All lyrics by Jonathan Best except where otherwise noted. Click on a title to hear the song. Eventually I hope to get all 200 or so lyrics here.
You can really learn a lot from
Killing a man
By the time that you are sober
I did it for my country
But they’ll never understand
Now the life that I have known’s as
Good as over
Just a simple guy
Living a simple lie
The future tried to taunt me I just turned a blind eye
When I bought my first Land Rover
Now the headlights no longer shine
And the wells have all run dry
And the life that we have known’s as good as over
Just a simple guy
Living a simple lie
Father you were my hero
And before the war was finally lost
You bought me toys you fed me and you clothed me
You never told me what it cost
Mama didn’t raise me to be this kind of man
I can just see her eyes when I go back to her again
I will always love you both
I know you know
And your amber waves of clover
I’ll only leave my footprints
And take pictures when I go
And remember life ain’t over ‘til it’s over
Just a simple guy
I am a simple guy
I am a simple guy
Thank God I’m Alive and I Die I died when I lost my laptop I died when I lost my mom And I died when I lost your precious love Thank God I’m alive Thank God I’m alive and I die I died when I lost my erection I died when I lost my home Then I lost the election Thank God I’m alive Thank God I’m alive and I die I died when I lost everything I believed When the rivers of hatred filled up my seas I waited for love that I could not receive So I waited for death And now I can breathe Now I die between every inhale and exhale Every gift I give and I get And I die when you give me your precious love Thank God I’m alive Thank God I’m alive and I die
Nothing But Love
(Music and lyrics by J. Best and Nancy Koppelman)
I don’t bring her flowers or wine
I don’t bring her much of my time
The love that I give
She needs it to live
But it’s not the only thing on her mind
I don’t give her nothing
Nothing but Love
Her mother doesn’t like me at all
The few things I gave were too small
She wants me to bring
A big diamond ring
The next time that I come to call
But I don’t bring her nothing
Nothing But Love
She could find someone who would give her the moon
But I don’t think it would be the real thing
Then again there are men who would give her the world
But it’s not big enough for the love to fit in
I just got her letter today
It came from so far away
But back to me she would come
If I just give her some
Indication that I want her to stay
But I don’t give her nothin
Nothin but love
And on this wintry eve the air is warm
Outside dad leaning on his horn
But all I hear is the beating of my heart
As the world slowly falls apart
And all my life I’ve waited patiently
For God to give to me my due
But now my beating heart is telling me
That long ago he gave it all to you
The gifts with my name under the tree
They’re not for me
The gifts with my name under the tree
They’re all for me
To give to you
So I hope the snow will stick around
Cover all the gifts strewn all across the ground
And the one wrapped in my broken heart
While the world slowly falls apart
The gift with my name under the tree
It’s not for me
I’m hanging by a thread to the gift with my name
My very life depends on the gift with my name
Wrapped in my heart
Under the tree
So now I hope the snow will stick around
And help to soften that blaring sound
Of the angels blowing on their horns celebrating your birth
And now they’re singing with me
The song I’ve been singing all my life long
It goes like this
The gifts with my name under the tree
They’re not for me
The gifts with my name under the tree
They’re all for me
To give to you
Singing, Dancing and Falling
When we climb
We are blind
On the edge of it
And I wonder why
I always hear that sound
When we fall
We are all
On the edge of it
And still I hear that sound
And the angels sing some more
And they’re dancin cross the floor
And they’ll drink until they fall
And the angels sing some more
And they’re dancin cross the floor
And they’re singing while they fall
And they’re dancing while we fall
And we’re singing while we fall
And we’re dancing while they fall
Sorry that I put you on a leash
Can’t believe I put you on a leash
It was the fog. It was the fog of love
Sorry that I took my own life
Can’t Believe I took my own life
It was the fog. It was the fog of war
I can’t believe all the things we done
It was just like a dream
Was it me who pushed that button
Money, sex, dreams, birds, bombs and bones
They put me in another zone
But it was the fog
It was the fog of love
It was the fog of war
It is sad the things that I’ve been given
Were taken from the ones that I love best
And it’s sad that I must go on living
In pursuit of my happiness
And the war that I keep fighting
A war that nobody ever wins
Just to protect the gifts that I’ve been given
Shows the depth of my ignorance
And the love that I keep giving
A love that everybody wins
Is the same love that helps me be forgiven
For the depth of my ignorance