Got Your Soul
Moe
©1996 The Purple Room

listen

It's not what you're doing
It's the current deep below
It's not what you're thinking
It's the passion that doesn't show

And it's the smile in your heart
As it's tearing apart
Talking about your soul

It's not what you're buying
Don't need a guru or a priest
It's not what you're selling
Though some may offer you a piece

And it's the pools in your eyes
When a human thing dies
Talking about your soul

Doesn't matter who you are
Doesn't matter 'bout your scar
Brother, you got your soul

Doesn't matter what they steal
They can't touch anything real
Sister, hang on to your soul

(guitar solo)

Doesn't matter who you are
Doesn't matter 'bout your scar
Brother, you got your soul

Doesn't matter what they steal
They can't touch anything real
Sister, hang on to your soul

Doesn't matter how I change
Deep inside I'm still the same
Father, that's my soul

Doesn't matter where we go
I'll always love you and I'll know you
Mother, by your soul

Ron Abrams: guitars
Mike Fritch: bass
Linque: tenor sax
Cynthia Meyers: vocals
Darren Miner: trumpet
Moe: vocals, keyboards, programming

But I Want You
Moe
©1996 The Purple Room

If I wanted sunshine I would go to Spain
If I wanted roses I would pray for rain
If I wanted drama I would head for the stage
If I needed a mama I'd stop acting my age

But I want you
But I want you

If I wanted stability I wouldn't reach for the sky
If I wanted humility I'd stagger into a church
If I needed to fit in I'd find a nine-to-five way to die
If I wanted anything else you wouldn't hear me beg

How I want you
But I want you
But I want you

(sax solo)

But I want you
But I want you
But I want you
But I want you

Mike Fritch: basses
Linque: tenor sax
Cynthia Meyers: vocals
Darren Miner: trumpet
Moe: vocals, keyboards, programming

High Voltage Feelings
Moe
©1996 The Purple Room

listen

My lovely one, my lovely one, sure like to know what I have done
Why am I talking to your back
My sweetie pie, oh sweetie pie, you walk away without goodbye
What am I supposed to do with that?

I'm just a man who really loves you
Not your ex, not your father
But when I remind you of what they didn't do
You gotta run for cover

High voltage feelings underground
Buried in the night so long ago
High voltage feelings underground
Someone's gonna dig 'em up

Sometimes in public I say things in a way that you wouldn't
That doesn't make me rude and cruel
And if I just don't get it when you send a message unspoken
Doesn't mean I'm not trying

I hold you in my arms whenever you want me to
Share in your sense of funnin'
Keep my mouth shut 'till your story's through
Doesn't that count for nothin'

High voltage feelings underground
Buried in the night so long ago
High voltage feelings underground
Someone's gonna dig 'em up

(sax/guitar duet)

We work so hard to get through this sad, sad moment
Even now, wouldn't want another
We drive each other crazy but I know for sure
We'll get through this together

High voltage feelings underground
Buried in the night so long ago
High voltage feelings underground
Someone's gonna dig 'em up

High voltage feelings underground

Mike Fritch: bass, guitar
Linque: tenor sax
Cynthia Meyers: vocals
Darren Miner: trumpet
Moe: vocals, keyboards, programming

Burning Underwater
Moe
©1996 The Purple Room

listen

She's my oxygen, my acetylene
She's the sugar in my caffeine
The sweetest girl I ever did see
People say she's too good for me, occasionally

She's decidedly un-simple
She's the angel in my temple
And I don't question what she wants of me
I play along quite happily, oh yeah

When she says
See me in the darkness
Hear me in the silence
Let me feel the fire
Burning underwater

In a playground she's eleven
In a bookstore she's in heaven
In the fine tradition of great fiction
We celebrate our addiction, oh yeah

And she says
See me in the darkness
Hear me in the silence
Let me feel the fire
Burning underwater

(jamming underwater)

Oh she says
See me in the darkness
Hear me in the silence
Let me feel the fire
Burning underwater

Mike Fritch: guitars
Linque: tenor sax
Cynthia Meyers: vocals
Darren Miner: trumpet
Moe: vocals, keyboards, programming

Let It Lie
Christopher Schardt
©1996 The Purple Room

listen

Just got off the phone, I had a ball
Was that your heart or the alcohol
Accusing me of not feeling your pain
Like I'm some heartless fool

We had our chemistry, we tried our best
Expectation, miscommunication left us joyless
Got out before someone got hurt real bad
To me the future seems so clear... so so sad

Now we have to let it lie
Now we have to let it lie

So many times I've thought of what I'll miss
The hungry kiss, the laughter in your talk
This is the second time we've reached the abyss
Don't mind if I turn around and walk

You're being icy, sarcastic bite
Saying "whatever's fine for you, all right"
Compare me to your father and all you hate
Don't you know you're making it easier... to not cry about it

Now we have to let it die
Now we have to let it die

(horn thing, sax solo)

Now we have to let it lie
Now we have to let it lie
Now we have to let it lie
Now we have to let it lie

Keep Talking in circles on the phone
Then we get together, but we're all alone
Take one more shot at me, baby
Like I've never cared how you feel

Mike Fritch: guitar
Linque: tenor sax
Cynthia Meyers: vocals
Darren Miner: trumpet
Moe: vocals, keyboards, programming
Peter Winter: bass

Howl
Moe
©1996 The Purple Room

listen

Sam got married right out of school
Lives in a field of disposable houses
Consults to consultants, nobody's fool
No time to wonder what the point of his life is

He's gotta howl all night long
Gotta stand so strong
Gotta love a woman with all his heart

Mike sits all alone, counting the rent
Opens a bottle and turns on talk radio
Kicks the cats in the yard, lives on cigarettes and lard
Calls the cops at first sign of a stereo

He shoulda howled all night long
Better stand so strong
Never loved a woman with all his heart

He's gotta step into his real soul
Gotta learn to love what he can't control
Gotta check his compass each and every day
Face it with dignity when he doesn't get his way

(sax solo)

He gotta howl all night long
Gotta stand so strong
Gotta love that woman, each and every part

Mike Fritch: bass, guitars
Linque: tenor sax
Cynthia Meyers: vocals
Darren Miner: trumpet
Moe: vocals, keyboards, programming

Groove Takes Over
Moe
©1996 The Purple Room

Morning comes and like a scream the sun is shining
Feel it rushing back, the tide of blue so soon returning
Can't remember feeling happy free and clear
Then I hear that rhythm, once again my heart is pounding

The groove takes over
Sadness takes cover

Walking down the street, whispering the beat, it keeps me breathing
Shake my body out, see the sun is out, and soon I'm smiling
Tell her, take her best shot, I've got friends right here
Thank you James... Maceo... Fred, Clyde and Bootsy

The groove takes over
The groove's my lover

(trumpet, sax, guitar solos)

When the blues get you
You gotta get off the bunk and funk the groove

Ron Abrams: lead guitar
Mike Fritch: guitar
Dave Heard: bass
Dean Jennings: tenor sax
Cynthia Meyers: vocals
Darren Miner: trumpet
Moe: vocals, keyboards, programming

Life Is Funky
Moe
©1996 The Purple Room

Yesterday, I was walking down the street and feeling
Just great, the sun was shining down, I saw this
Guy there, used to live on my block, sitting on the
Sidewalk, like he didn't see it coming

It was the first time I had seen a living person cross that
Fine line between down and out

And I could see that life is funky
Shows no mercy for the underdog
Babbles like a charming junkie
Keeps us listening to the story

In my town there are lots of fancy houses, fancy
People sipping cappuccino, and in the
Next block, folks are going kinda' crazy 'cause they're
Out of work, in a sea of money

I shouldn't get into it, but can't there be some way to
Even it out a bit, between the fat cats and the mice

Don't hold your breath 'cause life is funky
Sells its children for the bottom line
Staggers like a jonesing junkie
Keeps us acting out the story

Don't anybody move cause life is funky, funky, funky

(guitar solo)

Don't you know that life is funky
Wants to party all night long
Wakes up feeling like a junkie
Wonders what the hell went wrong

Everybody knows life is funky
Shows no mercy for the underdog
Babbles like a charming junkie
Keeps us listening to the story

Ron Abrams: lead guitar
Mike Fritch: bass, guitar
Linque: tenor sax
Cynthia Meyers: vocals
Darren Miner: trumpet
Moe: vocals, keyboards, programming

Hold Me Like You Mean It
Moe
©1996 The Purple Room

You are the one, the one and only one for me
When I hear your laughter, I fear I'll never meet another
When we embrace in dreams, I wake up like I've never been
Why do I fear that if we kiss I will not ever see the sun again

Hold me like you mean it, kiss me like you seen it
I'll give you everything that you won't
Hold me like you mean it, kiss me like you seen it
I'll whisper all the sweet things you don't want to hear

Always so much to say, avoiding direct questions
Look to the eyes that flutter like a moth that flames have smothered
I want to be the place that's safe for a soft landing
I want to feel the fire so far from understanding

Hold me like you mean it, kiss me like you seen it
I'll give you everything that you won't
Hold me like you mean it, kiss me like you seen it
I'll whisper all the sweet things you don't want to hear
Hold me like you mean it, kiss me like you seen it

(single-note guitar solo)

I don't mind the fuss, when you crashed my car I started riding the bus
I cried for just a minute when you told me you seduced my brother
I know your love for me is secret, it will take some time
I know the day will come when you slip your trembling hand in mine

Hold me like you mean it, kiss me like you seen it
I'll give you everything that you won't
Hold me like you mean it, kiss me like you seen it
Hold me like you're kind, hold me like you're mine all mine

Hold me like you mean it, kiss me like you seen it
I won't tell anyone you thaw a bit in the sun
Hold me like you mean it, kiss me like you seen it

Mike Fritch: guitars
Dave Heard: bass
Linque: tenor sax
Cynthia Meyers: vocals
Darren Miner: trumpet
Paint: vocals, keyboards, programming

New Tomorrow
Moe
©1996 The Purple Room

Where is the time for love, the time for sorrow
Where is the building for a new tomorrow
Where is the time for love, the time for sorrow
Where is the hoping for a new tomorrow

Skillet don't feel any pain
Just the rocket cruising his veins
He's got a handful of hundreds
Arguing about small change

They're gonna tear down the projects soon
Grandma's gonna get relocation
He's gonna talk her out of it
And have a party

Where is the time for love, the time for sorrow
Where is the building for a new tomorrow
Where is the time for love, the time for sorrow
Where is the hoping for a new tomorrow

Everywhere he goes
Everybody knows Keso's in trouble
Wears it like his Blood brand
Who's gonna trust him, give him a job

Parents died when he was eight
Got a warrant for assault
Hopped a freight to San Francisco
I think it may be too late

Where is the time for love, the time for sorrow
Where is the building for a new tomorrow
Where is the time for love, the time for sorrow
Where is the hoping for a new tomorrow

(guitar solo, horn duet)

Freddy got sent home again
Stabbed another boy with his pen
School district's run out of tricks
And he's only six

Case worker says, "time for a bath"
But he's waiting for his momma to call
She might remember
If it weren't for the cocaine and alcohol

The mother's moving out of the state
Taking along his little sister
Leaving Fred in the foster home
Says she can't handle him

Where is the time for love, the time for sorrow
Where is the building for a new tomorrow
Where is the time for love, the time for sorrow
Where is the hoping for a new tomorrow

Mike Fritch: bass, guitar
Linque: tenor sax
Cynthia Meyers: vocals
Darren Miner: trumpet
Moe: vocals, keyboards, programming

Caffeine Nicotine and Treason
Moe
©1996 The Purple Room

listen (live)

Same look, you'd think I'd know it by now
Same voice, you'd think I'd keep away
Same lips, I know full well what this means
Same hips, I'm falling through the floorboards

So long it took to recover last time
Be strong, you can hang in there till last call
Don't talk, you'll just get the phone number
Say hello again, to

Caffeine, nicotine and treason
Caffeine, nicotine and treason

That look, a mongoose in the headlights
That voice, so quick and so exacting
Hold tight, The jet's already fueling
Tonight, I'll the hold the fire in my arms

Same glance, I shudder in recognition
Same dance, circle each other for the kill
Same pain awaits me when it's over
The medically proven effects of

Caffeine, nicotine and treason
Caffeine, nicotine and treason

(guitar solo)

Three weeks of truly delinquent heaven
In flight the view is simply stunning, but...
Small lies start clogging up the plumbing
Alibis that only a fool would fall for

Swing low, my chariot is waiting
I know what I'm losing as I walk away
Next time it won't be so forgiving
The undisputed champion

Caffeine, nicotine and treason
Caffeine, nicotine and treason

Mike Fritch: bass, guitar
Linque: tenor sax
Cynthia Meyers: vocals
Darren Miner: trumpet
Moe: vocals, keyboards, programming

And You Take It
Moe
©1996 The Purple Room

He's the answer to all your dreams
Black hair, black heart, and mean
Keeps you worrying sick at night
Keeps you scurrying out of sight

And you take it
Once again
You can fake it
Count to ten

Doesn't listen to what you need
Doesn't notice when your heart bleeds
When he wants it you better be there
Valentine's day and he's nowhere

And you take it
Once again
You can fake it
Count to ten

(sax solo)

He's a struggling artist, sure
Doesn't mean he has to make you poor
So one day when his dreams come true
How will you feel when they don't include you

You will take it
Once again
You will fake it
Count to ten

Once again
Once again

Mike Fritch: bass, guitar
Linque: tenor sax
Cynthia Meyers: vocals
Darren Miner: trumpet
Moe: vocals, keyboards, programming

Gimmie a Seat
Moe
©1996 The Purple Room

Waiting for the 45-Stockton
I keep my eye on the kid bragging 'bout his new hand gun
The bus finally comes, quite full I can see
And an army of shopping bags cuts right in front of me

Just gimmie a seat
Just gimmie a seat

It's 100 degrees I'm certain of that
She's wearing a raincoat and a clear plastic hat
Swears she's not getting wet, not today
And the driver just got off the bus to pick up some lunch on the way
What next?

Just gimmie a seat
Just gimmie a seat

Those tourists sure don't look disabled
But they got the best seats on the bus
The old dude who looks kind of unstable
Starts to shout and cuss

Well I wish I had a dollar
For every time I've sat next to Jesus
But we've been stuck in the tunnel for an hour
Come on Jesus, why'd you leave us?
Why don't you...

Gimmie a seat
Just gimmie a seat
Just gimmie a seat
Just gimmie a seat

Back door! Back door!

Mike Fritch: guitar
Dave Heard: bass
Linque: tenor sax
Cynthia Meyers: vocals
Darren Miner: trumpet
Moe: vocals, keyboards, programming

album credits