Poetry

Let Me Spend Each Day With You

Love is just a game
The foolish often play
And love is but a word
One I wouldn't say
But I've learned so much
From watching you
And I think it's time
To tell you I love you
And when the day is through
I want to be with you

I never thought of love
Until I met you
I never had the need
And now I find I do
If you know how hard I've tried to say
All the words I know
Would make you stay with me
I think you'd see it, too
I want to be with you

In a way it seems
I'm living every day in dreams
But you can make them come true
If you believe in love
For you and me
But each day goes by
So quickly and it seems that I
Can't find a way to tell you
You're the only one
I could ever need to see

Time and time again
Chances pass me by
I never follow through
Even though I try
Still I must repay
The debt I owe you
I know a way
I'd love to show you
So, until my life is through
Let me spend each day with you

I'm Going Home

Yes, I'm going home
Far from the lights of L.A.
Well, it's time I pack
And call it a day
Yes, I'm going home

Yes, I've changed my plans
I can't keep up with demands
So, I'll leave the sun
The palm trees and sand
Yes, I've changed my plans

Maybe I'm picky or maybe I'm lucky
But now I need my homeland
Far from the natives, the agents and ladies
I trusted them and that's where I went wrong

Yes, I paid my dues
Let someone else fill these shoes
So I won't be on
The nine o'clock news
Still I paid my dues

Maybe I'm naive or maybe they're lying
Hiding their heads in the sand
Call me a failure just don't make me stay here
Let me go home for that's where I belong

Yes, I'm on my way
Thank God I don't have to stay
And this is one scene
I'm not gonna play
Yes, I'm on my way

So I'll meet my mom
At the depot
Yes, I'm going home

Grandville Avenue

Jose and I are going out tonight
We're gonna buy some cheap wine
We're gonna do it up right
We're gonna stay downtown
Till the last call after two
Juanita's waiting for me
Down on Grandville Avenue

Chico called as he walked out the door
He's gonna meet us there
At La Familia Store
Just where he'll go from there
He said he doesn't have a clue
But things are always crazy
Down on Grandville Avenue

Grandville Avenue
Is always the right cure
If you've got the workday blues
It's always right next door

Pedro said, he's gotta buy some new clothes
He's gonna meet Marisa
With some candy and a rose
He said to get that girl
Is something he just had to do
He's gonna meet his lady
Down on Grandville Avenue

Something's Gotta Give

Someday something's gotta give for me
Someday something's gotta give for me

Don't know how it ever got this way
Seems I just get by from day to day
When I ask my friends they tell me
In this life you get no guarantee
Someday something's gotta give for me
Someday something's gotta give for me

But that's never gonna change my mind
Though I'm always running far behind
Scrimp and save for seventeen years
Singing lovely songs that no one hears

Someday everyone will know my name
But they still won't understand what I'm saying
Unless they can read between the lines
But that's very rare for me to find
"Wear a sequin gown and rely
On the groupies who identify"

But that doesn't satisfy my drive
Writing words that have no effect on our lives

But then songs are judged on what they've sold
And my last two records have gone "Gold"
Basking in the royalties of
Singing simple songs that people love

Susan

Susan, I'll hold your hand
And await your command
Sleep tight under the sun
Knowing your race will be won
I will watch over you
You said God's watching, too
Therefore you're not alone
Together we'll carry you home

Susan, angels appear
When you live with fear
One day you will not wake
Here is the promise I make
Angels live in the sky
With a vigilant eye
Therefore you're not alone
Together we'll carry you home

Susan, don't be afraid
Think of the plans you have made
I will see them unfold
Patiently as you grow old
With each step that you take
I will lovingly wait
Therefore you're not alone
I promise to carry you home

We Got A Good Thing

Don't know just why it is
But at least I know what I got is good
It starts with just one kiss
But it's kept alive with a lot of work

One day I'll understand this
Till then I'll never plan the month
It's best to let it happen
Don't guess just take it as it comes

She said, we got a good thing
We know we got a good thing
We know just what a good thing is
She said, we got a good thing
We know we got a good thing
We know just what a good thing is

Don't try to figure out
How it got this way or you'll lose your mind
Learn what it's all about
When you know your love stood the test of time

But in the meantime you should
Begin to know it's a good thing
This test you won't mind taking
Just rest there's no mistaking it

A Girl Who Has A Dream

Born in Alabama
She headed for the lights of Western L.A.
Far from Eastern Selma
She's gonna learn about the city streets the hard way
She's not at home here
She won't last a day here
Yes, she's all alone here
She lost her innocence on the way here

She's a nice young lady
But being nice won't win you friends in this town
Sometimes things get crazy
It takes some strength to not let it get you down
But she won't be strong here
She can't take the heat here
No, she won't last long here
She'll leave after a day on the streets here

But she's a girl who has a dream
And she's not quite what she seems
And she don't know what it means to be alone
But girl you should go home

You could never tell her
She'll never learn to fit in with the crowd here
City girls do well here
A small town girl can never live without fear

That she'll have what it takes
To get into the spotlight
That she'll get the right breaks
To keep her from those desolate hot nights

New York ( I'm Not Leaving You Again )

I left at seven-thirty L.A. time
I'll be in New York about four
I wasn't coming back
But it didn't work out right
It's Fifty-Second street once more

My mother met me at LaGuardia
I noticed tears had filled her eyes
I've been away nine months
Now it's time to eat some words
I won't be giving alibis

I've seen the bright lights down in Nashville
And lived in L.A.'s tinseled cove
I'd find a place to stay
But I couldn't find a home
And that's why I thought of New York now and then
And New York, I'm not leaving you again

Unpack my packs and readjust my room
The old place doesn't seem the same
I've been told many times
That you can't go home again
It's good to be here anyway

I can't remember why I left at all
Perhaps I needed something new
You don't know what you've got
When you learn it's far too late
I'll safely say I've paid my dues

Possessed by wanderlust
Or afraid of growing old
They long for things that don't exist
They'll buy a brand new car
And a twelve-room Bel Air home
To find the second payment missed

So they won't understand the reasons I
Would leave their sheltered, barren land
I spent the time I could
Then decided to go home
Back to the place where it began

Someone Like Me

I took a lonely walk last night
Up to the bar where I always met you
And in between the sidewalk fights
I realized that I won't forget you
So don't let it end this way
When it took so long to find
I won't let it end today
Because time is on your side

I sit alone and watch the late show
Glance at the phone but it won't ring for me
I hear the clock strike seven times
I toss and turn and wonder what could be
But I'd call you every night
If I just knew where you were
And I'd try to make it right
Because one thing is for sure

Just tell me what you want
And I'll give you everything you need
Just tell me what you want
Like a brand new car or a diamond ring
'Cause pretty girls don't need someone like me

I know I'm not the guy you've dreamed of
But I've got things that most will never have
Of all the girls who've fallen in love
Most will agree that money ain't so bad
And if you will take the chance
I think in time you'll agree
That life is not all romance
You must face reality

Just tell me what you want
And I'll give you everything you need
Just tell me what you want
Like a brand new car or a diamond ring
'Cause pretty girls don't need someone like me

Joyce

I know, Joyce, it's late but
I hoped you might wait up
You see there are things I've been meaning to say
I'm not sure I know why
I let evenings go by
Without a word letting you know where I stay

I know, Joyce, I could say
The things in a good way
But I need the substance much more than the style
If you've grown accustomed
To words from a loved one
Well, here are some more you can add to the pile

I don't know why is should subject myself to
Emotional torture but I always do
I've got someone" she told me
Don't you know three's company

But, Joyce, when I'm in love
I commit the sin of
Believing I need to give more than I have
What may seem insecure
Is a need to be sure
That you are still happy with all that I gave

I don't know why is should subject myself to
Emotional torture but I always do
I've got someone" she told me
Don't you know three's company

Joyce, I'm the one who
Has linked myself unto
The beautiful lady you've turned out to be
I'll leave you with this thought
I've never been distraught
Concerning your lack of affection toward me

Coming Out

I lay with you
You touch my hand
Another night we're on the run
There's more to do
Please understand
Another life has just begun

Ask me how I know
Guess it goes to show

I'm way ahead
I made some plans
And I refuse to end the war
Been left for dead
On foreign sand
But I got up and fought once more

Never thought I'd see
You here next to me

And now we're coming out
No more need to hide our love
What could we be thinking of
When time is all we need

Coming out
No more secret hideaways
No more wasted holidays
Now I am finally free

Coming out of closet doors
To face the world are we

Hung up the phone
And hid from view
When someone else would say hello
I sat alone
As lovers do
Whenever they can't run the show

When the dust had cleared
You were standing here

Mama, Won't You Wait

It seems a lot of time is wasted
On this same old argument we have each night
I'm sorry but tonight my time is taken
So I haven't any time to make it right

I know you think it's time I settled down
But I have other plans for now
I'm sure I'll find the time to be around
But there's on thing you must allow

Though I'll be going for a month of two
I'll think of you each time I can
I'm sorry but it's something I must do
So Mama won't you wait for me till then

I hope you understand the reasons
That make a person stay so free
But I'm just thirty-one and learning
That I can't live like Sandra Dee

I know I'm not as young as I was
And I'll be growing old quite soon
But, no I never wanted children
So you and dad should have had two

Right now there's nothing else I have to say
But I'll be coming home again
Another drink and I'll be on my way
So Mama won't you wait for me till then

In The City

At a streetlamp, in the dead of winter
A barefoot man asks me
For a dollar, which I'd gladly give him
Can I give dignity

Perhaps he's down on his luck
A place we all have been
Maybe it's been so long that
We don't remember when

At the corner, where a crowd has gathered
They're trying to keep warm
I'm amazed at how they always manage
To weather every storm

But if they've always managed
It means we have allowed
A group of people to fall
Who once were very proud

In the city where dreams are shattered
And no one seems to care
In the city where lives are battered
And no one wants to share

Who'll teach our children how to live together
In peace and harmony
They learn nothing if we fail to teach them
The way things need to be

To have a universe where
The people live in peace
And generosity is
To be our legacy

Trying Too Hard

Trying too hard
And I'm not getting very far
I think I'm trying too hard
And the nights have been marred
By trying too hard

Lying awake
I wonder what it's gonna take
I think of what is at stake
With each movement I make
When lying awake

Strange as it seems
I don't know what to do
I can't find the means
Of bringing me to you
Dreaming new dreams
That will never come true
From trying too hard

Oh-oh
Tying my hands
By forcing love on you
Taking new stands
I never needed to
Making new plans
That will only fall through
From trying too hard

Trying too hard
And though it's coming from the heart
I think I knew from the start
We'd be falling apart
From trying too hard

Trying too hard
And I'm not getting very far
I think I'd play a new game
But she's still on her guard
From trying too hard

Talk Show Host

Talk show host lets you see his good side
To think the side is good is something I cannot believe
Talk show host takes you for a good ride
His social commentary is pathetically naïve

Isn't it a pity that a man like me
Can find the time to sit around and watch TV
Isn't it a pity that a man as I
Can find the time to sit around and wonder why

Talk show host laughing with his sidekick
He tells an unsophisticated joke that's rather crude
Talk show host really isn't that quick
He'd rather shock the people with a joke that's very rude

Isn't it a pity that a man like me
Could give a damn regarding his philosophy
Isn't it a pity that a man as I
Can find the time to sit around and watch this guy

Talk show host gonna have a good time
As he makes fun of everyone who's made it to the top
Talk show host never reason or rhyme
He really isn't funny but the laughter never stops

Isn't it a pity that a man like me
Could give a damn regarding people's fantasies
Isn't it a pity that a man is I
Without a show like this I wouldn't have a life