To my dearest daughter, another birthday not to be. I will never forget the day you came home from school, worried that I heard Warren Zevon was gone. You followed him soon after, and your family plays Warren's last song for you... always:

Shadows are falling and I'm running out of breath
Keep me in your heart for awhile

If I leave you it doesn't mean I love you any less
Keep me in your heart for awhile

When you get up in the morning and you see that crazy sun
Keep me in your heart for awhile

There's a train leaving nightly called when all is said and done
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sometimes when you're doing simple things
around the house
Maybe you'll think of me and smile

You know I'm tied to you like the buttons on
your blouse
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Hold me in your thoughts, take me to your dreams
Touch me as I fall into view
When the winter comes keep the fires lit
And I will be right next to you

Engine driver's headed north to Pleasant Stream
Keep me in your heart for awhile

These wheels keep turning but they're running out of steam
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Keep me in your heart for awhile

I had skin like leather and the diamond-hard look of a cobra
I was born blue and weathered but I burst just like a supernova
I could walk like Brando right into the sun
Then dance just like a Casanova
With my blackjack and jacket and hair slicked sweet
Silver star studs on my duds like a Harley in heat
When I strut down the street I could hear its heartbeat
The sisters fell back and said "Don't that man look pretty"
The cripple on the corner cried out "Nickels for your pity"
Them gasoline boys downtown sure talk gritty
It's so hard to be a saint in the city

I was the king of the alley, mama, I could talk some trash
I was the prince of the paupers crowned downtown at the beggar's bash
I was the pimp's main prophet I kept everything cool
Just a backstreet gambler with the luck to lose
And when the heat came down it was left on the ground
The devil appeared like Jesus through the steam in the street
Showin' me a hand I knew even the cops couldn't beat
I felt his hot breath on my neck as I dove into the heat
It's so hard to be a saint when you're just a boy out on the street

And the sages of the subway sit just like the living dead
As the tracks clack out the rhythm their eyes fixed straight ahead
They ride the line of balance and hold on by just a thread
But it's too hot in these tunnels you can get hit up by the heat
You get up to get out at your next stop but they push you back down in your seat
Your heart starts beatin' faster as you struggle to your feet
Then you're outa that hole and back up on the street

And them South Side sisters sure look pretty
The cripple on the corner cries out "Nickels for your pity"
And them downtown boys sure talk gritty
It's so hard to be a saint in the city

I've been looking at people
And how they change with the times
And lately all I've been seeing are people
Throwing love away and losing their minds

Maybe it's me who's gone crazy
But I can't understand why
All these lovers keep hurting each other
When good love is so hard to come by

So what's the glory in living?
Doesn't anybody ever stay together anymore?
And if love never lasts forever
Tell me what's forever for?

I've been listening to people
And they say love is the key
And it's not my way to let them lead me astray
It's only that I wanted to believe

But I see love hungry people
Tryin' their best to survive,
While in their hands is a dying romance
And they're not even tryin' to keep it alive

So, what's the glory in living?
Doesn't anybody ever stay together anymore?
And if love never lasts forever
Tell me what's forever for?

Time waits for nobody, time waits for nobody
We all must plan our hopes together
Or we'll have no more future at all
Time waits for nobody

We might as well be deaf and dumb and blind
I know that sounds unkind
But it seems to me we've not listened to
Or spoken about it at all
The fact that time is running out for us all

Time waits for nobody, time waits for no-one
We've got to build this world together
Or we'll have no more future at all
Because time, it waits for nobody

You don't need me to tell you what's gone wrong (gone wrong gone wrong)
You know what's going on
But it seems to me we've not cared enough
Or confided in each other at all (confided in each other at all) It seems that
we've all got our backs against the wall

(Time) Time waits for nobody
(Time) Waits for no-one
We've got to trust in one another
Or there'll be no more future at all

(Time) Yeah, time waits for nobody
No no, time don't wait for no-one
Let's learn to be friends with one another
Or there'll be no more future at all

Time (time) time (time) waits for nobody, waits for nobody
Time time time time waits for nobody at all
Time waits for nobody, yeah
Time don't wait, waits for no-one

Let us free this world for ever and build a brand new future for us all
Time waits for nobody nobody nobody, for no-one

'Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form.
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."

And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
I'll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm.
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved
Everything up to that point had been left unresolved.
Try imagining a place where it's always safe and warm.
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."

I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail,
Poisoned in the bushes and blown out on the trail,
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn.
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Suddenly I turned around and she was standin' there
With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair.
She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns.
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Now there's a wall between us, somethin' there's been lost
I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed.
Just to think that it all began on a long-forgotten morn.
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
But nothing really matters much, it's doom alone that counts
And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn.
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."

I've heard newborn babies wailin' like a mournin' dove
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love.
Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."

In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation an' they gave me a lethal dose.
I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn.
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Well, I'm livin' in a foreign country but I'm bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razor's edge, someday I'll make it mine.
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born.
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."

Mothers hands were lined with dirt
From long days in the field
And mothers hands are serving meals
In a cafe on this street
With mouths to feed
Just trying to keep clothing on our backs
And all I hear about is
How it's so bad, it's so bad

It's too bad, it's too bad
Too late, so wrong, so long
It's too bad that we had no time to rewind
Let's walk, let's talk
Let's talk

You left without saying goodbye
Although I'm sure you tried
You call and ask from time to time
To make sure we're alive
But you weren't there
Right when I'm needing you the most
And now I dream about it
How it's so bad, it's so bad

It's too bad, it's too bad
Too late, so wrong, so long
It's too bad that we had no time to rewind
Let's walk, let's talk
Let's talk

Father's hands are lined with guilt
For tearing us apart
Guess it turned out in the end
Just look at where we are
Made it up, still got clothing on our backs
And now I scream about it
How it's so bad, it's so bad

It's too bad, it's too bad
Too late, so wrong, so long
It's too bad that we had no time to rewind
Let's walk, let's talk
Let's talk

No time, last one, let's go ...

I’ve got a number on a napkin, a poundin in my head
Takes everything I’ve got to crawl out of bed
I lost a hell of a woman, freedom caught me on the chin
But I’m doin alright for the shape I’m in.

The sun came up again this morning.
I got a call from a long lost friend.
Planned us a little road trip down to New Orleans.
It ain’t much but it beats where I’ve been.

Yea I’m doin alright,
I’m doin alright,
I’m doin alright for the shape I’m in.

Well I’m gettin better at barely gettin by
When I look at her picture I don’t break down and cry.
And all this time on my hands it’s gettin easier to spend
Cause I’m doin alright for the shape I’m in.

The sun came up again this morning,
I took my old fastback for a spin.
Now when it rains it ain’t always pouring
and I’m learning how to live again

Yea I’m doin alright,
I’m doin alright,
I’m doin alright for the shape I’m in.

Yea I’m doin alright,
yes I’m doin alright,
yea I’m doin alright for the shape I’m in.

Yes I’m doin alright,
yea I’m doin alright,
yea I’m doin alright for the shape I’m in.

When you were here before,
Couldn't look you in the eye
You're just like an angel,
Your skin makes me cry

You float like a feather
In a beautiful world
I wish I was special
You're so [bloody] special

But I'm a creep,
I'm a weirdo
What the [heck] am I doin' here?
I don't belong here

I don't care if it hurts,
I wanna have control
I want a perfect body
I want a perfect soul

I want you to notice
when I'm not around
You're so [bloody] special
I wish I was special

But I'm a creep
I'm a weirdo
What the [heck] am I doin' here?
I don't belong here, ohhhh, ohhhh

She's running out again
She's running out
She run run run run...
run... run...

Whatever makes you happy
Whatever you want
You're so [bloody] special
I wish I was special

But I'm a creep,
I'm a weirdo
What the [heck] am I doin' here?
I don't belong here

I don't belong here...

500 Channels and there ain’t much on tonight
But reality shows about some folks so called lives
A pretty girl cries cause she don’t get a rose
But she’ll find love next year on her own show
And they call that real

Real, is the hand you hold 57 years
Real, is a band of gold trembling with fear
And it’s the first long tear down an old man’s face
Watching his angel slipping away
His heart so broke, it’s never gonna heal
I call that real

Where I live, housewives don’t act like that
And the survivors are farmers in John Deere hats
Our Amazing race is beating the check
Praying that the bank ain’t ran it through yet

Real, like too much rain falling from the sky
Real, like the drought that came around here last July
It’s the damn old weevils and the market and the weeds
The prayer they prayed when they plant the seeds
And the chance they take to bring us our next meal
I call that real

Real, like a job you lose ‘cause it moves to Mexico
Like a momma and a baby with no safe place to go
Like a little dream house with a big old foreclosed sign
Like a flag draped coffin and a 21 gun goodbye
I call that real

Man I call that real
Oh I call that real

I'm not much to look at, I'm nothing to see
Just glad that I'm living and happy to be
I've got a woman, crazy for me
She's funny that way

I can't save a dollar, ain't worth a cent
She doesn't holler, she'd live in a tent
I've got a woman, crazy for me
She's funny that way

Though I love to work and slave for her every day
She'd be so much better off if I went away

But why should I leave her, why should I go?
She'd be unhappy without me, I know
I've got a woman, crazy for me
She's funny that way

It was on this day, 15 years ago, that my Dad died. This is the most appropriate song.

Every generation, blames the one before
And all of their frustrations, come beating on your door
I know that I'm a prisoner. To all my father held so dear
I know that I'm a hostage to all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

No crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thoughts
Stilted conversations, I'm afraid that's all we've got
You say you just don't see it, he says it's perfect sense
You just can't get agreement, in this present tense
We all talk a different language, talking in defence

Say it loud (say it loud)
Say it clear (oh say it clear)
You can listen as well as you hear (as well as you hear)
It's too late (it's too late)
When we die (ooh when we die)
To admit we don't see eye to eye (we don't see eye to eye)

So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
And it's the bitterness that lasts
So don't yield to the fortunes
Sometimes see is fate
It may have a new perspective on a different date
And if you don't give up and don't give in you may just be ok

(So say it say it say it loud)
Say it loud
Say it clear (oh oo say it clear)
You can listen as well as you hear (as well as you hear )
(Because it's too late it's too late)
It's too late when we die (oh when we die)
To admit we don't see eye to eye (we don't see eye to eye)

I wasn't there that morning
When my father passed away
I didn't get to tell him all the things I had to say
I think I caught his spirit later that same year
I'm sure I heard his echo in my baby's newborn tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
(So say it say it say it loud)
Say it loud
Say it clear (come on say it clear)
You can listen as well as you hear (as well as you hear yeah)
(Because it's too late)
It's too late when we die (it's too late when we die)
To admit we don't see eye to eye (we don't see eye to eye

(Hey So say it say it say it loud)
Say it loud
Say it clear (oh oo say it clear)
You can listen as well as you hear (as well as you hear)
(Because it's too late)
It's too late when we die (oh when we die)
To admit we don't see eye to eye (we don't see eye to eye

So I read through all 17 pages of posts (lots of time on my hands) and thought I would post this, my favourite song by one of my favourite bands - and incidentally the most criminally underrated band of all time! I know these lyrics will seem all the flatter for not being accompanied by the haunting melody of the song, but I love this song so much, hope you all enjoy.

I'm in a deep depression
Face of self-control
Shown to the world of confident
Pray your fears won't show
Cry

Break your first impressions
Recreate your will
Love's at the heart of everything
Let love be your goal
Cry

My whole world
Breaking down
The pressure's on
The pressures' on
This whole way's
Falling down
The pressure's on
The pressure's on
The pressure's on

Cry
Cry

James - Pressure's On

I forgot that Brian Eno recorded two albums simultaneously with James. "Wah Wah" is frequently overlooked because "Laid" was such a monster of a hit.

Thank you for posting that song. Tim Booth has a lovely voice, and there are very few vocalists who could pull off that "Cry". Matt Bellamy or Thom Yorke - maybe, but you do need to listen to the song. The lyrics do not do it justice.

Always a great comfort:

I used to tramp the streets beneath the stars
And knock off other geezers' motor cars.
I used to flog them down the Lane.
I'd never heard of Wormwood Scrubs.
One night a friendly rozzer noticed me
A-fiddling round with an ignition key.
He said "You're just the bloke we need -
To fill a space in Wormwood Scrubs."
He put an handcuff on me wrist
I said "What's this? I shall resist!"
So with me arm, he done the twist
And then he hit
Me nut (Aaaaaaargh!)

And now I lie in bed and count the stars
Behind a great big set of iron bars
I hear the motors going by
And here I am
In Wormwood Scrubs


Keep going lads.....


Another chorus....


Come on lads...


Oh, hello Warden. Nice dog you got. Puss, puss, puss..


Want to buy a saw?

Yeah I think alot of James' music is unfairly overlooked, especially when you look at them next to other bands to have come out of Manchester, Oasis for example. But yeah the lyrics alone don't do the song full justice I agree, the haunting melody and Tim Booth's outstanding vocals are just brilliant.

Here goes with another song.

On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we won't understand
"Don't accept that what's happening
Is just a case of all the suffering
Or you'll find that you're joining in
The turning away."

It's a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting its shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we're all alone
In the dream of the proud.

On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
And mesmerized as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night.

No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It's not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there'll be
No more turning away.

Pink Floyd - On the Turning Away

I have not heard that Pink Floyd song in ages. I am going to dust off "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" and give it a play. That makes me feel ancient; I have the album on vinyl!



I know I have posted this before, and I hope you will forgive the repetition. My daughter died 7 years ago today; this was one of her favourite songs. I know she cannot read this, so I don't know why I bother - difficult to let go, I suppose...

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You've been out riding fences for so long now.
Oh, you're a hard one, but I know that you've got your reasons
These things that are pleasing you
Can hurt you some how
Don't you draw the queen of diamonds, boy,
She'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of hearts was always your best bet
Now it seems to me some fine things have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can't get, Desperado
Oh you ain't getting no younger
Your pain and your hunger, they're driving you home
And freedom, oh freedom, that's just some people talking
Your prison is walking through this world all alone
Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine
It's hard to tell the nighttime from the day
You're losing all your highs and lows
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?
Desperado
Why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate.
It may be raining, but there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you
You better let somebody love you,
Before it's too late.

With Bin Ladens' death and the differing responses to it, I thought I'd post this.
"We didn't start the fire" By Billy Joel

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I", and "The Catcher in the Rye"

Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

CHORUS
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it


Josef Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Zhou Enlai, Bridge On The River Kwai

Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California Baseball,
Starkweather homicide, Children of Thalidomide

Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go

U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land,
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock

Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide
Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz

Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and Roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning since the world's been turning.
We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on...

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire...

Warning: While this is an actual song, it is not intended to deride anyone's religious beliefs. This is for the end of the world on May 21, 2011. Side note: This song is a favorite of mine.

"Hell in a hand basket" by Voltaire

Oh and Now
The end is near
And I face that final curtain
So good-bye to strife
This is the last dance of my life

Lord of this I'm certain
I've been a sinner.
I've been a saint.
Done both good and evil deeds.
Oh, but in the end, I was good to my friends
and that's good enough for me.

Oh good Lord, they say all souls you forgive.
Well if that's true then why
does there need to be a hell?
Hey, what's that sulfury smell?
Now I can feel, the fire, creepin up my thigh.

I'm goin to Hell,
in a handbasket.
It's a Bohemian Rhapsody.
Oh, Galileo, mama mia, scaramouche, scaramouche.
Oh, Beelzebub's got a devil put aside for me.

I'm goin to Hell, in a handbasket.
With my flesh they'll make a feast.
I'm gonna be there in that number.
That's 666 the number of the beast.

I'm goin to Hell, in a handbasket.
Well at least I'll have a view.
Oh I will see the fire, through the rusty razor wire.
Oh don't you worry, I saved a seat for You.

I'm goin to Hell, in a handbasket.
And I might like it that way.
No this ain't no lie, I'd rather be Kentucky Fried
Than live and kicking in Jersey any day

I'm goin to Hell, in a handbasket.
I'd pray if I had the guile.
No this ain't no fib, I'd rather be a splatter on the Devil's bib.
'Cause on my knees repentent ain't my style.

I'm goin to Hell, in a handbasket.
Oh please don't pray for me.
No I don't need to be saved, of the devil I ain't afraid.
There ain't nothin he can do that ain't already been done to me.

I'm goin to Hell, in a handbasket.
And I'll have good company too.
'Cause If I was so bad, than there's no need to be sad.
'Cause everybody else will be there too (Including You).

Oh, oh good Lord, I only ask you forgive
The self righteous who decieve
When your words they twist,
We both know Hell don't exist,
Except in the minds of the poor fools who believe

I was saddened to hear of the death of Andrew Gold recently. I thought it might be a nice touch to post the lyrics to one of his songs as it would also give me the chance to thank all my FT chums for being my friends:
----------------------------------------------

Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
your heart is true you're a pal and a confidant

I'm not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won't you stand up and take a bow

And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you knew
You would see, the biggest gift would be from me
and the card attached would say,
Thank you for being a friend

Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for being a friend

If it's a car you lack
I'd surely buy you a cadillac
Whatever you need, anytime of the day or night

I'm not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won't you stand up and take a bow

And when we both get older
With walking canes and hair of gray
Have no fear, even though it's hard to hear
I will stand real close and say,
Thank you for being a friend

(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Let me tell you bout a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend

And when we die and float away
Into the night, the Milky Way
You'll hear me call, as we ascend
I'll see you there, then once again
Thank you for being a friend

Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
Whoa, tell you about a friend
(Thank you right now, for being a friend)
Thank you for being a friend
(I wanna tell you right now, and tell you again)
Thank you for being a friend
(I wanna thank you, thank you, for being a friend)
Thank you for being a friend



Edited to add:
(NB: The Cadillac gifting offer has now ended. Sorry for any disappointment this may have caused. Don't blame me, I didn't write the song. )

Shame,i liked his work with Graham Gouldman in Wax and Never Let Her Slip Away is one of my favourites of his solo efforts.

Every day I drive to work across Flint River bridge
One hundred yards from the spot where me and grandpa fished
There's a piece of his old fruit stand on the side of Sawmill Road
He'd be there peelin' peaches if it was twenty years ago
What I wouldn't give
To ride around in that old truck with him

If heaven wasn't so far away
I'd pack up the kids and go for the day
Introduce them to their grandpa
Watch 'em laugh at the way he talks
I'd find my long lost cousin John
The one we left back in Vietnam
Show him a picture of his daughter now
She's a doctor and he'd be proud
Then tell him we'd be back in a couple of days
In the rear view mirror we'd all watch him wave
And losing them wouldn't be so hard to take
If heaven wasn't so far away

I'd hug all three of those girls we lost from the class of '89
And I'd find my bird dog Bo and take him huntin' one more time
I'd ask Hank why he took those pills back in '53
And Janis to sing the second verse of "Me and Bobby McGee"

Sit on a cloud and visit for a while
It'd do me good just to see them smile

If heaven wasn't so far away
I'd pack up the kids and go for the day
Introduce them to their grandpa
Watch 'em laugh at the way he talks
I'd find my long lost cousin John
The one we left back in Vietnam
Show him a picture of his daughter now
She's a doctor and he'd be proud
Then tell him we'd be back in a couple of days
In the rear view mirror we'd all watch him wave
And losing them wouldn't be so hard to take
If heaven wasn't so far
If heaven wasn't so far
If heaven wasn't so far away

So far away
So far away

People are strange when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven when you're down

When you're strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you're strange
No one remembers your name
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange

People are strange when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven when you're down

When you're strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you're strange
No one remembers your name
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange

When you're strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you're strange
No one remembers your name
When you're strange
When you're strange
When you're strange

You know my old car needs washing
And the front yard needs a trim
And the telephone keeps ringing
And the bossman knows I know it's him
And the bills ain't gonna pay themselves
No matter anyway
Cause I ain't in no hurry today

There's nothing wrong with an old cane fishing pole
And the smell of early spring
Sit down in a fold-up easy chair
On a quiet shady river bank
Let the world go on without me
Wouldn't have it any other way
Cause I ain't in no hurry today

Ain't in no hurry
I'd Be a fool now to worry
About all those things I can't change
And the time that I borrow
Can wait till tomorrow
Cause I ain't in no hurry today

When I must return
To the cold cold ground
Have 'em take their time
When they lay this sinner down

Heaven knows that I ain't perfect
I've raised a little cain
And I plan to raise a whole lot more
Before I hear those angels sing
(Gonna get right with the lord)
But there'll be hell to pay
But I ain't in no hurry

Ain't in no hurry
Be a fool now to worry
About all those things I can't change
And the time that I borrow
Can wait till tomorrow
Cause I ain't in no hurry
Ain't in no hurry
Ain't in no hurry today

Mother, mother ocean,
I have heard you call
Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall
You've seen it all, you've seen it all

Watched the men who rode you switch from sails to steam
And in your belly you hold the treasures few have ever seen
Most of 'em dreams, most of 'em dreams

Yes I am a pirate, two hundred years too late
The cannons don't thunder, there's nothin' to plunder I'm an over-forty victim of fate
Arriving too late, arriving too late

I've done a bit of smugglin',
I've run my share of grass
I made enough money to buy Miami, but I [censored] it away so fast
Never meant to last, never meant to last

And I have been drunk now for over two weeks
I passed out and I rallied and I sprung a few leaks
But I got to stop wishin', got to go fishin'
Down to rock bottom again
Just a few friends, just a few friends

I go for younger women, lived with several a while
Though I ran 'em away, they'd come back one day
Still could manage to smile
Just takes a while, just takes a while

Mother, mother ocean, after all the years I've found
My occupational hazard being my occupation's just not around
I feel like I've drowned, gonna head uptown
I feel like I've drowned, gonna head uptown