Rei Momo

1989

LYRICS

1. Independence Day (Cumbia)

Now and then I get horny
At night you do
At night you do
Smile — from side to side
At night you do
At night you do

And she’ll be comin’ round the mountain
With six white horses by her side
No stops for gas, food or lodging
She’s wearing nothing but a smile
And though we struggle our freedom
Our need for others still remains
We know what will make us happy
We know what will ease our pain

We’ll pretend we are married
At night we do
At night we do
Slide — your hand in mine
At night we do
At night we do

My bed is flyin’ out the window
I’m pullin’ up my covers to the rain
And down below cats are howlin’
It’s a family affair--

They’re selling vegetables on Broadway
A man is runnin’ for the train
Strollin’ down 42nd Street
On our Independence Day
Rub-A-Dub on 57th Street
It’s our Independence Day!
Arm in arm on 82nd Street
On our Independence Day

Hey Mister, Hey Lady
Hey sisters walkin’ hand in hand
We’ll be lovers in the open
We’ll be lovers on Independence Day
Hand in hand, hand in hand
Hand in hand on Independence Day

This compass points in two directions
And North and South are both the same
We’ll look forward to the good times
Come our Independence Day

Hey Lady! You make me giggle
We’ll squiggle like honeymooners do
I’m struck by lightnin’, it’s frightnin’
So excitin’, on Independence Day

Uncle Vera, Auntie Ida
Get so excited on Independence Day

Been waiting such a long time, waiting such a long time
Waiting such a long time
Waiting such a long time till Independence Day

Waiting such a long time, waiting such a long time
Waiting such a long time
And now it’s here! Independence Day!

And it’s been such a long time, such a long time,
Such a long time
And now it’s here! Independence Day.
Waiting such a long time, such a long time, such a long time
Till Independence Day

Waiting such a long time, such a long time, such a long time
Waiting such a long time, till Independence Day.
Waiting such a long time, such a long time, such a long time
Waiting such a long time, till Independence Day.
Waiting such a long time
And now it’s here!

2. Make Believe Mambo (Orisa)

It was a pretty picture
It almost made me cry
He’s got Big imagination
It’s better than real life

He can be a macho man
Now he’s a game show host
One minute hilarious comedian
Now he’s an undercover cop

Oh — let the poor boy dream
Oh — livin’ make believe

So how can we be strangers
He’s got no personality
It’s just a clever imitation
Of the people on TV

A line for ev’ry situation
He’s learnin’ trivia and tricks
Havin’ sex and eatin’ cereal
Wearin’ jeans and smokin’ cigarettes now

Oh — let the poor boy dream
Oh — livin’ make believe
Oh — let the poor boy dream
Oh — livin’ make believe

I can be you and you can be me
In my mundo, todo el mundo
Ev’ryone’s happy and ev’ryone’s free
Todo mundo, mundo mambo
Here in my mundo where nothing is wrong
Todo mundo, in my mundo
I’ll be a lady and you’ll be a man
Mundo mambo, todo el mundo

Oh — let the poor boy dream
Oh — livin’ make believe
In my mundo — todo mundo
Mundo mambo — in my mundo
Todo el mundo — mundo mambo
Mundo mambo — Todo mundo

Oh — let the poor boy dream
Oh — livin’ make believe
Mundo mambo — todo el mundo
In my mundo — todo mundo
Todo el mundo — mundo mambo
In my mundo — mundo mambo

3. The Call of the Wild (Merengue)

A bird who tries to fly higher
Flies into the blue
A lady who strives to rise higher
She wears a high heel shoe

Como un pájaro que vuela
Vuela alto al ciela azul
La mujer por más que suba
Nunca lo puede alcansar
Nunca lo puede alcansar
Nunca lo puede alcansar
Nunca lo puede alcansar
Nunca lo puede alcansar

Two mountains loved one another
For a million years
Let the river pull you uinder
Take your fingers outta your ears

What made Mona Lisa smile?
Es Una sonrisa eterna
Learn not to run when you hear it call
La cual no puedes cambiar
It is not a lullabye
Su cantar es diferente
And the call of the wild is not a difficult song Con su tonada bestial
And the call of the wild is not a difficult song
Con su tonada bestial

Con su tonada bestial
Es un eco en las montañas
Que rebota sin cesar
Y abajo crusa el rio
Que elinina el mal pensar
Que elimina el mal pensar

Albert Einstein wrote equations Como un pájaro que vuela
God told Noah “Build an ark” Vuela alto al cielo azul
Johnny Mathis sings Cole Porter La mujer por más que suba
To bring light into the dark Nunca lo puede alcanzar

What made Mona Lisa smile?
Es una sonrisa eterna
Learn not to run when you hear it call
La cual no puedes cambiar
It is not a lullabye
Su cantar es diferente
And the call of the wild is not a difficult song Con su tonada bestial
And the call of the wild is not a difficult song
Con su tonada bestial

Es el cantar de la selva
Con un ruido muy bestial
Es un eco de salvaje
Que se puede dominar
Que se puede dominar

Ungaré ungara
Que to puede dominar
Ungaré ungara
Que se puede dominar

4. Dirty Old Town (Mapeye)

Well, there are 16 people in Danny’s apartment
16 people are living in there
Remember the days of rent control
Grandpa remembers rock and roll

These days won’t last forever
These days won’t last for long
You know, somebody somewhere owes us a favor
That’s how things really get done
In this World of Opportunities, it’s a Land of Possibilities

We wanna live in a dirty old town
Building it up, tearing us down
With our head in the clouds and our feet on the ground
We wanna live — dirty old town

Now when the ladies come from Kansas
They wear their traditional colors
Today the fabrics are ragged and torn
The clothes on their backs is all that they own
They say, “Don’t draw attention to yourself
They’ll tear you apart for a couple a bucks
Keep your head down and keep your nose clean
’Cause people who’re scared do dangerous things”

These days can’t last forever
These days can’t last for long
You know someday things will get better
Somehow things will get done
It’s a World of Possibilities, it’s a Land of Opportunities

We wanna live in a dirty old town
Building it up, tearing us down
Head in the clouds and our feet on the ground
We wanna live — dirty old town

These days shoes are worn only on special occasions
Battles are fought for fam’ly and nations
Maybe you pray, but God isn’t home
And there’s no guarantee that justice be done

We wanna live in a dirty old town
Building it up, tearing us down
Head in the clouds and our feet on the ground
We wanna live — dirty old town

5. The Rose Tattoo (Bomba/Mozambique)

And they were imagining Roses As if life itself were a dream
Is a gift not a reason for living?
Not enough, not enough, so it seems

Lost in the Stars
Venus and mars
And I’m in heaven again
I’ll drink to you
The Rose Tattoo
I’m the invisible man

If all of the dead are now living
And all of the living will die
Buying their tickets and changing their trains
Into the city and back home again

I’ll drink to you
The Rose Tattoo
I’m the invisible man

Brinde a la Rosa
Y al hombre que no vive
Perdido en un sueño
en un atmosfera imposible

Una Rosa, sueño imposible/una Rosa, sueño imposible
No queda nada
Solo la lluvia iresistible
Tatuaje de la Rosa, pero el hombre es invisible

Una Rosa, sueno imposible/Una Rosa, no queda na

Now I haven’t seen you for ages
Come in, come out of the rain
Open the doorway and climb up the stairs
This is the bedroom where we said our prayers

I’ll drink to you
The Rose Tattoo
I’m the invisible man
The singer’s playin’ “Fly Me to the Moon”
And I’m in heaven again

Brinde a la Rosa
Y al hombre que no vive
Perdido en un sueno
en un atmosfera imposible

Una Rosa, sueño imposible/una Rosa, sueño imposible
No queda nada
Solo la lluvia iresistible
Tatuaje de la Rosa, pero el hombre is invisible

Una Rosa, sueño imposible/Una Rosa, no queda na

I’ll drink to you
The Rose Tattoo
I’m the invisible man
Long live the King
Nothing remains
Only a Rose Tattoo

6. Loco de Amor (Salsa/Reggae)

There’s an island in a bay (Loco de amor)
She’s got most peculiar ways (Crazy for love)

Otocumé yandé
Otocumé yandé

All the people on the street (Loco de amor)
Ev’rybody that I meet (Crazy for love)

Otocumé yandé
Otocumé yandé

Shaky house and shaky home (Loco de amor)
So whatever turns you on (Crazy for love)

Wild thing
My wild thing
My little wild thing
Wild thing

Yen yeré cumbé
Yen yeré cumbé

Like a pizza in the rain (Loco de amor)
No one wants to take you home (Crazy for love)

But I love you just the same
My wild thing
My little wild thing

Yen yeré cumbé
Yen yeré cumbé

7. The Dream Police (Cha Cha Cha)

Combing the snakes in his head
Reading a book in his bed
Getting ready for the night to begin
Waiting for daylight to end

In this court of law
This court of common pleas
The crimes that you committed
You claim were only a dream

Ev’ryone has the same dreams
On diff’rent days of the week
We are the watchdogs of your mind
We are the dream police

The judge has closed his eyes
The court begins to dream
Of crimes that you committed
While you were lying asleep

Ev’ryone has the same dreams
On diff’rent days of the week
We are the watchdogs of your mind
We are the dream police

Combing the snakes in his head
Reading a book in his bed
Getting ready for the night to begin
Waiting for daylight to end
Getting ready for the night to begin
Waiting for daylight to end

8. Don't Want to Be Part of Your World

Little Girls go float upstream
Some a' them never comin' back
We are powerless to stop them
As they vanish...from our sight...

Little Boys dig tunnels
Into the ground they go
Hundreds of them, disappear
Little soldiers...on patrol

Don't want
Don't want
Don't want to be part of your world

Underneath the floorboards
In between the walls
Ev'rywhere is filled with children
Say good-bye to Boys and Girls

"We promise to be better"
Said the folks at home
"But it really doesn't matter"
Said their daughters and their sons

Don't want
Don't want
Don't want to be part of your world

Free from greed and hunger
Free from hate and war
Thousands of them altogether
We are here
And there they are

Don't want
Don't want
Don't want to be part of your world

9. Marching Through the Wilderness (Charanga)

Yeah, we are the noise
The noise between stations
Yeah itsa kinda strange
Oh boy! A strange situation

I walk like a building
I never get wet
I’m looking at ladies
I’m talking like men

I don’t work for the city
I don’t work for the state
It’s none ’a’ your business
I’m doin’ all right

Marching through the wilderness
Crying out for tenderness
They call me Mr. Pitiful
But ev’rything is wonderful

I’m workin’ real steady
I’m workin’ real hard
I’m building a monster
In my backyard

Money doesn’t matter
Babies never lie
I’m going in the out door
I’m doing all right

Marching through the wilderness
Crying out for tenderness
They call me Mr. Pitiful
But ev’rything is wonderful

I walk like a building
I never get wet
I’m looking at ladies
I’m talking like men

Marching through the wilderness
Crying out for tenderness
They call me Mr. Pitiful
But ev’rything is wonderful

Soy el galan de las penas
Llorando
Sin compasión

10. Good and Evil (Rumba/Llesa)

Caught you walkin’ like a gangster
Saw you grabbin’ the controls
Now you’re almost outta batteries
You gottta sweater much too small

Pokin’ at your navel
Pointin’ your finger too
You say your lips don’t even stick together
When the dust comes up
Blowin’ ’cross the plains
Pictures fallin’ in and outta their frames!

Good and evil, good and evil
They turned ’em loose, they turned into people
Good and evil, good and evil
They turned ’em loose, they turned into people
You know that roses and lilacs are funky too ?
Let ’em go at it, let’s see what they do
Now we’re wrestlin’ with the forces of good and evil
They turned ’em loose, they turned into people

I have seen you do things backward
You don’t believe a word I say
Now you’re holdin’ sticky paper
Money never fades away

Talkin’ like a monster
Smellin’ like a baby
You got a head like a bowl full of cherries
So don’t be surprised
You got what it takes
Messin’ round like monkeys and apes

11. Lie to Me (Merengue)

It’s a beautiful world and a beautiful dream
And you know I don’t care if things are not what they seem
Making up stories that you know aren’t true
But you know it’s all right ’cause I know it too

Who is the lady with the sno-cone eyes?
Who has the candy with the soft insides?
Talk show religion
And soap opera love
Whatever happened to
Heavens above?

Well you can lie to me
And I imagine you do
If nothin’s right
What’s wrong?
That’s what I like about you
That’s what I like about you

Birds are flying from east to west
Dogs are running a political race
Twinkle Twinkle
Little Star
How I wonder
Who you are...

Well you can lie to me
And I imagine you do
If nothin’s right
What’s wrong?
That’s what I like about you
That’s what I like about you

It’s a beautiful world and a beautiful dream
And you know I don’t care if things are not what they seem
I wanna be happy, I can’t stand the pain
I want to believe, so tell me again

I’m like a chicken without a head
I’d like to fly, but I walk instead
Emotional junkies
How blind we must be
I’m just a fool for your
Las Vegas tears...

Well you can lie to me
And I imagine you do
If nothin’s right
What’s wrong?
That’s what I like about you
That’s what I like about you

12. Office Cowboy (Samba)

I can see an office cowboy
Now how he turns and smiles, watching the girls go by
(Ride ’em cowboy)
He knows how to ride a pony
If laughter makes you well, what if the well runs dry?
(Ride ’em cowboy)

Batom — a bala bate no meu coração
Dentes espalhados pelo chão
Natural
E a vezes social

All night long, the Great Pretender
Sat upon his throne
Nothing can stop him now
(Vai la cou boi)

Vão suadas, amarrotadas
Nota de dez, nota de vinte vai
(Noite cai)

Hey now! It was a little taste of paradise
Always riding in the circle line

This poor cowboy’s always on the run
Coyotes howling at the moon
Cowboys are singing out this lonesome tune

Duas selas, dois de raça
Dois irmãos e dois urubus
(Sobra um)

Não e
It’s just enough to whet my appetite
A hungry cowboy needs to take a bite
Copo d’agua
Que caiu no chão

It’s all right
It’s all right
It’s all right
’Tou roubando más não sou ladrão

E demais
E demais
E demais
Ev’ryone’s a cowboy in this town

13. Women Vs. Men (Bolero)

She had psychic defenses
He had animal dreams
They moved closer together
He said “Lets make a deal”

Does not the law forbid it?
It’s a treacherous act
We all must suffer
We all must do our part

No one knows how it started
And God knows how it’ll end
The fightin’ continues
Women versus Men

Women have their world
And men, we have ours
We’re into sports
And they’re into flowers

The women are talking
We do not understand
They speak in a language
We do not comprehend

No one knows how it started
And God knows how it’ll end
The fightin’ continues
Women versus Men

Fightin’ in the parkin’ lots
Is this how it will end?
Armies of ladies
Fightin’ armies of men

So remember be careful
Should one cross your path
One innocent movement
And it could be your last

No one knows how it started
And God knows how it’ll end
The fightin’ continues
Women versus Men

14. Carnival Eyes (Mapeye)

Gone away
Someone else son’s gone
What a day
For dreaming
Hard hurt heart
That holds the door
Buried in time
In hallways bleeding

And all the time they walk the line
And all the time in asking land
Who’s that girl
Who likes to dance all day ?
Beauty is always so strange

Carnival girl
Where do those eyes come from?
What is inside there?
So far away

Any day
When soldiers come
Women pray
I lie here
There’s a flame
Whose light still shines
Leading us on
Through fields and bridges

And all the time they walk the line
And all the time in asking land
I’ve seen grasses grow
Through rock and stone
Nature is always so strange

Carnival girl
Where do those eyes come from?
What is inside there?
So far away

And all the time they walk the line
And all the time in asking land
One man throwing questions
To the stars
Is there anyone there?

Carnival girl
Where do those eyes come from?
What is inside there?
So far away

Carnival girl
Where do our lives come from?
She’ll keep on dancing
The night away

15. I Know Sometimes a Man Is Wrong

I know sometimes I can be wrong
I know sometimes I do believe
I know sometimes I can be wrong
I’ll be wrong until you’re next to me
I’ll be wrong until you’re next to me

I know sometimes the world is wrong
I know sometimes I do believe
I know sometimes the world is wrong
They’ll be wrong until you’re next to me
They’ll be wrong until you’re next to me

CREDITS

Produced by Steve Lillywhite with David Byrne
Engineer and Production Coordinator: Jon Fausty
Assistant Engineer at Right Track: Mike White
Recorded at Atlantic @ Right Track Studios, NYC, May & July '89
Mixed at Right Track Studios with Fausty & Lillywhite, July & Aug '89
LP direct to metal mastering by Jack Skinner at Europadisk, NY
Design by Doublespace Ny & David Byrne
Photograph of DB by Kurigami
Photograph of riot courtesy AP/Wide World Photos
Photograph of satin/chile/by Michael Mazzeo

Kirsty MacColl courtesy of Virgin Records, Ltd.
Willie Colon, Johnny Pacheco and Celia Cruz courtesy of Fania Records
Yomo Toro courtesy of Mango Records
Herbest Vianna courtesy of Intuition-Capitol Records, U.S. and Emi-Odeon, Brazil

April Radio David Byrne Radio Presents: Khruangbin Walk In mix