AIN'T NO GRAVE copyright Jay Ducharme 1991

Ain't no grave
Can hold my body down
My bones will rise again
And I'll come walking back to town

Oh father dear
You said my country's always right
I trusted what you said
And so I went away to fight
You watched as soldiers buried me
You're haunted by the sight
You've lost a son but gained a flag
Now tell me which is right

Ain't no grave
Can hold my body down
My bones will rise again
And I'll come walking back to town

Oh Mary Lou
I know I never said good-bye
I promised I'd return one day
You know I'd never lie
Oh Mary Lou I'll keep my word
As years go by you'll find
Though you're no longer true to me
I'll still be by your side

Ain't no grave
Can hold my body down
My bones will rise again
And I'll come walking back to town

Oh Mr. President
You never have your fill
Of sending young men off to war
How much blood will spill
Before your conscience hunts you down
As I'm sure it will
For the agony of those who die
Lives on in those who kill

Ain't no grave
Can hold my body down
My bones will rise again
And I'll come walking back to town

GOING GOING GONE copyright Jay Ducharme 1991

Packing up the U-Haul
Heading for the shore
Another month, another move
Who knows how many more
This friend of mine can't settle down
He's always got to move around
Now he wants to hear the ocean's roar

He's had a dozen different jobs
Never liked a one
And wonders when his countless years
Of searching will be done
He says that when his ship comes in
He'll never have to move again
He just hopes he'll be there when it comes

And I can see it in his eyes
The weariness he can't disguise
That pulls him back the more he tries to run
While he keeps his past at bay
The future swiftly drifts away
Before too long it's going going gone

Always running late
Never has the time
Always saving money
But he never has a dime
Always blaming circumstance
Leaving everything to chance
Searching without knowing what to find

And I can hear it in his voice
The sadness when he makes a choice
To pack up once again and move along
He seems to drift so aimlessly
Like ships he watches on the sea
Silhouetted, going going gone

He's never finished what he's planned
He's let his life drift through his hands
Pretending that tomorrow never comes
Waste a day, you waste a year
You watch tomorrow disappear
Before you know, it's going going gone

SLEEPY TOWN copyright Jay Ducharme 1991

Sleepy town
Nothing to do in this sleepy town
I'm just hanging around
Swinging slow as the sun goes down
And there's barely a sound
To awaken this sleepy town

Sleepy town
Nothing but night in this sleepy town
Even if there were light
I can't think of a sight I would see
I won't stop being blue
Till I'm through with this sleepy town

Don't like the former traffic cop
Who dines inside the donut shop
As cars speed by
Don't like the former beauty queen
Who slowly wipes his table clean
Kiss them goodbye

Sleepy town
Finally leaving this sleepy town
I'm not sorry to go
And I know that I'll never return
Time to bury the past
Free at last of this sleepy town

MADONNAWANNABE copyright Jay Ducharme 1991

She pretends she's a virgin
Though I'm not sure
How anybody thinks
She can be so pure
She plays her part
Immaculately
But something about it
Looks phony to me

She says there's nothing wrong
With her sexy routine
She's the perfect role model
For a budding teen
She claims it's all an act
She's just a fantasy
But every girl I see
Is a Madonnawannabe

She bleaches her hair
To be a star of the past
But unlike a star
Her color faded fast
She struts across the stage
Wearing nothing but lace
And several tons of makeup
Plastered on her face

She says there's nothing wrong
With her sexy routine
She's the perfect role model
For a budding teen
She set the woman's movement
Back a century
But every girl I see
Is a Madonnawannabe

She's always in shape
She always looks sweet
To make it to the top
I wonder what she had to eat

She dangles a crucifix
Over her breast
Maybe she's religious
But I'm not impressed
Who cares if she's clever
As long as she's cute
And dances up a storm
In her birthday suit

She says there's nothing wrong
With her sexy routine
She's the perfect role model
For a budding teen
She may be just an image
Made for MTV
But every girl I see
Is a Madonnawannabe

It could have been her soul
That she chose to bare
Instead she prances 'round
In her underwear
I wonder if she really is a fantasy
I wonder would Madonna wanna be with me?

VEGETABLE GIRL copyright Jay Ducharme 1991

Lips like stringbeans
Cauliflower chin
Cheeks like two tomatoes
And potatoes for her shins
Scallions for her fingernails
Baby peas for toes
Pickles for her knuckles
And a pepper for her nose

She's my vegetable girl

Corncob smile
Oh those radish eyes
Rutabaga bosom
Cucumber thighs

She's my vegetable girl

She never whines
Or makes a fuss
She's really kind of sweet
It should be pretty obvious
She's good enough to eat

Carrot leaves for lashes
Alfalfa for her hair
Most of her is lettuce
Bet it's spinach you-know-where

She's my vegetable girl

LONG WAY FROM HOME copyright Jay Ducharme 1991

I've been here before
Maybe -- I'm not sure
It looks a lot like someplace I should know
Someplace I passed through
A memory so new
Or maybe it was many years ago

Rusted railway
Where I once used to play
Although my parents didn't want me there
A barren stretch of track
Turns the decades back
I hear their voices echo through the air

But I'm a long way from home

It seems I've often seen
The distant country scene
I saw beyond the street I just passed
I could be wrong
But doesn't it belong
With places I remember from the past

Sagging power lines
Hanging over pines
That hide beside a highway overpass
A barren stretch of land
Where dad would often stand
As mom and I walked barefoot on the grass

But it's a long way from home

I never seem to learn
My childhood won't return
Lost forever, never to be found
I roam from place to place
Failing to erase
The memories that follow me around

Sights reminding me
Of where I long to be
No matter where I look, that's all I find
Though I keep moving on
Sometimes I wish I hadn't gone
And left my simple life so far behind

And I long to be home
But I'm a long way from home

WE WON! copyright Jay Ducharme 1991

It's great to know the enemy has died
It's great to know that God was on our side
It's great to know the killing's justified
It's great to have restored our country's pride
We won!

So glad we had a chance to prove our might
So glad that we were left to do it right
So glad it seemed to be so clean and quick
So glad the slaughter didn't make me sick
We won!

Too bad our weapons systems went awry
Too bad civilian casualties were high
Too bad the cost of victory was steep
Too bad, but entertainment isn't cheap
We won!

Everybody loves a war
Politician's take the floor
CNN is keeping score
Military budgets soar

We haven't used diplomacy too well
We haven't had insightful news to tell
We haven't yet run short of arms to sell
We haven't solved at thing but what the hell
We won!

THE PRESIDENT'S HOP copyright Jay Ducharme 1991

Shift to the left
Shift to the right
Everybody shift all over tonight

Grab a partner
Do the President's Hop
All you gotta do
If you wanna reach the top
Is learn to swing
Do the President's Hop

Well come on now
Put your smile in place
Shake some hands now
Let 'em see you swing and sway
Keep in the groove
Don't let your body stop
Show 'em you can move
Do the President's Hop

Don't worry none if you can't dance
All you gotta do is change your stance

So come on now
Let's see you hit the floor
Start to swagger
Then sway a little more
Be a politician
Always shifting your position
Stagger till you drop
Do the President's hop

All you gotta do
If you wanna reach the top
Is keep in the groove
Don't let your body stop
Be a politician
Always shifting your position
Stagger till you drop
Do the President's Hop

THE LAST DANCE copyright Jay Ducharme 1991

The band strikes up a tune
And music fills the room.
A couple takes the floor
To dance a minute more.
A pretty girl, an older man
Hiding tears as best he can.
No words are spoken;
What can he say?
He knows that his girl
Will be leaving today.

It's the last dance
For father and daughter,
The last dance
And then she must go.
It's the last dance
For father and daughter.
Daughter must dance
With another man now.

So many years have passed.
His girl grew up so fast.
The years that slipped away
Seem just like yesterday.
Although those times he knew are gone,
For now their final dance goes on.
Soon she'll be waltzing with somebody new,
Someone he hopes will forever be true.

It's the last dance
For father and daughter,
The last dance
And then she must go.
It's the last dance
For father and daughter.
Daughter must dance
With another man now.

He gently hugs the bride
And finally steps aside,
And as the couple parts
Different music starts.
Just as it was for his own wife,
His daughter is off to begin her new life.
He knows that although they'll be miles apart,
Their last dance together will stay in his heart.

It's the last dance
For father and daughter,
The last dance
And then she must go.
It's the last dance
For father and daughter.
Daughter must dance
With another man now.

I'M YOUR DADDY NOW copyright Jay Ducharme 1991

You hide when I come home
Run up to your room
Won't even say hello
Hope I'm leaving soon
I want to stop your crying
I wish I knew how
You want to see your father
But I'm your daddy now

I try to feel at home
What else can I do
I wouldn't have married your mother
If I didn't love you too
You tell me you don't love me
Can't we be friends for now
I know you need a father
And I'm your daddy now

I don't pretend I'm perfect
There's so much I don't know
But maybe if we stick together
We can help each other grow

Don't let the future scare you
We'll make it through somehow
I want to be your father
I'm your daddy now

STAND ALONE copyright Jay Ducharme 1991

There's nothing wrong with what you're doing
Nothing wrong with where you're going
Everybody has their point of view
Always think they know what's best for you
They push you and pull you day after day
But you and you alone have the final say

When you think a different thought
Even though you think it's not
It's your own
Stand alone

When you sing a different song
And no one else will sing along
Hold your tone
Stand alone

When a child is young
It knows no shame or fear
Freely speaking sounds
Everyone can hear
Give your spirit voice
Let your hidden thoughts come through
If little children can
So can you

If you keep going where you're going
Though you feel blind
Doing what you want
Not letting others change your mind
Then you've grown
Stand alone
On your own
Stand alone

TIME MACHINE copyright Jay Ducharme 1991

I had a very strange dream
a county fair
before I was born
my sister stood next to me
Elvis was there
in the summer air
Mississippi, '53

and I said, "I got a time machine
I can turn back time
we'll meet the King
get his autograph
we'll be millionaires"

it was a very strange dream
a crowded room
it looked like a barn
the walls were all painted white
Elvis was there
no one seemed to care
no reporters anywhere

and I said, "I'm gonna wait a while
and when the time is right
I'll meet the King
get his autograph
maybe shake his hand"

I had a very strange dream

but then I turned around
and without a sound
the King was gone
I took too long
and I missed my chance
so I got a time machine
I can turn back time
but every time
Elvis disappears
like he did before

it was a very strange dream...