Unpublished Lyrics

Rockin' on the Rail


Hear the clackity clack clack
of a train rollin` west
I lay me down on the boxcar floor
just to take my rest
And the tunnel of night
Shuts out all but starlight
I clackity clack clack
rockin` on the rail

Rockin` on the rail

As I`m laying here awake
with my bottle and a restless heart
Thinkin` on the lovely towns
to visit and soon depart
If you see me on your street
Have some mercy when we meet
Or it`s clackity clack clack
rockin` on the rail

Rockin` on the rail

Don`t say we`re outlaws
who live beyond the law
I never want to be unkind
or hurt anyone at all
I got no points to prove
I`m just born to move
I clackity clack clack
rockin` on the rail

Rockin` on the rail

That clackity clack part had me stomping my foot to the beat.

I could actually hear the train and feel the wind in my face

This offering is based on my younger rail riding days.

You have a book in you, edgar.

Write it and send me a copy.

And, by the way, have you checked out this book yet?

I'm not going to quit bugging you until you do.

I absolutely plan to get that book, gus. Sometimes it's easier said than did, but in time...

Most of my lyrics have appeared on a2k in one form or another. I just want to get them all in one place. This is another personal reminiscence:

Lost in San Luis

lost almost drunk in old san luis
somehow i just can`t find the border
i hitched i got stranded in the land of ease
im walking and asking in english for the border

one day i was leaving san diego
with my thumb he drove with lightning speed
we almost died in the high sierra
that car lost its will and stalled in the heat near san luis

he said i`ll pay we`ll play in mexico
a stranger set us on the dusty street
it was cerveza for me and my amigo
he vanished in a manner not altogether discreet

lost almost drunk in old san luis
somehow i just can`t find the border
i hitched i got stranded in the land of ease
im walking and asking in english for the border

men sit at ease on the wooden walk-way
and one will point his finger to the north
should i load the lettuce trucks or merely segue
because i need to see my momma back home in fort worth


lost almost drunk in old san luis
somehow i just can`t find the border
i hitched i got stranded in the land of ease
im walking and asking in english for the border

Another from a personal point of view, exggerated for effect.

Overworked Maintenance Man Blues

When I woke up this morning
I had just one hour on my bed
When I got up this morning
Feeling like I was almost dead
When I got dressed this morning
I looked down at my wife and I said

I got the Maintenance Man Blues this morning
Don`t expect no kiss good-bye
Because I ain`t never been quit working
To tell you good-bye would be a lie

I spent last night bailing water
Cause the water tank it broke
I spent last night moving furniture
Cause it all so water soak
I spent last night pulling carpet
While the resident screaming like to croak

I got the Maintenance Man Blues this morning
Don`t expect no kiss good-bye
Because I ain`t never been quit working
To tell you good-bye would be a lie

I got to paint six apartments
While changing air condition machine
I got to make ready those apartments
While making swimming pool clean
I got to even shampoo those apartments
Why the boss man so doggone mean

That`s why I got the Maintenance Man Blues this morning
So don`t expect no kiss good-bye
Because I ain`t never been quit working
To tell you good-bye would be a big fat lie

The Doggie Door

Now I got a dog that needs to roam
All around the yard and inside my home
I didn`t argue the why and what for
I just up and installed the doggie door
She went out and peed
And ran per her need
I thought all was wonderful and well
But that door made my life a living hell
She`s a fifty pound pup called a lab
And what she wants to chew on she`ll just grab
Like new shoes and sox
And porch support posts
I lost two ten foot banana trees
The dog got bored and took them down with ease
She once put in the wife`s sleeping face
A sopping wet azalea's root (mud laced)
Brings in long tree tops
Insects even rocks
Tree chippers prob`ly make better pets
And are a lot less stressful on the vets
All in all I`d say the dog`s a turd
But I love her so just take my word

Children of the Ward is my final somewhat autobiographical one, to date. It was written in the same cadence as Bob Dylan's Every Grain of Sand.

I watch the children playing,
See them dancing in the yard.
Preserve the words they`re saying,
Like a fancy Christmas card.
The moments that betray them
Are the moments caught off guard;
Yet the dragons cannot slay them,
Not these children of the ward.
I hear their mothers calling
As they empty out the yard,
Echoing their footsteps,
Like bells tolling in my heart.
I gaze upon the portrait
Of my brother who`s been gone:
Time itself cannot prorate
The memory and the song.

To see you I would kiss you;
And give hugs until you groan.
Mama`s off to find you,
I must go it all alone -
I`ve been across some borders,
To describe my private hell;
In deep and shallow waters,
Like a bucket in a well.
Each story has an anchor;
Yes I dragged mine through the bay;
I was lucky just to find her,
Fortunate she went my way.

The sun is like a prism:
See it straining through the glass.
My mind`s not like a prison;
I`m no prisoner to the past.
There`s a beauty in the foment,
And a rage to top the crest;
Got to have myself a moment,
So I`m ready for the rest.

Source of inspiration: Leonard Cohen's Songs From a Room.

I Made You

In my dreams
In my genius
You are the one work of promise
I made you
Then you made me
Complete

In my grace
In my prescience
I gave you life
To live in my presence
I made you
Then you made me
Complete

And if I gave you wings
And a voice that sings
I did it all just for me
And if I gave you love
It was over and above
All courtesy

In my search for pride and power
I reached for you every hour
I molded you from lifeless clay
One shady day

Then I touched your sightless eyes
They opened like the sunrise
I wrenched a life from the clay
That shady day

If we should ever reach the sun
I am the only one
Who touched it twice
And if I should ever die
You are the reason why
The one life could suffice

This also inspired by Leonard Cohen, when he did Songs of Love and Hate.

Once Upon a Perfect Time

Cold yellow walls, chandeliers like diamonds.
Your body still and silent as a range of ancient tired mountains.
Attend to me, Love; can you feel it; the sadness in our holy mansion?
See, the listless ghost of beauty walks these lonely halls
And the dust of her passing lifts then slowly falls,
Meeting with your flesh and turning gray and ashen.
You look upon her the way any prisoner looks upon the warden,
Then wilt inside your tiny cell, for you know full well there will be no pardon.
Will you sit with me; rise up My Love; come out into the garden.
The sun will be shining there as I comb out your tangled hair
And braid it into a rope the size and length you wore it as a maiden.

Ah, every star`s a wishing star;
Dream you`re my princess; you are.
It was once upon a perfect time,
Your eyes were cast on mine.
Your hair descended like a jacob`s ladder.
I climbed into your den.
We lay down in perfect zen.
But now the forces of destiny gather.

And your body is cold, though the sun`s ablaze like diamonds.
My soul aches for you, My Love, even as it roves to look for future mansions.
We are betrayed by time and death, dear Murdered Rose. I must burn this house of pretensions.
The dogs of loss sniff outside the door impatiently,
Smell your flesh so sweet. Don`t feel hate for me
As I spill upon the floor in floods the gasoline, don`t mention
How your magic gave to me selfish love, oh bird in detention.
See the flames embrace the timbers and lace, then hug the lovely statue in the garden.
As I haste to leave, Good-bye, My Love, I know a mansion afar that`s waiting.
Animals dance without care for the sleeping maiden there
Whose love is a golden award for the one invading.

And every star`s a wishing star;
Dream you`re my princess; you are,
Every once upon a time,
Every once upon a perfect time.
See her on the bed asleep, My Love.
See; she lies so still and pure;
Our love will be cement and sure,
This one more once upon a perfect time.

Inspiration source: Bob Dylan album, Highway 61 Revisited.

When Knighthood Was in Flower

1
When Knighthood was in flower
The knights were saintly men
They put bubblegum on their lances
And jousted with finger zen
They put iron pants on their ladies
To keep their heart-throbs pure
When they went off with Sancho Panza
To find a midnight cure
The street scenes at night were haunted
The peasants were the honest mass
The kings were their dear fathers
The priests a decent working class
In the bars and in the nightclubs
All night long they sang
Outside the high walls you could hear them
Came the dawn and still the echoes rang

2
In his study we see the doctor
Who nursed them through the plague
With eye on their suffering
The other eye kind of vague
He tries to turn away their blessings
He knows there was no cure
His medicine was his prayer book
Only the strong ones did endure
And the smell of sulphur from the back room
Proves that any faith can lag
He knows he is only equal
To the one who wears the killer`s tag
And he swears to give his best to evil
In return for a moment`s grace
He turns his back on the Holy Bible
And greets the devil face to face

3
When the thief and the barber
Agreed to trim the knave
Thaey didn`t know that his saber
Was stuck up in his sleeve
Now the thief is known as "Lefty"
And the barber needs a shave
While the knave raps Rune tunes
In the baron`s cabaret
Well the baroness is fanning
And sneeking looks his way
The knave eyes her mood ring
As in baritone does bray
"The cheese and wine are delicious
I work real hard for my pay
But the baron soon will be sleeping
That`s the time I really play."

4
In his lair the pimpled dragon
Still bears a torch for his love
He probes the lower hillside
With field glasses from above
He only learned in college
That he hates to be alone
When he spies a certain maiden
He knows what must be done
Meanwhile his brother Sheldon
Is fighting for equal pay
If St. George can drive a Porsche
Sheldon needs a Chevrolet
And the maiden and the dragon
Got wed just yesterday
They plan to have six children
And a home right across the bay

5
And I`m on the street to witness
The coming of an age
The children walk in sunflowers
Their parents mock outrage
Philosophers answer questions
They just get payed minimum wage
They get one second to ponder
To be thought of as wise and sage
The rulers get themselves elected
Once they`ve answered duty`s page
They get only two chances
To be up on center stage
And I have the choice of guitar
Or learning of the plummer`s trade
But I never get to plunder
Those who`ve rained on my parade

My Life on the Moon


Life on the moon
Ain`t really bad
When you`re in love
And feelin` sad

Nowhere on Earth
To run from the blues
No one in space
Bringin` bad news

My life on the moon
Goes on like a dream
I stay there and pretty soon
Trouble lifts like a moonbeam

Life on the moon
Away from it all
Then like a tune
My lover's call

As down to Earth
I hurry on home
For what it's worth
Our happy home

My life on the moon
Goes on like a dream
I stay there and pretty soon
Trouble lifts like a moonbeam

Uptown, My Girl

No jobs
Tough cops
Nothing else to do but fight
Walk the streets
Uptown feet`s
Looking for a place to light
I wonder what the rich boys do
I view them like a turning screw
I wonder what the rich boys do
I wonder about that uptown view

Slow down
Uptown
I approach you in the night
In your eyes
Cold surprise
But you want to treat me right
I wonder what your parents do
I view them like a turning screw
I worry `bout that uptown view

Sunshine
Legs twined
I awake to your vacant eyes
Awkward days
Blacks to grays
We`ve used up our alibis
Go on home to your parents child
I view you like a turning screw
Go on home to your parents child
Go back home to that uptown view

Missing You

When the trees are bare
`Cause the leaves aren`t there;
With the season`s change
Snow`s across the range;
I think of you on that western shore

I dream of blazing nights,
The California lights -
You out there with Jim.
I missed you both then;
Tonight, Love, I miss you even more.

I miss your dancing eyes
Before Montana skies;
Since you went with him
Give my best to Jim.
Who would think you`d even the score?

I see the shadows grow;
I hear the cattle low;
Yes I chose the range
Because the heart can change -
I remember you on that western shore.

This one just popped into my head, exactly as presented here- -no thought required, no rewrites.

Old Tigers

Somewhere old tigers are free
They lie in sunlit glades
You can hear them growling sleepily
You can tell their minds are made
Somewhere Midas is the king
His walls are paved with gold
He never wants for anything
His rooms are never too cold
His rooms are never too cold

As you turn inside your room
You look into your fate
Your past is a holy womb
Your future comes too late
Outside the city`s breathing loud
You see the subway throngs
In the seething of the crowd
You hear their rattling bones
You hear their rattling bones

You`ve played the radio
It`s the same on every band
You`ve scorned the late late show
Missed the party that you`d planned
How your body aches with pain
But your mind`s too false to move
In the dark night on the wane
You`ve nothing else to lose
You`ve not a thing to lose

So now the wheel must turn
The dust will settle down
You`ve never watched your candle burn
You`ve never moved around
You`ve only guessed the mystery
In a lonely mirror`s scowl
Through the deep hurting mysery
You hear old tigers growl
You hear old tigers growl

From 1968. Influence: Blonde on Blonde, Dylan.


People stargazing ask me why
So sure as they point at the sky
They really don`t understand
But baby you`re good to me
And it`s different when we meet
You`re a book that cannot be banned

My love for you is more than contemplation
My love for you is awash along the tide of creation

When you look with uncensored eye
A non poison that cannot lie
They have to raid the season in disguise
But you just raise up your hand
It fills all the farmers` land
They have to apologize

My love for you is more than veneration
My love for you is awash along the tide of creation

Well if some day they make you fall
Through some neurotic squall
They`ll scream and celebrate it
But I`ll arrive through smoke
To touch the chain that`s broke
With love and liberate it

My love for you is more than calibration
My love for you is awash along the tide of creation

You are Helen of Troy to me
And you`re all the good things that are free
You`re cream and jelly
You make all the planets swing
And you make all the blossoms sing
You put crawfish in my belly

My love for you is more than a celebration
My love for you is awash along the tide of creation

Also 1968.


she stands like a memory in her tiny room
she`s calm like the tide like mountains on the moon
in her every way and her face is classic hewn
she sleeps each day until noon
she sleeps like a thief her face is cold and wet
with nightmare dreams of a thought she can`t forget
what is her secret i wonder where it`s at
what will she pay and who`s going to get it
she`s nobody`s baby never been a child
i don`t know her tale but her nails are filed
soft like a cat and her eyes are open wide
don`t try to grab cause she`s not on your side

who gave her a necklace and a diamond ring
who gave his name has he taken wing
does she ever miss him does he invade her dreams
is she to him a forest of silent screams

1968.


Over all the heartache of a love that`s wrong
Over all the shame she`s done for you
I know there lingers one last regretful song
Saying My God what have I done to you
But there opens no street
For to go or retreat
As you stand out there below her door
And the grass it is wet
And the room is to let
So you ring her bell as you have done before

For in her arms you hold outside your heart
All the words she aches to hear
But in your armor there appears a part
Down the seam like the crack of fear
All your sadness is here
You control it`s clear
All the tears the sighs
The laughs the cries
If you should go away
Or even choose to stay
There will remain in the cellar vaults of lies

Then in the moaning of a distant train
Think you hear a song of death
But in the sounding of a higher plane
You calm the urge to stave your breath
And you know that she too
Will die if you do
You search for the way that will close the scene
But even if you know
How to reap you will sow
As the Book says and not miss a grain