Lyrics:
Putting In the Peacetime Hours
(Valentine Smith)
John Wayne Ain’t Afraid
They tell me that your aim is steady
Put the pain on pause and hit rewind
They say your home is cable-ready
And now I should find a face you’d recognize
Surprise
John Wayne ain’t afraid
John Wayne ain’t afraid
Anymore
You can’t count on stars and stripes forever
He could be a fairy in cheap leather
He could be a bastard or some mother’s son
Hiding behind true grit til he’s dead and gone
So long
John Wayne ain’t afraid
John Wayne ain’t afraid
They tell me that your aim is steady
Put the pain on pause and hit rewind
by Bill McGarvey and Stephen Dima
From Valentine Smith’s, Putting in the Peacetime Hours
© 1996 Billy Liar Music, BMI
The News From Day To Day
A tap on the shoulder and he says to pass the note ahead
I sit behind the little girl who wears a plastic leg
But she don’t have much to say
Old Father Dimson likes to talk to her about her soul
I follow well behind and wonder as she’s limping home
I hope somebody keeps her safe
The news from day to day
The news from day to day
Will blow you all away
Just past the schoolyard right in back of where the convent stands
The children come to hear the word until the screen door slams
She sees them jump and run away
Some of the kids, they try and act as if they’re almost grown
They like to stand around and laugh at things they’ve never known
Some things they’re too afraid to say
The news from day to day
The news from day to day
Will blow you all away
Show us again, make us believe in minor miracles
Take out the nails, raise up your dress because you’re beautiful
‘But can I show you anything’ she shut her eyes and began to ask’
‘She bit her lip and began to ask’
‘She brushed the hair from her face and began to ask’
‘That could ever make you run away?’
‘Something you see that you can’t name’
The news from day to day
The news from day to day
Will blow you all away
by Bill McGarvey and Stephen Dima
From Valentine Smith’s, Putting in the Peacetime Hours
© 1996 Billy Liar Music, BMI
Ahead Of Her Time
Time
There’s a call on the line
Person to person is fine
Won’t you please drop a dime
Before I fade and I die
Say
Is there nothing to say?
No one to thank or to blame
Nothing to bless or profane
You never told me your name
She
She’s ahead of her time
New, improved and streamlined
She’s left me behind
She’s ahead of her time
Star
Are you some kind of star?
Burning bright from afar
Glowing perfect and hard
For no one special at all
Dance
This is some sort of dance
Scratch my name in your hand
I’ll bow when you stand
You’ll leave me to chance
She
She’s ahead of her time
New, improved and streamlined
She’s left me behind
She’s ahead of her time
by Bill McGarvey and Stephen Dima
From Valentine Smith’s, Putting in the Peacetime Hours
© 1996 Billy Liar Music, BMI
Not On Your Life
And you, I see you walking through my door
I found out what that love was for
You just don’t care at all
I give you my soul
It was always what you wanted best
You wore my pain out on your chest
You just don’t care at all
I hear the sun is gonna rise
But there’s rumors all the time
When you’re in the dark
Yea you were always on some search for truth
You must’ve found some substitute
You just don’t care at all
I see you come running
Running with your outstretched arms
Think you can undo any wrong
You just don’t care at all
Weren’t you the one who said
‘Keep the home fires burning bright.
Come join the walking dead’
No, not on your life
Yea you, I bet you’re gonna question fate
And find someone you love to hate
You just don’t care at all
Well I hear your heart breaking
But only for the precious few
You’re everyone that I once knew
You just don’t care at all
Not on your life
Not on your sweet, sweet life
Could I protect the things you love
Not in my dreams
Not in my wildest dreams
Could I begin to care enough
by Bill McGarvey and Stephen Dima
From Valentine Smith’s, Putting in the Peacetime Hours
© 1996 Billy Liar Music, BMI
You Came In Peace
God loves a commuter
Brown hair and white tennis shoes
A book by the window
Her stop always comes too soon
When all that you want
Is believing what you read
Take your time
Paperback queen
You came in peace
Take what you need
When all of your anger
Stares back from a coffee cup
You never complain
You quietly drink it up
So maybe a friend becomes anyone you meet
This is romance nice and cheap
You came in peace
Take what you need
A motherless daughter
Born under a neon sign
Flash fire in darkness
A sad way to advertise
From the heart of your day
I can always hear you scream
Another murder in the first degree
You came in peace
Take what you need
by Bill McGarvey and Stephen Dima
From Valentine Smith’s, Putting in the Peacetime Hours
© 1996 Billy Liar Music, BMI
Goodbye Mr. Hide
Safe and alone
On the right side of the road
And I wave goodbye, Mr. Hide
She’ll be on the phone
She’s making plans
She waves hello
I will say goodbye, Mr. Hide
In my left-hand lane
Do I turn or pass again
Some nights I can’t decide how it ends
I’m king of the road
Between the office and my home
Get in your last goodbyes, Mr. Hide
I could be James Dean
If I wanted to
Moving cool and mean
Right through the scenes of some bad story
Someone else’s story
Back on the farm
Pet the kids
Kiss the dog
Take off my new necktie
For the night
Roll on to my side
Pull up the covers
Hit the light
Give her a kiss goodnight, Mr. Hide
King of the road
Between the office and my home
It feels like suicide
And I only gather speed
I’m a rebel jet
A free-man turbo streak
Locked in and blazing to my glory
Bound and blazed for glory
Say goodbye to Mr. Hide
He’s on the case
Right by my side
He knows the truth
He’s not surprised
And for my sins he’d surely die
by Bill McGarvey and Stephen Dima
From Valentine Smith’s, Putting in the Peacetime Hours
© 1996 Billy Liar Music, BMI
Better Off Blind
There’s one word you really don’t want me to say
Maybe it’s inspiration
Sometimes this waiting all alone
Feels like an invitation
Don’t you see what I mean?
Do you just hear what I say?
I’ll learn the right lines
And it’s showtime
I’m better off blind
It’s safer than telling you lies
I’m just a shadow you cast on a wall
So don’t be frightened
If you can’t see me anymore
I’m standing in your light and
I won’t try and explain
I’ve found an easier way
I’ll learn the right lines
And it’s showtime
I’m better off blind
It’s safer than telling you lies
I’m better off blind
It’s hard to believe in my own two eyes
Sometimes I’m better off blind
There’s three words I need you to teach me to say
If it takes forever
It’s just I’ve never needed to feel
So safe
Don’t you see what I mean?
Do you just hear what I say?
They’re never one and the same
I’ll learn the right lines
And it’s showtime
It’s just my small crime
I’m better off blind
It’s safer than telling you lies
I’m better off blind
It’s hard to believe in my own two eyes
Sometimes I’m better off blind
by Bill McGarvey and Stephen Dima
From Valentine Smith’s, Putting in the Peacetime Hours
© 1996 Billy Liar Music, BMI
Heart Attack On Lemon Avenue
I’m in your blood now
I’m deep inside your veins
Inside your home I’m next of kin
I gave you a world of sin and laid it at your feet
Up close and personal with someone on your street
And I can take you there
Heart
attack on
Sit tight, we’re almost there
I made you rows of homes and trees to line your block
Beyond the welcome mat you’re in for quite a shock
See them make promises that they can never keep
See her wake up screaming when dreams invade her sleep
I want to take you there
Heart
attack on
Sit tight, we’re almost there
Heart
attack on
Forget your police states and talk of Third-World Wars
Forget the junkie freaks, they aren’t knocking at your door
The best kind of desperation is an easy in-home sell
The young bride sits alone in a nicely-furnished hell
Leave her alone
Leave her alone…
I want to take you there
Heart
attack on
Sit tight, we’re almost there
Heart
attack on
by Bill McGarvey and Stephen Dima
From Valentine Smith’s, Putting in the Peacetime Hours
© 1996 Billy Liar Music, BMI
Putting In The Peacetime Hours
When another year’s gone by
And I’m being kissed by strangers
When another midnight strikes
And I’m dancing with the neighbors
I’ll be hiding in the crowd
But I guess there’s no escaping
Putting in the peacetime hours
My champagne buzz is fading
24 hours to go
Much more than this I can’t be sure of
24 hours more
Is more than I care to know
I’ve got a future in this life
I’ve seen coming attractions
A better job and reading time
My Jesus Christ distraction
A modest home and store-bought flowers
If I can find the right arrangement
Putting in the peacetime hours
I’ll meet you at the pavement
Saturdays
Are something to look forward to
We stay up late and talk
We call them “heart-to-hearts”
And fall asleep with a glow
I’m not alone after all…
When another year’s gone by
And we’re remembering our favorites
If nothing seems to cross my mind
You’ll say I’m such a panic
Standing in a far watchtower
High above the coastline
I’m putting in the peacetime hours
And I look for signs of life
24 hours to go
Much more than this I can’t be sure of
24 hours more
Is more than I care to know
by Bill McGarvey and Stephen Dima
From Valentine Smith’s, Putting in the Peacetime Hours
© 1996 Billy Liar Music, BMI
Night Hangs On
Walt Disney built kingdoms out of thin air
That’s nice but it really isn’t somewhere
Somewhere is hanging over me
Somewhere is where you have to be
O mother please
Could you keep the hall light on
On, on
And I think this night might hang
On, on
Please
bless the lost souls in the
And thank you for the bedroom light on down the street
Somewhere they’re playing hide and seek
Somewhere there someone looks for me
O mother please
Could you keep the hall light on
On, on
And I think this night might hang
On, on
by Bill McGarvey and Stephen Dima
From Valentine Smith’s, Putting in the Peacetime Hours
© 1996 Billy Liar Music, BMI