I’ve been building a moat ‘round my body since twenty to keep myself alive 
Dig the hole twice around, pour the stream, dredge the ground, now it’s 2025
Cause when I see them eyeing me, trying me, feels like they’re sizing me up like bishop’s pine
So I raise the stakes, change the game make attacking me cost more than taking all that’s mine

Cause I’m the porcupine
I can stand completely still
I’m the porcupine
And I’m showing all my quills
You’ll hurt yourself more than you hurt me
I let you make your choices foolishly
Like I don’t care, but I built this for you 

Gonna make you learn your lesson
You could have the size, I’ve got the blade
You could have the guns the artillery 
Still not gonna get your hands on me
Don’t second guess me, 

(Who can win a porcupine? 
I said, Who can win a porcupine? Not him.)

In the winter I try to remember the reasons but mostly I forget
I could let down my guard and approach if we don’t see each other as a threat
But as soon as I cross I still find myself turning right back over the line
Cause what if the mem’rie you leave is more painful than being alone for all that time?

Yeah I’m the porcupine 
Downplay the stories I could tell 
I’m the porcupine 
Prefer to poison my own well
I’m the porcupine
If it brings the same pain as myself
Then I don’t care, so why should you?

Cause if every contact is doomed to fail
Maybe it’s better if I just watch from afar
Oh I can hear them singing 
Why do I take the easier suffering?
Why not draw some blood?

Never gonna learn my lesson 
Always gonna straddle two extremes

(Who can win a porcupine? 
I said, Who can win a porcupine? Not him.)


Porcupine

A song about (most) every kid's favorite place... the playground.

#week2  - Playground

I took some liberties with the lyric prompt for the sake of my goal to continue trying to write kids songs.   Obviously I have an association with playgrounds.  I didn't go there to write this, but have been thinking about it during the hundreds of hours I've spent there with my daughter.  

As for the music prompt, I was going for a country vibe, as I don't really listen to much country.  Nor did I really want to spend the time listening to it for this exercise, so unfortunately I think I fell back into my typical folky sound.  

Oh well.  I'll get another chance to write a hit Tomorrow Now!


Written for the Ithaca Songwriters Challenge 2025 #week2

The lyrics prompt was to pick a place and write about it.  The music prompt was to pick a genre that you don't normally listen to. 

Lyrics:

I wanna go to playground so bad 		Dad won’t take me, now I’m mad 
It's all I think about night and day 		All I wanna do is play play play 

In my mind, I’m playground bound		Can’t wait spin on the merry go round
I want hide and not be found			And live my life on the playground 

Dad said if I’m good today				Later we can make a date to play
With some friends, don’t know where		But he knows where to go, if he cares 

Chorus

Drivin’ around in the car 				It seems like we’re going real far
I hope it’s my favorite one				Because I’m ready to have some fun

Slides, swings, Monkey bars and rings 	I love all these things 
A box of sand, a saw ya see			This is the place for me!

Well I’m at the playground, climbing up a wall	They even got a zip line, I’m having a ball
Way up high, in a pirate ship				The merry goes round, this place is a trip

Livin' life on the playground 			
Love life on the playground				
Life livin' on the playground
Lovin' life on the playground


Playground

The Mall

In our closed down malls there are squatters in the spaces 
Where there used to be stores before they were replaced
Now the drones fly by bringing blue jeans and cosmetics
We got websites and deliveries, and driverless cars

You see Rory and he’s living in what used to be Victoria’s
A secret in a corner of 8,000 square feet
Where the camera can’t see and the guard name Keith don’t care
Just gotta get the timing - he’ll never know you’re there

Twice a day Kieth walks by and he glances into corners
It’s his job to keep the mall free of animals and squatters
But he doesn’t really care if some happy humans shelter
He makes minimum plus bennies and it’s quiet by himself

It’s quiet Kieth craves and he circles through the food court
Now it’s not exactly dirty but it’s not exactly clean
He thinks about they days of yelling teens and crying children 
They were not exactly dirty, they were not exactly clean

There are people in the mall they are very of hard to see
They’re not homeless - just their housing is illegal and it’s free
There is power and there’s water and there’s lots and lots of space
Some folks just aren’t running in the same human race

In Rory’s little corner is a fairly comfy sofa
And a mattress and a bookcase and a table and a chair
All tucked behind a fixture that was once displaying bras
And the fixture hides his home from Keith and from Roz

Roz is kind of crazy but she’s way past  the food court
In a nameless little storefront over by the H&M
She is always riding buses she is always stealing blankets
She plays checkers in the floor tiles with imaginary friends

There are voices in her head she prefers them to her parents
She prefers them to her husband she prefers them to her kids
There are lots of ways of living and we all make little choices
Roz prefers abandoned malls and checkers she can win

When the mall was shut for good the teenagers didn’t notice
They had cell phones they had socials so they didn’t need a mall
Guess the old folks in their tracksuits they found somewhere else to walk
Now it’s empty and its dirty but there’s lots of space to park

In the empty art supply store tucked behind a big white counter
Are a couple bags of clothing and a few abandoned pens
There’s a couple small notebooks neatly filling up with poems
It’s where Franny spends her evenings after Keith’s shift ends

Franny’s got a job and she’s got a little honda
And she’s got a little office and she’s got a little fridge
There’s money in her pocket when it hasn’t all been spent
Really she’s got plenty cause he isn’t paying rent

The christians from the college twice a week deliver groceries
And anonymously leave them on the loading docks pre-dawn
Roz thinks it’s a miracle and thanks her god for loving her
And everyone is happy ‘cept for Keith who doesn’t care

At the other end from Rory is Omar’s  little family
They are happy cause they no longer are living in a van
They’ve got a little set-up where the kids can do their homework
They are very very quiet when the mall cop Keith is near

He’s a walker with a paycheck and the king of this domain
An abandoned mall ain’t spooky hell to him it’s sorta tame
Nothing really scary can be lurking in these corners
And the squatters don’t know that he knows that they’re all there

Kieth has a job and he’s got a little honda
And he’s got a little laptop and he’s got an old fridge
There’s money in his pocket when it hasn’t all been spent
Really he’d have plenty if he wasn’t paying rent

Now Omar’s doing yoga and his kids are writing poems
Roz is playing checkers while Rory’s reading news
It’s a post-modern utopia for quiet happy squatters 
We have vacancies aplenty we’ve got space for you

You don’t have to have a job nor even a little honda
Come build a little office and bring in your own fridge
There’ll be money in your pocket when isn’t all spent
You’ll love it in our mall and you won’t be paying rent




The Mall

Come here, my love 
Let’s look at the waves above
That’s where we used to reign from

I don’t quite care
What they write about us up there
The real treasure’s when I look into your eyes 
Mercenaries tonight
That’s how we used to ride 
Now we’re the ones to hide

Born into a body too big for me
So don’t blame me for the inhumanity
Just want to live off the pelf before me  

Half moon but the tide’s low
Got up early, drive slow
Cormorants in the sky, go  
North, let me see you in my glow 
Out looking for the undertow
I’m gonna find new land like Milo
Hey, what’s it cost to fill the tank up? 
How much of our time can this take up?

I’m a vibrational match in the water, I’m gonna run like I’m a marlin 
My presence is outsized from all that’s been written  
Tried to curry favor, tried running from fate 
But I get caught up in the trenches, 
Swimming with the lost idea of a prime state like,

Pick of the week (pick of the week)
Hey, I’m a control freak
Can’t dance to the downbeat
Can’t run if nobody’s ever gonna chase me
I’ve been looking for a party that’ll take me
I’ve been testing different friends like A/B
Can you blame me?
They’ve been shooting for a month but I’ve never had a chance to see the dailies    

What a pity to oppress and spread with abandon 
Great empire stand-in
You can look away but I see the gold that you land in  
So don’t tell me it’s just a misunderstanding 
Bodies on bodies crammed in
One fuse and it’s the second time they’re scrambling   

Born into a body too big for me
Don’t blame me as a beneficiary  
I would have helped if you’d just implored me

Don’t leave, my dear
Let’s breathe like they do up here 
They don’t need to know what we’ve done 
Stay with me now

Postdiluvian

My town does a bang-up Krampusnacht. That was last month. The rest of this is my own fault.

this is where we face the night 
this is where we shine our light 
and we heal
as I feel you beside me 
and I wonder no more 
what the future holds in store 
here with you, 
wearing horns on the dance floor 

the town all cheer their demons here
and they're furry, grim, and tall 
Krampusnacht goes by too fast 
it's a blurry bacchanal

this is where we face the night 
this is where we shine our light 
and we heal
as I feel you beside me 
I don’t wonder anymore 
what the future has in store 
here with you, 
wearing horns on the dance floor

children who are nice
should wait for Santa by the tree
but if your style runs naughty 
then it's here that you should be

with horns on your head!
and hooves on your feet!
rumpus! rumpus! beat beat beat!

this is where we face the night 
this is where we shine our light 
and we heal
as I feel you beside me 
I don’t wonder anymore 
what the future has in store 
here with you, 
wearing horns on the dance floor

the sight of horns and antlers
over people in a ring 
awakens something ancient
and my heart begins to sing 

this is where we face the night 
this is where we shine our light 
and we heal
as I feel you beside me 
I don’t wonder anymore 
what the future has in store 
when I’m with you, 
wearing horns on the dance floor

me and you
with our horns on the dance floor 
here with everyone
so horny on -

horns on the dance floor

Written for the Ithaca Songwriter’s Challenge #week2


There’s gotta be a way out of this place
There’s gotta be a way 
Pick up the track and find the way back
Pick up the track and find the way back
There’s gotta be a way
There’s gotta be a crack 

There’s gotta be a way
There’s gotta be a crack 

We’ll keep on searching ‘til we find the clue
We’ll keep on fighting with the likes of you
I know we’ll make it to another level
If we can only win this battle with the Devil

Pick up the track and find the way back
Pick up the track and find the way back
There’s gotta be a way
There’s gotta be a crack

This Place

Painting the bathroom before my birthday
I feel grateful my friend called to see the remains
Of the place I believed  I would stay
Painting the memory away 
 
Next week, presenting what my chaos made
Some say I draw too much from the pain, 
But they can’t seem to see
What that man did to me
I’ll be taking weight endlessly

Why would you, why would you 

Too much from the pain
Grateful my friend

Why would you, why would you 

Painting the bathroom, forget yesterday

The Ultraman Pop Song

Verse 1:
 What I’m about to tell you
Cannot leave this room
I’ve got a secret
The mirror knows it too

Got you thinking
How you’re gonna pay
Got you thinking
Living for today

Pre-Chorus:
My world’s a fire
Ain’t nobody knows
Ain’t no sirens coming
Ain’t no water hose
Ain’t no time to find
Meaning in your life
Get up here and run with me

Chorus:
I’m your superhero
I’m your ultra-man
I’m the waking dreamer
You’re my biggest fan

Verse 2:
What you’re about to show me
I will not believe
No way to unsee it
Hide the trick back up your sleeve

Got me thinking
We all gotta love
Got me listening
For thunder from above

I saw you crying
Saw a torn up rose
I saw your dancing shoes
Couldn’t hold the pose

Pre-Chorus:
Inside’s a fire
Everybody choose
Ain’t no party bumping
Ain’t no dance floor moves
Ain’t no time to find
 Meaning in your life
Get up here and fly with me

Chorus:
I’m your superhero
I’m your ultra-man
I’m the waking dreamer
You’re my biggest fan

Verse 3:
Tonight we are courageous
Tonight we run away
No way to avoid it
Nothing left to pay

Time for choices
Will you take that call
Or put your phone down
And get up off the wall

I got you covered
Any way you please
We’ll never talk about
The night we stole the keys

Pre-Chorus:
My love’s a fire
Everybody burns
Time for choosing
Ain’t no time to learn
Ain’t no time to find
Meaning in your life
Get up here and dance with me

Chorus:
I’m your superhero
I’m your ultra-man
I’m the waking dreamer
You’re my biggest fan

This Place

Jeff Glaubitz

Related tracks