Track Listing
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1. 4 O’clock Stop
I don’t know why
You won’t leave me alone
Keep your mind off of me
And keep your fingers away from the phone
Because
I won’t return your kiss
And sometimes ignorance is bliss
Oh, i can’t handle this
It’s alright for you
It doesn’t make you an asshole
It’s alright for me
My life circles around it though
And i shouldn’t close your eyes
And kiss each one a thousand times
Yeah, if my heart lies
I was standing minding my own
Business, when you came up and
Decided you’d mind it for me
With a short list of small demands
And a five gallon pail of sinking sand
That you assured me i could take or leave
But it never seems to work that way
It seems there’s always so much more to say
And it’s always somewhere in between
True or not it’s a four o’clock stop
Before i die, i would like to see you smile
My heart is dressed in black
And her heart is dressed in green
‘Cause you’re so beautiful in blue
And every fuckin’ colour in between
But rainbows are for skies
And hesitation is for sad regretful eyes
And long goodbyes
2. So Long Bernie
It’s like watching murder through your fingers at the theatre
It’s like finding out Klaus Barbie was your neighbour
Only weirder
And when I saw you on the tube
With a six-foot cop on either side of you
That’s when I knew
That’s when I knew, that’s when I knew
All the pain that was shacked up inside of you
Well, so long Bernie you’re the friend I never knew
And never will
She didn’t even know your name
But you put a six-inch blade inside her all the same
She couldn’t possibly know why
And when you became Doctor Jekyll you knew you had to hide
So now I know, yeah, now I know
All the pain that was in your mind is still inside your soul
Well so long Bernie you’re the friend I’ll never know
I’ll never know
You’re the beast inside us all
The straw that breaks
The wire that snaps
You’re all the pressure built up in this pitiful machine
So, now your mind is full of blood
A simple scream in place of every single thing you’ve done
They found her in a field
And when they found you swinging, well noone shed a tear
When they found you dangling, well, noone shed a tear
Ah, when they found you hanging
Why would they shed a tear?
Why shed one tear?
Well now I know, yeah, now I know
I look at strangers different than I did a year ago
But you know Bernie it’s my closest friends I’d better get to know
3. Just About ‘The Only’ Blues
Let’s take a walk down to the Only
And drink until our kidneys fail
And you can tell me that you want me
And I can think about betrayal
You can leave me thinking, drinking all night
‘Cause that’s the sharpest nail
And I don’t know if I’m coming
And I don’t know if I’m going
And I don’t know where I’m staying tonight
Let’s get a table by the window
Beneath the shot of Chairman Mao
And I can tell you all my problems
Yeah, you can try to hold’em down
This seems a trivial pursuit now
But it’s the only game in town
You won’t talk about it
But I know there’s something wrong
And though I ain’t done nothing
I know that’s what I’ve done wrong
‘Cause something really sucks… tonight
There’s a letter I can’t open
And there’s a song that I can’t write
And there’s a book that I can’t put down
Here comes another sleepless night
Well, sure I’d like to work this all out
But I know I’m not that bright
4. Salesman, Cheats and Liars
I know the only feeling you have is rage
And I know that I’d feel the same as you, but
I think you’d better take a good look around you ’cause
You’re so pissed you can’t even find your drink
Sometimes it’s wise
To know which way the gun is pointing
Before you yell, “I see the whites of their eyes”
Sometimes you’ll find your senses all disjointed by
The lines and wires of salesmen, cheats and liars
Well she left, without one word of tenderness
And noone saw you cry but me
Your friends heard you say, “Good riddance, I’m better without her.” but
‘Fess up, you thought about diving into the Don
Sometimes it’s wise
To know which way the car is going
Before you put your pedal down to the floor
Sometimes you’ll find your senses all disjointed by
The lines and wires of salesmen, cheats and liars
Well, hello friend
I caught you laughin’ again, but
Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me
It’s so strange that everybody’s so caught up in
Worrying that they ain’t what we want ’em to be
5. Rosy and Grey
I want to take a streetcar downtown
Read Henry Miller and wander around
And drink some Guinness from a tin
‘Cause my U.I. cheque has just come in
Ah, where you been, because
Everything is coming up rosy and grey
Ah, the wind is cold but the smell of snow warms me today
And your smile is fine and it’s just like mine and it won’t go away, ’cause
Everything is rosy and grey
You’ve been under my skin for more than eight years
It’s been eight years of laughter and eight years of tears
And I don’t know what the future can hold, or will do, for me and you
But I’m a much better man for having known you
Yeah, you know that’s true, because
Well, I’ve been told that there’s a sucker born every day
Well, I wonder who, yeah, I wonder who
Maybe the one who doesn’t realize there’s a thousand shades of grey
‘Cause I know that’s true, yes I do, I know that’s true
How about you?
Well, they’re picking up trash and they’re putting down roads
And they’re brokering stocks, the class-struggle explodes
And I’ll play this guitar just the best that I can
Well, maybe I’m not and maybe I am
Who gives a damn?
Well, I’ve kissed you in France and I’ve kissed you in Spain
And I’ve kissed you in places I’d better not name
And I’ve seen the sun go down on Sacre Coeur
But I like it much better going down on you
Ah, you know that’s true
6. Kinda The Lonely One
Ask the question
Am I on the blacklist?
How long can this go on?
And… If I pull will you resist?
Are you the bleeding Christ?
And am I the mongrel dog?
If I knew you were so far gone
I’d have run right out and bought you (me/us) a bottle
But then again, you were always kinda’ the lonely one
I met an old friend yesterday
He’s gone to Vancouver
He just left his wife and kids
What a sly manoeuvre
So drunk the night he left
He was too drunk to recover
Now I’m digging old bones
7. Eternal Fatalist
She felt someone else upon your lips
You’ve blown another relationship
You say that God had a hand in this
I say you should’ve stayed away from that other girl
Now, I look at you
And you look at me
Ah, life’s a fix for the eternal fatalist
You’ve gone and lost your job again
Can I borrow ten till Tuesday friend?
You say your lack of dividend
Has always been spelled out in the stars
It’s a financial risk for the eternal fatalist
You say it’s all lined up like shot glasses on the bar of life
You’ll sip your way through it
You never once got stiffed
So pick yourself up, pay your tab, and get on with your life
Get on with it!
Have you ever heard of dialectics?
One sure way to get some perspective
Of course every action isn’t elective
And I wonder what my horoscope has to say… today
You say your moon’s in the seventh house
But your butt’s been three days on my couch
You’ve eaten me out of home and house
You nearly drank up all of my beer
Yeah, I’m outta here
8. For The Hand of Magdelena
You couldn’t believe when they told you that she’d never been ’round here before
Thought she hung out in the Cologne Hotel, or with the Cubans in the Puerta Del Sol
And when she smiled all you thought about was running up Suicide Hill
And nothing short of a bullet could’ve broken your will
And all for the hand of Magdelena
Your boots planted in the soil of Spain
(Your heart broken in the soil of Spain)
(Your blood’s red like the soil of Spain)
Like her tears in the Spanish rain
All for the Hand of Magdelena
Clark Gable with a bayonet, you never thought anyone could look so cool
And she could handle that Soviet pistol like she learned to do it in school
You fell in love in an air raid, a bombshell sanctioned attraction
You were wet with fear, she was wet with passion
Your mother could never understand why her son took the call to arms
And her father could never understand how she could fall for your Republican charms
Magdelena, Magdelena, Magdelena… the choice was never ours
In a week and a half you’ll be walking down Forty-second street again
And you can read it in the New York Times they’re plagiarizing Ernest Hemingway
And you can touch that spot where a fascist bullet nearly severed your arm
But that’s nothing like the way that your soul was scarred
9. Subversives
There’s something subversive about you and me
‘Cause there’s a market-value on love and we’re getting something for free
I don’t know why, but when we’re apart something makes me want to start…
Setting fires and kicking down doors
I hope we never have to resort to dividing what is mine and what is yours
There’s something coercive about the way some people smile…
Wide open as if to say, “Come on in and browse a while.”
And some time when your resistance is low
Remember that I know…
Whose your favourite Pogue
There’s a place in my soul where no one else can adore you
And like the poet-soldier says, “I would spill my blood for you.”
There’s nothing conclusive in this whole world
‘Cause flags can change and martyrs die and there’re many towns left to burn
But somewhere between there and here, for one night, hold me near
And sing my shallow tears
And we’ll drink but not to forget
But to remember instead
All our happy years
10. Bleed A Little While Tonight
Our fortunes are fleeting
And our passage in steer
And God knows if I’ll perish
In my twenty-fifth year
In this ship full of scurvy
With my bride at my hand
But I shall kiss her tenderly
In the great Newfoundland
And it’s love that we follow today
If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way
Our fathers were tillers
And our mothers knew chance
And we’ve tasted hunger
In Ireland and France
And these seeds of misfortune
St. Bartholomew’s Day
Shall be drowned in the new world
Chosen St. Brendan’s way
And it’s hope that we follow today
If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way
There’s a light shining on you tonight
A siren call, a harbour town… a northern light
A curse on the Union Jack
On its empire and lance
And I’ll piss on the troubled head
Of king Charles of France
But that’s all behind us now a thousand miles away
And nothing can match the beauty
In the sight of Gaspe
And it’s love that we follow today
If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way
There’s salt on your naked skin
And there’s salt in my tears
And without you I’d pass away
Under these privateers
But that baby inside you
Is the work of our hand
A child of the revolution
And a free thinking man
And it’s love that we follow today
If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way
11. Bloodline
12. St. Brendan’s Way
Our fortunes are fleeting
And our passage in steer
And God knows if I’ll perish
In my twenty-fifth year
In this ship full of scurvy
With my bride at my hand
But I shall kiss her tenderly
In the great Newfoundland
And it’s love that we follow today
If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way
Our fathers were tillers
And our mothers knew chance
And we’ve tasted hunger
In Ireland and France
And these seeds of misfortune
St. Bartholomew’s Day
Shall be drowned in the new world
Chosen St. Brendan’s way
And it’s hope that we follow today
If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way
There’s a light shining on you tonight
A siren call, a harbour town… a northern light
A curse on the Union Jack
On its empire and lance
And I’ll piss on the troubled head
Of king Charles of France
But that’s all behind us now a thousand miles away
And nothing can match the beauty
In the sight of Gaspe
And it’s love that we follow today
If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way
There’s salt on your naked skin
And there’s salt in my tears
And without you I’d pass away
Under these privateers
But that baby inside you
Is the work of our hand
A child of the revolution
And a free thinking man
And it’s love that we follow today
If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way
13. Letter From Bilbao
I am writing you this letter in desperation I’m afraid
And I won’t be back to Lindsay for the veterans’ parade
‘Cause I got banged up pretty good in a street-fight in Bilbao
And I won’t be coming home to see your young and pretty face
I am far too young to feel so old
And far too tired to care
That I took down twenty bastards before they left me lying here
When I landed here a year ago I know that I believed
That it was better to die upon your feet than to live upon your knees
And it’s not that I care any less for that philosophy
But I would spend one night with you in trade for all that I’ve achieved
‘Cause I was never much on dreams
And they were never big on me
And I can’t dream my way home from a grave-sight by the sea
So I’ll clench my fist and once more sing the Internationale
And I’ll say, “goodbye, I love you.”
‘Cause it’s time that I should go
14. Under the Carlaw Bridge
It’s another cold one
But what have I done
To feel so hollow and cold it seems
That I could find a clear model
At the bottom of a bottle
But I’m two times the coward
I ever thought I’d be
Because it ain’t clear
No it ain’t clear
And what the hell am I doin’ here?
No it ain’t clear
But it rings in my ears
Somewhere under the Carlaw bridge
Somewhere under the Carlaw bridge
Now there’s snow on the corner
Where I stood with my old friend
Talked about revolution with two loaded guitars
And it’s only four blocks up to The Only
But at times like this, you know it seems three times as far
Because it ain’t clear
No it ain’t clear
And what the hell am I doin’ here?
No it ain’t clear
But it rings in my ears
Somewhere under the Carlaw bridge
Somewhere under the Carlaw bridge
Where’re the banners? Where’re the headlines?
Those future planners and hungry deadlines
Those true believers and crazy Fridays
Those sham deceivers, these can’t be my days
Ah, maybe next time…
Well, now my coffee’s gone cold
But my heart’s gone colder
I think I’m reading too much
It feels like twenty below
And it’s a kick in the nuts
When your vision clears up
And you realize you’ve only been playing with change
There’re people more together than you’ll ever be
And it makes you want to ask yourself, “What’s happenin’ to me?”
And it makes you want to ask yourself, “What’s happenin’ to me?”
And it makes you want to ask yourself, “What’s happenin’ to me?”
What’s happenin’, what’s happenin’
What’s happenin’, what’s happenin’
15. The Taming Of Carolyn
Carolyn’s a piece of coal in a world with a lust for diamonds
She really likes to dance but never gets a chance
Oh to realize her goals, and no one knew this more than I did
Ah, Carolyn please focus in
She’s tired of all the streetfighting
And when will it ever end?
She’s practically missed that dream train
I think she’s ready to believe
The best years of her life are behind her now
Where do you think she got that idea?
From that one place, a certain some place
How does it feel?
When you’ve got more than a bit part in this play she’s in
Oh no, the taming of Carolyn
They put a price on what she’s learned
A subtle twist in her position
Her mother’s worst fears are confirmed
She’s taken off with some musician
Holy Shit
What kind of life is that for the child of a doormat?
Other fathers were hitting baseballs
While her dad was hitting the sauce
With never a moment’s thought toward what was gained…
And what was lost
I think she’s ready to believe
The best years of her life are behind her now
Where do you think she got that idea?
From that one place, a certain some place
Wipe off that grin
When you’ve got more than a bit part in this play she’s in
Oh no, the taming of Carolyn
Can’t you see?
You’re asking for something she can’t be
Can’t you see?
Some things are solid gold we thought were only tin
And though she prefers Carolina
Everybody seems to call her Carolyn
Carolyn
When they bring you to tears
Just put your fingers in your ears and scream
Nah na na na…
Nah na na na
Nah na na na
‘Cause you’re just like me
Oh won’t you take my hand and we’ll be…
16. Gossip Talkin’ Blues
She’s the reigning queen of “how ya been?”
She’s got the gossip talkin’ blues
She’ll photocopy her friends’ lives and pass one on to you
And how do you think that I found out that Henry needs new shoes?
But I’m convinced that she could find something better to do
I don’t know what I was thinking or what was on my mind
I must’ve been preoccupied, or wiping my behind
And she never ceases to blow me away with the secrets that she finds
But I’m convinced that she could do something better with her time
I don’t give a damn
Well, he’s the reigning king of “the latest thing”
And he’ll document your life
To everybody and their mother and even the neighbour’s wife
And when the story gets back to you it’s fiction with a knife
And the subjects’ names have not been changed to protect the subjects’ life
Well I don’t know what he was thinking or what was on his mind
Obviously not a lot or he’d have taken more time
And now I’ll have to kill him in some way that ain’t sublime
Yeah, one less gossip in the world, sure that’d suit me fine
Damn you, damn you, damn you all to hell
Dead men never tell
Well you can’t believe what they tell you when you’re young
And you can’t believe what they tell you when you’re old
And you can’t believe what they say about you when you’re gone
Not much of a conversation left to hold
But Sunday morning in the church they’ll catch up on the news
There’s a murmur in the flock, but there’s a reason they’re called pews
‘Cause something smells kinda’ fishy with the local holy plan
And I can only thank the Lord that I don’t give a damn
17. Henry Needs A New Pair Of Shoes
The time has long come and gone
P.F. Flyers
Converse high-cuts or maybe a new pair of Docs
And I know what I’ll do
I’ll appeal to their sense of brotherhood
And when nobody’s looking
I’ll grab a pair and I’ll start hoofin’
Well in these cold, grey days
It’s no longer news
Henry needs a new pair of shoes
These feet aren’t made of rock
And if they had genitalia they’d have frozen their nuts off
And if the shoe should fit
Believe you me I’d wear ’em
And if I steal your wallet
All ten piggies are going to market
Henry needs a new pair of shoes
To get him past these barefoot blues
And he’d walk a mile in his own shoes
If he only had ’em
Come on Henry, up and at ’em
Put one foot in front of the other
Henry needs new footwear he doesn’t need a mother
And the important question posed
Is, how not to lose his toes
‘Cause it’s fifteen below
And Henry’s got nowhere to go man