There used to be a haunted house
Haunted by me, but I got out
Now it's just an empty place
The ghost is gone, I moved on

I stepped out onto the street
I felt the world beneath my feet
I felt the weight of life itself
I saw the dawn and I moved on

I got hungry and thirsty too
I missed the old days, I thought of you
I wrote a poem, I wrote a joke
I wrote a song, I moved on

From Colorado to California to Connecticut
And then across the endless sea on an endless search for me

I tried to choke, I tried to drown
I blew things up, I burnt things down
I broke things off, I threw things out
I did things wrong and I moved on

I moved on, no matter what
Ran from my heart, ran from my gut
I let my mind call all the shots 
The lines were drawn and I moved on

I moved on from every heart
That offered me a place to start
I waved goodbye from moving cars
At empty lawns and then moved on

From mama’s rocking chair to mama’s memory in tides of wine
Into a blinding winter storm in search of someplace warm

There used to be a little boy
Full of light, full of joy
An endless game of cat and mouse
There used to be a haunted house

I Moved On

Silent and Clean

Altamont

It was good while it lasted, but it got out of hand
The hippies freaked out and the Angels got mad
Mick, he just stood there, with his dick in the wind
And his head in the clouds, singing secular hymns

Who can blame him? Who can blame him?
From up there on the stage, all the kids look the same
It don’t matter what you need, it don’t matter what you want
Every summer of love has its Altamont

There is love to be made, there’s no doubt about that
But love ain’t what makes bank accounts fat
There are people to please, and quotas to meet 
Emily Dickinson’s daydream was just a little too sweet

Who can blame her? Who can blame her?
For staying inside writing poems?
The heart’s just a castle for history to haunt
And every summer of love has its Altamont

Jerome David is gone, David Foster is too
One day you’ll be gone, and I will be too
It’s the only thing that anyone shares
It’s the only thing in the whole world that’s fair

Who can blame us? Who can blame us?
For wanting to stick around longer
But the whole sad charade is just a gravedigger’s taunt
Every summer of love is just Altamont

Altamont

I’ve been lying in bed for days 
Standing in my own way 
Blocking my own path
Stabbing myself in my very own back

I’ve been handcuffed to the past
My heart wrapped up in a full-body cast 
Flying my freak flag at half-mast
Feelin’like my dreams are dead

You’ve been out on the street 
Shining the sun at everyone you meet 
Shaking the dust off your rusty feet
Learning how to walk again 

You’ve been hatching radical plans
Telling people you intend to dance 
Insinuating you’re to romance 
And lookin’ to find a friend

When I see you out there moving 
I cannot keep pretending 
That there’s something that I’m proving
In this graveyard that I’m tending 

I used to try to still my thoughts 
Button up my soul 
Keep my body under control 
Put a master lock overlong every hole

But now you’re standing next to me
Behaving like making love is free
Making me wonder who I want to be 
Making me want to lose control 

My mind is running away with you
And I don’t know what to do 

I was born in a state of sin
That’s still the neighborhood I’m living in
I didn’t want you underneath my skin 
But I guess it’s not my choice 

You floated my heart like a kite
Up above this cold, hard life 
We’re not a thing but I think I might		
Pretend that you can hear my voice

My mind is running away with you 
And I don’t know what to do 

My mind is running away with you 
And there’s nothing I can do

My Mind Is Running Away With You

My mind is in the past
My heart is iron cast
My presence is a blast 
Until the smoke clears

And reveals the empty space
Where love once had a place
And then went all to waste
In a shot glass full of tears

The sky is still and clear
The dusk is drawing near
Babe, I’m coming home 
You’re gonna miss me when I’m here

I traveled to the west
To try to pass the test
I did my level best 
but it was nowhere near enough

I traveled to the east
To find my missing piece
All I found were shards
Of shattered hope and love

Now I’m too tired to steer
I’ll leave it up to fear 
To blow this ghost ship home
You’re gonna miss me when I’m here

When I was a child
I was beautiful and wild
Haunted and beguiled 
By every passing butterfly

When I was a boy
The whole world was my toy
I was full of light and joy
I dreamed with open eyes

That boy has disappeared
He ain’t been seen for years
I’m standing in his place
Dead to hope and fear

The sky is still and clear
The dusk is drawing near
Babe, I’m coming home 
You’re gonna miss me when I’m here

Fencerider