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Note: These are my words, so give me a shout out
if you want to use them for whatever -- credit where credit is due.
Cheers.
Recent Work
 Underwhelmed
I too am a traveler, on Spaceship Earth
beside you
Look out over accomplishment and strife
There's certain thoughts I have to exorcise upon you
So I can see clearly from this height.
A Project for a New American Century
In which us travelers are sold and bought
And maybe we won't enjoy the same freedoms our parents did
But we can buy anything we want.
You can't make commodities out of things like Truth and Trust
You can't fit Integrity in a box
There is no market share of Empathy and Honesty
You either have those things or not.
Look out over all that you have made
Your phallic towers, some of which have fell
Keep us working harder, keep us entertained
Keep us from feeling underwhelmed.
High Risk Behavior
Midnight - high again, gonna roll it on
Hazy, Contagious, but feeling so strong
This high risk behavior makes me this man
This high risk behavior, just part of my plan
See another side of life
Seeing another side of you
In the ditch under the sky
That's where I think I left you
I can love myself without gettin' it on
I can love myself without being too far gone.
Another Friday, making my rounds
Keeping my head till' the next score goes down
This high risk behavior is who I am
This high risk behavior, I do the best I can
See another side of life
On the other side of truth
All these shady things I've been
I've been because I can't be you
Morning - Head dull, take a walk downtown
Knowing full well I shouldn't feel so down
This high risk behavior could make me lose
But this high risk behavior is what I choose
See another side of life
Seeing another side of me
Take those risks and you can live
Like you always pretended to be
Q
Victoria
I walked along your
streets in those days
Face pressed gently against your winter rain.
Slowly searching for your summer ways
I never found, now I've gone away. I
tasted life in the spring you bring
I've tasted love and everything.
Learned all I could, and I think you're right:
You can't hold on to what's out of sight. And I miss you...
Miss you
Victoria. I
remember you, what you gave to me
Your smiling eyes, so good to see.
Your soul hides ghosts of history
'Move along', you say 'just let them be'. Out
on the Point rocks bathe in the sea
Deep blue and gray, the sky's tapestry
On the white sand look for friend's of mine
If I return, it shall be for the last time. Q 99
Days Give
me something for my memory.
Let me fly above the world I knew,
Drop down into a different point of view. Soaring
high above the canopy
Thick green cloud allows a glimpse of life
Mighty kingdoms thrive beneath. This is the center of the earth I see
Ninety Nine days I had in anonymity. Heading
North on dusty roads.
Celebration within squalor,
Chaos and disorder. Floating
face down on the water.
Staring down deliberately
On a world at once forbidding and serene. So
here it ends and here I stay.
Winter seems so cold these days,
How I long to ride the sunrise away. And
I have something for my memory.
All that appears is not what it seems,
And when I sleep I see waves in my dreams.
Q Liars You
liars. You lying men.
If I knew you personally I'd be your best friend
And tell you all about yourselves, about your means and ends
How you seem to others when they know you lied to them.
This world sure is your oyster, this world sure is your slave.
It's worked till now, you figure, so you'll lie right to your graves, man. You
liars. You lying men.
Starting wars for profit, it ain't ever going to end.
Dropping death on nations that you don't understand
Checking out your progress live on CNN.
Destruction is your hobby, and terror is your job
Keeping people frightened so they will not see you rob them You goddamned liars. You
liars. You lying men.
Hiding behind Big Business, you and all your friends.
Raking in the market share, lying on the books,
It's hard to save a dollar when the bosses all are crooks.
Once you take your fortune out of the public vault,
You'll get those other liars to say it's not your fault. Q Ride
On Back Flying
in from Houston, I flew right out of my mind.
Head in the clouds and thinking how I left you all behind.
Now my return is complete and I must compete
To make up for this lost time. Curiosity
was my sickness, took a trip to clear my head.
Thought about you daily, heard the words I should have said.
Now the miles left behind me remind me instead of being quiet
Gonna speak up loud instead. Now you might have your worries,
But all I have is time.
Gonna ride on back to your little town
Gonna make you feel quite alright now. That
big old white line baby, gonna ride it on back to you.
Out of the city and my indecision, you know I'll see this through
Over the mountains and down the side of this divide
That separates me from you. Q I
Want You To Listen Dreary
days of winter man, stranded in this hinterland
Writing songs and hatching plans.
The songs remain the same I claim to have no need for love and fame
But that betrays the name I've made. Mind
all full of lucid visions brought on by too much television
Reality -- War of Attrition.
I look at those who've made the grade
Success is really just a trade of values for the big charade. And I want you to listen.
I want you to listen closely to me. Some
become white-collar thugs, some supplement their lives with drugs
Some rely on complacent shrugs.
Some are happy with themselves, relying on somebody else
Others feel without being felt. Myself I wish to stay the same but the only solid thing is change
Growing old is getting strange.
With these gifts I'll struggle on - the road is long, the past long gone
That certainty makes me strong. Q Lady
Moon Where are you tonight
Lady Moon?
I hear you're as pregnant as the sun
Come on out and dance above us. Its
sure been awhile, Lady Moon.
Say goodbye to sober sunlight,
Wrap yourself in the high of twilight. Dance from one horizon to the other.
See our shadows admire each other. On
nights like this I love you, Lady Moon.
Of all the ages that gazed upon you
I feel like the first one, too. You're
subtle and you're brilliant, Lady Moon.
Embracing us in shades of gray,
All my sins seem to fade away. Reclining
beneath your lovelight, Lady Moon
This tribe of dreamers stare up at you
Lovely beings love simple truths.
And it's too bad you must leave us, Lady Moon
But your beauty strikes me all the time
If not in my sight, then in my mind.
Q  Nocturnal
Valley Seduction (2003)
Mountain
Song I found myself
standing alone on the hill by and by
Watching the full moon chase shadows out into twilight
It could be that I am still under the spell of this place
But I'm stronger now, and I'm ready to rejoin the human race.
I slept through some years under
hundreds of fears in my mind
Of losing my brain to the mainstream charade of our time
I discovered that time stands still under my hand
And one day even I shall be one with the land again. Here, here I go again, out on my own again,
And nobody knows it but me.
Thinking all right again, living with the best of me,
And nobody knows it but me.
Come you weary and wicked and blind, come you tired and wasted
The mountains will heal your mind and restore all your graces.
To withdraw for awhile until a trace of a smile paints your face
It is dawn now, once more you can rejoin the human race.
Don't sleep through these years,
ignoring the fears in your head
Confront them head on, make them gone, then move on instead.
Time is your friend, it will stand still under your hand
And one day, you all shall be one with the land again.
Q White
Wall It was just a week
ago, I was thinking yesterday
The wall of snow came down
On the same day those spacemen did too.
I was sitting here by myself, thinking about how short the time is
Thinking about how much that was on my mind. White
wall is coming down, something don't feel right. Give
me some time to lie here, and oh no
I can't see anything at all
I can't breathe any air at all
White wall is coming down and
I'm out of sight. The sound of
underground fills the air
A girl she's standing panicked, and doesn't know what she sees
She looks out over her ocean still
They were buried all by themselves, thinking about how short the time is
Now I know that's why that is on my mind.
White wall is coming down, makes
no sound at all. White wall is
coming down, she makes no sound at all.
And I am just a child.
Don't make me dig my friendship up
But now I know that I cannot leave them there
No I can't.
It was just a week
ago, I was thinking yesterday
The wall of snow came down
On the same day those spacemen did too.
I was sitting here by myself, thinking about how short the time is
Thinking about how much that was on my mind. Q Last
Legal Drug Dealer The
sun came up this morning, much like the day before
Spreading light across the street while I'm arriving at the store
I switch the sign to 'open', and unlock all the doors
I'm the last legal drug dealer in this world,
Hooking drunks up with their score. My
tonic cures all sickness, the helpless and forlorn
Old shuffling men with blackened eyes who mumble at the floor.
World-weary women go by my till, their worries on their backs,
Maybe lost their loves upon the way,
And now they want them back. My
wine masks all worry behind its sacred spell
Jesus drank it thankfully in the stories that they tell.
My liquor masks all fear of pain, my lager lets you live
Without the cruel misjudgments that some people
Seem bound to give. Like
clockwork, then, the working men file into the store
Their payday ain't that far away - until then they'll be poor
Till Friday night they get their pay and party round' the clock
Till Wednesday when they're broke again
But I really shouldn't talk -- no I shouldn't. Q Killer
Fog Killer
fog slides through the air, corrupting my senses
Sliding all over the town in a midnight offensive
Wood smoke is thick in the air, and I'm lonely, afraid
If I refuse to give in, I will not be saved. Killer
fog slips through my mind, floats through my worries
Leaving me careless and free, not ready to hurry.
A breath of smoke, thick in the air, and I'm suddenly dumb
If I can't give up my life, I don't think I can go on. And
why? Why didn't I know that before? Q Suit
Myself Confused
times call for confused measures
Sends your mind into stormy weather
Don't want to have to - have to reject your pleasure
But sometimes problems are disguised as treasures. And
I can't see you anymore
Cause' I might have to find out what's in store. Set
your sights upon a youthful pursuit
You said those darker nights they don't bother you.
Don't have to want to - want to confuse your direction
But this time I can't ensure your protection. And
I can't see you anymore
Cause' I can't use my reason to settle this score. Give
my head a shake and try to think well
I won't change to suit you, but I will suit myself
Where ever I am I will live guilt-free
Unless I am mired in predictability. So
I guess I'll see you again
I guess I'll see you, see you again. Q Treetops They
say reciprocity is reciprocal generosity
And I say perhaps empathy is the common goal of humanity
Then she says 'man this empathy is certainly what you'll find
If you clear the treetops of your shallow state of mind. They
say man-made apathy is the sign of a sick democracy
Bush Senior gives his son the keys to the kingdom of hypocrisy
Then she says 'this hypocrisy will sure be hard to find'
'If you turn your back on a system that is busy dying. God
chuckles at rationality, then picks you up and sets you free
I won't participate in this fallacy if it hunts me down and buries me.
Then she says 'man, this fallacy is the smallest part of life'
'Change is the constant of the future, and all we have is time.' Q The
Last
Cowboy Hello traveler,
please excuse my surprise
Its been three long years since I've seen a human being with these eyes.
They used to live in the city, now the city lies in ruins
Had no premonition of the end of all I knew
But I hid here, laid low and lived here.
I am the last cowboy from my
homeland
I watched the towers fall the plague took many lives away.
I lived through the nuclear winter of '05
Learned to live off of the land again to save my life.
Foolish men talked loudly with
their hollow souls
Then the price of freedom meant that greed took hold.
The planes came down and what had begun as hate
Had turned into Jesus Christ against Mohammed and his faith
So I hid here, laid low and hid here.
I am the last cowboy from my
homeland
I watched the towers fall and the hate take many lives away.
The world on man became a chaotic state
And it left abandoned highways reclaimed by the landscape. Q Truth
Song It's
hard to right a wrong situation
When you're part of the problem.
It's hard to get a better deal
When you're not willing to bargain.
It's hard to heal a sickness
When you're part of the virus. These
things I know, I don't know nothing else
And I can't change myself
This is my truth song. It's
hard to find your way up to the light
When you are mired in darkness.
It's hard to find a soul that matches mine
When your heart is a fortress.
It's hard to change the future
When you are growing older. These
things I know, I don't know nothing else
And I can't change myself
This is my truth song. Q Workingman
Blues Stuck
in a parking lot on a blue collar day.
Fan belt's busted and the shop is a long ways away
Workingman blues to my steel-toed shoes
And I can't believe I'm paid to make money this way.
Thinking bout' a girl with sunshine in her smile.
If this truck had her lovin' it would carry on for miles
But workingman pride has kept her from my side
And with her far away I'm left as helpless as a child. No
this workingman won't stand
Asking for help when he is stranded
Doesn't even understand a hand whenever it's extended
This workingman's an island, this workingman's a stone
And this workingman's resigned himself to never getting home Q
Like Sid n' Nancy Baby
you have caught my fancy
We could be like Sid n' Nancy
We could be like Bonny and like Clyde.
Cause' I'm so tired of going solo
I'd even let you be my Yoko Ono
And we might just stay in bed all the time. Summer's
coming on and the trees are bloomin'
Down by the river where I wrote this tune
And now I think that the time has finally come.
Like Odysseus searched for Penelope
He finally made it back from sea
And spring time is bringing you back to me. And
when I get there I just know that you'll be smiling
And the summertime will start within that smile
And I'll tell you how far I had to go
And you might call me Romeo
And Juliet we'll leave before it snows. Boats
on the water have me thinking why
I haven't really seen you in quite awhile
I've been living in my jungle all this time.
Safe from the world but alone all the same
Even Tarzan eventually found his Jane
And I think with you and me it might be the same. Q  Country
Gumption (2000)
Rock
Is Dead Rock
is dead, died not with a bang.
It died of money cancer and the rhinestone nothing that it brings.
You must have heard the devil crying
In that room under the stairs
He grew too old to be a rebel
Too old not to care
The Joker stands out by the road sign
With his thumb turned to the sky
Passed by Elvis' Eldorado
On his way to town to die. Rock
and roll -- Died for the love of man Rock
is dead, passed slowly from this world
A temporary beauty of things not seen yet nonetheless understood.
Gone are the days of new expression
They're not valid anymore
Because every new song is a new reflection
Of something said before.
Janis and Jimmy in a truckstop diner
Weary from the road.
Jellyroll blues have left them stranded
With no place left to go. Rock
and roll -- Died for the love of man Rock
is dead in the cities and the towns
Watched over by the generations who had admired its sweeping sound.
Morrison sings 'Amazing Grace'
And Cobain wipes his eyes
It was much too big to be contained
But not too big not to die
People turn their heads to hear
The somber death-ring sound
Moment of silence rings aloud
The fact that we all put it down. Rock
is dead. We killed it with our love. Q
Avenues Crept
out of the wilderness of my inner mind to see
Just what was happenin'
Took some leave of sanity and whisked past mental property
Headed downtown, da da da.
Can't exactly say where I am
I wonder how your smile came to shine on me
And perhaps then in a week or two
I'll take you back into the forest in my head
And preserve you softly in a song.
Now the air becomes unclean
And noise wears away the seams of my patience.
Avenues of dwindled dreams and streets of mediocrity
Give me pause -- I just stop.
I don't know what this means to me
I'd like to catch that thought and set it free
Perhaps it may be misconstrued
But I can't make this plainer than it already is.
Q
Big White Bird Goodbye
folks I knew, hello sweet surrender
I'm gonna fly this big white bird
And try hard to remember.
Because I don't know, but I have
seen
The way you make your people green
And I should have known, if it had been
You wouldn't spare some care for me.
Roads like lines and happy times,
wander into cloud
They pass so fast and never last
Unless they are allowed.
And I don't know, but you have
shown
That you don't have no goddamned soul
And you made it clear, but didn't say
I'd have to pack my bags someday.
And mountains flash as I rush
past, remember how you smiled
And said 'take a ride and slip inside'
If only for awhile.
And I don't know, but I can feel
The hurt that makes these feelings real
So now I soar above the earth
Lamenting softly on my self-worth.
Q
My Generation I
do not feel like I love my generation
This alienation's got me down
So come on girl and get behind me,
Pack a smile and hit the highway
Searching for the place where it's all going down. We've
seen roses in the trashpile and sunset-ridden smog
Seen happiness they give to us in pills.
We've seen dumb machines and money dreams
And the tail wagging the dog
The only thing to say is 'count me out'.
Cause' we don't know what life is worth
Because we haven't seen any War
All we learn is from our TV screens.
Complacency and apathy have clouded our perception
And advertising clutters all our dreams.
Every age has offered genius,
Einstein and Di Vinci
Plato, Shakespeare, Thoreau and Nietzsche.
So what do we claim as our invention? Moshing and Ecstasy.
Well, perhaps that's the best that we can be.
Q Another
Sunrise If I was a stronger
man I'd will myself away from here.
And maybe in a moment then I'd turn and take you with me, dear
But if you're so inclined to wasting all my time,
I'd rather leave before the dawn and calmly steal away
Because I want to see the sun come out today.
If I were a potter's wheel I'd know which way to turn myself.
But everything that I create is just an item on a shelf.
And people are unkind, so you might get hurt sometimes
It's strange the calm before the storm is what makes us feel safe,
And we sometimes keep our fears in yesterdays.
If I could glance past you, love, I'd see just where that morning starts.
Giving light to that summer green and casting shadows off my heart.
Although you go in vain, I wish you'd stayed the same
That road ahead is long and so it's better off this way
And I'll find you if I'm back this way again.
Q
Thrill of Roaming Light
a match for me this morning
Cause I ain't ever coming home.
And I ain't got time to gain perspective,
Because this thrill of roaming turns me on.
So light a match for me this
morning
Light it so bright I can hardly see
And take good care of my lovers
Because I can't take them all with me
Think I'll go down to the water
And build me a life amongst the wood.
That life is hard, but not unreasonable
It's about how quickly that's understood.
So take a walk down to that
water
And throw your wings down on the side
Make some sense of your surroundings,
Then move on to another different sky.
Q
Don't You Know Don't
you know by now that your generation is dying?
Don't you know by now that your ideals are old and aging?
Don't you know by now that having money doesn't make you right?
Don't you know by now that you didn't have to sell out to yourselves?
The flower children sold their bouquet
for a Benz'
And they won't get their fill until the whole world ends.
Why worship God these days?
The almighty buck is what you crave
But all false idols tend to crumble away
Don't you know that? Don't you know that by now?
Don't you know by now that
things have gotten out of hand?
Don't you know by now that you've lost your sense of humor?
Don't you know by now that this commercial attitude just cannot be right?
Don't you know by now that it was up to you to put up a better fight?
Why do you think the New Woodstock
burned and Seattle became unruly?
It's cause we're sick and tired of youthful exuberance being sponsored by a soft drink company.
Things gotta change cause' they can't stay the same
As we all remain incomplete
But castle walls were built to fall down hard
Don't you know that? Don't you know that by now?
Don't you know by now that your
childhood was beauty?
Don't you know by now that you used to be concerned with one another.
Don't you know by now that you have the power to stand up in that crowd?
Don't you know by now that you could be beautiful again? Q Coming
From the Prairie I
was feeling kinda low so I wrote a country song
Bout' the place where I grew up like a weed in your front lawn
Where the people take it easy, don't worry bout' their lives
They would all be good at workin' but it's always quittin' time.
Cause' living
can be easy if you get it in your head
That you're only here awhile until your living ends
You can take it all for granted if you are that kind of man
But coming from the prairie I just don't understand
So take me down
easy, take me down slow
To the river valley where the water always flows
This little valley is always on my mind
And there's nothing stoppin' me from turnin' water into wine.
Call me a
redneck, call me what you will
But I've seen sun-up in a thousand different skies
And I know I got my fill...
When I roll on
down that highway, blacktop under sun
Driving down to the river to get some livin' done
I've got my friends around the fire, drinking hard and with good cheer
Can't imagine a man who wouldn't take to loving it down here.
Q Ode
to a Starlet I
probably won't meet you in the course of my life
But I see you in movies and I feel like I know you inside.
People connect with you cause' you're gentle and kind
They all know you in body, but don't have a clue what's inside.
And are you the
same when you come off the screen?
Off of the covers of cheap magazines?
Are you the same alone in your room
When no one's around to sit and watch you?
Because I want
to touch you and make you my own
I hate paying money to see you in shows
The closing credits, they don't really mean
That you cease to exist for me.
How do you act
when you're not really acting at all?
Up on the screen you're huge, but are you really small?
Could I come see you, could I give you a call?
Or would you even turn to see me at all?
Suppose we got
married, had a home by the sea
Like in the ending of one of your movies
Would it turn out the way it should be
When that perfect image fades from the screen?
Q Violent
Gray Coming
on one hundred miles
Coming on one hundred miles
Animals run while farmer smiles
Grass gives up its static style
Wash those fears
away
Wash those sins away
Make them water, make it rain
Make us so we're not the same.
Coming on across
the plain
Coming on across the plain
Scenery changes, life stays the same
Railway tracks waiting for a train
Wind picks up the die is cast
Wind picks up the die is cast
Violent Gray is here at last
Lightning shines on the overpass
Going on one hundred miles
Going on one hundred miles
Cows regroup by the damp haypile
And grass resumes its static style
Q Hey
Man (the parkbench prophet) Hey
man these girls were easier in High School
Now they just play games.
Why does it seem like we're always bored,
Unless we fall under the influence or over the top?
Hey man the drugs aren't much different these days,
They just cost more and more
And the kids are getting crazier
As their lives grow ever hazier.
Good thing we're
just relaxing here
Watching the world while hope disappears.
Watch my thoughts settle on the scenery
And run laughing amongst the passers-by.
Hey man, I once
laughed at a joke
Bout' a guy who spent twenty thousand dollars
On a piece of paper that could not guarantee him a job.
Maybe I'll retire before I can start
And perhaps cut my losses, or kill all the bosses.
Hey man let's go for a smoke and think about nothing,
Or anything, or everything at once.
The point being, perhaps, that you have to do something
Cause' nothing is easy, and everything matters
Nothing is easy, and everything matters.
Good thing we're
just relaxing here
Watching the world while hope disappears.
Watch my thoughts grow like small, young children
Who run into the street and get nailed by traffic.
Q
 That Guy Is Me (1997)
Space Man I
wanted to be a space man
That's what I wanted to be.
Flying as high as I can
For millions of people to see.
I wanted to be a space man
Cause' that's how I was gonna be free.
To rocket out of this land
To a life that's meant for me.
Well bless my
soul, when I was a child
I often stared at the sky
Wonderin' if things up there
Would make me feel alive.
My father always said 'Son, you've got to work hard'
'and do the best you can',
But I'd rather sail away on a spaceship today
And hold the planet in my hand.
Then I got older and started asking why
The sun didn't fall into the sea
I was told 'Boy, accept it, and don't even question'
But that wasn't enough for me.
I pointed my eyes at the azure skies
And my mind flew high and free
It was then I knew that it had to be true
A spaceman was the life for me.
Now I'm old and my cynicism shows
I no longer gaze at the stars
Knowing that I'm bound to walk the Earth
And will never set foot on Mars
I have my own problems, and very little time
To dream about reaching space
But deep down inside, where I'm really alive
I'll be a spaceman till' my dying day.
Q
That Guy Is Me I
know a girl, she lives on the wrong side of town
Knows she ain't nothin', but nothin's what puts her down
She's a bona-fide bitch but I can't complain
Cause' she knows my body like she knows my brain.
And I knew a guy who lived in a tall high-rise
He was a busy muthafucka who didn't know how time flies
Got so damned tired that he took his life
With a 30-.6 instead of a knife.
And she's so
strange, yeah
And they don't play, yeah.
I know a place
that doesn't ever see the sun
People go there often when they don't want to see no one
It's cold and dark and smells like dirt
Every time I go there I lose my shirt.
And there's no
God in a man
There's no Justice in this land
Well, they won't plead your case and they won't kiss your rings
Cause' they don't owe you a goddamned thing.
And I know a guy
who just sits around on his ass
Doesn't work at nothin' and doesn't have a lot of class
Thinks everything in life is free
Wait a goddamned minute, that guy is me!
Q
Hangover Song Yesterday
I walked outside and thought
That these things just cannot be
I'm not so good at the morning after
Cause' I'm not feeling like me.
Thoughts are fuzzy, that's OK
Can't remember yesterday
Or what I did or said or thought
I think of you and what I'd say if
I even had a voice at all.
Sun's too bright
I can't recall
If I even slept at all
Thoughts are forgotten movie scripts
That I will not act on.
Just today I
walked outside and thought
That same reality
Friends grow apart and I am forgotten
Guess that don't matter today.
Sun's too bright
I can't recall
If I flew before the fall
Life is a real tragedy
Of changing dreams and near misses.
Q
Girl Across the Road As
I sit up on my roof I
Try to put my life in place I'll
Resolve to try, to try my resolve
Put my shiny happy mood on
As I sit up on my roof I
Indulge in a cigarette or thee and
Think of better things to do when
All I really want to do is sleep.
Watch the girl
across the road
As she begins to disrobe
Think how nice that it would be
To live inside her closet now.
As I sit up on my
roof I
Think of people that I've seen
Some are happy, some are dying
From their own small discrepancies
As I sit up on my roof I
Contemplate why I write these songs and
Why do I have to be an asshole
Instead of just gettin' along?
Watch the girl
across the road
And wonder if she's in there alone
Think how nice that it would be
If everything was all that easy.
And as I sit up on
my roof I
Think of life and what it means and
Why should I try to get a job when
I'll be dead in fifty years and
When I own my
own house
I'll sit up on my roof at night
Watching stars and traffic lights
Cause' I'll be old and broken,
And won't be allowed to spy on young women
Anymore.
Q Shadowman The
Shadowman came driving out of the open plain
Had no destination, not one man knew his name
Lightning sky was up ahead, through the wind-blown pines
He was prepared for the storm to take his past behind.
Made a bad
mistake and now he runs
Away from the angry prairie sun
Tried to tell that woman, but it came undone
And now he fights for life and not for fun.
The Law Enforcer
knew the spirit of a killer's mind
So he drove out to the highway just to see what he could find
Told himself a million times, 'doesn't matter what they feel'
'It's the price of a life that determines exactly what is real'.
He's gonna get
that man and bring him down
In the woods nobody hears a sound
Like a shotgun - thunder in the night
He grinned as he gripped the wheel tighter.
Lightning turns
the woods to noon, Shadowman lifts his head
He can see the lights behind him - the dead woman in her bed
Knows that he should stop and give himself up to the night
But he knows that he might make it if he takes another life.
Door swings
open, Enforcer man appears
Shadowman moves for his weapon out of fear
Man-made lightning flashes in the storm
Both men drop down to be reborn.
So as the event
ends, just one amongst the night
Enforcer man slumps over, bleeding out his life
Hears his woman calling from their home across the lake
And he screams for God to save him until soon his spirit breaks.
Both found dead
upon the sun
One man is a martyr, the other is shunned
Both did what they loathed to do
But in the moment they both enjoyed it, too.
Q Eulogy You
are the best of him
Carry his spirit like an easy load
The good times rush forward
To testify on behalf of your intentions.
His ring of people on the prairie
Circle unbroken for twelve long years
Taught each other how to live and
Escaped unscathed with new ideas.
He thanks you
all for showing up
We all had a good laugh or two
He thanks you all for being there
To watch each other test our wings at flying.
Then his ring of
people on the prairie
Made a dash for somewhere else
He stayed with all you crazy bastards
Taught him to be a harder man than he was.
Then came the summer, flashing outwards
You were the only ones
Who understood what he was made of
And made it look like he was shining.
He thanks you
all for showing up
We all had a great laugh or two
He thanks you all for being there
Cause' we lived life like there was no tomorrow.
A friend is like
a flame that casts its shadow next to yours
And he can't recall a time when he did not need the warmth
Even when our minds forsake us
If we're right we'll find out in due time. Q Anti
- Song I
tried to write a song and find the words to put in it
But I didn't feel the way I should be, and that's creative
I did not think up a deep, truthful meaning
So I wrote this song for nothing, and no one.
I'm not writing for corporate sponsorship
And I'm not writing for Elvis, or a long-dead martyr
I'm not writing for Rwandans, or AIDS
And I don't care who listens to it, or if it sucks.
I'm not singing for Alice Cooper or Cypress Hill
I'm not singing for the love of music
I'm not singing for you or me or my family
This song is not all I have.
I'm not playing for...
I'm not playing to get any, although it would be nice
I'm not playing for the love of God or the Antichrist
Or the brother I never had.
Sit up on the roof and think of life and draw a blank
I don't mean to sound antimotivational
But it's hard not to be lethargic
When the only thing that you can do is nothing.
Q Yuppie
Nation Hey
Mr. Coat-and-Tie I love your swanky taste
But underneath that shine you're just another reprobate
I covet your brand-new Beemer, it's just out on a lease
You live to work and watch with glee as your profits increase.
Just another
shallow stiff of the yuppie nation
Fresh from his post-secondary education
Don't stop to see the life that is free,
He'll realize it's all for naught
When he's six feet deep.
Hey Ms.
Dollar-Signs why do you look so full of life?
Perhaps it's cause' you blew a wad to go under the knife
Chasing useless vanity when others don't have food
I guess that simple fact just speaks volumes about you.
I don't know, but
I've been told
The secret to life is growing old,
And teaching kids right - to love the earth
And have a sense of their self-worth
Why can't you all just try and care, because money ain't important everywhere.
Hey Mr.
Stocks-and-Bonds, why don't you meet your child?
You made him thirteen years ago, he hasn't seen you in a while
You wonder why he's all fucked up, is it brains he lacks?
No sir, it's just cause' daddy went and stabbed him in the back.
Q
Sunrise I (take it easy) I'm
as happy as the landscape, and I'm as happy as the sea.
I'm right where I want to be
But I won't be satisfied, if my right's been denied
To take it easy, just so I can please me.
City drops its weight on shoulders that do not have the strength to bear
And the hardest thing is not to care
But I won't be satisfied till' I stand against the tide
And take it easy, just so you won't leave me. And
I don't mind the time,
And I don't mind the season
I've been walking through your garden.
These problems,
they're not permanent, dear - everything will be just fine
All you have to do is ignore the time
And I won't be satisfied, till I finally catch my ride
And take it easy, just so you can please me.
No, I won't be satisfied, till I finally hit my stride
And take it easy, just so you can please me, baby.
Q
Alive Thought
I knew the cost of living
But that didn't mean I liked the way I lived.
We are just pawns on the chessboard
Waiting for someone to push us down and end our game.
People say how they would like to die before they're old
I say hey now, I'm alive.
People say what
a goddamned pain in the ass life is
I say hey, now I'm alive.
Thought I knew the
cost of living
But it seemed to me that everything was overpriced
I knew the cost of living was expensive
But I wandered aimlessly through it, looking for a sale.
My friends say
how life is bland and boring
I say hey now, I'm alive
My friends say I take too much shit from everyone
I say hey, now I'm alive.
Thought I knew the
cost of living
But the way I was going, I wasn't going far.
I was a pawn on the chessboard
And the guards were stacking up to end my game - and so I
I took a hold of
what had meant the most to me
And I yelled hey now, I'm alive
I broke the door down, and rushed inside
And I said hey, now I'm alive.
Now I know the
cost of living
And it's worth the life that I want to live
I'm gonna be a king on the chessboard
So nobody can knock me down and king is where I'll stay.
I'll just try to
keep a grip on everything
By sayin' hey now, I'm alive.
Maybe you will run with me through the life I knew
And we'll say hey, now we'll do fine
Because we're alive.
Q Darwin
Debunked You
wonder why the world's a mess, and everyone is so depressed?
It's because of manufactured spite imposed on you by the not-so-bright.
Take a look at your TV screen - things are as bad as they appear to be
We have trash coming out our fucking ears and we'll all be dead in a few short years.
You have American Idol on channel 4, with vanity and trash music galore
And Dr. Phil is just one man, but he holds the whole world in his hand.
But Dr. Fucking
Phil ain't so bad... The
media on channels six and eight is fit for drunken reprobates
The only goddamn thing on the fucking news is power struggles, lies and abuse.
And no one gives
a flying fuck anyway... What
the hell, what's gone wrong? I'll try to tell you with this song
Our gene pool, it appears to me, is like an Exxon spill in a tiny sea.
So many dumb people in the land who should have died before they had the chance
To procreate and spread their seed and breed children with defective genes.
Darwin was a thoughtful chump, but Natural Selection's been debunked
By washing machines and the police, manufactured homes and flu vaccines.
Things are not always how they seem so protect yourself from your TV
Take a walk outside or read a book and release yourself from the media hook.
Ignore Dr. Phil and his mindless chaff, it's just a ploy to make the network cash
Do your own thing, but please refrain from making a mockery of my brain.
Q
Unreleased Material Pound
Salt Hey,
now here we are
But I hate to reflect
So I'll sit back and have another shot of yesterday
And have another cigarette.
Bringing back the dead ain't my line of work
We've waited two thousand years since then
And the sky don't care where the hell you've been
And who it decides to offend. This
is for the boy who left the party early
This ain't for the ones who didn't care.
This is for me and my fireside companions
And the people who are not there. Hey
now, where've you been?
It's sure been a while since you've returned this way again.
Show me around, we'll search the whole place over
Because I've seen you a thousand times since then.
'Shut er' down', he says,
'The party is at an end.'
It's really too bad I couldn't stay
But keep on laughing because I'll see you soon again
I may be gone, but I do not go away. Q Exploring
a Price So
another two thousand years have come and gone
They don't seem as partictular
As standing here under the mountain, exploring a Price and wondering
Why I hadn't noticed you before.
Snow settles softly on your abandoned restraint
You're perfectly good to go
Inside with me and slip upstairs and start exploring a Price and wondering
How you could change so quickly. So
here's to you, my lady of Pine and Night
Exploring a Price is where I need to be
Because nothing can make this New Year's lack sincerity. So
another two thousand years have come and gone
But we could not do better
Than standing here under the mountain, exploring a Price and wondering
Why we never finished this forever before. Q Unemployed If
I could fly on the wings of a dove,
And all that corny shit that people write of
I think I'd fly back to before my knowing
That this world I was born in, this world that I've seen
Isn't ever really gonna grow up with me
It's like a friend who has suddenly become annoyingly boring.
I'm revoking my
own membership
I never signed no contract or consent slip
I'm gonna trade my limited status for
A life that's worth working for.
Maybe I'll truck
to make ends meet
Or go back to the goddamn factory
A sore back for a lousy chunk of change, indeed.
I've held so many jobs that held nothing for me
The only upside is that it made me see
That society breeds mediocrity.
I'll make work
out of being unemployed
I'll try to stay happy while trying to aviod
Taking a spot on the killing floor
Cause' that ain't a life worth working for.
I believed when I
received my degree
I would get past the fast-food industry
Who ask for your body when your brain could do much more.
But this world I was born in, this world that I've seen
Isn't ever going to grow up with me
So I'll take my final cheque and fly out the door.
Go ahead, work
hard, do your best and trust
That it only makes it easier for the rest of us
Myself, I won't lift a finger till I can afford
A life that's worth working for.
Q
Loneliness Every
drink I have drank I have toasted to loneliness
It's in every joint that I roll
And every time that I feel like I'm coming down
I feel I'm feeling alone.
I'm asking for more when I'm living with loneliness
That's why I injure my soul.
To smash it and break it, make someone else take it
Maybe then I will be whole.
There's this girl that I know, she is living with loneliness
Grinding her way through the thrill
She stumbles and falls, but gets back at us all
By taking down just one more pill.
She's asking for more when she's living with loneliness
That's why she injures her soul
To smash it and break it, make someone else take it
Maybe then she will be whole. It's
hard to see that when you're running blind
As those leaves fall they grow dark on your mind
Those thoughts you've discarded aren't really regarded
As good, or useful or kind So
drink up that life and then toast it to someone
You think is as special as you
Then maybe you'll find if you listen just right
They might feel real lonely too.
They might feel as lonely as you do. Q Salvation
(ain't that far) I
am walking down this road
Through parts unknown and myths untold
Away from the town that I know.
There's a place just West of here
Where I can rest and try to clear my head a bit.
Time to move on, time to git goin'
Like old Tom said, this feeling is growing
And my feet make the beat and the sound.
Maybe be winter I'll settle down
Seek a quiet place in a one-horse-town
And pass the time around and round and round. To
admit that I am lost
Comes at quite a cost
Not knowing where you're going means you don't know where you are,
But sometimes sweet salvation ain't that far. Often
times your destination
Calls to you like the new sensation
Floating on the breeze across the trail.
Often times I heed the call
Either pack my bags or leave them all behind me.
I don't know if the sun will shine
But I do know that I'll be just fine
I can weather any storm.
And I may be old-fashioned, Lord
But a man isn't living if he's living bored
So I'll roll on, roll on, roll on till' the morning. Q
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