Lyrics
-
You’re on your own, clinging to a script that you’ve gone off again.
Paging through to see where you went wrong again.
You never let it die.I come along.
Never part my lips to say an idle word.
But you can’t rest unless you’re my entire world.
And you never let it die.You want me to say how much I need you,
but I don’t really see the need to.
You want me to hold you like he held you,
but isn’t he the one that fell through?
I just want to be the one you run to.
So shut up and let me love you.You beg for dawn.
The air you push is bitter, but I bite my tongue.
As fading night replaces all our brighter suns,
you never let it die.We blunder on.
You’re losing hope that I can be your chosen one.
If you can’t see what I can’t say is shown and done,
then you’ll never let it die.I don’t know why I could never bring myself to say it.
I don’t know how we wound up in this game we’re playing.
I know I want you. -
Darling, when we're older we won't ever have to worry about the things we worry about now.
I've got a chance to fix it all.Down on the docks, I heard them whispering a fury about a freighter with a hole in the bow.
And there’s a plan to take the haul.But these broken bones may never heal again
These broken bones may never mendI'll wait for his shift
Go in through the guardhouse
The bleary-eyed old watchman is never awakeGot a man on the ship
There to cart all the loot out
The stevedores are in for a third of the take
And I don't think they're onto meThere comes a time to take the things you're owed
From down in the hold
I hear bedlam and boot heels
My my callow young accomplice is diming me outOh, all our precious plans and wishes
Are nothing more than body English
We're drunken little giants boxing the clouds
I love you, but they'll never let me goI know that you want it to be
The way I said it would be
And I'm wrong for every lie I've ever told
The city's going to claim another life
As they watch it unfold with a passing spite that they save for my kindI love you, but they'll never let me go
Please let me go
Let me go! -
You’ve got a way of talking
I’ve got a way of holding in
Back to the start againThings I should say more often
Get bottled up to pour like gin
Back to the start againAnd when you see me
Am I a shadow in your night?
When I look into your eyes
Why do they burn so big and bright?Oh, dreams of empire
Up from the solid South and
In from the wide Missouri plains
Back to the start againBorne high on dusky backs and
Laid low in everlasting shame
Back to the start againAnd when you see me
Am I the specter on your glass?
Why do you turn your gaze away?
Am I the visage of your past?Oh, dreams of empire
-
Father said, "You best go out and play
”But it's such, such, such a cloudy day.
Mustn't let those things stand in your way.
Ere tomorrow you'll be dreamingI saw the fire come down the mountainside,
Not the kind of life I'd give my children.
I saw the fire come down the mountainside,
Not the kind of life I'd wish onYou know you'll never even feel a sting.
Not a burning, not a tingle, not a thing.
And time is such an ordinary king.
Ere tomorrow you'll be dreaming.I saw the fire come down the mountainside,
Not the kind of life I'd give my children.
I saw the fire come down the mountainside.
Not the kind of life I’d… -
I beat a braided rhythm on the seat
I'm on the scent of something luminous and frightening
Run up your colors, be the thing you couldn't
Let us see, are we as civil in the breaking as the binding?When the fever breaks, I hope you make a go of it
When the fever shakes, I hope it doesn't leave you coldDon't you wake up wondering how to keep this going?
Don't you wonder how in the world we made it out so far?
Don't you wake up wondering how to keep this going?
Don't you wander? Hound the world. We made it out, so…I beat a less original retreat
If I'm unbloodied by the blows of those who'd spite me
But if they cut me deep, I'll be the liar, be the thief,
I'll be the animal. You'll taste it when you bite me.When my fire fades, I hope I've made go of it
When my part is played, I hope I never...
I take it back now.
I want to hide all the seams
I bit the bullet and I choked it, sanguine, down
I’m going to find a release
You take the high, I take the low road
I take the high, you take the low road
Freight trains crashingDon't you wake up wondering how to keep this going?
Don't you wonder how in the world we made it out so far?
Don't you wake up wondering how you keep this going?
Don't you wander? Hound the world. We made it out so far. -
I’ve been seeing the world through a dead man’s eyes
And when I laid me down, laid me down
I dared not rise
But then I noticed that I’d been watching myself from the car outside
And so to bring me round
I took me down a long dark ride
That’s where I found you atJames Crow, come and tell me what you know
James Crow, you’re a devil in a daydream
James Crow, can you walk it for me, slow?
Singing “take it all back now! take it all back now!”James Crow, come and tell me what you know
James Crow, you’re a devil in a daydream
James Crow, will you break it to me slow?
Singing “take it all back now! take it all back now!”You’ve been selling the world on a dead man’s lies
The kind that won’t decay or fade away
Or pass in timeI play the scientific, I can’t be tamed
You pray to a religion that can’t be named
But all I really want is to crawl back in my body and be
FreeJames Crow, come and tell me what you know
James Crow, you’re a devil in a daydream
James Crow, can you walk it for me, slow?
Singing “take it all back now! take it all back now!”James Crow, come and tell me what you know
James Crow, you’re a devil in a daydream
James Crow, will you break it to me slow?
Singing “take it all back now! take it all back now!”Is there a fever worse than faith?
When you know what you’ve lost
Cause it’s gone from the beginning
And I can feel it in the way that you are when you’re on -
Tired people
Fired people
Situation’s dire, peopleDitch your chains and find your people
I love my entire people
Never spy a finer people
Ever wonder why our people
Mystify, inspire people
[Time to take them higher]Oh, lord
Can’t hardly tell what’s left to show, lord
You’ve got to tell us where to go, lord
You’ve got to tell us what to do with the higher groundIf I get my payback, I won’t think twice
If we survive, you better hide, better run for your life
It’s been lifetimes locked up inside
So if I get my payback better
You better pray, better pray to your lord
Better pray, better pray we won’t
’Cause the prey don’t stay down long
Better pray, better pray we don’tDon’t muck with the mired people
Quick to spot a liar people
Sell it to the buyer people
Peppy gentrifier people
Haute couture attire people
Hostile occupiers put a lien on the higher ground(Don’t back down)
If I get my payback, I won’t think twice
If we survive, you better hide, better run for your life
It’s been lifetimes locked up insideSo if I get my payback better
You better pray, better pray to your lord
Better pray, better pray we won’t
’Cause the prey don’t stay down long
Better pray, better pray we don’t -
Something simple
Trickles in through
Data on demandSacred texts and
Jealous exes
Throbbing in your handA meditation on the vainest thought you know
Fear and loathing
Beer and clothing
Shoot it up your veinsHallelujah
What’s it to you?
Give your man the reinsA revelation from the palest god you know
You think you’ve made it but you’re lost, boys
You never run out of ways to take it from us
That doesn’t scare me at all
You’re just a number they callWall or border
Law and order
In a kevlar vestSound and picture
How’d it miss you?
Strapped across your chestA recitation of the darkest deeds you own
Heavy mist and
Revving pistons
On your way back homeMurder disco
Monte Cristo
We’re serving payback coldA visitation on the calmest street you know well
You think you’ve made it but you’re lost, boys
You never run out of ways to take it from us
That doesn’t scare me at all
You’re just a number they callYou think you’ve made it but you’re lost, boys
You never run out of ways to stay above us
That doesn’t scare me at all
Good dogs will run when they’re called/
These are the nights when I’m a man outrun
When I’m gnawing at my skin
Things I would die if I could have undone
Seem to start each day again
Is there a song to set the captive free
Or to dull her waking pain?
Am I somebody that I should be?
Can you make it plain?Please, it’s a long way out if you go it on your own
Please, know you won’t get out if you’re going -
I told a stranger everything about you
I tried to stop it but I just can't hold it in
It's like there's something lurking in my body
I don't believe I'll ever get it out againI think I've fallen in love on you
I think it's tearing me up, mon dieuShe's my mate
She's my lady
She's my mate
She's my babyI think I've fallen
I think I've fallen on youSo there's a party and I said I'd make it
But I don't ever want to leave this room again
When I could lay here with my best friend naked
Why would I wander through a lonely world with them?Plant me like a seed or roll me in your river
Hold me in your arms
I long to be delivered
Climb me like a tree and drown me like a lover
Show me the terrain you want me to discoverShe's my mate
She's my lady
She's my mate
She's my baby -
When I wake up, I feel like an island
Another day, another lie
And I long so much for your mainland
And the teeming shores I’ve long since left behindI have a dream that I stand by the slips of your towering ships
They never go my way
You were never one to mind your haloAnd when I see you, you’re sailing again on a westerly wind
That never blows my way
How am I supposed make it when I’m stranded in the ocean?When I wake up, I feel like a dying man
And all my life’s a length of rope
Every inch of me frays and I’m knotted
From the strain of years spent holding onto hopeAnd, somewhere they never bothered to go, we stood battered and lonely,
Screaming, “Look my way!”
You were never one to cry and wait, though
You were never one to cry and wait, thoughSo should I beg for a mystical sign to make up for the time I know I’ve thrown away
How was I supposed to find you when I’m stranded in the ocean? -
Come numb
Come dumb
Come young
Come rain
Come sun
Come sunken-eyed and half-awareJust point the magnet at me, man
Let’s get some money
We can make it fairI could be the call to change your life
Cause you’ve been on the run since ’95You’re nobody’s favourite one
You’re nobody’s favouriteSay something cool
Say something cool, but keep it textual
Well, that’s a mood.
So, what’s the move?
She’s standing next to youHoly water
Holy water or a shot of ginger ale
I’ve been drinking from wishing wells
Hoping it’ll change my lot
(But it’s not)You’re nobody’s favourite one
You’re nobody’s favouriteI had a dream this was all lit up
But the luster’s fading
I had a dream this was all I want
But the lust is waning
I had a dream this was all there wasYou’re nobody’s favourite one
You’re nobody’s favourite -
Now I've done what you asked me
Will you stay?
Now I've done as you asked me
Can I stay here?You know I never want to see
Never want to see you alone again
Because I never want to be
Never want to see me aloneI was born with my eyes wide open
And I won't start hoping on a star right now
You try to tempt me with your store-bought passion
But your forethought flashes in the dark
Somehow we hurt each other for the selfsame reasons
There's a sad, strange treason in the heart
And you say you will, but you know you'll never move from where you areI was young and un-emptied
Unafraid
I was young and you bent me
To your way here
I get the feeling that you're not feeling that you've got me alone again
And if you're feeling that I'm not feeling it, I'm not coming homeI was born with my eyes wide open
And I won't start hoping on a star right now
You try to tempt me with your store-bought passion
But your forethought flashes in the dark
Somehow we hurt each other for the selfsame reasons
There's a sad, strange treason in the heart
And you say you will, but you know you'll never move from where you areShe's a downhearted dancer
But she taught me a lesson
Because if we are the answer
Then you've asked the wrong question -
Get used to wanting
Get used to needing
Get used to saying
I used to see him
Things never did quite go your way oh ay oh
Don’t be the one I throw away oh ay oh
Go on and leave meAll alone again. Solo.
You feel it on me
A kind of pleading
Can’t help but want me
Can’t help you’re leaving
I’ve always had this gravity ah ay oh
Beautiful things just crash to me ah ay oh
Before they violently sky awayAll alone again. Solo.
-
They only came to see the park at night
They only brought the torches for the light
They only think we’re all just too uptight
And everybody knows they’ve got the rightCold passions
Roam in your factions
No taste for facts
The old days are back
They’re not long gone, whenever they goPain is just a pastime here below
Is this the last time? Here we go
They don’t want to know
To get in the black
Get out the black
And on with the showIt doesn’t matter how far down he slides
He always seems to keep them by his side
So re-spark the lost, ancient art
Of prizing apart the conman and mark
They’re not long gone, wherever they goPain is just a pastime here below
Is this the last time? Here we go
They don’t want to know
To get in the black
Get out the black
And on with the show -
Gold. Ice. Silk. Blood.
Strain. Fight. Scream. Curse.
Goad. Try, but you’re never gonna get my heart.Word. Will. Flesh. Trust.
Wound. Charm. Sweat. Burst.
Heal. Kill. You’re never gonna get my heart.And I wish I had the words to say to show you
And I wish I knew the way back where we came
But you’ll never know
No, you’ll never know how much I long to find a way to love again
But the longing doesn’t end and you’re never gonna get my heartFive walls. Rough-hewn.
Cats call. Blush. Swoon.
Night falls. You’re never gonna get my heart.Bold signs. Young skin.
Fat eyes. Dine-in.
Fresh lies, but you’re never gonna get my heart.And I wish I had the words to say to show you
And I wish I knew the way back where we came
But you’ll never know
No, you’ll never know how much I long to find a way to love again
But the longing doesn’t end and you’re never gonna get my heart -
I am all a plate glass window.
Looking through me every day.
In the night, I'm all reflection.
You were, I was, you see, you saw, you say.In my mirrored light you're taller.
The summer sun has warped my pane.
If I brought you true perspective,
You'd close the blinds and leave me cold again.I await the dread disaster,
Some uncommon tragedy.
Don't you tell me it can't happen,
Cause once it does, the odds don't mean a thingThough the hands are hardly holy,
Pilgrims come to kiss the ring.
But the taste of gold eludes them
And such a shame they came from all that way.What am I here for? I never felt like I knew.
What is this unkind perversion?
Why the sudden change of pace?Could it be that we're all destined
To cloy, to claw, to cool, to walk away?You'll awake to crystal mornings,
Splintered shadows on your face.
All my cracks and complications
Will speed me on the saddest fall from grace.What am I here for? I never felt like I knew.
You were never once a liar
But you choose the truth you tell
Was it all some grand illusion?
Does fire ever burn inside that shell?Offer me no empty solace.
Keep your memories to yourself.
Treat me with that cool precision
You made me come to know so very well. -
Breath chasing breath
Our steps start locking
There’s no time for talking
No time for talking
They’ll track us down if they see you got awayRight pacing left
Backroads to walk
If we just reach the crossing
Must reach the crossing
Before this county sees the light of dayI know the sight of things at war within your head.
Will the victor be the passion or the name that you've abandoned?
But maybe I'll help you lighten up the load that's on your head
I'll be patient. I'll be steady.
I'll be waiting. I’m already saying,
"Tell me what you want me to be."Breath chasing breath
There’s no time for talking
Our heartbeats are knocking
Heartbeats are knocking
By now, they’ll all have heard you got awayLife pacing death
Backroads clocking
Just passed the crossing
Rushed past the crossing
We can’t turn back, no matter what they sayI hear the clatter of their calls within your head
“He’s a villain!”
“You’re a baby!”
“Are you happy?”
“Is he crazy?”
But maybe I'll lean a ladder up the walls within in your head
Put the old world in the rearview
I’m riding right here with you, saying,
“Tell me what you want me to be.” -
I was a shade off right
But over time
I drifted miles and milesYou must have left your mind
To think that I
Would be the place to hideAll of our plans and
Misunderstandings
This kind of thing is
Just too demanding
I never said to look to me to be the one that you rely on.
NoWhat good could come of
This wasted motion,
All of your time, and
Misplaced devotion?
I never said to look to me to be the one that you rely onAnd I know you wonder
Why I let you come so far oh
You won’t believe me if I tell you
You won’t believe me if I tell you
How I know what comes tomorrow
You won’t believe me if I tell you
You won’t believe me if I tell youI stayed awake all night
To stem the tide
The tide of rising doubtsI was afraid I’d find
The trouble high
On the horizon nowHow can we run?
I’m still trying to stand
And I’ll be the one
Who ends up abandoned
I don’t know when I came to be the kind you have to keep an eye on
NoWhat good could come of
This wasted motion,
All of your time, and
Misplaced devotion?
It wasn’t fair to look to me to be the one you could rely onAnd I know you wonder
Why I let you come so far oh
You won’t believe me if I tell you
You'll only leave me if I tell you
How I know what comes tomorrow
You won’t believe me if I tell you
You won’t believe me if I tell youYou claim you came for love
Convince me. -
Idolate in the sun
Turn half-formed prayers into sound
Before your gods wear outPoint your gaze like a gun
When half-heart kings wear the crowns
Don’t you don’t burn it down?Your blessed birthright is a devil’s debt renamed
But from our youngest days, we’ve heard you say
“Won’t pay, don’t know, don’t owe”Cooler than the coroner
Cleaner than the fucking board of health
We tried to warn you
Who’s around the cornerTell me your truest lie
I’m all out of patience
Cause even the bluest eye
Can see the arrangement
Now
So we’ve got to burn it downComparison
It’s embarrassing
Lockup for crack rock
But treatment for heroin?
They’re scared of him
They’re just daring him
Model American
Bottle of paraffin
Now
I’m about to burn it down -
And when it started we were tongue-tied, taken, rather fond of being carried alight
And when we part, it's such an odd sensation. It's a love like being buried aliveSay, say morning, yeah I know the day is forming, but we haven't quite yet finished our night
Say, say gloaming, now before you get to roaming, won't you stay a spell here stemming the tide?The end of time
And when we landed we were shell-shocked, shaken. There's a glassy look of doubt in your eyes
No more abandon, just a plea for patience, while I slowly burn away my disguise
Say, say worry, never waited, never hurried. Did I hope to have my gray matter mined?
Say, say glory, I'm a cautionary story. If he stares at me the sun'll go blindThe end of time
When it comes for me, desire, I'm a wooden man and you throw me onto the pyre
Will you watch me burn? Are you tired?
I'm all alone -
Stop. Wait. Just stand there.
Not one step closer.
Eyes on me.
I really want to know your name.Saw you coming down the avenue,
I know you know what’s on my mind.
I came here with my girl Victoria.
I really think you’re just her type.
And you don’t have to say a word to me,
As long as you don’t waste my time.
You know we only want what’s best for you.
We only want to take a ride.Put both hands on her.
Spread your legs wider.
Ran your name.
I really want to get you inside her.Saw you coming down the avenue,
I know you know what’s on my mind.
I came here with my girl Victoria.
I really think you’re just her type.
And you don’t have to say a word to me,
As long as you don’t waste my time.
You know we only want what’s left of you.
We only want to take a ride.But you’re not enough.
No, you’re not enough.
There’s no stopping her, My Victoria.
Said you’re not enough.
No, you’re not enough.
Once I start her up, It’s me and my Victoria.They want all of us in Victorias.
-
You’ve crawled across my mind and shaped my will
Your every curve that broke me brakes me still
You sigh, “I’ll wait for you to say you’re sorry.
I’ll wait for you to say ‘come home’.” The devil that I know, you know I won’t. I want you in the worst wayBut the same dreams always haunt me
Down the same streets always walking
Out the same beat always knocking
Won’t you save me? OhLate night, feeling out the time
Take you back to mine
Begging can we please do thatLate light,
Tracing every line
Waking up to find
I can only dream like thatMake right,
Take it as a sign
Take it off your mind
Devil, I can see through thatDon’t wait for me to say “come home”
Don’t wait for meCause the same dreams always haunt me
Down the same streets always walking
Out the same beat always knocking
Won’t you save me?
Oh, I want you in the worst way -
You see the nation’s gaping maw
each time it yawns
away the latest outrageHome is a sarlacc pit
Brutes aping men
making beasts out of men
women, children caged
by maps
by debt
by comfort
by razor wire
by ‘the way things are’You can’t unsee it
Your eyes are hot and you’re poured out
burning for want of more than indignationBut, always, you cool
and the gleaming screens
remind you
how good it is
to be young and dying in
The Occident Supreme™.
All ivory and brushed aluminum.
Preening. Posing. Grinning.
Denuding the earth.Still. Everywhere,
Between Mammon’s temples and the shelter of the overpass.
Between present and prelude.
Between us and other.
Between the last gang of souls and the next.
Between my coursing blood and yours.There is no frontier.
-
Are you certain? Are you whole? Are you warm? Are you safe?
Are you hedging your bets with the time that you borrow today?
Tomorrow. It's a fiction, a vapor, a shade
It's the hitch in your step when you're walking alone by a graveAll your life
All your life you've been wondering
Who it is you're supposed to be
What is you're supposed to see
All your life
All your life you've been waiting
I've got news for you, Simone
The future isn't homeAre you folding? Are you bolting or toning it down?
After all that it cost are you finally running aground?
You said you had it coming
You never gave up until now, with all the people gathered roundAll my life
All my life I've been wondering
Who it is I'm supposed to be
What is I'm supposed to see
All my life
All my life I've been waiting
I've got news for you, Simone
The future isn't home