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1. Out Of Time And Place

 

Everyone’s wearing the latest designs

The newest commercials play with their minds

But there’s nothing to wish for and nothing to chase

For a man out of time, a man out of place     

 

He doesn’t dress up or go shopping for clothes

He has comfortable shoes, he has two pair of those

He doesn’t go far and he doesn’t go fast

He fixes the things that were made to last     

 

He has no celphone, no answering machine

His old typewriter it has no screen

He’s never been to cyberspace

Man out of time man out of place

 

Man out of time in his house in the woods

He’d like to just keep it that way if he could

Buildings go up and people move closer

First you hear the chain saws and then the bull dozers

 

Man out of time man out of place

Man out of step with the whole human race 

He doesn’t consume and he tries not to waste     

Man out of time, man out of place

 

Any books that he owns are long out of print

He doesn’t like Bill or Hillary Clinton

He’s a stubborn man, he’s stuck in his ways

Man out of time man out of place

 

Gadgets that cook, gadgets that clean            

Gadgets that do everything in between                       

He still does things the old fashioned ways

Man out of time, man out of place

 

He’s got no checkbook, no credit cards

Just some old keepsakes and replacement parts

He’s off the grid, he leaves no trace

He keeps his cash in an old suitcase

 

He doesn’t appear on anyone’s list

A case could be made that he doesn’t exist

He’s not showing up in the database

Man out of time man out of place

 

(Chorus)           

 

People may judge this existence of his

He’s perfectly happy the way that it is

Still you figure the Feds must be building a case

Against a man out of time, a man out of place           

 

(Chorus)         

1/2

2. Roberto   

 

Punta Maldonado, off the Puerto Rican coast

People sometimes meet there to offer up a toast

To the greatest baseball player they ever called their own

Who went off on a mission, and never made it home

 

The earthquake was horrific, the aid was pouring in

Roberto helped to organize a whole planeload to send

The Nicaraguan junta had been looting all it could

He’d fly with it to make sure it got to all the neighborhoods

 

It wouldn’t pass inspection, the plane that he would hire

The pilot that came with it, his license had expired

A local huckster owned it, he wasn’t sure it flew

He kept that to himself but the paint on it was new

 

The plane was overloaded, the cargo not secured

Standard operating procedures were totally ignored

The engine didn’t sound right said the people on the ground

When it took off for Managua & tried to circle back around

 

People still remember where they were that New Year’s Eve

When the word began to spread and hardly anyone believed

Helicopters hovered all throughout the nights

Just above the water sweeping with their lights

 

They never found Roberto & the search went on for days

Frantically at first and then they found his leather case

No one could bear to call it off and so they carried on

The divers never found him, Roberto, he was gone

 

Punta Maldonado, off the Puerto Rican coast

People sometimes stand there looking for his ghost

The greatest baseball player they ever called their own

Who went off on a mission, and never made it home

3/4
3. The World As You Once Knew It
 
The world as you once knew it
One day was obsolete
The hair had gone out of fashion
They danced to a different beat
You stubbornly resisted 
Determined not to bend
The world as you once knew it
Had come to an end
 
The world as you once knew it
Had a much less hectic pace
People used to meet in public
They’d sit face to face
Now we type an instant message
And stare into the screen
The world as you once knew it
Been replaced by a machine
 
The world as you once knew it  
You can read about in books
Or visit a museum
Walk around and take a look
At the relics and the fossils
And the trinkets in the stores
The world as you once knew it
Come see the dinosaurs
 
The world as you once knew it
Fetched a real good price 
The bidding done in secret
Some souls were traded twice
And now blessed are the greedy
And cursed are the poor
The world as you once knew it
Now she’s just another whore 
 
The world as you once knew it
Spun out of control 
It was gravity that did it
The lure of all that gold
There’s nothing like nostalgia
To make you feel bereft
Of the world as you once knew it
Yet it’s all that you’ve got left
 
The world as you once knew it
Where you once had a home
Sometimes you think you see it
From whenever you may roam
The places and the faces
They form one big collage
Of the world as you once knew it
But it’s only a mirage
 
The world as you once knew it
You hear it when she talks
It’s in the way she looks at you
It’s in the way she walks
Pity the poor wretched soul
Who can not recognize
The world as you once knew it
When he sees it in her eyes
4. That Guy
 
Same height and weight, we wear the same clothes
He’s got my eyes he’s got my nose
He creeps me out I don’t know why
I should look so much like that guy
 
That’s him now he’s in my bed
He took my pillow for his head
Now how could he be so damn cold
To the girl with the heart of gold?
 
I treated him like you would a guest
When he first showed up and he needed rest
Little did I know he had designs
How to get his hands all over what was mine
 
Who is he to say such things
That cut so deep they clip the wings
And mute the voice that sweetly sings
And silences her golden strings?
 
Who’s that nasty no good bum?
Why’s he here and where’s he from?
He claims to come from a place nearby
But that’s something I have yet to verify
 
Every detail, big and small
He’s the guy who knows it all
He knows how and he knows why
I know I don’t want to be around that guy
 
Selfish fella, he sips first             
Once he quenches his own thirst
Then he asks if she be dry
What the hell’s the matter with that guy?
 
Who is he that sounds like me?
With what he says I disagree                          
He’s always got some fresh excuse
A very long grudge and a very short fuse
 
There he goes, slamming doors
He stomps his feet across the floor 
He looks like he could punch the wall
I can not defend that guy at all
 
He never gave me back my hat
He stretched it out and crushed it flat
Baked it into a humble pie
That I had to eat thanks to that guy
 
There’s good riddance & there’s get lost
There’s being asked to leave & there’s being tossed
I say scram but not goodbye
That’s how much I can not stand that guy
5. Same Dress Twice
 
Would you believe she wore the same dress twice?!!
The Lady wore the same dress twice
Once upon a time, no matter what the price
She never would’ve worn the same dress twice
 
Times are hard, we all must sacrafice
And so she did, she wore the same dress twice
Even if the jewelry was new
Along with the hat, the gloves, the bag, and also the shoes
 
For her to wear something a second time
She must be counting her nickles and her dimes
Along with all those million dollar notes
The ones that buy the favors and the votes
 
Times are hard for everyone these days   
And cutting back’s become the latest craze
Let go of a vacation home or two
Or this year maybe just not buy some place new
 
It touches every economic class
You hunker down and hope that it will pass
Put some limits on your spending sprees
Even castle dwellers feel the squeeze
 
They had to make reductions to their staff 
Cut the number of live-in personal trainers by half
She’s deserving of the accolades
For trying to make do with fewer maids
 
Her husband sold one of his private jets  
A Rolls Royce and a couple of Corvettes
Even if he did buy one more yacht     
It was slightly smaller than the other two he’s got
 
Yes, times are hard for everyone these days
Crime’s about the only thing that pays
Even royalty is making do with less
There’s a recession, if you can believe the press
 
She wore a dress she’d been seen in before           
A selfless act that shouldn’t go ignored
She’d say she was only doing her part
That’s just what you do when times are hard
5/6
6. The Bellyache Heard Round The World
 
He showed up for Spring Training
With 40 pounds to lose 
He’d spent the winter partying
But that was never news
He wasn’t feeling all that good
Throughout the training camp
The Babe would run a fever
And he often had the cramps
 
After leaving Florida
On the way back to New York
The Yankees played the Brooklyn Robins
On an exhibition tour
They stopped in Chattanooga
The Babe hit 2 home runs
The next game was in Knoxville
Where he hit another one
 
The train left the next morning 
For Asheville, North Carolina
Going across the mountains
The tracks twisting and winding
The Babe joined in a card game
His cheeks and forehead burned
He really didn’t look so good
His teammates were concerned
 
At the Asheville station
When the train came to a stop
The Babe stepped onto the platform
Then suddenly he just dropped
They took him to the hotel
And put him into bed
A newspaper in London proclaimed
“The Mighty Babe is Dead!”
 
“The Mighty Babe is Dead!”
“The Mighty Babe is Dead!”
And before you even knew it
That’s what all the papers said
 
The team phoned a physician
Who could really only guess
It was his professional opinion
That the Babe just needed rest
He cautioned against travel
Anytime too soon 
The Babe departed Asheville
On the following afternoon
 
Thousands filled Penn Station
To try to catch a glimpse
As they carried him by stretcher
To the waiting ambulance
"Helen, I feel rotten,"
The Babe said to his wife
Before they took him to the hospital
And he went under the knife
 
(Chorus)
 
The Yankees tried to manage
All the rumors that would spread
He ate too many hot dogs
Supposedly they said
Some thought it was exhaustion
Some thought it was the flu
Some thought it could be syphillus
But no one really knew
 
The Babe he would recover
And hit lots more home runs
More than any other
By the time his playing days were done
It’s said he loved his women
And he often stayed out late
And that he liked the taste of liquor
And he did not watch his weight
 
(Chorus)
7. The Phenom 
 
Around the phenom cameras flash 
Even when he just plays catch
Way off down the 3rd base line
The fans have things for him to sign
The spotlight follows him around
Same thing in every town
Journalists and tv crews
Articles and interviews
 
The phenom in his senior year
Not even old enough to drink a beer
Hit 100 on the radar gun
With a change up that was 91
Even then he packed the stands
With as many scouts as there were fans
Every pitch they charted and graphed
He was the first pick of the draft
 
30 million gauranteed
Whether or not the kid ever succeeds
His teammates draw a grand a month
Sometimes the phenom picks up the tab for lunch
You can’t blame him, it’s not his fault
The team was willing to open the vault
No question that the kid can pitch
Someday he might make all of ‘em rich
 
The phenom drives a luxury car
Along the road to being a star
There’s a guy in every neighborhood bar
Showing off his elbow scar
He can’t miss say the analysts
No one’s ever seen anything like this
A dieing man made one last wish
It was to live to see the phenom pitch
 
On this kid they bet the farm
Him and his 24 carat arm
Every hiccup is a cause for alarm
Better not step on the foul line –
Better rub that lucky charm
 
Sometime around the end of May
They moved him up to Double A
It’s still the same, home or away
Rain or shine, night or day
Every game a sellout crowd
The kid keeps getting batters out
The talk show callers all say so
The phenom’s ready for The Show
7/8
8. William Henry Paddle
 
William Henry Paddle - would you care to dance?
It probably wouldn’t kill you, would you like another chance?
Times have changed a little & it’s not so grave a sin
So if it be your pleasure, feel free to jump right in
 
The Reverand Buchanon was twenty-one years old
In the service of the church, he did as he was told
This was back when Newfoundland was barely just a rock
He was sent to bring the heathens back into the flock
 
The Reverand Buchanon heard a knocking at the door
William Henry Paddle’s mother stood there lily-white and pure
She was visibly shaken, there was panic in her words
“The devil’s down the road, come quick,
Before someone gets hurt”
 
William Henry Paddle’s mother found out her son had gone
To a very wicked party where there was music going on
There was laughter, there was singing,
there was dancing there as well
William Henry Paddle’s mother was afraid he’d go to hell
 
The Reverand grabbed his Bible and his other tools of battle
Put his collar & his hat on and then hopped into the saddle
William Henry Paddle’s mother left the Reverand eating dust
And when she burst into the cabin William Henry Paddle cussed
 
William Henry Paddle’s mother, she did not leave a trace
Of the smile that had been on William Henry Paddle’s face
And when he saw the Reverand William
bowed his head in shame
Afraid there might forever be a mark beside his name
 
The scolding that the Reverand gave was all brimstone and fire
Unmarried dancing partners lost all of their desire
The fiddles all got packed away, the girls put up their hair
And all the partygoers joined the Reverand in prayer
 
On a street in Montreal, some 40 odd years later
In William Henry Paddle’s life, there was no moment greater
He bumped into the Reverand and introduced him to his wife
And thanked him for that evening when the Reverand saved his life 
 
The Reverand’s diary fell into his great-granddaughter’s hands
She read about this fellow who was not allowed to dance
So to find out if his bones might now be finally free to rattle
She did a jig around the grave of William Henry Paddle
 
Singing “William Henry Paddle - would you care to dance?
It probably wouldn’t kill you, would you like another chance?
Times have changed a little & it’s not so grave a sin
So if it be your pleasure, feel free to jump right in”
9/10
9. Lili’s Braids
 
The house he was born in was only next door
His country had vanished, his people no more
Out in the garden some little boys played
He'd only come back to retrieve Lili’s braids
 
The neighbors were home, to their word they were true
They’d kept them safe like they said they would do
Despite any orders they might’ve obeyed
It was righteous of them to have kept Lili’s braids
 
Word had come down that the Germans were near
They had taken a village a few miles from here
There was no place to run, there was no place to hide
It was no longer safe to be going outside
 
Whispers of horrors, what they did to the Jews
Sorting into piles their clothing and shoes
At the railway station, shaving their heads
Taking the hair to make pillows and beds
 
Lili’s hair had never been cut
The curtains were drawn and the doors were shut
It had hung to her knees just moments before
The braids would be safe with the people next door
 
Lili’s mother quietly prayed
She said, “Come here child, don’t be afraid
I promise you one day we’ll pin them back on
After the war, when the soldiers are gone”
 
The house he was born in was only next door
Lili’s brother returned sometime after the war
They were all he had left...how heavy they weighed
Maybe not as much now that he’d retrieved Lili’s Braids
10. Gerta
 
Once you were a stowaway
You kept quiet three whole days
Even when they’d stop the train
You never cried you never once complained
When what could never happen did
Not all at once, it was bit by bit
Some things a small doll shouldn’t see
Tell them, Gerta, what you saw with me
 
Soon you will be all that’s left
The precious things that were somehow kept
By little girls and little boys
Their favorite dolls, their favorite toys
Gerta, you’re my best best friend
You never let go of me back then
I’m leaving you with a heavy heart
Goodbye, my Gerta, now we must part
 
Gerta, I know my time is near
There’s a museum, it’s far from here
A lot of other dolls live there too
Some who might’ve had it even worse than you 
The ones who made it to Jerusalem
They’re asking if you’d want to come & live with them
I think it’s something Gerta you should do
I told them I would have a talk with you
 
Here, let me fill your china cup
Just like when we’d pretend we were all grown up
Gerta go, go and tell the world
About all the little boys & all the little girls
Tell them, Gerta, tell them what we saw
The good, the bad, Gerta tell it all
The unspeakable must be spoken
Gerta, tell of the spirit that refused to be broken
 
Tell of the piles of books you saw burning
How it didn’t stop the teaching, it didn’t stop the learning
Don’t forget to tell about the games we played
It’s ok, you can tell them, we were afraid
Tell of the songs we sang in our heads
That helped us remember, helped us forget 
Tell how we’d paint and tell how we’d draw
How pretty it was when the snow would fall
 
And Gerta, tell ‘em how it was before
The pretty clothes you always wore
The dinner table on a Friday night
We’d say the prayers by candle light
And how what could never happen did
Not all at once, it was bit by bit
Some things a small doll shouldn’t see
Tell them, Gerta, what you saw with me
 
 Once you were a stowaway
 You kept quiet three whole days
​
To read the actual letter written to Gerta by Eva Modval, visit the Yad Vashem website here.
11. People Up Here
 
It’s the end of the Earth, it’s the furthest spot
On the biggest map it’s the smallest dot
Where the air is nice and the water’s good
It’s as far as you can get from Hollywood 
 
You’re not going to find a five star hotel      
But people up here, they’ll treat you well
The towels will be fresh & the sheets will be clean
Someone’ll go find you a coffee machine 
 
People up here they’ll open their doors
Fill up the beds, the couches and floors
Tents in the back yard, tents in the front
Pancakes in the morning if anybody wants
 
People here might not have a whole lot
But part of it’s your’s, whatever they’ve got
If you want you can throw something into the pot
A story, a song, a fish that you caught
 
People up here, they welcome you in
Treat you as if you were one of their kin
Sit you down to a big plate of grub
You can just taste it was made with love
 
You just better not talk like a big city cat
Complain about this & complain about that
Act like you’re better than anyone else
Somebody’ll tell you to go ____ yourself
 
People up here, they’re pretty smart
They’ve figured it out, they think with their hearts     
They say what they mean & mean what they say     
It isn’t always like that when you come from away
​
(Chorus)
 
People up here are the salt of the earth
They’d give you the backs right out of their shirts
Take off their shoes and give you their feet
Nicest people you’ll ever meet
 
People up here, they don’t suffer fools
They only have use for a few golden rules
They’ll do unto you before you can to them
And they’ll do unto you again and again
 
(Chorus)
11/12
12. I Tried Fitting In
 
I tried fitting in
I played in the band
I’d watch the conductor
I’d follow his hands
I marched to the drum
I joined the parade
You had to keep in step
But somewhere I strayed
 
I tried fitting in
I went to the school
I wanted to learn
I just wasn’t fooled
I already knew
What I‘d have to forget
If I wanted to earn
A certificate
 
I tried fitting in
It was no use
At the front of the train
I’d put the caboose
I’d have the cart
Pulling the horse
And in my heart
I felt no remorse
 
I tried fitting in
I toed the line
I bit my tongue
Slackened my spine
I was a miserable wretch
The hole was square
I goofed around   
They threw me out of there
 
I tried fitting in   
I couldn’t keep pace
I was a man out of time
I was a man out of place
Once the world was mine
Now it’s under corporate control
I’m just looking for the heart
I’m just looking for the soul
 
I tried fitting in    
I gave it a shot      
Tried to be someone else 
Who I knew I was not
Like a foot in a glove
Or a hand in a shoe
Was too tight a squeeze
It was turning me blue
 
I’d go to bed
At a reasonable hour
By the crack of dawn
I’d have eaten and showered
Be getting on a bus
And then getting on a tram
I tried fitting in
But that’s not who I am
 
(Chorus)
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