1. |
Right On Red
04:01
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last night, i fell
ask why and i won't tell
i make no sound
spilled upon such storied ground
this pin-striped man
with his thin light hand
was asking me to dance
i took a breath and i took the chance
a wrong turn, another
someone's thinking of her
this night's not for lovers
it's for slips and others
good friends, questions
the singer not the song
i don't play fair, i just play along
i see better parts of me
but you saw them first, take heed
this leaking pen, this shattered lens
is a sign you've seen the worst in me
the better driver, the bigger fool
you saw more then what the rain
washed off, i knew
what you brought as an afterthought
means our hands can't bear the weight
of a cough
i saw different
lines carved in cement
names on graves and
barn doors and last stands
brothers with no others
to make this life a home
with furrowed brows they spit and moan
too tired to sit we heard a call to arms
up on the highway strip
and through the blinds, they could see,
but it hurt to look
i don't run for trains, i'm too ashamed of
the faces as the doors shut
i'm sad and mad and shook
i see better parts of me
but you saw them first, take heed
these 10-cent actions
are a sign there's nothing left to see
the better driver, the bigger fool
i saw more than what the drinks
washed off, i knew
what you brought as an afterthought
would stain our hands after the rain
had stopped
you say i sleep
but not then, oh don't you see
never tired, a bad liar
i won't take the wheel this night
my map, this path
if you would please cut the lights
what a great summer night
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2. |
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one day soon while the doe-eyed girls swoon
at the floor where your feet sit
i'll throw you a fit
and i'll start throwing stones
and say "my, how you've grown,
i just can't believe it"
turn my face to the crowd
and i'll laugh right out loud
as they spit, yeah, their teeth they just grit
on the sharp bits of sand
that i pulled from the pit
where those cold days lay limp
you can't live with these bones
turn them into a home
rolled off the slim fingers of
a young girl who will roam
so you paint the walls red
and as your face hits the bed
what will you dream of
what will you dream of
my first love
i cannot be this clone you want
nail-biting debutante, screaming
"i want, oh, i want,"
no these words have flown
oh you should have known
you fucking savant
you cannot love these bones
that cannot be alone
rolled off the slim feathers of
this unfeeling dove
so you love that instead
and as her wings hit the shed
what will you dream of?
you're pulling strings, you're pulling stunts
your lips are preening
in the dungeon where
you built the ship that sails
among the tallest tales
between your teeth and wails
over the tines and scales
that bind your feet with nails
you're stuck in time
you can't go back, my love... my love...
and this limp bird can't roam
as your mouth fills with foam
rolled off of your slim, tender tongue
so you swallow the dread and
it fills you with lead
and as the ground holds your head
what will you dream of
your limbs have bled dry
and the days won't be kind
they will be peaceful in time
when you speak your last line
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3. |
The Great Defender
04:23
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won't you come back to me
take me anywhere and let me see
what it meant and who you are again
after you let the phone fall from your hand
and make no mistake, old friend
you can cheat me, beat me, i'll pretend
all the trysts and quips at my expense
did not cut and grind me
bruise and bind me
these days have tumbled down
now they're nicked and scraped,
they shout out loud
and in these early moments, unsuspecting
i plant my feet but you took my swing away
there's nothing left to see
all my friends are fakes and
there's no good leads
it's just the last man standing in the reeds
unjust rewards, no prisoners freed
and i remember we were kind
but you had something else in mind
i looked back, the screen went black
and i never saw you cry
these prying eyes they flexed
and they heaved and opened up this prize
as i held it close up to my chest
i thought, "is this where big girls go to rest
or rise?" and are we blind or blessed
sailing words across the great divide
and the seasons changed with your confession
i came undone, and you came undressed
and on the shore you breathed a sigh
of hallowed pauses, reasons why
you made no sound,
i stand my ground,
that was no kind of goodbye
we've worked the room for years
now our guests are tired
some are moved to tears
this never was my style
so let's rest a while
and then reappear
with somebody new
now on my mark get set don't go
will we ever forget
those final blows and those dying throes
and epithets and late-night threats
if i were to stand and say yes
demand that we both dispossess
break me, mend me, great defender
take me, send me, i surrender
can we agree, it's time to say goodbye
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4. |
Sex Blood & Fire
05:18
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who will star in this love song
the night wind grows tired
who will star in this love song
with sex, blood and fire
will you take this small hand
though it's cold, weak and worn
do you dare strike this cheek
with hot tears it's been torn
who will star in this love song
a bed long since cold
who will star in this love song
with a firm touch to scold
will you look into these eyes
though they're bitten and blind
do you dare brush these lips
with deep lashes they're lined
best laid plans rot in tin cans
so meek and so stale
with long-faded suntans
and rusty old pails
it's yours for the taking
awake and it's shaking
lay claim and this time you won't fail
you will star in this love song
and prove me a liar
you will star in this love song
your kiss hard and dire
you will hold this fine frame
with a rule brave and bold
you will dare lay it down
and taste each breath he stole
like stains on a fine dress
it's time to put down
cast off this sublime mess
instead rip this gown
for once take the long road
this story's been foretold
you fell, but just look what you found
so get down on your knees and
thank each god you see then
look up, love, wrap your head around
you will star in this love song
my hands at your feet
you will star in this love song
the crowd takes their seats
you will take what was lost
and with faith in due time
you will beat a new life
in this tired heart of mine
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5. |
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bend to thrill
this wasted, tortured will
guards stand down
she will shoot to kill
talk out loud
when the troops, they rally round
love, hold on
you're hurt but you've done no wrong
and when they sound the horns
you know i'm so damn proud
these nights lend a sympathetic ear
some moments walk too soft to hear
the cold floor lends a warm embrace
bombs away
she is here to stay
stop, don't run
though your face is hung
on your knees
no shame
s
peak your pleas
and you can shine your medals
when the morning comes
we all know you didn't come to die
don't play to win, just say you'll try
temptation leaves a sour taste
bring the fight
she will move to strike
i'm calling out loud now,
you answer with goodbye
your throat is so closed and
it's silent and frozen
just open up wide,
in the crosshairs, don't hide, hands up high
take four steps, fall two back, learn to cry
the lions cracked the cage, paw over paw,
they're eyeing low
the hawks can sense your rage,
they know you're raw, they're circling slow
sound the call
she won't hit the wall
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6. |
Stop Staring
04:33
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you only walk straight when it's dark outside
pretend you gotta catch your ride
on top of you, it's just like jumping a fence
it hurts like hell, this dancing
but if i climb down there's nothing to sell
between the evening and all the church bells
hey man, at least you did it all by yourself
you hang and you bang and you
still got your health
your boy calls, says he needs a friendly ear
but all i want's a beer
and 20 minutes with your hand down there
be hard, be fair, stay near me
you left an old matchbook on my window sill
but it was empty and you've had your fill
i throw it away and i reach for a pill
you're thumbing right through
that old withered show bill
the last word starts right here, you know
it's got nowhere to go
the last song ends, the lights fall low
but we've got nothing to show
and i'll just lie here huddled in my lack
of afterglow, you stole
when you peeled your body off mine
like a sticker on a new wine glass
you got wet
so it'd come off nice and fast
the names were misspelled
but the faces they fell
you act like a sellout, but it's just as well
let's take this road show back to the hotel
turn on a news show
let's feel the ground swell
i take a long, hard heavy sip
and a drag from your last cigarette
and it's almost as stale and limp
as a soft, cold kiss from your lip
the last word starts right here, you know
but it's got nowhere to go
the last song stops, the lights fall low
but we've got nothing to show
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7. |
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i went out tonight
and met some people i already knew
i touched the wall
and i asked what should i do
you cave, and kill the lights
relive all the fights, learn your moves
then craft some cutting comments
for the evening news
you've run your mouth right down
into the ground and it shows
quit your fakin, you're makin sure
that everybody knows
that boy don't make a sound
as you drag his name through the ground
but your bragging and your baggage, man,
it's so damn loud
y
eah he could've been a father
he's every woman's son
look at all the tricks he taught her
ain't she pretty, ain't this fun
you'd best put on your brave face
cause you're staring down the sun
those aren't weapons,
they're just broken little toys
tonight....
i see comedy in the fact that
we're both winning
hey, you scored, when the seasons changed
and you stepped out of the ring
i see fallacy in the fact that
we're both shilling
but what you're selling comes so cheap
you're lying tangled in the corner
they've gone and placed their bets
and all that lies upon the table
is another cigarette
you see a last ditch move to strike now
it just sounds the same
as all the kids out back
with skateboards makin noise
tonight...
tonight...
i'm gonna give this street
a whole new name
someone played a old song
you were out there playing games
and the choice of conversation
it was looking rather plain
now your bridges are all burning and
you're dancing in the flames
and you'd like to think
you never had a choice
tonight...
tonight...
tonight...
we're gonna let you win at your own game
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8. |
Spearfish
06:44
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signs with carved warnings fill the spaces
in the hills, surrounding portraits of the past,
and the excuses i played
one day i got angry so i wrote them all down
and filled a notebook
with the pieces of the mess i'd made
spearfish in the spring, it's just like climbing
everything, it's just like rusty silver rings
and black gold shaped like blades
i like liquor too, and i like street names
and tattoo flames, i need people,
i hate pennies, sometimes i can't behave
she left the old book in new york
the pages were bent and words didn't work
and she couldn't argue with that
then she stripped down to the skin
just to see what it felt like to say that she'd sinned
now she's talking in her sleep
and this blank page goes out to you
her name was sasha, yeah, or was it now,
she's not allowed a language with to share
just rooms, cut cold from her mind
this happened and then that, was it paris,
was it painful, was it london,
was it laughing, places bound in exile
walking down the streets,
how all the days just turn to drink
s
and all the spaces seem to shrink
until the morning reclines
this tiny room, it scares her
and it dares her to be lovely
and to tear herself from living,
"ain't it quite like old times?"
i left the old book in new york
the words were a blur and the pages were torn
and i couldn't argue with that
then i slipped down to berlin
just to see what it felt like to say that i'd been
now i'm talking in my sleep
and this blank page goes out to me
60 years later, in the sequel it was safer,
so she said...
what did you tell your friends
did you say you were pretending
did you think you were so wounded
your tail clipped, your ego spoon-fed
by the girl
you thought you'd broken
did you say she was a token
of the lie that got you moping
feeding lines you wrote with your pen
did it cross your mind that maybe
she lied too when she was waking up
to red wine in a hotel cup
and messes she could not clean up
she didn't mean a thing to you
but hey, she never wanted to
don't take the credit you're not due
cause we all knew full well it wasn't true
and i didn't know her, but i saw the pages
where they broke her down
on paper it played out
like stories cut from the vine
in the plane, these words are falling
from mountains, so i grab ahold
and i never, ever want to get off this ride
we both spend too much time putting
out fires, but if we just let them burn,
then maybe, yeah maybe,
we'd have something to keep
today i stood propped up on a wooden fence
over a country years and volumes
in between the places she and i sleep
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9. |
A Boy Well Dressed
05:13
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there's a cynic in the washroom
dropping hints in the basin
while the mirror plays a 4-star matinee
left her minder in the booth outside
sucking whisky off his child bride
as some waitress is dropping her tray
there's a fire in her eyes tonight
entertaining a redress
but his hand slaps her pie-eyed reverie
before snapping all the buttons on her dress
the barback feigns indifference
a patron's spilling catcalls
and she's listening through concrete walls
for the protests of a single petty witness
there's a girl out there
where a woman should be
keeping still in filthy company
of a boy well-dressed but
dressed up like a man
in her porcelain cell, this immaterial girl
thinks of a soft spring night when she was sure
'til the bare, bald light brought
claws across her skin
behind closed doors the mistress
holds her own hand in a vice grip
just waiting for the next rag doll and sloppy sip
she tells herself, “i've nothing to confess”
marys crack like little misses
night's end isn't gentle kisses
just mending a tattered dress
these are not your ordinary stitches
she smelled of sleep
as the sheets were torn
under this shining man in uniform
closed her eyes and thought,
"he must be asking me to dance"
how do you tell the child that
her lover's a fighter
or worse, she thinks,
as the hostess retires
tell a lover that she's
gonna have to fight
nine birds dance in the driveway
she counts them laying sideways
a metal cot, it touched her face
a thousand different ways
it was then she thought,
one golden shot,
and this i shall replace
with visions of a marching band
the roses will cut up my hand
and this look resting on my face
will fall down over this
broken promise land
these fighting words are craving
new mouths to feed
and as this pen is writing
my blue face will breathe
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10. |
One Hand Able
05:03
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one more time
one more time before you go
one more time
one more time and then you'll know
i recall
ruby flowers on the wall
i recall
gilded frames all down the hall
you stole the show
sitting pretty, tall and proud
in the front row
as i lingered in a bow
every trace
every note and light and page
lives on your face
as you move to take the stage
nights and hours at this table
pinning seams, you're one hand able
i climb trees, i know
you'll be there watching
i used to walk
all across the parking lot
we used to talk
of a war that you had fought
a blue oak frame
near a window facing east
a box of games
much too young to wait and see
set the brush down on the table
with this scene, you're one hand able
i dream high and
you were right there watching
at the desk you proved a fable
making stitches one hand able
tell me anything at all
i'm waiting
there were cushions on the chair
they sank real low
when you put them there, i had to go
dreams of love, you heard, you did
i didn't think to ask where you once lived
one more time
one more time before you go
one more time
tell me please how will i know
when it's time
if it's time just tell me so
and when it's time
say goodbye before you go
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