Dayna Kurtz Lyrics, Photos, Pictures, Paroles, Letras, Text for every songs

B i o g r a p h y
(by official site)

In April of last year, New Jersey native Dayna Kurtz escaped to the desert to write the songs for her fourth album. "I completed most of the songs for Another Black Feather in a hermitage maintained by some lovely people for solitary religious introspection. I stayed in an adobe hut on 500 acres in the Sonoran desert in Arizona. There was no electricity, nobody around for miles, a cot, a table, chair and pitcher. 2 weeks. I brought no distractions – no novels, only books of writing exercises and poetry. It was so quiet at night I could hear the blood beat in my ears. It was sublime, and I wrote constantly. When I wasn't writing I'd take a walk, stop and watch a bug climbing around a desert flower for an hour. I learned a lot about my friends when I described this trip to them, and showed them pictures. My artist/writer/musician friends were mostly envious. But some people looked at the hut and said, 'Is that a dirt floor?'” Making the album came just as easily. "We recorded the basics live to tape, 2 or 3 takes per song, and picked the best of 'em right then. I love analog. When you record digitally it just requires too much imagination to hear how good it might sound when you've overdubbed, mixed and mastered. When you record to tape, it sounds like a record right out of the gate. It helped us make decisions faster – we just knew when it was good or great or bad, not based on the perfection of performance, but based on overall vibe.” “It was the best of both worlds; the warmth and immediacy of analog with the final flexibility of pro-tools. I'm never recording any other way again.”

Co-producing the album with Dayna was Randy Crafton, who has worked with Dayna on all 3 of her studio albums. Some of the musicians who helped Dayna bring her songs to life include her long-time back up band, bassist Dave Richards and keyboard/accordionist Peter Vitalone, the singer-songwriter Malcolm Holcombe, Matt Darriau and Frank London from the Klezmatics, Jorge Alfano (charango), Rob Curto (accordion), and Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans and Gregory Rogove from the band Tarantula AD. "Dave, Randy, Pete and I are turning into a really crack studio machine lately. Both Randy and Dave have started families in the last couple of years, so they really can't get on the road with me all that often anymore. It's made us really appreciate our time in the studio that much more. They're family now, and we play like it. They know my quirks as a player so well that we barely have to discuss what's going on, they're just right there. I played a lot of lap steel for the first time on this record. It's a completely different feel than regular old slide guitar - you have to keep it very simple, to the point, and it's unforgiving on intonation. I keep on wanting to invent studio projects for us so I don't have to wait till I've written an album full of songs to get back there with them. I want to find someone who wants us as a backing band, so I can just play lap steel guitar for hours with these guys. I wish we could be Booker T and the MG's, and find our Bill Withers to produce and back up."

Following in the footsteps of the diverse Beautiful Yesterday, Another Black Feather finds Dayna leaning more heavily on her roots and country influences than usual, in particular making generous use of her new lap steel guitar, and showcasing her prodigious slide work on other songs. "One of the things that I seem to encounter constantly is that I don't really quite fit anywhere," observes Dayna Kurtz. Asked by a European journalist what her music was 'made of', Dayna replied, "If you're at the flea market, you walk past all the fine old antiques and the cheap designer knockoff clothing from China, past the used German leather jackets, and over in the back is an old man with a battered tweed hat who has some blankets on the ground covered with old toasters and a pair of ladies knickers from the 50's, a snow globe from the 1992 Olympic games, and a box of old men's watches and broken reading glasses and teaspoons. I'll be picking through there." The lack of a ready stylistic tag hasn't stopped the resourceful performer from building a substantial audience—and a compelling body of recorded work—on her own terms. She maintains an enthusiastic international fan base that's embraced the poetic passion of her songwriting and the communicative power of her voice, an unforgettable, distinctly husky instrument that's capable of immense depth and sensitivity. She has also inspired reams of rapturous acclaim from critics and won admiration from her musical peers. Dayna Kurtz began performing her original compositions in public as a teenager, and subsequently spent the better part of a decade touring solo across the back roads of America, selling CD's out of her trunk and mesmerizing club and festival crowds with her riveting live performances. Along the way, she opened shows for the likes of Richie Havens (who became a fan and lent guest vocals to her debut studio album, Postcards from Downtown).

The last few years has found Dayna winning over new fans in the New York City music scene. In the past two years she has been invited to open up for Rufus Wainwright, Antony & the Johnsons, and Keren Ann. Additionally, Dayna has won over fellow "Living Room" habitué Norah Jones, who sings a duet with Dayna on "I Got It Bad…" (From Beautiful Yesterday). Outside of her new hometown, the legendary Richard Thompson invited Dayna to open up for a coast-to-coast nationwide tour that found Dayna converting some of his faithful fans. The fan response and critical attention generated by Kurtz's grass roots touring efforts inevitably drew interest from the mainstream music industry. Despite her indie status, Dayna has found an enthusiastic audience, winning high-profile guest spots on such radio shows as World Cafe, Mountain Stage and NPR's Morning Edition. But nowhere has the interest in Dayna's music been more pronounced than in Holland, where Dayna's debut studio album soared into the top 20 of the album charts on the strength of the hit single "Love Gets in the Way". In the summer of 2003, Dayna went from performing in front of 50 people at the Living Room in New York City's lower east side, to headlining the fabled Paradiso theatre in Amsterdam in front of 1000 people in what would be her first of many sold out shows in the Netherlands in the months to follow. Dayna has since then discovered a larger audience in Europe, and this spring alone will find her in Greece, Spain, Germany, Belgium and the UK. But Dayna Kurtz has worked too hard to allow such adulation to go to her head. "Every step I've taken has felt really organic, and like they've been made at the right time," she states, adding, "The records I've made feel like honest expressions of where I'm at musically, and the making of them has been joyful and interesting." "Besides, every musician should feel like a rock star in at least one country."

Postcards From Downtown

Fred Astaire

I’m caught
I’m seen through
If you were a chivalrous man
You’d know what to do

You’re a sad prince
You’re my most humble pie
And under serious oath
You’re my sweetest lie

I had a dream that you danced
Just like Fred Astaire
I sat and watched, leaning back
As you glided on air around me

I’d do anything you want
Look what you’ve done
I’d be a game that you play
Much too easily won
I’m too easily won

And I don’t care
What you do
Who strokes your hair
Where you run off to

Mill Street tonight is twinkling like stars
Hollywood dust under seventies cars
I miss you

I’d do anything you want
Look what you’ve done
I’d be a game that you play
Much too easily won
I’m too easily won

And what do you remember
After too much sweet wine;
That you woke up hung-over
Or that you had a good time
Well, I had a good time

Love gets in the way

I’ve made love with one eye on the door
I’ve left good rooms with nothing to say
I wanted to love them
But love got in the way
I wanted to love them

But love gets in the way
And so what if everything’s changed
And so what if I’ve held out for more
I'm all wild in places I wasn’t before
I'm wild in places where I wasn’t before

So come on and make a mess of me
I won’t walk away
I'm ready as I’ll ever be
I won’t walk away

I want to be fed by you
I want to be led by you
I thought I wanted freedom
But love got in the way
I went looking for freedom
But love got in the way
So come on and make a mess of me
I won’t walk away
I'm ready as I’ll ever be
I won’t walk away

Somebody leave a light on

He was blessed, the best of us
And now the boy is gone
He was so beautiful and stupid
He’d go swimming with his boots on

You spend too much time with strangers
You spend too much time alone
You need someone to leave a light on
When you’re headed home

Somebody leave a light on
Somebody leave a light on

If someone told you you’d be
Tied to some wicked
And some beautiful dreams
And go clanking town to town
Now - like a tortured dog
Now - like a wedding car
Till you’re a tough old telephone pole
Naked and stuck to a sad stretch of road
Calling up everyone you know
Somebody leave a light on

I know love is everywhere
Whatever ground you stand on
I’ll take what sight is offered me
Whatever lights you turn on
Somebody leave a light on

Is there anybody out there
You’re a tough old telephone pole
Is there anybody out there
Naked and stuck to a sad stretch of road
Shit this town is nowhere
Calling up everyone
Is there anybody home
You know

Postcards from downtown

I lost all my faith in love
On those stairs that November
I know it meant a lot at the time
Now I can barely remember
It’s been a long time
It’s been a long time

You said I’ve been alone so long
That I’ve got big theories of lonely
And that I drag them all over town
Just to look occupied
But I’m learning something
I’m doing time

Red light, green light, one, two, three
Have you come to conquer me
It’s been a long time

Hey I know how to take in all kinds
Of heartless offers
And I’ve learned how to hand back a few
And I’ve come as close to love
As to walking on water
So what could I do with you
What will I do with you

I’m going out now I’ll send you some
Postcards from downtown
I’ll show you all the apartments
Where I got my degrees
Where I’d fall like small dreams
Where I’d fade like bright leaves

Miss liberty

I’m miss liberty - give me your junkies
Your irresponsible drummers
I’ve swept my halls clean of clean
Your kitchen raiders
Your wingtip dayrunners

Go plant your flags and make your promise
To my promised land
And we’ll make love to the new frontier
In the hot beach sand
You’ll hold me like a drowning man
You’ll come at me too human
And drag me down again
And leave me broken like a spine
Split open like a melon dropped from a high
High place

I like this country
She’s like a whore
Who loves her junkies
Who loves all her sad outlaws
Lifting her skirt to tease and flirt
With the wretched
Who’ve washed up at her shores

When we die I hope someone’s god
Takes us in like immigrants
And we’ll make love in the leftover light
Of heaven’s tenements
You’ll hold me like a drowning man
You’ll come at me too human
And drag us down again
You’ll leave me broken like a spine
Split open like a melon dropped from a high
High place

Last good taste

You got me in my place
You got me at the right time
You got me in the right frame of mind
For making love

Man, it’s good to see your face
I’ve been living out of suitcases
You know you were the last good taste
I’ve had of love

You’re scared to fly, I’m scared to land
We don’t have a prayer
We don’t have a plan
I don’t care
Cause you got me in my place
You got me at the right time
You got me in the right frame of mind
For making love

I wish I could haunt you
But I gotta let that one go
We got too much to do
And there’s enough else to know
But till you go
You know you got me in my place
You got me at the right time
You got me in the right frame of mind
For making love

Man, it’s good to see your face
I’ve been living out of suitcases
You know you were the last good taste
I’ve had of love

Monroe

Monroe’s gone round the bend again
May never make it home
When he arrives she almost always lets him in

You can’t take him on when he’s like this
You can’t leave him alone
Where’s he been, where’s he been
Last time that I saw you
I thought you were doing fine
I was broke and coming down
From New Orleans

Talk about the business
What they do to you this time
We try not to complain, but we complain
They just break your heart again

Now he’s burning all his bridges
Now he’s skipping across the water
Like a smooth, flat stone
Now he’s scratching ‘cause it itches
Now he’s slurring on the phone
I like your picture, are you alone
I like your picture

Monroe’s gone round the bend again
She couldn’t make him stay
There’s too much trouble
To get into everywhere
His devil called from downtown
Now his angel’s gone to pray
It’s a wonder he’s alive
But he’s alive somewhere

You know the city guys are dangled
Every time you take the stage
They’re swelling up like poets
While you’re rattling your cage
You’re all they left the suburbs for
They’d make you all the rage
Then they’ll try not to complain
But they’ll complain
When you break their hearts again

Paterson

“Paterson is a big sad poppa in need of a little compassion” - Allen Ginsberg

The road still runs by the river
The river still pours into town
By the time you see where you’re headed
You’re half the way down

I was bragging on my independence
Saying love leaves you stumbling and dumb
Then i go and dissolve
Just like cotton candy
On the tip of some boy’s tongue

In the crackhouse cellars
In the weary faces
In the burnt out factories

This town knows there’s nowhere left to go
But all the way down
We all know there’s nowhere left to go
But all the way down

Every sad old poppa was a proud young man
Full of victories that he almost won
All the mistakes that he made
Pave the streets of Paterson

We made our concessions to the business
We paid our dues to the wrong guys
And we got deeply screwed
But we don’t let anyone tell us what to do anymore

We need our great falls
In the trash and foam
Floats every wish we’ve ever made

This town knows there’s nowhere left to go but
All the way down
We all know there’s nowhere left to go
But all the way down

Oh, mio couré (oh, my heart)
Oh, mio couré (oh, my heart)
Sto morento (I’m dying)
Ma tu non mi vedi (but you don’t see me)

Just like Jack

He called me his sweet angel
And he called this sad town heaven
For a time I saw it through him
And I’ve appreciated that

And you, you talk just like him
Full of poetry and visions
You don’t see things as they are
You’re making mansions out of shacks

And you’ll be thinking deep thoughts
As you’re sneaking out the back
Because you’re just like Jack
You’re just like Jack

Your lips will taste like whiskey
From the local sugarshack
You’ll tell me that I’m pretty
Though you’re probably just bored

And everyone will love you
‘cause you blew the dust off this town
You’ll leave everybody wanting
Things they didn’t want before

And you would touch us all so deep
But you won’t let us touch you back
Because you’re just like Jack
You’re just like Jack

With all i got to keep me here
The baby and my mother
I’ll probably live forever
And have nothing new to say
But don’t you ever cross a river
With that restless heart of yours
You got nothing to hold onto
You’ll just get swept away

But you’ll be beaming like a floodlight
When the night is thick and black
Because you’re just like Jack
You’re just like Jack

Satisfied

A dream is dying
So comfort me tonight
The clock is lying
I never got it right
I lost the fight
I lost the fight

I'm understanding
I'm overqualified
I think I’m landing
Can always say I tried
I'm satisfied
I'm satisfied

It’s goodbye to the circus
And how could I mind
I found the best sweetheart
That I’ll ever find
His arms are open
And his heart is kind

I felt it coming
Before I even knew
The engine’s running
Goodbye to cast and crew
I’ll miss them, too
I’ll miss them, too

I leave to the bravest of boystown
My wings
May they search for love
In their passionate flings
Be as happy and lonely
As fat little kings

A dream is dying
So comfort me tonight
The clock is lying
I never got it right
I lost the fight
But it’s alright

Music box

Sitting in the same room
Over and over
Listen to the same songs
Over again

And if I could say one thing
I’d tell time that he’s a bastard
To wind you up
Watch you run in circles
Till you fade away
Fade away
Fade away
Fade away

Year by year
Your dreams try to leave you
No one believes you
No one complains

And if I could say one thing
I’d tell time that he’s a bastard
To wind you up
Watch you run in circles
Till you fade away
Fade away
Fade away
Fade away

I belong to the wind

(Huber/Overs)

Take your love
I’m not for loving
Take your needs
I’m not for needing
Take your tears
I’m not for crying
I belong to the wind

Take your kiss,
I’m not for kissing
Take your hopes
I’m not for hoping
Take your cares
I’m not for caring
I belong to the wind

She calls to me with her melodies
Now I’ve got the taste
on my tongue
My life wasn’t meant to be lived
It was meant to be sung

So take your love
I’m not for loving
Take your needs
I’m not for needing
Take your dreams
I’m not for dreaming
I belong to the wind

Love where did you go

I get high
Then I get low
I asked why
But you don’t know
The sink is full
The plants gone yellow
Oh love where did you go

I’ve forgiven awful things
From lesser men
With weaker slings
Their stingy love
Their restless wings
Oh love where did you go

I wonder where you are tonight
Who gave you strength
Who stole my fight
Who holds your gaze
In love’s fresh light
Oh love where did you go

Left Alone

( Mal waldron )

Where's the love
That's made to fill my heart
Where's the one
From whom I'll never part

First they hurt me
Then desert me
I'm left alone
All alone

There's no house
That I can call my home
There's no place
From which I'll never roam

Town or city
It's a pity
I'm left alone
All alone

Seek and find they always say
But up to now it's not that way
Maybe fate has let him pass me by
Or perhaps we'll meet before I die
Hearts will open, but until then
I'm left alone, all alone

Seek and find they always say
But up to now it's not that way
Maybe fate has let him pass me by
Or perhaps we'll meet before I die
Hearts will open, but until then
I'm left alone, all alone
All, all alone

( Prince )

All the poets and the part time singers
Always hang inside
Live music from a band on a stage
Plays a song called "Soul Psychodelicide"
The song's a year long and had been playing for months
When he walked into the place
No one seemed to notice an introverted this is it look on
On most of their faces
Up on the mic repeating two words, over and over again
Was this woman he had never noticed
Before he lost himself in the articulated manner
In which she said them
Ah these two words, a little bit behind the beat
I mean just enough to turn you on
And everytime she said the words
Another one of his doubts was gone
Should he try to rap with her
Should he stand and stare
And no one else was watching her
She didn't seem to care
So over and over, she said the words
'Til he could take no more
Then he dragged her from the stage
And together they ran to the back door
In the alley over by the curb
He said tell me what's your name
She only said the words again
And it started to rain, rain, rain
Two words falling between the drops
And the moans of his condition
Holding someone is truly believing

There's joy in repetition
Yeah there's joy in repetition
There's joy in repetition
Yeah and there's joy in repetition
Yeah there's joy in repetition

She said love me
That's all she said
She said love me
A little bit behind the beat
Over and over and over and over
She said love me
Love me

There's joy, there's joy
There's joy in repetition
In repetition, in repetition
Yeah in repetition
Yeah in repetition
In repetition
In repetition
In repetition...

Those were the days

( Gene Raskin )

Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours
And think of all the great things we would do

Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way

Just tonight I stood before the tavern
Nothing seemed the way it used to be
In the glass I saw a strange reflection
Was that lonely woman really me

Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days
Oh yes those were the days
La la la la la la
La la la la la la...

Through the door there came familiar laughter
I saw your face and heard you call my name
Oh my friend we're older but no wiser
For in our hearts the dreams are still the same

Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days
Oh yes those were the days
La la la la la la
La la la la la la...

Everybody knows

( Leonard Cohen )

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows that the good guys lost
Everybody knows that the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor and the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody's got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody's talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Yeah and everybody knows

And everybody knows that it's now or never
Everybody knows that it's me or you
Everybody knows that you live forever
When you've done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old black Joe's still picking cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
Yeah and everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
Everybody knows
Everybody knows
Everybody knows
Everybody knows

Amsterdam crown

(Balint/Atanasoff)

September, whatever
Amsterdam in the rain
Walked around for miles
No one here knows my name
Bought a souvenir
Off the tip of a knife
Could buy this whole
Fucking town
Never felt so free all my life

I know I’m a stranger here
And I’m not looking down
And if I am, it’s because of
My Amsterdam crown
My Amsterdam crown

This table is my cradle
I’m as happy as can be
Though I can’t smell your tulips
And I can’t taste this tea
I’ve got everything I need

Right between my teeth
Don’t wanna go back home
There’s burning garbage
On my street

Well you can start hunting
For broken glass
Maybe I’ll just see you all
At Sunday mass

September, whatever
I’m Amsterdam in the rain
I own the world it’s in my heart
My secret game
It’s my Amsterdam crown

( Duke Ellington Cover - Dayna Kurtz's Beautiful Yesterday LP - 2004 )

Never treats me sweet and gentle
The way he should
I got it bad
And that's not good

My poor heart is sentimental
Not made of wood
I got it bad
And that ain't good

But when the weekend is over
When the weekend's over
And Monday rolls around
I end up like i start out
Just crying my poor heart out

He don't love me like I love him
Nobody could
I got it bad
That's not good

Like a lonely weeping willow
Who's lost in the wood
I got it so bad and that ain't good

And the things I tell my pillow
No woman should
I got it bad
And that's not good
That's not good

Now folks with good intentions
They tell me
They tell me to save my tears
Tell me to save my tears
But I'm glad I'm bad about him
I just can't live
I just can't live without him

Lord above me
Make him love me
The way
All the way that he should
Way he should

I got it so bad
I got it bad
And that's not good
That ain't good
I got it real, real bad
And you know that's not good

Lost And Looking

( Sam Cooke )

I'm lost and I'm looking for my baby
Wonder why my baby can't be found
I'm lost and I'm looking for my baby
Lord knows that my baby ain't around

So I'm lost
And I'm looking for my baby
Wonder why my baby can't be found
I'm lost and I'm looking for my baby
Lord knows my baby ain't around

Cried for my baby
Crying all alone
Calling for you to come home
Come home

I'm lost and I'm searching for my baby
Baby won't you please come home
I'm lost and I'm looking for my baby
I need you 'cause I'm so alone

Parlez-moi d'amour

( Jean Lenoir )

Parlez-moi d'amour
Redites-moi des choses tendres
Votre beau discours
Mon cœur n'est pas las de l'entendre
Pourvu que toujours
Vous répétiez ces mots suprêmes
Je vous aime

Vous savez bien
Que dans le fond je n'en crois rien
Mais cependant je veux encore
Écouter ce mot que j'adore
Votre voix aux sons caressants
Qui le murmure en frémissant
Me berce de sa belle histoire
Et malgré moi je veux y croire

Parlez-moi d'amour
Redites-moi des choses tendres
Votre beau discours
Mon cœur n'est pas las de l'entendre
Pourvu que toujours
Vous répétiez ces mots suprêmes
Je vous aime

Il est si doux
Mon cher trésor, d'être un peu fou
La vie est parfois trop amère
Si l' on ne croit pas aux chimères
Le chagrin est vite apaisé
Et se console d'un baiser
Du cœur on guérit la blessure
Par un serment qui le rassure

Parlez-moi d'amour
Redites-moi des choses tendres
Votre beau discours
Mon cœur n'est pas las de l'entendre
Pourvu que toujours
Vous répétiez ces mots suprêmes
Je vous aime

Beautiful yesterday

Beautiful yesterday
Where have you gone
Who squandered your fortunes
Who wore out your songs
I’ve done all you asked me
What more can I do
Beautiful yesterday
I’m singing for you

Beautiful yesterday
They’re laughing at you
They’re all addicted
To whatever’s new
Your flowers are dying
And I’m dying too
Beautiful yesterday
I’m dying for you

Beautiful yesterday
Where have you gone
I’ve done all he asked me
But I did it all wrong
I waited till morning
Then you left me too
Beautiful yesterday
I’m singing for you

Everybody loves a garden
And I’ll tell you how
That garden grows
With sunshine from your eyes
And a heart of clear blue skies

From the bottom up

I found my love I lost my heart
I found my love but where’s my heart
They love you from the bottom up
Your head comes all apart

My price went down my youth is gone
I hate this town my youth is gone
I went to bed a head of state
And now I mow the lawns

Careful what you wish for
What you wish for
Careful what you wish for

I had a secret small and rare
Hell I had secrets everywhere
They withered in the light of love
And I don’t even care

If they want me I’ll be found
Just look for me I’ll be around
I’ll be wearing Friday night
A few feet off the ground

Careful what you wish for
What you wish for
Careful what you wish for

For heavy lids and whole wheat hair
Your sweetest smile and lusty stare
Whatever I can gather up
Whatever I can spare

I found my love I lost my heart
I found my love but where’s my heart
They love you from the bottom up
Your head comes all apart

They love you from the bottom up
Your head comes all apart
They love you from the bottom up
Your head comes all apart

Nola

New York is impossibly handsome
Impossibly bright
But his hands are too busy
His shirts are too shiny and tight
On Fridays he dances to metronomes
So he can keep counting
All night all night all night

Every time that I see her
My heart ends up begging to stay
She’s been calling me to her
She tortures me every day
Have you been on a joyride
Say your best backslide
Then rocked all night
Till you’re trembling and sore
Just take me in your scented arms
New Orleans I’m coming for more
Oh, New Orleans I’m coming for more

I know angels can lie
If it lightens your load
They’ll be stroking your cheek
But they’re speaking in code
They’ll take all your money
And then hit the road
And leave you broken and smiling

He has no use for me
He never looks in my eyes
Been waking up cursing
It’s no way to live or to die
I’ve nothing of value to bring you
I come to you wasted and poor
Please take me in your scented arms
New Orleans I’m coming for more
Oh, New Orleans I’m coming for more

In the rush and the spin
In the flush of my sin
She’ll be rolling her eyes
While she beckons me in
Please god, let me love truly
Forgive every nation
And walk like a woman again

Baby I love you
But baby I just have to go
I’ve got so much to learn
She’s got secrets I just have to know
I left my true love for you
Oh just take everything
I’ll do what you want me to do
Please take me in your scented arms
New Orleans I’m coming for you
Oh, New Orleans I’m coming for you

Venezuela

That was such a lovely dream
The streets were golden in the sun
I’ve never been to Venezuela
But my family was all there
And my mother looked so young

Venezuela looked like Brooklyn
Though the streets were twice as wide
Children spun around the trees
Little tops, little Sufis
Mamas smile from inside

Oh Fernando I’m so sorry
For the love you saved for me
But my heart is locked forever
In another lovely dream

He approached me like a prince
And said he’s loved me all his life
He said he knew that I’d come here
That he’s been waiting all these years
That I’m meant to be his wife

And my sister was so jealous
Of the love you had for me
She left, stomping ‘cross the square
Rigid arms flying hair
Her skirt had many layers and it bounced like Sandra Dee’s

Oh Fernando I’m so sorry
Whatever could I say
To a man I’ve never met
Who’s the one who got away

I cried to see his heart so plainly
For he was such a formal man
Handed to me like a daisy
In the presence of my family
From his damp and shaking hands

I said, Fernando, I can’t stay here
And a clock began to chime
And I opened up my shirt
And in its bony cage
Ticked a paper valentine

Oh Fernando I’m so sorry
For the love you saved for me
But my heart is locked forever
In another lovely dream

Oh Fernando I’m so sorry
Whatever could I say
To a man I’ve never met
Who’s the one who got away

Another black feather

I’m lonely today
But in a good way
I’ve let my heart lead
Without mercy sometimes
I’m faithful to you
And I know I will be
And I’m not always kind, but I’m trying

There’s a zydeco band
In the last sticky light
And I’m dancing with strangers, one after another
And the only thing left
To want from this night
Is you dancing with me as my own sweetest lover

You’re in the city and you’re looking for desert
Then you’re in the desert and you’re wishing for rain
You’re in his arms looking for comfort
He’s given you comfort and you’re wishing for pain

Not another dark waltz
I dream these too often
Out in the back
Digging holes for our dinner
Another brass tack
For the lid of my coffin
Another black feather
For the wings of a sinner

You’re in the city and you’re looking for desert
Then you’re in the desert and you’re wishing for rain
You’re in his arms looking for comfort
He’s given you comfort now you’re begging for pain

Hey next time I see you
Could you act like a stranger and
Kiss me like you don’t know love has a chance
Remember that first time
In my old apartment
Whenever our feet touch the ground
Let ‘em dance

Banks of the edisto

(for gus)

I’ve been lazy
I’ve been overfed
I’ve been thinking
Too much with my head
I was dreaming
About the life you led
On the banks of the Edisto

On the banks of the edisto
Where the sweet gum and the cypress grows
I want to know what the cypress knows
On the banks of the Edisto

Where’d you go
When you died my friend
Do you see us
Did your soul ascend
And I listened
For his answer then
On the banks of the edisto

Heaven’s here where the bard owl cries
Where the smile meets my sweetheart’s eyes
I’ll be right here taming dragonflies
Only heaven I need to know

On the banks of the edisto
Where the sweet gum
And the cypress grows
I want to know what the cypress knows
On the banks of the edisto

I’ve been lazy
I’ve been overfed
I’ve been thinking too much with my head
I’ve been dreaming
About the life you led
On the banks of the edisto

It’s the Day of Atonement, 2001

It’s the Day of Atonement, two thousand one
And I’m sorry for anything I might have done
I’m sorry for everything we’ve left to do
I’m sorry we’re still so confused

Well, I never had faith
So, we’ll never be safe
We never were safe anyway
It’s just that the veil was ripped from our face
On such a beautiful day

Mohammed is pacing
When he isn’t kneeling
Jesus can’t talk
He’s too busy weeping
Yahweh’s a mother
Who sighs at the ceiling
If only they knew how good it could’ve been

It’s the day of atonement two thousand four
Would Jesus be happy we evened the score
You hypocrites, bullies who profit from war
May your gods all spit on your graves

I say all of you gods
Tell your squabbling children
Whatever the color or call
They can all go to hell
If there is such a thing
Go to hell
Have it out
Have a ball

Mohammed is pacing
When he isn’t kneeling
Jesus can’t talk
He’s too busy weeping
Yahweh’s a mother
Who sighs at the ceiling
If only you knew how good it could’ve been

I say all of you gods
Tell your squabbling children
Whatever the color or call
They can all go to hell
If there is such a thing
Go to hell
Have it out
Have a ball

Showdown

Pulled out the big guns
Got my best dress on
Shit, I’d forgotten you were charming
You’re disarming

Been playing too hard
This is a hard town
And all my old gang has broken down, somehow
I miss them all
Though not just now
We say I’m fine, how are you

Showdown

It’s you and me
Got you pinned up against a stark raving skyline
It’s love, yeah love
Just picks me up then lets me down

Pulled out the big guns
Got my new boots on
I’m gonna wear a groove so deep
In your mind that everyone coming after me
Will be moving to my beat

Showdown

We got green lights down 9th avenue
We got an ice cold slice of winter moon
We both got torture guards around our hearts
Mine used to break me down too soon

Showdown
Showdown
Showdown…

Right for me

Hold back the cannons
Call off the guards
How did your eyes get
So mean so fast so hard

Can we do something else
We’ve been here before
Stop dragging me into
The battles of your little wars

I don’t know what you’re going through
What demons you need to set free
I don’t think you’re right in the head
But I think you’re just right for me
You’re just right for me
Baby you’re just right for me

So call me tomorrow
When this storm has passed
When you’re good you love me
Like nobody else ever has

I don’t know what you’re going through
What demons you need to set free
I don’t think you’re right in the head
But I think you’re just right for me
You’re just right for me
Baby you’re just right for me

All Over Again Lyrics

( Dennis Livingston )

Every time I look at you
I fall in love
All over again

Every time I think of you
It all begins
All over again

One little dream at night and I can dream all day
It only takes a memory to thrill me
One little kiss from you and I just fly away
Pour me out your love until you fill me

I wanna fall in love
Beginning from the start
All over again

Show me how you stole away my heart
All over again

One little dream at night and I can dream all day
It only takes a memory to thrill me
One little kiss from you, I just fly away
Pour me out your love until you fill me

I wanna fall in love
Beginning from the start
All over again

Show me how you stole away my heart
All over again

Hope she'll be happier

( Bill Withers )

Maybe the lateness of the hour
Makes me seem lonelier than I am
But in my heart there is a shower
I hope she’ll be happier with him

Maybe the darkness of the hour
Makes me seem lonelier than I am
But over the darkness I have no power
I hope she’ll be happier with him

I can’t believe that you don’t want to see me
We lived and loved with each other so long
I never thought you really would leave me
But you're gone

Maybe the lateness of the hour
Makes me seem lonelier than I am
But in my heart there is a power
Hope she’ll be happier with him

The miracle

Sleep holds
Nothing but
Dreams hold
Nothing but
We’ll never know
We’ll never know
We are
Open
As sky can be
A bird’s eye
A tapped knee
We’re in it now
We’re in it now
We are
Strangers
Come this far
Someday
Even stars
Will leave us
They’ll leave us
We are
Half a work of art
Half smile
Half heart
We’ll never know
We’ll never know
We are

Invocation

Would you even know me
Since I’ve been away
I wake with my eyes closed
And sleep through the day
But I’ll open my heart
And I’ll learn how to pray
If mama you let me come home

I’ve snuck into Eden
In the hours before dawn
I’ve stolen the apples
That dropped on your lawn
My spirit my pride
And my innocence gone
Please mama let me come home

Oh mama let me come home
I’ve strayed far from you
For too little, too long
I know I’ve been hard headed,
Selfish and wrong
Please mama let me come home

I’m shut out of heaven
And decades from hell
I’ve passed out in the shrines
Where the beautiful fell
And I’ve burned down the silo
And poisoned the well
Please mama let me come home

I made back alley deals
That were forged in your name
I was dazzled by gold
And the shimmer of fame
And you knew all the time
But you never complained
Please mama let me come home

Oh mama let me come home
I’ve strayed far from you
For too little, too long
I know I’ve been hard headed,
Selfish and wrong
Please mama let me come home

I’ll do all the dishes
And clean out your shed
I’ll bring you the paper
And coffee in bed
I’ll tell you great stories
Right outta my head
If mama, you let me come home

I’ll be a great sage
Or a fabulous liar
I’ll hammer a truce
Or wage war in your honor
Follow every spark
Rising up from your fire
If mama you let me come home

Oh mama let me come home
I’ve strayed far from you
For too little, too long
I know I’ve been hard headed
Selfish and wrong
Please mama let me come home

Oh mama let me come home
I’ve strayed far from you
For too little, too long
I know I’ve been hard headed
Selfish and wrong
Please mama let me come home
Please mama let me come home

Good in ’62

At the stomp called ponderosa
The old men strut like bandyroos
You had a hit in Louisiana
That spread to Texas in ‘62

You’re squeezed back in your favourite jacket
With sequins sewn on gabardine
Orange flames are licking black
And on the back, your one, true name

You slam one back and you bite the lime
Then you’re gnawing on your guitar in 2/4 time
You had some money in your pockets
And the women were kind
You had it good in ‘62
You must’ve had it good in ‘62

The band is back but minus jimmy
Gone last year, this one’s for you
Coralynn’s in crinolines
She’s looking shy and singing oh

You slam one back and you bite the lime
Then you’re gnawing on your guitar in 2/4 time
You had some money in your pockets
And the women were kind
You had it good in ‘62
You must’ve had it good in ‘62

In the crowd boys slouch in sideburns
Cuban shirts and two toned shoes
The girls in diggers, pencil skirts
Bettie page got fresh tattoos

You slam one back and you bite the lime
Then you’re gnawing on your guitar in 2/4 time
You had some money in your pockets
And the women were kind
You had it good in ‘62
You must’ve had it good in ‘62

I don’t know what you’re selling now
Could be cars or shares or shoes
But you once sold 12,000 records
Back in 1962

You slam one back and you bite the lime
Then you’re gnawing on your guitar in 2/4 time
You had some money in your pockets
And the women were kind
You had it good in ‘62
You must’ve had it good in ‘62
Oh you had it good in ‘62
You must’ve had it good in ‘62

Billboards for Jesus

The local saint’s got a beautiful daughter
You cast your net then you bent and caught her
Now you go follow her back to the water

I was flat on my back in the black of a Carolina river
Your mother’s here, child so whatcha gonna give her
Then a song from above hit the water then it glittered
Past the frontage road out of Disney world
Past the billboards for Jesus and for dancing girls

I like my whiskey neat and my men a little sloppy
In the back seat of my old jalopy
Whatcha gonna do about it poor little puppy

Make your bed in the morning, make your lady happy
With your chest puffed out and your arms all scrappy
Keep your powder dry and your tent flap floppy

Past the good ole boys and the Dallas pearls
Past the billboards for Jesus and for dancing girls

The local saint’s got a beautiful daughter
You cast your net then you bent and caught her
Now you go follow her back to the water

Past the billboards for Jesus and for dancing girls
Past the billboards for Jesus and for dancing girls
Past the billboards for Jesus and for dancing girls
Past the billboards for Jesus and for dancing girls

Are you dancing with her tonight

I’m tired, so tired
I wish that I could get some rest
My baby says that he loves me
But he doesn’t love me the best
My baby says he still loves me
But he doesn’t love me the best

Are you dancing with her tonight
Are you holding her close and tight
Will you make love by candlelight
Like we used to do

Is she thankful for all she has
Is her heart beating hard and fast
Does she think that your love will last
Well, honey, me too

He’s sorry, so sorry
But he’s never coming home
My baby says that he loves me
But he doesn’t love me alone
My baby says that he loves me
But he doesn’t love me alone

Are you dancing with her tonight
Are you holding her close and tight
Will you make love by candlelight
Like we used to do

Is she thankful for all she has
Is her heart beating hard and fast
Does she think that your love will last
Well, honey, me too

Here Comes A Regular

( The Replacements )

Well a person can work up a mean mean thirst
After a hard day of nothing much at all
Summer's passed, it's too late to cut the grass
There ain't much to rake anyway in the fall

And sometimes I just ain't in the mood
To take my place in back with the loudmouths
You're like a picture on the fridge that's never stocked with food
I used to live at home, now I stay at the house

And everybody wants to be special here
They call your name out loud and clear

Here comes a regular
Call out your name
Here comes a regular
Am I the only one here today

Well a drinking buddy that's bound to another town
Once the police made you go away
And even if you're in the arms of someone's baby now
I'll take a great big whiskey to you anyway

Everybody wants to be someone's here
Someone's gonna show up, never fear

Here comes a regular
Call out your name
Here comes a regular
Am I the only one who feels ashamed

Kneeling alongside old Sad Eyes
He says opportunity knocks once then the door slams shut
All I know is I'm sick of everything that my money can buy
The fool who wastes his life, God rest his guts

First the lights, then the collar goes up, and the wind begins to blow
Turn your back on a pay-you-back, last call
First the glass, then the leaves that pass, then comes the snow
Ain't much to rake anyway in the fall

Everybody wants to be special here
They call your name out loud and clear

Here comes a regular
Call out my name
Here comes a regular
Am I the only one here today

Don't Go Down

( Elliott Smith )

I met a girl, a snowball in hell
She was hard and as cracked as the Liberty Bell
I got her to come on and move in with me
And I said I'd find a better place we could spend eternity

Don't go down
Don't go down
Stay with me
Baby, stay

Her mama called me a thief
And her dad called himself commander-in-chief
I fought him off with my love
But I knew the sense of worthlessness she'd have to rise above

Don't go down
Don't go down
Stay with me
Baby, stay

Don't go down
Don't go down
Stay with me
Baby, stay

She had a dream, woke up in shock
She had seen her own body outlined in chalk
I split the scene, the globe had been spun
And her ghost leaned down to kiss me with a message from the sun

Don't go down
Don't go down
Stay with me
Baby, stay

Don't go down
Don't go down
Stay with me
Baby stay

You fine girl

Where you goin’ goin’ you fine girl
Where you goin’ goin’ you fine girl
Going to the mirror
Gonna beg my hair to curl
Where you goin’ goin’ you fine girl

What you doin’ doin’ silly man
What you doin’ doin’ silly man
Think my heart stopped beating
But I’ll do the best I can
What you doin’ doin’, silly man

Where you goin’ goin’ you fine girl
Where you goin’ goin’ you fine girl
Where you think I’m going
Lord, what in the world
Where you goin’ goin’ you fine girl

What you doin’ doin’ silly man
What you doin’ doin’ silly man
Let’s be late for dinner
And miss the opening band
What you doin’ doin’ silly man

Where you goin’ goin’ you fine girl
Where you goin’ goin’ you fine girl
Going to the mirror
Gonna beg my hair to curl
Where you goin’ goin’ you fine girl

Election day

We all got flags, we been dying to fly
We all got a baby that cries and cries
Mine’s been howling since eighty one
When Lennon died and the old man come

The poets wrote, the musicians played
The mothers marched and the atheists prayed
And every door, every wavering brain
Was plain worn down by the youth brigade

Ain’t it good to see somebody knows just where you been
Look at us, we’re screeching monkeys lit up from within
Here’s a toast to every angel sitting on their pins
Good guys sometimes win

The tools of the devil were a beating drum
His holy name and a silver tongue
The poor man’s anger and the rich man’s till
And the elevation of an empty shell

Between the wars and choking trees
Whose song is sung, who’s begging please
Who rang the bell, who made the bed
Disgraced the missing and the dead

Ain’t it good to see somebody knows just where you been
Look at us, we’re screeching monkeys lit up from within
Here’s a toast to every angel sitting on their pins
Good guys sometimes win

We’re all product, we’re all proof
We’re what happened to our youth
How hilarious, how uncouth
We beat back the devil in the voting booth

The poets wrote, the musicians played
The mothers marched and the atheists prayed
And every door, every wavering brain
Was plain worn down by the youth brigade

Ain’t it good to see somebody knows just where you been
Look at us, we’re screeching monkeys lit up from within
Here’s a toast to every angel sitting on their pins
Good guys sometimes win

Sloop John B

( Do It Again: A Tribute To Pet Sounds )

We come on the sloop john b
My grandfather and me
Around Nassau town we did roam
Drinking all night
Got into a fight
Well I feel so broke up
I want to go home

So hoist up the john bs sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the captain ashore
Let me go home, let me go home
I wanna go home, yeah yeah
Well I feel so broke up
I wanna go home

The first mate he got drunk
And broke in the capns trunk
The constable had to come and take him away
Sheriff john stone
Why dont you leave me alone, yeah yeah
Well I feel so broke up I wanna go home

So hoist up the john bs sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the captain ashore
Let me go home, let me go home
I wanna go home, let me go home
Why dont you let me go home
(hoist up the john bs sail)
Hoist up the john b
I feel so broke up I wanna go home
Let me go home

The poor cook he caught the fits
And threw away all my grits
And then he took and he ate up all of my corn
Let me go home
Why dont they let me go home
This is the worst trip Ive ever been on

So hoist up the john bs sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the captain ashore
Let me go home, let me go home
I wanna go home, let me go home
Why dont you let me go home