LONG HOT SUMMER COMIN’ ON
The girls in their summer dresses
Ah they’re looking so divine
As they stroll along the avenue
Don’t they know they’re running out of time
The cop fingers his holster
The leather shiny and new
He may be just a year on the job
But he knows exactly what to do
Now the carnival is over - the real deal has begun
Better hold on to the things you love
Long hot summer’s comin’ on
Danny says “I’m dyin’ out on old SI
I keep prayin’ for redemption
But it’s all just pie in the sky”
The Fire Brass are nervous
But the Ladder’s in control
Waitin’ for Gasoline Gomez
They got kerosene in their souls
Now the Go-Go days are over, the Iceman’s on the run
Better hold on to the one you love
Long hot summer’s comin’ on
And oh you’re dying now – and oh you’re crying now
Nothing left to hang your hopes on
Strummer’s gone - left you alone
Feel the panic comin’ on
The ghosts out on the Bowery
In their leather and their lace
Led by Captain Kristal
Want Television back on the stage
Then Lester runs out screamin’
“I just escaped from their museum
I need a drink not a curator
But I’m still trapped in their rock & roll dream”
Now the Stratocaster’s silent, the countdown has begun
Better hold on to the dreams you had
Long hot summer’s comin’ on
CELTIC ROCKER
She fell hard for a Celtic Rocker
Turned her whole life upside down
Her Old Man don’t know what to do with her
Out drinkin’ Guinness, buyin’ her own round
She tossed her J. Crew in the garbage
She sportin’ tartan, Doc Marten boots
She wear her Scally, oh so stylish
Told her Old Man she’s discoverin’ her roots
She know the songs and the bands that sing ‘em
The Murphs, the Mollies, 47, the Dubs
She readin’ Tim Pat Coogan biographies
Showin’ off her tattoos down the pub
She moshin’ hard at all the concerts
Know the names of all the boys in the band
The rhythm section dreams about her
Lady fiddle player wants to hold her hand
Someday she goin’ back to Ireland
Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man
Find out exactly where she come’s from
At least when she’s drinkin’ that’s the plan
She got her eyes on the Uilleann Pipes player
Meet him later at the hotel bar
They’re gonna do some serious drinkin’
Like all them Celtic rock & roll stars
She’s rockin’ hard at all the festivals
Dublin, Milwaukee, Chicago too
From New York City to San Francisco
She’s a part of the Celtic Who’s who
She takin’ lessons on the guitar
She can dance the Walls of Limerick too
Someday she be on stage here with us
She be a Celtic Rocker too
She know the songs and the bands that sing ‘em
The Murphs, the Mollies, 47, the Clash
So don’t go messin’ with the lady
Ní beidh a leithéad ann arís
Oh yeah, little Celtic Rocker
Meet me backstage at the van
C’mon little Celtic Rocker
Gonna show you what it’s like in a rock & roll band
BANKERS AND GANGSTERS
Johnnie’s on a hot ledge
Just out of college
He owe fifty grand to the banking industry
But the dude’s on a slow burn
Another unpaid intern
Four years just bought him some credit history with them
Bankers and gangsters, soldiers and dancers
All locked together in default harmony
With the financial chancers, and all manner of high rolling romancers
Livin’ out this American tragedy
Mary got a problem
20 years workin’
Gave her a pink slip - ain’t talkin’ lingerie
Closed down her cubicle
Hey it ain’t economical
You wanta move to South East Asia
Eddie back from Baghdad
Head it hurt so bad
Left a piece of it with the Jihadi
Buggin’ out at the VA
Mortgage late, benefits delayed
Go wave your yellow ribbons for the military
And all of our saints go marching through
Waving their red, white and their blue
Patriots and presidents say I got to live on less
But less for me means a whole lot more for you
Annie on the cell-phone
To her son in Dayton
It breask her heart to beg for sympathy
But she’s seventy and on her own
Gotta bum a short-term loan
You ever tried livin’ on social security
IZZY’S IRISH ROSE
Izzy was a tailor down the Lower East Side)
The very man to top you off with dignity and pride
His mother wanted him to marry a Katz from Houston Street
A great big strapping lump of a girl with two big awkward feet
But Izzy was a cantor in the Synagogue
He kept the laws of Israel with the greatest of resolve
He didn’t fancy Esther Katz, her pastrami left him cold
He wanted a taste of Irish love before he grew too old
He was looking for Rosemary, Eileen, Statia, Ann McKnowles
Ever after to be known as Izzy’s Irish Rose
Forever and ever and ever young Rosie Ann McKnowles
Will be the queen of Orchard Street, Izzy’s Irish rose
So, he went to Rabbi Hershowitz and he said “oh me oh my
I want a wife back home in bed who’ll keep me satisfied”
The Rabbi nodded wisely, “I understand my son
I have an auld one home in the bed – she’s a menace to God and man
For she never shuts up talking, morning noon til night
I have to go to the Irish pub to get some peace and quiet
So they sped off to the shebeen down Delancy Street
The Lord works in mysterious ways but he’s usually discreet
For there they met Rosemary, Eileen, Statia, Ann McKnowles
Ever after to be known as Izzy’s Irish Rose
Forever and ever and ever young Rosie Ann McKnowles
Will be the queen of Orchard street, Izzy’s Irish rose
Now Rosie was the finest girl out of Sligo town
She had a head of red hair that stretched all of the way down
Past her lovely derriere to her gorgeous thighs
But her crownin’ jewels were her smoldering opalescent eyes
Which she cast up at our hero sippin’ his watery wine
Sent the power of Abraham coursin’ down his spine
The Rabbi nodded, “Oh I understand my son
The Lord provideth many paths and yours has just begun”
So he ordered up two pints of Ireland’s finest beer
With a couple of shots to wash ‘em down and he said “I do declare
I hear the bells of heaven aringin’ in me head
That goy would be a joy in any son of Israel’s bed”
Izzy’s sacred mother was beside herself with grief
‘Til the Rabbi took her to the pub down on Delancey Street
Her eyes lit up when she heard the till go clangalang
“Oy veh, that Irish shiksa could use an honest man!”
So if you’re down on Orchard Street and see some red haired men
They’re all the seed of Izzy, sons of Israel to the end
But each and everyone of them’ll drink you out of house and home
For they’re sprung from the womb of Rosie, Eileen, Statia, Ann McKnowles
Oh you’re lookin’ at Rosemary, Eileen, Statia, Ann McKnowles
Ever after to be known as Izzy’s Irish Rose
Forever and ever and ever young Rosie Ann McKnowles
Will be the queen of Orchard street, Izzy’s Irish rose
ROSEMARY (NELSON)
Word on the street - Rosie gonna fry
Big Man say she got it comin’, girl gonna die
Too much hangin’ out all in the wrong places
Runnin’ with the hard men got that girl in a crisis
Watch your step, Rosie, you know what the price is
You got a young family and we’re not Mister Nice Guys
You’re one step beyond the pale, look out, you hear me
Gonna end up dead, oh yeah, Rosemary
You’re so far ahead of them, they’re so far behind
Oh-oh-oh you’ve already crossed the line
You’re so far ahead of all the hatred that they carry
Talkin’ ‘bout a lady they call Rosemary
We know all about you, Rosie McGee
You don’t want our brothers marchin’ in Drumcree
Don’t know you’re place, just another Fenian
So don’t give me no lectures ‘bout the fire of freedom
Look at Robbie Hamill, you know what the price is
Billy Wright took a bullet from a bloody papist
Red Hand got your number, just a formality
Stay out of Portadown, oh yeah, Rosemary
Scars on your face, fire in your eyes
Get out of Lurgan - hear them choppers in the sky
Goin’ to America – such a no-brainer
Testifyin’ to the Yanks won’t make you any safer
Watch your step, Rosie, voice of the voiceless
Remember Pat Finnucane – he thought he was Jesus
Time is tight, look out you hear me
Don’t put your foot on that brake, bye bye, Rosemary
THAT SUMMER DRESS
I don’t know why it all fell apart
I was too young, you were too smart
I guess you knew it was goin’ nowhere right from the start
But your memory brings a smile
And every once in a little old while
I remember your sheer craziness electrifying my heart
That summer dress and your kiss of fire at my door
That summer dress, it spent most of August on my floor
That summer dress and your spark of desire - at my door
That summer dress, it spent most of August on my floor
I know your sensibility
You always wanted to be free
No one was gonna change you baby
I wasn’t gonna be the one to try
But I think of you now and then
Wonder if you ever found the one
Who could satisfy your electrifying desire
All that long July,
I watched you smile as you passed by
I knew what you were thinkin’
Especially when you were drinkin’
Come the heat of August
You and your new summer dress
Did you wear it just for me
Don’t matter, it came off reasonably easily
RED HUGH
Another sleepless night
On a foreign shore
Candle flickers by my bed
Locks bolt my door
I drink too much wine
But it gives my brain relief
Stops the meanderings
That root me from my sleep
I stare out at the night
From a sweat-soaked bed
The Queen lays plots in London
But she won’t have my head
The candle gutters
The smell sweeps me back
To the icy fields of Kinsale
The bodies burning black
Fire and lightning protect Tirconaill
Fire and brimstone rain down on London
They’ll long remember Red Hugh O’Donnell
I could not join that battle
I gave orders from my horse
Wicklow snows had withered
The toes inside my boots
Still a fever of anxiety
Racks my bones
All my friends dead
On Kinsale’s icy roads
Oh were I back in Ulster
I’d dive in Swilly’s foam
Her crystal waters
Would soothe my soul
Dispatches from O’Neill
He grows old and cautious
Our allies are deserting
My blade would rip their stomachs
If Philip won’t help
I’ll return alone
O’Neill longs for an armistice
What profit in a peace
With a queen who’ll break her word
I swear to God
That bitch will taste my sword
I’ll drag her red wig from her head
Pull out her poisoned tongue
I must get back to Ulster
The candle is dead
There’s footsteps at my door
They halt
I’m tormented by that whore
Who waits at court in London
For word of my demise
Her agents hunt me everywhere
But I will not be taken
By any of her men
My head will not grace London’s spike
I’ll fight her to the end
Tonight I sup with James Blake
An honest man is he
He’s promised me three ships of war
We’ll sweep Lizzie from her throne
I will take my place
High King of the Irish
Defender of my Faith
With O’Neill as my adviser
O’Byrne at my side
I’ll rule with justice
But now the dawn is breaking
On this foreign shore
I will arise and say my prayers
Tomorrow I’ll go home
WEDDING REEL
Oh I see you lookin’ from the corner of your eye
As I put on me make-up, hoist me skirt up high
I won’t be comin’ home tonight, just so as you know
Lock up your door, boy, as you watch me go
I bet you didn’t notice the highlights in me hair
They weren’t put in for you to pay attention anyway
I had just about enough of you and your auld line of chat
I’m history ‘round here, buachaillín – go chew on that
Go and watch your Late Late show, sip upon your pint
I warned you, now check out how you’ll feel
The day you see me dressed in white
Steppin’ out to me wedding reel
Off with you so, see if I care
You’ve been nothin’ but trouble since you came sniffin’ round here
A bit of peace and quiet wouldn’t go astray
Give my head a break, woman, for at least a couple of days
You never left well enough alone, “do this or bloody that!”
Drove me to distraction, that’s a given fact
I may not be the greatest but I’m a far cry from the worst
You’ll soon miss my steady hand and know I was the best
Damn right I’ll watch me Late Late show, sip upon me pint
For I know I’m the only man who’d be
Mad enough to spend all my life
Steppin’ out to your wedding reel
Will you listen to the auld prate of him, he should have been a priest
Him up on the altar and me down on me knees
As stingy as the day is long, think only of himself
Never dream a woman might take care of herself
I’ll find meself a young fellah to keep me occupied
Someone I can turn to in the middle of the night
See you later, Alligator, I’m off to check the form
If I don’t score at the disco, you can keep the bed warm
Go and watch your Late Late show, sip upon your pint
I warned you, now check out how you’ll feel
The day you see me dressed in white
Steppin’ out to the wedding reel
ONE STARRY NIGHT
One starry night as I lay sleepin’
One starry night as I lay in bed
Dreamed I heard wagon wheels a’creakin’
When I awoke, love, found you had fled
I’ll search the highways, likewise the byways
I’ll search the boreens, the camping places too
I will inquire of all our people
Have they tide or tidings or sight of you
For it’s many’s the mile, love, with you I’ve traveled
Many’s the hour, love, with you I’ve spent
Dreamed you were my love forever
But now I find, love, you were only lent
I’ll go across the seas to England
To London or to Birmingham
And in some public house I’ll find you
Lamenting your lost love back home
I’m drunk today, I’m seldom sober
A handsome rover from town to town
When I am dead, my story ended
Molly Bán a stoirín, come lay me down
One starry night as I lay sleepin’
One starry night as I lay in bed
Dreamed I heard wagon wheels a’creakin’
Now that you’re gone, love, I might as well be dead
THE LONG LOST TAPES OF HENDRIX
One evening while out strollin’ a friend I chanced to see
He was begging behind a bottle on Spring and Bowery
He said “I got some news for you, only cost a couple of bob
About a buried treasure back home in Ballydehob
Well I gave him all the bucks I had and he took me by the hand
“I know you love musicians - I’ve got news to beat the band
For back there in me native town in the Allied Irish Bank
The long lost tapes of Hendrix are hidden in the vault”
You can talk about your pyramids and your pints of Guinness stout
But the long lost tapes of Hendrix will leave them in the dirt
So I stole me boss’s credit card, to the airport I did jog
Very soon thereafter I arrived in Ballydehob
When I hit the Allied Irish me fatigue turned to desire
I beheld two hundred pounds of sweet Maggie McGuire
She cast her eyes upon me, “what are you doin’ in me bank?”
“I’m here on a secret mission, doll,”
“Oh no not another Yank
I hate the very sight of yez, apart from your president
That man can stimulate me any way he wants”
“What are you doin’ later?”
“Yerra, I’m not up to much”
“Would you care for a pint of Guinness?
“I never touch the stuff.”
But one pint led to two or three, six to seven or eight
Until I was shakin’ hands with meself and that girl was feelin’ no pain
She was startin’ to look beautiful, though there was three of her in sight
Six hundred pounds of lovin’,
“What do you have in mind?”
“Oh, sweet Maggie Magurie, there’s one thing I’d adore
To go down to the vault of your bank and do it on the floor.”
“No bother, a stór….that’s easily arranged”
So we stole into the bank and down the creaky stairs
Soon we were inside the vault and dentin’ the very floor
I could see the tapes of Hendrix and they hidden behind the door
I never had such a night of love, she knew every trick in the book
Over, under, sideways, by the mornin’ I was shook
When she finally keeled over, I gently moved her weight
With her snores wakin’ the very dead, I headed for the tapes
Then all at once, a big white flash took me by surprise
An apparition in tie-dye arose before me eyes
A curly headed black man exploded in the light
T’was the ghost of Jimi Hendrix and him playin’ the Uilleann pipes
I woke up in the hospital a weddin’ ring on me hand
Two hundred pounds of Maggie McGuire smilin’ to beat the band
“Oh, you’re so romantic, no engagement did I need
Just one mad night of blisterin’ sex brought me to my knees”
So now I live in Ballydehob where the rain pours down all week
I’m nearly faded away from tendin’ to Maggie McGuire’s needs
The moral of this story is “don’t ever find your dreams”
And keep away from Hendrix and his goddamn bloody tapes.
You can talk about your pyramids and your pints of Guinness stout
But the long lost tapes of Hendrix will leave them in the dirt
YEATS AND JOYCE
Oh the lights shone down on Broadway
They lit up old Times Square
When we waltzed like Fred and Ginger
All along the great White Way
But you never said that ultimately
There would be a choice
When we tripped the light fantastic
And dreamed of Yeats and Joyce
How do you measure a heartache
How do you hold on to a dream
How do you tally the worth of a life
When you’re comin’ apart at the seams
Maybe it’s all in the books that we read
Or the music that we make
Or maybe it all comes back to
Your particular smile on that day
Oh how you loved the poetry
And the secret words we shared
You wondered when you were old and grey
If I would continue to care
But time hasn’t made any difference
You’re as lovely as ever, my dear
So I’ll just go right on lovin’ you
Down all the days and the years
This city keeps on changing
But you haunt me everywhere
From the lions at the Library
To the skells at the Terminal
If only I could remember how not to care
THE ISLANDS
If it’s all so far behind me why does it seem like yesterday
The lark in the morning, your auld lad tossin’ hay
The ferry in the harbor dancing jigs upon the waves
The day I turned my back on you and the islands
Seven years I stayed away though I wrote from time to time
Down all those dancing days your eyes haunted me
But Bainbridge was the sweetest whore, took care of my demands
Bade me turn my back on you and the islands
I brought you petticoats of silk, a diamond from the Deuce
No price too steep to pay for your commitment
To lie once more beside you and to roll you in my arms
That’s why I came back home to you and the islands
No smoke from your chimney
Your yard was choked with grass
They said you’d upped and gone to the mainland
One mentioned that you’d met someone
Now lived in Dublin town
Grown tired of haunting dreams on the islands
Now it’s all so far behind me but it seems like yesterday
The lark has quit the heavens, no one bothers savin’ hay
I am a tourist in my hometown, an acquaintance once a friend
Since I turned my back on you and the islands
BAS IN ERIN (Death in Ireland)
I stole some butter to put on my bread
A crime against God, King and Parliament
No fancy lawyer to defend my case
So I was sentenced at the Mayo Assizes
Seven long years transportation
To Botany Bay in Australia
Is this the justice whereof you speak
Ten crucifying years ahead of me
And all that I asked for, all that I need
Is to live my life in my own country
All that I wanted or dear to me
Is bas in Erin, a chiusla geal mo chroí
I hid my brother to protect his life
He shot a man for collecting tithes
To support the rites of the English Church
A faith that meant not a damn to us
They hung my brother in Wexford town
And when they cut his body down
The hangman turned and called my way
“You’ll long for me in Australia.”
I should have known what would become of me
The future’s always been there for all the world to see
The Black Death is approaching
I can see it on the way
Oh, I’m better off in hell or Australia