Lyrics for
Just My Heart for You
Your Direction
by Loretta Simonet © 2006 BMI
I can come to you in tears
This minute or in twenty years
I bring you ev'ry joy I find
You polish them until they shine
CHORUS
You take me just the way I am
You don't need perfection
When I don't know which way to go
I choose your direction
I can come with dirty hair
Sleep right in your favorite chair
I can wait there till you're free
You trust me with the hidden key
CHORUS
I can show up on your street
Pockets empty, spirits beat
Sweating in the August heat
You say, "Dear, put up your feet."
CHORUS
I can track the snow right in
Bring my dirty laundry bin
Even if it's been a year
You smile and say, "Oh good, you're here."
CHORUS
I can drag my conscience in
So heavy from where it's been
You bring a lamp and look inside
And light up where the trouble lies
CHORUS
I don't have to phone ahead
When my heart is ripped to shreds
If I'm stranded on my own
You show up and take me home
CHORUS
Just My Heart
by Loretta Simonet © 2006 BMI
Shiny playthings of the world
Seduced me from the start
Silver, gold and all they brought
Conspired to steal my heart
But still my cup was empty
Though my drink was always filled
Each night I prayed for sleep to come
To chase away the chill, my love
Chase away the chill
CHORUS
How could I stay away so long?
Late at night I hear your song
Like truth itself, so sweet, so strong
I'm on my way, I won't be long
I'm coming home to you, my love
Coming home to you
Like the bird silent on the wing
The only sound the air moving
I am not bringing anything
Except my heart for you, my love
Just my heart for you
I climbed the highest mountain top
And looked down on the world
But from there I could not see you, love
I could not see you
I hiked through valleys, sailed the seas
Ran cross prairies wide
And everyplace reflected thee
But miles did not comfort, love
They did not comfort me
CHORUS
Many nights I dreamed of you
And heard you call my name
But I awakened to the dread
Of another day at the game
And when the game awarded me
All that it had to give
I counted my cold treasure up
But still my chest was empty, love
It was empty, love
CHORUS
Somebody I Could Sue
by Loretta Simonet ©2006 BMI
Janie did it, don't blame me
I learned that when I was three
I wouldn't play, she called me a quitter
Made me so mad, I had to hit her
This happens every single time
They should arrest you for this crime
You buy a gallon of ice cream
And I eat it till my thighs could scream
CHORUS
When you got no one to blame but yourself
Oh you'd sure like to pin it on somebody else
There must be somebody I could sue
Or somebody I could pass this buck to
He passed me going way too fast
And cut me off, so I hit the gas
I stuck to him close as I could
He slowed down and smashed my hood
It's not my fault, don't look at me
What a stupid place to plant a tree
I just backed up, what can I say?
It was standing right there in my way
CHORUS
You do this to me all the time
Don't get your way and then you whine
So I get mad, don't talk for days
I'll show you, I'll make you pay
Why won't you just end this fight?
Do it my way, do it right
You never listen to a word
I have to yell just to be heard
CHORUS
Call my lawyer, life's not fair
Where's my success, where's my share?
I'm stuck down in this endless rut
Because no one will pick me up
The world's got it in for me
I burned myself with hot coffee
Lost my cash on Powerball
And how come you never call?
CHORUS
Can You Take Me Home
By Loretta Simonet ©2006 BMI
They married in church, he'd been in W.W II
They welcomed each baby and they made do
He taught her to drive in the Chevy Bel Air
He built her shelves by the basement stairs
He ran the business for 25 years
Now she's learned to pay bills & hide her tears
Now he says, "Where's my wife," and "Who are you?"
She says "You stick with me pal, I'll watch out for you."
He said his feet hurt, so she got out a pan
Filled it with water, tested it with her hand
She set each foot in, then sat down to watch
A towel at the ready, to dry them off
He said, "I don't know where I'm supposed to go,
I don't know where I can sleep tonight," so
She said, "Right here, there's a bed for you."
Relief filled his face, he said, "Thank you."
CHORUS
"Can you take me home?" he said to her
Just like the night the day before
"Mother and Father will worry," so
She got his coat, got him ready to go
She drove the deserted midnight town
She turned right just a few blocks down
They stopped again by the parking lot
He looked out the window without a sound
She said gently, one more time
"They tore it down Dad, in sixty-nine."
He said, "That's right," then turned to say
"I want to go home," as they pulled away
She felt the bed move and she sat up awake
He moved toward the door in the hour so late
"I'll come along," she smiled in the black
And the 2 moved as one, her hand on his back
She showed him the way Ôcross their living room floor
By the glow of a night-light she'd plugged in before
When they got to the kitchen, he sat down to rest
"Would you like a little lunch?" He said, "Oh yes."
She put the toast down and she opened the jam
Peeled a banana, put it in his hand
She got out 2 cups, and made some decaf
And they looked at TV, for an hour and a half
She said to him, "Are you ready for bed?"
He had no answer, she took his hand instead
They laid their heads down at a quarter to four
At 4:25, he headed for the door
CHORUS
Fifty years married, Alzheimer's for ten
The night he breathed his last she sat close to him
"I've been so lucky to take care of you,
You always loved me, took care of me too."
His breathing raced faster, the nurse said, "Not long."
She said to him, "You've worked so hard for so long
You can let go now Dad, you are so strong
You can go home now, take my love along
You can go home now, take my love along."
A Health to the Company
traditional Irish (originally probably Scottish)
CHORUS
Here's a health to the company and one to my lass
Let us drink and be merry all out of one glass
Let us drink and be merry, all grief to refrain
For we may all might never all meet here again
Kind friends and companions
Come join in my rhyme
And lift up your voices in chorus with mine
Come drink and be merry all grief to refrain
For we may all might never
All meet here again
CHORUS
Our ship lies in harbor, she's ready to sail
I wish her safe passage
Past doldrums and gales
And if e'er we should meet again
On land or on sea
I will always remember your kindness to me
CHORUS
My footsteps may falter, my wit it might fail
My course may be challenged
By November gales
Ere fortunes shall prove to be friend or be foe
You will always be with me, wherever I go
CHORUS
I Had But Fifty Cents
Words: Billy Mortimer; Music: Dan Lewis (1881)
Well I took my gal to the fancy ball
It was a social hop
We danced all night till the break of daylight
Just a-waitin' for the music to stop
We walked into a restaurant
It was the finest on the street
She said she, "I am not hungry,"
And this is what she eat
She had a dozen raw, a plate of slaw
A chicken and a roast
A pair of doves, applesauce
And a soft-shell crab on toast
She had a big barbecue, crackers too
Her appetite was immense
When she called for pie
I thought I would die
For I had but fifty cents
Well you bet I was not hungry folks
I did not care to eat
Expecting at any moment
To be kicked out in the street
Well I thought if she ate this way everyday
She'd could surely break the bank
She said, "I am not thirsty,"
And this is what she drank
She had a glass of ale, a gin cocktail
Oh it made me shake with fear
A ginger pop, rum on the top
And two schooners of beer
She had a whiskey skin, a gin martin
She should have had more sense
When she called for more
I fell on the floor
For I had but my fifty cents
Well you bet I was not thirsty folks
I did not care for drink
Expecting at any moment
To be escorted back to their sink
Well she said she'd bring her friends around
Sometime and we'd all have fun
I showed that man my fifty cents
And this is what he done
He smashed my nose
Tore my clothes
Punched me on my jaw
Well he grabbed me by my collar
And he throwed me out his door
He grabbed me where my pants was loose
And he kicked me through his fence
Take my advice, don't try it twice
If you have but fifty cents
Tum Balalaika
traditional Yiddish, from Russia or Poland
traditional Yiddish, from Russia or Poland
Shtayt a bohker un er trakht
Trakht un trakht a gantse nakht
Vemen tsu nemen un nisht far shemen
Vemen tsu nemen, un nisht far shemen
Hear my tale of a certain young man
Stayed up all night till he thought of a plan
He wanted a girl who would be his delight
A girl who was pretty, witty and bright
CHORUS
Tum-ba-la, tum-ba-la, tum-ba-la-lay-ke
Tum-ba-la, tum-ba-la, tum-ba-la-lay-ke
Tum-ba-la-lay-ke, shpil, ba-la-lay-ke
Shpil ba-la-lay-ke, Frey-lekh zol zayn
Meydl, Meydl, ch'vil bay dir fregn
Vos ken vaksn, vaksn on regn
Vos ken brenen, un nisht oyf hern
Vos ken benken, veynen on trern
Tell me my pretty one, tell if you know
What needs no rain and yet it can grow?
Tell what can blossom, bloom through the years
Tell what can yearn, cry without tears?
CHORUS
Narishe bocher vos darfs du fregn
A steyn ken vaksn, vaksn on regn
Libe ken brennen, un nisht oyf hern
A harts ken benken, veynen on trern
Oh foolish boy, now surely you know
A stone needs no rain and yet it can grow
True love can blossom, bloom through the years
A heart when it yearns, cries without tears
CHORUS
Angel of Bergen-Belsen
by Loretta Simonet ©2003 BMI
Children cried in her dreams
With a start she woke, her friend said
"It's not what it seems
You miss your own son"
But she crept to the window
And saw them huddled there
Freezing children, left to die, 54
Bergen-Belsen, December 1944
Luba saw her babe again
He screamed "Mama"
And reached out with his tiny hands
As they tore him away
So she opened a door
In that heartless cruel night
And she brought those 54 inside
She would save them even if it meant she died
"Please officer, let them live
If they were yours
Would you have food to give?"
He slapped her right down
But she rose from the ground
And he gave her some bread
In this nightmare camp of death
She would give them a chance at life instead
CHORUS
Luba Tryszynska, what strength at 23
You were an angel in concentrated hell
You were the angel
Of Bergen-Belsen
"Sister Luba, sing to me,
I can't sleep, I'm still hungry.
Hold my hand and I will know,
You're the one who won't let me go.
Luba, Luba."
Husband, son, parents, siblings, mother-in-law
Were fed to the deadly
Assembly line of Hitler's law
As a nurse, she was spared
Now fifteen pounds of horse meat
In her coat
Sometimes milk, a few aspirin, some coal
For her children, she stole
Every day they gathered snow
The kids drew near
As Luba boiled it on the stove
They drank it like gold
They told stories of steak and potatoes
They used to eat
When they cried, she sang them to sleep
But always, marched the heavy feet
The world gone mad took its toll
Some lay sick with typhus
Hunger, fear and cold
Luba nursed them all
When the Allied soldiers came
April '45
She had kept them most all alive
Just 2 children were too weak to survive
CHORUS
Tell Me Where Can I Go?
Yiddish
Tell me where can I go?
There's no place I can see
Where to go, where to go
There's no one can answer me
To the left, to the right
Seems to be in every land
And it's me I should know
There is no place to go
There is no place for me
Let me go, let me go
To the precious promised land
Let me go, let me go
Where my folks proudly stand
No more left, no more right
Raise your head and see the light
Oy at last I am free, oy at last I am free
No more wandering for me
Harps in Heaven
By Loretta Simonet ©BMI 2006
Will there really be harps in heaven?
Will it get me in through the back door?
Will Gabriel say, "Since you already play
Come on in, that'll even your score"?
Will there really be harps in heaven?
When I tell Peter I can play
Will he say, "Send a bio and your latest CD
And we'll get back to you someday"?
CHORUS
Will there really be harps in heaven?
Will my harp wear a golden crown?
And will they hire someone from down below
To carry the thing around?
Will there really be harps in heaven?
Will my fingers fly like the wind?
Will they magically know every piece ever written
Without any practicing?
Will there really be harps in heaven?
Will He say, "Play that harpy thing"?
Will He only let me play glissandos
While the choirs of angels sing?
CHORUS
Will there really be harps in heaven?
Will I never break another string?
Will I get to jam out with Harpo?
Will I finally hear him sing?
Will there really be harps in heaven?
Will I never have to tune again?
And do you think they'll let in banjos
Or accordions?
CHORUS
Will there really be harps in heaven?
Will I play on the streets of gold?
Or will they say that little Celtic thing
Will never earn you wings
Will there really be harps in heaven?
When I get to the pearly gates
Will they say, "Have your agent call us
There's no opening at this date"?
CHORUS
Lutefisk for Supper
American
CHORUS
We'll have lutefisk for supper
First one, then another
We'll have lutefisk for supper
First one thing then another
Now we don't need no menu
ÔCause lutefisk we will send you
One day we'll have bread and lutefisk
Next day lutefisk and bread
But if you wish we could change our dish
Have plain lutefisk instead
CHORUS
Banquet Table
American
Oh brother now get ready
To be present on that day
Saints and angels from all nations will be there
We will go to meet the bridegroom
In the old books we are told
To that royal wedding feast we all shall go
CHORUS
When we meet at that banquet table
What a feast there is prepared
We will all don our wedding garments
We'll all sit down together up in the air
Oh sister now get ready
To be present at that gate
Will you enter in and walk the streets of gold?
It's a land of milk and honey
In the old books we are told
To that royal wedding feast we all shall go
CHORUS
Oh people now get ready
For the water's turned to wine
We shall share the many fishes and the loaves
Oh there's manna there in heaven
In the old books we are told
To that royal wedding feast we all shall go
CHORUS
Oh children now get ready
For the table is prepared
All nations are invited friend and foe
There the peacemakers shall gather
In the old books we are told
To that royal wedding feast we all shall go
CHORUS
She Moved Through the Fair
Trad Irish * some lyrics by Padraic Colum
My young love said to me
"My mother won't mind
And my father won't slight you
For your lack of kind."
Then she stepped away from me
And this she did say
"It will not be long love
Till our wedding day."
She stepped away from me
And she moved through the fair
And fondly I watched her
Move here and move there
And then she went homeward
With one star awake
As the swan in the evening
Moves over the lake
The people were saying
No two e'er were wed
But one has a sorrow
That never was said
And I smiled as she passed
With her goods and her gear
And that was the last
That I saw of my dear
Last night she came to me
She came softly in
So softly she came
That her feet made no din
And she laid her hand on me
And this she did say
"It will not be long love
Till our wedding day."
Hard Times Come Again No More
by Stephen Foster
Let us pause in life's pleasure
And count the many tears
Let us all sup sorrow with the poor
'Tis a song that will linger forever in our ears
No, hard times come again no more
CHORUS
'Tis the song, the sigh of the weary
Hard times, hard times, come again no more
Many days you have lingered
Around my cabin door
Oh, hard times come again no more
Though we seek mirth and beauty
And music bright and gay
There are frail forms fainting at the door
Though their voices are silent
Their pleading eyes will say
No, hard times come again no more
CHORUS
'Tis a sigh that is echoed
Across the lonely wave
'Tis a gale that is heard upon the shore
'Tis a dirge to be murmured
Along the lowly grave
Oh hard times come again no more
CHORUS
Ain't No Bugs on Me
American
Now the june bug flies in the month of June
And the lightning bug in May
That mosquito flies any old time
But he ain't gonna stay
CHORUS
No, there ain't no bugs on me
There ain't no bugs on me
There may be bugs on some of your mugs
But there ain't no bugs on me
The mosquito he flies high
The mosquito he flies low
The mosquito flies around me now
He ain't gonna fly no more
CHORUS
Well, I know there's bugs on her
There might be bugs on you
But there ain't no bugs in the old man's beard
Well, maybe one or two
CHORUS
Well the honey bear gets the bee
The old dog gets the flea
But there ain't no bugs in the old man's beard
Well, maybe two or three
CHORUS
Some bugs live by the big highway
And people drive like nuts
And when they hit your old windshield
There ain't nothing left but guts
CHORUS