Livingston Taylor Live From Sellersville Theater: Songs and Stories

Indistinct conversations

Cheers and applause

Let's go fly I've learned how Stick out your arms Run real fast Pick up your feet And wow! We're headed for the blue The things get clear And that special place we tried to find is somehow oh, so near What a way to be with you Hand in hand above the clouds I have loved you quite forever And now I'm saying it right out loud What a kick to open our eyes And watch the world go drifting on Slap my seat, wiggle my feet With you I belong Let's go swim in the ocean deep Get relaxed, breathe real easy As if you were asleep We can watch while dolphins play And hum along with that bubbly song that they sing on holiday What a way to be with you Special guests in the fish parade I have loved you quite forever They're thanking you for the life you've made Who would have thunk when we got sunk That we could find a different song? Wherever you are is where I belong Oh, your touch is magic Oh, your voice is music And your easy smile reminds me I'm okay And your eyes are clear and bright Filled with joy and light And I cannot wait to know where our love will go today Outer space? Oh, that'll be fine We'll kick it right up to the speed of light And drift back to the time before we met Before I knew That someday I'd see you smile And my life would all be new Weightless when I'm in your orbit Gravity when you are near I have loved you quite forever Should I tell NASA that you're here?

Voyager took a left at Pluto Into the dark of the great beyond Tag along and find new stars Darling, where you are I belong Mm-hmm

Cheers and applause

Look! I get lost crossing the street And I can't find my own two feet But I love my baby, and she thinks I'm sweet I must be doing something right She's intelligent, patient, hardworking, and shrewd I'm sarcastic, bombastic, lazy, and rude But we burn it up and we get in that mood I must be doing something right Finally there's a crystal sunrise Finally the world is fair All the love that I've kept hidden from the moon is finally ours to share There're plenty of guys she could pick GQ jaw line, hair so slick I gotta break it to you, fellas, you've all been licked I must be doing something right There are plenty of guys she could find Good-looking, rich, and out of their minds But oh, good news Love's still blind And I must be doing something And I must be doing something Oh, and I must be doing something right This is a little song in the key of E. A little shuffle. Very easy to play.

Love playing that song. Love it so much that I want to play it again. But I don't think that'd be appropriate. So, thinking about that dilemma, what I figured that I'd do is just write a song a lot like it.

Okay, here comes the song that's a lot like that one. But when I wrote this song, I wrote it later, and I was a better songwriter. Actually, I was such a good songwriter that I found that I was capable of rhyming the word "cola" with the word "shoulder." Cola, shoulder.

Chuckles

Oh, God, I was good.

Laughter

So when the bridge came around again, I looked for it. And I rhymed the words "sent ya" with "against ya."

Laughter

The song was done, my ego intact. Here it is. Everybody's getting so hip Bustin' a move, biting their lip Light as a feather, cool as a breeze Everybody I see is just like me Everybody's rising in the morning Taking a snooze beneath a tree Oh, picking up a dime Laying it on the line Everybody's just like me Everybody's rising in the daylight Clapping out loud 'cause they're free When you leave it all alone, the train'll take you home And everybody's just like me Easy stroll down the boulevard With the one you love on your arm Ain't it grand when life ain't so hard Sippin' a cola Sun on your shoulder Everybody's groovin' to the new sound Oh, getting just as high as they could be I don't think they're gonna stop 'cause they're living at the top Everybody's just like me First date, Saturday night Both nervous with those shaky knees She smiles when she sees ya She squeezes ya tight The dream that they sent ya Pressed up against ya Everybody's thinking they're lucky If they're here, it means they've won the lottery Pop that fine champagne Raise up a little Cain Throw up the umbrella Dance barefoot in the rain Make 'em call the cops Prove that you're insane You're going to be what you were meant to be Everybody's just like me Fit as a fiddle Fiddle fit around the middle Oh, they're just like me They like to sing and shout Often mistaken Never in doubt Just like me Everybody's just like me

Cheers and applause

Ooh! Blistering along... Do you remember Laura Nyro?

Applause

Oh, she was so good. Oh, she was a great pop writer. So I was driving in my car, listening to some oldies station, and the Fifth Dimension came on, and they sang the song, and they sounded good. And it was a song written by Laura Nyro.

And they did it light and happy and bouncy, but the lyrics -- they held so much pathos. Had to sing it. Let's go down by the grapevine, drink my daddy's wine, good morning Down by the grapevine, drink my daddy's wine, good morning Morning Oh, sweet blindness, a little magic, a little magic, a little kindness Oh, sweet blindness all over me Four leaves on a clover Well, I'm just a bit of a shade hungover Come on, baby, do a slow float You're a good-looking riverboat Ain't that sweet-eyed blindness good to me Don't ask me 'cause I ain't gonna tell ya what I've been drinkin' I ain't gonna tell you what I've been drinkin' I ain't gonna tell ya what I've been drinkin' All over me Please don't tell my mother that I'm a saloon and a moonshine lover Come on, baby, do a slow float You're a good-lookin' riverboat Ain't that sweet-eyed blindness good to me Ain't that sweet-eyed blindness good to me

Applause

Ooh! Dang.

Applause

Dang, that woman could turn a tune. Mmm, mmm. All right. This year...

is 50 years that I've been playing for you guys.

Cheers and applause

Now, it's been great. I've had a wonderful career and a terrific time... with one exception. One glaring exception, and that is that food after shows is really difficult to find.

Laughter

So, often as not, I will find myself in an all-night convenient food mart. 7-Eleven, Tiger On the Run, Wawa.

Cheers and applause

It's a local favorite. Around Pittsburgh, they used to have this chain called Toot-N-Scoot.

Laughter

Made me laugh. Anyhow... the fare is pretty much the same. So one night,

it was 2

00 in the morning, and I was making a serious decision about whether to get the barbecued-flavor Fritos or the chili-flavored Fritos. And all of a sudden, in my fatigue and in my hunger, I rose above myself. I looked down upon myself. And the reality of my life was in my brain and manifested as this song.

Laughter

it was 2

I hate to admit it I eat a lot of greasy food And if you don't believe it Catch me in the nude

Laughter

it was 2

Beavis and Butthead on my TV Wing Dings, Slim Jims, Jujubes Slammin' brewskies in my BVDs I'm not as herbal as I oughta be I hate to admit it I like tobacco Yes, ma'am, Red Man, Prince Albert in a can Kiss me, Fidel Castro I'm walkin' with my baby What comes next? I smoke a cigar She says, forget about sex Marlboro Man's got the hex on me I'm not as herbal as I oughta be White-sugar buzz It's making me a mean me You are what you eat Good God, I'm a weenie-ee I hate to admit it I need a lot of caffeine Fine-ground sludgy brown Stir it up, suck it down I gotta come clean Now those coffee shakes got me to my knees I'm wide awake at

a quarter of 3

00 What made Seattle famous made a gerbil out of me I'm not a herbal as I ought to be

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

No, no! Don't encourage this behavior. Please, I'm begging you!

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

Frank Loesser wrote this one with Hoagy Carmichael, and this has been being played by your grandchildren on your out-of-tune piano forever.

Playing "Heart and Soul"

a quarter of 3

Heart and soul, I fell in love with you Heart and soul, the way a fool would do, madly Because you held me tight And stole a kiss in the moonlight Heart and soul, I begged to be adored Lost control, and tumbled overboard, gladly That magic night we kissed There in the moon mist My, but your lips were thrilling, oh, much too thrilling Never before were mine so strangely willing But now you see what one embrace can do Look at me, you've got me loving you madly That magic kiss you stole took all, took all my heart and soul Mmm I had me a girl bright as sunshine Sweet as candy, smart as a book She rubbed my shoulders At the end of a long day And my, she sure could cook Always laughing For the sheer joy of living She heard my stories Right through to the end Always looking For a new way of giving She even liked my mama And my no-good friends Now, me, on the other hand I wasn't that pleasant Mad at the world And mean most the time When God gave me beautiful daylight I covered up my eyes so I could stay blind She said she couldn't take any more And she cried as she walked away Now I'm alone in the dark And if she comes back There's only one word = I'm gonna say Yes, oh, yes I'm gonna say yes When my baby wants something If she wants to come back to me I've learned so much in the absence of her touch I got a PhD in doing it wrong There's only one rule here in lonely school Life is a one-word test And the correct answer is yes, yes, yes Yes, oh, yes You got to say yes I'm gonna say yes when my baby wants something Oh, learn a little lesson from me Yes, yes, yes, yes Say yes when your baby wants something Learn a little lesson from me Start learning from me Say yes

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

Thank you very much.

Applause

a quarter of 3

You know what I'm going to do now? Did I hear an "uh-oh" over there?

Laughs

a quarter of 3

Sadly, sadly, apparently you've been to a few of my shows. No, "uh-oh" is a reasonable response, but I promise this is going to be hardly painful. What I'm going to do now is I'm going to bring out a couple of former students of mine. On keyboard will be the incomparable Matt Cusson.

And on vocals will be the absolutely beautiful and just ferociously energetic and entertaining Chelsea Berry. Please make them welcome.

Applause

a quarter of 3

Hey, hey!

Speaks indistinctly

Applause

a quarter of 3

I want the

Speaks indistinctly

Laughter

Whistling

a quarter of 3

Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful? Isn't she precious, less than one minute old I can't believe what God has done Through us He's given life to one Isn't she lovely, made from love Isn't she lovely Surely the angels' best I am so happy We have been heaven blessed Londie, without you, this could not be done It was you who conceived the one So very lovely, made from love So very lovely, made from love Isn't she lovely, made from love Would you mind if I walked in your shoes? Would you mind if I found out what you need?

If I could feel your heart Could we find a place to start? And could we find a way to be in peace? Would you mind if I looked through your eyes? Could I learn who you want to be?

If I could see your life Would I be so sure that I was right? And could we shape some truth out of these trees? No more angry words, no more revolution If I'm not the problem, there can be no solution Can I be better than I am? Can I find a way to bite my tongue?

Believe I'll be okay with what I am today And leave tomorrow, that beautiful tomorrow Tomorrow with enough for everyone Can we, can we, can we get along? Can we, can we, can we get along? Can we, can we, can we get along?

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

Oh, yeah! Matt Cusson, Chelsea Berry.

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

Not the old guy.

Chuckles

a quarter of 3

Yes!

Applause

a quarter of 3

Rosie crossed the Rio Grande In the middle of the night she swam With all she could carry In a plain cloth sack Heading for the promised land, never coming back Friends and family stayed behind to haul the crops at harvest time Oh, they think about Rosie And all those nights She's been thinking 'bout her city lights City lights shining in her eyes Spreading out like Christmas lights Under California skies When the sun goes down And those dreams begin to fade She's got those city lights To help her find her way Times were hard, and the jobs were few Oh, city lights were so brand new Down in the barrio Good times were hard to find So Rosie packs her cares And up the hill she climbs To see those city lights shining in her eyes Spreading out like Christmas lights Under California skies When the sun goes down And those dreams begin to fade She's got those city lights to help her find her way Rosie never wants Those dreams to fade away Never wants to let the rain spoil a sunny day When the sun goes down And those dreams begin to fade She's got those city lights To help her find her way City lights shining in her eyes Spreading out like Christmas lights under California skies When the sun goes down And those dreams begin to fade She's got those city lights She loves her pretty lights She's got those city lights to help her find her way Ooh She's got those city lights to help her find her way

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

I'm going to do...quickly, with the indulgence of Chelsea and Matt, I'd like to do a more traditional folk song for you.

Laughter

a quarter of 3

Railroad Bill was a hard-living man He used to take his women two at a time Everyone agreed he was the baddest engineer To ever motor down Santa Fe line His name was known from the folks back home To the tippy top of Telegraph Hill And all the little boys when they were sneaking cigarettes Would dream of the Railroad Bill One day, Bill was walking along And he saw a kitten stuck in a tree When he saw what's the matter, he ran to get a ladder To set that kitty cat free Bill said no, ain't gonna do it Ain't gonna climb no tree This is a stupid song, and no folk singer's going to make a fool outa me One day Bill was walking along And he saw a kitten stuck in a tree When he saw what's the matter he ran to get a ladder to set that kitty cat free Bill said no, ain't gonna do it Ain't gonna do what you said This is a stupid stupid song, and as far as I'm concerned That cat can stay there till it's dead I said wait a minute, Bill, you can't argue with me For God's sake, I just made you up I got the pen in my hand, I want you up in that tree I want that cat unstuck Bill said no, I hate cats I ain't gonna climb for no cat Perhaps I could rescue a beautiful woman Who's been tied down on the railroad track I said maybe there'll be room in the 8th or 9th verse But right now I want you up in that tree I'm the writer,

mumbles

a quarter of 3

damn, I got the pen in my hand And you're supposed to listen to me He said you

mouths word

a quarter of 3

Why should I listen to you? You should be listening to me instead I'm a railroad man and if I were real I'd separate your face from your head You ungrateful brute, I cried, you went, pushed me too far I gotta show you I can do as I please Then an earthquake came and shook the whole terrain And brought Railroad Bill to his knees And a tidal wave broke and everything got soaked And Bill was almost completely washed away And a big green monster from the planet Neptune landed And bit Railroad Bill on the leg I got the pen in my hand! I can do what I want I'm a bright young talent on the rise So get your ass up that tree or I swear you're not going to get out of my folk song alive You don't scare me You might be funny, but you don't scare me If you don't leave me alone, I'm gonna tell everybody Where you stole this melody But before he could speak, his tongue fell out He could not make a sound He jumped on me He grabbed me by the neck And he pulled me to the ground He hit me in the stomach and he hit me in the face real hard I think he almost broke my nose Just then a lightning bolt came outa nowhere Hit him right between the eyes and killed him instantly

Laughter

a quarter of 3

The cat came down from the tree, had a bowl of warm milk and went to sleep for the night Railroad Bill is survived by a wife and three lovely children Dear God, I love to write

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

Yes! I didn't know you guys were into the folk music! Oh, this is so good! You have been patient.

You have been beautiful. You have been indulgent. If I may, you have been the perfect audience.

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

I watch public television all the time.

Applause

a quarter of 3

Actually, these days, because of DVR recording, sometimes I'll start watching something that isn't on public television, and I'll realize, "Wait a minute! I didn't DVR this. I'm going to have to sit through commercials." Oh, that'll never do. I don't have to sit through commercials.

Occasional pledges...

Laughter

a quarter of 3

But there's public television -- uninterrupted. And not only uninterrupted. Now, don't get me wrong. I can watch some stupid TV.

but God bless them. Because of public television, I don't have to. Thank you all so much for being here gracing us with your presence. Eight hours with a shovel In the city summer sun Aching arms, dusty boots And a job that won't get done Two weeks' pay spent yesterday in a three-change bus ride home The fading gray of a long hard day Not a thing to call your own And the boy turns and he asks his old dad He says, "Are you glad for the kind of life you've had?" And he says Life is good Spring is in the air You got two bucks in your pocket A little bit of Brylcreem in your hair Oh, life is good When you're proud of what you do About giving your all to others And it all comes back to you Some guys are handsome They make friends all the time They've always got a buddy And they always feel fine Others take a backseat Watch the world go by They're living life alone Quietly and shy But when love strikes And those fires start to burn And those lonely years melt away And finally it's your turn and you say Life is good Winter's blowing cold Love is forever And it never will grow old Oh, life is good When you're proud of what you do About giving your all to others And it all comes back to you You can go year to year Thinking life has nothing new Special things go to others You're glad for them But then just like that, it goes and changes Just like that you say life is good You were heading for a fall And you pick yourself up You dust yourself off, that it didn't hurt at all Life is good When you're proud of what you do About give your all to others Come on now, try Listen very closely To every laugh and sigh Now, maybe there's a reason For all we do Giving you all to others And it all comes back to you Ooh, to you

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

Matt Cusson!

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

Chelsea Berry!

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

Livingston Taylor.

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

Great audience!

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

Yep. Ta-da!

Chuckles

a quarter of 3

Thanks! You know, one of the things about being up here alone is you get to change your mind.

Laughter

a quarter of 3

And I had one song in mind, and it's a good song, and so is this one. I'd landed at LAX, Los Angeles airport -- many of you have done that. I went, and I got the rental car, wound up on the 405. And I was jet-lagged, and it was late in the day, and it was August, and it was hot.

It was hotter than love [ Speaks indistinctly ] in this upbeat town upon mean Southern California in this car, and the traffic was tremendous. And I had one of those radios. I can't figure out how these things work. I'm just...

And anyhow, it was stuck -- on satellite radio, and that's fine. Satellite radio on the Disney Channel. Not so fine. So, anyhow...

It played and it played all that cheery corporate work-up kids' music. And it was driving me crazy, and I was going to pull over to the side of the road and get a piece of crumbling infrastructure, and I was going to smash the car radio, smash it, smash it just to get it to stop. I've done the math. I can afford this.

Laughter

a quarter of 3

But before I could do that, they played this song. And I said, "I love this song." And I listened to it. I cried like a baby. Oh, it was so good.

Why are there so many songs about rainbows And what's on the other side? Rainbows are visions They're only illusions Rainbows have nothing to hide So it's been said and some chose to believe it But I know they're wrong Wait and see Someday we'll find it The rainbow connection The lovers, the dreamers, and me Who said that every wish would be heard and answered when wished on the morning star? Somebody thought of that and someone believed it Look what it's done so far What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing? What so we think we might see?

Someday we'll find it The rainbow connection The lovers, the dreamers, and me Most of us under its spell Some say that it's probably magic Have you been half asleep And have you heard voices I've heard them call my name Is this the voice that calls to young sailors? I think they're one and the same I've heard them too many times to ignore them It's something I'm supposed to be Someday we'll find it The rainbow connection The lovers, the dreamers, and me The lovers, the dreamers, and me

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

Man, that's good writing. That's a sweet little song. Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher wrote that. I've had such a great time tonight.

Ha ha ha Ho ho ho And a couple of fa la las That's how we laugh the day away In the merry old land of Oz Rub, rub here Rub, rub there Whether you're tin or bronze That's how we keep you in repair In the merry old land of Oz We get up at twelve and start to work at one Take an hour for lunch and then at two we're done Jolly good fun Clip, clip here Clip, clip there We give the sharpest claws That certain air of savoir faire In the merry old land of Oz Somewhere over the rainbow way up high Sing this real soft, or you'll break it.

Laughter

a quarter of 3

There's a land that I heard of once in a lulla-- Oh, that's real good. Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true Someday, I'll wish upon a star I'll wake up where the clouds are far behind me Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops that's where you'll find me Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly Birds fly over the rainbow Why, then, oh, why can't I? If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh, why can't I?

Cheers and applause

a quarter of 3

Oh, that was perfect! I love you. And I'll see you soon.

Cheers and applause