Alive in Italy

The Dirk Hamilton Band recorded live in Italy
July 5, 2003 at Teatro Estense Ferrara

© 2003 All songs Rabbit
Songs BMI except
10: Hamilton/Westphal and 14: Jagger/Richards

LYRICS

The Sweet Forever

First off let me say that I get sick and I get bored
When people sell salvation door to door
Instant bliss from mixed religions pulled down from the shelf
Screws the gurus they'll find new fools
Get it for yourself

I can see the angel sometimes chokin' in the man
Like something good that's locked up in a can
Kickin' in the hollow heart sometimes I hear him cry
And all too often he stays caught inside there 'til he die

The secret of creation singing circles in the air
Magic in the mountains everywhere
Dazzling silver specks set in the electric black night dome
He said, "Well there's the stars, let's find the car and get back home"

Somewhere late at night by singin' moonlight
Poets push the dreams out of their pens
Lovers all alone or two together
Ride on the majestic Whisper Wings

High and Mighty Sparkin' Flashin'
Lightin' up the Heavens Whisper Wings
Charge me Crashin' Through the Sun
And when we hit the Rainbows they will Ring

There between your wings I know you'll leave me never
We will fly into the Sweet Forever

Jump me bounce me Sweep me Screamin'
Laughin' Leapin' Through the Sky we'll Swing
Dive me down A Spray, A Crackin' Arc
Of Lightnin' Flame is Following

There between your wings I know you'll leave me never
We will fly into the Sweet Forever

Sad-eyed people
All around the world
Will hold their hands out
To your trail

And unexpectedly
The whole of history
Becomes a fairytale

There between your wings I know you'll leave me never
We will fly into the Sweet Forever

Grow a Rose

Nothin' or nobody
Can tell you what it is about
The secret of the bloomin's inside-out
So hide behind your dogma
Curl up like a cat
The growlin' of the demons is underneath your hat

Grow a rose
For everyone to see
Growin' roses is the only duty

Somebody blew a quick change
And they walked on wearin' one shoe
Somebody forgot to ring the telephone bell on cue
The crew became so nervous
That they were jerkin' up and down the scenes
And runnin' around in the dark tryin' to avoid the actors

At the end of the play all the actors will stay in their places
You pull on the rope but you find that the curtains don't close
And each of them (thinking that they were the star) expect roses
A voice speaks from the empty seat
"Have mercy on this show"

CHORUS

Standin' arms akimbo
In thrashin' knee-deep green
Wonder 'neath the thunder
Strong like a seed
Push with every energy
The bud burst red explosion
Above the crashin' green ya' see a thousand other roses

And the bell on the tower will toll every hour for your beauty
And you will discover the laughter you hear is your own
Strangers and neighbors will gather to ask you for answers
But black red roses whisper what a rose can only know

CHORUS

The Light of Love

The Light Of Love it's shinin'
It's bringing the angel of mornin'
The Light Of Love the message that comes
To believers in white
The Light Of Love the herald of hope
For the sad eyes of cities
Agin' watchmen are standin' to see you tonight

When you were a child you thought like a child
Understood like one
But when you grew older ya' put away
All those childish things
And now that you're grown up and sewn up
Ya' feel somethin's missing
And sometimes in secret reach back
For the stubs of your wings

La luz de amor esta brillando
Esta llevando el angel de la manana
La luz de amor el mensaje que viene
A los creadores en blanco
La luz de amor el heraldo de esperanza
Por las ojos tristes
Veladores viejos estan parados para verte esta noche

When loves makes a circle to meet its begin
The you're left with a habit and that's love end
But when love makes a comet that screams through the sky
You almost feel like you will never die

The Light Of Love it's shinin'
It's bringing the angel of mornin'
The Light Of Love the message that comes
To believers in white
The Light Of Love the herald of hope
For the sad eyes of cities
Agin' watchmen are standin' to see you tonight
Veladores viejos estan parados para verte esta noche

Black Dog Blues

You don't know what I know
and I don't know a thing
when we hit the Sweet Forever
we'll know everything

There's no need to worry
so we're gigglin' under fire
Here's your hat, what's your hurry?
Do what you desire

Black Dog Blues Black Dog Blues
if the devil don't wag this world
then why's you cats out there all lickin' his shoes?

When accountants count their blessings
and all the checks are in the mail
we'll put a poet in the White House
lock a lawyer down in jail
and leaving love to love's dominion
we'll let the busybodies be
'cuz while they're busy in their bodies
souls flow free

Black Dog Blues Black Dog Blues
if the devil don't wag this world
then why's you cats out there all lickin' his shoes?
Black Dog Blues Black Dog Blues
if the devil don't wag this world
then why's you cats out there
all lickin' his shoes?

Some go for the money, some go for the buzz
but it'll be the Sweet Forever soon enough for us

Kenneth Patchen said it, now I've sung it on to you
if the devil don't wag this world
then why's you cats out there all lickin' his shoes?

Black Dog Blues Black Dog Blues
if the devil don't wag this world
then why's you cats out there all lickin' his shoes?
Black Dog Blues Black Dog Blues
if the devil don't wag this world
then why's you cats out there all lickin' his shoes?

Billboard on the Moon

Steel pipes sing for the rainbirds' dance
and nobody's there but me
To stand alone by the grey pay phone
and hear the symphony

Diamond drops shoot through the air
with each whirring pass
and leap for the lawn that'll soon be gone
Replaced by glued-in grass

Take a walk real late at night
When everybody is asleep
Can you see how sad it is?
Can you see how bad it is?

Signs look silly when nobody reads 'em
Traffic lights change and nobody's
there to see 'em
Put a billboard on the moon
I'll be there soon

Streetlights line the streets and shine
A purple eerie noon
for the criminals and the cops
who always gotta stop
and ask ya 'bout what you're doin'

Ya float somewhere above your hat
Tied like a balloon
Ya see your reflection
and ya just gotta laugh
Ya know that isn't you

Take a walk real late at night
When everybody is asleep
Can you see how sad it is?
Can you see how bad it is?

Signs look silly when nobody reads 'em
Traffic lights change and nobody's
there to see 'em
Put a billboard on the moon
I'll be there soon

I know a painter who paints in blood
In an empty room
He'll soon be dead from the colors
that he's bled
To paint a billboard for the moon

Take a walk real late at night
When everybody is asleep
Can you see how sad it is?
Can you see how bad it is?

Signs look silly when nobody reads 'em
Traffic lights change and nobody's
there to see 'em
Put a billboard on the moon
I'll be there soon

I Will Acquiesce

Didn't the flowers keep their dew for you?
Didn't the rainbows accommodate you too?
Didn't our bodies make music in the sun?
Wasn't the movement in rhythm with the yellow beatin' down

Should we put it to the test
separate and take a rest?
Do what you think's best and I will acquiesce

Under the laws of nature we all are outlaws now
Doesn't the ocean sound just like applause?
So don't talk of love, I don't wanna hear it
You can see me in the sun or leave me to the moonglow

Should we put it to the test
separate and take a rest?
Do what you think's best and I will acquiesce
Do what you think's best and I will acquiesce
Do what you think's best and I will acquiesce...

The Relative Health of Your Soul Inside

Think on yourself and how you're living
Count up the love you get then add it to the
love that you're giving
subtract it from the times that you run and you hide
The answer you get is the relative health of your
soul inside

Do you have a girl? Do you really love her?
Do you listen when she speaks or do you place
yourself above her?
Do you do her right, or do you take her for a ride?
The answer you get is the relative health of your
soul inside

Your Soul Inside Your Soul Inside
It can't do you wrong it's strong
there's nowhere you can run and hide
from Your Soul Inside Your Soul Inside
The answer you get is the relative health of your
soul inside

Tell yourself the truth
there's no need to fear it
don't you know that the truth can't help you
if you haven't got the guts to hear it

Your Soul Inside Your Soul Inside
It can't be fought or bought
it's nothing you can push aside
it's your Soul Inside
The answer you get is the relative health of your
Soul Inside
The answer you get is the relative health of your
Soul Inside

In the Eyes of the Night

I saw a dog in a trash can chewin' on a cat
I saw what looked like a madman he just stared and sat
I heard the concrete crackle, I heard the buzz above
When I passed that madman he raised a rubber glove
And a voice from the shadows whispered husky thick
And out the blackness I heard a cockin' gun click
I heard a cockin' gun click
I heard a cockin' gun click
I heard a cockin' gun click

I was out on the street and the moon was mad
Still in my head was the sound of jazz
Around my head was the smell of juice
And my mind was tight, but my soul was loose

Then it hit me like the jolt from a lightnin' bolt
And it shook me like some hands wrapped around my throat
And it took me and blew me in a cloud of smoke
Where I sat spellbound In The Eyes Of The Night

When you're lost in the jungle you just swing on out of there
But when you're trapped in the city breathin' terror air
Ya order a double then ya shove it down
Put on your leather jacket, you're invisible now
Seein' so many wounded, seein' so many sick
Outside of my windows I heard a cockin' gun click

Then it hit me like the jolt from a lightnin' bolt
And it shook me like some hands wrapped around my throat
And it took me and blew me in a cloud of smoke
Where I sat spellbound In The Eyes Of The Night

Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost
At the breakfast table paper smudged up
From the syrup on the fingers in the french toast

Under the moon, under the stars, under the jets,
Under the wires, under the roof, under my skin
Into my heart, and out of my soul
Upon this rock I build my church
In The Eyes Of The Night

On a Volcano (Hamilton/Westphal)

by Dirk Hamilton and Eric Westphal

I went down to the smokehouse
to see if I could smoke a ghost out
But the smoke just served to blind me
and a wall made of rows of eyeballs could not find me

Then I went to the eyeball factory
to see why everybody didn't see like me
And they gave me two choices and I chose
and then the door flew open and smoke rose like a ghost

Glory be to when we see the sun rise
you and I are living on a volcano
Imagination sparkles in our eyes
and the only people who know what we know
Live On A Volcano

Wrap yourself in loneliness
and in a little while it becomes your friend
Holding in each hand a bouquet
you can chase the gargoyle guys away

Glory be to when we see the sun rise
you and I are living on a volcano
What is real really can never die
and the only people who know this is so
Live On A Volcano
On A Volcano

Oo-oo-we
don't dwell on ourselves
complain anymore
or wallow in self-pity
You and I
just wanna make a little love
cause a little trouble
maybe shoot a little hoop before we die

Glory be to when we see the sun rise
you and I are living on a volcano
Imagination sparkles in our eyes
and the only people who know this is so
Live On A Volcano

On A Volcano
We live On a Volcano
On A Volcano

The Main Attraction

Crackerjacks take me back
to the time I sat suspended on a screen
I's comin' unglued my body moved
but under the gun of the man who shot the scene
Now everything is better 'cuz now I am the director

So give me light, give me more light,
I need more light
Lights/Camera/Action
I'm the main attraction

Wrapped up in a new cocoon yesterday
your smile triggered my memory
but your eyes were glazed
It's a cold cruel world cowardly me have made
and I'll come to the rescue but ya' gotta give me somethin' to save
'Cuz they're waitin' for you at the cannery
With your fear and your feelings of inadequacy

So let's go tippy toe deep down into dream
And demand satisfaction
Tolerate no distractions
Lights/Camera/Action
You're the main attraction

We need more light, more light
We need more light
Lights/Camera/Action
We're the main Attraction
Ya' gotta come on
Action/Motion/...(love)

Colder Than Mexican Snow

Chihuahua is white tonight covered with snow everywhere
And the fountain pipes froze so the water don't squirt in the square
Oh I still sing, tho' I don't understand anything.
And the bartender's wearing my ring

It's all white, all white, all white
It's all white, all white, all white
Oh Juanita, it's colder than the mexican snow
Juanita, it's colder than the mexican snow

Juanita my noggin was clangin' like the dong of doom
And after the fight tonight no one came back to my room
Well, however tough it can get, it can get tougher yet,
And I'm gonna see tougher I bet

It's all white, all white, all white
It's all white, all white, all white
Oh Juanita, it's colder than the mexican snow

A fat man sawin' on a violin
A woman with a head, a halo
He led with the left and the right busted in
And Oh the snow, it's all aglow

It's all white, all white, all white
It's all white, all white, all white
Oh Juanita, it's colder than the mexican snow
Oh Juanita, it's colder than the mexican snow
Oh Juanita, it's colder than the mexican snow

The Bob Crane Memorial Band

I'm lookin' for a woman with a ski slope nose
who can suck a tennis ball through 20 foot of half inch hose
And when I find her I'll love her a lot
She'll wanna get married but I ain't gonna
I'm goin' on the road with The Bob Crane Memorial Band

When you're out on the road with The Bob Crane Memorial Band
And ya' dream about Tahiti you're gonna wake up tan
Dream you're sick, you'll wake up well
Dream you're in heaven, wake up in a motel
Out on the road with The Bob Crane Memorial Band

I dreamed I seen the devil dressed up in a business suit
he grabbed an MX missile and he played it like a flute

I'm lookin' for a city that ain't got no cars
No cops no crime just trees and squirrels and bars
No cadillacs no Honda Civics only rock'n'roll (no rock'n'roll critics)
are out on the road with The Bob Crane Memorial Band
are out on the road with The Bob Crane Memorial Band
are out on the road with The Bob Crane Memorial Band

Well, it's the way that he would want it
Everybody give a hand now now
to the boys out on the road with The Bob Crane Memorial Band

The Bob Crane Memorial Band

Honky Tonk Women (Jagger/Richards)

ROLLING STONES COVER

Alias i

Stick to your guns
And always throw in with the good guys
But if you end up robbin' stagelines
Do it in style
Do it in style

Do what you can
To learn how to roll with the punches
Remember to follow up on hunches as long as you're here
Raise your hands up to the sky
The Road, The Light, the Night
Is Alias i, Alias i

Stick to your guns
And learn how to wade through the phonies
The road that you're walkin' is lonely
But it's lit by your own light
Raise your hands up to the sky
The Road, The Light, the Night
Is Alias i, Alias i

Askin' For Apples

NOT AVAILABLE