Of Words And Song...

And if you chew tobacco, and wish upon a star, Well you'll find out where the scarecrows sit, Just like punchlines between the cars, And I know a place where a royal flush, Can never beat a pair, and even Thomas Jefferson, Is on the nickel over there

I get home early, shut off my head And fire all my synapse slaves It’s pleasant and even mildly euphoric Oh these after-burner polychrome waves Rise up with the sorry sunlight That bleeds all over the floor The shadows shrink as I pour my first drink It’s a Boost in the mug with no happy encore

Today's just the same old, same old Too many teeth behind those smiles And I don't care about the stories told If it means more, if it means more... More frequent flyer miles More secretary smiles More birds of paradise

I'm all curled up like the letter Q I can't say a single word without you

Let me fall out of the window with confetti in my hair Deal out jacks or better on a blanket by the stairs I'll tell you all my secrets, but I lie about my past And send me off to bed for evermore

I've cut back your roses, just to give myself a day Free of vulgar beauties that I know will fade away The scene is like a circus chasing winners out of town Leaving here a wet street of mirror, and I won't dare look down Lover if you rise, lover if you go

I don't know if any genuine, meaningful change could ever result from a song. It's kind of like throwing peanuts at a gorilla.

My bones they rumble and time will shift On every plan I have laid Clouds will crack and spill, descend and lift Sharpen this light into a blade And split the limb beneath me That holds me off the ground

The moon's near empty, a swinging sabre Keeping every prayer at bay At the throat of love for ransom From the dull approaching day There's no law that rides this border No fences stretch this far to show How times will side against another As one arrives and others go

Is there chaos? Is there a plan? Random patterns for every man? Invisible wires or a safety net? Or only free-fall space cadets? And gravity always wins

Every truth carries blame And every light reveals some shame, Progress rides with thieves and whores The stowaways of civil war The stowaways of civil war

I've been everywhere but the big time, lover

The fire escape is folded like The cradle of an arm A dread so deep we've learned to keep it Near without alarm But every fear is like a prayer  You've learned to shout out loud From our lips to God's ears It turns the face of every crowd

Now I've sold my bread, to keep my spirits high. To keep some taste on my tongue, and my feelings dry. They'll have their fun and leave me, I'm like a stone without a weight. But if I know my angels, I'll fall just like a cane.

Saints alive And all the saints be praised I see them all around me now They've been called and raised Their jaws gone slack Yellow nails, long and curling back To scratch the phantom ache Of our lost days Oh, my love is here to stay

The word wants just to leave my tongue To turn your face, and when that's done I've got no use for what it proves It only means the way you move

We're taught to love the worst of us And mercy more than life But trust me, mercy's just a warning shot across the bow I live for yours and you can't fail me now