1. |
Newsboy
03:28
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NEWSBOY
(By Mark McNeil)
I am just a newsboy
With my stack of papers
Filled with news
That happened yesterday
I stand here every morning
Calling out first warning
All the headlines
From near and far away
Extra, extra
Read all about it
Get your paper today
And even if you don’t like what it says
you can always turn the page
I am just a newsboy
On this piece of pavement
Everyday goes by
Just the same
I call out from the corner
Till my bag is empty.
And walk home with a
Pocket full of change
Extra, extra
Read all about it
Get your paper today
And even if you don’t like what it says
You can always turn the page
You can always line the cage
Put it in your fireplace
Hope you have a good day
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2. |
Evelyn Dick
03:56
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EVELYN
(By Mark McNeil)
Evelyn, oh Evelyn
It’s been a very long time
Since you went away from here
With your cigarette and big doe eyes
Your cigarette and big doe eyes
Evelyn, oh Evelyn
It’s time to get it off your chest
How your husband got carved up
And your baby encased in cement
your baby encased in cement
Evelyn, Oh Evelyn Dick
You were so pretty just a little bit sick
Tell me one thing, one thing, one:
How could you Mrs. Dick?
How could you Mrs. Dick?
Evelyn, oh Evelyn
They say you liked to entertain
All the wealthy men in town
Would stop by your apartment on James
Would stop by your apartment on James
Evelyn, oh Evelyn
Eleven years you did serve
I hear you got married again
And I hope it went better than the first
And I hope it went better than the first
Evelyn, Oh Evelyn Dick
You were so pretty but a little bit sick
Tell me one thing, one thing, one:
How could you Mrs. Dick?
How could you Mrs. Dick?
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3. |
Trolley Girl
04:13
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TROLLEY GIRL
((c) By Mark McNeil)
I fell in love with you
On the James Street Trolley
But getting your attention
Was my folly
I wanted to talk with you
But I was shaking in my shoes
‘cause you were so sweet
and lovely
Trolley girl
You’re my James Street trolley girl
Every day I watched you
From the back of the train
Hoping to catch your eye,
Get you to look my way
But the same thing happened
To me each and every day
I tried to be charismatic
But the words just slipped away
Trolley girl
You’re my James Street trolley girl
So I wrote on the back of my transfer
‘Could I walk you home from your stop?’
I waited there so afraid of your answer
But you looked at me and said: ‘Why not?
Let’s go for a walk.’
I ride with you each day on the James Street trolley
And walk you to your house at MacCaulay
Spending time with you, taking in the view
Of your pretty face so enthralling
I sit right next to you
On the James street trolley route
>
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4. |
Rocco and Bessie
03:38
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ROCCO AND BESSIE
When Rocco and Bessie went out for a stroll
He wore a fedora, she a mink stole
Starched collars, shiny shoes
Pearls in the afternoon.
They were two gangsters in love.
Everyone knew where the money came from
Running cases of whisky and rum.
Long as things stay
They’ll be making their way
As two gangsters in love
A bootlegger king
And moonshine queen
In a kingdom that condoned their crimes
They tried to say no one ever got hurt
But gangsters sometimes lie
They must have been gunning for Rocco that night
But somehow Bessie got caught in their sights
The last words she cried
Before she died
‘Rocco, we were so in love.’
Rocco broke down
Put his head to her breast
And screamed out into the night
‘How did it come to be this way?
No one was supposed to die.’
Now some people say he went away
But most think he’s lying on the bottom of the bay
And when the wave’s high
You can hear a lonely cry
‘Bessie we were so in love.
Bessie, we were so in love.’
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5. |
Shorty Green
03:25
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SHORTY GREEN
There once was a little guy, my friends
stood about three feet tall
You’d find him at the corner of King and James
A water fountain so small
Shorty Green, Shorty Green
Be there when you need
So drink it up or fill your cup
You could always count on Shorty Green
Now another Shorty played for the Tigers
He was captain in ‘24
They say he skated like the wind.
And man Shorty could score.
Shorty Green, Shorty Green
He’d be there when you need
To shake it up, bet your butt
You could always count on Shorty Green
Playoffs came and the players complained
About their lousy pay.
Shorty led the strike but the owners got tough
And moved the Tigers away.
Shorty Green, Shorty Green
Left here with the team
No more pucks in a town of hard luck.
In the trail of Shorty Green
Gone are the little green fountains.
No big league NHL team
Just thirsty people on the street
And memories of Shorty Green
Just thirsty people on the street
Thirsty people on the street
Thirsty
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6. |
Sunday Night in the Gore
03:14
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SUNDAY NIGHT IN THE GORE
Gore Park summer
On a Sunday eve
My arm around your shoulder
My fingers on your sleeve
Starlight in your eyes
So very bright
Sitting by the fountain
On a pleasant Sunday night
Sunday night in the Gore
Trying to kiss the girl I adore
Holding her close
And hoping for more
How my heart is jumping
inside my Sunday vest
Some sinful thoughts I’m thinking
On this day of rest
Hoping for the mood
To be just right
Sitting by the fountain
On a pleasant Sunday night
I finally get the nerve
Bring my lips to her face
Both my arms around her
Such a sweet embrace
She looks at me in horror
And slaps me twice
So much for this
pleasant Sunday night
Sunday night in the Gore
Trying to kiss the girl I adore
Holding her close
And hoping for more
Holding her close
And hoping for more
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7. |
Jacko
03:51
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JACKO
His name was Jacko and he worked the saloon
Throw around peanuts to amuse the room
He’d yell and prance like a fool
‘Cause that’s what monkeys would do
Play the fool
Now, Jacko the monkey was supposed to entertain
But his scratching and biting scared the customers away.
They said ‘that’s enough of you.”’
Took him away to the zoo
Dundurn Zoo
Poor old Jacko
Went a little bit wacko
Monkeys see, monkeys do
But Jacko was one crazy dude.
Now the zoo was happy to have a mate
For a chimp they already had in a cage
the primate display had two
with Jacko and Rosa Lou
They made two
Then one morning the keeper walked in
Saw old Jacko with homicidal grin
And Rosa Lou was no more
Found her on the floor
Dead on the floor
It was clear what happened from the evidence
The only choice, capital punishment
They brought in a taxidermist too
Put Jacko on his stool
On his stool
When they talk about Jacko they tend to be harsh
But maybe he was the world’s first punk rock star.
He didn’t know what to do
When his world became a zoo
Became a zoo.
Didn’t know what to do
When his world became a zoo
Became a zoo.
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8. |
Einstein
03:24
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EINSTEIN’S BRAIN
When they laid him in the ground.
They kept his brain just to fool around.
To try to find out why
He was such a brainy guy
I know it sounds a little weird
But they kept it as a souvenir
Maybe with some luck
They could start it up
Einstein, Einstein
Take a little piece of his mind
Einstein, Einstein
But don’t turn him into Frankenstein.
Frank Einstein
He was the man, of space and time
But he always looked so mesmerized
E equals MC-squared.
But how do you explain that mop of hair?
A mind’s a terrible thing to waste
Give it a chance, you’ll be amazed
But I think it goes too far
To put the best ones in a jar
So many theories he created, relatively speaking
But that don’t mean his brain’s for keeping
Just to go peaking, poking and prodding around
Einstein, Einstein
Take a little piece of his mind
Einstein, Einstein
But don’t turn him into Frankenstein..
Floating there in formaldehyde
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9. |
Beginnings
02:21
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10. |
Ghosts of Stoney Creek
03:39
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GHOSTS OF STONEY CREEK
We marched in darkness, all through the moonless night
Surprised the invaders before the morning light
Three thousand Yankees, their camp to seek
On through the night to take back Stoney Creek
Stoney Creek, Stoney Creek
Light up the night, take up the fight in Stoney Creek
They had three times the men, but we broke on through
Took out their guns, outflanked their troops
We captured two generals. A sudden retreat
They all turned back and gave up Stoney Creek.
Now, only bones remain, from so long ago.
In a grave together, beside a busy road
But the ghosts of soldiers who cannot sleep
Forever remember that night in Stoney Creek.
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11. |
Ned Myers` Story
04:53
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12. |
Private Riley
04:17
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PRIVATE RILEY
My name is Private Riley I come from Hamilton
I needed some extra schillings so I joined the battalion
They shipped me on a cattle car with a battered musket gun
We made a stand at Ridgeway against the bloody Fenians
I’m a soldier, I’m a soldier, with my pack and uniform
when they called I was ready always ready in peace and war
My name is Private Riley through Flanders and the Somme
I crawled through clouds of chlorine gas, along the Western front
We waited cold and shivering for the rising of the sun
We took the Ridge had the Germans on the run.
My name is Private Riley on the beaches of Dieppe
We waded through the water with our guns above our heads
Gerry sat and picked us off in a hail of screaming lead
We bravely charged forward as the water all turned red.
My name is Private Riley deployed in Kandahar
I watch for suicide bombers, forever I’m on guard
And sometimes I do wonder have I really come that far
From the scared kid with the musket riding in a cattle car.
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13. |
Postwar Memories
02:47
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14. |
James Street
04:13
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JAMES STREET
If you want to join a parade
Go down to James
If you want to jump in the bay
Go down to James
Let your troubles slip away
Go down to James
James
James Street
If you want to climb the Mountain
Go down to James
If you want to play in the fountain
Go down to James
If you want something astounding
Go down to James
James
James Street
And we’ll all go down to James Street.
Yes we’ll all go down to James
And we’ll all go down
To the heart of downtown
To the street they call James.
To the street they call James.
If you hate suburban sprawl
Go down to James
Remember old City Hall
Go down to James
Head out on an arts crawl
Go down to James
James
James Street
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Mark McNeil and Kris Rochard Hamilton, Ontario
Mark McNeil and Kris Rochard were founding members of the popular Hamilton group The Lowest Lanes that played clubs and twice performed at The Festival of Friends. After the group disbanded in 2009, Mark and Kris got together to focus on songwriting and recording. One of the cuts has already received accolades. Sunny Days with You was runner up in the international Song of the Year contest. ... more
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