Tom Paxton

[fox69]

"Ride My Bike"

"Ride My Bike"


Saturday morning, dreaming in bed
One little thought runs ‘round my head
Summer is here, it’s warm outside
Get my bike and ride, ride, ride
I brush my teeth, comb my hair
I grab some toast, jump out of my chair
So long, folks - it’s time to blow
Jump on my bike and go, go, go
I’m gonna ride my bike
I’m gonna ride my bike
I’m gonna ride my bike
All around the world
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike
All around the world
Down to the corner, fast as I can
I am the bicycle miracle man
Making my bicycle jump and dance
Watch me win the Tour de France
Down the backstreet, ‘round the pond
Bet I’m faster than Greg LeMond
It’s so great to be outside
What I like is to ride, ride, ride
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike
All around the world
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike
All around the world
Bet you I could ride my bike to China (ride, ride, ride, ride)
Bet you I could ride it to Japan (ride, ride, ride, ride)
Down to Mexico
No place I can’t go
Look out! Here comes the bike riding man (oooo....)
Down to the schoolyard, ten past nine
Meet some very good pals of mine
Here come Jimmy, here come Bill
Here come Jane from Strawberry Hill
We have races, we have fun
We go fast as a horse can run
Every Sunday, what I like
Is getting outside and riding my bike
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike
All around the world
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike
All around the world
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike
All around the world
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike (ride my bike)
I’m gonna ride my bike
All around the world
I’m gonna ride my
Ride my bike

 

[fox69]

"S'pose My Toes Were Noses"

"S'pose My Toes Were Noses"


S’pose my toes were noses
Phew! I’d smell my feet
What would they do
Inside my shoe
That would not smell too sweet
My nose is in the best place
Right in the middle of my face
I’m kinda glad
That things worked out that way
S’pose my ears were elbows
They’d be down my shirt
When they’d bump
With an awful thump
My gosh! How that would hurt
My ears are in the best place
On the sides of my face
I’m kinda glad
That things worked out that way
What if I found my navel
In the middle of my chin
What if my lips
Were on my hips
What a fix I would be in
S’pose my eyes were eye teeth
What a way to be
I’d have to say, Ha!
I’d have to go, Ah!
Whenever I wanted to see
My eyes are in the best place
In the middle of my face
I’m kinda glad
That things turned out that way
What if I found my navel
In the middle of my chin
What if my lips
Were on my hips
What a fix I would be in
S’pose my toes were noses
Phew! I’d smell my feet
What would they do
Inside my shoe
That would not smell too sweet
My nose is in the best place
Right in the middle of my face
I’m kinda glad
That things worked out that way
I’m kinda glad
That things worked out that way

 

[fox69]

"Saturday Night"

"Saturday Night"


Saturday night and the bar is packed
The drinks are watered and the decks are stacked
The whores are grinning with their faces cracked
And the gamblers cursing at the horses they backed
Saturday night and the bar is jammed
We've got our table and the rest be damned
The waiter's hovering near at hand
We're loaded earlier than we planned
Some damn fool is starting a fight
Why does he wait for Saturday night
Mary and Eddie are busy indeed
Making up for lost time in the rear
George is beginning to sweat
While a stranger is sticking her tongue in his ear
David's explaining the next revolution
Someone is granting the crowd absolution
Whoever is running her foot up my leg
I love you
La, la la la, la la la la
Saturday night and the juke box roars
Off in the corner the sound of snores
My head is ringing with noise and smoke
And someone's ordering Scotch and Coke
Saturday night and my friends are blind
They're rocking the table just to blow my mind
I don't know why but I'm on my knees
Showing McCall how an ape climbs trees
Some damn fool is starting a fight
Why does he wait for Saturday night
Mary and Eddie are busy indeed
Making up for lost time in the rear
George is beginning to faint
While a stranger is sticking her tongue in his ear
David's conducting the next revolution
Someone is granting the crowd absolution
Whoever is running her foot up my leg
I love you
La la la la, la la la la
Mary and Eddie are being arrested
For making up time in the rear
George is out calling a cab
With the stranger who still has her tongue in his ear
Dave has abandoned the next revolution
Someone is cancelling his absolution
Whoever is running her foot up my leg
I love you

 

[fox69]

"Second Nature"

"Second Nature"


Just like the wave that's breaking on the sandy shore
Just like the wind that's blowing through the tree
Your love is part of me now
It's just a miracle how
Loving you is second nature to me
I recall the first time that I saw you
I recall the table where you sat
I didn't catch your name
But I knew it, just the same
You smiled for me alone and that was that
Just like the wave that's breaking on the sandy shore
Just like the wind that's blowing through the tree
Your love is part of me now
It's just a miracle how
Loving you is second nature to me
I was such a loner
I took a kind of pride in that
I wouldn't let one person get too close to me
Then, like a new sun risin'
On some far unknown horizon
You made loving you what I do naturally
Just like the wave that's breaking on the sand shore
Just like the wind that's blowing through the tree
Your love is part of me now
It's just a miracle how
Loving you is second nature to me

 

[fox69]

"She Sits On The Table"

"She Sits On The Table"


She sits on the table in a dress made of paper
Diplomas all over the wall
One university, one school of medicine
She's overwhelmed by it all
The nurse is all sympathy, voice of experience:
Let's have a look at that eye
It's going to look bad for a week, maybe more
Go on, darling, it's all right to cry

How can I leave him, she is crying
What could I do, where would I go?
He didn't mean it, he will change someday
Oh, God, how he used to love me so

The doctor is busy, his manner professional
She finds she must look at the floor
He looks at her eye, at her ribs and her arm
And it seems every last inch is sore
The doctor is handsome, he smells of cologne
And his figure's athletically slim
He speaks disapprovingly: What did you do
To deserve such a beating from him?

How can I leave him, she is crying
What could I do, where would I go?
He didn't mean it, he will change someday
Oh, God, how he used to love me so

The policeman is waiting outside in the corridor
He speaks to her as to a child
He's friends with her husband, he's angry with her
And he asks if there'll be charges filed
She says she's not sure, she needs time to recover
She feels beaten down in disgrace
The policeman asks isn't she secretly glad
For a man who'll keep her in her place

 

[fox69]

"Skeeters'll Gitcha"

"Skeeters'll Gitcha"


Skeeters'll gitcha if your screens ain't tight;
They're bigger than robins and they're wild tonight.
Skeeters'll gitcha if your screens ain't tight
And your screens ain't tight at all.

Lorena, won't you come and scratch my back, while
I'm leavin' but you know I'm comin' back in style.
Drivin' a long, white foreign car,
Dressed like a foreign movie star,
Think how happy you could be
If you took a little tip from me!

Skeeters'll gitcha if your screens ain't tight;
They're bigger than robins and they're wild tonight.
Skeeters'll gitcha if your screens ain't tight
And your screens ain't tight at all.

Lorena, come and see this truth I found.
You were missin' on the day they passed good sense around.
If you had any sense then you'd have to agree;
If you had any sense then you couldn't love me.
Give me a sweet little kiss,
And just remember this:

Skeeters'll gitcha if your screens ain't tight;
They're bigger than robins and they're wild tonight.
Skeeters'll gitcha if your screens ain't tight
And your screens ain't tight at all.

Skeeters'll gitcha if your screens ain't tight;
They're bigger than robins and they're wild tonight.
Skeeters'll gitcha if your screens ain't tight
And your screens ain't tight at all.
No, your screens ain't tight at all!

 

[fox69]

"So Much For Winning"

"So Much For Winning"


I left a window open all night long
And I got rained on, silly me
If I owned the Playboy Club
I'd probably lose my key
Ah when you're winning, you don't mind
And now she's gone, so much for winning
I've got a dictionary in my room
I learn a new word every day
When I try polite conversation
Can't think of a word to say
Ah when you're winning, you don't mind
And now she's gone, so much for winning
She walked out sometime last evening
Didn't bother to say goodbye
If you gave me the deed to the Mississippi River
You know it would run dry
I found some pamphlets waiting in the mail
Self-improvement guaranteed
Yoga books and psychic power
Can't get me what I need
Ah when you're winning, you don't mind
And now she's gone, so much for winning
She walked out sometime last evening
Didn't bother to say goodbye
If you gave me the deed to the Mississippi River
You know it would run dry
I left a window open all night long
And I got rained on, silly me
If I owned the Playboy Club
I'd probably lose my key
Ah when you're winning, you don't mind
And now she's gone, so much for winning

 

[fox69]

"Sold A Hammer To The Pentagon"

"Sold A Hammer To The Pentagon"


Sold a hammer to the Pentagon
To the Bing Bang to the Pentagon
And I’m living in Florida for they made me a millionaire
They gave me 700 for every silly little hammer
For I sold them to the Pentagon and they made me a millionaire
So you sell them nails
To the Bing Bang to the Pentagon
Yes you sell them nails and they’ll make you a millionaire
Sold a coffee pot to the Pentagon
To the Hee Haw to the Pentagon
And I’m living on the golf course for they made me a millionaire
They gave me 5,000 for every silly little coffee pot
For I sold them to the Pentagon and they made me a millionaire
So you sell our coffee
To the Hee Haw to the Pentagon
Yes you sell them coffee and they’ll make you a millionaire
Sold a toilet seat to the Pentagon
To the Yahoo, to the Pentagon
And I’m living in a condo for they made me a millionaire
They gave me 600 for every folding little toilet seat
For I sold them to the Pentagon and they made me a millionaire
So you know what you can sell
To the Yahoo, to the Pentagon
Yes you know what you can sell and they’ll make you a millionaire

 

[fox69]

"Someone's Computer"

"Someone's Computer"


I don't know what happened
The telephone rang and I answered
The man on the telephone told me my bill was past due
I told the man this wasn't even my ‘phone
When over the line there came such a weird tone
Now I'm speaking to you from deep down inside someone's computer
They don’t let me eat much
They basically feed me on numbers
I’m sorting out zip-codes and counting the cars in Beloit
I’m helping young Johnny learn geometry
But the devil he cares about rescuing me
Though he probably knows that I’m trapped deep inside his computer
I’m not alone - there’s a bunch of down here together
Clean-livin’ folks who were trying to get by somehow
None of knows what the Sam Hill we did to deserve this
Each of us heard a mysterious tone and then powww...
I hate adding numbers
So guess what I’m doing forever
I’m running a mailing list dunning some dead-beats for Sears
I’d love to play Packman or Star Wars
But no, we’re too serious here - we’re all business
So I’m a Yuppie forever deep down inside someone’s computer
Now that I think of it, lots of my friends have gone missing
Do you suppose that it got ‘em the way it got me
Hard-working guys who were hard put to add on their fingers
Slaving their lives away, running somebody’s PC
Well I’m not gonna panic
I’m carefully taking my bearings
And one of these days when I’m ready I’m making my move
‘Til then keep on watching your monitor screen
If you see some poor devil in blue, red and green
It’s just me I’m still trapped here deep down insid
e someone’s computer...puter...puter...puter...
It’s just me I’m still trapped here deep down inside someone’s computer

 

[fox69]

"Something Going On"

"Something Going On"


My kid's got me worried
My kid's acting strange
He was always cheerful
Now there's been a change
We used to talk for hours
We ain't talkin' anymore
He'll sit and tap his fingers
Then he's up and out the door
My kid was a reader
He always had a book
You gave my kid a book to read
And that was all it took
And now he don't read nothing
He don't even watch TV
He checks his watch time after time
And he hardly looks at me
There's something goin' on
The kids are walkin' away
If we don't help ‘em around
We'll have some terrible dues to pay
There’ll be something goin' on
We might not get them back
The papers say this crack
Is killing a generation
My kid, he was happy
He tore around the place
You'd always hear him laughlng
With a grin across his face
Now he ain't much for showers
He forgets to comb his hair
He looks in your direction
But he doesn't know you're there
‘Cause there's something goin' on
The kids are walkin' away
If we don't help ‘em now
There’ll be some terrible dues to pay
There's something goin' on
We might not get them back
The papers say this crack
Is killing a generation
My kid's got me worried
My kid's acting strange
He was always cheerful
Now there's been a change
We used to talk for hours
We ain't talkin' anymore
He'll sit and tap his fingers
Then he's up and out the door
But there's something goin' on
The kids are walkin' away
If we don't help ‘em around
There’ll be some terrible dues to pay
There's something goin' on
We might not get them back
The papers say this crack
Is killing a generation
The papers say this crack
Is killing a generation