Taper taper
Burning down
I got some more I can stick around
It's getting dark
But it gets dark early now

Left the family half past one
Had to get back get a few things done
Used to be a pit but
It’s a Christmas pig sty now

And I expect a visitor
A visitor

Taper taper
Burning down
Think Nat King’s the only sound
Neighbors window lights they're blinking arrhythmically

Apartments around us have emptied out
Still in sight and their insides out
Writing the candlelight and nobody knows about me

But I expect a visitor
A visitor
A visitor, she’ll be here soon
She’s making her rounds this Christmas afternoon

Taper taper
Burning down
Lights go out all over town
Sitting in a couch with a gift in the dark and warm
Headlights drive across the wall
Someone’s either stopped or stalled
Hushed in a miniture suit in a snow globe store 

But I expect a visitor
A visitor
A visitor, she’ll be here soon
She’s making her rounds this Christmas
a visitor
a visitor
A visitor, she’ll be here soon
She’s making her rounds this Christmas afternoon

@1989 Mikes Law Office

Visitor (Charlie Hopper Cover)

There’s a spark
It landed on the rug
And the kid on his own put it out
With his firetruck

It leaves a mark 
And he gets beat up
While I pretend to doze
And pretty soon it’s three o’clock

On December
Twenty seventh
And I 
I Don’t move

In my head
California
Where I’m inventing excuses and futures
Where I don’t come back

Add another year, add layers to that
And until new years day seems
Nothing’s longer than

December
Twenty seventh
And I 
Don’t move

Seven whales are beached
On the couches while the bowls bleat
On the couches while the sharks feed
Searching for a heart beat

The kid with the spark and the bruises
Is asleep
The kid with the spark and the bruises 
Will repeat

December
Twenty seventh
And I 
Don’t move

December 27

We got boysenberry candles
I’ll give you that
Bought all the cards our cords could handle
I’ll give you that

Relatives in from out of town
Big naked flakes sticking to the ground
People in sweaters gather round
To talk and talk and talk and
Talk and talk and talk
I’ll have another glass of whatever that is

And I found a gold and stony necklace
I’ll give you that
It will be real nice but it won’t be reckless
I’ll give you that

And I just want to talk to you
I just want to talk to you
Get you alone for a minute or two
To talk and talk and talk and
Talk and talk and talk
And have another glass of whatever that is
Maybe I should just shut up

I’ll give you that
I’ll give you that
I’ll give
You that

Fa la la lala la la la la la
Fa la la lala la la la la la
Fa la la lala la la la la la

But We can turn this car around
We can go right home right now and talk about
What you want to remember remember  
Remember remember

I’ll give you that
I’ll give you that
I’ll give
You that

I'll Give You That (Charlie Hopper Cover)

I went to the mall sat on Santa’s knee
All the little kids were glarin’ at me
And Santa said what do you want this year
I said If it’s not too much trouble
I’d like a big recording contract for me
And all of my

Friends around town but I started feeling selfish
And I wished for peace on Earth instead
It’s the same wish every year but it still
Hasn’t happened yet

Ahh Ahh
Hanging out on Christmas Day
Hiding out from those cliches

My brother stuck a candy cane up his nose
For the fourteenth year – 
He does it just to get Mom’s goat
It works real well

To all my cynical friends
This Christmas spirit I still will defend
Just as long as we all get what we’re worth

Ahh Ahh
Christmas Day and Christmas night
You say I’m tough and I won’t bend
All those cards that I won’t send

The only card I sent this year was to you

I guess it is still my favorite season
and I can still find a reason
Christmas night I’ll spend with you
It may sound corny but I want to make your Christmas 
dream come true


Ahh Ahh
Christmas Day and Christmas night
Ahh Ahh
Christmas Day and Christmas night

Christmas Day and Christmas Night (John Scot Sheets Cover)

My eyes
They’re open
Before my dream is over
And I still feel
I’m holding on to you

My eyes
In orbit
And strain to find the twilight
And I still feel
These fictions might be true

Since thirty It was all surrender
You’re my mask, and a good pretender  

Yeah

Indentations in the bed we share
Dreams embedded in it by the pair 
oh yeah.

Morning light
Eternal but not quite
Eternally 
True

Finding something that is California
An addiction and no one to warn you off
Yeah

Like an earthquake we are stirred and shaken
Saving something for the give and taken away
Oh yeah.

Morning light
Eternal but not quite
Eternally 
True

Eternally True

Hit by a circus truck when she was five
And she’s alive
And I heard once upon a time
She had a twin that didn’t survive

She walked a Peru tightrope
Not unusual in that town
Still it’s harder staying up
Than it is to plummet down down down down down down

Down down down 
Down down down 
Down down down 
Then around

Oh, Can you hear me
Will you echo through the wall
And with apology
Is she haunting you at all

Ghosts, me and you
So we see through
fables not what true
Bourbon and ballyhoo 

Nahh Naah Nahh Nahh Naah Nahh
Nahh Naah Nahh
   
Down down down 
Down down down 
Down down down 
Then around

Kidnapped once in Portugese
And another time in French
But the man with the zune tattoo 
Left her perched upon a bench 

Oh, Can you hear me
Do I echo through the wall
And with apology
Am I haunting you at all

Will of the whispers
Of the secrets and the shouts
Will it make a difference
Or is just the sounds of the heart that 
makes it out

Ghosts, me and you
So we see through
fables not what true
Bourbon and ballyhoo

Bourbon and Ballyhoo

Umbers, ochres 
Sunsets toward the ceiling 
Umbers, ochres 
Less colors more like a feeling

A rustle in the butler’s pantry
The other day
I know there’s ghosts 
And what ghosts say (they say)

Every time I try to touch something I love
I pass right through

Every time I try to tell you something
I don’t know how
They don’t hear me now

So  go
Obviously I’m staying
That’s what ghosts are saying

Midnights, navies
Bopping above my head it’s hovering
Midnights, navies
Tattered casket clothes uncovered
Fifteen sixteen ribs
An ankle bone

I know there’s ghosts, cuz
When we’re home (they moan)

Every time I try to touch something I love
I pass right through

Every time I try to tell you something
I don’t know how

So  go
Obviously I’m staying
That’s what ghosts are saying

(It’s not so bad over here
we just get bored
Arguing which is worse 
to be feared or ignored)

Every time I try to touch something I love
I pass right through
   
Every time I try to tell you something
I don’t know how

So  go, go
Obviously I’m staying
That’s what ghosts are saying

That's What Ghosts are Saying, second demo (Charlie Hopper Cover)

I miss the way you talk with your hands
Imitate the singers of our favorite bands 
I love the look on your face when you decide to dance 
And life was just so good 

Now I'm thinking about the night we fought 
And ruined every meal in that restaurant 
When I said you don't appreciate just what you got 
Or treat me like you should—

(Today I’d take that back if I could ) Cuz

I suck at being your ex 
Turns out it's harder than a man expects
To say goodbye forever
I’d rather be together
I’m ready for whatever you say cuz
I
Suck
At
Being 
Your ex

I’ve been on dates I guess they went all right
If I tried to forget you sometime I might
But if I get through-the-day you're in my dreams at night
So. Why even try?

((I keep) thinking that I see you from the corner of my eye) cuz

I suck at being your ex 
Turns out it's harder that a guy expects
To say goodbye forever
Rather be together
And I’m ready for whatever you say, cuz
I
Suck
At
Being 
Your ex

Of course I remember your number
And work stuff 
Just called to say I still love you but I
(I don't like doing what I can't do well ) Cuz

I… I… I… I….

I suck at being your ex  
Thought I’d figured out the opposite sex
But no I’m not that clever
I wanna be together
And I’m ready for whatever you say
I
Suck
At
Being 
Your ex

I Suck at Being Your Ex (Charlie Hopper Cover Demo)

Well, on the day I read his obituary 
I won’t be sad and it won’t be scary
We’ll drink champagne and a glass of sherry
In our west coast sanctuary 

On the day his obit hits the press
I’ll put on the dog and the fancy dress
And dance because that date is blessed
Then think about him less and less 

Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone
Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone
Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone
Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone

And when he’s in the dirt I’ll be elated
And this cannot be overstated 
He’s fertilizing, unabated
But the worms won’t be associated 

They’ll plant him in the ground that day
Won’t hear his voice, won’t hear him say
The million lies he fountain-spewed 
Just joyous, quiet solitude 

Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone
Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone
Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone
Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone

And to those he swindled and those he stiffed
To all those women and all those kids

To those ashamed of what they did in their uniforms
or wedged in double wide recliners and uninformed

I hope you find your peace now
I hope we all find peace

But for right now

Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone
Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone
Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone
Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone

When they carve the year after that hyphen
And the sucking stops from his giant siphon
And they give his mug that last paint job
And sew him up from neck to knob

I’ll be respectful, yeah, I’ll be nice
You better carve his tomb outta toilet ice
You better build a rope line 10 miles long
As folks queue up to irrigate his lawn

And pin him in his final diaper
Blow full time on the swindling piper
And tie that red tie in a bow
And shut the lid on his reality show

Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone
Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone
Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone
Ding Dong… Ding Dong Gone

Obituary (Ding Dong Gone)

Look what the cat dragged in
Look what kicked in the door
Looks like you’re loaded for bear or
Maybe just a little more  

I see you piling matchsticks
A proxy for your rock n roll
Might keep my head together but it
Won’t save the soul

You can find a miracle in a piece of toast 
But it don’t look like nothing to me
And you can say about your time that you made the most  of it
But it don’t look like nothing to me

What you got, gotta be contagious
And I hear you coming
Here’s the spotlight here’s the stages
On you go I’m done

Here’s your shiny battle saddle and
Here’s the flag you fly
Here’s where you make your stand
And look ‘em in the eye

I escape to the city
But the city bites back
I escape to the country 
The country really bites back 

But it don’t look like nothing to me
But it don’t look like nothing to me

Let’s  escape to the city
But the city bites back
Let’s escape to the country 
This country really bites back yeah

Argue all day what do you prove
Well it don’t look like nothing to me
And you say what you say and move what you move
Well it don’t look like nothing to me 

You can find a miracle in a piece of toast 
Well it don’t look like nothing to me
And you can say about your time that you made the most  of it
Well it don’t look like nothing to me

Yeah, sooner or later, we all gotta pay
But it don’t look like nothing to me
but if i don’t see a bill, it’ aint today   
But it don’t look like nothing to me

It don’t look like nothing
Don’t look like nothing
Must be like something

It don’t look like nothing
don’t look like nothing
that must be something

It don’t look like nothing
don’t look like nothing
must be like something yeah

It don’t look like nothing
don’t look like nothing
that must be something yeah


Loaded for Bear (2025)

I Suck at Being Your Ex

Songs by John Sheets and/or Charlie Hopper
Recorded between 1986 & 1994, when it was *hard* to cheaply make a decent recording, these catchy melodies and hooky lyrics have been waiting underground, like spores. Mikes House was active during a high point of the Indianapolis indie scene, opening for bands like the northerly edition of The Vulgar Boatmen. The Indianapolis Star noted, “The band thinks it sounds like The Velvet Underground meets The Lovin’ Spoonful” and “They have a secret desire to write the perfect pop song.” Maybe so, Star. Maybe so. 
(Also included here are songs from Charlie's current and currently untitled project with Scott, Untitled Charlie Hopper Project.)
John Sheets: guitar, vocals. 
Charlie Hopper: keys, vocals. 
Scott Montgomery: bass, vocals. 
Joe Caparo: bass, briefly, before Scott. 
Von Robinson, Ted Zarras, Chris Dumke, Jeff Chapin: drums  

(Production hub for the Mikes House remaster project.)