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Lyrics from
Straight Down the Middle
The Radio Will Treat You Right © Billy Wright 2010
This song was some two decades in the making. I wrote first verse when my son was about two and the second verse, the chorus, and the bridge when he was about 20. Sometimes these things have to percolate. John Burke and Daniel Stein whip up a great jazzy feel on this.
Your papa say get up get out working
Your mamma say don't stay out all night
Your sister say you boys all make too much noise
But the radio will treat you right
The foreman at work he don't like you
He thinks you ain't wrapped too tight
The men on the job say you're just a slob
But the radio will treat you right
The radio, the radio -- the radio will treat you right
The radio, the radio -- the radio will treat you right
It plays so sweet in the morning
It plays so hot at night
It plays so well your heart can tell
That the radio will treat you right
Your mama say don't wear so much makeup
Your papa say that dress is too tight
Your brother say you broads are all such frauds
But the radio will treat you right
Your friends are vicious and catty
It's all just gossip and spite
And for something to do they will talk about you
But the radio will treat you right
CHORUS
The radio will treat you like a long, lost, loving friend
The radio will meet you where the pain and sorrow end
CHORUS
Whiskey Voice © Billy Wright 2010
About looking for love in all the wrong places and finding it. I've always liked women with an attitude. I'm married to one.
I was out on the town late one night checking the local dives
I was looking for something to set me right, looking for something alive
She was leaning back in a leather banquette nursing a G & T
Taking a drag on cigarette and blowing the smoke at me
She had a whiskey voice and bedroom eyes
And she'd been around the block more than once or twice
And she made me feel that I had no choice
With her bedroom eyes and her whiskey voice
You look a little the worse for wear, she said with a knowing smile
Come over here and pull up a chair, why don't we talk for a while
So I sat across the table from her, and those eyes just ate me up
Most of what she said went by in a blur, but I didn't want that voice to stop
CHORUS
They say you're supposed to love em and leave em
Pick em up and put em down
But what with looking those eyes and listening to the that voice
Somehow she's still around
She has a whiskey voice and bedroom eyes
And she's been around the block -- more than once or twice
And she makes me feel that I have no choice
With her bedroom eyes and her whiskey voice
One More Day © Billy Wright 2010
Just a love song. It seems to remind some people of the 1950s, although that wasn't intentional. Daniel Stein's bass is smoking.
One more day, while the sun is in the sky
One more day, there's no need to say goodbye
One more day, won't you say that you will stay
One more day, One more day, One more day
One more night, while the moonlit clouds blow by
One more night, let it be just you and I
One more night, ain't right to share delight
One more night, one more night, one more night
One more hour, while the precious seconds fly
One more hour, don't let this feeling die
One more hour, let me linger in your power
One more hour, one more hour, one more hour
The time I spent without you was the time I threw away
And there's still so much about you that makes me want to say
One more time, let us wander through this world
One more time, like a newborn boy and girl
One more time, can't you see that I'm inclined for
One more time, one more time, one more time
One more life, let me live with you again
One more life, let it all come true again
One more day, won't you say that you will stay
One more day, one more day, one more day
Evil Evening © Billy Wright 2010
Started as a title idea and became a psychotic song about a double murder. All the band members contributed their own little pieces of psychosis, including Daniel Stein's relentless bowed bass, but what can you say about Joe Pietretti and his guitar? I was speechless when he played it. I'm still speechless.
It's an evil evening, and the sky has turned blood red
It's an evil evening, and the sky has turned blood red
Before this evening's over, they gonna find somebody dead
I come down Carteret and I walked up Roosevelt
I come down Carteret and I walked up Roosevelt
With this raging in my heart and this pistol in my belt
It's an evil evening, and the wind is blowing cruel
It's an evil evening, and the wind is blowing cruel
Why did that pretty woman try to play me for her fool
She had a love triangle and she cheated and she lied
She had a love triangle and she cheated and she lied
Now that love triangle is gonna lose a couple of sides
It's an evil evening, and the neon flits and flies
It's an evil evening, and the neon flits and flies
I found him by the river, he got shot between the eyes
She was hiding in a closet over at her sister's place
She was hiding in a closet over at her sister's place
She was balled up like a rabbit with a scared look on her face
It's an evil evening, and it's busted up my dreams
It's an evil evening, and it's busted up my dreams
I didn't hear the pistol fire, I didn't even hear her scream
The Day Will Come © Billy Wright 2010
This song has something to do with the great state of Colorado, which I have visited a few times, and my tendency to associate the charms of beautiful places and with the charms of beautiful women. I suppose it expresses my fantasy of paradise. My wife says it sounds too much like camping.
Out on the mesa where the Indian girls dwell
They don't really know you, but they pretend real well
You can live for a while on what you scrimped and saved
But you know in your heart of hearts that there will come a day
The day will come when you'll be leaving
The day will come when you'll be gone
The day will come when you just stop believing
And the desert wind blows the tumbleweed on
The white of her smile lights up her face
Given a while you could learn to love this place
The quiet at evening, the fire in the dark
The flames rising higher and higher and the disappearing sparks
The day will come when you'll remember
The day will come when you look back
On memories like glowing embers
Until the fire fades to black
You wake in the morning to a cool, fresh, fragrant dream
Watching the ponies frisking in the stream
She cooks on the coals left over from last night
And she brings food to eat that is warm and sweet and right
The day will come when you must travel
And follow on the wandering moon
The day will come when it will all unravel
The day will come, but you pray it won't come soon
The day will come, but you pray it won't come soon
The day will come, but you pray it won't come soon
Bright Lights © Billy Wright 2010
I got the opening line of this song from a real-life Leroy I met on the Lower East Side in New York City in the 1980s. He had grown up as a sharecropper's son in the Carolinas in the 1940's, and when I asked him why he left the South and he said: "One day I saw a train rolling and before I knew it I was gone." I love the way Tommy Scaraville's drums come out of the bridge and the way Joe Pietretti's slide and John Burke's piano bounce off one another.
Leroy was a poor boy
And he worked on McArthur's farm
'Til one day he saw a train rollin
And before he knew it he was gone
He was headed for the bright lights
Headed for the town
He was headed for the bright lights
To lay his money down
Nancy was a dancer
Who never owned a pair dancing shoes
She thought she'd take her chances
With a bunch of guys who played the blues
She was headed for the bright lights
Headed for the town
She was headed for the bright lights
To lay her money down
Bright Lights up in old Chicago
Down in New Orleans
Bright lights in New York City
And in Los Angeles
When Leroy met Nancy
They both had lost their fire
A small house nothing fancy
That was all that they desired
They were head for the bright lights
Headed for the town
They headed for the bright lights
But then they turned around
Now Leroy tells his own boy
Don't you grow up to be a bum
But the kid sets out across the country
He's ridin on smile and thumb
He is headed for the bright lights
Headed for the town
He's rolling on turnpike
Wants to lay his money down
Reckless Love © Billy Wright 2010
A fairly recent song. It seems I can still write a straight-ahead pop-rocker.
You're hauling down the road with your reckless love - your reckless love
You're breaking every code with your reckless love
The only things that you will ever need
Are a straightaway and a burst of speed
And someday you will explode with your reckless love
You're moving way too fast with your reckless love - your reckless love
I don't see how you can last with your reckless love
I think you're gonna cause an accident
'Cause you never know for who your love is meant
And I try to stay out of the path of your reckless love
You won't be able to stop with your reckless love - your reckless love
You might run down a cop with your reckless love
You're bringing law enforcement to its knees
Can I see your license and your registration please
And it's hard to get the drop on your reckless love
You've always been a wild one
Chasing sin and chasing fun
But when all is said and done
You're just another hit and run
You're driving your sex appeal with your reckless love - your reckless love
You're making the tires squeal with your reckless love
I don't see how you can make that turn
You'll hit the brake but you'll crash and burn
And you'll die behind the wheel of your reckless love
Love on the Rocks © Billy Wright 2010
When I wrote this I was amazed that no one had ever thought of the title idea. Of course, Neil Diamond had. Fortunately he went for a smoky set-'em-up-Joe feel and I went for raucous, so there is no real resemblance.
He was hauling his pain like a ball and chain
When he walked into the bar
There in his face it was easy to trace
All of his emotional scars
And he turned his head when the barkeep said
Stranger what'll it be?
He stood for a while with a wistful smile
He said there's only one drink for me
I'll take love on the rocks
That'll suit me just fine
I don't want no jukebox
Whisky or wine
When fine woman walks
Right out of your door
Love the rocks, love on the rocks
Is the drink you should pour
Well, we listened to him and we drank it in
And before you could count to ten
Every man there thought of when and where
The same thing had happened to them
And we thought it through for a minute or two
How we lost the good love we'd found
And we rose as one man with a glass in each hand
We said innkeeper pour us a round
CHORUS
We'll take love on the rocks, etc.
Love is ship that carries just two souls
So what have you got when the ship runs up on the shoals?
CHORUS
You got love on the rocks, etc.
River of Dreams © Billy Wright 2010
Another used title, this time by Billy Joel. There is also a song with this title on The Band's Jericho album about the Amazon River. In this case, I think I got there first, having written my version of "River of Dreams" in 1987. I thought about changing the title, but the river metaphor is so intrinsic to the song it would have had to be River of Life (corny), River of Hope (cornier) or River of What? John Burke plays a gorgeous piano. He dazzles me.
The time comes when all of the young ones will leave from their families
And hark to the call that they hear on the western wind
Every one knows what it means, each one flows in a separate stream
'til they come to the place where they join and the river begins
Oh the night was young and so were we
There were things to be done and so many people to be
On a river of dreams, on a river of dreams
On a river of dreams, on a river of dreams
And as it flows on the river gets stronger and stronger
'Til it seems like nothing or no one can stand in its path
Racing around every bend, chasing a world without end
Leaving it all behind with a careless laugh
Oh the night was young and so were we
There were worlds to be won and so many places to see
On a river of dreams, on a river of dreams
On a river of dreams, on a river of dreams
We thought it could go on forever and ever and ever
We thought we could always be with all of our friends
Nobody knows how it starts, but you can't help drifting apart
When you come to the deep wide sea where the river ends
Oh the night was young and so were we
And our lives were flung out across an immensity
By a river of dreams, by a river of dreams
On a river of dreams, on a river of dreams
One Paycheck Away © Billy Wright 2010
A little anger brewing in this one. Raise the damn minimum wage and stop whining about it. Tommy Scaraville rocks on drums, John Burke churns up a storm on piano, and Joe Pietretti blows the room away on guitar.
Our luck has taken a turn for the worse, and we're living from hand to mouth
I had a whole lot of plans to make things better, but they've all headed south
I work three jobs to make ends meet, I just can't make anymore
And we are one paycheck away from the wolf at the door
My wife got sick early last year, and it really did us in
And it takes half of every dollar I earn just to buy her medicine
And it don't take much for a working man to join the working poor
When you are one paycheck away from the wolf at the door
I got a boy, he's sixteen years old and I try to keep him on track
I pay him wages to work with me on weekends, midweek I borrow them back
And it's not that easy to teach a boy just what a man is for
When you are one paycheck away from the wolf at the door
One paycheck away - one long working day
One more day in cage - one more minimum wage
A couple more overtimes - a couple more nickels and dimes
One paycheck away, one paycheck away
One paycheck away, one paycheck away
The politicians come one by one and they try to work their scams
And I shout out loud at the TV set - how dumb do you think I am?
Half of what you say is outright lies, the rest is just a bore
And we are one paycheck away from the wolf at the door
You pack our jobs in a shrink-wrapped box and you ship them all abroad
And we live on the leavings of low-wage work, the dole and corporate fraud
And you send our taxes overseas to pay for some stupid war
And we are one paycheck away from the wolf at the door
One paycheck away, one paycheck away
One paycheck away, one paycheck away
Ain't Ya © Billy Wright 2010
My attempt at a Crystal Gayle song. I love Crystal Gayle, especially the spectacular "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue." She is a touching singer of up-tempo and spritely songs about broken hearts and other sad things. I tried for the same wistful spirit, but it really needs her wonderfully poignant voice. Listen to Joe Pietretti's guitar just dance around John Burke's piano.
Ain't ya gonna stop and think, ain't you gonna try
Ain't ya gonna wait at the brink before we say goodbye
Ain't it gonna be like in the movies when it comes to the very last frame
Ain't ya gonna be coming back to me with your arms spread wide and calling my name
Ain't ya gonna talk to me, ain't ya gonna turn
Ain't ya gonna walk to me before our bridges burn
Ain't it gonna be like in the hit songs when things go from bad to worse
But then they realize their doing it wrong, and they get back together in the very last verse
Our love it don't deserve to die
Our love deserves another try
Ain't ya gonna take some time to think the matter through
Ain't ya gonna see that I'm still in love with you
Ain't it gonna be like in the fiction that they have in the magazine
When first the couple feels some friction but they get back together in the very last scene
Ain't ya gonna remember how I was pleasing ya
Ain't ya gonna recover now from your amnesia
Ain't it gonna be like in the soaps that they have on the TV set
When first the couple has given up hope but then they find that there's still hope yet
Our love it don't deserve to die
Our love deserves another try
Ain't ya gonna come back to me
Ain't ya gonna come back to me
Ain't ya gonna come back to me
Ain't ya
Ain't ya
Ain't ya
Ain't ya
Hotel Beacon © Billy Wright 2010
Started as rhyming exercise to see how many words I could rhyme with beacon and ended up as a tribute to single-room-occupancy hotels everywhere. I like John Burke's rollicking piano and Tommy Scaraville's drumming coming out of the bridge.
Hotel Beacon, my rundown shabby friend
It's been another week and here I am again
Your streets are reekin and your sidewalk is a mess
Hotel Beacon, such a fashionable address
Hotel Beacon I'm creeping past the desk
The desk clerk's peekin, how I hate that nosey pest
You could never sneak in cause he'd catch you if you tried
At the Hotel Beacon there is no where you can hide
Hotel Beacon, the room is cramped and small
The sink is leaking and half hanging off the wall
If you're on a losing streak and you're lonely and alone
At the Hotel Beacon you will feel right at home
A beacon is a light that shines out in the night
But I'd rather curse the darkness than see such a sorry sight
Hotel Beacon, there's a crazy guy named Lloyd
And we're not speakin since he went paranoid
Sometimes he'll be freakin bout the CIA and such
At the Hotel Beaon it's another homey touch
Hotel Beacon, there's a pimp who rents two floors
The girls call him the Deacon and he runs a string of whores
When you hear a bedspring creakin that's just money in his hand
At the Hotel Beacon now the Deacon is the man
Hotel Beacon, there's a girl named Alice Fay
She's working for the Deacon but she'd like to get away
At night I hear weepin like a wounded whimpering whelp
At the Hotel Beacon and I wish that I could help
A beacon is a light that shines out in the night
But I'd rather curse the darkness than see such a sorry sight
Hotel Beacon, I can't take it anymore
But I'm too weakened to make it through the door
The rent is cheap and I know each friendly face
Will the Hotel Beacon be my final resting place
Will the Hotel Beacon be my final resting place
Will the Hotel Beacon be my final resting place
Creeping Back to Your Love © Billy Wright 2010
This is a song about falling in love - as young men tend to do - reluctantly. Written in the mid-1980s, it shares honors with "Bright Lights" for oldest song on the album. All our guitar players, Joe, Peter, and John layer this thing beautifully, and Dan's bass rings through.
I had plans for stepping out and painting the town
I really needed to jump and shout but there was no one around
So I walked down to Houlihan's on Second Avenue
But the place was like a graveyard man, there was nothing to do
Every night it's the same thing
When push comes to shove
Every night it's the same old thing
I come creeping back to your love
Jimmy Maddox was a friend of mine, he had pockets like a sieve
Don't think he ever had but one slim dime, still he knew how to live
Then one day he met this little girl, sparkle in her eyes
Before we knew that had shared their worlds, took us all by surprise
CHORUS
And you know that you love me so sweetly
And you know that you love me so true
Could be that I will love you forever
Could me that I was meant just for you
And you hold me through the lonely night in your soft embrace
And I wake to see the morning light splashed across your face
I turn over and I roll out of bed, watch the daybreak arrive
Same thought singing in my head, I'm damn glad to be alive
CHORUS
I Can't Quite Remember (What I'm Trying to Forget) © Billy Wright 2010
A pretty obvious idea, but I couldn't resist it. It also contains my favorite line that I ever wrote -- "floating like a note in bottle down a river of regret" - which more or less sums up my life and probably a lot of other people's. I like the way the band just falls into this, flounders around and falls out again.
Maybe it was a love affair that came to a tragic end
Maybe it was a woman who just wanted to be friends
Maybe it was a girl I saw but never really met
I can't quite remember what I'm trying to forget
Maybe it was an actress from off the sliver screen
Maybe it was an heiress in a big old limousine
Maybe it was a waitress in some run down luncheonette
I can't quite remember what I'm trying to forget
Maybe it was the whiskey, maybe it was the beer
Maybe it was the drinking that finally landed me here
Floating like a note in bottle down a river of regret
I can't quite remember what I'm trying to forget
Seems my brain is playing tricks again
I can't tell my yesterdays from my way back when
Someplace, sometime, somehow, I lost it all
But where and when, and who and why are what I can't recall
Maybe it was a vision, maybe it was a dream
Maybe it was the feeling that things weren't what they seemed
You know how life can hit you when you ain't really set
And I can't quite remember what I'm trying to forget
I reckon I might recollect someday real soon
First I'll get the lyrics and then I'll get the tune
Maybe it all come back to me but it ain't happened yet
And I can't quite remember what I'm trying to forget
I can't quite remember what I'm trying to forget
Katie's in Love Again © Billy Wright 2010
I love this indomitable woman Katie. If she weren't fictional character, I'd run away with her. There's a great sea-saw battle on this between piano and guitar.
She's off like a wild red pony, chasing after the sun
She's off in a cloud of dust, her heart beating like a drum
She's off where the wind blows free and the beaten path ends
Katie's in love, in love again
She don't need no covered wagon, she don't need no town
She don't need no baggage dragging to slow her down
She don't need no heart-felt advice or warnings from friends
Katie's in love, in love again
She's had her share of heartbreak, lord knows it's true
Flood, fire, storm and earthquake -- that's what she's been through
Oh yes her heart was shattered -- but watch it mend
Katie's in love, in love again
Katie's in love and there ain't no doubt about it
Katie's in love and she's gonna fly
Katie's in love and she'd be the first to shout it
But she'd be the last to ask herself why
She's had some hard-luck lovers, and they been cruel
And she's had several others played her for a fool
You'd think that she'd be bitter and through with men
But Katie's in love, in love again
She's gonna take a chance on one more wild ride
She'll make that stallion prance right by her side
She's gonna pledge her heart and see what happens then
Katie's in love, in love again
This Time © Billy Wright 2010
Written for a woman to sing, and any woman is welcome: Norah Jones, Bonnie Raitt, or a stray Dixie Chick. This song needs the touch of a great torch singer. John Burke plays a hot bluesy piano. The boys even let me play a little harmonica on this.
This time, this time, this time
This time the heartache is through
There been stories enough of the glories of love
This time they didn't come true
This time, this time, this time
When you count up the lovers you court
You've had so many lovers, and I was another
This time you're one lover short
'Cause this time it's gonna be different
This time I'm walking away
Out of the night of your shadow
And into the light of the day
This time, this time, this time
This time I'm gonna be free
You can have all your treasures and your idle pleasures
This time you won't have me
Better Times © Billy Wright 2010
A wish for the world. I wrote it about Iraq, although the village chimes reference doesn't make much sense in that context. Peter Dama says it's about Northern Ireland, and maybe so. It's about any place where good and struggling people are crushed under the heel of the "men of the gun." Our ensemble is playing beautifully here, John's keys, Tommy's symbol splashes, Dan's bowed bass, Peter's acoustic and Joe's thrilling lead.
Hard times have found us, dark days are here
Troubles now surround us and fill our hearts with fear
There may be a meaning, but it's hard to see the light
When your whole world is careening through the shadows of the night
Better times may they find you, better days come your way
May you long outlive these desperate days that tear your heart away
May you live to see the children laugh and hear the village chimes
And may you live to live your life in better times
Soldiers in the street, cannon in the square
Justice in retreat, danger everywhere
You're the sole defender of your family and your home
And though you stand in splendor you are sure to stand alone
Better times may they find you, better days come your way
May the ones you love and cherish make it through the fray
May they long outlive this crushing age of cruelty and crimes
And may they live to live their lives in better times
The wheel has turned so far against us
It must turn back one day soon
Better times may they find you, better days come your way
May the land you had to flee from call you back to stay
May you live to sing and dance your joy to melodies and rhymes
And may you live to live your life in better times
Straight Down the Middle © Billy Wright 2010
This song just grew out of the chords. Didn't have title, didn't a plan, didn't have a clue. It's a wonderful and mysterious feeling when a song just conjures itself up. Peter Dama chose it as the title track. He says its "straight down the middle" for all of us.
Hold the wheel tight, stay between the lines
Peer into the night, try to read the signs
Give your head a shake to keep those dreams at bay
Try to stay awake, try to find your way
Straight down the middle, straight down the road
Try to solve the riddle, try to crack the code
Grip fast or it'll slip out of your hold
Straight down the middle of the road
Plunging through the black, everything's a blur
Your thoughts wander back to when you were with her
That was something good, turned to something bad
You're thinking that you should have known just what you had
CHORUS
Color starts to creep through the western skies
As somewhere way back east the sun begins to rise
Little flecks of light on the mountaintop
You drive out of the night but still you cannot stop
CHORUS
