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)

Hey, schoolgirl in the second row
The teacher's lookin' over
So i got to whisper way down low
To say, "who-bop-a-loo-chi-bop, let's meet
After school at three."

1. she said, "hey, babe, but there is one thing more
My school is over at half past four
Maybe when we're older then we can date
O - oh, let's wait!"

Hey, schoolgirl in the second row
The teacher's lookin' over
So i got to whisper way down low
To say, "who-bop-a-loo-chi-bop, let's meet
After school at three."

2. she said, "hey, babe, i gotta lot to do,
It takes me hours till my homework's thru,
Someday we'll go steady, so don't you fret.
O - oh, not yet!"

Hey, schoolgirl in the second row
The teacher's lookin' over
So i got to whisper way down low
To say, "who-bop-a-loo-chi-bop, let's meet
After school at three."

3. then she turned around to me
With that gleam in her eye
She said, "i'm sorry if i passed you by,
I'm gonna skip my homework
Gonna cut my class,
Bug out of here real fast."

Hey, schoolgirl in the second row
Now we're going steady,
Hear the words that i want you to know
Well it's "who-bop-a-loo-chi-bop, you're mine,
I knew it all the time."
Who-bop-a-loo-chi-bop, hah, you're mine

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.

Why don't we stop fooling ourselves?
The game is over,
Over,
Over.

No good times, no bad times,
There's no times at all,
Just the new york times,
Sitting on the windowsill
Near the flowers.

We might as well be apart.
It hardly matters,
We sleep separately.

And drop a smile passing in the hall
But there's no laughs left
'cause we laughed them all.
And we laughed them all
In a very short time.

Time
Is tapping on my forehead,
Hanging from my mirror,
Rattling the teacups,
And i wonder,
How long can i delay?
We're just a habit
Like saccharin.

And i'm habitually feelin' kinda blue.

But each time i try on
The thought of leaving you,
I stop...
I stop and think it over

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

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy.

Hello lamppost,
What cha knowing?
I've come to watch your flowers growing.
Ain't cha got no rhymes for me?
Doot-in' doo-doo,
Feelin' groovy.

Got no deeds to do,
No promises to keep.
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep.
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.
Life, i love you,
All is groovy.

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.

(felice and boudleaux bryant)

Chorus
Bye bye love
Bye bye happiness
Hello loneliness
I think i'm gonna cry
Bye bye love
Bye bye sweet caress
Hello emptiness
I feel like i could die
Bye bye my love, goodbye

There goes my baby
With someone new
She sure looks happy
I sure am blue
She was my baby
Till he stepped in
Goodbye to romance
That might have been

Chorus

I'm through with romance
I'm through with love
I'm through with counting
The stars above
And here's the reason
That i'm so free
My loving baby
Is through with me

Chorus

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

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.

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.

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.

The night sets softly
With the hush of falling leaves,
Casting shivering shadows
On the houses through the trees,
And the light from a street lamp
Paints a pattern on my wall,
Like the pieces of a puzzle
Or a child's uneven scrawl.

Up a narrow flight of stairs
In a narrow little room,
As i lie upon my bed
In the early evening gloom.
Impaled on my wall
My eyes can dimly see
The pattern of my life
And the puzzle that is me.

From the moment of my birth
To the instant of my death,
There are patterns i must follow
Just as i must breathe each breath.
Like a rat in a maze
The path before me lies,
And the pattern never alters
Until the rat dies.

And the pattern still remains
On the wall where darkness fell,
And it's fitting that it should,
For in darkness i must dwell.
Like the color of my skin,
Or the day that i grow old,
My life is made of patterns
That can scarcely be controlled.

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.

"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."

Time, time, time, see what's become of me
While i looked around
For my possibilities
I was so hard to please
But look around, leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Hear the salvation army band
Down by the riverside, it's bound to be a better ride
Than what you've got planned
Carry your cup in your hand
And look around, leaves are brown now
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Hang on to your hopes, my friend
That's an easy thing to say, but if your hopes should pass away
Simply pretend
That you can build them again
Look around, the grass is high
The fields are ripe, it's the springtime of my life

Ahhh, seasons change with the scenery
Weaving time in a tapestry
Won't you stop and remember me
At any convenient time
Funny how my memory slips while looking over manuscripts
Of unpublished rhyme
Drinking my vodka and lime

But look around, leaves are brown now
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

Look around, leaves are brown
There's a patch of snow on the ground...

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

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.

Fog's rollin' in off the east river bank
Like a shroud it covers bleeker street
Fills the alleys where men sleep
Hides the shepherd from the sheep

Voices leaking from a sad cafe
Smiling faces try to understand
I saw a shadow touch a shadow's hand
On bleeker street

A poet reads his crooked rhyme
Holy, holy is his sacrament
Thirty dollars pays your rent
On bleeker street

I head a church bell softly chime
In a melody sustainin'
It's a long road to caanan
On bleeker street
Bleeker street

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.

Here is my song for the asking
Ask me and i will play
So sweetly, i'll make you smile

This is my tune for the taking
Take it, don't turn away
I've been waiting all my life

Thinking it over, i've been sad
Thinking it over, i'd be more than glad
To change my ways for the asking

Ask me and i will ply
All the love that i hold inside