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LITTLE GREEN HOUSE BY THE BAY
Jeff Lee © 2016
There’s a little green house on the north side of town
Where the jasmine climbs up to the door.
Three wooden steps and four tidy rooms,
And the two there that I adore.
A little girl bright as the moon at night,
On an ocean of silver waves,
And a woman so rare, like a mermaiden fair,
With her eyes as blue as the bay.
The troubles I bore, and the shoes that I wore,
Come off at the door for a while.
I take in my arms the woman I love,
And take up the hand of a child.
She tells me her tales of pirates and whales,
We sail over salty seas
In a little green boat, adrift and afloat,
My lover, her daughter and me.
Leave behind me
All those troubled shores.
None will find me:
Here with you, lost in blue,
I’ll not ask for more
And on our way home to the little green house,
We roam through the lamp-lit streets--
Racing each other, chasing the clouds
And the shadows beneath our feet.
We put her to sleep, then we dance in the deep,
My lover and I in the dark.
The tide lifts our bed, the breeze fills our heads
With jasmine, salt air and stars.
Leave behind me
All my restless ways.
Here beside me:
Stay with me, lay with me,
Here in the bed that we made.
Stay with me, lay with me,
In this little green house by the bay
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2. |
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DANCIN’ IN THE DEVIL’S ARMS
Jeff Lee © 2000
Blue light, crowded room
Blues fill my head, like a cheap perfume
Swaying ‘neath a neon moon
Dancin’ in the Devil’s arms
Slow hands ‘round my waist
Lips that linger at my face
One sweet, forbidden taste
Dancin’ in the Devil’s arms
Once, I feared the darkness
Now, it swallows me whole
Don’t know how to stop this
Sweet surrender of the soul
Daylight, through an open door
Standing alone, on an empty floor
How I long for more
Dancin’ in the Devil’s arms
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3. |
Falling Stars
04:44
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FALLING STARS
Jeff Lee © 2012
A mother reaches for her new baby girl
Takes her in her arms
Her eyes are open, as if she’s amazed
To leave behind the dark
She wraps her in a blanket
Pulls her tight against her heart
There’s no one else in the universe
Holding on to a brand new star
Baby, stay with me
Can’t you see the light
Don’t you fear; I’ll be here
I’ll stay with you, through the night
The years go by and the stars go round and round
The girl is beautiful and bright
She wraps herself in every shade of black
But even that can’t hide her light
Until she falls into the shadows
Burning up with the flame
Of a star slipping back to the endless black
And a sorrow she can’t seem to name
And the stars don’t last forever
Some just shoot across the sky
The light they made keeps the darkness away
And the morning comes, by and by
Her mother finds her lying on the floor
A needle in her arm
Her eyes are open, as if she’s amazed
To leave behind the dark
She wraps her in a blanket
Pulls her tight against her heart
There’s no one else in the universe
Holding on to a fallen star
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4. |
Why Can't I?
03:07
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WHY CAN’T I?
Jeff Lee © 2015
Some folks live with a troubled mind
There’s always some problem they can always find
They can’t let it go, though there’s nothing that they can do
What good is thinkin’ ‘till it drives me insane?
I’m thinkin’ all that thinkin’ might just hurt my brain,
So please tell me, Baby, why can’t I stop thinkin’ ‘bout you?
I never remember where I left my keys
The day of the month is just a mystery
And I’m pretty certain there was something I was s’posed to do
I ain’t got your number if it ain’t in my phone
And I’ve forgotten some things that I never did know
So please tell me, baby, why can’t I forget about you?
I remember how you moved on a dance floor
The way you talked just like the BBC
I think of the tip of your tongue / on my lips and the one
Little thing that you said / that got stuck in my head
And I just can’t seem to shake it free
Well I’m not a man who lives in the past
Hanging on to memories just to make them last
When that curtain falls, I know that the show is through
Over and over, I was always the one
Who was over it first when it was over and done
So please tell me, Baby, why can’t I get over you? Oh pretty Baby--
Please, won’t you tell me, why can’t I get over you?
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5. |
Madeleine
02:54
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MADELEINE
Jeff Lee © 1993
Madeleine, alors que je t’aime
Tu as les yeux comme un feu, et ton coeur est la meme
Madeleine, ne va-t’en pas au loin
Alors, je t’adore et je t’aime
I was walking down a road, I was feelin’ all right
I thought everything good was already in sight
Then I found a little girl who could light up the night
I’ll never be the same again
There was something in her face, I’d a-seen it before
A little piece of my dreams come a-walking through the door
And I’ll never get enough, but I’ll never want more
I’ll never be the same again
Well, she’s just a little thang, but she always get her way
She doesn’t talk much, but she know what to say
I remember how she called to me the very first day
I’ll never be the same again
JULIANA WITH THE RAVEN’S EYES
Jeff Lee ©1999
There is a girl with a secret smile;
Her eyes are dark, and a little wild
Just one look, and you’re soon beguiled
Juliana with the raven’s eyes.
How she found you, who can say?
Who can tell if she’ll fly away
All you know is you want her to stay
Juliana with the raven’s eyes.
Once she was lost by another
Somewhere an ocean away
Someone who longed just to love her
For another hour . . . or another day
And now she holds you in her spell.
Lost in her gaze, time stands still.
Dark and deep as a bottomless well
Juliana with the raven’s eyes.
Juliana with the raven’s eyes.
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6. |
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JULIANA WITH THE RAVEN’S EYES
Jeff Lee ©1999
There is a girl with a secret smile;
Her eyes are dark, and a little wild
Just one look, and you’re soon beguiled
Juliana with the raven’s eyes.
How she found you, who can say?
Who can tell if she’ll fly away
All you know is you want her to stay
Juliana with the raven’s eyes.
Once she was lost by another
Somewhere an ocean away
Someone who longed just to love her
For another hour . . . or another day
And now she holds you in her spell.
Lost in her gaze, time stands still.
Dark and deep as a bottomless well
Juliana with the raven’s eyes.
Juliana with the raven’s eyes.
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7. |
Early Frost
05:11
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EARLY FROST
Jeff Lee © 1992
I was cutting the last of the squash from the vine
Where their stems had grown wrinkled and old
Most had already gone black underneath
So I left them out there in the cold
I was thinking of something you said to me once
When the summer had ended too soon
And we walked arm in arm through the fresh fallen corn
To the end of a long afternoon
You said there’s no use in cursing the cold
For the harvest you have lost
You go down to the land, and you save what you can
When there comes an early frost
When there comes an early frost
You know I think of you often these days
When the mornings are brittle and bright
And the fire in the west, when the day comes to rest
Makes me stop just to breathe in the light
Autumn without you seems strange
But so did the summer and spring
I guess I’m only just learning that the world kept on turning
Without you when you found your wings
It’s hard to believe there’s a reason
And it’s harder to think that it’s fair
And it’s hard to imagine you won’t be around
When it’s planting time next year
But the sun’s hanging low in the field
It’s as bright and as warm as your face
And the light’s golden hand reaches over the land
With its own amazing grace
And there’s no use in cursing the cold
For the harvest we have lost
We’ll go down to the land, and we’ll save what we can
When there comes an early frost
When there comes an early frost
We will walk through this early frost
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8. |
I Only Want You More
03:23
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I ONLY WANT YOU MORE
Jeff Lee © 1993
I know the curve of your neck and the scent of your hair
The thought of you seems to follow me everywhere
You are my sweetest curse; water for an endless thirst
But when you’re gone, I only want you more
I could gaze at your face until I went blind
I could follow the line of your legs to the end of my mind
I know the danger near, every time that you appear
But when you leave, you leave me wanting more
I long to stare into your gunmetal eyes
I want my mouth to fill your waiting ear with lover’s cries
In the cool of night, there is heat on your skin
There’s a layer of light around you drawing me in
I long to touch the sun; knowing fear, but feeling none
And if I burn, I’ll only want you more
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9. |
Stay With Me
04:51
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STAY WITH ME
Jeff Lee © 2017
She was a sweet girl, a Chinatown beauty
You couldn’t miss her laughing in a crowd
He was a shy boy, just in from Boston
Working up the courage to tell her out loud
He said: I don’t know why, but I feel like I know you
I don’t know where, but I’ve seen you before
I don’t know how, but I know I want to show you
Stay with me, so we can talk a little more
Rings on their fingers, a little house somewhere
Under an elm tree, in a sweet little town
Soon it was filled with bustle and noise there
Four little boys there, running around
She said: I don’t know why, but it’s ours and we’ll take it
I don’t know where, but we’re on our way
I don’t know how, but I know we’re gonna make it
Stay with me, ‘cause our love is here to stay
So they built that home, worked their fingers to the bone
And raised those little boys into men
And it wasn’t always smooth, and it wasn’t always easy
But there wasn’t any doubt that they would do it all again
People go searching all ‘round the world
Looking for something that won’t fade away
One day a shy boy met a sweet girl
Somehow they found it on that day
They said: We don’t know why, but we know we’ll be together
We don’t know where, but we’ll make it our home
We don’t know how, but we know that it’s forever
Stay with me, and we’ll never be alone
Stay with me, and we’ll never be alone
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10. |
Morning Light
06:19
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MORNING LIGHT
Jeff Lee © 1994
I woke you; five-thirty. You wanted to get an early start.
We left your room empty, and loaded the boxes in the car.
I meant to say something, as we were walking from the house.
But you wanted to get started; I turned the key, and headed out.
And the hills roll on by
Sun glints your eyes
I try to keep on driving.
When you arrived
You were my life
But since that day, I’ve been letting you go
I try to remember the weight of you sleeping in my arms,
The sound of you breathing, the beating of both our hearts as one.
Now you sit beside me; your own two arms are all you need.
The highway before us, it stretches far as we can see.
Used to wonder when there would come an end
To all your needing
Now I wonder why that light is in your eyes
And where it’s leading
We drive on in silence; the sun climbs higher in the sky.
You lean out the window, to fly through the wind that rushes by.
I know you fly from me; I know it’s time to set you free.
But we will be tethered: a thread of light from you to me.
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11. |
The Berkeley Bounce
02:23
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THE BERKELEY BOUNCE
Jeff Lee © 2017
I got a girl down by the bay
Only one makes me feel this way
She say: “Come on down, do the Berkeley Bounce with me”
She don’t want no diamond ring
She just wanna make me sing
Singin’: “Come on down, do the Berkeley Bounce with me”
Sometimes baby likes it fast and crazy
Says she’s ready for a bumpy ride
Sometimes we just rock it slow and lazy
Sometimes when it’s wet, we do that South Seattle Slide
Well I got a girl down by the bay
Only one makes me feel this way
She say: “Come on down, do the Berkeley Bounce with me”
Yeah, she’s the only girl I love
The only one I been dreamin’ of
The only one who do the Berkeley Bounce with me
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12. |
Over That River Wide
03:06
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OVER THAT RIVER WIDE
Jeff Lee © 1991
I been sitting all day long / Thinkin’ I’ll fly away
Must be a place where I belong / Over that river wide
I am a girl of fifteen years / Thinkin’ I’ll fly away
Ain’t nobody knows me here / Over that river wide
Momma carried me alone / Thinkin’ I’ll fly away
Left me the day that I was born / Over that river wide
Daddy chased me out the door / Thinkin’ I’ll fly away
Said I wasn’t his no more / Over that river wide
I had a boy who was dark and lean / Thinkin’ I’ll fly away
All I cared was he wanted me / Over that river wide
He lay me down and left me alone / Thinkin’ I’ll fly away
Left me with this tiny stone / Over that river wide
And the stone sits heavy in my belly
Growing day after day
Everyone wants to tell me something
I got nothing to say
Some say sleep will set you free / Thinkin’ I’ll fly away
I don’t sleep and I don’t dream / Over that river wide
I been sitting all day long
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Jeff Lee Seattle, Washington
Jeff Lee is a writer, musician and family physician who lives and works in Seattle, WA. He writes a monthly column for Seattle's Child Magazine, and he's the author of the parenting book Catch a Fish, Throw a Ball, Fly a Kite and the middle-grade children's novel True Blue. ... more
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