I Will Sing You Songs

[jonjon]

My fav set of lyrics from the group Living Colour:

I'm standing at the altar
As they play the wedding march
I'm in a black tuxedo with my collar full of starch
She looks as lovely as she's ever gonna get
I wake up from this nightmare in a pool of sweat

The song is Love Rears It's Ugly Head.
Just too funny to me.

[ratsprayer]

influenced by the parents thread:

So sad, so sad, the news come our way this morning
Like a bad dream, a dream you never even talk about
In a school, a school, where they send our precious children
The one place of innocence the world might ever let them know
And barely aware of the odds against existence in the first place
Of love and fertility, of risk of a baby being born
And of food and clothes and fear and maybe relocation
Of sickness, recovery, of music lessons, painting the garage
And lingering over eggs and thoughts and sleepy conversations
And plans for the weekend, and one last pause to pet the dog
And a glance at the clock and the grabbing of the sandwich and the notebook
Confident of nothing but the unbroken days that they've been granted

But comes a child, a child so full of anger and hatred
Barely aware of the genesis coursing through his veins
With a gun, a gun, deaf and blind deliverer of madness
Skilled in its efficiency beyond his own unformulated brain
And with his hand in a fist, and his soul in a knot and his heart racing
And his mind sick with images, his slim shoulders finally feeling tall
And his fellow creatures, school kids in their crushes and their daydreams
Struggling to unwrap the ancient secrets of geometry
And he pulls from his coat the instrument to shatter all forevers
In a random blaze of insides and blood and endless now
And boom and flash and more and not even when it's over
Can any of them so much as summon up the sanity to scream
And on the floor his classmates blown down, and choking
As he lays his weapon on his desk, partly sure he isn't dreaming

And all the world descends, and offers up their condolence
And offers up their theories what went wrong and who and why and when and how
It's all the killing day and night on television
It's all the movies where violence is as natural as breathing
It's guns and bullets as easily obtainable as candy
It's video games where you kill and begin to think it's real
It's people not having God in their lives anymore
Or it's all of it, or none of it, or some of it, in various combinations
Now all these theories, sound pretty logical I guess
Though I ain't no scientist, I ain't no dissector of statistics
I ain't no theologist, I ain't no psychologist or biologist
All I can do is offer up a prayer of my own

Talk to your kids, play with your kids
Tell them your dreams, and your disappointments
Listen with your kids, and listen to your kids
Watch your kids, let your kids watch you
Tell your kids the truth, best as you can tell it
No use telling lies, your kids can always smell it
Cook for your kids, let your kids cook for you
Sing with your kids, teach your kids the blues
Learn their games, teach them yours
Touch your kids, find out what they know
Be sad with your kids, be stupid with your kids
Embarrass your kids, let them embarrass you
Be strong with your kids, be tough with your kids
Be firm with your kids, say no to your kids,
Say yes to your kids, take it easy on your kids
You were a kid not so long ago
There's things you know, your kids will never know
There's places they live where you will never go
So dance with your kids, paint with your kids
Walk with your kids, tell stories to your kids
One day your kids, won't be kids
And maybe they'll have kids of their own
Lets hope they talk to their kids, play with their kids
Tell them their dreams, and their disappointments....

[EC]

Man.  I really like the lingering over the eggs bit.

ratsprayer, I wish you would post who wrote these songs... :)

[ratsprayer]

Man.  I really like the lingering over the eggs bit.

ratsprayer, I wish you would post who wrote these songs... :)

oh sorry, his name is dan bern, all three of them.  in order, theyre
1 - Talkin' Al Kida Blues
2 - True Revolutionaries
3 - Kids Prayer

hes on the same level for me as MMJ, that good IMO.  ive met him a few times and hung out, so i know his stances on things and such.  if anyone wants a copy of these, just PM me.  

Word.   :D

[antoniostrohs]

You're right ratsprayer,Dan Bern is way cool.Saw him perform 3 or 4 times now and he is so good live.He also has a great sense of humour in his stage prescence and in some of lyrics.Well worth checking out.

[aMillionDreams]

I cried when they hit the towers
Tears ran down my spine
And I cried when the buildings tumbled
As though I'd lost a father of mine
But the Pentagon got what was coming
They got what they asked for this time
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I go to protests and rallies
And I put down the old N.R.A.
I love Tiger and Denzel and Oprah
I hope every minority gets their way
And I have tolerance for every person
As long as my children aren't gay
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I cheered when Condi was chosen
My faith in the system restored
And I cheered when Michael Moore
Accepted the Academy Award
And I love Mexicans and Muslims
As long as they don't move next door
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

The people who voted for 'W'
Must enjoy going to war
I can't understand how their minds work
What's the matter don't they watch Bill Mahr?
But don't talk about revolution
That's going a little bit too far
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I watch Jon Stewart and Crossfire
I've learned to take every view
You know, I've memorized Matthews and Chomsky
I feel like I'm almost a Jew
But when it comes to times like Rwanda
There's no one more red, white and blue
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I vote for the Democratic Party
They think the Iraqi War was wrong
I go to all the Dave Matthews concerts
He sure gets me singing those songs
I'll send all the emails you ask for
But don't ask me to come on along
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

Once I was young and impulsive
I wore every conceivable pin
Even went to the socialist blogs
Learned all the old protest hymns
But I've grown older and wiser
And that's why I'm turning you in
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

[JacketGal]

Ms. Emmylou Harris' "Michelangelo"

Last night I dreamed about you
I dreamed that you were older
You were looking like Picasso
With a scar across your shoulder
You were kneeling by the river
You were digging up the bodies
Buried long ago
Michelangelo

Last night I dreamed about you
I dreamed you were a pilgrim
On a highway out alone to find
The mother of your children
Who were still unborn and waiting
In the wings of some desire
Abandoned long ago
Michelangelo

Were you there at Armageddon
Was Paris really burning
Could I have been the one to pull you
From the point of no returning
And did I hear you calling out my name
Or was it forgotten long ago
Michelangelo

Last night I dreamed about you
I dreamed that you were riding
On a blood red painted pony
Up where the heavens were dividing
And the angels turned to ashes
You came tumbling with them to earth
So Far below
Michelangelo

Last night I dreamed about you
I dreamed that you were dying
In a field of thorn and roses
With a hawk about you crying
For the warrior slain in battle
From an arrow driven deep inside you
Long ago
Michelangelo

Did you suffer at the end
Would there be no one to remember
Did you banish all the old ghosts
With the terms of surrender
And could you hear me calling out your name
Well I guess that I will never know
Michelangelo

Last night I dreamed about you
I dreamed that you were weeping
And your tears poured down like diamonds
For a love beyond all keeping
And you caught them one by one
In a million silk bandanas that I gave you long ago
Michelangelo

[fitzcarraldo]

This song kills me evrytime
Duk Koo Kim (Sun Kil Moon)

looking out on my roof last night
woken up from a dream
i saw a typhoon coming in close
bringing the clouds down to the sea
making the world look gray and alone
taking all light from my view
keeping everyone in
and keeping me here with you

around you now
i can't sleep no more baby

around you still
don't want to leave yet

woken up from a dream last night
somewhere lost in war
i couldn't feel my feet or hands
i didn't feel right anymore

i knew there I'd die alone
with no one to reach to
but an angel came down
and brought me back to you

i'd rather leave this world forever
baby
than let life go the way it's going

watching an old fight film last night
Ray Mancini and Duk Koo Kim
the boy from Seoul was hanging in good
but the pounding took to him
and there in the square he lay alone
without face without crown
and the angel who looked upon
never came down

you never know
what day could pick you
baby
out of the air
out of nowhere

come to me once more my love
show me love I've never known

sing to me once more my love
words from your younger years

sing to me once more my love
songs that i love to hear

birds gather 'round my window
fly with everything i love about the day
flowers, blue and gold and orange
rise with everything i love about the day

walk with me down these strange streets
how have we come to be here
so kind are all these people
how have we come to know them

[Chills]

went out walking the other day
The wind hung wet around my neck
My head it rung with screams and groans
From the night I spent amongst her bones
I passed beside the mission house
Where that mad old buzzard, the reverend,
Shrieked and flapped about life after your dead
Well, I thought about my friend, michel
How they rolled him in linoleum
And shot him in the neck
A bloody halo, like a think-bubble
Circling his head
And I bellowed at the firmament
Looks like the rains are hear to stay
And the rain pissed down upon me

And washed me all away


Ah, that is the right way to start a song!

[Chills]

I cried when they hit the towers
Tears ran down my spine
And I cried when the buildings tumbled
As though I'd lost a father of mine
But the Pentagon got what was coming
They got what they asked for this time
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I go to protests and rallies
And I put down the old N.R.A.
I love Tiger and Denzel and Oprah
I hope every minority gets their way
And I have tolerance for every person
As long as my children aren't gay
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I cheered when Condi was chosen
My faith in the system restored
And I cheered when Michael Moore
Accepted the Academy Award
And I love Mexicans and Muslims
As long as they don't move next door
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

The people who voted for 'W'
Must enjoy going to war
I can't understand how their minds work
What's the matter don't they watch Bill Mahr?
But don't talk about revolution
That's going a little bit too far
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I watch Jon Stewart and Crossfire
I've learned to take every view
You know, I've memorized Matthews and Chomsky
I feel like I'm almost a Jew
But when it comes to times like Rwanda
There's no one more red, white and blue
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I vote for the Democratic Party
They think the Iraqi War was wrong
I go to all the Dave Matthews concerts
He sure gets me singing those songs
I'll send all the emails you ask for
But don't ask me to come on along
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

Once I was young and impulsive
I wore every conceivable pin
Even went to the socialist blogs
Learned all the old protest hymns
But I've grown older and wiser
And that's why I'm turning you in
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

That reminded me of something.

Love Me, I'm a Liberal
By Phil Ochs


  E               A           E     A
I cried when they shot Medgar Evers
E                   C#m
Tears ran down my spine
   E              A          E
I cried when they shot Mr. Kennedy
               F#7             B7
As though I'd lost a father of mine
     E        A              E
But Malcolm X got what was coming
   G#m                        A
He got what he asked for this time
   E        C#m      A        B7    E
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I go to civil rights rallies
And I put down the old D.A.R.
I love Harry and Sidney and Sammy
I hope every colored boy becomes a star
But don't talk about revolution
That's going a little bit too far
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I cheered when Humphrey was chosen
My faith in the system restored
I'm glad the commies were thrown out
Of the A.F.L. C.I.O. board
I love Puerto Ricans and Negros
As long as they don't move next door
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

The people of old Mississippi
Should all hang their heads in shame
I can't understand how their minds work
What's the matter don't they watch Les Crane?
But if you ask me to bus my children
I hope the cops take down your name
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I read New Republic and Nation
I've learned to take every view
You know, I've memorized Lerner and Golden
I feel like I'm almost a Jew
But when it comes to times like korea
There's no one more red, white and blue
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

I vote for the democtratic party
They want the U.N. to be strong
I go to all the Pete Seeger concerts
He sure gets me singing those songs
I'll send all the money you ask for
But don't ask me to come on along
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

Once I was young and impulsive
I wore every conceivable pin
Even went to the socialist meetings
Learned all the old union hymns
But I've grown older and wiser
And that's why I'm turning you in
So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal


And you've got the chords for free!

[Tree]

wonderful song:
"Jezebel" by Iron & Wine

Who's seen Jezebel
she was born to be
the woman I would know
and hold like the breeze
half as tight as both eyes closed

Who's seen Jezebel
she went walking where
the cedars line the road
her blouse on the ground
where the dogs were hungry roaming

Saying wait
we swear we'll love you more
and holy Jezebel
it's we, we that you are for
only

Who's seen Jezebel
she was born to be
the woman we could blame
make me a beast half as brave
I'd be the same

Who's seen Jezebel
she was gone before
I ever got to say
lay here my love
you're the only shape I pray to
Jezebel

Who's seen Jezebel
will the mountain last
as long as I can wait
wait like the dawn how
it aches to meet the day

Who's seen Jezebel
she was certainly
the spark for all I've done
the window was wide she could see
the dogs come running
saying wait
we swear we'll love you more
and holy Jezebel
it's we, we that you are for
only

[aMillionDreams]

That reminded me of something.

Love Me, I'm a Liberal
By Phil Ochs

Nice work, Chills.  That's the song that I adapted that from.  Phil Ochs was the man.

[Chills]

Nice work, Chills.  That's the song that I adapted that from.  Phil Ochs was the man.

You adapted that yourself? Respect!
My dad had a big 4 disc Phil Ochs box set, some cool stuff on there.

[Chills]

I posted a fragment yesterday, But because this is actually an ass-kicking lyric, here is the whole thing.
Not really radio friendly material!
It's fuckin' long too, but as I've read somewhere, more is better.


I went out walking the other day
The wind hung wet around my neck
My head it rung with screams and groans
From the night I spent amongst her bones
I passed beside the mission house
Where that mad old buzzard, the reverend,
Shrieked and flapped about life after your dead
Well, I thought about my friend, Michel
How they rolled him in linoleum
And shot him in the neck
A bloody halo, like a think-bubble
Circling his head
And I bellowed at the firmament
Looks like the rains are hear to stay
And the rain pissed down upon me
And washed me all away
Saying

Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Well, the road is long
And the road is hard
And many fall by the side
But Papa won't leave you, Henry
So there ain't no need to cry

And I went on down the road
He went on down the road
And I went on down the road
He went on down the road

Well, the moon it looked exhausted
Like something you should pity
Spent an age-spotted
Above the sizzling wires of the city
Well, it reminded me of her face
Her bleached and hungry eyes
Her hair was like a curtain
Falling open with the laughter
And closing with the lies
But the ghost of her still lingers on
Though she's passed through me
And is gone
The slum dogs, they are barking
And the rain children on the streets
And the tears that we will weep today
Will all be washed away
By the tears that we will weep again tomorrow

Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
For the road is long
And the road is hard
And many fall by the side
But Papa won't leave you, Henry
So there ain't no need to cry

And I went on down the road
He went on down the road
And I went on down the road
He went on down the road

And I came upon a little house
A little house upon a hill
And I entered through, the curtain hissed
Into the house with its blood-red bowels
Where wet-lipped women with greasy fists
Crawled the ceilings and the walls
They filled me full of drink
And led me round the rooms
Naked and cold and grinning
Until everything went black
And I came down spinning
I awoke so drunk and full of rage
That I could hardly speak
A fag in a whale-bone corset
Draping his dick across my cheek
And its into the shame
And its into a guilt
And its into the fucking fray
And the walls ran red around me
A warm arterial spray
Saying

Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Well, the night is dark
And the night is deep
And its jaws are open wide
But Papa won't leave you, Henry
So there ain't no need to cry

And I went on down the road
He went on down the road
And I went on down the road
He went on down the road

It's the rainy season where I'm living
Death comes leaping out of every doorway
Wasting you for money, for your clothes
And for your nothing
Entire towns being washed away
Favelas exploding on inflammable spillways
Lynch-mobs, death squads, babies being born without brains
The mad heat and the relentless rains
And if you stick your arm into that hole
It comes out sheared off to the bone
And with her kisses bubbling on my lips
I swiped the rain and nearly missed
And I went on down the road
He went on down the road
Singing

Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Papa won't leave you, Henry
Papa won't leave you, Boy
Well, the road is long
And the road is hard
And many fall by the side
But Papa won't leave you, Henry
So there ain't no need to cry

[aMillionDreams]

You adapted that yourself? Respect!
My dad had a big 4 disc Phil Ochs box set, some cool stuff on there.

I appreciate the respect, Chills.  I have that same box set.  Those are powerful lyrics that you posted.  Who do they belong to?

[Chills]

I appreciate the respect, Chills.  I have that same box set.  Those are powerful lyrics that you posted.  Who do they belong to?

Crucifixion is my favorite Ochs song, but Cross My Heart and Rehearsals For Retirement are awesome too.

Those lyrics?
Biblical doom, wretched love and urban decay thrown together in a catchy song, only one adress... Mr. Nick Cave.
It's on Henry's Dream, but I've only heard the raging version on Live Seeds.
That album has a stunning Mercy Seat too. I'm really into it.

[Chills]

Some more Faces

"Ooh La La"

Poor old Granddad
I laughed at all his words
I thought he was a bitter man
He spoke of women's ways
They trap you, then they use you
Before you even know
For love is blind and you're far too kind
Don't ever let it show
I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was younger.
I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was stronger.
The Can Can's such a pretty show
They'll steal your heart away
But backstage, back on earth again
The dressing rooms are grey
They come on strong and it ain't too long
Before they make you feel a man
But love is blind and you soon will find
You're just a boy again
When you want her lips, you get a cheek
Makes you wonder where you are
If you want some more and she's fast asleep
Then she's twinkling with the stars.
Poor young grandson, there's nothing I can say
You'll have to learn, just like me
And that's the hardest way
Ooh la la
I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was younger.
I wish that I knew what I know now
When I was stronger.

[aMillionDreams]

Also a great song. Your wonderful taste in music never ceases to amaze me, Chills.  While I'm posting, here is another gem from the Dylan catalouge.  

Fourth Time Around

When she said,"Don't waste
your words, they're just lies,"
I cried she was deaf.
And she worked on my face
until breaking my eyes,
Then said, "What else you got left?"
It was then that I got up to leave
But she said, "Don't forget,
Everybody must give something back
For something they get."

I stood there and hummed,
I tapped on her drum and asked her how come.
And she buttoned her boot,
And straightened her suit,
Then she said, "Don't get cute."
So I forced my hands in my pockets
And felt with my thumbs,
And gallantly handed her
My very last piece of gum.

She threw me outside,
I stood in the dirt where ev'ryone walked.
And after finding I'd
Forgotten my shirt,
I went back and knocked.
I waited in the hallway, she went to get it,
And I tried to make sense
Out of that picture of you in your wheelchair
That leaned up against . . .

Her Jamaican rum
And when she did come, I asked her for some.
She said, "No, dear."
I said, "Your words aren't clear,
You'd better spit out your gum."
She screamed till her face got so red
Then she fell on the floor,
And I covered her up and then
Thought I'd go look through her drawer.

And, when I was through
I filled up my shoe
And brought it to you.
And you, you took me in,
You loved me then
You didn't waste time.
And I, I never took much,
I never asked for your crutch.
Now don't ask for mine.

[dragonboy]

Well when true love knocked upon my door
She'd just barely turned 15
And I was a little bit nervous
If you know just what I mean.

But I'd heard somewhere that true love concers all
And I figured that was that
Then I started having dreams about being chased out of town
Wearing nothing but my cowboy hat.

Townes Van Zandt.

[dragonboy]

Those lyrics?
Biblical doom, wretched love and urban decay thrown together in a catchy song, only one adress... Mr. Nick Cave.
It's on Henry's Dream, but I've only heard the raging version on Live Seeds.
That album has a stunning Mercy Seat too. I'm really into it.

Good to see a another Nick Cave fan!
Have you heard Johnny Cash's Mercy Seat? Just as good as Hurt if not better.