Baltimore. DC jazz vocal

original lyrics

anchor

i fell, and how - there was nothing i could do - and worst of all, you fell in too - and now i see it was old, from the beginning

how fast, how far can man be fooled - we stayed apart and hell broke loose - and i was strong enough to know that main attractions go - nobody’s got heart, but ask us how we are

everything’s fine - everything’s over in time - everything’s fine - it’s only a moment gone by - everything’s fine - as long as I know you’re alive - everything’s fine - everything’s over - everything’s over in time

haven’t got a feeling now - i’m in the air without a care - everyone is far away, and everyday I hope they stay

broken teeth blues (eleanor's lament)

(music by amy shook, lyrics by felicia carter)

the trip that i’ve been on is almost through - when everything went wrong, we went there too - i wish i’d never laid my eyes on you - the good times that we had have come and gone - the people in my head don’t get along - and even when i’m dead i’ll be singing this song:

you can’t love anybody if you won’t let them be, and accept who they are - because what comes in question, becomes a court session - of who did what, and what to who, and on and on, - til love is tried

you try to deny it, but the facts won’t justify it

the bridges that i burn turn into a road - the visions that i hear say it's time to go - you can tell the whole wide world this bird has flown

call to me

in your heart there’s a window, looking into your memory - there’s a light in the dark night, from the one you are longing to see

if you want me beside you as you walk through this perilous life - call on me to provide you with peace as you stumble and strive

call to me - when you’re lost and alone - call to me, and I’ll guide you back home

don’t believe fools who tell you that vision depends on the eye - for the beacon inside you will outshine the stars in the sky

in your heart, there’s an answer to the question of where I have gone - just as far as a winging bird - just as close as the love we have known

call to me - when you’re lost and alone - call to me, and I’ll guide you back home - call to me - call to me - call to me

complicated woman

i'm a complicated woman - i've got a lot on my mind - you may not understand me but we're sure to have a real good time

i'm full of contradictions like a bird that hates to fly - when i don't have any money - that's the time i love to buy

i like green grass all around me - but the city's in my blood - and when it's time for crying i can guarantee a flood

i like to wake up early, but go to bed real late - and when I’m getting ready - that’s the time you’re gonna wait - (just wait, honey...)

if you are a good boy - i’ll smile and aim to please - but if you’re bad, you’ll be begging “darling!” on your knees

i'm a complicated woman - i've got a lot on my mind - you’ll never understand me but we're sure to have a real good time

feather

walk out of here and into the sky - nothing to fear just give it a try - when you begin the lesson is in the learning

when you were younger you weren’t such a fool - will you get old and have nothing to do? it’s all been done so simply just do it again, Amen!

every day is a chance every hour is a dance of freedom - yes it’s all in your head so just let it descend away - softly like a feather floating down a stream

if you keep dreaming then there’s quite a coup - look at the world like a magnet in bloom - everything near is everything far away

golden

i am onto you - i am right behind you - from the moment that i saw you - you are golden, you are mine

we are weak, we adore you - every hope is in your view - there’s a garden we could show you with a million butterflies

this feels like a disaster where no one will be saved - no, there’s no ever-after - so put on your game face

lovely one is what you are, and the rest are all a waste - they clamour for a ticket to be near you, but no one can command the price i pay

good then

(music by bob butta, lyrics by felicia carter)

wherever you’re goin’ honey, i wanna go i wanna go with you - whoever you’re knowin’ baby, i wanna know, i wanna know ‘em too - cuz you are a dream that’s livin - you are like a movie that is coming true

there isn’t a day alive you’re not on my mind, i always think of you - & everything in front of me - i see your face, & i just can’t be blue - oh, even the rain is sunny, anywhere you go, in anything you do

you fill up my life with magic - everywhere you are it’s like a Mardi Gras - you make me believe in heaven, birds and bees, & wishing on a star - you wanna know something, honey? i'm in love, i'm in love with you

hooray for you

i see you’ve got an ocean of money in your hand - a mirror full of sunshine, and the world at your command - you’ve got a gold key to any city and every country - hooray, hooray for you!

on the day you were born the stars were aligned that noone else could ever be so perfect or sublime - the doctors crowded in to pluck your chinny-chin and how your momma cried; “hooray, hooray for you!”

when you went to college you got a scholarship - not for your athletics or your academic trips - but just to have you there - your presence in the air - and now they’re ivy league! hooray, hooray for you!

you took an expedition up to the northern pole - but then when you arrived the place was just too cold - so they turned the heat way up until it was one big tub -but it was no trouble at all - hooray, hooray for you!

when you go out walking people stop and stare - they just can’t help themselves they lose their senses in the glare - it’s just like magic! it’s almost tragic - how do you do that thing? hooray, hooray for you!

when you get to heaven & stand at the pearly gates - just tell them who you are and you won’t even have to wait - if there’s a long, long line you’ll be just fine - all the angels will sing, “hooray! hooray for you!”

hurricane

believe me baby, i’m a hurricane - i’ve got a fire tornado here inside my brain - there’s nothing like me that you’ve seen before - just the thought of my knock’ll blow down your door - my knockin’ is shockin’

don’t have to wonder you can see it in me - can you take the thunder? can you take the heat? some people run because they’ve gotta go when a force of nature like me scares ‘em so - it gets hectic, electric

but it’s all very well - it’s like ringing a bell - as the clouds run on into the sea - in the heavens above there are little white doves that are singing a song just for me

the cats meow and the dogs all howl - they’re the true believers they perceive my power - it doesn’t matter if it’s day or night what a big commotion when i come in sight! they sing me a symphony

sometimes it’s clover and sometimes a curse, no routine to follow or be rehearsed - i shake it down and make the city swoon - i’d love to show you now but i’ll be leaving soon, so some day …yes! one day…

cause it’s all very well - it’s like ringing a bell - as the clouds run on into the sea - in the heavens above there are little white doves that are singing a song just for me

lorelei

i know how the moon became a shadow of a grey - how her hungry heart ignited having led the way - seven seas began to drum the silence in her ear - the sirens sounded one by one

now the park is empty - crowds have gone away - now the town is sated - so be on your way

sing a song of misery, sing a song of old - take your passion from the flame and turn it into gold - if you seek, then you shall find the treasure all will hold: a secret only good when told

now the park is empty - crowds have gone away - now the town is sated - so be on your way

louise

could i be mistaken or has everything here become like a game where every rock is unreal - we walk in a daze pretending all that we feel in a bubble - excuse me you say, can you come back again? love is an anchor and there’s never an end - a push and a shove that will send me sailing into cycles

but i set it on fire (oh no) - i set it on fire (oh no) - i set it on fire (oh no) - i set it on fire

tempting the devil with an organ of sweets - stepping down into a field of release - living for nothing and paying no fee on arrival - first it was boredom but now its escape - out of the ordinary everyday "what do you do?" "did you know?" "who do you follow?"

no - I set it on fire (oh yes) - i set it on fire (oh yes) - i set it on fire (oh yes) - i set it on fire, watched it blow away

is this a religion or a philosophy - taking missteps with irretractable ease - a ticket to nowhere pretending to present an idyll

when I set it on fire (oh no) - i set it on fire (oh no) - i set it on fire (oh no) - i set it on fire, watched it blow away - i watched it blow away

mad boys

the day the 40’s came to town you weren’t around and we were needing - from restless quiet and the tall cool empty bottle of our reasoning - for a song, for a song, for a hazy song to send us all a-reeling - we watched them come and watched them go but never knew when they were leaving - and in the air there was a flow of something deeper down and seething - of a man growing old, of a love never told, that left us grieving

mad boys, mad boys

the rapture of the sound they made became an anthem of a season - spinning tribe, a treasure trove of all we knew we’d been deceiving - when the mad boys set down even the descent into hell becomes appealing - all those things we forgot we loved - the dirty bacchanalian pleasure - dancing in the face of hope, dancing in the face of failure - as if everything that was wrong became the ammunition of our mirth and laughter

mad boys, mad boys

we let the crazy lady in - she wouldn’t take no for an answer - even when threatened with a knife she turned around and said; “what’s your problem? with the mad boys around even you, my little darling, become charming.” - i went home at 4 am ‘cause my old man was green with envy citing my weakness for guitars and men when women are outnumbered - even suicidal sue lost her head - we left her in the pool – she’s crying

mad boys, mad boys

he said he heard the levee break and felt the heartbeat of disaster - is that something you can shake or does the sound become your master?

mad boys, mad boys, mad boys, mad boys - when the mad boys come to town even the descent into hell becomes appealing

nothing to do

i don't see what the fuss is about - i don't care if i never go out - i'd rather stay here with you, baby

we've been there and it's nothing to shout about - it's like rain pouring out of a spout into the river - it just flows away from you

if we've got nothing to do, what a dream come true - we'll have an endless honeymoon - we can watch the world, and laugh while it turns blue

we could sing love songs, as the night goes on - til the neighbors holler about us carrying on - as the stars float by, we'll say goodnight to the moon

i want to stay in your arms everyday - every time that you kiss me, i pray - don't ever go away from me

sos blues

there are two kinds of people when you hit the bottom end - there are two kinds of people when you hit the bottom end - there are those that capsize you and those that grab for your hand

i hear you talking to me, but the words aren’t making sense - i can hear you talking to me, but the words aren't making any sense - take a step outside to listen, and let’s drop all the pretense

it was a dark, stormy sea - i could barely tread water - it was a dark, stormy sea - i could barely tread the water - i nearly lost my name and that i was someone’s daughter

i sent an s.o.s. to all who loved me - i sent an s.o.s. to all who loved me - and lo and behold - they threw a ring of love around me

i didn’t hear your voice, i couldn’t see your light - i couldn't hear your voice, i didn't see your light - and now you're telling me, no, you weren’t turned on that night

now the water's looking fine, and you want to jump back in - now the water's smooth and clear, and you want to jump right back in - but your big sharp teeth aren’t welcome next to my brand new thick skin

step lightly

(music by joe henderson, lyrics by felicia carter)

the people come, the people go - when you’re left alone you’ll know - for some it’s only just a show, with no solos - i’m nowhere and i’m here - it’s just me singing, and when i get low - i step lightly

when day is done i lay in bed - the cavalry invades my head - in Technicolor stereo, they burn and glow - it’s a dream, but it’s real - it’s the night singing, and when i can’t fly - i step lightly

today

here’s the morning - feel the dawning - see the sunshine at your door - no more waiting - excavating all the things you’ve said and done

another year is gone - one more rotation has taken us around the sun - are your curtains drawn? the show is on…come on, come on!

doesn’t it feel so good to be alive? today is yours - isn’t it just a lovely way - to know you’re wonderful, at all?

city sidewalks - signs and steeples - miles of people line the way - all the hustle, all the hurry - til there’s nothing left but hate

but there’s a moon above - it pulls on the ocean and swims in a night of love - can you hear the tune it sings to you, to make you new?

doesn’t it feel so good to be alive? today is yours - isn’t it just a lovely way - to know you’re wonderful, at all?

useless blues

we all know the song "nobody knows you when you’re down and out" - well, i can tell you that it’s true - for, in my life i have found out

people will call you crazy - yet they've been there all their lives - they will call you many things - to make themselves feel better on the inside

i’ve been told and told the many things i have done wrong - but i didn’t say a word - because i knew it was their only song

useless people, needing you day and night - but when it’s you’re time, you won’t find them anywhere in sight

people, people - they’ll kick you when you’re down - so be careful who you swim with, in case you start to drown

whale

by the river the horizon stretched for miles like the surface of a flat thin dime - we were talking of a certain emptiness that travels in the blood of all mankind

how revelatory seams thrown together form a life - how we conjure up our dreams from the fury sewn inside - how we could be divine

while the wind carried shadows of the sun like a yawn into a brimming bowl - we recognized how every battle ever won became a midnight parade of bravado

how love will drag you deep when given half the chanc - love will steal the beat, just when you thought you knew how to dance - love, like a whale

a procession of possessions when we climbed over grains of sand marching in a line - the heaviness of the peaceful space of time weighed on our backs and on our minds

as we stumbled to the town the blush of evening arrived - to feed the hunger coming down, to hush the rumbling desire - we rummaged for the wine

when it matters most

(music by Amy Shook, lyrics by Felicia Carter)

every second is a story - every minute a poem - and every hour the sweetest lifetime, whenever you’re close

all these turnings - all these seasons - we play time, and rhyme by rote - but only when a heart has caught on fire, will we ever know

know what this bliss is - even though it comes at such a cost - what heaven is this - that can only glow when in the dark

let the song end - close the curtain - tell the people, “go home” - and steal a moment of a true love, when it matters most

winter's wait (esperando)

(portuguese lyrics by felicia carter & ines pereira)
me vem na primavera - a cara esperança - me leva ate ao outono quebrando meu coração - Dizem que na primavera se encontra a promessa - mas enquanto o verao danca o inverno espreita

it comes to me in springtime - the hope they hold so dearly - it takes my hand ‘til autumn when it breaks my heart completely - i’ve heard it said in springtime - that’s where our promise is - but winter waits on everyday the summer wants to live

you don't have to be brilliant (to mesmerize me)

(dedicated to Alberta Hunter)
you don’t have to be brilliant to mesmerize me - throw me over your shoulder - swing me around in a tree - i don’t need a man with a high IQ - it isn’t what you know, but what you know how to do - you don’t have to be brilliant to mesmerize me

you don’t have to be genius to thrill me with ease - all that high education doesn’t rival “savvy” - who says a man should strive to be astute and complex - when all he needs to learn is to please the fairer sex - you don’t have to be brilliant to mesmerize me

when i met the doctor i went weak in the knees - he was long, tall, and handsome and he dropped all my fees - but later in the night without his stethoscope - in anatomy, the doctor didn’t have but a hope - you don’t have to be brilliant to mesmerize me

once i knew a man, he was a physicist - he told me that my DNA was in a twist - but when he tried to show me what his theory was about - he didn’t have a clue how to iron it out - you don’t have to be brilliant to mesmerize me

i fell in love with a man in genetics - but sadly he abhorred calisthenics - he said, “Honey, let’s let the beguine begin...” - but when he ran out of steam, i cried, “Make me a twin!” - you don’t have to be brilliant to mesmerize me

you don’t have to be genius to thrill me with ease - throw me over your shoulder - swing me around in the trees - i don’t need a man with a high IQ - i’ll settle for a caveman, with a half of a clue - you don’t have to be brilliant to mesmerize me