RUNNING DOWN THE AVENUE >
Oh, you found a woman now don't let her slip away while you run around
There's no meter running, you'll wait another day
You're cool, your friends think it's funny
Thick shades cuz the forecast is sunny
You think twice that it's all about money
Don't you think someone could love you?
Yeah, running down the avenue
Street lights and signs rushing by your head
You can't remember what she said
Hide in the crowd 'til you know you're the last man standing by
And everyone you care for has left you far behind
Running down the avenue
Oh, what was the reason you gave her on the street last night?
You left in a hurry, never let her see you cry
Oh, your fortress is burning
The door's locked but the key starts a turning
You're scared stiff of the things she'll be learning
Don't you think that she could love you?
You got a reason why?
There's no prescription here that can open up your heart
You've got to break yourself in two and give someone a part
top^
CRYING SHAME >
You crashed the party with your pigtails in the air
(I watched you) You worked the crowded room with a cold and steady stare
My heart's palpitating and I sweat from every pore
And then my feet start crusading for a shuffle toward the door
You touched my elbow and you asked me how I'd been
I must be passing on, notify my next of kin
I'm feeling better and I asked if she's fine
She said "I wish things were different" and I often crossed her mind
Are you coming back again?
Every time I see you it's a crying shame
How could things between us ever be the same?
When I think about it don't know who's to blame
Now you're coming back again?
You dropped some hints and flashed a nervous little smile
I've been down that road before, I can't go another mile
Been thinking lately about our summers on the shore
And how you took me riding but you always wanted more
I pledge allegiance to this many splendored thing we had
But I can't take a fallen bird and teach it how to sing
And we can't go back to high school and just start it all again
You said that looking back was such a mortal sin
Are you coming back again?
top^
RISE & FALL >
There's a falling plane
There's a crash on the highway
There's a rising flood
And the sun comes out again and again
On a heart that's stopped
There's a four-leaf clover
On the thirteenth try
A women finds her child again
We'll rise and fall
Rainy days will come that's all
We'll make amends
The world's indifferent in the end
We'll rise and fall
There's a man in a mine shaft
Sees the light after nine days
There's a drunken driver
Slams into a loaded bus
It's another black Monday
It's a golden opportunity
There's a forest burning
A flower growing from the ash
Oh, we don't have to be broken
top^
WOODEN MAN >
You wanna lie
You can't deny
You are a wooden man
Strings on your dirty hands
Wind makes you sway
Polls tell you what to say
You don't think twice
Playing with men and mice
Sold to the man
Sold to the man
You're bought and paid for
Greed has a heavy hand
Sold to the man
Sold to the man
You do the best that money can
Smiles in the frontroom
Deals in the backroom
Access is understood
To hell with the common good
Green is your life blood
Sources are clear as mud
Don't you look nice
Acting on good advice
Sold out to be their wooden man
Sold out to be their wooden man
You'll never see the little man with your hollow eyes
Your hollow eyes
Fools to left
Clowns to the right
Lost all distinction
Lost all my will to fight
Rich are getting richer
Poor doing what they can
You look away
Fat cats will run and play
top^
INVISIBLE PEOPLE >
He drinks his meal from paper bag
And wipes up his nose with a dirty old rag
And sleeps outside again
There's a hopelessness in the sound of his voice
Is he really a victim or was it his choice
To live in a cardboard box?
And the people on the street look away and just rush by him
He's a ghost without a place to call his own
Tell me:
Can you see invisible people?
It's the same sad scene on every street that you walk
You see it so often you really shouldn't be shocked
But it always grinds you up inside
Now some have so little and a few have so much
Do you teach him to walk or do you give him a crutch?
He falling down on you
And the people on the street look away and just rush by him
He's a ghost without a place to call his own
Can you see them in the parking lot?
Going through garbage with a shopping cart
Huddled round the fire on a cold, dark night
Can you see them on the avenue?
Begging for change with an empty shoe
There but for the grace of God go me and you
top^
RAJASTHAN >
I took a train out into this desert of endless sand
But the further I traveled
the more I unraveled
in this burning sun
And in my crystal palace
My thoughts seem callous
And cold in the heat
And all this time you've waited
While I've debated
What I'm all about in this bordertown
I said I won't take you back again, but I'm getting weak
Oh the more I forsake you,
The more I can't shake you
From my memory
top^
GOODBYE >
Goodbye I'll have your picture framed
Goodbye and things will be the same as they were yesterday
Goodbye I'll call you every day
Goodbye we'll have so much to say when we are far apart
And I won't break down
No I won't break down
When I play that song that I wrote for you
And I won't let go
No I won't let go
But I want to know, was it real for you?
Goodbye I'll try to board a plane
Goodbye and things will be the same as they were yesterday
Goodbye your voice is sounding strange
Goodbye, but all the same your face is so indelible
Was it all in vain?
Was it worth the pain?
Was I so naive to think that we could beat the odds?
Goodbye I know you had to go
Goodbye we both agreed there's so much more ahead of us
Goodbye I guess you're out again
Goodbye, it's good you found a friend who understands your pain
And I won't break down
No I won't break down
When I play that song that I wrote for you
And I won't look back
No I won't look back
When I finally take your picture down
top^
SMOKE & MIRRORS >
We are alone again for the last time
What is there more to say?
We could talk til we're blind
And does your confession make you a friend?
What good is honesty when we're reaching the end?
You have these words--faith, truth and love
What do they really mean?
Do they fit like a glove?
And all of these questions block out the sun
Until we can't see that the end has begun
No consolation
And no second chance
I've fallen through the cracks
Of this smoke and mirrors magic romance
And I thought that I knew you
Right down to the bone
And all of this time I was really alone
top^
BLACK & GREY >
You still see her on every wall
But she's been gone now since early fall
And her eyes still follow you through the room
She's on canvas and carved into stone
But with her image now you're never alone
And her eyes still follow you through the room
Take down these faded lovers
Take down what's left undone
Paint a picture in all black and grey and let her go
You could paint her in every way
But did you hear what she's trying to say?
Watercolors won't bring her back when you're down
Curve of her shoulders, the small of her back
You thought you knew her, she never looked back
Watercolors won't bring her back when you're down
Watercolors always run when you're down
top^
VIRTUAL LISA >
I'm logging on again
Your words are all I need before I go to bed
You have the perfect face
I want to hear you say that you're the one for me
I lie awake at night
I see your photos and you're smiling just for me
I've got your book of poems
And in the verses there's a message just for me
How long, how long, how long
How long does it take to make you real?
I know you're thinking of me
I know you really care but we just can't be together
Will I always be the lonely one?
Living out my days through someone else
Oh, you always seem so real to me
At the bottom of a cold and sleepless night
top^
FREEDOM >
Sitting round the bar 'til midnight talking about freedom
Thinking about the times we raged on and how it's all gone
Dig out the names and postcards but now it don't mean too much
Dig out the old electric and sing us a swan song
You were the bright light
You were the one who held your own
You fought the good fight
And now you're rolling on alone
All these years you're talking about freedom
Tearing out the roots that keep you sane
All these years you're talking about freedom
Building up the walls that hide your pain
Gina's a faded memory, a chapter on good advice gone wrong
You took her down to Memphis and wrote her that song
You filled her full of good news and drank her last quarter down
She tried to help you make it but you were long gone
She was the one light
She was the one who really cared
She fought the losing fight
And now you're rolling on alone
top^
OUTRUNNING HEADLIGHTS >
Hey, hey sensei
What was the Truth today?
Cuz I think I've lost my way
And I can't go back
Has been, should of been
I wanna start my whole life again
And this time I'll be a friend
When you need me to
And there's no reason now to live your life in a permanent shadow
And I remember when we had it all worked out
But I'm still in the dark, silent and stark
Outrunning headlights again
A long day, I can't play
I gotta put all my dreams away
Cuz I got these bills to pay
And not enough time for you
Smacked down, broke my crown
But there's not a soul around
To hear if I made a sound
In the wilderness
Why can't I slow down and think it through?
Why can't I play by the rules? (Every now and then)
Can't see what's out ahead
Can't see what's in my head
So I close my eyes and roll down the road again
Hey, hey sensei
What's your excuse today?
Did you grow feet of clay
While the years went by
Anytime I go blind
you won't be far behind
To lead me to where I'll find
A light ahead
top^
FOUR BLOCKS TO HENNEPIN >
They got the bad cop
Down at the bus stop
He's gonna trash talk
Make you walk in his vicinity
You got to make right
Here in the moonlight
Who wants to burn bright
Lose the fight, leave in a body bag
In my mind there's no regret
On these streets they won't forget
Four blocks to Hennepin
Drop the suitcase with the piece and the photographs
Three blocks to Hennepin
Got to feel safe with the boys in the back seat
Two blocks to Hennepin
Leave the lights on when you park by the Cadillac
One block to Hennepin
He shot the first round
Blood on the cold ground
He's got you face down
Gagged and bound, no where to run away
Out on the stone bridge
You walk the thin ledge
You can't escape your thoughts of her
They run right through you
top^
|
