Lyrics
It’s A Blues World (Calling All Blues)
All songs are written, composed, and produced by Sugar Brown
Recorded and mixed in Toronto by Braden Sauder at Marquee Sounds
Mastered in Toronto by Peter Moore at MDI Productions
Design by Scott Doubt
Photographs by Mark Maryanovich
Musicians:
Sugar Brown—vocals, guitar, harmonica
Rockin’ Johnny Burgin—guitar
Michelle Josef—drums
Russ Boswell—upright and electric bass
Minnie Heart—bass, guitar, fiddle, baritone sax
Nichol Robertson—guitar, banjo
Julian Fauth—piano and Farfisa
Chuck Bucket—drums
Bill Howard—tambourine and bass drum
Hummingbird
I’ve been looking high I’ve been looking low
No matter where I look I’m-a lookin too slow
I wonder where my little hummingbird did go?
I can’t keep from worrying
My hummingbird knows I’m too slow
She’s the sweetest hummingbird I ever did see
And what I like best is that she flew right to me
[Chorus]
If I had a pair of wings and I could fly
I’d chase my hummingbird deep in the sky
(Chorus)
If you see my hummingbird in the night or day
Tell her to hurry home and drive my blues away
(Chorus)
Love Me Twice
It’s not too late, to recover the sweet love that we knew
I’m at the gate, hopin and a-prayin you come back through
We’ve been fussin and a-fighting like it’s going out of style
Wondering what we’re doing when we can’t even smile
Or make some laughter, anything to break the ice
You loved me once, will you love me twice?
A tes houaittes, those were the last kind words that you said
A silhouette, of you leaving me behind with my dread
Our climb up the mountain’s taken some new turns
Losing oxygen, I ain’t got much left to burn
Oh, I wonder how far will the fall be from the heights
You loved me once, will you love me twice?
I ain’t hedging bets, I’m just spinning around the big roulette
No regrets, you know I’ve always been all-in with my bets
I’m gambling at the table and I don’t wanna walk away
What are the odds you’ll take me back and stay
I can’t say more, baby I’m shaking the dice
You loved me once, will you love me twice?
The day is dark, seems like my mood can even cover up the sun
A mellow lark, sings a mysterious song and then is done
I was a-walkin and a-walking until I met you
You were the one then and you still are now too
I believe we still got that sugar and spice
You loved me once, will you love me twice?
Lousy Dime
Pay it back, pay it forward, pay it today
Borrowing money just to give it away
The lifestyles of the rich and famous have left us behind
And everybody’s scrambling for the same lousy dime
Everybody’s scrambling for the same lousy dime
Robot surplus rusting in the sun
Recycled at the garbage dump for a profit run
Robbing banks should not be considered a crime
Cuz everybody’s scrambling for the same lousy dime
All the poor’s in the midst of stinking wealth
wanna change, can’t exchange, just killing our health
It’s hard to say anymore what’s truly a crime
Everybody’s scrambling for the same lousy dime
Anonymity confuses the fuzz
Disappearing ammo lock ‘em up in their cuffs
The bankers and police do their pantomime,
And everybody’s scrambling for the same lousy dime
Bonaparte Incorporated ready to kill
The ponzies wash their hands while the oil men drill
The billionaires got bailed out
They got the fruit we got the rind
Everybody’s scrambling for the same lousy dime
Everybody’s scrambling for the same lousy dime
Everybody’s scrambling for the same lousy dime
Sure as the Stars
Sure as the stars shine in the world above
Sure as the stars shine in the world above
Life is too short to worry about the one you love
Our love was a-hangin, hanging by a thread
I went to bed bothered and woke up feeling dread
Sure as the stars shine in the world above
Life is too short to worry about your love
I wrote you a letter, I never heard back
Waiting for your word is like torture on the rack
Sure as the stars shine in the world above
Life is too short to worry about your love
If you really leave me I think I’ll go insane
When the moon hits my eye I whisper low your name
Sure as the stars shine in the world above
Life is too short to worry about your love
It’s a Blues World
It’s a blues world, there ain’t no other name
It’s a blues world, for so much shame
It’ a blues world, you know that feeling, too
When everything has broken in two
It’s a blues world, “It’s Us or Them,” they say
It’s a blues world, then the bullets start to spray
It’s a blues world, sister I need your help now
To get to a better day
Feeling forgotten, cut off from each other
You ain’t so sure who’s your friend or your brother
You got that feeling now that nobody’s listening
Lemme tell you, you ain’t alone!
They say the first time it’s tragedy
They say the second time, the jokes on you and me
But what they never say and what they never will is that
We didn’t ask to play this game!
It’s a blues world, ain’t no need to cry
It’s a blues world, and I’ll tell you why
It’ a blues world, ain’t no need to fear
All the walls are gonna come tumbling down
Hard to Love
You refused my love one too many times
My little turtledove you almost made me lose my mind
I remember that time when you lied to me in your home
You humiliated me when I felt so alone
Oooh-wee, baby, you were hard to love
Our love in a fog we missed each other in the night
Protecting our illusions we trembled in silence and fright
I can still hear the sound of your sirens
But I’m tied to the mast and I won’t swim in
Ooh-wee, baby, I was hard to love
I play the blues when I’m down, it helps me pass the while
I laugh without thinking but you check what’s behind my smile
I’m so sorry baby that I told you those lies
I wish I did not drive you to become my personal spy
Oooh-oooh-wee, baby, I was hard to love
For so long I didn’t know if you were coming or going
For so long I didn’t know if we knew what we were doing
I mistakenly thought we could hold on to our past
but before I knew it my fishing line was recast
Oooh-wee, baby, I was hard to love
Frying Pan
Help me, pretty mama, help me to stay inspired
The world’s in a tangle, it’s hard to stay inspired
We’re only out of the frying pan— and into the fire
I thought we had it bad then, but now things are getting dire
We got out of a puzzle just to land in a new quagmire
We’re only out of the frying pan— and into the fire
I’ll never go back again but I’m stuck in the mire
I’ll never go back again but I’m stuck in the mire
We’re only out of the frying pan— and into the fire
So if you told me I’m a free man I’d say you’s a liar
So if you told me I’m a free man I’d say you’s a liar
We’re only out of the frying pan— and into the fire
Those Things You Said
Are those things you said to me said so I wouldn’t doubt
All those things you don’t want me to find out?
Are those things you said to me said so I wouldn’t see the truth?
Baby, you’re afraid to tell me something and you’re turning me into a sleuth
Are those things you said to me said so I would lose my mind?
Cuz either you’re a-lying or you’re treating me like I’m blind
What I Know
A cosmos in a garden, lonely continents I count five
Framed by lines that harden this sense of being alive
Fifteen rocks ignoring me, a silver ocean in between
No matter how hard I look, one always remains unseen
What I know is all I need
White light tattooed on a stone too hot for a butterfly
Moss so green it gives a gift of steam, a tribute to the sky
Oil on the wall is a-seepin’, who’s awake and who’s in a dream
A cherry tree is a-weepin’, should I care about what it means
What I know is all I need
What I am doing, why am I here, these rocks they are so jagged
Where am I going, what do I have to fear, the monk’s rake has been dragged
What I know is all I need
Tide Blues
Crazy ‘bout my baby, hope she never goes away
Crazy ‘bout my baby, hope she never goes away
I gots to be careful with what I do and say
My baby’s like the tide, floating in and floating out
My baby’s like the tide, floating in and floating out
My heart’s washed up, there ain’t no doubt, there ain’t no doubt
My baby’s so sweet and tender but when she’s mad watch out
My baby’s so sweet and tender but when she’s mad watch out
You ain’t gonna get any lovin’, it’s like rain in a drought
Looking for Two o’clock
Monday morning I had a dream about my dad
He was grinning that grin he almost never got mad
Death started out with a pain in his leg
Who would’ve guessed a week later he’d be dead
I could sense there’s something I gotta do
But I was looking for two o’clock when the clock struck noon!
Tuesday and Wednesday, the bile percolated
I couldn’t keep my stomach from getting further ulcerated
Don’t ask me questions I don’t want to recall
Too many words were said that were mean and ten feet tall
(Chorus)
Thursday and Friday, I lost track of time
Too early for the show, too late for the crime
Something had changed we were heading for a fall
I didn’t even know if I should stand, walk, or crawl
(Chorus)
Saturday night, in a forest full of cries
Looking for a path between the truth and telling lies
I’m afraid what kind of plans my illusions can devise
My dreams are populated by anonymous spies
(Chorus)
Sunday night, it happened that way
Staring at the wall with nothing to say
I took a deep breath and inhaled a little pain
And pulled out my umbrella cuz the tears came down like rain
(Chorus)
Dew on the Grass
Dew on the grass, you know it’s gone by noon
Dew on the grass, you know it’s gone by noon
All those good times, too bad they’re gone so soon
Don’t let the moment get past and head out way over yonder
Don’t let the moment get past and head out way over yonder
It ain’t a time sit still, scratch your head and wonder
What a shame it’d be if this gem went unclaimed
What a shame it’d be if this gem went unclaimed
It ain’t a time to stall, love can always skip town
Put out of your mind all the worries that tear you asunder
Put out of your mind all the worries that tear you asunder
You ain’t a pirate and your soul ain’t to be plundered
Brothers
One wears red, the other wears blue
They’re brothers just the same, yes, it’s true
They’re gonna be all right
They gonna be all right
Be kind to your brother and man you gonna be all right
If your brother wants to be a girl
Now you gonna have a sister in this world
[Chorus]
If your brother is sweet on a pretty girl
Don’t you worry there’s plenty in the world
[Chorus]
If your brother is sweet on a pretty boy
That’s cuz he wants to play with his toy
[Chorus]
People come and people go
But a brother is a brother and that’s for sure
[Chorus]
Your brother ain’t the same as you
He’s so different yes it’s true
[Chorus]
One of these days, you gonna be your own man
Your brother gonna try the best as he can
[Chorus]