Get all 35 Rick Berlin (now playing w/ THE NICKEL & DIME BAND) releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of THE WHIFFENPOOFS OF 1967, TRUE STORY, THE CHA CHA CLUB, 7 SONGS, GREAT BIG HOUSE, ON THE TOWN W/ MIKEY DEE (live) II, THE COURAGE OF THE LONELY, 2 HEP CATS, and 27 more.
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GREAT BIG HOUSE
its a great big house
everybody lives there
laughing in a crazy way
lookin’ for yr girlfriend
it’s a great big house
sitting’ on the back porch
2 cats in the window
starin’ at a dirty dog
poker in the back yard
drinking in the kitchen
let’s go to the bar
see what r friends r up to
tequila shot should do it
it’s a great big house
everybody lives there
smiling like a insane
acid head runaway
time goes by
where everybody now?
r they old r are they fat?
feelin’ like they usta
they always be my heroes
n my big picture book
leanin’ in a wooden chair
someone tip it over
hit ya w/ a baseball
its a great big house
everybody lives there
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2. |
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MAGGIE
maggie, dear maggie
what a fine girl you are
was a sister to your brother
what a daughter
to your father and your mother
oh oh oh maggie, dear maggie
my friend
you bring the sun ah ah ah ah
to a cold heart
to everyone ah ah ah ah
your smile
hangs the moonah ah ah ah
and your hug
calms the water
calms the water
C
you are a pal
right away ah ah ah ah
poetry on Facebook ah ah ah ah
messages like music ah ah ah ah
w notes i can’t explain
notes i can’t explain
C
you love your dog (Bouki)
and you love y our cats IKiki and Ozzy)
you love your street
and the house you live in
when it’s raining
solo
maggie, dear maggie
what a fine girl you are
maggie, dear maggie
my friend
happy birthday
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MY LITTLE HULA GIRL
my little hula girl
i don't understand you
yr like a dervish
yr everywhere at once
my little hula girl
i don't understand you
ya fell through a sun roof
yr a buddist
yr a tinkebell
yr a singer
in the chantelles
bring it on baby
ya make me smile
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5. |
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HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT
I’m a high school dropout
and im living the dream
ain’t gonna die in no hospital
im gonna die on the street
I’m a high school dropout
and im living the dream
I’m a high school dropout
i ain’t no beauty queen
in any town in any city
there’s a bar where i belong
there’s a fire in a snowbank
w just enough heart
to keep me warm
I’m a high school dropout
and im living the dream
ain’t gonna die ion no hospital
im gonna die on the street
oh i got plans and i got work
and i got friends i believe in
and just the other day
i threw a cherry bomb
in a pond
ya should o seen it
when the darkness becomes me
that’s when i smile
and all the ladies walking by me
they stop for awhile
I’m a high school dropout
and im living the dream
I’m a high school dropout
i ain’t no beauty queen
high school dropout!
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6. |
I REMEMBER EVERYTHING
04:38
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I REMEMBER EVERYTHING
i
remember everything
about you
you and me
ya made me laugh
ya made me cry
ya made me feel
everything
ya made me smart
when I felt stupid
ya made us count
my whole life long
i
remember everything
about you
you and me
when ya touched me
n i touched you
when ya kissed me
n i kissed you
the night’s on fire
climbing up the back porch
w your heart in yr hand
out of breath
n out of words
we were so lucky
we were so lucky
having what we had
ya made me weak
n that was cool
ya made me feel
everything
everything
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7. |
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NOBODY HOME
well i park my car
n i walk outside
n i ring yr bell
n i listened t a song
on the radio
n it makes me smile
nobody home
there’s nobody home
oh oh oh oh
there’s nobody home
oh oh oh oh
oh yeah
well i kinda dance
on my way t yr buzzer
at the downstairs door
n i picture you, baby
jumpin’ right up in my arms
oh oh oh
nobody home
oh yeah
there’s nobody home
oh oh oh oh
there’s nobody home
oh oh oh oh
oh yeah
i close my eyes
n we are at the beach
oh oh oh oh
i close my eyes
n my heart has sprung a leak
oh oh oh oh
well i park my car
n i walk outside
n i ring yr bell
n i listened t a song
on the radio
n it makes me smile
nobody home
oh oh oh oh
there’s nobody home
yeah yeah
there’s nobody home
there’s nobody home..
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8. |
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SONG FOR AMY WINEHOUSE
Oh Amy
I knew you late
your killer heart
your voice breaking
breaking up
Oh Amy
ya brought Nina
her hair
her eye make-up
style beyond style
songs so brace
so bloodied up
Oh Amy
I saw yr movie
yr girly laughter
just a kid before you loved
anyone
like that
Camera adored you
hated you too
hard tabloid chasers
ya sold their papers
Oh Amy
yr pipes so fierce
liike a jazz heroine
beyond Beyonce
no tricks up that sleeve
No fancy footwork
just you
naked off guard and alone
imprisoned
and free
All love
all the time
like the wound of a kid
when love is all there is
it wasn’t the drugs
it wasn’t the booze
it wasn’t yr Dad or yr fame
just a heart
all broken
in too many places
leaving you shook up
abandoned
and along
Maybe you’re still here
maybe you’re somewhere new
maybe your skinny legs carry a universe
simple as a cat w your eye make-up
staring out an open window
certain of yr heart
loved you too late
like heat waves crashing on a cold coast
dull as iron
without you here
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9. |
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SENSELESS (for Frankie)
Ya just left town
how many months ago
psyched to be off on a dream ride
not a suicide not
not this time
not this time
senseless
redwood trees
lifting your eyes
needles under your feet
heroin habit
like a false god
hey ya just read about it
oh oh ya liked to read
oh oh ya liked to read
senseless
don’t go in that door
don’t climb up them stairs
why can’t ya hear us yellin’ at you?
when the darkness fell
we should o been there
we should o been
Oxaca guitar
over your shoulder
bent like a broken arm
ya tried t sit in a corner
til yr asked to talk
just ask me
senseless
spilling the beans
like a beanstalk
a skinny guy
w a skinny walk
walkin’ like poetry
walk like Jim Carroll
hey ya wanna read my diary?
I like to read
oh oh I like to read
senseless
don’t go in that door
don’t climb up them stairs
why can’t ya hear us yellin’ at you?
when the darkness fell
we should o been there
we should o been
senseless
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10. |
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(If You Were) TEN MINUTES AWAY
if you were
just ten minutes away
come by here
tonight
let’s get high
tonight
but i know
you’re miles away
across the country
out of the scene
so it ain’t gonna happen
not tonight
not you not me
i can feel you
in my arms
i can reach you
like a veda
i can save you
like a super hero
w a magic
wand
if you were
just ten minutes away
i’d hear you comin’
up the stairs
you’d be laughing
about how late it is
tonight
i can see you
taking my call
the one i did not make
i know you
in silence
w a trick
up yr sleeve
ride your bike
across the silver moon
just like eliot
w ET
under a blanket
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11. |
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DO YOU STILL LOVE ME?
Do you
still love me?
I really need t know
Do you
still want me around?
or is it better
that I go?
Thought of writing you a letter
Thought of giving you a call
Do you
still like me?
Do you think I'm funny
or strangely slow
t pick up the pieces
of a broken heart
the way I used to
not so long ago
Maybe I've become a coward
cuz i don't want you to say no
Sitting in the kitchen with our lives inside my head
My heart is so damn full it's gonna break
I'll never understand how something beautiful as the sun
Get's stuck inside a cloud
+ leaves ya standin'
in the rain
in the rain
Do you
still love me?
I really need t know
Do you
still want me around?
or is it better
that I go?
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12. |
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THE & ELEVEN COOKBOOK SONG
it’s late
last call gone
it’s cold
and nothing’s open
i’m starving
my friend is cracking up
what t do
where t go
i see a light
and it’s bright
it could be heaven
tonight
at the 7 Eleven
it’s a cookbook
right?!
the stove
is hot
cheap weed
is all we got
smokin
on the roof
sucking hot dog
soup
and spam soufflée
i see a light
and it’s bright
it could be heaven
tonight
at the 7 Eleven
it’s a cookbook
right?!
the kid who takes yr money
you can’t find it
he throw you out
and the hip hop stoner
w the perfect sneakers
busts a smile
he bust a smile
the kid has clout
he got a gold tooth
right there up in front
i see a light
and it’s bright
it could be heaven
tonight
at the 7 Eleven
it’s a cookbook
right?!
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13. |
LAST2KNOW
04:19
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LAST2KNOW
you leaving’ me baby?
i saw the letter
nobody told me
i should o’ read
between the lines
why was i
the last 2 know?
you leaven’ me baby?
that ain’t right
get back in the car
nobody told me
i should o’ read
between the lines
why was i
the last 2 know?
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14. |
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YR AN ARTIST
yr an artist/ ya make stuff up
yr an artist/ ya hold out yr tin cup
yr an artist/ where is the $ t put in the bank?
yr an artist / yr sleeping
on couches w too many to thank
yr an artist/ ya make stuff up
yr borrowing smokes
on napkins you r writing notes
too many colors in yr hair
n doubts r everywhere
yr an artist/ ya live from hand t mouth
yr an artist/ yr an alcoholic from the south
yr an artist/ oh, ya might die young
yr an artist/ yr funeral is so much fun
ya dress outa style
yr a hipster bum
everybody wants you
that’s when you run
ya might not be famous
but you don’t care
on the other hand
it’d be cool
t get there
yeah
yr an artist/ yr parents r worried sick
ya need t be in love
yr heart is always strung
ya never stop watching everyone
it’s a song that must be sung
yr an artist/ it makes ya feel special
yr an artist/ t hear yr song playin’ on the radio
yr an artist/ oh baby yr always late
yr an artist/ thank god you can sublimate
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Rick Berlin (now playing w/ THE NICKEL & DIME BAND) Jamaica Plain
A giant on the Boston music scene. His colorful songwriting + strong stage presence have influenced countless other artists since the early 1970s. He continues to make music w/ intelligence + integrity, building an international reputation around his knotty, singular piano playing, straight-from-the-heart singing and a style of character-based songwriting that's drawn comparisons to Waits + Cohen ... more
Rick Berlin (now playing w/ THE NICKEL & DIME BAND) recommends:
i don't understand a word, but it hits hard regardless (the bears alone)
go to album
Whitehaus Family Sampler #4
by The Whitehaus Family Record
love everything these guys's do. multiple artists making it happen always
go to album
2 women harmonizing as one voice always knocks me out
go to albumIf you like GREAT BIG HOUSE, you may also like:
Post-grad Pavement vibes from this Boulder, CO band.
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Living Isn't Easy
by Robocobra Quartet
featured on Bandcamp Radio Feb 7, 2023
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VANILLA VILLA EP
by Sunset Rollercoaster
featured on Bandcamp Radio May 7, 2019
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