A Lot of Good Men Gone Down

Words and music by Dave Perkins
(Dreambox/ASCAP)

Is there a wind that blows making old friends call just when they’re in your mind?
And who’s been pushing that button up there that makes your time rewind?
Across miles and wires and satellites we see, through eyes undimmed in time
And, call again on our fierce tears for those who left us behind

A lot of good men gone down
Like seed into the ground
A lot of good men gone down

Chilly wind blow, chilly wind blow cold, through my memory
summon up faces, waking up names, sleeping violently
Time cries, it kills, it reveals, it squeals on all those who can see time’s shifty ways
But you can’t call up yesterday,
And, the best of us martyr ourselves to something or someone anyway

A lot of good men gone down
Like tears into the ground
A lot of good men gone down

Is there a wind that blows making old friends call just when they’re in your mind?
And is who’s been pushing that button up there that makes your time unwind?
Seasons come and go and teach and preach from hindsight long since left your reach
And, as you see, the dice ain’t blind
So, lift your glasses one more time for those who left us behind

A lot of good men gone down
A lot of good men gone down

New Jimmy’s


Words and music by Dave Perkins (Dreambox/ASCAP)

That girl, she never had a head for timing and it’s really too bad
‘Cause she’s gone and the ship’s come in
Leaving me alone with nothing but this stupid grin

Gone up New Jimmy’s—catch a beat you bet
Gone up New Jimmy’s—with a wallet full of money and a lot to forget

That girl, she used to lie about playing the numbers
Cause she hit this time
She didn’t drink booze, she didn’t do dope,
Maybe she just had to sneak off and smoke a little hope sometimes y’all

Gone up New Jimmy’s—catch a beat you bet
Gone up New Jimmy’s—with a wallet full of money and a lot to forget

Yeah I ain’t feeling hard over her little fibs
Now, I can forgive her for everything I did
Hey, it’s red-eyed and rowdy, and my flag’s at half mast
‘Cause, I can afford to let the past go past
That girl she always had a nose for trouble
Now she’s sniffing up some other trail
She’s gone and the ship’s come in
Leaving me alone with her money and this stupid grin

Gone up New Jimmy’s—catch a beat you bet
Gone up New Jimmy’s—with a wallet full of money and a lot to forget
Gone up New Jimmy’s—catch a beat you bet
Gone up New Jimmy’s—with a wallet full of money and a lot to forget

Open Windows


Words and music by Dave Perkins
(Dreambox/ASCAP)

Peek around the corner, see who might be there
Keep yourself way down low, underneath the chair
You know the light does funny things, to he who sings, so he won’t scare
Who knows what the wind blows, what the cat drug in

Open windows

Silhouette in a door full of sky, maybe today will fall inside
If it does can I say it’s mine?
Summertime is the time it’s true, for you to do what you will do
Keep in mind that it all goes around and through

Open windows

Curtain lace, breathe sway
Cool light hum, for the end of day
A room waits so still
Shadow whisper fill

Listen for the whisper, listen for your name
Get yourself back in the breeze again
Summertime is the time it’s true, for you to do what you will do
Keep in mind that it all goes around and through

Open windows

Blue Into Black


Words and music by Dave Perkins
 (Dreambox/ASCAP)

When I go down, down, down . . .
Baby don’t wipe my tears away, even though I trust your touch as real
It’s all I have for the price I paid
Now, I don’t want to waste my sorrow

Where blue runs into black I don’t know, if I’m coming back I can’t say
Where blue runs into black, you can find me there

Living left a bad taste in my mouth
Really turn your head if you let it
Now, I ain’t gonna rinse it out
Until I’m sure I’ll never forget it, never forget it

Where blue runs into black I don’t know, if I’m coming back I can’t say
Where blue runs into black, you can find me there

Pain rushes in where there is none
There’s a flood outside carrying all my friends
It’s hard to keep your eyes open once you’ve drunk the punch
Hey man, I ain’t gonna close my eyes, when I’m falling like a ball of fire
When I go down, down, down—eaten alive by the horizon

Where blue runs into black I don’t know, if I’m coming back I can’t say
Where blue runs into black, you can find me there

When I go down, down, down . . . eaten alive by the horizon.

The Wind In The Attic


Words and music by Dave Perkins
(Dreambox/ASCAP)

I put you away, I took you upstairs
With all of my old letters and overstuffed chair
But when the quiet comes it’s so automatic—you’re the wind in my attic

Oh Babe, it’s been so many years
Somewhere out there you have laughed and cried your share of tears
And I haven’t seen your face, but I still hear voices . . .

If time were a ladder, I would climb back down
Go back and stand at the crossroad where I let you down
And wait like a beggar, a repentant fanatic
You’re the wind in my attic

Tears fall with no destination
With no return address, for no particular reason or occasion
No matter how good it gets, it just feels anti-climatic
You’re the wind in my attic

The time gets shorter between every stroke
And I’ve said sorry so often, guess what—I no longer choke
You’re the rising grind between every clock tick
You’re the wind in my attic

Oh Babe, it’s been so many years
And, somewhere out there you have laughed and cried your share of tears
You found my heart dark, and my soul nomadic
Like the wind in the attic
You’re the wind in my attic

Nothing But Love


Words and music by Dave Perkins (Dreambox/ASCAP)

Nothing but a dream, nothing but a nightmare
Nothing but a scream from the dark side of the soul
Nothing but a heartache, nothing you can medicate
Nothing but love can make you hurt this bad

Brother turn me toward the morning light
I can’t make it to the other side
Tell my Ma, please don’t cry
‘Cause I ain’t gonna make it

Ain’t never crossed a bridge that hadn’t been burned
Never learned a tune that wouldn’t get turned
Never been a diplomat, maybe you heard about that
I wear it on my sleeve, zippy doo dat!

Brother turn me toward the morning light
I can’t make it to the other side
Tell my Ma, please don’t cry
‘Cause I ain’t gonna make it

So, what’s this this thing makes me scream like a brat
Makes me feel like I’m fat and I ain’t worth a dime
I want to tell the world, I’m gonna tell the girl, “I . . . I AM! . . . I think . . .

Brother turn me toward the morning light
I can’t make it to the other side
Tell my Ma, please don’t cry
Tell my Ma not to cry
‘Cause I ain’t gonna make it

Ain’t nothing but love

Race Cars Run (Farewell, Buk)


Words and music by Dave Perkins
 (Dreambox/ ASCAP)

He said, “Hey wait a minute—is that a baby crying?
Or, just that jerk blowin’ alto in the night.”
He was a lethal combination of brains and bad culture;
He was bragging like a boxer, who’s too old to fight.
He said, “I fought the law and you’re bound to lose some.”
“Twenty years fell like the snow when the cold come.”
“But I would give it all, one more time, to watch the race cars run.”

He said, “Heh-heh, look at them tinsel tigers—you doomed youth!”
“The genderbender’s had a heyday.”
“And, I’ll give y’all my platinum rule: You gotta do unto others before they do unto you,
and, before they get away!”
“Son, I seen the world in  81 days, but when all of the best is weighed in the balances,
I would give it all, one more time, to watch the race cars run.”

“Let’s let ‘em run . . . “

“Oh, come on—harm’s way?  I mean you no harm!” 
“Shake the hand of the snake, I’m a viper that can’t be charmed . . . (I’m charmed!)”
“Well, time rolls down like a runaway child, with a gleam in its eye and an inch that becomes a mile.”
“I got a hole in my head where the money pours through,
and I let it all ride any time that I want to.”
“I think I’ll let it all ride, one more time, to watch the race cars run.”
“Oh yeah, watch the race cars run.”

“Come on, let ‘em run—here we go!”

“Watch the race cars run . . . ”

“Watch the young bucks pull—watch the race cars run.”

Away


Words and music by Dave Perkins
 (Dreambox/ASCAP)

My love, my love said to me, she would fight whatever might take me away
Down, gravity pulls you down
Down, into the blood red ground
And, most days I help it along and cover my crime with a song

My love, my love said to me, she would fight whatever might take me away
Tomorrow, always tomorrow
Yeah, that’s where I beg, steal, and borrow time in my twisted way
I could quit any stronger day

My love, my love said to me, she would fight whatever might take me away

I used to spend time like daddy’s money
I used to drive it—top down and ninety
I used to drink it back with an ignorance chaser

My love, my love said to me, she would fight whatever might take me away
My love, my love said to me, she would fight whatever might take me away,

 . . . away . . .

Stand

Words and Music by Dave Perkins
 (Dreambox/ASCAP)

Thunder rolls across the dark night of the soul
Seems like heaven’s door is tight
Comfort and courage I will send to you
Yeah, we can make it through the night

Stand when your stars all fall, when the darkness calls
For you were meant to be
Stand when your weary love has been pushed and shoved
‘Cause you were meant to be

Seems so long you’ve been carrying that cross all by yourself
And, you don’t see how you can take it
Truth be told, we each live in a house of cards
And, it don’t take much to shake it

Stand when your stars all fall, when the darkness calls
For you were meant to be
Stand when the world is a liar, when you’ve lost your fire
‘Cause you were meant to be

To strike a match or curse the dark
Either way it’s hard to handle
Don’t let the storm snuff out your candle

Thunder rolls across the dark night of the soul . . . well alright
Comfort and courage I will send to you
Yes, we can make it through the night

Stand when your stars all fall, when the darkness calls
For you were meant to be
Stand when your weary love has been kicked and shoved
‘Cause you were meant to be

Stand when your stars all fall, when the darkness calls
For you were meant to be
Stand when the wind blows cold, when your heart feels old
You were meant to be

What It Is


Words and music by Dave Perkins
 (Dreambox/ASCAP)

Baby, you can talk about it—you can shout it in the streets
Yeah, you can paint it on your eyelids—so you don’t forget about it while you sleep
But, baby, you better find out what it is

Baby you can sit on it, you can hold it down—get out your hammer and nails
Put it in a time capsule, bury it in Memphis
Only to be discovered centuries later in some alien yard sale
My babe, you better find out what it is

It’s a mystery to almost everyone I know but me
And, honey, I can’t tell you how low you’ll go before you know
That the roses smell

It is a mystery to almost everyone I know but me
And, honey, I can’t tell you how low you’ll go before you know
That the roses smell

Paint it in a picture, put it in a frame
Hang it in the Louvre to great acclaim
See it in the mirror, but when you walk away
Will you forget what you see today?

My baby, you better call it up and ask it what it is

Perfect as Plastic

Words and music by Dave Perkins
 (Dreambox/ASCAP)

The river will rise, it’s true
But, may the road rise to meet you
The river will rise little beauty
So, don’t you cry your eyes

I found Frankie in a serious look hanging around in a hardware store
In a pillbox hat, black lace veil, filling up a bag with finishing nails.
It’s hard to be different, it’s tough to be pretty in a town without pity
Time to fly away

The river will rise, it’s true
But, may the road rise to meet you
The river will rise little beauty
But, don’t you cry your eyes

Over a cup of sweet coffee and a trim cigarette
Frankie gave story that won’t let me forget
About life in the shadows, of marquees and neons
Walks on the wild side and everything in between
As perfect as plastic, as real as TV
I believe I see—we each must drink our cup of tea

The river will rise, it’s true
But, may the road rise to meet you
The river will rise little beauty
But, don’t you cry your eyes

 (repeat chorus)

Sweet dreams of Chanel and Black & Decker
Make you dance faster and faster all the time
It’s hard to be different, tough to be pretty in a town without pity
Time to fly away

The river will rise, it’s true
But, may the road rise to meet you
The river will rise little beauty
But, don’t you cry your eyes