Get all 10 Romanovsky & Phillips releases available on Bandcamp and save 40%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Turn Up the Fun!, Pittsburgh to Paris, It's A Boy! (a circus opera), Let's Flaunt It!, Brave Boys, Hopeful Romantic, Be Political Not Polite, Emotional Rollercoaster, and 2 more.
1. |
||||
|
When we met in San Francisco
I thought it was just a fling
I never thought this passion
Would amount to anything
But you took down my address
And the number of my phone
But what good is an address
When I am never home?
So you buzzed me down in Florida
Then I rang you up from Maine
But I really knew our love was true
When I called you from the airplane
chorus:
And the telephone company loves me
As much as I love you
They love it when I call collect
They love it when I dial direct
They don't care if we never rendezvous
Well at first only called you
Maybe once or twice a week
But the more I fell in love with you
I couldn't wait til we would speak
Now we've talked in every city
From Seattle to St. Paul
'Cause until I've said goodnight to you
I cannot sleep at all
And Ithink of you with longing
Each and every time I sing
I can't recall your face at all
But I can recognize your ring
(chorus)
I want a phone inside your briefcase
I want a phone inside your car
So I can always reach you
No matter where you are
And I dream about a future time
When you'll travel by my side
The cost to fly would be just as high
As these bills from MCI
(chorus)
|
||||
2. |
Sacrifices
03:06
|
|||
|
You say your love is strong
Your feelings ever true
You send me poems and sweet love letters
Trying to get me to fall in love with you
You say you'd cross an ocean
To show me how you feel
But would you let me go shopping with your MasterCard
To prove your love is real
‘Cause the ocean's cold
And the water's wide
And I may need some warmer clothing
While I'm waiting on the other side
You say your love is infinite
A river that goes on and on
But I am not so sure my darling
That your arms are where I do belong
You say you'd climb a mountain
To show that you're sincere
But would you learn to love my parents
If I let you call me "dear"
‘Cause the mountain's high
And the climb is steep
And you'll probably want to go there
When they come to visit for a week
You know that love is never easy
Love is sacrifice
Are you just trying to tease me
Or are you ready to pay the price?
Romance can be so thrilling
But love aint just a movie scene
Are you completely willing
To go through the bullshit in between?
You say you'd cross the desert
To show that you will stay
But will you scour and scrub the bathroom
To steal my heart away
'Cause the desert's hot
It's dusty and so dry
And you may need a nice cool shower
That is, if you make it back alive
|
||||
3. |
When I Hear a Love Song
04:07
|
|||
|
I touch the flower and it speaks to me
In a language of perfection, silently
I lift the petals to my nose
And know that I behold arose
But some things are not so easy to define
I question them all the time
chorus:
Am I in love with you?
Am I in love with love?
Is this the kind of stuff they say that dreams are made of?
I don't know what to think I don't know what to do
But when I hear a love song I think of you
I climb the mountains of New Mexico
High up where the juniper and pinon grow
I feel the earth beneath my feet
In a place where body and spirit meet
I wish the other things I long to understand
Would present themselves as plainly in my hand
(chorus)
One man's truth is another man's lie
One woman's happiness
Could make another cry
The greatest wisdom
Can't be found on any shelf
'Cause you would not believe it
Til you've lived it for yourself
I touch your heart to heart and skin to skin
I taste your passion
And I dare to drink you in
I hear the strength within your voice
And I'm unafraid to make this choice
No other man has ever come this close
To answering the question I ask the most
(chorus)
|
||||
4. |
I Like to Polka
03:19
|
|||
|
I go dancing at the disco
Whenever I'm lonely and depressed
But it doesn't help
I just feel sorry for myself
'Cause I'm the only one without a pumped up chest
So I go slamming with the punkers
Whenever I feel angry and mean
But I'm too polite, and my hair's not spiked
And it's brown instead of pink and green
Oh I save slow dancing for romancing
And I boogie when it's time to take my leave
But when I meet a guy
With a sparkle in his eye
I take out my accordion and polka!
I go clogging with the cowboys
Whenever I need the exercise
But I always trip, or step in pig shit
And that's when my enthusiasm dies
Oh I save slow dancing for romancing
And I boogie when it's time to take my leave
But when I meet a boy
Who fills my heart with joy
I take out my accordion and polka!
Oh, life is a party, so let's all dance!
There's no need to be alone
We'll have bread and kielbasa
And a glass of vodka
And then we'll polka til the cows come home
Oh I save slow dancing for romancing
And I boogie when it's time to take my leave
But when I meet a man
And he wants to hold my hand
I take out my accordion and polka!
Oh...life is a picnic, so take it slow!
You've already paid the rent
We'll have sauerkraut and noodles
And apple strudels
And then we'll polka to our heart's content
I do the fox trot when I'm feeling mighty hot
But when I'm happy, I really like to polka
Oh I just take out my accordion and polka
'Cause when I'm happy...I like to polka!
|
||||
5. |
||||
|
Hey there, Mister
I'm new in town
I'm lookin’ for something to do
Yes, I'm open to more than suggestions
Won't you tell me, how about you?
Well my dance card has plenty of openings
So if your evenings are free
Baby, take advantage of me
I've been watching my life through a window
Been wanting to come out and play
And now I've finally run out of excuses
For not taking time for aholiday
So if you're in need of diversion
And if you like what you see
Baby, take advantage of me
Take my heart
Shake my heart
Make my heart spin
Awake my heart
Partake of my heart
Break my heart in
It's been a long, long, restless Winter
But now the Spring has arrived
And don't you know I'm in the mood for some living
'Cause I'm finally feeling mighty alive
I'm so tired of resisting temptation
I'm ready to go on a spree
So baby, take advantage of me
|
||||
6. |
The Perfect Crime
03:41
|
|||
|
Why do I even turn my head
To your fancy smiles at me
You're a portrait of a lover
That I know will never be
The way you look at me, well
I can never understand
All the words you leave unspoken
Or the face behind the man
chorus:
'Cause you seem so untouchable
So flawless and so fine
To get away with loving you
Would be the perfect crime
You can surround me all at once
Your presence it fills the air
But when I look into your eyes
You're never really there
I know I will survive
If I never get to call you mine
But if you touch me once
Well then I think I'll need it all the time (chorus)
You make me want to give
And you're the only one I see
But for all of your perfection
I'm afraid that you're too good to ever want me
(chorus)
|
||||
7. |
A Measure of Sadness
02:59
|
|||
|
If Gershwin were writing this tune
He'd sit at the piano and croon
Love songs unbroken
In rhymes yet unspoken
Of starry-eyed lovers with hearts full of moon
But I'm the one writing this song
With a resume not quite as long
I stop and I stutter
I spout and I sputter
Knowing my track record's not quite so strong
You can't write a love song
When you're not in low
There's no heart, there's no soul
There's no love to the sound
And anyone will tell you that to do it well
Your heart must be broken and battered around
So don't despair if you're just not inspired
If your voice or your pen are too tired
Though it may feel terrific
To be so prolific
There's also a measure of sadness required
So if you don't feel a tune coming on
And your heart's beating healthy and strong
It could mean no one's used it
Or broken or bruised it
It could mean there's not enough wrong
You won't wax poetic
If you're apathetic
There's also a measure of sadness required
|
||||
8. |
Battle Scars
04:48
|
|||
|
The times I need you most
Are the times I want to run
It seems I can't be close
And still be one
Long ago I drifted away
To a secret hiding place
Now there's no more need to run
But I still like to escape
The times I want you most
Are the times I shut you out
I’m so afraid to trust
Even more afraid to doubt
Long ago I built walls
From enemies and fate
Now those foes have disappeared
But I still hallucinate
chorus:
Old wounds heal hard
They don't stop hurting
Some wounds never heal
Making it harder to feel
I can't feel a goddamn thing sometimes
The times I love you most
Are the times I can be cruel
I don't know how to love
I never learned the rules
Long ago I learned to fight
Learned too well I'm afraid
Now there’s no more need for weapons
But my ammunition remains
(chorus)
|
||||
9. |
Guilt Song
01:54
|
|||
|
What takes all your virtue
Destroys it in a flash?
What keeps you from forgiving
And holds on to the past?
What contaminates the soil
Makes all your petals wilt?
You know the answer is guilt
You might have gotten it from preachers
Or from your teachers too
Or was it an inheritance
Your parents gave to you?
Did they say you're undeserving
Do you play it to the hilt?
You know the reason is guilt
It's a man-made emotion
With a sweet and sour taste
As toxic and as useless
As nuclear waste
How long will you go on?
How long will you wait?
Before you will surrender
To love instead of hate
What is it that helps your wildest dreams
From being built?
You know the poison is guilt
You know the answer is guilt
|
||||
10. |
One for You, One for Me
04:28
|
|||
|
It's been along journey for two broken hearts
And we've come along way in pulling apart
We've talked 'til we're hoarse
And cried ‘til we've laughed
And started to tear our belongings in half
And now it appears all that’s left to divide
Are the people who think
That they have to take sides
When a couple breaks up
It's hard on their friends
So let's make it easy on them
And...
You take John and I'll take Sean
John and I never did get along
But I get Jim because I've slept with him
And I already wrote him a song
But if you take Barry
Don't leave me with Gary
Their relationship is over my head
If they take different sides
It may come to knives
And one of them will end up dead
One for you, one for me...
Now what about Kirk
He's been kind of a jerk
Though of course he always means to be kind
But one more night of his radiant light
And I could go out of my mind
Then there's Billy who makes me ill
He's constantly calling us day after day
That menage a trois was a dreadful faux pas
And now he just won't go away
One for you, one for me...
Who have you wanted
Who have you been haunted by
Who's been a family
Who's been a friend
Who drives you crazy
Who makes you angry
Who would you prefer to never see again?
Now it's gonna be hard
For me to let go of Gerard
But I can accept that it's what I must do
'Cause he’s your ex-lover
And just like a mother
He's very protective of you
But as for me and my buddy Stevie
There’s no disputing that we're old college friends
He's the truest of blue
And though he's been nice to you
Don't expect him to do it again
Sort through the memories, address books and names
Is this for real or is this just a game?
To Barry and Billy, Gerard and the rest
I'll say my goodbyes and I'll hope for the best
But who knew it would be as depressing as this?
I can let go of you, but these friends I will miss
So if there’s still time let’s forget what we’ve said
And just stay together instead!
One for you, one for me...
|
||||
11. |
A Song in My Heart
02:22
|
|||
|
Every time I see you
You've got a song for me
A lyric with a clever rhyme
Or a pretty melody
There's a song on your piano
There's a song on my guitar
And there's always been a song for you
A song for you in my heart
I can only wonder
Try to second guess
If there's love within your music
You're trying to express
When it comes loan unfinished symphony
Well, a chorus in search of a song
There at the top of the chart
Is the song for you in my heart
There's no need for sadness
No time for regret
Though we can't be lovers
We can still duet
And since we're not together
We'll never have to part
I'll always have a song for you
A song for you in my heart
I'll always have a song for you
A song in my heart
|
||||
12. |
These Things
04:15
|
|||
|
Love letters from across the sea
Reminders of a sweet affair
They keep alive the memory
Of secret pleasures men can share
These things I do respect
Perfect moments I collect
These things aren't mean to last
They live mostly in the past
But they make it all seem worthwhile
And they never fail to make me smile
The rose I placed upon your bed
The time we spoke our first goodbye
When no words needed to be said
'Cause they would only be a lie
These things I do adore
Gifts that leave you wanting more
These things so torn and tragic
Every bit so full of magic
They make it all seem worthwhile
And they never fail to make me smile
I fall in love, l fall apart
With my romantic heart
Now you could say that I'm a hopeless case
Or a hopeful romantic on a never-ending chase
A single glance that lit the spark
A fire that burned for seven years
And still it flickers in the dark
lnviting us to shed our fears
These are the things I treasure
Precious jewels of stolen pleasure
Like shadows in the sand
You cannot hold them in your hand
But they make it all seem worthwhile
And they never fail to make me smile
|
||||
Romanovsky & Phillips Santa Fe, New Mexico
Romanovsky & Phillips were the first “out and proud” American gay male musical duo to
achieve national
acclaim. From 1982-1999, an era when gay artists often hid their sexual orientation, this duo performed songs which openly celebrated their lives as gay men.
With tight harmonies and memorable melodies, their sassy and inspired songs uniquely capture the gay experience of those decades.
... more
If you like Hopeful Romantic, you may also like:
she/her/they/them
by Evan Greer
The singer-songwriter and activist considers the very purposes of protest songs.
go to album
An album of grief, hope, and transformation from indie rock/folk artist al Riggs that soars on melancholic melody and thoughtful lyrics.
go to album
Plangent and delicate songs, Americana in the Jason Molina mold, reflecting on mental health and sexuality.
go to album
earth to ursa major
by jordaan mason
Delicate, plangent indie rock from this Toronto singer-songwriter, who here explores the many aspects of depression.
go to album
Fragile as Humans
by Emily Barker
Australian singer-songwriter explores self-examination, loneliness, and post-pandemic malaise through delicate, empathetic folk pop.
go to album
Big, emotive pop songs with expansive instrumentation and heartrending vocals.
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 30, 2024
go to album
