1. |
Join Us
03:50
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Join Us
My father left us in 1910
Said, I'm going to America,
I'll be back God knows when
But he liked it and stayed
At least that's what he said
In a letter from Chicago
The stamps were bright red.
Two years later we left
My mom, sister and I
They stopped us at the border
Something's wrong with my eyes
The Germans said anger
But the English said fear
Kept us months in their camps
But we finally got here.
So come on and join us
They won't know who you were
They're not smarter than you, they just think that they are
Take a chance, take the trip
While the door's still ajar.
My father was the oldest of ten so they say
Maybe eight, no one knows
No one cared, they all stayed
Except his youngest sister 1921
Sarah came like the pilgrims
Trying to catch the sun.
First she married a grocer
A good man soon dead
Then she wed cousin Nathan
Tumors ran through his head
Sarah pushed on alone,
Raised three children, denied
That the great horn of plenty
Had brushed her aside.
But come on and join us
We won't say who you were
You come cross the ocean with hope in your heart
Take a chance, take the trip
Watch your dreams slide apart.
My father, my children
My grandchildren, too
We all became Americans
What else could we do?
So we drink lemonade,
Eat Chinese food and sing
Of the dawn's early light
And the mountains in spring.
It's been many years
Since I left the Ukraine
But last night I dreamed
Of a field, lit with grain
My father was standing
With his arms open wide
Said, " Come on, son, join me
Here we'll stand side by side."
So come on and join us
You can change who you were
Why stand around waiting for life to begin?
Take chance, take the trip
Who can say if you'll win?
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2. |
The Dream
03:06
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The Dream
Tossed and turned and dreamed of baseball
But instead of gloves they used the hands of God
I turned to my companion, who was busy eating steak fries
And didn't remark when I said, How odd
That God
Has so many hands
And so many fans
That he fills up the stands
On a Monday afternoon.
The sky grew darker and a band started playing
For a loudspeaker I heard my name
You said, Love's not salvation and neither is baseball
I didn't respond when you said, How odd
That God
Waves hands and eats fries
As he darkens the skies
To advise or chastise
On a Monday afternoon
I seem to spend at least half my life waiting at lights or waiting in line at the bank or the store or waiting for you to get ready so we can go out
But I think things are going to get better soon as they gave me a card to use at the bank now I don't have to wait in line anymore just outside in the rain
My mother used to say if you can't say anything nice don't say anything but I never really listened to my mother so I piss and moan all day about modern life
And I'm so wound up that I can't get to sleep so I toss and turn and have so many dreams about baseball love steak fries waiting and our place in the hands of God
The search for love
Tints the complaints above
And leads me back to you
Same confusions
Same illusions
Same hurts we can't undo
And I think I woke up screaming
And I think that you did to.
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3. |
Romeo Loves Juliet
02:36
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Romeo Loves Juliet
Romeo loved Juliet
Who was a Capulet
Don't forget!
Juliet she loved him too
Even though she knew
He was a Montague
Her daddy disapproved
As daddies sometimes do
Said, Girl that boy's no good for you!
Did Juliet listen?
Daughters seldom do
She said, daddy I love him
I love him yes I do
I love him yes I do
I do
I do
Romeo
Wherefore art thou
Romeo
Anybody
Seen my beau
Did you see where
Did he go?
Oh Romeo
We could continue
But we think you get the gist
This love is doomed
And won't be missed
Watch them close
See them all rant and rave
See how love
Causes everyone to misbehave
One last word
It's all a metaphor
About the power of love
To demolish or endure
Romeo loved Juliet
And everybody ends up
Really upset
Romeo
Wherefore art thou
Romeo
Anybody
Seen my beau
Did you see where
Did he go?
Oh Romeo
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4. |
Fugue
00:49
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5. |
The River
03:37
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The River
Here's a story my mother told me
Alright, I must have read it somewhere
About the day the you know, what's hs name died
That guy with the bright red hair
Shot so many times by his own men
That his vision began to blur
Still he turned to his wife one last time
And this is what he said to her
Let us cross over the river
And rest 'neath the shade of the trees
Light will fill our pounding heads
We'll finally feel at ease
Roosters will crow after we get up
We'll always find our keys
When we cross over the river
And rest 'neath the shade of the trees
Was that river the Rappahannock?
Or the Jordan? Or the Styx?
Will we gather there come summer time
With our children and our party mix?
Will that river wash our sins away
As it flows on, in our dreams?
Will we cross in glory? Will we cross in shame?
Or will we never cross that stream?
Chorus
What of those who cross before us
And leave us, choked with grief?
The empty holes where lives once stood
Like an eight-year-olds teeth
We will float across to great them
In a boat of flowers and lace
Grasp their hands and pull on home
As if we never left this place
Chorus
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6. |
Better
00:59
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7. |
The Song of the Swamp
04:00
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The Song of the Swamp
The sun sets on the swampland
All the trees are hanging low
Lots of moss grows in our swampland
It's hard to stub your toe
There lives a lone Skunk Cabbage
Who cries softly in her sleep
She says, I need someone to love me
Before this mud gets too deep
The sun rises on the swampland
The Cabbage hides from a brand new day
But a letter arrives in the swampland
You can tell it's from far away
It says, Don't you fear my lone Skunk Cabbage
You've a friend across the seas
And I'm coming for to see you
By the way, I'm Chinese
(Requisite pentatonic solo)
So there came this Chinese Cabbage
From his swamp across the seas
They were surprised on his arrival
At their genetic similarities
The sun smiles on the swampland
And all the Skunk Cabbages below
They're so happy down in the swampland
Where the muddy rivers flow
There's a moral to this story
Being lonely is not much fun
And you may find someone to love you
Down in the swamp, hiding from the sun
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8. |
The Negative
02:01
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9. |
The Promise
03:59
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The Promise
We promised as we got older
We'd grow older gracefully
Like the cranes in the rice patties
As the moon sets over the sea
We thought we could be different
Not making the same mistakes
But a wind kept blowing in the windows
Giving our little house the shakes
So hold me close and tell me one more lie
Tell me in the morning it'll be alright
Tell me it doesn't matter
And tell me I don't care
And tell me once again how we got here
We promised when we were younger
We'd be all that we could be
Like Penelope waiting for Ulysses
As he sailed off over the sea
We thought we'd make a difference
We thought we'd win the race
But a wind kept slipping in the windows
Blowing dreams all over the place
So hold me close and tell me one more lie
Tell me in the morning it'll be alright
Tell me it doesn't matter
And tell me I don't care
And tell me once again the way out of here
There's a fire in my stomach
Burning out of control
It's spreading into the living room
Now our life's got a hole
We promised when we were married
We'd ease each others pain
In sickness and in sorrow
In sunshine and in rain
But there's darkness that hides in the distance
You never see the train
You just hear the whistle in the night sky asking,
Would you do it all again?
So hold me close and tell me I won't die
Tell me in the morning it will be light
Tell me it'll get better
Tell me it will get clear
And tell me once again how'd we get here
Tell me it doesn't matter
And tell me I don't care
And tell me once again how'd we get here
And tell me once again the way out of here
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10. |
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I met her when I was bowlin'
She was rollin' a high game
With her shoes red and green
And a blouse that said "Jean"
She was heftin' a Brunswick
Wearin' shiny red lipstick
Though her form was a dream
She was not what she seemed
Natasha Nijinsky Anastasia Stravinsky
My Latvian lover
My Muscovite miss
We fell in love in an alley
By the Red River Valley
And she bowled my heart over
With one borscht-soaked kiss
She'd slipped through the curtain
And her heart it was hurtin'
For her sweet Georgia home
Where the musk-oxen roam
She'd left in a hurry
A political flurry
Ensued from her yen
To be bowlin' Ten Pin
Natasha Nijinsky Anastasia Stravinsky
My stout Kremlin cutie
My sweet Georgia girl
To the lanes she brought latkas
We drank Lone Stars and vodkas
I took to courtin'
My Caspian pearl
Bridge-
Perestroika struck
And I was out of luck
Natasha grew restless
For he communist clan
She returned with a mission
To improve their condition
Built a new Bowl-A-Rama
On an old five-year plan
So dasvidaniya my little doggie,
Dream of home fries and hoagies
And remember me when
You strike out again
I dream of my romance
With my angel from Murmansk
Though her accent was thick
She was great with Bisquick
Natasha Nijinsky Anastasia Stravinsky
My Latvian lover
My Muscovite miss
We fell in love in an alley
By the Red River Valley
But all I've left is the memory
Of her borscht-soaked kiss.
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11. |
The Photograph
03:43
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12. |
And We're Gone
03:07
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Michael Bass Maryland
Like Waldo, PD Pop has been hiding in plain sight for the last 45 years. With the help of Michael Bass, he comes out of the basement and on to Bandcamp, skipping several generations of recording technology in the process.
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