Big World

Joe Jackson Big World Lyrics
1.Wild West

Out to the west there's a trail that leads somewhere
And a call of the wild that takes some people there
Through monument valley to california sun
From new amsterdam to the way the west was won

Well years will go by when you won't get nowhere
You're cold and you're tired and you're free and you don't care

You keep pushin' on when your friends keep turning back
You keep building towns and laying railroad track
And things get crazy and you have to use that sun
And you wonder if this is the way the west is won

But keep thinkin' that way and you won't get nowhere
'cause you got a right just to get where you're goin' to
Gotta keep runnin' gotta be the best
Gotta walk tall in the wild west

You keep on the move or you try to settle down
And there's strangers from further and further away in town
And you give them some tools and they know what must be done
And you know the west was won

And they say . . .
Where i come from, you can't get nowhere
I'm breaking my back for some opportunity
Making my fortune and i'll take it all home
Tell my kids about the wild west

And there's still beauty as the flowers bloom on desert sands
And there's still hope as the sun rises over the rio grande
But it's so crowded now and nothing's simple anymore
And they're still knocking at your door

You hear guns in the night and you hope they're not for you
'cause a dog eats a dog then he eats his master too
In the land of the free and the not so often brave
There's both love or money now choose which you will save

But . . . keep thinkin' that way and you won't get nowhere
'cause you got a right just to get where you're goin' to
Gotta keep runnin' gotta be the best
Gotta walk tall in the wild west


2.Right And Wrong

Stop everything
I think i hear the president
The pied piper of the tv screen
Is gonna make it simple
And he's got it all mapped out
And illustrated with cartoons
Too hard for clever folks to understand
They're more used to words like:
Ideology . . .
They're not talkin' 'bout right and left
They're talkin' 'bout

Right and wrong - do you know the difference
Right and wrong - do you know the difference
'tween the right and the left and the east and the west
What you know and the things that you'll never see

So what ya think
You like the yankees or the mets this year
And what about this latest war of words
And what about the commies
I saw the news last night
All illustrated with cartoons
So when they come with that opinion poll
They better not use words like
Ideology . . .
Or try to tell me 'bout the issues
Ideology . . .
Whose side are you on
We're talkin' 'bout

Right and wrong - do you know the difference
Right and wrong - do you know the difference
'tween the right and the left and the east and the west
What you know and the things that you'll never see

Where are we?

Right and wrong - do you know the difference
Right and wrong - do you know the difference
'tween the right and the left and the east and the west
What you know and the things that you'll never see


3.It's A Big World

Looking over hong kong harbour
Throw a shrimp in yellow wine
Eat it when it ceases moving
Just before is fine too
There's an ancient chinese saying
Always seems to slip my mind
Does it really die with honour
Does it really matter
It's a big world - so much to do

Sitting on a beach in bali
Tried to reach and grab a cloud
Looked so much like cotton candy
And i'm feeling god-like
Could it be just what i'm eating
Only mushrooms after all
And with juice of avocado
I should live forever

It's a big world - so much to see much

Sitting on the floor in kyoto
Marvel at the latest catch
Eat it as soon as you are able
Quick before they cook it
There's an eyeball staring at me
And i know i've met my match
Do i eat or am i eaten
It's a new adventure
It's a big world - so much to do
It's a big world - so much to see

From the leningradsky prospekt
On the road to mandalay
There's a new intoxication
Hits you just as you're leaving
Caf?sur les champs-elyss
Baklava in istanbul
Smoke a pipe in casablanca
Question all you believe in
It's a big world - so much to do
It's a big world - so much to see
And plenty of room for me and you


4.Precious Time

A million tiny lights are strung across the western sky
They burn to light our mission
But it's just a million lonely hearts
Strung out from never asking why
We burn with blind ambition

I heard somebody say
I don't regret my wedding day
But something's wrong
It's not the same
I'm lonely and i'd start again
If i had the time
Precious time

But i don't ask much
Just to keep in touch
And waste a little of your precious time
Waste a little of your precious time

A million dollars never justified a million lies
To jockey for position
And if two hearts can't beat as one
How can a million souls survive
In this world of suspicion

I heard somebody say
I dream about my wedding day
Through lonely nights
I dream of you
A lover though a friend would do
I'd find him if i had the time
Precious time

But i don't ask much
Just to keep in touch
And waste a little of your precious time
Waste a little of your precious time

And just a smile's enough
Just some of that human stuff
And waste a little of your precious time
Precious time


5.Tonight And Forever

You know you're gonna have to face up to the facts
Youre just another face in a big crowd
You know we gotta try hard to relax
We can laugh - but not too loud
It's never like you see in a magazine
And you don't even know what you mean to me
And i don't understand this feeling
But wanna be with you tonight
Tonight and forever

You drive me crazy and you say that you'll never change
And i could never do what you want to
Don't you find this whole thing a little strange
I don't even know if i like you
It's never like you see on a movie screen
But there's something that you do to me
And i'm not sure that i believe it
But i wanna be with you tonight
Tonight and forever


6.Shanghai Sky

Strange
How the world got so small
I turned around and there was nowhere left to go
So sad
The dream always dies
Each new arrival closes places in my mind
But i can dream
Until i go
Of smells that i don't recognize
And by the river
In shanghai
The colour of the sky
Is something i've never seen
After the summer rain
Children smile
Curious and kind
And the world is big again


7.Fifty Dollar Love Affair

Oh the romance of these harbour towns
Lights that shimmer on canals
And in the bottom of your glass
The air buzzing with foreign tongues
And the occasional cries
Of sailors, tramps and rock 'n' rollers . . .
(hey babe you look so hot tonight
Hey come over here i'll treat you right)
'cause . . .

A man's a man all right
Just like any other man
He'll search the town tonight
For a fifty dollar love affair

And another taste of cheap delight
Street food sizzling outside
Washed down with the local poison
These back alleys with their pinkish lights
And the occasional cries
Of smugglers, bums and credit card holders . . .
(hey babe i feel so good tonight
I got shore leave and i sure ain't leavin' here till i prove
that . . .)

A man's a man all right
Just like any other man
He'll search the town tonight
For a fifty dollar love affair


8.We Can't Live Together

In distant lands
There's no such luxury
You'd give your hand
In pre-arranged matrimony
You'd wear the veil
I'd sit in some cafe somewhere
Instead of this running around
And this right to be free
So pleased with ourselves but there's one thing i've found
About you and me
We can't live together
But we can't stay apart

In all my dreams
I've wanted someone like you
With no extremes
We'd both do what we have to do
But it's too easy, and then it's too hard
And passion gives us away
We know when to play the right cards
But we never know what to say
And we can't live together
But we can't stay apart

Why can't you be more like me
Or me like you
And why can't one and one
Just add to two

But we can't live together
And we can't stay apart


9.Forty Years

(on the 10th anniversary of the end of world war ii)

Here in berlin - people line up to get in
To wait for the end - living in glorious sin
They've looked around - and now there is no looking back
To when rivers ran red - now it's the sky that grows black
Shadows are cast as two giants roam over the earth
We light a match - but what is that little flame worth

Once allies danced and sang
But it was forty years ago

Here in d.c. - they talk about 'euro-disease'
And how the french are always so damn hard to please
Otions are passed in brussels but no one agrees
And no one walks tall - but no-one gets down on their knees

Once allies laughed and drank
But it was forty years ago

Where i come from
They don't like americans much
They think they're so loud, so tasteless, and so out of touch
Stiff upper lips are curled into permanent sneers
Self-satisfied
Awaiting the next forty years

Once allies cried and cheered
But it was forty years ago


10.Survival

Take what you want
But just what you need
For survival

Life's a bitch and then you die
Nothing you can do about it
Anything you steal or buy
You're gonna be leaving here without it

So take what you want
But just what you need
For survival


11.Soul Kiss

Every time i turn on the tv it's always the same old tease
See everything you ever dreamed that you could want
But nothing that you need
And every gorgeous girl in hollywood could soon be mine
I got the money and from time to time i have the time
Get the image right
Party through the night
But as it's getting light
I'm still waiting for a soul kiss
Do i have to say please
And it's always just a near miss
Always just a big tease
Is it always gonna be like this
When you're lookin' for a soul kiss

And all the record stores
Are filled with pretty boys and their material girls
And even students vote for actors
Then they tell you it's a safer world
And all the hippies work for ibm or take control
Of faster ways to sell you food that isn't really whole
I like to wine and dine
You sure are lookin' fine
And we could kill some time
But i'm looking for a soul kiss
I've even said please
But it's always just a near miss
Always just a big tease
Is it always gonna be like this
When you're lookin' for a soul kiss


12.The Jet Set

Hey pal
Can i take your picture for the people back home
They won't believe it when they see this stuff
You see the camera that i got in hong kong
Completely duty free

This really is a pretty scene
Could you ask your kid to smile please
Sorry what exactly do you mean
Can you say it in english
'cause we're the . . .

Jet set - get out of our way
And don't be messin' with the . . .
Jet set - get out of our way
We got a lot of things to see

Let's get a big mac
Get it while the dollar's worth a thousand yen
It's quite a bargain here
Next year
We'll save some money and we'll hire big en
For our anniversary

This really is a pretty scene
But i'm happy i don't live here
Hey what's the matter with the waiter's face
Can you say it in english
'cause we're the . . .

Jet set - get out of our way
And don't be messin' with the . . .
Jet set - get out of our way
We got a lot of things to see


13.Tango Atlantico

It's xmas time again
Has it really been a year
And a soldier sighs again
And thinks about his kids and english beer
Pulls on his boots again
And steps into the pissing rain
And the clouds look just like dirty sheep
But at least he's got a job
And he knows he can't complain

And you may think that this song comes too late
But lest we forget
This tango atlantico isn't over yet

Can you imagine this
The general and the lady dance
She flashes victory signs and smokes cigars
He shines his medals up for one last chance
They make a pretty pair
But no one understands their game
Because they can't agree about the stakes
They can't agree on anything
They can't even agree on the name

And you may think that this song comes too late
But lest we forget
This tango atlantico isn't over yet

Sorry tommy . . . lost a foot? . . . bloody land mines . . . no
more soccer for you . . .

And you may think that this song comes too late
But lest we forget
This tango atlantico isn't over yet


14.Home Town

Of all the stupid things i could have thought
This was the worst
I started to believe
That i was born at seventeen
And all the stupid things
The letters and the broken verse
Stayed hidden at the bottom of the drawer
They'd always been
And now i plough through piles
Of bills, receipts and credit cards
And tickets and the daily news
And sometimes i just . . .

Wanna go back to my home town
Though i know it'll never be the same
Back to my home town
'cause it's been so long
And i'm wondering if it's still there

We think we're pretty smart
Us city slickers get around
And when the going's rough
We kill the pain and relocate
We're never married
Never faithful not to any town
But we never leave the past behind
We just accumulate
So sometimes when the music stops
I seem to hear a distant sound
Of waves and seagulls
Football crowds and church bells
And i . . .

Wanna go back to my home town
Though i know it'll never be the same
Back to my home town
'cause it's been so long
And i'm wondering if it's still there

Back to my home town
Though i know it'll never be the same
Back to my home town
'cause it's been so long
And i'm wondering if it's still there


15.Man In The Street

I'm not a happy guy
But i'm not always sad
And i'm no millionaire
But i don't do so bad

But no matter who you think you are
There's always someone with a different view
There's always someone thinks he's got a right
To say what's good for you

So how do you know
That the man in the street don't care
And why don't you care
When the man in the street don't know
Anyway

I'm not a clever guy
But i'm sure not that dumb
Don't have the inside news
But i know what goes on

And if you put your faith in god above
Or if you watch the skies for superman
There's always times when you can see the answers
Slip right through their hands

So how do you know
That the man in the street don't care
And why don't you care
When the man in the street don't know
Anyway

So no matter who they think they are
As they tell you who to fight or how to dance
Why don't you give yourself a break
And give us all a chance

'cause how do you know
That the man in the street don't care
And why don't you care
When the man in the street don't know