1. |
Best Shirt On
03:07
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Sometimes I fall
Straight down into nothing
Sometimes I float
Oh, right up into the ceiling
But it keeps getting harder and harder
To make it on my own
But I’m trying
I got my best shirt on
Another one just like it
Hanging in my closet
My best shirt on
You can try it on for size
I think you’re gonna like it
And sometimes I’ll do
Anything for attention
And I comb my hair in the mirror
Like a man on a mission
I thought that I might find you here
After you close the store
I’m still waiting
I got my best shirt on
Another one just like it
Hanging in my closet
My best shirt on
You can try it on for size
I think you’re gonna like it
Oh yeah!
I got my best shirt on
Another one just like it
Hanging in my closet
My best shirt on
You can try it on for size
I think you’re gonna like it
Another one just like it
Hanging in my closet
You can try it on for size
I think you’re gonna like it
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2. |
High as Johnny Thunders
03:18
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If Bukowski was good looking
And Napoleon was tall
If Joan of Arc just took her meds
She’d be a movie star
If up was down and down was up
Imagine where we’d be
The New York Dolls would still be here
And music would be free
And I’d be high
As high as Johnny Thunders
In the land that time forgot
High as Johnny Thunders
Well, if Romeo and Juliet
Had a couple kids
Shakespeare would be on the dole
And I’d be president
I’d sit there with my feet up
All hours of the night
I’d be talking to my baby
I’d say, “Baby, let’s not fight”
And I’d be high
As high as Johnny Thunders
In the land that time forgot
High as Johnny Thunders
And if families stayed together
I’d have a window seat
And all the children of the world
Would have enough to eat
If heartbreak was a virtue
Man, I’d be so virtuous
To get back in your pants
I might hijack a city bus
And I’d be high
As high as Johnny Thunders
In the land that time forgot
High as Johnny Thunders
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3. |
Marathon
03:47
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It’s a marathon, it’s a marathon
We’re gonna dance till dawn
We’re gonna dance till dawn
With the houselights on
It’s a marathon
Till we all fall down
On a moonlit night
On a moonlit night
We’ll hold each other tight
We’ll hold each other tight
We’ll be in black and white
On a moonlit night
Till we all fall down
It’s a marathon
Step to the right, step to the left
I’ll hold you till the break of dawn
And you can hang
A mirror around my neck
So you don’t have to feel alone
So you don’t have to feel alone
Whoo!
Like in the days of yore,
Like in the days of yore
We’re gonna count to four
We’re gonna count to four
On a marble floor
In the days of yore
Till we all fall down
It’s a marathon
We’re gonna ring that bell
We’re gonna ring that bell
At the gates of hell
We’re gonna kiss and tell
Around the wishing well
At the gates of hell
Till we all fall down
It’s a marathon
Step to the right, step to the left
I’ll hold you till the break of dawn
And you can hang
A mirror around my neck
So you don’t have to feel alone
So you don’t have to feel alone
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4. |
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A blade of grass, a firefly
A child is born too young to die
I’m not calling ahead
I’m not getting behind
Ain’t waiting on nobody
I’m not looking for a sign
I’m just paying my respects
To the train
Paying my respects to the train
Got my heart in my throat
And my ear to the track
Somehow I just know
That you’re not coming back
Sometimes it comes from the east
Sometimes it comes from the west
Where it stops
That’s just anybody’s guess
I’m just paying my respects
To the train
Paying my respects to the train
A skinny child, a fishing boat
He warmed his hands
Inside your coat
I’m not staring ahead
I’m not looking behind
Ain’t giving up no secrets
I’m not putting up a fight
I’m just paying my respects
To the train
Paying my respects to the train
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5. |
Willie and Nilli
03:48
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Willie and Nilli had a stereo
Willie built that beautiful thing
They’d crank Metallica up real loud
Jump around the room and sing
Sing from their hearts, from their throats
Sing at the top of their lungs
Till the neighbors from all sides complained
To the cops who’d never come
They’d be singing
Love me like I wanna be loved
Love me like I wanna be loved
Singing, love me like I wanna be loved
Love me like I wanna be loved
Love me like I wanna be loved
They drank all night and they slept all day
In that Polk Street SRO
When the sun went down
They crushed some ice
Ordered Chinese to go
And turned that stereo again real loud
Singing at the top of their lungs
Till the neighbors got the broomsticks out
Called the cops who’d never come
They’d be singing
Love me like I wanna be loved
Love me like I wanna be loved
Singing, love me like I wanna be loved
Love me like I wanna be loved
Love me like I wanna be loved
Nilli said, “I had a body once
Willie, you have no idea
I could make a grown man bark all night
Anytime, anywhere”
Willie said, “I had a lion’s mane,
Now I sing at the top of my lungs
Till the neighbors get the broomsticks out
And the cops all sing along”
They’d be singing
Love me like I wanna be loved
Love me like I wanna be loved
Singing, love me like I wanna be loved
Love me like I wanna be loved
Love me like I wanna be loved
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6. |
Fast Kid
02:38
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Hey! Get up off your knees
Which one of you is who he claims to be?
Well, they call me John the Baptist, son
A woman in a veil’s got me on the run
She’s a fast kid growing up all wrong
Shaking like a leaf in the golden dawn
Gone with the wind, gone with the moon
Gone like the tar in my silver spoon
Away, gone away
I got a feeling rising in my throat
We didn’t get here on no fishing boat
Hold on!
She might be broke. she might be bent
But she ain’t working for the government
Hold on!
She’s a fast kid growing up all wrong
Shaking like a leaf in the golden dawn
Gone with the wind, gone with the moon
Gone like the tar in my silver spoon
Away, gone away
Gone away
Gone away
Gone away
Gone away
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7. |
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You can look around for a heart that’s true
All of the time it’s right in front of you
I could make a problem out of anything at all
My head in the clouds, my feet in the mud
They may be right, I may be wrong
Time can only tell If we can wait that long
Love doesn’t come from the barrel of a gun
My head in the clouds, my feet in the mud
There’s a moon that’s full on a black sand beach
There’s a driftwood fire just below your feet
There’s a perfect wave no one will ever reach
You can come around any time you want
We can go to bed or to a restaurant
Love doesn’t come from the barrel of a gun
You’ve got the silver, yeah
You’ve got the gold
We’ve got each other to have and to hold
Love doesn’t come from the barrel of a gun
One more thing I’d like you to know
Wishing and hoping never made it so
Love doesn’t come from the barrel of a gun
Love doesn’t come from the barrel of a gun
Put a little love in your heart
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8. |
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Just last night I fantasized I was in a time machine
Walking hand in hand with my sister there
Along the San Clemente beach
My fourth grade class took a field trip once
To pay tribute to the man
Did I ever tell you that I was born
In the heart of Nixonland?
He flew to China on Air Force One
Had a meal in Chinatown
Even when things were really looking up
Poor Richard was always looking around
Politicians maneuver, negotiate
Yeah, they lie, they cheat, and they scam
He cut a trail through the DMZ
All the way up to Nixonland
He talked about himself like he was someone else
In the third person, I guess you’d say
He’d say Nixon had a rough night
He’d saY Nixon needs a drink
He’d say Nixon loves Memorial Day
He had a wife and two daughters too
They were with him right up until the end
Holed up like four refugees
High on a cliff over Nixonland
He stood at the window – looked over the crowd
As the crowd shouted “Jail to the Chief!”
He stood at the window with his tumbler of scotch
In his slippers and his BVDs
He talked to a portrait of Honest Abe
Said, “Surely, Abe, you must understand
The Jews are out to bring me down
From way up high over Nixonland”
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9. |
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Meet me at the roundabout
Honey, don’t be late
I’ve been here since Christmas Eve
And it’s almost New Year’s Day
Time is running back and forth
Running in my brain
I don’t know who I am
If you’re not here with me
So meet me at the roundabout, don’t be late
You can have my heart but don’t break it
Time is running deaf and dumb
Time is running blind
Tell me anything
I’ll believe it
You took me to a Catholic priest
And I took you to a whore
You took the breath right out of me
Against your kitchen door
We’ve got no obligations
No one to impress
Go on and ask me anything
The answer will be yes
Just meet me at the roundabout, don’t be late
You can have my heart but don’t break it
Time is running deaf and dumb
Time is running blind
Tell me anything
I’ll believe it
I’ll believe it
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10. |
Womankind
03:39
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Man made that, man made this
He made the blow-up doll
He made the iron fist
But he didn’t make the wind
And he didn’t make the rain
Or the cold sunshine
On a winter’s day
Meet me down by the powerlines
I’ll be there for you
I’ll be yours and you’ll be mine
We’ve got nothing left to prove
Oh, Womankind
Man made this, and man made that
He made the parking lot
He made the pork pie hat
But you carried a child
And you taught it to live
While they short you every hour
For the time you put in
Meet me down by the powerlines
I’ll be there for you
I’ll be yours and you’ll be mine
We’ve got nothing left to prove
Oh, Womankind
You be the twilight, I’ll be the dawn
I’ll bring the ball and chain
They think you’re weak
Because you’re soft
I know who’s stronger than me
Oh, Womankind
Meet me down by the powerlines
I’ll be there for you
I’ll be yours and you’ll be mine
We’ve got nothing left to prove
Meet me down by the powerlines
I’ll be yours and you’ll be mine
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11. |
Waving Goodbye
03:52
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Even as a child in her lonely room
She was planning her big getaway
It could not come too soon
Oh, but time can stop a heart
And start it up again
Every night was an eternity
She would lay there and pretend
She was waving goodbye, yeah
She was waving goodbye
Oh oh
There was nothing left for her to hang on to
She was naked to the waist
Lying in her bed
When her mother came in through the door
She was kissing her best friend
Oh, they formed a little group
And never had one doubt
Spent a summer on the road
Living hand to mouth
She was waving goodbye, yeah
She was waving goodbye, whoa, oh
And there was nothing left for her to hold on to
Now she lives behind a wall
In Manhattan Beach
Far from her mother’s warm embrace
Beyond her daddy’s reach
Oh, but even as a child
In her lonely room
She was planning her big getaway
It could not come too soon
She was waving goodbye, yeah
She was waving goodbye
Whoa, oh
There was nothing left for her to hang on to
She was waving goodbye
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12. |
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Me, I’m just one man
Up on the stage I make my stand
Yes, it’s true, I have a band
Up here behind me
While you, you’ve got your crew
And the Secret Service too
And your wife from the EU
But you’re no good at rhyming
So hey, get down off that stage
We’ve heard everything you’ve got to say
You’ve been calling all the shots
You’ve got us all tied up in knots
C’mon man, get off the stage
Now me, I spend half of my life
In an Econoline van
With my band and my wife
And when she steps up to the mic
I’ve seen grown men burst out crying
While you, you’ve got an ugly mouth
You got no heart at all,
Except for your Russian pal
You’re an obstruction in democracy’s bowel
And the patient is dying
So come down off that stage
Please get off the stage
Come on down and take a seat
We’ll put some John Prine on repeat
All we’re asking is get off the stage
If you were an automobile
You’d be out of gas
With four flat tires and a smog check
That’s never gonna pass
If you were a pair of socks
You’d be full of holes
You’re one bad hombre
So why don’t you just turn around
And go home
And maybe do something with that hair
Take a walk in the park
Visit a renaissance fair
You’re headed for prison, you know
But don’t be scared
The first time is the hardest
Just get down off that stage
We’ve heard everything you’ve got to say
Take a book down off the shelf
Try to love somebody else
Whatever you do, just get off the stage
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Chuck Prophet San Francisco, California
Since his neo-psychedelic Green On Red days, Chuck Prophet has been turning out country, folk, blues, and Brill Building classicism.
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