Brian Vander Ark

As soon as something's popular it's written and erased.
Still I'm watching, I want more though
I have seen it all before where
Bullies hang with pretty boys who pick up girls in corduroys
Who's teeny tops are little tanks they go hip hip hopping to the banks.

(pre-chorus)
Where imitation is just limitation in disguise.
Sell our souls because the rock just rolled over and died.

(chorus)
Do you wanna be famous?
Wanna get a taste?
Do you wanna be written and erased?
Do you wanna be faded like the scene in a one hit wonder magazine?
Do you wanna be jaded, self medicated?
Gonna be rehabilitated and then be congratulated.
Oh yeah, you're the one we're looking for.

I don't believe the break you had.
The monumental ache you had.
A game of conscience, tug of war
And we have all been there before
Where bullies become pretty boys with loaded guns and shiny toys
They're busting heads and making noise 'till they're bang bang banging hit the floors.

(pre-chorus)
(chorus)

Get your pencils, papers, big fat red erasers.
We're all tail-chasers in disguise.

Do you wanna be famous?
Wanna get a taste?
Do you wanna be written and erased?
Do you wanna be faded like your jeans they're gonna be busting at the seams?
Do you wanna be jaded, self medicated ?
Gonna be rehabilitated and then be congratulated?
Oh yeah, you're the one we're looking for.

(chorus)

Another question
Hangs in midair.
There's an answer,
I know it's out there.

Will anyone be aware
When confetti falls on my empty chair?
Like a one, two punch,
A surprise attack come at dawn.

Will they miss me when I'm gone?

Everyday,
The search seems necessary.
A final play,
A desperate hail mary.

There's so many things that I may have missed.
I hope the answer is as simple as this.
Will my friends be brave
'Till someone plays my favorite song?

Will they miss me when I'm gone?

Take a minute from their lives one by one,
And remember everything I had done?
And everything I'd been?
Or will the world just spin on and on?

Will they miss me when I'm gone?

I turned the volume up this morning
till there was ringing in my ears
i haven't felt this good in years

Another villain on the cover
of every major magazine
the victim somewhere in between

See how they twist and shout

And as i'm searching for the story
subscription card falls to the floor
i'm losing interest more and more

To pick it up i'm bending over
out of the corner of my eye
I see a pair of blazing thighs

See how they twist and shout
See how they twist and shout

I straighten up to look her over
and up my back a shooting pain
it's bound to settle in my brain

Another villain on the cover
of every major magazine
the victim somewhere in between

See how they twist and shout
See how they twist and shout

Thirteen miles on 31 are drying
All along adopt-a-highway lay the empty cans of
Masquerade
Thirteen miles on 31 are drying
The sky is lavender with ivory clouds that threaten
Drops the finger-paints
Puddle jumping children clad
In yellow raincoats splash the deeper
Purple of veneer

Rows and rows of animals, their shiver skin
Is painted different shades
And from grazing painted grass their teeth
Are stained the incandescent green
Indifferent they watch the rainfall steady
Blend their spots and run their stripes
Of Veneer

At 85 on 31 I'm flying
Flying

A fifteen minute warning,
Brings another belly full of butterflies.
I'm just a child of Jesus,
A stage for my confessions.

And those who come to witness,
Have joints they hide among their cigarettes.
They've been let out of their cages.

What they've spent for their freedom,
Left enough to buy a ticket.
To celebrate what's in the air tonight,
And trade their wars for encores.
Forget the day and fade away.

And to the front row junkies,
There's no such thing as backstage arguments.
Where vanity outrages.

They've enough to buy a ticket,
To celebrate what's in the air tonight.
And trade their wars for encores,
And let the day fade away.

The best shows are all ages.
Left their books in lockers for the night.
To be let out of their cages,
They will borrow beg, steal, and save for,
Enough to buy a ticket,
To celebrate what's in the air tonight .
I'll take the highs with butterflies,
Leave the day fade away.

When i was young i knew everything
and she a punk who rarely ever took advice
now i'm guilt stricken,
sobbing with my head on the floor
stop a baby's breath and a shoe full of rice

I can't be held responsible
cause she was touching her face
I won't be held responsible
she fell in love in the first place

For the life of me i cannot remember
what made us think that we were wise and
we'd never compromise
for the life of me i cannot believe
we'd ever die for these sins
we were merely freshmen

My best friend took a week's
vacation to forget her
his girl took a week's worth
valium and slept
now he's guilt stricken sobbing with his
head on the floor
thinks about her now and how he never really
wept he says

I can't be held responsible
cause she was touching her face
I won't be held responsible
she fell in love in the first place

For the life of me i cannot remember
what made us think that we were wise and
we'd never compromise
for the life of me i cannot believe
we'd ever die for these sins
we were merely freshmen

We've tried to wash our hands of all of this
we never talk of our lacking relationships
and how we're guilt stricken sobbing with our
heads on the floor
we fell through the ice when we tried not to
slip, we'd say

I can't be held responsible
cause she was touching her face
I won't be held responsible
she fell in love in the first place

For the life of me i cannot remember
what made us think that we were wise and
we'd never compromise
for the life of me i cannot believe
we'd ever die for these sins
we were merely freshmen we were merely freshmen
we were only freshmen

> She's signing autographs for hours the line is longer when you deal with amateurs
I've got some autographs of others but a shirt that smells a little like her
Once the bane of my perversion
Now she's on the television
Turn it up turn it down
Tune me in tune me out
Bite my lip around the family they know her holiday and summer weekend face
She's got a lovely shitcom family adopted one of every single race
Put yourself in my position
My ex is on the television
Turn it up...
When you place your lips upon the screen spark of which you've never seen
A volume knob controls the scream
Turn it up...

turn the cushions over, tonight we're coming over
angry once, we're not so anymore
and all that we desire is sweep the stage of fliers
it was funny once it's not so anymore

me, i've got a super gig, got a brand new rig
i'll crank it for you all

the drummer's got a hard-on for every song he starts on
once seemed loud, he's not so anymore
the catalog of ballads we played to clean your palats
we used to care, we don't care anymore

me, i've got a super sound when i play around the gyms or parties
me, i've got a super sound either way

there's not a missing link no matter what you think
right before the break-up we turn around and make up
once stupid we are not so anymore
the fear of bargain basements are gone without a trace, yeah
we used to care, we don't care anymore

there ain't no way any super girl's gonna change my world
or keep me down cause
me, i've got a super rig whether at a gig or playing in my room

Who's the very muse for the first drawings in a cave?
Who inspired the requiem that sent him to his grave?

I bet it was someone, I bet it was someone, someone like you.

The recipient of Vincent's ear that left him traumatized,
Who was wrapped in blue leaving Gershwin rhapsodized?

I bet it was someone, I bet it was someone, someone like you.

When I go to bed at night, pray to God that I
Create a masterpiece that's worthy of your ears and of your
Eyes and immortalize you and I
For someone who inquires about the girl where every inspiration lies.

Lennon wrote Please Please Me well before they came stateside.
McCartney wrote for no one but I'm pretty sure he lied.

He wrote it for someone, he wrote it for someone, someone like you.

And if I should die, God forbid that I
Pass away with ideas left in limbo in creative purgatory.
And the day that you pass away,
No one knows that girl happens to be the very girl where every inspiration lay.

Heaven help the world when you're no longer for our eyes.
Heaven rain the colors down to form another prize.

She better be someone, she better be someone, she better be someone, she better someone, she better be someone, she better be someone, someone like you.

she loves everybody she loves everyone
like the picture taken twenty years ago that she keeps in her portfolio
he wants everybody he wants anything
and they part the rope outside the whiskey bar
a glitter gown in orbit left to satellite a waning star

i touch down in the heated land
and shiver in my bones as i look up to greet the clouds that wait for me
washed aside by circumstance
the watercloth had cleared the answer in my mind
and you were there with me, there with me again

she loves everybody she loves everyone
the evidence sits in the vcr
he's choking on apologies, she's channeling a superstar

i tiny elbow through the crowd
flashing lights, the music's loud, i'm questioning if this is destiny
disappearing from the rants
ignoring risen sycophants, i close my eyes
and you were there with me, there with me, there with me again

she loves everybody she loves everyone

She has faces
Up in her bedroom and they gaze down on her
Guarding her slumber

A black bead rosary
Under her pillow and when it thunders
She clutches it tightly

And she hears
Silence is white,
Sound is black,
The world is wrapped in a paper sack

And when I leave I close the door
To this galaxy of yours

Dropping by
I open a window
As the breeze blows in the curtains are butterflies

And we hear the church bells ring
Out on a hill
And all of their echoes
Left us singing

Silence is black,
The room is bright,
Our world is basking in tv light

And we are laid out on the floor
Of this galaxy of yours

With all of your heroes waiting
In paper piles laid on the floor

I push my paintbrush lightly
And fill in any empty nail holes

A dresser top,
A jewelry box,
Colored tassels tied in knots

And a porcelain girl danced a music box ballet for us
And your nightlight is a star,
Or a firefly

That leads my gaze up to the ceiling
Wondering if you think that it's the sky

With all of your heroes waiting....
Open the window slightly, pick up paper off the floor
I hold my paintbrush tightly, and fill in any empty nail holes

Open the window slightly,
Open the window slightly...

You feel like yesterday, all tattered and worn away
And you say you don't care if I leave ya back there.
When you were open wide and let everyone inside
And they left you one by one
When the damage was done.

Well I know what you're thinking..
Sometimes you feel so second hand,
Passed over, left over, and just don't understand.
I guess you gave your best to every one of them.
What a shame you think they came and left you second hand.

You feel like yesterday, tired and torn away.
Though you say you don't care I'm gonna find you somewhere.
Remember who you are, you were always the brightest star
And though you're not shining now,
I'll get you back there somehow

'Cause everyone has been there..
When you feel so second hand,
Passed over, left over, and just don't understand.
I guess you gave your best to every one of them.
What a shame you think they came and left you second hand

And I know what you're thinking,
The lines upon your face
Were left there by the smile that went without a trace

Well I will be there,
We'll get you back to that place

Where you don't feel so second hand,
Passed over, left over, and just don't understand.
I guess you gave your best to every one of them.
What a shame you think they came and left you second hand,
Passed over and left over, ya just don't understand.
I guess you gave your best to every one of them,
What a shame you think they came and left you second hand,
Left you second hand, left you second hand.

We are for today
We are for the moment
We are a crusade
But we are invalid

1 am rummaging
Stained my hands on her antique
2 am

Reverend Girl

I am so indifferent
I am whatever

3 am cellophane
Suffocates my favorite things
4 am

The reverend girl
Seems that the more we're achieving,
The less chance of leaving this world
With a reverend girl

Another lover wakes me
Head upon a window pane
Before the thunder shook us
She could always smell the rain

A year is dissipating
Another hail cannot disdain
Never mind the thunder
Now my lover smells like
Now my lover smells like
Now my lover smells like rain

Rise, my love,
Be the one that you are.
Surprise, my love,
I love everything that you are.

You are the lows,
You are the highs,
You're the fears and the pain,
And rest assured we will survive another year.

What's it going to take to redirect us, to reconnect us, resurrect us, yeah.
What's it going to take to perfect us, to reconnect us, resurrect us, yeah.

Rise above
When I am what I am.
Surprise, my love,
You love everything that I am

I am the lows,
I am the highs,
I'm the fears and the pain.
And rest assured we will survive another year.

What's it going to take to redirect us, to reconnect us, resurrect us, yeah.
What's it going to take to perfect us, to reconnect us, resurrect us, yeah.
If we're a problem then we will correct us, reconnect us, resurrect us, yeah.

We are the lows,
We are the highs,
We're the fears and the pain.
We're not some temporary haven in a fierce hurricane.
Bring on the wind, bring on the rain, the thunder, lightning, it's insane.
Bring on the sun, bring on the breeze.

Yeah, we've made it now we're redirected, reconnected, resurrected, yeah.
Every little thing has been perfected, redirected, resurrected, yeah .
Every little problem was corrected, and redirected.
We're resurrected, yeah.
We're taking on the world and unaffected, we're redirected, resurrected, yeah.

Rise, my love,
Be the one that you are.
Surprise, my love,
I love everything that you are.

You are the lows,
You are the highs,
You're the fears and the pain,
And rest assured we will survive another year.

What's it going to take to redirect us, to reconnect us, resurrect us, yeah.
What's it going to take to perfect us, to reconnect us, resurrect us, yeah.

Rise above
When I am what I am.
Surprise, my love,
You love everything that I am

I am the lows,
I am the highs,
I'm the fears and the pain.
And rest assured we will survive another year.

What's it going to take to redirect us, to reconnect us, resurrect us, yeah.
What's it going to take to perfect us, to reconnect us, resurrect us, yeah.
If we're a problem then we will correct us, reconnect us, resurrect us, yeah.

We are the lows,
We are the highs,
We're the fears and the pain.
We're not some temporary haven in a fierce hurricane.
Bring on the wind, bring on the rain, the thunder, lightning, it's insane.
Bring on the sun, bring on the breeze.

Yeah, we've made it now we're redirected, reconnected, resurrected, yeah.
Every little thing has been perfected, redirected, resurrected, yeah .
Every little problem was corrected, and redirected.
We're resurrected, yeah.
We're taking on the world and unaffected, we're redirected, resurrected, yeah.

My sister had a nursery rhyme
Set of figurines
She'd often let me play with them, I'd
Set 'em up in different scenes
Fifty plastic army men, led by superman
Destroyed the ranks of mother goose
Mary and her little
Lamb slips away and catches
Sister getting real
And I can too, as long as I don't
Make a sound

When we were real we were in love
With everyone and everything, I guess it
Was the beauty of
Bluebird clears his throat of phlegm
And static singing operatic

Evening comes, and the butterflies are

Bats eat the spider that had saddled up
Beside her
And the dish, his lovin' spoon were
Never found
And I'm taking flight seeking relief, the
Lure of handkercheif so white
I chase it straight into the ground

If you want beautiful, pitiful,
Have me in a picture
And if you want make me dance,
Throw me round spin upon your
Finger
Blind labors the blind and I am
Unwilling to uncover my eyes

And if you want take your time rifle
Through, find a very nice one
If there's a crease in my face over
Time, there's plenty more where
That came from

Words, frozen, will thaw when I am
Wasted, I am better shut up
And a frame is quite confining
Hang me up...hang me up

I'm in the photograph

When I'm alone and the world is a
Fist, I am weightless
A universe, gravitate, orchestrate,
I am fearless
And spin, the sky surrounding free
From all the picture perfect
And spin the sky surrounding,
Larger than life, meanwhile
revious

Blushing a cue for her falsities
Advantage is my only masterpiece
Penny is poison but I don't mind
Penny is poison but I don't mind

Gardening malice for murderers
Flushes to me are the weeds to her

We know who we are

Starving the love of the marvelous
I was the penny to previous

I should be half a mile from here
I will go anywhere she goes
Shoulder the bags of a previous lover
I will go anywhere she goes
Sleep on the pillow that reeks
Of another

A will of mine to be impressive
I'm an amorous man

I will go anywhere she goes
Travel whenever, whatever the distance

The court deemed me to be offensive
I'm an ominous man

Once love is unanimous
No order demands

I should be half a mile from here

The court deemed me to be obsessive
I'm the ominous man
Jury reject the alibi's seemingly water-
tight
For the ominous man

I am the ominous man

She never wanted to talk
She never wanted to argue
But that's the way it goes
When there's nobody listening

Eyes straight on the front line
Knee deep in the river flow
Keep your chin up, keep your back straight
Rescue's on the way

Always the keeper of secrets
Always the source of confusion
But that's the way it goes
When there's nobody listening

Eyes straight on the front line
Knee deep in the river flow
Keep your chin up, keep your back straight
Rescue's on the way

Nobody said this was going to be easy
But I'll tell you what I'm gonna do

Can I take you to an oceanside
Can I take you to an oceanside
For a few hundred years
I'm telling you that's all I ever heard about it
Can I take you to an oceanside

Never a word of intention
Never a hope of reunion
But that's the way it goes
When there's nobody listening

Eyes straight on the high wire
Knee deep in the river flow
Keep your chin up, keep your back straight
Rescue's on the way

Nobody said this was going to be easy
But I'll tell you what I'm gonna do

You never seen nobody as divine as
She can see reflections
In her own eyes
An admission of desire,
On a handsome afternoon
Is an ovation to her ego
In her everyone is everything and
Everything is mine
Ms. Marceau
You don't need another,
You'll always be your own hero
Myself Ms. Marceau
You don't need another, you'll always
Be your own hero

As if we're speaking in
Another language
Every word means I, me,
Mine every hello every good
No escape to the life of the average
It's an ovation to my ego
In her everyone is everything and
Everything is mine

We're very fortunate to have her here
Accounts are empty and my friends
Deserted long ago but
She say that I'm okay, so I'm okay

Right turn,
The neighborhood is pretty quiet for a weekday.
Left turn,
The same one way to work almost everyday.

Pass by the high school,
A memory rerun
When I was seventeen couldn't wait for twenty-one.
I pass by the church
Where I married you
When you were twenty-one and I was twenty-two.

A stop sign,
A chance to clear my mind before the workday.
Then a right turn
Is where I catch another glimpse of the highway.

So I speed pass the building,
I always wanted to
Since I was twenty-one, almost twenty-two.
If I'd had the nerve,
I'd have quit there before
You turned twenty-three and couldn't take me anymore.

The well known
Sits in a cloud of dust of on this weekday.
My cell phone
Is in about a million pieces on the highway.

Speed down the highway,
Rack up the miles.
One hundred twenty-one, a hundred twenty-two.
Roll down the window,
Roll out the miles.
One hundred twenty-three, a hundred twenty-four.
And straight down the highway,
The road offers no guarantees.
(One thousand twenty-one, one thousand twenty-two.)
Drive through the morning, drive into the sun,
And I'm free.
(One thousand twenty-three, one thousand twenty-four).

It's different now
I feel that all those looks were just a game
You smoked and choked on cigarettes
And acted cute and lame-and lame

Your parting lips that wrapped me up
In promised company
Now mumble that each breath I take
Takes from the air you breathe-and breathe

You were to share these dreams
But from this bed it's different than it seems
You'll have to drag me everywhere you go
And you're not martyr material

You fell in love, you fell so hard
You said it must be days
I said that I am not quite ready
For your newest phase-your face

Conceding, lying, cheating
Deceiving relentlessly
My voice got softer
You could no longer hear me-hear me

That ring you wear in fashion
Has a chain that pierces through my nose
You'll have to drag me everywhere you go
And you're not martyr material

My life is riding in this chair of wheels
With arms that move too slow
You'll have to drag me everywhere you go
And you're not martyr material

roses dead in dirty water held up by the vase
once a gift good-bye but now remind me to replace
hardened petals bang the dresser when they fall away
kiss me idle

kiss me without make-up, leave no marks upon my chest
kiss me for no other reason then to give your eyes a rest
kiss me slow and leave me lifeless, let this all digest
kiss me idle

slowly, slowly, the longer it takes the better mistakes we end up stumbling on

i wouldn't want to leave upon your tongue a sour taste
leave it foiled and disappointed, wanting to be chased
a mouth that's open wide and speechless seems like such a waste
kiss me idle

one time lazy, another time dear, despite all your fears of outlasting my love
i can't afford the stubborn sleep on photographs of birthdays past
so close your eyes and catch your breath and i will wait right here

i tied my fingers to remind me to leave you every day
while my hair is growing white, the strings are turning gray
one by one they come undone until they fall away
kiss me idle kiss me idle

In march I met my wonder love
Then lost her underneath the April showers
By may we worked out our difference
By June the petals were all plucked from flowers

In between my girl
And there is no other in this world, oh no
I am in between my girl
And it's gonna be a brighter day
If she'd get the nerve to stay

Hey would you mind standing in for
I only need you for this weekday evening
Saturday, I never knew you
Sorry dear, you really need to understand that I am

In between...
She always gives me the runaround
She left me for a college boy
As sure as the world is round
Next semester she'll be back again
We're always off and on again
But for awhile I'll surely keep your number

In between...

Vanilla ice man cometh, goeth
Sampling, dealing, music stolen
To pre-pubescent girls appealing
Re-mix record contract sealing
Borrowed lyrics sung with feeling slumping
Record sales are healing

Concert hall promoters kneeling
Keeping grateful deadheads relling
Quite suppressed yet quite revealing
Influence is far from stealing

I've suffered a head I've suffered a head injury
I've suffered a head I've suffered a head injury

Techno-pop kids, stardom's rockets
Money in their label's pocket

Unrelentless, thoughtless selling
Busting charts, atop they're dwelling
Lacking substance story telling
Lost the message in this yelling

Robbing fortunes from the willing
Endless posing, mindless chilling
Plastic icing airtime filling
Instigating art-rock killing

I've suffered a head I've suffered a head injury
I've suffered a head I've suffered a head injury

The freaks are on the boulevard,
They dream and make believe.
Some will go try to forget
But most forget to leave.

I don't believe in miracles
But I still love this place.
And i should go while I still have,
A smile upon my face.

'Cause it beats you until you concede.
It's a Hollywood ending indeed.

For every last call miracle,
A hundred won't connect.
And I should go while I still have,
A little self respect.

So a round of drinks on me my friends,
I felt famous in this place.
And though you never learned my name,
You recognized my face

I leave them as they bottom-feed.
It's a Hollywood ending indeed.

The freaks are on the boulevard,
None are in disgrace.
But I should go while I still have,
A smile upon my face.

And I'll go while there's blood left to bleed.
It's a Hollywood ending indeed.

I can't believe that it was good for anyone, to me worth the wait
I doubt that anybody got their money's worth
But the attention sure felt great
With all eyes upon me, some filled with tears, some couldn't see

It burned like a cancer when the answer did occur to me
Creep from the cradle, but a hero's what I want to be
Keep it moving people cause there's nothing more for you to see
I'm just a jerk, but a hero's what I want to be yeah, oh yeah

Love me, love me sweet cowardice
Now that the thrill is mine for the moment
We really didn't need another suicide
Or a song explaining why, but it's not dignified

But I can't seem to kiss it goodbye
It burned like a cancer...
Keep it moving people...
It burned...

Keep it...
Erase this disaster even faster than you came to see
A creep from the cradle and a hero driven want to be
For your abuse, but not intended for internal use
I'm just a jerk , but a hero's what I want to be

I met a girl with bottles of wine
Though I prefer red, they tasted all right
Very soon, the room was spinning
Tug of war, the floor was winning

And she said, I can't help but laugh when I'm caught in a lie
I'm not who you thought, but you can kiss me goodnight
Her mouth was full of dirty words
Then cigarettes burned afterwards, that's when she said

Having a headline must be some experience
Having a headline's a sexual experience

Letters and postcards I meant to respond
Turned out my all was just medium
Then came one that said the only thing you ever gave were bad directions
I'd say it to your face but I can't find you

Having a headline...
I loved the fame and fashion till she said you better ration the good times
I wouldn't count on the good times

Having a headline...

sometimes i wish we had a short term memory just enough to recognize each other's face
it would be the same old stories but you're hanging onto every single word i have to say
and to the world i'm not that clever but you would stay with me forever
i'd keep your friends from reminding, reminding you to

save yourself, leave me behind you would if you had half a mind

i'd tell you every day's your birthday and every gift i bring could be the same
or how i stood beside you at a shotgun wedding and the child we once would love but never came
hearing stories that were never you would stay with me forever

but i'd forget to make money and you'd forget to

save yourself, leave me behind you would if you had half a mind (how vulnerable you are)
write a note to remind you you would if you had half a mind (how effortless to stay together)

for these ties you may have severed now you'll stay with me forever

and so you write on your forehead, or better yet you engrave
so when you look in the mirror, well you won't forget to

save yourself, leave me behind you would if you had half a mind (how vulnerable you are)
write a note to remind you you would if you had half a mind (how effortless to stay together)

if we had no memory whatsoever we would stay right here forever

i awoke to a threat that was empty, and a grandstand of i'm not through with you yet
a slamming door becomes my punctuation
i escape for a thrill ride with my friends, they agree to be temporary guardians
man, it's so appreciated, summer day intoxicated
with those who can relate, 2 months, a day, a wakeup
drink it down, dear brother, their generation smothers you
and we'll leave no trail to discover
build a callus sister, they're generation blisters
another wakeup with the morning hung over, we gonna pack up or waste another killer day
then our heads exploded, overload when we decide
hello... we're so out of here, hitchhike to Canada with backpacks full of cigarettes and beer
man, it's so appreciated, summer day intoxicated
with those who can relate, 2 months, a day, a wakeup
drink it down, dear brother..
listen up dear father, your generation bothers me and i'll leave you to grieve
with my mother
build a callus sister, they're generation blisters
now empty your bottles and open the throttles, there's plenty of fighting ahead
those fists weren't made for resting your head
shield your eyes, dear mother, from the pain that hovers round the mess of a man you've uncovered
drink it down, dear brother...
we'll blister

i've got to get arrested to keep you interested
i should have known that i can't change the world by staring at it
my arms have little feeling from lifting to the ceiling
a recipe for stealing hearts i have no power in healing

and i suppose the jesus pose is tired and superficial, lame
i wrote a song, i'm moving on, i'm praying you can do the same

i'm changing my direction making a correction
oh my god, i've dodged the unexpected bullets behind accolades and
shake your head of leisure get your head and body into seizure
and battle with whoever hides assault disguised as dancing

this rotting phase of hands that raise, bumping heads that pass each other
it's a boring phase, so part the wave and drop the dead as driftwood surfer

another song, it all went wrong, the radio refused to play it
i'm not afraid to serenade, the f word saved and sucked the life from me

i've got to get arrested to keep you interested

I wish that I could give breath
To the women I've created
In paragraphs and paragraphs
I've written to this date
And set them all upon my desk, choose one to ignore
Just to even the score

All the biggest plays I missed
'Cause I was sitting over on the sidelines
All the precious faces that
Refused to date someone outside the guidelines

Well, high school begins with worship for the leisure class
You swear you'll overcome it
But your envy doesn't seem to pass
How similar the shopping but at different stores
We've got to even the score

All the biggest plays I missed
'Cause I was sitting over on the sidelines
All the precious faces that
Refused to date someone outside the guidelines

All the biggest plays I missed
'Cause I was sitting over on the sidelines
All the precious faces that
Refused to date someone outside the guidelines

And if I ever drive you mild, and
Suffering this open kiss
And I'm barely juvenile
When everyone is outrageous,
And I alone will be sleeping through
The afternoon

And if I ever drive your style, and
Suffering your day predicted
With no ability to rile

And every yawn in contagious
And I alone will be sleeping through
The afternoon

I should drive you mild

ever drive you mild
ever drive you mild
ever drive you mild

I'm visiting
The ground's a little weathered where I
Stood right field in my neighborhood
I was mostly last
Always least dig it
At graduation everyone
Will throw their hats into sun
Then they'll drop like flies to the sea
This is not my cup of tea

And valerie
The winter won't be keeping her around
I'm nailing leaves to the ground
But it feels like sand underneath
Dig it

She's never letting me forget
I've always been an idiot
And at times like this I agree
This is not my cup of tea

Crash
In a wrinkle of steel we are gone
Will my last breath be a yawn
Watching then sorting debris
This is not my cup of tea

The show is over close the story book
There will be no encore
And all the random hands that I have s

Well they're reaching for the door
I watch their backs as they leave single file
But you stood stubborn, cheering all the while

I know I can be colorful
I know I can be gray
But I know this loser's living fortunate
Cause I know you will love me either way

Most were being good for goodness sake
But you wouldn't pantomime
You are more beautiful when you awake
Than most are in a lifetime
Through the haze that is my memory well
You stayed for drama though you paid for a comedy

I know I can be colorful
I know I can be gray
But I know this loser's living fortunate
Cause I know you will love me either way

Look ahead as far as you can see
We'll live in drama but we'll die in a comedy
I know I can be colorful...

The show is over close the story book There will be no encore And all the random hands that I have shook Well they're reaching for the door I watch their backs as they leave single file But you stood stubborn, cheering all the while I know I can be colorful I know I can be gray But I know this loser's living fortunate Cause I know you will love me either way Most were being good for goodness sake But you wouldn't pantomime You are more beautiful when you awake Than most are in a lifetime Through the haze that is my memory well You stayed for drama though you paid for a comedy I know I can be colorful I know I can be gray But I know this loser's living fortunate Cause I know you will love me either way Look ahead as far as you can see We'll live in drama but we'll die in a comedy I know I can be colorful...

I think you need some assistance
To keep yourself at a distance
It's harder when she's beautiful
It's easy when she's waking next to you

If you're gonna make a break, make a clean break
If you're gonna make a break, break clean
If you're gonna make a break, make a clean break
If you're gonna make a break, make a clean break

I can see the tables turning
Homefires lit, your house is burning
It's harder in the evening but
It's easy in the early afternoon

If you're gonna make a break, make a clean break
If you're gonna make a break, break clean
If you're gonna make a break, make a clean break
If you're gonna make a break, make a clean break

Sure there is an easy out by staying in
For one more session
You justify it all by seeing her in moderation
No opportunity for her to start a new relation
You help yourself because you're sensing
Obligation

I think it's great the way you handle
Both ends of a burning candle
It's harder when she's easy but it's easy
When she's just as hard on you

If you're gonna make a break, make a clean break
If you're gonna make a break, break clean
If you're gonna make a break, make a clean break
If you're gonna make a break, make a clean break

Boy there was a day an assortment of rhymes
and waving, we rode that parade for awhile
and everybody knew everybody

Boy there was a day being lonely was hard
and then your attention was never enough

I don't really know anybody in love
I don't want to know anybody in love

And when the mouth is open grows a cancer everybody wins
round and round and settle down, settle down

Brand the herd of those who duplicate
and crush the wind of those who deviate
and ride the wave along the mitigated mile
ride the wave along the mitigated mile

When my love complained, every word
A breath on my last dandelion
And so lovers will leave and their tears
Souvenirs for the very first time
I searched the world reluctant
To find a lover enthusiastic
Speak to me barely if at all

When I was a boy, funny things
Water wings kept you confident
A belly of wine, similar
To keep yourself indifferent

And I scraped the bargain basement
Bought a lover less than fantastic
Spoke to me barely if at all

Taste perfume that burns my throat
And I am free of envelope
Squeeze an instant out of me

And she placed a hand between our lips
How could anything be so precious
She kissed me barley if at all

And she, with her hand between our lips
Gave me what we now have in common
She left me barely if at all

I hear the driving of the nail
I hear the rain I hear the hail
I hear the laughter of the
People dancing 'round him
As he forces his poor family to set sail

If you don't care you will not cry
If you don't dare you will not try
And now I'm drowning in the dark
With thoughts of building my own ark

I feel my baby's on the rise
Sits there examining her thighs
In he comes all drenching clean
And lays upon her hard and lean
She comes when he never even tries

I'm sitting and wishing I were young
The best lines they'd flow right off my tongue
I'd believe that school is social banging in
And banging out and hanging in
And hanging out until we're hung

Of the envious
I am one

I've been living in here long enough,
Reminds of when times were tough.
'Cause I still think about you every day,
It's like you never really went away.

There were no signs, there were no warnings,
Saying that it's over.
All you left behind was everything.

You hung your favorite picture so you could see it everyday.
Then you went away and then you went away.
Its by the window garden you said you'd water everyday.
Then you went away and then you went away.

It's been a while and i feel alright.
And you can call me day or night
A€?Cause I don't think about you anymore.
In fact some of your things went out the door.

The only words that make me feel better
Are saying that it's over.
All you left behind was everything .

Slipped on the velvet curtains, the ones that you had custom made.
Then you went away and then you went away.
And there's my new best friend, the one you took in as a stray.
Then you went away and then you went away.

Guess it's not over yet,
'cause when I'm ready to forget
I remember where i am.

'Cause there's a photograph that you had put up on display.
Then you went away and then you went away.
And there's a box of letters that had me thinking you would stay.
Then you went away and then you went away.
And there's a coffee table you said would not be in the way.
Then you went away and then you went away
And in the window garden the leaves are falling in decay,
Since you went away and then you went away.

My hand asleep for hours
Waiting for the needles to begin
I have no control
They proceed to penetrate my skin

Acting as your slave I drink for amber waves
I never have embraced
Acting as your slave I drink an open grave
An epitaph defaced

Killing with compassion
She hasn't heard a word that I have said
Swallowing your passion
I can see a thousand miles ahead

Acting as your slave I drink for barricades
That I have often raised
Acting as your slave I numb my head and rave
Of epitaphs defaced

Acting as your slave I drink while she forgave
With trials left unfaced
Acting as your slave I stumble to her grave
An epitaph defaced

There's a million things I'd like to say
But if you'll stay I'll try to hold 'em back a little.
And a million things I'd like to hear before you disappear
And then you raise your voice a little.

It's been a minute and it's no surprise,
That you roll your eyes every time I wanna talk about it.
Another minute you throw up your hands
And then you make demands like you never wanna hear about it.
So let's be clear about it,

(chorus)
There's a million things I wish you were
But what's for sure is one thing I wish you were not.
I wish you weren't the one to leave me stranded
Here empty handed with a head full of wishes.

There's a million words and I've said none,
I've held them on my tongue and carry them into the evening.
I lie in bed and swallow every word and though it seems absurd,
It's worth it to keep you from leaving.

And in the morning when I lie awake because my insides ache,
I try to get back to a dream about it.
Where every word makes up the air you breathe.
You never think to leave 'cause you know you couldn't live without 'em.
You won't survive without 'em.

(chorus)

Another day of deflating your face into tears.
I shook your mood with the game and a bottle of beer.
The day I fell off of the wagon you threw up your hands in disgust.
Once again you just get the best of me.

Remember you loved to be held, how you loved to be touched.
And anxiously laughed at my jokes just a little too much.
When I was so careful of cursing while you were still nursing your beer.

Now it's a shame but I know that there's really no use for a brand new convertible.
A mile to your parents', a mile to the store.
Turn in our bottles for 10 cent deposits I'll drink us two dollars more.

I don't recall anyone placing a gun to our heads,
We traded a trip 'round the world for a family instead.
Our friend's were dispersing while you were still nursing our boy.

And I knew things had changed when the pet names that you once gave me we soon gave to the pets.
But I still come when you call them just to be sure.

Now there's really no use for a neighborhood cheerleader.
A block party president mowing his lawn,
Whose cabinet is empty with a mind full of nicotine fits.

God I can't make you love me,
Cause I don't have the strength anymore.