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The Talk of the Town
It's the talk of the town!
Speak up or listen up. Before the times start messin' you up.
Can't you see the weather's changin'? Even the stars, a-re-arrangin',
Hear all about what's goin' down. It's the talk of the town!
Positions switchin', tongues and teeth predictin'
What's gonna come about. No one knows how it'll turn out.
Don't tell me no one's told you now! It's the talk of the town!
Bound to surprise the one living under a stone.
Then again, maybe not for sure. Some people dream of the future.
Some people let their dreams down![sic] It's the talk of the town!
Who needs to be saved? Who's gonna be brave?
History will transform. People dyin', new people born,
What will be done and undone and how? It's the talk of the town!
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3. |
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Up and Coming Through the Looking Glass
Maybe she can feel it when you dream about her, maybe she can feel your heart beatin'
Maybe she can feel the heat of fever that conquers you as she rules your passion.
With Mr. Perfect, you sense something amiss. And to deny it would strike you remiss.
But she melts when he leans for the kiss, causing you to distress.
Jewelry and diamonds dangle low in the sky.
Ecstasy and madness gleam brightly in her eye.
Her up and coming through the looking glass, you down and out of your mind.
He doesn't have a feather to his name, he always keeps a radio antennae between his teeth,
He always says to keep your eyes out, he reminds you no one said true love would come easy.
To Miss Right, that don't fly. She would cry if you said goodbye
No one warned her it came this hard, ay, I swear I did try.
The rules of order prevented me from doing it; the parliamentarian of her heart wouldn't bother to hear it
You up and coming through the looking glass, me beside myself, & I.
An underlying chaos in the universe, in a beautiful and elegant way,
Prevents the possibility for repeated instances
Of unique individuals and phenomena,
Rendering the notion of the 'next' somebody a futile idea
Leaving the past behind forever, sadly, never to return, ever,
Happily though that it guarantees everyone a fully singular experience, meaning to fulfill, and position in the vexing puzzle of the bigger picture.
Unfortunately without a real chance in heaven for the comeuppance of the 'next' anyone
Me up and coming through the looking glass, the idols long gone with the wind.
I guess I had to get away from California to know how deep it runs in my veins
Since then, I've learned to take only pictures and to leave only bubbles
You are worth so much more than your productivity, it's just a drop in the bucket
Timing is not important, it's everything
Art imitating life imitating everything
Life imitating art imitating everything
Imitation living in art living in everything
Everything up and coming through the looking glass
Us, left to our own devices
[early draft]
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That Ain't Love
Well, the lake has frozen late this year
& the world has declared war on fear
It was warmer in the North Pole
than it was here
Just the other day
And, babe, it's the dead of winter
There's something so wrong with this
picture
I saw a grim image of the future
But that was yesterday.
Well, let the prophets weep
To their sad dream
I'm not gonna let it bother me
I already know
What they're dreamin' of
You can be afraid, but that ain't love
That ain't love, ooh
That ain't love, ooh
That ain't love, that ain't love
At all
The promised land's gone up in flames
While the money men all play their games
And honest work don't pay the same
As it used to
Each headline's worth a thousand lies
In the news that no one buys
They don't sell the truth in grocery aisles
They only cover it
Let the poets shout
What they're on about
The fire in their hearts is gonna burn away the doubt
Maybe the truth hurts
Well, it's a wounded dove
You can let it die, but that ain't love
That ain't love, ooh
That ain't love, ooh
That ain't love, that ain't love
At all
Don't try to hurt me so badly
If I'm gonna love you, baby
Well, I'm gonna do it madly
Ah yea!
Hurricanes brew where they shouldn't
Seein' is believin' but the blind are rulin'
Jupiter's eye, a tempest t's been blowin'
For hundreds of years,
Can't see a thing, yet can destroy a lot
We can wreck the Earth, but there's nothin' we got
That would even put a dent in that big red spot
I hope we can save ourselves.
All I want for Christmas, please
Just stop cutting down trees
Don't use dead dinosaurs
To drive your cars
Quit splittin' atoms
Tap the Sun above
You can trash the world, but that ain't love
That ain't love, ooh
That ain't love, ooh
That ain't love, that ain't love
At all
You met me serenading the lakeside
Of the lake that's now frozen inside
It was summer then. I sometimes slept outside.
'Til you took me in.
Now we can almost see Aurora Borealis
In this winter wonderland, you can call me Alice
Your daughter would've stole every Yuletide chalice
She could get her hands on
Real love doesn't always happen perfectly
Sometimes I think it isn't meant to be
I wrestle with myself
And when push comes to shove
I beat myself up for you
But that ain't love
That ain't love, ooh
That ain't love, ooh
That ain't love, that ain't love
At all
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The Hardest Part Is A-Walkin' Out The Door #2
It gives me pause to think
Of even thinkin' about it
Could I do better than to love you?
Baby, I doubt it
Sometimes I wonder why I'm even here
I don't know what I came here for
But the hardest part is a-walkin' out the door
There are tears to be wept
I won't weep them
The hardest part, the hardest part
Is a-walkin' out the door
Many nights I have laid
Down, out on your floor
And the hardest part is a-walkin' out the door
Babe, you love so differently
Than any love I ever had
Your love ain't free. It might cost me;
And it will.
You're gonna take me for everything,
All I've got, and more.
And the hardest part is a-walkin' out the door
You prosecute my heart, put it on trial
And the hardest part, the hardest part
Is a-walkin' out the door.
I had plans to go to faraway lands
'Til you asked me to stay a while
And the hardest part is a-walkin' out the door.
I just about laugh at myself
To think about it now.
Freedom, like a joke,
It makes you think.
It's just so ironic!
I've prayed to meet someone like you before.
The hardest part is a-walkin' out the door.
Home free, I was home free
'Til you caught me
And the hardest part, the hardest part
Is a-walkin' out the door
Your love, like madness,
Made me feel rich when I was poor.
Now the hardest part is a-walkin' out the door.
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7. |
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Immaterial Girl
I can see you from across the room
But you're not really there
I guess you can say you live in your own world
But your favorite place is nowhere
I know you feel like an immaterial girl
But we live in a material world
I know you feel like an immaterial girl
But we live in a material world
Who cares if there's an afterlife
If you don't get to live in the first place?
And if there isn't, and you only live once
Wouldn't it be sad to see it go to waste?
You can dream about heaven or nirvana
Or read every ancient scripture
And lose sleep over it the next world
But do you see the bigger picture?
I know you feel like an immaterial girl
But but we live in a material world
I think you're really deep
Your bottomless chasm mind, infinite
But I don't want to fall forever
Just do me a favor and get with it
You have so much to offer
To the reality you transcended
But no one can hear your words of wisdom
If you leave them un-presented
I know you feel like an immaterial girl
But we live in a material world
I know you feel like an immaterial girl
But we live in a material world
[Early draft.]
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8. |
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9. |
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Tears In My Eyes
All the tears in my eyes,
They’ve just about run dry.
I wish my heart could speak for itself.
Well, it won’t.
Then again, it does,
But silently, because
Everything it tells
Was once secret.
I can’t hide them anymore.
I can’t sell them at the store.
The tears in my eyes,
They are released.
My love’s my good luck charm;
How I want her in my arms.
So tenderly she told
Her heart to me.
Then I went and let her go.
She said we’d never be alone.
Now I wish I could only
Be with her.
Oh, the tears in my eyes,
They are all up in the sky.
They’re sure to come
Raining down again.
Maybe she’ll return to me,
In time, eventually.
‘Til then I’ll be lookin’
Out for her.
So, yea, I keep my hopes up,
In case she ever shows up.
I don’t want to be made blind
By tears in my eyes.
[Melody based on "Four Strong Winds" by Ian Tyson, as performed by Conor Oberst]
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10. |
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Now Was Too Long Ago
There might be a should've, could've, would've
To everything we've done.
Oh, babe, you know it's still on.
There might be a truly simple answer
To every question that perplexes us.
Oh, babe, think what you must?
Now was too long ago to stay here.
Our love, in my memory, is still clear.
I can go ahead and skip that stone across time;
But that won't make you mine.
There might be a moment too narrow
For any other one to get through;
Ah, not right now. The sky's too blue.
There might be an answer too fitting
(For our minds, they would grow out of it.)
Oh, babe, no one want's to say it.
Now was too long ago to mention that
Yesterday's all the time, in seconds flat.
I could go all around the world, at the speed of light,
I'd just end up right here, right now.
Sometimes I wish I could go to the past.
Maybe I could change the course of the trail of tears
That flows as surely as a river to the sea,
To a future that nobody here has touched,
A new history.
A heart is a moment within a moment,
Of a painting that lives
Between a canvas and a dream.
My thoughts are all potent with potential poems
To people that won't hear them,
Unless I step right up and sing.
Now was too long ago to imagine this.
The smoking gun's plume is the elephant in the room.
Well, I'm here to call it out.
Let me be your human shield.
We're almost immortal now.
The wind is the breath of a timeless hour
That swirls ov'r the sky, a-spiraling,
Holding the echoes of our thoughts.
Van Gough should have been less hard on himself.
He was always destined to be great.
Oh, babe, and you know it's too late.
Now was too long ago to change what happened.
The universe has simply moved on.
It won't give us another chance; no, not this time.
I wish I would have done something then.
Now was too long ago.
[ early draft . . . ]
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11. |
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You Gotta Get Around Town
You gotta get around town.
There's always somethin' going on
And even if there ain't,
You gotta make it happen.
'Cause boredom ain't no good
for a lover;
And a restless heart won't do.
I want to fall in love anew.
If only she knew my feelings,
Then it would be understood.
My problem is, they're healing;
And it ain't doing me no good.
'Cause when you're trapped
in someone else's dream,
You don't stand a chance.
So tell me what do you want
from romance?
Ooh... Ooh... Ooh... Ooh...
Unity ain't no good for a rebel,
Til the rebel stands alone
And shouts out what we all want
To no one.
Compassion is perfect for a
soldier
Who's gonna put down his gun.
When war is over,
The whole world will have won.
You gotta get around town,
To make the movement move;
And to move the movement,
Your heart has got to prove
Although the world is full of
riots of one,
There are thoughts we all share.
Revolution is when my love is
Near.
Ooh... Ooh... Ooh... Ooh...
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12. |
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Disheveled
I've got a mind like the sky
Full of wandering stars,
disheveled
Gotta get my head straight,
Get it level.
All this wishful thinking,
What am I, living in a dream?
My spirit's sinking.
Somebody catch me!
I shouldn't think of myself
so much;
It's a spiral.
So here's a shout out to those I love, let it go viral.
Immeasurable as every grain
of sand in the globe,
Is my love for you. You are a
miracle.
This is a message straight from
my heart;
You're always in my thoughts,
We'll never be apart.
And I remember the times that we shared
In our youth, searching for the
truth
Out of thin air,
We found it too.
And to the friends and family
of those we know who died
young;
Life isn't over. You know you gotta stay strong.
It's okay to cry.
And to wonder why.
Wisdom is mute until it moves to sigh.
I've got a mind like the sky
Full of wanderin' stars,
disheveled
Gotta get my head straight,
Get it level.
All this wishful thinking,
What am I, living in a dream?
My spirit's sinking.
Somebody catch me!
And to my lover to whom I bared
my whole soul.
Nothing compares with you.
You are so beautiful.
I remember when I was down.
You helped me up, by turnin'
my whole world around.
So here I am, fallin' over and
over again.
Zero gravity now, like I'm heaven.
You're my muse.
Providence and earth fuse in you.
Don't forget all the children
fulfilling this life.
Elders pass on.
Well, someone's gonna carry
the light.
Yet in the dark of the night, you
can see so far.
Every star, well they aren't
where we are,
Lost in the past; it don't last,
while it is visible.
The vision lives on. We move on,
Like we're invincible.
Well, we're vulnerable.
So it goes. . . it's on.
I've got a mind like the sky
Full of wandering stars,
disheveled
Gotta get my head straight,
Get it level.
All this wishful thinking,
What am I, living in a dream?
My spirit's sinking.
Somebody catch me!
To every brother and sister of
mine whom justice missed.
Your loss won't be in vain.
Justice will persist.
Death after death.
Blacker than black; lives matter!
Shout it with every breath.
Black lives matter! Black lives matter, infinitely!
To the innocent and gentle in the penitentiary,
May you be freed.
May you be freed.
And to us, livin' life, our liberty
guaranteed,
Let us use it to lend a hand to
those in those in need.
It's plain to understand.
We won't be free, 'til everyone
is free in this land.
Please be diligent so we can use
our intelligence.
'Til we make peace.
We'll be tellin' it.
Much love,
That's what's up.
All over the world,
Solidarity.
( I've got a mind like the sky
Full of wandering stars,
disheveled
Gotta get my head straight,
Get it level.
All this wishful thinking,
What am I, living in a dream?
My spirit's sinking.
Somebody catch me! ) [x2]
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13. |
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Gone With The Wind
Don't you know it's not true, what say about you?
Don't you know it's all false, what they print in the news?
When the rumors that fly all die, and all that's left is the truth,
Don't let them waste your precious time. Don't let them enter your mind.
It's long gone!
It'll never come back along.
Yesterday's gone with the wind.
They called you not human and they put you in chains
They waged war for their rights and they made you a slave
Any freedom you had, they tried to take it away.
They should've known there'd be hell to pay.
Thank God it's gone!
May it never come back along.
Yesterday's gone with the wind.
Some say the times, they are a-changin', some say there ain't no such thing as time at all
No one debates that when the tears in your eyes blaze, never again will they fall
The tides that swell and rise mark the hours of our days under the sun
Whether they end in a tidy grave and flowers or in a tidal wave of blood
We're gonna leave it all behind whether we like or despise the lot we got
It's no good to glorify the past, it's fading fast, the good times never last
Yesterday's gone
It'll never come back along
It's long gone with the wind
Gone! Gone! Gone!
It'll never, ever come back along
Yesterday's gone with the wind
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15. |
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Sometimes You Never Know
Sometimes you never know
You can't be too careful
At least you can try
You really have to walk on egg shells
You can never tell
All's well that ends well
I rang up your phone
Sometimes you never know
If'n' anyone's home
I came by unannounced,
And rang your door bell
In case you'd like to hang out
Before very long, your footsteps pattered on the wood floor
Your hand turned the doorknob just as your grandfather clock struck four
You opened the door
You didn't look surprised
But sometimes you never know
You said, "Hey, come on in"
Looked at me with a grin
And asked, "Where have you been?"
The wind chime blew in the breeze; I answered, "Oh, you know"
I thought you knew where I'd been. You know the places I go.
I wasn't sure what you meant
I didn't get the message you sent
I didn't know I was late
Sometimes you never know
I guess it just goes to show
I said, "Nowhere special"
You squinted at me
Tilted your glasses' frames
And said, "Okay."
"Whatever's clever" you replied
Sometimes you never know
Sometimes you always do
You excused yourself to get drinks, while I played guitar
But then you returned with the poetry you wrote in your car
We played music 'til dawn
And passed out on your lawn
On with the show
You could be a modern Artaud
Or like Arthur Rimbaud
Sometimes you never know
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All music 'n' lyrics written if'n'r recorded with "Jim's Secret Recipe" App Combination Technique. (Soundtrap, GarageBand, Audacity, Rap Studio, iTouch notes [Gen 1], Library Computers, iTunes, etc.) Besides guitar, vocals, and slide flute, virtually every other imagineable instrument was programmed on a computer keyboard.