Going on with joy and determination even when it is pointless.

Let’s Swim


Dropped in the middle of an ocean
Your destiny is set in motion
You know, no matter how hard, hard you swim
Say your prayers or sing your hymns

You’re never going to reach dry land
Never going to find a dry place to stand
What are you going to do, sister, brother?
No call, no matter how loud, can bring your mother

Let’s swim. Let’s begin 
It doesn’t matter how it ends

Let’s swing. Let’s begin 
It doesn’t matter how it ends

Let’s sing. Let’s begin

Outside

Let's Swim

It's ok not to fit in.

The Loner


They called you the freak
As you walked down the street
Afraid of who you’d meet
You were the bully’s treat

CHORUS
This one’s for the loner
This one’s for the loner
The loner, the loner
The outsider
The stranger
The melancholy one
The beautiful one

It’s okay to not fit in
Being different is not a sin
Don’t let the mob mind win
It’s a shame that you’re so thin

CHORUS

I love the way you think
I see you dressed in pink
As you skate across that rink
Like an angel on the brink


This one’s for the loner
This one’s for the loner
The loner, the loner
The outsider
The stranger
The melancholy one
The beautiful one
The solitary one

The Loner

The butterfly that could

Consequential Butterfly


I am Taho 
The consequential butterfly 
From Sao Paolo
When I flap my wings 
I cause hurricanes in Chicago
And you, you over there
You who are so full of doubt 
Of how consequential you are
Always building extensions 
From high heels to God
You’re bigger than me
You’ve got much more clout
What happens when you flap your wings?
Why don’t you flap them and find out?

You think you’re not like me
 ‘Cause you refuse to see
It is not the only illusion
That you can be
What you need to be

 ‘Cause I am Taho, the consequential butterfly 
From Sao Paolo and when I flap my wings 
I cause hurricanes in Chicago
But what do I have to do to make you see me?


I might live for a week 
Or to the ripe old age of one
You live much longer and 
Will do much more than me
And yet here sit I 
The consequential butterfly
No hesitation, no doubt, 
No thought of inconsequence
I just stretch out my wings 
I reach in and then reach out

Chorus

And here I am
That moment before death
Exhausted, out of breath
But with no regrets
Did that hurricane happen yet?

Consequential Butterfly

Could you be?

Good Man

It’s a work in progress, but it’s very slow
I’ve stumbled many times. I suppose you know
But I keep struggling on, stubborn as I am
Reaching for something better, trying to be a good man

Some urges, you know, are hard to control
They creep up on you and they take their toll
I’m trying my best to change, I hope you understand
Striving for something better, trying to be a good man

Maybe I’m not trying hard enough
Is my talk of change a lifetime’s bluff
Am I making enough effort? Am I really doing all I can?
Hoping for something better, trying to be a good man
Am I making enough effort? Am I really doing all I can?
Hoping for something better, pretending to be a good man

A Good Man

Some of us get by.

Outside The Window

The wild winter winds
The rain bearing down
But no sign of snow

Inside a family
Laughing and singing
In the fire’s warm glow


CHORUS
There I am a child
Watching intently
Outside the window


He waits for his brother
Watches his mother
She’s bound to explode

They hate each other
His father and mother
It will come to blows

CHORUS

Someday he’ll smile
Sing for the child
Who will help him grow

Some of us get by
That child survives
He’s tougher than he knows

CHORUS

Outside The Window

Truth's too much.

15 Minutes

15 minutes before she left
She said something she shouldn’t have said
He said something he’d live to regret
She bit her lip, bit her lip
Held back the tears, back the tears
He didn’t realize, when he looked in those eyes
When he looked in her eyes


15 minutes before she arrives
He’s so nervous, he could die
Kingdom’s lost, give another try
Second chance, second chance
Second thoughts, second thoughts
He’s come to realize, look deep in those eyes
Look deep in her eyes


15 minutes before she dies
40 years by her side
Holds her hand, looks in her eyes
The truth’s too much, truth’s too much
Lets slip a lie, slip a lie
All is realized as he dives in those eyes
As he dies in her eyes

15 Minutes

Love and loss.

Jason & Phil

Jason Molina died on March 16th 2013, in Indianapolis, Indiana
He was 39 years old
Phil Hoffman died on February 2nd 2014, in a Greenwich Village apartment, New York City
He was 46 years old

I love you Jason, I love you Phil, What’s left to do? 
I love you Jason, I love you Phil, What’s left to do?
What they were chasing was chasing them
The alcohol and the heroin
Fight fire with fire
But fire will win in the end

Jason Molina was born on December 16th 1973
Did the North Star say, “Kid, you’re so lost even I can’t bring you home.”?
A bit weird but a good guy, a goofball, laughed a lot, hid a lot
How human you wanted to be. What’s up, Jason? Stubborn and smart 
With your lens wide open. Too much living. Too much thinking
And you died all alone with nothing but a cell phone in your pocket
And the only number on it was that of your grandmother
You were 39 years old
Phil Hoffman was born on July 23rd 1967
When you give too much, when you act it all out, what’s left?
When you dive too deep, turn yourself outside in, what’s left?
When you divine the flaws, make unhappiness into art, what’s left?
When you’re drawn to edges, can’t find peace in-between, what’s left?
When the addict in you is stronger than you, what’s left?
Soft spoken and kind, you died with a needle in your arm
You were 46 years old

I love you Jason, I love you Phil, I love you Lou
I love you Jason, I love you Phil. There’s more to do
What they were chasing was chasing them
The alcohol and the heroin
Fight fire with fire
But fire will win in the end
Fight fire with fire
But fire will win in the end
Fight fire with fire
But fire will win in the end

Yelling Bones

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