Live at Tin Angel 1993
Released 1993. Collected solo performances from Susan’s early years, all recorded at Philadelphia’s best listening room, the tin angel located on Second Street in old city Philly.
Highlights include My Mother’s Garden, My Soul’s Not At War, Society Ball, The Country Send Up, Ain’t I Lonely Tonight, and a version of Edith Piaf’s La Vie En Rose.
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1
So Heavy
3:41
Lyrics
So Heavy - Lyrics
My sister Sarah was a straight A student
Parked her soul behind a Ph.D
One day Sarah says, "I've never seen Paris"
I get a postcard from across the sea and she says
It's so heavy when you're holding up the ceiling
Ain't it lighter when you let the thing fall
Ain't it better having something you believe in
And ain't it heaven when you're never holding back at all
My brother Benny was a big time lawyer
A beautiful man in a Brooks Brothers suit
One day Benny throws his briefcase out the window
And he sold his car and bought a silver-plated flute and says
It's so heavy when you're holding up the ceiling
Ain't it lighter when you let the thing fall
Ain't it better having something you believe in
And ain't it heaven when you're never holding back at all
My brother Benny was a big man in the city
Benny always knew his way inside
Sarah always knew her ancient history
But it never comes to nothing if you never let it slide sometime
Sometime, yeah
This morning Richard never made it to the office
Richard called says he's home sick in bed
This morning Richard was a Rudolf Valentino
And I saw his wife tonight
And she was smiling when she said it to me
It's so heavy when you're holding up the ceiling
Ain't it lighter when you let the thing fall
Ain't it better having something you believe in
And ain't it heaven when you're never holding back at all -
2
The Great Out There
4:21
Lyrics
The Great Out There - Lyrics
Catherine flew out to Senegal
In her Malian motley robes
In her voice were more colours than the rainbow she wore
And her cheeks were sweet Irish rose
She talked of dancing in bars in Dakar
To that African high-life jive
Her ma said, "Girl you're gonna get yourself killed"
She says, "I'm going just to be alive"
Oh when you get there, is there a there there
Do people care there, are people aware there
Do the boys and girls do more than
Break their toys and perm their hair there
Send an update Kate to your old roommate
From your big round world to my small flat state
Tell me what do you find when you open your eyes and your mind
To the great out there
She sent me a card from Zanzibar
From Khartoum and Marrakesh
And then later that year some letters appeared
From Nepal and Bangladesh
At first the words were laughter
The strange ways we live in peace
The next, the words were blurred with tears
The war, the famine, the disease
Oh when you get there, is there a there there
Do people care there, are people aware there
Do the boys and girls do more than
Break their toys and perm their hair there
Send an update Kate to your old roommate
From your big round world to my small flat state
Tell me what do you find when you open your eyes and your mind
To the great out there
I was born in Iowa
And that's where they'll bury me too
And the sacred things I hold near and dear
Are probably the same for you
So I'm glad I got my friend Catherine
She needs to know the new
Oh I spend my time wrapped up in my tribe
Till she brings the world into view
Catherine flew back from India
With malaria in her veins
But the fire returned to her clear blue eyes
Just as soon as it whirled from her brain
I said, "Catherine who will you be
When you're finally who you are?"
She smiled and said, "We'll see won't we
But there'll be more to be by far"
Oh when you get there, is there a there there
Do people care there, are people aware there
Do the boys and girls do more than
Break their toys and perm their hair there
Send an update Kate to your old roommate
From your big round world to my small flat state
Tell me what do you find when you open your eyes and your mind
To the great out there -
3
Still Believe
5:26
Lyrics
Still Believe - Lyrics
Lewis lost his marriage when he lost his illusions
That it had been the modern-day ideal
They both worked way too hard and made love way too little
No surprise she found that San Jose had more appeal
But last night I saw Lewis walking down by the river
With a suitcase in his hand
Lewis looked at me with eyes that were wiser and said
"I'm going there to make her understand"
That I still believe, hmm, I still believe
I still believe, I still believe
I still believe, hmm, I still believe
I still believe, I still
Lucy lost her parents when she lost her illusions
That theirs had been the family ideal
Lucy dove into the fast and shiny city
She found her feet in dancing but she lost the heart to feel much of anything
But last night I saw Lucy walking down by the river
With a husband and a brand-new son
And Lucy looked at me with eyes that were wiser and said
"Who'd have thought that I would be the one?"
But I still believe, I still believe
I still believe, I still believe
I still believe, I still believe
I still believe, I still
Laura lost her bearings when she lost her illusions
That she had nothing much to fear
She lost her ponytail and six long months of sleeping
When the Big C came to call last fall
But last night I saw Laura walking down by the river
And I could hardly hide my tears
Laura looked at me with eyes that were wiser and said
"Wanna go with me to Italy next year?"
I still believe, mm-hmm, I still believe -
4
Last of The Good Straight Girls
2:41
Lyrics
Last of The Good Straight Girls - Lyrics
She is waiting in the rain
She is taking a commuter train
She is wearing a beret
Always wanted just to look that way
She appreciates the thought
As you help her with the bag she brought
She extends a little smile
As she looks at you across the aisle
But gone the days of the corduroy jumpers
And your very first string of pearls
Say a prayer for the souls of the fallen
And the last of the good straight girls
She is riding on the bus
And she winces when the people cuss
She is reading from a book
That she needed for a class she took
She puts a marker in the spine
As we're crossing over city line
As she steps down on the street
There's a man she didn't plan to meet
Oh gone the days of the corduroy jumpers
And your very first string of pearls
Say a prayer for the souls of the fallen
And the last of the good straight girls
And you say oh, oh, oh, where did the gentle women go
And you say where oh where is the town I used to know
And you say why why why is it slipping out of sight
Is there something in the night
She bought a second-hand Ford
Doesn't bother with the bus no more
She rolls the windows up tight
When she's waiting at the traffic light
Through the bullet-proof glass
She buys a paper and a tank of gas
Does she seem a little scared
Well she's always gotta be prepared
Oh gone the days of the corduroy jumpers
And your very first string of pearls
It's keys in hand and a gun in the pocket
Of the last of the good straight girls
So say goodbye to your Dairy Queen soda
And your Eisenhower-shiny world
Say a prayer for the souls of the fallen and the last, mm
Of the good straight girls -
5
Snow White
3:11
Lyrics
Snow White - Lyrics
Forgive me if I love
The love that's shining in your eyes
Not that I'm surprised
I simply didn't think it possible
Forgive me if I love
The love that you and I just made
Not that I'm afraid
I simply didn't think it possible
I thought Snow White and fairytales
Could not apply to me
But I've seen the light
As of tonight
I'm as snow white as I can be
Forgive me if I love
The picture that you have in mind
Not that I'm inclined
I simply didn't think it possible
I thought Snow White and fairytales
Could not apply to me
But I've seen the light
As of tonight
I'm as snow white as I can be
Forgive me if I love
The picture that you have in mind
Not that I'm inclined
I simply didn't think it possible -
6
My Mother's Garden
4:22
Lyrics
My Mother's Garden - Lyrics
If it's warm and it's clear and a full moon tonight
Let's go down to my mother's garden
I'll tap on your door at a quarter to one
Come quickly as soon as you hear me
And we'll steal down the carpeted stairs
In pyjamas of Packers and Bears
And we'll hold in our breath till we're out the back door
With food for the dog so he's quiet
We'll skip 'cross the grass in our tender bare feet
With the blades clinging on to our ankles
And the crickets will sing us the Latin high mass
As we come to the altar of flowers
And the snapdragons narrow and tall
And the zinneas the brightest of all
And the peonies came from great-grandmother's farm
And someday I'll grow them at my house
Come over a row to the peas and the beans
All waiting like good little soldiers
Go on help yourself to a handful of each
The best ones are always the young ones
And the ground cherries grow down the line
Eat a dozen or so off the vine
Hey the muskmelon's ripe so we'll crack one in two
And we'll feast just like thieves up in heaven
Then we'll sneak back inside like the Indians would
Be sure not to step on the branches
And we'll slip into bed and we'll lie wide awake
'Til the moon sinks below California
And my mother she sleeps and she knows
One eye open, the other eye closed
In the morning she'll smile and she'll wave us goodbye
And she'll never betray our adventure
If it's warm and it's clear and a full moon tonight
Let's go down
To my mother's garden -
7
Shackamaxon Street
3:35
Lyrics
Shackamaxon Street - Lyrics
That old Shackamaxon Street sugar refinery
It's just a place by the river
Where I sometimes go
Every season just floats by
The channel's filled with broken ice
Today's the day that winter finally let go
Today's the day that winter let go
There are swollen buds on the poplar trees
On that worn-out pier at Noble Street
There are no winter shadows on the red warehouse wall
Like half-forgotten make-believe
Old sorrow, nonsense, lies and grief
The sharp frozen boulders they go down to the sea
Let 'em all go out and down to the sea
I've waited
I've waited so long for the springtime
I've waited for the love in your eyes
I've waited
I've waited so long for the springtime
I've waited for the love in your eyes
That old Shackamaxon Street sugar refinery
It's just a place by the river
Where I sometimes go
Every season just floats by
The channel's deep and the tide looks high
Today's the day that wintertime finally let go
Today's the day that winter let go -
8
Attend The Sky
3:52
Lyrics
Attend The Sky - Lyrics
Have you ever had life pour in like sunlight through the window
Have you ever had love pour down like summer in the rain
Have you ever had justice come and settle in your corner
Well if you never have
Well it will happen one day
Have you ever been so inspired you couldn't get to sleeping
Have you ever been unafraid to take it all the way
Have you ever been so in love you lived it to the limit
Well if you never have
Well it will happen one day
So don't you give up now
Don't you give in
Give yourself time now
And you will love the skin you're living in
Don't you lay down now
Don't you lay low
Attend the sky now
And you'll have more than you'll ever know
Have you ever read someone's words like water in the desert
Have you ever seen God himself come dancing back in May, yeah
Have you ever heard angels sing although you're not a Catholic
Well if you never have
Well it will happen one day
So don't you give up now, mm
Don't you give in
Give yourself time now
And you will love the skin you're living in
Don't you lay down now
Don't you lay low
Attend the sky now
And you'll have more than you'll ever know
Have you ever had life pour in like sunlight through the window
Have you ever had love pour down like summer in the rain
Have you ever had justice come and settle in your corner, well
Well if you never have, well it will happen you know
If you never have, well it will happen I swear
If you never have, well it will happen one day -
9
Soul's Not At War
4:26
Lyrics
Soul's Not At War - Lyrics
I wish I could remember the time and the day
I think it was November but it could have been last May
And I wish that I could tell you just how it came to be
Partly pain and trial-by-fire and partly lottery
But I woke up in the morning and the earth was standing still
I thought somebody dropped the bomb or I had fallen ill
'Cos I didn't hear the pounding of the traffic in my brain
That nearly had me tied and bound and classified insane
And I'd say it's like the movies
Like walking through a door
But the truth is it came as a total surprise
That my soul's not at war anymore
I used to raid my memory with a candle and a sword
Smoking out the enemy, expecting some reward
And I used to look for pain relief to get me through the night
Someone's arms or some applause or artificial flight
I used to cross the ocean just to leave it all behind
But lately I can sit here on the back porch of my mind
Letting all the days roll in and settle on the shelf
Feeling so at ease inside I swear I hardly know myself
And now I hear the music
That was never there before
Oh let's dance with the sailors, hmm
And kiss the marines
'Cos my soul's not at war anymore, no
My soul's not at war anymore
'Cos I'd say it's like the movies
Like walking through a door
But the truth is it came as a total surprise
That my soul's not at war anymore
No my soul's not at war anymore -
10
Maybe If I Sang Cole Porter
3:55
Lyrics
Maybe If I Sang Cole Porter - Lyrics
Maybe if my heels were higher
Maybe if I grew my hair
Maybe if I wore those Spanish earrings
Maybe you would see I care
Maybe if I snuck up on a rainbow
Maybe if I snared the stars
You'd maybe turn your head in my direction
And see the perfect pair we are
But my heart's begun to sink again some
I've had these kind of dreams before
I drank your favourite drink and then some
But that just made me want you more
I'd balance candelabras on my forehead
Disrupt the royal family at tea
I'd swim Niagara Falls
Swim any falls at all
To make you fall in love with me
Maybe if I spoke some football
Maybe if I waxed my car
Maybe if I chewed tobacco
Believe me I would go that far
But maybe if I sang Cole Porter
Sang those ballads tenderly
Then maybe you would see
How happy we could be
And maybe fall in love with me
And maybe fall in love with me -
11
Society Ball (Just The Band)
1:57
Lyrics
Society Ball (Just The Band) - Lyrics
You got forty doormen waiting at the Waldorf
Front door's fancy as the Taj Mahal
But there's Jimmy and Don and Jack all loading in from the back
We're just the band at the society ball
You got everybody strutting their Armani
Yes and everybody knows what's in for fall
But we're scavenging up the bucks
For a twenty-five-dollar tux
We're just the band at the society ball, mm-hmm
You got old men good and ready for the coffin
With some twig girl of twenty on their arm
Oh, you got women with their faces tight as pup tents
I'd better pack me up my Samsonite and get back to the farm
You got everybody buttoned like the British
And everybody loves old Satin Doll
But we'd rather get roaring drunk
And rip off a little Monk
We're just the band at the society ball
You got everybody playing up their English
And everybody playing down their drawl
But we're just the working brass
From a substantially lower class
And it's some kind of foreign land
When you are looking out from the stand
And you're the band
At the society ball -
12
La Vie En Rose
2:57
Lyrics
La Vie En Rose - Lyrics
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose
Il me dit des mots d'amour
Des mots de tous le jours
Et a me fait quelque chose
Il est entrŽ dans mon coeur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause
C'est lui pour moi
Moi pour lui dans la vie
Il me l'a dit, l'a jurŽ pour la vie
Et ds que je l'aperois
Alors je sense en moi
Mon coeur qui bat
Des yeux qui font baisser les miens
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche
Voilˆ le potrais sans retouche
De l'homme auquel j'appartiens
Il est entrŽ dans mon coeur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause
C'est lui pour moi
Moi pour lui dans la vie
Il me l'a dit, l'a jurŽ pour la vie
Et ds que je l'aperois
Alors je sense en moi
Mon coeur qui bat -
13
Ain't I Lonely
3:55
Lyrics
Ain't I Lonely - Lyrics
Well I'm standing at the jukebox in this little corner bar
Where the playlist is all country stars
On a good day I'd give my last quarter and smile
Just to hear George Strait singing awhile
But the song in my head is as loud as a plane
And as long as a train pulling grain
And it follows me around like a three-legged hound
Getting by on two legs
And a sprain
Well ain't I strong
Ain't I stunning
Ain't I stable now
Ain't I smart
Ain't I stuck with a big empty heart
Ain't I brave
Ain't I beautiful
Ain't I better now
Ain't I bright
Jesus Christ ain't I lonely tonight
Patsy Cline's singing "Crazy" and I was a time or two
Who'd believe everything I've gone through
But now I'm sane
Now I'm simpler
Now I'm standing here on my own
Now I'm spending the night all alone
But ain't I strong
Ain't I stunning
Ain't I stable now
Ain't I smart
Ain't I stuck with a big empty heart
Ain't I brave
Ain't I beautiful
Ain't I better now
Ain't I bright
Jesus Christ ain't I lonely tonight
Well I wrote it with lipstick on the bathroom mirror
I wrote it with riddles in my diary
I said it before I fell asleep at night
But "I love you" don't mean that much to me
No, "I love you" don't mean that much to me
From me
Well my mind's got a jukebox with a mind of its own
And tonight it won't leave me alone
So I settle my bill and leave two dollars more
On the bar as I turn toward the door
It's then that I notice the man across the way
His eyes read like headlines that say
Ain't I strong
Ain't I gentle
Ain't I married now
Ain't I right
Jesus Christ ain't I lonely tonight
But ain't I strong
Ain't I stunning
Ain't I stable now
Ain't I smart
Ain't I stuck with a big empty heart, oh no
Ain't I brave
Ain't I beautiful
Ain't I better now
Ain't I bright
Jesus Christ ain't I lonely tonight
Jesus Christ ain't I lonely tonight
