The Waifs

Gillian (written by Josh Cunningham)

Oh Gillian, you’re up with the sun
You’ve done a hundred things before half past nine
By the time most folk are up and gone
You’ll be starting on one hundred and one

There’s not enough hours in a day
To do all the things she’s just got to do
When the daylight fades and the night invades
She’s only just begun

Weary as you lay at night waiting for the sun
Planning out tomorrow now before this day is done
‘Gillian you work to hard’
But don’t you try to slow her down – she’ll tell you
‘Idleness is good for none works how I get my fun
Idleness is good for none works how I get things done’

Gillian you’re the one you’re the one
Shining in my life, you’re my eternal sun
I’m trying to thank you now for what I’ve become
But I’ve only just begun

Your influence has been profound and I’m proud to be your son
Your blood is my blood we are forever bound
You’re the inspiration to the way I live my life
I’m singing,
Gillian if you weren’t my mother I would make you my wife
Gillian if you weren’t my mother I’d make you my wife
Gillian if you weren’t my mother I’d make you my wife
Gillian if you weren’t my mother I would make you my wife

Waif Song (written by The Waifs)

We drive an old beat up car
We play our out of tune guitars
Mother Nature keeps us safe
Even when we’re off our face

A waif is all I want to be
Not better for you no worse for me
You’ve got a mobile phone and heaps of money
We ain’t got much but at least we’re free

You may sit and talk and stare
But he’s not gonna cut his hair
Not gonna patch my jeans or wash my face
Going to keep on being a waif

A waif you see is an unloved child
A kid that’s stray and gone kind of wild
You can change your name, change your look
You can even change your style
But why don’t you come and live with us for a while

We pick up work when we can
Our clothes are all second hand
Harmonicas are old and abused
But she can still play the blues

Circles (written by Vikki Simpson)

What’s your excuse for living like
You’re somebody different
You’re nobody different
You’re just somebody

Tell me what’s the reason behind
All your frustrations
It’s a bad situation
Can you trust me

Do you think that maybe you live your
Life in circles
Going round in circles
Heading nowhere

If you wanna sort it out you gotta
Talk about it, live without it
Come on and talk about it, live without it

What’s your excuse for living like
You’re somebody different
You’re nobody different
You’re just somebody

Crazy Train (written by Donna Simpson)

Crazy train, rolling down that crazy track
Crazy train, rolling down that crazy track
Going to New Orleans and I ain’t coming back

Crazy train, where do you think I’m bound
Crazy train, where do you think I’m bound
Bound for New Orleans
Gonna play the blues in that blues town

Crazy train, steaming through that crazy night
Crazy train, steaming through that crazy line
Got on this morn’ and I’ll be there in the morning light

Take It In (written by Josh Cunningham)

Now she’s thinking of the red soil and the mango trees
In her mind she’s still splashing round down on Cable Beach
And her eyes, they are as rich and faraway as the sunset there
She’s not taking in a word I say
Well I might as well be talking to myself

Take it in, take it all in
Now is a time that will not come again
Take it in, take it all in
This is a day that is here for the living

So we step outside into this Melbourne weather
With a shock it brings her back to where she is
Now we’ve made this place our home
Surrounded by unknown
We’re gonna stick it out until it comes together

Take it in, take it all in
Now is a time that will not come again
Take it in, take it all in
This is a day and it’s here for the living

We’re only living for a day to come or some days gone by
Never taking in each moment
Never knowing what you had until it passed you by
And it’ll pass you by

Take it in, take it all in
Now is a time that will not come again
Take it in, take it all in
This is the day and it’s here for the living

Take it all in
Now is a time that will not come again
Take it in, take it all in
This is the day and it’s here for the living

Sunflower Man (written by Donna Simpson)

I’ll never forget I was singing in the streets
You laid a sunflower in the case at my feet
Threw a smile and you rolled right away
People cheered on the day that I fell in love
Yeah I fell in love

My head was heavy my clothes they were torn
I’d never felt like anybody’s princess before
If you knew how much you blew me away
I’d want to go and relive that day
It was the day that I fell in love
Yeah I fell in love

Oh Sunflower Man, throw me a dollar, reach out your hand
Lay a big sunflower down at my feet
It was a buskers dream the way I fell in love
I fell in love, when I fell in love

The day you gave that big sunflower to me
We lay together and we spoke till the dawn
We spoke of poetry and we sung some songs till the daylight came

I’m not always good at saying how I feel
This song to some people it’s not a big deal
But you know who it’s from and you know who it’s for
I was a poor lonely busker the day I fell in love
Yeah I fell in love

Close your eyes lay your head in my lap
You know I really love that
I thank God for the day that I was singing in the street
I earnt twelve dollars, a sunflower and you to keep
And I fell in love, I fell in love, I fell in love – and I’m still in love

Billy Jones (written by Donna Simpson)

Well we grew up together in an urban town
Just me and Billy Jones always hanging around
He was a Mumma’s little boy, he was an only child
His clothes were always neat and his hair carefully styled

All the games we’d play I couldn’t understand why
I’d have to play the groom and let Billy be the bride
All those pretty dresses that he’s love to wear
I’d wear a floppy hat Billy he’d put flowers in his hair
He’d even wear my underwear and put flowers in his hair

A few years later you know we kinda drifted apart
My family moved south to make a new start
I missed Billy, Mum said that was wrong
Dad said ‘That boy just don’t know where he belongs’
Where does he belong?

A few years later I was working in a bar
It was smoky and dark, there was a blues man playing guitar
When in walked a woman wearing emerald green
With a voluptuous figure, she was beautiful and lean
She was looking pretty mean

A full martini shaken not stirred
It was only until about after her third
I started looking closely, man I should have known!
It was my old friend; you guessed it, Billy Jones
Oh my god Billy Jones! Oh shit Billy Jones!

Tears filled our eyes as we began to speak
He’d been living a lie, a life so discreet
It made me feel sad to hear him say
In a voice so sweet ‘Honey you can call me Jane’

As the night wore on we spoke of yesterday
And how Billy has always known that he was gay
I never knew how much a person could change
From little Billy Jones to lean, luscious Jane

Billy Jane Jones this comes from my heart
I hope your nights are filled with a thousand stars
But don’t waste your sweetness in the empty air
‘Cause you don’t know how cold and dark it is out there

This is the ballad of Billy Jane Jones