Lyrics

I've got a Page One story buried in my yard
I've got a troubled mind
I'm going down to the medicine show

If I've got to choose between doing trouble
And doing time
I'm going down to the medicine show

I've got a one way ticket on the 8:06
To the outskirts of town
I'm going down to the medicine show

And I'll say, "hey conductor
Now dontcha stop until you hear that gypsy sound
I'm going down to the medicine show

But I know that it's hard to be a decent man
When you stop finding reasons for everything
But tonight I'll find some answers
Down at the medicine show

I'm gonna find me that gypsy girl
That likes to dance and cry
When I go down to the medicine show

And we're gonna lay that burden down
Beneath that lonesome gypsy sky
When I go down to the medicine show

Lyrics

Standing in the middle of a delicate tension
Got a lot on my mind but not enough to mention
A short attention span and a big imagination
A positive constriction and an obvious affliction

It's a shame It's a shame
Everybody knows it but just the same
It's a shame, it's a shame
You don't want to play my favorite game

School's out of session with a definite obsession
A long forgotten legend and a minor transgression
Are you with me, are you with me, are you with me, are you with me
Dogs that want to bite me and dogs that want to sniff me

It's a shame it's a shame
Everybody does it but no one takes the blame
It's a shame, it's a shame
You don't want to play my favorite game

Cholera, bulimea, isomnia, collateral
A chemical imbalance and a chronic analytical
You can't stand the heat but you still want the sweets
You don't like my mission then get out of my kitchen

It's a shame, etc

A Sly (pun intended) come-on blending early 70s soul and a fringed-velvet drawl into what ultimately results in some Pied Piper of Hoboken effect. My vocals have been blended with those of Linda Pitmon to create a heady blend of aromas and spices. Stir and serve. -SW

Lyrics

Come to where they always love you
It's another way to bring you down
Come to where they always need you
It's another way to bring you down

Raise me up with greedy fingers
Lay me down where nothing lingers

Come to where always hate you
With another way to bring you down
Come to where they always break you
Like another way to bring you down

Raise me up with greedy fingers
Lay me down where nothing lingers

Lyrics

Jennifer sits and she cries in the dark
And she dreams about dreaming and waits for the spark
Of anything that would remind her
Of anything else again

She remembers the day that she drove him away
How she hated him then! (But she loves him today)
And she wonders what she would say to him now
It doesn't matter anyway

Sweetness and light
Why can't it always be sweetness and light

Jennifer writes in her journal.
She says "He's been calling me over and over again
And every time I pick up the phone
He says nothing."

She can't remember the pain, she can't remember the kicks
Just a Stevie Wonder song from 1976
And they say you should learn from you past mistakes
That's easy for you to say

Sweetness and light
Why can't it always be sweetness and light

And she says, "Why do you call me?
Why do you write me?
Why are you always around?
What do you want from me?
What do I have for you?
Why won't you leave me alone?"

Jennifer writes in her journal, she says
"He's been calling me over again
And I put on a record and turn up the sound
And I close my eyes until the sound goes down."

The phone rings over and over again
And over and over and over again
She picks it up on the 20th ring and says,
"Don't fuck with me!"

Not a true story but even if it was a true story I'd never confess. More of a composite (ah, THERE'S a cop-out) and an observation of various degradations of love, perceived and actual. Also, I believe, the first time I've ever used a swear world on record. Damn!-SW

Lyrics

Speak my language
Do a little damage
Nothing left to salvage
Never mind the carnage

Why do birds fall from the sky
Every time that you walk by?
I don't know why
I don't know why

Get a little lowdown
Gonna be a showdown
Not enough to go 'round
Look at what I found (ch)

Kinda like a dancer
New romancer
Spreading like a cancer
There's no answer (ch)

Lyrics

Got a lotta slack that's holding me back
And I don't know where to go
Sniffing like a hound that wants to bite down
But I can't tell friend from foe

I want to slow down but I can't

Gimme lotta lead and slow me down with speed
And I'll let you go your way
Put it down on paper and bother me later
If that's all you got to say

I want to be there but I'm not

Nobody's perfect I know that it's true
Nobody's perfect but what can you do
Nobody's perfect it's just noise and stuff
But sometimes too much just isn't enough

Take a little powder and turn it up louder
And blow the walls apart
Gotta give me level to keep away the devil
And crawl inside my heart

I want to be free but I'm not

Lyrics

I'm just standing here waiting
for you to come clean
I'm just standing here waiting
for you to come clean
I'd ask you what you want
but I don't think you'd know what I mean

Something happens and they call you on the telephone
something's missing and you know they want leave you alone
I'm not worried about you
don't worry about me
I'm not worried about you
why should I be?

I got a phone call from your mother
she wants to know where you have been
I got a phone call from your mother
she wants to know where you have been
I say ... ah ....I don't know where she is been

Lyrics

I was the king of common sense
I guess you know my name
And then I cracked and you know the rest

It's don't do this
And don't do that
And can't you keep it
Down in the valley
Down with the lay of the land


It smells so bad, it's dark in here
Six by nine by twelve
And nothing left to chance in here (ch)

And then one day I'll rise above
Where the angels sing.
Ride around with wings all day (ch)

An epic haiku. A three-part fable of discipline and disappointment. A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants. Take your pick.-SW

Lyrics

I'm buying time
But I've got no place to put it
I draw the line
But that shouldn't slow me down, now should it?

Riding against the minutes
Outside the city limits
Burning deep inside me like
Death Valley rain

We come alive
When the sun goes down in the valley
We never drive
We just park it out back in the alley

ch

The moon it shines
And lights up the cans on the dashboard
The stars align
But we don't know exactly what for

ch

Lyrics

Finally stashed away the vices
Like a shield against the coming crisis
See what drops and see what rises
Watch out for the falling prices

ch:

Stripped away so you could hardly tell
Leaving nothing but the shell

Remember when she was a comer
Brighter but a little dumber
Something went down late last summer
I don't suppose you have her number (ch)

Never made it to the coda
The CIA destroyed the folder
Brighter but a little older
A teleprompter and a soda (ch)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Neil Young and Crazy Horse
A victim of a bad divorce
Take a little from the source (ch)

A retro-futuro glam stomp with my first harmonica solo
in years. A pre-apocolyptic tale of redemption and focus complete with
Aspertame and name-dropping. Note: a "comer" is a sports term for an "up-
and-comer," or someone with "can't-miss" potential. - SW

Lyrics

in the town they had a rocking band
tried to take Maria's hand
didn't turn out the way I planned
and Maria took me for a ride

in the town they had a tunnel of love
two hands from up above
first came push and then came shove
and Maria took me for a ride
Maria took me for a ride

I said, Maria, way on down the track
I said, Maria, when are you coming back

in the town there was a liquor store
broken bottles all over the floor
they won't let me shop there anymore
since Maria took me for a ride

in the town there was a gallery
I asked if she would marry me
she told me that was a blasphemy,
and Maria took me for a ride
Maria took me for a ride

ch.

in the end she found another guy
I never stopped to wonder why
some trains just kinda pass you by
Maria took me for a ride (X4)

ch. (X3)

Lyrics

All the stores have long since shut
Broken windows boarded up
Never had the heart to tear it down
To tear it down

Everything is laid out wide
And I've got nothing left but time
To think that such a day would once terrify
I can't believe it now

ch:

Time gives all that it takes
Time leaves nothing in its wake
And I am ready for what comes after
For what comes after

All the clouds have passed away
And I can only see the light of day
I never thought such clarity
would come my way (ch)

Still waiting for the morning to call my name
Still waiting for the light on the windowpane
Still waiting for the sun
But it never comes

It's impossible to forget
Until the day that there's finally nothing left
But where nothing lies, anything can rise
And be torn down

Lyrics

By and large he was well accustomed
To the twists and turns of the higher plane
But as the story got closer to the finish
He wondered if the ending would always be the same
He took a look at the Yellow Pages
And randomly signed up to a charitable cause
That seemed most likely to fail without a trace
While operating within the law

And no one knew just where he had gone
Or why anyone would want to pick up the trail
But the evidence wasn't hard to connect
Registered by the US mail
The plane touched down outside of Argentina
On a private runway near a sunny beach
He stepped down onto the tarmac
And moved a little further out of reach

Fading from the public eye
One less shining star in the sky

Lyrics

And let down our hair--California Style
Take a lesson, leave 'em guessin'
Grab the Wesson and make a mess of everything--California Style

And if anyone comes around
And wants to settle up the score
I'm gonna open up my arms
There's always room for more

We got sloppy on the Cherocol
Leaning up agains the wall--California Style
You know I can't hypnotize
When your hair is hanging in your eyes--California Style

I wanna reach inside my skin
And pull out everything that smells like sin--California Style
Lay it out on a platter
And write your name out in the splatter--California Style

Lyrics

Morning came early
And I couldn't get started
I just laid in bed and looked out the window
Until the clouds passed by

I've got a way
To turn minutes into hours
Big ol' days into hazy bits of pieces
Of nothing worth recalling when the sun goes down
Maybe tomorrow

Nothing is easy
In fact, it's the easiest thing going
Today I'll do nothing but think of tomorrow
Days into hours into minutes
Maybe tomorrow
I can do anything

World is fading
But it keeps on turning
I don't think about it anymore
Shut out the lights and climb deep inside
Maybe Tomorrow

Cool and collected
Staring out the window, the rain is falling
Tomorrow's the day I look for a reason
Find my way out and start again

Lyrics

Bobby took a ride on a California night
On the 7:35 from Salinas
Didn't hear a sound there was no one else around
He said 'The sky has come between us'.

Are you really sure that now's the time?
Are you ready to be saved
On the Southern California Line?

Bobby made a list of the places he had missed
And the places where he'd been forgotten
Looked upon the list and he tore the list to bits
And he wondered how it turned so rotten

Bobby's last connection was a thought about confession
And a 25-to-life in prison
Took a load of pills, leaned against the windowsill
And waited till his soul had risen

Lyrics

Any day but Tuesday
I would gladly walk through fire
any day but Tuesday
we could drown in our own desire
and I wish a man could be
in twenty places at one time
any day but Tuesday would be fine

any day but Tuesday
we could fall across the aisle
any day but Tuesday
it only has to be for a little while
and I wish sometimes a man
could be more than just a boy
any day but Tuesday would be a joy

in a sentence
in a word
it might be something that you heard
in a night, it could be right
if you'd only see the light

any day but Tuesday
we could talk or maybe we could sin(g)
any day but Tuesday
it really doesn't have to mean a single thing
and I wish sometimes a man
could be more than just a boy
any day but Tuesday would be a joy

Lyrics

Matthew with the pug nose
Caught me with his sister in the wheatfield
Got a couple buddies
Tied me up and threw me in his Oldsmobile
I said "Matthew are you crazy?"
As he started closing in for the kill
Matthew slowed the Olds to 10
Left me here to die in Merrittville

There's a game they play in the summertime
There's a game they play when it's hot outside
And I wonder why
They left me here in Merrittville

Sally with the narrow hips
Cut the rope and said that she could clear my head
She led me to the dirt path
All the way back to her daddy's shed
I said, "Sally who'd believe
That we'd have to come so far for a thrill."
Sally let me go that night
Weak, tired and spent in Merrittville

William with the holy book
Stopped me as I stumbled down the road today
He said "Get on your knees, boy.
It's time you learned the right way to pray"
I said "William, I had no idea
That the lord had such a will
William drove his point across
And left me here to burn in Merrittville

Lyrics

The word from outside
and she is on the ledge again
drawing a card
and threatening everything
I'm here wandering
where I got in
Everybody says I don't care
but I'm just trying to remember
the days of wine and roses
The priest from the parish
is looking for persuasion
the man with the notepad
wants verification
somebody says this was my creation
Her mother says it's your fault
you never looked after her
Her father arranging to
get back the furniture
I'm here wandering
what the reasons were.

Lyrics

I was thinking of my troubles
As people sometimes will
Everyone who had done my wrong
And those who would wrong me still
And in a fit of desperation
I found myself on my knees
wishing pain and suffering
on all my enemies

I prayed for loss of limb
and lingering disease
Of blight and devastation
And assorted miseries
But as I made my wishes
and as I cast my spells
I stopped myself and said a prayer
And said these words to myself

There will come a day
There will come a day
When all of the evil
will be washed away
The patient will be rewarded
And their tormentors will pay
There will come a day, lord
There will come a day

Lyrics

I dreamed last night I was born a hundred years ago
But when I woke up I was lost with only one place to go
When you smile, I don't know what to do
Cause I could lose everything in a minute or two

It's not fair to put you against all of the years behind me
But history kind of pales when you and you are aligned

When you smile, I don't know what to do
Cause I could lose everything in a minute or two
And it seems like the end of the world
When you smile

Well there's never been a man who's been anymore than bones in sack
But it doesn't take much to hold the possibilities back

When you smile, I don't know what to do
Cause I could lose everything in a minute or two
And it seems like the end of the world
When you smile

When you smile, I don't know what to do
Cause I could lose everything in a minute or two
And it seems like the end of the world
Yes, it seems like the end of the world
Yes, it seems like the end of the world
When you smile
When you smile
When you smile
When you smile

Lyrics

Everyday I get another sympathy card
everyday I get another sympathy card
well, I hold them and I read them
read'em all again
everyday I get another sympathy card
yeah it seems that some people only wanna hear you cry and moan
they all know that now I ride alone
yeah

every night they roll on past my window
they shine their lights on in and then they move on real slow
and I hide in the shelter of the darkness of my room
every night they roll on past my window
and it seems that some people only wanna hear you cry and moan
they all know that now I ride alone

well there ain't no dark anger hanging round my door
ah there ain't no weepin willow that I've never seen before
oh there's just one thing left that I never seem to take
it's those knocks on my door all night long that I can't escape

every day the women just wanna hold me
man they open up their arms and jusr enfold me
and I sayyy
baby, let's call it a night
every day the women just wanna hold me
and it seems that some people only wanna hear you cry and moan
they all know that now I ride alone
they all know that now I ride alone
they all know that now I ride alone......

Lyrics

Shelly was a ghost and she never wrote back
Jackie had a story for everything she lacked
Sarah slept forever and I thought that she was dead
But she wasn't dead, she wasn't dead

And all I want is tea and some chocolate and a book
And a cigarette and coffee and a dangerous look
And all that I want, more than anything I want
Is to just be alone, just be alone

Hey, can I look in your eyes again?
Hey can I look in your eyes?

Suzy was a tourist and her sister was a guide and
Janet was cruel but she was sweet inside and
Cindy had teeth like a carving knife and
Betty liked to tell me what to do with my life (ch)

Janie, she was pretty outside of Kansas City
It really was a pity that she stayed in Kansas City and
Frieda said to sack it when she didn't want to back it
She knew she couldn't hack it in a blue bomber jacket, a blue bomber jacket

And all I want is tea and some chocolate and a book
And a cigarette and coffee and a dangerous look
And all that I want more than anything I want
Is to just be alone, just be alone

Hey can I look in your eyes again
Hey can I look in your eyes?

I've often felt that a three-chord song is probably one too many and I submit this duo-tonic marvel as evidence. Name-dropping (all fiction, of course) and gleeful, pounding repetition made this song a joy to play and nearly impossible to end. I truly believe there is some alternate universe where we are still playing the outro to this song.-SW