1. |
My Song
03:11
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Gotta go, gotta go,
‘cause the sunlight’s on the road,
and I’ve got to be in Texas before long,
but if you hold the line,
I’ll be back to make you mine,
and until then I will leave you with my song.
Take good care of the words
and watch out for the verse,
‘cause it’s got a couple tricky little turns,
but a song must be sung,
especially when it’s young;
that’s the only way it’s ever going to learn.
So, my love, as I go,
I’ll be singing, soft and low,
and I promise you that every word is true,
and if you hum a line,
and think of me from time to time,
then I’ll come back home to sing along with you.
Keep the melody true,
and the harmony, too,
‘cause I’ve only got so many notes to give,
but a song must be sang,
or the spirit will wane,
and without a spirit, how’s it going to live?
Gotta go, gotta go,
‘cause the sunlight’s on the road,
and I’ve got to be in Texas before long,
but if you hold the line,
I’ll be back to make you mine,
and until then I will leave you with my song.
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2. |
Vitamin C
03:31
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There's a little white spot on a red rubber ball;
she bounces it high, never lets it fall,
and she wonders what it's like to be so tall,
'cause in this big old world you can feel so small.
A little white lie that you told to me
kept me on my toes and begging on my knees.
Now, she's offering me up the cure for free
just a welcome shift of reality.
She can tell the fib from the fable,
she's a sensible girl.
High above the noise of the cable,
she's on top of the world.
The first words she spoke were a Vaudeville joke;
she's a kidder with no apology.
She makes me feel good as a boy can be;
she's like a full day's supply of Vitamin C.
There's a little white box where you tried to hide
the parts of me you though should stay inside.
Now, the knot you tied around has come untied
and she's taken me for a ride.
She's been stripping off all the labels;
she's a beautiful girl.
Look at what she's brought to the table;
it's the best in the world.
She'll let you in with a Vaudeville grin,
and you'll hope that she invites you to stay.
She helps me see things that looked so far away;
she's like a full day's supply of Vitamin A.
She makes me feel smooth as a boy can be;
she's like a full day's supply of Vitamin A.
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3. |
Ain't Been Good
03:02
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Took all of my money down to New Orleans
and layed it all down on aces and queens
now all that I got left is this old pair of jeans
I gotta get myself well, but I ain't got the means
because I ain't been good
Oh, the Lord and everybody knows I ain't been good
Spending all my time in cheap motels
getting a reputation as a ne'er-do-well
the way that I've been coughing, baby, I can tell
you better send me to the doctor or you'll send me to hell
Well, I've gone off course, I'm in a world of sin
fell off my horse, I can't get up again
don't know the source of what's been drawing me in
but it's a mighty force that's led me where I've been
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4. |
Temporary Love Song
02:31
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This is just a temporary love song.
By “temporary,” yes, I mean the love.
The song will stay the same
when she takes someone else’s name.
I know I’m not the one she’s dreaming of.
This is just another brief distraction
from the tired and the lonely and the blue.
We’ll keep our minds away
from the things we never say,
like, “I know I won’t be growing old with you.”
You don’t have to tell me that you love me.
If you did, I never would believe,
because you can’t tell a lie;
I can see it in your eye.
Do you really think that I’d be that naive?
This is just a temporary love song.
By “temporary,” yes, I mean the love.
The song will stay the same
when I give someone else my name.
I know you're not the one I’m dreaming of.
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5. |
Carolina
04:08
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You fill my mind with songs and lore of cavaliers and troubadours
and the riches of a king
You stole my heart, tied up with yours, past castle walls with iron doors
and you ushered in the Spring
I'll go wherever you lead, but it's getting hard to follow
See, the moon through the fog is leaving such soft shadows
There was something you said or just some person's words that you borrowed
that made me believe we'd be there tomorrow
You fill my ears with words that ease the stinging of the bitter breeze
in the early morning chill
You toss your hair and bat your eyes and call the rain down from the skies
and you lead me down the hill
Now there's nothing in between me and the water
I wade in 'til I can barely touch the sand
and I think that I could swim to Carolina
but I think I feel her fingers in my hand.
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6. |
Devil's In the Details
03:52
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They say the devil's in the details
They say the streets are paved with gold
They say that life is just a moment
and wisdom's wasted on the old
They say a better day is coming
They say the world is at an end
They say you better run for cover
and you'd better find a friend
Now do you hear that song
Can you dig the commotion
Are you singing along
or throwing tears in the ocean
Now is your voice all gone
or are the words all wrong
They say the time for change is coming
If you were experienced you'd know
They say they're gonna get you humming
so just sit down and watch the show
They say the spoils go to the victor
but they're all guessing on the score
It looks like everybody's watching
but ain't nobody knows what for
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7. |
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There are people running scared and feeling unprepared,
and it’s starting to spread.
Some new catastrophe might lead to tragedy;
now, everyone’s lost his head.
Monarchs and magistrates, they argue and recriminate
as rationale and reason unfurl,
but we’re just a boy and a girl,
and it’s just the end of the world,
so unplug the phone, because nobody’s calling,
except to say that the sky is falling.
Hop in the car, and if the engine doesn’t stall, then,
we’ll take a ride on the rings around Saturn.
We’re out of gas, but out here it doesn’t matter.
We’ll float around where the dust is all scattered,
and when the Earth is in the sky
we’ll blow it one last kiss and say, “Goodbye.”
Maybe Mars finally took shots at Mercury,
and we’ve been hit by a stray.
Maybe it’s finally done; we’ve worn a hole right to the sun,
and we’re all melting away.
Maybe we found a cure; the world’s not ending anymore,
but it’s sure turned a strange shade of gray,
so we’ll take a long holiday,
and cruise the whole Milky Way,
CHORUS
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8. |
Chicago Fire
04:15
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Well, now we know
there's a cold wind blowing so we'll take it slow
there's a sad song playing on the radio
We'll be alright
'cause we can fit all we need inside this car tonight
and there's a filling station just beyond the traffic light
So you reach higher
and you burn like the Chicago fire
you'd rather drown inside your deep desire
than fade away but you're just so damned tired
Well, here we are
it's a cloudy night so you can't see your guiding star
but you never even thought that you could get this far
So now we'll see
and try to separate assurances from guarantees
but you'll never find your peace of mind in certainty
So you reach higher
and you burn like the Chicago fire
you'd rather drown inside your deep desire
than fade away but you're just so damned tired
So you pull close
and call the name of who you love the most
living with these less-than-holy ghosts
has had it's toll but it's no whipping post
You look to me
and try to make my face and figure out through the debris
and try to make your peace with everything that you can't see
You close your eyes
and you take away the remnants of your last disguise
and you linger in the memory of your last goodbyes
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9. |
I Only Want
03:20
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I only want the roses to soften the wine
She never supposes you'll reach me in time
But hear how they hearken and see how they shine
And you're striking bargains while I'm standing in line
I only want the water to make up the weight
Her innocence taught her it's never too late
But feel how it's sharpened and taste how they cry
And you'll never be pardoned so you'll never try
I only want the colors to bring out the grays
You tether the trawlers and pick up the strays
But the two broken vases are crying out loud
You're just looking for faces that fall from the clouds
While I'm gone she keeps circling 'round me
Sleeping soundly on
I only want the open because I can't stand the closed
It's less than you were hoping but what she supposed
But the longest of chases and the grandest of schemes
Are lost without traces from the sweetest of dreams
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10. |
Trainsong
04:43
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Your pardon if I seem too shy, it’s just that I’m the sort of guy
who sees that look in someone’s eye and wonders if it’s real -
a memory of a younger man at a loss for words with shaking hands,
who felt the pinch and turned and ran, afraid to learn to feel.
It’s nothing that you did, my dear, but I can never quite see clear
when words are whispered in my ear; my senses start to fade.
So patiently you played the part, were careful with my cautious heart.
You pulled my armor all apart and showed me what we’d made.
And every night the train goes by and sings its lonesome song.
The engines cry, the pistons sigh, and I can sing along.
It sings of all the trials and tribulations of a train,
but I sing of my lady who would stand and watch the rain.
Forgive me if I sigh at night and watch the trains in amber light
and harmonize with all my might and wonder if you hear -
some grand acoustical design that scales the miles on cargo lines
to bring this little song of mine to your awaiting ear.
CHORUS
And if I could sing louder than the twin jet-powered engines can,
I’d send my words to travel on a plane,
but the lyrics never look quite right when lit up by the runway lights,
and, besides that, there’s just something about singing with a train.
I’m sorry if I ramble on and keep you up ‘til after dawn
as I compose my simple song and watch the shooting stars -
a memory that hasn’t been where you’re with me to share the scene
and we can find our song to sing to lonesome railway cars.
CHORUS
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11. |
Not That Kind of Girl
03:34
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First she stares at her reflection in the window
then she looks out through her window at the world
I thought that I could take her anywhere the wind blows
now I'm learning that she's not that kind of girl
She fooled me with the way she smiled so sweetly
and the soft and gentle touches of her hand
I've explained it to my brain completely
but I cannot tell my heart 'cause it will never understand
That you shouldn't fall in love with a beautiful girl
who's in love with the whole wide world
but it can be much worse when it happens in reverse
and the whole world is in love with her
First she opens up her mouth and lets the words flow
then she tells me that she hasn't much to say
I thought that I could take her anywhere she'd want to go
now I'm learning that I'm only in the way
She fooled me with the way her brow would furrow
and the way she wore that simple yellow dress
I've explained it to my brain and I've been thorough
but I cannot tell my heart no matter how I beat my chest
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12. |
An Unmowed Acre
05:17
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Her beauty runs deep, but she hates being still
so she keeps dropping stones in the water until
the deep ocean's floor has turned into dry land.
Then she'll walk 'cross the ocean to show us we can.
So buy me all that your money will buy.
We'll sit here and count dandelions
on an acre of grass we won't cut 'til the fall
and we'll lie when we recall.
She turns to the east and she sees what remains
and she turns to the west to see what it sustains.
When she's gotten a new sense of right and of wrong
she turns to the south and she finds a new song.
Carousel horses walk regular courses
with bridles that shine like the sun.
The calliope man plays as fast as he can
but he can't get the horses to run.
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13. |
Title Song
03:18
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Songs about crying and slamming the door
are songs that I don’t want to sing anymore.
Now that I’ve seen what the world has in store,
I want to sing the songs I sang before.
Songs about songs and the muses I’ve met,
some revived to right wrongs, some with ink that’s still wet,
some for which I am forever in debt,
and some with a hint, just a hint of regret.
I know the songs that the mockingbird brings
are songs about flying and other fun things.
I want to know how it feels to have wings,
so I’ll see if I can take off when I sing
songs about songs and the loves that I’ve known,
some intend to endear, some attempt to atone,
some meant to show you just how much I’ve grown,
and there’s some that tell truths and some others that don’t.
Songs that attempt to reveal a vignette,
some clear as day, some a faint silhouette.
I’ll make up the words if I start to forget
the songs about songs and the muses I’ve met.
Songs about songs and the muses I’ve met,
some revived to right wrongs, some with ink that’s still wet,
some for which I am forever in debt,
songs about songs and the muses I’ve met.
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Kevin Kratzke Los Angeles
Kevin Kratzke is a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, actor, and entertainer.
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