Kites Are Fun Lyrics

KITES ARE FUN

(Chris Dedrick/The Lamplighter Publishing Company/SOCAN)

The title track to this album was literally the beginning of The Free Design. It was Chris Dedrick’s first song – and became the first chart hit of the band. “It’s a song to cheer you up,” says Chris. “I wrote it on a rainy day when I was feeling kind of lonely. I was thinking about a girl whose initials were K.A.F., and out of the initials popped Kites Are Fun. It says, ‘Whatever it is you like, go ahead and do your thing.’” Russ Savakus plays the introduction on Fender bass and Chris adds a jaunty recorder solo to the group’s singing.

I like flying, flying kites.
Flying kites, flying kites.
Kites are fun.

See my kite it’s fun,
See my kite, it’s green and white
Laughing in its distant flight
All that’s between us is a little yellow string,
But we like each other more than anything
And we run along together through the field behind my house
And the little drops of rain caress her face and wash my blouse
And we’d like to be a zillion miles away from everyone
‘Cause Mom and Dad and Uncle Bill don’t realize:
Kites are fun.

See my kite, it’s green and white
Laughing in its distant flight
All that’s between us is a little yellow string,
But we like each other more than anything
And we run along together through the field behind my house
And the little drops of rain caress her face and wash my blouse
And we’d like to be a zillion miles away from everyone
‘Cause Mom and Dad and Uncle Bill don’t realize:

I like flying, flying kites.
Flying kites, flying kites.
Kites are fun.

MAKE THE MADNESS STOP

(Chris Dedrick/The Lamplighter Publishing Company/SOCAN)

All three Dedricks contributed to this song, which Chris feels is the most exciting thing they have created so far. Riding over a tremendous beat supplied by drummer Bill Lavorgna, the tune starts in 5/4, then goes into 4/4, using irregular phrase lengths. The lyric, Chris points out, expresses an attitude about the split between hippies and straight society. “We’re saying keep your eyes open to both sides of issues.” he says. “Don’t blow your mind completely. If it takes drugs to free your mind, you’re reaching out for nothing. Your own imagination is where it’s at.”

Come along, come along-
Follow the way that leads between madness and madness
Flowers on both sides, each side has weeds and gladness and sadness

Whoa, whoa, walk the way of love, eyes open
fly the skies above with hope and heart and sense
Whoa, whoa, blow your mind but not completely
make the madness stop
Deplete we must the store of hate immense and men grouping groping nonsense

Pathways are green and black and white and yellow and crimson
Walk on the rainbow flooded by boths sides truths and opinions

Honesty and purity, beauty and sincerity
Doesn’t that sound corny
Wish that I were corny

Whoa, whoa, walk the way of love, eyes open
fly the skies above with hope and heart and sense
Whoa, whoa, blow your mind but not completely
make the madness stop.

WHEN LOVE IS YOUNG

(Sandy Dedrick Zynczak and Stefanie Dedrick/The Lamplighter Publishing Company/SOCAN)

This gentle ballad is a showcase for the lovely, pure-toned voice of Sandy Dedrick. She wrote the song with her younger sister, Stefanie. The beautiful guitar introduction and backing are played by Ralph Casale and Jay Berliner, both playing classical guitars. Even though it is primarily a solo arrangement, Chris has used a woven pattern of voices to change the color and texture of the arrangement in the latter stages, when it builds and spreads and then settles down to a gentle, restful ending.

When love is young, as fresh as dew
A song is sung, so warm and new,
It winds its way, bursts into bloom
An April day turned into June
Summer is born.

I walk the fields, there’s warmth above
The thought it yields is of my love
A lazy stream, its solitude
A summer dream, a quiet mood
Plays on my mind.

The summer of a young girl’s life
Is meant for love not pain or strife
a time for change, a time to stay
to rearrange for another day
Another day.

THE PROPER ORNAMENTS

(Chris Dedrick/The Lamplighter Publishing Company/SOCAN)

Father Art Dedrick’s suggestion that Chris write something with trumpets was the starting point of this song. There are two trumpets – C trumpets – played by Marvin Stamm and Ted Weiss, weaving all through the piece in an ornamental, baroque style. But there is also a very efective use of cello by George Ricci to add still another color to the piece. Notice that even though Chris’ arrangement is complicated by frequent shifts among the voices, a mingling of vocalizing and words, and subtle changes in the instrumentation, there is overall a feeling of simplicity and directness. In fact, the way the song is developed, it avoids the very kind of ornamentation with which the lyrics deal.

Ba Ba Ba…
Ornaments of Life, ornaments of life
There’s your brand new car, sir, here’s your hat and gloves
There’s your pretty wife, sir, whom you almost love

There’s your color TV set and your impressive pad
There’s your little baby girl you’re almost glad you had
Such a pretty dress, miss, such a graceful walk
Bubbling femininity, authoritative talk
There’s your man he’s prominent; treats you like a queen
All your little secrets kept, your reputations clean
The proper ornaments of life.

Gotta have status
have a paid vacation,
have an intellectual education
ornaments of life
proper ornaments of life

fur coats, jewels and laces, bright red lipstick, big cars, money, tuxes and top hats
hide behind the mask of clothes and makeup: ornaments
There’s your brand new car, sir, here’s your hat and gloves
There’s your pretty wife, sir, whom you almost love
There’s your color TV set and your impressive pad
There’s your little baby girl you’re almost glad you had

What’s behind that countenance
What’s behind the lace,
What is in your mind and heart
Thats hidden by your face
Behind the ornaments in your life?

Ba, ba, ba.

MY BROTHER WOODY

(Chris Dedrick/The Lamplighter Publishing Company/SOCAN)

Chris’ brother Woody is eight years old. His real name is Jason, but he and a second cousin who lives across the street have a group; and for “professional” purposes they call themselves Wo and Woody – The Woodpeckers (“We Live In The Sea”). Woody plays ukelele and, Chris says, plays all the right changes. In this song, Chris and Sandy and Bruce have caught the lively feeling of a little boy busy with his fun. Ralph Casale and Jay Berliner set the introduction on guitar, while Bill Lavorgna’s drumming helps to build the piece as it becomes livelier and livelier.

Hikin’ a football between his knees
runnin’ to catch a pass
Climbing up the friendly trees,
fallin’ in the grass
My brother Woody.

Singin’ a song and playin’ guitar
laughin’ at every goof
Tryin’ to touch the morning star
from the toolshed roof
My brother Woody

Don’t go away and leave the lights on
Curtain strings don’t get yanked
Gotta watch out for Mom “the Bomb”
Be good enough not to get spanked
My brother Woody

DON’T TURN AWAY

(Chris Dedrick/The Lamplighter Publishing Company/SOCAN)

The guitars of Jay Berliner and Tony Mottola introduce this haunting ballad and continue underneath, as a brass choir builds gradually behind the singers. Chris wrote the song from “the feelings and experience about what it’s like when things aren’t going so great – that’s the time to really cling to each other.” Ray Alonge’s French horn solo reflects the mood that the three singers establish in the earlier parts of the song.

If we have a troubled time, do you stop admiring me?
When we see that we aren’t perfect, do you stop desiring me?
I could keep your eyes from crying
Please don’t turn your back on me;
You could keep my heart from dying.
Let me hold you, tenderly.

Don’t turn away from me,
don’t increase the distance between us when things aren’t right.
I love you truly so help me, oh
Please let me bury my face in your hair
and my hopes in your care,
My love in your body, my life in your heart
beating sadly on nights such as this-
Dissolved in one kiss.

I could keep your eyes from crying
Please don’t turn your back on me;
You could keep my heart from dying.
Let me hold you, tenderly.

UMBRELLAS

(Bruce Dedrick/The Lamplighter Publishing Company/SOCAN)

Imagery and picture painting fill this song, much as they do in Kites Are Fun – a sea of umbrellas on a rainy day is finally broken up as the sun comes peeking through the clouds. Finger cymbals and orchestra bells tinkle through the opening with the guitars of Ralph Casale and Jay Berliner; and, as the feeling of the song gets stronger, the trumpets of Joe Wilder and Rusty Dedrick join in, Paul Griffin’s organ fills out the background, and the two French horns (Ray Alonge and Tony Miranda) open up in full cry in the background.

I’m walking down the street in the rain, my umbrella high above my head,
High above my head.
Puddles along the wet sidewalks and gutters, (pitter patter)
Rain lightly falling from the sky (pitter patter)
Rain lightly falling from the sky.

Red and green and free design,
Umbrellas are in bloom, nourished by the rain.

I’m walking down the street in the rain, my umbrella high above my head,
High above my head.

Though the clouds, the blackness and rain
I see the lightning strike as though it were pain.
Rain falling hard on a sea of umbrellas,
A colorful bottomless ocean.
Then the wind it blows and it blows,
I see the umbrellas bend, they creak and they groan.
Gusting down alleys and through streets of cars
Causing unbottled unspent commotion.

I spy a patch of blue through a cloud,
A patch of blue through a shroud.
Hopefully umbrellas hide and shrink and close
As the noonday sun peeks through the clouds.

NEVER TELL THE WORLD

(Sandy Dedrick Zynczak, Chris Dedrick and Stefanie Dedrick as co-composer/The Lamplighter Publishing Company/SOCAN)

Sandy and Stephanie wrote this urgently rhythmic song and Chris developed it musically. The girls gave Chris a sheet of paper on which they had written the lyrics, a couple of chord symbols and some melodic notations. Chris took it from there. The tune is built on a simpler structure than most of the others by The Free Design, and Chris has worked a lot of counterpoint into it. Notice the clean, easy precision of the trio’s vocal and the open swinging attack that both The Free Design and the musicians develop toward the end.

Never tell the world, no, no, no.

Never tell the world, never give it reason
To mock a love like ours; never sing our song.
Keep it locked inside, keep it just between us.
Keep it secret, never confide until they all have seen us.

Never has the world complied with a love that seems to reproach it;
And every wrong-spoken word that we’ve ever heard….warns us:
We better keep our cool, our love’s too precious,
People hate a broken rule, people won’t accept us.

But someday the world might change and a love like ours might belong,
But until that day comes along…never tell.

STAY ANOTHER SEASON

(Chris Dedrick/The Lamplighter Publishing Company/SOCAN)

Unlike the rest of Chris Dedrick’s songs, this one started out as an attempt at writing a poem. As a result, he points out, the lyric is relatively more important than the music; and, because of the development of the poem, the song is longer than usual. On this one, The Free Design is backed by a brass team made up of Joe Wilder and Bernie Glow on trumpets, Buddy Morrow, trombone and Ray Alonge, French horn, as well as the two-guitar team of Jay Berliner and Tony Mottola and Dick Hyman’s organ, all of which are woven into the background tapestry that Chris has constructed for the group’s singing. And they all contribute to the big, walloping ending with which The Free Design brings this debut album to an impressive climax.

Stay, stay another season, wait, wait before we cry,
The wrong is outside us.

You’re right my friend as always,
You’re right in what you think.
You’re wise my love, I know it;
The wine of truth we drink.
For all that’s pure must perish someday; the ship of warmth must surely sink.
You’re right my friend as always; you’re right in what you think.

But stay, stay; wait, wait.
Stay another season, wait before we cry,
The wrong is outside us, but inside us our love can never die.

Each spring that ripens to fruitful summertime
Comes after that cold winter when tenderness is crime.
No one can believe in love or conceive in love like ours.
Some other season they’ll get their way, regret their way,
But let’s be colorblind and numb to time while we may.

You’re right my friend as always, yet before our hearts we rend
Lets love while love is in us; consider not the end.
‘Tis best we love the sun, noonday sun, forget the frightful night.
Accept the winter’s coming, yet bask in summer’s light.

But stay, stay; wait, wait.
Stay another season, wait before we cry,
The wrong is outside us, but inside us our love can never die.
But stay, stay; wait, wait.
Stay another season, wait before we cry,
The wrong is outside us.

Additional liner notes for non-original songs:

59th BRIDGE STREET SONG (FEELIN’ GROOVY): The Free Design have reached out to another source for this song – to Paul Simon of Simon and Garfunkel. Chris’ arrangement catches the easy, groovy feeling of the song. Starting with Bill Lavorgna’s gentle cymbal and Russ Savakus’ bass, the instrumentation builds behind the singers, along with Paul Griffin’s organ and two trumpets played by Joe Wilder and Uncle Rusty Dedrick; the brass murmuring at first, then throwing in crisp punctuations and finally coming right out in the open. The mood is wrapped with a bubbling vocal riff over a soft curtain of brass.

MICHELLE: The challenge of creating a fresh approach to as well established a success as the Beatles’ Michelle led Chris Dedrick to a treatment that is rhythmically stronger and musically more broadly developed than usual. With Stan Freeman’s harpsichord, George Ricci’s cello and a woodwind quartet made up of Romeo Penque, Ray Beckenstein, Phil Bodner and Stanley Webb throwing in warm dashes of colour into the background, Chris takes the singers through some forthright ensemble singing that leads to an expansive cathedral tone for an ending.

A MAN AND A WOMAN: Like 59th Street Bridge Song and Michelle, this is an example of The Free Design going to other sources. This warmly rhythmic song, written by Francis Lai for the film A Man and A Woman, puts The Free Design in a more traditional vocal pattern than they usually use. It is interesting to find that, even in this style, their vocal blend has a dinstinctive depth and richness. A four-flute team and Bob Rosengarden’s vibraphone weave their way behind the singers most of the way, with Phil Bodner throwing in a solo flute obbligato at a couple of judicious points.