fifteen songs, by Eric Diamond (2024)

1.

I don’t know where you goI don’t know what you doI don’t know where to begin I don’t know how to get throughI don’t even have the mojoTo get from April to MayI’m hoping fortune will smile on my back door some dayI cannot see no sunshineThrough the drizzling rainI cannot find no redemptionAt this crossroad of painI do believe in the SpiritBut it floated awayI’m hoping fortune will smile on my back door some day Mr. Time, Mr. Time, you’re like a bandit with a gunIt’s a crime, it’s a crime, to be stumbling like a rabbit on the runI've got mountains to conquerBut there’s rocks in my way(I’m hoping) fortune will smile on my back door some dayNighttime is falling, like a shroud on a tombNight creatures are crawling from a cauldron of doomI see the Angels of LightBut they’re clouded in grayI’m hoping fortune will smile on my back door some day(yes I’m hoping) fortune will smile on my back door some day

2.

You’re heading out thereBut you’re not sure exactly whereYou’re feeling troubledBy the graying of your hairYou’re working hardBut you can't be sure it’s gonna payThere’s many a dragonSomewhere along the wayWe’re all doing timeAnd the clock is ticking fastWe found some pleasureBut we can’t be sure it’s gonna lastWe need a messiahBut it seems there’s been some kind of delayMaybe She got strandedSomewhere along the way They say life is short, but Art is foreverDon’t leave me baby, not in this kind of weatherLord above,please protect my childAngel of Mercy,this political bullsh*t is driving me wildI’m digging deepFor the gold beneath the clayI know I will find itSomewhere along the way

3.

I’ve been locked down near the guardhouseFor five years and a dayI'm gazing out the windowAs the daylight fades awayWondering if my womanHas found herself a manWas I just a flash in the pan?Thinking did she love meOr did she love me notYou do a lot of thinking When time is all you’ve gotAt a distance from my windowStands a lonesome broken pineI can’t accept the judgmentThat’s been rendered for my crimeI’m hanging by my whiskersIn misery and frightA straggler in the armies of the nightRemembering her beautyI hang my head and weepI paid for all these bluesBut the price was awful steepThe evening casts its shadowOn my pale and grievous heartI thought she said she loved meBut she lied right from the startThe emptiness is endlessThis prison is a tombA dark and dingy loveless little roomI hear the warden shoutingLike sulfur on my brainThe early morning sunriseBrings another day of painBut the seasons do their turningI’m approaching my paroleBut how to mark the damageThat has wintered in my soul?I’ll try to find a womanOr maybe just a friendIt probably makes no difference in the endI tried my best to love herBut evil froze my mindI got tangled in a love knotI’m unable to unwind(please tell me)How can God’s creationReflect some master plan?When heaven turns to heartbreakBetween a woman and her man

4.

When the world was newCain killed brother AbelI wonder what Jesus knew?At the Judas tablePeople of the desert, they're wailin’ and fryin’Bringing Armageddon to the hills of ZionWhat should a good man do?When the whole world is dyingI want to know what’s true‘Cause somebody’s lyingCan I count on you?When the bullets start flyingThere’s a broken mast on this sinking shipWe got a drunken captain with a python gripWhat will the good folks do?When they hear those children cryingWhat should a good man do?In this time of dyingShould he push on through?Or maybe lay down his tryingGot a heaving smokestack on a runaway trainI got an icepick headache on a fevered brainWhat should a good man do?When the whole world is crying

5.

I’m looking for my womanBut my woman can’t be foundI’m looking for my womanBut my woman can’t be foundI’m gonna hire a detectiveAnd pay that private eye to snoop aroundI got a burning feverAnd that fever won’t cool downI got a burning feverAnd that fever won’t cool downI got a burning suspicionThat my woman’s on the other side of townI’m staring into darknessAnd I can feel the hand of fateI’m staring into darknessAnd I can feel the hand of fateI see the shadow of St. PeterAnd he’s leanin’ on the pearly gateDetective found my womanBut we still don’t see eye-to-eyeDetective found my womanBut we still don’t see eye-to-eye(the truth is) All I see is troubleAnd I can’t detect no reason why

6.

Can I be your sailboat, tacking toward the sun?Can I be your Buddha, can I be the one?Can I win this race, I feel so far behind?I've got to know, are you the loving kind? In a trance, I dream of a rendezvousA furtive glance into eyes of sapphire blueA swirling dance, with no form or designI've got to know, are you the loving kind?My words come slow, my feet are made of clayPlease don't turn and look away A ragged clown that’s sleeping on a shelfA searching heart that's beating all by itselfA puzzle piece that seems so hard to findI've got to know, are you the loving kind? That's me, with the bright bouquet by the taxi standPlease receive them from my handForlorn is the feeling in a Spanish poemLike a homesick cat that wandered far from homeThis plaintive phrase that echoes through my mindI've got to know, are you the loving kind? Can I be your sailboat, tacking toward the sun?Can I be your Buddha, can I be the one?Can I win this race, I’ve fallen far behind?I've got to know, are you the loving kind?

7.

Bighorn sheep on a lonesome hillGot a lambskin coat for the morning chillBut I ain't got more than twenty minutes timeSo I put my thoughts in this early morning rhymeSpinning wheel goes 'round and 'roundPretty white birds going up and downI'm going back and forth like a convict doing timeBut I'm busting loose with this early morning rhymeSilly geese on an all-day flightHope they find the lake 'fore they lose the lightIf you lose your way, it's a low-down dirty crimeThere's some bitter truth in this early morning rhymeI passed a chicken shack on my morning runI'm serving chicken-fried eggs on a homemade bunI will trade you a quarter for a nickel and a dimeGuess I won't get rich on an early morning rhymeMoses met God on a vision questWhen my work is done I'll be heading westThen just like Moses I will make that mountain climbAnd I will carry down this early morning rhymeAnd set in stone this early morning rhymeAnd I will carry down this early morning rhyme

8.

Way up highAbove the earthWay up highAbove the cloudsI saw a birdBeautiful birdWay up highWay down hereUpon the earthWay down hereAmong the crowdsI saw a girlBeautiful girlWay down hereAnd through the nightThe rain came downWatered the flowersAll aroundI picked a roseBeautiful roseFor my girlOne sweet dayDown here on earthOne sweet dayI fell in loveAnd my heartSoared way up highAmong the clouds

9.

I climbed the stairs to the Paddington StationAnd boarded the afternoon trainSome old souls were ensconced in the bar carBattle-scarred, and benumbed to their pain(Battle-scarred, and benumbed to their pain)Amongst them was Joe, my old partnerForty years at the money machineI said “Joe, this is no way to dwindle”He said “Sam, the ordeal picked me clean”(He said “Sam, the ordeal picked me clean”)In a world that’s gone madHe gave all that he hadNow it’s winter, and dark lay the clouds(Now it’s winter, and dark lay the clouds)Joe said “Sam, you don’t hear the bulletWhen the Reaper sends one your wayWe've exhausted our tour of the limelightNow it’s shutters, and ashes and gray(Now it’s shutters, and ashes and gray)I said “Joe, it’s a rank scourge of justiceA pox on the world and its waysFor your manhood to swallow these bittersAnd to dwell in these wintery days(And to dwell in these wintery days)Joe said “Sam, take your leave of this tap roomLet the afternoon train run its rail”I dropped a tear for the fate of my partnerAnd cursed the sickness that colored him pale(Cursed the sickness that colored him pale)

10.

No, I can't forget the feelingWhen love unfolded like a dreamStealing a kiss, by the old wooden bridgeSailing our boats down an innocent streamThese scenes, but a glimmer in my memoryEnvisioned fondly, as through a veilAll settled in, somewhat hollowed withinAt rest, past the crest, of the trailLet's feed the fire, and temper the chillAs evening-time softens to blackStars will appear, we'll clasp hands untilThe man in the moon says it's time to go backLet's share a laugh at the joke of it allLet our eyes moisten with tearsThe colors have turned, we're well into fallWistful and weathered, ragged and realThe days feel so long now, won't you hold me?My heart's grown weary of the strainI'm praying for solace, a lamp, or a compassThe music is lovely, can't we dance it again?Oh please can't we dance it again

11.

I hadn’t a feel for the blues when I was twentyThough the harrows of heartbreak found me ‘round twenty-oneI’ve seen lockdowns, and comedowns, and turndowns, and sundowns a-plentyI got old before the music of happiness had even begunPlease don’t say that my time in the garden has yielded no flowersPlease don’t say that my baubles and trinkets will tarnish and rustThat I wasted the minutes and squandered the thousands of hoursSifting ashes, and singing the blues while my dreams turned to dustCan a man stand the strain when he carries the world on his shoulders?Step after step, it seems like the right thing to doThen to carry remorse and regret through a world that’s grown colderThat’s the baggage I’ll drag to the platform when the last train comes throughHow the sunlight danced in your hair when we were both twentyThe garlands of innocence blessed by the light of the moonI have circled the sun, I have bowed to the dragon of destinyBurn slowly, brief candle, or the darkness will deepen too soon(Burn slowly, brief candle, or the darkness will deepen too soon)

12.

I’m climbing the wallsWithout youI need your loveTo get me throughI’m wearing a frownThe whole day longBaby help me come down, 'causeI’m climbing the walls I’m feeling so blueIn this lonesome roomI’m losing my coolBaby please come homeAnd place your bodyIn my feather bedLet’s share a hobbyLike the night that we wedI’m pacing the floorsI’m haunting the hallsBaby open your doors 'causeI’m climbing the wallsI’m feeling the painI’m so all aloneI need to complainHell, I need to weep and moan ('cause)My elbows are scrapedMy fingers are numbI could be climbing these walls‘til I’m deaf, blind, and dumbI’m playing with matchesCutting out paper dollsBaby bring me your love, becauseI’m climbing the walls(Baby bring me your love, becauseI’m climbing the walls)

13.

Girl, I'm stuck on youLike a hound dog on a boneGirl, I'm stuck on youLike a hound dog on a boneIf I had me a dimeI would call you on the telephoneI need some reassuranceThat you have got me on your mindI need some reassuranceThat you have got me on your mindI get a bad, bad feelingWhen I can't hear you on the end of the lineGirl I cannot find your numberThat's why I'm drinking all aloneI cannot find your numberThat's why I'm drinking all aloneIf I can't have your lovePlease throw me that hound dog boneGirl, I'm stuck on youLike a hound dog on a boneGirl, I'm stuck on youLike a hound dog on a boneCan't you hear me howling?Please call me on the telephone

14.

I heard you talking in the middle of the nightThere was no one, no one thereI saw you walking in the middle of the gutterYou were mumbling, mumbling a prayerLittle baby crying from the bottom of a wellCan you hear, can you hear?Villagers are dying in the outer rings of HellSmell the fear, smell the fearChurch bells tolling at an uncertain hourGargoyles are leering from the citadel of powerI’m tempted to explode but I’m driven to cowerDon’t you care? Birth sounds in the manger, wise men gather presentsMount your camels, and travel westPrecious, benedictions, and miracles in the desertBy Grace, we're doubly blessedThe condemned endure the mocking, carrying crossesTo the crests of the hills, of the hillsThe Beast will only tolerate a modicum of teasingThen it kills, then it killsThe actors know their roles well, they seen this film beforeThe backroom deal, the dirty hands, the scapegoat, and the goreWe leave the theater trembling, and then come back for moreDon't you care?I cannot hear the angels, only whispers of the missilesIn the air, in the airPeace is but a shadow when the uniforms are lurkingIn the square, in the squareSealed up like a ghetto while the Cossack horsem*n circleHear them yell, hear them yellThe world seemed finely balanced on the topside of a turtle‘til it fell, ‘til it fellMy heart is like a scarecrow that torches put to flameIs charity illusion, when criminals run the game?I ask the Lord for mercy, I’m asking you the sameDon’t you care?Distortion on the airwaves, transmission from the towerNeeds repair, needs repairSend an expedition, monks are stranded in the desert,Who knows where, who know where?The missives of the sages appear to be forgottenWell, memory, memory’s shortThis mission is in jeopardy, the gravity seems rottenIt may be time, time to abortEvery song that I’ve written is a song for the martyrsI cried myself a river at a thousand departuresI offered up my soul for ransom and for barterDon’t you care? Don’t you care?

15.

I open up the paperThere’s blood on every pageI choke back my revulsionMy horror and my rageThere seems to be no exitFrom this labyrinth of hateSend ministers and stretchersThe Beast is at the gateNot again, LordNo, no, not again LordAm I seeing fact or fiction?Is the nightmare turning real?I don’t know who to pray toOr where to bend and kneelIt’s greed, and soul-deep sicknessFar past all amendsWith angels as my witnessI won’t breathe until it endsNot again, LordNo, no, not again LordThe people of black shadowsThe people of the lieWho think they’ll live foreverIf other people dieWe are stumbling toward madnessGasping from the strainWho will dam this river? Who will stop this train?I am reaching for that tree branchFrom Noah’s mourning doveTo plant a sacred gardenTo remember what I loveIf my words seem too dramaticI’m just trying to do my bestFor the martyrs and the innocentsSlain and laid to restNot again, LordNo, no, not again Lord

released December 31, 2022

Eric Diamond - electric & acoustic guitars, lead vocals
Spencer Tweedy - drums
Lane Beckstrom - electric & acoustic bass
Cole DeGenova - organ, piano, keyboard, Wurlitzer
Hunter Diamond -tenor saxophone, clarinet, percussion,
background vocals
Dorian Gehring - pedal steel, slide guitar, fiddle, accordion,
Wurlitzer
Artie Black - tenor saxophone
Keefe Jackson - baritone saxphone
Sima Cunningham - background vocals
Macie Stewart - violin, background vocals
Devin Ulery - washboard

all lyrics and compositions by Eric Diamond
horn/string arrangements by Hunter Diamond

Recorded at Foxhall Studio in Chicago, IL
Produced by Hunter Diamond & Dorian Gehring
Engineered and mixed by Dorian Gehring
Mastered by Nick Broste
Cover art and selected details for interior: "Dark Alley" by Alfred Phillips
Layout and Design by Hunter Diamond & Marine Tempels Black

I would like to thank my sources of inspiration: Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, Richard Thompson, Bob Dylan, Motown, WNEW-FM in New York, among many others.
Love and gratitude to Jacqui, Lizzie, the Diamond family, friends (especially Leslie, Paul and Nancy, Chris and Marie, Joe, John, Lance, Kim and Wendie, Eddie, Cliff, Michael); my Frets and Refrains family, and all those that have listened and supported me.
Immense thanks to the talented and remarkable Dorian Gehring for recording, producing, playing, steering the ship; to Spencer and Lane, superlative musical companions; the great Cole DeGenova; and Artie, Keefe, Sima, Macie, and Devin.
And massive gratitude to the heartbeat of this project: producer, arranger, soloist extraordinaire, coach, keen attender and bearer of incisive feedback, my son Hunter Diamond.