II. Songs From An American Movie,
Volume One: Learning How To Smile
1. Song from an American Movie
The only thing that ever made sense to me
Is the words to a song from an American movie
The only thing that ever made sense in my life
Is the sound of my little girl laughing
To the window of a summer night
I sit alone in the backyard
Wishing I could be inside
Just the sound of my little girl laughing
Makes me happy just to be alive...
2. Here We Go Again
"Here we go again!"
You know I like to watch you sleep
No I dont want to touch you, youll get mad at me
No I dont want to think about the bad times
Anyone could have a bad year
Now I dont want you to show me
I do not want you to know me
The way I used to be
All these good things we have
Would not mean a damn to me
And I dont want to hear those words you feel you have to say
When you find out how I used to be
Back in the day
Yeah, you know I like the way you slide
Yeah, yes I like it when you do that slow glide
Now, please dont badtalk all those good times
Dont ask for answers, baby, that you do not want to hear
I dont want you to make me
Do not need you to break me
Of all my childish ways
Im still the same, you know
Dumb, rock hard, and good to go
I still hear them voices calling me from back in the day
Oh baby cant you see there aint no place Id rather be
Then watching dirty movies
In that happy room with you
Sitting on that mattress in the corner
Eating Chinese food
I hear that voice in my head
Say here we go again
Now here we go again
I know you like the way I rock
Sometimes I just need to drown out all that bad talk
Yeah, I could not care less what your friends say
Someones always talking shit about the old days
You do not need to remind me
That I left it all behind
Those things I used to do
I dont want that other life 'cause I am so in love with you
I can barely hear it calling me from back in the day
Oh baby cant you see there aint no place Id rather be
Then watching dirty movies
In that happy room with you
Sitting on that mattress in the corner
Eating Chinese food
I hear that voice in my head
Say here we go again
Yeah here we go again
Oh baby here we go again
I know, here we go...
Baby baby cant you see
Yes I know you got some doubts
I know you dont believe
I know you think Im crazy
But I know youre just like me
When I hear that voice inside me
Makes me want to jump right in
Saying here we go
Here we go
Here we go
Here we go again
Lets go watch some dirty movies
Yes in that nasty little room
Sitting on that mattress while we eat that greasy Chinese food
I hear that voice in my head
Say here we go again
Baby, here we go again
3. AM Radio
"KHJ Los Angeles! Portions of the days programming are reproduced
by means of electrical transcriptions or tape recordings."
You can hear the music on the AM radio
The VCR and the DVD
There wasn't none of that crap back in 1970
We didnt know about a World Wide Web
It was a whole different game being played back when I was a kid
Wanna get down in a cool way
Picture yourself on a beautiful day
Big bell bottoms and groovy long hair
Just walkin' in style with a portable CD player
No, you would listen to the music on the AM radio
Yeah, you could hear the music on a AM radio
Flashback, '72
Another summer in the neighborhood
Hanging out with nothing to do
Sometmes we'd go driving around
In my sisters Pinto
Cruisin' with the windows rolled down
We listen to the radio station
We were too damn cool to buy the eight track tape
There wasnt any good time to want to be inside
My mama wanna watch that TV all goddamn night
Id be in bed with the radio on
I would listen to it all night long
Just to hear my favorite song
Youd have to wait but you could hear it on the AM radio
Yeah, you could hear the music on a AM radio
I can still hear Mama say Boy turn that radio down!
Aw, Mom. Not that show again! I dont wanna watch that show! Cant
we watch Good Times or Chico and the Man or something cool? Turn it
off!"
Things changed back in 75
We were all growing up on the in and the outside
We got in trouble with the police man
We got busted getting high in the back of my friends van
I remember 1977
I started going to concerts and I saw the Led Zeppelin
I got a guitar on Christmas day
I dreamed that Jimmy Page would come from Santa Monica and and teach
me to play...
There isnt any place that I need to go
There isnt anything that I need to know
That I did not learn on the radio
Everything gets stupid and I just dont know
Where to find my happy I listen to my music on the AM radio
You can hear the music on the AM radio
You can hear the music on the AM radio
I like pop, I like soul, I like rock, but I never liked disco. I
like pop, I like soul, I like rock, but I never liked disco. We like
pop, we like soul, we like rock, but we never liked disco.
No never liked disco...
4. Brown Eyed Girl
I hear a song makes me think of a girl I used to know
I sing along when I hear it on the radio now
[After this the lyrics are basically the same as Van Morrison's
version. Rest coming soon.]
5. Learning How to Smile
Five miles outside of Vegas when we broke down
Threw my keys inside the window and we never looked back
Got all drunk and sloppy on a Greyhound bus
Passed out, all the losers they were laughing at us
I will never let them break your heart
No I will never let them break me
We got lost in Phoenix seems like such a long time
Seven months of living sweaty on those thin white lines
Did some time for selling acid to the wrong guy
Life just keeps on getting smaller and we never ask why
Why there is no perfect place, yes I know this is true
Im just learning how to smile, thats not easy to do
I know there will come a day
When we can leave and just go running away
We was broke outside of Philly when the storms came
I was working in New Jersey hitching rides in the rain
You was happy talkin dirty at that phone sex place
Life just keeps on getting better for us everyday
You say there is no perfect place, I say I know this is true
Were all just learning how to smile, thats not easy to do
We both live for the day
When we can run away
Oh baby we can leave and run away
Yes we can leave this place and run away
We can leave it all behind
Yes we both live for the day
When we can leave and just go running away
No I will never ever break your heart
No I will never let it break me
Five miles outside of Vegas, five years down the line
We got married in the desert and the sunshine
I cant handle how the hell it happens everyday
When you smile and touch my face
You make it all just go away
Yes I know there aint no finish line, I know it never ends
Im just learning how to fall and climb back up again
I know theres nothing perfect I know theres nothing new
We all just learning how to live together me and you
You know I live for the day when you say
Baby lets just run away
Oh baby we can leave and run away
Yes we can leave this place and run away
Baby we can leave and run away
We can leave this place and run away
Oh baby we can leave and run away
Yes we can leave this place and run away
Baby we can leave and run away
We can leave this place and run away
6. The Honeymoon Song
One, two, three
Two, two, three
You know I love you baby
And I know you love me too
But the fun that day
Didnt start until
We left on our honeymoon
Stepped off the plane into a warm sunny day
Then we got leid together
The sun shines down on a lonely town
Where the fish all smile 'cause they know us
Our wedding day was warm and sunny
Our friends and family came from out of town
We said I do then ate some food
And smiled till the sun went down
Well take the zodiac, the cadillac
Around the north shore and then well head back
The sea turtles come to greet us
So lets get loaded tonight
Well drink on the flight
Back home, the honeymoon is over
You know I love you baby
And I know you love me too
But the fun that day
Didnt start until
We left on our honeymoon
Were on our honeymoon
Were on our honeymoon
The fun that day
Didnt start until
We left on our honeymoon
7. Now That It's Over
Yeah right!
One, two, three, four
Break down, shake for me
Nothing ever is the way you want it to be
Nothing even tastes right now that it's over
Break down, shake for me
Don't write words unless you want me to read them
Nothing really matters now that it's over
Maybe we can be friends
Now that we're older
We can have fun like we did in the early days
Now that it's over
Yeah right!
Break down, shake for me
Nothing ever seems the way it ought to be
Nothing ever seems right now that it's over
Yeah, now maybe we can be friends
Maybe we can be closer
We can have fun like we did in the old days
Now that it's over
Oh yeah...
My bad dreams just don't seem the same
Baby without you
Oh, I wish you were willing to accept the blame
Yeah, for everything you do
My nightmares just don't scare me now
Baby without you, yeah yeah
I wish that I could find the words to tell
In the best way possible, you and your friends to go to hell
Yeah right!
Whoa, breakup time is never easy to do
Nothing ever ends the way you want it to
Nothing seems to make sense now that it's over
Yeah, now maybe we can be friends
Yeah, now that you're leaving
You can be nice to me
Maybe I'm dreaming
I am a lot better now than just okay
Maybe I am just waking up in my own way
Now that it's over
Now that it's over
My bad dreams just don't seem the same
Baby without you
I wish you were willing to accept the blame
Yeah, for all the shitty things you do
Nightmares just don't scare me now
Baby without you
I wish that I could find the words to tell
You to politely go fuck yourself
Yeah, now that it's over...
"Congratulations. A fetishist and an obsessive. You'll be very happy
together."
8. Thrift Store Chair
Baby go to bed and put out the light
We both know if we talk anymore
Were gonna end up in a great big fight
You can have your way again
Yeah you believe what you want to believe
You can walk all over me tomorrow
But tonight can we just pretend to sleep
I think were headed for a big fall
I think were headed for a bad time
Ooh youre gonna go downstairs
And sit in that chair you like
Gonna put a John Prine record on
I think we need to slow it down for a while
Yeah I wish we never bought a king size bed
Only damn thing its ever been good for
Plenty room for the real good sex
I lay in bed in the dark and all I can see
Is the distance that grows between us
You seem so far from me
I think were headed for a real big fall
Yes were headed for a bad time
Yeah gonna go downstairs
Sit by myself alone in the middle of the night
Gonna put a John Prine record on
Yes we need to slow it down for a while
Gonna go downstairs
Smoke cigarettes in a thrift store chair tonight
Put a John Prine record on
Yeah we need to slow it down for a while
We need to slow it down for a while...
9. Otis Redding
Do you remember when we were hungry?
Do you remember when we were cold?
Do you remember when we were happy?
Do you remember? Do you remember?
Do you remember when we were lucky?
We were living the life almost every night
I would wrap you in my thin white arms
Sit and watch the stars glide
Yeah, do you remember when we were the losers?
Do you remember when we were the lame?
Do you remember when we were the lepers?
Do you remember? Do you remember?
Do you remember when we were strung out?
Eating top ramen, macaroni and cheese
We would get so lost in that basement room
Let Otis Redding sing us to sleep
I wish I had one more life
I dont want to be wasted
I dont want to live inside this daydream anymore
I just want to be happy again
I dont want to be wasted, I dont want to be blind
I dont want to be wasted
I dont want to live inside this daydream anymore
I just want to be happy again
I dont want to be wasted I dont want to be (blind)
I dont want to be wasted I dont want to be (blind)
I dont want to be wasted I dont want to be blind
I wish I could be like all my heroes
I wish I could be like all yours too
I wish I could sing like Otis Redding
I wish I could play this guitar in tune
Do you remember when we were hungry?
Do you remember when we were cold?
Do you remember when we were happy
In a way no one outside could ever know?
I wish I had one more life
How I wish I had one more life to live
I dont want to be wasted
I dont want to live inside of this daydream anymore
I just want to be happy again
I dont want to be wasted, I dont want to be (blind)
I dont want to be wasted
No, I dont want to live inside of this daydream anymore
I just want to be happy again
I dont want to be wasted I dont want to be
I dont want to be wasted I dont want to be
I dont want to be wasted I dont want to be blind
No, I dont want to be blind
No, I dont want to be blind
10. Unemployed Boyfriend
[Answering machine:] Hi, this is Peggy. Leave me a nice message or
Ill kill ya."
Hey Peggy, its me. You are never going to believe what happened to
me today. Im sitting at the unemployment office, waiting on my
loser of a caseworker, in one of those nasty chairs, when from out
of nowhere, this total stranger walks right up to me, sits down,
then leans over and says something like, This is gonna sound a
little obsessive.'"
This is gonna sound a little obsessive
This is gonna sound a little bit strange
I have one thing to say
Before I turn and I walk away
This is gonna sound a little impulsive
This is gonna sound a little insane
I know you dont know me yet
But you and I we will be together someday
Someday
I know, I know, I sound like Im on drugs
Listen to me when I say
Ever since when I first saw you
Sitting on your car outside
You asked for a cigarette
I couldnt stop staring at your eyes
Ever since when I first saw you
Looking bored in that plastic chair
With the lights of the office around you
Those blond streaks, they look so pretty in your black hair
You look cool and alternative with that disaffected stare
Yeah you want people to think that you just dont care
Hey you can be with me
Yeah 'cause I just might be the one
Who will treat you like youre perfect
Who will always make you come
Hey you can be with me
Yes I will always let you in
I will never be like those other guys
I will never be your unemployed boyfriend
Can you believe he said that to me? To me, of all people! I cant
even remember the last time a guy took me out on a date and actually
paid for it!
This is gonna sound a little bit out there
This is gonna sound a little insane
I keep having the same dream
You will be the mother of my children someday
Someday
I heard you sleep with that obnoxious guy
I know he is in that famous band
You look so sad when you are with him
Yes I never see him reach to hold your hand
Yeah you can be with me
Yes I will treat you like a queen
I will go to all those chick flick movies
That I really dont want to see
Yeah you can be with me
No I will never let you down
I will never make out with your girlfriend
When I know youre not around
Yes you can be with me
Yeah I just might be the one
Who will treat you like youre special
I will always make you come
You can be with me
Yes I will always let you in
I will never be like those other guys
I will never be like those other guys
I will never be your unemployed boyfriend
Can you believe this? I mean, can this be for real? Then he takes
my hand, writes down his number, and just walks away. I mean, wow!
But you know, the weird thing is, hes actually kind of cute, in a
really intense way. Kinda like Perry Ferrall, you know, intense, but
sensitive. Anyway, I told my bitchy sister about it, she just
laughed at me. I told her I was really excited about this! That I
have a really good feeling about this guy! I told her, This could
be the guy. Im like..."
11. Wonderful
"Hey, ain't life wonderful? Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful... Isn't
it wonderful now?"
I close my eyes when I get too sad
I think thoughts that I know are bad
Close my eyes and I count to ten
Hope it's over when I open them
I want the things that I had before
Like a Star Wars poster on my bedroom door
I wish I could count to ten
Make everything be wonderful again
Hope my mom and I hope my dad
Will figure out why they get so mad
Hear them scream, I hear them fight
They say bad words that make me wanna cry
Close my eyes when I go to bed
And I dream of angels who make me smile
I feel better when I hear them say
Everything will be wonderful someday
Promises mean everything when you're little
And the world's so big
I just don't understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
Tell me everything is wonderful now
Na na na na na na na
Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now
I go to school and I run and play
I tell the kids that it's all okay
I like to laugh so my friends won't know
When the bell rings I just don't wanna go home
Go to my room and I close my eyes
I make believe that I have a new life
I don't believe you when you say
Everything will be wonderful someday
Promises mean everything when you're little
And the world is so big
I just don't understand how
You can smile with all those tears in your eyes
When you tell me everything is wonderful now
I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now
I don't wanna hear you say
That I will understand someday
No, no, no, no
I don't wanna hear you say
You both have grown in a different way
No, no, no, no
I don't wanna meet your friends
And I don't wanna start over again
I just wanna my life to be the same
Just like it used to be
Somedays I hate everything
I hate everything
Everyone and everything
Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now
I don't wanna hear you tell me everything is wonderful now
12. Annabella's Song
See you roll your eyes
You know it makes me smile
Yes you are like the sun to me
All bright as liquid fire
I feel so powerless
Hold you up above the world
Yeah you are quite a lot of trouble
For such a pretty little girl
I know I'm never home
I'm always miles and miles away
Here I'm runnin' out of time
Say the things I need to say
I call you on the phone
You will not talk to me
Yeah you just don't understand
You are my everything
Anna, Anna
Tell me what you want
Tell me what you need
Anna, Anna
You are never alone...
I like to watch you play
When you don't know I'm there
I watch you in your sleep at night
Reach out and touch your hair
I wanna make this world
Be just how you want it to be
Yeah you just don't understand
You are everything to me
chorus
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