Baron Von Tollbooth Bee Gee's Billy Joel Billy Squire
Black Lab Bob Dylan Boomers Bruce Springstien

See Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship for bios.

 

Baron Von Tollbooth And

The Chrome Nun

 

Across The Board

Somebody aimed you when you were young
But nobody ever fired
Now you just sit there inside the gun
Bullet you're getting old and tired

If you want out - get out and get it all
I mean a fair trial is no trial at all
You're not guilty you can't even move without
A human hand
You can't cock yourself woman

You need a man

All the way you need him
All the way
All the way across the floor
Across the board

The man's only got one finger
He doesn't need any more
He makes his way one prong down

All the way
All the way
All the way across the floor

Seven inches of pleasure
Seven inches going home
Somebody must have measured
All the way down the old bone

All the way
All the way
All the way
Down the old bone

Back To Artist's Index

Flowers In The Night

Paine and Pierce and Robespierre, Juarez and Danton,
Luther, King and Lumumba dead but far from gone
Lenin, Cleaver, Jesus too, outlaws in their nations,
Revolutionaries all, dreamed of liberation

God is up in heaven his agents here on earth
The church has said that this man rules, he's best because of birth.
But what's that noise down in the street, who dares to shout and sing?
With all his courtiers at his side, who dares to touch the king?

Old man get some soldiers, keep them close at hand
There's a fire in the country, there's a flame come to the land
Seven thousand loyal troops, in ranks they stretch so far
With seven thousand well armed men, no one can touch the czar.

Louis watch the prisons, send the goons around
Is that Paris burning, is the Bastille falling down?
And where are all the mercenaries - paid for by the king?
Have they joined the mob you say, doesn't money mean anything?

Old men get some soldiers, keep them close at hand,
The seeds that were sown yesterday now flower in the land
And guard yourself most carefully with military might.
For plants that cannot bloom by day must flower in the night.

Back To Artist's Index

 

Your Mind Has Left Your Body

You have left your body be aware if you care
Your mind has left your body and for this one moment you are

Under the polar ice cap in a place we call home 
How is it there white bear like that where you grow...

Now all of you come back to here and now elsewhen to there
Move on out the other way where...
Do you find yourself floating growing there

chorus:
Riders of the rainbow
Let it grow let it grow

You can exercise your mind on where you want to go
And you can see the city lights flashin' two thousand miles below you

You can feel the sands of Zanzibar or pierce the nearest sun
Find out what and who you are and if you need to run

chorus:
Riders of the rainbow
Let it grow let it grow

There is one moment in your life and it can come at any time
And you remember all of what went on from the instant you were born
Thru your early years

And if you can fasten on that moment and expand thru the afterglow
You can reverse your mind in time and travel back to when

The earth was formed
The sky was born
And the universe began

chorus:
Riders of the rainbow
Let it grow let it grow

You have left your body
Return when you may

Save it for another day... beyond you

Back To Artist's Index

 

Sketches Of China

He's stronger by talk than by sight
But by sight he'll know you
You buy him a ride he'll know you
Somebody's bound to lead you
Sooner or later you're bound to go

You don't know what this man feels like
He doesn't care if you think you know
Somebody's bound to lead you
If that man got a smile on his face
Sooner or later you're bound to go
bound to go

Let me tell you 'bout a man I knew
He roamed the depth and the breadth of China
On a horse that he grew himself
From the bark of a tree on mainland China
And he had a time yes he had the time of his life in China
He carried strife and harmony to all the people on the mainland

And there was a warlord who rode the murky depths of China
With a shotgun in his hand and he wondered where the people'd gone to
Have you got the time to listen while I sing this song
I had the time to listen to the man go right and wrong and right thru China

chorus:
And it ain't what you want it's what you need
No it ain't what you want it's what you need
And I'd rather be here than yesterday
It ain't what you want it's what you need

And there was a lady she rolled around in town in China
And there was a lady she rolled and rolled
And she killed a war she made the warlord rise in time
She sat him down took him down and she laid him out for just one more round

Drunk in a beautiful garden celebration
Here comes the Khan Storm the palace look for Alice
Rising Oriental girl diving back for just one more pearl

chorus:
And it ain't what she wants it's what she needs
She don't want your sound she wants your country
And I'd rather be next year than on the way to Bombay
It ain't what you want it's what you need

Back To Artist's Index

 

Walkin

Walkin down the road to glorytown
Walkin on the ocean water
Walkin down the road to glory town
Lookin for the pharoah's daughter

I'm goin' down and if I don't come back
Tie all my dope on a wire wheel track
Give it to the man who'll have them back
From my life from my life

chorus:
Oh... honey have a time on me
Oh... baby getcha high on me
Oh... wont you try a dance on me
Oh... honey have a time on me

Walkin down the road to glorytown
Walkin on the ocean water
Walkin down the road to glory town
Huntin for the pharoah's daughter
She's makin' it hotter & hotter

Take my hand it's an avalanche
It'll worry your mind but take a chance
Take off your tie but don't leave the dance
Of your life of your life

chorus:

Back To Artist's Index

 

White Boy

(Transcaucasian Airmachine Blues)

Where will you go what will you do
What will you see when your night is thru
What can you do where will you go
When the people of this planet send you away from here
My boy

Where do you come from white boy what is your land
Everybody else knows where they come from
You don't know your place you never did you never can
You can't find a place in this land

chorus:
Blacks and Reds and Apaches and Jews
All know where they come from but you don't seem to know
Baby do you understand

You appeared in the Caucasus mountains the southern Russia of now
And you spread your peculiar form of death from Mexico to Moscow
You surprised the Europeans the Egyptian too
All of a sudden you appeared on their land
You made mountains for the Incas built pyramids for the Pharoah man
And you grew and you lived by their hands

chorus:

Viking Roman fair hair Alexander Emperor slave.
D'you come from the earth D'you come from the sky?
Nobody seems to know You build and you burn create and destroy,
You rule me now fair skin man with an unfair hand.

Where did you come from where were you born
Where were you living when the earth was formed
What can you do where will you go
When the people of this planet send you away from here
My boy...

Back To Artist's Index

 

Bee Gee's

 

You Win Again

I couldn't figure why
You couldn't give me what everybody needs
I shouldn't let you kick me when I'm down
My baby
I find out everybody knows that
You've been using me
I'm surprised you
Let me stay around you
One day I'm gonna lift the cover
And look inside your heart
We gotta level before we go
And tear this love apart

(CHORUS)
There's no fight you can't fight
This battle of love with me
You win again
So little time
We do nothing but compete
There's no life on earth
No other could see me through
You win again
Some never try
But if anybody can, we can
And I'll be, I'll be
Following you

Oh baby I shake you from now on
I'm gonna break down your defenses
One by one
I'm gonna hit you from all sides
Lay your fortress open wide
Nobody stops this body from
Taking you

You better beware, I swear
I'm gonna be there one day when you fall
I could never let you cast aside
The greatest love of all

Back To Artist's Index

 

Billy Joel

Billy Joel was born William Martin Joel on May 9, 1949 in Bronx, New York. As a young child, his family moved to Levittown, a suburban housing development on Long Island in New York State. Billy discovered classical music at the age of four, a love that has stayed with him to the present day. Billy's early classical piano training provided him with a strong foundation for his future career.

Among his early influences, Billy lists Ray Charles, The Beatles, Dave Brubeck, Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, and Otis Redding. His ambition to become a professional musician began to take shape after seeing the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. At age 14, Billy joined his first band, The Echoes (later known as the Lost Souls), after noticing, among other things, that it was a foolproof way to meet girls.

By this time, Billy's parents had divorced and, like many single parents, his mother was struggling to make ends meet. While still in junior high school, Billy took professional music jobs at night to help supplement the family income. It was difficult to work all night and still make it to school on time. Although Billy's grades were fine, he was not allowed to graduate with his high school class as a result of too many absences.

In 1968, Billy joined a well-known Long Island band called The Hassles. The Hassles recorded two albums for United Artists, "The Hassles" and "Hour of the Wolf." In 1970, Billy moved on to form Attila, a heavy metal rock duo with Hassles' drummer, Jon Small. Attila recorded one album on Epic Records. Although Billy had an album out, he had to supplement his income during this period with various "straight" jobs such as writing rock criticism for the magazine "Changes," working in a factory, painting Piping Rock Country Club in Locust Valley, Long Island and recording a commercial with Chubby Checker.

Billy signed a solo recording contract in 1972 and released his first album, Cold Spring Harbor (Paramount Records). Named after a village on Long Island's North Shore, it was Billy's first full album of original songs. Meanwhile, a Philadelphia radio station, WMMR-FM, started playing a tape of a new song, Captain Jack, which was taken from a live concert broadcast.

Captain Jack became an underground hit on the East Coast, but legal and financial wrangles caused Billy to disappear to the West Coast in 1973, where he performed in piano bars under the name "Bill Martin." That experience was stored away, later to be retold in the song, Piano Man. Although Billy did his best to keep a low profile in Los Angeles, the notoriety of Captain Jack prompted Columbia Records to track Billy down in Los Angeles and offer him a recording contract. Billy signed with Columbia in the spring and went straight to work on an album with producer, Michael Stewart. His first Top 20 single, Piano Man, was released at the end of the year.

In 1974, Billy and Michael Stewart teamed up again and recorded Streetlife Serenade. The album featured the hit single The Entertainer, and garnered Billy his first crop of music industry awards, including "Best New Male Vocalist" (Cashbox), "Male Artist of the Year" (Music Retailer), and "Record of the Year" (Stereo Review, for Piano Man). Sell-out concert performances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City confirmed that Billy had achieved permanent headliner status.

Billy moved back to New York in 1975, assembled a new band and began recording the Turnstiles album. Songs such as Say Goodbye to Hollywood, Billy's tribute to Phil Spector (later covered by Ronnie Spector), the torchy New York State of Mind, and anthemic Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out On Broadway) would join the ranks of Billy's already classic recordings. With the success of Turnstiles, Billy embarked on his first major concert tour. He opened in New York City with a WNEW-FM live broadcast from the Bottom Line and closed 108 SRO performances later with three nights at New York's prestigious Carnegie Hall.

Billy's next album was The Stranger. From the time of its release in 1977 until 1985, The Stranger was the biggest selling album in Columbia Records' history. Billy toured the United States and Europe in support of The Stranger, playing 54 concerts from September to December, including an appearance on "Saturday Night Live." As the New Year began, the album's popularity showed no signs of slowing down. In fact, the Billboard Hot 100 chart for May, 1978, listed three singles from The Stranger (Only the Good Die Young, Movin' Out (Anthony's song), and Just the Way You Are).

In early fall of 1978, with a fourth top 20 single from The Stranger (She's Always A Woman) still charting, Columbia Records released 52nd Street, which went on to become Billy's first #1 album. A 12 week North American tour finished dramatically with three sold-out nights at New York City's Madison Square Garden in December.

In February of 1979, in a hotel room in Paris, Billy received a middle of the night transatlantic phone call informing him that Just The Way You Are had captured "Record Of The Year," and "Song of The Year," giving Billy his first two Grammy Awards. After the European tour ended, Billy traveled to Cuba for "Havana Jam" (March), an historic three day event at the Karl Marx Theater. Spring included two months of U.S. touring, two nights at the Budokan in Tokyo, and a benefit concert for several Long Island charities. In October, with sales of The Stranger and 52nd Street totaling over nine million units, Columbia Records named Billy their biggest-selling solo artist of the 20th century.

By the time Glass Houses was released in March of 1980, Billy had already won two more Grammy Awards for 52nd Street in the categories Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. Glass Houses quickly reached #1 on the Billboard chart and remained there for six weeks. The third single release from the album, It's Still Rock And Roll To Me, became Billy's first #1 single. Billy was honored with an American Music Award for "Album of the Year." The North American summer tour included five sold out shows at Madison Square Garden.

Glass Houses won "Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male" at the 1981 Grammy Awards, giving Billy his fifth Grammy in three years, as well as a People's Choice Award for "Favorite Male Pop Performer.

While enjoying the success of his previous studio albums, Billy recorded Songs In The Attic, an album of live concert performances. Songs In The Attic released in September, 1981, and although some of the material was not as widely known, it received a very enthusiastic response from the public. Including the songs She's Got A Way, I've Loved These Days, Captain Jack, and The Ballad Of Billy The Kid, Songs In The Attic became Billy's fourth consecutive Top 10 album.

In 1982, despite a serious motorcycle accident on Long Island, Billy completed the critically acclaimed The Nylon Curtain album. Born out of his concern with the "diminishing horizons" of the American experience, The Nylon Curtain is a hauntingly anthemic journey through the world of blue collar workers in Allentown, Pennsylvania, guilt and interpersonal relationships in Pressure, and the Vietnam experience told through the eyes of a soldier in Goodnight Saigon. The album earned a four star review in Rolling Stone, reached #7 on the BillBoard chart, and was nominated for a Grammy for "Album of the Year" in 1982. Once again, Billy toured in support of the album.

After the Nylon Curtain tour ended, Billy returned home and wrote an unprecedented ten songs in seven weeks for a new album. An Innocent Man echoes the music he loved as a kid. The songs that comprise An Innocent Man are Billy's tribute to the music he loved growing up. The Motown girl group inspired Tell Her About It, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons on Uptown Girl (a #3 single and RIAA certified "Gold" single about his soon to be wife, Christie Brinkley), the great Ben E. King on An Innocent Man, the street corner doo-wop of The Longest Time, and sharkskin, shades and pompadours on Keeping the Faith. An Innocent Man reached #4 on the Billboard charts, was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Album of the Year," and generated six Top 40 singles, three of which made it to the Top 10, including Uptown Girl (which was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male").

In the midst of the excitement and success of An Innocent Man, Columbia Records decided to re-release Cold Spring Harbor, Billy's first solo album in November, 1983. Originally recorded for Family Productions, Cold Spring Harbor contains the original recording of She's Got A Way and Everybody Loves You Now.

In 1985, Greatest Hits Volume I and Volume II became Billy's seventh consecutive Top 10 album. In addition to containing most of the classics in his catalogue, the album also contained two new songs, The Night Is Still Young and You're Only Human (Second Wind), Billy's song of encouragement for teenage suicide prevention. Paul Grein's "Chart Beat" column in Billboard proclaimed Billy to be the "most consistent and prolific male album artist of the decade." That same week, You're Only Human (Second Wind), became Billy's eighth Top 10 single. Billy joined with fellow musicians John Mellencamp and Randy Newman for Farm Aid I, and also participated in USA For Africa.

The highlights of 1985 were Billy's marriage to Christie Brinkley and the birth of their daughter, Alexa Ray. Collaboration with Ray Charles, Steve Winwood, and Cyndi Lauper culminated in the new summer release of The Bridge. Billy recorded Baby Grand with Ray Charles, a long-time hero of Billy's and for whom Alexa Ray was named. Cyndi Lauper co-wrote and sang on Code of Silence and Steve Winwood joined Billy on Getting Closer, playing Hammond B-3 organ. The Bridge also included Modern Woman, the single from the "Ruthless People" motion picture soundtrack. Billy's first North American tour in two years opened on September 29th, and extended through December, with encore performances in many cities scheduled for January, 1986. Meanwhile, the Big Man on Mulberry Street album track was adapted for television by the producers of the hit television show "Moonlighting" (airdate November 18th).

The summer of 1987 marked a personal and professional triumph for Billy as he became the first U.S. pop star to bring a fully-staged rock production to the Soviet Union. Under the U.S.-Soviet General Exchanges Agreement of the Reagan-Gorbachev 1985 Geneva summit, this was a significant cultural breakthrough and was encouraged by the U.S. Information Agency and the Soviet Ministry of Culture. Billy performed in concert at Olympic Sports Complex (Moscow) and V.I. Lenin Sports/Concert Complex (Leningrad). Millions of Soviets saw the closing night in Moscow telecast in its entirety on tape delay. Opening night in Leningrad was the first live rock radio broadcast in Soviet history, made extra special as it was simulcast in the United States. The live double-album, Kohuept (translation: 'In Concert'), chronicled the trip and was released in October.

1989 was a year of great change for Billy, it marked a split with his long time manager, a re-vamping of his band and the first time working with producer Mick Jones (Foreigner). Storm Front was Billy's 14th Columbia album and his first new studio recording since 1986. Both the album and the first single, We Didn't Start The Fire, reached the #1 spots simultaneously on the Billboard album and singles charts on December 16, 1989. The album is suffused with the maritime imagery of The DownEaster "Alexa" and Storm Front, the personal reflections of I Go To Extremes and And So It Goes, a reminiscence of his Soviet sojourn in Leningrad and the heart-wrenching confession of passionate love in Shameless. Storm Front received two Grammy nominations for "Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male," and "Producer of the Year." We Didn't Start The Fire received nominations for "Record of the Year," "Song of the Year," and "Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male."

The Storm Front Tour opened on December 6, 1989 in Worcester, Massachusetts and ended 15 months later on March 24, 1991 with Billy's first ever concert in Mexico City. The tour reached 4.3 million fans via 174 shows in 16 countries, setting attendance records across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Highlights were many, but never-to-be-forgotten moments occurred in Berlin, where Billy performed a day after German Reunification; in the Philippines, where he played to GI's on January 15th, the same day Operation Desert Storm began a continent away; and the Bronx, where Billy played the first ever rock concert in Yankee Stadium. Billy also performed two benefit shows at the Jones Beach Amphitheater, on Long Island, The Concerts for the Bays and Baymen. On December 5, 1990, he took a day off from the road and came home to New York to receive a Humanitarian Award from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and the Grammy Legend Award

In 1991, while still on tour in support of Storm Front, Garth Brooks' recording of Shameless hit #1 on the Billboard Country Chart, another first for Billy.

In 1992, Billy recorded two Elvis Presley classics "All Shook Up" and" Heartbreak Hotel" for the "Honeymoon in Vegas" motion picture soundtrack. He also recorded "In A Sentimental Mood" for the soundtrack for "A League of Their Own."

Soon after finishing the various soundtrack recordings, Billy began working on a new studio album with producer, Danny Kortchmar. Released in August of 1993, the River of Dreams album debuted at #1 on the BillBoard Hot 100 chart where it stayed for 3 weeks. The first single, The River of Dreams, spent 12 weeks at #1 on the Contemporary Chart, setting a new record.

1994 began with four Grammy nominations for Billy - Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Pop Male Vocal for the song The River of Dreams and Album of the Year for River of Dreams (the album). Later that year, Billy took a break from his own tour to team up with Elton John for a summer stadium tour. The Face To Face Tour was an unqualified success and one of the hottest tickets around. In the fall, Billy resumed his own tour and traveled to Australia at the end of the year. 1994 also saw the end of Billy's marriage to Christie Brinkley. The two separated amicably and divorced in August of that year.

In October 1994, the RIAA certified "Songs in the Attic" and "The Nylon Curtain" for sales of 2 million units which moved Billy into a tie with the Beatles as the act with the most multiplatinum albums. The RIAA also certified "52nd Street" and "Glass Houses" septupleplatinum (7 million units) to make him the only artist to have four albums at the septupleplatinum mark. The other two are "The Stranger" and "An Innocent Man."

The River of Dreams Tour continued into early 1995 with a tour of Japan. Billy was is Osaka during the disastrous Kobe earthquake and donated proceeds of his concert to local earthquake relief. He returned to the States and reprised the Face to Face Tour with Elton John.

After a short breather, Billy hit the college lecture circuit in January, 1996 with "An Evening of Questions, Answers...and a Little Music." After speaking at 32 different schools, the lecture tour concluded in early May with a live radio broadcast at Town Hall in NYC via WPLJ. The event was a benefit to establish The Rosalind Joel Scholarship for the Performing Arts at City College in New York City.

In 1996, Billy found a way to turn his life long passion for boats into a money making venture. Along with Peter Needham of Coecles Harbor Marina & Boatyard, he formed the Long Island Boat Company, and started building the Shelter Island Runabout, a 38' classic powerboat.

In March, 1997, Billy traveled to Washington, DC to receive ASCAP's Founder's Award. Awarded for lifetime achievement, past recipients of the Founder's Award include Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Leiber and Stoller and other legends.

Having achieved worldwide sales of over 100 million units earlier this year, 1999 has also marked two other major milestones in Billy Joel's career. In January, he received the American Music Awards "Award of Merit" and in February, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

Allentown

Well we're living here in Allentown
And they're closing all the factories down
Out in Bethlehem they're killing time
Filling out forms
Standing in line
Well our fathers fought the Second World War
Spent their weekends on the Jersey Shore
Met our mothers in the USO
Asked them to dance
Danced with them slow
And we're living here in Allentown

 But the restlessness was handed down
And it's getting very hard to stay 
Well we're waiting here in Allentown
For the Pennsylvania we never found
For the promises our teachers gave
If we worked hard
If we behaved

So the graduations hang on the wall
But they never really helped us at all
No they never taught us what was real
Iron and coke
And chromium steel
And we're waiting here in Allentown 
But they've taken all the coal from the ground
And the union people crawled away 

Every child had a pretty good shot
To get at least as far as their old man got
But something happened on the way to that place
They threw an American flag in our face 
Well I'm living here in Allentown
And it's hard to keep a good man down
But I won't be getting up today 
And it's getting very hard to stay
And we're living here in Allentown

Back To Artist's Index

 

She's Always A Woman

She can kill with a smile
She can wound with her eyes
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she only reveals what she wants you to see
She hides like a child
But she's always a woman to me 

She can lead you to live
She can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth
But she'll never believe you
And she'll take what you give her as long as it's free
She steals like a thief
But she's always a woman to me 

Oh, she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh, and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind 
She will promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'
But she'll bring out the best
And the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself
Cause she's always a woman to me

 She is frequently kind
And she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases
She's nobody's fool
But she can't be convicted
She's earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me

Back To Artist's Index

 

The Downeaster Alexa

Well I'm on the Downeaster "Alexa"
And I'm cruising through Block Island Sound
I have charted a course to the Vineyard
But tonight I am Nantucket bound

We took on diesel back in Montauk yesterday
And left this morning from the bell in Gardner's Bay
Like all the locals here I've had to sell my home
Too proud to leave I worked my fingers to the bone

So I could own my Downeaster "Alexa"
And I go where the ocean is deep
There are giants out there in the canyons
And a good captain can't fall asleep

I've got bills to pay and children who need clothes
I know there's fish out there but where God only knows
They say these waters aren't what they used to be
But I've got people back on land who count on me

So if you see my Downeaster "Alexa"
And if you work with the rod and the reel
Tell my wife I am trolling Atlantis
And I still have my hands on the wheel

Now I drive my Downeaster "Alexa"
More and more miles from shore every year
Since they told me I can't sell no stripers
And there's no luck in swordfishing here

I was a bayman like my father was before
Can't make a living as a bayman anymore
There ain't much future for a man who works the sea
But there ain't no island left for islanders like me

Back To Artist's Index

 

Goodnight My Angel

Goodnight, my angel
Time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you've been asking me
I think you know what I've been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
And you should always know
Wherever you may go
No matter where you are I never will be far away

Goodnight, my angel
Now it's time to sleep
And still so many things I want to say
Remember all the songs you sang for me
When we went sailing on an emerald bay
And like a boat out on the ocean I'm rocking you to sleep
The water's dark
And deep inside this ancient heart
You'll always be a part of me

Goodnight, my angel
Now it's time to dream
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child may cry
And if you sing this lullabye
Then in your heart
There will always be a part of me
Someday we'll all be gone
But lullabyes go on and on... 
They never die
That's how you And I Will be

Back To Artist's Index

 

Goodnight Saigon

We met as soul mates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho
To lay down our lives

We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight

We had no home front
We had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy
They gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep
And shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ
With all of our might

We had no cameras
To shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe
And played our Doors tapes
And it was dark
So dark at night
And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight

We held the day
In the palm
Of our hand
They ruled the night
And the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks
On Parris Island

We held the coastline
They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives
They heard the hum of our motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

Back To Artist's Index

 

Leningrad

Viktor was born in the spring of '44
And never saw his father anymore
A child of sacrifice, a child of war
Another son who never had a father after Leningrad 
Went off to school and learned to serve the state
Followed the rules and drank his vodka straight
The only way to live was drown the hate
A Russian life was very sad
And such was life in Leningrad
 
I was born in '49
A cold war kid in McCarthy time
Stop 'em all at the 38th Parallel
Blast those yellow reds to hell
And cold war kids were hard to kill
Under their desks in an air raid drill
Haven't they heard we won the war
What do they keep on fighting for?
 
Viktor was sent to some Red Army town
Served out his time, became a circus clown
The greatest happiness he'd ever found
Was making Russian children glad

And children lived in Leningrad 
But children lived in Levittown
And hid in the shelters underground
Until the Soviets turned their ships around
And tore the Cuban missiles down

And in that bright October sun
We knew our childhood days were done
And I watched my friends go off to war
What do they keep on fighting for?
 
And so my child and I came to this place
To meet him eye to eye and face to face
He made my daughter laugh, then we embraced
We never knew what friends we had
Until we came to Leningrad

Back To Artist's Index

 

Pressure

You have to learn to pace yourself
Pressure
Your just like everybody else
Pressure
You’ve only had to run so far so good
But you will come to a place
Where all you feel are loaded guns in your face
And you’ll have to deal with pressure  
You used to call me paranoid
Pressure
But even you cannot avoid
Pressure
You turned the tap dance into your crusade
Now here you are with your Peter Pan advice
You have no scars on your face
And you cannot handle pressure
  
All grown up and no place to go
Site one psych to what do you know
All your life is channel 13
Sesame Street what does it mean?
I’ll tell you what it meansPressure
Pressure
  
Don’t ask for help you’re all alone
You’ll have to answer to your own
I’m sure you have some cosmic rational
But here you are in the night
Two men out and free men on know where to look
But inside where we all respond to
Pressure
Pressure
  
All your life is Time magazine
I read it too
What does it mean?
Pressure
I’m sure you have some cosmic rational
But here you are with your faith and your Peter Pan advice
You have no scars on your face
And you cannot handle pressure
Pressure
Pressure
Pressure
1234 Pressure

Back To Artist's Index

 

The River Of Dreams

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
From the mountains of faith
To a river so deep
I must be looking for something
Something sacred I lost
But the river is wide
And it's too hard to cross 
And even though I know the river is wide
I walk down every evening and I stand on the shore
And try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find out what I've been looking for
 
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the valley of fear
To a river so deep
And I've been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I would never lose
Something somebody stole 
I don't know why I go walking at night
But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is that I've been looking for
 
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To a river so deep
I know I'm searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind

In the middle of the night 
I'm not sure about a life after this
God knows I've never been a spiritual man
Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That runs to the promised land
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the desert of truth
To the river so deep
We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We're all carried along
By the river of dreams
In the middle of the night

Back To Artist's Index

 

Billy Squire

On Your Own

In every heart there comes a time
You find yourself, you speak your mind
On your own

No man can lead two separate lives
One castle keep, one will decide
It's not right

For every heart there burns a flame
To light the soul and make you one again
In every heart there looms a voice
We'll have our day, oh yeah

I lived a lie bound from my birth
I need to find what life is worth
It's not mine

Oh secret soul that burns inside
No forced control can make you hide
Open wide

A restless heart who needs a friend
To free my soul and make me one again
Within my heart I found a voice
I'll have my say

For every heary there burns a flame
To light the soul and make you one again
In every heary there looms a voice
We'll have our day
In every heart there booms a voice

Back To Artist's Index

 

Black Lab

 

This Night

There are things
I have done
There's a place
I have gone
There's a beast
And I let it run
Now it's running away

There are things
I regret
But you can't forgive
You can't forget
There's a gift
That you send
You send it my way

(Chorus)
So take this night
Wrap it around me like a sheild
I know I'm not forgiven
And I need a place to sleep
So take this night
And lay me down on the street
I know I'm not forgiven
But I hope that I'll be given some peace

There's a game
That I play
There are rules
I had to break
There's mistakes
That I made
But I made them my way

(chorus)
So take this night
Wrap it around me like a sheild
I know I'm not forgiven
But I need a place to sleep
So take this night
And lay me down on the street
I know I'm not forgiven
But I hope that I'll be given some peace

Some peace
Some peace

Back To Artist's Index

 

Bob Dylan

 

Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie

When yer head gets twisted and yer mind grows numb
When you think you're too old, too young, too smart or too dumb
When yer laggin' behind an' losin' yer pace
In a slow-motion crawl of life's busy race
No matter what yer doing if you start givin' up
If the wine don't come to the top of yer cup
If the wind's got you sideways with with one hand holdin' on
And the other starts slipping and the feeling is gone
And yer train engine fire needs a new spark to catch it
And the wood's easy findin' but yer lazy to fetch it
And yer sidewalk starts curlin' and the street gets too long
And you start walkin' backwards though you know its wrong
And lonesome comes up as down goes the day
And tomorrow's mornin' seems so far away
And you feel the reins from yer pony are slippin'
And yer rope is a-slidin' 'cause yer hands are a-drippin'
And yer sun-decked desert and evergreen valleys
Turn to broken down slums and trash-can alleys
And yer sky cries water and yer drain pipe's a-pourin'
And the lightnin's a-flashing and the thunder's a-crashin'
And the windows are rattlin' and breakin' and the roof tops a-shakin'
And yer whole world's a-slammin' and bangin'
And yer minutes of sun turn to hours of storm
And to yourself you sometimes say
"I never knew it was gonna be this way
Why didn't they tell me the day I was born"
And you start gettin' chills and yer jumping from sweat
And you're lookin' for somethin' you ain't quite found yet
And yer knee-deep in the dark water with yer hands in the air
And the whole world's a-watchin' with a window peek stare
And yer good gal leaves and she's long gone a-flying
And yer heart feels sick like fish when they're fryin'
And yer jackhammer falls from yer hand to yer feet
And you need it badly but it lays on the street
And yer bell's bangin' loudly but you can't hear its beat
And you think yer ears might a been hurt
Or yer eyes've turned filthy from the sight-blindin' dirt
And you figured you failed in yesterdays rush
When you were faked out an' fooled white facing a four flush
And all the time you were holdin' three queens
And it's makin you mad, it's makin' you mean
Like in the middle of Life magazine
Bouncin' around a pinball machine
And there's something on yer mind you wanna be saying
That somebody someplace oughta be hearin'
But it's trapped on yer tongue and sealed in yer head
And it bothers you badly when your layin' in bed
And no matter how you try you just can't say it
And yer scared to yer soul you just might forget it
And yer eyes get swimmy from the tears in yer head
And yer pillows of feathers turn to blankets of lead
And the lion's mouth opens and yer staring at his teeth
And his jaws start closin with you underneath
And yer flat on your belly with yer hands tied behind
And you wish you'd never taken that last detour sign
And you say to yourself just what am I doin'
On this road I'm walkin', on this trail I'm turnin'
On this curve I'm hanging
On this pathway I'm strolling, in the space I'm taking
In this air I'm inhaling
Am I mixed up too much, am I mixed up too hard
Why am I walking, where am I running
What am I saying, what am I knowing
On this guitar I'm playing, on this banjo I'm frailin'
On this mandolin I'm strummin', in the song I'm singin'
In the tune I'm hummin', in the words I'm writin'
In the words that I'm thinkin'
In this ocean of hours I'm all the time drinkin'
Who am I helping, what am I breaking
What am I giving, what am I taking
But you try with your whole soul best
Never to think these thoughts and never to let
Them kind of thoughts gain ground
Or make yer heart pound
But then again you know why they're around
Just waiting for a chance to slip and drop down
"Cause sometimes you hear'em when the night times comes creeping
And you fear that they might catch you a-sleeping
And you jump from yer bed, from yer last chapter of dreamin'
And you can't remember for the best of yer thinking
If that was you in the dream that was screaming
And you know that it's something special you're needin'
And you know that there's no drug that'll do for the healin'
And no liquor in the land to stop yer brain from bleeding
And you need something special
Yeah, you need something special all right
You need a fast flyin' train on a tornado track
To shoot you someplace and shoot you back
You need a cyclone wind on a stream engine howler
That's been banging and booming and blowing forever
That knows yer troubles a hundred times over
You need a Greyhound bus that don't bar no race
That won't laugh at yer looks
Your voice or your face
And by any number of bets in the book
Will be rollin' long after the bubblegum craze
You need something to open up a new door
To show you something you seen before
But overlooked a hundred times or more
You need something to open your eyes
You need something to make it known
That it's you and no one else that owns
That spot that yer standing, that space that you're sitting
That the world ain't got you beat
That it ain't got you licked
It can't get you crazy no matter how many
Times you might get kicked
You need something special all right
You need something special to give you hope
But hope's just a word
That maybe you said or maybe you heard
On some windy corner 'round a wide-angled curve
But that's what you need man, and you need it bad
And yer trouble is you know it too good
"Cause you look an' you start getting the chills
"Cause you can't find it on a dollar bill
And it ain't on Macy's window sill
And it ain't on no rich kid's road map
And it ain't in no fat kid's fraternity house
And it ain't made in no Hollywood wheat germ
And it ain't on that dimlit stage
With that half-wit comedian on it
Ranting and raving and taking yer money
And you thinks it's funny
No you can't find it in no night club or no yacht club
And it ain't in the seats of a supper club
And sure as hell you're bound to tell
That no matter how hard you rub
You just ain't a-gonna find it on yer ticket stub
No, and it ain't in the rumors people're tellin' you
And it ain't in the pimple-lotion people are sellin' you
And it ain't in no cardboard-box house
Or down any movie star's blouse
And you can't find it on the golf course
And Uncle Remus can't tell you and neither can Santa Claus
And it ain't in the cream puff hair-do or cotton candy clothes
And it ain't in the dime store dummies or bubblegum goons
And it ain't in the marshmallow noises of the chocolate cake voices
That come knockin' and tappin' in Christmas wrappin'
Sayin' ain't I pretty and ain't I cute and look at my skin
Look at my skin shine, look at my skin glow
Look at my skin laugh, look at my skin cry
When you can't even sense if they got any insides
These people so pretty in their ribbons and bows
No you'll not now or no other day
Find it on the doorsteps made out-a paper mache¥
And inside it the people made of molasses
That every other day buy a new pair of sunglasses
And it ain't in the fifty-star generals and flipped-out phonies
Who'd turn yuh in for a tenth of a penny
Who breathe and burp and bend and crack
And before you can count from one to ten
Do it all over again but this time behind yer back
My friend
The ones that wheel and deal and whirl and twirl
And play games with each other in their sand-box world
And you can't find it either in the no-talent fools
That run around gallant
And make all rules for the ones that got talent
And it ain't in the ones that ain't got any talent but think they do
And think they're foolin' you
The ones who jump on the wagon
Just for a while 'cause they know it's in style
To get their kicks, get out of it quick
And make all kinds of money and chicks
And you yell to yourself and you throw down yer hat
Sayin', "Christ do I gotta be like that
Ain't there no one here that knows where I'm at
Ain't there no one here that knows how I feel
Good God Almighty
THAT STUFF AIN'T REAL"
No but that ain't yer game, it ain't even yer race
You can't hear yer name, you can't see yer face
You gotta look some other place
And where do you look for this hope that yer seekin'
Where do you look for this lamp that's a-burnin'
Where do you look for this oil well gushin'
Where do you look for this candle that's glowin'
Where do you look for this hope that you know is there
And out there somewhere
And your feet can only walk down two kinds of roads
Your eyes can only look through two kinds of windows
Your nose can only smell two kinds of hallways
You can touch and twist
And turn two kinds of doorknobs
You can either go to the church of your choice
Or you can go to Brooklyn State Hospital
You'll find God in the church of your choice
You'll find Woody Guthrie in Brooklyn State Hospital
And though it's only my opinion
I may be right or wrong
You'll find them both
In the Grand Canyon
At sundown

Back To Artist's Index

 

Boomers

 

You’ve Gotta Know

You’ve got your share of problems
A kind of self-inflicted hell
Well you come with so much baggage
I feel like a porter in your hotel
Well it could have been your childhood
Some kind of hope you couldn’t live up to
Or maybe it’s the stars or the moon in your sign
Or maybe it’s just you!

You’ve gotta know this isn’t working
You’ve gotta know I can’t relax
You’ve gotta know I need some distance
I want you off my back
You’ve got a know you’ve got a know you’ve got a know

Well you’re into self-improvement
And there’s so much to be gained
But you don’t apply a single thing you’ve learned
And you wonder why you’re still the same
And you don’t have a clue what you sound like
Or how many people you hurt
You say you don’t intend the messages you send
When you treat somebody like dirt

You’ve gotta know this isn’t working
You’ve gotta know I can’t relax
You’ve gotta know I need some distance
I want you off my back
So I gotta tell you this ain’t working
In case you misunderstood
You’ll be waving, I’ll be walking
My life should be so good
You’ve gotta know, you’ve gotta know, you’ve gotta know

I’m so sorry I hurt your feelings
With everything I’ve had to say
I could’ve done it behind your back in that civilized way
Maybe if somebody had said something sooner
Instead of avoiding the scene
But then again people seldom change from everything they’ve been

You’ve gotta know this isn’t working
You’ve gotta know I can’t relax
You’ve gotta know I need some distance
I want you off my back
So I gotta tell you this ain’t working
In case you misunderstood
You’ll be waving, I’ll be walking
My life should be so good
You’ve gotta know, you’ve gotta know, you’ve gotta know

Back To Artist's Index

 

  Bruce Springstien

His music has been called “Dylan-like.” But even Bob Dylan has not had the support and the fans that Bruce Springsteen has. To this day, almost three decades after releasing is first album, Bruce Springsteen still sells out stadiums in minutes, and still puts on what some consider the best show ever. 

Born to a working class family in Freehold, New Jersey in 1949, Springsteen fell in love with rock ‘n roll after watching the Ed Sullivan Show one night. Elvis performed that night, and inspired the “Boss” to start a career in music. He joined his first band in 1965, and despite the wishes of his father, began jumping around with different bands in the New Jersey seaside town of Asbury Park. Those battles with his father inspired some of Springsteen’s best loved songs. 

And as he played with these different bands, he started to hook up with the musicians who would eventually comprise the E-Street Band. 

When the family moved to California, Springsteen joined them, but only briefly. In 1972, he returned to the East Coast and signed a management deal with a producer named Mike Appeal. The contact with Appeal led to an audition with an executive at Columbia Records…. the same record label that signed Bob Dylan. Liking what he heard, the executive, John Hammond, decided to take a chance and signed Springsteen to a contract. In 1973, the first album came out, Greetings From Asbury Park, and quickly earned Springsteen the title of the “new Dylan.” Springsteen's follow-up, The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle, was released later the same year to even greater acclaim. The third album, Born To Run, landed Springsteen on the covers of Time and Newsweek. After a tour a two year legal battle with his first agent, Mike Appeal, Springsteen hit the studio again. This time the result was Darkness On The Edge Of Town, with the popular songs Badlands, Racing In The Street and The Promised Land. 

By this time, Springsteen was on the verge of becoming a major commercial force, and his next album, The River, became Springsteen’s first number one album. But despite this popular records, Springsteen to this day is still know for the album he released in 1984, Born In The USA. One of the biggest selling records of all-time, Born In The USA produced seven top 10 singles, including Dancing In The Dark and the title song, Born In The USA. At the peak of his popularity, Springsteen married Julianne Phillips and released the five-LP, three-CD set, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Live 1975-1985, which debuted at number 1 on the charts. The Phillips marriage did not last, and in 1991 Springsteen married backup singer Patti Scialfa. 

In 1993 Springsteen recorded the acoustic hit "Streets of Philadelphia." The theme song to the Tom Hanks film Philadelphia, earned him an Oscar and four Grammys. The years of hard work and long tours finally paid off in 1999 when he was inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

To this day, Springsteen continues to stay strong. A reunion tour with the E Street Band in 1999-2000 played to sold out crowds across the country, and backed up what millions of Americans already know. Bruce Springsteen will forever be a legend in the rock ‘n roll world.

 

Human Touch

You and me we were the pretenders
We let it all slip away
In the end what you don't surrender
Well the world just strips away

Girl, ain't no kindness in the face of strangers
Ain't gonna find no miracles here
Well you can wait on your blesses my darlin'
But I got a deal for you right here

I ain't lookin' for praise or pity
I ain't comin' 'round searchin' for a crutch
I just want someone to talk to
And a little of that Human Touch
Just a little of that Human Touch

Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town
Ain't no bread from heavenly skies
Ain't nobody drawin' wine from this blood
It's just you and me tonight

Tell me, in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much
I just want something to hold on to
And a little of that Human Touch
Just a little of that Human Touch

Oh girl that feeling of safety you prize
Well it comes at a hard hard price
You can't shut off the risk and the pain
Without losin' the love that remains
We're all riders on this train

So you've been broken and you've been hurt
Show me somebody who ain't
Yeah, I know I ain't nobody's bargain
But, hell, a little touchup
and a little paint...

You might need somethin' to hold on to
When all the answers, they don't amount to much
Somebody that you could just to talk to
And a little of that Human Touch

Baby, in a world without pity
Do you think what I'm askin's too much
I just want to feel you in my arms
Share a little of that Human Touch
Feel a little of that Human Touch
Give me a little of that Human Touch

Back To Artist's Index

 

My Hometown

I was eight years old and running with a dime in my hand
Into the bus stop to pick up a paper for my old man
I'd sit on his lap in that big old Buick and steer as we drove through town
He'd tousle my hair and say son take a good look around this is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown
This is your hometown

In `65 tension was running high at my high school
There was a lot of fights between the black and white
There was nothing you could do
Two cars at a light on a Saturday night in the back seat there was a gun
Words were passed in a shotgun blast
Troubled times had come to my hometown
My hometown
My hometown
My hometown

Now Main Street's whitewashed windows and vacant stores
Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more
They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back to your hometown
Your hometown
Your hometown
Your hometown

Last night me and Kate we laid in bed
talking about getting out
Packing up our bags maybe heading south
I'm thirty-five we got a boy of our own now
Last night I sat him up behind the wheel and said son take a good look around
This is your hometown

Back To Artist's Index

 

Brilliant Disguise

(For Pamela Short)

I hold you in my arms
as the band plays
What are those words whispered baby
just as you turn away
I saw you last night
out on the edge of town
I wanna read your mind
To know just what I've got in this new thing I've found
So tell me what I see
when I look in your eyes
Is that you baby
or just a brilliant disguise

I heard somebody call your name
from underneath our willow
I saw something tucked in shame
underneath your pillow
Well I've tried so hard baby
but I just can't see
What a woman like you
is doing with me
So tell me who I see
when I look in your eyes
Is that you baby
or just a brilliant disguise

Now look at me baby
struggling to do everything right
And then it all falls apart
when out go the lights
I'm just a lonely pilgrim
I walk this world in wealth
I want to know if it's you I don't trust
'cause I damn sure don't trust myself

Now you play the loving woman
I'll play the faithful man
But just don't look too close
into the palm of my hand
We stood at the alter
the gypsy swore our future was right
But come the wee wee hours
Well maybe baby the gypsy lied
So when you look at me
you better look hard and look twice
Is that me baby
or just a brilliant disguise

Tonight our bed is cold
I'm lost in the darkness of our love
God have mercy on the man
Who doubts what he's sure of

Back To Artist's Index

 

Streets Of Philadelphia

I was bruised and battered and I couldn't tell
what I felt
I was unrecognizable to myself
Saw my reflection in a window I didn't know
my own face
Oh brother are you gonna leave me
wasting away
On the streets of Philadelphia

I walked the avenue till my legs felt like stone
I heard the voices of friends vanished and gone
At night I could hear the blood in my veins
Just as black and whispering as the rain
On the streets of Philadelphia

Ain't no angel gonna greet me
It's just you and I my friend
And my clothes don't fit me no more
I walked a thousand miles
just to slip this skin

The night has fallen, I'm lyin' awake
I can feel myself fading away
So receive me brother with your faithless kiss
or will we leave each other alone like this
On the streets of Philadelphia

Back To Artist's Index

 

I Wish I Were Blind

I love to see the cottonwood blossom
In the early spring
I love to see the message of love
That the bluebird brings
But when I see you walkin' with him
Down along the strand
I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man

I love to see your hair shining
In the long summer's light
I love to watch the stars fill the sky
On a summer night
The music plays you take his hand
I watch how you touch him as you start to dance
And I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man

We struggle here but all our love's in vain
And these eyes that once filled me with your beauty
Now fill me with pain
And the light that once entered here
Is banished from me
And this darkness is all baby that my heart sees

And though the world is filled
With the grace and beauty of God's hand
Oh I wish I were blind
When I see you with your man

Back To Artist's Index