Instrumental
remember when we climbed the tree
and all the leaves turned into geese
it's hard to believe
some people call this lucky
you've lost your awkward innocence
your jacket smells like cigarettes
the grass is turning brown
like at the end of summer
like the star in that famous scene
i was crying and everything
i've got to admit when i've been beaten by the very best
i once said that these skinny arms could handle this
but i was wrong
i'll stop by this week
to pick up all my records
When you were young and you held in your favor
A pretty mouth and a pension for stealing
Away the things that were not nailed down
You had no course but to weed out the fakers
They came in scores but you turned them away
I quit my job as a struggling doctor
Staying home just to practice on you
You were so fine, it's the least I could do
I sang your syllables and I swung from your trees
Climbed all your branches and I hid in your leaves
Turn all your lights on 'cause I'm coming over
I'm coming in like a moth through a porch door
I love your face when your poetry is clumsy
I'm no mathematic but your numbers are fussy
our lives are measured by the weekends
said a weatherman to an anchor friend
feels like more if it feels like nothing
and i am predicting rain again
i wore my tread out on your highway
a rusted care parked in your driveway
but neck to back
the fit's amazing
was this a song?
or is this a painting?
the swans are fainting
even with the spotlights on them
the swans are fainting
should we call the doctor in?
in the bars and the ticket lines
black strawberries looked so fine
but when the fruit was pressed to wine
we could not be satisfied
swans are fainting
even with the spotlights on them
swans are fainting
when you reach for stars
you're gonna come down empty handed
when you reach for the stars
you're gonna come down empty handed
you drew it on the board
and then you erased it
you told me i turn it on
and then you let me waste it
i knew your honey was good
but now i can't taste it
when you reach for the stars
you're gonna come down empty handed
when you reach for the stars
you're gonna come down empty handed
you drew it on the board
and then you erased it
you told me i turn it on
then you let me waste it
i knew your honey was good
but now i can't taste it
when you reach for the stars
you're gonna come down empty handed
when you reach for the stars
you're gonna come down empty handed
hey
well i told you for the last time
when you were watching your tv
what could be going on outside
and do you think it's taking place
right here in downtown ruxton?
hey
did you have to tell my secrets
when i told you i was hoping that you'd keep them to yourself?
but you spread them up and down
running circles around ruxton
i don't give a damn about elvis
he never answered none of my prayers
i don't give a damn about nothing
i don't give a damn about the ozone layer
i'm not a superstar anymore
i'm not a superstar anymore
i'm not a superstar
anymore
i don't give a damn about the situation
do you think i'm bad because i just don't care?
i'm gonna make it so it's not my problem
i don't know how to act and it's so unfair
i'm not a superstar anymore
i'm not a superstar anymore
i'm not a superstar
anymore
i don't give a damn about my nervous actions
when i see you on the street while i'm walking home
i don't give a damn that you just walked by me
i guess i just learned what i already know
i'm not a superstar anymore
i'm not a superstar anymore
i'm not a superstar
anymore
super
super sonic
super
super sonic
i got my plastic combat boots
i got my lunch box rifle games
i got my toothpick motor skills
i got my freeze dried torcher cream
super
super sonic
super
super sonic
growing up in a pencil factory
christianity killed the cat
i don't owe nothing to doggie
doggie don't owe nothing to me
super
super sonic
super
super sonic
i got my private parking spot
i got my favorite story book
i got my plastic viking hat
i got a little dirty joke
super
super sonic
super
super sonic
french toast motor bike
will you take me home tonight?
you know i got nowhere else to go
Tonight, I'm staring out the window
I've got Brian Eno on the stereo
And tonight, you're gonna be my widow
The only way to get you back
Is to get you dressed in black
'Cause I'm still a fraud. I'm still a fake
I'm self-absorbed and I don't talk straight
I'm full of shit. I'm full of lies.
I can't be trusted, but I'll let you try
I'm insincere, and I'll let you down
Burn all my bridges, jerk you around
And I am not honest, I'm way off track
You gave me chances, I gave them back
I guess you were right. I guess I was scared
But I'm too opaque to show if I care.
I'm quick to judge. I'm slow to change.
I'll talk about you when you're out of range.
I wish I was different. I wish I was good.
But, no one can save me and nobody should.
Afraid of decisions, afraid of love
Afraid of the future, all of the above.
I look for shortcuts when conflict arises
A sleight of hand, elaborate disguises
I lack respect. I lack intent.
I know that I'm careless, and I won't relent.
'Cause I can't relent.
Wonder Woman, I wonder
why I feel alone
I try so hard to impress you
but I have no superpowers of my own
I feel the forcefield from above
Use your special power and keep it from crushing our love
You are a superhero
and I'm just a mortal guy
but don't let that come between us
you know it'll make me cry
One minute you're here
whispering sweet lies
the next thing you're gone,
rounding up bad guys
again
Now that we're together
I hope that it never ends
I really like hanging out with you
and all the other Super Friends
When things go wrong
I get upset
until you take me for a ride
in the invisible jet
wood it burns and paper blows
i don't know everything you know
with things as strong as super glue
i could help you truly true
counting off in pairs of threes
times that sent us to our knees
and everything we've said in pleads
squished between parenthesis
would you move with me?
truly truly truly true
truly truly truly true
winter snow turns into water
then to steam when it gets warmer
wind attempts to blow a secret
hesitates
decides to keep it
would you move with me?
truly truly truly true
truly truly truly true
there's water on the wood
and sails are tight and good
but something's drifting aimlessly
this one has come unchained
i was vicious
i was weak
i was trying to be opaque
it soon became so obvious
the advantage i had taken
but you kept me on as friend
knowing it was bound to end
proving once again
it was me who'd come unchained
so if you must know the truth
you're the only one who knew
that everything must come undone before it can be chained
now carmen's lines are cutting out
and caesar's loosing cleo
but tired knots were slipping
soon to be unchained
Instrumental
let's get down to the bare essentials
and throw away all of these complications
so we can start living totally simple
you and me
since we've been involved im making some changes
im going more laundry and talking with strangers
and i'm standing upright and fastening buckles
with apposable thumbs i stop dragging my knuckles
but superman coming out of the phonebook
incredible hulk or a big hairy werewolf
i've been transformed into something much better
no longer the clown with the hand-me-down sweaters
and we fit together like oyster and pearl
or the way that an acorn is loved by a squirrel
i wish that you could have seen me before
you wouldn't recognize me for i've been transformed
into something much more advanced
pretty inside but still a warthog at first glance
and i'm not accustomed to this kind of true romance
but i could get used to it
like superman coming out of the phonebook
incredible hulk or a big hairy werewolf
i'm coming on like ice
but i could melt away
to make the freezing scene
takes another loose campaign
untie your heavy horses
they're dragging in the rain
dragging in the rain
they're dragging in the rain
company to arms
you soldiers will be famous
and keep your weapons clean
and sharpen all your sences
come in from the fields and
join us in the trenches
join us in the grave
unfold those sentences
from underneath your tongue, dear
or do they organize
much further down your throat?
the things you used to say
did you ever really mean them?
here's a simple song
for a simple girl
cause i've got to get into
her complex world
i draw the line
but it's not so straight
it's going to seem like hell
but i don't mind waiting
my skinny arms are strong enough
to handle your thin, sable love
simply girl
simple girl
i gotta get into your complex
world
minutes pass like dreams go by
when i watch you through these
wax paper eyes
i feel like a kid who's gonna get caught
with a secret that could blow this whole thing apart
simply girl
simple girl
i gotta get into your complex
world
i've gotta go
i've said too much
and you're gonna figure out
who i'm talking about
You are the one who claims to know him so well
Carry out his will when convenient is the way
He was created in the image of yourself
But you wouldn't recognize him if he walked alone
In fact you'd be the first one to throw the stone
Not realizing he was your own
Proving your devotion for an hour every week
While stepping on the backs of all the other sheep
Following the path of responsibility
While hiding from the kind that will truly set you free
You're obviously scared of that kind of honesty
You want advice- don't look to me.
Defending an idea that's beginning to grow thin
From all of the directions everybody's looking in
Easy comes the critic to the one who has so much
And all the phony history you're using as a crutch
But there is one thing I'm forgetting and the saying goes as such
"Judge not others, lest you be judged"
massachusetts
it's the place where i was born
in a mill town
in the middle of a storm
in the statasphere
there's a little ball of light
it comes down into the earth
when condistions are just right
i was laying in the giant tiled brim
i was arching out
to the sockets on the wall
while recharging
we all began to spin
did i mention that this room was very cold and
very big?
in california
there's a building
twice the size as this
and inside there is a lazer
that fires for a billionth of a second
with an output that equals all the country's generators
if we turn them all at once
and what it's going
is reinacting
on a smaller scale
what's taking place every second of every year
up on the sun
or any star
or in massachusetts
massachusetts
massachusetts
massachusetts
you've got to stop trying to go to texas
a state that big and dry
is not meant for our kind
we'd have to stay inside
stop trying to be like texas
it's wild and it's loud
scraping knuckles on a cloud
the birds have learned to frown
(stop trying to go to texas)
please change your mind
(stop trying to go to texas)
waste my time
(stop trying to go to texas)
stop trying to go to texas
you've got to stop trying to go to texas
there's cactus everywhere
the alamo is there
you'd never stand a chance
(stop trying to go to texas)
please change your mind
(stop trying to go to texas)
waste my time
(stop trying to go to texas)
stop trying to go to texas
don't leave me with the shakes
don't hang me out to dry
if you knew what it takes
then you would know i'm trying
not a wave in this whole lake
is gonna make it out to sea
watch the paper sailor's rain
when you push them out too deep
no tangled exit
no graceless goodbye
just this wreckless effort
to make you think twice
don't leave me with the shakes
don't leave me with the shakes
don't leave me with the shakes
don't leave me with the shakes
don't leave me with the shakes
don't leave me with the shakes
don't leave me with the shakes
don't leave me with the shakes
don't leave me with the shakes
don't leave me with the shakes
don't leave me with the shakes
hey charlie nothing comes to rest
on the chests of those always running
and in this life i have been blessed
with starcrossed maps that kept me moving
but charles
the empty miles press
with the weight i thought i was avoiding
and how can i confess
when i know not what i am doing?
release the load
release and load again
release the load and then
hey charlies when's it gonna click?
i've been waiting all my life
for this
i'm tired of living from the wrist
and leaving all decision
to coincidence
release the load
release and load again
release the load and then
referring to the wrinkle bus schedule
you keep on your living room floor
i noticed the last 43 passed 10 minutes ago
as i make up my mind
to take the long walk home
something reminds me of 1778
out among the frontlines
they're dying for our asses
someone read a prayer or poem
before it's too late
we're sharpening our bayonets
on the first of the season
as a raquet crew assembles
in the green mountain state
la la la la la
la la la la la la
la la
we'll hide beneath the canopy
from well-trained arrows
as i log in cacography
to the jounal that i've kept
and the last drop of liquor
turns a fraud as i honest
and big trucks are piling
in the new falling snow
their greasy gears ceasing
in the clean, quiet snow
i've been known to walk at night
where streetlights end
and dark begins
and lately i've been occupied
with things i should have left behind
all my shortfalls notwithstanding
i could give a lot to you
press thisdtream up muddy river
underneath the drowsy moon
i've been seen out all alone
past grocery stores and mobile homes
beyond the glow of industrial parks
where laundromats spin broken hearts
out among the powerlines
things don't always turn out fine
there's a message in this nursery rhyme
one hundred clouds
i counted them for you
i went through the trouble
i wrote down the number
one hundred stars
only good for their wishes
but the clouds take action
make rain for the fixing
one hundred clouds
i'll sew them together
and seat them heavily
and force it to rain
on one hundred towns
and the one that you live in
i'm out on the streets of my hometown
shielding drizzle with soggy sleeves
all of my friends
have crawled away
nothing you could do
would make me stay
flying over my hometown
i should have dropped a bomb
i never liked you
the old town anyway
i'd drop this bomb
but i'm too far away
i guess you're having a party tonight
i wasn't invited, but that's alright
i heard about it anyway
i might stop by, but i doubt i'll stay
cause i can't eat
and i'm having trouble getting to sleep
and i'm seeing double
it's no mystery and
what do you think's going on with me
and i can't fully understand
how you got the upper hand
i guess you got control of me
you played me like the lottery
i pulled into your yard last night
you saw my car you turned out the lights
it doesn't matter anyway
i wasn't even gonna stay
well, i just stopped by to drop off these
pictures of my broken knees
i guess you won't be needing these
and i can't fully understand
how you got the upper hand
i guess you got control of me
you played me like the lottery
i followed you to where you were
and now i feel like some kind of jerk
cause you turned around and saw me there
and all i did was stand and stare
you probably think i'm just a pest
hanging around your circulation desk
i guess i'll go on home
where once again i can be alone
and i can't fully understand
how you got the upper hand
i guess you got control of me
you played me like the lottery
Send in the builders of the bridge
it's time to tear their tressles down
did you pay them all handsomely?
yes, we paid them what they're worth.
now i'm not one to socialize
with those among the working class
could you tell them what i've said to you?
i can't show my face around here.
let it all burn
drawl the curtains down
let it all burn
drawl the curtains now
does your father know the state we're in?
that if he dies, i will be king
it's happening so fast
i could use a glass of water
i've never had to use a gun
i've never had to do too much
locked away in towers
away from all your dirt
let it all burn
drawl the curtains down
let it all burn
drawl the curtains now
let it all burn
drawl the curtains down
let it all burn
drawl the curtains
well my car don't work
and you think that it's funny
and the bills keep coming in
but i ain't got no money
everything is starting
to fall into place
i got a little outfit
made of leather and lace
everything's gonna be a-okay tonight
well my hindsight's blurry and i ain't got a clue
i took a walk in the park and i stepped in some dog poo
everything is starting
to fall into place
i got a little outfit
made of leather and lace
everything's gonna be a-okay tonight
well i cut myself and now i'm bleeding
i got spots on my face and my hairline's receding
everything is starting
to fall into place
i got a little outfit
made of leather and lace
everything's gonna be a-okay tonight
Well, come on, let me in
It's hard enough to make a friend
If you're ready to leave the show
Well, I could walk you home
Come on, let me know
I am a landscape typist.
When a landscape typist is nothing to even be
I'll strike the rhythm with just the perfect keys
Come on, make it easy
Come on, make it easy
Look at it this way if you can
It's not so bad, just change your definition
Well, come on, let me in
Come on, let me in
Come on, let me in
Come on, let me in
Come on, let me in
i'm walking the streets
i'm dancing with pigeons
i'll call it a night
i can't make a living
just when you're up
you start to go down
first there's a house
and then there's a town
i saw in the paper
they need a good stapler
at the place where they staple
all the papers together
just when you're up
you start to go down
first there's a house
and then there's a town
i just got in from illinois
i'm the invisible boy
i don't have a plan
don't have a ploy
i'm just an invisible boy
i'm not as brave as evel knievel
i'm not as strong as captain america
it isn't wrong
it isn't right
i'm the invisible boy tonight
reach on over
turn out the light
your visible boy will be out of sight
i'm not as brave as evel knievel
i'm not as strong as captain america
i try to make you notice
but you can't see
past my invisibility
you don't even know me
but you're gonna destroy
my heart of an invisible boy
i'm not as brave as evel knievel
i'm not as strong as captain america
i just got in from illinois
i'm the in visible boy
i motor away, i motor away too soon when i want to stay, and wait. i've got a lot of things to do, but then i hesitate. goddamn the unicorn, goddamn the glitter. i can't sleep. it's too many cars outside when i'm counting sheep. i try to relate but you're vague and you think by now i would have learned, but every time i think i'm close i leave stones unturned.
i motor away, motor away too soon when i want to stay. i've got a lot of things to say, but it's getting late.
you could say
you would say
i'm like all of these
decomposing leaves
dark and heavy
you'd go on and on about something
you read somewhere
but you'd be wrong
just like always
and i could drag myself to see your point
fake concern for effect
or i might just ignore it
you could say you would say
there are inbetweens
from anything that seems
ordinary
when all the time that i have spent inside
knocking things i haven't tried
what did i expect to get from that?
keeping tricks behind my back
now i'm sitting next to you
i'm being as quiet as possible
i'd be embarrassed to admit my breathing
i hate air
i hate air
i hate air
if i was in galaxy 500
i would write tugboat for you
i know this does not seem possible
i hate air
i hate air
i hate air
mary says to build
i need to shake myself to sleep
i've been laying here so still
all through the night
i need this illusion to go on
something to rest my faith upon
all-night jockey
come and save me
from the quiet
so put the needle on the number
and tune to the crash of tiny thunder
that's my station coming in
all through the night
woke up this morning a real mess
covered in lipstick and wearing a dress
it's getting hard to be myself
so much easier to be someone else
that's when you came along
singing a different song
making it easy
to be me
i got so sad when you went away
i miss the secret little games we played
i'd be your barbie
you'd be my ken
i'd give my eyes just to see you again
that's when you came along
singing a different song
making it easy
to be me
i thought the world was my enemy
i was a slave to my identity
they hurt me bad cause they don't understand
they made me cry and my mascara ran
that's when you came along
singing a different song
making it easy
to be me
bug bites the dog
bug lands on man
man crushes bug
blood gets on hand
dog blood on man
doug's blind dog named dan
dan's dug holes doug digs
holes that blind dan doug
dog sees the bird
bird tries to run
bird starts to fly
man pulls out gun
bird falls to the ground
brown bird breaks beak
broken bird beak bleeds
bloody beak bleeds brown
bug bites the dog
bug lands on man
man crushes bug
blood gets on hand
bug bites the dog
bug lands on man
man crushes bug
blood gets on hand
bug bites the dog
bug lands on man
man crushes bug
blood gets on hand
dog blood on man
doug's blind dog named dan
dan's dug holes doug digs
holes that blind dan doug
i'm looking for a clean spot on the counter
a place where i can make a little sandwich
and i'm sitting here at home
hoping you will hurry home
i've got a little piece of paper in my pocket
it's big enough to write to you a letter
and you say you're leaving town
and i'm jumping up and down
i've got a brain the size of texas in my cranium
and i'm smart enough to memorize your number
but i'll write it down the same
so i don't forget your name
la la la la la laa
la la la la la laa
certain lights are turning low
the ones we used to love
they cast unearthly glow
then flicker and dissolve
jets fall into the ocean
in ways that look so strange
against the earth's rotation
into the calling waves
i am the pilot here
i've got to land somehow
the buttons and the gears
all look so different now
all over town
the flat chested trailor brides
their braces and their bottle caps
jangle like tambourines
triangle flags in a car dealer parking lot
aprons on clothes lines
from barbeque restaurants
and i know your mom's got
a half pack of cigarettes
and one of them's light
and the other nine wait for it
somewhere an arrow
is flashing directionless
over hotels of husbands and infidels
but i'm in the backyard
burning leaves in a barrel
for the prettiest girl
in all of the motor court
casserole role role
casserole role role
casserole role role
casserole role role
casserole role role
casserole role role
casserole role role
we could be so high profile
we could show up late for parties
we could wink across a crowded room
we could laugh about our silly plans
never have to hear another broken song
and never have to hear another broken song
we could paint the town by numbers
we could pick every flower in the field
we could have ice cream for breakfast
and have a grilled cheese on a cloudy day
never have to hear another broken song
never have to hear another broken song
broken pieces
broken pieces
put together for no reason
we're made up of all of these and
useless bits of broken pieces
i saw a man whipping lions swallow fire
and a two-headed ballerina puppy
i saw a girl ride a horse covered with diamonds
and a man walk a wire blowing bubbles
please come and get me at the circus
i'm scared and i think i want to leave
there's a man in a leopard skin bikini
and a midget juggling pieces of cheese
i saw some elephants dancing in a circle
balloons, cotton cand,y and a clown
a family of acrobatic monkeys
and a tattood lady swallowing a sword
please come and get me at the circus
i'm scared and i think i want to leave
there's a man in a leopard skin bikini
and a midget juggling pieces of cheese
please come and get me at the circus
i'm scared and i think i want to leave
there's a man in a leopard skin bikini
and a midget juggling pieces of cheese
the corn was knee high by the 5th of july
when i lost a friend
and gained an enemy
i was caugh unaware of events taking place
and the presence of a traitor among us
oh enemy, what good is security?
oh enemy, what good is security?
oh enemy, what good is security
between friends
over my eyes, the wool has been pulled
and that's just something you shouldn't do
as the fireworks displayed their colorsome array
of light and sonic intensity
it came from both sides a terrible surprise
of immeasurable weight and humility
oh enemy, what good is security?
oh enemy, what good is security?
oh enemy, what good is security
between friends
you surround yourselves with those that are real
because you want to be real yourself
