Finished Songs

Do you only cry for no good reason, do you only cry because you care
Do you only cry out that you’re leaving to show you’re there

Do you only break out past the limit, do you only break upon the sand
Do you only break down when you feel it slipping from your hand

Do you only turn to take the measure, do you only turn against the tide
Do you only turn in the right weather season and time

Do you only stop yourself believing, do you only stop to take that call
Do you only stop when it starts feeling impossible

Do you only rise out of the morning, do you only rise against your own
Do you only rise without a warning

Went down south last summer
Chasing the sun
Looking for some new light
A place to start and time to be done

North into the mountains
To change the scene
But everything reminded me
Of somewhere I had already been

I followed the river
Backwards to its source
And I saw that it had taken
The available course

They’re flying it in on a DC-10 tonight
And it will be all over by daylight
You won’t know how it got under your skin
If they called or if they knocked before you let them in

Got the hookup from the kid who made that trip
Came back to the homeland with the latest hits
You got your headphones on and your hands up in the air
Just like a virgin, you’re living on a prayer

It comes in hard and steals away your mind
You’ll forget everything, go deaf and blind
Then you’ll queue it up and do it all again
So will your family, so will your friends

It was a picture of a picture on a screen
Of something that might have been
A print from a foot from an ape
An enigma, a legend, a fake

To some it was as solid as a wall
And to others it was nothing at all
A rope or a fan were only clues
But the elephant was not amused

Some people see legitimate force
And others a betrayal of the law
The bullet, the badge and the gun
An accident or the norm

They’ve got you hanging on the scale, they’re deciding who will pay
For what is left of you
And there is no place you call home, nowhere you can go
Even if you wanted to

You’re washed up on the beach like a mountain to be reached
Like some weary pilgrim’s end
They’ve burned out both your eyes, cut you down to size until there’s
Nothing on which you can depend

You traveled the seas, west to the east they were
Waiting for you in each land
You went by many names, you were going places then
Now there’s nothing left but steel and sand

Went to see a master of his craft
His vision of the future looked a lot like the past
He had the feeling and he knew the way

Outside of the fortress walls
A man was peddling blonde-haired dolls
Walking by I heard him say

In Glamour Heights the artist smokes
And draws the sounds on the radio
I am not responsible, he said, anyway

I walked in on the pimp and his johns
In the mansion where he was born, he said
Come on in my friend, you’ve come from so far away

When I climbed up the minaret stairs
And I saw the city from there
I’d never felt that feeling before

You shook my hand and welcomed me in
Asked me when I would come again
I was conquered then, Lahore

You could be here with me
I could be there
We could be on the ground
Or up in the air

But I’m watching the runway, waiting for the plane to land

Strangers in the desert where are you bound?
Do you know the place where the lightning comes down
Tell me who has built these mountains high
Will you go my way? Will you lend me your light?

Strangers in the desert, is it you that I’ve seen
Sailing your ships along underground streams
In the river beds I feel your hands
Pulling at my steps through the loose sand

Strangers in the desert, stand your ground
Measure out the distance to the promised land
At the gates of dawn you stand alone
Through the cactus and the dust, safe at home

It was the summer of dreams, they were dancing in the field
And thinking that the future was full of possibilities
Now they’re miles past those years, those guitars and jeans
They’ve taken to preaching and growing out their beards

They were just kids in school, doing things that kids will do
Not looking to be a number leading the news
But those faces on the page were all blurred or turned away
Like getting out alive was to be ashamed

We stood in different lines, you had yours and I had mine
As if the color of our passports made us of two different kinds
And I was led right through the door, like a million times before
Wondering if you were less or I had more

Man I wonder about this world, about the things we’ve seen and heard
If we’re lying to ourselves about the debts that we’ve incurred
And if a nation can be only geography
If edges were not destined to bleed

Now I’m trying to come clean, to cross the distance in between
Trying to hear the substance of your words
But you keep talking about the past, how things never last
There’s always something else you would prefer

You’re an army of one, you’ve got tanks and you’ve got guns
And you’re bound to shoot down everything that moves
You’ve got ammunition, you know it can’t be done
Things will only get worse and not improve

You go tearing buildings down, you make it hard to get around
In between the rubble and the noise
And everything looks like a nail to the hammer of your brain
Nothing could ever be enjoyed

I turn my back toward the wind
As the winter blows on in
And think of the summer sun
How it warms the skin

And as the summer days pass slow
How I wish for snow
And the cold that cuts to bone
To counter the sweat and sun

I’ve tried to balance the extremes
On the fulcrum of my dreams
Place the memories of spring
Against the ice and wind

Moses carved the law into stone tablets
And then he came down off the mountain and broke it in the sand
People do you know how they rose from Egypt
Wandered the wilderness for forty years without a homeland

Take yourself down to the river
Catch a spark, catch a fire, catch ahold of light
Write down every word you heard
As you progress through seven heavens on a single night

Now I hear them talking about holy water
Who’s gonna end up on the altar and how it’s going to look
There are windows in the walls my friend
There are prophets everywhere you look, oh children of the book

Standing on the platform waiting for the flood
Waiting for anything that would be enough
I hold my head up

With a choice I’ll take the window seat
I’ll turn my head and hold my peace
And I will hang my coat up

Express trains have the right of way
It’s not like I had much to say
To you anymore

The local train gets more delayed
The further it goes on its way
And you walked out that door

I’m living halfway underground
With the curtains drawn I’m not about
To go losing my cool

I dodge the talkers and the transit cops
Conductors with their belts full of ticket stubs
I’ve been such a fool

Run through the streets of Chinatown
Get on a bus named after a sign
With some luck all of the light
Won’t be gone by the time you arrive

So you’ve got friends in some other town
Make it there fast as you can
You’ve got a seat and you’ve got plans
But everything else is out of your hands

So you do the best you can
Look for ways to beat the odds, improve your chances, pass the time
But you know when you arrive
Everyone will be drunk and already high

I am a sign by the side of the road
A boy on a bike with nowhere to go
I am the shadow, I am the screen
I am you, I am me

I am a lie that tells only the truth
I am the perfect shade of blue
The guns and rice, somebody else’s shoes
I am me, I am you

I am the trace, I am the dust
An alien betrayed by lust
The bastard son, I am the thief of the just
I am you, I am us

I have always wanted to see
Angels in the branches of a tree
Hear a voice speaking to me
From somewhere I can’t see

I believed in certainty
That would never fade, much less disappear
Thought that I would know for sure
And the harder I listened, the less I heard

I have been waiting to be moved
To know what it is that I am meant to do
But I’ve discovered lately where I stand
And the farther back I step the closer I am

There is a ship
To cross over the sea
There are tides full of power
There are currents running deep

There are wheels
Made by human hands
They are turning in the air and
Rumbling through this land

There is a road
That runs through mountains and dreams
It is carved into the rock
And built on gravel and steam

There are threads
Infinite and fine
Growing from our feet and
Reaching for the sky

There were people in the past who thought about their children’s children
Planted flowers in the desert and called that heaven
They let the details gather with the passage of time
Laid down their memories and rested their minds

There’s a tree that comes to mind each time I think about forgetting
How it stood beside those graves with only silence as a blessing
And concrete stains and tangled vines, the light coming down
Remind me of things I thought were not to be found

Now I’m learning where to lean and how to amplify the motion
For time shapes every space and grains of sand hold up the ocean
The things that we have built will go on living until they die
Our lives are made of moments, only moments are our lives

We walked around the city walls
Our breath hung in the air and dying stars held up the sky
We talked about the rise and fall
The houses that we dwelled in and the way we live and die

Did you mean love or history
Or what could not be seen from just a single point
When you said love, do you not see
Perfection is a place where you and I are not

We talked of blood, we ate the seeds
And how our eyes travel and the way we understand
In among the cypress trees
I learned that distance and detail are all part of the plan

Change rolls down from the mountain
Frost creeps up through the ground
Evening quickens and twilight fades
The moon is lower now

I was out for the weekend
Living fast on borrowed wheels
Oh my friends, I had so many plans
I had a head full of ideas

Wild asters in the meadows
Apples on the trees
And one light in a window
That is meant only for me

Oh my love what have we become
Has distance shaken us down and made us run
Clouds have drifted in and are hanging down
Listening to every word and every sound

And these clouds will disappear like you and I
All that leaves is taken up by space and time
And the truth is I am glad of where I stand
Distance makes liars of water and land

Oh my love what have we become
Has distance shaken us down and made us run
Rain falls down and joins the ground
The clouds don’t say a thing

Well I’ve got no complaints
About the weather or the waves
And I’m learning to laugh at my mistakes

And the wind can blow so strong
And the tides can all run wrong
But I will not curse the storm or the sea

Oh and things are turning bad
I’ve got to forget what I had
And hold on to my friends and family

And love can be so cruel
But it can be so tender too
It can change your mind about the right thing to do

And David sang of lions and lambs
I think I know what he meant
Rumi begged for signs, for stars and wine
I think I’ve been where he went

Ishmael swam and watched it all go down
I’ve seen it happen too
Shadrach danced and prayed in the smoke and flames
I’ve walked miles in those shoes

The Prophet heard and then he spoke that word
And I’ve read every one
Buddha sat and dreamed underneath the tree
I’ve been burned by that sun

Took a ride with the Monday morning blues
Up the Hudson on a rainy day
And I was thinking about you
And the way that things have changed

And I drifted up the bank
With the dead leaves and the tide
I was thinking about her
And how nothing ever happens overnight

And I walked along the edge
Where optimism meets despair
Thought of promises I’d made
How things get pushed beyond repair

It came out in an avalanche of words
And when they stopped, I wondered what I’d heard
But I tried to give her one more chance
To explain something that makes no sense

And the sink in the kitchen drips
The roof has leaks I’ve got no desire to fix
I have given up the yard to weeds
And offered up my heart to a thief

I met a ghost
And I thought that it was me
Mighty like Casey, with Ezekiel’s knees
I met a ghost
And it looked a lot like me
In the hand of Michaelangelo, wearing Abe Lincoln’s beard

I met a ghost
Blowing smoke into the breeze
Had a hand made out of poetry and a head made of steel
Said I’m in love
And I can’t fight this disease
I got them crawling out my fingertips, I am a factory

I met a ghost
And I knew it was me
He said I’ve got a heart, I beg you, don’t believe
Me I’m old
And I’m showing my years
My heart is angry and distracted; a buzzing sack of bees

Desperate people will do anything
If a door is locked they will kick it in
And if you dare to cross them, you will see
Desperate people are dangerous and mean

Desperate people will believe anything
That will lift them up or let them in
Desperate people don’t care about wrong or right
As long as it will get them through the night

Desperate people aren’t scared of anything
Society or consequence, laws or discipline
They don’t have principles, they’ll act on any whim
Desperate people are up for anything

Old men, you’ve got it hard
Filled up with losses, wealthy in scars
You’ve paid for wisdom with regret
Old men, you’re not done yet

Old men, everything aches
And life starts giving less than it takes
The weather seeps into your bones
Old men, you’re almost home

Old men, life’s cashed you in
Trading friendships for medicine
And things start to break before they bend
Old men, it’s not the end

Old men, you have not spent
All of your courage or confidence
Or traded in your will to live
Old men, there’s more to give

There were limbs down everywhere and those trees ain’t coming back
And people without power three weeks after the fact
And on Sunday when it ripped through town howling like a train
You closed your eyes and waited til you only heard the rain

After it was over, when all the lights were out
You made your way down to the road to drive back into town
Well they closed down the highway; cops were turning folks around
And a line was coming down between then and now

The governor declared a state and called out the Guard
And the President dropped by to let us know we would survive
But we sweated out that summer in the Alabama sun
Unemployed and with no way to pay for what must be done

There’s a lot of people talking about what kind of mess we’re in
And people offering advice for which nobody asked them
And people building dams, putting in wells and pumps
But when the flood comes, the water’s going to run where it wants

There’s talk about public health and decency
Respect for law and order and property
People picking through the trash, building levees out of junk
But when the flood comes, the water’s going to cover what it wants

Some people live on nothing, some people got everything
Some people pay attention, some people never learn a thing
Some people claim to be something they are not
But when the flood comes, the water’s going to drown who it wants

On Broadway and Liberty
Will you remember what happened here
How we felt a little more free
Made space for possibilities
And it’s gone
And it’s gone
Gone for good

On Broadway and Liberty
Reach out and take a hold of me
The barricades in the rain
The people who had changed their names
It was good
It was good
But it’s gone

Oh Broadway and Liberty
You made off with the best of me
I was a dreamer and you left me broke
In Manhattan in the freezing cold
And I know
Yes I know
I’d do it again

You can see me on the corner on the south side of Washington hustling librarians
Or catch me hanging out by the vending machines on the internet making friends

I’ve been running guns out of Mamdouha’s office, you should see the stuff I keep in there
I touch Elmer’s nose when I take the elevator; I never take the stairs

I’m a pirate in the park, scaring tourists in the dark, you should see the way I make them jump
And I shower in the bathroom and sleep in reserves, I haven’t gotten laid in months

I do my homework in McDonalds, eat my bagels in the commons, I can sleep almost anywhere
And I work every day but I can’t live on what I’m paid; I’m often bored or scared

What is war when it’s over
What will grow on these fields
Where does all the water run to
When it reaches the sea

What is rain when it’s fallen
What’s the law without a gun
What is hate and what is mercy
When you don’t know where they’re from

What’s a sound with no echo
What is carries on the breeze
What’s become of your confessions
What will you make of your disease

What is war when it’s over
What will grow on these fields
What’s a grave grown over
What will become of history

I work in a refrigerator, I am your ice box man
I work in a refrigerator, I am an ice box man
When I touch you honey, can’t even feel my hands

I’ve got dirty fingers and I’ve got dirty hands
Yeah I’ve got dirty fingers yeah I’ve got dirty hands
I try and wash them but they’re so filthy, man

My teeth are rattling, my toes are blocks of ice
My teeth are rattling, my toes are blocks of ice
I love you baby, keep me warm at night

I’ve got icicles dangling off my ears
Yeah I’ve got icicles dangling off my ears
I need some fire, baby, I need some body heat

I work in a refrigerator, I am your ice box man
I work in a refrigerator, I am an ice box man
When I touch you honey, can’t even feel my hands

I was stretched out completely, I was at my breaking point
I had given up on running or getting out of this joint
Just looking for a way to profit from my loss
I was in the desert, but I thought I was on the cross

The heat was so intense it was impossible to think
And it hurt to move and even more to drink
Waiting for an angel to stand by my side
I was in the desert, but I thought I was in the fire

The darkness was so thick you could cut it with a knife
And I cursed my luck and the story of my life
I was hoping that righteousness would go my bail
I was in the desert, but I thought I was in the whale

The wind whipped past my ears and salt was in my nose
I drifted further from the shore no matter how hard I rowed
Wishing I could walk on water, know how full my nets might be
I was in the desert, but I thought I was on the sea

Where I stood there was water as far as I could see
It was not the ocean but man it could have been
And I was thinking of the places where the horizon curls
Riverbeds and cities named after saints and girls

I climbed up the hill and left my stones in a heap
One by one I brought them there to lift up the peak
And I was thinking of the essence, I was thinking of the cost
Thinking of finding one more way to get lost

As a boy a dreamt of riding out on the western plains
Now I pass through turnstiles almost every single day
And at every border crossing you’ll find these questions there
Where you’ve been, who you met, if you have something to declare

Is there anyone here who knows what is wrong with me
Why I don’t know what to think, why I’m afraid to speak
And does anyone know what it is I’m doing here
Where nobody else seems to feel the way I feel

Does everyone here know something that I don’t
Do they already know if I will or I won’t
And does anyone else feel as nervous as I do
Am I missing out on the obvious truth

Is there anyone here who knows what is wrong with me
Am I destined like a sailor to be buried at sea
And can anyone tell me about the shape I’m in
And if everything’s changed why I can’t feel a thing

I will wait patiently, like a hawk
I will pay no mind to wind and rain or the heat of the sun
And when everything has failed and all our promises are gone
I will wait patiently, like a hawk

I will watch carefully, like a hawk
I will see everything that moves in the daytime or the night
Standing guard over my failings and the inventions of my mind
I will watch carefully, like a hawk

I will stay faithfully, like a hawk
Without fear of what will be, of the inevitable slope
I will not be swayed by hunger or betrayed by hope
I will stay faithfully, like a hawk

You can run it back at half speed or play it double time
Flip it upside down and backwards, sync it up and make it rhyme
But no matter how you sell it or which way you make it spin
You’ll be going out the same way you came in

You can dress it up in leather, top it off with a Stetson hat
Get it all decked out uniform, epaulets and spats
But whatever cut or color you decide to put it in
It’s still got that same ugly skin

Well you can plaster it over so it looks like it’s brand new
Cover up the dirt with an attractive shade of blue
But you’ve got to rebuild it, there’s nothing else to do
The whole thing is rotten through and through

I got my left hand down and I’m waiting for that call
I am tuned to the static, I am waiting for that call
Maintaining altitude until I run out of fuel
I can only wait on that call

I’ve grown tired as hell waiting for that call
But I can’t sleep because I’m waiting for that call
My stomach’s rumbling, but I can’t eat a thing
All I can do is wait on that call

I’ve got a buzzing mind and I’m waiting for that call
And a twitching eye because I’m waiting for that call
Could be headed east or west, the sun don’t rise and it never sets
Take another swing around and wait on that call

I can’t
I can’t tell you why
I can’t tell you why I lied

I can’t
I can’t tell you how
I can’t tell you how it was

I can’t
I can’t tell you when
I can’t tell you when I knew

I can’t
I can’t tell you where
I can’t tell you where it went

They’ll be lurking in the shadows every time you turn your back
In wingtips and threepiece suits and spotless bowler hats
And a whisper in the alley leads off the evening news
Every word you’ve spoken being turned back on you

They’ll listen in to every call at any time of day
They’ll get it down on paper, they’ll get it down on tape
In a basement around the corner or a van just down the block
There will be a recording every time you talk

They’ll shine it in your face, put your civil rights on hold
Asking questions with answers they already know
And if you spill your guts or play it close to the vest
It will end up in a memo on the Director’s desk

The first time that you left I was drunk as an eel
The next time I was high as a kite
And this time you could say I was distracted by her face
Looks like it’s another lonely night

I’ve been around this world and I’ve been all over town
I’ve been to places too low to fall
And now you say you are leaving me today
And I’ll be going nowhere at all

You say I broke the bond and poisoned our love
You say I have brought you down
Before you walk away and before you cast the blame remember
You’re the one that’s going now

Take the road through the heart of the mountain
Or the bend in the river tonight
The blood in your veins, the steam in your trains
All the miles they have brought into sight

And I stood and I saw there a kingdom
Built of highways, channels and wires
All round my head there are waves being read
By the road there are shrines

You will build the things that are needed
To cross over distance or time
What you’re getting or giving or who you’ve been missing
Determines the speed and the line

You passed it on like some disease
What it’s become you can’t believe
How it looks and what was said
The thoughts to which that led

You wear it out all over town
A secret that’s been passed around
Until it’s worn through every seam
Until it’s obvious and mean

You put it out on every line
You let it ring and let it ride
Over the wires to your defense
In search of blood and consequence

It flew back via Paris with me
And bought a cup of coffee, light and sweet
I thought about the traces of my traveling
About spending what was given to me

He must have known how it would end
For smashing people’s gods is not a way of making friends
And I don’t mind the tale of roses, fire and fish
If the story’s told while someone’s listening

He struck the dust with his heel
Water streamed, the desert bore sunflowers and wheat
Now the acqueducts stretch on for miles beside the road
And the dams into the distance as far as I can see

There will come a day and it won’t be long
When things that now are permanent will be gone
Empires crack and crumble, deserts turn to seas
What I’ve given will come back in a song

Stop said the man listen and you will hear
There’s a wind blowing out of the east and it’s bringing fear
You’ve got to get off the ride and walk and learn a new way to talk
You’re going to have to learn to say goodbye

Stop said the man I will tell you what you lack
When you lose your way you must ask to get it back
You’ve got to get down on your knees if you really want to see
Got to let them look you in the eye

Stop said the man, listen and do not fear
There’s a wind blowing out of the east and it’s already here
There’s a lot to understand if you want to be a better man
So much to which you’ll have to say goodbye

Gotta keep walking that righteous road
Gotta take up that heavy load
Pick your head up off the floor
Get your feet out of the door

Gotta keep walking that righteous road
Gotta believe the things I know
Takes more than this world can bring
To find out the shape I’m in

Gotta keep walking that righteous road
Gotta lay down that heavy load
Forget about the things you lose
Make your life some kind of use

They go on everywhere
Turning up in the air
Bearing spirits all unaware
Going on everywhere

And the bones will awake
They will dance they will shake
Find their partners and mend all their breaks
And the bones will awake

All the shaky dreams
All the numbers and wheels
All the visions disguised as sleep
All the shaky dreams

Watch your doors and your gates
Bake the bread, shed your hate
They will not touch you with fire or fate
Guard the doors and the gates

When you turn to the truth
Say the words I am you
Befriend emptiness love the obscured
When you turn towards truth

Say what you will and say what you want my friend
Say what you will and say what you want again
Because I’ve been watching you for hours with your amphetamines and flowers
Say what you want my ordinary friend

Turn the radio on and tune it in
Turn that radio on, confess your sin
Tell the only ones who know, Doctor Brinkley, Tokyo Rose
Turn that radio up and listen in

Sun coming up across the Great Divide
Shadows running down the other side
And you waited like a gong holding ashes on your tongue
As the sun comes up across the Great Divide

Did you catch me standing in the rain
Did you catch me a little less than sane
Did you catch me with my heart up my sleeve
Did you catch me with holes in my knees

Did you catch me with my head in the clouds
Did you catch me dreaming too out loud
Did you catch me not knowing enough
Does it give you the feeling you’re such…

Do you have more of the facts
Do you have what it takes to act
Do you have the answer that’s right
Is it the one made so by might

I caught you, “Live Free or Die”
I caught you again, Semper Fi
I caught you towing your bit of the line
I caught you staking out your piece of the pie

You are a liar
When you turned to me and said
Turned to me and said

Here it is; my desire
In shades of blue and green and red
Blue and green and red

You are much wiser
Than you have any right to be
Any right to be

Back then things were brighter
And they came on easily
Came on easily

You are a reminder
Of the desert and the sea
The mountains and the streams

After this what you require
Is nothing that you need
Nothing that you need

I climbed to the top of St. Peter’s on a dark and crowded stair
And I stood and watched the city gasping for air
I stumbled down a mineshaft in a medieval town
Holding to my lantern like a sailor going down

Crossing California in the heart of Chinatown
Saw written on a tower “son, observe the time”
And I passed by the Sir Francis and Huey Newton’s home
On streets where ghosts of sailors and Ferlinghetti roam

And saw an Artic Tern flying pole to pole
Songs and cats developesd with some patience and care
At every border crossing I had nothing to declare

Always one more rock in the field
You can’t keep ahead of the weeds
And the landlord has got be paid
And the weather takes its time
You can’t make it rain or shine
You can’t stop it coming down like Judgment Day

And the margins are too slim
To pay off the debt you’re in
It will take what you give and demand more
The crops that you have grown
From seeds not your own
Will be gone, will be gone, will be gone

The boss he holds the deed
And the clay won’t hold the seeds
But you sow, and you sow, and you sow
And the law is running scared
Washington don’t care
You will get by with who you know

In a furnished room on Centre Market the police radio is always on
And a man sits there dozing listening for the night to fall
While across the street the Black Marias haul in the killers, pimps and vagabonds
Crowds will gather for a new disaster, lovers kiss and children turn to clowns

Stalking down the darkened streets at midnight a 4x5 Speed Graphic round his neck
Looking for a shot, some light, an angle; the perfect murder, fire or wreck
Around the edge of every picture there’s a darkness creeping in
And a subject frozen sharp and focused in unconscious language gesturing

Who is left to follow anymore
For an answer who is there to call
Monuments and altars, what are they for
But fallacies waiting to fall

Every farmer leaves his lines in the field
Geometry, chaos and time
I am just a tenant on this land of these seeds
But the cultivation is mine

Architects and draftsmen; we are residents
Beggars and saints
Only by the strength of our longing and praise
Will Paradises be made

As a blue eyed boy of almost ten I
Went down by the train
A hobo’s life I planned as I
Put pennies on the rails
Steel on steel
Boxcars and wheels

The bus I took away from there
It stopped in every town
And I found a place without a plan
My work was in my home
Nothing but dreams
Left up to me

Lacking courage and direction I
Sat down upon the shore
Wanting nowhere to belong and no more
Turnstiles or doors
Seconds or signs
Landmarks or lines

Yesterday at half past ten I
I went down by the train
Where I stood without reception, laid it
Down upon the rails
Forgot my path
My debts and maps

I wanted to talk to the sea
So I stood on the shore and it washed at my feet
But I do not live as a sailor or saint
In the realm of the honest or the reverent
But the distance between

The mountains were calling to me
So I climbed to the top of the highest peak
But I am neither mystic nor mountaineer
I am all fractions and pieces of dreams
And the distance between

I stood at the edge of the field
And tried to talk to the growing seeds
But I have no farm and I cannot preach
And there were no parables that I could teach
Of the distance between

The wind whispered through the leaves
So I sat myself down underneath that tree
Neither poet nor woodsman I do not see
Angels in branches, the slowness of years
But the distance between

You were drifting, you were blown
You were out there on your own
Riding lonely through the dust
Red rock canyons, wind and rust

You were lost in those stories told
Purple sage and desert gold
In the lamplight your heroes shone
Past midnight they went on and on

You were justice served complete
Judge and jury, rope and steel
Always cautious with your trust
Shooting only when you must

Knew the thirst and felt the freeze
And you struggled just to breathe
First man in and the last one out
None could fit into your coat

Believe me
I wanted to find it in people
Believe me I tried
Believe me
I wanted to trust in the interest
In payment for my time

Believe me
I wanted to keep it together
Polite and cool
Believe me
I wanted to stay in control
Rely on the rules

Believe me
I wanted to make it through
Without ugliness
Believe me
I wanted to stand above it
Do better than this

One by one things are going to fail you
Going to leave you behind
One by one these thoughts will desert you
Leave nothing but you and the sky

One by one words will betray you
Excuses and reason and trust
One by one your steps they will falter
It will all go to dust

One by one you will lose your defenses
Country, language and blood
One by one your fears will be conquered
You will be washed in the flood

Let it fall away, let it take its time
Let the mountains crave the climb
Rid yourself of all affection and need
Cast yourself upon the mercy of the seeds

One by one the rivers entwining
Mountains and valleys embrace
One by on there’ll be clover and daisies
Growing over that place

Take what you can carry
Leave the rest behind
There’s no sense to even worry
Age is nothing but time

I am a keeper
Arranging hope
In the currency of paper
A dealer gone broke

If all of my savings
Outweighed the cost
The interest gathered
Served to save the lost

Take what you can carry
Leave the rest behind
There’s no sense to even worry
Age is nothing but time

Hold on Birmingham
There’s a storm coming through
It will leave you with dust in your hand
Working on your dehydration blues
Working on your dehydration blues

Hole up San Antone
With your cards and your booze
Drink away what you cannot lose
Try to drown your dehydration blues
Try to drown your dehydration blues

Stay strong Buffalo
I’ve got shelter for you
I’ve got pills to get me through
Get me through these dehydration blues
Get me through these dehydration blues

Hold on while you can
There’s a flood coming soon
It will run through your worn out shoes
Wash away your dehydration blues
Wash away your dehydration blues

Staring at the ceiling it’s a wonder it don’t fall
As if that were some comfort at all
Thinking of the future I am worried all the time
The weather, water and the signs

Standing on the mountain and you’re praying it would burn
For some mercy in return
Kneeling by the river you’ve been begging for rain
That all might be forgiven again

Shouting at the sky like you can bring it down
And there would be some higher ground
Dimes in the fountain yeah you threw it all away
In words destined to fade

What could I do
I took you at your word
Trying my best to belong
What could I do
What could I do
I was wrong

What could I do
I was not myself and
Outnumbered five to one
What could I do
What could I do
I was so gone

What could I do
Being less than kind
A lesson learned so well
What could I do
What could I do
I was bored as hell

What could I do
Without knowing my faults
With no grounds for confidence
What could I do
What could I do
I have no defense

When all that is left is your enemy’s word
And nobody else knows what you saw and heard
Don’t doubt yourself or your memory
Or what happened there among the beasts of the field
When time stood still

They called you a shepherd, an ignorant youth
A piper, a dancer, a leader of fools
But the bishops and counts are trembling in fear
Thinking of a time when these walls will disappear
When time stood still

Poverty it breeds with fear
The carnival takes to the city streets
No time for depression, no thought for the past
All of those leading become last
When time stood still

In ‘76 in the winter’s cold
In the barren fields there bloomed a rose
You went walking the borders of sanity
And dreaming of justice not fantasy
When time stood still

For everyone who’s trusted every word
For those who don’t believe a thing they’ve heard
For everyone who stayed at home and all those who kept moving on
I sat down and wrote them this song

For everyone who values what they owe
For those who have got no soul
For everyone who’d die for it and those who just don’t give a shit
Without you I am nothing at all

For everyone who left me alone
And those who took me as one of their own
Who opened wide their hearts and homes, a place to stay where I roamed
Without you I am wondering still

For everyone who is all I want to be
For those who are living out my fears
Those who hit the harmonies and those who can’t find the key
I could not sing without you

For everyone sure of where they’re going
For those who have forgotten all they know
For those too serious to smile and those who laugh so hard they cry
You have taught me everything I know

When the barricades were silent and the royal guards lay dead
When Marie Antoinette lost her head
They took up the king’s library
And wrote down the books on aces and threes

Its holdings built on theft and toil
The world’s wisdom gathered within its walls
All those scrolls of authority
Lost to fires and changing regimes

It was said that the Catholics were to blame
As the General Letter Office went up in flames
The royal court cowered, the Lord Mayor fled
The people left homeless, their letters unsent

The Tigris ran black; the city lay waste
The ruler was trampled, his statues defaced
Pages bled as palaces burned
The wisdom of centuries was unlearned

Compared to some you’ve been around
But goodbyes still get you down
Never one to break the news
And I know how you bruise

You’ve got ways to hold it in
To betray the best of things
All that rage and all that love
You can never get enough

Oh your heart and your shoes
They will go just where they choose
They will let loose their strings
You will get tangled in

You move on from place to place
As if to test the grasp of grace
But your smiles and your tears
Are two things I still believe

He believes in what he does and in what he’s got to say
He’s got talent to burn; you should hear him play
Not distracted or bored with everything
My brother the musician; how I wish I was him

He has confidence and faith; he has plans that cannot fail
My brother he believes that things are going to change
His mistakes lie all ahead of him
My brother the musician; how I wish I was him

He knows how to relate and he makes friends easily
No cripple of embarrassment; nothing if not free
Not tied down by anything
My brother the musician; how I wish I was him

It’s the way the river talks to me at sunrise
It’s the faith I have when I am all alone
It’s the knowledge that everywhere is nowhere
And I must be going home

It’s the glimpse of the runway before takeoff
Departing points all fading into one
It is knowing that home is for the asking
And there is nowhere left to run

It’s the way the road is rising up to meet me
It’s the truth that I can never escape; you
It’s the knowledge of the joy inside each sorrow
The arrival each departure knew

It’s the way all of our ends are our beginnings
It’s the way my body returns into dust
It is knowing that all will be forgiven
The enigma of motion and trust

It’s the way the river talks to me at sunrise
It’s the faith I have when I am all alone
It’s the knowledge that everywhere is nowhere
And I must be going home

My baby wishes she was in London
Her friends want to move to New York
My sister lives in San Francisco
But her heart is still in El Salvador

My brother wants to get away from Canton
He doesn’t care for France or Italy
My friends who live out in the country
Know there is somewhere they would rather be

I want to be in ancient Athens
Or Moscow in 1963
I want to wear dark sunglasses
And drive down the Champs Elysees

She was born on the banks of the Tennessee
She was raised by the TVA
And she stole her first kiss on the levee bridge
The night they took him away

He was born and bred on Buzzards Bay
As Yankee as they come
But when he made it down to Birmingham
He finally felt at home

He was always out of rhythm
With those big city ways
And when the snow was falling down
He dreamt of warmer days

They called her Yanqui in San Salvador
Her family thought her strange
And anyway that she behaved
Her voice gave her away

You took the highway, you headed my way
You drove through the night
And I was home free, I had your country
Locked in my sights

She was born the youngest of seven
In a three-room bungalow
Wrestling hurricanes and rattlers
With a rifle and a hoe

The boys lined up at county fairs
To swing her do-si-do
And with empty pockets, worn out shoes
They crawled off alone

Grew corn and beans and babies
Out of that rocky ground
And she stood on the porch with that shotgun on her hip
When the taxman came around

Lost her grandfather to Sherman
And a grandson to Vietnam
She could pick a bale every day
There was iron in those hands

They say she’s lived forever
They say she’ll never die
As long as trees grow from these hills
And rain falls from the sky

On the road my friend
On the road my friend
There’ll be trouble ‘round every bend
On the road my friend

On the road my friend
On the road my friend
You’ll meet beauty and drown all your sin
On the road my friend

On the road my friend
On the road my friend
Every step leads you on to the end
On the road my friend

On the road my friend
On the road my friend
You’ll find heaven around every bend
On the road my friend

I am out to write a song for everybody
For all who’ve been and all those yet to come
For everyone who’s given up completely
I am out to sing a song for everyone

I am out to write a song for everybody
Who’s seen their share of hard times and dreams
The rich, the poor, the losers and the winners
And everybody else in between

I am out to write a song for every season
I am out to write a song for every day
For the ghettos, the suburbs and the country
For the places and names that never change

I am out to write a song for every country
For every planet, every single sun
And it will be like I believe, like I belong
I am out to write this universe a song

There was glass everywhere when she came down the stairs
And she got on her knees in the yard
And she cleaned up that place with a Colt .38
Stuck in the small of her back

Was a May afternoon when that whistle blew
And he died in the factory blast
She raised two Jimmy Deans and a homecoming queen
All on her own

When she came to me it was not out of need
But a land of plenty and faith
No small kind of love and no stars far above
Would ever guide her feet

This train is no good for anyone
This train is no good for anyone
It will run you down and wreck your mind, take all your money and your time
This train is no good for anyone

I heard that lonesome train whistle blow
Yes I heard that long and lonesome whistle blow
I was sitting by the riverside thinking up a way to die
When I heard that lonesome train whistle blow

The engineer he spoke to me by name
That engineer he called me by my name
Said get up son and follow me, leave behind your dignity
That engineer he spoke my name

Look what these rails done to me
Honey, look what these rails done to me
Robbed me of my will to live, everything that I could give
Look what these steel rails done to me

I hear her now she’s coming down the line
Yes I hear her now a-coming down the line
She’s straining all her steel and nerve, leaning hard into that curve
I hear that train a-coming down the line

This train is no good for anyone
This train is no good for anyone
It will run you down and wreck your mind, take all your money and your time
This train is no good for anyone

The sunrise from the top of the mountain
The monarch drifting down the valley’s edge
The silence that breaks on me like thunder
If only I had words to say

Every one of all my deepest secrets
And all the knowledge yet to be revealed
All my friends and all of my lovers
If only I had words to say

The things that bring me laughter and tears
My part to play here on this spinning world
The things that I believe in without seeing
If only I had words to say

The motion in each word of every language
The color and the shape in every sound
The dancing lines of every human being
If only I had words to say

When I was seventeen I was ruthless and mean
And I knew every trick in the book
And I brought close to tears everyone I held dear
When I was seventeen

When I was twenty one I could not be outdone
And I knew that the world could be saved
And I thought about sin, I had ideals then
When I was twenty one

When I was twenty four I was reckless and bored
And I stole every word that I spoke
And I could not ignore how it felt to be poor
When I was twenty four

When I was twenty eight, man I worked every day
And I stayed up late at night
And I practiced my faith and I tried not to hate
When I was twenty eight

When I am twenty nine I will know what is mine
And I will give it away
And each day I will try to be more like a child
When I am twenty nine

I’ve been up and I’ve been down
And I’ve blown through every town
Now I’m crawling on my knees
See what Akron done to me

I’ve been into every place
And made all kinds of mistakes
All the cops, the guns, the beers
See what Akron done to me

I’ve known trouble, I’ve known pain
And I’ve known the worst of ways
How broke and cold a man can be
See what Akron done to me

Now I’ve burned up every cent
All my dreams are gone and spent
In the rain at half past three
See what Akron done to me

My good friends, look at me
Lying broken on this street
All the rubber, all the steel
See what Akron done to me

Got me a pair of brand new walking shoes
And I’ll be gone by the time you hear the news
And if I get to Pittsburgh you will never catch me then cause I
Got me a pair of brand new walking shoes

Got me forty acres of bottom land
Underneath the river that you dammed
All the corn and beans I raised washed right down the drain
Got me forty acres of bottom land

Got me a Colt .45
There’s no place in this world you can hide
Nowhere left for you to run from all the wrong that you have done
Got me a Colt .45

I’ve got heaven on my side
And justice will not be denied
I left him lying there and I looked into his eyes, I said
I’ve got heaven on my side

Got me a pair of brand new walking shoes
And I’ll be gone by the time you hear the news
And if I get to Pittsburgh you will never catch me then cause I
Got me a pair of brand new walking shoes

I see people I know almost everywhere
I have friends wherever I go
We have done for each other the best that we can
To keep out the dark and the cold

I hear the voices of my friends
Everywhere that I go
Their clothing and their favorite songs
Become my own

My friends let me remember you
When I am alone
And dying be surrounded by
Faces I know

From the shake shake shimmy of your hips
I could tell you had a taste for the apocalypse
And oh my Lord, what could I do?
Got a hot old time, got a fancy freeze
A muscleheaded mama down in New Orleans
And oh my Lord, what could I do?

In the crackling wind the heavy blows
The thunder and the lightning and the falling snow
Oh my Lord, I am through!
Don’t hold on to that ace too long
When the weatherman’s got the odds all wrong
Oh my Lord, I am through!

Your golden voice and your smoky eyes
The calming smog and sunny skies
Oh my Lord, those words came true!
From your iron mouth and your spinning wheels
And all the shame that you just don’t feel
Oh my Lord, those words came true!

I could learn the secrets of your soul
If you take me as your Barbie doll
Oh my Lord, what can I do?
We could stretch it out and let it ride
I could be the Bonnie to your Clyde
Oh my Lord, what can I do?

Otzi went out one day
With a bow and arrow some deer to slay
Otzi went out one day
Never came back again

An enemy from behind a boulder
Shot Otzi in his shoulder
Left him bleeding on the ice
Where he froze and lost his life

Five thousand years later
Some tourists called in the murder
When the cops came on the scene
What do you think they seen
They said that’s not just any old cadaver,
It’s a caveman and what’s sadder
Is he’s been here 5000 years
Since 3000 BC

Now’s he’s stuck in this museum
Locked inside of this freezer
People come from everywhere
Just to see him lying there

Look around this mountainside
Look where the red tail flies
On the rooftops far below
See the first signs of snow

Wish I had a home on high
Wish I was the burning sky
Wish I was the falling rain
Wish I had no other name

When I first came to this place
I was looking for your face
If I pass this way again
I will think of you my friend

When the creeks have all run dry
Then you’ll see her pass on by
In this place her wisdom speak
Where the waters cannot reach

Look around this mountainside
Let your thoughts grow free and wild
Look around where you belong
Feel the harmony, the song

Do you recall, do you remember
What happened on that day in December
This was our country, my friend
This was our land

That Christmas Eve, tears were shed
And the blood of the innocent
Fifty-nine children paid the price
When someone shouted fire

It’s a debt you will never clear
When you’re paid by the company
When they own the ground underneath your feet
You owe them your memories

How do you keep it together
When your neighbor is a killer
You cast a web that diffuses shame
And misplace all of the blame

Do you recall, do you remember
What happened on that day in December
Do you believe in the past my friend
Do you believe in the past

It was not the rain that made me stay
It was you
It was not the sun that brightened my day
It was you
Not the famine, not the drought
The flood that covered Ararat
None of these turned me inside out
But you

It was not this city that captured me
It was you
Not fame or fortune that set me free
It was you
Not the traffic not the night
Not one of those flashing lights
None of these have set me right
But you

It was not the rain that made me stay
It was you
It was not the sun that brightened my day
It was you
Not the famine, not the drought
The flood that covered Ararat
None of these turned me inside out
But you

I’m drifting further south every day, I’ll be
Past Baton Rouge soon
Somewhere out across the water lies
A stairway to the moon

I have been sailing over troubled waters
Too deep for an anchor to hold
I go where the trade winds want me to go
Tomorrow I will be in Mexico

I have seen visions drifting on the breeze
Under a vertical sun
In a place where no one sounds like me
Set my feet back on solid land

I keep one eye on the weather
And my center of gravity low
At the place where the waters divide
There’s a city of gold

Someday soon and it won’t be long now
Someday soon and it won’t be long
I’ll shake these bones and clap these hands all the way to glory land
Someday soon and it won’t be long

Someday soon and it won’t be long now
Someday soon and it won’t be long
Every thing will be revealed, there’ll be no sickness or disease
Someday soon and it won’t be long

Someday soon and it won’t be long now
Someday soon and it won’t be long
Every language, every sun, every color become one
Someday soon and it won’t be long

Someday soon and it won’t be long now
Someday soon and it won’t be long
Time will bend and shift like sand, the waves be quieted to land
Someday soon and it won’t be long

Build me a home in the rocks and the stones
On a mountain high
So I can watch this world pass on by
Build me a home
Build me a home

Build me a home without walls or doors
Windows or stairs
Let all who enter be no strangers there
Build me a home
Build me a home

Build me a home of memories and poems
Recipes and dreams
And all my friends who can hear the harmonies
Build me a home
Build me a home

Build me a home in the rocks and the stones
On a mountain high
So I can watch this world pass on by
Build me a home
Build me a home

Counting water towers from the back seat of a car
Playing Take It to the Limit, it was 1984
Colors and numbers, her ABCs
But the things that she learned were more than any of these

They would hang on her every word
Of deserts and jungles and the animal world
And while she taught them to count past ten
They learned that failure is just giving in

When she sang it was never alone
Her voice blew darkness right out of this home
Keeping the tempo, staying in key
We learned how to live in harmony

How to live with mistakes you have made
Ways to trick the monster out from under your bed
How to behave like a human being
These are the things that my mother taught me

Belting out the Beatles, Dylan and the Byrds
Singing for his life although he doesn’t know the words
It echoed through the darkness when the power died
I can hear him singing now; I believe he’s still singing

That rhythm always came to her clear and strong
Jumping all over Kingdom Come
She brought this hard world right down to its knees
I can hear her singing now; I believe she’s still singing

Squeezing out the hope in each half-remembered line
Waging war with his fingers and a whiskey-soaked mind
The straight story served with a bad attitude
I can hear him singing now; I believe he’s still singing

Puts her babies down to sleep with a song all her own
Borne across the ocean to this Appalachian town
The sound of harmony, the sound of home
I can hear her singing now; I believe she’s still singing

When he sang hallelujah in that dry and dusty place
Were the very stones shaken by that most amazing grace
The feast for famine, drought for the flood
I can hear him singing now; I believe he’s still singing

Silence is a place where you go all alone
The mirror in the hallway, a broken telephone
Where all of the absence and misplaced intentions don’t seem too much to hold
Silence is a place and you go there alone

Silence is a place where you go when there’s nowhere else
The drawbridge to your refuge, the last line of defense
The battlements erected by the weight of the unsaid
Silence is a place when there’s nowhere else

Silence is a place where you go with those you love
The language of perfection, the element of trust
Wider than the ocean, deeper than the sky
Silence is a place and you go there in love

I was born with a digital mind and analog skin
All the places I can stand have gone to the wind
But none of this, none of this, none of this
Can bring me down

I am a scientist; I draw my dreams
From the deep and tainted wells of anthropology
But none of this, none of this, none of this
Can bring me down

I was born with a face belonging to history
And in a crowded room I am a refugee
But none of this, none of this, none of this
Can bring me down

I left this city and a concrete soul
Haunted by languages and staggering with hope
And none of this, none of this, none of this
Will bring me down

I know a man who only talks on rotary phones
Full of numbers, memories and poems
He knows what tomorrow will bring
Tomorrow can bring

I know a man with a head for machines
He’s got stories, he’s got digital dreams
He’s thinking on yesterday
Thinking of yesterday

I know a girl who says all she needs
Is a husband, a home, a family
She knows what tomorrow will bring
Tomorrow can bring

I know a girl who’s got it all
Strength and beauty, she’s got lovers at her beck and call
She’s thinking on yesterday
Thinking of yesterday

In my days here I have tried to match my head
To my heart and to my lungs, to my legs
To hold what tomorrow will bring
Tomorrow can bring

For the last time I surrender for a song
And the next time I will be long gone
Thinking on yesterday
Thinking of yesterday

My father is an engineer I am his oldest son
My mother gave to me every song I’ve sung

My sister is a modern girl she lives on rice and beans
My brother is a carpenter with ironclad dreams

Though my friends are penniless they live around the world
In Bishkek, Lima, Pouthisat and one in Kabul

To all my fellow travelers wherever they may be
These thoughts go out, let them one day come back to me

Corners everywhere you look, but no dead-end streets
Towers and monuments; an island of dreams
Where the perfect day is always half a week away
Distraction never leaves, tomorrow never stays

It’s all about the angles, it’s all about the light
The tourists and their cameras, man, what’s left to find
Echoes of the emperors, the weight of history
Vespas careening through these medieval streets

Two globes, two palaces, two chambers and two births
One for the heavens and one for the earth
Motion perpetual, the span of all in one
These are the threads from which a lifetime is spun

Let us be bound for glory, you and I
Minstrels and immigrants, three feet above the sky
In love with silences, with sound, with everything
I give it all to you my fellow citizens

From the time that she was young
You could hear her singing that song
Says it was God that taught her heart
She just had to stick to her part

She sang with a voice all her own
Keeping the faith and passing it on
The good and bad times, the major, minor keys
Change the words, but keep this melody

And on the day they lay her down
To rise up to glory and that heavenly crown
Still have a song on her lips, in her heart
Still will be happy just to do her part

Let me keep on singing the songs that I know
Even if no one is listening, let me still carry on
Not for fortune, glory or fame
But just to keep on living and remembering my name

Burn my eyes with a holy fire let me see all things anew
Burn my eyes with a holy fire let me learn to love the truth
Though I walk through storms and shadows I shall not be moved
Burn my eyes with a holy fire let me see all things renewed

Wash my hands with holy water let them be at work always
Wash my hands with holy water let them never long to stray
To my poor, my friends, my neighbors, enemies extend
Wash my hands with holy water let their work be yours always

Set my feet on paths of glory let them walk on holy ground
Set my feet on paths of glory let them be upward bound
Let them take me to the place where all will be revealed
Set my feet on paths of glory let this all be holy ground

Burn my tongue with coals of fire let me speak of distant shores
Burn my tongue with coals of fire let my words always be yours
In the wideness of your presence learn to keep my peace
Burn my tongue with coals of fire bring me safely ashore

Break my heart with holy wisdom let me learn to love again
Break my heart with holy wisdom let me on your strength depend
And the power past all knowing clothed in sacrifice
Break my heart with holy wisdom let me long for you again

Saw it for a dime in 1943
At the Palestine Theater down on Clinton Street
Tumbleweeds in black and white, a Picture in Grey
Jean and Hopsy, Heaven Can Wait

Bought it cheap and sold it on a whim
You won’t hear that 78 again
And 5 LPs got that phonograph for free
Blonde on Blonde, the Stones and the Supremes

Got it every day down at the corner store
The news that’s fit to print and nothing more
Atom bombs and Communists, Brown and the Board
The National Guard in Arkansas

I cannot know the weight of this world
I’ve got nothing to tell you but all the wrong words
I cannot know the weight, the weight of this world
I am helpless, just like you

I cannot know the weight of these years
I cannot bind the accuser, discredit these fears
And under the weight, the weight of these years
I am broken, just like you

I cannot know the weight of this pull
The places you’re pushed all beyond your control
In gravity’s power, oblivion’s hold
I am lonely, just like you

I cannot know the weight of this world
The best I can do are these simple words
That hanging there that afternoon
He was helpless, just like you

It was underneath the willows on a sultry night in June
I went walking with my true love out underneath that moon
We tickled and we tussled, we huggled and we kissed
Oh girl you looked like Minnie Pearl, but you kissed just like Judas

It was earlier that spring when our courting had commenced
When I first had kissed her across the old stone fence
She would send me love letter written in verse
Oh girl you wrote like William Shakespeare, but you kissed just like Judas

Then it was autumn, I was running from the law
I had shot and killed a man who had cheated my grandpa
She said that she would lie for me no matter who would ask
Oh girl you spoke like Jesse James, but you kissed just like Judas

So the moral of this story for those still listening
Is don’t mistake truth and kisses, lovers and friends
If somebody should say they’d gladly die for you
Remember they told that to Jesus too

When I get up to that Promised Land
When I get up to that Promised Land
When I get up to that Promised Land
Won’t have to tell nobody where I stand
When I get up to that Promised Land

…won’t have to lend no helping hand

…I’ll be playing guitar in a honky-tonk band

…I’ll be drinking whisky, shooting cans

…it’ll be the end of my best laid plans

…won’t have to dodge the police man

…every deal will be a winning hand

Write me a song, sing it all day long
Write me a song, sing it out
Write it down, let the world know your sound
Write it down, tell the world where you’ve been and where you’re bound

Build me a ship for the stars, for the seas
Build me a ship for the sky
Build it proud, let it sail the world around
Build it proud, let it sail forever never run aground

Tell me a tale of knights and of whales
Tell me a tale with no end
Tell it now, who is lost, what you’ve found
Tell it now, let your voice be thunder the world, the sound

Dream me a world of wings and wheels
Dream me a world, make it real
Dream out loud, let the universe resound
Dream out loud, tell the world that this is holy ground

You are muscle and sinew
Fierce symmetry
The heat of the noonday
On a crowded street

You are order and reason
The spark and the steam
The chaos of nature
The storm on the sea

You are vapors and visions
The captain of dreams
The words and the kingdoms
The power between

Oh the shadowlands of freedom
Oh the deserts of desire
The loneliness of lovers
And the sight, the sight of the blind

You are muscle and sinew
Fierce symmetry
The cool of the morning
On the hill, on the tree

Do you remember the rain
The way that it came
When it fell there was nowhere to go
Do you remember the rain

Do you remember the sun
How it burned how it shone
In the season too early for shade
Do you remember the sun

Do you remember the snow
How it covered us both
And the silence that spoke nothing false
Do you remember the snow

Do you remember the rain
The way that it came
And how it broke, how hard it fell
Do you remember the rain

When I stepped into the rain on that cold November night
My hands were in my pockets, my eyes were quick and bright
You’re a sailor said the Englishman, but Lord what’s in your pants
Oh, I know it’s not ants
I did not reply, for I knew what was said
That the captains of industry heard every word
But I’ve been busted and battered man, I have been abused
I’m mystified and confused

She was thinking of the captain as she put on her face
But Smiling Jenny knew the admiral was lying in wait
She was moaning for a reason to strengthen her will
For a sailor down in Mobile
She turned from her mirror as I walked in
Said I to Jenny, I don’t like the way you grin
Oh sonny boy you’ve got a lot to learn
She said while my conscience burned

Mother Mary, said the ladybug, I’m flying from home
There’s a coroner’s convention down in San Antone
A shot of compassion to free me of my sins
Half a year, a fifth of gin

I’ve got mouths to feed I’ve got bills to pay
Said the train conductor as he walked away
Who’s that stirring who’s in my bed
I thought you were cold and dead

There ain’t nothing on the TV, it’s Friday night
And this old house is cold dark and quiet
I am sad and lonely, I am missing you
I’ve got hours to kill but I’ve got nothing to do

So what will it be girl; your place or mine
Whiskey, rum, tequila, bourbon, vodka, beer or wine
It comes in cans or bottles, has many different names
But drinking alone it just ain’t the same

So if you’re feeling lonesome if you’re sad and blue
If this world has got you down, here’s the thing to do
Call me up, I’m waiting, I will be there
I’ll bring my own bottle and I’ll even let you share

You’re dumb, you’re ugly and yes I’m talking to you
You’re weird, you’re clumsy, you eat disgusting food
You have no dignity; you act like such a fool
You’re dumb, you’re ugly I can barely look at you

That’s it, you’ve done it now, you woke me up again
Dot try to talk to me, I am not listening
Those pigeons are more interesting than you could ever hope to be
I know I’m cute, I know I’m sweet, don’t say it again

I don’t mean to be cruel or thoughtless; I’m just telling the truth
There are moments when I actually think I sort of like you
I love that game we play with my mouse, I hide it under the couch and you get it out
And rub my head, now let me go, that will do

The fog rolled up the island it rolled in off the sea
Sat down on my doorstep and beckoned to me
And it curled around my ankles, crawled my ear
Whispered “keep on moving boy” soft and sweet

But I am anchored in still waters I am rooted firm and deep
Will take more than ifs and buts to move these weary feet
I’ve heard these stories all before they’re lies all the same
Time is not a prison and a home is not a grave

Been a hard and rocky journey but it won’t be long
I’ve got wings of rhythm I’ve got wheels of song
It’s in the falling leaf, the change of seasons
That I have found the courage to belong

Down in the valley chimney smoke holds up the sky
And I’m tired of crossing oceans, states and county lines
I have lived so many places it is easy to know
When I should put some roots down; when I am home

The fridge buzzes, the rocking chair groans
Kettle has boiled dry as a bone
Lists and deadlines should be running through my mind
But I sit here thinking of you

I’ve got the great American novel in my head
A lifetime of books to be read
There’s a song in the headlines screaming to be born
And I sit here thinking of you

There are dishes to be washed and bills to pay
There’s a world to be saved
But you can find me here doing what I do best
Sitting and thinking of you

With half of Texas blowing off to the east
And the other half stuck to my feet
Took what was left of my love and money
And headed for the sea

If it rained for forty days
I don’t believe this desert would bloom
If I find better luck in the city
I’ll sing it to a picture of you

With all to show for five years labor
A hard luck nickel and my name
Hopped the freight, the old South Central
And headed for those fertile plains

My descendants for seven generations
Are promised to the factory store
What was real I gave to my real friends
If I could I’d give them some more

All I have is the song I sing; it binds us you and me
From California to New York Island, I’m always with my family
I’m on my way just like I went, weary, broke and cold
Been down so far so long that it’s the only thing I know

Started out when the leaves were changing
Blood on the railroad tracks
Started out, man I was not stopping
I held a rifle in my hand

All the way through Mingo County
Hound dogs are set on me
My face posted from here to Texas
Felts’ goon squad at my heels

I have been too brave, too frightened
I have lost, I have found
Now this town is burned to cinders
My home made a killing ground

Started out when the leaves were falling
Aching heart and itching hand
Started out, man I won’t be stopping
Until we’ve reached the Promised Land

I’ve been a homesick disciple on these rails
Trying to fit my faith to a name
Trying to fit three chord truths into twelve bar blues
I’ve been trying to stay honest, to stay true

I’ve been over; I’ve been so long gone
On these end of alphabet songs
I have waited for so long to spit this dust out of my lungs
Untangle my stumbling tongue

I went all the way out past the King’s Highway
To see what was left, what ‘‘d find of you there
At the end of the street there was nothing; not a home, not a grave
And a rambling man leaves no trail

My baby’s gone and left me for another
And I’ve never been so sad and blue
My baby’s left me here to sit and wonder
Why she won’t be true

I saw her last Friday evening
She said that I had been replaced
Somebody with more to offer
Had taken my rightful place

Forgive me if I am jealous
If I oil my gun and whet my Bowie knife
I swear to God I’ve never been indecent
But he’s been sleeping with her all of her life

I’ve been trying to comprehend my failings
Understand the error of my ways
It’s hard to win when you’re competing
With a bear who’s got a head start in the race

Tell me why every time I see you
Tell me why every time I see you
Why it rains every time I see you

Tell me why every time I see you
Tell me why every time I see you
Why you smile every time I see you

Tell me why every time I see you
Tell me why every time I see you
I’m a fool every time I see you

I’ll be damned if I will believe this after all the shit you said
You’ve been lying like a thrift store suit and it don’t fit you well
You’ve gone and shouted wolf one too many times
I’ll be damned if I believe this I’ll be damned if he is dead

You’re kings of wind and thunder and lords of the tomb
You’ll crack the bell of freedom and blow the trump of doom
I’ll scream it like a banshee if you tear out my tongue
The spheres they danced a two-step on your kingdom coming down

The sun bounced down off the brass on your chest and it nearly made me blind
But the demons under the porch laughed at your beautiful lies
I’ll walk right through this fire and I won’t even smell of death
The sun came down on a summer day but I am not deaf or blind

Murder murder there’s blood on the breeze
Doctor doctor won’t you help me please
Heal me doctor

Fire fire there’s smoke in the wind
Doctor doctor untangle my mind
Strung out waiting on parted waters a bush burst into flame

Liar liar there’s a fox with the hens
Doctor doctor I’ve been taken for dead
Heal me doctor

Murder murder there’s blood in the streets
Doctor doctor won’t you tell me please
The worst of my addictions is that I am addicted at all

It’s hard to stay holy in this city of sin and I’m not saying I’ve done it well
I’ve done my share of drinking, drugging and screwing but not enough to send me to hell
Pour the next round and I’ll tell you another of the things I have seen in this town
And running around trying to keep out the devil has run me right into the ground

I’m not saying I am holy and righteous, but I have done better than most
Fronting my punk band - you might have seen us - called the Heavenly Host
Those cherubim and seraphim, well I saw them tagging walls and jacking up cars
Gabriel’s lying in his puke in the gutter on the Bowery and Michael’s got three hookers on each arm

I’m tired of this profession; it always seems I’m saving the ugly and the dumb
I just checked my contract and I didn’t see a clause denying natural selection
So if your pipes leak and your rent is outrageous, your neighbor deals, your roommate steals your beer
Take your complaints to the upstairs office; don’t blame me, I just work here

It’s raining in New York City and the trees are digging in
Their roots against the concrete; something’s got to give
Standing in the doorway the sky opens wide
Outside is the city but I got country inside

There’s a dog outside the deli staring at the door
And I wonder who that someone is that he is waiting for
While I tended to my conscience this city stole my eyes
But everybody knows me in my country inside

The pigeons have abandoned the Armory roof
I wish I could go somewhere; the place that they’ve gone to
I’m wishing for horizons, endless lines of sight
I’m wishing I had more than the country inside

He picked up a hammer in his hand said momma I’m off to die
A man against a mountain, muscle at his command
The granite shook his hammer sang as he drove home that spike
They laid him down by the side of the tracks he was a railroad man

He picked up a guitar in his hand said momma I’m a rambling ‘round
A man to bring that thunder with a backbeat and a rhyme
Now he’s still looking for that place where milk and honey flow
He could not cure his itching feet he was a railroad man

He picked up a hammer in his hand said momma I’m off to die
A man, a God, a battleground, a tree, a wave on sand
With fire he pierced their cruel hearts with nails they pierced his palms
They say he was a carpenter but he was a railroad man

Some folks they like whiskey others like their wine
Some they just drink Budweiser and others Natty Light
But when I slide up to the bar just one drink works for me
I say to the bartender I’ll have whatever’s cheap

Some folks they like women with diamonds and pearls
And some they like their men dressed up like girls
Either way don’t matter much just when we’re out to eat
They say to the waiter I’ll have whatever’s cheap

Some folks go to church and some they stay at home
Some don’t believe in God at all some call Satan their own
If you step up to the altar and he asks you what you need
Just say to the preacher I’ll have whatever’s cheap

Back home in Tennessee life was pretty plain
I’d milk the cows and feed the chickens give the horse some hay
Ma cooked dinner on the stove with logs that I would split
No TV, no telephones no place you couldn’t spit

It’s true I miss my mother my farm my family
But the thing I remember most is where we’d go to pee
There was a shack out in the backyard with a half moon on the door
It was dark and it was hard to see what you were shooting for

My father was a gambler and he spent his last dime
On a fifth of gutrot whiskey to distract his worried mind
And when the police found him below the steeple of St. Marks
He had his pants around his ankles he was pissing in the dark

Now I’m standing here in Basrah in the middle of the night
A smoking gun in my left hand a grenade in my right
And I screamed at my commander as the bullets ‘round us barked
This ain’t a good war anymore we’re pissing in the dark

It’s skin and bones but it kicks like a mule and
It’ll carry my pack my rifle my boots
Left on my dime my senses behind
Digging for dreams in Jackson mine

It’s the Central Pacific 508
And it’ll take me due west to San Jose
Over Chinese bones John Henry’s steel
An open door and a turn of the wheel

It’s got a shake and a rattle but it’s still gonna roll
And half a tank will get me to Sacramento
From there it’s all downhill until I hit the sea
The Hollywood hills the silver screen

I’ve got a voice and I know it ain’t mine
I’ve got a roving eye and a distracted mind
I’m a leaky boat a plane without wings
I’m not doing too bad with just paper and string

I’m happy to be American,
I love our freedom too,
Not like all them foreign creeps,
That hates good folk like me ‘n you.

I’m happy watchin’ football games,
On my new flat screen tv.
I’m payin fewer taxes now,
So I bought a big ol’ SUV.

Everything is wonderful,
No more porn upon the tube.
Thanks to the folks at the FTC
We’re saved from Janet Jackson’s boob.

Dubya done did Iraq
With bunker-bustin’ bombs.
So Karl Rove come election-time
Could do the same to them security moms.

Angelina says to me
There’s nothing left to do
And so she pours the coffee out
And cries the whole day through

Angelina says to me
There’s nothing left to say
And so she lies about her age
And sleeps the livelong day

Angelina says that she’s
Been driven from her home
And no one listens anymore
To that old jawbone

Angelina says that she
Has seen this all before
And there’s no need for her to try
To get up off the floor

It was the middle of nowhere, sometime after two
I was lost I was blinded by the sun
The map was worse than useless, the compass just points south
The path that had brought me here was gone
I was already weary though I had only begun
Diving into the clouds

Well I ran to the city but the country followed me
Found me drunk and playing solitaire
Asked where I was headed asked if it was true
That chaos can conquer despair
If there’s warmth in concrete you can breathe without air
Diving into the clouds

I’ve been always in motion I’ve been friction’s enemy
And home was the road under my feet
Without knowing where it led I took
The path into the heart of the dream
Halfway there I turned around and threw my guidebook down
Diving into the clouds

It was just south of Texas it was mid afternoon
The sun cut through the clouds with holy fire
It called me to believe in things left unseen
To have faith in the pillars of the sky
Somewhere in between the sky and the sea I am
Diving into the clouds

I’m not a man who’s been so far away that I’ve lost all allegiance to home
I’m not a man who’s had so many names that I have forgotten my own
I am the immigrant I am the abdicant I am the prodigal son
I am the man of many ways but I still know the path to my home

I’m not a man who’s been so far from land that I’ve fallen in love with the sea
I’m not a man who’s seen so many wonders I’m blind to the marvel of peace
I am the song and I am the singer I am the minor key
I am a man who has lived on these waters but I must be leaving the sea

I’m not a man who’s been so many people that I’ve lost a claim to my soul
I’m not a man who’s been so long a stranger that my feet do not turn toward home
I am the captain I am the anchor I am the billowing sail
I am the man of many faces but I’ve not forgotten my soul

It was Christmas in prison and the food ain’t real good
I had turkey and pistols carved out of wood
I done tried some baking but it’s hard without cream
My brands on your shelf, and my show’s on your screen.

My website has posted a Holiday greetin’
So please buy my china though I won’t be eatin’
My heart is as big as this whole goddamn jail
But I’ll let Omnimedia drop the coin for my bail

The search light in the big yard swings round with the gun
And spotlights the snowflakes like the dust in the sun
It’s Christmas in prison there’ll be music tonight
I’ll probably get homesick I love you, goodnight.

Mister Secretary
I know you don’t know my name
I know that you are truly grateful
That you are not the only one to blame

Mister Secretary
I have just one demand
If I die in this godforsaken place
Sign the letter by hand

Mister Secretary
I know you don’t read the news
I know we fight with the army we have
Not the army we’d choose

Mister Secretary
I know there’s solid evidence
I know that all the armor in the world
Is not a sufficient defense

Got me a gun and a fake tattoo
A flight suit and a Bible too
Got me a gun and a fake tattoo
I’m a Soldier of the Lord

I shoot first and I shoot to kill
I defend God’s Holy Will
I shoot first and I shoot to kill
I’m a Soldier of the Lord

Got me a mandate to use force
Got me one that’s bigger than yours
Got me a mandate to use force
I’m a Soldier of the Lord

I come in hard I come in strong
I come in low out of the rising sun
I come in hard I come in strong
I’m a Soldier of the Lord

Got me an army got me a war
Got me political capital
Got me an army got me a war
I’m a Soldier of the Lord

They say that a few years before he did himself in
Vincent had a very nasty row with Gauguin
He went home and took a razor to his left ear
Wrapped it up and gave it as a present to his dear

To his surprise she did not like his gift much at all
She called the cops and had him packed off to L’Hospital
The ear was kept as evidence in an alcohol-filled jar
It disappeared in the hole of history’s black star

They say Vincent was crazy and it might have been the truth
His style was unconventional his manner was uncouth
Failure was his standard and loss his destiny
He was not a darling of the petty bourgeoisie

He loved the sun and sunflowers he loved his cousin
He painted portraits of the entire family Roulin
In the yellow cafes at night he’d daub away the time
But everybody thought him mad, his ear not worth a dime

He lived in an asylum, he wrote letters to Theo
And then one day he shot himself, it’s adios Van Gogh
If Vincent were still alive and kicking today
His ear would be up for auction on eBay

There’s a thousand points of light shining through my window
There’s a draft creeping under the door
There’s a child left standing at the gates of Hamelin
There’s a new tailor for the emperor and
Running won’t save you any
Running won’t save you any
Running won’t save you anymore

There’s a drum that’s pounding out a martial rhythm
There’s a beggar with a song
There’s a lookout shouting iceberg ahoy
There’s a band playing on and
Running won’t save you any
Running won’t save you any
Running won’t save you anymore

There’s a pilot alone over the south Pacific
There’s a tidal wave coming down
There’s an army of fools and they’re all laughing
There’s justice fleeing this town and
Running won’t save you any
Running won’t save you any
Running won’t save you anymore

There’s a line that’s forming for the halls of justice
There a battle for a corporate soul
There’s a young man standing at the foot of the altar
There’s a country going down the rabbit-hole and
Running won’t save you any
Running won’t save you any
Running won’t save you anymore

There’s a man at my door, says he belongs to Jesus
There’s a man at my door, says he has come to heal us
And everybody knows Holy Ghost Power

There’s a man at my door, says he has come collecting
There’s a man at my door, says who were you expecting
And everybody knows Holy Ghost Power

There’s a man at my door, says he belongs to Jesus
There’s a man at my door, says he has come to heal us
And everybody knows Holy Ghost Power

Baby my heart is yours forever
Baby my light is always on
You know I’ve got what you’ve been wanting
You know my love for you is strong

Baby you’ve got to give me something
Baby you’ve got to show a sign
I’ve just got to have an answer
My love will not be denied

Baby I know there may be others
I know you’re red, you could be blue
Baby if I can’t be your only
Just more than half of you will do

It was a beautiful night when you walked away from me and I swore I would never forget
Your finger on my lips and my heart in your mouth and you already turning away
You said love has made us lie love has made us terrified love must bow to fate
It was a beautiful night when you walked away from me
You were just practicing freedom

When you signed the order and called out the soldier bearing a lock and key
You thought it would be a sign to tame the haughty and teach the conquered peace
The crowd outside chants for truth chants for democracy chants for the king of thieves
And signing the order and calling out the soldier
You were just practicing freedom

There was blood on the wall there was screaming in the hall and you said so this is war
There were pictures in the paper excuses on the radio and your good name on the floor
Now all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put reality back together again
The blood on the wall the screaming in the hall
You were just practicing freedom

It was a beautiful night when you walked away from me and I swore I would never forget
The way you turned away from me surrendered quietly saying here I am
And knowing what it would mean the flogging and the tree the sacrificial lamb
It was a beautiful night when you walked away from me
But you were just practicing freedom

The fields near the shore have been turned by the harrow the women are baking bread for tomorrow
Ashes of corpses and ashes of houses and blood on the land
Columns of smoke rise as emblems of despair the loudspeaker sputters out a final call to prayer
Broken horizons and hobbling horses and blood on the sand

The house holds its ruin within its own walls the foundation stones are the seeds of downfall
Salt in the wounds salt in the furrows the bend of the knees
The sons burning Carthage are sons born of Priam and daughters of Cain are the sisters of Zion
Elephants coming down out of the mountains and fear on the breeze

Here in this city where the talk shows are tragic where staying alive feels like studying magic
Where I am still looking for Truth in the circus and lies in the Times
Wander these streets ‘til the desert has made me numb ride on these rails like a disciple sick for home
Write down the memories of your wooden soldiers and write down your crimes

If you were Queen Dido and I was Aeneas how could I how would I have left this heavenly bliss
Does that make me the slave of passion or king of my fate
If I was destined for the founding of empire how could I conquer the walls of desire
Would I be captive to gods in the heavens or gods of my mind

As if I could say he’s not my president to be cleared of any crime
As if the only cause worth fighting for is my own private life
As if I could say that walking away is just acting polite
As if you were wrong and I was right

As if I could say things would be different with a change in regime
As if I could further both a compromise and my integrity
As if the color of my blood is purple and not red
As if I was good and you were bad

As if I could say that when I’m on my knees it’s not idolatry
As if all there is to happiness is life and liberty
As if I could shrug and say the truth is what you lie about
As if I was in and you were out

The light coming down over her shoulder burned my eyes
We were eating up miles to the minute on the road to paradise
All around was danger wrapped in the robes of false security
But just ahead the pathway was golden as far as I could see

Driving west into Ashland County we caught fire along with the clouds
She said she was thinking of paradise but I know she was dreaming aloud
I gave up my wisdom I gave up my power I gave up the Holy Ghost
She said there is always a sunrise once the sunset has passed

There is a world just beyond our reach and there are kingdoms in the sky
There are miracles untouched by humans and there are reasons why
To see and to hold to hear what is told of the things not of this world
There is more than is seen or felt, more than your ears have heard

Tonight will be sleepless again
Waiting for the sound of the rain
For the wind to lift and the tide to shift
For the strength to cast my cares adrift
But tonight I will dream of you

Tonight will be restless again
Waiting for the words to proclaim
For the waves to part for the Holy Ark
For courage to be pure of heart
But tonight I will dream of you

Tonight I will be dreaming again
Hearing the sound of your name
Though the seas may rage and the sun may fade
And though my heart may pace its cage
Tonight I will dream of you

You got me crawling on the floor you got me begging for more
See what you do to me
You got me about to lose my mind you got me dying all the time
See what you do to me
And when I say that I want to be your man
I’m running naked through the town
See what you do to me

You got me singing in the rain you got me shouting out your name
See what you do to me
You got me praying in the dark you got me naked in the park
See what you do to me
I when I say that I have no more to lose
I mean that I have to be with you
See what you do to me

You got me falling on my knees you got me begging please
See what you do to me
You got me feeling like a king you got me wanting it again
See what you do to me
And when I say that I’ll give you all I can
I’ll throw my life like water onto sand
See what you do to me

My eyes have seen the glory of ages to come and of years that have passed
I have seen hours swell and wither, empires turn into dust
Under the sun and over the moon and before the reason why
I have seen hills razed and valleys exalted I’ve seen Satan fall from the sky

My ears have heard the blessings of freedom and its terrible price
I have heard harsh and dreadful sounds of the love between fire and ice
Facing the dream behind conviction after the end of the world
I have heard things to be long forgotten and the banner of laughter unfurled

My mouth has spoken words of deception, words of true insight
I have sung love and I have screamed hate and I have cried out to the light
From the mouth of God in the heavens comes the words of a child
I have spoken of visions at hand I’ve been baptized by desire

Pain is not for the pretty
The fair of face and heart
We will all I am told be ugly and old
But pain is not for me

Work is not for the brilliant
Those with minds strong and free
And though I struggle at times to find a rhyme
Work is not for me

Friends are not for those beloved
Of the stage or screen
And though I have met with little success
Friends are not for me

Great deeds are not for the modest
To make their mark on history
We all have our dreams of worldwide regimes
But great deeds are not for me

The truthful must never be lied to
Lest they hear dishonestly
And though I am told it is more than silver and gold
The truth is not for me

If I could hold on to both your hands and tie your legs to this bed
If I could lie without regrets, throw my heart into your head
If I could be the jury and the judge

If I could play you like a fish hooked on the end of my line
If I could say this world was for the taking that nobody really dies
If I could turn your life into a song

If I could hold on to both your hands and tie your legs to this bed
If I could walk and dance on the water turn stone into bread
I’d carry you to the other shore

Flee the burning city and don’t look back
You will pass two pillars of salt that once were man and wife
Flee from the ashes right into the mouth of the whale
Run from the voices that tell you what is good and what is real

Flee the beasts that tear your flesh rend you limb from limb
Tell me who your devil is tell me you’re not him
Flee from your own heartache flee from your own soul
Deny that you can have a part in humanity’s whole

Flee the long arm of the law that will uncover you
Run from everything you are and everything you do
Flee the good physician and the medicine of truth
Go and ask the President to call in the troops

If all I wanted was to be king I would have called from Mexico
If all I wanted was to be sober I would have lost you again
You know I could care less to stand in defiance to watch myself losing control You know I have burned all my bridges behind me and all I have left is my soul
When all it wants is truth or consequence

If all I wanted was your hand I would have offered up mine
If all I wanted was one more chance I would have given all that I am
You know it’s been easy to despise our leaders but they deserve less from me
You know that the mountain can offer up secrets can whisper into your dreams
That all it wants is truth or consequence

If all I wanted was heaven on earth I would have called an airstrike in
If all I wanted was my own freedom I would have gone in for all I’m worth
You know it’s been easy to turn peace to treason to turn loyalty to hate
You know that power is not mine to give but it is yours to take
But all I want is truth or consequence

I don’t know if I should laugh or scream in our time, in our time
Hold my position or hide my trail in the stream in our time, in our time
To howl at the moon or bury my head in the sand in our time, in our time
If it’s a joke or a nightmare, hypnosis or a spell, these times are slipping through my hands

Hidden screaming horses and cowering men in our time, in our time
I’ve seen you out there on the highway trading flesh and sin in our time, in our time
I have prayed to God Almighty that justice would be done in our time, in our time
Blocked up my ears and eyes, mouth, mind and nose, these times are almost gone

There are tears in my eyes from the smoke blown in my face in our time, in our time
My conscience hangs in tatters my allegiance in disgrace in our time, in our time
The battle cries ring hollow though I have the will to fight in our time, in our time
I’ve seen a wheel in a wheel, I’ve seen the Valley of Dry Bones but these are times I can’t tell wrong from right

When I die I want it to be like this facing the sun
I was not born to fade away turn tail and run
Though my life is over I will have just begun
When I die I want it to be like this facing the dawn

When I die I want it to be like this braving the rain
Forged shackles cannot hold me down nor ball and chain
What I have done to deserve this I dare not explain
When I die I want it to be like this not fearing pain

When I die I want it to be like this chasing the storm
I would not burn this world to ash if it could be transformed
Thought I have reaped the whirlwind’s wrath clench not my palm
When I die I want it to be like this embracing calm

Take me and wash me in this flood of justice rolling down
Let it rock me let it roll me let it purify my soul
The song of great awakening lifted by wind and fire
Borne on the wings of a homeward flow
And the laughter, the laughter of a child

When you moved on the face of the waters, when you spoke into the void
When the waters parted by sands of time, when silence echoed of noise
It was then that you walked by the seashore casting out demons with a wave of your hand
A stranger called out your name, he said you are the son of man
And you cannot bind me, no I am not bound, I am Legion this world is my own
You said, come my brother you were born to trouble and now I set you free
The water is wide the water is troubled
The water is fouled with the blood of 2 thousand
All across this bay, the bay of pigs

When the scent of danger hangs in the air like the sweetest lilac flower
When foreign interests bears its teeth, when blood lusts and fears
It was then that you flew over water to incite a civil war
And all along was failure planned or was it who you were fighting for
And no one has chosen, and you did not choose your time of birth or place
It is not between two countries that freedom takes its stake
The water is wide the water is troubled
The water is fouled with the blood of 2 thousand
All across this bay, the bay of pigs

When I was drowning in rivers of sin and sinking in cold dark waters
When I had walked into a place that I couldn’t walk back out of
It was then I saw him stretch out his hand to consecrate the water
All the fish swam to the nets like it was the home that they’d always thought of
And he said, to me leave your guns leave your butter; bread is for beggars and roses for lovers
So come, come to the waters and live
The water is wide the water is troubled
The water is fouled with the blood of 2 thousand
All across this bay, the bay of pigs

Love is a force that springs from the ashes of hate
Hope is born like grass from the dirt
Peace is what is built from the spoils of war
Even divine beings have a human birth

From the rubble of empires rises the star of a new dawn
From the smell of death and the sound of steel comes everlasting song
Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall if they are of this world
No one is born with life eternal

Might be the greatest story ever told
Might be a lie, might be truth, might be silver and gold
Might be God, might be a man, might be something else
Might be amazing grace

When I woke you were closer when I woke you were near
When I woke the clouds had lifted and the hurricane was here
When I woke I saw the rainbow touch down on my bed
When I woke the heavens opened but it was not raining bread

When I woke I was a liar when I woke I was playing the fool
When I woke I found the promised land under foreign rule
When I woke I was a sinner when I woke I was a saint
When I woke I found the canvas was no thicker than the paint

When I woke I was a millionaire when I woke up I was broke
When I woke I drank that finest wine it only made me choke
When I woke I was a peasant when I woke I was a king
When I woke I ruled the devil but I couldn’t talk to him

I am waiting in the doorway with my raincoat on
For you to spill your heart all over me
She said to watch I don’t fall into enemy hands
But I am occupied territory
And our armies are massing in foreign lands
To strike fear in their hearts and houses
She said this once was my homeland but now it has been sold
Subdivided into two acre parcels

All the animals that work on the graveyard shift
Laugh in the face of my conviction
They say I can never cure my advanced disease
But I am undaunted in my mission
So I’ve tried to guide my boat toward celestial shores
Where still waters run deep
But fair weather and fair winds are not a sailor’s life
And courage not a virtue given cheap

The sad eyed sandman on the banks of the Danube
Whispers in my ear it’s just for fun
Meanwhile I am drifting towards the water’s edge
Where the current is running deep and strong
And Charles DeGaulle is laughing like he’s back in 1940
And he knows something you do not
She said I am a liar she said I am a thief
She said I am all I say I’m not

But now I’ve offered up my soul to the queen of distraction
She knows what to make of it
She said I am the one with the devastating touch
Everything I touch turns to shit
You crept in with the draft on a cold winter’s night
This morning I shook with a fever
I said Lord where’ve you been I’ve been missing you so long
She said it’s only one night and you were dreaming

I am standing in the doorway with my raincoat on
And you will spill your heart all over me
She said to watch I don’t fall into enemy hands
But I am occupied territory

I want you to soar
Like a gull into the wind
But freedom dictates it own terms
And humans don’t have wings

I want you to rise up
Like Lazarus from your tomb
But there is no one to call you forth
No one to touch your wounds

I want you to burn
Like Rome while Nero plays
But I know too well a fire needs a spark
A moment to sets hearts ablaze

Do you ever get the feeling you’re drowning like an elephant is on your chest
Do you ever get the feeling you’ve found where the rainbow meets the dust
And I wouldn’t mind losing my lungs to you in exchange for a rib
And I would give all of my power if death would lose its grip
I tell you I’d give it all for more but I’ve given more for less
If I am clay without your breath with you I am breathless

Do you ever get the feeling you’re falling and you’ll never hit the ground
Do you wonder then if you were screaming would you even hear the sound
I still remember how you punched right through like I was paper thin
Drained me dry until all that was left was the stain of my own sin
I tell you I’d give it all for more but I’ve given more for less
If I am clay without your breath with you I am breathless

Do you ever get the feeling of hands around your neck
Do you wonder if surrender is a way to escape death
You and I together are the anvil and the steel
And we are at eternal war like a spoke and a wheel
I tell you I’d give it all for more but I’ve given more for less
If I am clay without your breath with you I am breathless

Climbing up out of the valley in the early morning light
Our conscience on our backs a new world fades into sight
You know that government’s a liar worse than anyone
Moving faster than the sun

Is there a difference if he is distant if God is watching us
Have you met the ghosts of history or the devils of progress
Don’t you know what’s in the contract to be a mortal one
Moving faster than the sun

Do you know a man whose body is covered in scars
Do you know saints and martyrs and knights in bright armor
Don’t you know how Daedalus lost his only son
Moving faster than the sun

I know you’re not my savior you can’t hide those bloody hands
I know you’re not the one led to slaughter like the lambs
I know that anybody could die for what you’ve done
Moving faster than the sun

Are you wide awake and breathing or have you fallen fast asleep
And is the voice of reason the thought you’d choose to keep
The beginning of the end of innocence or an end to everyone
Moving faster than the sun

The way you wear your life like it’s something you have won
And the way you’ve given in on the things not yet begun
I am casting about to find the right words to say
To fill your nets and calm your waves

So you can go and fight that war for a spot on which to stand
You can rape and pillage, loot and burn turn cities into sand
And you can touch the lips of Helen make war on Genghis Khan
But the Gates of Heaven still stand strong

So you want to make yourself holy and free
And love like a hurricane or a symphony
After all of this do you still wait for a sign
A potion or a line

I thought that on the day you married we’d close the Pentagon
But you’re in the chapel, bells are ringing, and we’re still making war

I thought that on the day you married everything would change
But you’re a husband and the rest of the world is still the same

I thought that on the day you married we’d reach the Promised Land
But you’ve got the ring and we’ve got the same landscape of burning sand

I thought that on the day you married we would kiss the sky
But we’re still singing down at the levee and drinking whiskey and rye

I wanted to tell you that this was forever and ever amen
But nothing’s forever not even diamonds can last till the end
Am I a companion
Or have I been just a friend
I wanted to tell you that this was forever but we are just mortal men

I wanted to tell you that I was not terrified by any of this
Although I knew even then it would not matter you were scared stiff
Have I stayed the pathway
Or have I gone adrift
I wanted to tell you that I was not terrified but I was nervous

I wanted to tell you that we could do miracles, turn water to wine
And now I see in the dullness of everyday wisdom divine
Have I seen the kingdom
Or have my eyes been blind
I wanted to tell you that we could do miracles God was passing by

I want you to tell me that you are my savior and this will work out
But you can’t reply cause you’re mired in inertia with no way out
Have I been dependent
Or have I not been in doubt
I wanted to tell you that you are my savior but you aren’t even devout

I want you to tell me that there is no consequence to following stars
But of the sacrifice you know as well as I we have our scars
Have I been certain
Or have I been starry-eyed
I want you to tell me that there is no consequence to live by your heart

I wanted to tell you that changes may come and go some things are not new
But now I know that though it may set you free truth kills you too
Have I surrendered
Or have I started anew
I wanted to tell you that changes may come and go but I’m going too

You said you had visions of paradise and knowledge of where we’d been
Then you go walking away on water and leave us to sink or swim
You said you were granted foresight and you knew the fires of hell
Then you go walking away to the bright side saying it’s just as well

You said that all your actions were true and mostly you have lost
You said you were called to be faithful and not a success
You said that times were getting hard and only would get worse
Then you go turning away from here denying your place of birth

You say you want peace but when it comes it bores you stiff
Then you go walking the road less traveled and saying that joy is a cliff
You said that things were this way forever and will be again next year
Then you go turning wine to water and saying the end is near

Three more days of dust and glory to rid myself of the angel’s story
Before I’m thrust to the breaking point before I’m trusted to heal and anoint
Three more days of blood and thunder to sanctify this rape and plunder
To protect your firstborn son to find a target for your gun

Three more days to find a savior to find a lover who can raise her
All that you’ve cast before the swine, all that is laid before these feet of mine
Three more days to turn the mountains into dust and crystal fountains
The blind to see the lame to dance fate cry out to circumstance

Three more days to suffer treason at the hand of fickle reason
To suffer all that’s left to hate to be cursed by all degenerates
Three more days to die completely to all that will defeat you
To come unfettered to the well to be freed from the deadly spell

One fish two fish red fish blue fish big fish little fish
Black fish blue fish old fish new fish a fish is a fish is a fish
Sad fish glad fish very very bad fish fish from here to there
Fat fish thin fish wearing yellow hat fish strange things everywhere

In the sea you’ve got two kinds of fish, big ones, little ones
The big ones are sharks and such that kill and maim and steal
And even though their methods are somewhat questionable
All they’re really trying to do is stay ahead of the game

Now the little ones are, over all, a harmless sort
They swim and eat and make more guppies when they’re bored
It’s just that they got debts no honest fish could pay
So they do a little something on the side to get them through each day

So the bigger ones are doing damage, out there going wild
And the little ones are on the corner struggling to stay alive
But the little ones get blamed as always for the country’s quandaries
And they’re chased all over the corners of the seven seas

So the poor little fishes sit in jail while the big fish swim free
And something about this bothers me something disagrees
Why little fish always get sent up the creek
And bigger ones get wine and cheese and victorian antiques

Any fisherman knows that catching minnows is not sensible policy
And guppies aren’t exactly the predators in the sea
So why is it the little ones get twenty five to life
And the killers with their bloody hands get offered a knife

That which we call a fish by any other name
At the end of the day on the end of the line smells the same
Little fish eaten by big fish is someone else’s prey
On the end of a line the biggest fish is not a white whale

In their shining ships they come from a country far beyond
Searching for a new Eden
With heaven on their minds, swords and bullets blessed
Destiny manifest

Sifting through the smoking suburbs looking for some kind of trace
Oh the accidents of arson and grace
On the morning that we left we were gone without a trace
And the new world was shining from your face

Running through the city sewers beneath the cloud of smog
There is writing on the wall
Armageddon’s seeping through every single crack
The line of barges turning back

If a baptism by fire costs as much as water
If a drowning man can learn to swim
If one more drop will push you over
Then I just might be your cup’s brim

If a bishop’s head is served upon a platter
If a dog can enter church through open doors
And if the word goes forth so does justice
And the truth cuts like a two edged sword

If their total sum exceeds all of your number
If a prophet can be swallowed whole and live
If all you can see are the legal implications
They’ll go slipping through your fingers like a sieve

If the body cannot keep a bone from breaking
If the heart cannot keep the mind in one piece
If the fear on the face of the campesino
Is in the eyes of a dog crushed on the street

They say parting is such sweet sorrow
To say other would be a lie
But the future that lies before us
Is as dark as the path behind

They say it’s better safe than sorry
In matters such as these
But I tasted the forbidden waters
And suffered not to dream

They say it’s only a shot away
To break out of this hypnotic trance
But to await the resurrection
Sinner you’ve had your chance

They say that all will be left to memory
The blood stains on the wall
And the screams will fade into silence
Like the smoke trail on the hill

They have battered your crumbling towers
To your weary heart laid siege
But your womb it still is fertile
And your thoughts they still run free

They say the kernel must be buried
Or it cannot bear much fruit
But how many must be buried
Before we can bear the truth

They say parting is such sweet sorrow
More than the heart can hold
And the future that lies before us
Is burning in green and gold

You were still breathing when they cut your body down
On a Friday afternoon
And by the time that they called your mother down
You had flown to the moon

You were still screaming when they strapped your body down
In a solitary room
By the time we recaptured the saints from the sinners
We’d killed more than a few

Weighed in the balance you’ve been found wanting
For more than your worth
Now who can transform that stone hanging on your neck
To heavenly bread

How did it happen you woke up this morning
Bloodthirsty pack on your trail
The Hound of Heaven attacks without warning
Bites without fail

Raise high the standard of moral persuasion
This civilized inquisition
Chosen to burn for the sins that are handed down
Your father’s indiscretion

The world is more than jails and churches
You are more than your word
We never wanted to walk on water
Or meant to take up the sword

It’s a beautiful day in December and the war is coming home
Across the fields where shepherds sleep tanks of the armies roam
Sees the blood in the toilet bowl thinks of her late addition
The way her body is bound to the moon in constant capitulation

The agents of fear and disorder crawl the salty brine
Drink from the wells of beauty and health drink to the prophetic sign
Marines have landed on the shores of the bay cut off escape over land
They’ve already taken the radio station armed to the teeth to a man

This time when they lock you up for your trust in the holy grail
No walls will fall or chains come loose no angel go your bail

I’ve never known what to say about this
Is it love or gravity
And I’ve never known what to say about you
Is it mere proximity
But I know all too well
Life with you is war
The honeymoon is over
The hounds are barking at the door

I don’t know whose orbit I’m in
A planet or a black hole
I don’t know if I am more or less
A mountain or a gorge
But I know all too well
There’ll be time for many things
Time to dwell in harmony
Time to live in sin

I don’t know what to say about this
Is it love or persistence
And I don’t know what to say about you
Are you mine or somebody else

Because the moon can pull the ocean up on the sand
Because I’d bleed for you while I still can
Because I’m a fool for chemistry
Because of you that’s why gravity

Because trees grow up and rain falls down
Because I knew I was falling before I hit the ground
Because a river always runs to the sea
Because of you that’s why gravity

Because inertia will always work against grace
Because the only place without is outer space
Because opposites attract but never agree
Because of you that’s why gravity

Because the world is in orbit and I am too
Because it is proven, tried and true
Because you can fight but can’t claim victory
Because of you that’s why gravity

Only two things you can’t avoid in life, death and taxes
My father rocked, I sat on his knee, it was a day slow as molasses
Lazarus pulled up a chair and sat facing Texas
He started to talk as soft as snow in a voice like broken glass

There are two roads in life said he that you must choose between
Be careful, though, for often things are not what they seem
The road of life leads to an altar many fall upon
The road to freedom leads to jail in Babylon

You can scream until your throat is blood at the way the world goes round
But gravity waits for no man and time pulls us all down
It matters not if you go to war or join the inquisition
What matters is that you praise the Lord and pass the ammunition

But, said I, you don’t pretend to run the underground
No, he said, but I can call the thunder down
Loose the bonds of servitude the cops await with cuffs
You can turn and run like Johnny done try to bluff

Only two things you can’t avoid in life, death and taxes
My father rocked, I sat on his knee it was a day slow as molasses
The wind whispered through the fields, the sky grew dark and gray
My father spat, crossed his legs and said it looks like rain