1. |
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Teach me to dance, honey
After the dishes are done
I know the day’s been long and you’re feeling raw
Dust off my old brimmed hat
I’ve been saving up nickels and my dimes
I am feeling fine won’t you come along?
We’ll do the second street waltz
And shake it down all night long
Let’s go center city, put our feet to the floor
Buy a bottle and a bed for the night
I ain’t got too much time I aim to spend it right
Empty your glass to hear the ghosts run the walls
Of the Divine Loraine Hotel
I’ve got a dollar and change for the midnight El
We’ll do the second street waltz
And the third street rag as well
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2. |
Lake Erie Come Home
04:20
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Down the coastline the light is fading
In the smokestack glow
Railway yards, all the train cars waiting
Everybody, move slow
Power lines are swinging like gallows
Every blackbird's a king
Someone drowned down there in the shallows
And the water did sing
Carry me in your pale green eyes
You were always the one
That's your voice on the seagull's cry
That's your name on my tongue
I saw taillights way down in the canyon
And good lord did I fly
Wait for me, my darling companion
And the water did sigh
The hotel burned in the middle of the night
A keyhole of light on the water
And I lost my way in the snow
He said, “There's no such thing as a holy place”
And swept up the ash from the altar
And it feels like that was so long ago
Lake Erie, come home
Left my car by the side of the freeway
Watched the storm clouds turn
Lake Ontario has gone to the seaway
May she never return
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3. |
Christmas Eve
04:12
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Annie you lost your keys
And you’re lost on me
So I will drive you home tonight
And all them blinking lights
They look like tired eyes
Annie, it’s freezing put your hands back inside
And I don’t drink no more
And I’ll tell you what for
The wine gets me so damn down
Down to the banks where the rusted ships
And bent-back watchmen softly drift
Check their watch times twice
Let that nightmare come
And bless us everyone
See that new mother stand
Sweet baby in her hand
Snow on the shoulders of all the other men
But I can’t wake them up
No I can’t make them talk
Though sometimes I wished I can
Down to the banks where the rusted ships
And bent-back watchmen softly drift
Check their watch times twice
Let that nightmare come
And bless us everyone
And hear that fire whistle whine, whine
Howl through the nighttime
Shaking through that old grapevine
And hear that neighbor dog
He’s talking back and forth
Echoing the ambulances long, lonesome call
Down to the banks where the rusted ships
And bent-back watchmen softly drift
Check their watch times twice
Let that nightmare come
And bless us everyone
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4. |
Harbor Song
03:10
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All the boats are rocking in the harbor
And I'm lying wide awake
Every night I feel a little farther
Farther away
Rain will come, knock the leaves off all the maples
Howl on the old Great Lakes
Play your song, clear off the table
Fold yourself away
While I'm drowning in the waves
All the boats are rocking in the harbor
And I'm lying wide awake
Every night I feel a little farther
Farther away
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5. |
Seven Lights
02:33
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Seven lights lay cross the water
Seven lights lay cross the water
I’m dreaming of brown eyes, dreaming soft and slow
Seven lights lay cross the water
Day carries night for a little while
Day carries night for a little while
And the moon feigns affection for the sun on its way down
Day carries night for a little while
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6. |
A Little More Time
05:12
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So I finally bid you farewell
And did my best impression
Of somebody who had never cared
And we were stranded in the stairwell
The doors were always locked
And I remember how we shivered there
I won't talk and you can't make me
The kid across the alley
Is always blowing on his clarinet
And I've got a dollar for the bakery
They say the end is coming
And I wonder if it's happened yet
I know, I know that I should find
Find a way to clear my mind but I
Oh how I wish that I
Could have just a little more time
I don't know how long I'll stay here
Everybody's looking thinner
And I think that I'm in trouble
And there's nothing you can say, dear
I'll have my bags packed and ready
When the bricks begin to crumble
I should forget you but I haven't
I just ran into Janey
And she asked if I'd had dinner yet
And I'm precariously balanced
I feel just like a spider
Hanging by a spinneret
I know, I know that I should find
Find a way to clear my mind but I
Oh how I wish that I
Could have just a little more time
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7. |
When It's Over
05:48
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As I recall, the dogs were singing with the moon
Inside the band was playing more or less in tune
And when it happened I was swinging to the drum
I poured myself another and just waited for the cops to come
The drawer was empty, and there were dishes on the floor
Poor old Daniel sitting stone-faced in the corner
And I'll be waiting for you
When it's over
I kissed you once on the old crooked stairs
Not quite knowing how I'd ever wound up there
Second-guessing til I'd turned myself around
After dark in a reckless part of town
You hung your dress on the balcony rail
Hail hammering down on the metal like a warning
And I'll be waiting for you
When it's over
The waves came hard on the old broken pier
And I don't know if I can take another winter here
I held my breath and I let the water win
It's just the way it is
It's just the way it is
It's just the way it is
It's just the way it is
It wasn't real, but I couldn't stop
They've been asking after you down at the shop
Where that detective, he just wiped his eyes and swore
Saying “boys there ain't no place for me around here anymore”
When I close my eyes, I hear the sound of the flood
Blood red sun spilled open on the water
And I'll be waiting for you
When it's over
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8. |
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Teach me to dance, honey
After the dishes are done
I know the day’s been long and you’re feeling raw
I’ve got two tickets to the evening show
If I tune in, set the dial right
I’ve got all I need right here tonight
We’ll do the second street waltz
And swing it three-four time
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9. |
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Lace up my boots, turn out my collar
Straighten out my trembling bones
This time tomorrow I'll have spent my last dollar
And acted like I don't know where it goes
I'm the sinking ship, I'm the bell-ringer ringing
The lovesick sailor drifting on the tide
I'm the lantern glass, I'm the old captain singing
The walleyed pike, the full moon in my eye
And if you see the lighthouse keeper
Tell her I'm looking for the light
You'll know her when you see her
She's always shining out so bright
And if you see the lighthouse keeper
Tell her I'm looking for the light
You'll know her when you see her
She's always shining out so bright
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10. |
Swallows Song
05:14
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Running through the backyard of the house we used to live
I’ve got a mirror, a photo, and the face of a kid
Away
Grown away
It’s darker here now, I can’t curse sky or time
It’s the fragile difference that keeps me terrified
Awake
Wide awake
Find where the swallows go home, boys
Find where the swallows go home, boys
I’m drifting high
On the moon
At the bottom of the ocean there are no stars that shine
Reflected like diamonds in lost sailors’ eyes
Away
Bound away
This ain’t the rain pouring down or the frost-bitten vine
But rather hope for an ending that honest and kind
Away
Gone away
Find where the swallows go home, boys
Find where the swallows go home, boys
I’m drifting high
On the moon
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11. |
The Old Great Lakes
04:04
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Salt on the sidewalk, and the money's all been made
And the last few rounds are going down slow
By now the band is barely trying
And some poor girl is crying
In the alley out among the falling snow
And the Old Great Lakes are quiet tonight
Sighing low and sweet beneath the sky
Hold me close, and tell me it's alright
Let me go when it's time to say goodbye
It's a little after midnight, and the buildings are so tall
Each one lit up like a bottle full of stars
And the city's softly snowed in
With every streetlight glowing
And we're walking in and out between the cars
And the Old Great Lakes are quiet tonight
Sighing low and sweet beneath the sky
Hold me close, and tell me it's alright
Let me go when it's time to say goodbye
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