Craig Werth Schedule

“The Spokes Man” Complete Lyrics

1. The Spokes Man (3:22)
2. If Angels Had No Wings (4:14)
3. Valentine Girl (3:05)
4. Good Old Dog (2:58)
5. I Had To Get Here (4:35)
6. Pidey Eyes (3:22)
7. My Way Or The Highway (3:15)
8. Ugly Fish (4:42)
9. Baby You Were Right And I Was... (1:56)
10. Youth Always Runs (2:59)
11. Kate’s Not So Easily Moved (3:00)
12. Spinning Gold (3:38)
13. Draggin’ My Feet (3:26)
14. I Need You Now (2:52)

(green surprise)

“The Spokesman” words and music by Craig Werth
of Newmarket, New Hampshire, September 2007

I’m the Spokesman well that’s the joke,
I don’t make speeches and I don’t blow smoke
But I build these bikes, out of parts I find,
I build them well, and I make them shine

With the Spokesman, your ride is free
Put your pennies in your pocket, this one’s on me,
You can give a smile, when your bike is done
I’ll build a bike, for anyone

I’m always working at my home,
you’ll find me here, don’t you come alone
bring all your friends, Grandma, Pop
everybody’s welcome in my shop

I’m the Spokesman, don’t get much sleep,
Got a lot to do, got a pledge to keep
But I’ll get back, more than I put in
When I watch you fly, when I catch your grin

I’m always working at my home,
you’ll find me here, don’t you come alone
bring all your friends, Grandma, Pop
everybody’s welcome in my shop

A long ways back, I was eight or nine
Sat on those steps in the warm sunshine,
And I watched the boys, go rolling by
I was just like them, if I closed my eyes

I’m the Spokesman, don’t get much sleep,
Got a lot to do, got a pledge to keep
But I’ll get back, more than I put in
When I watch you fly, when I catch your grin

I’m always workin at my home,
you’ll find me here, don’t you coma alone
bring all your friends, grandma, pop
everybody’s welcome in my shop

Handlebars, frame, tubes and tires
Grease, ball-bearings, chain and wires
Red reflector, bell and seat,
Soon you’re pedaling down the street

I’m the Spokesman well that’s the joke,
I don’t make speeches and I don’t blow smoke
But I build these bikes, out of parts I find,
I build them well, and I make them shine

I’m the spokesman….

Janine is in the kitchen burning up some toast,
she’s thinking of the episodes in life she hated most,
she’s hungry and she’s tired and she’s weary of the ghosts,
she’s weary of the ghosts.

Janine is in the back yard, climbing up a tree,
her feet on spindly branches, she’s broken two or three,
while striving for some altitude to see what she can see,
to see what she can see.

Slip away… slip away…. slip away…. slip away.

Janine is in the attic, digging in a chest,
she’s thinking of the episodes in life she liked the best,
she finds a rippled picture and she holds it to her breast,
she holds it to her breast.

Janine is in the bathroom, her back against the door,
sliding down the peachy paint to sit upon the floor,
she pauses there a moment,
and then a moment more,
and then a moment more.

Slip away… slip away…. slip away…. slip away.

Janine is in the bedroom, waiting for the day,
shispering in fragments of all she has to say,
dreaming of her life in lavender and grey,
in lavender and grey.

Janine is in the living room fingering some strings,
she sings about a quiet girl, and other lonely things,
she’s singing like an angel would if angels had no wings,
if angels had no wings.

Slip away… slip away…. slip away…. slip away.

“Valentine Girl” words and music by Craig Werth, Feb 14, 2007 for Elizabeth Werth
© 2007 by Craig Werth, Newmarket, New Hampshire

I am thinking about you on Valentines Day,
What will you be doing?, which words will you say?
I guess you’ll be working, I wish you could play
And I know you’ll be missing your Valentine,
Just as I would be missing mine.

I am thinking about you on Valentine’s Day,
From hundreds and thousands of miles away,
The space in my heart is as big as this world,
But it holds half of my love for my Valentine Girl,
Just half of my love for my Valentine Girl.

Instum Break

If I could rise up high over this town,
I’d wait while the earth comes turning around,
And I’d keep my eyes wide, my head looking down,
I’d watch through the night for that pearl of mine,
Luster and light from my Valentine Girl.

Instrum Break

“Good Old Dog” words and music by Craig Werth, (for banjo in mountain minor) in Newmarket, NH and on Star Island, NH, September 2008
© 2008, Craig Werth

Good Old Dog’s done a lot of things,
saw his master shot, found a ruby ring,
crossed this river all by himself,
left thirteen times,
came back twelve,
my Good Old Dog.

Good Old Dog got stubble teeth,
chewed sticks and stones, like they were meat,
scraps he scraped from the stingy ground,
he got half of everything I found,
my Good Old Dog.

Good Old Dog’s not the friendly kind,
unless, of course, you were a friend of mine,
he growled at things you could not see,
best trust his word, and let him be,
my Good Old Dog.

Wounded weary warrior, in a world of sin,
my kind of company, no finer friend to me,

Good Old Dog’s done a lot of things,
saw his master shot, found a ruby ring,
crossed this river all by himself,
left thirteen times,
came back twelve,
my Good Old Dog.

I am in motion nearly all the time,
in arcs and circles, in crooked lines.
through this meandering I’m here today,
and so glad to be,
wish I could stay.

I am perpetually taking flight,
long vacant days, often through the night,
though it is wearing I would not slow down,
until I arrived,
here in your town.

I have my family, my home-base friends,
it will be great to be with them again,
I sorely miss them, this is always true,
and when I get home,
I’m going to miss you.

the finest homecoming the world has known,
a sweet reunion meant for me, alone,
that’s what I’m bound for and it fills me full,
then past the after-glow I’ll feel the pull…

and she will send me with a brave farewell,
make me promise her a show-and-tell,
that I will keep myself safe from harm,
bring myself back,
wrap her in my arms.

these are promises I’ll work to keep,
through every waking hour and slip to sleep,
it took me a while, but she’s always known,
I had to get here,
just like I’ve got to get home.

Pidey in a rusty pail
Tapping on the side of a wooden rail
Climbing up the lace of a favorite shoe
What’s that pidey gonna do?

            Got pidey eyes
            Got pidey eyes
            Got pidey eyes… mmmmmm…

            got pidey eyes
            got pidey eyes
            pidey waitin’ for the big surpise

Pidey on a bale of hay
One got rolled out yesterday
Crawling through the cracks in a block of bricks
Babies in a bundle of kindling sticks

            Got pidey eyes
            Got pidey eyes
            Got pidey eyes… mmmmmm…

            got pidey eyes
            got pidey eyes
            pidey waitin’ for the big surpise

Weaving in the window by the full moon light
So small by day, so BIG by night
Busy legs make a shadow broom
Brush the walls and sweep the room

            Got pidey eyes
            Got pidey eyes
            Got pidey eyes
            mmmmmm…

            got pidey eyes
            got pidey eyes
            pidey waitin’ for the big surpise

It’s all on the radio
Because they tell me so
It’s everything I need to know

You’re a fool and I’m a clown
Though we stand on common ground
But only if we both look down

I do not understand this “my way or the highway”

Throughout the life of this great land
It’s been written in the plan
We’d speak our minds and then shake hands

What I believe you may not see
If I think you don’t think like me
It’s just not safe to disagree

I do not understand this “my way or the highway”

Less than half on either side
Strewn about this nation wide
You’d better run, you’d better

Flags and ribbons, giant cars
TVs stocked with plastic stars
Oh how I wonder who we are

I do not understand this “my way or the highway”
I do not understand this “my way or the highway”
I do not recognize this “my way or the highway”

“Ugly Fish” words and music by Craig Werth, New Durham, NH, September 2002
© 2002, Craig Werth

Down at the bottom of the big black sea,
a place where you don’t want to be,
waiting there for you and me,
is an ugly fish.

color of mud, the tail of an eel,
head like a rock pile, jaws of steel,
it does not think, it does not feel,
it’s an ugly fish.

put your flounder on your plate,
cod and haddock, swordfish steak,
like the bones and skin of the things you ate,
it’s an ugly fish.

I’ve heard it said for some do tell,
if you cast your penny in the wishing well,
it flutters down to fishing hell,
to the ugly fish.

put your flounder on your plate,
cod and haddock, swordfish steak,
like the bones and skin of the things you ate,
it’s an ugly fish.

when you go trollin’ with you fishin’ pole
don’t let your line sink too low,
there’s things down deep you don’t want to know
there’s an ugly fish.

you had a real long day your feelin’ beat,
so you’re sittin in the bath tub soakin’ your feet,
the pipe in the floor got a pin hole leak,
that trickles through the cellar to an underground creek,
and it’s carried to the coast at the tidal peak,
now your soup is in the sea and though it may be weak,
it smells like fear and it tastes like meat,
it settles to the bottom and it fills the cheek,
of the ugly fish.

put your flounder on your plate
cod and haddock, swordfish steak,
like the bones and skin of the things you ate,
it’s an ugly fish.

I been thinking for a while about how I miss your smile
Even miss your frown it’s been so long
I know that we fought less, before I got thoughtless
Oh baby you were right and I was…

I was reading in the paper about a cover girl’s success
But she is just a candle, you’re the dawn
Cause you illuminate the world in that blue and yellow dress
Aww baby you were right and I was…

Reticent to call you before now I was afraid
Concerned of your reaction to mistakes that I had made

Now I look into your eyes intending to apologize
Oh baby you were right and I was

Reggie and the boys are headed out to Ricky’s place
Of course they invited me along
But I said I’d catch up later so I could tell you to your face

Baby you were right and I was…
Regretful for our fight

Baby you were right and I was…

“Youth Always Runs” by Craig Werth, Lee, New Hampshire, June 1986

my watch was always fast,
pushing the moments past,
the speed of those days -- as if shot from a gun,
youth always runs.

a piece of my heart had died,
\with each teenage tear that I cried,
the joys and the pains all bled into one,
youth always runs.

Back when the world was small,
there in her eyes was all,
the magic too quickly over and done,
youth always runs.

now I have a child of my own,
it seems in the night he grows,
while the boy that was me fades with the sun,
youth always runs.

sneakers and cover-alls,
let’s tie your lace, don’t you fall,
and don’t go too fast -- you take it slowly my son,
but youth always runs.

“Kate’s Not So Easily Moved” words and music by Craig Werth
of Newmarket, New Hampshire, September 1981

Got a space left in my heart got a wish not yet fulfilled,
Got a woman in the forefront of my mind.
Sometimes sweet, often tart, she will likely leave a chill,
And if you dare to race her she will leave you far behind.

I have polished every word I’d like to say,
‘Til the color’s warm, the edges smooth,
But she’ll make sure my work’s cut out for me today,
A lot of love’s at stake, Kate’s not so easily moved.

Many folks have told me that I’m reaching for the stars,
But oh my, how she sparkles o’er the rest,
They haven’t sold me, I may not get very far,
But each time that I lose her I will know I’ve lost the best.

So to every ranger looking for her open doors,
You’re headed for frustration courtin’ tears,
Take it from this stranger who has tried it all before,
Made damn little progress and I’ve sought Kate some forty years.

Still I polish every word I’d like to say,
‘Til the color’s warm, the edges smooth,
But she’ll make sure my work’s cut out for me today,
A lot of love’s at stake, Kate’s not so easily moved.
A lot of love’s at stake, Kate’s not so easily moved.

“Spinning Gold” words and music by Craig Werth
of Newmarket, New Hampshire, May 2001

Look at him sway as he sings his songs,
Look at her lips as she sings along,
Something you might miss if you did not know,
A quiet current with a steady flow.

It’s a lovely thing, such a lovely thing to behold,
It’s a lovely thing, these hearts that sing,
Spinning gold, spinning gold.

Shining her face from the front most row,
A private space in a public show,
Aiming his words as he sings of her,
The only two in this crowd, as if they were.

It’s a lovely thing, such a lovely thing to behold,
It’s a lovely thing, these hearts that sing,
Spinning gold, spinning gold.

Writing their book with his flashing glance,
With her returning look, with the way he stands,
They’ve had other lives and other cares,
They’ve had other loves, but this one’s theirs.

And it’s a lovely thing, such a lovely thing to behold,
It’s a lovely thing, these hearts that sing,
Spinning gold, spinning gold.

So many days behind
glad I shared some with you
Wish I could hit rewind
take another crack at a few
But the great big wheel keeps turning around
My best hope is to slow it down
So if you hear a scraping sound
It’s me draggin’ my feet…

In good company
that’s how I travel
My friends, a part of me
a few unraveled
And though they crossed the mighty bridge
We’ll meet one day up over the ridge
For now I’ll stick their pictures on the fridge
I’m in no hurry…

Time to avoid the fray
No time for worry
More time to play
Less time to scurry
Each time I hear a tick or a tock
I’ll pack my pocket with another rock
Pour more honey inside the clock
to gum up the works…

The world’s a crazy place
headed for a show-down
Let’s take a lazy pace
A healthy dose of slow-down
With eyes wide open on this part of the trail
Let’s seize each second by its slippery tail
Toss it in our purple plastic pail
Please, can we keep ‘em?...

I need you now, like I needed you last Tuesday
It was such a nasty news day
So glad you were around

I need you now, like I’ll be needing you next Friday,
Let’s make it yours and my day
And celebrate some how

I’ll need you then, and after that and after
For trading tears and laughter
I’ll meet you where I can

The hour before I fall a sleep
In moments when I’m cut too deep
At times when I am full awake
For Heaven’s, Pete’s, and Goodness’ sake
I need you now

I need you now, to hold this ladder steady
To nudge me when I’m ready
To take a taller stand

I’ll need you when, in time I take a tumble
When all I’ve worked for crumbles,
I’ll need your heart and hand

I need you now, oh how my heart is hungry
For one who knows and loves me
Oh how I need you you now,
I need you now.

“Ode to the Zucchini” aka “Zucchini” aka “The Vegetable That Stole My Heart” by Craig Werth, for the International Zucchini Festival in Harrisville, New Hampshire, 1982

One day it seemed my life was too complex,
I burned my Mastercard, tore up my personal checks,
after all that fuss I hadn’t much to show,
‘cept my old back yard where my zucchinis grow,

Refrain:
Zucchini, you’re the vegetable that stole my heart,
A most attractive item, you’re a work of art,
Cuter than the cucumber and greener than the pea
Oh how I love my zucchini…

I’ve know some real fine women, tasted sweet red wine,
Rode the long fast lane nearly every time,
But now the slowest of days could never be too slow,
As I sit back home, watch my zucchinis grow.

Oh, Zucchini, you’re the vegetable that stole my heart,
A most attractive item, you’re a work of art,
Cuter than the cucumber and greener than the pea,
Oh how I love my zucchini…

When my zucchinis have grown and I have et them all,
One day I’ll hear St. Peter’s call,
And then that hand points down and says it’s time to go,
I think I’ll stay right here and plant another row, ‘cause,

Zucchini, you’re the vegetable that stole my heart,
A most attractive item, you’re a work of art,
Cuter than the cucumber, and greener than the pea,
Oh how I love my zucchini…