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1. |
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verse 1
this is not a time to be fighting one another
this is not a time for war
this is our time for us to work together
there is no point in keeping score
verse 2
we cannot afford to be fighting over scraps
of useless, misplaced pieces
we never shall return to watch the fires burn
no more can we afford such caprices
chorus
or we shall be
traveling with empty roadmaps
following a line between two cities
where a highway connected you and me
nobody will remember
the places we have lived
or the people we used to be
bridge
we rode into the canadian sunset
from montreal to the vancouver shore
curling along rivers through the mountains
back then nobody thought of making war
verse 3
this is the time for loving one another
this is a time to give thanks
even if we have little time together
let's not waste it in childish pranks
verse 4
the earth may be scorched but the sky remains blue
and wind blows life into frescos
as long as my eyes see you and your eyes see me
we shall follow wherever the heart goes
repeat chorus
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2. |
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Turn off the television
Close my eyes
Show myself pictures of previous times
Listen to the songs
Of the crickets and birds
Try to do some thinking without words
You heard the door open and close
Don’t look out the window
Nobody is there
Turn around my dear
I’m right behind you
Rockin' in my rockin' chair
Count the bruises
And broken bones
Words that hurt more than the stones
People who left
People who stayed
Debts outstanding and the ones marked paid
You heard the door open and close
Don’t look out the window
Nobody is there
Turn around my dear
I’m right behind you
Rockin' in my rockin' chair
The sun and the moon
Pass through clouds
Parties ‘til dawn, music too loud
Punches hard
Kisses soft
Drinks all around when the gloves come off
You heard the door open and close
Don’t look out the window
Nobody is there
Turn around my dear
I’m right behind you
Rockin' in my rockin' chair
Forgotten faces
Remembered names
In the end
It's all the same
What was here
Is no longer there
I keep on rockin'
In my rockin' chair
You heard the door open and close
Don’t look out the window
Nobody is there
Turn around my dear
I’m right behind you
Rockin' in my rockin' chair
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3. |
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Liquid steel
through my vein
pushes air
into my brain
It's not enough
i need a flood
to put more red cells
in my blood
(Chorus)
Nothing works
i'm not okay,
what is wrong
with me today?
Don't open me
i'm not a box
im like a pair
of dirty socks
Lying on
a bathroom floor
somewhere south
of Baltimore
Nothing works...
My arms are frozen
in a cramp
my head is hot
my chest is dam
I try to rise
up
from my bed
but only god
can raise the dead
Nothing works...
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4. |
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chorus
ring the bell ring the bell
C’mon now ring that bell
i fail most severely
on the ground where i excel
Verse 1
i remember you said
i was the one
whose light did hide inside
from the light of the sun
i whispered low
that you are surely right
and i praised the way
you shone your shining light
Chorus
ring the bell ring the bell
C’mon now ring that bell
i fail most severely
on the ground where i excel
Chorus
ring the bell ring the bell
i fail most severely
on the ground where i excel
Verse 2
I know you loved the neon
spiked applause
and you loved you the fortune
and the fame
to great effect
but little cause
your life
was in your name
Verse 3
while i trembled lonely
in the dark
i left no inprint
on the rock
now i’m sleeping sound
and I know all is well
but when i wake
i will ring the bell
Chorus
ring the bell ring the bell
i fail most severely
on the ground where i excel
ring the bell ring the bell
when i wake, all will be well
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5. |
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Karen, My Heart Aches for You
verse 1
my life is empty
my children grown
and my wife despises me
old friends falling
with each gust of wind
like leaves from a tree
chorus
karen, my heart aches for you
and for our carefree days
i never told you how i loved you
though i loved you in every way
verse 2
i dream of returning
to places where
we harmonized
but you have left
those places
and god help me, so have i
chorus
karen, my heart aches for you
and for our carefree days
i never told you how i loved you
though i loved you in every way
bridge
each time a magician
flicks his wrist
it becomes clear
that i no longer exist
chorus
karen, my heart aches for you
and for our carefree days
i never told you how i loved you
though i loved you in every way
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6. |
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Any Dress She Likes
verse 1
she can wear any dress she likes
but there is only one she has
the boys in the snow are singing christmas songs
but she listens only to jazz
chorus
she has the world on a string
the devil by the tail
she can wear any dress she wants
but she will never catch the whale
verse 2
she can bathe in the bouquet of a varied essence
but may wear only one perfume
and the staircase of heaven crosses many mansions
but she returns always to the same room
bridge
her blouse is too tight
her pants never fit
dresses are the only thing
she feels comfortable in
chorus
she has the world on a string
the devil by the tail
she can wear any dress she wants
but she will never catch the whale
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7. |
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Road Trippin'
2022 Road Trippin'
2022 Georgie Cooper & Bill White
Hitchin in '76 out of Pittsburgh
Got a ride in a vagabond van
A full tank of gasoline
And six cases of empty beer cans
Road trippin'
In the back of a van
I didn’t respond
When he took my hand
Asked where I was
On this sunny day
And why I was
So far away
Road Trippin'
Road Trippin'
I didn't know where they were headed
As long as it was someplace far
In those days I wasn't afraid
To get into a stranger's car
Road trippin'
In the back of a van
I didn’t respond
When he took my hand
Asked where I was
On this sunny day
And why I was
So far away
Road Trippin'
Road Trippin'
I suppose I was asked along
As a spare girl for the extra guy
But I was young to know the score
I just went along for the ride
Road trippin'
In the back of a van
I didn’t respond
When he took my hand
Asked where I was
On this sunny day
And why I was
So far away
Road Trippin'
Road Trippin'
Road Trippin'
Road Trippin'
Hitchin in '76 out of Pittsburgh
Got a ride in a vagabond van
A full tank of gasoline
And six cases of empty beer cans
Road trippin'
In the back of a van
I didn’t respond
When he took my hand
Asked where I was
On this sunny day
And why I was
So far away
Road Trippin'
Road Trippin'
I didn't know where they were headed
As long as it was someplace far
In those days I wasn't afraid
To get into a stranger's car
Road trippin'
In the back of a van
I didn’t respond
When he took my hand
Asked where I was
On this sunny day
And why I was
So far away
Road Trippin'
Road Trippin'
I suppose I was asked along
As a spare girl for the extra guy
But I was young to know the score
I just went along for the ride
Road trippin'
In the back of a van
I didn’t respond
When he took my hand
Asked where I was
On this sunny day
And why I was
So far away
Road Trippin'
Road Trippin'
Road Trippin'
Road Trippin'
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8. |
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I COULD NEVER LOVE YOU
Verse 1
you can leave a bag of money on my doorstep
or plant black roses in the dirt
sew up the bullet holes in my jacket
and wash out all the blood stains from my shirt
Chorus
but i could never love you
i dont even like you
get as far away from me as you can
find another load that you can carry
give somebody else your helping hand
Verse 2
you bring me pizza while i work the overnight shift
and bourbon while i mop the morning floors
you fill my gas tank to the top with unleaded
and pick the flies from the spider webs on my screen door
Chorus
but i could never love you
i dont even like you
get as far away from me as you can
find another load that you can carry
give somebody else your helping hand
Bridge
you tell me you are honest
you tell me you are fair
but i'd rather scale the walls of death
than run my fingers through your venomous hair
Verse 3
still you can slip a pistol deep into my jacket
and perjure yourself in court if i am caught
but i will never turn my eyes in your direction
or water the flowers that you brought
Chorus
because i could never love you
i dont even like you
get as far away from me as you can
find another load that you can carry
give somebody else your helping hand
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9. |
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we did as we were told
pouring ouselves into their mold
and climbed the liquid ladder
through the clutter and the clatter
grabbing at the passing ring
but they never intended
to cut us in on anything
they revised our stories
and redacted all our songs
it never was an issue
of the right against the wrong
they tore down our houses
and wiped the city clean
and never intended
to cut us in on anything
when our movements were restricted
they bombed the streets we used to walk
demolishing bars and coffeeshops
where once we danced and talked
miles of empty towers
operated by machines
never was it their intention
to cut us in on anything
we did as we were told
pouring ouselves into their mold
and climbed the liquid ladder
through the clutter and the clatter
grabbing at the passing ring
but they never intended
to cut us in on anything
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10. |
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my name is gerald galpin
i married a flapper in the wild and roaring twenties
she gave me a daughter and i named her after me
Little Gerri
she was my tinkerbell
but her mother was in a class below me
so i had her committed to the mad house
i was an officer on the enterprise
and I fought the japs in world war two
then I remarried and I sired a worthy brood
Little Gerri
was accepted by her new family
and she loved her elegant cousins
but when the war ended
Gerri married a gunner from my ship
so i cut off the flow of the family chips
living on hot dogs and sleeping in the park
Little Gerri was married to a drunkard who beat her
When the jap bounded him in the battle of the midway
and we lay in the dark
i divorced my second wife and I married my secretary
who gave me twins and a blind son
they are all successful now and my time is done
Little Gerri
never knew that her mother lived to an old age
in the mad house just 12 miles north of the home
where Little Gerri raised five kids alone
And in the mad house the mother knows
Little Gerri never knew Mommy was
just 12miles from her home
Little Gerri never knew her Mommy was
just 12miles from home
Until the day she died
Little Gerri never knew
Little Gerri never knew
Little Gerri
Little Gerri never knew
Little Gerri never knew
Little Gerri never knew
Little Gerri never knew
Little Gerri never knew
Little Gerri never knew
Little Gerri never knew
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11. |
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STREET CORNER ANGEL (Kate Stanton)
(for jeanne towne)
it was long long ago
when the city was young
on every street corner
our stories were sung
some grew in the sunshine
some died in the shade
and under an awning
a blind girl on the autoharp played
street corner angel
pinpoints of light
stars telling stories
on frescos of night
strumming serenely
in a state of grace
cradling an autoharp
against her face
her blind eyes are fixed
on some heavenly isle
when you stop to listen
she breaks into a smile
she stands still as a statue
transfixed in a glow
the song comes to a end
and she whispers. "hello"
street corner angel
pinpoints of light
stars telling stories
on frescos of nights
strumming serenely
in a state of grace
cradling an autoharp
against her face
one night you see her
crossing town on a bus
you sit down beside her
in a bonding of trust
her effusions were honest
her words were austere
and that moment in time
remains vivid and clear
street corner angel
pinpoints of light
stars telling stories
on frescos of night
strumming serenely
in a state of grace
cradling an autoharp
against her face
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released February 25, 2022
