for
Gems
AlbumGems    (1988)

Tracks:
    1. Rats in the Cellar
    2. Lick and a Promise
    3. Chip Away the Stone
    4. No Surprize
    5. Mama Kin
    6. Adam's Apple
    7. Nobody's Fault
    8. Round and Round
    9. Critical Mass
  10. Lord of the Thighs
  11. Jailbait
  12. Train Kept A Rollin'
Rats in the Cellar    (Perry/Tyler, 4:06)

Goin' under - rats in the cellar
Goin' under - skin's turnin' yellow
Nose is runny - losin' my connection
Losin' money - getting no affection

New York City Blues
East side, West side blues
Throw me in the slam
Catch me if you can
Believe
That you're wearing
Tearin' me apart

Safe complainin' - cause everything's rotten
Go insanin' - and ain't a thing forgotten
Feelin' cozy - rats in the cellar
Cheeks're rosy - skin's turnin' yellow
Loose and soggy - lookin' rather lazy
See my body - pushin' up the daisies



Lick and a Promise    (Perry/Tyler, 3:05)

Johnny come late on a Saturday night
Singin' how he do
Backstreet boogie in the house of delight
Where they steal the show
The money come sour but the ladies are sweet
And it's a love affair
Whole place rockin', people stompin' their feet
When the gang's all there

He gets his lovin' every night for free
He's out there rockin' like you wouldn't believe
Singin' na, na na...

Johnny like to gamble with his lady Louise
She was a black jack deuces are wild
He got to thinking 'bout hise nose in the breeze
And Johnny looked and he smiled
He started thinking 'bout the fortune and fame
And the young girls down at his knees
He dug the money but forgot all the names
So he knew just how to appease

(Chorus)
Lick and a promise
Lick and a promise
Lick and a promise
He gave the ladies a
Lick and a promise

Loose change clover in his early, early years
Had his poor mama pacin' the floors
He grabbed a guitar and a couple of beers
Now the crowd keeps screamin' for more

(Chorus)



Chip Away the Stone    (Supa, 4:01)

You act like a Prima Donna
Playing so hard to get
Sittin' so cool and nonchalant
Draggin' on a cigarette
You keep a wall all around ya
And I'll get through some day
And I want your love babe, if push comes to shove
Gonna chip that wall away

Chip away
Chip away the stone
I won't stop till your love is my very own
Chip away
That's what I'm gonna do
Sweet little mama I wanna get next to you

You stand like a marble statue
Trying to look so hard
All decked out in your antique dress
While the boys all promenade
Even a rock will crumble
If you strike it night and day
If hammer I must, I'm gonna get through your crust
Gonna chip that stone away
Chip it, I'm gonna nip it, all night long



No Surprize    (Perry/Tyler, 4:06)

Nineteen seventy one
We all heard the starter's gun
New York is such a pity but at Max's Kansas City we won

We all shot the shit at the bar
With Johnny O'Toole and his scar
And then old Clive Davis said
He's surely gonna make us a star
I'm gonna make you a star
Just the way you are

But with all his style
I could see in his eyes
That we is goin' on trial
And it was no surprize

The boys kept kickin' ass
As usual time will tell
But some bitch in the choir
Threw water on the fires of hell
She loved to show and tell
Lord she loved to tell

(Chorus)
But with all our style
You could see it in our eyes
That we is still on trial
Baby it's no surprize
No surprize
No surprize
No surprize

Midnight lady
Situation fetal
Vaccinate your ass with a phonograh needle

I say lookie here
Friend of mine
Scratch like you need calamine
Flamingo boots
Soles a-creakin'
Still in love and Puerto Rican too

Ridin' on the wheels of hell
Smokin' up our axle grease
Oh the backstage is rockin'
And we're coppin' from the local police
That's right the local police
Or the Justice of the Peace

(Chorus)

Rock and Roll
Junkie whore
Got my foot inside the door
Knock knock, knock knock, knock
Nobody's keepin' score

Bad times go away
Come again some other day
Topaz and sassafraz
Will keep the blues away

Candy store rock 'n' roll
Corporation jelly roll
Play the singles, it ain't me
It's programmed insanity

You ASCAP if BMI
Could ever make a mountain fly
If Japanese can boil teas
Then where the fuck's my roylaties?



Mama Kin    (Tyler, 4:27)

It ain't easy
Livin' like a gypsy
Tell ya honey how I feel
I've been dreamin'
Floatin' down the stream 'n'
Losin' touch with all that's real

Whole earth lover
Keepin' under cover
Never know where ya been
You've been fadin'
Always out paradin'
Keep in touch with mama kin

Well you've always got your tail on the wag
Shootin' fire from your mouth
Just like a dragon
You act like a perpetual drag
You better check it out
Cause someday you'll have to
Climb back on a wagon

It ain't easy
Livin' like you wanna
It's so hard to find peace of mind
Yes it is
The way I see it
You gotta say shit
But don't forget to drop me a line

Bald as an egg at eighteen
And workin' for your daddy just a drag
You still stuff your mind with them dreams
You better check it out
Cause someday you'll have to
Climb back on the wagon

Keep in touch with mama kin
Tell her where you've gone and been
Livin' out your fantasy
Sleepin' late and smokin' tea

Keep in touch with mama kin
Tell her where you've gone and been
Livin' out your fantasy
Sleepin' late and smokin' tea

It ain't easy
Livin' like you wanna
It's so hard to find peace of mind
Yes it is
The way I see it
You gotta say shit
But don't forget to drop me a line

Bald as an egg at eighteen
And workin' for your daddy just a drag
You still stuff your mind with them dreams
You better check it out
Cause someday you'll have to
Climb back on the wagon

Keep in touch with mama kin
Tell her where you gone and been
Livin' out your fantasy
Sleepin' late and smokin' tea

Keep in touch with mama kin
Tell her where you gone and been
Livin' out your fantasy
Sleepin' late and smokin' tea



Adam's Apple    (Tyler, 4:34)

Back when Cain was able
Way before the stable
Lightning shot right out from the sky
A mothership with fifth said
Let's give it a try

Conscience was related
Man, he was created
Lady luck took him by surprise
Her sweet and bitter fruit
It surely opened his eyes

Well, she ate it
Lordy, it was love at first bite
Well, she ate it
Never knowin' wrong for right, right, right, right

Even Eve in Eden
Voices tried deceivin'
With lies to show the lady the way
At first she stopped and turned
And tried to walk away

Man, he was a believer
Lady was deceiver
So the story goes, but you see
The snake was he and she just climbed right up his tree

So, she ate it
Lordy, it was love at first bite
She ate it
Never knowin' wrong for right, right, right

Science was related
Man, he was created
When lady luck took him by surprise
Her sweet and bitter fruits
Surely opened his eyes

Evil came like rain
And who knows who's to blame
And something tried to lay her to waste
And all she want to need was just a little taste

So, she ate it
Lordy, it was love at first bite
Yeah, she ate it
Never knowin' wrong for right, right, right, right
Well, she ate it
Lordy, it was love at first bite
Yeah, she ate it
Never knowing wrong from right, right
Well that's right



Nobody's Fault    (Tyler/Whitford, 4:18)

Lord I must be dreaming
What else could this be
Everybody's screaming
Running for the sea

Holy lands are sinking
Birds take to the sky
The prophets are all stinking drunk
I know the reason why

Eyes are full of desire
Mind is so ill at ease
Everything is on fire
Shit piled up to the knees
Out of rhyme or reason
Everyone's to blame
Children of the season
Don't be lame

Sorry, you're so sorry
Don't be sorry
Man has known it
Now he's blown it
Up-side down and hell's the only way
We did an awful job
And now they say it's nobody's fault

Old St. Andres
Seven years ago
Shove it up their richters
Red light stop and go
Noble men of courage
Listen with their ears
Spoke, but how discouraging
When no one really hears

One of these days you'll be sorry
Too many houses on stilt
Three million years or just a story
Four on the floor up to the hilt

(Chorus)
Man has known it
Now he's blown it
Up-side down and hell's the only way
We did an awful job
And now we're just a little too late
Eyes are full of desire
Mind is so ill at ease
Everything is on fire
Shit piled up in debris

California showtime
Five o'clock's the news
Everybody's concubine
Was prone to take a snooze

(Chorus)



Round and Round    (Tyler/Whitford, 5:03)

If you believe in me
Like I believe in you
You wouldn't be tellin' me things
That weren't exactly true

Now everything changes
Ain't got nothing to say
I'm having the strangest feeling, baby
I can't remember my name

Cause the life I've been livin'
And the love I've been givin'
Will be sure to send you spinnin'
With your feet never touching the ground
Goin' round 'n' round

When it was one for all
And it was all for one
And everything that we did
Never bothered anyone

Now everything changes
Ain't nothing the same
I'm having the strangest feeling, baby
I can't remember my name

Cause the life I've been livin'
And the love I've been givin'
Will be sure to send you spinnin'
With your feet never touching the ground
Goin' round 'n' round

Can you remember the days
When you were sweet sixteen
And always followed the ways
Of someone else's dream

Now everything changes
Ain't nothing the same
I'm having the strangest feeling, baby
I can't remember my name

Cause the life that I've been livin'
And the love I've been givin'
Will be sure to send you spinnin'
With your feet never touching the ground
Goin' round 'n' round

Goin' round 'n' round 'n' round 'n' round...



Critical Mass    (Douglas/H/T, 4:52)

Arriving in boats
Black hooded coats
Tormentors climbed into my room
I crawled under my bed
Covered my head
But they're flushin' me out with a broom
The lady, she's small
Pinned my ass to the wall
For my seeds or she'd be losin' her past
Time after time
She'd be readin' my mind

Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate it
This is critical mass

So far, so good
I heard the other say
So good, so far
They're takin' me away
I drink to you, your mind, her ass
We'll take a drink and break the glass
Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate it
This is critical mass

Now the tallest of two
With a brush full of blue
Paints surrealist scenes on the wall
So I tell her for fun
That's it's really well done
But she just ain't listenin' at all
She points to my heart
Tellin' me if I'm smart
I'll practice and phase
Out and admit, when the shoe doesn't fit
And I went screamin' out down the hall

Need it
Need your love
Just then I heard the poundin' on the wall
We're all there, sang the voice of twenty more
I drink to you alas
We'll take a  drink and break the glass
Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate it
We are the critical mass
Time and space is takin' me away
Time erase, don't know the time of day



Lord of the Thighs    (Tyler, 4:14)

Down to who knows who, just to socialize
I'm waiting for my girls, when you call my eyes
You got no way to make a man honey
You got to understand
I'm your man, child, lord of the thighs

Well, well, Lordie my God
What do we got here
She's flashin' cross the floor
Make it perfectly clear
You're the bait, and you're the hook
Someone bound to take a look
I'm your man, child, lord of the thighs

You must have come here to find it
You've got the look in your eyes
Although you don't really mind it
I am the lord of your thighs

You must have come here to find it baby
You've got the look in your eyes
Although you really don't mind it
I am the Lord of your Thighs



Jailbait    (Crespo/Tyler, 4:39)

Take me, take me...
Take it or a-leave it on a Saturday night
And what you see is what you get so give me a bite
Here are lots of ladies, they are so insecure
Leave it to the boys and the fool on the hill

Hello baby, yeah it's me
There'll be no judge, no third degree no jailbait
Play the fool and you play the punk
Wak up babe, I'm a-don't know jailbait

I believe in someone talkin'
Can't let go you don't get hold no jailbait
What it is, but you believe it
What you got, got up the sleeve and jailbait

Oh, j-j-j-jailbait
Oh, j-j-j-jailbait
Oh, j-j-j-j-jailbait

Take it, leave it, roll the dice
You're hard as hell, I'm cold as ice no jailbait
Tell your daddy how you do me
Put the woodcheck, do it to me jailbait
What you see in daddy's eyes
Check the boys, no surprise no jailbait

Oh, j-j-j-jailbait
Oh, j-j-j-j-j-j-j-jailbait
Oh, j-j-j-jailbait
Oh, j-j-j-jailbait
Oh, j-j-j-j-j-jailbait

Do me, do you, tell me what you see in me too
Do me, do you
I ain't complainin' the Bitch's Brew
There's alover who never knew she's a jailbait
Steep the chase, call the sweat
You steep the feet, oh gracer bed, oh jailbait

Oh, j-j-j-j-j-j-jailbait
Oh, j-j-j-j-j-j-jailbait
Oh, j-j-j-j-j-j-j-jailbait
J-j-j-j-j-j-j
Oh, j-j-j-j-jailbait...



Train Kept A Rollin'     (Bradshaw/K/M, 5:41)

Well, on a train, I met a dame
She rather handsome, we kinda looked the same
She was pretty, from New York City
I'm walkin' down that old Fair Lane
I'm in heat, I'm in love
But I just couldn't tell her so

(Chorus)
I said, train kept a-rollin' all night long
Train kept a-rollin' all night long
Train kept a-rollin' all night long
Train kept a-rollin' all night long
With a "heave!" and a "ho!"
But I just couldn't tell her so, no, no, no
Well get along sweet little woman, get along
On your way, sweet little woman get along
On your way, get along, sweet little woman get along
On your way,
I'm in heat, I'm in love,
But I just couldn't tell her so, no, no, no

Well, on a train, I met a dame
She rather handsome, we kinda looked the same
She was pretty, from New York City
I'm walkin' down that old Fair Lane,
I'm in heat, I'm in love
But I just couldn't tell her so

Chorus

Well, we made a stop in Albuquerque
She must'a though I was a real cool jerk
Got off the train and put her hands up
Lookin' so good I couldn't let her go
But I just couldn't tell her so

I said train kept a-rollin' all night long
Train kept a-rollin' all night long
Train kept a-rollin' all night long
Train kept a-rollin' all night long
I'm in heat, I'm in love
But I just couldn't tell her




Return to Top
Back to Main Page
<<Prev. Album
Next Album>>
Back to Lyrics Page