Max's Music Place, Song Lyrics for Show 6.

Home.

I'm Retired Now.

(Max Robinson)
July 24, 2001.

I worked for thirty years or so
To bring home that essential dough
When my time had run it's course
I said goodbye without remorse.

Chorus:

I stay up late and sleep till nine
On Monday mornings I feel fine
You don't have to wonder how

cause I'm retired now.

My job wasn't such a curse
I know it could have been much worse
Now the interests I pursue
Are the things I want to do.

Chorus

I've got my health, I'm doing great
With K T R S from the state
There's a grin upon my face
Because I won the old rat race.

Chorus

Saturday Night At the Opry.

(Max Robinson) March 29, 1996.
Revised Jan. 4, 2001.

All week I'd wait for Saturday
and when it came around
I'd tune to W S M
to hear the Nashville sound
I didn't listen passively
I practiced my guitar
I played along pretending that
I was an Opry star.

Some times a friend would visit me

and it was always fun
My parents loved each moment
they were proud of their son
My friend and I would sing and play
and tape record the show
Looking forward to the day
I'd be a music prow.

Some days the teacher asked me to

bring my guitar to school
She knew it helped in music class
you know she was no fool
The current songs that I could play
got all the kids to sing
They tired of the school songbook
it was the same old thing.

But when at school or with a friend

I stuck to what I knew
The Opry often played songs that
were hard for me to do
This kind of practice was more fun
than some dull music drill
And it was good for me because
it stretched my playing skill.

Although I dreamed of stardom I

did not take that pathway
If I had gone that road I wonder
where I'd be today
Instead of a musician I
became an engineer
Now I'm retired I think I'll try
a musical career

Down in the Valley.

(Public Domain).

Down in the valley, The valley so low,
Hang your head over, Hear the wind blow.
Hear the wind blow love, Hear the wind blow,
Hang your head over, Hear the wind blow.

Roses love sunshine, Violets love dew,
Angels in Heaven, Know I love you.
Know I love you dear, Know I love you,
Angels in Heaven, Know I love you.

Instrumental Break.

Write me a letter. Containing three lines
Answer my question Will you be mine.
Will you be mine love, Will you be mine,
Answer my question Will you be mine.

Down in the valley, The valley so low,
Hang your head over, Hear the wind blow.
Hear the wind blow love, Hear the wind blow,
Hang your head over, Hear the wind blow.

Living, Loving.

(Max Robinson)
May 7, 1994.
Revised Apr. 2, 1999.

They say into every life
a little rain must fall;
Although I've had more than my share,
I want to tell you all
I don't hold any bitterness
my life has been good
I wouldn't change a single thing
even if I could

Chorus:

Living, loving, as the seasons run;
How time flies when your having fun!
No sad eyes for the turning of the years,
Look forward to crossing new frontiers.

I adore my wife as much

as on the day we wed;
In the race with other women
she's a thoroughbred
Our love fits all the old cliches
you have ever heard
We can say how much we care
without a single word.

Chorus

Our lives are what we make of them

we'll go where we aim
So if we are unhappy we have
no one else to blame
Accept each moment as a gift
and hold on to your dreams
You'll find as life goes by it's
more rewarding then it seems.

Chorus

We'll meet out there someday on

that final frontier.

Shot From Guns.

(Max Robinson)
September 24, 1997.
Revised Feb. 2, 2001.
Revised July 8, 2009.

I recall the zenith years of radio
Listening to those programs long ago
They ranged from the sublime to the absurd
But I found wonder in the spoken word.

Chorus:

Did you eat the serial shot from guns?
Did you wear a mask and dress up for fun?
Did you send in your box top for the decoder ring?
When radio was golden were you listening?

The sound of an airplane introduced the show
Sky King came flying through my radio.
A dog's bark and the howling Arctic wind
Raised goose bumps on my skin.

Chorus

We laughed at the opening of a closet door.
And those Spike Jones records made us roar.
Abbot told Costello "Who's on first".
Jack Benny drove a sails clerk berserk.

Chorus

Those vintage programs won't be on the air again
For this is now and way back when was then.
Recordings of some of the classics have survived
CDs will keep our memories alive.

Chorus

I've heard tell of a time
when half the people toiled
On farms to grow crops
in the rich dark soil.
The neighbors were friends
And they loved the land;
If trouble came, all gathered round
To lend a helping hand.
Oh take me back there once again
To a simpler day
When it was much easier
To find the honest way.
The teenage kids stole kisses in
A wagon load of hay
It was safe to go walking
at any time of day.

Oh Take Me Back There.

(Max Robinson)
January 22, 1994.
Revised Aug. 6, 1998.

In those long-gone towns and cities

it was commonplace
That almost everyone you met
Would have a smiling face.
They didn't fear each other
and never locked their doors,
Everyone felt safe at work
In offices and stores.
Oh take me back there once again
To a simpler time
When the night sky was so dark
the stars really shined.
Children safely played outside
Church bells sweetly chimed;
Men and women sang in harmony
and all their words rhymed.

Winter in those good old days

when there was ice and snow
They didn't have to salt the roads
So cars and trucks could go;
People hitched their horse and sleigh
And went where they please;
The sound of jingling bells floated
on the winter breeze.
Oh take me back there once more to
A simpler way to go
When no one ever got up tight
though icy winds might blow
It wasn't a big deal to them
if traffic moved slow
Moms and dads had lots of time
To watch their children grow.

I know those times weren't perfect,

they had troubled days and nights
I wouldn't take away minorities'
and woman's rights
As we look at our old photographs
And think of where we stood,
We forget about the bad things
and remember only good.
But take me back there once again
To a simpler year
When songs they sang were gentle
and the words were sweet and clear,
Families picnicked in the park
with fun and good cheer
To hear a brass band playing
The music they held dear.

Snow on the Roof.

(Max Robinson)
August 16, 2001.

Young songwriters seem to think
when someone's hair turns gray
That all the fun is over and
we dream of yesterday
If youthful poets think that way
I guess all you kids do
Well don't make up your mind too soon
cause I've got news for you.

Chorus 1:

Though there's a little snow on the roof
Doesn't mean the furnace has gone out.
If you're looking for some proof
I will tell you what it's all about.

One day you teens and twenties will be

frosty tops like me
The only other choice you have
is die at thirty-three
I'm sure you don't want that
it's too soon to fly away
So listen up you guys
I'm about to make your day.

Chorus 2:

Though there's a little snow on the roof
Doesn't mean the furnace has gone out.
If you're looking for some proof
I will show you what it's all about.

Bridge:

OK it's true that sixty's not

as strong and fast as twenty
But all that is made up for by
experience a plenty.

So don't give up on living life

though sometimes it's a bore
As the years go by you'll find
you like it more and more
Someday when you retire you
won't have to live so fast
Everything is much more fun
when you can make it last.

Chorus 3:

Though there's a little snow on the roof
Doesn't mean the furnace has gone out.
Wait and see there'll be proof
As you live it you will have no doubt.

Coda:

Here's a fact I'll bet you didn't know
The urge to fool around

is the last thing to go.

Riding With the Engineer.

(Max Robinson)
April 15, 1995.
Revised April 5, 1998.

When I was a little boy I
had one grate desire
it was not to be a cowboy
a sailor or a flyer.
What I wanted most was to
ride with the engineer
If I had the chance I'd go
without the slightest fear.

Chorus:

Hear the whistle in the night

I'm aboard that locomotive
how real the world that I
imagine seems.
It's a tableau glowing bright
with images emotive
I ride that locomotive
in my dreams.

I have been in love with trains

since I can remember
My chance of riding up in front
is a dying ember
My imagination is
my ticket on the train
I close my eyes and I feel
that clicky clack refrain.

Chorus

I have lived more than half my years

and I can be certain
I'll not attain the ride I want
'fore life rings down its curtain
If in Heaven we are granted
things we can't have here
I will ask God to please let me
ride with the engineer.

Chorus