It took me a while to get used to the slow smoky style of this number. Iris Tramm's first song. It's now one of my favorites. Iris has a dog, a German shepherd named Meadows, who is an important character in the story. She sings to him about her disillusionment with men, hence the refrain " That's why I live with my dog." The song hints that nevertheless falling for Norman Paperman. At Coconut Grove Iris sang to an amazingly lifelike puppet dog, whitch all but upstaged her, and won the audience affection all though the evening.
Shelia says the heart is just a muscle
Shelia says the heart is cooled by time
Hiding out for years down in these trade winds
In the land of coconuts and limes
Chorus:
I've played this game for too long
My life's just one same old song
Now marooned for a time on this island
I go into and out of the fog
And that's why I live with my dog
Instrumental Bridge
Men oh, men oh, oh men I've known to many
Deceivers cloaked in clumsy vanity
What men lack in love and understanding
They make up in stupidity
Chorus:
But now and then one comes along
And lights up my world like a song
I am tempted to unleash my interest
Yet I put it to you man's best friend\
There's just one sad old way it can end
Bridge:
We have our faults
But men have only two
All that they say
All that they do
You're a joy and a friend and a guardian
Never bored with my sad monologue
You're better off with a dog
Sheila says the heart's just a muscle
Sheila says the heart's just a muscle