All lyrics by Carolyn Sills
POI ROGERS - WHIRLIGIG (2026)
Gil Carter
No one saw it coming; he sent that tater sailing over the left field wall into some fella's tree. Some say it was a pear but at that many feet in air you can see why it seemed more like a peach to me.
I was just a babe then, didn't know what I was seeing or had sense enough to know I couldn't believe, the day Gil Carter launched the longest home run in the history of the game down the Carlsbad city streets.
Some say six hundred fifty feet while others seven hundred thirty three, and Gil himself he owned the ball, the Louisville 182 and all and folks would come to Kansas just to see. Imagine being in those stands, Potasher and Odessa fans, now witnessing a slug of history, the day Gil Carter launched the longest home run in the history of the game down the Carlsbad city streets.
The papers sent reporters out to document the distance of the journey Carter's mighty swing did wield, destination two blocks and a peach tree from home plate at Montgomery Field.
No one saw it coming; it didn't even change the game, at six to two Odessa had them beat. But Carter's record still remains, they put him in the hall of fame weeks after he crossed into the wheat.
The longest ball you've never seen, no replays on a tv screen, just documented by a single peach; the day Gil Carter launched the longest home run in the history of the game down the Carlsbad city streets.
Foggy Bay
The bay, the bay’s fogged in
It waits on tree tops and then
It breaks midday to let the sun
Begin its lonely dive until the evening comes
The fog is simply fog
The space between the whiskers of your dog
The hover that is morning’s quite gloom
The ever present linger in the room
All is calm, all is dark
The welcome kind you lean on as you walk
The bay, the bay’s fogged in
It waits on tree tops and then
It breaks midday to let the sun
Begin its lonely dive until the evening comes
Telephone Tune
Welcome to excuses I can no longer make
I tried to reach you but the line was dead
The busy signal burnt a hole in my head
Your answering machine must have run out of tape
Welcome to excuses I can no longer make
I thought I had your number but my phonebook was lost
I would have called long distance but I couldn’t bear the cost
I tried the operator but they must have been on break
Welcome to excuses I can no longer make
I know I should have answered when you call that night my friend
But no one knows whose voice is waiting on the other end
I couldn’t find a phone booth when you needed me to call
The cord was disconnected from the dial on the wall
I almost tried you early but you might not have been awake
Welcome to excuses I can no longer make
Out California Way
(Original lyrics & arrangement of the Foster Carling & Jack Meakin song)
Made up my mind to go where I’m always gonna stay
I’ll lay a bet you’ll know where, out California way
I’m gonna stroll the Redwoods, paddle along the Bay
My life I’m gonna slow down, out California way
With my dog trottin’ near me I’ll get lost in Yosemite for days on end
I’ll salute the Sugarous with no cares and no sorrows in this desert wonderland
I’m feeling mighty lucky, such beauty on display
That’s why you’re gonna find me out California way
In the shade of Sequoias you can’t help but enjoy a sleepy afternoon
In the sloughs and the marshes we can tread with goloushes while the egrets sing a tune
I’m feeling mighty lucky, such beauty on display
That’s why you’re gonna find me out California way
When Begonias Come Back to Capitola
(Based on ‘When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano’ by Leon René)
When begonias come back to Capitola
That’s the day you promised to come back to me
When you whispered farewell my dear begonia
They grew no more in Capitola by the Sea
The parade will ride once more
With all its floats adorned
The pelicans will soar
O’er that aquatic floral pageantry
When begonias come back to Capitola
That’s the day we’ll meet once more beside the sea
Pineapple Pizza
May there be pineapples on your pizza
I wish for jalapeños on there too
If this life is pure elation if you curb your expectations
Then darling here is all I wish for you
May you always find guitar picks in the laundry
May you always have a decent place to park
May you never find a hair in your pasta primaver
May fireflies always find you in the dark
May you always have a shoulder if you need one
May you always have a beverage if you don’t
May the simply things sustain you and the mundane entertain you
And most of all I mean this from my heart
Poi Rogers - TWILIGHT BLUES (2025)
Don’t Steal My Covers
Don’t steal my covers if you’re lying in my bed
You can have my pillow if you need to rest your head
Nights are getting colder and my skivvies are bare thread
So don’t steal the covers off my bed
You can raid my ice box until the deviled eggs are gone
You can drink my liquor until you don’t know right from wrong
You can build a go-kart with the tools inside my shed
Just don’t steal the covers off my bed
You can play my records if you treat them as your own
You can call your chickens from my rotisserie phone
What’s mine is yours so welcome in, we’ll paint the whole place red
Just don’t steal the covers off my
Don’t steal the covers
Please don’t steal the covers off my bed
Twilight Blues
Twilight blues, twilight blues
I’ve got those twilight blues
Twilight blues, twilight blues
I’ve got those twilight blues
There goes the day
I still had more to say
Twilight blues, twilight blues
I’ve got those twilight blues
Tuesday in Las Cruces
It was a Tuesday in Las Cruces, it was Valentine’s Day
It was the only bar still open for all the only ones awake
That’s when I kissed you in Las Cruces; I didn’t know what else to do
Either that or you’d keep talking and I really wanted to
I was never one for billiards, there’s just something about that sound
When the cue ball strikes the others, like a hammer on the ground
But I’m all for throwing objects with sharp points against a wall
On a Tuesday in Las Cruces, when February rains don’t fall
It was a Tuesday in Las Cruces, it was Valentine’s Day
We met a man who played piano, he used to drive for Cassius Clay
I said I loved you in Las Cruces; I didn’t know what else to do
I feared you’d be the first to say it and I really wanted to
I’d rather get to know a stranger than sit here talking about myself
For if we had nothing in common, wouldn’t we both be somewhere else
But at this bar and at this hour, don’t we all just want the same
On a Tuesday in Las Cruces, in February in the rain
It was a Tuesday in Las Cruces, it was Valentine’s Day
They began to turn the lights on, to turn us all out on our way
We fell in love that night Las Cruces; we didn’t know what else to do
And you kindly made it happen, though we really wanted to
Yes you kindly made it happen, so Las Cruces here’s to you
Why Oh Why Have I Not Been To Hawaii
Why oh why, why oh why
Have I not been to Hawaii
Not watched the sun go down on Waikiki
Why oh why, why oh why
Have I not been to Hawaii
Not spent the night beneath a Koa tree
I’ve strolled the cells of Alcatraz, surrounded by the sea
But why I’ve not been to Hawaii’s more criminal to me
Why oh why, why oh why
Have I not been to Hawaii
Not seen the seven islands of the reef
I’ve strolled the cells of Alcatraz, surrounded by the sea
But why I’ve not been to Hawaii’s more criminal to me
Why oh why, why oh why
Have I not been to Hawaii
Not seen the seven islands of the
All the people smiling on the
Sacred seven islands of the reef
You’re All That I Need
I’ll never hold somebody new
My arms are only aching for you
No one can take your place
Darling in my embrace
You’re all that I need
And when my lips burn with desire
No other kiss can put out the fire
I’ll never even try
No one would satisfy
You’re all that I need
I’ll never grow tired of your smile so tender
The sweet surrender in your eyes
How can I grow tired when there’s still no embers
This flame is burning to the sky
Just like a tattoo on my heart
Your love remains when we’re apart
There’s nothing more to say
Except I’m here to stay
You’re all that I need
Can’t Get A Long Little Doggie
I finally found a nest out west where I could swing the rent
The place was clean, the trees were nice, the view was heaven sent
But there was just one rule of which the landlord’s much too proud
He just won’t budge about that sign that says ‘No dogs allowed’
That’s why I can’t get a long little doggie
I can’t even get one that’s small
No I can’t get a long little doggie
I can’t get a doggie at all
I didn’t play guitar too loud and paid the rent on time
And after several months of this I figured they were primed
I kindly asked for reconsideration on a mutt
But they were locked and loaded with a ‘no if, ands or buts’
That’s why I can’t get a long little doggie
I can’t even get one that’s small
No I can’t get a long little doggie
I can’t get a doggie at all
Some months passed and doggone it if I finally felt fed up
A life well lived is lived beside a loyal little pup
I mustered up and went to tell the landlord that was that
And wouldn’t you know his house was filled with forty seven cats
That’s why I can’t get a long little doggie
I can’t even get one that’s small
No I can’t get a long little doggie
I can’t get a doggie at all
Moon Over Montana
Moon over Montana, shine through the night
Moon over Montana, lend your silvery light
While the herd is lowing, you’re so near it seems
Light the lonely prairie, while the cowboys dream
