Tom Paxton

[fox69]

"Born On The Fourth Of July"

"Born On The Fourth Of July"


As a schoolboy I played with a plastic grenade
It was gray and with caps it was loaded
In the dirt we would cry and dramatically die
As it flew to the air and exploded
As a young man my dream was to be a marine
My flag was worth all I could bring it
The country was young, when the anthem was sung
Well it gave me the goosebumps to sing it

I was born on the fourth of July
No one more loyal than I
When my country said so I was ready to go
And I wish I'd been left there to die

When I landed in 'Nam, I was Great Uncle Sam
I was fighting for God and my mother
And I knew what to do when my first tour was through
I signed up and went back for another
But it all tumbled down when we ambushed the town
In the night how the metal was flying
We blew it to hell, really did our job well
But just women and kids did the dying

I was born on the fourth of July
No one more loyal than I
When my country said so I was ready to go
And I wish I'd been left there to die

In the damn DMZ, it all ended for me
The fighting broke out and we scattered
One shot hit my heel, the last thing I feel
The next hit my spine and it shattered
In my hospital bed I could hear what was said
And the word will stay with me forever
With my whole life ahead, my body was dead
And the word they were using was never

I was born on the fourth of July
No one more loyal than I
When my country said so I was ready to go
And I wish I'd been left there to die

Now I wheel myself down to the crossroads of town
To watch the young girls and their lovers
And my mind is afire, it's alive with desire
Christ, I'd barely begun, now it's over
In my wheelchair for life, my mechanical wife
I'm supposed to be cheerful and stoic
I'm your old tried-and-true, Yankee Doodle to you
Clean-cut, paralysed and heroic

I was born on the fourth of July
No one more loyal than I
When my country said so I was ready to go
And I wish I'd been left there to die

 

[fox69]

"Bottle Of Wine"

"Bottle Of Wine"


Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine
When you gonna let me get sober?
Let me alone, let me go home
Let me go back to start over

Ramblin' around this dirty old town
Singin' for nickels and dimes
Times getting tough, I ain't got enough
To buy a little bottle of wine

Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine
When you gonna let me get sober?
Let me alone, let me go home
Let me go back to start over

Little hotel, older than Hell
Dark as a coal in a mine
Blanket too thin, I lay there and grin
'Cause I got a little bottle of wine

Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine
When you gonna let me get sober?
Let me alone, let me go home
Let me go back to start over

Pain in my head and bugs in my bed
Pants are so old that they shine
Out on the street tell the people I meet
"Won'tcha buy me a bottle of wine?"

Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine
When you gonna let me get sober?
Let me alone, let me go home
Let me go back to start over

Well, a preacher would preach, teacher would teach
A miner would dig in a mine
I ride the rods trustin' in God
A-huggin' my bottle of wine

Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine
When you gonna let me get sober?
Let me alone, let me go home
Let me go back to start over

I went to the zoo for an hour or two
And the weather was pleasant and fine
While wanderin' by a gorilla said hi
Did you have a little bottle of wine

Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine
When you gonna let me get sober?
Let me alone, let me go home
Let me go back to start over

While strugglin' through to meet the latest guru
I was the two-hundredth person in line
I turned to a friend and saw the same in the end
Why don't we get a little bottle of wine

Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine
When you gonna let me get sober?
Let me alone, let me go home
Let me go back to start over

Jolie bouteille, sacrée bouteille
Veux-tu me laisser tranquille?
Je veux te quitter, je veux m'en aller
Je veux recommencer ma vie

Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine
When you gonna let me get sober?
Let me alone, let me go home
Let me go back to start over
Je veux recommencer ma vie

 

[fox69]

"Bring Back The Chair"

"Bring Back The Chair"


Can’t you hear the people snoring
Life’s become so doggone boring
Let’s get that adrenalin pouring
Let’s bring back the chair
Tired of war and evolution
Bored with peace, try my solution
Nothing feeds an execution
Let’s bring back the chair
Bring back the chair
Strap someone there
Strap down a pair
Bring back the chair
Oh, bring back the chair
Zap someone there
Medium rare
Bring back the chair
Let’s bring back the chair
Strap someone there
Strap down a pair
Bring back the chair
Bring back the chair
Zap someone there
Medium rare
Bring back the chair
Don’t you feel you could kinda get into that, work
that one up a little.
The odd cry of rage now and then - wouldn’t hurt at all.
Let’s try it.
With the music now -
Oh, bring back the chair
Strap someone there
Strap down a pair
Bring back the chair
Oh, bring back the chair
Zap someone there
Medium rare
Bring back the chair
That sounds awfully sincere.
A little worried about this bunch!
Higher taxes more inflation
People need some recreation
Let’s decrease the population
Let’s bring back the chair
Priorities need redeployment
Hangmen live for our enjoyment
Take ‘em off of unemployment
Let’s bring back the chair
Oh, bring back the chair
Strap someone there
Strap down a pair
Bring back the chair
Oh, bring back the chair
Zap someone there
Medium rare
Bring back the chair
The present rules could use a vision
Make the obvious decision
Put it all on television
Let’s bring back the chair
Smack a little make-up to ‘em
And as the juices sizzle through ‘em
Howard Cosell
can interview ‘em
Let’s bring back the chair
Oh, bring back the chair
Strap someone there
Strap down a pair
Bring back the chair
Oh, bring back the chair
Zap someone there
Medium rare
Bring back the chair
Oh, bring back the chair
Strap someone there
Strap down a pair
Bring back the chair
Oh, bring back the chair
Zap someone there
Medium rare
Bring back the chair
Oh, bring back the chair
Strap someone there
Strap down a pair
Bring back the chair
Oh, bring back the chair
Zap someone there
Medium rare
Bring back the chair

 

[fox69]

"Buffalo Dreams"

"Buffalo Dreams"


Just one more child of the prairie
Whisperin’ prairie winds blow through my soul
Her endless skies amaze me still
And I expect they always will
And some envisions out past my control
Conestoga wagons in their thousands
A-carried restless hearts across these plains
Dreams of fertile land or gold
Fed a hunger uncontrolled
And bred an endless line of wagon trains
Jack-knife winds won’t ever cease their blowing
Summer sun’s burned down on dwindlin’ streams
Women stand in doorways looking southward
While old men lie and dream their buffalo dreams
I stand starlight struck tonight in Kansas
Beside a trail still visible today
Soon these fields of waving weed will
Rise in the summer rain and heat ‘til
Harvest crews come carry them away
Jack-knife winds won’t ever cease their blowing
Summer sun burns down on dwindlin’ streams
Women stand in doorways lookin’ southward
While old men lie and dream their buffalo dreams
Something in her prairie soil has bound me
Whispering grasses are my evening song
Steamboats on the wide Missouri
Whistle as they barrel through
Prepared tonight to carry me along
And the jack-knife winds won’t ever cease their blowing
Summer sun burns down on dwindlin’ streams
Women stand in doorways lookin’ southward
While old men lie and dream their buffalo dreams
The old men lie and dream their buffalo dream

 

[fox69]

"Buy A Gun For Your Son"

"Buy A Gun For Your Son"


Hallelujah, Dads and Mommies
Cowboys, rebels, Yanks and commies
Buy yourselves some real red-blooded fun
If you want to make the grade
You've got to have a hand grenade
And a fully automatic G.I. gun
So buy a gun for your son right away, sir
Shake his hand like a man and let him play, sir
Let his little mind expand, place a weapon in his hand
For the skills he learns today will someday pay, sir
Pound that kid into submission
'Till he's mastered nuclear fission
Buy him plastic warheads by the score
Once he's got the taste of blood
He's gonna sneak up on his buddies
Starting his own thermo-nuclear war
So buy a gun for your son right away, sir
Shake his hand like a man and let him play, sir
Let his little mind expand, place a weapon in his hand
For the skills he learns today will someday pay, sir
Buy him khakis and fatigues
And sign him up in little leagues
Give him calisthenics as a rule
Once you've banished fear and dread
Then pat his seven year-old head
And send him off to military school
Oh buy a gun for your son right away, sir
Shake his hand like a man and let him play, sir
Let his little mind expand, place a weapon in his hand
For the skills he learns today will someday pay, sir
Once he's grown to be a man
He might get tired of blasting Granny
Then you'll see a crisis coming on
Don't get worried, don't get nervous
Send that kid into the service
Let him rise into the Pentagon
At the Pentagon he'll rise
The President he will advise
His reputation growing all the while
With your picture on the wall
He'll get that long-awaited call
And press the firing buttons with a smile
So buy a gun for your son right away, sir
Shake his hand like a man and let him play, sir
Let his little mind expand, place a weapon in his hand
For the skills he learns today will someday pay, sir

 

[fox69]

"California"

"California"


She’s gone to California
To see the sun sink low
I’m sure I’ll have a letter soon
At least I’m hoping so
She’ll draw a pastel picture
Of the desert she drove through
And she’ll draw herself with her mouth turned down
Saying, “Someone misses you”
Doo d’n dee, doo d’n doo
Someone misses you
She’s gone to California
She seems to love it there
She loves to wear those flowery shirts
And match them in her hair
She draws her funny pictures
I’ve learned to draw ‘em too
And I can draw myself with my mouth turned down
Saying, “Someone misses you”
Doo d’n dee, doo d’n doo
Someone misses you
I dream of California
She’s up some canyon side
With boxes full of picture books
All neatly stacked and tied
As soon as I can make it
I will go to Kennedy
And I’ll draw her face with her mouth turned up
With her biggest smile for me
Doo d’n doo, doo d’n dee
Her biggest smile for me
Doo d’n doo, doo d’n dee
Her biggest smile for me
Doo d’n doo, doo d’n dee
Her biggest smile for me

 

[fox69]

"Central Square"

"Central Square"


Five roads led from Central Square, but only one led home.
While down the other four, there lay a world I'd never known.
I saw three stars among the clouds - a good sign, some might say.
I saw the road that led to home, but I took another way.

I met the girl I came to love one night in Central Square.
I loved the way she sang her song; I loved her auburn hair.
I heard her sing The Water Is Wide and Johnny's Gone to Sea
And Spanish Is the Loving Tongue, while she looked right at me.

I took her home with me that night; I carried her guitar.
I gave to her my only bed while I lay on the floor.
She kissed me when she went to bed; I lay awake past three,
And I was nearly sleeping when I heard her call to me.

We lived together all that year until we drew apart.
For I was younger than my years and did not know my heart.
I sang along with her one night in quiet harmony,
Until I realized this song was her farewell to me.

I made the worst mistake of all; I turned and left her there.
And winter had come in when I stepped out in Central Square.
I saw three stars among the clouds - a good sign, some might say.
I saw the road that led to home, but I took another way.
I saw the road that led to home, but I took another way.

 

[fox69]

"Cindy's Cryin'"

"Cindy's Cryin'"


Cindy's cryin' but it ain't no use -
She's got a habit and she can't get loose.
Stoppin' each and ev'ry man she meets,
Gonna be a hooker on Bleecker Street.

On Bleecker Street,
Honey, makes you feel like cryin'.
You said you'd leave it and I hope you're tryin'.
Oh, they call it livin', and it feels like dyin'.

Police stopped her on the street today,
She was holdin' and they took her away.
Threw her in jail and they made her wait,
She was cryin' "Oh, Jesus, let me just get straight.
Let me just get straight". Honey, makes you feel like cryin'.
I know you can make it but you better stop tryin'.
Oh, they call it livin', Baby, someone's lyin'.

Cindy, Cindy, whatcha gonna do?
Got no money and you're way past due.
You got every last penny I had,
The man is restless and your credit is bad,
And your credit is bad, Honey, makes you feel like cryin'.
We can make it but we better start tryin'.
Oh, I ain't leaving you and I ain't lyin'.

Now Cindy went South and took the cure,
"This time, Honey, I'm straight for sure".
Went to the corner to the grocery store,
You were gone ten minutes and I know you scored,
And I know you scored,

[Repeat 1st Verse]

 

[fox69]

"Clarissa Jones"

"Clarissa Jones"


Clarissa Jones got bit on the heel by a rat and she hit it with a broom.
He ran to the corner and stood there grinning like he owned the god damn' room.
Clarissa Jones threw an iron at the rat and the rat just seemed to say, "Fine."
He twitched his tail in the corner and said, "You've got to go to sleep sometime."

Clarissa Jones's kid aged 16 hated his heavy old shoes.
He wanted fine strides like the studs on the street, and they'd know he'd been paying his dues.
Clarissa Jones's kid got busted, she was three days gettin' the news.
They gave him a meal, a shower and a uniform, and two old heavy shoes.

Clarissa Jones where are you going,
It's cold and the wind is blowing through your bones.
And where, where, where is your man, Clarissa Jones?

Clarissa Jones carried bedpans, swept up, changed sheets and mopped the halls.
The doctors said she was a very good worker, Clarissa Jones knew them all.
Now Clarissa Jones sits in her window with her paper reading how they burned the next street flat.
She's reading about the trouble. She ought to write a letter saying "Hey, it never happened like that."

Clarissa Jones where are you going,
It's cold and the wind is blowing through your bones.
And where, where, where is your man, Clarissa Jones?

Mr. William Hawkins rose early, shaved, dressed carefully and drank his tea.
He hit the desk at nine thanks to the Board of Opportunity.
On his very first day this boss went to great lengths to make him feel at home,
And his first assignment was a disposses on Miss Clarissa Jones.

Clarissa Jones where are you going,
It's cold and the wind is blowing through your bones
And where, where, where is your man, Clarissa Jones?
Ah where, where, where is your man, Clarissa Jones?

 

[fox69]

"Coffee In Bed"

"Coffee In Bed"


How’d you like your coffee in bed this morning
How’d you like some sugar in your cup
Fluff up your pillow, pull up the covers
How’d you like to never get up
We can unplug the telephone, honey
And never turn the radio on
How’d you like your coffee in bed this morning
All morning long
I don’t want to hear the babblin’ of the radio
Telling us to rise and greet the dawn
I don’t want the sunlight peekin’ ‘round the curtains
Saying, time to get your game face on
Wouldn’t it be crazy not to feel a little lazy
When I’m lyin’ in the bed with you
It’s not so surprising that the temperature is rising
So, honey, here’s what we'll do...
Whoa, how’d you like your coffee in bed this morning
How’d you like some sugar in your cup
Fluff up your pillow, pull up the covers
How’d you like to never get up
We can unplug the telephone, honey
And never turn the radio on
How’d you like some coffee in bed this morning
All morning long
Would you like a cup of coffee
I know you like it hot
It’s the best in town
If we drink it all down
We can always make another pot
Oh, how’d you like some coffee in bed this morning
How’d you like some sugar in your cup
Fluff up your pillow, pull up the covers
How’d you like to never get up
We can unplug the telephone, honey
And never turn the radio on
How’d you like your coffee in bed this morning
All morning, all morning, all morning long