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Makin It Up (Right As We Go Along)

from Maxims, Mantras & Moral Tales by Sam Steffen

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lyrics

Some folks’ll tell you if you wanna be happy, havin a plan is the only way
You gotta get all your ducks in a row if you want those birds to lay
But my whole philosophy of life is, here today, then you’re gone
Might as well make the whole thing up right as you go along

Well I went to see my fortune teller to learn about my destiny
She took ahold of both of my hands said, Well come here now, let me see
I asked her how she could tell my future just from lookin down at my palms
She winked and said, Honey, we’re just makin it up, right as we go along

Well I got this one friend, he’s an actor, he works on the broadway stage
He’s the sorta fella can play any character of any gender, class or age
He says sometimes he’ll forget a line, but the show—it must go on
After that you’re just makin it up right as you go along

I knew a man was a high-stakes gambler, he was a wizard at roulette
I watched him hustle a millionaire right out of the keys to a brand-new corvette
He said, you know you can’t guess right all the time, but it’s awful hard to be wrong
When you’re just makin the whole thing up, right as you go along

I met a man could play the guitar better than anybody else I knew
Everything from jazz to swing to folk rock and the blues
He said I may not know all of the words ever written to every song
But it’s okay when you’re just makin it up right as you go along

I got these friends, they live uptown, they make love look like such a sinch
They first met back when the war was on and they’ve been married ever since
I said, “With so many people getting divorced, how is it that you’ve stayed so strong?”
The said, Hell, we’ve just been makin it up right as we go along

Well the Corinthians wrote to old saint paul about this problem that they had
It seems despite discovering Christianity, folks was still behaving bad
Paul wrote back and in so many words he said, “Keep calm—carry on—”
Like he was just makin the whole thing up right as he went along

Lastnight I was watchin the old TV, and I caught some of the presidential debate
All these characters was up on stage for the audience to interrogate
Everytime anybody was accused of something, they’d deny it and say, “That’s wrong”
Just like they was just makin it up, right as they went along

credits

from Maxims, Mantras & Moral Tales, released October 3, 2021

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Sam Steffen Boise, Idaho

Sam Steffen is a Pennsylvania-bred, Boise-based singer-songwriter whose songs are the torch-wood for a new generation of folk music that has learned from the best stuff in the tradition and aims in spite of everything to keep the human spirit alive and kicking. A versatile musician and skilled finger-picker, Sam is at heart a story-teller, and a prolific one. ... more

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