Oberheim, Yamaha, Steinway and the lot
I must have played the wrong piano
'cause it left me with, I don't know what
so don't talk to me about mistakes
yes we all simply have got to take precautions
I must have played the wrong piano
'cause now I just feel nauseous
some sexual turned into some biblicaland then became a game of just trivial pursuit
I used to gnaw on every word
but now I don't, what's the use
Ruppert Murdock and Larry Flint
Bob Guccione and the U.S. mint
she said her father looked like Woodrow Wilson
she said her father looked like Woodrow Wilson
presiding from behind prescription lenses
she said her father looked like Woodrow Wilson
she said her mother act like a first lady
she said her mother act like a first lady
she'd been having those problems lately
she said she's going to the clinic on Wednesday
she said her brother wished he was a negro
she said her brother wished he was a negro
went to school in african-american studies
once he had a picture taken with Adam Clayton Powell
she said her father looked like Woodrow Wilson
she said her father looked like Woodrow Wilson
I saw him once and thought he looked just a little bit like Truman
West of Rome, just east of the border
In a static-y ramada inn
Polishing his boots and pummeling his liver
Steeped in the dark isolation
Just what business does he have around here
Credentials are wearing out with each little bit of cheer
Yes it's a bad scene we're convening
Brushing his teeth and milking his ulcer
Preparing to waste another wily morning
Stroking himself and them phoning up his sister
He tells her their life would make one whale of a movie
Yes a childhood full of dry goods and wet neglect
The father they now sponge off they have no absorbing respect
Yes he's a glad boy to have such a void
Yes he's a martyr crawling accross cobble stones
From his cozy cottages just west of Rome
knowing what I know now
I should've had a cow
I didn't realize
you were to be despised
I must have been
one of history's stupidest men
'cause everything was perfect in my head
until the lead started hitting me
with benefit of hindsight
I can see your ass wasn't right
maybe I'm mighty dull
but you're pathological
I never guessed
you meant no, when you said yes
everything was perfect in my head
until the lead started hitting me
it didn't take long at all
until the zen started to to fall
all of the people you faked
suddenly saw their mistake
you never thought
that I could survive the shock
everything was perfect in my head
take a lightbulb from the closetand replace the one above the faucetscrape the whisker from my facenick my lip in pointless haste
take a magic marker blackdarken a spot on the mapof a county on the coastwhere I was born out of a ghost
underneath the ceiling fancontemplate a master planbreathe a sigh of recognitionfor a childhood superstition
your personal pariah is in a wool cap
the mirror flakes away take a long nap
watching the threads disintegrate
like the Krishna beads in a lockbox safe
watching the threads disintegrate
like the Krishna beads in a lockbox safe
watching the threads disintegrate
crumbling like the lawn art you made
oh, lawn art you made
oh, lawn art you made
oh, lawn art you made
I was crumbling like the lawn art that you made
hard brown bread cut with a circular saw
shallow rattling breath with a wee cough
watching the threads disintegrate
foisted into the middle ages
watching the threads disintegrate
foisted into the middle ages
watching the threads disintegrate
remain in the ruckus and you will get scraped
oh, you will get scraped
oh, you will get scraped
oh, you will get scraped
it's a battle of the culinary artsin that boiling landyou met your mate over across that riverand some good old contraband
in Thailand ...
into our lovely story , who do we insertbut the mighty, mighty Steve Willoughbyhe went searching for that big Buddha in a raincoatand met a wife half the size of he
suckin on a toothpick
soaked with cinnamon
the boys in the backroom played on
Anonymous Adonis
he's the one you want
the boys in the backroom played on
not beholden to know afterwards
not beholden to the afterwards
not beholden to the afterwards
not beholden to the afterwards
saw him at the market
buying tarragon
the boys in the backroom played on
clinch for a moment
then you wander home
after the splice
when the temperature's nice
after the patch
when everything's a match
after the patch
after the edit
when it's had time to set
when it's smooth
then it's time to move
when it is smooth
go consult your elders
look into the thatch
any day that swelters
there's still some shelter
beneath the hatch
go consult your elders
look into the thatch
any day that swelters
there's still some shelter
beneath the hatch
after the cool
when it's wound on the spool
when it's spent
you're rarely glad it went
Super Tuesday, on the ball
Super Tuesday
I am out on a stroll
Super Tuesday, I'm in control
Oh, super Tuesday
I'm out on a stroll
Oh I am out on a stroll
Super Tuesday, I'm in the door
Super Tuesday
I am good for a bore
up on the bluffwhere I wish I wastwisting up the pages of history
my cold feet danglingmy bony arms gesturingto summon up a little chunk of that history
in the corridor the shadows are longand it messes with my equilibriumand there's strains of a strange language
up on the bluffwhere the hardwoods jutout toward the gusts of history
my crusty mind cracksmy restless heart tracksthe fractal lines of history
I am sick of you
Expecting me to do
All those puny ingratiations
You know I am a terrible patient
I am barely alive
Ever since my daddy died
And I've been searching for my own little babies
To misbehave and betray me
I tie one onto all the others
And say a soggy toast to all my drunken brothers
They've got organizations of a people
Like me with stupid preoccupations
Stupid preoccupations
Stupid preoccupations
We know y'all are all innocent
I'm just bitching at your expense
And the price for cockiness is worth swiping
Yes, it's primal griping
Yes, I am nearly reformed
So don't say that you weren't warned
'Cause when I break into that smile that is aching
It may be too ugly to look on
Hallelujah for the ghosties
And all those scary monsters under the boiling seas
They've got organizations of a people
Like me with stupid preoccupation
Stupid preoccupations
sitting in a square room
my voice is freezing
and the beams that are bouncing off the moon
are hanging from my window like icicles
just a tired old alcoholic, waxing bucolic
shivering and homesick
staring at a wooden floor
staring at a wooden floor
last night I nearly killed myself
chasing rum with rum
there were crows flying all around my head
and I sure caught and ate me some
it's funny how I alienated
those who I was trying just so
so hard to impress
now half those fuckers hate me
and I'm just a fool to all the rest
why do I insist on drinking myself to the grave
why do I dream about cozy coffin
I had all these plans of great things to accomplish
I'm sorry for my lack of communication
but as I'm staring out this fifth floor window
it seems like the least amount of communication the better
oh, well what am I supposed to say
"there's a bloody effigy on my wall
and the complimentary carnation is falling apart"
and I ain't got time for the niceties
or rather I was never, never fond of the niceties
I will see you around
I will see you around
see you around
see you around
well I must admit I'm flattered by your consecration
It's a mind-numbing spine-chilling
but never-the-less heartwarming gesture
but as you make your advances so clumsily
I'll save us both the both the hassle and leave
and hang out all night
in the familiar fluorescent light of Dunkin' Donuts
'cause I ain't got time for the niceties
or rather I was never, never fond of the niceties
I will see you around
see you around
see you around
see you around
well, how are you with issues
lately you've been a half-assed activist
you've been seen sashaying around the picket line
wearing scarcely any sign
oh, but always vocal in love and strife
and the politics of your all important life
well, I'm sorry but your routine is coming off a bit ragged
and I ain't got time for the niceties
or rather I was never, never fond of the niceties
I will see you around
I'll see you around
see you around ...
scratch, scratch, scratch
goes the cat on the carpet
she stepped in the blue water bowl
twitch, twitch, twitch goes my eyelid
my tounge in a cavity hole
I lost my passport one hairy night
I think they found it in the bald-bulb light
now I wait calmly in the holiday cold
my love is lent out, tucked in a skinfold
my love is lent out, tucked in a skinfold
there goes my baby
not really in the middle of the murder
surely left of center of the swirl
I bolster my conviction as a character reference
with a sweetie-neatie drop of pearl
the crowd at the courthouse
passed around the flu
blew through steamy faces
still in shock in the parking lot
freezing, doing sunday suit paces
then we were dismissed
and I drove alone to a friend's
then we were dismissed
it's the plan of mostto discover that magnificent ghostwhen did I get pervertedand my innocent eyes divertedfrom a view so grandimbued with distractions
I'm greedy like Senior BabbittI'm just chasing that electric rabbitI'm a reluctant rebelI just want to be Aaron Nevillewith a crown on my headand my denim shirt all dark with sweat
I'm just pushing the paint aroundon advice from your lying mouthyou touched me and then you ranand left a sad Peter Panall alone and awkwardbut a transformation
sitting in the breakfast nook
flipping through a saucy book
browsing for a bit of titillation
(that's what you do, that's what you do)
morning is warming on your mouth
last days of direct sunlight
for this part of the house
move into the great room
get the clean corn broom
sweaping up a sad old pillar of salt
(that's what you do, that's what you do)
you're feeling glummer as summer dies off
something was released with autumn's first cough
matter seem's immaculate
until it's consumed or distressed
see her with her kitchen soap
cleaning up the breakfast
she knows it's never finished
'till the other's replenished
it's never finished
'till the other's replenished
propped up on the mantel piece
throphies stuffed in a life that flies
a couple of seconds can be a long time
if'n it's froze, if'n it's froze
matter seem's immaculate
until it's consumed or distressed
see her with her kitchen soap
cleaning up the breakfast
she knows it's never finished
'till the other's replenished
it's never finished
I was shaking with laugther
scared the bratty children
did I destroy the ambience
I'm sure for that hoity-toity patron
it wasn't pretty when I looked into the face
oops, into the eyes, ruptured icy chaos
what's the, what's the, who's the prick
we was hidden in the potted plants
I know and we was no obnoxious
but I could see, there in the sun room
the growing storm of disapproval
it wasn't pretty when I looked into the face
oops, into the eyes, ruptured icy chaos
what's the, what's the, who's the prick
I ain't supposed to laugh
can't let your children see that
I ain't supposed to wonder
what's the, who's the prick
what's the, who's the prick
what's the, who's the prick
where did you go after the parade
I wandered, searching for about an hour
then I parked it on a bench
shifting and sulking
those pesky little mosquitoes
they nearly, nearly, nearly, nearly drained me
then a man dripping with vitalis
said I looked like Joe Namath
he asked me did I used to be famous
and I said "neighbor, I'm famously late"
and I said "neighbor, I'm famously late"
where did you go after the parade
you never even appeared to enjoy it
I came out of it with a slight experience
drinking and howling at the natives
you're a great at disappering
you left me with an ear ache
I spit into the swan lake saying
"what a hideous rewiev"
saying, "what a hideous rewiev"
weather, barometric pressaure
push me to the ground
my stomach is growling
I always heard this was such a festive town
but everybody over ten years old is frowning
everybody over ten years old is frowning
where did you go after the parade
I didn't expecting you to be bolting away
remember the time you took me
to see Harold and Maude
'cause I didn't know the meaning
of the word catharsis
we are busy weaklings
poking around for reasons
we are happy little heathens
it's just time we both admit it
thin and unshaved, drunk and mysteriousooh, I must say lifestyle is curiouswith a little touch of the sniffles and filthy socksgnawed, crumbled fingernails never doing tomahawk chops
a flaky head dandruff is distinguishedlacquer is red vain is the varnishwhat is at the root of this, she'll say, whatcha got
what participle do you possess
she'll say, which I have not
one blustery day we rode out to the meadowlandswe saw and were amazed then hauled it back into town againMississippi is a mess sometimes and not only when it rainshow come you went back to that malaria island'cause our friendship is strained
those were the days when you were so cosmopolitanthese are the days, my letters they're so maudlinI wrote you an eloquent postcard onceabout this most exquisite onion soupbut of course I never mailed though'cause it was your turn in the loop
those were the days when you were so cosmopolitan
I can see my old hotel
down amongst the smells
I'm up above that ancient city river
it's filtered by my lousy liver
it's filtered by my wilted lily liver
I can see my old hotel
it ain't even a hotel
5am there came some sleet or hail
it was signal taps on the brave window
solemn taps on the wavy window
I can see my old holtel
hear those old touristy bells
soon I'll be down the hill shopping
giddy like a tipsy Mary Poppins
giddy like a tipsy Mary Poppins
I can see my old hotel
it ain't even a hotel
I'm scheduled to ride the rails
if I wished to stay on this tower
new town reeks of lumber
new town beat the crowds
new town kittens discover
that the birds scrape the ground
and even the loneliest old ladies get social calls
where they dine and talk about their savior
and the grassroots effort to incorporate
elects a smiling mayor
new town Americana
new town rookie police
new town industries are wanted for the local employees
and a little bitty baby draws a nice clean breath
from over his beaming momma's shoulder
he's staring at the worldly wonders
that stretch just as far as he can see
but he'll stop staring when he's older
oh, new town
new town
new town
and even the loneliest old ladies get social calls
where they dine and talk about their savior
and the grassroots effort to incorporate
elects a smiling mayor
new town
new town
Rave and rant in yer old Foster Grants
I can see my billowy reflection
You're a giant
You're a giant
A little late night caching
A tender moving soul shake
With all light diffused
You'll wake up butch and bruised
Butch and bruised
Straight lines
As the stork flies
Ooh straight lines
As the stork flies
As the stork flies
Naughty, naughty fatalist
Naughty, naughty
Naughty, naughty fatalist
Naughty fatalist, naughty fatalist
An elderly woman on a fashionable couch
Cane on the carpet tapping as she expounds
Tapping, tap tapping
A little late night caching
A tender moving soul shake
With all light diffused
You'll wake up butch and bruised
Butch and bruised
I just never could say, "good bye" or "adieu"
ooh, but the years, they have been so kind to you
there's some skills that I have learned to do
and I would certainly like to share them with you
you're outside hanging wet linen
and I am giving a Van Dyke listening
if you need a little help stretching the canvas
if you need a shaky ride to Lawrence, Kansas
if you need a little help hauling that big, fat sack
I'll be sitting right here beside my stone age fax machine
you're up there amongst the mountains
and I am drinking from a nasty water fountain
I just never could lay a bead on you
I took a sad envelope of seed from you
I just never could get something to take root
one just never can tell about the growth shoot
I am crouched with a weak shovel
a funny pilgrim on a crazy crusade
a saucy chaucer, a sorry chapter mislaid
whittled with an exacto knife
plum right through my load bearing wall
I'm horrified now that I could do such a thing
but I thought I saw the singer
I've heard those chimes so many other times
but if I gave in, it had to of been
I whupped it out, and destroyed my selfish cocoon
since I gave in, it had to of been
since I gave in, I hope it had to been
I'm not an optimist, I'm not a realist
I might be a subrealist, but I can't substantiate
it was bigger than me and I felt like a sick child
dogs are barking, birds are chirping
the only thing better if I was squirting
but there's no one here to love on me today
for the maiden's on holiday
for the maiden's on holiday
I'm a sorry, sorry knight in a horrible castle
hoping to avoid certain societal hassles
and I know what they say
but I ain't made of clay
for the maiden's on holiday
yeah, the maiden's on holiday
I ain't nothing but chivalrous
ain't never been nothing nasty between us
she knows where she stands
on the heart of a broken man
I'm gonna be bad no matter what
so I might as well go on ahead
and act like a butt
any ol' way, yeah, I'm still gonna pay
for the maiden's on holiday
like a little vacation
like a little old song that I want to hear
like a big libation
like a flattering sentence whispered in my ear
that's what I want
every time I try what I'm trying for
why don’t we have a little symposium
where everybody takes the floor, yeah
like a scenic vista
like a long awaited chemical buzz
like a far off twister
like an unexpected pleasant run-in with the fuzz
that's how I feel
every time I feel like I want to feel so
why don't we have a little council meeting
and hash out something real, yeah
Robert's rules of order will be, be observed
I'll be the parliamentarian
with an unswerving dedication
like a little vacation
like a little old song that I want to hear
like a big libation
like a flattering sentence whispered in my ear
that's what I want
every time I try what I'm trying for so
why don't we have a little coucil meeting
where everybody takes the floor
Robert's rules of order will be, be observed
yeah, I'll be the parliamentarian
you file me with the libertines
I fold in line
my monthly dole of magazines
beaming bistro shine
in my ladle is your plum
and my daily staple of your cutesy crumbs
of your cutesy falling crumbs
I saw you at the snazzy din-din
you made me sad that I watched
I must say you truly packed 'em in
nearly dearly debauched
in my ladle is your plum
and my daily staple of your cutesy crumbs
of your cutesy falling crumbs
in my ladle is your plum
and my daily staple of your cutesy crumbs
Forget everything I ever told you
I'm sure I lied way more than twice
But understand I am not Emily post
You know I'm nowhere near that precise
And I struggle with these etiquettes
Like you wouldn't believe, I'm puzzled by the policies
'Cause after everything else you draw out of me
You still expect cute curtsies
But I'm through, through, through
Carrying you on my shoulders
And I'm through, through, through
Hiding
And I'm through, through, through
Living my life for you
Yes, I hope for both our sakes
I'm through, through, through
I hope you are happy with your hold on me
It sure stuck me awful strong
And don't you dare call this disloyalty
There's no way you could be more wrong
I'm just dragging my devotion in a last ditch retreat
Seeking some safety
I'm tired of bleeding for no good reason
Is that so hard to see?
And I'm through, through, through
Carrying you on my shoulders
And I'm through, through, through
Hiding
And I'm through, through, through
Living my life for you
Yes, I hope for both our sakes
Ventolin and Vivarin and primatene
secret tequila shots and a patch of morphine
in the morning and in the throes
what a great day to come out of a coma
I've been in the hot seat sweating it out
oh, sweating it out
sweating it out
sweating it out
I touch the telephone it falls away
I think they call it empathy
but not this way
I put my lips on the sound hole
my tongue is finally warming
but my brain is charcoal
I've been in the hot seat sweating it out
oh, sweating it out
sweating it out
sweating it out
not much later, fall out of favor
pretty soon I know I'll do
precisely what I wanted not to do
maybe I slipped up and learned a lesson
to work my proclivity towards second guessing
I was too naive and enthusiastic
to keep my trap shut
and my monkey in a motherfuckin' basket
I've been in the hot seat sweating it out
oh, sweating it out
sweating it out
you've been sanctified
and I've been triedguilty by association
you've been canonizedand I've been friedguilty by association
all the little loonieswith a salient obsessioncome out from the boonieswith their sharpies and their gunsloaded with questions
you've been canonizedand I've been friedguilty by association
you've been terrorized
and I've been triedguilty by association
we blew past the army motorcadeand it's abnormal load haulagethe gravity of the situationcame on us like a bit of new knowledge
the bubbliest bubble bathbroke down on the bankthe gravity of the situationis why our old thought bubbles sank
humble and graciousthe gravity of the situation ...
well, a fat hungry english crowis picking at a badger carcassthe gravity of the situationis hard to focus and harness
well, we met Bill Loweryat the Queen's Hallthe gravity of the situationbecame apparent to us all
Cross my heart and cross my eyes
Stick a needle in my thigh
Drop kick my unscrewed lid
And fiddle fiddle fiddle fiddle fiddle with what's inside
A rusty mass of machinations
Still I'm vying for the right vaccination
I make a masterful selection like Louis Pasteur
Certain I've found at least a temporary cure
If there's one thing I've learned in this chemical world
It's very very very very very little is pure
My gluefoot sticks, I wrestle with it
I try to skedaddle but my gluefoot is fixed
If they'd give me a shovel in this communication age
Maybe I'd have kept my mouth shut and done something today
I want to blame democracy and it's inherent lies
I want to blame my heritage for my leisurely demise
Everybody wants to wear the cleats
Everybody wants to be Dominique
I want to be someone separate from me
I want to have a sustained feeling
My gluefoot sticks, I wrestle with it
do a little rope trick
move around the mildew
when you stopped to make a phonecall
in the glitter of a landmark
she said something about a blood clot
and a bad wild peach
that nappy little news flash
takes the cut right out of your crease
get it on demand
like Tupperware
shipped with sarcasm
all is fair
jog through giant sands
till you're cleared
then to leave the land
unawares
"at least it's not a leg-break"
you laugh out loud and lonesome
in your cabin cruiser
on your cross-county trek
your brain feels like a fiddle
a brittle fragile vessel
pull off onto the shoulder
by the waterworks
get it on demand
like Tupperware
shipped with sarcasm
all is fair
jog through giant sands
till you're cleared
then to leave the land
Betty Lonely lives in a duplex of stuccoon the north bank of a brackish riverher ears omit the noise from a nearby airstripher mind floats beyond the snapper boats
Betty Lonely, her green eyes are roughly staringat a point through the sliding glass doorher heart live over a drawbridge
her brain is wet like a throw net
Betty Lonely, she will always think in Spanishthough I know her Spanish black hairit will start to fadeshe sunk her past out in the surrounding salt flatsher maidenhood was lost beneath the Spanish moss
bricks are dirty, lakes are deadthe family dog is madbaby brother's science beakers are all brokennow the yard peacocks are all sad
board games are boringmay they rot on the shelfbig brother's at Columbia Universityquote unquote he's tanning beaver pelts
subtle as a billboard oh so refinedsmoking through my chimneyburning up this life of mind
free of hope, free of the pastthank you God of nothingI'm free at last
free of hope, free of the pastthank you God of nothingI'm free at last
I'm free at last ...
a chip on the shoulder usually meansthere's wood up abovebut no many at this shiny oblong tableis very, very fibrous
picnic demographicsI'm scorched and cornfedleaning on the banisterI know it's just another 20, 20 years of sweat
making up his milkdud mindgnawing on a Charleston Chewooh, look inside his hothouse eyessee his budding youth
free of hope, free of the pastthank you God of nothingI'm free at last
free of hope, free of the pastthank you God of nothingI'm free at last
Fa-la-la is running around
All over the grounds of the hospital
I was watching for her
Like some people watch birds
From the window of my hospital room
I was trapped and tired
She was as free as I'd ever found
The embodiment of life force
In a hospital gown
Yeah, I could feel my body healing
I would crank up the head
Of my hospital bed
All the way up
When they would wake me at dawn
Then I'd gaze out at the lawn
Waiting on my sad soul medicine
I was trapped and tired
She was as free as I'd ever found
The embodiment of life force
In a hospital gown
Yeah, I could feel my body healing
And a nurse would come and see me
Everyday
And my folks are on their way
To see me home
But I don't want to go
No I don't want to go
Fa-la-la is running around
All over the grounds of the hospital
As they are loading me up
Into the cab of my daddy's truck
For our long ride home
Only a fool wouldn't be happy
To leave this cold institution
For a warm and loving home
But I feel like I'm drying up
Deep down in my bones
Yes, I don't want to go
Holes in his sweater, fluid in his lungs
The experts say there?s things
He should?ve done better
But instead he is just dying young
And tired of disbelieving, sick of struggling
The experts busy
Their gloved hands are relieving
The symptoms of dying young
Yeah, he wished he was a lawyer
Maybe like Perry Mason
He would sue them ?til they are scrawny
Instead of lying there dying young
Sometimes when he?s angry
He has a sharp tongue
The experts, they just fill him full of ice cream
They know that he is dying young
Yeah, he wishes he was an actor
Maybe like Rock Hudson
Instead of just another layman
Lying there dying young
Yes, he dreamed about an angel
And he thought about a gun
The experts, they file in by the roomful
Watching him dying young
Yeah, the experts, they file in by the roomful
no chocolate in the duty free shop
two drops of scotch
gonna end up on his crotch, tonight
all alone, sitting on the throne
some native tounge on the TV
blaring like an old Peavey
he don't aim to be rude
he's fighting with his inner prude
some pommes frites and you know
it's gonna drip on to his lap
yes, see the man slapping it off
travellin' will do him in
trudging through the waves of people
'till his heart is cluttered and feeble
if you take him out of this loop
he may be very easily duped
still he beats the stampede for the duty free
he's using up all that old currency
he's using up all that old currency
She said it
She should know
She'd by, told by
She knows
She'd been through it
Quantity
What can I say
She should know
I am what I am
She'd been through
Like a gopher
Down to the patch
Get that panic pack
She'd been to Rome, yes
When they do it, do as they do
Oh, Lord, mercy
I think it's quantity
I am what I am
She'd been through
Like a gopher
Down to the patch
I am what I believe
Bad on the head
Like a mad man
I was supposed to tell you about the point of departure
with the aim of a drunken archer I will probably stray
but you can see in her bold eyebrow
you can see in that fancy cup
that even her freakish nipples are a kimbo
no doubt she is a doubting woman
no doubt she is a doubting woman
there's a little matter of the bathing beauty
she's such a little cutie but she's shy
she has a special sponge that is optional
to hide her painterly nipples from our eye
no doubt they are, doubting women
no doubt they are, doubting women
I was supposed to tell you about the case of a cult
it's called the cult of inspiration and it is rewarding
you can be filled with the tingle of euphoria
of total animation and of wonder
no doubt we love the doubting woman
no doubt we love the doubting woman
I am a rough ball of twine
I have a duty to do
I been tied to the table
but now I am frazzled and aloof
degenerate, disintegrate the tight knots
degenerate, rot away the nooses
degenerate, out come those tangles
oh degenerate, oh degenerate
acorn squash and a hearty rows of okra
stand of sweet corn by the trickling creek
winter dead that was buried 'neath the pole beans
behold a sink-hole in the spring
degenerate, washed by weather cycles
degenerate, bleach the deadly night shades
degenerate, prepare to take the profit
oh degenerate, oh degenerate
degenerate, disintegrate the tight knots
degenerate, bleach the deadly night shades
degenerate, out come those tangles
Well, when I woke up this morning
The sky was so bright
It?d been a raining for days
Now it seemed like everything was a gonna be alright
But still those November winds keep a blowing
And I?m forgetting just where to begin
And then I?m lost in confusion again
Yes, I?m lost in confusion again
Well, the broom straw is a dying
Various shades of brown
And over the hill I can see the skyline
Of the most famous Georgia college town
Still those November winds keep a blowing
And I?m forgetting just where to begin
Then I?m lost in confusion again
Yes, I?m lost in confusion again
Just when I think I?ve tied up all my little ravels
I come across a new row of tatters
It seems I?m getting sick of a taking care of
Life and other matters
Well, there?s a few hundred blackbirds
That?s a covering my yard
They're a falling from the trees like pecans
Except they ain?t hitting the ground quite as hard
Still those November winds keep on a blowing
And I?m forgetting just where to begin
And I?m lost in confusion again
we will remain ignorant
incapable of knowing
insoluble is the problem
curiosity, sleeping
killed the caterpillar
curiosity, empty
I was shivering, I'll admit it
I had nothing better to do
except to wheeze my lazy wheeze
"Bernadette, where are you"
"Bernadette, where are you"
she gets much acclamation
for such a self ordained Faustian
Bernadette doesn't like doubters
she wants to fight in the Coliseum
what can you tell me of Therese and Isabelle
was it just fate that brought them together
or did they will their unusual union
in cahoot of love or all of the above
in cahoot of love or all of the above
in cahoot of love or all of the above
I was sputtering
but I got over it after hours of tireless rewiev
under the gracious and analytical hands
"Bernadette I honor you"
"Bernadette I honor you"
Well, the first time I ever laid eyes on you
Was my first year at marching band camp
You never played the part as it was written
You would always vamp
You was always cracking me up
Messing with the band director
Mocking the tuba parts
In your upper register
If I knew then what I know now
You shouldn't've even been talking to me
Just a lowly freshman
And you the undisputed queen of the senior class
Without question
Yet at the band hangout Ruth's restaurant
We sat together in a corner booth
We got our burgers for free
Because you was kin to Ruth
If I knew then what I know now
You always had a little something
Hidden in your instrument case
We would be practically making out
On the bus home from the way games
Once you soaked a tampon in some serious vodka
Wore it to school
Second period science lab
You fell right off your stool
If I knew then what I know now
I didn't go to your graduation
I just couldn't find the strength
And I had to throw my yearbook in the dumpster
Because it was haunting me
The very next time I ever laid eyes on you
It was practically Christmas
You already looked like a whole different person
Just like much older sister
If I knew then what I know now
I still never, never, never would've
she's so musical
look at her dance in a flurry
who get's to lead
do know it's not Arthur Murray
emasculate me with your biology
bend me, break me, I'm worthless
one wicked brand from your torturous hand
you laugh when I'm tell you, you're gorgeous
she has an answer for everything
she's so smart in the raw
and well educated
that's a double fisted draw
cotton breathes between her cheeks
spin me, weave me, I'm willing
one finger prick, I know I'll take sick
she'll chalk up a killing
she's so fashionable
she's a nazi when she's shopping
but wholly democratic
you should see who she's been bopping
emasculate me with your biology
break me, bend me, I'm worthless
one wicked brand from your torturous hand
If you want to see two circling swans
On the surface of the sewer pond
Don't crane your neck where you are
You've got to climb to the second floor
And I wouldn't've even mentioned it
If you didn't seem so tuned into it
You've got to climb the second floor
Short chore great reward
I'm in the east but I'm looking west
When I'm facing north
The big huge valley's to my left
Horizon holds three great slag heaps
Piercing the sky like the Pyramids at Giza
I wouldn't make so much of it
If I didn't know you truly loved it
You've got to climb the second floor
My earliest memory is of holding up a sparkler
High up to the darkest sky
Some 4th of July spectacular
I shook it with an urgency
I'll never ever be able to repeat
At times I might could be accused of being
Painfully nostalgic
But as of late I'm looking forward to the future
Though I've never been much of a planner
Throwing caution into the fan
Catch as catch as those catchers can
And so all you observers in your scrutiny
Don't count my scars like tree rings
My jigsaw disposition, it's piecemeal properties
Are either smoked or honey cured
When I stop breathing,
My poor old heart finally gives out
I will spend eternity
Debriefing, debriefing, debriefing, debriefing.
When I deplete the funds
And am forced to pull the plug,
Chisel on my tombstone
When the bottom fell out
There wasn't any doubt
I just suddenly found myself free falling
And from such a height
The wind, it had a bite
And it took all my might to fight the fight
The fell in spread-eagled
Must've found an airfoil
Or some kinda wing
And I gained some equilibrium
Caught myself gliding
When the bottom fell out
Observers heard me shout
So long, It's been good to know you
But when I finallly smash
Into that vertin grass
bourgeois and biblical
hanging on nails
mad metallic icons
the old cyclone still compels
your hoity haiku lip curls
the onion papers drain
Constantinople
misty recollections
cold outdoor acoustics
I'm so sorry
You had to kick my ass
You said I ruined your life
I didn't mean to do that
I had to untangle
Where we was entwined
It was strangling me
Were you breathing so fine?
The jam I was in
When things weren't working out
Led me to the brunt
Of your swinging bout
I'm so sorry
I regret everything
But what can I do
To have you take back that swing?
I'm so sorry
A scuffle ensued
But things are much better now
I guess thanks to you
The jam I was in
When things weren't working out
Led me to the brunt
Of your swinging bout
I'm so sorry
You had to pull my hair
I had to take care of business
The hand, the hand
The hand, the hand
The hand, the hand
Thoughts of another finger
Typing down into a cellar
The line, the line
The line, the line
The line, the line
The line, the line
The line, the line
The line, the line
The line, the line
The line, the line
A fame, a fame, a fame for nothing
Pile, pile of cherries
And oh, I shouldn't think
Like gravity
Bad habits
Bad habits
Bad habits
When I ran off and left her
She wasn't holding a baby
She was holding a bottle
And a big grudge against me
I tried to learn from the psychiatrist
How to stay calm and minimize risk
But I should've kept all those appointments
I'm gonna need em I'm coming disjointed
When I ran off and left her
I didn't look backwards
Till I was halfway to Chattanooga
On the Atlanta connector
That's when I started flashing
On the little things that she did
All her little sayings and I started to wig
I should've kept all those appointments
Well, i guess i'm through stewing
How 'bout lets roll the rock away?
My bedclothes have gone all funky
I've got to get out of this cave
Stay inside!
Well the times they are a-changin'
Look at all the idlers
Soon there will be no one to shear the sheep
And i am cold natured
Stay inside!
Suddenly everything's different and
Everyone's on edge
I just wanted to bring folks together
But it seems that i am the biggest wedge
Born as I was to ignorant people
Too traumatized to take me home
Came in a car and left on an embankment
Covered with pine straw
But instinct saved me
Something innate
Made my wet lungs scream with hate
Scream with hatefound as I was fixing a flat tire
He'd run 'em bald
The schemer looked down upon the screamer
Like buried treasure
He nursed me and cherished me
And trained me to be
What is here in front of you
A ticket to see, a ticket to see fate has been so good to me
You may not understand
How I can be thankful to be where I am
it ain't over til it's over
just like some joker said
when it's over it is done
and when it's done it's as good as dead
when it's good it sure is good
yes and when it's good it's great
when it's great it's oh so wonderful
but when it ain't it ain't
it sucks when it's over
and you can't get it back
why do we all want to
like a pack of necrophiliacs
when the fat lady sings
it's all been sung
collect up your belongings
and clear the auditorium
it was fun while it lasted yes it was
it was fun while it lasted
now it's all turned to dust
it was fun while it lasted i must say
it was fun while it lasted
now it's all blown away
everything blows away someday
everything turns to dust
big ol' mountains do
as well as everyone of us
One johnny went to the newlywed school.
One Johnny did a [mike landry?]
One Johnny went to the ice cream shop, to have a fit in
the pantry.
Go Johnny go , go Johnny go.
One Johnny went in the factory flame
One Johnny did all his laundry
One hippie Johnny, [rented a ball?]
Blew out what was his Johnny?
Go johnny go, go johnny go
One Johnny did just what he could do
One Johnny did some of everything
One Johnny did some [dead little man ?]
Who just stepped foot in his driveway
Go Johnny go, go johnny go
One Johnny was a foxy little number
One Johnny he was a shy one.
One Johnny he grew nectarines,
Decided today just to bite one
Built a king on compliments
Charisma and advertisements
Still they see him shimmer ephemeral
It ain't supernatural
Or maybe
Out of body experience
I flew around the little room once
On intravenous Demerol
It weren't supernatural
Sudden smell, certain view
Sparks a whoppin' case of the deja vu
Is it inexplicable
It ain't supernatural
The great grandfather, with his pious beard
Bathed in the river, all his years
Many books, that lined his walls
Jews and gentiles, held him in awe
Nathan stepped through the broken window
And looked to the river where his mother once floated
Nathan stepped through the broken window
And looked to the river where his mother once floated
He had four sons, all healthy and proper
One was converted, became a christian doctor
His daughter filled with typhus and succumbed
He grew quiet his wife fell dumb
Nathan stepped through the broken window
And looked to the river where his mother once floated
Nathan stepped through the broken window
And looked to the river where his mother once floated
His granddaughter recalled, the day he died
She was six years old, frosted with fright
She clutched the toe, the stiff cold toe
And renounced the wrongs only she could know
Nathan stepped through the broken window
And looked to the river where his mother once floated
Nathan stepped through the broken window
Gnats and bats and things with wings
i know why the cagey fella won't sing
sticks and stones and broken bones
i know why my words are wrong
humps and stumps and green tattoos
i know why your crutches bruise
biscuit dough and oleo
About your reef
Over the hillock crest
A breathlike aviation
Glowing, showing bones
Glowing, showing bones
With much bellowing and rowing
A cello directioning will let you out
Deaf and loud
Let you out
A hungry, hungry awful hunter
A breath, his came asunder
The old dog makes padded cake
As the aged come for me
Me with a machete
Going at the chinaberry tree
All the key players are watching me
Through their simian groove thing
Sweat slinging
Blood slickening
Life ever-loosening grill
Chinaberry tree
Chinaberry tree
Chinaberry tree
The biggest chinaberry tree
That I've ever seen
Sawdust in the air
And on the ground everywhere
Throwing myself at the cut
With a force heretofore unknown to me
Chinaberry tree
Chinaberry tree
Chinaberry tree
Chinaberry tree
Chinaberry tree
Chinaberry tree
Neatest chinaberry tree
I stumbled so innocently
Over all the obscene boundaries
Still I might've procured the act
Of Concord Country Jubilee
And the perfect order fill in the street
It is there I scraped it clean
I was stumbling in
It was gonna be hard to heal
Crowd browsed in
Callous toward the injury
Still I rode the kidney tray
At the Concord Country Jubilee
And the evidence is aimed on me
I screamed
And the girl, she kissed his tongue
He touched her stuffed meat
imports and altercations
my faculties on a shoe-string vacation
I settled down on a hurt as big as Robert Mitchum
and listen to Lucinda Williams
oh, convenient lies, rubber knives
I'm a dastardly villain, doing belly dives
I before E except after me
I'm dowsing my vitals at break-neck speed
you and your little entourage
playing amazing little parlor games in the garage
like a jury of my peers triangulating
my pretty point of exasperation
yes we gather for some of that Catholic juice
and hide behind the shower curtain, i watch the virgin spruce
I'm soaking wet and feeling funny
the mirror's a mirage, no wonder I always look so crummy
my heroes are all off in the great beyond
England is old but Atlantis is gone
feathers are floating down, and I can't dodge them
the tar is oozing from my little noggin
it's ugly ancient residue
there ain't no mistaking what's been abused
feathers are floating down and I can't dodge them
the tar is oozing from my little noggin
it's ugly ancient residue
He wanted a tree fort more than anything
Yes, he wanted to build and defend one on his own
But the neighbor boys BB siege was overwhelming
So he won't be building his dream tree fort anymore
He received a five-speed Schwinn for Christmas
So he built a ramp out of the plywood and a stump
And at nights he dreamed Evil Knievel
And a canyon to jump in his backyard.
Danny Carlisle, he don't give a shit about the contras
Danny Carlisle, he's barely grown and he's used up most of his options
And still he would rather dream, dream, dream still he would rather dream than fuck
Once he used a pocket knife to kill a garden snake
Yes he chopped that evil serpent into four
And when he raised his eyes to heaven as a soldier
He wiped the blood of bad snake on his shirt
Yeah, Danny Carlisle he don't give a shit about the contras
Yeah Danny Carlisle he's barely grown and he's used up most of his options
And still he would rather dream dream dream than fuck
well there's a Mr. Reilly who swears
that in Baton Rouge Louisiana,
they don't care about, his philosophy
he swears that any time in Baton Rouge
everything is the same
well we stared into the cup,
but we could not see the bottom
he was drinking muddy water
as a river deep
a cup a day to curb visibility
all those nasty notions go away
well had you heard the news
about Joan our ex-newspaper girl?
they found her swinging from a tree
and i know
just a week ago, she was beautiful
but now now now shes rather vile
they found her by the frozen lake,
but it wasn't frozen enough to skate
and by the look on her face,
it must've been awful tempting
they found her in her skates
she was the coldest cadaver in the state
and look at the lake
Do you think it makes a difference?
I say yes
Taking my time
Working on lines
Fingers in clay
Everyday
Head in the clouds
Moving my mouth
Spreading the grout
That's holding it down
Do you think it makes a difference?
I say yes in my life yes
Cuddling up
Declarations of love
Squeeze and a hug
A kiss and a rub
Faces opposed
Eyelids closed
Nuzzling nose
Like eskimos
Don't'cha' feel silly?
I say no with my love no
I never ever thought
I'd ever have a life like this
I never dreamed
I'd be alive
I never considered
Such as these surroundings
Effectually pulling it off
Watching the cops go by
Seeing a falcon fly
Reading a history book
Wetting a tiny hook
Driving fast all night
Bursting into song at first light
Sharing breakfast from one plate
Holding hands over loved ones graves
Do you think you deserve it
Here comes the rain, the bottom fell out
Thunder hit, shook the house
Sunday, church is letting out
The rain comes from rambunctious cloud
Here comes the rain, the bottom fell out
I knew it was coming
But it won t help the drought
At this point I just hope it cools things down
The rain comes from rambunctious cloud
The same water that the dinosaurs drank
Is the same water that the Persian fleets sank in
The very water that moistened the primordial ooze
Is now hammering on my metal porch roof
Here comes the rain, the bottom fell out
Pushing debris through my gutter spout
Maybe it will help cut the pollen count
Girls say "why do you want to do that?"
And boys say, "well i gotta leave".
And girls say "watch out for your head"
And boys say, "why you wanna be a bitch?"
Girls say "can i get you anything?"
And boys say "who you trying to kid?"
And girls say "ooo i've got a headache".
Boys say, "why you wanna be a bitch?"
Physiology is no mystery
A jigsaw puzzle is only a trial and error game
Yes and girls say "you look great today".
And boys say "hey, show me all your boobs".
Girls say, "i could use a backrub".
And boys say "why you wanna be a bitch?"
Girls say "hey, careful with that".
And boys say, "hey look what i can do!"
Girls say, "please don't yell at me."
well the souvenirs
on my dusty shelf
well I get out the Tarn-X,
and I polish them myself
yes, posters are falling,
but who needs them at my age?
well I've learned to smile,
when all I feel is rage
so I think I will go to Bakersfield
with Gabriel and Paul
and I will hide behind the garbage cans
while the holy platitudes fall
and blow the gates,
I am coming through
with my albatrosses and all
and it's strategy not protocol
yes, it's strategy, not protocol,
Florida, Florida, the redneck riviera
Florida, Florida, there's no more pathetic place in America
yes a man must make unpopular decisions, surely from time to time
and a man can only stand what a man can stand
it's a wobbly volatile line
Florida, Florida, the water table is fucked
Florida, Florida, there's no more perfect place to give it all up
a man must take his life in his own hands
hit those nails on the head
and i respect a man who goes to where he wants to be
even if he wants to be dead
Florida, Florida, its a tropical paradise
Zippy morocco with a hat on his head
Set sail for the seven seas
When his mother took to dead
Barely out of teenagedom
When his mental map was unfurled
The next thing that he knew
He found himself halfway around the world
With nobody to send exotic postcards to
With nobody to send exotic postcards to
Zippy morocco as the admiral of fleet
Might've been wet behind the ears
But he certainly was fast on his feet
Put down a mutiny at the edge of the earth
He knew the value of the swirling sun
He never overestimated his own worth
It was the grief that whetted his appetite
It was the grief that whetted his appetite
And the waves they do not tell you welcome
And the sand on the shore
Does not spell out a hello
Salutations they are below the surface
Listen to zippy morocco, he says,
"that is what i know"
Zippy morocco as the perfect pragmatist
Had a hold on the astronomical odds
And he knew what to risk
Staked a million on an easterly wind
Collected the holy city
Now the horse traders come to him
With their beads and cheese and horses
it was a modern love affair
completely cool and casual
they hardly knew each other was there
i mean Both of them had their own getting off to do
and they had to dream about their own self
when they were through
but the modern girl was elated
with what the revolution gave her
and since she was liberated she could have
everything that striked her fancy
and she fancied quite a bit
i mean if it felt good she did it
and she did it every chance she could get
with her main modern man and otherwise
and her taste wasn't limited to just modern guys
since another modern girl showed her
that modern girls know how to hold her
and after she had her eyes opened
all her old close friends started getting closer
and new friends weren't that far away
but the modern man he just wasn't so lucky
he being shook from his usual role as the heartbreaker
he was completely battered and bewildered
when he actually started in feeling something for her
and he discovered a new emotion
when they stopped ending up together as frequently
and when he finally confronted her with the question
"had she been bedding down with others in the periphery without him?"
and she replied "Hell yes! ain't it funny!"
so view the modern man looking, looking, looking, like a soft Picasso
he's there with his head in his hand
repeating to himself an epigram
Looking in the hourglass
Ants in the sand
Reflected in the oil lamp
I can see the wrinkles in your hand
You can be forthright with me
You can be forthright with me
Next to the pot-bellied stove
Hand on the flue
Photograph on the rolltop desk
Is it of you
You can be forthright with me
You can be forthright with me
Half a pound of hominy
Soaking in a wooden bowl
Underneath the cheesecloth
In the safehold
You can be forthright with me
I couldn't get away from it
i was in over my head
i guess it really got to me
i guess it really got to me, yes i fought it hard and heavy
but I could not shake it off
i guess it really got to me
i guess it really got to me, yes infusion insidious
extricates character
exuviates goodness
corroding and corruptingit was all encompassing
tainted every thought
i guess it really got to me
i guess it really got to me, yes infusion insidious
extricates character
exuviates goodness
while I was still in elementary school
I discovered Daddy's tools
and amassed a small pile, of scrap lumber
and I built a rabbit box
and i set it facing north
but i caught a possum and a kitten
both of which were a bitch to set free
cause I thought they were going to bite me
but we all three escaped safely
well once I took my single shotgun
and put on my camouflage
and hid in the neighbour's pasture by the little cow pond
and finally after a long time
a bunch of doves flew by
and landed in a huddle on the power line
and so I aimed with an eagle's eye and fired
but it was two pigeons that fell like bean bags into the weeds
Little Caesar has a mandate
now there is no doubt
The blessing of the Senate and the citizenry
Rome is bowing at his feetWhat will he do with all his power
what'll Little Caesar do now
What do little Caesars always do
when their enemies cowerLittle Caesar's words ring
in the heart of every Legionnaire
They are trained and in formation
to do his willAnd so it's on to glory
for God's chosen one on Earth
The Holy Roman Emperor
bequeathed the crown by birthAnd so the public has spoken
with resounding clarity
As to who they trust
and in what they believeAnd they've proven that it's futile
to resist
the cult of Little Caesar
well future stepped into my field and turned it into an empire
forefathers where are you now?
your dust is settling on my furniture
oh independence day, I never knew it would be so symbolic.
oh independence day.
well I stepped out of a cloud and the ditch it is close
I mean the ditch it is closing in.
Hemmingway did yourself justice
so here's to you you articulate dead fisherman
independence day, I never knew it would be so symbolic.
independence day.
independence day, I never knew it would be so symbolic.
independence day.
what if I said I loved you
and i needed your guidance to help me through the obstacles?
would you say I am too wordy and then, then would you laugh?
what if I said I'm under glass untouchable as the document itself?
would you say ok,
and that you never even considered me?
oh independence day, yes independance,
independance day, independance,
independance day, day,
[Pharrell]
You ready to do this, nigga?
You ready to come down here?
It's Virginia, nigga...
We do this in broad daylight...
It's a whole different degree of homicide, nigga...
You ready?
[Chorus: Pusha T & (Pharrell)]
I'm from Virginia, where ain't shit to do but cook (Talk about, what?)
Pack it up, sell it triple-price, fuck the books (Talk about, what?)
Where we re-up, re-locate, re-off them brooks (Talk about, what?)
So when we pull up, it ain't shit to do but look (Talk about, what?)
[Pusha T]
In my "Home Sweet Home" I keep chrome next to my bones
Alters my walk to limpin'
Since I love the feel, I guess I'm passionately pimpin'
It 'tis what it seems
That thing imprintin' through the seams of my jeans, by all means
Lost it all, from lives to love
Put my faith in my money, help me rise above
See I turned to the Lord when them times got tough
Bullied through streets, powder I pushed and shoved
In that ole' Virginey
Out of ten niggas, nine are guinea
No money, all they know is gimme, got semis waitin'
Heat like Caribbean summers, I been there
Each year, a diffferent bitch wonder
Who wing she gon' fall under, Push' or Mal'
Ganga grinds, wit' me, with thoughts of fuckin' them cross her mind
Look ma, that's right up my alley
I love my family, I want them all happy
In Virginia, we smirked at that Simpson trial
Yeah, I guess the chase was wild
But what's the fuss about?
See, plenty my partners feelin' like O.J.
Beat murder like the shit is OK, that's what our door say
Talk the evil that men do, I'm lost in the mental
I miss you Shampoo, we miss you Shampoo
And your grams, too...
[Pharrell]
My nigga...
Fo sho...
[Chorus 2X's: Pusha T & (Pharrell)]
I'm from Virginia, where ain't shit to do but cook (Talk about, what?)
Pack it up, sell it triple-price, fuck the books (Talk about, what?)
Where we re-up, re-locate, re-off them brooks (Talk about, what?)
So when we pull up, it ain't shit to do but look (Talk about, what?)
[Malice]
Seem like they all got a comment to make
In regards to my paper, now they guessin' my weight
They fast to predict the outcome of my fate
Wonderin' 'bout Clipse and if they got what it take
Malice, he think he hard, tough guy of the clique
And Pusha, he walk around like he swear he the shit
You right on both counts, bitch, Clipse is us
And there are some things that you don't discuss
Don't ask me 'bout the Neptunes and what's they fair
Don't ask about the loud screamin' chick with the hair
Don't ask about my music, and how that's comin' 'bout
Don't ask about my album, or when's it comin' out
'Cause I feel like you really being funny on the slide
Now face down, layin' on your tummy, or you die
I tried being humble, humble get no respect
Now the first sign of trouble, that's a hole up in your neck
Plus, what I look like spendin' my nights in jail
I could never be a thug, they don't dress this well
I reside in VA, ride in VA
Most likely when I die, I'm gon' die in VA
Virginia's for lovers, but trust there's hate here
For out-of-towners, who think that they gon' move weight here
Ironic, the same same place I'm makin' figures at
That there's the same land they used to hang niggas at, in Virginia...
[Chorus 2X's: Pusha T & (Pharrell)]
I'm from Virginia, where ain't shit to do but cook (Talk about, what?)
Pack it up, sell it triple-price, fuck the books (Talk about, what?)
Where we re-up, re-locate, re-off them brooks (Talk about, what?)
So when we pull up, it ain't shit to do but look (Talk about, what?)
[Pharrell]
Young'n... (Talk about, what?)
This is real, young'n... (Talk about, what?)
You lookin' into a whole different world, young'n (Talk about, what?)
This is real...
"Michelle loves Willie"
"Our little Sarah"
"Daughters of the American Revolution"
"Stryper loves Jesus" and I love a girl
Against my better judgment
'Cause I feel like a squirrel
My roommates got married and I booted up
And a friend of ours told me that I was disgusting
My roommates got married and I booted up
And a friend of ours told me that I was disgusting
Walhalla is pinned to the edge of South Carolina
we interstate travelled just to free a man from China
Hotel full of Pakistanis
And a front porch filled with greasy greasy grannies
When the bug hits that's the time to scratch it
When the bug hits that's the time to scratch
When the bug hits that's the time to scratch it
When the bug hits that's the time to scratch
Walhalla is pinned to the edge of South Carolina
we interstate travelled just to free a man from China
Hotel full of Pakistanis
And a front porch filled with greasy greasy grannies
When the bug hits that's the time to scratch it
When the bug hits that's the time to scratch
When the bug hits that's the time to scratch it
to-do lists on a long yellow legal pad
blue windsor knots framed by basic black
resplendent tables
great forests of paper plates
carrying the weight of the world
saps every ounce of your strength
in training to run a marathon
miles and miles and miles
with your sunday shoes on
in training to run a marathon
miles and miles and miles
with your dress shoes on
but all the recurring dreams
will increase and then peter out and cease
tears do evaporate
but oh so slowly like piss on toilet seat
in training to run a marathon
miles and miles and miles
with your sunday shoes on
in training to run a marathon
miles and miles and miles
Once i dreamed i was dancing with isadora duncan
In a silver cafe,
It was a cafe that was not at all near here
She was planning to diversify
And she sang i should do the same
So i whistled to her how i loved her the best
But she sang "i can't believe you own this attitude",
But with some ballet moves,
I removed her shoes
And i painted my lips to hers
And still she sang "i can't believe you own this attitude"
She sang "i can't believe you own this, this attitude"
She needed her beauty sleep
Though i didn't want it to sound like that
Her mind was occupied,
Her hard coffee was cold by then as snow
And she sang "my smile is more than pearly white,
And my dreams are more than you",
She sang "my yellow eyes are more than mirrors,
And my scarf is more, more, more than blue."
And she sang "i can't believe you own this attitude"
Yes i sang "i can't believe you own this, this attitude"
She closed her new directions paperbook
And screamed "there is no shelter in the arts"
She'd been crying all day
But now her eyes they were brighter than the moon
And she sang "my smile is more than pearly white,
And my dreams are more than you",
She sang "my yellow eyes are more than mirrors,
And my scarf is more, more, more, more than blue."
And she sang "i can't believe you own this attitude"
"i can't believe it, i can't believe you own this attitude",
i saw a blackbird
thirteen ways
then strew a fist many
mountains away
my evangelism felled
brutally taken
by breezes that rubbed me
and lifted light raven
i stretched to borrow
fine antebelleum
to encase all the scrapings
of us civilised fellow
i wanted to stash them
to secretive cages
with that fabulous blackbird
Like the contents of a cooler
My thorax is styrofoam
I'm a cheap spent shell
And a biohazard
Grind me up then mail me away
Maybe transmogrified
I'll be satisfied
That finally at long last i'm harmless
It is simply so
It's my chemical makeup
I slough it off every 28 days
So raise your hand
And ask yourself a question
But make it the powerful one
And if you answer by rote
And pap comes from your throat
Just tidy up and think of me in pieces
Yeah, the lousy poet in me can't lie no more
And the warrior in me
Has gone and died before
And that hard, handsome olympian
Was forced to retire
So dig out the films
And all those yellowed clippings
Do them up then stash them for good
Then raise your hand
And ask yourself a question
what are you doing withering away
yes i've heard you've lost the will to play
whatever happened to those fluid movements
you were so proud of in the intimate moments
what about the girl you left at the altar
now now now she is planning your funeral
didn't you learn anythign at the protest rally
when you and yours were flooding the capital
what about your days of glory
when your life was anything but boring
now you're making these morbid phone calls
and your friends they gather to cuss and console
what were you doing in that awful decade
after the news broke and those murderous policies were made
what were you doing running around
Granny, oh Granny, what ya doin' by the kitchen sink?
She said, "I'm just makin' up some milk an' cheese"
She said, "I'm just makin' up some milk an' cheese"
She said, "I'm just makin' up some milk an' cheese"
Granny, oh Granny, what ya doin' with your false teeth?
She said, "I'm just pickin' out the blackberry seeds"
She said, "I'm just pickin' out the blackberry seeds"
She said, "I'm just pickin' out the blackberry seeds"
Granny, oh Granny
Where did your husband, my granddaddy go?
Where did your husband, my granddaddy go?
She said, "He went off to heaven just before you were born"
She said, "He went off to heaven just before you were born"
She said, "He went off to heaven just before you were born"
She said
"You are the light of my light, of my life and the beat of my heart"
She said
"You are the light of my light, of my life and the beat of my heart"
She said
"You are the light of my light, of my life and the beat of my heart"
She said
Trying to clip the creek to the bank with a clothes pin
Waterlogged system, rusty spring, faulty planning
Logic squeezed out like mustard at a corndog
Hypertension is not wisdom, chewing the leather straps
Trying to hold the sun still with a bobby pin
Burned fingers. excellent conductor of heat
Private fantasies are not public policy
Christian charity is a doily over my death boner
Busy work is not the Great Wall of China
Vanity bamboo hut out back behind the big house
Pretend is salve for whitey-boy guilt
Furiously slapping at the moon with a cane pole
Trying to prop up the heavens with a fresh flat pencil
Some folks are allergic to rubber
I am trying to stitch this one to all the rest of them
But the seams will split, collide and cleave
Neopolitan ice cream is never truly integrated until it s too late
Trying to stop the bleeding with scotch tape
Platelets spoil adhesion, fire up the cauterizing iron
It's a branding of necessity not scarification
Bliss was a pimple that I tried to pop
It erupted up and out on my countenance
Ugly eruption, Vesuvius, ugly eruption, Vesuvius
Ugly eruption, Vesuvius
Miss Mary took a shower and she showed herself to me
she said that God and all his glory was revealed to her carnally
she said she'd been with no man, but she must have been with me
and when I felt her with my finger, the proof burned my belief
so how much can I stand, I'm just a mortal man
I wring my praying hands, she stands there before me
c'est la vie, whatever that means, la di da
and a Doris Day, que sera sera
c'est la vie, whatever that means, la di da
Where were you two years ago when I was locked out there at the barn
When some certain Athens sacred monster was doing me in the charm
We could've been chatting heart to heart on that front porch with a view
Where were you girl when I needed you
Where were you two weeks ago, a week again after your promise
I was in your place of employment crying in my humus
Somebody in there said "boy you're looking bad"
And I said "you know that is nothing new"
Where were you girl when I needed you
Were you in that second story well lighted place
Up against it's occupant artist in his personal space
I know that has been known to happen but I though all of that was through
Where were you girl when I needed you
Where were you last Monday when I was overwrought
I was watching the bright bug lamp flicker
You were doing up the dim dim 40-watt
I was alone with Pepe Lopez
I just couldn't do the schmooze
Where were you girl when I needed you
Where are you this Sunday morning I'm in shaky health
I am in the back yard leaking on the spot where you proclaimed yourself
You are hungry wanting breakfast and my heart is in a stew
those rustic city fathers were realtors,
realtors
and all that profit taking
was a beautiful awakening
they built themselves a beauty by the ton,
ton by ton
i went there in a panic or for fun,
or for fun
i thought i had a calling
anyway i just kept dialling
and i sat beside the big puddle like a shriner,
angry shriner
so i went to view the tower
its majesty on a dead end street
it was a very long journey
and it took a lot of energy
i strode across the flat battlefield in the sun,
I am a stranger
Lurking alone in my own
Vicious wilderness
While the meat in my chest
Squeezes and teases
A hulking hunger
Groping in motion
Balance is but
A shimmering notion
And lurching compelled
My soul in its special hell
Of wet mortal limits
Perpetually thirsting
But I bask in a beautiful
Byproduct
From twisting torque
Of dichotomy
What my eyes do see
In this spilling
Dead wicked desert
It dances, born of babble
Is now raison d'etre for the rabble
I sing my soul with tongue
A sword in the sunlight
Thrashing and flashing
there's so many ghosts out there on these streets
I always hate to ponder who's under those sheets
every little thing is temporary
if I stay here any longer I'll end up very very scary
it's just a general freak that is boiling in me
I'm terrified what it's gonna dislodge
I done shit everywhere that there is to eat
guess it's time for me to get the fuck out of Dodge
I bent over backwards to misbehave
It's a holy wonder I just didn't flip on over into an early grave
I showed my behind so frequently
Thoughts of your flutter are flooding my mind
Not constant like a buzz
but strobe thumping like a heart beat
Drowning any other notion
Now I am sure, now I am sure, now I am sure
When I met you everything changed
I burned so many bridges to be with you
I Shermaned pretty much my entire adult life
To be with you, to be with you, to be with you
Everything occurs like a blur,
yesterday, tomorrow and today.
I am powerless, sad or drift,
yesterday, tomorrow and today.
Each one is a diva
that is struggling for control.
Callously batting the bubble
of my soul.
Life is a time machine.
Floating like a dream, in between,
yesterday, tomorrow and today.
Everything occurs like a blur,
yesterday, tomorrow and today.
Each one is a diva
that is struggling for control.
Callously batting the bubble
of my soul.
I am a monster
Like Quasimodo
Or Caliban the natural man
Giving wild ripostes to my reflection
One ugly morning
In a rage
Father threw an apple
Into my carapace
And like the invisible man
Directing traffic
I'd be ineffective
No matter how enthusiastic
Amid the masses' frenzy
Participation
In this massive
Separation
Appearance is everything
Nothing is how it seems
And civilized society
Is calm civility
I'm the phantom of the opera
Singing beauty and at ease
Or Henry Darger's
Autobiography
And that is curt clues to my essence
Planned obsolescence
Appearance is everything
Nothing is how it seems
In a market economy
It's called marketing
And not exactly clawing my way to glory
Nor whimpering in the wind
But once positively
I'm teetering on the brink
Of an all out breakthrough
But sometimes clear headed
Sometimes a doofus
Sometimes very cordial
And sometimes aloof
I am syrupy optimistic one moment
Then gravely pessimistic the next
Irritable as a hornet sometimes
Then agreeable as it gets
I'm not a pagan
I don't worship anything
Not gods that don't exist
Nor the sun which is oblivious
I love my ancestors but not ritually
I don't blame them or praise them
For anything that they passed along to me
I don't need stone altars to help me hedge my bet
Against the looming blackness
keeping it on the road
keeping it on the road
can't say i didn't rattle the load
but i'm keeping it on the road
can't say i didn't rattle the load
I am a man
I am self-aware
And everywhere I go
You're always right there with me
I've flirted with you all my life
Even kissed you once or twice
And to this day I swear it was nice
But clearly I was not ready
When you touched a friend of mine
I thought I would lose my mind
But I found out with time that
really I was was not ready, no no
Oh, Death
Oh, Death
Oh, Death
Really, I'm not ready
Oh, Death you hector me
Decimate those dear to me
Tease me with your sweet release
You are cruel and you are constant
When my mom was cancer sick
She fought but then succumb to it
But you made her beg for it
Lord Jesus, please I'm ready.
Oh, Death
Oh, Death
Oh, Death
in the pasture we run free
by the spring creek we lie down
in the pine thicket we are pricked
in the dry wash
we come across an incomplete set of bleached bones
splendidly full of life
wandering the countryside
down the logging road we stray
in the orchard we feast
to the rocky ridge we persist
as the sun sets
we are enveloped by oddly energized orange light
splendidly full of life
wandering the countryside
on the beach we had fun
by the rocks in the sun
we were young we were free
we were wild as the weeds
below cliffs
surrounded by driftwood
we did everything we could
we did everything we
![Vic Chesnutt & Lambchop - Until The Led [live]](http://web.archive.org./web/20140523235816im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gDmleqw9xJA/0.jpg "Vic Chesnutt & Lambchop - Until The Led [live]")
