All Lyrics copyright Sherwood Gainer © all rights reserved
Cross Town
downtown push to open 1-800 welcomes you overnight alterations
ice cold students free authentic cuisine supersize imports one hour
do not block new york style 24 szechuan while you wait fresh brewed
as seen on tv why pay more we deliver no parking no standing no stopping
quarters only smoke free exhibition to 6pm for lease ticket holders
buy one new low rates shopping district get one free farm fresh primates
tee shirts catch the fever impressionists news 4 now online magazines
souvenirs stadium scenic view do not merge no turn on red no crossing
Dawn
the eastern sky is glowing its almost time for showing
a brand new episode of planet earth
darkness fades away and people start their day
as a dazzling display -- breaks the horizon
Dawn
Time continues flowing with an energy ongoing
theres no turning back or slowing-- make it count.
Work on a solution make a contribution during one more revolution of the world.
The time to seize is ours for the few remaining hours
while that massive solar power makes the day.
I pause for contemplation of life-cycles and creation
as we start one more rotation.
So Many Choices
I can turn in any of three hundred sixty degrees
So many websites now I think I understand infinity
But the thousand cable channels- some I'm told that I must see,
make the TV seem alive, and the remote is changing me
Choices. So many choices
Some are entertained, some folks are enlightened
But mostly what I see on TV leaves me kind of frightened.
They call it surfing even though we sit almost completely still
We’re nearly comatose and yet we haven't had our fill
More potent and effective than a dozen sleeping pills,
maybe the media has finally broken our collective will.
Let Your Hair Down
Let your hair down Roll on the ground
Or join the rhythm section in jumping all around
Move your torso Twist it too and fro
Swing your arms low Show the mojo in your toes
Let your hips slide Shake your back side
with a new dance no one’s ever tried
Let your limbs sway Like they’re on holiday
Shake your loose change To the rhythm that we play
Cause you know, soon enough, we’ll go back to the grind.
Too much work can be rough, take a load off your mind.
Super Powers
I never knew I knew how to fly
'til I was walking by your side
Now I’m swinging from rooftops feeling fine
whenever I hold your hand in mine
My senses are heightened, my mind is enlightened
whenever you’re with me, I feel like you give me -- super powers
My X-ray eyes see how you feel
I know that the love in you is real
Ill turn invisible so you can see
the same emotions inside me.
My racing heart cannot be explained:
faster and stronger than a train
my spirits leap high when you’re around
over tall buildings in one bound
Bad Timing
finally got my act together but I’m feeling like a clown
the theaters gone dark the show’s left for another town - bad timing
both my watch and warrantee expired yesterday
now they recommend I check the time no more than twice a day - bad timing
I think of all the ways time hasn't been a friend
but looking on the bright side I haven't reached the end
even bad bad timing beats none at all
killing time is an example of a crime that doesn’t pay
wish I could bring those hours back I sure could use a few today - bad timing
some say daylight savings is just stealing from the night
I get up an hour early just to fight the same old fight - bad timing
from the international dateline my landlord called to say:
your rent is overdue because tomorrow is today - bad timing
Walk With Me
walk with me
we can pick a direction or wander around
the best views of the world are often made from the ground
we can make our own way or follow the crowd
we don't have to talk, but speak up if you've something to say
stand here by my side
we can take it all in stride
if we've two points of view
we can both talk it through
start to bridge the divide
there's a time to relax and watch the world go by
but my legs and my mind need a stretch and its not yet the time for goodbye
we can walk through the woods or over rocky terrain
we can walk in the sand on the street or barefoot in the rain
These Sore Eyes
you say you're a mess. A wreck. no makeup, and wearing sweats.
you say the way you look is as bad as it gets
but these sore eyes say you're beautiful
you say, "Don't look at me. I'm not ready. I'm a sight to see”
on that last point-- these sore eyes agree
I'm a spokesman for sore eyed guys
fairly elected and duly deputized
now my sworn duty: to make you recognize
the natural beauty that you are
you say your wardrobe leaves you mortified
that your shoes don't match your sweater
but these sore eyes can testify
you've never ever looked better
you say you're a poster child
for broken nails, and hair gone wild
but I’ve been watching for quite a while
and these sore eyes say you’re beautiful
Strong Coffee
strong coffee a cup to go
potent java mighty Joe
no cream or sugar I’ll take it black
my getup n go is coming back
wide awake on the make
liquid ambition: use it for good for goodness sake - strong coffee
a place with new age music and overstuffed chairs
I'm sure its very nice but you wont find me there
I got things to do I cant wait
or run late I’ll only hesitate - for strong coffee
For A New Moon
zombies drop the kids at practice for the high school play
aliens are volunteering for the PTA
Godzilla starts a shopping list with milk and eggs and bread
the mummy eats a sandwich watching TV from his bed
how did our lives get so mundane
when did the reckless passion wane
oh, did we burn it all too soon?
we’ll stare at the darkness and howl-- for a new moon
Frankenstein’s monster folds the laundry and he starts another load
Wolf-man rakes and stacks the leaf bags neatly by the road
Dr. Jeckel cleans the family car and wipes it with a rag
Dracula scrapes leftovers into a freezer bag
the blob will spend a quiet evening curled up with a book
invisible man clears the table in the breakfast nook
leopard-woman updates her day-planner with a sigh
the creature from the black lagoon waits for the cable guy
Commercial
a stranger to the system
with no story or tradition
under haircut from the future
independent in decision
holds a bottle of charisma
that you won’t find on the menu
without placement for product
there’s no value in the venue
with a cinematic cadence
over eight dilineations
he’s stepping on the catalogs
and catigorization
chasing him with labels
and a demographic shoehorn
madison wont stop
till he’s predictable and shopworn
I am watching
the commercial
they are watching
my behavior
I prefer to
keep a distance
they pretend to
be my savior
the message will be driven till youre taken as a given
you tune in to the talking
and the market maker barking
inching closer to the shopping
with the hope of better parking
the investors in the branding
are controlling the demanding
they’re supplying the supply
do we have an understanding?
marketing depended
on our disbelief suspended
by the time the movie ended
all our credit was extended
with the mining, aggregation
and subliminal gyration
they can engineer our impulse
realtime and on location
your thinking will be driven till youre taken as a given
Let Your Hair Down
let your hair down
roll on the ground
or join the rhythm section
in jumping all around
move your torso
twist it to and fro
swing your arms low
show the mojo in you toes
cause you know
soon enough
we go back to the grind
too much work
can be rough
take a load
off your mind
so let your hips slide
shake your backside
with a new dance
no ones ever tried
let your limbs sway
like they’re on holiday
shake your loose change
to the rhythm that we play
Starting Block
I’m staring at paper. And it stares back
I’m trying to think of think of something clever to write
maybe theres meaning in the clean symmetry and familiar scale of the pristine sheet
absent a humans petty blather, devoid of some self important message,
or juvenile emotion
potential
thats it. I’ll frame a blank page and call it potential –
or maybe the label is too easy; I’ll let the unmarred blankness speak for itself
what a load of crap
im grasping at straws trying to make an artistic statement out of anything
I suppose someone could sell the concept
with some effort and charisma they'll talk about infinite possibilities:
how the empty page is ready to receive poetry, mathematical calculations, or an artists sketch...
or a grocery list or note that says be right back or be made into a paper airplane
or maybe they'll promote some comparison of the fibers in the paper
to the tangled and chaotic inter-relatedness of everything
and at the same time claim the uniform clean page
reflects the apparent order and stability of the universe
or perhaps they might drone on about the page being manufactured by man
from materials in nature to be used by man to reflect nature
in abstractions of words or images
Yup, some creative type could come up with an angle
to make a few bucks from a sheet of standard eight and a half by eleven
but I am not a salesman. I’m just staring. At paper
Two Sides Of Mrs. T
the new hire finds her charm and smile disarming
survivors never speak about the loss of life or limb
time reveals a picture more alarming
and options not as simple as a choice to sink or swim
corporate likes the numbers that her minions falsify
never asking where the bodies of the victims lie
protests aren't effective and no one wants to try
none who took a stand are left to testify
two sides-- one false and one dark
the contrast and the irony couldn't be more stark
her victims show no traces
the lawers have no cases
employees know their places when they see
the two sides-- of mrs t
attacking every flaw she sees
and some that she’ll invent
a few careers and rules might end up
broken lost or bent
petty inconveniences
caught in the event
of falling underfoot when she is
making her ascent
derailing a career with threats and fear is just a game
memos and the phone are simply tools to shift the blame
termination rumors turn the strong into the meek
casualty dress will be appropriate all week
a corporate chart names those in her domain under duress
the overworked rewarded with new deadlines and distress
action items for her twist-ed vision of success
humiliate belittle torment threaten and repress
Somehow
She’s positive, I’m negative
She’s a sure thing, I’m tentative
She’s the top ten, and I’m alternative somehow
she’s sunshine, I’m overcast
She’s first in line, I’m dead last
She’s the bright future, and I'm the checkered past somehow
somehow something made her look my direction
some force of nature somehow made her want to stay
through circumstance or luck or maybe cosmic intervention -- I don't question
we are she and I together now somehow
she sees the bright side, I give my eyes a rest
She’s flying colors, I’m not yet done the test
She’s never questioned, I’m always second guessed somehow
somehow something made her look my direction
some force of nature somehow made her want to stay
through some miracle or other inexplicable connection -- I don't question
we are she and I together now somehow
Small Talk
hey well hey hey bro hey man hey there hi there ho there hi hello hay yo yo hay yo yo yo dude howdy do greetings and salutations hola aloha how are you howzit goin how ya feelin how've you been hows things hows tricks how ya doin que pasa whats new whats the word whats happenin' wazzup whats the scoop the poop the straight dope whats going on whats the score whats the 411 the lowdown the down low hows life life treatin' ya?
yeah you know what do you know ya know you know what they say like they say they always say im just sayin like the saying goes the old saying go with the flow go with it what goes around comes around let it go take it easy take your time take it slow slow ride take each day as it comes one day at a time give it time a stitch in time amok time time heals plen-ty of time nothin but time if you got the time time on your side no time like the present at the present time
yes uh huh yeah not just yeah yup aight fer sure absolutely undoubtedly no doubt iknowright I hear you I hear that I get it count on it im in complete agree-ment I’ll buy that I concurr couldnt agree more you can bank on it you can take that to the bank you aint makin that up you can say that again you got it 10-4 affirmative thats the facts roger that cant argue that thats true the truth true dat damn straight straight up word fer real way
aww its good good seein ya good talkin chatting shooting the breeze hangin kickin it chillin chilaxin yappin flappin my jaw connecting keeping contact bonding catching up reminicing relive old times good times remember when way back when backin the day
hey gotta go gotta get goin gotta fly gonna fly now gotta take off gotta move move on keep on movin keep on keepin on keep on truckin mosey on down the road hit the road on the road again stay on track keep on schedule keep on time time for me to fly time to part to depart take my leave ride into the sunset got things to do places to go people to see
we gotta do this again soon real soon go out stay in hang hang out hang around lets get together lets do it once more one more time dont be a stranger keep in touch stay in touch touch base take care keep it real be good be cool be you be yourself later peace out ciao babe au revoir hasta la vista sionara adieu farewell bye goodbye buhbye till we meet again till then see ya see ya round see ya when I see ya see you in the funny papers see ya soon see ya later later alligator catch ya on the flip side check ya next time
Thanksgiving
the nightly news
in images and sound
show the suffering and pain
of lives turned upside down
ive had my bumps
but now I realize
how good fortune and good people
cut my troubles down to size
so I give thanks
show gratitude
and face all my challenges with a new
positive attitude
im grateful
humbled
by those who stopped to move me forward
and helped me when I stumbled
I give thanks, im giving thanks, im truly thankful
ive got my health
or most of it anyway
a coupla pounds a few aches and pains
but I cant complain
I got a job
purpose
a reason for the race
I hope the things I do
help make the world a better place
I try to make the most
of both the good times and headaches
being humble in success
and learning from mistakes
I got some money
a little bit anyway
enough for rent and the bills
and maybe a rainy day
ive got friends
loved ones
family
I get a lump in my throat
when I think of what all of them mean to me
I try each day
to do whats right
but im not sure I deserve
this much goodness in my life