Diskographie & Lyrics

What a thing to be a witness to the sunshine
What a dream to just be walking on the ground
What a time to live among the ash and remnants of our love
That came before and I’m still looking for that now

It took centuries to build these twisted cities
It took seconds to reduce them down to dust
And all the tour guide could say was take your pictures folks it’s late
And try your best please to remember what was done

Don’t look so forlorn
Don’t you look so scared
Don’t get so upset
This world was never fair

But there are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
There are hundreds of ways
Now you just find one

I used to think that time was of the essence
Now I just wish I could get some sleep
All this strange parade of sounds
The city makes when I lie down
Little explosions that set fire to my dreams

Sometimes I get mistaken for this actor
And I guess that I can see it from the side
Maybe no one really seems to be
The person that they mean to be
I hope I am forgotten when I die

Don’t contradict me
Don’t make me cross the line
If you feel threatened
It’s only because I might

But there are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
But there are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
Yes there are hundreds of ways
So you best find one

All my heroes they’re all talk
Running in circles
Some stop, watch, some chaos
Love was the message, full stop

We ramble on and on
We ramble on and on
Hey!

I stole all the rhinestones out of Carolina
Sold them out in Bakersfield for cash
Now the bandshell had a band
Sound like an arcade in Japan
Blew all my quarters trying to get that feeling back

Now any sucker can turn boredom into violence
A sociopath riding on a bus
And his irises are black from his novelty contacts
He looks around but he can’t see the rest of us

In my sunglasses
Don’t mind the blinding light
Yeah it’s getting dark, bro
But I've always loved the night

But there are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
There are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
There are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
There are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of ways
To get through the day
Just find one

Righteousness is its own reward
Solitude is what I shoot for
What good is behind me now?
It doesn't count

Butterflies and the hangers on
Come by my house, see the lights on
They wanna have their say
At my front gate

Well I don't know what to tell you man
It has really been too long
Whatever I had to give away
Whatever I had to give away
Is gone

A broken heart is a natural death
But to never love, that is tragic
And the far worse of the two
I can assure you

It's never hard to make a fast friend
Someone to dance till the song ends
The trick is gettin' loose
Once they got you

Well I don't know what to tell you kid
Though it really is too bad
All that I tried to push away
All that I tried to push away
Came back

All that crowded loneliness made for a long day
All that crowded loneliness gave me a long face
Everywhere I go I think I went the wrong way
All that crowded loneliness made for a long day

Mind is blown but her body's still in shock
Can't see nothing as she's staring at the kitchen clock
Feels so bland in the eye of the storm it's a bedroom day
We should switch we should pass ourselves around
Meet me at the corner tear your dream home down
It's a goddamn shit-show out here now
Something to tell you 'bout that someone told me 'bout
I know I'm weak and this weekend you'll find out
Yes, I sleep at that fucking whore's house now
But it's cinematic, cinematic fades to black
Every day is a rodeo, man
No one's gonna change, nobody ever does
No one's gonna change, no one is changing for you
No one's gonna change, nobody ever does
And I'm never gonna do what you want me to
Sitting here speaking Greek to a college blog
Every sentence is the same it's just talk, talk, talk
I am one, I admit it, of a million
Who has it out for these soapbox idiots
The click clack of your high heels you're away
Downstairs on a tic-tac stripper's break
Every dancer trying to sync to the beat
Every motherfucker in this place tells me the same shit
This whole world's got to buy you a drink, man
Got to take you to the edge and watch you throw it up
Every morning I could give a damn what you did last night
Just tell me how far to kick this can
No one's gonna change, nobody ever does
No one's gonna change, no one is changing for you
No one's gonna change, nobody ever does
And I'm never gonna do what you want me to
I don't wanna feel so jaded
Getting on a plane to work things out
When I'm alone, you're all I think about
But I'm never alone very long
They say you got to love yourself first, that's a trip
I've been hating myself since I was a little kid
I know it's sad that the game's rained out
And all the bleachers emptied out and the turnstiles spin
All the good ones in the world they keep dropping dead
Everybody's got a bullet flying at their head
I seen it coming, man, I seen it coming
I seen it coming, no
No one's gonna change, hey, and that's the truth
No one's gonna change, oh, baby not for you
No one's gonna change, hey, and that's the truth
And I'm never gonna do what you want me to

Scared of everything
Everything's on blast
Never travel light
I carry the past
In an armored car
That's my skeleton
Worship one idea
Like a superfan
In a gallery
With a slanted view
There's a book signing
Dystopian haikus
As they're read out loud
Under Edison lights
Makes me scratch my head
And think of simpler times
Borrowed a car for the day
We drove it out to The Rockaways
And you went swimming
I watched you swimming
I'm made of money now
There's nothing I want
Except expensive wine
To watch the rocket launch
We'll climb up on the roof
And sit in plastic chairs
Watch it accelerate
Until it disappears
Just like your goodbye voice
Trailing off down the hall
I love you, baby
I'll be back in one hour
You'll try and smile then
Sometimes it doesn't stick
I'll help you tune it out
I'll help you reminisce
Borrowed a car for the day
Filled it up with some friends I'd made
And they went dancing
I watched them dancing
Don't feel badly
I'm barely angry
It's not too much to contain
Always knew that
It'd probably happen
We'd put these memories to shame
Borrowed a car for the day
Gassed it up for our getaway
Said you'd be waiting
I left you waiting

It’s a mass grave, a dollar-fifty resting place
On the north face there’s a rope I’ve got to climb
I’m a stone’s throw from everyone I love and know
But I can’t show up looking like I do
In an old suit my hair is slicked back nice and smooth
In a courtroom sweat rolling down my back
It’s a bad dream I have it seven times a week
No, it was not me but I’m the one who has to die
Needs a cold draw to slow his tachycardia
In a dark bar the world just melts away
And he feels fine if he can just lose track of time
It’s a good sign when he can’t stay awake
On a slow day the rain against the windowpane
Of the cafe she spills the coffee grounds
And the same thought hits her like a cinderblock
Life is an odd job that she don’t got the nerve to quit
Yeah it’s just there at the bottom of those spiral stairs
It’s the World’s Fair, the future’s on display
In the still night they turned on the electric lights
And the crowd cried out everyone looked so amazed

There’s a dancehall there where the sick folks go
Like the olden days on the Barbary Coast
There’s a barefoot child playing in the rain
You can sell your wares even if they’re hot
In the great bizarre or the parking lot
Cause it takes awhile to know who to blame
I might have a taste cause the first one is free
And the checkout girl’s got a thing for me
And they are both as sweet as the day is long
I don’t want to feel stuck baby
I just want to get drunk before noon
I don’t mind my head when there is room to dream
Feel like Paul Gauguin painting breadfruit trees
In some far-off place where I don’t belong
Tried to lose myself in the primitive
In Yosemite, like John Muir did
But his eyes were blue and mine are red and raw
Cause the modern world is a sight to see
It’s a stimulant, it’s pornography
It takes all my will not to turn it off

There’s a dancehall there where the sick folks go
Like the olden days on the Barbary Coast
There’s a barefoot child playing in the rain
You can sell your wares even if they’re hot
In the great bizarre or the parking lot
Cause it takes awhile to know who to blame
I might have a taste cause the first one is free
And the checkout girl’s got a thing for me
And they are both as sweet as the day is long
I don’t want to feel stuck baby
I just want to get drunk before noon
I don’t mind my head when there is room to dream
Feel like Paul Gauguin painting breadfruit trees
In some far-off place where I don’t belong
Tried to lose myself in the primitive
In Yosemite, like John Muir did
But his eyes were blue and mine are red and raw
Cause the modern world is a sight to see
It’s a stimulant, it’s pornography
It takes all my will not to turn it off

Rings round his eyes, tracks down his arm
His fans are confused and his friends are alarmed
His wife doesn’t talk, hates when he’s gone
Counts every skirt in his new entourage
And they’re all gossamer thin
Left of the dial, bohemians
And they dance tournament style
Twirl round the room, curtsey and smile
They sit at his feet
Read poetry
And swoon with each word that he speaks
She likes the new Pope, she’s not scared of hell
They meet once a week at a secret motel
She kisses his neck, she plays with his hair
Her screams sound like pleasure, her moans like despair
And they’re spread gossamer thin
Pushed to the edge, frayed at the ends
And it’s no business of mine
If they can love more than one at a time
But they’re pushing their luck
It’s hard but they must
Risk it all for love
Now I walk around in some kind of altered state
The drink in my hand is starting to shake
I’ll get used to it if it has to stay this way
A new bunch of flowers I’ll have to arrange
I don’t want to eat or get out of bed
I try to recall what the therapist said
Ego and id, the essential self
You are who you are and you are someone else
But I’m worn gossamer thin
Like Delicate Arch carved by the wind
There is a glass psyche at stake
Throw me a brick, see if it breaks
Cause the mind and the brain
Aren’t quite the same
But they both want out of this place

Closing my eyes counting the sheep
Gun in my mouth trying to sleep
Everything ends everything has to
Get-well balloon going insane
Weight of the world paper mache
Gone with the wind out into nothing
Just trying to be easy
Agreeable
Don’t want to seem needy to anyone
Including you
_____ _______ drowned in a pool
________ got killed walking to school
Hope it was slow hope it was painful
Life is a gas what can you do?
Catheter piss, fed through a tube
Cyst in the brain, blood on the bamboo
Highway to hell is littered with signs
Every last thing they advertise
I want to buy, I want to sell too
But I don’t want to seem greedy
I’m generous
I’m just trying to be pleasing to everyone
Including you
Tomorrow is shining like a razor blade
Anything’s possible if you feel the same
Early to bed, early to rise
Acting my age waiting to die
Insulin shots, alkaline produce
Temperature’s cool, blood pressure’s fine
121 over 75
Scream if you want no one can hear you
I just want to be easy
Acceptable
I don’t want to seem needy to anyone
Especially you

Just because you got it you don’t have to flaunt it
With an endless stream of famous men
Pretty as a portrait, look like Mamah Borthwick
On that shining brow of Taliesin
Someone might try and burn it down
So you’ll have to put the fire out
A fortune spent
But that’s irrelevant
To build something that’s sacred till the end
It costs twenty dollars to visit Fallingwater
It is a perfect house where no one lives
Maybe someone once did but they got evicted
By a busload full of greedy tourists
It would take a time machine
To fulfill all of my fantasies
A hidden dream
Can be embarrassing
And the only thing that’s sacred till the end
Every time I tempt fate there’s a major earthquake
Heard the people scream as the ceiling fell
Every building damaged only one left standing
It was Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel
A rumination in my mind
Winding like the ramp at the Guggenheim
I’m not content
But I’m feeling hesitant
To build something that’s sacred till the end

Straight away I learned to pray
Heap praise upon the sky
You go to heaven when you die
But keep that lake of fire in mind
Broke all the rules at Catholic school
Turned to a life of crime
When I stole that motorbike
I left a trail of tears behind
Had casual sex, smoked cigarettes
Threw caution to the wind
Was a winding path but I always planned
To get back to you again
Till the ground ’neath thunderclouds
The rain follows the plow
It was never as profound
As I had wanted it to be

The birds they sang the Rites of Spring
In summer’s La-Z-Boy
I sat down to enjoy
A world that’s comfortable and green
Red feather hawk and a Celtic cross
I pierced into my ear
No matter where I went I meant
To make my way back here
I don’t need God or common law
To tell me right from wrong
Cause when you press me to your chest
I know where I belong

We started drinking the Kool-Aid
We were taking the bait
We were talking the big talk
Never playing it safe
Looking good as Jane Fonda
On a Vietnam tank
Can’t get something for nothing
Got to energize your base
She was young enough
She was blonde enough
She was ’bout a perfect 10
She had millions of admirers
But not one single friend
But it’s a little uncanny what she managed to do
Become a symbol for a pain she never knew
You know old Ronnie Reagan
He was a shoe salesman’s son
He got himself in the movies
Yeah he impressed everyone
He thought trial by fire
Was America’s fate
He made a joke of the poor people
And that made him a saint
But he was tan enough
He was rich enough
He was handsome like John Wayne
And there was no one at the country club
Who didn’t feel the same
But it’s a little uncanny what he managed to do
Got me to read those Russian authors through and through
I miss Christopher Hitchens
I miss Oliver Sacks
I miss poor Robin Williams
I miss Sylvia Plath
Every morning’s a desert
Every night is a flood
They say a party can kill you
Well sometimes I wish it would
But I’ll get strong enough
I’ll be man enough
To keep myself in check
Cause all my friends who flew to town
Said that’s what they expect
But it’s a little uncanny what they managed to do
Made me admit to things I knew were never true

Saw a crash on the interstate
It left a feeling I could not shake
Just a name in a database
That must be notified
It’s not a phone call I wanna make
A stranger answers I hesitate
I got some bad news that couldn’t wait
Are you sitting down?
Her bathrobe hangs on the bedroom door
Though she’s been dead for a year or more
He buried her by the sycamore
So that he could keep her close
It broke his heart and it made him old
Tries to rebuild but it just erodes
Some people say that’s the way it goes
But he don’t feel that way
Get too drunk and you can’t perform
Something dies when a star is born
Spread my anger like Agent Orange
I was indiscriminate
Yeah I met Lou Reed and Patti Smith
It didn’t make me feel different
I guess I lost all my innocence
Way too long ago
She called my bluff and she won the fight
I ran outside in the hot twilight
I had a lighter that didn’t light
I know I shouldn’t smoke
I was gone I was free to leave
Walking fast down the Bowery
Tears in my eyes so I couldn’t see
But I made my way back home

You all loved him once and not without cause
He fed you through the winter
He led you through the fog
You hid behind his body to be sheltered from the mob
You all loved him once and not without cause

You all loved him once when his glory was unmatched
Your signal when to celebrate was the bugle of his laugh
Oh, when it came time to stand with him
You scattered with the rats
You all loved him once, that time has passed

You all loved him once when the future was opaque
His reassuring visions were the pillars of your faith
Through a thousand false horizons
He would always fly it straight
You all loved him once, that turned to hate

You all loved him once, an uncommon love at that
What you saw as a pedestal was his elevated path
So to satisfy the Philistines
You stabbed him in the back
You all loved him once, imagine that

You all loved him once
Yes, you ate out of his hand
He mirrored your confusion
So that you might understand
Then your soul was an experiment so he drew a diagram
You all loved him once, it ended bad

You all loved him once and not without cause
He helped carry your baggage when your strength was nearly gone
And the more and more was put on him
He tried his best to take it on
You all loved him once, not without cause
You all loved him once, now he is gone

Rise and shine, get out of bed
Get ready for the day
Get a coffee from the deli
And walk the riverbank
Be careful with your headphones on
When you cross the FDR
Don't want to be a casualty
Before you make it to the bar
And hide your shapes and worried face
Just sit down in the back
Your friends got there ahead of you
And night is falling fast

Oh, you know you shouldn't say it
So you're thinking it out loud
Some things we lost are never to be found
But if you're gonna talk like that
At least buy another round
And we can keep drinking till St. Dymphna kicks us out

This world is made of blinking lights
They're changing all the time
But depending who you're talking to
It's likely to be fine
I watched you go from bad to worse
The blues is here to stay
Sometimes it's the simple things that make it all okay

Oh, you don't have to lie, say you're alright
We're just happy that you're here
But if you yell and tell me to go to hell
Well, at least you'd sound sincere
Oh, you know it's all a spectacle
When you go to take a bow
You always did get nervous in a crowd
But if you need some company
I'd gladly stick around
And we can keep drinking till St. Dymphna kicks us out

Let's get enabled
Great minds, they think alike
I never was a good judge of when to call it a night

Oh, you don't have to say it
So you're thinking it out loud
Some things go south and they never turn around
But if you want a confidant
I'd never let you down
Oh, we can keep drinking till St. Dymphna kicks us out
Yeah, we can keep drinking till St. Dymphna kicks us out

Tried some bad meditation
Sitting up in the dark
They say to picture an island
'Cause that's one place to start
I guess I could count my blessings
I don't sleep in the park
With all my earthly possessions
In one old shopping cart
No, I'm up in the penthouse
On a big feather bed
Is it too late to fixate
On that instead
My wife takes a vacation
One she can't afford
I go fishing the alleys
For someone to escort
No, I don't mind the money
It beats betting on sports
And though it might get expensive
It's cheaper than divorce
And I love her torn stockings
And her lipstick of red
Is it too late to fixate
On her instead
You know you're my favorite
She says when we're through
Some parts are off limits
But I'd give them to you
Where the hell was Dock Ellis
When I gave up that hit
Where was Timothy Leary
When reality bit
Who's the new Dalai Lama
That shy little kid
With no room in his body
Where a stranger could live
I can't blame him for dreaming
He'll sleep when he's dead
Is it too late to fixate
On that instead
Is it too late to fixate
On that instead

Rings 'round his eyes
Tracks down his arm
His fans are confused and his friends are alarmed
His wife doesn't talk
Hates when he's gone
Counts every skirt in his new entourage
And they're all gossamer thin
Left of the dial, bohemians
And they dance, turnin' in style
Twirl 'round the room, curtsy and smile
And they sit at his feet, read poetry
Swoon with each word he speaks
She likes the new pope
She's not scared of hell
They meet once a week at a secret motel
She kisses his neck, she plays with his hair
Her screams sound like pleasure, her moans like despair
And they're spread gossamer thin
Pushed to the edge, frayed at the ends
And it's no business of mine
They can love more than one at a time
But they're pushing their luck
Hard but they must
Risk it all for love
Now I walk around in some kind of altered state
The drink in my hand is starting to shake
I get used to it if it has to stay this way
A new bunch of flowers I'll have to arrange
I don't want to eat
Or get out of bed
Try to recall what the therapist said
Ego and Id
The Essential Self
You are who you are and you are someone else
But I'm worn gossamer thin
Like delicate arch, carved by the wind
There's a glass psyche at stake
Throw me a brick, see if it breaks
'Cause the mind and the brain aren't quite the same
But they both want out of this place

I'm in bed beside some jail bait
Megan's passed out on the staircase
Michael's searching for a good vein
Tomorrow comes we'll do the same thing
Jim got blacked out at the tailgate
Emma's dressed up for the new wave
We're all so tired of this dance craze
We never learn so we just sway
And it's long overdue
It's so long overdue
It's just so long overdue
Still feels too soon
Still feels too soon
I read a book about the bad land
Sometimes this house looks like a death camp
And too much sun can be a drag, man
That's why we sleep as late as we can
And it's long overdue
It's so long overdue
It's just so long overdue
Still feels too soon
Still feels too soon
But it's so long overdue
It's so long overdue
It's just so long overdue
Still feels too soon
Still feels too soon
Will you meet me at the station
Promise me a long vacation
Laying on the beach for hours
Laying on the beach for hours

I woke up this morning still wearing that tie
The one with the hammer and sickle design
Threw up all the pills my doctor prescribed
And I went out to fetch me some air
This world was so crowded with billboards and signs
Two trucks double parked in parallel lines
I thought about breakfast but settled on wine
Always choose hunger over despair
And what's possible over what's there
Because it isn't as though we get what we want
No matter how hard or long we have fought
And my happiness is a mere afterthought
When I'm with her I keep it in mind
Then she leaves and I've run out of time
I sat down today in a high barber's chair
To hear the town gossip and clean up my hair
He said she was seen on the bus station stairs
With her suitcase threatening to walk
Not sure how true it was but I'll hazard a guess
Probably not more and it's probably not less
If that college kid bookie was accepting bets
The brackets would mostly be chalk
It's safe to assume that she's lost
But it isn't as though we get what we want
No matter how hard or long we have fought
And my happiness is a mere afterthought
When I'm with her I keep it in mind
Then she's gone and I've run out of time
I can't be concerned with the state that I'm in
At the height of the scandal with vertigo spins
I'll take every audition til I'm Errol Flynn
And bring it to life off the page
And I'll get up tomorrow still wearing that tie
The one with the skull and the crossbone designs
If I'm asked if I miss her it's easy to lie
In this world that's called more of the same
No I wouldn't feel proud or ashamed
'Cause it isn't as though we get what we want
No matter how hard or long we have fought
And my happiness is a mere afterthought
When I'm with her I keep it in mind
Then she leaves and I've run out of time

I saw a crash on the interstate
It left a feeling I could not shake
Just a name in a database who must be notified
It's not a phone call I wanna make
A stranger answers, I hesitate
"Got some bad news that couldn't wait
Are you sitting down?"
Her bathrobe hangs on the bedroom door
Though she's been dead for a year or more
He buried her by the sycamore
So that he could keep her close
It broke his heart and it made him old
Tries to rebuild but it just erodes
Some people say that's the way it goes
But he don't feel that way
Get too drunk and you can't perform
Something dies when a star is born
I spread my anger like Agent Orange
I was indiscriminate
Yeah, I met Lou Reed and Patti Smith
It didn't make me feel different
I guess I lost all my innocence
Way too long ago
She called my bluff and she won the fight
I ran outside in the hot twilight
I had a lighter that didn't light
Well I know I shouldn't smoke
I was going, I was free to leave
Walking fast down the Bowery
Tears in my eyes so I couldn't see
But I made my way back home

It's a quixotic quest on a hot summer's night
I got a fistful of fireworks
I wanna try and set things right
I lost my inhibition
I think I may have lost my wallet, too
In this dying land of plenty
There's a whole lot of nothing to do
Oh I, I'm Billy Pilgrim, you're a Dresden doll
They carpet bomb the city
Thank God they spared the mall
Let's hold a vigil
For the kinda, sorta innocent
I guess I should defend your virtue
But the truth is I'm still on the fence
And old Heinrich Himmler, he never broke the law
Well, technically speaking as Sam Peckinpah
Sometimes you need a vigilante if you want to get a just thing done
And I don't want to kill nobody
Whose only crime is worshiping the sun
Breakfast of napalm
Burn down the place where I belong
Our travels, make love
And they gotta keep it secret
They still do it with the lights on
And I got bad nostalgia for what came before
Sad reenactments of a civil war
My heartache is obsessive
I just wish that I could let it go
But there's a mountain down in Georgia
With a kickass laser light show
And I can always convice you you're just like Patty Hearst
Or you're sympathetic, baby, when I'm at my worst
I don't want to brainwash you
I just wish that you would change your tune
'Cause I've been gunning for redemption
And I think I'll hit the bullseye soon
Chartreuse and menthols
Burn down the town that we were from
I lost my true love to a three-alarm fire
They tried to put out with a squirt gun
Sing little child like a Nightingale
Sing little child, send me anthrax through the mail
I wanna to know you, I wanna know if you are true
Because the closer I get to you is the further that I feel from you
Breakfast of napalm
Burn down the place where we belong
Our travels, make love
And they gotta keep the secret
Yeah, they gotta keep it secret
Yeah, they gotta keep it secret
They still do it with the lights on

Just because you got it
You don't have to flaunt it
With an endless stream of famous men
Pretty as a portrait
Looked like Mamah Borthwick
On that Shining Brow of Taliesin
Someone might try and burn it down
So you'll have to put the fire out
Fortunes spent but that's irrelevant to build something that's sacred till the end
It cost twenty dollars to visit Fallingwater
It's the perfect house where no one lives
Maybe someone once did but they got evicted by a busload full of greedy tourists
And it would take a time machine
To fulfill all of my fantasies
'Cause a hidden dream can be embarrassing
And the only thing that's sacred till the end
Every time I tempt fate
There's a major earthquake
Heard the people scream as the ceiling fell
Every building damaged
Only one left standing
It was Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel
A rumination in my mind
Winding like the ramp at the Guggenheim
I'm not content
But I'm feeling hesitant to build something that's sacred till the end

Rise and shine, get out of bed
Get ready for the day
Get a coffee from the deli
And walk the riverbank
Be careful with your headphones on
When you cross the FDR
Don't want to be a casualty
Before you make it to the bar
And hide your shapes and worried face
Just sit down in the back
Your friends got there ahead of you
And night is falling fast
Oh, you know you shouldn't say it
So you're thinking it out loud
Some things we lost are never to be found
But if you're gonna talk like that
At least buy another round
And we can keep drinking till St. Dymphna kicks us out
This world is made of blinking lights
They're changing all the time
But depending who you're talking to
It's likely to be fine
I watched you go from bad to worse
The blues is here to stay
Sometimes it's the simple things that make it all okay
Oh, you don't have to lie, say you're alright
We're just happy that you're here
But if you yell and tell me to go to hell
Well, at least you'd sound sincere
Oh, you know it's all a spectacle
When you go to take a bow
You always did get nervous in a crowd
But if you need some company
I'd gladly stick around
And we can keep drinking till St. Dymphna kicks us out
Let's get enabled
Great minds, they think alike
I never was a good judge of when to call it a night
Oh, you don't have to say it
So you're thinking it out loud
Some things go south and they never turn around
But if you want a confidant
I'd never let you down
Oh, we can keep drinking till St. Dymphna kicks us out
Yeah, we can keep drinking till St. Dymphna kicks us out

There's a dance hall there
Where the sick folks go
Like the olden days
On the Barbary Coast
There's a barefoot child
Playing in the rain
You can sell your wares
Even if they're hard
In the great bazaar
Or the parking lot
'Cause it takes a while
To know who to blame
I might have a taste
'Cause the first one's free
And the checkout girls
Got a thing for me
And they're both as sweet
As the day is the long
I don't wanna feel stuck, baby
I just wanna get drunk before noon
I don't mind my head
When there's room to dream
Feel like Paul Gauguin
Painting breadfruit trees
In some far off place
Where I don't belong
Tried to lose myself
In the primitive
In Yosemite
Like John Muir did
But his eyes were blue
And mine are red and raw
'Cause the modern world
Is a sight to see
It's a stimulant
It's pornography
It takes all my will
Not to turn it off
I don't want you to feel sad, baby
I take everything back, I swear I do
'Cause once all the friends I had
Have used me up and left
I bet you hang around
I bet you'll hang around awhile

It's a mass grave
A dollar-fifty resting place
On the north face
It's a rope I've gotta climb
I'm a stone's throw from everyone I love and know
But I can't show up looking like I do
In an old suit my hair is slicked back nice and smooth
In a court room, sweat rolling down my back
It's a bad dream
I have it seven times a week
No it's not me
But I'm the one who has to die
Needs a cold draw to slow his tachycardia
In a dark bar the world just melts away
And you feel fine
Your feet can just lose track of time
It's a good sign when he can stay awake
On a slow day the rain against the windowpane of the cafe
She spills the coffee grounds
And the same thought hits her like a cinder block
Life's an odd job that she don't got the nerve to quit
Yeah it's just there
At the bottom of those spiral stairs
It's the world's fair
The future's on display
In the still night
They turned on the electric lights
And the crowd cried out
Everyone looks so amazed

Order an Old Fashioned with a splash of Grand Marnier
I'll be there in ten minutes if you'll stay
I don't wanna argue, but I got to tell you straight
And better if it happens face to face
They're looking for you, brother, they keep stopping by the house
They're waiting at my work when I get out
What do you think would happen if they'd followed me here now
Do you really think they'd let it go?
Well judging by your silence, the answer's no
It's not true, Matthew, no it's nothing like before
They know exactly where you're gonna be
In that presidential suite up on the thirty-seventh floor
With your feet propped up, watching the TV
With a tray of food you're never gonna eat
And some shit excuse that no one would believe
In that empty hotel by the sea
Now when it's over I'll be talking to your grave
You might as well hear what I'll say
I can't forgive you and I'll never sing your praise
Why'd you always have to get your way?
Now you're a legend to those sick Neanderthals
The ones who count the bullet holes
Can't help admiring the splatter on the walls
Like cherry blossoms in the spring
Oh, it's a thing of beauty 'til it gets cleaned
It's not true, Matthew, no it's nothing like before
They know exactly where you're gonna be
In that presidential suite up on the thirty-seventh floor
With a blindfold on, trying to fall asleep
While your rental car's on fire in the street
And the snowflakes falling softly on the beach
In that empty hotel by the sea
Oh, it's
It's not true, Matthew, no it's wouldn't be like before
They know exactly where you're bound to be
In that presidential suite up on the thirty-seventh floor
With your fingers broken, picking up your teeth
With the realization you were in too deep
With some final words that no one will repeat
While the snow's still falling softly on the beach
In that empty hotel by the sea

You could come around once a year like a Christmas ghost
Or hold me down like an anchor, baby, but you can't do both
I can't be your father figure but I could be your friend
Watch me burn my candle crazy at both ends
Nothing's gonna change here anytime soon
Catching fish in the morning, get drunk before noon
Watching little brown bubbles floating in the spoon
Could be soaking in a warm bath or back in the womb
Anytime, anytime soon
Used to want to be an astronaut but I was just a kid
Spent my days in a batting cage where a robot pitched
Once you were my blushing bride I was your nervous groom
But now we're just more comfortable sleeping in separate rooms, oh
Nothing's gonna change here anytime soon
Make a bed for the roses, hope that they bloom
I don't know if it's safe, but I just assume
I won't play in the majors or walk on the moon
Not anytime, anytime soon
Spin me a tornado, honey, cry me a monsoon
Let's just get through the holidays and the terrible twos
Christmas has passed, it's just yellow snow
Sometimes you gotta hear something that you already know (whoa whoa whoa)
Nothing's gonna change here anytime soon
When it's all unpredictable, I can still count on you
Looking for the mailbox with the red balloons
I'll be late to the party, and I have an excuse
'Cause no one likes breaking bad news
It's nothing I'm wanting to do
Not anytime, anytime soon

Closing my eyes, counting sheep
Gun in my mouth, trying to sleep
Everything ends, everything has to
Get well balloons, going insane
Weight of the world, papier-mâché
Gone with the wind, out into nothing
Just trying to be easy, agreeable
I don't want to seem needy to anyone, including you
Little Louise drowned in a pool
Billy got killed walking to school
Hope it was quick, hope it was peaceful
Life is a gas, what can you do?
Catheter piss, fed through a tube
Cyst in the brain, blood on the bamboo
Highway to hell's littered with signs
Every last thing they advertise
I want to buy, I want to sell, too
But I don't want to seem greedy, I'm generous
I just wanna be pleasing to everyone, including you
Tomorrow is shining like a razor blade
And anything's possible if you feel the same
Early to bed, early to rise
Acting my age, waiting to die
Insulin shots, alkaline produce
Temperature's cool, blood pressure's fine
One twenty-one over seventy-five
Scream if you want, no one can hear you
I'm just trying to be easy, acceptable
I don't want to seem needy to anyone, especially you
Especially you
Especially you
Especially you

Straight away I learned to pray
He prays upon the sky
You go to heaven when you die
But keep that lake of fire in mind
Broke all the rules at Catholic school
Turned to a life of crime
When I stole that motorbike
I left a trail of tears behind
Had casual sex, smoked cigarettes
Threw caution to the wind
Was a winding path that I always plan to get back to you again
Till the ground 'neath under clouds
The rain follows the plow
But it was never as profound as I had wanted it to be
The birds, they sang the rites of spring
In summer's La-Z-Boy
I sat down to enjoy a world that's comfortable in green
A red feather hawk and a Celtic cross
Are pierced into my ear
No matter where I went, I meant to make my way back here
Well, I don't need God or common law to tell me right from wrong
'Cause when you press me to your chest
I know where I belong

You all loved him once and not without cause
He fed you through the winter
He led you through the fog
You hid behind his body to be sheltered from the mob
You all loved him once and not without cause
You all loved him once when his glory was unmatched
Your signal when to celebrate was the bugle of his laugh
Oh, when it came time to stand with him
You scattered with the rats
You all loved him once, that time has passed
You all loved him once when the future was opaque
His reassuring visions were the pillars of your faith
Through a thousand false horizons
He would always fly it straight
You all loved him once, that turned to hate
You all loved him once, an uncommon love at that
What you saw as a pedestal was his elevated path
So to satisfy the Philistines
You stabbed him in the back
You all loved him once, imagine that
You all loved him once
Yes, you ate out of his hand
He mirrored your confusion
So that you might understand
Then your soul was an experiment so he drew a diagram
You all loved him once, it ended bad
You all loved him once and not without cause
He helped carry your baggage when your strength was nearly gone
And the more and more was put on him
He tried his best to take it on
You all loved him once, not without cause
You all loved him once, now he is gone

We started drinking the Kool-Aid
We were taking the bait
We were talking the big talk
Never playing it safe
Looking good as Jane Fonda
On a Vietnam tank
You can't get something for nothing
Gotta energize your base
But she was young enough
She was blonde enough
She was about a perfect ten
Had millions of admirers but not one single friend
But it's a, it's a little uncanny
What she managed to do
Became a symbol for a pain she never knew
You know old Ronnie Reagan
He was a shoe salesman's son
He got himself in the movies
Yeah, he impressed everyone
He thought trial by fire
Was America's fate
He made a joke of the poor people
And that made him a saint
But he was tan enough, he was rich enough
He was handsome like John Wayne
And there was no one at the country club
Who didn't feel the same
But it's a, it's a little uncanny
What he managed to do
Got me to read those Russian authors through and through
I miss Christopher Hitchens
I miss Oliver Sacks
I miss poor Robin Williams
I miss Sylvia Plath
Every morning's a desert
Every night is a flood
They say a party can kill you
Well sometimes I wish it would
But I'll be strong enough, I'll be man enough
Oh I'll keep myself in check
'Cause all my friends who flew to town
Said that's what they expect
But it's a, it's a little uncanny
What they managed to do
Got me admittin' to things I knew were never true

Standing on the outside looking in
Don't feel any different it's the way it's always been
In the world the headless well dressed mannequins
You're always standing on the outside looking in

I remember when you taught me how to bathe
In the roadside motel bathtub
I watched you shave your legs
You swore that we would take this to our graves
I remember when you taught me how to bathe
You said only I can make ya happy
But I'm not gonna tell you how
I told us to last forever
Only now, only now

There's a place she longs to be she'll never go
Took a picture at the window with the camera on her phone
Got off one more time to put back on her clothes
There's a place she longs to be she'll never go

Now I'm standing on the outside looking in
In a world of paper toggles and imaginary friends
It's a shame I can't be bothered to pretend
When I'm standing at the outside looking in

I told you how I planned on dying
But you know I always joke around
I'm up for never saying never
At least for now, at least for now

Because I could never make you happy
But I know just how to calm you down
We don't have to see the future
Only now, only now

How the hell is everything
Since I've been away
Is the weather any better?
Did the landlord fix the drain?
Did Louie sell his paintings?
Did Kevin quit his job?
Will you tell him that I love him and
I miss y'all a lot

Thought about deserting
Jumping on a plane the other day
It was just a fleeting feeling man
I'm usually okay
When I'm holding conversations in a language I don't speak
And coughing on the radio and screaming in my sleep
I'm just tired of feeling tired
Tired of getting drunk
Took a picture for the paper and they made me stand in front
But I shouldn't be complaining there's been people at the show
I even saw the Eiffel tower in the souvenir snowglobe
There's just a couple more and then a day off in Amsterdam
I'm gonna check into a hotel get fixed up if I can

You know I promised I'd be careful
With the company I keep
And I hold myself together until I'm back on Sugar Street, Sugar Street

You start at the beginning and go on to the end
Sometimes a perfect stranger might end up your only friend
First you nod politely because you're not that interested
Ask some abstract question like a bored psychiatrist
But then you get to talking about the plastic in the seat
The nightmare of their childhood and reality tv
It starts to sound familiar like you're coming back to life
Make some observations start offering advice
Always look in both directions when you go to cross the street
And if you jump off any buildings make sure you land on your feet

Oh promise you'll be careful
With the sympathies you seek
Cause I know you'll feel better
Once you're back on Sugar Street, Sugar Street

And Oh, I promise I'll be careful
When I put myself to sleep
And I hope that I feel better
Once I'm back on Sugar Street, ah Sugar Street

It’s a mass grave, a dollar-fifty resting place
On the north face there’s a rope I’ve got to climb
I’m a stone’s throw from everyone I love and know
But I can’t show up looking like I do
In an old suit my hair is slicked back nice and smooth
In a courtroom sweat rolling down my back
It’s a bad dream I have it seven times a week
No, it was not me but I’m the one who has to die
Needs a cold draw to slow his tachycardia
In a dark bar the world just melts away
And he feels fine if he can just lose track of time
It’s a good sign when he can’t stay awake
On a slow day the rain against the windowpane
Of the cafe she spills the coffee grounds
And the same thought hits her like a cinderblock
Life is an odd job that she don’t got the nerve to quit
Yeah it’s just there at the bottom of those spiral stairs
It’s the World’s Fair, the future’s on display
In the still night they turned on the electric lights
And the crowd cried out everyone looked so amazed

I woke up this mornin' still wearin' that tie
The one with the hammer and sickle design
Threw up all the pills my doctor prescribed
And went out to fetch me some air

The streets were so crowded with billboards and signs
Food trucks double parked in their parallel lines
I thought about breakfast but settled on wine
Always choose hunger over despair
And what's possible over what's there

But it isn't as though we get what we want
No matter how hard or long we have fought
Oh my happiness is a mere afterthought
When I'm with her I keep it in mind
Then she leaves and I've run out of time

I sat down today in a high barber's chair
To hear the town gossip and clean up my hair
He said she was seen on the bus station stairs
With her suitcase threatenin' to walk

Not sure how true it was but I'll hazard a guess
It's probably not more and it's probably not less
If that college kid bookie was accepting bets
The brackets would mostly be chalk
Yeah it's safe to assume that she's lost

But it isn't as though we get what we want
No matter how hard or long we have fought
Oh my happiness is a mere afterthought
When I'm with her I keep it in mind
Then she's gone and I've run out of time

I can't be concerned with the state that I'm in
At the height of the scandal with vertigo spins
Take every audition til I'm Errol Flynn
And bring it to life off the page

And I'll get up tomorrow still wearin' that tie
The one with the skull and the crossbone designs
If I'm asked if i miss her it's easy to lie
In this world that's called more of the same
Yeah i wouldn't feel proud or ashamed

Cuz it isn't as though we get what we want
No matter how hard or long we have fought
Oh my happiness is a mere afterthought
When I'm with her I keep it in mind
Then she leaves and I've run out of time

Polished my shoes I bought a brand new hat
Moved to a town that time forgot
Where I don't have to shave or be approachable
No I can do just what I want

I want to walk in that howling wind
'til it scatters all my thoughts
Sit alone on that riverbank 'til I
Forget that I can talk
Just listen

They say everyone has a choice to make
To be loved or to be free
I told you once I felt invisible
And I'm sure by now you see

What I meant is I'm not all there
Until I finally leave
Some loneliness is acceptable
And some's just outright mean
It gets even

Ivy crawls up the garden wall
Builds a ladder towards the sun
Can't be climbed but whose gonna mind
If I claim it can be done
Illusion

And the sun goes down
And the stars come out
In the distance that I felt I can see it for myself now

Boarding a train to take my memories back
Make up for time that I have lost
I'll never know if I'm delusional
I just believe that I am not
I'm going to work for my sanity
Give it everything I got
Though so far I have cheated death
I know someday I'll get caught
Just living

So here we go man it's beautiful
Get your trumpet get your drum
Keep in time in a second line
It can make you feel so young

I know you say you'll go all the way
But that's not quite far enough
Someone told me that same thing
Some told me that same thing
Someone told me that exact same thing once

I’m blessed with a heart that doesn’t stop
My mind is a weather vane it spins around just like a top
Knows what the winds of fortune bring in the season of the witch
Home is a perjury, a parlor trick, an urban myth

Oh how the circumstances change
This world of smoke and steel and compromise and meter maids
I’m going to leave here for too long
Zigzagging toward the light I’m off to sing my bounder song

True love it hides like city stars
Nothing to gaze upon or contemplate how near or far
If it comes it comes quite unannounced, a momentary glance
Lit up by sun or moon by bonfire or ambulance

Then how the circumstances change
Feels unmistakable with no idea from where it came
But you will know it when it’s gone
Zigzagging through the night half dead you sing your bounder song

Save for the bounder whose word is never kept
A bandeau of flowers to stave his mind and bloom when he forgets

It’s true that shadows tell the time
On sunny afternoons on crowded sidewalks passersby
I’m in a queue that stretches out far as the eye can see
It forms a figure eight and goes on for eternity

Oh how the circumstances change
I fly by interstate across a purple mountain range
I’ll find a place to come undone
Zigzagging toward you now I sing out loud my bounder song

What a thing to be a witness to the sunshine
What a dream to just be walking on the ground
What a time to live among the ashen remnants of our love
It came before and I'm still looking for that now

It took centuries to build these twisted cities
It took seconds to reduce them down to dust
And all the tour guide could say was
“Take your pictures folks it's late, try your best please to remember what was done.”

Don't look so forlorn
Don't you look so scared
Don't get so upset
This world was never fair

But there are hundreds of ways
To get through the days
There are hundreds of ways
Now you just find one

I used to think that time was of the essence
Now I just wish I could get some sleep
All this strange parade of sounds the city makes when I lay down
Little explosions that set fire to my dreams

Sometimes I get mistaken for this actor
And I guess that I can see it from the side
Maybe no one really seems to be the person that they mean to be
I hope I am forgotten when I die

Don't contradict me
Don't make me cross the line
If you feel threatened
It's only 'cause I might

But there are hundreds of ways
To get through the days
There are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
Yes, there are hundreds of ways
So you best find one

All my hero's they're all talk
Running in circles
Some stop watch some cast
Love was the message. Full stop

We ramble on and on
We ramble on and on

I stole all the rhinestones out of Carolina
Sold them out in Bakersfield for cash
The bandshell got a band sounds like an arcade in Japan
Blew all my quarters trying to get that feeling back

Now any sucker can turn boredom into violence
A sociopath riding on a bus
His irises are black from his novelty contacts
He looks around but he can't see the rest of us

In my sunglasses don't mind the blinding light
Yeah it's getting dark bro, but I've always loved the night

But there are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
There are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
There are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
There are hundreds of ways
To get through the day
There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of ways
To get through the day
Just find one

What would it take to gain acceptance
To the grounds behind your eyes
You know I'm open to suggestion
The one you made we never tried

Let it slip right out from under
Your breath and it rolled around my head
It was nothing I'd consider
I knew it had to happen then

Stood on the banks of the Potomac
We watched the water rushing by
You said we should live in the moment
Then I'd miss you all the time

And I know no one will believe me
But I don't want a second chance
To be an object of desire
If that means slipping through your hands
If I had tried to make you mine
You would have walked away
Life can't compete with memories
They never have to change

This world is full of missing persons
All of these unsolved mysteries
If someone says they know for certain
They're selling something certainly

So when I set myself to wonder
All the questions that remain
The only one that even matters
Is when I'll see you're face again

I keep looking back for artifacts
To prove that you were here
The sound that's been keeps echoing
It never disappears

It's lonely at the top of the upside mountain
Watch the sunrise from a windowless room
If the Paramedics stall the soul goes on
Without them in a wicker basket tied to a balloon

There are no boundaries to love
The heart can't comprehend the panorama
I took it on the chin from some second hand feeling
Sorrow handed down to me it felt brand new

Tiny violins or some summer insects listening
Another season leaving us too soon
Freedom's the opposite of love
You'll never keep it through the paranoia

Standing on the edge of a million landscapes
Emptying and the water from the glacier fills my shoes
Laying in your bed my dreams are sex and violence
I chase the rapist chasing after you

There is no dignity in love
Trade every scrap to get some absolution
'Til then I'm walking out the door
'Til then I'm running through the airport
'Til then i'm waiting around for no one

He didn't give you that nickname
But you smile when he calls you the Enola Gay
Turns the lights down low for your migraines
And fetches what you've strewn
All around the room up and down the hall
Asking for your Sodium Pentathol
So you can read aloud from your big tell-all
Anecdotes in platitudes

This world's mean getting meaner too
So why'd you have to make it all about you
There's no harm in stepping to the side
Light your hurricane lamp when the sky grows dark
The wind's pissed off and the sun's at large
What you've gotta do, it's just a matter of pride
Until you vanish like the rest, out of sight and out of mind

Working all day in the control room
Mashing Charles Manson songs up with Showtunes
The feelings come quick but they leave as soon
Like music from a passing car
It's crowded in the club where you meet your friends
Try to save some room for the elephant
Every day's a chore and you're not done yet
You didn't think it'd be this hard

The root's begun, we're a nervous crew
So why're you trying to make it all about you
It's not so bad, it's just a flash of light
Light your hurricane lamp when the sky goes dark
The rain's upset, it just falls apart
You will get your wish, it's just a matter of time
Until you vanish like the rest, out of sight and out of mind
Until you vanish like the rest, out of sight

He didn't give you that nickname
But you smile when he calls you the Enola Gay
Turns the lights down low for your migraines
And fetches what you've strewn
All around the room up and down the hall
Asking for your Sodium Pentathol
So you can read aloud from your big tell-all
Anecdotes in platitudes

This world's mean getting meaner too
So why'd you have to make it all about you
There's no harm in stepping to the side
Light your hurricane lamp when the sky grows dark
The wind's pissed off and the sun's at large
What you've gotta do, it's just a matter of pride
Until you vanish like the rest, out of sight and out of mind

Working all day in the control room
Mashing Charles Manson songs up with Showtunes
The feelings come quick but they leave as soon
Like music from a passing car
It's crowded in the club where you meet your friends
Try to save some room for the elephant
Every day's a chore and you're not done yet
You didn't think it'd be this hard

The root's begun, we're a nervous crew
So why're you trying to make it all about you
It's not so bad, it's just a flash of light
Light your hurricane lamp when the sky goes dark
The rain's upset, it just falls apart
You will get your wish, it's just a matter of time
Until you vanish like the rest, out of sight and out of mind
Until you vanish like the rest, out of sight

Kick you know you're still a kid
And your diets too full of additives
Passed out on a couch with ashes in your mouth
Dreaming that you're hopping a fence
This world must have it out for you
From the shores of Montaca to Malibu
The trappings of a name you never could escape
Because people want to live in the past
Some goal they mentioned they never had

I thought we lost that Camelot
I thought we lost that Camelot
It's a children's story we forgot
So long ago

Kick it's hard to find a friend
In a place that's so cruel and partisan
But you should go in style to Stockholm for a while
Live outside oblivion's lent
Someday you'll have a fine divorce
And a cemetery plot in Johannesburg
It's time you close your eyes
On a helicopter ride
I hope you see it isn't your fault
I hope you know it isn't your fault

I thought they shot that Camelot
I thought they shot that Camelot
Whoever shot this movie star he grows
And the show must go on

Laying in an office on an old chaise lounge
Listening to the doctor drone
No therapeutic feeling once the shock wears off
Answer every question no
Hiding in a hammock with the shades pulled down
Wondering if the stories broke
Tragedy is prophet once the word gets out
Tablets at the country store
Searching under tables once the bars closed down
Said somebody stole your phone
Now there's no one to talk to but these trust fund drunks
Should have brought a chaperon

Kick I'd love to help you but I just don't count
Friendship makes you paranoid
I don't believe in crescents
But I just might now we never really had a choice
Like all your broken toys

Kick you know this life is rich
But pleasures not the same as happiness
If you don't collide with the traffic in your mind
I think you'll find your way out of this
I hope you find your way out of this

It don't take much imagination
To see the picture frame
I don't need a concentration
To know when I'm in pain
When I lost myself I lost you by extension
I don't know who would stand to gain

These silly dreams aren't worth a mention
But they keep collecting in my brain
When on the hunt for fame and fortune
Picked up the trail just fine
Everywhere I go the doors fly open
But I run out once outside
When I break my heart I know that yours gets broken
I just wish that kept me in line
But I can't live outside the moment
And it just keeps leaving me behind
It just keeps leaving me behind

When I can't sleep my mind is a circle
I watched the ceiling fan
I closed my eyes and I feel the wind blow
My bed it turns into a raft
I drift away it's night at lake unknown I'm floating
I see it all for what it is
Most anything can be forgiven
With what is left we'll have to live
With what is left we'll have to live

I remember the day you appeared on this earth
With eyes like the ocean, got blood on my shirt
From my camera angle it looked like it hurt
But your mama had a big old smile

We drove you home, saw your yellowing skin
Packed a few things and drove you back again
Stayed up all night worrying, wondering
What was gonna make it better

Broken bones heal when you set them right
Get your fine tooth comb from the barbicide
Our love's a protective poison
Well you are your mother's child
And she'll keep you for a while
But someday you'll be grown and then you'll be on your own

Halloween costume, looking real cute
With your pillowcase full, in your astronaut suit
But your cousin the cowboy is eyeing your loot
Better watch your Snickers bar

Out on the diamond, now you're up to bat
Chewing your big league, adjusting your hat
Taking a swing and hearing it crack
Look at that apple fly

Tears will dry if you give them time
Life's a roller coaster, keep your arms inside
Fear that's a big emotion
Well you are your mother's child
And she'll keep you for a while
But one day you'll be grown and then you'll be on your own

Posing for pictures, cap and a gown
Summer is coming, you're driving around town
Everyone's asking what you're gonna do now
I know you're gonna make a splash

And find you a sweetheart to treat you so kind
Invite her to dinner and kiss her goodnight
What I couldn't teach you, you will realize
She's the only thing that matters

Although he's a bastard, make your papa proud
Your a fine young man and I got no doubt
That you're gonna do this better
Cause you are your mother's child
She had you for a while
But now that you're grown, may you never be on your own
Well now that you're grown, may you never be on your own

He came with his friends, in a caravan
To witness the governor's ball
Sat by himself on a cool patch of grass
While the rest stood like bricks in a wall
The stage it looked like a vending machine
The singer, a black barbie doll
But it was well light, and well managed
Said our property, would be damaged
Until his boredom, took full advantage
Of it all

Talk to a girl, with klonopin eyes
Who said she had jewelry to sell
First he said no thanks, then he realized
That he realized he wasn't feeling that well
And he took what she held looked like pieces of sky
And a garnet like teardrops from hell
She offered, him a necklace, and he wanted to accept it
But it would end up, too expensive, he could tell
Then she said:
"Why not, what have you got, to lose, to lose"

When he never came back, and the curve you have pathed
His friends searched the fair grounds for clues
But security guard the maniacal laugh
Said its always the leader you lose
And he finally turned up in the broad light of day
With a black eye as big as the moon
They all asked him, what had happened
Was it real or, imagined
Why on earth had, he abandon them so soon
And he said:
"Why not, I do what I've got, to do, it's what you do"

Say that you were stranded on a desert island
What books you going to bring what friends would tag along?
Say you had a month you knew you were dying
How’d you spend your time what goodbyes would take too long?
You don’t like this game and you take exception
Who wants all this trouble even hypothetical?
With the charging sky above
And the ground below that could swallow everyone

Staring at your phone at another party
Spent a lot on clothes got a lot of skin to show
People in the pool like a drowning army
The smoke alarm emotes and the hotel lobby glows
Wish that you could dance but you got no partner
Keep tapping on your glass ‘cause you want to make a toast
To the ennui of our times
To the selfishness in everyone you know

Made a lot of friends but they can’t be trusted don’t know what their angle is
Post up at the bar and I’m double fisting talking to a mannequin
Don’t know what he means when he takes my pulse and says that I’m a lot like him
I say, “That’s fair enough, that’s why I’m trying to loosen up”

Every lunatic must be well-intentioned
Sets himself apart he’s an instrument of God
Took her from the playground to the farmhouse cellar
Kissed while he killed her like a good Samaritan

Finally found her body many autumns after
Interviewed her mother said she’d now be twenty-one
And although we lost her young
I know the Good Lord has a plan for all of us

Mormons at the door they look clean and handsome always have a good sales pitch
Your little sister swears she can paint my aura but I can’t take her serious
Need something to blame for this human nature is that what this condition is?
I’m so bored with my life, but I’m still afraid to die

Everyone’s asleep in this burning building and I can’t wake them up in time
You go on ahead I’ll be right behind you we’re headed to the finish line
I can’t get closer till this is over

Pretend that you were stranded on a desert island
What would be the message that you’d spell out for the plane?
Say the engine failed when that plane was flying
If you were the pilot would you curse or would you pray?
No one’s gonna cry at this John Doe funeral
Not a lot to say didn’t even have a name
Light a candle just in case he was someone’s friend
Throw some flowers on the grave

He's my friend but he's no friend to me
Ask him why, he'll tell you casually
Washed up, bitter, broken, busted
Backstabbed everyone he trusted
Says he sees what no one else can see
And if I had half his guts I'd want it
To chase that fatalistic comet
Die young in the dark, that's poetry
But it was not to be, it was not for me

He's always sad but I've never seen him cry
When he comes to, sure he'll apologize
Find his car, assess the damage
Still drunk but he likes the challenge
Hold on to his mind just like a kite
But a good strong win can keep you honest
Fill you with some common knowledge
Things when we were young we never tried
Just figured we had time with such a long life

Money clips, alligator shoes
One more dance, he's in that champagne room
She moves like a chocolate fountain
Pouring, spilling all around him
Makes him wonder what else she can do
How bittersweet is love's illusion
Feelings that cannot be proven
Trust me, you'll see, my aim is true
I've done this all for you, I've suffered long for you

So many times he's tried to play it straight
Worked and worked until his body ached
But a brand new life can lose its lustre
Troubles tend to find each other
Call it luck or you can call it fate
But either way it's how it happens
Not the way that you imagined
So just go out with a bang like Hemingway
Some will say you're brave
Some will say you ain't