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Tiger Tattoo

by Andrew Calhoun

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1.
Joy 02:26
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Welcome, I won't keep you long, Drink a glass and sing a song; What comes with a hug and kiss, Fills your heart and sounds like this: Joy joy joy joy joy? Joy joy joy joy, Joy. Welcome to the house of love, Glory in the sun above; Hear a whisper of delight Come to find you in the night: Joy joy joy joy joy, Joy joy joy joy, Joy. This life's a rich and muddled mess We squander, cherish, curse and bless Though it passes all the same, Echoing my mother's name: Joy joy joy joy joy, Joy joy joy joy, Joy. Leave your cares upon the road A heavy heart's a heavy load Let your lonesome sorrow be Drop your burden, sing with me Joy joy joy joy joy, Joy joy joy joy, Joy. (I prefer this rewrite of last verse): Where the way is overgrown When you're weary to the bone Lift your eyes up to the skies From your heart you'll feel it rise: Joy joy joy joy joy, Joy joy joy joy, Joy.
2.
Catching on Fire 01:43
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Long Branch, New Jersey 1963 I'm heating milk for hot cocoa For my sister and me Fire on my shirtsleeve Flames on my belly Never before had Such shrieking come from me Leaping down three flights Slapping the flames out Never before had Dad hit me like that A tube of burn ointment Our friend Robby was there too His eyes looking on me Were never so blue
3.
Miss Hill 03:17
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Miss Hill ©2002 Andrew Calhoun, recorded on Tiger Tattoo. Little leaf tornadoes stood up in the schoolyard, The kids going in to the 5th grade all knew that year'd be hard; It was battle-ax Miss Tierney, or crazy old Miss Hill, The second meanest teacher at the West End School. "I had a fourth grade," she'd tell us, "they'd run rings around you kids, You can't pull the wool over my eyes, I'm wise to all your tricks," Then she'd turn back to the blackboard, scratching out full throttle, While the flesh hung from her bared arm and flapped like a turkey's wattle. There was a new kid introduced to class who couldn't take her teasin', One morning he burst into tears with very little reason; "Oh, crocodile tears," she crowed, "somebody bring him a bucket," And one boy did while that poor kid turned purple as a turnip. Silent in the laughter that rained down on the fool, Sat the smallest, shyest 5th grader in all of West End School; It was nothing new for old Miss Hill to make poor kid crawl, Now she turned her class on the classmate who had no friend at all. I found one boy at recess, who said he would go too, To tell our lady principal what that kid had been put through; There's a first time for everything, and so it came to pass, that Miss Hill said "I'm sorry," in front of our whole class. The new kid moved away again, I don't think we ever spoke; I hope he knows not all of us were laughing at the joke. He's the reason one shy 5th grader ran rings around Miss Hill, The second meanest teacher at the West End School. The second meanest teacher at the West End School.
4.
Goin' Down to See John Prine 06:18
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My folks did not go out much, not even a movie, And Folk was politic back then, Protest and "Feelin' Groovy": We lived out in the suburbs, it was a special thing When they drove into Chicago to hear a mailman sing. That next week, they took my sister, one week later, they took me. I got a stamp on the back of my hand and I saw my destiny; Just an ordinary mailman with a gift for stringin' words, Who wrote and sang the greatest songs that we had ever heard. And every song was different, and every time was new, And every other month or so, he'd write a song or two; With mugs of coke and peanuts, in the musk and cigarettes, We'd sit through rock star wannabes, to hear John's second set: "Hello In There," and "Paradise," and "Flag Decal" again; And one he never did record, "Will Anybody Be My Friend?" Will anybody be my friend? At Glen Ellyn Junior High School, the guys called me a fag; My homeroom teacher called me out, I wouldn't pledge the flag. There was Johnny Cash on Wednesday nights, to make life worth the time, Waiting for the weekend, goin' down to see John Prine. On Christmas, there was no one, at the old 5th Peg's back room, But our family and one couple, listening in the gloom; Then I called out a favorite song, John stopped his show and smiled At me in growing silence there, I felt like heaven's child; It's a blessing I would carry, through trouble, dread and tears, And I gave John a pocket knife that he kept for luck for years. With two full sets, and sometimes three, each night a double bill, Everybody knew the reason that black room began to fill; With a feature in the Daily News and two in the Sun-Times, There were folks from every walk of life, goin' down to see John Prine. And so it was a joyful thing, and sorry now because It's just a ghost of memory, how beautiful it was That songs so filled with loneliness could leave us less alone; As if to love your neighbor were as easy as the phone. He'd sing "A friend that's been turned down will be a friend of mine." And strangers felt like family then, goin' down to see John Prine. And so we all were happy, and happy for his sake, When Goodman brought Kristofferson, to score John his big break; We'd see him at the Arie Crown, up there where he belongs, To think that now the hungry world would get to hear these songs. And a few years on in Boston, we went down to see his show, We waited in the hallway, but he couldn't say hello; We saw him being interviewed, my sister Jane explained, "That's all part of his job now, publicity's insane." The critics raved, the drunkards roared, the groupies got in line, It would never be the same, goin' down to see John Prine. At the folkie's Sunday softball, for weeks they had it planned That John would come to play a game with his entire band; I had my year-old son there, we had brought him down to see A man who just ignored him, and barely noticed me. He was out of shape and shouting, like his good time wasn't real, Then he headed out for a private thing with the boys in center field; And I wished it didn't matter, and I wished I didn't care, Just my tough luck to love someone who wasn't really there. On a sunny summer afternoon, for me the game was blown. Who'd believe this strung-out fool was the man who wrote "Sam Stone"? At Rose Records store on Ashland, 1987, It felt a mile awkward when I stopped in to see him; A woman had her picture taken with him there and signed, But it just made me nervous, goin' down to see John Prine. And at his last accounting, there is bound to be a do, With St. Peter and the Muses, and Montgomery's Angel too, Saying, "Who's to speak for anyone, and who's to cast a stone At one who eased our loneliness, but couldn't bear his own?" And if I reach the pearly gates, when comes my time to go, I hope St. Peter's not too busy to come out and say hello; Will he sing "A friend that's been turned down will be a friend of mine." Or stamp the back of my right hand—goin' down to see John Prine, There in the gloom I will request my favorite songs again: "Paradise", "Hello in There", "Will Anybody Be My Friend." That's "Paradise", "Hello in There", "Will Anybody Be My Friend."
5.
Fred's Brother 05:21
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Fred's family lived in a condo, Across the tracks from high school Free period, we'd be up there drinkin' tea— Happy memory Fred's mother lived in a bathrobe, And frowned more than she spoke When she'd emerge on rare occasions For coffee and a smoke Fred's brother lived in his bedroom, Without much to feed his soul But a couple thousand 45's, And a love for rock and roll Fred said he'd been suicidal, And he had a rare affliction With no moisture to his body, He used lotion by the carton Fred's brother used so much lotion, Of this one special brand That each year they sent a company pen, To thank the nation's dryest man Fred's Dad bought a little farm, A bet for better days Where we cleared out box elder trees For a week of summer days And when we finished high school, All their kids were grown Fred's Dad moved his troubled wife Up to that quiet farm Fred's Mom was long recovered, And his brother, twenty-seven Set to marry his first girlfriend, A nineteen year old woman They offered thirty dollars, I thought it quite a thing To mark the priceless honor Of singing at their wedding And so they came to walk between New and old family And stood in humble joy Before the minister and me But I recoil to recall The twisted things he said His words flowed on like oily snakes That rent the air and fled And he could quote the words of Paul, And Jesus' death and rise But he could not see the holy thing That stood before his eyes He told them where the spirit lived, He warned them how it moved As if true love, the miracle, Could somehow be improved I saw the bride's glad shining eyes Glaze over and go dull The groom stood grey and vacant now Where late his heart was full But something more than anger Caused my voice to ring And gave me strength to sing their song, Better than I can sing And when my part was over, All praises to the muse It wasn't just the old folks That were crying in the pews Fred's brother lives in Wisconsin, Four children to his wife He still has to put on lotion Every morning of his life
6.
Day In and Night Out 02:27
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Teach my poor body to hold you Teach my faltering fingers to feel you Teach me to love you, and I'll love you more Than you have been loved before I will comb your hair, I will wash your feet I will hold to the place where our destinies meet By the side of the river, with a bee in my shoe I will wait for you, I will wait for you Day in and night out, Though I suffer within And I suffer without I was not born for you, you were not born for me We were born for ourselves, and we're both of us free To see everything that the waterbug sees To follow our passion anywhere that we please Day in and night out Though we suffer within And we suffer without If I were in heaven, and you were in hell I know very well I could eat my pride And I'd stand by your side And I'd burn by your side Day in and night out Though you suffer within And you suffer without
7.
Tom Brown 03:26
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Tom Brown left his family. Took steps from his front door, And people said, "well, maybe he's dead, Or drinking, like before." It was a little bit less than a choice, A little bit more than a whim, When Tom Brown left his family. Tom sits in his kitchen, He'll look you in the eye; With a lone tooth on the bottom, He's sixteen long years dry. He strums a big old steel-string, His soul's in every word; He'll play your favorite country song And some you never heard. Judgment ran like water, Through a tired old mill town; "To leave a wife with the two young boys, That's a low-life, going down." But every night on Second Street, One candle flame would burn; For a family still in quiet time To pray for Tom's return. Way out in Kansas City, A hobo worked the street, In a cloud of kids, singin' old time songs, The glory to repeat; He played "The Old Lady That Swallowed a Spider," He sang 'em the songs of Hank Snow and Merle Haggard; Just stayin' alive for the year and the quarter That Tom Brown left his family. Is there a God to hear a prayer, Or need an old-time song? One light might cross a nation To find a soul gone wrong? When the call came from Missouri, Way long past overdue; Tom said, "I miss my family." Said his wife, "We miss you, too." Folks wonder what kind of a man Would leave his kids to roam; And question what kind of a woman Lets that kind of a man come home. It was a little bit less than a choice A little bit more than a whim When Tom Brown left his family
8.
Tiger Tattoo 03:21
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It's quiet as ghosts, 6 am, There's a new temp in the mailroom, Amy Lynn; A weary woman of 23, I look at her and she looks at me; I look at her and she looks at me. She moved up from Nevada last year, With her 4-year old daughter and boyfriend to live here; Near his kids and the wife that he left for her, Now he thinks of returning, he's not really sure; He thinks of returning, he's not really sure. And her little girl pines for a mystery father, She's got sister and brothers by three other mothers; And Amy's had a cancer, and she's missing fillings, Can't afford a pap smear, can't abide drilling. And she looks so pale, like she's wasting away, i lend her my walkman to get through the day; She brings halloween cookies, silly names make us laugh, And she shows me a white tiger tattooed on her calf; Shows me a tiger tattoo on her calf. Well she likes scottish pipe tunes, and she wants another baby, "...before i'm gutted"—she says it sedately— As if after all her poor parts have been through, They won't last as long as that tiger tattoo; They won't last as long as her tiger tattoo. Something unspeakable happened to Amy, It was held in a poem she never did show me; A quiet goodbye, my assignment is through May the angel pass over that tiger tattoo; May the angel pass over your tiger tattoo.
9.
I'm a Rover 02:50
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I'm a rover, and seldom sober, I'm a rover of high degree; It's when I'm drinking, I'm always thinking How to gain my love's company. Though the night be dark as a dungeon, Not a star to be seen above; I will be guided, without a stumble Into the arms of my own true love. He stepped up to her bedroom window, Kneeling gently upon a stone; He whispered through her bedroom window, "My darlin' dear, do you lie alone?" She raised her head on her snow-white pillow, With her arms about her breast; Says, "Who is that at my bedroom window, Disturbing me at my long night's rest?" Says I, "True love, it's thy true lover, Open the door and let me in; For I am come on a long journey, More than near drenched to the skin." She opened the door with the greatest pleasure, Opened the door and she let him in; They both shook hands and embraced each other, And wished that morning would never come. The cocks were crowing, the birds a-whistling, The streams they ran free about the brae; (brae—a hillside) "Remember lass, I'm a ploughman laddie, And the farmer, I must obey. "And so my love, I must go and leave thee, To climb the hills, they are high above; But I will climb them with the greatest pleasure, Since I've been in the arms of my love."
10.
The Scyther 02:03
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Hear the sound of grass cut down From seven foot and higher; And here's the plier of his father's trade, The swoop and swoosh of the cutting blade; And through the fields, the scyther. He rose and bent as on he went, To swing the circle wider; He turned the prairie to a field, He made the stubborn tangle yield In steady rows, the scyther. As if to stay eternal day, To bend and rise forever; He only paused for mid-day meal, To draw the stone to whet the steel; Then through the fields, the scyther. Day grew long come evensong, And slowly strode the tiger; A rusted scythe stands silently For stone and time and victory; And through the fields, the scyther.
11.
Shadow Song 02:51
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Andrew Calhoun, recorded on Tiger Tattoo. When I come out from my shadow When I come out from my shadow I'll hit you so hard that you won't know what hit you When I come out from my shadow When we cross over the meadow When we cross over the meadow We kiss in shadow, where demons and dreams go When we cross over the meadow Dishes pile up past the morning Dishes pile up past the morning Friends disappear, like the years, without warning Dishes pile up past the morning Glasses I drank with my mother Glasses I drank with my mother Are landed in time between one and another Glasses I drank with my mother There is no proper occasion There is no proper occasion To turn all these sympathies back to persuasion There is not proper occasion Go where the madness is hidden Go where the madness is hidden Dance with the partner that you are forbidden Go where the madness is hidden
12.
When I Have Arms Again 03:12
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Someday I will tell you, when you are old and wise, How moon broke me in pieces, and sun burned out my eyes; And someday I will give you these crystals along with An echo from the edge of one unalterable myth; The underpinning engine of how and why and when, I'll write that story down for you when I have arms again. I limp along one pale strand that stretches into ten, To knit a scarf of footsteps that bridges now and then The one and holy Mother, the armory of dreams, The stamp of our illusions and everything it means; One card lost in the shuffle might still be found and then, I'll test these hungry waters when I have arms again. You made our wings of magic, of wood, and wax and art, But all we blend together unbends and comes apart; Some say my wings were melted, some say they were burned, And some say it was circumstance, and some say it was earned; For you who do say nothing, my silence to befriend, I'll paint the splendid colors out when I have arms again You trembled at the daring, marvelled at the lift, As I went soaring over you, the everlasting gift Delivered out of darkness, all dumbstruck in the sun; Old moon she stuck a knife in me and twisted it for fun. And so I spun like laughter, beyond your sorrow's end But I will come to comfort you when I have arms again.
13.
I Shall Not Look Away 02:32
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Here's the smoke without the fire: "He's in a better place" "He's gone to meet his maker" and "What a tragic waste" Shock and sorrow, anger, pity All wrestle on the fence Between us and one starry heart That's flown outside of sense chorus: Though we may no longer meet here We love you as we may Though I may no longer see you I shall not look away No goodbye was spoken Somehow I think that's right You're in my tears at morning You're in my dreams at night The seeker and the teacher The poet and the sage The tortures of your journey Genius on the stage chorus "I found nothing to believe," you said, Somehow I think that's right If the answer to the question's Out there buried in the night Where every star will falter Each bridge to dust will burn If it's from love we come and live To love we must return chorus
14.
Everyone Sang 01:29
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(this is a poem by Siegfried Sasson) Everyone suddenly burst out singing; And I was filled with such delight As prisoned birds must find in freedom Winging wildly across the white Orchards and dark green fields On; on; and out of sight. Everyone's voice was suddenly lifted, And beauty came like the setting sun, My heart was shaken with tears, and horror Drifted away... O, but everyone Was a bird; and the song was wordless; The singing will never be done.

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released February 12, 2003

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Andrew Calhoun Chicago, Illinois

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