It tells the story of a man on hard times with a wife and daughters who decides the only way they are going to survive is if there aren’t so many mouths to feed.
In a state of delerium he takes his youngest daughter out for a walk and ends up pushing her into a well.
In the aftermath he tells of his guilt that’s eating at him and ends up hanging himself in shame.
I’m thinking and I’m thinking till there’s nothing I ain’t thunk, I’m breathing in the stink, till finally I stunk. It was at that time, I swear I lost my mind, I started making plans to kill my own kind.
I threw my child into a bottomless pit, She was screaming as she fell, but I never heard her hit.
I’m going out to the barn with a never stopping pain, I’m going out to the barn to hang myself in shame.
I was gonna post something by Johnny Mercer or Larry Hart or like that. But I’d feel like the old guy in the drip dry raincoat and tennis shoes. So I’ll be off now for a pastrami sammich.
Don’t feel bad doug, I quoted Larry Hart – fine lyracist that he was others have quoted from Broadway – it’s a big tent and others might benefit from your knowlege.
stpauler, John Wesley Harding and Dar Williams, you have good taste. The Devil in Me and Are You Out There, respectively, are brilliant.
All of The Legal Ramifications of a Hot Dog Vendor Who Works at Yankee Stadium by Christine Lavin, but I’ll single out this bit:
For a break-up, Main and Broadway by Cub:
And maybe the best quatrain I’ve ever heard, from Happy Endings (Romeo and Juliet) by Andrew Ratchin:
Wait a minute. I knew that title didn’t sound right. It should be The Legal Ramifications of a Crackerjack Vendor Who Works at Yankee Stadium. And that really is vital to the song, too.
Many songs by Kinky Freidman fall into this catagory. Serious ones like:
In the wind-dows, candles glowing
Remind you of the time you were a child.
The road ahead, forever rolling
And anything worth crying can be smiled
So Ride, Ride em Jewboy, Ride them all around the old corral.
I’m, I’m with you boy, if I got to ride six million miles.
And funny ones too:
They ain’t making Jews like Jesus anymore
They ain’t making carpenters who know what nails are for.
The whole damn place was singing as I strolled out of the door
Well, they ain’t making Jews like Jesus anymore.
…didn’t have a camera by my side this time,
Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes,
Maybe I will tell you all about it when I’m in the mood to lose my way with words.
83
Here I stand, 6 feet small,
Romanticizing years ago,
It’s a bitter sweet feeling hearing “Wrapped Around Your Finger” on the radio
When I was a just a bit younger ( ), I absolutely loved the lyrics to Epitaph by King Crimson. Still do. Especially the second verse.
The wall on which the prophets wrote
Is cracking at the seams.
Upon the instruments of death
The sunlight brightly gleams.
When every man is torn apart
With nightmares and with dreams,
Where no-one lays the laurel wreath
And silence drowns the screams.
Between the iron gates of fate,
The seeds of time were sown,
And watered by the deeds of those
Who know and who are known;
Knowledge is a deadly friend
When no one sets the rules.
The fate of all mankind I see
Is in the hands of fools.
And the rain is falling and i believe
My time has come
It reminds me of the pain
Immortal Technique - You Never Know
Baby don’t you see, I had a blood transfusion that left me with HIV
Hoped the end exists for me since late in 1993
I died a virgin, I wish I could’ve given myself to you
I cried in the hospital because there was no one else but you
DEAD KENNEDYS - Holiday In Cambodia
Play ethnicky jazz to parade your snazz
On your five grand stereo
Braggin that you know how the niggers feel cold
And the slums got so much soul
Mary got pregnant from a kid named Tom who said he was in love
He said don’t worry about a thing baby doll I’m the man you’ve been dreamin’ of
But three months later he said he won’t date her or return her call
And she sweared god damn if I find that man I’m cuttin’ off his balls
And then she heads for the clinic and she gets some static walkin’ through the doors
They call her a killer, and they call her a sinner, and they call her a whore
This one reminds me of a group of friends I used to have. I think it speaks perfectly of the early college years, at least for me. This may be a bit personal, but:
I assume we aren’t allowed to post links to download the mp3s here. but if you email me, I will send these songs to you.
), I absolutely loved the lyrics to Epitaph by King Crimson. Still do. Especially the second verse.