Genuine. Quirky. Rootsy.
LYRICS
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1. THE BALLAD OF EDDIE KLEPP
2. SHE'S GONE
3. BILL & ANNIE
4. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY
5. LETTERS IN THE DIRT
6. TALK TO MY LAWYER
7. SWEET LITTLE LOU
8. UNTIL YOU CAN FORGIVE
9. MISSING EACH OTHER'S CUES
10. LONG STORY SHORT
11. THE HANDS OF VICTOR JARA
12. THE GOODBYE KID
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1. The Ballad Of Eddie Klep
The war had finally ended and America had changed
It had beaten back the nazis but the Jim Crow laws remained
There was talk of staging marches & talk of civil rights
There was talk about a Negro playing baseball with the Whites
He walked into the clubhouse and the card players quit playing
Everybody stopped in the middle of whatever they were saying
It was just like when the sheriff walks into the saloon
He said, “My name is Eddie,” as he looked around the room
“This man’s here to play baseball,” the manager said to the team
“We’re all gonna have to live with this...aw, that’s not what I mean...
You know what I mean” - and they all did...it went without saying
The card players looked at their hands and they went on with their playing
They ran him off the field before a game in Birmingham one night
Made him sit up in the grandstand in the section marked “For Whites”
In his Cleveland Buckeyes uniform, it was a new twist on the law
The marshals kept their eyes on him and the hecklers ate him raw
Eddie Klep, he should’ve run the bases in reverse
A White man in the Negro Leagues, that had to be a first
He could not ride the same busses, or stay in the same motels
He could not eat in the same restaurants, you couldn’t have mixed clientele
So while Jackie played for Brooklyn and wore the Dodger Blue
Eddie crossed the color line, the one without a queue
A White man in the Negro Leagues, might as well have been a Jew
Now you mention the name of Eddie Klep and most everyone says, “Who?”
2. She’s Gone
She’s gone, gone, I let her slip away
She was getting restless
There was nothing I could say
Except so long, so long, it’s alright, it’s ok
I’ll miss you when you’re gone
Then I looked the other way
And she was gone, gone,
She was far too gone
To hear me when I called to her
But maybe it was wrong of me
To make her stop & turn around
For one more last goodbye
Didn’t mean to make her sorry
Didn’t mean to make her cry
At the San Francisco airport
With the baggage all checked in
We took one last look at each other
And she kissed me again
And then we nodded in agreement
That this really was the end
Shook our heads in disbelief
And we fell apart again
She was gone, gone,
I let her slip away
I could’ve run off with her
But instead I chose to stay
Right here with my true love
Held tight to my chest
And if I had to choose again
I might do the same I guess
There’s a warmth here, I take comfort
I take solace, to my own self I was true
Couldn’t ask her to stay even a little longer
She was going places I’d been to
She’s gone, gone, it’s just me and my songs
Should’ve seen it coming
Should’ve seen it all along
But it’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright
We each did what we had to do
And that makes it alright
There’s a warmth here, I take comfort
I take solace, to my own self I was true
Couldn’t ask her to stay even a little longer
She was going places I’d been to
3. Bill & Annie
We stopped for peaches at a little roadside stand
Man said his name was Bill, I said “I’m Chuck and this is Annie”
He said Annie was the one & only true love of his life
They met at his wedding but by then he had a wife
It was during the reception in the Spring of ‘64
She, his newlywed’s best friend, followed him out the ballroom door
Maybe his ring got smaller, maybe his finger swelled
Maybe he’d made a big mistake, and maybe time would tell
Bill asked, “Do you feel what I feel?” and Annie said, “I do”
Bill was at a loss, wondering now what should he do
He did what he had to, he’d just taken a wife
She would take good care of him for the rest of her life
Bill & Annie fought the urge, they saw each other often
She was there in black the day Bill’s wife lay in her coffin
By then she’d gotten married, by then she’d moved away
She’d asked Bill for his blessings and he’d said it was ok
Bill said, “Taste the peaches,” and he cut us each a slice
They were a little on the small side, but they sure tasted nice
“Do you think I did the right thing?” Bill asked, though I knew he knew
So I answered with a question, I asked him, “Bill, do you?”
Bill said, “Annie, pleased to meet you, it was nice to meet you Chuck”
And Annie & I, we drove away in Annie’s pick-up truck
With a box of twenty peaches, a homegrown tomato too
And a couple of things to think about, and every now and then I do...I do
4. No More Mr. Nice Guy
I used to be a nice guy
With a capital N
You would’ve liked me
I was everybody’s friend
But no more...Mr. Nice Guy...no more
I tried to be like Gandhi
Spreading universal love
I’d turn the other cheek
And all that masochistic stuff
But no more...Mr. Nice Guy...no more
I graduated charm school
I was first in my class
But that didn’t quite prepare me
For always finishing last
No more...Mr. Nice Guy...me first
I used to read Miss Manners
With a notepad by my side
People’d walk all over me
I used to let ‘em slide
But no more...no more...
Now I stick my foot out...and I watch ‘em fall
I’d stoop to pick up hankies
I’d hold open doors
On the elevators
I’d push everybody’s floors
But no more...no more...this car’s full
I’d say “Yessir,” I’d say “No Sir”
Treated people with respect
I used to be soft-spoken and politically correct
No more...no more...no friggin’ more
Hey, I can be a meanie
Let me give you some advice
Better listen up good
I’m not gonna say this twice
No more...no more...aw heck...I said it twice...
I’m really sorry
Just look at who’s on top
You’ll see, they’re all a bunch of jerks
The way they lie and cheat and steal
That’s just how society works
No more...Mr. Nice Guy...no more
I’d buy drinks for the ladies
They’d all say I was sweet
But then someone like Paul Schatzkin
Would come & sweep ‘em off their feet
No more...Mr. Nobody...no more
Gonna get me a black leather jacket
A skull and bones tattoo
A big old pair of stomping boots
Gonna get a nose ring too
No more...Mrs. Nice Guy...no more
Yeah, I can be a meanie
Let me give you some advice
Better listen up good
I’m not gonna say this twice
No more...uh uh...uh uh uh
5. Letters In The Dirt
Me & you, we never booed Richie Allen
I never understood why people did
He hit a homer every time he stepped up to the plate
That’s what I remember as a kid
Richie in the field out there by first base
The target of some mighty foul words
With his shoes he’d scrawl between the pitched
“B-O-O” in great big letters in the dirt
Philly fans, they’ve been known to get nasty
When Joe must go, they’ll run him out of town
I saw Santa get hit by a snowball
And then get hit again when he was down
Me & you, we never booed Richie Allen
Even if he did sometimes strike out
I was too young to read the papers
To know what all that booing was about
That big collapse of ‘64 was ugly
They blew a lead of 6 and one-half games with 12 to play
Some might say their fans were justifiably angry
World Series tickets printed up in vain
Philly fans, they’ve been known to get nasty
When Joe must go, they’ll run him out of town
I saw Santa get hit by a snowball
And then get hit again when he was down
Going back to old Connie Mack Stadium
You teaching me the rules of the game
We root-root-rooted for the home team
Those other people should’ve been ashamed
This was before the days of the million dollar contracts
Before the days of the artificial grass
He stood a bit outside the lines
Which made him fair game for those times
Richie Allen never kissed a white man’s ass
Me & you, we never booed Richie Allen
No, we’d pound our mitts & we’d yell, “We want a hit”
How could they call a guy a bum after he’d just hit a home run?
That didn’t make any sense to a kid
Now I’ve since found out all these days later
Now I know a lot more than I did
And if back then you knew, Daddy,
Why all those other people booed...
Thanks for letting me have my heroes as a kid
6. Talk To My Lawyer
I was walking outside of City Hall
I slipped & I had a terrible fall
It was negligence on the part of I don’t care who
I fell so hard I was seeing stars
Dollar signs and men from Mars
And the man who helped me up said I ought to sue
(He was a lawyer...he was all out of breath)
Once I had an accident
Not too bad, just a little dent
A new Mercedes hit me from the rear
Man got out in a 3 piece suit
And asked if a thousand dollars would do
I said, “Well, let me think for a minute here”
I’m gonna talk to my lawyer
I might have whiplash
I might have trauma
Let’s not talk petty cash
I’ve got a witness
To put a hand on the Bible
Jury jury, hallelujahYou might be liable
My Momma said to Uncle Jim,
“I just don’t know what’s wrong with him...
That son of mine is a no-good big wazoo”
Well, I have never overheard such a bunch
of slanderous words
I’ll tell you Momma, I’ve got a mind to sue
I’m gonna talk to my lawyer
Momma, that was vicious
Defamation of character
Wrongful and malicious
I’ve got a witness
To put a hand on the Bible
Jury jury, hallelujah
You might be liable
I was trying to open up my map
When I spilled some coffee on my lap
How was I supposed to know it was going to be hot?
I went back to that fast-food place
To the manager with the happy face
I said, “I want the name of whoever brewed that pot”
I’m gonna talk to my lawyer
I think I’ve got a pretty good case
All I need are some crutches
Maybe I’ll put on a neck brace
I’ve got a witnessTo put a hand on the Bible
Jury jury, hallelujah
Somebody’s liable
7. Sweet Little Lou
She came all the way to Jonestown
She was just a little girl
Ended up in California for to make it in this world
She left behind believers, they were onto harder stuff
Couldn’t get herself to swallow
What she knew was in that cup...
She knew she knew
Her face was soft & tender then
It was warm to the touch
You only had to look at her and right away she’d blush
She was everybody’s angel
Lily white and pure
Nobody who knows her now would say that anymore,
It just wouldn’t be true
She fell in with the hookers and she learned a lot of tricks
Like who to see for money, and where to get a fix
She can make you happy, if it’s happy that you want
She’ll do anything for you, if the money is up front...
Anything for you
That’s her in the doorway, her face is poorly lit
You would not see ‘till later, the places she’d been hit
One of these days...but today just is not it
A john comes up and offers her a hundred and she spits
She got herself a hotel room
On Broadway two blocks down
From the hotel room she uses when
She really goes to town
It’s not the California that she ran away to find
But it’s no worse & no more perverse
Than the place she left behind...
Sweet Little Lou
8. Until You Can Forgive
So suddenly you’re trembling
With a flash flood of tears
And a flashback to a night so black
A little girl disappears
The pictures are returning
And it’s safe to say you see her
You can go now if you have to
If that’s what it takes to free her
It’s a tattered old illusion
And faded is the glory
Hung up on your father’s flagpole
As you return to the yard
Where he touched you as a child
Only now you see it clearly
And you hate the man who once upon a time
You loved so dearly
Until you can forgive, but not what’s been done
Until you can forgive, the innocent one
The little girl...afraid to speak
Shadows in the hallway, tears rolling down her cheek
It comes to you in nightmares
And in the middle of sweet dreams
It robs you of your innocence
And it makes you feel unclean
You can damn him if you want to
You can wish upon him death
You can trample on his grave
If he is already dead
Until you can forgive, but not what’s been done
Until you can forgive, the innocent one
The little girl...afraid to speak
Shadows in the hallway, tears rolling down her cheek
Now you back away from danger
Is it too close or too real
When you lay down with your lover
And this trust you don’t yet feel?
I will still be here in the morning
I will hold you through the night
But I will not whisper in your ear
That everything’s gonna be alright
Until you can forgive, but not what’s been done
Until you can forgive, the innocent one
The little girl...afraid to speak
Shadows in the hallway, tears rolling down her cheek
9. Missing Each Other’s Cues
There was a knock at the door
After a call on the phone
He coming out of the blue
She being home all alone
He’d been a long time at sea
It couldn’t help but show
She said, “Well, come on in”
She said, “Welcome home”
He said, “How do you do?”
And she said, “Long time no see”
He said, “I’ve been thinking about you”
And she said, “Oh, you remember me?”
He said, “If only you knew...I could never forget”
She said, “Oh, but I knew...from the first time we met”
It was a late, late night
There came the first crack of dawn
And a big burst of light
Through those curtains she’d drawn
He said, “Hey, I’ve gotta run”
Andshe said, “I understand...
Well, it’s sure been fun”
And they both shook hands
He ain’t no Romeo
And she’s no Juliet
This ain’t no picture show
This ain’t no movie set
She doesn’t know her lines
He cannot play his part
She cannot read his mind
He cannot find her heart
He says, “I’ll find my way”
And she says, “I’ll find my way too”
But what he really means to say is
”I wish I could stay with you”
She doesn’t know what to think
He doesn’t know what to do
They say all the wrong things
They keep missing each other’s cues
10. Long Story Short
Well you sure can talk
You go on & on
And it makes me wonder
Where all the time has gone
You don’t hear me sigh
You don’t notice when I yawn
We sat down at dinner time
And now it’s almost dawn
Make a long story short
Look how you’ve bent my ear
Around the back of my head
Ae you that unaware?
I’ve been polite all night
Some of my thoughts were malicious
Like I wish you’d bite your tongue
So hard you’d have to go get stitches
Uh huh, oh really?
Well you really don’t say!
I really wish you wouldn’t
But I’m not listening anyway
I’m getting tired of your voice
My ears are pretty well numb
Can’t even hear myself think
It’s like electrical hum
To make a long story short
You might say I’m perturbed
Why don’t you get to the point
Why don’t you skip a few words?
Why don’t you take a deep breath
Why don’t you cut to the chase?
To make a long story short
Why don’t you shut your face?
And did you ever wonder why
I never seem to be home
No matter when you try
Reaching me on the phone?
Thank God for answering machines
They are the answer for you
The way they cut you off
After a minute or two
I do return your calls
But I’ve got my timing down
I call when you’re at work
Or when you’re out of town
We play telephone tag
And every time you’re “it”
And I hear my telephone ring
I back away from it
So make a long story short
You long-winded one
How long, how long
Will this sentence run?
All you talk about is yourself
And everything you’ve ever done
Make a long story short
You long-winded one
11. The Hands Of Victor Jara
The hands of Victor Jara
Were chopped off at the wrists
But still they point a finger
And they raise a mighty fist
There is a revolution
It might be in your backyard
It might be some place like Chile
Or it might be in your heart
The voice of Victor Jara
Was cut out at the tongue
But that does not stop the singing
Songs need to be sung
He sang about his people
They were not the privileged few
And nothing that’s dictated
Will ever ring as true
The blood of Victor Jara
Will never wash away
It just keeps on turning
A little redder every day
As anger turns to hatred
And hatred turns to guns
Children lose their fathers
And mothers lose their sons
The soul of Victor Jara
Hangs on a white cross
Life was his religion
Not for sale at any cost
He defied the generals’ orders
By not singing their refrain
In front of all those frightened people
He did not give his life in vain
The hands of Victor Jara
They’re strumming the guitar
Down in the Paris Metro
Or in front of the Kerr-try Store
And they hold onto a promise
That torture cannot break
Truer than the average
The hands of Victor Jara
They do not shake
12. The Goodbye Kid
The Goodbye Kid checks his watch
The hour is late and the night is hot
He wipes the sweat from off his brow
“What time is it?” you ask, and he says, “Now”
The Goodbye Kid - on his arm is a coat
In case it gets cold, and he clears his throat
The speech he’d prepared - you were expecting to hear
But then he whispers, “I love you” in your ear
“I can’t leave without these” - he reaches under your chair
And picks up his keys - says, “I don’t know how they got there...
And how I wish I could stay - at least another day more”
Says the Goodbye Kid with one foot out the door
The Goodbye Kid - he’s been around the block
Looking for a parking place - couldn’t find a spot
That’s him out there - with the hazards on
The Goodbye Kid, and he can’t stay long
Did you get too close to the Goodbye Kid?
Did he leave too soon? Or was it you who did?
Did you take your heart back behind closed doors
And listen ‘till you couldn’t hear the sound of his engine anymore
The Goodbye Kid checks his map
Inside his head that’s upon your lap
He holds your hand while he plans his route
Those places & those dates are so absolute
The Goodbye Kid - he’s a one man band
Towns a nobody goes - he does a one night stand
A hundred nights in a row - they always end like this
They even start sometimes with a goodbye kiss
The Goodbye Kid - he’s thinking of you
And you say, “Sure...and all those other girls too...
So where ya’ calling from?” - He says a Texaco
The Goodbye Kid calling to say hello
The Goodbye Kid - he leaves a rose
A little bud with its petals still closed
“Would you tend to it - and see that it lives?”
Reads the little card signed by the Goodbye Kid
Did you get too close to the Goodbye Kid?
Did he leave too soon? Or was it you who did?
Did you take your heart back behind closed doors
And listen ‘till you couldn’t hear the sound of his engine anymore
The Goodbye Kid...checks his watch