Based On A True Story

Based On A True Story Cover

 

 

TRACK LISTING:

1. “Crawl in Bed” 3:57
2. “Judas Kiss” 4:36
3. “Ashes to Ashes” 4:19
4. “I’m Gonna Be Around” 3:01
5. “Poem of the River” 5:58
6. “Cool and the Crazy” 5:18
7. “Cheyenne” 3:47
8. “A Lover’s Prayer” 4:45
9. “Whole Lotta Nothin’ Goin’ On” 3:34
10.“River of Justice” 5:10

SELECT AN ALBUM TO READ LYRICS AND TRACK LISTING:

Frontier Days (1984, EMI America)
Johnny Comes Marching Home (1986, EMI America)
Based On A True Story (1988, Enigma)
Lovers Who Wander (1990, Enigma)
Elvis Club (2013, Lakeside Lounge Records/GB Music)

 

CRAWL IN BED

Nobody tells me what to do

I told my mom and dad

And now I’m telling you

I do what I want

I speak my mind

Anyway anywhere anytime

I’m my own man

I’m my own boss

I’ve begged, borrowed and stole

But I paid the cost

I’ll lend a helping hand

If you’re in need

But don’t think that you can just

Crawl in bed with me

 

I ain’t no cop on TV

No corporation sponsors me

I ain’t your boy

I’m out of control

I can’t be bought

And I can’t be sold

Not like the lame toothless shit

You see everywhere

Hey, Huey baby, it’s just square to be square

I’ll lend a helping hand

If you’re in need

But don’t think that you can just

Crawl in bed with me

 

I’ll sing a song for the sick and poor

And all the hungry mouths outside my door

But, I spit on Republican hoi polloi

And I ain’t no Liberal wet dream toy

I was just a kid when I saw through your lies

The things that mattered most to me you trivialized

Now, you’re trying to do the same thing to Rock’n’Roll

And, I’m here to make sure you don’t swallow it whole

I lost a lot of friends to the needle and the gun

There but for Rock’n’Roll I might’ve been one

So remember, we ain’t playing for the same team

If we coincide, it’s a coincidence

Know what I mean?

 

Don’t you think you can crawl in bed with me

Don’t you think you can crawl in bed with me

Don’t you think you can crawl in bed with me

Don’t you think you can crawl in bed with me

 

By Scott Kempner

© Prince of the Bronx
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JUDAS KISS

 

It’s been a long hot summer

I’m still waiting on a breeze

I got nothing in my pockets

I got holes in my jeans

 

The radio kept playing

Those same old rotten songs

Every single tune reminded me of you

All summer long

 

And the roses in the closet

All summer I’ve watched them fade

Now they crumble to the touch

Like the promises you made

 

When I close my eyes

I can still taste your lips

Now I’m left here alone

Betrayed by your Judas Kiss

Judas Kiss, Judas Kiss

 

You left me hanging at the altar

Well, it might as well have been

For as sure as I’m standing here

There is sin, and you have sinned

 

It don’t matter if we like it

There is right, and there is wrong

And, if you look that hard for trouble

It surely won’t take long

You remember our favorite picture?

It’s collecting dust under the bed

My bed of fire and nails

A jagged stone for my weary head

 

When I close my eyes

I can still taste your lips

Now I’m left here alone

Betrayed by your Judas Kiss

Judas Kiss, Judas Kiss

 

First it was cocaine

Then you discovered crack

Then, like they say, you got so high

You were never coming back

 

Judas Kiss, you called it

Such a clever fucking name

I miss you so bad

I may never get well

It’s so sad, such a goddamn shame

 

And the roses in the closet

I took them from your grave

Everyday I stand and look at them

Then I bow my head and pray

 

I hope wherever you are

It’s a better place than this

I’m left here alone

Betrayed by your Judas Kiss

Judas Kiss, Judas Kiss

Judas Kiss, Judas Kiss

 

By Scott Kempner

© Prince of the Bronx Music

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ASHES TO ASHES

The sky is dark, the rain is falling

My house is warm and bright

Down in the subway station

500 seeking shelter from the night
Say a prayer for the forgotten

Say a prayer for you and me

There are homeless in our city

None of us are free

None of us are free

 

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

When nowhere else will take you

These streets they must

In nothing we believe in,

In no one we trust

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

 

Now, the world don’t owe no living

Just a chance for a decent life

And if we can’t help everybody

Don’t we still have to try

 

Say a prayer for the forgotten

Say a prayer for you and me

There are homeless in our city

None of us are free

None of us are free

 

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

When nowhere else will take you

These streets they must

In nothing we believe in,

In no one we trust

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

 

You gotta be rich to be sick

It’s Catch-22

When you got no friends or family

Man, there’s nothing you can do

Cause someone’s gotta pay for a hospital bed

And it costs a king’s ransom

I’d have been better off dead

My life fell like dominoes

My job and then my home

By the time I was well

There was nowhere I could go

I once held the brass ring

But it crumbled to my touch

Ashes to ashes

Dust to dust

 

By Scott Kempner

© Prince of the Bronx Music

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I’M GONNA BE AROUND

 

When love has vanished from the Earth

And nothing’s left of any worth

Faithfully, I’ll stand my ground

I’m gonna be around

I’m gonna be around

 

When all the honest men have come and gone

Down the roads that leads to Babylon

And the last fair deal has gone down

I’m gonna be around

I’m gonna be around

 

I’m gonna be around

And, I’m gonna do

The thing that I set out to do

I’m gonna be around

 

When the country is one big shopping mall

And some slimy corporate cartel owns it all

And every song that you hear on the radio

Has the same sound

I’m gonna be around

 

Don’t know one try and mess with me

I’m twisted up and ready

I’m nervous and I’m dangerous

I’m gonna be around

 

A man can be his own worst enemy

When he just won’t accept the things he sees

The things that just won’t let me sleep

 

I’m gonna be around

I’m gonna be around

I’m gonna be around

I’m gonna be around

 

By Scott Kempner

© Prince of the Bronx Music
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POEM OF THE RIVER

There’s a storm rolling in from out of the East

This riverbank ain’t no place to be

But, I’m sitting right here, so let it rain

Cause this river is all that remains

Of the love I’ll never know again

And I know one day it’s gonna call your name

 

I’m listening to the poem of the river

Watching the ghosts on the shore

Retreads, dead baby carriages

Souvenirs of broken marriages

Wash into the past forevermore

 

The river washes to the sea

And takes a lovesick memory

Of the first time you stared into the icy black

Or those afternoons you kept coming back

Sometimes I’d hear the river laugh

And then it tore my life in half

 

I’m listening to the poem of the river

Watching the ghosts on the shore

A picture frame with broken glass

I wonder who’s baby was in it last

Wash into the past forevermore

 

And the river sings such a sad song

About a guy on top of the world

But it’s all long gone

And the river tells such a funny rhyme

About a fool who returns to this spot

Time after time

Wasting away waiting for a sign

 

I followed her trail, it led me here

At the river her tracks just disappeared

I realize I may never know

Where she went or why she’d go

Now I’m waiting and waiting and going down slow

And the rain has soaked me to the bone

 

I’m listening to the poem of the river

Watching the ghosts on the shore

Empty beer cans, pots and knives

There’s nothing stainless in our little lives

The past is waiting just outside our door

 

I’m listening to the poem of the river

Watching the ghosts on the shore

 

By Scott Kempner

© Prince of the Bronx Music

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THE COOL AND THE CRAZY

This place is so Squaresville

Man, I don’t even wanna know

We’re the outsiders

Watching the whole show

It’s amazing how much it resembles TV

An L7 world lost in mediocrity

But, I got another way

Baby, if you’re feeling wild

 

Step into the land of the cool and the crazy

Welcome to my beatnik world

A place where Nature’s own laws turn hazy

Here it’s just dig it or die

Listen to me howl

 

I run with a cool crowd

Cool cats, cool chicks

We walk proud, talk loud

We live for kicks

Did your mom and dad tell you

You were just a bad seed

I knew I liked something ‘bout you

Baby, come and go with me

But, I got a Plan B

Baby, if you’re feeling wild

 

Step into the land of the cool and the crazy

Welcome to my beatnik world

A place where Nature’s own laws turn hazy

Here it’s just dig it or die

Listen to me howl

 

We don’t follow fashion

Who needs it when you got style

We dig Rock’n’Roll music

We play it loud enough to hear for miles and miles

So, stand back cubeheads

Baby, we’re feeling wild

 

Step into the land of the cool and the crazy

Welcome to my beatnik world

A place where Nature’s own laws turn hazy

Here it’s just dig it or die

Listen to me howl

 

We got our own way of walking

We got our own way of talking

We’re in with the in crowd

 

By Scott Kempner

© Prince of the Bronx Music

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CHEYENNE

 

I was just a boy

The first time I heard of Cheyenne

I fell in love with the word, and what to me,

Seemed such a strange exotic land

Where cowboys still rode the high plains

And Heaven kisses the Earth

And a person could be free enough

To find out what he was worth

 

Cheyenne, someday

Cheyenne, I’m gonna ride the high plains

Cheyenne, can’t you picture me

A city boy in God’s Country

 

I’d never known anywhere

Other than the streets of this town

And too much of anything

Even the best things finally get you down

I’d never been any farther west

Than the shores of Jersey

But, I guess dreams were created

By a God in His infinite mercy

 

Cheyenne, someday

Cheyenne, I’m gonna ride the high plains

Cheyenne, can’t you picture me

A city boy in God’s Country

 

I’ve seen a little bit of the world

These last few years

And while I’m still a young man

I’ve had my share of laughs

Shed my share of tears

Tonight when I get home I’ll settle back

Maybe turn on the TV

Or I could just close my eyes

And Cheyenne is where I will be

 

Cheyenne, someday

Cheyenne, I’m gonna ride the high plains

Cheyenne, can’t you picture me

A city boy in God’s Country

 

Cheyenne

Cheyenne

Cheyenne

Hey, picture me

A city boy in God’s Country

 

By Scott Kempner

© Prince of the Bronx Music

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A LOVER’S PRAYER

Can’t sleep, who am I foolin’

Got a fever that ain’t coolin’

Lyin’ awake just thinkin’ about my baby

I just watch the clock

Tick tock tick tock tick tock

On time, I can count on my baby

 

I’m on my knees (Lord Lord)

Won’t you listen to my plea (Lord Lord)

She’s on a trip across the sea (Lord Lord)

With her mommy and her daddy

She’s the only girl (Lord Lord)

In this whole wide world (Lord Lord)

One day my ring she’ll wear

Please bring her back from there

This is my lover’s prayer

 

For three long weeks

I’ve been cryin’ myself to sleep

If I have to wait the whole eight

I will surely die

I can’t stand no more

My baby’s on some distant shore

Lying in the sun

Having all kinds of fun

Without me

 

I’m on my knees (Lord Lord)

Won’t you listen to my plea (Lord Lord)

She’s on a trip across the sea (Lord Lord)

With her mommy and her daddy

She’s the only girl (Lord Lord)

In this whole wide world (Lord Lord)

One day my ring she’ll wear

Please bring her back from there

This is my lover’s prayer

 

Her mommy and her daddy think

I’m gonna be her ruination

They think I’ll take her by the hand

And walk her straight into eternal Damnation

So, in a bug-eyed frenzy

They dragged her on this damn vacation

But, in the end true love always wins

 

I’m on my knees (Lord Lord)

Won’t you listen to my plea (Lord Lord)

She’s on a trip across the sea (Lord Lord)

With her mommy and her daddy

She’s the only girl (Lord Lord)

In this whole wide world (Lord Lord)

One day my ring she’ll wear

Please bring her back from there

This is my lover’s prayer

 

By Scott Kempner

© Prince of the Bronx Music

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WHOLE LOTTA NOTHIN’ GOIN’ ON

 

Sally’s goin’ out tonight

As soon as the clock strikes one

She’s pickin’ up Freddie and Jimmy and Joan

They’re lookin’ for some fun

 

But, there’s a whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

A whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

They can drive round and round this whole damn town

But there’s a whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

Oh oh oh oh oh

Whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

Whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

 

Every damn place is a rip-off

Every damn body’s on drugs

But, if you got your heart set on goin’ out

You best be makin’ big bucks

 

Cause, there’s a whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

A whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

They can drive round and round this whole damn town

But there’s a whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

Oh oh oh oh oh

Whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

Whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

 

Our four dejected friends

Are slowly drivin’ home

They had about the worst time they ever did have

I know they’re not alone

Twelve and change for parking

An Andy Jackson just to get in

$4.75 for each damn beer

And the band looked more bored than them

 

But, there’s a whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

A whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

They can drive round and round this whole damn town

But there’s a whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

Oh oh oh oh oh

Whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

Whole lotta nothin’ goin’ on

 

By Scott Kempner

© Prince of the Bronx Music

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RIVER OF JUSTICE

 

When St. Peter comes a-calling

And says it’s time for you to go

Do you think you’re goin’ to Heaven?

Or to Hell down below?

When you lay it on down, boy

Whacha think it’s gonna be?

The river of justice gonna decide for you and me

 

I ain’t superstitious

But I like to cover my back

Cause I know someday I gotta answer

For all the steps I’ve made along the track

For every heart I’ve shared a home with

For every one that’s lived in mine

The river of justice gonna sort us out in due time

 

The losers and the winners all gotta swim

In the river of justice

The saints and the sinners all gotta swim

In the river of justice

It’s sink or swim, sink or swim

That’s the whole deal, boy, sink or swim

In the river of justice

 

Night time is descending

The Devil running free

And the temptations of the night time

Sometimes get the best of me

Ya know, I’m only human

And I don’t think that’s a crime

And the river of justice gonna sort us out in due time

 

The losers and the winners all gotta swim

In the river of justice

The saints and the sinners all gotta swim

In the river of justice

It’s sink or swim, sink or swim

That’s the whole deal, boy, sink or swim

In the river of justice

 

In the river of justice

In the river of justice

In the river of justice

In the river of justice

 

By Scott Kempner

© Prince of the Bronx Music

____________________________________________
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LIVIN’ WITH HER, LIVIN’ WITH ME

 

One day true love came to me

Sent from Heaven Special D

But, I learned a word in ‘83

Incompatibility

 

Livin’ with her, livin’ with me

In a one room apartment on East 13th

The room got smaller everyday

Finally true love slipped away

The room got smaller everyday

Finally true love slipped away

 

I used to believe love conquered all

United we stand, divided we fall

I’d fight to the death for my belief

That love was really all you need

 

Livin’ with her, livin’ with me

In a one room apartment on East 13th

The room got smaller everyday

Finally true love slipped away

The room got smaller everyday

Finally true love slipped away

The room got smaller everyday

Finally true love slipped away

 

I’m gonna get it right someday

Everything’s gonna go the right way

And I wish it was today

Can’t wait, can’t wait, hey hey hey

 

I had this dream the other night

Me and her were having a terrible fight

Yelling and screaming and punching on the wall

Red as fire up and down the hall

But the words we said, they made no sense

We had no idea what the other meant

Man, that dream was true to life to me

Incompatibility

 

Livin’ with her, livin’ with me

In a one room apartment on East 13th

The room got smaller everyday

Finally true love slipped away

The room got smaller everyday

Finally true love slipped away

The room got smaller everyday

Finally true love slipped away

 

Finally true love slipped away

Finally true love slipped away

Finally true love slipped away

Finally true love slipped away

 

By Scott Kempner

© Prince of the Bronx Music

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VALLERI

Valleri, you mean more to me

Than a Cadillac

With wheels of gold

Than a ’65 black little GTO

 

Valleri, the way you look at me

The way you call my name

Tell me you’re my girl

I can melt away to another world

 

I pray to Heaven

To watch my baby

God protect her

Keep her safe for me

 

Valleri, such a mystery

You’re my star up in Heaven

You’re my light in the dark

You’re my Lucky 7

You’re the spark

 

Valleri, as far as I can see

The sun rises with your smile

The rain falls with your tears

Our love will move mountains

Through the years

 

You keep me honest

You keep me true

And if that’s what love is

I owe the world to you

 

Valleri, as the world spins round

Valleri, way too fast for me

Valleri, my life is up and down

Valleri, baby rescue me

 

Valleri

Valleri

 

By Scott Kempner

© Prince of the Bronx Music

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