Big Night Without You
1998
Epic Records
EK 68143
Buy at Amazon


  1. Guru (3:59)
  2. Fist Like A Glove (3:54)
  3. Arlington (Reprise) (:26)*
  4. Turnstile (3:34) *
  5. Tom Collins (3:26)
  6. Off Key Choir (3:18)
  7. Motorway (4:43)
  8. Stealing From The Joneses (3:40)
  9. No Way To Say Goodbye (3:38)
  10. Sarah When The Wind Blows (3:39)#
  11. Train Slows Down (3:20)
  12. Sunblock (4:08)%
Vocals, Guitar: Todd Watts
Guitar, Vocals: Erik Wenberg
Bass: Luke Michel
Drums, Percussion: Tamer Eid

Music: emmet swimming
Bonus tracks from enhanced CD:

Big Night Without You (2:25)
Door 2 (2:26)
Playing House (3:25)
Rosie (4:31)
Lyrics: Watts

Producer: Peter Collins
Recorded At: Ocean Way, Nashville, TN
Engineer: Paul David Hager
Mixer: Paul David Hager
Mastered by: Bob Ludwig

Additional musicians:
* Piano, Organ, Wurlitzer, Harmonium, Fender Rhodes: Jonn Savannah (Don Snow)
# 1st Violin: Howard Gott
# 2nd Violin: Laura Williams
# Viola: Naomi Fairhurst
# Cello: Ed Jeffries
% Trombone: T-Bone Willy
% Trumpet: Jose Castellanos
% Saxophone: Eric Zamora


Guru

chorus:
I'll never be a star
I'll never learn sitar
All those childish dreams
Are not meant to be
I'll never be a star
I'll never get that far
Got so close I could see
Almost enough for me

Can't afford a guru
Who's gonna save my soul
Where will my money go
I can be spiritual too you know
But I can't afford a guru
So when you lay next to me
Pour on the sympathy
As sold on TV

chorus

Nighttime finds a way
To leave you happy
Then goes away

chorus:
I'll never be a star
Can't afford a guru
I'll never learn sitar
Save my soul
All those childish dreams
Can't afford a guru
Are not meant to be

So wear me tied around you
Just pull me tight around you
Wear me tied around you
I swear I'll come through

chorus:
I'll never be a star
I'll never learn sitar
All those childhood dreams
Are not meant to be


Fist Like A Glove

Left the silence of the car
Must have a razor for a lucky charm
And in the distance of the town
He always smiles when he gets down

Fist like a glove never leaves a scar
Fist like a glove never goes too far

He says it's all her fault this time
She must deserve this, we just mean nothing
He usually treats her fine

Fist like a glove never leaves a scar
Fist like a glove never goes too far

We all wonder who we are
Fist like a glove won't leave a scar

He pushed her back on the hood of the car
I turned my face and looked up to the stars

We all wonder who we are
Fist like a glove won't leave a scar
We're all so happy where we are


Turnstile

Big disturbance at the merry-go-round
There's a man here who says he won't come down
He keeps riding as the organ drones on
And the horses just follow along

As he passes his reflection
He considers his direction
If everything's fine
Why do I feel stuck in the turnstile
Very nice afternoon and then it's
The job, the wife, the house, the pension check

Call the doctors and they'll get him down
Call the coppers and bring the whole town
He keeps smiling as he pulls back reigns
He's defying the cause of all his pain

As he passes his reflection
He considers his direction
If everything's fine
Why do I feel stuck in the turnstile
Very nice afternoon we're having
So what if I try
The world's just full of tryers
Very nice afternoon and then it's
The job, the wife, the house, the pension check

Now there's blood on the merry-go-round
It's exciting to bring a man down
And the children are forming a line
And deciding on which horse they'll ride

If everything's fine
Why do I feel stuck in the turnstile
Very nice afternoon we're having
So what if I try
The world's just full of tryers
Very nice afternoon and then it's
The job, the wife, the house, who'll babysit


Tom Collins

As you go, I go with you
Scribbled in blue ink
12th grade yearbook

So if you're up
Or if you're down
I'll be the anchor around your neck
That keeps your feet flat on the ground

chorus:
I'd love one more Tom Collins
As the rain outside pours down
I'd always drive by your house
And your Dad would chase me around
We all get so sentimental
When the Gin's half gone
I'd love one more Tom Collins
As the rain outside pours down

Take off your dress
Like you used to
And I'm impressed
God how you grew

chorus

Later on tonight
I'm gonna smile as you are leaving
Kiss you as you walk outside
We're much too strong for grieving

chorus:
I'd love one more Tom Collins
As the rain outside pours down
I'd always drive by your house
And your Dad would chase me around
Reagan in the White House
And your Father's Gin's all gone
I'd love one more Tom Collins
As the rain outside comes down


Off Key Choir

You read just like a telegram
Crawl back to town...stop
Issue the next demand
My heart goes flip-flop...stop
This isn't 1989
I'm cognizant at least half of the time
You don't have much power anymore
Since your uncle went and sold his liquor store
Oh Lord

chorus:
I can't put things right
Can't make things new
There's an off key choir
Singing songs we knew
I wish they'd go home
But they never do
They sit on a corner
Singing songs we knew

But now you're older and you're much less violent
Fist through the door...stop
Chuck me on the pavement
Get some ointment at the store
More than my feelings were sore

And now it's supposed to be just like before
All night cocktails watching love crawl out the door
The medicine cabinet empty
Tears welling in your eyes
Hard economics when you're left without supply

Bye bye bye

chorus

Hard times, still in love with you
Hard times, still in love with you

I can't put things right
I can't make things new
There's an off key choir
Singing songs we knew
I wish they'd go home
But they never do
Just sit on the corner
Singing every I love you

Take things old
And make them alright
While my dysfunction
Lights up the whole night

I can't make things right
I can't make things new
There's a stupid choir
Singing songs we knew
But now I'm tired
And hungover


Motorway

Never lit a fire in your eyes
That's what you said to me
It should really come as no surprise
I bruise that easily

chorus:
Can't stand living
So we wait for another day
I'll pull through
I know you can't stand me,
But we're stuck here anyway
A motel room in nowhere Nevada
We're just lost on the motorway
I turn to you you've got nothing to say
We're just wasting the days away

It's 50 miles to Reno and we're staring at the desert

Never felt a pain that hurt too much
That's what you said to me
Lately it seems you've been out of touch
We both break so easily

chorus

Something is lost on the motorway

I guess our dreams sort of got in the way
And strung us along for another day
We'll kiss when we drop off the car in L.A.
But something was lost on the motorway


Stealing From The Joneses

We drive by their beautiful houses
And peek inside
They have surgically altered spouses
We gawk without pride
If I offered you diamonds
Would you demand pearls
If I offered you the world...
How about that girl

chorus:
We've been stealing from the Joneses
And much to our surprise
Things aren't so perfect inside
Divorce and credit cards
They've fenced in their perfect yards

It's not what they throw away
That leaves them so sad
They'd gladly pay
But there's things they can't have
If I offered you land
Would you demand sky
These things pass us by

chorus:
We've been stealing from the Joneses
And much to our surprise
Things aren't so perfect inside
Divorce and credit cards
Neglect and credit cards

chorus:
We've been stealing from the Joneses
Only to find
They're leading their lives blind
Divorce and credit cards
Caught up in the caviar

chorus:
We've been stealing from the Joneses
And much to our surprise
Things aren't so perfect inside
Divorce and credit cards
They fenced in their credit cards

chorus:
We've been stealing from the Joneses
Only to find
They're leading their lives blind
Divorce and credit cards
You can just taste the caviar


No Way To Say Goodbye

Do you feel alright
As the darkness sets upon you
In a boat by a shore
As the cat tails rub against you

Do you feel a little old
Do you wish we'd not been married
Would you feel alright
If I was never there to turn to

This is no way to say goodbye
This is no way to say goodbye

As you walked to the door
Did you feel like it was closing
Did you feel alright
When your lover called last Friday

This is no way to say goodbye
This is no way to say goodbye
This isn't how we say goodbye

Did you feel a little tired - uninspired
Did you feel like you were choking
While he lay there groping

Tomorrow the weather's lousy
Tomorrow you're liberated
While we both fall apart
As the lawyers bring the papers

This is no way to say goodbye
This is no way to say goodbye
This isn't how we say goodbye


Sarah When The Wind Blows

As darkness fell on the old neighborhood
She was found behind a bar, dress torn
And she had been so kind such a gentle mind
As a boy she taught, I learned a lot

She's lost her name again
My friend
She's lost her name again

And her skin so white on any given night
We'd lay in bed, alone, her dress my home
She'd been let down by every boy in town
Across the tracks they turned their backs
And called her whore

She's lost her name again
My friend
She's lost her name again

And all she asked is think of me when the wind blows
And our mothers pulled us away from the windows

A dark report from the liquor store
She had lost her mind at least five times
And when they put her down there was no one around
The trees began to move
And the wind shook the ground

She's lost her name again
My friend
She's lost her name again

And all she asked is think of me when the wind blows
And our mothers pulled us away from the windows
And all she asked is think of me when the wind blows

Sarah when the wind blows


Train Slows Down

I'm gonna walk upstairs
High and unaware, I swear
You'll throw your favorite vase in the air
And scratch my eyes to show you care
Because now I want you back
When the train slows down
I'll be coming back around
When the train slows down
I'll be coming back around

chorus:
It's killing me it's killing you
All your secrets and I want you back
It's killing me it's killing you
All your secrets but I want you back
When the train slows down
I'll be coming back around
When the train slows down
I'll be coming back around

I saved the note you wrote
They'll bury you with me when I'm gone
The headstone reads that he left home
More often than he should have gone
But, now I want you back
When the train slows down
I'll be coming back around
When the train slows down
I'll be coming back around

chorus (2x)

When the train slows down
I'll be coming back around
When the train slows down
I'll be coming back around


Sunblock

Am I the only one who's never had fun
In the twelve years we've gone steady
Put down the parasol that isn't you at all
When the whole thing crumbles
I won't be there

I'm going on a big vacation
I deserve some fun
Got the top down,
swimming in the ocean
I got the sunblock on

You feel so elite with me below your feet
And always at the ready

I'm going on a big vacation
I can't escape the sun
Got the top down,
swimming in the ocean
And where the go-gos trod
I'm there with a cheap beach blanket
The kind you don't take home
No cheap wine, I've got a jug of lancers
I got the sunblock on

So when the walls around you break
And there's no one to make you feel safe
And all the problems that you fake
I won't be there

I'm going on a big vacation
I deserve some fun
Got the top down,
swimming in the ocean,
And Flock Of Seagulls on
"I Ran" and a "Photograph Of You"
The singer's haircut's sad
I think I found the perfect occupation
I got the sunblock on

I'm going on a big vacation,
And I will not come home
My new address is sitting by the ocean
I can't be reached by phone
When I'm gone you can climb
the social ladder
Respectable at last
Turn your back on all the things that matter
I've got the sunblock on
Bonus tracks from enhanced CD:

Big Night Without You

I need a night without you
I never bet on football anymore
The kicker stared at the goal post
Missed wide right, but I don't care

I wanna eat when the food's just there
The waiter came but you weren't there

I need a night without you
I never watch westerns anymore
And there's a double feature
I'd never go if you were here

The bad guys drew and John Wayne stared
The town was saved but you weren't there

I need a night without you
My friends are all meeting at the bar
I just drank six white liquors
And yellow stuff in a wine glass
The bartender paid my fare
I stumbled home but you weren't there

Big night without you


Door 2

Missed your daughter's birthday
Doesn't matter anyway
F*ck the secretary
By the coffee machine
Bought his wife a new car
She found his terms acceptable
Almost respectable

chorus
Say anything that we have to
We trade it away behind door 2

Doesn't matter what you say
As long as you get your way
Told the babysitter
You felt something akin to love
That's all she ever wanted
She took it willingly
Almost aggressively
Killed the family

chorus
We'll say anything that we have to
We'll wager it all behind door 2

Fine line
Hurts when
You comb your mind
Try to find
Go to
The front of the line

chorus
We'll say anything to be happy
We're selling it it all behind door 3


Playing House

Got the haircut
We don't rinse much
You put on the coffee
I'll pick up the paper
Kiss kiss kiss

chorus:
You'll be playing house again
I'll be down there working the oven
I wear my heart out on your chin again

Though this can't last
We're just too fast
We'll play tricks on all the neighbors
Steal their parking spaces
Hate their kids
We'll get so pissed

chorus:
We'll be playing house again
It's my turn to wear the apron
I wear my heart out on your chin again

chorus:
Looks like we're playing house again
I'm down in the kitchen just like your old man
I wear my heart out on your chin again

chorus:
We'll be playing house again
I'll be down there by the oven
I wear my heart out on your chin again

We'll be playing house again


Rosie

And your friends were all there
You'd have liked it - we all combed our hair
The procession spilled out in the hall
And your father shook hands with us all

She's keeping Heaven clean
God's on time again
She's keeping Heaven clean
Shiniest it's ever been

And the winter is almost over
One more month and your seeds blossomed
And your friends hug but they won't cry
You were an angel alone to the side

chorus:
She's keeping Heaven clean
God's on time again
She's keeping Heaven clean
Shiniest they've ever seen

La la
La la
La la
La la

chorus:
She's keeping Heaven clean
God's got a new right hand man this spring
She's keeping Heaven clean
Finest thing - finest thing they've ever seen

chorus:
She's keeping Heaven clean
Finest thing we have ever seen
She's keeping Heaven clean
Best we had - gone again

La la
La la
La la
La la