i should probably take off my false eyelashes before i fall asleep

A F#m D6 E6

I should probably remove my false eyelashes

A F#m D6 E6
Before enough is enough

A F#m D6 E6
I don't want to stagger and shuffle

A F#m D6 E7
Tomorrow morning in a blind girl’s bluff

The show tonight went so well I can still hear
Ukulele chords flying out into space
Where’s that damn fancy makeup remover?
I saw it around here before someplace...

Dmaj7 A F#m
The things I do to transfix

Dmaj7 A F#m

And cultivate a sense of joie de vivre

Dmaj7 A F#m
My eyes are like played out pick-em-up sticks

Dmaj7 A E7
Ready to be relievred

I’m yawning at my shrinking television
Eyelashes dancing the last tangly tango
They much prefer a glass of contact solution
Than wrangling in a centipede rodeo

The things I do for art and jazz
And for savoire faire, just a smatter
My eyes have had their fill now, yes they has,
And are ready now for dreamier matters

Soften the glue with a fresh q tip,
Wide-eyed in the bathroom mirror
Gently pull away from scrunchy nose
Towards wiggling itchy ear

The things I do for music and art
And a raucous high-spirited time
My eyes look quieter and tamer now,
Ready for a lullabye

I should probably take off my false eyelashes
Before I finally fall asleep
Wonder if I could prop my eyes open
Like in that painting by Salvador Dali...

A s : < L R

NOTES:

KERNAL: I wrote this song based on a Facebook status update by Tricity Vogue (http://www.tricityvogue.com/) about taking off her eyelashes after a show -- it was such an irresistible idea for an auto-lullabye, I wrote the lyrics immediately, beginning with the long title sigh, which comes from her writing. I supported my limited knowledge of false eyelashes with some wikipedia action and put a little scenario based on the feeling of my memories of living in England in my early twenties and of the few times I've played on a vaudeville-era stage. (Try http://www.hoosiersqueeze.com/listen.html : The Tango Lesson.) A very satisfying hour of imagination...

TECHNICAL: I wanted the song to be a slow lullabye, almost spoken by a performer with tired vocal chords. I enjoy writing in many voices, so a suitable woman's voice was a fun challenge -- tired, world-weary, artistic, playful, content ... all the emotions of her life winding down after a performance. I've been carrying this verse chord pattern around since working out some Tom Waits songs on the uke, and the chorus starting with the Dmaj7 was fresh for me. I wanted it gently jazzy and I recorded it late in the evening after a tough day, so the yawms are real!

H. Wolf

Sleep, by Salvador Dali