HEARTACHE ALL OVER THE WORLD

Well I'm running away
From this house on the hill
There's a devil inside
sitting on the window sill
And it's a wild Friday night
And I'm all on my own
I knocked on every door in town
There ain't one little girl that's home
And everybody's got a date
And the ones that ain't are tired
What the hell do you do on a weekend honey
When your heart's on fire

And you can go from Tokyo to Rome
Looking for a girl
But it looks to me like the weekend means
Heartache all over the world
Girls, girls, girls
Have pity on me
Oh it looks to me like the weekend means
Heartache, heartache all over the world

He's got lipstick on his collar
She's got fishnets on her legs
I'm at home and I've got nothing
Just a cold and aching head
There must be something dirty
Just blame it on the magazines
Don't read that trash it'll drive you crazy
'Cause the cops invade your dreams
And everybody's got a date
And the one's that ain't are tired
What the hell do you do on a weekend honey
When your heart's on fire

I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAVEPINE

Ooh, I bet you're wondering how I knew
About you're plans to make me blue
With some other guy that you knew before
Between the two of us guys
You know I love you more
It took me by surprise I must say
When I found out yesterday

Don't you know that I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine
Oh I heard it through the grapevine
Oh and I'm just about to lose my mind
Honey, honey yeah

I know that a man ain't supposed to cry
But these tears I can't hold inside
Losing you would end my life you see
'Cause you mean that much to me
You could have told me yourself
That you love somebody else

Instead I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine
Oh I heard it through the grapevine
Oh and I'm just about to lose my mind
Honey, honey yeah

People say believe half of what you see
Son, and none of what you hear
I can't help being confused
If it's true please tell me dear
Do you plan to let me go
for the other guy you loved before

Don't you know that I heard it through the grapevine
Not much longer would you be mine
Oh I heard it through the grapevine
Oh and I'm just about to lose my mind
Honey, honey yeah

IF YOU WERE MY WOMAN

If you were my woman
And I was your man
There would be no other woman
You'd be weak as a lamb
If you had the strength to walk out that door
My love would overrule my sense I would call you back for more

If you were my woman
If you were my woman
And I was your man, Yeah!

He tears you down darlin'
Says your nothing at all
But I'll be there for darlin'
When he lets you fall
Your like a diamond
But he treats you like glass
Yet you beg him to love you
With me you don't ask

If you were my woman
If you were my woman
Here's what I'd do, Oh
I'd never, no, no, no stop lovin' you
Whoa! Yeah!

My darlin'
Life is so crazy
And love is so unkind
Because he came first, darlin'
Will he make up your mind
Your a part of me
And you don't even know it
I'm what you need
But I'm too afraid to show it

If you were my woman
Here's what I'd do, Oh
I'd never, no, no, no
Whoa! Oh!

My darlin' If you were my woman
Sweet lovin' woman
I said
If you were my woman
If you were my woman
I said
If you were my woman
If you were my woman
Here's what I would do, Oh
I'd never, no, no, no stop lovin' you
Whoa! Yeah!
Never, never, no
Hmm...

FREEDOM (Back To Reality Mix)

Cold fresh air
Feel the melody that's in the air
No one down, take a look around
Ooh what's going on? (Oooh!)

However do you want me?
However do you need me? (How)
However do you want me?
However do you need me?
However do you want me?
However do you need me? (How)
However do you want me?
However do you need me?

Well it looks like the road to heaven
But it feels like the road to hell
When I knew which side my bread was buttered
I took the knife as well
Posing for another picture
Everybody's got to sell
But when you shake your ass
They notice fast
And some mistakes were built to last

However do you want me? (That's what you get)
However do you need me? (How)
However do you want me?
However do you need me?
However do you want me? (That's what you get)
However do you need me? (How)
However do you want me?
However do you need me?

Tell me now, tell me now

(Funk - funk) You funky?
(Funk - funk) Get funky
(Funk - funk) You funky?
(Funk - funk) You funky

I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I stopped the show
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone I've got to be

However do you want me?

That's what you get
That's what you get
I say that's what you get
That's what you get for changing your mind
That's what you get
That's what you get
I just hope you understand

However do you want me?
However do you need me? (How)
However do you want me?
However do you need me?
However do you want me?
However do you need me? (How)
However do you want me?
However do you need me?

However do you want me?
However do you need me? (How)
However do you want me?
However do you need me?
However do you want me?
However do you need me?
However do you want me?
However do you need me?

Cold fresh air
Feel the melody that's in the air
(I know, I know, I know, I know)
Show me how
Tell me what you want from me
Tell me maybe I can be there for you

(I know, I know, I know, I know)
Tell me now
(I know, I know, I know, I know)
Tell me now

I think there's something you should know
(However do you want me?)
I think it's time I told you so
(However do you need me?)
There's something deep inside of me
(However do you want me?)
There's someone else, someone else that I have got to be

(Funk - funk) You funky?
(Funk - funk) Get funky
(Funk - funk) You funky?
(Funk - funk) Get funky
(Funk - funk) You funky?
(Funk - funk) Get funky
(Funk - funk) You funky?
(Funk - funk)

I BELIEVE (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)

Shattered dreams, worthless years

Here am I encased inside a hollow shell

Life began, then was done

Now I stare into a cold and empty well

The many sounds that meet our ears

the sights our eyes behold

Will open up our merging hearts

And feed our empty souls

I believe when I fall in love with you it will be forever
I believe when I fall in love this time it will be forever

Without despair we will share

And the joys of caring will not be replaced

What has been must never end

And with the strength we have won't be erased

When the truths of love are planted firm

They won't be hard to find

And the words of love I speak to you

will echo in my mind

I believe when I fall in love with you it will be forever
I believe when I fall in love this time it will be forever

I believe when I fall in love with you it will be forever
I believe when I fall in love with you it will be forever

I'm so glad that I found someone to believe in again
I'm so glad that I found someone to believe in again

God surely answered my prayer

God surely answered by prayer

You know God surely answered my prayer

You know God surely answered my prayer

God always will answer your prayers

Believe in one who will answer my prayer

Thank you God

Come on, let's fall in love

You're the woman I've been waiting for

Come on, let's fall in love

You're the girl that I really adore

Come on, let's fall in love...

YOU CAN MAKE HISTORY (Young Again)

I can feel the time closing in
I can feel the years crawling through my skin
And if I doubt myself I can count on the rain
To cover the tears of this aging game

But I can count on you to play your part
I don't miss a beat of your animal heart
And when you push from behind I know I can
Cover a mountain with the palm of my hand

And oh babe, you can make history young again
You could rewrite, you could decide
The things that should or shouldn't have been
You could look at me in the scheme of things
Oh babe, you could make history young again

I can watch the weeks sweeping by
I can recollect the hearts hanging out to dry
When the world shuts down I can touch my fears
I can hear lost youth ringing in my ears

But I lost nothing when I gained you
You just blew me away with yesterdays news
When you run your fingers down my spine
It's like throwing a switch on the hands of time

Ancient minds, ancient lives
Got a way of coming around
If I knew then what I know now
I'd make it back to you somehow

CANDLE IN THE WIND 1997

Goodbye England's rose
May you ever grow in our hearts
You were the grace that placed itself
Where lives were torn apart
You called out to our country
And you whispered to those in pain
Now you belong to heaven
And the stars spell out your name

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never fading with the sunset
When the rain set in
And your footsteps will always fall here
Along England's greenest hills
Your candle's burned out long before
Your legend ever will

Loveliness we've lost
These empty days without your smile
This torch we'll always carry
For our nation's golden child
And even though we try
The truth brings us to tears
All our words cannot express
The joy you brought us through the years

Goodbye England's rose
May you ever grow in our hearts
You were the grace that placed itself
Where lives were torn apart

Goodbye England's rose
From a country lost without your soul
Who'll miss the wings of your compassion
More than you'll ever know

IN THE HANDS OF ANGELS

Well I could have been sick, I could have died
I could have given up and not tried
To make it to tomorrow
Like a broken hearted lover

But there was a brand new start
And suddenly I was taken
New and faraway places
And the music I was shaken

It was a whole new race
When I woke on that first day
There was nothing I could say
I was in the hands of angels

Johnny and the governor
Came and brought me to my senses
They made me feel just like a king
Made me lose all my bad defenses

And they knew all the places I needed to go
All of the people I needed to know
They knew who I needed and who needed me
And who would come help me
And who would just let me be

I was in the hands of angels
Until this very day
Inside the hands of angels
What more can I say

When you're in the hands of angels
Life is oh so sweet
And you feel the love down deep inside
Even out there on the street

In the hands of angels

NEVER TOO OLD (To Hold Somebody)

Don't abandon the light
Don't step away
Don't give up that tune
That you never could play
If you're folding your tent
And the gas pipes groan
If every bone rattles
Through nights all alone
Well you're tougher than leather
No old burlap sack
Not some hard scrabble weed
Growing up through the cracks

Don't you know, you're never too old
You're never too old to hold somebody
Don't you know, you're never too old
You're never too old to hold somebody
You're never too old to hold somebody

Don't think you've gone out
Don't flicker and fade
If you're gonna get lemons
Then you do what they say
The wind makes you weary
Oh it knocks you around
Logs on the fire
Beats sun shining down
But you're harder than nails
No skinny old tack
You're still sharp as a razor
And I like you like that

I could bet on a horse
But I'm betting on you
You've still got what it takes
You got nothing, nothing to prove

HEARTS HAVE TURNED TO STONE

I'm out here in the darkness
I hear the howling wind
Sometimes I sit and wonder
Will I ever see love again
Looking for an answer
Not an easy thing to find
Out here in the wilderness
With questions on my mind

Now the sun is rising higher in the sky
The morning light is crawling
From the darkness of the night
The raindrops keep on falling
There is no light of day
The sadness deep inside me
Doesn't seem to go away

And there's no way out, no road home
I'm lost in doubt and I'm all alone
The time has come
When love is done
Hearts have finally turned to stone

No more bright tomorrow, only sad today
My heart is filled with sorrow
The pain won't go away
Try to keep from crying
All night long and through the day
Lost and all alone
Hearts have finally turned to stone

No more bright tomorrow, only sad today
My heart is filled with sorrow
The pain won't go away
Just trying to keep from crying
All night long and through the day
Lost and all alone
Hearts have finally turned to stone

I SHOULD HAVE SENT ROSES

Are you standing outside?
Looking up at the sky
Cursing a wandering star
Well if I were you
I'd throw rocks at the moon
I'd say "Damn you wherever you are"

I don't know where to start
This cage 'round my heart
Locked up what I meant to say
What I felt all along the way
Just wondering how come
I couldn't take your breath away

'Cause I never sent roses
I never did enough
I didn't know how to love you
Though I loved you so much
And I should have sent roses
When you crossed my mind
For no other reason
Than the fact you were mine
I should have sent roses

Looking back on my life
If fate should decide
I could do it all over again
I'd build no more walls
I'd stay true and recall
The fragrance of you on the wind

You'll get better than me
Someone who can see
Right from the start give it all that you need
And I'll slip away
Knowing I'm half the man I should be

Yeah should have sent roses

WHEN LOVE IS DYING

They say we bruise too easily
I don't know if it's that way for me
I've seen 'em come, I've seen 'em go
I've seen everyone I know
Fall in and out of love
It's just the way it goes

Word is out, silence seems so loud
There's no light above or below me now
I've seen it grow, I've seen it live
I've seen everything I give
Falling out my hands, no matter who I'm with

And nobody ever tells you
When love is dying, when love is dying
It just gets a little colder
And we stop trying, we stop trying
Yeah we stop trying
Oh when love is dying

There's a pain you never can explain
It cuts so deep time and time again
I felt it then, I feel it now
But nobody told me how
To fight a world of hurt
Somebody help me now

But love never gets to show you
And I never got to know you
No we never stood a chance
When love was dying
No and love never makes it easy
And I never got that feeling
No we never stood a chance
When love was dying

A DREAM COME TRUE

I can hear your heart
Pounding in my ear
Now I feel the sound
And the time is near
I feel the taste
Of all the things you do
Now the time has come
I know you're a dream come true

You make me so complete
With the things you do
And the music's sweet
You make me feel brand new
I hear the sound
Songs started coming through
Somehow I know
That you're a dream come true

It takes my breath when it sounds that way
Seems like you chase the clouds away
And I feel so good each and every day
And life is good each and every way

Now I feel the beat of the dancing drums
And now I know we're gonna have some fun
Now the time stands still
And the blues are through
And now I know what I'm gonna do

Now I feel the beat of the dancing drums
And now I know we're gonna have some fun
Now the time stands still
And all the blues are through
Now I know what I'm gonna do

THE BEST PART OF THE DAY

I hear you singing "I Shall Be Released"
Like a chainsaw running through a masterpiece
But that's all right, that's ok
Grab the bottle and slide my way
You dreamt of a devil down below
Sprinkled cayenne pepper in your sugar bowl
But he's a fool and he's a thief
Got silly little horns and pointed teeth

Roll back the covers and raise the shades
We don't want to miss out on the best part of the day
You're my best friend, you shared my crazy ways
Now we don't want to miss out on the best part of the day

There's a canyon where an echo hangs
Like the ancient bells of Notre Dame
It's beyond the hills out of sight
Thought I heard them ringing all last night
Hear the mating call of the morning dove
Like Romeo angels in the roof above
Rains will come sweet and clean
Let the tears of God keep the mountains green

One big sun coming up, old moon going down
Thunder breaking in the east
I'm gonna love you 'til it comes around

You're my best friend you shared my crazy ways
Now we don't want to miss out on the best part of the day

MONKEY SUIT

If you're looking for the glory
You think that you might find
In a bullet-riddled stolen car
On a back road in the pines
If it's round just like a medal
On a tired old man of war
Or hidden like that Burma Star
In my dad's bottom drawer

Look at you in your monkey suit
Driving south, nothing left to prove
You come back here in your cowboy boots
Dressed to kill in your monkey suit
Every pose you strike, every frame they shoot
Shows you dressed to kill in your monkey suit

Build your ladder to the moon
Beat on that sacred drum
Trample on the hands of those
That cling to every rung
Every seed you crush beneath
Like stone ground in a mill
You never drew a decent breath
But you're just dressed to kill

Every pose you strike, every frame they shoot
Shows you dressed to kill in your monkey suit

THERE'S NO TOMORROW

There's no time for waiting
No future to see
Inside the next moment
Nothing might be
The answer's not certain
No time to decide
Is this the last curtain
There's no place to hide

There's no tomorrow
There's no tomorrow
There's no tomorrow
There's only today

We all know the story
We've heard it before
We end up no question
Outside of death's door
There's no easy answer
To the question at hand
So easy to ask
And not understand

JIMMIE RODGER'S DREAM

I'm looking at a funeral wagon rolling down
A two-lane highway winding past a desert town
A big blue canvas painted by the Master's hand
The shifting clouds above and endless miles of sand

In that mirror maybe that's what's left of me
Wheezing like a freight train hauling sixty tons of steel
Air 'em out's the best release and get some rest
Carrie don't wait up for me the brakeman's going West

In this room all alone I dream of you
In this drawer I found someone I never knew
Now I pop a top and stay up late with Gideon
And fall asleep to visions of Meridian

I've seen dusty beaten delta boys cutting heads
A black face carney showman scare a song to death
In my short life I've seen as much as most men need
I'm just looking for some cleaner air to breathe

Far away, far away
So many years, so many days
All along this broken land
I've seen a lover's empty arms
And hunger's empty hand

GONE TO SHILOH

Luther left us first light Friday morning
Little Dan and Becky waved goodbye
They're gonna have to share the weight together
Idle hands will see a good farm slowly die

Gone to Shiloh for the Union
Shoulder to shoulder, side by side
Gone to Shiloh, hope springs eternal
When flags and bullets start to fly

April's come and the air smells fresh with rain
They watched his shadow fade around the bend
He's headed for a different kind of thunder
And the stunned surprise in the eyes of dying men

Gone to Shiloh for the Union
Shoulder to shoulder, side by side
Gone to Shiloh, time passes slowly
When flags and bullets start to fly

The old black rooster sang him down that dirt road
His step seemed bold, his manner fancy-free
I pray we see him alive and well in the fall here
Than that God-forsaken place in Tennessee

Gone to Shiloh for the Union
Shoulder to shoulder, side by side
Gone to Shiloh, men stand united
When flags and bullets start to fly

After all of this
If we should prevail
Heaven help the South
When Sherman comes their way

HEY AHAB

It's a constant struggle getting up that hill
There's a change of guard every day
When you're clinging onto a driftwood boat
You pray a great white whale might come your way

No freeway traffic in the frozen North
Just a chain link fence full of birds
And when the harpoon's loaded in the cannon bay
You'll be rolling through the pages lost for words

Hey Ahab can you tell me where
I can catch a ride out of here
Hey Ahab hoist that sail
You've gotta stand up straight
When you ride that whale

In a crumbling city we were trapped for days
With a broken sun above the clouds
Caught like Jonah forty fathoms down
And a sign on the wall says, "Hope Allowed"

All the cryptic symbols carved on bone
A far cry from a tattooed rose
And when the boys in the rigging catch the wind
We'll all weigh anchor and it's westward ho

EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLAR SHOES

You had your grand illusion and wrestled with your fate
The winter of your discontent came twenty years too late
If it was love and I was there I've forgotten where it lives
We both stepped off a frozen rock onto a burning bridge

You came like an invasion all bells and whistles blowing
Reaping the rewards of the fable you'd been sowing
I saw you cross the landing descending marble stairs
Like Caesar crossed the Rubicon you seemed to walk on air

And yea I've seen your movie
And I read it in your book
The truth just flew off every page
Your songs have all the hooks
You're seven wonders rolled in one
You shifted gears to cruise
Oh you came to town in headlines
And eight hundred dollar shoes

Oh the bellboys are crying and money's changing hands
Your cloak and dagger legacy's gone home to no man's land
The marquee lights are flickering, your poster's fading fast
Your being here just melts away like ice cubes in a glass

Oh you came to town in headlines
And eight hundred dollar shoes

IF IT WASN'T FOR BAD

I knew from the first night I met you
Something just wasn't quite right
Looked like an innocent stranger
But something was just out of sight

How could I know that you would use me
Fill out some plan of your own
I couldn't know you'd abuse me
Leave me here hurt and alone

If it wasn't for you I'd be happy
If it wasn't for lies you'd be true
I know you could be just like you should
If it wasn't for bad you'd be good

I only saw what I wanted to see
You were a dream in my mind
I didn't know how you really could be
It didn't take long for me to find

I guess that it's my fault for seeing
Only what I wanted to see
I couldn't know you would be
A player just acting for me

I knew from the first night I met you
Something just wasn't quite right
Looked like an innocent stranger
But something was just out of sight

THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID

I've been out here on this road some
Can't help feeling I've been showing my friends around
I've seen it growing from next to nothing
Into a giant eating up your town

Called up the tealeaves and the tarots
Asked the gypsy what she sees in the palm of our hands
She saw a mountain and a wild deer running
A crazy kid becoming a better man

But we stuck around for the fireworks
Waiting to explode
Shaped our futures, you a tumbleweed
And me on a yellow brick road
Pleasing the people some of the time
For better or for worse
An urban soul in a fine silk suit
And a heart out west in a Wrangler shirt

And you can't go back and if you try it fails
Looking up ahead I see a rusty nail
A sign hanging from it saying "Truth for sale"
And that's what we did
No lies at all just one more tale
About the Captain and the Kid

We've been missing at times in action
Can't imagine what he said he might do for you
The devil got to come to the party sometimes
But he never got to wear our shoes

Oh we've conjured up what we created
Way back then when I was standing up in six-inch heels
Now you're riding off into the sunset
And I'm still spinning like a Catherine wheel

But we stuck around for the battle
Waiting for a plan
To turn you into the Brown Dirt Cowboy
And me into a rocket man
It pleases the people some of the time
Digging into our roots
But I got a brand new pair of shoes
And you're on a horse in old cowboy boots

OLD '67

Hey how about this
A little conversation tonight
Thinking aloud how we struggled to find
Our place in the dizzy heights

Don't often do this
We never really get the chance
Nearly froze to death on Oxford Street
Now we're sitting in the South of France

Talking through the evening
It's good to shoot the breeze
Just you and me on a balcony
And cicadas singing in the trees

Old '67 what a time it was
What a time of innocence, what a time we've lost
Raise a glass and have a laugh, have a laugh or two
Here's to old '67 and an older me and you

Sentimental twilight
Conversing on those virgin days
Laughing about how the two of us sound
Like a Tennessee Williams play

Honest, it's amazing
That we can get together at all
For in between the saddle and the grand piano
We can read the writing on the wall

Talking through the evening
Sitting here side by side
Just you and me on a balcony
It's a little bit funny this feeling inside

I MUST HAVE LOST IT ON THE WIND

I'm no longer counting, I'm not keeping score
I could say my list of lovers doesn't matter anymore
But some are always in my heart
And some I'm not so sure
Either way they all left their mark
And for some I found a cure

And from one you learn something
And another you learn, nothing
And there's one who might teach you everything
But before I learned to listen
And if indeed someone said it
Then I guess I must have lost it on the wind

Back when I was younger each one was a prize
Love just came along and hit you right between the eyes
And one was just a trophy catch
And one was like a curse
Some would want to bleed you dry
Some might quench your thirst

In cold water I went fishing in warm seas I cast a line
And swore the heart I was reeling in was perfect at the time
You couldn't tell me I was wrong, you couldn't tell me anything
And if you did then I guess I must have lost it on the wind

THE BRIDGE

I've seen the bridge and the bridge is long
And they built it high and they built it strong
Strong enough to hold the weight of time
Long enough to leave some of us behind

And every one of us has to face that day
Do you cross the bridge or do you fade away
And every one of us that ever came to play
Has to cross the bridge or fade away

Standing on the bridge looking at the waves
Seen so many jump, never seen one saved
On a distant beach your song can die
On a bitter wind, on a cruel tide

And the bridge it shines
Oh cold hard iron
Saying come and risk it all
Or die trying

BLUES NEVER FADE AWAY

He wasn't famous but I sure did love him
I've got his picture in a little frame
He lost his life to a big disease before it even had a name
But there's so many more and I've lost count
The hows and whys aren't important now
All that matters is they came around
And brightened up our lives

She was twenty one with her life ahead
You don't need to know her name
She breathed her last on the cold stone floor of a Hollywood arcade
But fate's right hand isn't always just
Puts a lot of pressure on your faith and trust
She was just a little girl, ain't that enough
To rage against the day

And how did we get so lucky
Targets on the rifle range
Who makes the call and who gets to choose
Who gets to win and who gets to lose
It's like a rolling dice in the belly of the blues
And blues never fade away
Hey, hey, hey, colors run when the rain falls
But blues never fade away

He shone so bright with a lust for life
Like the Sun King that he was
His passions hung upon his walls and were printed onto cloth
And for reasons I never understood
About the choices made between the bad and good
I've tried to figure out why
The pain never goes away

And there's marble markers and little white crosses
Along the beaten path
And I've spread their ashes on the wind
And I miss John Lennon's laugh

AND THE HOUSE FELL DOWN

The sun is up and the shades are all pulled down
I'm more paranoid with every little sound
Like the leaf blower blowing the leaves around
And a siren wailing on the other side of town

Oh the TVs on and the colors really hurt my head
If I could think straight I'd wish that I was dead
Or curled up naked in my lover's bed
Instead I'm hanging over Hell suspended by a single thread

And I don't recall who said it at this time
That your enemies grow strong on what you leave behind
I built it up and the wolf he came around
He huffed and puffed
He huffed and puffed
He huffed and puffed
He huffed and puffed and the house fell down

With a rolled up note I'm hovering on that line
Three days on a diet of cocaine and wine
And a little weed just to level me sometimes
I put the clock in the drawer 'cause I've cancelled out the time

And still that saying gets inside my mind
That your enemies grow strong on what you leave behind
I built it up and the wolf he came around
He huffed and puffed
He huffed and puffed
He huffed and puffed
He huffed and puffed and the house fell down

So don't knock on my door, don't try to call
I'm holed up in this room talking to the wall
'Cause when you're high as this you think you know it all
When you're this deep in there's no place else to fall

TINDERBOX

Nostradamus said "I predict
That the world will end at half past six"
What he didn't say was exactly when
Was he listening to the radio
Was he listening to the government

Well he got us spooked anyway
We'd been running hot up until today
But a wind of change blew across our sales
We were coasting on a winning streak
We were kings until the power failed

We've been living in a tinderbox
And two sparks can set the whole thing off
Rubbing up together around the clock
Lately we've been getting more roll than rock
You and me together in a tinderbox
Tinderbox, two sparks can set the whole thing off
Rubbing up together around the clock
Lately we've been getting more roll than rock
You and me together in a tinderbox

Godzilla came in disguise
Tore the building down right before our eyes
Kept the needle out of the red balloon
Was he worried we might go too far
Maybe wind up rhyming moon and June

The sun descends down in Mexico
While a fancy car back on Savile Row
Shows the price of fame leads to overkill
Things are gonna have to change
Some holes along the road get filled

Pressure's gonna cook us if we don't unlock it
Guns going off if we don't uncock it
We've gotta climb out of the other one's pocket
Or we're gonna burn out on this beautiful rocket

WOULDN'T HAVE YOU ANY OTHER WAY (NYC)

I remember it like it was yesterday
Snow in the park and skaters on the ice
Long black cars standing side-by-side
Loading up the boys at night

Turned up our collars to the chill of the wind
Caught an innocent smile from a taxi at the lights
Not something you'd see on a New York street
It's such an uncommon sight

But I wouldn't have it any other way
This city's got a thing about it
Don't try to understand it
New York City I'd really like to stay
New York City I wouldn't have you
I wouldn't have you any other way

Oh the subway rumbled underneath
Italian lights where Joey Gallo died
And the man on the door down at Fifty Four's
Is letting only the pretty inside

I'd wake with a stranger under the covers
Late in the day and longing for the night
Just like the snowfall there's so many bodies
But somehow it feels so right

And I can feel the magic
And read a million lips
And no matter what might happen
They'll never sink this ship

JUST LIKE NOAH'S ARK

It's just like Noah's ark
There's two of every kind
Pretty girls and boys in drag
Walking a fine thin line
Shaking hands and bussing cheeks
Licking their lips like they could eat
Me alive in a couple of weeks
Yeah, just like Noah's ark

Italian promotion men
Chomping a big cigar
Slapping backs and making cracks
About the fags in the bar
Radio boss dipping his nose in a little white packet
You can put it out son and we'll all back it
Yeah just like Noah's ark

And the waves are crashing around us
But we're ready for the flood
And we don't need a sign like an olive branch
In the beak of a snow white dove
We're not as dumb as we might look
You can't keep us in the dark
With me and you it's two by two
Just like Noah's ark

These four walls have seen
The Cockettes and the Casters
From San Francisco to Ohio
I've seen beauty and disaster
Cocky young roosters and little chicks
Flashing smiles, shaking them hips
Trying to hook it up for the late night shift
Here in Noah's ark

And the waves are crashing around us
And we're ready for the flood
And we don't need a sign like an olive branch
In the beak of a snow white dove
We're not as dumb as we might look
Or locked up in the dark
We can sort out the snakes from the animals
Just like Noah's ark

And we wrote it as we saw it
From the centre of the stage
All access to the liars
Who claim they wrote a page
But for every tiny dancer
There's a dog that's had its day
The truth is never quite the same
As what the papers say

POSTCARDS FROM RICHARD NIXON

We heard Richard Nixon say, welcome to the USA
The common sense I sometimes lack
Has opened up a seismic crack
We've fallen in and I can't pull back
And I guess we'll have to stay

In open arms we put our trust they put us on a big red bus
Twin spirits soaking up a dream
Fuel to feed the press machine
After years that were long and lean
We're finally on our way

And Richard Nixon's on his knees he's sent so many overseas
He'd like to know if you and me could help him in some way
A little camouflage and glue to mask the evil that men do
A small diversion caused by two, pale kids come to play
And we heard Richard Nixon say "welcome to the USA"

Neither of us understood the way things ticked in Hollywood
We just loaded in and grabbed the bat
With little room to swing a cat
And pretty soon we were where it's at
Or so the papers say

And all around us suntanned teens, beauty like we'd never seen
Our heroes led us by the hand
Through Brian Wilson's promised land
Where Disney's God and he commands
Both mice and men to stay

In a bright red Porsche on Sunset I saw Steve McQueen
I guess he's just about the coolest guy I've ever seen
And for you and me that speeding car is how it's going to be
I see no brakes just open road and lots of gasoline

Oh we heard Richard Nixon say, welcome to the USA
The common sense I sometimes lack
Has opened up a seismic crack
We've fallen in and I can't pull back

Pale kids come to play
And we heard Richard Nixon say, I've gotta go but you can stay

I CAN'T KEEP THIS FROM YOU

I can't keep this from you
I've held it in so long
It's time to tell the truth
Keeping it from you is wrong

I can't keep this from you
It's so simple I'm afraid
When I tell you how I feel
You'll just laugh and call me crazy

And I can't keep this love a secret
And I don't want to go on longing
I just want a chance for me to prove
My love and I can't keep this from you

I can't keep this from you
It's hard to breathe in here
I just seem to act the fool
Every time I feel you near

I can't keep this from you
No matter what you say
Anything is better now
Than going through my life this way

And I love every move you make
Can't you hear every heart you break
And don't you know when I hear your name
Just the sound of it shoots me down in flames

I just want a chance for me to prove
My love and I can't keep this from you
Oh no I just can't keep this from you

IT'S GETTING DARK IN HERE

It's getting dark in here
Don't want to leave
Shadow's falling
And I believe
Wind's picking up
Things so unclear
I'm afraid of my shadow
And it's getting dark in here
I'm scared of strangers
On the street
World's so ugly
I can't breath
Moon's so spooky
I'm close to tears
I've lost it all
And it's getting dark in here

And the wait isn't worth what I'm getting
Sometimes I feel I'm on fire
I've been handed a curse and a blessing
My life's been stripped down to the wire
And I'm trying to get back and hold on
Find someone somewhere who cares
But the sun's always setting on my life
And it's sure getting dark in here

Don't talk about angels
Or how I'll be saved
I'm no coward
But I'm not that brave
Rags are blowing
Rain's getting near
I'm done with running
And it's getting dark in here

Yeah, the sun's always setting on my life
And it's sure getting dark in here

TOO MANY TEARS

Did you see the first man on the moon
Have you seen the first light of day
When there wasn't someone stuck inside
Something like the moon
Something like a star that's lost its way
Did you go to Dallas on that day
Have you been to where they broke a dream
Where there really isn't room for doubt
Somehow we got lost
And the truth is buried somewhere in between

And everyone, everywhere
Take time and dry your eyes
'Cause too many tears, too many tears
Have been cried
Just look into that beautiful blue
That beautiful blue, blue sky
And know too many tears, too many tears
Have been cried

The mystery of why they had to leave
I'm only one of thousands saying why
Why a balcony in Memphis Tennessee
Seems trapped in time
Just an angry finger pointing at the sky

Would you wait to stand inside his shoes
And is the best all you have to give
The barefoot man lived a simple life
I guess he knew
Somethings die so other things might live

I STOP AND I BREATHE

We are still all right
We took it on the chin
But in the thirteenth hour
No one ever wins
But we're strong enough
Like traffic all tied up
And when the static clears
The radios still buzz

And I stop and I breathe
'Cause you wanted me
And I wanted you so bad
And I stop and I breathe
'Cause I still believe
No one really knows what it is that we have

Like blood in a vein
We chased this one down
And in the darkest long night
We turned it all around

And it was coal-dusted snow
That covered the fields
But the corn it still grew
And the injury healed

ALL THAT I'M ALLOWED (I'M THANKFUL)

Breaking down never seems to be that hard
Falling short is always in the cards
I'm on the road, sun rising at my back
Lost it all somewhere between the cracks

I always hoped that I'd do better
That I'd come out on top for once
We all get what we're delivered
Then there are the lucky ones

And I've got all that I'm allowed
It'll do for me, I'm thankful now
The walls get higher every day
The barriers get in the way
But I see hope in every cloud
And I'm thankful, thankful
I'm thankful, So thankful
I'm thankful, I've got all that I'm allowed

Leaving town gets to feel just like a job
My desire never winds up on top
I can say now I didn't want the moon
It's out of reach somewhere beyond this room

I always hoped that I'd do better
That I'd come out on top for once
We all get what we're delivered
Then there are the lucky ones

I've always try to make things clear
Then I watched as progress stalled
I only hope I'm standing here
When Heaven finally comes to call

Thankful, So thankful
I'm thankful, I've got all that I'm allowed
All that I'm Allowed
I'm Thankful
And I've got all that I'm allowed
So Thankful
And I've got all that I'm allowed

FREAKS IN LOVE

Me and you we're not that pretty
Me and you could use a lift
I'm out here on the corner crying
I got ribbons but I got no gift

Me and you we're all we've got
Me and you could be our curse
We've got bleeding hearts and flowers
You got strings but you got no purse

We're just freaks in love
Saints above
Shine on our sweet life
Happy is the union
Of fools and freaks alike

And fearless are the idiots
Among the hawks and doves
We're on the outside looking in
A couple of freaks in love

There's a wonder in this weakness
It's so beautiful sometimes
Across the universe we're lightning
In the race we're a step behind

Me and you we're not for everyone
Me and you we're damaged goods
We're antique and unacceptable
And just misunderstood

We're on the outside looking in
A couple of freaks in love

THEY CALL HER THE CAT

She threw back that shiny hair
Like the mane on a Delta Queen
Gonna spend my last dime on a telephone call
'Cause she's the wildest thing I've ever seen
She was just plain 'mister' once
Got herself fixed up real good
Just a little boy lost in the land of the free
A wiggle and a walk away from womanhood

Now they call her the cat
And that's a stone fact
They took a little of this
She got a little of that
Now Billy got a kitty, he got something to scratch
So they call her, yeah they call her the cat

She just does that double act
She got Babs and Joan down pat
She got hips like Mick, she's a Rolling Stone
Never seen a woman shake like that

She was just plain 'mister' once
Got herself fixed up real good
Just a little boy lost in the land of the free
A wiggle and a walk away from womanhood

She's so fine that the water line
Don't separate hot and cold
She got stitched up bitchy by an old M.D.
Now she's headed out to Hollywood or so I'm told

And that's a stone fact
They took a little of this
She got a little of that
Now Billy got a kitty, he got something to scratch
So they call her, yeah they call her the cat

MY ELUSIVE DRUG

I'm not the same as I used to be
All the things you've heard seem hard to believe
Haven't always been good, never really been bad
Most times I've been happy, yeah sometimes I've been sad

Sure I've made mistakes, haven't we all
I've been loose as a cannon and dumb as a wall
Haven't always been sober in counting my ducks
And if I look back now I've had my share of luck

But the change didn't come overnight
I've been searching for you all my life
All the habits that I couldn't handle
I've swept them under the rug
In exchange for the sweetest addiction
You, my elusive drug

I'm going to stay now, I really like it here
I may paint your picture, and I might grow a beard
There were times I was crazy, couldn't handle my life
Don't think you'd have liked me not at any old price

And I've taken the pills
I got burned out and chilled by the cold
But I've no regrets and that being said
You know cheap thrills can get pretty old

In exchange for the sweetest addiction
You, my elusive drug

TURN THE LIGHTS OUT WHEN YOU LEAVE

Your bag's out on the bed
Your closet's all cleared out
You say you're goin' to Jacksonville
'Cause our love's all worn out
You're searching in my eyes
To try and find a tear
But the well of my forgiveness
Has dried up with the years

You might still look pretty
In that lacey little dress
But I think you've got your signals crossed
If you think that I'm a mess

I ain't gonna die, I ain't gonna cry
I won't wear my heart out on my sleeve
You can take the car, but you won't break my heart
Oh and darlin' turn the lights out when you leave
I ain't gonna shake, I ain't gonna break
I ain't gonna fall down on my knees
So if everything's been said I'm heading back to bed
Oh and darlin' turn the lights out when you leave

It's like a prime time movie
You play the part so well
You do believe you're Heaven-sent
And livin' here is hell

I hear it's hot in Florida
And it's raining here tonight
But the sun's gonna shine tomorrow
And I'm gonna do alright

You might still look pretty
In that lacey little dress
But I think you've got your signals crossed
If you think that I'm a mess

You might still look pretty
In that lacey little dress
But I think you've got your signals crossed
If you think that I'm a mess

So if everything's been said I'm heading back to bed
Oh and darlin' turn the lights out when you leave

ANSWER IN THE SKY

Well they say that it's a fact
If you watch the sky at night
And if you stare into the darkness
You might see celestial light

And if your heart is empty
And there's no hope inside
There's a chance you'll find an answer in the sky

Well they say that it's a shame
If you have nothing to believe
And if you can't hold on to something
You might as well die where you sleep

You don't need a prayer
And there's no price to ask why
Sometimes you'll find an answer in the sky

And it's all so much bigger than it seems
And it all overwhelms us now and then
And I'm banking on a chance that we believe
That good can still control the hearts of men

Sometimes you'll find an answer in the sky

This life's a long old road
We shouldn't have to walk alone
But if you find the right companion
You won't feel so worn out when you've grown

All life is precious
And every day's a prize
And sometimes you'll find an answer in the sky

All life is precious
And every day's a prize
And sometimes you'll find an answer in the sky
And sometimes you'll find an answer in the sky
And sometimes you'll find an answer in the sky

PORCH SWING IN TUPELO

There's a porch swing in Tupelo
In the shade of the South
Where the sweet honey drips off that old hush-yo'-mouth
It's a slow road on down
That old Natchez Trace
Through Alabama cotton fields to a state of grace

It's a crisp golden Autumn
On the Tennessee line
Rolling down to Mississippi like you headed back in time
Town's closed on Sunday
Everybody's in church
It's empty as the moon this place here on Earth

And this place don't change
Some places move slow
I'm just rocking myself on this porch swing in Tupelo
I got nothing to do except hang in the breeze
Ghosts of the old South are all around me
Yea swing high, yea swing low
Here on this porch swing in Tupelo

His Mama must have loved him
That truck drivin' boy
With the grease monkey look and the rock and roll voice
Well I was just thinkin' about him
'Cause I guess he sat here
Singing all praise to God through poverty's tears

Here on this porch swing in Tupelo

Here on this porch swing in Tupelo

WEIGHT OF THE WORLD

I'm weary and I'm staying up late
And the rain hits my roof so hard
You know I'm no longer thirty these days
I'm happy to play one or two hands of cards

I hate flies in the kitchen buzzing
Disturbing the peace I've found
Fortune and fame is so fleeting these days
I'm happy to say I'm amazed that I'm still around

And the weight of the world is off my back
When we fell, we got up
And crawled out the cracks
Excuse me if I take some comfort in that
Happy today, happy to play
With the weight of the world off my back

Humidity hangs like a curtain
Oh it fogs up my glasses sometimes
You know I've still got my eyesight these days
I'm happy to see a sunset instead of a line

There's a long list of names that I don't recall
Even though my memory's good
The rain washed away the lemons and weeds
When the weight of the world weighed more than it should

I hate flies in the kitchen buzzing
Disturbing the peace I've found
Fortune and fame is so fleeting these days
I'm happy to say I'm amazed that I'm still around

I'm happy today, happy to play
With the weight of the world off my back

THIS TRAIN DON'T STOP THERE ANYMORE

You may not believe it
But I don't believe in miracles anymore
And when I think about it
I don't believe I ever did for sure
All the things I've said in songs
All the purple prose you bought from me
Reality's just black and white
The sentimental things I'd write
Never meant that much to me

I used to be the main express
All steam and whistles heading west
Picking up my pain from door to door
Riding on the storyline
Furnace burning overtime
But this train don't stop,
This train don't stop,
This train don't stop there anymore

You don't need to hear it
But I'm dried up and sick to death of love
If you need to know it
I never really understood that stuff
All the stars and bleeding hearts
All the tears that welled up in my eyes
Never meant a thing to me
Read 'em as they say and weep
I've never felt enough to cry

When I said that I don't care
It really means my engine's breaking down
The chisel chips my heart again
The granite cracks beneath my skin
I crumble into pieces on the ground

But this train don't stop,
This train don't stop,
This train don't stop there anymore

MANSFIELD

It's a case I guess of paradise lost
Ten years back on the hands of the clock
In that little house on Mansfield
On your old block
Sometimes the magic of the past is all we've got

Just you and me at a crossroads then
Ain't it funny how we were old friends
Accidentally thrown together
Did we intend
To be the romantic novel you never want to end

And it's the contact of the eye that meets across a crowded room
And how I kind of wound up the lyrics to your tune
You said, 'Funny but it feels like I've known you all my life
And how it might feel to kiss you on the mouth tonight'

In between the Star of David and the California moon
The Santa Ana winds blew warm into your room
We were crazy, wild and running
Blind to the change to come
In that little house on Mansfield
We'd wake at the break of dawn
In an Indian summer gone

In the candlelight I can recall
Your naked shadow looking ten feet tall
Like a wild pony dancing
Along the wall
Off balance I found love the only place to fall

And it's the contact of the eye that meets across a crowded room
And how I kind of wound up with the lyrics to your tune
You said, 'Funny but it feels like I've known you all my life
And how it might feel to kiss you on the mouth tonight'

LOVE HER LIKE ME

You can take her
Make her change her name
You and your old money
Dance around the flame
But you can never, never love her like me

You can charm her
Calm her when she's wild
Show a little comfort
Play with her inner child
But you can never, never love her like me

So I just close my eyes and steal her away when you sleep
Sneak her in my dreams every single day of the week
You may have her in the real world but if you could only see
How we rock this room in the twilight zone
And you can never, never love her like me, yeah

You can warm her
Charm her with your style
I know you convinced her
She's the love of your life
And no, you'll never, never love her like me

You can bless her
Keep her conscience clean
You can undress her
Go all the places I've been
But you'll never, never love her like me

BALLAD OF THE BOY IN RED SHOES

I'm stoned in the twilight
Screaming on the inside
Give me your water, help me survive
Gonna miss the sunlight
When I lose my eyesight

Give me my red shoes, I want to dance
They search for an answer
But that old man wouldn't listen
Back then I was handsome
Back then he was ignorant

And shave off the years now, it's all inside my head
The boy in the red shoes is dancing by my bed
Put them in a box somewhere, put them in a drawer
Take my red shoes, I can't wear them anymore

Had garlands in the wings back then
All the pretty little things back then
Calling out my name, oh what fame brings
After curtain calls and bows
I can't see the front row now
Hand me my red shoes just one more time

They pushed aside our presence
They refused to go the distance
Back then I was Sigmund
Back then he wouldn't listen

They pushed aside our presence
They refused to go the distance
Back then I was Sigmund
Back then he wouldn't listen
Back then I was handsome
Back then he was ignorant

Put them in a box somewhere, put them in a drawer
Take my red shoes, I can't wear them anymore
I can't wear them anymore
I can't wear them anymore

WASTELAND

Some days I think it's all a dream
The things I've done, the places that I've been
This life of mine seemed surreal at times
Wasted days and nights in someone else's mind

Could it be I'm not for real?
I've slapped my face to check out how I feel
There's hostages to prove it's true
Who lives behind the mask was never proved

Come on Robert Johnson
Though we're worlds apart
You and I know what it's like
With the devil in our heart
You sold your soul at the crossroads
Kept a little of mine on hand
I'm wading out this muddy water
Been stranded in the Wasteland

Rattling chains all around my bed
Ghosts can laugh but they're already dead
I'm not dying and I'm far from gone
The blues man spent his candle but his pain lives on

In a wasteland

In a wasteland
In a wasteland

I WANT LOVE

I want love, but it's impossible
A man like me, so irresponsible
A man like me is dead in places
Other men feel liberated

I can't love, shot full of holes
Don't feel nothing, I just feel cold
Don't feel nothing, just old scars
Toughening up around my heart

But I want love, just a different kind
I want love, won't break me down
Won't brick me up, won't fence me in
I want a love, that don't mean a thing
That's the love I want, I want love

I want love on my own terms
After everything I've ever learned
Me, I carry too much baggage
Oh man I've seen so much traffic

So bring it on, I've been bruised
Don't give me love that's clean and smooth
I'm ready for the rougher stuff
No sweet romance, I've had enough

A man like me is dead in places
Other men feel liberated

BIRDS

There's some things I don't have now
Some things I don't talk about
These things are between myself and I
In my thick skull the joker hides

There's consequences I'm scared to taste
Cold hard truths I can't face
These days are different than the past
Reflections change in the looking glass

And everywhere I look there's something to learn
A sliver of truth from every bridge we burn
A hatful of quarters and a naked song
Don't answer the question of where we belong

How come birds don't fall from the sky when they die?
How come birds always look for a quiet place to hide?
These words can't explain what I feel inside
Like birds I need a quiet place to hide

These independent moves I make
This confidence I try to fake
You can hear the beating of my heart
But not a feather falling in the dark

And everything I hear never makes any sense
Another old prophet perched on the fence
A cupful of pencils and a self help guru
Don't answer the question of what I am to you

Like birds I need a quiet place to hide

Like birds I need a quiet place to hide

ORIGINAL SIN

Oh, it's carnival night
And they're stringing the lights around you
Hanging paper angels
Painting little devils on the roof

Oh the furnace wind
Is a flickering of wings about your face
In a cloud of incense
Yea, it smells like Heaven in this place

I can't eat, can't sleep
Still I hunger for you when you look at me
That face, those eyes
All the sinful pleasures deep inside

Tell me how, you know now, the ways and means of getting in
Underneath my skin
Oh you were always my original sin
And tell me why I shudder inside every time we begin
This dangerous game
Oh you were always my original sin

A dream will fly
The moment that you open up your eyes
A dream is just a riddle
Ghosts from every corner of your life

Up in the balcony
All the Romeo's are bleeding for your hand
Blowing theater kisses
Reciting lines they don't understand

I can't eat, can't sleep
Still I hunger for you when you look at me
That face, those eyes
All the sinful pleasures deep inside

AMERICAN TRIANGLE

Seen him playing in his backyard
Young boy just starting out
So much history in this landscape
So much confusion, so much doubt

Been there drinking on that front porch
Angry kids, mean and dumb
Looks like a painting, that blue skyline
God hates fags where we come from

'Western skies' don't make it right
'Home of the brave' don't make no sense
I've seen a scarecrow wrapped in wire
Left to die on a high ridge fence
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold wind blowing, Wyoming

See two coyotes run down a deer
Hate what we don't understand
You pioneers give us your children
But it's your blood that stains their hands

Somewhere that road forks up ahead
To ignorance and innocence
Three lives drift on different winds
Two lives ruined, one life spent

It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold wind blowing, blowing, Wyoming

LOOK MA, NO HANDS

I'll take a rainy day to make a champagne shower
Poach some horn and tusk to build an ivory tower
Been to Philadelphia the day it was closed
I walked to New Orleans down a Louisiana road

The skeletons they hung from the bushes and the trees
But not a skull among them said boo to me
In a time of wine and cheap cigars I'm on top of the world
Top of the world Ma

Look Ma no hands
Look Ma ain't life grand
I'm a super power, and I'm a handy man
Didn't I turn out, didn't I turn out to be
Everything you wanted Ma
Ain't you proud of me

It takes a silver tongue to have the Midas touch
Not your alchemist making gold from rust
Been down in Roswell when the Martians came
I sailed to Mandeville across Lake Pontchartrain

The skeletons they hung from the bushes and the trees
But not a skull among them said boo to me
In a time of wine and cheap cigars I'm on top of the world
Top of the world Ma

Didn't I turn out, didn't I turn out to be
Everything you wanted Ma
Ain't you proud of me

DARK DIAMOND

Oh, I'm a dark diamond
I've turned hard and cold
Once was a jewel with fire in my soul
There's two sides of a mirror
One I couldn't break through
Stayed trapped on the inside, wound up losing you

Tell me how does it work?
How do you make things fit?
Spent all my life trying to get it right
I've put it together and it falls apart
I thought to myself I might understand
But when the wall's built, and the heart hardens
You get a dark diamond, dark diamond

Oh, I'm a dark diamond
But you're something else
You read me more than I read myself
The one star I could count on
Only comet I could trust
You burnt through my life to the true meaning of love

You get a dark diamond, dark diamond
You get a dark diamond, dark diamond

THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES

We bet on our lives and we bet on the horses
In that upstairs apartment on Orlando and 4th
And the rent was due and the rent man was knocking
Like a Chinese proverb we were always searching

Nightlife's a no-win but nobody noticed
How we killed off the bottles looking good on the surface
The dog days barked and the house cat got old
We were Bonnie and Clyde in the emperor's new clothes

And the tears never came

They just stayed in our eyes
We refused to admit that we wore this disguise
Every inch of us growing
Like Pinocchio's nose
As we walked around in the emperor's new clothes

We flew by our wits and by the seat of our pants
In the state of illusion in the nation of chance
And the repo was hauling the wreck we'd been driving
As the dashboard Madonna smiled back at us kindly

We cheated the system never batting an eyelid
Seeing only the good through the holes in our shoes
And our halos were rusty but we wore them proudly
We were two little gods in the emperor's new clothes

We were Bonnie and Clyde in the emperor's new clothes

QUEEN OF CITIES

El Dorado, queen of cities
Paradise so wisely hid
Overshadows Barcelona
Aragon, Castille, Madrid
Where on Earth can match your riches
Match your people fine and free
Why return to old world values
This is how the earth should be

El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado
El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado

El Dorado, queen of cities
Overflowing with excess
Every turn exotic, lavish
Precious wonders numberless
Lead me now into temptation
Surely you would not deny
One who's come so far to find you
All your blessings save goodbye

El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado
El Dorado, (she could be the death of me) El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado

El Dorado, golden prison
Sheer perfection, sheer despair
How can one who knows such splendour
Feel the answer lies elsewhere
All I know is I must leave her
Or she'll be the death of me
Put my trust in poorer places
Let the queen of cities be

El Dorado, (must leave her) El Dorado (queen of cities)
El Dorado, (sheer perfection) El Dorado

El Dorado, (or she'll be the death of me) El Dorado
El Dorado, (queen of cities) El Dorado

(Must leave her) El Dorado, (queen of cities)
El Dorado, (sheer perfection) El Dorado

El Dorado, (or she'll be the death of me) El Dorado
El Dorado, (queen of cities) El Dorado

MY HEART DANCES

I see you in the distance and I see us as we are
So nearly so contented but a careless word too far
I see you in confusion for a once enchanted boy
My heart dances, oh, but not for joy

I longed to love you better but I swear I don't know how
You could have been my future but I had to have it now
The things we love completely we are fated to destroy
My heart dances, oh, but not for joy

It's easy to be certain that another's heart will fall
Much harder to be certain of your own
It moves you, and inspires you then it drives you to the wall
And leaves you so excited but alone

My heart dances, oh...
My heart dances, oh...
My heart dances, oh, but not for joy...

TRUST ME

Looking back it makes me shiver
Don't be scared to kick the past
Selling lovers down the river
Nothing built for speed will last overnight

All those years of desolation
Pretty boys and damage done
Not the way to find salvation
Looking after number one

Trust me, trust me
I'm giving you a chance, so take it
I got all you want, you'll make it
Standing there in front of me, you're naked
You can't hide a thing, you've got no choice
Trust me

Too many years your heart has wandered
Scared to make a final move
Too many nights those boys have squandered
You got nothing left to prove

IT'S TOUGH TO BE A GOD

I hardly think I'm qualified
To come across all sanctified
I just don't cut it with the cherubim
The town's already on its knees
Being worshipped is a breeze
I barely know the words to any hymn

Listen if we don't comply
With the locals' wishes I
Can see us being sacrificed or stuffed
Let's be Gods, the perks are great
El Dorado on a plate
Local feelings should not be rebuffed

It's tough to be a God
Tread where mortals have not trod
Be deified when really you're a sham
Be an object of devotion
Be the subject of psalms
It's a terrifying notion
All those prayers and those salaams
Any normal man would bridle if he's forced to be an idol
And a normal man's exactly what I am

All the same it's pretty clear
The scoundrels don't keep much up here
They must have zillions under lock and key
But gods can force them to unleash
Enough to make us nouveau riche
Beyond our wildest dreams so follow me

Can't you see I won't relax
If religious maniacs
Tell me I'm all-powerful and sublime
How can I be their belief
When I'm lying through my teeth
Why don't we just say some other time

It's tough to be a God
But if you get the peoples' nod
Count your blessings, keep them sweet is my advice
Be nirvana be salvation
Be all things to all men
Butter up your congregation
Every Sunday score a ten
The alternative is dire
Simply frying pan to fire
So sign on two new gods for paradise

THE PANIC IN ME

Often these days
And always these nights
I find I'm afraid
Of the turbulent heights
No matter how crazily
No matter how far
The moments of tenderness
Are those where you are

For when you are laughing
Like silver, like rain
You cool me, you soothe me
And love me again
For a few perfect hours
The world lets me be
You know how to calm down, Oh oh
The panic in me
The panic in me
The panic in me
The panic in me

Once in a while
I slip back to my past
Where I long to remain
But the dream does not last
In the trials of the present
No matter how low
You bring me such peace
And you won't let me go

In the trials of the present
No matter how low
You bring me such peace
And you won't let me go
Oh don't let me go

SIXTEENTH CENTURY MAN

Oh it's great to see our homeland
Breathe the Iberian atmosphere
Just because we are Hispanic
Doesn't mean we're oceanic
Quite frankly we've had water up to here

We've nade waves to last a lifetime
We've been saturated, almost drowned
We are Spanish not Caribbean
We are human, not amphibian
We'll seek our fortunes on Spain's solid ground

There's no future in the new world
Only fools believe the tales
Of the gold of El Dorado
Only suckers set their sails
We have seen the way the tide is turning
Cortez is a charlatan
We are on the ball, discerning
We're anit-diluvian
Two very fine examples of sixteenth century man
Two very modern samples of sixteenth, sixteenth century man

There are women who are lining
Every avenue in every port
Now at last we'll get to grips with
Things they never equip ships with
We have sailed into our last resort

There's no goldmine in the new world
It's a trick to get recruits
On the boat to El Dorado
We're returning to our roots
We're going back to land-locked ladies
Cortez never let them board
All in all the point we've made is
We don't want to go abroad
Two very fine examples of sixteenth century man
Two terra firma samples of sixteenth, sixteenth century man
Two very fine examples of sixteenth century man
Two terra firma samples of sixteenth century man

THE TRAIL WE BLAZE

Look out new world here we come
Brave, intrepid and then some
Pioneers of maximum
Audacity whose resumés
Show that we are just the team
To live where others merely dream
Building up a head of steam
On the trail we blaze

Changing legend into fact
We shall ride into history
Turn myth into truth
We shall surely gaze
On the sweet unfolding
Of an antique mystery
All will be revealed
On the trail we blaze

Paradise is close at hand
Shangri-la the promised land
Seventh heaven on demand
Quite unusual nowadays
Virgin vistas, undefiled
Minds and bodies running wild
In the man behold the child
On the trail we blaze

The trail we blaze
Is a road uncharted
Through terra incognita to a golden shrine
No place for the traveler
To be faint-hearted
We are part of the sumptuous grand design

Shangri-la the promised land
Seventh heaven on demand
Quite unusual nowadays
Virgin vistas, undefiled
Minds and bodies running wild
In the man behold the child
On the trail we blaze

FRIENDS NEVER SAY GOODBYE

There isn't much I haven't shared with you along the road
And through it all there'd always be tomorrow's episode
Suddenly that isn't true
There's another avenue
Beckoning the great divide
Ask no questions, take no side
Who's to say who's right or wrong, whose course is braver run
Still we are, have always been, will ever be as one

What is done has been done for the best
Though the mist in my eyes might suggest
Just a little confusion about what I'll lose
But if I started over I know I would choose
The same joy, the same sadness each step of the way
That fought me and tought me that friends never say
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye

Suddenly that isn't true
There's another avenue
Beckoning, the great divide
I would choose
The same joy, the same sadness each step of the way
That fought me and taught me that friends never say
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye

WITHOUT QUESTION

The more I learn, the more I see
The less the world impassions me
The hungry heart, the roving eye
Have come to rest, do not apply
The frantic chase, the crazy ride
The thrill has gone, I step aside

And I'd believe in anything were it not for you
Showing me by just existing only this is true
I love you, I love you, without question, I love you

The more I want the more I steal
The more I hold the less is real
All worldly things I follow blind
In hope not faith was paid in kind
The line is drawn, the change is made
I come to you, I'm not afraid

SOMEDAY OUT OF THE BLUE (Theme From El Dorado)

Someday out of the blue
In a crowded street or a deserted square
I'll turn and I'll see you
As if our love were new
Someday we can start again, someday soon

Here comes the night
Here come the memories
Lost in your arms
Down in the foreign fields
Not so long ago
Seems like eternity
Those sweet afternoons
Still capture me

I still believe
I still put faith in us
We had it all and watched it slip away
Where are we now
Not where we want to be
Those hot afternoons
Still follow me

Someday out of the blue
Maybe years from now
Or tomorrow night
I'll turn and I'll see you
As if we always knew
Someday we would live again, someday soon

I still believe, I still put faith in us
I still believe, I still put faith in us
I still believe, I still put faith in us

Here comes the night
Here come the memories
Lost in your arms
Down in the foreign fields
Not so long ago
Seems like eternity
Those sweet afternoons
Still capture me

Someday out of the blue
Maybe years from now
Or tomorrow night
I'll turn and I'll see you
As if we always knew
Someday we would live again, someday soon

I still believe, I still put faith in us
I still believe, I still put faith in us
I still believe, I still put faith in us...

EL DORADO

Our glorious city
Was build by the divinities, by gods
Who saw fit to bestow
The gift of a pardise
Peaceful and harmonious upon
Us mere mortals below

And made El Dorado
The magnificent and golden
One thousand years ago
El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado

But all this was granted
For only one millenium
I know my legacy is to fulfill
My promise to all my people
Who have trusted me, the gods
Will approve of us still

Preserve El Dorado
The magnificent and golden
And I believe they will
El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado
El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado

The mountains so high and waters deep
Are her disguise
Her secrets are safe from foreign hands
And eyes forever

Preserve El Dorado
The magnificent and golden
And I believe they will
El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado
El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado
El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado
El Dorado, El Dorado, El Dorado

THE MUSE

When I can't find words and wisdom in my life
And barriers abound
Should I feel blinded by the light
Knee deep up to my neck in heavy water
I conjure up my muse
She's my means to achieve a simple quota

When it's make or break
Make no mistake
She appears like lightening in a bottle
I catch the spark
Oh she lights the dark
The knot's undone the ideas come
Like two hands on a throttle

There's a place of one way streets and doubt
No red lights ever change
We wind up with no exit out
Facts are facts and stumbling blocks delay the mind
That's when my muse arrives
To sew loose ends up in time

ENCHANTMENT PASSING THROUGH

My days out on the field are all but ended
They'll put me out to grass which means the throne
Bedecked and bejeweled alongside my intended
I feel as though my heart is set in stone

I'd always dreamed of unremitting glory
And scrambling to the top of every pile
But suddenly that's someone else's story
My past and future hard to reconcile

For just because I've triumphed as a slaver
Brought booty back to Egypt by the ton
Of this and every month, I'm now the flavor
And scheduled to do things I've never done

And why should I tell you this ?
A stranger I just met
A woman who in hours from now I'll certainly forget
Anonymous and undemanding
Enchantment passing through
My secrets lack of confidence are safe enough with you

Oh maybe there's a place for blind ambition
And maybe there's a reason for our state
But I don't want to be in the position
Of knowing what I want when it's too late
My triumph is the triumph of a slaver
My riches are the riches of a thief
And now I wonderjust who is the braver
The man who's called to arms, or a belief ?

And why should I tell you this?
A stranger I just met
A woman who in hours from now I'll certainly forget
Anonymous and undemanding
Enchantment passing through
My secret lack of confidence is safe enough with you

THE GODS LOVE NUBIA

Take me in my dreams recurring
Cheerful as a childhood dance
Into one more taste of freedom
One more longing backward glance

In the sway of somber music
I shall never, never understand
Let me slip into the sweeter
Chorus of that other land

The gods love Nubia, the beautiful, the golden
The radiant, the fertile, the gentle and the blessed
The pain of Nubia is only of the moment
The desolate, the suffering, the plundered, the oppressed

The gods love Nubia, the glorious creation
The songs roll sweetly across the harvest plain
The tears of Nubia, a passing aberration
They wash into the river and are never cried again

The gods love Nubia, we have to keep believing
The scattered and divided, we are still it's heart
The fall of Nubia, ephemeral and fleeting
The spirit always burning though the flesh is torn apart

THE MESSENGER

Everything is settled, immovable and calm
Nothing that has plagued our lives can ever do us harm
Then the voices railed against us, then the path was steep
Now the sounds are softer, now the road is ended
In your arms, I'll sleep

Turn away from madness, burn the inner light
Pray for me as cheerfully as I slip into the night
Death is just a visitor watching for a while
Sullen and predictable, love is versatile

Everything is peaceful, and falling into place
I no longer feel the wounds suffered in the chase
Then we were at turns divided, then by turns oppressed
Now the pain is over, now we lie together
Gratefully at rest

Put aside the notion that the end is near
Stay with me eternally, the terrors disappear
Death is just a messenger in a poor disguise
Fooling no one, lost for words, love is in your eyes

Now we know as we are known, unimagined things
Death is just the messenger, love the truth it brings

HOW I KNOW YOU

I grew up in your hometown, at least began to grow
I hadn't got to my first shave before the body blow
Egyptians in the courtyard, my family in chains
You witnessed our abduction which possibly explains

How I know you
How I know you

Before that fateful morning my family enjoyed
A privileged existence, for my father was employed
As advisor to the king, no less, which surely rings a bell
For as you are his daughter, you probably can tell

How I know you
How I know you

Enough of reminiscence, and such happy memories
The reason why I know you well is really none of these
It's just you reek of royalty, you ooze uncommon grace
I'd know you were a princess, in any time and place

Yes I know you
How I know you
Yes I know you
How I know you

ELABORATE LIVES

We all lead such elaborate lives
Wild ambitions in our sights
How an affair of the heart survives
Days apart and hurried nights

Seems quite unbelievable to me
I don't want to live like that
Seems quite unbelievable to me
I don't want to love like that
I just want our time to be slower and gentler, wiser, free

We all live in extravagant times
Playing games we can't all win
Unintended emotional crimes
Take some out, take others in

I'm so tired of all we're going through
I don't want to live like that
I'm so tired of all we're going through
I don't want to love like that
I just want to be with you now and forever, peaceful, true

I wish I had the courage
To tell you face to face
But I could wait forever
For the perfect time and place

We all live such elaborate lives
We don't know whose words are true
Strangers, lovers, husbands, wives
Hard to know whose loving who

Too many choices tear us apart
I don't want to live like that
Too many choices tear us apart
I don't want to love like that
I just want to touch your heart, may this confession be the start

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON

Don't come on so cocksure boy, you can't escape your genes
No point in feeling purer boy, your background intervenes
Listen good and listen straight, you're not the master of your fate
To this you must be reconciled, you'll always be your father's child
At times acclaimed, at times reviled
You'll wind up doing just what I've done
Like father, like son
Like father, like son

Don't assume your vices get handed down the line
That a parent's blood suffices to condemn the child's design
I've done wrong, I can't deny, but at least I know that I
Shouldn't blame that on my stock, this may come as quite a shock
But I'm no chip off any block, I wouldn't wish those words on anyone
Like father, like son

He's lost all sense of reason, and why? Some filthy slave
That is the road called treason
That winds up in the grave
Just like me he's found that flesh
Can excite but will enmesh
Once we rid him of this blight
Once this harlot's out of sight
Then I Think he'll see the light
He won't walk back to daddy he will run
Like father, like son

A STEP TOO FAR

It's so strange he doesn't show me more affection than he needs
Almost formal, too respectful, never takes romantic leads
There are times when I imagine I'm not always on his mind
He's not thinking what I'm thinking
Always half a step behind
Always half a step behind

I'm in every kind of trouble, can't you tell, just look at me
Half ecstatic, half dejected, all in all I'm all at sea
Easy turns I thought I wanted, fill me now with chilling dread
You can never know the chaos
Of a life turned on its head
Of a life turned on its head

I am certain that I love him, but a love can be misplaced
Have I compromised my people in my passion and my haste
I could be his life companion anywhere but where we are
Am I leader, am I traitor
Did I take a step too far
Did I take a step too far

AMNERI'S LETTER

I'm sorry for everything I've said
And for anything I forgot to say too
When things get so complicated
I stumble, at best, muddle through

I wish that our lives could be simple
I don't want the world, only you
Oh, I wish I could tell you this face to face
But there's never the time, never the place
And this letter will have to do
I love you

NOT ME

I once knew all the answers
I stood on certain ground
A picture of true happiness
Confidence so effortless
No brighter could be found

I never asked the questions
That trouble me today
I knew all there was to know
Love worn lightly, put on show
A conquest on display

And who would have thought his love could be so good ?
Not me, not me
My secrets and my passions understood ?
Not me, not me
Who would have guessed he'd throw his world away

To be with someone till his dying day ?
Not me, not me
I shall not envy lovers
But long for what they share
An empty room is merciless
Don't be surprised if I confess
I need some comfort there

And who would have thought his love could be so good ?
Not me, not me
My secrets and my passions understood ?
Not me, not me
Who would have guessed he'd throw his world away
To be with someone till his dying day ?
Not me, not me

But not me, oh not me

I KNOW THE TRUTH

How have I come to this
How did I slip and fall
How did I throw half a lifetime away
Without any thought at all

This should've been my time
It's over, it never began
Facing a world, for once not on my side
I simply turned and ran

I try to blame it on fortune
Some kind of twist in my fate
But I know the truth and it haunts me
I learned it a little too late

I know the truth and it mocks me
I know the truth and it shocks me
I learned it a little too late

People have faith in me
I think I once did too
I promise whoever has a hold on our lives
I'll see the bad times through

This should have been my time
It's over, it never began
Facing a world, for once not on my side
I simply turned and ran

I try to blame it on fortune
Some kind of shift in the stars
But I know the truth and it haunts me
It's flown just a little too far

I know the truth and it mocks me
I know the truth and it shocks me
It's flown just a little too far

I try to blame it on fortune
Some kind of twist in my fate
But I know the truth and it haunts me
I learned it a little too late