Al Stewart

[fox69]

"Josephine Baker"

"Josephine Baker"



I was watching TV late last night
And a scene transported me
Long gone figures came back to life
In a documentary
Though I saw them dance for joy
I was sad I missed that show
If I had a time machine
I know just where I'd go

I was born too late to see Josephine Baker
Dancing in a Paris cabaret
Born too late to see Josephine Baker
She must have been great in her heyday

Now some they stand out from a crowd
Even at an early age
I suppose that her call was loud
'Cause she just lit up the stage
You can put on all that gloss
And still not have to feel
What's inside will come across
And only real is real

I was born too late to see Josephine Baker
Dancing in a Paris cabaret
Born too late to see Josephine Baker
She must have been great in her heyday

I'm sometimes trapped by the close confines
Of the age I'm born into
Though there were others worse than mine
Well, I miss what I can't do
Join the feast of Ancient Greece
See Alexander's Library
Maybe clink a champagne toast
With a jazz age dancing queen

I was born too late to see Josephine Baker
Dancing in a Paris cabaret
Born too late to see Josephine Baker
She must have been great in her heyday
In black and white film you can't mistake her
She must have been great in her heyday

 

[fox69]

"Katherine Of Oregon"

"Katherine Of Oregon"



When I get even more old than I am now
I'll have a house overlooking the water
I'll read all the books that I never got 'round to
And pile my suitcases up in the corner

The lights of the city they blink off and on again
Names in my memory are there, then they're gone again
Albums of photographs spread on the floor again
I'll spend my evenings with Katherine of Oregon

I'll fill my garage up with things I've no use for
Obsolete knick-knacks that there's no excuse for
I'll turn my back on the world's grand illusions
Take my delights in the simplest amusements

The lights of the city they blink off and on again
Names in my memory are there, then they're gone again
Albums of photographs spread on the floor again
I'll spend my evenings with Katherine of Oregon

I'll wear my clothes with their colors all clashing
They'll be so old that they'll come back in fashion
I'll sit on the beach with my paper wrapped luncheon
I'll enjoy being the ancient curmudgeon

The lights of the city they blink off and on again
Names in my memory are there then they're gone again
I'll have a jukebox and play Lonnie Donegan
And I'll spend my evenings with Katherine of Oregon

 

[fox69]

"King Of Portugal"

"King Of Portugal"



Dreamed I was the King of Portugal
In a big four poster bed
Noble tapestries from wall to wall
And a crown upon my head
Bells ring and servants bring
The jewels and the robes
For the night to begin

Would you love me forever
If I had everything
Would you love me forever
If I were a king

Then it seemed that I was travelling
Through the granite hills of Dao
With a vineyard spread in front of me
In a carriage headed south
Night came with the skies aflame
And all that I saw
Was all mine to claim

There are those that can tell you
What your fantasies mean
But I don't feel the need to
Understand everything

 

[fox69]

"Last Days Of The Century"

"Last Days Of The Century"



When the cock crows
And the wind blows
And the primrose of dawn
Is at your windows
Moving through the deep
You chase dreams across your sleep
Scarecrows, waiting at your door

In the last days of the century
Leaning from your balcony
You said this is how it's meant to be
Can't you feel it in the air
See that light come shining down
All the way to chinatown
See it come from miles around
Reflecting everywhere

You wore black clothes
You quoted shakespeare
You still make me shake
When you get this near
You look like a still from Cecil B. DeMille
When I saw you waiting at my door

In the last days of the century
Leaning from your balcony
You say changes come so rapidly
You can feel them in the air
Whoever you pretend to be
You must face yourself eventually
In the last days of the century
Who knows who we were

In the last days of the century
Leaning from your balcony
You said this is how it's meant to be
Can't you feel it in the air
See that light come shining down
All the way to chinatown
See it shine from miles around
Reflecting everywhere

 

[fox69]

"Laughing Into 1939"

"Laughing Into 1939"



Party hat and satin dress
Silver paper curled in her long black hair
Tapping one small elegant shoe in time
Oh, the way she plays with them
Smile at one, then dance with another
Pretty soon they're forming up a line
And she's laughing, laughing into 1939
Oh, laughing, laughing into 1939

Oh, the party draws them in
It breathes and moves
To a life its own
In its arms it's gathering all time
From the dark he watches her
Moving in and out of the bobbing crowd
If she even notices, she gives no sign
And she's laughing, laughing into 1939
Oh, laughing, laughing into 1939

For tonight is New Year's Eve
Uncork your spirits and welcome it in
Who knows what it's got up its sleeve
Can't wait for it all to begin
Stand by the girl with the purple balloon
The look in her eyes just lights up the room
In the corner of her smile
She'll be seeing you soon
Under a mistletoe moon

Out on to the balcony
Come the King and Queen
And the crowd go wild
He's a little bit nervous
But that's just fine
And they're laughing, laughing into 1939
Oh, laughing, laughing into 1939

 

[fox69]

"License To Steal"

"License To Steal"



He walks into the room
He's got a briefcase like a bomb
A smile on both faces
And he calls it aplomb

He wants a bite of your apple
Hands you back the peel
He's fresh out of law school
He's got a license to steal

When he offers his advice
You can guarantee
For several hundred dollars an hour
He will see just how many complications
Your life will reveal
He's fresh out of law school
He's got a license to steal

He's an ambulance chaser
A waver of papers
He loves to mix with the movers and shakers
He's taking from them
He's taking from you
Lawyers love money
Anybody's will do
Just take it

He's poking his nose into people's despair
When tragedy strikes he will always be there
Looking so cool
His greed is hard to conceal
He's fresh out of law school
You gave him a license to steal

We've got seven hundred thousand attorneys at law
Nobody can tell me what we need them all for
We should throw them in chains
Chastise them and rebuke them
If it doesn't work
We ought to take 'em out and nuke 'em

Blow a lawyer to pieces
It's the obvious way
Don't wait for a thesis
Do it today
Take him to the court of no final appeal
When you're fresh out of lawyers
You don't know how good it's gonna feel

 

[fox69]

"Life And Life Only"

"Life And Life Only"



Mr. Willoughby, whose only luxury is the sugar in his tea
Teaches history at High Worthington School
His clothing has remained unnoticeably plain
His common room technique suitably restrained, though maybe too cool
Work done in the summery sun, see the cricket ball fly
Intently, like a strange demented bird towards the sun
Considering its flight, he pauses for a while
Ah, but Mr. Willoughby, we've never seen you smile
Tell me how come?
Ah well, sometimes it must get lonely
Ah, but it's life and life only

"Maurice," said Renee, "Why didn't you say that you'd be so late
The supper that I made is ruined again.
Is there anything you'd like?".
"No, nothing", he replied
Standing by the stairs, not looking in her eyes, so stupidly male
All dark and lying in bed,
"You've been with her again" She blurts out, then turning on her side begins to cry
At first he doesn't stir but then mumbling his words
He reaches for her hand, she shivers, but doesn't take it away
Ah, for sometimes it does get lonely
Ah, but it's life and life only

Oh Smithy Smithers-Bell; clerk from Clerkenwell
On the beach at Bournemouth thinks he very well
May be next year in France
Inspired for a while, he decides to risk a smile at Mr. Willoughby
Who passes, polishing his glasses, studiously averting his glance
Renee, several deckchairs away, wonders if they would be better
While Maurice is with the kids out in the sea
And I was feeling small, sitting on the wall
Looking at them all and wondering who will I be?
Ah, but sometimes it does get lonely
Ah, but it's life and life only
Ah, but it's life and life only
Ah, but it's life and life only
Ah, but it's life and life ..

 

[fox69]

"Life Between The Wars"

"Life Between The Wars"



Paul Gervaise picks up the Herald
And sees the face of Zelda Fitzgerald
She's part of the scene
Of life between the wars

The tropic sun is sticky and warm
And it bakes the head of Somerset Maugham
Who is writing a scene
Of life between the wars

You're waiting by the hotdog stand
In the onion air
As the ball flies through the park
Violet and Vita run
Through the streets of Paris
Their laughter floating through the dark

A fog that fell is swallowing London
Coco Chanel came back with a suntan
To brighten the scene
Of life between the wars

There will be a pint of milk
And a Hovis loaf
At the end of every street
You can hear a silver band on the radio
And it makes the grocer tap his feet

The King is leaving Buckingham Palace
It's all too cold
He'd rather have Wallis
They're part of the scene
Of life between the war

 

[fox69]

"Life In Dark Water"

"Life In Dark Water"



Oh come away from the day, here I stay
Living on the bottom of the sea
Down metal snake corridors steely grey
Engines hum for nobody but me
No sound comes from the sea above me
No messages crackles through the radio leads
They'll never know, never no never
How strange life in dark water can be

Oh mariners spare a thought when you pass
Those who live the submarine life
Far in the deep sonar eyes never sleep
Hiding like a shadow in the night
Jet planes nose through the clouds above me
They look for radar traces of me to see
They'll never know, never no never
How strange life in dark water can be

Wonder what the stars look like
Coming out tonight
Tell my girl she must be strong
She sits and waits all night long
Just looking for a better day
She'll have to find another way to go

No memory, tell me what's wrong with me
Why am I alone here with no rest
And now the name of the ship's not the same
How long has it been "Marie Celeste?"
Now there's nobody from the crew left
Five hundred years supply of food just for me

They'll never know, never no never
How strange life in dark water can be

 

[fox69]

"Like William Mckinley"

"Like William Mckinley"


I got a letter; it came in the mail today
I saw by the stamp it was written an ocean away
No need to open it, I know what it must say
I'll just go back to the dream I was having
Before love went astray

I'll sit on my porch like William McKinley
And I'll let the world come to me
And if it's too busy, I really don't mind and
there's no place I want to be

Now and again, I will open a window and
Stare at the overcast sky
And put you away in a drawer in my mind
And I'll just bid all of my worries goodbye

The country 'round here is deserted; there's no one at all
People come here in the summer and leave in the fall
You followed after them, disappeared into the night
Now all that's left is the footprint you made
In the mud, frozen in white

I'll sit on my porch like William McKinley
And I'll let the world come to me
And if it's too busy, I really don't mind and
there's no place I'll want to be

Now and again, I will open and window and
Stare at the overcast sky
And put you away in a drawer in my mind
And I'll just bid all of my worries goodbye

[repeat chorus]