BLEEDING TONGUE

You haven’t got a clue
What you gonna do?
They’ll eat you up
They’ll eat you up
I thought I knew you
Well, looks like I was wrong
It’s no surprise
It’s nothing

Smile
Ghosts are shaking hands
The Devil’s making plans
To take you down
To take you
Now
You’re acting like a child
Got me running wild

I see you on the town
Painted like clown
Your hollow soul
Half-hiding
You know where it’s all at
But I think I smell a rat
Your vacant eyes
Deciding fates

“It’s either swim or sink”
You’re saying what you think
Why would I care?
Why would I?
Christ,
How much can I take?
I’m about to break

I’ve heard it all before
Bite your bleeding tongue
I’m tired of trying
Fighting for some middle ground
Call it what you will
I don’t need you around
Talk, talk, and talk
But you don’t make a sound
Just you give it time
I will forget your name
I will forget your face
You’ll fall you’ll fall
You see me coming round
You’re shaking in your shoes
Now who’s looking down on who?

I’m kicking in the door
It’s an all out war
Go run & hide
I’ll find you
Who made you the judge?
If push should come to shove
I’ll bury you
I’ll do it

I am not afraid
And now I’ve got you pegged
How does it feel?
Or does it?
Now I've got you pegged
How does it feel?

I’ve heard it all before
Bite your bleeding tongue
I’m tired of trying
Fighting for some middle ground
Call it what you will
I don’t need you around
Talk, talk, and talk
But you don’t make a sound
Just you give it time
I will forget your name
I will forget your face
You’ll fall you’ll fall
You see me coming round
You’re shaking in your shoes
Now who’s looking down on who?

I know what you’re doing

How did it come to this?
The static and the hiss
I thought I knew you
Well, looks like I was wrong

Smile
Ghosts are shaking hands
The Devil’s making plans
How did it come to this?
The static and the hiss

I’ve heard it all before
Bite your bleeding tongue
I’m tired of trying
Fighting for some middle ground
Call it what you will
I don’t need you around
Talk, talk, and talk
But you don’t make a sound
Just you give it time
I will forget your name
I will forget your face
You’ll fall you’ll fall
You see me coming round
You’re shaking in your shoes
Now who’s looking down on who?

CARDINAL WINGS

With eyes as red as cardinal wings
She wraps herself in golden things
And walks alone through empty halls
Honey, how’d you fall so far?

Awaken from you slumber deep
A lion and a poem so sweet
As sugar or a ripened pear
Let down your dress
Let fall your hair

For tonight
Oh, my love
Let’s just hold on

Our rainy days are all but gone
In this old hotel
In this old hotel
Our rainy days are all but gone
Honey I’ll be here
‘Til sunlight floods the dawn

Sharp as knives a full-fixed blade
She cuts me off
She makes me wait
“Our dreams” she said
“Are just falling stars”
Now we’re dancing on the boulevard

We twist and twirl up to the sky
My blood's on fire
I’m so alive
“Our dreams” I say
“Are alive and well”
This love was made from steel
This thing is strong as hell

For tonight
Oh, my love
Let’s just hold on

Our rainy days are all but gone
In this old hotel
In this old hotel
Our rainy days are all but gone
Honey I’ll be here
‘Til sunlight floods the dawn

Watch the building
Crumble down
As we find ourselves
On some solid ground
Watch the building
Crumble down
As we find ourselves
On some solid ground

For tonight
Oh, my love
Let’s just hold on

Our rainy days are almost gone
In this old hotel
In this old hotel
Our rainy days are almost gone
Honey I’ll be here
‘Til sunlight floods the dawn
Oh I’ll be here
‘Til Sunlight floods your dawn
Oh it seems to me
The sunlight’s here, it’s dawn

EDISON LIGHT

Set sail for revolution
Past these poisons and pollutions
And instruments of execution

The tide
How quickly it’s turning
And returning
Crash and collide
On all these islands we’ve made up
That have made us
Separate and divide

Think I’ll get out of bed
Go to the places I feel happy
Oh Oh Oh
Think I’ll head for the hills
With my Edison Light on
We could hide out from the world
You could get a quick fix
With these toys for the rich & famous
I won’t blame you
But if you want to –
Come along

Hate bred bruised and broken nations
Folks in constant communication
Worldly wants I wish to escape from

And lie with my love by the seaside
Stalk a sunrise
Losing count
Of all the stars in the night sky
Until daylight
Shines with it’s warmth once again

Think I’ll get out of bed
Go to the places I feel happy
Oh Oh Oh
Think I’ll head for the hills
With my Edison Light on
We could hide out from the world
You could get a quick fix
With these toys for the rich & famous
I won’t blame you
But if you want to –
Come along

It comes,
It goes
In waves
It waits in every corner crowding my mind
There’s danger in the darkness
But we could light this place on fire
With a new idea
Expand
Open up your top hat
Let it ignite
We could start a movement
To get the filament just right

Think I’ll get out of bed
Go to the places I feel happy
Oh Oh Oh
Think I’ll head for the hills
With my Edison Light on
We could hide out from the world
You could get a quick fix
With these toys for the rich & famous
I won’t blame you
But if you want to –
Come along

SHOE FITS

They say
That you’re a freight train
You’re something so strange
You’re a sad situation
There’s something about you
There’s something about you
I know

My God
You’re so much like your mother
You’re just like your father
A distant discovery
Dissonant deities
Darken the doorstep you’re on

What’d you say?
What’s on you mind?
People talk
People talk all the time

If the shoe fits
If the shoe fits
It’s what you are
If the shoe fits
If the shoe fits
Then wear it, baby
If the shoe fits
If the shoe fits
It’s what you are

Oh oh oh oh oh

In everything
Striking uncertainty
Wavering quality
Can’t see the forest for trees
Something so out of reach
It’s a balance that’s off

So you cut to the quick
You burn all your bridges
A heart full of blood
A sink full of dishes
You’re falling
You’re falling
You’re falling
You’re falling
You’re falling
Apart

What’d you say?
What’s on you mind?
People talk
People talk all the time

If the shoe fits
If the shoe fits
It’s what you are
If the shoe fits
If the shoe fits
Then wear it, baby
If the shoe fits
If the shoe fits
It’s what you are

Oh oh oh oh oh

SURRENDER

Are we running away?
Buried heads in the sand?
I’ve been chalking it up
To nothing makes any sense
The fragile facts and figures
Burn a hole in my brain
I’m an ant in the sun
I’m alone at this party
I’m not having much fun
I wonder will I wake up?

Everybody is lazy
Everyone is to blame
Everybody is perfect
Everyone is insane
I sit opaque and waning
Nothing is as it seems
It seems a stitch has come loose
Nothing’s getting accomplished
I’ve got things I must do
I’m making sense of this mess
I’ve left behind me like a contrail against the blue

I’m falling apart
Following orders
I took up my lantern
I carried my brother
I’m down in the trenches
Too tired to fight

I have nothing to say
I have yet to begin
My thoughts are packed in a suitcase
I have so much to give
I’m standing on the tarmac
I am boarding a plane
I am a civilized man
I am closing my eyes
I am making a plan
I watch the world grow smaller
Losing sight of shapes & colors
To sleight of hand

I’m falling apart
Following orders
I took up my lantern
I carried my brother
I’m down in the trenches
Too tired to fight

I know what I’m after
Don’t want to surrender
Try, try, try
I’m giving up
Try, try, try
Just give it up

We’re falling apart
Following orders
We take it for granted
We turn on each other
Down in the trenches
Too tired to fight

WOLF IS ME

Consequence
Whose side are you on?
The faithful or the fallen ones?

Anyways
What’s the difference?
I am tired of trying to please everyone

I hold my tongue
I cannot speak

Alcohol
Please don’t fail me
I could use some confidence
Right about now

As it stands
I am saccharine
I am ravening
Just underneath

I wear it well
Don’t you think?

Black as coal
This restless soul
Cries so lost
Oh my God

I bare my teeth
O cursed sheep
Start running
The wolf is me

Steer the ship
Man the oars
I have capsized
I have fallen off course

See me smile
There is blood on my hands
I am not as everyone thinks that I am

Beware my thoughts
Are not as they seem

Black as coal
This restless soul
Cries so lost
Oh my God

I bare my teeth
O cursed sheep
Start running
The wolf is me

Listen,
I’m not looking for salvation
Just some peace

Hear me howl
I’ll blow this whole place down
For a taste of something sweet

TRADE WINDS

I know I’m not easy
In fact sometimes I’m a stone
I’m not sorry
Like I should be
I should be alone

I took to the tailor
For some needle and some thread
For to stitch up
The hole that’s in my head

Saw a sign and it read:
We’re all just hearts on the mend

Every night while the world lies sleeping
I’m swallowing swords
I’m fighting back demons
Sinking with the shadows
It’s easier than the truth

I drink ‘til I’m sick
I stare at the ceiling
Of stars up above
This ocean between us
Talking to the trade winds
Telling stories tall and true

Stuck in a southern state
Where I’ve lost my peace of mind
Heard it’s somewhere
California or the Northwest Pines

Folks falling backwards
Talking in tongues I can’t transcribe
Spitting daggers
Calling: “Christ is on our side”

Some intelligent design
The blind leading the blind

Every night while the world lies sleeping
I’m swallowing swords
I’m fighting back demons
Sinking with the shadows
It’s easier than the truth

I drink ‘til I’m sick
I stare at the ceiling
Of stars up above
This ocean between us
Talking to the trade winds
Telling stories tall and true

Saw a sign and it read:
We’re all just hearts on the mend

Every night while the world lies sleeping
I’m swallowing swords
I’m fighting back demons
Sinking with the shadows
It’s easier than the truth

I drink ‘til I’m sick
I stare at the ceiling
Of stars up above
This ocean between us
Talking to the trade winds
Telling stories tall and true

FOLLOW ME HOME

I’m a no-good, broke down lost & found You’re a rich city mama
In from out of town
Nothing between us but a mountain range
Now you’re giving me those eyes
And girl I’m feeling strange

Oh, Oh
You are a smoking gun
Oh, Oh
Gone with the setting sun
Oh, Oh
Honey, tonight lets play fools
Oh
Are you gonna follow me home?
Are you gonna follow me home?
Are you gonna follow me home?

Ain’t got much to offer but this cheap red wine
Some dust on the floor and some forty-fives
An old turntable and an unmade bed
Now you’re lifting your shirt off
From over your head

Oh, Oh
You are a smoking gun
Oh, Oh
Gone with the setting sun
Oh, Oh
Honey, now what will you choose?
Oh
Are you gonna follow me home?
Are you gonna follow me home?
Are you gonna follow me home?

When the time comes to bury me
Gonna lay me in the hills of Tennessee
I may never know love, 
I may never know peace
But I’ll always know the night that you came home with me

Oh, Oh
You are a smoking gun
Oh, Oh
Gone with the setting sun
Oh, Oh
Trading
Oh
Are you gonna follow me home?
Are you gonna follow me home?
Are you gonna follow me home?

HIEROGLYPHS

I’m no fool I’ve seen this once before
She’s a reckless train and I should be unsure
‘Cause she’s a bad, bad, bad, bad woman
But such a good girl

She’s like a dark, dark deep-sea oyster
Inside she’s a pearl

My friends all say she ain’t no good for me
There’s a side of her I know they’ll never see
Like when she whispers softly in my ear
And I’m reborn

She’s like a wild, wild, wild, wild rose
Pretty but with thorns

She says she lives for the
Changing of the seasons
And loves to come unglued
I hope she means it
These hieroglyphs and maps
All lose their meaning
If I can’t have her around

She’ll promise you the world
And that she’ll stay
That’s a promise that she promises to break
But I will follow blindly
Just as far as she can run away

She’s a holy, rolling river
I’m just her ship at bay

She says she lives for the
Changing of the seasons
And loves to come unglued
I hope she means it
These hieroglyphs and maps
All lose their meaning
If I can’t have her around

Maybe one fine day we’ll settle down
We’ll unpack this covered wagon
Throw some roots into the ground
Lord, I must be crazy
To think she might ever adhere

She will always be a falling star
Explode and disappear!

She says she lives for the
Changing of the seasons
And loves to come unglued
I hope she means it
These hieroglyphs and maps
All lose their meaning
If I can’t have her around

ONLY ONE FOR ME

Oh darling please don’t say it’s over
I couldn’t live if you were gone
They way your hair
Hangs on your shoulder
You move me like a quiet song

We’ve got a love that
Could move mountains
We’ve got a love
Deep as the sea
I’ve known it from the day I found you
You are the only one for me

Baby baby
What’s the worry?
You’re the apple of my eye
Let’s run away
Settle down
Make some love
And then we’ll rest easy

There’s a light that shines around you
Your smile brings me to my knees
And I want everything about you
You are the only one for me

Baby baby
What’s the worry?
You’re the apple of my eye
Let’s run away
Settle down
Make some love
And then we’ll rest easy

And when the stars
Shine in the night sky
And you are drifting
Off to sleep
I’ll lean and hold you even closer
You are the only one for me

TAKE YOUR TIME

An epicenter made of stone
A heavy heart
A bag of bones
Fighting fate
Can’t bear the weight
It’s dragging you down

You’re twisted like a vine
You’re on the fence
You’re on my mind
Buried deep
Underneath
I spy sunlight

You say “what’s mine is mine”
But I’m going to take your time
‘Cause I want you
I do

A scattered heart
And a fleeting breeze
I’m never going to let you be alone
No!

You bear witness to a crime
You didn’t commit
But they make you walk the line
Better luck
It’s not enough
They’re locking you away

I slip inside when the guard’s asleep
Far be it from me
To keep the lock from the key
I’ll break you down
I’ll break you out
Still you run, run, run, run away

You say “what’s mine is mine”
But I’m going to take your time
‘Cause I want you
I do

A scattered heart
And a fleeting breeze
I’m never going to let you be alone
No!

A butcher’s knife
A candid eye
It’s a lie, lie, lie
Lined with a silvery shine

I see you spinning
In and out of control
Tied tight to your wrists
Tied up like a ghost
Taciturn and escaping
From what I don’t know
Tick, tock, tick, tock
Time to let it go

You say “what’s mine is mine”
But I’m going to take your time
‘Cause I want you
I do

A scattered heart
And a fleeting breeze
I’m never going to let you be alone
No!

A butcher’s knife
A candid eye
It’s a lie, lie, lie
Lined with a silvery shine

KALEIDOSCOPE

I am a million miles away from here
In my own mind
Somewhere certain
Somewhere strange
Somewhere more inspired
I’m so tired of chasing shadows in the dark
I need a spark
Some kind of spark

Darling, don’t just say the words
You know I want to hear
I’ve got my sights set
On a new front we could pioneer
And maybe shed some darkness for some light
And be all right
We’ll be all right  

I don’t want to let you down
I’m scared I’ll let you down
Baby I, baby I
Swore I’d never you let you down
I will never let you down
Baby I, baby I
I’ll try

I keep staring down kaleidoscopes
As colors fade
I am a fool for the reflections
The mirrors make
Sweetheart, you ain’t gotta be afraid
We’ll find a way
Make an escape

I don’t want to let you down
I’m scared I’ll let you down
Baby I, baby I
Swore I’d never you let you down
I will never let you down
Baby I, baby I
I’ll try

Oh Oh Oh
Stuck in the same old story
Some impossible lie
Oh, oh, oh
Some want fame
Some want glory
I just want peace of mind
Oh, oh, oh
Do you know where to find it?
Buried under the stairs?
Oh, oh, oh
Or in some sacred silence?

I don’t want to let you down
I’m scared I’ll let you down
Baby I, baby I
Swore I’d never you let you down
I will never let you down
Baby I, baby I
I’ll try