The Minstrel
A Collection of lyrics from the songs of Nemo James
Published by Derek Newark
Copyright 2011 Derek Newark
Discover other titles by Nemo James at
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/nemojames
For videos, Nemo’s music and other information visit his website at http://www.nemojames.com
ISBN 978-0-9567986-3-3
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Table of Contents
I go where I want to, do as I please
follow the sunshine, sail with the breeze
no need to argue, or make a scene
don't have to say where I have been
I sleep the whole night with the sheets on my back
pack all that I own into one sack
don't hear complaining, I hear no tears
don't have to count the cans of beer
love I know can be so unkind
it can crush your heart and rob you blind
I know it only brings you pain
but I wish I was in love again
don't have to sit through hours of ballet
can sit by the T.V. and eat from a tray
don't have to visit people I can't stand
can keep my head buried firmly in the sand
I get no complaints about nothing to wear
get through the day on a song and a prayer
don't have to come home after a flirt
worrying about the lipstick on my shirt
love I know can be so unkind
it can crush your heart and rob you blind
I know it only brings you pain
but I wish I was in love again
As he reads between the lines
where demons dance in ragged time
a letter falls from his trembling hand
for thirty years he’d served them well
no longer was he needed
now he stands a broken man
he’d sold his life for Friday nights
when freedom flashed within his sight
and pockets filled with dreams that quickly passed
now the chains of emptiness tear into his soul
now he stands a broken man
now he stands within the line
where broken souls pass the time
in this the greatest unsolved crime
we’re sorry but we have no work for you today
please stand to the side, don’t get in our way
there was a time in this fair land
where once he stood above the sand
his family sheltering beneath his powerful hands
but now he walks the streets in search
of something to believe in
now he stands a broken man
There's a place in a chair by the window
where a young girl sits
she patiently waits for her father
for her world to be lit
there's a knock on the door it's the postman
a telegram is read
your country regrets to inform you
that your father is dead
he's missing in action somewhere
in the first world war
it's important for you to know
just what he died for
so we can be free
to live our lives
in freedom and safety
peace must survive
There's a place in a chair by the window
where a young woman sits
she patiently waits for her young man
for her world to be lit
there's a knock on the door it's her young man
it's his love that she needs
he's the reason that she wants to live
she's the air that he breathes
They're going to get married some day
she's having his child
theirs is a once in a lifetime love
a rose growing wild
they want to be free
to live their lives
in freedom and safety
peace must survive
There's a place in a chair by the window
where a young wife sits
she patiently waits for her husband
for her world to be lit
there's a knock on the door
it's the postman
a telegram is read
your country regrets to inform you
that your husband is dead
he's missing in action somewhere
in the second world war
it's important for you to know
just what he died for
so we can be free
to live our lives
in freedom and safety
peace must survive
There's a place in a chair by the window
where an old woman sits
she patiently waits for the morning
for the streets to be lit
there's a knock on the door
it's the postman
a letter is read
if you don't pay the money you owe us
you'll wish you were dead
she hasn't eaten for two days
she's cold and alone
there's a strike and she can't get money
she can't heat her home
but she's still free
to live her life
in freedom and safety
peace must survive
There's a place in a room by the window
where a dead woman lay
she patiently waits for her funeral
it's the end of her days
there's a knock on the door
it's a tax man
he starts to yell
if you don't pay the money you owe us
you'll go to hell
she was killed by a young man
for the change in her purse
it's too late to tell her now,
that things could be worse
so what was it all for
all the death and the pain
they built our shelters
now they stand in the rain
what was it all for
all the death and the pain
they built our shelters
now they stand in the rain
He didn't want to set the world on fire
didn't want to sit behind his own empire
he was happy just to get along
from day to day on a prayer and a song
didn't have to lie, never had to cheat
never knew the feeling of just being beat
he played the game with a laugh and a smile
a simple man with a majestic style
Chorus
he was a good man, strong and kind
you can see it in the love that he left behind
he was a good man
he was a good man and I miss him so
and I'm here to tell you I was proud to know
a good man
though life had dealt him a troubled hand
it was never more than his shoulders could stand
no matter how hard the rain fell from above
he never lost his faith in the power of love
there's no reason why I wrote this song
no one was killed, no star was born
I just hoped that you'd be glad to hear
of a good man who I still hold dear
When the New York city streets
prepare themselves for midnight
you can feel the tension in the air
it's there you're going to find them all
crawling from the woodwork
rising from the sewers of despair
do you want to buy my drugs?
do you want to meet my sister?
five dollars and she'll show you a good time
guns for sale any kind you want
let them do your talking
walk with them down the avenues of crime
Chorus
it's a rat race, it's a fight for life
only the strongest will survive
it's a rat race, don't you hang behind
and the only prize you'll get is to stay alive
when the New York city streets
prepare themselves for daylight
painting over the dark and deadly grime
it's there you're going to find them all
crawling from their mansions
walking to their world of legal crime
would you like to buy these shares
we can make a killing
there's always someone on the street who'll pay the bill
you're feeling sick, come to me
my business is to care
I'll cure you but the cost is going to kill
you want the child, that's my game
I can buy you justice
but you'll work for half your life to pay what's due
vote for me, I love you all
I'll build a better world
then maybe I will build one for you too
I wanted to write a song for you
to tell you just how I feel
now for the first time
it's not just a dream
this love that I have is real
I wanted to put these thoughts of you
into the words of a special song
the feeling is there and the music flows
but the words just keep coming out wrong
Chorus
it's not easy writing love songs
without words that you've used before
it's not easy writing love songs
when you finally know for sure
I've been sitting here for hours
trying to think of something new
but three simple words keep coming back
I love you
I know there's no need to say a word
as I'm sure that by now you know
it's just that I have this need to say
the words that my feelings show
for thousands of years now
poets have tried
to soar on the wings of a bird
but from all of the beauty
that flows from their pens
we come back to the same three words
Look at the river, it's starting to flow now
where yesterday's river was still
winding its way down from mountain to sea
the sight of it gives such a thrill
winter is passing and spring has begun
the summer play has been cast
soon there'll be flowers that dance in the sun
and lovers that bathe in the grass
how well I remember the days of my youth
at this special time of the year
the crowds and the laughter
the smile of a young girl
and the joy of holding her near
the journeys to places that I'd never seen
a life full of time left to spend
the fun and the laughter just went on and on
I was sure it never would end
now I'm alone at the end of my days
and every day passes the same
it all went so quickly, just slipped through my hands
and there is no one left I can blame
why can't they see that inside I'm a child
that longs to go play in the sand
this passion inside me is still driving me wild
but there's no who'll take this old hand
my heart is still free and my eyes still shine bright
but my body grow more tired each day
I'd give what I've left for just one more night
to be young on a warm night in May
I see her walking in the street each day
nothing to say, in a world of her own
looking twice the years that she has had
life is bad, for the woman unknown
collecting bits in bags
like diamonds in her hand
just how much they mean to her
we'll never understand
Chorus
Were you a dancer or once a beauty queen
were you a famous actress on the silver screen
or maybe all you wanted were the simple things in life
a happy home and children and to be somebody's wife
Now leaves are falling and the summer's gone
will you carry on, living day to day
sleeping in shop windows where we buy and sell
and know too well, that you're the price we pay
perhaps your only crime
was to trust in someone bad
how I wish I could give to you
the life you never had