Harry Chapin: Trending quotes (page 3)

“I come fresh from the street,
fast on my feet, kind a lean and lazy;
not much meat on my bones, and a whole lot alone,
and more than a little bit crazy.
The old six string was all I had
to keep my belly still,
and for each full hour lesson I gave
I got a crisp ten dollar bill.”

Harry Chapin

I Wanna Learn a Love Song
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

“I found you a thousand times;
I guess you done the same;
But then we lose each other;
It's like a children's game;
As I find you here again;
A thought runs through my mind;
Our love is like a circle;
Let's go 'round one more time.”

Harry Chapin

Circle
Song lyrics, Sniper and Other Love Songs (1972)

Love , Children , Game , Time

“You see, she was gonna be an actress
And I was gonna learn to fly.
She took off to find the footlights,
And I took off for the sky.
And here, she's acting happy,
Inside her handsome home.
And me, I'm flying in my taxi,
Taking tips, and getting stoned,
I go flying so high, when I'm stoned.”

Harry Chapin

Taxi
Song lyrics, Heads & Tales (1972)

Home , Learning , Flying , Happiness

“Music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
And it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.”

Harry Chapin

Mr. Tanner
Song lyrics, Short Stories (1974)

Life , Music , Feeling , Soul

“I guess it's a sequel to our story
From the journey 'tween heaven and hell
With half the time thinking of what might have been
and half thinkin' just as well.
I guess only time will tell.”

Harry Chapin

Sequel
Song lyrics, Sequel (1981)

Hell , Thinking , Time

“It was the town that made America famous.
The churches full and the kids all gone to hell.
Six traffic lights and seven cops and all the streets kept clean.
The supermarket and the drug store and the bars all doing well.”

Harry Chapin

What Made America Famous?
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

Hell , Light

“Oh God they got you gun shy
You know your skin's as cold as ice
Your eyes are double filtered babe
You're so afraid to be nice
There's no way you're ready
To let your defenses down
Though I won't come on heavy
There is a lesson that I've found.”

Harry Chapin

If You Want to Feel
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)

God , Way

“And all the trips you know you missed
And all the lips you never kissed
Cut through you like a knife.
And now you see stretched out before thee
Just another story of a life.”

Harry Chapin

Story of a Life
Song lyrics, Sequel (1981)

Life , Kiss

“And I feel that something's coming, and it's not just in the wind.
It's more than just tomorrow, it's more than where we've been,
It offers me a promise, it's telling me "Begin",
I know we're needing something worth believing in.”

Harry Chapin

Remember When the Music
Song lyrics, Sequel (1981)

Feeling

“He was picking speed as the city spread its twinkling lights below him.
But he paid no heed as the shivering thoughts of the nights
delights went through him.
His foot nudged the brakes to slow him down.
But the pedal floored easy without a sound.
He said "Christ!"
It was funny how he had named the only man who could save him now.
He was trapped inside a dead-end hellslide,
riding on his fear-hunched back
was every one of those yellow green
I'm telling you thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Yes, there were thirty thousand pounds of bananas.”

Harry Chapin

30,000 Pounds of Bananas
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

Fear , Light , Christ , Speed

“That's when I asked her where was that actress
She said "That was somebody else"
And then I asked her why she looked so happy now
She said "I finally like myself, at last I like myself."”

Harry Chapin

Sequel
Song lyrics, Sequel (1981)

Happiness

“The little boy went first day of school
He got some crayons and started to draw
He put colors all over the paper
For colors was what he saw
And the teacher said.. "What you doin' young man?"
"I'm paintin' flowers" he said
She said… "It's not the time for art young man
And anyway flowers are green and red
There's a time for everything young man
And a way it should be done
You've got to show concern for everyone else
For you're not the only one."”

Harry Chapin

Flowers are Red
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)

School , Art , Color , Way

“Mr. Martin Tanner, a baritone, of Dayton, Ohio made his Town Hall debut last night. He came well prepared, but unfortunately his presentation was not up to contemporary professional standards. His voice lacks the range of tonal color necessary to make it consistently interesting.
Full time consideration of another endeavor might be in order.”

Harry Chapin

Mr. Tanner
Song lyrics, Short Stories (1974)

Color , Time , Night

“Short stories
that's all it's ever been
Don't you worry 'bout the ending
Babe, before we begin
I have seen the sun
That's behind the rain
I have felt the joy
That's behind the pain.”

Harry Chapin

Short Stories
Song lyrics, Short Stories (1974)

Pain , Sun , Joy

“Remember when the music
Came from wooden boxes strung with silver wire
And as we sang the words, it would set our minds on fire,
For we believed in things, and so we'd sing.”

Harry Chapin

Remember When the Music
Song lyrics, Sequel (1981)

Music , Singing , Box

“You know I need a dream
Like I need my breath
We need to take the life
Before we get the death
You know I need your love
Like I need the light
Yes I need the chance
Can it be tonight?”

Harry Chapin

Short Stories
Song lyrics, Short Stories (1974)

Love , Life , Death , Dreams

“He was dancing to some music
No one else had ever heard
He'd speak in unknown languages
She would translate every word
And then when the world was laughing
At his castles in the sky
She'd hold him in her body
Till he once again could fly.”

Harry Chapin

Shooting Star
Song lyrics, Verities & Balderdash (1974)

World , Music , Dance , Flying

“I'm in the Dance Band on the Titanic
Singing "Nearer my God to thee"
and the icebergs on the starboard bow
Won't you dance with me?”

Harry Chapin

Dance Band On the Titanic
Song lyrics, Dance Band on the Titanic (1977)

God , Singing , Dance

“And I know you're frightened
By my laughter
But you're not afraid
To hold my pain
You see I'm never sure
Just what you're after, Babe
But it seems you only love me
When it rains.
How come you only love me when it rains?”

Harry Chapin

It Seems You Only Love Me When It Rains
Song lyrics, Living Room Suite (1978)

Love , Pain , Laughter

“He went up on the mountain beside the giant stone
They knew he was insane so they left him alone
He'd given up enlisting help for there was no one else
He spent his days devising ways to stop the rock himself
One night while he was working building braces on the ledge
The ground began to rumble the rock trembled on the edge.”

Harry Chapin

The Rock
Song lyrics, Portrait Gallery (1975)

Way , Mountain , Help , Night