All song lyrics written by Ivan Nahem and published by Hunan Supply Co. Music [BMI]
I chose 24 because I’ve always liked the number. It was the number of Willie Mays, my baseball hero when I was young.
EDGE OF NIGHT
available on “It Is A Happy Man” by Carnival Crash
Venus in blue jeans
Venus in furs
Venus de Milo
With her boots and her spurs
Bloodsucking demons
Nag screech and ball
High priestess in darkness
Draws runes on the wall
Bored by the jaded
Jaded by love
Brian beats Betsy
Push comes to shove
Minis and maxis
Hair combed like a duck
Lookin’ for someone
Anybody with luck
We’re headin’ for the edge of night
We’re livin’ in the city of eyes
We’re headin’ for the edge of night
It all adds up to happiness
The zombies are restless
In the Ballrooms of Death
Something keeps comin’
Don’t run out of breath
Desperately Circe
Grins and then winks
Youth is a carcass
That she wears like a mink
We’re headin’ for the edge of night
We’re livin’ in the city of eyes
We’re headin’ for the edge of night
We’re livin’ in the city of spikes
We’re headin’ for the edge of night
We’re livin’ in the city of sights
We’re headin’ for the edge of night
We all resolve into happiness
Walking through nightmares
to the edge of night
Ridin’ the subways to the edge of night
Takin’ a taxi to the edge of night
Ride in the Boat of a Million Years
Waiting in nightclubs
Watchin’ the TV: Edge of Night
Filled up with yearnin’
Led up the mountain
to the edge of night
What will we find there
at the edge of night
What do we find here
at the edge of night?
We’re headin’ for the edge of night
We’re livin’ in the city of eyes
We’re headin’ for the edge of night
It all decays like history
TELL TALE HEART
coda written by Norman Westberg
available on “It Is A Happy Man” by Carnival Crash
The eye of the vulture
Mockery in the eye
Mockery in the heartbeat
The beat beats me down
It’s a tell tale heart beating always
Heart tells what it can
It’s a tell tale heart beating always
Heart cannot lie
I think I hear his heart beating
I know I see his evil eyes
Pale blue veiled and hideous
I can’t stand it anymore
It’s a tell tale heart beating always
Heart tells what it knows
It’s a tell tale heart beating always
Heart cannot lie
Seven nights I waited
Now his hour’s here
“Who’s that in the darkness there?
Does the Ghost of Wrath appear?”
It’s a tell tale heart beating always
Heart tells what it fears
It’s a tell tale heart beating always
Heart cannot lie
Now the demonic deed is done
He’s buried in the ground
There’s nothing that can stop me
But what is that awful sound?
[coda:]
Now I’m dancin’ a dirge rolling tailspins
Two hands tied off
So I’m runnin’ backwards
I cannot lie
TIGHTROPE
available on “I Live Here/Hotel California” by Ritual Tension
Dancin’ down the tightrope, you discover it’s been greased
With the blood of the kid and the fat of the whale whose cries never cease
It’s a shame when things don’t work out, you were more than halfway there
But you can’t give no interviews fallin’ through the air
You’re fallin’ through the air
Stick around, stick around
Don’t look down
Sorry says the mechanic there’s not much that I can do
There’s a dead beast in your driver’s seat and he just refuses to move
No, no, no that’s just my relative you shout back above the din
But the instant you touch the crowbar, nausea closes in
Now the Customs Man is laughin’ — he says you raped his wife
He’s gonna let you pass on through, but then he’s gonna take your life
You see your pardner on the other side, he’s fadin’ into black
The Customs Man is howlin’ then he stabs you in the neck
Now these party people have their problems, but they don’t mean to be unkind
I know that they have their problems yeah well I guess I have mine
But they talk about their cocktails and they talk about their yawns
They chat about the kind of chemicals that they spray upon their lawn
Well it seems they’re a little uncertain tonight, who must they impress
They ain’t sure who the owner is, “Is now the time to undress?”
Their slick slurs make me shudder, the kitchen is full of blades
There’s a river out that window
Let’s go find some shade, let’s go find some shade
Down down down, don’t look down!
Look look look look!
Brutal ceremony!
THE GRIND
available on “I Live Here/Hotel California” by Ritual Tension
How does it feel, how does it feel, how does it feel to be you?
How does it feel, how does it feel, how does it feel to be you?
I went down to this meat packin’ plant
I went down to this slaughterhouse
And I saw this guy over in the corner
Swingin’ on a hook
I said
Hey Joe Jerk
I said
Hey Joe Jerk Jerk Jerk Jerk Jerk Jerk Jerk Hey Joe Jerk
Tell me tell me tell me
How does it feel to be you?
(Livin’ inside a wall!)
I went up to Paradise Lost
I went up to Paradise Lost Retirement Village
And I saw this lovely old dame
She was breakin’ all these vases
She was cryin’, “Fire!… Pain!”
I said
Hey Gladys Night
I said
Hey Gladys Night Night Night Night Night Night Night Night
Hey Gladys Night
How does it feel to be you?
I’m just another Joe
She’s just another Jo
It’s just another blow
It’s just another blow
It’s just this daily grind
I knock and knock on my apartment door
But the door’s open
So I walk in
And I see myself
Sound asleep in an armchair
Bandages around my head
Blood drippin’ from a pen in my hand
And I said
Hey now man
I said
Hey now man man man man man man man man
Hey now man
How does it feel to be you?
How does it feel to be ME?
I went down to my sugar’s house
I went down to my honey’s house
I went over to my sweetheart’s apartment
And I sat down on her steps
And I walked up the steps
Into her kitchen
And she was throwing all the biscuits on the floor
And she was crawling up the wall
I said hey now honey
I said hey now hon hon hon hon hon
hon hon hon hon
How does it feel to be you?
I’m just another Joe
She’s just another Jo
It’s just another blow
It’s just this daily grind
SOCIAL CLIMBER
available on “I Live Here/Hotel California” by Ritual Tension
Well she’s climbin’ up Manhattan
She’s scorchin’ everyone below
She’s climbiin’ up to heaven
To a club called Yes and No
Rich woman you don’t care about NObody.
He finds a stain on his Valentino sweater
He wants a thing who will put out
Of her mind any deep down thoughts
Dress as his lady or his baby
“Pick up my suit on the way home, darlin’?”
She spread her smile for Glamour, spread for glamor
She’s perfect for him jerkin’ in a magazine
Wriggles like a half dead eel
Wind-up doll, slot machine, money money
What’s the score score score score
He won’t touch you now, swimmin’
In your baby blood
Ah slick as butter
Kick that sucker
Hang on to that ladder
Social climber
She mauls the budget for sweaters
Colors have such symmetry
“I like cooking and acting and yoga!”
“What a geometric canvas!”
“I love art art art art art!”
“I’m a neon giraffe, caress me!”
But what to be, who who?
Go go go go to Limelight Limbo Area
Caviar in the cemetery, beef up those veins
“We’ll eat caviar on your grave, darlin’!”
Agh she’s so gorgeous and pale
She takes liberties with the statues in the garden
Bad tomatoes made her sick
The maid maid maid the Minute Maid makes her sick
Vomit on the costume, jewelry gone — stolen!
Write me a check dear roll me a line
Bet my horse horse horse horse
Cop a feel in the ladies room
“Hey honey would you mind going
for a walk and getting me some soap?”
You don’t know what’s going on do you?
You don’t know what’s going on in this world.
I know you and I know you don’t have an idea.
Slick as butter
Kick that sucker
Hang onto that ladder
Because you’re gonna get to the top
Social climber
I’M IN TROUBLE
available on “I Live Here/Hotel California” by Ritual Tension
Hoodoo when I kiss you
I’m in trouble when we touch
Shake shake turn it on
I look back upon my life
I wonder who you are
I wonder where you are
Bewildered when I kiss you
I’m in trouble when you sigh
Serious trouble
So I’m sittin’ on this roof top, anyway let’s say I am, and let’s say there are these mildewed law books and hub caps scattered about for no reason and for no reason I’m thinkin’ about you again, recalling those days you used to drive your ambulance around the neighborhood. You were a medical goddess with your gauze and your straps and little silver artificial hearts. But you know that heart you tried to implant in me didn’t take and I discovered you were drivin’ around with other guys and I asked you about it and you laughed. So I closed my eyes, open them, I was standing on this big desk addressing the Board of Regents explaining the Five Basic Principles of Catastrophe, the new rate of exchange, and how much I miss you, even though it’s best we’re apart now. Hey life is always rough in the fast lane but that doesn’t seem to stop these tears, because we did have some fine times in that back of that red and gold emergency vehicle, didn’t we, darlin’?
Sorrow when I kiss you
I’m in trouble when we cry
I look back upon my life
I wonder who you were
I wonder where you are
HIRE A THUG
available on “The Blood of the Kid - Live at CBGB” by Ritual Tension
Well I guess, yes I guess, every dog has his day, every man gets his flash in the pan
Isn’t that right Mister? One hour of power
You get one hour of power. And it feels so good
Tell you what you do:
Hire a thug, hire a menace
Cut the heat, terrorize your tenants
Murder is your favorite cadence
Sipping cognac, pondering penance
Pondering your penance, sit in your armchair and ruminate on the daily take
Think about all the rubes who would gladly bend over backwards for you, or forward for that matter
Hey reap what you sow, they say, but your lawyer will be sure to find a loophole in that one
Meanwhile you’re making it hand over fist, hand over fist, hand over fist
But personally, however:
I wanna go to Tahiti, live on a little ship
I’m gonna go to Madagascar, gonna live on a little beach!
I’m gonna go down to Bali, gonna live on a little boat
The life I once lived, completely remote
You know what? Guys like you get only one hour
You get one hour of power
Power power power power DIE DIE!
So one day some little rat’s gonna come along and find your shallow grave
And he’s gonna piss on it, and it’s gonna sound like this:
ssssssssssssssssssssssssss
missssssssster
STAY CALM
available on “The Blood of the Kid - Live at CBGB” by Ritual Tension
Be! Be!
Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm.
Just be. Just be. Stay calm. Stay calm.
Why don’t you just stay calm?
Stay calm!
Don’t wanna panic now!
Stay stay stay stay stay!
Watch me now! Watch me
just be!
Stay calm.
Don’t move.
Don’t get carried away.
Relax!
Be. Be.
DEVIL DOG
available on “The Blood of the Kid - Live at CBGB” by Ritual Tension
I want a woman who’s a Devil Dog
She gonna scratch me like a mountain cat
She gonna eat up all my desert rats
She gonna kiss me like a coastal fog
Like a Devil Dog!
She’s a Devil Dog!
I need a lady like a Devil Dog
She gonna scratch me like a mountain cat
She gonna scarf down all my desert rats
She gonna hug me like a coastal fog
Like a Devil Dog!
She’s a Devil Dog!
Devil Dog, mountain cat, crawdaddy, coastal fog
Mother of pearl mother of pearl
Mother of swine mother of swine
Mother of God mother of God
Mother of pearl mother of pearl
Bring it down
We’re bringin’ it down
Down on our heads
Bring it down low
Gotta crouch down low
Outside in the… grrr
KALI!
I got this lady who’s a Devil Dog
She gonna rip me like a mountain cat
She gonna eat up all my desert rats
She gonna kiss me like a coastal fog
She’s my Devil Dog!
And I can’t wait.
OH I SEE
available on “The Blood of the Kid - Live at CBGB” by Ritual Tension
Oh I see, oh, oh, oh I see, you want me to go down that hill, right? You look like a nurse but I know you’re a soldier! American soldier! “Hey, American soldier!” Whaddya got, a war wound? A direct result of nothing as far as I’m concerned. I’m standin’ out on this porch. You know he’s down there. He’s got a gun. Nothin’ to worry about I guess, but I’m not goin’ down there. Not me. Other guys go down but you know my head is a radio. I hear these kinds of things. I don’t hear ‘em, other people hear ‘em, I guess.
Walker’s down there. He’s… uh… sittin’ in that chair. I didn’t do nothin’ with his wife. She looked kinda funny in those stockings though — must admit, must admit! Saw it in a headline or something. Well, Chase Manhattan Bank, you know, you go everywhere with these people, they don’t know what to tell ya. They say, “It’s not me, it’s them!” I say, it’s kind of a result of… nothing, or something like that.
Oh oh oh, no, no! Not going down there! Nah, nah! Wait, wait! Wait, something hurts! Oh, oh! Oh I see, oh I see! You want me to go down the hill, oh I see! You buggin’ out? You buggin’ out? You buggin’ out? You buggin’ out?
Oh I see you want me to, nah, not like that, it’s somethin’ I read in the papers. I saw it in a cinema, backing out, he’s got a gun! I’m not goin’ down there, I got this thing, you don’t wanna see it! Hey, hey you look like a, like some kind of bicycle messenger… I I I oh oh I see you want me to go down the hill huh? I see! You want me — forget it! I ain’t goin’ down there, oh I see. Get in there. Walker’s wife, black stockings. I’m not Rockefeller, you know. Andrew Carnegie, what’s that, withdrawal, 500 miles. Oh I see, dispose of it huh? Bughead! BUGHEAD! My hands are kind of stumps. Ha! Blood type zero! Hit the road Jack! Hit the road Jack. Come on, get a move on!
Ah come on. I been to the bank.
LIKE A SLOB
available on “Past Tense” by Ritual Tension
I watch the ladies dance
I watch the ladies dance
I watch them dance
They’re drunk on Love
They’re Phantoms of Love
They look so good
They look so good
They’re Phantoms of Love
Oh they look so beautiful
They look so fine
Then I fall to earth
I’m livin’ in this hotel
Livin’ like a slob
I don’t have a job
I don’t got a soul
Memories are cold
With my little ice pick
I chip away my days
Now I’m livin’ here
Livin’ in this hotel
Livin’ like a slob
I don’t have a job
I don’t have a soul to come home to
Memories are cold like oatmeal in a bowl
With my little ice pick
I chip away the days
ECONOLINE (STRAIGHT TO YOUR HEART FROM MINE)
available on “Expelled” by Ritual Tension
I need a place to go
I need a place to land
I’m feeling really helpless
I need a helping hand
I’m just a roadsick cowboy
I’m just a candle Christ
I need you here beside me honey
I’m getting really psyched
I’m gonna climb on your back
Comin’ up the freeway
Comin’ up the turnpike
Comin’ down the exit
Comin’ home to you
Comin’ up the alley
Comin’ up the stairway
Comin’ down the hallway
Comin’ home to you
Open your door
Open your eyes
Open your vault
You know I’m comin’ home
Open your eyes
Open your arms
Open your heart
You know I’m comin’ home
Comin’ home [oh-om!]
HONEY I’M HOME
THE BURNING LADDER
available on “Expelled” by Ritual Tension
Readin’ the road like parchment, readin’ signs
I got to feel under skin, something movin’
I come across her on a curve, disappearin’
Bare shoulder, stone sepulchre, instant healin’
Yeah we live half a million years until we know
That it will never change
Eternity
Eternity
Each night we climb the burning ladder
Reach so high we’ve lost the ground
You must beware the striking adder
Striking fangs bring you down
Look over there a jealous godhead
Evil gaze beneath the palms
There is no way I’d let you suffer
Secret cave a gnostic calm
What can we do, we’re shadows scattered
Across the desert half-deranged
Beneath the sun we rush through eons
Until we know
It can never change
Never never change
They’ll cut you up in pieces, laughing jackals
The jumpin’ demon’s laughter, bitter shackles
They put the curse under skin and leave it burnin’ there
As in a dream, I have to fly out of my skin
Through the burning burning burning air
This road to heaven passes through a land of plagues
My lover leads me to her heart in the next world
And it will never change
DOGGONIT
available on “Expelled” by Ritual Tension
Dog eat dog dog eat dog
Dog eat hog and hog eat dog
Dog eat hog hog eat dog
Hog eat frog frog eat frog
Dog eat frog frog eat dog
Dog on dog dog on frog
Frog eat dog
Dog dog
He killed her dreams with a blind cc
He said, “She’s got no balls”
Her name, it tumbled from the heights
And crumbled in the hall
Climb up the ladder
Through the smog
This world is dog eat dog eat dog
Rat rat rat eat cat
Rat eat rat rat eat rat
Rat eat cat rat eat cat
Cat eat rat rat
Rat rat eat cat
Cat eat cat cat eat cat
Rat eat rat feed on that
Feed on gnats gnat on rat
Rat on rat
Rat rat rat
She killed him with a letter knife
She always had some class
She said as she watched the blood spurt out
“I kicked your ass!”
Climb up the ladder
Through the smog
Leave behind this dog on dog kills dog
THE SEA
available on “The Kiss” by ex->tension
Measuring the heads in the sand speaking of the women between waves spotting the seagull
on the wire which evokes a geometry of darkness beneath clouds which gather like gods
and goddesses over the Atlantic sea
Erasing finally the figures of ghosts speaking of the measurements of gull wings stretched
between buildings where women calculate the geometry of wires that buzz like tongues
rolling on the waves of the Atlantic sea
Figuring to interpret the ghosts which devise the paths through past measurements of grains
of sand in which the heads of gulls speak of the geometrical women who loved through the
difficult years outside of all measurements according to the rhythms of the girls living near
the Atlantic sea
Erasing all memories of the dalliances of love, survived only by the emanations of love’s
eternally geometric darkness as it spreads across the dithyrambunctious, arhythmic heart of
the Atlantic sea
The clouds the sun the sand the moon the sea
The glass the ghost the tongues the waves the sea
The girls the grains the gulls the waves the sea
The sea the sea the sea the sea the sea the sea the sea
THE SLAP
available on “The Kiss” by ex->tension
We sat beneath the wind that blew as strong as a blasting cap. It was then that
the end had come, as quick as a sudden slap.
The shadows of tombstones declare that this day is a wrap. Time will tell you with its Hand, we
all must feel its slap.
No man can slap me down, when I know… what I know.
The slap is glorious, the slap is wretched. We are victorious. We are not lechers!
The man down on the street, he knows he's wiretapped! He turns to dole out punishment.
It sounds too much like a slap.
Let’s rise, let’s dance, let’s dance the SHIT out of this show! No man can slap me down, when I
know what I know!
Opening my fly beneath the sky I heard the crazy thunderclap.
My ears grew like Pinnochio’s nose,
it sounded like a slap.
THE JOBS
available on “The Kiss” by ex->tension
She works hard for the money!
Show me the money!
the buff carpenter
the curt bartender
the hale designer
the sick marketer
the dense sharpshooter
the bold housekeeper
the stuck astronaut
the dull headmaster
the slow producer
the crass conductor
the shrill pharmacist
the green gigolo
the plain pickpocket
the sore prostitute
the meek engineer
the hep hygenist
the sweet janitor
the blunt busdriver
the stoned garbageman
the sly dishwasher
the scared programmer
the bad fisherman
the popular goon
the ponderous hack
the adequate chef
the innocent cop
the indolent guide
the robotic wonk
the contentious maid
the penitent pimp
the suitable rep
the confident nurse
the intimate thief
the impulsive nun
the affable prince
the meaningless clown
the lecherous clerk
the rodeo monk
the suffering wife
the juvenile judge
the crapulous shrink
the honest loanshark
the hapless stripper
the playful boxer
the tender gambler
the thrifty trainer
the crazy bailiff
the lazy mayor
the willful rocker
the droning lawyer
the boastful chauffeur
the petite masseuse
the shifty preistess
the cranky diver
the pockmarked hustler
the pallid bookie
the minor miner
the tearful jockey
the joyful chemist
the snotty swimmer
the scornful dancer
the lucid agent
the bashful porter
the scabrous cabbie
the singing model
the model singer
the upbeat actor
the downbeat trader
the skillful roadie
the caustic dentist
the urbane bouncer
the mournful teacher
the hyper dealer
the shallow pilot
the bitter farmer
the rowdy shaman
the maligned mother
I feel love, I feel love, I feel love, I feel love!
THE RENUNCIATIONS
available on “The Kiss” by ex->tension
The wind the wine the cigarettes
The wind the rain the regrets
You don’t want the rain,
The rain to drive you down
You jump up on your horse
To hide inside the sound
Something might come up
You might feel all shot down
Still you gotta return
To your godforsaken town
Oh no, oh no no no
Man oh man oh man oh man oh
There ain’t no easy way,
No way to pay and pay.
Hey, there ain’t no easy way
No way to pay and pay
COME BACK, COME BACK
available on “It’s Just the Apocalypse, It’s Not the End” by Ritual Tension
Kitty told Tom what was in her heart, Kitty told Tom everything
How boring life was living with Kirk, how real unhappy she had been
“Kirk’s my pal” Tom repeated as he stared off into the smoke
He couldn’t believe her attitude, everything he knew was broke
She buried her face in the crook of his arm, her tears rolled onto his skin
She lifted her body up upon his and whispered, “It’s a lovin’ sin.”
“Oh let me go!” Kitty cried to his face
Her eyes rolled up to meet his
He had no power, he had no words
‘Cause nothin’ is what it is
“Lord let me go!” she cried in distress
And finally his will just snapped
But some events can never be redressed
“Come back!” he cried, “Come back!
Come back, come back, come back come back!”
There was nowhere else for his lips to go, he couldn’t hold himself inside
Afterward he ran down all those steps, he ran because he knew it wasn’t right
Tasha told Kitty stay away from Tom, “You’ll keep your business here in town!
Ain’t no room here for a devil like you, no snake like you will drag me down!”
“A devil like me has power over you, you’re just a pathetic little witch!”
“Oh yeah well I told Kirk all about it!” “You didn’t, you’re a lyin’ little snitch!”
“Oh let me go!” KItty cried in distress
Finally his will just snapped
It snapped it snapped it snapped it cracked
Kirk seemed crazed, firewater since dawn, a fire burning without grace
He glared at Tom and then he turned away and he took something out of a case
It was weird how the blood ran so quick like a river down onto the floor
He heard Tasha comin’, he got all his stuff and he stumbled out the back door
Kitty told Kirk, “This blood is on you, go wash it off of your hands!”
But the Buzzards of Vengeance circle over our heads, who knows where they gonna land?
I CAN’T FIND THE PARTY
available on “It’s Just the Apocalypse, It’s Not the End” by Ritual Tension
WAAAAAAAAH!
I’m the King of Alphabet Town
I’m the King of Alphabet Town
I’m the Czar of Alphabet Town
I’m the Czar who knows who you are!
But I can’t find the party
She told me it was over here
I can’t find the party
And she said there’d be FREE BEER!
Somebody buy me a drink
Buy me a drink on the house!
I dunno what she’s talkin about
There ain’t no party down this street
I’m goin’ back to my local
What she think, she thinks I’m a fuckin’ tweet
I don’t need your whinin’!
Your quarters don’t mean shit
When I put this crown back on my head
Baby you know I’m gonna split!
Hey I’m the Archbishop of Avenue A!
I’m the Baron of Avenue B!
I’m the CEO of Avenue C!
I’m the Duke of Avenue D!
I’m the Hunk of Hollywood Boulevard!
I’m the Tyrant of Tiananmen Square
I’m the Governor of the Ginza!
I’m the champ of the Champs-Élysées
Somebody buy me a drink!
Buy me a house on the house!
I MAY HAVE BEEN WRONG
available on “It’s Just the Apocalypse, It’s Not the End” by Ritual Tension
Well I’m down the road because you’re not feeling too keen
I’m in a tiny bar room where I watch the cowboy turn to Christine
Christine turns to her mother who’s just burst on the scene
Cryin’, “Deal me a fresh hand boys all I’ve got’s this handful of dreams!”
Well I may have been wrong, anyway I’m sorry
Maybe we both have to make some amends
Well I guess that we’re both just a little bit crazy
And I’m back [depending on which chorus:]
- on your back street again
- in your back yard again
- on your back porch again
Well brass is brass and steel, and steel, well steel is steel
The cowboy turns to Christine and he says, "Everybody should be killed!"
“Regrets?” she sighs, “Well yeah I have had my fill!”
And she stares him straight in the eyes and punches him right through the wall.
Now down the road you jump out of his jeep
And say, “Mister, your faith requires one too many leaps…
Hey ya get to fool me once but I can see that you are not twice shy
And if you think that you crossed the line buddy, well, you’ve hit a bullseye!”
You return home, we forge ahead, we got a bond stronger than steel
Some say there is no way to measure what a real woman feels
But you and me we’re way past friends, we know that love ain’t cheap
And I know when I got a good hand, and I’m, I’m playing it for keeps.
HER BIG NIGHT OUT
available on “It’s Just the Apocalypse, It’s Not the End” by Ritual Tension
Well she’s coastin’ up the coastline where she useta feel abandoned
Lookit, she’s strollin in the garden where she always feels alone
Castin’ off her shadows, she says you caught her dreamin’
Well she’s caught up in reflection as she does a little singin’
Singin’ about nothing as she leans against your door jamb
Door jamb door jamb
Stupid choices keep me whole
She says oh oh oh oh yeah
Talk about compulsion she useta feel so useless
Listen to the voices, singin’ like a stone
Cuts her middle finger — jeez it’s really bleedin’
Well she’s comin’ up the stairway, comin’ down the hallway
Openin’ it up as she leans against your door jamb…
Awful voices wash me clean
She says oh oh oh oh yeah
Suddenly she felt liberated. She’d been so alone, but now there was something odd in her eyes
as we walked down the hall past all those Impressionists who had made such a fine impression.
We went down, we went down
Down down down down down down
Down into the water lilies
Oh God!!!!
Have you seen the woman with the special grin
Well she jumps on the dance floor and starts to begin
She’s all wound up, she’s such a good friend
She’s spinning in circles just like John Glenn
It’s just the apocalypse it isn’t the end
Jimmy and Zulu and her main man Ray
Shaking with heatstroke, they drop by to say
They’re in love with Our Lady of Reversible Eyes
Who’s seein’ the lilies deep down inside
Look at her now, hey look at her go
She’s ridin’ the panther, she’s herdin’ the crows
She’s got a handful of invites she needs to extend
Hey take it easy, take it easy, take it easy my friend!
It’s not the end!
NO GOODBYES!
available on “The Noise Pandemic Compilation 2020”
Once you were there
Then you were gone
Nothing to show
That you’d moved on
The image recedes
If you look at it close
You’re less than a shadow
More than a ghost
I didn’t leave you
You didn’t leave me
I didn’t leave you
You didn’t leave me
We were not meant to say,
We could not say: goodbye...
I didn’t even know how true it was
You could fly...
The wind comes to play
You ride into town
The vibration that’s you
Disappears into sound
I found a photo of you
Both your fists raised
It’s back in the drawer
I put it away
I didn’t leave you
You didn’t leave me
I didn’t leave you
You didn’t leave me
We were not meant to say,
We could not say: goodbye
I didn’t even know how true it was
You could fly... away
We never had a goodbye to share
Are there spirits so high way up there
You always were so sweet hardcore
You dove away and swam to shore
You broke your nose and you broke your arm
I still never thought that you would come to harm
You always were…
You think alone is where we are
But we circle and circle the same circling star
You always were…
You pushed yourself to the outer spaces
You disappear and no one replaces
You always were…
I couldn’t know that sweet note was the last
I won’t keep hangin’ onto the past
You always were sleeveless hardcore
You dove away and swam to shore
You made it to shore
You made it to shore!
BLIND BIRD
not yet available
Like a blind bird in a storm I’m rollin free
Not much can stop me permanently
I’m trippin up to the space between the clouds
I’m goin far, far from this madding crowd
Like rough driftwood in a wave I’m on my way
I got no brand but I got plenty to say
I don’t know just who she is but I like where she goes
Her insight helps guide me through the highs and the lows
Well the storm’s all done now, she’s headin in
With her necklace of skulls and her tiger skin
She takes off her helmet as if she was bored
She unfastens her belt and lays down her sword
Like a seer with no eyes she must proceed
Down the hallway of avarice, murder and greed
She goes to the window and looks out on this world
She knows she was lucky it was fun back when she was a girl
Like a sad man in the rain I can’t complain
I’m in a lonely car toward the rear of a lonely train
I’ve said my hello’s and kissed the stars goodbye
I’m goin somewhere where you don’t have to try