1. |
The Simple Son
03:32
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Somewhere in the heavenlies a voice cries out
When a match is made
This one for that one, the voice calls out
So is is said.
You may think that there are more important things to do
Than cry out loud upon a cloud concerning me and you
You gaze at the sky while I'm lying, asleep in the night
Some stars are being born and some dying, by the time we see their light.
Do you think that everything follows a plan
World without end.
Do you think that there is some invisible hand,
Not just pretend,
Working out the good in all to triumph over the wrong.
Is that the thing you want to sing together in this song.
I don't have the answer; there were times I thought I did.
Sometimes truth is like a dancer, seven veils to keep her hid.
Somewhere inside me a voice explains
We are each a star
Giving out the light that we contain
Whether near or far.
One by one or sometimes in a constellation's tow
Through a glass we see if at all darkly where we come from, where we go.
As we sit around the table. As we each lift up our glass,
I'm like the simple son in the fable, or the one who doesn't know how to ask.
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2. |
One Life to Live
03:00
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If I had only one life to live
And I do believe it's true
I would spend it with you.
You may know what I'm about to say
As you often do
But still I want to tell you that I love you
We're getting old
Hope we'll get older still
But I've been told
That's it's not all downhill
If I had to name the love of my life
No doubt who it'd be
Thank you for lovin me
I was drownin in a sea of strife
Just a refugee
Thank you for stickin with me
Things have resolved
Since I'm involved with you.
I'm a fortunate man
Since we began pushin through
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3. |
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One foot stuck in the Romanitic Age it's too late now to die young
Like Keats and Shelley, James Dean and Grace Kelly, for me it's been a pretty long run.
Maybe you get to a certain age, you learn a lot of stuff
I'm just a late bloomer, a baby boomer, I'm tellin ya straight off the cuff
Maybe we've entered a different stage, where people don't lead from the heart,
But follow their heads, playin the odds instead, before they're even willing to start.
One foot stuck in the Romantic Age, I still believe in belief
If not for me then for those who can be like the lilies of the field in brief
Somewhere between a Romantic, and just an average Joe
A working stiff on the graveyard shift with an hour and a half to go.
But hey, I'm not a clock watcher, and it's not like I'm not having fun,
Inviting the muse in can be mighty amusin just as long as your not under the gun.
One foot stuck in the Romantic Age, got one more dragon to slay
I'll take the field with a sword and a shield, well tomorrow if not today
One foot stuck in the Romantic Age and one in the modern world
Don't mean to straddle, just choose my battles
With flag held high and unfurled
Maybe I'm a Don Quixote or maybe just his sidekick
Disbelief suspended till the story's ended, or the candle's burned down to its last wick.
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4. |
You Can't Go Home Again
03:20
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I was born in New York City, 1949
Near Kingsbridge Station on the IRT line
I can see the trains a-slowin at the station each night
I can see the clocktower glowin with a ghostly light
You can't go home again, you can't go home again
You can't go home again.
I'm standing at the window,
I can't be more than two
25-25 Aquaduct Avenue
Rosemary Clooney's on the radio
I don't know what she's singing
But she's crooning sweet and low.
You can't go home again, you can't go home again
You can't go home again.
I dreamed that all I wanted was to beat upon a drum
No one would give one to me but my sister bought me one.
Now my sister's she's not livin on this planet anymore
I hope she's finally happy and I hope she's learned the score
You can't go home again, you can't go home again
You can't go home again.
Doesn't matter where you come from
Doesn't matter who you are
Doesn't matter if you've wandered near or far
If you go by motor or if you go by rail.
If you are in prison or if you're out on bail.
You can't go home again, you can't go home again
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5. |
My Old Guitar Rag
01:49
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I'm keepin' my old guitar
I thought about puttin' her away
But I changed the strings
Now she really sings
This baby should do okay.
I like the way she makes an old time sound
As long as I don't play her too rough.
It's nice to have her hangin' round
And not sweat the smaller stuff.
I'm keeping my old guitar
Sometimes she's a little out of tune,
She's not the top of the line
But she suits me fine
Not tossin' her anytime soon.
Sometimes when she sings so sweet
I wanna play her till the cows come home.
She can also turn up the heat
If I wanna make her moan and groan.
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6. |
Garage Sale Hula
01:59
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I bought a ukulele in Wailuku
At a rummage sale, bought a radio too
From a roly poly lady and she sang a song
While her daughter danced the hula and my wife danced along.
The daughter was round and brown as the soil
And my wife has a figure like Olive Oyl
But she sang so pretty and they danced so sweet
Like tellin’ a story with their hands and their feet.
It rained every day in Houwelo
On the windward side where the trade winds blow
Livin’ off the grid as best we can
Fryin’ our bread in a frying pan
I used to be a broker like Paul Gaugin
Till he ran off to Tahiti to be a natural man
But I wanted to go native and I let myself go
On vacation to Hawaii where the coconuts grow
Now I’m just a middle aged howlee man
Kinda lyin' in the sun tryin' to get a tan
Tryin to learn the ukulele to impress my friends
When I get back to the mainland and the journey ends
No man is an island so the poet did say
That means we’re all connected in a deeper way
You can call me bro’ when you see me come
We’re all God’s creatures under the sun.
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7. |
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Just the sound of rain falling
Just the sound of rain falling
Falling on the leaves
Falling on the eaves
Just the sound of rain falling
Just the sound of rain falling
Falling on the ground
Falling all around
Wouldn’t want to be up in a tree
I’d rather hide in my cabin inside
Just the sound of rain falling
Wouldn’t want to be sailing the sea
I’d rather stay at home today
Just the sound of rain falling.
Ke kani o ka ua E hele lei i-nei
Ke kani o ka ua E hele lei i-nei
Ke kani o ka ua E hele lei i-nei
Ke kani o ka ua E hele lei i-nei
E ole make make oww
I luna okay kumu lai oww
Ke kani o ka ua E hele lei i-nei
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8. |
Grace and Mercy
02:44
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We were walking on a narrow street
Some foreign city summer heat
Suddenly the gypsy boys came from behind
Picked my pocket robbed me blind
But grace and mercy
Following my way,
How many times
I can hardly say.
You shouted look out for those men
I ran and caught them
And got it back again.
We were driving on a winding road
In the mountains far away
Suddenly you lost control
Skidded in the rain
I thought my life was down the drain
But grace and mercy
Following my way,
How many times
I can hardly say.
I have been broken
Seen my silver turned to brass
But it's been spoken
This too shall pass
Grace and mercy
Following my way,
How many times
I can hardly say.
Grace and mercy
Following my way,
How many times
I can hardly say.
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9. |
Song for Henri Rousseau
04:07
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He was an ordinary man
A customs clerk somewhere in France
Till he retired at forty-nine
He lived a life inside his mind
He never left his native land
To paint what he had never seen
The sleeping gypsy in the sand
The world suspended in a dream.
He holds a staff still in his hand
A lion sniffs around his head
Is he asleep or just pretend
His lute is silent as the dead
The moon is watching from the sky
The stars are peering through the dawn
The lion gazes with his eye
The gypsy sleeps until the morn.
And there is even more to tell
The mountains rising from the plain
They play their part they cast their spell
A world where nothing is mundane.
The coat he wears like Joseph's own
Also a dreamer he was called
Of many colors it was sewn
Will it be torn will he be mauled
They say that always in the dream
Each thing you see is only you
Things are not always what they seem
Or what at first we may construe
A nude reclining on a chair
Where jungle vegetation grows
The creatures deep within all stare
Regarding Henri Rousseau.
He was an ordinary man
A customs clerk somewhere in France
Till he retired at forty-nine
He lived a life inside his mind
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10. |
One Foot Reprise
00:52
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11. |
Man Overboard
02:43
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Man overboard, man overboard
Over the top and over the hill
A little overbearing but I love you still
Man overboard
Can I keep on swimming
Will I reach the shore
Tell me if you’re out there
I can’t wait much more
Man overboard, man overboard
Over the limit and over the line
Well shiver me timbers I’m soaking in brine
Man overboard
Water water everywhere
But not a drop to drink
Should I just go under
I know I’m on the brink
Man overboard, man overboard
Over the rainbow and over the moon
Over my head if they don’t get here soon
Man overboard
I guess that we’re all wondering
How this story ends
Will somebody save my soul
Before I get the bends
Man overboard, man overboard
It’s not over till it’s over and the fat lady sings
Then it’s over in the clover with a pitchfork or wings
Man overboard, man overboard, man overboard
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12. |
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A song is a picture in time.
A song is a picture in time.
It may be the best and it may be the worst.
It brings back the moment when you heard it first.
A song is a picture in time.
A song is a picture in time.
In four four or three four or two four
If you follow the score
But a song is a picture in time
A song's just a picture in time.
A song is a memory chest
A song is a memory chest
It may be the worst and it may be the best.
You put in the feelings that you want expressed.
A song is a memory chest
A song is a memory chest
It may be four by four or three by four or two by four
Is all that you can store
But a song is a memory chest.
A song's just a memory chest.
A song is a bird on the wing
A song is a bird on the wing
It may be the hunter it may be the prey
It may last a long time or just live a day
A song is a bird on the wing
A song is a bird on the wing
A song is a picture in time
A song is a picture in time
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13. |
By the Rivers of Babylon
02:59
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By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down.
By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and wept
When we remembered Zion,
When we remembered Zion.
There upon the willows our harps were hung
There our captors demanded of us a song.
Sing us a song of Zion
Sing us a song of Zion
How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land
If I forget thee O Jerusalem, let my right hand
Forget its cunning, forget its skill
Let my tongue cleave to my palate and be forever still
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14. |
The Train Song
03:56
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I can’t explain
It’s like I’m on a train
I see the fields go by
I close my eyes
It’s like I’m hypnotized
I fall asleep for a while
Train is rocking
And my dreams unlocking
All my memories
Shifting places
And I’m seeing faces
From my history
Time just gets swifter
And I’m just a drifter
A comet approaching the sun
My orbit grows small
As I fall and I fall
And the years just rush by one by one.
Can’t stop your brain
And you can’t stop the train
And you can’t stop time
Life is sweet
But the days are fleet
It’s part of the design
Please be patient
Till we reach the station
As we surely shall
Enjoy the ride
Watch the countryside
That’s the rationale
And then it goes back
And it’s hard to keep track
Of where I was when I began
I am him inside
And I cannot divide
The child that is father to man.
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15. |
Karen
04:21
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Flying up where the air is clear
Climbing into the blue
Smiling without a thing to fear
I'll remember you
I'll remember you.
And if sometimes I wasn't there
Still I tried to take your part
If you thought I didn't care
Still you broke my heart
Wanting what you couldn't even name
Crying out tears of rage
Reaching to grasp it just the same
I'll remember you
I'll remember you
And then one day you flew away
Climbing into the setting sun
Night gently following the day
Looking for the lights to show the way
You were so close and yet so far
Landing lights lit up in view
Falling just like a falling star
I'll remember you
I'll remember you
Oh my sister oh so sad and brave'
Oh so foolish and so wise
I could love you but I could not save
Your life or see it through your eyes
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16. |
Ashkelon
04:05
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Dancing on the sands
Dancing on the shifting sands
Dancing on the ancient sands of Ashkelon.
Dancing with the past
Swaying with the leaves of grass
Nothing ever lasts, but just moves on
Dancing on the ancient sands of Ashkelon.
Planted on the ground
Reaching for thesky all around
Just the gentle sound of the sea.
Kingdoms rise and fall
Does it really matter at all
One more crumbling wall in history.
Dancing with the past, such mystery.
Dancing in the gate
Where once passed the small and the great
Dancing in the gate of Ashkelon.
Soaring like a bird
Dancing to a song without words
Dancing on the potsherds of Ashkelon
Dancing on the potsherds of Ashkelon.
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17. |
Life in the Slow Lane
03:48
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Living incognito on our isle of bliss
Leaving all the world behind, can't it be like this
The tide goes out and the tide comes in
Apple tree blossoms and the summer begins
That's life in the slow lane with you babe
That's life in the slow lane
I'll live a lot longer with you babe
I wanna live a lot longer with you.
Do you want to read awhile till we close our eyes\
We can talk tomorrow about our whats and whys
The twilight goes on till almost midnight
But we can turn out the light are you sleepy now - quite.
I've been around the world and I've been to London too
The sunset in Jerusalem is really quite a view
Some days I wake up and don't know where I'm at
Some say that home is wherever you hang your hat.
I do not care about fortune or fame
I do not care if they ever know my name
I do not want to try any new toothpaste
Living with anyone else would be a waste.
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18. |
If I Live Long Enough
04:22
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If I, if I live long enough
If I, if I live long enough
If I live long enough to learn
What love is, what love is
Love is a little bit like happiness
Chase it and it runs away
Comes upon you when you least expect it
Like manna you collect it day by day
(chorus)
Love is a little bit like sacrifice
Gaining what you give away
Complaining sometimes you're only human
But knowing love will always have its way
(chorus)
Sometimes love is a hunger
Sometimes love is a thirst
But I know our love is stronger
Than even what we had at first
(chorus)
Love is a little like business
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose
Sometimes you sign on the dotted line
But first you gotta learn how to choose.
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19. |
People are Sticky
02:26
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People are sticky
They get attached so easily
If you’re only lookin for a quickie
Don’t fool around with me
Cause I’m stuck on you
And that’s the way that it is.
People are mammals
Somewhere up the family tree
Just like monkeys and camels
Warm and fuzzy like me
Don’t have to say a word
To show the way that I feel
I have a medulla oblongata
Right at the bottom of my brain
It keeps my heart beatin and it keeps me breathin
Just like a choo choo train.
People are funny
Strange but not ha ha
They all make a different kind of honey
From wherever they’ve had their fal-de-a
And that’s why I’m here
And why I’m singing this song.
I know that there might be some exceptions
Some people really take the cake
There are a few who are not sticky but slimy
Not like a mammal but a snake, but in general
Repeat 1st verse
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20. |
Prodigal
03:26
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Got a call from Sam
He was in a jam
Could I lend a hand
Yes, I said, I can
Samuel is my youngest son
And after some estrangement
We have had a one on one
And come to an arrangement
He could use a meal
I could really feel
He was being real
So we made a deal
He’ll go back to school again
And finish his degree
What he wants to major in
Is child psychology
Hope he does better than me
Dealing with reality
I’d gladly pay the fee
If it would set him free
Fatherhood is rough
They say love should be tough
To produce the right stuff
But it’s not enough
The biggest part of anything
Is simply being there
And the other part of it
Is learning how to care.
I nearly had to laugh
I was much worse by half
Better kill the fatted calf
Instead of givin him the shaft.
How you doin' son
Must have learned a ton
Hope you're having fun
When will you be done
He says everything is fine
But I'm late on the rent
A little more would really help
And when will that be sent.
I'll send it right away
Yes without delay
You'll have it in a day
But I was being played
It had been at least a year
Since he'd attended classes
I was seeing everything
Through my rose colored glasses
I must have had a screw loose
I thought no news was good news
Am I a jerk well you choose
Falling for all his boo hoos.
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21. |
Frozen in Time
03:13
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Like a deer blinded in the headlights
Like a blizzard in the state of Maine
Like Frosty the Snowman, Nanook of the North
Or Rosebud from Citizen Kane
Like an insect trapped in the amber
Or a spaceman at the speed of light
Never gettin older
As long as he remains in flight
We are frozen in time, frozen in time
As long as we're movin together
We are frozen in time
Well it doesn't take an Einstein
To talk about relativity
We're all relatin to someone
Like the birds are relatin to the bees
Or maybe it's the birds relatin to the birds
And the bees relatin to the bees
Somehow I go a feelin
You could be relatin with me
We are frozen in time, frozen in time
As long as we're movin together
We are frozen in time
Like old Ponce de Leon
Searchin for the fountain of youth
He would've saved himself a lotta time
If he'd only known the truth
That we're all gettin older and some are gettin wise
To what is at the core
Two bodies movin in space and time
Are all the matter and energy's for
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22. |
Josephina
04:31
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When I met her she was almost pretty
But she was just over the hill
She was 33 and I was 20
And she was movin in for the kill
She had no milk of human kindness
But a wit that could cut like a knife
She only wanted to be called your highness
She only wanted to take over my life
Chorus:
Josephina, she was meaner
Than any man or woman I have ever known
Guarantee ya if ya see her
Like Medusa she’ll reduce ya to a block of stone.
I knew it was a fatal attraction
Just like Oedipus Rex
And she was using Sigmund Freud against me
Mixing everything with sex
That was back in 1972
Maggie Mae was on the radio
When I started to work on Maggie’s Farm
But I was catchin on too slow
Chorus
Four years later we found the Lord
And things went from bad to worse
Cause now I was married to a prophetess
With the power to bless and to curse
And man she could curse so that brimstone and fire
Would pour down onto my head
It was Isaiah, Hosea and Jeremiah
Unless I did as she said
Chorus
I was a lamb led to the slaughter
I was a sacrificial goat
I was a captive by the rivers of Babylon
Without a paddle, without a boat
For seven years I served her
Then I served her for seven more
I poured all my riches upon her
Just like that Babylonian whore
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23. |
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If I could turn it around and see the other side
I’m not so innocent it’s not so cut and dried
If I could go back and see it from above
I didn’t know how to behave, I didn’t know how to love
Now the children are grown and there’s no going back
I gave what I could give and I’m sorry for the lack
Please don’t ask if I’d do it again
I would change some things but that wouldn’t change the end
I thought I could change it all
But pride goes before the fall.
I was a spoiled child so full of guile
Give me me an inch and I’d take a mile
I was so full of rage in an angry age
I needed someone to help me wage my endless war.
I was cut down in my prime
But wounds do heal with time.
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24. |
I Don't Sing for Money
01:57
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I don’t sing for money, that’s not my gig
Throw some coins in the jukebox if that’s what you dig
I ain’t no idol with perfect pitch
Ain’t got no pitchman to help me strike it rich.
I’m just a guy who sings for free
Still singing commercials from 1953
Oh no, here it comes again
They went out of business, I don’t know when
Brusha brusha brusha new Ipana toothpaste
Brusha brusha brusha, it’s dandy for your teeth.
Don’t reach for your wallet, I don’t need your dough
All I want is to go bo-bo-bodio-doh.
And if you need me, tell you where I’m gonna be
Tin Pan Alley General Delivery.
I don’t sing for money, that’s not my gig
Throw some coins in the jukebox if that’s what you dig.
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25. |
Haji Baba
02:03
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Oh my darling oh my bright and precious leetle jewel
I may have my weight in gold but still I am your fool
Only hear me when I beg you do not be so cruel
Let me take you to the Casbah there my heart to rule
Haji Baba Haji Baba Haji Ba-ba
Haji Baba Haji Baba Haji Ba-ba
You’re the wind and I’m the sail blow in my direction
Let me peek behind your veil see all your perfection
I may have some other wives but you’re my first selection
Let me be your daddy I will be your sole protection
Haji Baba Haji Baba Haji Ba-ba
Haji Baba Haji Baba Haji Ba-ba
Mr. Haji Baba Sir please do not be offended
We have been your faithful wives to you our wills are bended
But we feel that marriage should not be so open ended
Till we see that to our needs you’ve also fully tended
Haji Baba Haji Baba Haji Ba-ba
Haji Baba Haji Baba Haji Ba-ba
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26. |
These Three Things
03:18
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THESE THREE THINGS ARE TO WONDERFUL FOR ME
FOUR TOO MARVELOUS TO SAY
I STAND AND WONDER AT THE BEAUTY OF IT ALL
IT TAKES MY BREATH AWAY
THE WAY OF AN EAGLE MOUNTING UP TO THE SKY
RIDING THE CURRENTS IN THE AIR
SPREADING ITS WINGS AS IT SOARS TO HIGH
DANCING AND TWIRLING IN A PAIR
THE WAY OF A SERPENT SUNNING ON A ROCK IT LIES
ITS NAME IS PAINTED ON ITS SKIN
TWISTING AND WRITHING AS IT STALKS ITS PRIZE
TELL ME WHERE IS THE SIN.
THE WAY OF ASHIP IN THE MIDST OF THE SEA
RIDING ON THE SWELL
ON THE BACK OF AN ELEPHANT LIKE A TINY LITTLE FLEA
IN OUR HEARTS WE WISH THEM WELL
THE WAY OF A YOUNG MAN WITH THE WOMAN OF HIS DESIRE
CHOOSING TO SHARE THEIR LIVES
MAKES ME BELIEVE THAT THE WORLD WILL NOT EXPIRE
AS LONG AS THEIR LOVE SURVIVES
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Chaim Bezalel Stanwood, Washington
My mother had a collection of 78 rpm records of folk music and I became a folk music lover from a young age. I attended festivals and concerts, sat with Libba Cotten when she sang Freight Train. I learned to pick sitting in Washington Square as a teenager. However, I did not begin writing songs until my 50's. I am also a poet and artist. I live in Wasnhington State and in Israel. ... more
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