All They Know (2022)

WASN’T A PLAN

 

When I was a kid I wanted to save the day like superman

Travel to Tahiti like that guy Gauguin

See the earth from space

Be a rocket man  

I don’t know what brought me to this place but it sure as hell wasn’t a plan

 

I've been to the southwest canyons, the ruins of the Yucatan

Stood in front of art by Botticelli and Rodin

Safaried in Zimbabwe, walked in Gandhi's land   

I don’t know what brought me to this place but it sure as hell wasn’t a plan

 

Did magic shows in Spain with wordless sleight of hand

Sat in with Muddy Waters in a blues club jam

Walked across that bridge from Selma to Birmingham

I don’t know what brought me to this place but it sure as hell wasn’t a plan

 

Some peoples’ lives are a straight road to the summit

Some of us go wanderin like a chaos Muppet

 

I don’t know what's comin next-  

I got no diagram

I sit and watch my grandkids build their castles in the   sand

I see their futures beckon like a neon hologram.  

I don’t know what brought me to this place but it sure as hell wasn’t a plan

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ALL THEY KNOW

 

One grandkid sleepin on my chest 

The other’s runnin in the yard 

All they know is love and laughter 

They don’t know that life is hard 

There’s so much I want to teach them 

But it’s not time for that just yet 

So this song is theirs for later  

Right now, some secrets must be kept

 

CHORUS Play with your friends,

Make angels in the snow

Dance and sing and always know

That we love you that we love you

 

In this life we all stumble

We fail we fall

There are days when nothin makes any sense at all

Sometimes you will get lost

Keep goin till you find your way

Someone will break your heart

You keep movin toward the day

CHORUS

 

You will make your share of mistakes

Make them right, then let them go

And there is one more thing

That I want you to know

This world will try to teach you fear

It will try to teach you hate

Please remember what I’m sayin

You keep loving anyway

CHORUS

 

 One grandkid sleepin on my chest 

The other’s sittin on my knee 

All they know is love and laughter 

That’s the way their lives should be (repeat last two lines)

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LOVE ON SIMMER

 

There are songs of love so wonderful  

There are songs of love so bad 

There are songs about the one who left and left you feelin lonely 

And the one who left and now you’re feeling glad

We have heard these songs a thousand times   

So I think today 

I should sing a song about a love, a love that’s just okay

 

The twins are eatin corn chips for their dinner 

There are two reports I’ve gotta write

We got bills to pay if we can figure out which ones must be paid to night 

The car started leakin something gooey

The dishwasher just blew a fuse 

And I’m trying real hard to remember how I fell in love with you

CHORUS If we can't be lovers, I hope we can be friends

Let’s keep our love on simmer til we can boil gain

 

Our new babe’s an air raid siren   every night at two o'clock 

On my way to rock her I step on a lego and my swearing wakes you up 

I remember lazy Sunday mornings   with loving slow and deep 

Right now I’d be in ecstasy if I could get one full night's sleep.

CHORUS

 

I can’t get back to sleep and in my late night ruminations

I am jealous of our friends and their   Instagram vacations

We won’t be going to that cottage by the shore

But I’ll distract the kids while you lock the bathroom door

CHORUS

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ALWAYS COMING HOME

 

Been out on the road much of my work life

Spent a lot of time away from home and you

Nowhere I can walk, unfamiliar food

Only one thing gets me through

 

CHORUS When I'm far away from you, I don't feel alone (cause)

In my mind I'm always comin home 

In my mind I'm always comin home

 

Chaos in the airport ran from gate to gate

Flight took off without me; no way to make it wait

Hungry and exhausted I’m tryin to hang on

By lookin at your picture on my phone.....

CHORUS

 

Sleeper train in India narrow upper bed

Nothin I can eat or drink a pounding in my head

Taxi to my guesthouse and get my webcam on

Your face shines through like the sun..

CHO

 

I see you on the webcam I hear you on the phone

I think of you and I don't feel alone.

(Cause) In my mind I'm always comin home

In my mind I'm always comin home

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STRONGER THAN THE BLOOD

 

They named my grandpa David Allan Davies

They named my daddy David Allan two

When it was my time to join the family tree

You know they named me David Allan three

 

I remember fam’ly dinners at my grandma's

Her brothers reminiscing over food

Telling me their stories of those who share my name

The troubles that my people overcame.

 

I can almost hear them singing in the local

Smell the coal seams burning underground

I can almost see the dogs gathering the sheep

These veins of family memory run so deep

 

Now I am the older generation

I sent my DNA off to a lab

I know all the stories that my family tells

And I've found another chapter in my cells

 

They named my dad after my grandpa

My grandpa raised him as his own

I think my grandpa knew and chose the path of love

The bonds of heart are stronger than the blood.

The bonds of heart are stronger than the blood.

 

They named my grandpa David Allan Davies

They named my daddy David Allan two

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SHE WANTED TO SING

 

She was sixteen in Harlem

The music was everywhere

She flirted her way into clubs to hear singers 

She smiled and she shook her hair

 

Cab Calloway; Sinatra’s syncopation

Bei mir bist du schon; her musical temptation

She wanted to sing; she wanted to sing

More than anything, she wanted to sing

 

(She had) auditions then the depression

Her dad ran a grocery store

He sold the food to his neighbors on credit

Until there was no more

(She) took a job in a factory

(Put her) music on the shelf

(She thought) when your family needs you, you can't think about yourself

She wanted to sing; she wanted to sing

More than anything, she wanted to sing

 

(She) married my dad in the 40s

Then he shipped off to war

She sang her heart onto records to send to the guy she waited for

He came back (they) started a family

She was a mother a wife

This was post war pre feminism (those) roles took over her life

She wanted to sing; she wanted to sing

More than anything, she wanted to sing

 

(She had) 78s in boxes dusty with her dreams

On a shelf down cellar

Who knows what that means?

Sometimes when I’m performing

(And) I get in a groove

Might be my mother’s spirit makin that music move

She wanted to sing

She wanted to sing

More than anything, she wanted to sing

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AN OAK IS JUST A NUT THAT STOOD ITS GROUND

 

Oak tree soars above the forest floor

Three times as tall as giraffe

If I told you this tree was once a nut

I guess you’d have to check my math

Squirrel buried acorns forgot about a  few

One nut put down roots and grew.

CHORUS: an oak is just a nut that stood its ground

(It kept) eatin' sun drinkin' rain,  reaching for the crown.

An oak is just nut that stood its ground

  

In our work for justice on this planet

We are often two steps forward one step back

Like a locomotive climbing up mountain

Sometimes we feel rooted to the track

Every generation moves the fight ahead

Hands the torch on to the next

To do our best is all we can expect.

CHORUS

 

Many drops of rain wear the mountain down

Brick by brick a building rises to the clouds

 

When your path seems too hard to travel

When your hill gets too steep to climb

Take one small step rest and take another

Move ahead little at time.

CHORUS

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I MIGHT GET HURT

 

My woodstove has a caution label

Sayin it gets hot

My vacuum cleaner has a warning

Booklet in its box (in six languages and three alphabets)

(It said) don’t carry this appliance by its cord

Don’t vacuum up hot embers or gasoline

You know what I mean…

CHORUS If I vacuum I might get hurt

If I vacuum I might get hurt

I could learn to live with dirt

If I vacuum I might get hurt

 

The state of California knows

This product causes cancer

And reproductive harm

The list's as long as my arm

Must not vacuum in loose clothing

Must unplug to replace parts

After all, a shock could hurt my heart

CHORUS

 

I could do the dishes but scrubbing hurts my hands

Fumes from chlorine cleaner affects my thyroid gland

If I go to the dump I might lose stuff I need

I think instead of cleaning I should sit right here and read

CHORUS

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THE BUSKER IN THE SUBWAY

 

He was buskin in the subway with his back against a post

Invisible to people walkin by

Trains were rumblin under commuters went to work

(They were) Thinkin bout their projects and their   lives.

He closed his eyes and sang and

His head began to sway 

To the music as he played.   

 

His fingers wove around two broken guitar strings 

The hallway tiles were cracked they smelled like beer

Stiletto heels were tappin out

The rhythms   of the   city

While his music filled my   ears

He closed his eyes and sang and

His head began to sway 

To the music as he played.   

 

I sat down to listen and

A smile came on his face

In a moment of unexpected grace 

 

He talked about his wife “I cheated did her wrong”

Finally she left me don’t know how she stayed so long

Then he said my drinkin drove away my son"

He   slowly strummed some chords and sang 

I never meant to hurt no one

He closed his eyes and sang and

His head began to sway 

To the music as he played. 

 

I got up and joined the crowds in motion

Headed for my home it was the time

As the train went through the tunnels

With the stations flashin past

His words kept ringin in my mind:

I have caused some pain with the things I've done

But I never meant to hurt no one.

I have caused some pain with the things I've done

But I never meant to hurt no one

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THAT’S WHAT HE DOES

 

When they were first together, Helen used to wonder

Is this what a marriage should be like?

He never says I love you; I wish that he would say it

Is this the way I want to live my life

 

Cause Helen's husband's always sharpening his chainsaw,   

Straightening the toolbox, workin in the shed

Helen’s husband’s always polishing the   windshield..  …

That’s what he does

 

Helen's husband's always cleanin out the gutters,   

Caulkin round the windows, 

Touchin up the trim,

Helen's husband's always sweepin off the front porch

That’s what he does

 

Helen’s friends are talkin bout him at the theater,

He never gives you chocolate he never asks you out

We don’t understand why you’re stayin with him

How did you wind up with such a lout?

 

Helen's husband's always settin out some mousetraps,   

Oilin squeaky hinges, whackin down the weeds,  

Helen's husband's always diggin in the garden …

That’s what he does

 

Helen's husband's always takin out the garbage,

Scoopin out the cat box, vacuuming the floor

Helen's husband's always cleanin up the kitchen

That’s what he does

 

It’s a few weeks later, she’s got coffee in the kitchen

Sees him outside mowing, smiles and shakes her head

Thinks about something her mother told her

Well done is better than well said

Well done is better than well said

 

Helen's husband's always…

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NO UPGRADES

 

Put in a new screen door to upgrade my porch

Got down on my knees nailed down a hard wood floor

Tiled my bathroom I used grout I used glue

But I’ll tell ya babe I would not want to upgrade you

 

Upgraded my Junker to an SUV

Now I’m travelin down the highway surrounded in luxury

Ditched my light beer got some microbrew

But I’ll tell ya babe I would not want to upgrade you

 

 

BRIDGE not sayin you’re perfect hey nobody is

 We all could rearrange

 All I’m sayin- hear me talkin to ya

 I don't want you to change

 

Put in new refrigerator- stainless steel

New pots and pans so we can cook a good meal

New spices so the flavor shines through

But I’ll tell ya babe- I don't want to upgrade you (repeat last line)

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NOAH

 

 God told Noah’s family to climb on board the Ark

 Bring along the animals that roar and growl and tweet and bark

 First few days were great- like a camping trip

 After while their sanity started to slip

 

We’re sendin out the doves someday they’ll find land

This waitin and hopin is gettin hard to stand

 

No need to shave for work or wear clean pants

Nobody watchin if you get little drunk and you start to dance

Same meals every day, you'd think that'd kill your appetite

They mostly get along sometimes they fight

 

We’re sendin out the doves someday they’ll find land

This waitin and hopin is gettin hard to stand

 

Noah wants some quiet not much of that on board He’s

Standin on the deck in the rain prayin to the Lord

Naama sets time aside each day to meditate

Seth plugs in his amp, turns it up to 12 and plays

We’re sendin out the doves someday they’ll find land

This waitin and hopin is gettin hard to stand

 

The rabbits started breeding you know the way they do.

They’re fillin up the boat with the power of the power of two

The Yeti both decided the flood was a scam a hoax, a plot

Jumped overboard to walk to land that’s why they are not.

We’re sendin out the doves someday they’ll find land

This waitin and hopin is gettin hard to stand

 

We’re sendin out the doves, one day they’ll lead us home

Meanwhile we just keep on keeping on (repeat)

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WITHOUT YOU

 

Never been too tightly wrapped,

You know that’s the truth

I don’t know how I could have made it without you

Squirrels runnin round my attic-

Nuts and bolts up there keep comin loose

I don’t know how I could have made it without you

 

Sometimes I run out of steam my train falls off the track

You get me up and get me goin; you’ve got my back

 

I get way out in the tall weeds

So lost and so blue

I don’t know how I could have made it without you

My mind gets torn and tangled

My thought streams get confused

I don’t know how I could have made it without you

 

Sometimes I run out of steam my train falls off the track

You get me up and get me goin; you’ve got my back

 

Never had a lick of sense

Rarely even have a clue

I don’t know how I could have made it without you

I don’t know how I could have made it without you

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IF I COULD

 

CHORUS I would do few things over if I could

I would do a few things over if I could

I would do a few things over and you know that would be good 

I would do a few things over if I could

 

I would teach my kids we'd have a family band (2)

Yeah I know they resisted but I could have persisted

I would teach my kids we would have a family band

I would do my sweetie better yes I would

I could do my sweetie better yes I could

I would do less complainin

More listenin less mansplaining

I would do my sweetie better yes I would

CHORUS

 

Would learn to play the piano yes I would (2)

I would play like Pine Top Perkins

You would see my fingers workin

I would learn to play the piano yes I would

I'd mend fences with my parents while they lived (2)

Could have bit my tongue more often, my words I could have softened

I'd mend fences with my parents while they lived

CHORUS

 

But mostly I would live my life again (2)

With my sweetie, and my kids, playin music with my friends

And livin in my small town until my story ends

Mostly I would live my life again

CHORUS

 

I would do a few more dances sing more songs I'd take more chances

I would do a few things over if I could