Duke Is Dead
KNIFE IN HIS BACK
He showed up with a knife in his back
He showed up with a knife in his back
Face down on the walk,
I said Duke, can you talk?
He showed up with a knife in his back
ANGELS OF DEATH
They were the angels of death,
a gang of four or five,
I could not tell if they were really alive
wearing black hoodies and sagging pants
Walking like they were doing
a drunken dance
They said, ‘hey you the Fatman?’
“Why do you want to know?’
‘Don’t get your back up,
steady as you go’
I said I don’t see what’s in it for me
Relax, Fatman, they said,
try to show some dignity
Haven’t come for you
at least not yet
for the moment you can just forget about life, death, the passage of time
take it easy Fatman, you’ll be fine
We got all sorts of hours, all sorts of days,
but for the moment just say out of our way
we’re on a mission
and if we leave you here it ain’t an omission
ROSCOE
Roscoe the copper, he looked at me
He said Fatman, you appear guilty
Just once, I said Roscoe, you could give me a break.
Do I acccuse you of being on the take
Well I don’t
Truth is buddy
I’m as honest as you
Don’t believe me? You don’t have a clue
I don’t have any ill-gotten gains
That just ain’t my kind of game
Well it’s not
So go buy some doughnuts buddy
Get back in your car.
Need to talk to me?
I’m not going far
A THOUSAND GUYS
A thousand guys could have done it
Put a knife in Duke Black’s back
And we’re not counting the women
who might have dreamed up an attack
But if you kept a tally of friends and enemies
In Duke Black’s ledger book
You would have found a balance
lacking friends and favoring crooks
But who forsees the future
Don’t we believe that things will work out fine
Duke tended toward optimism
Everyone sending him a Valentine
Next Episode
MORE ABOUT DORIS
A few words about my baby
if you got the time
I know that I am bragging,
but that ain’t no crime
As I’ve mentioned before
she got that va va room
Every heads starts cranking
when she walks into the room
Talking about her prowling hands
A nibble on my ear
30 seconds of this and my problems disappear
She’s my alpha and omega
The real deal bottom to top
I could go on forever
Lucky for you I’ll just stop
I’d only leave you jealous
Wondering how I got this deal
I’ve had this conversation before
I know just how you feel
Next Episode
TWIST OFF
Twist off
How the undead settle a major score
Twist off
it’s the nuclear weapon
they aint got nothing more
grab you firmly by the head
sharp twist and jack you dead
Twist off
ain’t saying it don’t leave a horrible mess
makes a definite point
even the undead will confess
it always clears out the joint
Twist off
It’s twist off baby
sure way to keep the city horrifIed
twist off, twist off baby
everybody thinks there’s got to be a better way to die
Next Episode
GREEN ACRES
Green acres is no place for me
Farm living? I’d rather be
Sleeping on a sewer grate
If this is the best you can do,
well, well, I’m telling you
I would much rather wait
Wait for what the people say
Three hots and a cot
And at the end of the day
A bon-bon and a glass of milk
If you can’t manage that
I won’t be coming back
I’ll arrange my life in a little shack
And forget about green acres
Next Episode
WIGGLE
Parking garage
Unlock the Cadillac
Never heard the footsteps
Right behind my back
Didn’t turn around
Wasn’t time for that
Professional job
A real sneak attack
Next thing I knew
Heard crazy laughter
Loaded in the trunk
I’m talking about disaster
Cement overshoes
Sunk in the sea
Nobody in the world
Would know what became of me
Got that two, got that knife in my back
Got that knife
A real sneak attack
Got that knife
Got that knife in my back
Next Episode
BOOM BOOM CALHOUN
He was Boom Boom
Boom boom Calhoun
60 miles an hour down the intersettte
Pulled up beside me
He just couldn’t wait
To pull a 45 from a shoulder holster
Did some damage to the window and the upholstery
He was Boom Boom
Boom Boom Calhoun
Lost control, skidded over three lanes
Came to a stop
His face was never the same
He was Boom Boom
Boom Boom Calhoun
He was Boom Boom
Boom Boom Calhoun
Next Episode
NOTHING
Some people say you reach the end
There’s nothing
Don’t believe it go on and pretend
But there’s just nothing
Course nobody knows
They just want to suppose
That there’s nothing
Why do they believe that this is what’s true
That there’s nothing else reasonably to do
But to accept the fact
That there’s nothing
Do they look at their lives, the misery and strife
Wickedness. Blindness. All of the unkindness
Better nothing
Made too many mistakes
More than the people I loved could take
What if eternity is nothing
Don’t want to live with the judgment
The forces that be
Measuring out my life
All the wrong came too easily
That’s why I don’t sleep through the night
I gave up without a fight
I wanted to believe
That there’s be nothing
Next Episode
HER MONEY
She’s got the money
Bundles of dough
You think that I’d be happy
But what do you know
Wanna be a provider
Make my baby satisfied
She’s got all the moolah
Gift from Duke after he died
Maybe he tried to undermine me
Prove that I’m an empty purse
A beggar at the table
And what’s even worse
The mansion
The Jaguar
Fine suits, vintage wine
I’d give it all up gladly
If Doris were only mine
She’s got all the money
Bundles of dough
I miss our old life together
More than you could ever know
It ain’t money that’s important
It ain’t the wealth you see
It’s the warmth of love in her heart
I don’t know that she agrees
Next Episode
MONEY
Say the best things in life are free
but you can tell it to the birds and bees
I want your money
that’s what I want
money money money money
that’s what I want
Your loving gives me a thrill
but your money won’t pay the bills
I want your money
that’s what I want
money, money money
that’s what I want
Next Episode
WHACK WHACK WHACK
Whack whack a doodle
The lug hit the floor
Blood spouting from his head
Wasn’t saying nothing more
He thought he’d take on my baby
Insult her while he was at it
Belligerence was his mode
Violence was his habit
Maybe it worked
Just often enough
But dealing with her
He just wasn’t that tough
Mess on the floor
Snort and a moan
Waiting for his wife
To finally take him home
Repeat first verse
Next Episode
PLAY IT
How do you want to play it
Call it living, call it dead.
Maybe consider
Call it halfway instead
Halfway to nothing
Gateway to eternity
In touch with the cosmic forces
Or lost in an empty sea
Of memory
Of obligation
Of unpaid debt
Lost in the pathways of your life
So much you can’t forget
So how do you want to play it
Digging out your memories
How do you want to play it
Will you be satisfied by what you see
Next Episode
WHO SHARPENED THE KNIFE?
He knew who sharpened the knife
He had a plan for the execution
You could say he made a stupid bet
That he thought of as a solution
That world of grubbing
Chasing after dough
Money, wine and women
Don’t take nothing slow
Pool boys, accountants, maids and handymen
Think you ever got enough? Brother think again
Ain’t never enough
Ain’t no way to stop
Keep marching down that golden road
Until the day you drop
Don’t make no sense
The problem was immense
But brother I always knew
Who sharpened the knife
Next Episode
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY
I got one last argument to make
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury
Offering a statement
Takes as long as it takes
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury
Answered all your questions
What you wondered about
Couple more minutes here
And you won’t have any doubts
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury
You could say I’m guilty
Lots of things I shouldn’t have done
Fabrication
Confabulation
Little lies and bigger ones
In the service of justice
I suppose you could excuse me.
Right and wrong, complicated
No need to be so choosy
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury
Next Episode
ENEMIES
Everybody needs enemies
If you’re really living your life
Picking apples from a tree,
Taking a big old bite
All about crunch crunch crunch
Baby, bitter and sweet
Is that a worm, stuck between my teeth?
can’t see eye to eye with everyone
can’t always just let it be
Everybody needs some enemies,
to keep you on your feet
Next Episode
MY DICK
I just heard gerpluck
now let me make a guess
Thing that just happened is hard to confess
Old friend of mine
Been with me since birth
Mostly a blessing
Occasionally a curse
Hmmm
Half the planet understands my situation
Thing that happened is more than aggravation
Wasn’t a toe and it wasn’t a hand
Any man on the planet would surely understand
That’s my dick
Floating away in the pool
I’m a hapless guy
Another low ball fool
Next Episode
GRIEVANCE
I’ve got a few complaints
I’m thinking about grievance
a few things that just ain’t right
I’m talking about grievance
who thinks everything is working out fine
who thinks the world is oysters
and they’re all mine
got the undead sniffing round my door
killing off my friends
and wait there’s more
don’t think they will stop at that
got to figure they’ll be coming back
you know they’re settling their scores
I don’t care what you think
psychologiclly, baby I’m on the brink
I’m talking about grievance
Next Episode
ENEMIES
Everybody needs enemies
If you’re really living your life
Picking apples from a tree,
Taking a big old bite
All about crunch crunch crunch
Baby, bitter and sweet
Could that be a worm, stuck between my teeth?
can’t see eye to eye with everyone
can’t always just let it be
Everybody needs some enemies,
to keep you on your feet
Next Episode
ANKLES AT HER EARS
One thing I’ll say for her
She was flexible
A regular yoga queen
Ankles up around her ears
Like some kind of pornographic dream
Didn’t hear the tap tap of Doris’s heels upon the floor
Didn’t see it was her, slamming the bedroom door
Lucky for me she had no knife in her hand
That look in her eye, not in a mood to understand
She would have slashed and burned
Battered and mangled
Within Doris’s rage, well, I found myself entangled
Next Episode
SONG: CODA
No lyrics