Tom Paxton

[fox69]

"The Baseball Kids"

"The Baseball Kids"


We're the baseball kids
It's Saturday morning
We're the baseball kids
It's Saturday morning
We're the baseball kids
It's Saturday morning
And we're gonna play all day long
We're gonna choose up
We're gonna choose up sides
Tell me: who's good?
Who runs and slides?
We're gonna choose up
We're gonna choose up sides
And we're gonna play all day long
We're gonna play hard
We're gonna hit that ball
It's a big yard
With an outfield wall
We're gonna play hard
We're gonna hit that ball
And we're gonna play all day long
We're playing baseball
We have a baseball team
And when we sleep nights
We have a baseball dream
We're playing baseball
We have a baseball team
And we're gonna play all day long

 

[fox69]

"The Battle Of The Sexes"

"The Battle Of The Sexes"


Back in the garden of Eden
That never needed weedin’
Adam made himself a new straw hat
But all that he was wearin’
Eve just sat there starin’
Sayin’, “Adam, you can’t go out dressed like that”
And that did it, blam-to-blam
That’s when all the fun began
That’s the day when all the men and women went to war
Now, the battle of the sexes
Runs from Babylon to Texas
And they’ll fight, fight, fight forevermore
Anthony, that mighty Roman
Cleopatra’s hair was combin’
She knew he was no mental acrobat
He was a great romancer
But he never should have answered
When she asked him, “Does this dress make me look fat?”
And that did it, blam-to-blam
That’s when all the fun began
That’s the day when all the men and women went to war
Now, the battle of the sexes
Runs from Babylon to Texas
And they’ll fight, fight, fight forevermore
Delilah said to Samson
“You’re so tall and dark and handsome
My heart beats like it never gonna stop
You are so hurly-burly
Your hair so long and curly
I just think I’ll take a little off the top”
George Washington and Martha
Sat before a glowing hearth
Another soft, Virginia evening drifting by
But as the room grew colder
She asked him if she looked older
And he said, “My dear I cannot tell a lie”
And that did it, blam-to-blam
That’s when all the fun began
That’s the day when all the men and women went to war
Now, the battle of the sexes
Runs from Babylon to Texas
And they’ll fight, fight, fight forevermore
Oh, the battle of the sexes
Runs from Babylon to Texas
And they’ll fight, fight, fight forevermor

 

[fox69]

"The Crow That Wanted To Sing"

"The Crow That Wanted To Sing"


There once was a crow - his friends called him Joe
And black were his back and his wing
And all of the other crows laughed at him so
For Joe really wanted to sing
A simple “caw, caw” wasn’t music enough
For feelings Joe felt deep inside
So in spite of the laughter he heard every day
Joe flapped his wings and he tried
He went: “Caw, caw, caw caw”
Joe gave it the best he had
But “caw, caw, caw, caw”
I’m sorry to say it was bad
The other crows cawed, they laughed and they guffawed
To hear poor Joe trying his best
And though all their jeers nearly brought him to tears
He bravely went on with his quest
For Joe was a dreamer, and he dared to dream
That one day he’d stand in the ring
And hear a vast hush as the world fell silent
For the crow that wanted to sing
He went: “Caw, caw, caw, caw”
Though he gave it the best he had
“Caw, caw, caw, caw”
I’m sorry to say it was bad
One day in his tree, in his worst misery
Joe wondered just why he’d been born
His nest was a sight, his feathers a fright
His good heart felt tattered and torn
Then his wife and his children all gathered around
As evening stars twinkled above
They nestled themselves warmly under his wing
And they said, “Daddy tell us of love”
And as Joe thought of how he felt full of love now
And of all the joy love could bring
A miracle happened in that willow tree
A crow really started to sing
He sang, “Love, love, love is the answer”
He sang in a voice so clear
“Love, love, love is the answer
And love is the reason we’re here”
He sang, “Love, love, love is the answer”
He sang in a voice so clear
“Love, love, love is the answer
And love is the reason we’re here”
There once was a crow - his friends called him Joe
And black were his back and his wing
His message to you is that dreams can come true
For Joe finally learned how to sin

 

[fox69]

"The Crow's Toes"

"The Crow's Toes"


You are the best thing in my whole life
I’m so glad you came along
Every time I feel like grumbling
I remember to sing this song
You are the crow’s toes
Your are the flea’s cheese
You are the ant’s pants
You are the bee’s knees
There was a lady in Chicago
Who was grouchy every day
Now she laughs out loud each morning
Since I taught her how to say
You are the crow’s toes
Your are the flea’s cheese
You are the ant’s pants
You are the bee’s knees
There was a fire truck filled with firemen
They were rolling down the street
As they pulled up to the fire
They were singing in voices sweet
You are the crow’s toes
Your are the flea’s cheese
You are the ant’s pants
You are the bee’s knees
This song is a little bit silly
This song is a little bit dumb
We’ll sing this song all morning
And a better song might come
You are the crow’s toes
Your are the flea’s cheese
You are the ant’s pants
You are the bee’s knees

 

[fox69]

"The Day We Lost The America's Cup"

"The Day We Lost The America's Cup"


On the day we lost the America’s Cup
And the glory slipped away
I went for a walk in the city
To see what the man in the street might say
I found a likely lookin’ chap
Who agreed to talk with me
He wore a beret and coal-black shades
And Billy go-go Tee
There’s news from Newport sir says I
I give it you to straight
Australia won the America’s Cup
We had too little too late
The little guy turns his lamps on me
All blood-shot red and blue
You say we lost the America’s cup
Did we lose the saucer too
He said, I did not know we lost the cup
I tell you one thing more
I didn’t know we had the cup
What the damn thing’s for
For sailing boats - you’re putting me on
And them Captain Andy hats
And they called that rub-a-dub-dub a race
Hell I could walk as fast that
You say Australia won the cup
You tell me what it cost
One thing you ain’t told me Jack
Is who it is that lost
Yeah, who are the souls who lost the cup
And had to let go
The New York Yacht Club did you say
Please tell me it ain’t so
So the New York Yacht Club blew the tin
And the flag at half-mast waves
Jack, please excuse my lack of tears
But some of them cats owned slaves
They got houses big as Rhode Island
They got blood as blue as the sky
And I hope they wore their Sunday best
To kiss the cup goodbye
We had the cup how long you say
A hundred and thirty-two years
And now Australia won the cup
And filled it with Foster beers
And now the yacht club’s dark and cold
And now it’s draped in black
I hope it takes ‘em it twice as long
To get the damn thing back
Yeah I feel for all them yacht club studs
Says the little guy to me
The sight of that empty trophy case
Will be a heavy sight to see
It must be hell to lose the cup
When you had it for so long....
He took his saxophone out of its case
And he played a sad little song.....
It went

 

[fox69]

"The Death Of Stephen Biko"

"The Death Of Stephen Biko"


Stephen Biko lay in shackles on a urine-sodden mattress
In the solitary section, he was made to lie there naked
Ah, ah!
Given nothing he could wash with, exercise was not permitted
Stephen Biko lay in shackles, compliments of Colonel Goosen
Ah, ah, Africa!

Port Elizabeth the prison, South Africa the nation
Stephen Biko lay in shackles, though his hands and feet were swollen
Ah, ah!
In the close interrogation he was beaten like the others
He was put back in the shackles, compliments of Colonel Goosen
Ah, ah, Africa!
Ah, ah, Africa!

He was sick and he was dying, prison doctors came to see him
When the cops spoke to the doctors they said, Nothing much is wrong here
Ah, ah!
Just a short stay in the infirmary, then it's back down to the shackles
On a urine-sodden mattress, compliments of Colonel Goosen
Ah, ah, Africa!
Ah, ah, Africa!

When they found him in a coma, when the man was clearly dying
He was naked, but they stowed him in the back of a Land Rover
Ah, ah!
Though a hospital was near by it was no part of a prison
So they took him to Pretoria - seven hundred fifty miles
Ah, ah, Africa!
Ah, ah, Africa!

There was no one on the journey who could help the man survive it
And the medical equipment was just one bottle of water
Ah, ah!
When they reached Pretoria prison they brought no medical records with them
And they said, he might be faking, it's a hunger strike he's staging
Ah, ah, Africa!
Ah, ah, Africa!

Stephen Biko in Pretoria was laid down upon a mattress
On the stone floor of a prison, and he died his lonely death there
Now, the country was South Africa; the victim, Stephen Biko
The victim, all South Africa; the victim, all humanity
At the death of Stephen Biko
Ah, ah, Africa!
Ah, ah, Africa!

 

[fox69]

"The Fatal Glass"

"The Fatal Glass"


Now there once was a young man, and he came to the big city
Seeking a lucrative position commensurate with his talents
And he walked the streets all day and he couldn't find a job
Till at last he secured employment working in a stone quarry with all the other college graduates

And one evening after work, they lured him into a saloon
And they urged him to drink a glass of beer
But he said he wouldn't do it for he'd made a promise to his mother
That he'd never touch a glass containing an alcoholic beverage

Well, they laughed and they jeered, they called him a coward
Till at last he raised and drained the fatal glass
And when he'd seen what he had done, he dashed the glass against the bar
And rushed from the saloon with a terrible case of delirium tremens

And the first one that he saw was a Salvation Army lady
And with one kick he broke her tambourine
While all she said was "Heaven bless you", and placed a mark upon his brow
With a kick she had learned before she was saved

So the moral of this story is to shun the fatal glass
And don't go around kicking other people's tambourines

 

[fox69]

"The First Song Is For You"

"The First Song Is For You"


I sit down each morning and I start to move my pen
It's what I know that I was meant to do
Without knowing how I find I write your name again
Oh, it's always true the first song is for you

Every time I start it's still the same
When I move my pen it writes your name
I remember all you've done and all you've tried to do
When I do the first song is for you

I sit down with my guitar and try to write a song
About all the trials and trib' we've been through
Never would have come so far without love so strong
So it's always true the first song is just for you

Every time I start it's still the same
When I move my pen it writes your name
I remember all you've done and all you've tried to do
When I do the first song is for you

I think about the times when you were there for me
There for the long hard climb
I think about the many ways you cared for me
Cared for me time after time

I can see your picture where it hangs upon the wall
Every time I see it, it's still new
I might write a thousand songs but as I write them all
It'll still be true the first song is for you

Every time I start it's still the same
When I move my pen it writes your name
I remember all you've done and all you've tried to do
But when I do the first song is for you
And when I do the first song is for you

 

[fox69]

"The Honor Of Your Company"

"The Honor Of Your Company"


When I find myself with a song to write,
I remember candles in the night.
Voices raised in ragged harmony,
Singing this land was made for you and me.
Some of those voices are silent now and gone;
I'm glad to see how you've been keeping on.
I remember the songs that pulled us through,
And when I hear those songs, I think of you.

[Chorus:]
So, thank you for the honor of your company;
The music was as sweet as the good red wine.
Thanks for the company,
And thanks for the harmony,
I'm here to say the honor was all mine.

Back when times were tough and the news was bad,
Faith and a couple of songs was all we had.
Songs we rearranged and made our own;
Songs it sometimes seemed we'd always known.
We've been together now for a long long time;
And if ever I was the poet, you were the rhyme.
It was always the music that kept us strong.
And, if ever I was the singer, you were the song.

[Chorus]

Decade after decade, year by hear,
Season after season, we're still here,
And it does not take a crystal ball to know
We're gonna go out singing when we go.
A five-string banjo and a steel string guitar
Just a couple of the reasons why we've come this far,
Singing like we always have and will,
Knowing the circle is unbroken still.

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"The Hooker"

"The Hooker"


Where do you go at night
Where do you go at night
Wrapped in your cheap cologne
Where do you go at night
Down to the pit with the stinking air
And the smell of the sweat and the death is there
I dance for a dollar and I dance for a dime
Till their eyes are begging and their pockets are mine
I pick a body and I name my fee
I take their money and they take me
That's where I go at night
That's where I go at night
Don't point your finger
Say your prayers at me
The truth is hard but I'm gonna tell it
Ah, there's a whole lot of ways to sell it
How do you spend your days
How do you spend your days
When you can sleep no more
How do you spend your days
I rise at four in the afternoon
I take a match and the kitchen spoon
I wrap my arm in an old necktie
And I find religion on the very first try
I wash my face and I comb my hair
My looks are going but I just don't care
And that's how I spend my days
That's how I spend my days
Don't point your finger
Say your prayers at me
The truth is hard but I'm gonna tell it
Ah, there's a whole lot of ways to sell it
Where do you find your love
Where do you find your love
Where do you run to him
Where do you find your love
I find my love in an old hotel
He's mean and wicked and he knows me well
He takes my body; he takes my mind
Takes my money and he beats me blind
Says he'll help me but he won't say when
Sends me walking on the streets again
And that's where I find my love
That's where I find my love
Don't point your finger
Say your prayers at me
The truth is hard but I'm gonna tell it
Ah, there's a whole lot of ways to sell it
How will you spend your life
How will you spend your life
While ladies play at cards
How will you spend your life
Lying in a circle of velvet rooms
Dying in six inch carpet of tombs
Hiding in the gutter with the aching pains
Trading the years for the aching veins
Dying at last when the tricks are few
And I can't get action from a john like you
Ah, that's how I spend my life
That's how I spend my life
Don't point your finger
Say your prayers at me
The truth is hard but I'm gonna tell it
Ah, there's a whole lot of ways to sell it