Production Credits

Produced by Paul Loren at The Five & Dime Recording Society
Mixed by D. James Goodwin at The Isokon
Mastered by Scott Hull at Masterdisk
Words and Music by Andrew Vladeck except:
Countdown Time by Adam Levy & Andrew Vladeck
Carried Away by Andrew Vladeck & Sydney Wayser
Going Down Fighting by Dave Doobinin & Andrew Vladeck
Passing Knowledge by Andrew Vladeck & The Honey Brothers

Andrew Vladeck // Guitars, Banjos, Vocals
Paul Loren // Vocals, Keys, Percussion, Bass: Fantasy, Come Back to Me
Jason Lawrence // Drums
Chris Buckridge // Bass
Lauren Balthrop // Vocals
Tim Luntzel // Bass on Words Escape Me, Living the Dream
David Amram // Flutes
Marika Hughes // Cello
Skye Steele // Violin
Jake Bernstein // Beats
Additonal Vocals:
    Adam Levy // All We Got, Countdown Time, Fantasy
    Sydney Wayser // All We Got, Carried Away, Fantasy
    Dave Doobinin // All We Got, Come Back to Me, Going Down Fighting
    Dan Posner // Going Down Fighting, Gush, Long Shadow

Artwork: Fay Koplovitz

LYRICS

ALL WE GOT

The real pride, the big pride, is having no pride,
So speak your mind, just let it out!

Your wheels finally leave the ground
Soaring high over town
Demons take their best shot
To shatter your hopeful thoughts
Atheists in foxholes pray
In love and war it’s all the same
Send a proud soul to their knees
Make an atheist believe

Oh, keep your mind from spinning
Oh, you are finally winning
So don’t you stop
Oh, let’s keep this room from spinning
Oh, let’s start at the beginning, and give it all we got
All we got!

The real cool, the big cool, ain’t caring for cool    
Forbid the wolves to plague you with doubt!

You break and bust and snap the chain    
That bound you to your old refrain
A house of cards a house of pain
Burns to the ground but you remain
Remind yourself to breath deep
There’s one way out and no retreat
Snatch victory from defeat
Join them singing in the streets

Oh, keep your mind from spinning
Oh, you are finally winning
So don’t you stop
Oh, let’s keep this room from spinning
Oh, let’s start at the beginning, and give it all we got
All we got!

The real game, the big game, is playing no games
So let truth reign, quit messing about!

All we got, give it all we got
All we got, give it all we got
All we got, give it all we got
All we got, give it all we got

CHASING THE SUN

Everyone’s waiting
For the starting gun
Everyone’s longing
For something or someone
Blind to the present
Lost to the past
Fearing the future
It’s coming down fast

Now your precious moment’s past
Your race is run
Here we come on our mad dash
We’re chasing the sun

Arms are folded
Feet are tapped
Brows are furrowed
Fingers are cracked
You can’t distract us
With your sticks and your guns
You can’t detract us
You’re over, you’re done

Now your precious moment’s past
Your race is run
Here we come on our mad dash
We’re chasing the sun

A parade is a long line
A whistle means quittin’ time
Your rodeo’s on rewind
Your jukebox spits out dimes
Old man pausing at the top of the stairs
Cowboy rollin’ smokes outside Times Square
Dead man blind to the mourners’ stares
Lovers lay on the grass without any cares
If I was a brakeman I’d throw the switch
I’d ditch this train over the railroad bridge
Down in the river past Parchman’s Farm
Baptized in the black waters’ arms

Now your precious moment’s past
Your race is run
Here we come on our mad dash
We’re chasing the sun
We’re chasing the sun
We’re chasing the sun


GUSH

It always starts this way
A splendid repartee
I’m dazzled by the cunning things you’ve said
You’re clever, sharp, astute
I’m stunned, awestruck and mute
Romantic notions cloud my head
I’m drunk on conversation
My mental machinations
Make it hard to hear
I try to concentrate
But in my altered state
My muddled mind ain’t very clear

It’s not that I’m ignoring you
It’s not that I’ve better things to do
I’m afraid you might think me rude
‘Cause my mind turns to mush
In vain I watch your pretty mouth and I gush

Lulled by your dulcet voice
I haven’t any choice
To a dreamland I am sent
I shake to attention
To figure which direction
The conversation we were having went
But then I get distracted by
Your long eyelashes
Like a butterfly
You see me blankly grinnin’
You lost me at the beginnin’
To deny that would be a lie

It’s not that I’m ignoring you
It’s not that I’ve better things to do
I’m afraid you might think me rude
‘Cause my mind turns to mush
Girl, you make my foolish heart gush

Instrumental

It’s not that I’m ignoring you
It’s not that I’ve better things to do
I’m afraid you might think me rude
‘Cause my mind turns to mush
In vain I watch your pretty mouth
In vain I watch your pretty mouth
In vain I watch your pretty mouth – and I gush


COUNTDOWN TIME

It’s six in the morning and I’ve caught a buzz
Some drink from heartache and some drink because
The pressures of the job got me reaching for a cup
No one can be certain we won’t be breaking up

I’m a man on a mission, I need steady nerves
I know the earth ain’t flat, I’ve seen its curves
Give me one for the road, one more for the climb
I’m a man on a mission, and it’s Countdown Time

I’ve got motion sickness, I could really use a nurse
The cabin spins around me, behind me spins the earth
Kill the rocket boosters, we’re on cruise control
We’ll make a tiki bar out of the console

I’m a man on a mission, I need steady nerves
I know the earth ain’t flat, I’ve seen its curves
Give me one for the road, one more for the climb
I’m a man on a mission, and it’s Countdown Time

We all shared a dream, once upon a time
Raise one small shot for man, one giant toast to all mankind

Then I see flashing lights, behind me is a cop
He asks if I’ve been drinking, and why I didn’t stop
He says step out of the car, son, and show me some ID
But it’s hard to walk a straight line in zero gravity

I’m a man on a mission, I need steady nerves
I know the earth ain’t flat, I’ve seen its curves
Give me one for the road, one more for the climb
I’m a man on a mission, and it’s Countdown Time


LONG SHADOW

I went away to get my blood changed
Had my wires rearranged
You might think I’m acting strange
It’s just me acting tough
I fired a shot right through the floor
The circus ran straight for the door
You ask me what I did that for
I guess I had enough

Flying cars and ricochets
Not a soul escapes unscathed
You might think those were the days
They’re best left to the past
Bodyguards in the hall playing chess
How I survived is anyone’s guess
But when you’re a cat with one life left
You learn to move real fast

A long shadow - follows me around
A long shadow - after the sun goes down
What I gotta do to prove to you
If you only knew how I made it through
This long shadow

Blinds are drawn and the deadbolt clicks
Those dirty dogs’ll rip you to bits
All that funky junkie shit
You just ask my mates
I still got my ring and my broken tooth
I can take your piss and spit the truth
The dope and the cops may have served some use
That’s open to debate
The wind in the trees sounds like a car
The headlight sun ain’t very far
You gonna stay right where you are
Or hitch a ride

A long shadow - follows me around
A long shadow - after the sun goes down
What I gotta do to prove to you
If you only knew how I made it through
This long shadow


COME BACK TO ME

I run my fingers through the knotted grass of Prospect Park
Down the path where we lost ourselves after dark
I see your silver smile as morning sparkles through the leaves
With dirt under your fingernails and grass stains on your knees
Come back to me, come back to me.

I see your slender fingers as you twist the pocketknife
The silver dagger dances in the full moon’s shiny light
You push me against a willow and you sweetly swear to me
As you reach over my head and carve our names up in that tree
Come back to me, come back to me.

No it just don’t feel right - I’d wait all night
I’ve waited all my - waited all my life

The Williamsburg Bank Tower on 4th Avenue
You see me climb to the top and wonder what I’m gonna do
Yeah all your neighbors see me waving high above your block
As I take out a wrench and turn the time back on the clock
Come back to me, come back to me.

As long as our names are carved way up in that tree
You’ll always have a piece of me

‘Cause it just don’t feel right - I’d wait all night
I’ve waited all my - waited all my life

Come back to me, come back to me, come back to me
‘Cause I can’t help comin back to you.


WORDS ESCAPE ME

I need to see your luring hands
Your wild eyes to understand
I need to see your crude hair curl
Clip the ribbon and it unfurls
I need to see for myself

I need to feel your urgent skin
To fathom the mood you put me in
I need to feel my hand yours in
The fever that lies therein
I need to feel for myself

Words escape me
There’s nothing I can say
Words escape me
They easily slip away

I need to hear your earthy voice
To realize I have no choice
I need to hear your mortal song
To right the night where I went wrong
I need to hear for myself

Words escape me
There’s nothing I can say
Words escape me
They easily slip away

The only words I’ve found make these sounds

Words escape me
There’s nothing I can say
Words escape me
They easily slip    
They easily slip    
They easily slip away
Slip away
Slip away

GOING DOWN FIGHTING

I quit my job, and I’m on the lam, I’m a burning man
On 65 and I’m headin’ south, like a punch in the mouth
You were born on a Friday –
I was born on a highway – so I know how it feels
To drifting around
To be more lost then found

I’m going down
I’m going way down,
But I’m going down fighting
I’m going down
I’m going way down,
But I’m going down fighting

I cast my lot when I flunked the test, ya told me I’m blessed, and I told you you’d find
A southern belle at the marble bar – polishing stones with the fire she wore
You were born in a heat wave
I was born in a cold grave so I know how it feels
To be stuck in the ground, girl, oh
To be right with the world

I’m going down
I’m going way down, girl
But I’m going down fighting
I’m going down
I’m going way down, girl
But I’m going down fighting

You were born on a Monday
I was born on a runway, so I know how it feels
To be right in the way – do you know how it feels?
Do you know, girl?

I’m going down
I’m going way down,
But I’m going down fighting

CARRIED AWAY

Well I guess that’s all, I guess that’s it
You set your mark, said I was it
But I won’t sit and be, as you come for me
How good it feels to be on the move
Further and further away from you
The sun breaks through, as you see me leave

This train is going, moving fast
My thoughts are flowing, moving past
Moving on at long last
I’m finally carried away
Carried away – and I am gone

A breeze blows through the boxcar door
Sayin’ you won’t worry me no more
I hear your footsteps slowly fade
Oh, to glide - to ride these rails
As your darkness slowly pales
This long veil I have torn away
 
This train is going, moving fast
My thoughts are flowing, moving past
Moving on at long last
I’m finally carried away
Carried away – and I am gone

I am gone, long gone
To right what you got wrong
I am gone, long gone
Carried away    

I feel your breath on my neck
I wake up in a cold, cold sweat
The past is your cruel gift to me

This train is going, moving fast
My thoughts are flowing, moving past
Moving on at long last
I’m finally carried away
Carried away – and I am gone
I am gone
I am gone
I am gone


LIVING THE DREAM

A mound of broken stars
A pile of dusty sparks
A stack of glowing coals
A thousand shattered disco balls
The skyline looked like all of those things.
We sat by the river as the city sparkled to life.
The cherry bomb sun sank, we squinted and stared,
And speechlessly spoke.

Step up, come down, my friend
How many times we go ‘round again
Step up, come down, my friend
What do you say
Let’s make this moment stay
We’re living a dream - living the dream,
Living a dream - living the dream

A dried-up river bed
A faded scar
A derailed train
The spine of an old book
My lifeline looked like all of those things  
The sun so hot it made us sweat, the air so cold we could see our breath.
We inhaled pink clouds of the sunset,
As it swallowed us

Step up, come down, my friend
How many times we go ‘round again
Step up, come down, my friend
Come down today
Let’s make this moment stay
We’re living a dream - living the dream,
Living a dream - living the dream

All the dust will return to dust
All the blessed, yes, and all the cursed
All the meek and the mighty shall fall
Let’s make this day, the brightest of all

A stand of cluttered tombstones
A blurry neon billboard
A sparkling Atlantis
An exquisite, speckled canvas
The future looked like all of those things.
A man on the pier pulled a fish out of the black water.
He wrapped it in a newspaper and placed it beside me.
It was still moving.
The headlines on that paper made no sense at all,
And made all the sense in the world.

Step up, come down, my friend
How many times we go ‘round again
Step up, come down, my friend
What do you say
Let’s make this moment stay
We’re living a dream - living the dream,
Living a dream - living the dream


PASSING KNOWLEDGE OF THE SEXES

Tell me your vitals and income range
Level of ed., threshold for pain
To separate the whey from the chaff
Please include a photograph

Peruse a profile easily
Take La Belle Dame Sans Merci
A man’s income with a woman’s looks
Do you like the way she cooks the books

Whoever you think you are
I’m sure that you are over-par
The blondes are lying or they’re dying their hair, but my guess is
All you really need is just a passing knowledge of the sexes

Men yearn for a soulmate
Women want the occasional thrill
Swapping truths about our dreams
We’re all playing a slot machine

I been to London and Berlin
You should see the shape I’m in
Who said “seek and ye shall find”
Didn’t know that love was blind

Whoever you think you are
I’m sure that you are over-par
The blondes are lying or they’re dying their hair, but my guess is
All you really need is just a passing knowledge of the sexes

You can share intimate truths
But it will be of little use
Traits that draw a big response
Won’t be a big surprise

I been round the world and back again
I found no love but lots of friends
Maybe I’ve been tryin’ too hard
Now I’m standing in my own backyard

Tonight I’m gonna take my time
Have a drink and write this rhyme
And who knows, maybe someone dear
Will hear my song and draw me near

Whoever you think you are
I’m sure that you are over-par
The blondes are lying or they’re dying their hair, but my guess is
All you really need is just a passing knowledge of the sexes


FANTASY

Oh the glossy pages of magazines
Where life can really be all that it seems
Gilded people with silver spoons
Socialites sleep all afternoon

You dream of gala affairs and award nights
Midnight dinners by candlelight
Laughter and joy, meant to be yours
Yet bouncers make you wait at the doors

Your sad heart haunts –
Your stoned soul wants –
Your greedy groin needs –
Your bleak blood bleeds –

Why should this fate befall a soul like thee
When everyone else is a VIP
Is it a mistake or a cruel joke
Are you meant to hang from a velvet rope?

Your sad heart haunts –
Your stoned soul wants –
Your greedy groin needs –
Your bleak blood bleeds –
Fantasy, can’t you see it’s
All you need, lord help me,
Fantasy, it’s all you need

You’ve friended the friends of their friends that’s your trick
All for to find your way into their clique
They’ll wine and dine you in their own homes
Paparazzi won’t leave you alone

Your sad heart haunts –
Your stoned soul wants –
Your greedy groin needs –
Your bleak blood bleeds –
You can’t appease –
Down on your knees boy –
Fantasy, can’t you see it’s
All you need, lord help me,
Fantasy, it’s all you need


UNPLUG THE STARS

The Big Dipper rots in the cosmic sink
Cassiopeia lies in the drink
Orion’s in trouble with the law so I think
It’s time, it’s time
Con Ed came in and turned off the juice
I could complain but it ain’t no use
Ma Bell called in to declare a truce
It’s time, it’s time
I’m half-asleep and fully-awake
Genuine and totally fake
In top-form and horrible shape
It’s time

Unplug the stars
Unplug the stars
I need to sleep, I need to rest,
I need the world up off my chest,
It’s time

Well, the moon stares cold like a cataract
Planets lined up for the final act
Achilles heel tears up the track
It’s time, it’s time
The pin-striped deacon stole my wife
The factory foreman fired me twice
The school nurse sure did treat me nice
It’s time, it’s time
I’m haggard and hungry so wrong I’m right
Starving and stuffed so dim I’m bright
I keep confusing morning for night
It’s time

Unplug the stars
Unplug the stars
I need to sleep, I need to rest,
I need the world up off my chest,
It’s time, it’s time,
It’s time, it’s time

Production Credits

Produced & Mixed by Roger Greenawalt

Andrew Vladeck autoharp, banjo, guitar, harmonica

Brad Gunyon drums These Streets, Stronger

Roi Star drums Hold Me Back, Songs You Inspire

Bill Malchow organ

Rozz Nash backround vocals

Roger Greenawalt bass, hawaiian guitar

Production Credits

Produced & Engineered by Kyle Fischer
Mixed by Dave Schiffman
Mastered by Gene Paul at DB Plus

Musicians:
Andrew Vladeck: Banjo Guitar Ukulele AutoHarp Harmonica
Bill Malchow: Accordian and Organ
Brad Gunyon: Drums
Chris Buckridge: Bass
Caithlin De Marrais - Bass 4, Organ 12
Lara Meyerratken - Vocals, Drums 12
Henry Byron - Drums 8
Cover photo by Lisa Kramer

LYRICS
 
Hold Me Back

Too mad to run, too proud to plead
Men don’t cry, they bleed
Something they need steadily
Missiles whistle, bullets sing
Church bells toll and my head rings
With the same-old, age-old medley
 
Too dim to read to learn the facts
Men don’t think, they act
Their track record isn’t very good
Speeches preached to the converted,
Dialogue averted,
They deserted as soon as they could
 
I can’t fight the urge to fight
But two wrongs won’t make it right
Before I do something I’ll regret
Before I throw a brick through my TV Set
It’s hard to sit here and let them run us off the track
Somebody better hold me back
Hold me, hold me back
Hold me, hold me back
 
Too late to turn back the clock
The ball’s rolled over half the block -
A shock to see so much wasted,
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth
Might take you closer to the truth
But what’s the use, you won’t see or taste it
 
Patched up with duct tape
Gonna get this puppy ship shape
Bust outta the gates of this old garage
Make a change, damn the cost
The sooner we move the less is lost
The sooner we’re tossed from their mirage


The Songs You Inspire
 
They say up in heaven the angels play harps,
But at times they’re known to play lawn darts
As a result I’m very much in debt
To you, it’s true you’re hard to forget
Every day is buried in words
 
I can tell you’re really not with me at all
My picture keeps falling off of your wall
My bluebird doesn’t sing - it coughs
As my tattoo of you peels off
I hear music and it sounds absurd
 
The songs you inspire - you don’t deserve
Turn it up higher - so you get the words
They’re my gift - they’re my curse
The songs you inspire
 
I dared to dream, was blind to begin
Broke the rules and I jumped right in
If I knew now what I knew then
I know I’d still sleep in that lion’s den
‘Cause songs will soothe that beast I’ve heard
 
The songs you inspire - you don’t deserve
Turn it up higher - so you get the words
They’re my gift - they’re my curse
The songs you inspire
 
I realize not a moment too soon,
Metropolitan Avenue leads to the moon
And the sun is a giant typewriter
 
I’m tearing out a page, I’m slipping you a note
So for once the words won’t get stuck in my throat
I’m not a gambling man but I’ve had a running bet
That the songs you don’t deserve you don’t deserve…yet
But time will take me round that turn…
 
Waiting for the Coffee to Kick In
 
Last night I got hammered,
But today I woke up nailed,
Baby, I don’t want to fail you
What can I do, my whole world’s in spin
I’m just waiting for the coffee to kick in
 
Last night I got ripped,
But today I woke up torn,
Baby I don’t want to mourn for you
I am through, but you got a very thick skin
I’m just waiting for the coffee to kick in
 
The river’s wide the water’s too cold
I can’t stand there’s nothing to hold
Times like these are sink or swim
I’m just waiting for the coffee to kick in
 
Last night I got toasted,
But today I woke up burned,
Baby I don’t want to yearn for you
I am true, and that’s where I’ll begin,
I’m just waiting for the coffee to kick in
 
Yes, I’m waiting, oh, I’m waiting
My head, it’s aching
Naw, it won’t be long
I’m just waiting for the coffee to kick in
 
The Wheel
 
It wasn't the heat or the humidity, there was nothing in the water, no acidity, it was all my fault, half a ton of salt over my shoulder, if I was bolder I woulda told her, got guilt though the spilt milk's dried up, curled up and died but, I locked myself right into a lie, when I figure out the reason you’ll be the first to know why
 
Oh, the wheel, oh the wheel
Came full circle, ran me over
Oh, the wheel,
Knocked me out, and made me sober
 
I've been paying dues so long I can't remember why I ever wanted to be a dues-paying member. If it all happened sooner wouldn't have been a late bloomer, blooming late, a cheap date, not finishing everything on my plate, but blinded by fear I couldn't steer clear of the mess, hardly a success, instead of settling down I was settling for a lesson, when you know the truth there's no use in guessin'
 
Oh, the wheel, oh the wheel
Came full circle, ran me over
Oh, the wheel,
Came full circle, what a disaster
What I sent around just came back faster
 
It wasn't the heat or the humidity, there was nothing in the air, no acidity, it was all my fault, half a ton of salt over my shoulder, if I was bolder I woulda told her, got guilt though the spilt milk's dried up, curled up and died but, I locked myself right into a lie, when I figure out the reason you’ll be the first to know why
 
Oh, the wheel, oh the wheel
Came full circle, ran me over
Oh, the wheel,
Came full circle, ran me over
Knocked me out, and made me sober
Wheel came full circle, ran right through me
I made one mistake, but what a doozy!
 
These Streets
 
Can’t tell if I’m dreaming or the cold is kickin’ in
The winter wind is whippin’ me up the street again
Past where Dylan Thomas passed out in the gutter
Steam escapes like a ghost and I shudder
 
All these streets we’re walking
These streets are talking
If you listen right
Oh, it never fails
Their countless tales
Are told in the night
 
Footsteps of the angel-headed hipsters
Beatniks and their hippie younger sisters
Punks, squatters, playing chess in the park
Nothing’s square in the Thompkins Square after dark
 
Chorus
 
Walls whisper, streets shout
Don’t let ‘em drown you out!
 
I have listened, I have learned
It’s my time, it’s my turn
I’ve paid my dues, waited in line
All for a chance to shine
 
Fish wrapped in wrinkled newspaper
Pickles in barrels on the street
Awnings, Louis Zuflacht
This street’s been paved over!
 
Chorus
 
Every time I got something to say
One of these ghosts gets in my way
 
Don’t Look Down (Picking Apples in Orange County)
 
We’re picking apples in Orange County
But they’re hanging just out of reach
You’re out of reach and I am hanging
On every word you speak
 
Oh don’t, don’t, don’t look down
We don’t need to touch the ground
From the top of this old apple tree
I pick you and you pick me
 
We’re picking apples in Orange County
Baby you are such a peach!
The sweat is beading on your body
Oh my, you sure taste sweet
 
Oh don’t, don’t, don’t look down
We don’t need to touch the ground
From the top of this old apple tree
I pick you and you pick me
 
It’s heaven, indeed
We’re redeemed
 
We’re picking apples in Orange County
Sitting in an apple tree
With everything that you’re found me
I got everything I’ll ever need
 
Oh don’t, don’t, don’t look down
We don’t need to touch the ground
From the top of this old apple tree
Oh, don’t, don’t, don’t look down
We don’t need to touch the ground
From the top of this old apple tree
I pick you and you pick me
 
I Want You Near

I stroll along the promenade
Take in the sunset and the smog
And I know it ain’t true if it’s never been tried
It’s the kind of thing that makes me realize
My thoughts have never been so clear
I want you near, I want you near
 
 
Always longing to be someplace else
Storefront reflections of myself
I’m wearing such a thin disguise
It’s the kind of thing that makes me realize
My thoughts have never been so clear
I want you near, I want you near

 
Have you watched the ocean at the end of day
Has it made all your troubles melt away
Have you felt all those feelings and feared them cliché
But felt them anyway

 
So I sing this song right off my chest,
And I pray that it comes down to rest
Upon your heart and moves you deep inside,
It’s the kind of thing that makes you realize
Your thoughts have never been so clear
You want me near, You want me near,
You want me near, You want me near

 
Avenue U

Once you had it made but now you are so jaded
I once was blue but like my jeans that too has faded
The place where I was raised had become dilapidated
So I re-created, call me self-edumicated
Seek and you shall see all that’s yours for the taking
Take a look at the world that you’ve been making
 
Crackers and Wine
We got out just in time
Before your world spiraled into the blue
We’re tripping over Avenue U
Avenue U
 
Said crackers and wine, thought you meant the beverage
You’re crackers ‘bout a girl, but you got no leverage
Listening to you, how your record skips
Trying to shanghai us for your sinking ship
But it’s going under far greater scrutiny
You got this crew thinking mutiny
 
Crackers and Wine
We got out just in time
Before your world reeled into the blue
We’re cutting ‘cross Avenue U
Avenue U
 
Well I’ve been in your shoes before
But I can’t help you any more
And I can’t help you
Escape from yourself
 
If you’re gonna go there, please don’t take us with you
We wish you were here but would rather just miss you
Cause we’d all be dancing round the bend
If we didn’t have to wait for you to lecture us again
Come on, we’re busy reaching for the top shelf
You’ve got to please, get over yourself
 
Crackers and Wine
We got out just in time
Before your world sunk into the blue
We are flying over Avenue U
Avenue U
 
Chinatown
 
Could be a riddle, sounds like a rhyme,
How can the sun rise and set at the same time?
When it’s a long way to China from Chinatown
 
Days half-empty, nights half-full
Some days I let go, but mostly I just pull
It’s such a long way to China from Chinatown
 
The crescent moon is grinning, just like a Siamese cat
While underneath I’m spinning, wondering where you’re at
 
You can go to China or wherever you think will do
But you’re not gonna find happiness unless you bring it with you
You got a long way to China, and I got Chinatown
 
The Magnet
 
Fistfuls of sand, splinters in my hand
From the handle of a silver spade
Dirt in my boots, sweating though my suit
As our respects are paid, we won’t let a stranger fill your grave
 
You are the magnet, you are the glue
My compass points to you
Together you brought us ‘round
Remove the magnet from the center and we break down
 
It’s hard and it’s tough, heavy pieces to pick up
Memories laid in a pile
We try and make ‘em fit, to carry on, not quit
Quitting was never your style, Joanna’s singing “Honey, Baby Chile”
 
You are the magnet, the glue
My compass points to you
Together you brought us all
Remove the magnet from the center and we all stall
 
You said the church was beneath you
Your mama raised you upstairs
You sang at that alter, boy
Now you got us gathered there
 
Sitting on my bed I got your song in my head
Who should crawl in my window but you
You shake your head and smile, man it’s been a while
We sit together and laugh, oh how I wish that dream could last
 
You are the magnet, you are the glue
My compass points to you
Together you brought us all
 
You are the magnet, you are the glue
My compass points to you
Together you brought us all
Remove the magnet from the center and we all stall

 
You Can't Kill Time
 
We were goin’ downriver in an ol’ canoe
When we hit the rocks and broke in two
You pulled me out as I was tossed by
I laid my clothes on the banks to dry
 
But before I could thank you I fell in again
Over the falls end over end,
Woke up in a pool of my own sweat
Another dream about regret
I did not foresee
 
You can’t kill time and plead insanity
Time doesn’t lie only your vanity
 
We were driving through the desert when the hose blew
The engine was meltin’ and we were too
All I could find was a dried-up creek
‘Til you found a water bottle under the back seat
 
But before I could thank you, I knocked it out of your hands
We watched as it spilled out into the sand
Another mirage vanished from view
Another dream about being through
I did not foresee
 
You can’t kill time and plead insanity
Time doesn’t lie only your vanity
 
You wanted me to tell the truth and so did I
I know it’s buried some somewhere inside
I tried to uncover it but I made a mess
You were listening to a crazy man guess
‘Cause I never could understand my gut
I wish I kept my trap shut
So many things I never did mention
I only had the best intentions
I did not foresee
 
You can’t kill time and plead insanity
Time doesn’t lie only your vanity