Was a sunny day
Not a cloud was in the sky
Not a negative word was heard
From the people's passing by
It was a sunny day
All the birdies in the trees
And the radio's singing song
All the favorite melodies
He was a navy man
Stationed in Newport News
She was a highschool queen
With nothing really left to lose
She was a highschool queen
With nothing really left to lose
Was a sunny day
Not a cloud was in the sky
Not a negative word was heard
From the people's passing by
It was a sunny day
All the birdies in the trees
And the radio's singing song
All the favorite melodies
Her name was Lorelei
She was his only girl
She called him Speedoo
But his Christian name was mister Earl
She called him Speedoo
But his Christian name was mister Earl
Was a sunny day
Not a cloud was in the sky
Not a negative word was heard
From the people's passing by
It was a sunny day
All the birdies in the trees
And the radio's singing song
All the favorite melodies
Was a sunny day
Not a cloud was in the sky
Not a negative word was heard
On the side of a hill, in a land called somewhere.
A little boy lies asleep in the earth.
While down in the valley a cruel war rages,
And people forget what a child's life is worth.
On the side of a hill, a little cloud weeps,
And waters the grave with it's silent tears
While a soldier cleans and polishes a gun
That ended a life at the age of seven years.
And the war rages on in a land called somewhere.
And generals order their men to kill,
And to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten.
After I died and the makeup had dried
I went back to my place
No moon that night, but a heavenly light
Shown on my face
Still I thought it was odd there was no sign of God
Just to usher me in
Then a voice from above sugarcoated with love
Said, "Let us begin"
You got to fill out a form first
And then you wait in the line
You got to fill out a form first
And then you wait in the line
Okay, new kid in school
Got to follow the rule
You got to learn the routine
Whoa! There's a girl over there
With the sunshiny hair like a homecoming queen
I said "Hey, what'cha say, it's a glorious day
By the way, how long you been dead?"
Maybe you, maybe me, maybe baby makes three
But she just shook her head
You got to fill out a form first
And then you wait in the line
You got to fill out a form first
And then you wait in the line
Buddha and Moses and all the noses
From narrow to flat
Had to stand in the line
Just to glimpse the divine
What'cha think about that?
Well, it seems like our fate
To suffer and wait for the knowledge we seek
It's all His design
No one cuts in the line
No one here likes a sneak
You got to fill out a form first
And then you wait in the line
You got to fill out a form first
And then you wait in the line
After you climb up the ladder of time
The Lord God is near
Face-to-face in the vastness of space
Your words disappear
And you feel like you're swimming in an ocean of love
And the current is strong
But all that remains when you try to explain
Is a fragment of song
Lord, is it Be Bop a Lula? Or ooh Papa Doo?
Lord, Be Bop a Lula? Or ooh Papa Doo?
What can I do, what can I do?
Much of what you say is true
I know you see through me
But there's no tenderness
Beneath your honesty
Oh, right and wrong, right and wrong
Ooh, never helped us get along
You say you care for me
But there's no tenderness
Beneath your honesty
You and me were such good friends
What's your hurry?
You and me could make amends
I'm not worried, I'm not worried
Oh honesty, oh honesty
Ooh, it's such a waste of energy
No you don't have to lie to me
Just give me some tenderness
Beneath your honesty
You don't have to lie to me
Just give some tenderness
C'mon take me to the Mardi Gras
Where the people sing and play
Where the dancing is elite
And there's music in the street
Both night and day
Hurry take me to the Mardi Gras
In the city of my dreams
You can legalize your lows
You can wear your summer clothes
In the New Orleans
And I will lay my burden down
Rest my head upon that shore
And then I'll, I'll watch [Incomprehensible] crown
I won't be wanting anymore
Take your burdens to the Mardi Gras
Let the music wash your soul
You can mingle in the street
You can jingle to the beat of the jelly roll
Tumba, tumba, tumba, Mardi Gras
I met my old lover
On the street last night
She seemed so glad to see me
I just smiled
And we talked about some old times
And we drank ourselves some beers
Still crazy after all these years
Oh, still crazy after all these years
I'm not the kind of man
Who tends to socialize
I seem to lean on
Old familiar ways
And I ain't no fool for love songs
That whisper in my ears
Still crazy after all these years
Oh, still crazy after all these years
Four in the morning
Crapped out, yawning
Longing my life away
I'll never worry
Why should I?
It's all gonna fade
Now I sit by my window
And I watch the cars
I fear I'll do some damage
One fine day
But I would not be convicted
By a jury of my peers
Still crazy after all these years
Oh, still crazy
Still crazy
Ooh, little sleepy boy
Do you know what time it is?
Well, the hour of your bedtime's long been past
And though I know you're fightin' it
I can tell when you rub your eyes
You're fadin' fast, oh, fadin' fast
Won't you run come see St. Judy's Comet
Roll across the skies
And leave a spray of diamonds in its wake
I long to see St. Judy's Comet
Sparkle in your eyes when you awake
Oh, when you wake, wake
Little boy
Won't you lay your body down
Little boy
Won't you close your weary eyes
Ain't nothing flashin' but the fireflies
Well, I sang it once and I sang it twice
I'm going to sing it three times more
Going to stay 'til your resistances overcome
'Cause if I can't sing my boy to sleep
Well, it makes your famous daddy look so dumb
Look so dumb
Won't you run come see St. Judy's Comet
Roll across the skies
And leave a spray of diamonds in its wake
I long to see St. Judy's Comet
Sparkle in your eyes when you awake
Oh, when you wake, wake
Little boy, little boy
Won't you lay your body down
Little boy, little boy
Won't you close your weary eyes
Ain't nothin' flashin' but the fireflies
Ooh, little sleepy boy
Do you know what time it is?
Well, the hour of your bedtime's long been past
Though I know you're fightin' it
I can tell when you rub your eyes
You've got the cool water
When the fever runs high
You've got the look of love light in your eyes
And I was in crazy motion
Till you calmed me down
It took a little time
But you calmed me down
When something goes wrong
I'm the first to admit it
I'm the first to admit it
And the last one to know
When something goes right
Oh, it's likely to lose me
It's apt to confuse me
It's such an unusual sight
Oh, I can't, I can't get used
To something so right
Something so right
They've got a wall in China
It's a thousand miles long
To keep out the foreigners
They made it strong
And I've got a wall around me
That you can't even see
It took a little time
To get next to me
When something goes wrong
I'm the first to admit it
I'm the first to admit it
And the last one to know
When something goes right
Oh, it's likely to lose me
It's apt to confuse me
Because it's such an unusual sight
Oh, I swear, I can't get used
To something so right
Something so right
Some people never say the words, "I love you"
It's not their style to be so bold
Some people never say those words, "I love you"
But like a child they're longing to be told
When something goes wrong
I'm the first to admit it
I'm the first to admit it
And the last one to know
When something goes right
Oh, it's likely to lose me
It's apt to confuse me
Because it's such an unusual sight
I swear, I can't, I can't get used
To something so right
Something so right
I'm going to make a chicken gumbo
Toss some sausage in the pot
I'm going to flavor it with okra
Cayenne pepper to make it hot
You know life is what we make of it
So beautiful or so what
I'm going to tell my kids a bedtime story
A play without a plot
Will it have a happy ending?
Maybe yeah, maybe not
I tell them life is what you make of it
So beautiful or so what
So beautiful
So beautiful
So what
I'm just a raindrop in a bucket
A coin dropped in a slot
I am an empty house on Weed Street
Across the road from the vacant lot
You know life is what you make of it
So beautiful or so what
Ain't it strange the way we're ignorant
How we seek out bad advice
How we jigger it and figure it
Mistaking value for the price
And play a game with time and love
Like pair of rolling dice
So beautiful
So beautiful
So what
Four men on the balcony
Overlooking the parking lot
Pointing at a figure in the distance
Dr. King has just been shot
And the sirens long melody
Singing Savior Pass Me Not
Ain't it strange the way we're ignorant
How we seek out bad advice
How we jigger it and figure it
Mistaking value for the price
And play a game with time and love
Like a pair of rolling dice
So beautiful
So beautiful
(chorus)
Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
the more you're slip slidin' away
I know a man
He came from my home town
He wore his passion for his woman
like a thorny crown
He said "Delores,
I live in fear
My love for you's so overpowering
I'm afraid that I will disappear"
(chorus)
I know a woman
Became a wife
These are the very words she uses
to describe her life
She said a good day
ain't got no rain
She said a bad day's when I lie in bed
And think of things that might have been
(chorus)
And I know a father
who had a son
He longed to tell him all the reasons
for the things he'd done
He came a long way
just to explain
He kissed his boy as he lay sleeping
then he turned around and headed home again
(chorus)
God only knows
God makes his plan
The information's unavailable
to the mortal man
We work our jobs
collect our pay
Believe we're gliding down the highway
when in fact we're slip slidin' away
(chorus 2x)
Mmm mmm mmm
Hoh woh woh woh woh
I've been working on my rewrite, that's right
I'm gonna change the ending
Gonna throw away my title
And toss it in the trash
Every minute after midnight
All the time I'm spending
It's just for working on my rewrite
Gonna turn it into cash
I've been working at the carwash
I consider it my day job
Cause it's really not a pay job
But that's where I am
Everybody says the old guy working at the carwash
Hasn't got a brain cell left since Vietnam
But I say help me, help me, help me, help me
Thank you!
I'd no idea
That you were there
When I said help me, help me, help me, help me
Thank you, for listening to my prayer
I'm working on my rewrite, that's right
I'm gonna change the ending
Gonna throw away my title
And toss it in the trash
Every minute after midnight
All the time I'm spending
Is just for working on my rewrite, that's right
I'm gonna turn it into cash
I'll eliminate the pages
Where the father has a breakdown
And he has to leave the family
But he really meant no harm
Gonna substitute a car chase
And a race across the rooftops
When the father saves the children
And he holds them in his arms
And I say help me, help me, help me, help me
Thank you!
I'd no idea
That you were there
When I said, help me, help me, help me, help me
A pilgrim on a pilgrimage
Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge
His sneakers torn
In the hour when the homeless move their cardboard blankets
And the new day is born
Folded in his backpack pocket
The questions that he copied from his heart
Who am I in this lonely world?
And where will I make my bed tonight?
When twilight turns to dark
Questions for the angels
Who believes in angels?
Fools do
Fools and pilgrims all over the world
If you shop for love in a bargain store
And you don't get what you bargained for
Can you get your money back?
If an empty train in a railroad station
Calls you to it's destination
Can you choose another track?
Will I wake up from these violent dreams
With my hair as white as the morning moon?
Questions for the angels
Who believes in angels?
I do
Fools and pilgrims all over the world
Downtown Brooklyn
The pilgrim is passing a billboard
That catches his eye
It's Jay-Z
He's got a kid on each knee
He's wearing clothes that he wants us to try
If every human on the planet and all the buildings on it
Should disappear
Would a zebra grazing in the African Savannah
Care enough to she'd one zebra tear?
No I would not give you false hope
on this strange and mournful day
but the mother and child reunion
is only a motion away
little darling of mine.
I can't for the life of me
remember a sadder day
I know they say let it be
but it just don't work out that way
and the course of the lifetimes runs
over and over again.
No I would not give...
I just can't believe it's go
though it seems strange to say
I never been laid so low
in such a mysterious way
and the course of a lifetime runs
over and over again.
But I would not give...
the mother and child reunion
is only a motion away
oh the mother and child reunion
When I was a little boy
(when I was just a boy)
And the devil would call my name
(when I was just a boy)
I'd say "now who do (who)
Who do you think you're fooling?"
(when I was just a boy)
I'm a consecrated boy
(when I was just a boy)
I'm a singer in a sunday choir
Oh, my mama loves, she loves me
(chorus)
She get down on her knees and hug me
Like she loves me like a rock
She rocks me like the rock of ages
And loves me
She love me, love me, love me, love me
When I was grown to be a man
(grown to be a man)
And the devil would call my name
(grown to be a man)
I'd say "now who do (who)
Who do you think you're fooling?"
(grown to be a man)
I'm a consummated man
(grown to be a man)
I can snatch a little purity
My mama loves me, she loves me
(chorus)
And if I was president
(was the president)
The minute congress call my name
(was the president)
I'd say "who do (who)
Who do you think you're fooling?"
(who do you think you're fooling)
I've got the presidential seal
(was the president)
I'm up on the presidential podium
My mama loves me, she loves me
(chorus)
Fade out:
She love me, love me, love me, love me
(loves me like a rock)
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Love is eternal sacred light
Free from the shackles of time
Evil is darkness, sight without sight
A demon that feeds on the mind
How'd it all begin? Started with a bang
Couple of light years later, stars and planets sang
Fire warmed the cold, waves of colors flew
Moonlight into gold, earth to green and blue
Love is eternal sacred light
Free from the shackles of time
Evil is darkness, sight without sight
A demon that feeds on the mind
Earth becomes a farm
Farmer takes a wife
Wife becomes a river and the giver of life
Man becomes machine
Oil runs down his face
Machine becomes a man with a bomb in the marketplace
Bomb in the marketplace, bomb in the marketplace
Love is eternal sacred light
Free from the shackles of time
Evil is darkness, sight without sight
A demon that feeds on the mind
Big Bang
That's a joke that I made up
Once when I had eons to kill
You know, most folks
They don't get when I'm joking
Well, maybe someday they will
Love me
Love me
That's the main request I receive
Well you know I love all my children
And it tears me up when I leave
But sometimes you gotta fly down that highway
Free as a bird, knock on wood, thank the Lord
I am driving along in my automobile
It's a brand new pre-owned '96 Ford
Check out the radio, pop music station
That don't sound like my music to me
Talk show host, what's that boy's name?
Politics is ugly
At the end of the dial there's the gospel show
Maybe now I can exit and rest
There's a blizzard rolling down off the banks of Lake Michigan
Gonna cover the roads of the icy Midwest
Love is eternal sacred light
Free from the shackles of time
Evil is darkness, sight without sight
A demon that feeds all the mind
Love is eternal sacred light
Love is eternal sacred light
God and His only Son
Paid a courtesy call on Earth
One Sunday morning
Orange blossoms opened their fragrant lips
Songbirds sang from the tips of Cottonwoods
Old folks wept for His love in these hard times
"Well, we got to get going," said the restless Lord to the Son
"There are galaxies yet to be born
Creation is never done
Anyway, these people are slobs here
If we stay it's bound to be a mob scene
But, disappear, and it's love and hard times"
I loved her the first time I saw her
I know that's an old songwriting cliché
Loved you the first time I saw you
Can't describe it any other way
Any other way
The light of her beauty was warm as a summer day
Clouds of antelope rolled by
No hint of rain to come
In the prairie sky
Just love, love, love, love, love
When the rains came, the tears burned, windows rattled, locks turned
It's easy to be generous when you're on a roll
It's hard to be grateful when you're out of control
And love is gone
The light at the edge of the curtain
Is the quiet dawn
The bedroom breathes
In clicks and clacks
Uneasy heartbeat, can't relax
But then your hand takes mine
Thank God, I found you in time
Thank God, I found you
Love and blessings
Simple kindness
Fell like rain on thirsty land
Fields and gardens
Long abandoned
Came to life in dust and sand
Lover's lips sweet as honey
Touched as if old love was new
Banker's pockets overflowing with gold and money
Prophesies of wealth come true
Bop-bop-a-whoa
Ain't no song like an old song, Charlie
Bop-bop-a-whoa
There ain't no song like an old song,
Bop-bop-a-whoa
There ain't no time like a good time Charlie
Bop-bop-a-whoa
Ain't no times like the good times, Charlie
Bop-bop-a-whoa
Whoa
Bop-bop-a-whoa
Bop-bop-a-whoa
Everywhere you look anywhere you go
Everybody working for the
Bop-bop-a-whoa
Bop-bop-a-whoa
Bop-bop-a-whoa
Can't get enough of the
Bop-bop-a-whoa
Bop-bop-a-whoa
Bop-bop-a-whoa
If the summer kept a secret
It was heaven's lack of rain
Golden days and amber sunsets
Let the scientists complain
Came the autumn, drained of color
Ghosts in the water beg for more
Maple trees just a little bit duller
Than the memory of the year before
In a word, or in an image
Something called me from my sleep
Love and blessings
Simple kindness
When I think back on all the crap I've learned in high school
It's a wonder I can think at all
And though my lack of education hasn't hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall
Kodachrome, they give us those nice bright colors
Gives those greens of summers
They make you think that all the world's a sunny day
Well I've got a, a Nikon camera
I love to take photographs
So Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
If you took all the girls I knew when I was single
Brought them all together for one night
They never matched my sweet imagination
And everything looks better in black and white
They give us those, those nice bright colors
Gives those greens of summers
They make you think that all the world's a sunny day
Well I've got a, a Nikon camera
I love to take photographs
So Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome
Mama don't take my Kodachrome
Well, Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome
Leave your boy so far from home
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome
The mississippi delta was shining
Like a national guitar
I am following the river
Down the highway
Through the cradle of the civil war
I'm going to graceland
Graceland
In memphis tennessee
I'm going to graceland
Poorboys and pilgrims with families
And we are going to graceland
My traveling companion is nine years old
He is the child of my first marriage
But I've reason to believe
We both will be received
In graceland
She comes back to tell me she's gone
As if I didn't know that
As if I didn't know my own bed
As if I'd never noticed
The way she brushed her hair from her forehead
And she said losing love
Is like a window in your heart
Everybody sees you're blown apart
Everybody sees the wind blow
I'm going to graceland
Memphis tennessee
I'm going to graceland
Poorboys and pilgrims with families
And we are going to graceland
And my traveling companions
Are ghosts and empty sockets
I'm looking at ghosts and empties
But I've reason to believe
We all will be received
In graceland
There is a girl in new york city
Who calls herself the human trampoline
And sometimes when I'm falling, flying
Or tumbling in turmoil I say
Oh, so this is what she means
She means we're bouncing into graceland
And I see losing love
Is like a window in your heart
Everybody sees you're blown apart
Everybody sees the wind blow
In graceland, in graceland
I'm going to graceland
For reasons I cannot explain
There's some part of me wants to see
Graceland
And I may be obliged to defend
Every love, every ending
Or maybe there's no obligations now
Maybe I've a reason to believe
We all will be received
The night was black, the roads were icy
Snow was fallin', drifts were high
And I was weary from my drivin'
And I stopped to rest for a while
I sat down at a truck stop
I was thinking about my past
I've had a long streak of that bad luck
But I'm praying it's gone at last
Gone at last, gone at last
Gone at last, gone at last
I had a long streak of bad luck
But I pray it's gone at last
Ooo, ooo, ooo...
I ain't dumb
I kicked around some
I don't fall too easily
But that boy looked so dejected
He just grabbed my sympathy
Sweet little soul, no, what's your problem?
Tell me why you're so downcast
I've had a long streak of bad luck
But I pray it's gone at last
Gone at last, gone at last
Gone at last, gone at last
I had a long streak of bad luck
But I pray it's gone at last
Ooo, ooo, ooo...
One in a while from out of nowhere
When you don't expect it and you're unprepared
Somebody will come and lift you higher
And your burdens will be shared
Yes I do believe, if I hadn't met you
I might still be sinking fast
I've had a long streak of bad luck
But I pray it's gone at last
Gone at last, gone at last
Gone at last, gone at last
I had a long streak of bad luck
But I pray it's gone at last
From early in November to the last week of December
I got money matters weighing me down
Oh the music may be merry, but it's only temporary
I know Santa Claus is coming to town
In the days I work my day job, in the nights I work my night
But it all comes down to working man's pay
Getting ready, I'm getting ready, ready for Christmas Day
Reverend Gates:
Getting ready for Christmas Day.
And let me tell you, namely, the undertaker, he's getting ready for your body
Not only that, the jailer he's getting ready for you.
Christmas Day. Hmm? And not only the jailer, but the lawyer, the police force
Now getting ready for Christmas Day, and I want you to bear it in mind.
I got a nephew in Iraq it's his third time back
But it's ending up the way it began
With the luck of a beginner he'll be eating turkey dinner
On some mountain top in Pakistan
Getting ready, oh we're getting ready
For the power and the glory and the story of the
Christmas Day
Reverend Gates:
Getting ready, for Christmas Day. Done made it up in your mind that I'm going, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago. I'm going, on a trip, getting ready, for Christmas Day. But when Christmas come, nobody knows where you'll be. You might ask me. I may be layin' in some lonesome grave, getting ready, for Christmas Day.
Getting ready oh we're getting ready
For the power and the glory and the story of the
Christmas Day
Yes, we're getting ready
Reverend Gates:
Getting ready, ready for your prayers, "I'm going and see my relatives in a distant land."
Getting ready, getting ready for Christmas Day.
If I could tell my Mom and Dad that the things we never had
Never mattered we were always okay
Getting ready, oh ready, ready for Christmas Day
Ready, getting ready
For the power and the glory and the story of the
(A-wa a-wa) o kodwa u zo-nge li-sa namhlange
(A-wa a-wa) si-bona kwenze ka kanjani
(A-wa a-wa) amanto mbazane ayeza
She's a rich girl
She don't try to hide it
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
He's a poor boy
Empty as a pocket
Empty as a pocket with nothing to lose
Sing ta na na
Ta na na na
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Ta na na
Ta na na na
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
People say she's crazy
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Well that's one way to lose these
Walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of your shoes
She was physically forgotten
And then she slipped into my pocket
With my car keys
She said you've taken me for granted
Because I please you
Wearing these diamonds
And I could say oo oo oo
As if everybody knows
What I'm talking about
As if everybody here would know
Exactly what I was talking about
Talking about diamonds on the soles of her shoes
She makes the sign of a teaspoon
He makes the sign of a wave
The poor boy changes clothes
And he puts on after-shave
To compensate for his ordinary shoes
And she said honey take me dancing
But they ended up by sleeping
In a doorway
By the bodegas and the lights on
Upper Broadway
Wearing diamonds on the soles of their shoes
And I could say oo oo oo
And everybody here would know
What I was talking about
I mean everybody here would know exactly
What I was talking about
Talking about diamonds
People say I'm crazy
I got diamonds on the soles of my shoes
Well that's one way to lose
These walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of my shoes
Ta na na
Ta na na na
Truth or lie, the silence is revealing
An empty sky, a hidden mound of stone
But the CAT scan's eye sees what the heart's concealing
Now-a-days, when everything is known
Maybe love's an accident, or destiny is true
But you and I were born beneath a star of dazzling blue
Dazzling blue
Miles apart, though the miles can't measure distance
Worlds apart on a rainy afternoon
But the road gets dirty and it offers no resistance
So turn your amp up and play your lonesome tune
Maybe love's an accident, or destiny is true
But you and I were born beneath a star of dazzling blue
Dazzling blue
Dazzling blue, roses red, fine white linen
To make a marriage bed
And we'll build a wall that nothing can break through
And dream our dreams of dazzling blue
Sweet July, and we drove the Montauk Highway
And walked along the cliffs above the sea
And we wondered why, and imagined it was someday
And that is how the future came to be
Dazzling blue, roses red, fine white linen
To make a marriage bed
And we'll build a wall that nothing can break through
A man walks down the street
He says why am I soft in the middle now
Why am I soft in the middle
The rest of my life is so hard
I need a photo-opportunity
I want a shot at redemption
Don't want to end up a cartoon
In a cartoon graveyard
Bonedigger Bonedigger
Dogs in the moonlight
Far away my well-lit door
Mr. Beerbelly Beerbelly
Get these mutts away from me
You know I don't find this stuff amusing anymore
If you'll be my bodyguard
I can be your long lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty when you call me
You can call me Al
A man walks down the street
He says why am I short of attention
Got a short little span of attention
And wo my nights are so long
Where's my wife and family
What if I die here
Who'll be my role-model
Now that my role-model is
Gone Gone
He ducked back down the alley
With some roly-poly little bat-faced girl
All along along
There were incidents and accidents
There were hints and allegations
If you'll be my bodyguard
I can be your long lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty when you call me
You can call me Al
Call me Al
A man walks down the street
It's a street in a strange world
Maybe it's the Third World
Maybe it's his first time around
He doesn't speak the language
He holds no currency
He is a foreign man
He is surrounded by the sound
The sound
Cattle in the marketplace
Scatterlings and orphanages
He looks around, around
He sees angels in the architecture
Spinning in infinity
He says Amen! and Hallelujah!
If you'll be my bodyguard
I can be your long lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty when you call me
You can call me Al
Instrumental
AMERICAN TUNE
(words by Paul Simon music by JS Bach)
Many's the time I've been mistaken, and many times confused
And I've often felt forsaken, and certainly misused.
But it's all right, it's all right, I'm just weary to my bones
Still, you don't expect to be bright and Bon Vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home.
I don't know a soul who's not been battered
Don't have a friend who feels at ease
Don't know a dream that's not been shattered
Or driven to its knees.
But it's all right, all right, We've lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road we're traveling on,
I wonder what went wrong, I can't help it
I wonder what went wrong.
And I dreamed I was dying. I dreamed my soul rose
unexpectedly, and looking back down on me, smiled
reassuringly, and I dreamed I was flying.
And far above, my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty, drifting away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying.
We come on a ship we call the Mayflower,
We come on a ship that sailed the moon
We come at the age's most uncertain hour
And sing the American tune
But it's all right, its all right
You can't be forever blessed
Still, tomorrow's gonna be another working day
And I'm trying to get some rest,
That's all, I'm trying to get some rest.
filename[ AMERTUNE
Prayers offered in times of peace are silent conversations,
Appeals for love or love's release
In private invocations
But all that is changed now,
Gone like a memory from the day before the fires.
People hungry for the voice of God
Hear lunatics and liars
Wartime prayers, wartime prayers
In every language spoken,
For every family scattered and broken.
Because you cannot walk with the holy,
If you're just a halfway decent man.
I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind
With a genius marketing plan.
I'm trying to tap into some wisdom,
Even a little drop will do.
I want to rid my heart of envy
And cleanse my soul of rage
Before I'm through.
Times are hard, it's a hard time
But everybody knows all about hard times.
The thing is, what are you gonna do?
Well, you cry and try to muscle through
Try to rearrange your stuff
But when the wounds are deep enough,
It's all that we can bear,
We wrap ourselves in prayer.
Because you cannot walk with the holy,
If you're just a halfway decent man.
I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind
With a genius marketing plan.
I'm trying to tap into some wisdom,
Even a little drop willdo.
I want to rid my heart of envy
And cleanse my soul of rage
Before I'm through.
A mother murmurs in twilight sleep
And draws her babies closer.
With hush-a-byes for sleepy eyes,
And kisses on the shoulder.
To drive away despair
she says a wartime prayer
Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dare
Disturb the sound of silence.
"Fools" said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach to you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
in the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets
are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls."
And whisper'd in the sounds of silence.
Moves like a fist through the traffic
Anger and no one can heal it
Shoves a little bump into the momentum
It's just a little lump
But you feel it
In the creases and the shadows
With a rattling deep emotion
The cool, cool river
Sweeps the wild, white ocean
Yes Boss. The government handshake
Yes Boss. The crusher of language
Yes Boss. Mr. Stillwater,
The face at the edge of the banquet
The cool, the cool river
The cool, the cool river
I believe in the future
I may live in my car
My radio tuned to
The voice of a star
Song dogs barking at the break of dawn
Lightning pushes the edge of a thunderstorm
And these old hopes and fears
Still at my side
Anger and no one can heal it
Slides through the metal detector
Lives like a mole in a motel
A slide in a slide projector
The cool, cool river
Sweeps the wild, white ocean
The rage of love turns inward
To prayers of devotion
And these prayers are
The constant road across the wilderness
These prayers are
These prayers are the memory of God
The memory of God
And I believe in the future
We shall suffer no more
Maybe not in my lifetime
But in yours I feel sure
Song dogs barking at the break of dawn
Lightning pushes the edges of a thunderstorm
And these streets
Quiet as a sleeping army
Send their battered dreams to heaven, to heaven
For the mother's restless son
Who is a witness to, who is a warrior
Who denies his urge to break and run
Who says: Hard times?
I'm used to them
The speeding planet burns
I'm used to that
My life's so common it disappears
And sometimes even music
Cannot substitute for tears
I registered to vote today
Felt like a fool
Had to do it anyway
Down at the high school
Thing about the second line
You know, felt like a fool?
People say it all the time
Even when it's true
So, who's that conscience sticking on the sole of my shoe?
Who's that conscience sticking on the sole of my shoe?
Cause it sure don't feel like love
A tear drop consists of electrolytes and salt
The chemistry of crying is not concerned with blame or fault
So, who's that conscience sticking on the sole of my shoe?
Who's that conscience sticking on the sole of my shoe?
Cause it sure don't feel like love
How does it feel?
Feels like a threat
A voice in your head that you'd rather forget
No joke, no joke
You get sick from that unspoken
Sure don't feel like love
No joke, no joke
Some chicken and a corn muffin well that feels more like love
Yay! Boo!
Yay! Boo!
Wrong again, wrong again
Maybe I'm wrong again
Wrong again
Maybe I'm wrong again
Wrong again
I could be wrong again
I remember once in August 1993
I was wrong, and I could be wrong again
I remember one of my best friends turned enemy
So, I was wrong, and I could be wrong again
I remember once in a load-out, down in Birmingham
Yeah, but that didn't feel like love
Sure don't feel like, sure don't feel like, sure don't feel like love
Sure don't feel like, sure don't feel like, sure don't feel like love
It sure. Don't feel
Words & music by Paul Simon
I got some so-called friends
They'll smile right to my face
Oh, when my back is turned
They'd like to stick it to me
Yes they would
Oh no no, oh no no
There's only one thing I need to know
Whose side are you on?
I fly into J.F.K.
My heart goes boom boom boom
I know that customs man
He's going to take me
To that little room
Oh no no. Oh no, no
There's only one thing I need to know
Whose side are you on, whose side are you on?
I got the paranoia blues
Fnom knockin' around in New York City
Where they roll you for a nickel
And they stick you for the extra dime
Anyway you choose
You're bound to lose in New York City
Oh, I just got out in the nick of time
Well, I just got out in the nick of time
Once I was down in Chinatown
I was eating some Lin's Chow Fon
I happened to turn around
And when I looked I see
My Chow Fon's gone
Oh no, no, Oh no, no
There's only one thing I need to know
Whose side are you on, whose side are you on?
Well, there's only one thing I need to know
Whose side, whose side, whose side?
It's outrageous to line your pockets off the misery of the poor.
Outrageous the crime some human beings must endure.
It's a blessing to wash your face in the summer solstice rain.
It's outrageous a man like me stand here and complain.
But I'm tired, nine hundred sit-ups a day.
I'm painting my hair the colour of mud, mud, okay?
I'm tired, tired
Anybody care what I say? No!
I'm painting my hair the colour of mud.
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Tell me, who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Aw, who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
It's outrageous the food they try to serve in a public school.
Outrageous, the way they talk to you like you're some kind of clinical fool
It's a blessing to rest my head in the circle of your love.
It's outrageous I can't stop thinking about the things I'm thinking of.
And I'm tired, nine hundred sit-ups a day.
I'm painting my hair the colour of mud, mud, okay?
I'm tired, tired, anybody care what I say? No!
Painting my hair the colour of mud.
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Tell me, who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Tell me, who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
God will,
Like he waters the flowers on your window sill.
Take me, I'm an ordinary player in the key of C,
And my will was broken by my pride and my vanity
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
God will,
Like he waters the flowers on your window sill.
The boy's got brains
He just don't use 'em that's all
The boy's got brains
He just refuse to use 'em and that's all
He said ";The more I got to thinkin
The less I tend to laugh";
The boy's got brains
He just abstains
The boy's got a heart
But it beats on the opposite side
It's a strange phenomenon
The laws of nature defied
He said ";Its a chance I had to take
So I shifted my heart for its safety sake";
The boy's got a heart but it beats on
His opposite side
Oh, Marion,
I think I'm in trouble here
I should have believed you
When I heard you saying it
The only time
That love is an easy game
Is when two other people
Are playing it
The boy's got a voice
But the voice is his natural disguise
Yes the boy's got a voice
But his words don't connect to his eyes
He says ";Oh, but when I sing
I can hear the truth auditioning";.
The boy's got a voice
But the voice is natural
Words & music by Paul Simon
The mama pajama rolled out of bed
And she ran to the police station
When the papa found out he began to shout
And he started the investigation
It's against the law
It was against the law
What the mama saw
It was against the law
The mama looked down and spit on the ground
Everytime my name gets mentioned
The papa said oy if I get that boy
I'm gonna stick him in the house of detention
Well I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way
I'm taking my time
But I don't know where
Goodbye to Rosie the queen of Corona
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
Me and Julio down by the schoolyard
In a couple of days they come and take me away
But the press let the story leak
And when the radical priest
Come to get me released
We was all on the cover of Newsweek
And I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way
I'm taking my time
But I don't know where
Goodbye to Rosie the queen of Corona
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
Me and Julio down by the schoolyard
It's been a long, long day
I got some run-down shoes
Ain't got no place to stay
But any old place will be okay
It's been a long, long day
I sure been on this road
Done nearly fourteen years
Can't say my name's well known
You don't see my face in Rolling Stone
But I sure been on this road
Slow motion
Half a dollar bill
Jukebox in the corner
Shooting to kill
And it's been a...
It's been a long, long day
I sure could use a friend
Don't know what else to say
I hate to abuse an old cliche
But it's been a long, long day
Its been a long, long day
Acts of kindness, like breadcrumbs in a fairytale forest
Lead us past dangers as light melts the darkness
But I don't believe, and I'm not consoled
I lean closer to the fire, but I'm cold
The earth was born in a storm
The waters receded, the mountains were formed
"The universe loves a drama," you know
And ladies and gentlemen this is the show
I got a call from my broker
The broker informed me I'm broke
I was dealing my last hand of poker
My cards were useless as smoke
Oh, guardian angel
Don't taunt me like this, on a clear summer evening as soft as a kiss
My children are laughing, not a whisper of care
My love is brushing her long chestnut hair
I don't believe a heart can be filled to the brim
Then vanish like mist as though life were a whim
Maybe the heart is part of the mist
And that's all that there is or could ever exist
Maybe and maybe and maybe some more
Maybe's the exit that I'm looking for
I got a call from my broker
The broker said he was mistaken
Maybe some virus or brokerage joke
And he hopes that my faith isn't shaken
Acts of kindness
Like rain in a draught
Release the spirit with a whoop and a shout
I don't believe we were born to be sheep in a flock
We heard the fireworks
Rushed out to watch the sky,
Happy go lucky, fourth of July
How can you live in the Northeast?
How can you live in the South?
How can you build on the banks of a river
When the flood water pours from the mouth?
How can you be a Christian?
How can you be a Jew?
How can you be a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu?
How can you?
Weak as the winter sun, we enter life on earth.
Names and religion comes just after date of birth.
Then everybody gets a tongue to speak,
And everyone hears an inner voice,
A day at the end of the week to wonder and rejoice.
If the answer is infinite light
Why do we sleep in the dark?
How can you live in the Northeast?
How can you live in the South?
How can you build on the banks of a river?
When the flood water pours from the mouth?
How can you tattoo your body?
Why do you cover your head?
How can you eat from a rice bowl
The holy man only breaks bread?
We watched the fireworks 'til they were fireflies.
Followed a path of stars over the endless skies.
How can you live in the Northeast?
How can you live in the South?
How can you build on the banks of a river
When the flood water pours from the mouth, from the mouth?
I've been given all I wanted,
Only three generations off the boat.
I've harvested and I've planted.
I'm wearing my father's old coat
I'm sitting in the railway station.
Got a ticket for my destination.
On a tour of one-night stands my suitcase and guitar in hand.
And ev'ry stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one-man band.
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.
Ev'ry day's an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines.
And each town looks the same to me, the movies and the factories
And ev'ry stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to be,
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.
Tonight I'll sing my songs again,
I'll play the game and pretend.
But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me.
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound,
Home where my thought's escaping,
Home where my music's playing,
Home where my love lies waiting
Silently for me.
Silently for me.
I was having this discussion
In a taxi heading downtown
Rearranging my position
On this friend of mine who had
A little bit of a breakdown
I said breakdowns come
And breakdowns go
So what are you going to do about it
That's what I'd like to know
You don't feel you could love me
But I feel you could
It was in the early morning hours
When I fell into a phone call
Believing I had supernatural powers
I slammed into a brick wall
I said hey, is this my problem?
Is this my fault?
If that's the way it's going to be
I'm going to call the whole thing to a halt
You don't feel you could love me
But I feel you could
You don't feel you could love me
But I feel you could
I was walking down the street
When I thought I heard this voice say
Say, ain't we walking down the same street together
On the very same day
I said hey Senorita that's astute
I said why don't we get together
And call ourselves an institute
You don't feel you could love me
But I feel you could
You don't feel you could love me
But I feel you could
There may come a time
When you'll be tired
As tired as a dream that wants to die
And further to fly
Further to fly
Further to fly
Further to fly
Maybe you will find a love
That you discover accidentally
Who falls against you gently
As a pickpocket
Brushes your thigh
Further to fly
Effortless music from the Cameroons
The spinning darkness of her hair
A conversation in a crowded room going nowhere
The open palm of desire
Wants everything
It wants everything
It wants everything
Sometimes I'll be walking down
The street and I'll be thinking
Am I crazy
Or is this some morbid little lie
Further to fly
Further to fly
Further to fly
A recent loss of memory
A shadow in the family
The baby waves bye-bye
I'm trying, I'm flying
There may come a time
When I will lose you
Lose you as I lose my light
Days falling backward into velvet night
The open palm of desire
Wants everything
It wants everything
It wants soil as soft as summer
And the strength to push like spring
A broken laugh a broken fever
Take it up with the great deceiver
Who looks you in the eye
And says baby don't cry
Further to fly
There may come a time
When I will lose you
Lose you as I lose my sight
Days falling backward into velvet night
The open palm of desire
The rose of Jericho
Soil as soft as summer
The strength to let you go
If you ever awake
In the mirror of a bad dream
And for a fraction of a second,
You can't remember where you are
Just open your window
And follow your memories
Upstream
To the meadow in the mountain
Where we counted every falling star
I believe the light that shines on you
Will shine on you forever
(forever)
And though I can't guaruntee there's nothing scary
Hidin' under your bed
I'm gonna
Stand guard
Like the postcard
Of the golden retriever
And never leave
'Til I leave you
With a sweet dream in your head
[CHORUS]
I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you always know
As long as one and one is two
Ooh ooh
There could never be a father
Love his daughter more than I love you
Trust your intuition
It's just like going fishin'
You cast your line and
Hope you get a bite
But you don't need to waste your time
Worryin' about the marketplace
Trying to help the human race
Struggling to survive
It's as harsh as night
[CHORUS x2]
Locked in a struggle for the right combination of words in a melody line
I took a walk along the riverbank of my imagination
Golden clouds were shuffling the sunshine
But if I ever get back to the twentieth century
Guess I'll have to pay off some debts
Open the book of my vanishing memory
With its catalogue of regrets
Stand up for the deeds I did
And those I didn't do
Sit down, shut up, think abou God
And wait for the hour of my rescue
We don't mean to mess things up
But mess them up we do
And then it's "Oh, I'm sorry"
Here's a smiling photograph of love it was new
At a birthday party
Make a wish and close your eyes: surprise, surprise, surprise.
Early December, and brown as a sparrow
Frost creeping over the pond
I shoot a thought into the future
And it flies like an arrow
Through my lifetime, and beyond
If I ever come back as a tree, or a crow
Or even the wind-blown dust
Find me on the ancient road in the song when the wires are hushed
Hurry on and remember me, as I'll remember you
Far above the golden clouds, the darkness vibrates
The earth is blue
And everything about it is a love song
Everything about it
Everything about it is a love song
Everything about it
I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail.
Yes I would.
If I could,
I surely would.
I'd rather be a hammer than a nail.
Yes I would.
If I only could,
I surely would.
CHORUS
Away, I'd rather sail away
Like a swan that's here and gone
A man gets tied up to the ground
He gives the world
Its saddest sound,
Its saddest sound.
I'd rather be a forest than a street.
Yes I would.
If I could,
I surely would.
I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet,
Yes I would.
If I only could,
I surely would.
Lord, I'm a working man
And music is my trade
I'm travelin' with this five-piece band
And I play the ace of spades
I have a wife and family
Who don't see much of me
God bless the absentee
Lord, I am a surgeon
And music is my knife
It cuts away my sorrow
And purifies my life
But if I could release my heart
And veins and arteries
I'd say God bless the absentee
I miss my woman so
I miss my bed
I miss those soft places
I used to lay my head
My son don't need me yet
His bones are soft
He flies a silver airplane
He wears a golden cross
God bless the absentee
Lord, this country's changed so fast
The future is the present
The present's in the past
Highways are in litigation
The airports disagree
God bless the absentee
God bless the absentee
There were two men down
And the score tied
In the bottom of the eighth
When the pitcher died
And they laid his spikes
On the pitcher's mound
And his uniform was torn
And his number was left on the ground
then the night turned cold
Colder than the moon
The stars were white as bones
the stadium was old
Older than the screams
Older than the teams
There were three men down
And the season lost
And the tarpaulin was rolled
"Let us be lovers we'll marry our fortunes together."
"I've got some real estate here in my bag."
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies
And we walked off to look for America.
"Kathy," I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
"Michigan seems like a dream to me now
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've come to look for America."
Laughing on the bus;
Playing games with the faces;
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy;
I said "Be careful his bowtie is really a camera."
"Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat."
"We smoked the last one an hour ago."
So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field.
"Kathy, I'm lost," I said, though I knew she was sleeping.
"I'm empty and aching and I don't know why."
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike:
They've all come to look for America
All come to look for America
All come to look for America
On the morning of her wedding day
When no one was awake
She drove across the border
Leaving all the yellow roses on her wedding cake
Her mother's tears, her breakfast order
She's gone, gone, gone
There is a moment, a chip in time
When leaving home is the lesser crime
When your eyes are blind with tears
But your heart can see
Another life, another galaxy
That night her dreams are storm-tossed as a willow
She hears the clouds
She sees the eye of a hurricane
As it sweeps across her island pillow
But she's gone, gone, gone
There is a moment, a chip in time
When leaving home is the lesser crime
When your eyes are blind with tears
But your heart can see
Joseph's face was black as night
The pale yellow moon shone in his eyes
His path was marked
By the stars in the southern hemisphere
And he walked his days
Under African skies
This is the story of how we begin to remember
This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein
After the dream of falling and calling your name out
These are the roots of rhythm
And the roots of rhythm remain
In early memory
Mission music
Was ringing 'round my nursery door
I said take this child, Lord
From Tucson, Arizona
Give her the wings to fly through harmony
And she won't bother you no more
This is the story of how we begin to remember
This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein
After the dream of falling and calling your name out
These are the roots of rhythm
And the roots of rhythm remain
Joseph's face was black as night
And the pale yellow moon shone in his eyes
His path was marked
By the stars in the southern hemisphere
And he walked the length of his days
VIRGIL
I've got a wife, four grown children
I can't afford their education
I been a prison guard for fourteen years
That ain't exactly a vacation
WARDEN
Since he's been here he's followed every rule
Well I told you my position
The law says he's got the right to go to school,
We abide by the court's decision
VIRGIL
I got a Winchester 243
I like that gun for deer
Upstate November when the air is free
Smells like hunting season's here
He's the one to keep your eyes on
He's smart yeah and he's quiet
A troublemaker if I ever seen one
Next thing you know it's Attica
And we got a prison riot
There ain't no way that punk gets his degree
And hides behind the Constitution
No way in hell that smart ass spic goes free
Not while I'm in this institution
Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar-Paul Simon
Guitar-Harper Simon
Bass-Tony Garnier
Guitar-Arlen Roth
Drums-Shannon Ford
SAL
I speak to you in Jesus's name
As Jesus speaks through me,
The evil we do can't be blamed upon our destiny
I have walked through the valley of death-row to the shore
I have stumbled through silvery water to my savior, my Salvador!
SALVADOR
It took me four years to learn
I was in prison not in church.
And two more to begin the book of my soul's search.
SAL & SALVADOR
Time is an ocean of endless tears
SAL
A wild boy from the streets of El Barrio
An orphan from the hills of Mayag¨¹ez
SALVADOR
And when I wrote my story
The words flew from the page
And my soul in solitary
Escaped its iron cage.
SAL & SALVADOR
Time is an ocean of endless tears
SAL
Mama, I got your letter today
The next time that you write I'll be transferred far away.
I'm leaving Greenhaven's towers of stone
Where the Latin population will soon be minus one.
SALVADOR
Time is an ocean of endless tears.
SAL
I know how hard it's been for you these many years,
You say the Aguinaldo makes you dream of home
Where once we strolled the beach at El Malecon
Go back don't you worry, I am your grown-up son.
SALVADOR
The politics of prison are a mirror of the street.
The poor endure oppression
The police control the state.
Correctional facility
That's what they call this place
But look around and you will see
The politics of race.
SAL
A forest and a prison
Where the snow and guards are white
SALVADOR
If you want to keep your sanity
You'll teach yourself to write.
You were a child of sixteen
With a twelve-year-old mind
You came here numb and battered
By the streets I left behind
SAL
I'll take the evil in me
And turn it into good,
Though all your institutions
Never thought I could
So now I'll turn to say goodbye
SALVADOR
I'll keep your image in my eye
SAL & SALVADOR
I turn around to say goodbye
SALVADOR
I'll keep your image with me till the day I die
SAL & SALVADOR
Time is an ocean of endless tears
Lead Vocal-Marc Anthony
Lead Vocal-Ruben Blades
Acoustic Guitar-Paul Simon
Piano-Oscar Hernandez
Guitar-Steve Cropper
Guitar-Vincent Nguini
Bass-Ruben Rodriguez
Conga, Guira-Milton Cardona
Drums-Robby Ameen
Soprano Saxophone-Bobby Franceschini
Flute-Oriente Lopez
Bass Clarinet-Pablo Calogero
Trumpet-David Rodriguez
Flugel-Barry Danielian
Trombone-Ozzie Melendez
Violin-Krista Feeney
Violin-Paul Peabody
Viola-Juliet Hafner
Cello-Laura Bontrager
Horn Arrangement-Oriente Lopez
Orchestration-Stanley Silverman
They say that the left side of the brain
Controls the right
They say that the right side
Has to work hard all night
Maybe I think too much for my own good
Some people say so
Other people say no no
The fact is
You don't think as much as you could
hmmm
I had a childhood that was mercifully brief
I grew up in a state of disbelief
I started to think too much
When I was twelve going on thirteen
Me and the girls from St. Augustine
Up in the mezzanine
Thinking about God
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
Have you ever experienced a period of grace
When your brain just takes a seat behind your face
And the world begins The Elephant Dance
Everything's funny
Everyone's sunny
You take out your money
And walk down the road
That leads me to the girl I love
The girl I'm always thinking of
But maybe I think too much
And I ought to just hold her
Stop trying to mold her
Maybe blindfold her
And take her away
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
If a feeling's born and no one complains
Well that's good luck
running through young veins
And if life is a blessing
that brushes the tops of the trees
Well it's a short walk
in a sweet breeze
I will need you, feed you, seed you, plead with you
All for the taste of your sweet love Thelma
If a heart is an open memory book
That was the chance I took
The more I searched, the more I shook with Thelma
Last night I slept on a rented pillow
A silver moon above my head
A thirsty dreamless sleep released me
And I reached for the phone
by the side of the bed
Now the first time that I saw you I thought
"She's beautiful, but she's too young to be caught"
People aware of my history
Trying to steer you away from me
I left a message at your hotel
Don't let management poison the well
I will need you, feed you, seed you, plead with you
All for the taste of your sweet love Thelma
The phone is ringing and I realize
we are timezones and oceans apart
The words I speak in the middle of my night
They fall on your yesterday scars
If the sun don't shine, the wind don't break
the clock don't jump off the wall
Thelma, my darling, I will cushion your fall
I will need you, feed you, seed you, plead with you
Without the taste of your sweet love Thelma
I am only a man who has skirted the edge of despair
for a long time now, and I don't care
I watch you sleeping in the hospital bed
The baby curled up in a ball
Winter sunlight hits the family tree
And everything else becomes nothing at all
If I have weaknesses
Don't let them blind me
Or camouflage all I am wary of
I could be sailing in seizures of laughter
Or crawling out from under the heel of love
Do my prayers remain unanswered
Like a beggar at your sleeve
Olodumare is smiling in heaven
Smiling in heaven I do believe
Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark
Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark
To overcome an obstacle or an enemy
To glide away from the razor or a knife
To overcome an obstacle or an enemy
To dominate the impossible in your life
Always a stranger when strange isn't fashionable
And fashion is rich people waving at the door
Or it's a dealer in drugs or in passion
Lies of a nature we've heard before
Do my prayers remain unanswered
Like a beggar at your sleeve
Balalu-aye spins on his crutches
Says leave if you want
If you want to leave
Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark
A reach in the darkness
Reach in the dark
To overcome an obstacle or an enemy
To glide away from the razor or a knife
To overcome an obstacle or an enemy
To dominate the impossible in your life
Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark
Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark
To overcome an obstacle or an enemy
To dominate the impossible in your life
Reach in the darkness
A reach in the dark
Words & music by Paul Simon
I was reading a magazine
And thinking of a rock and roll song
The year was nineteen fiftyfour
And I hadn't been playing that long
When a man came on the radio
And this is what he said
He said I hate to break it to his fans
But Johnny Ace is dead, yeah, yeah, yeah
Well, I really wasn't
Such a Johnny Ace fan
But I felt bad alI the same
So I sent away for his photograph
And I waited till it came
It came all the way from Texas
With a sad and sim-ple face
And they signed it on the bottom
From the Late Great Johnny Ace, yeah, yeah, yeah
It was the year of The Beatles
It was the year of The Stones
It was nineteen sixtyfour
I was living in London
With the girl from the summer be-fore
It was the year of The Beatles
It was the year of The Stones
A year after J.F.K.
We were staying up all night
And giving the days away
And the music was flowing amazing
And blowing my way
On a cold December evening
I was walking through the Christmas tide
When a stranger came up and asked me
If I'd heard John Lennon had died
And the two of us went to this bar
And we stayed to close the place
And every song we played
Was for The Late Great Johnny Ace, yeah, yeah, yeah
A family of musicians took shelter for the night
In the little harbor church of St. Cecilia
Two guitars, bata, bass drum and tambourine
Rose of Jericho and Bougainvillea
This is a lonely life
Sorrows everywhere you turn
And that's worth something
When you think about it
That's worth some money
That's worth something
When you think about it
That is worth some money
A trip to the market
A trip into the pearl gray morning sunlight
That settles over Washington
A trip to the market
A trip around the world
Where the evening meal
Is negotiable, if there is one.
This is a lonely-lone, lonely life
Sorrows everywhere you turn
And that's worth something
When you think about it
That's worth some money
That's worth something
When you think about it
That is worth some money
To prove that I love you
Because I believe in you
Summer skies, stars are falling
All along the injured coast
If I have money
If I have children
Summer skies, stars are falling
All along the injured coast
Oo-wah Oo-wah Doo-wop a Doo-wah
Summer skies and stars are falling
All along the injured coast
Oo-wah Oo-wah Doo-wop a Doo-wah
Summer skies and the stars are falling
All along the injured coast
We are standing in the sunlight
The early morning sunlight
In the harbor church of St. Cecilia
To praise a soul's returning to the earth
To the rose of Jericho and the Bougainvillea
To prove that I love you
Because I believe in you
Summer skies, stars are falling
All along the injured coast
If I have money
If I have children
Summer skies, stars are falling
All along the injured coast
If I have weaknesses
Don't let them blind me now
Summer skies, stars are falling
All along the injured coast
Oo-wah Oo-wah
Doo Wop a Doo Wah
Summer skies, stars are falling
Leaving the shadow of the valley behind me now
All along the injured coast
Ooh-wah Oow-wah
Doo Wop a Doo Wah
Summer skies and stars are falling
All along the injured coast
Ooh-wah Ooh-wah
Doo Wop a Doo Wah
I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told.
I have squandered my resistance,
For a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises.
All lies and jest.
Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.
When I left my home and my family I was no more than a boy,
In the company of strangers,
In the quiet of a railway station, runnin' scared.
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters,
Where the ragged people go.
Lookin' for the places, only they would know.
Lie-la-lie ...
Asking only workman's wages I come lookin' for a job,
But I get no offers,
Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue.
I do declare there were times when I was so lonesome,
I took some comfort there.
Oooh la, la, la ...
(Instrumental break)
Li la li ...
And I'm laying out my winter clothes, wishing I was gone, goin' home
Where the new york city winters aren't bleedin' me, leadin' me to goin' home
In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade,
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down,
Or cut him 'til he cried out in his anger and his shame,
"I am leaving, I am leaving."
But the fighter still remains.
Lie-la-lie ...
Well I'll just skip the boring parts chapters one, two, three
And get to the place where you can read my face and my biography
Here I am, I'm eleven months old, dangling from my daddy's knee
There I go, it's my graduation
I'm picking up a bogus degree
That's me
Early me. That's me
Well I never cared much for the money
And money never cared for me
I was more like a land-locked sailor
Searching for the emerald sea
Just searching for the emerald sea, boys, searching for the sea
Oh my God
First love opens like a flower
A black bear running through the forest light holds me in her sight and her
power
But tricky skies, your eyes are true
The future is beauty and sorrow
Still, I wish that we could run away and live the life we used to
If just for tonight and tomorrow
I am walking up the face of the mountain
Counting every step I climb
Remembering the names of the constellations
Forgotten is a long, long time
That's me
I'm in the valley of twilight
Now I'm on the continental shelf
That's me
I'm answering a question I am asking of myself
ESMERALDA
Salvador, the afternoon sunlight is folding around us,
The dishes are done,
The buildings here, tall as our mountains
Slice through the windows and cut off the sun.
On such days I find I am longing for Puerto Rico
Though I never would return 'til you are free
But when I hear the Aguinaldo my heart's a little lighter
And we dance together Aurea and me
In my life I've been unlucky with two husbands
Gumersindo liked his rum and women friends
Then that hypocrite who beat you and preached about repentance
Has gone, and so another Sunday ends
And tomorrow is another hard working Monday
I'm still hoping for the raise they promised me
There's a job as operator
I would not have to wait for
If I could speak the language easily
But I tell Aurea:
The barrio's boundaries are our own little nation
Sometimes I hear you run upstairs
And I view my light with resignation
Keep your bible near you
Time is an ocean of endless tears.
Mmm. . .
Lead Vocal-Ednita Nazario
Hi String Guitar-Paul Simon
Piano-Oscar Hernandez
Acoustic Guitar-Saturnino Laboy
Acoustic Guitar-Diomedes Matos
Bass-Ruben Rodriguez
Cello-Laura Bontrager
Flute-Oriente Lopez
Bongos, Maracas, Clave-Milton Cardona
Orchestral Conductor-Stanley Silverman
Words & music by Paul Simon
Silent Eyes
Watching Jerusalem
Make her bed of stones
Silent Eyes
No One will comfort her
Jerusalem
Weeps alone
She is sorrow, sorrow
She burns like a flame
And she calls my name
Silent Eyes
Burning in the desert sun
Halfway to Jerusalem
And we shall all be called as witnesses
Each and ev'ryone
To stand before the eyes of God
And speak what was done
SAL
I been sleeping on the roof of my building
It's cooler than the street.
I been watching the setting sun
As it bounces off the avenue
Turning into gold dust at my feet.
OH-WOH-OH
Carlos and Yolanda
Dancing in the hallway
To an old melody
Spanish eyes and soft brown curls
My love, my love
Come to me.
I believe I'm in the power of Saint Lazarus.
And he holds me in his sight
I know that these jitterbug days I'm livin',
Well, they won't last for all of us,
But they'll last for a long summer night.
I can feel the fire in her eyes
Tonight, tonight
Under satin summer skies.
THE VAMPIRES
OOH-OOH-OO-OOH-OOH-OO
OOH-WOO-OO-OO
GIRLS
Baby, baby, baby
Be my special one
I seen you move in from across the street
I like the way you walk
I love the way you run
Baby, baby,
No more baby talk
Papi, this ain't Mayag¨¹ez
This is the island of Nueva York
We'll go through the projects,
Make-out on the roofs
An' count the stars like silver studs on
My . . .
Motorcycle boots
Tengan cuidado con ese tipo.
Ay verdad te digo, ese tipo es tan sucio.
?Sucio!
HERNANDEZ
You wastin' your time, they don't know what I do
You little ghetto weeds . . . I feel like killin' you.
Banana-colored light-skinned spics,
You feel your peel so fine?
I'm Hern¨¢ndez, The Umbrella Man,
Your future's locked in mine.
The Chaplains and The Golden Guineas
The Red Wings and The Crowns,
The Mighty Mau Maus,
Those Shines from Brooklyn,
They want to cut The Vampires down
The Savage Skulls, The Fordham Baldies,
They'll treat you like you're piss
From the heart of the barrio, now my brother
We tell them mother fuckers suck on this.
I think we got something to talk about.
You're a coolie from the turf.
That's cool, but you don't get no respect around
here unless you belong to a bopping gang . . .
I mean, you either belong or you get hurt.
Or you could buy some protection from me.
'Cause if someone's got to die
To pay for the shit they done
I believe in an eye for an eye
What you believe in, Salvador Agr¨®n?
Mr. Agr¨®n? Se?or Agr¨®n?
SAL
I believe I'm in the power of St. Lazarus
And he holds me in his sight
I believe he watches over us all
Don't tear apart
This satin summer night.
Lead Vocal, Background Vocal, Acoustic Guitar-Paul Simon
Lead Vocal-Marc Anthony
Background and Duo Vox-Myrna Gomila
Background and Duo Vox-Teana Rodriguez
Background Vox-Briz
Background Vocal-Karen Bernod
Background Vocal-Renee Connell-Adams
Background Vocal-DeWayne Snype
Background Vocal-Kia Jeffries
Background Vocal-Ed Vasquez
Background Vocal-Derrick James
Background Vocal-Edgar Stewart
Cuatro-Edgardo Miranda
Tenor and Baritone Saxophone-David Mann
Background Vocals Recorded by Roy Halee
Words & music by Paul Simon
Went to my doctor yesterday
A-a-a-a-ah, she said I seem to be O.K.
A-a-a-a-ah, She said
";Paul, you better look around
How long you think that you can
Run that body down?
How many nights you think that you can
Do what you been do-o-in'
Who, now who you foolin?";
I came back home and I went to bed
Ah, I was resting my head
My wife came in and she said
";What's wrong, sweet boy, what's wrong?";
Ah, I told her what's wrong
I said ";Peg, you better look around
How long you think that you can
Run that body down?
How many nights you think that you can
Do what you been do-o-in'
Who-o, now, who you foolin?";
Kid, you better look around
How long you think that you can
Run that body down?
How many nights you think that you can
Do what you been do-o-in'
Who-o, now, who you foolin?";
Who-o, now, who you foolin?";
Rene and Georgette Magritte
With their dog after the war
Returned to their hotel suite
And they unlocked the door
Easily losing their evening clothes
They danced by the light of the moon
To the Penguins, the Moonglows
The Orioles, and The Five Satins
The deep forbidden music
They'd been longing for
Rene and Georgette Magritte
With their dog after the war
Rene and Georgette Magritte
With their dog after the war
Were strolling down Christopher Street
When they stopped in a men's store
With all of the mannequins dressed in the style
That brought tears to their immigrant eyes
Just like The Penguins, the Moonglows
The Orioles, and The Five Satins
The easy stream of laughter
Flowing through the air
Rene and Georgette Magritte
With their dog apres la guerre
Side by side
They fell asleep
Decades gliding by like Indians
Time is cheap
When they wake up they will find
All their personal belongings
Have intertwined
Oh Rene and Georgette Magritte
With their dog after the war
Were dining with the power elite
And they looked in their bedroom drawer
And what do you think
They have hidden away
In the cabinet cold of their hearts?
The Penguins, the Moonglows
The Orioles, and The Five SatinsFor now and ever after
As it was before
Rene and Georgette Magritte
With their dog after the war
SAL
I know you're trying to protect me
Searching for another truth
With your language and your poetry
From my ignorance and youth
Hey I did not come to argue
My life never made much sense
I just wish that I could hug you
You're my only defense
I don't understand your writing
I could barely sign my name
All I ever learned was fighting
But I'm not the only one to blame
The streets were dark with danger
I have to stand up for my friends
In a land where I'm a stranger
And the hatred never ends
INMATE
Killer wants to go on T.V.
[Interview]
Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar-Paul Simon
Guitar-Harper Simon
Guitar-Arlen Roth
Bass-Tony Garnier
Drums-Shannon Ford
Interviewer-Vic Miles, Courtesy WCBS-TV, 1975
Subject-Salvador Agron
Words & music by Paul Simon
Ah, peace like a river ran through the city
Long past the midnight curfew
We sat starry-eyed
Ooh, oh,we were satisfied
O-o-oh, when I remember
Misinformation followed us like a plague
Nobody knew from time to time
If the plans were changed
Oh, oh, oh, if the plans were changed.
You can beat us with wires
You can beat us with chains
You can run out your rules
But you know you can't outrun the history train
I seen a glorious day, aiee------
Ah, four in the morning
I woke up from out of my dreams
Nowhere to go but back to sleep
But I'm reconciled
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while
Words & music by Paul Simon
Mm------
It's carbon and monoxide
The ole Detroit perfume
It hangs on the highways
In the morning
And it lays you down by noon
Oh Papa Hobo
You can see that I'm dressed like a schoolboy
But I feel like a clown
It's a natural reaction I learned
In this basketball town
Sweep up
I been sweeping up the tips I've made
I'm living on Gatorade
Planning my getaway
Detroit, Detroit
Got a hell of a hockey team
Got a left-handed way
Of making a man sign up on that
Automotive dream, oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh, Papa Papa Hobo
Could you slip me a ride?
Well, it's just after breakfast
I'm in the road
And the weatherman lied,
Oo-------, Ah-----, Oo-------
INMATE
Killer wants to go to college
He wants to get his parole
So the Department of Corrections
Will release him in the fall
Killer wants to go on T.V.
Wants to talk about his book
Make my life into a movie
I got the style, I got the look.
VIRGIL
This boy used to be on death-row
Will his violence return?
Will he call out to his mother,
'Mama, you can watch me burn!'
INMATE
Killer wants to go to college
Another bullshit degree
Tell the little town of New Paltz
'You ain't got nothin' to be scared about with me'
Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar-Paul Simon
Guitar, Harmonica-Harper Simon
Guitar-Arlen Roth
Bass-Tony Garnier
Piano-Horace Ott
Drums-Shannon Ford
He's a one trick pony
One trick is all that horse can do
he does one trick only
It's the principal source of his revenue
And when he steps into the spotlight
You can feel the heat of his heart
Come rising through
See how he dances
See how he loops from side to side
See how he prances
The way his hooves just seem to glide
He's just a one trick pony (that's all he is)
But he turns that trick with pride
He makes it look so easy
He looks so clean
He moves like God's
Immaculate machine
He makes me think about
All of these extra movements I make
And all of this herky-jerky motion
And the bag of tricks it takes
To get me through my working day
One-trick pony
He's a one trick pony
He either fails or he succeeds
He gives his testimony
Then he relaxes in the weeds
He's got one trick to last a lifetime
But that's all a pony needs
(that's all he needs)
He looks so easy
He looks so clean
He moves like God's
Immaculate machine
He makes me think about
All of these extra movements I make
And all of this herky-jerky motion
And the bag of tricks it takes
To get me through my working day
One-trick pony, one trick pony
One-trick pony, one trick pony
One-trick pony (take me for a ride)
One trick pony
Once upon a time there was an ocean
But now it's a mountain range
Something unstoppable set into motion
Nothing is different, but everything's changed
It's a dead end job, and you gets tired of sittin'
And it's like a nicotine habit you're always thinking about quittin'
I think about quittin' every day of the week
When I look out my window it's brown and it's bleak
Outta here
How am I gonna get outta here?
I'm thinking outta here
When am I gonna get outta here?
And when will I cash in my lottery ticket
And bury my past with my burdens and strife?
I want to shake every limb in the garden of Eden
And make every lover the love of my life
I figure that once upon a time I was an ocean
But now I'm a mountain range
Something unstoppable set into motion
Nothing is different, but everything's changed
Found a room in the heart of the city, down by the bridge
Hot plate and TV and beer in the fridge
But I'm easy, I'm open, that's my gift
I can flow with the traffic, I can drift with the drift
Home again?
Naw, never going home again
Think about home again?
I never think about home
But then comes a letter from home
The handwriting's fragile and strange
Something unstoppable set into motion
Nothing is different, but everything's changed
The light through the stained glass was cobalt and red
And the frayed cuffs and collars were mended by haloes of golden thread
The choir sang, "Once Upon A Time There Was An Ocean"
And all the old hymns and family names came fluttering down as leaves of emotion
Words & music by Paul Simon
Congratulations
Oh, seems like you've done it again
And I ain't had such misery
Since I don't know when
Oh, and I don't know when, oh, and I don't know when
I notice so many people
Slipping away
And many more waiting in the lines
In the courtrooms today
Oh, in the courtrooms today
Love is not a game
Love is not a toy
Love's no romance
Love will do you in
And love will wash you out
And needless to say
You won't stand a chance, you won't stand a chance
I'm hungry for learning
Won't you answer me please
Can a man and a woman
Live together in peace,
Oh, live together in peace?
Cecilia
CHORUS
Cecilia, you're breaking my heart,
You're shaking my confidence daily.
Oh Cecilia, I'm down on my knees,
I'm begging you please to come home.
CHORUS
Making love in the afternoon with Cecilia
Up in my bedroom,
I got up to wash my face
When I come back to bed,
Someone's taken my place.
CHORUS
Jubilation,
She loves me again,
I fall on the floor and I'm laughing
Jubilation,
She loves me again,
I fall on the floor and I'm laughing.
I can't run but
I can walk much faster than this
Can't run but
I can't run but
I can walk much faster than this
Can't run but
A cooling system
Burns out in the Ukraine
Trees and umbrellas
Protect us from the new rain
Armies of engineers
To analyze the soil
The food we contemplate
The water that we boil
I can't run but
I can walk much faster than this
Can't run but
I can't run but
I can walk much faster than this
Can't run but
Oo-we Oo-we
I had a dream about us
In the bottles and the bones of the night
I felt a pain in my shoulder blade
Like a pencil point? A love bite?
A couple was rubbing against us
Rubbing and doing that new dance
The man was wearing a jacket and jeans
The woman was laughing in advance
I can't run but
I can walk much faster than this
Can't run but
I can't run but
I can walk much faster than this
Can't run but
A winding river
Gets wound around a heart. Pull it
Tighter and tighter
Until the muddy waters part
Down by the river bank
A blues band arrives
The music suffers
The music business thrives
I can't run but
I can walk much faster than this
Can't run but
I can't run but
I can walk much faster than this
Can't run but
Oo-we Oo-we
When you're weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I'm on your side, when times get rough
And friends just can't be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
When you're down and out,
When you're on the street,my lord,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
I'll take your part when darkness comes,
And pains is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Sail on silvergirl,
Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine.
All your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine.
If you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Down among the reeds and rushes
A baby boy was found
His eyes as clear as centuries
His silky hair was brown
Never been lonely
Never been lied to
Never had to scuffle in fear
Nothing denied to
Born at the instant
The church bells chime
And the whole world whispering
Born at the right time
Me and my buddies we are travelling people
We like to go down to restaurant row
Spend those Euro-dollars
All the way from Washington to Tokyo
I see them in the airport lounge
Upon their mother's breast
They follow me with open eyes
Their uninvited guest
Never been lonely
Never been lied to
Never had to scuffle in fear
Nothing denied to
Born at the instant
The church bells chime
And the whole world whispering
Born at the right time
Too many people on the bus from the airport
Too many holes in the crust of the earth
The planet groans
Every time it registers another birth
But among the reeds and rushes
A baby girl was found
Her eyes as clear as centuries
Her silky hair was brown
Never been lonely
Never been lied to
Never had to scuffle in fear
Nothing denied to
Born at the instant
The church bells chime
And the whole world whispering
Born at the right time
Snowman sittin' in the sun doesn't have time to waste
He had a little bit too much fun
Now his head's erased
Back in the house, family of three
Two doin' the laundry and one in the nursery
We brought a brand new baby back from Bangladesh
Thought we'd name her Emily
She's beautiful. Beautiful
Yes, sir, head's erased, brain's a bowl of jelly
Hasn't hurt his sense of taste
Judging from his belly
But back in the house, family of four now
Two doin' the laundry and two on he kitchen floor
We brought a brand new baby back from mainland China
Sailed across the China Sea
She's beautiful. Beautiful
Go-kart sittin' in the shade
You don't need a ticket to ride
It's summertime, summertime
Slip down a water slide
Little kid dancin' in the grass
Legs like rubber band
It's summertime, summertime
There's a line at the candy stand
Keep an eye on them children
Eye on them children in the pool
You better keep an eye on them children
Eye on them children in the pool
We brought a brand new baby back from Kosovo
That was nearly seven years ago
He cried all night, could not sleep
His eyes were bright, dark and deep
Words & music by Paul Simon
On Armistice Day
The Philharmonic will play
But the songs that we sing
Will be sad
Shufflin brown tunes
Hanging around, ahoo
M-m-m-m-m-m-m
No long drawn blown out excuses
Were made
When I needed a friend she was there
Just like an easy chair
Oo, Oo-o
M-m-m-m-m-m-m
Armistice Day
Armistice Day
That's all I really wanted to say
Oh I'm weary from waiting
In Washington D.C.
I'm coming to see my Congressman
But he's avoiding me
Weary from waiting down in Washington D.C.
Oh Congresswoman
Won't you tell that Congressman
I've waited such a long time
I've about waited all I can
Oh Congresswoman, won't you tell that Congressman
Words & music by Paul Simon
May twelve angels guard you
While you sleep
Maybe that's a waste of angels I don't know
I'd do anything to keep you safe
From the danger that surrounds us
Little by little
Bit by bit
Little bit by little bit
Now you got it that's it
What're you thinking?
Things'll go sour?
Take its temperature every hour
Nervous when you own it
Nervous when it's gone
What do you think has been going on
For so long?
Bridge:
You are the air
Inside my chest
Chorus:
You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
You're the one
But when I hear it from the other side
It's a completely different song
I'm the one who made you cry
And I'm the one who's wrong
In my dream you spoke to me
And you said
Chorus:
You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
You're the one
Verse:
Nature gives us shapeless shapes
Clouds and waves and flame
But human expectation
Is that love remains the same
And when it doesn't
We point our fingers
And blame blame blame
Chorus:
You're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
And I'm the one
I broke your heart
I made you cry
And you're the one
You broke my heart
You made me cry
We're the ones
Words & music by Paul Simon
There once was a teacher of great renown
Whose words were like the tablets of stone
Because it's easier to learn than unlearn
Because we've passed the point of no return
Gather your goods and follow me
Or you will surely die
Verse:
I was only a child of the city
My parents were children of immigrant stock
So we followed as followers go
Over a mountain with a napkin of snow
And ate the berries and roots
That grow along the timberline
Deeper and deeper the dreamer of love sleeps on a quilt of stars
Bridge:
It's cold
Sometimes you can't catch your breath
It's cold
Verse:
Time and abundance thickened his step
So the teacher divided in two
One half ate the forests and fields
The other half sucked all the moisture from the clouds
And we, we were amazed at the power of his appetite
Deeper and deeper the dreamer of love sleeps on a quilt of stars
Verse:
Sometimes we don't know who we are
Sometimes force overpowers us and we cry
My teacher carry me home
Carry me home my teacher
Carry me home
Carry me home my teacher
Carry me home
Words & music by Paul Simon
Somewhere in a burst of glory
Sound becomes a song
I'm bound to tell a story
That's where I belong
When I see you smiling
When I hear you singing
Lavender and roses
Every ending a beginning
The way you turn
And catch me with your eye
Ay ay ay
That's where I belong
When I see you smiling
When I hear you singing
Lavender and roses
Every ending a beginning
That's the way it is
I don't know why
Ay ay ay
But that's where I belong
A spiny little island man
Plays a jingling banjo
He's walking down a dirt road
Carrying his radio
To a river where the water meets the sky
Ay ay ay
That's where I belong
Words & music by Paul Simon
I have a wisdom tooth
Inside my crowed face
I have a friend who is born again
Found his savior's grace
I was born before my father
And my children before me
We are born and born again
Like the waves in the sea
That's the way it's always been
And that's how I want it to be
Nothing but good news
There is a frog in South America
Whose venom is a cure
For all the suffering that mankind
Must endure
More powerful than morphine
And soothing as the rain
A frog in South America
Has the antidote to pain
That's the way it's always been
And that's the way I like it
Some people never say no
Some people never complain
Some folks have no idea
And others will never explain
That's the way it's always been
And that's the way I like it
And that's how I want it to be
That's the way it's always been
And that's the way I like it
And that's how I want it to be
If I could play all the memories
In the neck of my guitar
I'd write a song called
";Se?orita with a necklace of tears";
And every tear a sin I'd committed
Oh these many years
That's who I was
That's the way it's always been
Some people always want more
Some people are what they lack
Some folks open a door
Walk away and never look back
I don't want to be a judge
And I don't want to be a jury
I know who I am
Lord knows who I will be
That's the way it's always been
And that's the way I like it
And that's how I want it to be
That's the way it's always been
And that's the way I like it
And that's how I want it to be
Words & music by Paul Simon
I am heading for a time of quiet
When my restlessness is past
And I can lie down on my blanket
And release my fists at last
I am heading for a time of solitude
Of peace without illusions
When the perfect circle
Marries all beginnings and conclusions
And when they say
That you're not good enough
Well the answer is
You're hot
But who are they
Or what is it
That eats at what you've got
With the hunger of ambition
For the change inside the purse
They are handcuffs on the soul, my friends
Handcuffs on the soul
And worse
I am heading for a place of quiet
Where the sage and sweetgrass grow
By a lake of sacred water
From the mountain's melted snow
Words & music by Paul Simon
The first time I saw her
I couldn't be sure
But the sin of impatience
Said, ";she's just what you're looking for";
So I walked right up to her
And with the part or me that talks
I introduced myself as Frank
From New York New York
She's so hot
She's so cool
I'm not
I'm just a fool in love with darling Lorraine
All my life I've been a wanderer
Not really, I mostly lived near my parents' home
Anyway Lorraine and I got married
And the usual marriage stuff
Then one day she says to me
From out of the blue
Frank, I've had enough
Romance is a heartbreaker
I'm not meant to be a homemaker
And I'm tired of being darling Lorraine
What - you don't love me anymore?
What - you're walking out the door?
What - you don't like the way I chew?
Hey let me tell you
You're not the woman that I wed
You say you're depressed but you're not
You just like to stay in bed
I don't need you darling Lorraine
Darling Lorraine
Lorraine
I long for your love
Financially speaking
I guess I'm a washout
Everybody's buy and sell
And sell and buy and
And that's what the whole thing's all about
If it had not been for Lorraine
I'd have left here long ago
I should have been a musician
I love the piano
She's so light
She's so free
I'm tight, well, that's me
But I feel so good
With darling Lorraine
On Christmas morning frank awakes
To find Lorraine has made a stack of pancakes
They watch the television, husband and wife
All afternoon ";it's a wonderful life
What - you don't love me anymore?
What - you're walking out the door?
What - you don't like the way I chew?
Hey let me tell you
You're not the woman that I wed
Gimme my robe I'm going back to bed
I'm sick to death of you Lorraine
Darling Lorraine
Lorraine
Her hands like wood
The doctor was smiling
But the news wasn't good
Darling Lorraine
Please don't leave me yet
I know you're in pain
Pain you can't forget
Your breathing is like an echo of our love
Maybe I'll go down to the corner store
And buy us something sweet
Words & music by Paul Simon
Big and fat
Pig's supposed to look like that
Barnyard thug
Sleeps on straw and calls it a rug
Yeah that's a rug, ok
Se's walking down the street
And nobody's gonna argue with him
He's a half-a-ton of pig meat
Up in the hills above the farm
Lives a pack of wolves
Never did no harm
Sleep all day
Hunt till four
Maybe catch a couple of rodents
You know carnivore
Sheep in the meadow
Nibbling on some clover
One of the sheep wanders over
Sits by a rock
Separated from the flock
He's just sitting by a rock
Where'd he go? Don't know
Well he was here a minute ago
I don't know
Sheep's dead
Got a gash as big as a wolf's head
Oh god
Big and fat
Pig's supposed to look like that
Wallowing in lanolin
He's rubbing it into his pigskin
Police going crazy
Let's get him
Let's get that wolf
Let's get him
Let's get that wolf
Let's get him
Let's kill him, let's get him
Let's kill him
Court-appointed lawyer wasn't very bright
Oh maybe he was bright
Maybe he just had a late night
Yeah it was just a late night
And he files some feeble appeal
And the governor says forget it
It's a done deal
Election, i don't care, election
Let's give that wolf a lethal iniection
Let's get him, yeah get him,
Let's kill him, let's get him
Let's kill him, let's get him, kill him
Let's get him and kill him
Whew, slow
Here comes the media
Setting up their camera
Asking everyone's opinion
About pigs, sheep and wolves
Big and fat
Pig's supposed to laugh like that
This is hilarious
What a great time
I'm the pig who committed
The perfect crime
All around the world
France, Scandinavia
There's candle light vigils
Protesting this behavior
It s animal behavior
Animal behavior
Its pigs, sheep and wolves
Pigs, sheep and wolves
Pigs, sheep and wolves
It's animal behavior
It's pigs, sheep and wolves
The first time i heard ";Peggy Sue";
I was 12 years old
Russians up in rocket ships
and the war was cold
now many wars have come and gone
Genocide still goes on
Buddy Holly still goes on
but his catalog was sold
First time i smoked
guess what - paranoid
First time I heard ";Satisfaction";
I was young and unemployed
Down the decades every year
Summer leaves and my birthday's here
And all my friends stand up and cheer
And say man you're old
Getting old
Old
Getting old
We celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas day
And Buddah found Nirvana along the Lotus Way
About 1,500 years ago the messenger Mohammed spoke
And his wisdome like a river flowed
Through hills of gold
Wisdome is old
The Koran is old
The Bible's
Greatest story ever told
Disagreements?
Work 'em out
The human race walked the Eart for 2.7 million
And we estimate the universe at 13-14 billion
When all these numbers tumble into your imagination
Consider that the Lord was there beefore creation
God is old
We're not old
God is old
He made the mold
Take your cloths off
Adam and Eve
Words & music by Paul Simon
Cool me
Cool my fever high
Hold me when I cry
I need it so much
Makes you want to get down and crawl like a beggar
For its touch
And all the while it's free as air
Like plants the medicine is everywhere
Love
Love
Love
We crave it so badly
Makes you want to laugh out loud when you receive it
And gobble it like candy
We think it's easy
Sometimes it's easy
But it's not easy
You're going to break down and cry
We're not important
We should be grateful
And if you're wondering why
Love
Love
Love
The price that we pay
When evil walks the planet
And love is crushed like clay
The master races, the chosen peoples
The burning temples, the weeping cathedrals
Words & music by Paul Simon
Look at that
Look at this
Drop a stone in the abyss
Then walk away and know that anything can happen
Just like that
Just like this
Look at that
Look at this
Gimme a hug, gimme a kiss
Then hey, hey, off to school we go
You might learn something
Yeah you never know
Look at that
Look at this
Lovers merge and make a wish
They close their eves and now their dreams are legal
Over the mountain the eagle flies
Through clouds of fire
Swoop and glide
You can't believe it,
You can't decide
Ask somebody to love you
Takes a lot of nerve
Ask somebody to love you
You got a lot of nerve
Ask somebody to love you
Takes a lot of nerve
Ask somebody to love you
Ma ma ma ma
Ma ma ma ma
Da da da da
Da da da da
La la la la
La la la la
Oom bop a doom
Look at that
Look at this
This is near enough to bliss
Then over the top we go and down
Down to the bottom
If you're looking for worries
You got 'em
Ask somebody to love you
You got a lot of nerve
Ask somebody to love you
Takes a lot of nerve
Tih tih tih tih
Tih tih tih tih
Gur gur gur gur
Gur gur gur gur
Lih lih lih lih
Lih lih lih lih
Oom sop a doom
Come awake, come alive
Common sense we survive
Then hey, hey, down the road we go
You might learn something
Yeah you never know
But anyway you've got to go
Words & music by Paul Simon
Tell us all a story
About how it used to be
Make it up and write it down
Just like history
About goldilocks and the three bears
Nature in the cross hairs
And how we all ascended
From the deep green sea
When it's not too hot
Not too cold
Not too meek
Not too bold
When it's just right and you have sunlight
Then we're home,
Finally home
Home in the land of the homeless
Finally home
Oh what are we going to do
I never did a thing to you
Time peaceful as a hurricane eve
Peaceful as a hurricane eye
A history of whispers
A shadow of a horse
Faces painted black in sorrow and remorse
White cloud, black crow
Crucifix and arrow
The oldest silence speaks the loudest
Under the deep green sea
When speech becomes a crime
Silence leads the spirit
Over the bridge of time
Over the bridge of time
I'm walking with my family
And the road begins to climb
And it's oh lord how we going to pray
With crazy angel voices
All night
Until it's a new day
Peaceful as a hurricane
Peaceful as a hurricane
Peaceful as a hurricane eye
Peaceful as a hurricane
Peaceful as a hurricane
Peaceful as a hurricane eye
Peaceful as a hurricane eye
You want to be a leader?
You want to change the game?
Turn your back on money
Walk away from fame
You want to be a missionary?
Got that missionary zeal?
Let a stranger change your life
How does it make you feel?
You want to be a writer
But you don't know how or when
Find a quiet place
Use a humble pen
You want to talk talk talk about it
All night squawk about
The ocean and the atmosphere
Well i've been away for a long time
And it looks like a mess around here
I'll be away for a long time
So here's how the story goes
There was an old woman
Who lived in a shoe
She was baking a cinnamon pie
She fell asleep in a washing machine
Woke up in a hurricane eye
There's been some hard feelings here
About some words that were said
Been some hard feelings here and what is more
There's been a bloody purple nose
And some bloody purple clothes
That were messing up the lobby floor
It's just apartment house rules so all you 'partment fools
Remember one man's ceiling is another man's floor
One man's ceiling is another man's floor
There's been some strange goin's on
And some folks have come and gone
Like the elevator man don't work no more
I heard a racket in the hall and I thought I heard a call
But I never opened up my door
It's just apartment house sense
It's like apartment rents
Remember one man's ceiling is another man's floor I'll tell you
One man's ceiling is another man's floor
There's an alley in the back of my building
Where some people congregate in shame
I was walking with my dogs
And the night was black with smog
When I thought I heard somebody call my name
Remember one man's ceiling is another man's floor, goddamn
Words & music by Paul Simon
When I was a little boy, (when I was just a boy)
And the Devil would call my name (when I was just a boy)
I'd say ";now who do,
Who do you think you're fooling?"; (when I was just a boy)
I'm a consecrated boy (when I was just a boy)
I'm a singer in a Sunday choir
Oh , my mama loves, she loves me
She get down on her knees and hug me
Like she loves me like a rock
She rocks me like the rock of ages
And loves me
She love me, love me, love me, love me
When I was grown to be a man (grown to be a man)
And the Devil would call my name (grown to be a man)
I'd say ";now who do,
Who do you think you're fooling?"; (grown to be a man)
I'm a consummated man (grown to be a man)
I can snatch a little purity
My mama loves me, she loves me
She get down on her knees and hug me
Like she loves me like a rock
She rocks me like the rock of ages
And loves me
She love me, love me, love me, love me
And if I was President (was the President)
The minute Congress call my name (was the President)
I'd say ";who do,
Who do you think you're fooling? (Who do you think you're fooling)
I've got the Presidential Seal (was the president)
I'm up on the Presidential Podium
My mama loves me
She loves me
She get down on her knees and hug me
Like she loves me like a rock
She rocks me like the rock of ages
And loves me
Fade out:
She love me, love me, love me, love me
(loves me like a rock)
You got to learn how to fall
Before you learn to fly
And mama, mama, it ain't no lie
Before you learn to fly
Learn how to fall
You got to drift in the breeze
Before you set your sails
Oh, it's an occupation where the wind prevails
Before you set your sails
Drift in the breeze
Oh, and it's the same old story
Ever since the world began
Everybody got the runs for glory
Nobody stop and scrutinize the plan
Nobody stop and scrutinize the plan
Nobody stop and scrutinize the plan
You got to learn how to fall
Before you learn to fly
The tank towns, they tell no lies
Before you learn to fly
Words & music By Paul Simon
You're kind
You're so kind
You rescued me when I was blind
And you put me on your pillow
When I was on the wall
You're kind, so kind, so kind
And you're good
You're so good
You introduced me to your neighborhood
Seems like I ain't never had
so many friends before
That's because you're good
You're so good
Why you don't treat me like
the other humans do
Is just a mystery to me
It gets me agitated when I think that
You're gonna love me now indefinitely
So goodbye, goodbye
I'm gonna leave you now
And here's the reason why
I like to sleep with the window open
And you keep the window closed
So goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
doot doot doot doot doot
oh, oh, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Words & music by Paul Simon
Some folks' lives roll easy as a breeze
Drifting through a summer night
Heading for a sunny day
But most folks' lives, oh they stumble
Lord they fall
Through no fault of their own
Most folks never catch their stars
And here I am, Lord
I'm knocking at your place of business
I know I ain't got no business here
But you said if I ever got so low
I was busted,
You could be trusted
Some folks' lives roll easy
Some folks' lives
never roll at all
Oh, they just fall
They just fall
Some folks' lives
Words & music by Paul Simon
In my little town
I grew up believ--ing
God keeps His eye on us all
And He used to lean upon me
As I pledged allegiance to the wall
Lord I recall
My little town
Coming home after school
Flying my bike past the gates
Of the factories
My mom doing the laundry
Hanging our shirts
In the dirty breeze
And after it rains
There's a rainbow
And all of the colors are black
It's not that the colors aren't there
It's just imagin-ation they lack
Everything's the same
Back in my little town
Nothing but the dead and dying
Back in my little town
Nothing but the dead and dying
Back in my little town
In my little town
I never meant nothin'
I was just my fathers son
Saving my money
Dreaming of glory
Twitching like a finger
On the trigger of a gun
Leaving nothing but the dead and dying
Back in my little town
Repeat and fade:
Nothing but the dead and dying
Back in my little town
We were married on a rainy day
The sky was yellow
And the grass was gray
We signed the papers
And we drove away
I do it for your love
The rooms were musty
And the pipes were old
All that winter we shared a cold
Drank all the orange juice
That we could hold
I do it for your love
Found a rug
In an old junk shop
And I brought it home to you
Along the way the colours ran
The orange bled the blue
The sting of reason
The splash of tears
The northern and the southern
Hemispheres
Love emerges
And it disappears
I do it for your love
Words & music by Paul Simon
Yesterday it was my birthday
I hung one more year on the line
I should be depressed
My life's a mess
But I'm having a good time
Oo, I've been loving and loving and loving
I'm exhausted from loving so well
I should go to bed
But a voice in my head
Says ";Ah, what the hell";
Have a good time
Have a good time
Have a good time
Have a good time
Paranoia strikes deep in the heartland
But I think it's all overdone
Exaggerating this and exaggerating that
They don't have no fun
I don't believe what I read in the papers
They're just out to capture my dime
I ain't worrying
And I ain't scurrying;
I'm having a good time
Have a good time
Have a good time
Have a good time
Have a good time
Maybe I'm laughing my way to disaster
Maybe my race has been run
Maybe I'm blind to the fate of mankind
But what can be done?
So God bless the goods we was given
And God bless the U. S. of A.
And God bless our standard of livin'
Let's keep it that way
And we'll all have a good time
Repeat and fade:
Have a good time
Have a good time
Have a good time
Have a good time
50 Ways To Leave Your Lover
Words & music by Paul Simon
";The problem is all inside your head";, she said to me
The answer is easy if you take it logically
I'd like to help you in your struggle to be free
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
She said it's really not my habit to intrude
Furthermore, I hope my meaning won't be lost or misconstrued
But I'll repeat myself at the risk of being crude
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
Fifty ways to leave your lover
Just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free
Just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just listen to me
LAZARUS
A passenger traveling quietly conceals himself
With a magazine and a sleepless pillow
Over the crest of the mountain the moon begins its climb
And he wakes to find he's in rolling farmland
The farmer sleeps against his wife
He wonders what their life must be
A Trailways bus is heading south
Into Washington, D.C.
A mother and child, the baby maybe two months old
Prepare themselves for sleep and feeding.
The shadow of the Capitol dome slides across his face
And his heart is racing with the urge to freedom.
The father motionless as stone,
A shepherd resting with his flock,
The Trailways bus is turning west-
Dallas via Little Rock.
WAHZINAK
O my darling, darling Sal
The desert moon is my witness.
I've no money to come East,
But I know you'll soon be here
LAZARUS
We pull into downtown Dallas by the side of the Grassy Knoll
Where the leader fell and a town was broken.
Away from the feel and flow of life for so many years
He hears music playing and Spanish spoken
The border patrol outside of Tucson boarded the bus
BORDER PATROLMAN
Any aliens here? You better check with us,
How about you son?
You look like you got Spanish blood.
Do you 'Habla Ingles,' am I understood?
SAL
Yes, I am an alien, from Mars.
I come to earth from outer space.
And if I traveled my whole life
You guys would still be on my case
You guys would still be on my case
LAZARUS
But he can't leave his fears behind,
He recalls each fatal thrust
The screams carried by the wind,
Phantom figures in the dust
Phantom figures in the dust
Phantom figures in the dust.
Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar-Paul Simon
Vocal-Sara Ramirez
Guitar-Vincent Nguini
Guitar, Acoustic Guitar Solo-Arlen Roth
Pedal Steel-Robby Turner
Bass-Bakithi Kumalo
Trumpet-Bill Holloman
Accordion-Mike Ramos
Fender Rhodes-Oriente Lopez
Shaker-Crusher Bennett
Drums-Shannon Ford
HERNANDEZ
Well, did you bring me my money,
My cab fare
My new shoes?
I got expenses, you know
Where's my weekly dues?
SAL
I ain't giving you my fucking money.
HERNANDEZ
Oye, mother fucker, where's this jibaro from?
You go when I say.
I call, you come.
You know it takes a strong man to survive.
It ain't no accident that you're still alive.
HERNANDEZ & THE VAMPIRES
We stand for the neighborhood
HERNANDEZ
He still lives with his mami, but he sneaks down,
A coolie in the shadow of the playground
You want to fight for your people, don't you, Sal?
SAL
Well, yeah, if I got to.
HERNANDEZ
Oh, you got to. Come here, I want to show you something.
This is the cave of The Vampires,
Count Dracula's castle,
The very sight could turn a white man grey.
Made in the shade, use my umbrella
Black like the night we fly in.
That blade is all you need to keep the dogs away.
So, you want to be a vampire, man! That's good.
We always looking for young blood in the neighborhood now
Carlos Apache collects the dues
So you bring us something that we can use
HERNANDEZ & THE VAMPIRES
If you got the balls, then come on, mette mano,
If you got the balls, then come on, mette mano,
HERNANDEZ
Frenchy Cordero goes down to Hell's Kitchen
To sell the Irish some weed
So this Paddy Boy's mother on the stoop starts bitchin'
'Bout spics is a mongrel breed
Now here comes her son
He looks like a ton of corned beef
Floating in beer
He says
'Fucking Puerto Rican dope-dealing punk
Get your shit-brown ass out of here.'
HERNANDEZ & THE VAMPIRES
'Fucking Puerto Rican dope-dealing punk
Get your shit-brown ass out of here.'
We stand for the neighborhood.
HERNANDEZ
So the shanty-town Irish they kicked his ass good.
Fractured his collar bone
Co?o, all I was thinking is, 'What home of the brave?
This a fucking war zone'
THE VAMPIRES
If you got the balls, then come on, mette mano,
We stand for the neighborhood.
If you got cojones, come on, mette mano
We stand for the neighborhood
If you got the balls, then come on, mette mano,
We stand for the neighborhood.
If you got cojones, come on, mette mano
Lead Vocal-Paul Simon
Background Vocal-Angelo Aponte
Background Vocal-Milton Cardona
Background Vocal-Hechter Ubarry
Background Vocal-David Davila
Background Vocal-Hans Giraldo
Background Vocal-Luis Marrero
Background Vocal-Angel Ramirez
Background Vocal-Robert Vargas
Piano-Oscar Hernandez
Bass Guitar-Bernie Minoso
Congas-Edwin Montalvo
Timbales-Johnny Andrews
Bongos, Cowbell-Pablo Nunez
Trumpet, Solo Trumpet-Ray Vega
Trumpet-John Walsh
Trombone-Luis Lopez
Tenor-Mitch Frohman
Baritone Sax-Pablo Calogero
Horn Arrangement-Oscar Hernandez
The first thing I remember, I was lying in my bed
I couldn't've been no more than one or two
And I remember there's a radio, coming from the room next door
My mother laughed the way some ladies' do
Well it's late in the evening, and the music's seeping through
The next thing I remember, I am walking down a street
I'm feeling alright I'm with my boys and with my troops, yeah
Down along the avenue some guys are shootin' pool
And I heard the sound of acapella groups, yeah
Singin' late in the evening, and all the girls out on the stoops, yeah
Then I learned to play some lead guitar, I was underage in this funky bar
And I stepped outside to smoke myself a J
When I come back to the room, everybody just seemed to move
And I turned my amp up loud and I began to play
It was late in the evening, and I blew that room away
First thing I remember when you came into my life
I said I wanna get that girl, no matter what I do
Well I guess I've been in love before and once or twice have been on the floor
But I've never loved no-one the way that I love you
And it was late in the evening, and all the music's seeping through
TEEN IDOL
The way you move
It's got quality
Come on baby, let's go downtown
Little girl, you sure look good to me
The way you move
It's got quality
Come on baby now don't be shy
Step in the light so I can see
The way you move
It's got quality
GIRLS
I want to know
Are you my beautiful young boy
Or just another love
Passing through my life
I need to know
Will you be my sorrow and my joy
And maybe one day soon
Will I be your wife.
TEEN IDOL
Come on baby,
Let's rock some more
I want to spend my salary
The way you move
It's got quality
SAL
Everytime they see me walk down the street
They say Co?o that boy is fine
The way he moves
Got quality
GIRLS
I want to know
Are you my beautiful young boy,
Or just another love
Passing through my life,
I need to know
Will you be my sorrow and my joy
And maybe one day soon
Will I be your wife
Quiero saber
Quiero saber
Nadie nunca sabe
En la vida
TEEN IDOL
The way you move
It's got quality
The way you move
It's got quality
Lead Vocal-Paul Simon
Falsetto Lead Vocal-Frank Negron
Background and Duo Vocal-Teana Rodriguez
Background and Duo Vocal-Myrna Gomila
Background Vocal-Bobby Bright
Background Vocal-Sean Pulley
Background Vocal-Paul Simon
Background Vocal-Trent Sutton
Background Vocal-Dionte Sutton
Guitar-Wallace Richardson
Piano-Paul Griffin
Bass-Jay Leonhart
Conga, Cowbell-Jimmy Sabater
Drums-Richard Crooks
Tenor Saxophone-Chris Eminizer
Additional Production by Roy Halee
ESMERALDA
I am Esmeralda Agr¨®n, Se?ora.
I know I've no right to speak.
My son is not the savage boy you see,
The cape, the sneer, the slicked-back hair
It hides the child I nursed and bathed, Se?ora.
Please don't turn your eyes from me
Your son, gone to God, and mine to blame
My fated son,
He too is gone
The state will see to that, I am sure, Se?ora
The state will see to that, I am sure.
1ST MOTHER
You Spanish people, you come to this country
Nothing here changes your lives
Ungrateful immigrants asking for pity
When all of your answers are knives
This city makes a cartoon of a crime
Capes and umbrellas the glorification of slime
I have to face this horror, Se?ora.
2ND MOTHER
My religion
Asks me to pray for the murderer's soul
But I think you'd have to be
Jesus on the cross
To open your heart after such a loss
Can I forgive him?
Can I forgive him?
No, I cannot
Can I forgive him
No, I cannot
Friends become strangers
Compassion is hard to express in words
The trembling flowers they bring
Fear in the roots and the stem
What happened to me they know could happen to them.
Can I forgive him
No, I cannot
Can I forgive him
No
ESMERALDA
Only God can say 'Forgive'
His son too received a knife
But we go on, we have to live
With this cross we call our life
1ST MOTHER
Feels like a bomb fell
And wave after wave come the aftershocks
2ND MOTHER
You can't believe that it's true
There must be some mistake
You drift through this nightmare from which you can't wake
BOTH MOTHERS
Can I forgive him?
Can I forgive him,
No, I cannot
Can I forgive him?
Can I forgive him, no, I cannot
Can I forgive him?
Can I forgive him, no, I cannot
Can I forgive him
No, I cannot.
Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar-Paul Simon
Recorded at Paul Simon's home
SALVADOR
I was born in Puerto Rico
We came here when I was a child
Before I reached the age of sixteen
I was running with the gang and we were wild
He keeps looking but he don't recognize me.
Some guy from Lexington or Park
Red beans and rice from kitchen windows
Supper-time and the barrio is dark.
No one knows you like I do
Nobody can know your heart the way I do
No one can testify to all that you've been through
But I will.
SAL & THE VAMPIRES
I was born in Puerto Rico
And my blood is Taino
Spanish Caribbean my soul
SALVADOR
We came here wearing summer clothes in winter
Hearts of sunshine in the cold
Your family rented this apartment
You'd watch the street lamps from your perch
In the sacramental hour your stepfather in black
Preached the fire of the Pentecostal Church
No one knows you like I do
Nobody can know your heart the way I do
No one can testify to all that you've been through
But this will.
SAL & THE VAMPIRES
I was born in Puerto Rico
Came here when I was a child.
SALVADOR
Small change and sunlight, then I left these streets for good.
My days as short as they were wild.
CARLOS APACHE
I'm Carlos Apache
ANGEL SOTO
Angel Soto
FRENCHY CORDERO
Frenchy Cordero
BABU CHARLIE CRUZ
Babu Charlie Cruz
SALVADOR
Your features blurred in every grainy photo
And fading headline of the Daily News
Wiltwyck School for Criminal Children
Auburn, Brooklyn House of D.,
Dannemora, Sing-Sing, Attica,
Greenhaven
SALVADOR
Twenty years inside, today you're free.
You cannot even read your story
The pages piling up in shame
Before the words released you, the guard would kill the light
The night you took The Capeman for your name.
CHORUS
I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico
LAZARUS
Yo nac¨ª en Puerto Rico
Yo nac¨ª en Puerto Rico
Mi coraz¨®n es Puerto Rico
Mi alma es Puerto Rico
Lead Vocal, Acoustic Guitar-Paul Simon
Coro Vocal-Danny Rivera
Background Vocal-Ray De La Paz
Background Vocal-Nestor Sanchez
Piano, Synthesizer-Oscar Hernandez
Tres, Plenaro-Nelson Gonzalez
Cuatro-Edgardo Miranda
Guitar-Vincent Nguini
Bass-John Beal
Drums-Robby Ameen
Bongos, Cymbal-Bobby Allende
Timbales, Congas, Cua-Marc Quinones
Trumpet-1st solo-David Rodriguez
Trumpet-2nd solo-Ray Vega
Viola-Juliet Hafner
Flute-Oriente Lopez
French Horn-Stewart Rose
Oboe-Marcia Butler
Orchestration-Stanley Silverman
SAL
Whoa------I got time on my hands tonight
You're the girl of my dreams
When I'm near you my future seems bright
OO------I want you to be my girl
I want you to be my movie
I am Sal Mineo and I need you so
Sweet Bernadette
Whoa------You got style from your hair to your heels
Though my words may be jumbled
Still I'm telling you just how it feels
I love you
SAL & BERNADETTE
I love you
And the breeze that wraps around you
SAL
Satin summer nights
BERNADETTE
Satin summer nights
SAL & BERNADETTE
A girl I can't forget
SAL
Whoa------You're the smile of the moon Bernadette
SAL & BERNADETTE
Dom Dom Dom Doo
Well-a well I'm home
Dom Dom Dom Doo
Well-a well I'm home
SAL
Wop, Wop, Wop, Wop
Come with me
There's a place I want you to see
When the leaves are dark
I've got a hiding place in Central Park
And the sky is a coat of diamonds
There's a wooden cross over my bed
The city is lit with candles
They're shining for you Bernadette.
Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa
OO OO, Bernadette
SAL & BERNADETTE
Dom Dom Dom Doo
Well-a well I'm home
Dom Dom Dom Doo
Well-a well I'm home
SAL
Wop, Wop, Wop, Wop, Wop.
Lead, Background Vocal, Hi String and Acoustic Guitar-Paul Simon
Background Vocal-Milton Cardona
Background Vocal-Ray De La Paz
Background Vocal-Myrna Gomila
Background Vocal-Kevin Harrison
Background Vocal-Teana Rodriguez
Celeste, Synthesizer, Vibes, Glockenspiel-Oscar Hernandez
Guitar-Paul Livant
Guitar-Vincent Nguini
Tenor Saxophone-Bill Holloman
Piano-Horace Ott
Bass-John Beal
Bell Tree-Bobby Allende
Drums, Guitar Case Kick Drum-Robby Ameen
Half and hour you change your strings and tune up
Sizing the room up
Checking the bar
Local girls unspoken conversations
Misinformation
Plays the guitar
They say Jonah was swallowed by a whale
But I say there's no truth to that tale
I know Jonah
Was swallowed by a song
No one lets their dreams be taken lightly
They hold them tightly
Warm against cold
One more year of traveling 'round this ciruit
Then you can work it into gold
Here's to all the boys who came along
Carrying soft guitars in cardboard cases
All night long
Do you wonder where those boys have gone?
Do you wonder where those boys have gone?
SAL
It was the morning of October 6th, 1960
I was wearing my brown suit
Preparing to leave the house of D.
Shook some hands then adios Brooklyn amigos
Maybe some of them had hopes of seeing me again
Some even said that my judge-Judge Gerald Culkin-
Wouldn't play it by the book
Maybe let us off the hook
But, WOH-OO-WOH, I knew better.
SAL & SALVADOR
Afraid to leave the projects
To cross into another neighborhood
SAL
The blancos and the nigger gangs
Well, they'd kill you if they could.
AUREA & WOMEN
Angel of Mercy, people are suffering
All over the world
Spanish children are taught on their knees to believe
Angel of Mercy, people are suffering
All over the island tonight,
Mothers weep
SAL & AUREA
Sisters grieve.
SAL
Well, I entered the courtroom, state of New York
County of New York, just some spic
They scrubbed off the sidewalk
Guilty by my dress
Guilty in the press
Let The Capeman burn for the murder
Well the ";Spanish boys"; had their day in court
And now it was time for some fuckin' law and order
The electric chair
For the greasy pair
Said the judge to the court reporter
SAL & SALVADOR
Afraid to leave the projects
To cross into another neighborhood
SALVADOR
The newspapers and the T.V. crews
Well, they'd kill you if they could
AUREA & WOMEN
Angel of Mercy, people are suffering
All over the world
A Spanish boy could be killed every night of the week
SAL
But just let some white boy die
And the world goes crazy for blood-Latin blood.
I don't lie when I speak.
SAL & SALVADOR
Well they shackled my hands
SAL
A heavy belt around my waist to restrain me
SAL & SALVADOR
And they shackled my legs
SAL
Hernandez, the ";Umbrella Man,"; chained beside me
Then we rode that Black Maria
Through the streets of Spanish Harlem
Calling old friends on the corners
SAL & AUREA
Just to lay our prayers upon them
SAL
Crying
Adios Hermanos, Adios
SAL & SALVADOR
Adios Hermanos, Adios
Lead Vocal-Paul Simon
Background Vocal-Briz
Background Vocal-Myrna Gomila
Background Vocal-Karen Bernod
Background Vocal-Renee Connell-Adams
Background Vocal-DeWayne Snype
Background Vocal-Kia Jeffries
Background Vocal-Ed Vasquez
Background Vocal-Derrick James
Organ-Oriente Lopez
Background Vocals Recorded by Roy Halee
I'm accustomed to a smooth ride
Or maybe I'm a dog who's lost its bite
I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more
I don't expect to sleep through the night
Some people say a lie's a lie's a lie
But I say why
Why deny the obvious child?
Why deny the obvious child?
And in remembering a road sign
I am remembering a girl when I was young
And we said These songs are true
These days are ours
These tears are free
And hey
The cross is in the ballpark
The cross is in the ballpark
We had a lot of fun
We had a lot of money
We had a little son and we thought we'd call him Sonny
Sonny gets married and moves away
Sonny has a baby and bills to pay
Sonny gets sunnier
Day by day by day by day
I've been waking up at sunrise
I've been following the light across my room
I watch the night receive the room of my day
Some people say the sky is just the sky
But I say
Why deny the obvious child?
Why deny the obvious child?
Sonny sits by his window and thinks to himself
How it's strange that some rooms are like cages
Sonny's yearbook from high school
Is down from the shelf
And he idly thumbs through the pages
Some have died
Some have fled from themselves
Or struggled from here to get there
Sonny wanders beyond his interior walls
Runs his hand through his thinning brown hair
Well I'm accustomed to a smoother ride
Maybe I'm a dog that's lost his bite
I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more
I don't expect to sleep the night
Some people say a lie is just a lie
But I say the cross is in the ballpark
Why deny the obvious child?
We sailed up a river wide as a sea
And slept on the banks
On the leaves of a banyan tree
And all of these spirit voices rule the night
Some stories are magical, meant to be sung
Song from the mouth of the river
When the world was young
And all of these spirit voices rule the night
By moon
We walk
To the brujo's door
Along a path of river stone
Women with their nursing children
Seated on the floor
We join the fevers
And the broken bones
The candlelight flickers
The falcon calls
A lime-green lizard scuttles down the cabin wall
And all of these spirit voices
Sing rainwater, sea water
River water, holy water
Wrap this child in mercy - heal her
Heaven's only daughter
All of these spirit voices rule the night
My hands were numb
My feet were lead
I drank a cup of herbal brew
Then the sweetness in the air
Combined with the lightness in my head
And I heard the jungle breathing in the bamboo
Saudac~oes Greetings!
D'a lic'enca um momento Excuse me, one moment
Te lembr'o I remind you
Que amanh~a That tomorrow
Ser'a tudo ou ser'a naoa It will be all or it will
be nothing
Depende, cora,c~ao It depends, heart
Ser'a breve ou ser'a grande It will be brief or it will
be great
Depende da paix~ao It depends on the passion
Ser'a sujo, ser'a sonho It will be dirty, it will
be a dream
Cuidado, cora,c~ao Be careful, heart
Ser'a 'util, ser'a tarde It will be useful, it will be
late
Se esmera, cora,c~ao Do your best, heart
E confia And have trust
Na for,ca do amanh~a In the power of tomorrow
Lord of the earthquake
My trembling bed
The spider resumes the rhythm
Of his golden thread
And all of these spirit voices rule the night
I feel good
It's a fine day
The way the sun hits off the runway
A cloud shifts
The plane lifts
She moves on
But feel the bite
Whenever you believe that
You'll be lost and love will find you
When the road bends
And the song ends
She moves on
I know the reason I
Feel so blessed
My heart still splashes
Inside my chest, but she
She is like a top
She cannot stop
She moves on
A sympathetic stranger
Lights a candle in the middle of the night
Her voice cracks
She jumps back
But she moves on
She says ''Ooh my storybook lover
You have underestimated my power
As you shortly will discover''
The I fall to my knees
Shake a rattle at the skies
I'm afraid that I'll be taken
Abandoned, forsaken
In her cold coffee eyes
She can't sleep now
The moon is red
She fights a fever
She burns in bed
She needs to talk so
We take a walk
Down in the maroon light
She says ''Maybe these emotions are
As near to love as love will ever be''
So I agree
Then the moon breaks
She takes the corner that's all she takes
She moves on
She says ''Ooh my storybook lover
You have underestimated my power
As you shortly will discover''
Then I fall to my knees
I grow weak, I go slack
As if she captured the breath of my
voice in a bottle
And I can't catch it back
But I feel good
It's a fine day
The way the sun hits off the runway
A cloud shifts
The plane lifts
She moves on
In the blue light
Of the belvedere Motel
Wondering as the television burns
How the heart approaches what it yearns
In a fever
I distinctly hear your voice
Emerging from a dream, the dream returns
How the heart approaches what it yearns
After the rain on the Interstate
The headlights slide past the moon
A bone-weary traveler
Waits by the side of the road
Where's he goin?
I dream we are lying on the top of a hill
And headlights slide past the moon
I fold in your arms
And your voice is the heat of the night
I'm on fire
In a phone booth
In some local bar and grill
Rehearsing what I'll say, my coin returns
How the heart approaches what it yearns
How the heart approaches what it yearns
Soon our fortunes will be made, my darling
And we will leave this loathsome little town
Silver bells jingling from your black lizard boots, my baby
Silver foil to trim your wedding gown
It's true the tools of love wear down
Time passes
A mind wanders
It seems mindless, but it does
Sometimes I see you face
As if through reading glasses
And your smile seems softer than it was
Proof
Some people gonna call you up
Tell you something that you already know
Proof
Sane people go crazy on you
Say ''No man, that was not
The deal we made
I got to go, I got to go''
Faith
Faith is an island in the setting sun
But proof, yes
Proof is the bottom line for everyone
My face, my race
Don't matter anymore
My sex, my cheques
Accepted at the door
Proof
Some people gonna call you up
Tell you something that you already know
Proof
Sane people go crazy on you
Say ''No man, that was not
The deal we made
I got to, I got to go''
Faith
Faith is an island in the setting sun
But proof, yes
Proof is the bottom line for everyone
Half moon hiding in the clouds, my darling
And the sky is flecked with signs of hope
Raise your weary wings against the rain, my baby
Wash your tangled curls with gambler's soap
Proof
Some people gonna call you up
Tell you something that you already know
Sane people go crazy on you
Say ''No man, that was not
The deal we made
I got to, I got to, I got to''
Faith
Faith is an island in the setting sun
But proof, yes
Proof is the bottom line for everyone
guitar (Simon) & violin (Stephane Grappelli)
instrumental
Words & music by Paul Simon
M-m, paraphernalia
Never hides your broken bones
And I don't know why
You want to try
Mm, It's plain to see you're on your own
Uh, huh, I ain't blind, no
Some folks are crazy
Others walk that borderline
Watch what you're doing
Taking downs to get off to sleep
And ups to start you on your way
After a while they'll change your style
M-m-m, I see it happening every day
Uh, huh spare your heart
Everything put together
Sooner or later falls apart
There's nothing to it, nothing to it
You can cry
You can lie
For all the good it'll do you
You can die
But when it's done
And the police come, and they lay you down for dead
Uh, huh, just remember what I said
Words & music by Paul Simon
Couple in the next room
Bound to win a prize
They've been goin' at it all night long
Well I'm tryin' to get some sleep
but these motel walls are cheap
Lincoln Duncan is my name
and here's my song, here's my song
My father was a fisherman
my mama was a fisherman's friend
and I was born in the boredom and the chowder
So when I reached my prime
I left my home in the maritimes
headed down the turnpike for New England, sweet New England
Holes in my confidence
holes in the knees of my jeans
It's left without a penny in my pocket
Oo-o wee I's about as
destituted as a kid could be
And I wish I wore a ring
so I could hock it I'd like to hock it
A young girl in a parking lot
was preaching to a crowd
singin sacred songs and
reading from the bible
Well I told her I was lost
and she told me all about the Pentecost
And I seen that girl as the road to my survi-ival
Just later on the very same night
when I crept to her tent with a flashlight
and my long years of innocence ended
Well she took me to the woods sayin'
";Here comes somethin' and it feels so good!";
And just like a dog I was befriended
I was befriended
Oh, oh, what a night
Oh what a garden of delight
Even now that sweet memory lingers
I was playin' my guitar
lying underneath the stars
Just thankin' the lord for my fingers
for my fingers
When I was born my mother died
She said bye-bye baby, bye-bye
I said ";Where you goin'?";
";I'm just born";
She said I'll only be gone for a while
My mother loved to leave in style
And that's why God made the movies
So I laid around in my swaddling clothes
Until the doctor came and turned out the light
Then I packed my bag
And my nametag
And stole away into the night
Hopeing things would work out alright
That's why God made the movies
Say you will, say you will
Say you'll take me to your loving breast
Say you'll nourish me with your tenderness
The way the ladies sometimes do
Say you won't, say you won't
Say you won't leave me for no other man
Say you'll love me for the way I am
Say you will, say you will
When I was born my mother died
She said bye-bye baby, bye-bye
And since that day
I've made my way
The notorious boy of the wild
Adopted by wolves when he was a child
That's why God. That's why God.
That's why God made the movies
Who knows my secret broken
Who feels my flesh when I am gone
Who was a witness to the dream
Who kissed my eyes and saw the scream
Lying there
Nobody
Who is my reason to begin
Who plows the earth, who breaks the skin
Who took my two hands and made them four
Who is my heart, who is my door
Nobody
Nobody but you, girl
Nobody but you
Nobody in this whole wide world
Nobody
Who makes the bed that can't be made
Who is my mirror, who's my blade
When I am rising like a flood
Who feels the pounding in my blood
Nobody
Nobody but you
Nobody but you
Nobody in this whole wide world
Nobody, girl
Nobody
I have a number in my head
Though I don't know why it's there
When numbers get serious
You see their shape everywhere
Dividing and multiplying
Exchanging with ease
When times are mysterious
Serious numbers are easy to please
Take my address
Take my phone
Call me if you can
Here's my address
Here's my phone
Please don't give it to some madman
Hey hey, whoa whoa
Complicated life
Numbers swirling thick and curious
You can cut them with a knife
You can cut them with a knife
Two times two is twenty-two
Four times four is forty-four
When numbers get serious
They leave a mark on your door
Urgent. Urgent.
A telephone is ringing in the hallways
When times are mysterious
Serious numbers will speak to us always
That is why a man with numbers
Can put your mind at ease
We've got numbers by the trillions
Here and overseas
Hey hey, whoa whoa
Look at the stink about Japan
All those numbers waiting patiently
Don't you understand?
Don't you understand?
So wrap me
Wrap me
Wrap me do
In the shelter of your arms
I am ever your volunteer
I won't do you any harm
I will love innumerably
You can count on my word
When times are mysterious
Serious numbers
Will always be heard
When times are mysterious
Serious numbers will always be heard
And after all is said and done
And the numbers all come home
The four rolls into three
The three turns into two
And the two becomes a
She was beautiful as Southern skies
The night he met her
She was married to someone
He was doggedly determined that he would get her
He was old, he was young
From time to time he'd tip his heart
But each time she withdrew
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true
Well eventually the boy and the girl get married
Sure enough they have a son
And though they both were occupied
With the child she carried
Disagreements had begun
And in a while they fell apart
It wasn't hard to do
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true
Two disappointed believers
Two people playing the game
Negotiations and love songs
Are often mistaken for one and the same
Now the man and the woman
Remain in contact
Let us say it's for the child
With disagreements about the meaning
Of a marriage contract
Conversations hard and wild
But from time to time
He makes her laugh
She cooks a meal or two
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true
What is the point of this story
What information pertains
The thought that life could be better
Is woven indelibly
Into our hearts
The smartest people in the world
Had gathered in Los Angeles
To analyze our love affair
And possibly unscramble us
And we sat among our photographs
Examined every one
And in the end we compromised
And met the morning sun
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
They say the left side of the brain
Dominates the right
And the right side has to labor
Through the long and speechless night
And in the night
My father came to me
And held me to his chest
He said there's not much more that you can do
Go on and get some rest
And I said yeah
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
If you want to write a song about the moon
Walk along the craters of the afternoon
When the shadows are deep
And the light is alien
And gravity leaps like a knife off the pavement
And you want to write a song about the moon
You want to write a spiritual tune
Then nah nah nah
Presto
Song about about the moon
If you want to write a song about the heart
Think about the moon before you start
Because the heart will howl
Like a dog in the moonlight
And the heart can explode
Like a pistol on a June night
So if you want to write a song about the heart
And its ever-longing for a counterpart
Write a song about the moon
The laughing boy
He laughed so hard
He fell down from his place
The laughing girl
She laughed so hard
The tears rolled down her face
Hey Songwriter
If you want to write a song about
A face
Think about a photograph
That you really can't remember
But you can't erase
Wash your hands in dreams and lightning
Cut off your hair
And whatever is frightening
If you want to write a song
About a face
If you want to write a song about
The human race
Write a song about the moon
If you want to write a song about the moon
You want to write a spiritual tune
THEN DO IT
Words & music by Paul Simon
Rene and Georgette Magritte
With their dog after the war
Returned to their hotel suite
And they unlocked the door
Easily losing their evening clothes
They danced by the light of the moon
To the Penguins, the Moonglows
The Orioles, and The Five Satins
The deep forbidden music
They'd been longing for
Rene and Georgette Magritte
With their dog after the war
Rene and Georgette Magritte
With their dog after the war
Were strolling down Christopher Street
When they stopped in a men's store
With all of the mannequins dressed in the style
That brought tears to their immigrant eyes
Just like The Penguins, the Moonglows
The Orioles, and The Five Satins
The easy stream of laughter
Flowing through the air
Rene and Georgette Magritte
With their dog apres la guerre
Side by side
They fell asleep
Decades gliding by like Indians
Time is cheap
When they wake up they will find
All their personal belongings
Have intertwined
Oh Rene and Georgette Magritte
With their dog after the war
Were dining with the power elite
And they looked in their bedroom drawer
And what do you think
They have hidden away
In the cabinet cold of their hearts?
The Penguins, the Moonglows
The Orioles, and The Five Satins
For now and ever after
As it was before
Rene and Georgette Magritte
With their dog after the war
One and one-half wandering Jews
Free to wander wherever they choose
Are travelling together
In the Sangre de Cristo
The Blood of Christ Mountains
Of New Mexico
On the last leg of the journey
They started a long time ago
The arc of a love affair
Rainbows in the high desert air
Mountain passes slipping into stones
Hearts and bones
Hearts and bones
Hearts and bones
Thinking back to the season before
Looking back through the cracks in the door
Two people were married
The act was outrageous
The bride was contagious
She burned like a bride
These events may have had some effect
On the man with the girl by his side
The arc of a love affair
His hands rolling down her hair
Love like lightning shaking till it moans
Hearts and bones
Hearts and bones
Hearts and bones
And whoa whoa whoa
She said why?
Why don't we drive through the night
And we'll wake up down in Mexico
Oh I
I don't know nothin' about nothin'
About Mexico
And tell me why
Why won't you love me
For who I am
Where I am
He said:
'Cause that's not the way the world is baby
This is how I love you, baby
This is how I love you, baby
One and one-half wandering Jews
Returned to their natural coasts
To resume old acquaintances
Step out occasionally
And speculate who had been damaged the most
Easy time will determine if these consolations
Will be their reward
The arc of a love affair
Waiting to be restored
You take two bodies and you twirl them into one
Their hearts and their bones
And they won't come undone
Hearts and bones
Hearts and bones
Hearts and bones
Words & music by Paul Simon 1983
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Similarly made. Similarly sold
In a motorcade. Abandoned when they're old
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Engine in the front. Jack in the back
Wheels take the brunt. Pinion and a rack
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
But people are strangers
They change with the curve
From time zone to time zone
As we can observe
They shut down their borders
And think they're immune
They stand on their differences
And shoot at the moon
But cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Drive 'em on the left. Drive 'em on the right
Susceptible to theft in the middle of the night
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
I once had a car
That was more like a home
I lived in it, loved in it
Polished its chrome
If some of my homes
Had been more like my car
I probably wouldn't have
Travelled this far
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Cars are cars all over the world
Maladies
Melodies
Allergies to dust and grain
Maladies
Remedies
Still these allergies remain
My hand can't touch a guitar string
My fingers just burn and ache
My head intercedes with my bodily needs
And my body won't give it a break
My heart can stand a disaster
My heart can take a disgrace
But my heart is allergic
To the women I love
And it's changing the shape of my face
Allergies
Allergies
Something's living on my skin
Doctor please
Doctor please
Open up it's me again
I go to a famous physician
I sleep in the local hotel
From what I can see of the people like me
We get better
But we never get well
So I ask myself this question
It's a question I often repeat
Where do allergies go
When it's after a show
And they want to get something to eat?
Allergies
Allergies
Something's living on my skin
Doctor please
Doctor please
Open up it's me again
Maladies
Melodies
Allergies to dust and grain
Maladies
Remedies
A man walks down the street
He says why am I soft in the middle now
Why am I soft in the middle
The rest of my life is so hard
I need a photo-opportunity
I want a shot at redemption
Don't want to end up a cartoon
In a cartoon graveyard
Bonedigger Bonedigger
Dogs in the moonlight
Far away my well-lit door
Mr. Beerbelly Beerbelly
Get these mutts away from me
You know I don't find this stuff amusing anymore
If you'll be my bodyguard
I can be your long lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty when you call me
You can call me Al
A man walks down the street
He says why am I short of attention
Got a short little span of attention
And wo my nights are so long
Where's my wife and family
What if I die here
Who'll be my role-model
Now that my role-model is
Gone Gone
He ducked back down the alley
With some roly-poly little bat-faced girl
All along along
There were incidents and accidents
There were hints and allegations
If you'll be my bodyguard
I can be your long lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty when you call me
You can call me Al
Call me Al
A man walks down the street
It's a street in a strange world
Maybe it's the Third World
Maybe it's his first time around
He doesn't speak the language
He holds no currency
He is a foreign man
He is surrounded by the sound
The sound
Cattle in the marketplace
Scatterlings and orphanages
He looks around, around
He sees angels in the architecture
Spinning in infinity
He says Amen! and Hallelujah!
If you'll be my bodyguard
I can be your long lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty when you call me
You can call me Al
Call me Al
It was a slow day
And the sun was beating
On the soldiers by the side of the road
There was a bright light
A shattering of shop windows
The bomb in the baby carriage
Was wired to the radio
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry
It was a dry wind
And it swept across the desert
And it curled into the circle of birth
And the dead sand
Falling on the children
The mothers and the fathers
And the automatic earth
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry
It's a turn-around jump shot
It's everybody jump start
It's every generation throws a hero up the pop charts
Medicine is magical and magical is art
The Boy in the Bubble
And the baby with the baboon heart
And I believe
These are the days of lasers in the jungle
Lasers in the jungle somewhere
Staccato signals of constant information
A loose affiliation of millionaires
And billionaires and baby
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry
A long time ago, yeah
Before you was born dude
When I was still single
And life was great
I held this job as a traveling salesman
That kept me moving from state to state
Well, I'm standing on the corner of Lafayette
State of Louisiana
Wondering where a city boy could go
To get a little conversation
Drink a little red wine
Catch a little bit of those Cajun girls
Dancing to Zydeco
Along come a young girl
She's pretty as a prayerbook
Sweet as an apple on Christmas day
I said good gracious can this be my luck
If that's my prayerbook
Lord let us pray
Well, I'm standing on the corner of Lafayette
State of Louisiana
Wondering where a city boy could go
To get her in a conversation
Drink a little red wine
Dance to the music of Clifton Chenier
The King of the Bayou
Well, that was your mother
And that was your father
Before you was born dude
When life was great
You are the burden of my generation
I sure do love you
But let's get that straight
Well, I'm standing on the corner of Lafayette
Arcoss the street from The Public
Heading down to the Lone Star Cafe
Maybe get a little conversation
Drink a little red wine
Standing in the shadow of Clifton Chenier
Dancing the night away
She looked me over
And I guess she thought
I was all right
All right in a sort of a limited way
For an off-night
She said don't I know you
From the cinematographer's party
I said who am I
To blow against the wind
I know what I know
I'll sing what I said
We come and we go
That's a thing that I keep
In the back of my head
She said there's something about you
That really reminds me of money
She is the kind of a girl
Who could say things that
Weren't that funny
I said what does that mean
I really remind you of money
She said who am I
To blow against the wind
I know what I know
I'll sing what I said
We come and we go
That's a thing that I keep
In the back of my head
She moved so easily
All I could think of was sunlight
I said aren't you the women
Who was recently given a Fulbright
She said don't I know you
From the cinematographer's party
I said who am I
To blow against the wind
I know what I know
I'll sing what I said
We come and we go
That's a thing that I keep
In the back of my head
Emaweni webaba
Silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
Homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
We are homeless, we are homeless
The moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
And we are homeless, homeless, homeless
The moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
Zio yami, zio yami, nhliziyo yami
Nhliziyo yami amakhaza asengi bulele
Nhliziyo yami, nhliziyo yami
Nhliziyo yami, angibulele amakhaza
Nhliziyo yami, nhliziyo yami
Nhliziyo yami somandla angibulele mama
Zio yami, nhliziyo yami
Nhliziyo yami, nhliziyo yami
Too loo loo, too loo loo
Too loo loo loo loo loo loo loo loo loo
Too loo loo, too loo loo
Too loo loo loo loo loo loo loo loo loo
Strong wind destroy our home
Many dead, tonight it could be you
Strong wind, strong wind
Many dead, tonight it could be you
And we are homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
Homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
Homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody sing hello, hello, hello
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody cry why, why, why?
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody sing hello, hello, hello
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody cry why, why, why?
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Yitho omanqoba (ih hih ih hih ih) yitho omanqoba
Esanqoba lonke ilizwe
(ih hih ih hih ih) Yitho omanqoba (ih hih ih hih ih)
Esanqoba phakathi e England
Yitho omanqoba
Esanqoba phakathi e London
Yitho omanqoba
Esanqoba phakathi e England
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody sing hello, hello, hello
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody cry why, why, why?
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody sing hello, hello, hello
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody cry why, why, why?
Kuluman
Kulumani, Kulumani sizwe
Singenze njani
Baya jabula abasi thanda yo
Ho
Fat Charlie the Archangel
Sliped into the room
He said I have no opinion about this
And I have no opinion about that
Sad as a lonely little wrinkled balloon
He said well I don't claim to be happy about this, boys
And I don't seem to be happy about that
I don't want no part of this crazy love
I don't want no part of your love
I don't want no part of this crazy love
I don't want no part of your love
I don't want no part of this crazy love
I don't want no part of your love
I don't want no part of this crazy love
I don't want no part of this crazy love
She says she knows about jokes
This time the joke is on me
Well, I have no opinion about that
And I have no opinion about me
Somebody could walk into this room
And say your life is on fire
It's all over the evening news
All about the fire in your life
On the evening news
I don't want no part of this crazy love
I don't want no part of your love
I don't want no part of this crazy love
I don't want no part of your love
Fat Charlie the Archangel
Files for divorce
He says well this will eat up a year of my life
And then there's all that weight to be lost
She says the joke is on me
I say the joke is on her
I said I have no opinion about that
Well, we'll just have to wait and confer
I don't want no part of this crazy love
I don't want no part of your love
I don't want no part of this crazy love
I don't want no part of your love
I don't want no part of this crazy love
I don't want no part of your love
I don't want no part of this crazy love
I don't want no part of this crazy love
Over the mountain
Down in the valley
Lives a former talk-show host
Everybody knows his name
He says there's no doubt about it
It was the myth of fingerprints
I've seen them all and man
They're all the same
Well, the sun gets weary
And the sun goes down
Ever since the watermelon
And the lights come up
On the black pit town
Somebody says what's a better thing to do
Well, it's not just me
And it's not just you
This is all around the world
Out in the Indian Ocean somewhere
There's a former army post
Abandoned now just like the war
And there's no doubt about it
It was the myth of fingerprints
That's what that old army post was for
Well, the sun gets bloody
And the sun goes down
Ever since the watermelon
And the lights come up
On the black pit town
Somebody says what's a better thing to do
Well, it's not just me
And it's not just you
This is all around the world
Over the mountain
Down in the valley
Lives the former talk-show host
Far and wide his name was known
He said there's no doubt about it
It was the myth of fingerprints
That's why we must learn to live alone
There's this one word, it's called comfort,
It's the strangest, most dangerous place I could hide
It's a wonder, this cold comfort
Hasn't hollowed and swallowed you and I from inside
You're my first pint, on the worst nights
My gut knots up, my heart bursts like
A piñata pops, this has gotta stop, watch the water drop from clouds, it sure rains a lot
And I've felt how a heart melts down
I'm so burnt out; I'm a shell now
It's the worst of lows, it's the first to go, it's the last to come back when the sun melts the snow
What I'm giving, you is taking,
Lots of lying and some faking
Have I gone too far? Am I too far gone? I've been up all night and fight to keep out the dawn
And we've felt how our hearts melt down
We're so burnt out; we're a shell now
![Paul Simon - The Boxer, Live In Dublin 2012 [HD]](http://web.archive.org./web/20130704021048im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7a-bM_x5VKg/default.jpg "Paul Simon - The Boxer, Live In Dublin 2012 [HD]")
