ALBUM LYRICS - IT'S A CIRCUS HERE, DOLORES
 

The Prettiest Girl in AA

There’s something about you of a subtle kind
Not easily read by a sober mind
But one thing ain’t hard to find
This probably ain’t the right thing to say
But you’re the prettiest girl in AA, hey-hey

My life has been nothing, but one big regret
I lost all those women, all the friends I met
Can I bum a cigarette?
This really ain’t the right thing to say
But you’re the prettiest girl in AA, hey-hey, oh yeah

What would you tell me if I said I love you?
You’d tell me you’re a friend of Bill W.
Can’t give your number to just any slob
I ain’t just any slob … ‘cause I just got a job
I just got a job

So what would you tell me if I said I love you?
You’d tell me you’re a friend of Bill W.
Can’t give your number to just any slob
I ain’t just any slob … ‘cause I just got a job
I got a job, baby … I got a part-time job!

And we talk about alcohol
And sometimes I feel kind of blue
It’s got something to do with you
I know this ain’t the right thing to say
But you’re the prettiest girl in AA, hey-hey, oh yeah ...
 

Me & The Kid

Me & The Kid, we were running away
We had no ties to bind us, nobody to find us
We were gone in a day

We had five hundred dollars & that old panel truck
Ran out on my lady, the arrangement was shady
But the kid brought me luck

So we headed out west, we drove fast & we drank
We picked up hitchhikers, some wanna-be bikers
Siphoned gas for our tank

Made it out to LA, tried to locate a friend
We just barely missed her, we crashed with her sister
Who was half ‘round the bend

We were all singin’ our song, singin’ sloppy but singin’ strong
Bound to turn out wrong, wrong, wrong, but didn’t last too long

We left early in the morning, hurried north up the coast
Hit the golden gate city, we depleted our kitty
The Kid splits from his post!

Feeling homesick & stupid, he sells off his truck
Even though it’s December, he flies back to Denver
And there goes my luck

Singin’ one last song, singin’ sloppy & singin’ strong
Bound to turn out wrong, wrong, wrong, but didn’t last too long

I call up my old lady, try to make my amends
But she’s back with her ex, she says, “it’s only sex”
Well, I guess that depends

So I settle into my life & this lasts a few years
Try to work when I’m able, always under the table
Mostly keeps me in beers

And I’m not proud of my stories, all the lies that I hid
But sometimes it’s funny, wouldn’t trade them for money
All the things that I did … like that road trip with me & The Kid

And I’m still singin’ my song, still singin’ sloppy & singin’ strong
Life is full of all of this stuff, don’t last long enough … don’t last long enough
 

Creepin’ Charlie

They say violets are blue, I say roses are too
Filtered through the summer moonlight
At midnight, sipping my blue wine
It’s a habit of mine

And the air is sweet and dark, alone in the park
Where the stray dogs bark their warning
And morning is hours away
Almost another day

And I laugh a little, cry a little more, that’s what it’s for
By myself at last, just me and my past, seen it all before

And I call on my beauties and bums, Creepin’ Charlie comes
Always picking a fight, and what an appetite
Can’t keep him at bay, and now he’s taking it all away
Maybe another day

When the bough breaks, who falls? Maybe no one at all
It’s just a call to the unawakened
Mistakenly counting sheep, fast asleep
That’s when Charlie creeps to your door …

And you laugh a little, cry a little more, that’s what it’s for
Getting under your skin, then you give in, just like before

And you call on your beauties and bums, Creepin’ Charlie comes
Always picking a fight, and what an appetite
Can’t keep him at bay, and now he’s taking it all away
Maybe another day

And I laugh a little, cry a little more, that’s what it’s for
Getting under my skin, then I give in, just like before

And I call on my beauties and bums, Creepin’ Charlie comes
Always picking a fight, and what an appetite
Can’t keep him at bay, and now he’s taking it all away
Maybe another day

They say roses are red, or maybe violets instead
But the night is blue, guess I am too
 

Do You Want to Be My Valentine

Do you want to be my valentine?
Do you want to dance a crooked line?
Would you wish upon a fading star?
To close your eyes, to go too far?

Do you desire my open hand?
Are you the ocean or the sand?
Do you prefer the day or night?
Bathe in darkness, shed the light?

Will you lie upon my bed?
Untie your hair & rest your head?
Or would you choose to go along?
Your mouth & tongue in verse & song?

Will you lie upon my bed?
Untie your hair & rest your head?
Or would you choose to go along?
Your mouth & tongue in verse & song?

What do you love the very most?
Who is the guest? Who is the host?
What is the color you select?
Where do our pathways intersect?

Please call to me when you decide
Though I may turn away to hide
To spare myself the blunt suspense
Yet I would wonder ever since

If you might be my one true love
My willow tree, my mourning dove
Oh will you be my valentine?
Will you dance a crooked line?
 

New Hat and Suspenders

I got a new hat and suspenders
To match my new bow-tie
Pin-striped pants
Leather spats
And a monocle for my left eye

I am notorious for my sideburns
Goatee and silver tooth
Got a pint of brandy
Some butterscotch candy
And this time it’s the truth

I got a valuable antique pool cue
My shirt’s clean, starched, and blue
Got a tab at the bar
And a fat cigar
And a large obscene tattoo

I know a sweet old gal, I got a checkerboard
I was wounded in the war
Got a brass spittoon
In the month of June
And a hound dog by the door

I got a new hat and suspenders
To match my new bow-tie
I said it before
And I’ll say it some more
And I’ll say it ‘til the day I die

While I play my ukulele
With a flower in my lapel
I’m flower in my lapel
I’m having fun
I’ve got a gun
So you all go to hell
 

Poor Sweet Baby

(Instrumental)
 

Where the Songs Are Silent

I will go to where the hills are burning
It’s a path I have known all too well
Though I stop for a drink
At that wandering creek
You may find me traveling still

I will go to where the beasts are howling
I have gone that road one time or two
If I lie down to rest
Where we went in days past
I will keep my eyes open for you

I’ll go to where the fields are barren
Where I ended so often before
It’s a toss of a coin
Tells you which way I’ve gone
But it’s always a ways from your door

If you go to where the hearts are weary
You will see me walking along
With stones for a bed
And gray clouds over head
The raindrops singing this song

I’ll go to where my love’s forsaken
Then I must empty my sack
Dispose of my wares
And I’ll shed all my tears
Then I’ll turn and I won’t venture back

But if I go to where the songs are silent
And that silence feeds a hungry host
I’ll carry these chords
And I’ll share all my words
And I’ll go where I’m needed the most
 

Another One Like You

There’s a certain way you look when you aren’t careful
At the same time, it’s so reckless and so mild
Before you are aware, your eyes reveal you
Needy and determined as a child
Innocent, but running loose and wild

And I know your love is pure as any river
I know your heart is open and it’s true
Everything you promise, you deliver
Simple grace in all the things you do
I’ll never meet another one like you

You say that you make good on your selections
You tell me that you’ll take me anywhere
You know me, oh you seem to see right through me
No games to play, no camouflage to wear
So much to give, so much you have to share

You see things as they are, you feel so deeply
Never holding back your laughter or your tears
Strong enough to handle what life deals you on your own
Faith that never wanes or disappears
Filling days with bright bouquets & souvenirs

And I know your love is pure as any river
I know your heart is open and it’s true
Everything you promise, you deliver
Simple grace in all the things you do
I’ll never meet another one like you

Now I can’t say how much I really love you
It’s a feeling too fragile to express
I’ve never told you what a joy it is to hold you
You’re so beautiful to me, I confess
I’ve been afraid I couldn’t say these words, I guess

And I know your love is pure as any river
I know your heart is open and it’s true
Everything you promise, you deliver
Simple grace in all the things you do
I’ll never meet another one like you

No, I’ll never meet another one like you
 

Your Hand and Heart

I didn’t know when you caught my gaze
How my life would soon unfold
You warmed my nights and colored my days
And gave me your hand and your heart to hold

You played a gamble and invited me in
And loved me like a world on fire
Took me under your skin

I think you led me down my deepest path
And showed me a place I fit
And in the glow of the aftermath
You helped meow I wonder what we’ve yet to see
To discover in the soul of you
And the spirit of me

Now I wonder what we’ve yet to see
To discover in the soul of you
And the spirit of me in love with you
With love in you
With you in love
In you with love

I didn’t know when you caught my gaze
How my life would turn and start
You warmed my nights and colored my days
And gave me your hand and heart

You warm my nights and color my days
And give me your hand and heart
 

Around the Block

(Instrumental)
 

Dolores

It’s a circus here, Dolores
But you’re high on the hog
Got you dancing to the chorus
Nipping back at the dogs
Pushing nickels and dimes
And other everyday crimes

It’s a circus here, Dolores
Watching out for the man
You deliver like a florist
Everything that you can
You’ll be making your drop
Meeting up at the top

So you’re headed off to infamy
Off to try your luck
It’s swim or sink, don’t you think?
There’s something that you won’t admit to me
Now our wheels are stuck
Simple things, spinning rings
Hear the circus call? Up against the wall!

Fare thee well, my Dolores
You’ll be gone for awhile
Think you know what the score is?
Make your exit in style
Now they’re stopping to stare
Catching everything there

So you’re headed off to infamy
Off to try your luck
It’s swim or sink, don’t you think?
There’s something that you won’t admit to me
Now our wheels are stuck
Simple things, spinning rings
Hear the circus call? Up against the wall!

It’s a circus here, Dolores
Pushing nickels and dimes
And other everyday crimes
 

Yellow Philodendrons

Yellow philodendrons on the window sill
My, what a lovely day
Saturday morning, got nothing to do
Would you like to come and play with me?
We could sit and talk and have a laugh or two
An afternoon all our own
‘Cause there’s yellow philodendrons on the window sill
And I don’t want to be alone

And I don’t want to be alone
 

The Clown Factory

I dream of smokestacks, brick buildings by the river
Punching the time clock, third shift, I find my spot on the line

Dim lights and mood swings, belts hum and drum the back-beat
Chutes, clamps and levers, until the whistle signals its time

Some nights I wander, a maze of shadowed corners
Old wooden pallets, stacked ten-high, wrapped in clear cellophane
That picture’s smeared like grease on my brain

Blood-red noses and evil eyes
Polka-dot devils with green bow-ties
Sons of bitches that jive and chuckle and swear
And piles and piles of foul orange hair

Right after smoke-break, the foreman saunters over
The boss’s nephew, checking his clipboard, making the rounds

Says, “watch your fingers,” … says, “safety first, then quality!”
Says, “then PRODUCTION!” … jots down some figures, points and he frowns
“When I come back, I’d better see clowns! More clowns!”

Blood-red noses and evil eyes
Polka-dot devils with green bow-ties
Filthy pockets, spilling all but the kitchen sink
I guess you know, they’re likely to drink … and they stink

Back in their heyday, clown factories shaped the heartland
Employing the townsfolk, clown-baron fat-cats rolled in the dough

Those days are gone now, it was a different world then
Can’t say I miss it, time marches on, as history will show
Like everything, clowns come and they go … this I know

Blood-red noses and evil eyes
Polka-dot devils with green bow-ties
Sons of bitches that jive and chuckle and swear
And piles and piles of foul orange hair

So I dream of smokestacks, brick buildings by the river
Thank God it’s Friday, I grab my check and walk to my car
I’ll head on home or stop by the bar
I’ll head on home or stop by the bar, it ain’t far
It ain’t far … it ain’t far