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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

1/2
3/4

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

5/6
7/8

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

9/10
11/12

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

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