| Paul Simon Lyrics |
| American Tune Born At The Right Time The Boy In The Bubble Duncan Everything Put Together Falls Apart Gone At Last Hearts And Bones I Do It For Your Love Jonah Kodachrome The Late Great Johnny Ace Late In The Evening Loves Me Like A Rock Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard Mother And Child Reunion The Obvious Child Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War Run That Body Down St. Judy's Comet Slip Slidin' Away Some Folks Lives Roll Easy Something So Right Still Crazy After All These Years Stranded In A Limousine Take Me To The Mardi Gras Train In The Distance You Can Call Me Al |
| American Tune Many's the time I've been mistaken and many times confused. Yes, and often felt forsaken and certainly misused. But I'm all right, I'm all right, I'm just weary to my bones. Still, you don't expect to be bright and bon vivant so far away from home, so far away from home. And I don't know a soul who's not been battered I don't have a friend who feels at ease. I don't know a dream that's not been shattered or driven to its knees. But it's all right, it's all right, for we've lived so well so long. Still, when I think of the road we're traveling on, I wonder what went wrong, I can't help but wonder what went wrong. And I dreamed I was dying. I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly and looking back down at me smiled reassuringly, and I dreamed I was flying. And high above my eyes could clearly see the Statue of Liberty sailing away to sea, and I dreamed I was flying. And we come on the ship they call the Mayflower, we come on the ship that sailed the moon. We come in the ages most uncertain hour and sing an American tune oh, but it's all right, it's all right, it's all right, you can't be forever blessed. Still, tomorrow's going to be another working day and I'm trying to get some rest, that's all I'm trying is to get some rest. Born At The Right Time Down among the reeds and rushes, a baby boy was found. His eyes as clear as centuries, his silky hair was brown. Never been lonely, never been lied to, never had to scuffle in fear, nothing denied to. Born at the instant the church bells chime, the whole world whispering, born at the right time. Me and my buddies, we are travelling people, we like to go down to restaurant row. Spend those Euro-dollars all the way from Washington to Tokyo. But I see them in the airport lounge upon their mother's breast. They follow me with open eyes, their uninvited guest. Never been lonely, never been lied to, never had to scuffle in fear, nothing denied to. Born at the instant the church bells chime, the whole world whispering, born at the right time. There's too many people on the bus from the airport, too many holes in the crust of the earth. The planet groans every time it registers another birth. But down among the reeds and rushes, a baby girl was found. Her eyes as clear as centuries, her silky hair was brown. Never been lonely, never been lied to, never had to scuffle in fear, nothing denied to. Born at the instant the church bells chime, the whole world whispering, born at the right time. The Boy In The Bubble It was a slow day and the sun was beating on the soldiers by the side of the road. There was a bright light, a shattering of shop windows, the bomb in the baby carriage was wired to the radio. These are the days of miracle and wonder, this is the long distance call. The way the camera follows us in slow-mo, the way we look to us all. The way we look to a distant constellation that's dying in a corner of the sky. These are the days of miracle and wonder and don't cry baby, don't cry, don't cry. It was a dry wind and it swept across the desert and it curled into the circle of birth. And the dead sand falling on the children, the mothers and the fathers and the automatic earth. These are the days of miracle and wonder, this is the long distance call. The way the camera follows us in slow-mo, the way we look to us all. The way we look to a distant constellation that's dying in a corner of the sky. These are the days of miracle and wonder and don't cry baby, don't cry, don't cry. It's a turn-around jump shot, it's everybody jump start, it's every generation throws a hero up the pop charts. Medicine is magical and magical is art, think of the boy in the bubble and the baby with the baboon heart and I believe these are the days of lasers in the jungle, lasers in the jungle somewhere. Staccato signals of constant information, a loose affiliation of millionaires and billionaires and baby, These are the days of miracle and wonder, this is the long distance call. The way the camera follows us in slow-mo, the way we look to us all. The way we look to a distant constellation that's dying in a corner of the sky. These are the days of miracle and wonder and don't cry baby, don't cry, don't cry. Duncan Couple in the next room, bound to win a prize, they've been going at it all night long. Well, I'm trying to get some sleep but these motel walls are cheap. Lincoln Duncan is my name and here's my song, here's my song. My father was a fisherman, my mama was the fisherman's friend, and I was born in the boredom and the chowder. So when I reached my prime, I left my home in the Maritimes headed down the turnpike for New England, sweet New England. Holes in my confidence, holes in the knees of my jeans, I was left without a penny in my pocket. Ooo-wee, I's about as destituted as a kid could be and I wished I wore a ring so I could hock it, I'd like to hock it. Seen a young girl in a parking lot preaching to a crowd, singing sacred songs and reading from the bible. Well, I told her I was lost and she told me all about the Pentecost. I seen that girl as the road to my survival. Just later on the very same night, she crept to my tent with a flashlight and my long years of innocence ended. Well, she took me to the woods saying "here comes something and it feels so good" and just like a dog I was befriended, I was befriended. Oh, oh, what a night, oh what a garden of delight, even now that sweet memory lingers. I was playing my guitar, lying underneath the stars just thanking the Lord for my fingers, for my fingers. Everything Put Together Falls Apart Paraphernalia never hides your broken bones and I don't know why you want to try. It's plain to see you're on your own, oh, I ain't blind, no. Some folks are crazy, others walk that borderline, watch what you're doing. Taking downs to get off to sleep and ups to start you on your way, after a while they'll change your style, I see it happening every day. Oh, spare your heart, everything put together sooner or later falls apart. There's nothing to it, nothing to it and you can cry, you can lie, for all the good it'll do you, you can die. But when it's done and the police come, and they lay you down for dead, oooo, just remember what I said. Gone At Last The night was black, the roads were icy, snow was falling, drifts were high. And I was weary, from my driving so I stopped to rest for a while. I sat down at a truck stop, I was thinking about my past. I've had a long streak of bad luck but I'm praying it's gone at last. Gone at last, gone at last, gone at last, gone at last. I had a long streak of that bad luck but I'm pray it's gone at last. I ain't dumb, I kicked around some, I don't fall too easily. But that boy looked so dejected, he just grabbed my sympathy. Sweet little soul now, what's your problem? Tell me why you're so downcast. I've had a long streak of bad luck but I pray it's gone at last. Gone, gone at last, gone at last, gone at last, gone at last. I had a long streak of that bad luck but I pray it's gone at last. Once in a while from out of nowhere, you don't expect it and you're unprepared, somebody will come and lift you higher and your burdens will be shed. Yes I do believe, if I hadn't met you, I might still be sinking fast. I've had a long streak of bad luck but I pray it's gone at last Gone, gone, gone at last, gone at last, gone at last. I had a long streak of that bad luck but I pray it's gone at last. Gone gone gone, gone gone gone gone, gone gone gone gone gone, gone gone gone gone gone gone, I had a long streak of that bad luck but I pray it's gone at last. Hearts And Bones One and one-half wandering Jews free to wander wherever they choose are traveling together in the Sangre de Christo, the Blood of Christ Mountains of New Mexico. On the last leg of a journey they started a long time ago, the arc of a love affair, rainbows in the high desert air. Mountain passes slipping into stone, hearts and bones, hearts and bones, hearts and bones. Thinking back to the season before, looking back through the cracks in the door, two people were married, the act was outrageous, the bride was contagious, she burned like a bride. These events may have had some effect on the man with the girl by his side, the arc of a love affair, his hands rolling down her hair. Love like lightning shaking till it moans, hearts and bones, hearts and bones, hearts and bones. And whoa, whoa she said why? Why don't we drive through the night, we'll wake up down in Mexico? Oh I, I don't know nothing about, nothing about no Mexico. And tell me why, why won't you love me for who I am, where I am? He said, "cause that's not the way the world is baby. This is how I love you baby, this is how I love you baby." One and one-half wandering Jews returned to their natural coasts to resume old acquaintances, step out occasionally and speculate who had been damaged the most. Easy time will determine if these consolations will be their reward, the arc of a love affair waiting to be restored. You take two bodies and you twirl them into one, their hearts and their bones, oh, and they won't come undone. Hearts and bones, hearts and bones, hearts and bones, hearts and bones. I Do It For Your Love We were married on a rainy day, the sky was yellow and the grass was gray. We signed the papers and we drove away, I do it for your love. The rooms were musty and the pipes were old, all that winter we shared a cold. Drank all the orange juice that we could hold, I do it for your love. Found a rug in an old junk shop, brought it home to you. Along the way the colors ran, the orange bled the blue. Found a rug in an old junk shop, brought it home to you. Along the way the colors ran, the orange bled the blue. The sting of reason, the splash of tears, the northern and the southern hemispheres, love emerges and it disappears. I do it for your love, I do it for your love. Jonah Half an hour, change your strings and tune up, sizing the room up, checking the bar. Local girls, unspoken conversation, misinformation plays guitar. They say, Jonah, he was swallowed by a whale but I say there's no truth to that tale. I know Jonah, he was swallowed by a song. No one gives their dreams away too lightly, they hold them tightly, warm against cold. One more year of traveling round the circuit, then you can work it into gold. They say, Jonah, he was swallowed by a whale but I say there's no truth to that tale. I know Jonah, he was swallowed by a song. Here's to all the boys who came along, carrying soft guitars in cardboard cases all night long, Do you wonder where those boys have gone? Do you wonder where those boys have gone? Kodachrome When I think back an all the crap I learned in high school, it's a wonder I can think at all. And though my lack of education hasn't hurt me none, I can read the writing on the wall. Kodachrome gives us those nice bright colors, gives us the greens of summers, makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah, I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph so mama don't take my Kodachrome away. If you took all the girls I knew when I was single and brought them all together for one night, I know they'd never match my sweet imagination and everything looks worse in black and white. Kodachrome gives us those nice bright colors, gives us the greens of summers, makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah, I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph so mama don't take my Kodachrome away. Mama don't take my Kodachrome away. Mama don't take my Kodachrome away. Mama don't take my Kodachrome, Mama don't take my Kodachrome, Mama don't take my Kodachrome away. Mama don't take my Kodachrome, leave your boy so far from home, Mama don't take my Kodachrome away. Mama don't take my Kodachrome, mmmmm, Mama don't take my Kodachrome away. The Late Great Johnny Ace I was reading a magazine and thinking of a rock and roll song. The year was 1954 and I hadn't been playing that long when a man came on the radio and this is what he said: he said, "I hate to break it to his fans, but Johnny Ace is dead." Well, I really wasn't such a Johnny Ace fan but I felt bad all the same. So I sent away for his photograph and I waited till it came. It came all the way from Texas with a sad and simple face. And they signed it on the bottom, "From the Late Great Johnny Ace." It was the year of the Beatles, it was the year of the Stones, it was 1964. I was living in London with the girl from the summer before. It was the year of the Beatles, it was the year of the Stones, a year after J.F.K. We were staying up all night and giving the days away and the music was flowing, amazing and blowing my way. On a cold December evening, I was walking through the Christmas tide when a stranger came up and asked me if I'd heard John Lennon had died. And the two of us went to this bar and we stayed to close the place and every song we played was for the Late Great Johnny Ace. Late In The Evening The first thing I remember, I was lying in my bed, I couldn't of been no more than one or two. I remember there's a radio coming from the room next door and my mother laughed the way some ladies do. Well, it's late in the evening and the music's seeping through. The next thing I remember I was walking down the street, I'm feeling all right I'm with my boys, I'm with my troops, yeah. And down along the avenue some guys were shooting pool and I heard the sound of a cappella groups, yeah. Singing late in the evening, and all the girls out on the stoops, yeah. Then I learned to play some lead guitar, I was underage in this funky bar and I stepped outside to smoke myself a jay. And when I came back to the room, everybody just seemed to move and I turned my amp up loud and began to play. And it was late in the evening and I blew that room away. The first thing I remember when you came into my life, I said I'm gonna get that girl no matter what I do. Well, I guess I'd been in love before and once or twice been on the floor but I never loved no one the way I loved you. And it was late in the evening and all the music seeping through. Loves Me Like A Rock When I was a little boy (when I was just a boy), and the devil would call my name (when I was just a boy), I'd say "now who do (who), who do you think you're fooling?" (when I was just a boy), I'm a consecrated boy (when I was just a boy), I'm a singer in a Sunday choir. Oh, my mama loves me, she loves me. She gets down on her knees and hugs me, oh, she loves me like a rock. She rocks me like the rock of ages and loves me, she loves me, loves me, loves me, loves me. When I was grown to be a man (grown to be a man), and the devil would call my name (grown to be a man), I'd say "now who do (who), who do you think you're fooling?" (grown to be a man), I'm a consummated man (grown to be a man), I can snatch a little purity, my mama loves me, she loves me. She gets down on her knees and hugs me, oh, she loves me like a rock. She rocks me like the rock of ages and loves me, she loves me, loves me, loves me, loves me. And If I was President, (was the President), the minute the Congress called my name (was the President), I'd say "now who do (who), who do you think you're fooling?" (who do you think you're fooling?) I've got the Presidential Seal (was the President), I'm up on the Presidential Podium, my mama, she loves me, she loves me. She gets down on her knees and hugs me, oh, she loves me like a rock. She rocks me like the rock of ages and loves me, she loves me, loves me, loves me, loves me. She loves me, loves me, loves me, loves me (loves me like a rock). Na na na na na na (loves me like a rock of ages, loves me like a rock)... Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard The mama pajama rolled out of bed and she ran to the police station. When the papa found out he began to shout and he started the investigation. It's against the law, it was against the law, what mama saw, it was against the law. Oo, mama looked down and spit on the ground every time my name gets mentioned. Papa said, "oy if I get that boy, I'm gonna put him in the house of detention." Well I'm on my way, I don't know where I'm going. I'm on my way, I'm taking my time but I don't know where, goodbye to Rosie, the queen of Corona, see you, me and Julio down by the schoolyard. See you, me and Julio down by the schoolyard. Oh, in a couple of days they come and take me away but the press let the story leak. And when the radical priest come to get me released, we was all on the cover of Newsweek. And I'm on my way, I don't know where I'm going. I'm on my way, I'm taking my time but I don't know where, goodbye to Rosie, the queen of Corona, see you, me and Julio down by the schoolyard. See you, me and Julio down by the schoolyard. See you, me and Julio down by the schoolyard Down by the schoolyard Mother And Child Reunion No, I would not give you false hope on this strange and mournful day, but the mother and child reunion is only a motion away. Oh, little darling of mine, I can't for the life of me remember a sadder day. I know they say let it be but it just don't work out that way and the course of a lifetime runs over and over again. No, I would not give you false hope on this strange and mournful day, but the mother and child reunion is only a motion away. Oh, little darling of mine, I just can't believe it's so, and though it seems strange to say, I never been laid so low in such a mysterious way and the course of a lifetime runs over and over again. But I would not give you false hope on this strange and mournful day, but the mother and child reunion is only a motion away. Oh, well, the mother and child reunion is only a motion away. Oh the mother and child reunion is only a moment away... The Obvious Child I'm accustomed to a smooth ride or maybe I'm a dog who's lost its bite. I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more, I don't expect to sleep through the night. Some people say a lie's a lie's a lie but I say why, why deny the obvious child? Why deny the obvious child? And in remembering a road sign, I am remembering a girl when I was young, and we said these songs are true, these days are ours, these tears are free and hey, the cross is in the ballpark, the cross is in the ballpark. We had a lot of fun, we had a lot of money. We had a little son and we thought we'd call him Sonny. Sonny gets married and moves away, Sonny has a baby and bills to pay. Sonny gets sunnier day by day by day by day. Well I've been waking up at sunrise, I've been following the light across my room, I watch the night receive the noon of my day. Some people say the sky is just the sky but I say, why deny the obvious child? Why deny the obvious child? Sonny sits by the window and thinks to himself how it's strange that some roots are like cages. Sonny's yearbook from high school is down on the shelf and he idle thumbs through the pages. Some have died, some have fled from themselves or struggled from here to get there. Sonny wanders beyond his interior walls, runs his hands through his thinning brown hair. Well, I'm accustomed to a smooth ride or maybe I'm a dog who's lost its bite. I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more, I don't expect to sleep through the night. Some people say a lie is just a lie but I say the cross is in the ballpark, why deny the obvious child? Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War Rene and Georgette Magritte with their dog after the war returned to their hotel suite and they unlocked the door. Easily losing their evening clothes, they danced by the light of the moon to The Penguins, The Moonglows, The Orioles and The Five Satins, the deep forbidden music they'd been longing for. Rene and Georgette Magritte with their dog after the war. Rene and Georgette Magritte with their dog after the war were strolling down Christopher Street when they stopped in a men's store with all the mannequins dressed in the style that brought tears to their immigrant eyes. Just like The Penguins, The Moonglows, The Orioles and The Five Satins, the easy stream of laughter flowing through the air. Rene and Georgette Magritte with their dog apres la guerre. Side by side, they fell asleep. Decades gliding by like Indians, time is cheap. When they wake up they will find all their personal belongings have intertwined. Rene and Georgette Magritte with their dog after the war were dining with the power elite and they looked in their bedroom drawer. And what do you think they have hidden away in the cabinet cold of their hearts? The Penguins, The Moonglows, The Orioles and The Five Satins. For now and ever after as it was before, Rene and Georgette Magritte with their dog after the war. Run That Body Down Went to my doctor yesterday, she said I seem to be OK. She said, Paul you better look around. How long you think that you can run that body down? How many nights you think you can do what you been doing? Who you fooling? I came back home and I went to bed, I was resting my head. My wife came in and she said what's wrong, sweet boy, what's wrong? Ah, I told her what's wrong I said Peg, you better look around. How long you think you can run that body down? How many nights you think you can do what you been doing? Now, who you fooling? Kid, you better look around. How long you think that you can run that body down? How many nights you think you can do what you been doing? Who you fooling? St. Judy's Comet Oh, little sleepy boy, don't you know what time it is? Well, the hour of your bedtime's long been past. And though I know you're fighting it, I can tell when you rub your eyes you're fading fast, you're fading fast. Won't you run come see St. Judy's Comet roll across the skies and leave a spray of diamonds in its wake? I long to see St. Judy's Comet sparkle in your eyes when you awake, oh when you awake. Little boy, won't you lay your body down? Little boy, won't you close your weary eyes? Ain't nothing flashing but the fireflies. Well I sang it once and I sang it twice, I'm going to sing it three times more. Going to stay till your resistance is overcome. Cause if I can't sing my boy to sleep, well, it makes your famous daddy look so dumb, look so dumb. Won't you run come see St. Judy's Comet roll across the skies and leave a spray of diamonds in its wake? I long to see St. Judy's Comet sparkle in your eyes when you awake, oh when you awake. Little boy, won't you lay your body down? Little boy, won't you close your weary eyes? Ain't nothing flashing but the fireflies. Oh, little sleepy boy, don't you know what time it is? Well, the hour of your bedtime's long been past. And though I know you're fighting it, I can tell when you rub your eyes you're fading fast, you're fading fast. Slip Slidin' Away Slip slidin' away, slip slidin' away. You know the nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin' away. I know a man, he came from my home town. He wore his passion for his woman like a thorny crown. He said Delores, I live in fear, my love for you is so overpowering I'm afraid that I will disappear. Slip slidin' away, slip slidin' away. You know the nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin' away. I know a woman, became a wife. These are the very words she uses to describe her life: She said, a good day ain't got no rain. She said, a bad day's when I lie in bed and think of things that might have been. Slip slidin' away, slip slidin' away. You know the nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin' away. And I know a father who had a son, he longed to tell him all the reasons for the things he'd done. He came a long way just to explain. He kissed his boy as he lay sleeping then he turned around and headed home again. He's slip slidin', slip slidin' away. You know the nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin' away. And God only knows, God makes his plan. The information's unavailable to the mortal man. We work our jobs, collect our pay, believe we're gliding down the highway when in fact we're slip slidin' away. Slip slidin' away, slip slidin' away. You know the nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin' away. Slip slidin' away, slip slidin' away. You know the nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin' away. Some Folks Lives Roll Easy Some folks' lives roll easy as a breeze, drifting through a summer night, heading for a sunny day. But most folks' lives, they stumble, Lord, they fall through no fault of their own. Most folks never catch their stars. And here I am, Lord, I'm knocking at your place of business, I know I ain't got no business here. But you said if I ever got so low I was busted, you could be trusted. And here I am, Lord, I'm knocking at your place of business, I know I ain't got no business here. But you said if I ever got so low I was busted, you could be trusted. Some folks' lives roll easy, some folks' lives never roll at all. They just fall, they just fall, some folks' lives. Something So Right You've got the cool water when the fever runs high. You've got the look of love light in your eyes. And I was in crazy motion till you calmed me down. It took a little time, but you calmed me down. When something goes wrong, I'm the first to admit it. I'm the first to admit it but the last one to know. When something goes right, well, it's likely to lose me. It's apt to confuse me, it's such an unusual sight, oh, I, I can't get used to something so right, something so right. They've got a wall in China, it's a thousand miles long. To keep out the foreigners, they made it strong. I've got a wall around me that you can't even see. It took a little time to get next to me. When something goes wrong, I'm the first to admit it. I'm the first to admit it but the last one to know. When something goes right, well, it's likely to lose me. It's apt to confuse me, it's such an unusual sight, oh, I swear, I can't get used to something so right, something so right. Some people never say the words I love you, it's not their style to be so bold. Some people never say those words I love you, but like a child they're longing to be told. When something goes wrong, I'm the first to admit it. I'm the first to admit it but the last one to know. When something goes right, well, it's likely to lose me. It's apt to confuse me, because it's such an unusual sight, oh, I swear, I can't get used to something so right, something so right. Still Crazy After All These Years I met my old lover on the street last night. She seemed so glad to see me, I just smiled. And we talked about some old times and we drank ourselves some beers, still crazy after all these years, oh, still crazy after all these years. I'm not the kind of man who tends to socialize. I seem to lean on old familiar ways. And I ain't no fool for love songs that whisper in my ears, still crazy after all these years, oh, still crazy after all these years. Four in the morning, crapped out, yawning, longing my life away. I'll never worry, why should I? It's all gonna fade. Now I sit by my window and I watch the cars, I fear I'll do some damage one fine day. But I would not be convicted by a jury of my peers, still crazy after all these years, oh, still crazy, still crazy, still crazy after all these years/ Stranded In A Limousine He was a mean individual, he had a heart like a bone. He was a naturally crazy man and better off left alone. Well, he stopped one night at a traffic light and when that light turned green, He was a mean individual stranded in a limousine. Hey hey hey hey, all the children in the street, they come running out their front doors, running out their back doors flying on their feet. They said mama oh! Papa oh! See what I have seen, there's a mean individual stranded in a limousine. Then everybody came running, everybody said Lord, Lord! Everybody was gunning, they're gonna divvy up the reward. And then a wah wah wah wah wah wah wah with a siren, a flashing light, but the mean individual had vanished in the black of night. Hey hey hey hey, they wondered where to begin, cause he left that neighborhood just like a rattlesnake sheds its skin. Well, they searched the roofs and they checked the groups and the photographed the scene of the mean individual stranded in a limousine. Then everybody came running, everybody said Lord, Lord! Everybody was gunning, they're gonna divvy up the reward. And then a wah wah wah wah wah wah wah with a siren, a flashing light, but the mean individual had vanished in the black of night. The mean individual had vanished in the black of night. The mean individual, he vanished in the black of night. Take Me To The Mardi Gras C'mon take me to the Mardi Gras where the people sing and play, where the dancing is elite and there's music in the street both night and day. Hurry take me to the Mardi Gras in the city of my dreams. You can legalize your lows, you can wear your summer clothes in the New Orleans. And I will lay my burden down, rest my head upon that shore. And when I wear that starry crown, I won't be wanting anymore. Take your burdens to the Mardi Gras, let the music wash your soul. You can mingle in the street, you can jingle to the beat of a Jelly Roll. Train In The Distance She was beautiful as southern skies the night he met her, she was married to someone. He was doggedly determined that he would get her, he was old, he was young. From time to time he'd tip his heart, but each time she withdrew. Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance, everybody thinks it's true. Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance, everybody thinks it's true. Well eventually the boy and the girl get married, sure enough they have a son. And though they were both occupied with the child she carried, disagreements had begun. And in a while they just fell apart, it wasn't hard to do. Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance, everybody thinks it's true. Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance, everybody thinks it's true. Two disappointed believers, two people playing the game. Negotiations and love songs are often mistaken for one and the same. Now the man and the woman they remain in contact, let us say it's for the child. With disagreements about the meaning of a marriage contract, conversations hard and wild. But from time to time he just makes her laugh, she cooks a meal of two. Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance, everybody thinks it's true. Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance, everybody thinks it's true. What is the point of this story? What information pertains? The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains like a train in the distance. Like a train, like a train... You Can Call Me Al A man walks down the street, he says, "why am I soft in the middle, now? Why am I soft in the middle and the rest of my life is so hard? I need a photo opportunity, I want a shot at redemption, don't want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard." Bone-digger, bone-digger, dogs in the moonlight, far away my well-lit door. Mr. Beerbelly, beerbelly, get these mutts away from me, you know, I don't find this stuff amusing anymore. If you'll be my bodyguard, I can be your long lost pal. I can call you Betty, and Betty, when you call me you can call me Al. A man walks down the street, he says, "why am I short of attention? Got a short little span of attention and, woe, my nights are so long. Where's my wife and family, what if I die here, who'll be my role model now that my role model is gone, gone? He ducked back down the alley with some roly-poly little bat-faced girl." All alone, alone, there were incidents and accidents, there were hints and allegations. If you'll be my bodyguard, I can be your long lost pal. I can call you Betty, and Betty, when you call me you can call me Al, call me Al. A man walks down the street, it's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world, maybe it's his first time around. He doesn't speak the language, he holds no currency. He is a foreign man, he is surrounded by the sound, the sound of cattle in the marketplace, scatterlings and orphanages. He looks around, around, he sees angels in the architecture spinning in infinity, he says, Amen and Hallelujah. If you'll be my bodyguard, I can be your long lost pal. I can call you Betty, and Betty, when you call me you can call me Al. Call me, na na na na... |