Saturday, January 30, 1971

Main Line Saloon

I know a place, it's a bar that never closes,
I recommend you take a friend and hold your noses.
What you see won't be the same as any place you've been before
And you'll know when you read the name written on the open door.

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome, everybody, welcome!
Welcome to the Main Line Saloon!

Yea, I've been there, what a lousy place to visit.
But try not to stare, although it isn't pretty, is it?
All you see are yellow fingers trying to hide the face that crumbles,
And you smell the life that lingers in the dying voice that mumbles.

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome, everybody, welcome!
Welcome to the Main Line Saloon!

If you see a girl lookin' old and kind of dirty
If her name is Sue, give her a whirl, you know she'll never live to thirty.
Never mind the way she bleeds when you take her for a dime now,
You can't give her what she needs, and she needs it all the time now.

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome, everybody, welcome!
Welcome to the Main Line Saloon!

Well alright, go on in, the door stays open in December
You'll find a friend within; I know 'cause I'm a charter member.
Catch me if I'm falling down; hold me up so I can listen
To the angels calling down on the day your arms are christened.

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome, everybody, welcome!
Welcome to the Main Line Saloon!
Welcome! Welcome everybody, everbody, to the Main Line Saloon!

Friday, January 29, 1971

That's No Reason to Cry

Just because you don't need me,
That's no reason to cry.
I'll find another lady,
And you, you'll find another guy.

Just because you don't love me,
That's no reason to cry.
Let's just keep the good thing goin' hon,
Come on smile, yeah baby, bye bye.

     I remember, I remember,
     Not so very long ago,
     Something you said
     That I can't forget.

     Don't you forget it girl;
     You said 'Let's have nothing but the truth between us,
     And if we break up,
     If we break up,
     Let's have no regrets,
     No, no, no regrets.

Well now you don't want me,
You know I ain't about to cry.
Just put your hand in mine,
And then smile, yeah baby, bye bye.

Music

Still in progress – some of the voicings elude me. Anyway, lots of 9/sus2 chords. It's in F# so I'd say C chords and capo on VI. At least the bridge is relatively straightforward...

Verse

C9/g | C9/g# | Fmaj7/a | C9 (c-b)
D7/a | C9/g | Fmaj7/c | C9

Bridge

Am | - | Am7/g | - |
F | - | E7sus4 | E7
Am | - | Am7/g | - |
F | - | E7sus4 | E7

Thursday, January 28, 1971

Candy Man

Oscar saved his money when he came home from the war.
Traded in his good left hand for payment on a store.
He said 'I'm just as good as new, who needs more hands than one?'
The old man stood when he walked through, and proudly called him son.

    Oscar bought a candy store in the nicest part of town,
     They called him the one-armed candy man, the crippled clown.
     And he wore their laughing licorice crown, calling 'come on down.'

Oscar laughed and waited, the loving patient man.
See the children trusting him; they do not know his plan.
He takes their copper pennies, he gives them extra treats,
Hiding little picture books in every bag of sweets.

     Last week a girl came crying home, 'Look what I found today
     I got it from the candy man, who's giving them away.'
     His mother said, 'Love is not that way, dear God he'll pay.'

When the parents came for Oscar, he said, 'I'm not ashamed,
I took their minds as payment due, the healthy for the maimed.'
The day he went to prison, he called 'Now do you see?
I only did to some of you what you all did to me.

     Oh no, I'm not the candy man; my injuries are few,
     But the world that made me what I am must owe me something too,
     And I only want what is my rightful due, from you and you.'

Tuesday, January 26, 1971

Out on the Road

I met a man, such a sad old boy, in a waterfront bar,
And he asked me, 'Young man, don't you think you've gone too far?'
'No,' I told him, 'I got so much more livin' to do.'
It was then he said, 'I know, I've been afraid like you.'

I met a woman, such a poor old lady, in a hotel room,
And she asked me, 'Young man, don't you think you'd better run home soon?'
'No,' I  told her, 'I got no brown eyes to run home to.'
It was then she said, 'I know, I've been afraid like you.'

     Well if everybody knows, if everybody sees, that fear is our heaviest load,
     Then they ought to know I got to stay out on the road.
     And if they do not understand how we got to lend a hand,
     Then all I can do is pray, let me stay out on the road.

I met a man, such a fine young man, in a broken-down jail,
And he told me, 'Friend, don't be afraid to live. It doesn't matter if you fail.'
Then he smiled and started to cry.
It was then he said, 'I know, I've been afraid to die.'

     Well if everybody knows, if everybody sees, that feat is our heaviest load,
     Then they ought to know, I got to stay out on the road.
     And if they do not understand how we got to lend a hand,
     Then all I can do is pray, let me stay out on the road.

Music
This is in Eb again, so capo on 3 and key of C.

Verse

G | G/g# | Am | -
F | Dm | C | -
E | - | F | -
C | G | Bb-F | C

Chorus

C/c-d-eb | E | Am | - /a-g
F | G | C | C7
F | D-E | Am/a-g | F
C | G | F/f-e-d | C

Monday, January 25, 1971

Cabin on the Mountain

Don't you dare let the wind move into our cabin on the mountain,
I just know I'll be back, I'll come home with the first green in May.
They can't keep me behind walld, I get out when the ground smells of planting.
So don't you dare let me down, please stay around for my home-coming day.

     You were the daughter of a drummer,
     Moving from town to little town,
     Looking like a snow-flake in the summer,
     When I asked you to stop and settle down.

     We built a cabin on the mountain,
     We were as happy as July,
     When along cae a drummer fro Baltimore
     And you left me, I thought I would die.

     I lived seven months in loneliness.
     Then come your letter: 'Take me home.'
     When I come to fetch you from the tenement,
     I could see that man beat you to the bone.

     Then from the bedroom stepped the drummer man,
     Says to me, 'Let go of my wife.'
     Lord I wish I knew just what came over me.
     Wish I'd never seen a knife.

Don't you dare let the wind move into our cabin on the mountain,
I just know I'll be back, I'll come home with the first green in May.
They can't keep me behind walld, I get out when the ground smells of planting.
So don't you dare let me down, please stay around for my home-coming day.

Music

Intro

E | -

Refrain ('Don't you dare let the wind...')

A | - | D | -
A | - | E | -
A | - | D | -
A | E | D | A

Verse ('You were the daughter of a drummer...')

A | - | - | -
D | - | A | -
D | - | - | -
A-A/g# | A/g-D/f#  | B7 | E

Friday, January 22, 1971

Woman River

River, flowing deep,
Lull me to sleep
On the river bank.
Tell me a story,
Whispering weed,
Woman river.

River, flowing wide,
Roll, roll by my side,
On the river bank.
That devil water,
Wide and free,
How like a woman to me.

     Sometimes it's winter,
     And you're covered with snow.
     But one think, come spring,
     You're going to break up and go.

River, rushing wild,
Is nature's child
On the river bank?
If I go in swimming,
Will you take me to sea?
How like a woman to me.

     Sometimes it's summer,
     And you slow down to a crawl.
     Is it so, 'cause you know,
     You're heading for a fall?

River, flowing past,
Hey, don't you move so fast
By the river bank.
You don't have to drown me,
Just water my tree.
How like a woman to me.

Wednesday, January 20, 1971

Inmates of the Institution

Inmates of the institution!
Why are you waving through the madhouse fence?
Do your absent bodies hear your soul's lament?

Inmates of the institution!
Who are you waiting for with hollow eyes?
Do you think he'll come this way before he dies?
Or did he pass once in disguise?

Did you laugh at the ragman, did you?
When he called for your rags, rags.
I'll bet a buck you didn't bow.

     And now you're waiting in your holy clothes,
     Naked but afraid to expose
     Your need for a sign,
     But keep in line.

     Standing in a painless haze,
     Waiting for the blameless days
     Of wine.
     I'll bet the water never was.

Did you follow the flagman, did you?
When he marched with his flags, flags.
I'll bet you wondered where he went.

     You've spent a lifetime in a madhouse yard,
     Waiting for the mystic guard
     To come with a key
     And make you free.

     Hoping that he'll find the gate,
     Wondering if he'll make you late,
     For tea.
     I'll bet you never miss a meal.

Inmates of the institution!

Did you laugh at the race man, did you?
When he started to cry.
Did you follow the space man, did you?
Just because he was high.
Did you laugh at the ragman, did you?
When he put out his light.
Did you follow the flagman, did you?
Just because he was white.

Inmates of the institution! Do you wonder where your leaders ran?
Where were you looking when he sent the man?
Ah, you do the best you can.

Music
Still working on this one. For a start, the 'verse' is in Eb, and the 'chorus' in G.

Sunday, January 17, 1971

Subway to the Country

Coney Island's not a place to look for starfish,
Or to find yourself a fifteen-colored stone,
That you can carry in your pocket 'till you're grown.
Ah, there just aren't any subways to the country.

     But your daddy, he's gonna try.
     If I ever get three bucks together, I'm gonna buy
     Three tickets on a train,
     And I'll show you the rain.

     I will carry you through clean smelling rain.
     One boy to a shoulder,
     Hey, We better go quick,
     Before we get older.

Central Park is not a place to watch the sunrise,
Or to look for Redskin writings in a cave,
Or even find the kind of frogs you'd like to save.
Hey, I wish we had a subway to the country.

New York City is a town too big for children,
Where there's so  much dirt they think that snow is grey,
And you have to watch their childhood waste away.
Hey, we got to find a subway to the country, or anywhere.

     Well your daddy, he's gonna try.
     If I ever get three bucks together, I'm gonna buy
     Three tickets on a train,
     And I'll show you the rain.

     I will carry you through clean green meadow-smelling smelling rain.
     One son to a shoulder,
     Hey, we better go quick,
     We're getting older.

Friday, January 1, 1971

Your Face, Your Smile

I've got to stop talking to you
Telling you all my dreams 
And worries every day
I've got to start letting you go
Letting you go
It's even hard to say

But I will tell myself
A part of you will always stay

     He's got your face, your smile
     When he laughs I laugh
     When he cries I cry again
     I'm just a girl again
     He's got your hands
     How do I know?
     Because he touches me
     And I feel joy again

     He's got your lips, your eyes
    Where they look I look
     When they close I watch him sleep
     The way I once watched you
     He's got your heart
     How do I know?
     Because I love him so
     And he loves me too

I've got stop talking to you
Telling you all my dreams 
And worries every day
I've got start letting you go,
Letting you go

Music

I have not yet been able to decipher the difficult (jazzy) piano voicings. It's in C anyway, if anyone cares to give it a try.