The Old Men Used to Sing
The old men used to sing
And lifted a brother
Carefully
Out the door
I used to think they
Were born
Knowing how to
Gently swing
A casket
They shuffled softly
Eyes dry
More awkward
With the flowers
Than with the widow
After they'd put the
Body in
And stood around waiting
In their
Brown suits.
poem by Annie Louisa Walker
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Related quotes
Sing Me A Swing Song
Give me a song that's robust
Feeling the way I am
Any old band'll go bust
If it ain't got that jam
When a body needs a body
On the ballroom floor
Then a body asks a body
"What's a swing band for?"
Oh baby, I don't want you
To croon soft and mellow
Let me warn you in advance,
Sing me a swing song and let me dance
Oh baby, I don't want
Any moon, bright and yellow
You can have your sweet romance
Sing me a swing song and let me dance
Mr. Trombone, play some corn
I ain't carin' what notes
Mr. Trumpet, grab a horn
Brother, give me hot notes
Oh baby, I don't want
Any tune, on a cello
Give the rhythm men a chance
Sing me a swing song and let me dance
instrumental interlude
Let me warn you in advance,
Sing me a swing song and let me dance
You can have your sweet romance, just
Sing me a swing song and let me dance
Mr. Trombone, play some corn
I ain't carin' what notes
Mr. Trumpet, grab a horn
Brother, give me hot notes
Oh baby, I don't want
Any tune, on a cello
Give the rhythm men a chance
Sing me a swing song and let me dance
Ol' Chick Webb is beatin' it out
Makes me feel like I want to shout
All the boys are ready to prance, so
Sing me a swing song and let me dance
song performed by by Ella Fitzgerald
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sing
I wrote a love song but i cant sing
Drift away hanging from rope swing
The afternoon sun breaks through the leaves
Knowing what i know now nothings what is seems
So peaceful here everything is still
Can i capture and bottle this moment
And release it when needed release at my will
Why cant everyone have a place like this
A place to dream a place to reminisce
So as i swing in my swing
There is nobody around should i dare to sing
If only i had someone to sing too
I will sing to the birds and the trees
They wont know if is good or bad as i do
So i lay back an sing
I sing about everything
The Watchman
Eyes locked, slowly we drift
knowing or not knowing;
A conversation dips in laxity.
The time stood around, eye-deep,
unbelieving steel, which had bent
forgetting the fortress of body.
A narcissus weeps without eyes
waiting for the evidence.
A raging moon will not come.
When nightingale stops singing
how will I find your home?
Far away half-naked sun was hiding.
Ungrateful century splits the human
species. Genes are jumping out.
The watchman had left the door.
poem by Satish Verma
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His Touch
She leaned against the brick wall,
Letting him feel her body.
His hands rested gently on her waist,
He looked into her hazel eyes.
She looked back into his brown eyes,
Threw her arms around his neck.
He pulled her towards his body.
She stopped breathing
everything around her had frozen.
He leaned forward to kiss her,
Fireworks burst everywhere,
She was floating on a cloud.
He walked her to her door,
Kissed her hand gently goodbye,
And left.
From her life,
Only leaving his touch with her.
poem by Scarlet Outlaw
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A Pair Of Brown Eyes
One summer evening drunk to hell
I stood there nearly lifeless
An old man in the corner sang
Where the water lilies grow
And on the jukebox johnny sang
About a thing called love
And its how are you kid and whats your name
And how would you bloody know?
In blood and death neath a screaming sky
I lay down on the ground
And the arms and legs of other men
Were scattered all around
Some cursed, some prayed, some prayed then cursed
Then prayed and bled some more
And the only thing that I could see
Was a pair of brown eyes that was looking at me
But when we got back, labeled parts one to three
There was no pair of brown eyes waiting for me
And a rovin a rovin a rovin Ill go
For a pair of brown eyes
I looked at him he looked at me
All I could do was hate him
While ray and philomena sang
Of my elusive dream
I saw the streams, the rolling hills
Where his brown eyes were waiting
And I thought about a pair of brown eyes
That waited once for me
So drunk to hell I left the place
Sometimes crawling sometimes walking
A hungry sound came across the breeze
So I gave the walls a talking
And I heard the sounds of long ago
From the old canal
And the birds were whistling in the trees
Where the wind was gently laughing
And a rovin a rovin a rovin Ill go
For a pair of brown eyes
song performed by by Pogues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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After Bike Ride
Jim's younger sister
Followed you everywhere
and stood watching
as you rode the old car
around the field
or whizzed around
on their motorbike
to the cheers and shouts
from the fence
Monica why don't you
go off and play
Jim said
yes
said Pete
her other brother
go play with your dolls
go take a run and jump
she said
and still stood watching you
her eyes fixed on you
like wasps on a jam jar
I want to watch him ride
she said
and stood with her hands
on her hips
waiting until you stopped
the bike and got off
and wandered over to you
and said
I like the way you ride
like how you sway
and swerve on the bike
and you smiled at her
and took in
her short stature
her dark eyes
her determined expression
and as Pete rode off
on the bike
and Jim stood
on the fence
calling to him
Monica put her hand in yours
and said
wish you were my brother
I know you'd let me ride
the bike or car
and not tease me
or bawl me out
I guess I would
let you ride the bike or car
you said
and sensed
her small hand in yours
her thumb rubbing
against your skin
but seeing
as you're not my brother
she whispered
maybe you could
marry me one day
and we could ride off
into the sunset
like they do in the movies
in Jim's old car
yes sure maybe
you said
knowing inside
that'd be a bridge too far.
poem by Terry Collett
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Billy Breathes
Tumbling greens, a pick-up screams alone above the square
Whoa, sing softly
Above the trees where billy breathes we float upon the air
Whoa, oh
Softly sing sweet songs
Softly sing sweet songs
Softly sing sweet songs
Ooooh ooooh
Silent scenes in motion means, Ill wake you when were there
Whoa, sing softly
Time, it seems, in broken dreams, to sleep beside the stair
Whoa, oh
Softly sing sweet songs
Softly sing sweet songs
Softly sing sweet songs
Ooooh ooooh
Softly sing sweet songs
Softly sing sweet songs
Softly sing sweet songs
Softly sing sweet songs
song performed by by Phish
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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An Illusion
She was saying mad things:
'To hell with the world!
Love is all you need! Go on
and get it! What are you
waiting for!' and she walked,
more like shuffled up the street,
her eyes fixed upon the distance.
People stepped self-consciously
out of her way. Straight up
stood her hair, wild.
What are you waiting for,
snarled from her lips.
it seemed directed to herself
really, to someone inside
with whom she fought.
The shredded hem of her dress
rustled around her.
poem by David Ignatow
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The Shuffler
An old man scuffed his feet across the floor
as he headed for the Café’s exit door.
He shuffled along with his walking stick,
a lit cigarette stuck to his bottom lip.
His jacket looked like an open ferry door,
at least two sizes too big, maybe more.
A stoop kept his eyes fixed to the ground,
cursed with old age, and deaf to sound.
A nose dew dropp was moved by his sleeve,
apathetic to all who watched him leave.
He opened the door and again shuffled his feet,
as he became a number on the busy street.
poem by Orlando Belo
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Swing Your Love 2 Me
1st verse:
Hey baby boy, ya get down with a girl
That dont appreciate you
What you waiting for
Theres someone standing here
Thatll treat you like a real man
She dont care about you
Cant you understand
You need to take my hand
Holla back
Playa let me know
If you feel the need
Wont you come get with me
She dont have to know
We can creep
And keep it on the low
Or you can
Make me your woman
Boy what you waiting for
Show that girl the door
Chorus:
Swing your love to me
Swing your love to me
When in need (wont you)
Swing your love to me
Swing your love to me
Swing your love to me
Feel the need (wont you)
Swing your love to me
2nd verse:
Hey mistah dont hesitate
To swing your love in my way
This wake up call is opportunity
To correct a mistake now
And if you need instruction
Boy Ill show you how --oh--
You need a woman
Who can treat a man
Like he must be treated
From all your memories
Home girl must be deleted now
She dont love you boy
And shes never around
(chorus)
Bridge:
She aint got nothing on me
It dont take much to see
That she cant handle you
She cant move you
She cant groove you
She cant do you like I do you
Rub your body
With my fingers
You got to
Swing your love to me
(break)(chorus)(vamp)(out)
song performed by by One Voice
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Of De Witt Williams On His Way To Lincoln Cemetery
He was born in Alabama.
He was bred in Illinois.
He was nothing but a
Plain black boy.
Swing low swing low sweet sweet chariot.
Nothing but a plain black boy.
Drive him past the Pool Hall.
Drive him past the Show.
Blind within his casket,
But maybe he will know.
Down through Forty-seventh Street:
Underneath the L,
And Northwest Corner, Prairie,
That he loved so well.
Don’t forget the Dance Halls—
Warwick and Savoy,
Where he picked his women, where
He drank his liquid joy.
Born in Alabama.
Bred in Illinois.
He was nothing but a
Plain black boy.
Swing low swing low sweet sweet chariot.
Nothing but a plain black boy.
poem by Gwendolyn Brooks
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The Black Knight's Song
Knight And Wamba
There came three merry men from south, west, and north,
Ever more sing the roundelay;
To win the Widow of Wycombe forth,
And where was the widow might say them nay?
The first was a knight, and from Tynedale he came,
Ever more sing the roundelay;
And his fathers, God save us, were men of great faine,
And where was the widow might say him nay?
Of his father the laird, of his uncle the squire,
He boasted in rhyme and in roundelay;
She bade him go bask by his sea-coal fire,
For she was the widow would say him nay.
Wamba
The next that came forth, swore by blood and by nails,
Merrily sing the roundelay;
Hur's a gentleman, God wot, and hur's lineage was of Wales,
And where was the widow might say him nay?
Sir David ap Morgan ap Griffith ap Hugh
Ap Tudor ap Rhice, quoth his roundelay;
She said that one widow for so many was too few,
And she bade the Welshman wend his way.
But then next came a yeoman, a yeoman of Kent,
Jollily singing his roundelay;
He spoke to the widow of living and rent,
And where was the widow could say him nay?
Both
So the knight and the squire were both left in the mire,
There for to sing their roundelay;
For a yeoman of Kent, with his yearly rent,
There never was a widow could say him nay.
poem by Sir Walter Scott
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Rosewood Casket
Theres a little rosewood casket
Resting on a marble stand
With a packet of old love letters
Written by my true loves hand
Go and bring them to me, sister
Read them oer for me tonight
I have often tried by could not
For the tears that filled my eyes
When Im dead and in my casket
When I gently fall asleep
Fall asleep to wake in heaven
Dearest sister do not weep
Take his letters and his locket
Place them gently on my heart
But this golden ring that he gave me
From my finger never part
Repeat chorus
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Swing
The one desire is to dance the swing
Could catch it all night long
And when Im riding on that wing
And just for you Im in the swing
And when Im riding on that wing
My heart does start to sing
Fu:r dich allein tanz ich den swing [ u: is a deutsche y ]
Ich hoff du bleibst noch hier
Vielleicht geh ich nach zu dir hin
Und dann tanzst du mit mir
And when Im dancing
Ive got to give it all
Cause its the only thing
And when Im waiting
Until last call
I do it for the swing
And when Im riding on that wing
My heart does start to sing
And when Im riding on that wing
My heart does start to sing
song performed by by Yello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Swing
The one desire is to dance the swing
Could catch it all night long
And when Im riding on that wing
And just for you Im in the swing
And when Im riding on that wing
My heart does start to sing
Fu:r dich allein tanz ich den swing [ u: is a deutsche y ]
Ich hoff du bleibst noch hier
Vielleicht geh ich nach zu dir hin
Und dann tanzst du mit mir
And when Im dancing
Ive got to give it all
Cause its the only thing
And when Im waiting
Until last call
I do it for the swing
And when Im riding on that wing
My heart does start to sing
And when Im riding on that wing
My heart does start to sing
song performed by by Yello
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Ballad Of Go-go Brown
If thats why they call him go-go brown
Hed say (? )
If thats why some people put him down
Hed say it costs his name as go-go brown
All the girls in town
Used to follow him around
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
All the boys would sing
Were gonna make this go-go king
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
Go-go brown is the smartest guy by far
A brand new girlfriend and a brand new car
The girls all thought that he was heaven-sent
one day this boy will be a president
All the church bells ring
When that go-go used to sing
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
Here the people say
hes gonna be someone someday
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
Then one day some bad men came to call
And go-go knew its time to take a fall
Hes been smoking since the age of ten
He took some crack, he sold some smack
And now hes in the pen
All the girls in town
Used to follow him around
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
All the boys would sing
Were gonna make this go-go king
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
He raised them all
Yes he do
He faced the wall
Yes he did
He stood tall
Yes he do
Who did he let down
Just one man thats go-go brown (? )
All the church bells ring
When that go-go used to sing
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
Here the people say
hes gonna be someone someday
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
All the girls in town
Used to follow him around
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
All the boys would sing
Were gonna make that go-go king
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
All the girls in town
Used to follow him around
Go-go brown
Go-go brown
song performed by by Heaven 17
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Swing! Swing!
Come on baby let's swing,
it's Sunday with bring bring,
feelings of o key, and refreshing,
twisting our body, and dancing.
just swing like this,
and swing like that.
forget your stress even once,
reduce your worries and dance,
gather your strength to break a fance,
come on baby it's our chance.
swing to avoid confusion,
swing to rebuild your brain,
swing for your creation,
just swing for your talent.
for a week your working,
with much concentration,
stop that for enjoying,
let's dance for the medicine.
i say swing swing swing
come on and swing swing
poem by Dickson Mseti
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Sing Me No Sad Songs
Sing me no sad songs cause my hearts
been broken too many times and I've cried
myself asleep too many nights.
Sing me no sad songs cause they bring
back all the hurt and all the memories that
I'm tryin' to forget.
Sing me no sad songs cause I'm feelin'
low and those songs just keep me down.
They keep me from smiling or seein' the sun.
Sing me no sad songs, cause I'm tryin' to
raise myself up and lookin' for a feel
good song and a feel good smile.
Sing me no sad songs cause they chase away
all the stuff that's good in life. Those sad songs...
they always make my brown eyes blue and lock
the door on love and such.
Baby...sing me no sad songs, just hold me and
sing softly...the songs of love and the songs of hope.
If I live to be a hundred I never want to hear those
bad feelin' sad songs again.
* * *
Sing me no sad songs cause my hearts
been broken too many times and I've cried
myself asleep too many nights.
Sing me no sad songs cause they bring
back all the hurt and all the memories that
I'm tryin' to forget.
Sing me no sad songs cause I'm feelin'
low and those songs just keep me down.
They keep me from smiling or seein' the sun.
Sing me no sad songs, cause I'm tryin' to
raise myself up and lookin' for a feel
good song and a feel good smile.
Sing me no sad songs cause they chase away
all the stuff that's good in life. Those sad songs...
they always make my brown eyes blue and lock
the door on love and such.
Baby...sing me no sad songs, just hold me and
sing softly...the songs of love and the songs of hope.
If I live to be a hundred I never want to hear those
bad feelin' sad songs again.
A Happy Song...
Sing me no sad songs cause my hearts
been broken too many times and I've cried
myself asleep too many nights.
Sing me no sad songs cause they bring
back all the hurt and all the memories that
I'm tryin' to forget.
Sing me no sad songs cause I'm feelin'
low and those songs just keep me down.
They keep me from smiling or seein' the sun.
Sing me no sad songs, cause I'm tryin' to
raise myself up and lookin' for a feel
good song and a feel good smile.
Sing me no sad songs cause they chase away
all the stuff that's good in life. Those sad songs...
they always make my brown eyes blue and lock
the door on love and such.
Baby...sing me no sad songs, just hold me and
sing softly...the songs of love and the songs of hope.
If I live to be a hundred I never want to hear those
bad feelin' sad songs again.