Factory Showroom




Token Back To Brooklyn

The token back to Brooklyn fell between the grating
And we're just watching it sinking
The fare went up to one hundred dollars
And we can never go home again
The bill collector's drinking lighter fluid
And says he'll tell our parents
Our feet start running at a furious pace
But we can't get away


S-E-X-X-Y

Dressed only in clothes
From her head to her toes
This is the way
The talking part goes


S-E-X-X-Y
More than enough
Around the clock with nobody else
S-E-X-X-Y

There she is
Standing on the bed
Cookie in one hand, wig on her head
S-E-X-X-Y

X because it's extra baby
Y because it's extra baby
Unnoticed by few
Very very few
And that includes you

Look inside your mind
Look inside your eye
Secret agent spy, come to see why
S-E-X-X-Y

One finger nail
Across your back
Baby's first gold tooth initials inscribed
S-E-X-X-Y

X because it's extra baby
Y because it's extra baby
You gotta understand
She wants to be your man
She's got another plan


Till My Head Falls Off

There were 87 Advil in the bottle now there's 30 left
I ate 47 so what happened to the other 10?
Why do you suspiciously change the subject and break my concentration
As I dump the bottle out and I count the Advil up again?

Don't interrupt me as I struggle to complete this thought
Have some respect for someone more forgetful than yourself

And I'm not done
And I won't be till my head falls off

Hitting every pocket on my shirt, pants and overcoat
And I'm hitting them again but I don't know where I put my notes
Clearing my throat, and gripping the lectern I smile and face my audience
Clearing his throat and smiling with his hands on the bathroom sink

And when I lean my head against the frosted shower stall
I see stuff through the glass that I don't recognize at all

And I'm not done
And I won't be till my head falls off
Though it may not be a long way off

I'm not done talking yet
I'm not done talking yet

And when I lean my head against the frosted shower stall
I see a broken figure silhouetted on the wall

And I'm not done
And I won't be till my head falls off
Though it may not be a long way off
I won't be done until my head falls off


How Can I Sing Like A Girl?

Birds are calling to sing along
But my window's painted shut
And all that year of chorus taught me
Is out of style and long forgot

How can I sing like a girl
And not be stigmatized
By the rest of the world?
Tell me how can I sing like a girl
And not be objectified
As if I were a girl?

I want to raise my freak flag
Higher and higher and
I want to raise my freak flag
And never be alone
Never be alone

From the watchtowers I've been spotted
Fingers pointing at my mouth
Spotlights turn and pivot towards me
But I dare not make a sound

How can I sing like a girl
And not be stigmatized
By the rest of the world?
Tell me how can I sing like a girl
And not be objectified
As if I were a girl?

I want to raise my freak flag
Higher and higher and
I want to raise my freak flag
And never be alone
Never be alone

How can I sing like a girl
And not be stigmatized
By the rest of the world?
Tell me how can I sing like a girl
And not be objectified
As if I were a girl?

How can I sing like a girl

How can I sing like a girl

How can I sing like a girl

How can I sing like a girl


Exquisite Dead Guy

Exquisite dead guy
Rotating in his display case
Exquisite dead guy
Swear I saw his mouth move

Exquisite dead guy
Outside my high rise apartment
Exquisite dead guy
Hanging from a skyhook

How am I supposed to let you know the way I feel
About you

How am I supposed to let you know the way I feel
About you


Metal Detector

Down at the shore there's a place where there's no one vacationing
There's just the sound of the call of the wild overcoming the fear of the unknown

And I've got something to help you understand
Something waiting there beneath the sand
My metal detector
Is with me all of the time

I'm the inspector over the mine

Look past the volleyball (look past the ball)
Look past the squawking gull (look past the gull)
Ignore the mountain of discarded falderal

'Cause I've got something to make you understand
Something hidden there underneath the land
My metal detector
Is with me all of the time

I'm the inspector over the mine
Metal detector, watch it shine

Every seashell has a story to tell if you're listening
But underneath every shell there's a story as well if you've heard enough of the sea
Then everything on the top will just suddenly stop seeming interesting
So listen now to the sound of the things that are found underground

Don't need no volleyball (don't need no volleyball)
Don't need no squawking gull (don't need no squawking gull)
Don't need to look at any bathing beauty doll (don't need to look at any doll)

For I've got something to help you understand
Something waiting there beneath the sand
My metal detector
Is with me all of the time

I'm the inspector over the mine

Look past the volleyball (look past the ball)
Look past the squawking gull (look past the gull)
Ignore the mountain of discarded falderal

'Cause I've got something to make you understand
Something hidden there underneath the land
My metal detector
Is with me all of the time

I'm the inspector over the mine
Metal detector, watch it shine

Don't need no volleyball (don't need no volleyball)
Don't need no squawking gull (don't need no squawking gull)
Metal detector, all the time (metal detector all the time)


New York City

You called me last night on the telephone
And I was glad to hear from you 'cause I was all alone
You said, "It's snowing, it's snowing! God, I hate this weather."
Now I walk through blizzards just to get us back together

We met in the springtime at a rock-and-roll show
It was on the Bowery when it was time to go
We kissed on the subway in the middle of the night
I held your hand, you held mine, it was the best night of my life.

'Cause everyone's your friend in New York City
And everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
The streets are paved with diamonds and there's just so much to see
But the best thing about New York City is you and me

Statue of Liberty, Staten Island Ferry, Co-op City, Katz's and Tiffany's*
Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, The Empire State where Dylan lived**
Coney Island and Times Square, Rockefeller Center
Wish I was there

You wrote me a letter just the other day
Said, "Springtime is coming soon so why don't you come to stay."
I packed my stuff, got on the bus, I can't believe it's true
I'm three days from New York City and I'm three days from you

'Cause everyone's my friend in New York City
And everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
The streets are paved with diamonds and there's just so much to see
But the best thing about New York City is you and me

'Cause everyone's my friend in New York City
And everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
The streets are paved with diamonds and there's just so much to see
But the best thing about New York City is you and me.


Your Own Worst Enemy

It's your own worst enemy
Ringing the bell on the door
And the person inside says nobody's home
So your own worst enemy peeks inside
And sees you softly weeping as some music fills the room

And the song they play
Is that guy with the messed up face
Going, precious and few are the moments that you
And your own worst enemy share

Full bottle in front of me
Time to roll up my sleeves
And get to work
And after many glasses of work
I get paid in the brain

And the song they play
Is that guy with the messed up face
Going, precious and few are the moments that you
And your own worst enemy share

And the song they play
Is that guy with the messed up face
Going, precious and few are the moments that you
And your own worst enemy share

It's your own worst enemy


XTC vs. Adam Ant

XTC versus Adam Ant
Content versus form
Fighting for their place in rock and roll
There is no right or wrong

Just when you think it's finished
With XTC on top
Ant music, like a phoenix
Flies back up the charts

XTC versus Adam Ant
Only one will survive
Beatle-based pop versus new romantic
History will decide

XTC versus Adam Ant
I can't tell you why
Even the singer from Bow Wow Wow
Can't make up her mind

XTC versus Adam Ant
Time is marching on
XTC versus Adam Ant
There is no right or wrong

There is no right or wrong

There is
No right
Or wrong


Spiraling Shape

Down, down, down you go
No way to stop
As you fall, hear me call
No, no, no
Listen to this warning and
Consider these
Simple words of advice
Stop, stop, stop

Fogging the view, cupping face to the window
In darkness you make out a spiralling shape
Putting all reason aside you exchange
What you got for a thing that's hypnotic and strange

The spiralling shape will make you go insane
(Everyone wants to see that groovy thing)
But everyone wants to see that groovy thing
(Everyone wants to see that thing)

And nobody knows what it's really like
But everyone says it's great
And they heard it from the spiral in their eyes

This could lead to excellence
Or serious injury
Only one way to know
Go, go, go
Go ahead, wreck your life
That might be good
Who can say what's wrong or right?
Nobody can

Put out your hands and you fall through the window
And clawing at nothing you drop through the void
Your terrified screams are inaudible drowned
In the spiral ahead and consumed in the shape

The spiralling shape will make you go insane
(Everyone wants to see that groovy thing)
But everyone wants to see that groovy thing
(Everyone wants to see that thing)

And now that you've tried it, you're back to report
That the spiralling shape was a fraud and a fake
You didn't enjoy it, you never believed it
There won't be a refund, you'll never go back

The spiralling shape will make you go insane
(Everyone wants to see that groovy thing)
But everyone wants to see that groovy thing
(Everyone wants to see that thing)

And nobody knows what it's really like
But everyone says it's great
And they heard it from the spiral in their eyes
(Spiral in their eyes)

Fogging the view, cupping face to the window
In darkness you make out a spiralling shape
Putting all reason aside you exchange
What you got for a thing that's hypnotic and strange

The spiralling shape will make you go insane
(Everyone wants to see that groovy thing)
But everyone wants to see that groovy thing
(Everyone wants to see that thing)

Don't spend the rest of your life wondering
(Everyone wants to see that thing)

Don't spend the rest of your life wondering
(Everyone wants to see that groovy thing)
Don't spend the rest of your life wondering
(Everyone wants to see that thing)


James K. Polk

In 1844, the Democrats were split
The three nominees for the presidential candidate
Were Martin Van Buren, a former president and an abolitionist
James Buchanan, a moderate
Louis Cass, a general and expansionist
From Nashville came a dark horse riding up
He was James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump

Austere, severe, he held few people dear
His oratory filled his foes with fear
The factions soon agreed
He's just the man we need
To bring about victory
Fulfill our manifest destiny
And annex the land the Mexicans command
And when the votes were cast the winner was
Mister James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump

In four short years he met his every goal
He seized the whole southwest from Mexico
Made sure the tarriffs fell
And made the English sell the Oregon territory
He built an independent treasury
Having done all this he sought no second term
But precious few have mourned the passing of
Mister James K. Polk, our eleventh president
Young Hickory, Napoleon of the Stump


Pet Name

You gave me a pet name
Which is not to say I like it
We met at a party
Not to say I was invited

You said love was just a lie
But I could tell that you were lying
And we almost figured out how we'd get along
And given time we'd find it strange to be alone and

You work in a hotel
At the magazine concession
Back in just five minutes
Reads the sign above your station

Slip your profits in a bag
And you're looking up to the hour hand
And we almost figured out how we'll get along
And given time we'll find it strange to be alone and

You just forgot your one pet name for me
And all those promises you said you'd keep
And it's a lucky thing
Because that sentimental stuff
Doesn't suit you
At all

Waiting at the bus stop
For just about an hour
Strategies for hangman
Cat's cradle, origami

You say I'm OK for a guy
But I can tell that you are lying
And we've almost figured out how we'll get along
And given time we'll find it strange to be alone and

You just forgot your one pet name for me
And all those promises you said you'd keep
And it's a lucky thing
Because that sentimental stuff
Doesn't

You just forgot your one pet name for me
And all those promises you said you'd keep
And it's a lucky thing
Because that sentimental stuff
Doesn't suit you
At all


I Can Hear You

I Can Hear You by They Might Be Giants. Made at the Edison Laboratories.

I can hear you
Just barely hear you
I can just barely hear you

This is a warning
Step away from the car
This car is protected by Viper

Guess where I am
I'm calling from the plane
I'll call you when I get there

You won't hear a buzz
But I'm buzzing you in
I'm buzzing you in

What's your order?
I can super-size that
Please bring your car around

I can hear you
Just barely hear you
I can just barely hear you


The Bells Are Ringing

The bells are ringing
The song they're singing
The sound is bringing the people 'round
They hear the instructions
They follow directions
They travel great distances to the sound

The bells are ringing
The song they're singing
The sound is bringing the people 'round (the bells are ringing the song they're singing the sound is)
They hear the instructions (bringing the people 'round)
They follow directions
They travel great distances to the sound (they travel great distances to the sound)

They are persuaded by the music of the bells
They're not responsible for anything they do
(No) The people know
(No) The way to go
The bells are ringing, they hear the sound

They hear the sound (they hear the sound)
They hear the sound (they hear the sound)
They hear the sound (they hear the sound)
They hear the sound

The bells are ringing
And everyone's walking
With arms extended in a trance
Forgetting their washing
Neglecting the children
They're dropping all businesses at hand

A voice is telling them to act a different way
They tilt their heads so they won't miss what it will say
(No) And when it's so
(No) There's this to know
The bells are ringing, they hear the sound

The bells are ringing
The song they're singing
The sound is bringing the people 'round
They hear the instructions
They follow directions
They travel great distances to the sound

They are persuaded by the music of the bells
They're not responsible for anything they do
(No) The people know
(No) The way to go
The bells are ringing, they hear the sound

A girl with cotton in her ears
Is shielded from the bells' effect
As if by hidden signal
The people turn to face her
One thousand eyes are staring
They pull away her earplugs

The bells are pealing
And they're revealing
The simple key to happiness
It isn't evil
It isn't good
It's only what the people miss

The bells explain what they've been lacking all along
They were disorganized and that was what was wrong
(No) And now they know
(No) The way to go
The bells are ringing, they hear the sound

The bells are ringing
The song they're singing
The sound is bringing the people 'round (the bells are ringing the song they're singing the sound is)
They hear the instructions (bringing the people 'round)
They follow directions
They travel great distances to the sound (the bells are ringing the song they're singing the sound is)
The bells are ringing (bringing the people 'round)
The song they're singing
The sound is bringing the people 'round (the bells are ringing the song they're singing the sound is)
They hear the instructions (bringing the people 'round)
They follow directions
They travel great distances to the sound (the bells are ringing the song they're singing the sound is)
The bells are ringing (bringing the people 'round)
The song they're singing
The sound is bringing the people 'round (the bells are ringing the song they're singing the sound is)
They hear the instructions (bringing the people 'round)
They follow directions
They travel great distances to the sound (they travel great distances to the sound)



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