Lyrics
for all songs on CD, “Please Cut My Song, Mr. Travis”
(listed alphabetically)
All written by Jim Terr,
published by Blue Canyon Music BMI ©
ALL IT
TAKES © 1999 Jim Terr
When I saw you back
again
I knew it could only be you
With that look, I could write a book
About the ways that you wander away.
But your voice and your tender touch,
God they thrill me, yeah they mean so much
What would it take, dear, to make you see
Just how much you mean to me?
I can see the sorrow
in your eyes, the truth that’s underneath the lies.
The pain you don’t know you even have, the good that hides
behind the bad.
I wish I could take your hand and help you try to understand
That you and I could rule the world, just a lonely boy and a
lonely girl.
All it takes is a
little sadness,
All it takes is a little soul,
All it takes is a little madness
To get us to our goal.
You’re my power, you’re my pleasure,
Yeah you make me feel alive.
You’re my champagne and my chauffer,
I know that I’ve arrived.
So come, come on and
don’t act dumb,
Boy you know what I say is so.
I can see through that murky mist,
I can tell you’re never really been kissed.
Take my hand, take my heart as well.
From the first time I saw you, God I fell
Into love, into what it means
To breathe some life into your dreams.
All it takes is a
little sadness,
A little rock and a little roll.
Just the long arm of your love, dear,
To pull us from this hole.
You’re my sunshine and my sorrow,
You’re my laughter and my cries.
You can cure me, you can kill me
With one look from those great big eyes.
Yes all it takes
is a little sadness
All it takes is a midnight cry.
Yeah I need to see some reality
Shining through your eyes.
You must know by now I’m with you,
You must know much I care.
Come the flood or come or come the fire,
Darlin don’t you know I’m there?
Yes, all it takes
is a little sadness,
All it takes is a little soul,
All it takes is a little madness
To get diamonds out of coal.
You’re my power, you’re my pleasure,
Yeah you make me feel alive.
You’re my Caddy and my driver
So close that door and drive.
BRINGIN’
THE HONKY-TONK HOME © 10-2005 Jim Terr
I thought I’d find
some milk and cookies sittin on a plate
When I got home from the honky-tonk around… well, I admit it
was a little late.
But all I found was you a-glarin’, with that mean and hurtful
look.
I’m lucky, as relaxed as I was, I ducked that quick right
hook.
(Darlin, do you really think violence is a way to
resolve – whew –
[crashing dishes] – there you go again..)
We need to re-create
somehow right here on Tulip Street
That warm and cheerful atmosphere
where friendly folks can meet
And hug each other, share a laugh, and their deepest hopes and
wishes
Instead of throwin sucker punches and Wal-Mart’s finest
dishes.
A cozy place that
overflows with sweet camaraderie,
The kind of love and tenderness that you once had for me.
(you used to have for me)
Where everyone feels welcome, Hakim, Jose and Jerome,
And you and me. That’s why I’ll be, bringin’ the
honky-tonk home.
A little re-arranging
is all that it would take.
Move the furniture to the side to dance the Achey-Break.
A couple TVs on all night to take our thoughts away
From how everything has broke apart since we’ve gone our own
way.
Replace the
lights with 40-watts or watt-ever we might find
In that cupboard where we used to, sometimes… – oh, I’m
sorry, never mind.
Where everyone feels welcome, Hakim, Jose, Jerome,
And you and me. That’s why I’ll be, bringin’ the
honky-tonk home.
Yeah you can see why I gotta try
To bring that old honky-tonk home. (How bout it darlin?)
DANCING TO
THE RADIO (Duet) 10-05 ©Jim Terr
Turn and spin so
slowly, that radio dial.
The music’s driftin’ in here, ‘cross hundreds of miles.
Just a little old portable, with no CD,
But it’ll do to waltz you, ‘round the livin’ room with me.
Just press the proper
button, for the radio band.
Some things still work better, when they’re done by hand.
You press my sweetest buttons too, I hardly need to say.
We’ll keep the beat forever, when we dance this way.
Chesney, Paisley, Martina and Faith,
Will get us piroutettin’, ‘round this little place.
I could keep doin’ this until we’re eighty or so.
So let’s keep dancin’ to the radio…
Nobody to grade us,
nothing to prove.
We’ll try a little two-step, if the spirit moves.
Ain’t nobody watchin’, while we do our thing.
A little country shuffle, some western swing.
It’s cheap and
it’s healthy but it still is fun,
Two souls just about becoming one.
AM or FM, it comes out right,
Dancin to the radio, day or night….
Yeahh… I’d like to
dance, nice and slow,
Cheek to cheek, toe to toe,
Dancin, dancin to the radio with you.
DO THEY
HAVE E-MAIL IN HEAVEN? ©10-05 Jim Terr
Well I just got off
line, and I’m feelin' so fine,
I must have had thirty or more
E-mails from friends. Lord where will it end?
So much love from these folks I adore.
Well, to be totally
frank, a few were from banks
Offering great mortage deals.
And three, maybe four, were a little hard-core,
With a chance to enhance my… uh…, appeal.
But even with a
little spam I thank God every day
For this way to keep in touch with friends with so many
things to say.
Little-known facts ‘bout unnatural acts, so much I never
did know.
Do they have e-mail in heaven? If not, I don’t wanna go.
Now tell me the
truth, is anything so uncouth,
Could a person be more of a mess,
Than to chatter and such, and say “stay in touch”
But don’t have an e-mail address?
Now God clearly meant
that an e-mail be sent
Any time that you have a thought.
And if your inbox ain’t scoured, five or six times an hour,
Than you ain’t doin' all that you ought.
How could I ever
stay in touch without my ISP
To let my friends know I’m alive and to find out who loves
me?
I plum forgot how to use the phone, and the mail is
wayyyyyy too slow.
Do they have e-mail in heaven? If not, I don’t wanna go.
No if I can’t log on, at StPedro
-dot- com,
Then I’m not sure that I wanna go.
EXCUSE ME
WHILE I HAVE THE BLUES (10-05) ©Jim Terr
No more need for
pretense, or so-called common sense,
When shortly after I arose,
I noticed something was wrong, my baby was gone
With her Jaguar, her keys and her clothes.
She’d stolen away,
with nothing to say,
As quiet and slick as you choose.
Now I’m always polite, so I’m asking you nice,
Excuse me while I have the blues.
-for just for a
minute now… (lead)
It’s gonna be sad,
it’s gonna be bad,
Walkin to work for a while.
People pass by, at least in my mind’s eye
With a good attitude and a smile.
Yeah unlike myself,
they’ve got someone else,
They stroll down the sidewalk in twos.
So boss I’ll be straight, I’m gonna be late,
Excuse me while I have the blues.
-let me get this
out of my system now… (“mouth tuba”)–
Yeah I wish for
just a—
-day I wish I could rent, a happier gent,
Whose happier mood I could use.
But that’s not to be, it’s just gonna be me,
Excuse me while I have the blues.
Yes sometimes you’d
give, your nearest relative,
To be in someone else’s shoes
For an hour or two, it don’t matter who,
Excuse me while I have the blues.
Yeah excuse meee…. –for just one more minute here…(end
lead)
HOLDING
YOU WOULD HOLD ME © 10-2005 Jim Terr
I don’t need you to
call up all those guys that you’ve been seeing
And tell em that you’ve finally found the one
Who makes you feel your heart has found a home worth moving in
to
And let em know your dating days are done.
No I don’t need you to close no doors or whisper in my ear
again
Those sweet and unexpected things you’ve told me.
Holdin’ you would hold me.
I don’t need fame and
fortune though of course it would be grand
To buy you thinks that might just make you smile
Like flyin’ down to Mexico for a few days on the beach,
I’m fine just sittin’ here with you a while.
I don’t need to see my name in lights or for 20 angels every
night
To drop on down from heaven and enfold me.
Holdin you would hold me.
Girl can you
imagine what it’s like to find someone
Whose story speaks of struggle and of truth
Without quite being spoken, who fixes all that’s broken,
I feel alive when I’m just touching you.
You don’t have to
quit your job and stay at home and write me gobs
Of notes explaining your appreciation
For how we met and how we danced so easily together,
And find ourselves in this sweet situation.
And I don’t need to spend my time explaining in these tortured
rhymes
How I don’t mind if you wanna try to mold me.
Holdin’ you would hold me.
You touch me like you know me.
Holdin’ you would hold me.
I LOVE A
MAN ©10-2005 Jim Terr
I love a man who can
fix my telephone
With a piece of wire that I just would have thrown
In the garbage can.
God I love a man.
I love a man who,
despite that old chiche,
Asks directions, if he loses his way.
Don’t you understand?
I just love a man.
CH: A man who
cries, when he hears a heartbreak song,,
Who makes everybody, feel like they belong,
Who calls to tell me when he thinks that he’ll be late,
Who’s so good-looking, I can hardly concentrate.
I love a man who
don’t care that much for booze.
Who brings me flowers, when he thinks I’ve got the blues.
Kisses me on the hand,
How I love a man.
CH2: And when he
holds me, I feel so safe and warm,
I feel like shoutin, “Bring on that old storm!”
If I were ever unsure about these ties
All I need to do is look into those eyes.
I love a man who
calls me every night,
Shows up in person sometimes to hold me tight.
He’s got me in his hand.
Oooh I love a man.
Don’t you understand?
I really really love that man. (how much I love that man?)
Yeah it’s just like I planned,
God I love a man! (honey how I love a man?)
PLEASE CUT
MY SONG, MR. TRAVIS © 10-2005 Jim Terr
(with scratchy old “78” sound)
Please cut my song,
Mr. Travis.
Won’t you hear my tune, Mrs. Twain?
Mama sent me out today to pitch ‘em.
To go home empty-handed would be a shame.
It don’t need to be your next hit single.
It don’t need to be on MTV.
Even if it’s just there on your album,
That’d be fine with Mama and with me.
CH: Please just
take a minute now to listen.
I’ll play ‘em for you in the key of “D”.
Let me up there in your Silver Eagle
I will knock your socks off, wait and see.
See if I
don’t bring you tears and laughter
Hopefully them things are still what sells.
I know you can count on Willie Nelson,
But I can write ya a big hit just as well.
Just cuz
I don’t live up there in Nashville
Don’t mean I ain’t got something to say.
My little heart’s been broke right here in
Mudville,
And like you I face my Maker every day.
So please cut my
song, Mr. Travis.
Won’t you hear my tune, Mrs. Twain?
Mama sent me out today to pitch ‘em.
To go home empty-handed would be a shame.
(Let’s Go Back to
Your Place and)
RUSTLE UP SOME LOVE (Duet)
©Jim Terr 10-05
Some folks need to
take a cruise to re-light that old flame.
Acapulco or someplace else with some exotic name.
A change of scene, pastures more green, a quick romantic fix.
A Vegas weekend or at least a night or two in Motel Six. (aw-right!)
But you and me got
simpler tastes and a flame that’s never died.
There’s amusements and there’s getaways that we ain’t never
tried.
We don’t need to go nowhere to make our love bells ring.
We’ll cook up some excitement that hardly costs a thing.
You pick up the
weiners, and I’ll pick up the buns,
I’ll pick out some music that’s just right for havin’ fun.
We’ll just hope we don’t wake the folks in the apartment
up above.
Let’s go back to your place, and rustle up some love.
(feel the rustlin now!)
Instl lead.… (”hear that sizzle
now…”)
Yeah as long as our love is burnin’ bright then everything’s
just fine.
We can have an exotic adventure over at your place or mine.**
A little food and beverage, a classic video.
Turn off the phone and the Internet and we’re all set to go.
Yeah everyone
within half a mile knows somethin’s goin’ on.
That bakery gal she looked at me like “Girl, you’re gonna
have some fun.”
The butcher picked up on that spark and said “BuDDy,
Mazel Tov!”
(whatever that means)
Yeah let’s go up to your place, and rustle up some love.
Yeah let’s go back to your place (MY place?) and rustle up
some love.
** OR: You always
put something together that’s just right for you and me.
We’ll scrape up a little of this and that, it’ll
come out perfectly.
SHE TAUGHT
ME HOW TO SING THESE SONGS ©1986 Jim Terr
I met her on a Monday
in the grocery store,
She was so easy to talk to about cantaloupes and more.
By Tuesday we were thinking about nothing but each other,
By Wednesday we were old friends and by Friday we were lovers.
Well she was younger
than I was but she seemed a little wiser,
A social Cinderella and a spiritual advisor.
And a singer and a writer can use all the help he can
In learnin’ about life and what it means to be a man.
She taught me how
to love and give my heart away.
She taught me to look forward to each new and precious
day.
Then she taught me how to sit and cry the whole night
long.
She taught me how to sing these songs.
(instrumental break…)
Maybe I should learn
to take the good stuff with the bad.
Maybe I should just be thankful for all the fun we had.
She showed me I can keep on singin’ after hearin’ the worst
news
And now my repertoire’s expanded to include the low-down
blues.
She taught me how
to love and give my heart away.
She taught me to look forward to each new and precious
day.
Then she taught me how to sit and cry the whole night
long.
She taught me how to sing these songs. –Oh, Lordy!
She taught me how to sing these songs. –Boy did she ever!
She taught me how to sing these songs. –So long!
(long instrumental ending…)
SOME GUY
IN KANSAS CITY Jim Terr © 2004
Well you had your
birthday yesterday,
Baby without me, you got me outta the way.
You were touched by the presents and the accolades,
By the things they bought and the things they made,
But mostly by the
cards with those touching words
‘Bout how you smell like a rose and sing like a bird,
How you mean so much to all your closest friends,
How the circle of your love just never ends.
But don’t take it so
personal, don’t take it to heart,
Especially the pre-printed, flowery parts
‘Bout how you’re so kind and so sweet and pretty:
They was written by some guy in Kansas City!
Some little bitty
twit who prob’ly beats his wife
Then she beats him up worse -- My God, what a life!
Then he picks himself up, drives his Geo to work,
Sits down in his cubicle, dusts off his shirt,
Takes a deep breath, starts grindin’ out those lines
‘Bout how you’re the greatest, yeah you’re so fine.
So don’t be taken in by words so sweet and witty.
They was written by some guy in Kansas City. (...instrumental
break...)
“My life
wouldn’t be the same without you here.”
Well we know that’s a lie, now, don’t we dear?
“You bring us sunshine on a cloudy day.”
Just between you and me, baby, ain’t no way!
I know you need those
sentiments to prop you up
When you’re worn out from breakin’ hearts and all that stuff.
So don’t be so moved by some romantic ditty
That’s just written by some guy in Kansas City.
A sneezin’,
wheezin’ little ball of dirt,
But at least he knows what it means to hurt.
He’s way better off with that two-ton wife
Who beats him every day within an inch of his life
Than to run into you and your fatal charms
And be crushed to death in your unlovin’ arms.
Yeah him and me could form a tear-jerkin’ committee,
That greetin’ card geek up there in Kansas City.
Yeah it’s really
kinda sad, it’s a great big pity....
How the best you get... is from some Vienna
Sausage-eatin’... toejam-diggin’...
Nickelodeon-watchin’... college dropout... in
Kansas City!
THEY NEVER
MET ANYBODY LIKE YOU AND ME (Duet)
(10-05) ©JimTerr
Well I was lookin’
over one of those questionnaires
For one of those dating deals out there
Where they’ll hook you up on 25 traits
To help you find the perfect date
Yeah the perfect
match of fire and ice,
Of sass and class, of sugar and spice.
Not both too talkative or both too shy,
The perfect fit between X and Y.
Then I started to
wonder whether you and I
Coulda hooked up that way if we’d tried.
Could any little on-line, filled-out form
See that from the second we were born
We were two stars
destined to collide
Though our paths came in from different sides
They coulda never seen our compatibility….. Cuz they
never -
– met anybody like you and me, nobody like you and me.
No they never woulda
seen us as a total match.
Who ever woulda thought you were the perfect catch?
We’re like oil and water, like whiskey and gin,
But somehow – POW! - we sorta fit right in
Like a ball in hand,
like a hand in glove,
‘Bout two seconds later, we were plum in love.
I don’t think it woulda showed up on a little test
That you’re the craziest (and you’re the best).
I couldn’a told
what those questions were all about,
It woulda taken you a week just to figure it out.
I couldn’a answered any of ‘em with a “yes” or “no”,
And not one of em woulda captured how you glow.
They never coulda matched up our personality… Cuz they
never
- met anybody like you and me, nobody like you and
me.
Yeah nobody like
me or you – it’s true – nobody like me and you.
They never saw
anyone like you – or you – you see,
No, nobody like me – or me!
This
Changes Everything
By Jim Terr ©1998 Blue Canyon Music BMI
I came home from work
to hear you say goodbye too quickly on the phone.
It made me wonder what’s been goin’ on behind my back when
I’ve been gone.
But you made everything all right just like you know exactly
how to do.
And pretty soon I felt almost as close as I had ever felt to
you.
Then yesterday I
found a note that you must have forgotten in your coat.
I could see the love in every line, in every single word she
wrote.
And I could see it wasn’t just a fantasy but something you
both shared.
The earth began to slip beneath my feet, I felt so all alone
and scared.
THIS CHANGES
EVERYTHING,
THE SPARKLE OF THIS WEDDING RING,
THE SOUND OF SPARROWS ON THE WING.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
Don’t tell me it was
nothing, cuz you just won’t convince me, not this time.
And don’t tell me that sharing some affection with another is
no crime.
And don’t tell me I shouldn’t feel this way, that I will only
hurt myself.
I know how to feel and what to say, maybe that’s all that I’ve
got left.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING,
I FIND MYSELF NOW WONDERING
ABOUT THOSE GIFTS YOU USED TO BRING.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
So tell me how you
love me, that you didn’t really mean to wreck our world,
That you just got drawn in by some persistent and seductive
city girl.
You can tell me you'll never do that again; I might even
agree.
But I’m not sure you’ll ever make it anything like what it
used to be.
THIS CHANGES
EVERYTHING,
THE WINTER SNOW, THE FLOWERS IN SPRING,
THE WAY I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY KING.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
YES THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
Three-Teared
Wedding Cake
©1997 Jim Terr - Blue Canyon Music BMI 505-989-9298
Our wedding day is a
joy for all, a wonder to behold.
Family and friends from so far away, the young ones and the
old.
A sweet, sweet mix that took so long to fix, and oh so long to
bake,
Just like this masterpiece I made, my three-teared wedding
cake.
It’s so simple and so
sweet, you’d probably never tell
That three little tears rolled down my cheek, and one by one
they fell
Right into my mixing bowl, and blended right on in.
I said goodbye to those three tears, as they dropped off my
chin.
Try a bit for
your own sake, my tender three-teared wedding cake.
The first tear is for
the first man I loved, I never quite let him go.
How I miss (loved?) his tender touch, I hope you never know.
But his memory cannot compare, to the magic that you do.
With thanks to God for the day we met, the second tear’s for
you.
It’s taken all
these years to make, our lovely three-teared wedding cake.
The bride and groom
that stand on top, with icing all around.
They have no life, this little man and wife, they’ll never
hear a sound.
Mother, they remind me you’ll no longer be with me,
And you never even had a wedding cake, and that’s tear number
three.
Have a piece for
your own sake, my tender three-teared wedding cake.
TONSILS IN
TAIWAN © 05-05 Jim Terr (see www.HealthCareHoller.com)
Got my tonsils out in
Taiwan, my gall bladder out in Greece,
Took a side trip up to Sweden to fill some caverns in my
teeth.
Saw a doctor down in Denmark and a specialist in Spain
To see what could be causing me this dull but steady pain.
Took a trip up to
Toronto just to buy some little pills.
Thought I’d died and gone to heaven when they handed me the
bill.
Went to Norway when I noticed that my eardrum had a hole,
Got back home, just in time to watch the Super Bowl.
It’s been a
brutal year but man I’m glad I was overseas
Where you can see the doctor when you really got a need,
Where people they live longer -- babies also, like they
should.
I guess they call it Health Care and I guess they got it
good.
Broke my arm in
Amarillo, went to Cyprus for a sling,
Cut a callus off in Cuba and they didn’t charge a thing.
Went to Britain for my itchin’ and to Iceland for my eyes,
Irish intern pulled a hairball out of me to my surprise.
Got a mole removed in
Malta, stomach stapled up in France
After I began to notice that I couldn’t zip my pants.
Fixed a hernia in Hong Kong and my leg in Liechtenstein.
When I got back to the U.S. I was feelin’ mighty fine.
This here’s the
Land of Plenty, and plenty’s what it takes
To get some health insurance in these old United States.
I just-
Know I shouldn’t have to go bankrupt or on the street
If the cancer comes a-callin’ as it might for you or me.
I ran into my
Congressman, said “Your honorable, would you mind
Takin’ twenty minutes, if you ever find the time,
To figure out some health care that would work as good for me
As what you fellas got yourselves in Washington DC?”
So if you get
appendicitis or a splinter in your hand,
I hope you’re in New Zealand, Libya or Switzerland,
Or someplace else where they have somehow figured out a
way
To keep you upright til the good Lord says that it’s your
day.
(I Just Wanna Know)
WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO KISS YOU
© 2000, 2005 Jim Terr
Please don’t
misinterpret me, please don’t make too much
Of what is just a friendly smile, and a tender little touch.
I like puppies, so do you, so you know how it can be
When a little glow warms up the night, like it has for you and
me.
No please don’t
expect me, to fall right into love.
I’m counting on the hands of time, and the planets up above.
But meanwhile there’s one little thing, I’m curious about.
One little real-life detail, I can’t wait to find out.
Can’t we give
ourselves a little time
Before we tangle up your life and mine?
Don’t wanna get so close that I’m gonna have to start to
miss you.
I just wanna know what it would be like to kiss you.
I’m not playing
keepaway, not tryin’ to drive you wild.
But sometimes with that sad, sad face, you’re like a little
child.
Understand there’s nothing more, that I would like to do
Than fall into your lovin’ arms, for a month or maybe two.
Take a breath and
remind yourself I’m free
To let myself love you the way that you love me?
Though I’ve gotta make sure that I can still resist you.
I just wanna see what it would be like to kiss you.
Hold on a little
longer, I’ve got faith you can.
I must protect my heart, I’m sure you understand
Don’t wanna change you, mold you, shape you, scold you,
twist you,
I just wanna know what it would be like to kiss you.
Yeah-yeah-yeah-
Hope I don’t get so close that if you leave I’m gonna miss
you.
But I just wanna see what it would be like to kiss you.
YOU AIN’T
GOT MUCH ©10-05 Jim Terr
Maybe you got a big
house in the country with a pool and the kids in school callin
up for money and a wife who ain’t funny and who’s lost that
tender touch.
Well you ain’t got much.
Maybe the guys at the
bar and the bank wanna thank you for settin such a good
example with your plasma TV and your 30-foot boat and such.
But you ain’t got much.
Yeah maybe this song
will never get by the consultants who think it’s insultin to
the advertisers tryin’ just dyin’ to sell you tons of stuff.
Well that’s just tough.
But you and your mama
know when you’re all set to go to Heaven or the other place
there really ain’t no place to park that 40-foot motor home,
With the satellite phone.
CH: Yeah… when
you arrive in heaven they ain’t gonna ask
If you had a Maserati that’d go real fast.
It mighta made your blood run a little hotter and thicker
But it also mighta got you there a little bit quicker…
Well you drift into
the bar while you wait for your car to get the knob on the
six-speed shifter fixed, look around to see what you can see,
Besides sports TV.
A cute little thing
who’s removed her wedding ring says “Hey what’s the
matter? Ain’t it better than it was, like you hoped and you
figured it’d be,
makin a million – three?”
You throw your
bourbon down, take a walk downtown, what’s left of it anyhow,
now that the big box stores killed Mom and Pop,
It sorta makes you stop.
You watch some kids
play like the way it was for you way back when, when
your cell phone rings and the guy says you need a new clutch.
Man you ain’t got much.
CH: Yeah when
the bills come in are you sure that you can pay?
When the Big Bell tolls will you be able to say
That you loved your family and your friends even when they
forgot to write, late at night after 2 A.M. you still knew
that you were in touch?
Then you had so much.