Lyrical relay - pass the verbal baton - - -

Someone lights a cigarette
While riding in a car.
Some ol' guy takes a swig
And passes back the jar.
But where they were last night
No-one can remember -
Somebody got murdered:
Goodbye, for keeps, forever.

Somebody got murdered.
Somebody's dead forever.

And you're minding your own business,
Carrying spare change.
You wouldn't cosh a barber,
You're hungry all the same.
I been very tempted
To grab it from the till.
I been very hungry
But not enough to kill.

Somebody got murdered,
His name cannot be found.
A small stain on the pavement,
They'll scrub it off the ground.
As the daily crown disperses
No-one says that much.
Somebody got murdered
And it' left me with a touch.

Somebody got murdered.
Somebody's dead forever.
Sounds like murder!
Those shouts!
Are they drunk down below?

It's late, and my watch stopped
Some time ago.
Sounds like murder!
Those screams!
Are they drunk down below?

(The Clash)

She was a middle class girl
She was in over her head
She thought she would
Stand up in the deep end

He had a bullet proof smile
He had money to burn
She thought she had the moon
In her pocket

But now she's dead
She's so dead
Forever dead and lovely now

I've always been told to
Remember this...
Don't let a fool kiss you
Never marry for love

He was hard to impress
He knew everyone's secrets
He wore her on his arm
Just like jewelry

He never gave but he got
He kept her on a leash
He's not the kind of wheel
You fall asleep at

But now she's dead
Forever dead
Forever dead and lovely now

Come closer, look deeper
You've fallen fast
Just like a plane on a
Stormy sea

She made up someone to be
She made up somewhere to be from
This is one business in the
World where that's no
Problem at all

Everything that is left
They will only plow under
Soon every one you know
Will be gone

And now she's dead
Forever dead
Forever dead and lovely now

Now she's dead
Forever dead
Forever dead and lovely now

I've always been told to
Remember this...
Don't let a kiss fool you
Never marry for love

Everything has its price
What's more romantic
Then dying in the moonlight?

Now they're all watching the sea
What's lost can never be broken
Her roots were sweet
But they were so shallow

And now she's dead
Forever dead
Forever dead and lovely now

And now she's dead
Forever dead
And she's so dead and lovely now

Tom Waits

She left her neighborhood, in which everyone was filthy rich,
She left her parents' home and strayed with a vagabond who made
Vows of love she'd never heard, and she believed his every word.
She left no forwarding address, just took her youth and happiness
As with the boy she vanished in, the secret sweetness of their sin.

A young girl,
A young girl of sixteen
Child of springtime, still green,
Lying here by the road.

He told her love demanded space, so they roamed from place to place.
Although she realized she'd sinned, she threw caution to the wind
As she followed him around while he slowly dragged her down.
So overpowering was her love that it had made a captive of
The young girl's heart and soul and mind.
In other words, love drove her blind.

A young girl
A young girl of sixteen
Child of springtime, still green,
Lying here by the road.

Too much emotions for a girl
She let her heart become her world.
But worlds that God has never wrought
Fall asunder we are taught
Had she been wiser she would have known
She could not feed him love alone.
She should have known the day would come
When he would quit her just for crumbs.
He needed fresh new meat to carve
And left her heart, soul and mind to starve.

A young girl,
A young girl of sixteen
Child of springtime, still green,
Lying here by the road.
Dead.

(Charles Aznavour/Noel Harrison)

Instincts that can still betray us,
A journey that leads to the sun,
Soulless and bent on destruction,
A struggle between right and wrong.
You take my place in the showdown,
I'll observe witha pitiful eye,
I'll humbly ask for forgiveness,
A request well beyond you and I.

Heart and soul, one will burn.
Heart and soul, one will burn.

An abyss that laughs at creation,
A circus complete with all fools,
Foundations that lasted the ages,
Then ripped apart at their roots.
Beyond all this good is the terror,
The grip of a mercenary hand,
When savagery turns all good reason,
There's no turning back, no last stand.

Heart and soul, one will burn.
Heart and soul, one will burn.

Existence well what does it matter?
I exist on the best terms I can.
The past is now part of my future,
The present is well out of hand.
The present is well out of hand.

Heart and soul, one will burn.
Heart and soul, one will burn.
One will burn, one will burn.
Heart and soul, one will burn

Joy Division

Today as I walk through my garden of dreams I'm alone in the sweet used-to-be
My past and my present are one and the same and the future holds nothing for me
Yesterday's kisses still burning and yesterday's mem'ries still find me
Scenes from the past keep returning I've got a wonderful future behind me
You say there is happiness waiting for me but I know this is just fantasy
Let me trade my tomorrows for one yesterday live in my garden of dreams

Willie Nelson.

I went to a garden party, reminisced with my old friends
A chance to share old memories and play our songs again
When I got to the garden party they all knew my name
But no one recognized me I didn't look the same

But it's all right now
I learned my lesson well
You see you can't please ev'ryone so
You got to please yourself

People came from miles around everyone was there
Yoko brought her walrus there was magic in the air
And over in the corner much to my surprise
Mr. Hughes hid in Dylan's shoes wearing his disguise

Chorus la da da da

I played them all the old songs I thought that's why they came
No one heard the music, we didn't look the same
I said hello to Mary Lou, she belongs to me
When I sang a song about a honky-tonk, it was time to leave

Chorus la da da da

Someone opened up a closet door and out stepped Johnny B. Goode
Playing guitar like a ring an' a bell and lookin' like he should
If you gotta play at garden parties I wish you a lot a' luck
But if memories were all I sang I'd rather drive a truck

Rick Nelson (no relation)

Running my rig around ninety-five,
rockin' and rollin' in overdrive
My heart's beating like a jackhammer,
it's the midnight ride for the gear jammer

Nine long days through twenty-three states,
I gotta see my baby soon you know I just can't wait
The police catch me I'll end up in the slammer,
'cause the law don't want no gear jammer

Running my rig in a mighty high gear,
I don't care where I go just long as it ain't here
Something gets in my way you know I'm gonna ram it,
nobody fools around with this gear jammer

Running my rig about ninety-five,
I'm a-rockin' and a-rollin' in overdrive
My heart's beating like a jackhammer,
don't you get in the way of this gear jammer
G.Thorogood

It was upon a Lammas night
When the corn rigs were bonnie,
Beneath the moon's unclouded light
I held awa' to Annie.

The time flew by wi' tentless heed
'Til 'tween the late and early,
Wi' small persuasion she agreed
To see me thro' the barley.

Corn Rigs and barley rig
Corn rigs are bonn
I'll ne'eer forget that Lammas night
Amang the rigs wi' Annie.

The sky was blue, the wind was still,
The moon was shining clearly.
I set her down wi' right good will
Amang the rigs o' barley.

I kept her heart, was a' my sin.
I loved her most sincerely.
I kissed her o'er and o'er again
Amang the rigs o' barley.

I locked her in my fond embrace.
Her heart was beatin' rarely.
My blessing on that happy place
Amang the rigs o' barley.

But by the moon and stars so bright
That shone that hour so clearly,
She aye shall bless that happy night
Amang the rigs of barley

I hae been blythe wi' comrades dear
I hae been merry drinking.
I hae been joyful gath'rin' gear
I hae been happy thinking.

But a' the pleasures e'er I saw
Tho' three times doubled fairly,
That happy night was worth them a'
Amang the rigs wi' Annie.

Loads of versions. Written by Robert Burns (or at least adapted from a traditional song in a Bob Dylan-ish way).

Now it fell about the Lammas Tide
When the muirmen whin their hay
The doughty Douglas bound him ride
Into England to drive a prey
He chose the Gordons and the Grahams
The Lindsays light and gay
But the Jardines wad' not wi' him ride
And they rue it to this day
(And used to good effect in The Wicker Man!)

Now he has burned all the dales o' Tyne
And part o' Bamburghshire
Three tall towers on Reedswire fells
He left them all on fire
He marched up tae Newcastle
And raided round about
Sayin' "Wha's the Lord o' this castle
And wha's the Lady o't?"

Then up bespake proud Percy there
And oh but he spake high
"I am the Lord o' this castle
My wife's the Lady gay"
"If thou art the Lord o' this castle
Sae weel it pleases me
For e'er I cross the border fells
The ane o' us shall dee"

Then he took a lang spear in his hand
Shod wi' the metal free
For tae meet the Douglas there
He rade right furiously
But oh how pale his lady looked
Frae off the castle wall
When down before the Scottish spear
She saw proud Percy fall

Now it fell about the Lammas Tide
When the muirmen whin their hay
The doughty Douglas bound him ride
Into England to drive a prey
He chose the Gordons and the Grahams
The Lindsays light and gay
But the Jardines wad' not wi' him ride
And they rue it to this day.

Trad.

Ye Hielan's an' ye Lowlan's
O, where have ye been
They hae slain the Earl of Moray
And lain him on the green
He was a braw gallant
And he rode at the ring
An' the bonnie Earl of Moray
O, he micht hae been the king!
O, lang may his lady
Look frae the castle Doune
Ere she see the Earl of Moray
Come soundin' through the toun.

2. Now wae be to thee, Huntly
And wherefore did ye sae?
I bade you bring him wi' you
But forbade you him to slay
He was a braw gallant
And he play'd at the ball
An' the Bonnie Earl of Moray
Was a flower among them all
Lang may his lady
Look from the Castle Doune
Ere she see the Earl of Moray
Come soundin' through the toun.

3. Ye Hielan's and ye Lowlan's
O where hae ye been?
They have slain the Earl of Moray
An' laid him on the green
He was a braw gallant
And he rode at the gluve
An' the Bonnie Earl of Moray
O, he was the Queens' true love
Lang will his lady
Look frae the Castle Doune
Ere she see the Earl of Moray
Come soundin' through the toun.

Trad. (origin of 'mondegreen).

I'd drown my beliefs
To have your babies
I'll dress like your niece
And wash your swollen feet

Just don't leave
Don't leave

I'm not living
I'm just killing time
Your tiny hands
Your crazy kitten smile

Just don't leave
Don't leave

And true love waits
In haunted attics
And true love lives
On lollipops and crisps

Just don't leave
Don't leave

Radiohead

How cold your little hand is,
Let me warm it for you.
What's the use of looking?
We won't find it in the dark.
But luckily it's a moonlit night,
And the moon is near us here.

(As Mimi tries to withdraw her hand)
Wait, mademoiselle,
I will tell you in two words
Who I am, what I do, and how I live. May I?

(Mimi says nothing. Rodolfo releases her hand)

Who am I? I am a poet.
What do I do? I write.
And how do I live? I live.
In my carefree poverty
I squander rhymes and love songs like a lord.
When it comes to dreams and visions and castles in the air,
I've the soul of a millionaire.

From time to time two thieves steal all the jewels
Out of my safe, two pretty eyes.
They came in with you just now,
And my customary dreams, my lovely dreams,
Melted at once into thin air!
But the theft doesn't anger me,
For their place has been taken by hope!
Now that you know all about me,
Speak, tell me who you are.
Please do!

Puccini - sounds better in Italian.

I've watched your face for a long time
It's always the same
I've studied the cracks and the wrinkles
You were always so vain
Well, now you live your life like a shadow
In the pouring rain
Oh, it's called love
Yes, it's called love
Oh, it's called love
And it belongs to us
Oh, it dies so quickly
It grows so slowly
But when it dies, it dies for good
It's called love
And it belongs to everyone but us

I've lived my life in the valleys
I've lived my life on the hills
I've lived my life on alcohol
I've lived my life on pills
But it's called love
And it belongs to us
It's called love
And it's the only thing that's worth living for
It's called love
And it belongs to us
It's called love
Yes it's called love

Oh, love is found in the east and west
But when love is at home, it's the best
Love is the cure for every evil
Love is the air that supports the eagle
It's called love
And it's so un-cool
It's called love
And somehow it's become unmentionable
It's called love
And it belongs to every one of us
It's called love
And it cuts your life like a broken knife

Thieves like us New Order

I walked 47 miles of barbed wire,
Used a cobra snake for a neck tie.
Got a brand new house on the roadside,
Made out of rattlesnake hide.
I got a brand new chimney made on top,
Made out of human skulls.
Now come on darling let's take a little walk, tell me,
Who do you love,
Who do you love, Who do you love, Who do you love.

Arlene took me by the hand,
And said oooh eeeh daddy I understand.
Who do you love,
Who do you love, Who do you love, Who do you love.
The night was black and the night was blue,
And around the corner an ice wagon flew.
A bump was a hittin' lord and somebody screamed,
You should have heard just what I seen.
Who do you love, Who do you love, Who do you love, Who do you love.

Arleen took me by my hand, she said Ooo-ee Bo you know I understand
I got a tombstone hand and a graveyard mind,
I lived long enough and I ain't scared of dying.

(Bo Diddley)

Wandering properties of death
Arresting moons within our eyes and smiles we did rest
Amongst the granite tombs to catch our breath

Worldly sounds of endless warring were for just a moment silent stars
Worldly boundaries of dying were for just a moment never ours
All was new just as the black horizons blue

Then along the bending path away
I smiled in knowing I'd be back one day

Rufus Wainwright
In a Graveyard

It's Close To Midnight And Something Evil's Lurking In The Dark
Under The Moonlight You See A Sight That Almost Stops Your Heart
You Try To Scream But Terror Takes The Sound Before You Make It
You Start To Freeze As Horror Looks You Right Between The Eyes,
You're Paralyzed


'Cause This Is Thriller, Thriller Night
And No One's Gonna Save You From The Beast About
Strike
You Know It's Thriller, Thriller Night
You're Fighting For Your Life Inside A Killer, Thriller
Tonight


You Hear The Door Slam And Realize There's Nowhere Left To Run
You Feel The Cold Hand And Wonder If You'll Ever See The Sun
You Close Your Eyes And Hope That This Is Just
Imagination
But All The While You Hear The Creature Creepin' Up
Behind
You're Out Of Time


'Cause This Is Thriller, Thriller Night
There Ain't No Second Chance Against The Thing With
Forty Eyes
You Know It's Thriller, Thriller Night
You're Fighting For Your Life Inside Of Killer, Thriller Tonight


Night Creatures Call
And The Dead Start To Walk In Their Masquerade
There's No Escapin' The Jaws Of The Alien This Time
(They're Open Wide)
This Is The End Of Your Life


They're Out To Get You, There's Demons Closing In On Every Side
They Will Possess You Unless You Change The Number On Your Dial
Now Is The Time For You And I To Cuddle Close Together
All Thru The Night I'll Save You From The Terror On The Screen,
I'll Make You See


That This Is Thriller, Thriller Night
'Cause I Can Thrill You More Than Any Ghost Would Dare To Try
Girl, This Is Thriller, Thriller Night
So Let Me Hold You Tight And Share A Killer, Diller, Chiller
Thriller Here Tonight


Darkness Falls Across The Land
The Midnite Hour Is Close At Hand
Creatures Crawl In Search Of Blood
To Terrorize Y'awl's Neighbourhood
And Whosoever Shall Be Found
Without The Soul For Getting Down
Must Stand And Face The Hounds Of Hell
And Rot Inside A Corpse's Shell
The Foulest Stench Is In The Air
The Funk Of Forty Thousand Years
And Grizzy Ghouls From Every Tomb
Are Closing In To Seal Your Doom
And Though You Fight To Stay Alive
Your Body Starts To Shiver
For No Mere Mortal Can Resist
The Evil Of The Thriller

;-D

Howling winds keep screaming round
And the rain comes pouring down
Doors are locked and bolted now
As the thing crawls into town

Straight out of hell
One of a kind
Stalking his victims
Don't look behind you, Nightcrawler

Beware the beast in black, Nightcrawler
You know he's coming back, Nightcrawler

Sanctuary is being sought
Whispered prayers a last resort
Homing in it's cry distorts
Terror struck they know they're caught

Straight out of hell
One of a kind
Stalking his victims
Don't look behind you, Nightcrawler

Beware the beast in black, Nightcrawler
You know he's coming back, Nightcrawler

As night is falling
The end is drawing near
They'll hear
Their last rites echo on the wind

Huddled in the cellar
Fear caught in their eyes
Daring not to move or breathe
As the creature cries
Fingernails start scratching
On the outside walls
Clawing at the windows
"Come to me" it calls
Atmosphere's electric
As it now descends the stairs
Hiding in dark places
So futile from it's glare
Death comes in instance
As they hoped it would
Souls ascend to heaven
While it feasts on flesh and blood

Straight out of hell
One of a kind
Stalking it's victims
Don't look behind you, Nightcrawler

Beware the beast in black, Nightcrawler
You know he's coming back, Nightcrawler

He's going to get you
Beware of the beast
Nightcrawler
Judas Priest

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds,
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

W B Yeats. Set to music by Ellen Lindquist

Beloved, gaze in thine own heart
The holy tree is growing there;
From joy the holy branches start
And all the trembling flowers they bear.
The changing colours of its fruit
Have dowered the stars with merry light;
The surety of its hidden root
Has planted quiet in the night;
The shaking of its leafy head
Has given the waves their melody.
And made my lips and music wed,
Murmuring a wizard song for thee,
There the Loves a circle go,
The flaming circle of our days,
Gyring, spiring to and fro
In those great ignorant leafy ways;
Remembering all that shaken hair
And how the winged sandals dart
Thine eyes grow full of tender care;
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart.

Gaze no more in the bitter glass
The demons, with their subtle guile,
Lift up before us when they pass,
Or only gaze a little while;
For there a fatal image grows
That the stormy night receives,
Roots half hidden under snows,
Broken boughs and blackened leaves.
For all things turn to barrenness
In the dim glass the demons hold,
The glass of outer weariness,
Made when God slept in times of old.
There, through the broken branches, go
The ravens of unresting thought;
Flying, crying, to and fro,
Cruel claw and hungry throat,
Or else they stand and sniff the wind,
And shake their ragged wings: alas!
Thy tender eyes grow all unkind:
Gaze no more in the bitter glass.

WB Yeats. Set to music by Loreena McKennitt.

Never give all the heart,
For love will hardly seem worth thinking of,
To passionate women if it seem certain,
And they never dream that it fades out from kiss to kiss,
For everything that's lovely is but a brief, dreamy, kind delight,
O never give the heart outright,
For they, for all smooth lips can say,
Have given their hearts up to the play.
And who could play it well enough
If deaf and dumb and blind with love?
He that made this knows all the cost,
For he gave all his heart, and lost.

For they, for all smooth lips can say,
Have given their hearts up to the play.
Never give all the heart...

Words by Yeats, spoken by Brenda Fricker; music by The Chieftains and Anuna

Something's got a hold of my heart
Keeping my soul and my senses apart
Something's gotten into my life
Cutting its way through my dreams like a knife
Turning me up, and turning me down
Making me smile, and making me frown

In a world that was war
I once lived in a time that was peace and no troubles at all
But then you came my way
And a feeling of unknown shook my heart,
made me want you to stay
All of my nights, and all of my days

Something's got a hold of my hand
Dragging my soul to a beautiful land
Yeah, something has invaded my night
Painting my sleep with a colour so bright
Changing the grey, and changing the blue
Scarlet for me, and scarlet for you

I got to know if this is the real thing
I got to know it's making my heart sing
You smile and I am lost for a lifetime
Each minute spent with you is the right time
Every hour, every day
You touch me and my mind goes astray, yeah
Baby, baby

Something's got a hold of my hand
Dragging my soul to a beautiful land
Something has invaded my night
Painting my sleep with a colour so bright
Changing the grey, and changing the blue
Scarlet for me, and scarlet for you

Gene Pitney

When I pretend I'm gay
I never feel that way
I'm only painting the clouds with sunshine
When I hold back a tear
To make a smile appear
I'm only painting the clouds with sunshine
Painting the blue, beautiful hues,
Coloured with gold and old rose
Playing the clown,
Trying to drown all of my woes
Though things may not look bright
They all turn out alright
If I keep painting the clouds with sunshine

Bing

Went uptown to see my cousin
Plays guitar, sounds like a chainsaw buzzin'
In the crowd, I see his mom and dad
I said "Hey, hey Uncle, man your son is bad"

But sometimes, sometimes bad is bad
Cool is a rule, but, sometimes, bad is bad.

Across the street, a neon sign
All you can eat for a dollar ninety nine

Our soul stew is the baddest in the land
But one dollar's worth was all that I could stand

But sometimes, sometimes bad is bad
Cool is a rule, but, sometimes, bad is bad.

Back uptown to see marie
Nobody home, I opened the door with my key
"I love you, Huey" was the note I read
But there's a strange pair of shoes underneath the bed

But sometimes, sometimes bad is bad
Cool is a rule, but, sometimes, bad is bad

(Huey Lewis)

we're at war all the papers say
we will win i read today
we are strong it wasn't us
we are right who started this?
leave your work i just left school
leave your home i am no fool
take up arms it left me strong
sound alarms the school bell rings
sons of men who stand like gods
we give life to feed the cause
and run to ground our heathen foe
our name will never die
this time will be forever

join up here i wave goodbye
we need you oh my breast sighs
have no fear i must try
god will be with braver men
take the vow i know its right
praise the flag the good fight
we're at war i'm on my way
we will win why do i pray ?
i wait here in this hole
playing poker with my soul
i hold the rifle close to me
it lights the way to keep me free

if i die in a combat zone
box me up and ship me home
if i die and still come home
lay me where the rose is sown
sons of men who stand like gods
we give life to feed the cause
and run to ground our heathen foe
our name will never die
this time will be forever
Big Country

This time we almost made the pieces fit, didn't we?
This time we almost made some sense of it, didn't we?
This time I held the answer right here in my hand
Then I touched it, and it had turned to sand.

This time we almost sang our song in tune, didn't we?
This time we almost made it to the moon, didn't we?
This time, we almost made (almost made) our poem rhyme.
And this time we almost made that long hard climb.
Didn't we almost make it this time... this time?

Jimmy Webb