VAGABONDING
RELEASED AUGUST 2009
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All songs written, performed, recorded, and produced by Riverman in his home studio in Winter Park, Fl. except for “Dance of the Cranes,” which was arranged and performed by Riverman but written by Bob Young for the film, Dot and the Kangaroo.
Excertps from Isle of Golden Dreams by Wayne King and His Orchestra were also sampled on “Fox Hollow.”
Track Listing / Lyrics
1. Armchair Philosophy
My theory was unveiled
Theories often fail
I believed it for so long
But you know that I was
wrong from the beginning
wrong from the beginning
I was known to sit and brood
I was stuck inside that mood
Now it’s time to change my tune
You know the change is coming
sooner rather than later
sooner rather than later
My theory was bad
But I always thought I’d had
It all figured out
But then the seed of doubt
got planted in my mind
doubt was planted in my mind!
So long!
So long!
To all the thoughts of blood
And toil and sin…
What shape are we in?
Raise your hand!
Are we better than when we began?
Hello!
Hello?
I hope you like the new me
It’s just me
It’s just me…
Without the armchair philosophy
Armchair philosophy…
I was wrong
Fall the dominoes
2. St. John's Bluff
Only making plans…
I’m sick to death of sitting around
And far too drunk to stand
But hey I’m feeling lucky
Even though things are looking rough
So I’m calling St. John’s Bluff!
What’s the forecast looking like?
They can predict the rain…
Wait strike that from our record
You know it’s really just the same
The outcome’s of no consequence
I’m no good at acting tough…
I’m calling, yes I’m calling…
St. John’s Bluff!
Excuses are excuses
You know I’m over all of that
Scapegoats please take notice
You’ll find the keys under the mat….
Come on Lady Luck and save me!
If your power’s strong enough…
I’m calling, yes I’m calling
St. John’s Bluff!
The outcome’s of no consequence
I’m no good at acting tough…
But I’m calling, yes I’m calling…
St. John’s Bluff!
3. Ghosts of Mal País
Cools the air and clouds my sight
Memories of strange delights in Mal Pais
When the stars come out to play
And the jungle serenades
Waves gently parade onto the shore
Oh it’s all inside my head
Scattered pictures turning round again
Oh it’s all inside my head
The Ghosts of Mal Pais
Tread light! The witching hour…
Hidden spells, exotic powers
Reveal their colonnaded towers in the air
Suspended canopy of trees
You’re dancing in the summer breeze
Hypnotized, the eyes that see you there…
And shadow puppets on the wall
Hear the ancient voices call
Shadows on the wall…
The Ghosts of Mal Pais…
The spirits of the Bad Terrain
Of howling winds and summer rain…
Can you hear their sad refrain?
Is this fever breaking
I feel the earth is shaking
Something is awakening…
The Ghosts of Mal Pais
4. The New Mistress
You appeared and disappeared
You were on the lam
Familiar with a slightly checkered past
I was the last to clear it…
Why overcomplicate a complex mess?
The hunted and the new mistress…
I confess it’s too much…
You thought you had a good defense
You stretched it out to build up the suspense
And I was hostage to
Your nouveau paradoxic sway
I went away the wiser…
But why overcomplicate a complex mess?
The hunted and the new mistress…
I confess it’s too much…
You were on the lam
Granted you could kill me with your smile
You killed me all the while…
But why overcomplicate a complex mess?
The hunted and the new mistress…
I confess it’s too much…
5. Bahia Drive
I thought I’d make it known
I looked around and found the perfect stone
Which tapped upon your window
Yeah it was gently thrown
And you were there to greet me
We’re never that alone…
“Even if we die a little
It’s worth it if
We make it out alive!
Come on girl and live a little!
Take a ride
Across Bahia Drive!”
I am a liberal
And you are a puritan
But who’s to say
The worthier pursuit?
You are an obstacle
On my road to ruin
Yeah you blew in
On the wind and you changed my route
“Even if we die a little
It’s worth it if
We make it out alive!
Come on girl and live a little!
Take a ride
Across Bahia Drive!”
I am like quicksand
On a desert island
I swallow every good thing
That I find
You are like lightning
Twisted like a vine
You strike me and you save me
At the same time…
You are the morning
And I’m a setting sun
You are just beginning
I’m just getting done
But you’re a little crazy
I’m a bit insane
I’ll meet you in the middle
Here comes the refrain:
“Even if we die a little
It’s worth it if
We make it out alive!
Come on girl and live a little!
Take a ride
Across Bahia Drive!”
So join me my antithesis
Let’s get out of town
Look out I think the sky
Is coming down!
Let’s head for the horizon
I think I know the way
Are you in or out or in
What do you say?
“Even if we die a little
It’s worth it if
We make it out alive!
Come on girl and live a little!
Take a ride
Across Bahia Drive!”
You are the morning
I’m a setting sun
I’m a setting sun…
6. Why Do We Fool Ourselves?
Making up lies to tell in song…
We both know it’s wrong
We both know it’s wrong…
I know your style and I know your tricks
I know your trying, but you can’t seem to fix
This flaw in our system
I don’t think we’d miss it much
But hey it’s our crutch!
Why do we fool ourselves?
Why do we fool ourselves?
And why do we talk out of both sides of our mouths?
Why do we talk out of both sides of our mouths?
Forget it my friends!
Let’s all leave and head South…
Vagabonding doesn’t take so much to figure out…
7. Dawn Patrol (A1A)
-Instrumental-
8. Boxcars and Trainwrecks
I saw you slowly come undone…
Well I tried to…
Behind our backs we hid the gun
Golden apples one by one
We cast aside..
We heard the thunder crack
And saw what laid across the track
You cried out “Hit the deck!”
As boxcar blossomed to train-wreck
We like angels stood to wait
Just outside the iron gate
Of the garden
We played the judge “Hang the jury!”
We were in no mood to hurry
Or pardon…
There was no chance for turning back
We weren’t prepared for the attack
You cried out “Hit the deck!”
As boxcar blossomed to train-wreck
“Give it back!” Fan the flame
Well just who’s to blame?
What’s the catch?
Ages cyclically turning
Five hundred years burning
And you lit the match…
Our earthly desires
We cast into the fires
They melt into new embryos…
We saw the fault-line start to crack
The image blurred along the track
We cried out and hit the deck
As boxcar blossomed to train-wreck
9. Fox Hollow
Where we sit and bide our time
We hear the trains
Coming across the line
All the time… all the time….
Meet me in Fox Hollow
Where our voices sing so low
And where the old souls
Come and go
Come and go…
Meet me in Fox Hollow
Where the dead are dying still
Their faces hang
On the windowsills
All the time
All the time…
Meet me in Fox Hollow
On the 29th of June
You might think
That’s much too soon
Too soon…
Meet me in Fox Hollow
Where the whippoorwills howl and sneer
You’re welcome if you can make it here
Make it here…
Here in Fox Hollow
Where the wind cuts to the bone
Don’t be too surprised
Surprised to find
You’re all alone…
10. Dance of the Cranes
-Instrumental by Bob Young for the film Dot and the Kangaroo-
Arranged and performed by Riverman
11. Vagabonding
They say you can never just pack up and leave
Shed your skin be reborn we’re not all what we seem to be
Tack a note to the door as you close it up tight
You can’t be quite sure where you’ll spend the night
Lay in the dew where the shadows are cast,
Go vagabonding at last!
A summery soldier, moved to extremes
Come on and find out yourself just what this means as you
Give of your time and receive in return
Old lessons forgotten as new ones are learned
Come walk for a while cause the trains move to fast…
Simplification at last!
Money, it weighs too much, go on forget it a while!
Pennies won’t serve you like pilgrims with generous smiles…
Your luggage you lost at the last trading post
But you’ve still got the clothes on your back, come on and toast with me!
“Bring on the fountains and rivers and sands!”
The best things in life are all free from demands…
Tear up your sails and break down your mast
Go vagabonding at last!
And summer so deepens and ripens to gold
The autumn approaches or so I am told
And the stars are aligned, the augurs declare
“The timing is now, not a moment to spare”
From slumber awaken! The rushing winds pass…
Come vagabonding at last!
The path may lead straight but don’t be so surprised if it curves
Burn your itinerary if you think you’ve got the nerve…
Join me you outcasts from cities so fair
Take off your clothes and let down your hair
Head for the hills, it’s a long dusty road
It’s easier when your possessions are sold
Come now and greet me I’m within your grasp…
Come vagabonding at last!
Come on again!
Vagabonds vagabonding
Leafy Autumn Goodbye
Vagabonds Vagabonding
Leafy Autumn Goodbye
12. Until We Meet Again...
The pillow was still warm where you laid your head
And the only light came filtered beneath the door
I put my feet down on the floor…
But like every other morning this felt the same
I would have called your name but my voice caught in my throat
You could have left a note…
But the coffee that you made tasted good…
The paper you laid out like I knew you would
And did your song come on the radio?
I don’t know…
Because outside in the street I heard the falling rain
I would have called your name but my voice caught in my throat
You could have left a note…
