Lyrics from the new record, Polite
Branch Out
I'd rather sit than stand. Seems like I was just holding your hand,
now I wait for the day you come home.
I'd rather reach than bend. Hope when we reach the end of these days that you stay,
and you say that you wont...
(if you stay, could you say that you wont..)
Cash in, branch out, latch on to someone else
Franchise yourself, catch on with....
Or could I be that one?
The halo 'round the moon tonight reminds me that I'll see you soon.
I know you'd be here if you could.
Halfway around the world, 1000 people float on a 1,000,000 pound boat--
a different view of the same old moon.
I'd dive in to catch its reflection if you asked me to...
Cash in, branch out, latch on to someone else
Franchise myself, catch on with someone else
Rent out, lease out, sell out to someone else
Franchise myself, catch on with...
Or could I be that one?
I still feel the same
I'd rather sit than stand
Seems like I was just holding your hand,
now I wait for the day you come home.
Mediocre Meteor
Is there really any choice in the matter
'cause my voice is so weak and shaky
And my skin is wearing thin, can't remember where I've been
How could I forsake me?
Was that your plan, to break me?
Tempted by your lure, this mediocre meteor got your attention
Crashed and burning at your feet, still, you couldn't feel the heat
I forgot to mention:
I saw you jump the fence when I was watching Benson
If I could split myself in two, I'd also be with you
If I could be with everyone, it could be so much fun!!
(it's not that we were cuter, it's not that we were cooler,
it's just that we were younger, it's just that we were dumber)
Beware the gifts of Autumn, just remember where you got 'em.
They'll leave you so chilly.
Because green sometimes turns to red just before you get to bed.
I thought you'd try to thrill me, but you nearly killed me.
Now, how much will you bill me?
I felt wise beyond my years, so I closed my eyes and ears
and lay down and waited.
But I woke up yesterday feeling stupid, now I'll pay for this world I created.
I adored what you hated.
You evolved while I dated.
At the bottom of it all there's a whimper and a tear, and a slight shaking.
When you finally get the joke, someone whispers in your ear,
"you look ripe for the taking".
Riding to the Rhyme
I could take a Ford to the chorus
But I'd rather the Concorde than a Taurus
I could take a bike to the bridge
But I might find myself sleeping in a forest.
Each mile I go is a mirror
So why don't I want to take a look?
I'm an awkward, knock-kneed, half-grown, half-wit
Until I find the hook
Riding to the rhyme (you take the old dirt road)
Deconstruction time
Level some trees. See the new view.
And from this plateau (everything looks great)
Everyone's a genius.
Blast some rocks. Start anew.
Think that it's getting close to break time?
Can't remember if I'm mining for silver, coal or salt.
Hope we're not digging on the quake line.
If we are, you all must think it's my fault.
I have 97 mouths to feed. Some may go on to greatness in a while.
Monk. The Monkees. The Monks. And Edward Munch.
What's the difference if they all make me smile?
Green and Fur
First you start to wonder
Then you start to wander
Like no one's ever said that before,
No one's ever done that before
A life of green and fur is in my eyes
Because the hope that turns to nothing seems to be the prize every time
Oh, but it seemed so easy. But it's the hardest thing in the world,
to love the world you once thought was yours,
so you start to wonder
If you want me to be king, then king I'll be.
But the problem is, I can't take anything seriously.
is that bad?
But I won't confirm your worst fears, and if you can take away all of mine
I'll be the best king I can be
I may get sucked into the city's mouth
But the question is, Which way will I come out?
Will I sink or will I swim?
You can't go out the way that you came in.
...or maybe I'll pass the test, and finally I'll close my eyes
and get some rest.
Today gave me this song
I gave the song these words so I could sing along, and it worked!
It took away the darkness. It took me out and walked me around.
And I saw the green and fur once again, so I started to wander.
First you start to wonder, then you start to wander
Like no one's ever said that before, no one's ever done that before.
Like no one's ever thought that before, no one's ever sung that before.
People On Trains
Sits the way her sister sits
Eats the bits her sister leaves behind
Tried to catch her eye today
When she looked, I turned away
Hands on lap, feet on the floor
Boots I'd never seen her wear before
Though my judgement's pretty poor
Now I like her even more
On the train I wondered,
Who was I going home to?
Why was I thinking I'd see a different face?
Whose number did I dial?
And was it an accident?
Why was I thinking I'd hear a different voice?
Luck looks at fate, and they both shrug and say
"Defer to inertia. That's what we always say to people on trains"
Praying beings and glowing things tying strings to tire swings
But tonight, I'm not tiring--not so shy and retiring
I'm swan diving into tar.
I'm so gone, I don't know where we are.
Someone's laughing at my hair. Someone's moving out downstairs.
Mangled, damaged, but beautifully bandaged--repeat 'till it's fact.
I could stop the world in this manic moment--
and the world stops me the moment after that.
Bending his book, he jots a note no one reads
Ideas will flow and he'll let them all know in a speech no one hears
Secret message in the wine.
Alien cries, "They left me behind!"
Cheap hotel in Wealthytown
Keep the window shades all down!
Since Coincidence Died
The late night slurred at the sun, "I'm not done laughing my sad tired tale,
go back to bed.
I was her little friend, a sacrificial lamb who followed her 'round,
'till the end.
She held the leash in low regard, so I, in turn, asked the guard
to throw out the key.
I spent all of my time watching numbers go by
But since coincidence died, I have nothing to hide
Like hairspray and a cigarette, we're gonna go up in flames"
The lesson learned in this case, curves just out of reach,
buried 'neath a Jersey Barrier across from some beach.
"Now every siren I hear that's not for me signifies another victory.
And every mis-dialed call is just the person who could have solved this mystery.
I can tell a white lie with a joke prize inside
So I can show that I couldn't care if I tried
Like a scarecrow in a Santa Ana Wind, we're gonna go up in flames".
Skipping to the End
Riding up to her place, she turned and said to me,
"The winner keeps the broken heart and the loser goes free"
Her hand was in mine still but her heart was out the door
Eyes sadly bouncing 'tween the cab driver and the cab floor
'cause I asked her big, big questions
and she gave me big, big answers
The longer I play dumb, you'll see I really have nothing to say
You'll send me creeping off to hide for a couple of days
Starting in the middle and skipping to the end
The effort it takes to make mistakes
I kept blowing the candles on your cake
Great art, a good life doesn't make
Easy living, a simple life won't make
Someone taught me by example to shy away from pain
If we must talk of indiscretions, let's do it as entertainment
The worst sort of parade today--the guns turned on ME and fired
I hadn't recharged at ALL last night--maybe I'll always be this tired?
Saltwater Cherub
Saltwater cherub, you're scaring the scarabs away
Now the dolphins stopped crying, and the frightened sea lions purr all day
I saw in the paper, you there in your cape
and off the coast of Cape Ann the mayor made a speech
The keys to the town hall, a store in a strip mall,
invitations to lecture, to model and to teach.
The villains in their speedboats you stopped
The spacemen with their weapons you stopped
The ones who felt entitled you stopped
The shooting and the screaming you stopped
Saltwater Cherub, I can't bear if you go away
And finally we meet. I'm no one on the street,
but I dress to impress, and at last catch your eye!
And so on a whim, I admit I can't swim
And I jump in the ocean to show it's no lie
If you want me to come with you, I will
Give me instruction in code, I will
Start living undercover, I will
Grow fins and guard your castle, I will
Saltwater cherub, I'd do anything if I could stay
But you don't know a thing about me, and I don't know a thing about you
Could I still come with you if I wrong all the right that you do?
Be a scapegoat, break a window, eat a cupcake, bag your groceries, pop a wheelie, I will...
Amanda's Ready For Spring
When she was young she was told, "when you meet a clock, don't shake its hand.
Everybody knows that the clock will show it understands".
Gingerly, she'll nurse the injuries that the winter leaves every year
Saving up her energy, because the warmer days are drawing near.
Amanda's ready for spring
Standing by an iron gate, her friend is 20 minutes late
Looking for somewhere to swing
Every other day you'll see her, right outside Biancavilla
Wisteria inform her history and fill the air with perfume
Sitting on a green bean bag in the corner of her room
A weary eye in the mirror says "don't question the years--
when you're looking backwards, you look much sadder".
(now here come those tears)
Amanda's Ready for Spring
That vacant, beatific look, I read it like a trashy book
No one's around, so she sings
The telltale laugh gave her away
Echoes down the alleyway...
"No one else is gonna sing this song,
No one else is gonna move this pen
No one else is gonna wake me up and say
'it's you're job to do'"
3am to 5am the street changes key
Saturday to Monday she never slept--could that be?
She expected so much more, but all she got is a rotting guise,
pretensions of being wise that everyone around here buys
Amanda's ready for Spring
The clouds will always pass, no doubt
The splinter works its way back out
She wonders what it will bring
And how long she can stay this free
Like the Gypsy Moths of '83
They Become It
Raindrops are falling
Outside City Hall
And when they find a home they're a puddle
And they lose themselves
In an open meadow
Cows don't feel the dread,
Though when they find a home
They're sold by the pound
And they lose themselves
I just can't imagine
A world that you don't live in
But I can easily see one where I don't
And I've lost myself