JANIS JOPLIN: “Ball and Chain”

“Ball and Chain” by Janis Joplin

Sittin’ down by my window,
Honey, lookin’ out at the rain.
Oh, Lord, Lord, sittin’ down by my window,
Baby, lookin’ out at the rain.
Somethin’ came along, grabbed a hold of me, honey,
And it felt just like a ball and chain.
Honey, that’s exactly what it felt like,
Honey, just dragging me down.

And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now hon’, tell me why,
Why does every single little tiny thing I hold on to go wrong ?
Yeah it goes wrong, yeah.
And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now babe, tell me why,
Does every thing, every thing.
Hey, here you gone today, I wanted to love you,
I just wanted to hold you, I said, for so long,
Yeah! Alright! Hey!

Love’s got a hold on me, baby,
Feels like a ball and chain.
Now, love’s just draggin’ me down, baby,
Feels like a ball and chain.
I hope there’s someone out there who could tell me
Why the man I love wanna leave me in so much pain.
Yeah, maybe, maybe you could help me, come on, help me!

And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now hon’, tell me why,
Now tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me why, yeah.
And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, when I ask you,
When I need to know why, c’mon tell me why, hey hey hey,
Here you’ve gone today,
I wanted to love you and hold you
Till the day I die.
I said whoa, whoa, whoa!!

And I say oh, whoa, whoa, no honey
It ain’t fair, daddy it ain’t fair what you do,
I see what you’re doin’ to me and you know it ain’t fair.
And I say oh, whoa whoa now baby
It ain’t fair, now, now, now, what you do
I said hon’ it ain’t fair what, hon’ it ain’t fair what you do.
Oh, here you gone today and all I ever wanted to do
Was to love you
Honey you can still hear me rock and roll the best,
Only it ain’t roll, no, no, no, no, no.

Sittin’ down by my window,
Lookin’ out at the rain.
Lord, Lord, Lord, sittin’ down by my window,
Lookin’ out at the rain, see the rain.
Somethin’ came along, grabbed a hold of me,
And it felt like a ball and chain.
Oh this can’t be in vain
And I’m gonna tell you one more time, yeah, yeah!

And I say oh, whoa whoa, now baby
This can’t be, no this can’t be in vain,
And I say no no no no no no no no, whoa,
And I say whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Now now now now now now now now now no no not in vain
Hey, hope there is someone that could tell me
Hon’, tell me why love is like
Just like a ball
Just like a ball
Baaaaaaalllll
Oh daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy
And a chain.
Yeah.

DREAM THEATER: “Take Away My Pain”

 ”Take Away My Pain” by John Petrucci (dedicated to John E. Petrucci)

I was sitting on the edge of his bed
Staring at the headlines on the paper
He said, “look at poor Gene Kelly
I guess he won’t be singing in the rain.”
You can take away my heroes
Can you take away my pain

Take away my pain
Leave the cold outside
Please don’t let it rain
Don’t stumble on my pride
Take away my pain
I’m not frightened any more
Just stay with me tonight
I’m tired of this fight
Soon I’ll be knocking at your door

She was standing by the edge of his bed
Staring at the message on their faces
He said, “what else can you do babe?
I guess I won’t be coming home again.”
They just took away all my promises
Make them take away my pain

Take away my pain
Leave the cold outside
Please don’t let it rain
Don’t stumble on my pride
Take away my pain
I’m not frightened any more
Just stay with me tonight
I’m tired of this fight
Soon I’ll be knocking at your door

His final scene
The actor bows
And all those years
Are gone somehow
The crowd applauds
The curtain falls

I was standing by the edge of the water
I noticed my reflection in the waves
Then I saw you looking back at me
And I knew that for a moment
You were calling out my name
You took away my hero
Will you take away my pain

Take away my pain
Let the cold inside
It’s time to let it rain
There’s nothing left to hide
Take away my pain
I’m not frightened any more
I’m learning to survive
Without you in my life
Til you come knocking at my door…

DEPECHE MODE: “But Not Tonight”

 ”But Not Tonight” by Depeche Mode

Oh God it’s raining
But I’m not complaining
It’s filling me up with new life
The stars in the sky
Bring tears to my eyes
They’re lighting my way tonight

And I haven’t felt so alive
In years

Just for a day
On a day like today
I’ll get away from this constant debauchery
The wind in my hair
Makes me so aware
How good it is to live tonight

And I haven’t felt so alive
In years

The moon
Is shining in the sky
Reminding me
Of so many other nights
But they’re not like tonight

Oh God it’s raining
And I’m not containing
My pleasure at being so wet
Here on my own
All on my own
How good it feels to be alone tonight

And I haven’t felt so alive
In years

The moon
Is shining in the sky
Reminding me
Of so many other nights
When my eyes had been so red
I’d been mistaken for dead
But not tonight

PATSY KLINE: “She’s Got You”

“She’s Got You” by Patsy Kline

I’ve got your picture that you gave to me
And it’s signed “with love,” just like it used to be
The only thing different, the only thing new
I’ve got your picture, she’s got you

I’ve got the records that we used to share
And they still sound the same as when you were here
The only thing different, the only thing new,
I’ve got the records, she’s got you

I’ve got your memory, or has it got me?
I really don’t know, but I know it won’t let me be

I’ve got your class ring; that proved you cared
And it still looks the same as when you gave it dear
The only thing different, the only thing new
I’ve got these little things, she’s got you

Liquid Energy

When I woke up this morning, something felt different.  Like electricity in the air.  Liquid energy.  It’s a rainy day, but I’m not dampened.  I keep feeling a prickly chill running up my right leg… a good chill… like when something feels pleasurable (i.e. a massage, a light touch on the back of the neck, or stepping into a hot tub on a winter evening.)  Deep within my kishkes, I know it’s a sign.  What could it be?

I’m trying to remember the last time I felt this — and what became of it… but it’s been a wild year… so many changes… and it’s still coming.  This has been a year of deep lows and lofty highs — what’s next?! 

MOODY BLUES: “The Story In Your Eyes”

 ”The Story In Your Eyes” by The Moody Blues

I’ve been thinking about our fortune
And I’ve decided that we’re really not to blame
For the love thats deep inside us now
Is still the same

And the sounds we make together
Is the music to the story in your eyes
It’s been shining down upon me now
I realize

Listen to the tide slowly turning
Wash all our heartaches away
We’re part of the fire that is burning
And from the ashes we can build another day

But I’m frightened for your children
That the life that we are living is in vain
And the sunshine we’ve been waiting for
Will turn to rain

Listen to the tide slowly turning
Wash all our heartaches away
Were part of the fire that is burning
And from the ashes we can build another day

But I’m frightened for the children
That the life that we are living is in vain
And the sunshine weve been waiting for
Will turn to rain

When the final line is over
It’s certain that the curtain’s gonna fall
I can hide inside your sweet sweet love
For ever more

SIMON & GARFUNKEL: “America”

“America” by Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel

“Let us be lovers, we’ll marry our fortunes together
I’ve got some real estate here in my bag”
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies
And walked off to look for America

“Kathy,” I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
“Michigan seems like a dream to me now”
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I’ve come to look for America

Laughing on the bus
Playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said “Be careful, his bowtie is really a camera”

“Toss me a cigarette, I think there’s one in my raincoat”
“We smoked the last one an hour ago”
So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field

“Kathy, I’m lost,” I said, though I knew she was sleeping
“I’m empty and I’m aching and I don’t know why”
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They’ve all come to look for America
All come to look for America

Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They’ve all come to look for America
All come to look for America
All come to look for America

AMERICA: “Sister Golden Hair”

“Sister Golden Hair” by AMERICA (Gerry Beckley)

Well I tried to make it Sunday, but I got so damn depressed
That I set my sights on Monday and I got myself undressed
I ain’t ready for the altar but I do agree there’s times
When a woman sure can be a friend of mine

Well, I keep on thinkin’ ’bout you, Sister Golden Hair surprise
And I just can’t live without you; can’t you see it in my eyes?
I been one poor correspondent, and I been too, too hard to find
But it doesn’t mean you ain’t been on my mind

Will you meet me in the middle, will you meet me in the air?
Will you love me just a little, just enough to show you care?
Well I tried to fake it, I don’t mind sayin’, I just can’t make it

Well, I keep on thinkin’ ’bout you, Sister Golden Hair surprise
And I just can’t live without you; can’t you see it in my eyes?
Now I been one poor correspondent, and I been too, too hard to find
But it doesn’t mean you ain’t been on my mind

Will you meet me in the middle, will you meet me in the air?
Will you love me just a little, just enough to show you care?
Well I tried to fake it, I don’t mind sayin’, I just can’t make it

JAMES SEALS: “We May Never Pass This Way Again”

“We May Never Pass This Way Again” by James Seals of Seals & Crofts

Life, so they say, is but a game and we let it slip away.
Love, like the Autumn sun, should be dyin’ but it’s only just begun.
Like the twilight in the road up ahead, they don’t see just where we’re goin’.
And all the secrets in the Universe, whisper in our ears
And all the years will come and go, take us up, always up.
We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again.

Dreams, so they say, are for the fools and they let ‘em drift away.
Peace, like the silent dove, should be flyin’ but it’s only just begun.
Like Columbus in the olden days, we must gather all our courage.
Sail our ships out on the open sea. Cast away our fears
And all the years will come and go, and take us up, always up.
We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again.

So, I wanna laugh while the laughin’ is easy. I wanna cry if it makes it worthwhile.
We may never pass this way again, that’s why I want it with you.
‘Cause, you make me feel like I’m more than a friend.
Like I’m the journey and you’re the journey’s end.
We may never pass this way again, that’s why I want it with you, baby.

We may never pass this way again. We may never pass this way again.
We may never pass this way again. We may never pass this way again.

GRACE SLICK: “White Rabbit”

“White Rabbit” by GRACE SLICK

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small,
And the ones that mother gives you
Don’t do anything at all.
Go ask Alice
When she’s ten feet tall.

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you’re going to fall,
Tell ‘em a hookah smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call.
Call Alice
When she was just small.

When the men on the chessboard
Get up and tell you where to go
And you’ve just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving low.
Go ask Alice
I think she’ll know.

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead,
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen’s “off with her head!”
Remember what the dormouse said:
“Feed your head”
“Feed your head”