Eulogy

If I was a sky-writing crop-duster 
Wandering aimlessly up in the sky
I wonder if I’d wonder 
Why I could fly 
Or if I would just enjoy the feeling
The world would be so far away
And I wish I could stay 
in the sky here forever
And if I could sever
All ties with the ground 
Then the sound 
Of my eulogy would be succinct
I would give them 
Nothing to think about 
And no reason to wonder why
I’m sorry you’ll miss me
But Mystery is calling
I’m falling in love with the sky
And you know on my gravestone will say:
“Here Lies A Sky-writing Crop-duster:
He Flew Away.”

(J. Northrup)

Eulogy

The Carrier

Every now and then
She gets afraid again
Oh, uh oh
Every now and then 
She gets delayed again
Oh, uh oh
Every now and then
She gets a little bit scared
But when she turns around
There’s never anybody there
Every now and then 
She gets afraid again
Oh, uh oh

And the fear that they left in you
Infected me it’s true
And now I am a carrier, too

Every now and then
She gets afraid again
Oh, uh oh
Every now and then 
She gets delayed again
Oh, uh oh
Every now and then
She gets a little bit scared
But when she turns around
There’s never anybody there
Every now and then 
She gets afraid again
Oh, uh oh

And the fear that they left in you
Infected me it’s true
And now I am a carrier, too
But you’ve always believed in me
And I’ll always believe in you
What else are we supposed to do?

You have always relied on me
To be the one you run to
Cuz no one else knows
All the pain and shame you’ve absorbed
And I don’t know if there’s anyone there
Who can answer your prayers
But I know 
I’ll be there to always answer the phone
Even when your tone
Is a needle in my bone

(J. Northrup)

The Carrier

Stowaway

If we could get to heaven in a boat
Would you help me row?
Or would you stowaway?
If you knew all true meaning lie in dreams
Would you lay down and close your eyes?
Or sing the world a lullabye?
Before I say goodbye
I want to sail the empty sky

Now I lay myself to sleep
I pray the void my soul to keep
Cuz I’m so sick of dreaming
Sick of looking for the meaning
If transubstantiation is the way to gain some peace
I’ll get up a little later
And get drunk off the blood of your savior

If we could get to heaven in a boat
Would you help me row?
Or would you stowaway?
If you knew all true meaning lie in dreams
Would you lay down and close your eyes?
Or sing the world a lullabye?
And before I say good night
I want to kiss you all goodbye

If we could get to heaven in a boat
Would you help me row?

(J. Northrup)

Stowaway

No Effort

No
Effort
No Effort
Cuz trying is the first step towards failure

The first
Law
Of
Thermodynamics:
No effort

The second 
Law
Of
Thermodynamics
Simply states
That we’re all gonna die

No 
Effort
I put forth no effort
Cuz trying is the first step towards failure

The third
Law
Of
Thermodynamics:
…….I forgot
Because
No effort

(J. Northrup)

No Effort

Taken Away

Why
would
god give us something
that we always wanted
just to reach down from the clouds
and take it away?

What 
if
something that we cherished
all the sudden perished
could you pick up the pieces
and just place them away?
Would it ever all be ok?

Last night I had a dream
that anything was possible
nothing was out of my reach
but when I woke up it was 
taken away
morning/mourning came to
take it away

(J. Northrup)

Taken Away

Desert Island Girls

Desert island girls
Desert island girls
Oh oh 

They’re all around you
At your work and in your school
When you’ve got nothing to do
They’re so inviting
Maybe not so hot
But they’ll keep you warm
And any port in a storm
And I could never convince myself
Into thinking I was anything else
But your latest favorite toy
I’m just your desert island boy

Desert island girls
Desert island girls
Oh oh 

Do what you’ve gotta do
Who you’ve gotta do
What you’ve gotta
Do who you gotta 

Desert island girls
Desert island girls
Oh oh

(J. Northrup)

Desert Island Girls

Operated

We only operate as well as we are operated
I’m a constellation wasting in the practice space
Just waiting for a chance to show you
What it’s like inside my mind
I’ve got to stop and take a measure of the situation
I’ve got to pop this sickly membrane of anticipation
That surrounds my life sometimes
I get so down
I don’t know why

My mother called me on the phone the other day
To tell me why she thinks I feel alone sometimes
And I had to stay connected
To prove that I ain’t got no hang-ups
She said that I was born so broken
Doctors came and took me 
and they wouldn’t let me be with her
And I can not agree or disagree
Cuz I really can’t remember
But it occurred to me that we will

We only operate as well as we are operated
I’m a constellation wasting in the practice space
Just waiting for a chance to show you
What it’s like inside my mind
I’ve got to stop and take a measure of the situation
I’ve got to pop this sickly membrane of anticipation
That surrounds my life sometimes
I get so down
I don’t know why

You and me were cast down 
from the same cloud
And no one’s there 
To catch us fair
Where we land

My mother called me on the phone the other day
To tell me why she thinks I feel alone sometimes
And I had to stay connected
To prove that I ain’t got no hang-ups
She said that I was born so broken
Doctors came and took me 
and they wouldn’t let me be with her
And I can not agree or disagree
Cuz I really can’t remember
But it occurred to me that we will
operate as well as we are operated
we will operate as well as we are operated
we will operate as well as we are operated
we will operate as well as we are operated.

(J. Northrup)

Operated

Too Much Art

too much art 
too much content 
too much product 
we need the remote control
we need a filter 
we rifle through the sewer 
to find a diamond 
but who's got the time? 
too many media 
too many genre 
too many dancers 
NOT ENOUGH ROCK AND ROLL 
too many media 
too many genre 
too many dancers 
NOT ENOUGH ROCK AND ROLL 
there's too much art....... 
NOT ENOUGH ROCK AND ROLL

(J. Northrup)

Too Much Art

Call In Your Debts


Call in your debts
I would have nothing hanging over my head
But I’ll bet you’ll regret they day
When I don’t have to give a shit what you say
I would pay anything you think I owe you
If I could just sorta forget that I know you

Despite the evidence against it
Baby I convinced myself
That you were there to nurture and console
(When the only intent was to control)
I should never have accepted any favors 
In the first place and now I know because
I’ll never make that mistake twice again
I’ll never get stabbed with the same knife again
Why should I?

Call in your debts
I will sit back and let the counter reset
I will forgive and forget
With ease
Everything you might have ever meant to me

Despite the evidence against it
Baby I convinced myself
That you were there to nurture and console
(When the only intent was to control)
What does it cost to walk away
Cuz I would pay you anything 
You think I ever owed

But I’ll never make that mistake twice again
I’ll never get stabbed with the same knife again
Why should I?

Call in your debts
I would have nothing hanging over my head
Nothing hanging over my head
Nothing hanging over my head

(J. Northrup)

Call In Your Debts

Complicated

I was told there was a reason for all things
But that this reason was so often unknown
I was told there was a god above who loved us
And despised our enemies

Things were so much simpler then
Everything was simpler then
Things were so much simpler then
And now it’s all so complicated

The White Knight justifies his lust for violence
With the belief that he fights for what is right
Every man must choose a side
Because there comes a time
When wrong and right don’t mean a thing

Things were so much simpler then
Everything was simpler then
Yeah things were so much simpler then
And now it’s all so complicated

J. Northrup

Complicated

Lateral Lines is the artist formerly known as J/Q.

Johnny Northrup -- Vocals, Bass, Synths, Piano
Q -- Drums, Percussion, Linn Drum
Alex Hartman -- Synths, Percussion
Brian Kubota -- Synths, Piano