Dance Band On the Titanic/Living Room Suite

We got married early
And just a little bit late
Baby came too early
But some things just can't wait
We were just beginning
But it was very clear
We grew up a little bit that year

I caught on as a meter man
You were caught at home
When I started night school
You ended up alone
But you had another baby
While I had my career
And we grew up a little bit
We grew up a little bit
We grew up a little bit that year

They put me in a office job
A young man on the move
We bought a house in Shaker Heights
You supervised the move
We were cashing checks, you were changing children
While I played engineer
And we were growing ever faster
Every year

I got bored of kilowatts
You were tired of kids
I started staying out at night
And soon that's what you did
At parties we'd go separately
You'd wiggle and I'd leer
And we were growing faster
We were growing ever faster
We were growing ever faster every year

You learned to live in silence
I learned to live in lies
And we both igored the empty spaces
Growing in our eyes
Your breath became a gin and tonic
Mine became a beer
And we grew up a little more last year

Today at work they passed me by
And promoted John instead
I came home to find you'd wrecked the car
I guess I lost my head
Well, I can't believe I hit you
But the rage came on so strong
Ah, where did we go wrong?

As you sit there crying
I wonder who you are
The partner-stranger-friend and foe
Who's come with me this far
We stand here in the ashes
And I guess it is quite clear
We did not really grow too much
Each year

So you say we're going nowhere
Well I know that's where we've been
Still I can't help wondering
Can we begin again?
I feel so full of questions
Curiosity and fear
But could we grow a little bit
Could we grow a little bit
Can we grow a little bit this year?

Oh God they got you gun shy
You know your skin's as cold as ice
Your eyes are double filtered babe
You're so afraid to be nice
There's no way you're ready
To let your defenses down
Though I won't come on heavy
There is a lesson that I've found

If you try to look
But you don't touch
Then you won't touch
But you'll never feel
And if you don't feel
You'll never cry
And if you don't cry
Then you'll never heal

There are lessons to life
That the lovers got to learn
There are corners out there
You know they're waitin' somewhere
And you've got to be prepared to turn
There are callouses that come
That the lovers got to earn
In the years of your youth
You can't be fire proof
You know you've got to get burned

Can't you feel excitement
Feel it welling up inside
What makes you think emotion
Is something that you hide
Yes I might take advantage
But I'll be gentle if I do
And I'll be here in the morning
Still lookin' at you

It was when I rode off in my daydreams
Chasing that vision of light
It was then I got caught in the jet stream
And I dropped through a hole in the night
And I knew it's not you that I run from
I saw each of us living alone
And I prayed that you still could be waiting
That's when I started for home

Oh my Jenny
Oh my Jenny
Oh my Jenny my love
Oh my Jenny
Oh my Jenny
You are my rainbow above

I have seen a great city in the darkness
Dream lady dressed in cold concrete
I've seen the City of Angles
With the names of its dead in the street
And for once I could see it all your way
And for once I knew I was all wrong
And I thought of you there in my door way
And I knew I've been travelin' too long

Oh my Jenny
Oh my Jenny
Oh my Jenny my love
Oh my Jenny
Oh my Jenny
You are my rainbow above

As I crossed to the heart of the country
I was lost in a forest of signs
And I laughed 'cause life gets so funny
Here I was wasted from wastin' my time
So now shine down your sun on my shadow
Without you I don't mean a thing
And I gather me one golden morning, babe
'Cause it's your song that I need to sing

Oh my Jenny
Oh my Jenny
Oh my Jenny my love
Oh my Jenny
Oh my Jenny
You are my rainbow above

You were chasing him down Braodway on that white-hot July,
'Cause he thought he'd got a message from some holy man on high.
He said his chance had finally come; he'd done it on his own,
He had to leave his past behind; the first thing that had to go--was home.

You put him in an aeroplane and packed your life and clothes,
You learned all the lessons that the suitcase lady knows.
He said, "Something still drags me back from where I'm heading to,"
You didn't really understand, 'til the next thing that had to go--was you.

Some things are sacrificed and some things remain,
Some things bring pleasure and some things bring pain.
Some things must pass away, and some things are regained,
When the whole world is changing, why should people stay the same?

You saw his picture in the paper, that disarming boyish smile,
You sometimes had to swallow hard as you saw him on the dial.
You heard him on a talk show, he was hearing no one else,
Then suddenly you knew too well, the last thing he'd left behind--was himself.

Some things are sacrificed and some things remain,
Some things bring pleasure and some things bring pain.
Some things must pass away, and some things are regained,
When the whole world is changing, why should people stay the same?

So you pulled yourself together, friends and family said you should,
You discovered you were doing things you never knew you could.
And someday when he calls you, which you know of course he'll do,
You'll just send him away again, 'cause the last thing you finally
found--was you.

You're a livin' walkin' dream
You're the best I've ever seen,
Oh God I wanted you.
I've often dreamed what I would do,

If I could give myself to you,
Oh God I wanted to.
But up 'til now you've not been free to be
Foolin' around with the likes of me.

But it's changed now, though it's strange how,
He's the one that arranged it now.
But he's a poor damned fool
'Cause he went and let you go now.

Just a poor damned fool.
He never will know now.
Maybe someday he'll be sad.
I say that that's too bad,

He never knew how much he had.
I'm glad I got you now.
Yes I've had my ups and downs
As I've been ramblin' around

And I'll be candid.
I could not believe my eyes
When I finally realized
Just what that man did.

Yes I've heard 'bout finders keepers
And how losers are the weepers, it's OK,
I know it's my lucky day
Still I just got to say...

That he's a poor damned fool
'Cause he went and let you go now.
Just a poor damned fool.
He never will know now.

Maybe someday he'll be sad.
I say that that's too bad,
He never knew how much he had.
I'm glad I got you now.

Oh how I'd love to hear you say
You're glad that it worked out this way
And you'll forget about yesterday
'Cause you feel so good.

It's worked out real good.
You make me feel so good.
I've been tryin' to find a way to cope
With grasping straws And fallen hopes.

But he's made a way
And now his misfortune is my gain.
Though for now it gives you pain
It'll fade away

And you'll find that as the years roll by
The memories of the time you cried
Will be laid away
Yes, they'll fade away

And you'll forget that poor damned fool
'Cause he went and let you go now.
Just a poor damned fool.
He never will know now.

Maybe someday he'll be sad.
I say that that's too bad
He never knew how much he had.
I'm glad I got you now.

He was a poor damn fool.

There's a kid out on my corner, hear him strumming like a fool
Shivering in his dungerees, but still he's going to school
His cheeks are made of peach fuzz -- his hopes may be the same
But he's signed up as a soldier out to play the music game

There are fake patches on his jacket -- he's used bleach to fade his jeans
With a brand new stay pressed shirt -- and some creased and wrinkled dreams
His face a blemish garden -- but his eyes are virgin clear
His voice is Chicken Little's -- But he's hearing Paul Revere

When he catches himself giggling -- he forces up a sneer
Though he'd rather have a milk shake -- he keeps forcing down the beer
Just another folkie -- late in coming down the pike
Riding his guitar -- he left Kid brother with his bike

And he's got Guthrie running in his bones
He's the hobo kid who's left his home
And his Beatles records and the Rolling Stones
This boy is staying acoustic

There's Seeger singing in his heart
He hopes his songs will somehow start
To heal the cracks that split apart
America gone plastic

And now there's Dylan dripping from his mouth
He's hitching himself way down south
To learn a little black and blues
From old street men who paid their dues

'Cause they knew they had nothing to lose
They knew it
So they just got to it
With cracked old Gibsons and red clay shoes

Playing 1-4-5 chords like good news
And cursed with skin that calls for blood
They put their face and feet in mud
But oh they learned the music from way down there

The real ones learn it somewhere
Strum your guitar -- sing it kid
Just write about your feelings -- not the things you never did
Inexperience -- it once had cursed me

But your youth is no handicap -- it's what makes you thirsty
Hey, kid you know you can hear your footsteps as you're kicking up the dust
And the rustling in the shadows tells you secrets you can trust
The capturing of whispers is the way to write a song

It's when you get to microphones the music can go wrong
You can't see the audience with spotlights in your eyes
Your feet can't feel the highway from where the Lear jet flies
When you glide in silent splendor in your padded limousines

Only you are crying there behind the silver screen
Now you battle dragons -- but they'll all turn into frogs
When you grab the wheel of fortune -- you get caught up in the cogs
First your art turns into craft -- then the yahoos start to laugh

Then you'll hear the jackals howl 'cause they love to watch the fall
They're the lost ones out there feeding on the wounded and the bleeding
They always are the first to see the cracks upon the walls
When I started this song I was still thirty-three

The age that Mozart died and sweet Jesus was set free
Keats and Shelley too soon finished, Charley Parker would be
And I fantasized some tragedy'd be soon curtailing me
Well just today I had my birthday -- I made it thirty-four

Mere mortal, not immortal, not star-crossed anymore
I've got this problem with my aging I no longer can ignore
A tame and toothless tabby can't produce a lion's roar
And I can't help being frightened on these midnight afternoons

When I ask the loaded questions -- Why does winter come so soon?
And where are all the golden girls that I was singing for
The daybreak chorus of my dreams serenades no more
Yeah the minute man is going soft -- the mirror's on the shelf

Only when the truth's up there -- can you fool yourself
I am the aged jester -- who won't gracefully retire
A clumsy clown without a net caught staggering on the high wire
Yesterday's a collar that has settled round my waist

Today keeps slipping by me, it leaves no aftertaste
Tomorrow is a daydream, the future's never true
Am I just a fading fire or a breeze passing through?
Hello my Country

I once came to tell everyone your story
Your passion was my poetry
And your past my most potent glory
Your promise was my prayer

Your hypocrisy my nightmare
And your problems fill my present
Are we both going somewhere?
Step right up young lady -- Your two hundred birthdays make you old if not

Senile
And we see the symptoms there in your rigor mortis smile
With your old folks eating dog food and your children eating paint
While the pirates own the flag and sell us sermons on restraint

And while blood's the only language that your deaf old ears can hear
And still you will not answer with that message coming clear
Does it mean there's no more ripples in your tired old glory stream
And the buzzards own the carcass of your dream?

B*U*Y Centennial
Sell 'em pre-canned laughter
American Perennial
Sing happy ever after

There's a Dance Band on the Titanic
Singing Nearer My God to Thee
And the iceberg's on the starboard bow
Won't you dance with me

Yes I read it in the New York Times
That was on the stands today
It said that dreams were out of fashion
We'll hear no more empty promises

There'll be no more wasted passions
To clutter up our play
It really was a good sign
The words went on to say

It shows that we are growing up
In oh so many healthy ways
And I told myself this is
Exactly where I'm at

But I don't much like thinking about that
Harry -- are you really so naive
You can honestly believe
That the country's getting better

When all you do is let her alone
Harry -- Can you really be surprised
When it's there before your eyes
When you hold the knife that carves her

You live the life that starves her to the bone
Good dreams don't come cheap
You've got to pay for them
If you just dream when you're asleep

There is no way for them
To come alive
To survive
It's not enough to listen -- it's not enough to see

When the hurricane is coming on it's not enough to flee
It's not enough to be in love -- we hide behind that word
It's not enough to be alive when your future's been deferred
What I've run through my body, what I've run through my mind

My breath's the only rhythm -- and the tempo is my time
My enemy is hopelessness -- my ally honest doubt
The answer is a question that I never will find out
Is music propaganda -- should I boogie, Rock and Roll

Or just an early warning system hitched up to my soul
Am I observer or participant or huckster of belief
Making too much of a life so mercifully brief?
So I stride down sunny streets and the band plays back my song

They're applauding at my shadow long after I am gone
Should I hold this wistful notion that the journey is worthwhile
Or tiptoe cross the chasm with a song and a smile
Well I got up this morning -- I don't need to know no more

It evaporated nightmares that had boiled the night before
With every new day's dawning my kid climbs in my bed
And tells the cynics of the board room your language is dead
And as I wander with my music through the jungles of despair

My kid will learn guitar and find his street corner somewhere
There he'll make the silence listen to the dream behind the voice
And show his minstrel Hamlet daddy that there only was one choice
Strum your guitar -- sing it kid

Just write about your feelings -- not the things you never did
Inexperience -- it once had cursed me
But your youth is no handicap -- it's what makes you thirsty, hey kid
Strum your guitar -- sing it kid

Just write about your feelings -- not the things you never did
Dance Band...

It's a slow motion night
In the hot city lights
Past time when the good folks
Are snoring in bed

On a loose-jointed cruise
To recolor your blues
With illegal notions alive,
Alive in your head

You are back from some war
That you've been fighting for
Some old blue blood bastard
In a dark pinstripe suit

and the word from your loins
Has your mind in your groin
And your back pocket burning with blood
Blood money loot

So, you walk past the glow
Of the flicker-picture shows
Where the raincoat men wait
For a child to come by

And the women in doorways
Who have nothing to say
'Cause your money is talking
To the ones that you would try

She owns the block
With the dead pawnshop clock
She's the answer to dreams
That you pay to come true

She's got no heart of gold
But that's not what she's sold
She just sees herself doing what she
What she has to do

And she's all that you're hoping
As her coat falls open
Give her bread she leads you
To a bed on the floor

Where for ten million years
And through ten billion tears
The armies of bootmen have marched
Back from their wars

She's in that state of grace
Before time finds her face
With a mind of old wisdoms
And a body still young

And she tastes as sweet
As a child's chocolate
Before the butts and the whiskey
Had wasted the taste of your tongue

Play the music again
Of the grey-stubble men
That groaning blue symphony
Moans evermore

And you watch as she fakes it
And of course you just take it
She's better than others
You never paid money for

You've used up your booty
The girl's done her duty
The turnstile has turned
And you learn you are done

You're back on the street
Joining fresh marching feet
You see more soldiers coming
And your girl chooses one

And the medic has brought
Shots for what you have caught
Your leave is all over
You're back on the line

And the joke in the trenches
Of the hot blooded wenches
And the next thing that you'll do
When they next give you the tim.

And you're back in your army
Back shedding red blood
And you dream of the girl
As you sleep in the mud

And you know you'd swap with her
If the deal could be made
'Cause you'd rather be working at love
Love as your trade