Bob Wiseman: City of Wood (1993)

 white dress
vocals - bob wiseman
bass - mr.chuck
piano - dr.john keswick

luisa i admire how you stand next to
those liars
and you keep your white dress white

i've been up close to those same bastards
and i couldn't cope
yet you keep your white dress white

i'm amazed that you can live underwater
i'm amazed that you can hold your
breath so long
while they dance you through puddles
in their muddy arms

i hope unto thee
the beauty of the world
for free
because you keep your white dress white

 real thing
vocal - bob wiseman
background vocals - hugh and hughie reverse
bass - alphonso birtmark
percussion - gloria duracell
congas - asmid gabor

don't want to settle for less than the
real thing
don't want to settle on dirt for air
don't want to settle for less than the
real thing
you can't decide for me what's fair
don't want to settle for less than the
real thing

don't want to settle for less than the
real thing
don't want to settle on a fishless lake
don't want to settle for less than the
real thing
don't trust the treaty that the
government makes
don't want to settle for less than the
real thing

i want to love you please don't be fake

 didn't i get my wish
vocals - bob wiseman
guitar - blind loosa bernstein
bass - abraham mukaluk

last night i kissed you
oh didn't i get my wish
why do i start
things that i can't finish

does that make me
make me obscene
for in my heart
i knew that you and i
would not become a team
does that make me bad
does that make me mean

some girls chase me
but you know they miss
i'm holding out for someone
with a certain kind of twist
but how long can you go
without being kissed

 for joseph k.
vocals - bob wiseman
guitar - franca goode
strings - the altona string quartet
piccolo - igor kaplunk
droan - elloise petrushkri

on your way to yellowknife
take a slow look round there for me
my old best friend is living
somewhere under the stars by the trees

you'll know him 'cause his eyes are lanterns
i used to see through them
tell him i'm going to come soon
that is if he's still got room

he found a gold mine
and went to stake a claim
he said that i too was welcome
to come if i shared that aim

but i stayed, i held onto
the stupid things i do
tell him i'm going to come soon
that is if he's still got room

we met in the coffee houses
where anybody can play
he gave me a poem 'bout the music
he seemed to talk best that way

but i, i didn't even hear him
though he stood right in front of me
tell him i'm going to come soon
i hope he's still got room

he never closed one door
he always let you in
his heart was like the ocean
he taught me how to swim
one man can know one side
two can know more
in this game of life we're playing
how many chances are there to score
i need to see you badly
i miss my closest friend
i miss our starting fires
soon i must see you again

 purple city
vocals - bob wiseman
guitar - ned smith
bass - lisa smith
background vocals - harry smith, bart smith
drums - gene smith

jack tonight i was thinking
about the last time
we dropped acid
and we moved like frontline soldiers
in between people's houses
it was 4 o'clock
in the morning
and our mission
was so clear
go from my house
to brock street
and hope no cops appear

i've been living on the east coast
my son is nearly twelve
together we climb mountains
and there we yell out loud
can you hear me
all you birds in the sky
y'know he wants to become a policeman
and catch criminals alive

i still remember
throwing up at la barriere park
and later when it got dark
i prayed to god
all night long
to please let me wake up straight
and i promised another peyote button
i would never take

my son he's never seen
a big city at all
he's grown up in the country
nearest city is so small
in the morning he milks cows
and he can imitate every bird call
y'know i don't think he's missing
anything at all

 song for amnesty international
vocals - bob wiseman
background vocals - the george koller choir
sound effects - the george koller
mandolin -  george ishmonlievskavitchnik
guitar - suzy bellaforte
nylon guitars - brian katz
animal sounds - hugh phillips

when the pirates came
they stole our bags
they broke our hands
as they raised their flag

chained our feet
made us row
you walk the plank
if you dare to say no

and they tied the children
made them watch
the shark infested waters
where their parents drop

the bird of truth
flew overhead
and she witnessed all the rape
all the torture and the dead

so she flew to where
the unslaved lived
and she told them of the pirates
and all that they did

go away bird
yelled some who heard
and with that the pirates had
their treasure chest of gold

but some said stay
if you're the bird of truth you say
well then i too am a prisoner
just because i have been told

and they build a ship
made of paper and pens
ya they built a ship
made of paper and pens
and they sailed
on the wind of the whole world's
attention

 have a nice day
vocals - bob wiseman
guitar - shalanas foderero
bass - john "fats" kuberick
electric guitar - solomon "the kisser" tuttle

Hi you've reached the answering machine
of Douglas Christie
One time head of the Western Canada
Concept Party and at one time or another
Lawyer for John Ross Taylor, accused of
promoting racial hatred
Lawyer for Malcolm Ross accused of hate
mongering
Lawyer for accused Nazi war criminal Imre
Finta,
Lawyer for Ernst Zundel accused of wilfully
spreading false news
Lawyer for Theron Skryba and Bill Harkus
the self-proclaimed head of the Manitoba
Ku Klux Klan that was accused of
promoting hatred against blacks and
Jews, advocating genocide, and the
disruption of an anti-homophobic hotline,
And lawyer for Jim Keegstra who was
accused of promoting hatred against
Jews by teaching his high school students
that the Holocaust was a hoax.
So when you hear the last guitar chord
just leave me your message and i'll be sure
to get back to you
Have a nice day - wait for the chord

no jews were gassed or starved to death
or mutilated like mice in a test
doug christie, doug christie
will you take my case
and help me rewrite all of history's
mistakes

no blacks were sold into slavery
they all left africa, voluntarily
doug christie, doug christie
will you take my case
and help me rewrite all of history's
mistakes

no women were ever burned at the stake
or tied up and fondled, or by gangs of
men raped
doug christie, doug christie
will you take my case
and help me rewrite all of history's
mistakes

won't you help me get the press
you're the best man to help me
get publicity, you and me
we'll be famous

was no hiroshima, nagasaki too
those people were actors - paid by the jews
doug christie, doug christie
will you take my case
and help me erase all of history's mistakes

 how round the earth
vocals - bob wiseman
guitar - stan linoleum

i was 12 years old
i was walking home
from a soccer game

he was an older kid
i seen him cross the street
he pulled a knife out on me

i said i got no money
he said i don't believe that's true
i know your last name
i know the house you live
everyone knows that you're a jew

he stabbed me in the arm
he punched me in the face
he tripped me as i tried to run
the cars drove by
his girlfriend was laughing
finally they let me crawl away

my father said what happened
(son of mine)
i told him nothing happened at all
'cause he knew my last name
he knew the house where i lived
i never ever felt so small

now it's been years since then
ice cube's got a new record out
i read about his press conference

he talked about history
about the jewish conspiracy
and it occurred to me to say

ice cube i live at 848 oak street
you should come over and have tea
i'll show you my bank account
i'll show you the car i drive
and then maybe you'll decide
the earth isn't flat

 in spite of the danger
vocals - bob wiseman
guitar - ethan petula
piano - yanni cin

i heard they found you dead this morning
they say it's murder in the first degree

i know who killed you
it ain't no murder mystery

i saw your girlfriend at the funeral
and everyone else was there too

i know who killed you
and everyone else knows who killed you too

they found the murder weapon
behind your bedroom door

found an empty syringe, next to your arm
on the floor

 hold me blues
vocals - bob wiseman
piano - bjorn mulroney
drums - mark hundervad

hold me baby, don't let me go
i'm afraid of the mountain
i'm afraid of the snow

beautiful sunset in the sky
reminds me where i'm not
but more than that
it reminds me i forgot

i'm a window shopper
but i've got to give it up
it only keeps me stupid
keeps me thinking the same old thoughts

standing at the cliff's edge
and i'm blindfolded too
hold me baby
one wrong step and i'll be through

help me baby, help me become mature
don't hold me baby
even if i tell you that's the cure

 city of wood
vocals and piano - bob wiseman

hetriedtofuckherbutshewouldn'ttriedtofuckherbutshewouldn'ttriedtoforcehertried
tomakehertriedtobreakhertriedtorapeherbutshewouldn'tshewouldn'tshewouldn'tshe
wouldn'tshewouldn'tandshekickedhimandshebithimandshehithimandshescreamedso
hetoldthewholeworldshecameontohimthatnight 

he'sacuntcocksuckerassholemotherfuckrthinksthewholeworldbelievesthatitwasher
molestedhimhe'saparasiteamarriedmanawellgroomedperfumedpresidentofthecompany
smellslikeshittomehe'sthescumthattriedtohitherhe'sliketheonesthatmarchedforhitler
andthethingthatscaresmemostisthathe'souttherewalkingfree 

hesitsbesideyouintheclassroomsitsbesideyouonthebushe'stheonethatseemssofrien
dlyhe'stheoneeveryonetrustshe'sthepriestsheikrabbiguruheadmasterdadhe'sthepe
acelovinghippiedressedinplaiddon'tyoubecallinghimtobebabysittingyourkidsnoth
ingturnshimonlikethevulnerablenearhisprick 

yain'theguinnessrecordbookundertheletter"c"theygothispicturetheresayscreepsy
oushouldhopenevertoseejailain'tgoodenoughforhimtospendtherestofhislifedon'ty
oubefallingtoyourkneestoprayforhisdiseasethatain'tgonnabethecure 

yayayoureaditinthepaperontheradioyouhearaboutawomanbeingrapedaboutawomandisa
ppearsarsonisthenormarsonisthenormarsonisthenorminthiscityofwoodshe'sascommo
nasyourmothershe'sascommonasyoursisterandyouwonderifthere'sanythingyoucoulddo

 the trouble with shadowy men on a shadowy planet
piano - hans oldpalm

produced by dame julia nesbelch
all songs by bob wiseman
published by grow or die music (SOCAN)
Copyright 1993 Carpe Diem Music Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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