Feel Like Fire

Feel Like Fire was Jay's third album, completed in 1990, and features fifteen songs. The only one he didn't write is a subdued solo guitar version of the Coventry Carol. All the songs are musically tied to the opening instrumental. The song styles are all over the map, from the bouncy silliness of Round and Round, to the pensive and popular Liar in the Mirror, to the social and political polemic of I Don't Like What I See. The collection is impressively eclectic.

The album was conceived as one continuous track, similar to Pink Floyd and Moody Blues recordings, with the song connections forming a sort of aural story all the way to the end. The production is sparse throughout, focusing more on guitar-based material.

THE SONGS

Circle Of Flame

I Don't Like What I See

Tired Shoes Blues

Clever These Japanese

Prisoners Of Industry

Taking The Hard Road Again

Rainbow At My Feet

Feel Like Fire

The Coventry Carol

JAY'S RECORDINGS or HOME

CIRCLE OF FLAME copyright Jay Ducharme 1990

YOU STOP MY HEART copyright Jay Ducharme 1990

You stop my heart / Every time you walk by / You stop my heart / Every time you look in my eye / You stop my heart // You lock my jaw / Every time I try to speak / You lock my jaw / How can I tell you you're so sweet / You stop my heart // A body like yours is a work of art / I'd love to look you over but before I can start / You stop my heart // You knock me dead / I think my engine's seizing / You knock me dead / All vital functions ceasing / You stop my heart // I'm such a mess 'cause you look so sharp / You got it together but I fall apart / You stop my heart

APATHY BLUES copyright Jay Ducharme 1990

Well I woke this morning about a quarter-to-ten / Stared up at the ceiling, fell asleep again / Woke up once more about a quarter-to-four / Dragged my body up and put my feet on the floor // I didn't shave / Didn't comb my hair / Didn't iron my clothes and I didn't care / I'm feeling kind of funny / I'm not funny usually / I think I'm coming down with apathy // Well I'm eating my breakfast at a quarter-to-five / The boss is probably wondering if I'm still alive / I won't call him; he won't be calling me today / The phone's off the hook and it can stay that way // My body's inactive / My mind is drained / Nothing ventured / Nothing gained / I don't care about you / I don't care about me / I got a bad case of apathy // My girl comes around about a quarter-to-six / Says the way I'm acting has her in a fix / She's all dressed up for some fancy affair / Baby, I don't think we're going anywhere // My body's inactive / My mind is drained / Nothing ventured / Nothing gained / I don't care about you / I don't care about me / I got a bad case of apathy // Oh, I don't care where my life is going / Hey, I wasn't doing that much with it anyway // Well now it's late in the day and soon I'll go back to sleep / I'm not too concerned about the hours I keep / Maybe tomorrow my boss will understand / Maybe I'll end up with lots more time on my hands // But I still won't shave / Still won't comb my hair / Won't iron my clothes/ And I still won't care / I kinda like this laziness that's come over me / I don't care if I ever lose this apathy // Well don't tell me 'bout your troubles 'cause I really don't care / Lord, I got those apathy blues

LIAR IN THE MIRROR copyright Jay Ducharme 1990

Pretend that time has left your face alone / Pretend your skin retains its youthful tone / Pretend that your complexion / Is closer to perfection / Now you're old // Imagine that your hair is like the tide / Advancing and receding in your mind / Comb it very carefully / Pretending no one else will see you're old // Liar in the mirror / Is it all becoming clearer / Is that fear appearing / As the end approaches nearer / Or can't you just pretend / That your life will never end / Liar in the mirror // Pretend your back is straight, your shoulders square / Pretend that bulging waistline isn't there / Relax a little longer / You're not getting any stronger / Now you're old // Liar in the mirror / Is it all becoming clearer / Is that fear appearing / As the end approaches nearer / Or can't you just pretend / That your life will never end / Liar in the mirror // Can time be outrun / By pretending that you're young / Can't you face the truth / You no longer have your youth / Liar in the mirror // Pretend that no one knows your real age / Pretend you're not as old as people say / The only way to last / Is by hiding in the past / Now you're old // Liar in the mirror / Is it all becoming clearer / Do you stare in terror / As the end approaches nearer / Or can't you just pretend / That your life will never end / Liar in the mirror

ROUND AND ROUND copyright Jay Ducharme 1990

Just like a sun that never seems to set / My heart's been rising ever since we met / I'm swirling like a skater in a pirouette / I'm just about as happy as a clown in love can get // Just like a frisbee flying through the breeze / My head is spinning up into the trees / My heart's a top, you've pulled the string and set me free / Now I'm getting dizzy 'cause you're all I'll ever see // Going round and round and round and round and round and round / Can't seem to keep my feet on the ground / Going round and round and round and round and round and round // Just like a snowball rolling down a hill / I gather up more energy until / You've wound me up so tightly time is standing still / My spring is sprung / I feel so young / We're just like Jack and Jill // Going round and round and round and round and round and round / Can't seem to keep my feet on the ground / Going round and round and round and round and round and round

HERE'S TO THE GALS copyright Jay Ducharme 1990

Here's to the gals / Who helped me see what I could be if I just simply tried / They gave me courage to encourage my creative side / Can't thank them enough / Life isn't so rough when they're here / Here's to the gals // Here's to the gals / Who often parted broken-hearted from a love affair / Then sang a tune about the ruin they discovered there / They kept me aware / Of how much I care about love / Here's to the gals // Suzzy is funny / Terre is very pretty / If I whispered to Maggie I love her / Would her aching heart ever recover / Suzzy wears purses / Terre likes hairy horses / Though Maggie's a mystery in lacey white / On vinyl she's finally mine tonight // Here's to the gals / Who pull me through when I can do with some companionship / Whose hypnotizing harmonizing is a pleasure trip / I'm glad that they're here / If only on my stereo / Oh I know there's a way dreams can sometimes come true / But my daydreams will just have to do / I love them so dearly / I hope it's not merely a fanciful passing romance / I'm taking a chance that the world loves a lover / I'll put on a record, invite the world over / To listen to my bosom pals / Here's to the gals // Here's to Maggie and Terre and Suzzy / I think those gals are G-R-E-A-T

THE ZEE SONG copyright Jay Ducharme 1990

Down in Zambogana / Where zarebas are zananas / They have zemstvos that zone zoos with such zeal / You hardly can believe that it's real / That zoophilic way that they feel / They formed some zollveriens to fine / The kine that zlipped the borderline / And when those cows were brought to their knees / They said we've done just what we please / Let's all go catch some zees // Zucchinis in zymosis / Zmell a lot like halitosis / But the zingare make zinfandel wine / From whatever zymed zucchinis they find / And a zillion yards of zoft zibeline / Then they barf into their zarfs / And count their zlory in the dark / And after that digest some zwieback and cheese / And after they've eaten as much as they please / They all go catch some zees // "Thus Homer was in rapture and Athens" // A little zapateado / And a zeugma zaid by Zeno / As he rode a zebra into Zaire / He heard Zola whisper into his ear / "Zephaniah prophecizes your fear" / You may pay the zamindari / With the zesty zedoary / You can zleep on a zastruga and freeze / And after you've done just what you please / Feel free to catch some zees

I don't like what I see / It don't look right to me at all // There's a man in the gutter clawing at my feet / Buried underneath the trash in the street / How can a man remain a man / Living in a city that's a garbage can / What's the world coming to -- I can't understand // I don't like what I see / It don't look right to me at all // There's a man on the corner with a needle in his arm / Lying without caring if it's doing him harm / His brain is dead but his body's still alive / So stick him in a clinic and see if he'll revive / What's the world coming to -- we'll never survive // I don't like what I see / It don't look right to me at all // So many sleeping on sidewalks at night / But the rich politicians say money's too tight / Just move the homeless out of sight // There's a woman with her belly blown up with child / Standing on the street trying to make men smile / Turning a trick in some filthy hotel / Having a baby that grows up in hell / What's the world coming to -- I don't feel so well // I don't like what I see / It don't look right to me at all

Well I'm out of work / Haven't got a dime / I'm so broke I ain't even got the time // Well I'm pounding the pavement all over town / But it seems I'm never needed every time I come around // I pack my sack and travel on / And hear the sound of gravel on my tired shoes / They got the blues // Well I don't know how far I've come and gone / And I don't know which direction is right or wrong / And I don't really care if I get there before long // I pack my sack and travel on / And hear the sound of gravel on my tired shoes / They got the blues // I thought when I was younger / I had too much to squander / Now all I do is wander / I close my eyes / My body cries / My tired shoes / They got the blues // Well I feel my body getting weak / And I'm feeling lost on a familiar street / I don't know how much longer I can wander with these sleepy feet // I pack my sack and travel on / And hear the sound of gravel on my tired shoes / They got the blues

I doubt my town is still my own / They're telling me my city block is here on loan / Weren't our new neighbors once our enemies / Clever these Japanese // Their country's overcrowded / They need more land / The USA has plenty on hand / We're eager to sell and they're eager to please / Clever these Japanese // We're hungry mice eating their cheese / Clever these Japanese // They're building planes that fly so fast / We'll be going Tokyoing with all of our cash / "Don't shop at home -- travel overseas!" / Clever these Japanese // We dropped the bomb / Made them taste defeat / We thought we had them at our feet / Now we're buried underneath their new technologies / Clever these Japanese // Walkmans, videotapes, CDs / Clever these Japanese

At this point in history / We're prisoners of industry / Prisoners of industry / Slaves to modern times // Comfort is our ball / And money is our chain / We drag them with us all our lives / To pacify our pain / How could we get to work / Were cars to disappear / And how would we relax at home without a frosty beer // At this point in history / We're prisoners of industry / Prisoners of industry / Slaves to modern times // How could we read a book without electric light / Why learn to read a book / When TV's on all night // At this point in history / We're prisoners of industry / Prisoners of industry / Slaves to modern times // Who cares how many guns are sold / How many lives we lose / We got lots of Lucy reruns / Drowning out such news / For sickness there's a hospital / And when you're well Club Med / Don't worry, there are industries / That take you when you're dead // At this point in history / We're prisoners of industry / Prisoners of industry / Slaves to modern times

standing on a highway / pacing in the snow / slamming my fists on my stalled and frozen car / no money for a phone call / no credit for a tow / can't turn back now because I've come too far // standing on the highway / not knowing where to turn / just like I've done so many times before / I always see the warning signs / and still I never learn / to recognize that old familiar road // all alone / in the middle of nowhere / my calls for help / unanswered in the night / I took a wrong turn / that I can't set right / I'm taking the hard road again // staring at the windshield / fresh with winter frost / inside the car is totally obscured / nowhere I can run to / when I'm standing here so lost / frozen on that old familiar road // all alone / in the middle of nowhere / I should have been / a little more prepared / I should have been more cautious / but what good is "should have been" / I'm taking the hard road again // no one to blame but myself for how things are / but it's easier to blame it on the car / maybe it's the fault of some higher power / or maybe I'm just // all alone / in the middle of nowhere / the highway stretches off into the dark / I button up my coat / and begin to walk / I'm taking the hard road again

I followed the sun / Into the rain / I heard a fable / Of wealth I might gain / Chasing a rainbow / Until I found / The riches I dreamed of lying on the ground // Now a rainbow is at my feet / But no gold waits for me / Just soft grass and fallen leaves / And a rainbow at my feet // I look around / In disbelief / Overturning / Every leaf / Moving rocks / Where gold should be / Staring down / But all I can see / Is a rainbow is at my feet / But no gold waits for me / Just soft grass and fallen leaves / And a rainbow at my feet // I dig at the sand / With my trembling hands / Hours of toil / Removing the soil / Frustration feeds / My impatient greed / Till I look in the hole / Where I buried my soul // I suddenly notice a change in the sky / The sun returns, the clouds roll by / The forest springs to life once more / With treasures I ignored before // Now a rainbow is at my feet / And gold no longer matters to me / Just soft grass and forest leaves / And a rainbow at my feet

circling 'round me / flames closed in / floating embers / landed on my skin / I feel like fire once again / thinking how she loved me then / heart grew faint / will grew weak / finally I gave in to the heat // I felt like fire / scared of love so often spurned / I felt like fire / all she did was touch me and I burned // gently stroking / warm with tenderness / wanting pleasure / from her soft caress / I came to her self-consciously / afraid of feeling ecstasy / afraid of love / afraid of shame / she took my fears and smothered them in flame // I feel like fire / every time I think of her / I feel like fire / longing to relive the way we were / I feel like fire / though it happened years ago / I feel like fire / even frozen time is set aglow

THE COVENTRY CAROL (traditional)