YOU ONLY LIVE ALWAYS
LYRICS
53
(Noel McKay)
When you’re 38
You wish you were a hot young thing but it’s too late.
You want to go back and be 20 again, even though you look better than you did back then, and you’re cooler than a snow cone rolling on a roller skate,
When you’re 38.
When you’re 53
You know you’re a whole lot smarter than you used to be.
You’re probably not good looking anymore but you look better than you will at 54,
So you might as well just let yourself be free
And be 53.
When you’re 69
They make a lot of dirty jokes at your expense, but that’s fine.
You probably don’t get it very much anymore but you get it more than you did at 54.
There are a lot of other lonely people who are drunk on wine
When you’re 69.
When you’re 101
You’ve been around so long all there is to do is have fun.
Be a dirty old woman, be a nasty old coot.
Everybody laughs at you and says it’s cute but you might still have a few years to spin around the sun
When you’re 101.
When you’re 202
You should have been dead for at least a hundred years now. Isn’t that true?
You’re never going to get tired of being alive and you’re always going to look like you’re 25. Old age is never going to be the death of you
Because you’re 202.
INTERSTELLAR RESCUE SERVICE
(Noel McKay)
I work for Interstellar Rescue Service.
My job is not exactly what it seems.
When I was young and thinking about going into space, well this is not exactly what was in my dreams.
Most times they’re glad to see me when I find them.
They often start to cry when I arrive.
I get there just as quickly as I can, but when I land, sometimes it breaks my heart to find that not a single soul survived.
Interstellar Rescue Service
Interstellar Rescue Service
Interstellar Rescue Service
The poster in the window was inviting.
It made this life look glamorous and cool.
They had a signing bonus that would go right in the bank and I was trying hard to pay my way through school.
They took me up and trained me as a pilot,
Then taught me how to work the big machine.
Now I rescue people half a galaxy away and home is just a planet that’s a number on my screen.
Interstellar Rescue Service
Interstellar Rescue Service
Interstellar Rescue Service
ARE YOU STILL TAKING THEM PILLS
(Noel McKay, Brennen Leigh)
Are you still taking them pills? Are they still giving you thrills?
Does your coat still sound like a maraca when you’re walking up and down around the Tennessee hills?
The prescription that you’re taking to the pharmacist is written on a stack of 20-dollar bills.
Are you still taking them pills?
I remember back when we used to take them and we’d feel them start to kicking in.
At first, you feel it tingle and then you feel it prickle like there’s something crawling on your skin.
I think they almost made us feel a little happy. I think they nearly made us feel like we belonged.
They’d set us working on something for an entire day, then we would talk about it all night long.
Are you still taking them pills? Are they still giving you thrills?
Do you still feel like you’re getting prodded by a hundred thousand nasty little porcupine quills?
When your mind is like a cyclone eating satisfaction but it empties out as quick as it fills.
Are you still taking them pills?
You know, it’s strange how time can change a person.
Just yesterday, it seems like, we were getting high.
Now I’ve been clean for years but, to be completely honest, I still think about it all the time.
But, wait, I think you don’t remember how you know me. I’ve gotta say that you don’t really seem the same.
You know, you ought to hang it up 'cause by the look that’s on your face, I think you wonder how I even know your name.
Are you still taking them pills?Are they still giving you thrills?
Outside, there’s a thin man staring at you.
Can’t you see him leaning on your window sill?
I’m afraid we might read it in the paper that you’re pushing up the daisies and the daffodils.
Are you still taking them pills?
YOU ONLY LIVE ALWAYS
(Noel McKay)
When I was you and you were me, I had a cat and an apartment.
In the loneliness department, I put in overtime.
Worked every night and every weekend until I dove into the deep end and I broke your heart in two
When you were me and I was you.
When you were me and I was you, in southern France, we ran a cafe.
During the war, we fled to Calais, and then to Monreal.
For 60 years, or maybe longer, you clung to me. Guess I was stronger.
But your heart never left Le Puy when I was you and you were me.
It doesn’t matter if you think it’s not true.
Every molecule that’s making up you
Comes together and it breaks apart too
Again and again and again and again.
The leaves that fall become the earth beneath the trees and in the spring they get turned back into the leaves.
I tried telling you in small ways.
You only live always.
When I was you and you were me, I only lived once as a soldier.
And so I only got to hold you for a little while.
The battlefield, alone in Zion, I said your name as I lay dying with the final breath I drew
When you were me and I was you.
THE MOTEL KING
(Noel McKay)
I come rolling in off the highway at a quarter to nine. At the office, I get my key. The room is just fine.
I can tell that it hasn’t changed since 1973.
So I take off my shoes, I lock the door and watch black and white movies on the color TV.
Tomorrow morning, there’s a diner next door for some breakfast and some hot coffee.
Tomorrow night, another town, but it’ll be the same old thing.
That’s what it’s like to be the motel king.
THE IMPERMANENCE OF THINGS
(Noel McKay)
The sun dies in its glory, and so the night begins.
The moon will shine, and so will pull the tide both out and in.
Once again, snowflakes will spin and flutter on a silent pair of wings and it shows me the impermanence of things.
A mother walks with a little kid in the waves and on the sand.
I stand and cry and smile to see them laughing hand in hand.
My mother cannot hold me now but I still hear the lullaby she sings.
She sings of the impermanence of things.
And you’ve got your cotton candy on the carousel of time.
Take the pony, and the tiger, and the seahorse for a ride.
At break of day, the stars will fade to deep resplendent color,
But as the years go by I feel my senses growing duller.
So I’m making up the difference by just watching what each tiny moment brings and it shows me the impermanence of things.
A WORLD WITHOUT HUMANS
(Noel McKay)
A world without humans is coming someday.
You might think that that is a sad thing to say but our rapid advancement has brought rapid decay and a world without humans is coming someday.
A world without humans might be coming real soon,
Keeping one souvenir, a little flag on the moon and a cute little car on a grey lunar dune.
A world without humans might be coming real soon.
A world without humans May be here before long.
The earth will go back to its old sleepy song
As God contemplates just where and when God went wrong.
A world without humans May be here before long.
And a world without humans is bound to arrive
As we ruin the very things that keep us alive.
In the end it might just be ourselves that we cannot survive.
A world without humans is bound to arrive.
A world without humans will have sunshine and rain
And a sky that will never know a missile or a plane.
Tall buildings stand a little while but even they will not remain.
A world without humans will have sunshine and rain.
And a world without humans will keep spinning through space
As all sorts of new creatures are taking our place.
They’ll contemplate the heavens with dignity and grace.
A world without humans will keep spinning through space.
THE BALLAD OF TOMBSTONE POKER
(Noel McKay)
You heard about the soldier, don’t cuss, he don’t drink, he don’t cheat.
His name’s Tombstone Poker.
He could whip the stuffing out of every single battle-hardened, rough-necked, drunk chain smoker.
He’d trick you into thinking that you’re winning when you’re drinking but, when all the chips are down, you’re in the doom zone.
Your money he’d be keeping when he said “read em and weep” and that’s the way he got the nickname ‘tombstone’.
Out there in the jungle we were smoking, we were drinking, we were sweating playing Texas Hold ‘Em.
Someone would always try to get him drunk but every time he’d shake his head and he’d refuse and scold em.
You think you’ve got enough but then you find that he was bluffing.
Man, you should have seen our awestruck faces.
None of us was folding and the hand that he was holding was a big bouquet of winning aces.
Tombstone Poker was a soldier.
His real name was Private McGee.
He could beat you at a game of poker faster than you could count to three.
If you would have met him he’d have told you “Leave them bad habits be. Cause if you do then you can have a winning hand every time just like me”.
A firefight one evening came when everyone was sleeping except for Poker who was stone-cold sober.
We’d all be killed in action unless he made a quick distraction so the barricade, he hopped right over.
He drew the fire away and every one of us was saved except for Tombstone.
Brother, that was his ending.
The enemy had shot him. Then a hand grenade had got him along with every cent of his winnings.
SHE'S ALWAYS A WOMAN TO ME
(Billy Joel)
She can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes. She can ruin your faith with her casual lies and she only reveals what she wants you to see. She hides like a child but she’s always a woman to me.
She can lead you to love. She can take you or leave you. She can ask for the truth but she’ll never believe you and she’ll take what you give her as long as it’s free. She steals like a thief but she’s always a woman to me.
She takes care of herself. She can wait if she wants. She’s ahead of her time. And she never gives out and she never gives in. She just changes her mind.
And she’ll promise you more than the Garden Of Eden. Then she’ll carelessly cut you and laugh while you’re bleeding. But she’ll bring out the best and the worst that you can be. Blame it all on yourself cause she’s always a woman to me.
She’s frequently kind and she’s suddenly cruel. She can do what she pleases. She’s nobody’s fool. But she can’t be convicted. She’s earned her degree. And the most she will do is throw shadows at you but she’s always a woman to me.
IF YOUR HEART AIN'T IN IT
(Noel McKay, David Olney, Brennen Leigh)
Eve told Adam “there’s something you should try. A scoop of ice cream on some apple pie. Mmmmmm, on some apple pie.
Don’t want to boss you around or tell you what to do. You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to. Mmmmmm, if you don’t want to.
If your heart ain’t in it
If your heart ain’t in it
If your heart ain’t in it,
It’s just a waste of time.”
Napoleon said to Desiree “Can I have this dance?”
She said “Yes you may. Mmmmmm”.
She said “Yes you may.
Let’s do the Lindy Hop. The Black Bottom too. I know a little joint down in Waterloo.
Mmmmmm down in Waterloo
Chorus
“Davy Crockett, come on, let’s go. We’re going to a place called The Alamo.
Mmmmmm, it’s called The Alamo.
Bring your musket, your extra pair of pants.The Mexican army don’t stand a chance.
Mmmmmm they don’t stand a chance.
Chorus
“Motel room, the edge of town,
You slip out when the sun goes down.
Mmmmmm when the sun goes down.
Love can be a risky game.
If you played it safe it wouldn’t be the same.
Mmmmmm it wouldn’t be the same.
Chorus
AN OLD COWBOY IN SPAIN
(Noel McKay)
Some years from now, when I’m working the circuit, I’ll be an old cowboy in Spain, ordering drinks with my Mexican accent and falling asleep on the train.
I’ll never blend in with my boots and my turquoise, at festivals, dance halls, and bars. Searching the shops and the Spanish flea markets for an old, used flamenco guitar.
Far far away from the South Texas border, seeking uncharted terrain.
An old cowboy in Spain.
Learning the dances and dialects there from people I meet in the towns, who’ll give you a smile when it’s really a smile, and a frown when it’s really a frown.
Far far away from the South Texas border, seeking uncharted terrain. An old cowboy in Spain.
An old cowboy in Spain.
LYRICS
THE 50 LONELIEST PLACES IN THE NATION
(Noel McKay)
The fifty loneliest places in the nation are some places that I’ve been to.
They only earned that status because I got my saddest when I went to them and spent some time without you.
Exotic places, well, I’ve known some. These are some that I made lonesome when you broke my heart and I went on vacation.
They’re the fifty loneliest places in the nation.
St Louis makes me bluest. St Paul just makes me bawl. Niagara Falls might be the worst of all. Schenectady, oh woe is me. San Clemente, tears are plenty. In San Antone my heart sinks like a stone.
In New Orleans the days are mean. In Mandeville I miss you still. In Baton Rouge my mind’s filled with regret. Los Alamos, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and the Florida Keys. I’ll never dance again in Lafayette.
CHORUS
Grand Forks, Gulf Port, Galveston, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Madison, Muskogee. When I weep my sobs are noisy.
Portland, Oregon, Portland Maine. Ponchatoula near Ponchartrain and I can’t seem to shake the blues in Boise.
Kansas City, Kankakee, Walla Walla, Waikiki. Louisville, Kentucky at the races.
Juneau, Joplin, Jamestown too. Chicago, Cheyenne, Kalamazoo. I guess I’ll have to go some other places.
Atlanta, Santa Ana, Cincinnati, Texarkana, Tacoma, Houma, Yuma, Union City. Albuquerque, Albany, Asheville, Nashville, Tennessee. I feel so forlorn that it’s a pity.
New York City, Newport Beach, I’ve been there and cried in each, still I’m glad I beheld each lovely sight. And, I suppose, it would be rude if I neglected to include this city that I’m standing in tonight.
SLEEPING IN MY CAR
(Noel McKay)
I’m so tired of sleeping in my car.
I’m so tired of sleeping in my car
But some bad decisions got me where I are.
I’m so tired of sleeping in my car
But it ain’t so bad. I got a place to spend the night.
No, it ain’t so bad. I got a place to spend the night.
I just lay me down in the back seat out of sight.
It ain’t so bad I got a place to spend the night.
At the gas station I wash my face and hands.
At the gas station I wash my face and hands.
Run a comb through my hair and I’m a brand new man.
At the gas station I wash my face and hands.
When I wake up with a flashlight in my face,
When I wake up with a flashlight in my face the police say I’ve got to park some other place.
When I wake up with a flashlight in my face.
I appreciate this more than I can say.
I appreciate this more than I can say
But it’s just a couple nights and I’ll stay out of the way.
I appreciate this more than I can say.
I’m so tired of sleeping in my car.
I’m so tired of sleeping in my car.
You can stay at my chalet when I become a movie star.
I’m so tired of sleeping in my car.
I know some bad decisions got me where I are.
I’m so tired of sleeping in my car.
FLYING AND FALLING
(Noel McKay, Guy Clark)
I can’t remember if I said a prayer or a curse but the ground was coming at me like some mean old lady’s purse.
I knew however much it hurt, getting up would hurt me worse but it would make me wiser if it did not kill me first.
CHORUS
Flying and falling and flying again.
If you’re a whooping crane or a jet airplane or just a leaf blown by the wind. From the time you’re brought into this world until the day you reach the end
It’s all flying and falling and flying again.
The passersby who gathered round said it didn’t look too good,
That the fall would probably kill me and I was wishing that it would.
They all pitched in and carried me straight to intensive care
But all that I could think about was getting back up in the air.
CHORUS
To chart the safest course through life is no kind of life at all.
You’ve got to take the chance even though you might be terrified to fall,
To see this planet’s curvature and be sure the world is round.
Just gliding for a moment is worth colliding with the ground.
REAL COWBOY
(Noel McKay, Brennen Leigh)
A real cowboy’s got some busted up knuckles. Don’t you want to be a real cowboy?
And a fake cowboy wears a thousand dollar buckle. Don’t want to be a real cowboy.
A real cowboy sorta feels like a failure. Don’t you want to be a real cowboy?
A fake cowboy pulls a fancy horse trailer. Don’t want to be a real cowboy.
CHORUS
It’s just like the movies and the TV shows.
It’s the greatest job in the whole world.
Every night I ride into the red sunset
And I always get the girl.
A real cowboy has to work all summer.
Don’t you want to be a real cowboy?
A fake cowboy drives to the beach in his Hummer.
Don’t want to be a real cowboy.
A real cowboy eats a can of cream corn.
Don’t you want to be a real cowboy?
A fake cowboy eats Filet Mignon.
Don’t want to be a real cowboy.
CHORUS
A real cowboy’s got some fingers gone.
Don’t you want to be a real cowboy?
A fake cowboy wears too much cologne.
Don’t want to be a real cowboy.
A real cowboy lost his ranch to the bankers
And a fake cowboy owns them big oil tankers.
OPEN ALL NIGHT
(Noel McKay)
Well, you know that the highway’s my very best lover and she’s ready for me anytime I’ve got her on my mind.
She’s long, dark and skinny with her hot breath blowing on me. Black, smoky hair gets me going every time.
CHORUS
She’s got my nickname tattooed on her thigh. Two in the morning and I can see a flashing light. You see my left arm? It’s tanner than my right and the sign says “Open All Night”.
Every hundred thousand miles or so my mind goes crazy and I swear I’m gonna break up with her every now and then.
Her feet out the window and her sweat, sexy toes with the chrome nail polish, I just take her back again.
CHORUS
Well, I might age slower if I don’t stop moving. When I turn eighty-seven she’ll still think I’m seventeen. We’ll still get it on like some drunk holy rollers who get turned on by the smell of cigarettes and gasoline.
CHORUS
BLUE, BLUE, BLUE
(Noel McKay)
There’s a dream that I keep having, the day we met, the same old place. She speaks her name. She’s beautiful. Her hair spills round her face. That day seemed like a dream to me but in a dream it’s real. I didn’t mean to let on just how confused I feel. When I wake up I feel lost. The dream is through. She haunts me with her eyes. They were blue, blue, blue. She haunts me with her eyes. They were blue, blue, blue.
We could never keep the sand out on the shore. It collected in the sheets and on the tile kitchen floor. It clung tight to her skin. It was salty on my tongue and rubbed against all of the places where my sunburn stung in that house we shared on Pink Shell Avenue that overlooked the sea. It was blue, blue, blue. That overlooked the sea. It was blue, blue, blue.
And so, I drove her to the airport with so much weighing on my mind. Said she’d come back soon to claim all of the things she left behind. All the reasons that she gave me burning in my ears. I had a hundred reasons she should stay behind my unshed tears. She kissed me one last time and then she flew and disappeared into the sky. It was blue, blue, blue. And disappeared into the sky. It was blue, blue, blue.
SOMEBODY, SOME WAY, SOMEWHERE
(Noel McKay)
The mariachis whisper in the moonlight.
There’s a hot wind blowing softly through the window screen tonight
And you’re lovely when you’re dancing with the starlight in your hair.
I know you’re loving on somebody, someway, somewhere.
Los mariachis cantan a lo lejos. Una brisa muy caliente, de repente sopla ya. Pero quien te está tocando en el bello atardecer.
Yo se que estas cariñosa con otro querer.
So I guess I’d best get started finding better things to do so that I’m not going crazy wondering who’s been touching you when your eyes say that you love me but, behind that pretty stare,
I know you’re loving on somebody, someway, somewhere.
Yo se que estas cariñosa con otro querer.
I know you’re loving on somebody, someway, somewhere.
Well, I might age slower if I don’t stop moving. When I turn eighty-seven she’ll still think I’m seventeen. We’ll still get it on like some drunk holy rollers who get turned on by the smell of cigarettes and gasoline.
CHORUS
LURLENE
(Noel McKay, Becky Warren)
CHORUS
Lurlene, aw Lurlene. Don’t wanna tell you goodbye, my little sweet honey pie, but baby, I can’t have you treating me mean. Don’t make me do it Lurlene.
When I met you, Lurlene, you were practically a kid. If anyone knew how to get their way, Lurlene, you did
But then we settled down. You put that selfishness aside. I never dreamed that stubborn streak was still mile wide.
CHORUS
I got my big promotions as the days rolled into days. You took care of the kids until they finally moved away. Now I’m burning TV dinners every night of the week while you’re curled up with a copy of The Feminine Mystique.
CHORUS
You’ve got a job, you’ve got a car, you act like someone else. Can’t take care of the house and I can’t take care of myself. You’ve got business cards, expense accounts, you’re asking for a raise. Darling, won’t you please tell me that this is just a phase. Lurlene?
GET A BAG OF ICE
(Noel McKay)
When you start wishing the air condition hadn’t broke down and died, all you want to do is open up the freezer door and just stick your whole head inside.
Not a cloud in the sky, the temperature’s so high the thermometer might go “pop”. Make a grocery list. Man, you gotta insist on the thing going at the top.
CHORUS
Get a bag of ice. That’d sure be nice.
It’s a twenty-pound bag of cool paradise.
I’ll make a jug of iced tea. It’s too hot for me, oooweee! Get a bag of ice. It’s a sweet little luxury.
When you start sweating, it’s time for sitting on the porch with a ceiling fan.
Some cool river dipping or some shade tree sipping on the cold drink in your hand.
In the heat of summer there’s nothing dumber than going to market twice. Stopping off for beer, listen to the cashier; “Don’t forget to get your bag of ice”.
CHORUS
PAWNEE WALTZ
(Noel McKay)
Back in Pawnee, we were still wild and free and we clung to each other like the sand to the sea. Now those days are nothing but an old memory. Twenty years cold, but they’re still warm to me
And your memory still steals me away.
Back to the dances by the old football field where we parked in my mama’s old grey Oldsmobile. Back before we had troubles and before we had faults. And the band played the old Pawnee Waltz.
Your memory still steals me away.
CHORUS
When we danced the old Pawnee Waltz.
We danced the old Pawnee Waltz.
You might not remember but I still recall how we danced the old Pawnee Waltz.
Now the TV is busted and the floor moans and creaks. There’s a stain on the ceiling where the pipe upstairs leaks.
The couple next door to me argues and fights and I miss you plenty on these hot Ft Worth nights
Buy your memory still steals me away.
Sometimes I just lay here as the hours go by, listening to the screaming and to their baby cry. Then I miss our babies, although they have grown. When I think of you, I don’t feel so alone
Because your memory still steals me away.
CHORUS
WHEN THIS TOWN WAS COOL
(Noel McKay)
“Kid, how long you been here?” This old man says to me. I said “I moved here thirty-two years ago, maybe thirty-three.” He sadly shook his head and said “Let me make one thing clear, you haven’t lived here long enough to really be from here. Do you remember when this place was Chico’s Bar And Bungalow?” I said “No sir” and he said “Well, there you go. When they threw me a retirement party, that was where it was and the reason that I took the time to tell you is because, back before that, this was another place called Barbara’s Box Of Blues but first, it was a joint, Del Río Leo’s BBQ. My friends and I would all sneak in the back door after school and that’s the way it was back then, when this town was cool.
CHORUS
“You missed all the good times and the good days have all passed by. Man, I don’t even recognize this town. You missed all the good stuff. It was good before you showed up. This town was cool before you came around.”
Well, just about that time, this other old grey man sat down. He took out his hearing aid and it made this squealing sound and he said “Kid, you must have found this feller over in the lost and found. He hasn’t been here long enough to know his way around” and he told him “Man, you got it wrong! Del Río Leo’s was uptown. Back then this was a cowboy bar called Six Feet Underground. During prohibition it was in a cellar out in back but first, this was The Thirsty Mule on that side of the tracks. There used to be a lot of fights and the cops were mean as hell but pretty girls were everywhere. Man, that place was swell. I lost five hundred dollars in there one time, just playing pool and that’s the way it was back then when this town was cool.
Well, that’s about the time that I was getting up to go when this third old-timer stumbles up and says “No, no, no! The Thirsty Mule was gone by then. You’re thinking of Drunky McGee’s. I ought to know. The dude you lost five hundred dollars to was me. Now, Drunky was a lawyer and an undertaker too. He’d get you hammered, nailed, thrown in jail and then embalm you you’re through. Drunky McGee’s burned down, you know, but I can’t recall the year. It used to be a bank but before that none of this stuff was here. There was this big old oak tree where the river curved around. Before the man who built the bank came here and cut it down. We’d never even seen a car, a buggy or a mule. Before they built the store, the bank, the courthouse or the school. The buffalo would come down and sip water from the pool. Nobody walked around here making up some stupid rules. Back before two morons would shoot each other in a duel. Before sushi, before tofu, before gravy, grits or gruel and I never dreamed I’d meet you bunch of lazy, crazy fools. And that’s the way it was back then, when this town was cool.
CHORUS
YOU OUGHTA WRITE A SONG ABOUT THAT
(Noel McKay)
When I was twelve years old I broke my arm getting kicked by a cow on a dairy farm. The fellow that owned it wore a pork pie hat. You ought to write a song about that.
My grandma used to call my grandpa “gramps”. He made a fortune selling old, rare stamps. He ate like a horse but he never got fat. You ought to write a song about that.
CHORUS
I’ve got a good job, working all day long. I’ve got no time for writing little songs. Maybe someday I’ll turn on my TV and see you singing this song that was my idea.
My aunt lived in Poland during WWII. Escaped from the Germans in an old canoe. Moved to Minnesota, had a hundred cats. You ought to write a song about that.
I heard about a kid that said he was the best. Won a golden fiddle in a fiddle contest when he beat the devil in a minute flat. You ought to write a song about that.
Or a guy in California on a desert route, gets a hotel room but he wants to check out. They won’t let him leave the party where he’s at. You ought to write a song about that.
CHORUS
I know it takes savvy and lots of luck to make a good song make a million bucks, and when you do, don’t forget about our little chat, and that I was the one who said “You ought to write a song about that.”