Looking Back
Diane L McNamara
All songs available on Soundcloud, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and Pandora
CD available via andiemara607@gmail.com
Diane, a veteran singer and actress, has performed in every imaginable setting and venue, all the while composing songs and writing poems and short stories. When the pandemic hit, all performances being cancelled, she decided to record a few songs, some old and some new. Looking Back includes songs of different genres which reflect her eclectic styles and tastes. She can't wait to record her next smorgasbord of musical offerings!
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The Cat
DL McNamara & DJ McNamara 2023
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He’s cool and surly
He’s over thirty
He’ll get ya girl – the cat.
His expertise
Assures to please
Hipster sleaze – the cat
Practiced stalkin’
Experience talkin’
You’re gawkin’ at – the cat.
Mystery lies in those cool green eyes
One long stare and they’ll hypnotize you
As you melt in his searing gaze
Your will is gone, You’re in a daze
You start your pitchin’
Roles are switchin’
Bewitchin’ – the cat
He’s not even tryin’
You find you’re eyein’
Tryin’ to attract – the cat.
Aloof and so alluring
You got him purrin’
Stroke his fur – the cat.
You’re movin’ in ready for the kill
You’re in control, lying low and still
Set your sights, He can’t get away
Then the hunter becomes the prey.
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It’s just beginning
His head is spinning,
And you win the cat.
Deception fraying
The ruse allaying
Now that you’ve caught the cat.
Chilly Hugs
DL McNamara 2023
Driving through the desert in late October
Parked by the gorge ‘bout to pitch a tent
Gazin’ at the sunset sinkin’ in the northern canyon
Wonderin’ where the last five years have went.
Getting up the courage to ask the question
The same one I asked about a year before,
“Are you gonna marry me in this lifetime?”
You throw your arm around me and begin to snore.
Don’t give me your chilly, chilly hugs
And your cold, cold kisses.
I don’t want your affections if it ain’t heartfelt.
I been tryin’ to light a fire
To thaw your reservations
But I can’t wait forever for the ice to melt.
Sittin’ on the beach in old San Carlos
Time’s siftin’ through my fingers like the hot white sand.
Thinkin’ that I’ll ask you to tell me your intentions.
Are we just playin’, or are you my man?
Out of the ocean you come shining and salty
You cock your head and squint at the sun.
Smile at me in answer to my question
Give me a squeeze and then you shrug.
Chorus
Standin’ in the parking lot in early August
Watchin’ people amble into City Hall.
Checkin’ my watch and wondering what’s the hold up.
If you’re not comin’, well, you better just call.
Yesterday you said you needed time for reflection
Didn’t want to venture if there was any doubt.
Well now honey, while you’re considerin’
The clock is tickin’ and time’s run out.
Chorus
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Looking Back
Physical Attraction
DLMcNamara & DJ McNamara ©2020
I don’t care if you make a lot of money.
I don’t care if you have a lot of honeys.
I don’t mind if you got my favorite liquors.
All I want is to get into your knickers!
It’s just a physical attraction.
You know, I’m lookin’ for some action.
I don’t want you to get worried,
‘Cause you know I’m in a hurry.
I don’t care to know your name.
I don’t want to play no games.
I won’t ask you, “What’s your sign?”
‘Cause, baby, you know I ain’t got the time!
It’s just a physical attraction.
You know, I’m lookin’ for some action.
I don’t want you to get worried,
‘Cause you know I’m in a hurry. (Oh, yeah!)
It’s just a physical attraction.
You know, I’m lookin’ for some action.
I don’t want you to get worried,
‘Cause you know I’m in a hurry.
I don’t care if you’re a good dancer.
I don’t care if you’re a kinky romancer.
I don’t care what you do for a buck.
I’m just lookin’ for…good luck!
It’s just a physical attraction.
You know, I’m lookin’ for some action.
I don’t want you to get worried,
‘Cause you know I’m in a hurry.
It’s just a physical attraction.
You know, I’m lookin’ for some action.
I don’t want you to get worried,
‘Cause you know I’m in a hurry.
Physical attraction, physical attraction,
Physical attraction, physical, It’s just physical.
(These deep and meaningful relationships are a thing of the past!)
End of the World
Diane McNamara & Doug McNamara ©2023
Markets crashing
Viral bashing
Germ Mutations
Testing rations
Toxic Dumping
Bible thumping
Wall St. jumping
Hopefuls stumping
Cellphone spying
Leaders lying
Masses buying
Hoarding, crying
Deacons yelling Christian ranking
Religion selling Preachers banking
Is this the beginning of the end of the world?
Is this the beginning of the end of the world?
Produce rotting
Food allotting
People starving
Empire carving
Hate stirring
Pain inuring
Dissent quelling
Emotions welling
Forests burning
Hurricanes swirling
Social distance
No one listens
Truth fading Story spinning
Ruin waiting Lies winning
Is this the beginning of the end of the world?
Is this the beginning of the end of the world?
Is this the beginning of the end of the world?
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Lines between the truth and lies are blurred
Most revered of icons have been purged
Is this earth destruction well deserved
Is this the beginning of the end of the world
Glaciers melting
Cities sweltering
Earth quaking
Builders faking
Tyrant backing
Morals lacking
Congress trashing
Window smashing
Banks failing
Savers wailing
Adults looting
Children shooting
Armies killing Cyber trolling
Blood spilling Knells tolling
Is this the beginning of the end of the world
Is this the beginning of the end of the world
POEMS AND MEANDERINGS
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STREETS
A collection of characters c2020
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Aristotle
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Aristotle’s got a new pair of pants.
Bony knees unsteady
Make their way in red plaid.
A cane’s hesitant tap
On black asphalt
Wet reflective eerie
Gray night drizzles
On the hazy receding REHAB sign
As shaky steps
In crumpled cotton
Cast-offs
Move toward bright blinking
Boasts
BAR
BAR
BAR
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Wet Willie
Pale blue eyes slightly glazed
Follow the action
Of the silent movie
Played out in the street.
A gush of white noise
Showers in like an LSD rush
The focus blurs
Don’t adjust your sets
A permanent smile
Cracks into a low laugh
The humor real or imagined is not lost
Just temporarily misplaced
The perpetual smile
Resumes its position undisturbed
Below the pale blue eyes
Slightly glazed
From all they’ve seen
And not seen.
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Cool Lou
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Spring must be comin'
I saw Cool Lou boppin' down the street yesterday
Sportin' beige and brown and kakhi
Lightened up from autumn's darker shades.
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He smoothed on past with a clean shave
Waited all winter for a slick stroke
Across his upper lip
And a tad off the top and sides.
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Soon all will be green and new
And he'll bustle about with things to do
The best-dressed bum in GQ
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Until October
When he'll drop from sight.
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Where do bums sleep at night?
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Big Brave Billy Lee
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Boing Boing
Bouncing on busted springs of dead sofas
Billy Lee invades the alleyway graveyard.
Brandishing a piece from a mutilated Castro cadaver,
Barrels into deserted derelict dwellings,
Beads in on a target of skeletal remains
And fires
His imagination.
Big brave Billy Lee
Be a bigger man someday
Grab his future by the throat
And make it pay.
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Big brave Billy Lee
Someday he gonna fly
High as eagles
To live
To die.
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MEANDERINGS...
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MARIE BECKER
(the true story of a woman who knew what she wanted) c 2024
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Marie Becker was sitting on la chaise
Married to Charles in the city of Liege
She longed for romance and gaiety
So she dropped Digitalis in his morning tea. (She dropped Digitalis in his morning tea!)
As he pounded his chest and struggled to breathe
She took his insurance for a Belgian spree. (She took his insurance for a Belgian spree)
She met Monsieur Bayer in the produce aisle
She was squeezing the fruit when she saw him smile
They were wed in summer, all champagne and sauterne
But romance had faded as the leaves did turn (Romance had faded as the leaves did turn)
And out came the vial of Digitalis once more
A drop or two – Monsieur was l'histoire, hee, hee, hee, hee (Monsieur was histoire, hee, hee, hee)
Marie took the money from his policy
Bought a dress shop for the aristocracy
Spending her days with needle and thread
Nights – dancing in town and painting it red (Cavorting in town and painting it red)
But alas her life was oh, tres cher!
She must look for other income, ah, but where? (But where, but where, but where, but where?)
When along comes Madame to her shop in town
Needing alterations for a fashionable gown
Suddenly ill, Marie takes Madame home
Who mysteriously dies there all alone (Mme. Castanot dies all alone!)
While Marie looks for jewels and valuable stash
Knowing that she’s found another source of cash. (Voila! She’s found another source of cash!)
Ten more ladies of the upper crust
Fall victim to the seamstress’s wanderlust
All financing her nocturnal flings
When found alone dead in their finest things (Unfinished, unaltered finest things)
With pins and needles and basting and tacks
In gowns and frocks from the dress shop racks (All purchased from Marie’s dress shop racks)
But Marie was a talker, her one great flaw
And she chatted about her breach of the law
When a friend said her husband she would like to ditch
Marie offered a solution but her friend was a (gasp)—snitch! (Her friend was snitch!)
The friend spilled the beans to the local gendarme
And Marie was facing life despite her charm (Life in the pen despite her charm)
Saved from the gallows by the Belgian law
Marie was unrepentant and said “Haw, Haw”
Sitting in prison on her cold, hard chaise
No longer in the high life of chic Liege (No longer in the high life of chic Liege)
Living out her days to satisfy the lien
No dancing, no romance, no money, no rien .
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Imelda’s Lament
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( A true story of a woman who knew what she wore) c 2024
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I was working in a bank but I could have been a singer
My father, he forbade it – although we could have used the money
When Ferdinand first saw me, he thought I was a vision
And he knew I’d fit into his plan for power, fame and riches
And my hair was big and puffy, I was wearing kitten heels
Eleven days we courted, such a whirlwind romance
On the twelfth day we married without much preparation
It was May in Manilla and the Senator wore his uniform
Sampaguitas bloomed and we strolled amid the roses
There were orchids in my hair, I was wearing strappy sandals.
Ferd longed to be president, I talked to all the politicians
I travelled ‘round the country to win support for my husband
I told the peasants to plant gardens so they wouldn’t be so hungry
I slept sitting upright, so I wouldn’t ruin my coiffure
I wore the latest fashions with my I Miller chunky heels
Ferdy was elected tenth president of the Philippines
Sojourning through country, I championed some causes
In Europe and other places, I represented my country
With money from its coffers, I purchased NY real estate
I was looking like a princess, I was wearing golden slippers.
I felt the love of all the people, even though they were in tatters.
They saw me as one of them (although I knew I wasn’t)
They wanted me to enjoy the best things in the world
I was “some kind of light, a star to give them guidelines”
I wore a gold tiara with my jeweled ballet flats
We hosted the Gadhafis and we dined with our friend Saddam.
I purchased some Picassos and all the lovely things I wanted
And my closet was expanded for my latest acquisitions
Which helped the Philippine economy, although I bought my shoes in Italy
The leather was like butter I was wearing Italian platforms
Ferdy was elected to a second term as president
But he wasn’t certain that he’d win for a third time
He declared martial law and appointed me Governor
Then someone tried to kill me but he was shot by security
I had 75 stitches and there was blood on my T-straps.
Damned Benigno Acquino started causing trouble
So we put him in prison and then let him leave the country
To get bypass surgery but when he finally returned
Too bad but someone killed him as he got off the plane
But I swear I didn’t do it, I was dancing in my stilettos
The people got so angry, I don’t know what upset them
Ferdy wasn’t well so we thought we’d better vamos
The Reagans said Hawaii was a nice place to recover
So we took the first plane out with all the gold that we could carry
I had to walk quickly, I was wearing silver plimsolls.
Ferdy died in exile but they wouldn’t let me return him
To the place made for heroes, just because he was a tyrant
So I placed him in a casket made of refrigerated glass
Now everyone could see him lying there forever.
I kissed the glass for the camera, I was wearing modest peep-toes
Now I’m back in the Philippines and again running for Congress
The memory of the people is as short as I suspected
The US didn’t convict me of racketeering and fraud charges
Lucky that I had money and some influential friends
But I still regret losing 2000 pairs of shoes