The Douglas Brothers – Notions lyrics

Randy worked in Notions,
Down on the fourth floor.
I’d see him straightening the little buttons,
The possibilities and the not-quite sures.
He had a knack for nick-knacks
And tying on ribbons and bows —
The little bits and pieces
That hold together the highs and lows.

Me I worked all over,
Moving boxes as need be,
Saying I liked it when I was left alone,
But really wishing I wouldn't be.
And more often than not
I’d end up down on four
To listen to Randy talk of iron-on patches
And all that we’re looking for.

The notions he had
Were a marvel its true.
He’d say things like “Money is a curtain that hides an empty room”.
And when asked where one could find the sequins and glue,
He’d answer, “You have to tear your eyes from paradise if you want to do all you can do”.

I remember when he talked to Roland in Electronics
Who wore a white shirt
As antiseptic as his dreams
To get everything to work.
Roland carried a little black box in his pocket
And a lot of different keys,
And worried about the pace of change
And what it was he might really need.

He was smiling when he left him.
A true smile it was too.
Not the kind filled with smugness or from getting more than you’re due.
What Randy said to him Roland never did say, but he started writing poetry
In black and white and grey.

And he talked to Marci down in Receiving
Who always fretted for her back
‘Cause there’s no telling what might come in
On that old railroad track.
Marci thought she’d like travel
On a cargo ship someday,
But worried she’d end up like the gulls
That never fly away.

But after Randy showed her some thimbles and buttons shaped like drops of rain
I never saw Marci
At the store again.

So people would come to see him
Pretending they needed thread.
Eventually though they’d always get
What they really wanted instead.
How he got so wise
No one was really sure —
Probably just by listening and
Believing something crazy like love’s the cure

Ah the notions he had
Were a marvel its true
He’d say things like “Its a mistake to walk in shoes that aren't for you”.
And when asked where one could find the sequins and glue, he’d answer, “If you stop listening to your heart, it will stop talking to you”.

I left the store many years ago
And began wandering here and there,
Collecting bits and pieces of
Little beginnings and almost there’s.
But thinking back the other day
I remembered Randy’s kind face.
And how he’d say, “Notions are just notions unless you take them someplace”

I guess everyone has notions
Tucked in boxes and drawers,
And I guess they’re a lot like old memories
Picked up in department stores.