Tonio K: Notes from the Lost Civilization -- Lyrics

WITHOUT LOVE
(Tonio K./John Keller)

there were people on the moon last night
probably on their way to mars
there's people under the ocean
and a hundred stories up
dreamin' about the stars
yeah, everybody's on the move
ain't nothin' we can't do
nothin' we can't buy or build
to make these dreams come true, but...

it ain't worth nothin' without love
it ain't worth nothin' without real love

these days it's a crime not to be beautiful
it's a crime not to be young
it's a crime to be different from everyone else
it's a crime not to always have fun

well, that's OK
except of course that none of it is true
the real crime
is how they have divided me from you, because...

it ain't worth nothin' without love
it ain't worth nothin' without real love

i don't know what it was
it was some kind of primitive dream
i saw all these prisoners
of counterfeit love in the world
they were finally set free

CHILDREN'S CRUSADE
(Tonio K.)

she was someone's favorite daughter
he was someone's only son
they were raised up in a country
where anything could be done
they were raised up for the future
they were protected from the past
then set free with no direction
in a world that was changing so fast

it was a children's crusade
it was an innocent mistake

it was the foolish dream of children
it was the childish dream of fools
who had drifted to a new world
a wild world without rules
and they mistook it for the new eden
and they danced beneath the moon
while a war raged all around them
it would rage within them so soon
and it stripped them of their costumes
and it stripped them of their youth
left them standing there defenseless
thinking bad was good, wrong was right
and lies were the truth

it was a children's crusade
it was such an innocent mistake...

STAY
(Tonio K./John Keller)

these aren't the greatest days for love
it's such a fallen world
it's such a dangerous place
it's so hard to find someone to trust
so easy to get hurt
so hard to get a break
so many broken hearts
so many broken homes
don't wanna even try sometimes
it's safer to be alone

stay, darlin', stay
i know you wanna run
i know you're so afraid
stay, darlin', stay
this doesn't have a thing to do with yesterday

i've been looking all my life for you
i didn't know your name
but i knew i'd know you anywhere
you've been out looking for me, too
well honey, here we are
it's like the answer to a prayer or something

darlin', stay
this ain't no accident
this isn't any mistake
stay, darlin', stay
honey, don't give in just when you're finally safe

now this is not the golden age of kindness
and you haven't had a lot of luck with love
but honey, that was then, and this is real
and i'm not them, this is a whole new deal

so stay, darlin', stay
ain't gonna do no good
for you to run away
stay, darlin', stay
this doesn't have a thing to do with yesterday
i know you wanna run
i know you're so afraid
darlin', stay
ain't gonna prove a thing
for you to throw it all away
so darlin', stay

CITY LIFE
(Tonio K.)

i'm up on the rooftop
i'm calling it home
the wife and i love it
it's a little like livin' in a civil war zone
the streets are electric
the sky is alive
unlimited action
it looks like the future has finally arrived

i love this city
you feel so alive
there's so much excitement
i hope i survive

there's high-maintenance women
and idiot sons
and gentlemen losers
and runaway children with no place to run
the girl with needle and child
the guy with the gun
the fallen believers gone wild
the leftover hippies
the 50-foot woman

i love this city...

YOU WERE THERE
(Tonio K./John Keller)

well it might have been a vision
or it might have been a dream
like a photograph of eden
it was like no place i'd ever seen

and you were there waiting for me
you shined the light when i couldn't see
i stood at the gate like a stranger
and you were there waiting for me

in the middle of the city
in the middle of the night
i woke up in total darkness
i'd been dreaming about the light

and i dreamed that we were laughing
and i dreamed that we were free
and i dreamed we were becoming
who we were meant to be

and you were there waiting for me
you shined the light until i could see
i stood at the gate like a stranger
and you were there waiting for me

THE EXECUTIONER'S SONG
(Tonio K.)

the monster walked out of the garden
brushed the dust off his shoulders
and straightened his tie
took a hat from the rack (he wore hats)
took a name and headed east
he said i'm gonna ruin this place
he said i'm gonna ruin these people
he said i know i can do it
he sang the executioner's song

he landed a job in the city
he sold things
he sold TV's & CD's & fast cars & film stars
cocaine & word games & limited editions
he sold images & information
he sold arms & ammunition
and almost everybody loved him
and almost everyone believed him

they sang the executioner's song

the people were dyin' for love
the people were cryin' out for love
and when the people are dyin'
the people start buyin'

i faced him down in a mansion in brentwood
i said no, and i called the police
i blew up the blue idol
stole his song and i rewrote the theme
i made it a song about freedom
i made it a song about peace
i started to sing it in public
and found out some people agreed

we sang this other song

I CAN'T STAND IT
(Tonio K./Bob Rose/Nigel Harrison)

in another situation
in another kind of world
with another set of rules
i'd have been the king of england
not the king of the blues
i'm down here on the new plantation
with the idle rich
and the idle poor
and the suffering masses lining up for the cure

i can't stand it
i can't take another day
i can't stand it
but i guess i've got to take it anway

i heard about a new religion
where the money talks
and the women scream
and the people worship the wildest things
it's such a transparent proposition
you can rule the world
you can be the one
you can have peace and safety and fun, fun, fun
(but it's done with mirrors)

and i can't stand it...

WHAT WOMEN WANT
(Tonio K.)

i know what these women want
they want sex
yeah, that's true, but
i know what these women want
they want money
yeah, that too, but
i know what these women want
i know what these women really want

i know what these women want
they want champagne and jewelry
and german cars
i know what these women want
they want roses by the dozen
wanna break your heart, but
i know what these women want
i know what these women really want

they want love
it's been a problem for a couple thousand years
can't seem to find it 'cause it always disappears
they want love
don't need no forgery, don't need no substitute
they need somebody honest, not just somebody that's cute
they want some affection
and some protection
that's what they want

i know what these women want
they wanna fight
we've got 'em pretty mad, boys
i know what these women want
they wanna lay down and die sometimes
'cause it hurts
i know what these women want
i know what these women really want

they want love
they want a lover, they don't want no little boy
don't wanna wind up bein' someone's broken toy
they want love
they want somebody they can maybe even trust
they've got a feeling
they're not asking all that much
some affection
and just a little protection
that's what they want

i think that's all they want

I CAN'T STOP
(Tonio K.)

my mind's a blank
my life's a mess
i can't remember nothin'
i've been under too much stress
got my personal story
got the 6:00 news
it's all driving me crazy
but the strangest thing keeps happening

i
i can't stop
i can't stop thinking
i can't stop thinking about you

it's a world full of push
it's a world full of shove
it's a world that's constantly at war
it's a world that's dyin' without love
i wanna save the day
i wanna get up and change the world somehow
we've got to find a way
but i can't even think about that now

i...

and i don't wanna be your father, baby
i don't wanna be your son
i just wanna be your lover, baby
i just wanna be the only one

i...

WHERE IS THAT PLACE?
(Tonio K./Scott Wilk)

it used to be the teacher's favorite country
it used to be the showplace of the west
everything worked
and everyone smiled
it used to be another word for the best

where is that place?
where did it go?
whatever happened to that place?
god only knows
that isn't it over there
and this isn't it here
now how did a place that big just disappear?

you could see it in the distance
across the desert
you could see it from a hundred miles away
it glowed in the dark
it lit up the world
it seemed as if the sun shined night and day

where is that place...?

they dealt in fantasy and fashion
they dealt in flesh and blood
they dealt in multiple millions of dollars
you could buy anything but love
where is that place...?