Category: Lyrics

Music by Robbie Smith
Words by Robbie Smith and Anne Smith

Where are the things that she wore
Red rosey ribbons
And where are the children she bore
Time has them now
Time has them now

Where are the long summer days
Of smiling and wishing
They’re lost in a lavender haze
For time has them now
Time has them now

And all that is left of the life that I knew
Are these visions of mine
And when I am gone there’ll be no one to see them
But time, only time

Where is my sleepy old town
Daydreams and daisies
And where are the crinoline gowns
Time has them now
Time has them now

And all that is left of the life that I knew
Are these visions of mine
And when I am gone there’ll be no one to see them
But time, only time

I saw a girl yesterday
Wearing red rosey ribbons
Watching her baby at play
Time carries on
Time carries on
Red rosey ribbons

Words and music by Robbie Smith

What will you be doing when you grow up?
Buying up stocks or driving a truck?
Start learning early ’bout the Great Ambitions of Life.
Somebody fails, someone excells –
As long as you’re better than somebody else –
All competing for the Great Ambitions of Life.

Don’t be so anxious to reach the top –
Stop! Look around and see what you’ve got –
It might be more than you will have tomorrow,
Yes, it might be more than you will have tomorrow…

What an achiever! He’s doing so well –
Upwardly mobile – moving pell mell –
Striving ever higher for the Great Ambitions of Life.
Courtship, engagement, marriage vows
Pre-planned parenthood, now mortgage the house –
Everything in order for the Great Ambitions of Life.

Ambitious means you’re not content with what you’ve got in life,
Ambitious means you’d rather change your lot in life…

Today doesn’t matter it’s tomorrow that counts,
Mapping out the future – ignoring the doubts,
Trying to fulfill the Great Ambitions of Life.
What’s behind door #3?
Risk what you’ve got in your hands just to see –
Gamble it all on the Great Ambitions of Life.

Led like a donkey with the carrot and the stick
You bought in to a scheme to get rich quick –
But it’s cost you more than you will ever know,
Yes, it’s cost you more than you will ever know…

Motivated rhythm propelling you on,
But where has the love and the virtue gone?
It’s been replaced by the Great Ambitions of Life.
Buying low and selling high –
Didn’t see the crash – saw the pie in the sky –
Just another victim of the Great Ambitions of Life.

Great Ambitions lead to Great Frustrations
Over things you never achieved,
Things you wanted so much, things you never received…

And now you’re retired with a watch of gold
With a golden handshake – you feel so old –
And suddenly you’re finished with the Great Ambitions of Life.
What do you do when you can’t compete?
Crossed off the list and now it’s complete –
Teach someone else about the Great Ambitions of Life,
Teach someone else about the Great Frustrations of Life,
One more victim of the Great Ambitions of Life.

Words and music by Robbie Smith

Well I’ve been told so many stories
About being in love
But I’d never understood what they’d been singing love

Now I know I’m still just a growing boy
But I’m eager to see the light
You lit that candle, now my future looks bright

Because I’m falling in love
Read all about it, falling in love
There’s no need to doubt that I’m falling in love
Falling in love with you ooh

I’m falling in love
Don’t know the reason but I’m falling in love
I just keep repeatin’ that I’m falling in love
And I don’t mind if I do

Well I’ve been given so much sober advice about dealing with love
How I shouldn’t be misled by all my feelings of love
But I know they’ll never hold me down, my heart is taking flight
Mm now it’s my turn and you’re such a sweet sight

Oh yes I’m falling in love
So glad to know it, falling in love
I just had to show that I’m falling in love
Falling in love with you ohh

I’m falling in love
Don’t waste a minute ’cause I’m falling in love
Let’s get right in it
I’m falling ever faster and I’m hoping that you’re falling too

Instrumental

Oh yes I’m falling in love
Read all about it, falling in love
There’s no need to doubt that I’m falling in love
Falling in love with you ooh

I’m falling in love
Don’t know the reason but I’m falling in love
I just keep repeating that I’m falling in love
And I don’t mind if I do, ooh

Yes I’m falling ever faster and I’m hoping that you’re falling too, ooh,
Yes I’m falling in love, I’m fa—lling in love with you-
Falling in love with you-
I’m falling in love with you-

Words and music by Robbie Smith

Well, she’s gone – I guess she’s made her choice
She had to go and find the outside world
And I know each time I hear her voice
She’s no longer her father’s little girl
And though it’s taken half my life just to bring her
From swaddling blankets to a bridal gown
I just don’t know what I’ll do when she’s no longer around

‘Cause I can’t believe my little baby’s gone
She’s gone and grown up now into a woman
And the little face that brightened up this place
Is just a mem’ry looking out through faded curtains

Well, I’ve moved the last things from her room
There’s just a sunbeam left upon the floor
I suppose I’d better get the broom
Sweep it’s waning brightness out the door
I guess the sun shone so many times through these curtains
That now they’re faded like my memories
But there’s one that will not fade – one my mind so often sees

And I can’t believe my little baby’s gone
She’s gone and grown up now into a woman
And the little face that brightened up this place
Is just a mem’ry looking out through faded curtains

Well, it seems like it’s only been a short, short while
Since I first laid eyes on her
Just a tiny face in a soft, warm blanket
Hiding from the world

Well, it’s late – I’d better get some rest
Cause tomorrow’s my daughter’s wedding day
And I suppose I should be at my best
When it comes time to give her hand away
And she’ll hug me once and smile for a moment
Then she’ll run into his waiting arms
May she find what joy she can
May she never know harm

But I can’t believe my little baby’s gone
She’s gone and grown up now into a woman
And the little face that brightened up this place
Is just a mem’ry looking out through faded curtains…
Faded curtains

Music and lyrics by Robbie Smith

You know I nearly threw a fit, yes I did
When I finally won the lottery
I finally hit it rich
Yes it was much more than I could ever spend

But now here I sit, just look at what it’s bought me
And out of all of the people I’ve met since that big day
There’s not one that I can call a friend

Don’t I wish, I had someone to rely on
Oh don’t I wish that someday I’d find the perfect bride
But girls like this just want mink stoles to try on
Just once I wish I could dress up like a hobo and go back to the other side

But wishes won’t make it so
Everyone’s suspicious when they find out you’re the richest man in town
Even though, I’m tired of always seeing people smiling and agreeing with me
All the while believing that they’d like to be relieving me of,
Some of my – crisp green dough, oh,

Don’t I wish, I could find some true devotion
Don’t I wish that someone would fill my aching needs
There’s lots of fish – so they say – out swimming in the ocean
But every time I cast my line in the water I get caught up in another weed

Don’t I wish I had someone
Someone who’d be willing to give just a little bit
Someone who’d treat me, ever so sweetly
Someone to give me a reason to live, oooh

Don’t I wish, I had someone to confide in
Don’t I wish that someone could help me to adjust
But they know I’m rich, with a Cadillac to ride in
And it only seems to dampen all my hopes of finding someone I can trust

But wishes won’t make it so, no no no
Everyone’s malicious when they find out I’m the richest man around
Even though, I’m tired of always trying not to notice people eyeing me,
And secretly conniving, yes they’d like to start depriving me of,
Some of my crisp green dough, oh yo yo yo

Instrumental

La la la – ba da ba ba…

Oh how I wish I could erase all the changes,
And just lead a simple life once again
…just like I did “Wayback When”

Words and music by Robbie Smith

There was joy in Kew Gardens when the circus came to call
There were short clowns and tall ones and they’d run and jump and fall
Bringing smiles to the children – happy children one and all
Oh the clowns were in Kew Gardens and we really had a ball

There were carnival performers oh the likes you’ve never seen
And they swung from the rafters as we sang God Save the Queen
And a stilted entertainer with his legs all long and lean
Was the hero at Kew Gardens it was really quite a scene

There were chimpanzees and camels there
And elephants and dancing bears galore –
Tell me more!
There were marching men in reds and greens
And ferris wheels and trampolines and more – so much more!

Oh the clowns in Kew Gardens they were really quite a sight
With their facial expressions and their eyes all big and bright
They were serving refreshments as we laughed away the night
Oh the clowns were in Kew Gardens much to everyone’s delight

There were fire-breathing acrobats
And jugglers and jungle cats galore –
Tell me more!
A canon woke up with a start
As a man became a human dart
And more – so much more!

Oh the clowns in Kew Gardens they were really quite a sight
With their facial expressions and their eyes all big and bright
They were serving refreshments as we laughed away the night
I was watching you dancing too – dancing til the night was through

Chorus ladies hand in hand – all dressed up to beat the band
Falling in to and fro – well, all were dancing toe to toe
Weaving and swaying – hear the band they’re playing our song
Come along – come along with me –
Come along with me…

There was hot tea and brandy – just enough to keep you warm
And some sweet-cakes and candy, fish and chips and popping corn
Such a treat for the family just to watch them all perform
At the big top in Kew Gardens – I may have to beg your pardon
But the clowns were in Kew Gardens just as sure as you were born

Lie la LA lie la LAY la – La la la la la la LAY la-
La la LA lie la LAY la –
La da dun dun da DEE du dun dun dun dun da
Lie la lay la – la la la la la la lay la
La La LA lie la lay la – ah

Oh the clowns in Kew Gardens – ooh-oo-ooh
Yes, the clowns were in Kew Gardens – ooh-oo-ooh
Oh, the clowns (ba ba ba ba ba bum) – ooh-oo-ooh
Oh, the clowns (ba ba ba ba ba bum) – ooh-oo-ooh
Oh, the clowns…

Words and music by Robbie Smith

Eyes like diamonds, lips like rubies
Emeralds in her hair
Once a starlet in the movies
Now she’s a devil-may-care

And she’ll laugh and she’ll lure you away
To her magic mansion secret hideaway
(hideaway, hideaway, hideaway)

Whispered phrases, painted lipstick
Champagne-scented lies
Passion princess, jaded mystic
Keeps you at bay with her eyes

And she’ll sigh and she’ll drive you insane
Til you can’t resist her
Now you’re just fair game
(play the game, play the game, play the game)

Instrumental

Eyes like almonds, lips like cherries
Lemon-coloured hair
Candy lady loves to tease you
Enter her den if you dare

And you’re trapped in her widow’s web
Like a fallen angel
Laugh until you’re dead
(til you’re dead, til you’re dead, until you’re dead)

Words and music by Robbie Smith

It’s not easy to let go of the good times
But it’s too painful to keep them in your heart

When you’re not in love, oh,
When you’re not in love
Joy is just a flicker of the flame that it once was
When the passion ends
And the pain descends
Letters are just paper and friends our only friends

When you’re not in love
When you’re not in love
No one can get through to you, you feel like giving up
When the loving’s done
And you feel you can’t go on
Flowers have no purpose and the sun is just the sun

And though the night to you is as dark as a grieving widow’s glove
Somewhere lightning’s flashing
Flashing across the skies of love

When you’re not in love
When you’re not in love
Time just mopes along like it usually does
When the feeling’s gone
And the right goes wrong
Music has no magic and a song is just a song

And though the night to you is as dark as a grieving widow’s glove
Somewhere lightning’s flashing
Flashing across the skies of love

It’s not easy to let go of the good times
But it’s too painful to keep them in your heart
It’s not easy to let go of the good times
But it’s too painful to keep them in your heart

When you’re not in love
When you’re not in love
When you’re not in love
When you’re not in love
When you’re not in love

Words and Music by Robbie Smith

Maybe war will teach us something – teach us how to live in peace
Maybe tears will turn to gladness – and maybe famine will lead to feast
Maybe hatred will turn to kindness once it sees what it’s become
Maybe lies will turn to the truth once the sadness they’ve caused is done

Peace will come, peace will come, peace will come in time
All the guns and marching drums will fade to silence in time

Before we walk through comfort’s doorway we must follow a path of pain
Maybe each and every loss is somehow linked to what we gain

And every time something holds me back I just know – I know
With every step I just know how far I can go – I can go so far

Maybe sorrow will take us somewhere – somewhere joy might never find
Through the cruel and empty darkness a glimpse of a soul that’s kind

And out beyond the grief and despair there is something else there
Yes, up above the stars I’m aware of the balance that’s there

Maybe guilt will find forgiveness once the shame has disappeared
Love and courage and new beginnings will greet the endings that once we feared

For every time something holds us back I just know – I know
With every step I just know how far we can go – we can go so far

Maybe – turn to kindness , find forgiveness – oh maybe – teach us how
Maybe – bring us gladness – oh maybe – teach us how
Maybe – new beginnings – oh maybe – teach us how
Maybe – teach us something – oh maybe – teach us now.

Words and music written by Robbie Smith

Sunrise – a dust-covered town
Two men a-loadin’ their guns
Music from the local saloon
An old dog by the jailhouse spitoon

No one knew why they were fighting that day
Was it callous revenge
Or the thought of the beer they could buy with the bounty pay?

Tension mounts in the square
Silence in the sultry hot air
The killers are making their pace
A cold scar on each naked face

No one knew why they were fighting that day
Was it callous revenge
Or the thought of the beer they could buy with the bounty pay?

Death-skilled hands move to their belts
The wives of the men in the churchyard are knelt
Threatening clouds build overhead
And everyone bathed in a torrent of sweat

No one knew why they were fighting that day
Was it callous revenge
Or the thought of the beer they could buy with the bounty pay?

But as steel flew from holster to hand
A twister of dust grew over the land
It roared through the street, the men jumped to the ground
And when it had gone the guns couldn’t be found

Oh, no one knew why they were fighting that day
But when we looked in their eyes
We knew in our hearts they’d never be fighting again
Never again

Words and Music by Robbie Smith

His net he throws out where the moon glows
He catch ten fish then – he let’s nine go
He needs the one to feed his hunger
He wants the nine to swim and grow
Swim deep and grow… grow

Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Ooo ahh the rasta man
Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Irie brotha’s got a masta plan
Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Ooo ahh the rasta man
Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Irie brotha’s got a masta plan

And from brotha to brotha ya know
He’s gonna send love down the line
And from sistah to sistah ya know
He’s gonna send love down the line
The sun doesn’t have to move – ya know the sun just has ta shine
Til it finds… YOU

Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Ooo ahh the rasta man
Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Irie brotha’s got a masta plan
Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Ooo ahh the rasta man
Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Irie brotha’s got a masta plan

Don’t carry no guns – don’t carry no weapons
No need for weapons in his world
He won’t raise hell but he don’t praise heaven
Still holds to a vision of this world… of THIS world… THIS world

Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Ooo ahh the rasta man
Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Irie brotha’s got a masta plan
Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Ooo ahh the rasta man
Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Irie Brotha’s got a masta plan

And from brotha to brotha ya know
He’s gonna send love down the line
And from sistah to sistah ya know
He’s gonna send love down the line
The sun doesn’t have to move – ya know the sun just has to shine
Til it finds… YOU

Instrumental

Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Ooo ahh the rasta man
Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Irie brotha’s got a masta plan
Ooo rasta brotha to brotha
Ooo rasta sistah to sistah
Ooo rasta brotha to brotha
Irie brotha’s got a master plan
Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Ooo ahh the rasta man
Ooo-hoo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh
Irie brotha’s got a master rasta master rasta… plan

Words and music by Robbie Smith

No one’s expected today
No one to get in my way
No one to cook for, just me and myself
And there’s always something special waiting on the shelf

There’s always something to do
I’ll take my time, won’t hurry through
Here in the backwoods I don’t have to punch a clock
And all my valuables are safely under lock and key

Hoo-ooh-wee! I’m a recluse
Footloose and fancy-free
Don’t make excuses for me
‘Cause I’m a recluse and that’s what I want to be

Nobody drives across my lawn
No one to hold me back, or lead me on
No competition – got nothing to lose
And when I ask for something, no one can refuse but me

It’s plain to see, I’m a recluse
Footloose and fancy-free
Life rolls by so easily
‘Cause I’m a recluse and that’s what I want to be

Say, you know it’s not me who’s changed, it’s the world
Everything’s rearranged and it’s coming uncurled
And as the world twirls and turmoil swirls
I just talk to the squirrels in the trees, and they say:

Please, don’t ever move to the town
Too many friends can drag you down (And you know they’re right!)
If I get lonesome it’s just for awhile
Nobody’s gonna take this independent smile from me

No sir-ee! I’m a recluse
Footloose and fancy-free
Don’t make excuses for me
‘Cause I’m a recluse and that’s what I want to be

Just like Howard Hughes, I’m a recluse
Footloose and fancy-free
That’s how I keep my sanity
I’m a recluse and that’s what I want to be
Hoo-ooh-wee!