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Kissing the Sea on the Lips

by The Vaad

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1.
The American 04:34
Sunday morning stroll down the Champs Elysees Looking for some peace but I can’t parle francaise Whirl around the town, while away the hours Like Audrey Hepburn in the “Girl who Stole the Eiffel Tower” Floral printed scarves wrapped around your neckline Designed by entertaining men down near then coastline Mispronouncing words has become a habit They may say tableaux, but I pronounce it tablet I am the American From the land of the Brave and Free Walking the soil of the Napoleon With you my Josephine Marble columns with their crevices and creases Pyramid of glass, oh the Mona Lisa Italian lady she smiles through the bullet glass Squints her chocolate eyes to avoid the flash Little Madeleines play with jack and aces And their young companions feckless and flirtatious Along the cobblestones and through the narrow streets Wearing black berets and tightly trimmed goatees Grab a warm baguette and tear it all to pieces Spread on some Camembert or some other creamy cheeses I feed you a piece and then you feed me mine As we sit alone, our legs they intertwine Then to a small café to watch the people talking Rest our weary bones on two strong cups of coffee You extend your hands with brightly colored fingers Extinguish your cigarette but the smell of smoke still lingers
2.
Cheap mascara running down both cheeks Fishnet stockings crossed at the knees Three-inch heels and a crown of gold Size fourteen but the seams won’t hold Which side are you on? Brothers, sisters, patrons, pawns Princes of the endless night The girls of Stonewall beat it back into the light Fake eyelashes held on with glue A knowing wink to you-know-who Mabeleine or maybe not Majesty of the misbegot Well inside of the one and nine Citizens stand side by side Feel the pulse of the Village beat As the chorus line assembles down on Christopher Street
3.
They’ve postponed the peace talks again Because the holy of holies is no longer in Ear to the ground as the peasant girls cry And the red dust cakes in the corner of their eyes They’ve postponed the peace talks again Where would I be if I could own this land? Leave the struggles in somebody else’s hands Barbed wire fences and checkpoint Charlies Stranded by the road hauling bales of barley Where would I be if I could own this land? Where if it wasn’t true I can’t find the language to speak to you Greet the morning with a single purpose, just to stay alive Simple pleasures are forsaken across the green line Of bombs and buses and cannibal mines Of the information flowing over telephone lines If nothing is forgiven then nothing ever ends Heartbeat of a nation killed trying to defend If nothing is forgiven it will never end You can take my hand I won’t tell a soul Usher in the glory of the black and white films of old Steal myself a heartache in the deepest dark Long forgotten fountain down in Balaban Park You can take my hand I won’t tell a soul
4.
Niagara 04:19
S and D is the last whistle stop on your way to the Bronx You take a seat as it rolls along under the painted rocks Ducks swim by your feet in the whippoorwills You hear the shouts of the mothers sitting on the window sills It’s laundry day and the delicates hang on the fire escape And the dying sun floods the baseball field about a quarter to eight Young Dominicans they run on home to eat As Merengue beats pump out of the cars down on Dykeman Street Red Apple Rest Flying up the Palisades west Flowing south toward Lake Erie Pour down your Niagara Great rock and flow Across the plans of Ontario Flowing south toward Lake Erie Pour down your Niagara on me Daisies sitting in the vase are wilting from neglect And the fact that you burnt the pumpkin pie is to me circumspect Hallways with their wooden floors welcome you to walk And the children playing down on the stoop are drawing with the sidewalk chalk We walk out into the field to welcome the weekend bride Potluck dinner and some conversation, sipping down a little red wine Shadows dancing on the wall they flicker back and forth And the candles burn deep into the night, for whatever it is worth
5.
Silence is my favorite sound It drips off your lips like nectar As I wait for the shoe to drop Rumor, sigh, and conjecture Constant craving on the dance floor Big band swing and a whiskey sour Your sequined dress caught in my fingers I’ll be pulling splinters out within the hour Wooden bench and a metal chain Birthday gift from the family A simple motion, back and forth Rock of ages, on your back porch Cityscape sleeps in the distance From the tower rings the bell of truth You rest your head upon my shoulder As squirrels scamper across the roof I hear the sound of a train is coming It’s heading north as far as I can tell A siren to the restless thousands As far down as Sylvan Dell
6.
You don’t have to prove yourself to me anymore my belle I will drop my guard and then close the bedroom door again We’ll say the things that come to mind and let the letters ring in time And watch the dishes pile high with memories of the summertime One more lonely night tonight down on Weaver Street that’s right When the social club lets out, one last call and full of doubt Hanging tightly on the sway, disconnect and move away It is certain as they say, that love’s a mystery You don’t have to bite your lip and wonder anymore to wit I will make my case for more with a tidy metaphor Crimson box, soft velveteen, the shape of things that go unseen Like most others bittersweet, beyond comparison to me
7.
Spinoza 03:01
You’ll find Spinoza on Zydu Street He’s in the ghetto and he’s talking heresy Drawing circles around questions of faith Expediting the entire human race You’ll find Spinoza in Flower Square Burning memories of the shadow vendors there Printing doctrines of staggering length Lamentations to the sacred and profane
8.
Black Legend 05:19
Black Legend of Aragon sails in from the East He’s courting the coastline with the greatest of ease Dagger in his pocket, saber by his side He’s anchored off the island lust for gold in his eyes In the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Marie The empire is expanding across the seven seas For love of country, in the name of the lord He’s here to teach the lesson about living by the sword In fourteen hundred and ninety-two Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue Among the natives he’s revered as a god They covet his horses, his clothing and his arms So much learn there, witness and absorb He’ll return to Spain a new man, a conquistador It’s about contribution, to the state of mankind To the history of our brothers passed down through the hands of time What will they say, generations to come? Will they worship him like a hero through the lands of Christendom?
9.
Around and around, trees battle the ground Of the open flame, a physical question Day after day, mind with something to say It’s an open scar lacking suggestion All the time the answer is so simple Brains fly on the roller coaster temple It’s all up and down, no time for the ground The waves are growing high despite all the action I try to sleep with the company I keep And with no constant mass I burp out distraction High strung, dry tongue, ahh but ever so young All the time it takes to try out the first drop Rest of the ride there’ll be nothing to hide On the easy turns and enjoyable pit-stop

credits

released March 1, 2012

the vaad is:

Benjamin Kaplan - lead and harmony vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards, piano, synthesizer, percussion, drum programming

with help from:

Tim Breon - electric and acoustic basses
Billy Matlack, Jr. - drums
Jack Petracek - drums
Easy Mark Tomeo - pedal steel and dobro
John Horton - bass and guitars
Stacey Cox - harmony vocals
Mary Alice Wood - harmony vocals
Eric Ratinoff - harmony vocals
Jay Sand - harmony vocals
Jeff Shaw - harmony vocals

All songs written by Benjamin Kaplan (© 2012, The Odessa Steps, ASCAP. All Rights Reserved), except Roller Coaster Temple, words by Tim Nudd and music by Benjamin Kaplan (© 2012, The Odessa Steps, ASCAP. All Rights Reserved) and Christopher Street, words by Benjamin Kaplan and Mary Alice Wood, music by Benjamin Kaplan (© 2012, The Odessa Steps, ASCAP. All Rights Reserved).

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The Vaad St Louis, Missouri

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