1. Their Little Game
2. Still Sing A Love Song
3. Who Hung This Target On My Back
4. Wicked Weed
5. My Little Man
6. Fiddler Of The Ages / Skip Down The Road
7. Good Daughters All
8. Shake Like A Snake
9. Black Balsam Morning
10. Marie Laveau
11. Sunny Days

LYRICS

Their Little Game

Greed, lies and subterfuge
They love to hoodwink me and you
Just give me the facts Jack
But it’s hard to pick the right card when the deck is stacked

They whisper soft in your ear
Tell you what you wanna hear
They keep singing that same old rap
But it’s pure unadulterated bull crap

And It’s just a crying shame
These clowns don’t seem to change
So good at laying blame
So good at playing their little game

They put their hat in the ring
They say they hear the angels sing
But their words are full of fluff
The devil’s in the details and there ain’t enough

They say they feel my pain
And my vote won’t be in vane
And they swear they got my back
But don’t believe a man who drives a Cadillac

Repeat Chorus

They must think that we are dumb
Grubbing for their tiny crumbs
While they take the lion’s share
The teleprompter telling us what we got was fair

They sell us their snake oil
While we work and toil
We all know that the game is rigged
‘Cause even with some lipstick it is still a pig

Repeat Chorus

Still Sing A Love Song

We started out so long ago
Lovers and best friends
How we reveled in each other
A world without an end
And I think of this long journey
The things that we have shared
And more and more it’s clear to me
We’ve got something that’s rare

Your hair is gray and mine is gone
No longer young, slowing down
And though the passion’s cooled
I can still sing a love song
To you my sweet woman….to you

Hand in hand we walk along
Upon our well worn path
We’ve built a life together
And much has come to pass
Its comfortable and tidy
And I think that that’s OK
But I wonder what still lies ahead
The memories that we’ll make

Repeat Chorus

Looking through old photographs
We sometimes reminisce
So many memories
That started with one kiss
Now we play with grandkids
Don’t worry ’bout too much
And I got to tell you honey
There’s still magic in your touch

Repeat Chorus

I really can’t imagine
A life without you near
I don’t like to think about it
But we’re getting on in years
No one lives forever
And one day we’ll say goodbye
But I know the love between us
Will never ever die

Repeat Chorus

Who Hung This Target On My Back

My boss told me to close the door
Said we don’t need you anymore
He shook my hand and said get your stuff packed
Who hung this target on my back

They shipped my job to Mexico
They say they work for a lot less dough
When management takes aim you get bushwhacked
Who hung this target on my back

I gave this company my best years
{You can’t believe you are the list}
But the bottom line is all they hold dear
{You better call the proctologist}
They say bye bye, they show you the door
‘Cause you’re not needed no more

I got bills I got to pay
Food and gas and Fannie Mae
But my unemployment check, it don’t pay jack
Who hung this target on my back

I’m just an old fashioned dog
I still think in analog
I just can’t learn new tricks, so I got sacked
Who hung this target on my back
Who hung this target on my back
Who hung this target on my back

Wicked Weed

Seven women dance as one
Front to back and thigh to bun
A string of pearls on their naked breasts
Feathered skirts and a big headdress

They call themselves the Gypsy Queens
Seven ladies long and lean
Before each show the reefer’s free
How they love that wicked weed

They undulate across the stage
Working hard for a living wage
Dancing like a centipede
Leaning on that wicked weed

Got that rhythm, got that swing
Work the crowd while the singer sings
Spotlight shines as time recedes
Wasted on that wicked weed

After work they like eggs and ham
The girls relax while the boys will jam
Playing jazz all through the night
Making love in the morning light

Patrons buy bootlegged gin
Mock the law of Prohibition
The band will play, the girls will tease
In a club they call the Wicked Weed

Blame it on that wicked weed

My Little Man

Sleepy eyes, heavy head
Little boy it’s time for bed
Drift away, close your eyes
On the wings of this lullaby

My little man
You smile so easily
Sparkling eyes
That shine so bright
My little man
Come climb this family tree
And by and by
Become who you will be

Daddy’s hands, strong and kind
There to hold you, dry your eyes
Momma’ love conquers all
Always there if you should fall

Repeat Chorus

Fast asleep against my chest
Feel my heart beat as you rest
Lay you down, tuck you in
Pull your blanket up to your chin

Repeat Chorus

Fiddler Of The Ages

Me and my fiddle and my fiddle and me
Making music through the centuries
Counting time with a jig and a reel
Tapping my toe and clicking my heels

Down through the ages you’ve heard me play
On a backwoods porch or a gilded stage
Fiddled for the poor, the king and the queen
And every kind of person there is between

Traveled far hither and yon
I’m the second cousin to a leprechaun
Notes fill the sky like diamonds on the wind
Come and listen to the fiddle and the magic within
Live the life you’re given from beginning to end
Live the life you’re given

Rosin my bow with wax from a bee
Hide my fiddle in the hollow of a tree
Grant no wish, own no gold
But if you play my fiddle you never grow old

Live up a ridge ‘neath a Hickory tree
Never been sick, drink Sassafras tea
Bathed in light from the Milky Way
I dance and fiddle as stars sashay

Repeat Chorus

Meet in the meadow ‘neath a sliver of moon
Dance in a circle to an old time tune
Spirits rise no longer bound
And right in the middle my fiddle be found

Come play the flute, come play the drum
Come play guitar with fingers and a thumb
Before you say your sweet goodbye
Reach for the heavens, hands held high

Skip Down The Road

Instrumental by Russ Wheelock & Laura Smith

 

Good Daughters All

Mother and daughter, love is the bond
A babe in a blanket and far, far beyond
Good deeds remembered like bricks in a wall
Thank you for being such good daughters all

You carry the memory of her loving ways
All that she did, all that she’d say
When you were leaving, her tears did fall
But so proud to call you her good daughters all

Time like a thief, oh how he makes us age
Our summer soon fades away
And the roles are changing
And it feels kind of strange
For both you and her

And more you consider one day she’ll be gone
The light from the sun won’t shine quite as strong
You’ll cherish the moments that you will recall
Thankful for being such good daughters all

Mother and daughter, love is the bond
A babe in a blanket and far, far beyond
Good deeds remembered like bricks in a wall
Thank you for being such good daughters all

Shake Like A Snake

I’m going to shake like a snake
Hear me rattle my tail
I’m going to dance in a trance
Show off my shiny new scales
I’m going to shake like a snake

How Dominique loved the sheik
She wore a concubine’s gown
It was a feat to compete
With all his other girls around
How Dominique loved the sheik
But she had her eye on his crown

One day her aunt bought a plant
Grown from a magical bean
If it was brewed and then chewed
Your wildest dream was redeemed
One day her aunt bought a plant
Now Dominique is the queen

He was a child that was wild
Way down in Mozambique
No clothes he owned; Lived alone
In a shanty up the creek
He was a child that was wild
And to the animals he’d speak

The only words that he heard
Were the sounds that creatures make
He talked to bats and big cats
He’d converse with a snake
He’d tell a joke, frogs would croak
While he rode the hippos in the lake

There was a man from Siam
He was one quarter squirrel
He could hop the tree tops
He would leap and he would twirl
There was a man from Siam
A bushy tail left unfurled

He would hang while he sang
Up a branch in a tree
He would sway while he played
His little ukulele
He would hang while he sang
He loved the blues minor key

I’m going to shake like a snake
Hear me rattle my tail
I’m going to dance in a trance
Show off my shiny new scales
I’m going to shake like a snake

Black Balsam Morning

Instrumental by Russ Wheelock & Laura Smith

 

Marie Laveau

Marie Laveau was the Voodoo Queen
Conjured spells down in New Orleans
Father was French, her mama American
Smooth, tempting skin
Creole blood within
A gifted charlatan

Loved and feared by high society
Sold them charms against calamity
Put a curse on their enemies
Find the love they seek
Put a bloom upon their cheek
Manipulate the weak

But Oh, how they believed her
The Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau
And who cares if she deceived them
Everybody knows that’s just the price of the show   

Around her neck a golden talisman
Inscribed with words that were African
Held a snake high up  in her hands
Round and ’round she’d dance
In a fevered, frenzied trance
Incantation chants

Repeat Chorus

They would swear on their bible
She could reach into their mind
They claimed she was a healer
A prophet who transcends time

Marie Laveau was the Voodoo Queen
Sing and chant while playing tambourine
Candle glow, sleight of hand
She built a valued brand
A money making sham
Clipped and fleeced the lambs

Sunny Days

Now these days feel so lonesome
Like a star that’s lost its light
When fog shrouds a mountain
Like a cold, moonless night

Tally up all the hours
We long for family
Friends ’round a table
To gather worry free

Sunny days will surely come back
Sunny days are gonna shine
Sunny days will be a blessing
In the healin’  hands  of time

Now I know life is fickle
It’ll turn like a weathervane
One day it is blue skies
The next a driving rain

Repeat Chorus

Now they say it’s the darkest
Before the break of day
And that dawn is surely comin’
To take these blues away

Repeat Chorus