"Where's the sense in stealing, without the grace to be it?"
-Echo & the Bunnymen
"I've seen this happen in other people's lives, and now it's happening in mine."
--Morrissey (The Smiths) |
And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!
.
.
And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right?...Am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
MY GOD!...WHAT HAVE I DONE? |
|
"there ain't no coupe de ville hidin at the bottom of a cracker jack box" meatloaf |
Since my favorite Dylan line has already been mentioned (twice), I'll default to a couple of different lines from the Dead:
"Sometimes the lights all shinin' on me; other times I can barely see."
and
"Which of you to gain me tell, will risk uncertain pains in Hell. I will not forgive you, if you will not take the chance." |
dont push me,cuz Im close to the edge,tryin my best, not to lose my head,it makes me wunda ,how I keep from going unda, "The Message" think i got it right |
I'm sort of an Irish nationalist, in spirit at least, and have always been touched by the lyrics of Danny Boy, a true song of protest. And as sung by Eva Cassidy it can bring tears to my eyes! |
Bruce Cockburn is a great writer. For example--"The only trouble with normal it that it just gets worse." |
There are a couple of different lines from Dylan's "It's Alright Ma" I keep getting reminded of, but I didn't feel right about pulling the song apart so...
Darkness at the break of noon
Shadows even the silver spoon
The handmade blade, the child's balloon
Eclipses both the sun and moon
To understand you know too soon
There is no sense in trying.
Pointed threats, they bluff with scorn
Suicide remarks are torn
From the fool's gold mouthpiece
The hollow horn plays wasted words
Proves to warn
That he not busy being born
Is busy dying.
Temptation's page flies out the door
You follow, find yourself at war
Watch waterfalls of pity roar
You feel to moan but unlike before
You discover
That you'd just be
One more person crying.
So don't fear if you hear
A foreign sound to your ear
It's alright, Ma, I'm only sighing.
As some warn victory, some downfall
Private reasons great or small
Can be seen in the eyes of those that call
To make all that should be killed to crawl
While others say don't hate nothing at all
Except hatred.
Disillusioned words like bullets bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Made everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
It's easy to see without looking too far
That not much
Is really sacred.
While preachers preach of evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to hundred-dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have
To stand naked.
An' though the rules of the road have been lodged
It's only people's games that you got to dodge
And it's alright, Ma, I can make it.
Advertising signs that con you
Into thinking you're the one
That can do what's never been done
That can win what's never been won
Meantime life outside goes on
All around you.
You lose yourself, you reappear
You suddenly find you got nothing to fear
Alone you stand with nobody near
When a trembling distant voice, unclear
Startles your sleeping ears to hear
That somebody thinks
They really found you.
A question in your nerves is lit
Yet you know there is no answer fit to satisfy
Insure you not to quit
To keep it in your mind and not fergit
That it is not he or she or them or it
That you belong to.
Although the masters make the rules
For the wise men and the fools
I got nothing, Ma, to live up to.
For them that must obey authority
That they do not respect in any degree
Who despise their jobs, their destinies
Speak jealously of them that are free
Cultivate their flowers to be
Nothing more than something
They invest in.
While some on principles baptized
To strict party platform ties
Social clubs in drag disguise
Outsiders they can freely criticize
Tell nothing except who to idolize
And then say God bless him.
While one who sings with his tongue on fire
Gargles in the rat race choir
Bent out of shape from society's pliers
Cares not to come up any higher
But rather get you down in the hole
That he's in.
But I mean no harm nor put fault
On anyone that lives in a vault
But it's alright, Ma, if I can't please him.
Old lady judges watch people in pairs
Limited in sex, they dare
To push fake morals, insult and stare
While money doesn't talk, it swears
Obscenity, who really cares
Propaganda, all is phony.
While them that defend what they cannot see
With a killer's pride, security
It blows the minds most bitterly
For them that think death's honesty
Won't fall upon them naturally
Life sometimes
Must get lonely.
My eyes collide head-on with stuffed graveyards
False gods, I scuff
At pettiness which plays so rough
Walk upside-down inside handcuffs
Kick my legs to crash it off
Say okay, I have had enough
What else can you show me?
And if my thought-dreams could be seen
They'd probably put my head in a guillotine
But it's alright, Ma, it's life, and life only. |
i wish i was a headlight on a northbound train,
i'd shine my light in the cool colorado rain. |
But deep down inside, I got a rock 'n' roll heart
"It was 1958 and the cold winds of Long Island blew in from the ocean. Their high pitched howl mixing with the dusty musky mellifluous liquid sounds of rock and roll. The sounds of another life, the sounds of freedom."
lyrics and quote by Lou Reed |
Now that Ellen and I are restarting our diets, I played for dinner guests on our 18th anniversary yesterday the "TOO FAT POLKA" (1942, Ross Mac Lean & Arthur Richardson) from a piece of piano sheet music I received in an odd lot....
"Here's a silly ditty, you can sing it right a-way
Now here is what you say...So sing it while you may.
Here's a silly jingle, you can sing it night or noon.
Here's the words, that's all you need 'cause I just sang the tune:
CHORUS:
Oh! I don't want her, you can have her, she's too fat for me...She's too fat for me...She's too fat for me.
I don't want her, you can have her, please do that for me.
She's too fat, she's too fat...She's too fat for me.
I get diz-zy, I get num-bo, when I'm dan-cing...With my Jum - Jum - Jumb-bo.
I don't want her, you can have her, she's too fat for me...she's too fat for me..she's too fat for me. (repeat)
TRIO:
Can she prance up a hill?...No! No! No! No! No!
Can she dance a quadrille?...No! No! No! No! No!
Does she fit in my coupe? By herself she's a group!
Could she pos-si-bly sit upon my knee? No! No! No! Oh!
2nd chorus verse:
She's a twosome...she's a foursome.
If she'd lose some...I would like her more-some....
(International Copyright secured by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., for US, Mexico, Cuba (!) and Central America (sic!))
Fortunately it was a group effort, dissolving into laughter.
Yet South Beach he we come...again.
Anybody want the music I'll fax it to ya. Sounds more tin pan alley or screwball than a real polka (thankfuly).
Cheers. Ern |
He stopped loving her today they placed a reef upon his door
Talks about true love that lasts until he dies a great song.. Curly Putman Rocks!!!! |
Easy...."Don't arrange to have me sent to no asylum, I'm just as sane as anyone it's just a game I play for fun"
Supertramp - Crime of the Century. |
"When you're dreaming, fear life." Dream Song by Ministry from 'The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste' (1989) |
"And then one day you find 10 years have got behind you, no one told you when to run, you'd missed the starting gun." - Way too true |
Song: Are You Listening, Lucky?
Artist: Joe Ely
CD: Live at Liberty Lunch (as well as a few others)
"She fit real tight, just like pair of fifty-dollar shoes." |
Styxtrekr - "I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes, then you'd know what a drag it is to see you..." As soon as I saw the title to this thread this lyric immediately came to mind. Classic Dylan. |
Robert Zimmermans "Positively 4th Street" if for one moment you counld stand inside shoes, you would see what a drag it is to see you, apologize if the quote isnt exact |
"If there´s a bustle in your hedgerow don´t be alarmed now.
It´s just a spring clean for the May-Queen.
Yes there two paths you can go by.
But in the long run.
There´s still time to change the road you´re on." backwards. |
And here's to all the strong ones
Who don't care if they win
The kind I'll never see again
Steve Winwood/Arc of a Diver/Slowdown Sundown |
#1 It's a hard world to get a break in, all the good things have been taken...
#2 I got the house, I got the car, but I ain't got JACK!
#3 I'm not in love, so don't forget it, it's just a silly phase I'm goin' through... And the rest of the 10CC song.
Sonny |
Oops. That's "Hope you treat me kind" |
Well, lots of favorites. How about these?
"My old man, he's like a feudal lord
Got more lives than a cat
neser seen him quarrel with my mother evev once
things come alive or they fall flat"
"It's not always easy kicking someone out
Gotta wait a while -- it can be an unpleasant task
Sometimes sombody wants you to give something up
and tears or not, it's too much to ask."
Both from "Floater (too much to ask)" -- Bob Dylan
And
I got a cravin' love for blazing speed
Got a hopped up Mustang Ford
Jump into the wagon love, throw your panties on the board
I can write you poems, make a strong man lose his mind
I'm a pig without a wig
I hope you trat me kind"
from "High Water", again Bob Dylan |
...and dropping a barbell he points to the sky/ The sun's not yellow, it's chicken. |
yes, it's no use saying that you don't know nothing
It's still gonna get you if don't do something
Sitting on a fence that's a dangerous course
Oh, you could even catch a bullet from the peace-keeping force Even the hero gets a bullet in the chest
Oh yeah, once upon a time in the west
by Dire Straits off "Communique" |
Bow wow wow yippy yo yippy ya,,, |
Another that I like is from Janis Ian's "At Seventeen":
The small town eyes will gape at you
In dull surprise
When payment due
Exceeds accounts received
At seventeen |
Every gambler knows the secret to surviving,
Is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
Cause every hand's a winner, and every hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep. |
Best rock lyric -- one line: from One of These Nights, Eagles
I've been searching for the daughter of the devil himself, I've been searching for an angel in white. I been waiting for a woman that's a little of both, and I can feel her but she's nowhere in sight.
Best rock lyrics -- single song: The Pretender, by Jackson Browne
I'm going to rent myself a house
In the shade of the freeway
Gonna pack my lunch in the morning
And go to work each day
And when the evening rolls around
I'll go on home and lay my body down
And when the morning light comes streaming in
I'll get up and do it again
Amen.
Say it again
Amen.
I want to know what became of the changes
We waited for love to bring
Were they only the fitful dreams
Of some greater awakening?
I've been aware of the time going by
They say in the end it's the wink of an eye
When the morning light comes streaming in
You'll get up and do it again
Amen.
Caught between the longing for love
And the struggle for the legal tender
Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring
And the junk man pounds his fender.
Where the veterans dream of the fight
Fast asleep at the traffic light
And the children solemnly wait
For the ice cream vendor
Out into the cool of the evening
Strolls the Pretender
He knows that all his hopes and dreams
Begin and end there
Ah the laughter of the lovers
As they run through the night
Leaving nothing for the others
But to choose off and fight
And tear at the world with all their might
While the ships bearing their dreams
Sail out of sight
I'm gonna find myself a girl
Who can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors
In each other's paint-by-number dreams
And then we'll put our dark glasses on
And we'll make love until our strength is gone
And when the morning light comes streaming in
We'll get up and do it again
Get it up again
I'm gonna be a happy idiot
And struggle for the legal tender
Where the ads take aim and lay their claim
To the heart and the soul of the spender
And believe in whatever may lie
In those things that money can buy
where true love could have been a contender
Are you there?
Say a prayer for the Pretender.
Who started out so young and strong
Only to surrender.
Say a prayer for the pretender
Are you there for the pretender?
Say a prayer for the pretender
Are you there for the pretender?
Are you prepared for the pretender?
Best song: Stand By Me
When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid
Oh I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
So darlin' darlin' stand by me
Oh stand by me
Oh stand, stand by me, stand by me
If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountain should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry
No I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
And darlin' darlin' stand by me
Oh stand by me
Whoa stand now, stand by me, stand by me
[Music]
Darlin' darlin' stand by me
Oh stand by me
Oh stand now, stand by me, stand by me
Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me
Oh stand by me
Whoa stand now, oh stand, stand by me
|
I turned 21 in prison doin life without parole.. Mamma Tried, Merle Haggard
Maybe not my favorite but a good example alot being said in just a few words. |
I wish that, for just one time, you could stand inside my shoes
You'd know what a drag it is to see you. |
Creedence "Fortuante Son" - really the whole song but these two lines in particular:
But when the taxman come to the door,
Lord, the house look a like a rummage sale
Been there, overcame that! |
I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.-Johnny Cash
When you got nothin , you got nothin to lose.- Dylan
Once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest places if ya look at it right.- The Grateful Dead |
Ooooo hoooo ooooo!
lord have mercy,
I had 3 dounts and 2 cups of coffee,
but that didn't stop my appetite.
I had already eaten a box of cookies late last night,
I had 10 pancakes , plenty of syrup and butter and two slices of ham,
3 eggs, home fries, 4 biscuits all smothered in jam,
2 glasses of milk and a cheese cake.
I thought I didn't want anymore,
but I just had about 12 of those mints in the bowl by the door.
That is why, that is why, you're overweight....
Eddie Harris - 'That Is Why You're Overweight'
Atlantic SD 1683, 1976 |
"McArthur's Park is melting in the rain.
I don't think that I can take it, cause it took so long to bake it,
And I'll never have that recipe agaiiiin - Oh Nooooooo!" |
" ...because sometimes the signs from Heaven are vague"
Is my favourite recent lyric - from the last song on The Fiery Furnaces debut CD - 'Gallowbird's Bark'.
That line sticks with me, in the face of all the craziness in the world, where so many people believe they are in possession of the 'absolute truth'.
Cheers. |
Jeez, someone out there actually knows The United States of America.
Take a good look at my face
You'll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer it's easy to trace
The tracks of my tears |
|
In 69 I was 17 and I called the road my own, I don't know where that road turned off but it's the road I'm on. |
Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain and all the children are insane waiting for the summer rain.
The End- The Doors |
"Idiot wind. Blowing every time you move your teeth. You're an idiot babe. It's a wonder that you still know how to breath"
Bob Dylan - "Idiot Wind" from Blood on the Tracks |
Ani DeFranco's anti-gun song, "To the Teeth" when she's talking about who we should really be opening-fire upon:
open fire on each weapons manufacturer
while he's giving head
to some republican senator
And here's the whole song, for your reading pleasure.....dedicated today to Michael Moore!!
"To The Teeth"
the sun is settin on the century
and we are armed to the teeth
we are all working together now
to make our lives mercifully brief
schoolkids keep trying to teach us
what guns are all about
confuse liberty with weaponry
and watch your kids act it out
every year now like Christmas
some boy gets the mildfed suburban blues
reaches for the available arsenal
and saunters off to make the news
and women in the middle
are learning what poor women have always known
that the edge is closer than you think
when your men bring the guns home
look at where the profits are
that's how you'll find the source
of the big lie that you and i
both know so well
it the time it takes this cultural
death wish to run its course
they're gonna make a pretty penny
and then they're all going to hell
he said the chickens all come home to roost
yeah, Malcolm forecasted this flood
are we really gonna sleep through another century
while the rich profit off our blood?
true, it may take some doing
to see this undoing done
but in my humble opinion
here's what i suggest we do:
open fire on Hollywood
open fire on MTV
open fire on NBC
and CBS and ABC
open fire on the NRA
and all the lies they told us
along the way
open fire on each weapons manufacturer
while he's giving head
to some republican senator
and if i hear one more time
about fool's rights
to his tools of rage
I'm gonna take all my friends
and i'm gonna move to Canada
and we're gonna die of old age
|
A few one liners that come to mind:
"The door is open but the ride 'aint free" - Springsteen Thunder Road
"The piano has been drinking, not me" - Tom Waits |
interesting and sophisticated
refusing to be celebrated
it's a monumental big screen kiss
it's so deep it's meaningless. t hip
is it rainin in new york
down fifth avenue
or on broadway after dark
love the lights, don't you b ferry
the delivery is half the appeal......... |
From Paul Weller's wildwood album
"like mercury gliding,
a silver teardrop that falls,
and I can't catch her,
through my fingers she's gone"
... from "Foot of the Mountain".
"We used to meet each others eyes,
and that's all we'd have to say,
now we don't talk that much at all,
the further our eyes seem to stray"
...... from "all the pictures on the wall" |
baby,don't you give me
your words of sweet whiskey
something, is crawling
over me quickly
SEE, I'VE LIED TOO
LAUGHED AT AND CRIED TO
but I'm no longer
twisted and tied to
The slacker-Red light NYC ska, baby |
"If they were right, I'd agree, but it's them they know - not me"
Cat Stevens from "Father and Son"
|
"Starry starry night, paint your palatte blue and grey;
Look out on a summer's day, with eyes that know the darkness of my soul............but I could have told you, Vincent, This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you."
Don McLean
American Pie |
`Cause you were bred for humanity and sold to society
One day you'll wake up in the Present Day
A million generations removed from expectations
Of being who you really want to be.
Skating away on the thin ice of the New Day. |
