AND GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE
And you and me and General Robert E. Lee
It was the greatest love story
That was never told
A couple of kids out in the cold
They were lost in space in the forest of doom the black
Mountain tops – a silver room
The bad princess – the evil duke
The dead pharaoh oh and captain hook no peter pan – no mighty mouse
The big bad wolf blows down my house
And you and me and General Robert E. Lee
You know James Cagney he was my best friend
he facts of life – the old dead end
The butler came down said someone had to die
A murder mystery that’s never gonna fly
A story here have no fear
A world class myth is growing here
The wankers whisper and pass their beer
And bambi grows into a beautiful deer
And you and me and General Robert E. Lee
Too much sorrow – a bright tomorrow
Lonely motion and Lindbergh cross the ocean desperate
Times – oh desperate times
There were two guitars strumming into space
Spreading that message all over the place
UFO’s and flying cars
And Telstar and the man from mars
I don’t know what will last
A thousand years the time goes past
A thousand years – oh a thousand years
And you and me and General Robert E. Lee and and General Robert E. Lee
I saw it on tv
On Charlie Chaplin’s knee
I’m around the world in 80 days
Robert E. Lee dressed in grey
LOST AND LONELY
YOU SAY YOU’RE LOST AND YOU’RE LONELY WELL YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE
YOU’RE FEELING TRAPPED INSIDE THIS CITY WHEN ALL YOU WANT IS
A PLACE IN THE SUN WELL I’LL BE LEAVING HERE AT MIDNIGHT YOU
TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO DO
AH COME ON BABY BE MY FRIEND TOO
OR EVERY GIRL I SEE SHE WILL REMIND ME OF YOU
THE WAY YOU COMB YOUR HAIR
THE WAY YOU’RE STANDING THERE
AND KICKING OFF YOUR SHOES
I WALK A THOUSAND MILES TODAY
AND I’M STILL RIGHT THERE NEXT TO YOU
THERE’S A NEW WORLD A WAITING
AND ITS OPEN EVERY DAY
YOU SAY I’M MUCH TOO MUCH ROMANTIC
WELL I THINK I’M GONNA STAY THAT WAY
‘CAUSE ALL THE MISERY AND SADNESS
THAT YOU WANT IS WAITING ON YOUR TV
AH COME ON BABY LET’S TRY ONE TIME TO BE FREE
OR EVERY GIRL I SEE SHE WILL REMIND ME OF YOU
THE WAY YOU COMB YOUR HAIR
THE WAY YOU’RE STANDING THERE
AND KICKING OFF YOUR SHOES
I WALK A THOUSAND MILES TODAY
AND I’M STILL RIGHT THERE NEXT TO YOU
THERE’S A JUKEBOX IN THE CORNER
AND ITS PLAYING ALL THE HITS
I STILL HEAR YOU WHISPER IN MY EAR
I STILL FEEL THE TOUCH OF YOUR LIPS
WAS THERE SOMETHING I COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENT JUST TO
KEEP US FROM FALLING APART
AH COME ON BABY DON’T TELL ME
YOU’VE GONE AND BROKE MY HEART
OR EVERY GIRL I SEE SHE WILL REMIND ME OF YOU
THE WAY YOU COMB YOUR HAIR
THE WAY YOU’RE STANDING THERE
AND KICKING OFF YOUR SHOES
AND EVERY STEP I TAKE
I STILL FEEL THE ACHE OF YOU
I WALK A THOUSAND MILES TODAY
AND I’M STILL RIGHT THERE NEXT TO YOU
THE VALLEY BELOW
Let us cross over the river
And rest in the shade of the trees
Let us gaze upon each other
Let us fall upon our knees
Let us kiss the longest kiss
That would last a thousand years
A century – a lifetime – and my love would still be here
And I tremble at your closeness and the emptiness that lies
Above and in some way i feel protected from this life by your love
So let us stop all this motion
And let us stand forever still with our arms around each
Other and our souls wrapped in our will
Locked inside your walls
And then the rain it come to call now you’re locked inside
My mind and you’ll be there all of the time
So let us cross over the river
And let us rest in the shade of the trees
Let us gaze upon each other
Let us fall upon our knees
Let us kiss the longest kiss
That would last a thousand years
A century – a lifetime – and my love would still be here
ON MY MIND
YOU ARE ON MY MIND – YOU ARE IN MY HEART
THROUGH THE LONELY NIGHT – ‘TILL THE NEW DAY START TEARING OUT IN SPACE – I’M ALL OVER THE PLACE
I’M LIKE A MOVING TRAIN – I’M LIKE A FAST PLANE
ITS LIKE YOU’RE ALWAYS THERE – LYING NECK TO ME AND I CAN SMELL YOUR HAIR IT SMELLS LIKE DESTINY AND I CAN’T EXPLAIN – THIS MYSTERY
THAT BROUGHT TOGETHER – YOU AND ME
BUT YOU WERE ON MY MIND – AND YOU WERE IN MY HEART THROUGH THE LONELY DAYS – UNTIL THE NIGHTTIME START IT’S A MYSTERY – FROM A TO Z
ITS A TENDERNESS – ITS SO NEW TO ME
I … I’M NOT THE ONE TO ASK
I FIND MYSELF WITHOUT A PAST
AND I CAN’T LET GO AND I CAN’T LOOK BACK EVEN THOUGH I KNOW I’M ON A CRAZY TRACK
I DON’T KNOW WHY I COULD STAY WHEN I’M THROUGH I DON’T KNOW WHY I COULD LOVE YOU LIKE I DO
(SOLO)
YOU WERE ON MY MIND YOU WERE IN MY HEART THROUGH THE LONELY NIGHT UNTIL THE NEW DAY START AND I ‘M LYING THERE STARING AT THE STARS
AND I WANT TO BE JUST WHERE YOU ARE
AND I CANT EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED TO ME
I KNOW I’VE GOT TO BE WHERE YOU’RE NEXT TO ME
AND I CAN’T GIVE BACK WHAT’S GONE FOR GOOD
AND I CAN’T EXCHANGE THIS LOVE I TOOK
OPHELIA
Ophelia i’m at your window – and how beautiful you are
Your eyes – reflect the moonlight
And shine into the dark
I’m so close – that I could touch you
But you’re so fragile – you might fall apart
And imagine for a minute
That you are loved – because you really are
Ophelia the sun is rising – oh and i know how you love the
Dawn you love the newness – you love the freshness
You love the feeling – that you belong
To the cycle – of the changes
That reoccur – in nature’s song
And imagine for a minute
That you are loved – because you really are
Ophelia come to the river – and let us swim under the stars
Let the moonbeams – caress your worries
And let the current – take them far
Can we face the pain of living
Or have we got no more tears to cry
And imagine for a minute
That you are loved – because you really are and I’m floating
Away – and I’m floating away
Ophelia this room is smoky – let’s escape to the cool
Outside let’s take a walk to the all-night grocery
There must be something you want to buy
How about some cookies – how about a yogurt
How about a kiss in the neon aisles
And imagine for a minute
That you are loved – because you really are
Ophelia I always knew you
Even before you were wearing a shroud when you were
Touring with your magicians in Acapulco and talking so loud
Oh and still there was something so special about your
Green eyes and crooked smile and imagine for a minute
That you are loved – because you really are
Ophelia I was such a loser
And I was hanging with a desperate crowd and I found you or you found me
Oh anyway it doesn’t matter now
So come on let’s go to the theatre
Let’s play Hamlet one more time
And imagine for a minute
That you are loved – because Ophelia you really are
WHAT’S THAT
WHAT’S THAT – WHAT’S THAT – WHAT’S THAT – WHAT’S THAT
I LOOK OUT MY WINDOW I FEEL LIKE SINGING SKY IS BLUE MY PHONE IS RINGING
FEELING BETTER THEN I DID BEFORE
ONE MAN’S CEILING IS ANOTHER MAN’S FLOOR
WHAT’S THAT – WHAT’S THAT
HEY LITTLE SISTER BELIEVE IN MAGIC EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT LIFE IS TRAGIC LOSE EVERYONE IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE EVERYONE YOU LOVE GONNA SAY BYE BYE
WHAT’S THAT – WHAT’S THAT
BUT THE POINT I’M TRYING TO MAKE CAN I CONVINCE YOU LIFE IS GREAT I DON’T NEED TO BE BORN AGAIN
I JUST NEED ONE GOOD FRIEND
WHAT’S THAT – WHAT’S THAT
I’M GONNA TRY TO LEARN A NEW WORD EACH DAY I’M GONNA END WITH “Z” I’M GONNA START WITH “A” GIVE ME SOME TIME – I’LL DO THE NUMBERS TOO AND SAY AND COUNT THE WAYS I FEEL ABOUT YOU
A IS FOR AMAZED YOU WALK OUT OF THE SHOWER B IS FOR BEDAZZLED THE WITCHING HOUR
C FOR CATATONIC I WORRY ‘BOUT YOUR HEALTH
D FOR DISAPPOINTED MOSTLY IN MYSELF
E FOR ELLIOTT CALL MY NAME
F IS A WORD I DO WITHOUT SHAME
G IS THE KEY I’M GONNA PUT THIS TUNE
H IS WHAT LOSERS COOK WITH A SPOON
I IS I WHEN THE DAY IS DONE
J IS JOHNNY GET YOUR GUN
K IS OK IS WHAT WE ARE
L IS FOR LOVE WHICH IS NEVER VERY FAR
M IS FOR MUSIC AND MONEY AND MOAN
N IS FOR NOTHING WHEN I’M ALONE
O IS FOR A NAUGHTY BOOK
P IS FOR PERSONALITY AND YOURS IS VERY GOOD
Q IS FOR Q-TIPS CLEAN YOUR EARS
R IS THAT RHYTHM MOVE YOUR REAR
S FOR SANDWICH OF WHICH I EAT A LOT T IS FOR TEA AND SOME LIKE IT HOT
U IS FOR YOU YOU, YOU, YOU
V FOR VICTORY THE DAY IS THROUGH
W IS FOR THE WRONG I AM MOST OF THE TIME X MARKS THE SPOT WHERE I LIKE TO RHYME
Y IS THE QUESTION I LOVE TO ASK
Z FOR ZORRO THE MAN WITH THE MASK 2 IS TOO 1 IS WON
I GUESS I COULD SAY MY JOB IS DONE
WHAT’S THAT – WHAT’S THAT – WHAT’S THAT – WHAT’S THAT
CREPUSCULE
Skies are burning red
The sun drops right on your head three geese flying alone
I wanna go home
This land is as flat as my heart and my plans kept us apart
The master of the universe
He’s crying
Tell me if you can
Am i part of a plan
Will my secrets unfold
When I’m useless and old
When every breath cuts like a knife
And I’m caught in the shortcomings of my life but still in
My heart I am true
Follow the worried child
The hero on his last mile
Signed eternally yours
A note is tacked on your door your lost in a no man’s land
Your words like a desert of sand and your hand in my hand
That’s reality
SCANDINAVIAN SKIES
Viking forest and white birch trees
Bleach my soul – i’m down on my knees asking for
Forgiveness – pray for strength i keep temptation at a
Good arms length slim armed lady erotic dreams
Gold chains in a limousine
Arctic clouds in the sky above
My old world is empty my new world is young
Don’t feel my power in the barrel of a gun
Everybody’s moving from poor to north
Behold a rider on a pale horse
Come wintertime getting tons of snow driving you home in
My old Volvo
By the time its dark we’ll be in Oslo
My old world is empty my new world is young don’t feel my
Power in the barrel of a gun everybody’s moving from poor
To north behold a rider on a pale horse
Study philosophy for hours a day nobody cares what Socrates say
If there is justice in this old world coulda fooled me – you’re my girl
Gonna get a little red house with a sauna in back jump in
That cold bath get a heart attack
I never say goodbye to Scandinavian skies
My old world is empty my new world is young
Don’t feel my power in the barrel of a gun
Everybody’s moving from poor to north
Behold a rider on a pale horse
RAZZMATAZZ
Traffic’s thick on the highway – deviation on my right
Another sad Sunday – the lights of the city in sight
Everybody’s in a hurry – the last picture show
Am I ready for the country – am I just ready to go
Sitting on my left is my right hand man
I’m standing on a trap door to Disneyland packed in my
Luggage all my sorrows and woes come on Delilah – let’s go
Typewriter trees in the mountain – in rows so perfect and
Straight banana peels and sawdust in an old circus crate
Clowns leading the parade under baby blue-blue skies
Everybody’s laughing but the clowns got tears in their eyes
Sitting on my left is my right hand man
I’m standing on a trap door to Disneyland packed in my
Luggage all my sorrows and woes come on Delilah – let’s go
Oh Margaret rose we sure do get around
The deeper the lake the darker the sound echo so perfect
It will blow your little mind i’m not even sure if its
Daylight savings time
My stress is electric – but you know that
Take care of my click and my clack
They say Divinci he designed this bridge
And you can see the world just like it really is
Sitting on my left is my right hand man
I’m on a trap door to Disneyland
Packed in my luggage all my sorrows and woes come on
Delilah – let’s go
FRANKENSTEIN’S DAUGHTER
I crawled the ocean – where everything was mine
I crossed the forest with the daughter of Frankenstein
She was so pretty and I could see
When your daddy’s a monster – its just not so easy
She read the sermon on the mount
I licked the crumbs on her plate we never talked religion or faith
I knew it was a mistake
I called her cupcake – she called me tiramisu
We were so even well I could do everything she could do
No competition – no struggle ‘bout being on top
No alternating love seasons – ‘cause she was cold or she was hot
She read the sermon on the mount
I licked the crumbs on her plate we never talked religion or faith
I knew it was a mistake
I walk on land like a sailor on leave i’m looking for something to eat
I got percussion beating in my ear my routine completely complete
She was dynamic – she made my poor bones ache
I was mis-suited – for this lady from the lake the waitress passed our table
And I pinched her right on her ass
She said where are your manners
I said honey I’m learning fast
She read the sermon on the mount
I licked the crumbs on her plate we never talked religion or faith
I knew it was a mistake
I walk on land like a sailor on leave
I’m looking for something to eat
Percussion is beating in my ear
My routine completely complete
I’m gonna hire myself a cleanup crew
Its a job for three well maybe two
You are the sole object of my desire
You’re gonna meet me in the casino my guns for hire
I crawled the ocean – where everything was mine
I crossed the forest with the daughter of Frankenstein the daughter of Frankenstein
All songs by Elliott Murphy © 2008
Except “Razzmatazz” – Words by Elliott Murphy / Music by Elliott Murphy & Olivier Durand, “Frankenstein’s Daughter” – Words by Elliott Murphy / Music by Elliott Murphy & Olivier Durand, “Scandavian Skies” – Words by Elliott Murphy / Music by Elliott Murphy & Olivier Durand, “Crepuscule” – Words by Elliott Murphy / Music by Elliott Murphy & Olivier Durand, “And General Robert E. Lee” – Words by Elliott Murphy / Music by Elliott Murphy & Olivier Durand
Notes From The Underground
Last Call Records
2008
Produced by Elliott Murphy
Creative Assistance by Olivier Durand
Recorded and Mixed by Florent Barbie at Studio Franklin, Le Havre, France
Dover Design by Chloe
Cover & Booklet Photographs by Sue Rynski
Paris sky photo by François Viallon-Murphy
Mastered by Raphael Jonin
Musicians:
Elliott Murphy: vocals, acoustic & electric rhythm guitars, harmonica, piano & organ (“Lost and Lonely”)
Olivier Durand: acoustic & electric lead guitars, slide guitar, backing vocals
Alan Fatras: drums & backing vocals
Llaurent Pardo: electric bass & backing vocals
Kenny Margolis: organ, piano, accordion, electric piano & strings
Florent Barbier: percussion
Gaspard Murphy: lead and syncopated guitar (“Frankenstein’s Daughter”)
Record By Record, Murphy By Murphy: Notes From The Underground
I remember being on tour in Spain and we were flying from Bilbao to La Coruna and the girl sitting next to me was reading Dostoevsky’s Notes From the Underground and we struck up a conversation and the next thing I knew I had the title of my album which was already recorded. “Pneumonia Alley” was one of those songs that was written very fast and played the next night in concert – this time in Montpellier I think. It was prompted by a phone call from my sister that my mother had pneumonia (which she survived). Perhaps one of my most cohesive albums which contains the fan favorite “And General Robert E. Lee” which is about lost causes and cartoon heroes not coming to the rescue.
Notes from the Underground is almost the journal of a forgotten man; one whose every pillar has crumbled into dust, with the exception of his humanity. Listening to this set is like going through a recently discovered journal of a poet who has simply vanished into the ether. It’s full of intimacies most people would write down in code, if at all, to keep from being discovered. Elliott Murphy is backed by a hot band led by guitarist Olivier Durand and featuring Kenny Margolis on organs, pianos, strings, and accordion, with bassist Laurent Pardo, and drummer Alan Fatras with percussionist Florent Barbier adding some extra texture and bottom end. Murphy’s son Gaspard guests on guitar on “Frankenstein’s Daughter.” The reason for mentioning the band is that they are intrinsic to the intimate atmosphere on this set. Murphy’s voice has gotten lower with time, and he’s obviously looked back to his early inspirations as both he, and they, have aged. Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen are obvious influences, but Murphy also revisits himself some years on. “And General Robert E. Lee,” which opens the set, goes right back to his Night Lights album with its blurry flurry of images, minor chords, and strutting electric and acoustic guitars, with Durand’s slide and Margolis’ upright piano adding the close-to-the-rails desperation Murphy has always done so well. It’s a tune populated with ghosts and archetypes, from the seeming subject in the title to James Cagney a “bad princess,” Charlie Chaplin, Jules Verne, Captain Hook and “no Peter Pan,” as well as a “dead pharaoh,” and “Telstar.” Yeah. Murphy pulls it off without seeming the least bit silly. All of the memory evoked in this mid-tempo rocker suggests that these archetypes are wound as tightly in the protagonist’s mind and heart as the lover he is speaking to.
The Dylan influence is evidence is most clearly heard in the striking, haunting, country-ish “The Valley Below” that feels like a hymn. It is so close to Dylan that had he written it, it would have appeared on Modern Times; Murphy’s low-end vocal even resembles Dylan’s and the production is a dead ringer. That’s said, it’s way more than a knock-off. It’s a love song delivered in the moment, but it projects the eternal. It’s a song about living immediately because it passes so quickly, and could almost be written as both pledge and an elegy: “So let us cross over the river/And let us rest in the shade of the trees/Let us gaze upon each other/Let us fall upon our knees/Let us kiss the longest kiss/That would last a thousand years/A century — a lifetime — and my love would still be here.” “On My Mind” is another love song that reflects in very mature terms the troubling, astounding mystery of new love finding the protagonist later in life. Durand’s guitar and Margolis’ organ paint this tune attentively and warmly, but also offer a taut bite that recalls and reminds the listener of the grace and danger in such a moment. Throughout the album, Murphy’s heroes and anti-heroes reveal themselves to be exactly the right size. His larger-than-life outlaws and outcasts are boiled down into a solitary confused man trying to make sense of his blessings and sins, and reconciling his desires with reality. He may long for a few moments from the days of yore, but he realizes that they’ve led to the present and he hasn’t anything to complain about; he’s not content, but he’s not ravenously hungry, either. Notes from the Underground is a solid, consistent, and tender part of Murphy’s catalog. It’s a rock record from a man who is trying to accept aging gracefully, but still has a wild child beating in his heart. It’s an album for anybody with regrets, anyone who has willingly left anywhere never to return, and anybody willing to accept the cost of great love on its own terms. The bottom line: it’s his best record in a decade.
Thom Jurek – AllMusic
Vinyl LPs
Germany:
Blue Rose Records BLU LP446
*Note: Contained bonus 7″ single.
CDs
France:
Last Call Records 3131482
Elliott Murphy Music EM 8829
*Note: No booklet.
Germany:
Blue Rose Records BLU DP0446
Norway:
MUDI MUD 2096
Italy:
Many Records MN 30772
Belgium:
Bang Music BC0 574
Please note: If you have additions or corrections to this discography, please send them to the webmaster.
