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1.
Everyone has their problems Each and every one of us Every one of us Love the way you want Live the way you can Disappear in a cloud of dust A cloud of dust Need to take a break To break the need It's close to breaking With each passing day The sounds of nature And man combined The sounds of you sleeping As the birds and branches sway Collect your breath, ready yourself It's all about balance It's all about the little things The little things Leave the ladder well alone Who really needs the height Always wait to see what the morning brings The morning brings Collapse the stars between your eyelids Wait shy and still by the front door It's a crisp clear night out in the suburbs But you still don't know what people move there for
2.
I've been down amongst the warehouses Where the city parks the buses And the Chinese take out food stocks are kept And I want to walk the roads with you Take photos of graffiti You're the only partnership I will accept We can hide out at the back of a bus Till the dusk sets in I will kiss you all afternoon And we'll change all the numbers on the schedules And re hire all they've let go And we will run this city soon Nothing better than a dog on your lap Nothing better than some strong cheese Nothing better than a Sunday night Nothing better than old trees Nothing better than strange music Nothing better than the skin on your hands Nothing better than a midnight movie Nothing better than someone who understands And the police have raided JC Penny's To get their shirts 70% off And everyone else leaves cos they can't stand the heat And I've eaten in worst dives than this I think we probably all have But I don't want to go out walking in the rain to find a place to eat And tonight we'll be all curled up Underneath a Brooklyn moon Keep our fingers crossed the idiots stay away Let's bake up trays of cookies Let's wreck all of the bicycles And agree that it is here we want to stay
3.
Wilderness 03:06
Walking in the wilderness Someone stole my batteries I just can't linger any longer Hold on tight to the string I got your back if you got the shins Sliding down a banister Someone hit the barrister And we all had cupcakes Run if you think we can make it But don't start if you're not going to shake it We all wound up in Stalingrad Henry broke his trouser bag And we all had a go on the trombone I heard you on the am news You were calling us all out of the blue Wracked up quite a bill that day We should of let the milkman pay Barry got the diagnosis And we all slapped him hard on the back Stand tall till your joints all crack
4.
I see that you've got this I see that that there's nothing I need to add You could run this whole fairground With every idea you just had Up top of the ferris wheel Every other amusement ride below I smile in pride and awe up at you As round and round you go But know I'm there when the wheel stops going around I'm standing here with both feet firm on the ground And I've got your back and I won't make a sound Just know I'm here when the wheel stops going around And sometimes this world is more like the carousel Head is all jumbled and which way you're going you just cannot tell And sometimes I'm just a blur out of reach that you can't make out And sometimes it takes a few goes round to understand what it's all about Let's take it all out on the rifle range We've been to the hall of mirrors where everyone looks strange Sometimes You're the strong man and sometimes you're the clown But I'm always there when the wheel stops going round The band says life is a carnival and I agree But you can go on every ride and to every stall with me Your hand in mine, I'm always at your side Sometimes I'm the guest sometimes I'm the guide
5.
We were both just out of school And both of us tried to play it cool You with all your piercings and coloured hair We'd hang out most every night Talking rebellion over a tasty bite But acting like we don't have a care Your eyes were torches under thick black mascara And I could never take my eyes off ya We were both going to compete in battle of the bands I was nervous about my cheap guitar But I knew your talent would take you far Playing drums in Sticky Taco Hands The boys would ask me what I saw in you But they were just jealous and stupid too You were everything in your Cure T-Shirt We made plans to run away And to take the country by storm one day To shout at the sky and kick some dirt I'd come and watch you rehearse Everyone else was a hundred times worse I could spend the rest of my life in the stands Cheering for you every night The rhythms and music nice and tight When you played drums for Sticky Taco Hands Then came the day when you fell ill And my whole world came to a stand still No rich adventures and love for you and me I visited you every single day All your favourite 45s we would play Until the nurses told us off repeatedly Your second to last night we escaped to the roof Tried that drink that was 80% proof Lay under the stars and talked of future plans Now I'm alone and that I can't fix You left me the memories and a pair of sticks From when you played drums for Sticky Taco Hands
6.
It's not my country It's not my place It's not my job to wipe that look Off your face Or to point out each And every one of your mistakes I'm just the long walker King of the long walks It's not my weather It's not my chase Im not the one who has to Rest their case Don't look to me for answers Your admiration is misplaced I'm just a long walker King of the long walks Doesn't matter to me If under foot Is grass or concrete I've walked the cities I've roamed the hills You'll find me deep inside the Forrest Not going to be one of those fools Hanging from your window sills This is not my office This is not my home I'm not the one Who's never off his phone I always wear a hat Because I've never owned a comb I'm the long walker King of the long walks
7.
Miss the marionette The trumpet playing ghost The large trouser wearing colonel Has abandoned his post Fitness hipsters on the run And the weather can't decide Alan get your gun Let the smiling be your guide I've seen a lot of costumes On the downtown 6 train There's one in every pack That's driving you insane We smoked a bag of peanuts We fired off a letter You can break almost every desk Nothing's getting any better Pale faced commuter Do you care That your days are numbered Do you fight off the decay Is there more for you to say White faced suit sir Do you wonder If now will be the time Stand up with no delay Put that ignorance on display Cauliflower eared priest Nothing's left to sell Barking back at bankers This street has gone to hell And in the corridors of biscuits The music teacher strike Wafts of stale memories Protestors at the mic Pale faced dictator Do you care That your days are numbered All you bring is decay No one wants what you have to say
8.
I'm the miles and miles of woodland Between the houses and the highway Bright green amongst the mist Trees plump with rain let’s make it my way Take this shortcut with me I’m the lines in your headlights I’m the horizon on the sand I’m the wet air that never leaves you I’m the rockabilly radio playing your favourite band Take this shortcut with me Rogers lake liquor shop on route 1 Fill up the gas at Irving I’d travel anywhere you want to go I’ve never met anyone more deserving keep your head straight, keep your hands tight stop the car from swerving I know a shortcut I know a place I know that amazing look on your face with my fingers your forehead I traced and saw your lips at the corners curving take this shortcut with me I’m the miles and miles of telephone line snaking between the bobbing leaves I’m the glistening black asphalt and every tire it receives Take This Shortcut with me Grab a bite at Jimmy’s Diner fuel us up and fuel the car I’d travel anywhere you want to go nowhere is too far stick a pin in a map find adventure in the bizarre I'll know a shortcut I'll know a place I know that amazing look on your face with my fingers your forehead I traced I’ve found all I’ll ever need deep in your arms take this shortcut with me
9.
10.
Hearts not in it Wanna leave But the world's still waiting Wanna breathe Wanna walk And I could talk but You don't want to talk Can't remember the last time you broke a sweat Sad to know your life's so easy to forget Let the piano play A few doors away Let the train rattle on Beneath Let this city Bare it's teeth Kicked so hard Like that first shot of spiced rum It can be sweet to be this numb Who is it that wants to work hard It only gets you so far You need the personality, the guts, the luck Money and patience. That's just the start. Give me somewhere where I'm left alone I'll do what's asked of me, no complaint But they keep stabbing till the blood pours from this stone And the reasoning gets lost, grows faint. Can you lose everything? Let the bell ring It's last orders somewhere The whole bar stripped bare Scare me into submission No need for permission I'll go quietly officer There's nothing left to do But officer you won't go quietly Will you?
11.
12.
She was the queen and I was the king For her I would've done anything She wanted the world and all I got her was a ring And she left me the day after the prom It wasn't so bad growing up round here The mornings were bright the evenings were clear And you could get just about anything for one glass of beer But she left me the day after the prom She pulled out my drive in her 58 corvette The road in her eyes, her hair still wet I didn't go with her, that decision I regret But some legs just weren't made for roaming I still live and still work in this ramshackle town I try not to let the past grind me down I hope what she was looking for, she eventually found And she left me the day after the prom I picture her sometimes, the country stretched out in front Some people just live for the thrill of the hunt And I hope that she's happy and has all that she wants But some legs just weren't made for roaming
13.
I've worn this nerve down to piano wire Thin and tight like one of the high notes Every second with my veins on fire A scream working its way to the base of my throat I am anxious and frustrated in a bustling crowd I'm restless and sad when I'm alone My insides a trash compactor so I don't say it aloud My outsides a solemn painting in an empty home How do you all do this Every day How do each and every one of you not flip I can barely contain the rushing water and fire As I'm running away from where all points tip And it turns out less and less soothes me And it turns out I care less and less And it turns out you should probably remove me Before we're all waist high in my mess I'm done with all this repetition And this place is not what it was I feel a mixture of upset and indigestion Nothing to fight when there's no hope and no cause I've worn my system down to the bone Uncomfortable in my own skin Like a cheap T shirt that you've finally outgrown And your patience is wearing thin
14.
Start out crawling In the dark on your hands and knees Learn to say thank you Learn to say please Learn to fear the wind But love the breeze It's not all in the day's work you do Sometimes it's just about me loving you Learn to read Learn to write Learn to feed And learn to fight Learn to deal with the day And embrace the night It's not all in the pay check that they're giving you Sometimes it's all about me loving you Got a roof over our head Got a decent queen sized bed Got the things they say you need We'll never let them see us bleed And we both stick our feet in a comfortable shoe But none of that matters above me loving you Start to walk tall Start to figure it out Sometimes you want to laugh Scream or shout And you hate the ignorance Cos there's enough of it about It's not in trying to emulate the wealthy few It's all about me loving you
15.
It's a lovely day Go outside Take this big old world For a ride Feel what you like But keep it inside It'll be alright You'll be alright Close your mouth Open your ears Never let the cheap seats See your fears And you'll feel fit to burst After so many years But it'll be alright You'll be alright There will be a view To take your breath away There'll be cold salt waters To clean your wounds There will come a time Everyone gets their day There'll be someone waiting in the wings To put all the air in your balloons No one likes arrogance No one likes a snitch After every one good scratch There'll be another itch And you won't always have a needle When you lose a stitch But it'll be alright You'll be alright There will be a moment That leaves you speechless There will be places Where you'll leave your heart There will be paintings, poems and moving pictures There'll be someone shouting support from the bleachers When it's your time to start
16.
I lived most of my life The wrong side of the track I don't know where I'm going Don't know how to get back There's a figure on my head So they can't find me Got my picture nailed To an old oak tree Gots to head right out Past the city line Where the livin is free And the weather is fine Gonna take big sip of that Mississippi River This wide old country You know it'll deliver And we'll sing sing sing Till the day is through And we'll sing sing sing Till the clouds reveal the blue I'll ride the rails I'll find the meaning Take the great glass elevator Right through the ceiling I'll make my fortune on the river boat And spend it all again on Sweet liquor for my throat And I'll run for mayor of this One horse down Everyone could use a laugh From this dusty old clown I'll live out my days just barely afloat Sand in my shoes and Crumpled ones in my coat

about

Over the last year I have been recording song ideas on my ukulele into my phone and including the odd uke demo on my new releases.

Often I liked those demos as much, if not more, than the finished song.

So with this release I took 16 demos, some serious, some silly, some fun, all of which were recorded on my phone and, in some cases, added some extra instruments and in some cases left them naked.

In the case of "Take This Shortcut With Me" I had recorded some subway drumming on my phone, in New York's Union Sq station, I looped that and played the song, into my phone, of course, over the top of it.

The result, I hope, is a rough and ready, joyful and engaging experience.

credits

released July 7, 2016

All songs written, recorded and produced by Jon Cross

Except the drums on "Take This Shortcut with Me" that was by two enterprising subway buskers in Manhattan.

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Miscellaneous Plumbing Fixtures New Milford, Connecticut

Songwriting and banging your instruments together

The main thing I love to do is write songs. I pick up various instruments from ukulele to piano, accordion to percussion and electric guitar to harmonica and bang them about to try and get close to the noises I hear in my head but the writing comes first. ... more

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