Cambia le impostazioni sulla Privacy

Rickie Lee Jones

Pirates (1981)

HOME

MENU

 

  1. We Belong Together (RLJ)
  2. Living It Up (RLJ)
  3. Skeletons (RLJ)
  4. Woody And Dutch On The Slow Train To Peking (RLJ & David Kalish)
  5. Pirates (So Long Lonely Avenue ) (RLJ)
  6. A Lucky Guy (RLJ)
  7. Traces Of The Western Slopes (RLJ & Sal Bernardi)
  8. The Returns (RLJ)

Rickie Lee Jones

 

1. WE BELONG TOGETHER

 

I say this was no game of chicken

You were aiming your best friend

That you wear like a switchblade on a chain around your neck

I think you picked this up in Mexico from your dad

Now its daddy on the booze

And Brando on the ice

Now it's Dean in the doorway

With one more way he can't play this scene twice

So you drug her down every drag of this forbidden fit of love

And you told her to stand tall whet you kissed her

But that's not where you were thinking...

How could a Natalie Wood not get sucked into a scene so custom tucked?

How now look who shows up

In the same place

In this case

I think it's better

To face it ---

We belong together

We belong together

 

Once Johnny the King made a spit ring

And all the skid kids saw a very, very proud man

And he entwine her in his finger

And she lay there like a baby in his hand

And climb upon the rooftop docks lookin' out on the crosstown seas

And he wraps his jacket across her shoulders

And he falls and hugs and holds her on his knees

But a sailor just takes a broad down to the dark end of the fair

To turn her into a tattoo

That will whisper

Into the back of Johnny's black hair

And now Johnny the King walks these streets without her in the rain

Lookin' for a leather jacket

And a girl who wrote her name forever

A promise that ---

We belong together

We belong together

 

Shall we weigh along these streets

Young lions on the lam?

Are the signs you hid deep in your heart

All left on neon for them?

Who are foolish

Who are victim

Of the sailors and the ducky boys who would

Move into your eyes and lips and

Every tear

That falls down on the neighborhood now

I said "Bird, we just gotta tell them"

And they turn and ignore us

And the only heroes we got left

Are written right before us

And the only angel who sees us now

Watches through each other's eyes

And I can hear him

In every footstep's passing sigh

He goes crazy these nights

Watching heartbeats go by...

And they wisper ---

We belong together

We belong together

 

2. LIVING IT UP

 

Eddie's got one crazy eye

that turns him into a cartoon

wahen a pretty girl comes by

and there's nothin' here to do anymore

he sits on the stoop all day

like there's something he's waiting for

Cunt-finger Louie picks up Eddie in the alley

he's got all those guys with him

from that town where they all look like Frankie Valli

they speak fluently blonde

from her legs to her cigarette

and Louie told Eddie that he'd fix him up

but he ain't come back yet

well, you know

 

It's more trouble than it's worth

it's more trouble than it's worth

Oh Wild and the Only ones

Tell him where you are ---

Oh Wild and the Only ones

Tell him where you are

Tell him where you are

 

Zero quit school

and she lost her job again

and then her boyfriend beat her up

and now he won't let her in

so she's walking by his joint

in a black and blue dress

she looks at Louie who elbows Eddie who says

"don't tell me, lemme guess."

 

It's more trouble than it's worth

he's more trouble than he's worth

Oh Wild and the Only ones

Tell him where you are ---

Oh Wild and the Only ones

Tell him where you are

 

Well at first when it was this way

when they're the only ones

and you've got all these ideas

you never tell to anyone

there are always magnets

pulling each of you there

living every story you'd dare

to be the only ones

the only ones...

 

Oh, who are living it up

oh yeah, we're living it up

oh yeah, we'll be living it up

oh yeah, we're living it up

gotta be living it up

oh yeah, we're living it up

oh yeah, we're living it up

oh yeah, we're living it up

oh yeah, we're living it up

oh yeah, we're living it up

 

Louie and Eddie found a reason then and there

carried her over the bridges like fluttering pages they didn't care

in the terminal where dreams

let so many tickets through

when strangers look in faces

and see somebody there they knew

you might meet me tomorrow

as all the lights are blooming green

and you're feeling a little lonely,

a little sad, a little mean

remember a place

inside of that hotel

where you could do anything you want to do

you couldn't tell

 

If it's more trouble than it's worth

ah, this is more trouble than it's worth

Oh Wild and the Only ones

tell him where you are ---

Oh Wild and the Only ones

I'm waiting you could

tell him where you are ---

Oh Wild and the Only ones

why don't you tell him where you are?

 

3. SKELETONS

 

She was pregnant in May

Now they're on their way

Dashing thru the snow

To St. John's, here we go

 

Well, it could be a boy

But it's okay if he's girl

Oh, these things that grow out of

The things that we give

 

We should move to the west side

They still believe in things

That give a kid half a chance

 

When he pulled off the road

Step in a waltz of ted moon-beams

Said he fit an APB,

A robbery nearby

 

And he go for his wallet

And they thought he was going for a gun

And the cops blew Bird away

 

Some kids like watching Saturday cartoons

Some girls listen to records all day in their rooms

But what do birds leave behind, of the wings that they came with

If a son's in a tree building model planes?

 

Skeletons,

Skeletons.

 

4. WOODY AND DUTCH ON THE SLOW TRAIN TO PEKING

 

Dutch took 'em on the slow train to Peking on La Brea Avenue

To find the Stax and Sun

They were reaching to get to

They was a rapping the flat scat

Diamond dialectos of points and taps

Between the chicken and the back

They drew themselves a be-bop

Midnight map

They said "do you got a map the next joint?"

"Do you got a map the next joint?"

 

Pick it up on the night train

Down on the corner of rhythm and blues

Where I have met all of my boys since

Back in '52

Bringing 'em Stax and Sun

Cuz I think that Cleveland forgot

And Memphis forgot

Where they were coming from

Do ya like it? Do ya like it like that?

Do you like rapping the fat scat?

 

Woody and Dutch dance in the cell of fourteen

Like a pill they do it all night

Spectators,

White-walls, find and greased back

Every Saturday night

Leaning in the scenery

Picking up the kids

At the next door neighbors'

"Yeah I know what you did

Yeah I got a room you can stay in

If you promise you won't make so much noise"

"No I won't"

"No I don't!"

 

5. PIRATES ( SO LONG LONELY AVENUE )

 

Come on - Joey get out of school

We got places to go

A '57 Lincoln you got a radio that hurts

And the girls like to touch it

Just to find out if it works

But don't look at me

It wasn't me

 

Joey live on the edge of the corner

Of living on the run

I like to ride in the middle

I'm just tryin to have some fun

Until the Pirates come

And take me

 

And I won't need a pilot

Got a pirate who might sail

Somewhere I heard far away

You answer me

So i'm holding on

To your rainbow sleeves

 

Well, goodbye boys,

Oh my buddy boys,

Oh my sad-eyed Sinatras

It'as a cold globe around the sea

You keep the shirt that I bought ya

And I know you'll get the chance to make it

And nothin's gonna stop you

You just reach right out and take it

You say - So long, lonely Avenue

So long lonely avenue

 

I'll see you there

Wait 'n see

Be lookin' for me

Just like you

Just like me

 

6. A LUCKY GUY

 

Oh, he's a lucky guy

Oh, he's a lucky guy

He doesn't worry about me

When I'm gone

He goes to sleep at night

He don't turn off the light

And wonder how to find me

Or if I'm alone

Oh, he's a lucky guy

I wish I was like him

Cuz when he talks about me

He don't look this way

He's a lucky guy

 

He used to walk with me

He used to talk to me

See, we have these secrets

That no one else could hear

Well, he's not the only one

No, no not the only one

But what happens to them?

 

Do they matter?

Do they disappear

Into a lonely girl?

Now I'm a lonely girl

Cuz I want somebody with me in the world

Oh, he's a lucky guy

 

Fontune walks right in the door

And here I am

Just like before

 

Well, I'm not gonna turn around

I'm not his pretty clown

I'm not the one caught

Like he thought

He was the last one I had there

Cuz I did a foolish thing

A real, real stupid thing

 

I told him I love him

And I want him there

When I knew he wouldn't come

 

And I knew he didn't care

And I'll cry awhile

I'll cry awhile

But when I wake up

Tomorrow is a new day

I'm a lucky guy

Hey, I'm a lucky guy

Real, real lucky guy

Hey, I'm a lucky guy

 

7. TRACES ON THE WESTERN SLOPES

 

We go down round

The far side of the tracks

Lolitas playing dominoes and poker

Behind their daddy's shacks

Vacant-eyes, glue-face boys

On a pearl splashing glass

If they give us any flack

If they come up on our ass

We'll just give 'em the go-by

The Cadillac pass

 

Take me now

From the blue and pale room I'd follow

Through the faces and the traces of

Treasure I keep hearing inside me

Madmen throw their voices

From pretty boys

And from the best ones

You pick up connections

As they hand you your directions

To the Western Slope

 

I lied to my angel so I could take you downtown

I'd lie to anybody there was nobody else around

And I know what people say about me

But I lied to my angel and now he can't find me

 

I'm sorry

I saw him

I saw him

Laughing

I could hear them

Laughing

Alive

I could hear them

E. A. Poe

And Johnny Johnson

If you dial in

They're calling from the Western Slope

Who's the thin thread of light

That keeps you strangled in the scenery

That follows my voice --- can you se me?

Then follow my voice

 

Who raised this banner?

That no one hears --- The Jack

Beneath the axis

Digging under the current

Someone's trying to get back

But who's qualified to retrieve

The soul's enduring song?

From the grottos of her eyes

And the clashing stars

 

E. A. Poe

And Johnny Johnson

If you dial in

They're calling from the Western Slope

Who's the thin thread of light

That keeps you strangled in the scenery

That follows my voice --- can you se me?

Then follow my voice --- see me?

 

8. THE RETURNS

 

But after all

There are such things

And these are the things

Who'll turn your memories back into dreams again

Oh, it's all flying and waving

For you to keep trying

You're so close.

So close.

All the returns

One of these days,

One of these days,

One of these days,

One of these days.

 

Come on - Joey get out of school

We got places to go

A '57 Lincoln you got a radio that hurts

And the girls like to touch it

Just to find out if it works

But don't look at me

It wasn't me

 

Joey live on the edge of the corner

Of living on the run

I like to ride in the middle

I'm just tryin to have some fun

Until the Pirates come

And take me

 

And I won't need a pilot

Got a pirate who might sail

Somewhere I heard far away

You answer me

So i'm holding on

To your rainbow sleeves

 

Well, goodbye boys,

Oh my buddy boys,

Oh my sad-eyed Sinatras

It'as a cold globe around the sea

You keep the shirt that I bought ya

And I know you'll get the chance to make it

And nothin's gonna stop you

You just reach right out and take it

You say - So long, lonely Avenue

So long lonely avenue

 

I'll see you there

Wait 'n see

Be lookin' for me

Just like you

Just like me

 

Lyrics R.L. Jones except 4. (with D.Kalish) and 7. (with S.Bernardi) © 1980, 1981 Easy Money Music / Reproduction for commercial use strictly prohibited

Testi R.L. Jones tranne 4. (con D.Kalish) and 7. (con S.Bernardi) © 1980, 1981 Easy Money Music / Riproduzione per usi commerciali vietata

HOME

Musica & Memoria is a for free web site targeted to the musical culture diffusion. Lyrics, comments and translations in Italian are included in order to improve the knowledge in Italy of the selected artists.
Original lyrics are included following present Italian law restrictions (see DISCLAIMER for detalis).
Please contact webmaster for any observation.

Musica & Memoria č un sito totalmente gratuito, dedicato alla diffusione della cultura musicale. Testi, note critiche e  traduzioni sono inserite allo scopo di far meglio conoscere in Italia gli artisti trattati.
La pubblicazione dei testi originali segue la attuale legge italiana sulle utilizzazioni libere (vedi AVVERTENZE per maggiori dettagli).
Scrivere al webmaster per qualsiasi osservazione.

IMMAGINI PUBBLICATE-I contenuti di questo sito non a scopo di lucro sono gratuiti, il sito ha lo scopo di diffondere la cultura della musica e le immagini sono complementari ai testi a scopo didattico, di critica e di discussione, come previsto dalla vigente legge italiana 633/41 sulla disciplina del diritto d'autore (art.70 del Capo V - Utilizzazioni libere). Per le immagini inserite non originali non č stata individuata in buona fede una restrizione di copyright. Qualora fossero a nostra insaputa sotto copyright č possibile segnalarlo al webmaster che le rimuoverą prontamente, se richiesto. Per informazioni dettagliate vedi il DISCLAIMER

PUBLISHED IMAGES - The contents of this non-profit site are free, the site has the aim of spreading the culture of music and the images are complementary to the texts for educational, critical and discussion purposes, as required by current Italian law 633/41 on the regulation of copyright (art.70 of Chapter V - Free uses). For non-original images inserted, a copyright restriction has not been identified in good faith. If they are under copyright without our knowledge, it is possible to report it to the webmaster who will promptly remove them, if requested. For detailed information see the DISCLAIMER