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SPEAK
the time has come for me to speak
uh oh the time has come
and while the silence picks on me
I pray to not be dumb
so I am hunting for the words
just wait til I find some
I need some syllables do you
know where to get them from
when I am in my house alone
my speeches take a week
but from my lips when you are near
a sound will seldom leak
when I was a little girl
I coined a mighty text
looking back I blush to hear
what I'd come out with next
is now the time for me to speak
but what if they talk back
o when I open up my beak
I hope that I can quack
and if I do look out beware
the truth is hard to take
A and everything for all I care
can jump into a lake
words & music by Maggie Roche
BIG NUTHIN'
I was on a TV show
that everybody said
would change the course of my life that night
by the time I went to bed
tinkling glass and candlelight
your look of tenderness
I was full of cozy hope
sweet taste of success
it was a big nuthin'
you don't have to cross the street
when you see me comin'
too much trouble
so the the love we think is lost
things that never happened
stranger
it was a big nuthin'
late last night we argued
when you weren't there
all o' my disappointment
screamed into the air
just about to fall into
the deep hole that I dug
saw myself ascending (pretending)
with a shovel and a shrug
it was a big nuthin'
I guess I just never knew how big nuthin' could be
words & music by Maggie. Terre & Suzzy Roche
CLOUD DANCING
Every morning I get up
Beautiful as the Goddess
Of Love in Enchanted Mountain.
Every night I go to bed
Seductive as Yang Kuei-fei,
The imperial concubine.
My slender waist and thighs
Are exhausted and weak
From a night of cloud dancing
But my eyes are still lewd,
And my cheeks are flushed.
My old wet nurse combs
My cloud-like hair.
My lover, fragrant as incense,
Adjusts my jade hairpins, and
Drags on my silk stockings
Over my feet and legs
Perfumed with orchids;
And once again we fall over
Overwhelmed with passion.
words by Huang O (1498-1569) as translated
by Kenneth Rexroth and Ling Chung
music by: Maggie Roche
EVERYONE IS GOOD
Everyone is good
I would like to be a person who does not judge
Free to be me whatever that might be
I don't want to hold a position, don't want to hold a grudge
'Cause it seems to be the cause of a lot of misunderstanding
Heartbreak misery
Looking in your eyes you're different from me
Why does it have to be that one of us is better
Can't we both be beautiful even if we don't agree
Like the flowers in the garden and the animals in the wood
Each one with a purpose and each one is gQod
Everyone is good
Nobody's God says hate your neighbor
Even if the neighbor doesn't believe in God
Put aside your religion do your God a favor
And wouldn't it be something to be Ioving and kind
Forgive yourself for everything having once been blind
Everyone is good
words and music by Terre Roche
IN THE WORLD
in the world
is a town
small and proud
there i live
and there i ll die
head in a cloud
i had dreams long ago
of the love i would surely know
but it didn t turn out like that
in the world
is a lie
flying high
i thought you were mine
but you were
never mine
i had dreams long ago
of the world i would surely know
but it didn't turn out like that
in the world
in the world
is a hill
filled with trees
from my door
i can see
life is a breeze
words by Suzzy Roche
music by Maggie Roche
I LOVE MY MOM
mommy help me
i can t hear
there is a pain
in my ear
i am afraid
and i need your love
and i love my mom
mommy why
are you really angry
i don t know
what is the matter with me
you make me cry
and i need your love
and i love my mom
down in the cellar
is a memory chest
inside of it
mom's wedding dress
i try it on
and i need your love
and i love my mom
i understand
as i get a little older
i can't always
do what i'm told
i get a spanking
and i need your love
and i love my mom
mommy
there is a boy down the street
he is making fun of me
i'm running home
and i need your love
and i love my mom
words and music by Suzzy Roche
LOSING OUR JOB
It's just a job that fell through
I'm sure that you will find another
I'll make a special dinner tonight
Don't worry darling it'll be alright
I don't believe these words I'm singing
It doesn't sound like truth to me
our love is gone but we're still clinging
To the way it used to be
These times are hard for everybody
I read the paper I see the news
Something will give and make it better
We're gonna work it out not gonna lose
I don't believe these words I'm singing
It doesn't sound like truth to me
Our love is gone but we~re still clinging
To the way it used to be
words & music by Terre Roche
PERSON WITH A PAST
looking in the mirror
what do you see
from another era
a face baby
a waste maybe
of a chance never had
a history
of romance gone bad
who can be a lover
how long can it last
anything but hover
seems like moving too fast
going undercover
with a person with a past
seems like only yesterday
you were just a child
until up irreversibly
all o' this sadness piled
mistakes when you were fighting
your way out of your bag
has loneliness moonlighting
made of you a hag
who can be . . .
you say you want to see me
my number you desire
you make it sound so easy
like slumbering in fire
I'm offering a warning
where you can put your trust
and thank me in the morning
when ashes turn to dust
who can be . . .
words & music by Margaret
THE ANTI-SEX BACKLASH OF THE 80'S
o god gilbert
when you said that
i'm afraid i'll have to jump across the gorge
like in this book i'm reading
when you read it back
you need a painkiller
but i m sober
stuck on some thought i can t express
i saw a part of you that was threatening to me
and i felt that i was messing in it
that fundamental problem with being friends
some people around here
can watch punky brewster
and that s about it
i probably would have been a little bored
waiting for that one comment
that ruins everything
but it is all subconsciously being said
if you are a sexist pig
then i have got to dislike you
for the rest of my life
i will have to listen
to certain devastating things
for the rest of my life
words & music by Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche
EASY
i guess i'm a little bit afraid of you
i'm not exactly sure what i should do
does not seem to be a right or wrong
sittin by the kitchen table from dusk till dawn
this isn't easy for me
i'm so scared of love
is there a reason to be
i just can't get tough enough
but i don't want to leave you
one moment is an emergency
i saw you really looking at me
old memories making me shy
sittin by the kitchen table the late night sky
all day the next day
standin still i'm blowin away
i get the feeling whatever i do
i'm gonna be in love with you
words & music by Suzzy Roche
NOCTURNE
you ask me why
we cannot make love
I have been ransacking you
for the answer
side by side we lay
not touching
listening to rain falling
in the darkness
where desire writhed there stands a stone
the change was sudden and complete
a serious question
we have turned out to ask
we have sought each other secretly
strong has been the urge
to lie naked facing fear
quietly and quickly
our sentences blaze trails upon the night
we are mates on a doubtful voyage
speaking sanely now
allotting no lovers advantage
my room is anxious to expel him
he hurrie~ to be free of my feelings
we wear our words
until he finally dresses
looking for his shoes
he is a shadow in my doorway
words & music by Margaret Roche
MERCIFUL GOD
the yoke
the yoke upon
the yoke upon the neck of the disciple
that neither our fathers nor we are able to bear
merciful god
this is a prayer
I can
i cannot
i cannot hide my sorrow from my friends and family
will love have the power to overcome despair
merciful god
this is a prayer
be not afraid for the pastures of the wilderness will spring
someone
someone told
someone told me i lost my sense of humor
i did a song and dance that made him laugh till he was scared
merciful god
this is a prayer
words and music by Suzzy and Terre Roche
BROKEN PLACES
did you know me
long ago
were we close
before the sorrow
if you thought of leaving any traces
I'll be sifting through the broken places
did I know you
once upon a time
you dreamed of me
and now I'm
searching for myself in strangers' faces
stumbling onto further broken places
she turns purple
am I blue
can't she fathom
what I do
trying to get in her better graces
touching her in all the broken places
I get crazy
not sure why
solace beckons
until I
go tearing off again on wild chases
crashing into same old broken places
I am young so
who's to say
but for now I
have no way
of knowing how much healing time erases
certain of these secret broken places
can't there be a
little breather?
our love is a
real seether
to sore hearts we plead our hapless cases
rendezvousing at the broken places
I love you for
all of this
struggling towards
happiness
when the chips are down we play our aces
hiding them in our broken places
words & music by Margaret Roche
FEELING IS MUTUAL
the feeling is mutual
is what you will say
if things turn out okay
if I were writing a play
love will open our eyes
maybe
love will be a surprise
maybe then
at the moment when
I realize you're there
so you see that I care
the feeling is mutual
is what you will say
I long to hear someday
words & music by Margaret Roche
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