Ballad of the War Moon

Armed, they followed the war moon

            And the war moon was bright.

But the midnight sky was cloudy

            And dark was the moonlight.

They were in the dark time,

            Yet their daydreams dreamt on.

And as the rockets’ red glare rose

            Dreams would be banners gone.

Their names mean little to us.

            The deeds they did seem small.

Yet their war hope was our peace hope

            And our call was their call.

Armored, they chased the peace moon,

            Though the way was doubty.

Now their life will repose forgot

            And the moon is cloudy.

Illustration: Nagasaki Atomic Bomb, MaximNews

My Little White Lamb

She came into my life

Like a little white lamb,

But she went out

Like a big roarin’ lion.

Why did she double-cross me

At the crossroads of life?

Why, oh why, did she leave me?

I will just walk along the streets

Alone and weary.

All alone in this world without her.

Or ending it down by the river

Because I feel so lowdown and blue.

Was I ever so down right untrue

Or unfaithful,

To her in our attempt at true love,

To make her sad, my little white lamb,

Or has love just flown like a dove?

When they lay me in that big cold coffin,

And when that black hearse starts on its slow way,

Then will you remember how I loved you

Right until that end, my dying day?

You came into my life

Like a little white lamb,

But you went out like a big roaring lion.

There on the doorstep you left me,

All alone and cryin’.

Ya-Ha-Whoey

written by Larry and Stuart

Grandpa was driving down the mountain on an icy day,

When his car hit the curve, it began to sway.

Off of the road it found its way

And as he went over you could hear him say:

“Ya-ha-whoey!

Ya-ha-ya-ha-whoey!  Ya-ha-ya-ha-whoey!”

And they lay him away that day.

As up the first hill the scenic started to creep,

A lady stood up to see how steep.

When she saw she began to leap

And as she fell out you could hear her speak:

“Ya-ha-whoey!

Ya-ha-ya-ha-whoey!  Ya-ha-ya-ha-whoey!”

And they lay her away that week.

A man went up into a tower that’s tall.

He took a wrong turn and started to fall.

Though he had a voice what’s small,

As he went you could hear his call:

“Ya-ha-whoey!

Ya-ha-ya-ha-whoey!  Ya-ha-ya-ha-whoey!”

And they laid him away in a hole.

A man went up to tie a noose.

He did not know the ladder was loose

And as he fell from his roost,

You heard him call like a stricken moose:

“Ya-ha-whoey!

Ya-ha-ya-ha-whoey!  Ya-ha-ya-ha-whoey!”

And six men gave him a boost.

A man went up to a scaffold real high,

A way to roofs simplify.

Got too near the edge, sweet old guy,

And as he slipped, you could hear his cry:

“Ya-ha-whoey!

Ya-ha-ya-ha-whoey!  Ya-ha-ya-ha-whoey!”

And they laid him away to lie.

Willie Ameere's Drive

WILLIE AMEERE’S DRIVE

 

Hey, my friends, come over and hear

‘Bout the reckless drive of Willie Ameere.

It happened back in the year of ‘fifty-seven,

Late on a hot July night, nearing eleven.

Do you recall what happened that year?

 

He warned his gang, “If the police come

Here lookin’ for me sometime tonight.

Swallow your tongue and play-act dumb,

And try to confuse them until daylight.

Send one here, and another send there.

Tell them anything the traffic will bear.

Meanwhile, I’m fleeing in fear and rage

Through every countryside village

Trying to escape from the law’s long arm.”

 

On through the night drove Willie Ameere,

Tearing the night apart in fear and rage,

On through every countryside village

Yelling a cry of defiance edged in fear.

Noise in the darkness. Accelerator to the floor,

And a rumbling muffler that’ll echo evermore,

Then bore on that night’s wind of the past,

Through darkened streets to death at last,

He drove to sound and smoke and fire.

 

The people still waken and listen to hear

The hurried wheels of that harried car

And the death choked cry of Willie Ameere.

GOODBYE TANGO

 

 

 

The Goodbye Tango

Means it’s time to go.

The night has slipped away,

It is tapping the day.

The sun is up so

Play the Goodbye Tango

 

We have danced all night.

The dawn is rising bright.

Wasn’t it fun, though?

Play the Goodbye Tango.

 

The record player goes

With songs of prose

About love and romance

As through the dark we’d dance.

But all good things end.

The stars grew dim

And the moon grew low.

Play the Goodbye Tango.