WARREN ZEVON – Johnny Strikes Up The Band

Dry your eyes my little friend
Let me take you by the hand
Freddie get ready Rock steady
When Johnny strikes up the band

They’ll be rocking in the projects
Walking down along the strand
Freddie get ready Rock steady
When Johnny strikes up the band
Johnny strikes up the band
When Johnny strikes up the …
When Johnny strikes up the …
When Johnny strikes up the band

And Johnny is my main man
He’s the keeper of the keys
He’ll put your mind at ease
He’s guaranteed to please
Back by popular demand

Look around, my little friend
Jubilation in the land
Freddie get ready Rock steady
When Johnny strikes up the band
Johnny strikes up the band
When Johnny strikes up the …
When Johnny strikes up the …
When Johnny strikes up the band

WARREN ZEVON – I Was In The House When The House Burned Down

I had the shit till it all got smoked
I kept the promise till the vow got broke
I had to drink from the lovin’ cup
I stood on the banks till the river rose up
I saw the bride in her wedding gown
I was in the house when the house burned down

I may be old and I may be bent
But I had the money till it all got spent
I had the money till they made me pay
Then I had the sense to be on my way
I had to stay in the underground
I was in the house when the house burned down

I was in the house when the house burned down
I met the man with the thorny crown
I helped Him carry his cross through town
I was in the house when the house burned down

I was in the house when the house burned down
I met the man with the thorny crown
I helped Him carry his cross through town
I was in the house when the house burned down

I had the shit till it all got smoked
I kept the promise till the vow got broke
I had to drink from the lovin’ cup
I stood on the banks till the river rose up
I saw the bride in her wedding gown
I was in the house when the house burned down

WARREN ZEVON – I’m A One Woman Man

If you told me that you loved me
I would feel so proud
You let me hold you honey
I would holler out loud
I’ll never love another
Even if I can
Oh, come to me, baby
I’m a one woman man

Won’t you let me, baby,
Just a kinda’ hang around
I’ll always love you honey
And I’ll never let you down
I’ll never love another
Even if I can
Oh, come to me, baby
I’m a one woman man

I’d climb the highest mountain
If it reached up to the sky
To prove that I loved you
I would jump off and fly
I’d even swim the ocean
From shore to shore
To prove that I love you
Just a little bit more

Won’t you let me, baby,
Just a kinda’ hang around
I’ll always love you honey
And I”ll never let you down
I’ll never love another
Even if I can
Oh, come to me, baby
I’m a one woman man

If you told me that you loved me
I would feel so proud
If you’d let me hold you honey
I would holler out loud
I’ll never love another
Even if I can
Oh, come to me, baby
I’m a one woman man

I’ll never love another
Even if I can
Oh, come to me, baby
I’m a one woman man
Come to me, baby,
I’m a one woman man

WARREN ZEVON – I’ll Slow You Down

You know I hate it when you put your hand inside my head [Warren sings "stick"]
And switch all my priorities around
Why don’t you go pick on someone your own size instead?
Go on without me, I’ll just slow you down
Go on without me, I’ll just slow you down

You always say you know me somehow I don’t think you do
Maybe you should buy another vowel
You’re jumping to conclusions so I can’t keep up with you
Go on without me, I’ll just slow you down

I’ll just hold you up
When I fall behind
I’ll just throw your schedule off
So you get going if you’re so inclined

You know I hate it when you put your hand inside my head
And switch all my priorities around
You think you’re pretty tricky but you’re simply overbred
Go on without me, I’ll just slow you down
Go on
Go on
Go on
Go on

WARREN ZEVON – Hasten Down The Wind

She tells him she thinks she needs to be free
He tells her he doesn’t understand
She takes his hand
She tells him nothing’s working out the way they planned

She’s so many women
He can’t find the one who was his friend
So he’s hanging on to half her heart
He can’t have the restless part
So he tells her to hasten down the wind

Then he agrees he thinks she needs to be free
Then she says she’d rather be with him
But it’s just a whim
By which she hopes to keep him on the limb

She’s so many women
He can’t find the one who was his friend
So he’s hanging on to half her heart
He can’t have the restless part
So he tells her to hasten down the wind

WARREN ZEVON – For My Next Trick I’ll Need A Volunteer

I can saw a woman in two
But you won’t want to look in the box when I do
I can make love disappear
For my next trick I’ll need a volunteer

I can pull a rabbit out of a hat
I can pull it out but I can’t put it back
I can make love disappear
For my next trick I’ll need a volunteer

It’s lonely up here
When the tricks have been played
And the spotlights have faded
And the plans that we made
Have fallen apart
It’s lonely as hell
And there’s no magic spell
For a broken heart

You can put me in chains and I will escape
Better not wait up ’cause I might be late
I can make love disappear
For my next trick I’ll need a volunteer
It’s lonely up here
When the tricks have been played
And the spotlights have faded
And the plans that we made
Have fallen apart
It’s lonely as hell
And there’s no magic spell
For a broken heart

I can saw a woman in two
But you won’t want to look in the box when I do
I can make love disappear
For my next trick I’ll need a volunteer

WARREN ZEVON – Excitable Boy

Well, he went down to dinner in his Sunday best
Excitable boy, they all said
And he rubbed the pot roast all over his chest
Excitable boy, they all said

He took in the four a.m. show at the Clark
Excitable boy, they all said
And he bit the usherette’s leg in the dark
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he’s just an excitable boy

He took little Suzie to the Junior Prom
Excitable boy, they all said
And he raped her and killed her, then he took her home
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he’s just an excitable boy
After ten long years they let him out of the home
Excitable boy, they all said
And he dug up her grave and built a cage with her bones
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he’s just an excitable boy

WARREN ZEVON – Don’t Let Us Get Sick

Don’t let us get sick
Don’t let us get old
Don’t let us get stupid, all right?
Just make us be brave
And make us play nice
And let us be together tonight

The sky was on fire
When I walked to the mill
To take up the slack in the line
I thought of my friends
And the troubles they’ve had
To keep me from thinking of mine

Don’t let us get sick
Don’t let us get old
Don’t let us get stupid, all right?
Just make us be brave
And make us play nice
And let us be together tonight

The moon has a face
And it smiles on the lake
And causes the ripples in Time
I’m lucky to be here
With someone I like
Who maketh my spirit to shine

Don’t let us get sick
Don’t let us get old
Don’t let us get stupid, all right?
Just make us be brave
And make us play nice
And let us be together tonight

WARREN ZEVON – Carmelita

I hear Mariachi static on my radio
And the tubes they glow in the dark
And I’m there with her in Ensenada
And I’m here in Echo Park

Carmelita hold me tighter
I think I’m sinking down
And I’m all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

Well, I’m sittin’ here playing solitaire
With my pearl-handled deck
The county won’t give me no more methadone
And they cut off your welfare check

Carmelita hold me tighter
I think I’m sinking down
And I’m all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

Well, I pawned my Smith Corona
And I went to meet my man
He hangs out down on Alvarado Street
By the Pioneer chicken stand

Carmelita hold me tighter
I think I’m sinking down
And I’m all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

Carmelita hold me tighter
I think I’m sinking down
And I’m all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

WARREN ZEVON – Boom Boom Mancini

Hurry home early – hurry on home
Boom Boom Mancini’s fighting Bobby Chacon
Hurry home early – hurry on home
Boom Boom Mancini’s fighting Bobby Chacon

From Youngstown, Ohio, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini
A lightweight contender, like father like son
He fought for the title with Frias in Vegas
And he put him away in round number one

Hurry home early – hurry on home
Boom Boom Mancini’s fighting Bobby Chacon
Hurry home early – hurry on home
Boom Boom Mancini’s fighting Bobby Chacon

When Alexis Arguello gave Boom Boom a beating
Seven weeks later he was back in the ring
Some have the speed and the right combinations
If you can’t take the punches it don’t mean a thing

Hurry home early – hurry on home
Boom Boom Mancini’s fighting Bobby Chacon
Hurry home early – hurry on home
Boom Boom Mancini’s fighting Bobby Chacon

When they asked him who was responsible
For the death of Du Koo Kim
He said, “Someone should have stopped the fight, and told me it was him.”
They made hypocrite judgments after the fact
But the name of the game is be hit and hit back

Hurry home early – hurry on home
Boom Boom Mancini’s fighting Bobby Chacon
Hurry home early – hurry on home
Boom Boom Mancini’s fighting Bobby Chacon

WARREN ZEVON – Back In The High Life Again

It used to seem to me
That my life ran on too fast
And I had to take it slowly
Just to make the good parts last
But when you’re born to run
It’s so hard to just slow down
So don’t be surprised to see me
Back in that bright part of town

I’ll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time will open up again
I’ll be back in the high life again
All the eyes that watched me once will smile and take me in
And I’ll drink and dance with one hand free
Let the world back into me
And on I’ll be a sight to see
Back in the high life again

You used to be the best
To make life be life to me
And I hope that you’re still out there
And you’re like you used to be
We’ll have ourselves a time
And we’ll dance ’til the morning sun
And we’ll let the good times come in
And we won’t stop ’til we’re done

We’ll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time will open up again
We’ll be back in the high life again
All the eyes that watched us once will smile and take us in
And we’ll drink and dance with one hand free
And have the world so easily
And oh we’ll be a sight to see
Back in the high life again

We’ll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time will open up again
We’ll be back in the high life again
All the eyes that watched us once will smile and take us in
And we’ll drink and dance with one hand free
And have the world so easily
And oh we’ll be a sight to see
Back in the high life again

WARREN ZEVON – Accidentally Like A Martyr

The phone don’t ring
And the sun refused to shine
Never thought I’d have to pay so dearly
For what was already mine
For such a long, long time

We made mad love
Shadow love
Random love
And abandoned love
Accidentally like a martyr
The hurt gets worse and the heart gets harder

The days slide by
Should have done, should have done, we all sigh
Never thought I’d ever be so lonely
After such a long, long time
Time out of mind

We made mad love
Shadow love
Random love
And abandoned love
Accidentally like a martyr
The hurt gets worse and the heart gets harder

WARREN ZEVON – A Bullet For Ramona

Oh, today I shot Ramona, Ma
She ain’t gonna cheat on me
Two years, I’ve been searchin’ for her
Two years, she’s been free

Well, I found her in a dance hall in Laredo
And she told me that she wanted only me
And I held her in my arms the way I used to
But when morning came she begged me to set her free

Oh, today I shot Ramona, Ma
She ain’t gonna cheat on me
Two years, I’ve been searchin’ for her
Two years, she’s been free

Well. I tried and tried to ride away and leave her
With my head hung low, teardrops filled my eye
I rode back to town and found her with a drifter
And I knew right then Ramona had to die

Oh, today I shot Ramona, Ma
She ain’t gonna cheat on me
Two years, I’ve been searchin’ for her
Two years, she’s been free

Well, I’m writing you this letter from Laredo
And tonight I’ll ride across the Rio Grande
If I never live to see another sunrise
You know, I loved her
Ma, I hope you understand

Oh, today I shot Ramona, Ma
She ain’t gonna cheat on me
Two years, I’ve been searchin’ for her
Two years, she’s been free

Oh, today I shot Ramona, Ma
She ain’t gonna cheat on me
Two years, I’ve been searchin’ for her
Two years, she’s been free

WARREN ZEVON – Keep Me In Your Heart

Shadows are falling and I’m running out of breath
Keep me in your heart for awhile

If I leave you it doesn’t mean I love you any less
Keep me in your heart for awhile

When you get up in the morning and you see that crazy sun
Keep me in your heart for awhile

There’s a train leaving nightly called when all is said and done
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sometimes when you’re doing simple things
around the house
Maybe you’ll think of me and smile

You know I’m tied to you like the buttons on
your blouse
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Hold me in your thoughts, take me to your dreams
Touch me as I fall into view
When the winter comes keep the fires lit
And I will be right next to you

Engine driver’s headed north to Pleasant Stream
Keep me in your heart for awhile

These wheels keep turning but they’re running out
of steam
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhile

Keep me in your heart for awhile