Lying Mary                      © Peter Mandic          

I loved you from the day we met

Playing in the sand

I didn’t want to loose you

Like water in my hand

I remember whispers in my ear

While rolling in the hay

I will never leave you

I believed you that day

There goes lying Mary

Should’ve said no to the pleasure fairy      

Who’d have known that I’d bury you?

We danced in the pail moonlight

Fell more in love with you

We took a trip to Amsterdam

Where you got your first tattoo

Can’t forget the words you said to me

On our wedding day

I will never leave you

I believed you that day

There goes lying Mary

Should’ve said no to the pleasure fairy      

Who’d have known that I’d bury you?

We changed in so many ways

Lost track of you

I found you on my saddest day

Counting clouds in the blue

I still hear the echoes of your words

When I asked if you’re OK

I will never leave you

I believed you that day

There goes lying Mary

Should’ve said no to the pleasure fairy      

Who’d have known that I’d bury you?

Who’d have known that I’d bury you?

Who’d have known that I’d bury you?                     

Who’d have known that I’d bury you?

I’m Sorry            © Peter Mandic

When I saw you today

Didn’t know what to say

But I’m sorry 

Would ‘ave said it yesterday

If I’d seen it your way

But I’m sorry

Sorry for the silence darlin’

Thought you were immune

Sorry babe for all the things

That sent you to the moon

When I saw you today

Didn’t know what to say

But I’m sorry 

I was drinkin’ Chardonnay

Tried to wash the pain away

But I’m sorry

Sorry for the dream that died

What can I say?

Should have said it when I could

Before you walked away

Through the years I’ve been learnin’

How to find words to say

Lots of crashin’ and burnin’

Slowed me on my way

When I saw you today

Didn’t know what to say

But I’m sorry 

I’ve got so much to say

I could fill up a day

And I’m sorry

Sorry for the tears you cried

Saw you come undone

Sorry babe for all the things

That took away the fun

When I saw you today

Didn’t know what to say

But I’m sorry 

Troubadour         © Peter Mandic

I moved from your direction

With a little hesitation

Now I have your scent in my clothes

I got so transcendental

When I realized I was mental

And I wish I had more of those

A dreamer and a troubadour

I wrote a song about a war

It was about you and me

A lover and a setting sun

Part of it in everyone

It was about you and me 

I acted temperamental

When I found out just how simple

Yet I lost your love, so it goes

Heaven helter skelter

Man I need a little shelter

As I try to cope with all of my woes

A dreamer and a troubadour

I wrote a song about a war

It was about you and me 

A lover and a setting sun

Part of it in everyone

It was about you and me 

I was searching for an answer

Why you ran off with the dancer

Then I saw your face, man it glowed

Social revolution

Ending with a sad solution

And I hide the tears for seeds that I’ve sown

A dreamer and a troubadour

I wrote a song about a war

It was about you and me 

A lover and a setting sun

Part of it in everyone

It was about you and me 

Still                © Peter Mandic

There is a story I like to tell

About a man who couldn’t spell  

He kept us laughin’ all afternoon

The candy bars he had are now taboo

Think about him still

Think about him still

Over the hill and far away

I really miss my children I hear you say

And when I wake up I wipe away my tears

I move my hand closer to touch you

You move me still

You move me still

You move me still

You move me still

Once upon a time long ago

I fell in love don’t you know

Those were good times

Man I loved them

I knew I’d love you baby to the end

And I love you still

I love you still

I love you still

I love you still  

My Old Friend     © Peter Mandic           

How often do you call old friends?

Not enough

Picked up the telephone

Poured a cup

Talked for an hour

Laughed till we cried

How you been?

Good to hear you again

When I saw my old friend

There were valleys in his skin

Fifty years and a few

Man you’re looking thin        

I was thinking about you lately

When you lost your old man

How you been?

Good to see you again

Well we filled in the pieces

Talked about good old times

Stajan’s kid made the NHL

Reminds me of our prime

We’d rent the ice at four a.m.

When hockey made us high

How you been?

Good to see you again

Something still connects us

Like a spider web

The girls we chased together

And the women that we wed

And I looked into a kind man’s eyes

Remembered the grin

How you been?

Good to see you again

My old friend

When the Wine Runs the Show     © Peter Mandic

When the wine runs the show

I pick up my guitar

Light up all the candles

Become a rock star

Pretend I’m Bob Dylan

Playin’ with The Band

I slip into my old blue jeans

When the wine runs the show

I raise a glass to escaping

In my guitar room

Speak to me my ruby muse

And help me write a tune

When the words flow to the paper

And I’m not sure what they mean 

And then I think about my life

And others I have seen

I mix them all together

Like a ball of dough

I like to roll them off my tongue

When the wine runs the show

I raise a glass to escaping

In my guitar room

Speak to me my ruby muse

And help me write a tune

When the wine runs the show

I reach for my guitar

Wonder if the muse will add

To my repertoire

I’m hoping for a love song

One that I can sing

And one that won’t make me cry

When the wine runs the show

Mama    © Peter Mandic

He was playing by the river bend

A sad story they depend

To keep the other children alive

Don’t you go in the murky woods

The wicked witch will get you good

And teach you why to listen to your mama

To your mama

To your mama

Had our first smoke in the Dells

While Lester B. was spinning spells

And Grand Ravine was not what we were after

Liked to hang at The Sit and Eat

Madonna girls were oh so sweet

We all knew they listened to their mama

To their mama

To your mama

I played guitar like she knew I would

In a band close to the hood

I loved those jungle sounds, oh so smooth

Lived across from the Air Force place

Johnny played such a groovy base

And wrote a song ‘bout listenin’ to our mama

To our mama

To your mama

All the girls she’d disapprove

Until your smile made its move

You were seventeen, and she knew, I loved you

Now that I have a heart

And the girl that made it start

Man I’m glad I listened to my mama

To my mama

To my mama

To my mama

Man I’m glad I listened to my ma

Red, Black, and Blue             © Peter Mandic

Hey mister, open your ears

I’ve something to tell you about the years

I always loved you

Yea you knew

Passive resister, no help for me

Prayers on the alter don’t guarantee

Absolution

For stupidity

I just tried to protect you

No one knew…..Red, black, and blue

I’m not a date you can break

I’m not a kiss you can fake

I’m not a lie you can tell

You do ‘em all so well

I just tried to protect you

No one knew…..Red, black, and blue

Hey big fister, get off your ass

You can’t find a job while smoking grass

I tried to help you

Yea you knew

How did it happen, please tell me

How could I keep my sanity?

You pushed me over

Now I see

I just tried to protect you

No one knew…..Red, black, and blue

I’m not a whip you can crack

I’m not a child you can smack

I’m not a log you can burn

And oh did I learn

I just tried to protect you

No one knew…..Why I left you

No one knew…..Why I left you

No one knew…..Red, black, and blue

Carlson                  © Peter Mandic

He ran home through the wheat fields

Saw his old man

Countin’ dead chickens

With a shotgun in his hand

Better bring that dog around

This is judgment day

I’m the judge, there is no jury

He blew my dog away

It all changed

It all changed

It all changed, that day

Stole a car to run away

Cops brought him back

Judge looked at his young face

Eleven months will get you back on track

But he didn’t like small spaces

And he didn’t like the rules

All the guards had his daddy’s face

Showed them they were fools

It all changed

It all changed

It all changed, that day

By daybreak he was running

Through the woods and streams

Didn’t think ‘bout what they do

When they brought him back again

Thirteen times he showed them

Their walls were not too high

Thirteen times they told him   

Running was a waste of time

It all changed

It all changed

It all changed, that day

Two years short of sixty

Now a free man

Not a drop of prison ink

To blemish his new tan

Freedom’s is another world

Pain helped him choose

Walked through those prison gates

In a pair of loose shoes

It all changed

It all changed

It all changed, that day

Cadillac               © Peter Mandic

I’m gonna win this time

With this thin dime

Parlay that

Into a decent shack

I’m sorry babe

I’ll behave

And I’ll get you back

With my Cadillac               

We’d turn up the music

Feel the wind in our hair

Leave most things to happenstance

We didn’t care

For all the sad endings

Our lives could endure

For all the broken expectations

Disappointing you             

It was a Cadillac

That brought you back

I’m telling you

You enjoyed the view

Hey baby, baby

When I’m with you

Don’t you worry ‘bout the crazy things

You been through

I’m here to sweep you off your feet

In my daddy’s car

Baby, baby, baby

We know who we are       

It was a Cadillac

That brought you back

I’m telling you

You enjoyed the view

It was a Cadillac

That brought you back

I’m telling you

You enjoyed the view