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Nothing’s as long as a mile when you’re driving
alone
You’re on your way home and the highway’s your own
So you count all the lampposts and billboards, mark off the miles
You need a reason to smile find a friend on that dial
And let the radio play
La la la la de aye
Keeping time on the wheel
Tap your feet sing as loud as you feel
Leave the radio on here comes my favorite song
Let that radio play
Let the radio play
Let the radio play
Nothing’s as lonely and cold as the words that she
said
She wanted something instead and it’s gone to your head
You know as you’re leaving although all your feelings were strong
It didn’t take very long to be nothing but wrong
I’m the only one rolling tonight
I’m the only one rolling away
When I might as well sit by the side of the road
And let that radio play
Nothing’s as long as a mile when you’re driving
alone
You’re on your way home and the highway’s your own
Ah, nothing’s as long as a mile…….
Lyrics by Ken Zans
Music by Brion Leftwich and Ken Zans
©
2005 Brion Leftwich and Tortoise House Music (BMI)
Lead vocal, acoustic guitar – Ken
Harmony vocal, acoustic & electric guitars – Gerry
Harmony
vocal, bass – Brion Leftwich
Harmony vocals – Jeanne Donovan
Organ – Mike Moreland
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*******
I’m Gonna Love You Anyway
You don’t have to feel that you need me
Beg lie or steal to feed me
I’m gonna love you anyway
Don’t kiss and tell to tease me
Say all is well to please me
I’m gonna love you anyway
Yes in the morning when the sun comes up
I may be drinking from a broken cup
It doesn’t matter how I start my day
I’m gonna love you anyway
Yes in the evening when the sun goes down
I may be standing on shaky ground
It doesn’t matter how I end my day
I’m gonna love you anyway
You don’t have to stand and defend me
Give me your hand or mend me
I’m gonna love you anyway
Don’t turn to trends to amuse me
That only tends to confuse me
I’m gonna love you anyway
Lyrics and music by Ken Zans
©
2005 Tortoise House Music (BMI)
Lead vocal, acoustic guitar, percussion
– Ken
Harmony vocal, acoustic & electric
guitars, bass - Gerry
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*******
Camden Harbor
Well, I sailed
into Camden Harbor
And I had no intention to stay
But, I didn’t see her looking at me
When I dropped anchor that day
It took a while
to get my attention
Even though she’d always been there
Standing alone, while the morning sun shone
Through the silver and gold in her hair
Oh, Camden
Harbor, I’d nearly been lost at sea
But what kept me going was knowing that
She would be waiting for me
Where the sea
meets the mountains
And the mountains touch the sky
From there we looked down at her old harbor town
And she showed me the dream in her eyes
Well, the ocean
had shown me no mercy
And I thought that I’d never find
The touch of a hand that would keep me on land
And leave all those rough seas behind
Late at night
the stars are diamonds
That reflect back off the bay
And one day, she’ll see the same stars as me
When I sail into Camden to stay
What keeps me
going is knowing that
You will be waiting for me.
Lyrics and music
by Gerry Monks
© 2005 by Gerry Monks
Lead
vocal, guitar, mandolin, pennywhistle – Gerry
Harmony vocal, guitar, harmonica – Ken
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*******
Rockabilly Roll
Well I remember,
way back when, this record that I heard
It had a different sound and a different beat
Guitars and drums so loud I couldn’t understand a word
But the music made me want to move my feet
Yeah, Mom and Dad said it was just a fad,
It would pass in time
Preacher said it was the devil tryin’ to steal our souls
Rockabilly Roll
Well, our
parents couldn’t stand the stuff, said it was all a bunch of noise
Well, I guess that’s just what made us like it more
They played it on the radio, they played it at the drive-in show
And all day long at the local record store
I love to hear Elvis sing about
Blue, blue, blue suede shoes
That’s when everybody would lose control
Rockabilly Roll
When Johnny
Rivers sings about Memphis, Tennessee
I just can’t fight that urge to tap my toes
Rockabilly Roll
Lyrics and music
by Gerry Monks
© 2005 by Gerry Monks
Vocals, harmonica – Ken
Acoustic & electric guitars, bass – Gerry
Drums – Andy Hambleton
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*******
Mark Twain’s dog wears white linen suits
And always wears spats with his good walking boots
He’s never been seen without a hickory cane
Mark Twain and his dog are one and the same
Mark Twain’s dog
got a fine head of hair
That seldom sees a groomer and he doesn’t seem to care
He’s got a droopy mustache that will never be tamed
Mark Twain and his dog are one and the same
He ain’t no
wiener, ain’t no Pekinese
He ain’t no fancy poodle with fuzz balls on his knees
He ain’t no Irish setter, he ain’t no jumpin frog
He’s Samuel Clemens’ canine, he’s Mark Twain’s dog
Mark Twain’s dog
prefers water to land
Paddlewheel steamboats and a good Dixie band
Runnin’ with that current goin’ faster than he came
Mark Twain and his dog are one and the same
Mark Twain’s dog likes a good cigar
And casting for catfish off an old sand bar
He can spin a yarn that puts a young pup to shame
Mark Twain and his dog are one and the same
Lyrics and music
by Gerry Monks and Ken Zans
© 2005 by Monks/Zans
Vocals – Ken
Guitar – Gerry
Lap
slide guitar – Lisa Sandell
Featuring the Kansas
City Canine Kazoo Ensemble
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*******
Kathleen’s Waltz
The night does a
dance with the neon
When the moon has got nothing to say
Like an old gentleman, the shadows cut in
Stealing the moment away
They say once
you’ve waltzed across Texas
It’s just a two-step to old Santa Fe
You make me lighter than air
You lift my feet off the ground
Give me wings and I’d fly away
I’ve got two left
feet and I lost the beat
And these legs are painted on
It seems so right holding you tight
Dancing to every song
You can get lost
in a moment
And lost as you’re losing your way
I don’t see the harm getting
lost in your arms
And dancing the dark into day
They say once
you’ve waltzed across Texas
It’s just a two-step to old Santa Fe
You make me lighter than air
You lift my feet off the ground
Give me wings and I’d fly away
Lyrics and Music by Ken Zans
© 2005 Tortoise House Music (BMI)
Vocal, guitar – Ken
Guitar,
mandolin, bass – Gerry
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*******
Radio Talk
I was hoping to
escape for a little while
So, I turned on the radio and spun the dial
I was hoping for some music, maybe rock and roll
Some classic oldies or some Motown® soul
Well, you can just imagine my frustration
As I kept on changing from station to station
Just radio talk, radio talk, radio talk, radio talk,
Radio…talk
It’s a soapbox
on the air where you have your say
They’re not worried, ‘cause you’re on a seven-second delay
Religion, sex and politics, futures and stocks
You get the opportunity to hear yourself talk
No more music on the air, just talk show clones
Dialing one-eight-hundred-something on their cellular phones
Just radio talk, radio talk, radio talk, radio talk,
Radio…talk
They've got solutions for the country’s economic woes
And they’ll gladly tell the opposition where to go
It’s a production in the guise of the freedom of speech
To patronize all the listeners the network can reach
Millions and millions across the nation
Will be tuning in again, same time, same station
Radio talk, radio talk, radio talk, radio talk,
Radio…talk
Lyrics and music by Gerry Monks
© 2005 Gerry Monks
Lead
vocal, acoustic & electric guitars, bass – Gerry
Harmony vocal, harmonica, percussion – Ken
Doumbek – Shems Nickle
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*******
I saw little
sign of regret when I looked in her eyes
She said, “Pretend that we never have met and tell me goodbye”
When that train pulled out of the station
Memories and mist were all that remained
I hate trains
I gave her a
little brass bird to remember she came
She smiled and said not a word then boarded the train
When that engine pulled out of the station
She was resting her cheek on the cold windowpane
I hate trains
I don’t see the
romance in riding the rails
Or the sound of that whistle’s high lonesome wail
The only conductor that I want to see
Is waving a stick at a fine symphony
Some folks are
riding to run
Some folks are rolling along
She took that train to be nothing but gone
Old Jimmy
Rogers, and Waylon, Willie and Merle
All took a turn at a song for a train and a girl
When that diesel pulled out of the station
I felt one coming, but it wasn’t the same
I hate trains
Lyrics and music by Ken Zans
© 2005 Tortoise House Music (BMI)
Vocals, acoustic guitar – Ken
Acoustic guitars – Gerry
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*******
I’m Not a Real Cowboy
I’m not a real
cowboy, but I play one on TV
Saturday Morning Rodeo on channel three
It’s as close as I get to what I really want to be
I’m not a real cowboy, but I play one on TV
There ain’t no
school, but the kids wake up at six thirty anyway.
They turn on the tube and I give ‘em a way to start their Saturday
I sing cowboy songs and they sing along, it comes out mighty fine
And Moms and Dads are happy ‘cos they can sleep ‘til nine
Got a horse named
“Speedy,” but he’s getting old and slow
He gets restless ‘round the cam’ras and the lights in the studio
We’ll never be as big as Trigger, Dale and Roy
But once a week we’re heroes to ev’ry local girl and boy
We’ve had our
share of bloopers, slipped on a cow pie or two
It ain’t very pretty but you gotta do what you gotta do, do.
It’s a local
show, so the budget’s low, the set is kinda worn
Our backdrop’s frayed at the edges and my vest is a little torn
But the kids don’t care and they sing with me at the end of ev’ry show
As I ride into the sunset with a yo-de-lee da-la-dee oh-ho
Lyrics and music by Gerry Monks
© 2005 Gerry Monks
Lead
vocal, acoustic & electric guitars, bass – Gerry
Harmony vocal – Ken
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*******
Einstein’s Wife (Albert and Mileva)
Mileva was born
on a cold winter morn in a country just down the road
Smart as a whip, lame at the hip and ugly as a green water toad
The children danced around her in circles
calling names both callous and cruel
In her dreams late at night she ran faster than light
till time stood still in the room
Albert was
wearing a mustache on the day he climbed from the womb
He never learned how to tie his own shoes and had little use for a comb
So his parents bought him some loafers saying,
“Albert, you’re nobody’s fool”
In her dreams late at night she ran faster than light
till time stood still in the room
What is the
nature of all that surrounds us?
What is a speed that is faster than fast?
Through sheer force of will you can make time stand still
And become a thing of the past
Mileva would make
Al his dinner and play on the old violin
They’d break all the bread, put the children to bed
that’s when the fun would begin
Mileva would pull out her notebooks full of theories she’s dying to
prove
In their dreams late at night
they ran faster than light
till time stood still in the room
Albert soon
became famous just for knowing what nobody knows
He took a good salary and a boat off to sea
for an office in some hallowed hall
Mileva stayed behind with the children
and went slowly right off of her broom
In her dreams late at night she ran faster than light
till time stood still in the room
Lyrics and music by Ken Zans
© 2005 Tortoise House Music (BMI)
Vocal, harmonica – Ken
Guitar, mandolin – Gerry
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*******
Waiting On A Train
Waiting on a
train on a Sunday morning
They never seem to be on time, ‘though there’s hardly on the line.
A solitary soul upon the platform, I get a chance to contemplate,
A way to pass the time while I wait.
And I think
about the night gone by
Recall the moonlight in your eyes
I shake my head and wonder why
What little time we had did fly
It wasn’t what
it seemed
It was much more than a dream
What a night!
Waiting on a
train on a Sunday morning
An old man with a ragged broom sweeps yesterday from the waiting room
He doesn’t even seem to notice, as I float on by the open door
He just continues on with his chore
(While) I think
about the night just passed
And how it all went by so fast
We wanted it to last and last
How did it all go by so fast?
Waiting on a
train on a Sunday morning
Lyrics and music by Gerry Monks
© 2005 Gerry Monks
Lead
vocal, guitars, bass, piano – Gerry
Harmony vocals, percussion – Ken
Harmony vocals – Jeanne Donovan
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*******
Sixteen Spanish Angels
She forgot to
remember to forget
The hour and the moment that they met
Time will never erase a memory’s embrace
No remorse, no regards, no regrets
She dances alone
while I sing
With sixteen Spanish angels on the wing
She dances alone while I sing
With sixteen Spanish angels on the wing
Lyrics by Ken Zans
Music by Gerry Monks and Ken Zans
© 2005 Monks/Zans
Vocal – Ken
Guitar – Gerry
Piano – Mike Moreland
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*******
"Dog
Tales" the CD
Recorded by Mike Moreland at Shabby Toad Studios, Kansas City, Missouri
Produced, mixed and mastered by Larry “ElJay” Johnson
at
RSRT Digital Masterworks, Mission, Kansas
Art direction and
cover design by Greg Kindred
Cover photo by Gerry
Monks
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*******
"Dog Tales" is now available on-line
through CDBaby
