1. |
Prelude (It's a Tiger!)
00:54
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2. |
Tiger Rag
03:40
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3. |
Zen Beat Rag
03:11
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Whip that fiddle, like a monkey in the middle, I got my feet flying up in the air
20 yard dash, I'm a pan in the flash, I'm a-talkin' backwards, I'm a be-bop smash
What's the sound of one hand clapping? It's a jug band in the woods!
Repeat knee slap, please clap, we'd lose our minds, honey, if we could
Shut up and kiss me, you silly fool
Oh but look: Flying saucers, rattlesnakes, my true love's name etched in wood!
Slim and Slam, Shim and Sham, Caroline, Alabam'
Tear down that flag, we're driving back, gonna zoom across this land on a zen beat rag
10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or more
It's on the auction block and out the door
You can buy it, you can try it, you can make it your own
Looks real nice, send it home
Flim flam on the slam I'm coming in cold
Flipping and a floppin it's a helluva show
Kickin up the dust, pour it on the floor
Anyone and everyone is wanting some more
She said shut and kiss me cause I'm a fool
Well, no I'm not, I'm just lost here, picking up games with silly rules
Bring up the love, drop out the hate
Who's gonna talk about a 51st state?
Slice it up now, folks, before it's too late
We're living here in a dream, you don't have to wait
I'm a Chinaman in Oklahoma ("Quote-Unquote!"), I drive a limousine…
No, actually, I'm a butterfly in Texas
My wings aflutter in a Ginsberg dream
Root-toot-tootie-hey-MacVouty
Hellzapoppin in my head
I drove 72 hours
But was the destination really ever there?
I'm sad and lonely I...don't know what to do
I think the pills are be wearing off, I think it's time to go back to school
Slim and Slam, Shim and Sham, Caroline, Alabam'
Tear down that flag, we're driving back, gonna zoom across this land on a zen beat rag
Vout vout-o-vout-ee
Vout! Vout!
Vout vout-o-vout-ee
Vout! Vout!
Vout-o-la, Vout-o-la, Vout-o-la
ohhh
Vout-o-la, Vout-o-la, Vout-o-la
o-lahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
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4. |
Speed of Light
05:00
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I don't believe in infinity
Because I've seen true love die
Time is elastic, says relativity
So why can't I go back and make you mine?
We were in love for the first time
There was no end in sight
All the birds were singing, I never felt so complete
I heard the universe whispering in the trees
If I could you hold you now
I'd hold on so tight
Because love disappears
at the speed of light
I'm so tired of counting circles 'round the sun
The whip-poor-wills have flown away, my time has come
Ten thousand lights up in outer space
They call for me to leave this place
If it's true that we're made out of stardust
From a dead sun a million miles away
Then take this body, let it burn so bright
Let my soul fade in the endless night
If I could hold you now
I'd hold on so tight
Because love disappears
at the speed of light
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5. |
Telegraph
03:31
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6. |
Fear Not the Ocean
03:43
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Oh, this life is just a gamble
You don't know who to trust
SO I BOARD THE SHIP AND PRAY TO GOD
MY BONES WON’T TURN TO DUST
I can't read or write
My life is left to chance
I CAN’T READ OR WRITE
BUT I SURE-AS-HELL CAN
DANCE
There's a land over yonder
Of gold and jubilee
THERE’S A LAND OVER YONDER
A PLACE FOR YOU, A PLACE FOR ME
Light a stick, kneel down
Down on bended knee
PRAY TO MAZU WE WON’T DIE
IN THE BLOODY BLACK SEA
A storm sunk our ship
My brother died at sea
NO ONE LEFT TO TELL THE TALE
NO ONE EXCEPT FOR ME
Oh, this life is just a gamble
I don't know who to trust
AS THE OCEAN RUNS THROUGH MY VEINS
AND TURNS MY HEART TO RUST
Oh, fear not the ocean
And her roar of treachery
THAT’S THE HEART OF MOTHER EARTH
BEATING DEEP WITHIN THE SEA
When the waves turn black and blue
And winds start to scream
FEAR NOT THE OCEAN
PRAISE THE GODDESS OF THE SEA
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7. |
Tower of Babble
03:29
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Honey, it's time for you to realize
24-7, you've got me hypnotized
Your mellifluous voice, the effervescent sparkle of your eye
But you say “*ting bu dong” (*Mandarin Chinese for “I don’t understand”)
If I were one to proselytize
I'd preach the virtues of a sin and the sinner's cry
Put that on my list of karmic debts to amortize
But you say, “ting bu dong”
I climb the tower most every night
I map the stars way up high
Thought I heard a myna bird singin'
(b-b-d ba-ba
b-b-d ba)
Cicadas whirl in a reverie
Fishing boat lanterns dot the sea
Moonlight is the only light that shines for you and me
How many stars are there up in the sky?
Such calculations vex the mind
You can only have so many kisses in one lifetime
It's ok if you “ting bu dong”
The birds sing in code, I try to sing along
Sing-it-as-fine-as-the line between right and wrong
Cause the noise of today is tomorrow's sweet song
It's ok if you “ting bu dong”
To clarify, between you and me
These glaciers of verbiage will melt into the sea
Wait, what's that you say? “You love me”?
Oh, honey, "wo ting bu dong"
I climb the tower most every night
I map the stars way up high
Thought I heard a myna bird singing
(b-b-d ba-ba
b-b-d ba)
Cicadas whirl in a reverie
Fishing boat lanterns dot the sea
Moonlight is the only light that shines for you and me
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8. |
Mosquito Bop
04:18
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Three in the morning and I'm soaking in my sheets
Sweat-beads, sea breeze, blowing through my dreams
Slam my hand against the wall, I missed that bug-by-a-beat
Buzzing in my ear, like Chinese violins on repeat
Call me crazy but do you really know?
I talk fast, I walk fast, then you call me slow
Go here go there, why can't you be everywhere
Be a mule waltzin' down the street, I hear the traffic sing:
(Chorus)
OoBa DeeBa DeeDah
SwatDa BaDoo Voula
VoutDee VooDoo BeeBa
Ba Baaaah, ba-dee bah-baaa
Ba Baaaah, ba-dee bah-baaa
Dizzy's playing in a tizzy, I've been living in a strain
Binders full of women are driving us all insane
Parkin' parallel I can't get back in the lane
My ankles bloody, eyes shot, where is my walkin' cane?
Cincinnati is such a long way.
I begged and I pleaded but she would not stay
So I climbed up on the fence, I saw the forest for the trees
I'm a fool trapped in ragtime, I hear babushkas sing:
(Repeat Chorus)
The train doors open, Cab Calloway busts in
He said "Enough with the Chinese music, please put some swing back in my gin"
Mismatch, record scratch, dirt from the garden patch
Police catch, car crash, alien body snatch
Now that cat is as crazy as a bird
If the facts are debatable then isn't truth just a word?
Here's the real question: what's the sound of freedom's ring?
Hit me with that chord change, to blunt the mosquito's sting...
(Repeat Chorus)
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9. |
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**Dedicated to the memory of Filipino-American writer Carlos Bulosan (1913-1956)**
I'm broke and I'm hungry
I'm ragged, I'm dirty too
I'll clean up, kind madam,
And then just ask one thing of you:
Remember me, when I am gone
Remember me, when you hear this song
Policemen, they robbed me
They beat me, through and through
For the crime of my skin
For the crime of "being not one of you"
California, land of the free
California, shattered dreams
I toil in your fields
My arms tattooed with dirt
I hear the call to organize
It's time to unionize our work
My body's broken, my mind is burnt
My body's broken, my soul is hurt
I once was a rambler,
a hobo, a gambler, too
When a man's got nothing,
He needs something to lose
Love and money, be the death of me
Love and money, mean nothing to me
I taught myself to read and write
I taught myself to speak the truth
They say "America is in the heart"
It's so kind, and yet so cruel
Oh mother, your children are gone
Oh father, all that's left is this song
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10. |
Dharma Train
04:16
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I told it on the mountain, I told it on the deep blue sea
I told it on the mountain, I told it on the deep blue sea
I told the monk, I told the preacher, but they wouldn't listen to me
I carry joy in my body, I harbor suffering in my mind
I carry joy in my body, I harbor suffering in my mind
When you see me laughing, I'm laughing just to keep from crying
I rode the Southern Pacific, I rode the Santa Fe
I rode the Southern Pacific, I rode the Santa Fe
I'm gonna keep on riding, till freedom is no longer free
I'm going to wake up fight, and I'm going to fight for what is true
I'm going to wake up fight, and I'm going to fight for what is true
I'm going to fight for the people I love, I'm going to fight for my enemies too
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11. |
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(Ke Bu Ke Yi Wen Ni Yi Ge Wenti = Mandarin Chinese, lit. “Can I ask you a question?”)
Ke, Ke Bu Ke Yi (Can, Can I ask...)
Wen...yi ge wen ti? (...ask you a question?)
Ni, dao di ai bu ai wo? (Do you love me or not?)
Wei? Wei shenme? (Hello? Why…)
Ni bu bu jie dian hua (...don’t you answer the phone?)
Ni hao xiang you xin de ai ren (...it seems that you have a new lover)
Call you up on the telephone
Ting bu dong, I get a busy tone
I wonder if you're all alone
Should I stick around or should I roam?
Who's talking with you?
Do you know that I love you?
Don't you know my heart is true
Are you thinking of me, a brand new love?
Ke, Ke Bu Ke Yi Wen (Can, Can I ask...)
Wen yi ge wen ti? (...ask you a question?)
Ni, dao di ai bu ai wo? (Do you love me or not?)
Ke, Ke Bu Ke Yi Wen (Can, Can I ask...)
Wen yi ge wen ti? (...ask you a question?)
Ni, dao di ai bu ai wo? (Do you love me or not?)
Wei? Wei shen me? (Hello? Why…)
Ni bu ni bu jie dian hua (...don’t you answer the phone?)
Ni hao xiang you xin de ai ren (...it seems that you have a new lover)
Do you want me in the end?
Did you want me when it began?
Will you think of me sometimes?
When the future comes, will the birdies cry?
Who's talking with you
Do you know that I love you?
Don't you know my heart is true
Are you thinking of me, a brand new love?
Ke, Ke Bu Ke Yi Wen (Can, Can I ask...)
Wen ni yi ge wen ti? (...ask you a question?)
Ni, dao di ai bu ai wo? (Do you love me or not?)
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12. |
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I'm so thirsty I need a drink, but nobody gives me any time to think
I'm so thirsty I need a drink, but nobody gives me any time to think
They say, "Just chew the nut, you'll feel mighty fine"
But off in the distance I see a landslide
"Don't think too much, *ni xiang tai duo (*Mandarin Chinese, lit,. you think too much!")
When the typhoon come, they say “cha bu duo” (*Mandarin Chinese, lit,. "That’s good enough")
Shake it by the river
Shake it by the sea
Tomorrow doesn't mean a thing to me
Just shake it by the Betel Nut Tree
Shake it by the river
Shake it by the sea
Tomorrow doesn't mean a thing to me
Just shake it by the Betel Nut Tree
Government say cut down the tree, people say we must have economy
We need to live, we need to eat
So government pretends not to see
Look ahead, don't look behind
Land subsidence on the rise!
"Don't think too much, ni xiang tai duo,
Look at the ladies doe-see-do"
[Rap in Taiwanese:]
青青的果子滋味是按怎
比櫥窗裡的小姐擱較薟
原住民提來送訂佮做法
新幾內亞嘛有足濟人佇食
Let me tell you about the flavor of that green nut
Spicier than the lady selling it from the metal hut
The indigenous use it for wedding gifts and crafts
Their brothers and sisters in Papua New Guinea also enjoy it
逐工哺哺哺 喙齒烏趖趖
趁錢有數 性命嘛愛顧
新聞講 走山攏是伊毋對
唉無法度 按怎改攏改毋好
Everyday I chew chew chew till my teeth turn black
Making a living is important, but sometimes I need to take this load off my back
The media blames us for the landslides
Oh, but it's just too hard to give up that high
From the mountains to the streets
Betel nut beauties cannot be beat,
I speak not of the ladies, I speak of the trees
In these urgent matters of hydrology
Zai yi bei, bu yao jin (Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese, lit. “Have another cup, don't worry about it”)
The indigenous think "You must be kidding me?!?"
"Sell the nut, that's the bottom line"
No need to worry, we'll just pay the fine
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13. |
Corrina
04:39
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Corrine Corrina
Fly into the night
Corrine Corrina
Fly into the night
The wind is still
The moon, shining bright
I can hear, hear her whistle
I can hear her sing
I can hear, hear her whistle
I can hear her sing
Corrine Corrina
Cry for the cruel spring
From the deep of the ocean
To the high mountain mist
From the deep of the ocean
To the high mountain mist
I saw Corrina
Weeds wrapped around her wrists
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14. |
Delia Green
02:25
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I traveled far, took a trip out west
When I returned, she was laid to rest
Delia’s gone, but she ain't dead
Delia’s gone, but she ain't dead
She was no gambler, she was no thief
She was just a child, aged fifteen
Delia's gone but she ain’t dead
Delia's gone, but she ain't dead
Can’t you hear those footsteps all around your bed?
Can’t you hear her crying, all in your head?
You don't need a gun to hold God's hand
Don't need no gun to hold God's hand
You men are fools, you can't cheat death
You men are fools, you can't cheat death
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15. |
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16. |
A Rambler's Blues
03:46
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Strum the ukulele blow the saxophone
Dig the essence from the marrow in the bone
I tell you all my secrets on the telephone
For you to shout into every microphone
Been down so long, down don't worry me
I got 47 reasons to go on a drunken spree
I'm going to the river
I'm gonna let it cleanse my soul
I'm gonna keep on rambling
So I will not have these blues no more
Temperature-risin’-everybody scream and shout
"It's all in your head, nothing to worry about"
Tomorrow is another day, just let it go
But something inside tells me it just ain't so
This world makes me want to...laugh then cry
Broken glass on the streets, nobody even asks why
I'm going up the mountain
So I can see the city lights below
I'm gonna keep on rambling
So I will not have these blues no more
Burn the ukulele melt...the saxophone
Misanthropic sociopath say he’s gonna go home
Strangers on the street they come.. they say hello
Everybody is a friend but I feel alone
I'm so tired of the universe playing tricks on me
If this is some kind of a joke, then how can I just let it be?
I gotta get to the river
I can barely keep it under control
I'm gonna keep on rambling
So I will not have these blues no more
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17. |
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18. |
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She say Yes, I say No
"Goldwater swears it's a UFO"
I ask the beer drinking woman "How do you know?"
She says "Shush, be quiet, keep your voice down low
Look up in the sky at the flashing lights
Those aren't stars, they're alien satellites"
"Radio waves from way up high
Flying saucer pilots calling me tonight
This was the master plan all the while
Are you ready, Freddy? We're goin' to the other side!"
My name's not Freddy, she said
"I don't care
In God's eyes, a circle can be a square."
Well, I don't believe in conspiracies
"But this is truth, plain as can be"
"Our savior wears a big diamond ring
He's the father of the Father, professor of everything"
"25th of March, he's gonna rise from the sea
There's a place in Texas -- sounds like God's land to me
They-stoned-him-under-the shade of a big oak tree
Buy me a beer -- I'll tell you about it in Chinese"
Laoban, laoban, ni hao ma? (Chinese, lit. "Boss, boss, how are you?")
Wo yao yi ge danbing, buyao jia la (Chinese, lit. "I want an egg tortilla without hot sauce")
That's Chinese, it means: spaceship's coming for me
Like Jonah and the whale, he's gonna spit me from the sea
I say Yes, she say No
"Government denies it's a UFO"
Purple seafood perpetrating, to and fro
Positive, negative, high and low
The master says he needs a steady cash flow
When God calls you Freddy, you better get ready to go!
I say yes, you say no
Beer drinking woman hopped a UFO
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19. |
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Midnight, moonlight
I am missing you
It took a clear mind, then a drunken one
To fully see the truth
YOU WERE THE ONE FOR ME, I WAS THE ONE FOR YOU
Now I have nothing but the Nakashi Blues
(You left my heart in utter ruin)
Static on the radio
Makes me think of you
Taxicab, summer night, the scent of your perfume
MY HEART BREAKS OPEN EVERY TIME I HEAR THAT TUNE
That's when I get the Nakashi Blues
(You left my heart in utter ruin)
I lay to rest at daybreak
I dream the live long day
Cicadas tick like timebombs, as the summer burns away
I FEEL SO LONESOME, I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO
I'm gonna these sing these ol Nakashi Blues
(You left my heart in utter ruin)
High up on the mountains
I watch the pine trees sway
The wind howls in the minor key, as night bleeds into day
YOU WERE THE ONE FOR ME, I WAS THE ONE FOR YOU
Now I have nothing but the Nakashi Blues
(You left my heart in utter ruin)
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20. |
Temple Blues
07:07
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I've got rocks in my shoes
I guess I got those flip flop blues
Let the rain soak my feet
Let the water flood the streets
Blow those horns
And play me the temple blues
I don't want no doctor, don't need no priest
The river gives me what just I need
East is west and west is east
Don't sell me religion, please let me be
Blow those horns
And play me the temple blues
I've got rocks in my shoes
I guess I got those flip flop blues
Let the rain soak my feet
Let the water flood the streets
Blow those horns
And play me the temple blues
Late at night when I can't asleep
Frogs and cicadas sing to me
I miss you my friend, I always will
Bright as the moon shining on the windowsill
I might as well pray, I’ve got nothing to lose
Play me the temple blues
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21. |
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22. |
Quantum Reel
02:54
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The Muddy Basin Ramblers Taipei, Taiwan
Hello! We're Formosa's Favorite Hepcats, playing jug band, blues, string band and swing jazz...and original music inspired by all of the above. Founded in 2003 by US/UK expats living in Taipei,Taiwan. 大家好!我們是泥灘地浪人!
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