Tom Paxton

[fox69]

"King Of The Cat Cafe"

"King Of The Cat Cafe"


Everyone wants to sit with Huey
King of the Cat Cafe
Just to be recognized by Huey
Is enough to make one's day
He never moves from his corner table
Under the poster of Betty Grable
Nothing escapes the notice of Huey
King of the Cat Cafe

All of the poets look for Huey
Soon as they come to town
He never says he likes their poems
But he never puts them down
Fifteen minutes at the corner table
Under the poster of Betty Grable
Is enough to send them happily away
From the King of the Cat Cafe

Lovers seek the sight of Huey
Telling their tales of woe
Sitting on either side of Huey
They all but come to blows
Pounding their fists on Huey's table
Rattling the poster of Betty Grable
They reconcile and slip away
From the King of the Cat Cafe

Politicians have lunch with Huey
Seeing to the public weal
Having their pictures taken with Huey
Is sure to increase their appeal
Always welcome at the corner table
Personal friends of Betty Grable
Always a compliment to pay
To the King of the Cat Cafe

Huey's table is the noisiest place
In all of the Cat Cafe
Everyone wants to catch his eye
Read him a new screenplay
Huey the perfect patron saint
Huey made from wax and paint
Sends them happily on their way
King of the Cat Cafe

 

[fox69]

"Lament For A Lost Election"

"Lament For A Lost Election"


Okay. We’re gonna go right along with some of the other, what I call my Short Shelf Life songs; these are highly disposable, perishable songs on topics of diminishing interest to us all. For example, most of us would love to forget the election of ’94 - an absolute bloodbath, a Republican tidal wave that washed over us all. And yet I knew, that next day I knew that my friends would be expecting some sort of a musical comment from me on this horrible election. So I laboured long into the following evening - to write a lament for a lost election. Shit!
So - maybe we’ve established that those don’t need to be long songs exactly; they just have to make their point and get outta here.

 

[fox69]

"Leaving London"

"Leaving London"


With a dark and rolling sea
Between my love and me
I keep walking thru this cold hard town
While I wait for better days
I could use a place to stay
Or a floor where I could lay my blanket down
If I could beg, steal, or borrow
A ticket on some boat or plane
I'd be leaving London tomorrow
To fly to my young love again
Up at dawn to change my shirt
And to wash away the dirt
Then it's over to American Express
Not one letter did I find
No, she didn't send one line
Though I know she had my forwarding address
Last night the Troubadour
Was so full they barred the door
And I sang a song she knows quite well
But it wouldn't take too long
To make up another song
For a lonesome and a last farewell

 

[fox69]

"Let The Wild Wind Blow"

"Let The Wild Wind Blow"


When the wind blows hard
And the trees all bend
It can make us wonder
If the storm will ever end
Let the wild wind blow
Let it rain and then
The clouds will turn and go
And the sun will shine again
When the skies grow darker
As dark as night
We come together
And we watch by candlelight
Let the wild wind blow
Let it rain and then
The clouds will turn and go
And the sun will shine again
See the lightning flashing
Hear the thunder clap
We hug each other
And we look for a friendly lap
Let the wild wind blow
Let it rain and then
The clouds will turn and go
And the sun will shine again
When the storm is over
We go out in the air
We look to the heavens
And we find a rainbow there
Let the wild wind blow
Let it rain and then
The clouds will turn and go
And the sun will shine again
Let the wild wind blow
Let it rain and then
The clouds will turn and go
And the sun will shine again

 

[fox69]

"Let's Go To Michael Jackson's House"

"Let's Go To Michael Jackson's House"


Let's go Michael Jackson's house
The party never stops
Be sure to bring your jammies
Well, really, just the tops!

 

[fox69]

"Life"

"Life"


May the sound of children be your music
May your blessings be the ones you earn
May your days be filled with sun
May you deeply love someone
May that someone love you in return

And life - May yours be long and loving
Peace - May you enjoy its blessing
Joy - May it be yours to savor
Love - May it be yours forever

May your only sorrows be the small ones
May they leave you stronger when they go
May the love of friends be yours
May you live with open doors
May you feel the love within you grow

And life - May yours be long and loving
Peace - May you enjoy its blessing
Joy - May it be yours to savor
Love - May it be yours forever

May your smallest moment be a full one
May your life be all that it can be
May you come to love yourself
And hold that love above yourself
And hold that love for all the world to see

And life - May yours be long and loving
Peace - May you enjoy its blessing
Joy - May it be yours to savor
Love - May it be yours forever

 

[fox69]

"Little Brand New Baby"

"Little Brand New Baby"


Hey, little brand new baby
Your momma and your daddy think you’re mighty nice
Hey, little brand new baby
I hope you have a mighty nice life
Your daddy’s lookin’ mighty proud
Handin’ out cigars all around the town
Grinnin’ like a possum and I think he’s gonna crow
And I hope you have a mighty nice life
Hey, little brand new baby
Your momma and your daddy think you’re mighty nice
Hey, little brand new baby
I hope you have a mighty nice life
It all lies ahead of you and from this day
It won’t be easy as you travel your way
But here’s to your birth and I just want to say
That I hope you have a mighty nice life
Hey, little brand new baby
Your momma and your daddy think you’re mighty nice
Hey, little brand new baby
Hope you have a mighty nice life
Your momma waited quite a while
Carried you around for half a million miles
But you know it was worth it when you look at her smile
And I hope you have a mighty nice life
Hey, little brand new baby
Your momma and your daddy think you’re mighty nice
Hey, little brand new baby
I hope you have a mighty nice life
Hey, little brand new baby
Your momma and your daddy think you’re mighty nice
Hey, little brand new baby
I hope you have a mighty nice life

 

[fox69]

"Little Girl"

"Little Girl"


Little girl
What are you doin’ with a child of your own
Little girl
What are you doin’ in this city all alone
If you haven't got the money, and I'm bettin’ that you don't
You will need the help of strangers, and I'm bettin’ that they won't
Little girl
What are you doin’ with a child of your own
Did your momma ever tell you how you came to be her child
How your daddy did not stay to see you born
Now, your momma sits and worries
That her baby's runnin’ wild
Now her baby's got a baby of her own
Ah, little girl
What are you doin’ with a child of your own
Little girl
What are you doin’ in this city all alone
If you haven't got the money, and I'm bettin’ that you don't
You will need the help of strangers, and I'm bettin’ that they won't
Little girl
What are you doin’ with a child of your own
Did you think about your baby as you walked the halls at school
Did you dream about how perfect she would be
Now, she cries all night from hunger till you don't know what to do
But you know you're feelin’ anything but free
Ah, little girl
What are you doin’ with a child of your own - of your own
Little girl
What are you doin’ in this city all alone - all alone
If you haven't got the money, and I'm bettin’ that you don't
You will need the help of strangers, and I'm bettin’ that they won't
Little girl
What are you doin’ with a child of your own - of your own
Ah, little girl
All alone

 

[fox69]

"Livin' The Street Life"

"Livin' The Street Life"


When I left my home behind me
And I heard that screen door slam
I fell that no one knew me
And that no one gave a damn
Always scrappin' with my momma
Always fightin' with my old man
We had one hard fight too many
So I packed my bags and ran
Yeah, I headed for the city
Where the knock-down people go
Where the lights are on till morning
And it's anything but slow
So I fell in with some strangers
And the first thing that they done
Was to take my leather jacket
And then kick my head for fun
And it's hard, hard
Livin' the street life
Sleepin' in doorways wrapped in cardboard
Gettin' sicker day by day
Yes, it's hard, hard
Livin' the street life
And I wish I had some way of gettin' away
I met up with a kid named Luis
And he knew his way around
He knew ev'ry inch of the subway
And his life was underground
He was very hard on people
Who would work from nine to five
But he sold his body to them
And he called it stayin' alive
When it's cold and wet and lonely
It can hurt you really bad
And you think about the family
That you never really had
With a hunger in your belly
And a fever startin' to burn
You've got the freedom of the city
But you’ve got nowhere to turn
‘Cause it's hard, hard
Livin' the street life
Sleepin' in doorways wrapped in cardboard
Gettin' sicker day by day
Yes, it's hard, hard
Livin' the street life
And I wish I had some way of gettin' away
When I left my home behind me
And I heard that screen door slam
I fell that no one knew me
And that no one gave a damn
Always scrappin' with my momma
Always fightin' with my old man
We had one hard fight too many
So I packed my bags and ran
But it's hard, hard
Livin' the street life
Sleepin' in hallways wrapped in cardboard
Gettin' sicker day by day
Yes, it's hard, hard
Livin' the street life
And I wish I had some way of gettin' away
Gettin’ away (Gettin’ away)
Gettin’ away (Gettin’ away)
Gettin’ away (Gettin’ away)
Gettin’ away (Gettin’ away)
Gettin’ away
Gettin’ away
(Hard, hard, hard)
(Hard, hard, hard)

 

[fox69]

"Lucy, The Junk Dealer's Daughter"

"Lucy, The Junk Dealer's Daughter"


Close to the noise of the highway
Under the light from the stars
Lucy and Howard were lovers
Amid hundreds of rusted out cars
The moon on the Chevrolet graveyard
Turned the piles of junk into gold
For Lucy the junk dealer’s daughter
And Howard from the Highway Patrol
Surrounded by mountains of metal
Twenty-four cars to a stack
Lucy and Howard were lovers
In the wreck of a gold Cadillac
Oh never a rendezvous sweeter
A tale of more purity told
Than of Lucy the junk dealer’s daughter
And Howard from the Highway Patrol
Lucy and Howard got married
Moved to the good side of town
They felt as the weeks drifted by them
The pace of their love slowing down
They seemed to be growing indifferent
Their passionate love had grown cold
For Lucy the junk dealer’s daughter
For Howard from the Highway Patrol
Then Howard got off work one midnight
His mood was decidedly black
But when he pulled into his driveway
There was a wrecked Cadillac
And every sweet evening thereafter
Out to the driveway they stole
Lucy the junk dealer’s daughter
And Howard from the Highway Patrol