Prose
Trailways Bus
LAZARUS
A passenger traveling quietly conceals himself
With a magazine and a sleepless pillow
Over the crest of the mountain the moon begins its climb
And he wakes to find he's in rolling farmland
The farmer sleeps against his wife
He wonders what their life must be
A Trailways bus is heading south
Into Washington, D.C.
A mother and child, the baby maybe two months old
Prepare themselves for sleep and feeding.
The shadow of the Capitol dome slides across his face
And his heart is racing with the urge to freedom.
The father motionless as stone,
A shepherd resting with his flock,
The Trailways bus is turning west-
Dallas via Little Rock.
WAHZINAK
O my darling, darling Sal
The desert moon is my witness.
I've no money to come East,
But I know you'll soon be here
LAZARUS
We pull into downtown Dallas by the side of the Grassy Knoll
Where the leader fell and a town was broken.
Away from the feel and flow of life for so many years
He hears music playing and Spanish spoken
The border patrol outside of Tucson boarded the bus
BORDER PATROLMAN
Any aliens here? You better check with us,
How about you son?
You look like you got Spanish blood.
Do you 'Habla Ingles,' am I understood?
SAL
Yes, I am an alien, from Mars.
I come to earth from outer space.
And if I traveled my whole life
You guys would still be on my case
You guys would still be on my case
LAZARUS
But he can't leave his fears behind,
He recalls each fatal thrust
The screams carried by the wind,
Phantom figures in the dust
Phantom figures in the dust
Phantom figures in the dust.
Train in the Distance
She was beautiful as Southern skies
The night he met her
She was married to someone
He was doggedly determined that he would get her
He was old, he was young
From time to time he'd tip his heart
But each time she withdrew
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true
Well eventually the boy and the girl get married
Sure enough they have a son
And though they both were occupied
With the child she carried
Disagreements had begun
And in a while they fell apart
It wasn't hard to do
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true
Two disappointed believers
Two people playing the game
Negotiations and love songs
Are often mistaken for one and the same
Now the man and the woman
Remain in contact
Let us say it's for the child
With disagreements about the meaning
Of a marriage contract
Conversations hard and wild
But from time to time
He makes her laugh
She cooks a meal or two
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true
Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true
What is the point of this story
What information pertains
The thought that life could be better
Is woven indelibly
Into our hearts
And our brains
Still Crazy After All These Years
I met my old lover
On the street last night
She seemed so glad to see me
I just smiled
And we talked about some old times
And we drank ourselves some beers
Still crazy afler all these years
Oh, still crazy after all these years
I'm not the kind of man
Who tends to socialize
I seem to lean on
Old familiar ways
And I aint no fool for love songs
That whisper in my ears
Still crazy afler all these years
Oh, still crazy after all these years
Four in the morning
Crapped out, yawning
Longing my life a--way
I'll never worry
Why should I?
It's all gonna fade
Now I sit by my window
And I watch the cars
I fear I'll do some damage
One fine day
But I would not be convicted
By a jury of my peers
Still crazy after all these years
Oh, still crazy
Still crazy
Still crazy after all these years
American Tune
Many's the time I've been mistaken
And many times confused
Yes, and often felt forsaken
And certainly misused
Oh, but I'm alright, I'm alright
I'm just weary to my bones
Still, you don't expect to be
Bright and bon vivant
So far a-way from home, so far away from home
I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
or driven to its knees
Oh, but it's alright, it's alright
for we lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the
road we're traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong
I can't help it, I wonder what's gone wrong
And I dreamed I was dying
I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high up above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying
We come on the ship they call the Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon
We come in the a-ge's most uncertain hours
and sing an American tune
Oh, and it's alright, it's alright, it's alright
You can't be forever blessed
Still, tomorrow's going to be another working day
And I'm trying to get some rest
That's all I'm trying to get some rest
Nobody
Who knows my secret broken
Who feels my flesh when I am gone
Who was a witness to the dream
Who kissed my eyes and saw the scream
Lying there
Nobody
Who is my reason to begin
Who plows the earth, who breaks the skin
Who took my two hands and made them four
Who is my heart, who is my door
Nobody
Nobody but you, girl
Nobody but you
Nobody in this whole wide world
Nobody
Who makes the bed that can't be made
Who is my mirror, who's my blade
When I am rising like a flood
Who feels the pounding in my blood
Nobody
Nobody but you
Nobody but you
Nobody in this whole wide world
Nobody, girl
Nobody
She Moves On
I feel good
It's a fine day
The way the sun hits off the runway
A cloud shifts
The plane lifts
She moves on But feel the bite
Whenever you believe that
You'll be lost and love will find you
When the road bends
And the song ends
She moves on I know the reason I
Feel so blessed
My heart still splashes
Inside my chest, but she
She is like a top
She cannot stop
She moves on A sympathetic stranger
Lights a candle in the middle of the night
Her voice cracks
She jumps back
But she moves on She says ''Ooh my storybook lover
You have underestimated my power
As you shortly will discover''
The I fall to my knees
Shake a rattle at the skies
I'm afraid that I'll be taken
Abandoned, forsaken
In her cold coffee eyes
She can't sleep now
The moon is red
She fights a fever
She burns in bed
She needs to talk so
We take a walk
Down in the maroon light
She says ''Maybe these emotions are
As near to love as love will ever be''
So I agree
Then the moon breaks
She takes the corner that's all she takes
She moves on
She says ''Ooh my storybook lover
You have underestimated my power
As you shortly will discover''
Then I fall to my knees
I grow weak, I go slack
As if she captured the breath of my
voice in a bottle
And I can't catch it back
But I feel good
It's a fine day
The way the sun hits off the runway
A cloud shifts
The plane lifts
She moves on
