This is my best known song, and I suspected that could be the day I wrote it in the very early
'80s (thus the reference to the TV show Solid Gold, which I actually didn't really watch). It's
basically a true story, though the guitar that inspired it was traded off sometime later, it said
"Samiel" on the peghead. I DID find a little amp at the dump, folks who use transfer
stations or have their trash picked up will never know the thrill of finding treaures at the
dump! In fact when we started Okie Doke in '75 Dan Kersten found 5 microphone stands
and an old fiddle at the dump! After Dan quit the band in '81 Quentin found another
couple mike stands at the dump. My daughter Beth arrived home from school just after I'd
finished the first two verses and was sitting on my lap as I wrote the third. The film "On
Golden Pond" was a big thing atthat time,thus the line about 'sucking face' in the last verse.
Ronnie Dawson removed Buddy Holly, the dump, Solid Gold and sucking face from his
version, perhaps in the interest of universalizing it more. Sandy Bradley and Small Wonders
used the song on their syndicated public radio show Potluck" several times, and they made
a more politically correct last half to the last verse in which the girl grabs the guitar and
plays it. E-mail me if you need those lyrics - I use them myself when there are children
in the audience! My best version appears on Filé Gumbo's "Big Big Love" CD.

Sucker For A Cheap Guitar © Marc Bristol, BMI

Went to a yard sale the other day
when I looked on the table I said hey, hey hey!
It was a Japanese copy of the same guitar
that Buddy Holly was a-playin' when they made him a star
when I looked at it close it was a Fender by heck
with a Gretsch tailpiece and a Gibson neck
I asked the lady hey, what's the price
and she said twenty-five bucks if you treat me nice
Well I'm a sucker for a cheap guitar
yeah I'm a sucker for a cheap guitar
some day I'm gonna be a star
right now I'm a sucker for a cheap guitar

Down at the dump is where I found the amp
When I brought it on home it was a little bit damp
when I first turned it on all it did was hum
but a little while later I was starting to strum
I turned the amp back on and lo and behold
I sounded like the man I saw on Solid Gold
I started to boogie all around the place
there was a great big smile comin' on my face
'cause I'm a sucker for a cheap guitar
yeah I'm a sucker for a cheap guitar
some day I'm gonna be a star
right now I'm a sucker for a cheap guitar

A pretty little girl from across the street
come a runnin' on over when she heard my beat
she said I don't wanna bother you or bring you down
but I just had to come and see about that crazy sound
I said a hey little mama now that's all right
what you got goin' later on tonight
we could take my car to the drive in show
and all she said to me was let's go, go go!
'cause she's a sucker for a cheap guitar
she's a sucker for a cheap guitar
she said 'I'll suck your face in the back of your car
'cause she's a sucker for a cheap guitar

(repeat last chorus)

(This song is at File' Gumbo's myspace page both audio & video)

My partner Doug Bright compared this to a Hank Williams or Lefty Frizzell song
in his Heritage Music Review, which was hugely flattering! Like those guys songs, yes,
it was torn from the pages of life. It's the title song of my Country Blues CD, but appeared
first on the "Wam Bam Boom" cassette, which was 10 songs recorded in 5 hours on a
recording session at Paradise Audio I won at the Seattle Songwriter's Showcase at the
U Bistro in 1987. The band from that session now appears in one of the YouTube
videos at my channel.

Sweet Misery Moan - © Marc Bristol, BMI

Lady you got me moanin' for you love'
Cupid's arrow done got the best of me
I ain't seen you in three - four days
and it's about to drive me crazy
Lord have Mercy, such sweet misery

I don't want to be your back door man
your main line is what I want to be
every time I think of you
I moan just the way we do
when we're at the peak of ecstasy

Misery, Sweet misery
there's another mand she sees
so I must wait 'til she can find
a way to break the ties that bind her
to that man and give her love to me

(repeat chorus after solos)

(repeat last line of first verse)

I'm not the only one who also thinks this is one of my best songs. I wrote this after spending
an evening with my old buddy Val Geissler the Cowboy Singer running around catching
other cowboy acts around the Seattle area. I'd had the idea in my head for some years by
then and our evening and conversations made it finally come out. It's also on "Big Big
Love" and "Best Of Marc Bristol - Country - Vol. 1".

I took my kids down to the Snoqualmie River here in Duvall, down behind the Truck
Stop Cafe (we now have a really nice park there, then we walked through a tunnel
uner the blackberries and other brush to get to the beach) in the summer of '82 and
wrote this. There was a group of teenagers up the beach, and one came over to see
what I was up to. I played him the song as it was so far, and he suggested there should
be a verse about the breeze, so I wrote one. His name is Andrew Norman, and he's
still here. the song was one of only 2 or 3 newer songs on my "This Feelin'" LP,
and now appears on "Best Of Marc Bristol - Country, Vol. 2" plus a different
version on "Sweet Misery Moan."

Goin' Down To The River © Marc Bristol, BMI

I'm goin' down to the river, gonna set there in the sun
I've been workin' hard all week, now it's time to have some fun
I'm goin' down to the river, gonna set there in teh sun
watch that water flowin' by, and let my mind run

I'll take my kids to the river, take off their shoes
let 'em run in the mud, we gonna lose our blues
I'm goin' down to the river, gonna set there in the sun
watch that water flowin' by, and let my mind run

I'm goin' down to the river, take my old guitar
gonna write you a new song, wherever you are
I'm goin' down to the river, gonna set there in the sun
hear the music flowin' by, and let my mind run

I'm goin' down to the river, gonna set there in the sand
I might stay all night and join the bullfrog band
I'm goin' down to the river, gonna set there in the sun
hear the music flowin' by, and let my mind run

I'm goin' down to the river, feel that nice cool breeze
gonna lay on my back and just look up at the trees
I'm gon'd down to the river, gonna set there in the sun
watch them clouds floatin' by, and let my mind run
(repeat first verse)

Here's the first song I wrote for Gaby, and sang to her on the intercontinental telephone.
She came to visit me fora couple of weeks, and to check out our Rockabilly Ball. It took
two more songs and six more months, but she did finally move here to be with me!
this song is now available on my new CD Bristol Rockin'!, and there's a
live version on my YouTube channel.

Sweet Little Boppin' Gal - © Marc Bristol BMI

Hey there sweet little boppin' gal somebody oughta treat you right
if he ain't gonna appreciate you come home with me tonight
and I'll hug ya - I'll kiss ya, gonna squeeze you tight
gonna make you feel right in the middle of the night
I said hey there sweet little boppin' gal somebody oughtta treat you right

Well hey there sweet little boppin' gal now you know that you stole my heart
and now you've gone and run away home and it's tearin' me all apart
I wanna hug ya, squeeze ya, wanna hold ya tight
I wanna make you feel right in the middle of the night
I said a hey there sweet little boppin' gal somebody wants to treat you right

I saw you dancin' all by yourself
I can't believe he'd leave you on the shelf
come on over here, and dance with me
I'll show ya how real true love can be

I said hey there sweet little boppin' gal now you know my love is true
you gotit to do what you want to with it now what are you gonna do?
I wanna hug ya, squeeze ya, wanna hold ya tight
I wanna make you feel right in the middle of the night
I said a hey there sweet little boppin' gal somebody wants to treat you right

Here's a funky blues, first version appeared on the "Wam Bam Boom" cassette.
One day I was visiting NW R&B Diva Duffy Bishop and her husband Chris Carlson and
I noticed an acoustic guitar in the corner, with only 5 strings on it. I asked if Duffy was
interested in hearing one of my songs that I thought she could do, and played this. She
recorded a version and played it in her shows for a few months. That version isn't
available, but I recorded it with Filé Gumbo and it's on the
"Mardi Gras In New Orleans" CD. The woman who inspired it fell right off the couch when I played it for her right after writing it. She was a witch (member of WICCA),
hence some of the lyrics.

Gonna Play With Fire © Marc Bristol BMI

I'm just like that moth attracted to the flame
every time I try to love you it always turns out the same
gonna play with fire - you know you're gonna get burned
next time you want some - you just have to wait your turn

I don't like them scary rides down at the amusement park
but I can't seem to keep myself off this rollercoaster of the heart
gonna play with fire - you know you're gonna get burned
next time you want some - you just have to wait your turn

(bridge) I thought the love you gave me was just the icing on the cake
I never dreamed my heart would wind up burning at the stake
but I do believe in magic, and that's what you do for me
I just hope you understand when I say you set my soul free
gonna play with fire - you know you're gonna get burned
next time you want some - you ust have to wait your turn

Well I can take my cake without the frosting, and usually I do
but that frosting that you gave me baby, well it's too good to refuse
gonna play with fire - you know you're gonna get burned
next time you want some - you just have to wait your turn

In the carnival test of true love strength, baby you rang my bell
if anyone thinks that this ain't heave, well they sure can go to hell
gonna play with fire - you know you're gonna get burned
next time you want some - you just have to wait your turn
gonna play with fire - you know you're gonna get burned
next time you want some - you just have to wait your turn

This one has a cajun feel, and I was very gratified at Chris Woodford's review that singled
out this song in 'Now dig This' magazine for praise. It may be the first of the 2 songs I
wrote after borrowing the Charly Jerry Lee Lewis set from Jim Kehoe. It appears on
the "Mardi Gras In New Orleans" CD by Filé Gumbo, and also "Best Of Marc Bristol
- Country, Vol. 1."

Makin' Sweet Love To You - © Marc Bristol, BMI

Yes I know that she's your very best friend
and she's one of my sweethearts too
but she's got somebody else to play with
and neither one of us really do
So here we are out under the stars
just a-watchin' that sky turn blue
and the time is right, you know I can't feel guilty
about makin' sweet love to you
makin's sweet love to you - makin' sweet love to you
the time is right you know I can't feel guilty about
makin' sweet love to you

You know that people are wonderful creatures baby
it ain't no different with you
when they hold you close, and they show you their love
there ain't nothin else you can do
you just fall right in - head over heels
whether you do or you don't want to
and the time is right, you know I can't feel guilty
about makin' sweet love to you
makin' swweet love to you, makin' sweet love to you
you know the time is right and I can't feel guilty about
makin' sweet love to you.

(repeat first verse)

For those of you who made the wrong assumption after hearing "Sucker For A Cheap
Guitar" that I am mainly a novelty song writer should have been disabused of that notion
by now. But I do write the occasional novelty song, and the following was written as a
public service. All the condom commercials for a while were not allowed to make it seem
as though sex could be fun, and I felt it was the wrong approach. Still waiting for one
of the condom companies to adopt this as their jingle for advertising! It's on the "Rockabilly Rhythm & Blues" CD.

Condom In His Pocket - © Marc Bristol, BMI

He knows he's gettin' lucky, he can feel it in his bone
tonight is one night he won't be doin' it alone
crazy little mama come a knockin' on his door
ain't no need to wonder what she come there for
he got a condom in his pocket (what you say?)
he got a condom in his pocket (what you say)
he got a condom in his pocket and he's gonna get it on tonight!

She said where's the party, he said in my pants
so they cranked up the radio and started to dance
when the clock struck one they was on the floor
couldn't stop rockin' so they had some more
he got a condom in his pocket (what you say?)
he got a condom in his pocket (what you say?)
he got a condom in his pocket and he's gonna get it on tonight!

So if you think you're gonna get it on tonight
don't forget to make sure everything is right
you get your wine, get your candles, get your funky tunes
and for heaven's sake don't forget the party balloons!

Don't be a fool girls, hear what I say
maybe you'll get lucky & get it on today
you never can be sure that he will come prepared
be a good scout now and bring along a spare!
stick a condom in your pocket (maybe two!)
stick a condom in your pocket (maybe three!)
stick a condom in your pocket if you're gonna get it on tonight
stick a condom in your pocket (maybe four!)
stick a condom in your pocket (maybe five!)
stick a condom in your pocket if you're gonna get it on tonight