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SONGS FROM THE PAST AND
SONGS FROM THE PRESENT AND
SONGS FOR A BETTER FUTURE
Songs by AMBIII
Still running
Em D Em
D
I’ve run down from the mountains, until they meet with the sea.
Em D Em D
I’ve run all the long races, I run to be free.
Em D Em D
I’ve run the Pacific coastline, across Washington, D. C.
Em D
Em D
I’ve run with Congressmen and Communists, yet never known any
peace
C G D
Running farther on.
C G D
You run, run, run, run and you’re gone.
I run to this beat of my heart, blood flows through these pores.
I’ve run from my home and my family, until I could crawl no more.
I’ve run naked on the city streets, along this kingdom’s floor.
I’ve run from cops and from criminals; It’s my running they deplore.
Running to stay strong.
You run, run, run, run and you’re gone.
I’ve run onto fields of glory, where games of Gods are waged.
I’ve run from rocks, from dogs and from fathers; I’ve run to dull
the pain.
I run to escape the rest of my life; I run at work or at play.
With time passing me by each day, I rise to run again.
Running into the dawn
You run, run, run, run and you’re gone.
National Anthem (revisited)
Am C G C
I crossed this country far and wide, looking for that other side.
On a silver train into the sun, I rode with Grant into Washington.
I heard revolution preached in the streets, saw new slaves running
free.
Time stood still. Names for graves. Land of the dead, home of the
Braves.
Now there’s no place left for you or for me. In this place where
they made history.
Statues standing by strong and lean, smiling at our long-dead
dreams.
From a humble land where I make my home, into this void I have
roamed.
Say Mister Bush, do you remember me? Doing lines back in ‘83.
Demanding truth, justice and liberty, a simple man with a simple
plea.
God make this nation understand, that its bombs were built with
bloodless hands.
Who paid the price for all those wars? You and me and the boy
next door.
Who built the monuments into the sky? Look no further, it was you
and I.
Who selected the fools behind those walls? All their money. All
their polls.
Don’t blame me, and I won’t blame you. We don’t have nothing
left to prove.
Got this guitar here at my side, and I’ll make my point bye and bye.
Sitting across from the White House lawn, I swear I’ll never end
this song.
Bullets will fly and they’ll bury me, But my country ‘tis of thee,
Sweet land of piety . . . . . . of thee I sing . . .
I crossed this country far and wide, I guess I found that other side.
The tide
G D Em
The sky swells with pride
G D C-C7
The sound echoes with resolution
It is in your soul where I reside
This is the place of final solutions.
The world turns with the tide
Gravity pulls us back without confusion
It is on your wings that I now fly
This is my angelic illusion.
The rain falls from the sky
The curtain closes ‘cross the horizon
It is in your eyes where I can hide
This is our new day rising.
Time leaves us high and dry
The voices fade from recognition
It is in your arms where I will lie
This is my love beyond suspicion.
The world turns with the tide
Waves bash the shore for retribution
It is in your sails that I shall glide
How could I ever refuse you?
The Inquisitor
E D Bm E D Bm
Can you see the sun rising, behind those veiled glasses?
Can you see the day break, beyond this dawning darkness?
Can you see the future, can you see the past?
Can you tell where we’re going brother, or should I even ask?
Chorus:
C D E
This is the season of our last summer.
G D
This is the time for a new liberator.
C D E
Take down the flag, heed the drummer.
C G Bm
I am the unannounced visitor.
C D E
I am the Inquisitor.
E D Bm
Have you heard the children crying, trapped in burning beds?
Have you seen the fathers, the brothers and the dead?
Have you seen his spirit, have you received his soul?
Have you followed those voices, until there’s no control?
This is the story of our lost summer.
This is the time for a new savior.
Take down the flag, read it in the papers.
I am the unannounced visitor.
I am the Inquisitor.
I come now bearing questions, to stories yet untold.
How many did you kill today, or do you even know?
And with a deadline still to meet, I ask when will it all end?
Who’s in charge here anyhow? Anyone got a pen?
This is the one to end all wars.
This is the peace of a new savior.
Take up his words, read it in the papers.
I am the roving predator.
I am the Inquisitor.
She rode out on the fiery sun, and I was just walking away.
Crimson hair on a bloody dawn. With nothing left to say.
Lost
C-C7 F-F7 C F-F7
There was a lady, laid stars at my feet. I didn’t notice, never
noticed.
Opened the skies, setting me free. I didn’t know her, never knew
her.
There was a time when I was alone. She couldn’t see me, never
saw me.
I rode the wind, where my mind would roam. She was sunshine,
blinding sunshine.
There was a vision I felt at the time. She wouldn’t leave me, never
leave me.
The earth shook below us, the heavens aligned. I reached to touch
her, just to touch her.
G D Cm G D Cm F
I wait . . . for you. Lost . . . without you.
Then came the daytime, lost in the haze. I couldn’t find her, never
found her.
Head in a fog, trying to find my way. She reached to touch me, just
to touch me.
There was a lady, laid stars at my feet. I didn’t notice, never saw
her.
One step closer and we’ll be free.
The Outskirts
C E C E
I live out on the outskirts, where the shadow of the sun flirts
C E ` A B
On a closet full of stuffed shirts, and a bed that’s always made.
C E C E
There’s a canyon lining my view, where fall shows off its preview
C E A B
Like a poem in the Saturday Review, only closer to the truth.
We live down in the suburbs, where the lanes have no numbers
And no one really wonders, if we’re heading off toward war.
We jog out on the ridgetop, until the city limits crisscross
While pacing to the stopwatch, we measure the beat of our hearts.
We drive out on the outskirts, where the shadow of the sun bursts
Living for better or for worse, in the year of our Lord.
I’m walled within this brick house, where the darkness of the day
mounts
On a voice that never dared to shout, with nothing on my mind.
She is the weather
Bm F#m
Heavy lines on her eyelids keep the cobwebs hidden.
Bm F#m
In the land of Nod and Blinken, only a fool would watch
Bm F#m
Only the blind will see.
Bm F#m
Happy notes from her hometown beat the time to the thunderstriken
Bm F#m
This is the town where they still play . . . chicken?
Bm F#m
Break an egg. The ground’s about to boil.
Break an egg. The sky’s about to fall.
Chorus:
G Bm
Malinda, she is the weather
G A F#m
Storm rising up from the sea.
G Bm
Malinda, she is the siren.
G A F#m
Oh, I shall never be free.
G Bm F#m
Malinda, she is the weather.
Pale smile in her dreamland keeps the suffering under her covers
This is the place for broken lovers, only a fool would wait
Only the deaf shall hear.
Paper hats on her headache keep the rain from her swollen faces
This is the time to leave no traces . . .
Taste her tears, the sky’s about to boil.
Take her away, the sky’s about to fall.
Awakening
C7 G
Lady, when you wake me
F7 G
The dreams begin to fade.
C 7 G
Restlessly we awaken
F7 G
And turn to face the day.
C G
You say time leaves many waiting
Am G
But still we never change
F7 C7
With sympathy, come what may.
Am G F G
Understanding. Understanding. In the morning when we are free.
Am G F C-C7
Understanding, Understanding. Lady, like when you wake me.
Lazy when she needs me
The hours all go astray.
Sleeplessly, we are forsaken
And turn to run away.
She says time leaves many wanting
For what, I still can’t say.
Dreams come true one day.
The pathway
Em Bm A
I saw the light of the future, there at the end of the world.
Em Bm A
I was walking into that tunnel, chains of silver, beads of pearls.
Em Bm A
They say I nearly died that night, the past is completely obscured.
G A B G A B
Now I walk on down that pathway, skipping like a stone
G A B G A B
No one dares follow me, as I set out all alone.
The sun set on the horizon, when I cast my fate to the West.
My shadow grew behind me, you took the shade and the rest.
I never had time to say how I felt, I never did confess.
Now I skip on down that pathway, rolling like a stone
No one ever stops me. My heart is free to roam.
I dashed my hope against the tide, and my dreams all washed
ashore.
That was the moment I fell for you, drowning forevermore.
I never had time to tell you then, not knowing what was in store.
Now I walk on down that pathway, skipping like a stone.
My life is that pathway, here all alone.
I found a new life of salvation where there was nothing left to prove.
No one wants to be a prophet. No one likes to think things through.
Crossing this vast wasteland, following the truth.
Now I roll on down that pathway, roll way the stone.
Em Am Em Am Em
Am Em Am
It is the time of the prophets, time for change. Time for decisions.
Time to walk away.
Cowgirl boots
E D
She’s a three-chord girl with nothing to lose.
A E
Loves to rock n’ roll in those cowgirl boots.
When the sun comes up, she’s gone to school.
Counts herself apart from those other fools.
Got a full-time job in a printing plant.
She knows some secrets about where it’s at.
When nighttime falls, she’s studying French.
There’s worlds beyond her so-called friends.
She’s a slingshot lady, tight around the thighs.
Still lifting weights for those emotional highs.
Smoking Old Gold Filters at every little break,
Must be her karma just to give and to take.
Got a sassy jean jacket over a business suit.
Fishnet stockings and cowgirl boots.
Admits to 36 going on twenty-five.
Couple of kids who laugh when she cries.
She’s a three-time baby, been around the block.
Face of an angel, heart like a rock.
She’s a slingshot lady, ready to cut loose.
Loves to rock n’ roll in those Cowgirl boots.
Razor man
E D A E D A
He is the razor man, cut tall and thin.
She is the safety pin., sticks under his skin.
We are the razor men, sliced to the bare bones.
She is the heroine, fixed on her telephone.
I am the razor man. Scarred but still standing.
She is the cutting edge.
Can you touch the razor man? Face clean, body tan.
He is the sunset kid. She is his biggest fan.
We are the razor men, scraped lean and mean.
She is the latest scene, slices off all his strings.
I am the razor man, cut tall and thin.
She is the razor’s edge.
I need a lover
E D E D E D A D
A D
I need a lover, I need a lover, I need a lover, to go undercover, go
undercover.
She’ll be my lady, she drives me crazy, nothing can faze me, if she
is my lover, Oh how I lover her.
I need to love her, hover above her, then she’ll discover, that she is
my lady, she’ll be my lady.
It drives me crazy. It drives me crazy. I drive her crazy, when I
need a lover, I need a lover.
I need a lover, I need a lover, I need a lover, to pull back the
covers, show me her wonders.
When we get talking, she’s always talking, adjusting her stockings.
It drives me crazy. She can amaze me.
I love a lady, I love a lady, I love a lady, who’s sexy and shady,
Oh so amazing.
She’ll be my lover, pull back the covers,. It makes me wonder, It
makes me wonder. I always wonder.
When I am her lover, I need a lover.
Sitting
D
I’m sitting here thinking
C
Where my life will go.
D
I’m sitting here thinking
C
But the words won’t flow.
D
I’ve been thinking all these years
C
And I still don’t know,
G A
All the depths of this simple soul.
G A
All the depths of this simple soul.
I’m sitting here singing
As time unfolds.
I’m sitting here thinking
While my thoughts are cold.
I’ve been sitting all these years
With nothing to show,
But the depths of this simple soul.
But the depths of this simple soul..
I’m sitting here driving
With the sun sinking low.
I’m sitting here driving
Down streets paved in gold.
I’ve been driving all these years
With nowhere to go,
Down the depths of a simple soul.
Down the depths of a simple soul.
Richland blues
E G
Johnny was a paycheck who lived off the government,
E G D E
Worked the refining plant on a reservation making bombs.
All night he cut up cocaine, makes the girls crazy.
Just like uranium. Rock hard, ready to explode.
Jill she was a bar keeper, always a late sleeper,
Sang love me tender and meet me in court.
At night she let her hair down, hoping to gain some ground,
She came without a sound. Taking the long road home.
Stevie was a waver, diamond in her navel.
Knowing God would save her, she would do anything.
Got a job for escort daters, givers and takers..
Such a skilled faker. Riding till the bell would ring.
Bobby was an engineer, liked to drink his beer.
To prove he had no fear, he’d take any dare.
Put his faith in God, showing off his fuel rod.
He could really get off. Imagining somone else.
Rainbow girl
In the days we were so green, she offered love unforeseen.
Long as she was lean, in the days we were so green.
When the spinning skies were blue, to be among the chosen few.
Rehearsing our every move, when the spinning skies were blue.
Chorus:
She’s a rainbow girl, lets the sun shine in.
She a rainbow girl, through this prism. This prism of love.
In the redness of her face, the winter’s cold embrace
I follow her every trace, in the redness of her face.
When the yellow bangs hang down, and her thighs turn golden
brown
She glows without a sound, when her yellow bangs hang down.
She’s a rainbow girl, let the storm fade behind.
She’s a rainbow girl, and the sun comes to shine. To shine with
love.
Highway 101
D G D G D
G
I am the coastline, shot up road sign. The King’s white lightning.
D G C G
C G
The setting silver sunshine. Swollen grapevines. All night dash and
dine.
D C G D C G
Stand and run. Rolling down Highway 101.
D C G D C G
Notes of a native son. Speeding down Highway 101.
I am the redwood trees, the Mission Baptista, the blistering onion
breeze.
Fruit of a labored seed, fields of golden poppies. Golden gates,
swirling seas.
When day is done, still driving down Highway 101.
Home of the native son. Rolling down Highway 101.
I am the hitchhiker, Harly high-rider, the lonesome surf slider,
The lost pathfinder, roadkill sidewinder, seek and ye shall find.
Ride the setting sun. Rolling down Highway 101.
Travels of a native son. Rolling down Highway 101.
Mountain climbing
Bm G
Indian summer fades to Dorian gray.
Bm G Bm G
Another generation has gone astray, another stone will roll away,
C D
A new day will dawn.
Witness here at the foot of this stage.
Another congregation to bow and pray, another temptation takes us
away,
Thy will be done.
Chorus:
E G D E
I climbed a mountain and there was nothing left to see:
Falling rocks, wall of ice, barren trees.
Balanced on this ledge, one moment of freedom.
I climbed a mountain, once buried by the seas.
Bible belt turns to combat zone.
Another John on the telephone, another deal to get us stoned,
Thou shalt not sin.
Descend now the chosen one.
Another wing in the melting sun, another prophet on the run,
On earth here in heaven.
The killing sun
Am G
C7 E
In the shadows stands a legend, who would lay his life down on the
line.
Am G C 7 E
He’s the piston of an engine, pure precision time after time.
Am G C7 E
In his belly, a heart of darkness, torn soul, altered mind.
Am7 D
Just to speak out is to strike out
C D E
Shadow on the run.
Am7 D
Just to shout out is to break out
C D E
Turn to the killing sun.
C D E
Turn to the killing sun.
On the blanket of his angel, he strips his soul of battered wings.
She’s the warning of his danger in the age of better things.
Under the covers of his anger, nothing is really as it seems.
Just to reach out is to sell out
Spent, empty and undone.
Just to hold out is to lose out
Here in the killing sun.
Just to step out is to be found out
In the shadows, he’s the one!
Just to look out is to stand out
Caught in the killing sun.
Two hearts for the taking
Am G
Am G
There’s a secret lady out watching me while I walk along by the
lakeside.
Am G
Am G
There’s a certain signal she sends out when I long to arise and
awaken.
C D C D
There’s a secret reply now waiting. When she calls it’s not mistaken.
Am G
Am G
We’ve both had our share of heart breakings, when we could have
been love making.
C7 E
Two hearts for the taking.
Here’s a boastful lion roaring aloud, when she teases on the
telephone.
Here’s a resonant shout, rining out, when she says, ``We’re not
alone anymore.’’
Here’s my soul in this song I am singing. With her voice in my head
still lingering.
We’ve both had our share of speculating, when we could have had
love making.
Two hearts for the taking..
There’s a soulful lady here smiling when I cry deep into the silent
night.
There’s an aura all about her. She knows my secret, my sins, my
plight.
There’s this burning of anticipation, with still so much that needs
changing.
We’ve both had our share of rearranging, when we could have used
love making.
Two hearts for the taking.
Blood on the stem
Em G
There was a man, walked tall in his shoes.
Em G
Talked of salvation and carried the news.
Em G
There was his love, knew all the right poses.
Em G
Wind in her face, entangled in roses.
C D C D
Now time runs on. You live and you’re gone.
There was a lady, who followed behind him.
Barbs in her side, blood on the stem.
She dressed in black, no one found them.
There was a man, there was his friend.
Now time runs on. Run to stay strong.
There was a boy, heart like an angel.
Ran with the wind and all sorts of danger.
There was a day, like no other.
One with his father, apart from his mother.
Two with his daughter, three with his soul.
Nowhere to turn, nowhere to go.
Now time moves on. Nothing lasts this long.
There was a lady, who traded her life.
Talked of commitment, of black and white.
There was a time, when she wanted much more.
But she married a man with a crown of thorns.
There was a runner, holes in his shoes.
She offered him roses, the blood was useless.
Winter
Bm A----G-----A
She tripped on the sidewalk.
High heeled in black stockings
She stripped off her blue fox
Pride was a lost cause
He flipped on the cool charm.
Offered her no harm.
Promised to keep her warm
In winter’s worst storm.
The snow fell down and she turned away, leaving no tracks for
another day
The silent beauty still chills his heart, year after year when winter
has started.
They danced on the rooftop.
Made love to the backdrop.
Time would just fall off.
Love was a come on.
They dared to be reckless.
Said he could care less.
Life is a mistress
Who knows how to French kiss.
The snow fell down and she turned away, leaving no tears for
another day,
The silent beauty still fill her heart, year after year when winter has
parted.
She looked so mournful
In winter’s worst storm.
He tripped on his own mind.
Lost what he’d never find.
She was so strident
When winter turned white.
Seattle Blues
C G D C D D-D7
Oh now, Seattle town, your skies are gray, it’s getting me down.
I live under the viaduct, longshoreman, long out of luck.
Can I stop you just to spare a dime, on your way out to wine and
dine.
Oh now, Seattle town, all your mills have long closed down.
Skyscrapers replaced the trees, block the sun from the streets.
Condo commies are closing in, yuppie mommies walk with Indians.
Oh now, Seattle town, take a tour of the underground.
Space Needle lost in the sky, space junkies on another high.
Oh now, Seattle town, here come the brides in wedding gowns.
Bands of gold all turn to rust, my best friend died in the Boeing bust.
Ferries crowd up at the waterfront, ferries flounder under foot.
Husky fever makes me sick. A pack of dawgs. A bunch of hicks.
Go down, Seattle town, Moses left you for drier ground.
Your gray skies are getting me down.
The opening door
F G
Oh yeah, love has passed my way before.
F7 G
Oh no, this seems like the open door.
F G
Oh yeah, I want you for evermore.
F 7 G
Oh no, not just the day before.
F G
Oh yeah, she looks so forlorn.
F 7 G
Oh no, that’s not what living’s for.
C G
You’ve got to open the door to go in
Am Em
You’ve got to trust yourself to be true.
C G
You must walk through the door to find truth.
Am Em F7 F-F7-F
The opening door for me and for you . . . for me and for you.
Oh yeah, love has left me here again.
Oh no, I’m not waiting on a friend.
Oh yeah, they say steel hearts never bend.
Oh no, and clay hearts never mend.
Oh yeah, I could act and pretend.
Oh no, love always seems to end.
Oh yeah, love has passed my way before.
Oh no, I’ve opened the very last door.
Oh yeah, that’s what living’s for.
Let-me-down girl
D Dsus-D7-D D Dsus-D7-
D G
She was a let-me-down girl, with stars in her eyes and the face of
an angel.
D----- Dsus-D7-
D A
She, walked tall in her curls, with her beauty unfurled, flirting with
strangers.
D Dsus-D7-
D G
Pride, stayed by her side, and kept her in line. It never would
change her.
C G D
He, opened his heart.
C G D
With nowhere left to hide.
C G D
He, gave her his words.
C G D
His soul, his promise, his time.
She was a run-around girl, with the hands of a dove and the sheen
of a raven.
She, strayed far from his world, let down all her curls, always so
playful.
She was a let-me-down girl, with her mind in the stars, no one
blamed her.
Boys will always be boys.
They just don’t understand.
Time passes ever so slow.
She takes whatever she can.
He was a hand-me-down boy, he had a heart full of gold and a girl
who would spend it.
He, was aware of the void, and swallowed his pride, anything to
defend her.
She, was a let-me-down girl, she let him down hard, he will always
remember.
He poured out his soul.
With nothing left to hide.
He gave up his world,
His freedom, his future, his life.
She was a settle-down girl, took a job in the bank and cashed in to
marry.
She was a tumble-down girl, she took what she could, and came in
a hurry.
She was a let-me-down girl, he promised his soul, and she gave him
a baby.
Daybreak
C G D C Am7
Come won’t you follow me down this morning.
C G D Am7
Come won’t you take my open hand.
C G D C Am7
Dawn is breaking and I’m already rising.
C G D A
Come with me to the promised land.
Come won’t you follow me down this morning.
Rise above the fog and the haze.
Take my love, see how it blossoms.
Come before I fall away.
F Cm F Cm
I was so much older then, and she put her hand on my shoulder.
F Cm F Cm
I took the path for higher ground. She left the map there unfolded.
Am7
Has anyone told her . . .
Come won’t you open up all of your secrets.
Come won’t you follow me awhile.
The sun is falling and I have to be leaving.
Come along this moonlight mile.
She was so much younger then, no one could ever hold her.
I was the one she had come upon. No one could ever console her.
She travels in my soul . . .
Come won’t you follow me down this morning.
Come until light fades away.
Take my hand, see how it opens.
Sleep until our dreams awaken.
Cape Alava
E D E D
Down to the coastline, we rode with the ocean,
E D C D
To sleep by the seaside, dreaming in waves
C D C D E
Consumed by the tide; unaware, the outgoing tide.
Counting the sea stars, the Indian carvings,
Life in a poolside, to scour the naked beach,
And scavenge the tide; awash, the incoming tide.
Lost on an inlet, the collateral flotsam,
Time in a bottle, she savored the scene,
And bathed in the tide; alive, the giving tide.
The eagle was silent, a fawn lay sleeping,
Its mother came crashing, they ran to the trees.
And fled from the tide; aware, the foreboding tide
Skipping a flat rock, the fossilized creek bed,
Tracks of a bear cub, where Gods made love
To depart with the tide; endless, the sustaining tide.
Oh, Cape Alava, the wooden path wanders,
Trailing the seashore, we embraced the storm,
Caught by the tide; immersed, the enveloping tide.
Chorus:
C E
Time ebbs away with the sea,
C E
Dreams set sail on the breeze.
C E
At the edge of the world and we’ll be free
C D E
Our soul sleeps there on the beach.
Angels
D A D A
Angel with your halo high, does your head ever leave the sky?
G A
G A
Can your feet still touch the ground? Will your burdens wear you
down?
D A D A
Angel when you rise today, will your heart soar astray?
G A G A
To those who kneel and pray, for just a touch of your saving grace.
Chorus:
G C D G C D
Songs take your breath away, chasing after the sun,
G C D G C D
Atop the highest crest, the self-appointed one
G C D G C D
Angels on the run . . .
Angel with your voice so clear, do your thoughts just disappear?
Scattered seeds in a howling wind, can you fly with wings so thin?
Angel will they hear you now, peel away your fragile shroud?
Are you still singing proud, with your mind still lost in the clouds?
Songs take my breath away, running toward the sun,
Aloft, the heavenly hosts, the anointed ones
Angels on the run . . .
Murder Mystery
G Em G
Em
They took her body out, from its rusted-trunk grave.
G Em
G Em
Did she die without a sound? The police still won’t say.
C G C7
G
I go from source to source, reporting on the case.
C7 G Em
G Em G
With a killer still about, stories begin to change, stories begin to
change
G Em
G Em
She broke up with her boyfriend, who said they had a date.
G Em G
Em
He reported her as missing, fearing an evil fate.
C G
C G
He helped find her car, he had an innocent face.
C G
Em G Em G
I pull out my thin notebook, ask how he spells his name
The seargeant wore his badge, harnessed to his belt.
He never thought to unlock the trunk, there was nothing that he felt.
They say she was frisky girl, would cause your heart to melt.
No one here wants to cause a stir, there’s better news to tell.
The coroner was bewildered, she looked fine to him.
In 30 years of funerals, he’d seen five thousand stiffs.
Undetermined tramaua, unknown cause of death.
Maybe it was too much booze or sex, or even crysal meth?
Her friends still prowl the streets, looking for missing clues.
They asked the cops to help them, and were politely refused.
She may have been a party girl, dancing without her shoes.
She may have been kidnapped, or sexually abused.
The mayor stood on his head, hanging from gravity boots.
He saw a new moral lesson, in the company a girl would choose.
His tie flopped on the floor, his thinking all askew.
He talked about the plight of youth, how news could be a tool.
I write his answers down, describe his frantic frown.
Drill a few more questions, just to wear him out.
He squeals with false despair and gestures like a clown,
“You find bodies like this in Seattle, but not in our little town.
“This one’s closed in our record books, got no killers here.
She probably had a rip-snorting time, and one too many beers.
The city is where real news is, with gangs and whores and queers.
No sense digging up an old grave, inciting paranoia and fear.”
I type the story up, ending with his quotes.
Knowing in the end, it’ll cut to a five-inch note.
When the God’s awaken
A D
The sky fell down, or so it seemed
With a thunderous sound, like in a dream.
It raked the ground, with a piercing scream.
The earth bowed down, or so it seemed.
The sun stood still, as if it died,
With a radiant will, like the end of time.
Life’s greatest thrills, have made us blind.
The stars fell still, then streaked the sky.
E D A
And time bears neither suffering nor shame
E D A
In the breath of a moment with nothing to blame
E D A
Love turns to vapor when put to flame.
A
And the sky fell down
A D
The stone rolled away, or so she said.
With a tumbling quake, like in the end
When the God’s awake, in a world of dread.
The earth gave way, the sky turned red
Or so she said, Or so she said
Hair Cut
G C G
Davie went down to the barber shop last Thursday
G C G
Had his tail cut off to go looking for a job.
G C G
Wearing the old man’s suit, cuff links and silk tie,
G C D
Fit and tan, he was headed for the top
G C
He said, boy, you’ve got to get down to it
D C
No one else has the will to do it
D C G
Now’s the time for you to prove them wrong.
Angie cut hair all day long for her living
She dreamed of movies or babies with a Marlboro Man.
Aerobics at night to keep her heart in balance
She counted her failures like so many fallen strands.
She said, boy, you’ve got to get down to it.
Love comes quick before you lose it
Time is now, you can’t chose it at all.
Davie said he could write some songs for a living.
As his locks fell away, he hummed a simple tune.
He hated to give up on all his promises,
But he was taking this chance, what more could he lose?
Angie teased his hair and knew she’d found her calling.
She felt his charm and touched him with her comb.
Maybe this one’s headed for the big time?
Maybe he’d save her from being all alone?
He said, lover, let’s get down to it
Love comes quick, you just can’t choose it
Let’s take this chance before we lose it all.
The receiver
Aadd9 (5th-7thfrets) Gadd9 (3rd to 5th)
I was a child of the sunshine, who wandered here into the rain.
Aadd9 Gadd9
My heart could change with the cloud break; my mind lost on
another plane.
Add9 Gadd9
She was an angel in the shadows, who lingered there in my smiling
face.
Fadd9 Gadd9
Time has taken us all alone.
Fadd9 Gadd9
Time stretches us far from home.
Fadd9 G9
Those times we would spend on the telephone
She would call so . . . wired,
Her mom in the kitchen, the visions on my wall,
And I was the receiver.
I knew a man who once loved an angel, who cut off her wings there
at his feet.
She was so silent, he was so crazy, they never could talk, so
incomplete.
Now here’s that voice out of the sunshine, on the line and indiscreet.
Time has taken us all alone.
Time stretches us far from home.
Those times we spent on the telephone.
She would call so wired . . .
I was unsure there in the phone booth, change in my hand, collect
to L.A.
I felt as if blinded, would it seem foolish? Maybe it was best
disconnected that way?
Now she’s the voice bathing in sunshine, she asks if this time I’ve
called to stay.
I hang up the receiver.
Life Lessons
Am Em Am Em
Love is so fragile, love is so bold
Am Em Am Em
Love is so fleeting, love grows cold
Am Em Am Em
I’ve been so foolish, as love unfolds
Am Em Am G Em
She said, “True love always has the color . . . of gold”
Am Em (repeat)
Time is a blessing, at times a disgrace
Time is a banquet, time fades away
I’ve grown so bitter, time has that taste
She said, “Everything changes in time’s . . . ticking pace.
D Bm A-A7 G
C G
Nothing to prove in this life of love, no one can tame you, nothing
to change
D Bm A-A7 G
C G Em
No one quenches this quest for love; nothing can move you, neither
glory nor shame
She is so fragile, she is so bold
She’s so resilient, she never grew old
She was so steadfast, not bought and sold
I said, “Hearts are heavy when they’re full . . . of gold”
Love is so spiteful, love is a vice
Love is so spineless, love has that price
Love is so sinful, love tastes like ice
I said, “Real love, baby, has a lust . . . for life.”
Nothing to gain in this game of life, no one can save you, no one to
blame
Nobody escapes suffering and strife; nothing moves you, neither
glory nor shame
Truth is a terror, truth a mistake
Truth is so tragic, truth slips away
I’ve been so truthful, it comes with age
She said, “Don’t lie alone and truth . . . will be made.”
Love is so hopeful, love is a lamb
Love is so hurtful, wounded I stand
Love is so harmless, totally unplanned
She said, “Love yourself to know . . . who I am.
Swingers
D A
Bobby met Jody through the personal ads
C G
She was a Cancer, hungry for a man
D A
He was into role-playing, sex with spice
C G
They feasted together on the singles life
D A
They went swinging, they were swinging
F G
Don’t you hear those bells a-ringing
D A
They were swinging, they were swinging
F G
Now they know love’s deeper meaning.
Billie met Donnie off the back of a stall
He was a big brut, wide and tall
He was into quick thrills, no frills, pink pills
Swears to this day it was against his own will
They were swinging, they were swinging,
Now they feel lust’s bitter stinging
They were swingers, they went swinging
It’s easy once you’ve lost that anxious feeling
Bobby met Marsha through the AA class,
She was a housewife with a three-way plan.
He was into movies, and acting like a man,
She opened like a flower as he flexed his tan
Marsha met Billie in a singles bar,
She was into speeding, he was into cars.
She raced him like an engine, shifted through the gears.
He felt so exhausted, she came in tears.
Now they’re swingers, they went swinging,
Don’t you hear those bells a-ringing.
They were swingers, they went swinging
There’s nothing left but that anxious feeling.
All night long
Em D C-C7
They all knew his name
Em D C-C7
Seated at the bar
He had a reputation
For going a bit too far
C B7 drop down and back to B7
All night long, all night long
He gazed into their glances
And saw he was a star
They couldn’t hide the pleasure
Of being under his charm
All night long, All night long
She went down willingly,
Coming out of the crowd.
He was up for anything
That made him feel big and proud
She told him he was special,
He let her play around
All night long, all night long
They all knew his face
Up there on the stage
He smiled when he lost his nerve
He was swallowed in the game
She left him in the crowd
He would never rise again
All night long, all night long
They all knew his name,
Alone there at the bar
He had a reputation
For having gone way too far
All night long, all night long.
Highway 101 Revisited
I drove down Highway 101,
Winding into the setting sun
Shining like gold, brilliant and free.
Riding south down 101,
Open window to a life undone,
When past and future fade from view.
Take me back down 101,
Silver whale heading for home,
Where life runs in rivers, time stands still.
Running down Highway 101,
Rock of ages, the ageless son,
Changing like the coastline, waves crash ashore.
Turning back on Highway 101,
Returning as the chosen one,
At 47, parallel now, not yet halfway there.
Riding along Highway 101,
Arriving at the edge of dawn,
Awake with eagles and songbirds in the fog.
Leave me on Highway 101,
My soul adrift in the Redwood sun
On the King’s road where Giants still endure
Mendocino Moon
(A-bar second fret with index finger, hammer, second and third
fingers on third and fourth frets respectively, slide down two frets,
and back up. Lead progression off the initial A-bar, starting with
high E string on second and fifth frets)
I flew too close to the edge of the sunset,
Off through the clouds, my spirit set free.
The Gods of gravity smiled at me knowing,
Icarus once dared this dream.
Chorus:
D
Mendocino Moon has the face of an angel
Aadd9 (1st, 2nd, 3rd fingers in the f7 position down three frets)
With lips of gold and an kiss to pull you up
D
Fly away like a moth into the headlights,
A E A
She let me down and melted A-way
A E A
She let me down and melted A-way
There once was a man high atop the mountains
Who waited for the voices of the prophecy.
He heard the echo rumble down the canyon
And laid witness to something never seen.
Mendocino moon has the smile of a goddess,
With teeth of pearls and eyes that pull you in.
Listen as she sings softly with the sirens.
She led me down and drifted A-way
She led me down and drifted A-way
She came out of a heavenly hailstorm
When through the pass, all roads were closed.
Said she could fly and sing with the angels.
Skin as tender as the petals of a rose.
Mendocino moon has the light of a halo
With stars on a face so soft it lifts you up.
Take me higher with her mythical magic,
She laid me down and we flew away
She laid me down and we flew away
I flew too close to the edge of the sunset,
Off through the clouds, my spirit set free.
The Gods of gravity smiled at me knowing,
Icarus once dared to live this dream.
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