1. |
It's All Good
03:40
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The slope is slick the fog got thick
I don’t know nothing bout standard shift
except it is what it is and it’s all good
Dangerous curves round a drop dead cliff
my whole life flashes as I hit the skids
And it is what it is and it’s all good
Been mislead, been misunderstood
Been double-crossed now I’m twice as good
I wouldn’t change it if I could. Why?
When it’s all good.
Siren’s song stole my soul spiraled me into a big black hole
Took a long strange trip but it’s all good
Tried to be savior, learned a few tricks
Gathered a crowd of the wounded and sick
Said there’s gotta be more than this and it’s all good
Became the fad in the days of Fluff
Gave it all I had till they called my bluff
Now there’s a statue where I stood and it cries.
It’s all good
Now the stage is set I hit my cue
The curtain’s stuck I just can’t get through
That’s just the way that it is but it’s all good
So I sell my soul to pay my debt
At the end of the day there ain’t a whole lot left
Just a little itty bit but it’s all good
Some need a hook, some need a hammer
I need a stiff drink and a pair of pajamas
I did the best that I could it’s all mine
And it’s all good
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2. |
Cyrano And Juliet
04:33
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Cyrano was oblivious as Juliet packed and left
And made her way cross Walkentalken Bridge
Her good-bye note didn’t say much
Had to go, enough’s enough
P.S. there’s pork chops in the fridge
She used to love his swordplay
Love his poems and prose
Recently all she sees is nose
Cyrano and Juliet were once as close as two can get
Long before the stars were all torn down
Hey Jules it’s Cyrano
It’s dinnertime turn on your phone
I’m at the house I’ve got the table set
Where for art thou Juliet
Don Quixote called to say
“Just give her time, it’ll be OK
There’s hills and mills and valleys to fight and climb”
But Cyrano, the old gambling man
Said “I got this far with a lousy hand
And bluffing just gets tougher over time”
Seven years was itchy, fifteen years was numb
I don’t know where she found the strength to run
Hey Jules it’s Cyrano
It’s midnight turn on your phone
I can’t sleep in this enormous bed
I know that I’m no Romeo
As far as aging husbands go
But I swear to God you ain’t seen nothing yet
Where for art thou Juliet
They swore for health and sickness
They swore for rich and poor
I guess it doesn't matter anymore
Cyrano de Bergerac
Puts on his sword and his white plumed hat
And heads down to Beginagain Saloon
Hey Jules it’s Cyrano
It’s 2 am I just got home
A little drunk and I’m not finished yet
No monologue, no third act
No tragic twist, no poison asp
Just one more drink and another cigarette
Where for art thou Juliet
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3. |
Just Like The Old Man
04:49
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The old man would have been old now if he hadn't died so young
Probably be fat in and old man's hat, slow but no way done
And I'd be so much better with that little more time
See I got the old man's sparkle but I never got the old man's shine
The old man had the answer, the old man knew his facts
said "there's win and lose in every move, might as well step in and take your hacks,
sometimes the wind's behind you son, sometime's it blows in your face,
put one foot in front of the other if you want to move in either case"
Sometimes I hear a whistle on the wind
Just like the old man
And it always brings me back home
I can see him well and young again
And I understand the best of what I am
Is just like the old man
The old man could have done better at least that's what I've been told
Ran his race, second place, never got the gold
But gold was not his motivation, gold was not his thing
But man o man how he loved to live that life a little gold could bring
Sometimes I hear a whistle on the wind
Just like the old man
And it always brings me back home
I can see him well and young again
And I understand the best of what I am
Is just like the old man
The old man wasn't easy, by design not by mistake
Never sought an easy answer, never chose the easy way
His search for buried treasure left behind some deep, deep holes
The price paid for adventure that in the end defines my soul
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4. |
||||
I dreamt I was chosen to drop the bomb
that put an end to World War ll
Chosen for my courage and chosen for my calm
in light of what it was I had to do
As sick as it sounds I was digging the attention
Harry S. Truman called to say hello
Mr. President I’ve only one question
before I go, I got to know
Why me? he sighed said the Monkey wouldn’t do it
Why me? We tried and every time he blew it
The monkey wouldn’t do it. The monkey wouldn’t do it.
The monkey wouldn’t do it.
I woke feeling guilty and depressed
My dream had done a number on me
This no-nuke, liberal-minded peacenik
So sick subconsciously
I called my shrink for his interpretation
He spoke of deep-seeded primal cry
With paranoia, anger, fear and frustration
Your typical average guy
Why me? he sighed said the Monkey wouldn’t do it
Why me? We tried and every time he blew it
The monkey wouldn’t do it. The monkey wouldn’t do it.
The monkey wouldn’t do it.
Got me thinking bout the law of the jungle
The hungry lion and the poor slow wildebeest
The randomness of death got me thinking bout the mess
At least they’re only killing what they need
But wait let’s think a little deeper
Now imagine there’s no heaven and no religion too
Just survival of the fit over the weaker
Now imagine hungry lions chasing you
Why me? he sighed said the Monkey wouldn’t do it
Why me? We tried and every time he blew it
The monkey wouldn’t do it. The monkey wouldn’t do it.
The monkey wouldn’t do it.
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5. |
Guinevere Of Camelot
03:34
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GUINEVERE OF CAMELOT
She was Guinevere of Camelot
Those were happy years
then they were not
She took the fairy tale
she changed the plot
Guinevere of Camelot
Had it all in days of yore
He gave her everything
she wanted more
She made a mess caused a war
Many deaths been laid at her door
When she dreams sheʼs still the queen
in a land that time forgot
In that world, she has long red curls
and a beauty spot
Sheʼs Guinevere of Camelot
She kept her loveliness, she kept her gold
but thereʼs an emptiness
way down in her soul
Was it myth? Was it truth?
Does she miss the madness
Does she miss her youth
When she dreams sheʼs still the queen
in a land that time forgot
In that world, she has long red curls
and a beauty spot
Sheʼs Guinevere of Camelot
Life goes on ready or not
You make your bed,
you lie with what you got
did what she did, still loves Lancelot
Itʼs fine for what it is
but not for what itʼs not
Itʼs not Camelot
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6. |
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Going so well I can’t believe
Rolling downhill picking up speed
Going even better than I ever thought it could
Give me the credit, give me the blame
For every little moth that gets caught in the flame
But I’m just the spark in a whole world of drywood
I’m handsome, I’m rich, I’m the guy with the clout
You can’t live with, can’t live without
Go on admit it at times you love me too
You’ve got to give the devil his due
Just doing my bit for the master plan
I stir the shit and toss it into the fan
It’s hard to miss in a world where bad looks good
I’m so bad, I’m the goddamned best
Even Jesus barely passed my test
with little more time and I’m sure he’d a been mine too
You’ve got to give the devil his due
I made some mistakes, I fell from grace
Landed in the middle of the human race
My kind of people my kind of secene
They pray to their Gods but they worship me
Here’s a little something may come as a shock
I got a power even God ain’t got
A real mean streak that I’m not afraid to use
I still get stoked, I still get jazzed
I’m the undefeated golden calf
Looking for trouble with a whole lot left to prove
you’ve got to give the devil his due
Don’t think for a second that He don’t know
I get a bonus if the whole thing blows
The Big Guy’s itching to start again brand new
But first he’ll give the devil his due
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7. |
I Believed
04:26
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Well my dad was a tall tale teller
he told them all so well
like how he fought the pirate
on a beach in New Rochelle
Cannons were blasting, swords slashing
he always rolled his sleeve
had a scar to prove he told the truth
I was young and I believed
In school I learned my lessons,
learned my colors too
they said "red will spread if you let it,
got to get it before it gets you"
Told me stories ‘bout glories, battles and explorers,
George and the cherry tree
little white lies with apple pie
I was young and I believed
I believed in Mickey Mantle
I believed that father knew best
I believed there was a safe place underneath my desk
They said a man must fight for freedom
and freedom isn’t free
And when push comes to shove God above
guides our destiny
And they said sometimes men kill and die
so I can have some peace
Made perfect sense way back when
I was young and I believed
I believed Richard Nixon
I believed Vietnam
I believed and excepted what I didn’t understand
I saw a man behind the curtain
so I questioned him a bit
but he said pay no attention
and that’s exactly what I did
Now I sift through the rubble
of all that I believed
splintered bits of pirate ships
and cherry trees
Hoping against hope
that I will find my dream
and feel again as I did back when
I was young and I believed
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8. |
One Ice Cube
04:52
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Hey Meg, it’s James John Fee
I’m writing from a hole outside the DMZ
in Vietnam. Do you remember me?
Sat behind you in Chemistry
Seems like a long time ago
but tonight I miss my life and I miss my home
Hey Meg don’t know what to say
I watched Danny Jackson die today
he was my friend, a quarterback in high school
an MVP, just a guy like me
Sometimes I get so scared
‘til I find your face and it takes me away from here
Got no kids, Got no wife
Never had much love in my life
When I need a dream I always dream of you
When the devil turns up the heat
I have one ice cube
No Meg haven’t lost my mind
Just grown too fast in to little time
and I haven’t grown good, I’ve grown wild like a weed
that strangles every truth I ever believed
I killed some men, it was them or me
they say that makes it OK, guess someday I’ll see
Got no kids, Got no wife
Never had much love in my life
When I need a dream I always dream of you
When the devil turns up the heat
I have one ice cube
Thanks for your eyes, thanks for your hair
and for all those lonely nights that you appear
And please don’t fret over feelings you lack
‘cause if your reading this then I won’t be back
They’ll find it in a pocket over my heart
this envelop addressed to you
In this hell you were my one ice cube
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9. |
The Do Over
03:50
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10. |
UFO Song
04:40
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I was tired and cold on a winter's day
Made up my mind I was getting away
Anyplace warm with palm trees and sun
Red hot women and lots of rum
I took the FDR towards JFK
Saw a UFO coming my way
Saucer shape with flashing lights
God almighty, what a sight
The next thing I know I was flying through the air
My car and all but I didn't care
Cause the price was right and I was getting away from here
Well, I got to their ship and I can't believe
There's these little green men, like little E.T.s
Looking up my nose, poking at my teeth
Counting my toes they were smelling my feet
They said "tell me all you know ‘bout your history"
I said "It started with the apes and Adam and Eve
Something 'bout a snake and an apple tree
I’m a little confused, Catholics tend to be
But Hitler was bad and Jesus was good
And then there's guys like Robin Hood
Kind of hard to place ‘cause they go both ways so well
(CHORUS)
Earth light, Earth bright
You're the first earth I've seen tonight
I feel so safe, feel so high
Outer Space is out of sight
Well, I told about Lincoln and the Blues and the Grays
The Blacks and the Whites and all the shades
That matter so much on all the flags and stuff
How the Yanks beat the Germans in two World Wars
And how they lost to the Red Sox in '04
Iron Curtains and China Walls
The wild, wild Mideast free-for-all
I talked and talked as the light years passed
Like some long drawn out history class
The human race from caveman days to me
(CHORUS)
I said "I know we're not perfect but I think we're the best
I mean, God chose us over all the rest
To send down his son to be born and raised
And killed and raised so we'd be saved"
That's when the leader of the green men said
"Earthling child you're spiritually dead
Of all the worlds in endless space
Yours was the first God had to save
You've got a brilliant brain but a simple soul
Put useless parts before the whole
It's time to change or Mankind's reign is through"
(CHORUS)
I thanked them all, they thanked me too
Said "Before you go back we've got something for you"
In a bag was a flag all folded nice
I opened and found our Star and Stripes
The leader of the green men spoke again
Said "Bring this back home to your president
And tell him if he comes to the Moon, next time
Be sure not to leave any flags behind
This universe is God's domain
Not ours to own, not ours to claim
Human pride is what's behind your pain"
(CHORUS)
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11. |
So Far So Wrong
03:48
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Thought I was the Moon,
thought you were the tide
Thought I was the track,
thought you were the ride
Thought I’d made the leap,
thought you were the shove
What was I thinking of?
Thought I knew the game
thought I was on a roll
Thought you were my ace
safe within the hole
Thought we’d found a place
where we could belong
What can I say,
so far so wrong
Thought you were the wood
thought I was the plan
Thought you understood,
exactly where I stand
Thought you had the taste,
thought I had the touch
I think I think too much
Thought a little rain
couldn’t do no harm
Thought a dying flame
was no cause for alarrm
Thought that we would dance
once I wrote the song
What can I say
so far so wrong
Nothing’s how it seemed
It’s all been turn around
Our love was built on dreams
And the dreams have tumbled down
Thought I could adjust, I thought that I was strong
I thought that I was right
wrong
Never thought you’d leave
although you said good-bye
I chose to believe
what I saw in your eyes
Still hope that you’ll come back
been waitin here so long
So far so wrong
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12. |
Keep That Casket Closed
02:43
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When I die, whoever's left,
honor my last request
I'm sure that I won't look my best,
so keep that casket closed
I wont mind being dead,
being seen is what I dread
Laid out like a moose's head,
so keep that casket closed
Keep that casket closed boys,
keep that casket closed
Lock the door, shut out the lights,
let me decompose
I'll see you in the after-life,
keep that casket closed
It may sound vain, it may sound trite,
but even dead you got some rights
I was judged enough in life
so keep that casket closed
His hands look old, his hair’s too neat
He looks at peace, doesn’t he?
Well if he looks at peace he don’t look like me
So keep that casket closed
Keep that casket closed boys,
keep that casket closed
Lock the door, shut out the lights,
let me decompose
I'll see you in the after-life,
keep that casket closed
Please don't think me morbid,
it's just a fact of life
Live each day like it's your last
and one day you'll be right
Fight for your life
as though your gonna win
Then you lose and when you lose
no need to rub it in
Keep that casket closed boys,
keep that casket closed
Lock the door, shut out the lights,
let me decompose
I'll see if there's an after-life,
keep that casket closed
If you let me down you'll pay the price,
I'll become your poltergeist
So I suggest you take my advice
and keep that casket closed
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Christopher Brown Mamaroneck, New York
Christopher Brown writes intelligent songs that unravel with the depth and sophistication of 4 minute novellas. He's a
seasoned artist taking stock of his life’s journey --victories and defeats, good days and bad -- with offhand insight and humor.
He wins over audiences with an organic stage presence, a honeyed rumble of a voice and an unteachable ability to always sound genuine and in the moment
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