Valerie & Walter Crockett
Lyrics to the Long Live Album
Here are all the words to all the songs on Valerie & Walter Crockett and the Oxymorons' Long Live Album, our fourth album, on the Big Bark label. Just click a title to jump to the song of your choice.
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Except as noted below, all songs copyright 2004, written by Walter Crockett and published by Barky Bole Music, BMI.
LONG TIME TRAVELIN'
Traditional ... as sung by Valerie
Fran taught us this song, and he doesn't remember where he learned it. The words are the same as Anne Hills' version, but Valerie changed the last line, which originally talked about exchanging our earthly friends for "better" friends above. They couldn't be better above, so she changed it to "other."
CHORUS:
I'm a long time travelin' here below,
I'm a long time travelin' away from my home.
I'm a long time travelin' here below,
Gonna lay this ole' body down.
Ye fleeting charms of earth farewell
Your springs of joy are dry
My soul now seeks another home
A brighter world on high
REPEAT CHORUS
When I can read my titles clear
To my mansions in the sky
I'll bid farewell to every fear
And I'll wipe my weepin' eye.
REPEAT CHORUS
Farewell my friends whose tender care
Has long engaged my love
Your fond embrace I now exchange
For other friends above.
REPEAT CHORUS
SMALL TOWN HEART
By Norman Schell ...as sung by Valerie
This is one of Norman's great love songs, with a bit of a Spanish lilt. In Norman style, none of the choruses has the same words.
He was a small town boy with a big city way
Oh he'd run with the best but the rest couldn't make him stay
Then he looked in her eyes and some dreams came to life
But now he's singing regret 'cause the night that they met was goodbye
CHORUS:
Sometimes when he looks into the mirror
He sees someone looking back who's not at home
A thousand nights might burn her from his eyes of blue
But her small town heart won't let the boy alone
She was a small town girl with some dreams that came true,
Like a house in the country and kids, and a car or two
But some dreams just won't die till she learns not to care
That she looked in his eyes and found her own dreams living there
CHORUS:
Sometimes when she drifts into the distance
She hears melodies that cut her to the bone
Even though the time was wrong the dreams were strong,
And his small town heart won't let the girl alone
It was a small town romance not the one in the news
But for those who were there it was looking like dreams come true
But time is the queen when choices are made
And sometimes you've got to learn to live with one or two
CHORUS:
Sometimes they both wish upon a full moon
And they wonder if the other heart's in tune
Somehow they both know the other's dreaming too
Cause a small town heart won't let them dream alone
FALLING RAIN
By Walter Crockett
A paean to the rain, sort of inspired by the old poem "Oh Western Wind."
Oh the falling rain comes down upon the weary town
And it slows the mighty engine down that spins our circles 'round
High above the chimney tops, the thunderclouds complain
But my love and I are satisfied
Below the falling rain
Oh the falling rain comes down, and wins no wealth of friends
Ah but those there are who love the sound, and mourn to hear it end
Warm beneath our blanket dry, my love and I remain
As our spirits fly into the sky
Above the falling rain
BRIDGE:
All we have and all we want
Is only love and only one
Whose love is falling like the rain
And rising with the sun again
Oh the falling rain comes down above our sleepy heads
As our dreams abound with morning sounds that rouse us in our beds
High above the chimney tops, the thunderclouds complain
But my love and I are satisfied below the falling rain
Yes my love and I are satisfied, and oh the falling rain
HIGHWAY 99
By Walter Crockett
This song first appeared on our "Live in the Kitchen" tape, which we used to pay people a dollar to take. The song is as true today as it was back then. The title came to me in a dream. I woke up singing "Out on high...way number 9." How the plot materialized, I have no clue. Like Norman Schell's songs, the words to the chorus change every time.
At the foot of shadow mountain, where the golden sun don't shine
Fate foretold a second coming, out on Highway 99
Where for a week the good had gathered, with the fortunate and strong
Waiting in the eastbound fast lane, for the Lord to take them home
There were cardinals, priests and cub scouts, there were gambling Injun tribes
Bankers, brokers and their jailers, with their exemplary wives
Singing "We don't want your greenback dollar, we don't want your diamond mine
"But when the roll is called up yonder, remember we were first in line
"Out on Highway 99"
But as we prayed and snacked together in our lawn chairs green and red
From the shoulder of the highway, trouble reared its ugly head
For swarming down from shadow mountain came the homeless halt and lame
Whose shopping carts and bags of bottles, soon overflowed the breakdown lane
Singing "We don't want your spare change mister, we don't want your Gallo wine
"We'll forsake beer-can redemption, we're here to take your place in line
"We want Highway 99"
Well this provoked tumultuous uproar, and a fearsome fight ensued
Between those of us whose checks were cancelled, and those of them whose bills were due
And as the blood flowed on the highway, and the yellow line turned orange-red
Flapping wings called our attention to a shadow overhead
It was our saviour, and his band of angels, looking dreadfully annoyed
And as he spoke our dreams of glory were effectively destroyed
He said, "We don't need this aggravation, we don't have to take your kind
"So we'll make you this final offer: We'll keep everything divine,
"You get Highway 99"
And still we wait here in the fast lane, to burn in hell we are resigned
And yet we pray the Lord was foolin' out on Highway 99
We believe the good Lord overreacted
Out on Highway 99
Out on Highway 99
Out on High...way 99
MY OLD MAN
By Jerry Jeff Walker, published by Cotillion/Danel, BMI ...as sung by Valerie
Valerie used to finger-pick this before we met in the late '70s. We dug it out of her songbook a few years ago and fell in love with it again.
My old man had a rounder soul
He'd hear an ol' freight train and he'd have to go
Said he'd been blessed with a gypsy bone
And that's the reason I guess that he'd been cursed to roam
Came to town back before the war
Didn't even know what it was he was lookin' for
He carried a tattered bag for his violin
Full of lots of songs of the places he had been
He talked real easy and had a smiling way
He could pass along to you when his fiddle played
Makin' people drop their cares and woes
And hum out loud the tunes that his fiddle bowed
Til the people there began to join that sound
And ev'ryone in town was laughin,' singin,' dancin' 'round
Like the Fiddler's tunes were they heard that night
Like some dream that says all the world is right
The Fiddler's eye caught a beauty there
She had that rollin' flowin' golden kind of hair
He played for her as if she danced alone
He played his favorite songs, the ones he called his own
Till she alone was dancin' in the room
The only thing left movin' to that Fiddler's tune
He played until she was the last to go
Then he stopped and packed his case, said he'd take her home
In all the nights that passed a child was born
In all the years that passed, love would keep them warm
And all their lives they'd share that dream come true
And all because she danced so well his fiddler tune
The train next mornin' blew a lonesome sound
As if she sang the blues of what she took from town
And all that I recall that was said when I was young
There's no one else could really sing those songs he sung
GIVEN TIME
By Walter Crockett
"...but if you try sometimes, you get what you need"
Given time, I might have got pretty hot on this guitar
Given time (a lot of time), I might have played some backup for a star
Yeah but time kept running out on me before my dreams came true
I did just what I wanted, now it's what I've got to do
Some say that's a prison, but I say it's a jewel
Given time, time with you
Given a chance, I might have made a name outside of town
Given a chance, I might have turned this business upside down
Yeah but all my chances came and went, and here I am today
Nowhere near as famous as old and in the way
Some say that's a pity, but I say that's OK
Given time, time with you
BRIDGE:
Now summer's far behind me, winter's closin' in
But with you here beside me I'd do it all again
Given time
Given love, I somehow found a family and a home
Given love, I never spend too many nights alone
Yes of all the things I wanted, love's the one I need
Flowing like a river deep inside of me
Some say love's a prison, but I know I go free
Givin' love, love to you
Given time, time with you
Given time...
MY LITTLE HOUSE
By Walter Crockett
It took me three or four years back in the early '60s to learn how to finger-pick. Dave Van Ronk was one of my idols back then, as a player, but even more as an artist. This song uses just a bit of that "Candy Man" sound he got from Missippi John Hurt.
Come on into my little house
You be the cat and I'll be the mouse and we can eat tofu
You can put your paws all over my tail
You be the turtle and I'll be the snail and we'll ride. Yahoo!
And when we lie in the evening
As the stars frame the sun
They will find us believing
You and I, we're the one
So come on into my little shack
You sit in front and I'll sit in back and we can play parcheesi
You spin the wheel, I'll roll the dice
You make the coffee and I'll fry the bacon up nice and greasy
And when we lie in the evening
As the stars softly shine
They will find us believing
I am yours, you are mine
Well, come on in to my little hovel
You get the pitchfork, I'll take the shovel
And we'll clean this place up, or die trying
Scrub a little here, scrape a little there
You take the sofa and I'll take the chair
And we'll take a siesta, I ain't lying
And when we lie in the evening
As the dove moans his song
He will find us believing
That our love will live on
So come on in to my little house
PEACEFUL WATERS
By Walter Crockett ...as sung by Valerie
We call this our agnostic gospel song. It uses a lot of old Baptist imagery, but nobody gets baptized. You can apply it to the religion of your choice. Or not.
CHORUS:
I'm gonna get up out of this hole
I'm gonna satisfy my soul
I'm gonna go down where those peaceful waters flow
And when I catch my second wind I'll be moving on again
Gonna wander where the peaceful waters flow
Lord I'm weary, tired and footsore
I've been lost so many years
(Lost so many years)
I can't remember, where I came from
Almost drowned in my own tears
But if you take me by the hand, I can see that promised land
Over yonder where the peaceful waters flow
REPEAT CHORUS
I can hear my mother singing
Amazing Grace and Angel Band
(I can hear her singing)
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
When we reach that promised land
And if you'll only lead the way, I'll be there some sweet day
Over yonder where the peaceful waters flow
Halleluiah, Sweet Salvation
Blessed love that lights my way
(Love that lights my way and)
There's a rainbow, in the valley
Where I long to spend my days
And if you come along with me, this love will set us free
Over yonder where the peaceful waters flow
REPEAT CHORUS
And when I catch my second wind I'll be moving on again
Gonna wander where the peaceful waters flow
REPEAT CHORUS
MS. LUCKY
By Walter Crockett ...as sung by Valerie
Looks like this is what became of the American Dream.
Well the jackpot's up to 7 million bucks, and she's down on her luck.
But her horoscope says, "Doris, Taurus has the Midas touch."
So she buys a single ticket, half a pint of Gilbey's Gin,
And she spends the morning thinking 'bout the ship that's coming in.
CHORUS:
She's livin' on easy street, like a dog in the sun
No spike heels for her feet, barefoot she will run.
She'll put on a pound or two. Who's gonna complain?
She's livin' on easy street. Miss Lucky, that's her name.
She'll send the boy to Harvard, buy her mom a Jaguar,
Check in to the Betty Ford Clinic, and check out with a movie star.
They'll pitch the poshest wedding, when the princess comes of age
And if the Book of Love gets boring, hey, she just might turn the page.
CHORUS:
She's living on easy street, like a dog in the sun
No spike heels on her feet, barefoot she will run.
She'll get in a word or two (edgewise), Who's gonna complain?
She's livin' on easy street. Miss Lucky, that's her name.
BRIDGE:
She'll buy a house in Aruba, a bar in Bermuda, a condo in Waikiki
And when they run the Lifestyles of Women Gone Wild, you can see her on DVD
Well the numbers roll at 9 p.m., Lottery Live on Channel 10.
First a 7, then come 11, and she knows she's gonna win.
22, she laughs, 33, she cries, and 44 she screams.
Makes her sister pinch her black and blue, just to prove it's not a dream.
CHORUS:
She's living on easy street, like the Cat in the Hat.
No scrimpin' on bleacher seats, no trimmin' the fat.
She'll be breakin' a rule or two (what's new?).Who's gonna complain?
Cause she's livin' on easy street, Miss Lucky, that's her name.
REPEAT FIRST CHORUS
THIS TIME I GOT IT RIGHT
By Walter Crockett
Sure did.
I should have told my friends nothing's wrong with me
It's just somebody knockin' on my family tree
And she's the sweetest thing that you ever did see
This time I got it right
I used to sow wild oats, I used to run it around
I'm used to rippin' it up, I'm used to livin' it down
But now I oughta be posing in a cap and gown
Cause this time I got it right
CHORUS:
Well I admit I made mistakes
You break a heart and your heart breaks
I never had this much at stake
And this time I got it right
She ain't a bottle blond got a belly ring
She picks a pizzicato on my puppet strings
She puts a whole new spin on this commitment thing
This time I got it right
She's the song in my dream when the sun comes up
Spoonful of cream in my coffee cup
Ticket to heaven and a seven for luck
This time I got it right
REPEAT CHORUS
I should have told my friends nothing's wrong with me...
It's just somebody climbin' on my family tree...
And she's the sweetest thing that you ever did see...
This time I got it right
This time I got it right
This time I got it
Right
DID I TALK TOO MUCH
By Valerie Crockett, Barky Bole Music, BMI
One of those charming, lilting songs that only Valerie can write.
Did I talk too much last night
Did I move too close, did I scare him away
I didn't mean to spill my love
But out it came, should I be ashamed
I bubbled over like a babbling fool
Like a drunken woman on a barroom stool
Spouting words of love, I should have kept my cool
Did I talk too much last night
What's he thinking of today
Would it bring a smile if I touched his thoughts
Or will he wish I'd go away
Am I a nuisance now, a thorn somehow
It's a humiliating place to be
Afraid of loving him, if he just likes me
I made my naked heart so plain to see
Did I talk too much last night
Will he talk to me tonight
Will he say the sounds I need to hear
I know he'd rather keep it light
Than to have to deal with how I feel
But emotions have so many gears
My machine is stuck on making tears
Will he fix the engine and soothe my fears
Will he talk to me tonight
I bubbled over like a babbling fool
Like a drunken woman on a barroom stool
Spouting words of love, I should have kept my cool
Did I talk too much last night
Did I talk too much last night
Did I talk too much last night
PEACE OF CHANGE
By Walter Crockett
This song's a little bit about peace and a little bit about change. About money and principles and the respective lacks thereof.
Well a poor man's got a dollar
And a rich man's got the bank
But I'm so glad, about what I have
That I don't know who to thank
CHORUS:
I've got a little piece of change
Got a little piece of change
I've got a little piece of change
It's just a little piece of change
Well peace is hard to come by
And change is often good
Put 'em together, and sooner or later
The rest is understood
You've got a little piece of change
Got a little piece of change
Got a little piece of change
It's just a little piece of change
Well old Mahatma Gandhi
And Martin Luther King
Jesus Christ, Mohammed and the Buddha
They all had the same old thing
Just a little piece of change
Workin' on a piece of change
Got to find a piece of change
Well God bless a piece of change
But so many strong disciples
From Judas right on down
The took the best, left a mess
And skipped out on the town
Sold it for a piece of change
Sold it for a piece of change
Betrayed it for a piece of change
To Hell with a piece of change
Well peace is often shattered
And change is often spent
And the only thing that matters
When you're down to your last cent
Is just a little piece of change
Just a little piece of change
Just a little piece of change
My kingdom for a piece of change
Well a rich man rubs a dollar
And a poor man robs a bank
But I'm so glad about what I have
That I don't know who to thank
I've got a little piece of change
Got a little piece of change
Got a little piece of change
It's just a little piece of change
REPEAT CHORUS
ORLANDO
By Walter Crockett
We took a vacation to St. John not long ago, and spent a week at Maho Bay, a wonderful eco-tourism spot. St. John is a gorgeous little island, half national park. You mostly get around by taxis, which are converted pickup trucks with metal benches in back and canopies on top. One night we rode up in front with a driver named Alex. He told us he had just returned from Orlando after living there for nine years. His wife left him while he was there. He came back because Orlando was too dangerous: people were getting killed all the time. This song was inspired by that ride. It's not exactly what happened to him, but it could be. I changed his name to protect the internal rhyme.
Daniel left Orlando for the island
His friends were getting killed every night
And even though we live in the same country
We see Orlando in a different light
Cause I see waterslides and Mick and Minnie
And lots of kids with grins an ocean wide
And he sees Little Joe without a penny
And Pedro with a bullet in his side
So Daniel left Orlando for the island
He's looking for a taxi on St. John
Another mouth to feed but grandma's trying
Another island where the dream is gone
CHORUS:
Oh Orlando
Fireworks crackle in the night
Oh Orlando
We see Orlando in a different light
He said "I lost my woman one November night
The crack was talking for her when she said,
'I'm sick of changing sheets for Mr. White Man
'I think I'll help him mess them up instead.'
"Oh, when I came to Orlando from the island
I dreamed of rags-to-riches every night
But when you're bussing dishes at the Diamond
You see Orlando in a different light
"Cause you see Universal animations
Like Roger Rabbit dying on the screen
And I see young Dominicans and Haitians
With cops and paramedics in between"
REPEAT CHORUS
So Daniel left Orlando for the island
He's driving down in Coral Bay tonight
And even though we live in the same country
We see Orlando in a different light
REPEAT CHORUS
FAR NORTH AGAIN
By Norman Schell (Universal - Polygram International/Yankee Dog, ASCAP) ...as sung by Valerie
Norman played in the legendary Pioneer Valley band, Clean Living, back in the mid-70s. (They still do big reunion concerts.) Walter heard this song almost 30 years ago and loved it. Norman's current band is Norman Schell and Youth Well Spent. They play it too.
Rolling south through Macon, Georgia, somewhat younger
Endless miles of steel grey highway
Hard times everywhere I turn here
Peoples faces, turning my way, somewhat boldly
Seems to me that I don't belong here
I'd have never come had someone told me
CHORUS:
I don't need your love to keep me warm
No I've got someone and I'm
Leaving on the first train north and I just
Don't know if I'll ever come this far south again
Rolling through some concrete nightmare, somewhat older
Worcester sidewalks they're so cold and lonely,
Hard times are better here than nowhere
The city winters you know they chill my body, somewhat coldly
Seems to me I've got to leave this low life
And break whatever chains that hold me
I don't need your love to keep me warm
No I've got someone and I'm
Leaving on the first train gone and I just
Don't know if I'll ever come this far north again
THIS WHOLE TOWN
By Walter Crockett
I actually love my ugly old town these days, but I tried to write this song from the point of view of someone younger and less familiar with its redeeming features.
The little minds, the shuttered blinds
The desperate dance between the lines
Sidewalks paved with shattered Happy Meals
The broken trees, the fetid breeze
The death of passion by degrees
This whole place looks exactly like I feel
CHORUS:
This whole town's got me down
I get so low I just don't know the blue sky from the ground
And every time this feeling comes around
I swear I'll set a day to fly away from this whole town
When you were here it felt like spring
The rain just made the whole world sing
The clouds were like a fleet of silver sails
We counted stars on College Hill
Walked the tracks like Hobo Bill
Slept like babies on this bed of nails
REPEAT CHORUS
I got a card from Baton Rouge
Said she learned to sing the blues
But I don't think she's ever felt the pain
So come on home, there's time enough
To mix some hard luck with your love
Cause all it ever does 'round here is rain
REPEAT CHORUS
I WILL RISE
By Walter Crockett ...as sung by Valerie
This song is dedicated to the late Evelyn Crockett, no relation, a working-class woman who lived a life of stubborn optimism and generosity and taught us how to keep on the sunny side. She died last New Year's Eve at the age of 90. These lyrics include a third verse, dedicated to her longtime friend Bud, that we don't sing live because it makes the song too long.
I will rise from this valley in the morning some sweet day
When the last light of summer warms the rose
Like the dew on the meadow and the sparrows all at play
I will rise from this valley and go
Through the streets of my childhood I will pass without a sound
To the riverside where once my name was known
And I'll take my consolation in the sunlight streaming down
As I rise from this valley and go
CHORUS:
Oh my friends, most are gone, precious few remain behind
And I know I'll live on in the shadows of their mind
And I wish them every summer, and every winter white with now
As I rise from this valley and go
And you, my true companion, I will wrap you in my soul
For I would not have you walk this world alone
And if there's a God in heaven, we'll meet again I know
Though I rise from this valley and go
CHORUS:
Oh my friends, most are gone, precious few remain behind
But I know I'll live on, when laughter's on their mind
And I wish you every summer, every winter white with snow
As I rise from this valley and go
And I wish you all the summers, all the winters white with snow
As I rise from this valley and go
As I rise from this valley and go
GO WEST, YOUNG MAN
By Walter Crockett
Blood-thirsty humans of all races and religions are celebrated in legend and history book. This song concerns itself with some white, nominally Christian ones. And with the great American myth of the endless frontier.
Bubba grab the crowbar, Annie get your gun
Sonny bring that submachine, we'll make those suckers run
Chase 'em up the canyon, drive 'em down the draw
Swing 'em from a 'simmon tree; be jury, judge and all
CHORUS:
And it's go west young man, find the sun
Drink your future from the barrel of a gun
Guns and ammo, field and stream
Civilization on the knife edge of a dream
Hey we are the wily white men, we've come to rule your world
Forgive us for deflowering your gardens and your girls
We bring the holy Bible to help you see the light
You'll need it when we butcher all your children in the night
REPEAT CHORUS
We axed the mighty Aztecs, mauled the Mayans too
Nailed the nobel Incas in the mountains of Peru
We rassled with the Ruskies, fracased with the Frogs
Beat the Brits, whapped the Wops, and wumped the Wompanoags
REPEAT CHORUS
Well we tamed the rolling prairie just to plant it up with corn
Built a mighty Internet and filled it up with porn
Now we're melting down the glaciers to cook an ozone hole
And praying for forgiveness from the bottom of our soul
REPEAT CHORUS
(Spoken) Well we thought we'd leave this planet on a spaceship in the night
And then we stubbed our toe upon that stubborn speed of light
(Sung) Now we're stuck here in a traffic jam from sea to shining sea
And the cars are full of people, but they don't look much like me
Yes the immigrants assail us, the aliens about
And the cackle of their lexicon makes such a frightful sound
Oh the Goths are at the barricades, Vandals on the wall
So Annie get your gun we'll saddle up and shoot 'em all
REPEAT CHORUS