Promised Land

you're taking up lots of space
your shit is everywhere
your breath is all up in my face
your hands are swarming in the air
you're the first one out of the car and then
you're the loudest one in the bar
tell me is there something wrong girlfriend?
what's with this new version of who you are?

so she lifts her chin and squints at me
to assess what i think i know
she says my heart has some dangerous neighborhoods
so beware where you try to go
and they say that the truth will set you free
but then so will a lie
it depends if you're trying to get to the promised land
or you're just trying to get by

and what is a camera but a box of light?
what is a guitar but a box of sound?
you think i don't understand
but i think i might
what it is to harness the emptiness
and just ride it around
and maybe your chest is an empty shell
with ribs of spiraling coral
where a perfect pearl of sadness resides
but if you ever need an ear
i could just come and press it there
and listen to the sound of the ocean inside

Shrug

what's with that halo hovering
above that thick skull
spare me
if i do say so, i think you're covering
course there was nothing
could've prepared me
for the side effect of this dirty drug
the way you punish me and then you shrug

what's with that phone call, baby
it's like you're trying
just trying to crush me
do you feel stronger each time you push me, dear
did you tell your mom you carpet bombed
before you left here
and is it just the side effect of this dirty drug
or does each apology sound more like a shrug

are you at home now with your kitty cats
are you just at home now with the way that you act
do you split the rent there with all your secrets
or do you just pretend to all your friends
they're uninvited guests

yes and when you want it tidy tell me
can you still dispell me
sweep me neatly under the rug
and does your conscience ever mention
the way that you treat me
or do you just fend it off with a

In the Way

no you didn't just leave
i actually kicked you out
i couldn't hardly believe
that the words came out my mouth
you couldn't hardly believe
what you heard yourself discuss
as you packed up all your things
and you said goodbye to us

tell me what is in the way
in the way of my love for you
tell me what is in the way
in the way of my love for you
i gotta get it out the way
out the way of my love
yeah there's somethin in the way
in the way of my love

and now there's nothing left to lose
and the screen just says fini
and each night in separate rooms
we cry separately
and every day we yell
down each other's holes
two slippery strippers
swinging round two poles

and tell me what is in the way
in the way of my love for you
tell me what is in the way
in the way of my love for you
i have to get it out the way
out the way of my love
yeah there's something in the way
in the way of my love

we took down all the pictures
and then we took down all the walls
packed up our expectations
and piled em up in the hall
yeah we bagged our future
and we kicked it to the curb
and then we stood there unencumbered
and we stood there undeterred
cause we were done clinging
to the things
we were afraid to lose
and the only thing left
was a breathtaking view
and you looked at me
and i looked at you
and you said
how bout now
now whatchoo wanna do?
whatchoo wanna do?
whatchoo wanna do?

now there's nothing in the way
in the way of my love for you
yeah there's nothing in the way
in the way of my love
i had to get it out the way

no you didn't just leave
no you didn't just leave
no you didn't just leave
no you didn't just leave

Phase

i'll be your biggest fan
i will be your fool
i'll be your exception
to whatever the rule
and i ain't the type to bitch
i ain't the type to cry
i'll sit at your red light and wait
for your shit to go by
and this vague little smile
is my all-purpose expression
the meaning of which
i will leave to your discretion

yes my distraction's my defense
against a lack of inspiration
against a slow leak deflation
yeah the further the horizon
the more it holds my gaze
and the foreground's out of focus
but you know i kinda hope it's just
just a phase
just a phase
just a phase
just a phase
just a phase
just a phase
just a phase

yes i've been through and through this
i know just how it goes
you'll have no idea
you'll have no need to know
cause i will make your body
grow wings and take flight
i will erase sound
i will erase light
cause in this vague little smile
is my all-purpose expression
the meaning of which
i will leave to your discretion

my distraction's my defense
against this lack of inspiration
against this slow leak deflation
the further the horizon
the more it holds my gaze
and the foreground's out of focus
but you know i kinda hope it's just
just a phase
just a phase
just a phase
just a phase
just a phase
just a phase

Icarus

seems like you just started noticing
how noticibly bad things really are
and then you walk past this couple arguing
in a rolled up window parked car
and all that gesticulated bitterness
and all of that muffled yelling hell
it's like it just starts wafting at you
like a big furry rat died inside of that wall kinda smell

and dreams like this roll in like a cold front
thunderous thunder and lightning in tow
and your tiny little life gets even smaller
as you heed the heavens mighty show
and i don't mean heaven like godlike
cause the animal i am knows very well
that nature is our teacher and our mother
and god is just another
story that we tell

you're trying not to grasp
not to start grasping
at straws or sticks or stones
have the strength to just sit inside your sadness
even if you're sitting there alone
cause just like icarus ascending
never intending to look back
nature's law and your tragic flaw
send you flying into the arms of another venus fly trap
guzzle till the buzzing stops
guzzle till the buzzing stops
guzzle till the buzzing stops
guzzle till the buzzing stops
guzzle till the buzzing stops
guzzle till the buzzing stops
guzzle till the buzzing stops
guzzle till the buzzing stops

Here For Now

i bet you're wondering
if you woke up today
just to learn why the caged bird sings
i bet you're wondering if the godesses are all crazy
or just keeping it interesting
situated slightly outside society
at odds with its odd offerings
i bet you're teetering on the edge of sobriety
just to alleviate a few things
like the fear that you're standing here
cause you want to be liked
yes you know you need your instrument
but does your instrument need to be miked?

you keep imagining
that pretty soon you will just disappear
and thinking that one thing
is what saves you from your fear of being here
here for now
you're here for now
you're here for now
you're here for now

i bet you're looking for the little red x
next to the red arrow
and the words 'you are here'
i bet you're hoping that your heart will send up
the white flag this time
or some sign that the coast is clear
in the moment when your heart jumps
it's all that's happening
and once again
it's like the first time you've felt that shock
yeah the moment when your heart jumps
it's all that's happening
and i was right behind the door when you knocked

thinking maybe i'm just standing here
cause i want to be liked
yes i know i need my instrument
but does my instrument need to be miked?

and i keep imagining
that pretty soon i will just disappear
and thinking that one thing
is what saves me from my fear of being here
here for now
i'm here for now
i'm here for now
i'm here for now
i'm here for now
i'm here for now
i'm just here for now
i'm here for now
i'm here for now
i'm just here for now
i'm here for now
i'm here for now

Slide

she was hungry so hungry
she was trying to think clear
but she kept opening the fridge door
and looking at the mustard and the beer
and then finally she went out into the rain
carrying her bicycle chain
and her feet worked the pedals
while her appetite steered
and after that she just followed her nose
and fate is not just whose cooking smells good
but which way the wind blows

she laid down in her party dress and never got up
needless to say she missed the party
she just got sad
then she got stuck
she was wincing like something brittle
trying hard to bend
she was numb with the terror
of losing her best friend
but we never sees things changing
we only sees them ending
and some vicious whispering voice
keeps saying you have no choice
you have

cause when i look at you i squint
you are that beautiful
and my pussy is a tractor
and this is a tractor pull
and i am haunted by my illicit, explicit dreams
and i can't really wake up
so i just drift in between
thinking the glass is half empty
and thinking it's not quite full

the pouring rain is no place for a bicycle ride
try to hit the breaks
and you slide
and you slide
and you slide
and you slide
slide and slide
and slide and slide

the pouring rain is no place for a bicycle ride
try to hit the breaks
and you slide
and you slide
and you slide
and you slide
slide and slide
and slide and slide
and slide and slide
and slide

Second Intermission

second intermission
anticipation
you know the third act
small talk drops out of the play
you're standing in the lobby
tightening your tourniquet
waiting for it
waiting for it
and then the bell sounds
and the lights flash
and there's all these questions milling around
and there's no time to ask

no bliss for little miss leading
cause she's learning about bleeding
but what is love if not exquisite
or are we saving grace
or is it?
and somewhere inside your iris
blooms the reflection of my surprise
as you stroll past every last do not enter
and touch me at my epicenter
and the bell sounds
and the lights flash
and there's all these questions milling around
and there's no time to ask

i'm always trying to get there
i never really get there
to that quiet place where
i accept myself
instead i'm deep inside some high school
locker room no clothing
popping the zits of my self loathing
under fluorescent lights
and the bell sounds
and the lights flash
and there's all these questions milling around
and you're too ashamed to ask

second intermission
anticipation
you know the third act
small talk drops out of the play
and you're standing in the lobby
tightening your tourniquet
waiting for it
waiting for it

O My My

your body
forshortened
below
your shoulders
your face
so close
that it's
that it's out
of focus
way down
the hallway
comes the sound
of your shoes
that is what i
what i think about
when i think about
you

if we let our love
off of its leash
do you fear like i fear
how fierce it would be?

your headlights
sweeping
across my, across my
ceiling
the breadth of
my smile now
the depth of
my feeling
way down, way down in my dark life
a shaft of your light
shines through
that is what i
what i think about
when i think about
you

if we let our love
off of its leash
do you fear like i fear
how fierce it would be?

o my my
o my my
o my my
o my my
o my my
o my my
o my my
o my my

Serpentine

pavlov hits me with more bad news
every time i answer the phone
so i play and i sing and i just let it ring
all day when i'm at home
a defacto choice of macro
or microcosmic melancholy
but, baby, any way you slice it
i'm thinking i could just as soon use
the time, the time alone

yes, the goons have gone global
and the CEOs are shredding files
and the democrans and the republicrats
are flashing their toothy smiles
and uncle tom is posing for a photo op
with the oval office clan
and uncle sam is rigging cockfights
in the promised land
and that knife you stuck in my back is still there
it pinches a little when i sigh and moan
and these days i'm thinking i could just as soon use
the time alone

yea cause all the wrong people have the power
of suggestion
and the freedom of the press is meaningless
if nobody asks a question
i mean
causation by definition
is such a complex compilation
of factors
that to even try to say why
is to over simplify
but that's a far cry
isn't it dear?
from acting like you're the only one there
unrepentantly self centered and unfair
enter all suckers scrambling for the scoop
exit mister eye contact
who took his flirt and flew the coop
but whatever
no matter
no fishin trips
no fishin
cause mamma's officially out of commission
and did i mention
in there
somewhere
did i mention
somewhere
in there
that i traded babe ruth?
yes, i traded the only player that was bigger than the game
and i can't even tell you why
cause you'd think i'm insane
and that's the truth

and the music industry mafia is pimping girl power
sniping off their sharp shooter singles from their styrofoam towers
and hip hop is tied up in the back room
with a logo stuffed in its mouth
cause the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house
but then

i'm getting away from myself

as i get closer and closer to home
and the difference between you and me baby
is i get fucked up
when i'm alone

and i must admit
today my my inner pessimist
seems to have got the best of me
we start out sugared up on kool-aid and manifest destiny
and we memorize all the president's names
like little trained monkeys
and we're spit into the world
so many spinny-eyed t.v. junkies
incapable of unravelling the military industrial mystery
preemptively pacified with history book history
and i've been around the world now
and i can see this about america
the mind control is steep here, man
the myopia is deep here

and behold
those that try to expose the reality
who really really try to realize democracy
are shot with rubber bullets and gassed off the streets
while the global power brokers are kept clean and discrete
behind a wall
behind a moat
and that is all
that's all
that's all
that's all she wrote

and my heart beats an sss o o o sss
cause folks just couldn't care care care less less less
as long as every day is superbowl sunday
and larger than life women in lingerie
are pouting at us from every bus stop
shelovesme shelovesmenot shelovesme shelovesmenot

and big government should not stand between a man and his money
i mean "what's good for business is good for the country"

our children still take that lie like communion
the same old line
the confederacy used on the union

conjugate liberty
into libertarian
and medicate it
associate it
with deregulation
privitization
we won't even know we're slaves
on a corporate plantation
somebody say halleluja!
somebody say damnation!
cause the profit system follows the path of least resistance
and the path of least resistance is what makes the river crooked
makes it serpentine
capitalism is the devil is the devil's wet dream
so just give me my judy garland drugs
and let me get back to work
cause the empire state building
is the tallest building in new york
and i always got the feeling
you just liked to hear it fall

off your tongue

but i remember my name

in your mouth
and i don't think i was done
hearing it close to my ear
on a whisper's way to a moan
but pavlov hits me with more bad news
every time i answer the phone
i play and i sing and i just let it ring all day when i'm at home

a defacto choice of macro
or microcosmic melancholy
but baby, any way you slice it
i'm thinking i could just as soon use

Evolve

i walk in stride with people
much taller than me
and partly it's the boots but
mostly it's my chi
and i'm becoming transfixed
with nature and my part in it
which i believe just signifies
i'm finally waking up

and this moth outside my kitchen door
she's bonkers for that bare bulb
flying round in circles
bashing in her exoskull
and out in the woods she navigates fine by the moon
but get her around a light bulb and she's doomed

she is trying to evolve
she's trying to evolve
she's trying to evolve
she's trying to evolve

now let's get talking reefer madness
like some arrogant government can't
by any stretch of the imagination
outlaw a plant
yes, their supposed authority over nature
is a dream
c'mon people
we've got to come clean

cause they are locking our sons
and our daughters in cages
they are taking by the thousands
our lives from under us
it's a crash crash course in religious fundamentals
now let's all go to war
get some bang for our buck

and i am trying to evolve
i'm trying to evolve
i'm trying to evolve
i'm trying to evolve

gunning for high score in the land of dreams
morbid bluish-white consumers ogling luminous screens
on the trail of forgetting
cruising without a care
the jet set won't abide by that pesky jet lag
and our lives boil down to an hour or two
when someone pulls a camera out of a bag

and i am trying to evolve
trying to evolve
i'm trying to evolve
trying to evolve

so i walk like i'm on a mission
cause that's the way i groove
i got more and more to do
i got less and less to prove
it took me too long to realize
that i don't take good pictures
cause i have the kind of beauty
that moves

and i am trying to evolve
i'm trying to evolve
i'm trying to evolve
and i'm trying to evolve

Welcome To:

welcome to:
no amount of stoned makes you feel ok
welcome to:
this year's alone - brought to you by christmas day
welcome to:
the darkness into which praying people pray

it's quiet here except for this song
now that everybody's gone
but hey
least you don't have to play along today
you don't have to play along

welcome to:
something like elation when you first open your eyes
just cause it means
that you must've finally got to sleep last night and
welcome to:
the precipice between groundlessness and flight

it's quiet here except for this song
now that everybody's gone
but hey
least you don't have to play along today
you don't have to play along
you don't have to play along
you don't have to play along

besides which
welcome to:
taking the good stuff down off of the shelf
and welcome to:
the art of conversation with yourself
welcome to:
humming an unbroken tune
all day long
yes it's quiet here
but hey hey
least you don't have to play along today
you don't really have to play
you don't have to play along
you don't have to play
hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey hey