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| 1. |
| 3:02 | 
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The way I see it, he said, you just can't win it
Everybody's in it for their own gain You can't please 'em all There's always somebody calling you down I do my best and I do good business There's a lot of people asking for my time They're trying to get ahead They're trying to be a good friend of mine I was a free man in Paris I felt unfettered and alive There was nobody calling me up for favors And no one's future to decide You know I'd go back there tomorrow But for the work I've taken on Stoking the star-maker machinery Behind the popular song I deal in dreamers and telephone screamers Lately I wonder what I do it for If I had my way I'd just walk through those doors And wander down the Champs-Elysees Going cafe to cabaret Thinking how I'd feel when I find That very good friend of mine I was a free man in Paris I felt unfettered and alive Nobody was calling me up for favors No one's future to decide You know I'd go back there tomorrow But for the work I've taken on Stoking the star-maker machinery Behind the popular song |
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| 2. |
| 3:17 |
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Downtown
My darling dime store thief In the War of Independence Rock 'n' roll rang sweet as victory Under neon signs A girl was in bloom And a woman was fading In a suburban room I said take me to the dance Do you want to dance? I love to dance And I told him They don't take chances They seem so removed from romance They've been broken in churches & schools And molded to middle class circumstance And we were rollin' Rollin' Rock 'n' rollin' Downtown The dance halls and cafes Feel so wild you could break somebody's heart Just doing the latest dance craze Gail and Louise In those push up brassieres Tight dresses and rhinestone rings Drinking up the band's beers Young love was kissing under bridges Kissing in cars Kissing in cafes And we were walking down Main Street Kisses like bright flags hung on holidays In France they kiss on Main Street Amour, mama, not cheap display And we were rollin' Rollin' Rock 'n' rollin' Downtown In the pinball arcade With his head full of pool hall pitches And songs from the hit parade He'd be singing "Bye, Bye, Love" While he's racking up his free play Let those rock 'n' roll choir boys Come and carry us away Sometimes Chickie had the car Or Ron had a car Or Lead Foot Melvin with his hotwire head We'd all go looking for a party Looking to raise Jesus up from the dead And I'd be kissing in the back seat Thrilling to the Brando-like things that he said And we'd be rollin' Rollin' Rock 'n' rolling x2 Rollin' Rollin' Rock 'n' rollin' |
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| 3. |
| 4:37 |
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It's a long, long way from Canada
A long way from snow chains Donkey vendors slicing coconut No parkas to their name Black babies covered in baking flour The cook's got a carnival song We're going to lay down someplace shady With dreamland coming on Dreamland, dreamland Dreamland, dreamland Walter Raleigh and Chris Columbus Come marching out of the waves And claim the beach and all concessions In the name of the suntan slave I wrapped that flag around me Like a Dorothy Lamour sarong And I lay down thinking national With dreamland coming on Dreamland, dreamland Dreamland, dreamland Goodtime Mary and a fortune hunter All dressed up to follow the drums Mary in a feather hula-hoop Miss Fortune with a rose on her big game gun All saints, all sinners shining Heed those trumpets all night long Propped up on a samba beat With dreamland coming on Dreamland, dreamland Dreamland, dreamland Tar baby and the Great White Wonder Talking over a glass of rum Burning on the inside With the knowledge of things to come There's gambling out on the terrace And midnight ramblin' on the lawn As they lead toward temptation With dreamland coming on Dreamland, dreamland Dreamland, dreamland In a plane flying back to winter In shoes full of tropic sand A lady in a foreign flag On the arm of her Marlboro Man The hawk howls in New York City Six foot drifts on Myrtle's lawn As they push the recline buttons down With dreamland coming on Dreamland, dreamland Dreamland, dreamland La, La ... African sand on the trade winds And the sun on the Amazon As they push the reline buttons down With dreamland coming on Dreamland, dreamland Dreamland, dreamland |
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| 4. |
| 4:20 | 
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| 5. |
| 5:03 |
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Old Beale Street is coming down
Sweeties' Snack Bar, boarded up now And Egles The Tailor and the Shine Boy's gone Faded out with ragtime blues Handy's cast in bronze And he's standing in a little park With a trumpet in his hand Like he's listening back to the good old bands And the click of high heeled shoes Old Furry sings the blues Propped up in his bed With his dentures and his leg removed And Ginny's there For her kindness and Furry's beer She's the old man's angel overseer Pawn shops glitter like gold tooth caps In the grey decay They chew the last few dollars off Old Beale Street's carcass Carrion and mercy Blue and silver sparkling drums Cheap guitars, eye shades and guns Aimed at the hot blood of being no one Down and out in Memphis Tennessee Old Furry sings the blues You bring him smoke and drink and he'll play for you lt's mostly muttering now and sideshow spiel But there was one song he played I could really feel There's a double bill murder at the New Daisy The old girl's silent across the street She's silent - waiting for the wrecker's beat Silent - staring ar her stolen name Diamond boys and satin dolls Bourbon laughter- ghosts - history falls To parking lots and shopping malls As they tear down old Beale Street Old Furry sings the blues He points a bony finger at you and "I don't like you" Everybody laughs as if it's the old man's standard joke But it's true We're only welcome for our drink and smoke W.C. Handy I'm rich and I'm fay And I'm not familiar with what you played But I get such strong impressions of your hey day Looking up and down old Beale Street Ghosts of the darktown society Come right out of the bricks at me Like it's a Saturday night They're in their finery Dancing it up and making deals Furry sings the blues Why should I expect that old guy to give it to me true Fallen to hard luck And time and other thieves While our limo is shining on his shanty street Old Furry sings the blues |
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| 6. |
| 2:40 |
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If you're driving into town
With a dark cloud above you Dial in the number Who's bound to love you Oh honey you turn me on I'm a radio I'm a country station I'm a little bit corny I'm a wildwood flower Waving for you I'm a broadcasting tower Waving for you And I'm sending you out This signal here I hope you can pick it up Loud and clear I know you don't like weak women You get bored so quick And you don't like strong women 'Cause they're hip to your tricks It's been dirty for dirty Down the line But you know I come when you whistle When you're loving and kind But if you've got too many doubts If there's no good reception for me Then tune me out, 'cause honey Who needs the static It hurts the head And you wind up cracking And the day goes dismal From "Breakfast Barney" To the sign-off prayer What a sorry face you get to wear I'm going to tell you again now If you're still listening there If you're driving into town With a dark cloud above you Dial in the number Who's bound to love you If you're lying on the beach With the transistor going Kick off the sandflies honey The love's still flowing If your head says forget it But your heart's still smoking Call me at the station The lines are open |
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| 7. |
| 3:02 |
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The wind is in from Africa, last night I couldn't sleep
Oh, you know it sure is hard to leave here, Carey, but it's really not my home My fingernails are filthy, I've got beach tar on my feet And I miss my clean white linen and my fancy French cologne Oh, Carey get out your cane and I'll put on some silver Oh, you're a mean old daddy but I like you Come on down to the Mermaid Cafe and I will buy you a bottle of wine And we'll laugh and toast to nothing and smash our empty glasses down Let's have a round for these freaks and these soldiers, a round for these friends of mine Let's have another round for the bright red devil who keeps me in this tourist town Come on Carey, get out your cane, and I'll put on some silver Oh, you're a mean old daddy but I like you, I like you, I like you, I like you Maybe I'll go to Amsterdam, or maybe I'll go to Rome And rent me a grand piano and put some flowers 'round my room But let's not talk about fare-thee-wells now, the night is a starry dome And they're playing that scratchy rock 'n' roll beneath the Matalla moon Come on Carey, get out your cane and I'll put on some silver Oh, you're a mean old daddy but I like you The wind is in from Africa, last night I couldn't sleep Oh, you know it sure is hard to leave here but it's really not my home Maybe it's been too long a time since I was scrambling down in the streets Now they got me used to that clean white linen and that fancy French cologne Oh Carey get out your cane and I'll put on my finest silver We'll go to the Mermaid Cafe, have fun tonight I said, oh, you're a mean old daddy but you're outta sight |
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| 8. |
| 2:14 |
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They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot With a pink hotel, a boutique And a swinging hot spot Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got Till it's gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot They took all the trees Put 'em in a tree museum And they charged the people A dollar and a half just to see 'em Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got Till it's gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot Hey farmer farmer Put away that D.D.T. now Give me spots on my apples But leave me the birds and the bees Please! Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got Till it's gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot Late last night I heard the screen door slam And a big yellow taxi Took away my old man Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got Till it's gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot |
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| 9. |
| 3:50 |
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Sitting in a park in Paris France
Reading the news and it sure looks bad They won't give peace a chance That was just a dream some of us had Still a lot of lands to see But I wouldn't want to stay here It's too old and cold and settled in its ways here Oh but California California I'm coming home I'm going to see the folks I dig I'll even kiss a Sunset pig California I'm coming home I met a redneck on a Grecian isle Who did the goat dance very well He gave me back my smile But he kept my camera to sell Oh the rogue the red red rogue He cooked good omelettes and stews And I might have stayed on with him there But my heart cried out for you California Oh California I'm coming home Oh make me feel good rock 'n' roll band I'm your biggest fan California I'm coming home Oh it gets so lonely When you're walking And the streets are full of strangers All the news of home you read Just give you the blues Just give you the blues So I bought me a ticket I caught a plane to Spain Went to a party down a red dirt road There were lots of pretty people there Reading Rolling Stone reading Vogue They said "How long can you hang around?" I said a week maybe two Just until my skin turns brown Then I'm going home to California California I'm coming home Oh will you take me as I am Strung out on another man California I'm coming home Oh it gets so lonely When you're walking And the streets are full of strangers All the news of home you read More about the war And the bloody changes Oh will you take me as I am? Will you take me as I am? Will you? |
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| 10. |
| 3:22 |
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Help me
I think I'm falling In love again When I get that crazy feeling I know I'm in trouble again I'm in trouble 'Cause you're a rambler and a gambler And a sweet talking ladies man And you love your lovin' But not like you love your freedom Help me I think I'm falling In love too fast It's got me hoping for the future And worrying about the past 'Cause I've seen some hot, hot blazes Come down to smoke and ash We love our lovin' But not like we love our freedom Didn't it feel good We were sitting there talking Or lying there not talking Didn't it feel good You dance with the lady With the hole in her stocking Didn't it feel good Didn't it feel good Help me I think I'm falling In love with you Are you going to let me go there by myself That's such a lonely thing to do Both of us flirting around Flirting and flirting Hurting too We love our lovin' But not like we love our freedom |
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| 11. |
| 4:53 |
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Must I forgive you
Each time And say you don't know what your're doing There are no victimless crimes I know of Out here in these graffiti ruins My love Oh I am not old I'm told But I am not young Oh and nothing can be done Don't start My heart Is a smoking gun Oh and nothing can be done I heard you leaving Late last night I heard you screaming down the mountain Like you were running red lights (Red lights) You had some trash-can-rock-band pounding Oh I am not old I'm told But I am not young Oh and nothing can be done Don't start My heart Is a smoking gun Oh and nothing can be done Must I surrender With grace The things I loved when I was younger (Sweet embrace) Must I remember your face So well What do I do here with this hunger Oh I am not old I'm told But I am not young Oh and nothing can be done Don't start My heart Is a smoking gun Oh and nothing can be done Nothing can be done Nothing can be done Oh nothing can be done |
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| 12. |
| 4:09 |
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No, you couldn't call Jesse a babe in the woods
He's just weak in self-defense 'Cause he's so thin skinned He can't take a joke at his expense "You're a push button window," says Rowdy Yates "I can run you up and down Anytime I want I can make you my dancin'-- My dancin' clown!" You're my dancin' clown Dancin' dancin' My dancin' clown Dancin' You're my dancin' clown Dancin' dancin' dancin' My dancin' clown Rowdy Yates is as bold as Jove-- He's all chide and snide and bluff-- Stuck in the romantic tradition Of acting rough and tough "You're always charging thru," says Jesse Nervous, lookin' all around-- To see who's seein' him bein' a dancin' A dancin' clown He's a dancin' clown Dancin' dancin' A dancin' clown Dancin' He's a dancin' clown Dancin' dancin' dancin' A dancin' clown Cherchez la femme Whenever love comes around Someone's a dancin' clown Cherchez la femme Whenever hearts start to pound Someone's a dancin' clown Down the street comes last-word Suzie-- She's high yellow--lookin' top nice You hear the swoosh of jungle blades And the crackle of northern ice "Hot damn!" says Rowdy--lookin' up "Yum!" says Jesse lookin' down "How would you like to be her dancin' Her dancin' clown?" Be her dancin' clown Dancin' dancin' Her dancin' clown Dancin' Be her dancin' clown Dancin' dancin' dancin' Her dancin' clown Cherchez la femme Whenever love comes to town Someone's a dancin' clown Cherchez la femme Wherever hearts start to pound Someone's a dancin' clown |
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| 13. |
| 7:31 |
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Back in 1957
We had to dance a foot apart And they hawk-eyed us from the sidelines Holding their rulers without a heart And so with just a touch of our fingers I could make our circuitry explode All we ever wanted Was just to come in from the cold Come in Come in from the cold (we were so young) Oh come in Come in from the cold We really thought we had a purpose We were so anxious to achieve We had hope The world held promise For a slave to liberty Freely I slaved away for something better And I was bought and sold And all I ever wanted Was just to come in from the cold Come in Come in from the cold (we were so sure) Oh come in Come in from the cold I feel your leg under the table Leaning into mine I feel renewed I feel disabled By these bonfires in my spine I don't know who the arsonist was Which incendiary soul But all I ever wanted Was just to come in from the cold Come in Come in from the cold (you were so warm) Oh come in Come in from the cold I am not some stone commission Like a statue in a park I am flesh and blood and vision I am howling in the dark Long blue shadows of the jackals Are falling on a pay phone by the road Oh, all they ever wanted Was just to come in from the cold Come in Come in from the cold (I was so low) Oh come in Come in from the cold Is this just vulgar electricity Is this the edifying fire (it was so pure) Does your smile's covert complicity Debase as it admires (just a flu with a temperature) Are you just checking out your mojo Or am I just fighting off growing old (just a high fever) All I ever wanted Was just to come in from the cold Come in Come in from the cold (it was so pure) Oh come in Come in from the cold I know we never will be perfect Never entirely clear (when the moon shines) We get hurt and we just panic And we strike out Out of fear (you were only being kind) I fear the sentence of this solitude 200 years on hold (for my loving crime) Oh and all we ever wanted Was just to come in from the cold Come in Come in from the cold (when the moon shines) Oh come in Come in from the cold When I thought life had some meaning Then I thought I had some choice (I was running blind) And I made some value judgments In a self-important voice (I was outa line) But then absurdity came over me And I longed to lose control (into no mind) Oh all I ever wanted Was just to come in from the cold Come in Come in from the cold (you were so kind) Please come in (so kind) Come in from the cold Come in come in Come in from the cold |
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| 14. |
| 6:00 |
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I was driving across the burning desert
When I spotted six jet planes Leaving six white vapor trails across the bleak terrain It was the hexagram of the heavens It was the strings of my guitar Amelia it was just a false alarm The drone of flying engines Is a song so wild & blue It scrambles time & seasons if it gets through to you Then your life becomes a travelogue Of picture post card charms Oh Amelia it was just a false alarm People'll tell you where they've gone They'll tell you where to go But till you get there yourself you'll never really know Where some have found their paradise Other's just come to harm Oh Amelia it was just a false alarm I wish that he was here tonight It's so hard to obey His sad request of me to kindly stay away So this is how I hide the hurt As the road leads cursed and charmed I tell Amelia it was just a false alarm A ghost of aviation She was swallowed by the sky Or by the sea like me she had a dream to fly Like Icarus ascending On beautiful foolish arms Amelia it was just a false alarm Maybe I've never really loved I guess that is the truth I've spent my whole life in clouds at icy altitude And looking down on everything I crashed into his arms Amelia it was just a false alarm I pulled into the Cactus Tree Motel To shower off the dust And I slept on the strange pillows of my wanderlust I dreamed of 747s Over geometric farms Dreams Amelia Dreams & false alarms |
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| 15. |
| 3:46 |
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I heard it in the wind last night
It sounded like applause Did you get a round resounding for you Way up here It seems like many dim years ago Since I heard that face to face Or seen you face to face Though tonight I can feel you here I get these notes On butterflies and lilac sprays From girls who just have to tell me They saw you somewhere In some office sits a poet And he trembles as he sings And he asks some guy To circulate his soul around On your mark red ribbon runner The caressing rev of motors Finely tuned like fancy women In thirties evening gowns Up the charts Off to the airport Your name's in the news Everything's first class The lights go down And it's just you up there Getting them to feel like that Remember the days when you used to sit And make up your tunes for love And pour your simple sorrow To the soundhole and your knee And now you're seen On giant screens And at parties for the press And for people who have slices of you From the company They toss around your latest golden egg Speculation well who's to know If the next one in the nest Will glitter for them so I guess I seem ungrateful With my teeth sunk in the hand That brings me things I really can't give up just yet Now I sit up here the critic And they introduce some band But they seem so much confetti Looking at them on my TV set Oh the power and the glory Just when you're getting a taste for worship They start bringing out the hammers And the boards And the nails I heard it in the wind last night It sounded like applause Chilly now End of summer No more shiny hot nights It was just the arbutus rustling And the bumping of the logs And the moon swept down black water Like an empty spotlight |
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| 16. |
| 5:46 |
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Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air And feather canyons ev’rywhere I’ve looked at clouds that way But now they only block the sun They rain and snow on ev’ryone So many things I would have done But clouds got in my way I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now From up and down, and still somehow It’s cloud illusions I recall I really don’t know clouds at all Moons and junes and ferris wheels The dizzy dancing way you feel As ev’ry fairy tale comes real I’ve looked at love that way But now it’s just another show You leave ’em laughing when you go And if you care, don’t let them know Don’t give yourself away I’ve looked at love from both sides now From give and take, and still somehow It’s love’s illusions I recall I really don’t know love at all Tears and fears and feeling proud To say "i love you" right out loud Dreams and schemes and circus crowds I’ve looked at life that way But now old friends are acting strange They shake their heads, they say I’ve changed Well something’s lost, but something’s gained In living ev’ry day I’ve looked at life from both sides now From win and lose and still somehow It’s life’s illusions I recall I really don’t know life at all I’ve looked at life from both sides now From up and down, and still somehow It’s life’s illusions I recall I really don’t know life at all |
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| 17. |
| 4:51 |
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Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar Fearful when the sky was full of thunder And tearful at the falling of a star Then the child moved ten times round the seasons Skated over ten clear frozen streams Words like, when you're older, must appease him And promises of someday make his dreams And the seasons they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We can't return we can only look behind From where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town And they tell him, Take your time, it won't be long now Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down And the seasons they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We can't return we can only look behind From where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty Before the last revolving year is through And the seasons they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We can't return, we can only look behind From where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game |
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