Look What You Did, Christopher!
In fourteen hundred and ninety-two,
Someone sailed the ocean blue.
Somebody borrowed the fare in Spain
For a business trip on the bounding main,
And to prove to the people, by actual test,
You could get to the East by sailing West.
Somebody said, Sail on! Sail on!
And studied China and China's lingo,
And cried from the bow, There's China now!
And promptly bumped into San Domingo.
Somebody murmured, Oh dear, oh dear!
I've discovered the Western Hemisphere.
And that, you may think, my friends, was that.
But it wasn't. Not by a fireman's hat.
Well enough wasn't left alone,
And Columbus was only a cornerstone.
There came the Spaniards,
There came the Greeks,
There came the Pilgrims in leather breeks.
There came the Dutch,
And the Poles and Swedes,
The Persians, too,
And perhaps the Medes,
The Letts, the Lapps, and the Lithuanians,
Regal Russians, and ripe Roumanians.
There came the French
And there came the Finns,
And the Japanese
With their formal grins.
The Tartars came,
And the Terrible Turks -
In a word, humanity shot the works.
And the country that should have been Cathay
Decided to be
The U.S.A.
And that, you may think, my friends, was that.
But it wasn't. Not by a fireman's hat.
Christopher C. was the cornerstone,
And well enough wasn't left alone.
For those who followed
When he was through,
They burned to discover something, too.
Somebody, bored with rural scenery,
Went to work and invented machinery,
While a couple of other mental giants
Got together
And thought up Science.
Platinum blondes
(They were once peroxide),
Peruvian bonds
And carbon monoxide,
Tax evaders
And Vitamin A,
Vice crusaders,
And tattletale gray -
These, with many another phobia,
We owe to that famous Twelfth of Octobia.
O misery, misery, mumble and moan!
Someone invented the telephone,
And interrupted a nation's slumbers,
Ringing wrong but similar numbers.
Someone devised the silver screen
And the intimate Hollywood magazine,
And life is a Hades
Of clicking cameras,
And foreign ladies
Behaving amorous.
Gags have erased
Amusing dialog,
As gas has replaced
The crackling firelog.
All that glitters is sold as gold,
And our daily diet grows odder and odder,
And breakfast foods are dusty and cold -
It's a wise child
That knows its fodder.
Someone invented the automobile,
And good Americans took the wheel
To view American rivers and rills
And justly famous forests and hills -
But someone equally enterprising
Had invented billboard advertising.
You linger at home
In dark despair,
And wistfully try the electric air.
You hope against hope for a quiz imperial,
And what do they give you?
A doctor serial.
Oh, Columbus was only a cornerstone,
And well enough wasn't left alone,
For the Inquisition was less tyrannical
Than the iron rules of an age mechanical,
Which, because of an error in '92,
Are clamped like corsets on me and you,
While Children of Nature we'd be today
If San Domingo
Had been Cathay.
And that, you may think, my friends, is that.
But it isn't - not by a fireman's hat.
The American people,
With grins jocose,
Always survive the fatal dose.
And though our systems are slightly wobbly,
We'll fool the doctor this time, probly.
poem by Ogden Nash
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Sad Song
Living on borrowed times
Im in love with mary, queen of scots
Fourteen hundred ninety-three
And everythings like it should be
Im gonna stop wastin my time
Henry the fifth would have broken my arm
Sad song, sad song, doo, doo
Sad song, sad song
Living on borrowed times
Im in love with mary, queen of scots
Fourteen hundred ninety-three
And things are just like they ought to be
Primrose and kilts, primrose and spain
Forget me not, my queen of scots
Sad song, sad song, doo, doo
Sad song, sad song
song performed by by Velvet Underground
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Borrowed
borrowed shirts, borrowed shoes,
borrowed books, borrowed thoughts,
borrowed bed, borrowed lover,
borrowed dreams, borrowed salt.
borrowed children, borrowed mothers,
borrowed study, borrowed lives.
borrowed God, borrowed heaven,
borrowed killers with borrowed knives.
borrowed flags, borrowed lies,
borrowed virtue, borrowed freedom.
borrowed bombs, borrowed bullets,
borrowed puppets, borrowed kingdoms.
borrowed soup bowls, borrowed numbers,
borrowed tents, borrowed bridge.
borrowed hope, borrowed survival,
borrowed till it's sacrilige!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Ocean Blue
Well you took me home
And you took me back
But deep down inside
The feeling just died and i
Couldnt see why
From indigo to royal blue
I travel far but no one will do
Anytime, anyplace
Every shape every face
Brings memories of you
Blue to be blue
To be blue
Ocean blue
Blue to be blue
To be blue
Ocean blue - ocean blue
Fair weather friends might drift away
When summer ends and skies burn grey
So I walk to the ocean
Pilot these shores
Just thinking of you
Its time we kissed the clouds goodbye
From now on its strictly blue sky
Come rain and shine
The outlook is still fine
Im thinking of you
Blue to be blue
To be blue
Ocean blue
Blue to be blue
To be blue
Ocean blue - ocean blue
Blue to be blue
To be blue
Ocean blue, ocean blue
Ocean blue, ocean blue
Ocean blue, ocean blue
Ocean blue, ocean ocean
Ocean, ocean
Blue to be blue
To be blue
Ocean blue
Blue to be blue
To be blue
Ocean blue - ocean blue
I stand at the head of the queue
Theres mutinys every crew
Wishin and wonderin bout you
Ocean blue
song performed by by Abc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Jonas Psalter
Written by dennis deyoung
Lead vocals by james young
When captain jonas psalter
Sailed his ship to sea
Anne bonny kept him company
The skull and crossbones flew
Above the ocean blue
The captains men where a pirates crew
The ships they sought to take
Were of the spanish main
A gift from ferdinand of spain
And though you rob and kill to find your dream
Your crimes are hardly what they seem
Tortuga held the treasure of a thousand kings
So jonas planned to steal everything
Two hundred men stood guard
Around the fortunes nest
But psalters steel slew all the rest
And when the smoke had cleared
And bloody bodies lay
Everyone could hear the minstrel play
Woo woo jonas psalter
Youve captured every prize
There is to dream of in one life
And so we wonder why
We found you in your bed
With that bullet in your head
song performed by by Styx
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Nine Hundred And Ninety Nine
NINE HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE
When you are done
With a thousand gals!
You might wave
Wave the triumph card
For faking to
Faking to nine hundred and ninety nine
But i`ll still be THE ONE
The one clad in white
Not to boast of honesty nor candor
But to see you scream
Scream for peace and tranquility! !
You`ll never be fanatic nor crazy
But you`ll yowl bawl and wail
For stillness and serenity!
But your mind will never
Never ever sit in peace
Cause you had killed the nine hundred and ninety nine
Who longed to live on this lovely mother earth! !
When the seven hundredth suicide happened
You wandered for the seven hundred one
& when her parents pulled her from the ocean of death
You found the seven hundred and second one! !
When she went to the psychiatry ward
You caught hold of the seven hundred and third!
When she refused her love
You wailed like a toddler
She took you by her arms
But was forced to take a rope
Cause she knew you bore skin of lust & lust only
But your search went on & on
Till at nine hundred and ninty nine
& your mind screamed
Screamed for peace and tranquility!
I will not be the nine hundred and ninety nineth
But am I in the thousand who thought
Thought that you were all love! !
But i`l stay ………. Stay in silence
Till the nine hundred and ninety nine souls
Nine hundred and ninety nine souls
Will pinch every cell of yours! !
No tears will wash your sorrow
No words will lessen your pain! !
But i`ll be the nine hundered and ninety nineth
To see you bawl
Bawl for peace and tranquility!
There i`l remove my robes
Robes of honesty for you to hang
Or i`ll hang you in my rope of honesty!
poem by Dr DHANA LAKSHMI
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Wild Strawberries
If I had a dollar, if I had a cent
I would play most anywhere if it would pay my rent
Id be livin on the downside in my old apartment
For the rest of my days
People always ask why the world is on the run
People like you and like me
Is it really true you can really never win
Movin to the upside, tell me when does the fun begin
Deep as the see and as wild as the weather
We will go just you and me to pick wild strawberries together
Or be livin on our own, in a cabin in a meadow
Or meanderin alone, we can face the world forever or well
Hit the bounding main or be on a railroad train
Hit the boundless tide or be on a steamboat ride
Hit the bounding main or be on a midnight plane
Hit the pounding tide or be on a rainbow ride
People often ask me just the way it must feel
To be standing up here with you down there
Let it now be known that throughout all of these years
I have been wearing polka dot underwear
Deep as the sea and as wild as the weather
We will go just you and me to gather crabapples together
And be wandering along toward a cabin in the meadow
Or meandering alone, we can face the world together or well
Hit the bounding main or be on a railroad train
Hit the boundless tide or be on a steamboat ride
Hit the bounding main or be on a midnight plane
Hit the pounding tide or be on a rainbow ride
People always ask why the world is on the slide
People like you and like me
Is it really true there will be no peace left to hide
Turning to the upside, when does the fun begin
Deep as the sea and as wild as the weather
We might go just you and me to pick wild strawberries together
Or be livin on our own in a cabin in a meadow
And the cows will come home
They can face the world forever and well
Hit the bounding main or be on a railroad train
Hit the boundless tide or be on a steamboat ride
Hit the bounding main or be on a midnight plane
Hit the pounding tide or be on a rainbow ride
Hit the bounding main or be on a midnight plane
song performed by by Gordon Lightfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Chatterbox
Many say they can deliver,
But only few can receive.
Lips flapping nonstop...
Don't believe!
Ears may be wide open,
But the brain is shut closed.
Ignorance exposed...
Is there to show!
People think they get their blessings,
By listening to a preacher.
Fidgeting and sitting,
While nothing's sinking in.
Schools may hire teachers,
To give lessons to the kids.
But nobody cares,
What's in these quick heads of kids.
'I do! '
That's not enough.
'Me too! '
That's not enough.
'We do,
And we make it our business to prove it! '
'I do! '
That's not enough.
'Me too! '
That's not enough.
'We do,
And we make it our business to prove it! '
And 'this' is apparent.
Absent parents on the scene,
Pretending caring done is...their 'thing'.
With chatterbox nonstop...
As if a corn popping machine.
And that caring's not there,
Anywhere to be seen.
'I do! '
That's not enough.
'Me too! '
That's not enough.
'We do,
And we make it our business to prove it! '
'I do! '
That's not enough.
'Me too! '
That's not enough.
'We do,
And we make it our business to prove it! '
'I do! '
That's not enough.
'Me too! '
That's not enough.
'We do,
And we make it our business to prove it! '
'I do! '
That's not enough.
'Me too! '
That's not enough.
'We do,
And we make it our business to prove it! '
Chatterbox!
'I do.'
Chatterbox!
'Me too.'
Chatterbox!
'We do...
And, so do you! '
Chatterbox!
'I do.'
Chatterbox!
'Me too.'
Chatterbox!
'We do...
And, so do you! '
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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They say that 'time assuages,
They say that 'time assuages,'--
Time never did assuage;
An actual suffering strengthens,
As sinews do, with age.
Time is a test of trouble,
But not a remedy.
If such it prove, it prove too
There was no malady.
poem by Emily Dickinson
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Song: On Borrowed Time
We're all living on borrowed time,
Near the brooding sea and brine.
And we grow our primate's spine,
In every clime.
Since we crawled out from 'neath the grime,
And evolved to a species – prime.
We've been living on borrowed time,
On borrowed time.
On borrowed time. We feed and dine.
On borrowed time. In swill like swine.
On borrowed time. We sup our wine.
On borrowed time. On borrowed time!
On borrowed time. In slow decline.
On borrowed time. No season shines.
On borrowed time. No reason rhymes.
On borrowed time. On borrowed time!
We're all living on borrowed time,
Acting out our roles in mime,
As if you cannot tell that I'm confused.
We're all living on borrowed time,
And we're captured hook and line.
Enraptured lives entwine as minds unloose.
On borrowed time, by frantic chime,
Of doomsday clocks and scam sub-prime.
On borrowed time, we count the dime.
On borrowed time. On borrowed time!
From that day of Eve's droll crime,
When dull Adam su*ked the lime,
We've been living on borrowed time,
On borrowed time.
On borrowed time. By dread defined.
On borrowed time. Knee-deep in slime.
On borrowed time. We moan and whine.
On borrowed time. On borrowed time!
On borrowed time. To heights sublime.
On borrowed time. Statistics climb.
On borrowed time. Who reads the signs?
On borrowed time. On borrowed time!
poem by David SmithWhite
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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While I Wait
If I'm...
Giving up too much love.
Can I,
Get it back in my time?
Will I have to moan and whine...
While I wait.
Will I find some peace of mind this time,
While I wait.
While I wait...
Should I say anything about me?
While I wait...
Or should I,
Sit and stare?
While I wait.
While I wait.
When I know this 'trip',
Has run out of fare.
While I wait.
While I wait.
Should I say anything about me?
While I wait...
Or should I,
Sit and stare?
While I wait.
While I wait.
When I know this 'trip',
Has run out of fare.
While I wait.
While I wait.
While I wait...
When I know this 'trip',
Has run out of fare.
While I wait.
While I wait.
While I wait.
While I wait.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Name Sakes
BUT where's the brown drifter that went out alone ?
-Roll and go, and fare you well-
' Was her name
Peggy Nutten?
' That name is my own.
Fare you well, my sailor.
They sang in the dark, ' Let her go ! Let her go ! '
And she sailed to the West, where the broad waters flow;
And the others come back, but . . . the bitter winds blow.
Ah, fare you well, my sailor.
The women, at evening, they wave and they cheer.
-Roll and go, and fare you well-
They're waiting to welcome their lads at the pier.
Fare you well, my sailor.
They're all coming home in the twilight below;
But there's one little boat. . . . Let her go ! Let her go!
She carried my heart, and a heart for the foe.
Ah, fare you well, my sailor.
The
Nell
and the
Maggie
, the
Ruth
and the Joan,
-'-Roll and go, and fare you well-
They come to their name-sakes, and leave me alone.
Fare you well, my sailor.
And names are kep' dark, for the spies mustn't know;
But they'll look in my face, an' I think it will show;
Peggy Nutten's my name. Let her go ! Let her go!
Ah, fare you well, my sailor.
poem by Alfred Noyes
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Traffic Jam: The Trap Of Traffic Light
It's not only test your luck, but also test your patience
It's not only test your guts, but also test your instinct
It's not only test your sanity, but also test your obedience to law
It's not only test your ethics, but also test your fidelity
It's not only test your sight, but also test your reflex
It's not only test your estimation of time, but also test your street knowledge
It's not only test your ego, but also test your kindness
It's not only test your control, but also test your awareness
It's not only test your attitude, but also test your responsibility
It's not only test your priority, but also test your humanity
poem by Maria Sudibyo
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The pretty weather girl
The weather girl is cheerful and smiling
as she tells us it's rain yet again
the U.K.will be wet all of the week
but the neighbours don't care, their off to Spain.
But when your skint what does it matter
when you can't afford even a day trip
the nearest you'll get to Sun, Sea, and Sand,
is dreaming about it when your having a kip.
Still never mind you've got lots of jobs to do
while everyone is abroad in the blazing Sun
there's painting the walls and the ceiling
watching it dry is always so much fun.
And there amongst all the pile of bills
are postcards all shiny and lying on the mat
there's one from the neighbours in sunny Spain
and a couple from my mate who's gone to Montserrat.
Your looking at people stood in front of Palm Trees
another one of a beautiful bright Blue sea
but your stuck at home with a paint brush in hand
and you've just received bills for Gas and Electricity.
Still at least your not suffering with Sunburn
and you've not got a nasty tropical disease
so therefore your skin isn't flaky or peeling off
due to temperatures exceeding One Hundred Degrees.
SO yes our weather can be dreadful and miserable
and it can get you down and leave you feeling low
but look that pretty weather girl is on the telly
and she's smiling as she tells us it's going to snow!
poem by Kevin Halls
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Baby, You're A Trip
I know what people say
They say U don't know how 2 love
But I want U anyway
U're like a drug and I can't get enough
U'd be great in motion pictures
Cuz baby, U really got me blind
U're the only one I wanna see
U're the only one that does it 2 me every time
Baby, U're an ocean that's 2 wide 2 cross
And baby, U're the cross that's 2 deep 2 bear
Baby, U're the star that's 2 far away
Baby, U're a trip and a half, but I don't care
I know what people think
They think I'm a star struck little fool
Baby, U could be flat broke
I'd still be crazy 4 U
And I know that I'm in love
Cuz I'd change my whole life just 2 make U smile
And I still can't have U when I want
But when I do it's only 4 a little while
Baby, U're an ocean that's 2 wide 2 cross
Baby, U're the cross that's 2 deep 2 bear
Baby, U're the star that's 2 far away
Baby, U're a trip and a half, but I don't care
U see, it's in my diet
Something in the water don't compute
Baby, I'm quite happy after U give me love
U can see who's the fool
U're, U're an ocean 2 wide 2 cross
(Baby, U're an ocean that's 2 wide 2 cross)
(Baby, U're the cross that's 2 deep 2 bear)
U are the star that's 2 far away
(Baby, U're the star that's 2 far away)
(Baby, U're a trip, I don't care)
U're a trip and a half, a trip and a half, half
(Baby, U're a trip) {repeat in BG}
Oh yeah
U're a trip, yeah, and a half
I don't, I don't, I don't care, I don't care
Baby, baby, no no
U're a trip and a half, baby
Trip and a half
I'd do anything U want me 2 do, baby
I'd change my life 4 U, U
U are the star who's much 2 far away
I don't care cuz I.. I.. I.. I love U, love U, baby, oh yes
Yeah, yeah, yeah
U're a trip and a half, a half
U're a trip and a half
I.. I know those people say
They say U don't know how 2 love
But I want U anyway, baby, U're like a drug
I can't get enough cuz U
U'd be great in motion pictures, child
Cuz U really got me blind
U'd be the only one I wanna see
Only one that done it every time
I'd do the do with U
U're like an ocean much 2 wide 2 cross
U are the cross that's much 2 deep 2 bear
U are the star much 2 far away
But I don't care, U're a trip and a half
I want U every day, hey
song performed by by Prince
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Thousandth Man
One man in a thousand, Solomon says,
Will stick more close than a brother.
And it's worth while seeking him half your days
If you find him before the other.
Nine nundred and ninety-nine depend
On what the world sees in you,
But the Thousandth man will stand your friend
With the whole round world agin you.
'Tis neither promise nor prayer nor show
Will settle the finding for 'ee.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of 'em go
By your looks, or your acts, or your glory.
But if he finds you and you find him.
The rest of the world don't matter;
For the Thousandth Man will sink or swim
With you in any water.
You can use his purse with no more talk
Than he uses yours for his spendings,
And laugh and meet in your daily walk
As though there had been no lendings.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of 'em call
For silver and gold in their dealings;
But the Thousandth Man h's worth 'em all,
Because you can show him your feelings.
His wrong's your wrong, and his right's your right,
In season or out of season.
Stand up and back it in all men's sight --
With that for your only reason!
Nine hundred and ninety-nine can't bide
The shame or mocking or laughter,
But the Thousandth Man will stand by your side
To the gallows-foot -- and after!
poem by Rudyard Kipling
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An ocean of Love
Have you ever sailed on vast ocean,
With no island to see, and things are out of reach?
With dreams and mysteries filled this ocean,
And a never ending faith that someone would teach?
Have you ever felt that feeling,
Of a deep calmness within you that's hard to fight?
And no one could help you believing,
That you're striving for the right?
Did you ever sailed on an ocean,
That further placed upon your heart?
For deeply below this ocean,
Lies a silent whisper, where love starts.
An ocean of Love, the ocean of dreams
Where you can find solace and exceptional truth
Though pain resides even if you don't dream
As the existence of love bears its fruit.
The fruit of harmony, bliss, and wonder
Without the seed that's buried down below
Like a pearl that lies down under
The ocean of love they call, starts hello.
Upon this vast ocean, two souls were me and you
Over the waves and across the surface
I have found a love so true
The ocean of love was then the wondrous place.
poem by Lovelyn Layon
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Something Blue
(words & music by evans - byron)
Something old, the time goes buy
Something new, these tears I cry
Something borrowed were those lips my lips knew
And thats why Im something blue
Something old, the vows we made
Something new, the price I paid
Something borrowed, love was tried but not true
Now my life is something blue
I guess that I had better smile
Walking behind you down the aisle
I feel Im walking to my doom
Im really not the best man in this room
Something old, the dreams we planned
Something new, his wedding band
Something borrowed was the heart I gave you
You returned it torn in two
Something old, the dreams we planned
Something new, his wedding band
Something borrowed was the heart I gave you
You returned it torn in two
And thats why,
And thats why Im something blue
song performed by by Elvis Presley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Old Superb
The wind was rising easterly, the morning sky was blue,
The Straits before us opened wide and free;
We looked towards the Admiral, where high the Peter flew,
And all our hearts were dancing like the sea.
'The French are gone to Martinique with four and twenty sail!
The Old _Superb_ is old and foul and slow,
But the French are gone to Martinique, and Nelson's on the trail.
And where he goes the Old _Superb_ must go!'
So Westward ho! for Trinidad, and Eastward ho! for Spain,
And 'Ship ahoy!' a hundred times a day;
Round the world if need be, and round the world again,
With a lame duck lagging all the way.
The Old _Superb_ was barnacled and green as grass below,
Her sticks were only fit for stirring grog;
The pride of all her midshipmen was silent long ago,
And long ago they ceased to heave the log.
Four year out from home she was, and ne'er a week in port,
And nothing save the guns aboard her bright;
But Captain Keats he knew the game, and swore to share the sport,
For he never yet came in too late to fight.
So Westward ho! for Trinidad, and Eastward ho! for Spain,
And 'Ship ahoy!' a hundred times a day;
Round the world if need be, and round the world again,
With a lame duck lagging all the way.
'Now up, my lads,' the Captain cried, 'for sure the case were hard
If longest out were first to fall behind;
Aloft, aloft with studding sails, and lash them on the yard,
For night and day the Trades are driving blind!'
So all day long and all day long behind the fleet we crept,
And how we fretted none but Nelson guessed;
But every night the Old _Superb_ she sailed when others slept,
Till we ran the French to earth with all the rest.
Oh, 'twas Westward ho! for Trinidad, and Eastward ho! for Spain,
And 'Ship ahoy!' a hundred times a day;
Round the world if need be, and round the world again,
With a lame duck lagging all the way.
poem by Sir Henry Newbolt
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Ninety-nine And A Half
I got to have all your love, night and day.
Not just a little part, but all of your heart, sugar.
Chorus:
Ninety-nine and a half just won't do.
Oh, no, no, just won't get it.
Don' t be led in the wrong direction.
To start this thing off right, a man need a little love and affection,
Yes he do, now.
Chorus
All right. lookie here,
We got to bring it all down, start gettin' it right.
We got to stop this messin' around, and keep the thing up tight,
Yes we do, now.
Chorus
All right, sugar.
Got to have a hundred,
Got to have a hundred.
All right.
Ooh, i must do, i must do,
I must do now.
Oh! got to have a hundred!
Got to have a hundred!
Oh! got to have a hu-hu-hu-hu-hu-hundred, too right.
Got to have a hundred, now. oh!
song performed by by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In my column series ""The Main Thing,"" I often talk about how Internet technology can improve the way people communicate - both within a business and between a business and its customers and partners.
quote by Jim Barksdale
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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