Peter Mayer

Music

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Elements

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1.	Molly O'Malley's	Molly O'Malley's Molly O’Malley’s is not too far from here Where not a soul, the story goes, ever pays for beer At Molly O’Malley’s the patrons understand That the player’s fee is a pint or three So everyone’s in the band Everybody’s in the band Some join in with voices, some with pipes or reeds Some in the band clap their hands or laugh and slap their knees Some are still and listen with attentive eyes and ears And it’s always strange how the music changes When they disappear When they disappear CHORUS: Over the doorway, painted bold A question begs your pardon “Is this a place of many souls Or just one very large one?” Over the bar, another reads “Are there many songs Or just one that goes on and on?” At Molley O’Malley’s they go chair to chair And each one croons a little tune they would like to share Some are sad, some happy, and singing has its rules That you can’t be shy and you cannot lie But you sing a song that’s true Sing a song that’s true CHORUS: When the night is over, before the last farewell They find the jar on the bar and kindly tip themselves At Molley O’Malley’s, the patrons understand That the player’s fee is a pint or three So everyone’s in the band Everybody’s in the band
2.	The Birthday Party	The Birthday Party I saw the Buddha open up his eyes One Sunday morning Say he’s invited to a party for Christ And he must be going He heaved himself up with a groan, standing slowly Came down those steps of stone, and asked me Where to catch the next train to Jerusalem In India he sang with Hindus as they prayed By the Ganges when the dawn came Near Arabia, he saw Mohammed on the train And asked if he would join him Passing those teeming towns, they talked for hours All about the truth and how it’s discovered Trading bits of news and stories from these thousand years Saying “great idea, this party for Jesus” Then Mohammed said “hey Buddha, it’s great to see ya” Finding the place with the help of Abraham Waving from the doorway They greeted faces from a thousand holy lands Present day and all ages (always) Everybody talking, laughing, fiercely debating Saying how desperately the world is changing Then somebody lit the two-thousand candles And they all toasted Jesus, born in a stable Then Jesus said “hey, let’s not be such strangers”
3.	Skyblaster Man	Skyblaster Man Skyblaster Man There in the lights of the midway he stands Mustache and tattoos, caught in the thralls of his carnie dance Entrancing passers-by, daring that they take A turn on his dangerous ride Making them see that the magic that he commands Makes them feel like they’re flying Skyblaster man Skyblaster man Taking the tickets they have in their hands Their faces like many in the towns along his carnival caravan Dollar thrill-seekers and brief death-defeaters who Come from their comfortable lives To be spun around, and turned upside down And reminded that they’re alive Skyblaster man To be convinced you’re alive It’s a mighty big job for a three minute ride So he brings his powers to bear As if he’s in prayer While they’re in the air And when they land They stand in a daze and stagger and laugh And he knows at that time, by the look in their eyes that a few understand But will they remember, he wonders as he Very carefully helps them all down As if in his care, he’s aware of the much greater Perils of life on the ground Skyblaster man
4.	Canoe Song	Canoe Song I like to make ‘em out of birch bark skins I studied how with the Indians A little pine tar, nice and thin Makes a boat float just right I like to brag about the perfect stroke I own a paddle made of aged oak Every maneuver I can do by rote But there’s one thing I don’t like CHORUS: Don’t like to put the paddle in the water That would be a crazy thing to do I don’t want to be no fishes’ fodder I don’t want to tip in that canoe I’d rather be a dreamer on the shoreline Than a hero at the bottom of the lake I never put the paddle in the water That would be a dangerous mistake I sing “Allouette” in Francais Just like the French in Hudson Bay I smoke a pipe and drink Beaujolais And I tell a tall tale or two I know every river and portage And in an emergency, I know triage I smell a storm like a weather cock But there’s one thing I won’t do CHORUS: I know the tensile strength of each one Fiberglass or aluminum I make plans and study maps Draw lines across the world and back I like to train on weight machines Carbo-load and high protein I’m a fanatic, it would seem But baby, I’m no fool CHORUS:
5.	World of Dreams	World of Dreams Mr. Isaac Newton tested everything Poked and prodded, then said “Solid things are as real as they seem” Mr. Albert Einstein pondered light and speed And with his mind’s eye, declared “oh my, This is a world of dreams” When we investigate the highest heavens They seem to race away faster than we can follow And when we penetrate the heart of atoms We find there something strangely resembling Nothing at all In the smallest measure of anything at hand Entities of energy are alive in a whirling dance Even our own bodies are not as we perceive But made of the same stuff our thoughts are made In this world of dreams So do we live and move amidst illusions? Has what we’re seeing fooled us And only exists in our minds? And what are we to do with such conclusions? For what cannot come true in a world of a Mystical kind? Mr. Albert Einstein woke one day from sleep To arise, to his surprise, in a world of dreams So as we move closer, the farther we must reach We may fight for what we like, but this is a world of dreams We may feel that this is real, but this is a world of dreams Or proclaim no, it can’t be so But this is a world of dreams
6.	The Dark	The Dark Edgar Allen Poe had it In his tell tale heart It’s the finest time to strike Said Napolean Bonaparte Inmates make their break into it Cavemen make their art Spy planes fly and spelunkers hunker Somewhere in the dark Batman catches criminals in the dark of night Saving Gotham City from evil designs Darkness, lovers love in and Dreamers tend to like And if you think you’re neither one Well, in the dark, that’s just what You might become Some celestial bodies like to Strut their stuff alot But we know Mr. Black Hole is the Big boy on the block King Tut looked pretty comfy In that old dark tomb What’s good for an Egyptian mummy Might be right for you What’s the fun relying on something you can see? That’s just so passe when you run toward the light Why not make a dangerous tryst with mystery? It’s a downright frightening hole Watch your head Down you go Larry lost his inhibitions Sally felt a spark Jacob saw a mystic vision Somewhere in the dark Black cats eke out a descent living Monsters make it far You might find what you’ve been missing Somewhere in The Dark
7.	Scatterbrain	Scatterbrain Scatterbrains are just the same as regular people Except for some impairments they display Like seldom remembering your name Even if they are in your family When the phone rings at home, sometimes they open the Refrigerator door and say hello They load washing machines with clean clothes That they just unloaded from the dryer It may seem sad, you may think that they have gone mad But it’s just the peculiar ways of the scatterbrain They put stuff like coffee cups and purses and grocery bags On the top of the car and drive away And notice this some moments later When they brake or take a corner And they spend time trying to find The glasses they’re wearing Or the keys that they are holding in their hand And when they find them they call themselves bad names like You stupid moron or you idiot or you loser It may seem sad, like a tragic and cruel handicap But it’s just the peculiar ways of the scatterbrain There’s one now in the kitchen, he’s sweeping the floor But he needs a new broom so he runs to the store But in the car, on the way, he hears a new song he likes So he stops to buy the record but he runs into Mike And they talk over coffee until Mike has to go And our man can’t remember just why he left home So if you see one of these Directionless people Maybe you can offer them a hand Instead of just pointing and laughing But if you do, well, who could blame you? It may seem sad, but actually it’s not that bad It’s just the peculiar ways The truly inscrutable daze The thick intellectual haze The look in the eyes kind of glazed The life like a mouse in a maze Of the scatterbrain
8.	Running with the Buffalo	Running with the Buffalo His kin came from across the sea He’s as tame as he can be Born of the western mind A child of the left-brained kind A metal car on a concrete road Is how he gets everywhere he goes An automated and a mechanized mode Is all he’s ever known In his sober land He does the dance of a modern man But sometimes, when he’s sleeping, his soul Is running with the buffalo His mind calculates another fact But his memory is searching back To something he can’t quite recall Or doesn’t remember at all Something like a spiritual trance Round and round in a circle dance Round the light of a midnight fire Freeing him as it grows higher In his sober land He does the dance of a modern man But sometimes, when he’s sleeping, his soul Is running with the buffalo Great Spirit of this broken land Have mercy on the modern man Teach him how, body and soul To go running with buffalo Buffalo Prairie below your feet The hunter’s bow Keeping your senses keen The milky way Over your traveling And the plain Is like an endless sea
9.	Astronaut Dreams	Astronaut Dreams Maggie Jane has a family And makes a good salary Her life is quite ordinary Except for her astronaut dreams They happen when she is sleeping They happen when she’s awake They come like abductors who sneak in And carry poor Maggie away CHORUS: Suddenly Maggie Jane is floating high in space Up among the super novi and the bright nebulae And the earth is just another point of light, far away Keep busy say the doctors Clean house, turn on the TV And they give her pills to stop her From having her astronaut dreams But the Universe still keeps calling And haunting her daily routine And defenses are slim when the light years creep in And then steal her away beyond reach CHORUS: And that world of her work and her bills and her children Is a tiny place in a remote solar system And the size and the scope of the space where she floats Is so big, so very big So if you run into Maggie And meet with an eerie stare Don’t think she’s cold if you get no hello Because Maggie Jane may not be there
10.	O Sun	O Sun You are the sun I am the dew Gifted with life for a moment or two That I for my time May sparkle and shine O Sun, come fill me with you O Sun, come fill me with you You are the wind I am the sail You are my strength and without you I fail Breathe but a sigh And I’ll open wide O Wind, come fill me with you O Wind, come fill me with you You are the wine I am the cup I can yield nothing till I am filled up Hold me upright And pour forth your life O Wine, come fill me with you O Wine, come fill me with you O Wine, come fill me O Wind, come fill me O Sun, come fill me With you
11.	Easy Street	Easy Street I’ve played it out in my head so many times before I’m fixing dinner at home and there’s a knock on the door He holds the check out in his hand Oh my God, it’s Ed MacMahon! CHORUS: Every night I pray to God above me To send his love along with lots of money Because in my heart I feel him calling me to Easy Street Swimming down at the Y for exercise is hard When I know God could provide me with a pool in my yard And I could meet my deeper needs With a couple thousand more square feet CHORUS: A masterbath with double sinks would help me out for sure A TV screen as high as me might be the only cure For this middle class depravity, the sacrifices I endure Deliver me Oh Lord! And so I dream of the day when all my worries are gone The lotteries and the sweepstakes, man, I play ‘em all And though my faith has made me strong These days I’m barely hanging on CHORUS: Grant us peace oh God and feed the hungry And don’t forget to give me lots of money Because I believe you have a plan for me On Easy Street
12.	Magic Beans	Magic Beans That’s not how the story goes When do heroes play it safe? You’ve got a job and a family-o But not a single golden egg And a pocket full of possibilities Hey ho Jack, when Will you plant them Magic beans? Jack, Oh Jack, what scared you so? Made you hide those beans and run Did you hear the rumors-o Of the fee, fi, fo, and fum? Were you frightened of the things you Just might see Hey ho Jack-o If you plant those Magic beans? Jack, it’s not too late you know To sow those seeds of fate So throw them out your wind-o Go to sleep, and when you wake Things will happen Things you never dared to dream But they won’t happen Unless you plant them Magic beans
13.	The Introvert Song	The Introvert Song People bug me when they interrupt me with calls And unannounced visits And on top of that when they chat about nothing at all And I ask “what is it?” I do have a lot to do Can you return at two? I will not be here by then Just leave what you need me for On a note on my door So I can ignore it my friend You may think it maddening when you ring my answering machine And I’m right there listening But I’d like to hire my own secretary who's mean Someone who says things like “Mr. Mayer can’t be reached He is not in, you see He’s in a meeting till ten I suppose I could take your name Who are you anyway? Please never call here again If I see you before you see me in the hall Then while you’re not looking I’ll find the nearest bathroom and hide in the stall Till I think the coast is clear Then I will take a peak And, if you’re gone, I’ll sneak Back to my private abode There in my world of one I have a lot more fun Because people bug me you know I do have a lot to do Can you return at two? I will not be here by then Just leave what you need me for On a note on my door So I can ignore it my friend (repeat first verse)
14.	Moon River

"Elements" is a collection of songs taken from a variety of Peter's live performances over the past few years, as well as a few recorded in the studio. Most are solo versions, and two songs feature a band.

Apr 26	Nisswa, MN Grassroots Concert Series
May 4 7 pm	Ashland, WI Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute
May 19 Noon	Rochester, MN Harmony For Mayo