Blues

© Copyright 1972, 2002 by Peter Lloyd

Two o’clock when I lay down, three o’clock when I rise
I can’t get no sleep with all these tears in my eyes
I walk around, baby, and I don’t talk too much
How am I supposed to operate with my heart on a crutch? 
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone

My woman, she’s so mean she done move across the street
I sit here on my front porch and watch the company that she keep 
I can still remember when she used to love to make me smile
I guess it’s somebody else’s turn to carry the ball for a while
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone

Her love was all I had, I suppose it made me feel to proud
Had a love for that low-life woman that the law just don’t allow
I would join the Salvation Army, ain’t no mountain I wouldn’t climb 
I’d learn to sing like Frank Sinatra if she’d love me one more time 
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone

I take my handle in my hand and I pass around the pan
I feel like I just don’t fit and I fear I never can
See me sitting here about to give up my Holy Ghost?
That’s no way for a man to feel, but that’s the way I feel 
most of the time 
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone

Two candles burn in my chest. One is black and the other one’s white
One tells me I ought to live and the other says, “Go give up and die.”
So I throw three pennies on the floor, one is tails 
and the other one’s heads 
I’ll never know what the third one said, cuz it rolled underneath the bed 
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone
It ain’t easy when your lover leave you all alone

Front Porch Blues

© Copyright 2022 Peter Lloyd

When they discovered me, they gave a name
Some sort of underworld god
They told me planet life meant fortune and fame
I found that was all a façade

Expecting nothing but an orbital blast
I joined my eight planet peers
So what if one revolution would last
Two-hundred-forty-eight years


Once I had some status, life was great
Outer limits were mine
Way beyond old Neptune, number eight
Back when I was planet nine

I still cut an orit far and wide
Orbiting Sun’s outer line 
Now without my status or my pride
Back when I was planet nine


Me and five moons, in Kuiper’s belt
So what if our footprint was small
Ice and rock too damn cold to melt
Our orbit’s still the biggest of all

Remember who they called a Roman god
Before they made me resign
Before they found my appellation flawed
Back when I was planet nine

Back When I Was Planet Nine

The Canadian plains, they stretch and they strain
A thousand miles north of Alpena
Cold, like a curse, drives a ghost-colored hearse
And drones like a Latin novena

Buffalo Jill leaves her calf on the hill
Too broken to run any longer
The pack, standing by, howls, “No time to cry
The weaker make food for the stronger"

When you come back home, run my finger-comb through your hair
Rest my weary head on your strong, young shoulder
When you comin' home? Waitin' for an omen, or what?
Don't forget, ain't nobody ain't growin' older 
Ain't nobody ain't growin' older

The fireman knows how to handle his hose
His truck's painted red for a reason
But I know the way out back 'round the bay
Where the big 'uns are runnin' this season

When you come back home, run my finger-comb through your hair
Rest my weary head on your strong, young shoulder
When you comin' home? Waitin' for an omen, or what?
Don't forget, ain't nobody ain't growin' older 
Ain't nobody ain't growin' older

From a bucket of swords come diminished-fifth chords
That must make you feel quite clever
Yes, time comes in spates, and I know Tom Waits
But nobody waits forever

When you come back home, run my finger-comb through your hair
Rest my weary head on your strong, young shoulder
When you comin' home? Waitin' for an omen, or what?
Don't forget, ain't nobody ain't growin' older 
Ain't nobody ain't growin' older 
Ain't nobody ain't growin' older

Words © Copyright 2014, 2025 Peter Lloyd
Music by Suno.com AI

Winter Solstice

Words and music © Copyright 1969, 1999, 2015 Peter Lloyd

A long time ago, I took a History of Broadcasting course taught by Jack Rouse at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. Jack spent a good deal of time on the story of the great inventor Thomas Edison.

I went home after the Edison lesson and wrote the song. Most of it is true. Including the part about "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and Tom's thaumatrope, praxinoscope, and phenakistoscope.

Every time you lay down in bed
You got no control what comes into your head
I lay down the other night alongside of my cat
Thinking about the weather and things like that
When a dream took me back a year or two
I woke up with the Tom Edison Blues

‘Tain’t enough to create. ‘Snot enough to invent
You wanna do it right. Get your name in lights.  Gotta imp-a-lement

I was up in my lab near the break of day
When a woman walked in and said, “Hey, let’s play!”
I said, “I’ve gotta make a light bulb before dawn
She said, “Come on, Tom, let me turn you on.”
“I’ve been up all night, I can’t quit now.” 
She said, “Gimme a chance, I’ll show you how.”
I said, “History’s waiting, I can’t clown around.” 
She said, “Don’t look now, but your pants just fell down. 
 Sure enough, I was standing there naked
No way to hide it, no way to fake it.
So I ran behind my phonograph
Played “Mary Had a Little Lamb” to make her laugh.
She said, “Too bad, Mary, if you dig sheep
But I like inventors, cuz they never sleep.”

‘Tain’t enough to create. ‘Snot enough to invent
You wanna do it right. Get your name in lights.  Gotta imp-a-lement

Well, your dreams are pretty free and you can do what you please
So I tried to change myself into somebody mean.
I said, “Look, I’m your pa, I’m gonna give you a spanking.” 
She said,  “You look more like Benjamin Franklin.”
So I made like the devil with a whip and a sword
But she said I reminded her of Henry Ford.
Then I tried to make her fear for her very life
I said, “Settle down, you’re gonna wake up my wife.” 
She said, “Tom, while you’re up here, leaving her all alone
She’s out with some ding-a-ling inventing telephones.”

‘Tain’t enough to create. ‘Snot enough to invent
You wanna do it right. Get your name in lights.  Gotta imp-a-lement

Then I tried to distract her with my thomatrope
My phantasmagorica, and my prakcinescope.
When she paid no attention to my pharaktoscope
I knew my motion-picture camera was my only hope
So I rolled my first film about the factory
And all the workers trudging out as tired as can be
But the sun came up and filled my lab with light
I said, “I guess I’ll knock off till tomorrow night.”
She said, “Tom, you see that light bulb in your pocket? 
 I can make it shine because I got the socket.”

‘Tain’t enough to create. ‘Snot enough to invent
You wanna do it right. Get your name in lights.  Gotta imp-a-lement

Then phone rang, woke me up, to my surprise
I was kissing my cat and it was scratching out my eyes 
I answered the phone, mad as hell. 
I said, “Where’s my wife, Alexander Graham Bell?”

‘Tain’t enough to create. ‘Snot enough to invent
You wanna do it right. Get your name in lights.  Gotta imp-a-lement

See http://peterlloyd.com/music/cds/infah/index.shtml for all I'm Not From Around Here credits.

Thomas Edison Blues

Words and music © Copyright 1995, 2015 Victor Harrison and Peter Lloyd

Can you hear the bankers holler, “You’re leveraged to the hilt.”
You’ve bet bottom dollar just to get your business built
There’s little satisfaction and you’re under lots of stress
You toss and turn and wonder, how’d I get into this mess?

You got the cash-flow blues
You got the cash-flow blues
No remedy’s been found 
That can turn that flow around
You got the  cash-flow blues

Your accountant tells you gently, you can’t service all your debt
Your operation’s suffering, your boys are upset
Your hair’s gone gray from worry, your body’s lying limp 
You used to be so macho, but you’re feeling like a wimp

You got the cash-flow blues
You got the cash-flow blues
No remedy’s been found 
That can lift you off the ground
Boy, you got the  cash-flow blues

The IRS is after you for always paying late
Your bills are piling higher than the bridge called Golden Gate
Your wife’s about to leave you, cuz you’re never ever home
Your kids can never talk to you, you’re always on the phone

You got the cash-flow blues
You got the cash-flow blues
No remedy’s been found 
That can turn that flow around
You got the  cash-flow blues

Can you hear the bankers holler, “You’re leveraged to the hilt.”
You’ve bet bottom dollar just to get your business built
There’s little satisfaction and you’re under lots of stress
You toss and turn and wonder, how’d I get into this mess?

You got the cash-flow blues
You got the cash-flow blues
No remedy’s been found 
That can turn that flow around
You got the  cash-flow blues

Cash Flow Blues

Words and music © Copyright 1969, 2015, 2017 Peter Lloyd

This song is for Sioux 
She was born, raised, and she still lives in Sioux City
Maybe that’s why she spells her name 
S-I-O-U-X

I got this gal from Iowa, she feeds me and lets me write my songs
I got this gal from Iowa, she feeds me and lets me write my songs
I don’t remember when I met her
But I won’t forget her when she’s gone    

She’s my cosmetic baby, she wears all kinds of plastic on her face
She’s my cosmetic baby, she wears all kinds of plastic on her face
If you don’t like the taste of polyethylene
You’ll have to kiss her on some other place    

She buys me clocks and calendars and follows me wherever I may go
She buys me clocks and calendars and follows me wherever I may go
I don’t know why she digs me. She thinks she’s 
Juliet. I guess that makes me Romeo   

She’s got one right foot on the bottom of her right leg
She’s got one right foot on the bottom of her right leg
She taught me how to play harmonica
Monopoly, and  mumbly peg    

Sometimes she screams and stomps her feet and slams the door, 
but I just let her go 
Sometimes she screams and stomps her feet and slams the door, 
but I just let her go 
Tell me why should I go after her?
It looks so good to see her running home

Iowa This Song (Ode To Sioux)

Words and music © Copyright 1974, 2015 Peter Lloyd

Ain't that just my luck
I’m mixed up with a woman
Who promised to love me
All the days of my life
Aw, but don’t you know I’m looking for the other half of a broken heart 
It’s four o’clock in the morning and I can’t get no sleep

When the sun comes up
I’ll have soaked my bitter pillow
Oh, but she’ll never know
All the tears that I’ve cried
‘Cause I keep telling her I’m doing fine, don’t need no help, it’s all over 
While I’m sitting by the telephone with my finger in the dial

When the sun goes down
You won’t find me in my bedroom
You won’t find me down at Joe’s Bar
You won’t find me anywhere
Unless you’re looking on the bottom of the river bed, you just might find me 
With a rock tied round my ankle and a switchblade in my hand

Ain’t that just my luck

Ain't That Just My Luck

Caitlin Ayers sings
Words and music © Copyright 1971, 2015 Peter Lloyd

You didn’t say where you were going
But you’re due back any day 
We’ve been through this a thousand times before 
And you know you’ve got it made 

If love was just a passing thing 
We’d be satisfied passing through 
But as it is, it comes and it goes 
So I know I’ll be seeing you 

Ah, but you know you never have to worry
We always work it out some how
Besides you never leave  without the back door key
So what are you waiting for? You can come home right now

I know if I’m gonna live with you
I’ve got to let you come and go as you please 
But I can’t help but be lonesome tonight 
When I wonder if your lonesome for me 

Ah, but you know you never have to worry
We always work it out some how
Besides you never leave  without the back door key
So what are you waiting for? You can come home right now

You didn’t say where you were going
But you’re due back any day 
We’ve been through this a thousand times before 
And you know you’ve got it made

You don’t have to be lonesome. Come home
You don’t have to be lonesome. Come home
You don’t have to be lonesome. Come home

Come Home

Words and music © Copyright 1975, 2015 Peter Lloyd. First two lines heard in an old blues song by Joe Hill Louis.

She may be yours but she comes to see me sometimes
She may be yours but she comes to see me sometimes
In fact, she comes so often, it makes me believe she’s mine

She rubs me wrong, but then she rubs me the right way, too
She rubs me wrong, but then she rubs me the right way, too
But when she’s with me, I know she’s ain’t rubbin you

She walks over Eighth Street and turns up on Sycamore
She walks over Eighth Street and turns up on Sycamore
Then she takes that parkway, right on up to my door

So if you want to keep her, you better tie her to your side
If you want to keep her, you better tie her to your side
Because I got no qualms about taking your girl in stride

I hear somebody knocking. That must be her right now
I hear somebody knocking. I’ll bet that’s your girl right now
I guess I got to hang up and I hope you make out somehow

She May Be

I was sittin all alone on my lonely log
When a woman came walkin an ugly dog
She was long, lovely, and she pleased my eye
But I had to break right down and cry
Her dog was UGLY!

Its teeth jutted out this way and that
Its neck was skinny and its rump was fat
One yellow eye 'longside its nose
All three paws had extra toes
That dog was UGLY!

The woman's left hand didn't wear no ring
So I asked her, "Where'd you get that thing"
She looked straight ahead, and was I surprised
When her hideous, one-eyed dog replied,
"She's a rescue."

"Not her," I cried, "I was asking 'bout you
"Where'd you learn to talk like a human, dude?"
"Don't worry bout me," the cur replied
"I'm just a humble canine guide
"My master's blind and she doesn't hear
"She's prone to seizures, too, I fear
"But I can tell when she's fixin to have a fit
"And I warn her when one's 'bout to hit.
Can YOU do that?"

Never judge a book by its cover
Never ride a razorback hog
Never look a gift horse in the mouth
Never diss a pretty girl's dog

That's when I figured how to meet that gal
I decided make that dog my pal
I said, "Now, ain't you something, you clever bastard
Maybe I could help you help your master."
He said, "I may only be a canine guide
But I don't think you're qualified."
I said, "I can't believe this conversation
"I'm human, pal. I got an education
"Who are you to suggest I'm dumb
"Show me your opposable thumb"

"Well, " he said, "don't mean to belittle you
"But I've had a bit o' learnin, too
“After I finished obedience school
"I learned to use scientific tools
"Got lab job sequencing DNA
"Earned a PhD in Canis Camenae
"That's Latin for doggerel

"Then I sniffed out drugs for the FBI
"Fought a drug lord's Doberman and lost an eye
"I gave up sniffin to study law
"But books and grades got too bourgeois
"So I scaled K-2 with a pack of canines
“Lost our way far above the snow line
"Froze one leg off and nearly died
"Eventually had to eat our guide
"Talk about dog eat dog

"Before I became a restaurateur
"Played Major League ball with the Cleveland Curs
"Tried every positions till I found my place
"In front of the ump, behind home base
"I was a dog catcher"

Never judge a book by its cover
Never ride a razorback hog
Never look a gift horse in the mouth
Never diss a pretty girl's dog

He said, "I ascertain that you may think I'm fat
"But I can run a mile in three minutes flat
"I can drive a semi and chase a bike
"Make a Manhattan any way you like
"What about YOU?

"Can you hunt, can you fish without a pole?
"Can you slake your thirst from a toilet bowl?
"I may be ugly, but I ain't no schnook
"Just how good do you think YOU look...
Naked?"

Never judge a book by its cover
Never ride a razorback hog
Never look a gift horse in the mouth
Never diss a pretty girl's dog

Well, I'm still sittin here on my lonely log
Lickin wounds I took from that talkin dog
I'm puttin down roots, I must look like a tree
The neighborhood dogs are gettin used to me
They think I'm a dogwood

The moral of this story ain't hard to find
There ain't even nothin written between the lines
Before you tangle with the canine species
Remember, it's humans who pick up their feces

Never judge a book by its cover
Never ride a razorback hog
Never look a gift horse in the mouth
Never diss a pretty girl's dog

I've sung this song a hundred times or more
People always ask, "Ain't there any more?"
I say, "No."

Words © Copyright 2014 Peter Lloyd
Music by Sonus.com AI

Ugly Dog Blues

Words and music © Copyright 2013 Peter Lloyd

Nine Riders and me on a mountain road 
Sammiched side by side. All a car can hold 
When we all breathe in, it’s a lighter load 

Six riders and me near a mountain town 
Singing country songs. Moonshine all around 
Hear a distant howl. Three cannot be found 

Three riders and me round a village square 
Cruisin to a tune. Lotsa room to spare 
So we rock and roll till we lose a pair 

One rider and me in a rusty car
Oh, I can’t believe how we drove this far 
But we’re gonna stay just the way we are

Nine Riders and Me

1 7, 6 0 5,  4 3,  2 1 6, all i hear is tone
if you love me, darlin, why don’t you pick up the phone

called this mornin, called this afternoon
called this evenin by the light of the moon
all i ever hear is that tone
now if you love me, darlin, won’t you answer the phone

alright, that does it, i’m comin over, i’m gonna knock on your door
and if i find another man over there, i’m gonna punch him in the face
leave him lyin and cryin and moanin on the floor

bum buh dah... if you love me, darlin, answer the damn phone
bum buh dah... if you love me, darlin, answer the damn phone
bum buh dah... if you love me, darlin, answer the damn phone

5 6, 5 4 0 2 9 8, 3 5 7 8, all i hear is that damn tone
aw, come on, babe, answer the damn phone

© Copyright 2024 Peter Lloyd

Answer the Phone

She needed someone to talk to
Just as you happened to walk by
You marked the day and the hour
As if you had no scars to hide

She brought you silver and sunshine
You thought she opened up the sky
Don’t let her bright eyes delude you
Your sun and moon will soon collide

You’re headed for a heartbreak
All your stars are falling, falling
Falling all the wrong way
Headed for a heartbreak
I hope you know it breaks my heart
To see you headed that way
Uh-uh-uh-uh-oh!

When she decides to undo you
No doubt you’ll be the last to know
As walls come crashing around you
Just understand you’re not alone

You’re headed for a heartbreak
All your stars are falling, falling
Falling all the wrong way
Headed for a heartbreak
I hope you know it breaks my heart
To see you headed that way
Uh-uh-uh-uh-oh!

Headed for a heartbreak, Uh-uh-uh-uh-oh!
Headed for a heartbreak, Uh-uh-uh-uh-oh!

© Copyright 2025 Peter Lloyd 
mudic by suno ai

Headed for a Heartbreak

I sitting on my front porch practicing my favorite Jamaican song...

Down the way where the nights are gay
And the sun shines daily on the mountain top

All of a sudden, I was rudely interrupted by a car alarm
Then I listened and realized the alarm was hitting a G
What goes with G? G7... A7... C... G7...
I made that car horn my rhythm section

Sad to say, I’m on my way
Won’t be back for many a day
My heart is down, my head is turning around
I had to leave a little girls in Kingston town

Got to go with what you got
Got to go with what you got
 Makes no difference if it’s h[C7]ot or not
Got to go with what you got


You can use it if it's hot or cold
You choose it if it's new or old

Got to go with what you got
Got to go with what you got
Makes no difference if it’s h[C7]ot or not
Got to go with what you got

© Copyright 2025 Peter Lloyd

Go With What You Got

An acoustic blues track with an aplogetic vibe. This song is about the helplessness of a man who has hurt is lover.

Credits: Written & Produced by: Peter Lloyd

Connect with Peter Lloyd at music@peterlloyd.com
#Title #singer-songwriter #NewMusic #PeterLloyd

Lyrics:

Can I help it? I'm quite willing to try.
Can I mend it, or must it stay inside?
I've been a fool. No, that cannot be denied
I couldn't help it now, could I, even if I tried?

Am I helpless? Is all my love in vain?
Or is there something I can do to ease the pain?
I'm just a man, but a man who's on your side (Right or wrong)
I couldn't help it now, could I, even if I tried?

Oh, I apologize, please forgive me, I've been cruel, oh, so cruel
But you're not the only one who suffers when I'm down. I do, too.
And it's so lonesome in this heart of mine when there's no one on my side
I couldn't help it now, could I, even if I cried?

When I wake up, you're the first one on my mind
When I lay down, I need you by my side
And if that's a sin, well, I'm sorry I'm alive
Cuz I couldn't help it now, could I, even if I tried?

Oh, I apologize, please forgive me, I've been cruel, oh, so cruel
But you're not the only one who suffers when I'm down. I do, too.
And it's so lonesome in this heart of mine when there's no one to feed my foolish pride
I couldn't help it now, could I, even if I cried?

When I wake up, you're the first one on my mind
When I lay down, I need you by my side
And if that's a sin, well, I'm sorry I'm alive
Cuz I couldn't help it no matter how hard I tried, how long I cried
I couldn't help it. That's the way I am.

© Copyright 1972, 2025 Peter Lloyd

It Is

Songwriter since 1966. Can't believe I still have to write protest songs. Prefer writing love songs and songs of praise for stand-up women and men, parodies, lyrical nonsense, blues and adaptations.