1. |
The People I Know
04:05
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I've seen my life from a distance
When I was young and my hair was long
From quiet and full to loud and hungry
Inside the storm, outside the calm
I know my friends from a distance
When cups were full and nights were drowned
I've seen them fall and rise above me
I've seen them lose and give their all
My family lives from a distance
I love them more than I can tell
Across the shore and across the wire
I miss them more with eveyr mile
I've held my love from a distance
For four long years of winter tones
But now it's time to close the distance
And now it's time to build a home
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2. |
Dear Chocolate Uncle
04:49
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Excuse me, Sir, You don’t know me
I just saw you fly over my city
Your plane was shining brightly, your props were buzzing loudly over me
Last year your army bombed my building
Rest assured, there’s no hard feelings
‘Cause you drove a madman from his reign, another one took his place
The great war may be dead for you but it’s still alive in me
The Red Men came and closed the city
The Red Men came and locked the doors
Now all the busses and the trains, they’re lock outside the walls
they’re rusty and they’re empty and they don’t have no drivers
they’re just sitting waiting like the legless fighters
that all the fighting’s made
The war it split apart my family
Bullets stole me from my daddy
But now you feed me and mamma
To meet you is the first thing that I wish for
Excuse me, Sir, you don’t owe me
And I know that you know that we’re all hungry
‘Cause you swoop down with your plane, you bring us hope to eat again As much as you can spare, then you soar back in the air
Well, I saw you and I called you and you said, See you tomorrow
I will always bring more so that you and your city can live
Could you send me some candy
If you parachute it down it will find me
You see, I haven’t tasted in so long, the sweet in life seems to be gone
If you send me a little I will share it with my friends
‘Cause to get through this time we will have to we will have to get along
I don’t understand these cowards
Who starve out people’s lives for useless power
But thank you for listening, you’re nice you’re like my daddy
Please don’t forget the candy
I’m not begging, I’m just tired and I could really use a hero
Goodbye.
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3. |
The Shame
05:40
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Take all the sunsets I've seen and burn them like paper
Just for a drag off some vial to shake off this fever
You used to cry when I would sing to you
But you were quite kind I'll pull it together if you give me some time
I've stumbled down glass shattered streets where sweet wine is wasted The air smells like whiskey on lips I'd kiss just to taste it
I took the fall that left me with nothing at all
But you were quite kind
I'll get it together if you give me some time
If you give me time then baby, baby, I will give it back to you
When I come back someday I dream that you're waiting
With Rosie and Ruby full grown with forgotten faces
I may have lied. I may have lied.
But you were quite kind
I swear I'll do better if you give me some time
Just give me some time
Give me some time
If you give me time then, baby, baby, baby, I will give it back to you
I will give it back to you if you give me some time
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4. |
Willing To Fall
03:21
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Bitter days when I thought I know better
In simple times I was willing to fall
Through the years I’ve seen all kinds of weather
But these days it’s like I can’t see nothing at all
And so I hold on to offerings
Hold on to “I”
Hold on to all of those troubles and promises
Hold on to the girl who sang me that song
But I hold on a second too long
As a child I was bathed in the water
As a young man I sat on the ground
Now I live for my sons and my daughter
And a woman who whispers the sweetest of sounds
But as hard as I try still there’s a little voice telling me lies
Turn out the light and sleep the night away
As a shadow that fades in the sunrise
I will leave when my time is at hand
I can’t promise I’ll see you in heaven
But for right now I’m doing the best that I can
And I let go of offerings Let go of “I”
Let go of all of those troubles and trials and
Let go of the girl who sang me that song
So long to the second
So long to the second
That I held on just a second too long
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5. |
See You In December
03:34
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I saw a band the other evening
Singing all I wished to say
To a pretty girl with a color for a name
I'll see you in December
I'll see you in December
I'll see you in December my Love
I can't keep you from crying
I have no means to soothe your mind
Just a promise in melody and rhyme
That I'll see you in December
I'll see you in December
I'll see you in December my Love
I never said thank you for waiting
Or thanked you for you treasured time
In revelation of gratitude I swear
That I'll see you in December
I'll see you in December
And maybe we can get together
And I'll love you forever
I will see you in December, my Love
I saw a band the other evening
Singing all I wished to say
To a pretty girl with a color for a name
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6. |
A Word on Arthur
03:18
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Arthur was a good man
Grew up as he worked the land
Man we had some fine good times once the sun was fading
His story now is often told
Like knights in armor long ago
A quiet pride to hide the sad inside him
Remember when we'd would laugh so hard
When he'd bust a string on his guitar
And he said great gats Jack that's somethin ain't it
We'd sing until the break of light
Had our share of knuckle fights
With any thug who mugged love from his lady
And we'd say
Roll down the river
Roll where you can
Roll down
It all comes back again
He killed a man at Kettle Lake
Self defense or so they say
Man he knew he gone done wrong but the right outweighed it
He tried to live a simple life
Couldn't have found a better wife
Til she learned the two step tap that the ghosts were playing
And we'd say
Roll down the rive
Roll where you can
Roll down
It all comes back again
Arthur well he went to war
Knew what he was fighting for
Said I'll trade my wasted life for a life worth saving
Arthur's never coming home
His trade is paid and now he's flown
So maybe we should tip our hats cause Arthur was a good man
He was a friend of mine
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7. |
Tripping Round the Town
03:05
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Let me take you to New York it's a sight you've got to see
Call it Gotham or New Amsterdam or a place that gets no sleep
So grab a slice, it's always nice to join the mice flying underground
Where anything can happen when the sun goes down
The museums, you gotta see 'em and the theater shows at night
All the rock stars with guitars and bums who bum you for a light
We'll get our fix at Big Nick's, they've got patties by the pound
You can get most anything you want when the sun goes down
When the sun goes down and the lights come alive
You can dance all night at some east side dive
You'll sink and you'll spin as it pulls you in
And you'll leave your world behind
They've got pretty girls with shiny boots and fingernails
Leaving scratchmarks on the turnstiles as they bolt for Union Square
To meet some guy who hides away his corporate frown
Cause everybody gets some when the sun goes down
When the sun goes down and the lights come alive
You can wail all night at some Bear Bar dive (not anymore)
You'll sink, twist, spin as it pulls you in
And you'll leave your world behind
You shot the freak and seen the seaport after dark
Heard the thumping in the clubs, been rollerdancing in the park
And you know when you leave you'll wish you could turn around
For one last morsel of the city when the sun goes down
When the sun goes down and the lights come alive
You can wail all night at some Waltz-Astoria New York dive
You'll sink, twist, spin as it pulls you in
And you'll leave your world behind
When the sun goes down, when the sun goes down
When the sun goes down, goes down
It'll blow your mind, it's no waste of time
In the evening when the sun goes down
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8. |
Typhoon Child
02:57
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Typhoon Child, Typhoon Child
Your eyes flicker sighs of a storm
And your songs they call my name
And for reasons unexplained
I have penned for you these lines of my own
Tattooed lightning upon your wrist
It shocked in me a spark I cannot hold
I’m a painter in my way
And I’d paint you everyday
If only there were colors that bold
And when my gallery opens, my sweet sweet girl
You will always get admittance for free
And you don’t have to be alone in the big big world
When you can be alone with me
I know the power that silence holds
And the solace that you seek when crowds are formed
When they shower you with gifts
Well you sell them to the thrifts
‘Cause all of that shit it don’t concern you
They should see just what I’ve seen
The quiet worlds where you move me then you laugh
And they should be just where I’ve been
Drink your songs at the bar’s end
Typhoon Child you redefine my shorelines
And when my gallery opens, my sweet sweet girl
You will always get admittance for free
And you don’t have to be alone in the big big world
When you can be alone with me
Well, the past chasing behind
The deception of the stars and space and smiles
An old gypsy throws her bones
Telling what your future holds
You can listen to her tonight
Or you can let me hold you tight
But right now right now girl aren’t we racing
And when my gallery opens, my sweet sweet girl
You will always get admittance for free
And you won’t have to be alone in the big big world
When you can be alone with me
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9. |
NY In NY
02:57
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There's no snow on the ground but that hardly matters
There are plates in the sink and a buzz in the light
My pockets are torn and my shoe toes are tattered
And I don't want to go to sleep tonight
New Years is coming to ring in tomorrow
There's a row up in Harlem and to there I must fly
The wine rack is full of 80 proof sorrows
And I don't want to go to sleep tonight
I don't want to go to sleep
How all the years have gone
How all the time has past
Family and friends flow by like shadows on glass
Broken shadows all
My lovely, I miss you, my heart is on fire
You captured my mind with a flash of your smile
My home is so desperate without you around
That I don't want to sleep when you're not in town
So I flip through the channels and turn off the sound
'Cause no news is new news at this breaking hour
The war hasn't ended and the models still cry
And I don't want to go to sleep tonight
I don't want to go to sleep
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10. |
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If you lend me an ear then I'll play the bard and sing you of good St. Bernard
Who bathed in the light and entered the gates in March of 2008
My Grandpa's eyes were rarely dry but saw all the beauty in life
He sobbed when he laughed and shook when he was sad and smiled the rest of the time
My Grandpa's hands were gentle and kind and polished the fruit on the vine
They gestured the sign and passed us the wine and cradled each baby who cried
Have you heard of good St. Bernard who worked the Belmont farm?
My Grandpa's hands laid many men down before the second round
And after the count when the match was complete he'd help them back up to their feet
My Gramps made tracks in a blue Cadellac with electric windows and seats
His pontoon boat sang over summertime waves on summertime Michigan lakes
My Grandpa Ben was a hero to all and watched over the meek and the small
Fences he lept and bullies he'd chase with octegenarian grace
Have you heard of good St. Bernard who worked the Belmont farm -
Who gave you a sawbuck for a blue piece of paper
No matter what letters were marked on the paper
Who loved eveyone with the love of his maker
And kept all his children from harm?
My Grandpa Ben had God in his head and God in his heart and his mind
The steeples of stone were forged from his bones and the sale of rex-airs from home
My Grandpa's heart was constant and bold, as true as his timepiece of gold
It was never thin skin that could do him in but time hugs and doesn't let go
Have you heard of good St. Bernard who worked the Belmont farm -
Who stood in the stands when heaven was raining
And cheered for the band as he cheered for the player
And cheered for the losers and cheered for the winners
And cheered past the end of the game
And remembered everyone's name
A funeralier, did he ever miss one?
Who buried a son but was father to everyone
A one woman man with a choir for a family
And no matter what you believe,
Santa will always be Grandpa to me
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Joe Jung New York, New York
NYC based troubadour and cigar box instrument builder.
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