1.Getting Ready For Christmas Day
From early in November to the last week of December
I got money matters weighing me down
Oh the music may be merry, but it's only temporary
I know Santa Claus is coming to town
In the days I work my day job, in the nights I work my night
But it all comes down to working man's pay
Getting ready, I'm getting ready, ready for Christmas Day
Getting ready for Christmas Day
And let me tell you, namely, the undertaker, he's getting ready
for your body
Not only that, the jailer he's getting ready for you
Christmas day. Hmm？ And not only the jailer, but the lawyer, the
police force
Now getting ready for Christmas day, and I want you to bear it
in mind
I got a nephew in Iraq, it's his third time back
But it's ending up the way it began
With the luck of a beginner he'll be eating turkey dinner
On some mountain top in Pakistan
Getting ready, oh we're getting ready
For the power and the glory and the story of the Christmas day
Getting ready, for Christmas day.
Done made it up in your mind that I'm going, New York,
Philadelphia, Chicago.
I'm going, on a trip, getting ready, for Christmas day.
But when Christmas come, nobody knows where you'll be.
You might ask me.
I may be layin' in some lonesome grave, getting ready, for
Christmas day
Getting ready oh we're getting ready
For the power and the glory and the story of the Christmas day
Yes we're getting ready
Getting ready, ready for your prayers,
I'm going and see my relatives in a distant land.
Getting ready, getting ready for Christmas day
If I could tell my Mom and Dad that the things we never had
Never mattered we were always okay
Getting ready, oh ready for Christmas day
Ready, getting ready
For the power and the glory and the story of the Christmas day
2.The Afterlife
After I died, and the make up had dried, I went back to my
place.
No moon that night, but a heavenly light shone on my face.
Still I thought it was odd, there was no sign of God just to
usher me in.
Then a voice from above, sugar coated with love, said 'Let us
begin'.
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
OK, a new kid in school, got to follow the rule, you got to
learn the routine.
Woah, there's a girl over there, with the sunshiny hair, like a
homecomin' queen.
I said, 'Hey, what you say？ It's a glorious day, by the way how
long you been dead？'
Maybe you, maybe me, maybe baby makes three, but she just shook
her head...
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
Buddha and Moses and all the noses from narrow to flat,
Had to stand in the line, just to glimpse the divine, what you
think about that？
Well it seems like our fate to suffer and wait for the knowledge
we seek.
It's all His design, no one cuts in the line, no one here likes
a sneak
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
After you climb, up the ladder of time, the Lord God is here.
Face to face, in the vastness of space, your words disappear.
And you feel like swimming in an ocean of love, and the current
is strong.
But all that remains when you try to explain is a fragment of
song...
Lord is it, Be-Bop-A-Lula or Ooh-Poppa-Do
Lord, Be-Bop-A-Lula or Ooh-Poppa-Do
Be-Bop-A-Lula
3.Dazzling Blue
Truth or lie, the silence is revealing
An empty sky, a hidden mound of stone
But the CAT scan's eye sees what the heart's concealing
Nowadays, when everything is known
Maybe love's an accident, or destiny is true
But you and I were born beneath a star of dazzling blue
Dazzling blue
Miles apart, though the miles can't measure distance
Worlds apart on a rainy afternoon
But the road gets dirty and it offers no resistance
So turn your amp up and play your lonesome tune
Maybe love's an accident, or destiny is true
But you and I were born beneath a star of dazzling blue
Dazzling blue
Dazzling blue, roses red, fine white linen
To make a marriage bed
And we'll build a wall that nothing can break through
And dream our dreams of dazzling blue
Sweet July, and we drove the Montauk Highway
And walked along the cliffs above the sea
And we wondered why, and imagined it was someday
And that is how the future came to be
Dazzling blue, roses red, fine white linen
To make a marriage bed
And we'll build a wall that nothing can break through
And dream our dreams of dazzling blue
4.Rewrite
I've been workin' on my rewrite, that's right
I'm gonna change the ending
Gonna throw away my title
And toss it in the trash
Every minute after midnight
All the time I'm spending
Is just for workin' on my rewrite, that's right
And I'm gonna turn it into cash
I've been workin' at the Car Wash
I consider it my day job
'Cause it's really not a pay job
But that's where I am
Everybody says 'The old guy
Workin' at the Car Wash
Hasn't got a brain cell left
Since Vietnam'
But I say
Help me, help me
Help me, help me
Thank you!
I'd no idea
That you were there
When I said help me, help me
Help me, help me
Oh, thank you
For listening to my prayer
I'm workin' on my rewrite, that's right
I'm gonna change the ending
Gonna throw away my title
And toss it in the trash
Every minute after midnight
All the time I'm spending
Is just for workin' on my rewrite, that's right
And I'm gonna turn it into cash
I'll eliminate the pages
Where the father has a breakdown
And he has to leave the family
But he really meant no harm
I'm gonna substitute a car chase
And a race across the rooftops
Where the father saves the children
And he holds them in his arms
I said
Help me, help me
Help me, help me
Thank you!
I'd no idea
That you were there
When I said help me, help me
Help me, help me
Oh, thank you
For listening to my prayer
Workin' on my rewrite
5.Love And Hard Times
God and His only Son
Paid a courtesy call on Earth
One Sunday morning
Orange blossoms opened their fragrant lips
Songbirds sang from the tips of Cottonwoods
Old folks wept for His love in these hard times
Well, We got to get going,
said the restless Lord to the Son
There are galaxies yet to be born
Creation is never done
Anyway, these people are slobs here
If we stay it's bound to be a mob scene
But, disappear, and it's love and hard times
I loved her the first time I saw her
I know that's an old songwriting cliche
Loved you the first time I saw you
Can't describe it any other way
Any other way
The light of her beauty was warm as a summer day
Clouds of antelope rolled by
No hint of rain to come
In the prairie sky
Just love, love, love, love, love
When the rains came, the tears burned,
windows rattled, locks turned
It's easy to be generous when you're on a roll
It's hard to be grateful when you're out of control
And love is gone
The light at the edge of the curtain
Is the quiet dawn
The bedroom breathes
In clicks and clacks
Uneasy heartbeat, can't relax
But then your hand takes mine
Thank God, I found you in time
Thank God, I found you
Thank God, I found you
6.Love Is Eternal Sacred Light
Love is eternal sacred light
Free from the shackles of time
Evil is darkness, sight without sight
A demon that feeds on the mind
How'd it all begin？ Started with a bang
Couple of light years later, stars and planets sang
Fire warmed the cold, waves of colors flew
Moonlight into gold, earth to green and blue
Love is eternal sacred light
Free from the shackles of time
Evil is darkness, sight without sight
A demon that feeds on the mind
Earth becomes a farm
Farmer takes a wife
Wife becomes a river and the giver of life
Man becomes machine
Oil runs down his face
Machine becomes a man with a bomb in the marketplace
Bomb in the marketplace, bomb in the marketplace
Love is eternal sacred light
Free from the shackles of time
Evil is darkness, sight without sight
A demon that feeds on the mind
Big Bang
That's a joke that I made up
Once when I had eons to kill
You know, most folks
They don't get when I'm joking
Well, maybe someday they will
Love me
Love me
That's the main request I receive
Well you know I love all my children
And it tears me up when I leave
But sometimes you gotta fly down that highway
Free as a bird, knock on wood, thank the Lord
I am driving along in my automobile
It's a brand new pre-owned '96 Ford
Check out the radio, pop music station
That don't sound like my music to me
Talk show host, what's that boy's name？
Politics is ugly
At the end of the dial there's the gospel show
Maybe now I can exit and rest
There's a blizzard rolling down off the banks of Lake Michigan
Gonna cover the roads of the icy Midwest
Love is eternal sacred light
Free from the shackles of time
Evil is darkness, sight without sight
A demon that feeds all the mind
Love is eternal sacred light
Love is eternal sacred light
Love is eternal sacred light
7.Amulet
Instrumental
8.Questions For the Angels
A pilgrim on a pilgrimage
Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge
His sneakers torn
In the hour when the homeless move their cardboard blankets
And the new day is born
Folded in his backpack pocket
The questions that he copied from his heart
Who am I in this lonely world？
And where will I make my bed tonight？
When twilight turns to dark
Questions for the angels
Who believes in angels？
Fools do
Fools and pilgrims all over the world
If you shop for love in a bargain store
And you don't get what you bargained for
Can you get your money back？
If an empty train in a railroad station
Calls you to its destination
Can you choose another track？
Will I wake up from these violent dreams
With my hair as white as the morning moon？
Questions for the angels
Who believes in angels？
I do
Fools and pilgrims all over the world
Downtown Brooklyn
The pilgrim is passing a billboard
That catches his eye
It's Jay-Z
He's got a kid on each knee
He's wearing clothes that he wants us to try
If every human on the planet and all the buildings on it
Should disappear
Would a zebra grazing in the African Savannah
Care enough to shed one zebra tear？
Questions for the angels
9.Love And Blessings
Love and blessings
Simple kindness
Fell like rain on thirsty land
Fields and gardens
Long abandoned
Came to life in dust and sand
Lover's lips sweet as honey
Touched as if old love was new
Banker's pockets overflowing with gold and money
Prophesies of wealth come true
Bop-bop-a-whoa
Ain't no song like an old song, Charlie
Bop-bop-a-whoa
There ain't no song like an old song,
Bop-bop-a-whoa
There ain't no time like a good time Charlie
Bop-bop-a-whoa
Ain't no times like the good times, Charlie
Bop-bop-a-whoa
Everywhere you look anywhere you go
Everybody working for the
Can't get enough of the
If the summer kept a secret
It was heaven's lack of rain
Golden days and amber sunsets
Let the scientists complain
Came the autumn, drained of color
Ghosts in the water beg for more
Maple trees just a little bit duller
Than the memory of the year before
In a word, or in an image
Something called me from my sleep
Love and blessings
Simple kindness
Ours to hold but not to keep
10.So Beautiful Or So What
I'm going to make a chicken gumbo
Toss some sausage in the pot
I'm going to flavor it with okra
Cayenne pepper to make it hot
You know life is what we make of it
So beautiful or so what
I'm gonna tell my kids a bedtime story
A play without a plot
Will it have a happy ending？
Maybe yeah, maybe not
I tell them life is what you make of it
So beautiful or so what
I'm just a raindrop in a bucket
A coin dropped in a slot
I am an empty house on Weed Street
Across the road from the vacant lot
You know life is what you make of it
So beautiful or so what
Ain't it strange the way we're ignorant
How we seek out bad advice
How we jigger it and figure it
Mistaking value for the price
And play a game with time and love
Like a pair of rolling dice
Four men on the balcony
Overlooking the parking lot
Pointing at a figure in the distance
Dr. King has just been shot
And the sirens long melody
Singing Savior Pass Me Not
Ain't it strange the way we're ignorant
How we seek out bad advice
How we jigger it and figure it
Mistaking value for the price
And play a game with time and love
Like a pair of rolling dice
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