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JONATHAN RICHMAN LYRICS

ACTION PACKED

Well if the music gonna move me, / Well first it's gotta have a beat / No I don't wanna sit down all night / I gotta feel it in my feet / Did you hear me, feel it in my feet / I can't take it slow and easy, I can't live like that. / If the music's gonna move me, folks, it's gotta be action packed. / Did you hear me, then what did I say? / I said action packed Ah right, yeah, Doo doo wah doo wah doo wah  / If the music's gonna move me, well, it's gotta be action packed. Oh yeah now. [musical interlude] Well if we're going to a party / Well I don't just sit and talk / Oh if we're going to party / Well your pal Jonathan wants to rock / Did you hear me? I want to rock! / I've got this feeling and I can't say what / But I can't sit still with this feeling I got! / If the music's gonna move me / Folks, it's gotta be action packed / Did you hear me? Then what did I say? Doo doo wah doo wah doo wah / Music's gonna move me, oh it's gotta be action packed. Oh! [musical interlude] Music's gonna move on, oh it's gotta be action packed / If we're gonna be together / Well we gotta have some fun / No I don't want just a fine time / I've gotta have pandemonium / Did you hear me? Pandemonium! / Well I've got this feeling and I can't sit still / I can't explain but I try I will / If the music's gonna move me, folks, it's gotta be action packed.  / Did you hear me? / Then what did I say? / I said action packed! Then what did I -? I think I said action packed! / I think that was it! All right!

AFFECTION

AFRICAN LADY

[Instrumental]

AFTERNOON
You know, it's afternoon / Yeah, yeah / And there's the moon, so pale / And all the trees are whisperin' and the elves are whisperin' to me, that's right / I am, I am How they whisper so nice / I am, I am / They whisper to me / I am, I am / They whisper to me / I am, Iam / Doo-pop doo-pop da-tommy-too-pop / Doo-pop doo-pop da-tommy-too-pop / I am, I am / The wind cries / I am, I am / For you see, it's afternoon / Yeah, yeah / There's the moon, it's so pale / All the plants whisper, the lake and the lilies, they whisper a song to me / It sounds like this / I am, I am / That's what it sounds like / I am, I am / I am, I am / I am, I am / Doo-pop doo-pop da-tommy-too-pop / Doo-pop doo-pop da-tommy-too-pop / Doo-pop doo-pop da-tommy-too-pop / Doo-pop doo-pop da-tommy-too-pop / I am, I am / I am, I am / I am, I am / I am, I am / Two more times... / I am, I am I am, I am.

AHORA ES MEJOR

[Spanish version of "Now Is Better Than Before"]

A veces pienso que aquí todo es seguridad, / Una seca castidad, / Donde antes fue ardor; / Pero ahora es mejor, oh yah, ahora es mejor. - De vez en cuando estroy suspirando por el pasado, / Y mi vivir que me ha dado, / ¿Quizás tenía mas color? / No, ahora es mejor, oh yah, ahora es mejor. - ¡Guitarra! [guitar solo] - A veces pienso que estamos demasiado arraigados, / Demasiado sosegados, / Cubriendo nuestro desamor; / No es así, / Ahora es mejor, oh ya, ahora es mejor.

AMORCITO CORAZÓN
Yo tengo tentación de un beso, / Que se prenda en el calor / De nuestro gran amor, mi amor. - Yo quiero ser, / Un solo ser y estar contigo, / Te quiero ver, en el querer para soñar. - En la dulce sensación / De un beso mordelón quisiera, / Amorcito corazón / Decirte mi pasión por ti. - Compañeros en el bien y el mal, / Ni los años nos podrán pesar, / Amorcito corazón, serás mi amor...

BLUE MOON

(Rodgers and Hart)

JoJo's version is an instrumental, but here are the lyrics to the original:

Blue moon, / You saw me standing alone, / Without a dream in my heart, / Without a love of my own. - Blue moon, You knew just what I was there for / You heard me saying a prayer for, Someone I really could care for. / And then there suddenly appeared Before me, the only one my arms / Will ever hold. - I heard somebody whisper, "Please Adore me," And when I looked the moon / Had tuned to gold! - Blue moon, / Now I'm no longer alone, Without a dream in my heart, / Without a love of my own.

 

CALIFORNIA DESERT PARTY

Everybody's dancing round in the cactus garden / Yucca trees are all aground / Cholla too look out / Guacamole's there for you / carrot juice and naturals, too / California desert party / [unintelligible] Palms of 29, / California desert party / Pack rats and kit fox and petroglyphs and sleeping bags / They brought the harp and lyre; / they turned the hot tub higher / Chapparal and stage brush and look out them it's sleeping bags / California desert party ... They brought the harp and lyre, / they turned the hot tub higher / Back packs and petroglyphs and kit fox and pack rats / It's a California desert party.
 

[If anyone familiar with desert lingo can fill in those lyrics which were unintelligible to me, please please contact me.]

CERCA

[Spanish version of "Closer"; lyrics as printed in the ¡Jonathan Te Vas a Emocionar! booklet; lyrics differ slightly from the version on Jonathan Richman]

Estoy en la cama con mi esposa y quiere dormirse temprano, / Quiero que soñemos la misma cosa y manoseo su mano; / Como diré lo que quiero decir, cerca de mi esposa pero solo sentir, / y cerca conmigo es cerca. / Cerca más cerca, conmigo es entendido, / más cerca conmigo es querido; / No estoy durmiendo, estoy despierto, / Pensando en estar más cercano, / Y cerca conmigo es cerca. - Es tiempo de acoger un restaurante y todavía pensando de cercanía, / Quizas vamos a un para-llevar o panadería; / No necesito cosas elegantes, / Cuando como estar cerca tengo en mente, y cerca conmigo es cerca. - Cerca, más cerca conmigo es entendido, / más cerca conmigo es querido; / Ella duerme en la cama desde quien sabe cuando, / Y revulevo revuelvo allí ruminando de cerca, conmigo es cerca. - Entre tanto, en la cama, doy gran ronquidos, / Y ella duerme más cerca de mi, como he querido, / Y su pierna esta rosando mi trasero / Buenas noticias, porque siempre quiero estar cerca conmigo es cerca. - Cerca más cerca que nunca era, / más cerca está es mi manera / ¡Jonathan, te vas a emocionar! ¡Pues, estoy, y nunca voy a occultar! Y cerca conmigo es cerca cerca cerca.

CIRCLE I

Well they call them a farm / 'cos they do that the best / Circle I now it's Circle I / But they don't say farm they say ranch out west. / Circle I now it's Circle I / They grow their greens I say they grow their fruit / By a bamboo fence on a rural route. / Circle I Circle I / Naked in the sun, they got a suntan on their bum / Circle I Circle I now Hey hey hey / Because there ain't no potato like natural potato, No / And there ain't no tomato like natural tomato, No / And there ain't no spinach and there ain't no corn / Well like what's natural bred like what's natural born / Whoah naked in their field but you cannot top their yield / Circle I Circle I Now / Somebody's chard got to taste the best / You haven't tried Circle I it hasn't passed the test / Somebody's chard got the best taste yet / You haven't tried Circle I don't place your bet / Whoah talking about stunt chive / They got a tale at home they got a Circle I. / Circle I Circle I / Let's go. / Because there ain't no potato like natural potato, No / And there ain't no tomato like natural tomato, No / And there ain't no spinach and there ain't no corn / Well like what's natural bred like what's natural born / Oh naked in their field, but you cannot top that yield. / Circle I, Circle I Now Hey Hey Hey / Ooh Wha ooh / Oh tell 'em!  Well!  Circle I!

NOTE: I think "Circle I" refers to Circle I Feed Store on Highway 64 in Conway, Arkansas.

CITY VS. COUNTRY

I wanna live close to downtown to be near my friends / I want to be close to them and still be out by the trees in the wind / Havin' both will be hard to find I'm sure, but then ain't that the way of the world / I want the city, but I want the country, too. / I wanna be with my friends by the fire and the starlight / But I want music, music in my life / Yes! I wanna bar-hopping music scene and I wanna pick from Channel Fifteen / I want the city, but I want the country too. [musical interlude] My mind is fire (?) / But my thoughts are is slow / I've got to learn what I'm wanting to know / I need to live in the ancient world if I'm going to do what I want to do. / I want the city but I want the country too. / I'll never have both moon and sun / But one never knows just one / I want the city, but I want the country too.

CLOSER

[This text is from the booklet accompanying ¡Jonathan, Te Vas a Emocionar! which differs slightly from the lyrics JoJo sings on Jonathan Richman.]

I'm in the bed with my wife / And she's lookin' for more room to sleep; / I'm there touchin' her shoulder thinkin' that, / Maybe we could dream the same dream; / So I stare off into space, awake I lie, / Wonderin' how close could get her and I, / Because, closer, what I want is to get closer. - Closer, closer, closer, then we've been before / Always tryin' to get closer about which I would know, sir / And I want more. / How can I say what I'm tryin' to say? / Lonely for somebody who's an inch away / Closer, what I want is to get closer. - Now it's time to pick out a restaurant and I'm still thinkin' about getting closer, / A take-out stand, that's where I want to go, sir / 'Cause I really don't want that expensive kind. / When how to get closer is on my mind. / And closer, what I want is to get closer. - Closer, closer, closer than we've been before. / Always tryin' to get closer, that's where I want to go, sir / There she is sleepin', for more she's strivin' / But I'm touchin' her shoulder 'cause I'm always connivin' / To get closer what I want is to get closer. - Meanwhile, back in the bed, I'm snorin' up a storm / And she's there lyin' next to me / And I'm there touchin' her arm / Now her leg and my leg are startin' to intertwine / And that's good news for me because I'm always tryin' / To get closer, what I want is to get closer. - Closer, closer, closer than we've been before / Always tryin' to get closer, that's where I want to go, sir / "Hey wait a minute, Jonathan! Don't get excited!" But I am and I do and I never hide it. Closer, what I want is just to get closer, closer, closer.

DANCIN’ LATE AT NIGHT

Well I can see the colors, I can see the light (Dancin’ dancin’ late at night) / I can see in my mind what the place should be like (Dancin’ dancin’ late at night) / Well 3 AM, 3 AM (Dancin’ dancin’ late at night) Where are my friends, I wanna dance with them (Dancin’ dancin’ late at night) - ‘Cos if I’m gonna get it straight, If I’m gonna get it right, I want dancin’ dancin’ late at night. / Well if I’m gonna get it straight, If I’m gonna get it straight (Dancin’ dancin’ late at night) / Well if I’m gonna get it right, If I’m gonna get it right (Dancin’ dancin’ late at night) Well if I’m gonna get it straight, If I’m gonna get it right, I want dancing, dancing late at night. / Awright. [next verse: Come on let’s go] - I can see the place and I can hear the band (Dancin’ dancin’ late at night) / And I can smell that late night falafel stand (Dancin’ dancin’ late at night) / Well 3 AM, 3 AM (Dancin’ dancin’ late at night), well, where are my friends, where are them?… In the lonely street it’s the only sound / It’s the only thing open for miles around / 4 AM, 4 AM, the lonely streets I wanna walk through them. …

DODGE VEG-O-MATIC
I'm gonna tell you 'bout the car that I just bought / It's that Dodge Veg-O-Matic there in the parking lot / Well, I'm gonna tell you 'bout the car that I now own. Well it doesn't go nowhere, it just stays all alone / You know, I like it / You know, I like it a whole lot / Well, that's my Dodge Veg-O-Matic there in the parking lot / My Dodge Veg-O-Matic, there in the parking lot / You know, I like it / You know, I like to watch it rot / I'm gonna tell you 'bout a car you'd best not buy. The brakes'll fall off and you will sigh / I'm gonna tell you 'bout a car that you won't like / You had best stay home, sir, better take your bike / I like it. I like it a lot / Because it's my Dodge Veg-O-Matic, it's there in the parking lot. My Dodge Veg-O-Matic, it's there in the parking lot / You know, I like it, though, yes, I like it a lot / Well, I'll meet you at seven in the parking lot / We can all just stand by my car, you know, and watch it rot / Well, I'll see you about seven, sir, don't be late / We'll stand there and watch my car vegetate / You know, I like it / You know, I like it a lot / Well, go ahead and buy it, don't listen to me, go ahead and do it / You'll have it home five minutes and you'll know you blew it. See, the brakes are made of glass and tires are made of vinyl / You'll want to take it back find out that all sales are final / You know, I like it, though / I like this car a lot / My Dodge Veg-O-Matic, it's there in the parking lot / It's my Dodge Veg-O-Matic, there in the parking lot / Well, you know, I like it / I like it a lot.

EL U.F.O. MAN

[Spanish version of "The U.F.O. Man"]

El U.F.O. Man va [a] volar, / Se puede encontrar / ¡Rara es su libertad! ¡Debe sobrar la edad! - ¡Mira, mira, mira, mira, mira! ¡Bang bang va [a] volar! Puede, puede, si se puede, encontrar. / ¡Rara rara es su libertad! ¡Debe de ser, debe sobrar sobrar la edad! - De que distancia inconcebible, / Tecnología incomprensible, / Callado sobre el cielo / Disco, Disco inconfundible. - ¡Guitarra! [guitar solo] - Pavor pavor en el cielo / Disco disco extranjero; / Un[a] fantasma en acero. / Disco disco de mistero. - Estoy a la mirada cuando me voy a caminar / Porque el U.F.O. man podría volar; / En su disco tan dorado, / Coronado rey del cielo morado.

EVERYTHING'S GOTTA BE RIGHT

It was her smile that got me oh, but it was everything, it was everything you know you know / Everything I need, you know / It was her voice that caught me oh / But it was everything, it was everything you know you know / Everything I need, you know / Everything, everything everything's gotta right / I said Everything has gotta be right for me / Everything I need you know. [musical interlude] It was her eyes that caught me oh / But it was everything, it was everything you know / Everything I need you know / And it was her voice that first moved me oh / But it was everything, it was everything you know, you know / Everything I need you know / Everything everything everything's gotta be right, I said everything everything's gotta right for me / Everything I need you know. - Everything...

FENDER STRATOCASTER

Born in the fifties, lookin' so bald, Fender Stratocaster / Everything your parents hated about rock and roll, Fender Fender Fender / Twanging that twang and sounding so tough, Fender Stratocaster / And the kids in my corner they can't get enough, Fender Fender Fender / Like the wind in your hair when the top is down, Like taillights headin' for another town, Fender Stratocaster, / Well there's something about that sound - Like gasoline in the sand, Fender Stratocaster / Like a motorcycle at a hotdog stand, Fender Fender Fender / Like a Dunkin Donuts in Mattapan, Fender Stratocaster / Like a Thrifty Drugs in Santa An, Fender Fender Fender / Oh the sound is thin and the sound is cheap, / Like a tin can falling on a dead-end street, Fender Stratocaster, / Well there's something about that sound [first musical interlude] Well how can it sound so tough, Fender Stratocaster / And it's made to be treated rough / Fender Fender Fender / It's got the ancient Egyptian script, Fender Stratocaster / It's got the wang box from the crypt, Fender Fender Fender / Oh you shoulda known it right off the bat / One look and you know it would sound like that, Fender Stratocaster / Like gasoline in the sand, Fender Stratocaster / Like a motorcycle at a hotdog stand, Fender Fender Fender / Like a Dunkin Donuts in Mattapan, Fender Stratocaster  / Like a Thrifty Drugs in Santa An, Fender Fender Fender / Oh the sound so thin that it's barely there, Like a bitchy girl who just don't care, Fender Stratocaster / Like Rube Ginsberg at the jukebox joint, You hear the sound and you get the point Fender Stratocaster, / Well there's something about that sound, Oh all right, Oh I said oh my God, one more time, oh. [second musical interlude]

[NOTE: Second musical interlude includes a riff from "Let's Go Trippin'," a song by Dick Dale, king of surf guitar, one of the prime movers in using Fender Strats with new Fender amps to get that "wet sound". Also, Mattapan is a Boston-area town.]

FLY INTO THE MYSTERY
Let's make this a slow dance. Ladies' choice / See now, it's eight o'clock in Boston / And Fileen's (?) has just locked up / It's so good to see the sky clear up this way / There's the stars, we haven't lost 'em / It's time to fly into life's mystery / It's time to go somewhere we've never seen / It's time to fly into life's mystery / Fly into the mystery / Well, it's eight o'clock in Boston suburbs too / And some boyfriend, he's lost his girlfriend / Funny now, she was here just a minute ago / She must have gone away. Where'd she go? / She must have gone to fly into life's mystery / She goes no more to the places she used to be / She goes to fly now into life's mystery / Look at her go into the mystery / Now it's eight o'clock in Boston / And Fileen there has just locked up for the night / But it's clear sky and the stars shine / I'm lookin' right up at them / Isn't it time for us to fly into life's mystery? / Time to go somewhere we've never seen / Fly into life's mystery / Fly into the mystery

FOGGY NOTION (cover of song by the Velvet Underground; written by Morrison / Tucker / Yule / Weiss)

[Spoken: OK we're gonna do 2 more songs before our first break, and they're both for people who like to dance fast. Now the first one is one that we didn't write, it's one that the Velvet Underground wrote and never released. So you've never heard this one before. We like to do this as a tribute to the Velvet Underground. We all saw them a lot back east. And this [is] a song we hope you like. It's called "Foggy Notion".]

She's over in the corner / Got her hands by her side / They hit her harder, harder, harder / 'Til they thought she might die - Well, I've got a foggy notion, do it again / Over in the corner, do it again / Calamine lotion, do it again / I've got a foggy notion, Awright - Well they didn't call the police / They hit my head against the wall / They hit it harder, harder, harder / Don't you know I feel like cryin' / I couldn't get me satisfaction / But I got a foggy notion, do it again ...

Notes: Lyrics differ, esp. in the second verse and in the missing bits, from the VU version. At the time the Modern Lovers recorded this song (1972, Long Branch Saloon, Berkeley, CA), the Velvet Underground had yet to release a version of it; that did not happen until the record VU (1985). Jojo may have heard the Velvet Underground performing it live.

VU's original lyrics:

He's over by the corner, got her hands by her side, ah / They hit her harder-harder-harder, ooohhh / Till they thought she might die - Well I got a foggy notion, do it again, oh, over by the corner, do it again / I got my calamine lotion, baby, do it again, well I got a foggy notion, do it again - I'll [Make me] do something that I never did before / I'll first track [I rushed right] down to a flower store / I bought her a bundle, a beautiful batch / don't you know something, she sent it right back, alright - Sally Mae, Sally Mae (4X)
 

GAIL LOVES ME

Gail loves me, Whoah.

GIRLFRIEND

If I were to walk to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston / Well, first I'd go to the room where they keep the Cezanne(s) / But if I had by my side a girlfriend / Then I could look through the paintings / I could look right through them / Because I'd have found something that I understand / I understand a girlfriend / That's a girl friend / Said G-I-R-L-F-R-E-N / That's a girlfriend, baby / That's something that I understand- Alright- I walk through the Fenway, I have my heart in my hands / I understand a girlfriend / That's a girl friend / Oh that's a G-I-R-L-F-R-E-N / Well that's a girlfriend, baby / That's something that I understand / Four o'clock in the afternoon in the Fenway, / I have my heart in my hands

HARPO EN SU HARPA (Spanish version of WHEN HARPO PLAYED HIS HARP)

Harpo en su harpa no fue vacilón / La gente calló hasta el balcón / Chico, Chico, que actor, que chistoso burlador / Pero Harpo en su harpa fue arcano. - Harpo en su harpa fue algo pa' ver / Algo que puede atizar tu ser / Como Groucho, no hay dos, que chistoso con su voz / Harpo en su harpa fue arcano. - Harpo, Harpo, somos los angeles / De donde viene tu sonoridad? Harpo, Harpo tocanos tocanos una vez más / Harpo, Harpo, somos celestiales / De donde viene tu sonoridad? Harpo, Harpo, tocanos, tocanos una vez más. - Cuando empezó, recuerda lo que hizo? A los celestiales pidió el permiso / Cuando mi tristeza me afectó / Harpo Harpo me tocó / Harpo en su harpa fue arcano.

HEART OF SATURDAY NIGHT, THE

[Cover of song by Tom Waits; as usual, Jojo totally changes the lyrics and makes them occasionally undeciferable.]

This town's got three streets, make that four / An alley and a bar and a hardware store / Barreling down the boulevard, Looking for the heart of Saturday night /  Lost your razor, borrow mine. [?] / A little bit nervous, but feeling fine / A little excited, looking for the heart of Saturday night / It's the sound of the pool bar, cousin, that big ole bar sign buzzing, / that waitress that laughs at your jokes / That sleepy little town when it's comin' awoke / Come on, come on, can't stop now, gotta find Saturday night somehow / Barrelin' down the boulevard, Looking for the heart of Saturday night [musical interlude] Let the sound of the pool ball get ya, it sort of excites ya, it sort of upsets ya / That waitress that thinks you're cute / She's got the miniskirt, she's got the high heel boot.

In contrast to JoJo's lyrics, here are the lyrics to the Tom Waits original:

Well you gassed her up / Behind the wheel / With your arm around your sweet one / In your Oldsmobile / Barrelin' down the boulevard / You're looking for the heart of Saturday night - And you got paid on Friday / And your pockets are jinglin' / And you see the lights / You get all tinglin' cause you're cruisin' with a 6/ And you're looking for the heart of Saturday night -  Then you comb your hair / Shave your face / Tryin' to wipe out ev'ry trace / All the other days / In the week you know that this'll be the Saturday / You're reachin' your peak - Stoppin' on the red / You're goin' on the green / 'Cause tonight'll be like nothin' / You've ever seen / And you're barrelin' down the boulevard / Lookin' for the heart of Saturday night -  Tell me is the crack of the poolballs, neon buzzin? / Telephone's ringin'; it's your second cousin / Is it the barmaid that's smilin' from the corner of her eye? / Magic of the melancholy tear in your eye. - Makes it kind of quiver down in the core / 'Cause you're dreamin' of them Saturdays that came before / And now you're stumblin' / You're stumblin' onto the heart of Saturday night - Well you gassed her up / And you're behind the wheel / With your arm around your sweet one / In your Oldsmobile / Barrellin' down the boulevard, / You're lookin' for the heart of Saturday night - Is the crack of the poolballs, neon buzzin? / Telephone's ringin'; it's your second cousin / And the barmaid is smilin' from the corner of her eye / Magic of the melancholy tear in your eye. - Makes it kind of special down in the core / And you're dreamin' of them Saturdays that came before / It's found you stumblin' / Stumblin' onto the heart of Saturday night / And you're stumblin' / Stumblin onto the heart of Saturday night

HEY THERE LITTLE INSECT

Hey there, little insect, don't scare me so / Don't land on me, and bite me no / Hey there, little insect, please calm down / And we'll have fun and fool around / I say, hey there, little insect, don't scare me so / Don't land on me, baby, and bite me no / I say hey there, little insect, please calm down / Then we'll have fun and fool around / I say, hey there, little praying mantis, I have one complaint / Each time on my arm you landed, it makes me faint / I say, hey there, little insect, please calm down / Then we'll have fun and fool around / Well now, I don't want to worry there, insect, I don't want to fight / Hey there, little insect / Hey there, little insect / I don't want to worry about an insect bite / Hey there, little insect / Hey there, little insect / See, I don't want to worry, so please calm down / Then we'll have fun and fool around / I say, hey there, little hornet, buzzing around me / It sounds like a warning, and it kind of scares me / Well, hey there, little insect, please calm down / So we can have fun and fool around / See, I don't want to worry there, insect, I do not want to fight / Hey there, little insect / Hey there, little insect / I don't even want to worry about an insect bite / Hey there, little insect. Hey there, little insect / See I don't want to worry, so please calm down / So we can have fun and fool around.

It's magic, it's magic, the way we got together. / There's magic around us in the air; / It's magic, it's magic, no, not at random / And there must be a higher power somewhere. - I know that magic is an easy word to condemn / But I've tried other girls and I wasn't made for them. / And I knew it from afar, in that lonely rock and roll bar/ That there must be a higher power somewhere. / Go! - [musical interlude] - It's magic, it's magic, the way we got together, / It's magic as if it was ordained; / It's magic, it's magic, no, not by chance / And there must be a higher power, I'm sayin'. - I know that magic is an easy word to abuse, / But I've tried other words, and what words can I use? / And I knew it from that first kiss, / So stingy and so spare / That there must be a higher power somewhere. - It's magic, it's magic, the way we got together / It's magic, it's justice, it's grace / It's magic, it's magic, no not at random / And there must a higher power someplace. - They say that magic and the science world collide / But Einstein saw me looking at her and he joined my side / And I knew how it would be / The way she hated me / And there must be a higher power somewhere. - It's magic, it's magic, the way we got together/ It's magic, it's freedom, it's fair. / It's magic, it's magic, no not at random / And there must be a higher power somewhere.

When you get out of the hospital / Let me back into your life / I can't stand what you do / I'm in love with your eyes - And when you get out of the dating bar / I'll be here to get back into your life / I can't stand what you do / I'm in love with your eyes / Oh, I can't stand what you do / Sometimes I can't stand you / And it makes me think about me / That I'm involved with you / But I'm in love with this power / that shows through in your eyes - I go to bakeries all day long / There's a lack of sweetness in my life / And there is pain inside / You can see it in my eyes / Oh there is pain inside / You can see it in my eyes / Makes me think about me / That I've lost my pride / But I'm in love with this power / that resides in your eyes -You live in modern apartments / Well I even got scared once or twice / Last time I walked down your street / There were tears in my eyes / Well these streets / We all know / They help us cry when we're alone late at night / Don't you love them too? / That where you got your eyes? / Oh I can't stand what you do / Sometimes I can't stand you / And it makes me think about me / How I'm involved with you / But I'm in love with this power / that shows through in your eyes-Now... your world is beautiful / I'll take the subway to your suburb sometime / I'll seek out the places that must have been magic / to your little girl mind / Now as a little girl / You must have been magic / I still get jealous of your old boyfriends / in the suburbs sometimes / And when I walk down your street / Probably be tears in my eyes (I knew it would happen)

Hi there, everybody. We're the Modern Lovers / We're gonna sing about the ice cream man for you / Well now, ice cream man, upon my street / I heard your truck outside, it's really neat / Ice cream man, upon my block / Your little chimes, they reel and they rock / Ice cream man, ring your bell / Play the music I've learned to love so well / Ice cream man, ring your chimes / In the afternoon so fine / Ice cream man, upon my street / I heard your truck today, it was a-neat, a-neat, a-neat / Ice cream man, upon my block now / Your chimes, they reel and rock / Now, ice cream man, upon my street / Your little truck, you know, is a-neat, neat / And ice cream man, upon my block / I heard your chimes, I know they reel and they rock / Ice cream man, on my street / Your little truck, you know, is a-neat, a-neat, a-neat / Ice cream man, upon my block / Your chimes, your chimes, they reel and rock / Ice cream man, upon my street / You heard your truck today, it's neat, neat / Ice cream man, ring your chimes In the afternoon so fine / One more time... / Ice cream man, ring your bell / Play the music I've learned to love / Ice cream man, ring your chime / In the afternoon so fine.

You can sit here, but I can't sit a bit here now (Not now) / 'Cos now is the time to start on my song / Start feeling all right and stop feeling all wrong / Gotta ride my bike past the root beer stand (I have come out to play) / Purple squirtgun in my hand and I'm here to stay. - Oh mommy mommy can't eat no more (I have come out to play) / gotta run outside that open door and I'm here to stay. - 'Cos I have come out, come out to play and now that I've come out I'm here to stay / I've rushed and I've raced out as fast as I can and I've got the purple squirtgun back in my hand. - You can sit more but I can't sit a bit more now (Not now) / 'Cos now is the time to ride my bike before the twilight turns into night / Gotta ride my bike past the root beer stand (I have come out to play) / Purple squirtgun in my hand and I'm here to stay. - Oh mommy mommy, I can't eat no more, (I have come out to play) / gotta run outside that open door and I'm here to stay. / Because I have come out, come out to play and now that I'm outside I'm here to stay. / I've rushed and I've raced out as fast as I can and I've got the purple squirtgun back in my hand. ... You can sit more but I can't sit a bit more now, / 'Cos now is the time to stand in the clover, / Red Rover, Red Rover, come on over.

See, I come from Boston / I'm gonna tell you about how I love New England / It's my favorite place / I've been all around the world, but I love New England best / I might be prejudiced / But it's true / I love New England best / Well, now... / You know, ladies and gentlemen / I've already been to Paris / I already been to Rome And what did I do but miss my home? / I have been out west to Californ' / But I miss the land where I was born / I can't help it / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / I have seen old Israel's arid plain / It's magnificent, but so's Maine / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day Oh, New England. / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Doddly-doodly-do-do-doo-do-do / Doddly-doodly-do-do-doo-do-do / Doddly-doodly-do-do-doo-do-do / Doddly-doodly-do-do-doo-do-do Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, I love New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England. / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England.

I LOVE THE HOT NIGHTS

Well I love those hot nights, when a T-shirt feels right / You stay up later when everything's outside / I stay up later, why say No? / And I run through the crowds when everything says Go. / Oh I love hot nights. - Once I was tired, but now I'm fine / Was uninspired, but not this time / Now I'm just glad to see the harbor lights. / Now I'm just glad to roam around at night. / Oh I love hot nights. - You stay up later (when it's a hot night), You roam through the crowd (when it's a hot night) / You don't mind the long walk home (when it's a hot night) / You don't mind the long walk home (when it's a hot night). Oh I love hot nights. [musical interlude] Once I was tired but I'm OK. / Once I was lonely it's gone away / Now I'm just glad to see the lights downtown / Smell the fried food and hang around. / Oh I love hot nights. - Well I love them hot nights when a T-shirt feels right. / You stay up later when everything's outside / I stay up later why say No / I run through the crowd when everything says Go. / I love hot nights. 

[Spoken word intro added in cover version on If I Were a Richman]

Well, I'm a little airplane nyow / I'm a little airplane nyow nyow / I'm a little airplane nyow / I'm a little airplane nyow nyow / And wangity-wang wangity-wang / I'm a little airplane now / Well, I'm a little airplane nyow / I'm a little airplane nyow nyow / I'm a little airplane nyow / I'm a little airplane nyow nyow / And wangity-wang wangity-wang / I'm a little airplane now / I fly in the dark, over baseball park / Well, I fly late at night. I got my little red light / And wangity-wang wangity-wang / I'm a little airplane now / Well, I'm a little airplane nyow / You know, I'm a little airplane nyow nyow / I'm a little airplane, I go everywhere I want / I'm a little airplane nyow nyow / And wangity-wang wangity-wang / I'm a little airplane now.

Well, I'm a little dinosaur / I'm a little dinosaur / I'm a little dinosaur / But I'm planning to go away / Now, I am real old, don't you know / Born ten billion years ago / But they don't love me here enough and so I'm planning to go away / Now the children upon their lawns Will wake up and wonder where I've gone / And the flies that buzz around where I now be / They're all gonna have to get along without me / They'll say Where's the little dinosaur? / Where's the little dinosaur? / Where's that little dinosaur? / He must have gone away / Oh no, please don't go / Oh no, please don't go / Don't go, little dinosaur / Please don't go away / Oh no, please don't go / Oh no, please don't go / Don't go, little dinosaur / Please don't go away / Okay, I'll come back / You know I'm back to stay / 'Cause I'm just your little dinosaur / And I could never really go / Never really go / Never really go away.

Note: B.U.: Boston University

Bermuda Strollers, 1978 (from their website)

MONOLOGUE ABOUT BERMUDA

Jonathan, Jonathan... Yeah? / We wanna know something / OK / Have you ever been to Bermuda? / Yes, my band once played down there. / What did you like about Bermuda? / Well there was something in the air. / That kept soothing me and calming me down / Making me feel better all around. / Well it's quiet that far out at sea / [spoken:] Bermuda's about 600 miles east of South Carolina, that's what it says. / [sung:] Well down in Bermuda / Down in Bermuda it turned me all around / It turned me upside down / In Bermuda / Ding ding Boom boom boom / Well down in Bermuda I saw how stiff I was / And I changed it just -

[spoken:] Jonathan, when you say how stiff you were what exactly are you talking about? I'll explain it to you - don't go away. Well you see back then I was in this band and we were playing this kind of stuff. Back in 1973, we had this job in a hotel called the hotel Inverurie -

[sung:] She cracked and I'm sad, but I won't  / She cracked I'm hurt, you're right / Well, she cracked, I won't / She did things that I don't / She eat shit, eat creeps, get stoned. / I stay alone, eat health food at home [spoken:] Nothing snotty about that song, is there? No / [sung:] And she cracked, I'm sad, I won't.

[spoken:] So we were doing something like that. And we were ok, but like we had all kind of Fender stuff. And we were playing all kind of like, trip hammers. [strums]  The audience was going, oh that's very nice and stuff. And we were kinda serious and everything. You know we had a fair amount of equipment for a group back then. And everything was just going ... [strums] You know this is pretty important and every day we're out there. ... [strums] Yeah, we're knocking 'em dead. Well the trouble was the people who were really knocking 'em dead were these 40-year old guys. Back then I never knew that I would someday be 40. Back then that was older - hey they're 40 year old guys. I'm gonna have to change it to 50. In other words they were people as old as me. They were the Bermuda Strollers. They all had sunglasses and you couldn't tell when one guy was lazy and just wanted to lay off that day and call up somebody else and they'd be the Bermuda Strollers that day. They all had sunglasses so you couldn't tell who they were. We knew the Bermuda Strollers had big guitars like this. They were playing stuff like this kind of material. All the college kids loved them.

[sung:] Bang bang Lulu, Lulu ran away / Lulu had to go bang bang / That's why she ran away / Lulu had a boyfriend / Name was Tommy Tucker / Took her out to his house to see if he could / Bang bang Lulu / Lulu ran away

[spoken:] Still works, see, it was good then, it still works.

[sung:] Lulu had to go bang bang that's why she ran away.

[spoken:] And the guitar had this great fat sound like this... [strums guitar]

And it just wasn't him, the bass player was great too - he was this old guy. old guy sure he was almost 40 years old hell. And he was in a windbreaker and everything like that, and he was just there, and he was just going, when the lead guitar guy was going... their only guitar guy was going... [strums] And bassman just went ... [bass sound boom... boom] and making it sound way bad. And he's great, he's not moving he's just chewing gum. He's like the Bill Wyman of the Caribbean, and he's up there. [boom boom] And I'm watching this and I'm going oh we really are stiff. These guys really are looser than us, I'm thinking to myself. Here's what I'm thinking, Oh. After that trip to Bermuda you know that band never got along as well after that. That was really the beginning of the end  for us, it's true. Because I started getting way into that kind of stuff. Started buying calypso records and things. Oh. [plays riff from "Lulu"] See it's catchy, you gotta admit. You gotta admit, it's catchy. So that's what I mean when I say how stiff I was. OK now you can get back to your song 

[sung:] Jonathan, Jonathan... Yeah what? / We wanna know something. / Yes? Did you wander around Bermuda? / In fact I did I wandered all around / And the flowers in Bermuda (oh the flowers, well) they almost knocked you down / Because they smelled so strong, you know, Oh / And it was springtime when we were down there too, oh. / Little petals all around. / Down in Bermuda , down in Bermuda it turned me all around / It turned me upside down, in Bermuda / Ding ding - Oh Down in Bermuda, I realized how stiff I was. / I changed it just because, in Bermuda. / Jonathan, Jonathan... Yeah what do you want? / We wanna know something.

NOTE: Bill Wyman: bassist for Rolling Stones.

It hurts me to hear, to see you got no faith in yourself / It bothers me now to watch you, you got no faith in your own self / You listen more to your friends than to your own heart inside / Well, you listen to them, oh but you hide / You don't got nothin' to be afraid of / You're not as bad as you think / And you're always puttin' yourself down / But I'm just gonna tell you that I like you / Darling, you always put yourself down, but I like you / That's all I came to say / Then there's no need to think that other people can do things better than you can do 'em / 'Cause you got the same power in you / I got faith in you. Sometimes you don't have it in yourself / But I got faith in you / And our time is right now, now we can do anything we really want to / Our time is now, here in the morning of our lives / And it ain't just me who thinks so, dear, I asked my friends / Now, Leroy and Asa and D. Sharpe / Tell her not to be afraid / Tell her it's okay / Tell her it's all right / And our time is now, we can do anything we really believe in / Our time is now, here in the morning of our lives / Dear, I asked Leroy and Asa and D. Sharpe, and they said / Don't you love her too? / Then tell her she's okay / Tell her she's all right / You're okay, dear. There's nothing to feel inferior about. You can do it / And our time is now, we can do anything you really believe in / I know it / Our time is now, here in the morning of our lives / Our time is right now, you can do anything you set your heart on / Our time is now, here in the morning of our lives / We're young now. Right now's when we can enjoy it / Now's the time for us to have faith in what we can do / No need to fear, cause now's the time to have faith in what we can do.

When I was a five-year-old, I saw a five-year girl a-walkin' / And in my heart a little bell was tolled, and a little voice said / Kookenhaken, Kookenhaken / Now, you don't know what that word means, nor I the man now talkin' / But when my heart had found a queen, a little voice did say / Kookenhaken, Kookenhaken / So long forgotten was that word, so long that lock unlockin' / But once again that little word was heard, 'cause of my little Kookenhaken / Well, do you like that sound, do you? / I don't know what it means either / My heart has found a queen, my little Kookenhaken, well... / Kookenhaken, the word from years ago / Kookenhaken, I've heard it now again / Kookenhaken, my heart has found a friend in / My little Kookenhaken, well / My little Kookenhaken / You know, you got my heart talkin' / Kookenhaken, Kookenhaken in my heart, and I love you, little Kookenhak / And I've been walking long a year, and dear I'm tired of talkin' / So come on, honey, and listen here, and be my little Kookenhaken / And I've been walkin' hill and dale, through vale and valley walkin' / So come on, honey, and read your mail my little Kookenhaken / Kookenhaken, do you like that sound? / Kookenhaken, I don't know what it means / Kookenhaken, my heart was found a queen / My little Kookenhaken / Kookenhaken, a word from years ago / Kookenhaken, I've heard it now again / Kookenhaken, my heart has found a friend / My little Kookenhaken, well / My little Kookenhaken / You know, well you got my heart talkin' / Kookenhaken, kookenhaken in my heart, and I love you, little Kookenhaken / And I've been walking long a year, and dear I'm tired of talkin' / So come on, honey, and listen here, and be my little Kookenhaken / And I've been walkin' hill and dale, through vale and valley walkin' / So come on, honey, and read your mail and be my little Kookenhaken / Kookenhaken, kookenhaken, in my heart / Kookenhaken, kookenhaken, in my heart / Kookenhaken, kookenhaken, in my heart / My little Kookenhaken / Kookenhaken, kookenhaken, I love you / Kookenhaken, kookenhaken, I love you / Kookenhaken, kookenhaken, I love you / My little Kookenhaken.

Jonathan, it's late, don't you think that I should go? / We were just starting to talk. / It was getting good, don't you know? / But if I leave here in the morning, what will the neighbors tell your wife? / My wife should know me by now. / So there's no need to let the neighbors run my life. - Well it would look suspicious and I know why they want to know / They love my wife / They don't want her hurt and so / If that's all they see, I wouldn't blame them if they go and tell my wife / But my wife should trust me / So there's no need to let the neighbors run my life. - "Here we are down the streeet, here we are hand in hand and you're close to me / Won't people misunderstand? / If that's all they see, I wouldn't blame them if they go and tell my wife. / But my wife knows me by now / So there's no need to let the neighbors run my life.

NEW ENGLAND
See, I come from Boston / I'm gonna tell you about how I love New England / It's my favorite place / I've been all around the world, but I love New England best / I might be prejudiced / But it's true / I love New England best / Well, now... / You know, ladies and gentlemen / I've already been to Paris / I already been to Rome And what did I do but miss my home? / I have been out west to Californ' / But I miss the land where I was born / I can't help it / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / I have seen old Israel's arid plain / It's magnificent, but so's Maine / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day Oh, New England. / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Doddly-doodly-do-do-doo-do-do / Doddly-doodly-do-do-doo-do-do / Doddly-doodly-do-do-doo-do-do / Doddly-doodly-do-do-doo-do-do Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, I love New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England. / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England / Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day / Oh, New England.

Well your friends they came from out of town / It was a New kind of neighborhood / And the neighbors stared but they didn’t frown / New kind of neighborhood / Well now your friends were dancing on the lawn and it was a New kind of neighborhood / And no one stared [second verse: act] like something’s wrong / New kind of neighborhood, New kind of neighborhood - Well wangetty dangetty dingy dangetty dangetty dingy / New kind of neighborhood / wangetty dangetty dingy dangetty dangetty dingy / New kind of neighborhood , New kind of neighborhood / [Spoken:] Excuse me, sir, could you tell me where this new neighborhood is that I’ve heard about? / Yeah. / It’s right up the hill, right there. / Yeah, yeah. / You go up the path. There’s two paths. / Oh really. / Yeah, and it’s the second one. You’ll find it. / Ok. [repeat earlier section] [Spoken:] Buddy, you know, could you help me one more time? Cos I missed it the first time.  I just misunderstood. I saw the second path but it didn’t lead to where I wanted to go / I know what you did. Look for the one with little colored flags up there. They got little colored flags. / Ok, I’ll find it now.

NISHI

[Traditional]

[NOTE: I'll admit something to you. I have no idea what he's saying, or what language it is. Anybody out there know this song? Please please email me.]

NO MAS POR FUN

[Spanish version of JUST FOR FUN]

Estamos juntos sin obligar, se puede siempre separar / Y si quedaremos juntos, quedaremos no más por fun / Es libertad nuestro amor, no es carcel con mirador / Y si quedaremos juntos, quedaremos no más por fun. - Fun es vacilada, no significa nada / Estamos juntos no más por fun hmm hmm. - Fun, sin obligar, no voy a planificar / Estamos juntos no más por fun. - Esa mujer tiene algo que quiero, Por lo tanto ella no es carcelero; / Fun sin documento, Como es el viento / Estamos juntos no más por fun / Y sin papeles y sin deber / Como es el amanecar / We got together just for fun / Estamos juntos no más por fun.

NOTHING CAN CHANGE THIS LOVE

[Cover of Sam Cooke original]

If I go a million miles away I'd write a letter each and ev'ry day / 'Cos honey nothing oh nothing can ever change this love I have for you / Make me weep and you can make me cry / See me comin' and you can pass me by / But nothing oh nothing can ever change this love that I have for you / You're the apple of my eye, you're cherry pie and you're cake and ice cream / Well you're sugar and spice and everything nice, and you're the girl of my dreams / If you wanted to leave me and roam, when you got back, I'd just say, welcome home, / 'Cos honey nothing oh nothing could ever change this love I have for you. [musical interlude] No, no nothing can ever change this love I have for you.

NOW IS BETTER THAN BEFORE

Sometimes I think that I'm ... just a comfort to her / That we're not happy like we were, / Why aren't we happy anymore? / But now is better than before, oh now, is better than before. - Sometimes I wonder, didn't my life have more color in the past? / Didn't my heart used to beat more fast, / In the days of the Fenway and Kenmore, / But now is better than before, oh now, is better than before. - Sometimes I wonder should I... should I still call this a flame, / Or should I find another name, / And then it's yesterday once more; / Now is better than before, oh now, is better than before.

PABLO PICASSO

Well some people [guys] try to pick up girls / And get called [the] assholes. / This never happened to Pablo Picasso - He could walk down your street / And girls could not resist his stare and so / Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole [some verses or versions: Not like You; Not in New York] - Well [in Paris and New York] the girls would turn the color / Of the avocado when he would drive / Down their street in his El Dorado. - He was only five foot three / And girls could not resist his stare.

NOTE: Lyrics are from Modern Lovers (1976) version, with lyrical variants from Precise indicated in brackets [ ].

Additional lines from Precise version:

And all the problems the young men of New York City have with women were not those of Pablo Picasso. / In New York City some guys try to pick up girls, it's unsuccessful tries. They don't realize it's all in the eyes of Pablo Picasso. / Now for that New York subway sound... / Be not smuck, be not obnoxious, be not bell-bottom or asshole, remember the story of Pablo Picasso.

[Instrumental]

NOT JUST A "PLUS ONE" ON THE GUEST LIST ANYMORE

She wanted attention, she wanted fame. / She wanted to not be just a "Mrs." to my name. / She wanted power, more than before. / Not feel like "Plus One" on the guest list anymore. / She wanted action, she wanted lights. / She wanted to participate in a starfight. / And be recognized by bouncers at the door. / Not feel like "Plus One" on the guest list anymore. / Express her own personality and do this without me, / And explore anything she might have to explore. / She wanted color, she wanted sound, / She wanted to leave her old polite self on the ground. / And leave her well-behaved self on the floor / Not feel like "Plus One" on the guest list anymore. [musical interlude] Express her own personality, and do this without me. / And explore anything she might have to explore. / Well, she wanted color, she wanted sound. / She wanted to leave her ole polite self on the ground, / And leave her well-behaved self on the floor, not feel like "Plus One" on the guest list anymore, more, more, more. - Color, sound, polite self on the ground, and well-behaved self on the floor, not feel like "Plus One" on the guest list anymore. 

RENO

Well, a good babysitter is hard to find, / But I've got Reno on my little mind, / Sometimes it drives me wild the way we can't be alone, / I got to take her somewhere where we can't be phoned. / Reno Reno Reno honey Reno Reno Reno. - Maybe see Charo, or maybe Tom Jones, / But I didn't phone ahead so there's no way of knowin' / Uh, did I make reservations? Well no, / But I don't want to call, I just want to go. / Reno Reno Reno honey Reno Reno Reno. - Me and her gonna laugh and laugh. Me and her gonna have big fun, / Just like kids on a school vacation. / Down the street we'll run, / And I'd like to tell you more but I got to rush, / I still love the girl with a schoolboy crush, / Reno Reno Reno honey Reno Reno Reno. - Find a motel with a velvet bed, / Where velvet walls are painted crimson red. / Find a little lounge open night and day, / Where the FBI meets the CIA. / Reno Reno Reno honey Reno Reno Reno. - Me and her gonna have big fun, / Me and her gonna laugh and laugh / Call the babysitter from the hotel room / Tell her we'll be back the 3rd of June. / I'd like to tell more but I've got to go, / Gotta go fight that rain and snow / Reno Reno Reno honey Reno Reno Reno. - Well I'd like to tell you more but time's getting tight, / The day's old and here comes the night. / Reno Reno Reno honey Reno Reno Reno / Oh and I still love the girl with a flame that burns. / She played with the kids and now it's my turn. / Reno Reno Reno honey Reno Reno Reno.

RENO

[Spanish version]

Cuando mi tiempo con ella no es suficiente / Se me pone el la mente / Los niños la hacen tan casada. / Está tanta ocupada / Reno Reno Reno honey Reno Reno Reno - Tal vez Tom Jones Tal vez Charo / Pues, you que sé no tengo horario. ¡Sin reserva? Mal empieza - ¡Pues, no quiero llamar! ¡Quiero sorpresa! / Reno Reno Reno honey Reno Reno Reno - Vamos a reír y todos olvidar, / Vamos a correr y bailar; / Quisiera hablar pero estoy en la carrera, / Es mejor que vamos a la carretera. - [interlude] - Busco un motel con cama peluda, / Con las paredes peluda también sin duda, / Busco un bar abierto noches y diás, / Donde el CIA encuentra [a] las otras espiás / [Extra lyrics: No tiene árboles, no tiene playa, / esta tanta desnuda vaya vaya / Solo montañas en el pardo desierto, / Y luego Reno siempre abierto] - ¡Tenemos que ir! ¡Vamos a ver, vamos a reír! ¡Debe de ser! [More extra lyrics: Ya no puedo hablar pasemos en coche / Se va el día, ya viene la noche] - Tal vez algo tal vez nada al otro lado de la Sierra Nevada Reno Reno Reno honey Reno Reno Reno.

[NOTE: The extra lyrics indicated in brackets are in the booklet for the CD of ¡Jonathan, te vas a emocionar! but are not actually sung on that album.]

Studio version from The Modern Lovers:

1 2 3 4 5 6 Roadrunner Roadrunner / Going faster miles an hour / Gonna drive past the Stop N Shop with the radio on / I'm in love with Massachusetts / and the neon when it’s cold outside / and the highway when it's late at night / With the radio on / I'm like the roadrunner – Awright, I’m in love with modern moonlight, 128 when it’s dark outside / I’m in love with Massachusetts / I’m in love with the radio on / It helps me from being alone late at night, helps me from being lonely late at night / I don’t feel so bad now when it’s on / Don’t feel so alone with the radio on, like the roadrunner, that’s right - Said hello to the spirit of 1956 / Pacing in the bushes next to '57 / The highway is your girlfriend, as you go by quick / Suburban trees, suburban speed / And it smells like heaven / I say roadrunner once roadrunner twice / I'm in love with rock-n-roll and I’ll be out all night, a Roadrunner [musical interlude inspired by Velvet Underground’s “Sister Ray”] - Well now, Roadrunner, Roadrunner, going faster miles an hour / Gonna drive to the Stop N Shop with the radio on at night / And be in love with modern moonlight / And be in love with modern rock and roll / modern girls and modern rock and roll / Don’t feel so alone with the radio on / OK, you say it, Modern Lovers / (Radio On!) / I got the AM (Radio On!) / I got the power, got the AM (Radio On!) / Got the AM sound (Radio On!) / I got the rockin’ rockin’ neon sound (Radio On!) / I got the car from Massachusetts (Radio On!) / I got the power from Massachusetts when it’s late at night (Radio On!) / I got the modern sounds of modern Massachusetts (Radio On!) / I got the world, I got the turnpike (Radio On!) / I got the power of the AM (Radio On!) / Rock and roll late at night (Radio On!) / I got the neon sign, modern sound, awright [etc.] / Bye, bye bye.

Live version from Precise Modern Lovers Order:

[Spoken: Thank you, we have time for one more, we have time for one more. You're right. You guessed it. Gonna do a little version, for those of you who came late, this is our geographical song, involving Route 128. We're gonna wait 'til we get back in Modern Lovers Precise Order.]

1 2 3 4 5 6 Roadrunner Roadrunner / Going faster miles an hour / Gonna drive out on the Turnpike with the radio on / And I see you in the morning / You're all dressed in black and yellow / To be the thoroughly modern man / Be the thoroughly modern fellow / And be the Roadrunner / That's right (Radio On!) / I got the AM (Radio On!) / I got the car radio, Everybody (Radio On!) / I got the radio on. Thank you very much - Said hello to the spirit of 1956 / Pacing in the bushes next to '57 / The highway is your girlfriend, as you go by quick / Suburban trees, suburban speed / And it smells like heaven / I say roadrunner once roadrunner twice / In the highways and neon, I love 'em, yeah! I'll be the roadrunner (Radio On!) / I got the AM (Radio On!) / I got the car, got the car (Radio On!) / and WOR (Radio On!) (repeat) - Hey kids, don't you love the dark? / And out Route 128 by the industrial park? / Doesn't anyone love the highway? / Other than the modern lovers / Because we're highway lovers, / Because we're such suburban lovers, / and we're (in) love with the world. / With the Radio On! / We think like Roadrunners. That's right (Radio On!) / Got the AM (Radio On!) / We love the car, we love the car (Radio On!) /  And we love God's world (Radio On!) / and we love God's world (Radio On!) / Love the highway, love the neon (Radio On!) /  Love the loneliness of bleakness (Radio On!) / and the bright suburban neon (Radio On!) / Awright (Radio On!) /  I got the AM, got the AM (Radio On!) /  WOR (Radio On!) / I got my AM, got the power, got the car, got the highway, got 128, etc. etc. / Bye bye.

[Note: WOR is presumably WOR AM Radio 710 from New York, but this is a talk radio station, not rock 'n' roll, so what gives? Anybody have any comments? Email me.]

You see I went on the roller coaster last night when I was feeling bad / Down by the sea in Santa Cruz and I was feeling sad / But we went down, and around, and it knocked me out of my head / Well, I went on the coaster and my heart was heavy as lead / But we went down, and around, and it knocked me out of my head / I say whoa-oh-oh, for it knocked me out of my head. Let's go... / Hey roller coaster by the sea, thank you for helping me / And roller coaster by the water, made me feel more as I oughtta / Well, you knocked me out of my head / See, I went on a roller coaster last night when I was feelin' bad / We were down by the sea in Santa Cruz, and I was sadder than sad / But we went down, and around, and it knocked me out of my head / Hey, when I went on the coaster, my heart was heavy as lead / But we went down, down, and around, and it knocked me out of my head / Well, it knocked me out of my head / Hey, roller coaster by the sea, thank you for helping me / Roller coaster by the water, you made me feel more as I oughtta / Yes, you knocked me out of my head.

ROOMING HOUSE ON VENICE BEACH

1 2 1 2 3 (Rooming house on Venice wha-oh-wha, Rooming house on Venice wha-oh-wha) It was a Rooming house on Venice Beach / Nice and cheap / A radiator and a sagging bed on which to sleep. / I didn't lock it, who would want my cheap guitar, / And that T-shirt and those paper bags, nah, nah. / Oh the ancient world was in my reach / from my Rooming house on Venice Beach. - It was a-rough, rough, rough / With ancient rustic hippy stuff. / It was a-cheap, cheap, cheap, / Nowadays I hear that the rents are steep. / It was a-eerie eerie eerie / Followers of Watts and Leary / You could walk walk walk to / Marina Del Rey by the dock. / Oh the ancient world was in my reach. / From my Rooming house on Venice Beach - Rooming house on Venice Beach wha-oh-wha  - It was a Rooming house on Venice Beach / About half a block / To the ancient sea / Which I could reach with half a walk. / The ancient weird guy in his toga, staff in hand, / The ancient bearded guy doin' yoga on the sand. / Oh the ancient world was in my reach. / From my Rooming house on Venice Beach - It was a-cheap, cheap, cheap, / Nowadays I hear that the rents are steep. / It was a-rough, rough, rough /  With ancient rustic hippy stuff / It was a-wild wild wild / You never gonna call it mild. / A-hip hip hip / I could move and not make a second trip. / The ancient world was in my reach from my Rooming house on Venice Beach. Let's go! - Rooming house on Venice Beach wha-oh-wha - It was a Rooming house on Venice Beach / All screwed up / Half a block from the ancient drunk guys passing the cup / Half a block from the bearded weird guys singing flat / Half a block from the weirdo weird guys, passing the hat. / The ancient world was in my reach / From my Rooming house on Venice Beach - Rooming house on Venice Beach wha-oh-wha - It was a Rooming house on Venice Beach / Where I was / Half a block, I loved that place, just because. / I didn't want it, who would want my bag of crap. / So I never locked the old screen door. / I just let it flap. / Oh the ancient world was in my reach from my Rooming house on Venice Beach.- It was rough, rough rough, / With ancient rustic hippy stuff / It was eerie eerie eerie / Followers of Watts and Leary / It was wild and free / And that appealed to me / It was a-hip hip hip / I could move and not make a second trip./ The ancient world was in my reach from my Rooming house on Venice Beach.

THE ROSE

(cover of song recorded by Bette Midler; written by Amanda McBroom)

It's the heart afraid of breaking, that never learns to dance / It's the dream afraid of waking, that never takes the chance / It's the one who won't be taken, who cannot seem to give / And the soul afraid of dying, that never learns to live. / When the night has been too lonely and the road has been too long / And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong / Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows / Lies the seed that with the sun's love in the spring becomes the rose.

SABOR A MI

[Mexican song, by Alvaro Cabrillo]

Tanto tiempo disfrutamos de este amor / Nuestras almas se acercaron tanto así / Que yo guardo tu sabor pero tu llevas también sabor a mí / Si negarás mi presencia en tu vivir / Bastaria con abrazarte y conversar / Tanta vida yo te dí, / Que por fuerza tienes ya sabor a mí. - Pasaran más de mil años, muchos más yo no se si tenga amor la eternidad / Pero allá tal como aquí en la boca llevarás sabor a mí.

SHE CRACKED (version on The Modern Lovers)

Well she was sensitive / She understood me / She understood the European things of 1943 / But she does all these things that I can't stand / I can’t care if she stays with another man / She cracked, I'm sad, but I won't / She cracked, I'm hurt, you're right - Well she cracked, I won't / She did things that I don't / She'd self destroy, necessary to self enjoy / I self develop, necessary to self help / She cracked, I'm sad, but I won't / She cracked, I'm hurt, you're right - Well she cracked, I won't / She did things that I don't / She'd eat garbage, eat shit, get stoned / I stay alone, eat health food at home.

SHE CRACKED (version on Precise)
[Spoken intro:] Thanks. We'd like to add a little Massachusetts cold bitterness to your life. This is our bitter song of the first set.  It's a song about self-discipline, too. We're flattered if you dance, we're not insulted. We say: She cracked, I'm sad, but I won't.  She cracked, I'm hurt, you're right.

Lyrics are otherwise essentially identical to the studio version, with additional spoken interjections of "A little lower" and "Way down," presumably to the sound guy.

Jonathan also covers part of this in "Monologue About Bermuda."

SHE DOESN'T LAUGH AT MY JOKES

Because I got a fine sense of humor / But she doesn't laugh at my jokes / I got this fine sense of humor, yes I'm full of glee. / Even my first grade teacher used to laugh at me / I got a fine sense of humor / I got a full repertoire / I tell 'er fine fine jokes when we're in the boudoir / Because I got a fine sense of humor / But she doesn't laugh at my jokes - Well I wake up great / My sense of humor really rates / I wake up hilarious / How come she's so serious?  - I think I call up someone important, maybe Sigmund Freud / And say, hello, hello, I'm a hilarious dude / Well, did something in her childhood bother her bad now? I think so / 'Cos I got really really funny just makin' her mad now. / Because I got a fine sense of humor but she doesn't laugh at my jokes. / Well she's up there in the morning cooking breakfast cereal / I'm up there boring her with my comic material / She's there frying eggs and yokes / And I'm there thinking up hot hot jokes / Maybe call up somebody intelligent, maybe Jean-Luc Godard / How come making her laugh is so hard? / I think I'll call up somebody intelligent, maybe Albert Camus, / I got some hot hot jokes I wanna try on vous. / Because I got a fine sense of humor but she doesn't laugh at my jokes

SINCE SHE STARTED TO RIDE

Got a brown suntan starting just above her collar / Her lower arms they're brown but the rest is kinda pale /

She'd buy Betadine if she only had a dollar / And she'd live out in the pasture if she only had a tail. / No I don't see her much since she started with horses. / No I don't see her much since she started to ride. - Well her jeans they get like a wet saddle blanket / And her boots are like you'd figure / And her car is full of hay / Horses, humans if she had to rank it, / You'd bet on they that canter and them that need fly sprayin'.  / You see I don't see her much since she started with horses. / No I don't see her much since she started to ride. / Go boys, tell 'em all about it. [musical interlude] Cantle and fender, Barrell and mane / Don't see her much since she started to train / Cannonbone, knee bone, Forearm and arm / I don't see her much when she heads to the barn. / She's so satisfied when she's riding and trainin' / She must love that smell of the barn, I must say / She's satisfied when she's groomin' and grainin'. / She's tired in the evening and she's gone in the day. / I don't see her much since she started with horses. /
I don't see her much since she started to ride.

SISTER RAY

Song by the Velvet Underground; partially covered in Jojo's song "Velvet Underground."
 

SLEEPWALK

[instrumental]

Written by Farina, Farina and Farina (!), covered by dozens if not hundreds, but the biggest hit was by Santo and Johnny in 1959.
 

SUMMER MORNING
I was walking around on Sunday morning / A summer breeze was in the dawnin' / And those smells--summer smelled great to me / Those are the kind of smells that I wait all year for / Summer's so beautiful to me / I like 'em all but... / Listen to this summer morning / Those big trees are up there / By the side of the rode, they're lining the road / The sun is comin’ up over 'em, and those trees are dark and cool still / The ground is still wet / The smell of the pollen and flowers / The breeze is so neat, so sweet / Bees buzzin', and flies not yet flyin', well there're little nits nittin' and gnats gnattin' / See, I was just... / I was just walking around on a summer morning / Bop-she-bop-she-bop-hey-hey / Enjoying the breeze and these smells of the dawnin' / Bop-she-bop-she-bop-hey-hey / As the sun rose above the trees / So wet still and cool in the morning breeze / I love the life so on summer mornings / Bop-she-bop-she-bop-hey-hey / These smells make me feel so fine / Bop-she-bop-she-bop-hey-hey / You know, when the sun rise above the trees / They still cool, they still dark in the morning breeze / These smells, they're so good / Bop-she-bop-she-bop-hey-hey This summer is so fine / Bop-she-bop-she-bop-hey-hey / When the sun does rise above the trees / When they're still cool and shady in the breeze / One more time, I'm talkin' of / When the sun it rises above the trees / When they're still wet and dark in the morning breeze

SURRENDER

To win you must fight, or so they say. / But with love things never seem to work that way. / With love you can't win if love can't get in / And it can't pierce the heart of a defender. / To win in love you must surrender. / If you're angry then you can't surrender, no. / You're unwilling surrender's just a show. / And unwillingly sweet means certain defeat. / Better a fighter than a soft-spoken pretender. / To win in love, you must surrender. - Now I can be stubborn and draw the line. / But now I'm learned to pray, "Thy will and not mine." / Love has softened my heart and softened me. / It softened my eyes on the things they see. / And my cheek has got much softer to the touch / Since I learned to be receiver as well as sender. / To win in love you must surrender. [musical interlude] I ask at night when the world is still. / Be it done unto me, according to thy will. / To summon Gabriel and Michelangelo or to compete with Juliet or Romeo, / Your armor so strong is strategically wrong. / Victory goes this time to the tender / To win in love you must surrender. / To win in love you must surrender, surrender, surrender, surrender, surrender. 

THAT LITTLE SLEEPER CAR

There at the stoplight was a little sleeper car / With power that you can't see. / Painted drab but then that's the way they are, / but that little sleeper car's not foolin' me. / My friends will just tell me that I'm nuts. / But I've seen all I need to see. / That little sleeper car might fool the world / But that little sleeper car's not foolin' me. [musical interlude] Now my friends who are bit right in the path [?] / Told me that car can't go too fast / And of course at first glance right they are / But that's because it's a sleeper car / It's lookin' bad, it's lookin' sad. / But I've seen all I need to see. / That little sleeper car might fool the world, / But that little sleeper car's not foolin' me. [Another musical interlude] Horns! Yeah! - It's runnin' bad, it's lookin' sad, but I've seen all I need to see. / That little sleeper car might fool the world, / But that little sleeper car's not foolin' me. - They just see rot, they just see rust / They just see a car that they just don't trust / But I'm here to tell the world at large that this is one high-class little car. / And now she's pullin' away from the light, but I've seen all I need to see. / That little sleeper car might fool the world, but that little sleeper car's not foolin' me.  No no no. 

When there's things to do not because you gotta / When you run for love not because you oughtta / When you trust your friends with no reason notta / The joy I've named shall not be tamed / And that summer feeling is gonna haunt you one day in your life - When the cool of the pond makes you drop down on it / When the smell of the lawn makes you flop down on it / When the teenage car gets the cop down on it / That time is here for one more year / And that summer feeling is gonna haunt you one day in your life- If you've forgotten what I'm naming / You're gonna long to reclaim it one day / Because that Summer feeling is gonna haunt you one day in your life - And if you wait until you're older / A sad resentment will smolder one day / And then that summer feeling's gonna haunt you / And then that summer feeling's gonna taunt you / And then that summer feeling is gonna hurt you one day in your life / When even fourth grade starts looking good, which you hated / And first grade's looking good too, overrated / And you boys long for some little girl that you dated / Do you long for her or for the way you were ? / That summer feeling is gonna haunt you one day in your life - When the Oldsmobile has got the top down on it / When the catamaran has got the drop down on it / When the flat of the land has got the crop down on it / Some things were good before and some things never were / But that summer feeling is gonna haunt you one day in your life - Well when your friends are in town and they've got time for you / When you're with them hanging around and they don't ignore you / When you say what you will and they still adore you / Is that not appealing it's that summer feeling / That summer feeling is gonna haunt you one day in your life - It's gonna haunt you / It's gonna taunt you / You're gonna want this feeling inside one more time / When you're hanging around the park with the water fountain / And there's a little girl with the dirty ankles / 'Cos she's on the switch you know and the dust is kicking up / And you remember that ankle / And the way she flirted with you / For all this time, how come / Well that summer feeling is gonna haunt you one day in your life / You'll throw away everything for it / Well when the playground that just was all dirt comes haunting / And that little girl who called you a flirt, memory comes taunting / You pick these things apart they're not that appealing / You put them together and you'll get this certain feeling / That summer feeling is gonna haunt you one day in your life / It's gonna haunt you / It's gonna taunt you / You're gonna want this feeling inside one more time

Note: Lyrics from version on I, Jonathan.

THEME FROM MOULIN ROUGE

[Instrumental]

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY

His friends say stop whining, / they've had enough of that. / His friends would say stop pining, / there's others girls to look at. / They've tried to set him up with Tiffany and Indigo, / but there's something about Mary that they don't know. / Mary, there's just something about Mary. / Well, his friends say, look life's no fairy tale, / that he should have some fun, he's suffered long enough. / Well, they may now about domestic and imported ale, / but they don't know a thing about love. / Well, his friends would say he's dreaming / and living in the past, / but they've never fallen in love, / so his friends need not be asked. / His friends would say be reasonable, / his friends would say just let go, / but there's something about Mary that they don't know.. / Mary, there's just something about Mary.

TO HIDE A LITTLE THOUGHT

I try to hide a little thought / The more I tried the worst things got / It started out so meek and small, but in a wink pervaded all / Just a stray little, stray stray stray / And [By] tryin' to hide it I asked it to say / In [By] tryin' to hide it, I made it a bed, / From which to rule the world unsaid. - To hide a little thought, a little vagabond, a sprite in the dark that wouldn't move along - [So] Many thoughts they come and go / This too shall pass, she'll never know. / But since my way is bold and free / She noticed something strange in free. / Maybe my voice speeded up or slowed down. / Maybe my eyes started dartin' around. / Maybe my hands started coverin' my face. / Maybe I rambled all over the place. - [Guitar!] [musical interlude] - I don't say each thing on my mind / To say each thing would be unkind. / But with someone I know so well / It's so unlike me not to tell. / Usually I like confrontations, I do / I get this thrill out saying [telling] what's true / I get [look] so lifeless when [if] I try to lie / That's why it's easy to tell when I try to hide a little thought...

Note: Lyrics from version on You Must Ask the Heart; slightly variant lyrics from version on Surrender to Jonathan are indicated in brackets [ ].

TRUE LOVE IS NOT NICE

Well, it hurts from the bottom / and it hurts down to your soul, that's because true love is not nice. / And it brings up hurt from when you were five years old / that's because true love is nice. - Oh, pain, pain, pain, ain't that just love's name, / love can bring up hurt from way down low. - It now be unforsized, true love is just not civilized. / True love is not nice, no, no. - Well, you've been hurt before, but now you're hurt and sore. / True love is not nice. / And if it's real love then that hurt won't go, well, / true love is not nice. - Oh, pain, pain, pain, rain, rain, rain, / that's why you felt love’s arrow and said, oh, / Well, you knew from your first flirt, / that love was here to hurt. / True love is not nice, no, no.

U.F.O. MAN, THE

The UFO Man is flyin' around, / Now he's flyin' right over my town / The UFO man just went past, / I wonder how he moves that fast. - Faster, faster, he's the master of flying around; / Spinnin' Spinnin' then he's gone again over my town, / Are you ready, ready 'cause he's already flyin' around; / Bankin' bankin' now the ship is crankin' over my town. - The UFO man just went by, / Lord and king of the purple sky; / The UFO man's movin' even faster, / He's gotta fix that thing up by Mount Shasta.

Es magia, es magia que nos hemos quedado juntos, / Es magia, no por casualidad / Es magia, no solo suerte / Y debe de ser una fuerza allá. - Es magia, es magia que nos hemos quedado juntos, / Es magia, justicia poesia; / Es magia, es magia, no solo suerte; / Y debe de ser una fuerza que guia. - La palabra magia es facil de abusar / Pero algo sucedió y no por azar / Y lo supe desde cuando, la primera vez hablando / Y debe de ser una fuerza allá. - Es magia, es magia que no hemos quedado juntos, / Es magia, ¡Ya vive! ¡Ya se va! / Es magia, es magia, no solo suerte, / Y debe de ser una fuerza allá. / La palabra magia es facil de abusar / Pero probe otras chicas y no me diga na'a [nada], / Y tuve una corazonada desde la primera mirada, / Y debe de ser una fuerza allá. ... Piensan que magia y ciencia ne pegan / Pero Einstein nos vió y gritó, ya se van / Y lo supe desde esos, / Primeros tacaños besos / Y debe de ser una fuerza allá.

Gather around for a minute or two / And I'll admit something to you / I get intrigued when women look sinister / Call me superficial / But I stare at them vampire girls / It's not the mascara, It's not the tight dress / It's a look in the eyes gonna scare you to death / Vampire girl, vampire girl / I get so intrigued when they look like a vampire girl - Does she cook meat, does she cook rice? / Does she do ritual sacrifice? - Vampire girl, vampire girl / I get so intrigued when they look like a vampire girl / Go little vampire girl, go little vampire girl, go little vampire girl, go little vampire girl. / Evil now, scary now, go little vampire girl / Evil now yeah, scary now, yeah yeah / Evil now yeah yeah, scary now, yeah, yeah yeah - Is she in heaven, is she in hell? / Is she a sex industry professional? -  If you fall for the ruse, buddy, I won’t laugh / I believe I’ve fallen for it couple times myself - Here comes one with a serpentine walk / Comin’ up to me, she walks to talk / Hiya, girl, vampire girl / I get so intrigued when they look like a vampire girl / Who’d have predicted? / Who’d have suspected? / She’s not so scary / She’s got all my records.

VELVET UNDERGROUND

They were wild like the USA, A mystery band in a New York way, / Rock and roll but not the rest, / And to me America at its best / How in the world were they makin' that sound. / The Velvet Underground  /A spooky tone on a Fender bass. / Playing less notes and left more space. / Stayed kinda still, looked kinda shy / Kinda far away, kinda dignified. / How in the world were they makin' that sound. The VU. / You can look at the band / And wonder where all that sound was comin' from with just four people there. / Twangy sounds of the cheapest types / Sounds as stark as black and white stripes. / Bold and brash, sharp and rude, / Like the heat's turned off and you're low on food. / How in the world were they makin' that sound, the Velvet Underground. 

Like this...

[Cover of VU's "Sister Ray":] Duck and Sally inside, she's cooking for the down five, / She's staring at Miss Rayon / She's busy licking up her pusher's hand. / I'm searching for my mainline / I said I couldn't hit it sideways, I said I couldn't hit sideways. / She does it just like Sister Ray says, all right. Hmmm. -

Wild wild party when they start to unwind, / Close encounter of the thirdest kind / On the best and playing, / Everybody's saying, / How in the world they makin' that sound, the Velvet Underground / You could look at that band and at first sight, / Say that certain rules about party music wouldn't apply tonight.  / Twangy sounds of the cheapest kind / Like guitar sale $29.99, / Bold and brash, stark and still / Like the heat's turned off and you can't pay the bill. / How in the world were they makin' that sound. / Both guitars got the Fuzztone on. / Drummer's standing upright, poundin' along, / A howl, a tone, a feedback whine. / Biker boys meet the college kind. / How in the world were they makin' that sound. / A wild wild party when start to unwind. / Close encounter of the thirdest kind. / On the best and groovin'; everybody movin' / How in the world were they makin' that sound, the Velvet Underground. 

Walter "Big Train" Johnson (1887-1946). He compiled 3,508 strikeouts over a brilliant 21-year career pitching for the Washington Senators; his 110 shutouts are still more than any pitcher - and possibly a record that will stand for all time. Despite throwing for losing teams most of his career, he won 417 games - second only to Cy Young on the all-time list.

I'm gonna tell you if you don't know (Boomba boomba etc.) / About a great ballplayer from a long time ago (Boomba boomba etc.) / A hero to me, I ain't puttin' you on, son / I now tell the story of baseball's Walter Johnson. - All through baseball, he was loved and respected / Was there bitterness in Walter Johnson, it was never detected - When pitchers throw their pitch to scare (Boomba boomba etc.) / They'll almost hit that opposing player, ooh (Boomba boomba etc.) / Walter Johnson wouldn't do that, not even just a little. / He kept that baseball right down the middle ... When the Washington Nine was a-goin' to win (Boomba boomba etc.) / Walter would ease up a little on the opposition (Boomba boomba etc.) / The other team mates just didn't get it / They'd say, "Hey there, Walter, how come you let them hit it?" / Walter told them with his gentle smile, said, "Boys, this game's no fun if you don't get a hit once in a while." ... Well, a record's just a record in a book that's just a book. (Boomba boomba etc.) / Walter Johnson never gave the opposing team so much as a dirty look. (Boomba boomba etc.) / And a season's just a season in a game that's just a game / And Walter Johnson cared about people more than he cared about fame.

[Notes: Walter Johnson conquered opposing batsmen with a fastball that would still slice down today's players. So he didn't need to throw at you. The great Ty Cobb once said, "Walter Johnson's fastball looked about the size of a watermelon seed and it hissed at you as it passed." Ty Cobb would also crowd the plate, knowing that Big Train would not brush him back. It is true that Walter did not intentionally throw at opposing players. But, because of his really long career, he did hold the record (206) for hit batsmen. And Jonathan was right about Walter's character; he was called "Sir Walter" and the "White Knight," and he never drank, swore, argued with umpires, or blamed other players for losses.]

When Harpo played his harp, it was a mystery / And all the laughter stopped back to the balcony / Chico, Chico sure to please / Now let’s watch him shoot the keys / When Harpo played his harp all was still, still. - Well when Harpo played his harp it was a dream, it was / Well if someone else can do it, how come nobody does? Oh Groucho, Groucho, fast as light, some talk like him, but not quite / When Harpo played his harp all was still, still. - Harpo, Harpo, this is the angels / Where did you get that sound so fine? Harpo, Harpo, we got to hear it, one more time. Oh Harpo, Harpo, we’re in the galaxies, and where did you get that sound so fine? Harpo, Harpo, we got to hear it, one more time. - Do you remember what he would do sometimes / Before he played? Well, he’d look up to the sky / And he’d look the angels’ way / Oh Harpo, Harpo, when you start, tears of joy inside my heart / When Harpo played his harp all was still, still.

WHEN SHE KISSES ME

Well she was born in the winter, when the sun shines so pale. / I was born in the spring, in case you can't tell, in case you can't tell. / But when she kisses me, that's when the maple tree meets the honey bee. / When she kisses me, when she kisses me.  - Now they don't last long and they're not hot. / And they're not the wettest kisses I ever got. / I open my eyes, and where is she? / She still don't know what she does to me. - When she kisses me, I still react / My eyes stay closed long after the fact. / When she kisses me, when she kisses me. - When she kisses me, when she kisses me. - Well I swoon and I lean, 'cos I can't stand erect. / She thinks I'm swooning just for special effect. / Now I swoon and I lean, 'cos I'm so delighted. / When she kisses me, I get so excited. / After all this time. / When she kisses me, I'm still ecstatic / She thinks I'm being over-dramatic. / When she kisses me, when she kisses me.

You're wondering why you're feeling blue / And you live with a guy that you can't talk to / You can't talk to the dude and that's no longer in style / You can't talk to the dude / No this "No es normal." / You can't talk to the dude / Things will never be right until you go. - Your sense of humor has gotten worse / Now that you live with a guy who can't converse / You can't talk to the dude / Well, he's set in his way / Got a bad attitude when you say what you say / You can't talk to the dude / And things will never be right until you go. ... You wonder why you're feeling rank / And you live with a guy who's in the tank / You can't talk to the dude / He's just hangin' around / No, he don't taste food / He's just shovelin' it down / You can't talk to the dude / And things will never be right until you go.

Jonathan Richman's performances here and over the last two decades don't just assay romance, faith, adventure and wonder; they genuinely embody these qualities. - Jim Washburn

YOU MUST ASK THE HEART

Well don't ask me about love / I'm just your mind / I see sometimes oh oh / But now I'm blind / Don't ask me about love, 'Cos I'm the wrong guy / I don't know how love happens, and I don't know why / I analyze / And that's not bad oh / But I never find love / I always find love's shadow / I'm OK / For fantasy / But for the truth about love, ask him, not me. / For this is your mind / And I'm not the one / You must ask the heart. [instrumental] This is your mind / And I only borrow / I don't feel happy in the morning / And I don't feel sorrow. / And love is a mystery. / I'm not as ease right now, ask him and not me. / 'Cos this is your mind / And I'm not the one / You must ask the heart.
 

This page has lyrics for 80 Jonathan Richman songs.  The rest are on their way...

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