Janis Ian Album

I was never one for singing
what I really feel
Except tonight, I'm bringing
everything I know that's real

Stars, they come and go
They come fast or slow
They go like the last light
of the sun, all in a blaze
and all you see is glory
But it gets lonely there
when there's no one here to share
We can shake it away
if you'll hear a story

People lust for fame
Like athletes in a game
we break our collarbones
and come up swinging
Some of us are downed
Some of us are crowned
and some are lost
and never found
But most have seen it all
They live their lives in
sad cafes and music halls
They always have a story

Some make it when they're young
before the world has
done its dirty job
and later on, someone will say
"You've had your day
You must make way"
But they'll never know the pain
of living with a name you never owned
or the many years forgetting
what you know too well

The ones who gave the crown
have been let down
You try to make amends
without defending

Perhaps pretending
you never saw the eyes
of grown men of twenty five
that followed as you walked
and asked for autographs
or kissed you on the cheek
and you never could believe
they really loved you

Some make it when they're old
(Perhaps they have a soul
they're not afraid to bare
Or perhaps there's nothing there)

Some women have a body
men will want to see,
so they put it on display
Some people play a fine guitar
I could listen to them
play all day
Some ladies really
move across a stage
and gee, they sure can dance
I guess I could learn how
if I have it half a chance

but I always feel so funny
when my body tries to soar
and I seem to always worry
about missing the next chord

I guess there isn't anything
to put up on display
except the tunes
and whatever else I say
Anyway, that isn't really
what I meant to say
I meant to tell a story
I live from day to day

Stars, they come and go
They come fast or slow
They go like the last light
of the sun, all in a blaze
and all you see is glory
But those who've seen it all
they live their lives
in sad cafes and music halls
we always have a story

So if you don't lose patience
with my fumbling around,
I'll come up singing for you
even when I'm down

I love the light, I love the changing season
I love without much thought to reason
I'd give it all if I could make you see
I love the man that you were meant to be
I love the man you are in me

I love the man who waits beside you
I love the man who hides behind you
I love the shadow though it disappears
I love the afterglow reflected through the tears
I love the shadow in my tears

Mmm, I love the dreams you can't remember
Mmm, lost in the early waking hours
I love the season of forever

I'll live without the light of laughter
I'll live without an ever after
I'd give it all if I could make you see
I need the man that you were meant to be
I love the man you are in me

I want to lie by your side
And watch the tide run over
Lay your head upon my shoulder
I want to lie by the bed
And send my head out reeling
Honey, lay this feeling down
I'm ready to ride

(chorus)
Sweet sympathy, won't you
Pity me tonight?
Yes I got to hurry to the surry
Get the saddle on tight
Honey won't you let me?
Honey just allow me
Honey, won't you pleasure me right?
Sweet sympathy, won't you
Carry me tonight?

I want to lay myself down
And take a sweet, soft shelter
Still my waters here forever
I want to lay my body down
I want to lay my body down
Honey, lay me lightly down
I'm ready to ride

Can we get together
Can we get together
Can we get together right now?
Well, you give me the music
And you know how to use it
Drive me out of my shoes

I got the blues tonight
I've got sweet titillation
Honey, won't you pleasure me right?
Sweet sympathy won't you
Carry me tonight?

(chorus)

Would you really come and live with me
We can watch TV when the nights are cold
And it's hard to sleep
When I'm hungry, when I'm old
When I'm angry, when I'm cold
Honey, I don't know

Would you really come and take my cares away
Set me down in an easy chair and stay a while
Child, that's a righteous thing you do
To make somebody just this happy
Like you done me to

I can see the years go down
You and me, we'll paint the town
Lord, if my mama and my papa could see me now

I'm great at building castles in the air
And living there for days - you'd be amazed
I live in dreams and when I can
I go to sleep and there I am and there you are

When I'm hungry for the taste
Of loving you and your embrace
It's hard to wait
‘Cause I've been waiting here so long a time
But if you say it's right, honey, I don't mind

We got all the years ahead
Time for everything we said
Lord, if my mama and my papa could see me now

I'd be happy living in a shack
With all the plumbing in the back
But you might not, you know
So maybe we better have a home

I'd be glad on a farm with a million dogs
Or a cave with bats
But you wouldn't like that
Maybe we gotta have a home

Will you really come and live with me
I'd be so proud
In loving you, I'm loving me
I make it funny and I make you laugh
‘Cause it makes it easy getting past
All the being scared

I can see the years go down
You and me, we'll paint the town
Lord if my mama and my papa could see me now
Oh lord, if my mama and my papa could see me now

Papa gave me music
Mama gave me soul
Brother gave me reaching out to hold
Teachers gave me license
Learning set me free
Schooling gave me nothing
Music showed me how to live

Papa gave me want-to-be
Brother gave me empathy
Mama gave me woman
But that isn't all I need

I have lived in houses
I have lived in homes
Eaten off of tables made of wood or stone
Through the trials and tribulations
I've never known
How to say I love you
And let my feelings show

So thank you for the music
Thank you for the songs
Bless you for the freedom
In knowing right from wrong
I thank you for the laughter
The heartaches and the tears
It's a blessing to grow
It's a goodness to be here

You give me want-to-be
You give me sympathy
You give me woman
Thank you for loving me
And letting it show
It's a pleasure to be here
So bless us, every one

And when the war was over
I went dancing in the streets
With the corpse of my dead brother
To the sacrificial beat

The Boy Scouts and the Legionnaires
Came home from overseas
Singing Glory Hallelujah!
To the swank Gestapo beat

Hallelujah, hallelujah
I've never been
In the whole of my life
An intelligent sacrifice
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Give me a reason
To go on believing
And I'm ready
To pay the price

I heard of a plan
In the president's mansion
(High up in the sky)
It called for a sacrifice
And my brother paid the price

Sent him home in a bag,
The American flag
Was draped around the box
And the coffin lid was locked
And the note said Thanks a lot

Come and dance with me
Come and dance with me
I'm home from overseas
I'm a corpse up to my knees
Celebrate the victory

Do you want to dance
And hold me tight?
I'm feeling most diseased
And I need your company
Come and dance

Come and dance, come and dance
I'm home from overseas
And I need your company
Celebrate the victory
Would you like to dance
And hold me tight?
I'm feeling most diseased
But I'm easier to please
Come and dance, come and dance

I miss you, jealous lover
Won't you come on over
To my side of town
I need you
Like the city needs the sound of human voices
I want you
Like the winter wants the springtime

Lover, without you
The world stands alone
Without you
The past lingers on
Tomorrow becoming today
Without you, it's all the same
Without you

Outside my window
Gentle lover
The birds are singing songs of love
I need you
They are calling for the sound of laughing children
I want you
They are singing for your pleasure

Lover, without you
The world stands alone
Without you
The past lingers on
Tomorrow becoming today
Without you, it's all the same

I see you
A world without end
Then I need you
All over again
Without you the sun doesn't shine
Tomorrow is blind
Without you

Jesse come home
There's a hole in the bed
Where we slept
Now it's growing cold
Hey Jesse, your face
In the place where we lay
By the hearth, all apart
It hangs on my heart

And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No I'm not scared - I wait for you
Hey Jesse, I'm lonely, come home

Jesse, the floors and the boards
Recalling your step
And I remember, too
All the pictures are fading
And shaded in grey
But I still set a place
On the table at noon

And I'm leaving a light on the stairs
No I'm not scared - I wait for you
Hey Jesse, I'm lonely, come home

Jesse, the spread on the bed
Is like when you left
I've kept it up for you
And all the blues and the greens
Have been recently cleaned
And it's seemingly new
Hey Jes, me and you

We'll swallow the light on the stairs
We'll do up my hair
And sleep unaware
Hey Jesse, I'm lonely, come home

You've got me on a string
I don't mean a thing to you
I'm holding on to no one
I'm a long time lover
And my long time love is gone

If my man beats me, robs me blind
Long as he don't leave me, I don't mind
I would beg and I would crawl
Though it does no good at all
My man's been gone so long
And I keep holding on

And if he needed me, I'd be there
No matter how he mistreated me
I don't care
I would get down on my knees
Though it does no good to please
My man's been gone for so long
And I keep holding on

Broken windows, boarded doorways
Choose your prison
When I'm with him
I'm a fool for loving you
And well I know
How the head says – no
And the heart says
Go down on your knees, woman
And keep on holding on

Applause, applause
Give the singer a chance
Treat her right
Be polite
Maybe she will dance

Applause, applause
Give the singer a break
How much can you give
How much can you take

Give the singer a chance
Wanna give the singer a chance
Anything to buy your soul
And maybe she will dance

Applause, applause
She'll stand upon her head
Applause, applause
She'll take you to her bed
And share with you the memories
Of dreams she can't forget

Applause, applause
Let's give the prize
To the little lady
With the stars in her eyes

And I'll sell my soul for a song
Pay the price and carry on
And share with you the memories
Of dreams I can't forget
Of lovers I have met

Applause, applause
Let's give the prize
To the little lady
With the stars in her eyes

Applause, applause
Give the singer a chance
Treat her right
Be polite
Maybe she will dance

Applause, applause
Give the singer a break
How much can you give
How much would it take

Give the singer a chance
Give the singer a chance
Anything to buy your soul
And maybe she will dance
Maybe she will dance
Maybe she will dance