1. |
Maybe I'll Dance Tonight
05:29
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MAYBE I'LL DANCE TONIGHT
words and music: Eric Peter Schwartz
Friday night
my Swatch is heading toward 7 o'clock
biggest problem on my mind
is whether I should pop my collar or not
In the other room
Martha Quinn's slinging music videos
I'm an '86 Latch-key kid
with someplace to go
My friend honks his horn
I pull my knock-off Jordan's on
One last check in the the mirror
then I hit the lawn
All the way there
we're blasting Eddie Money
Then we stop and do one of those fire drills
'cause we think we're so funny
(CHORUS)
And I'm thinking about
all the cool things I'll say John Hughes could write
and the way her Bonne Belle lipgloss
will catch the light
I want to talk to that girl
with all my might
Then maybe I'll dance tonight
Everybody is there
for everybody to see
Julius Seizure and the Roman Candles up on stage
singing "Take On Me"
Then I see her across the floor and I'm here by the door
I could run away
then the lights change
to match the ballad the band starts to play
(CHORUS)
(Bridge)
I want to sparkle in your eyes
I want to be as cool as Peter Venkman or Marty McFly
And if I'm lucky, I could be your Ducky too
But standing here in this light
I don't know if I look right
to you
I'd love to tell you
this song has a movie end
truth is I chickened out
and spent the night hanging out with my friends
that night I told myself
I'd get another chance
There'd always be another Friday
and some other dance
(CHORUS 2X)
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2. |
Hot Liquor
03:14
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I feel sorry for you, Sport
if you catch her alone
she'd probably love you in half
she floats on through like a casual ghost
like The Devil in a jaunty hat
It's 4 AM on a Tuesday night
work is just hours away
your car is on the other side of town
because you just had to play
She only drinks hot liquor
even when it's hot outside
it gets into the blood much quicker
that's what she believes
it's what she prescribes
hot liquor
brings the red to her lips
hot liquor
brings the swing to her hips
A bottle of Jameson on the stove
next to a percolating coffee pot
spot of rum in her cocoa cup
hot saki shot when it's not
Apple cider over an open fire
spiced whisky swirling in
Hot sugar water and lemon juice
making Tanqueray Toddies with gin
She only drinks hot liquor
even when it's hot outside
it gets into the blood much quicker
that's what she believes
it's what she prescribes
hot liquor
brings the red to her lips
hot liquor
brings the swing to her hips
If you see her
walk on by
Buddy, you'll need her
every night
hasten your pace, sir
don't take your time
you'll lose your marbles
like I lost mine
feel sorry for me, Sport
I caugh her alone
now she's loved me in half
she floated on through like a casual ghost
like The Devil in a jaunty hat
It's 4 AM on a Tuesday night
work is just hours away
my car is on the other side of town
because I just had to play
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3. |
Tangerines
03:38
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TANGERINES
(words and music by E.P. Schwartz)
He liked the way she rolled the dice
and the way her character
always gave his character eyes
he was a third level thief
but in his heart
he couldn't get no relief
until there was this Goblin attack
and her elf mage
took a battle axe to the back
an unexpected sudden move
he jumped to his feet
and stunned the whole room
when he said
"All my gold, my love
all my restless dreams
all my paranoia, baby
all my tangerines
all your high-tech hardware
all your sexy screams
everything you are tonight"
She just sat and held his gaze
you could hear a +2 to hit dagger
fall in this place
until the DM said "What gives?
You two didn't even
roll for initiative"
Then she swept the game to the floor
crawled across the table
toward him on all fours
pulled his face close to hers
until he was the only one
who could, hear her words
when she said
"All my gold, my love
all my restless dreams
all my paranoia, baby
all my tangerines
all your high-tech hardware
all your sexy screams
everything you are tonight"
The gamers gave them wide berth
while they kissed
like they were the last two human beings on this Earth
and they'll never again be alone
because he picked her up
and carried her home
and they said
"All my gold, my love
all my restless dreams
all my paranoia, baby
all my tangerines
all your high-tech hardware
all your sexy screams
everything you are tonight"
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4. |
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THE NIGHT BEFORE THANKSGIVING
(words and music by E.P. Schwartz)
I'm staring at your face across the table once again
seems to happen every 3 or 4 years
the night before Thanksgiving we all pile into this bar
consecrate our memories of youth in holy beer
I notice you've doing something different with your hair
I notice you're not wearing your wedding ring again this year
I'm staring at the mirror in the mens room again
like I do every time I'm here
Trying to find the words I've been swallowing a lifetime
and use paper towels to wipe away years
I hope you haven't noticed, when you talk I watch your mouth
it'll wreck me 'til Christmas tonight when you walk out
But I will sit silently
seeing what I always see
how it could be
my 25 year dream
you and me in mt front seat
In my dream we never age, we never fumble like new lovers
and every single kiss could stop the world
And all the passing years aren't regrets they're just chapters
of the greatest love story you ever heard
I hope you haven't noticed the way I catch my breath
handing you my heart scares me to death
But I will sit silently
seeing what I always see
how clear it is to me
my 25 year dream
you and me in mt front seat
And I know that life is short, I've said it a billion times
in the dark when I should be asleep
God dammit I should just make a pass at you and see where we land
The fear is strong and the will is weak
You check your phone, "Is that the time?"
I try not to linger as you hug me goodbye
I will drive silently
and see what I always see
how clear it is to me
my 25 year dream
you and me
in my front seat
I will live silently
I will see what I always see
how clear it is to me
my 25 year dream
you and me
in my front seat
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5. |
House of Frankenstein
03:06
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Don't wanna give in to the cynics
don't wanna give in to the critics
don't wanna go gently into that night
Don't wanna lose my Raisin Bran
don't wanna lose my Superman
don't wanna lose my choice of dark or light
I like this room of mine
in the House of Frankenstein
Don't wannna get caught with my pants down
don't wanna get kissed then kicked around
don't wanna count the minutes until my break
We can't pretend we control the rules
Can't ignore lunatics and fools
Can't deny the monsters that we make
Just tell me which seat is mine
in The House of Frankenstein
Keep walking, I'm right behind
in the House of Frankenstein
Throw the switch
Does it live?
Does it sin?
Does it forgive?
Don't wanna give up a good time
don't wanna give up my place in line
don't wanna see the black behind the blue
Don't wanna give in to the cynics
don't wanna give in to the critics
don't wanna lose myself in you
Tell me we'reg onna be fine
in the House of Frankenstein
I'll just chill here in this room of mine
in the House of Frankenstein
credits
from American Disrepair, released January 2, 2017
words and music by E.P. Schwartz
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6. |
School Night
03:07
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It's funny how you lose
delusions of fortune and fame
getting paid in cash and pizza
Lord, this really is a younger man's game
but I'm taking life as it comes
giving a dream a chance to fight
trying to find fifty folks
who'll come out on a school night
Crashing on stranger's couches
and 6 foot tall basement flats
you say I'm living the dream, I am
but I didn't dream about that
I check my email at a truck stop
as I buy a Diet Sprite
I'm working to get fifty folks
to come out on a school night
What's your draw they ask
I can't say I haven't got a clue
I'm still trying to find the people
who like what I do
But I don't like to lie
and it's not professional to beg
but I know if I could play my songs
I could turn a few heads
Now I've got this kid
with a guitar and a dream
and I'm trying to show by example
what this life will really be
but what the hell do I know
about doing any of this right
I'm still trying to get fifty folks
to come out on a school night
(Chorus)
It's funny how you lose your delusions
of fortune and fame
when you're sitting in a diner
in a town that barely deserves a name
drinking coffee and hoping
you did everything right
and you'll find your fifty folks
who'll come out on a school night
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7. |
Stop. Breathe. Repeat.
05:00
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STOP. BREATHE. REPEAT.
We're flush with:
Check loans
and ringtones
and ice cream cones
and value menus
and music venues
and checkout lines
and no smoking signs <br>
and city enforced lawn fines
Jager bombs
and soccer moms
and men in traffic seeking alms
home owners associations
and home invasions
tax evasions
and playstations
Xbox
and pop rocks
and Botox
and construction-displaced red fox
paved over wetlands
and cover bands
and mini vans
big macs
and panic attacks
and achievement plaques
and car jacks
and commentary tracks
crack
smack
and 2 squad cars for every pulled over black
STOP. BREATHE. REPEAT
STOP. BREATHE. REPEAT
Blue-Tooth
and Baby Ruth
billions on "reality" not a dime on the truth
vets
pets
and rooms to let
DVRs to set
and OTBs taking bets
Hooters
and looters
and first person shooters
drug stings
buffalo wings
and automated baby swings
blood clots
and toys for tots
Body shots
and wood rot
30-second spots
open preschool academy slots
and bumper-sticker-deep political thought
STOP. BREATHE. REPEAT
STOP. BREATHE. REPEAT
book clubs
and hot tubs
and pay stubs
and Caribbean jerk chicken rubs
YouTube
and JiffyLube
augemented boobs
and flamed noobs
Cubicles
Musicals
and chewed-down cuticles
FEMA
edema
and short term financial schema
white sales
and white males
and predatory eyes on the bike trails
Khaki shorts
park district sports
USB ports
chair and blanket forts
jam packed circuit courts
NASCAR
and Pinot Noir
C-section scars
and smoke free strip bars
psychological baggage
and stuffed cabbage
a cultural bandage
and a stimulus package
Plumbers
Hummers
and world wide bummers
a challenge to all-comers
STOP. BREATHE. REPEAT
podcasts
and spinning class
and shade grass
peak bone mass
and "Nice turn signal, Jackass!"
Sunday drivers
and olympic divers
social ladder climbers
two coats of primer
and make-up covered shiners
Shriners
Whiners
and egg timers
Downloads
pincodes
frontage roads
and the subtle way every trend explodes
Terry stops
and album drops
and Dow drops
cream wrap tops
and mall-cops
Soul mates
and divorce rates
speed dates
and wine crates
genetic traits
and jail bait
bit rate
Hate
Fate
and checks from the State
and the wait
and the wait
and the wait
please wait
why yes...
we're flush with
the suburban bourbon of a billion choices
drunk and bedazzled by the pointless noises
and no matter how we all felt
we chipped away at the green belt
we've sold ourselves as traffic slaves
but we're blessed
because
Jesus Paves
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8. |
Regretville
04:18
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Hop in my whiskey ride
and I'm drivin'
down Highway 45
blow all the lights
on the way to Regretville
I hear they've got a bar there
open all night
Julie's waiting in the dark for me to kiss her
a little green house on a little green street
conniving and undermining directors
Best laid plans kept me drunk in her back seat
Hop in my whiskey ride
and I'm drivin'
down Highway 45
blow all the lights
on the way to Regretville
I hear they've got a bar there
open all night
That night she didn't want me to take the high road
backfire makes the baby cry
Too afraid to speak so I ghosted
I wasn't strong enough to watch him lose his mind
Hop in my whiskey ride
and I'm drivin'
down Highway 45
blow all the lights
on the way to Regretville
I hear they've got a bar there
open all night
Walk it off
dial it back
talk it down
Make it work
lay it out
kick it around
Walk it off
dial it back
talk it down
Make it work
lay it out
kick it around
The man just wanted to buy me a beer
They were too kind and carried the load
I attacked him in a battle I had no stake in
And I'm pretty sure there's plenty more up the road
Hop in my whiskey ride
and I'm drivin'
down Highway 45
blow all the lights
on the way to Regretville
I hear they've got a bar there
open all night
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9. |
Bill Bixby
03:22
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When I was a boy
maybe nine or ten
I felt the pull
to walk away from the cities of men
like Bill Bixby
I'd walk the land
like Bill Bixby
I'd change my name
and wash dishes
I'd kiss the girls
and see beautiful vistas
I'd see it all
fill and quiet my mind
like Bill Bixby
What I've seen of this world
I feel I've seen through glass
like my feet left the Earth
and never really touch land
and then cancer, cancer took the man
Cancer took Bill Bixby
Eleven Michigan miles
from the cabin to the dam
I found two feathers
and got a lay of the land
I felt like Bill Bixby
As my body aged
I grew accustom to wheels
I kept out of the sun
and grass never touched my heels
I lost the thread
but in the back of my mind
I kept Bill Bixby
It's far too late for these kinds of dreams
I work at eight and life stretches its seams
Silly boy leave this man alone
Bill Bixby was just an actor who called California home
Late last night
I felt the pull again
to take some time away
from the cities of men
to step off the wheels
and feel the land
find my Bill Bixby
Why did I wait
until my body had to fight
the truth of life
gravity is stronger than the mind
I will do everything I can
to find you Bill Bixby
I will find you Bill Bixby
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10. |
Do It To Julia
02:24
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They can break love
they can break hope
they can break the things you see
and the things you know
Under the spreading
chestnut tree
they broke you
they broke me
Don't do it to me
do it to Julia
Don't do it to me
do it to Julie
They can make love
they can make hope
because they make the things you see
and the things you know
They made me
they made you
and they made us love Him
until the bullet goes through
Don't do it to me
do it to Julia
Don't do it to me
do it to Julie
I love you
I love you
I love you
as the bullet goes through
I love you
as the bullet goes through
Julia
I love you
as the bullet goes through
Julia
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11. |
Some Days Are Dragons
03:51
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SOME DAYS ARE DRAGONS
(words and music by E.P. Schwartz)
Some days are dragons
some days are flies
some days I work real hard
to avoid your eyes
I give you lip
you throw me shade
but we climb to higher ground
some days
Old Noah was late
building that ark
he said "I can only build in the day
not after dark"
The Lord said, "Noah, buddy,
find a way
or you won't make it to higher ground
no way"
Back and forth
is the law of the land
what starts out on the ocean
winds up on the sand
don't leave me hanging
no not today
I want to find some higher ground
some way
they spurned the Magdalene
called her a whore
she'd been dead so long
what'd they do that for
Now these old, robed men
are hanging tough
but we all know their higher ground
isn't high enough
Back and forth
is the law of the land
what starts out on the ocean
winds up on the sand
don't leave me hanging
no not today
I want to find some higher ground
some way
Some days are dragons
some days are pie
we can all get burned
or all get a slice
and if we're quiet
and enjoy our pie
we could all make it to higher ground
would't that be nice
OH!
we could all make it to higher ground
wouldn't that be nice.
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12. |
Why You Love Me Now?
02:08
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Why'd you come down here
I was feeling alright
why'd you come down here
where there is no light
I was just putting this damn thing
back together
who do you think you are?
And tell me why...
why you love me now?
I was burning cold but
I was picking up steam
I was tired of drinking
myself into dreams
So why'd you come down here
and kick me back down
Who do you think you are?
And tell me why
why you love me now?
BRIDGE
I don't have more money than I had before
did I lose weight since you kicked me out the door
did you have a change of heart and see things more clear
is that what brought you back round here?
Tell me
Why you love me now?
Why'd you come down here
and break my flow
why'd you come down here
when my resistance is low
If I'm the hero you're the Kraken at the gate
So you can go
unless you let me know
Why you love me now?
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13. |
Heaven in Disrepair
05:26
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HEAVEN IN DISREPAIR
(words & music by E.P. Schwartz)
Angel tumbles from orbit
skipping sparks across the night
blazing brilliant across a desert sunset
flaming out in electric yellow light
children making wishes on the angel's burning body
wishes for money, luck and a full heart
the angel folds herself up as she rockets to oblivion
casting off her grace in the flare of her arc
ashes of angels in the air
Heaven in disrepair
she carries the hopes of all that see her
they fuel the glow that lights the land below
then they drift up into the navigation of the ancients
spinning forever while the stars burn slow
she blesses the air that ignites all around her
she blesses the quickly approaching ground
she blesses the things that first carried her skyward
she blesses the row her crashing body will plow
embers of angels in the air
Heaven in disrepair
Aztecs and angels
nanotech and nephilim
halo and stone
blessing and bone
collide
and then subside
The angel closes her eyes and thinks back to Heaven
her taste of the light before her fate was sealed
On impact her divinity blasts outward
and falls like snow on her debris field
Memories of angels in the air
Heaven in disrepair
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14. |
Rage In Tiny Places
04:20
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Another Wednesday
cubicle feels the same and
third cup of coffee’s going down
He feels no movement now
his life with no direction
and it’s all the same for miles around
he keeps rage in tiny places
doesn’t know how he got like this
he keeps rage ... he keeps rage in tiny places
his hands ache to make a fist
He hears the chatter
like a constant itching
causing a pain behind the eyes
He had a dream once
about light and music
now it’s fighting to survive
and he keeps rage in tiny places
Doesn't see any way out of this
he keeps rage.. he keeps rage in tiny places
because he's owned and they insist
But it’s all right
he drinks it up on Saturday night
and he tells his friends
I don’t know how much more I can bend
one day I just might…
And then on Monday…
Rage in tiny places
working poor and walking dead
he keeps rage... he keeps rage in tiny places
drinks to quiet the voices in his head
The working day ends and
he's cramped and buzzing
like a wasp inside a jar
He can see the movie now
his life with a European ending
a slow crane shot up from his car
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15. |
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WHITE GYPSUM & JOHN WAYNE'S GHOST
(words and music by E.P. Schwartz)
They called her Evangeline
she smelled like strawberries and gasoline
she drove with the top down
across the desert on mescaline
she left college
on the day she turned nineteen
she wasn't gonna wait around
for someone else to tell her what to be
They called her Rhonda Grey
he knocked her around so she blew him away
she was arraigned and walked
it was self defense they say
she looked west
for a fresh start and a brand new day
threw a dart at a map
and then she hit the interstate
in the dusty New Mexico borderlands
they stopped in Lordsburg to fill their rides
their eyes met in the truck stop light
and that's where their stories collide
Rhonda grabbed her bags
hopped into Evangeline's car
she took a deep breath
abandoned her van behind some bar
they drove to White Sands
arms in the air, desert wind in their hands
grabbing all they could grab
brand new life from this dead land
The stars never shone as bright
as they did on the hood of the car that night
outside Alamogordo
where the desert starts to turn white
Evie turned the engine off
poured a drink and proposed a toast
to coyotes
white gypsum and John Wayne's ghost
That night in the Tularosa Basin
where Kokopelli plays his pipe
the opened their mind to the trickster god
and watched the thing ignite
But that was years ago
the desert breeze can erode the rocks
but as you know
the songs say love is stronger than stone
outside Mescalero
near the Otero County line
there's a 28 foot Streamline Empress
with a convertible parked outside
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16. |
Foolish Moon
03:02
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Crazy crazy motion
made me love sick
on a quiet ocean
I danced under lights
for the blind
I opened my mouth
without consulting my mind
but what would any romantic do
when you’re kissed underneath
a foolish moon
All the pain in the world
seemed to rest itself on my head
they never forgot
my mistake
she never forgot
all the words I said
I could never change my tune
cause I played it underneath
a foolish moon
Crazy crazy lover
don’t your heart rumble like thunder
shake you and make you
pretend
it’s not that easy
to start again
And I could never blame you
it was just me and my
foolish moon
Crazy crazy way
our features change
in the harsh light of day
and the funny way
we open our eyes
to reflections we don’t
recognize
And the way the light
flooded my room
I guess I’ll spend tonight
with my foolish moon
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17. |
The Weight of the Girl
05:06
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THE WEIGHT OF THE GIRL
(words and music by E.P. Schwartz)
He's not sleeping well this winter
he can't make it through the night
he's got the weight of the world
and the weight of the girl
pushing in
'cause she left him now he loves her
and now it's twisting him
The boy is blind to the baggage
it's about proximity
and the weight of the girl
on his worth
is hard to believe
and he's moving like a vapor
through his own story
Like a heavy, dead animal
that's the weight of the girl
like a dense, dying star
that's the weight of the girl
he's collapsing into himself
from the weight of the girl
will he ever get over, I wonder
from having been under
the weight of the girl
Sysyphus in a t-shirt
the Ancient Mariner in jeans
it's a force of will
to just sit and chill
while his head and heart
explode
the cure for what's always ailed him
is letting go
Like a heavy, dead animal
that's the weight of the girl
like a dense, dying star
that's the weight of the girl
he's collapsing into himself
from the weight of the girl
will he ever get over, I wonder
from having been under
the weight of the girl
Second guessing every moment
regret's a terrible place to live
believe me I know
I've got the scars to show
so far be it from me
we all want tabla rasa
but you've got to kick it clean
Like a heavy, dead animal
that's the weight of the girl
like a dense, dying star
that's the weight of the girl
he's collapsing into himself
from the weight of the girl
will he ever get over, I wonder
from having been under
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18. |
(hidden track)
01:42
|
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CHEESY LOVE SONG
Edam it all to hell I think I love you
and I gouda get you out of my head
I can't find a cheddar way to tell you how I'm feeling
maybe you colby my friend
I camembert to hear how you love him
jealousy could make a munster out of me
I could just say "baby, swiss me goodbye"
then turn around and just let it brie
Wish I could build a Roquefort around my heart
and tell everyone to leave me provolone
this love affair seems to drag parmesan and on
and that's a mozzerell' of a long way to go
you keep me running in the wheel
take this wedge from my heart
so long baby, it's been a slice
|
Eric Peter Schwartz Aurora, Illinois
Acoustic rock and some instrumental rock. Where heart and quirk collide.
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