One Fish - Demo Songs - Click to listen

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Listen to Songs on One Fish

Listen to Kids Songs on NHEB

One Fish : Lyrics

POKING THE HIVE

It feels like winter, never spring
These wilted flowers that you bring
You’re not my keeper, here’s the thing
This honeybee is set to swing

Now hold still, honey.. this might sting
The hive is buzzing.. hear it sing
You want my love, prepare for pain
I’m a queen, don’t need no king

You say you want to come inside.
Hold on tight, it’s a hell of a ride
The man before you nearly died
Careful boy, don’t poke the hive

Don’t bring me flowers, I’ve got lots
Don’t write me love songs, I’m the boss
Dip your finger, taste the sauce.
Don’t need no sweets, I’m a honey pot.

Don’t buy me rings, I’m made of gold.
This drone of love notes leaves me cold
If you’re thinking that I’ll fold
You’ll still be waiting when you’re old

If you swell up, boy, run to mama
I’ve got no time for silly drama
I’m busy buzzy royalty
I’m Beautiful with a capital Bee.

If you come near you’ll hear the sound
That brings the boys from miles around
I’m the queen, I wear the crown
Your jealousy just brings me down

I’m not playing hard to get
I’ll walk away, no empty threat
I wouldn’t even break a sweat
So be good baby, don’t you fret.

I see you down there on one knee
While you’re down there.. well, you see
When you’re done, I’ll set you free
It’s such a shame you don’t agree

Don’t treat me like I’m made of wax
Cause this show has a second act
I’m a woman with a past
Stop blowing hot smoke up my a..

Ask me no questions, because I’ll only lie
If i give you my honey, boy, don’t stop to wonder why
Put on that striped suit, and march in like a king
When your time is up, you little pup
You’ll find I’ve clipped your wings.

Black and Yellow, round and fat
Furry coats and pointed hats
Democrats and Diplomats
This royal party’s where it’s at

I think you’ll learn to love the sting
The hive is humming.. hear it swing
You’ve had my love, you liked the pain
A honeycomb like pure cocaine.

Don’t bring me flowers, I’ve got lots
Don’t write me love songs, I’m the boss
Dip your finger, taste the sauce.
Don’t need no sweets, I’m a honey pot.

Honeybees don’t mate for life
So hold on tight, it’s a hell of a ride
I would have made a lousy wife
Careful boy, don’t poke the hive

CURLY SMOKE (BURNING BRIDGES)

Daddy liked his whiskey and mama like to fight
Their child was born to squalor and flourished out of spite
By twelve she knew the sorry truth, two wrongs can’t make a right
Struck the match and locked the doors and sailed into the night

Break the pots and sink the boats, respect the sudden urges
Life is short, and fickle, it binges and it purges
What you thought was living’s just a pattern that emerges
And sweet's the air with curly smoke from all the burning bridges.

Baiting her with ladybirds, and innocent blue eyes
He caught her up into his wake, and took her for a ride
Smiling while he tore the nets, and hooking her with lies
But little girls he learned too late are devils in disguise

Break the pots and sink the boats and swim down with the fishes
Even when you thought she’d gone, you’ll find that she persisted
Soot stains on her fingertips and metal in the ditches
And sweet's the air with curly smoke from all the burning bridges.

A man brought rings and pretty things, and all that they implied
He bought the house, but didn’t bother coming home at night
She sat among the pretty things while something in her died
When morning came, she piled it up and set it all alight.

Break the pots and sink the boats, this siren song bewitches
Eventually it’s clear that love is only scratching itches
Charred and burnt chantilly lace floating past the ridges
And sweet's the air with curly smoke from all the burning bridges.

-Bridge-
When those pearls become a leash, they’ll tell you when to heel
They’ll take you to the doctor, and they’ll tell you how to feel
They’ll tell you what to wear each day, and when to take it off
Call you names and bend the truth, and tell you that it’s love

On the far side of forgiveness, washed up on the riverbank
The current spitting up the things that other people lack
Reflections on the rising tide from all that she had learned
Horizon filling up with smoke from all that she had burned

Break the pots and sink the boats, respect the sudden urges
And sweets the air with curly smoke from all the burning bridges
Break the pots and sink the boats and swim down with the fishes
And sweets the air with curly smoke from all the burning bridges
Break the pots and sink the boats, this siren song bewitches
And sweets the air with curly smoke from all the burning bridges

Possum Belly Queen

Maxine, The possum belly queen
Shaking in the cold twilight
A one-night stand,Lesser of two evils
Warmth on a three dog night.

Not my circus, Not my monkeys
Mamas working down at the striptease
Daddy’s drinking and watching the TV
Not my circus, Not my monkeys

His name was Floyd, he was unemployed
A carnie out of Jacksonville.
A one trick pony and a two-timing schemer
As phony as a three-dollar bill

Not my circus, Not my monkeys
Night's as cold as a butcher's deep freeze
Future's bleak as a brand new disease
Not my circus, not my monkeys

Floyd hunkered down when the circus left town
Sleeping in Maxine's bed

Gave her three black eyes
Two broken ribs
One bloody nose
and a bruise shaped like the face of jesus

Not my circus, Not my monkeys
Maxine's working down at the striptease
Floyd sits drinking and watching the TV
Not my circus, Not my monkeys

The year went black
The carnival came back
Clowns and tigers riding the rails
It left that night in the cool moonlight
Maxine in the belly of the whale

Sweet Maxine
Had a secret in her heart
And a possum in her belly so proud
With a man like Floyd
Two was bad company
Three surely was a crowd

Not my circus, Not my monkeys
Maxine's long gone, sniffing the seabreeze
Floyd's in the backyard pushing up the daisies
Not my circus, Not my monkeys
Not my circus, Not my monkeys
Not my circus, Not my monkeys

William Albert Fish

My name is William Albert Fish, I live a quiet life
In a tiny little town, with Gwendolyn my lovely wife
In that churchyard long ago I handed her my heart
And swore to love her faithfully til death plucked us apart

My Gwendolyn has said so much since she marched me down the aisle
Although I miss most of the words, I nod my head and smile

[WIFE]
You're going bald on top, William, You bore me when you speak
You snore at night, and I don't like Your spindly physique
Your eyes are close together, Your ears too far apart
As we fall sleep each night, I listen to you farrrr..

Twenty years I've longed to leave This godforsaken place
You sit there with that feeble-minded Smile upon your face
There's nothing like a pistol, A shovel and a hole
A dark night and an alibi, to li - be - rate the soul

[WILLIAM]
For Twenty years I've sat right here, My mind on other things
My paint by numbers zebras, The dampness of the Spring
I dream of far off places, Sometimes I take a nap
I'm warm beside the fire with the cat upon my lap
Sweet Gwendolyn is generous, She knows so many words
She's always busy sharing, my small talk's for the birds

[WIFE]
You pay too much attention To that ugly smelly cat
You drive the car too slowly And still it gets a flat.
You don't know how to fix a thing, Your kisses give me cramps
I hate the way you chew your food, Your hands are always damp

The birthday gift you bought for me Was stupid and I hate it
But you don't make nearly enough money to replace it.
There's nothing like some arsenic, A shovel and a hole
A dark night and an alibi To li - be - rate the soul

[WILLIAM]

My name is William Albert Fish, I come home every night
From my boring little job Just hoping for a bite to eat,
a quiet little supper Suits me absolutely fine
Stories on the telly And into bed by nine
Dear Gwendolyn is waiting She meets me at the door
Her mouth begins to flap Before my slippers hit the floor

[WIFE]
My friends all think you're stupid, I do believe they're right
You haven't got a clue I slept With your friend Gus last night
There's [Dm]nothing like a baseball bat, A shovel and a hole
A dark night and an alibi, To send - you - straight - to ..

[WILLIAM]

Hello operator, give me number nine,
Me wife has tripped and fallen, And I do believe she's died My name is
William Albert Fish, I stuck my foot out when she passed.
I heard her tumble down the stairs, I think she's breathed her last
Turns out there's [Dm]nothing like a nasty fall, A shovel and a hole
And a decent lawyer, To li - be - rate her soul

I visit you each Sunday, Gwen, Just as the sun comes up
You're quiet as a churchmouse, And I love you quite a lot
When I take my last breath They'll lay me next to you
Here lies William Albert Fish, they'll say, In a quiet hole for two.

___

Hobo

Hobo Lump and Wrong Way Brown
Were married just outside of town
By a sky pilot called Amarillo Blue
The wedding vows were old as time
And every hobo worth his dime
Has spoken these four lines before I do :

May I always help you forward, all the days that I can count
May I always do what’s right, and not just what I want
May my love for you be greater than my need will ever be
I love you just the way you are, and that’s okay with me

The year was 1934
And everyone was deadly poor
A better life was further down the tracks
The bride wore plaid, the groom a smile
They carried rhubarb down the aisle
And burned the bitter leaves to shed the past

They went nineteen years
A hundred thousand miles
When Wrong Way’s last stop got called
He pulled up with a smile.

Hobo climbed back on the rails
For all I know she rides them still
Left Wrong Way’s body propped up near the tracks
She left four cigarettes and a can of beer
A note carved into a railway sleeper
Wrong Way caught the westbound home from here

The Menu

He drinks like a fish, eats like a horse
Chews like a goat and he's mine, of course ..
He’s one tough cookie, the apple of my eye
But with every nibble, he goes straight to my thighs ..

Whoa! they're getting bigger with every passing day
But still I belly up to that long buffet
And just when I think we can't take another bite
I catch him with his fingers in the huckleberry pie

My friends say I have bitten off
More than i can chew
But I know he’s the one for me
I mean just watch him play kazoo

Smokes like a toaster with the crumbs left in
Sings like a kettle full of bathtub gin
Cuddles like an octopus with extra toes
Makes me laugh so hard food comes out of my nose

Unless I ask him nice he don’t tie me down
When lovin’s on the menu he don’t fool around
And when I finally think he's through
He says he likes to have his cake and eat It, too

WHOA!

Tick Tock

Tick, tock, eyes on the clock
I don't want to miss a moment with you
Ho Hum, thought you’d never come
But when you did, baby, how the time flew

Once upon a time I was a state-of-the-art
Two-time loser with a broken heart
But everyone says third time’s a charm
I want to spend every moment in your sweet arms

You wind me up, baby with your perfect face
And your hands running circles all over the place
You ring my alarm before I buy the farm
I just want to spend a moment with you

Wasting my time, waiting through a month of Sundays
Yesterday’s a memory and tomorrow’s a dream
Make your mind up while the sun is still up
Cause there's no thought worse than what might have been

I want you to know, baby, when i’m making my vows
That forever with me will be a whole lot of nows
When the six o’clock whistle blows the end of my shift
I’ll still be longing for a moment like this

Tick, tock, turn back the clock
I'll never miss another moment with you
Ho Hum, thought you’d never come
But when you did, baby, how the time flew.

Mama Train

1975

I’ll be right back, my mama said. I’m hungry.
The train was creaking, just about to leave.
There’s still time, she called, in bare feet from the platform
I held her shoes and watched her order tea

I was frozen to my seat as the train moved to the east
And the tracks unfurled between us like a zipper
I was eight years old and small, but I didn't cry at all
Until the rising mountains finally hid her.

There’s so much time, she said, the train won’t leave without me
Life is long, she said, but it’s never long enough
Mama please come home, all is forgiven
If you’re left behind, remember that I loved you
I’ll see you mama, further down the line

1980

An express train to the very north of Canada
From Cochrane all the way to Moosonee
A man we knew had lost his wife and daughter
Mother thought it would be good for him and me,

I spent the summer growing up, leeping in a drowned girl's bed
Reading dirty magazines and eating loaves of bannock bread
I played cards with him at night, while he held his bottle tight,
Watched the lake, and prayed it might give up its dead.

There’s so much time, he thought as they paddled home that day,
Storm came up dark and fast, he’d been drinking’s what they say
They were gone so quick, there was no way to save them
Now he’s sitting on a platform with a bottle, left behind
They’re still living in another state of mind

1987

Travelling from north to south as summer turned to fall
The furthest from home I’d ever been
The weeks turned into months as the borders passed
Pulling that invisible cord thin

Curled up in the corridors, dreaming endlessly of home
An entire continent rumbled beneath me
I woke up to the blinding view of brilliant Mediterranean Blue
Took off my clothes and floated newborn in the warm and salted sea

There’s so much time, I thought, I am young, the skies are open
Drifting through the years on an endless tidal sea
The longest distance that lies between two places
Isn’t measured in the miles But in the minutes
How did it get so late, so very soon?

2015

My mother’s feet were always itchy
They might’ve walked her halfway to the moon
As she passes through the years, I see her slowing
One last trip with us, through memories of youth

And I think that she’ll step off at a station ‘long the way
She’ll tell us just a minute.. I’m still hungry
And then out of the blue while my daughter holds her shoes
Maybe mama will catch the next train home

There’s so much time, she said, the train won’t leave without me
Life is long, she said, but it’s never long enough
Mama please come home, all is forgiven
If you’re left behind, remember that we loved you
I’ll see you mama, further down the line

Plenty of Fish

Bat in a cave, cat up a tree
Ticks on a dog, hive full of bees
Spider in a web, waiting like I was
Until there was you
And I knew
This one’s for me

Ant in a hill, mole in the dirt
Duck in a pond, camel on the desert
Like a happy little pig in shhhhhhhh
….ssshhowers of mud
I said
This one’s for me

Just like a cockroach crawling on the kitchen counter
Like a snake in the sun, full of antelope
Woodpecker beak-deep in a log full of bugs
And me, in your arms, I’m home.

Clam in a shell, Rabbits in a burrow
Squirrel in a hole, Flies on the window
A dam is for beavers and it’s what I said..
When you lodged in my heart
I said DAMN
This one’s for me

Just like a cockroach crawling on the kitchen counter
Like a snake in the sun, full of antelope
Woodpecker beak-deep in a log full of bugs
And me, in your arms, I’m home.

Cow in a field, fox in a lair
Bird in a nest, den full of bears
So many thousands
Of fish in the sea
But I know
This one’s for me

February Blues

(written with Brent Barber)

Got the February blues
There’s ice in my shoes
You’ll have to excuse
The length of my fuse But I get this way
every February

There was a time
When the weather was fine
Your love was sublime
But it froze on the line
Now I get this way
every February

We try over and over
Keep getting it wrong
You keep coming back
I keep singing this song
I’ve learned to let go
So there’s something left
To hold onto

It’s that spring day
When winter gives way
To the sunshine that burns
All your troubles away
When you know
in your bones
that it’s over

I dreamed Spring had come
Like it always had done
But you followed the sun
And left my heart numb
But I get this way
every February

We try over and over
Keep getting it wrong
You keep coming back
I keep singing this song
I’ve learned to let go
So there’s something left
To hold onto

It’s that spring day
When winter gives way
To the sunshine that burns
All your troubles away
When you know
in your bones
that it’s over

Got the February blues
There’s ice in my shoes
You’ll have to excuse
The length of my fuse
But I get this way
every February

Ned + Hank + Ernesto + Blue : Lyrics

Hank the Owl

Hank the Owl was very small, Not much bigger than a ping pong ball
But he grew a bit, and in the fall, He headed off to school
Hank learned to count from one to ten, He wrote his journal with a pen
He even drew stuff now and then, But Hank the Owl loved vowels ..he’d sing :

A is for hay and not for croquet, today’s okay, I could play all day and
E is for bee and a cup of tea, a tall green tree and the deep blue sea and
I is for flies on the apple pie, a big glass eye and not good-bye but
O is when I HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!

Hank listened hard at storytime, And on the monkeybars he’d climb
He learned that sharing was sublime, But mostly Hank loved vowels
The years went by so very fast, Hank the owl grew up at last
Lots of things left in the past, But Hanky still loved vowels.. ohhhh

Now Hank the owl is huge and white, He’ll race the moon on winter nights
He flies from dusk til morning light, And Hank the Owl loves vowels
Hank likes to eat forbidden fruit, He likes to hoot in his birthday suit
His love for hoots is absolute, Ohh Hanky loves his vowels

Ned the Nitpicker

Ned the Nitpicker is a little red bird
With a beak so sharp it looks absurd
Deep down inside, Ned’s heart is kind, One thing disturbs his peace of mind
He’ll hold his breath, and Ned will wait , For someone (anyone) to make a mistake
He’ll pounce on them with sheer delight, Because Ned the Nitpicker.. loves to be right.

You’re doing it all wrong he'd shriek, I’m always right, use MY technique!
You said you’d be one minute more, I’ve been counting,]it’s been four.
I fear you’ve missed my point - but see.. If I talk louder, you’ll agree!
Where are you going? I’m not done! I’ll list my thoughts now, one by one.

His Friends said :

Why you gotta nitpick? Learn to use a chopstick
Find a new sidekick Travel til you’re homesick
Wear a different lipstick Watch a little slapstick
Pull off a hat trick Love until you’re heartsick
Just a little pinprick Hang out with a peacenik
Learn a new card trick Sail until you're seasick
But if you gotta nitpick I'm gonna have to ask quick
QUIT PICKING ON ME!

His friends got mad, they nearly popped..
They begged and begged him : PLEASE NED, STOP?
You always tell, you never ask Just ONCE can’t you let something pass?
It’s always your way or the highway.. You never let me do it MY WAY!
It’s been like this our whole life long.. Just once can’t you admit you’re wrong?

Ned picked his friends down to the bone Until they left him .. all alone.
The days crawled by, so dull and long And thoughts crept in, as time crept on
Ned looked back through his whole long life Was he REALLY always.. right?
Another thought then followed on.. Was Ned the Nitpicker just ..
scared to be wrong?

It’s true that..

You can pick a fight (but you really shouldn’t)
You can pick your nose, if nobody’s looking
You can pick a scab, when it gets real itchy
You can pick a pocket, if your fingers aren’t twitchy
You can pick a lock, if you lose your keys
But if you’ve gotta nitpick, I gotta say please…
QUIT PICKING ON ME!

And then there came that waited-for day When Ned said “Hey! Let’s try it your way!”
And learned it didn’t make him blue To try out other points of view
He learned at last to let it go And say so when he didn’t know
Laughed at himself, and thought he might
Rather be happy than be right.

Ernesto

Ernesto was a quiet armadillo
Ernesto the armadillo lived alone
Ernesto didn’t like to go out walking
Mostly Ernesto stayed at home

The midnight transport from Bernillo
Rumbled past his front door every night
Salido salido Ernesto
Come out wherever you are

OLE! Every morning! The truck drove by his door
OLE! Every evening! The truck came back for more.

Ernesto was tired of all the racket,
Ernesto was going to make his stand
He woke up but couldn’t find glasses
Still he went out and trudged across the sand.

The truck appeared on the horizon
The headlights called him to the road
Salido salido Ernesto
Come out wherever you are

OLE! The truck’s warning! The showdown had begun.
OLE! One split second. The armadillo was gone.

Salido salido Ernesto
Come out wherever you are
Salido salido Ernesto
Are you underneath that car?

Ernesto like every armadillo
Jumps three feet in the air when he is scared
He woke up in Miami in the morning
A rough ride on the grill no worse for wear

From that point on he stayed away from traffic
He felt content to breathe the fresh sea air
He made a quiet burrow by the ocean
And as far as I know he is still there

The LIttle Blue Elephant

A little blue elephant lived in a zoo
His mama and papa lived there too.
He loved watching birds when they flew overhead
And he always asked when they put him to bed

.. “when will I fly?”

When you’re older you can dye your hair blue
When you’re older you can get a tattoo
You can ride your bicycle straight to Peru
When you’re older, maybe you'll fly

But the little blue elephant, lonely and bored
Wanted the secret of how the birds soared
He tried jumping higher, he tried flapping his ears
But they shook their heads and said (walk up GABC) “maybe next year”

When you’re older you can ride a big bike
When you’re older you can stay up all night
You can stop eating the things you dislike
When you’re older, maybe you'llfly

A wise old elephant the head of the herd
Took him aside and said this is absurd
You are an elephant give it some thought
Stop trying to be (walk up G-A-B-C) something you’re not

It’s true I’m an elephant he said to himself
But I’ve got this dream I believe in myself
I’ll fly through the air with the greatest of ease
I’m joining the circus (walk up GABC) to ride the trapeze

When I’m older I will fly through the air
I’ll feel the wind blow through my hair
I ain’t gonna sit in no rocking chair
When I’m older then I will fly.

When I’m older I will drive my own car
When I’m older I can be a rock-star
Eat only the cashews from a mixed nut jar
When I’m older then I will fly.

When I’m older I will sleep in my fort
I’ll put on high heels if I am short
I’ll only wear mittens as a last resort
When I’m older then i will fly.
When I’m older (walk up GABC) then i will fly.