Simple Twist of Fate
They sat together in the park
As the evening sky grew dark
She looked at him and he felt a spark
tingle to his bones
It was then he felt alone
and wished that he'd gone straight
And watched out for a simple twist of fate.
They walked alone by the old canal
A little confused I remember well
And stopped into a strange hotel
with a neon burning bright
He felt the heat of the night
hit him like a freight train
Moving with a simple twist of fate.
A saxophone someplace far off played
As she was walking on by the arcade
As the light bust through a-beat-up shade
where he was waking up
She dropped a coin into the cup
of a blind man at the gate
And forgot about a simple twist of fate.
He woke up the room was bare
He didn't see her anywhere
He told himself he didn't care
pushed the window open wide
Felt an emptiness inside
to which he just could not relate
Brought on by a simple twist of fate.
He hears the ticking of the clocks
And walks along with a parrot that talks
Hunts her down by the waterfront docks
where the sailors all come in
Maybe she'll pick him out again
how long must he wait
One more time for a simple twist of fate.
People tell me it's a sin
To know and feel too much within
I still believe she was my twin
but I lost the ring
She was born in spring
but I was born too late.
Blame it on a simple twist of fate.
Dirge
I hate myself for loving you
And the weakness that it showed
You were just a painted face
On a trip down to suicide road
The stage was set, the lights went out
All around the old hotel
I hate myself for loving you
And I'm glad the curtain fell.
I hate that foolish game we played
And the need that was expressed
And the mercy that you showed to me
Whoever would have guessed
I went out on Lower Broadway
And I felt that place within
That hollow place where martyrs weep
And angels play with sin.
Heard your songs of freedom
And man forever stripped
Acting out his folly
While his back is being whipped
Like a slave in orbit
He's beaten 'til he's tame
All for a moment's glory
And it's a dirty, rotten shame.
There are those who worship loneliness
I'm not one of them
In this age of fiberglass
I'm searching for a gem
The crystal ball upon the wall
Hasn't shown me nothing yet
I've paid the price of solitude
But at least I'm out of debt.
I can't recall a useful thing
You ever did for me
'Cept pat me on the back one time
When I was on my knees
We stared into each other's eyes
'Till one of us would break
No use to apologize
What difference would it make?
So sing your praise of progress
And of the Doom Machine
The naked truth is still taboo
Whenever it can be seen
Lady Luck who shines on me
Will tell you where I'm at
I hate myself for loving you
But I should get over that.
Tell Ol' Bill
The river whispers in my ear
I've hardly a penny to my name
The heavens have never seemed so near
All of my body glows with flame
The tempest struggles in the air
And to myself alone I sing
It could sink me then and there
I can hear the echoes ring
I tried to find one smiling face
To drive the shadow from my head
I'm stranded in this nameless place
Lying restless in a heavy bed
Tell me straight out if you will
Why must you torture me within
Why must you come down off of your high hill
Throw my fate to the clouds and wind?
Far away in a silent land
Secret thoughts are hard to bear
Remember me, you'll understand
Emotions we can never share
You trampled on me as you passed
Left the coldest kiss upon my brow
All of my doubts and fears have gone at last
I've nothing more to tell you now
I walk by tranquil lakes and streams
As each new season's dawn awaits
I lay awake at night with troubled dreams
The enemy is at the gate
Beneath the thunder blasted trees
The words are ringin' off your tongue
The ground is hard in times like these
Stars are cold, the night is young
The rocks are bleak, the trees are bare
Iron clouds go floating by
Snowflakes fallin' in my hair
Beneath the gray and stormy sky
The evenin' sun is sinkin' low
The woods are dark, the town isn't new
They''ll drag you down, they'll run the show
Ain't no telling what they'll do
Tell ol' Bill when he comes home
Anything is worth a try
Tell him that I'm not alone
That the hour has come to do or die
All the world I would defy
Let me make it plain as day
I look at you now and I sigh
How could it be any other way?
Tempest
The pale moon rose in its glory
Out on the Western town.
She told a sad, sad story
Of the great ship that went down.
'Twas the fourteenth day of April
Over the waves she rode,
Sailing into tomorrow
To a golden age foretold.
The night was black with starlight.
The seas were sharp and clear.
Moving through the shadows,
The promised hour was near.
Lights were holding steady
Gliding over the foam.
All the lords and ladies
Heading for their eternal home.
The chandeliers were swaying
From the balustrades above.
The orchestra was playing
Songs of faded love.
The watchman, he lay dreaming
As the ballroom dancers twirled.
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
Into the underworld.
Leo took his sketchbook,
He was often so inclined,
He closed his eyes and painted
The scenery in his mind.
Cupid struck his bosom
And broke it with a snap.
The closest woman to him,
He fell into her lap.
He heard a loud commotion.
Something sounded wrong.
His inner spirit was saying
That he couldn't stand here long.
He staggered to the quarterdeck.
No time now to sleep.
Water on the quarterdeck,
Already three foot deep.
Smokestack was leaning sideways.
Heavy feet began to pound.
He walked into the whirlwind,
Sky splitting all around.
The ship was going under.
The universe had opened wide.
The roll was called up yonder.
The angels turned aside.
Lights down in the hallway
Flickering dim and dull.
Dead bodies already floating
In the double bottom hull.
The engines then exploded,
Propellers they failed to start,
The boilers overloaded,
The ship's bow split apart.
Passengers were flying
Backward, forward, far and fast.
They mumbled, fumbled, and tumbled,
Each one more weary than the last.
The veil was torn asunder
'Tween the hours of twelve and one.
No change, no sudden wonder
Could undo what had been done.
The watchman lay there dreaming
At forty five degrees.
He dreamed that the Titanic was sinking,
Dropping to her knees.
Wellington he was sleeping.
His bed began to slide.
His valiant heart was beating.
He pushed the tables aside.
Glass of shattered crystal
Lay scattered roundabout.
He strapped on both his pistols.
How long could he hold out?
His men and his companions
Were nowhere to be seen.
In silence there he waited for
Time and space to intervene.
The passageway was narrow.
There was blackness in the air.
He saw every kind of sorrow,
Heard voices everywhere.
Alarm-bells were ringing
To hold back the swelling tide.
Friends and lovers clinging
To each other side by side.
Mothers and their daughters
Descending down the stairs
Jumped into the icy waters
Love and pity sent their prayers.
The rich man, Mister Astor
Kissed his darling wife.
He had no way of knowing
It'd be the last trip of his life.
Calvin, Blake and Wilson
Gambled in the dark.
Not one of them would ever live to
Tell the tale on the disembark.
Brother rose up 'gainst brother
In every circumstance.
They fought and slaughtered each other
In a deadly dance.
They lowered down the lifeboats
From the sinking wreck.
There were traitors, there were turncoats,
Broken backs, and broken necks.
The bishop left his cabin
To help others in need;
Turned his eyes up to the heavens,
Said, "The poor are yours to feed."
Davey the brothel-keeper
Came out, dismissed his girls;
Saw the water getting deeper,
Saw the changing of his world.
Jim Dandy smiled.
He never learned to swim;
Saw the little crippled child,
And he gave his seat to him.
He saw the starlight shining,
Streaming from the East.
Death was on the rampage,
But his heart was now at peace.
They battened down the hatches,
But the hatches wouldn't hold.
They drowned upon the staircase
Of brass and polished gold.
Leo said to Cleo,
"I think I'm going mad."
But he'd lost his mind already,
Whatever mind he had.
He tried to block the doorway
To save all those from harm,
Blood from an open wound
Pouring down his arm.
Petals fell from flowers
'Til all of them were gone.
In the long and dreadful hours,
The wizard's curse played on.
The host was pouring brandy.
He was going down slow.
He stayed right to the end, and he
Was the last to go.
There were many, many others,
Nameless here forever more,
They never sailed the ocean
Or left their homes before.
The watchman, he lay dreaming.
The damage had been done.
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking,
And he tried to tell someone.
The captain, barely breathing,
Kneeling at the wheel,
Above him and beneath him,
Fifty thousand tons of steel.
He looked over at his compass,
And he gazed into its face.
Needle pointing downward.
He knew he'd lost the race.
In the dark illumination,
He remembered bygone years.
He read the Book of Revelation,
And he filled his cup with tears.
When the Reaper's task had ended,
Sixteen hundred had gone to rest:
The good, the bad, the rich, the poor,
The loveliest, and the best.
They waited at the landing
And they tried to understand,
But there is no understanding
On the judgment of God's hand.
The news came over the wires
And struck with deadly force.
Love had lost its fires,
All things had run their course.
The watchman he lay dreaming
Of all the things that can be.
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
Into the deep blue sea.