The Ditty bops

Walk or Ride

With just one kiss you could change the world
It might not be much better but it certainly couldn't hurt
When you stomp your feet you aren't hurting me
But you're always killing something just by living on the Earth

So who you supposed to listen to when you're looking for something to do
And all the voices shut you up
Someone put a brick in your coffee cup
When you're trying to decide whether to walk or to ride
Take the easy way you know that you want to

I saw an educated girl give her hair a twirl
And contemplate the meaning of a man with just one arm
She's not a genius or a dunce, but it makes no difference
For at any moment we might find ourselves a charm

But I'm feeling quite confused by the people who refuse
A simple way of life that don't make you the loser
They say we won't make it far unless drive there in a car
But we'll be there with time to spare and find our own way home

You might find the meaning of life in the barrel of a rifle
Whether it's pointed at a bird or if it's pointed at your head
But me, I'd rather plant a tree that grows up tall for all to see
Until I need a pencil, then I'll chop it to the ground

At night falling down, will it make a sound
Should I even wonder what it'd say
It's so hard to change yourself to tell someone else
That everything is going to be okay

Wishful Thinking

Why does blood turn brown when it dries
Why do the tears well up in your eyes
Why didn't I learn to ride my bike
When it was warm and sunny outside

Why can't little kids tie their shoes
Why can't the white people play the blues
Why can't I fall in love with you
It must be because of the seasons

When the leaves start falling from the trees
When the birds start flirting with the bees
When the wind starts blowing from the East to the West
Maybe you'll be the one that I like best

Clouds start forming I can't complain
'Cause I think we might be in need of some rain
When it starts pouring
Don't hide away without me

I bought an umbrella big enough for two
But it feels pretty empty under here without you
Dry as a bone but I'm still alone
I'm so grey

When you're standing in a puddle with wet feet
And your head is sore from pounding drops of sleet
When the cold and lonely hours put your heart to the test
Maybe I'll be the one that you like best

If the sky can open its eyes
And cry from up above
Let's shed some tears of joy
And fall in love

Ohh La La

What among the lovers
What twang of temptation
What brought the house down
Strange sleepwalkers on the block
Unfamiliar writing on the ceiling
When she looks up

Momma buried pop atop the roof where he slept
One leg on each side of pointed shingles
Latest tests prove that she's happier with more
The oyster is open for any to pearl

Still she's got three different lullabies to sing
These fruited images are delicacies

Was it the fighting was it the fist
Was it adventure with a jealous twist
Was it desire for another's kiss
What brought the house down

Turmoil and passion such wondrous things
What they called Summer lovers happening in Spring
Who's dreaming of who tonight
Who'll be walking by your side
At the dawning's first light

Do all he can to save a soon to be dead past
Give it all up to find a new way that will last

Was she wrong to hold his heart another person's hand
The grass is always greener 'til it's covered up with sand
Was it other things
Fate, felicity
What rousing temptation

She knew that love could swell without barricades
Standards must be broken even these
Now she has three different lullabies to sing
These fruited images lead her to sleep

Was it the fighting was it the fist
Was it adventure with a jealous twist
Was it desire for another's kiss
What brought the house down

Sister Kate

If I could shake it like my sister Kate
Shake it like a bowl of jelly on a plate
My momma wanted to know last night
How sister Kate could do it oh so nice
Now all the boys in the neighborhood
Katie could shimmy ass mighty good
Now It may be late but I'll be up to date
When I can shimmy like my sister Kate
Oh yeah, shake it like my sister Kate

If I could shimmy like my sister Kate
I'd never stay home, stay out too late
I'd get myself about as high as a kite
You know I'd do it for you every night
Now all the boys in the neighborhood
Katie could shimmy ass mighty good
Now I may be late but I'll be up to date
When I can shimmy like my sister Kate
Oh yeah, shake it like my sister Kate

If I could shake it like my sister Kate
Shake it like a bowl of jelly on a plate
My momma wanted to know last night
How sister Kate could do it oh so nice
Now all the boys in the neighborhood
Katie could shimmy ass mighty good
Now It may be late but I'll be up to date
When I can shimmy like my sister Kate
Oh yeah, shake it like my sister Kate
That's right
Shimmy like my sister Kate

Breeze Black Night

Breeze of the black night blows
Orange light on the white porch glows
Dried up mucus in my nose
That's how come I know

Falling leaves hit the ground
Silent still without much sound
Rustle rustle crackle pound
Pound pound pounding
Distant TV noise it's drowning

Heart beat softly in my head
Persistent thoughts make my cool cheeks red

Sleepy eyes half awake
In the morning shovel rake
In the evening hearts will ache
Still I'm sleepy
Heart it aches

Gentle Sheep

Clock in you’re at work but you’re not working so hard
Checking messages ten times a day ensuring you’re not bored
Talking on someone else’s dime
Put a quarter in the pay phone don’t keep them waiting on the line

Rushing through time just to find myself
Asking someone in the future if they’d save me a space
Cause the line’s getting longer with every hour
People forget why they’re waiting
The mood’s turning sour

I don’t want to go to school tomorrow
Stay up late watching TV
Eat a midnight snack I’ll pretend it’s Friday
Complacent as I’ll ever be

See those gentle sheep following a path to who knows where
Chewing on the grass so plentiful the wool is growing thicker
But the grass is made of plastic and there’s plastic on the grass
A mechanical lady with her garden hose waters the cement

Where’s my mystical pan who plays on his flute
Dancing entrancing those who choose to hear his tune
There’ll be a man who comes out of hiding
He’ll be the one who forces you to decide

Why can’t I just believe just believe
I can move my feet
Pondering is a step beyond wondering
Complacent as I’ll ever be

Pale Yellow

Pale yellow scratching at my ear
Pale yellow touching to my rear

Forever tangled, forever mustard
Forever my first word's beer
Forever yellow, wonder if I'll muster
Anything other than fear

Pale yellow, wanting something clear
Pale yellow, daunting task cannot be that near

Forever leering, forever dashing
Forever looking to peers
Forever hollow, that's worse than yellow
Piss is the color of tears
This is the color of tears

Running scared
Running scared

Pale yellow holding on
Brace myself to stand
Tell myself it is okay
Taking my own hand

Forever peering into the water
Returning back to the sea
Under the sea foam
Where I have come from
Breathing freely

Forever yellow, forever yellow

Four Left Feet

Be swift make noise
No nonsense makes no sense at all
Forget what you don’t know

You said it I heard it
I even listened I finally learned
Sharing and taking turns

Now it’s our chance, we’ll feel complete
I’ll ask you to dance and if you’ll agree
It’s me and you
That makes two with four left feet

Floating on tip toes no tulips beneath us
Just a cactus or two
I can’t feel a thing

Like a puzzle with pieces that don’t fit together
We used glue
And the picture dried clear

Now it’s our chance we’ll feel complete
I’ll ask you to dance and if you’ll agree
It’s me and you
That makes two with four left feet

Sell ourselves tall even though we look small
And dance with our four left feet

There's A Girl

There’s a girl that you might know
She’s a friend at least I tell you so
But it might surprise you to find
There’s something going on behind the door

When I’m asleep it gives me time to think
Thoughts that I wouldn’t dare speak aloud
I couldn’t bare myself before a crowd

I bide my time while biting my tongue
Hold closed my mouth so song is unsung
Get to the meat of things already
With buried secrets the ground is heavy

That’s just the way things used to be

There’s a girl who’s close to me
Close than you’d like to think
Dig up all the dirt you see
There’s always more than underneath

I bide my time while biting my tongue
Hold closed my mouth so song is unsung
Get to the meat of things already
With buried secrets the ground is heavy

That’s just the way things used to be

Unfortunate Few

Oh you unfortunate few
Nobody’s listening to me
It came at a time when I just started
To say something interesting

Bubbling thoughts I’ve been thinking a lot
But I don’t write them down with a smile
More of a frown as I’m looking down
No pen in my pocket no pockets to fill

Far too long ago my chances were slim
I’m knocking the door but they won’t let me in
Configuring why takes the whimsy from whim
You’re all blocking the door won’t you please let me in

Oh you unfortunate few
Stuck in your special space
I’m here on my own though I’m not alone
It feels like a miserable place

At first you remember but then you forget
And once I’m forgotten you can’t get me back
I’m knocking the door but nobody hears
I’m banging it down won’t you answer it please

And nobody’s asking for more
Nobody’s looking for anything
Nobody wants me to say a thing
Nobody misses the missing

Ascend or Descend
Upon a plot with the same ending
My timing’s no good
But it saves me from troubles ahead

But you might not be figured with eyes
Might not be figured with ears
Might not be something to figure at all
Until you are actually here

I’ve gone back on my words which constantly change
I believe what I mean at the time that I say them
I’m climbing a wall of infinite height
I couldn’t go through, though I try as I might

They’re telling me fictional distractions
Fictional stories
I have heard enough of these
Is anybody missing me

Short Stacks

I am treading on cow pile mountains
Before you answer my call
Lounging at breakfast a recoiled monster
With tied mouth somehow telling all

Before it breaks before you've listened
Short stacks are sitting high
Lips are dry maybe you're guessing why

Don't mean to make you sick
It just works out that way
You say it's walnut bread
We know it's what I say

Friends do tell me it's best to say little
The less you put out the less that's gone
But sitting here lazing the smaller I feel
'Cause I expand when I let on

My love for you is not like friendship
Can you tell from my brave toned words
This timid girl likes very much your hand

Wake Up

Wake up and smell the coffee
Rise and shine
The early bird gets the worm
Strike while the iron's hot
And whistle while you work

Stay on the trail
Keep your hands and arms inside the train
Don't stray
Watch your step
And wipe your feet
Draw inside the lines

What if you didn't know where the bad side of town was
Where would you wander to
So many places from which to choose
Would you let yourself be

Don't cause a scene
Mind your manners
Speak only if spoken to
You know what you are not to do
Watch and learn

What if you never were short for time
All meetings cancelled, clocks stopped at nine
Without alarms the silence beams
Invited to be

What if you never heard a word they say
And up were down and night were day
I bet you'd have a lot more time to play
If you'd let yourself go

Breath deep
Speak out
Make up your mind
Be brave
Follow your dreams
Listen to you heart
Close your eyes
Make a wish

Moon over the freeway

Moon Over The Freeway

Moon over the freeway catch us as we ride
We just left the city, left it far behind
Silhouettes of palm trees, airplanes cross the moon
Living in the moment of the girl who left too soon
It's warm, my favorite song comes on
Let's roll the windows down and drive
It feels like summer is a comin' round the corner
Here she comes, here she comes
Brings us shells that listen to what we have to say
Blows us summer kisses as she turns and walks away

There she goes, there she goes
Drive right on, the night is young

We could drive on and on forever as the hours slip on by
They slip like perfect fitting sweaters
Over shoulders cold from shortened days and wintry nights
Left me in September, I thought that she was gone
Invited her to come again, so she could tag along
Barefoot on the pavement
Warm against our feet
Houses filled with music
As we drift through lonely streets

Angel With An Attitude

Contrary to popular opinion
The very best things in life are for free
Through a practice that I call donation
I get the things I want quite easily

I got a chip on my shoulder
And a halo on my head
I'm an angel with an attitude
And my favorite color's red
I got god on my side
Who's that, hell, I don't know
But I practice my religion
While I'm stepping on your toes
Goodness knows
I gave more than I took
Goodness knows
I ain't no saint I ain't no crook

Looking hard, yeah you busy bee
For a simple word you charge a simple fee
It's a little too late for too little
But it's never too late for a lot
It's a little too late for too little
But it's never too late to take 'em for what they got

Feed the world a giant crust of bread
Bake a cake and give it to 'em when they're dead
Well I'll take that cake and I will eat it too
I'll get more than I need so I can share the rest with you

Fall Awake

Critical eyes are gazing
Fat cows are grazing
My eyes are glazing
How can you see straight with all the lies

I'm too young
You think you're old
Why don't you just hold me cold
I don't like it when you talk about yourself like that
It changes the way that I feel

There'll be no bad dreams
When you're lying next to me
I don't care about the rules
We only answer to ourselves
Answer to ourselves

Why does my sleep tell me of lies
Waking life full of rotten surprise
Why do all the strangers care
Who knows who is there
If you are here and I am where
Trapped in the cell of your own brain
Blood is scarcely moving through your shriveled veins
Don't let yourself pass you by
It can happen in the blink of an eye

There'll be no bad dreams
When you're lying next to me
I don't care about the rules
We only answer to ourselves
Until we fall awake

I feel old now you seem young
I spent too much time out in the sun
I got a wrinkle to show for every day
Give 'em back to me again
I'll spend them the same

Aluminum Can

Crush me down
An aluminum can
Poke me with a fork and half baked yam
Toss me in the frying pan
I would never bite the hand
If I could be sure the hand that feeds me

Feeding frenzy on prescription words
Swallowing the silence that returns
Falling in footsteps petrified by time
Under madness are familiar faces

Chorus:
And you are just a semblance of before
Following the dust and calling it more
These are the seeds
That beseech the leaves for cover

Hiking canyons where people have fallen
These are places where some learn to fly
Breaking escaping molds that are growing
Stepping over cutting off the ties

Fish To Fry

Hey there little man
Get out of my fryin' pan
I got bigger fish to fry than you

It's high time you listen to me
I choose my battles carefully
So get out of here son
Let me show you the door
You'll be in trouble then
If by the time I count to four
One two three four

You been messin' with my mind
To waste my time is most unkind
I got better things to do
Than to play these pointless games with you

Get down off that horse
Before I knock you off
Put away your big guns
You're acting out of fear
But I'm not scared of you
On the way out watch your rear
One two three four

Hey there little man
Get out of my fryin' pan
I got bigger fish to fry than you
You been talkin' off my ear
This is the end but you're still here
Out of here son
Let me show you the door
You'll be in trouble then
If by the time I count to four
One two three four

In The Meantime

Cat in the upstairs window
Staring down at me
Life seems to have a purpose
When you're wandering aimlessly
In the meantime
What am I missing
I'm missing out
In the meantime
I will be living
There is no meantime
There is only now

Is there something I'm supposed to be doing
If there is I just don't know
Tell me so that I can disobey
The rules were meant to bend and change
If we're not so tight
We won't break when we fall

Waiting around all day
They didn't make the play
Don't get mad you'll only get madder
It's hard to get even when things don't matter
Stop the tape playing
Mundane chatter and leave

In between the place you thought
You'd be and where you are
Check my pulse if I'm living
Fine time to be alive
Feel the breeze, touch the water
I'll feel better
There's no way I'd rather pass the time
Wandering aimlessly

It’s A Shame

The hammock that's swinging
Is bringing the good life perspective
Sipping canned air in the shade
Of an apartment that's built to break

Did you forget
The moment you left
Feeling as wise as a sage
Throwing your ward across the page

Lucky, so lucky to be here
To get there, remember where you come from, you're going to
And it figures to me
It's a shame
I don't like it

Sum up the parts
Counted so high
Ten fingers down to ten toes
That's about as high as it goes
Teachers that teach incomplete
Sentences running on and on and on and on
Didn't they teach you a thing

Lucky, so lucky to be here
To get there, remember where you come from, you're going to
And it figures to me
It's a shame
I don't like it

Waking Up In The City

Waking up in the city
What are we gonna do
Take a picture to the park
Sing songs about the moon
I will bring the frisbee
I will bring the dog
We'll frolic in the pesticided grass beneath the smog
Don't gotta worry 'bout bee stings
Don't gotta worry 'bout ants
Now's the time to take off our shoes
And dance that cartoon dance
In the afternoon time
We will stroll downtown
Past messengers on bicycles
And men dressed up in gowns
If we should get tired, let's just take the bus
I hope that it's not crowded so we can sit up front
I can't even see them scrape the sky
Blurring the fashions whizzing by

Sun gets down in the evening
Lights start flashing on
The city swells with energy
The nightlife has begun
Kustle and bustle
So many sites to see
Endless excitement
Keeps me up 'till three
Don't wanna go to the movies
Who wants to sit inside
I didn't get on the guest list
Don't want to wait in line

Let's go eat pierogis at my favorite cafe
The waitress are grumpy and
Their English ain't so great
We'll talk ourselves in circles
Til the pancakes are all gone
Today's become tomorrow
I can see the pink of dawn
Oh, I'm getting tired, I'm oh so tired
I think it's time to retire
Time for bed
To rest my sleepy head

Growing Upside Down

Can't escape a past
That wasn't ever lived
All beginnings ended
Come back to start again
And the people seem to falter
As they watch you fall asunder
Eyes are open and filled with wonder

I'm growing upside down
Wisdom doesn't follow
Just because you've aged
Add a pinch of cinnamon
It will make you sage

There will be an hour
When we'll meet again
Maybe I won't recognize
You in different skin
I can hear you whispering
Beneath the din it reels me in

Just as the summer melts winter ice
Temptations come to tempt you twice
You spent too many of you're younger days
Wishing you weren't virgin to her ways

I'm growing upside down
Wisdom doesn't follow
Just because you've aged
Add a pinch of cinnamon
It will make you sage

Get Up ’N’ Go

Takin' it fast takin it slow
Don't take it at all just get up and go
Come on let's go

Tired of sittin' around the house
Stand right up
Move on out
Let's go
Let's go already let's go

You won't need this
You won't need
Don't need your purse
Just leave your hat
Stop stallin' dear
We're travelin' far
If you wanna look back
There's a mirror in the car

There's no need to procrastinate
Hesitation only makes you late
Come on let's go
What are we realling rushing for
Don't ask me that get out the door
Let's go
Let's go oh baby let's go
Do whatever it will take to get up
And get out of here
You could rot sitting forever
Waiting for the coast to clear
Who needs plan A when you got plan B
And if that don't work then you got plan C
Let's take the road but not on track
Prettiest trails are off the patch
Let's go

Bye Bye Love

Bye bye love
Bye bye happiness
Hello loneliness
I feel like I could cry
Bye bye my love goodbye

There goes my baby
With someone new
She sure looks happy
I sure feel blue
She was my baby
'till he stepped in
Goodbye to romance
That might've been

Bye bye love
Bye bye happiness
Hello loneliness
I feel like I could cry
Bye bye my love goodbye

I'm through with romance
I'm through with love
I'm through with counting the stars
And here's the reason
That I'm so free
My lovin' baby is through with me

Bye bye love
Bye bye happiness
Hello loneliness
I feel like I could cry
Bye bye my love goodbye

Nosy Neighbor

Listen to the sound bites of your neighbors
Through the paper thin walls
Making variations on their stories
Told with southern drawls

Look into the dustbin
Pick through rubbish
Finding clues to bare
Ponder their discussion
Noshed oh muffins
Torn up papers spared

If you value your own skin
Stop yourself from listening in

Lovelorn letters
Tarred and feathered
We are on display
Private lives
Have all been scattered
Mysteries gone away

Following traces for disgraces
You have crossed the line
Walking in shadows searching
Secret places it's a sign
You've got ears but so have I
Listen close as you walk by

Sticking your ears
Into affairs of others has a price
The stakes are higher than you think
It's time to roll the dice
Won't be so lucky this time around
You'll disappear not a trace to be found

Your Head’s Too Big

Your head's too big
It's taking up too much room
Your head's too big
It grows like a balloon
And it just might float away
And if you're unluckier than that
Someone such as myself might come along
And it just might pop
It was an accident...it just popped

Your head's too big
It's taking up too much room
It's filling with hot air
You're making your own self swoon
You're in love with yourself

Your head's so big and tall
How is it then your thoughts are small
Your head's so big and tall
You found yourself and lost us all

Your head's too big
It's taking up all the room
It's broken through the atmosphere
You're rubbing elbows with the moon

Non Albums Tracks

Dead And Gone

( Live / Unreleased B-Side )

Run over there
Run over here
Sprit ( ? ) like a chicken
That knows death is near

Well I don't run
I just hide
You sat and watched me while I cried
And you told me that your hands were tied

Well I can't even look you in the eye
And I don't think I need to tell you why

Well maybe I'll just tell you in a song
Sing it for all those you've done wrong

Don't you even try to hold my hand
I don't want you, nobody wants you
Everybody wants you - gone!

There's a mountain
In my way
You put in there
I let it stay
But now I'm taking it down
Tear that mountain right down to the ground

Throw it all
To the wind
All that stuff
That's filling in
The family crypt

No one's gonna put you in your place
No one wants to tell it to your face
Well maybe I'll just tell you in a song
Sing it for all those you've done wrong

Don't expect you would understand
I don't want you, nobody wants you
Everybody wants you - gone!

Winking eye
Bat a lash
Spank me
Pat me on the ass
I guess I'll be the flirt today

Who knows what tomorrow holds
Slap my face
Punch my nose
You've lost all self control

Well I don't like to talk behind your back
Since you never turn around
It's been hard eyes (?)

Well maybe I'll just ask you in a song
Has this whole world done you wrong
Your history is no excuse
For treating me this way

Your apple's only bruised
Not rotten to the core
So let me take a bite
Before we're dead and gone
Before we're dead and gone!

*** Thanx a lot to glass _slipper for this one ***

Lonesome Town

( Ricky Nelson )

There's a place where lovers go
To cry their troubles away
And they call it Lonesome Town
Where the broken hearts stay
[Lonesome town]

You can buy a dream or two,
To last you all through the years
And the only price you pay
Is a heart full of tears
[Full of tears]

Goin' down to lonesome town,
Where the broken hearts stay,
Goin' down to lonesome town
To cry my troubles away.

In the town of broken dreams,
The streets are filled with regret,
Maybe down in lonesome town,
I can learn to forget.
[To forget]

Maybe down in lonesome town,
I can learn to forget,
[Lonesome town]

*** Thanx a lot to glass _slipper for this one ***

Shine On Harvest Moon

( Ink Spots )

Shine on, shine on harvest moon up in the sky
I ain't had no lovin' since January, February, June, or July
Snow time ain't no time to sit outdoors and spoon
Shine on, shine on harvest moon for me 'n' my gal

C'mon, shine on harvest moon way up there in the sky.
Don't you know I ain't had no lovin' since January, February, June, and July
Now, look at here don't you know better than to set out there in the snow 'n' spoon
C'mon, I don't want no half moon, I want a full moon.

Oh, won't you shine on, shine on harvest moon (shine on, shine on)
Up in the sky? (shine on)
I ain't had no lovin' since January, February, June, or July
(ah-ooba, ah-ooba, ah-ooba , ah-ooh)
Don't you know you're gonna freeze to death
Settin' out there in the snow tryin' to spoon?
So shine on, shine on harvest moon for me 'n' my gal

Yeah!!

*** Thanx a lot to glass _slipper for this one ***

Sleep Come Home and Take Me

( The Boswell Sisters, live )

Sleep come home and take me
Until my love comes home
Sleep don't you forsake me
'cause I'm so all alone

All the time I'm by my own self
And my heart keeps company
Can't you see I'm sad and lonesome
For the one to accompany

Sleep come home and take me
Until my love comes home

Old man sleep
For every lover
You paint a new tomorrow

Old man sleep
Can't you discover
A way to chase away my sorrow
Please don't wait until tomorrow

Sleep listen to me
Why don't you come and take me
Until my love comes home

Sleep listen to me
Now please don't forsake me
I'm so all alone

All the time I'm by my own self
My hearts bugging (?) me
Can't you see I'm sad and lonesome
For the one to accompany

La, la
Sleep listen to me
Why don't you come and take me
Until my love comes home

All alone, 'till my love comes home

*** Thanx a lot to glass _slipper for this one ***

Stand By Your Man

( Tammy Wynette )

Sometimes its hard to be a woman
Giving all your love to just one man
You'll have bad times
And he'll have good times
Doing things that you don't understand

Stand by your man
Give him two arms to cling to
And something warm to come to
When nights are cold and lonely
Stand by your man
And tell the world you love him
Keep giving all the love you can
Stand by your man

But if you love him you'll forgive him
Even though he's hard to understand
And if you love him
Oh be proud of him
Cause after all he's just a man

Stand by your man
Give him two arms to cling to
And something warm to come to
When nights are cold and lonely
Stand by your man
And tell the world you love him
Keep giving all the love you can
Stand by your man

Stand by your man
And show the world you love him
Keep giving all the love you can
Stand by your man

*** Thanx a lot to glass _slipper for this one ***