MAXEL TOFT
37 (Nixon)
Auckland Bach drums, bass, guitar, vocals, sequences: Half Full, Doctors Note, The Stranger, The Word, Why, The Firemen's Ball
Janelle LAH vocals: Doctors Note, The Word, The Firemen's Ball
Jane Deitrich vocals: The Stranger, The Word
John Boyd baritone and alto saxophone: Doctors Note, Why
Hans Lindemann tuba, trombone, clarinet: Why
Engineered by Andrew Deitrich at Hidden Wave
The Magnificent Voice
Half Full
Doctors Note
The Stranger
The Word
Why
The Firemen's Ball
Ooooh
I dug in
Inhaled
Absorption
Then took flight
To reclaim
My fortune
I flew straight
Then figure eight
Unfocused
Touched down
To rethink
My motives
With no wings
At least I
Had purpose
This one wing
Flies me
In circles
I'm worn out
Exhale
Indifference
It's too late
To leave
Unfinished
Somewhere
I swear
There's someone
With one wing
Worn out
Unspoken
We'd link arms
Take off
Together
Two wings
Rise up
Unfettered
If I don't lose this
I can't lose
If I do choose that
I'm a fool . . .
It's only God punching holes in the walls
And Jesus lending a hand when I fall
It's nothing much
But I won't give this up
It might have mattered
And maybe for your sake
If I could have managed
To stay wide awake
There's a bright light in my rear view
Every time I get near you
The motion behind
Tugs the corner of my eye
Highways and byways
You can tear them all down
Send a postcard to my folks
I'm going to stay in this town
I'm bound to let the dagger linger
Till I'm whittled unfamiliar
Take a stab at that piece
That protects my beliefs
Then take up my trade
On the crest of that wave
With both hands on the shovel
That digs my own grave
I'll divvy out my passion
In an unorderly fashion
Dissolve in the folds
Of the Untainted Soul
I know that each and every one of you has got a grasp on it
I don't care if it's a lot or just a little bit
But one thing that's for sure is it hurts
And what's worse, it shows
So bad you're going to need a doctors note
To move on, study for your next role
And then the second that it's over it goes immediately under the microscope
But if I don't lose this . . .
It's a crude hard life
For the crew in the quarry
Muscles and brawn
Squander wages on whiskey
The men are piling rock
Relying only on brute force
To fill a heavy cart
Pulled by Old Nell the horse
It's another long day
With the sledge and the crowbar
But out on the point
There's a man in the water
On the opposite side you will find what you need
Return to the shore if you find you can't breathe
Out on Fish Head Point
Someone spied a stranger
Trying to cross the bay
He says he wants to go to Pittsburgh
On the opposite side . . .
Take him to the bridge
By the entrance to our road
Show him Baileys Harbor
Tell him that's where he should go
On the opposite side . . .
The next day on the bridge
Still a curious sight
Playing with his vest
He evidently stayed all night
If you get up close
And if he lets you near
Concentrate real hard
You might even hear . . .
On the opposite side . . .
I'm not ready yet
To break down
Silence
I'm still reading up
Working out
Practice
But if your stakes are found
On this stone
Cancel
And if you'd stick around
I'd be so
Thankful
I like being cursed
Left behind
Crippled
I may be unsure
We'll get by
Simple
'Cause this is my last chance
To remove
Garbage
And with this minor change
We will lose
Our baggage
More Than Once I've
Said The Word Love
Though I Know I
Did Not Mean To
So For Next Time
When I Say Love
Close My Eyes Now
Till I See You
There is no hosanna, no hosanna
Where is my hosanna, no hosanna
Take me to hosanna, no hosanna
Make me hear hosanna, hosanna
I'll do all I can, sir
To get you the answer
But the Father and Son
Don't need no reason
I can't count the days I
Thought I had proof
If people'd unite
We might work this thing through
I knew it'd be tough when on closer inspection
My treasures reside
In the opposite direction
I chased and erased and rewound and retraced
Till I found my way back to the very first page
I'll do all I can . . .
I think I got stuck when I wrote that equation
With all those unknowns
And false information
I plugged and I chugged and I pushed and I shoved
And I lost 30 years as if that weren't enough
I'll do all I can . . .
I almost gave in when I laid up to rest and
Dreamt I had won
Completed the lesson
I tossed and I turned and I lived and I learned
But oh then I woke up and I've never felt worse
I'll do all I can . . .
The worst thing of all is my half-wit confession
The worst thing of all
Is my whole-heart confession
I searched and I searched and I searched and I searched
But I never once looked in the place where it hurts
I saw the picture
In the Ladies Home Journal
One afternoon
Well the very next minute
I begged my Mama
And Granny too,
"Oh won't you please make me
This pretty pink dress
No don't take long
'Cause I really must wear it
When I go dancing
At the firemen's ball
I'll wash all the dishes
Fold all the linen
Scrub down the floors
I'll beat out the rugs and
Polish the silver
Or any old chore
I'll rise up early
Do all the milking
Fetch all the eggs
I'll fix all the meals and
Take out the garbage
Make all the beds
I'll come home from school and
Do all my homework
And get high marks
I'll put dry pants on
The itty-bitty baby
Lord bless his heart
I'll shine papa's shoes and
Dust off the bookshelf
Or any odd job
I'll even take a toothbrush
And I'll clean the toilet
I'll never stop."
Well it took forever
Till it was finished
I couldn't wait
I tried it on and
Waltzed around and
I danced all day
Then I did my hair up
And I put my face on
And sweet perfume
I took your arm and
Now I'm dancing
Right here with you
"In Retrospect"