Lyr Req: Good Thing He Can't Read My Mind (Lavin)

Subject: a song about opera, sking and sushi?
From:
Date: 19 Sep 98 - 07:19 PM

I can't belive I just found this wonderful site. Someone who remembers talking vietnam pot luck blues. mmm. Anyway, my son, now off at college, heard a tape of a song while at a music camp a few years ago, and brought home a copy, which someone promptly lifted. We don't know the author or title. I know it's not folk music but it sounded like "modern" folk music in tone. As best as I can remember it went:

I am at the Opera I don't like the Opera everyone around me's having such a good time I am at the opera I don't like the Opera everyone around me saying "this is divine" I am at the Opera I don't like the Opera but she loves the Opera and I love her

etc. sking etc sushi

then something like Once I was a person who never took any chances now I leap at every oportunity I do not the opera I do not like skiing I do not like sushi but maybe I will in time

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Sep 98 - 01:35 AM

Ah, this was a tough one, but I should have known it right off without having to do a Lycos search for divine opera skiing sushi. It's a Christine Lavin song, "Good Thing He Can't Read My Mind." I haven't found the exact lyrics yet, but if you'll click here, you'll find an interesting experiment. Somebody posted a French translation of the song, and then that was translated back into English, then to German, back to English, and then to Spanish and back to English. they're looking for another language. Any volunteers? Ezio?
Christine Lavin writes some very funny songs. My favorite is called "Regretting What I Said..." about a girlfriend whishing all sorts of horrible things on her beloved, in retribution for some offense. Something like "I didn't mean it when I said I hoped the number 103 bus squished and mad a pancake out of you...."
The trouble with Christine is that too many of her songs are funny once, and once you've heard a joke a few times, it gets stale. she has written some very touching songs, too; but comedy is her forte.
I haven't been able to find the original lyrics, but if you click here, you can hear a generous sound clip from the recording.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: Lyr Add: GOOD THING HE CAN'T READ MY MIND (Lavin)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Sep 98 - 02:00 AM

Aha! I found lots of Christine Lavin Lyrics at The International Lyrics Server. Put Lavin in as the artist's name.

Good Thing He Can't Read My Mind"
Christine Lavin

I am at the opera; I don't like the opera,
But he loves the opera and I love him.
I follow the libretto; I follow the conductor.
When I follow the plot my head begins to spin.

I don't understand a word, even when it's English.
Everyone around me says, ooh, this is divine.
I don't like the opera, but look I'm at the opera.
It's a good thing he can't read my mind.

(Yes, he's a wonderful Parsifal, and she's the best Tundra I've ever seen.)

Look at me, I'm skiing when I do not like skiing,
But he loves skiing and I love him.
I rent the boots and poles; I shiver in the cold.
I'm charging down the mountain risking life and limb.

There's no exhilaration; I'm only feeling terrified.
Everyone around me's having such a great time.
I do not like skiing, but look at me, I'm skiing.
It's a good thing he can't read my mind.

(Yes, exhilarating is just the very word I was thinking of...
Scared of heights? Oh, no, not me.)

I am not complaining; I'm just making observations.
Expanding your horizons is a sign of maturation.
Now I tolerate cigars 'cause he's a smoker.
I'm playing chess though I confess sometimes I long for poker.

I am eating sushi when I do not like sushi,
But he loves sushi and I love him.
I'm poking with a chopstick at the living, breathing fishstick.
Oh, my God! I think it's trying to swim.

Some say eating sushi is like chewing on your own cheek
Or sucking down a bucketful of tentacled slime.
I do not like sushi, but look I'm eating sushi.
It's a good thing he can't read my mind.

(Yes, this is a very interesting texture. What is it? Oh...)

So if you see me in the sushi bar, see me in the mezzanine,
See me on a ski slope looking scared.
Hey, don't feel sorry for me; I must be in love.
Why in the hell else would I be there.

Before I met him life was dull; I never took any chances.
Now I leap at every opportunity I find.
I do not like sushi; I do not like skiing or the opera.
Maybe I will in time; maybe I will in time.

(Seconds? Sure, I'd love some. Mmmmmm, yum!)

---

Subject: Lyr Add: REGRETTING WHAT I SAID (Christine Lavin)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Sep 98 - 02:03 AM

And here's the other one I was talking about:

Regretting What I Said... (A Musical Apology)
SONGWRITER/ARTIST: Christine Lavin
ALBUM: Future Fossils


(spoken)

'This song is called "Regretting What I Said to You When You
Called Me 11:00 On a Friday Morning to Tell Me that at 1:00
Friday Afternoon You're Gonna Leave Your Office, Go Downstairs,
Hail a Cab to Go Out to the Airport to Catch a Plane to Go Skiing
in the Alps for Two Weeks, Not that I Wanted to Go With You, I
Wasn't Able to Leave Town, I'm Not a Very Good Skier, I Couldn't
Expect You to Pay My Way, But After Going Out With You for Three
Years I DON'T Like Surprises!!"

'And it's subtitled "A Musical Apology"

'In this song I attempt to take back everything I said while
standing in a phone booth on the corner of 49th and 3rd.'



I didn't mean it when I said, 'I hope
The cable in the elevator snaps
When you step on board.'
And I was joking when I said,
'I hope you crack your head
And get mangled by the downstairs revolving doors.'

And I was kidding when I said, 'I hope the
#103 bus
Hits and makes a pancake out of you.'

I'm sorry...
I'm sorry...
Isn't it amazing what a woman in love will do?

And I really don't want to see your taxi on the 59th Steet Bridge
Flip over
And crash through the rail.
And I'd feel bad if at the airport you were
Mistaken for a local sex offender,
Arrested, beaten up, and thrown in jail.

And I really don't want to see you getting radiation poisoning
From the metal detector that all passengers on
Foreign and domestic flights must walk through.

I'm sorry...
Forgive me...
For all the mean things I said to you.

You thought I didn't have a temper.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, surprise!
But I really don't want to see you
Dismembered by the marijuana sniffing dogs
When a simple little nipping would suffice,
Would suffice.

And I'm sorry that I said 'I hope
The plane explodes in mid-air
As it carries you away from me.'
And I'm sorry that I said,
'I hope you break both legs
On the mountain while you ski.'

And I'm sorry for all the nasty things
I said about your mother
Even though we both know they're true.

I'm sorry...
Forgive me...
I'm swallowing my pride,
I'd feel so guilty if you died!
Oh, I'm sorry,
But I'm still mad at you.

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From:
Date: 20 Sep 98 - 03:42 PM

Thanks, thanks, thanks. We're excited to have found the author. We'd only heard the copytape of a solo male singer. It's a sweet and funny tune. Now I can suprise my son with a copy. Barbara

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 16 Jan 02 - 10:41 AM

I heard the Eating Sushi song on NPR the other day, what a great song, glad to find the name of the artist here, yea Mudcat! However, the International Lyrics Server now being offline, I'm wondering if she also did another song that they started to play, and then kind of quit in the middle; later they played I'm Glad He Can't Read My Mind. But it's the one that they started and didn't finish I'm seeking, and while I *think* it was the same artist, I may easily be wrong. It's a ballad that tells the story of a romance going bad, sung in a kind of talky-like way which is very like the way Lavin sings IGHCRMM. Starts off in a big office building, the chorus is something like "He works in accounting on the 37th floor" (she works in the mailroom in the basement). The singer warned that it was a tragedy, but after the first verse, the DJ turned it off. So I'm thinking it was a big building falling down or something that they decided not to play after all (probably didn't see where the lyrics were going...?) - ANyway, anybody know that one?

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 16 Jan 02 - 01:25 PM

I believe he waves as he passes her window on the way down. Amazing what lines stick in one's mind.

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: kendall
Date: 16 Jan 02 - 02:54 PM

Then there is: "If you knew sushi like I know sushi.." No?Sorry, it must be the Prednisone.

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Jacob B
Date: 16 Jan 02 - 05:56 PM

The song is "Doris and Edwin: The Movie".

From the album "The Subway Series".

The information is on the discography page of Christine Lavin's website.

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Haruo
Date: 16 Jan 02 - 06:06 PM

I can't imagine not liking sushi. I can imagine not liking sea urchin sushi.

Liland

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: GUEST,Desdemona
Date: 16 Jan 02 - 07:06 PM

Excellent!

Although I must say that if *I* were to compose a song about sushi, it would be an immortal, sweeping, epic & rapturous serenade of ECSTASY & LOOOOOOOOOVE.......

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 16 Jan 02 - 07:07 PM

Everybody thinks sushi is raw fish. Sushi is not raw fish. Sushi is vinegared rice, which is shaped into rolls or balls or cones and served with various foods, often including raw fish, placed on top of it or wrapped around it or wrapped in it. Raw fish served by itself is sashimi.

Pedantically,
Mark

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: kendall
Date: 16 Jan 02 - 07:12 PM

It's lobster bait here.

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Haruo
Date: 16 Jan 02 - 07:13 PM

That's not pedantry, Mark, that's Truth. And Desdemona sounds like my kind of GUEST,Woman! Sushi affects me that way, too. New sushi place here in Fremont (part of Seattle, albeit under duress) called Chiso has very good oyster sushi. Overall they're a bit on the pricey side, though. Alas. I'm more an Eating Factory type of guy.

Liland

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: GUEST,Desdemona
Date: 16 Jan 02 - 07:19 PM

It don't matter what they calls it, so long as they keeps bringing it!!!!!

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: heric
Date: 16 Jan 02 - 09:50 PM

I won't eat sushi
cause sushi peesh her pantsh

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Jan 02 - 10:10 PM

Eeeeewww!

*lol*

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 17 Jan 02 - 09:12 AM

Yes, thanks! I actually did know that raw fish without rice was sashimi, but I thought sushi was raw fish with rice, not rice with raw fish. Interesting. And I am beginning to love this artist!

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Blackcatter
Date: 17 Jan 02 - 12:36 PM

While sushi does refer to the prepared rice and vinegar, It is also used generically for the style or method of preparation of food developed in Japan.

Many of my vegetarian friends enjoy sushi as much as I do. And for those who love meat but are abit squeamish about the raw part - tempura fish and smoked fish is also common in sushi.

By the way, I'd love to see the vast talents of the Mudcat turned loose in an effort to write an "Ode to Sushi" that celebrates the food. Surely this is appropriate considering the songs composed to celebrate all the other gastronomical delights of the world. How about it?

pax yall

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Blackcatter
Date: 17 Jan 02 - 11:15 PM

Come on, don't make me start a whole new thread!

pax yall

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Haruo
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 01:16 AM

Well, I'll be at the Eating Factory tomorrow from about 11:30am on, if anybody wants to join me for a singalong.

Liland
who will probably be too busy eating to sing

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Blackcatter
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 01:23 AM

Come on - someone write an Ode to Sushi!

I've tried and failed to write anything that lives up to even my meager expectations!

pax yall

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: GUEST,BigDaddy
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 08:23 PM

Here's a link to my favorite song about sushi (sung to the tune of "Sukiyaki"). Click here

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Gypsy
Date: 01 Feb 02 - 08:57 PM

You mean i could have looked it up instead of painstakingly transcribing the bugger? We LOVE that song! O' course go 'round saying we don't "icky ucky" whatever, now, too.

Subject: RE: a song about sushi?
From: Blackcatter
Date: 02 Feb 02 - 12:15 AM

THANKS!

But anone have a song about the joy of sushi?