OPEN CITY
Whores on every corner
Mostly smuggled from the east
Locked in trunks of Mercedes
With some stale cookies to eat
Or walking miles from Africa
Following Hannibal’s elephant prints
Prisoners of Philosophy
Paying very high rents
Freezing in the summer
Sweating out the frost
The world turned upside down
Profit at any cost
It was an open city – Open all night
It was an open city – Closed up tight
Well I could not find a toy store
Nor anything made of wood
Checkout time was early
But I would stay in bed if I could
I was listening to the radio
To a liberal talk show host
He stopped once to catch his breath
And they handed him his coat
We give no slack to anyone
No reason or excuse
We keep your balls in a vice
Land your head in a noose
Chorus
Where’s the elegance gone to
Salad days of my youth
These symbols are overwhelming
I’m growing so long in the tooth
I see oval shaped aristocrats
Puff their chest like Donald Duck
I want a dial telephone
A gypsy woman for good luck
Or is it just another bad dream
But as far as I’m concerned
You get me out of this movie
Until the king is overturned
Chorus
WHO AM I BLUES
Well can you hear me – When I call your name
Can you hear me – When I call your awful name
Well I’m just like the devil
Put my loving in your veins
Well I’m a legend – I’m living in this cold cold world
Yeah I’m a legend – Living alone in this world
I should be laying in the sunshine
Surrounded by beautiful young girls
I’m a hero – I’m out there on the battlefield
I’m a hero – fighting on the battlefield
Well I don’t know how I got here
And if I could I would surely leave
Well I’m a doggy – And you’re a little pussycat
Well I’m a doggy – You’re my little pussycat
I’m just a low down animal lover – Tell me what you think about that
I’m spreading sunshine – every day when I wake up
I’m spreading sunshine – every day when I wake up
And by the time you leave my sack babe
You’ll be as gold as a buttercup
Well I’m a lover – I’m here to make you feel so good
I’m your lover – I’m here to make you feel so good
But if I could break your heart – I’d do it if I could
I’ve got confusion – confusion running through my head
Here come confusion – Its all running through my head
There’s only thing that I’m sure of
And I’d rather sing about something else instead
Hear me howling – you hear me howling at night
Hear me howling like a wolf – Gonna hear me at night
But I whisper your name – You’ll know everything is gonna be alright
ARTIFICIAL PARADISE
Well there’s a hole out there
Where I once fell
And it’s a whole different world
And it’s running parallel
Well it’s the opposite of ours
I’m sure you will agree
When doubt is replaced by hope
And greed by charity
But still you say it’s nice
Living in our artificial paradise
It’s a world ruled by love
Where power has no strength
And the greatest men and women
They keep fame at arms length
Where the wisdom of a child
Is worshipped and adored
Where there is no honor in theft
And no lock on any door
Still you say it’s so nice
In our artificial paradise
Where progress is measured
In laughter and smiles
And wickedness is undone
If you just let it be for a while
Where nobody’s perfect
And everybody’s flawed
Where there’s many rules for a man
And no rules of law
But isn’t it nice
In our artificial paradise
Oh isn’t it nice
In our artificial paradise
Oh it’s so nice
In our artificial paradise
THE BEGINNING AND THE END
She put the bottle to her lips and drank the ice cold coke
She had one hand on her hips when she asked him for a smoke
A Raleigh…a Kool…or a Chesterfield
She’d gone days without a drink or even a solid meal
His name was Jim and he was born in Salt Lake City
He liked her sense of humor – found her hazel eyes so pretty
But if she was a keeper or just a floozy on the run
When she opened up her pocketbook he saw the handle of a gun
She was on her way to Vegas – she was traveling very light
Said she needed some new jeans ‘cause this pair was much too tight
So he bought her white Levis and they fit her oh so well
She said, “I must be getting fat” although he sure couldn’t tell
He said, “You could do worse then staying in this town”
She said, “Baby give me one good reason why I should stick around”
He said, “I could offer you a picnic under the shade of an old oak tree”
He said, “But the reason you should stay … well, it’s because of me”
She said, “You? Who’s pumping gas and managing this coke machine
Tell me your grand ambitions – Why don’t you tell me of your dreams”
“Well I dream of getting married … to someone just like you
I might even go back to school – and see what I can do”
(He continued) “Why not have a few kids – And try to set up house”
She looked at him amazed and said, “Why you haven’t even kissed me once on the mouth”
So that’s exactly what he did and then the coke bottle – it hit the floor
He said, “Was that enough convincing?”
She said, “I could use a little more.”
So he gave her some more kissing – gave her that and twenty years
And a set of twin boys and they shared their dreams and fears
Of course, it wasn’t perfect – enough problems on the way
But life goes on and the bills get paid at the end of the day
You can call it some kind of marriage spent together on this sweet earth
He said the best day of his life was the day of his children’s birth
And she finally gave up smoking and that gun, well it was just a toy
They moved to a small town in southern Illinois
Well he finally became a lawyer after passing the state bar
His only extravagance was an English sports car
And finally they retired – to the Florida Keys
He said if his eyes got any worse he’d have to pee on his knees
All Songs by Elliott Murphy
Except “Open City” & “Who Am I Blues” by Elliott Murphy & Olivier Durand
Published by Elliott Murphy
Lyrics reprinted by permission
Murphy Gets Muddy
Last Call Records 3107982
2005
Produced by Elliott Murphy
Recorded by Florent Barbier
Recorded at Franklin Studios, Le Havre, France
Cover Photograph by Françoise Viallon-Murphy (Featuring the late great cat “Salem”)
Musicians:
Elliott Murphy: Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, Harmonica
Ernie Brooks: Bass, Backing Vocals
Olivier Durand: Dobro, Acoustic and Electric Guitars
Kenny Margolis: Accordion, Keyboards
Danny Montgomery: Drums
Patrick Riguelle: Backing Vocals
Record By Record, Murphy By Murphy: Murphy Gets Muddy
My ill-fated blues album. It was too blues for rock fans and too rock for blues fanatics. But I’m proud I did it because it was a way of showing my respect to all those blues legends who showed us white rockers the way while receiving little rewards along the way. Patrick Mathe of Last Call Records shared my enthusiasm for this project (and the blues) and besides recording classic tunes by Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed and other legends we made a DVD of duo performances of Olivier Durand and I playing some classic Willie Dixon songs. I also wrote a few originals in the blues spirit for this CD, my favorite of which is “The Beginning and the End” which could almost be a blues film unto itself.
Liner Notes
I was lucky to be born when I was and where I was because it was a very special moment in the history of Rock ‘n Roll. I saw Elvis Presley when he appeared on television for the first time and I was in New York when the Beatles and the Rolling Stones first arrived in America at JFK Airport. John Lennon once said: “Before Elvis there was nothing…” and in terms of Rock ‘n Roll he was probably correct but before Elvis, and before the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, the Blues had been around for most of the 20th century although few white Americans were even aware of its existence even though It was born directly as a result of the black experience in the same country we all shared. Thanks to the extensive Blues roots and respect for the Blues of so many of the English bands that came over in the late 60’s young American ears were finally opened to the world of the Bluesmen Immortal and names such as Robert Johnson, Howling Wolf, Muddy waters, BB King and so many others finally became familiar to us all.
I have been fortunate enough in my lifetime to see so many Blues masters in concert including BB, Muddy, James Cotton, John Lee Hooker, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and I also shared a stage with many of the greats such as Albert King (who I opened for on a French tour and who never changed his watch to European time If I remember correctly) also I shared a stage with some of the later Bluesman such as the great Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher and the Robert Cray Band. I was always aware of the debt my generation of rock musicians owed to these Bluesman so the idea of doing a “Blues album” was planted in my brain probably 25 years ago or longer. It was the music I listened to on the road in my hotel rooms and late at night in my office. But at that time I didn’t think I was old enough to sing the Blues with any authority or authenticity so I waited until the time was right. And I hope that time is now.
The dream of recording a Blues album that I carried with me for so long first started to become a reality some years ago. After a particularly tiring tour I returned home exhausted and lay in bed and asked my wife Françoise when I would finally retire. She though this over for a few minutes and replied: “you will never retire, Elliott, because you Rock ‘n Rollers If you don’t die young like Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison or Kurt Cobain then you finally evolve Into Bluesmen and everyone knows that a Bluesman never quits, never retires, just keeps going.” I think BB King’s career is a testament to that as he’s still doing 250 shows a year and that’s even more then me!
So, maybe Murphy Gets Muddy Is the first step in that metamorphosis for this Rock ‘n Roll survivor.
The hardest thing was to choose among the hundreds If not thousand of incredible Blues songs. I tried to pick those that would be most familiar to a wide audience. Songs like “The Thrill Is Gone” which was a huge success for BB King or Muddy waters signature “Mannish Boy” as well as lesser-known gems like Slim Harp’s “Tip On In.” Once I had the Blues spirit in me I even dared to contribute a few of my own Blues numbers such as “Open City,” a 21st century Blues. The musicians on Murphy Gets Muddy Include Ernie Brooks my long time bassist (ex-Modern Lovers), Kenny Margolis on keyboards (Willie Deville), Danny Montgomery on drums (Percy Sledge), Patrick Riguelle on lap steel and backing vocals (Red Harmony), and especially the incredible guitar and Dobro playing of my long time partner Olivier Durand. Engineer Florent Barbier recorded the album In Le Havre, France.
The bonus DVD takes place right here in my own apartment on rue Beauregard in Paris with Olivier Durand on Dobro and I talked about the greatest blues songwriter of them all Willie Dixon and then we performed 5 of his songs and did our best to do them justice.
Murphy Gets Muddy Is dedicated to the memory of Muddy waters and all the other incredible Bluesmen – Howling Wolf, John Lee Hooker and so many others and Blues women such as Bessie Smith who struggled against poverty, racism and incredible odds to create this enduring and beautiful American art form of the Blues which I suspect will live on long after most of us here are gone.
Thank you.
Elliott Murphy
Paris 2005
Vinyl LPs
Germany:
Blue Rose Records BLU LP0379 (2 LPs)
CDs
France:
Last Call Records 3107982
*Note: Released with bonus DVD.
Germany:
Blue Rose Records BLU CD0379
*Note: Released with bonus DVD.
Italy:
Many Records MN 30761
*Note: Released with bonus DVD.
Please note: If you have additions or corrections to this discography, please send them to the webmaster.