Artist: Tom Waits Album: Bone Machine {1992}

Rudy's on the midway and Jacob's in the hole
The monkey's on the ladder, the devil shovels coal
With crows as big as airplanes, the lion has three heads
And someone will eat the skin that he sheds
And the earth died screaming while I lay dreaming
Well, the earth died screaming while I lay dreaming, dreaming of you

Well, hell doesn't want you and heaven is full
Bring me some water, put it in this skull
I walk between the raindrops, I wait in Bug House Square
And the army ants, they leave nothin' but the bones
And the earth died screaming while I lay dreaming
Well, the earth died screaming while I lay dreaming
The earth died screaming while I lay dreaming, dreaming of you

There was thunder, there was lightning and then the stars went out
And the moon fell from the sky - it rained mackerel, it rained trout
And the great day of wrath has come and here's mud in your big red eye
And the poker's in the fire and the locusts take the sky
And the earth died screaming while I lay dreaming
And the earth died screaming while I lay dreaming
Well, the earth died screaming while I lay dreaming, dreaming of you
Dreaming of you, well, I'm dreaming of you
Dreaming of you, well, I'm dreaming of you
Dreaming of you, well, I'm dreaming of you

What does it matter, a dream of love or a dream of lies
We're all gonna be in the same place when we die
Your spirit don't leave knowing your face or your name
Wind through your bones is all that remains
And we're all gonna be, yeah, yeah
I say, we're all gonna be, yeah, yeah
I say, we're all gonna be, yeah, yeah
I say, we're all gonna be just dirt in the ground

The quill from a buzzard, the blood writes the word
I want to know am I the sky or a bird
Hell's is boiling over and heaven is full
We're chained to the world and we all gotta pull
And we're all gonna be, yeah, yeah
I say, we're all gonna be, yeah, yeah
I say, we're all gonna be, yeah, yeah
I say, we're all gonna be just dirt in the ground

Now, the killer was smiling with nerves made of stone
He climbed the stairs and the gallows groaned
And the people's hearts were pounding, they were throbbing, they were red
He swung out over the crowd, I heard the hangman said
We're all gonna be, yeah, yeah
I say, we're all gonna be, yeah, yeah
I say, we're all gonna be, yeah, yeah
I say, we're all gonna be just dirt in the ground

Now, Cain slew Abel, he killed him with a stone
The sky cracked open and the thunder groaned
Along a river of flesh can these dry bones live
Take a king or a beggar and the answer they'll give
Is we're all gonna be, yeah, yeah
I say, we're all gonna be, yeah, yeah
I say, we're all gonna be, yeah, yeah
I say, we're all gonna be just dirt in the ground
We're all gonna be just dirt in the ground
We're all gonna be just dirt in the ground
I say, we're all gonna be just dirt in the ground
Well, we're all gonna be just dirt in the ground

One, two, three, four

Pale Face said to the Eyeball Kid
She just goes clank and boom and steam
A halo, wings, horns and a tail
Shoveling coal inside my dreams
There are no laws, she's made of cream
She's such a scream

Qui bon tres bien, nails in the cement
A Donnie gal from mortal clay
The plow is red, the well is full
Inside the dollhouse of her skull
A cheetah coat fills up with steam
She's such a scream

All crooked lines, her fireplace
A milktrain so clean, machine gun haste
You'll ride the only wall of shame
And drag that chain across the state
Her lips are red, she is the queen
She's such a scream

Well, the time will come when the wind will shout
All stripped down, all stripped down
All the sinners know what I'm talking about
All stripped down, all stripped down
When all the creatures of the world are gonna line up at the gate
All stripped down, all stripped down
And you better be on time and you better not be late
All stripped, all stripped, all stripped down, all stripped down

Well, you know in your heart what you gotta bring
All stripped down, all stripped down
No big mink coat, no diamond ring
All stripped down, all stripped down
Well, you take off your paint and take off your rouge
All stripped down, all stripped down
Let your backbone flip and let your spirit shine through
All stripped down, all stripped down
I want you all stripped, all stripped, all stripped down

All the men we got, well, they're goin' down the drain
All stripped down, all stripped down
And when I see your sadness on a river of shame
All stripped down, all stripped down
You got to raise up, both the quick and the dead
All stripped down, all stripped down
With no shoes on your feet, no hat on your head
All stripped down, all stripped down
I want you all stripped, all stripped, all stripped
All stripped, all stripped, all stripped down

Ain't nothin' in my heart but fire for you
All stripped down, all stripped down
With my rainy hammer and this heart that's true
All stripped down, all stripped down
All stripped, all stripped, all stripped, all stripped down
I want you all stripped down, yeah
I want you all stripped, yeah, all stripped, all stripped

Well, they're lining up to mad dog your tilt-a-whirl
Three shots for a dollar, win a real live doll
All the lies that you tell, I believed them so well
Take them back, take them back to your red house
For that fearful leap into the dark

Oh, well, I did my time in the jail of your arms
Now, Ophelia wants to know where she should turn
Tell me, what did you do, what did you do the last time
Why don't you do that, well, go on ahead and take this the wrong way
Time's not your friend

Do you cry, do you pray, do you wish them away
Are you still leaving nothing but bones in the way
Did you bury the carnival with lions and all
Excuse me while I sharpen my nails
And just who are you, who are you this time

You look rather tired, are you pretending to love
Well, I hear that it pays well
How do your pistol and your Bible and your sleeping pills go
Are you still jumping out of windows in expensive clothes
Well, I fell in love with your sailor's mouth and your wounded eyes
You better get down on the floor, don't you know this is war
Tell me who are you this time, yeah
Tell me who are you this time

The ocean doesn't want me today
But I'll be back tomorrow to play
And the strangels will take me down deep in their brine
The mischievous braingels, down into the endless blue wine
I'll open my head and let out all of my time
I'd love to go drowning and to stay and to stay
But the ocean doesn't want me today
I'll go in up to here, it can't possibly hurt
All they will find is my beer and my shirt
A rip tide is raging and the lifeguard's away
But the ocean doesn't want me today
But the ocean doesn't want me today
The ocean doesn't want me today

Well, Jesus will be here, he gonna be here soon, soon
He's gonna cover us up with leaves with a blanket from the moon, yeah, yeah
With a promise and a vow
And a lullaby for my brow
Jesus gonna be here, gonna be here soon, yeah

Well, I'm not gonna do nothing but wait here, I don't have to shout, yeah
I got me no reason, yeah and I got no doubt, yeah
I'm gonna get myself unfurled
From this mortal coiled up world
Jesus gonna be here, gonna be here soon, yeah

I got to keep my eyes, keep 'em wide open, yeah, yeah, so I can see my Lord, yeah
I'm gonna watch the horizon for my brand new Ford, yeah
Well, I can hear him rollin' on down the lane
I said, Hollywood be thy name
Cos Jesus gonna be here, he gonna be here soon, yeah

Well, I got to keep myself, keep myself faithful and you know that I've been so good, yeah
Except for drinking, but he new that I would, yeah
And when I'm gonna leave this place better
Than the way I found that it was
And Jesus gonna be here, gonna be here soon, yeah
I know my Jesus gonna be here, he gonna be here soon, yeah
I know my Jesus gonna be here, gonna be here soon, yeah

The Ice Man's mule is parked outside the bar
Where a man with missing fingers plays a strange guitar
And the German dwarf dances with the buthcer's son
And tonight a little rain never hurt no one

Well, they're dancing on the roof and the ceiling's coming down
And I sleep with my shovel and my leather gloves
And a little trouble makes it worth the goin'
And a little rain never hurt no one

Oh, the world is round and I'll go around
You must risk something that matters
Oh, my hands are strong, I'll take any man here
If it's worth the goin', it's worth the ride

She was fifteen years old and she'd never seen the ocean
She climbed into a van with a vagabond
And the last thing she said was, "I love you mom."
And a little rain never hurt no one
And a little rain never hurt no one

The women all control their men with razors and with wrists
And the princess squeezes grape juice on a torrid, bloody kiss
What will you be wearing there the lion or the raven hair
The flesh will all be tearing but the tail will be my own
In the colosseum, in the colosseum, in the colosseum tonight
In the colosseum, in the colosseum, in the colosseum tonight

This one's for the balcony and this one's for the floor
As the senators decapitate the presidential whore
The bald headed senators are splashing in the blood
Dogs are having someone who is screaming in the mud
In the colosseum, in the colosseum, in the colosseum tonight
In the colosseum, in the colosseum, in the colosseum tonight

Now it's raining and it's pouring on the pillaging and goring
The constable is swinging from the chains
For the dead there is no story, no memory, no blame
Their families shout blue murder but tomorrow it's the same
In the colosseum, in the colosseum, in the colosseum tonight
In the colosseum, all the mass will see 'em, in the colosseum tonight

A slowly acting poison will be given to the favorite one
The dark horse will bring glory to the jailer and his men
It's always much more sporting when there's families in the pit
And the madness of the crowd is an epileptic fit
In the colosseum, in the colosseum, in the colosseum tonight
In the colosseum, we call 'em as we see 'em, in the colosseum tonight

No justice here, no liberty, no reason, no blame
There's no cause to taint the sweetest taste of blood
And greetings from the nation as we shake the hands of time
They're taking their ovations, the vultures stay behind
In the colosseum, in the colosseum, in the colosseum tonight
In the colosseum, in the colosseum, in the colosseum tonight
In the colosseum tonight, in the colosseum tonight

I'm goin' out west where the wind blows tall
Cos Tony Franciosa used to date my maw
They got some money out there, they're givin' it away
I'm gonna do what I wanna do, gonna get paid
Do what I want and I'm gonna get paid

Little brown sausages lying in the sand
I ain't no extra, baby, I'm a leading man
Well, my parole officer will be proud of me
With my Olds eighty-eight and the devil on a leash
My Olds eighty-eight and the devil on a leash

I know karate, Voodoo, too
I'm gonna make myself available to you
I don't need no make-up, I got real scars
I got hair on my chest, I look good without a shirt

Well, I don't lose my composure in a high speed chase
Well, my friends think I'm ugly, I got a masculine face
I got some dragstrip courage, I can really drive a bed
I'm gonna change my name to Hannibal or maybe just Rex
Change my name to Hannibal, maybe just Rex

I know karate, Voodoo, too
I'm gonna make myself available to you
I don't need no make-up, I got real scars
I got hair on my chest, I look good without a shirt

I'm gonna drive all night, get some speed
I'm gonna wait for the sun to shine down on me
I cut a hole in my roof in the shape of a heart
And I'm goin' out west where they appreciate me
I'm goin' out west where they appreciate me
Goin' out west where they appreciate me
Goin' out west where they appreciate me
Goin' out west, goin' out west, goin' out west, goin' out west
Goin' out west, goin' out west, goin' out west, goin' out west

There was a murder in the red barn, murder in the red barn

The trees are bending over and the cows are lying down
The autumn's taking over, you can hear the buckshot hounds
The watchman said to Reba the Loon
Was it pale at Manzanita, was Blind Bob the Coon
Pin it on a drifter, they sleep beneath the bridge
One plays the violin and sleeps inside a fridge
There was a murder in the red barn, a murder in the red barn

Someone's crying in the woods, someone's burying all his clothes
Now Slam the Crank from Wheezer slept outside last night and froze
Roadkill has its seasons just like anything
There's possums in the autumn and there's farm cats in the spring
There was a murder in the red barn, a murder in the red barn

Now, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house or covet thy neighbor's wife
But for some murder is the only door through which they enter life

Well, they surrounded the house, they smoked him out, took him off in chains
The sky turned black and bruised and we had months of heavy rains
Now the raven's nest in the rotted roof of Chenoweth's old place
And no one's asking Cal about that scar upon his face
Cos there's nothin' strange about an axe with bloodstains in the barn
There's always some killin' you got to do around the farm
A murder in the red barn, a murder in the red barn

The woods will never tell what sleeps beneath the trees
Or what's buried 'neath a rock or hiding in the leaves
Cos roadkill has its seasons just like anything
It's possums in the autumn and there's farm cats in the spring
A murder in the red barn, a murder in the red barn

Now, a lady can't do nothin' without folks' tongues waggin'
Is this blood on the tree or is it autumn's red blaze
When the ground's soft for diggin' and the rain will bring all this gloom
There's nothing wrong with a lady drinking alone in her room
But there was a murder in the red barn, a murder in the red barn
There was a murder in the red barn, a murder in the red barn
There was a murder in the red barn, a murder in the red barn

Well, take an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
Just like they say in the Bible
Well, never leave a trace or forget a face
Of any man at the table, any man at the table
When the moon is a cold chiseled dagger
And it's sharp enough to draw blood from a stone
He rides through your dreams on a coach and horses
And the fence posts in the midnight look like bones

Well, they've stopped trying to hold him with mortar, stone and chain
He broke out of every prison
Well, the boots mount the staircase, the door is flung back open
He's not there for he has risen, he's not there for he has risen

Some say he once killed a man with a guitar string
He's been seen at the table with kings
Well, he once saved a baby from drowning
There are those that say beneath his coat there are wings
Well, some say they fear him

Well, some say they fear him, others admire him
Because he steals his promise
But one look in his eye and everyone denies
Ever having met him, ever having met him

He can turn himself into a stranger
Well, they broke a lot of canes on his hide
He was born away in a cornfield
A fever beats in his head just like a drum inside
Some say they fear him, others admire him
Because he steals his promise
But one look in his eye, everyone denies
Ever having met him, ever having met him, ever having met him
Ever having met him, ever having met him, ever having met him

Well, I grew up here all of my life, but I dreamed someday I'd go
Where the blue eyed girls and the red guitars and naked rivers flow
Now, I'm not all I thought I'd be, I've always stayed around
I've been as far as Mercy and Grand frozen to the ground
Well, I can't stay here and I'm scared to leave
Just kiss me once and then
I'll go to hell, I might as well
Be whistlin' down the wind

Bus is at the corner, the clock on the wall
The broken down windmill, there ain't no wind at all
I yelled and I cursed, if I stay here I'll rust
But I'm stuck like a shipwreck out here in the dust

The sky is red and the world is on fire and the corn is taller than me
And the dog is tied to a wagon of rain and the road is as wet as the sea
And sometimes the music from a dance will carry across the plains
And places that I'm dreaming of, do they dream only of me
There are places where they never sleep and the circus never ends
So I will take the Marley Bone Coach and be whistlin' down the wind
So I will take the Marley Bone Coach and be whistlin' down the wind

Well, when I'm lyin' in my bed at night I don't wanna grow up
Nothin' ever seem to turn out right, I don't wanna grow up
How do you move in a world of fog that's always changing things
Makes me wish that I could be a dog

Well, when I see the price that you pay I don't wanna grow up
I don't ever wanna be that way, I don't wanna grow up
Seems like folks turn into things that they'd never want
The only thing to live for is today

I'm gonna put a hole in my TV set, I don't wanna grow up
Open up the medicine chest and I don't wanna grow up
I don't wanna have to shout it out
I don't want my hair to fall out
I don't wanna be filled with doubt
I don't wanna be a good boy scout
I don't wanna have to learn to count
I don't wanna have the biggest amount
And I don't wanna grow up

Well, when I see my parents fight I don't wanna grow up
They all go out and drinkin' all night and I don't wanna grow up
I'd rather stay here in my room
Nothin' out there but sad and gloom
I don't wanna live in a big old Tomb on Grand Street, boo

When I see the 5 o'clock news I don't wanna grow up
Comb their hair and shine their shoes, I don't wanna grow up
Stay around in my old hometown
I don't wanna put no money down
I don't wanna get me a big old loan
Work them fingers to the bone
I don't wanna float a broom
Fall in love and get married then boom
How the hell did I get here so soon
I don't wanna grow up

C'mon, let me get up on it

Well, there's one thing you can't lose, it's that feel
Your pants, your shirt and your shoes, but not that feel
You can throw it out in the rain, you can whip it like a dog
You can chop it down like an old dead tree
You can always see it when you're coming into town
Once you hang it on the wall you can never take it down

But there's one thing you can't lose and it's that feel
You can pawn your watch and chain but not that feel
It always comes and finds you, it will always hear you cry
I cross my wooden leg and I swear on my glass eye
It will never leave you high and dry, never leave you loose
It's harder to get rid of than tattoos

But there's one thing you can't lose, it's that feel
There's one thing you can't lose, it's that feel
You can throw it off a bridge, you can lose it in the fire
You can leave it at the altar, it will make you out a liar
Fall down in the street, you can leave it in the lurch
Well, you say that it's gospel but I know that it's only church
But there's one thing you can't lose and it's that feel
If there's one thing you can't lose and it's that feel
There's one thing you can't lose and it's that feel
There's one thing you can't lose and it's that feel