Changing Channels

Girl of a thousand faces
From a long line of basket cases
Daughter of a fortune teller
Oh the lovely Isabella

She's changing channels
Stayin' on her toes
She's just changin' channels
As she goes

This place is full of beachhead sailors
Fisherman and old retailers
Simple lives are so deep seated
and history always gets repeated
Some folks see a birds eye view
Others haven't got a clue
Some will go and some will stay
It doesn't matter anyway

They are changin' channels
Crazy girls and boys
They'll be changin' channels
Changin' toys

Survivors of tidal waves
children of former slaves
don't it that they behave
Like it's another world?

There's an island in the ocean
Where the people stay in motion
Somewhere on the old gulf stream
Do they live or did I dream?

They were changin' channels
Waitin' for their sails to fill
They were changin' channels
Always will

They'll be changin' channels
Waitin' for their sails to fill
They'll be changing channels
Always will
 

Come to the Moon

Full earth tonight
And Mars is big and bright
All our friends are flying in
It's such a lovely sight
Gravity never could hold me
That is what you always told me
You know me

So come to the moon
I hope to see you soon
Half a million miles isn't far to go
You know I need you so
I hope you still need me
So come to the Moon
The starship's leaving soon
Until then I'm wishing on every star
That you will be here soon
Come to the Moon

Those crazy martian days
When we went separate ways
Through time and space we'd find a place
To bring our lives in phase
We're lost amid the galaxies revolving
And we're all just a part of what's evolving

So come to the Moon
I hope to see you soon
Half a million miles isn't far to go
You know I need you so
I hope you still need me
So come to the Moon
The starship's leaving soon
Until then I'm wishing on every star
Wondering where you are

Come to the Moon...

I am the Dutchman

The Dutchman's not the kind of man
Who keeps his thumb jammed in the dam
That holds his dreams in,
But that's a secret that only Margaret knows.

When Amsterdam is golden in the summer,
Margaret brings him breakfast,
She believes him.
He thinks the tulips bloom beneath the snow.

He's mad as he can be, but Margaret only sees that sometimes,
Sometimes she sees her unborn children in his eyes.

Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Long ago, I used to be a young man
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.

The Dutchman still wears wooden shoes,
His cap and coat are patched with the love
That Margaret sewed there.
Sometimes he thinks he's still in Rotterdam.

And he watches the tug-boats down canals
An' calls out to them when he thinks he knows the Captain.
Till Margaret comes
To take him home again

Through unforgiving streets that trip him, though she holds his arm,
Sometimes he thinks he's alone and he calls her name.

Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Long ago, I used to be a young man
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.

The winters whirl the windmills 'round
She winds his muffler tighter
And they sit in the kitchen.
Some tea with whiskey keeps away the dew.

And he sees her for a moment, calls her name,
She makes the bed up singing some old love song,
A song Margaret learned
When it was very new.

He hums a line or two, they sing together in the dark.
The Dutchman falls asleep and Margaret blows the candle out.

Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Long ago, I used to be a young man
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.

College Daze- After the Breakup

Since the day you left me,
Nothing has really been the same.
Oh, how I need that loving now,
How I wish you'd call my name.

And in turn I cry away the night,
I lay dreamless everyday.
If only I had understood
The reason why you went away...

And I see what this has done to me,
I can feel the pain and misery.
If only you had made it clear to me,
Then your dreams would have meant
much more to me...

And as I think of all the days,
When feeling great meant
one embrace...
I long to have you here.
I need your love.

No, I don't need your fame and fortune,
I don't need that now.
I need your love, I need your love...
No, I don't need your glory,
I don't need your famous bow.
I need your love...

She's Goin' Out of My Mind

I talk to her pictures
And stare at the walls
And my friends come and offer their help
To my back they're afraid that I'm losing it all
To my face they say I'm not myself
And they name all the doctors they think I should see
But they don't understand it's not me 

She's goin' out of my mind
And I'm showin' all of the signs
I thought that our love was one of a kind
Now she's goin' out of my mind

The place that I kept her
Has suited her well
Though it's not where she wanted to be
And from up on that pedestal I couldn't tell
That she'd rather be down here with me
Now she just tells me how we can't relate
But she leaves out the part I can't take 

She's goin' out of my mind
And I'm showin' all of the signs
I thought that our love was one of a kind
Now she's goin' out of my mind

There's a tear in her eyes as they drive me away
And I turn to the doctors and say 

She's goin' out of my mind
And I'm showin' all of the signs
I thought that our love was one of a kind
Now she's goin' out of my mind

Yeah she's goin' out of my mind

40 Years Ago- 1967

In Nineteen Sixty Seven the draft caught up with me,
me and my pal Joe went off to war. 
We might find hero's heaven, but we'd keep the country free.
We would surely win just like before.
Roy Rogers he was on his horse, and Buck Jones drew his gun.
We would surely win of course when the battle was all done.

Nineteen Sixty Seven I came back alone,
they brought Joe back in plastic on the plane.
Nineteen Sixty Seven seems so long ago,
but I can't forget my friend or ease my pain.
His family may forget him, his children may regret him,
his wife may find another and go on.
His picture may grow faded and the world he knew gone jaded
but as long as I shall live I surely know,
I never will forget my buddy Joe.

In Nineteen Sixty Seven, the war was raging on,
our country was divided and reborn.
Though I was back at home, I had never left Saigon,
'cause all I got was ridicule and scorn.
This was no place for hero's now, they all seemed to resent me,
They said "Why did you ever go?" I said "Because they sent me."

Nineteen Sixty Seven they buried my friend Joe,
and I was flashing back while people wept.
I thought of how he saved us and I watched the land-mine blow,
and I looked down at his dog-tag that I kept.
You'll always be a young man, you always will be smiling,
you always will be confident and true.
Your picture may grow faded and the world you knew gone jaded,
but as long as I shall live I surely know,
I never will forget my buddy Joe.
Long as I shall live I surely know,
I never will forget you buddy Joe.

Lone Palm

My garden is filled with papayas and mangos
My life is a mixture of reggaes and tangos
Taste for the good life, I can live it no other way

While out on the beach there are two empty chairs
That say more than the people who ever sit there
From under my lone palm I can look out on the day

Where no bird flies by my window
No ship is tied to my tree
Love is a wave building to a crescendo
Ride if you will, ride it with me

I knew this girl made of memories and phrases
Who lived her whole life in both chapters and stages
Danced til the dawn, wished all her worries away

Well she wasn't crazy no she wasn't mad
She just wanted the father that she never had
From under my lone palm I think about her today

Where no bird flies by my window
No ship is tied to my tree
Love is a wave building to a crescendo
Ride if you will, ride it with me

We sailed from the port of indecision
Young and wild with oh so much to learn
Days turn into years as we tried to fool our fears
But to the port of indecision I returned

My gardens are filled with papayas and mangos
My life is a mixture of jingles and jangles
Come Christmas winds and blow all my worries away

Where no bird flies by my window
No ship is tied to my tree
Love is a wave building to a crescendo
Ride if you will, ride it with me

Sing if you will and we'll sing to the sea

She Sings Songs Without Words

I was thrown on the cobblestones, tossed at her feet
My fool's mouth was filled with the dust from the street
An out of work court jester with nowhere to go
And no need to speak, for she seemed to know

She sings the songs without words
Songs that sailors, and blind men, and beggars have heard
She knows more of love than the poets can say
And her eyes are for something that won't go away

This mad mocking town, and its dishonored guest
Disappeared in the colors that danced on her dress
She led me to safety in a forest of green
And showed my stale eyes some sights never seen

She sings the songs without words
Songs that sailors, and blind men, and beggars have heard
She knows more of love than the poets can say
And her eyes are for something that won't go away

She spins magic and moonlight in her meadows and streams
And seeks deep inside me and touches my dreams
The morning comes smiling and I laugh with no sound
And snuggle in silence and the sweet peace I've found

And she sings the songs without words
Songs that sailors, and blind men, and beggars have heard
She knows more of love than the poets can say
And her eyes are for something that won't go away

No they won't go away
Go away

Paint a Picture of Yourself

Well, I hear you are a painter now
Though you're almost halfway through
You pulled a pallet knife, you cut away a wife
And you started something new

But it was not the strife of married life
That ordained what you would do
A quick look back through your history
Shows the same things goading you

It's just like you to try painting
Because you're color blind
Each time you conquer something
That's the time you change you're mind

And now your new preoccupations
Give you your handicap to start
Yes you're happiest when you're chasing clouds
With a halfway broken heart

Paint a picture of yourself
Let the images flash past
Don't weep on watercolors, Michael
Make this moment last
Paint the kid with restless eyes
Yeah, the way you looked back then
'Cause the man keeps getting frightened
When the boy's not born again

I remember how you led us
Back when we all were kids
And that fact that you were older
Made us copy what you did

The day you bought that cheap guitar
We all fell into line
We got hooked on music
But you drifted off in time

So, I can see you at your easel
Splay legged there you stand
And your eyes are darting back and forth
Brush flashing in your hand
You're reaching always for that dream
You need to make you real
Leaning in a heavy wind
That no one else can feel

Half A World Away- Distantly In Love

Pay phones all were ringing as the crowd went roarin' by
Lovely dancers swaying to an island lullaby
Beside the southern ocean taking stock of what's to be
Writing you this letter that you'll probably never see

But I can't help but be
Ruled by inconsistency
Not unique just distantly in love

Tried to phone from Paris thinking
Things could be arranged
Me and you could rendezvous
But I found your number changed
So I drove to San Remo where
The crazy painter dwells
And toasted our old photographs
Still up there on his shelf

But I can't help but be
Ruled by my antiquity
Not unique just distantly in love
I can't be the one to fill
Your times and all your places
I can't be the one to fill
Your blanks and empty spaces

I heard it from a friend of ours
I saw in Timber Bay
That you had a new lover who had
Stolen you away
That could be be the reason that
I never got in touch
And may present slight problems
If he loves you half as much

As I who can't help but be
Ruled by my antiquity
Not unique just distantly in love
You know I can't help but be
Part of my own philosophy
Not unique just distantly in love

Literary Passion- Love In The Library

 

On the corner of Government and Bay Avenue
The old doomsday fanatic wore a crown of kudzu
Sirens were wailing in the gulf coastal heat
And it seemed like the whole world was in forced retreat

 

I paid no attention as to who revolved through the door
Passing the newspaper rack on the worn marble floor
Near civil war history my heart skipped a beat
She was standing in fiction stretched high on bare feet

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

I was the pirate and she was the queen
Sir Francis and Elizabeth the best there's ever been
Then she strolled past my table and stopped at the stairs
Then sent me a smile as she reached for Flaubert

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

She gathered her books, walked while she read
Words never spoken but so much was said
You can read all you want into this rendezvous
But it's safer than most things that lovers can do

Well stories have endings and fantasies fade
And the guard by the door starts drawing the shade
So write your own ending and hope they come true
For the lovers and strangers on Bay Avenue

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

Literary Passion- Love In The Library

On the corner of Government and Bay Avenue
The old doomsday fanatic wore a crown of kudzu
Sirens were wailing in the gulf coastal heat
And it seemed like the whole world was in forced retreat

I paid no attention as to who revolved through the door
Passing the newspaper rack on the worn marble floor
Near civil war history my heart skipped a beat
She was standing in fiction stretched high on bare feet

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

I was the pirate and she was the queen
Sir Francis and Elizabeth the best there's ever been
Then she strolled past my table and stopped at the stairs
Then sent me a smile as she reached for Flaubert

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

She gathered her books, walked while she read
Words never spoken but so much was said
You can read all you want into this rendezvous
But it's safer than most things that lovers can do

Well stories have endings and fantasies fade
And the guard by the door starts drawing the shade
So write your own ending and hope they come true
For the lovers and strangers on Bay Avenue

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

Literary Passion- Love In The Library

On the corner of Government and Bay Avenue
The old doomsday fanatic wore a crown of kudzu
Sirens were wailing in the gulf coastal heat
And it seemed like the whole world was in forced retreat
I paid no attention, revolved through the door
Passed the newspaper rack on the worn marble floor
Near civil war history my heart skipped a beat
She was standing in fiction stretched high on bare feet

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

I was the pirate and she was the queen
Sir Francis and Elizabeth the best there's ever been
Then she strolled past my table and stopped at the stairs
Then sent me a smile as she reached for Flaubert

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

She gathered her books, walked while she read
Words never spoken but so much was said
You can read all you want into this rendezvous
But it's safer than most things that lovers can do
Well stories have endings and fantasies fade
The guard by the door starts drawing the shade
So write your own ending and hope they come true
For the lovers and strangers on Bay Avenue

Love in the library, quiet and cool
Love in the library, there are no rules
Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
I fell in love in the library once upon a time

We Were Three

The old lady on the park bench
In the park with just one tree
Was there from the very first day
That you were part of me
It seemed like she'd been sitting there
Since 1000 B.C.
And you said, "She is as permanent
As anything can be."

From that first day
We were three
The old lady and you and me

You sat there in the window
You were looking 'cross the street
You said, "The birds and the old lady
Yet the same bread crumbs they eat."
I could not get you back to bed
'Till you took them both a treat
And I learned that you were twice as stubborn
As you could be sweet

From that first day
We were three
The old lady and you and me

Do you remember that summer rain storm
On the day that you moved in
I was caught in the excitement
Of what was to begin
Well, you disappeared for a little while
And when I asked you where you'd been
You said you'd lent the old lady my new umbrella
Then you gave me that wicked grin

From that first day
We were three
The old lady and you and me

Yes on March 21st the first day of Spring
The old lady would be there
Spend all the days of summer
Then she'd disappear somewhere
Where she spent her falls and her winters, babe
No one was aware
But you were the first to wonder
Yeah, you were the first to care

It was three years we were together
The old lady held that spot
Through the nights when life was wonderful
Through the days when it was not
And the times we were in trouble
In a way we sometimes got
Just knowing that she was out there
Meant we gave it just one more shot

From that first day
We were three
The old lady and you and me

Well it's March 21st the first day of Spring
And you know what I had to do
I got up and I ran to the window
To confirm what I already knew
I wish I had your address
To send this letter to
You see the old lady's not on the park bench
And I'm still wondering where are you?
Where are you?

Some Life Lessons from the Old Man of the Sea

The old sailor sat at the window seat
So he could watch as the ships went by
And he drank from a glass that was always filled
For the rest of us would buy.
And he would tell us tales about the ships that sailed
When he was young and strong.
And when he thought we'd heard enough of his words
He'd break into this song.
Dee dee dee dah dah dah dee dee dee dah dah
Dah dah dee dee dee dum.

Each and every day he'd spend this way
Until the stroke of four
When a woman as rough as a dockside tough
Came bursting through the door.
She'd stalk up to that sailor
And he'd shrink to the size of a pin.
And she'd curse and shout and as she hauled him out
He'd say with a sheepish grin:

I've sailed the southern oceans
And the stormy northern sea,
But now that me sailin's over, me boys,
It's harbor time for me.
I know you call us Salt and Pepper,
For an old salt I may be,
But though she may be pepper to you, me boys,
She's sweet as sugar to me.
Dee dee dee dah dah dah dee dee dee dah dah
Dah dah dee dee dee dum.

Yes, we called them Salt and Pepper,
For that's the way she was
And it seemed she got as least as hot
As fresh red pepper does.
And a bunch of the boys made offers
To protect him from her wrath,
But each and every time, he would decline,
Declaring with a laugh:

I've sailed the southern oceans
And the stormy northern sea,
But now that me sailin's over, me boys,
It's harbor time for me.
I know you call us Salt and Pepper,
For an old salt I may be,
But though she may be pepper to you, me boys,
She's sweet as sugar to me.
Dee dee dee dah dah dah dee dee dee dah dah
Dah dah dee dee dee dum.

I've had my body broken,
Not drowned, but parched bone-dry.
I've heard my name be spoken,
I've spit in the Devil's eye.
The sea once was my mistress,
Now Pepper's replaced her.
But just another captain,
Like my tough old captains were.

And you can have your milquetoast ladies,
I'm made of old salt brine,
And the gal you saw had starch in her craw,
Not a lace instead of a spine.
Sure, the old girl can get tough at times,
But a sailor's what I've been,
And when a storm's about, you learn to ride it out,
So you can sail once again.

College- Looking Back 20 Years Ago....

Of course I picked a rainy night
To try to find our past
The street lights all were flickering
The leaves were falling fast

I walked down the winding road
Looked up through the trees
And I saw the corner window
That you once shared with me

It was Old College Avenue
And in the time of having you
I remember it as if it were today

The tiny room and the single bed
Though the tangled trails of time
Have led us far astray
The membrance seems to stay

And through all the roads
That led me on
And through all the years
That you've been gone
I have found that it would never go away

It was Old College Avenue
And in the time of having you
I remember it as if it were today

That fall turned into winter
The winter into spring
And all the while, you led me through
The sweet awakening

But summer never came that year
It's what you went to find
And you took my future with you
And you left your past behind

It was Old College Avenue
And in the time of having you
I remember it as if it were today

The tiny room and the single bed
Though the tangled trails of time
Have led us far astray
The membrance seems to stay

And through all the roads
That led me on
And through all the years
that you've been gone
I have found that it would never go away

It was Old College Avenue
And in the time of having you
I remember it as if it were today
I remember you
As if it were today

College Love- Someday Soon

There's a young man that I know whose age is twenty-one
Comes from down in southern Colorado
Just out of the service, he's lookin' for his fun
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon

My parents can not stand him 'cause he rides the rodeo
My father says that he will leave me cryin'
I would follow him right down the roughest road I know
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon

But when he comes to call, my pa ain't got a good word to say
Guess it's 'cause he's just as wild in his younger days

So blow, you old Blue Northern, blow my love to me
He's ridin' in tonight from California
He loves his damned old rodeo as much as he loves me
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon

When he comes to call, my pa ain't got a word to say
Guess it's 'cause he's just as wild in his younger days

So blow, you old blue northern, blow my love to me
He's ridin' in tonight from California
He loves his damned old rodeo as much as he loves me
Someday soon, goin' with him someday soon
Someday soon, goin' with him

Smitty Dreams

Smitty dreams
He's a child to the end
What a joy
When you are your best friend
The world's such a toy
If you just stay a boy
You just spin it again and again

Smitty flies
With no use for disguise
Just escapes
Using mirrors and capes
And the words do the trick
There is no bigger kick
Than just rhyming again and again

Sound of the low tide
The smell of the rain
Traveling' alone
On my boat and my plane
Take it all in
It's as big as it seems
Count all your blessings
Remember your dreams

Smitty stares
Towards the bright Pleiades
It's so strange
What his distant eye sees
Who knows why you start
Rediscovering your heart
But you do it again and again

Sound of the low tide
Smell of the rain
Traveling alone
On my boat and my plane
Take it all in
It's as big as it seems
Count all your blessings
Remember your dreams

Smitty stares
Towards the bright Pleiades
It's so strange
What his distant eye sees
Who knows why you start
Rediscovering your heart
You just do it again and again

The world's still a toy
If you'll just stay a boy
And that's why Smitty dreams.

Dreaming of Home

She said I can't go back to America soon
It's so goddamn cold it's gonna snow until June
Yeah, they're freezin' up in Buffalo stuck in their cars
And I'm lyin' here 'neath the sun and the stars.

Customs man tell her that she's gotta leave
But she's got a plan hidden up her shrewd sleeve
Wants to find her a captain, a man of strong mind
And any direction he blows will be fine.

But, please don't say manana if you don't mean it
I have heard those words for so very long
Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong.

Tried and I tried but I don't understand
Never seems to work out the way I had it planned
Hanging out at a marina when Steve Martin called
Singin' anybody there really want to get small.

But women and water are in short supply
There's not enough dope for us all to get high
I hear it gets better, that's what they say
As soon as we sail on to Cane Garden Bay.

So, please don't say manana if you don't mean it
I have heard your lines foe so very long
Don't try to describe the scenery if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong.

Called all my friends on those cheap nightly rates
Sure was good to talk to the old United States
While the lights of New Baghdad lie twenty clicks west
I see General Electric's still doing their best.

I've got to head this boat home pretty soon
My new book's are old and I'm fresh out of tunes
But I know that I'll get 'em, I know that they'll come
Through the people and places and Caldwood's Rum

So please don't say manana if you don't mean it
I have done your lines for so very long
Don't try to describe a Buffett concert if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being gone
 

Today's inspirational psalm from the Book of St. Jimmy

He's holed up down on Ramrod Key in the Tavenier Hotel
Livin' out his loneliness like an oyster in a shell
By days he pulls the trap line
By night he lives alone
Don't really feel like company

It's just him and his fridge and his phone

Meet me in Memphis 
That's where I'll be 
I'm by the river, please come back to me
Meet me in Memphis
My wild days are through
And nothin' replaces me next to you

He's been there since she ran away
She said she needs some space
Occasionally she still calls collect
From some god forsaken place

Then one day a letter came
Postmarked Tennessee
And the envelope scent
And the postage spent
Well it lit up her old memory

I know she could break my heart again
But I'm gonna play and I'm gonna win
Where Otis would play
Da da da dock of the bay