Bill Usher's Song Lyrics - Page 1

"All songs © Bill Usher"


NO JUSTICE NO PEACE
(just recorded last weekend and being released tomorrow on cassette by OPSEU titled "No Justice No Peace - Songs from the 1996 Strike" The song was first inspired by the defeat of the bill that would have given gays and lesbian equal family rights. I keep writing different verses
depending upon the events of the day... OPSEU's communications dept. is big on getting it out there to the public and there talk of doing a video of it...we'll see...)

No justice no peace
that's what the people say
No justice no peace
working for a better day
No justice no peace
it's a cry from the heart
No justice no peace
tell me when we're gonna start

For a lover you'll give your heart away
While a thief will steal your hope
By passing laws on your life long plans
He'll leave you swinging on a rope
Y'see the thieves are just big bullies
Who need to satisfy their greed
The more they get the more they want
The more they watch you bleed

The bosses say "We got to cut the deficit"
The bosses say we're living high off the hog
The bosses say "We got to cut your benefits
This welfare life has got to stop"
The people say "We've tried to be patient"
The people say, "We don't want to be robbed"
But the bosses say "There's not enough to go round
There's nothing I can do, I gotta cut your job
So the people say "Hey, this is not working"
The people say " Stop jerking us round"
The people say "Hey Mike take a hike"
Don't mess with us, we're gonna stand our ground

Love is the light that we all can see etc.
Love is the light that sets our hearts free
Love is the light that has no blame
Love is the light that has no shame
Love is the light that gives us all hope
Love is the light that helps us all cope
Love is the light that gives us strength
Love is the light of true common sense


LAYING MY CARDS UPON THE TABLE

They said the hurricane was coming
from across the Gulf
It tore apart Miami
Now it's headed north
I said, "C'mon husband, it's time for you and me
to get up and go.
I'll call the girls on the phone
and they'll come by with the pickup
for our stuff tonight."

"Not on your life, mother," he said,
"This little storm don't scare me.
Besides, I was playing cards with Harry,
you know, the young guy
who used to do the weather on TV...
He said this one was gonna pass us by.
Nothing to worry about,
you'll see."

If I was writing a song,
I'd give it a happy ending
just like the songs
when we were both young
but, never mind,
I've always liked a good cry
I just never could imagine
that life would be so trying.

When we were courting,
he took me dancing almost every night
he'd hold his hand to my cheek
and whisper my name
so softly as if my eyes
were a candle flame
that flickered with his every living breath

One look at me and
you see this wrinkled old mask of a face
but when I close my eyes
my heart can still see
that young man
his hair so brylcream slick
his voice so rich
so full of a life time of promises
proposed that last, long night
before he walked off to war
not enough time to say 'How do you do?'
but time enough to say 'yes, yes, o please yes'

our first girl was born
nine months later
round about the time of Dunkirk
my sister took care of her days
while I went back to work as a welder
I needed him for a husband
he needed me for a wife
the chaplain gave his blessing
it was the family life
we dreamed of I guess

four long years of war
we managed to survive without him
kill or be killed he came back alive
even more a stranger...

He'd walk into a room
and all the ladies eyes would follow
I know mine sure did
he took that charm of his for granted
he couldn't see the harm in it

like the prevailing breezes off the key
he was constant in his need
to sweep the room with his swagger
to see what adventures he'd encounter
to keep the peace
I'd set sail on his bluster
cast off from shore
and into stormy weather
with a smile on my face
so scared to look around
with my back up against the wall
so afraid I would capsize and drown

now, don't get me wrong girls
he was a good man
as men go
he worked hard all his life,
always put food on the table
he took care of us...

but never seemed to care
you know what I mean
he always accused me
of being ungrateful
early on he hit me once
but I put a stop to that
I hit him back
I told my girl friends -
he didn't like that

I'm not sure
when we stopped doing it
it must've been my fault -
God knows he always wanted it
I know he played around
I caught him at it once
he said "It doesn't mean a thing, mother.
you see a man's got these appetites."

some big hurts we patched up
but mostly we buried them away
only to have them rise up
and haunt us every day
constantly bickering about things
that just didn't matter
quarrelling over the price of tea at the Loblaws
like a couple of Mad Hatters

Now the girls - ha!
they're my joy...
and my sadness too
from the time they started school
I always told 'em
"Girls...You must learn how to drive
that's the way to survive
in this modern day and age"

you see, this Women's Lib business
came much too late to save me
I've brought in a wage all my life
but that didn't amount for much
you see I never got to sit
in the driver's seat
always the good wife
I had to sit by his side
with the map on my lap
staring out the window
while he had his hands locked on the wheel
deciding where to go
I lived my life being driven down the road
between the white line and the shoulder

he was a good driver, I guess
but careful was always much too much to ask
I'd beg him not to drive too fast
"Stop nagging me," he'd say
"Leave off! I know what I'm doing, mother.
I know what I'm doing.
Driving's an educated risk.
Now, leave off.
I know what I'm doing."

in one ear and out the other
he was always much too proud to listen to me
he was always right
he was always right
right up until the end

Old man
my cantankerous old man
I've got some unfinished business with you

I loved you

LOVING YOU

I love you to the sky and back again
I love you through the sun and through the rain
I love you for the smile that's in your eyes
I love you when the hurting makes you cry

I love you for the loving that you make
I love you when you're sad for your mistakes
I love you for your light that shines around
I love you for the love that I have found with you

BABY BOOMERS GO BOOM!

My parents tell me
They say I got it so good
They say, C'mon Son, life ain't so bad
you see we got all this food - on the table"
They say I get to go
to the movies whenever I want
They say I got all this cash in my pockets
and I can spend it on what I want

My mom grew up on the pill
when long hair was still a thrill
she'd get it on with strangers
in the back of Grandad's car
And like the bunnies in my Dad's Playboys
he says he's done it all before
Then he tells me, "Son, your attitude's excessive,
this time, you've gone just a bit too far."

Baby Boomers go boom all over me
The baby boomers go boom
I wanna blow them up go boom all over me
The baby boomers go boom

My mom's been married a few times
so's my dad
I can't count all my parents
on the fingers of one hand
they're all spread out
living in different towns
There was always two homes instead of one
I never knew where to belong
They'd scream and fight
like dogs through a fence
what did they think
having a family was a trend?

Baby Boomers go boom all over me
The baby boomers go boom
I wanna blow them up go boom all over me
The baby boomers go boom
The baby boomers go boom

Now they tell me this is the time of Generation X
I'm only 16 so therefore I must belong to Generation Y
Why? Why? I wanna know Why?

My unborn daughter she'll belong to Generation Z
I fall asleep at night
wondering if she'll get a chance to grow up
before the world will be dead
I go to my parents, I tell 'em,
"We're gonna have this baby.
My girl friend and I.
We're gonna make it work.
We're gonna start our own family.
We're the one in a million.
We're gonna make it work."

My step Dad, he hands me this stick. Says,
"Son, make believe this is the biggest effing gun
you've ever seen"
He says, "It's got a million rounds in it
and the chambers are all full."
He says, "If you're the one in a million...
take out a round , son
that leaves 999,999
Go ahead, son. Spin the chamber.
Point it to your head.
Now if you like those odds son,
you may as well be dead!"

I say thanks for the advice, dad,
you've been a big help
You've always given a damn
for what I felt

Baby Boomers go boom all over me
The baby boomers go boom
I wanna blow them up
go boom all over me
The baby boomers go boom

SWEET 16

I'm sweet 16 and I'm on the street
and I'm looking for a Daddy who'll treat me sweet
I'm sweet 16 and I won't be beat no more
I'm sweet 16 and I'm on the street
and I'm looking for a Daddy who'll buy me treats
I'm sweet 16 and I won't be beat no more

guys comin on they don't bother me
I can make em beg I can make em moan
it don't take a minute it don't take hope
all I gotta do is score some dope

I'm sweet 16 and I'm on the street
and I'm looking for a Daddy who'll treat me sweet
I'm sweet 16 and I won't be beat no more
I'm sweet 16 and I'm turning tricks

and I'm looking for my Daddy who's got my fix
I'm sweet 16 and I won't be beat no more

I can get high I don't have to try
to live like my mother
I don't know why she put up with him
coming home drunk from one of his flings
pulling on her strings

he's slapping her round
till she falls to the ground
crying out for mercy crying out for love
as she lay on the floor I ran for the door

me I got a knife I can get a gun
if Daddy wants some fun I'll give him some
cos I'm sweet 16 and I'm on the street
and I won't be beat no more

I'm sweet 16 and I'm on the street
and I'm looking for a Daddy who'll treat me sweet
I'm sweet 16 and I won't be beat no more
I'm sweet 16 and I'm on the street
and I'm looking for a Daddy who'll buy me treats
I'm sweet 16 and I won't be beat no more

I'M THE MAN IN THE MOON

I'm the man in the moon
so sadly out of tune
with the cycles of the seasons
the laws that gave us reason
Since the goddess gave us fire
I've been bred to survive
survival of the fittest
it's the ancient battle cry

I'm the man in the moon
eclipsed by the sun
a poet and a lover
running from the gun
My faith in the father
is a hollow house of straw
blown apart by a world insane
it sucks me off the floor

I'm the man in the moon
treading water with a smile
this lunatic behaviour
questing for a saviour
I've traded in my sword
traded in my shield
got myself a cell phone
it's the new age battlefield

I've got to make a sale
I've got to make a deal
I've got to make a profit
I'm gonna make a steal
when you dismiss my love
when you scorn my honour
I'm washed up upon the beach
adrift without an anchor

I see you son
with the sunlight on your shoulder
playing on the floor
I see you son
with my little toy soldiers
you march them off to war
I see you son
just a little bit older
you're busting down the door
I see you son
with your girlfriend on your shoulder
you're asking me what it's all for

seduced to try the woman's way
the soft men are confused
are they cowards or are they brave
the soft men are so bruised

the soft men beat their drums
and practice sensitivity
the bad boys point their guns
the bad boys get on tv

t's a battle for pride son
it's a battle for plunder
gotta kick some butt
take the other man under
you see boys will be boys
for the power and the glory
boys will be boys
it's still the same old story
there's the king of the castle
there's the dirty rascal
I'm the man in the moon
and I'm lost inside the jungle

THEY'RE SINGING FOR THEIR DAILY BREAD

See that woman holding out her cardboard box
to all the shoppers on Main Street
She's begging for a helping hand
the sign she's holding says she's got two kids to feed
in a room off Main Street
She begs to buy some beans and spam

See the Indian & the Rasta man
crashed out in a doorway on Main Street
two brothers of the dark - side by side
They pass the pipe and a jug of Brights
singing for their Daily Bread
what more surprises does life have to hide?

They're singing - for their Daily Bread
Right there for us all to see on Main Street

See the Filipino woman
walking down on Main Street
pushing two white babies in a pram
She says she's got two babies of her own
in a room far off Main Street
her husband's a refugee
he takes care of them as best he can

They're singing - for their Daily Bread
Right there for us all to see on Main Street

See the old woman emerge from a Walker Evans photograph right there on Main
Street
pulling her buggy through the snow
The Indian & the Rasta man invite het to sit awhile
and share the heat
She says, "No. I got places to go."

They're singing - for their Daily Bread
Right there for us all to see on Main Street

COWBOYS & INDIANS

I was just a Canadian boy
with my Davey Crocket hat and my christmas toys
Popping off my BB gun shooting tin cans just for fun
I'd line 'em up all in a row,
Sitting Bull, Cochise and Geronimo
Bang!, Pee-oow!, Ker-Pow! you're dead!
just like on TV

You came alive on my tv screen,
the Queen was crowned it was 1953
The hard blue light flicked round the room
as your tom toms beat my doom
The warrior braves saddled up to ride
but I had my BB gun by my side
I cuddled up in my Dad's easy chair and
Hollywood brought you there

With painted face and tomahawk,
soft as snow you crept through the dark
Whoops and yelps lit up the night
as burning arrows found their mark
With a scream the door burst down and in my dream
I stood up and looked into your eyes of brown
You raised your tomahawk, chopped off my scalp and then you drank my blood

Ten years later I was in High School
learning all the lessons and obeying all the rules
I saw you pictured in my history book
savage, noble and proud
The Frenchmen came let loose their men,
courier du bois & Priests they westward came
Ojibway, Mohawk and the Cree,
you said "Welcome, there's room for all"

Next time I saw you was up in Kenora
pissed drunk outside the grocery store
The Mounties came by and got their man
it was Canada Day 1967
They threw you in the blue and white,
you swore and screamed but you lost the fight
The fireworks came and lit up the bay
while you dreamed the night away

The tv news was full of other lands
the United Mistakes and Viet Nam
we hippies and Afros and Viet Cong,
yeah, we had to right the wrongs
While I marched for equality,
for a peace loving nation
I guess the old Circuit judge he must've
lost his patience
He gave you 30 days in the white man's jail
must've seemed like life to you

More than 20 years have passed now
sometimes the future doesn't come
and the past it don't last
You're holed up there in the pines
so god damned mad from 500 years of lies
When we English came,
we gave you trinkets and deeds
then we divied up the land to suit our greed
We ploughed up the plains and fenced you in
then we slaughtered the buffalo

Now we've all seen your image on the screen
your warrior dance and your blood curdling scream
You stood face to face and said your piece
as the tv cameras rolled
Now he was just a white Canadian soldier boy
who stood his ground on your sacred land
Protecting the white folks' right to play golf
in the good ol' summertime

Well you well know the Queen's law
it's a crazy thing
it does stop you from taking
but it don't make a good god damn thing
With their fancy white and blood red robes
our Supreme Court judges they sit up there on high
But like the smoke in the longhouse
your words fly up to God
'O Canada, this is our home and native land'
Then, the judges...
They raise their bibles, then bring the gavel down
and then they drink your blood

With your eagle feather and family by your side
the old grandmothers as your guide
The drummers sing the night away
as the elders dream 'til day
Now Elijah Harper I see you
you're up there in the Parliament
and you're bringing down the government
You raise your feather, a sigh escapes
and then you cast your vote, NO!

I WANT TO BE YOUR LOVER

I am a white man
you are a black woman
I am a white man
you are a black woman
I am a white man
I want to be your lover

I am a white man
I want to be your lover
not the imperialist
not the conquerer
not the colonialist
not the slave master
not the honkey racist
not the sunburnt tourist
not the white man
I want to be your lover

I am a white man
you are a white woman
I am a white man
you are a white woman
I am a white man
I want to be your lover

I am a white man
I want to be your lover
not the mysoginist
not the antagonist
not the molestor
not the equal opportunity unemployer
not the wife abuser
not the date rapist
not the bullshit artist
not the white man
I want to be your lover

in the name of God
what have we wrought
thousands of years to be undone
between woman and man
under one sun

HER NAME IS WOMAN (THE WOMAN SHOULD TAKE NO CRAP)

There was a time not long ago
when a woman's place was in the home
barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen
waiting for her man to earn her living
waiting for her man to honour and obey
waiting for her man to have his say
on the ways of the world
well, that's what his story book says

But her story book
well that's another matter, you see
her story book is full of tales
of women's lives and gales of women's laughter
at the men who don't understand
where the real power lay
behind the scenes wherever women gathered
on the rocks by the streams
to share their hopes and dreams about life and love
to share the ways of the world
to care for the mothers, fathers, sons and daughters

Her name is woman
she's our lover
her name is woman
she's our mother
our sister
our daughter

Now we men concern ourselves
with survival of the race
get to the finish come in first
compete without disgrace
but when we get pushed to the back
our pride it takes a whack
and our anger erupts like a domino stack
and we take it out on the one in the back
no matter that
she's our lover
our mother,
our sister,
our daughter

The woman should take no crap
heh, everyone knows that
that girl should take no crap
waddaya think about that?

The woman should take no crap
heh, everyone knows that
you got to tip your hat
that girl should take no crap

Now take a listen on the radio
listen to that dude with his flash and show
he's rappin' off at the mouth
he's dissin' his woman this, dissin' her that
all on account of the simple fact that she
won't jump when he shouts
ya see if a woman should stand up
for what's right this dude he gets hot
under the collar and says
"Heh boys, that's not right. Watch out for her boys, you know what I
mean,That girl's hard, man. The chick's aggressive. She comes on
too strong. She's a real, first class bitch.
You know what I mean, boys?"

Gentlemen, gentle men,
listen up, boys, a woman she gives us life
let no man here take that away from her

THEY CALLED HIM 'QUEER'

Once I had a friend named Michael
I wrote him letters every day from places far away
O Michael I told you almost everything
about my loneliness and fantasies
Music and love was what we longed for
two teenaged boys up in their rooms
playing all their favourite tunes for each other
I played Petula Clark
and Michael, he gave me Schoenberg and Mahler

We used to write this poetry
Mine were for my girlfriend
Michael's was Greek tragedy

O Michael you were a friend of mine
I'm sorry I was so scared of you
I didn't know what to do
O Michael you loved me like a lover should
But I turned my back on you
cos I didn't know how to be your friend
when I couldn't be your lover

Michael had this cultured way of talking
and the way he walked
all the guys said he was, well you know, 'queer'
'don't let him get too near'
'you never know what you might catch from him'
Yes, once I had a friend named Michael
one day at school he touched my arm
I'm sure he meant no harm
O Michael you looked away
I didn't know what to say

We used to write this poetry
Mine were for my girlfriend
Michael's was Greek tragedy

O Michael you were a friend of mine
I'm sorry I was so scared of you
I didn't know what to do
O Michael you loved me like a lover should
But I turned my back on you
cos I didn't know how to be your friend
when I couldn't be your lover

SLOW DANCING IN THE BALLROOM OF LIFE

Suzanne takes me down
no, not to the river, but to the sea
I'm like her blanket on the beach
she moulds her body into mine
it's only cloth between us she says
no strings attached - no not even a lifeline
I remember playing spin the bottle in grade six
what used to be so out of reach
now appears to be all mine
You know it's at times like this
in this state of undress
as the spotlight shines down upon this precipice
you can see the edge you can hear the hush
and in the darkness you can even feel
her body blush
y' know it took a long manhood to get this far
and it's a long way back down if you slip and fall
I feel so lost, I feel so lost
in the onrushing wave of it all

toe to toe, we're going nose to nose
just goes to show ya what a woman knows
I'm lying on my back staring at the cracks
in the ceiling hearing the demons crashing down
on the shore and she says,
"Honey, don't worry, joy will overwhelm what love disrobes."

A poet once described this
as "Slow dancing in the ballroom of life"
Yeah I know he was a lousy poet
but he made a lot of money he got out at night,
not like me I'm stuck at home with a pizza
like a boob, my eyes glued to the tube
I'm watching Entertainment Tonight
and I see up there on the screen
all those household names and I ask her,
"Honey what have they got to do with you and me?
me with my thirty thou and them with their 69 mil"
and she says,
" Honey you know it ain't a sign of greatness
that they got to be so famous."
"Yeah," I say, "but, I'm getting a little agitated. Excess is too much
and agitation just pops my patience

You know it's like eating
a quart of Jamoca Almond Fudge when you're feeling down and lonely
It's like watching the Ren And Stimpathon on the TV
when you're feeling mean and grumpy"

Hey Mister," she says "remember me?
You're a poet and I know it.
But sweetheart," she says,
"now's not the time to go looking
for another rhyme for sublime.
I'm a little agitated myself
so c'mon over here and lay your body next to mine."

We're going "Slow dancing in the ballroom of life"

O MISS LOVE

This is the story of a girl
born from a dance in some social whirl
that her mother had with this guy
who was just the friend of a friend
Her Mom was just seventeen
she was the High School Queen and a little mean
and her Dad, he was the guy with all the looks
and all the right moves

They got married they settled down
Miss Love was born
and was given her mother's crown
her Dad he held her up
then he put her down
Dad used to touch her on behind
it was a touch that drove him crazy wild
as she searched for Mother Mary's eyes
up there on her bedroom wall

O Miss Love What did they do to you?
Just a girl looked like a woman
O Miss Love They were your flesh and blood
And you were just a child
who loved her Dad

Her Mom's door it was mostly always closed
her Dad left one night and took all his clothes
wasn't long before this guy named Bill moved in
to her Mom's room and bought some food
Late one night ... this guy named Bill
found the stairs to Miss Love's attic door
her Mom paid the rent and not much more
Mother Mary's arms outstretched
as he held her down

O Sweet Jesus he called God's name
and like the carpenter she clamped her shame
and flew away from his wild-eyed lust
to watch with Mother Mary from her bedroom wall
Her discarded body lay there limp
the room suffocated from the stink of contempt
and when he was through
she took Mother Mary down from the wall
and locked her up in the closet drawer

O Miss Love What did they do to you?
Just a girl looked like a woman
O Miss Love They were your flesh and blood
And you were just a child
who loved her Mom

Now, my wife, I touch her on behind
it's a touch that drives her crazy wild
at the thought of Daddy's little girl
lying all alone up there on the third floor
With betrayal as her only guide
her body jumps and her heart is wired
convulsing still from her
Daddy's burning brand of shame

Her Mom and Dad, they've gone to rest now
her Mom woke up one day,
realised she failed the test
Miss Love got up and found her overdosed
on the bathroom floor
And her Dad, the guy with all the looks
he got old and grey and wasted away
nothing left but the secrets
buried deep inside

O Miss Love...well, she's a mother now
with boys of her own she tries to show them how
to care, to cherish, to trust this gift of love
But the little girl deep inside her calls
calls out for the love to help her
down from the wall
she calls Mommy? Daddy? Why?

ROCK ME LIKE YOUR BABY

The storm has passed and the room is still
Lightning crackles on the radio
The sun slides down upon the windowsill
And all our words have sailed away

I just want to be so close to you
I want to be the one
I want to breathe in and out with you
Just like the earth spins round the sun
But here we sit so many worlds apart
So close yet still so far

Hold me
Rock me like your baby
Hold me now
Please don't let me go
Take me and
Hold me to your heart and
Keep me
Keep me locked up in your soul

Like in the cedar woods of a sun dried July
Just one careless remark, there's sparks, there's fire
What begins by chance we fuel by pride
We need our love to stem the tide
Love lost on an angry night
Will never touch the heart

Hold me
Rock me like your baby
Hold me now
Please don't let me go
Take me and
Hold me to your heart and
Keep me
Keep me locked up in your soul


"All songs © Bill Usher"]

Bill Usher 100 Bain Ave., 19 the Aberdeens, Toronto Canada M4K 1E8
(416) 465-1335 bamboom@interlog.com