1. |
Let's Get This Over With
03:07
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The drumbeat never changes tempo
It's steady like a rock
And like a rock it crushes you as it gets louder
The drum gets louder and louder
And you know there is no parking on the dance floor
And when you wake up you can feel your hair grow
Crawl out of your cave and you can watch your shadow
Creep across the ground until the day is done
All the while the planet circles 'round the sun
Everybody knows how this goes so let's get over it
And let's get this over with
Even when you're out of work you still have a job to do
Even when you don't know what it is
Your job knows what it is
What it is is it's coming to get you
I'm talking to myself even when I'm saying "you"
And when you wake up you can feel your hair grow
Crawl out of your cave and you can watch your shadow
Creep across the ground until the day is done
All the while the planet circles 'round the sun
Everybody knows how this goes so let's get over it
And let's get this over with
After all the spelling mistakes
After all the groping in the dark
Can this page of strange gibberish
Get a final punctuation mark?
You're still hanging around the clambake
After every clam has been baked
No applause
Awkward pause
Hand extended waiting for a shake
And when you wake up you can feel your hair grow
Crawl out of your cave and you can watch your shadow
Creep across the ground until the day is done
All the while the planet circles 'round the sun
Everybody knows how this goes so let's get over it
And let's get this over with
Hurry up and let's get this over with
You don't have to go home but you can't stay here
Everybody knows how this goes so let's get over it
And let's get this over with
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2. |
I Left My Body
02:36
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Ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah
Ah
I left my body
And I went on a journey
And I forgot where I left my body
They're gonna tow you
If they think you're abandoned
You got to act like you're not abandoned
I left a notebook with all of my good ideas
Keywords encoded cryptographically
I'm waiting endlessly on a receptionist
At the desk
I'm searching high and low
But I don't see anyone
Don't see anyone
Don't see anyone there
I left my body
With the old landlady
But I don't know if she read the directions
There must be something
You can use on the carpet
Someone might want that electric blanket
Unfinished manuscript and a tungsten ring
My plastic hip is going to be worth something
I took the folding knife
And the bat repellent soap
I left my body
And right away I knew I made
A mistake
I left without my senses
And I can't see anything
Can't see anything
I'm waiting endlessly on a receptionist
At the desk
I'm searching high and low
But I don't see anyone
Don't see anyone
Don't see anyone there
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3. |
All Time What
02:29
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I use my outside voice because I have no choice
The barn that I was raised in was constructed out of noise
And now I'm all torn up because my buttercup up and gone and left me
Said she finally had enough
Left me here to ruminate on all she can't admit
And all she can't explain
All time what
I never thought, I never thought
All time what
Things break apart, things break apart
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Man, she pulled out the rug from her doodlebug
Rolling down the highway, not a worry in her mind
Here's a flash card where someone's written "stultify"
I take it as a sign
It's hard to redefine
Same old sad soliloquy
They handed me a broom
The cast has left the room
All time what
Stumble about wrapped in a shroud
All time what
Partly submerged playing a dirge
Complete, completely, completelier
Defeat, defeated, defeatlier
Complete, completely, completelier
Defeat, defeated, defeatlier
All time what
I never thought, I never thought
All time what
Things break apart, things break apart
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah
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4. |
By The Time You Get This
02:17
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By the time you get this note
We'll no longer be alive
We'll have all gone up in smoke
There'll be no way to reply
You'll be wondering about the world that vanished long ago
And the words that reach you now
That were buried underground
Greetings to everyone in 1937
It seems that you were never aware that we were here
You're probably too busy rejoicing in the present
To stop and be reminded of the dark and troubled past
By the time you get this note
We'll no longer be alive
But our skulls are smiling still
At the thought of things to come
We can confidently know that you'll enjoy a better world
When the evils that we faced
Will at last be laid to rest
When the poisons of the Earth
Are completely neutralized
When the hatred and the lies
Are forever put aside
When the voices of dissent and contradiction all abate
And the peaceful air is filled
With a silent harmony
We can't be certain at the moment of this writing
But surely in the future there'll be no barking dogs
The sound of crying babies will be thankfully forgotten
No more will the chattering classes make a noise
By the time you get this note
A millennium from now
We'll have all gone up in smoke
There'll be no way to reply
And we confidently know
You'll enjoy a better time
When the evils that we faced
Will at last be laid to rest
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5. |
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Hey!
Hats off to the things you don't say
Why?
So what's up with the side-eye?
Spent so long trying to get along
Trying to please you
Trying to tease out all the details
From the sad straight notions that just all seem wrong
I defy interpretation
I am not participating in it
Fine!
Pick on someone else your own size
Fine!
Go prey on some stranger passing by
Hey!
Hats off to the things you don't say
Why?
So what's up with the side-eye?
My sad mind searching overtime
For a reason
You suspiciously incorporate some far-fetched fiction you find so sublime
But it's too late to reject and it's an insult to the fact checkers
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6. |
Mrs. Bluebeard
02:43
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I want to say I learned something valuable today
Alas, my murdered remains are incapable of learning anything
Trusted you–I should have never trusted you
In fact I never did
What's the use? I'm not complaining
I'm not anything
Is this what's supposed to happen
When you're only trying to do right
In this wicked world?
Probably I should already know this
Probably I should graciously accept what I get
Most people wouldn't hang the corpses up for review
Dearest, I can only hope most people are nothing like you
Nervous tics that I pretended not to see
That's how I was brought up
Warning signs: death metal albums
"Hang in there, baby" poster
Is this how you thank somebody
For their selfless loyalty? Is this what you do?
Pardon me for failing to grasp how this works
Excuse my breathtaking ignorance
Is this what's supposed to happen
When you're only trying to do right in this wicked world?
Probably I should already know this
Probably I should graciously accept what I get
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7. |
I Like Fun
03:00
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Impatiently I wait
To refill my prescription
And count the tock
Of the drugstore clock
A prototype they say
To combat my affliction
Extra gravity to control me
But that's my fun
And I like fun
And so do you
As we float away
So do you
As we float away
My excellence at parkour
Is not to be discounted
As I leap away
And disappear
My excellence at parkour
Might be unexpected
At the age of 58
It comes as quite a surprise
But not to you
We float away
Not to you
As we float away
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8. |
Push Back the Hands
03:01
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You would give up your right arm to go back
To when you had a right arm
You'll need some muscles
To move it backward
Push back the hands of time
Broken glass is glittering like diamonds
Can't hear yourself thinking over the sirens
Push back the hands of time
Push back the hands of time
You wanna sing to drown out the car horn
Squeeze your eyes shut and scream like a newborn
Like a newborn babe
Dawn breaks like a fallen vase
Push back the hands of time
Unwelcome vision of rosy fingers
Push back the hands of time
It wouldn't help you if you'd had any sleep
It wouldn't save you from the mission creep
Push back the hands of time
Push back the hands of time
Screeching tires but never a collision
Endless day without a sunset provision
Endless day
Push back the hands of time
Push back the hands of time
You wanna sing to drown out the car horn
Squeeze your eyes shut and scream like a newborn
Like a newborn babe
Push back the hands of time
Push back the hands of time
Push back the hands of time
Push back the hands of time
Push back the hands of time
Push back the hands of time
Push back the hands of time
Push back the hands of time
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9. |
This Microphone
02:36
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Selflessly hiding all emotions inside
Chilly and dry, New England style
Nobody's figured out my twelve fatal flaws
Who's keeping score? Who wins that war?
I'm busting out
And I know everyone agrees
Caring is carting bad ideas to the dump
And taking my time, taking my time
Hey, this microphone was turned on all along
I tried returning all that stuff to the store
But then I bought more, then I bought more
I'm done explaining all these reckless displays
Hard to defend, I'm in a haze
Old stories told
In brand-new clothes I bought today
Kindness is killing off my unfinished dreams
And walking away, just walking away
Hey, this microphone was turned on all along
Caring is carting bad ideas to the dump
And taking my time, taking my time
Hey, this microphone was turned on all along
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10. |
The Bright Side
02:29
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The bright side is blinding our eyes
And the sound keeps ringin', ringin'
The bright side is just a white lie
That the crowd keeps singin', singin'
You are a busy bee
You are a busy bee
Sunshine, sitting on a pavement crack
Everyone was staring back
But you didn't mind
Sunshine, futile were our defenses
Backwards ran your sentences
Until reeled the mind
Next what's fear
And silence in
Wait just all we'll then
Upside-down everything
Turning done you're when
The bright side is blinding our eyes
And the sound keeps ringin', ringin'
The bright side is just a white lie
That the crowd keeps singin', singin'
You are a busy bee
You are a busy bee
Back then, fighting with the permanent
Pushing through the sediment
Till we lost the trail
Back then, those days felt like house arrest
Half-awake and self-possessed
We thought we'd prevail
Among the rain
And lights I saw
The figure "5" in gold
On a red firetruck
That's what I was told
The bright side is blinding our eyes
And the sound keeps ringin', ringin'
The bright side is just a white lie
That the crowd keeps singin', singin'
The bright side is blinding our eyes
And the sound keeps ringin', ringin'
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11. |
When the Lights Come On
03:17
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I'll make a reckless prediction
I'll still be in the kitchen
When the lights come on
I think we'll probably be good
If stuff is still where it stood
When the lights come on
We won't remember each other
But we'll probably recover
Unless everyone's gone
It might be too soon to say this
But I think that we may just
See the lights come on
See I've been picturing
Diagrams of master plans
I taught myself to draw in the dust
With what remains of my left hand
And from what I can tell
I'll be no more than a shell
Or an automaton
But we'll be laughing and shit
It will have been worth it
When the lights come on
Unless we chicken out again
Which is exactly how we ended up in here
Our guard was down, we were disarmed
They tampered with the smoke alarm
There won't be any more trouble
You'll be dragged from the rubble
When the lights come on
And I'll be looking so great
I will have lost some weight
When the lights come on
We will be growing mustaches
Once we're raised from the ashes
When the lights come on
We'll be encased in gold
Desiccated and old
When the lights come on
See I've been picturing
Diagrams of master plans
I taught myself to draw in the dust
With what remains of my left hand
And from what I can tell
Groping around, there's something else
I feel a face, I feel a pulse
I think I'm
Tripping
Something's got me by the hair
Let's table this discussion
Until my concussion
On the bottom stair
Unless I pass out once again
And find the bandage where my kidney used to be
Knocked over lamp, some broken plates
Prescription pads for opiates
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12. |
Lake Monsters
02:56
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Lake monsters of the USA
From Cape Cod, to Massachusetts
All across America
From Chicago to East California
You might be asking yourself
Is this a different world?
Are they really there?
Thank your lucky stars
Lake monsters of the USA
Just looking for a polling station
If it takes the cloak of darkness
Their voices will be counted
You might be asking yourself
What happened to this world?
But they're not ashamed
They cannot be tamed
No hypnosis like a mass hypnosis
Cause a mass hypnosis isn't happenin'
No hypnosis like a mass hypnosis
Cause a mass hypnosis isn't happenin'
Oh the silence!
Oh the silence!
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13. |
McCafferty's Bib
02:35
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If only there were some way to shut out
All this noise in my head
Oh wait there already is
It's called McCafferty's Bib
I used to have eleven problems
Then they all went away
When I added one more
Called McCafferty's Bib
Now the gray, gray clouds
Have arrived and the gray, gray clouds
Have decided to stay with us from now on
I ate the whole bottle of pills
And wondered what I had swallowed
And I saw that
the label said McCafferty's Bib
And then all the scenery melted away
And in back of it
The only thing left
Was McCafferty's Bib
And the gray, gray clouds
Have arrived and the gray, gray clouds
Have decided to stay with us from now on
In cities all over the world
All the people are suddenly struck
By the same idea
They're massing in public squares
And they're singing a note
That rises from low to high
With one hand they're holding up
signs of Bob Hope, in the other
Hand, everyone's
Waving McCafferty's Bib
The toothpaste won't go back in the bottle
since it granted our wish
And we will never be rid
Of McCafferty's Bib
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14. |
The Greatest
01:48
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They call me the greatest
'Cause I'm not very good
And they're being sarcastic
They're being sarcastic
Oh, I'm taking names
But I'm not doing much
With the names that I'm taking
G-O-A-T
They're being sarcastic
They're being sarcastic
They call me the greatest
But those cheers can be quiet
So I listen close
I listen close
Yes I'm taking notes
But those notes aren't helping
The ink washes away
G-O-A-T
It washes away
It washes away
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15. |
Last Wave
03:24
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Saw that in a movie
I just fixed up the supper
Half of that is mine
Some of that was true
We die alone
We die afraid
We live in terror
We're naked and alone
And the grave is the loneliest place
We die alone
We die afraid
We live in terror
We're naked and alone
And the grave is the loneliest place
We die alone
We die afraid
Afraid to die
We're naked and alone
Naked and alone
We die alone
We die afraid
We live in terror
We're naked and alone
Naked and alone
Last wave
Rolling by
Final wave
Don't ask why (I'm happy)
There goes a wave
Rolling by
Last wave
I'm so tired of waiting
My heart is cold
The sky is dark
I'm curled up in the ashes
We die alone
We die afraid
We live in terror
Naked and alone
We die
If you won't make out with a biplane (no!)
Perchance, a dance with a carcass in space? (no!)
But now you gotta buy me some antlers, antlers are what I need you to buy (why?)
Then take me down to the postman, (you do it!) tell the postman to throw them to
Wave
Rolling by
Final wave
Don't ask why
There goes a wave
Rolling by
Final wave
Don't ask why
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