Lyrics for Arrivals and Departures

(Click on a song title to view the lyrics)
The Bearded Lady | Get Out (Live A Little, Love A Lot) | Basement | Flowers at Work
Body Language | Bad Habits | Thank You For Bringing Me Home | Goodnight Romeo | Ray of Light
Tara's Birthday | Things That Remind Me You're Gone | Walk You Home | 32 Memory Lane


The Bearded Lady
Lyrics and music by Phil Ayoub and Tim Bradshaw.

I took an early bus to get here
And I’ve got some time to kill
I think I’ll pick my pen up for a while

I just got my shoes shined
And a fruit cup for a meal
Airports they can be a lonely place

I know you’ve got a birthday
And I’ll be in New York
I’m thinking things I shouldn’t think at all

Well I’m gonna keep on writing
You can read on if you like
Consider that you’ve been fairly warned

I think about us sometimes
That’s no surprise to you
You think about you all the time
That’s no surprise to me

Like all the twists and turns
Of a sideshow star who’ll never learn
It’s the somewhat sane somewhat crazy
Curious charm of the bearded lady

Now there’s a plane for Nova Scotia
Boarding handicapped and kids
The plane for LA it’s delayed a bit

You’ve got important people talking
On their cell phones way too loud
Should I be impressed?
Cause I don’t give a shit

Would we have been the couple
Forever holding hands
The two of us are never seen apart

Or would we have been like the marriage
Of celebrities in style
That everyone knows is doomed from the start

I think about us sometimes
That’s no surprise to you
You think about you all the time
That’s no surprise to me

Like all the twists and turns
Of a sideshow star who’ll never learn
It’s the somewhat sane somewhat crazy
Curious charm of the bearded lady

All I could offer was friendship, true partnership, undying love, and support
And probably loyalty somewhere in time
And opera and travel and thrills
But like you say
It won’t pay the bills

I think about us sometimes
That’s no surprise to you
You think about you all the time
That’s no surprise to me

Oh I think about us sometimes
It’s a cross I’ll have to bear
I think about you all the time
But I’m starting not to care

With all the twists and turns
Of a sideshow star who’ll never learn
It’s somewhat sane and somewhat crazy
The curious charm of the beard
With all the twists and turns
Oh I’ll never learn
The somewhat sane and somewhat crazy

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Get Out (Live A Little, Love A Lot)
Lyrics and music by Phil Ayoub.

Terry sings and plays guitar behind the bar as he serves up suds and songs
You gotta see it man
He’ll pour you Jim Beam or Jack with your Dylan or Cash, beer with Big and Rich
SoCo with southern rock
He plays guitar like he combs his hair, so smooth
There’s a dog in the band
Hell you gotta see it man

Get out
Get out the house
Out in the street
Get out in your town

Get off
Get off the couch
Get off line
And get on life

Bust out
Bet like you’re leaving
Life ain’t about
Just breaking even

Live a little
Love a lot
Come on get out

Well you’re home every night by the shine of the light as the TV gleams
Or computer screen
Deep down you wanna shake what God gave you, he made you to have some fun
Maybe find someone
Tell me what are you afraid of now
You know just between us
You can’t download love

Get out
Get out the house
Out in the street
Get out in your town

Get off
Get off the couch
Get off line
And get on life

Bust out
Bet like you’re leaving
Life ain’t about
Just breaking even

Live a little
Love a lot
Come on get out

Make a little love
Before you need the little pills
Get out and rock and roll
Before you’re in the rocking chair
99% of life is just being there

Get out
Get out the house
Out in the street
Get out in your town

Get off
Get off the couch
Get off line
And get on life

Bust out
And bet like you’re leaving
Life ain’t about
Just breaking even

Get out the house
Out in the street
Get out in your town

Get off
Get off the couch
Get off line
And get on life

Bust out
Cause life ain’t about just breaking even

Live a little
Love a lot
Take a little chance it’s all that you got

Live a little
And love a lot

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Basement
Lyrics by Phil Ayoub and Tim Bradshaw.  Music by Phil Ayoub.

A little Burgundy
On a Laz-E-Boy
Jackson Browne on the hi-fi
For Everyman

A little leopard skin
Anywhere you look
Bowling trophies and Buddha at the bar

And then there’s you
Calling down to me
Outside I’m alone
But down here
It’s 1973

Neighbors come around
At the end of the week
Jackson 5 has us dancing
I Want You Back

Another record spins
Another memory
Polaroids of best friends at the bar

And then there’s you
Hanging on to me
We’re whirling around
In the basement
In 1973

A sip of Burgundy
On the Laz-E-Boy
Jackson Browne on a CD
The Next Voice You Hear

Faded leopard skin
Anywhere I look
Dusty trophies and Buddha still at the bar

But there’s no you
Coming down to me
Outside I am old
But down here

It’s still 1973

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Flowers at Work
Lyrics by Phil Ayoub.  Music by Phil Ayoub and Tim Bradshaw.

I know that I haven’t told you
I know what I haven’t said
I’ve never been a thoughtful man

But before there’s someone else you’re thinking of
Lord I must confess I’m new to love
And I need one more last chance

Cause I’m not the man I wanna be
You say I couldn’t give you what you need
I was starting to believe it too 

I never meant to hurt you
It was just my pride
I haven’t yet deserved you
Cause up til now I’ve kept my love inside

But I’ll send you flowers at work
I’ll yell it all through the town
Sing it to you dancing naked
Shout it over every acre
And when you come home
I’ll leave you notes all around
Say it to you loud and clear
Then I’ll lean and whisper in your ear

I could never see you hurtin’
Oh I couldn’t see you cry
But I was never one to notice the moon

You say you’re moving on I’ll never change
But the man you’re looking at is not the same
You gotta believe it’s true

I never meant to hurt you
It was just my pride
I haven’t yet deserved you
But now I’m standing here with nothing more to hide

I’ll send you flowers at work
With your friends all around
Sing it to you dancing naked
Shout it over every acre
And when you come home
I’ll leave you notes all around
Say it to you loud and clear
Then I’ll lean and whisper in your ear

I’ll send you flowers at work
With your friends all around
Sing it to you dancing naked
Shout it from every stage
And when you come home
I’ll leave you little notes all around
Take away your doubts and fears
Then I’ll lean and whisper

I’ll send you flowers at work
Yell it all through the town
Sing it to you dancing naked
Shout it over every acre
And when you come home
I’ll leave you notes all around
Say it to you loud and clear

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Body Language
Lyrics by Phil Ayoub.  Music by Phil Ayoub and Tim Bradshaw.

Well it’s another lonely day on another lonely beach
Is it the time or me that’s wasted
Just selling lemonade to some people passing by
They’re singing songs I never knew existed

But when she started talking my hands started shaking
I had no idea what she was saying
But the way she moved her hips and the way she licked her lips
I needed no translation

I said now you’re speaking my language
Just a little body language

One day I looked up from my cup to the bottom of a sundress
Like something from a magazine
I had to double take I wasn’t sure what to make
Can you airbrush reality?

I didn’t take French I don’t know Spanish
I ain’t never been no good at English
But when she looked at me from the corner of her eye
I said I’ll meet you just as soon as I’m finished

Yeah now you’re speaking my language
Just a little body language
Now you’re speaking my language
Just a little body language

Well I’ve been on this island too long
I’m not the silent type but
I’ve spent too many nights talking to myself

Now I don’t know what she said
But it sounded like fun
And soon we were speaking in tongues

I said now you’re speaking my language
Just a little body language
Now you’re speaking my language

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Bad Habits
Lyrics and music by Phil Ayoub.

Cigarettes, phone sex, chatting on the internet
You snore, you clutter, you bite your nails
Eat too much, ride the clutch, snap your gum, interrupt
Cold hands, cold feet, it never fails

Come on ladies that’s it
I can make you quit
I’m better than any patch
I’m better than any pill
I’m better than a hypnotist
And I’m better than your therapist

Too much make up caked on, talking when the game’s on
Asking me if you look fat, how the hell do I answer that
Black jack, baccarat, horse bets, slots and craps
Insomniac, hypochondriac, and you should have a Tic-Tac

Come on ladies that’s it
I can make you quit
I’m better than any patch
I’m better than any pill
I’m better than a hypnotist
And I’m better than your therapist

Cocaine, mary jane, in the mirror you’re so vain
You gossip, and you dance just like Elaine

Jack Daniels Johnny Walker, wedding talk, sleepwalker, caffeine, amphetamines
And a very unhealthy compulsion to clean everything all the time
You’re a martyr, you slouch, you drool and you tease
You don’t say thank you and you don’t say please

Come on ladies that’s it
I can make you quit
I’m better than any patch
And I’m better than any pill
And I’m better than a hypnotist
And I’m better than a therapist
And I’m better than a pharmacist

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Thank You For Bringing Me Home
Lyrics by Phil Ayoub.  Music by Phil Ayoub and Tim Bradshaw.

Caught between the beaches and the backstreets of our lives
Surrounded by familiar and divine
Through a thousand lonely lovers and a thousand lonely hearts
Thank you for bringing me home

As I am awakened in the warmth of your embrace
Memories in pieces intertwine
Comedy and tragedy and a moment in between
But I will be with you in the end

Thank you for bringing me home

And be brave for me
I’ll be brave for you
So be brave for me

A kiss will get you in and no secrets will remain
Surrendering the innocence we bleed
In between confusion and the signs of the cross
But I will be with you in the end

Thank you for bringing me home

And be brave for me
I’ll be brave for you
So be brave for me

So be brave for me
I’ll be brave for you
So be brave for me

Debts have melted all unburdened undiscovered generations words and mysteries fall misshapen faith has strengthened
I know it’s in you
So be brave for me
I’ll be brave for you

I’ll be brave for you
So be brave for me
And I’ll be brave for you

I miss these faces and the pictures on the wall

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Goodnight Romeo
Lyrics by Phil Ayoub and Tim Bradshaw.  Music by Phil Ayoub, Tim Bradshaw, Victor Kray, and Rollie White.

She turned the lights down way down low
And I’m in the dark
Just a stranger I’ll never know
And I’m in her arms

Before the moment comes I’ll go
And slip past those honest eyes
It’s not a secret if we both know
I move faster than the speed of lies

And I don’t walk so tall in the darkness
But I’m not running for the light
And it’s time to say goodnight to Romeo

She turned the lights down way down low
And I’m in the dark
Another stranger I’ll never know
And I’m in her arms

I wanna hurt just to know I’ll feel
What I felt for you
I wanna bleed just to know I’m real

And I don’t walk so tall in the darkness
But I’m not running for the light
And it’s time to say goodnight to Romeo

Now I wear these shades just to hide my eyes
I stole that trick from your book of disguise
I shut my mouth just to stop the lies I tell

If you want me to say it, I’ll be alright
If you need the truth, which truth would you like?
It would have been nice not to have to say goodbye

Now I wear these shades so they hide my eyes
I stole that trick from your book of disguise
I shut my mouth just to stop the lies I tell

And I don’t walk so tall in the darkness
But I’m not running for the light
And it’s time to say to Romeo goodnight

Now if you want me to say it, I’ll be alright
If you need the truth, which truth would you like?

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Ray of Light
Lyrics and music by Phil Ayoub and Tim Bradshaw.

Well I lift my hat in wonder
At the kid on the corner
There’s a battle being fought
Behind the neighborhood of make believe

Some deal and some fly
Some hurt but don’t cry
Some live and some get by

But some hills just can’t be climbed
But he shone til the end
Yeah he was a ray of light
Yeah he was a ray of light

He won’t win
But he won’t break
He’ll outlive the body that betrayed him
In these days and nights
Yeah he was a ray of light

Where I’d be giving up
He was driving on
Pick up and dust off
The chairman of the wild ones

Some deal and some fly
Some hurt but don’t cry
Some live and some get by

But some hills just can’t be climbed
But he shone til the end
Yeah he was a ray of light
Yeah he was a ray of light

He won’t win
But he won’t break
He’ll outlive the body that betrayed him
In these days and nights
Yeah he was a ray of light

He won’t win
But he won’t break
He’ll outlive the body that betrayed him
In these days and nights
Yeah he was a ray of light

Some hills just can’t be climbed
But he shone until the end
Yeah he was a ray of light
Yeah he was a ray of light

Keep believing

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Tara's Birthday
Lyrics and music by Phil Ayoub.

Leapfrog and cotton candy
Pink balloons and a doll named Mandy
Nametags on the kids that say
I’m so happy…
It’s Tara’s birthday

Hopscotch and hula hoops
Hair barrettes and ballet shoes
That new ten-speed it never came
Despite a wish on
Tara’s birthday

Sweet sixteen was finally here
Bye bye dolls and teddy bears
High school boys talk insincere
Maybe next year
Tara’s birthday

Twenty-four was all the rage
The first of too many bridesmaids
Her princely wishes swiftly fading
Maybe this year
Tara’s birthday

You know when she cries at a wedding
She’s not crying no not for her friend
They ain’t tears of joy
Cause a girl has found a boy
 
Thirty-three like all the others
Two more friends have become mothers
Her insignificant other
Forgot her birthday

Forty-five and Whitman’s candy
Remote control and her dog Andy
Dancing Queen ignites her fancy
For memories of
Other birthdays

Birthdays are like airports
They make you think of where you’re going and where you’ve been
And who you’re traveling with
And has it all been worth the cost

Midnight and a cigarette
Two exhales but no regrets
What she wants she hasn’t found it yet
She makes a wish anyway

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Things That Remind Me You're Gone
Lyrics and music by Phil Ayoub.

First there’s this here smile on my face
And I’m no longer chewing my nails
I ain’t never seen the dog so elated
Things that remind me you’re gone

I’m loving what I’ve done with the place
I’m in the same shirt I’ve been wearing for days
No couples therapy for me, no false sense of insecurity
Things that remind me you’re gone
Things that remind me you’re gone

No complaints about my needing a shave
No complaints about my wandering eye
See it ain’t a wandering eye when you’re single
Things that remind me you’re gone
Things that remind me you’re gone

Don’t think for a second I don’t miss you
This pile of laundry won’t let me forget
Oh but an evening with you is what it must’ve been like
Standing on the Titanic’s deck

I’m gonna let my sideburns grow long
I’ll watch the Spanish channel it’s almost like porn
I’ll eat Krispy Kreme when the hot lights on
I’ll have a game-show network marathon
Things that remind me you’re gone
Things that remind me you’re gone

Now I got a bad feeling this might all turn around
Cause I just heard from the best lawyer in town
And I had to go and look up subpoena
Things that remind me you’re gone
Things that remind me you’re gone
Most of my stuff will be gone

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Walk You Home
Lyrics by Phil Ayoub.  Music by Phil Ayoub and Tim Bradshaw.

Hey baby I know you’ve got another man
Who flies you higher than I can
Oh honey but what’s the big deal in flyin’
If you ain’t got a good place to land

Oh baby I bet he would swim the ocean
And meet you back on the shore
Oh but sugar there ain’t nothin’ in this world
That I would ever leave you for

So let me walk you home
Let me walk you home

I bet he has one of those fast little cars
And he drives you like his wildflower
Oh but sweetie you can’t pet no cute little doggies
Driving 85 miles an hour

So let me walk you home
Let me walk you home

Call me a joker you call me a fool
In the game of love I’m a gambler who’s done nothing but lose
I’m not a child I’m just a man
Who wants to walk down the road holding your hand

Oh honey I can’t make you love me
When you won’t even talk
Oh but that’s alrighty mama
I just want to sing to you on down the sidewalk

So let me walk you home
Don’t wanna break your heart
Let me walk you home
Don’t wanna break your heart
Just let me walk you home
Don’t wanna break your heart
Don’t wanna break my heart
Let me walk you home
Don’t wanna break your heart

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32 Memory Lane
Lyrics by Tim Bradshaw and Phil Ayoub.  Music by Tim Bradshaw.

Looking for the door to open
And hoping that it’s you
Waiting for you to walk right in saying
This’ll be the start of something new

And if you stay I’ll be just who you need
And things they wouldn’t be the same
But if you don’t I’ll stay here on my own
At 32 Memory Lane

Years go by and it can’t be helped
But some things you just can’t deny
And sometimes it’s easier to say hello
Than it is to say goodbye

And if you stay I’ll be just who you need
And things they wouldn’t be the same
But if you don’t I’ll stay here on my own
At 32 Memory Lane

The tulips will lean and the roses bloom
And we’ll meet down the road near to dusk
And on our way back home we’ll stop to watch the sunset
And the sunset will stop to watch us

Smiles and tears have mixed for years
And I see from your face that it’s true
And I can’t tell if it’s good or bad
But I think we might make it through

Cause if you stay I’ll be just who you need
And things they wouldn’t be the same
And if you don’t I’ll stay here on my own

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