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AIN'T NO TIME TO BLEED
Stranded
in the wilderness
Heart
inside my hand
For
every act of wickedness
Add
another grain of sand
The
sacred hoop hangs in the sky
Great
Spirit’s on his knees
Where
the red and black roads intersect
The
sacred tree just bleeds
O
Father, if you see me
Crying
in my hour of need
Until
my time for dyin
Ain’t
No Time To Bleed
There’s
a town beyond Jerusalem
Built
of mud and brick
Somewhere
on the outskirts
A
sign made out of sticks
The
battle is still raging
The
wind left long ago
A
tattoo of a trumpet
On
the walls of Jericho
O
mother, if you see me
Crying
in my hour of need
Until
my time of dyin
I
got no time to bleed
See
the wounded darkened plain
It’s
a chaos and a curse
The
north is flames and ashes
The
sky has died of thirst
Joan
of arc stripped off her armor
Jesus
pawned his cross
So
much sold down the river
How
much do pawnshops cost?
O
sister, if you see me
Crying
in my hour of need
Until
my time of dyin
Ain’t
no time to bleed
The
rain will wash the river clean
The
clouds will clear away
The
sun will set upon the graves
Of
those who couldn’t pray
So
much to be done here
Do
we stop before we’re finished
Or
start all over again
O
brother, if you see me
Crying
in my hour of need
Before
my time for dyin
I
got no time to bleed
Standin
on this empty shore
My
life rolls in the waves
A
strange wind full of memories
That
weren’t mine anyway
Some
believe in accidents
Some
believe in fate
The
only thing i believe is time
Time
is never late
In
my hour of need
Until
my time of dying
There
ain’t no time to bleed
Until
my time of dyin
Got
no time to bleed
No
time to bleed…
Eric
Andersen © 2003, Wind and Sand Music
Adm.
Bug Music, ASCAP
BEAT
AVENUE
city
fell in shock
the
moment when it heard the news
the
president had been shot
me
stuck in phone booth
tryin
to call my gal
only
to hear -- crackly metal voice say,
try
again, sir, all circuits busy
what
in the world was going on
with
a feelin strange and lost
it
was haunted in the neighborhood
startled
words became a flood
tongues
gathered and soon began to flock
the
moment when they heard the news
the
president had been shot, shot, shot
me
walkin in space whistlin in the dark
I
didn’t have a clue
thinkin
about a new song
ramblin
down Beat Avenue
shot
. . . shot . . . shot . . .
shot . . .
who
come runnin up the hill
but
Billy’s cousin Joan
it
was the wildest, goofiest thing
(yeah,
we had a thing or two)
now
she was ziggin, zaggin
middle
of the street
comin
towards me
arms
flailin, horns were honkin
bigger
‘an life
a
crazy sight
until
she collapsed
on
parked car
blond
hair spillin
she
was sobbin, out of breath
lookin
up to me
as
if to speak
but
no sound came
just
tears
green-eyed
liquid pain
runnin
down her face
and
low animal groan
comin
from somewhere
deep
inside her throat
they
shot him, man, probably shot him dead
they
shot him, man, probably shot him
dead dead dead
She
gasped for angry words
pulled
her off the car
dropped
the wash
we
started down the hill
talkin
gray monotones
all
the way to her place
climbed
the stairs
while
tryin to utter the unspeakable
“at
1 pm Dallas time...
President
Kennedy died
at
Parkland Memorial Hospital”
in
a ghostly instant
memory
fused
wonderin
what would happen next
while
silence
blew
up the room
where
to go
what
to do?
everybody
glued
to
the breakin flames
blowin
‘cross the tube
as
bad news spread
mouth
to mouth
ear
to ear
blazin
down Beat Avenue
shot
. . . shot . . . shot . . .
shot . . .
3.
Where
was Jack
sweet
slumber Jack
where
was Jack tonight?
sweet,
crazy
dumb-saint
of the mind
our
alter boy
in
Northport darkened room
alone,
deep in armchair
in
front of flickerin blue tube
smellin
indifference
in
every mantra breath
Mama’s
leftover casserole
waits
cold on kitchen counter
and
crush empty beer can
tossin
it into trash
Ti-Jean
you
found the asphalt eye
and
Buddha’s heart
on
the road
you
were born knowin
and
blew as deep as you could blow
born
to see
and
make it new
you
loved and honored life
until
it
killed
you
now
as this day turns black and blue
still
it’s me and still it’s you
movin
to the dharma
looking
down Beat Avenue
shot
. . . shot . . . shot . . .
shot . . .
4.
Where
are you, precious Julie?
part-time
barmaid, part-time artist model
and
full-time kind
where
are you tonight
thinkin
you were my first
when
you closed the bar
found
me on the floor
huggin
the toilet bowl
we
sailed those foggy drunken hills
past
tunnel lights and twirlin stars
up
Russian Hills
and
creaky stairs
to
bungalow
candle
flame and jasmine
you
pulled the dress high over her head
threw
the fishnet stockings
on
the chair
study
of black on black
then
next
me
now sunk low in tub
of
warm fragrant waters
scented
fingers memorizin
bones
of my white body
spells
of deep opium
kisses
gleams
from your olive eyes
from
loins of gold
I
tasted the perfume
of
your morphine flesh
hair
of chestnut flames
made
a tent that
tumbled
down your breast
a
Modigliani . . .
fallin
free from the frame
my
every boyish wish came true
a
living odalisque
you
proved again what
Georges
Clemençeau once said
that
the greatest sin there is,
is
a soul
that
lacks warmth
that
wasn’t one of yours,
my
love
while
we drifted
on
the drunken boat
sheltered
from the blues
you
holdin me
me
holdin you
floatin
soft and true
chasin
my Van Gogh
driftin
down Beat Avenue
shot
. . . shot . . . shot . . .
shot . . .
5.
Before
the Coffee Gallery
and
Julie’s foggy rides
I
played in North Beach
streets
and doorways
playin
for wine and coins
a
skinny wide-eyed kid
to
JC’s’ lonesome blues
with
Gregory beatin shoebox time
JC
blew the harp
JC
Burris was his name
Sonny
Terry’s Georgia nephew
with
a big scar
runnin
‘cross his . . . neck
everyone
saw that
he
taught me how to kill a man
with
just one hand around
the
throat
Whoa,
JC Burris
you
blew for all
street
was your stage
where
you taught me the hand jive
we
played for cash and jugs of wine
one
night across the Golden Gate
you
sang and cried
500
miles... 500 miles. . .
Lord,
I’m 500 miles from my home
when
I played my payin gig
you
would stand outside and wait
we’d
sometimes
sometimes
split the take
then
one night
after
closin time
the
Big Chill
you
disappeared
maybe
gone for good
got
up and split one day
to
where I never knew
you
learn fast when things
just
come and go
up
and down Beat Avenue
shot shot shot
shot
6.
So
I headed for the Haight
for
a poetry read that night
went
up with my singin poet friend
David
Meltzer and his wife, Tina,
David
was a moonlight City Light book clerk
and
was heard to say-
the
mystery is the ordinary
and
the ordinary
is
the mystery
and
there ain’t no such thing
as
“coolsville”
climbed
those creaky stairs
and
sat in blackened room
dull
light strung over little stage
Allen
Ginsberg just returned
from
Buddha’s jukebox
Calcutta
and Saigon
he’d
been diamond sutra’d
Banged
and cocked
now
he was on Columbus Ave.
swathed
in smilin white
but
tonight the air was sick and bruised
he
was dressed in black
after
poets recited stuff
Allen
stood and read
all
nerve and breath
olive-wreathed
paper
in his hand
his
words spit rage
he
sang of dharma boomerangs
and
karmic kickback
of
open graves
and
worms crawling out of
assholes
of
dead presidents
in
a haunted room of silhouettes
we
were perched along the void
while
McClure stood under
naked
landing bulb
Ferlinghetti
deep
in thought
fingers
strokin chin
and
restless Neal
stalkin
his shadow
along
the wall
we
watched from the abyss
as
hope burned into ashes
while
Allens’s words gunned down
all
sorrow in the room
the
world caved in
the
room breathed out
every
word rang
hard
and true
howlin
down Beat Avenue
shot
. . . shot . . . shot . . .
shot . . . shot
7.
Now
the image of pink
and
a burned-out star
pale
in TV grays
a
wave, a smile
an
open car
Camelot’s
skull got
shattered
into pieces
then
a tarmac
on
a field called “Love”
we
saw her standin there
a
woman in the noonday Dallas sun
in
blood-spattered pink suit
her
face told it all
that
a dream had died
and
gone to shit
rainin
ashes on our hearts
freezin
winds just blew
blew
the flames apart
shattered
like the scattered leaves
blowin
blood
blowin
down Beat Avenue shot . . .
shot . . .
shot . . . shot . . .
shot
8.
It
was in the midnight hour
drivin
rag-tag through hills
to
Ferlinghetti’s bastion
up
steep steps
I
look behind
and
see the black bay below
surrounded
by
gleaming
jewels on black velvet
connected
by
neckaces
of sparkling bridges
everythin
looked the same
and
now nothin was the same
we
all stumbled down
Victorian
corridor
to
back kitchen
Allen
near Formica counter
stark
naked by the sink
wearin
only beard and
trademark
horned-rims
oak
table groaning with cheap jug wine
air
is thick with weed
Allen
sits next to me
on
neighbor woman’s lap
we’re
talking quietly
amongst
ourselves
in
somber tones
feel
a little too good
on
a night like this
Neal
Cassady appears
standin
in front of fridge
head
bowed down
clutchin
a shoe box
full
of clean
Mexican
weed
not
a seed or stem in sight
standin
taut-jawed
talkin
to no one
not
even himself
raw-boned
Juárez
jailbird
in
redline fever night
all
knitted brow
smiling
sweetly,
shy
. . .
like
a girl
Tina
rolls a massive joint
from
tissue thin Chinese newspaper
like
a rocket
travelin
hand to hand
smoke
drifts over
cheap
jug wine and cans
of
Green Death Rainier ale
then
I gotta pee
I
go down hall to the toilet
when
from behind the door
comes
soft, desperate knockin
I
zip up quick
standin
in doorway
I
see a naked holy man
holdin
cereal bowl
full
of wine and puke
I
step aside
as
he carefully pours
gut-freed
vomit alms
in
porcelain bowl
I
see and smell
wretch
and blood
soul-nausea
and cheap
red
wine
just
the holy man and me
standin
in the loo
waitin
for the shoe to drop
as
the ice just
grew
and grew
shiverin
down Beat avenue
9.
The
days wore thin
white
December days
mist
froze to my face
like
tears
just
walkin to keep warm and kill time
wanderin
Telegraph, San Pablo
Berkeley
avenues
into
Oakland wasteland
past
thrift shop desolation
abandoned
railroad tracks
overgrown
docks
seein
shaky hands warming
over
flames in oil drums
Oooooh,
it’s cold
beneath
long Calvary
strings
of power lines
above
storefront churches
salvation
army dreams
walkin
to the strains
of
Lightnin’s blues
ah,
to go back
far
from the fog and misery
yeah,
I left my home
a
diamond fire
burnin
in my head
saddled
on the hobo steed
to
ride the blazin
blazin
rainbow rails
to
a paradise
with
a terrible urge and longin
to
go back to someplace warm
a
place like home
safe
from jungle wars
a
place like New York City
fly
down like an angel
over
buildings and bones
and
try ‘n change the world
before
it started changin me
changin
me
so
I turn to face the rails
collar
to the wind
see
the lonesome road
goodbye
Julie
goodbye
fog
City
Lights, Vesuvio’s
Hot
dog palace
Market
Street
gonna
cross that bridge of sighs
so
if ya hear me singin
Lightnin’s
Rocky Mountain Blues
if
ya’ hear me singin
Lightnin’s
Rocky Mountain Blues
know
I’m back out on the road again
farewell…
Beat
Avenue
farewell,
Beat Avenue
farewell
. . .
Lyrics
and melody by Eric Andersen © 2003, Wind and Sand Music
Adm.
Bug Music, ASCAP
BEFORE
EVERYTHING CHANGED
My dreams they never fail
me
They never miss the mark
Sleepin at the strangest hours
Tryin to beat the clock
If a picture’s worth a
thousand words
A photograph proves that
How can you even picture love
If ya’ can’t afford to laugh
It’s changin like a roll of dice
Nothin’s really sure
Hate is spreading like disease
And there ain’t no easy cure
Below the blackened skyline
Beyond the smokin rain
Dreams never burned to ashes
Up until . . . until everything changed
Until everything changed
Well, I used to be an optimist
Used to play the lottery
Now I don’t even bother
To lock the front door when I leave
My bed’s a worn out boxing
ring
My life’s rundown gym
What once was Charles Bukowski
Is now Emily Dickinson
My future has moved out of town
It’s that emptiness you hear
The silent empty tower
shouts
The coast was never clear
Well, I look out on the
highway
Things are gettin strange
Didn’t it all seem so familiar
Before . . . before everything
changed
Before everything changed
Sittin
in this sad cafe
Starin
in your eyes
They’re
lookin good but changed to me
Lookin
old and wise
Sidelined
by the future
Leaves only us to blame
The future wins and soon forgets
The future don’t explain
Don’t
need illumination
Don’t
need no poison pen
Words
can live their own life
They
know exactly what they meant!
Well, I miss you more than
I did before
Nothin feels the same
Didn’t we all feel vain and self-assured
Right before . . . before
everything changed
Before everything changed
It’s
dark and clouding over
The
river’s risin fast
I
knew it wouldn’t last
I
heard the midnight special
Pass
by an hour ago
Is
there something here to get me high
The
clock ain’t turnin backwards
The
sands blow at my feet
If
you ever hear from the Man upstairs
I’d
love to hear him speak
I’m
cashing all my chips in
Too
dumb to play the game
I
used to plan an hour ahead
Up
until . . . till everything changed
Until
everything changed, until everything changed
Until everything changed
Eric Andersen © 2003, Wind
and Sand Music
Adm. Bug Music, ASCAP
BLUE ROCKIN CHAIR
Goin
down to the henhouse
down
to where my chickens lay
see
if the eggs are hatchin
that’s
what the rooster say
Went
out to my stable
to
find my pony there
she
left me for the station
I
couldn’t find her anywhere
Goin
back into the kitchen
Check
on my jelly roll
(I smell somethin cookin . . .)
I
said, if you’re bakin any doughnuts, baby,
Oh,
don’t let them holes get cold
Hey
mama, now look at this
Who’s
on the levee doin the double twist
Come
on in, you’re gettin dirty now
You’re
tryin to be a bad girl but you don’t know how
Wild
women they don’t worry
Wild
women know what to do
Wild
women they don’t worry
Ah,
wild women don’t get the blues
(Now
boys, listen to this)
Can
always tell your woman’s
got
a new man on the scene
now,
your meals ain’t never regular
and
your house ain’t never clean
(Now,
listen to me…)
You
always know your mama
when
she holdin someone tight
she
don’t pick up her mobile
she
don’t come home at night
I’m
leavin you, pretty baby
let’s
shake hand in hand
gonna
find me another woman
Oh,
better find another man
Hey
baby, look at this
Out
on the levee doin the double twist
Come
on in, you’re gettin dirty now
You’re
trying to be a bad girl but you don’t know how
Wild
women they don’t worry
Whoa,
they know what to do
Wild
women they don’t worry
Oh,
wild women don’t get the blues
Don’t
the night feel lost and lonesome
when
that lonely whistle blows
don’t
that road look rough and rocky
Oh,
when you’re lost out in the cold
Now
I’m lookin for a woman
who’s
lookin for a low-down man
ain’t
nobody in this town
can
get more low-down than I can
Sittin
in my blue chair
rockin
on the porch
Whoa,
my eyes keep lookin southward
but
my mind keeps lookin north
Come
on, walk with me awhile
Eric
Andersen © 2003, Wind and Sand
music
Adm.
Bug Music, ASCAP
FEEL
LIKE COMIN’ HOME
Can’t
say this world’s been wrong to me
live
and let live and let us all be
so
many faces gone away from me
I
ask, where do they all go?
I
sailed the seas and I sailed the roads
I’ve
been afraid and I’ve been alone
Been
chained to the things of what I don’t know
Now
it’s time to let the river just flow
Cause
now I feel, I feel it’s time, I feel like . . .
Like
I’m comin’ home
Better
find shelter you’re out on your own
Get
out of harm’s way get out of the road
some days you wonder why you ever were born
ya’ come in and go out alone
Saw
the apple of my eye
she
looked so young but she looked so wise
she
don’t back down or compromise
she
knows just where it’s all goin
I
sailed the seas and I sailed the roads
I’ve
been afraid and I’ve been alone
Been
chained to the things of what I don’t know
Now
it’s time to let the river just flow
Cause
now I feel, I feel it’s time, I feel like . . .
Like
I’m comin’ home
Eric
Andersen © 2002, Wind and Sand Music
Adm..
Bug Music, ASCAP
GREAT
PYRAMID
Lookin
for the black lamb
So
feared and sacrificed
Tryin
to break the seventh seal
Lookin
for somebody nice
Lookin
at the throne of God
Where
fate and blood are hung
I’m
lookin for the holy note
That
never has been sung
Not
lookin for the broken man
Vanished
on the cross
I’m
lookin for the eyes of God
I’m
lookin for the lost
I
looked under the Great Pyramid
Seekin
out the diamond light
Lookin
for the Big Something
To
give a meaning to my life
From
the sands of Abu Simbel
To
slopes of White Delphi
Saw
a poet hanging upside down
Life-in-balance
but still alive
I
hid out in the rushes
Hidin
from the sun
No
need to read the leaves to see
Begin
and End are One
Motion
in water
No
motion in stone
Motion
in bloodstream
No
motion in bone
Motion
in motion
The
wind in the sky
Motion
in everything
What
crawls and what flies
Motion
in everything
Dead
or alive
Lookin
at the sand dunes
All
along the Libyan night
Somewhere
to the north of here
Is
where I’ll set my sights
Horizons
boast of caravans
Silhouetted
by the moon
Each
dune a frozen white cap
My
mind an empty room
I
must have been delirious
No
water here to drink
Drawin
pyramids from memory
Fingers
black as ink
So
much left unspoken
So
much left unsaid
So
many lives forgotten
The
love just left for dead
Too
many hearts forsaken
Abandoned
from neglect
Capsized
in the vicious tides
Where
ships of love are wrecked
I’m
swimming with the Sirens
My
trophy if I win
More
meaningless and careless love
Not
worth its weight in skin
Some
nights I’m sick from loneliness
In
a dark too bright to see
A
blind man fumblin for the boat
He
built from memory
The
streets of lower Broadway
To
the sunken plains of Troy
I’m
looking for my Helen, man,
I’m
simple like a boy
I
think I’ll sail to Sicily
Camp
out on the plain
Live
on rain and roses
Motion
in water
No
motion in stone
Motion
in bloodstream
No
motion in bone
Motion
in motion
The
wind in the sky
Motion
in everything
What
crawls and what flies
Motion
in everything
Dead
or alive
Motion
in everything
Dead
or alive
Eric
Andersen © 2003, Wind and Sand Music
Adm.
Bug Music, ASCAP
The
trumpet blast of summertime
Clouds
begin to form
Shootin
through the tangled roots
Signals
of the storm
Was
this the year we were deceived
Or
the year before the last
When
reality just starved to death
And
the future ate the past
Standin
on this empty plain
Hands
up to the sun
Surely
as the winds’ll rise
The
unblinkin eye of the dragonfly
Eats
the bitter pill
Every
child was born deceived
As
they saw the earth was killed
Memories
of slavery
Makin
mutiny in my mind
Choices
must be made here
What
to keep and leave behind
Symbols
shatter in the wind
The
tempest has begun
Surely
as the lightnin strikes
The
rains are gonna come
Tongues
thirst by the river
Mouths
starve on the plain
King
Confusion reigns
Compassion
nailed to the cross
The
day the righteous fled
What
meanin is worth rescuing
That
indifference hasn’t bled
I
feel like a fugitive
Runnin
to the sun
Surely
as the thunder roars
The
rains are gonna come
I’m
prayin for deliverence
From
a world I can not see
Will
there ever be redemption
While
one soul’s left unfree
I’m lookin to the heavens
I’m
looking to the ground
The
whole world’s gone to pieces
Lost
and upside down
With
the vision of a blind man
Starin
at the sun
Surely
as the darkness falls
The
Rains Are Gonna Come
Surely
as the darkness falls
The
Rains Are Gonna Come
Surely
as the winds’ll rise
The
rains are gonna come
Eric
Andersen © 2003, Wind and Sand Music
Adm.
Bug Music, ASCAP
RUN AWAY
Dreamin
of the I-40
That
ribbon of old blacktop
When
you talked about Memphis
You
know it almost broke my heart
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
with you
Took
a turn at Memphis
Headin
south to Oxford town
For
no particular reason
Just
to see if anyone was around
Couldn’t
see the swamp yet
The
evenin was steamin hot
When
you’re lookin for what you’re missin
You
ain’t lookin at what you got
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
with you
Now,
Graceland wasn’t gracefull
So
we found the Rendez-vous Ribs
I
shot out the lights on Beale Street
You
said I didn’t, but I know I did
Coulda’
been the Mississippi
Could’a
been on the yellow brick road
Or
on a drunken Natchez gamblin boat
Well
ya shoulda’ heard that whistle blow
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
with you
The
drama we avoided
Became
a scene without a plot
When
love became a phantom
And
Memphis just a shot in the dark
Rollin
down the I-40
That
ribbon of old blacktop
When
you talked about Memphis
You
know, it almost broke my heart
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
with you
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
I
wanna run away
with you
Eric
Andersen and Lisa Stewart
©
2002, Wind and Sand Music,
Adm.
Bug Music, ASCAP
Potter’s
Daughter Music, BMI
SALT
ON YOUR SKIN
I can feel myself sinkin back to the earth
Each new idea seems to make it much worse
Maybe death is a mask for some kind of rebirth
That’s draggin me slow through the mud
Now I’m drivin through Holland in the middle of the night
The rain’s blowin fiercely over the dikes
Over the sea, I can just make out the lights
But I don’t know how deep is your love
Well, I look over yonder and what do I see
I been so many places how do I begin
As
soon as it’s over it starts up again
All
I remember of you as the memory grows thin
Are
the tears in the dark and the salt . . . on your skin
I never played Hamlet but I learned some good lines
Like how good is timeless, when you’re runnin out of time
Why does life with a reason get tricked by a rhyme
What’s the trick of not turnin back
Where this crossroad ends, baby, i’ll never know
I never was one to get knocked off the road
But I sometimes lost sight of the track
Searchin the border why look anymore
It’s wrapped in a mist like a faraway shore
I don’t even know where where is anymore
I been so many places whrere do I begin
As
soon as it’s finished it starts up again
All
I remember of you as the memory grows thin
Are
the tears in the dark and the salt . . . on your skin
I don’t know many places but I’d know anywhere
When the dealer dealt danger I was gettin my share
I been so many places how do I begin
As
soon as it’s over it starts up again
All
I remember of you as the memory grows thin
Are
the tears in the dark and the salt . . . on your skin
Salt on your skin . . . salt on your skin
Eric Andersen ©
2003, Wind and sand Music
Adm. Bug Music, ASCAP
SHAPE OF A BROKEN HEART
It
was in the evening rain
That
time we had to part
I
reached out and I touched you
A
hand on a work of art
Hidden
in the doorway
Kissing
farewells in the dark
It
was not your breast I touched then
But
the shape of a broken heart
You
came up from the border
Where
the farms and factories met
Beautiful
and fragile
You
gave love that you couldn’t get
Somewhere
I heard a lute play
But
it could have been a harp
When
I saw your smile
It
was the shape of a broken heart
I
know you’ve seen the islands
I
heard you lived in Spain
Only
winds and beach survive there
And
the cross that holds your pain
We
found a piece of driftwood
You
made a drawing of a star
When
the wave rolled off the sand then
It
was the shape of a broken heart
It
was in the evening rain
In
that hour we had to part
I
reached out and I touched you
A
hand, a work of art
Hidden
in the doorway
Kissing
farewells in the dark
It
was not your breast I touched then
But
the shape of a broken heart
Eric
Andersen, © 2003, Wind and Sand Music
Adm.
Bug Music, ASCAP
SONG
OF YOU AND ME
We
crossed the German border into Alsace-Lorraine
Bought
two tickets for Marseilles on the Strasbourg train
When
the sun rose we were flyin on a wind of lavender
Drinkin
red wine in the morning along the Cote d’Azur
Then
you asked a question that touched a chord in me
Could
there ever be a bluer blue, bluer than the sea
I
had to think it over, if that could really be
I
think I gave an answer then, for you . . . but not for me
We
set up house right off the square close to our café
Made
love every morning, watched the ships roll on the bay
Pressure
started mounting, my feet were in the flames
The
bar, the little market place, the strolls after a rain
I
was backed up to the wall with every feeling that I lacked
A
romance gotten out of hand, I was fallin through the cracks
You
saw a piece of driftwood, floatin in the blue
I
saw a broken seashell and the pearl, the pearl inside . . . were you?
On
the all-night train to Stockholm, you got me actin like a kid
Your
mouth spun out of rebel words, my soul was on a thread
Your
kisses made me seasick when you pressed your lips to mine
A
Casablanca no man’s land, where the hero’s dumb and blind
You
placed your head down on my lap we never were discreet
Was
it love or was it crazy? With another woman ‘cross the sea
Danger
loves to make your plans cause danger never sleeps
That
night you hummed the chorus line to that song, that song . . . of you
and me
When
near became too many times
another word for far
Separation
played the major role but betrayal was the star
Outside
the central station, outside in the rain
You
pressed your lips against the glass, one last time again
I
stumbled to streets alone, lookin for my drunken boat
Love
had took me hostage without a ransom note
I
sailed back to my shipwrecked home to cut the anchor free
Watchin
from the churnin waves, you blowin kisses, on the sea to me
Remember
that night in the autumn light on the southern shore of Crete
Cats
chasin their own shadows, we walked along the beach
We
smoked and watched a girl swimming naked in the sea
We
had a screamin argument, more smokin jealousy
Two
can live together and still feel all alone
When
you start playin games with two, the puzzle never ends
A
chess game and an extra pawn – me . . .
Me
or you . . . or you and him?
Let
me tell you of a story, love, on a winter’s night alone
At
the New York City Opera, Mme. Butterfly was shown
I
sat up in the same row where we had sat before
I
dreamed that we’d seen La Bohème, but you said Turnadot
Now
me a broken arrow, fallin from your smokin bow
Was
it love or was it crazy? Every leading man must know
As
the curtain fell and the music died, I was the last to leave
The
crowd had seen a tragedy but I . . . I
. . . saw you and me
On
the all-night train from Switzerland, it was almost Christmas eve
Face
reflected in the window, a dream burnin on my sleeve
I
saw you in the tunnel but my arms weren’t long enough
You
were naked on the kitchen floor the day the Blue Hour struck
Was
it love or was it crazy? I didn’t
want to know
When
I finally dried my eyes on your new-washed dirty sheets
I
saw you bend down, dry your hair, but that . . . but that . . .
Was
you and me . . . you and me… song
of you and me
Eric
Andersen © 2003, Wind and Sand Music.
Adm.
Bug Music, ASCAP
STILL
LOOKIN FOR YOU
I
once loved a girl
With
the rolling black curls
Her
body so ripe and so fair
Her
kisses were sweeter
Than
grapes in the sun
Not
a thing could go wrong in this world
Cause
a train was our home
A
couch was a bed
An
opera nobody saw
Like
a song I remember
Stuck
in my head
I’d
do anything get you back now
I
keep lookin for someone
That
friend that I knew
Ain’t
it something a lover might do
Will
I find you again
Or
did our story just end
I’m
still lookin
I
admit that it’s true
Even that time when I looked away
I never stopped lookin for you
You’re
many miles gone
Years
kept us apart
And
the letters I write I don’t send
Your
image cuts deep
Deep
in my heart
Too
broken from tryin to bend
Are
you a Venus of gold
Risin
out of a shell
Or
a wish I once dropped in a well
Or
a face of an angel
Wounded
by love
The
face of my lost Raphael
I
keep lookin for someone
That
person I knew
Ain’t
it somethin a lover will do
Will
I find it again
Or
did our story just end
I’m
still lookin
I
admit that it’s true
And
even that time
When
I turned away
I only was lookin for you
I
miss you so much
Your
skin and your touch
I
forget why I do what I do
The
road’s wet and dark
A
tear down a heart
Was
that road ever runnin by you
And
the dreams that we sowed
Lie
in waste by the road
How
on earth will we get them all back
And
if love is a lie
Why
does love ever try
I
won’t stop to let myself ask
I
keep lookin for someone
That
friend that I knew
Will
I find you again
Or
did our story just end
I’m
still lookin
I
admit that it’s true
And
even that time
When
I looked away
I never stopped lookin for you
Lookin
for you
Eric
Andersen © 2003, Wind and Sand Music
Adm.
Bug Music, ASCAP
STUPID LOVE
Got
a rosary in my pocket, a cat’s eye ‘round my neck
Ain’t
no evil eye here to show me my way back
Blindsided
in an alley, you put me in a trance
You
had me and you knew it and I didn’t stand a chance
Stupid
love, stupid me
Stupid
love, stupid you
Stupid
love, stupid us
Stupid
me and you, in stupid love
Ah,
your gift was unexpected, a cold raindrop in the dark
An
arrow flyin in the night, straight into my heart
I
tried to run for cover, love it didn’t care
My
memory’s beggin mercy is my future anywhere?
Stupid
love, stupid love . . .
Remember
at the station, that cut upon my sleeve
We
left each other lonesome, you never saw me bleed
Ya
know you must be gettin soft when you start actin tough
Truth
rolled off the runway, I was lovin you too much!
I’m
sleepin with my clothes on, a book upon on my chest
Sleepin
with the TV on, my life is just a mess
Stupid
love, stupid me
Stupid
love, stupid you
Stupid
love, stupid us
Stupid
me and you, in stupid love
On
that beach in Ischia, you showed up like a wish
You
were on a joyride, I watched you from the cliff
Your
skirt was gathered at the knees, the sand was made of smoke
Were
you real or just a dream I had, or a poem I wish I’d wrote . . .
Stupid
love, stupid love…
I’m
goin down to New Orleans, to where the river flows
The
river don’t ask questions or things that you don’t know
My
heart was swimmin in the weeds, my mind was seein double
Every
word I sang so true, now I can barely mumble
Stupid
love, stupid me
Stupid
love, stupid you
Stupid
love, stupid us
Stupid
me and you, in stupid love
Eric
Andersen © 2003, Wind and Sand Music,
Adm..
Bug Music, ASCAP
Under
the gun
Under
the wire
My
back to the sun
I’m
over the deadline
I’m
way over the edge
I’m
under the shadows
I’m
over my head
I’m
hearing voices
But
nothin sounds real
The
music is heartfelt
But
it’s nothin I feel
I’m
too tired to phone
I’m
too edgy to care
No
need to open my eyes
I
know what’s out there
I
see a reflection
There’s
a man in the glass
I’m
too scared to reach out
I’m
too frightened of masks
The
face isn’t movin
Cause
only time does
What’ll
happen when he finds out
That
what is ain’t what was
Every
person I know
Has
made a mistake
Like
it or not
Each
has its own face
You
can try and protect it
Try
and cover it up
Or
wear a disguise
Is
it ever enough
I
think I’ll retire
To
an old rodeo
Sit
in the bleachers
Seen
so many places
Seen
too many views
Each
face I remember
Was
only one that I knew
Under
the shadows
Under
the gun
Under
the wire
My
back to the sun
I’m
over the deadline
Way
over the edge
I’m
under the shadows
Way
over my head
Under
the shadows
Way
over my head
Eric
Andersen © 2003, Wind and Sand Music
Adm.
Bug Music, ASCAP
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