Nearly Missed, a Sesame Street Song (lyrics)

While lookin' at my feet, at a crack in the sidewalk
An old tin can by the side of the road
I nearly missed a rainbow
I nearly missed a sunset
I nearly missed a shooting star going by

While studying a brand new hole in my sneaker
And finding a quarter and an old bus token
I nearly missed a rainbow
I nearly missed a sunset
I nearly missed a shooting star going by


Looking down at the ground means you know where you're going
No head up in the clouds to lead you astray
But you can't ever have any kind of dream that way

Looking down at the ground means you know where you're going
No head up in the clouds to lead you astray
But you can't ever have any kind of dream that way

While looking at my feet at a crack in the sidewalk
An old tin can by the side of the road
I nearly missed a rainbow
Elmo nearly missed a sunset
I would've missed a shooting star going by

I nearly missed a rainbow
Don't want to miss that sunset
I wouldn't miss a shooting start going by
Passing me by
Passing me by

(1970?)

(copied into 1985 notebook)

Factory, by Wall of Voodoo (lyrics)

Now I know I had something to say
But the problem is to say something, uh, you gotta say it
And I still don't remember a thing
Since that funny gas came out of that pipe next to me
I guess they didn't OK it
Now I remember, did I tell ya? Cut my thumb off at the knuckle on a broken band saw
Didn't see the belt buckle of the blade slip
And I remember when the doctor did it up with a stitch
Funny thing, still got a scratch that I can't itch where my thumb was

And I've brought the same piece of chicken in a bag to work everyday 
For the last twenty years or so
And I really don't mind work assembly line, 
Got an intercom blasting the news and the latest on the baseball scores
And come around every Friday when I get a paycheck 
I take the same road home that I come to work on, heck it's a living

And I've got another factory back home
I got a barbeque, pink mustang, fender's chrome
And at nine o' clock I sit there in my chair
And I don't know why I lose my hair

And then I go to
And then I go to
And then I go to sleep

Well I like to know what I'm doing when I do it 
And I do what I'm doing cause I don't know what to do 
When I'm not doing it
Sometimes I remember as a boy my father told me 
I could grow up to be anything
I really wanted to be anything

And everyday at lunch I still look for my lost digit
Still got that funny scratch
So maybe when I find it I can itch it
And I got a little rubber pool in the backyard
For the kids to wade in
And I...I...I....I, I, I

I've got another factory back home
Got a barbeque, pink mustang, fender's chrome
And at nine o' clock I'm in my chair sat down
Just lately when my wife talks back to me, I slap her around

Then I go to
Then I go to
Then I go to sleep

Whoa, oh, oh
Whoa, oh, oh

(1982)

(copied into 1985 notebook)

Dance Godammit, by The Sparks (lyrics)

It's the sound
Of today
Played so loud
You're in pain
I feel good
Really great
As I talk
To my feet
Dance Godammit

Dance Godammit

I get scared
When I'm alone
So I don't
Stay alone
I like clubs
I like girls
I like music
And that's it
Dance Godammit
Dance Godammit

I do leaps
I do splits
I do spins
I do dips
Wanna dance?
Do you wanna dance ?

I get scared
When I'm alone
Ah, don't leave me
All alone
Wanna dance
Wanna dance
Wanna dance?
Do you wanna dance?
Dance Godammit
Dance Godammit

(1983)

(copied into 1985 notebook)

Born, Never Asked, by Laurie Anderson (lyrics)

It was a large room. 
Full of people. 
All kinds. 
And they had all arrived at the same buidling at more or less the same time. 
And they were all free. 
And they were all asking themselves the same question: 
What is behind that curtain? 
You were born. 
And so you're free. 
So happy birthday.

(1982)

(copied into 1985 notebook)

Walking and Falling, by Laurie Anderson (lyrics)

I wanted you. 
And I was looking for you. 
But I couldn't find you. 
I wanted you. 
And I was looking for you all day. 
But I couldn't find you. 
I couldn't find you. 
You're walking. 
And you don't always realize it, but you're always falling. 
With each step you fall forward slightly. 
And then catch yourself from falling. 
Over and over, you're falling. 
And then catching yourself from falling. 
And this is how you can be walking and falling at the same time.

(1982)

(copied into 1985 notebook)

Trouble, by Cat Stevens (lyrics)

Trouble 
Oh trouble set me free 
I have seen your face 
And it's too much too much for me 

Trouble 
Oh trouble can't you see 
You're eating my heart away 
And there's nothing much left of me 

I've drunk your wine 
You have made your world mine 
So won't you be fair 
So won't you be fair 

I don't want no more of you 
So won't you be kind to me 
Just let me go where 
I'll have to go there 

Trouble 
Oh trouble move away 
I have seen your face 
and it's too much for me today 

Trouble 
Oh trouble can't you see 
You have made me a wreck 
Now won't you leave me in my misery 

I've seen your eyes 
and I can see death's disguise 
Hangin' on me 
Hangin' on me 

I'm beat, I'm torn 
Shattered and tossed and worn 
Too shocking to see 
Too shocking to see 

Trouble 
Oh trouble move from me 
I have paid my debt 
Now won't you leave me in my misery 

Trouble 
Oh trouble please be kind 
I don't want no fight 
And I haven't got a lot of time 

(1970)

(copied into 1985 notebook)

The Countdown

It is 11:59 on New Year's Eve, 1984.  The countdown begins:  10, 9, 8. . .  3, 2, -- in one second, we begin celebration of the new year.  But this time, there will be more than idle laughter and resolutions.  Many people will celebrate our continued existence for another year.  It isn't a pleasant thought, but not everything is.  And the threat of nuclear war rests heavily in the minds of the people of the world.  It is no longer just the burden of the adults or those who've made an effort to be aware.  This is a topic of everyday life.  Young children have gone beyond inquiries of Santa or the Tooth Fairy.  Today, they must ask, "What is nuclear war?"  The people my age are quite aware of the nuclear threat in the world.  Unfortunately, they feel there is no answer.

On the weekend, I find myself over at a friend's house, and we bring up the issue of war and Nicaragua.  "I'd go to war," says one of them, as he toys with a model machine gun.  "If I were president, I'd nuke 'em," says the other.  Is this the mentality of the people my age?  I ask them why they'd kill so quickly.  "I hate the Russians.  I always have."  This IS the mentality of the people my age...

(unfinished)

- Dec. 31, 1984, A.D.