Song Club: I Eat with Gusto, Damn! You Bet

from Ramon's Jonathan Chord Pages

Jonathan Richman version - Lyrics (spoken poem)

Hello Everyone, it's time for poetry
I submit to you the following it's entitled:
"I Eat with Gusto, Damn! You Bet"
By one Jonathan Richman.

When I eat like I do it,
I use not fork nor spoon
No grace or culture to it
When I call my own tune.

For I eat with gusto, damn you bet
A regular K-9 cruncher
Except truth be told I'm sloppier yet
Than many a dog food muncher
I eat a pound I eat a ton
And no there ain't much I cuts up
And while I'm having merry fun
Bystanders puke their guts up.

The FBI sent someone by
Who handles health affairs
I had not finished my cream pie
When he chanced up the stairs
Why did he turn the other way?
Why did he leave so quick?
Will he come back another day?
Did something make him sick?

I eat with gusto damn you bet
A regular doggie diner
"No don't bring me napkins waiter sir,
Just bring some trash can liner."

Whilst wandering by a juice bar
I spied a tempting beverage
Since I would have been last in line
I used my fearsome leverage
For in my pocket was some food
Which I took from the wrapper
The patrons watched it being chewed
And of course headed for the crapper.

For I eat with gusto damn you bet
For gusto I'm the boss
For yay my nose it is in the salad
And lo my chin it is in the sauce
I eat with gusto damn you bet
We're sailing around the cape
"Keel-haul him," said the Bosun
"There must be no escape."

One sunny day in Paris an elegant cafe
A phone call there a phone call here
And the gendarmes took me away

I said "qu'est-ce qui se passe ici"
I said " mais qu'est-ce que c'est"
They said "Such eateeng eet ees creeminalle
And crime eet does not pay."

For I eat with gusto damn you bet.
My banner yay unfurled
My shirt is covered with mustard
And my hair with ketchup curled

Goodbye to Egypt, Greece and Rome
The ancient world goodbye.
May squalor be my summer home
And filth be my neck tie.

For I eat with gusto damn you bet.
Uh, And Uh, I eat with gusto damn you bet
My country tis of thee
I eat for social progress
I eat for victory

Somebody died who watched me eat
In a restaurant one spell
He woke up and saw me eating beans
And knew that he'd gone to hell

For Uh, "He eats with gusto damn we bet."
They're calling from the south
They want to stop my gusto
They want to close my mouth
"You eat with gusto, yeah that's great
Now let us off this bus."
Wait a minute I haven't finished eating up stuff yet.
"We'll call you, don't call us."
--

Has anyone seen JR do this live?

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Review: Lincoln NE 20 November 2004

by gr_chereck:

I caught Jonathan's show in Lincoln, Nebraska this past weekend. (This was my 4th JR show, my 2nd at Knickerbocker's in Lincoln.) First of all, I should mention that sometime during the 2-year wait between this show and the last one my dad and I attended (in Kansas City, MO), I had told my mom that the next time I got an opportunity to see Jonathan, I would take her along...

Well, on the night of this show, my parents and I made it to Lincoln 2 and 1/2 hours before Knickerbocker's opened its doors, so we checked out a used-record shop where Mom and I went ahead and bought our tickets. (Dad had thought that money would be too tight for all 3 of us to attend, so he decided it would be best for him to accompany us to Lincoln and then wait in the bar while we watch the concert...) Anyway, shortly before the doors finally opened, Mom and I were waiting in the car; Dad was wandering around outside, having a smoke -- and who should he run into but Jonathan himself! He instantly recognized Dad and thanked him for the copy of Leonard Cohen's Ten New Songs CD that we had given him at the Kansas City show 2 years ago; he also offered to make the 3 of us his "special guests" and let us see the concert for free. Dad told him that we had already paid for 2 tickets, and Jonathan offered to let Dad in for free; but Dad said he would rather take my ticket and have me be Jonathan's guest! :D

Before the show, I watched Jonathan do soundchecks; he signed my copy of Not So Much To Be Loved As To Love (I told him I loved it, he said he was especially proud of it), and he talked with my parents and me about music. He mentioned that he receives a lot of CDs and stuff like that from his fans, and he usually gives them away -- but he had fallen absolutely in love with the Cohen CD Dad and I had given him.

The opening act was Jesse DeNatale, a San Francisco-based singer-songwriter (who played from 10 to 10:35 p.m.). Just one guy with a guitar and a harmonica, he sounded like a folkier Tom Waits, or a less-nasal Bob Dylan -- needless to say, Dad and I especially enjoyed his set. :)

Then Jonathan came out with Tommy, and they played from 10:50 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. Numerous times throughout, Jonathan would step away from his mic to dance to Tommy's drumbeat, or to sing directly to the audience without the aid of amplification. There were also a few times where he would be playing percussion or a random tune on his guitar to Tommy's drumbeat and he would say something like, "This isn't connected to a song -- we're just foolin' around!" He also ad-libbed spoken bits and altered lyrics during several numbers (as usual). XD

Some highlights: During "Let Her Go Into The Darkness," Jonathan improvised a hilarious, lengthy spoken bit that went from English to French to Italian; before he went into "In Che Mondo Viviamo," he said he had wanted to write a song about "what a world we live in," but he thought it made for a crummy title, so he decided to write it in Italian; as he played "Les Etoiles," he translated some of the lyrics into English; and at one point he mentioned that someone who was in the audience that night (*wink*) had given him a great Leonard Cohen CD, and that he loved one song on it in particular... and he went into his cover of "Here It Is" (which was done in a radically different arrangement from Cohen's original, but Jonathan played and sang it with a lot of depth and feeling). :D

After the show, I had my picture taken with Jonathan (whom I thanked again for the autograph and congratulated on an excellent show), and then with Jesse (the opening act); then Dad bought a copy of Jesse's CD and had him autograph it for me. All in all, a wonderful night! :)

###

This is an approximate setlist from the Knickerbocker's show on
Saturday night:

Key:
O - Songs I also heard at the 10/4/01 Omaha show
L - Songs I also heard at the 2/28/02 Lincoln show
K - Songs I also heard at the 11/23/02 Kansas City show
* - Brand-new and/or previously unrecorded songs

Egyptian Reggae -- O,K
Give Paris One More Chance -- O
Springtime In New York -- O,L,K
My Baby Love Love Loves Me
Let Her Go Into The Darkness -- O,L,K
The World Is Showin' It's Hand -- K
In Che Mondo Viviamo
I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar -- O,L,K
Here It Is -- * (cover of a Leonard Cohen song) :D
Silent Treatment -- *
He Gave Us The Wine To Taste
My Love For Her Ain't Sad -- K
Ocean Beach -- *
Les Etoiles
El Joven Se Estremece -- K
Joy Over Sorrow -- *
You Are The Light Of The World -- *
No Hablo Mi Palabra Del Amor(?) -- * (new Spanish song)
Her Mystery Not Of High Heels And Eye Shadow -- O,L,K
Not So Much To Be Loved As To Love -- K (encore)

-- gr_chereck

Review: Space, Portland, 13 Nov 2004

Found via Google News:

Monday, November 15, 2004

Richman rewards fans, old and new

By AIMSEL PONTI

Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc

REVIEW

Jonathan Richman

Where: Space

When: Sat., Nov. 13

Delving into Jonathan Richman's past is like taking a class in the history of new wave and punk. This guy had his hands in both movements back in the 70s and at 54 he is still a viable act that left an impressive crowd at Space wanting more on Saturday night.

Richman, originally from Natick, Mass., formed a band called The Modern Lovers in the early 1970s. Also in the band were Jerry Harrison, who went on to join Talking Heads, and David Robinson who ended up with The Cars, two other huge notable new wave acts to have New England roots.

Richman flies under the radar of the mainstream but has a devout cult-following.

It wasn't so important to be well-versed in Richman history to enjoy his show; one just had to be open to the experience. Although it's tempting to find a more impressive vocabulary word, the best way to describe the show was downright delightful. The beauty in many of his songs are their simplicity; that's the genius.

Richman does not give his songs unnecessary window-dressing, but delivers honest, straight-from-the-heart songs about love, life and things that touch and inspire him.

With his acoustic guitar and the keen percussion from drummer Tommy Larkins, Richman touched on many points in his career as a solo artist and member of The Modern Lovers.

His voice is sweet and sometimes almost childish but that's just the thing that makes it work. A friend described Richman as David Byrne meets Lou Reed meets Adam Sandler. That made perfect sense, as it combines elements of musical talent, a timeless coolness and a quirky sweetness.

Performing about 25 songs over a 90-minute set, Richman gave us Modern Lovers classics like "Pablo Picasso," and "Springtime" interspersed with plenty from his latest record Not So Much To Be Loved As To Love. Songs like "Vincent Van Gogh," "My Baby Love Love Loves Me," and "Behold The Lilies Of The Field" were all well-received.

He also is somewhat of a multi-linguist, singing the new ones "Cosi Veloce," (Italian) and "Les Etoilles." One of the best songs of the night was from 1992's I Jonathan record, "I Was Dancing At The Lesbian Bar," both funny and danceable.

Two other gems were "The Night Is Still Young" and "Nineteen In Naples" from his 1998 I'm So Confused release.

Richman had such a comfortable stage presence, disarming with a sincere airiness to go with his expressive eyes.

His words tell it like it is: "He loved, he loved life so bad, he had twice the color other painters had," sang Richman. Throughout his show he encouraged the audience to keep the beat, which many people did. It was an unexpectedly absorbing evening of music. Make no mistake, though, Jonathan Richman's No. 1.

---

With thanks to Adam.

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It's A Thing He Has ...

by Your Diva, Robin Pastorio-Newman

When Jonathan Richman tours, people go a little crazy. He usually plays one date in an area and moves on to the next, leaving packs of rabid fans stomping individual feet and muttering naughty words. Last time he came through New Jersey Jonathan --

"Who?" you yawn.

"Jonathan Richman," Your Darling, Your Diva, Your One True Love sighs.

"Jonathan Richman who?" you insist.

"We’ve been through this before. Did you see There's Something About Mary despite its being a humiliation humorfest? He’s the gentleman walking around and playing guitar. His music has been featured on many soundtracks. His song 'Ice Cream Man' currently graces a Kohl’s commercial, and if you’d ever devoted two important hours to watching Repo Man, you would have heard 'Pablo Picasso.' His song 'Roadrunner' is one of the best things ever recorded. It’s not about a bird."

"Oh. That guy. Listen, I’ve been busy..." you opine, but really, let’s move on, shall we? Last time Jonathan came through here, he’d played the Court Tavern in New Brunswick and that was that for this area, which meant the Court was packed to the rafters with crazed Jonathan fans who weren’t polite about wanting to hear any noise their quiet hero made.

You: Are you going to see Jonathan Richman on Thursday?

Your Friend: Nope. Don’t feel like being shushed.

Jonathan plays early shows. It’s a thing with him. Other artists and bands want to play later, Jonathan plays earlier, so the bar got calls all day long about what time he’d go on. The official party line held that he’d take the stage between 9 and 10. Our party sat down on upstairs barstools at 8:30 and the upstairs bar filled to uncomfortable, then hassling-the-doorman capacity before 10. The door to downstairs opened after 10. Then real weirdness began.

The downstairs air conditioner was off. Thursday, the temperature soared to 100 degrees in some places and by 10:30 p.m. hadn’t dropped much. The bartender reported that Jonathan wanted the AC off, "Some kind of phobia or something." Oh. A phobia. Well, he’s allowed, right? You’d order your rock stars factory-fresh and full of phobias if you could, wouldn’t you? Sure. As the basement filled and time passed, the temperature and humidity made the normally dank room feel like an indifferent Texas teenager’s forgotten terrarium, where a couple hundred people passed for the tiny frogs. Finally, close to 11:30, Jonathan strapped on the guitar. A voice from the crowd: "What’s with the air conditioner?"

"I had them turn it off because air conditioners can be quite loud. We’re going to have a musical experience, not a comfortable experience." Which statement kind of answered his next question: "Why doesn’t anybody dance anymore?"

You got me, brother, but I’m busy in this face-plant where I fainted from the heat.
The crowd loved song after riotous song. "I Was Dancing In the Lesbian Bar" caused a roaring singalong. Soon, the heat, the late hour, the incompatible fans, some indefinable something caused some lunkheads in polo shirts to talk near the stage, louder than the performer, who was most certainly well-miked. And it wasn’t just one lunkhead, there were lunkhead pockets throughout the room. Conversations about stocks and options floated down the bar. It was bizarre, and who has the patience of the forebearance to pay $10 for a show they can’t hear over some drunken idiot’s lame financial advice? It was about this time it became clear our evening was nearing its conclusion.

So there you are in a club basement with 200 of your closest friends packed body to body and you’re each wondering if the life insurance your job offers will pay your beneficiaries in the event you die a beer-soaked sweltering death when you could’ve just as easily gotten up off your barstool and made a break for the exit and since staying until you pass out is probably walking that fuzzy accident/suicide line beyond which your unprepared family has to cough up the cash for interment you get up and go home Later you may discover the two pints of water you drank while watching a few minutes of Julia Child on Biography -- very interesting, by the way -- does not stave off the kind of dehydration that keeps even the experienced swinging rock fan in bed most of the next day.

But it was Jonathan. And people go a little crazy.

©2003 Robin Pastorio-Newman

---

Did you like this? We knew you would. Thank you to Rob, and to Sean from Altrok.

For more delicious dish from Jojoblog's Diva, read this.

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