by Elvis Costello
and Burt Bacharach
Did somebody try
To catch your eye
And almost change your sad expression?
Did somebody's hand
Linger too long?
Must I now make my confession?
But you'll never know
What suspicion is
Until you lie awake
And every night you ask yourself
'What am I to do?'
Can it be so hard to calculate?
When three goes into two
There's nothing left over
How's it going to feel?
This time it's real
It's not a temporary fracture
This is what you get
The stage is set
For you and your attempted rapture
Is he going to smile
That indulgent smile
When you come running home?
What am I going to say?
You turn away
And you leave me here despairing
What am I going to do?
I look at you
You seem to be so long past caring
Did somebody say,
'Can we still be friends?'
Only to find out now
That it's a joke, so ask yourself
'What am I to do?'
Can it be so hard to calculate?
When three goes into two
There's nothing left over
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The Long Division
Posted by Steven A Mitchell 0 comments
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Let All Things Now Living
by Katherine K. Davis
Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving
To God the creator triumphantly raise.
Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
Who still guides us on to the end of our days.
God's banners are o'er us, His light goes before us,
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night.
Till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished
As forward we travel from light into light.
His law he enforces, the stars in their courses
And sun in its orbit obediently shine;
The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,
The deeps of the ocean proclaim him divine.
We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing;
With glad adoration a Song let us raise
Till all things now living unite in thanksgiving:
'To God in the highest, Hosanna and praise!'
Posted by Steven A Mitchell 0 comments
Monday, November 19, 2012
Incident on 57th Street
by Bruce Springsteen
Spanish Johnny drove in
From the underworld last night
With bruised arms and broken rhythm in a beat-up old Buick
But dressed just like dynamite
He tried selling his heart
To the hard girls over on Easy Street
But they sighed, 'Johnny it falls apart so easy
'And you know hearts these days are cheap'
And the pimps swung their axes
And said, 'Johnny, you're a cheater'
Well the pimps swung their axes
And said, 'Johnny, you're a liar'
And from out of the shadows came a young girl's voice
Saying, 'Johnny, don't cry'
Puerto Rican Jane
Won't you tell me what's your name?
I want to drive you down to the other side of town
Where paradise ain't so crowded
There'll be action going down on Shanty Lane tonight
All them golden-heeled fairies in a real bitch fight
Pull .38s and kiss the girls good night
Good night, it's all right, Jane
Now let them black boys in to light the soul flame
We may find it out on the street tonight, baby
Or we may walk until the daylight maybe
Well like a cool Romeo he made his moves
Oh, she looked so fine
Like a late Juliet she knew he'd never be true
But then she didn't really mind
Upstairs a band was playing, the singer was singing
Something about going home
She whispered, 'Spanish Johnny, you can leave me tonight
'But just don't leave me alone'
And Johnny cried, 'Puerto Rican Jane
'Word is down the cops have found the vein'
Oh all them barefoot boys, they left their homes for the woods
Them little barefoot street boys, they say homes ain't no good
They left the corners
Threw away all their switchblade knives
And kissed each other good-bye
Johnny was sitting on the fire escape
Watching the kids playing down the street
He called down, 'Hey little heroes, summer's long
'But I guess it ain't very sweet around here anymore'
Janey sleeps in sheets damp with sweat
Johnny sits up alone and watches her dream on
And the sister prays for lost souls
Then breaks down in the chapel after everyone's gone
Jane moves over to share her pillow
But opens her eyes to see Johnny up and putting his clothes on
She says, 'Those romantic young boys
'All they ever want to do is fight'
Those romantic young boys
They're calling through the window
'Hey Spanish Johnny, you want to make a little easy money tonight?'
And Johnny whispered, 'Good night, it's all tight, Jane'
I'll meet you tomorrow night on Lover's Lane
We may find it out on the street tonight, baby
Or we may walk until the daylight maybe
Posted by Steven A Mitchell 0 comments
Labels: hope, joy, longing, melancholia, narrative, romanticism, Springsteen, the city
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Attics of My Life
by Robert Hunter
In the attics of my life
Full of cloudy dreams unreal
Full of tastes no tongue can know
And lights no eye can see
When there was no ear to hear
You sang to me
I have spent my life
Seeking all that's still unsung
Bent my ear to hear the tune
And closed my eyes to see
When there were no strings to play
You played to me
In the book of love's own dream
Where all the print is blood
Where all the pages are my days
And all my lights grow old
When I had no wings to fly
You flew to me
You
flew
to me
In the secret space of dreams
Where I dreaming lay amazed
When the secrets all are told
And the petals all unfold
When there was no dream of mine
You dreamed of me
Posted by Steven A Mitchell 0 comments
Labels: aging, dream, friendship, generosity, Grateful Dead, life, memory, surrealism
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)
by Chris White
A butcher, yes that was my trade
But the King's shilling is now my fee
A butcher I may as well have stayed
For the slaughter that I see
And the preacher in his pulpit
Sermoned, 'Go and fight, do what is right'
But he don't have to hear these guns
And I bet he sleeps at night
And I can't stop shaking
My hands won't stop shaking
My arms won't stop shaking
My mind won't stop shaking
I want to go home
Please let me go home
And I have seen a friend of mine
Hang on the wire like some rag toy
Then in the heat the flies come down
And cover up the boy
And the flies come down in Gommecourt,
Thiepval, Mametz Wood, and French Verdun
If the preacher, he could see those flies
Wouldn't preach for the sound of guns
And I can't stop shaking
My hands won't stop shaking
My arms won't stop shaking
My mind won't stop shaking
I want to go home
Please let me go home
Friday, November 9, 2012
Hung Up
by Paul Weller
Hidden in the back seat of my head
Someplace, I can't remember where
I found it just by coincidence
And now I'm all hung up again
Just like a soldier from the past
Who won't be told it's over yet
Refusing to lay down his gun
He'll keep on fighting 'til his war is won
Waiting for the moment
That will catch me by surprise
Extraordinary
Trying to cease the war inside
Posted by Steven A Mitchell 0 comments
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Till There Was You
by Meredith Wilson
There were bells on the hill
But I never heard them ringing
No, I never heard them at all
Till there was you
There were birds in the sky
But I never saw them winging
No, I never saw them at all
Till there was you
And there was music
And there were wonderful roses
They tell me
In sweet fragrant meadows of dawn and dew
There was love all around
But I never heard it singing
No, I never heard it at all
Till there was you