1.
An Honest Living
2. A Certain Emptiness
3. Vultures
4. You Have No Reason
To Feel Sad
5. Before I Die
6. I Wish I Was A Master
7. It's All Supposed
To Be Easy
8. Love, Alcohol, and True Happiness
9. Rock n' Roll Makes a
Poor Mistress
10. Maturity
11. Monday Morning
12. When The Wind Sweeps
13.
Young Enough
14. The Bullhorn Hype
AN HONEST LIVING He
sold the last of his possessions
Because he didn't have a job
He went to
that restaurant
Where his wife used to love the corn on the cob But there
would be no need for an angel to do the forgiving
For he could make an honest
living This loneliness and sedition
This connection to tradition
This
kitsch art, this memory of a lost politician
Dissolved like a dusty manuscript But
there would be no angel to do the forgiving
For he could make an honest living He
feared that his art had no direction
His ideas lacked erection
He saw the
arch that gleamed, the fond perception
And after all, this is the season of
elections But he would need no angel to do the forgiving
For he could
make an honest living A CERTAIN EMPTINESS There is an emptiness
inside
One that his expression can barely hide
In the room in the far corner
of the hotel
Where the author sits and dips his pen in the inkwell He
sees the night as it is
When the last memory starts to fade of the life that
was his
He looks at the bird on the window sill
And his mind wanders as
he dreams about the biz He looks at the trees that resemble a painted scene
In
front of the spiky mountains
His experience is wholly indescribable and he
feels duped
By the Vanity Fair article that he read on the train As he
came in from Greenwich
It was hardly a spiritual experience, those empty particles
But
he wondered if that is what shaped his imagination
If that was his personality
- just a series of articles A series of poems he'd read
A series of ideas
that had marbled into his head
And he felt a certain emptiness
He felt a
certain emptiness
VULTURES
Man, the vultures take me down
The
vultures, they clown
The vultures twist and burn
They doubt and they yearn That's
not what I need
That's not what I need
Vampires and vultures
Twisted
midnight creatures Depraved and disturbed
Love is so absurd
The concept
is absurd, you see
And these creatures make sure to remind me That's
not what I need
That's not what I need
Vampires and vultures
Twisted
midnight creatures YOU HAVE NO REASON TO FEEL SAD You have
no reason to feel sad
I think your body's just been bad
Doing things it
doesn't need
Sowing some hidden master's seed When you think you're feeling
mad
Remember, you have no reason to feel sad You have no reason to be
ashamed
Everyone has troubles that they can't explain
I guess you should
have the feeling that there's a solution
To solving pollution with little retribution When
you think you're feeling mad
Remember, you have no reason to feel sad Roll
the car out into the drive
I hope we both get out alive
Dante's is the place
to drink
No matter what the highbrows think When you think you're feeling
mad
Remember, you have no reason to feel sad BEFORE I DIE I'd
like to straighten the flower box out
I'd like to sweep the kitchen floor
I'd
like replace the marble walk
I'd like to paint the living room door I'd
like to turn the world around
I have no great reply
When people say, "What
do you want?"
Because that's all I want before I die To organize
the world Lately I've been feeling
The way I did as a child
My fancy
in the autumn leaves
My passion always wild I wish that I knew all that
then
What I know now, what I know
I wish, I wish, that things could be
Not
such a trick, not such a trick I want order in the world I feel like
things are such a trick
Not like they were when I was young
When I was young
there always was a meaning
Always something at the end of what was begun Now
there's no such thing as beginning
All the stories left unsaid
If all that
was ever written was burned
I'd try to store it in my head But I couldn't,
I'm sure, bring order to the world I WISH I WAS A MASTER I'm
just going to say it
I wish I were a master To wander through life, feeling
inferior
Feeling like there was some atonement you were after
That you couldn't
discover, that the world couldn't muster
Is no way to live, you can't live
with the echoes like laughter Am I the best? Who should I ask?
Picasso
could tell me if I'd learned
Whether or not the work held up
If I was well
enough to discern Whether or not when in the buff
I held up to the ideal I
wish I was a master
I wish I knew the way
Maybe when you wander
Down
here this random day I could point you to the office
They could register
you there
They could measure all your gifts
You could qualify your share I
wish I was a master
And I would treat you fair
And let you know
That
it's a good thing you are there And you wouldn't feel the need to deceive
me
Because I have no credentials
Because I only know the essentials
And
can't expand
If I was a master
You wouldn't feel the need to deceive me
And
finally, you'd believe me IT'S ALL SUPPOSED TO BE EASY I had
a friend
He gave me his opinions
About the way I should live Speechifying,
Still
denying,
Still supporting the birth of kids He said get a wife,
Get
a life,
Get a ticket to a better way Get a house,
Find a spouse,
Fall
in love on a July day I didn't know that was all supposed to be easy So
I pulled into town
With my book
And I looked at all the mallrats runnin'
round Westlake,
Earthquake
Almost took the city down I thought,
"Why don't I jot down all the facts,
Put it on wax,
For all the kids
to read?" Hopefully my experience
Will lead them to believe
That
they understand what they really need I didn't know that was all supposed
to be easy
LOVE, ALCOHAL, ROCK N' ROLL, AND TRUE HAPPINESS
So
you say give up on alcohol
And how it influences the day You find yourself
drunk on a Wednesday night
In the back of a shitty club, illuminated by the
red light Rock n' roll, alcohol, and the true meaning of happiness The
guitar is out of tune and the piano keys are broken
The band has been drinking
and the backstage is filled with smoke Seems like the night was not supposed
to end like this
I was not meant to be alone and pondering an imaginary kiss Rock
n' roll, alcohol, and the true meaning of happiness Love is an idea to ponder
In
a 2 a.m. drunken haze And the fuzz tone punctuates the expression
You
make when you're crazed Rock n' roll, alcohol, and the true meaning of happiness Get
it done two years ago
You need it in a daze That's my best definition
of happiness
Jump off the drum riser, end the show, and pull the shades Rock
n' roll, alcohol, and the true meaning of happiness ROCK N' ROLL MAKES
A POOR MISTRESS I thought when I left my home
That I would never
be alone
I cared not what friends and family said
I'd make a killing with
my head Family is my rock
Rock n' roll is my mistress
She makes a
poor lover
When she's constantly been ignored and dismissed
So pull the
plane away
As God is my witness
I'm going to struggle to make the dance
And
do it all in the name of romance
But rock n' roll makes a poor mistress Rock
n' roll demands a lot
A bruised up body, a melting pot
To throw your whimsical
fantasies in
And see if it returns or not Family is my rock
Rock n'
roll is my mistress
She makes a poor lover
When she's constantly been ignored
and dismissed
So pull the plane away
As God is my witness
I'm going to
struggle to make the dance
And do it all in the name of romance
But rock
n' roll makes a poor mistress MATURITY Maybe if I had taken
a different path
Then love would make sense You say that I have the mark
of one who has not matured
One who has chosen to ignore certain responsibilities Certain
rites of passage that make you a man
But right now I'm just a kid, you say All
my desires, immature
All my doubts, insincere None fully developed
My
ideas, not fully formed Because I haven't quite seen the whole picture
Mine
is simply a rough draft Oh, well, maybe I should be penalized
For not
having spent enough time And maybe it's mature when I tell you that you've
let
Those people at the office beat you into submission Dead to the world
Rolled
into the honorable role of "tradition" Well, if you don't feel
beaten, then cheers to you
Let's raise a glass at the neighborhood bar You
can't drink much
Even though you don't have to drive far Because there
are so many duties to attend
Documents to amend You're better when you
act yourself
It's just that the discovery of who you are is the difficult part
I've
never felt like I didn't know you
Even when you said you kept it hidden
If
someone revealed some dark secret
I'm not sure it would blow your lid
When
I already have a deep understanding
Of the truth that what is left unsaid
Is
often best left unsaid
So just keep it in your head, if it makes you feel comfortable
Just
keep it in your head MONDAY MORNING Monday morning, 8am
I
missed the bus again
Had to drive the band van
Then again, that's who I
am Got way too drunk this past weekend
Can't remember the names of my
new friends
All's well that comes to an end
Beauty is born when the experience
ends I wonder aloud:
Is this anxiety purely physical?
Who was that
girl in Spokane
Who was so damn beautiful? All those shots
I hardly
recall
If we sounded good
When we played the debutante ball Monday
morning
Something's missing
All I've lost, it keeps me wishing
Monday
morning
Falling hard
Hangover's not quite gone
But it won't be long
Until
I forget my regrets I always have a way
Of saying what's on my mind
Often
times people don't like it
I'm not sure I like it, either There are reasons
for it
There are reasons for rules
Reasons for institutions
Reasons for
playing it cool What did I say
Out on the deck?
In the morning,
Why
was I such a mess? I think someone made
Some racist remark
And condemned
an old friend
Then spilled their beer on the bark Monday morning
Something's
missing
All I've lost, it keeps me wishing
Monday morning
Falling hard
Hangover's
not quite gone
But it won't be long
Until I forget my regrets I remember
taking a sober look
At the lifestyle I choose
And saying that there is little
that separates me
>From some jackasses on the booze Or drunken bums
In
Pioneer Square
But somehow when it comes to a night
When I hit the stage,
I don't really care There's no reason
To stay up till 6am
When fathers
are waking their
Babies and then Going for a walk
Buying groceries
So
much depends
Upon the establishment Monday morning
Something's missing
All
I've lost, it keeps me wishing
Monday morning
Falling hard
Hangover's
not quite gone
But it won't be long
Until I forget my regrets I guess
I should act a little more mature
But I'm feeling out of the groove
All
I want to do
Is put on a Prince record and move I want to rock the house
It's
another one horse town
I hope I didn't offend anyone
When I ran my mouth
around I hope I never falter
On the macro scope
Partying with lawyers
and dentists
I could hardly cope They bought the drinks
I played the
show
Maybe I should've
Taken them up on their offer for some blow Monday
morning
Something's missing
All I've lost, it keeps me wishing
Monday
morning
Falling hard
Hangover's not quite gone
But it won't be long
Until
I forget my regrets But then again, that never was my scene
I think some
girls at the show might think I'm mean
When I ordered them to enjoy the music
And
called them "too cool," and then something obscene But that's
the price you pay
When you rock and roll
The shows blend together
Your
memory's on low WHEN THE WIND SWEEPS When the streets are wet
with rain
When the pen can't express the pain
The wind sweeps the leaves
away
The wind sweeps the lost pages into the fray
The wind sweeps the windows
at night
Then the sun drips through the shades of white
I can never accept
defeat
But I'm lucky when the wind sweeps I wish that I could make it
better
Raven hair, raven hair
I wish that I was feeling better
Solemn
stare, sovereign chair
I wish my life made some sense
Raven hair, frenetic
pair
I wish that I made recompense
But I'm lucky when the wind sweeps
Oh,
Voltaire, you had your share
I wish that life was simpler now
But it's so
simple, it's so low-brow
I wish that I could make it brighter
The French
princess ascends the stair
The distant moan of the daft tenor
Oh, inside
there is a soul to bare
Because I can never accept defeat
But I'm lucky
when the wind sweeps
YOUNG ENOUGH The pen is heavy
The gifts
are gold
The education I've gotten
Makes me know I'm old I was thinking
of telling people that I was older
Then I'd always be a step a head
It would
challenge me more
I could sleep when I was pronounced dead Oh, tell me
can I ever be the man
That youth believes and age understands
Is there wisdom
in what the youthful dream demands? All the pretty girls
Who think I'm
younger
Would be unpleasantly surprised
When I added 5 yrs to the figure But
then in the end
I turned it around
It would be like a conservative
Business
venture Oh, tell me can I ever be the man
That youth believes and age
understands
Is there wisdom in what the youthful dream demands? Always
have more money in the bank
Than you can afford
Always tell people you're
older
Then you can have more years Whenever you need them
You never
seem to be
Young enough, anyways
After you reach a certain point Oh,
tell me can I ever be the man
That youth believes and age understands
Is
there wisdom in what the youthful dream demands?
THE BULLHORN HYPE
I
heard the hype men on the bullhorns,
They screamed at the top of their lungs: Do
your part to act smart!
Don't neglect to gauge the effect!
You can have
your fun AND get the job done!
Too much rough neck will make you disconnect! Unfortunately
as time went on
I became acquainted with consequence
And in the spare rooms
of the South
I was treated like a Puerto Rican prince You know the women
around here know nothing about love
They teeter on the fence, they never fall
for the bait
They don't have time to take the chance
On such a huge concept
as Love and Fate Anyways, I felt that I could balance
Between a rock
and a majestic sea
But I did not care to contemplate
That "be"
would not meet up with "Be" I heard the hype men on the bullhorns,
They
screamed at the top of their lungs: Do your part to act smart!
Don't
neglect to gauge the effect!
You can have your fun AND get the job done!
Too
much rough neck will make you disconnect! | 
