HAMMOND, Albert & HAZLEWOOD, Mike


The Air That I Breathe

If I could make a wish

I think I'd pass

Can't think of anythin' I need

No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound

Nothing to eat, no books to read

Making love with you

Has left me peaceful, warm, and tired

What more could I ask

There's nothing left to be desired

Peace came upon me and it leaves me weak

So sleep, silent angel

Go to sleep

Sometimes, all I need is the air that I breathe

And to love you

All I need is the air that I breathe

Yes, to love you

All I need is the air that I breathe

Peace came upon me a and it leaves me weak

…..


It Never Rains in Southern California

Got on board a westbound seven forty-seven
Didn't think before deciding what to do
Ooh, that talk of opportunities, TV breaks and movies
Rang true, sure rang true...

Seems it never rains in southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California, but girl, don't they warn ya?
It pours, man, it pours

I'm out of work, I'm out of my head
Out of self-respect, I'm out of bread
I'm underloved, I'm underfed, I want to go home
It never rains in California, but girl, don't they warn ya?
It pours, man, it pours

Will you tell the folks back home I nearly made it?
Had offers but didn't know which one to take
Please don't tell 'em how you found me
Don't tell 'em how you found me
Gimme a break, give me a break

Seems it never rains in southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California, but girl, don't they warn ya?
It pours, man, it pours


Down by the river

City life was gettin' us down
So we spent the weekend out of town
Pitched the tent on the patch of ground
Down by the river

Lit a fire and drank some wine
You put your jeans on the top of mine
Said, come in the water's fine
Down by the river

Down by the river
Down by the river
Said, come in the water's fine
Down by the river

Didn't feel too good all night
So we took a walk in the morning light
Came across the strangest sight
Down by the river

Silver fish lay on its side
It was washed up by the early tide
I wonder how it died
Down by the river

Down by the river
Down by the river
Silver fish lay on its side
Down by the river

Doctor put us both to bed
He dosed us up and he shook his head
Only foolish people go, he said
Down by the river

Why do willows weep, said he
Because they're dying gradually
From the waste, from the factories
Down by the river

Down by the river
Down by the river
Why do willows weep, said he
Down by the river

In time, the river banks will die
The reeds will wilt and the ducks won't fly
There'll be a tear in the otter's eye
Down by the river

The banks will soon be black and dead
And where the otter raised his head
Will be a clean white stone instead
Down by the river

Down by the river
Down by the river
Will be a clean white stone instead
Down by the river


The Free Electric Band

My father is a doctor, he's a family man,
My mother works for charity whenever she can,
They're both good clean Americans who abide by the law,
They both stick up for liberty, they both support the law,
My happiness was paid for when they laid their money down,
For Summers in a Summer camp, and Winters in the town,
My future in the system was talked about and planned,
But I gave it up for music and the free electric band

I went to school in hand-washed shirts with neatly oiled hair,
The school was big and newly built and filled with light and air,
And the teacher taught his values that we had to learn to keep,
And he clipped the ear of many idle kid who went to sleep,
My father organized for me a college in the East,
But I went to California, the sun-shine and the beach,
My parents and my lecturers could never understand,
Why I gave it up for music and the free electric band

Well, they used to sit and speculate upon their son's career,
A lawyer or a doctor or a civil engineer,
Just give me bread and water, put a guitar in my hand,
'Cause all I need is music and the free electric band

My father sent me money and I spent it very fast,
On a girl I met in Berkeley in a social science class,
Yes, and we learned about her body, but her mind we didn't know,
Until the brutal attitudes and morals began to show,
She wanted to get married, even though she never said,
But I knew her well enough by now to see inside her head,
She'd settle for suburbia and a little patch of land,
So I gave her up for music and the free electric band