1. |
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DOWN BY THE OYSTER BARGES
© Bob Wright
A D
I dreamed I danced with Mary Mallon,
A E
Typhoid Mary… Typhoid Mary
A D
Dreamed I danced with Mary Mallon
A E
Down by an oyster barge
(BREAK BETWEEN EACH VERSE)
She stepped so light I could hardly catch her
Hardly catch her, hardly catch her
Stepped so light I could hardly catch her
Down by an oyster barge
And the boys all said don’t dance with Mary
Typhoid Mary… Typhoid Mary
Said don’t dance with Typhoid Mary
Down by an oyster barge
But she kicked so high I could see her stockings
See her stockings, see her stockings
Left my heart and knees a knocking
Down by an oyster barge
We’d dance for a while and we’d eat a dozen
Eat a dozen, eat a dozen
She said oysters were for lovin’
Down by an oyster barge
Before too long I was feeling queasy
Feeling queasy, feeling queasy
Mary said she had to leave me
Down by an oyster barge
So if you go down to the oyster barges
Oyster barges, oysters barges
Don’t you dance with Typhoid Mary
Down by an oyster barge
Cause I dreamed I danced with Mary Malllon
Typhoid Mary… Typhoid Mary
Woke up with my stomach rollin’
Down by an oyster barge
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2. |
Canadian Invasion
02:20
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3. |
Tenements
02:21
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TENEMENTS
© Bob Wright
They pay their rent in tenements with lots of time in ditches
And grumble that the landlords are a bunch of sons of bitches
They freeze there in the wintertime and broil there in July
And there’s not a soul amongst them believes they’ll leave before they die
(Chorus)
There’s nothing wrong with tenements
They’re just a pile of bricks
There’s nothing wrong with tenements
A wrecking ball won’t fix
There’s nothing wrong with tenements
I won’t go back again
I’d rather be a beggarman
At least I’d see the sun
You can tell by all the snoring when the men have been out drinking
they pack you in so tightly you can hear your neighbor thinking
They drown themselves in gin and beer that barely has fermented
There’s no reason to be sober in the palaces they’ve rented
(Chorus)
It seems to them they’re living in a cavern or a stable
But most of them still rise and shine and do what they are able
They’d heard that in America all things are vast and wide
But it’s hard to see the good of things when you’re always stuck inside
(Chorus)
Now Mister Jacob Riis has sworn to change the way things run
He went there with his picture box he should have brought a gun
For if ever there was anything that needed facing down
It’s the landlord of a tenement when the rent comes back around
(Chorus)
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4. |
Tottenville Town
02:35
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TOTTENVILLE TOWN
© Bob Wright
D G D
I’d like to go down to Tottenville town
A D
Tottenville down by the sea
Where the oysters I hear
G D A D
Are much sweeter there than I ever thought they’d be
A G D
They’re so fine and briny they’ll mess with your mind
G A
You’ll make love dramatically
D G D
Oh… I’d like to go down to Tottenville town
A D
Tottenville down by the sea
I’d like to go down to Tottenville town
Tottenville down by the sea
Where the houses I hear
Are much bigger there than I ever thought they’d be
They’re big and they’re sunny they cost lots of money
They keep them fastidiously
I’d like to go down to Tottenville town
Tottenville down by the sea
I’d like to go down to Tottenville town
Tottenville down by the sea
Where the people I hear
Are much nicer there than I ever thought they’d be
They’ve built them a place
At the tip of the state
And live there quite comfortably
I’d like to go down to Tottenville town
Tottenville down by the sea
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5. |
The Feejee Mermaid
03:08
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THE TRUE AND ACTUAL ACCOUNT OF BARNUM’S FEEJEE MERMAID
© Bob Wright
She’s the only mermaid that you can’t get wet.
Late one night off the Feejee coast
A native fisherman went out in his boat
He cast his lines he set his nets
Then sat back to see what he’d get
A cloud rolled over the man in the moon
The water boiled… he grabbed a harpoon
Something rose up sad to say
The fisherman fired away
Many years later he could still recall
That bloody sight that mournful call
For it wasn’t a tuna fish or whale
But a mermaid girl that he had by the tail
Her eyes grew dim as he held her near
She whispered softly in his ear
I can’t believe that I’ve been caught
while I was heading to New York
Right after that the mermaid died
He held her for a while and cried
He stroked her gills and swore that he
Would see she got across the sea
He packed her up in ice and hailed
A Yankee ship that was hunting whales
The captain smelt opportunity
And he knew who to go and see
Old Phineas T couldn’t believe his eyes
He couldn’t wait to advertise
People lined up around the block
To see what the Feejee man had caught
For a quarter of a dollar see a daughter of the sea
She’s the most amazing thing that you have ever seen
Control the urge to holler control the urge to scream
Your safety is assured at the American Museum
And… she’s the only mermaid that you can’t get wet
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6. |
American Casbah
02:28
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AMERICAN CASBAH
© Bob Wright
E
Welcome to the Casbah
B7
I swear we have it all
C7/B7 E/B7
Lots of opportunities await you in the stalls
Welcome to your nightmares
Welcome to your dreams
Watch your step and keep alert
Things ain’t always what they seem
Now take that mister over there
He may look a little foreign
But he was born above this store
You shoulda heard his mama cryin’
And those people in the funny clothes
They’ve lived here forever
They may not dress like you or me
But they certainly are clever
(Chorus)
Now you talk a little funny
Yes you sound a little strange
But if you stay here long enough
Even that might change
Or you can stay the way you got here
Hey you can be somebody new
You can even say you’re not here
Who’s to say it isn’t true
So welcome to the Casbah
I swear we have it all
Lots of opportunities await you in the stalls
Welcome to your nightmares
Welcome to your dreams
Watch your step and keep alert
Things ain’t always what they seem
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7. |
The Oyster Aristocracy
02:41
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8. |
Crossing Jenny Lind
02:15
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CROSSING JENNY LIND
(CHORUS)
D A D/D7
Walt Whitman didn’t like Jenny Lind
G
You heard it right
D
Let me say it again
G Gm
He made it quite clear
D
He made it quite plain
D A D
Walt Whitman didn’t like Jenny Lind
Now you know it may seem funny
After all she was America’s honey
But with all the accolades she collected
She didn’t make his body electric
(chorus)
Walt Whitman was a musical thinker
The man could hear America singing
But after hearing her he decreed
She didn’t touch his heart in the least
(chorus)
Bettini and Alboni left him breathless
The Swedish Nightingale …made him restless
He thought… how can there be anything but boredom
When there’s a vacuum in the head of the performer
(chorus)
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9. |
Downings Oyster Bar
02:15
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DOWNINGS OYSTER BAR
© Bob Wright
D C A
There’s a party going on upstairs
D G D A
Acres of oysters and lakes of champagne
D C A
They don’t know we’re hiding out down here
G A D
Running from a lifetime of pain
D C A
Mr. Downing is everywhere
D G D A
Checking us over then checking again
G D A Bm
Shaking his head at the stories we share
G A D
Players in a dangerous game
(Chorus)
G D A D
Just follow the star is what we were told
G D Bm A
The sky doesn’t lie the darkness enfolds you
G D
There will be hardships
G
And dangers to share
A D
There will be people who care
G D A D
There will be people who care
It’s been days since we saw the sun
We don’t ask for pity and we don’t complain
Life ain’t easy when you’re on the run
But we’re never going back again
(Chorus)
G D
We can hear people singing
G D
We can hear glasses clinking
G D G
We can hear our hearts pounding with every footfall
G A D
Mr. Downing says don’t worry at all
G D A D
Mr. Downing says don’t worry at all
(Chorus)
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10. |
The Mermaids Mandolin
02:49
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THE MERMAID’S MANDOLIN
© Bob Wright
G D C G
Sometimes at night when the sky tries to smile
Em D
And the ocean is rolling a soft lullaby
C G C G
Rolling seven/ eleven come heaven come sin
D
The mermaids are playing on their mandolins
(chorus)
G C G
Singing songs that are salty and songs that are blue
Em D
Sing along with the whales and the sailormen too
C G C G
Songs that are easily caught by a breeze
C D G
Songs that belong to the sea
The oceans a wild place the oceans a home
And the ocean can take you to places unknown
It’ll chill you and thrill you and beckon you in
When the mermaids are playing on their mandolins
(chorus)
C G
And the seas are deep…
C G
And the seas are cold…
Em D
And the seas are ancient and old…
It’s the place that we came from and a place that we go
For a sense that the world can be made to go slower
We leave but we always go back there again
When the mermaids are playing on their mandolins
(chorus)
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11. |
Look at the Water
02:46
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LOOK AT THE WATER Key of A
© Bob Wright
A D
Look at the water brother
A D
Look at the water brother
A D E A
We should have realized that something was wrong
A D
Look at the color of it
A D
Look at the color brother
A D E A
We should have realized that something was wrong
(Chorus)
A E A
Now we’re gonna have to shut it all down boys
E A
We’re gonna have to shut it all down
D
From the Hudson to the Raritan
A E
Ain’t no one taking care of it
D A
We’re gonna have to shut it all down.
Can’t find no stripers (OH NO)
Can’t find no shad (OH NO)
I hate to say it boys but things have gone bad
Can’t eat no oysters (OH NO)
Can’t eat no clams (OH NO)
I hate to say it boys but we’re in a jam
(Chorus)
INSTRUMENTAL BREAK- (VERSE)
Call out the lawyers (OH NO)
Call out the judge (OH NO)
We got to tell them that the harbors all sludge
Go tell the clamming man ( NOOOO)
Go tell the oysterman (NOOOO)
We got to tell them that their jobs are all done
(Chorus)
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12. |
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THE CAPTAINS OF CAPTAIN ROW
© Bob Wright
Oh the captains of Captains Row
Can sail anything that floats
If it’s got a rudder
They can sail it in a puddle
Oh the captains of Captains Row
Oh the captains of Captains Row
Like to go for an evening stroll
You hear them coming
By the shanties they are humming
Oh the captains of Captains Row
Oh the captains of Captains Row
Like to get in a boat and row
They sail the ocean
Cause they like the motion
Oh the captains of Captains Row
Oh the captains of Captains Row
Eat oysters with their toast
They scoop them from the bottom
And they’re happy when they got ‘em
Oh the captains of Captains Row
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13. |
New York City Views
03:09
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NEW YORK CITY VIEWS
© Bob Wright
C D G C D G
New York from the water New York from the air
C D G
New York seems like it’s a dream
F D
When you’re first getting there
C D G C D G
New York seen from Africa from Italy or Spain
C D G
New York seems to change as much
F D
As it remains the same
New York seen from Liverpool from Dublin and Beirut
New York is the kind of place
That sings a song for you
New York is a question mark New York is a crowd
New York wants to hear you now
So sing it right out loud
(Chorus)
C D G C D G
New York City, New York City, New… York City
C D G C D G
New York City, New York City views
New York with its bridges and its rivers and its boats
New York with its subways and its sidewalks and its roads
New York opportunities provide us all with hope
But New York makes no promises to those who choose to go
New York is an actor New York is a stage
New York is a place you can begin another page
New York takes the seasons and makes them all it’s own
New York is the reason that you all should sing along
(Chorus)
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Bob Wright/ Harbortown New York, New York
He is a multi-instrumentalist, an award winning songwriter and Bob Wright songs are often mistaken for traditional songs because their immigrant roots run deep beneath the surface of America and back to the places they came from for nurturing and inspiration. They surface in a modern world, constructed with a modern sensibility and a comforting resonance with the past. ... more
Contact Bob Wright/ Harbortown
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