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The Duke of Oklahoma & Other Stories (2009)

by Anthony Toner

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1.
You Like Boats You go climbing on rooftops, all over town. You say the streets are so pretty when you’re not on the ground. And every once in a while, we have to talk you back down. CHORUS And you – you don’t want love, you want emotion. Yeah you – you like boats, but not the ocean. You see a river of strangers coming off every train, and it freaks you that no-one knows another by name, and no two of those stories are ever the same. CHORUS On Sunday mornings, the silence is scary. You call me to make sure you’re there (somewhere), not thin air. You stand in front of a mirror in your mother’s old things - the performance you were born for, but you wait in the wings. And you want us all to join in when the Fat Lady sings. CHORUS
2.
The Duke of Oklahoma Well the Duke of Oklahoma’s had a pretty bad year; he had hoped it would be champagne, but it turned out to be beer, and he’s alone- he’s alone, and more alone with every day. And the best years of his life, they feel like they’re just slipping away. He’s in love with a woman that works at the County Hall. He flirts with her by e-mail, but she never reads them all, and she’s alone- she’s alone, and that’s the way she wants to be. And the Duke of Oklahoma is a passing thing, as far as she can see. Oh, but trying not to fall in love is like trying to forget your own name: It takes all kinds of chemicals, and lots of time, and there’s no guarantee that you will ever be the same… He parks outside her office on the days when she’s at work, blowing kisses at the windows like a lovestruck jerk, he’s such a fool: He’s a fool to think this dream is coming true. In the School of Hard Knocks, he’s got his very own Diploma: It’s been a bad year for the Duke of Oklahoma. The Duke of Oklahoma knows his love is all in vain, he’s eight miles out of town and on the wrong damned train, she doesn’t care. She’s got her eye on something further down the line. She never asked for this attention, and his neediness puts shivers down her spine. Oh, but trying not to fall in love is like trying to forget your own name. It takes all kinds of alcohol, and lots of time, and there’s no guarantee that you will ever be the same… His mental state’s on roller skates, flying down the hill. He says he’ll swing by your house, but you hope he never will. He’s such a fool. He’s a fool to think this dream is coming true. Everything he touches has the same cheap aroma: It’s been a bad year for the Duke of Oklahoma.
3.
Well Well Well It’s like your heart’s done time in jail; after all these years, you have to let it out on bail. And if the past goes down the drain, I put my head in the clouds, and pray for rain. CHORUS Well well well, turn my face up to the lights. Well well well, hope the days outnumber the nights. We held hands and we talked the whole night long. We knew the mood was right, but the time was wrong. And now the memory won’t let me be, I’m like a plastic bag that’s caught in a tree. CHORUS And I know it’s been a long, long time. I guess tonight you’re just on my mind. Think of all the moves you had to choose; pick the day you win, and not the thousand times you lose. There’s no sense in looking back - just ask William Shakespeare and Fleetwood Mac. CHORUS
4.
Whatever’s On Special This is the bargain that you made with the wild blue yonder. I was always scared you would run out of fun. And as the party lights start to fade, well I begin to wonder – was it always in your mind to cut and run? As the champagne starts to fizz on your tongue… CHORUS: I just drink whatever’s on special; I still think that you’ll come back home. I might be waking up feeling dead, but I’m sticking to my half of the bed, and in the morning we wake up with the great unknown. Sometimes it’s Beaujoulais, and sometimes it’s just bargain beer; my palate’s not so discerning anymore. And all the fancy things you say can take you anywhere but here, but in a world this small, you’ll always end up bored. Now everybody knows my name at the corner store… CHORUS Maybe my optimism is misplaced. I don’t want to believe I’m a hopeless case, but I’ll always raise a glass to your empty place. CHORUS
5.
Merci Beaucoup In living up to your responsibility, you can lose sight of who you once set out to be. I paid my dues in every Ballroom of Romance, watching the ugly sisters learning how to dance. The heart’s a muscle, you can stretch it till it breaks; I walk the pavement til my ego aches. My tongue gets tied up in a knot I can’t undo - first I say ‘s’il vous plait’, then I say ‘merci beaucoup’. Love can grow old and cold - but when you disconnect, these ancient tears will drown you, on the day you least expect. In time, the scars we give each other start to fade: All I can tell you is that history has been made. The passing years are like old clothes, you say. You hang them on the line till they get blown away. Je ne sais pas pourquoi you love me like you do - first I say ‘s’il vous plait’, then I say ‘merci beaucoup’.
6.
Road to Notown He said, ‘is it raining where you are?’ And she knew he was calling from his car. There was all kinds of static on the line, and she wondered how far he’d gone this time. Her heart swings open like a banging door. She says, ‘I can’t do this anymore. I’ll dry up and disappear, if you don’t get me out of here.’ This used to be the Promised Land; holding hands on the Road to Notown. He said, ‘I’m doing all I can.’ (The words of every married man) What started out so full of hope, is now the wrong end of the telescope. This used to be the Promised Land; here we stand on the Road to Notown. Now the factories are all gone, to eastern Europe or Taiwan. She says she’s barely holding on to who she was - heartache is as heartache does. She tells him she’s too tired to shout, but the signal’s cutting in and out: ‘Me and my sisters, we made all kinds of plans. Next thing you know, we’re all pushing prams.’ This used to be the Promised Land; Hold my hand on the Road to Notown.
7.
The Water Letter (a Gatineau lullaby) The river at night; the light from the stars finally reaches your face. And it brings you to earth - all the long miles, all of the places you’ve been. And your mother calls through the fading light, and the ladies laugh and go sailing on by. Wind in the leaves whispers our names, bless us with river water.
8.
Break a heart Sing a song – sing it like you want to be found. Sing it loud, like you never knew you made that sound. Make it yours – steal everything that isn’t nailed down, cause you wanna break a heart. Make a wish – make love like you never had a doubt. Blow a kiss – land it on the side of my mouth. Hold me tight – until the whole world goes south, cause you wanna break a heart. CHORUS When you connect, you’ll feel the temperature rise. You’ll see the daylight start to shine in their eyes. Everything else is just some kind of disguise, Yeah yeah... Open wide – when you have to say what you say. Kick back – kick everything that gets in your way. Dig a hole – fill it with yesterday, cause you wanna break a heart. CHORUS Big love gets lost in every little town. Rise above – just don’t ever look down. You and me – we’re just begging to be kicked around, cause you wanna break a heart.
9.
Never Let Go 03:30
Never Let Go Whenever you feel you can’t go on, you just can’t face another dawn - the planets leave you one by one, try to stay in love. Whenever they bring the curtain down on this world we kicked around, the city slowly starts to drown, try to stay in love. Never let go, never let go. Wherever your guardian angel’s gone - you wake up and she’s been moved on. She leaves a note to say she won’t be long, try to stay in love. Never let go, never let go. Whatever you call your higher power, let it guide your every hour - when this sweet old world goes sour, try to stay in love.
10.
Someday you’ll thank me for this I thought we had a deal to leave some space between our broken hearts. I tried to tell you time and distance kill the flame of anger – you, and your mother as well. And I avoided that old restaurant that used to be our haunt, and you show up here with junk mail that you know I’ll never want - CHORUS And I’d been doing so well at the Heartbreak Hotel, when you show up like this. You never miss - when you feel like a kiss, and you have to resist, I know someday you’ll thank me for this. Love and money both can burn a hole in your back pocket. At times like this we need to show restraint, and find forgiveness – you, and your mother as well. And she always tells the world I wasn’t good enough for you. When I laugh and roll my eyes I’m terrified it might be true... CHORUS I don’t know how you can say those things. You and me, we’ll never get our angel wings til we drop this thing. And you think the whole town’s interested in you and your tattoo, and i was laughing with my friend, but then he said he’d seen it too. CHORUS
11.
Closer to Home Stepping down from the stage is like leaving the cage, and your arms are like lead. You take a look outside and the wind blows wide - you’re three hours from your bed. CHORUS: And you feel the road under your wheels and you feel the scar beginning to heal - fifteen tons of wire and chrome and steel, bringing you closer to home. The roads are silver and white at this time of night, and the night before. Far from home is a song you’ve sung your whole life long, you can’t sing it anymore. CHORUS I used to think that the road ran through my soul. Now I find my wheels don’t need to roll. I don’t know where the songs all go when your voice cannot be found. They live in hard-to-find places and instrument cases when you’re out of town. CHORUS
12.
Boy struck by lightning Driving home through towns full of broken glass and rusty shopping carts, I wind my window down, and the radio fills the car with broken hearts. And the news tells the story of a kid in a thunderstorm that rolls out of the blue, by some factory gate, where nobody waits for you. CHORUS Boy struck by lightning, lay your hands upon me now; Boy struck by lightning, Lay your hands upon me now. I see him years from now, with his grandkids hanging on his every word. ‘Everything went POW,’ he says. ‘It was the loudest thing that I have ever heard.’ Here come your fifteen minutes of fame - make them last your whole life long. You’re the patron saint of this housing estate from now on. CHORUS Because if nothing ever happens in this life, on these ring roads and dormitory towns, where you fly your little flag, and the world wants to tear it down. CHORUS
13.
Gabriel, You Worry Too Much You play the soundtrack of your life in your car, and the hits just keep on coming. And the strings are all broke on your guitar, but you have to keep on strumming. When we were half this age, we thought people like us ran the game. Now here we are with no lines on the stage, and no one to blame. CHORUS Gabriel, I told you before - you worry too much about this and that so-and-so said about such and such (you worry too much). The people you’re singing about, they’ll never forgive you. And the instruments you’re flinging about - they will all outlive you. And you think because you’re older, The Answer should have been here long ago. So you talk like you’re an expert on a subject that only you would know. CHORUS We get old and we get heavy, and we attract all kinds of damage to ourselves. We check out before we’re ready, leave the books we meant to read upon the shelves. CHORUS
14.

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The 'Revisited' series continues, with Anthony Toner's third album, originally released in 2009

credits

released May 5, 2021

All music and lyrics - Anthony Toner
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Clive Culbertson at No Sweat Studios, Coleraine, April to June 2009

Guitars, percussion, vocals - Anthony Toner
Bass and backing vocals - Clive Culbertson
Drums - Martin Hughes
Keyboards - Rod McVey
Viola - John Fitzpatrick
Pedal Steel guitar - Joe McNamee

Album photography - Ken Haddock, on location at Barry's Amusements, Portrush
Album Design - Frank, Belfast

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Anthony Toner Belfast, UK

An independent singer songwriter and guitarist, based in Belfast.

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