Bowling Night
Recorded and engineered at Gemini Studio, Farifield, IAMixed by Frank Terrible and Jan Smith 1. Back Here
2. Family of Man
3. Lead a Horse
4. Waltz Number 2 (XO)
5. My Little Girl
6. It Stacks Up
7. Clip
8. Time Bomb
9. Bowling Night
Back here again twisting in the wind
Bushwhacked, admired and pawed
Back in the land where love's against the law
There in the balcony they smile and nod
Back in the land where love's against the law
Seems not to matter where you hide your stick
I'm always falling for your obvious trick
I'm guilty every time
Because you think it's true
And powdered fingers applaud
Back in the land
Where love's against the law
Will I love you enough
To melt my frozen fate?
No sympathizers no one here to bribe
Hank says I'll never get out of this world alive
Love here is magic
Don't believe what you just saw
Back in the land where love's against the law
Where I'm a victim of your cause
Because, because, because
Back in the land where love's against the law
©2000 Jan Smith
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I don't know what I'm gonna do
I feel as wanted as an old brown shoe
But I'm doing everything
To try to understand
Just like the waves keep rolling to the shore
I keep on knocking on this bolted door
If I said I was afraid
Would you try to hold my hand
Cause baby's got a thing -- whoa-oh got a thing
For the family of man
I don't know what I thought I'd find
I didn't know that you were so inclined
But now the road's a little steep -- road's a little steep
What with the company you keep -- bad company that you keep
So I threw a hammer in the gears
Now you're calling out the bombadeers
And soon those bombs are gonna land -- bombs are gonna land
Guess I could use a helping hand -- you're gonna need a helping hand
Cause baby's got a thing -- whoa-oh got a thing
For the family of man
When I see her smiling sweetly from the motorcade
It's like I'm buying cotton candy and a lemonade
For the whole parade!
Now I know that it was all in fun
When you said I was the only one
But I guess if I were you -- yes, if I was you
I would get it while I can -- I'm gonna get it while I can
Cause baby's got a thing -- whoa-oh got a thing
For the family of man
©1999 Joel Arant
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Somewhere between giving up the ghost
And loving you the most
There's still a place where I feel fine
I laid a banquet at your feet
Which you still refuse to eat
Though there's still a little time
If the grain that I gathered is not sweet
If my harvest incomplete
Then just show a little sign
And I'll be there down in the rushes
when the big birds fly
You can lead a horse to water.
I can watch the world go by
Between the gardens that we seed
And this ever present need
Love lies rotting on the vine
From the moonlight's silvery glow
And the things we dare not know
We have made a bitter wine
I can't look upon you without spite
I can't make a wrong thing right
But you can't hurt someone who's dying
And I'll be there behind each teardrop
when the broken hearted cry
You can lead a horse to water.
I can watch the world go by
Between the evil looking good
And the ministers that should
Love lies waiting chained and blind
I made a fortune from the key
While the remedy was free
And provided for all time
I'd gladly help you throw the book
But I can't find what I took
Only what I left behind
And I'll be there above the treetops
As you look off towards the sky
I can lead a horse to water
I can watch the world go by
©1989 Joel Arant
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First the mic, then a half cigarette
singing 'Cathy's Clown'
That's the man that she's married to now
That's the girl that he takes around town
She appears composed, so she is I suppose
Who can really tell?
She shows no emotion at all
Stares into space like a dead China doll
I'm never gonna know you now, but I'm gonna love you anyhow
Now she's done and there calling someone
Such a familiar name
I'm so glad that my memory's remote
'Cos I'm doing just fine hour to hour, note to note
Here it is the revenge to the tune
"you're no good,
You're no good you're no good you're no good"
Can't you tell that it's well understood
I'm never gonna know you now, but I'm gonna love you anyhow
I'm here today and expected to stay on and on and on
I'm tired
I'm tired
Looking out on the substitute scene
still going strong
XO, mom
It's ok, it's alright, nothing's wrong
Tell mr. man with impossible plans to just leave me alone
In the place where I make no mistakes
In the place where I have what it takes
I'm never gonna know you now, but I'm gonna love you anyhow
©Elliott Smith
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My Little Girl - Listen and listen to the Proxies, our band version
Through the grass and the trees I was running
Through the grass and the trees I did fly
As I fell to my knees in the water
There was not time to tell you goodbye
There was not time to tell you goodbye
Through the station in hopes that I'd catch you
Through the station with tears in my eyes
For forever I wanted to hold you
As I watched you say goodbye
Yes I let you go goodbye
And I wish that I could have been better
And I wish I could have been there
And I hope that someday my looking
Will show me the how why where and what
What ever happened
What ever happened
What ever happened to my little girl
In the sleepy wee hours of the morning
In the sleepy wee hours of the day
As I watch you there sleeping beside me
I can watch as you slip away
Yes I know you're gone away
©1995 Joel Arant
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A dirty trick and a sleight of hand
And now your wish is my command
Make one false move and I'm dead where I stand
I watch the hours run like sand
A way to see the world
I only get a few hard licks
It takes too long for me to fix
My face, your drink, the party mix
A rushing sound, a wall of bricks
A way to see the world
An oversight my love, a mess
Another world, a trap, a test
You didn't do it, I confessed
I'll be there soon, I'm still not dressed
Everything is ok now
No evidence was ever found
I hope I'm running when I hit the ground
I'm done, you're right, away with me
You know, you must, it has to be
It's all there for you to see
It stacks up so conveniently
Everything is ok now...
©2000 Jan Smith
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It was touching...
As it struck me to the ground - I was touched
Let me tell you what I found - It was touching
I dropped my weapon
And as I sink down on my knees
Let me tell you about me
I dropped my weapon
Shaken from my hands
Gone along with its demands
Nothing left to hold me to this course anymore
Forsaken and relieved
Taken from enchanted sleep
Bless me now I've been delivered by this storm to your door
©2000 Jan Smith
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I've got a penny sitting on the west bound track
And ten smackaroos a riding on the black
And a hundred ways that I can spend the day
And a thousand violins begin to play
Ashes to ashes, dust into dust
I didn't mean for your hair to get mussed
But I didn't mean maybe, cause I'm a time bomb, baby
The bullet hit the window with a crack
And I swore that I would make you take it back
And as I rise up on my wings - like a mosquito
You know I'm gonna override your veto
Now I'm looking at a hole and it's in your net
And if I was inclined to place a bet
I'd say the picture that I picture has the flavor
Of a scenario that I would tend to favor
You take all the king's horses and all the king's men
All the time that you want but please understand
That I won't take maybe, cause I'm a time bomb, baby
So when you get a funny reading from the gauge
And your eyes don't seem to focus on the page
Would you think of taking something for the pain
When you find it hard to stay in your own lane
This is my handle, this is my spout
You could give yourself a few minutes
Take a little time out
But you won't take maybe, cause you're a time bomb, baby
©1999 Joel Arant
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My hard-earned life doesn't spend the way it used to
It doesn't light the face of all it passes by
It doesn't last into the sweet hours of the morning
Or turn the heads of young men and leave them all to cry
I've been headed towards this moment for a lifetime
And as I step into the evening's driving rain
I just pull my satin jacket tight around me
I'm headed out - it's bowling night again
Oh, it's bowling night again down at the Iris
I've done my hair and I've reserved my favorite lane
a can of soda and a couple friends are waiting
I'm headed out - it's bowling night again
The minutes when I wasn't even counting
Have brushed the roses gently from my face
The days have worn the paint off of my siding
As the years have tumbled slowly into place
You can talk about the glory days, my darling
But these evening stars just take my breath away
And the sky is so immense I cannot hear you
In the moonlight I forget what I should say
There's nothing on the dashboard for protection
There's no candle in my window for regret
And the beauty in this moment overtakes me
I'm headed out - it's bowling night again.
©2000 Jan Smith
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