Just a stick and a ball and a neighborhood call
And a space big enough for a game...
Third base is Eddie's old shirt
Second is Schmidt's Chevrolet
I had a sure double, I was just rounding first
When Schmidt's Mom drove second away
The grownups all sit on the doorsteps
Watching us play in the street
And the ev'ning feels lazy as softball
As it comes at you slow, sure and sweet
Chorus:
And it's one, two, three and you're out
Two, three, four balls you walk
The bases are loaded, I'm standing alone
Give me a sweet one, I'll bring us all home
These are the best days that I've ever known
Baseball on the block
At night we all listen to our radios
And follow each twist of the game
We know all the numbers, we know all the teams
We know every player by name
All those kids who once played in the sandlots
And did all the stuff that we do
With a ball and a glove and a game that we love
They're not that much different from you
Chorus
It's a hit in the gap, it's a sacrifice fly
It's one hit shut-out through four
It's a Texas-league double, a hit-and-run play
With one in position to score
It's the old "hidden ball" trick, a looper to right
The runners are looking to go
He shakes off a sign, checks the lead-off at first
Here's the wind-up, the stretch and the throw
Chorus
So Willie, say hey, don't you wanna play
Meet me in the street after noon
Gimme low and away and I'll hit 'em all day
To the man who lives up in the moon
©1992 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)
When we're riding in the car
In the middle of the night
And he turns to the left
When he should have turned right
And he'll never ask directions
About the route that he took
He's just staring at the road map
Dad's got that look Chorus
Chorus:
Dad's got that look
You can see it everywhere
Is it he just doesn't know
Or that he just doesn't care
Is it he hasn't got the time
Or that he hasn't got a clue
My Dad's got that look
I bet yours does too
When he's reading his paper
After supper in his chair
I ask for help with my homework
All he does is sit and stare
He can't answer any questions
That I show him in the book
He says, "Go ask your Mother."
Dad's got that look
Chorus
The other night he had a meeting
And there's a big game on
He said, "I'll use the VCR
"To record it while I'm gone!"
He sat reading all the manual
From beginning to the end
Just shaking his head
I know it's happening again
Chorus
When he tucks me in at night
And we're both lying in the bed
I ask him, "Where to babies come from?
"What's it feel like when we're dead?
"And why are there wars?
"And is there life in outer space?"
And, though it's dark in the room,
I know what's happening to his face
Chorus
©1992 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)
Winter's over and the snow is gone
Go get your gloves and pull your work boots on
Gotta clear that patch, pick them stones
The sun's gonna warm those lazy bones
Winter's over and the work's just startin'
Time to get busy in the family garden
Turnin' the soil and plantin' the seeds
Layin' down mulch and pullin' up weeds
Hoein' the corn, row on row
Then you stand right back and watch it grow
Even little children gotta do their part in
Helping things growin' in the family garden
Cool spring rain and summer breeze
Yellow squash and black eyed peas
Japanese kale and pinto beans
Italian tomatoes and turnip greens
Now we're picking and canning and working hard in
Trying to beat the winter to the family garden
Beans in the jar, potatoes in the bin
Squash in the cellar, winter in the wind
Even the youngest gardeners know
You're gonna reap just what you sow
Now all say grace and I beg your pardon
Won't you pass them pickles from the family garden
Berries on the bush and apples in the tree
Growing in the garden like you and me
©1992 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)
My old Grandma never bought a new car
Drives up in a '54 Cadillac
She's got a load of hog meat sittin' on the front seat
And a trunk full of coleslaw way in the back
Granddaddy Ike 'll come up on his bicycle
Everyone's awaiting his arrival
Rode all the way from Tucson shoes flapping loose
On his feet to the family revival
Chorus:
Who put the "mom" in the ma-ma-ma-ma-mom
Who put the "bay" in the baby
Who put the "pop" in the pa-pa-pa-pa-pop
Who put the "fam" in the family
Old Uncle Louie was the first in line
Snortin' and a-gruntin' and acting plain weird
Just lickin' on his fingers and slurping on his tea
And straining his soup through his big long beard
Aunt Phyl, Uncle Bob, Aunt Rose, Uncle Dale
Uncle Dave and forty seven cousins
With Tom and Mike and Pat, I can't imagine that
There won't by laughs by the dozens
Chorus
Little brother Zack is tearing down a tractor
Trying to build a rocket to the moon
Says he's got his first crew: all the aunts and uncles who
Are singing in the kitchen out of tune
My big sister's making up a list of
Everyone they ought to put away
Just when things are slowing down someone new arrives in town
Hey look! It's Uncle Elmer in his sleigh!
Chorus
©1992 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)
Oh, who would have guessed, who could have seen
Who could have possibly known
All these roads we have traveled, the places we've been
Would have finally taken us home
Chorus:
So here's to you, three cheers to you
Let's shout it, "Hip, hip, hip, hooray!"
For, out of a world so tattered and torn,
You came to our house on that wonderful morn
And all of a sudden this family was born
Oh, happy Adoption Day!
There are those who think families happen by chance
A mystery their whole life through
But we had a voice and we had a choice
We were working and waiting for you
Chorus
No matter the name and no matter the age
No matter how you came to be
No matter the skin, we are all of us kin
We are all of us one family
Chorus
©1992 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)
Now, some people say a family's just one
Playin' Solitaire is so much fun
Never have an argument, never have a fight
Never steal the covers in the middle of the night
Chorus
How many people in a family
It can be any number that you want it to be
But is all begins with you and me
Two people who love each other
Some people say a family is two
One plus one makes me and you
Gotta make room, gotta learn to share
Gotta remember that the other is there
Chorus
Some people say a family is three
Me and you plus he or she
Three times the fun, it's always loud
Two is company but three can be a crowd
Chorus
Bridge:
How many people does it take
Just you wait and see
You've got to mix it up, shake it up, let it bake
There ain't just one recipe
Some people say a family is more
Not one or two or three but four
Or five, ten, or a hundred and two
Mine was eleven, what about you?
Chorus
©1992 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)
If I ran the world, everything would change
The food and toy stores would be free
With door to door delivery
Oh, what a party it would be
If I ran the world
If I ran the world each kid would have a bike
A swimming hole not far from home
A bedroom of their very own
No one would have to play alone
If I ran the world
If I ran the world all homework would be banned
Our school week would be just one day
And all the rest we'd have for play
I'd triple every teacher's pay
If I ran the world
If I ran the world there'd be no underwear
I'd never comb my hair
Peace would break out everywhere
If I ran the world each meal would have ice cream
The faucets would run juice and stuff
The tofu farms would have it rough
And everyone would have enough
If I ran the world
If I ran the world I'd never change my socks
My bedtime would be late at night
There's always be a hallway light
Whatever's wrong I'd make it right
If I ran the world
Whatever's wrong we'd make it right
If we ran the world
©1992 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)
At the end of the song I mention some real imaginary friends: "Bates Larson" was my father-in-law, John Monagan's, imaginary friend as a child. "Clodgeom D." was my wife, Parthy's and "Jenefiss" was my son, Peter's.
He gets up in the morning
He doesn't have to go to school
Unimaginably smart
He's impossibly cool
Speaks eleventy-nine languages
He's an educated fool
And he's waiting just for me
Chorus
Imaginary friend, imaginary friend
When you're here beside me
The party never ends
When Mom comes in
And says, "You better turn out the light"
I lie there and imagine
That we're staying up all night
You know I really love you
Yes I do
Beautiful imaginary you
I see her in the movies
I watch her on TV
I hear her on the radio
She's singing just for me
Each time she wins the lottery
I get it all for free
Imagine how surprised they're gonna be
Chorus
Bridge
They say they don't believe me
They'll never say her name
They say I'm being childish
It's just a silly game
They say that I'll grow out of it
They say I'll soon forget
Imagine their embarrassment
As we step off our private jet
As we grow old together
We'll never be alone
Because we'll have imaginary
Children of our own
With a long unlisted number
On our imaginary phone
If you find it, you can call me up for free
And you can be...
Chorus
©1992 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP) & Joe Hill Music (ASCAP)
This tiny house, with the roof above
These four thin walls hold the ones I love
My Mom and Dad, all the kids and me
This tiny house is my family
This neighborhood, up and down our street
Everyone I know, everyone I meet
From the oldest one, to the newest baby
This neighborhood is my family
This great big world, all the way around
Everything above and in the underground
From the tallest mountain to the deepest sea
This great big world is my family
Everything that lived here once before
And everything to come will find an open door
This tiny house, with the roof above
These four thin walls hold the ones I love
My Mom and Dad, all the kids and me
All those who've gone and those after me
From the tallest mountain to the deepest sea
Are all a part, are at the heart
Are all a part of my family
©1992 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)
Now, I've been waiting for nearly seven years
I never thought it'd take so long
You know, she visited my brother and all of my friends
Till I was worried something might be wrong
But then one day I felt a little wiggle
And I jiggled it from north to south
From east to west I did my best
And now it's just a mem'ry in my mouth
Chorus:
There's a little white star underneath my pillow
Shining in the pale moon light
And when she comes it goes where no one knows
The tooth fairy's coming tonight (that's right)
The tooth fairy's coming tonight
She'll glide in on a moonbeam
With the North Star as her guide
And when Orion hunts the Great Bear
She'll sit down by my side
And she will whisper at my window
So soft and sweet and low
Then she'll put it in a locket she keeps in her pocket
And homeward she will go Chorus
Bridge:
Everything is growing
Everything is born anew
Your hair and skin, just like your grin,
Stretching and changing and rearranging
Until there's a brand new you!
Still I can't help but wonder
Just where the old me goes
And why folks stop believing
The older each one grows
Because it isn't just the shiny coin
She'll leave me while she's here
That little bit of me I'd give to her free
To have her come so near
Chorus
©1991 John McCutcheon/Appalsongs (ASCAP)
