Artist: Warren Zevon Album: Life'll Kill Ya {2000}

I had the shit till it all got smoked 
I kept the promise till the vow got broke 
I had to drink from the lovin' cup 
I stood on the banks till the river rose up 
I saw the bride in her wedding gown 
I was in the house when the house burned down 

I may be old and I may be bent 
But I had the money till it all got spent 
I had the money till they made me pay 
Then I had the sense to be on my way 
I had to stay in the underground 
I was in the house when the house burned down 

I was in the house when the house burned down 
I met the man with the thorny crown 
I helped Him carry his cross through town 
I was in the house when the house burned down 

I was in the house when the house burned down 
I met the man with the thorny crown 
I helped Him carry his cross through town 
I was in the house when the house burned down 

I had the shit till it all got smoked 
I kept the promise till the vow got broke 
I had to drink from the lovin' cup 
I stood on the banks till the river rose up 
I saw the bride in her wedding gown 
I was in the house when the house burned down

You've got an invalid haircut 
And it hurts when you smile 
You'd better get out of town 
Before your nickname expires 
It's the kingdom of the spiders 
It's the empire of the ants 
You need a permit to walk around downtown 
You need a license to dance 

Life'll kill ya - that's what I said
Life'll kill ya and then you'll be dead
Life'll find you wherever you go
Requiescat in pace - that's all she wrote

From the President of the United States 
To the lowliest rock and roll star 
The doctor is in and he'll see you now 
He don't care who you are 
Some get the awful, awful diseases 
Some get the knife, some get the gun 
And some get to die in their sleep 
At the age of a hundred and one 

But life'll kill ya - that's what I said
Life'll kill ya, then you'll be dead
Life'll find you wherever you go
Requiescat in pace - that's all she wrote

Maybe you'll go to heaven 
See Uncle Al and Uncle Lou 
And maybe you'll be reincarnated 
Maybe that stuff's true 
Maybe if you were good 
You'll come back as someone nice 
And maybe if you were bad 
You'll have to pay the price 

But life'll kill ya - that's what I said
Life'll kill ya, then you'll be dead
Life'll find you wherever you go
Requiescat in pace - that's all she wrote

He was an accident waiting to happen 
Most accidents happen at home 
Maybe he should've gone out more often 
Maybe he should've answered the phone 

Hip-shakin' shoutin' in gold lame
That's how he earned his regal sobriquet 
Then he threw it all away for a porcelain monkey

He threw it away for a porcelain monkey 
Gave it all up for a figurine 
He traded it in for a night in Las Vegas 
And his face on velveteen 

From a shotgun shack singing Pentecostal hymns 
Through the wrought iron gates to the TV room 
He had a little world, it was smaller than your hand 
It's a rockabilly ride from the glitter to the gloom 

Left behind by the latest trends
Eating fried chicken with his regicidal friends
That's how the story ends with a porcelain monkey

He threw it away for a porcelain monkey 
Gave it all up for a figurine 
He traded it in for a night in Las Vegas 
And his face on velveteen 
Porcelain monkey, har, har, har, har

Hip-shakin', shoutin' in gold lame
That's how he earned his regal sobriquet
Then he threw it all away for a porcelain monkey

He threw it away for a porcelain monkey
Gave it all up for a figurine
He traded it in for a night in Las Vegas
And his face on velveteen
Porcelain monkey, har, har, har, har
A porcelain monkey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Porcelain monkey

Well, I can saw a woman in two
But you won't want to look in the box when I'm through
I can make love disappear
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer

I can pull a rabbit out of a hat
I can pull it out but I can't put it back
I can make love disappear
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer
Step right up, for my next trick I'll need a volunteer
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer
Step right up, for my next trick I'll need a volunteer

It's lonely up here when the tricks have been played
And the spotlight has faded and the plans that we made
Have fallen apart, it's lonely as hell
And there's no magic spell for a broken heart

Put me in chains and I will escape
Better not wait up cos I might be late
I can make love, oh, disappear
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer

Well, it's lonely up here when the tricks have been played
And the spotlight has faded and the plans that we made
Have fallen apart, it's lonely as hell
And there's no magic spell for a broken heart

I can saw a woman in two
But you won't want to look in the box when I'm through
I can make love disappear
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer
Step right up, for my next trick I'll need a volunteer
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer
Step right up, for my next trick I'll need a volunteer

You know I hate it when you stick your hand inside my head
And switch all my priorities around
Why don't you go pick on someone your own size instead
Go on without me, I'll just slow you down
Go on without me, I'll just slow you down

You always say you know me, somehow I don't think you do
Maybe you should buy another vowel
You're jumping to conclusions so I can't keep up with you
Go on without me, I'll just slow you down

I'll just hold you up
When I fall behind
I'll just throw your schedule off
So you get going if you're so inclined

You know I hate it when you stick your hand inside my head
And switch all my priorities around
You think you're pretty tricky but you're simply overbred
Go on without me, I'll just slow you down
Go on, go on, go on, go on

I can see me bound and gagged
Dragged behind the clownmobile
You can treat me like a dog
If you make me feel what others feel

You can train me, you can drain me
If you make me lose control
I will be your prisoner, I will be your hostage-o
I will be your prisoner, I will be your hostage-o

All you have to do is ask
I'll be happy to say yes
I'll put on the creepy mask
If you'll grant me some forgetfulness

You can strain me, you can maim me
You can chain me to the floor
I will be your prisoner, I will be your hostage-o
I will be your prisoner, I will be your hostage-o

And this loneliness unbearable
And it all goes by so slow
I will stand in line for the sacrifice
For the shamefaced love of the ugly vice
I will pay the price to see how far you'll go
Let me be your prisoner, let me be your hostage-o

I can see me bound and gagged
Dragged behind the clownmobile
You can treat me like a dog
If you make me feel what others feel

You can sprain me, you can blame me
If you make me lose control
I will be your prisoner, I will be your hostage-o
I will be your prisoner, I will be your hostage-o
I will be your prisoner, I will be your hostage-o

I like to think I've earned my reputation
For rushing in where angels fear to tread
I'll take you home to meet the congregation
We'll all get together in my tent

I make a dirty little religion out of lovin'
I'll make a dirty little convert out of you
I make a dirty little religion out of lovin'
I'll make a dirty little convert out of you

They treat you like a red-headed stepchild
And try to keep you nailed to the floor
Join us for the countdown to the Rapture
We never turned a sinner from our door

I make a dirty little religion out of lovin'
I'll make a dirty little convert out of you
I make a dirty little religion out of lovin'
It's a dirty little religion, hallelujah

Dirty little acolyte, dirty little one
Learn the fundamentals of desire
Can I get a witness to my testament
Can I get an amen from the choir

Dirty little religion
Dirty little religion
Dirty little religion
Dirty little religion

I like to think I've earned my reputation
For trying to take the bull by the horns
I'll show you where I get my inspiration
Where we plow and where we plant the corn

I make a dirty little religion out of lovin'
I'll make a dirty little convert out of you
I make a dirty little religion out of lovin'
It's a dirty little religion, hallelujah

Dirty little acolyte, dirty little one
Learn the fundamentals of desire
Well, can I get a witness to my testament
Can I get an amen from the choir

It used to seem to me that my life ran on too fast
And I had to take it slowly just to make the good parts last
But when you're born to run it's so hard to just slow down
So don't be surprised to see me in the brighter part of town

I'll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time will open up again
I'll be back in the high life again
All the eyes that watched me once will smile and take me in

And I'll drink and dance with one hand free
Let the world back into me
Oh, I'll be a sight to see
Back in the high life again

You used to be the best to make life feel real to me
And I hope that you're still out there and you're like you used to be
We'll have ourselves a time and we'll dance till the morning sun
We'll let the good times come in, we won't stop till we're done

And we'll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time will open up again
We'll be back in the high life again
All the eyes that watched us once will smile and take us in

And we'll drink and dance with one hand free
Have the world so easily
Oh, we'll be a sight to see
Back in the high life

We'll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time will open up again
We'll be back in the high life again
All the eyes that watched us once will smile and take us in
Back in the high life

Well, I went to the doctor, I said, "I'm feeling kind of rough."
"Let me break it to you, son - your shit's fucked up."
I said, "My shit's fucked up, well, I don't see how."
He said, "The shit that used to work won't work now."

I had a dream, ah, shucks, oh, well
Now it's all fucked up, it's shot to hell
Yeah, yeah, my shit's fucked up
It has to happen to the best of us
The rich folks suffer like the rest of us
It'll happen to you

That amazing grace sort of passed you by
You wake up every day and you start to cry
You want to die but you just can't quit
Let me break it on down, it's the fucked up shit
Yeah, my shit's fucked up, fucked up

You can dream the American Dream
But you sleep with the lights on and wake up with a scream
You can hope against hope that nothing will change
Grab a hold of that fistful of rain

Grab a hold - grab a hold
Grab a hold - grab a hold
Grab a hold
Grab a hold - grab a hold
Grab a hold, grab a hold of that fistful of rain

When your grasp has exceeded your reach
And you put all your faith in a figure of speech
You've heard all the answers but the questions remain
Grab a hold of that fistful of rain

Grab a hold - grab a hold
Grab a hold - grab a hold
Grab a hold
Grab a hold - grab a hold
Grab a hold, grab a hold of that fistful of rain

And when diamonds turn back into coal
Grab a hold, children, grab a hold
When the mountains crumble
And you're ready to rumble
And roll like a runaway train

And when diamonds turn back into coal
Grab a hold, children, grab a hold
When the mountains crumble
And you're ready to rumble
And roll like a runaway train

In a heart there are windows and doors
You can let the light in, you can feel the wind blow
When there's nothing to lose and nothing to gain
Grab a hold of that fistful of rain

Grab a hold - grab a hold
Grab a hold - grab a hold
Grab a hold
Grab a hold - grab a hold
Grab a hold, grab a hold of that fistful of rain

Grab a hold - grab a hold
Grab a hold - grab a hold
Grab a hold of that fistful of rain

Grab a hold - grab a hold
Grab a hold, grab a hold - fistful of rain
Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold of that fistful of rain
Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold of that fistful of rain
Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold of that fistful of rain

We left Constantinople in a thousand ninety-nine
To restore the one True Cross was in this heart of mine
To bring it to Jerusalem and then sail home to Rhodes
We took that holy ride ourselves to know
We took that holy ride ourselves to know

Everyone got famous, everyone got rich
Everyone went off the rails and ended in the ditch, whoa
We had to take that long, hard road to see where it would go
Yeah, we took that holy ride ourselves to know
We took that holy ride ourselves to know

Now, if you make a pilgrimage I hope you find your grail
Be loyal to the ones you leave with even if you fail
And be chivalrous to strangers you meet along the road
As you take that holy ride yourselves to know
You take that holy ride yourselves to know

Don't let us get sick, don't let us get old
Don't let us get stupid, all right
Just make us be brave and make us play nice
And let us be together tonight

The sky was on fire when I walked to the mill
To take up the slack in the line
I thought of my friends and of troubles they've had
To keep me from thinking of mine

Don't let us get sick, don't let us get old
Don't let us get stupid, all right
Just make us be brave, make us play nice
And let us be together tonight

The moon has a face and it smiles on the lake
And causes the ripples in time
I'm lucky to be here with someone I like
Who maketh my spirit to shine

Don't let us get sick, don't let us get old
Don't let us get stupid, all right
Just make us be brave, make us play nice
Let us be together tonight

Don't let us get sick, don't let us get old
Don't let us get stupid, all right
Just make us be brave, make us play nice
And let us be together tonight