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lyrics

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...

credits

from RICK BERLIN LIVE @ JACQUES, track 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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