Return to List of my works
Song Lyrics
by Joe Monzo
As Long As We Live
Words and music © 1993 by Joe Monzo
A duet, inspired by Helena during our first year of marital bliss.
When I need you
you'll be giving me all of your loving
and when you need me
I'll be there to give it to you
You call my name - I look around
I call your name - you hear the sound
And I know
as long as we live
we'll always be together
in a love that will grow
and last forever
as long as we live
we'll be together
in a love that will grow
and last forever
as long as we live
One-Way Street
Words and music © 1992 by Joe Monzo
Pretty self-explanatory: yet another beautiful woman with whom I became very infatuated, and who didn't seem quite as interested in me as I was in her.
I was drivin' along
Now facing me
Now I don't wanna get no ticket
Now I have to get out
I've been goin' the wrong direction
Whenever
Words and music © 1986 by Joe Monzo
Just a simple love song, a duet, inspired by Terri.
Whenever I see you
Whenever we kiss
Whenever we kiss
Whenever we kiss
I've Got A Feeling About You
Words and music © 1986 by Joe Monzo
My slow jazz torch song.
I've got a feeling about you
when you look that way...at me
I want you to say...to me
that you will stick around
tell me where you can be found
oh, tell me what to do
'cause I've got a feeling about you
So Ultraconservative
Words and music © 1985 by Joe Monzo
I heard a song by The Cars which rhymed "curious" with "delerious", and began wondering: what was the longest, most contrived word I could put into a song. I remembered "ultraconservative" from my old biography of Bart Starr, which I hadn't read in about 15 years. Bingo! So what if I couldn't think up a rhyme for it -- I liked it so much I used it anyway.A note on the music: because the guys who played in the band I was in at the time were not very musically literate, I used to have to explain complicated chords to them by telling the guitars and the bass to play different things. I began writing this way, with the two parts somewhat independent, as evidenced in this tune, which gives this an intellectual twist on a punk rock song.
I feel so wild
I like to do lots of crazy things
and I don't wanna stop
oh baby you know you really bring me down
Sometimes she acts so ultraconservative
sometimes she acts so ultraconservative
sometimes she acts so ultraconservative
when we spend money
I like to buy you lots of fancy clothes
but you like black and white
oh baby you know you really bring me down
Sometimes she acts so ultraconservative
sometimes she acts so ultraconservative
sometimes she acts so ultraconservative
when we're together
I wanna see you go to the top
but you like it on the bottom
oh baby you know you really bring me down
Sometimes she acts so ultraconservative
sometimes she acts so ultraconservative
sometimes she acts so ultraconservative
The Why Did They Close The Frank S. Farley Service Plaza On Saturday Night Blues
Words and music © 1985 by Joe Monzo
I used to pass the Frank S. Farley Service Plaza on the Atlantic City Expressway every morning on my way to casino school. There was a big green and white sign that announced it and said "Open 24 hours". One day as I passed by, I started thinking, "what if I really needed that gas station some day, and for some reason, it was closed..." Of course, i was having fun with the ridiculously long title, which was really the whole point of writing the song.
I'm goin' to Atlantic City ready to gamble
tomorrow I'll hit the beach, so I bring my towel and my sandals
and I get into my car with Sue and Amanda
wo-oh-oh-oh
we're headin' outta town, don't make any stops on the way
I got my girls with me, they bring me luck when I play
but my car starts to die because it's runnin' out of juice
and I can't get any help because I didn't pay my triple-A dues
I got The Why Did They Close The Frank S. Farley Service Plaza On Saturday Night Blues
It's gettin' pretty late, and now I can't think of what to do
we're stuck in the middle of Jersey, and we can't thru
we can't think of what to do, so we each upon up a brew
wo-oh-oh-oh
I'm starting to lose hope of ever gettin' to Atlantic City
but there's two girls in the car and I should take advantage of the opportunity
so I give 'em the idea that we should get close to one another
but they were ignorin' me, and started makin' out with each other
they couldn't get into me, so I just said, "Hey what's the matter with you two?"
I got The Why Did They Close The Frank S. Farley Service Plaza On Saturday Night Blues
The Why Did They Close The Frank S. Farley Service Plaza Blues
The Why Did They Close The Frank S. Farley Service Plaza Blues
The Why Did They Close The Frank S. Farley Service Plaza On Saturday Night Blues
The Why Did They Close The Frank S. Farley Service Plaza On Saturday Night Blues
Labor Day
Words and music © 1983 by Joe Monzo
I spent a summer in Wildwood, New Jersey, and had a serious infatuation with my landlady's daughter, who was several years older than me and really gorgeous. She was a school teacher, and quite a scholar, and we'd talk for hours about her circle of friends (one of whose ancestors built the Brooklyn Bridge) or intellectual subjects. I'd joke about asking her out, but never got up the nerve to pursue it seriously. i always regretted that, after being amazed at how suddenly that summer ended.
Sittin' on the porch
in the back of the house
talkin' about Van Gogh and Robie
in the summer heat
watchin' all the kids walkin' up the street
comin' home from the beach
comin' home from the beach
Oh Debbie
you were so much older than me
but couldn't you see
how good it could be
if you'd be with me
Oh Debbie
we just wasted the summer away
talkin' every day
from the beginning of May
until the minute you drove away
I wish I was around way back then
when they were your friends
enjoyin' all those crazy times
that I would've loved
a sarcastic satirical social club
rakin' up all the mud
playin' around in the mud
Oh Debbie
you were so much older than me
but couldn't you see
how good it could be
if you'd be with me
Oh Debbie
we just wasted the summer away
talkin' every day
from the beginning of May
until the minute you drove away
I sat on a bench
in Wildwood
and watched two guys
push a broom
over the long shadows
that stretched
across the pavement
and the summer
was swept away with the trash
Oh Debbie
you were so much older than me
But couldn't you see
How good it could be
If you'd be with me
Oh Debbie
we just wasted the summer away
talkin' every day
from the beginning of May
until the minute you drove away
On The Bus
Words and music © 1983 by Joe Monzo
Yet another story of unrequited love - well, "unrequited like", anyway. This song was inspired by a ride on a Wildwood bus, and by the music of the 60s L.A. group Love - I was listening to their Forever Changes a whole lot at the time. Very hippy, in the music and the lyrics.
I got on the bus
and sat across the aisle
from an attractive human
I sat across the aisle
from an attractive human
I extended my greetings
but she just turned her head
and gazed up at the ceiling
she just turned her head
and gazed up at the ceiling
so I stared thru the glass
and looked into the night
and I saw lots of houses
lined up in a row
and altho they were different
one after another
I could still see her reflection
in the window
she tried to ignore me
but I had caught her attention
and she knew that I knew it
I had caught her attention
and she knew that I knew it
she squirmed in her seat
but she refused to acknowledge
my presence
she refused to acknowledge
my presence
so I stared thru the glass
and looked into the night
and I saw lots of houses
lined up in a row
and altho they were different
one after another
I could still see her reflection
in the window
(instrumental break)
I could hear her crying
that's when I realized that she wasn't crying
so I got up close to her
and asked her what was wrong
oh I got up close to her
and asked her what was wrong
that's when I realized that she wasn't crying
no no no, she wasn't crying
she was laughing
she was laughing
she was laughing
we were laughing
Down & Out
Words and music © 1983 by Joe Monzo
Quite obviously, inspired by the time I spent in Los Angeles in 1981. I was a huge Jim Morrison fan at the moment.
I took everything I had
and blew it on a Greyhound ticket
I wanted to
see some of that greener grass
that I'd heard about
so many times
I walked around L.A. for days
with no money and no place to sleep
until I
finally found my way out
to Morrison's beach
and I felt just like him
well
I used to find me a different girl
every night
now I tried something new
I said the hell with pride
but the only change in me
has been on the outside
and it's
driving me outta my mind
I see all the pretty women
on Venice Beach
but I can't talk to any of 'em
'cause I'm outta reach
'cause I'm wearing smelly clothes
and I ain't eaten in a week
and it's
driving me outta my mind
so I'm walking down the boardwalk
and I look at my reflection in a store window
and the skinny creature I see
looking back at me
doesn't even look like me
it used to be the kind of place
where everybody there was just like me
but now the rich people are moving in
and we all call it home
but money turns everything grey
well
I used to find me a different girl
every night
now I tried something new
I said the hell with pride
but the only change in me
has been on the outside
and it's
driving me outta my mind
I see all the pretty women
on Venice Beach
but I can't talk to any of 'em
'cause I'm outta reach
'cause I'm wearing smelly clothes
and I ain't eaten in a week
and it's
driving me outta my mind
So Hard To Say Goodbye
Words and music © 1983 by Joe Monzo
I was living in South Jersey, far away from Christine, the girl I'd been in love with in New York, and with whom I was still in love. She took the bus to my house to visit me one winter, and I hated to see her leave.
She came to visit me
and I enjoyed it so much
and whenever she's here
I want it to last forever
and I don't want her to go
But she gets on the bus
one more time
and she's gone away
yes, she gets on the bus
one more time
and she's gone away
and I want her back tonight
'cause it's so hard,
so hard to say goodbye
Now, it's time to leave
I ask her when she'll be back again
and I feel the pain
of that last goodbye kiss
and I don't want her to go
But she gets on the bus
one more time
and she's gone away
yes, she gets on the bus
one more time
and she's gone away
and I want her back tonight
'cause it's so hard,
so hard to say goodbye
I can't even see her face
thru the tinted glass window
so now I have to just go out walkin'
in the cold and empty streets
and I don't have any idea
how long it'll be
till I'm gonna see her again
I watch as it pulls away
and all the sounds I hear are echoed thru the empty spaces between us
and in a puff of smoke
the world stops, and I'm all alone
and I don't want her to go
But she gets on the bus
one more time
and she's gone away
yes, she gets on the bus
one more time
and she's gone away
and I want her back tonight
'cause it's so hard,
so hard to say goodbye
...to say goodbye
...to say goodbye
...to say goodbye
Don't Drop It On Me
Words and music © 1982 by Joe Monzo
I was listening one day to a big event that was being broadcast on the radio. It was a huge anti-nuke rally, with lots of big stars singing songs to protest nuclear war and nuclear power. I just had to write my own, having been anti-war all my life. I purposely kept it very simple - just a li'l ol' acoustic blues.
What does it take
to live happy and free?
What does it take
to live happy and free?
You can drop the bomb on Uncle Sam
but don't drop it on me
I'm happy the way I am
so please let me be
I'm happy the way I am
so please just let me be
You can drop the bomb on Uncle Sam
but don't drop it on me
Why does it seem
so hard to see?
Why does it seem to be
so hard to see?
You can drop the bomb on Uncle Sam
but don't drop it on me
What does it take
to live happy and free?
What does it take
to live happy and free?
You can drop the bomb on Uncle Sam
but don't drop it on me
Junkmail
Words and music © 1982 by Joe Monzo
I wanted to write a heavy-metal pop song. What better subject over which to loudly express my frustration than junkmail?
Every day when I get in
I go to see what the mailman brings
I wait for letters and other good things
but I'm always disappointed
'cause all I ever get is...
Junkmail!
Junkmail!
Junkmail!
Junkmail!
I got friends from near and far
I call 'em up and tell 'em "send a postcard"
so I can see what it's like where they are
but I'm always disappointed
'cause all I ever get is...
Junkmail!
Junkmail!
Junkmail!
Junkmail!
When I'm drivin', I go for the thrills
and that's raisin' my insurance bill
so I keep lookin' for my uncle's will
but I'm always disappointed
'cause all I ever get is...
Junkmail!
Junkmail!
Junkmail!
Junkmail!
Finding Fragments
Words and music © 1982 by Joe Monzo
While living in Staten Island in 1981, my girlfriend Christine turned me on to Rickie Lee Jones, whose first album had the hit Chuck E.'s in Love, the song that both Christine and I really liked was Last-Chance Texaco. I bought her second album (Pirates) right away when it came out later that year, after my odyssey in Los Angeles.I fell in love with that record, listened to it over and over, and was influenced by it very much in my own work at the time, most strongly in this song, which was written at the very end (late September) of a summer sojurn in Wildwood, NJ, in 1983.
Copying Rickie Lee's style naturally made me think a lot of Christine, and so i used our relationship as the basis for the fictional lyrics. This song has a more complicated rhyme scheme than most of my work, and i also enjoyed using some very asymmetrical meters in the bridge section.
walkin' down Mansion Avenue
it seemed like it would last forever
ah, sittin' on the dock drinkin' beer, just me and you
with the sun and the boats and the water and the two of us together
constantly talkin' and slowly getting buzzed
i only had that one last day to spend
well i had certain ideas in my head, what i thought it was
but she knew right then it was turning out pretty much to be the end
[bridge:]
two years later i was walkin' around, and i stood
in your neighborhood
and i passed by the high school hall
and found the spot on the wall
where we stood every night in the dark
and we wrote our names in a heart
and maybe they'd shown
what we couldn't have known
'cause they never washed it away in the fall
the kids were all around but i didn't even know
just like it was when we'd walk by them back then
now i'm standing here and i can't think of anyplace to go
and it seems like i'm lookin' right into your lovin' eyes again
Return to List of my works