23rd Street Lullaby
Underneath the swirling light of jasmine tea and smoke
you traced my face up on the barroom wall
and you tried to intimidate me as you drank your drinks and joked
saying it takes more than clean hands to catch angels when they fall
Well I''ll keep that in mind
Come on darlin'' oh my my
come and hear my 23rd Street lullaby
got a bottle of wine, a bag of tricks
there''s a place for you under my fingertips
there''s a place for you, oh my my
up on the rooftops of my 23rd Street lullaby
Me and you on the avenue, on a summer night
bass and drums and the traffic hums and I feel all right
Well come and walk beside me darlin'' and I''ll take my place
I''m a little low on courage, but I''m high on faith
and I feel so fine
Come on darlin'', oh my my
come and hear my 23rd Street lullaby
got a bottle of wine, a bag of tricks
there''s a place for you under my fingertips
there''s a place for you, oh my my
up on the rooftops of my 23rd Street lullaby
sha la la la la la la la
sha la la la
sha la la la la la la la
sha la la la
Got a downtown heart, got a love so sweet
got a tone poem and a funky little beat
got a music box, it''s soft inside
and in your arms I come alive
so don''t you worry now, say you will
I''ll be waiting here until you take a chance, take a risk
I''ll take what''s broken and I''ll take what''s fixed
Me and you on the avenue, on a summer night
bass and drums and the traffic hums, and I feel all right
Come on darlin'', oh my my
Come and hear my 23rd Street lullaby
got a bottle of wine, a bag of tricks
there''s a place for you under my fingertips
there''s a place for you, oh my my
up on the rooftops of my eyes
want to take a chance, take a risk
I''ll take what''s broken and I''ll take what''s fixed
I can''t hear you
Let me hear you
my 23rd Street lullaby
you cant go back
New York City, 1988
standing in the Chelsea rain
with a small suitcase
I used to walk invisible
and the only time I felt recognized
was when I saw myself reflected
in your loving eyes
now Im looking for a piece of my past
on these streets that I once knew but
Hey hey, you cant go back
hey hey, you cant go back
Now I used to have the kind of luck
that went from bad to worse
a gypsy on the waterfront
she told me I was cursed
she said no ones young forever
well I just laughed
I turned to leave around the corner
and the years went past
now Im looking for a piece of myself
on the same streets that I once knew but
Hey hey, you cant go back
hey hey, you cant go back
How can everything look so different
how can everything look so the same
thru an open window I hear a record playing
Who will stop the rain”
Now theres a river
of faces in the tide of rise and fall
do they wonder where we have gone
do they think of us at all
will they recognize us now
in those perfect clothes and gowns
do they wonder what were doing here
on this side of town
Rose
Rose was a waitress for twenty years or more
bringing in the change, she was heaven sent
she taught me how to balance trays when I didn''t know what to do
and I learned to turn tables to make my rent
She said keep your eye on the work clock, keep a dollar in the jukebox
and there''s a bottle of whiskey behind the coffee machine
Don''t talk to the boss, he''s just trouble you don''t want to cross
he''s the walking definition of what it is to be mean
Well, I''m going out tonight on the streets of the city
Going to spend my money tonight
I''m going out on the streets of the city
Rose, you''re pushing fifty, but you sure look all right
Well there''s this guy who speaks no English, and he does the dishes by hand
You know his pace it never slacks
I said "Rose, he must be one of God''s good children"
She just laughs and says "Yeah, God''s got him doing the dishes all night in the back"
But he keeps smiling and those plates keep piling up so high
seems he can''t make a dent
Me I''m just bitchin'' by the service station
so tired of waiting on all these jokers for a lousy ten percent
Well I''m going out on the streets of the city
Going to spend my money tonight
I''m going out on the streets of the city
Rose, you''re pushing fifty, but you sure look all right
Now listen
I traveled once with this rock and roll band
and my baby was a hero at every small town bar
and I watched that summer of ''88 pass through the rearview mirror of his rented car
but don''t you learn hard and fast that the good times, they ain''t meant to last
and that sweet love, ain''t it the first to disappear
Rose, sometimes I get so frightened, I don''t want to spend the rest of my life
working on the graveyard shift here
Well I''m going out on the streets of the city
Going to spend my money tonight
I''m going out on the streets of the city
Rose, you''re pushing fifty, but you sure look all right
City Boys
My Auntie Mabel
1953
Left her Minnesota dirt farm to see what she could see
in a letter to her mother telling her what she enjoyed
said there''s nothing in the whole wide world like a city boy
1987
Took Daddy''s Cadillac
I drove it to Chicago, never brought it back
Well all these years later, I''m still unemployed
Oh well there''s nothing in the whole wide world like a city boy
My granddaddy had long grey hair
silver cane and a rocking chair
tapped that cane on a wooden floor
saying "take what you''re given, and then ask for more"
Well now, baby, what do you think of that
Can you make a woman out of an alley cat
Can you take the agitation and not get annoyed
Oh well there''s nothing in the whole wide world like a city boy
Now my Auntie Mabel, she plays the dominoes
way down South where the yucca plant grows
drinking whiskey out of Coca-Cola bottles, smoking Viceroys
Still swears there''s nothing in the whole wide world like a city boy
Those city boys
Yesterday''s Child
Anna in a foreign blue
yesterday I saw someone
who reminded me of you
and I
held my breath and called your name
and though I knew it was not you
I followed just the same
I wanted to raise the glass
to a symphony of miles
and say our last farewell
to yesterdays child
Anna sweep the doorway clean
Lets forgive before we blame
and I
will make my own amends
with the dust and sin
underneath my skin
and on my maiden name
So lets raise the glass
to a symphony of miles
and say our last farewell
to yesterdays child
Anna in my dreams
I open my arms and Im flying
lets do some living
forget about the dying
Anna Ive done my thousand days
now Im walking free in time
and I still have my imaginings
where theres no struggling
or suffering
just cigarettes and wine
So lets raise the glass
to a symphony of miles
and say our last farewell
to yesterdays child
Love (Stand Up)
Love youre the one
the well known pleasure
under my tongue
my holy water
my gypsy rain
come and find me once again
because you are everything I wanted
I need your faith
I need your love
To take my place
To rise above to stand up
Love, be my cure
be my medicine
simple and pure
take my sorrow
take my pain
and come and find me once again
because you are everything I wanted
So give me your faith
give me your love
and Ill take my place
and Ill rise above
and Ill stand up
Give me hope and give me strength
and give me your soul understanding
give me faith and give me truth
and give me yourself everlasting
give me hope and give me faith
and give me your soul understanding
give me strength and give me truth
and give me love
Love youre the one
All of my medicine
Under my tongue
because you are everything I wanted
And I need your faith
and I need your love
to take my place
to rise above
to take my place
I need your trust
So hear me now
And Ill rise above
And Ill stand up
Stand up stand up
Stand up stand up
Give me hope and give me faith
and give me your soul understanding
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