THE LYRICS

Ira's lyrics range from the madcap to the sublime.

Children's Lyrics

Literary/ Author Inspired Lyrics

The Levins' Lyrics

If Al were here, I'm sure he would agree.

If you want to move around at light's velocity,

You've got to think big...as infinity.

So, take the afternoon and come along with me.

Hey, let's be big today.

We'll travel all around chasing troubles away.

They'll never see us coming.

They'll wonder why their humming.

Come on, what you say?

Let's be big today.

Sitting on a moving mountain of gold.

Riding out past everything that I've been told.

Internal navigation was blind sided by degrees.

Fear of not succeeding was defining me.

I'd rather be big.

So, I'm getting out of my way.

Out into the open where it's not so grey.

Bigger than heartache,

Bigger than strife,

We're taking the cake,

We're larger than life.

When I am in tatters and about to cave

In elementary matters,

be the particle and the wave.

Be the particle and the wave.

When you're scared and lose your way-

be the particle and the wave.

Stand and be brave.

Be the particle and the wave.

Hey, let's be big today.

We'll travel all around chasing troubles away.

They'll never see us coming.

They'll wonder why their humming.

Come on, what you say?

Let's be big today.

www.TheLevinsmusic.com TheLevins@yahoo.com

I read a quote of Elenor’s at the Cafe:

“Do something that scares you everyday.”

Ever since then, I’ve stopped hiding away.

Can’t keep this light to myself on my way.

On my way.

Chorus:

You’ve got to move

to change the state you’re in.

You’ve got to roll to strike all the pins.

You gotta get on if you’re driving the bus.

The race has begun and we must trust.

When I find myself in an unknown place,

I can see old friends in each new face.

And when the fear takes hold you will find I am beside you.

The road may curve and we’ll just have to ride; we’ll just have to ride through.

Chorus.

You can hide from your fate, you can hide from your day.

You can hide from your pain ‘til your light goes away.

If you don’t like what you’re thinking about, then you can shift.

You can turn it around.

Hope brings motion, motion brings change;

Change is your friend when the going gets strange.

When the going gets strange...

Chorus. We must trust.

I Am Here

It's so isolating

to ride up on this cycle

with fear of being idle,

with my anger on parade.

In saying that I have no time

I limit my lucidity,

become an addict to validity,

take myself out of my prime.

I have time, I have time.

If I step out of the story then I get the chance to see-

There's a bigger picture here, something more for me.

(Chorus)

I am here and I am needed.

I will stand up and be greeted by what comes my way.

I will fill my day with love;

with love, with love, with love.

Always justifing my existence;

Always chained to my reactions...

In a moment of resistance,

I might get some satisfaction.

In saying that there’s not enough

I’m holding on to scarcity, clinging to adversity-

As if I’ve got it rough!

I have enough. I am enough!

If I step out of the story, then I get the chance to see-

There's a bigger picture here- Something more than me.

I am here and I am needed.

I will stand up and be greeted

by what comes my way.

I will fill my day with love,

with love, with love.

I am here and I am needed,

I will stand up and be greeted.

With love, with love, with love.

LINES IN THE LAND

Traipsing the Michael-Mary as the sky lanterns rise
in an arc-aligned sign over Glastonbury.
We feel the power going into our hands
on this New Year’s night. It’s the land’s way of saying
“hello, I’ve got so much to tell you, there’s so much to know.”

There’s a circle of stones in a green carpet field,
there’s something inside us that’s starting to yield.
Standing over us… watching over us.

The red and white springs rising. Tiny candles, they guard.
they are holding a space when our hearts becomes hard.
When our hopes become barren, the branches of trees
reach out to embrace us, before our souls freeze.
Go out past the ruins and see what this means.
There’s an intricate weave between seen and unseen,
pulsing life into Winter until white becomes green.
Standing over us, Watching over us

There are lines in the land that are unmarred by time.
They hum to us softly converging in rhyme.
Like the song that we sing at the start of the year,
it was penned in the past and it calls us to hear.
Standing over us, Watching over us

STUCK

I was stuck sitting inside self pity
in the heart of the city of Woe-Is-Me.
Peace came along
saying you can be strong
Look inside and see.

But I ran away saying that’s okay,
I will see you another day.
Too many things that I must do.
Until then, there’s no time for you.

So I climbed a ladder and I scaled a wall,
and I reached the top and I began to fall.
I was losing power, I was losing steam,
I was so unhappy, I had lost my dream...

So I wrote a book and then I sang a song,
and I painted a picture but before too long
my thoughts ran dry and I started to cry,
I’m stuck in the desert and I don’t know why.

I was stuck sitting inside self pity
in the heart of the city of Woe-Is-Me.
Peace came along saying you can be strong.
Look inside and see.

So I heaved a big sigh and I opened wide
and I let peace come inside.

Well, all at once I was feeling strong,
time was sweet and life was long.
There’s so many things
that I’d like to do,
but with peace inside
they can all ring true.

So if you’re stuck
sitting inside self-pity
in the heart of the city of Woe-Is-Me,
when peace comes along
saying you can be strong...
don’t wait as long as me.
Look inside and see. Look inside.

DREAM UNSPOKEN

Driving in my car today, trying to find some color
in a world gone gray. I heard an old song,
made me leap inside; I thought of you and
I laughed, and then I cried.

I remember, I remember
the twinkle in your eye, the fire in my heart.
A bond of understanding that can't be torn apart.

Remember a time when your lungs filled with song?
It was a new sensation...you knew that you belonged!

I remember, I remember,
a dream unspoken by us all,
a love that broke down every wall.
I remember, I remember it all.

It seems so easy to forget
the splendor of a single sunset,
the importance and the beauty of friendship.
It keeps us alive. We can never let it slip.

I remember, I remember,
photographs and phone calls,
visits and the letters,
help repaint the pictures
which over time have weathered.

I sing to you now of who we were then,
all that we are and what we’ll be
when we meet again... (i remember....)

A WORLD OF PEACE

Sometimes I am afraid of change.
I want things just to stay the same.
I think that we’re moving too fast
when we say forgive the past.

There’s so much to learn
from each other;
we can only make it together.
I’ll give you smile; a smile is for giving.
Now is the time for living.

A world of peace, war will cease.
I can see you are me in disguise.
Let me open up my eyes.
A world of peace, war will cease.
I can see you are me in disguise.
Let me wipe the tears from your eyes.

Sometimes, I think that there’s a way,
only one way to play the game.
Holding onto the dark of night,
trying to hold back the incoming light.
There’s so much to learn from each other.
We can only make it together.
I’ll give you a smile; a smile is forgiving.
Now is the time for living...

We can only make it together.
We can only make it ...a world of peace...

Sometimes I am afraid of change.
I want things just to stay the same.
But what if peace could come at last,
if we chose to forgive the past?

CHILD IN SPACE

We are all part of a child in space.
One body, one heart, one race.
We are all atoms dancing face to face,
and the bond that we can’t see between us,
keeps us in this place.

While the left hand wrestles with the right,
the belly goes hungry, eyes shut tight.
If I could reach across the great divide,
our tears would become nourishment
and heal us from inside.

And the darkness would fade...
if I could hasten the day.

We are all part of a child in space.
One body, one heart, one race.
We are all atoms dancing face to face,
and the bond that we can see between us,
keeps us in this place.
One body, one heart, one race.

RELIEF

I was empty, I was tired.
I was drowning there in grief.
But I know If I had to hate you,
I would never know relief.
You silenced every mother singing,
“Safe from harm.”
Sisters, friends and brothers,
they were stolen from our arms.
Now, we are lights cast into darkness.
We are hope from love’s lost strength.
But I know I must have hope for you.
I must believe we all can change.
I must let Mercy lead the way.

Laugh With Me

I used to think that life was just a race to reach a point called win;
to be happy in the end, but the point is to begin.
Every day’s a lifetime, another chance to choose
how I’ll be remembered; as a blessing or the blues.

What I have to give inside becomes the portion that I’ll keep.
The love that I receive becomes the harvest that I’ll reap.
Let me be remembered for something true.
Not for what I am alone, but for who I am with you.

Laugh with me and life bursts open into Spring.
Sing with me and see what harmony we’re bringing.
Hold my hand and I’ll lead you to a quiet stream.
Together we will understand the meaning of this dream...the meaning of this.

Without you I’m a shadow dancing in the frame of time,
a scribbled line of prose but with you, an endless rhyme.
Every day’s a lifetime, another chance to choose
how I’ll be remembered; as a blessing or the blues...

A book, a song, a story, without love there’s no glory.
What is the center of it all? ...

ALBUM: Barely Contained

Barely Contained - Lyrics & Music- Ira and Julia Levin

My thoughts and my body are not me.

I can play them both like a violin.

Their melody reminds me of who I am and where I’ve been.

I once saw a fish in a tall tree, when she saw me she began to grin

She said, “Your melody reminds me, there’s water in air” and she started to swim.

Chorus:

I’m barely contained, you can’t buy how I feel.

I give it away, I’m a bright summer’s day with the

Colors of Fall.

I’m all things at once, and I’m nothing at all.

I used to think power was outside, and that strength was just a muscle show.

Strength funnels through from the inside.

I can bench press the world by just letting go.

I once saw a rose in an old book, when she saw me she began to grin.

She said, “Your melody reminds me of who I am and where I’ve been.”

I’m barely contained, you can’t buy how I feel.

I give it away, I’m a bright summer’s day with the

Colors of Fall.

I’m all things at once, and I’m nothing at all.

Breathing is more than a pastime, it’s a fine line

And you can’t hold on.

Laughing is healing and loving is really a wind chime;

It’s a song.

Chorus. I’m all things at once and I’m nothing at all.

I’m all things at once and I’m nothing.

I’m all things at once…

My thoughts and my body are not me.

I can play them both like a violin.

Their melody reminds me of who I am and where I’ve been.

Coffee my Love- Lyrics & Music- Ira and Julia Levin

I’d like to see you, early in the morning.

I like to hold out, hold out till noon.

I might go crazy, crazy if I see you.

I might go crazy if I see you too soon.

But it’s a love affair, when your perfume’s in the air

I love this love affair, you perk me up! Oh!

Pre-chorus:

Coffee, you’re my cure-all, you’re my panacea paramour.

An ounce of hope in every cup, you pick me up from shore to shore.

If I never had another sip from today, I would love you – ever more.

Chorus: Coffee my love, black as the night.

You make me- bright as the sun- ar-o-matic delight!

If I’m on the run or at my leisure, it’s a pleasure to be together.

It’s a pleasure to be together. Do- doo do dooo. Do Do Do Dooo Do Doo Dooo.

When we meet at your house, atmosphere is everything.

Linger over Whitman while the songwriter sings.

At the diner in a booth, at a counter in Deluth,

Local history as decure, beehive waitress: Want some more?

At the café, you and I will steal away. Grab a quick bite, catch up with friends,

Find time to write for hours on end…Oh.. Pre-chorus/Chorus but after… ‘It’s a pleasure to be together’ the 2nd time straight into:

Viennese is such a tease, Costa Rica love to see you; Fly to Paris- sit outside, Go to

Venice- take a ride, why Rome? When we can make our own at home?

Pre-chorus/ Chorus

It’s a pleasure to be together.

Not as Dark as it Seems -Lyrics and Music: Ira Levin & Julia Levin

Were we all aware that every dish was made with care?

A symphonic rendezvous, and when the time is through

you’re doing dishes after midnight.

It’s not an unfamiliar sight.

And your cup of coffee

says: “Do they ever think of me?”

It’s not as dark as it seems

Just put in some cream,

and add some sweet memories

It’s not as dark as it seems.

Keeping busy all the time

To scale this mountain that you climb;

You’ve got a yearning and a longing there that’s burning.

Burning late into the night, it’s not an unfamiliar sight.

And your coffee cup

says: “I’m full but fill me up.”

It’s not as dark as it seems

Just put in some cream

and add some sweet memories

It’s not as dark as it seems Yi di di di…yi di didi

The bottom’s an opportunity to see what you are made of

and your own divinity.

A cup that’s made of clay is bound to hit the ground one day,

but don’t let that bring you down.

All that’s lost is found.

We’ll meet one day at eternity’s café.

It’s not as dark as it seems

Just put in some cream

and add some sweet memories

It’s not as dark as it seems. Yi di di di…yi di didi

Time To Go- Lyrics & Music- Ira & Julia Levin

It’s all one big day. The sun is a maypole and we are winding away.

How many moments, reflected like diamonds, gather around you

to light up your way?

Time to go. Time to go on our way.

Laughter that rises up from the center.

Tears that are taken away to the sea.

A house without walls, open to enter.

That is the time that you spend with me.

Time to go. Time to go on our way.

Raise your glass. Raise up your hope.

Raise your courage up high.

All that we share will not be forgotten.

We’ll see you again by and by.

Time to go. Time to go on our way.

Ale Brider – The Levins’ version

We are all together and we sing and dance forever

Ale brider, ale shvester, michbucha!

(We are all brothers, we are all sisters- family!)

When we sing we’re not divided. When we dance we are delighted-

Ale Shvester, ale brider, mishbucha!

(We are all brothers, we are all sisters- family!)

Un mir zinen ale brider- un mir zingen frelich lider

(We sing happy songs as brothers. We stick together like nobody else does!)

Ale shvester, ale brider- mishbucha!

(We are all brothers, we are all sisters- family!)

Ya la li li li li li li li – yay li li

Ya la li li li li li li li

Ya la li li li li li li li – yay li li

Oy, Oy, oy, OY, oy yoy yoy, yoy yoy!

La la la la…

Because we are a family, we treat each other joyously

Forgetting all our quarrels and our cares.

No matter what we have we share and when we sing we care

For one another, sister brother, mishbucha! (Family)

Un mir halten zeekin anum

Azelkis is nito bi canum

(We are all united whether we are many of few and we love each other.)

Ale brider, ale shvester- Mischbucha!

(We are all brothers, we are all sisters- family!)

Ya la li li li li li li li – yay li li

Ya la li li li li li li li

Ya la li li li li li li li – yay li li

Oy, Oy, oy, OY, oy yoy yoy, yoy yoy!

GOD’S SPIES (King Lear:Act 5, scene 3)
(Inspired by Shakespeare / King Lear)

Sometimes love's depths
can find no words
to paint the picture properly.
Break the silence, speak your truth,
or court uncertain misery.

For some it's all a battleground;
reaping sorrow from mock rage.
But the two of us,
together we’ll sing like birds;
even when we're feeling caged.

As we head off, it occurs to me
there are so many ways to give,
like in King Lear Act 5 Scene 3...
“So we’ll live...
and we’ll pray and sing
and tell old tales and
laugh at gilded butterflies,
and take upon us the mystery of things,
as if we were God's spies.”

We can rail against the storm,
keep the fool for company.
Be sad, go mad, become a crown-less king.
Still, it's down to you and me.

The news is like the tide,
with who loses and who wins.
Pacts and sects of great ones,
who is out and who is in,
ebbs and flows like the moon
while we’re wandering on the heath.
Oh, that fickle changing loon
with us playing underneath!

As we head off it occurs to me,
there’s still time to forgive.
Like in King Lear Act 5 Scene 3...
“So we’ll live...

We are telling different tales;
secrets falling from our lips.
When our eyes are free from scales,
we can see what was eclipsed.

“So, we’ll pray, and sing,
and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded butterflies,
And take upon us the mystery of things,
as if we were God's spies.”

Lighten Up Edgar

Born in Baltimore, Orphaned at three

Moved to Virginia with a new family

Never got along with your adopted dad

Is that what made you such a twisted lad?

Did you really take the teeth out that girl Bernice ?

It really isn’t polite.

Why must you be such a fright?

There's something about that that's just not quite right!

Lighten up Edgar

Your’e so filled with woe

But everyone knows (the/a little) poetry and prose of

Edgar Allen Poe

Down in the catacombes far, far below

to drink from a Cask of Amatilado

Your surprise your enemy with a bit of villany.

Remind me never to insult your family.

After bearing your share of humiliating heart pangs

the king and his men to dress up as orangutans.

They all come to a fiery end.

Remind me never to strike one of your friends.

Lighten up Edgar

Your’e so filled with woe

But everyone knows (the/a little) poetry and prose of

Edgar Allen Poe

Meanwhile back in a strange reality

you married your cousin. Was it Anabel Lee?

You knew happiness ever so breiefly

Before she moved to a scepluca down by the sea

Was it opium or the Inquisition

that put you in that pit with the pendulum?

Now your dreaming her portrait in seaweed and shells

and all you can hear are the bells, bells, Bells, BELLS!

Lighten up Edgar

Why are/You’re so filled with woe

But everyone knows (the/a little) poetry and prose of

Edgar Allen Poe

Your locked in your study with your dark feathered buddy.

You drink and your meloncoly down to the core.

When will you- sweep the shadow from the floor?

Quoth the Raven: Ne-ver-more!

You walled up your wife with your old black cat

You'll have to be a little more careful than that.

Your old man's eye made you to tear him apart

Can u hear it? Can you hear it? The beating of his hideous heart!

Lighten up Edgar

Your’e so filled with woe

But everyone knows (the/a little) poetry and prose of

Edgar Allen Poe

All that gloom finally took it’s toll Your final words were "Lord, help my poor soul."

Lighten up Edgar

Your so filled with woe

But everyone knows

the poetry and prose

Of Edgar Allen Poe

THE GREAT CONSTELLATION

For Madmen Only (Inspired by Hermann Hesse / Steppenwolf)

“If I had the pieces in my pocket and
I could change my life, would I change my life?”

Harry Haller and Hermann Hesse sat down
in Hermann’s mind to play a game of chess.
Harry did the foxtrot while Hermann made his move
and spoke about Siddhartha
and the need for solitude, inside.

Harry is half-wolf and with his queen
denies the bishop access to the castle,
which is where he keeps his pride.
“I will take your queen but then I’ll be your pawn.
Cheer up, Harry; sing a madman’s song tonight!”

“You are the Great Constellation!
Not just one soul in isolation.”

Your King is in check, and your life is a wreck.

Leave the razor and blaze a new trail.

Harry loves the knight and is seeking second sight.

“Don’t be so worried that your life is going to fail.

Listen to life’s music on the radio.

This sadness is a tyrant you can overthrow.” ...

“Laugh with the immortals, overcome the hurdles!
Handel is disfigured by the radio
but it doesn’t bring him down.
You know genius isn’t tarnished by technology.
Play this little game with me, you’ll see.
Listen to life’s music on the radio.
This sadness is a tyrant we can overthrow.”...

A sky full of souls, you play all the roles.”
You are the great constellation!
“I have the pieces in my pocket. I can change my life.”

The Story I Can Hear-

inspired by Joseph Campbell

If we see it all as literal, it might end up in a fight.

If we see it as a story, it might work out alright.

Let's go out and meet the modern, willing to embrace.

See the gold inside the dust, be the change that's taking place.

I long to tell the story I can hear.

One that fills my eyes, opens up the skies.

I long to tell the story I can hear.

One that fills the skies,

Opens up my eyes.

Not just for believers or those that think it's true.

But that holds me in its arms as it reaches out for you.

Reaches out for you.

We're busy telling stories.

Meanwhile, life goes on.

It listens to our verses.

Sings all of our songs.

One song. Our Songs.

Not just for believers or those that think it's true.

But that holds me in its arms as it reaches out for you.

Our songs. One song.

Reaches out for you.

Raise Your Glass to Charles Dickens

32 pages for a shilling on the street.

Common folks are willing

though it’s hard to make ends meet.

What a novel idea

to treat the beggar and the Lord

to a tale they both can now afford.

Raise your glass to Charles Dickens!

No one else in London town

could turn this mad world upside down.

Turn the page, the old plot thickens.

Victorian lore, the rich, the poor,

they rise, they fall,

there’s hope for us all!

So raise your glass to Charles Dickens!

Pickwick Papers: Capers of rich kindly gentlemen.

A chronicle of travels, the adventures of 4 friends:

Snodgrass, Tupman, Winkle, Pickwick and his servant Sam.

They get out of a pickle and they get into a jam.

Raise your glass to Charles Dickens.

No one else in London town could

turn this mad world upside down.

Turn the page, the old plot thickens.

-Crumpets and tea, the city, the sea,

Victorian lore, he rich, the poor.

They rise, they fall,

there’s hope for us all!

So, raise your glass to Charles Dickens!

Next on the list, Oliver Twist!

He is poor & asks for more.

Kicked out of the orphanage,

taken in by ruffians,

who teach him how to pick the pocket of a gentleman...

Who turns out to be his next of kin.

Raise your glass to Charles Dickens.

No one else in London town could

Turn this mad world upside down.

Turn the page, the old plot thickens.

-Bitters and ales, justice prevails,

Crumpets and tea, the city, the sea.

Victorian lore, the rich, the poor,

They rise they fall, there’s

Hope for us all! So, raise your glass to Charles Dickens!

Young Nickolas Nickleby must take care of his family.

His father’s dead, his uncle’s cruel,

he must work for a boarding school.

The school’s a scam, the one-eyed

man imprisons helpless lads.

Nick knocks him down,

heads back to town,

defeats malicious cads!

Raise your glass to Charles Dickens.

No one else in London town

Could turn this mad world upside down.

Turn the page, the old plot thickens!

-Pride and shame, the bold, the lame,

Bitters and ales, justice prevails,

Crumpets and tea, the city, the sea.

Victorian lore, the rich, the poor,

They rise, they fall,

there’s hope for us all!

So, raise your glass to Charles Dickens!

A Christmas Carol,

most beloved parable.

A miser gets wiser when he’s

haunted by three ghosts.

He turns around and makes the

most of life before he’s done.

If there’s hope for Ebenezer Scrooge,

God Bless us everyone!

Raise your glass to Charles Dickens.

No one else in London town could

Turn this mad world upside down.

Turn the page, the old plot thickens.

-Cruelty, kindness, ties that bind us,

Pride and shame, the bold, the lame,

Bitters and ales, justice prevails,

Crumpets and tea, the city, the sea,

Victorian lore, the rich, the poor,

They rise, they fall,

there’s hope for us all!

So, raise your glass to Charles Dickens!

Good old David Copperfield,

he’s the boy who would not yield.

His stepdad hit, so he bit him.

Thus was sent away to school.

Forced to labor, ran to Dover,

raised up by his aunt.

He triumphs in love and against a sycophant!

Raise your glass to Charles Dickens.

No one else in London town could

Turn this mad world upside down.

Turn the page, the old plot thickens.

-Streets and alleys, prisons and inns,

Cruelty, kindness, ties that bind us,

Pride and shame, the bold, the lame,

Bitters and ales, justice prevails,

Crumpets and tea, the city, the sea,

Victorian lore, the rich, the poor,

They rise, they fall,

There’s hope for us all!

So, raise your glass to

Charles Dickens!

The best of times, the worst of times;

a terrible ordeal! A Tale of Two Cities,

the storming of the Bastille.

When Life has great meaning,

“Tis’ a far far better thing.”

Even when you face the guillotine.

Raise your glass to Charles Dickens!

No one else in London town could

Turn this mad world upside down.

Turn the page, the old plot thickens.

-A noble life, self-sacrifice,

Streets and alleys, prisons and inns,

Cruelty, kindness, ties that bind us,

Pride and shame, the bold, the lame,

Bitters and ales, justice prevails!

Crumpets and tea, the city, the sea,

Victorian lore, the rich, the poor,

They rise, they fall...

There’s hope for us all!

So, raise your glass to

Charles Dickens!

Great Expectations for a

boy with few relations;

captured by a convict and then

steals some food for him.

Covertly, the convict turns the boy

into a gentleman.

But, there is disorder,

he falls for the convict’s daughter!

Raise your glass to Charles Dickens.

No one else in London town could

Turn this mad world upside down.

Turn the page, the old plot thickens.

-The mad, the sane,

the loss, the gain.

A noble life, self-sacrifice,

Streets and alleys, prisons and inns

Cruelty, kindness, ties that bind us,

Pride and shame,

the bold, the lame,

Bitters and ales, justice prevails!

Crumpets and tea, the city, the sea,

Victorian lore, the rich, the poor,

They rise and fall...

There’s hope for us all!

So, raise your glass to

Charles Dickens!

Huzzah!

Dorothy’s Next Round (table)

Dorothy Parker left the Algonquin After a 10-year lunch

Went on a bender, came back for dinner, determined to find a new bunch.

“Strong women writers when you are able

Come meet me under or round this new table!

Let’s go on a timeless binge.

Living well’s the best revenge."

Agatha Christie said,

“Yes, let's make history.

I'll be your partner in crime

You know that I'm libel to outsell the Bible;

I'm the best selling author of all time.”

Mary Shelley waltzed in saying,

"Let's not fit in, we've all stood the test of time. The beginning I say is always today. Let's make a monster, a real Frankenstein !"

“Strong women writers when you are able

Come meet me under or round this new table!

Let’s go on a timeless binge.

Living well’s the best revenge."

"Quite right Dorothy," said Gertrude Stein,

"One must dare to be happy, with or without the wine!"

“Just like the pseudonym sisters pawned off as misters:

George's Elliot and Sand, who took off their disguises and said, "here's to surprises!"

Let's give those girls a big hand!”

"What's the soup of the day?" cried ol' dame Christie,

"Wait, don't tell me. I love a good mystery."

A river of writers poured from the Algonquin;

women too great to ignore.

Maya Angelo voice starts to glow:

"Just like moons and like suns

With the certainty of tides

Just like hopes springing high

Still I rise.”

Still, we rise.

Rise!

3 Cheers for Shakespeare!

From the Queen down to the groundlings your reception is astounding.

Your a treasure measure for measure.

Life's a Comedy of Errors.

We can all change our personas

Like the Gentleman of Verona.

Wise men rise and tyrants fall

No matter how great the force

A horse, my kingdom for a horse.

Chorus:

William William tell us a tale

The turn key's cruel with endless taunts

We've spent a dark age in this jail

Pen us all a Renaissance.

3 cheers, 3 cheers for the shaker of the spear.

William you're a force of nature

Drowning out our fears-

3 cheers!

Two young loves

From Warring families,

Poison & dagger bring

Them low

But nothing mars the lamentable love of Juliet and her Romeo.

After this it comes to pass the queen of the faires falls for an ass.

On a Midsummer's night it's plain to see,

"Lord what fools these mortals be."

Chorus

We may not have weird sisters prophecy

Hamlet’s indecision, Othello’s jealousy

or the power to raise a tempest from the deep.

But we are such stuff as dreams are made on.

Our little lives are rounded with a sleep.

Chorus

William, William, tell us a tale!

My Friend Hafiz

by The Levins
Music: Ira Scott Levin & Julia Bordenaro Levin
Lyrics: Hafiz/Ladinsky/Levin © 2013
- inspired by the poetry of Hafiz of Shiraz as rendered by Daniel Ladinsky

I am one of many, I’m not one alone.
When I sing from the center of my soul
I shine like a diamond in the old king’s throne. Ah –ha! Hey, hey!
I shine like a diamond in the old king’s throne.

The small minded man locks up everyone he knows
But the sage ducks his head when the moon is low.
And all night long he’s dropping keys,
To the beautiful prisoners at his knees.
All those beautiful rowdy prisoners must be freed!

Doubt came along and captured me
he stuck me in a trunk at the bottom of the sea.
The wise old sage had mercy on me
and his words of wisdom set me free.
All those beautiful words of wisdom set me free. Chorus

The king takes a diamond off his throne
and he sticks it in the ground where the seeds are sown
and up from the ground comes a groove of trees
sprouting words to the wise in the shape of keys.

The poet and the wise man climbing trees
so they can sing us songs like these. Chorus
END: Ah-ha, hey, hey- Shine like a diamond in the old king’s throne!

The Sun Never Says

Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth: “
You owe me!”, “You owe me!”
Look what you can do with a love like that…

It lights up the whole sky – hi hi- hi hi – hi hiiii

Chorus -

I give to you and you give to me, it raises us up and allows us to see
When I give to you and you give too, then it frees me
―I can see me and you.

Even after all this time, the river never says to the sea,
“You owe me!”, “You owe me!”
Look what you can do with a love like that…
It covers the whole earth with life- hi hi- hi hi- hi hiii Chorus

Bridge: When I give then I get so much more than I give
when I give then I get so much more. (4x)

Look what you can do with a love like this . . .
it covers the whole sky with bliss Hi hi- hi hi- hi hiiii
Chorus + And it frees me, I can see me and you.
Even after all this time…

Your Mother and My Mother

We’re all renting rooms in this house,
fear is the cheapest one here.
I’d like to see you in a room in this house,
one with a little more cheer.
For I know the Inn Keeper who runs this galaxy,
happy to help you with one word from me.
Tonight get some rest and let your heart mend,
sing me tomorrow, we’ll go see my friend

Chorus:

For your mother and my mother
are good friends who care for each other
Your heart and my heart
belonged to each other right here from the start.
Old, old friends, very, very old friends

We’re all renting rooms in this house,
joy is the finest one here.
We can explore all the rooms in this house,
with a view that is forever clear.

For I know the Inn Keeper who runs this galaxy,
the drinks will be flowing tonight and they’re free.

To leave a tip of a generous size
—let love and playfulness show in your eyes.

END: Send that thought up with your heart wide open,
somewhere, something good will happen

We're old, old friends.

Very, very, old friends.

When the Violin

When the violin can begin to forgive the past
- it starts singing.When the violin can begin to stop worrying
what the future will bring - it starts laughing.

Lean down and comb me into your hair.
Let me know, let me know you are there.

When the violin, can begin
to forgive all the wounds
that the others are bringing - it starts singing:
Yi li yi li li li li- Yi li li li li li li
When the violin can begin

A Root In Each Act and Creature (Sun’s Eyes)

Sun’s eyes are painting fields again.
Disguised eyelashes sweep the land.
Embraced by sunlight’s masquerade,
the Earth’s a canvas on parade.

Chorus -
If just a little clay and water in a bowl
reveals these wonders to behold.
What new delights will soon unfold?
The endless petals of the soul.

One heart resides in everything
Renew your body, hear it sing.
Each act and creature we perceive
has roots in one who can conceive. Chorus -

The endless petals of the soul (3x)

Sun’s eyes are painting fields again.
Disguised eyelashes sweep the land.
Illuminated scents and sounds
Exquisite whirling forms abound. Chorus –

The endless petals of the soul (3x)
END: Sun’s eyes are painting fields again.

Like a Life-Giving Sun
Hafiz/Ladinsky/Levin © 2013

You could be, you could be a Wild Horseman
Help to free, help to free us all from the state that we're in…
What if you and love become sweet lovers?
What if you and prayer become one?
It’s naïve to believe we’re not in battle.

And I grieve, as the brave are falling like cattle.
Fall in pain, gone insane
Oh, the brave are falling like rain.
You could be, you could be a victorious horseman.
And carry your heart through this world. Free yourself and this world.
Carry your heart through this world like a life giving sun.

What if you and love became sweet lovers?
What if you and love became one?
So below as above Sweet love

Don’t sit grieving. Go where you’re needed
Carry your heart through this world like a life giving sun.
You could be, you could be a great horseman.
Carry your heart through this world. (Help to) free yourself and this world
Carry your heart through this world like a life giving sun.

What if you and love became sweet lovers?
What if you and love became one?

Act Great

What is the key to unlock your mind to untie the knot of suffering blind?
What is the secret to silence the madness?
That tramples the landscape, the heart’s tender bliss?
That imprisons the eye with all its denied, from the cold golden idol to the forbidden kiss?

Chorus:
Act great! Act great! Act great! Act —great!
Whatever life hands you, you don’t have to wait.
Act great! Act great! Act great! Act —great!
One act of kindness can overcome fate.
...Always act great my dear. Act great!

What is the cure to this poisoned well?
Where is the ladder set here when we fell?
What is now sacred and how shall I care?
What can I cling to as true as my true love’s hair?

My Friend Hafiz he whispers two words
Two little words with the beauty of birds
with the beauty of emeralds of angels and light.
two words that restored me and gave my eyes sight.
Chorus
Benevolent thought, benevolent sound,
benevolent movement around and around (2x)

Always act great my dears. Always act great my dear.
Always act great my dears. Act great!

Forgive the Dream

I see your sky is winter and know your wounds that will not heal
You long for the warmth of a perfect one’s circle
Only complete when love becomes real. –when love becomes real.

Your hands and feet and heart are wise
Still the tears they sting your eyes
Allow yourself to view the brow that allows this universe to rise
this universe to rise this universe to rise

Chorus:

Are you still listening to that old alley song?

It brings you such pain and it goes on far too long.

Train your ears to hear this gentle stream

until you can forgive —forgive this dream.

We can drink wine from a gourd that I hollowed in my house.

We can eat cheese from a calf that I raised up by myself.

We can feast upon this truth throughout the night

We can break bread on a carpet made of light. Chorus

A saint is an Earth in eternal spring. Hafiz is a poet whose song I sing

Inside the veins of a petal of a redbud tree are hidden worlds where he may be.

I see your sky is winter —forgive this dream.

Know your wounds will finally heal —forgive this dream. And become real.

I see your sky is winter —Oh, forgive this dream.

Wounds of love will finally heal —forgive this dream. And become real.

A saint is an Earth in eternal spring. Hafiz is a poet whose song I sing

Inside the veins of a petal of a redbud tree are hidden worlds where he may be.

Forgive this dream ―and become real. Forgive this dream ―and become real.

Every Child

Every child has known God. That’s quite a claim.

For they don’t know God

as a ‘God of Names’ as a ‘God of Don’ts’ a ‘God of Shame,’

of stormy moods or any strange behavior. Not a king or a queen, a giant, tyrant or savior.

But every child knows God. Not as someone you can see,

But the God who only knows four words:

Come Dance with me! Come Dance with me!

Come Dance! Come Dance! Come Dance! 2x

END: —with me. Oh, Come Dance with me!

The first chord is an open one on the 3rd and 4th strings 3rd string on fret 9 and the 4th string on fret 11.

The second chord is a minor interval on the 10th and 11th fret on the 2nd and 3rd strings.

the 3rd chord is an open E 5.

Troubled

Troubled? Stay with me I’m not. Lonely? Play with me.

I’ve got two ancient caves behind my eyes where true love lies.

Chorus:

Write them all down all your worries and your fears
even from a thousand yearsI will lean into today,
and the flame inside my heart will burn them all away.

Frightened? Be with me ―and cope.
Weary? Dance with me —there’s hope.
“If I wrote my troubles down, they would wind this earth around.”

Offer them in prayer and in a flash
―they’re holy ash, incense in the air-
And we’ll rise and we’ll rise until all the earth and sky
disappear with your fear
And we’ll sing and be the space containing everything. Chorus

Old Sweet Beggar

Once I was envied as having what seemed to be all you could want to possess

People revered me, Powerful feared me, but soon all I wanted was less.

I gave up privilege, feathers of vanity

Begging for change and filled with desire to be:

Kindness, humility, peace, and tranquility - Kindness, humility, peace, and tranquility

Chorus:

Love turned me into a sweet old beggar.

Love itself fell into my bowl

I rose from the ditch, infinitely rich

All that is left is one goal –one goal, -one goal . . .

All I want to do is empty my emerald filled pockets on this tear stained world for you.

—empty my emerald filled pockets on this tear stained world for you

Chorus - END: For you, for you, for you. (2x) This love, this love, this love. (3x)

The Chorus in the Eye

Your eye has a melody we want to hear.

The sun and moon will gladly wear robes and sway like children at play;

when the Pir directs light, when the saint conducts sight.

Slipping magic into sounds, won’t you pour them in the ground?

into the earth’s bruised ear. Can’t you hear?

Mashuq, Mashuq ―Mashuq! Sweetheart, Sweetheart, you are my counterpart.

Hafiz won’t you whisper of luminous bliss

that kisses each traveller through time

won’t you tell all the world of nature sublime?

“Yes” (he says,) “I will.” (Listen,) he is whispering still.

Slipping magic into sounds, won’t you pour them in the ground?

of the earth’s bruised ear. Can’t you hear?

Mashuq, Mashuq ―Mashuq! Sweetheart, Sweetheart, you are my counterpart.

Love is royalty moving ceaselessly. The chorus in the heart needs to sing

like the tuned clay drum humming all day long to everything:

Mashuq, Mashuq ―Mashuq! Mashuq, Mashuq ―Mashuq! Mashuq! Mashuq!

Ruby, the Rescue Cow

When the barn burned down,

Everybody went to town.

Who will save Mrs. Brown?

Ruby, the Rescue Cow. Moo!

When the bandits attacked,

knocked the train right off the track.

Who will lift it right off the ground?

Ruby, the Rescue Cow. Moo!

Chorus: Ruby- Ruby- She's a little farm girl.

Ruby- Ruby- She's out in the world.

Ruby- Ruby- When she was a little calf,

Ruby- broke her pen, she broke it in half!

The farmer sold Ruby to the Rodeo

She was kidnapped by cattle rustlers stealing the show.

When they tried to brand her, she said: “Whoa!”

She gave ‘em the right hoof, pow!

Now she’s Ruby, the Rescue Cow! Moo! Chorus.

Utterly fantastic with a flick of her tail,

The day is saved and the milk's in the pail.

Wiping the sweat off your brow-

Ruby, the Rescue Cow.

Pollo Elastico

Oh, I’m a crazy cowboy I ride out on the range.

I ride a rubber chicken; you might think that that’s strange!

Chorus: Pollo Elastico- that’s the chicken for me!

He’s made out of rubber and he makes me go:

Oooweeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

Bok, bok, bok, bok, bok, bok, etc.

My boots are made of bubble gum,

They blow big bubbles when I run.

I brush my feet at the end of the day,

‘Cause I don’t want to get a cavity! Chorus.

I lassoed up a dinosaur, I took his bones back to the store.

They help me stir my cowboy food, but I don’t eat meat,

‘Cause that’s rude dude.

Cows are my buddies, chickens are my friends!

There’s a party in the barnyard,

‘Cause I’m a vegetarian!! Chorus.

Bridge: I want to be your cowboy baby!

I want to be your baby! Warm milk on the range.

I'm hungry, my mind is a-changing! Chorus.

I’m not going to brand you; I’ll try to understand you.

There’s a lot more to cowboys then all that stuff they hand you. Chorus.

The Flamingo Tango

There was a flamingo, who danced a mean tango,

played guitar like Django, inside a pitted mango.

She loved a lobster who wore a red carnation.
The lobster was a mobster who ruled the seafood nation.

His henchman all were shrimps, his bouncer was a whale.

The lobster had a limp; there was a steel plate in his tail.

Chorus: March up and down, and wiggle your tail-o.

Its time to bob your head, and twist your neck like so…

Stand on one leg, and lean way back, whoa- oh, oh!

Stand on the other leg...that's the flamingo tango.

The flamingo got a gig in a hotel in Miami,

She would do the floorshow with a pink pig named Sammy.

Sam was a ham; he loved to dance the hula,

And the old soft shoe, Sammy was a hoofer!

The flamingo played flamenco. It was right up his alley.

It flipped his toupee, and for their finale...Chorus.

The lobster, he was jealous, he boiled up with rage!

"Put the flamingo in her mango,

Put this pig in a cage!

Mr. Whale, you guard the mango.

You Shrimps guard Sammy.

I'll find some other bird who wants to win a Grammy!"

The flamingo asked the whale if he'd like an appetizer,

"We could split some shrimp and a case of Crystal Geyser.”

The lobster’s in his room, wearing his pajamas.

The flamingo and the pig flew off to the Bahamas.

The lobster was arrested, along with the whale.

The judge now wears dentures where he bit the lobster's tail.

But the Whale made bail, and joined the others down in Cuba.

Where the flamingo plays guitar and the whale plays the tuba! Chorus.

Hyperactive Talking Cows

I was eating fried chicken, I was eating fried worms

I was painting with a Popsicle, spreading those germs

Around, around, all over town.

The chickens and the worms and the Popsicles too, they

Screamed at me: “What’s the matter with you!?”

A light bulb went off in my head,

Instead of eating everybody, I could dance instead!

Chorus: Hyperactive talking Cows

Let’s put on our dancing boots.

Manicure your uni-brow,

Put on our fruit salad suits;

And moo-ix it up baby, moo-ix it up!

And the grownups sing: Sugar and coffee- waaaah!

I was break dance fighting, I was wearing a wig,

I was doing yoga with a wind-up pig. Om- click, click, click. Om- oink.

Wearing Ziploc baggie pantaloons, I was doe-see-doeing with a red balloon.

“Swing your bal-loon left and right, don’t you pop her, hold her tight.”

We fell down in a big haystack My pants filled with water and

My wig flipped back. Sploosh, splash, whoo whoo! Chorus.

I was fishing I was picking my nose.

I was slurping up grape juice with my toes-

Porous, porous, your skin is porous.

Absorb the juice and join the chorus. Chorus.

The Plants Taking Over

Who drank my milkshake? The Plant did! 2x

Who ate my fries? The Plant did! 2x

Who ate my money?

This isn’t funny! The Plant ate my money!!!

Chorus: The Plant’s taking over!

What can I say? (I don’t know.)

The Plant’s taking over!

I’ll get you someday! (Buddy!)

The Plant’s taking over!

Someone will pay! (Hey!)

He’s got my car he’s driving away!!!

Who messed this room up? The Plant did! 2x

Who broke the vase? The Plant did! 2x

Who ordered this fertilizer on my computer?

The Plant did! The Plant did!

Who threw this pie in my face? The Plant did! 2x Chorus.

Bridge: “I’ve got the green baby, green,

I’m a green mean machine!

I’m the biggest baddest plant that you’ve ever seen!

You thought I was cute, like a four-leaf clover…

The tables are turned, the plant’s taking over! Chorus

I want to be my cat

I want to be my cat! (Meow.)

My cat’s got it made.

He knows where it’s at…

Right here in the shade!

I want to be my cat. (Meow.)

I want to be the boss. (Yeah!)

The boss has got it made.

The boss don’t give a toss…

The boss is sipping lemonade.

I want to be the boss. (Yeah!)

I want to be my cat. (Meow.)

I want to be the moon. (Boop)

The moon has got it made.

The moon is just a loon.

The moon’s back is in the shade.

I want to be the moon. (Boop)

I want to be the boss. (Yeah!)

I want to be my cat. (Meow.)

I want to be the sun. (Tsssss.)

The sun has got it made.

The sun is having fun…

The sun don’t need no silly shade!

I want to be the sun. (Tsssss.)

I want to be the moon. (Boop)

I want to be the boss. (Yeah!)

I want to be my cat. (Meow.)

Happy being me! (Alright!)

I have got it made.

In my mind I’m free-

And my heart is in the shade!

Happy being me. (Yes!)

Happy being me. (Alright!)

Happy being me. (Yippee!)

Just want to be me. (Me too.)

…Still want to be my cat. (Meow.)

The Baseball team from outer space

Chorus: We’re the baseball team from outer space

Come to play the human race.

We’re the best team in the Universe!

Let’s play ball! We’ll come in first!

Put on your Red and your White Sox too

Have we got the all-star game for you!

Obie-won Kenobe is the team’s umpire,

Yoda is the pitcher and the ball’s on fire!

First base: Darth Vadar. Second base: Darth Mall

Third base is a black hole and you’re going to fall!

Single, double, triple-whaaaaaa- 3x

You’re out, you’re out, you’re outer-space! Chorus.

The Iron giant is up to bat and he knocks the Texas Rangers flat.

The Pirates better look alive, here comes the crew of Babylon Five.

Past third base, Buzz Light-year makes it back

With his handy dandy anti-gravity tuck and roll black hole jet back!

Single, double, triple- blast off! 3x

There’s a landing party on home plate! Chorus.

The Marlins flounder; The Devil Rays are swallowed up

Even the Giants don’t measure up.

The Yankees go home and the Braves turn chicken.

The Orioles and Blue Jays fly fast away.

The A’s grab some Z’s, the Cubs take a licking…

Who is going to save the day?

From every sandlot in America,

The little league army comes on the run…

It’s not about the money, or the pennants, or the fame…

It’s about getting dirty and having lots of fun.

It’s a Death Star swing, and Vadar’s out!

A hard line drive and Mall’s on his bum!

The black hole at third base is plugged up with

A high-fly stink bomb filled with…bubble gum!

Single, double, triple- Grand Slam! 3x

Best go back to outer space!

Just can’t beat the human race!

If you come back, you better think twice first-

The little league rules the universe!

Hey, you on third base, don’t pick up that bubble gum

It’s covering the black hol…

Lava Men

Here in the land of cutsie cutsie, we eat lots of tootsie fruitsie.

Everything is fine and dandy

Come outside and hold my handie.

The birds are singing, the bees all bumble

The Earth rips open and our homes all crumble.

There’s a horrible hole in the ground and

We all scream when we hear this sound:

Blaublaublaulblaublaublaublau!- Hey! 2x

Little men made out of lava

Offer us a cup of java.

We’re too young to drink caffeine,

Lava men from the ravine.

Blaublaublaulblaublaublaublauah! - Hey! 2x

What was that? What did you say?

Blaublaublaulblaublaublaublauah! - Hey! 2x

You burned our houses and our toe-sies.

Well that’s just the way it goes-ies.

Sometimes life can be real sad.

But its OK if you’re still glad!

Just make sure you’re not pretending,

Just to have a happy ending!

Blaublaublaulblaublaublaublauah! - Hey! 2x

Is anger’s bad, it seems so violent?

You’ll get sick if you stay silent.

But anger’s bad, it makes me mean.

Then find a balance in-between.

Blaublaublaulblaublaublaublauah! - Hey! 2x

It starts to rain, it starts to pour…

Let’s go back to the Earth’s core!

Let’s give those Lava men a hand!

Can you give us a lift to another land?

The Cutsie inhabitants: “Blaublaublaulblaublaublaublauah! - Hey! 2x

Letting it out is OK!”

My Mind’s a Slide (Million feet tall!)

Plowing through the pillars of this pancake palace

Climbing through this castle of cakes…

Breakfast done, I’m going to have some fun

My imagination has what it takes!

See it all as new and

there’s nothing I can’t do!

I’m a rocket ship and I’m riding through space.

Worlds collide as I tumble on my side,

Chocolate chip stains on my face!

Chorus: Stand on this chair,

I’m a million feet tall!

Do limitations bring me down? Not at all!!!

I wear the crown of all that I see…

My mind’s a slide- Ooooweeeeeeeeeeee!!!

The weekend comes you know, I’m bound to get riled!

Charging up on cartoon power, jumping up, wild!

Running outside, I grab what comes to hand…

Banging on the garbage can, I’m a one man band! Chorus.

End of the day, time to roll the sun away

Now I can see the galaxies play

Shooting star won’t you fall into this jar?

Help me keep the sandman at bay. Chorus.

Girl’s Club

Chorus: The girls are flying in a hula-hoop airplane,

Watch it sparkle and shine.

The girls are flying in a hula-hoop airplane,

Fueled on elastic time. Girls club! 3x

The boys are hiding in a big tree house

With a sign that says: No girls allowed!

The girls are laughing because they just don’t care.

They’re flying through the upper atmosphere. Girls club! 3x

When the boys don’t want the girls around

They just laugh and lift up off the ground

I see them come together as a group

And climb inside their purple hula-hoop. Chorus.

The boys are wondering what is going on

When they see the shadows on the lawn.

They stick their heads out to see what they’ve missed and

Then they scream, because they’ve all been kissed! Girls club! 3x

I don’t know

I don’t know. I don’t know

Well, maybe I do but I’m not going to tell

You about it.

It’s a secret just for me and my friends.

It’s a test for you…What do you know?

I don’t know.

Slumber Party Baby!

Mom and dad are crying, (Waah.)

And I hear the neighbors sighing. (Sigh.)

Eminent disaster,

We’re going to put them out to pasture. (Moo.)

Its been going on for years,

But it always ends in tears. (Boo-hoo.)

Bedtime’s going to be delayed…

It’s a party; it’s a raid!

Chorus: It’s a slumber party, baby!

Overnight tonight!

Why do they call it slumber party?

No one’s going to sleep tonight!

Yeah! (Yeah, yeah!)

Yeah! (Yeah, yeah!) Yeah!

First, it starts with soda,

Fizzy giggling’s guaranteed. (Snick, snick.)

Popcorn and bad movies,

Appetizers for the late night feed!

Yum, yum, yummy, yum, yum, yum! 2x

Flashlights and pajamas, brush your teeth

And say goodnight. (Goodnight.)

“Sweet dreams everybody…

That was easy…” 3,2,1…Pillow fight!

Pillow Fight! Wham, (Wham, Wham!)

Pillows bursting in air. mom pulls out all her hair.

And on through the night… Will our house still be there?

Oh, we’re having such a ball! Angry feet come down the hall!

“Everybody get to sleep! I don’t want to hear a peep!”

“You heard what your mother said,

Everybody get to bed!” Peep. (Peep, peep.) Chorus.

Corn flakes are soggy, everybody’s groggy.

Parents come. “How was it?”

“Fine. Let’s do it at your house next time.”

Palace of Wonders

(The Library Song)

So, you think that your life it is terribly dreary.

Grab a tricycle, bicycle or an elephant dearie!

A scooter will do, put your foot in your shoe.

Come along and you will see, a great mystery

A palace of wonders, adventures for free!

Intrigue, sensation, in one fine location.

Where can this be?

Come closer my child and I will whisper to thee:

It’s not a secret; it’s the old, li-br-ary!

Chorus: Library, library, I love the library!

Fantasy…History…so much to see.

Library, library, I love the library!

A palace of wonders for you and for me!

Look for one in your neighborhood, look around town.

Get someone to show you where it can be found.

It maybe new, or old as the hills,

But there’s stories in there and they are packed to the gills!

Go in through those doors, now don’t be afraid…

Sure there are monsters, but you’ll lead their parade!

And the librarian will come to your aide.

To find you a book you can read in the shade.

Check out Dr. Seuss; let him see your backyard.

No one will stop you; you’ll have your own card,

You’ll have your own card!! Chorus.

Learn a new language, travel through time.

Visit the poets and learn how to rhyme!

There are secrets on microfilm, pretend you’re a spy!

There are rooms of resources for how to and why.

There’s movies and music, computer and art…

It never ends, but begins when you start

to explore… You’re in store

for Oh so much more! Chorus.

Captain Tree

When the world is topsy turvy,

When I’m stuck inside the grind,

I know who will save the day,

And give me peace of mind!

When the sun is beating on me,

When I’m out of lemonade,

He covers me with mighty branches

And his sidekick: Shade!

Chorus: Captain Tree, leaf your worries behind.

Climb up high- be still and you will find…

See the world as it was meant to be:

Free, free, free.

Who gets to the root of the problem,

Without going anywhere?

Who sends out a good vibration,

Along with good clean air?

Who can bend just like a Willow?

Who has space for honeybees?

Who upholds the nest so sweetly?

And so patiently?

If you cut him down,

We may not be around.

We need each other,

Can’t you see? Chorus.

Free, free, free.

Hippo on my head
(c) 1999

Hippo on my head

Chorus: There's a hippo on my head-
There's a hippo on my head-
And I know it sounds crazy,
Cause I should be dead.
But it's been that kind of morning,
There's a circus on the lawn;
There's a hippo on my head,
Something funny's going on.

'Get out of bed, get out of bed,
You're late for school,' my mama said.
'But there's a hippo on my head,
There's a hippo on my head.'

'Of all the silly excuses, I have never heard such a tale.
The next thing you'll be telling me is that the bathtub's filled with whales.'

Chorus.
Mom came in to get me. I was trapped inside my bed, and doing a handspring and
Drinking some tea, was a hippo on my head.
Mom just couldn't believe it, she fainted dead away,
So we put her in the bathtub, so all the whales could play.

Chorus.

Mom thought that I was fooling, telling stories again,
But she'll wake up on a whale that just went down the drain.

'Bye.'

Sour Warhead Hero

Chorus: I'm a sour warhead hero.
I put a super sour sucker in my mouth.
The first twenty seconds were painful;
But I sucked the super sour power right on out.
Oh yeah.

I was driving in my car back from LA,
I had to take a stop- take a break from the freeway.
There at the candy stand facing me down,
Was a little green wrapper that was left on the ground.

Inside was a candy, it looked harmless enough,
So I put it in my mouth and then it did its stuff.
It was sour, sour, sour, sour, sour, sour, sour!
It was sour, sour, sour, sour, sour, sour, sour!!
Did I mention it was sour? It was pretty intense.
It blasted me to the moon. It knocked me over the fence.
I made it back, I came back alive,
I'm a sour warhead hero and that ain't no jive.

Chorus.

I bought a bunch of warheads, now I'm hooked on the stuff.
I eat five packs a day and I can't get enough.
I feed Îem to my friends and I laugh and fall out,
When they put Îem in their mouth and then they spit Îem out.

Chorus.

It's just a candy, it's just a candy,
Keep your tooth brush handy.
It's just a candy. It's just a candy. Put it in your mouth.
Sourpuss.

Sunscreen

Why is sunscreen so darn yucky?
White and splotchy
Smells so bad?
If I made sunscreen
You could eat it.
Rainbow colors you could wear with your dad.

Why do grownups wear tuxedos
And go to parties, where they
Don't have much fun?
I've got a roll of
Fruit flavored tuxedos
Pull one off and wear it,
Eat it when you're done.

If I could eat the world,
I'd save a great big slice for you.
All these problems-
There's an answer to.
La la la la la la la la la la

Why does money
Make people funny?
It's only paper,
And metal that's round.
If I made money,
You could eat it.
I'd turn it into sunscreen
And I'd spread it around.

If I could eat the world,
I'd save a great big slice for you.
All these problems...
There's an answer to:
La la la la la la, la la la la
There's an answer to.

Food Chain

I was swimming along, minding my own business.
I was singing this song, when I got turned into a sandwich.
A big fish sandwich.

Chorus: Food chain, food chain,
Everybody's looking for something to gain.
Food chain, food chain,
Take a little pleasure,
Now get a little pain.
What eats what?
Who eats who?
You eat something,
Now something eats you
.
I was swallowed whole, like a bug.
A squid came along and the fish got hugged.
Then came a sperm whale wearing a wig,
Ate that squid just like a fig.
Then he did a little jig.
Ya, da,da,dat,da,da,dat,dat,da.
Dat,da,da,da,da,da. Dat,da,da.

Chorus.

Blue blue whale with a polka dot tail
Swallowed that sperm whale like a snail.
Escargot, escargot, in garlic butter...
Let's get it to go.

Chorus.

Blue whale thought he was a big bad killer,
He was a shrimp- here comes Godzilla.
Godzilla picked him up by the tail,
Out fell the wig, still attached to the whale.
Sperm whale sneezed, the squid fell out,
Released his grip, and I tumbled out.

Chorus.

I was swimming along,
Minding my own business.
I was singing this song,
Now this song is finished.

Velvet Mustache

Chorus: Velcro sideburns,
Velcro sideburns.
Velcro sideburns.
Velcro sideburns,
Velcro sideburns,
Velvet Mustache.'

Oatmeal goatee,
Oatmeal goatee,
Oatmeal goatee,
Licorice toupee.
Velcro sideburns,
Velcro sideburns,
Oatmeal goatee,
Licorice toupee.

Long blonde curly
Bagel lox:
Salmon wig
Inside a box.
Fake hair does not
Grow on trees.
Velvet mustache,
If you please.

Chorus.

Bowl of Stinky Ice-cream

'Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!
Say it isn't so, say it isn't so!
Do we have to go, do we have to go?
Can we stay at home?'

Well the answer's, 'No!'

It's such a fright, to spend the night,
With Uncle Freckle-bottom and Aunt uptight!
Uncle Freckle-bottom, Uncle Freckle-butt!
Lives with his wife in a mothball hut.
At the top of a hill and they live all alone.
There's no TV and there's no telephone.
They have no kids, I'll tell you what's worse,
The horrible guck that they make for dessert.
Their idea of cake is a plateful of meat.
And the ice-cream they serve, well it's not fit to eat.
Oh Nelly, it's smelly, and it's rough on the belly.

Chorus: A bowl of stinky ice-cream,
Old shoe sherbet, fish-oil sorbet.
A bowl of stinky ice-cream...
'Disgusting, take it away,
Or make mine flambe.'

It's yucky, it's nasty, it's grosser, it's grost!
If you don't eat it all, you're offending the host.
Minding your manners was never so hard,
Choke down a spoonful of licorice lard!
There is no dog to feed it to,
Uncle Freckle-bottom just watches you chew!
And to his right, Aunt uptight,
Makes sure you swallow every last bite!
Oh Nelly, it's smelly, and it's rough on the belly!

Chorus.

'Run away! Run away!
Quick now they're looking the other way!'

'Now they're gone, what'll we do?'
'I'll have another bowl with you.'
'Oh Nelly, you're smelly and you're round
Like my belly!'

'A bowl of stinky ice-cream,
Old shoe sherbet, fish-oil sorbet,
A bowl of stinky ice-cream,
I love it! What do you say?
Well, what do you say?'
'All right dear, another bowl's on the way.'

Mushpot

Chorus: Mushpot, mushpot,
You're in the mushpot.
You've been caught by the duck, duck goose.
You are stuck in the middle of the circle,
You must sit on your kaboose.

Ho! Ho! Silly billy bumpkin,
You're inside a mushpot pie.
Ha! Ha! Fiddle diddle tee hee,
One by one we pass you by.

It was your idea to play this game,
No one else but you can take the blame.
One of these sitting ducks will soon give chase,
And then a silly goose will take your place.

Chorus.

Penguin Party

Gonna beat the heat of this Summer day soon,
Gonna beat the blues, gonna be a cartoon.

Not in school, not doing what we otter,
Not going insane, we're going in the water.

Chorus: We're having a penguin party!
We're swimming in our tuxedoes.
We're juggling hot fudge ice cubes- Ooh, ooh, ooh.
We're cooking up fish burritos. Eeeww.

Penguins in the tropics, penguins in the trees,
Penguins in the pantry, penguins in the-
Freezer's full of ice cubes, put Îem in the pool.
Everybody's shaking- everybody's cool.

Chorus.

Water wiggle, Slip and Slide,
Belly flop, backside,
Tail feather in a spin,
Hatch the egg and let's begin.

Chorus.

We're having a penguin party.

No Pizza

Chorus: No Pizza, no pizza, no pizza, no pizza for you!
No Pizza, no pizza, no pizza, no pizza for you!

You've been real bad and you're making me mad.
That was the best darn rain forest I ever had.
You're making all the animals leave their home,
So you can't eat pizza with the Pope in Rome.

Chorus.

You threw a big stink bomb in the air,
Your killing all the birds, and you just don't care.
Clean up your act, or you better beware-
The place is going to smell just like your underwear.
Eeww.

Chorus.

Listen up. Listen up. Listen to your mother.
Mother Nature's calling, supper's ready, call your brother.
Call your sister, call your cousin, call your uncle too.
The Earth is in a pickle and we'll soon be in a stew.

Chorus.
Hold the anchovies.

The Environment

The sky is blue, it's here for me and you.
But it's hard to breathe when we cut down the trees.
We need room to dance among the trees and plants.
Don't kill them please, don't make me sneeze and wheeze. Achoo.

Chorus: The environment, you better recycle it,
And plant some trees to save the birds and the bees.
The environment, you better recycle it,
And plant some trees to save the bugs and the bees.
Bugs? Aaaah!

Bugs are cool, do not druel. Toxic waste, get out of my face.
Let's save this place for the human race, no more toxic waste
Let nature take it's place. No more toxic waste, let nature take it's place.
Take place!

Chorus.

Save the ocean, it's a magic potion.
Use bio-degradable suntan lotion.
Break six-pack rings, they like to stangle things,
Like birds and fish, eat potato knish.
Delish!

Chorus.

Back Pack Guitar

Chorus: Back Pack Guitar, Back Pack Guitar.
Go anywhere and there you are.
Back Pack Guitar, Back Pack Guitar.

Take my guitar everywhere with me- Back Pack Guitar.
Up to the stars and down to the sea- Back Pack Guitar.
Sing for the monkeys and the fishes in the sea- Back Pack Guitar.
Sing to the giants about the birds and the bees.

Chorus.

I've got a pocket in the front, so I can take my lunch- Back Pack Guitar.
A pocket on the side for my Hawaiian Punch- Back Pack Guitar.
There's plenty of room for old Captain Crunch- Back Pack Guitar.
My friends are bananas, so I take the whole bunch.

Chorus.

I took my guitar down to the bridge.
Then I realized that there was no bridge.
I yelled and I fell right into the fridge.
I felt like a penguin, but was saved by a pige.
A pige?
Pigeon in the fridge, pigeon in the fridge,
I was saved by a pigeon in the fridge.
Pigeon in the fridge, pigeon in the fridge,
I was saved by a pigeon in the fridge.

Chorus.

It's Mine

'You have three bags of M&Ms,
I would like some. Won'g't you share?'
'Three for you, I'll keep the rest.'
'You are greedy.'
'I don't care.'

'It's mine, it's mine!
You can't have any!'
'Greedy miser, pinch that penny, oh!'

Then he sat down on the floor,
He ate and ate and ate some more.
Then he had a chocolate shake,
Now he has a tummy ache.

'It's mine, it's mine!
You can't have any!
I am sick, I had too many, oooh.'

So you see, he should have shared.
He was mean and didn't care.
Don't be greedy, like a toad.
You'll get fat and then explode.

'It's mine, it's mine!
You can't have any!
I blew up now there's not any,
Left of me.'

I'm afraid

What is the scariest thing you know?
Is it being kissed, or a skull that glows?
Is it Valentines Day, or piranhas in the bay?
A creaky old gate, or going on a date?

Chorus: I'm afraid of being called sweet,
You should be afraid of smelling my feet!
I'm afraid, you know it's true,
I'm afraid of being loved by you.
It's mushy!

Hands with eyes, green worms in the pie,
Rabid dogs and man-eating frogs...
I would gladly face all these,
Just don't say you love me, please
.
Chorus.

Nails on the chalkboard make me scream,
I scream louder when you say I'm a dream.
Frankenstien's nothing, the Mummy's a ball...
You are the scariest thing of them all.

Chorus.

Time out

'What's going on here? Tell me quick!'
'It's all his fault.'
'You started it!'
'No, I didn't.'
'Yes, you did.'

I've had enough. Now listen kids,'

Chorus: 'Time out! Time out! You must sit down!
I've had enough of this clowning around!'
'You have.'
'You have.'
'You have.'
'You have.'
'You.'
'No, you.'
'No, you.'
'No, you.'
And on it goes the whole day through.

'Stop that screaming in the car.'
'I've got to go, pull over quick.'
'You're a nut-case.'
'You're from Mars.'
'You're a booger.'
'Oh, that's sick!'

Chorus.

'Eat your dinner.'
'Come here Rover.'
'Don't blow bubbles in your drink.'
Food goes flying.
'Supper's over!'
'You're so crazy.'
'Yeah? You stink.'

Chorus.

And on it goes the whole day through.
And on it goes the whole day through.
And on it goes the whole day through.
'TIME OUT!'

Recycle Cycle

Chorus: Cycling on my recycle cycle.
Cycling on my recycle cycle.
Picking up the things that people throw away,
So I can recycle them for another day.
Cycling on my recycle cycle,
Everybody climb on board.

It runs on aluminum, paper and glass.
Won't you pitch in as I roll on past?

Cycling on my recycle cycle,
Everybody climb on board.

There's plenty of room;
Won't you come on along?
Help me recycle the words to this song:

Chorus.

Well a few years ago I started to get nervous,
But down in Berkeley, we got curbside service.

Cycling on my recycle cycle,
Everybody climb on board.

Well, let's all form a recycling band,
So the world don't turn into a garbage can.

Chorus.

We're going shore, just like old Michael,
Hallelujah! We're gonna recycle.

Chorus.

Thanks for Coming

Chorus: 'You're so crazy, you're so weird'
'You have an invisible beard.'
'You're so freaky, you're so strange... I want a soda.'
'Give me some change.'

'A bottle of Kool-aid, if you please.'

'How 'bout a guitar made of cheese?'

'Not so fast, you're freaking me out.'

'Jelly fish pizza? Sorry we're out.'

Chorus

'La,la,la,la,la,la,la,la,
La,la,la,la,la,la,la,la.'

'Whatever made me come in here?'

'How Îbout a glass of rubber-band beer?'

'I must leave now you're too strange.'

'Thanks for coming, here's your change.'

Chorus- 'Thanks for coming, here's your change.'

Plants

Plants, plants,
Do a little dance.
'We wear no shoes,
And we wear no pants.
Oh, the wind puts us all in a trance...
Blowing our seeds all the way to France.'

'La, la, la, la, la, la, la.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.'

Plants, plants,
Do a little dance.
'We wear no shoes,
And we wear no pants.
Oh, the wind puts us all in a trance...
Blowing our seeds all the way to France.'

Sailing away on the breeze,
Sailing up over the trees,
Sailing away on the breeze to France.

Jewish Siesta

Chorus: Let's have a little Jewish Siesta.
Let's have a nap-time fiesta.
We'll have some matzo balls,
And then we'll start to fall asleep,
And dream of kosher sheep.

Oh vey, oh vey, oh vey.
I've got to go to work.
Won't they please give me a break?
If I don't get a short nap,
Don't know how much more I'll take.

Chorus.

'Baa. Baa. Oy.'

Aye, Matie, (Pirates)

Sailing away on a great pirate ship,
We've packed enough pizza
For a long wild trip.

This is a song, not a video game.
No mind-numbing screen where
The graphics are lame.
Drive you insane!

Chorus: 'Aye Matie,' rolling and breaking
'Yo ho!' The cake tastes like rum.
'Aye Matie, we're pirates with parrots.
Hide all your golden doubloons when we come.'

'Trim that sail- trim your nails!'

Pieces of eight await all the crew.
'Up in the crow's nest, I'm talking to you.'
Know that the captain's a one legged ghost.
He glows in the dark, and he eats all your toast.
Hot buttered toast!
Crumbs for the dog!

Chorus.

'Awk. Pieces of eight, pieces of eight.'

'Avast there ye slobs, clean up your room.
Now, letâs see ya dance.'
'It's golden doubloons, not golden balloons!'

'Aye Matie,' rolling and breaking
'Yo ho!' The cake tastes like rum.
'Aye Matie, we're pirates with parrots.
Hide all your golden doubloons, here we come.'

'You're smart as paint aren't ye?'

Source of Creation

There's been a lot of concepts,
There's been a lot of words,
A lot of people argue,
Which is really quite absurd
. One creative mind will take on
Many different shapes.
We're all part of the toaster
On this Planet of the Apes.

Chorus: We share the source of creation,
We sail the infinite sea.
I am: the light of elation.
You are eternity.
He is love.

There's been a lot of road maps,
There's been a lot of signs,
There's been a lot of ice-cream,
So many different kinds.
When it starts to melt it all becomes
A tasty soup.
Time's the freezer and container...
Whoops, here comes the scoop.

Chorus.

When it's done,
We'll know what's what
And laugh a big ha, HA!
Until then I will dance and sing
And give the praise to Jah!

Chorus.
Heee is love.

Can Opener Man

Can Opener Man,- Can.
Can do anything.- Can.
Can you do the Can?- Can.
Can Opener Man,- Can.
Can Can, Can, Can Opener.
Can Can, Can, Can Opener.
Can Can, Can, Can Opener.
Man- Can. Can - Man.

I woke up in a mental hospital,
Ate a can of tuna and two dozen popcicles;
Then I realized something was really quite wrong.
I wish I'd never even started singing this song.

Chorus

I turned around once or twice,
Opened a can of cardboard rice,
Inside there were three blind mice,
Went down to Zach's and had a slice.
(Zachary's Pizza)
Chorus

Outside Voice (Inside Voice)

Outside.
Inside.
Outside.
Inside.
Outside voice.
Inside voice.
OUTSIDE VOICE!
Inside voice.
OUTSIDE!!!!
Hey, we're all outside.