Mike Frankē

Eddie’s been out shopping on the town
Got a pile of one man’s trash to spread around
Never know just what he’ll find
The giving seems to ease his troub-led mind

Offer breakfast. With a smile, he might refuse
Lost his teeth long ago to drugs and booze (but the)
Biscuits and Gravy down
At the Little Chef, now, they the best in town

Everything at Eddie’s pad is in its place
But there’s chaos in his eyes and on his face
With a little prodding he’ll recall
The tales behind the demons on the wall
And the little guardian angel who dreams them all…
. . .
Deal went bad in 1995
Eddie came out bloody, but survived
Since then, all he can hear
is voices – or so it would appear

Got a stash of ducks, he lights one, and he takes a drag
Sips another earthquake from a brown paper bag
Says he hates to take his meds
But he needs a little help to cut the edge

Went to see his dad… it’s been 40 years or so
I love you, son… I wanted you to know
Month later, Daddy died
Happier, but grieving for his bride
…and Eddie cried… (I’ll still remember you) 
.
It’s easier to judge than to understand
It’s quicker to point a finger than to lend a hand
Eddie’s wild but he’s OK, giving thanks for every day.
Yeah, Eddie’s odd but that’s OK, ‘cause we’re all crazy anyway…
Eddie’s wild… And we all crazy…

Well, I’m goin’ to hub city, gonna take that right-hand road
Well, I’m goin’ to hub city, gonna take that right-hand road
And I ain’t gonna stop ‘till I come up in my own front door

Folks in hub city well, they all know my name
Folks in hub city, man, they all know my name
Yeah, and all my friends, well they, sho’ be glad I came

Well I make my home by that Southern Railroad line
Yeah I make my home by that Southern Railroad line
Where that whistle blow like a lonesome lullaby

I been gone so long I can hardly find my way
I been gone so long, I can hardly find my way
When I see my friends, though, it feel like yesterday.

When I get to Hub City gonna have me a time or two
When I get to Hub City gonna have me a time or two
And there ain’t no tellin’ what all I might could do

You’ve got snot running down your face
You’re sneezing and drooling all over the place
You'd frighten Quasimodo with that open sore
I can hear you coming a mile away
Coughing up your lungs in the ugliest way
I keep running into you, heading for the bathroom door

And I can feel your pain ‘cause I’ve been there, too
Felt so bad, it was all I could do
To sit up in bed, flip the channels and stare
And I’d like to lend you a helping hand
But I’m a little reluctant, you’ll understand
‘Cause you’re looking pretty damned contagious from over here.

CHORUS
I love you just the way you are
But I believe I could do it even better from afar
So if you don’t mind me asking
Could we put that hug on hold
I love you, but I don’t want your cold

Well I’d really like to shake your hand
But to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure where it’s been
Don’t mean to be rude, just tryin’ to stay clean
See, I can already feel a sore throat coming one
But I believe I can fight off this virus as long
As I maintain a high state of alert, and quarantine

So I take ecchinacea, and Vitamin C
I wear a surgical mask, I drink herbal tea
I’ve got a VIP subscription to WebMD
‘Cause it’s better to give than it is to receive
and that goes double for germ, and now I believe
until flue season’s over, this is the last you’ll be seeing of me

CHORUS, out

It was love at first sight when he saw her that day
Tending her roses outside
His reputation preceded, but the romance succeeded
They were soon a new groom and a bride

The wedding was small, there was no big-to-do
Though she taught him to dance ‘round the floor
They just shared their confessions, combined their possessions
He was 90, and she 84

And they hung all their memories in the hallways and rooms
Scattered and unsynchronized
Their cuckoo collection played random selections
From the pages of both of their lives

CHORUS
Every clock on the wall tells a story
With its own individual chime
Wait a minute or ten, one’ll come ‘round again
In its own individual time

Now Kathy does things in particular ways
Like the way she takes corn flakes with juice
You’ll get a piece of her mind, but she’s generous and kind
No time for things of no use

And George swings a hammer, he still shovels snow
Still croons a tune now and again
And the dress uniform he wore in the army
Still fits him like it did then

CHORUS

From Jamaica, West Indies, to Jamaica in Queens
Kathy came, though it's been a long time
How she lives on Long Island, where George keeps her smilin'
Sipping ice cubes in their wine

And the TV is blaring at midnight again
As they nod off to sleep on the couch
They’re happy together, might just live forever
content, tick tock, in their house

CHORUS, out