Author's Song Notes & Lyrics for Lovers Vow

Lover's Vow "She was practiced at the art of deception..." Lover's Vow ended up being the title track after I initially thought we might not even record it. Blues legend Bobby Radcliff plays a wicked solo. Lover's Vow I checked the finger prints on your back below your shoulder blade there was a scratch looked at my hands, they don't match An open purse in an empty room between the lipstick and perfume a little note said I'll see you soon. Chorus: Love's been scared before, Get's kicked around kicked around kicked around baby, Comes back for more. A lover's vow made in vain, washes away just like chalk in the rain a little white dress with a little stain. Chorus I'm tryin' to reconcile the pain and denial of you goin' astray I know that I'll be alright after a while but not today I've got a great big world to see and I wonder if there might be another little lover girl for me. Chorus   Mercy This is one of those songs when I woke up in the middle of the night and wrote it. it was during a very violent time when I was living in Washington, D.C. It was a song I put on a solo acoustic cassette I had made and Eddie thought the band should give it a try. We were having a little trouble getting the groove on this until Joe doubled my rhythm part on the electric guitar. Eddie's beat and Buck Dilly's lap steel really move the song.   Mercy Point that gun young man point that gun young child right at me Pull the trigger sonny pull that trigger and set me free Break the chains of my body pray God deliver me. Sell my blood to your sister take it fast before I'm dry Grind my bones for your bread sift the salt from the tears I've cried, You can steal my body but my soul will never die, You better think about yourself now before you make that bullet scream See I don't care if they catch you, I'm just worried about your dreams, Because this ain't no movie baby my face won't leave your TV screen So point that gun cruel world point that gun right at me, Pull the trigger good people pull that trigger and set me free, Break the chains of my body pray God deliver me   Ain't Rainin' Yet We were looking for a kind of Mississippi Delta/Memphis blues type feel.  Tim Carbone recommended the Tonal Evangellists for horns and those guys mixed pretty nice with Joe's slide guitar and Bobby Radcliff's soulful rhythm licks.   Ain't Rainin' Yet My window streaked with rivers she touches my hand I shiver, Thunder blasts in the distance I hunger as she whispers, I'll give you something you won't forget Something you shouldn't live without, She said baby, it ain't rainin' yet Lightning paints the night its skeleton fingers scratch the sky, She said there's no shelter, don't try to hide as she slips off her stockings and turns down the light, And I'm lyin' in the darkness awash in a lover's sweat, She kisses my fingertips and says baby, it ain't rainin' yet And the captain's callin' for lifeboats, sandbags and wooden rafts, See an hour ago the dam broke and there's no turnin' back, The deluge shows no retreat it just pound pound pounds floods the street I try to get up, I can't leave this woman lying next to me, In the desert I'm all alone naked and soakin' wet, I hear her in the cloud burst, She says baby, it ain't rainin' yet. Amusement Park About the "greatest show on earth". Tim and Don Sternecker wired up some Sun Studio type effects and we just let it go. Buck Dilly's dobro and Tim's sand paper percussion give it that barn yard dance boogie.   Amusement Park Every Saturday morning about eight o'clock me and my baby take a trip to the Amusement Park, We like to get there real early and stay after dark I always start with cotton candy just as soon as I walk in I like to twirl it on my tongue and watch my baby grin, And if I get too messy she come kiss it off my chin The bumper cars baby, my favorite ride, Although you say there's no dander with all that padding on the side, But you don't mind that extra cushion baby when I sneak up from behind On the tunnel of love I spend my very last dime But I ain't scared of no darkness with you as my guide, And when that ride is over baby, I try it one more time See You Walkin' Maybe a night time daydream. Another nice blend of Joe's slide and Bobby's Rhythm guitar mixed with Tim's "Magical Mystery" mellotron.   See You Walkin' I see you walkin', I see you walk my way, Your dress is talkin', I think I hear it say, Come a little bit closer let your hands fall where they May, I may be disposed to let you have your way, I see you smilin', I see you smile at me, Is it beguiling or is it courtesy, Watch your lips glide off your teeth and open up your face, I reply in kind with a willingness to taste Are we really strangers or have we met before from the distant ages, are you the one I've been looking for, is this really the first time that your eyes met mine, There's something too familiar something almost feels divine The night is falling, bartender closes the shade No more time for stalling, there's decisions to be made, Can I tell you how badly, I want you to soften the blow of having to hit that cold hard bed alone I see you walkin'… Little Heart This is one we thought we were saving for the next CD. Eddie, Walt and I were playing a rough unplugged ( Ed was playing the beat on his practice pad: note picture in photo gallery) version to warm up before recording when Bruce Hanson suggested we give it a try in the studio. We played it for Tim and he agreed. Tim's violin and Andy Goessling's penny whistle, mixed with Benny Harrison's infectious piano, give this its toe tapping Celtic feel. Where's the Guiness?   Little Heart I heard you're rough on those boys with the pink transistors, I heard you're tough on them boys who whistle after you I heard you popped a couple fellas right in the kisser with your fist not your lips and you KO'd them too, Your sterling reputation is unassailable, it's hard to believe that all them stories are true, In my desire to aspire to the unattainable and make your smile for the first time since 1992 Chorus: So let your little heart beat a little harder let your little heart beat right on time I know it from the start right from the moment I saw ya', All I wanted was your little heart beatin' next to mine I ain't howlin' after you baby like some wild coyote I ain't sniffin' round your britches like a big black lab, This ain't no crazy trip on some bad peyote I'm just a fool in love and girl, I got it bad Chorus I know that you don't owe me or nobody nothin' I know that you've been burned my more than just one man, And I ain't gonna promise girl the world's greatest lovin' But I sure promise baby to do what I can Chorus Dream No matter where you go, there you are. Buck Dilly's pedal steel, Andy Goessling's ukelele (a contender for best word in the English language) and Aaron Hurwitz' accordion let this song "brush up against a variety of genres" (as one reviewer described the CD itself). Dream Taxicab corners 22nd St. leaving a spectral vision in the steam, The city shimmers from a midnight rain and frames the picture of your smokey face Cement mixer follows the cab with deft precision reconfigures the apparition I can make out your features plumed with long white feathers a portrait that will burn on forever Chorus: And I dreamed dreamed dreamed you were running back to me, And it seemed seemed seemed just how it's supposed to be Desert highway cuts through cactus and dirt runnin' on forever till it falls off the earth, An image dances cross my jagged rearview just for an instance I could have sworn it was you Chorus I think of advice I'd give someone else but at 4:00 I the morning I'm just talkin' to myself Big sky canyon swallows an early summer sun gold rimmed crimson Utah auditorium, The Colorado rolls past the first scratch of time mountains slip to shadows and disappear in the night Detroit Cobra An ode to the "greatest  car on earth". After recording this song I proceeded to pass a police car on the way home going all of 50 mph in a 45mph zone and the dude pulled me over and gave me a ticket.   Detroit Cobra Way back when Motor City was king and automobiles ruled everything A smokin' little buggy rolled off that line do yourself a favor baby, step into mine Who cares if your mama and your dady disown ya' it's worth every minute you spend in my Detroit Cobra Come on baby don't you be afraid of that engine that roars just like a tidal wave, The passenger seat writhes with anticipation of droppin' you off at your proper destination So come on don't let this moment get any older, I'm takin' you all the way home in my Detroit Cobra It's got a little growl that even Midas can't muffle Solid walled radials built with tiger muscle, A rocket fuel injection at every meal, Solid state body straight U.S. steel, I ain't talkin' bout no Rolls or no imported roadster, Honey I'm talkin' about the Detroit Cobra So come on sugar what have you got to loose Those hight heels you're wearin' ain't no walkin' shoes You may not ever get this little opportunity to revel in such fine enginuity, Don't worry about no law pullin' us over, 'Cause honey nobody can catch the Detroit Cobra Little Jesus Leaving the comfy confines of home. Benny's piano/organ, Walt's bass and Tim's guitar cook the chorus.   Little Jesus Bus pulls into Nazareth Pennsylvania 3:00 A.M. in the freezin' cold Nobody else waitin' in the station 'cept a bleary eyed musician runnin' away from home, Jesus told his baby I'll miss you He said so long to all the guys, He left his mama sittin' in the front room with a bass drum full of tears in her eyes Chorus: Little Jesus does what he pleases wants to be a rock n' roll cat tearin' his poor mama to pieces, She said she never bargained for that He asked the driver how far can you take us that man said all the way to L.A., He said well sir can you drop me in Vegas, I got an opening act for Mr. Robert Goulet Chorus Punches the ticket for his destination on the way to the land of the stars, But sittin' there on that Greyhound before him He sees twenty-five guys with twenty-five guitars Chorus Time Breakin' up is hard to do. Tim's violin and Buck's guitar tell the story.    Time You way it's time, well it's time, For you baby to no longer be mine, I'll be fine, Maybe we'll get it right next time, You can say that it's not worth tryin', You can say it's all my fault, In the night when there's so much ridin', Upon the pictures you hang on your wall You say farewell, You say it hurts you baby but I can't tell, If it feels like hell, then it's hell There's nothin' that's gonna help, Did we give it baby all we had, To try and make things work out somehow, if you wanted it just half as bad I don't think we'd be here now, Watch a love fade when nothing can save it, Maybe I promised everything because I knew you'd never take it 10th Street Of all the great moments and experiences of making this CD, the most profound was when Benny came in one Friday night to play the piano on this song. There were several of us in the control room and we were all awestruck when Benny started playing. Tim did a great job of blending all the elements to capture the mood and Buck's solo drives it all home. 10th Street The sun set early on 10th street tonight Vision was blurred in the pink and orange light A radio was playin' somewhere for someone I couldn't see, the singer was cryin' about somethin' hell it might have been me, Never thought I'd ever have to face this place alone, Never even considered the chance that you'd be gone Chorus: She didn't leave her coffee on the counter in the kitchen, She didn't change the message on the greeting of the phone, There wasn't one loose thread not a single thing missin', She just left her key under the door Know I'm over sensitive but I'm painfully aware of people steppin' on my shadow like neither one of us was there, All will be forgotten I know all can be forgiven, I look in the mirror and think, just who am I kiddin', I should've seen it comin' but I really didn't know, The thing she said last week, just took it for a joke Chorus And the city waits for Easter and the healing of a nation, but I'll settle gladly for a simple explanation Chorus Hold Me Close Another tremendous experience playing with The Band's Aaron Hurwitz. A great guy and a great musician. It was truly an honor.   Hold Me Close Baby take me down to the water drop my head into the sea, Let the ocean cleanse my sorrow as the waves wash over me, In the wet sand be my maiden tell me all your wild dreams, In the cool sand be my savior from this world deliver me Chorus: I don't know about hell on fire or angels playin' for a heavenly host but I believe in the love inspired whenever baby you hold me close, Anoint my mouth with your purple lipstick heal my body with your blessed hands Your cigarette will be my incense for all time, I'll be your man Chorus
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