Lyrics for 'Love and Carnage' [aka 'Give The Dog A Bone']

Cherry Beach

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

On Cherry Beach at night, rain comin’ down

you’re in the distance, a vision of light

ah, take me home, please, I’m cold

I’m cold to the bone

I’m cold to the heart of it

but I can see the fires on a distant shore

they burn in the night

and the rain keeps falling, but I’m on fire for you

This is the face of the burning cross

this is the age of need

this is the sound of desire

this is the song of you and me

On Cherry Beach at night, I have a dream

and in this dream the angels fall out of the sky

they land on the sand, bury their parachutes

then the angels call your name

they call you hunger

they call you beautiful they can see the fires on a distant shore

they burn in the night

and the rain keeps falling but I’m on fire for you

Chorus

On Cherry Beach at night the thunder rolls

rolls like a wave across the water

It’s a call to the wild

But I feel no danger ‘cause I’m on fire for you

Give The Dog A Bone

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

She wore a big pink dress and industrial perfume

red lipstick and a bag of macaroons

I looked at her with my sideways grin

and said, “Hey little Sheila, where ya been

I’ve been looking for you for half of my life”

I took a cigarette, and gave myself a light

she held up her hand, for she would speak alone

she said, “Shut up boy, and Give The Dog a Bone”

Give The Dog, Give The Dog a Bone

watch him run, head out on his own

you can get a dog to sit, and you can get a dog to groan

but if you want to hear the bark

baby, Give The Dog a Bone

I had two green keys,

and only one would fit the door

I swung it open wide and set my bottle on the floor

a motel glass and some music on the tube

I was feeling kind a lucky and was sportin’ heavy wood

stood up on my toes and nodded at the bed

she just kinda smiled and lightly shook her head

then she held up her hand, for she would speak alone

she said, “Shut up boy, and Give The Dog a Bone”

Chorus

I had the lights down low, not a word was spoke

she saddled up beside me and she took herself a smoke

I was keen to get to lovin’ as she gave herself a light

then she whispered in my ear, “good night”

I confess to feeling ignorant and totally surprised

as I thought about our evening, I slowly realised

that she didn’t want my loving and she didn’t want my sweat

the bone she required was a lowly cigarette

Chorus repeated

No Business

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

She had No Business being quite that beautiful

she had No Business being beautiful at all

I had No Business in Northumberland County

No Business, no reason to call

I had No Business driving down her street

I had No Business crossing her lawn

she had No Business in opening her front door

to let me back in for a fall

You can take it all out on the ones that you love

you can take it all out on all those bears that run free

you can take it all out on those young boys up in the trees

or you can take it all out on me

She had No Business standing so close

I had No Business taking her hand

a gesture so small, Lord knows it cost us

for we had No Business at all

The black top she rolls on forever

these roads are all dark and unknown

so close your eyes baby, let it ride

you just might find your way home

You can take it all out on the ones that you do love

you can take it all out on all those bears that run free

you can take it all out on those young boys up in the trees

or you can take it all out on me

you can take it all out on the ones you do love

you can take it all out on those summers by the sea

you can take it all out on those late October dreams

or you can take it all out on me

C’mon and take it out on me

If Heaven Had A Back Door

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

I haven’t been the nicest man, in fact I’ve done some harm

I’ve seen a lot of tears shed, for the things that I did wrong

there’s pain and misunderstanding levelled at me still

I wish I could do the right, but I probably never will

If Heaven Had A Back Door

I’d be safe for sure

If Heaven Had A Back Door

I wouldn’t worry no more

If Heaven Had A Back Door

my knees would hit the floor

save my soul If Heaven Had A Back Door

There’s nothin’ I’d like better, than startin’ all over again

I’ve been so far down the wrong side, my middle name’s sin

but somethin’ tells me I gotta wait and listen to my judge

I don’t know if I can take the stand

where do I run?

Secret In Your Eyes

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

I swear this ain’t a love song, just one man all alone

he’s got no map to guide him, just a wound inside his soul

what’s wrong with all of these stars tonight,

they’re all washed out in tears

and I curse everything in sight, for all these lost years

and I hope that I can find you, even though this road is dark

and I hope to God I’ll hold you, once again inside my heart

You know I would fight a thousand men

from Battle Run and back again

and I would sail those seven seas

cross the desert on my knees

Oh yes I would fight a thousand men

and I know these knees would never bend

I would climb those mountains high

for the Secret In Your Eyes

I’d lay your body down my love, and I’d guard you while you sleep

I’d walk you through he corridor, where the wounded poets drink

where they speak of ancient days, and all those prophets’ of pain

I won’t repeat their tales, I can’t lose you again

cause I love you when you’re laughing, and I love you when you cry

and all my dreams are hiding, in the Secret In your Eyes

Chorus

I swear this ain’t a love song, and I’ll swear this till I die, no

you know this ain’t a love song, it’s just a song about your eyes

Family Matters

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

Oh, my brother,

Oh, my three sisters

memories and patterns, shuffled in the deck of Family Matters

I call you all cross a country mile, you know it’s the way of the world

Chorus

a curtain flaps on a window screen

this curtain stitched with mountain green

and I sit in this kitchen all alone

The floor is painted gun metal blue

it was painted by me and you, painted with colour of our youth

but colours you know they all run down, like photographs

like my photographs when we smiled

Chorus

Five hundred acres I can’t maintain,

and a barn that kneels with every rain

still this old place is full of life

the tree house built by uncle Will

the fort we made up on Pirates Hill

and the linseed oil in the rope of this old swing

and on this day we call Thanksgiving

the tables laid, the turkey’s steaming

and I sit in this kitchen but no one shows

Chorus

could we take a walk in our father’s steps

and hold the hem of our mother’s dress

and call each other just one last time

call our memories and our patterns

that we shuffled in the deck of Family Matters

Chorus

Oh, I call you, I call you

 (click on photo)

Other side of Life

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

There is no time for the innocence of rhyme

it just falls between the tired lines

but if you think that love is worth the price

I know a legend who lived beyond time

Cause never was a man so full of life

now he’s gone, he stepped into the light

and I’m going to wait and find the love on the other

The Other Side of Life

If you can see how love will set you free

you have a hunger for all the world to see

and on that day, when it’s time to say goodbye

I hope you find that one precious line

Chorus

fate has a way of keeping us in line

and out of control it’s just a fact of life

for what it’s worth I still feel you on this Earth

and in time you’ll have your rebirth

Chorus

On The other side of Life……

Jerusalem

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

I can see the fires of Jerusalem

I can see the coming of the lord

I can see the lights of Elysium

I see it all

from the back of a 32 Ford

On a highway just north of Houston

my truck is broken,(Or if you’d prefer “My turkey’s broken!) I ain’t moving

night is falling on this God forsaken road

Lord knows I need an angel, I need some help from above

Oh Lord I call your name

Oh Lord what is this game

can’t you lift me up from this everlasting shame

Chorus

In this life, this life that’s almost gone

I did right by some but some I did do wrong

and to the ones that I was kind of less than kind

Lord knows I do apologise, the shame is only mine

Oh, Lord, I wish them well, Oh Lord, these truths I tell

now can’t you get me off this highway to hell?

Chorus

Just above the headlights

just above the grill, I could be dreaming

I could be ill, but I think it’s coming

yes it’s comin’ in the night, I do believe it is everlasting light

Chorus

Gone With The Wind

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

She’s Gone With The Wind, she’s gone to the sea

She’s Gone With The Wind, she’s gone to the sea

dance she did all night, on the shore, the quiet shore

the sand filled her feet, so she danced some more

then the moon turned the tide, water on the rise

she laid back inside the ocean, and let the current ride

Chorus

I stand on the shore, a crippled ship, and nothing more

a lighthouse lays its hand, on the cold hard sand

with the crash of the tide, I see the moon is on the rise

she is gone, she is gone, like a bride unto the sea

Crime Of The Mind

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

We set our dreams on a barstool in Texas

and waited on the man to come and arrest us

our wanted pictures were taped to the mirror

the bartender stared as I lit a Marlboro

well Linda just smiled and called for tequila

bartender shifted, kind of uneasy and I thought

Oh’ ain’t that the way life goes?

Freedom ain’t easy, it’s just a ball and chain

highway or prison, well they’re pretty much the same

freedom it ain’t easy, seems we’re born doing time

‘cause everyone lives with some Crime Of The Mind

Lynn blew the dust off the Wurlitzer jukebox

as I fished my jeans for a Jefferson

in the turtle backed mirror, I could see the law man we’re comin’

and I said, “Hey Lynn, we got time for one”

long legs and a crazy smile and this jukebox melody

we danced and we danced, we danced and we danced

we danced til’ we fell upon our knees

Pedro, check out that bag, the one there on the stool

could be 23 G’s, it’s yours if you want but this I guarantee,

ain’t nothin’ in that bag can set you free

Kickin’ His Shadow

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

He’s still kickin’, Kickin’ His Shadow

and he’s still lickin’, yeah lickin’ the wind

he’ll never feel the touch of her alabaster skin

there he goes, kickin’ his shadow again

She was it, magazine eyes

it could have been a hit, yeah he just had to try…

try to find a way to get to the front of the line

but his shadow took him by surprise

Chorus

caught in her dust, she swept him away

over the moon he thought he heard her say

hello you big juicy thing

then he woke up, with his shadow in the way

Paris

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

Ah here’s a good one, a conversation overheard in a bistro

not too far from l’Ecole Militaire, where Napoleon used to house

his army it’s basically the same army that today opens rations

somewhere in the deserts of Central Africa, I mean, I mean,

I mean hang on a second, we’ve got art but we put it aside,

we do what we have to do, I know it’s important and all that,

but if you lived here you’d be numb, just as numb as we

are in Illinois

I mean if you’re visiting it’s one thing but if you lived here your

aggression would come back, you’d do what you had to do

and the wife says, “Hey, you know this coffee’s too strong”

and Paris says…..

Paris

will always be remembrance, will always be on the sidewalk

will always wear black stockings, kiss me here in the Bistro

we could drive to Chartres in the moon light, I got a room in

barge on the river, baby, where we could smoke just one last

cigarette

It seems that I’m not speaking, my tongue has lingered here

on words that slip away, like a memory or rather like a knot, that

ties me to the ground, I could tell you such things, tell you such

things all about love but can’t find the voice, oh no I have lost the

words so Paris says:

Chorus

If Jesus left a thumb print on the artificial marble

how come we have no forgiveness for the ones who lose their way

we will give no quarter to the slaves unto the bottle

as we take one more step on the road that leads the way to Paris….

Blame It All On Nashville

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

Don’t make me drive that truck, don’t make me feed that rottweiler

I’m clean out of luck, take me to the bedroom and tie my body down

I need you, and I Blame It All On Nashville

Chorus

Oh, Oh, Yeah-Oh,Oh,Yeah-Oh,Oh,Yeah

I Blame It All On Nashville

Oh, Oh, Yeah-Oh,Oh,Yeah-Oh,Oh,Yeah

I Blame It All On Nashville

Well I live in a country, one that should be dead

gonna shoot it with a long gun, gonna put that boy to bed

if it be now, well you know it’s not to come

if it be not to come, well ya know it’ll be now

and if it be not now, yet you know that it will come

the readiness is all, gonna’ Blame It All On Nashville

Chorus

I said I could not would not kill the king, said I could not poison anything

and if this sounds apocryphal then I say,

just Blame It All On Nashville

Chorus

I’m runnin’ out of luck, ah take me to the country and tie my body down

I need you, gonna’ Blame It All On Nashville

Clouds

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

Tell me about Clouds

these ones I am flying through

they seem to know my name

were they all made by you

They know I miss you

they know I miss your mouth

they know I need you

here within these Clouds

God Damned love

why am I alone

why am I so proud

heaven knows I’m lost

up here inside these Clouds

I saw a Cuban boy

in the middle of a gathered crowd

heading up a big parade

he was staring at a cloud

This one I’m flying through

Oh, God, I need you

need you in the darkest way

I need you today

Holy Love

Written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

We can be the ones to kill ourselves, fall apart to kill ourselves

say it’s done to kill ourselves, say goodbye to everyone

we could be the ones who walk away, walk away and kill ourselves

say goodbye I can’t go on, adios I can’t go on

Make me a bird with the wings of forgiveness

and I’ll fly like a fugitive from the remnant of Providence

make me a blind man with the eyes of an innocent

and the wounds of a soldier in the shape of an angel

Holy Love, Holy Love

I knew you when the winds were strong

trees would bend ‘cause the winds were strong

I would say I needed you, I could read your body like braille

now we stand in this dark hotel, we could be the ones to kill

ourselves to say goodbye I can’t go on, say goodbye to everyone

All Vocals By David Keeley and Paul Gross

Bass: Peter Cardinali

Additional Bass: Scott Alexander

Guitar: Paul Gross & David Keeley

Drums & Percussion: Kevin McKenzie

Electric & Acoustic Guitars: Asher Horovitz

Additonal Guitars and Mandolin: Richard Bennett

Background Vocals: Rick Giles & Sheree Jeacocke

String- Gone With the Wind - Dave Hoffner

Guitar-Blame It All On Nashville - Eric Marloy

Fiddle & Mandolin: - Secret In Your Eyes, Other Side Of Life - Jonathan Yudkin

Guitar: Gone With The Wind, Secret In Your Eyes, Other Side Of Life - Bob Funk

Penny Whistle/Recorder - Gone With The Wind - Robin Croy

Saxaphone & Clarinet: Sam Levine

Saxaphone: Vernon Dorge

Piano: Jack Lenz

All songs written by Paul Gross and David Keeley

Additonal Writing by Jay Semko Of The Northern Pikes and Asher Horovitz

(with grateful thanks to Felicity for her competent typing!)

Back cover of Love and Carnage

Back cover of Give The Dog A Bone