Right Before We Left
Copyright, Philip Radiotes.
Additional Instrumentation and vocals by John Paul Labno, Kristin Gundred, Lucas Caminiti.
Additional Piano by David Shankar
The Cowboy’s Own Silent Contradiction [lyrics][hide]
Before We Left [lyrics][hide]
Cedar Hill Bed & Breakfast [lyrics][hide]
The Dark, In A Different Light [lyrics][hide]
Bogota [lyrics][hide]
The Grocery Store [lyrics][hide]
Wake Up, Sally [lyrics][hide]
The Madisons [lyrics][hide]
The Wind & The Trees [lyrics][hide]
Long Way To Somewhere [lyrics][hide]
Goodnight, Little Mosquito Hawk [lyrics][hide]
Bachelor Boogie [lyrics][hide]
Lemon Pie [lyrics][hide]
Ode To Saint Teresa’s Finger [lyrics][hide]
Adam [lyrics][hide]
Poor Mother [lyrics][hide]
Allison’s Piano Blues [lyrics][hide]
We’re Following The
White Stripes [lyrics][hide]
Guess Who’s Back In Love [lyrics][hide]
they get you thinking that you’re never gonna get it together
they get you thinking that you’re never gonna fall apart
they get you thinking this is all gonna go on forever
they get you thinking that nothing’s ever gonna start
they get you worried
paranoid, insane and everything in between
they get you worried
so unsure of what anything really means
they get you thinking you should let off some of your steam
then they get you thinking that you’re full of hot air
they get you thinking you should always follow a dream
they get you thinking it would never lead you anywhere
they get you worried
paranoid, insane and everything in between
they get you worried
so unsure of what anything really means
they get you thinking don’t you ever play dumb
they get you thinking don’t you ever get smart
they get you thinking there’s nothing to be afraid of
they get you thinking you should never let down your guard
they get you worried
paranoid, insane and everything in between
they get you worried
so unsure of what anything really means
they get you thinking everybody wants you looking older
until they get you thinking everybody wants you looking young
they get you thinking of a lie, truth be told or
they get you thinking it was just a slip of the tongue
they get you worried
paranoid, insane and everything in between
they get you worried
so unsure of what anything really means
they get you going just as well as they get you coming
yes i declare that they would get you either way
they probably got you before you were even something
they’re probably gonna leave you on your dying day
they’ll leave you worried
paranoid, insane and everything in between
they leave you worried
so unsure of what anything really means
i’m leaving come sunshine
i’m leaving come rain
once you’re out on that road, boys
you’ll never leave it again
i’m fond of the locals
but only when i’m gone
can i really see anything
i’ve set my eyes upon
i woke up on the west coast
with the east on my mind
i think i’ve been at this crossroad
one too many times
they warn me this world’s
not what it used to be
well if it’s only spinning one way
i better act quickly
listen to that train come
rollin down the hill
i think of where it should go
i think of where it will
i think of my family
how they don’t understand
how many lies it takes nowadays
to be a real man
i know they’ll never be a way to say
what the future has planned
i may wind up all the way in Mexico
playing with a marachi band
i know how to do an oil change
i think i have a degree
maybe one of these day
it’ll come in handy
i’m leaving come sunshine
i’m leaving come rain
at cedar hill
we know we will
offer you the perfect way
for you to take a holiday
all of our visitors would surely recommend
old cedar hill to all their friends
cause every comment card suggests
they’d stay with us again
one man even went
so far as to mention
that we offer up the perfect blend
of candor, irresolution
and affectation
we were happy
once we got out the dictionary
and looked up his vocabulary
you need a place to rest your weary head?
you’ll be out like a light on one of our beds
never any squeaks in the mattress
extra pillows at your request
of any degree of firmness
and you can leave the place a mess
a continental breakfast muffin
isn’t our definition of home cookin’
at cedar hill
we’ve got a bit more more sense
and value your nutrition
offer more selection
we’ve got a hundred
volunteer chefs
in the kitchen
and at their best
overseeing your omelet
and we got another one
overseeing them
some places proclaim their excellent service
some places promise to treat you right
then it all comes out quite the pretty purchase
and their sprinklers keep you up all night
that would never happen at cedar hill
we have a very fine gardener named
manuel who waters manually
and never before 1 pm
just to avert such a problem
he’s just 16 but one day the kid
is gonna to be president
some places lure you in with the whole package
some places say they’re in the heart of it all
and try to make you forget that time-old adage
“never heed a blind rooster’s call”
well, our mission satatement is poetry
it would be Elizabethan honesty
supposing that we were to say
we’re right along the lake
we’d mean we’re right along the lake
you could rent and intertube or
even go fishing
but you wouldn’t catch a thing
oh you prefer a swimming pool my friend?
how’d you like the sound of a 12 foot deep end?
i’m sure you found, we don’t mess around
we’re talking heating lighting
and a bendy diving
board all for our company
to take a lap of luxury,
just soak those toes or splash around
don’t you worry, when you get out
we’ve got a lot of towels
we close for vacation july through june
We hope you will visit soon
Hello, December nice to see you back here
but you always make it ’round by the end of the year
you’re not quite welcome, i mean, you’re looking thin
i mean, close the door before the cold air gets in
in a place like this, default floods the mouth
all the light bulbs over our heads have burnt out
we’re not too sharp, can’t think a thing through
except an immaculate point of view
what’ll all do?
we’re gonna wait til the middle of the night
what’ll all do?
before we see anything in a different light
well now that’s not very smart
you can’t see too well in the dark
99 bottles of pills on the wall
take one down and the rest of them fall
watch the side effects skipping generations
as the rest relax with our medication
take the American, idle in his chair
biting on a bullet, breathing Victory air
with all the doors are locked, all the windows shut
so he won’t hear what’s said outside about us
what’ll all do?
we’re gonna wait til the middle of the night
what’ll all do?
before we see anything in a different light
well now that’s not very smart
you can’t see too well in the dark
big brother’s in the front room watching the pop news
little sister’s downstairs with the blue state blues
with all the agitation under one roof
its funny nobody even wants to move
but its just a matter of time
til we leave it all behind
somebody will come up with something new
that the rest of us will just ruin too
but i’ll never let my friends
cut me off again
especially when the light don’t shine
less for the fair darkness of wintertime
what’ll all do
we’re gonna wait til the middle of the night
what’ll all do
before we see anything in a different light
well now that’s not very smart
you can’t see too well in the dark
i wish i was back in bogota where everyone treated me right
i wish i was back in bogota where everyone treated me right
every thin line’s much thicker over there
they know how to care and stay out of your hair
i wish i was back in bogota where everyone treated me right
talking about a columbian visa
talking about a columbian visa
talking about an exile
even if for just a while
talking about a columbian visa
i wish i was back in bogota tonight
i wish i was back in bogota tonight
i wish i was back where my heartache
never meant anything to anybody
i wish i was back in bogota tonight
i wish i was headed back on that redeye flight
i wish i’d tell everyone saturday, saturday night
“i’m bound for bogota, i’ll be touching down tomorrow morn
where my wife and babies they are crying
i wish i was there to cry with them”
i wish i was back in bogota tonight
i wish i was back where it all was alright
i wish i was back in bogota
recover all my forgotten law
and i’ll fall asleep with my family tonight
i go to big old grocery stores
and get a lot of value to eat
put it in my bigger car
it cost a lot of the money
i like to keep it nice and clean
just in case anybody
is ever walking the street
or wants to go for a ride
i drove to my friend yesterday
on other side of the block
i wanted to see what he had in stock
i went to get some gas
i’ll wear alot of the fancy rings
until the trend is over
and when the trend is over
i’ll take the fancy rings off
i pay alot of the money
to talk about how good I look
i went to get some gas and then
i drove into the town
and then i started to talk some more
my friends they tell me “go back home
we don’t want to talk about you no more
we want to talk about us”
wake up, sally
baby your mail has come
wake up, sally
baby your mail has come
well your mama took most
but it looks like she left you some
your mother woke early
just so she could mow her lawn
then she put out a chair
and waited through a covered yawn
til her box was filled
and Mr. Postman was gone
well i don’t see much traffic
to the address no more
i just rummage what i can
from the family next door
i can survive on a bill
if i cover up who its for
hey baby
is there something inside of you
hey baby
is there something inside of you
worth giving up
and not just sleeping through?
i just reached down as deep as my hand could go
and found a postcard dated two months ago
wake up sally
you’re luckier where you’re at
than may ever come your way
and you can put a stamp on that
a wildfire’s raging
both sides of nature waging
holy war upon a mountainside
inadverant wrath
for whatever’s in its path
if caution isn’t excercised
the old folks smelled something
they could almost see it coming
and the youngest have yet to be notified
no time to talk
pack up your things and run
the madisons don’t have insurance
so we’re not the only ones
just like in a movie
does the smoke ever so smoothly
fade itself into a summer sky
and rolls its blanket down slow
over the city below
to perk a nose or burn an eye
that realization
mingles nicely with the din
of the fast approaching eye in the sky
one little match
could have made the brushland catch
we’re promised it’ll all be figured out
all the boys in blue
seem to always have a clue
just to keep those sirens way up loud
just about any person’s
on suspicion of arson
until concern or the heat die down
no time to talk
make up your bed and run
the madisons don’t have insurance
so we’re not the only ones
weatherman feels funny
always saying sunny
into the spotlesss camera lens
then with a very sly gesture
pull barometic pressure
straight in from the mountains
it’s such a quick sell
that it’s impossible to tell
where the commercials end and the show begins
they must have had some capital
up on that burning hill where all
the pretty little horses used to graze
well its covered with again
this time with firemen
on shifts that seem to last for days
but some big corporation
made a generous case donation
of name brand water for the blaze
no time to talk
make up your bed and run
the madisons don’t have insurance
so we’re not the only ones
bride is on the move
as the groom waters his roof
believing that he’s time to kill
and its factual for now
just take a look around
the hospital and school are standing still
though the children file out
with a skip and with a shout
in the spirit of a fire drill
as the bell begins to beat
for the closing of wall street
and trading embers back and forth
and selling you me and me you
out on madison avenue
at well below what we’re said to be worth
i’m not sure who its affecting
but one thing they’re neglecting
is you and i can still always head up north
no time to talk
make up your bed and run
the madisons don’t have insurance
so we’re not the only ones
it don’t matter, it just keeps going
gently down the stream, your boat’s a-rowing
look out now your knees are showing
better refund your sun tan
you make me go the wrong kind of crazy
you make me feel like the wrong kind of baby
you make me think you’re the wrong kind of lady
or i’m the wrong kind of man
cause ya told me the dodobird never flew
but she’s been on the air the breeze blew through
and them high schoolers trying to make curfew
or get as close as they can
cause if the wind blows trees
then so should we
sorry, hun, you gotta lie to kick it
now sit down nice and listen to the cricket
hold still, you winning lotto ticket
wait for me to call your numbers
put one on if you’re put off quick or
hold the floor like a misplaced sticker
hold your horses and your liqour
let go of last summer
and don’t ya tell me the dodobird flew
she been on the air the breeze blew through
and them high schoolers trying to make curfew
and keeping up their mothers
cause if the wind blows trees
then so should we
the lady’s vase stares vacantly
from the window where it lays
out to parked car bumpers
in a delicate embrace
another old time movie
flatters the painted walls
leaving us too obvious
for denial of it all
burnt matches in your pocket
and the unfamiliar tone
of honesty unspoken
since last you were alone
and i don’t know where nowhere
would ever really lead
but its a long way to somewhere else
when you don’t want to leave
i can tell a world of a love
no wish withholding
and i can clear a room out
without saying a thing
but theres no way to compromise
the heart i’m tethered to
and the flock of bird
peppering the sky behind you
for every moment passing
leaves no harder thing to do
and i don’t know where nowhere
would ever really lead
but its a long way to somewhere else
when you’re afraid to leave
goodnight little mosquito hawk
buzzing around my room
i have no one to sing a love song to
so i’ll sing one for you
the sky was a romantic blue
now its a much lonlier hue
leaving me here all alone
save for the company of you
it must be a comfortable life
to know you can pick up and fly
when the wall you’re hanging on
no longer catches your eye
i’ve seen a few beautiful things
but none like your little wings
i’d have you over anytime
you sneak through a window opening
i tired to tell a phone
just how it feels to be alone
i asked for advice but its only replies
were a steady dial tone
i won’t do like the average man does
won’t swat you for being curious
i don’t care what you move around
just make sure to leave it where it was
listen here baby let me sing a little song
don’t get mad i don’t mean no harm
if you don’t know the words you can sing along
cause this is gonna come out wrong
babe i ain’t marrying you
please don’t get mad at me
but i ain’t marrying you
please don’t get mad at me
i’ll do what you want me to
but just not to that degree
oh i know for certain you’d make a nice first wife
but i just ain’t ready for real life
if i told you once, i better tell you twice
i’ve forgotten how to be precise
babe i ain’t marrying you
please don’t get mad at me
but i ain’t marrying you
please don’t get mad at me
if i do what you want me to
you’d never let me be
now baby i come through like a new shoelace
you can count on me, any time or place
but let me lay a little secret on you
there’s probably another who can do it too
babe i ain’t marrying you
please don’t get mad at me
but i ain’t marrying you
please don’t get mad at me
i do what you tell me to
just not to that degree
don’t get down, baby, how’s this sound
I’ll love you til someone better comes around
babe i ain’t marrying you
please don’t get mad at me
but i ain’t marrying you
please don’t get mad at me
if I do what you want me to
I’d be gone already
all this talk of sugar
that i hear
makes me long for something sour
you’re the kinda woman
that i fear
would keep my lips puckered for an hour
before you agree
to slice a piece
of your little lemon pie
never have i ever
known a taste so bold
and I’m never getting near another
but I know you’ll keep me nourished
til we get old
and you’d rather hang out with your mother
to carp
and compare recipes
for your little lemon pie
my taste buds never told me no lie
you’re my one and only lemon pie
baby any other cook can try and try
but you’re my little lemon pie
bake it in the oven
300 degrees
get your scent in every room
you border on the bitter
side of things
but I know you’re yellow all the way through
and I’ll put up
with all your guff
for your little lemon pie
my taste buds never told me no lie
you’re my one and only lemon pie
baby any other cook can try and try
but you’re my little lemon pie
they can have my cake and eat it too
nothing ever tasted as tart as you
my taste buds never told me no lie
you’re my little lemon pie
it shuffled in like an empty train of thought
but for the Conductor, no one’s said to have caught
upon the platform waits a silence too loud
to ever be taken as anything but proud
and pining for the hope pouring out
from that sweet glow
the distance in your eyes show
please don’t go
how would i ever let you know?
her heat left and here the bill comes
nothing’s changed but the angle we see from
so settled is the scent of her touch
never has one sweetened with age as such
that every last voyage knows only
the way back through
and every sky turns into you
please don’t go
i only know the words for
what they can’t explain anymore
please don’t go
how am i supposed to ever overcome this?
how am i supposed to get it straight?
how am i to ever prove
a lie that only time turns true?
how am i supposed to know to wait?
what else do you expect?
what else could i say and stay honest
when only my heart beats the rest?
its a good thing we found adam!
he is the center of the universe!
the whole wide world revolves around him!
now i’ve fulfilled my life long search!
the world had a hold on me since high school
no one ever had a kind word to say
but now when I’m alongside adam
everyone gets out of our way
its a good thing we found adam!
he is the center of the universe!
the whole wide world revolves around him!
my life could have been ten times worse!
its a good thing we found adam!
he is the center of the universe!
the whole wide world revolves around him!
my whole life suddenly has some worth!
there’s always pretty girls around him
he introduces some to me
and though he tells them i’m his drummer
they don’t catch on too quickly
its a good thing we found adam!
he is the center of the universe!
the whole wide world revolves around him!
i think he should open up a church!
somebody got lost in the war
somebody got lost in the war
somebody got lost
gone for a soldier and to pay the cost
somebody got lost in the war
poor mother had no say in the war
poor mother had no say in the war
poor mother had no say
child came home in a letter one day
poor mother had no say in the war
somebody did bystand in the war
somebody did bystand in the war
somebody did bystand
inherits the beliefs of his homeland
somebody did bystand in the war
somebody got rich in the war
somebody got rich in the war
somebody got rich
having a cause is big business
somebody got rich in the war
somebody played boss in the war
somebody played boss in the war
somebody played boss
told the truth with fingers crossed
somebody plays boss in the war
somebody forgot about the war
somebody forgot about the war
somebody forgot
so another one had to be fought
somebody forgot about the war
he’s in a constant cartwheel, dressed like a diplomat,
calling with his eyes and setting out a welcome mat
he’s a victim of timing, too much and too early
if he calmed down an hour, be a reasonable mystery
but at 11 pm we’re all under her authority
cause her heart means business
as far as any eye would dare to see
she can comb out all her fleas in one fell swoop
who again turn inwardly for somebody to dupe
secretly they savor such an opportunity
to save her the trouble of validating
what, if she’s even a hint of, she would never let on
because her heart means business
free from interruption
she’s got her hurricane eyes, all calm and still
causing widespread unrest but never held responsible
she’s got soft smooth lips and relative hips
a full glass of fluency and she’ll give you sips
she walks just like she got the whole world in her backyard
if you stand her sights
it’s substance
on any other night
it’s just appearance
if her heart means business
it’s twenty feet of clearance
well i’ve heard it said “if you’re ever pretty and all alone
no use in talking you better be on a cell phone”
flea your reality for who we’re sure we knew
from little martha to big bad bill or runaround sue
people let me put you wise, i’ve been on the other end of this
if her heart means business
when she hangs up it sounds just like a kiss
you leave no patience for the city this late
but keep me up all night at the hobo estate
i can stand on my toes and i can stand on my head
i can tell the truth about lying in bed
but i feel like charles bukowski in the second grade
when your heart means business
your myth remains tailor-made
when you look in the mirror to see how you should feel
to bargain with vanity, keep your end of the deal
keep one eye on the clock and one foot on the scale
and turn all your confessions into a tall tale
like we’re all in a movie and waiting for the end
when a heart means business
it pays well to play pretend
well the hybrid sorta said to the Hummer
“you’re too big of an up and comer
you follow a stripe of just one color
i can do black or anything duller”
we’re following the white stripes
Bad Bad Leroy Brown in his treetop walk
wobbled to the street with a piece of chalk
saying “i draw stripes according to me”
the rain came down and disagreed
we’re following the white stripes
we all were laying down in the bottom of june
somebody managed to get a guitar in tune
we were clapping our hands and stomping our feet
singing “pop music is a one way street”
and “we’re following the white stripes”
well it’s true that we love one another
i love jack white like a little brother
i love the city and i love the Midwest
cause i heard that’s where they follow the best
we’re following the white stripes
my house was lit, my socks all match
there were inside jokes i was privileged to catch
the dull plates were sniffing at my spice rack
i was ignoring that, i was dealing blackjack
and following the white stripes
someone’s skunk was raising a stink
she lost her own and subsequently how to think
jumped in front of a big rig, closed the roads
cops waved traffic the only way left to go
we’re following the white stripes
there was a mutiny all over columbus’ deck
they called him a fake, a girl and a shipwreck
he said “take a look at history
i earned my stripes upon the high sea”
we’re following the white stripes
all of the water’s gone
and we’re running a marathon
we’re stepping out
gonna show you what this town’s all about
my gal can be such a flirt
when she wears that skirt
i hope to keep her in line
with this sweet talk of mine
and a smile
an out of work actor would be jealous of
flashin’ just to show
guess who’s back in love
Near or far
I’ve rented a Lincoln Town Car
and i’ll put her in neutral
open all the windows
we’ll roll around with
no particular place to go
from abc to xyz
it’ll be you i’m thinking of
let that sweet summer wind blow in
guess who’s back in love
half of you, half of you
is more than enough for me
what’ll i do
with all of you?
its so heavenly troubling
i’ve been so lonely
that i’d finally had enough
all of that has changed
guess who’s back in love
Order whatever you want
at the fanciest restaurant
these opportunities
don’t come along much
keep what you don’t finish
we’ll have it for lunch
I’ll get the bill
if I can’t have you someone else will,
that i’m sure of
but that don’t matter tonight
guess who’s back in love
half of you, half of you
is more than enough for me
what’ll i do
with all of you?
it’s so heavenly troubling
my eyes are open
but I see all I’ve been dreaming of
I wanna tell the whole world around
guess who’s back in love
yeah, guess who’s back in love
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