Greatest Hits Volume I

Some folks like to get away, take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a flight to miami beach or hollywood.
I'm taking a greyhound on the hudson river line-
I'm in a new york state of mind.

I seen all the movie stars in their fancy cars and their limousines,
Been high in the rockies under the evergreens,
But i know what i'm needing and i don't want to waste more time-
I'm in a new york state of mind.

It was so easy living day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and the blues,
But now i need a little give and take,
The new york times, the daily news...

It comes down to reality-and it's fine with me 'cause i've let it slide,
Don't care if it's chinatown or riverside,
I don't have any reasons, i've left them all behind-
I'm in a new york state of mind.

Repeat 3rd verse

I'm just taking a greyhound on the hudson river line-
'cause i'm in a new york state of mind.

Bobby's driving through the city tonight-
Through the lights-
In a hot new rent-a-car.
He joins the lover in his heavy machine-
It's a scene down on sunset boulevard.

Chorus
Say goodbye to hollywood
Say goodbye my baby.
Say goodbye to hollywood,
Say goodbye my baby.

Johnny's taking care of things for awhile-
And his style is so right for troubadors.
They got him sitting with his back to the door
Now he won't be my fast gun anymore.

Chorus

Moving on is a chance that you take every time you try to stay together.
Say a word out of line and you find that the friends you had are gone-
Forever...forever.
So many faces in and out of my life,
Some will last, some will just be now and then.
Life is a series of hellos and good-byes-
I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.

Chorus

Repeat 3rd verse

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 love
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

Chorus
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

And she'll 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

Chorus

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

only the good die young

Come out virginia, don't let me wait
You catholic girls start much too late
Aw but sooner or later it comes down to fate
I might as well be the one

They showed you a statue, told you to pray
They built you a temple and locked you away
But they never told you the price that you pay
For things that you might have done.....
Only the good die young
Thats what i said
Only the good die young x2

You might have heard i run with a dangerous crowd
We ain't too pretty we ain't too proud
We might be laughing a bit too loud
Aw but that never hurt no one

Come on virginia show me a sign
Send up a signal i'll throw you the line
The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind
Never lets in the sun
Darlin' only the good die young
(woah x5 )
I tell ya
Only the good die young x2

You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation
You got a brand new soul
Mmmm, and a cross of gold
But virginia they didn't give you quite enough information
You didn't count on me
When you were counting on your rosary
(oh woah woah)

They say there's a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it's better but i say it ain't
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
The sinners are much more fun...

You know that only the good die young
Oh woah baby
I tell ya
Only the good die young, x2

(just music here, saxaphone?)

You say your mother told you all that i could give you was a reputation
Aww she never cared for me
But did she ever say a prayer for me? oh woah woah

Come out come out virgina dont let me wait,
The catholic girls start much too late
Sooner or later it comes down to fate
I might as well be the one,
U know that only the good die young

Im telling u baby
Only the good die young x2
Only the gooooooooooooooood
Only the good die young
Only the gooooooooooooooood
Only the good die young
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooo oooooooooo...

It's nine o'clock on a saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin

He says, "son, can you play me a memory?
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and i knew it complete
When i wore a younger man's clothes"

La la la, de de da
La la, de de da da da

Chorus:
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright

Now john at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
He says, "bill, i believe this is killing me."
As the smile ran away from his face
"well i'm sure that i could be a movie star
If i could get out of this place"

Oh, la la la, de de da
La la, de de da da da

Now paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with davy who's still in the navy
And probably will be for life

And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone

Chorus

It's a pretty good crowd for a saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "man, what are you doin' here?"

Oh, la la la, de de da
La la, de de da da da

Chorus

A bottle of white, a bottle of red
Perhaps a bottle of rose instead
We'll get a table near the street
In our old familiar place
You and i - face to face

A bottle of red, a bottle of white
It all depends on your appetite
I'll meet you any time you want
In our italian restaurant.

Things are okay with me these days
Got a good job, got a good office
Got a new wife, got a new life
And the family's fine
We lost touch long ago
You lost weight i did not know
You could ever look so good after so much time.

I remember those days hanging out at the village green
Engineer boots, leather jackets and tight blue jeans
Drop a dime in the box play the song about new orleans
Cold beer, hot lights
My sweet romantic teenage nights

Brenda and eddie were the popular steadies
And the king and the queen of the prom
Riding around with the car top down and the radio on
Nobody looked any finer
Or was more of a hit at the parkway diner
We never knew we could want more than that out of life
Surely brenda and eddie would always know how to survive.

Brenda and eddy were still going steady in the summer of '75
When they decided the marriage would be at the end of july
Everyone said they were crazy
"brenda you know you're much too lazy
Eddie could never afford to live that kind of life."
But there we were wavin' brenda and eddie goodbye.

They got an apartment with deep pile carpet
And a couple of paintings from sears
A big waterbed that they bought with the bread
They had saved for a couple of years
They started to fight when the money got tight
And they just didn't count on the tears.

They lived for a while in a very nice style
But it's always the same in the end
They got a divorce as a matter of course
And they parted the closest of friends
Then the king and the queen went back to the green
But you can never go back there again.

Brenda and eddie had had it already by the summer of '75
From the high to the low to the end of the show
For the rest of their lives
They couldn't go back to the greasers
The best they could do was pick up the pieces
We always knew they would both find a way to get by
That's all i heard about brenda and eddie
Can't tell you more than i told you already
And here we are wavin' brenda and eddie goodbye.

A bottle of red, a bottle of white
Whatever kind of mood you're in tonight
I'll meet you anytime you want
In our italian restaurant.