Songs of Rebecca Rothenberg

Aromas

I remember a dusty road
A house by a dry arroyo
Blue sky and a blazing sun
Eucalyptus and wild geranium
And every night down in Aromas
Sitting on the porch and talking low
Trying to get the Bakersfield station
On the radio

I remember the golden hills
The goats with their silver bells
After supper if it got cold
We'd all sit around the Franklin stove
Every night down in Aromas
Fog rolled in from Monterey
I listened to the rock and roll station
From San Jose

Now my life has led me on and left so many roads behind
But I can still recall them all so clearly in my mind

And I know right now in Aromas
Fog's rolling in from Monterey
While the cars go by like thunder on the freeways
Of L.A.

Yesterday I Could Have Left You

Baby you kept asking me to spend the night
And since I knew that I was absolutely free
I said that I would stay with you

Yesterday I could have left you
Yesterday I could have let you go
Yesterday I could have left you
This morning I don't know

So we passed away the time
And I confess that it seemed right
To hold you oh so warm and fine
To roll you in my arms all night

Yesterday I could have left you
Yesterday I could have let you go
Yesterday I could have left you
This morning I don't know.

What happened to that independence I was so proud of?
Now I feel so close to you and a little bit in love

The morning sun comes pouring through the shade
You haven't wakened yet
I lie here quiet next to you
And sigh and light a cigarette

Yesterday I could have left you
Yesterday I could have let you go
Yesterday I could have left you
This morning I don't know.

Old Fool

First you say you love me, then you disappear
Show up looking guilty some time later that same year
Say you've learned your lesson
Now you're back where you belong
I believe you every time and every time I'm wrong

Oh, there's no fool like an old fool
None so blind as those who will not see
I know we should part
But inside me beats the heart
Of an old fool

My friends have tried to tell me not to fall for all your lies
Don't think that I don't appreciate their good advice
It's just that when you're near me
And you whisper in my ear
Those old familiar lies are all I ever want to hear

I guess there's no fool like an old fool
None so blind as those who will not see
I know we should part
But inside me beats the heart
Of an old fool

Oh, loving you is my big mistake
The habit that I just can't break

I guess there's no fool like an old fool
None so blind as those who will not see
I know we should part
But inside me beats the heart
Of an old fool

Babe, I may look smart,
But inside me beats the heart
Of an old fool

Mountain Time

This plane took off from Denver
About three hours ago
Soon the lights of New York City
Will be shining far below
While I hurry through the airport
Find a taxicab for hire
You'll be staring at the winter sky
And stirring up the fire

You have chosen your way
And I have chosen mine
But I think there's a part of me
That's still on Mountain Time

I keep thinking of our parting
All the things I meant to say
How the distance comes between us and our words just ricochet
You said your life was rooted like the mountains and the trees
I said mine was like a river that was rushing to the sea

The faster that I go, the farther that I get behind
And I think there's a part of me
That's still on Mountain Time

The faster that I go, the farther that I get behind
And I think there's a part of me
That's still on Mountain Time

Miracle Worker

I don't know why but I never knew
the sky was exactly that color of blue
And I never looked at the world this way
Oh you make a miracle every day

Cause you, you are a miracle worker
Oh you, you do your sorcery
I don't know how, but baby you bring some kind of magic to everything
Cause you, you are a miracle worker

I walk through the world with a critical frown
Looking for something that I never found
You come along and to my surprise
Miracles happen before my eyes

Cause you, you are a miracle worker
Oh you, you do your sorcery
I don't know how, but baby you bring some kind of magic to everything
Cause you, you are a miracle worker

Lights on the water, the fog coming in
A walk through the rain till we're soaked to the skin
The warmth of a fire, the glow of wine
The magic you make is a natural kind

Cause you, you are a miracle worker
Oh you, you do your sorcery
I don't know how, but baby you bring some kind of magic to everything
Cause you, you are a miracle worker

Time Like A River

Say that time was like a river
Flowing by your door
Say that you could swim that river
Wash up on some distant shore

I can see some other me
Cats and babies on my knee
Or writing beatnik poetry
With old Jim Beam for company

There's a place I'd like to go
Somewhere in New Mexico
Where you can let your living flow
Sit and watch the cactus grow

Say that time was like a river
Flowing by your door
Say that you could swim that river
Wash up on some distant shore

You could tie up your loose ends
Take revenge or make amends
All the women, all the men
You could love them all, my friend

The past is written on the wall
The choice is made, the shadows fall
Till just one road is left at all
Still you hear the river call

Say that time was like a river
Flowing to the sea
Say that you could swim forever
Reach the breakers and be free

Chantilly Farm

This time last year when we were here at Chantilly Farm
The April sun turned the fields to gold
But the Carolina nights were cold
So we kept each other warm

And now the same pale sun shines on Chantilly once again
But we sit apart before the fire
We touch from habit, not desire
And I know that it's the end

We can't go back to yesterday
It can't be any other way
People change and people grow
Still it feels not sad but strange to know

This time next year the creek will melt
And flow towards the sea
The stubble fields will shine like gold
The mountain winds will still blow cold
But you won't be here with me

Wherever you may be, you won't be here with me

The View From West Egg

[c.f. F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby]

She is just a rich man's daughter
She likes love songs, he likes hymns
He will drown or walk on water
She is going to learn to swim
He admires her common sense
She envies him his innocence

She is but a simple heathen
She will dance, he'll sing the blues
She's content to just break even
He is bound to win or lose
He'll never be either that shackled or that free

Maybe he's a man obsessed and maybe she's a dilettante
He always wants more than he gets
And she has everything she wants
And I'll be damned if I can see
Which is the greater tragedy

He walks along the beach, the setting sun reflecting in his eyes
The light is always out of reach, it shines from other people's lives
She'll never be either that full or that empty

Old Time's Sake

I saw you coming down the block
I recognized you by your walk
Yes, I knew you were in town
You know how word will get around
You give my hand a friendly shake
For old times sake, for old times sake

Well, tell me how are things with you
I heard that you found someone new
Me, I'm not involved right now
I haven't had the time somehow

Well would you like to take a walk
Maybe go somewhere and talk
I have a date that I might break
For old times sake
For old times sake

I understand you have to run
You promised that you'd call someone
Anyway you're glad we chanced to meet
I watch you walk back up the street

I guess that my heart's unexpected ache
Is just for old times sake

Back Screen Door (Kale's Song)

Here is a memory or maybe a dream
Your mother and I are both fourteen
We are talking about love and boys and new clothes
Pounding out hymns on an old piano
Laughing at jokes that nobody else knows

And nobody knows where the singers have gone
When I looked around my friends were all grown
With grownup faces and ways of their own
And one day I felt like I'd seen them before
Cause they looked like those pictures in the drawer
Of my father as a young man at the shore
Of my mother in those funky clothes they wore
Waving at me through the back screen door

Here is a memory or maybe a dream
One summer your mother was just fourteen
Now she and her man have made someone new
And though I haven't seen her in a year or two
Still she's part of me as she's part of you

And nobody knows where the summers have gone
When you look around, your friends will be grown
With grown up faces and ways of their own
And one day you'll feel like you've seen them before
Cause they look like those pictures in the drawer
Of your father as a young man at the shore
Of your mother in those funky clothes we wore
Waving at you through the back screen door

Carol for the Solstice

We celebrate the mystery, the ebb and flow of energy
That ancient universal tide that takes us for a cosmic ride
End is beginning, death is birth
Fire and water, air and earth

Two thousand years, the heavens change
No savior from a passing age
Can help us now
Sisters, brothers, we have only one another
Watching through this endless night
Till the daybreak's fragile light

Within the eye of winter storm
We gather here around the hearth
Wine and friends to keep us warm
Fire and water, air and earth

We celebrate the mystery, the ebb and flow of energy
That ancient universal tide that takes us for a cosmic ride
End is beginning, death is birth
Fire and water, air and earth

Within the eye of winter's storm
We gather here around the hearth
Wine and friends to keep us warm
Fire and water, air and earth

Lovers hold each other tight
Rejoice, this is the longest night

Brownie Waltz

One day Bill's grandma was feeling so fine
Sitting and sipping her blackberry wine
The afternoon sun was slipping down behind Lookout Mountain
And suddenly she said I'll bake
Some brownies that literally take the cake
Three eggs, three quarter cups of butter,
Three squares of chocolate, your mouth will water

Three half cups of sugar, one cup of flour,
One half teaspoon of salt and of baking powder,
One teaspoon vanilla and bake for one half hour
In a nine inch pan at 350 degrees,
These brownies never have failed to please
And you can put in nuts and seeds according to your protein needs

Bill got his grandma's recipe
And then he wrote it down for me
These brownies are his grandma's legacy
A batch of them will feed a freak
With the stoned-out munchies for a week
Baked like Bill's grandmama used to
Way down yonder in Chattanooga

Magazines and Closet Queens

It's a supermarket dream, make yourself a super queen
You are anything you choose, in your wig and high heel shoes
Boy or girl, it's all the same
Paint your face and change your name

See the everyday housewife, been in drag all her life
Plastic clothes, phony hair--is she really what she wears?
Tell me, sister, is there room
For you under that costume?

Oh, the magazines
Oh, the closet queens
I bet you can't guess what's under my dress

Rock me, babe, all night long
In the morning, something's wrong
When I look into your eyes
You are wearing a disguise
Things are never what they seem
You are just another queen

Oh, the magazines
Oh, the closet queens
I bet you can't guess what's under my dress

Calamity

Her mother called her Martha Jane
A skinny kid and kind of plain
Always getting into scuffles
Tearing up her bows and ruffles

What a naughty daughter Jane
To cause her mama so much shame
Soon you'll earn another name

Ah, ah, Calamity
Why can't you be what you're supposed to be?
Why are you always making trouble?
Girl get in here on the double!

Soon her home proved too confining
Tried her hand at silver mining
Then she joined a traveling show
Riding high and shooting low

The Indians and her were friends
Bank robbers she did apprehend
Scared off all the local men
Ah, ah, Calamity
Why can't you be what you're supposed to be?
You'll never hear those wedding bells
You're too busy raising hell

Calamity, I wish you would
Gallop through my neighborhood
My horse is tethered near and saddled
And together we could travel

All across the golden west
Rescue people in distress
Never have to wear a dress
Ah, ah, Calamity
No, we won't be what we're supposed to be
We'll be partners, you and me
Ah, ah, Calamity
No, we won't be what we're supposed to be
Ah, ah, Calamity

Recycle Love

Got my sofa from a thrift store, my cat from the pound
And all my clothes are hand-me-downs
I save all my papers, my aluminum cans,
Save all my loving for just one man
You've got to recycle love, recycle love
You've got to recycle love, recycle love
Well, there's just not enough of that good old stuff to go around

It seems like a shame all the people on the street
You want a little taste of everyone you meet
But if you give away your loving to each and every one
Gonna wish you had it back when it's all gone
You've got to recycle love, recycle love
You've got to recycle love, recycle love
Oh, there's just not enough of that good old stuff to go around

Some people think that living is free
Throw away their money like it grew on trees
Some people think they've got love to burn
No deposit, no return
You've got to recycle love, recycle love
You've got to recycle love, recycle love
Oh there's just not enough of that good old stuff to go around

Sure Look Good From Here

Baby, we get our share of problems and petty cares
We got worries every day
We got lots of bills to pay

This life on the run
Well, it don't leave much time for fun
And love can get left out
Cause it whispers, never shouts

But baby, tonight I'm seeing you so clear
Maybe it's the candlelight
But you sure look good from here

Baby, you know it's true
If I imagine my life without you
Well, I guess I could go on
But the spirit would be gone

And baby, tonight I'm seeing you so clear
It's not just the candlelight
And you sure look good from here

Oh baby, it's strange
But after all these years
My feelings haven't changed
And you sure look good from here
You sure look good from here

Monte Carlo Baby

You call yourself a gambler but you carry loaded dice
Say you want to win at love but you won't pay the price
Say you are a rich man and I've seen your flashy roll
But you only put your money on the things that you control

Monte Carlo baby, the ladies on the river know your name
They call you Monte Carlo baby, cause every love affair is a dealer's game

You used to work the carnivals way off the beaten track
You really took them in till they found out the deck was stacked
You did a few cheap card tricks as if it was an art
Palmed the ace of spades and threw away the queen of hearts

Monte Carlo baby, the ladies on the river know your name
They call you Monte Carlo baby, cause every love affair is a dealer's game

Well, I don't want your moonshine and your satchel full of lies
I don't want your steamboat blues and Dixie lullabies
Cause if I had a dime for every woman you've put down
I'd buy myself a ticket on the next train out of town

Monte Carlo baby, the ladies on the river know your name
They call you Monte Carlo baby, cause every love affair is a dealer's game

Used To Be

Used to be
Manhattan was a forest and her buildings all were trees
Used to be
Endless fields of golden grass that are now Los Angeles
And a wild salt marsh all along the Jersey shore
Where the air smelled sweet and the sea birds soar
Seems like a shame they're not there any more
You won't see
The way it used to be

Used to be
The Colorado River flowed unfettered to the sea
Used to be
The skies of Arizona reached into infinity
Look in Dakota for the herds of buffalo
Look in Savannah for the Cherokee Rose
Look for the eagle where the wild wind blows
You won't see
The way it used to be

If they pave the continent for better business sake
Who are you to say it's all a terrible mistake
How do you explain away this sad and useless ache
Just to see
The way it used to be

On The Air

Doesn't matter was it you doing it or I doing it
Baby it got done
Doesn't matter why did you ruin it, or I ruin it
Cause its time had run
You said some hard things about me
Well, maybe they were true
But baby don't ever doubt me
Cause one day I'll get to you

Turn on your radio, darling, I'll be there
Turn on your radio, I am on the air
Turn on your radio, I'll be coming through
Turn on your radio, singing just for you
I will be playing everywhere
And coming to you, on the air

Doesn't matter why did you pay 'em or I pay 'em
Heavy dues got paid
Doesn't matter why did you say 'em or I say 'em
Bitter things were said
You told me you didn't want me
Well, maybe that was true
But just as your face will haunt me
My voice is following you

Turn on your radio, darling I'll be there
Turn on your radio, I am on the air
Turn on your radio, I'll be coming through
Turn on your radio, singing just for you
I will be playing everywhere
And coming to you to on the air

Alibi

The judge said son, the police found your gun
There at the scene of the crime
But his friend and his brother, they swear by their mother
He was with them all the time

Alibi, alibi
Well, there ain't no flies on him
He don't get caught cause he's always got
An alibi

The indisputable fact is that
The company's taxes don't amount to what they should
But why should they worry?
They pay an attorney
To come up with a good...

Alibi, alibi
Oh there ain't no flies on them
They don't get caught cause they always got
An alibi

Well, you said baby don't wait
Cause you'd be working late for the third night in a row
Well, though I may doubt it
Why check about it?
When I already know

Alibi, yeah, you'll have one
No, there ain't no flies on you
You don't get caught cause you always got an alibi

Isadora

Isadora is a shining light
A shooting star across the night
Accelerating constantly to reach escape velocity
A bit more speed is all she needs
I guess she finally succeeds
The movie ends quite suddenly
On a road that curves above the sea

Isadora is a golden child
Blazing hair, amazing smile
All the dazzle does not hide
Something dark behind the eyes
The film runs out before the crash
of ruthless steel and helpless flesh
Cameras stop and freeze her dance
Somewhere in the South of France

The film runs out before the crash
Of ruthless steel and helpless flash
Cameras stop and freeze her dance
Somewhere in the South of France

On a brown-tone still of a sunlit hill
And a slow fade to gray
I crumple up my popcorn cup and throw it away
And walk out blinking, daylight glaring
Numb from thinking, dumb from staring
At that last scene
And the blank screen

Allon-Zee

[I don't know where this song came from. Becky didn't have any French at all. I've guessed at some of the French lyrics. Allons-y (pronounced "allon-zee") means "Let's go!" And a petite déjeuner is "lunch" (!). —T. Fain]

Well I always dig their movies
And I really like their clothes
And I like their bread and I like the way they talk through their nose
But when it comes to love
They certainly know a thing or two
So I learned a couple special phrases to try to get to you

Oh my little déjeuner
I got une idée fixée
That is, you and I could be
Such a great fait accompli
Définitivement!
Oh honey you got what I want
So as we say, en Français:
Allons-y!

Well the famous savoir faire
It always gets them pretty far
They know their way around a kitchen and around the old boudoir
So I'm following their recipe
For the making of romance
I will breathe a prayer to Joan of Arc
And say "Vive la France!"

Oh my little déjeuner
I got une idée fixée
That is, you and I could be
Such a great fait accompli
Définitivement!
Oh honey you got what I want
So as we say, en Français:
Allons-y!