Songs of my Father

[dorksidefiker]

So they won't be lost.

These aren't mine, really. My father wrote these songs. They aren't yours, either, so keep that in mind.

Or maybe they're everyone's.




Imandote stand at the scene of the seige and the slaugter
Where thirty men died for the price of a bottle of water
Teardrops swell his fevered eyes
He stand there on that plain
Where one day thirty young men died
This day one old man call down the rain

Cry Imandote, cry Imandote

Turtle and Real Frank fight for the land
`cause it's God's Will
Imandote draw a line in the sand
Where the blood spill
The rain falls on both sides
Wash their bloody sands underground
Turtle and Real Frank's foolish pride
Keep them from the truth they've found

Cry Imandote, cry Imandote

Imandote stand at the gates of the Garden of Eden
He like how it grow
But he wait `cause he can't take his seed in
Practice all his magic ways
Fill them up with strength and pride
He bring them to the very gates
But each one must find a way inside

Say Imandote, say Imandote

Imandote take his son and his daughters to reason
Show them the place for each time and thing and it's season
The rain that fall from winter sky
Go back to the sky one day
The water we drink and the tears we cry
Wind up in the same place

Say Imandote, say Imandote

Imandote stand once again at the scene of the slaughter
With his son by the hand
On each shoulder he carry one daughter
Why some men pay the heavy price
Imandote try to explain
Then Imandote's baby daughter cry
"But anyone can make it rain!"

Say Imandote, say Imandote

Walk on the land and of slaughter you may see plenty
Men with their hands and their hearts and their bellies all empty
The Earth got plenty to go `round
It goes around each day
IF there's no water to be found
It's man and not God's way

Say Imandote, say Imandote

Imandote stand at the scene of the seige and the slaughter
Where thirty men died for the price of a bottle of water
The salter teardrops burn his eyes
He stand there on that plain
Where thirty thirsty young men died
Imandote call down the rain

Cry Imandote, cry Imandote



It may not rain tomorrow on that plain outside of town
Where men once died in sorrow and dinosaurs once drowned
So you may have some water from this cistern I have found
To soothe you and cool you along your way
And I hope we meet again in a better place, on a wetter day

There's John behind the door where the temple once did stand
He made his life in years before just digging in the land
But since the rain stopped he just sits alone and stares across the sand
I'll send him along to help you on your road
He can guide you with directions, and, if it gets too hard, shoulder some of your load

I was a boy the last time it rained in here
Must be thirty, maybe forty years ago
Since that time I've been growing this pain in here
Guess I'll stick around and see how far it grows

There's Paul up on the stage with his passion well concealed
He sings his songs for strangers of whom nothing is revealed
When he was young his rage was harder, but an older Paul can yield
And should your load get weary, he's been even known to lend a helping hand

Now you may wonder how we ever got this way
With vandals standing all around who stole our rain away
They came here many years ago, when I was just a boy, you know
And they left us here to stay in pain, they stole our rain away
And if you'd leave a message here for those you left behind
Or try to make some contact with others of your kind
Just leave your number here with me, I'll carve it in my wall, you see
And show them when they come by here, I'll show them one and all

There's a city so the legends hold a years march to the west
Where rivers flow and men grow old and prophets earn their rest
And the land is green with gardens grown by men who's lives are blessed
It's said that the rain there falls on everyone
And I hope your journey takes you there

It may not rain tomorrow on that plain outside of town
Where men once dwelt in sorrow and dinosaurs once drowned
So you may take some water from this cistern I have found
To soothe you and cool you along your way
And I hope we meet again in a wetter place on a better day




Let me tell you `bout a woman that I met in New Orleans
When I was younger, with a belly full of wine
She told me a long story that I'd heard somewhere before
When I was sure what wasn't wasn't mine

She drew me to her room and then she asked how I was doing
And I told her that I guess I'd made out fine
Then she said to me, "Darling if you let me guide the way
I can give you all the lines you need to illustrate your life"
And I said to her, "Baby, paint a picture of a man
Who is incomplete if he's still free and not bound firmly to a wife"

Still she opened up her studio and she showed me all the things
She'd drawn from men she'd known and captured on her page
Then she sketched out my likeness on a coverture of silk
With lines that added decades to my age

When I tried to find out why she'd draw me out that way
She blinded me and tied me in the tangle of her life
Then she drew my mind and body with the things she had to say
And painted me in colors from the corners of her mind

She kept me in that cell until she knew me far too well
To share with me her colors or her charm
Then one day a word was spoken and it woke me from the spell
And broke the shakles she had painted on my arm

And she said to me, "Darling, you can stay here by my side
If you'll just sacrifice the pride that makes you strive for your own life"
And I said to her, "Baby, if you ride along with me
I guarantee I will keep you and your colors in my mind"

Let me tell you `bout a woman that I met in New Orleans
When I was younger and still had a taste for wine
She left me many years ago, but still she rides with me
You know I keep her in the corners of my mind




I'm going out to my back yard, put new strings on my old guitar
Open up another case of been underneath the stars.
Now I'm not trying to forget you, I'm just trying to ease my brain
Singing to the sky and hoping it don't start to rain

I tried to call you on the telephone, they said you weren't there
I couldn't help but wonder where you'd gone, though I've got no right to care
Now I'm not saying that you hurt me, or that you've done me any wrong
I'm just missing you tonight and I thought I'd write it in this song

My daddy told me a long time ago, "Don't give your heart to no young girls
They'll just take everything you own and give back what they will."
I could have listened to his advice, but I really thought that I just couldn't lose
So I'll light another cigarette and try and sing away my blues

My daddy told me a long time ago, "Don't give your heart to no young girls
They'll just take everything you own and give back what they will."
I could've listened to his advice, but I really thought that I just couldn't lose
So I'll light another cigarette and try and sing away my blues

Now I'm still out here in my back; the sun's coming up in the sky
I drank my last beer an hour ago, and my throats's getting mighty dry
I've sung a couple of real sad songs, and I've listened to one or two
And whoever said a woman ain't nothing to lose
Was someone who never lost you.



Hey man
What you wanting that woman to do
Hey man
What you wanting that woman to do

Well a man come to life
A man born to pain
A man born to strife
And a man born to strain
A man come to love
A man come to earth
When a man come to love
He couldn't do much worse

Hey man
What you wanting that woman to do
Hey man
What you wanting that woman to do

Well a man born on Earth
A man born to song
A man come to birth
A man sing along
A man come to woman
And she go away
A man keep on going
He got to play

Hey man
What you wanting that woman to do
Hey man
What you wanting that woman to do

Hey man
What you wanting that woman to do
Hey man
What you wanting that woman to do

What you want
What you wanting that woman to do
What you want
What you wanting that woman to do

Hey man
What you wanting that woman to do
Hey man
What you wanting that woman to do

Hey man
What you wanting that woman to do
Hey man
Man you can't make that woman love you




He wants to be a gypsy
But he don't want to move around
He wants to be a drifter
Without leaving his home town
He wants to be a gambler
Without taking any risks
So mostly he just sits at home
And wonders what he's missed

He wants to be a teacher
But he never learned the score
He wants to be a soldier
But he don't want to go to war
He wants to be a poet
But his meter never fits
So mostly he just sits at home
And wonders what he's missed

Building castle's in his mind
Then tearing them back down
Dreaming snow-capped mountains
But living level ground
He's a man like any other
You can see him anywhere
If he's not somewhere behind you
Look beside you
He'll be there

He wants to be a leader
But he's fallen far behind
He wants to be a healer
But he's gone both lame and blind
He wants to tell the future
But his crystal's full of mists
So mostly he just sits at home
And wonders what he's missed

Building castles in his mind
Then tearing them back down
Dreaming snow-capped mountains
But living level grounds
He's a man like any other
You can see him anywhere
If he's not somewhere behind you
Look in front of you
He'll be there

He wants to be a lover
But he doesn't want to cry
He wants to be a martyr
But he doesn't want to die
He wants to be a fighter
But he's scared to clench his fists
So mostly he just sits at home
And wonders what he's missed

Building castles in his mind
Then tearing them back down
Dreaming snow-capped mountains
But living level grounds
He's a man like any other
I can see him anywhere
When I look into the mirror in the morning
I see him there



If I rode an airplane, I could be there today
Or I could even take the train
But it wouldn't be the same. But it wouldn't be the same.

I remember Monday morning, last time I said, "Hello."
Thought I gave you fair warning, but you said you didn't know.
Or I could even take the train
But it wouldn't be the same. But it wouldn't be the same.

You may say that I'll find another. Even showed me one or two.
But I don't need a lover, all I'll ever need is you.
Or I could even take the train
But it wouldn't be the same. But it wouldn't be the same.
But it wouldn't be the same.



Won't you hear my story
Of the songs they played
One night downtown
When Imandote and Real Frank
And a monkey faced a thousand clowns
And a gypsy told the future
So it sounded like the past
And Satan sold eternities
That would not last
And Dead Man pay
To make the jukebox play

Real Frank stand alone one day
On hallowed ground
Lift his cold stone flute to play
But it make no sound
Play a silent mourning song
To absent friends diseased
Raise his voice into the wind
It tease his hair
"This world is big
And I've been `round," he says
"I guess I'll make it."

Dead Man rise from in the leaves
Him buried there
In his hand the wisdom
Dead Man gonna share
Lifts his hand to Real Frank
With a silver coin he once found
And Real Frank said,
"Thank you for this treasure
From below the ground."
Real Frank roll him eyes
And make them round
He take it

The one eyed gypsy runs in
With a crystal ball
Hide her mouth and chin
Behind the corner of the shaw
Real Frank take the silver coin
He got from Dead Man's rotting hand
He drop it in the whirlitor
Play three songs from an island land
There's a future to go `round
Why don't you take it?

Turtle enters fighting for his sanity
Jak Son cried all summer for humanity
Marie and all the dancers
They just clap their hands
And make no sound
They can't hear the prophet
It's his native town
"The Earth got plenty to go `round,"
He said. "Just don't break it."

Satan and his henchmen enter
Dressed as clowns
Dancing on their floppy feet
In painted frowns
Satan tugs on Real Frank's arm
To draw him off to one side
Offer him two tickets
On an easy ride
"Don't break for your manly pride"
He said, "When you can fake it."

Imandote come out to see
What make the sound that
Wake him up
He got a one armed monkey
And it drink wine from a
Golden cup
Real Frank called out,
"Imandote, my friend here
Wants to meet you."
And Imandote says,
"This monkey's got more
Sense than you do.
Look, all these clowns
They are surrounding you
And they are naked."

Real Frank take the silver coin
He got from Dead Man's rotting hand
He drop it in the whirlitor
Play three songs from an island land
Satan has the whiskey
The monkey has the golden cup
And Imandote take both of them
And finish up
"The world got plenty to go `round"
He say, "You got to shake it"

Now Jak Son sing a love song
To a Persian Queen
Imandote and Real Frank dance
And the monkey dance in between
And Satan and all his clowns
And all the dancers and Marie
They like the way it sounds
But they don't care what it means
This song got meaning to go `round
Just take it

The Earth got plenty to go `round
My friends. Don't you break it
There's life and meaning to go `round
I think we'll make it

Now you know the tale
Of Satan and the naked clowns
How Imandote and Real Frank
Dance naked while the world goes `round
And never need a gypsy
Or a talisman from underground
To listen to the music for it's meaning
And it's sound
Now it's time to let the music play
And let the Dead Man pay




We were sitting in the back room of Woody's bar
When these three green guys with red eyes from Mars
Stopped by to ask directions so they could make their way back home
It was me and Cousin Ray, and my ex-brother-in-law Ted
And some character from Utah who claimed his name was Fred
And some kid with purple hair who'd just stopped in to use the phone
The night was hot and the beer was cold
A couple tall tales had already been told
Ted was dropping quarters in the videogame machine
Zapping Space Invaders on the twenty-third screen
We were telling one another what was art and what we liked
Solving world problems, what was wrong and what was right
The night me and Ray taught the men from space to sing and drink beer
Fred saw them when they walked in, and he knew just what to do
He went over to the kid by the phone and said, "Yo, these clowns with you?
They look like they belong on the kind of planet you come from."
Then the tallest of the green guys said, "Can you tell us where we are?
We're tired and we're thirsty, and we've come pretty far
And we need to get a drink and our bearings before we move on."
Ray and I decided that we'd both gone nuts
Fred said, "Hey, they're green; I think we ought to kick their butts."
Ted said, "Any of you guys got some change for a one?
If I just had four more quarters, I could get this game done."
The kid with purple hair looked at us and looked at them
Then he blinked his beady eyes and he looked at us again
The night me and Cousin Ray taught the men from space to sing and drink beer
The green guy with the moustache said, "I've got some change right here."
And Ray said, "Hey, want to chip in on a pitcher of beer?"
And the green guy said, "What's beer?"
And Eay said, "Sit down and let me bend your ear. Let me teel you about beer."
Then he said, "This amber liquid is the elixer of life
It'll soothe you and cool you and ease your pain and strife
And if you drink enough, it'll even make a playboy centerfold out fo your ex-wife."
"If we each chip in a buck, we can get a pitcher or two
We'll put Percy Sledge on the jukebox, and you'll see what beer can do
I'll bet in half an hour you'll be singing right along
And it won't even matter that you don't know all the words to the song."
So we ordered up some pitchers and we drank them suckers down
Put some quarters in the jukebox and ordered up another round
The night me and Cousin Ray taught the men from space to sing and drink beer
Now Joan, behind the bar, is about as mean as a woman can be
She's surly, and has a moustache, and tips the scales at three oh three
But after the fourth round the curly-headed green guy was beginning to think she looked pretty good
He asked her what her sign was, and how she liked her job
And whether she'd ever known a man from Mars, and he told her she could just call him Bob
Meanwhile, the rest of us were singing along with the jukebox, just the way Ray said we would
When a man loves a woman
He can bon em fan
He can be taken by her sweet love
Giniffinninit ginigginninit in her hands
Fred told a dirty joke about a lawyer and three bears
And a rabbi and a priest to the kid with purple hair
The night me and Cousin Ray taught the men from space to sing and drink beer
By midnight not one of us was in any shape to drive home
So Woody locked us in for the night with the bouncer and Joan
And some pillows and blankets he always kept around the bar for occasions like these
And one by one we passed out and Joanie tucked us in
And we slept til the next afternoon when Woody opened up the bar again
Then we picked up where we'd left off as if we'd never missed a beat

The curly-headed green guy tends the bar at Woody's these days
He proposed that night to Joanie and she married him before he could sober up and get away
And Fred had even worse luck--he would up with my ex-wife
Now he's not allowed to go to Woody's and associate with us low-lifes
But the rest of us get together every other Friday night
Order up some pitchers and reminisce to daylight about
The night me and Cousin Ray taught the men from space to sing and drink beer



Island Robert
Him as cute as him can be
Island Robert
Got no insecurities
Island Robert
See him swinging through the trees
Island Robert
Him a total mystery
Island Robert

Him a doctor in the first degree
Coming long ago from across the sea
All the ladies they stop and stare
When they see Island Robert
And the clothes him wear
Him got no responsibilities
And all the fella's wish that they could be
Island Robert

Him as cute as him can be
Island Robert
Got no insecurities
Island Robert
See him swinging through the trees
Island Robert
Him a total mystery
Island Robert

Don't play guitar or piano keys
Just sing him song to the air for free
When Island Robert sing him island song
Somehow make all the ladies dance and sing along
Him as ugly as a man can be
Coming long ago from across the sea
Him got no responsibilities
And sometimes I wish I could be
Island Robert

See him swinging through the trees
Island Robert
Got no insecurities
Island Robert
Him as cute as him can be
Island Robert
Him a total mystery
Island Robert

Island Robert
Him as cute as him can be
Island Robert
Got no insecurities
He's a prophet
Opera Winphrey set him free
Him a total mystery
Island Robert

Go everywhere all dressed in black
Sometimes him go away
Sometimes him come back
When Island Robert stroll the avenue
Got no inhibitions like me and you
Him `bout as ugly as a man can be
And he never know where he's gonna see
Here's the part that I can't believe
Sometimes Island Robert
Wishes him were me
Island Robert

Him as cute as him can be
Island Robert
Got no insecurities
Island Robert
See him swinging through the trees
Island Robert
Him a total mystery
Island Robert



In the spring of 1968
We were afraid it was already too late
We were 18 and starting to understand
We'd never be famous
In our rock and roll band
My buddy Art knew three or four cords
And they told me I had a way with words
We covered the hits the best we could
Even Art and I could see we weren't too good
But we turned the amps up way too loud
Tried to play the music strong and proud
We practiced all day and into the night
Trying to get the sound just right
And we played, yeah we played
Til the neighbors couldn't stand
La Bamba anymore

Some years went by
As years so often will
And I got older
And I got older still
Somehow I managed to land in Japan
Playing bass guitar in a country band
Sometimes they'd let me take the lead
Let me belt out some rock and roll
Some times I'd play til my fingers would bleed
And everybody lost control
I played all night and into the day
I was firmly convinced I had something to say
And I played, yeah I played
Til nobody would listen to
La Bamba anymore

I'm older yet
I got a family now
But I still can't put down
This guitar somehow
The only place I play these days
Is at home
But I just can't seem
To leave it alone
I never thought there was anything wrong
With trying to get a little lift
From a rock and roll song
Sometimes I play all day and into the night
I really thought it was alright
But my baby left today
`cause my baby doesn't wanna hear
La Bamba anymore





I went downtown to ask the gypsy doctor
Whether she could bring my fever down
She said to me, "Hon,
You better try and find someone
To help you get cooled off
When the Gypsy's not around

So my best friend, Raymond
He drove me to the clinic
Said, "Doc,
We got a real emergency
You better get him to the nurse
Before the poor boy gets much worse
It's a matter of quite some urgency

Well the nurse was sweet
But she couldn't treat me
She said,
"Who do you think I am?
If the gypsy down the street
Can't cure you
What makes you think I can?

So I took my troubles
To the local drug store
Hoping I'd get my perscription read
But the man there said
"I'm sure
This fever's got no cure
And I guess you're gonna have it
Til your dead

I'm not the kind that needs
A ton of bricks to drop on me
I know this fever's got a lock
And I know who holds the key

So I went back down
And I asked that gypsy doctor
Whether she might spend
Her life with me
She took me by the hand
She told me that she loved me
Let me be her man
Then she showed me just how
Hot a fever can be



Well you can leave me
If your gonna
I'm not afraid
I can make it on my own
But if you stay
I'll let you love me
The way that you want to

There was a time
When I might have pleaded
There was a time
When I really needed you
But if you stay
I'll let you love me
The way that you want to

Well I've never
Been the kind of guy
Who was good with
How or why
But I guess I've learned
How to say
I really want you to stay

I tried to call you
On the telephone
Your sister answered
Said you was packing
Gonna leave our little home
I told her
If she stays
I'll let her love me
The way that she wants to

Well I've never
Been the kind of guy
Who had even the slightest facility at all
For the clever use of words
To illucidate all the ediologies
For my reasons
How or why
But I guess I've learned
How to say
I really want you to stay

If you leave me
I won't cry
I'll just sit here
And wave you goodbye
But if you stay
I'll let you love me
The way that you want to

If you stay
I'll let you love me
The way that you want to