Artist: Walter Becker Album: 11 Tracks Of Whack {1994}

In case you're wondering it's alive and well
That little habit that you left with me
Here in the suburbs where it's hard to tell
If I got the bear or if the bear got me
How did you know that it would take me down
Down to the bottom of the wine dark sea
Where you were waiting there to bring me round
Where you knew all the dopest cuts to be

Down at the bottom of your mystery
Down at the bottom of the wine dark sea

Saw your old lady in the park today
The legendary smile is wearing thin
Behind that guessing game you make her play
Now that she knows that she could never win
I guess you're never gonna take her down
Down to the bottom of your little black heart
Lay with her naked on the cool hard ground
To watch the sun rise in the dopest part

Down in the bottom where your lifeline shows 
Down at the bottom where nobody goes 

Did you loose your way, find another
Did you make your play, run for cover
Is it safe to say you got burned today

I like the feathers and I love the hat
I like that little gypsy tune you're humming
I guess I'm happy now we've had this chat
Oh yeah, I'm really glad I saw you coming
There in the corner of the eastern sky
The tortured angel of your rising sign
Darkens the evening with his one good eye
An evil omen of the dopest kind

Down in the bottom where your demons fly
Down in the bottom of the eastern sky
Down in the bottom where your lifeline shows
Down in the bottom where nobody, nobody goes
Down at the bottom of your mystery
Down at the bottom of the wine dark sea

In the good old bad part of this college town
Men in business suits they chase you down
You take their money just like you take mine
You send it bubbling down the thin blue line
It doesn't matter how it got this way
Cos we could make it through this thing together
I know you're laughing but I got to say
Now I still want you, maybe more than ever

No fooling, it's a fucked up world
So be cool my little junkie girl

The cops are out to shut the district down
I comb the ruins of your stomping grounds
Stanyan Street looking like that third world war
You come up blazing like an open sore
Now I believe you but I got to know
How come the right side of your brain is hurting
So take me with you, baby, when you go
Through to the white side of your China curtain

No fooling, it's a fucked up world
So be cool my little junkie girl

In the good old bad part of this college town
Grey men in limousines, they drive you down
You take their money just like you take mine
What does it do you on that thin blue line
Now I can hardly hear you anymore
Your eyes are empty and your voice is hollow
I see you waving from a distant shore
And where you're going I don't dare to follow

No fooling, that's another world
So good luck my little junkie girl

Earthbound to Johnny, boy, just picked up your message
About those Balinese ikats you thought I might buy
Now your voice on my machine is more alive than what you are
Since your daredevil hang glider fell out of the sky
Now Armand's looked all over but he can't find your car keys
Were they under the tire, were they under the seat
Because as it stands now your beloved white Aires
Is fair game for the vandals up on Makapuu Street
And your grandmother's number, well, we know it's here somewhere
But Suze can't seem to find it, now she's losing control
And so what about her and little Eldon and Layla
And that hypothetical spectre, your gilt-edged soul
Which defied many perils in the face of all reason
And in so many settings and for all your young years
Insisting on pure freedom for its too-short season
Riding high on its ration of enchantment and fear
Over the hill and on into the next meadow and on and on and on and on and on

Well, in a near random universe there are still certain combinations
Picked out from all of other possible ones
Which, when given some time and the just-right circumstances
Not too far from the earth or too close to the sun
They will dance and they'll spin in the embrace of the trade winds
Playing havoc with the hearts and the upturned faces down below
Till the laws of curved spacetime, susponed without warning
Kick back in with a vengeance for the last act of the show
Going too far, too fast in that final wing over
As your glider comes tumbling out of the clouds
And you clutch at your chest but the chute never opens
And they find you there tangled in that white nylon shroud
When we get Grandma's number I think I'll just tell her
Your boy's home for Christmas, it was a hell of a ride
And I know that some day you'll be showing me those blankets
All covered in glory on the hereafter side, saying
There was never any question, it was always all or nothing
Surf and or die

Bye and bye girl we'll get over
The things we've done and the things we've said
But not just now girl, when I can't remember
Exactly what it was I thought we had
Yeah, I waited so long girl and I came so far
To see that you're not always who you say you are
And there's a star in the book of liars by your name
There's a star in the book of liars by your name

Santa Claus came home late last night
Drunk on Christmas wine
Fell down hard out in the driveway
Hung his bag out on the laundry line
You know he got a Cobra Gunship for his golden boy
And there's a Hello Kitty for his pride and joy
And a silver star in the book of liars by your name
Hung a star in the book of liars by your name

Stars imploding, the long night passing
Electrons dancing in the frozen crystal dawn
Here's one left stranded at the zero crossing
With a hole of his half-life left to carry on
But then the world's much larger than it looks today
And if my bad luck ever blows me back this way
Well, I'll just look in my book of liars for your name
You know I gotta look in the book of liars for your name

Dusted down in shanty town behind a sky of red
Hoist upon some frozen dawn exploded in my head
Fast asleep in trouble deep or wide awake and burning
Stuck inside some stranger's hide whose karma keeps returning

Where you trail that holy grail of darkness and despair
Way cross town, now up, now down, as though you'd really care
On the bus across from us seen once in silhouette
The old man's face you could not place and now you can't forget

Down and dirty, there you go
Lucky Henry says hello
Burned his bridges high and low
And down the road and gone
It's raining boxcars, did you know
From County Cook to Baltimore
Where ever those old jockeys go
To live out their lifelines

Burning down that two lane town the boys call Hollywood
Kicked around, now lost, now found, now lost again for good
Badly placed or half erased or lost in space and time
And all because the real one was the disappearing kind

Now you tumble, now you know
Lucky Henry says hello
Scratched in verses high and low
And down to hell and gone, I'm told
It's raining boxcars, that's for sure
From Bakersfield to Elsinore
For all that I care anymore
For now and forever gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone

You told me once I was your pride and joy
I guess those days are dead and gone
You must have took me for some golden boy
You didn't know what you was taking on
It was a hard up case

It was a hard up case, just another hard up case
It was a hard up case, just another hard up case

Now all the angles have been played in three's
There isn't much that I could say
I know you gave your little heart to me
I guess I threw the thing away
Now that's a hard up case

Yeah, it was a hard up case, just another hard up case
Uh huh, yeah, yeah it was a hard up case, just another hard up case

Sometimes the truth is kind of hard to find - hard to find
But don't you worry I can read your mind - read your mind
And you don't have to tell me to my face - to my face
You put this other joker in my place

They dealt us houses full with the queens and the kings
And now they're calling out our bluff
Cos you and me girl, we had everything
But it just wasn't quite enough
Now that's a hard up case

Whoa, whoa, now - it was a hard up case, just another hard up case
Yeah, I know it - it was a hard up case, just another hard up case

You say the truth is gonna set me free
Like you might throw a dog a bone
I know you're thinking that the joke's on me
Just take a look at what you're dragging home
Another hard up case

It was a hard up case, just another hard up case
It was a hard up case, just another hard up case

What ever happened to my college belle
When did she turn into the wife from hell
Hey, little Cringemaker, what are we coming to
Sweet little Cringemaker
My little Cringemaker, what have they done to you 
Sweet little Cringemaker

In the beginning we rode high on the hog
Down in the kitchen now it's dog eat dog
Our little Cringemaker up on the second floor
Sweet little Cringemaker
Hey listen Cringemaker, who locked the bedroom door
Sweet little Cringemaker
Sweet little Cringemaker - what ever happened to my, ha, ha, yeah
Sweet little Cringemaker

And every time I go to make my play
She rolls mighty boulders in my way
Hey, little Cringemaker, it's such a bumpy ride 
Sweet little Cringemaker
Hey, little Cringemaker, thought you were on my side 

And every time I get to have my say
She just laughs and looks the other way
Oh, little Cringemaker, this time you hurt my pride
Sweet little Cringemaker
My little Cringemaker, where am I gonna hide
Sweet little Cringemaker - what ever happened to my, ha, ha, yeah
Sweet little Cringemaker

Nobody told us when we started out - when we started out
Just what this life is really all about - really all about
Sometimes I wonder and you do, too - oh, I wonder
If I could do it all over would I still do it all over you, woa ho, ho
Sweet little Cringemaker

She calls me Daddy and I just go numb
Down in the bottom where the love comes from
Oh, little Cringemaker, what happened on the way
Sweet little Cringemaker
My little Cringemaker, to where we are today
Sweet little Cringemaker

I try to figure but I'm way too dumb
How we got here from where we started from
Oh, little Cringemaker, I guess we always knew
Sweet little Cringemaker
My little Cringemaker, who we would turn into
Sweet little Cringemaker
Sweet little Cringemaker - what ever happened to my, ha, ha, yeah
Sweet little Cringemaker

Sweet little Cringemaker
Sweet little Cringemaker
Sweet little Cringemaker

Yeah, now buzz awile, yeah, oh

Sweet little Cringemaker
Sweet little Cringemaker
Sweet little Cringemaker

Alone in my cave it's corn flakes and Camels
And the long restless shadows of my life
None but the brave - Jim Beam and Jack Daniels
Channelhopping these empty days and nights
Glued to my screen, rerun by rerun
At the dark Outer Limits of my soul
Stranded between Green Acres of my good intentions
And the Twilight Zone of zero self-control

So come on angel, tune in on me
You'll see your faithful servant lost in misery
And all of your hard work coming down to no good
You better see about me, babe, if you only could now

Girlfriend if it can't be you
I don't even have anyone to tell my story to
I said girlfriend if it can't be you
Girlfriend if it can't be you
I don't even have anyone to tell my story to
I said girlfriend if it can't be you

Dust and despair, cobwebs and confusion
Collected in the corners of my room
All of my dreams, bitter illusions
I just can't be rid of them too soon
Tired of my brain, tired of this movie
Too tired to get up and shut it off
The time that remains, what good can it do me
Now that I know that too much is not enough
Wait a minute baby, what about my heart
Was it your idea to take it all apart
Put it all back together just one piece at a time
Now it's down to you darling and that's why I'm all

Girlfriend if it can't be you
I don't even have anyone to tell my story to
I said girlfriend if it can't be you
Girlfriend if it can't be you
I don't even have anyone to tell my story to
I said girlfriend if it can't be you

Well, I'm pullin' up a picture now up off my back pages
All at once am privy to the entire grim design
Of a great civilization in the terminal stages
Of a slow but steady mental moral spiritual decline
And so it goes thus it is written
And all I want to know is where does a guy like me fit in

So I'm visualizing a cute little bunny
With a fluffy white tail and long grey floppy ears
Who looks up at me and says, "Doc don't you worry - worry
All you got to do now boy is to hide in here."

Hide here, over here, hide in here
Hide here, hide in here, over here, hide in here

All you got to do now girl is to just say when
You might consider bringing your sweetness round here again

Girlfriend if it can't be you
I don't even have anyone to tell my story to
I said girlfriend if it can't be you
Girlfriend if it can't be you
I don't even have anyone to tell my story to
I said girlfriend if it can't be you
Girlfriend if it can't be you
I don't even have anyone to tell my story to
I said girlfriend if it can't be you

I came a long, long way from home
I travelled far just to be here today
Across an endless sea of salty tears
Behind the divided line of eighteen years

You gotta walk that road alone
You got to walk that lonely

I wear my heart out on my sleeve
A sight you surely must have spied by now
I admit that I don't even know your name
But I feel like I could know you all the same

Are you gonna walk that road with me
Or is it gonna be that lonely
Are you gonna walk that road with me sometime
Don't make me be that lonely

It's still no easy thing to hold your head up high
Every time you turn around
Somebody kinocks your statue down
I tried my best to hold my ground
I swore I'd never let it be this way
But now I broke my sword and dropped my gun
Just like some tragic beat Napoleon

Now I gotta walk that road again
Now I gotta walk that lonely
Now I gotta walk that road again one time
Now I gotta be that lonely

What with no better way to go
As long as I'm still kicking that gong around, around
I see this time I met my match in you
I know now that you are my Waterloo, my Waterloo

I know now that you, and now I know that you are My Waterloo, Waterloo
I know now that you are my

Little friend of mine can you still recall
Our salad days between the ivy walls
Beneath the autumn sun
When all is said and done
We were a good combination, we were good clean fun
Still my thoughts roll back every now and then
Think about you remembering
Start smiling and just can't stop
You on the bottom and me on top 

These days it's like a tomb
Amid in the stacks of gloom
Looking out the window in the downstairs room
And the time goes by and the time goes by
Sometimes it goes so slowly, you know a man could cry
Till the day goes down in deep disgrace
Empty pockets and a dirty face
And then the day boils over and there's nothing there
But a roomful of smoke and a lot of hot air

This moody bastard remembers
You were some kind of friend even then
Once in a great while he needs one
This moody bastard, yeah
This moody bastard, he needs one
He needs some kind of friend now and again
Once in blue moon could use one
This moody bastard, yeah

Little friend of mine you don't even know
When the wind starts blowing how far a man could go

Little friend of mine are you even there
Well, did you disappear back into thin air
If you're still here with me, if you got this far
I hope you're smiling, in fact I know you are, know you are, know you are

This moody bastard remembers
You were some kind of friend even then
Once in a great while he needs one
This moody bastard, yeah
This moody bastard, he needs one
He needs some kind of friend now and again
Once in blue moon could use one
This moody bastard, yeah
This moody bastard need one


That's it

We come in on the morning scan
All the way from far Arcturus
Bringing with us peace and good will
From the margins of space and time
Our women are slung down low to the ground
They're very good, you've probably had one
Our men are brave, studly and wise
A pleasure to behold

Right away we walk the walk
More or less, we talk the talk
But every time we make our play
Their eyes get wide and they run away

Cos the hat stays too flat, my hat is way too flat
My English, she is much better now but my hat remains too flat
The man smells a rat and that's the end of that
My English, it is more better now but my hat is still too flat, oh

Fair Arcturus fashion forecast
Skirts will be shorter, legs stay long
Virtual raincoats are coming back
Hats as always continued flat

Back at home the machines work hard
We folk like to take it easy
Honing our awareness of
The finer things of life
Here when I go down to my job
I work hard for what seems like a long time
I look at my watch - fifteen minutes
It felt like half a day
But pretty soon we break for lunch
Me and the boys, now I'm one of the bunch
No one wants to sit with me
Tell me what can the matter be

The hat stays too flat, my hat is way too flat
My English, it is more better now, but the hat is just too flat
A little thing like that, they don't get past the hat
My English, it is more better now, but my hat remains too flat
The hat stays too flat, my hat is way too flat
My English, it is much better now, but my hat remains too flat
The man smells a rat and that's the end of that
My English, it is more better now but my hat remains too flat

So, ya live around here

Here's a note from one Miss Turnbull certain homework was not done
Tiny holes in the brand new windows from an unknown BB gun
Cinder Annie and your Big Mommie, they say the facts all point to you
But they don't love you Little Kawai, not the way that I do, not the way

That new squirt gun Eric got you, don't you aim it over here
That's a mean song that Eldon taught you I no longer wish to hear
And where he that says babies come from this is not completely true
That's a tall one Little Kawai and those bad boys they don't love you
Not the way that I do, not the way that I do

In the morning in spite of everything we'll go driving in our car
Straight to IHOP where it's well-known the world's junkest pancakes are
Maple syrup on the french fries they say it's no good for you
But you're still growing Little Kawai - what do they know, do they love you
Not the way that I do, not the way that I do