1. |
Are You Nervous
03:09
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then the kitchen floor became
your favorite bed
a place to lay
where the light hadn’t fled yet
and fluorescent beat down
on this sick side of town
and the cannibal came easy
you weren’t really eating anyone else
you just decided to let them eat yourself
and juggle what you could get for free
and my heart, it broke steadily
a pond, hearing far away from view
in a corner, pressed up against a tree
and underneath your blouse
i heard a chorus screaming out
are you nervous now
are you nervous? are you bowing in cathedrals made of stone?
do you only hear a train wreck when listening alone?
me, i hear a choir singing sinner welcome home,
in a lonely discoteque on the outskirts of raton.
has your mother tried to tell you
child be careful where you go,
don’t go into dark corners, you may not come home
and be careful what you look like
or they’ll surely pick you out, are you nervous now
are you nervous? are you bowing in cathedrals made of stone?
do you only hear a train wreck when listening alone?
me, i hear a choir singing sinner welcome home,
in a lonely discoteque on the outskirts of raton.
are you nervous? are you bowing in cathedrals made of stone?
do you only hear a train wreck when listening alone?
me, i hear a choir singing sinner welcome home,
in a lonely discoteque on the outskirts of raton.
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2. |
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she is in a stainedglass window
i am in a cathode ray
all we need is twenty more inches
all we need is one more frame
to lift us high like billboards rising
smoke swirling up, daylight expiring
there is a circus in my chest
though i cannot whisper it, it could heal i guess
and I’ve not got time for these feelings
my thoughts are somewhere up north
beneath these heels and hats then
a long parade going forward
with nothing but a telephone
a television to tells us all what weve been missing
ive been waiting for your call
ive been waiting for it all
to lift us high like billboards rising
smoke swirling up, daylight expiring
there is a circus in my chest
though i cannot whisper it, it could heal i guess
outside the bar in wintertime
cigarette ashes in hands held high
believing in the lonely engaging vision
believing in the only remaining expedition
to lift us high like billboards rising
smoke swirling up, daylight expiring
there is a circus in my chest
though i cannot whisper it, it could heal i guess
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3. |
Ragman
04:01
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i’m sorry you dont know my name
i’m sorry that you are afraid
i’m sorry you’ve been paralyzed inside
i’m sorry you can’t feel a thing
i heard that you were walking home
and then you turned around and ran
worried that your very own
they would not take you back again
and i have been where you have been
i have peered over the edge
of bridges and of tenements
i sleep alone beneath the hedge
and i have bled where you have bled
bright red and bursting from my chest
i bleed alone in central park
i bleed alone in budapest
i am the ragman
i am the ragman
you thought that you were damned
you thought that you were damned
and i have been where you will be
in death in dumpsters my right arm
i have given my right mind
so that yours could be kept warm
and i have been where you will be
my rags cannot be torn apart
I bear your pain and agony
I die alone and in the dark
i am the ragman
i am the ragman
you thought that you were damned
you thought that you were damned
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4. |
Museum of Art
04:21
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She took my hands in hers
though they were caked in dust
she washed them with her tears and cried
what will be come of us?
lonesome when we stumbled hand in hand down to the sea
in lonesome death she mumbled I would die should you leave me!
Stand tall i said, and left her, and I raised the bottle high,
traced her red lips with my fingertips
and then go lay down and die,
lay down and die.
But the death I died was easy
and the tellin easier yetor I died to all else but her, yes I died to all regret,
like a flower finding water in a spring beneath its stem
or a mountain realizing a volcano lies within
we exploded ‘cross the desert, we exploded ‘cross the sea
oh how we were still expanding into distant galaxies
yes, galaxies
but her boots were built of iron
her ankles made of clay
her heart though gold soon grew to cold a place for me to lay
and her eyes though brightly shining
were only diamonds laid in lace
she shattered like all statues do beneath progress and pace
she was torn from the city
at the center of my heart
and they took her head and placed it in
a cold museum of art
museum of art
so do not worship gods of iron
mortar rounds or hand grenades
find the prisoners and untie them
dig the dead up from their grave
we be marching resurrection
toward a city without stain
we’ve begun the insurrection
no more hiding out in caves
stand tall i say in laughter and i raise the bottle high
trace your red lips with my fingertips
and then go lay down and die.
lay down and die.
so do not worship gods of iron
mortar rounds or hand grenades
find the prisoners and untie them
dig the dead up from the grave
we be marching resurrection
toward a city without stain
we’ve begun the insurrection
no more hiding out in caves
stand tall i say and loved her and i raised the bottle high
traced her red lips with my fingertips
and then go lay down and die.
lay down and die.
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5. |
Cathedral
03:21
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6. |
Ships Don't Sail
03:01
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you play piano like a manatee
youre voice my love is a dead man’s breeze
through the loneliest cold hard dead pine tree
you’re fingers they scrape across the keys
and your laughing call brings me to my knees
your laughing call brings me to my knees
well the ships don’t sail in them kinda winds
ya better come home
ya better come in
you’ll be lost forever just wanderin
well ships don’t sail in them kinda winds
well hey hey! ey! ey!
lets leave the pale blue glow of the hotel television
and park your station wagon down in those gravel ditches
yes i shot that man in his brand new bridges
i shot that man, i wanted his riches
well you’ve got such a straw heart and a blunt edged mind
to wake me up in the night and tell me lies
why don’t you take a walk to the river in the pale moonlight
tie a stone to your ankle, and let yourself die
die die die! ai! ai! ai! ai!well we could be train robbers and live our lives in sunsets
keep your rocket launchers trained on their private jets
and we’ll bring em down like a band of pirates
turn the world around, we’re all communist
well i just saw a wanted sign
they're trying to paint your picture in black and white stripes
tryin to make you a lesson for the little guy
youll end up in prison if you live a wild life
ships dont sail in them kinda winds
you better come home
you better come in
youll be lost forever just wanderin
well ships dont sail in them kinda winds
well hey hey! ey! ey!
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7. |
One I Have Always Loved
03:56
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the one i have always loved,
the one i have barely known
climbs into the clouds above,
fades into the hills alone
and as the valley folds out and up
and shimmers the rim of her glass
the one i have always known
she always folds up last
so green and incomplete
such beauty could never be sure
if its nothing you could repeat
if its nothing you’ve seen before
and as the hills start piling up
and filling out my past
the one I have always loved,
she always climbs up last
i have opened up my tower
i have tuned my bell for her
i will ring it every hour
as the hills and i endure
and as i bend in toward the blood
and pile up the trash
the one i have always loved,
she always climbs up last
in the white dust of the hills,
i have lonely taken up walking
in the grass barefoot and still
i can hear her sweet voice talking
as i bend in toward the blood
and pile up the trash
the one i have always loved,
she always climbs up last
i have opened up my tower
i have tuned my bell for her
i will ring it every hour
as the hills and i endure
and as i bend in toward the blood
and pile up the trash
the one i have always loved,
she always climbs up last
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8. |
Just A Tomb
03:04
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i picked a white hair, from your head
a letter from your older self,
as the sun was coming in
like a cripple on a mat
all day long we fought death back
the two of us so brave
we could have been blindfolded
and wandered round and wandered round and wandered round and wandered round
a graveyard full of empty graves and not been afraid of fallin’ down
how can i not be afraid of fallin’ in? well isn’t that just what a city is?
streets intertwine, barbedwire prisons, buildings downtown, nobody in them
wohoho isn’t it all just a tomb?
wohoho isn’t it all just a tomb?
so i’ll see ya there, in light inexpressible
tell those ya see around ya, soon all is ending
the naked mannequins behind barred bar windows
those clicking turnstiles, they are not pretending
no, no they are not pretending, no no, they are not pretend
how can i not be afraid of fallin’ in? well isn’t that just what a city is?
streets intertwined, barbed wire prisons, buildings downtown, nobody in them
isn’t it all just a tomb?
isn’t it all just a tomb?ill be to the poor, a beggar in need, to the rich ill be angry and cruel
i will sneak in their doors, and tear down tapestries,
for the bums i have died for need fuel.
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9. |
My Family's Gone
04:39
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i got a brother whose name is hungry
he lives up there in the cold north country
picking honey from the honey bees
picking honey from the honey bees
i got a sister whose name is crazy
she wanders the mountains picking daisies
seems theres more than words can say
seems theres more than words can say
my family is gone
moved to the woods
and i guess i should
do the same
theres nothing left here
but a world of shame
and my heart is there, in the trees,
every holiday, i spend it in the leaves
and my mama says, you are mine
but you’re stuck in
the machinery of a cold city
and she’s right i guess, i mean its lonely
here in bed, with no one to hold me
and hardly doin’ what its common to
and she’s right i guess i mean its tiresome
living a lie that id desire for nobody,
least of all, for you
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10. |
I'm Your Man
04:22
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I can be a dark rain cloud
and hover over your head,
or a brightly shining wedding gown
and haunt your nights in bed
slip me in your suitcase,
handcuffed tightly to your wrist
you’re gonna need me when you leave this placeto help ya handle this
cause you’re heart has no compass
and you’re friends they’re all broke
spent all your compassion
to buy me for a joke
set the bottle on the floor
let the gun from your hand
leave em lay in the graveyard
leave em drift in the sand
im your man
im your man
then the candle flame sputters
in your spray painted hands
and you quote your mother and mutter
well life, its just no marching band
but when they see us come in
they will fall to the deck
and they’ll always be running
long as you got me hanging round your neck
let me be your compass
let me be your cross
let me be compassion
let me be lost
set the bottle on the floor
let the gun from your hand
leave em lay in the graveyard
leave em drift in the sand
im your man
im your man
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