1. To The Teeth
the sun is settin on the century
and we are armed to the teeth
we are all working together now
to make our lives mercifully brief
schoolkids keep trying to teach us
what guns are all about
confuse liberty with weaponry
and watch your kids act it out
every year now like christmas
some boy gets the mildfed surburban blues
reaches for the avaliable aresenal
and saunters off to make the news
and women in the middle
are learning what poor women have always known
that the edge is closer than you think
when your men bring the guns home
look at where the profits are
that's how you'll find the source
of the big lie that you and i
both know so well
it the time it takes this cultural
death wish to run its course
they're gonna make a pretty penny
and then they're all going to hell
he said the chickens all come home to roost
yeah, malcom forecasted this flood
are we really gonna sleep through another century
while the rich profir off our blood?
true, it may take some doing
to see this undoing done
but in my humble opinion
here's what i suggest we do:
open fire on hollywood
open fire on MTV
open fire on NBC
and CBS and ABC
open fire on the NRA
and all the lies they told us
along the way
open fire on each weapons manufacturer
while he's giving head
to some republician senator
and if i hear one more time
about fool's rights
to his tools of rage
I'm gonna take all my friends
and i'm gonna move to canada
and we're gonna die of old age
2. Soft Shoulder
I don't keep much stuff around
I value my portability
but I will say that I have saved
every letter you ever wrote to me
the one you left on my windsheild
outside of that little motel
is in the pocket of my old gigbag
from back when life was more soft shelled
letters littered with little lewd pictures
drawn by the ghost of Woddy Guthrie
who would use your big thick hand
just to draw one two for me
and I think of your letters as love letters
which is how I think of songs
in that it is the writing of them
that tend to carry us along
and I dance to one of your old tunes
with my true love on our wedding day
and your voice sang the way my heart would sing
if it finally knew just what to say
two people pulled over on the same night
to look up at the same stars
they both found their wheels were spinning
in a soft shoulder
when they got back into their cars
and they missed fate's appointed rendezvous
and then a whole lotta time went by
and finally they were done
worshipping the landscape
and they put down their hands
and moved into the sky
and they had barely said hello
and it was time to say goodbye
goodbye ............
3. Wish I May
i'm losing my love of adventure
i'm losing all respect
for me and myself tonight
i wonder what happens if i get to
the end of this tunnel
and there isn't a light
ive worn down the treads
on all of my tires
i've worn through the elbows
and the knees of my clothing
and i'm stumbling down
the gravel driveway of desire
trying not to wake up
my sleepy self-loathing
do you ever have that dream
when you open your mouth
and you try to scream
but you can't make a sound
that's everyday starting now
that's everyday starting now
dont tell me it's gonna be alright
you can't sell me on your optimism tonight
it's a stiff competition
to see who can stay up later
the stars or the street lights
and all they really want
is to be alone with the darkness
no more wish i may
no more wish i might
it takes a stiff upper lip
just to hold up my face
i gotta suck it up and savor
the taste of my own behavior
i am spinning with longing
faster then a roulette wheel
this is not who i meant to be
this is not how i meant to feel
i don't think i am strong enough
to do this much longer
god, i wish i was stronger
this song could never be long enough
to express every longing
god, i wish it was longer...
4. Feakshow
life in the circus ain't easy
but the folks on the outside don't know
the tent goes up and the tent comes down
and all that they see is the show
and the ladies on the horses look so pretty
and the lions are lookin real mad
and some of the clowns are happy
and some of the clowns are sad
but underneath
there's another expression
that the makeup isn't making
life under the big top
it's about freedom
it's about faking
there's an art to the laughter
there's a science
and there's a lot of love
and compliance
welcoem to the freakshow
here we go...
we live to hear the slack-jawed gasping
we live under a halo of held breath
and when the children raise up a giant shield
of laughter, it's like they're fending off death
and we can make somethig bigger
then anyone of us alone
and then the clowns will take off their makeup
and the people will go home
but life on the outside ain't easy
no sequins, no elephants,
no parading around
yeah, the tent goes up
and the tent comes down
and they're stuck in this fucking town
you need a lot of love and compliance
welcome to the freakshow
here we go
5. Going Once
going once
going twice
sold to the girl who ignored all the good advice
of all the people who knew better
she just stood there
on the front porch
waiting for her (will) to come and get her
she was packed
she had a suitcase
full of noble intentions
she had a (map)
and a staight face
hell bent on reinvention
and she was ready for a long day
she was in it for it (only)
and they said you think that you don't need us
but you're not going to get far
all your big ideas are suckers
none of them work
none of them have cars
but she was not deterred
it was like she hadn't heard a word
and just then a primer grey el camino
pulled up to the curb
going once
going twice
down the road less taken
through the coffee
and the wd40
and the gasoline
and the beer
there was always someone there to say
why don't you just stay
and hang your hat
here
but she was packed
she had a suitcase
full of fumbles and near misses
she was swinging through a jungle
of last calls and first kisses
and she was learning
about please
about hugh/cute? humilities
and then one day she looked around her
and everything up till then was showing
and she wondered how did i get here
without even knowing where i was going
and now there's no getting out of this
and there's no going back
and it all seems so odd sometimes
and the odds all seemed stacked
going once
going twice
sold to the girl
who ignored all the (good) advice
of all the people who knew better (for better or for
worse)
of all the people who knew worse
yeah her will was her chaufFer
yeah her will was her curse
she was packed
she had a suitcase
she had a map
and a straight face
she was ready for the lonely
she was in it forever
she was in it forever
she was in it
she was in it ...........
6. Hello Birmingham
hold me down
i am floating away
into the overcast skies
over my home town
on election day
what is it about birmingham?
what is it about buffalo?
did the hate filled wanna build bunkers
in your beautiful red earth
they want to build them
in our shiny white snow
now i've drawn closed the curtain
in this little booth where the truth has no place
to stand
and i am feeling oh so powerless
in this stupid booth with this useless
little lever in my hand
and outside my city is bracing
for the next killing thing
standing by the bridge and praying
for the next doctor
martin
luther
king
it was just one shot
through the kitchen window
it was just two miles from here
if you fly like a crow
a bullet came to visit a doctor
in his one safe place
a bullet ensuring the right to life
whizzed past his kid and his wife
and knocked his glasses
right off of his face
and the blood poured off the pulpit
yeah the blood poured down the picket lines
yeah, the hatred was immediate
and the vengence was divine
so they went and stuffed god
down the barrel of a gun
and after him
they stuffed his only son
hello birmingham
it's buffalo
i heard you had some trouble
down there again
and i'm just calling to let to know
that someone understands
i was once escorted
through the doors of a clinic
by a man in a bulletproof vest
and no bombs went off that day
so i am still here to say
birmingham
i'm wishing you all of my best
oh birmingham
i'm wishing you all of my best
oh birmingham
i'm wishing you all of my best
on this election day
7. Cloud Blood
ive been wondering what you meant
when you asked do you have a light?
ive been wondering where you went
when you left that party that night
cloud blood sweat smeared on the sky
its dawns roadkill
ive been driving since midnight
and im driving still
stop on the top of the ridge
just to feel the wind on my rand mcnally
then i feel the air grow cold
as i drift to the first blue of the valley
and youre wondering how far down you are on my
call back list
but you dont realize
everytime i find im by a phone the landscape shifts
every other song someones trying to write
angels enter the world
every ace every grace every near miss
every decent kiss by a pretty girl
she was an angel
she looked like an angel
and all of the angels did sing
and the angels were watching
and the angels were listening
and the angels were on hand to stand in for everything
you can call it magic
when a man pulls a rabbit out of a hat
but the reason I dont call you
is cuz I wonder if there isnt a better word than that
and you can call me crazy
but I think youre as lazy as white paint on the wall
and I know youll only speak to me in dial tones
if I call
its been way too long
since ive been behind the wheel
headlights guiding me right through the dark
I feel
driving, trying hard to resist
sleeps first kiss
everytime I have time to think
I think of this
da da da da
da da da
da da
da da da da
da da
da da da da
da da da
da da
da da da da
da da da
8. Providence
who knew
at this party that I
would walk in and I'd see you.
I guess now
we could just get drunk
yeah, that could be our excuse
you could slip
from out of nowhere
i could be there to catch your fall
we could laugh
at ourselves
and the writing that's on the wall
it's a narrow margin
just room enough for regret
in the inch and a half between
hey, how ya been?
and
can I kiss you yet?
so we talk, like
nervous neighbors over a tall fence
true love, but for the lack of providence
but I just got one more
thing to tell you
'cuz words are vitamins
and life is short
and I know when we get up
to the front office
We're gonna have to fill out
a full report
and the first question will be
what were you thinking?
and the next question will be
what did you say?
then they're gonna check to see
if the answers to one and two
matched up much
along the way
in the interest of poetry
and the cowboy movie
that's you and me
I'm back on the horse now
and I am riding
I am striding so effortlessly
what I mean is
it's late
much to late for us
and I'm fixing to go home
with just my conscious
and a bitter sense of irony
as my chaperone
true love, but for the lack of providence.
9. I Know This Bar
I know this bar
With a jukebox full of medicine
And christmas lights blinking
Around a clouded mirror
Its not that far
From Voelkers Bowling alley
Just go up there and turn right
Its about 3 blocks from here
You'll probably find grace
Her shift starts at happy hour
She's got this sweet face
Easy as tea leaves to read
You gotta know what to look for
You gotta know what's there to find
But I guess you don't really know her
So nevermind
I used to hang out a lot around there
In that part of town
Where all the white kids
still have feathered hair
I know this song
With this one really killer line
I don't remember it exactly
But it slays me everytime
Its on the jukebox there
Number 5403
Go put that song on for me won't you
And make Gracie think of me
