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| 1. |
| 1:51 | 
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I can do this, really, I'm good enough
I'm as good as them, but don't take it from me Ask my friends, ask my sister They all think my stuff is great Up there with any of them I just need a break I'm a genius, really, I'm excellent Better than them, I kick their asses All of them, even that guy Who thinks he's fuckin' cool Gets all of the attention He doesn't sell shit does he Some guy on the net thinks I suck and he should know He's got his own blog I'm a loser I'm a poser Yeah really It's over I mean it and I quit Everything I write is shit Hey, hey It's a working day Hey, hey It's a working day |
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| 2. |
| 3:42 |
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They checked into the hospital New Year's Eve
Nothing to be done about that Rainbows, daffodils; she's not naive Symbolism's all crap There's a big picture window in their room on the ward With a view over Parliament Hill But the view offers more joy than they can afford When there's this much pain to kill You know what hope is? Hope is a bastard Hope is a liar A cheat and a tease Hope comes near you? Kick it's backside Got no place in days like these At dusk the darkness surrenders to color As the fireworks streak the sky And their window gives them the prettiest picture Their useless luck makes her wanna cry Then it turns midnight, the shitty old year spent Another Mom gives her some sparkling wine And she nearly gives in to the moment But he'll still be sick in 2009 You know what hope is? Hope is a bastard Hope is a liar A cheat and a tease Hope comes near you? Kick it's backside Got no place in days like these Just as she's thinking of pulling the blind down A rocket bursts in front of her eyes The city lit up; London's given a bright crown And she tries and fails to stop spirits rise You know what hope is? Hope is a bastard Hope is a liar A cheat and a tease Hope comes near you? Kick it's backside Got no place in days like these You know what hope is? Hope is a bastard Hope is a liar A cheat and a tease Hope comes near you? Kick it's backside Got no place in days like these |
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| 3. |
| 5:16 |
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Woke up this morning, what do I see
Three thousand cameras pointed at me Dude says, "You Levi?" I'm like, "Yes, that's me sir" "Well you just knocked up the VP nominee's daughter" So I tell him "No, you got it wrong mister, Already got a girl and her name's Bristol" They all laugh and say "Where you been, sonny? Your mother in law's a heartbeat from the presidency" So I say, "Mother in law? No, we aint getting married" They say, "Soon you will boy, she just announced it" I get on my dirtbike and ride to my girl's home Gonna lay down the law Tell her what's goin' on I'm a fuckin' redneck, I live to hang out with the boys Play some hockey, do some fishin' and kill some moose I like to shoot the shit and do some chillin' I guess You fuck with me and I'll kick your ass So we talk and it turns out we don’t believe in abortion And sex outside marriage is against our religion And when I try to tell them I’m 18 years old, They say “Levi it's too late, you’ve got to do as you’re told” I'm a fuckin' redneck, I live to hang out with the boys Get on the snowboard, do some fishin' and kill some moose I like to shoot the shit and do some chillin' I guess You fuck with me and I'll kick your ass |
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| 4. |
| 4:14 |
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Man in a wheelchair, lobby of the Forrest
With frighters, hustlers, hard-up millionaires Mobsters, cops, whores, pimps and Marxists All human life is there Man in a wheelchair listens to the chatter Writes down all the insane crap he hears He can’t move around but it doesn’t really matter In the Forrest all you need is eyes and ears And out they pour, the hits and the misses “Turn Me Loose,” “Lonely Avenue” And down in Nashville, Elvis sings “Suspicion” Pomus/Shuman, 1962 And he never could be one of those happy cripples The kind that smile and tell you life’s OK He was mad as hell, frightened and bitter He found a way to make his feelings pay Back at the Forrest, in the steakhouse off the lobby A diner gets three bullets in the head Doc looks down, eating his linguine Thinking up a lyric for the dead And out they pour, the hits and the misses “Turn Me Loose,” “Lonely Avenue” And down in Nashville, Elvis sings “Suspicion” Pomus/Shuman, 1962 1962 Fred Neil, Jack Benny, crazy Phil Spector Pumpkin Juice and Eydie Gorme Damon Runyon, Jr. and the Duke’s orchestra All superhuman life was there And he never could be one of those happy cripples The kind that smile and tell you life’s OK He was mad as hell, frightened and bitter He found a way to make his isolation pay And out they pour, the hits and misses “Turn Me Loose,” “Lonely Avenue” And down in Nashville, Elvis sings “Suspicion” Pomus/Shuman, 1962 |
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| 5. |
| 3:24 |
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I see it all, I get it, I promise you I do
Your mom walked out on you when you were only two You’ve grown up believing that this country hates the poor You’re a dad three times over and you’re only twenty-four The Christians on the radio, they act like you’re scum Self-righteous condescending bastards, each and every one I don’t read the Bible but I try to love you, man Every flaw and violent act, I think I understand But your dogs, your dogs, what’s fun about those? And that tat on your neck, and that ring through your nose? The weed, the junk food, the violent pornography Don’t you think you’d want to be Just a little bit more like me? I still have high hopes you could join our community There’s more of us than you now, but we’d welcome the diversity You’re not white trash, like the other neighbors say If you want to challenge stereotyping, join the PTA At night, when your pit bulls are scaring our children My wife, I’ll be honest here, wants me to shoot them And sometimes I let my fantasies run But that’s only at night, when I’m not really thinking And you’re listening to Metallica in your backyard and drinking The rest of the time I think we get along fine I never judge you, I’m a live-and-let-live guy But your dogs, your dogs, what’s fun about those? And that tat on your neck, and that ring through your nose? The weed, the junk food, the violent pornography Don’t you think you’d want to be Just a little bit more like me? |
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| 6. |
| 3:52 |
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Who'd look at that dump and see a home?
Why not move in somewhere easy? Urinals where bedrooms ought to be Who could be bothered,really? You're really good at all that stuff The nuts and bolts of living Curtains, blinds and kitchen tables I've got no time for dates and plans No I'm too busy dreaming You're the one with the attention span You're not the free wheeler Practical, practical Amanda Saved one life And made two others Practical Amanda Who'd look at me And see someone That might be Worth redeeming Head and heart And soul fucked up Who could be bothered, really? I've got no time for dates and plans No I'm too busy dreaming You're the one with the attention span Practical Amanda Practical, practical Amanda Saved one life And made two others Practical Amanda |
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| 7. |
| 3:50 |
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So she stands and waits and waits at the school gate
They're late, they come, so dumb In two cars when they agreed one And it's gone wrong on her birthday So they go to Joe's for pizza and ice cream They sit and stare and Claire just wants to be 9 and a half Next year she'll tell them she only wants world peace But Claire, Claire baby I wish you knew how this all got twisted I wish you could see right inside us In all of this stuff, the best of us that we can't get out What's the point of this What's wrong with two birthdays It's cool at school Her friends, they all have two birthdays Oh geez, he just asked the waitress out on a date on her birthday But Claire, Claire baby I wish you knew how this all got twisted I wish you could see right inside us In all of this stuff, the best of us that we can't get to Here's the cheque They pay with two cards like they've never met Goodbyes outside; it's cold in LA Claire, Claire baby I wish you knew how this all got twisted I wish you could see right inside us The best of us for most of us Or what we were, you're all that's left It used to be our birthday too |
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| 8. |
| 5:21 |
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I know you
You think I don't but I do I've been listening and I don't forget so I can do this I can pass the test You went to school in Chicago Your mom's maiden name is Dupree Your favorite actor is DeNiro Your birthday's 03/08/83 C.H.I.C.A.G.O. D.U.P.R.E.E. D.E.N.I.R.O. I know you You think it's weird but it's not You're all looking at it all upside down It actually means I really love you You used have a dog called Montey You only drink chardonnay Your sister's pet name is CeeCee You have a thing for David Blaine M.O.N.T.E.Y. C.H.A.R.D.O.N.N.A.Y. C.E.E.C.E.E. And I know you I know you You think I'm blind but I'm not I've been watching and what I've noticed is distraction, boredom and vacancy I know your favorite dish (P.R.I.M.A.V.E.R.A.) I know your favorite band (Polyphonic S.P.R.E.E.) You spent a year in Barcelona (B.A.R.C.E.L.O.N.A.) That asshole's name was Anthony Turns out you never went to T.U.L.S.A. To see your old roommate J.A.N.E. I think my middle name is S.U.C.K.E.R. And I was born yesterday I don't know you I thought I did but I don't I wasn't listening to the right things One day I won't even remember your face |
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| 9. |
| 4:04 |
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They even looked at each other once
Across a crowded bar He was with Martha She was with Tom Neither of them really knew what was going on. A strange feeling of never, Heartbeats becoming synchronized And staying that way forever. Most of the time It was just near misses, Air kisses Once in a bookstore, once at a party She came in as he was leaving And years ago, at the movies, she sat behind him A six-thirty showing of 'While You Were Sleeping' He never once looked around chorus: It's so easy from above You can really see it all People who belong together Lost and sad and small But there's nothing to be done for them It doesn't work that way Sure we all have soulmates But we walk past them every day Oh no And it's not like they were ever actually unhappy In the lives they lived He married Martha She married Tom Just this vague notion that something was wrong An ache, an absence, a phantom limb An itch that could never be scratched. {chorus} Neither of them knew what was going on A strange feeling of never, Heartbeats becoming synchronized And staying that way forever. Who knows whether that's how it should be Maybe our ghosts will in that vacancy Maybe that's how books get written Maybe that's why songs get sung Maybe we owe the unlucky ones {chorus} Maybe that's how books get written Maybe that's why songs get sung Maybe we owe the unlucky ones (x2) |
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| 10. |
| 3:09 |
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I’ve only ever seen her name on a spine
But that’s enough, I want to make her mine Never heard her voice, never seen her smile But I’m in love with Saskia Hamilton… Well she’s a poet, just like I want to be But her passport alone is great poetry And I'm in love with Saskia Hamilton. She got more assonance than she knows what to do with I’m in love with Saskia Hamilton She got two sibilants, no bilabial plosives Saskia Hamilton, Saskia Hamilton. Yeah! Right! Saskia Hamilton, Saskia Hamilton. Saskia, Saskia, Saskia Hamilton Already got a girl but she sounds real bad I’m in love with Saskia Hamilton She got alliteration and her surname is Dagg No hard consonants in my girl Saskia Every single syllable sounds like Shakespeare I’m in love with Saskia Hamilton Gonna live with her and it’ll all be harmonious How could it not be, when she’s that euphonious? Gonna marry her and it’ll all be idyllic AND MY TEACHER JUST TOLD ME THAT SHE’S DACTYLIC! Saskia Hamilton, Saskia Hamilton. Yeah! Right! Saskia Hamilton, Saskia Hamilton. Saskia, Saskia, Saskia Hamilton |
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11. |
| 6:13 |
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Every night around this time He has to sing 'Belinda' "Belinda, I love you Don't leave me, I need you" He tried to stop a while back But what is he without her? A one hit wonder with no hits is what he is And anyway He always hears how much it means to people There's a lot of fortysomethings Who wouldn't be in the world without it So now he does it with this lyric in his head Belinda, I loved you I'm sorry that i left you I met somebody younger on a plane She had big breasts A nice smile No kids either She gave me complimentary champagne No-one ever wants to hear the song he wrote for Cindy "Cindy, I love you I need you, don't leave me" And he can't blame them, they can tell His heart was never in it And Cindy never liked it but She never much liked him Belinda, I loved you I'm sorry that i left you I met somebody younger on a plane She had big breasts A nice smile No kids either She gave me complimentary champagne So every night about this time He feels the old self loathing While the old folks in the audience sing along And he smiles and waves the mic at them So they can do the chorus But he's not there, he's somewhere else He's with Belinda In the days before he made it all go wrong Belinda, I love you She gave me complimentary champagne She gave me complimentary champagne
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