Cafe 101

Viz,

You really know where to start
Fixing my broken heart
You really know what to do
Your emotional tools can cure any fool
Whose dreams have fallen apart
Fixing a broken heart

Sing it to me, baby....

Let's all sing along...........

How about a little Nina Simone and some sugar?
She has always been one of my favorites and I was so sad to hear she died recently.

I want some sugar in my bowl
I want a little sweetness
down in my soul
I could stand some lovin' Oh so bad
Feel so lonely and I feel so sad
I want a little steam on my clothes
Maybe I could fix things up so they'll go
Whatsa matter Daddy
Come on, save my soul
Drop a little sugar in my bowl
I ain't foolin'
Drop a little sugar in my bowl
Well I want a little sugar in my bowl
Well I want a little sweetness down in my soul
You been acting strangely I've been told
Move me daddy
I want some sugar in my bowl
I want a little steam on my clothes
Maybe I can fix things up so they'll go
Whatsa matter Daddy
Come on save my soul
Drop a little sugar in my bowl
I ain't foolin
Drop some sugar- yeah- in my bowl.

As Nina Simone gratefully accepts her applause, who should step into the cafe than Bob Dylan himself. It's been a long time since Dylan stopped by the cafe. After a lot of encouragement from the cafe denizens, Bob at last agrees to do a short song. And this is it:

Bob Dylan
Title: Motorpsycho Nightmare
Album: Another Side of Bob Dylan

by Bob Dylan

I pounded on a farmhouse
Lookin' for a place to stay.
I was mighty, mighty tired,
I had gone a long, long way.
I said, "Hey, hey, in there,
Is there anybody home?"
I was standin' on the steps
Feelin' most alone.
Well, out comes a farmer,
He must have thought that I was nuts.
He immediately looked at me
And stuck a gun into my guts.

I fell down
To my bended knees,
Saying, "I dig farmers,
Don't shoot me, please!"
He cocked his rifle
And began to shout,
"You're that travelin' salesman
That I have heard about."
I said, "No! No! No!
I'm a doctor and it's true,
I'm a clean-cut kid
And I been to college, too."

Then in comes his daughter
Whose name was Rita.
She looked like she stepped out of
La Dolce Vita.
I immediately tried to cool it
With her dad,
And told him what a
Nice, pretty farm he had.
He said, "What do doctors
Know about farms, pray tell?"
I said, "I was born
At the bottom of a wishing well."

Well, by the dirt 'neath my nails
I guess he knew I wouldn't lie.
"I guess you're tired,"
He said, kinda sly.
I said, "Yes, ten thousand miles
Today I drove."
He said, "I got a bed for you
Underneath the stove.
Just one condition
And you go to sleep right now,
That you don't touch my daughter
And in the morning, milk the cow."

I was sleepin' like a rat
When I heard something jerkin'.
There stood Rita
Lookin' just like Tony Perkins.
She said, "Would you like to take a shower?
I'll show you up to the door."
I said, "Oh, no! no!
I've been through this before."
I knew I had to split
But I didn't know how,
When she said,
"Would you like to take that shower, now?"

Well, I couldn't leave
Unless the old man chased me out,
'Cause I'd already promised
That I'd milk his cows.
I had to say something
To strike him very weird,
So I yelled out,
"I like Fidel Castro and his beard."
Rita looked offended
But she got out of the way,
As he came charging down the stairs
Sayin', "What's that I heard you say?"

I said, "I like Fidel Castro,
I think you heard me right,"
And ducked as he swung
At me with all his might.
Rita mumbled something
'Bout her mother on the hill,
As his fist hit the icebox,
He said he's going to kill me
If I don't get out the door
In two seconds flat,
"You unpatriotic, Rotten doctor Commie rat."

Well, he threw a Reader's Digest
At my head and I did run,
I did a somersault
As I seen him get his gun
And crashed through the window
At a hundred miles an hour,
And landed fully blast
In his garden flowers.
Rita said, "Come back!"
As he started to load
The sun was comin' up
And I was runnin' down the road.

Well, I don't figure I'll be back
There for a spell,
Even though Rita moved away
And got a job in a motel.
He still waits for me,
Constant, on the sly.
He wants to turn me in
To the F.B.I.
Me, I romp and stomp,
Thankful as I romp,
Without freedom of speech,
I might be in the swamp.

A witch
and a 6 pack
Double Century Ale.
That's what i'd like to do
on a rainy winter night
at her place.

Girl you are rich
even with nothing
You know tenderness
comes from pain
It's amazing how you love
And love is kind
and love can give
and get no gain

It's down a rugged road
you've come
Though you had every reason
you didn't come undone
Somehow you made it to
the other side
You didn't suffer in vain

You forgive those who have
trespassed against you
And you know tenderness
comes from pain
It's amazing how you love
And love is kind
and love can give
and love needs
No gain

You didn't suffer in vain
You know it's only love
that gets you through
Only love love
Only love that gets
you through....

Sade, "Lovers Rock"
"It's Only Love That Gets You Through"

photograph 15

Lovers
lying
in a bed,
covered by
a sheet
with only
their feet
sticking out,
entangled.

R.B.

Twirl me about and twirl me around
Let me grow dizzy and fall to the ground
And when I look up at you looking down
Say it was only a dream...

photograph 9

The first
star
in the night
sky
out of breath
but happy
because
it won the
race,
even though
it did have
to cheat.


photograph 8

Eternity
picking its
teeth
with the cross
that Jesus
was crucified on.
R.B.

Ah, Don Henley. There you are when I need you.

People inside their houses
with the shades pulled down
God knows, we could use some romance
In this sleepy bedroom town
I know you're still afraid to rush into anything
But there are just so many summers
And just so many springs

And this is the last worthless evening
That you'll have to spend
Just gimme a chance to show you how
to love again
This is the last worthless evening
That you'll have to spend, baby
'Cause I'll be there when your broken heart
Is on the mend....

So glad you came, Don. Bring him a drink, Wassau. Anything he wants....

Leonard Cohen enters the Cafe, picks up a guitar, and sings a song from his most recent CD....

My Secret Life

I saw you this morning,
You were moving so fast,
Can't seem to loosen my grip
On the past.
And I miss you so much,
There's no one in sight,
And we're still making love
In My Secret Life.

I smile when I'm angry,
I cheat and I lie,
I do what I have to do
To get by.
But I know what is wrong,
And I know what is right,
And I'd die for the truth
In My Secret Life.

Hold on, hold on, my brother,
My sister, hold on tight,
I finally got my orders,
I'll be marching through the morning,
Marching through the night,
Moving cross the borders
Of My Secret Life.

Looked through the paper,
Makes you want to cry,
Nobody cares if the people
Live or die.
And the dealer wants you thinking
That it's either black or white,
Thank God it's not that simple
In My Secret Life.

I bite my lip,
I buy what I'm told;
From the latest hit,
To the wisdom of old,
But I'm always alone,
And my heart is like ice,
And it's crowded and cold
In My Secret Life.


<applause for Leonard Cohen>

Applause, applause!

Oh, look! It's Sweet Baby James! Sing that new anti-war song of yours. I don't think anyone here will object...


Belfast to Boston

There are rifles buried in the countryside
By the rising of the moon
May they lie there long forgotten
Till they rust away into the ground

Who will bend this ancient hatred
Will the killing to an end
Who will swallow long injustice
Take the devil for a countryman

Who will say, "This far, no further, O Lord -
If I die today"

Send no weapons, no more money
Send no vengeance across these seas
Just the blessing of forgiveness
For my new countryman and me

Missing brothers, martyred fellows
Silent children in the ground
Could we but hear them, would they not tell us
"Time to lay God's rifle down"

<applause, anyone?>

<applause>

Viz, you and I have very similar tastes in music!! I'm loving these songs!!

Me, too!

Uh oh. Look who just walked in. It's Randy Newman with an oldie-but-goodie. Must've heard Taylor's latest.


Political Science (copyright 1969...probably still played at the Rumsfelds')

No one likes us - I don't know why
We may not be perfect, but heaven knows we try
But all around even our old friends put us down
Let's drop the big one and see what happens

We give them money - But are they grateful?
No, they're spiteful and they're hateful
They don't respect us - so let's surprise them
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them

Asia's crowded and Europe's too old
Africa is far too hot
And Canada's too cold
And South America stole our name
Let's drop the big one
There'll be no one left to blame us

We'll save Australia
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo
We'll build an All-American amusement park there
They got surfin' too

Boom goes London and boom Paree
More room for you and more room for me
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town
Oh how peaceful it will be
We'll set everybody free
You'll wear a Japanese kimono
And there'll be Italian shoes for me

They all hate us anyhow
So let's drop the big one now
Let's drop the big one now


<no applause, just lots of ironic laughter>

Wassau, throw the bum out....

P&L, You've found an artist and song that is dear to my heart. Applause.!!!!!!

You have a special one for me, Don? Can it get any better than the last?

INSIDE OUT

The biggest lie you ever told
Your deepest fear about growing old
The loneliest night you ever spent
The angriest letter you never sent
The girl you swore you'd never leave
The one you kissed on New Year's Eve
The sweetest dream you had last night
Your darkest hour, your hardest fight
I wanna know you, like I know myself
I'm waiting for you, there ain't no one else
I wanna know you, inside out

I wanna dig down deep
I wanna lose some sleep
I wanna scream and shout
I wanna know you inside out

The saddest song you ever heard
The most you said with just one word
The loneliest prayer you ever prayed
The truest vow you ever made
What makes you laugh, what makes you cry
What makes you mad, what gets you by
Your highest high, your lowest low
These are the things I wanna know

I wanna know your soul, I wanna lose control
Come on and let it out
I wanna know you inside out......

(Don staring at Viz. Viz is speechless.)

PaL taps Don Henley on the shoulder, and asks if he'll sing one of her favorite songs, "Heart Of The Matter".....

Picking up his guitar, sitting on a chair, he sings....


I got the call today, I didn't want to hear
But I knew that it would come
An old, true friend of ours was talking on the phone
She said you found someone
And I thought of all the bad luck, and the struggles we went through
How I lost me, and you lost you
What are these voices outside love's open door
Make us throw off our contentment and beg for something more?

But I'm learning to live without you now
But I miss you sometimes
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning again

I've been trying to get down to the heart of the matter
But my will gets weak and my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

Oh, these times are so uncertain
There's a yearning undefined
People filled with rage
We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive in such a graceless age?
The trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness
They're the very things we kill, I guess
Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms
And the work I put between us doesn't keep me warm

I'm learning to live without you now
But I miss you, baby
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I'd figured out, I have to learn again

I've been trying to get down to the heart of the matter
But everything changes and my friends seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

There are people in your life who've come and gone
They let you down and hurt your pride
Better put it all behind you; life goes on
You keep carrying that anger, it'll eat you up inside

I've been trying to get down to the heart of the matter
But my will gets weak and my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me

I've been trying to get down to the heart of the matter
Because the flesh will get weak and the ashes will scatter
So I'm thinking about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me


<PaL puts her hands together, bows her head, and says 'thanks'>

For an encore, Don pulls out all the stops...

Who knows how long this will last
Now we've come so far so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town's in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss
And let me take a long last look
Before we say goodbye....

Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence...

(Viz says she can't take anymore, teardrops flowing. Don kneels and wipes away tears, offers to walk Viz home....)

You guys are breaking my heart. Or is that me doing that?