Alexander Spence: OAR (lyrics)

Alexander "Skip" Spence
"OAR"

All lyrics by Alexander Lee Spence
except where transcribed incorrectly.

1. Little Hands
2. Cripple Creek
3. Diana
4. Margaret - Tiger Rug
5. Weighted Down (The Prison Song)
6. War In Peace
7. Broken Heart
8. All Come To Meet Her
9. Books Of Moses
10. Dixie Peach Promenade (Yin For Yang)
11. Lawrence Of Euphoria
12. Grey/Afro
13. This Time He Has Come
14. It's The Best Thing For You
15. Keep Everything Under Your Hat
16. Furry Heroine (Halo Of Gold)
17. Givin' Up Things
18. If I'm Good
19. You Know
20. Doodle
21. Fountain
22. I Think You And I

1 Little Hands

Little hands clapping
Children are laughing
Little hands clapping all over the world

Piper is piping
Drummers are drumming
Little hands clapping all over the world

Little hands clapping
Children are sharing
Little loves loving, all little boys and girls

Children are singing
The truths that they're bringing
Freedom is ringing all 'round the world

Come let us meet them
Ah, yes, we will greet them

Little hands clapping
Children are caring
Piper is calling all over the world

Out in the street
The sick that you meet
How many friends do you call your own?

Come let us meet them
Yes, we will greet them

Children are clapping
Children are caring
Children are shattering records and rules

Little hands caring
Little hands sharing
The old ones and the gold ones and the family jewels

Come let us meet them
Yes, we will greet them

Little hands clapping
Children are happy
Little hands loving all 'round the world

Little hands clasping
Truth they are grasping
A world with no pain for one and all

And they are learning
Their souls, they are yearning
A nice place to play and no place to fall

Come let us meet them
Ah, yes, we will greet them

2 Cripple Creek

A cripple on his deathbed
In a daydream did ride
All past the streams of fire
On a petal path did glide

He left his wheelchair spinning
Deeper in the mud
In it set his memories
In its body and its blood

An angel came to greet him
By his side she flew
Whispered, as a part of him
What he already knew

His head was spinning freely
And it was plain to see
His burden was himself, he bore
The sight his eyes could be

His death, it died quite easily
Right there, was gone for good
But he couldn't see his loved one
Like he thought he should

He thought if they were gone, said he
And this cannot be true
The search to find what wasn't there
Has brought him back to you

3 Diana

Oh, oh, Diana
Tears fall like rain
Oh, oh, Diana
I am in pain

This is my heart beat

Oh, Diana
You are a glove
Diana
I am in love

Oh, Diana
I see you clear
Oh, Diana
I beg you near

Oh, oh, Diana
I see you conquered
And I am traveling
Trying to get to you and I'll travel hard

4 Margaret - Tiger Rug

It's Margaret, the daring songwriter
She's got muscles in her eyes
She's got everything going for her there
So take a ride on her pen, step inside

Well, there goes Margaret, the daring ice skater
She skates the truth on the ice
If she wasn't so daring and dashing
Her lips would be chapped at half the price

It appears I sent you off to treatment
With the tiger by the tail
If he could be free
He wouldn't have stripes on him, like jail

Jailer comes in twice a day
And feeds him a hunk of meat
That is just the same
As you get out upon the street

Jungle's home
Why isn't he free?
Just because his head is doesn't mean his limbs are
That can mean the same as a monkey on a tree

5 Weighted Down (The Prison Song)

Weighted down by possessions
Weighted down by the gun
Waited down by the river for you to come

My darling, you're darning my action
Of when three months, I was gone
But whose socks were you darning, darling
While I been gone so long?

Weighted down by possessions
Weighted down by the gun
Waited down by the river for you to come

A best friend to your ear of true said I was guilty of sin
Said my being gone was the best thing for you
But the truth, it all comes through for me and my kin
It wasn't the best thing for me but was the best for him

Weighted down by decision
Weighted down by the gun
Waited down by the river for you to come

Weighted down by possessions
Weighted down by the gun
Waited down by the river for you to come

While I sat there wondering, you thought that eyes were hid
And I had the honor of watching everything you did
So now I come with words of pain to bring you news of life
If you can't find your woman, don't take another's wife

Waiting down by possessions
Waiting down with a gun
Waiting down by the river for you to come

6 War In Peace

It's a joy to know you're resting in peace
War in peace, what a funny combination
Will come to separation
Since you believe

Good old spice it's nice to see you last, you're ahead
War in peace, what a funny combination
Will come to your coronation
This is clear

It's a joy to see you in your red risen dead
Risen dead will cross another generation
And the cosmic federation
Sees you clear

7 Broken Heart

A broken heart would be lovely
Broken on the ground
A knife stuck in the ribs of me
Would be better be found
Hanging tree blowing gently
A noose would be ignored
Then to stand upon the receiving end
Of the right hand of the Lord

Like a thirsty cowboy
In a lake his tongue does rest
Jumps in and he cannot swim
And drowns himself to death
Or a frozen mountaineer
He chugs up to a stop
Catching his boot heel in a rock
Two miles from the top

An Olympic super swimmer
Whose belly doesn't flop
A super racecar driver
Whose pit, it can't be stopped
A honey dripping hipster
Whose bee cannot be bopped
Better to be rolled in oats
Than from the roll be dropped

A broken heart would satisfy
Broken in a mess
A severed eye would gratify
My soul, I must confess
I'd rather have no eyes at all
Be blind upon the floor
Then to stand upon the receiving end
Of the right hand of the Lord

Then to stand upon the receiving end
Of the right hand of the Lord

8 All Come To Meet Her

Hmmm... ah...
Hmmm... I, Amen... I, Amen...

All come to meet her now
And I'll come to meet her now
All come to meet her now
Won't you meet me too?

All come to meet her now
Won't you meet me now?
I'll come to meet her now
Won't you come too?

Come on down!
Come on down!

All come to meet her
I'll come too
I'll come to meet her with you

9 Books Of Moses

Books of Moses
Bringing stone news
Wetting the water
Weeping on the sun

Books of Moses
Got some splinters, didn't you?
Books of Moses
Brought me right here back to you

Flaming heart
Ain't it sweet?
Lighting the world
At your feet

Books of Moses
Myth and true
Books of Moses
Bring me back to you

Hero's welcome
There stands your king
Where serpent shudders
And the angels sing

Books of Moses
Happen again
Yes, he knows us
welcome him, your friend

Books of Moses
Brimstone news
Wet is the water
Blood covering the sun

10 Dixie Peach Promenade (Yin For Yang)

I could use me some yin for my yang
That would make everything all right
I will stay by your side by the day
You'll stay underneath me at night

I bought me some Zen food
To learn how to think
But I can't think of anything more that I'd adore
Than see you in the pink

I could use some bal for my lance
A little left for my hoochie koo
I've searched everywhere in heaven
But I never found a friend like you

I bought me all them magazines
Print I could not read
I took every bit of stuff from A to Z
Now you hear me

I could use some yin for my yang
That would make everything right
I will stay by your side for today
You'll stay underneath me tonight

11 Lawrence Of Euphoria

I'm Lawrence from Euphoria
I'll share your tent, pay your rent
It's worth every single cent
I'm Lawrence from Euphoria

You'll rise from the deep
Come in your sleep
No more will you weep
I'm Lawrence from Euphoria

There's Vivian from Oblivion
She does it for free for my friends and me
She's Vivian, I'm Lawrence
Lawrence from Euphoria

There's Ellie Mae from Californ-i-a
She does it all right but her lips are tight
She tucks me in to bed at night
She's Vivian's twin sister Ellie Mae

And I'm Lawrence from Euphoria

12 Grey/Afro

("Grey")

Seems that every time I talk to you
You have something else to do

If I were to open up with you
Would you call me the same as I call you

Frightful days that we are living in
But it seems if hopes get in your way

We'll take our time and show the life I count out
Open up the chance I have with you right there

Between my lips are words that surface through you
I'm just trying to get a message through you
To you, for you, I will
By you, saw you, know you
I do, you plan to do, if you

His lies, his lies come just to late
Colored white and gold and yellow and red
In the timing of the soul that's right
Then we'll look at how talk about death is spread

Do you know you ask and you shall live
And die then you can turn to sin

And if I had a lovely home with a bunch of girls
With me, they can't help you

Believe me if I do what I did
I will have euphoria

To be sure
I don't give a damn
Live in a place
Do anything

("Afro")

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey now
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, look at who's caught swearing

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey baby
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, oh I dread the damned

Do, do, da, da
Do, do, da, da
Do, do, da, da
Do, do, da, da
Do, do, da, da
Do, do, da

You came so softly as not to disturb your sleep
I will come into your dream tonight completely
Not to prevent one would sell to you dear
I would do anything at all for you

Let us start a nice old new organization
To try and be hands heaven from this civilization
Only trust in our destination, you need me
And only then I'd let you hide behind me

Do not let's be right as you have a few
Ask me what to do, and I'll come

Hmm.. Ask me what to do then, so softly
And if I know within' your eyes, can I

And if it don't work then, then I was kidding now
If it don't work then, then I was kidding now

13 This Time He Has Come

This time, this last time
This time, this last time
It's been nice for you
Yeah, that it has, this time

This time, there'll be time, desperate night
Oh, this time he'll bring relief

He's come, I'll be waiting there for you
He's come, I fear for you, I fear for you

Say goodbye to all our answers, hanging on the vine
Say hello to new horizons, going away in time

I'm sure they were filled with love last night

I heard that you got free
Then I see you hanging on to me

Oh! And I can't live without it
I can't talk about it
And I can't sing about it, without you

Ow! Ooh! Ow! Ooh... I can't sing about it, without you

I can't tell how fast he's thinking
But it looked like a catastrophic traffic stop sign
You can't quite make up your mind
If you saw a better dream

I've got a message for you
If your foot goes down
When you see in the light

You can't put it with when
What you're thinking about
Has seen the light

14 It's The Best Thing For You

Oh, I'd like to take your clothes off
Underneath the Eisenhower Bridge
Yes, I'd like to throw them off
The highest point of the Tallahatchie Bridge

As it looks so much finer than to be in Carolina
With no clothes on, hmmm... Goodness knows...

It's the best thing for you darling
It's the best thing for us all
It's the best thing for you sweetheart
If you had no clothes at all

All the fellas at the store
All want some of what you have
Wouldn't it be a crime if you didn't share
Especially when you got what everybody wants
But nobody's got but you

We're in the same grade school and I love you
I've loved you ever since I kicked over the kindergarten wall
And you were standing on the other side
Peeking in our bathroom, without any clothes on, dear
And I love you, yes I do

And when I get you here, I'll never let you go away
Cindy Lou's your middle name, dad was Francis Drake
Your mom, she lived in Florida for thirty years
Till she got bit by a poisonous rattle snake

I think you're just about fine for me
And if you're near, stand over here alone, with me

15 Keep Everything Under Your Hat

I found some other clothing
I need another to wear
I'm down the road again
I worked till my fingers got bare

Keep everything under your hat
Yeah but, but I love you just the same
Keep everything under your hat
You're where it's at and I love you

Ever since that first Saturday date
I showed up thirteen hours late
Well, keep everything under your hat
Don't tell your mother where it's at

Mmmm, see you soon
I'll be out soon

Keep everything under your hat
You'll find where you're at
Don't tell your brother or your sister
Just because you're a brat

There was a time that I awoke to find you gone
You had split

16 Furry Herione (Halo Of Gold)

We'll run away
We're running away
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna away to?

Have you got a fine place to slip to when you're feeling down?
Have you had a week or two just to get your troubles down?
Slip behind a rock and it'll raise out to her and times of the bowery
I found a lot of life and laughter with her grandfather in the bowery

She had a body of sixteen or seventeen
And a mind of forty
I met her on a cold day
In a city far away
Where the world's about zero
And I saw at once into her soul
She smiled and called me her hero
Then like a walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain, in the rain
I found a lot of life that day
With her grandfather in the bowery
'Cause I lie down like the wild
She had a halo of gold
Told me stories of her life and her courage was sublime
'Cause you're mine
I walk the line

Well, she comes down tiger's and elephant's teeth
Elephants are climbing the zoo
Monkeys and beggars and thiefs
And Little Orphan Annie is too

Everything is under the sun
It'd be you and I and everyone
But if I didn't like it that way
I'd have to change it!

Hmm, hmm, hmm
Hmm, hmm, hmm
Hmm, hmm, hmm
Rearrange it!

17 Givin' Up Things

I have given up
Singing 'bout people, places and things
'Cause I have peeked into the future
And what the future brings is nothings

And I love someone
Very close to me
And if she's listening in my head
As I am in hers, she would see

18 If I'm Good

If I'm good will you take me
Into your heart with you?
I wouldn't think that no one knows
I'd rather be there with you

And if I understand
The mystery of your life
Will you come and comfort me
And help me raise my wife and family?

19 You Know

You know about me
You've read about stories
And you've read in the sea
You've read in _________
And you've read in the sea
Ah, you've read about _________
And you know about me

Well you've read about Balzac
You've read about the fool
You've read about _________, too
And you know about me

You know about lions
Tigers, too
And you know about me
And now I know about you
And you got feelings, too

You know about Sopwith
You know about his camel
Well, you know about you
And you know about me

20 Doodle

Why do we
__________________
__________________

How come you see me
With other women nightly
When I'm always home
Innocently swimming?

How come you imagine me
At the park, after dark
With an old girlfriend or two
And a quart or two of brew
Without you?

I could do nothing
No, you wouldn't let me anyway
Oh, my dear
I would hope you would

21 Fountain

Who hit me _________ on the head
If I'm dropping quarters on your bed
It seems like it's the right thing to do
Oh darling, you've been so true
And I know it is you
But I'd rather not stand in the waiting line again

22 I Think You And I

I think we could be great friends
What do you think?
What do you think?
I said, I think you and I could be great friends

You and I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I
So what?

I think you and I could be great friends
And have a party every day
It would be so much easier _________
If your little love didn't get in the way

5/31/05
I found this document online, which contains lyrics for 1-17. It apparently came from Sundazed, which should be relatively official. Regardless, I found some suspect words, annoying punctuation, and obvious errors. I changed them to my liking. (Of note are a few final lines of "Diana" that seem completely absent in the actual song. I left them out of my lyrics.) Generally, though, I trusted their words over mine, especially when the lyrics were highly unintelligible. I transcribed the rest as well as possible. Usually I left a "_________" for lyrics I couldn't make out, but if I thought I had a good guess, I went with it. Any corrections or thoughts on tricky passages are more than welcome.

themadgear@yahoo.com