Impressions

She was perusing the want-ads, I was playing on my guitar
Long shadows on the morning sidewalk, the growl of the buses and cars
We were balanced on that spark, sitting in the park
We were laughing and scheming on future plans
Complaining on the bills, discussing all our skills
We decided to travel and leave our impression on other lands

She said she would be a model or a waitress in a small café
I said I didn’t need any riches, I just needed some time to play
And the morning was awake, the commuters on the make
But we had no business ‘til the afternoon
Not a cloud was above, we were thirsty and in love
Sitting under that tree, we left our impression on a simple tune

She said she had to get moving, so she kissed me goodbye and fled
I gazed at the hills in the distance, I counted out all my bread
I lit another smoke, I decided I was broke
It’s a common problem for a common folk
But I was feeling okay, I was coaxing the day
Trying to tease that lady back to leave our impression on a private joke

You really had to be there

New Hat and Suspenders

I got a new hat and suspenders to match my new bow-tie
Pin-striped pants, leather spats, and a monocle for my left eye

I am notorious for my sideburns, goatee, and silver tooth
Got a pint of brandy, some butterscotch candy, and this time it’s the truth

I got a valuable antique pool cue; my shirt’s clean, starched, and blue
Got a tab at the bar, and a fat cigar, and a large obscene tattoo

I know a sweet old gal, I got a checkerboard; I was wounded in the war
Got a brass spittoon in the month of June and a hound dog by the door

I got a new hat and suspenders to match my new bow-tie
I said it before and I’ll say it some more and I’ll say it ‘til the day I die

While I play my ukulele with a flower in my lapel
I’m having fun, I’ve got a gun, so you all go to hell

Memories of That Afternoon

It’s a silent scene as I drag my feet
Through the morning mist of a stranger’s street
Feeling empty and incomplete, and I want you

It’s a vacancy in a love that’s grown
When it finds you waking up on your own
The edge can be keen and close to the bone, it can haunt you

I’ve drank to friends, I’ve chased dead ends, and I’ve spilled my mind
I’ve begged and borrowed to drown my sorrow and go half-blind
God knows medicine ain’t that hard to find

But I have memories of the afternoon
That arrived too late and passed too soon
Lingering like a lonely tune up above me

When the day was done and evening broke
And the darkness fell like frozen smoke
We lay together and no one spoke and you loved me

There are dreams ahead, there are dreams behind, and I’m in a trance
Closing these doors with the likes of you is a long slow dance
Did I remember to thank you for the chance?

Because those memories of that afternoon
That arrived too late and passed too soon
Linger just like a lonely tune, and I want you

Linger just like this lonely tune, and I want you

Where Have All My Victims Gone?

Spoonful of honey, bucket of bees
Blow my money like confetti in the breeze
Pleased to meet you, now you buzz along

Lonely time at the scene of the crime
Been too long just to sing the same old song
Where, oh where, have my victims gone?

I’m a handsome child, I’m the devil’s brute, I keep on wearing this monkey suit
With a tear in my eye, now why you wanna steal away?

Hear ‘em snicker? crackin’ their jokes
Shark fin flickers in a sea of smoke
I’m broke, but I ain’t broken, nobody’s laughing at the lines unspoken

I do what I should, I’m misunderstood
I ain’t welcome in your neighborhood
I guess this wasn’t written in Hollywood, ‘cause it don’t end good

I’m a handsome child, I’m the devil’s brute, I keep on wearing this monkey suit
With a tear in my eye, now why you wanna steal away?

Lonely time at the scene of the crime
Been too long just to sing this same old song
Where have all my victims gone?

I’m weak and wild, now don’t get cute
I’m a handsome child, I’m the devil’s brute

The Promised Land

Rolling through the outskirts, smoking down the back streets
Dropping all precautions and shooting up the boulevards
I am your hero, the promise of America
Look a little closer, I’m shuffling the cards
Maybe you’ve seen my face, maybe you’ve heard my name
Maybe you know me like the back of your hand
Is it my destiny that leads me to the crossroads?
This could only happen in the promised land

‘Cause I’m moving down the avenue, heading up the fast lane
Meeting my connections and wandering around the block
Look in my eyes, I’ll tell you what I’m made of
No need to worry, man, it’s only talk
Maybe you’ve seen my face, maybe you’ve heard my name
Maybe you know me like the ball of your fist
You take your chances with the promise of America
No need to worry, you’re on the list

I’ll move all your merchandise, I’ll take all that I can get
Dress it up in a sugar coat and add it to my stash
Is it any wonder I’m sneaking down the alley roads?
Running ‘round in circles and counting out my cash
Maybe you’ve seen my face, maybe you’ve heard my name
Maybe you know me like the barrel of your gun
Where did I come from? Where am I going to?
You’ve got a problem and I’m the one

I’m a battle scene in a magazine, the rattle of your T.V.
The shadow on your doorway in the middle of the night
You know my story, the promise and the glory
Drunk and desperate and ready for a fight
Maybe you’ve seen my face and maybe you don’t care
I could be anywhere, leaning on my crutch
I am your hero, the promise of America
Everybody loves me, but not very much

Oh say can you see? It’s you and it’s me

Trippin’ Through the Blues

It’s a Sunday gray, the drizzle never stops, our voices whisper with the drops
I know I’ve never felt as well, feel this rainy love begin to jell, in the poses it adopts

It has me perched upon a hill, I think it’s gonna last
If I’m headed for a spill, I hope it happens fast
I’ve learned about this in the past, but you take things as you will

Why did your love find me so surprised? I was wallowing in loneliness and lies
Now a part of me I never dared suspect, anticipates the future and collects every moment as it dies

I can measure what I’ve lacked, by the chapters of my dreams
With prejudice and tact, mending all the ragged seams
Turning trickles into streams and changing all the facts

But now I’m lying here with you, cautiously accepting what is true
Far above the pavement and the crowds, no longer seeking shelter in the clouds or trippin’ through the blues

Please forgive my clumsiness and fear, my laziness and tendency to brood
Priorities get shoved aside when you’re dancing with yourself, dressed in fantasy, it’s simple and it’s crude
It’s been so long since it crossed my mind to stand up and be strong for you … I long for you

Now it’s time to change these shoes, there are gaps to patch and directions still to choose
But that innocence inside that’s never lost, is my gift to you, no matter what the cost
Whatever else I have to lose, I’ve been trippin’ through the blues

Patterns of Blue

It’s a quarter to midnight, no moonlight above
It’s quiet for a Friday, it’s a tough time to love
My thoughts are all tangled and hard to keep down
Speculation and regrets in the shadows of a stranger’s hometown
Where patterns of blue outline memories of you

Somewhere in this world where believers exist
Forgotten by these cities obscured by the mist
Lives a crafty old-timer with his secrets and spells
Who could choose me a potion from the jimmy-crack collection he sells
To provide me the knack to buy yesterdays back

I’d return to days before I had learned how to fail
When I knew disillusion could never prevail
Before I traded my innocence for the patterns of blue
That hang from this evening and outline these memories of you
I’m so lonely I guess I’ll pretend this is true

I’ve lived those days over so often it seems
I’ve covered my vision with a layer of dreams
I know I’m still hanging on ‘cause I still feel the pain
Speculation and regrets in the shadows of a place in my brain
Where patterns of blue outline memories of you
Have you thought of me too?

Reckless

She slips out early, just has to go
Empty pocket and wild oats to sow
She trips her fancy with the uptown elite
A low-cut indifference to that high-heeled street

She moves in my direction, guess they’re playing our song
Before I notice, I’m tagging along
We wind up squeaky stairways with a bag of supplies
She whispers, mister, are you my warm surprise?
Are you my warm surprise?

She says, I may be easy, babe, but I ain’t cheap
My pocket’s feelin’ empty, got no promises to keep
You can call me reckless, but don’t leave me blue and bare
I’ll turn the lights down low for you and shake my curly hair

Tell me all your secrets, lay your troubles in my lap
Kick off our lonely shoes and get loose like a shoulder strap
All sweet and sloppy like a pile of empty clothes
A classy lady from my tip down to my toes
My tip down to my toes

She says, how do I love thee? how do I break thy heart?
Let me count the ways ‘til morning do us part
Mind me gently, then just never mind
In moonlight we’re disgraceful, let’s hope the dawn is kind

You can call me bad or you can call me good
You can call me anytime you’re in the neighborhood
You can call me reckless when you kiss me off to sleep
Got wild oats in my pocket and no promises to keep
No promises to keep
       
She says, just call me reckless
I say, I’m kind of reckless too
She says, but I’m more reckless than you
And she says, oh babe, if you only knew
Just call me reckless, mmm-hmmm

That Crazy Raccoon

I was cruising the boardwalk when I spied that crazy raccoon
He was sipping on a bottle and whistling on a tune
Little rough ‘round the edges, kind of tarnished like a silver spoon
Had those rings ‘round his eyes, boys, in the heat of the noon

So he slaps me a handshake, says, hey how you doing, man?
I say, staying on my feet and out of the frying pan
I say, what’s happening with you? ‘cause I figured he had a plan
He says, I’m playing a fool and staying as cool as I can

And you know we were having some fun, sitting out there in the sun
You have to learn how to sit still, before you learn how to run

Now along comes uncle hobo, he was scratching around for some cash
He says, ain’t this life a shame? as a tear rolls down his mustache
I got no pan for my handle, got no leftovers for my stash
Got no plan for this evening, it’s enough to make a grown man crash

So we slip him a couple after talking him down from a few
And we turn our attention to the girl with the new tattoo
I say, ain’t you familiar? I believe I remember you
She looks me once over, she says, honey, I bet you do

And you know we were having some fun, sitting out there in the sun
You have to learn how to sit still, before you learn how to run

We see swinging soul sisters and brother their eyes are ablaze
Mothers in pearls and working girls, sugar daddies wearing berets
Playing the dozens with the cousins, those kids are just going through a phase
There were blues licks and politics and hippie chicks dancing for days

Anyways, I was cruising the boardwalk and I spied that crazy raccoon
He was sipping on a bottle and whistling on a tune
Little rough ‘round the edges, kind of tarnished like a silver spoon
Had those rings ‘round his eyes, boys, in the heat of the noon

Man, we were having some fun, sitting out there in the sun
And you know when the whole thing is done, I say, ‘coon, I owe you one …

Hey Jaybird

Hey jaybird, now don’t be feelin’ blue
I wrote a little love song and I’m singin’ it for you
Just listen what I say, don’t you ever fly away

Now just look at you, you’re crazy, mean, and naked
You’re a jaybird, I think we’re gonna make it
You’re as crazy as your name and I love you just the same

I see it in your mean eyes, I know you love me best
It’s written in the way your heart pounds softly in your naked breast

You may be crazy, you’re naked and you’re mean
You’re a jaybird, the best I’ve ever seen
And I love you more each day, don’t you ever fly away

‘Cause I love you more each day, don’t you ever fly away

Where the Songs Are Silent

I will go to where the hills are burning, it’s a path I have known all too well
Though I stop for a drink at that wandering creek, you may find me traveling still

I will go to where the beasts are howling, I have gone that road one time or two
If I lie down to rest where we went in days past, I will keep my eyes open for you

I’ll go to where the fields are barren, where I ended so often before
It’s a toss of a coin tells you which way I’ve gone, but it’s always a ways from your door

If you go to where the hearts are weary, you will see me walking along
With stones for a bed and gray clouds over head, the raindrops singing this song

If I go to where my love’s forsaken, then I must empty my sack
Dispose of my wares and I’ll shed all my tears, then I’ll turn and I won’t venture back

But if I go to where the songs are silent and that silence feeds a hungry host
I'll carry these chords and I'll share all my words and I'll go where I'm needed the most