to bother you,
Consider it's understood.
I know I'm not no beauty queen,
But I sure can listen good."

And the little man took his drink in his hand
And he raised it to his lips.
He took a couple of sips.
And then he told the waitress this story.

"I am the midnight watchman down at Miller's Tool and Die.
And I watch the metal rusting, I watch the time go by.
A week ago at the diner I stopped to get a bite.
And this here lovely lady she sat two seats from my right.
And Lord, Lord, Lord she was alright.

You see, she was so damned beautiful that she could warm a winter frost.
But she looked long past lonely, and well I on to lost.
Now I'm not much of a mover, or a pick-em-up easy guy,
But I decided to glide on over, and give her one good try.
And Lord, Lord, Lord she was worth a try.

Well I was "Tongued-tied like a school boy, I stammered out some words.
It did not seem to matter much, 'cause I don't think she heard.
She just looked clear on through me to a space back in my head.
It shamed me into silence, as quietly she said,
'If you want me to come with you, then that's all right with me.
Cause I know I'm going nowhere, and anywhere's a better place to be.
Anywhere's a better place to be.'

Well I drove her to my boarding house, and I took her up to my room.
And I went to turn on the only light to brighten up the gloom.
But she said, 'Please leave the light off, oh I don't mind the dark.'
And as her clothes all tumbled 'round her, I could hear my heart.
The moonlight shone upon her as she lay back in my bed.
It was the kind of scene I only had imagined in my head.
I just could not believe it, to think that she was real.
And as I tried to tell her she said 'Shhh.. I know just how you feel.
And if you want to come here with me, then that's all right with me.
'Cause I've been oh so lonely, lovin' someone is a better way to be.
anywhere's a better place to be.'

Well The morning come so swiftly I held her in my arms.
And she slept like a baby, snug and safe from harm.
I did not want to share her or dare to break the mood,
So before she woke I went out to buy us both some food.

"I came back with my paper bag, to find that she was gone.
She'd left a six word letter saying 'It's time that I moved on.'"

You know The waitress she took her bar rag, and she wiped it across her eyes. And as she spoke her voice came out as something like a sigh.
She said "I wish that I was beautiful, or that you were halfway blind.
And I wish I weren't so goddamn fat, I wish that you were mine.
And I wish that you'd come with me, when I leave for home.
For we both know all about emptiness, and livin' all alone."

And the little man, Looked at the empty glass in his hand.
And he smiled a crooked grin, He said, "I, I guess I'm out of gin.
And I know we both have been, so lonely. And if you want me to come with you, then that's all right with me. 'Cause I know I'm goin' nowhere and anywhere's a better place to be."