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Down the Road and Far Away

by John Lyle

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1.
Just My Kind of Girl 04:02
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Just My Kind Of Girl I asked her what she did for fun, she said she didn’t know She said the days seemed shorter now love had lost its glow She said all her bags were packed and waiting on the bed And if I thought I had a chance I’d better shake my head She said complete removal was quite beyond the pale She had to stick around a while until she saved the whales She had to stick around until she made me see the light All my ideals are only clouding up my sight Ain’t no doubt about it, she’s just my kind of girl Too bad she lives so far away She’s half asleep and far too deep into this crazy world Ain’t no doubt about it, she’s just my kind of girl She said she’d given up on hope and all that it implied She looked at me and said I see sadness in your eyes She said when you stop arguing with what has to be You’ll learn the only lesson you’ll ever learn from me Ain’t no doubt about it, she’s just my kind of girl Too bad she lives so far away She’s half asleep and far too deep into this crazy world Ain’t no doubt about it, she’s just my kind of girl I got a funny feeling we met somewhere before Maybe in a focus group the year before the war You had a red bandana wrapped around your pretty neck I would have loved you way back then but someone stacked the deck Ain’t no doubt about it, she’s just my kind of girl Too bad she lives so far away She’s half asleep and far too deep into this crazy world Ain’t no doubt about it, she’s just my kind of girl
2.
Old Joe Calls From the Hill 02:22
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Lyrics for this song co-written with Penny Lyle. Old Joe Calls From the Hill Old Joe calls from the hill To the boy standing alone Old man drunk by the still Don’t know nothing he’s done Momma in the kitchen Cuts you with her tongue Old Joe calls from the hill To the boy standing alone Hair yellow as straw Eyes blue as the grass Heart lone as the pine But it don’t know what to ask Somewhere from the hill Old Joe’s plaintive moan Drifts upon the wind To the boy standing alone
3.
My Love Is Everything 02:48
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My Love Is Everything Clean and pure as a mountain stream Dignified as a college dean Alive as life has ever been My love is everything to me My love is everything she can be My love is everything to me My love is everything Dancing in the heart and mind Of everybody she can find Reaching to the heavens Probing inner space My love is touch and sight and sound And always in good taste Yet one thing can defeat her And bring her to her knees And force her from my memory Like the moon removes the sea But what care I for Father Time He too is growing old And at least for now, I am warm While he is always cold
4.
Centers 03:34
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Centers I’ll bet nothing can get so small It can’t be cut in two And I’ll bet nothing can be bigger Than what’s inside of you I’ll bet it all goes on forever Not just outwardly, but in I’ll bet we’re each of us a center And that’s what we’ve always been So if you’re feeling out of things Lonely tired and blue Remember you’re a center And there’s centers all ‘round you
5.
Little Knives 02:41
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Little Knives I’m tired unto death from all these little knives It’s not the big one that gets you It’s when they come in fives I don’t know what I want but I know I want it now The snow lies heavy on the powerline tonight I don’t know where I find the strength to hold you tight Maybe it’s the same place I finally come to see All the contradictions holding me down Ain’t nothing but the chatter from a brain-dead clown Ain’t nothing but the chains I’m dragging to my grave Don’t the rain sound lovely hiding in the air I tried to cross my heart and say it wasn’t there Help me tie my shoe and point me to the stair I need to be deliberate in everything I do I’m being left behind by everyone but you I want to go so slow I get behind my mind If I could see through this illusion I wouldn’t say a word I wouldn’t try to argue what we both know is absurd I wouldn’t lift a finger in anger or in trust
6.
The Camel's Back 03:31
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The Camel’s Back If you’re disappointed, the old man said to me It’s ‘cause you expected what was not to be That’s when I shot him and as he went to hell I said remember you’re my major disappointment number twelve Disappointment number twelve didn’t break the camel’s back I’d guacamole for a camel If a camel had the knack, I’d climb upon its back I’d ride into the desert ‘til the desert starts to crack Righteous anger burns the sea, floods the land and calls to me Kill the moon and blind the sun until the revolution’s done I was feelin’ like a mountain climber lost inside the Alps When she came between twin heartbeats and said she needed help That’s when I unloaded, and as she met her fate I said, remember you’re my major disappointment number eight Disappointment number twelve didn’t break the camel’s back I’d guacamole for a camel If a camel had the knack, I’d climb upon its back I’d ride into the desert ‘til the desert starts to crack Righteous anger burns the sea, floods the land and calls to me Kill the moon and blind the sun until the revolution’s done I was telling these stories to another friend of mine When he came up with this classic line Don’t that gavel get heavy? I said let me be the judge of that And you’re the worst disappointment I ever had Disappointment number twelve didn’t break the camel’s back I’d guacamole for a camel If a camel had the knack, I’d climb upon its back I’d ride into the desert ‘til the desert starts to crack Righteous anger burns the sea, floods the land and calls to me Kill the moon and blind the sun until the revolution’s done
7.
Higuey Haircut 03:52
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Lyrics for this song co-written with Penny Lyle Higuey Haircut Higuey haircut’s mighty fine Takes a bite out of my mind, my mind Barber, help me travel light When I take my homeward flight, tonight Broken pavement tricks my feet Sunshine burns the hanging meat, the meat Sugar coffee don’t do squat Por favor, another shot, make it hot Tim can rollers on her head Clank upon her marble bed, the bed Power and water come and go But nothing stops the passing show, the show Hot merengue fills my ear Time to have an otra beer An otra beer, over here Ay carumba, she can’t do the rhumba She might have a bug Chills and fever, will they ever leave her She might have to take a drug
8.
Way Past Now 03:59
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Way Past Now Way past now, past the burning cow Where the salesmen never stop Where the road rolls deep And keening sheep sacrifice their crop Noble steeds have lost their feed While Agnes chews her mop Way past now, space and time have wowed But no one calls the cops I’m feeling helpless, Agnes And a little reckless too Take me down your garden path And I will go with you Way past now past the trampled vows And the pleasure that is cruel Some old man with an empty hand Speaks the language of a fool I just listen to my teardrops glisten As they slide into the sand I’m too tired to fall asleep But I’ll do what I can I’m feeling helpless, Agnes And a little reckless too Take me down your garden path And I will go with you

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released October 10, 2002

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John Lyle Sechelt, British Columbia

The lyrics for most of the songs appearing in these albums are available in book form: "The Kindest Lies: the Lyrics of John Lyle", published by Leaky Boot Press (June 28, 2013).

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