Black mollies in the aquarium
Darting back and forth as though an earthquake were certain
And I turned up the heater
And I ripped off my shirt

And I grabbed hold of my stereo
And I threw it out the window
You were in town again
You'd come around again
You were dragging me down again with you

Siamese fish flashing like sparklers
It started to rain
And the telephone rang a couple of times
I put a bullet through its cold dead brain

and I got out my photographs of you
and I put bullets though all of them too
You were in town again
You'd come around again
You were dragging me down again with you

call me the running man
call me alachua county bill
call me dripping water underneath the phospher still
call me roy the ripper tearing at your skin
one day I'll pay for this,
for now just let me in.

it's a straight walk home.
it's a straight walk home.
it's a straight walk home.
straight walk home.
through the generation fields
and the ventilation dome.
body after body, alone.

nix your ***** water
forget your resource management skills
I crawl starving down sloping colorado hills
call me roy the ripper tearing at your skin
one day I'll pay for this,
for now just let me in.

it's a straight walk home.
straight walk home.
straight walk home.
straight walk home.
through the generation fields
and the ventilation dome.
body after body, alone.

i saw the darkness coming down,
it posed no threat to me
i let the dakrness ease its way around
it was every good thing
i'd expected it would be
i saw you coming,
through the twisting vines outside
i saw the new moon collide
with the stars
clustered around her.

i saw the young fruit, of the new lime
i felt your breath catch it's rhythm.
i heard your legs push away the tall dry brush
i saw the moon and the stars
and knew the secrets within them.
i heard you saying
my name into my ear
no one has to tell me
why you've come here,
'cause i know.
i know.
i know.

Feeling bogged down with the manotiny of my daily life
Feels like im reliving a car wreck of pain of strife
i try to slam on the brakes but the lines been slashed
cant stop or slow down i am going to crash

so i try to look inwardly and analyze the things that are troubling me
But all i see are reflections of me doing things i dont quite agree with

it was raining outside so i cleaned house today
spent half of the morning throwing old things away
try not to get caught up, try to think like a machine  
focus in on the task, try not to think about what it means

can't get you
outta my head
lost without you
half dead

took my spot at the window, looked out at the road
dots and dashes of traffic like a message in code
and whole boxes of memories wrapped up at the curb
i sang songs to myself, didn't have any words

can't get you
outta my head
lost without you
half dead

stole out to the backyard late last night
pine trees frozen in the silvery moonlight
rising like giants from the cold earth
what are the years we gave eachother ever gonna be worth?

can't get you
outta my head
lost without you
half dead

let the sails catch the wind.
let them grow fat and full.
set out the trawl to catch the animals that look like aliens.
the wooden floorboards let out a full and satisfying sound when you rap your fists against them?
let the sun become hollow.
let the heat from it wash down madly.
and let me have a minute of your time.

stop the flood from rushing through its usual motions.
let the rudder lie still.
let the water eat  though it.
let its color darken as the day grows older.
let the light break off the water like a bottle on the sidewalk.
let it break against the edges of all - everything.
let me have a minute of your time.

watch the current switch direction.
watch the lines there in the center twist and turn.
look back toward the shore where it was a while ago.
you know, i can't see it either. can you?
give me that much at least.
it is far beyond our reach.
the day has disappeared from view.
and let me have a minute of your time.

the cabbages that I will grow
one by one and row on row
will fatten in the spring sun
and breathe in the night air

you will hear them breathing
if you walk by at night
you may not hear them after all
but that's all right

I've set the table for two
I've cleaned the windows for you
I've got cinnamon from Jakarta
for making French toast
the doctor says that I've got
thirty days left at most

the cabbages that I will grow
the love songs on the radio
will deepen in the springtime
they'll be brighter than the stars

there was a twinkle in my eye
as we watched the fish swim by
we saw the water going in and out
and you knew what i was thinking about

we watched the water
we looked right through it
and i let my hand rest a minute on your stomach
like there was nothing to it

three of them hiding behind a rock
and i got too nervous to talk
with your wondrous form all stretched out
right next to me as the fish swam about

we watched the water
we looked right through it
and i let my hand rest a minute on your stomach
like there was nothing to it

the room heated up the windows were closed
we heard the humming of the air hose
that ran into the tank and the fish swam in place
and i fixed my eyes on your beautiful face

we watched the water
we looked right through it
and i let my hand rest a minute on your stomach
like there was nothing to it

People are wasteful they waste all the food
People are hateful and people are rude
But god I love some people sometimes
Because people are very very special

People are impatient they don't know how to wait
People are mean yeah people are prone to hate
But god I love some people sometimes
Because people are the greatest thing to happen

People are people regardless of skin
People are people regardless of creed
People are people regardless of gender
People are people regardless of anything

People are my religion because I believe in them
People are my enemies and people are my friends
I have faith in my fellow man
And I only hope that he has faith in me

I am so mad at you
for making me such a *******
giving me such high standards
I'm mad at you

But I'll find you
inside of someone else
even if finding you in of someone else
is hard to do

This never ending pursuit of happiness
is getting harder and harder to accomplish
the lies I tell myself
just so I can get by
are getting less and less convincing all the time

and I just can't shake the feeling
that I'll be alone forever
please tell me that's not the case

So I will go look for
things I find important
qualities that are unique
and traits I find attractive in other people

I AM OLDER THAN MUSIC

WHAT I BRING IS LIGHT

WHAT I BRING IS A STAR

WHAT I BRING IS

AN ANCIENT SEA

WHEN YOU SLEEP YOU SEE ME

DANCING AT THE CORE

IT IS NOT A BLIGHT

IT IS MY HOUSE

I PUT A STAR

INTO THE WORLD'S MOUTH

TO ****** IT

TEAR DOWN THE PYLONS

MY BLIND FISH

SWIM IN THE NEW

PHLOGISTON

TEAR DOWN THE PYLONS

MY DEAF MOONS

SING AND BURN

AND ORBIT ME

I AM OLDER THAN MUSIC

WHAT I BRING IS LIGHT

WHAT I BRING IS A STAR

WHAT I BRING IS

AN ANCIENT SEA

you come around here when the lights are down low.
and you hang around for six or seven hours and then you get ready to go.
well, i remember when you used to kiss me without me asking you to
yeah i remember when you used to.

when i lean toward to you, you turn away.
it's a quarter past one a.m. on a warm saturday.
that's alright, that's alright, i hear you.
don't do anything you don't want to do.
but, i remember when you used to kiss me without me asking you to.
yeah i remember when you used to.

I like to be liked by people I like
And I love to be loved by people I love
And I hate to be loved by people I hate
I love to be hated by people I hate

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

One for the hard drugs in my body
And two for the bad drinks in my tummy
Three for the evil thoughts in my head
Four for all the people that I wish were dead

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

Im gonna set your son on fire
Im gonna set your son on fire
And Im gonna choke him with a wire
Im gonna set your son on fire

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

i got your letter.
and i read what it said.
and i blushed with recognition at every word you said.
and you are my best friend.
and i have always known you.

i came to your house.
and i looked around.
and i felt the real rain falling down.
and you are my best friend.
and i have always known you.

I died, I died in the year 2002
Sorry my love, that I keep haunting you
sorry but it's all I can do
sorry but it's all i can do

It was july, it was july when they buried me
it was july when they laid me down to sleep
I know that you wept for me
I know that you wept for me

they put me down, they put me down
into the earth and they covered me with dirt
some people say being dead is painless and peaceful
but let me tell you, dear, it hurts
it hurts, it hurts, it hurts

I dug my way up, I dug my way up
from the grave that very day I followed you home,
I didn't want to be alone
and now in your shadows I will stay
and now in your shadows I'll stay

You were so sweet, so sweet to me
I'll always love your memory
and I won't hold it against you,
I swear I don't mind that you killed me
I don't mind that you killed me

and I don't want to go to heaven
and I don't want to go to hell
I don't want to go anywhere
I don't want to go anywhere

and I don't want to go to heaven
and I don't want to go to hell
if you are not gonna be there
if you're not gonna be there

I'm a ghost, I'm a ghost without substance,
without form but I'll haunt you
backwards through your life
until the day that you were born
til the day that you were born

let the stars come out, and the moon shine bright
we're sleeping on the porch tonight
wind blew all the power lines down
watch where you step if you go walking around

this may be the night
our bodies fill with light
and we may hover above
the surface of
our warm, lonely planet

let cooling rains come, let them fall
let the grass grow strong and tall
let the dandelions breed
give me what you know I need

this may be the night
our bodies fill with light
and we may hover above
the surface of
our warm, lonely planet

I'll never be the comfort
you lost when you were nine or so
I can't fill those big of holes
Thought you knew that about me

I never want to wake up
living in your fake memory
I want to wake up in your bed
******* scared

Pushing through the *******
and working up the nerve to speak

I'll never fix your car
or find you another dead end job
So lets lay on this carpeted floor
and draw with crayons

lob some spit at the window
watch it drop down the pane
it's only the guilty who concern themselves
with clearing their names

you bring tidings of hope,
false tidings
when you come here
there's two friends who did me wrong
that you're protecting

it's so clear
and when you speak
it's those two who speak through you
who'll speak for me
the burning and the electricity

sun goes down San Francisco
friends are hard to find
chew them up just as quick as I can find them
try to clear my mind

remember hours at the table
gauze flight light easing through
if there's one thing that I'm not going to do tonight
it's die for you

'cause when you speak
it's those two who speak through you
who'll speak for me
the burning and the electricity

Today is the first day of the end of your life
It was over as soon as you looked me in the eyes
Now you're screaming and im laughing
if only you could find some way to be less afraid of me
you just might just enjoy it as much as i do

Look upon my face and wonder.
Raise your arms that I may look on them and bestow a blessing.
Know that battle is a blessing.
Know that death is an eventuality.
Know that you are dust in my eyes.
Long is the arm of the Dreamer, and swift is the blade.
Deep is the cut, and subtle is the poison.
Worship, o faithful. Pray your death is swift.
Worship, o faithful. Pray your death is quiet.
Worship, o faithful. Worship the glory that is the Dreamer.

I feel like im drowning
My head is pounding
My heart is quaking
I cant stop shaking

Im my worst enemy
Ill be the first to betray me
Why does she love me?
I can feel it when she hugs me

She makes me feel complete
But i cant stay on my feet
The way she sees me... I dont think i can compete

i'd had you out of my mind for a year or better
when the mailman handed me your letter
and i recognize the handwriting even now
but i know i'm gonna open it anyhow
and noone's been buying my snake oil, and i
held your letter like a cross to my chest
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
in you.

i walked out into the kitchen
where the light came through the 4-paneled window
clean and bright and it's taken me two years to realize
how much i like the way that you dot your I's
well, i was born in arizona twenty seven years ago
and i got a mean, mean hunger down below
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
i'm gonna wrap up all my troubles
in you.

I see you sleeping and i stop to kiss your cheek
I stare down at you and long to hear you speak
Some things need to be said and some are for us to keep
No intruders its you and i alone, its freedom that we seek
you tremble when your worried but i know youre not weak
your eyes flutter and you begin to speak
What you say makes me want to weep

Is this the love i was after?

There will come a day when our cells won't regenerate
and everyone you know will rot away, rot away
Your friends and enemies and all your family
we will all be buried in the ground, in the ground
So make the most of it.
Life's too short to **** with.

Once an hour a day I get very sad
Once an hour a day I get depressed
When that hour is over I start to feel okay
because I'm reminded I'll rot away, rot away.

I don't have much time to hang out here and cry
and though that may feel nice
I can't do that everyday Ive had a lot of friends and they've done a lot of drugs
and those drugs made my friends rot away, rot away

They say that Jesus saves but Jesus doesn't care
because he is in a grave, in a grave
Let's be our own God, take care of ourselves and the ones that we love

This song is for the rats
Who hurled themselves in to the ocean
When they saw that the explosives in the cargo hold
Were just about to blow

This song is for the soil
That's toxic clear down to the bedrock
Where no thing of consequence can grow
Drop your seeds there
Let them go

Let them all go
Let 'em all go

This song is for the people
Who tell their families that they're sorry
For things they can't and won't feel sorry for

And once there was a desk
And now it's in a storage locker somewhere
And this song is for the stick pins and the cottons I left in the top drawer

Let 'em all go
Let 'em all go

I wanna sing one for the cars
That are right now headed silent down the highway
And it's dark and there is nobody driving
And something has got to give

I saw you waiting by the roadside
You didn't know that I was watching
Now you know
Let it all go

Let 'em all go
Let it all go

here come the times of changing tide
here come the days of light and grace
here come the hours of wordless wonderessness
White light will fill this humble place

when you come, the stars will shine brighter than spun gold
when you come, the world will seem shiny and new
my mom told me that someday someone like you would come to set things right
'til you come I'll keep this place ready for you.

the snow built up around the smokehouse.
the sun shone on the snow.
and the sun's rays were blistering against my eyes.
the long night was well on its way
so i made good use of what was left of the daylight
walking out toward the main street
and coming back home again.
sleeping, i sang a short song about you.
and i knew every word of that song was true.
well, almost every word.

ice froze the green stems of the daffodils
ice formed carrots on my window sill.
i was blistering, blazing away.
and it had always been my tendency to let things slide,
but i went to the window with my eyes open wide.
and you were taking on prospect ice,
coming to ward the door.
you want some more?
i've got some more for you.
i've got just what you're looking for.

They had a white face
They had black eyes
They had burns all over their bodies
They had love for my revulsion
And they kissed away my repulsion
They had a white face
And black eyes

The father came
From across the sea
To rescue, rescue
To rescue me

He said "If you spend all your heart
On something that has died
You are not alive
and that can't be your life"

Love what you can
Love what you can
Til it dies
Then let it lie
Let it fly
Away

Love what you can
Love what you can
Til it dies
Then let it lie
Let it fly
Away

He had a white face
He had black eyes
He had burn all over his body
And he was right

She came from a poor home
On the wrong side of the river
Where she played out in the streets
And dreamed of better

He came from the farmland
Where he worked hard every day
Like a prince in shining armor
He came and took her away

And she never had to work
A day in her life
Everything she needed he provides
She was sweet 16 And he was 22
She'd never had a lover
And he had had a few

He had his heart broken
By a he called his wife
But in her he saw a new hope
A chance for a better life

And never did their love ever fade
And never have their hearts ever strayed
But today they sit in different rooms In the same house
Watching different TVs

They hardly ever speak
They get together to sleep and eat
And I wonder, do they remember me?
Or am I just one of their dreams That didn't work out?
I bet they'd given up on me by now

All they ever wanted out of life
Was a house and a car
And money in the bank
They worked hard
For such a long long time
But at last they got all of those things

So what do you do
When all of your dreams come true?

The chairs. The tables. All confused. We hear the words, and must speak them. We take them, and arrange them, but still, they will not be quiet.

Everything is wrong. This is not straight. This is too high. This is in my way. We must put them right.

You think what you do has meaning? You think you slay me, and I am dead? It is just dream and waking, over and over, one appearance after another, nothing real. What you do here means nothing. Why do we waste our breath on you?

Its A hot arizona summers day.
If i wake you there will be hell to pay.
The orange sun beats down unrelenting.
I close my eyes and dream of a long lost civilization,
I wake to a shout, and soon realize what you are about
And i think about that and i start to black out
Some things i thought i knew and some i know i do
we feed on each others fears and doubts
when i hunt down the vampires that made us this way
Ill rip out his heart with my hands.

I wont cry
i dont have the time
And besides i know
you are not worth it anyhow

I wana tear out your heart
And say look what i found
do ya want it back?
well to bad its mine now

And youll bleed
And youll plead
but ill throw it away
At the end of the day
just to show ya how it feels

I used to put my faith in you
but then i turned blue
Waiting for you
Youd already left me behind

So ill head up on my own
im not afraid to be alone
i can do it on my own

You will cough up crows that peck my eyes
And I will do nothing but go blind
But my heart
It has eyes
And my love
It has sight
Even though it may be
A little cloudy

And you will break my back for all the burdens I lay upon it
But I will never blame you for those bees inside this bonnet
And my lungs will grow cancers
And my back it will grow achy

I will buy us an acre
Of some land in the city
We could live there together
Or I'll live alone less happy
But I'll live
Unfortunately

In the holding tank I built for myself, it's feeding time
And I start to feel afraid 'cause I'm the last one left in line
The endless string of summer storms that led me to today
Began one afternoon with you long ago and far away

And someone leads the beast in on its chain
But I know you're thinking of me
'cause it's just about to rain
So I wont be afraid of anything ever again

In the cell that holds my body back,
the door swings wide And I feel like someone's lost child
as the guards lead me outside
And if the clouds are gathering,
it's just to point the way To an afternoon
I spent with you when it rained all day

And someone leads the beast in on its chain
But I know you're thinking of me
'cause it's just about to rain
So I wont be afraid of anything ever again

i will praise your eyes
for burning my house down
i am humbled by how they made the framework fall to the ground
i stood with you and watched you
as you made it burn and fall
in minutes it was almost like it had never been there at all

when the traffic on the street thins out for just a second
i will look into your eyes
i, i will not panic
i am standing on the corner
where you and i were standing
i am trying to look at the sky
there are too many colors surrounding me

i will praise your eyes
they have reduced this city to embers
i will see you coming
i will see your eyes through the cold air from a mile away

when you come, if you come
make sure you bring some bubble gum.
and a great big bottle of cheap gin, yeah
don't bother knocking, you can just waltz right in.

when you come, if you do come by
make sure you wear your skirt real high.
there's cracked ice in the freezer
and glasses in the sink
you can lie down on the sofa, and I'll fix us both a drink.
and we will teach ourselves to pray in languages
that we don't really speak.
and we will lie about the way it used to be.

when you come, if you come
bring a couple of coconuts and i'll supply the ***.
and i will dim the lights, pull all the drapes
throw in those near forgotten video tapes.
yeah when you come, if you make it out this far
you better leave your pride out in the car.
and you wanna make sure that you bring along some means for forgetting where it was that we went wrong.
and we will teach ourselves to pray in languages
that we don't really speak.
and we will lie about the way it used to be.

I went down to yale today
Just in the old way
A black dog hobbled past me
His tags jangled on his collar
It made me wish i was dead
It made me wish i was dead

Had a familiar sun on me
Just like it would always be
Rocky soil dry land
I knew it all like the back of my hand
It made me wish i was dead
It made me wish i was dead

A terrific view form here
The sky's clear
The sun's high
I let things lie
And i know what is and isn't mine
And it was good to get back to the sunshine
But 5 years is a long time
And i spent 5 years dying for you
I spent 5 years dying for you

we stood near the cage of the prize-fighting ****
the sun cut through the clouds but the air pressure dropped
and I touched your hair for the very first time
I have that moment with me now
it's all mine
and you
showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form

a few minutes later you went back inside
and I stood near the clothesline where strips of beef dried
hanging in the noon-day sun
flies were buzzing nearby
and then your face in the window caught my eye
and you
showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form

things don't look much different now from where I stand
looking for you with camera in hand
someone's gone away
and someone's gotten taller
but the world stopped turning and the universe is much smaller
since you
showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form
yeah you
showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form

i will drive my broke car
i'm gonna ride my biz-ike
i'm gonna walk my big feet
and i'd like to think things through

and i wanna have a big heart
i don't wanna play a small part
i know i had a rough start
but i'd like to think things through

and i think you think i lost it
and i think they think i lost it
and i think i may have lost it
well that just may be true
but i think they've lost it too

and i'm gonna love my children
i'm gonna love my children
i'm gonna love my children
in the hopes that they will too

i'd like to think things through
in the hopes that they will too
i'd like to think things through

If you sing my song
And the dead rise all around me
I can make the darkness
Weep and fall

If you sing my song
Lie upon me, all surround me
Ragged roads of distance
Long lost souls

Go

If you sing my song
And the dead cry all around me
I'll blanket you with wings
When you're not strong

Creature calls
Sick angels fall around me
If you're scared
Beware

This is the revised final version

Who are you?
And where did you go?
And where are you from?
And what do you know?

You're in my blood And you're in the hair
You're in my heart And you're in the air

I met you, once, Over the phone
You sounded sad And you seemed alone
You left me, but I never left you
I never had the chance to

Music was the one thing
We would have had in common
You were my age when I was born
Would I have done what you did?
Would I do what you have done?
I'd like to think I'm a bigger man than that

You had some problems with alcohol
You took 12 steps And you solved them all
It took 16 years For you to call
What gave you the brave to pick up that call?

You played the trumpet and the drums
While my Mom sang at funerals
I play guitar 'till my hands are numb
You two are where music comes from for me

So thank you so much For not raising me
You spent your life on better things
You would have been an awful Dad
But thank you for those genes you had

all sorts of junk in the unattached spare room,
dishes in the kitchen sink,
used straw for the old broom,
friends who don't have a clue,
well meaning teachers,
but down in your arms, in your arms,
i am a wild creature.
                                                                                
floor two foot high with newspapers,
carpet thick with pet hair,
half eaten gallons of ice cream in the freezer,
fresh fuel for the sodium flare,
i write down good reasons to freeze to death
in my spiral-ring notebook
but in the long tresses of your hair,
i am a babbling brook.