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1.
The Club 01:02
2.
After 2 06:04 video
AFTER 2 Anybody got a cigarette I can borrow? You don't know where I can get a beer at this hour, do ya? I'm sorry t' bother you, but do you know where there's a party or something? I just thought, you know, it's so nice down by the river. Nah, that's OK. Wasn't anything. You can find us after 2 When the night is black & blue We are drunk & we are high & we all have wild eyes I see 2 profiles lit up in a flash the match light glows Their love so hot in the bushes & in the purple shadows I see 5 stories up A fat man leaning out a window His son lay down in an alley his shirt is off, he's shooting up It's 2 o'clock in the morning , it's a excellent time... It's a beautiful night out, isn't it? CHORUS An allnight pizza place a neon sign on every face Looking for love, for a quick one it's in our eyes - the whole human race A Mercedez-Benz like a boombox throbbing through the night Bulletproof glass on the windshield the passenger is out of sight It's 2 o'clock in the morning, it's a excellent time... You look just like someone I know. CHORUS A 24 hour store a punk kid hanging out to dry A Muscleboy reads a dirty magazine pulls his shirt up, an old man cries A redhot girl walking down the street Got no money for a cab Staggers like a drunken sailor Holds her cigarette like a man It's 2 o'clock in the morning, It's a excellent time...
3.
Fuckd 02:38
FUCKD I ain’t seen so much pain in my friend’s face before his head was really hangin’ when he walked out the door I tried to give him answers I tried to talk him through but you know those kinda words they never do I wanna make you laugh again, my friend But my jokes, they do not amuse I wanna take the darkness from your heart don’t want you blue but all that I can say is I love you hold on friend hold on boy hold on friend hold on my baby boy I know how it goes I’ve been that road before when you lose someone close to you it’s like you lost a war you just can’t stop crying & you cannot sleep at night you loved so much you lost yourself you’ve had enough of life I wanna make you laugh again, my friend But my jokes, they do not amuse I wanna take the darkness from your heart don’t want you blue but all that I can say is I love you & my love it just ain’t enough for you hold on friend hold on boy hold on friend hold on my baby boy
4.
CITY IS EMPTY The city is empty the bars are closed the streets are deserted I’m wearing your clothes The shirt that you left me is a bit too small I could see your body through it a boy grown tall I reach inside to touch you my knuckles on your skin but you’re not here to feel it + it’s only me that I am with Oh Jeffery what am I supposed to do? Be strong or fall apart Go out + find someone new? The streets are deserted the bars are closed the city is empty I’m wearing your clothes My friends say that I’m in love with love & that marriage is a sin But I never hurt one single boy then again, maybe I did Oh the streets are deserted the bars are closed the city is empty I’m wearing your clothes the shirt that you left me is a bit too small I could see your body through it a boy grown tall They say that home is where your are well tonight I’m homeless + blue We knew this town like the back of our hand and now I’m lost without you Oh the streets are deserted, the bars are closed the city is empty,I’m wearing your clothes the shirt that you left me is a bit too small I could see your body through it, a boy grown tall I reach inside to touch you, my knuckles on yr skin, but yr not here to feel it + it’s only me that I am with
5.
MARTHA GRAHAM OF THE MIDWAY CAFE She’s Martha Graham of the Midway Cafe wears her hair up tight in a bun Her lisptick goes out over the edge but she’s not just some old broad She’s Martha Graham of the Midway Cafe and nothing’s gonna get in her way. She’s a FIRE BIRD! The band is hot and the drummer’s cute and that girl with the pink hair is dancing like a 60’s TV tornado...ssssssssh! Her tits are flyin’ and her fingernails are perfect but she withers like a worm when Martha lunges across the floor CHORUS: PETRUSHKA! Her leg points up & her head falls back her slip slides off, the crowd gets soft her partner’s in a sweat & his ass is clenched he looks like he’s in pain, her expression does not change CHORUS: L’APRES MIDI D’UN FAUN! I like the way she winks her make’s up hard like that I like the way she buys me a drink She’s not old and she’s not young Got her whole career behind her but she’s sexy cuz she doesn’t care CHORUS: She loves STRAVINSKI! She’s short but she is tough she’s got great extention she’s got her Modern Contractions to do (hey, she invented this) She’s with a younger man who is drunk and showing off but no one looks at him when Martha moves across CHORUS: ‘THE ARTIST IS NEVER SATISFIED, MY DEAR.’
6.
May I THIS DANCE? You are so good looking that I think you might be sad & so smart with words that I think you could be lost & so good at kissing that I think you might be missing someone & so calm in the storm so cool You might be way off course You know so many people that I think you don't know anyone & you laugh so hard that I think you're gonna cry You have so many plans, but you get nothing done & when you tell the Truth it's just another lie You don't know the reason why Cuz all I ever do is look for anything that's wrong But I love you, baby you can hear it in every song take a chance with me try this dance with me, the night is young, the night is young, May I have this dance? the night is young... You pretend to know the answers, but you don't have a clue Your room is clean, but your life's a total wreck Your body's tight & your clothes are hip but you don't make love with anyone, unless you're drunk, & now you’re feeling less & less Cuz all I ever do is look for anything that's wrong But I love you, baby you can hear it in every song take a chance with me try this dance with me, the night is young, the night is young, May I have this dance?
7.
Xmas Eve 03:53 video
CHRISTMAS EVE Oh I remember when I was 17 the cops picked me up for vagrancy & I got busted for drinking underage, & stealing cars, & obscenity & my old man came down to the station he didn't say a word he looked like he was proud of me he smelled of gin was I just like him? I thought I love you, Dad but I can't say these words to you would not exactly make my day I love you but I'm still a kid confused to say the least about the way we live The snow was falling down while you were drying out so far away & outa town & it was Christmas Eve with all the colored lights Cracked up the car that night & there was something I had to tell you something I've never said but the nurse said you couldn't take the call you were too sick my voice got thick I thought I love you, Dad don't you die on me see I hate it when you have control over me I love you, can you hear me now? I know we fought a lot but of your life I am proud & then I fell asleep & I had a dream that you came to me, you came to me & you held out your hands & you smiled a lot you said the fight was over it was time to stop & you must carry on in your own way Carry on & seize the day feel free to love it's the only way & that call you made oh by the way I love you too you know I do tho I never was much good at saying words to you I love you my son I always have now you don't have to worry boy about your Dad
8.
Miracle 03:01
MIRACLE (for Eddy & Rich) When I watch you cross the street you make me smile When I see you out there in the Big World the crowds go wild Now I feel like a dinosaur raging on a battlefield I fall down on my knees ask for a Miracle starting now Last night at the party I lost control Seem like everybody knew what I had not been told There’s a Panic in Needle Park The Monster arrives in the dark & the floodgates opened for the first time in years There's a big sad moon out there our faces are covered with tears but all I have to do is watch you fall asleep & you make me smile when I see you dancing in the Big World the crowds go wild Now I feel like a madman screaming there's a fire not a false alarm I fall down on my knees ask for a Miracle starting now See nobody, even me, knows how much I love you I mean where are the Scales of Love to measure this? & I'll never run away from you, my friend, no way & I know that you are protecting yourself from loss But if you can't trust me, baby let me get this one point across all I have to do is think about you + you make me smile & when I see you dreaming in the Big World the crowd goes wild There's a giant white flag in neighborhood calling for a Victory We fall down on our knees ask for a Miracle starting now
9.
DANGEROUS MAN I'm a dangerous man with a dangerous plan for you I'll get you drunk by a swimming pool I'll watch you take your clothes off the moonlight on your body is so beautiful & your amazing face & the fear in your eyes as you realize my weird expression my broken smile brings tears to your eyes your restless eyes you can never hide your heart from a dangerous man with a dangerous plan for you We'll take a hit of acid & we'll lay back on the roof & we'll smoke a 2nd hand cigarette the match stick like a roman candle my heart explodes when I get the mail & there's a letter from you You must know what you do when you sign your name with "love" before it you bring tears to my eyes my restless eyes you can never hide yr heart from a dangerous man with a dangerous plan for you we'll steal a car baby we won't get far but we'll see a lot of the country & we'll count the stars Diana says don't you hurry love cuz it'a always there & forever young when yr a dangerous man with a dangerous plan for you
10.
Candles 03:39
CANDLES I remember my friend's name was Tommy Supplee He was a beautiful boy/athelete at Episcopal Academy When he was 14 years old when he was stung by a bee I hated God that night for taking Tommy from me. I was scared my friend so young had died But Tommy lit a candle forever in my heart that night. Weastie was a Main Line beatnik painter She was my best friend's Mom, the first lady I saw naked & she burned down her house just to redecorate the interior Inhaled carbon monoxide - because she thought she was inferior. I could not understand why she took her life But Weastie lit a candle forever in my heart that night Well we all know that love breaks us open & we know loss tears us apart & we all know Life's value's not in money or things but in those feelings that tell you the Truth from the start How many candles are burning? How many candles do you light in how many hearts? And I'm not sure where I'm going And I don't know exactly who I've been But I know that when my time is over The laughter the tears the stories & the sparks I know I'll see all of your beautiful faces shining & fearless to light up the dark How many candles are burning? How many candles did I light in how many hearts? How many hearts? How many hearts?
11.
I LIKE STRAIGHT GUYS I like straight guys I like they way they bond with their beer goggles on I like they way they pass a joint the pressure of their fingertips on mine I like straight guys They talk about their girlfriends who always dump on them they say they never felt this way before around another man I like straight guys it’s a really fine line sometimes when you get too close but you’re only asking for trouble for a punch in the nose now I swear I’m stuck in this DMZ where the boys I like only partially like me oh I like straight guys
12.
BIRD INSIDE A RIBCAGE My friend called up the other day his voice real tired + far away long spaces in between the lines he was thinking hard of suicide makes me smile his tragedy insane so close to sanity he’s frail + dark, misunderstood + can’t get out of bed he’s really smart + nice to me he’ll be OK, there are these drugs - a Paxyl Epipheny like a sparkler in the dark like a child’s hand in your hand like a bird inside a ribcage like an old man alone in a park he’s got the biggest bravest heart I watch him walk across the street with every hair in place you see there’s only just a few combed in like so + he’s lost weight I turn my head to kiss hello I didn’t mean to do it you never sure he took a week away from work you know I play the ruse, I talk a lot I tell a joke, it’s not funny he turns away, he’s gotta go his eyes are really something CHORUS I just got home from Europe there’s a message on the phone I don’t unpack I’m on a plane again to Philly you see my Mom she had these tests the outlook is not good they call her up she’s short of breath + shaking with the news you can read her feelings on her face her kids areall around her she shrugs it off, but she’s crying now that’s it, she says, it’s Cancer
13.
POLICEBOY IN PRAGUE I can not speak a word I’m lost & it’s cold outside This cool cafe in Prague I see a face that sank 10,000 ships I’m tired & confused & I feel alone Spend a lot of time thinking of my friends back home But this angel here in his starched white shirt and a police badge from behind the Iron Curtain drinking beer He lights a cigarette On fire as his eyes look down He’s writing in a book How does love work in this Kafka town? Got a face like River Phoenix in the middle of a road got a watercolor moustache, dirty hair like gold I wanna ask a question, wanna take him out back Wanna read what he is writing with old Mahler on the old soundtrack I hear a violin playing in the dark pulling on my heart in this strange town I am in I dream about this boy + how he must have been laying in my arms like a violin
14.
BE YOURSELF (THAT'S WHAT MY MAMA SAID) You just gotta be yourself That's what my Mama said You just gotta be yourself That's what everybody wants When I was 7 years old, my Mama was lying in bed upstairs, & she had a cold or something & I'd brought her up some breakfast on a tray & I looked at my feet & I said, Mama, I don't know about Lisa or Janie, they're younger than me. But I saw the presents under the tree & the handwriting on the cards was yours, Mama & I don't believe in Santa Claus nomore & as the snow fell down outside a window, she looked at me & she said... CHORUS When I was 11 years old I was invited to go to this party & I knew that I would have to dance with a girl for the first time? boy was I scared & I remember she was wearing a sunflower print dress & red flats & she took me outside under the trees & taught me the boxstep there in the shade & the sun poured down like gold that day & when she dropped me off she touched my chin looked into my eyes & said... CHORUS When I was 21 years old I was driving home from Moosup CT on my Kawasaki 650, & my heart was broken, you see I'd just been fired from my 2nd job as a teacher in a small town school, something about a scandal, getting too close to the kids I guess ("...it isn't very pretty what a town without pity can do") & my Daddy was bullshit "how can I explain this to my friends?" he asked & my Mama said "you know...I'd rather have a fag for a son then a drunk for a husband" & she looked at me with those level eyes her big green eyes & said Ricky.... CHORUS Last year, around Easter, I was driving across Long Island with her. & she turned and looked at me with the greatest expectation Do you notice anything? she asked. Notice what? I said. Do you notice anything new about me? & I shook my head. & she looked at me like I was an idiot or something & she said: It's my eyebrows. I had my eyebrows...dyed. I've never had eyebrows & I thought I should I guess she wanted me to say...
15.
Where R U? 02:30
WHERE R U? I woke up late last night in the middle of a dream I had been with this amazing person who's face I'd never seen I was so pissed off when I woke up it was not nice cuz every touch & every look felt just exactly right Where are you? Why have you left me alone as my day begins? As I lay me down to sleep can I be with you again? We don't use words it's not important to analyze or keep a scorecard We never know when our time is up a vague transition like growing up Give me please a miracle some way to cross the line between the sleep and waking worlds so I can have you all the time CHORUS I used to want to stay out all night but now I'd rather sleep I'm so exhausted missing you who's face I never meet I do not appreciate this stupid world it's all mixed up I look in the mirror & I want to cry the truth is now I realize I miss you I miss you CHORUS, I miss you
16.
The Club 2 05:53
17.
Won’t Come Out Music and Lyrics, by Rick Berlin 1996 He still lives at home, in the same old room, and the same old pictures Same old stinky bed that he had as a kid Fights with his Mom and Dad, Day and Night, same old fight, They don’t know what to do with him And he shaved his head, And he pierced his tongue, He don’t have a job Doesn’t really want one Chorus Oh Ooo Davey, Come out from under your rock got some old friend playin’ stickball up the block he probably loves you a lot, probably loves you a lot, probably talkin’ about you And he screens his calls And he’s scared to talk And builds lots of walls Great Walls of China And he drinks alone And vodka straight Shot after shot Watches shitty T.V. Keeps his bedroom blocked Got a thing about Pornography He likes kiddie-porn Turns him on Sheets get sticky He feels guilty Chorus He writes sad poems Black pictures in a book Then he rips them up Poor kid is so f*cked up You get lost in his eyes And you can’t get out What’s that all about? It’s just your own self-doubt Chorus He still lives at home And he won’t move out He still lives at home And he won’t move out

credits

released June 14, 1997

Rick Berlin LIVE@JACQUES (GarageDog) 1997. Recorded + mixed by Dan Cantor (w/ help from Jeff Berkowitz) over 5 consecutive Monday nights at Jacques Cabaret (the oldest drag bar in the country). Placed mikes over the pool table, in the main room, near the dressing room door. Who played: Tyson Montgomery Leonard (electric violin), Chris Mehl (harp), Jonah Sachs (cello), Dan Cantor (harp), Chet Cahill (accordion), Marnie Given (violin), Charles Isenberg (mc).

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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

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