Music World
 
Find Artists:
 
 
 
Russian versionSwitch to Russian 
Don Henley
Don Henley


Background information
Birth name Donald Hugh Henley
Born July 22, 1947
Born place Gilmer, Texas, United States
Genre(s) Rock
Country
Years active 1970—present
Label(s) Asylum Records
Geffen Records
Associated acts Eagles
Website Website



Music World  →  Lyrics  →  D  →  Don Henley  →  Albums  →  Building The Perfect Beast

Don Henley Album


Building The Perfect Beast (11/19/1984)
11/19/1984
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
A Month Of Sundays (cassette and CD only)
9.
10.
11.
. . .



Nobody on the road
nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air
the summer's out of reach
Empty lake,
empty streets
the sun goes down alone
I'm drivin' by your house
Though I know you're not home
But I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin' in the sun
You got your hair combed back and your
sunglasses on, baby
And I can tell you my love for you
will still be strong after the boys of
summer have gone
I never will forget those nights
I wonder if it was a dream
Remember how you made me crazy?
Remember how I made you scream?
Now I don't understand what's happened
to our love,
But babe, I'm gonna get you back
I'm gonna show you what I'm made of
I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin' in the sun
I see you walkin' real slow and you're smilin' at everyone
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
after the boys of summer have gone
Out on the road today I saw a DEADHEAD sticker
on a Cadillac
A little voice inside my head said, "Don't
look back. You can never look back."
I thought I knew what love was,
What did I know?
Those days are gone forever
I should just let them go but-
I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin' in the sun
You got that top pulled down and that radio on baby
And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
after the boys of summer have gone
I can see you-
Your brown skin shining in the sun
You got that hair slicked back and
those Wayfarers on, baby
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
after the boys of summer have gone


. . .



You can make money, you can make good
friends
You can make mistakes and you can make
amends
You can make it easy when push comes to
shove, but-
You can't make love
You can make advances, you can make
big plans
Plant sloppy kisses all over her hands
You can tell her everything you're dreamin'
of, but-
You can't make love
Love's a little word that been kicked around
Used too much, beaten down
What in the world are you thinkin' of?
You can't make love
You can go through the motions with your
magic spells
Buy all the potions that Fifth Avenue sells
You can try to call down all the stars above,
but-
You can't make love
You can buy her diamonds, you can go out in style
You can make a promise, you can walk
down the aisle
You can make a life for her that fits like
a glove, but-
You can' t make love
Oh, it takes so long
You gotta be strong
Before it's gone
What in the world where you thinkin' of,
boy-
You can't make love


. . .



I see these women at the car wash; women
at the mall
Little-bitty women, and women who are tall
One of them is perfect and I want her for
myself
Never gonna settle for anybody else
All my good buddies try to fix me up-
Buddy, I've had enough
I'm gonna run a few red lights; grind a few
gears
Start a few fist fights; drink a few beers
Even though I'm tryin' every trick in the book
You gimme drop dead (drop dead), drop
dead looks
You the finest woman that I've ever seen
Why you wanna be so mean?
Well everybody tries to tell me
There's nothin' I can do
But I'm a man with a mission
Baby you know it's you
Man with a mission
Man with a mission
Man with a mission
Baby, you know it's you
Well I'm a Man with a mission
Man with a mission
Man with a mission
Baby, you know it's you-it's you
Everybody runnin' round here
Sayin', "Where's the party? Where's the
party?"
Sonny-boy, don't ask me, 'cause I don't know
I got somethin' else on my mind today-
somewhere else to go
Well-a, well-a, well-a everybody tries to
tell me
There's nothin' I can do
But I'm a man with a mission
Baby, you know it's you
It's you
Man with a mission........


. . .



I can see that you haven't recovered from
the girl who let you down
And you'd sell what is left of your soul for
another go-round
You keep telling yourself she means nothing
and maybe you should call her bluff
But you don't really believe it
You must not be drinking enough
Well, the perfume she wore you can buy
down at the Five & Dime
But on some other woman
It don't smell the same in your mind
You keep telling yourself you can take it-
Telling yourself that you're tough
But you still wanna hold here
You must n ot be drinkin' enough
You're not drinking enough
to wash away old memories
And there ain't enough whiskey in Texas to
keep you from beggin' ,"Please, please, please."
She passed on your passion
and stepped on your pride
Turns out you ain't quite so tough
'Cause you still wanna hold her
You must not be drinkin' enough
Ay-yi-yi-yi
Ask yourself why
You still wanna hold her
You must no be drinkin' enough
Ay-yi-yi-yi, etc.......


. . .



Sometimes I wonder where it is love goes
I don't know if even Heaven knows
But I know you had some dreams that didn't
quite come true
And now I'm not the one, little girl, who's
keeping you
I was either standing in your shadow or
blocking your light
Though I kept on trying I could not make
it right
For you girl-
There's just not enough love in the world
I know people hurt you so bad
They don't know the damage they can do,
and it makes me so sad-
How we knock each other down just like
children on a playground
Even after that ol' sun went down-
I was either standing in your shadow or
or blocking your light
Though I kept on trying I could not
make it right
For you girl-
There's just not enough love in the world
Oh darlin', this is still a shady little town
And sometimes it's so hard to smile-
For the world, for the camera-
And still have something left
You don't have to prove nothin' to nobody
Just take good care of yourself
I'm not easy to live with-
I know that it's true
You're no picnic either, babe
And that's one of the things I loved about you
But a time will come around when we need to settle down
Got to get of this merry-go-round
I was either standing in your shadow or
blocking you're light
Though I kept on trying I could not make
it right
For you girl-
There's just not enough love in the world


. . .



The power of reason, the top of the heap
We're the ones who can kill the things we
don't eat
Sharper than a serpent's tongue
Tighter than a bongo drum
Quicker than a one-night stand
Slicker than a mambo band
And now the day is come
Soon he will be released
Glory hallelujah!
We're building the Perfect Beast
(building, building, etc..)
It's Olympus this time- Olympus or bust
For we have met the enemy -and he is us
And now the day is come
Soon he will be released
Glory hallelujah!
We're building the Perfect Beast
(Building, Building)
Ever since we crawled out of the ocean
and stood upright on the land
There are some things that we just don't
understand:
Relieve all pain and suffering
and lift us out of the dark
Turn us all into Methuselah-
But where are we gonna park?
(Building, Building)
The secrets of eternity-
We've found the lock and turned the key
We're shakin' up those building blocks
Going deeper into that box- (Pandora
wouldn't like it)
And now the day is come
Soon he will be released
Glory hallelujah!
We're building the Perfect Beast
(building, building)
All the way to Malibu from the Land of the
Talking Drum-
Just look how far-look how far we've come


. . .



They're pickin' up the prisoners and puttin'
'em in the pen
And all she wants to do is dance, dance
Rebels been rebels since I don't know when
And all she wants to do is dance
Molotov cocktail-the local drink
And all she wants to do is dance, dance
They mix 'em up right in the kitchen sink
And all she wants to do is dance
Crazy people walkin' round
with blood in their eyes
And all she wants to do is dance, dance
Wild-eyed pistol wavers
who ain't afraid to die
And all she wants to do is-
And all she wants to do is dance
and make romance
She can't feel the heat comin' off the street
She wants to party
She wants to get down
And all she wants to do is-
And all she wants to do is dance
Well, the government bugged the men's
room in the local disco lounge
And all she wants to do is dance, dance
To keep the boys from sellin'
all the weapons they could scrounge
And all she wants to do is dance
But that don't keep the boys
from makin' a buck or two
And all she wants to do is dance, dance
They still can sell the army
all the drugs that they can do
And all she wants to do is-
And all she wants to do is dance
and make romance
Well, we barely made the airport
for the last plane out
As we taxied down the runway
I could hear the people shout
They said, "Don't come back here Yankee!"
But if I ever do-
I'll bring more money
'Cause all she wants to do is dance
and make romance
Never mind the hear comin' off the street
She wants to party
She wants to get down
All she wants to do is-
All she wants to do is dance
All she wants to do is dance
and make romance
All she wants to do is dance


. . .



I used to work for Harvester
I used to use my hands
I used to make the tractors and the
combines that plowed and harvested this
great land
Now I see my handiwork on the block
everywhere I turn
And I see the clouds cross the weathered
faces and I watch the harvest burn
I quit the plant in '57
Had some time for farmin' then
Banks back then was lendin' money
The banker was the farmer's friend
And I've seen dog days and dusty days;
Late spring snow and early fall sleet;
I've held the leather reins in my hands
and I've felt the soft ground under my feet
Between the hot, dry weather and the taxes
and the Cold War it's been hard to make
ends meet
But I always kept the clothes on out backs;
I always put the shoes on our feet
My grandson, he comes home from college
He says, "We get the government we
deserve."
My son-in-law just shakes his head and says,
"That little punk, he never had to serve."
And I sit here in the shadow of the suburbs
and look out across these empty fields
I sit here in earshot of the bypass and all
night I listen to the rushin' of the wheels
The big boys, they all got computers:
got incorporated, too
Me, I just know how to raise things
That was all I ever knew
Now, it all comes down to numbers
Now I'm glad that I have quit
Folks these days just don't do nothin'
simply for the love of it
I went into town of the Fourth of July
Watched 'em parade past the Union Jack
Watched 'em break out the brass and beat
on the drum
One step forward and two steps back
And I saw a sign on Easy Street,
said "Be Prepared to Stop."
Pray for the Independent , little man
I don't see next year's crop
And I sit here on the back porch in the
twilight
And I hear the crickets hum
I sit and watch the lightning in the distance
but the showers never come
I sit here and listen to the wind blow
I sit here and rub my hands
I it here and listen to the clock strike,
and I wonder when I'll see my
companion again


. . .



Let's go down to the Sunset Grill
We can watch the working girls go by
Watch the "basket people" walk around and
mumble
And stare out at the auburn sky
There's an old man there from the Old World
To him, it's all the same
Calls all his customers by name
Down at the Sunset Grill
Down at the Sunset Grill
Down at the Sunset Grill
Down at the Sunset Grill
You see a lot more meanness in the city
It's the kind that ears you up inside
Hard to come away with anything that feels
like dignity
Hard to get home with any pride
These days a man makes you somethin'
And you never see his face
But there is no hiding place
Down at the Sunset Grill
Down at the Sunset Grill
Down at the Sunset Grill
Down at the Sunset Grill
Respectable little murders pay
They get more respectable every day
Don't worry girl, I'm gonna stick by you
And someday soon we're gonna get in that
car and get outta here
Let's go down to the Sunset Grill
Watch the working girls go by
Watch the "basket people" walk around and
mumble
And gaze out at the auburn sky
Maybe we'll leave come springtime
Meanwhile, have another beer
What would we do without these jerks
anyway?
Besides, all our friends are here
Down at the Sunset Grill
Down at the Sunset Grill
Down at the Sunset Grill
Down at the Sunset Grill


. . .



I met a Frenchman in a field last night
He was out there with an easel,
painting carnival light
He said, "I used to paint the princess;
I used to paint the frogs
Now I paint mustaches on dangerous dogs"
He said, "Sometimes it's a country;
sometimes it's a girl
You, everybody got to have a purpose
in this world
You Yankees are so silly about matters of
the heart
Don't you know that women are the only
works of art
You're drivin' with your eyes closed
You're drivin' with your eyes closed
You're drivin' with your eyes closed
You're gonna hit somethin'
But that's the way it goes"
Some guys were born to Rimbaud
Some guys breathe Baudelaire
Some guys just got to go and put
their rockets everywhere
You can breed 'em by the thousands;
you can trick and you can train
Just look at all those poor dogs that are
dragged down bu the Seine
How many arrows must I shoot into the
blue?
Ah, you little maniac, I'm crazy over you
Before The Dearth of Lovers and
The Punishment of Pride
Let's go scrape out on the terrazzo
It's just to hot outside
"You're drivin' with your eyes closed
You're drivin' with your eyes closed
You're drivin' with your eyes closed
You're gonna hit somethin'
But that's the way it goes"
Talk talk, talk and talk
Talk talk, sweet talk
Talk talk, tough talk
Talk talk, dirty talk
Talk talk, walk and talk
Talk talk, big talk
Kiss kiss, kiss
Talk talk, talk and talk
Talk talk, smooth talk
Talk talk, body talk
Talk talk, back talk
Talk talk, small talk
Talk talk, baby talk
Talk talk, peace talk
Talk talk, bullsh


. . .



Well, it's up in the mornin'
Everybody off and runnin'
Everybody got some place to be
Some people never go walkin'
Some people just stop talkin'
And I was slippin' away
You came and pulled me through
I wanna stay in the land of the living with you
I wanna stay in the land of the living
I wanna stay here with you
I wanna stay in the land of the living
I wanna stay here with you
We work and we worry
This old world's in such a hurry
So many things we just don't see
Some people always cryin'
Some people just stop tryin'
And I was slippin' away
You came and pulled me through
I wanna stay in the land of the living with you
We hot to do what we can
about all this pain and sorrow
But try to live just a little
We could all be gone tomorrow
When I look at you girl, me heart rejoices
You taught me somethin':
Considering the choices-
I wanna stay in the land of the living
I wanna stay here with you
I wanna stay in the land of the living
I wanna stay here with you


. . .


See also:

blog comments powered by Disqus



© 2011 Music World. All rights reserved.