An album like this almost makes me understand why highbrows get drawn to Coe. In a way this tapestry of Coe's guts laying out for all to see is comparable to a Scott Walker album, but instead of twisting and transmogrifying music to express his inner workings, Coe just quilts together every existing music stuff he can to get his point across. Sorrowful wailing sad sax (on part three of "For Lover's Only", now taking a sorry twist), happy New Orleans music (on the title track), moody Doo Wop (on the cover of the Jerry Butler/Curtis Mayfield Vee Jay classic "For Your Precious Love," peppy Bluegrass (on "Blue Grass Morning," a pot pun), it's all here. And if the extended letter to the fans, explaining his recent divorce and his recovery, weren't enough, there are more spoken intros and recitations than you can shake divorce papers at. I guess depending on how well this works to you, if it's cohesive or if it's a mess, you could either see him as a genius or a fool. This album also features the lushly orchestrated "Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile," a giant hit for Coe.

Lyrics:

Mona Lisa Lost her Smile
Mona Lisa's lost her smile and the painter's hands are trembling now
And if she's out there running wild it's just because I taught her how
The masterpiece that we had planned is laying shattered on the ground
Mona Lisa's lost her smile and the painter's hands are trembling now

Tiny eyes that used to burn for me now they no longer look my way
And the love that used to be love I just lost in yesterday
And if she seems cold to the touch well there used to burn a flame
I gave too little took too much till I erased the painter's name
Mona Lisa's lost her smile...
[ guitar ]
Mona Lisa's lost her smile...

Sweet Angeline
Sweet Angeline I hope nobody ever hurts you Angeline
You're still a child but I can see the
woman fighting to bust out
And take you far away from me sweet Angeline
Sweet Angeline you're young and free
Don't ever let nobody get inside your mind
Until you get too blind to see sweet Angeline
Angeline don't let nobody tell you
that your dad don't love you
And your mother Angeline sweet Angeline Angeline
[ guitar ]
Angeline don't let nobody tell you
that your dad don't love you
And your mother Angeline sweet Angeline
[ banjo ]
Angeline

He's Taking It Hard (She's Taking It Easy)
He's taking it hard she's taking it easy
She's living it up and he's living it down
He's walking the floor looking for answers
She's out on the floor all over town

Ain't that the way that love goes when love goes to pieces
Ain't that the truth when you find out you're living a lie
Ain't love the reason we both took a chance on each other
Ain't it each other we both swore we wanted to try

He's taking it hard she's taking it easy
She's drying her eyes but his are still wet
He wishes he could just hold her until she remembers
She wishes she could find someone to make her forget
He's taking it hard she's taking it easy

For Lovers Only, (Part 3)
The last verse was the hardest the hardest to get
through This verse for old lost lovers this song I
wrote for you She's at the point of no return
there's no more candles left to burn She's broken
every chain that bound her to your soul She
doesn't care what's right or wrong you've been her
victim for too long She knows you're too weak to
be strong you'll lose control Nothing seems to
bother her she's as cool as cool has ever been She
knows she can handle you you've been her fool
since God knows when [ sax ]
There's no more chances left to take you're just
another heart she'll break You're not the first
one or the last to come along She knows exactly
how you feel you think you got a dirty deal You
left your heart where she could steal it for a
song [ sax - banjo ]

Thief In My Bedroom
There's a thief in my bedroom but I'm not afraid
Thieves all get caught by mistakes that they've made
This one has torn my emotions apart
somebody's stealing my heart

Well somebody's kisses are wet on my lip
somebody's face is at my fingertips
Somebody's holding me tight in their grips
somebody's stealing my heart
[ fiddle ]
There's a thief in my bedroom...
[ guitar ]
Well somebody's kisses...
[ fiddle ]

Just Divorced
Just divorced was written on the window of the car
It looked like a tombstone parked beside the local
bar Once he'd drove it crazy now he's driven it
too far Just divorced was written on the window of
the car

Someone wrote in soap it's over right across the
hood On the door it said good riddance boy I feel
good On the fender were the words I won't be home
tonight And the jukebox in the bar played if
you're gonna do me wrong do it right Laughed so
hard I thought now there's a guy who's got some
spunk What a sense of humor it said goodbye on the
trunk Tin cans tied with paper streamers pointing
to the bar Just divorced was written on the window
of the car Just divorced was written...

It's Great To Be Single Again
No more dirty dishes in the sink when I come home
I don't have to worry if I'll spend the night alone
I can go to sleep and leave my record player on
You're not there to hear me if I cry

There's no way to say how much your leavin' turned me on
I get so excited when I realize you're gone
You're just like another verse in some old country song
I got tired of singin' long ago
I don't even miss you when I go to bed at night
Gee it's great to know that I'll win each and every fight
No one's arms to hold me after I turn out the light
And I don't even miss you anymore
I don't have to feed the dog or take the garbage out
It don't matter if the neighbors hear me when I shout
Since you're gone there's not much that I have to think about
I'm so happy being all alone
There's no more dirty dishes...
(Lord I feel so good tonight)
[ horns ]
(Yeah and it's great to be single again)

Blue Grass Morning
She packed her bags and moved to Florida I've been
blue since she's been gone And this bowling green
motel room is now my old Kentucky home All she
left me was some whiskey and these funny
cigarettes she rolled It must have been her main
intention to watch our dreams go up in smoke It's
another blue grass morning I'm gonna blow my mind
away In this smoke old motel room looks like it's
gonna be another blue grass day [ guitar ]
She's soakin' up the sun in Florida I'm smokin' up
this motel room She's sippin' drinks down by the
ocean I'm guzzlin' blue Kentucky moon It's another
blue grass morning... [ guitar - banjo ]

For Your Precious Love
You know when I first started doing this album I thought
All these songs about just gettin' the divorce
And there was one thing I wanted to tell you darlin' darlin'
Before the music stops for me and you and that's what you meant to me
And even thought the divorce is final now
I wanted to sing you this one last love song

Your precious love means more to me than any love could ever be
For when I wanted you I was so lonely and so blue
For that's what love will do
And darlin' (I'm so surprised) oh when I first realized
That you weren't fooling me
And darlin' they say that our love won't grow
But I just want to tell them that they don't know
For as long as you're in love with me our love
will grow wider depper than any sea
And of all the things all the things that I want in this whole wide world
Is just for you to say that you'll be my girl
Oooh (wanting you) I'm wanting you (I'm so
blue) oh that's what live will do

I gave it a hundred and ten percent of my soul
And I tried everything I could to hold it together
But now that it's over I just wanted you to know
That anytime you have sunshine you're gonna have bad weather
Some people they can handle that and some people can't
Just for the record another chapter in my life
And you were that chapter just divorced
Maybe they should write that on my tombstone darlin'
Would that make you happy then
Your precious love means more...