COFFEE

Well I rise each morning to the same routine
Inspect my teeth before I pick them clean
Contemplate my English dream
And drink coffee

Then I ponder for a while as to where I'd been
The night before to make my thoughts so lean
I wonder over to the coffee machine
And drink coffee

I'm a low rent, high mile son of a bitch
But I get the job done yeah I get the job done
I'm acutely aware of this perennial itch
Something's lurking in the water tank
Something's lurking in the water tank

I step out to work for another day
The money's poor but it tests my grey
And it keeps me in food and in Nescafe
My coffee

And I sing at night just to pay my way
I kid myself I've got something to say
But I'd just as soon go home and maybe
Drink coffee

Well I'm a low down, high five son of a bitch
But I get the job done yeah I get the job done
I'm acutely aware of this perennial itch
Something's lurking in the water tank
Yeah something's lurking in the water tank

So I go back home with a sense of dread
Attempt to recall all the things I said
As the last bell chimes I'm in my bed
With my coffee

Well I'm a low paid, high five son of a bitch
But I get the job done yeah I get the job done
I'm acutely aware of this perennial itch
Something's lurking in the water tank
Yeah something's lurking in the water tank

Cos I'm a low down, high rise son of a bitch
But I get the job done yeah I get the job done
I'm acutely aware of this perennial itch
Something's lurking in the water tank
Yeah something's lurking in the water tank
Something's lurking in the water tank
Yeah something's lurking in the water tank

Jules Benjamin (copyright 2003)

YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY DANIEL KAMINSKY

You've come a long way Daniel Kaminsky
And there's a warm proud glow in my heart
Cos it's a long, long journey from Brownsville
To where you are

And Sammy tried to change your appearance
And they tried to hide where you're from
But like the bird in one of your stories
You were the swan

And when they take the greatest few
I'm sure that you should stand in line
Tell 'em you're the Brooklyn kid, that's what you did
And how I wish that life was mine
You've come a long way Daniel Kaminsky
And that's just fine

Well the sunshine state got you singing
And the Borscht Belt taught you your art
And by the time you made it to London
You were the star

Then beneath the Poconos sunshine
And along came Sylvia Fine
And in Anatole and Pavlova
She made you shine

CHORUS

In '39 you gave us Tchaikovsky
And you jester still makes me smile
And when you gave us Skokic you brought
A tear to my eye

CHORUS

Jules Benjamin (copyright 2003)

LAST LOVE OF THE YEAR

So original, you breaking my heart
I'd have said in your head you've been
Trying to get out from the start

So incredible, you walking away
And you thought that I bought you'd been
Searching for a better way

And I'm waiting for the phone to ring
Darling are you thinking clear
That would make you the last love of the year

So magnanimous, in how you withdrew
And to think that the brink had been
Reached by the things that you do

So ridiculous, you crying at me
I'm amazed by the phrase that you
Wanted to just set me free

And I'm waiting for the mail to drop
Wondering why you're not near
That would make you the last love of the year

So regrettable, your waste of my time
I can see from your plea that you're guilty
Of no bigger crime

And I'm waiting for the 9.06
Wondering why you're not here
That would make you the last love of the year

Jules Benjamin Copyright 2003

MELT

Well I drink my brown as the rain tumbles down on my window
And I left the best dream that I ever had on my pillow
My expectations just hang like a dying old willow
And she can melt, oh she can melt
She can melt

Well I miss the way she can knock me out with a side smile
And she holds herself with a childish charm and a high style
She can try her worst and still beat the rest by a long mile
'Cos she can melt, ooh she can melt
Yeah she can melt

Well I've been dumbing down this stupid old frown for a long time, yeah
That her name's not known unto everyone is a high crime
Yeah I cannot think what I'm gonna use for the next rhyme

Well I sip my tea as the sun breaks free from the horizon
And you wouldn't get up if you saw what my nights were comprising
That my days are spent chained to my bed's not surprising
Yeah 'cos she can melt, oh she can melt
She can melt, oh she can melt

Jules Benjamin (copyright 2003)

IF I WAS YOUR MAN

Watch out, she's coming, making everything look nice
You bet, she's something, making everybody look twice
That's right, she's got it, making all the grown men stare
But I'm cool and I know it, acting like I just don't care
I know my chance is better if I act as if she's just not there

If I was your man would you smile
Would you stay for a while?
Would you lay a little love on me?
If I was your man would you please
Would you laugh would you tease?
Would you lay a little love on me?
If I was your man would you kiss
Would you hold would you miss me?
Would you lay a little love on me?
If I was your man would you find
me a little of your time?
Would you lay a little love on me?

Hold tight, she's looking, everybody thinks he's in
They pray for mercy, repenting every darkest sin
But I know I've got it, as I achieve an eye to eye
She maims from distance, enough to make a grown man cry
And I feel it getting hotter and I wonder if I'm gonna fry

CHORUS

My God, she's coming, she parts the crowd as she goes
I take a starring role in a passion-crazed lovers show
But then she walks right past and straight up to another Joe

CHORUS

Jules Benjamin (copyright 2003)

GOT TO CHANGE MY WAYS

34th Street Partnership, they've got ways to keep the streets clean
Way up on 7th Avenue, man that's quite a different scene
That's where I fell in with the wrong crowd, you know I never felt so green
Took me for a brother, showed me things I never seen

I've lost another day
Soon I'll have to pay
There's nothing left to say
God knows I've got to change my ways

Been getting through the green stuff, the walls are yellow like my soul
And I'm running out of cardboard in my dazed and smoky hole
I'm admiring all the silverware from my thirty-six year roll
I keep them in the cupboard with the memories I stole

CHORUS

The beatniks down in Trinidad, they've got the right idea to me
Just sat out in the sunshine with their ankles in the Caribbean Sea
They might break a sweat to fill their cups, just so long as it's free
I stand out on the peninsula and think I've got to get that life for me

CHORUS

Jules Benjamin (copyright 2003)

GET THE GIRL

Wait until I call you before you talk to me
Wait until I've had enough before you let me be

You might as well give in because you're in my world
And I've never seen a movie where the hero didn't get the girl

Wait until I'm sleeping before you wake me up
Wait until I'm empty before you fill my cup

CHORUS

Wait until I'm crying before you comfort me
Wait until I'm captive before you set me free

CHORUS

Jules Benjamin (copyright 2003)

SHE WILL TAKE SOME LOVING

She couldn't shake the Port Authority
They found the diamonds in her bag
They locked her up and set the highest fee
Her broker boyfriend bailed her out

And she will take some loving, and she will take some loving
And she will take some loving, but I'm not the man
And she will take some loving, and she will take some loving
And she will take some loving, but I'm not the man, I'm not the man

The prince declared her flavour of the week
And threw a party on his boat
And in her honour the noble and chic
All raised their flutes to make a toast

And she will take some loving, and she will take some loving
And she will take some loving, but I'm not the man
And she will take some loving, and she will take some loving
And she will take some loving, but I'm not the man, I'm not the man

She always hoped to find a better way
She always knew the good from bad
And in the end when there's nothing left to say
Her latest tail was all she had

And she will take some loving, and she will take some loving
And she will take some loving, but I'm not the man
And she will take some loving, and she will take some loving
And she will take some loving, but I'm not the man, I'm no the man

She couldn't shake the Port Authority
They found the diamonds in her bag

Jules Benjamin (copyright 2003)

MARIANNE

Three dreams of Marianne this week and it's only Tuesday
Can't wait to see her for real
It occurred to me there's nowhere near enough collusion
As I sipped my Mojito and finished my meal

'Cos her hair is like the sun and her eyes are like the sky
I fly across them in my mind
But I'm evicted from my thoughts by the captain with a glare
Who wants my table now that I've dined

Oh Marianne it's my plan to be much closer to you
Oh Marianne if I can, I'll be much closer to you

I've been a week on this shining little island
But my legs and my feet are worn out
When I get home I'm going to stay in for a fortnight
Staying in is last years going out

Oh Marianne it's my plan to be much closer to you
Oh Marianne if I can, I'll be much closer to you, yeah

If I'd dollar for every thought of her
I'd take that upgrade to first class
I'd wear some Chino's and a stylish cotton shirt
Sip the champagne from my glass

Oh Marianne it's my plan to be much closer to you
Oh Marianne if I can, I'll be much closer to you

Oh Marianne it's my plan to be much closer to you
Oh Marianne if I can, I'll be much closer to you

Jules Benjamin (copyright 2003)

ANGELA'S BIRTHDAY

I feel I've known you for so long, since December '63
Oh what a night to come along, born so beautiful and free
And now you're here, celebrate with me, yeah
You've come so far, you're where you want to be

You've got to look forward to something
And everything feels so right
We're going to Angela's birthday tonight

The Cagneys crowd will be along, at Silver Blades you can skate for free
And they've been at work at the Sunshine Bakery, yeah
A cake just for you, the biggest you have seen

You've got to look forward to something
And everything feels so right
We're going to Angela's birthday tonight

We've got the World's End choir to sing, and Jimmy Franks will spin the wheels
I could have bought shoes, but here's a song for free, yeah
Tonight they will dance in the Caribbean Sea

You've got to look forward to something
And everything feels so right
We're going to Angela's birthday
Yeah we're going to Angela's birthday
We're going to Angela's birthday tonight

Jules Benjamin (copyright 2003)

FIREFLIES

Fireflies touch the sky, an open blaze and a glass of rye
Sit here and I wonder why I'm sitting here

Warm breeze, lunar light, ivy climbs into the night
In my dreams I have to fight to stay awake

I know damn well if I close my eyes I'll meet her in my mind
I know damn well if I fall asleep I'll see her
See her on the other side

Northern lights frame the frieze, and dance beyond the swaying trees
I whistle through the melodies she never heard

White sheets, fireside, riding on a lucid tide
Sitting here and I can't decide if she's sitting here

Jules Benjamin (copyright 2003)

 

ALCATRAZ

We got out to the island, and it was a calm and precious night
The coast guard soon arrived and came out with their spot light
Oh but they couldn't find us but they'd come so close you could have died
We were holding back our laughter by the dock side

Alcatraz, gonna stay a moment more
Alcatraz, gonna stay within these shores, gonna stay within these shores

To the Great White Father, we're taking back this land
In the name of every tribesman, we're here to make a stand
It will symbolise the great lands once ruled by the noble and the free
We stand here by right of discovery

CHORUS

Your leaders didn't come here to enhance our quality of life
They out a hand of reason, in the other hold a knife
We feel that we've been honourable and fair in everything we've done
But for $24 all we get's a loaded gun

CHORUS

Jules Benjamin (copyright 2003)

A FEW OF MY OWN

Well I was born on a Tuesday
On a sixties, springtime morn
By the weekend I learned to handle myself
I could talk and I could crawl
But now she thinks I need assistance
Because I just can't manage alone
She says she's got ways of making me smile
But I've got a few of my own

I was raised on self-reliance
And how to make the perfect steal
By sixteen I made my first million
In a smart ass, whiz-kid deal
But now she says I'm no survivor
When she calls me on the phone
She says she's got ways of making me smile
But I've got a few of my own

Well I've followed my own religion
That is how I've become so strong
There is only one God I will answer to
And he's singing you this song
But now she says I need a saviour
In her old self-righteous tone
She says she's got ways of making me smile
But I've got a few of my own
She says she's got ways of making me smile
But I've got a few of my own

Jules Benjamin (copyright 2002)