HOME • DISCOGRAPHY • ILLUSTRATION • PHOTOGRAPHY • PHOTO ITALIA • PHOTO USA • MIXED MEDIA • ADDENDUM • CONTACT


THE TEMPERS PERFORM
THE BEST OF MAURICE MATTEI
VOLUME 3 (LYRICS)

MINUTES SEEM LIKE HOURS
53 COUNTS
MY BABY LEFT HERE WALKIN'
WESTERN SKIES
I WAS A STRANGER THERE
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GEORGE?
CARNIVAL DELIVERY
LET ME KNOW
CRUEL MASTER
BREAKDOWN LANE
BANKERS & BROKERS
THE DAILY RIOT
STRANGE NEW DANCE
MADE A MESS OF IT
DEAD RAILS
I WANT IT BACK
JACKIE'S BAMBALANCE
SOMEDAY, THAT'LL BE ME
WELCOME TO RICHMOND PARK DOWNS
CAN WE LEAVE WITHOUT BABY?


MINUTES SEEM LIKE HOURS

I's dodgin' all them bullets
down at the shoppin' mart
but when the clerk stuck his knife in me
it nearly broke my heart.
You gotta watch your back girl
'cause no one else here will.
You can't help sleepin' at the wheel
when time is standin' still.

Minutes seem like hours, hours seem like days,
my hands are shakin', my feet are made of clay.

They're rollin' up the sidewalks
and I done thought it through.
Ever since they closed the Chatterbox
there ain't been much to do.
Sittin' on the rooftop, hopin' for a fight
but in the jungle, the quiet jungle
the lion sleeps tonight.

Minutes seem like hours, hours seem like days,
the bridge is out and the sky is turning gray.

On my way back into town I ran into your man.
He told me he was Knoxville bound and then he shook my hand.

The clock is stuck on midnight
or maybe it's half-past.
I spent all day tryin' to find my pulse,
there it is at last.
Those lights across the highway,
I shot out one or two.
Renee panicked when the law came by,
what else is new?

Minutes seem like hours, hours seem like days,
I wanna move but you're standin' in the way.

[TOP]


53 COUNTS

They got word of the way I was heading,
they caught wind of your scent in my hair.
Though I covered the tracks I was treading
somehow someone saw they were there.
Of the nine, to this day, they have sent three
to collect the past debts that are due.
They got 53 counts held against me
and each one of them, darling, is true.

I hid out, trying to lose them in Covedale
'neath the blossoming Sycamore trees.
Robbed a newsboy for money to post bail
but a stranger said, "Son, if you please,
there's no silver or gold that will undo
what you did to the lady so fair.
With the 53 counts held against you
you can't barter to pay back your share."

Left a note for my brother last night late.
It read, "Jim, I'll be back here by dawn."
Got myself in a scrape out near Queensgate,
when I got back my brother was gone.
Grabbed a bottle of rye from the table
and your lovely black velvet band.
With the 53 counts, were they able,
they would take me down here where I stand.

Have you noticed a change in the weather?
A strong wind is blowin' through town.
It's tearin' through buildings and rippin' out trees,
lifting them up off the ground.

I would never have come here, but listen,
are those footsteps coming my way?
'Cross the river that flows as it glistens
much like it did on the day
that I came to this place without knowing
what I'd find as I rambled around
down the side streets where others were going,
it was you, all alone, that I found.

[TOP]


MY BABY LEFT HERE WALKIN'

My baby left here walkin',
took everything that she owned.
Packed up her clothes in a suitcase,
left me here sittin' alone.
Some of my friends tried to tell me
but I never thought that she would.
My baby left here walkin',
said she was gone for good.

Where can she be, how I wonder.
Is she alright? I don't know.
We had some words between us,
I said the wrong thing, I suppose.
It seemed to happen so quickly,
I didn't have time to explain.
My baby left here walkin'
but I still love her the same.

Nights are so empty without her,
what in the world can I do?
It's such a long time since I've seen her,
I guess that we're really through.
Could it be she's found another?
Well, I can't think about that.
My baby left here walkin'
and I don't think she's comin' back.

[TOP]


WESTERN SKIES

Everything is blood soaked under western skies,
everyone I look at stares back with empty eyes,
my pockets are full of money, I don't even know why,
all day long I'm watchin' cars go by.
Climbin' the steps to get up to the roof,
those young men must think that they're bulletproof,
don't tell me, I don't want to know the truth,
all I want to hear are lies ...
you look good under western skies.

Thought I was livin' right but I was wrong,
I think I've been around here way too long.
Some people stay a while and then they're gone,
me, I don't go nowhere, I just hang on
until there's nothin' left for me to do
except to trail behind someone like you.
Everything's different now but nothin's new
and I can't say that I'm surprised ...
I'm livin' under western skies.

It took me too long to make up my mind,
it's no good thinkin' I got left behind,
it's my own fault, please don't waste my time,
I've got a lot to do, can't you see that I'm
on my way out the door? I got a date
with Miss Dupree over on 8th and State,
I'm in a hurry now, I can't be late
but I'll be back before sunrise ...
somewhere under western skies.

[TOP]


I WAS A STRANGER THERE

Lovely dancers on the floor,
it was all that they could do
to keep dancing as before
though the music wasn't through.
I asked my friend to explain but he just stared,
I was a stranger there.

We jumped through a ring of smoke,
landed on the other side.
With a few uncommon folks
and though my eyes were open wide
I couldn't seem to find my way back anywhere,
I was a stranger there.

What I've seen comes back to me
as if it were a dream.
Things may be what they claim to be
but they're seldom what they seem.

When we caught the last ship here
I had plans and I must say
one by one they've disappeared
but that was yesterday.
What's the worry? What's to wonder? Why should I care?
I was a stranger there.

[TOP]


WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GEORGE?

Whatever happened to Pat? I heard he went to the war.
I wonder if he came back and if he did what did he come back for?

Whatever happened to George? With the wig-hat on.
Everybody on board, let's go an' find out where he's gone.

There's a lot of talk about him publishin' a magazine.
But then somebody told me they saw him workin' at a Dairy Queen.

I was chattin' with Lou about a high-flyin' crowd.
Carrie, Billy and Sue, I wonder what they're doin' right now?

I need to find an angle, my circuits got all tangled, I can't play
that old harmonium, come on and gimme some or go away.

I shot a cannon down the center of Mainstreet late last night,
'bout when Shaneekwa Green was askin' Butter Bean for a light.

Whatever happened to George? that skinny kid.
You're awake? Well, I'm floored. I wonder what that kid done did?

[TOP]


CARNIVAL DELIVERY

I was born in Dunham, Texas,
born with ramblin' on my mind.
When I grew up I thought I'd move out East
to see what I could find.
It was hard at first, I must admit,
'neath the lights of ol' Broadway
until I hooked up with a man
I'm working with today

on a carnival delivery, was it you who ordered clowns?
It seems we stop here every time we're out makin' 'rounds.

Tony in the Bronx he wants
to see the flying trapeze.
His brother Joey can't resist
a circus made of fleas.
Across in Staten Island
Julie wants a trotting horse.
"They're out of stock," my partner says,
"but we'll find you one, of course."

on a carnival delivery, was it you who ordered clowns?
It seems we stop here every time we're out makin' 'rounds.

Palaces line Central Park in the setting sun.
We make deliveries after dark, our work is never done.

The juggler goes to Eddie
in Queens, remember him?
He hadn't called us in a year,
I wonder how he's been?
Spinning plates in wooden crates
bring gaiety and mirth,
it's little things, I found, that make
the greatest show on Earth

on a carnival delivery, was it you who ordered clowns?
It seems we stop here every time we're out makin' 'rounds.

It's a carnival delivery, I nearly had to laugh,
the drunk magician grabs a sword, cuts the pretty girl in half.

[TOP]


LET ME KNOW

If your good ol' friends fill you full of lead
And drop you to the bottom of a river bed,
Howlin' at the moon while you're sinkin' down,
Gimme a call, maybe I'll come around.

Let me know.

If the man you love turns his back on you
And throws you in a dungeon, cuts you half in two.
Burns your house down, robs you blind,
Pass the word along if you find the time.

Let me know.

Well you may be hungry, you may be poor
You may be crawlin' from door to door.
Lookin' for a handout, a place to sleep,
Sellin' your wares on a downtown street.

Let me know.

Pray for deliverance, pray for release,
the salvation you bought, well, it might be fleece.
Swing down chariot, swing down low,
it doesn't matter darlin' where you go.

Listen for the bloodhounds, keep a low profile.
Move down the line if someone tells you, "Stay a while."
Locked inside the tombs across from Hudson Bay,
Tryin' to hitch a ride down the lost highway.

Let me know.

[TOP]


CRUEL MASTER

Sometimes these sleepless nights, they fill my head,
starin' at the ceiling, laying in my bed.
the crowd next door I can hear 'em through the wall.
A young man's barkin' like an old bloodhound
and Miss Audrey's bringin' the hammer down,
it's a wonder I can sleep at all.
That's when get myself back on my feet
and go out ridin' down these empty streets
an' when I'm all alone, that's when I hear him call.

He don't waste time, don't show no sympathy,
sometimes I think he gets the best of me.
On the turn off into Detroit once again.
Walkin' the street outside some downtown dive,
Mama's little boy with the pale gray eyes.
I might be wrong but could it be he needs a friend.
Tell me, where else is he gonna go?
If it ain't me somebody else, I know,
will be spending time with him on the losin' end.

Please don't talk 'cause I won't listen
and don't you move without permission.

Ragged clothes, a mess'a tangled hair,
layin' low, no money anywhere.
Look here, Mama, look at what your boy done found.
He ain't too pretty but I think that's alright.
I hope he don't want to put up a fight
'cause if he does I'm gonna have to beat him down.
Ain't that the same thing that you would do
if my cruel master had his hooks in you?
You'd be on your knees every time he came around.

[TOP]


BREAKDOWN LANE

The lights of the city look pretty from the overpass.
Cars are drivin' by, some of 'em are goin' real fast.
I'm takin' in the sights from a different point of view,
'cause things don't look the same
in the breakdown lane.

I thought Miranda told me we'd be gettin' home by dawn.
We hit a few snags, somethin' must'a gone wrong.
Got some money in my pocket but that ain't gonna get us too far
and it's lookin' like rain
in the breakdown lane.

Straight ahead tell me can you see
a cloud of smoke from up above comin' down on me?

The whiskey in the glove box, can you pass it my way?
That ginny's backin' up, I hope they ain't plannin' to stay.
Truth is honey, I ain't dressed for company
and we're all outta champagne
in the breakdown lane.

Maybe I should leave but I'm standin' still.
Just because I said I'd go doesn't mean I will.

The lights of the city look pretty from the overpass,
the wind is pickin' up, I wonder how long it'll last?
I got a hand full'a dust and a head full'a nothin' at all
but there's no need to complain
in the breakdown lane.

[TOP]


BANKERS & BROKERS

Locked inside the Dalton for the night,
I'm playin' Bankers & Brokers in the hall.
If you make a bet don't ask me for a light,
I'll strike a match and raise a cannonball
'cause I'd been wonderin' who you were
since you walked out of that room
and now I'm still not sure
so you better step away before the next hand drops,
I don't know what I'm playin' for but it might be a lot
and if you start to lean on me I won't stop.
It'll be just like that day
on Monterey Bay.

Stuck the Queen of Diamonds up my sleeve,
she was a tawdry tart and Mama told me so.
I hope nobody here is set to leave,
if you are, tell me where you're gonna go.
'Cause the rain keeps comin' down
an' I been waitin' all night long
for the boy I sent to town
to bring me back some sugar in a little silver tin,
I don't know where he's goin' and I don't know where he's been,
if you see him in the passway let him in.
Then maybe when I'm through
I'll give some to you.

40 days and 40 nights is such a long, long time
to be waiting in this station for the sun to shine
when you're half blind
but I don't mind.

'Cause any day now i been told we'll all be paid
with cash money comin' up from Dixieland
but right now I think I'll pass the Jack of Spades,
I did my best but I can't shake this losin' hand.
If I only had a slice
of Melissa's cherry pie,
she served it up so nice.
I know that you remember what I'm talkin' about,
you were sittin' right behind me, she came walkin' out
dressed like a school girl, lookin' for a castin' couch.
Then again, I could be wrong.
You might have been gone.

[TOP]


THE DAILY RIOT

The common standard is too hard to keep.
I fell below that line some time ago.
I do my best work when I'm half asleep,
at least my darlin' tells me so.
She threads the needle while I walk the floor,
stares at the ceiling from behind the door,
waiting for ...

The daily riot. The daily riot.
Would it be true, should I admit
that I will leave if I can't quit
The daily riot?

My head is spinning from the altitude.
I've thrown it all away and it's a shame.
If you were in my place you'd love the view
but I can't say I feel the same.
A gang of two receives polite applause
for giving orders and amending laws,
finding cause ...

For the daily riot. The daily riot.
A plot uncoils from where I sit,
the curtain rises bit by bit
on the daily riot.

We counter to a counterfeit
contract that does not permit
the daily riot.

[TOP]


STRANGE NEW DANCE

Well, there's a strange new dance
that I only do with strangers.
You better call the bambalance
'cause I don't mind the dangers.
You know, it makes me want to laugh
when I hear people talkin'
'Cause when a black cat cross my path
I just keep on walkin'.

I wanna go somewhere I've never been.
Hey, Miss Lady, let this stranger in. I'll pay in advance.
Let's do a strange new dance.

If I get hit by lightning
or cut in two with a butcher knife,
It might be a little frightening
but, you know, I'll still feel all right.
They hung me down at the old town square
but I kept on kickin'.
When I got loose I started dancin' there,
I guess I just wasn't thinkin'.

I wanna see something I've never seen.
Hey, Miss Lady, do you know what I mean? Gimme another chance,
let's do a strange new dance.

Come watch me pirouette
between the bombs and the bullet trails.
Please excuse my bloody epaulettes,
I'll be here waitin' while you do your nails.
Underneath a tidal wave,
under a landslide, watch me disappear.
You might think that I am brave
but, really, I'm just tired of standin' here.

I wanna do something I've never done.
Hey, Miss Lady, no, I'm not gonna run, not while I'm in a trance.
Let's do a strange new dance.

[TOP]


MADE A MESS OF IT

I did the time, I know I did;
got nothin' but regrets.
Sold it for the lowest bid
but you must not forget
to write me from your seaside home,
call me when you find a phone,
post your notes to parts unknown,
if you come please bring a comb and kit;
I made a mess of it.

The lamp light grows dim.
That's all I got to say.
Why let the big girl in
if she don't want to stay?
I been suckin' on the shortest straw,
makin' a list of everything I saw,
one step away from my kitty's claw,
'til she jumped up & cut me on my jaw and lip;
She made a mess of it.

This room is filled with smoke,
it's hard to believe.
I'm on the wrong end of a rope
but I don't want to leave.
We're tap dancin' in a minstrel show,
she's Miss Hey-Dee-Hey, I'm Mr. Hi-Dee-Ho,
look at all the ladies in the front row,
everybody says it's not where you go, it's where you sit;
I made a mess of it.

[TOP]


DEAD RAILS

I been livin' at Shelley's, doin' stand up at night
and that lady on Sunset Strip, that's no whore, that's my wife.
We been playin' the circuit, we don't get home 'til dawn.
Every time I think I won't go back but I keep ridin' on

these dead rails, dead rails.
Girl, you look pale, couldn't make bail,
been ridin' the dead rails too long.

What'd you say 'bout my girlfriend? How would you even know?
Step back up on the ledge, young man, I'll be waitin' below.
Some are here for the bounty, some are here for the show.
Pay the fare before you walk in, lock the door when you go

on those dead rails, dead rails.
You're on the wrong trail and you're bound to fail,
been ridin' down the dead rails too slow.

All I want is a bridle and a horse that'll run
in a half-track of rivals, short of 14 by one.

Lisa needs a connection, she got stars in her eyes.
Maybe we should be gettin' her help but nobody here tries.
Why you lookin' so puzzled? What's'a matter, you lost?
Have a seat, keep your hands to yourself, turn the waterworks off
on these dead rails, dead rails.
We'll be settin' sail in a full force gail,
gonna take the dead rails across.

[TOP]


I WANT IT BACK

Everything is more or less the same
as when you left about a year ago.
A dew drop hangs out on the window pane,
my car is still stuck out there in the snow.
There's something that I think I gave to you,
you took it and you put it in your sack
before you headed out for somewhere new,
I gave it up and now I want it back.

I had a list of things to do today,
I lost it somewhere, wonder where it went?
There's always something gettin' in my way,
someone wanting money I already spent.
But if you'd take a look I think you'd see,
I think I wrapped it in a cloth of black.
It wasn't much, I know, but honestly
I gave it up and now I want it back.

The men in charge won't let me know
if I should stay or I should go
and I can't make a move until I hear.
There's work upstate, I guess it's true
and that may be what you can do
but I can't make a move until I'm clear

of debts I owe back to the company,
I pay up every time they come around.
I need some sugar, need some jasmine tea,
but no one here wants to go to town.
So if you'd take a look I think you'd find,
before you head back down that railroad track,
I gave you something you must leave behind,
I need it now and I want it back.

[TOP]


JACKIE'S BAMBALANCE

I never thought I'd fall for that
skinny-legged workin' man's wife
'til she showed off her wares
and I give her my ratchet knife.
We were quite a pair in the ol' café
'til I got tired of her down home ways.
I went back to the street,
she went back to her country life.

I gotta get things together
whenever they fall apart.
Let's have another round
'cause Jim, I don't know where to start.
Lanny says we gotta take it from the top,
he's losin' light an' needs a money shot.
I thought we did it already
well ... maybe not.

Sometimes I fall asleep when I'm in my bed.
Then I wake up laughin' over what you said.
I'm not Mr. Clean, yeah, I understand.
But try an' fix your face darlin', if you can.

In the middle of nowhere,
man, that's where I'd love to be.
With the turks and the trollops,
the birdie flyin' up in the tree.
Get busy and find me a rack a' lamb,
cook it up for sister if you can.
When she left for work
that was the last thing that she told me.

She's been bringin' home the bacon
from her 6 to 5 at Gotlieb's mill.
Says she gonna quit soon
but I don't think she ever will.
Isn't it pretty when the paychecks come,
when the money's gone, everybody runs,
no more ramblers and gamblers
stickin' their hands in the till.

If you line 'em up I can shoot 'em down.
I may not look tough but I been around.
I don't run the cards like everybody else does,
not like some ol' has been that never was.

I took a ride through the city
in Jackie's bambalance.
She shakes a sweet money maker
but you gotta pay her in advance.
She got a voice like a siren, better keep it brief,
got gold teeth rattlin' on a funeral wreath
so roll them bones
and stop givin' the lady grief.

[TOP]


SOMEDAY, THAT'LL BE ME

He stumbles through Baxter's and calls for the maid,
loosens his collar and wonders if the salesgirl's been paid.
Like a cheap glass of brandy, the scent of vermouth,
I hear he was once quite the lad, now, that can't be the truth.

"But," you said, "my darling, I swear that it's true
and someday, that'll be you."

His horse came in limpin' but he wants to collect.
He always delivers much less than you might expect.
A crowd gathers 'round him, he ignores everyone.
Says,"you'd be doin' the same thing if you were me, son."

Now I have to wonder, how can it be
that someday that'll be me?

He lives in a house that his mama once owned
but there's no point in us droppin' by 'cause he's never home.
He spends most of his time in a gin dive uptown,
eyein' the waitresses legs and orderin' rounds.

Come look in this mirror, I still can't see
how someday that'll be me.

[TOP]


WELCOME TO RICHMOND PARK DOWNS

It's been such a long time,
it's hard to believe that you're here.
But please come inside,
you look a bit tired, my dear.
I haven't had time to keep up with the news,
last I heard weren't you eastward bound?
Come on in, have a seat,
welcome to Richmond Park Downs.

I lost your connection
somewhere down the line, way back when.
And I never thought
you'd ever come by here again.
You had lots of plans, many places to go
with your friends out in ol' New York town.
That's the high life, I hear,
welcome to Richmond Park Downs.

I wish I could tell you that things here have changed,
there's not much in Richmond that's new
and where I'm concerned the routine's the same,
how different things must be for you.

You must tell me all of the things
that you've done and you've seen.
Was the world that you found
the same as the one in your dreams?
This may not be the time, I suppose that you're right,
I'm just glad that you came back around.
Get some rest while you're here,
welcome to Richmond Park Downs.

[TOP]


CAN WE LEAVE WITHOUT BABY?

Can we leave without baby?
She'll be fine on her own.
It's getting late and I wanna go home.

I'm up early tomorrow,
it's already past two.
I can't wait here much longer for you.

She seems to be quite at home in this crowd
that gathers 'round her, you must be so proud.

Can we leave without darling?
There's no reason to stay.
She won't miss us if we slip away.

Looking at her, now it's all very clear.
She seems to say, "What are you doing here?"

Are you more or less listening?
She's alright, can't you see?
There's nowhere she'd rather be.

Can we leave without baby?
I'll be there, by the door.
I don't know what you're waiting for.

[TOP]


All songs written by Maurice Mattei
© 2007 Maurice Mattei


HOME • DISCOGRAPHY • PHOTO ITALIA • PHOTO USA • MIXED MEDIA • ADDENDUM • CONTACT