Last Of The Rock Stars
Naked telephone poles can’t describe
The way I’m feeling about you tonight
And a feeling on my back like an old brown jacket
Like to stay in school but I just can’t hack it
And I’m out on the street feeling like dirt
I’m afraid to get married because I know its gonna hurt
And I say
Oh oh oh – there’s the last of the rock stars
And me and you
Oh oh oh – rock ‘n roll is here to stay
But who will be left to play
Well I dreamed I saw the king in a fifty three chevy
Had a band on his mind and his hands looked heavy
And he rolled down his window I guess to say hi
I couldn’t see his face ’cause of the purple haze inside
And he was born to be the king – he was born to be the man
And he died though he was holy – although I doubt he’d understand
When I say
(chorus)
Adolescent predrug habit – if it means guitar you gotta have it
And you got your axe and you got your group
And your old man thinks its a waste of loot
And you wait all week for a Sullivan show
And you know that’s just where you wanna go
And you homework now is never complete
You don’t care – cause you have got that beat
So a highdy hi and a heydy hey
And a girls that home on Friday night and a boy that’s out to play
And some of us are masters and some or us are slaves
And than there’s that boy who knows he’s gotta play
And a messy desk drawer full of broken strings
You know these kids and you know of those things
(chorus)
Come on mama please don’t cry
Don’t you know how I feel inside
The Miracle Zone
Green River
Lights were dancing
Footsteps of a mouse
On a postage stamp
I saw a picture of our new house
Red roof and magnolias
A field of olive trees
A Green River is rising
Nearly to my knees
Green River – Green River
Green River – Take my soul out to the sea
Raisin bread and honey
Not as sweet as you
If I could tell your fortune
Would I lie or would I tell the truth
Depending if it brought you
To my arms or distant shores
A Green River is rising
Even higher then before
(Chorus)
Three rings on my fingers
Past, present and fate
One came from Mississippi
The other from a different state
A state of forgiveness
Contradiction and the blues
A Green River is rising
Water filling up my shoes
(Chorus)
This ship ain’t moving
It’s attached to the land
Last night I slept in a bunk bed
Dreamed I was in prison
With a dangerous man
I Woke up to the river
Who crept past us while we slept
A Green River keeps on rising
Until my eyes are soaking wet
Chorus
Not Enough Time
Well I’m the guy who’s always in a rush
From one place to another come boom or bust
If I’m not moving I’m starting to rot
I got a lot of speed but still there’s just
Not enough time
When its you I want to see
Not enough time
To get you next to me
Well Einstein’s theory it still holds true
The speed of light will make a shadow out of you
I hear your voice when my echo comes back
I can recognize you darling but I can’t back the
Time
To get you next to me
Not enough time
To get you next to me
Moving through the vaper
Through the fog and the mist
Following your tracks
And so many things on my list
I’m so backed up
I’m still in last year
When met for the first time
And I held you near
Forgot about tomorroqw
I’ve already been there twice
And if I told you next year you’re gonna be my wife
I’m the man of your future
Though I’m invisible to see
The one thing thatg keeps going
Is the love inside of me
Not enough time
When its you I want to see
Not enough time
To get you next to me
Not enough time
When its you I’ve got to see
Not enough time
To be the man I want to be
Not enough time
I want to see
Hours and minutes
They mean nothing to me
Not enough time
I’m already late
I’m already gone
That’s what I hate
Sunlight Keeps Falling
I crashed into your life – like an uninvited guest
Take me under your wings – let me breathe and rest
Will you be my savior – could you be my love
I don’t know how to take it – I never got enough
Sunlight keeps falling on me
But it’s so dark I can hardly see
Voices keep talking – tell me go away
You are the reason I stay
Take me in your hands – like a sacred piece of wood
I wanna be reborn – oh if I only could
Will you be my savior – could you be my love
I don’t know how to take it – cause I never got enough
Give me one good reason – and I won’t let it go
Love may be in season – I don’t know how to show
Sunlight keeps falling on me
But it’s so dark I can hardly see
Voices keep talking – tell me go away
You are the reason I stay
Take me now – I want you – can’t you feel it – I can’t say it – don’t you know – take me now – I want you – can’t you feel it – I can’t say it – don’t you know – take me now – I want you – can’t you feel it – I can’t say it – don’t you know –
Take me now – I feel it – I can say it I can live it …
Sunlight keeps falling on me
But it’s so dark I can hardly see
Voices keep talking – tell me go away
You are the reason I stay
Decodance
One way or another they’re gonna get you soon
they’re gonna crush your banana they’re gonna blow your balloon
One way or another your face is gonna fall
But you’ll still smile in your river
you’ll just be a little wet baby that’s all
In the middle of a black Cadillac limousine
I heard you say that you’re never quoted or quite what you mean
And you say that your pictures never really ring true
And you don’t think that the media will ever catch you
No matter what they do
And than later at the discotheque deco ball
You dressed down but you really gave that smile your all
And pretty soon like a primal your screaming through
And pretty soon your libido is turning blue
Baby, what to do
And the band gets a hand for the deco dance
Give the band such a hand watch ’em deco dance
You had to take a chance and do the deco dance
I’ll I see you later at the starlet memorial show
I always see you when you haven’t any other place to go
And we can talk about the glory that’s now your past
‘Cause I can tell you baby that the past is the only thing that lasts…if you move too fast
And the band gets a hand for the deco dance
Give the band a hand watch ‘em deco dance
You had to take a chance
And now your deco dance
You Never Know What You’re In For
Getting late they were spaced just a trace
Of the old coming down
Ancient fun one and one he said someday
We’ll leave this town
But magazines glamour scenes in betweens
Had him nailed to the ground
And the sounds still waiting to be found
And we are all junkies, pushers, pimps and hookers
You never know what you’re in to’
And you can shake it, try to forsake it
But you know you’re gonna take it
You never know what you’re in for
By the time he was nine there were signs of an old melody
He tried to list w at he missed just a kiss
Was it real or TV
Find a way make it pay you can say a rehearsed passion play
Everyday, everyday
And we’re all junkies pushers, pimps and hookers
You never know what you’re in for
And you can shake it, try to forsake it
But you know you’re gonna take it
You never know what you’re in for
But anyway he said hey I’m gonna stay Baby Please don’t cry
It’s just rough to stay tough full of lust and Be a walking hi fi
I see you and I’m through with that god
Who demands such a lie
But you gotta get by
And we’ll get by
And we are all junkies, pushers, pimps and pushers
You never know what you’re in for
And you can shake it, try to forsake it
But you know you’re gonna take it
You never know what you’re in for
On Elvis Presley’s Birthday
I can’t say that I love this place where I live
This particular geographic location
But I’ve grown use to it and now I miss it when I’m away
Of course, when I was a child my father would take me with him
Down to the bowery where the bums were
And in the restaurant supply stores
He would buy shiny steel refrigerators and deadly looking stoves
While I begged him to take me to the army navy surplus stores on canal street
To buy some big dead bullets
He wore a short corduroy jacket, an informal hat with a puff of feather
And he talked with his hands in his pants pockets jangling change
Driving in his Cadillac it was Elvis Presley’s birthday
They said it on the radio and my father liked Elvis
And it was wonderful – it was wonderful
We drove through the black neighborhoods on Long Island’s north shore when Elvis was alive
My father was from Brooklyn and the depression left its mark
From picking up coal on the railroad tracks
He didn’t have a good word to say about Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Later, I liked elegant hotel bars
Where I could drink under F. Scott Fitzgerald skies
The coolest of the cool
Never a child on Elvis Presley’s birthday
My dead father jangling change
This is an unreal city
You can be anybody you want to be
When you’re alone
A Touch Of Kindness
A little touch of kindness – for a start
A little bit of sweetness – won’t tear you apart
You’ll be there in a minute – you believe me
You’ll be right where you want to be
With a little touch of kindness
My face was disfigured
At least I thought it was
I was covered with shame
I wasn’t so tough
I was lost in the void
So completely alone
Then I heard your voice in the darkness
And it warmed me to my bones
chorus
Are you misleading?
Or are you playing a game?
What are the rules?
Does the winner have something to gain?
It’s the champion season
The world series of the utterly confused
Played on a mountaintop in India
Or in the plains of Alsace Lorraine
Coming home again
Just A Story From America
Just a story from America
He left his job and he looked at her
I’ve had enough he put down his cup
And every time she would fill it up
When she’d say
Get up when they put you down
But like a boxer
You just spin around
Your kind of guy is so very few
Don’t ever let them get the best of you
And so he’s working like a dog each day
And every week there’d be more overtime pay
And pretty soon he’s got a Cadillac car
And on the weekends he would drive so far
And they don’t slow down
America’s such a speedy town
Hot clothes high society
He said it never get the best of me
And then he met a girl with hair like the sun
With social status she was number one
He left it all and he left downtown
A little voice follows him around
And it say
Get up they put you down
And like a boxer
You just spin around
Your kind of guy was so very few
I thought they’d never get the best of you
Just a story of America
Just a story from in America
Just a story of America
Just a story from America
All Songs by Elliott Murphy except “Sunlight Keeps Falling” by Elliott Murphy and Olivier Durand – ©2025
Lyrics Reprinted by Permission
Le Havre Live
Murphyland Records
2026
Recorded at Magic Mirrors in Le Havre, France on April 17, 2026
Soundboard Rrcording with no overdubs
Thanks to Mickaël Mayeu + Patrick Dupon + Ville Du Havre
Photos by Matthieu Hiebel
Elliott Murphy – Vocals, Guitar + Harmonica
Olivier Durand – Guitar + Vocals
Melissa Cox – Violin + Vocals
Alan Fatras – Percussion + Vocals
Aurelien Barbolosi – Bass
Record By Record, Murphy By Murphy: Le Havre Live
“Le Havre is the Liverpool of France.” – Elliott Murphy
There are two fine cities within the Hexagone (how the French often refer to their country due to its distinctive six-sided shape) that I can say I know both intimately and affectionately. The first, of course, being Paris, the Capital (how French men and women sometimes refer to the home of two world-renowned edifices – the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame) due to its being the geographic hub of nearly everything that matters in this country, politically, economically and culturally (imagine New York, Washington CD and Los Angeles all rolled into one) and where I have lived, loved and prospered these past thirty-seven years. And the second being the old port city of Le Havre, about 180 km (or 120 miles) northwest from Paris at the mouth of the Seine on the English Channel, a city of 170,000 proud Normands (1) and a community with a lot of soulful souls I like to call the Liverpool of France because of its undeniable rock ‘n’ roll heritage as back in the 50’s and 60’s local sailors would bring first rhythm and blues and later rock records back from America when they returned from their ocean voyages ready to dance on solid ground to the latest sounds from the new world.
Le Havre was founded in 1517 by French King Francis I, who was also the patron of supreme multi-tasker Leonardo Da Vinci who in my opinion was the David Bowie of his day (I know this is a stretch). Apparently, Francis thought it wise to expand a sleepy fishing village into a heavily guarded harbor town so that the next wave of those nasty Vikings entering the Seine river on their way to the capital of wine, women and pillaging could be discouraged before reaching Paris.
I know, I know … there were no Viking hordes threatening Paris in 1517 but nonetheless over centuries, Le Havre not only established a formidable fortress but expanded onto land reclaimed from the sea and was proud enough to call itself The Harbor which is what Le Havre literally means in French which is why it’s occupants are called Havrais, which literally means people of the harbor. Before WW II, the port of Le Havre was where the very elegant ocean liner SS Normandie would dock after crossing the Atlantic in record speed and where it dropped off American movie stars on their way to Paris film premieres. When the war broke out, the Normandie escaped the clutches of the occupying Germans and was moored off New York City’s west side, ready to be transformed into a troop carrier when it accidentally caught fire and was destroyed, ignominiously lying mortally wounded on its side in a berth off the Hudson River. To make matters worse, in 1944 Le Havre itself was bombed mercilessly by the English and Allied forces where 80% of the city was destroyed. But you can’t keep a good town down and Le Havre rose from the ashes complete with post-war inner-city architecture by Auguste Perret and is now designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Centre site. Voilà!
Unfortunately, I’ve never crossed the Atlantic by ocean liner (apparently the aforementioned David Bowie did this many times) and I discovered Le Havre when I produced an album of native singer-songwriter Jerome Soligny in the early 1980’s. Jerome had sent a demo cassette to me in New York (that I liked) which included a song called … “Elliott Murphy” (which I really liked) which had a line that went something like: “he wears his hair like how my town wears the sea.” How could I resist? So off I went to Le Havre to produce Heydays are Gone, his debut album. Jerome has gone on to have a glorious career not only as a songwriter and rock journalist but also as David Bowie’s foremost biographer.
Anyway, some years after I moved to France in 1989, I called upon Jerome to recommend a guitarist with whom I might find musical common ground (2) with and who might be a worthy and easy-going road companion. Without hesitation, Jerome recommended fellow Havrais Olivier Durand who had already established himself as the excellent lead guitarist of Little Bob, a local rock ‘n’ roll legend. We met, talked a bit about our roots and influences (we shared a love of Dylan, Tom Waits & Rolling Stones but I was more into the Velvet Underground while Olivier adored AC/DC) and immediately some kind of bond was established and that Franco-American glue has kept us playing and touring together for over thirty years! Yes, you heard that right: over thirty years – longer than Lennon and McCartney and with fewer breakups than Jagger/Richards. Oliver and I have played probably close to two thousand concerts together all over Europe and the U.S. and when we played at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC some years ago the review in the Washinton Post which appeared the next day called Olivier: France’s new secret weapon!
Through the years, I’ve played many shows in Le Havre and the premiere of the film The Second Act of Elliott Murphy was held there as well. But to mark our thirty years of comradeship I wanted to celebrate with a special show and so we approached the Adjointe au Maire du Havre en charge de la culture to see about organizing a concert and magnanimously they proposed a night at Magic Mirrors, a municipally owned venue, beautiful and unique in structure, something like a wooden circus tent lined with mirrors.
The city did a fine job of promoting the show and Magic Mirrors was packed when we began our show there on April 17, 2026, complete with The Murphyland Band which now includes not only Olivier but also fellow havrais percussionist Alan Fatras, who has been part of my musical ensemble for over 20 years, violinist Melissa Cox, originally from Australia and now a Paris ex-pat like myself and a Murphyland veteran of 10 years, and newcomer Aurelien Barbolosi an amazing bassist who already goes back a few years.
The show was recorded by my super-fan Patrick Dupon with the help of great soundman Mickaël Mayeu and is now available as Le Havre Live on a limited CD release and will soon be streaming on Spotify, Apple, Amazon etc. Personally, I think the results definitely manage to capture the excitement, enthusiasm and sheer magic of that evening. Bear in mind, this is audio verité so it’s a soundboard recording with no overdubs and you might notice a few mistakes (mostly by me) but still it’s a historical document I’m very proud of and a testament to Olivier Durand’s virtuosity and maybe my best band ever in my second Hexagone hometown.
1. Normandie literally means Land of the Norsemen as Scandinavian Vikings settled there in the early Middle Ages. Thus there’s a lot of blondes to be found but none wearing horned helmets that I’ve seen so far.
2. La Terre Commune (Common Ground) is the album title of a duo project I made with English singer-songwriter Iain Matthews, which was also recorded in … Le Havre.
CDs
France:
Murphyland Records
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