Time slows down when I’m on my trip
Open up the hatch and let ‘er rip
Stare at the walls ‘til they start to move
Listen to the needle as it hits the groove
‘Cause there’s a monkey on my back, and it feels like a ton of brinks
How am I gonna get tomorrow’s fix?
There’s a weight on my mind and I’m running out of tricks
How am I gonna get tomorrow’s fix?
Gimme a mirror or a spoon that I can lick
How am I gonna get tomorrow’s fix?
Follow the tracks…’til you get to the train
Follow the clouds…’til you get to the rain
Follow your arm…’til you get to the vein
Follow your mind…’til it drives you insane
Money doesn’t grow on trees
A little bit is just a tease
Every day begins with doubt
I’m a desperate man with no way out
I’m hooked, I’m hooked, it isn’t greed
The more you get, the more you need
The less you move, the more you speed
Open my heart and watch it bleed
‘Cause there’s a monkey on my back, and it feels like a ton of brinks
How am I gonna get tomorrow’s fix?
There’s a weight on my mind and I’m running out of tricks
How am I gonna get tomorrow’s fix?
Gimme a mirror or a spoon that I can lick
How am I gonna get tomorrow’s fix?
I don’t care about my next meal
The hunger for smack is oh so real
It’s a junkie’s life, I can’t be pleased
This shit has got me on my knees
Dragons and horses ride into hell
The devil’s got my soul to sell
I’ll beg, I’ll borrow, I’ll even steal
Anything to score a deal
‘Cause there’s a monkey on my back, and it feels like a ton of brinks
How am I gonna get tomorrow’s fix?
There’s a weight on my mind and I’m running out of tricks
How am I gonna get tomorrow’s fix?
Gimme a mirror or a spoon that I can lick
How am I gonna get tomorrow’s fix?
Follow the tracks…’til you get to the train
Follow the clouds…’til you get to the rain
Follow your arm…’til you get to the vein
Follow your mind…’til it drives you insane
Oh those bittersweet coming of age days when your dad tells you to get off your ass and get a job!
ROCK N ROLL DISEASE
Just the other day my daddy and me
Had a long talk about the mess I made of me
He said to me; son don’t you ever get tired
Don’t you ever get tired
Of that loud, loud music that you’re listening too?
I said to him daddy can’t you see
I just can’t help it, I just can’t help it
What I got is that rock n roll disease
There ain’t no cure for that rock n roll disease
It must be every other day my daddy and me
Have a long talk about the mess I’ve made of me
He says to me; son you know you’ll never get hired
You’ll never get hired
If you don’t cut off all that long, long hair
I said to him daddy can’t you see
I just can’t help it, I just can’t help it
What I got is that rock n roll disease
There ain’t no cure for that rock n roll disease
When I was just a little boy we’d throw around the ball
Until dinner was on the table and mama made the call
But now I’m a big boy and a guitar is my toy
And I drive my old man crazy when I make that awful noise
Come on boys let’s make some awful noise
Guitar solo
It’s gotta be every single day my daddy and me
Have a long talk about the mess I’ve made of me
He says to me; son you gotta stop getting wired
You gotta stop getting wired
You gotta lay off the drugs and the booze
I said to him daddy can’t you see
I just can’t help it, I just can’t help it
What I got is that rock n roll disease
There ain’t no cure for that rock n roll disease
I said to him daddy, dear daddy, won’t you tell me the truth
Won’t you tell me those tales of your long lost youth?
He said to me son, my son, I had my fun
But when I was a kid I never did things you did
I never done done, the things that you done done
I said to him daddy can’t you see
I just can’t help it, I just can’t help it
What I got is that rock n roll disease
There ain’t no cure for that rock n roll disease
What I got is that rock n roll disease
There ain’t no cure for that rock n roll disease
Our parents raised us to always go down fighting…and that’s just what I’m gonna do.
UP IN FLAMES
Go down fighting, go up in flames
Take no prisoners, play no games
And as you burn, only dust remains
Go down fighting, go up in flames
You name the law and I’ll break it
Pick the poison, I’ll take it
If I done her wrong then I’ll take the blame
Go down fighting, go up in flames
Up in flames, up in flames
Go down fighting, go up in flames
Fire is my claim to fame
Rock n roll is my middle name
Knock ‘em all down and stake my claim
Go down fighting, go up in flames
Up in flames, up in flames
Go down fighting, go up in flames
Take no prisoners, play no games
And as you burn, only dust remains
Go down fighting, go up in flames
Another tale of war and love…
WAR ZONE
Hiding in my bunker, my love it sunk her
I won the battle but then I lost the war
Missiles cruising, my love I’m losing
Nothing I can do but keep on boozing
Bombs are blasting, my love ain’t lasting
So won’t you throw this dog a bone and let him be
I’m in a war zone, all alone
So won’t you throw this dog a bone and let him be
I said I’m in a war zone, all alone
So won’t you throw this dog a bone and let him be
Loose lips, sink ships
So grab her by the hips and let ‘er rip
Load up the mortars, load up the tanks
I hope I ain’t been shooting blanks
Heat seeking, midnight creeping
So won’t you throw this dog a bone and let him be
I’m in a war zone, all alone
So won’t you throw this dog a bone and let him be
I said I’m in a war zone, all alone
So won’t you throw this dog a bone and let him be
But wait, what’s this? Defenses down
It might be time to send in the clowns
Radar guide me to your hole, I’m just about ready to explode
Ready, Aim, Fire, 1, 2, 3, I’m taking you prisoner, home with me
Bull’s eye, it’s a perfect hit, no more am I gonna take your shit
So won’t you throw this dog a bone and let him be
I’m in a war zone, all alone
So won’t you throw this dog a bone and let him be
I said I’m in a war zone, all alone
So won’t you throw this dog a bone and let him be
But in the end, she leaves me weak
So tired I can
’t even speak
Up and down I’m springing leaks, without a paddle, up a creek
So won’t you throw this dog a bone and let him be
I’m in a war zone, all alone
So won’t you throw this dog a bone and let him be
I said I’m in a war zone, all alone
So won’t you throw this dog a bone and let me be
I remember watching the national news one night when I was in my 20’s and the anchorman (it might have been Walter Cronkite but I can’t say for sure) was doing some story about US soldiers returning home from our latest skirmish. He said something about “the faceless heroes in the battlefield”, and for some reason the words “faceless hero” struck me with the force of a powerful bomb. I immediately wrote this song.
FACELESS HEROES
Faceless hero count to zero
Fight for everyday
They taught you not to show compassion
But you shed a tear along the way
Faceless hero march to battle
Fight for man indeed
You lay your soul upon the line
To feed your leader’s greed
Battered…Beaten…Fight the pain
Send him…Off to…War again
The reasons are, same as before
No one knows what we’re fighting for
Faceless heroes come and go
But no one really cares
Until the day you know the face
No one really hears
And as you’re…Fighting…Don’t you know
Our young have…No place…Left to go
You can hide the truth, but can’t you see
There’ll be no joy…in victory
As the old saying goes, all is fair in love and war.
GUN SHY
There’s a hole in my heart
A bullet wound of love
I use to fight back
With a gun and a leather glove
I fought so many battles
But the war was never won
I always wind up prisoner
A hostage with a gun
I’m gun-shy, gun-shy
Afraid to pull the trigger
I’m gun-shy, gun-shy
And this hole in my heart
Just keeps getting bigger
BIGGER
Prisoner of love or war
It’s pretty much the same
Breaking hearts, breaking minds
Just to play your foolish game
So let’s call a ceasefire
Stop this pain my friend
I guess I lose to you now
Again and again and again
You know I’m gun-shy, gun-shy
Afraid to pull the trigger
I’m gun-shy, gun-shy
And this hole in my heart
Just keeps getting bigger
BIGGER
Every time you knocked me down
I always got back up
But now I can’t fight back no more
I’ve took my share of lumps
I’ve been hurt so many times
Suffered many losses
Love is on the borderline
My heart it never crosses
Because I’m gun-shy, gun-shy
Afraid to pull the trigger
I’m gun-shy, gun-shy
And this hole in my heart
Just keeps getting bigger
BIGGER
My friends and I were stranded in Providence Rhode Island on a Sunday night after a Genesis concert back in 1978 when my buddy Patrick’s car broke down. With few options so late into the evening, we grabbed some old blankets from the trunk and hunkered down next to some railroad tracks in downtown Providence for the night. You should have seen the looks on the faces of the Monday morning commuters when they saw five lumps of humanity passed out next to an old box car. And although in some strange way I thought it was kind of a fun experience at the time, looking back on it now I must admit that it wasn’t the most pleasant of evenings…but on the plus side, I wrote this song!
PROVIDENCE
Going away, we returned the next day
I thought that we were here to stay
We were unprepared, but no one cared
And no one dared to show their fear
No one had the foresight to show us wrong from right
I tried with all my might, I cried out with the night
To help you sing your song…sing your song
Ooooh Providence
Oh Oh sweet Providence
From the beginning we knew the score
No need to tell us what’s in store
Time and place will leave no trace
What a state that we were in, searching for our origins
You know that nothing ever makes much sense
But everything you do is so intense
When you sing your song…sing your song
Ooooh Providence
Oh Oh sweet Providence
Living in the city, never showing pity
For people who are lost, and homeless in the night
In the beginning, God create man
Genesis was written so that we might understand
But no one had the foresight to show us wrong from right
I tried with all my might, I cried out with the night
To help you sing your song…sing your song
Ooooh Providence
Oh Oh sweet Providence
And as the morning trains begin to grind
God takes care of all mankind
Ooooh Providence
Oh Oh sweet Providence
Sometimes you just got to make a stand regardless of the consequences.
ONE NIGHT STAND
Tonight ain’t gonna be
Just you wait and see
Like any other night that’s ever been
My mind’s been made
And my debt’s been paid
And my brain, my brain is soaked in gin
And I might be wrong
But it won’t be long
Sometimes, sometimes you just can’t win
Tonight, tonight
It’s gonna be all right
Tonight I’m gonna make my stand
Tonight I’m gonna make my stand
I mock the law
One move and I draw
She just don’t seem to understand
I’m flying high
Oh so high
But I got, I got no place to land
And if I crash
Please hide the cash
Bury it beneath the desert sand
Tonight, tonight
It’s gonna be all right
Tonight I’m gonna make my stand
Tonight I’m gonna make my stand
And tomorrow…won’t matter…tonight
One of the saddest songs I’ve ever written. And yet at the end of the day I still find hope buried somewhere within these words.
FADE AWAY
The sun he hasn’t shined for days
The smile has seemed to left your gaze
I don’t care what no one says
I put my dreams on delay
Work my ass off everyday
The boss won’t even raise my pay
Might as well take a break
The more you make, the more they take
They’ll tax your soul for Heaven’s sake
CHORUS
Someday my friend
You know I’m gonna fade away
Someway my friend
You know I gotta fade away
I think of you all the time
A memory I can’t leave behind
Out of sight but never out of mind
Ten years have come and gone
The pain keeps going, on and on
Girl we’ve been apart for much too long
I keep your picture in my wallet
Though it hurts too much to look at it
; I’m falling apart, bit by bit
CHORUS
Someday my friend
You know I’m gonna fade away
Someway my friend
You know I gotta fade away
BRIDGE
Fade into the sunset
Fade into the sea
My bags are packed
I shan’t be back
Won’t you light a torch for me girl
Won’t you light a torch for me
Every day’s a dull routine
I wake up to the same old dream
Of you and me, it’s the same old scene
I tell myself that I’ll forget
But it just ain’t happened yet
I’ve loved you since the day we met
I just can’t seem to shake it
I don’t know if I can take it
But I think I’m gonna make it anyway
CHORUS
Someday my friend
You know I’m gonna fade away
Someway my friend
You know I gotta fade away
I’m running out of words to say
I’m running out of songs to play
You’re all that I’ve got…today
Emotion has been betrayed
The truth is put on display
This time I hope you’re here to stay
I need to be touched in a special way
God you seem so far away
I think I’m gonna sleep all day
CHORUS
Someday my friend
You know I’m gonna fade away
Someway my friend
You know I gotta fade away
BRIDGE
Fade into the sunset
Fade into the sea
My bags are packed
I shan’t be back
Won’t you light a torch for me girl
Won’t you light a torch for me
Words and Music Volume One Page 4