Asked you First
Boys in Blue
FAir Weather
Handsom Musician
How long can it last
North Main Street
one more night
one times one times one
please
sub mearged
subway
waiting for susan
your house
first known performance : 1989?
other notes : n/a
everywhere she looks she looks through the corner of her eye, and every time she left, she
never turned to say goodbye. swaying in the corner of the ballroom, alone by the music, she
looked like a spiderweb, fresh from the war. he complements her bedroom decor. she
crawled in there like water. she drowned in there on the floor. she left him gasping for air and
crying for more. and the morning sun was embarrassed to find them lying together. neither
could remember the other's name. he stepped out of her mind and into the hall and they never
saw each other again. whoa, and someone gave her a manual of love in the world today and
that page is not pulpy because there is no proper way. it's so easy for those with the
unclenching eye to find some unfulfilled human being to fry. she is looking for the kisses that
she never got at home her lips are puckered and she is walking alone. and if she ends up with
some dirty hot disease it's a small price she pays for the need to be pleased. and there are too
few who open both eyes. we sit back in our easy chairs and try to sympathize. but whether
from the point of a needle, or the edge of her bed our heroine like too many others now is
dead. and lisa is lucky, she ended up with a baby boy, she's sixteen years old, doesn't know
her body is not a toy. joel is hungry, he is doing the town. andrea is on the rebound. walk to
the corner and run from what you find, we have to abort our cannibalistic state of mind.
everywhere she looked, she looked through the corner of her eye, and every time she left she
never turned to say goodbye. swaying in the corner of the ballroom, alone by the music, she
looked like a spiderweb fresh from the war. she complements her bedroom decor. she didn't
know this time she was the victim. he had nothing to lose anymore...
asked you first
first known performance : april 23, 1995
other notes : n/a
things can't get much weirder, this can't get much worse. don't know why you wouldn't kiss
me, but it's a good thing i asked you first. you were a big strapping boy with a boner, and i felt
it in your hug goodbye. you gave me an evening i'll never forget no matter how hard i try, no
matter how hard i try. you were just mr. flirtatious all night, just workin' that ass well. you
know it's uncool to bring it to school if you don't want to share with the class. i am just mrs.
embarrassed. i feel like a dirty old man. i've got my eye on a guy that just moved out of mom's
house with his pretty head stuck in the sand. you've earned yourself a place in my memory by
being the one who said no. now where are my fucking car keys? i think i should go. surprise,
surprise. now you miss me, now that i'm not in your face. surprise, surprise. now you're calling
me, now that you feel safe. gee, maybe i could be your prom date. you could do us a stiff little
dance, except that this isn't high school, baby. and you had your chance, you had your
chance. yeah, you've earned yourself a place in my memory by being the one who said no.
now look, car keys... bye.
boys in blue
first known performance : july 1, 1991
other notes : n/a
i shut my mouth 'cause they are the law and i am alone. oh, the boys in blue have decided i
need a good talking to. though i've done nothing wrong, he is less than polite. i guess i'm not
his type. and while he has his fun the whole time, he has his hand on his gun. my friends, they
say you'll have to grow your hair and watch what you wear if you want them to go away.
otherwise, stay out of sight and be thankful that you are white. i shut my mouth cause they are
the law and i am alone. oh, the boys in blue have decided i need a good talking to.
fair weather
first known performance : 1989?
other notes : n/a
for lee i'm cement, but behind the buttons on my blouse my heart is bent between fair weather
and a woman who may never be. a woman who would be me. or the smell of women with a
recipe. all those voices stirring jealousy into the sounds cooking in me. well, i lost five seconds
to the powers that be. and then a man, some man defined chronologically. wet in my mind,
dripping into the rest of me. for your desire distorts, disguises what comes naturally. oh, and
soft smells from apartment two and some farm outside. my body brings its smells to what it's
tried. and some hair is healthy, but all hair is dead. and i think that's what it's like in my head.
for lee i'm cement, but behind the buttons on my blouse my heart is bent between fair weather
and a woman who may never be.
handsome musician
first known performance : 1989?
other notes : n/a
he was a handsome musician, but he had an ugly scar. you could not see it on him, but you
could hear it when he played guitar. naked and nervous silence, therefore conversation to
abuse, stood between us like a parent or like a game we had to lose. he kept an eye on the
door and his back to the wall. his walk told of the time it takes for a man to fall. and i
welcomed him into my closet to meet the skeletons living there. in my twilight vacancy, i didn't
care. we knew each other namelessly as the rhythm came of age. he knew me like a blue note,
and the lights went down on stage.
how long can it last
first known performance : july 1, 1991
other notes : n/a
two years ago, before you felt so familiar, before i could remember your last name. i
remember now how our bright spring green deepened with the years the seasons changed.
and we were lush as the underside of august. the streets looked like water, they swelled and
they shimmered, and they stretch like the sea. and dressed in my best shining skin, and my
squinty eyes, i put the miles behind me. and it took us so long to get here. you gotta write
between lines. you gotta read between the years. and fleetingly we see ourselves pass, driving
a good thing and wondering how long can it last. how long can it last? how long can it last?
how long can it last? and there was much to forgive and there was much to forget. it seems we
both stood by while the record was set. and now when i look at you and when you look at
me, it's a much different view. we are both decked out in our history. and it took us so long to
get here. you gotta write between the lines and read between the years. and fleetingly we see
ourselves pass driving a good thing and wondering, how long can it last. how long can it last?
north main street
first known performance : 1989?
other notes : n/a
the warmth of north main street shows me how i took myself through illogical landscapes with
you. scribbling on napkins in foreign ports, all sorts of sidewalks i don't traverse anymore. all
kinds of people i know write into the score. well, i see you drive your car past my house,
you're so far from admitting i've emerged. from under your deep weather, you may never hear
the future i have heard. oh, the sound rebounds off the highest plateau, of the people i will love
and the things i will know if i go. the utility of lipstick escapes to a styrofoam cup. the coffee
gone, the conversation strong. oh, though leaving's never easy, sentiments like shadows grow
long. your tears collect outside my bedroom window like the winter's last little snow. and i am
still the worst company that i have ever kept. i just didn't want you to witness my weakness as
i wept. and i still define myself by the places that i've been, i just didn't want you to see me try
to make me in-between. it seems to me i'm not doing anything new. i'm just not doing what i
used to.
one more night
first known performance : july ? 1992
other notes : n/a
i come to your town like thirsty lips to a cup. i come to your town and i wanna call you up. i
don't know how you feel, but i hope you feel the same. i've broken every speed limit in your
name. sometimes i just wanna bury my head in a hole. tell me do you have the kind of touch
that can console? i wanna hold my hands over my eyes during the scary scenes. will you stay
with me at night and stand guard over my dreams? will you stand guard over my dreams? you
feel like you're out on a long limb, like you've risked it all, but i'll go out there with you. and
when the bough breaks, the cradle will just fall. i'd rather go down knowing what it was like
than to keep myself company one more night, one more night. and i've got something new,
something i didn't have before. you were a big dark room, a room without a door. if you will
shelter me, i will fill your vacancy. we don't even need the walls, the ceiling, or the floor. and
i've got something for you too, something you probably don't need. you can buy it for the
pictures, baby. find out its a real good read. i just hope you still want it, cause i'm bringing it to
you. i'm gonna come to your town. i'm gonna call you up. then i don't know what i'm gonna
do. you feel like you're out on a long limb, like you've risked it all. and if the bough breaks, the
cradle will just fall. i'd rather go down knowing what it was like than to keep myself company
one more night, one more night. i come to your town like thirsty lips to a cup. i come to your
town and i'm gonna call you up. i don't know how you feel, but i hope you feel the same. i've
broken every speed limit in your name. and sometimes i just wanna bury my head in a hole.
tell me do you have the kind of touch that can console. i wanna hold my hands over my eyes
during the scary scenes. tell me will you stay with me at night and stand guard over my
dreams? will you stand guard over my dreams? will you stand guard over my dreams?
one times one times one
first known performance : 1989?
other notes : n/a
do you ever wonder when the damage will be done? do you ever feel like one times one times
one? do your eyes scrape the pavement as you shuffle from the sun? does your breath walk
behind you when the dialog is done? are you somewhat uninhibited, are you somehow unfree,
are you like me? are you a pile of loose brown leaves waiting to be blown, ready to disown?
are you grounded by the comforts of home? are you covered in a strangling snow? are you
somewhat uninhibited, are you somehow unfree, are you like me?
please
first known performance : 1989?
other notes : n/a
on the underside of your salutation, i can hear you turning inward. hello is such a thin word.
you're going to have to hide double-time from me 'cuz i read our poetry, and i can see when it
doesn't rhyme. you said you are the one in need or you wanted to be alone. and i felt you
decide. i have heard all the words you hold inside. we were knitted like yarn. in the morning
you were the snooze button on my alarm, and now goodnight is just the gesture of an arm.
well i think i understand, but i don't think i agree. sometimes i want to amend and sometimes i
just want to be free. if we can try forgiving, if we can try to go on living like some kind of
amateur team. anyone can see that love is weighting us more than me. that's for me. please.
submerged
first known performance : 1989?
other notes : n/a
well, your arms hang parallel to the curtains. your gaze falls perpendicular to the floor. you
resign yourself to the hurting, the lines in your brow are deeper than before. don't
misunderstand, i just wanna be your friend. well, a phone call is a phone call. it's not a means
to an end. your t-shirt is white across your chest, loose around your neck. your eyes come to
rest on my face. in the market for solutions, you know, its so hard to find clear answers these
days. i think that it's a thing of the past, they just don't make them to last anymore. and it
seems to me i'll miss love in the effort it confers. and her legs are longer, but mine are stronger
than hers. and i told you i wouldn't hold you down. i would only make you happy and i
wouldn't let you drown. now you say you're submersed in me. well, i'm out here, can't you see
i need to be free? you laugh and you smile, and you say you'll agree. but you continue with
your kisses, oh you love those near-misses. can't you see the only thing i ask? the only slant is
the only thing you won't grant me. just turn out the light, unlock the door. tell me you feel
alright, even better than before. show me you can be strong. it's all i've wanted all along
subway
first known performance : 1989?
other notes : n/a
the subway car smells like an antelope cage and don't you feel like the captain riding in a rage.
oh, the city's sweet as cider, it sours with age. the toss between fear and freedom, looking for
a familiar sign. and the man sitting next to you says, "hey baby, can you spare a dime?". oh,
the city's sweet as cider, it sours in time. you turn to see his pants from 1965, with the holes in
the pockets and the fly open wide. and just when he starts to make you nervous, suddenly he
starts to cry. oh the city's sweet as cider, it passes some people by. and on the other side of
the darkness, where the tunnel closes inside. you can only come out even in this town, but girl,
you've come out all right. oh, the city's sweet as cider, but it isn't sweet at night. no the city's
sweet as cider, but it isn't sweet at night.
waiting for susan
first known performance : 1989?
other notes : n/a
susan is a connotation at less than arms length. she has the strength of an opinion. her promises
are like the night overcast, like the stars she doesn't show and when she does, she doesn't last.
you can see her goodness like her breath on a window pane. and then she turns her head and
it's gone again. and while i'm left waiting, she'll wax and she'll wane. and maybe she'll come
here again and susan was at the other end of the line. and she received me just in time, and i
lean to her like a preference of mine. like a reference to friendship, she defined my time. now
i'm waiting for susan. i don't know where i am in line. i'm waiting for susan. i wonder where i
am in line.
your house
first known performance : 1989?
other notes : n/a
the wind, was applauding my passing your house. how tempting, i keep your key still on my
ring. i have half a mind to open the gate. how easy to climb your fire escapes, of steel, so
familiar, oh i feel like two ??? face? of you. i was hidden by the night, but not ???. every night
came back to me, and the wind just passed by, disappointed me, how we can lie? but i can't,
no i can't, i can't even walk by.