Produced by Kevin Jarvis and Anny Celsi, with additional production by Marvin Etzioni.  Musicians: Anny, Kevin and Marvin, with guest appearances by Steve Barton, Joey Peters, Sheldon Gomberg, Randy Weeks, Bill Bonk, Phil Parlapiano, Robert Lloyd, Carl Byron, Kirk Swan, Danny McGough, Adam Pike, Rich Nibbe, Hank Van Sickle and Trevor Zimmerman.

Cover illustration: David Chelsea
Graphic design: Gwen Koger

Song Lyrics

All songs © Anny Celsi/Ragazza Music (BMI) 

‘TWAS HER HUNGER BROUGHT ME DOWN
No it ain’t the fall that kills you, it’s your meeting with the ground
Twas her beauty that bewitched me
Twas her hunger brought me down
I had money and position, silver watch to keep my time
Trusting wife and pretty children. When I met her I was fine
Twas her engine that propelled me and soon we were city bound
Twas her beauty that derailed me
Twas her hunger brought me down
I took twenty thousand dollars, where it went I can’t explain
I’d be richer had I thrown it from the window of the train
Beauty needs so much attention, hunger does not compromise
Soon the city was our prison, I fell further in her eyes
No it ain’t the fall that kills you, it’s your meeting with the ground
Twas her beauty that befell me
Twas her hunger brought me down
Carrie, come look out the window, someone’s fallen in the square
Men can look so foolish, can’t they? How do you guess he got there?
Roses waiting at the stage door, carriage waiting in the snow
Bowl of soup down at the mission but I’ve lost the heart to go
Just a quarter for the room, sir, and a nickel for the gas
Just a place to disappear, all good men must come to pass
No it ain’t the fall that kills you, it’s your meeting with the ground
If it’s beauty that compels you, then it’s hunger brings you down
Twas her hunger brought me down
 

LITTLE BLACK DRESS
You’re never gonna find me, I swear
You’ll never recognize me when I wear
You’re gonna see how little I care
When I wear my little black dress
You can wear the face of innocence well
I’ve been under that particular spell
But the lies that kept me going before
Now seem to be so hard to ignore
You’re never gonna find me, I swear
You’ll never recognize me when I wear
You’re gonna see how little I care
When I wear my little black dress
Oh I could make it through the evening
As long as my stockings are straight
And you’re never gonna see me leaving
But you might catch the scent of fresh paint
You’re never gonna find me, I swear
You’ll never recognize me when I
I’ve sorted out the fiction from the fact
I’ve given you my everything and now I want it back
You’re never gonna find me, I swear
You’ll never recognize me when I wear
You’re gonna see how little I care
When I wear my little black dress
 

SUMMER FLING
I see you walkin to me across the sand
The sun is high up above
I know the season is showing her hand
Everyone’s dreaming of love
The water’s warm and the beaches are gold
It should be all that we need
But August nights just leave me cold
Summer is over for me
It’s a bad year for a summer fling
A bad time for this kind of thing
I’d be a bad date
I’ve got nothing to bring to a summer fling
I hear your car comin down my street
And now you’re here at my door
Your kiss is soft and your promises sweet
But somewhere I’ve heard them before
It’s a bad year for a summer fling
A bad time for this kind of thing
I’d be a bad date
I’ve got nothing to bring to a summer fling
I lost my heart to that summer romance
That comes along every June
Now every day feels as long as a year
Every night fills my heart up with tears
I just pray that September comes soon
It’s a bad year for a summer fling
A bad time for this kind of thing
I’d be a bad date
I’ve got nothing to bring to a summer fling

 

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW
I can set my watch just by your comin and your goin
All this time I’ve never failed to leave my window open
Cause you keep on returning like a Capistrano swallow
Only to be gone again, the day after tomorrow
You call me your baby, and my wishing makes it sweet
Now I find your kisses have been flavored with deceit
But if you put some sugar on those lies you make me swallow
Maybe they’ll taste better on the day after tomorrow
Something’s gonna happen on that day
The tide will turn, wash me away
I can’t wait to wake up to a season that is new
I can’t wait to close my eyes to you
Dealer, you can cash me in, my chips are getting low
I’d rather cut my losses while I’ve got something left to show
I’d have better luck with any shark in Monte Carlo
So maybe I will see you there the day after tomorrow
Something’s gonna happen on that day
The tide will turn, wash me away
Like a shell upon your beach these waves have left me hollow
So you and I will watch love die
The day after tomorrow
 

IT HURTS/MY HEART/TO HEAR/YOUR VOICE
Every word of your sermon told me
You were never gonna stick around
Still I guess I shoulda listened harder
Shoulda seen it when the tent came down
Now it hurts my heart to hear your voice
So why do I listen to you?
I could never be a part of your life
I was just another plate to spin
Still I thought I found a new religion
When you opened up and let me in
Now it hurts my heart to hear your voice
So why do I listen to you?
Some sweet morning’s bringing you back to town
I’ll be standing with the true believers
My ears still ringing and my heart still glory bound
Coulda given you a love so easy
The kind of love that doesn’t do no harm
Coulda sewn you a beautiful shirt
If you had only let me measure your arm
Now it hurts my heart to hear your voice
So why do I listen to you?


ALL I’M GONNA SAY
How bout all those black-jeaned heroes of my sleepless nights
How bout the ones who dropped in, then dropped out of sight
How bout those sweet butcher boys down on Produce Row?
What else do you want to know?
How bout that Joe College party that just went all wrong
One red-haired jock too drunk, and me way too young
How bout just the first mistake of my entire career
What else do you want to hear?
How bout lucky Sailor Jim
Home on leave and high on gin
What else do you want to know about him
What else do you want to know?
It’s a nice girl keeps things under her hat
This song is all I’m gonna say
All I’m gonna say about that
How bout the ways that I’ve fallen, the wages of sin
Things that I wrote down and burned and then wrote down again
How bout the pictures I’d paint that you don’t want to see
What else do you want from me?
Don’t go looking through my purse
Don’t come in without knocking first
Whatever you think you know, it’s worse
Whatever you think you know
It’s a nice girl keeps things under her hat
This song is all I’m gonna say
All I’m gonna say about that


EMPTY HANGERS
Every girl deserves a nervous breakdown
Don’t you think that she’s got what it takes
Would you listen if she told you she was just about to fold
From holding that basket of snakes
Any clock can lose a couple seconds
No her timing’s never good enough
If you want exact amounts, someone else will have to count
Cause she can’t keep track of that stuff
Sometimes she feels like
A closet full of empty hangers
A nest of black and twisted wire
At any moment tied and tangled
She’ll come crashing to the floor
Every rookie feels a little awkward
Would you say she catches like a girl
Round her head the pitches fly, she just lets them all go by
She can’t keep up in this world
Sometimes she feels like
A closet full of empty hangers
A nest of black and twisted wire
At any moment tied and tangled
She’ll come crashing to the floor
She hides a heart as soft as motel soap
She glides through hands as rough as hangman’s rope
She slides forever further down the slope
Sometimes she feels like
A closet full of empty hangers
With all her finery on the floor
A crash of color round her ankles
She can’t wear those things no more
Every girl deserves a nervous breakdown…
 

CAN’T WIN EM ALL
I think I saw him first at the table by the door
And he seemed so unrehearsed – just the type that I go for
Spilled coffee on his shirt
Well that’s the way I flirt
And nobody gets hurt
Oh, where you gonna land – you can’t win ‘em all
Into his hands I plan to fall
I’ll take that chance – I’ll make that call
I understand
You can’t win ‘em all
His place was kinda sweet in a boho sort of way
Just a mattress and a sheet and martinis on a tray
And the day was kind of cold
The night was colder still
A girl can get a chill
Oh, where you gonna land – you can’t win ‘em all
Into his hands I plan to fall
I’ll take that chance – I’ll make that call
I understand
You can’t win ‘em all
But there’s something about those boys in black
They buy their ticket, then they want their money back
I shoulda seen the writing on the wall
You hear one bass solo, you’ve pretty much heard them all
And that’s all there is to say as far as he’s concerned
I spill coffee every day, sometimes I get burned
But with tips I do okay
And that’s the way I cope
A girl can always hope
Oh, where you gonna land – you can’t win ‘em all
Into his hands I plan to fall
I’ll take that chance – I’ll make that call
I understand
You can’t win ‘em all
 

SO MANY BAD DREAMS
Some nights make you feel like the devil’s own punching bag
Everything that you touch falls apart at the seams
Every day you wake up on the edge of a crying jag
How can one girl have so many bad dreams?
Once I felt like a queen with the whole world in front of me
Every night I sat down to strawberries and cream
But now the servants have fled and there’s rats in the scullery
How can one girl have so many bad dreams?
I woke up on the beach, I was still in my party dress
It was too late to cry, I was too tired to scream
The ship was on fire, the captain went down I guess
How can one girl have so many bad dreams?
Just when you thought you could go back to sleep
These are the days when your nights should be sweet
But you’re all tangled up in the sheets
There’s a hole in my heart where there used to be confidence
What if everyone knows that I’m not what I seem?
I can step on the stage, but I can’t fool the audience
How can one girl have so many bad dreams?
Now I’m hitchhiking west, the cars are like lightning bolts
Every truck disappears in a curtain of steam
And the highway is littered with blankets and overcoats
How can one girl have so many bad dreams?

HE’S ALWAYS LOOKING AT THE SKY
He doesn’t see the things that keep us tangled in this earth
His eyes are always on the stars, you’ve no idea what that’s worth
He’s an important man
He’s always looking at the sky
No you can’t talk to him - you’ll just distract him from his thoughts
We all want greatness in our lives, he’s all the greatness that I’ve got
He’s an important man
He’s always looking at the sky
Don’t play your music late at night, don’t park your car so close outside
Don’t leave your trashcans in his sight, don’t try to drag him out in the light
He’s an important man
He’s always looking at the sky
I come down in the morning, he hasn’t moved the whole night long
He says, "Don’t touch my papers! I had the answer, now it’s gone"
He’s an important man
Yes those rooms are dusty, I don’t go in there any more
Yes those birds are noisy, so I just shut the bedroom door…
Why’d you come here knocking? Why don’t you leave us both alone?
He’s got a purpose, so do I. I’m always looking out for him
He’s always looking at the sky
 

WICKED LITTLE HEART
Gonna carve a little piece inside you
You’re never gonna be the same
You could dig yourself a hole to China
And still you’re gonna hear my name
Oh, you better know what’s comin’
Oh, you better know your woman
Oh, you’re gonna learn to love these chains
My wicked little heart
Is gonna walk along with you
My wicked little heart
Is gonna keep you true
When the fear of standing still
Is greater than the fear of change
You’re gonna break every door and window
Just to feel a blast of rain
Oh, but every time you wander
Oh, I know the spell you’re under
Oh, you’re gonna learn to love these chains
My wicked little heart
Is gonna walk along with you
My wicked little heart
Is gonna keep you true
It’s gonna whisper in your ear
It’s gonna tell you what to do
My wicked little heart


SHUT OUT THE SHINE
So what if it’s morning wherever we are?
I don’t agree with the sun anymore
Call down to room service, tell them I’m sad
I want some oranges, I want em bad
Sure you’ve been traveling longer than me
Distance is something you no longer see
And maybe the sheets are the same everywhere
Or maybe they’re filtering more than the air
All last night all I could see was the moon through the blinds
And nothing I took could shut off my mind
Lately I don’t get along with the daylight I find
So cover me baby, and shut out the shine
So cover me baby, and shut out the shine
I know what’s behind the face of the moon
I know what’s behind the mirror in this room
But I don’t know where they hid the cameras this time
Come over here, darlin, and shut out the shine
Come over here, darlin, and shut out the shine
Come over here, darlin...