With the threat of hell hanging over my head like a halo
I was made to believe in a couple of beautiful truths
That eventually had thee effect of completely unraveling
The powerful curse put on me by you
When you set the table
When you chose the scale
Did you write a riddle that you knew they would fail
Did you make them tremble
So they would tell the tale
Did you push us when we fell
If my mother cries when I tell her what I discovered
Then I hope she remembers she taught me to fallow my heart
And if you bully her like you done me with fear of damnation
Then I hope she can see you
for what you are
When you set the table
When you chose the scale
Did you write a riddle that you knew they would fail
Did you make them tremble
So they would tell the tale
Did you push us when we fell
What am I afraid of?
Who did I betray?
In what medieval kingdom does justice work that way?
If you knew what would happen
And you made us just the same
You've heard the story
You know how it goes
Once upon a garden
We were lovers with no clothes
Fresh from the soil
We were beautiful and true
In control of our emotions
'Til we ate the poison fruit
And now it's hard to be
Hard to be
Hard to be a decent human being
Wait just a minute
You expect me to believe
That all this misbehaving
Grew from one enchanted tree?
And helpless to fight it
We should all be satisfied
With this magical explanation
For why the living die
And why it's hard to be
Hard to be
Hard to be a decent human being
Childbirth is painful
We toil to grow our food
Ignorance made us hungry
Information made us no good
Every burden misunderstood
So I swung my tassel
To the left side of my cap
Knowing after graduation
There would be no going back
And no congratulations
From my faithful family
Some of whom are already fasting
To intercede for me
Because it's hard to be
Hard to be
You used to feel like a smoker
Shivering in the cold
Waiting outside the bar
Until the opener's over
But now you feel like a drinker
Twenty days off the shots
Down at the liquor store
Trying to call your sponsor
You used to feel like a forest fire burning
But now you feel like a child
Throwing tantrums for your turn
You used to feel like a prophet
And everyone wanted to know
How you could tell the truth
Without losing that soft glow
But now you feel like a preacher
Evoking the flames of Hell
Some drunk fisherman
Chasing after the white whale
You used to feel like the prodigal returning
But now you hate what you've made
God bless the man who stumbles
God bless the man who falls
God bless the man who yields to temptation
God bless the woman who suffers
God bless the woman who weeps
God bless the children trying her patience
Trouble getting over it is what you're in for
So pour yourself another
'Cause it'll take a steady pair of hands
Holy or unholy ghost
Well now I can't tell
But either way you cut it
You should get some distance if you plan
To take a stand
God bless the house divided
God bless the weed in the wheat
God bless the lamp lit under a bushel
I discovered hell to be the poison in the well
So I tried to warn the others of the curse
But then my body turned on me
I dream that for eternity my family would burn
Then I awoke, with a wicked thirst
By my baby's yellow bed I kissed her forehead
And rubbed her little tummy
And wondered if she'll soon despise the smell
Of the booze on my breath, like her mom
Through a darkened mirror I have seen my own reflection
And it makes me want to be a better man
After another drink
God bless the man at the crossroads
God bless the woman who still can't sleep
My body bangs and twitches
The tequila whets my tongue
My fingers find the stitches
Firmly back and forth they run
I need no other memory
Of the bits of me I left
When all this lethal drinking
Is to hopefully forget about you
I might as well admit it
Like I even have a choice
The crew have killed the captain
But they still can hear his voice
A shadow on the water
A whisper in the wind
On long walks with my daughter
Who is lately full of questions about you
When Job asked you a question,
You answered, "Who are you?"
That sounds a bit defensive
You're so creative
With your reviews
Of what other people do
How satisfying that must be for you
Am I a christian?
Are you a jew?
Did you kill my Lord?
Must I forgive you?
I know it's hard to be original
In fact nothing scares me more
Because Jesus only lets me do
What has been done before
The path of least resistance
Ancient holy wars
The same old easy targets
Yeah, we've all been there before
So if it starts to get you down
Just pretend
That you don't make your living
From selling advertising
Tracking trends
Coraling demographics
And maximising traffic
Then if you get tired of making tapes for free
You can always start a band with me
I know that everything changes
it's strange how time marches on
Well maybe there'll be some future time
Oh, tell me I'm not wrong
Oh, if I could stop time
It'd be a moment at Christmas
When all of mankind reveals it's truest potential
I swear a change comes over us
as sure as I'm standing here
The world embraces peace and love
instead of power and fear
Glimpse for one shining moment
it feels like a change that's real
but then it fades with the season
and we're back to the way things were
Oh, say that it isn't so
tell me that I'm not just a dreamer
Wise men who see the inn
lamenting our human nature
When I woke up the next morning,
You looked right through me
Through your eyes crying,
I could finally see
They said, "please baby please"
When I called you from Atlanta,
You refused to speak
Not three days sober,
Begging for a drink
And I said, "please baby please"
Those two pairs of big blue eyes
Stare me down, watching me fall
But what makes a man realize
That he's about to lose it all?
Elevator to ICU
Now our baby's twenty-three
She'd been out late drinking,
Killed a mother of three
This line is metaphysical
And on the one side
And on the one side
The bad half live in wickedness
And on the other side
And on the other side
The good half live in arrogance
And there's a steep slope
With a short rope
This line is metaphysical
And there's a steady flow
Moving to and fro
Oh look you earned your wings
Are you an angel now
Or a vulture?
Constantly hovering over
Waiting for a big mistake
Oh my God, what have I done?
Wouldn't you love to be
On the cover of a magazine?
Healthy skin and perfect teeth
Designed to hide what lies beneath
And I feel the darkness growing stronger
As you cram light down my throat
And how does that work out for you
In your holy quest to be above reproach?
Wouldn't you love to be
On the cover of a magazine?
Healthy skin and perfect teeth
Designed to hide what lies beneath
You used to feel like a smoker shivering in the cold
Waiting outside the bar 'til the opener's over
But now you feel like a drinker 20 days off the sauce
Down at the liquor store trying to call your sponsor
You used to feel like the forest fire burning,
But now you feel like a child throwing tantrums for your turn
You used to sound like a prophet
Everyone wanted to know
How you could tell the truth without losing that soft glow
But now you feel like a salesman closing another deal
Or some drunk ship captain raging after the white whale
You used to feel like a forest fire burning
But now you feel like a child throwing tantrums
And then some
You used to feel like the prodigal returning
But now,
Now you hate what you've made
my body bangs and twitches
some brown liquor whets my tongue
my fingers find the stitches
firmly back and forth they run
i need no other memory
of the bits of me i left
when all this lethal drinking
is to hopefully forget
about you
i might as well admit it
like i even have a choice
the crew have killed the captain
but they still can hear his voice
a shadow on the water
a whisper in the wind
on long walks with my daughter
who is lately full of questions
about you
when job asked you question
you responded "who are you
to challenge your creator?"
well if that one part is true
it makes you sound defensive
like you had not thought it through
enough to have an answer
like you might have bit off
And when his tiny head
Emerged from hair and folds of skin
I thought to myself if he only knew
He would climb right back in
Like I do, I do, I do
I do, I do, I do
Now that my blushing bride
has done what she was born to do
it's time to bury dreams and raise a son
to live vicariously through
Sperm swims for the egg
The finger for the ring
But if I could take one back
I know what it would be
I do, I do, I do
I do, I do, I do
I go out in public now more than you might think,
But only after several drinks
That's how I remember.
Then if I see any girl I've ever met before,
I run like hell for the door
That's how I remember.
Memory records selected shorts and interpretations,
Then later plays them back as gospel fact.
That's how I remember
That's how I remember
With one eye open,
You can focus like a camera on
Whomever you are capturing.
Without exception I prefer it as a way to document
The objects of my interest
Red and yellow, black and white
Are precious in his eyes
But who he roots for in a fight
That's how I remember
So every time I find a girl
Beaten, gagged, and bound,
I let her go and write it down
That's how I remember
The walls of our house are thinner than paper
The roof is a vapor that hangs in the air
And our wedding bed is made from the same stuff our bodies are made of
If no heavy breath blew up these lungs
While dirt and wet spit hung a ghost in the air
Well, we're still here
While kids and their friends make war by the fire
Their old men retire to drink and do drugs
You long for the truth
We argue about it
But most of us doubt it can ever be found
Is a ship without a captain just as doomed as a ship without a crew?
'Cause of all my friends who try to tell the truth
There are still a faithful few
Who insist they won't know what to do
If no heavy breath blew up these lungs
While dirt and wet spit hung a ghost in the air
Well, we're still here
They might have burned
But the priests were out taking turns
Showing nuns what they had discerned about their bodies,
In the dark
They carried on,
from the evening until the dawn
Like they should have been all along
Making harmless sparks
Instead of breaking little boys hearts
God knows, if you noticed the millions of small holes
And ponder the weight of an apple
Compared to the trouble we're in
Then some grown men might,
be tempted to question their birthright
In front of their kids and devout wives
Causing the doubt to begin, to
If you make a reference to some trouble that you know
Can it help you keep it under control
Or should I really reconsider
My reasons for going solo
David Byrne on Bob Costas puts it pretty well
But I put it better
I still run the show
Don't you forget it
So I had to let some go
Don't think I don't regret it
Because I do and I don't
Think I'm better off alone
Man I could have made a big sound
But I love to let me friends down
Fewer moving parts means fewer broken pieces
When every other start requires a brand new thesis
One good friend remarks with a rightfully angry
Jesus dude! None of us know what to do with you
To which I in pride responded
I've got news for you
None of you have to 'cause
I still run the show
Don't you forget it
So I had to let some go
Don't think I don't regret it
Because I do and I don't
Think I'm better off alone
Man I could have made a big sound
Red and orange, or blue and yellow
In which of these do you believe?
If you're not sure right now,
Please take a moment
I need your signature before you leave
When I sleep, I'm usually dreaming
But more and more, it's only one
Where every hired gun I've ever fired
Is making love to you while I look on
Oh, falling leaves should curse their branches
For not letting them decide where they should fall
And not letting them refuse to fall at all
In my throat, there swells a darkness
It fills my mouth, and coats my lips
And even as the threat of Hell is disappearing,
The threat of losing you is blowing up
Oh, falling leaves should curse their branches
For not letting them decide where they should fall
A white ghost, making his way up the west coast
Trying to focus his high hopes on a vagina or two
He's taking his chances
Meanwhile, back in his living room
Bright smiles are watching his toddler run speed trials
Over a grandmother's rug
And nature advances
Up the interstate
He's been awake
And pretty drunk for three whole days
No one wants to stop
Until they get to where they're going
I'll get to where I'm going pretty soon
So he takes another drink
'Cause watching the scenery bleed
Into each similar scene
Isn't as sweet as it had been in his dreams
It's faster to buy cigarettes and some cold beer
If you don't rattle the cashier
By asking her back to your room
She's calling security
Our car's on fire in the parking lot
And nobody wants it to rain
But God isn't listening
So all of the windshields glisten
The water and oil mix
Causing the fire to spread
To five or six innocent automobiles
Waiting in their nearby spots
What a cruel God we've got
Right on, right on, right on
Right on, right on
Right on, right on, right on
Right on, right on
So he takes another drink
'Cause watching the formula bleed
Into each similar thing
God bless the man who stumbles
God bless the man who falls
God bless the man who yields to temptation
God bless the woman who suffers
God bless the woman who weeps
God bless the children trying her patients
Trouble getting over it
Is what you're in for
So pour yourself another
'Cause it'll take a steady pair of hands
Holy or unholy ghost
Well now I can't tell, but either way you cut it
You should get some distance if you plan to take a stand
God bless the house divided
God bless the weeds in the wheat
God bless the lamp hid under a bushel
I discovered hell to be the poison in the well
So I tried to warn the others of the curse
But then my body turned on me
I dream that for eternity
My family would burn
Then I awoke with a wicked thirst
By my baby's yellow bed I kissed her forehead and rubbed her little tummy
Wondered if she'd soon despise the smell of the booze on my breath like her mom
And it makes me want to be a better man
After another drink
God bless the man at the crossroads
I clung to miracles I have not seen
From ancient signatures I cannot read
Though I've repented I'm still tempted I admit
But it's not what bearing witness is
To full of fear and prophecy to see
The revelation right in front of me
So sick and tired of trying to make the pieces fit
cause it's not what bearing witness is
When the gap between
what I hoped would be
and what is makes me weep for my kids
I take a cleansing breath
and make a positive confession
But is that what bearing witness is?
Though it may alienate your family
and blur the lines of your identity
Let go of what you know
and honor what exists
Son, that's what bearing witness is
Calling all rednecks to put down their sluggers
And turn their attention from beating the buggers
To pick up machine guns and kill camel fuckers
Backwoods nation
Calling the doctors of spin and the smoke screen
To whip the new hate-triots into a frenzy
Of good versus evil ignoring the history of the
Backwoods nation
Ain't it a shame?
When due process stands in the way of swift justice
Calling all frat boys to trade in their hazing
Their keggers and cocaine
And casual date raping
For cabinet appointments
And rose garden tapings
Though reticent to represent
They waive as their
Beloved republic bleeds
The victim of insatiable greed
Criminal acts
Dressed up in the flag
So no one can disagree
Then went crack the camel's back
It started out in front of the capital
A hundred coming down from their flag poles
It'd gotten so bad
Even blue white and red
Refused to take it anymore
American flags
Are hunting the fortunate sons
To swallow them up
And bury them deep into the ground
Present tense the president
Is calling for diplomacy or a truce
A dozen more are filling the room
Now down on his knees
"Lord they're coming for me!
For doing what you told me to"
He seems nice.
You met him once or twice.
But you wonder what he's like
When he's sober.
Then again
You hear he has no friends
Just people that he spins
To do him favors.
When he wakes up in the morning he tells himself
"Today I'll make a change,"
But falling into his bed at night he thinks
"Man it was a beautiful day to stay the same."
I'm so deep
That only in my sleep
Do the secrets that I keep
Float to the surface.
So I hold them down
'Til they don't make a sound
Like they accidentally drowned
Except on purpose.
And when I wake up in the morning I tell myself
"Today I'll make a change,"
But falling into my bed at night I think
When you get this message I'll be high above the earth
Thinkin' 'bout the promises that I keep.
When I touch down in Texas, land in Dallas/Fort Worth
I will call you up and wake you from your sleep.
I will not let go
I will not let go
I will not let go of you.
I will not let go
I will not let go
I will not let go of you.
Who or what controls the fates of men I cannot say
But I keep arriving safely home to you.
And I humbly acknowledge that I won't always get my way
But darling death will have to pry my fingers loose.
'Cause I will not let go
I will not let go
I will not let go of you.
I will not let go
I will not let go
You used to feel like a smoker
Shivering in the cold
Waiting outside the bar
Til the opener's over
But now you feel like a drinker
Twenty days off the sauce
Down at the liquor store
Trying to call your sponsor
You used to feel like the forest fire burning
But now you feel like a child
Throwing tantrums for your turn
You used to sound like a prophet
And everyone wanted to know
How you could tell the truth
Without losing that soft glow
But now you feel like a salesman
Closing another deal
Or some drunk ship captain
Raging after the white whale
You used to feel like the forest fire burning
But now you feel like a child
Throwing tantrums and then some
You used to feel like the prodigal returning
But now you hate what you've made
Wake up in the morning
Check your revelation
Making sure you know it as well as you can
Then sell it to yourself, man
Cause it won't make a difference
If everyone believes it
But you don't believe it
Just level with yourself
Level with yourself
Level with yourself
And be at peace with thee
You're making a list of all
The negative side effects
That come with the shit you let
Yourself get away with
Oh your God
We're building a wall between
The kids and the gasoline
Of editorial and advertising
Riches I heed not
Nor man's empty praise
Means fuck the gatekeeper
Cause I'm fine outside the gate
I want to level with myself
I want to level with my friends
I want to level with my kin
And be at peace with them
I'm making a list of all
The negative side effects
That come with the shit I let
Myself get away with
Oh my God
I'm building a wall between
The kids and the gasoline
Virginia I had a dream that you invited us over
You still lived on the street where you laid down for good
We all sat on the floor as my kids swam around us
You smoked cigarettes like I knew you would
We were worried about your personal salvation
Was it heaven or hell that you saw when your eyes closed?
You smiled at us, floating high above the question
Like you knew something we didn't know
Virginia I had a dream we were closer than brothers
Singing, pictures of you, crashing cars, skipping school
We drove all over town as the days blurred around us
We wore out your cassettes, we were nobody's fool
They were worried about our high school graduation
They read us a poem, "Oh the Places You'll Go"
You smiled it off, floating high above the question
So you see right through me
And I can't see through anything
To you a firm conclusion
To me a phone about to ring
You can't be right about the future
When you're wrong about the past
Your legacy's in jeopardy
And death is coming fast
You only trust the foxes
When they're cooped up with the hens
You stick it to the black and blue around you
When you should be making friends
Dig my new solution
For harnessing depravity
We'll give everyone shotguns
When I was young
I saw people helping people
All the time
Because you were
people-helping-people
In your prime
I thought that people-loving-people
Were the norm
Because you were people
Loving people
Before the long dark storm
But now you're selfish and mean
Your eyes glued to a screen
And what titillates you
Is depraved and obscene
And I know that it's dangerous to judge
But man you've gotta find the truth
And when you find that truth don't budge
Until the truth you found begins to change
And it does I know, I know
When you love the truth enough
You start to tell it all the time
When it gets you into trouble
You discover you don't mind
Cause if good is finally gonna trump
Than man you've gotta take stock
And you've got to take your lumps
Or else they trickle down
Into someone else's cup below
You know
I wanna know who are these people
Blaming their sins on the fall
Who are these people
If I'm honest with myself at all
These are my people
Man what else can I say
You are my people
And we're the same in so many ways
Then your eyes turned green
And you broke the machine
That when handed to you
Was still kind of functioning
And I know that it's dangerous to judge
But man you've gotta find the truth
And when you find that truth don't budge
Until the truth you found begins to change
And it does I know, I know
When you love the truth enough
You start to tell it all the time
When it gets you into trouble
You discover you don't mind
Cause if good is finally gonna trump
Than man you've gotta take stock
And you've got to take your lumps
Or else they trickle down
Into someone else's cup below
By now you probably have noticed and I'm so relieved
To see while you have been leaving me deep
That my younger sisters and brothers have all grown to be
Stronger and smarter than you would believe.
But like all good things it did not last
Your appetite returned so fast
And just in time for supper.
Why would you sweat my confession
What I claim to be
When you see the fruit as it hangs on the tree.
Now this may be the rare occasion where high tide lifts all boats.
I'm keeping my head down under the water,
'Cause man I gotta get there on my own.
I've done all you have required still you feel the need
To quiz me on books I did not claim to read.
Well alright, John Henry dies in a tunnel, hammer in his hand.
Steam drill lives on to make fools of every man.
When I lived alone I did as I pleased.
Eating paper, I swung from the trees.
But like all good things it did not last
Your appetite returned so fast
You used to keep me a secret
That nobody else could know
Made me feel so alone
But I'll be damned if I let it show
But now it's like you hardly know me
So I've been busy minding my own
But I'm finding your finger prints
In some places they don't belong
Be careful 'cause the lights come on
Without a warning
People seem so confused
When they take home what they earn
He left a dark place behind him
And hell was just a bottle away
But heaven's what he told himself
At the end of a long day
Surprised him when she came home early
Caught him with his hand in the jar
He tried to protest
But he was already done for
Messes in the dark make headlines every morning
Everyone makes mistakes
Like it's the only way we learn
Be careful 'cause the lights come on
Without a warning
People seem so confused
When they're caught with some bullshit
Messes in the dark make headlines every morning
Everyone makes mistakes
Wolves wait at your door
For your permission
Slyly you invite them
On one condition
They prepare a feast
From your provisions
Of root and wild beast
For you to eat
Surprise!
They took your money and ate your kids
And they had their way with your wife a little bit
While you wept on the porch
With your head in your hands
Cursing taxes and the government
'Cause you're a goddamn fool
You're a goddamn fool
You're a goddamn fool
And I love you
Yeah I love you
Look into your eyes
Your former glory
Bright and open wide
Like Easter morning
How the light has dimmed
And how the fear of everything is creeping in.
'Cause you're a goddamn fool
You're a goddamn fool
You're a goddamn fool
And I love you
You blew all your inheritance
And now you're trying to pin the blame on me
And I could write you off so easily
Except a hundred million other people agree
You kick and scream to get your way again,
But the writing is on the wall
Any minute you'll go on to your reward
Someone else is gonna make the call.
In these strange negotiations
Man they really are gettin' me down
Strange negotiations
Feel like a stranger in my hometown
Strange negotiations
You know I'm looking for a way around
All these strange negotiations.
You cut your leg off to save a buck or two
Because you never consider the cost
You find the lowest prices every day
But would you look at everything that we've lost
And yeah, it's true, I learned it from watching you,
But now it's you who doesn't know what a dollar is worth
You got the market its own bodyguard
And all the people are gettin' hurt
In these strange negotiations
Man they really are gettin' me down
Strange negotiations
Feel like a stranger in my hometown
Strange negotiations
You know I'm looking for a way around
