ARPHUS SCHMARPHUS HORKUS PORKUS
Crashing through the ionosphere at twice the speed of sound, my new CD is reccomended by 50% more doctors than other CDs! Just remember that. It may also be responsible for reversing global warming and healing the hole in the ozone layer. Or not. Either way, it's a rockin' album.
LYRICS AND NOTES
Here's a quick bit of Info along with those ever-pithy Lyrics:
1.HOODOO STICK
Beowulf Kingsley: Guitar, Echo Guitar, Slide Guitar, Fretless Bass, Electric Tamboura, Percussion, Loop Programming, All Vocals.
I think I lost my Hoodoo Stick
The one I use to do my tricks
I think I lost my Hoodoo Stick
It’s got me feelin’ mighty sick
I left it in my dressing room
After I picked up my doubloons
And now I feel that I am doomed
I’m too upset to sing this tune
Hoodoo Stick
Hoodoo Stick
Where the Hell’s my Hoodoo Stick
Alert the police & the press
Without that Stick my life’s a mess
No other way to get me fixed
I’ve got to find that Hoodoo Stick
2. NAKED
Beowulf Kingsley: Guitar, Keyboards, Synth Bass, Percussion, Loop Programming, All Vocals
You keep askin’ me what all my fantasies are
And we’ve acted out a good few of them so far
You know by now, you’re already the star
Of the naughty parts in all of my dreams
But here’s one now that I haven’t told yet
You’ll like it when you hear this one, I’ll bet
Might be hard to achieve, that’s my only regret
When I tell you you’ll see what I mean
I want to walk in the park, naked after dark with you
I want to walk in the park, naked after dark with you
In the hot summer air, we just won’t care
You know that we’ll be cool
I want to walk in the park, naked after dark with you
Now I don’t want a park full of bitey little bugs
I don’t want to have to fight off no muggers and thugs
Or moronic people tryin’ to be sellin’ us drugs
Can’t they see that we don’t have any change?
No, my dream park is just the two of us alone
We don’t have to worry ‘bout where we’re goin’
Like children of the Earth thru the woods we’d roam
I don’t think that’s so strange
I want to walk in the park, naked after dark with you
I want to walk in the park, naked after dark with you
When it’s just you and me, we’ll be underneath the trees
What better thing for us to do
I want to walk in the park, naked after dark with you
Just like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
Our glorious sun-loving antecedents
We’ve already got everything we need
And I don’t think that we’re no fools
Or like Lennon and Ono on the “Two Virgins” cover
They wanted the whole world to know they were lovers
They’d have done it again if they had to do it over
And that’s the right thing to do!
I want to walk in the park, naked after dark with you
I want to walk in the park, naked after dark with you
We can saunter thru the grove, it’s OK ‘cause we’re in love
And everybody knows it’s true
I want to walk in the park, naked after dark with you
3. One Every Minute
Beowulf Kingsley: Guitars, Bass, Percussion, Loop Programming, All Vocals
There’s a man lookin’ in my window, I tell him to go away
He says he’s on surveillance with the CIA
Tells me it’s unpatriotic to ask him to avert his gaze
I just better get used to a little less privacy these days
Says it’s a red alert, or maybe lavender or green
I tell him that I’m colorblind; I don’t know what that means
We got troubles all around us, I know that, I’m no fool
But sometimes politicians use our troubles as a tool
If we hold people without trial, or make them disappear
Then tell me how it’s different over there from over here
We’ve had camps for our own citizens,
Though we didn’t use the gas
That usually doesn’t show up in your high school history class
But now it’s much more subtle, we can ship ‘em all away
To some friendly third-world country where torture is OK
Guantanimo and Abu Ghraib and many more, all right
For all I know you’ve got a place for me to go tonight
Someone gets you scared
And now they’re messin’ with your mind
They’ve got you jumpin’ through the hoops this time
You see ‘em on the hill and he’s up there grinnin’
He says there’s one born every minute
You know the Devil’s gonna rise again
You just look in your TV and you don’t gotta ask me when
If you’re lookin’ for the truth, and you’re wonderin’ who hid it
He says “There’s one born every minute”
Just ignore the core of the problem, and obfuscate the past
Crank up the xenophobia and your dynasty may last
Well, it worked a while for Stalin, and maybe Genghis Khan
But time’ll come when you see all the easy answers gone
And people wake up sometimes, and they wonder where they be
Like in Bosnia, Cambodia or Nazi Germany
And when the mist clears from their eyes,
And they can finally see
Better find yourself a bunker and a pail of gasoline
4. TECHNICOLOR SUMMER
Beowulf Kingsley: Acoustic Guitar, Processed Guitars, Fretless Bass, Percussion, Loop Programming, Vocals. Charlie Murphy: Water Harp. Danny Pratt: Harmonica
Your sister told me you were gone, and all that I could see
A memory from long ago - two kids who looked like you and me
Eyes on fire and brains aglow, with dreams rockin’ like thunder
As we stumbled out and on into the Technicolor Summer
If I could do it over, I’d go back there again
The rainbow halo sunshine and the two of us as friends
The future lookin’ so fine, and the Sundays without number
Like children we were wandering through the Technicolor Summer
Hey there bro, it’s running through my mind
You fell into that dark hole we looked into then sometimes
No more chances in this lifetime, and I wait here on the sidelines
What you know now I know I’m bound to find
What’s on the other side
And now in the distance, while I watch the setting sun
I’ll drink one to your memory and the things we’ve said and done
Two kids who looked like you and me, a world of light and color
In my mind they’re still there walking through the Technicolor Summer
5. END OF THE LINE
Beowulf Kingsley: Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Slide Guitars, Bass, All Vocals. Billy Mack: Drums
It was good to get away
And see the end of things with you
From a distance, you might say
Between me and our sorry blues
I don’t look forward to coming back
And having our final conversation
But I got on the train and the train’s on the track
And the end of the line is my destination
I know all the things that I’m gonna say
I can pretty much guess what you’ll say too
Expectations and regrets
Man, you can taste that deja vu
It doesn’t seem fair to hear the same sad story
When what we had was so strange and fine
But you buys your ticket and you takes your chances
And my destination is the end of the line
End of the line - end of the line
Runnin’ out of rail and we’re runnin’ out of time
After all our travels it’s such a crime
I don’t want to get to the end of the line
I want to take you in my arms
And pull this breakup train off track
Out across uncharted fields
Together, never looking back
The future’s right here in our hands
Let’s pull the brakes on this separation
‘Cause life is short and love is precious
And the end of the line is our destination
6. FISH
Beowulf Kingsley: Guitars, Processed Guitars, Fretless Bass, Percussion, Loop Programming, All Vocals
The sea is filled with horrible fish
And horrible fish are they
And the mariners curse the fish from here
To the shores of Mandalay
But the horrible fish, they do as they wish
In the dark and briney deep
And they do it all day in a horrible way
Till they finally go to sleep
Not content to be in the measureless sea
Where the whale and the plankton flow
There’s a secret door in the ocean’s floor
That they open to travel below
Through the secret door to the earth’s deep core
All the horrible fish decend
And they do things there more horrible still
Far away feom the eyes of men
I was out, just me, on the billowing sea
When the horrible fish appeared
I have terrible tales of what they did to my sails
And my captain’s hat and beard
Now a man might eat of the horrible fish
But a wise one, he might not
Far better they swim in the waters dim
Than a good chef’s bouibasse pot!
7. ROULETTE WHEEL
Beowulf Kingsley: Guitars, Bass, Vocal. Billy Mack: Drums
She’s a spinning roulette wheel
I’m wondering how much you’re betting
Shining like a jewel, she should be
Mounted in the finest setting
Have you got the wherewithal to
Play the game in this rich town
She’s a spinning roulette wheel
Come and lay your money down
She’s a spinning roulette wheel
Don’t you love a game of chance
The taste of hot uncertainty
Spices up this torrid dance
Still if fortune favors you
You’ll have a chance to win this prize
She’s a spinning roulette wheel
Just don’t look her in the eyes
‘Cause you might get lucky
Yeah, that remains to be seen
Lucky, but what does lucky really mean
She’s a spinning roulette wheel
Flying numbers up her skirt
Staying at this table you
Might not leave here with your shirt
In too deep too guess the odds
Or to count the chips you’ve picked
She’s a spinning roulette wheel
But you know the game is fixed
8. KENJI
Beowulf Kingsley: Guitars, Bass, Percussion, Loop Programming, All Vocals. Madcat Ruth: Harmonica
Kenji the mighty sumo
Was a mountain of a man
Many men that came to fight him
Took one look at him and ran
He was strong and he was skillful
Beating all his foes with ease
Like a Nippon high-powered wrecking ball
Knocking big towers to their knees
Kenji the mighty sumo
Was the king of the Budokan
The results of long-term planning
From ambitious Dad and Mom
He had wealth and power in his hands
And all that that can mean
But Kenji the mighty sumo
Had a different kind of dream
Kenji the mighty sumo
Had a different kind of dream
That he got from an old jazz record
From a place called New Orleans
And he’d put on that old record
With a wistful kind of sigh
And sometimes alone in the dead of night
You could hear poor Kenji cry
Well, he finally couldn’t stand it
Took a boat out late at night
Rode a train across the USA
To the Crescent City’s lights
Now he plays his harp down at the bar
And he’s happy as a clam
And the people come from near and far
Just to hear Big Kenji’s band
9. 'LECTRIC CHAIR
Beowulf Kingsley: Guitars, Keyboards, Synth Bass, All Vocals, Percussion, Loop Programming. Mempis Horns: Saxophones
Sittin’ in the ‘Lectric Chair, hopin’ you won’t pull that switch
One of us is guilty here, but I’m not sure of what or which
Seems like we were only talkin’ when the lightning filled the air
I can hear the thunder rumble
Sittin’ in the ‘Lectric Chair
Something that I said or did or maybe looked a certain way
You’re staring at me like I know, but from this seat it’s hard to say
Now it’s like a Kafka novel, or that old Bob Dylan song
Sittin’ in the ‘Lectric Chair
And I don’t know what I’ve done wrong
Too late for a court appeal, or the Governor’s reprive
You have got the power to fry me if you think that’s what you need
Maybe you could show me mercy, talk it over if you dare
‘Cause it doesn’t feel so groovy
Sittin’ in the ‘Lectric Chair
10. BAD AS YOU THINK I AM
Beowulf Kingsley: Upright Bass, All Vocals. Danny Pratt: Guitar. Mark Boone: Organ. Billy Mack: Drums
Plenty of time to jump
Plenty of time to fall
Plenty of time to knock your picture off the wall
Plenty of time to curse
Plenty of time to cry
Plenty of time to sit around and wonder why
Since you've been gone, time's on my hands
But I still ain't doin' as bad as you think I am
I know you won't come back
Ain't gonna try for that
Gettin' down on my knees and beggin' ain't where I'm at
All of my love in vain
All of that time we spent
All of the times I used to go and hustle up the rent
Since you've been gone, time's on my hands
But I still ain't doin' as bad as you think I am
I got a tank of gas
I'm gonna drive it dry
I'm gonna go to a place where nobody cheats or lies
Maybe I'll change my name
Maybe I'll hide someplace
Maybe I'll hijack a rocketship and go live in outer space
Since you've been gone, time's on my hands
But I still ain't doin' as bad as you think I am
11. IN MY DREAMS
Beowulf Kingsley: Guitars, Fretless Bass, All Vocals, Loop Programming.
If I’m sleeping please don’t wake me now
Holding your hand far above the clouds
Arora Borealis blue, the curtians part for me and you
We fly beyond the atmosphere
Beyond our doubts, beyond our fears
And all through the years
With you here, it’s like dreaming
And in my dreams
You’re the one I belive in
I know that if I try I’ll find the way
And tell you all the things I want to say
About a thousand years ago
A lonley man walked down the road
With heart of pain, he was traveling blind
With no idea what he might find
And all through the years
With you here, it’s like dreaming
And in my dreams
You’re the one I belive in
12. CRAP
Beowulf Kingsley: Guitar, Bass, Percussion, Loop Programming, All Vocals, Drunkeness.
A little useless flailing
On another worthless day
I'd tell you all about it
But I know just what youd say
Youre really well intentioned
But one thing I haven't mentioned
Everything I do is crap
The garden gnomes around my desk
Just chuckle with delight
Because my recent epic
Is another pile of shite
I'm not just off somewhere
I am not unaware
That everything I do is crap
And down here in my studio
I'm just singing to the air
I'm playing for an audience
That isn't really there
And no, no I'm not fooling
I know just what I'm doing
And everything I do is crap
