In the wind that speaks on forgiveness,
in the dark of the corn, he's alive.
It's been a long time since they killed him.
Been a long time since God was a liar.

Tipsy on headlights, on the flashing of fireflies,
if you think you're alone, then you are.

There are two kinds of saints: there are angels;
and there's a 12U youth baseball coach
who gave me the wings of the major leagues,
though I never made it on base.

In the wind that speaks of bitterness,
in the light of the stars, he tried
to beat back the blows of the bludgeoners
who knocked out the life from his eyes.

Now the F-16 fighters are flying
over my childhood bed
with the vision of a mushroom 
cloud pouring poisonous rain.

In love with the dream of extinction,
if you think you're alone, then you are.

Saint Dan

i think i need reminders
it's good to go outside
i just got out the door
and it's a brand new nite

walk through the city carcass
wrapped up in the seclusion
sounds from an open window
saxophone-forward fusion

today's Tom Sawyer
she's a real hot rod
plays Hang-On a lot

the nightlife owns
standing on this platform alone
i don't want to die
i just want to waste my time
the train arrives

the nightlife owns
standing on this platform alone
i can't feel alive
if i can't waste my time

tom sawyer

°lyrics°

I'm not a test
I'm a confirmation
a conversation at best
I'm an expectation 
I'm all the rules that don't apply to you
I thought I was your enemy
but I can see now that's not true

and I can feel the edges of an outline
an indifferent design that's not for me to know
I'm only real when you step into the room
and it's over too soon
yeah it's over soon

up there you're no one 
here you take control
the camera floats gently through the mist and brickwork
way down in the hole
I got a look at the numbers 
and I wish you all good health
there was never gonna be a winning combination 
with the hand I have been dealt 
and I can feel

the ordinary world

A very old song, not about hotels.

You look good in a rosary.
I know it makes you feel invincible.
You were always a son of a bitch to me.
That's why I don't call you that much anymore.
I have been looking for 20-odd years.
Still haven't found this love you brought me for.
I got a feeling I'll be missing you, my Lord.

I keep your crosses and your book 
safe inside my drawer.
But your beauty doesn't hit me 
anymore.

I used to believe in things that brought me so much joy and fear.
Well, was I right then or am I right now?
All of this failure leads me to believe that I'm not right right now.
I made tea but the steam just rises
and rises
and rises.
I want to love you like you said you'd love me.
I want to fear you like you feared you'd become me.

What I find will make me feel
something.
And your mysteries will be revealed
to me.

I got a feeling I'll be missing you, my Lord.

My Lord

Floral bedspread you toss aside
As we're intersecting
And I know it doesn't cross your mind
But I dig the arrangement

A Gabriel's horn with its point on the floor
And its bell looking at the sky
All the small things are amazing to me
All the big things make you sigh

Like all the places you'll never go
Somehow overwhelming
All the friends that you used to know
Wonder what they're doing
All the choices you overlook
Without even thinking
And I leave when it feels like I should
Yeah I know the arrangement

The Nth Arrangement

°lyrics°

On the car ride over 
no one said a word and that’s okay 
we checked in and I swapped rooms with Kate
pooled together one-word responses, rum and lemonade
killing off the plans we entertained

they’re flickering out
irrelevant now
one hit and they’re down   

at the Tulsa show
fucked up the hits to ‘wiretap me’ one last time
the rhythm escaped me but the line
in the second verse put notes to thoughts I can’t define
I wasn’t the only one , the only one who’s

 filtering out  
unwanted sounds 
you were always louder 
cancelling out 
indifferent crowds
now we’re strike-out looking bastards

Checked Out

Prompt: "A song about a clown who does not want to be a clown."

---------------

A two-door sedan zigs and zags down the freeway
Packed to the brim
Outside a bright yellow smile with headlight eyes
Inside, just a tangle of limbs
Screeches up to the curb and says,
"Get in."

Drops me off at my dressing room where I
Paint a tear down my cheek
Grab my popcorn, check my ticket stub and
Find my way to my seat
At the dunk tank
In the center of the ring

Whose circus is this?
Whose monkeys are these?
Who's driving
Who's driving the clown car?
Is it me?

Start off with some pantomime where I'm
Trapped in a prison of my own creation
Dazzle them by reaching into my sleeve and pulling out and endless tapestry
Of pain and desolation
Yes I'm ringmaster
Of my own humiliation

My two big shoes walk through streets paved with regrets,
Peanut shells, and cigarettes
Gather round now for my final act,
Juggling the fragile remains of my self-respect
And tonight could be the night
But I haven't dropped them yet

"Everyone just wants to be seen," I say,
Donning my bright red nose
"Teamwork makes the dream work," I quip,
From my unicycle perch as I'm pelted with tomatoes

Whose circus is this?
Whose monkeys are these?
Who's driving
Who's driving the clown car?
Is it me?

All I wanted
All I wanted to do
All I wanted
All I wanted to do
All I wanted
All I wanted to do
Was entertain you

Who's Driving The Clown Car?

Kept like in amber
A wound where their hooks were in
I knew it then

You cut a corner
Unable to find your way
So you thought to stay

Don't you find it comforting to know where you belong ?

True believer
Learning this late in the game
Sure can be a buzzkill
There is no prize to win
That fucker's rigged

Don't you find it comforting to know where you belong ?
You'll repeat their make believe 'til you forget it's wrong
Then they'll repeat a joke so funny, you'll forget to laugh
You'll become the man they made me: asthmatic acrobat
Yeah I'm on the ball
It ain't stopped rolling yet

A new habit like a new day

And they'll repeat a joke so funny, you'll forget to laugh
You're still on that ball, keep rolling, asthmatic acrobat
Don't you find it comforting to know where you belong ?
You'll repeat their make believe

Forget To Laugh

I know you love the thrill of the stage
History remembers the bold and brave

The Thrill Of The Fall

°lyrics°

hidden in winter's weight
forgotten in summer's rays
buried in fall's deep shame
every spring renamed
over & over again

I'm embedded in 
my bed again
the clown's broken
starved for attention
I keep repeating myself
over & over again
all the time

every day I change
reconcile
estrange 
I wait
and I wait
the results are intangible
they're intangible
I keep repeating myself
over & over again
all the time
I keep repeating myself
over & over
all the time

Who's Driving The Clown Car?

Morning Never Comes

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