Old Friends

They say that richard cory owns one half of this whole town,
With political connections to spread his wealth around.
Born into society, a banker's only child,
He had everything a man could want: power, grace, and style.

But i work in his factory
And i curse the life i'm living
And i curse my poverty
And i wish that i could be,
Oh, i wish that i could be,
Oh, i wish that i could be
Richard cory.

The papers print his picture almost everywhere he goes:
Richard cory at the opera, richard cory at a show.
And the rumor of his parties and the orgies on his yacht!
Oh, he surely must be happy with everything he's got.

But i work in his factory
And i curse the life i'm living
And i curse my poverty
And i wish that i could be,
Oh, i wish that i could be,
Oh, i wish that i could be
Richard cory.

He freely gave to charity, he had the common touch,
And they were grateful for his patronage and thanked him very much,
So my mind was filled with wonder when the evening headlines read:
"richard cory went home last night and put a bullet through his head."

But i work in his factory
And i curse the life i'm living
And i curse my poverty
And i wish that i could be,
Oh, i wish that i could be,
Oh, i wish that i could be
Richard cory.

I'm sittin' in the railway station
Got a ticket for my destination
On a tour of one night stands
My suitcase and guitar in hand
And every stop is neatly planned
For a poet and a one man band

Homeward bound
I wish i was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thought's escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me

Everyday's an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines
And each town looks the same to me
The movies and the factories
And every stranger's face i see
Reminds me that i long to be

Homeward bound
I wish i was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thought's escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me

Tonight i'll sing my songs again
I'll play the game and pretend
But all my words come back to me
In shades of mediocrity
Like emptyness in harmony
I need someone to comfort me

Homeward bound
I wish i was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thought's escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me
Silently for me
Silently for me

Who will love a little sparrow?
Who's traveled far and cries for rest?
"not i," said the oak tree,
"i won't share my branches with
No sparrow's nest,
And my blanket of leaves won't warm
Her cold breast."

Who will love a little sparrow
And who will speak a kindly word?
"not i," said the swan,
"the entire idea is utterly absurd,
I'd be laughed at and scorned if the
Other swans heard."

Who will take pity in his heart,
And who will feed a starving sparrow?
"not i," said the golden wheat,
"i would if i could but i cannot i know,
I need all my grain to prosper and grow."

Who will love a little sparrow?
Will no one write her eulogy?
"i will," said the earth,
"for all i've created returns unto me,
From dust were ye made and dust ye shall be."

(d. graham, 1965)

(instrumental)

So long, frank lloyd wright.
I can't believe your song is gone so soon.
I barely learned the tune
So soon
So soon.

I'll remember frank lloyd wright.
All of the nights we'd harmonize till dawn.
I never laughed so long
So long
So long.

Chorus
Architects may come and
Architects may go and
Never change your point of view.
When i run dry
I stop awhile and think of you

So long, frank lloyd wright
All of the nights we'd harmonize till dawn.
I never laughed so long
So long
So long.

A winter's day
In a deep and dark december;
I am alone,
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

I've built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain.
It's laughter and it's loving i disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

Don't talk of love,
But i've heard the words before;
It's sleeping in my memory.
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died.
If i never loved i never would have cried.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

I have my books
And my poetry to protect me;
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain;
And an island never cries.

Someone told me
It's all happening at the zoo.

I do believe it,
I do believe it's true.

It's a light and tumble journey
From the east side to the park;
Just a fine and fancy ramble
To the zoo.

But you can take the crosstown bus
If it's raining or it's cold,
And the animals will love it
If you do.

Somethin' tells me
It's all happening at the zoo.

The monkeys stand for honesty,
Giraffes are insincere,
And the elephants are kindly but
They're dumb.
Orangutans are skeptical
Of changes in their cages,
And the zookeeper is very fond of rum.

Zebras are reactionaries,
Antelopes are missionaries,
Pigeons plot in secrecy,
And hamsters turn on frequently.
What a gas! you gotta come and see
At the zoo.

Time it was and what a time it was it was,
A time of innocence a time of confidences.

Long ago it must be, i have a photograph
Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you

Wish i was a kellogg's cornflake
Floatin' in my bowl takin' movies,
Relaxin' awhile, livin' in style,
Talkin' to a raisin who 'casion'ly plays l.a.,
Casually glancing at his toupee.

Wish i was an english muffin
'bout to make the most out of a toaster.

I'd ease myself down,
Comin' up brown.

I prefer boysenberry
More than any ordinary jam.
I'm a "citizens for boysenberry jam" fan.

Ah, south california.

If i become a first lieutenant
Would you put my photo on your piano?
To maryjane--
Best wishes, martin.
(old roger draft-dodger
Leavin' by the basement door),
Everybody knows what he's
Tippy-toeing down there for

Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while i was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.

In restless dreams i walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of
A neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light i saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one deared
Disturb the sound of silence.

"fools" said i,"you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that i might teach you,
Take my arms that i might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the signs said, the words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.
And whisper'd in the sounds of silence.

I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail
Yes i would, if i could, i surely would
I'd rather be a hammer than a nail
Yes i would, if i only could, i surely would

Away, i'd rather sail away
Like a swan that's here and gone
A man gets tied up to the ground
He gives the world its saddest sound
Its saddest sound

I'd rather be a forest than a street
Yes i would, if i could, i surely would
I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet
Yes i would, if i only could, i surely would

April come she will
When streams are ripe and swelled with rain;
May, she will stay,
Resting in my arms again.

June, she'll change her tune,
In restless walks she'll prowl the night;
July, she will fly
And give no warning to her flight.

August, die she must,
The autumn winds blow chilly and cold;
September i'll remember
A love once new has now grown old.

Through the corridors of sleep
Past the shadows dark and deep
My mind dances and leaps in confusion.
I don't know what is real,
I can't touch what i feel
And i hide behind the shield of my illusion.

So i'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end,
And flowers never bend
With the rainfall.

The mirror on my wall
Casts an image dark and small
But i'm not sure at all it's my reflection.
I am blinded by the light
Of god and truth and right
And i wander in the night without direction.

So i'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end,
And flowers never bend
With the rainfall.

It's no matter if you're born
To play the king or pawn
For the line is thinly drawn 'tween joy and sorrow,
So my fantasy
Becomes reality,
And i must be what i must be and face tomorrow.

So i'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end,
And flowers never bend
With the rainfall.

are you going to scarborough fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
(a hill in the deep forest green)
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
(tracing of sparrow on snow-crested brown)
Without no seams nor needle work,
(blankets and bedclothes the child of the mountain)
Then she'll be a true love of mine.
(sleeps unaware of the clarion call)

Tell her to find me an acre of land,
(on the side of a hill a sprinkling of leaves)
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
(washes the grave with silvery tears)
Between the salt water and the sea strand,
(a soldier cleans and polishes a gun)
Then she'll be a true love of mine.
(sleeps unaware of the clarion call)

Tell her to reap it with a sickle of leather,
(war bellows blazing in scarlet battalions)
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
(general order their soldiers to kill)
And gather it all in a bunch of heather,
(and to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten)
Then she'll be a true love of mine.

Are you going to scarborough fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.

When she goes, she's gone.
If she stays, she stays here.
The girl does what she wants to do.
She knows what she wants to do.
And i know i'm fakin' it,
I'm not really makin' it.

I'm such a dubious soul,
And a walk in the garden
Wears me down.
Tangled in the fallen vines,
Pickin' up the punch lines,
I've just been fakin' it,
Not really makin' it.

Is there any danger?
No, no, not really.
Just lean on me.
Takin' time to treat
Your friendly neighbors honestly.
I've just been fakin' it,
I'm not really makin' it.
This feeling of fakin' it--
I still haven't shaken it.

Prior to this lifetime
I surely was a tailor.
("good morning, mr. leitch.
Have you had a busy day?")
I own the tailor's face and hands.
I am the tailor's face and hands and
I know i'm fakin' it,
I'm not really makin' it.
This feeling of fakin' it--
I still haven't shaken it.

it's a still life water color,
Of a now late afternoon,
As the sun shines through the curtained lace
And shadows wash the room.
And we sit and drink our coffee
Couched in our indifference,
Like shells upon the shore
You can hear the ocean roar
In the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs,
Are the borders of our lives.

And you read your emily dickinson,
And i my robert frost,
And we note our place with bookmarkers
That measure what we've lost.
Like a poem poorly written
We are verses out of rhythm,
Couplets out of rhyme,
In syncopated time
Lost in the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs,
Are the borders of our lives.

Yes, we speak of things that matter,
With words that must be said,
"can analysis be worthwhile?"
"is the theater really dead?"
And how the room is softly faded
And i only kiss your shadow,
I cannot feel your hand,
You're a stranger now unto me
Lost in the dangling conversation.
And the superficial sighs,
In the borders of our lives.

What i dream i had:
Pressed in organdy;
Clothed in crinoline of smoky burgundy;
Softer than the rain.
I wandered empty streets
Down past the shop displays.
I heard cathedral bells
Tripping down the alley ways,
As i walked on.

And when you ran to me
Your cheeks flushed with the night.
We walked on frosted fields of juniper and lamplight,
I held your hand.
And when i awoke and felt you warm and near,
I kissed your honey hair with my grateful tears.
Oh i love you, girl.
Oh, i love you.

Cloudy
The sky is gray and white and cloudy,
Sometimes i think it's hanging down on me.
And it's a hitchhike a hundred miles.
I'm a rag-a-muffin child.
Pointed finger-painted smile.
I left my shadow waiting down the road for me a while.

Cloudy
My thoughts are scattered and they're cloudy,
They have no borders, no boundaries.
They echo and they swell
From tolstoy to tinker bell.
Down from berkeley to carmel.
Got some pictures in my pocket and a lot of time to kill.

Hey sunshine
I haven't seen you in a long time.
Why don't you show your face and bend my mind?
These clouds stick to the sky
Like floating questions, why?
And they linger there to die.
They don't know where they are going, and, my friend, neither do i.

Cloudy,
Cloudy.

You don't know that you love me
You don't know but i know that you do
You may think that you're above me, yeah
What you think isn't always true

Don't try to debate me,
You should know that i'm womanly wise
Still you try to manipulate me
You don't know where your interest lies

No, you don't know where your interest lies
You don't begin to comprehend

You're just a game i like to play
You may think that we're friends all right
But i won't let friendship get in my way,
No, i won't let friendship get in my way,

Indications indicate running the same riff will turn you around
Obviously you're going to blow it,
But you don't know it

You don't know that you love me
You don't know but i know that you do
You may think that you're above me, yeah
What you think isn't always true

Don't try to debate me,
You should know that i'm womanly wise
Still you try to manipulate me
You don't know where your interest lies

No, you don't know where your interest

"good god! don't jump!"
A boy sat on the ledge.
An old man who had fainted was revived.
And everyone agreed it would be a miracle indeed
If the boy survived.

"save the life of my child!"
Cried the desperate mother.

The woman from the supermarket
Ran to call the cops.
"he must be high on something," someone said.
Though it never made the new york times.
In the daily news, the caption read,
"save the life of my child!"
Cried the desperate mother.

A patrol car passing by
Halted to a stop.
Said officer macdougal in dismay:
"the force can't do a decent job
'cause the kids got no respect
For the law today (and blah blah blah)."

"save the life of my child!"
Cried the desperate mother.
"what's becoming of the children?"
People asking each other.

When darkness fell, excitement kissed the crowd
And made them wild
In an atmosphere of freaky holiday.
When the spotlight hit the boy,
The crowd began to cheer,
He flew away.

"oh, my grace, i got no hiding place."

I am just a poor boy and my story's seldom told
I've squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises
All lies and jest, still the man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest, hmmmm

When i left my home and my family, i was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station, runnin' scared
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters, where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know

Li la li...

Asking only workman's wages, i come lookin' for a job, but i get no offers
Just a comeon from the whores on 7th avenue
I do declare, there were times when i was so lonesome
I took some comfort there

Now the years are rolling by me, they are rockin' even me
I am older than i once was, and younger than i'll be, that's not unusual
No it isn't strange, after changes upon changes, we are more or less the same
After changes we are more or less the same

Li la li...

And i'm laying out my winter clothes, wishing i was gone, goin' home
Where the new york city winters aren't bleedin' me, leadin' me to go home

In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him
'til he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, i am leaving, but the fighter still remains
Yes he still remains

Li la li...

The last train is nearly due,
The underground is closing soon,
And in the dark deserted station,
Restless in anticipation,
A man waits in the shadows.

His restless eyes leap and scratch,
At all that they can touch or catch,
And hidden deep within his pocket,
Safe within its silent socket,
He holds a colored crayon.

Now from the tunnel's stony womb,
The carriage rides to meet the groom,
And opens wide and welcome doors,
But he hesitates, then withdraws
Deeper in the shadows.

And the train is gone suddenly
On wheels clicking silently
Like a gently tapping litany,
And he holds his crayon rosary
Tighter in his hand.

Now from his pocket quick he flashes,
The crayon on the wall he slashes,
Deep upon the advertising,
A single worded poem comprised
Of four letters.

And his heart is laughing, screaming, pounding
The poem across the tracks rebounding
Shadowed by the exit light
His legs take their ascending flight
To seek the breast of darkness and be suckled by the night.

When you're weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, i will dry them all;
I'm on your side. when times get rough
And friends just can't be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

When you're down and out,
When you're on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
I'll take your part.
When darkness comes
And pains is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

Sail on silvergirl,
Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine.
All your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine.
If you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.

I can hear the soft breathing of the girl that i love,
As she lies here beside me asleep with the night.
Her hair in a fine mist floats on my pillow,
Reflecting the flow of the winter moonlight.

But i've got to creep down the alley way,
Fly down the highway,
Before they come to catch me i'll be gone.
Somewhere they can't find me.

Oh baby, you don't know what i've done,
I've committed a crime, i've broken the law.
While you were here sleeping and just dreaming of me,
I held up and robbed a liquor store.

But i've got to creep down the alley way,
Fly down the highway,
Before they come to catch me i'll be gone.
Somewhere they can't find me.

Oh my life seems unreal, my crime an illusion,
A scene badly written in which i must play.
And thought it puts me up tight to leave you,
I know it's not right to leave you,
When morning is just a few hours away.

But i've got to creep down the alley way,
Fly down the highway,
Before they come to catch me i'll be gone.
Somewhere they can't find me.

This is the early evening edition of the news.
The recent fight in the house of representatives was over the open housing
Section of the civil rights bill.
Brought traditional enemies together but it left the defenders of the
Measure without the votes of their strongest supporters.
President johnson originally proposed an outright ban covering discrimination
By everyone for every type of housing but it had no chance from the start
And everyone in congress knew it.
A compromise was painfully worked out in the house judiciary committee.
In los angeles today comedian lenny bruce died of what was believed to be an
Overdoes of narcotics.
Bruce was 42 years old.
Dr. martin luther king says he does not intend to cancel plans for an open
Housing march sunday into the chicago suburb of cicero.
Cook county sheriff richard ogleby asked king to call off the march and the
Police in cicero said they would ask the national guard to be called out
If it is held.
King, now in atlanta, georgia, plans to return to chicago tuesday.
In chicago richard speck, accused murderer of nine student nurses, was brought
Before a grand jury today for indictment.
The nurses were found stabbed an strangled in their chicago apartment.
In washington the atmosphere was tense today as a special subcommittee of the
House committee on un-american activities continued its probe into anti-
Viet nam war protests.
Demonstrators were forcibly evicted from the hearings when they began chanting
Anti-war slogans.
Former vice-president richard nixon says that unless there is a substantial
Increase in the present war effort in viet nam, the u.s. should look forward
To five more years of war.
In a speech before the convention of the veterans of foreign wars in new york,
Nixon also said opposition to the war in this country is the greatest single
Weapon working against the u.s.
That's the 7 o'clock edition of the news,
Goodnight.

Silent night
Holy night
All is calm
All is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.

As we marched down to faneri-o
As we marched down to faneri-o
Our captain fell n love with a lady like a dove
And they called her name, pretty peggy-o
Come a runnin' down the stairs, pretty peggy-o
Come a runnin' down the stairs, pretty peggy-o
Come a runnin' down the stairs, combin' back
Your yellow hair
You're the prettiest little girl i've ever seen-o

In a carriage you will ride, pretty peggy-o
In a carriage you will ride, pretty peggy-o
In a carriage you will ride, with your true love by
Your side
As far as any maiden in the ar-e-o
What will your mother say, pretry peggy-o?
What will your mother say, pretty peggy-o?
What will your mother say, when she finds you've
Gone away
To places far and strange to faneri-o?

If ever i return, pretty peggy-o
If ever i return, pretty peggy-o
If ever i return, all your cities i will burn
Destroying all the ladies in the ar-e-o
Destroying all the ladies in the ar-e-o