Tom Paxton

[fox69]

"Mr. Blue"

"Mr. Blue"


Good morning, Mister Blue
We've got our eyes on you
The evidence is clear, that you've been scheming
You like to steal away
And while away the day
You’d like to spend an hour dreaming
What will it take, to whip you into line
A broken heart
A broken head
It can be arranged
It can be arranged
Step softly, Mister Blue
We know what's best for you
We know where your precious dreams will take you
You've got a slot to fill
And fill that slot you will
You'll learn to love it, or we'll break you
What will it take, to whip you into line
A broken heart
A broken head
It can be arranged
It can be arranged
Be careful, Mister Blue
This phase you're going through
Can lead you nowhere else but to disaster
Excuse us while we grin
You've worn our patience thin
It's time to show you who's your master
Don't worry, Mister Blue
We'll take good care of you
Just think of it as sense and not surrender
But never think again
That you can think again
Or you'll get something you'll remember
What will it take, to whip you into line
A broken heart
A broken head
It can be arranged
It can be arranged

 

[fox69]

"My Daddy And Me"

"My Daddy And Me"


My daddy and me
We ran to the rainbow
My daddy and me
We flew where the clouds blow
Down by the shore
We ran till we couldn't run any more
Down by the sea
My daddy and me
My daddy and me
Went down to the rodeo
I knew I could win
My daddy told me so
I rode like the wind
I brought that ribbon home to him
Oh, what a jamboree
For daddy and me
Daddy got mad sometimes
But you know that's how daddies are
He threw his hat at the fencepost
But it never went that far
And I got scared and teary-eyed
But all that I could see
Was daddy and me
My daddy and me
Went down to the railroad
We sat on the hill
Just about where the train slowed
The engineer was my friend
Blew his whistle, stood my hair on end
If you'd have been there you could see
Like daddy and me
My daddy went home
Where I couldn't follow
He left in the night
And flew like a swallow
And now that I'm grown
I still don't feel like I'm alone
We're limbs on the same old tree
My daddy and me
Daddy got mad sometimes
But you know that's how daddies are
He threw his hat at the fencepost
But it never went that far
And I got scared and teary-eyed
But all that I could see
Was daddy and me
Now my daddy and me
We ran to the rainbow
My daddy and me
We flew where the clouds blow
Down by the shore
We ran till we couldn't run any more
Down by the sea
My daddy and me
Down by the sea
My daddy and me

 

[fox69]

"My Dog's Bigger Than Your Dog"

"My Dog's Bigger Than Your Dog"


My dog's bigger than your dog
My dog's bigger than yours
My dog's bigger and he chases mailmen
My dog's bigger than yours

My dad's tougher than your dad
My dad's tougher than yours
My dad's tougher and he can yell louder
My dad's tougher than yours

I'm not afraid of the dark anymore
I can tie my shoes
I have been to the country
And I am going to school

Our car's faster than your car
Our car's faster than yours
It has a louder horn, it bumps other cars,
Our car's faster than yours

My mom's older than your mom
My mom's older than yours
She takes smelly baths, she hides the gray hairs
My mom's older than yours

I'm not afraid of the dark anymore
I can tie my shoes
I have been to the country
And I am going to school

 

[fox69]

"My Favorite Spring"

"My Favorite Spring"


I used to play baseball
I used to love to play
The people all said
I'd be a winner someday
We played on the sandlots
And the gravel schoolyards
I once had a try-out
With the Saint Louie Cards
The Cardinals said
Young'un, we sure like your arm
We believe you can make it
We'll send you down to the farm
You need a little seasonin'
Play a little double-A
We'll give you a chance to show
How much you want to play
That was my favourite spring
I could do anything
Full six feet tall and lean
I was just seventeen
My fastball was nothin' but smoke
My curve-ball snapped and broke
My change-up made 'em look bad
They couldn't hit a thing I had
I was pitchin’ down in Tampa
I was doin’ really well
I was in the rotation
I was givin' 'em Hell
I threw a two-hitter
Ought to heard people shout
The very next mornin’
Korean war broke out
On the spur of the moment
I didn't have any plans
I went and joined the Air Force
I wound up in Japan
I pitched for the squadron
We toured all the camps
We didn't have any problem
We were all Far East Champs
That was my favourite spring
I could do anything
Full six feet tall and lean
I was just seventeen
My fastball was nothin' but smoke
My curve-ball snapped and broke
My change-up made 'em look bad
They couldn't hit a thing I had
I was throwin' a no-hitter
The day McArthur got fired
They were goin’ down like ten-pins
I really had 'em wired
Bottom of the seventh
Throwin' easy as can be
Somethin’ snapped in my shoulder
That was all she wrote for me
Well, I finished up my service
And I moved back down here
I married a fine lady
And I found a new career
We had us a young son
And we watched Jimmy grow
And the first time he asked
I taught him everything I know
And this is my favourite spring
He can do anything
Full six feet tall and lean
He's just seventeen
His fastball gives 'em the shakes
His curve-ball snaps and brakes
His change-up makes 'em look bad
People say he takes after his dad

 

[fox69]

"My Lady's A Wild Flying Dove"

"My Lady's A Wild Flying Dove"


Some ladies are foolish
Some ladies are gay
Some ladies are comely
Some live while they may

My lady's a wild flying dove
My lady is wine
She whispers each evening
She's mine, mine, mine

She likes pretty pictures
She loves singing birds
She'll watch them for hours
But I see only her

She tells me she's learning
Just how full her cup can be
She asks me to help her
But I know, she's teaching me

 

[fox69]

"My Son, John"

"My Son, John"


My son, John, was a good boy, and good to me.
When we had hard times, well, he stood by me.
We were in work and out of work and on the go.
If he had complaints, I never heard of one.
He would pitch in and help me like a full grown man.
My son, John. John, my son.

My son, John, went to college and he made his way.
Had to earn every penny, but he paid his way.
He worked summers and holidays and through the year,
And it was no easy struggle that he won.
But he laughed at the ones who thought he had it hard.
My son, John. John, my son.

My son, John, got his uniform and went away.
With a band playing marches, he was sent away.
And he wrote me a letter, when he had the time.
He was loosing his buddies one by one.
And I prayed, and tried not to read between the lines.
My son, John. John, my son.

My son, John, came home yesterday; he's here to stay.
Not a word, to his father, have I heard him say.
He seems glad to be home, but I can't be sure.
When I ask him what he'd seen and done.
He went up to his bedroom, and he closed the door.
My son, John, John my son.
He went up to his bedroom, and he closed the door.
My son, John, John my son.

 

[fox69]

"Never No Love"

"Never No Love"


Nothing unusual
Everything neat
Got my life arranged
My every thought complete
No unwelcome surprises
And I make myself clear
Most of all around here
Never no love
No strong emotions here
No sermons preached
We’re too civilised to show
We can be reached
We’ve all abandoned
Childish fears and childish glee
And most of all we agree
Never no love
Never no more
The wild excitement of discovery
Never no more
My God I love her, does she care for me
Never again
The depths of misery in seconds flat
Because of a single word
Here’s an end to all that
Now everything’s tidier
Under control
Every strong emotion
In its pigeon hole
We’ve all been through the wringer
In the hard-knocks school
And we agree to the rule
Never no love
Never no more
The wild excitement of discovery
Never no more
My God I love her does she care for me
Never again
The depths of misery in seconds flat
Because of a single word
Here’s an end to all that
Everything’s tidier
Under control
Every strong emotion
In its pigeon hole
We’ve all been through the wringer
In the hard-knocks school
And we agree to the rule
Never no love
Never no love

 

[fox69]

"No Time To Say Goodbye"

"No Time To Say Goodbye"


It was a phone call in the night-
The kind you hear before it rings.
It was a phone call in the night,
When you can hear an angel's wings.
When you know before you answer
That it's someone's time to die,
And when I learned that it was you,
And as I stood there I could feel you passing by-
There was no time to say goodbye.

There was no time to say goodbye;
No time to thank you for the years.
There was no time to say goodbye-
A lamp gone out, light disappears.
And as I stood there in the darkness,
There were more tears than I could cry,
For you were here so totally,
It seemed impossible that you could ever die-
There was no time to say goodbye.

There are pictures in a box,
In a room in a house long miles from here,
There are old seashells and rocks;
Faded labels from our days of German beer.
There are postcards from Montana;
Faded drawings and some drums,
And I can't recall the rest-
Oh, God, you're never really ready when it comes.

There was no time to say goodbye-
I was delayed in getting home.
There was a missed connecting flight,
And when I got here you were gone.
Someone handed me some coffee;
A tiny sandwich made on rye,
I put it down. I stood there looking
At your picture on the mantel, wondering why
There was no time to say goodbye.
No time to thank you for the years.

 

[fox69]

"Not Tonight, Marie"

"Not Tonight, Marie"


Not tonight, Marie, it's been a day
Of deals goin' down and bills to pay
A lousy boss, a double cross
And golden chances slipped away

I'm tired, Marie and so depressed
I hid my eyes while you undressed
It's been a long hard day for me
I'm tired, so not tonight, Marie

Not tonight, Marie, your hands are cold
I almost feel I'm growing old
A few less hairs, a need for chairs
A dread of hearing fortunes told

You're lovely, love, I'm proud to say
But please don't wear that negligee
You're lying much too close to me
I'm tired, so not tonight, Marie

Oh, God, Marie, I've got no chance
You simply cast that sidelong glance
You scent the room with sly perfume
And let your lovely fingers dance

Your lovely lingering fingernails
A heartless trick, that never fails
Some night you won't get through to me
Oh no, but not tonight, Marie

Not tonight, Marie, the full moon shines
I'm showing all the danger signs
To hell with rest, I'll thump my chest
I'll swing across the room on vines

Marie, I don't care where or how
Marie, you've purely had it now
Some night you won't get through to me
By God, but not tonight, Marie

 

[fox69]

"Now That I've Taken My Life"

"Now That I've Taken My Life"


Now that I've taken my life, hiding the dampenings
Scouring the stubborn stains erasing them carefully.
Breaking the dreams of a life and interring them pray fully
My telephone never stops ringing
Now that I've taken my life

Now that I've taken my life, pleading reality
Mumbling moralities, and loosing the child I was.
Smiling my youth to the wall and recalling how wild I was
I'm a very popular man
Now that I've taken my life

It was a foolish life I know ivory towered and quite out of touch
It was a life that had to go I guess I won't miss it much.
For the solid gold winners are standing in line
And dangling a solid gold key
They take me to dinner they pour me my wine
They ask very little of me

Now that I've taken my life, remembering the April air
My hands in a cursory prayer my eyes and the crowd outside
The music is merry the laughter is comfortably loud outside
And the laughter I'm hearing is mine
Now that I've taken my life

It was a foolish life I know ivory towered and quite out of touch
It was a life that had to go I guess I won't miss it much.
For the solid gold women are standing in line
And dangling a solid gold key
The very best hostesses pour me my wine
Extending their daughters to me

Now that I've taken my life, hiding the dampenings
Scouring the stubborn stains erasing them carefully.
Breaking the dreams of a life and interring them pray fully
Ah there's clearly no stopping me now
Now that I've taken my life.