BIRTHDAY CAKE
(Mathis Haug/Seamus Taylor)

Today I’m sixty-two
& my feet are sore
I’ve been playing the blues
Up to the last encore

Long distance venues
& Long-lasting tours
Restaurant menus
& room service galore

I’ve made my point, I’m used to the core,
Don’t wanna tour this world anymore

In seventy-four
Everyone claimed to be free
I met Susanna on tour
& took her liberty

She seemed pretty sure
Of my fatherhood
I slipped out the backdoor
& Ran as fast as I could

Can’t face myself because I never went back
All that we share is blood & a total lack

In Seventy-six
I was insatiable,
I was out to get my kicks,
I was so irresistible

I treated them mean
Never a flower or ring
It seemed to keep them keen
I was feeling (just) like a king

Some tried to nailed me down with family obligations
But my golden rule was “no implication”

Twenty odd kids
Spread out in this world
I aint got nothing to give
But a melody & some words

I can’t conciliate,
I’m under the impression
To fit the portrait
Sung by the temptations

Time has passed, I bare the weight of my mistake
Alone in this room, me & my birthday cake

CARNIVAL TRAIN
(Mathis Haug/Sal Bernardi)

Took a miracle
to the outskirts
Everybody’s on the carnival train
Should you ferry down
to the outskirts
You can mention my name

Wild rodeos
in the sunset
desperado and a Mardi Gras Dame
Should you ferry on
to the sunset
Remember her name

Down at the water
every body is on a caravan flame
Down at the water
people laughing in a wonderful way
Over the roof tops
feel the radiant time
On and on
keep on rolling
On and on
Carnival train

Down at the river
people party in the summertime rain
Down at the river
every body is a traveling train
Light the lantern and come on
follow me down
On and on
keep on rolling
On and on
Carnival train

Took a ferry boat
to the outskirts
Broken bottles traveling trains
Should you ferry down
to the outskirts
You could mention my name

There’s a women there
she’s a rainbow
She’s the fine tattoo’d looking one
yes a lovely one
Many mercies
She will remember my name

She’s a river boat
he’s a side show
They got lucky in the rock n’ roll game
Every body knows
it’s a long shot
Remember my claim

DRIFTIN’
(Mathis Haug)

Driftin on quiet water
Looking for a good wave to come
Oh Mary
All around me the seas I roam

No conversation feeling lonely
I’m so weak in my solitude
Oh Mary
Sailor moanings are made of blue

Your heart of stone is my Island
I’ve climbed this rock and I’ve reached the peak
Cold cold water
On the bottom I’ll creep

Salty water burning leather
Salty water to ease my tongue
O Mary
In your water I’ll drown

HEARTBREAKER
(Mathis Haug)

I’ve been longing for blossoms
Sweet cherries so sweet
Longing for blossoms
I feel cold and weak

You’re a heartbreaker
I’ve cried an ocean of tears
I’ve bottled my sorrow
And threw it from the peer

I took a glimpse trough the keyhole
My eyes caught fire
From such shining beauty
I had to close my eyes

I saw you swimming in the river
My eyes caught fire
Couldn’t bare to look
I had to close my eyes

heartbreaker
mean heartbreaker

You’re a heartbreaker
I’ve cried an ocean of tears
I’ve bottled my sorrow
And threw it from the peer

I won’t send her no flowers
A picture of me
Passion can be sour
Look at the pain she did!

heartbreaker
mean heartbreaker

PAPER CUP
(Mathis Haug)

There’s no Time, hurry up
Drink your coffee in a paper cup
Kiss your wife on the doorstep
Like every morning

Leave the train Hurry up
There are plenty of paper cups
That’s the price  to be a man
in the city

It’s about 8 o’ clock
She brings your coffee in a paper cup
pretty blonde on high heels
How does it feel?

Paper cup, paper cup
Will fill you Up with gold and bucks
but I’m  paddling  in the sand
I’ll  soon join  the band

Paper cup, paper cup
Will fill you Up with gold and bucks
I’m  paddling  in the sand
but I’ll  soon join  the band

Paper cup, paper cup
Will fill you Up with gold and bucks
Robbed and digged our graves
With a golden spade

It’s a long Way to the top
Good friends you’ll have to snub
Holding a big Wheel
How does it feel?
How does it feel?

Paper cup, paper cup
Couldn’t make these gold and bucks
Sitting on the doorstep
with no one to lean on

Paper cup paper cup
Couldn’t make these gold and bucks
Please a penny or a smoke
For a broken man

It’s a long Way to the top
Good friends you’ll have to snub
Singing this old refrain
Let it rain
Let it rain
Oh what a shame!

There’s  no Time, hurry Up
Drink your coffee in a paper cup
Kiss your wife on the doorstep
Like every morning

POODLE DOG
(Mathis Haug/Seamus Taylor)

Sometimes I feel like I wanna howl all night long
Go chasing cats and running after the postman
And baby you won’t have to worry when I’m gone
I’ll break free from the lead as soon as I can

All my friends tell me, I ain’t got no bite
That I might break a nail if I get in a fight

Darling don’t you know
You’ve got me digging my own hole
You’re eating me up just like a hot dog
I’d rather dig up bones like there ain’t no tomorrow
I just don’t wanna be your poodle dog

Sometimes I feel like I wanna howl howl al night long
Until you come back and walk through that lonely front door
How I long for your sweet caresses when you gone
I’ll Lick you from head to toes
And knock you down to the floor

You say you don’t wanna get too close
But sometimes you treat me just like a ghost

I’ll follow you where ever you go
And when summer comes don’t you leave me
On the side of the road
Check me out baby I’m as faithful as a shadow
And I just don’t wanna be your poodle dog

Unwind the clock for tangled up mind
I just can’t decide on witch train to catch
Pretty birds like you are so hard to find
And I just wanna be your pussy cat

CANNIBAL DANCER
(Mathis Haug)

Do the scubee coco frito
Do the sausage mangassamo
see me shaking like king kong
Cannibal Polka and boiling bones

I know the hulaganda
I can twist the mangata
the halleega malulu
like a rocky moutain sadu

I’m your cannibal dancer
I can set you on fire
I’m slipping like a tiger
I want to eat your mama

Cherry and banana
will do a wild mexicana
now see them stopping da beat
two pairs of shaking feet

I wanna do the hallee gallee
I’m crazy ’bout the rocksteady
the band is playing a cha cha
the guitar wants to catch ya!

I’m your cannibal dancer
I can set you on fire
I’m slipping like a tiger
I want to eat your mama

A CERTAIN FRAME OF MIND
(Mathis Haug/Seamus Taylor)

Pictures are taken, pictures are broken,
If I take your picture would I have stolen?
An insignificant moment in time;
Something you leave behind

But maybe not so obsolete,
’cause It reminds me never to forget.
I take a short trip in time
through the archives of my mind

& the past keeps knocking at my door
like a bargain that i can’t afford.
Selling me more & more
Of something that I’ve seen before

How do you picture all these words,
tell me what will in your mind occur.
Do they reflect a certain mood,
Are they powerful enough to sooth?

Pictures are timeless but how they surround us
pictures can sometimes really blind us.
Do we distinguish virtuality,
or fall into insanity?

Picture a scream in an awkward scene,
a vision that can’t be revealed.
Sometimes we’d be better of blind
Or in a certain frame of mind.

FAMILY FIRE
(Mathis Haug/Sal Bernardi)

walking the flames
cold blues line
walking on trains
29 lives
we saw this coming
mile ago
I took a train
a took a wife

going back to the simple life
it’s time to live the band behind
going back to the struggle and strife
oh family fire
oh family fire

rattling roulette
bite for the bread
they say he went crazy from the sound
lord bless or battle field
and save or crown
don’t burn this camp down to the ground

going back to the simple life
it’s time to live the band behind
going back to the srtuggle and strife
oh family fire
oh family fire

I know a woman on the outskirts of town
she gives me everything I need
if they find down at the quater tonight
carry me home to the family light
carry me home to the family light

IS JESUS ON MY SIDE ?
(Mathis Haug)

Oh yeah oh yeah
I was a golden boy
Oh yeah oh yeah
Sweet chicks and reefer at the savoy
Oh yeah oh yeah
Is Jesus still on my side?
When lightning strucked
I had to swallow my pride

Rosetta Rosetta
She said  there’s a diamond in the dark
Rosetta Rosetta
“Don’t be afraid of the sharks”
Rosetta Rosetta
With jesus on my side
I love you, So hard I’ve tried

Oh yeah oh yeah
I’ve tried the best I could
Oh yeah oh yeah
Now I’m lost in the  woods
Oh yeah oh yeah
With jesus still on my side
The wolf’s howling
I’m digging my hole to hide

Rosetta rosetta
I’m on my way home
Rosetta Rosetta
What am I waiting for?
Rosetta Rosetta
Is Jesus still on my side?
As your dog’s barking
I have to  swallow my pride

Oh yeah oh yeah
I’ve bought a good bottle and bad dreams
Oh yeah oh yeah
I shot my gun now hands are full of sins
Oh yeah oh yeah
Is jesus still on my side?
Now I’m a crippled Man, blind in one eye

PICKPOCKET
(Mathis Haug/Seamus Taylor)

Got nothing in my pockets
You’ve picked the wrong man
(you) Thought I was worth a racket
Well you gotta change your plan
I’m just a drunken soul
Regularly on the doll

Got nothing in my pockets
But cheap whiskey & a candy bar
I stole it down the market
& spent the day in this down town bar
I’m just a vagabond
Who’s a long way from home

Got nothing in my pockets
But a few picks & a bottle-neck
I also got a ticket
To play in the subway net
I’ve just got back from hell
& I got some potential

Got a big hole in my pockets
Through where I lost a lot of faith
It’s nothing too dramatic
Just my health going to waste
Don’t take my life away
I might find use for it one day

I’m a wreck & will admit it
Can I knock you off a cigarette?
(I think) I’ve got a match to light it
In the pocket of my waist-jacket
I’ll buy you a drink tomorrow,
Come on, just let me go

SAD AND LONESOME DAY BLUES
(Mathis Haug)

It’s a sad and lonesome
a cold and lonesome day
Maybe the sun shines for you babe
But above my head the skies are grey

I don’t wanna talk to strangers
‘Cause I’m walking with you in my head
I’ve built a bridge over our love
Now I’m crying on the banks we used to lay

I’m broke and I’m hungry
Can’t find a decent place to stay
Now I’m a million miles from home
Can’t you see I’m just skin and bones

I’m love sick baby
Girl I’m sick of love
The wind is blowing the dirt
Black clouds gather in the skies above

WE’LL GET THERE BY DAWN
(Mathis Haug/Sal Bernardi)

Down at the border blue lights burn
snow is falling for the first time in this quiet land
I got a head full of diamonds
at the water the highway turns to sea
The wind carries me
pass the neon signs
by the grace of night
we’ll get there by dawn
will you keep the porch light on ?

Made a fortune with wild cards
many fortunes have come and returned to sand
never bet on a sure thing
will you be there when I’ll get back to your land
let the red dice red
If just by slide of hand
every chance is bliss
we’ll get there by dawn
will you leave your lamp light on?

There’s a moon over the bayou
change of addiction I’m turning back up to the fair
we’ll be playing for high stakes
I could almost taste It soon I will be there
by your fire side
and your wild ride
there’s nothing matter than this
we get there by dawn
keep your love light warm

She’ll say raise
I say fold
she let’s it ride
and I get bold
the room gets heavy
then I walk away
but I’ll be back again one day
I’ll be back again one day

WISE ADVICE
(Mathis Haug/Seamus Taylor)

Steal away
and chase the night
Take a short cut
‘til you’re out of sight
Now the rubber has been robbed
She took your precious heart
Now you’re the thief
and you’re going to part

There’ll be no more
burdens to bare
And anyway
what do you care?
Don’t carry no useless memories
Travel lightly my friend
it was bound to end

How I wish
I could do the same
Catch up with
that hell bound train
because I feel like I’m trapped in a cage
That routine gets me down
It’s much to late now

Send me a postcard
from your destiny
I’ll still be in the same old city
Reminiscing with a bottle to sooth my soul
and the lines on my face
of how I’m getting old
of how I’m getting old

THE CARETAKER’S PARADE

(Haug Mathis/Seamus Taylor)

Man made lights sweep the night
Illuminating the only soul there
Sweeping up yesterday’s highlights
All forgotten & left for litter

Just a shot to fight the bite
Like a kiss, as strong as bitter
Lost in melancholy tonight
Bound to disappear

Slightly behind but it’s tight
The scruffy dog leads by a meter
Chasing the break of daylight
Victorious & so much cleaner

THE CLOWN
(Mathis Haug)

I’m Getting hungry while staring at these cakes
I Wash my clothes in the pouring rain oh it aches
Me and my accordion we know funny little tunes
Now I’m knocking at the Gates of the Church house
In my Hands a bundle of balloons

Standing at the sidewalk, begging for coins
Making remarkable jokes, but no one gives a damn
« Days of wine and roses » has always been a hit
but kids began to shout and the old lady spat in the hat!

Look at the clown
He’s about to drown

I got a job at Jo ann’s candy store
Selling lollipops and dealing and dope on the side
“You can’t trust anybody, only the bible Tells the truth”
Now I’m trying to escape through the little window on the roof

Look at the clown
He’s about to drown

I have my feet stuck in the mud
I’m trying to dig the earth with my tiny green spud
a jailhouse ain’t a good place to dwell
Maybe my red nose Will show me the Way out of this hell

Look at the clown
He’s about to drown

A Five Minute Conspiracy
(Mathis Haug/Seamus Taylor)

The lift had broken down again.
When living on the tenth floor
A lift will prevent your feet from getting sore.

Who was accomplice, who was the brain?
Maybe the bakers son, he’s always been calling me names
& he’s flirting with fat Sophie,
the girl I’ve had my eyes on for some time now.
Who could of seen him?
Jim Clay; the caretaker; doctor Smith; the latinos; big John;
the duke; Mr Wise walking the dog; who else?
The insane old biddy from number two!
She might have a clue.

So begins my excursion for a daily dose of nicotine.
Pass the ninth; eighth; seventh; sixth; fifth now the forth
& what’s this I see? A bundle of folded cardboard box!
The new tenants might of over-charged
The damn old apparatus
From the beginning of the century,
more Art Deco than contemporary.

This is a plot, some sort of evil scheme.
But why?
Do they want to see the back of me;
Trap me in the staircase or give chase
In order to kill me?
I better hug these ugly carpet walls,
make sure I don’t trip & fall.

I’ll get my break someday.
To a quiet place I’ll run away.

The cunning fiends; rotten bastards; dirty dogs
They’ve loosened the parquet
It’s creaking at my every step,
no matter how discreet I make my feet.

But I’ll make it. I’m almost there.
Just the long corridor; the massive entrance door
& across the street to the tobacco store.

This is a plot, some sort of evil scheme.
But why?
Do they want to see the back of me;
trap me in the staircase or give chase
in order to kill me?
I better hug these ugly carpet walls,
make sure I don’t trip & fall.

I’ll get my break someday.
To a quiet place I’ll run away.

In the semi-obscurity the grand frame is pierced by rays.
As I engage the opening mechanism,
an implosion of light & saturated noise
invades my intimate space.
It’s too late!, I’m trapped, they’re far too numerous.
All I can do is retreat to the tenth as fast as I can.
First; second; third; fourth; fifth; sixth
& as I reach the seventh I suddenly hear…
Knock knock!
It’s ten thirty five!
My dear mother is five minutes late today.
She’s bringing me cigarettes & nursery.
“Come in mother, coffee or tea?”

PLAYING MY DUES
(Mathis Haug/Seamus Taylor)

My Guitar is red, I have blood on my hands
Whatever is shed will make a stand

Sharp on the edge, round in the middle
To the craftsmen I pledge, to play, not to fiddle

Tattered leather
Tattered leather
Tattered leather
strapped or loose
Digs into my shoulder
from the weight of the blues

She echoes in my guts
I spell out the rest
I’ll give as much
as contains my chest

My guitar is burning, i have blood on my hands
The wind is crying through the hands of time
Until there’s no more sand & the third stone don’t shine
For the gypsy in the band

SONG FOR MY BRUNETTE
(Mathis Haug)

It’s a magic rendez vous
Diamonds have been made for you
Pearly blue eyes to adore
I’m not seeking for much more
Lying Under a chesnut tree
Tea for two and you for me
Life sometimes can be so sweet
If you dance to the beat

It’s a magic rendez vous
Diamonds have been made for you

Leaving the city we feel free
Down the road to the sea
If the water’s to quiet and still
We’ll fly to Brazil
Life sometimes can be so sweet
If you dance to the beat

It’s a magic rendez vous
Diamonds have been made for you

Times goes by smoking cigarettes
Rambling around with my brunette
Passing by a jewelery store
She said ” a golden ring is for the poor ”
Go and get me a diamond ring
And forever I’ll be your yang and ying
If the weather turns stormy and cold
We’ll hide in Richmond

And our brand new italian shoes
Will Bring us to baton rouge

It’s a magic rendez vous
Diamonds have been made for you

THE WIND BLEW STRONG
(Mathis Haug/Seamus Taylor)

I found love on a rainy summer day
Just as I turned the page, it blew him my way
The wind blows strong on the north sea coast
Where kites collide & entangle themselves

He was casual & he was cool
With a gun in his pants to play by his rules
There aint nothing in this world that I wouldn’t do
I would even kill you if he asked me to

It was going to be the day, our big break-away
We’d flee this scene to somewhere far away
There was one last deal to negotiate
At the end of the pier where young lovers celebrate

We drove to the country where lived a girl he once knew
In a battered old Mustang from 72
To gather belongings; something buried under a tree
& a bouquet of wild flowers for me

He gave me instructions & said to wait in the car
The motor kept running but we didn’t get very far
A shot-gun blast pierced through the night
& a silhouette tumbled into a raging sea

I ran hard to the pier clutching flowers in my hand
In a gesture of despair I cast them to my man
‘Cause the wind blew strong on that long summer night
Turning another page of my broken life

True love
Don’t come Won’t come
Around
Every rainy summer day On a rainy summer day

WORKLESS
(Mathis Haug)

My girl leaves our home every morning
Workless I’m waiting here ‘till dawn
The darkness of my unending days
Makes me evil, I’m bound to commit a crime

Pills and guns are leading my actings
Baby you’d better be on your guard
I bet today, we’re taking your last chance
I’m lost bound to commit a crime

I’ve been waiting
I’ve been waiting
I’ve been waiting here for so long

I got a call from my dear old mother
She said « Boy you’ve changed »
«  I remember you playing in the backyard
cowboys and indians but you’re on the wrong side »