BACK

   SONGS:

1. December Mornings
2. Louise, Say Goodbye
3. I Went Out And Jammed
4. An Angel Who Never Would Know It
5. Boy On A Bicycle
6. Did I Disturb Your World?
7. Where Are All Your Friends Tonight?
8. It's A Long Way Home Under The Trees
9. On A Familiar Street
10. Jenny
11. There Are No Experts
12. Everything's Gonna Be Different
13. Stone-Like On A Yellow Hill
14. Drunk On The Moon, Drunk On The Past

DECEMBER MORNINGS

December mornings are such a surrender and the time frosts on the windows. Oh, I can't tell what the winter will render but it's not always good to know. I'm so tired and lonely and I can't skate the fence. I don't think you can ever love me only. Would you show me some evidence? We all need a hand to hold. I'm a young man who is already old and I wish that I could find some sign that love is bold. You left me spinning into oblivion in the middle of December. It's snowing and it's cold.

Gonna catch a ride with the Bacchus cavalry. Gonna be wild and winsome like a song. Oh, just put me out of my misery. Tell me why I feel I just can't belong. I been strung along like a twister. Been runnin' on aimlessly. Your cheeks are pale. Would you let me in? I can't let you in. I got no wind in my broken sails. Tell me why, when you're weary, the world seems to travel so slow. Oh, I'm as mighty and as teary as a little side act at a rodeo show. If you told me you loved me that would be the sweetest sound and yet I don't think you'd be alone. I can't believe you'd ever always hang around.

So call me empty. I'll say I'm sorry. I'd love to hold you unconditionally. But there's a cold wind blowin' across my bedroom and I am sorry, so so sorry. If I told you that I loved you would your feet ever leave the ground?

LOUISE, SAY GOODBYE

I know it'd be easy if I could just break away from this same old swing set, these same old trees but in my heart, I know I'll stay. Got to move, got to open my eyes when that part of me dies. Open up your eyes. It's so beautiful, wonderful. Something you've never seen before. Swinging on a swing set. So young, so innocent.

Would you know it was beautiful if it never came to an end? I'll hold on to my tune as the light fills the room, you're gonna be beautiful soon. Kickin' around the neighborhood. Remember when you were up to no good. Runnin', playin', singin'. In the distance, bells were ringin'. Ring those bells, ring those bells. Let's remember ourselves.

Everything in front, all that passed behind. I think I'll find my dreams down on Hollywood and Vine. Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up your guitar and play. Create tomorrow and sing for yesterday. You got those flowers all around you. You got ribbons in your hair. I think we could grow old together. I know it's now or never.

We dream of who we wanted to be. We dream of who we were to each other. All the days that pass into reverie. Frosty windows, frosty days. Catchin' a train to New York. Wish I was in San Diego, where the ocean seems to touch your eyes so slow - so mellow like gold. Let's go where the air is light. Where there is music. Music, movin' your hips. I think I could kiss your lips.

Dirty old streets. Give me my winter coat. Give me some time alone. To wander through the snow and sleet. I think I'll figure it out. Why you don't remember all the things I remember. When snowy December chills me to my soul. To my very ember.

Louise, say Goodbye. Those beautiful days are gone. But something strange and different will come.

When you're caught between the chords of a song. The triumphant strain brings me back home again. Ring them bells, ring them loud. Say goodbye, say hello. Ring them bells. Let us remember ourselves. Just put your dusty old boot heel upon the first stair. Catch a train. You'll go far away, in the great open spaces. Spread your wings. You're going away. Kickin' around the ideas of your younger years. Something you learned so long ago. Before you knew how to know. You're going out into a night of deep black. The night is out of whack. And I know you're not coming back. Sometimes it feels so good to be hopelessly alone. But all I'm after is trying to find someone who's been alone.

I WENT OUT AND JAMMED

I went out and jammed tonight. So you think you're not so young anymore. You realize that you're the age you thought you'd die or peak before. But your life is not about one moment, when those greens hills start to make sense. Even if you lost something. Even a well-worn compliment. You stare at the wall and remember what it felt like to dream. Now you measure your mornings with a newspaper and coffee crème. Well, the days pass before you realize that you were in love. You've got your regrets, dear, I know the ones you're thinking of. Put my fingers down on the piano and make some sense of all this mess. Try to make music of the perfume in your room or the wind blowin' through your dress.

It's been a long time, such a long time, since I thought I knew just exactly what to do. What was the right way to get over or to get through. And so here we go, like dogs of war, fighting in a white-walled home. I don't belong to anyone. I'm gonna go chase the sun. I'm haunted by my dreams. Dreams of holding you, when you were so young, so new. Like the smell of morning, like the autumn dew. You look over my shoulder as if to discover someone. The air has grown colder and the day is done. Why don't we stroll merrily? Shake the shack dancin' all drunken night long, getting lost in the throes of a song. Feelin' weak and feelin' strong. For just as you step into the morning air, the sun will cut you outside the door. I want the angel, I want the whore and I don't want to be wanting anymore.

A man spoke to me as he held his gray beard and looked at the dawn. He said the time is best that is the first, you're clean and healthy and strong. A clean slate, at heaven's gate, you just can't wait to live like you were pre-destined to. Oh, I remember things I've never done. I've loved some lovely ones. But she's always disappearing, she's always God-fearing, and she's always the passionate one. My candle is burning bright and loud, but it won't burn for long, it won't last for this crowd. Darling, you'll see it is strong, wild and winsome, like a song. Put your hand where you left it before. Don't look back on that Pacific shore. Alice has got her new shoes on. The radio is loud and the rainbow's in the dawn. I think I may, I think I might, take her out on Saturday night.

AN ANGEL WHO WOULD NEVER KNOW IT

We pulled out of San Francisco last night
Seems like snow seems to stop you from
Going where everything is right
Well a song came on to the radio
I first heard it when I was young
Full of romance
And ready to go
Just outside your window I heard
Those ivy boys crow
And the song hit me in my soul
And it painted such a large scene
If I had been blessed to
Have life be a progression
From bad to good
I'm not sure the song would
Not hit me, the way it did back then
Stirred only by the wind
Now the song brings to light
All the failures, the disappointments
And the things I've never been
But maybe I have taken the path
Of the vanquished
And maybe those who vanquish
Are listening to those same songs
But finding the meaning that I once did
Under their fur coats
Keeping all of their secrets hidden
So that we may not find out

You have so many choices
Don't fear the great erratum of your life
Everyone has them
Failure is everywhere
But what happens to those
Who arrive at the end of their lives
To find their dreams unmet
The absence of wealth, prominence,
Accomplishment, or family
You must work on what is
Within your control
And relinquish all that is not

BOY ON A BICYCLE

Hey, what do you know? That boy on the bicycle, he's riding so slow. He could have been a thief but he's too clean to show. After so much time, after so many sighs, so many lazy mornings, it has to end. But we'll meet again in some smoky, all night café. And you'll tell me how you missed me and all my idiosyncrasies. And we'll look each other in the eyes and wonder if it could have been. If we hadn't been so lazy and abandoned each other for…what was it again?

And we'll faintly ask, could we test fate? But now it's much too late. Here 'neath the burgundy moon and the drifters who pass beyond us soon and somewhere in the hazy night an old man dies from a broken heart that stole his might. But next to him the lovers yearn, they burn with passion, they toss and turn. Don't ignore them. So there you are with your yellow dress and the scarf up on your beautiful chest, I think that I could love you now! But it's too late, in a smoky, all-night café. Soon, it will be another day and you will wake in someone's room and forget about tonight's moon but the sadness and the joy that you feel tonight is real, I swear, it's real.

Remember the green grass on Sunday morning? You and I thought we could conquer our dreams but tonight the moon is hurting my eyes, I think I can ask it why. Why was the moon so low that August night? And why did the light hit her just right? And why did the music sound so crazy and so slow? And why did I forget it was a radio? Well, you climbed upon your front porch and whistled about all the fear that's real and about how you thought you'd sold your soul. And you were gonna die. And it's impossible to ever say just what you feel. Follow me down a certain serenade. The world went turning around while the band stopped and then played. I think I wept and prayed when the cars rolled by in the rain and sprayed you. I love you, I love you.

DID I DISTURB YOUR WORLD?

Was I wrong? Did I disturb your world? You were such an optimistic little girl. You wrote your books and felt that writing could go on forever, or at least until you had a sense of finality. But was I wrong, beautiful girl, to think that I could organize the world? When your father went away there was so much left to say, so much left to say. So much more music to make. When Otis went away. There was so much left to say. So much more music to make. So many more shows to play. Now you feel at home. Shooting stars 'neath the red light of the casino. Drink Blue Hawaii's in the afterglow and the children playing in the schoolyard. They seem so distant, so hard. You don't watch them concentrate and deem the world so vast, so great. Instead the red lights call to you. But they're not fresh, they're a hellish hue.

You say, "I'm gonna meet the girl, I'm gonna take the chance, I'm gonna risk it all and tragedy I will forestall." We sat in the dark, in a smoky café and the candles were red, the people were gray but they moved so streamline. The people would sway and we had so many important things to say. We weren't afraid of the dark. We had things to do. I was a fellow with the arms of a broadband in the day and you were just a virgin in the graveyard where the non-virgins lay. I now know this, as I reflect, in this cheap restaurant, among the scum and villainy.

WHERE ARE ALL YOUR FRIENDS TONIGHT?

It's a long way home under the trees. Why don't you gaze out on the lake? Where is Missy now? Has she changed somehow? I just want to sit inside and play my guitar. Watch the raindrops fall. Wish upon a star. Forever is tonight, all the shades of gray, all your friends who went away. Playing in the field, playing ball, back against the wall. I don't have the things I want but I don't regret it. I want to be out on 51st street where the lovers meet.

Saw a good friend the other day. We talked about the way things used to be. But I'm not interested in that. Now that you've got the symphony and your daddy's cat and me, I've got the promise of a few songs and I'm sorry the guitar is out of tune. Go down to the market on a warm afternoon. Pretty baby, brand new clothes.

It's almost New Year's Day. And I still don't have those songs in order and the last I'd heard, my old lady, she's living near the border. Here we are, take one more shot. Baby, you know that's all you got. And tell me about how you're so misunderstood and how well you could write a book if only somebody would take a look. I got the company on the phone. Should I tell them anyone is home? Should I tell them about your novel? Hop in your Cadillac and get out of the city. Get away from it all. You either got it or you don't. I heard a man say he had everything he'd ever wanted. Well, I ask my traveling companion what that means. When your dreams are exceeded by your means. I think it's about time to get out of this hotel bar, away from the salsa band. Feels like Mardi Gras has got to end. So I got to head for the door and I don't want tonight to end anymore than you. But there are things I've just got to do. I've got to turn it away. Got bills to pay. Got a book to write. Got pictures to take. I'm on the make

ON A FAMILIAR STREET

On a familiar street he makes his run. He remembered his father's words and he always looked like one who came from the old days. From 1979. Now he looks at his picture, how young he was and reflects. How small your life is. Pour a drink on this familiar street. Remember the places you'd like to go and the faces you want to meet. Now he looks at a picture of his father as a child and he feels like a stranger but he knows that it's wild that his dad's ideas of who he should be are not relevant. Have a safe home and the love of your family. He sits with the photos beneath a wild oak tree and it's all right!

I'm sorry that I didn't tell you the truth and you didn't find out till you were out on the loose. You won't find an unfamiliar street that will stay that way for long and you can't go on pining for the scars on your tree. Don't be sorry for the person you didn't turn out to be.

JENNY

Jenny, why does your face look so cold? You're too young to look so old. I know your car won't start and you've got a broken heart but Saint Pedro's got the blues and he offered to take the cues walkin' around this dusty Mexicali bar with broken English and holes in his shoes. I've been singing for so long, I think I'll lose my voice. You say that I chose this life, but I don't think I had a choice.

Grandma's always talking about angels. I think I'm starting to believe in them. She makes me breakfast and we talk but soon I'll have to leave. Do you think you have control over the person you become? Do you think that you're not in LA because you haven't won? Well, I've been fighting for years against the current and against myself to return to the place I should be, in full splendor and health.

Open up the highway for the lovers and leavers. Come with me to where the rivers end. I'm not sure, but you may be a keeper. Look into my eyes. I see myself, I swear. And I see tomorrow in the sun in your hair. Is a man measured by the breadth of his trouble? Cuz tonight I think I'm seeing double. Look before you leap. When you walk out that door and when you hesitate, you're lost. The poets never prosper, of this we can be sure.

THERE ARE NO EXPERTS

The room was empty but that's what he chose. And his doors remain closed. I thought I could change. I meant it. I meant every word I said. If I come looking for you, will I like what I find? This old harmonica is still on my mind. The love I gave seems to bind the way we have to deal with the business of the past few years forever. I wish you the best and I meant everything that I said. On the late, late nights, when I felt dead on 52nd street. We could try to find something real. If I come looking for you, will I like what I find? Are the same one that I loved and that loved me? I woke up with a headache and all I thought of was the sun break and being in love. It's so simple but it's not for me. I'm sorry babe, but I can't stay.

All the wine can't save tonight. The dog barks outside and the thieves have been caught. You caught me on the only question that really matters. With the summer turnin' and the yesterdays shattered. Everybody has to say goodbye. I feel sick. But your memory haunts me. I keep telling myself this is what it's like to be free. How do people, on a vacant 52nd street, chance to change each other's lives when they happen to meet? There's no idea better than you. there's no day that I can't do without you. It's my fault. I realize that, somehow. The clouds are gone and I can organize now.

Perhaps I was spoiled by all your love. My thoughts are out there on the road. I'm thinking about all the greats and how they handled these things. Nobody's perfect and I'm certainly no different, but surely some are stronger than this. So I sit on the beach. The waters always just out of reach and I face the problems. Can't you see? There are no experts, it's just you and me.

EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE DIFFERENT

You don't know who you are or why you come here today. You remember the comments of the friends who get in your way. If friends are like memories, you've still got everyone but sometimes when the dope sleeps he's still got a setting sun. everything's gonna be different when we get there, baby, everything's gonna be different when we make it over the hill.

When the night is lonely and you can't find the words that make you feel better. Collect the best words you've heard. We'll you're all alone on the 22nd floor and nobody's been knockin' at your door. It's been so long and you feel like you're alone. You've forgotten the battle and you don't know who won.

STONE-LIKE ON A YELLOW HILL

I sat stone-like on a yellow hill. One day I'll make this town shine. You know I will. Cuz I've got dreams and I've got time and I know when to make the moment mine. But what happens to your dream when you get busy and change your course? What happened to the path you never took? Does it follow you? Does it nag you? Don't let it taunt you or destroy your spirit. When your dream is not fulfilled you lose hope and you lose your grip.

Does the moon still sing in a spectral light? Can you only hear it in the night? I swung by your house, could hear you sighing, whispering about all the dreams that God is denying. I'm so sad cuz all those roses in the flower box are dying. Outside your window, I'm here trying to go for what it is we talked about in an all night café when we got clear about our dreams and the whole world was in the way.

DRUNK ON THE MOON, DRUNK ON THE PAST

Look at the stars. Gaze out on the lake. Let's get drunk and swim through the sea and the sleep until we wake. People come and then they die. They swim like ghosts between you and me. I'll let you can rock me with a subtle groove. In your eyes there is room to move.

I love the taste of wine. Don't laugh and call me hopeless. Cuz you'll be gone soon and you'll prove faithless. When the moon speckles on the evening lake I feel a part of my soul shake. And the wine is red like blood in the night. You forget about what is wrong and what is right.

Is it impossible to say what you mean? There's no room to move, no light for the dream. I'm drunk on the moon. Drunk on the past. It's impossible for any of it to last. Cold fingers, put them in mine. Such a pathetic desperation. It's time to unwind.

Kick off those old shoes. Baby, I know you've got the blues. There's a burgundy moon and you've got nothin' to lose. Give me time to soak in life. I can only do my best. Give me time to look for light. I just want the crowd to be there when we're finally blessed.

I've got too much to lose. We've been thinking about who we want to be. It all sounds empty to me. Where did the sun go? It used to shine one the hills that we covered in snow. I'm drunk on the moon and drunk on the past. It's impossible for any of this to last.

BACK