Walkin on a turnpike
Please don't let me down
Coz I don't wanna live in no company town
Got a Marlboro sign
Tattooed on my chest
Not a name on my arm
But I'm still the best
Football team won the city crown
But I don't wanna live in no company town
A vote don't mean nothin'
Without my pride
If you got room in the cab
I'll just hop inside
Everyone wears only black and brown
And I don't wanna live in no company town
Who should I call
When I got no phone?
Talk to myself
When I'm all alone
Brown shirt hangs
Over my chest
A name on my arm
Like all the rest
Pass me on the turnpike
I'll be wearing that frown
Coz I'm gonna die in this company town
I'll live forever in this company town
I'm gonna die in this company town
I'll live forever in this company town
It's all the same in a company town
Monday, May 4, 2009
Memories Seem Like Nothing Sometimes 09/27/87
Well deep in my mind
There lurks a memory of you
And it's telling me that
There is something I couldn't do
I know I had my chance
And lost it soon after that
But I am swearing to myself
That that won't hold me back
Coz memories seem like nothing sometimes
Memories seem like nothing sometimes
Memories seem like nothing sometimes
You and I both know that
I really did you wrong
But memories always appear
Just where they don't belong
I hesitate because I don't know
If you feel the same
But I also feel somehow that
Circumstances take the blame
The tables have been turned
With you not needing me
And me trying to cope with what
My memory can't see
Coz memories seem like nothing sometimes
Memories seem like nothing sometimes
Memories seem like nothing sometimes
Progress seems to show
With every memory in tow
And following my heart is easy now
Strive on feet of glass
To outrun approaching pasts
And balance is the key to knowing how
There lurks a memory of you
And it's telling me that
There is something I couldn't do
I know I had my chance
And lost it soon after that
But I am swearing to myself
That that won't hold me back
Coz memories seem like nothing sometimes
Memories seem like nothing sometimes
Memories seem like nothing sometimes
You and I both know that
I really did you wrong
But memories always appear
Just where they don't belong
I hesitate because I don't know
If you feel the same
But I also feel somehow that
Circumstances take the blame
The tables have been turned
With you not needing me
And me trying to cope with what
My memory can't see
Coz memories seem like nothing sometimes
Memories seem like nothing sometimes
Memories seem like nothing sometimes
Progress seems to show
With every memory in tow
And following my heart is easy now
Strive on feet of glass
To outrun approaching pasts
And balance is the key to knowing how
This Aching Heart Of MIne 09/22/87
The people all have teeth
That gnash away like knives
And I feel the wounds inflicted
On this aching heart of mine
Words like acid searing
Into my virgin skin
Silence is the flame
Of your eternal sin
Step after step of pain
Is what I have to climb
Bottom, middle, top I see
This aching heart of mine
That gnash away like knives
And I feel the wounds inflicted
On this aching heart of mine
Words like acid searing
Into my virgin skin
Silence is the flame
Of your eternal sin
Step after step of pain
Is what I have to climb
Bottom, middle, top I see
This aching heart of mine
Stonewall (Early)
I climb the stone wall
To get to the other side
I climb the wall
To receive a free ride
I've reached the peak
When I reach the wall
Now I must make sure
That I don't fall
The people here
Cannot relate
Your feelings and mine
Will have to wait
To get over the wall
Will satisfy
Take pressure off of me
No need to wonder why
After I get over
It'll be your turn
Then you must try
To fight and to discern
Discern exactly what is there
And if it'll help you get anywhere
To get to the other side
I climb the wall
To receive a free ride
I've reached the peak
When I reach the wall
Now I must make sure
That I don't fall
The people here
Cannot relate
Your feelings and mine
Will have to wait
To get over the wall
Will satisfy
Take pressure off of me
No need to wonder why
After I get over
It'll be your turn
Then you must try
To fight and to discern
Discern exactly what is there
And if it'll help you get anywhere
Subject To Change 09/16/87
In this world of ceremony
With little substance found
Distribute the wealth
To all those college bound
Don't know how to work
Just know how to spend
Don't know how to give
Sure know how to lend
Shake them to their senses
But I feel a futile rage
Sticks & stones scratch their Camaros
But they aren't subject to change
In this world of little murders
That happen every day
Little people you & me
Dying each and every way
Scuba diving, hand gliding
Morning noon and night
Indians on reservations
See you flying through the night
Tecumseh saw the Promised Land
And the Prophet saw the way
We blinded them with liquor
They're blinded to this day
With little substance found
Distribute the wealth
To all those college bound
Don't know how to work
Just know how to spend
Don't know how to give
Sure know how to lend
Shake them to their senses
But I feel a futile rage
Sticks & stones scratch their Camaros
But they aren't subject to change
In this world of little murders
That happen every day
Little people you & me
Dying each and every way
Scuba diving, hand gliding
Morning noon and night
Indians on reservations
See you flying through the night
Tecumseh saw the Promised Land
And the Prophet saw the way
We blinded them with liquor
They're blinded to this day
A Drunken Eagle 02/10/88
Talking and eating with friends and the such
Never thought that we would amount to much
Laughing at the grinding and the shifting of the clutch
Isn't it sad that we've grown out of touch
Can you see my wings?
Walking to the store when I was twelve years old
Buy myself a soda that was always cold
Never holding to promises that we told
Now I've got this heavy soul that I've got to hold
Don't you see my wings?
Is it only in my brain or are we losing ground
Only kings of yesteryear were ever crowned
But that's all lost never to be found
Just like our innocents that we bury down town
Getting drunk for the first time seemed like such a thrill
Or smoking up pot then eating to our fill
But then I start to wonder an I wonder still
I have seen it murder, I have seen it kill
Look at my wings
I am drunk as I write this so it may be absurd
When you think about all the things that you just heard
I wish that I could say that I was free as a bird
And the alcohol helps coz the bars are all a blur
I can't see my prey because I'm up so high
And my wings begin to falter as I think of things gone by
I am still an eagle but I now begin to cry
It's so cold up here the tear is frozen in my eye
My claws do not hold fast as I perch upon the limb
Fog, snow and pollution have made my landscape grim
I see the hunter come as the sun grows very dim
I scream that I'm an Eagle but that doesn't hinder him
Never thought that we would amount to much
Laughing at the grinding and the shifting of the clutch
Isn't it sad that we've grown out of touch
Can you see my wings?
Walking to the store when I was twelve years old
Buy myself a soda that was always cold
Never holding to promises that we told
Now I've got this heavy soul that I've got to hold
Don't you see my wings?
Is it only in my brain or are we losing ground
Only kings of yesteryear were ever crowned
But that's all lost never to be found
Just like our innocents that we bury down town
Getting drunk for the first time seemed like such a thrill
Or smoking up pot then eating to our fill
But then I start to wonder an I wonder still
I have seen it murder, I have seen it kill
Look at my wings
I am drunk as I write this so it may be absurd
When you think about all the things that you just heard
I wish that I could say that I was free as a bird
And the alcohol helps coz the bars are all a blur
I can't see my prey because I'm up so high
And my wings begin to falter as I think of things gone by
I am still an eagle but I now begin to cry
It's so cold up here the tear is frozen in my eye
My claws do not hold fast as I perch upon the limb
Fog, snow and pollution have made my landscape grim
I see the hunter come as the sun grows very dim
I scream that I'm an Eagle but that doesn't hinder him
That He Loved Her 04/16/89
She met him at a party just a couple weeks ago
They hit it off right from the very start
And she dreamt of him that night you know
With a deep longing in her heart
The next time she saw him it was at the super mart
And they talked and talked in a lovely banal chatter
It was painful when they finally had to part
And she began at last to feel that she would matter
Now these two chance encounters brought silence to the clatter
That had so long occupied her story and her time
She'd get comments that would not hurt - indeed, even to flatter
Her confidence once so low began to climb
She was extremely beautiful, it was spring and she was prime
And she knew somehow that she would see him soon
Finally she felt clean she had washed away the grime
And at last she saw the gleaming glowing moon
Today she walked into the park and heard a crazy crying loon
And she saw him past the slide and at the swing
Through her head ran a bouncy funny tune
That Van the Man loved and used to sing
She walked towards him happily - didn't notice anything
She smiled at him hopefully and he looked the other way
As he tried his best to hide his child and his ring
And think of anything that he could try to say
She saw him at the store one year later to the day
And he watched her start to sob and start to cry
He said without feeling, "Let's just be friends, ok?"
So she sobbed again and then she asked him why
He couldn't answer her and so she began to go
He grabbed her quickly but of course he didn't try
To kiss her coz then she'd be sure to know
That he loved her
They hit it off right from the very start
And she dreamt of him that night you know
With a deep longing in her heart
The next time she saw him it was at the super mart
And they talked and talked in a lovely banal chatter
It was painful when they finally had to part
And she began at last to feel that she would matter
Now these two chance encounters brought silence to the clatter
That had so long occupied her story and her time
She'd get comments that would not hurt - indeed, even to flatter
Her confidence once so low began to climb
She was extremely beautiful, it was spring and she was prime
And she knew somehow that she would see him soon
Finally she felt clean she had washed away the grime
And at last she saw the gleaming glowing moon
Today she walked into the park and heard a crazy crying loon
And she saw him past the slide and at the swing
Through her head ran a bouncy funny tune
That Van the Man loved and used to sing
She walked towards him happily - didn't notice anything
She smiled at him hopefully and he looked the other way
As he tried his best to hide his child and his ring
And think of anything that he could try to say
She saw him at the store one year later to the day
And he watched her start to sob and start to cry
He said without feeling, "Let's just be friends, ok?"
So she sobbed again and then she asked him why
He couldn't answer her and so she began to go
He grabbed her quickly but of course he didn't try
To kiss her coz then she'd be sure to know
That he loved her
Crown of Doldrums 04/16/89
He had a five o'clock shadow - it was barely ten
He could figure what he did - just couldn't figure when
The one thing he was sure of - he'd never see her again
'Coz she was in his cellar lying dead
He couldn't remember exactly what it was that she had said
But it got him going real good - he had started seeing red
And the next thing he knew she had badly hit her head
And was sprawled out at the bottom of the stairs
He was gonna try to hide her but he knew they'd find the hairs
They'd have him in the tabloids as the man with Deadly Flair
Besides he felt real bad - didn't think it would be fair
If he got off scot-free and she was gone
He knew he couldn't convince them all that it was he who had been conned
That she had made him crazy with the Crown of Love she'd donned
And he couldn't bear the thought of the child he had spawned
He didn't care how he got out of this - just that he did
So he brought the speeding car of his life to a peaceful skid
And thought about that which he was now so thankfully rid
And the Crown of Doldrums that had so long adorned his id
Coz she was in his cellar lying dead
He could figure what he did - just couldn't figure when
The one thing he was sure of - he'd never see her again
'Coz she was in his cellar lying dead
He couldn't remember exactly what it was that she had said
But it got him going real good - he had started seeing red
And the next thing he knew she had badly hit her head
And was sprawled out at the bottom of the stairs
He was gonna try to hide her but he knew they'd find the hairs
They'd have him in the tabloids as the man with Deadly Flair
Besides he felt real bad - didn't think it would be fair
If he got off scot-free and she was gone
He knew he couldn't convince them all that it was he who had been conned
That she had made him crazy with the Crown of Love she'd donned
And he couldn't bear the thought of the child he had spawned
He didn't care how he got out of this - just that he did
So he brought the speeding car of his life to a peaceful skid
And thought about that which he was now so thankfully rid
And the Crown of Doldrums that had so long adorned his id
Coz she was in his cellar lying dead
Repeat Offender Blues (The Petty Thief's Lament) 11/02/87
Lookin thru my magazines
See about your fame
Lookin thru police beat
See about my shame
You always said give me a ring
If ever you're in trouble
I called you up your agent said
She'll be back on the double
He said I could call back
But that was my only call
Lookin thru my records
Hear you singin songs I sing
But I ain't got a turntable
Don't listen to a single thing
They're showin your movie in my cell tonight
While all my cellmates are learnin how to write
So I thought I would ask you
Just to send me a line
And tell me how you hope that
I am doin fine
Coz I ain't got no calls left
And there's nothin I can do
I'll have to skip your movie
To learn how to write to you
He said I could call back
And I heard you tell him no
Thru the bars I see
A billboard with your face
Shooting down my dreams each morning
As I get up to shave
I'll see you baby pretty quick
Soon as I get an appeal
But I've got KP tomorrow
And the warden won't cut a deal
Turn off the TV sitcom sir
Because she always laughs at me
It's a pretty funny show they say
Something I just don't wanna see
When I get out of here my girl
Your star'll be plastered on that street
And I'll come by and stomp on you
With my shoeless blistered feet
He said that I could call you back
I could see you running out the door
See about your fame
Lookin thru police beat
See about my shame
You always said give me a ring
If ever you're in trouble
I called you up your agent said
She'll be back on the double
He said I could call back
But that was my only call
Lookin thru my records
Hear you singin songs I sing
But I ain't got a turntable
Don't listen to a single thing
They're showin your movie in my cell tonight
While all my cellmates are learnin how to write
So I thought I would ask you
Just to send me a line
And tell me how you hope that
I am doin fine
Coz I ain't got no calls left
And there's nothin I can do
I'll have to skip your movie
To learn how to write to you
He said I could call back
And I heard you tell him no
Thru the bars I see
A billboard with your face
Shooting down my dreams each morning
As I get up to shave
I'll see you baby pretty quick
Soon as I get an appeal
But I've got KP tomorrow
And the warden won't cut a deal
Turn off the TV sitcom sir
Because she always laughs at me
It's a pretty funny show they say
Something I just don't wanna see
When I get out of here my girl
Your star'll be plastered on that street
And I'll come by and stomp on you
With my shoeless blistered feet
He said that I could call you back
I could see you running out the door
Tomorrow Turn Today 02/13/89
I'm hummin this song to myself
Sorry if I seem a little strange
Got my baseball hat on backwards
Sorry if I sing a little out of my range
Just leave me alone for a moment
I'll entertain the whole damn earth
A vinyl record in a CD player
I tell ya - that's what I'm worth
Everything in the world is there
But there doesn't seem to be a way
To make you hear the song I'm hummin
To make tomorrow turn
Today
I'm playing this imaginary guitar
I'm playing it extremely well
My jeans are ripped and my shirt is tight
My eyes say I got something to sell
So if you give me a chance to stand
Your ear right on your ass
I'll make you sit down stand up baby
And your heart will break like glass
But I'm only hypothetical
Rhetorical all the way
I know I can never deliver
What I promised you
Today
The movie that I made in my head last night
Filled with bright lights and dark sounds
Woke me up with tears and a shiver
Coz it went so far out of my bounds
And I smile to myself but never to you
Because I'm afraid that if I see
You smilin back for any reason
You might be laughin at me
So I scream the most important things
To me - but I just get in the way
Because maybe you'd like to hear it
You might like what I've got to say
I can't make tomorrow turn today
Can't deliver that promise today
But you might like what I've got
Like what I've got to say
Today
Sorry if I seem a little strange
Got my baseball hat on backwards
Sorry if I sing a little out of my range
Just leave me alone for a moment
I'll entertain the whole damn earth
A vinyl record in a CD player
I tell ya - that's what I'm worth
Everything in the world is there
But there doesn't seem to be a way
To make you hear the song I'm hummin
To make tomorrow turn
Today
I'm playing this imaginary guitar
I'm playing it extremely well
My jeans are ripped and my shirt is tight
My eyes say I got something to sell
So if you give me a chance to stand
Your ear right on your ass
I'll make you sit down stand up baby
And your heart will break like glass
But I'm only hypothetical
Rhetorical all the way
I know I can never deliver
What I promised you
Today
The movie that I made in my head last night
Filled with bright lights and dark sounds
Woke me up with tears and a shiver
Coz it went so far out of my bounds
And I smile to myself but never to you
Because I'm afraid that if I see
You smilin back for any reason
You might be laughin at me
So I scream the most important things
To me - but I just get in the way
Because maybe you'd like to hear it
You might like what I've got to say
I can't make tomorrow turn today
Can't deliver that promise today
But you might like what I've got
Like what I've got to say
Today
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