Oh that buggy boogie woogie sweeps me off my feet
What this world needs is a good retreat
What this world needs is a good two dollar room
‘n a good two dollar broom
One day I was sweepin’ down by the wall
I bumped a mama spider ‘n the babies begin’ to fall
Off o’ my broom
Now I gotta keep on sweepin’ ‘n sweepin’
‘fore they fill the room
What world needs now is another folk singer
Like I need a hole in my head
We are the folk song army.
Every one of us cares.
We all hate poverty, war, and injustice,
Unlike the rest of you squares.
There are innocuous folk songs, yeah,
But we regard 'em with scorn.
The folks who sing 'em have no social conscience,
Why, they don’t even care if Jimmy Crack Corn.
So now I can never go back to Miami
And New York is so cold
That a person could die
I’d be better off dead
Like mein late partner Sammy
'Cause he’s in that big Fontainebleau in the sky
Now if he don’t stop eatin’ my eggs up
Though I’m not a real bad guy
I’m gonna get my riffle and send him
To that great chicken house in the sky
Boutta eat a egg
Gonna eat two
Maybe eat three
Probably not four
That would be too many eggs
Terry got a muffin and he buttered it down
Buttered it down
Buttered it down
Terry got a muffin and he buttered it down
Buttered that muffin down
I forgot to bring the napkins to the barbecue last night
So everybody spit on me, and told me I should die
They strung me by my ankles from the nearest maple tree
“Hey, napkin forgetter!”, they screamed and jeered at me
Well, I like bread and butter
I like toast and jam
That’s what my baby feeds me
I’m her loving man
How come you’re always such a fussy young man?
Don’t want no Captain Crunch, don’t want no Raisin Bran
Well, don’t you know that other kids are starving in Japan?
So, eat it, just eat it (Ooh!)
Turning Japanese
I think I’m turning Japanese
I really think so
I’ve got your picture, I’ve got your picture
I’d like a million of them over myself
I want a doctor to take your picture
So I can look at you from inside as well.
Turning Japanese. The Vapors
I like your pin shot
I keep it with your letter
Done up in blueprint blue
It sure looks good on you
And when you smile for the camera
I know I’ll love you better
If you smile, through your pain and sorrow
Smile, and maybe tomorrow
You’ll see the sun come shining through for you
Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That’s the time you must keep on trying
Smile! What’s the use in crying?
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile
Children play in the park, they don’t know
I’m alone in the dark, even though
Time and time again I see your face smiling inside
I’m so happy (oh, oh)
That you love me (oh, oh)
Life is lovely (woah)
When you’re near me
Tell me you will stay
Make me smile
Anyway, to cut a long story short
Fame finally found him
Mirrors became his torturers
Cameras snapped him at every chance
The women all went back to their homes
And their husbands
With secret smiles in the corners of their mouths
My friends from college they’re all married now
They have their houses and their lawns
They have their silent noons
Tearful nights, angry dawns
Their children hate them for the things they’re not
They hate themselves for what they are
And yet they drink, they laugh
Close the wound, hide the scar
All your children are poor unfortunate victims
of systems beyond their control
A plague upon your ignorance
and the gray despair of your ugly life
She (we never thought of ourselves)
Is leaving (never a thought for ourselves)
Home (we struggled hard all our lives to get by)
She’s leaving home, after living alone, for so many years
Anthony works in the grocery store
Saving his pennies for someday
Mama Leone left a note on the door
She said, ‘Sonny, move out to the country’
Ah, but working too hard
Can give you a heart-attack-ack-ack-ack-ack-ack
Your love is like sand inside a bathing suit
Your love is a symphony with the sound on mute
A letter to the wrong address
Or red wine on a wedding dress
Like broken bones in my playing hand
Like trying to swallow sand
And I didn’t see this one coming; now I’m in too deep
I didn’t see this one coming; now I’m in too deep
I think I’ll just keep swimming down, down, down
There’s no point in trying to reach dry ground
I’m drowned! I’m drowned!