BALLOONS
Things
I need fly around me
I grab for the pump but can't get it
I lost something,
I regret it
Like an allegory or a story
I'm bruised and broken
I feel
better than ever
Put all my words together
And asked you to the bar
But
balloons are floating in the sky
Late at night sometimes I get real down
Start
tossing and turning
Want to scrape something off the wall
Want to put a
mattress on the floor
It might break my fall
The floor beneath my feet
Is
full or nails and those glass shards
Balloons are floating in the sky I
am no longer sad, I need what I have
And I don't have more than I need
Balloons
are floating in the sky
WATERFALLS
Threw
my guitar in a river
When I heard you went away
Your rusty beater hit the
road
The pulsing highway's like a vein
You were eating all that bad food
and angling on the harmonium
Sat in a pile of beautiful refuse
Told stories
of waterfalls till the anger stole them Yes,
you were calling me obtuse
But I loved you when you let loose
You were
so dull when you were sober
When you stopped drinking you looked older Threw
my guitar in the river (What for, pray tell?)
When I heard you went away (You
could not sell?)
Your rusty beater hit the road (Faster than a choo-choo)
The
pulsing highway's like a vein
I told stories of putting up a fight
Till
the waterfalls stole the anger I said "I
am older than the house"
She said "I think I saw a mouse" and
turned
I think I could have taken her boyfriend
But she gave me a painting
and it saved 'em
What was damaged was now healed, still so little was revealed
Threw
my guitar into the river
Watched it angle down the stream
Remembered you
driving away
Till the waterfalls stole the anger
Till the waterfalls stole
the anger PORTLAND
I
remember the debate
An orchid in a stream
The buildings are bright
Did
we always have to meet
Under such strain, I can't say
But it is heavenly
and gray Looks like rain today
Covering
all of Portland It is hot when you go South
You
said, "We should catch a train"
You wanted songs about angels
You
wanted to catch the thief
The girls
Cannot respond to me
All this self-pity
Too
much, I am happy
All your self-pity
I guess you just want songs about angels Looks
like sun today
Covering all of Portland
Looks like sun today
Covering
all of Portland You tore a picture from a magazine
Your
friend told me you were once
The small town beauty queen The
cab has blown its horn
Can you feel the tension
That's from separation
Nobody
is bad
No one did anything wrong
So we can head south to San Fran STATE
PARK Hold
up
I need to be happy
Clock is sluggish
Calendar is fast
Stop the
monorail
I think this is my stop
Call my bluff?
Take me from this park She
said
She needs the essentials
Sometimes
She seems plain mental
I
said I don't have it
But she grab bags it
Take me from this park Did
Cowpoke tales make you
Wonder why you weren't more insane?
Did Holy Rollers
put that crazy
Celestial stuff in the brain
I gotta leave the State Park Slums
and riches right next to each other
That played on Jake
He took a flight
He
saved the receipt
He's just like you but different than me
Take me from
this park Did Cowpoke tales make you
Wonder
why you weren't more insane?
Did Holy Rollers put that crazy
Celestial stuff
in the brain
I gotta leave the State Park (Whoo!)(Start
it up)(Whoo)(Whoo)
(Round 'em up)
(Whoo!) I
stay up late
She wakes up so early
I think they are coming
Jake told
me about the noon hour
His lunches were memorable Lazy
Lauren
Jibber-jabbered on the desk
Rome was pulled apart
Look at all
the art?
Okay, now we're done Did Cowpoke
tales make you
Wonder why you weren't more insane?
Did Holy Rollers put
that crazy
Celestial stuff in the brain
I gotta leave the State Park Celestial
stuff in the dark
I gotta leave the State Park
Celestial stuff in the dark
I
gotta leave the State Park GYMNASTICS
Tommy,
all these hours
In the gymnasium add up
I feel so strong but it won't be
long
Until I fall
I am not invincible
But I am flexible Tommy,
My
game is not up
I am strong and young
But things get tough
Is it worth
the sacrifice
Can you give some advice? Gymnastics
are pulling me two ways
One for twists and one for fists
Swinging around,
Looking for places to fall
Gymnastics pinned me to a wall Tommy,
to be honest
I can't say how long I will last
My trophy room's full
And
my dreams feel null
But I'm swinging still
Some talc on my hands and I go,
go, go
For another round Gymnastics are
pulling me two ways
One for twists and one for fists
Swinging around,
Looking
for places to fall
Gymnastics pinned me to a wall I
took a pushpin
And I jammed it in
The poster was stuck on the wall
I'm
not hurt but I'm out of breath
I'm prepared for the fall Tommy Gymnastics
are pulling me two ways
One for twists and one for fists
Swinging around,
looking for places to fall
Gymnastics pinned me to a wall
Gymnastics
pinned me
Gymnastics pinned me SPACE
DANCE How
many times do I yell out your name
Before you respond to me?
How many times
do I say it real plain
Before you say you agree?
How many times do I do
the space dance
Before you can do the boogie?
Take a chance, take a change,
take a chance
On the space dance How many
beats do you need to hear
Before you move to the floor?
How many horn lines
need to hit your ears
Before you bust open the door?
How many times must
the round be cleared
Before we know what's in store?
Take a chance, take
a change, take a chance
On the space dance
HOUSE
OF HOLLIS Loops
in the New York fiction
A brothel was bursting
We played with magic markers
Mother Mary told me I was saved My uncle
was a boxer
My aunt played bluegrass
My brother lost at blackjack
Took
a bus to Hollis, Queens A bluesman needs his
jawbone
A bluesman needs a bed
I think there's satisfaction
Stored in
the car trunk So tell me, what is your rock
Tell
what is your role
Did we do anything to deserve
What we found in Hollis,
Queens? I am leaving in the morning
I am
tramming on a train
I am trammeled, I am open
I was punctured by the rain Theodore
was pushing pavement
Alastair was riding rails
All the lonely saboteurs
Were holding Hollis sales CATCH
ME WHEN I FALL Oil
man, he's an oil man, he's married and staid
The girl has soft hands, a white
pirate shirt She was down near the marina
There
were twisting ballerinas
There was a large sandbox
And all those theater
folks, those dancers
Were erased by the wind Pundits
need their soapboxes
Tickets are torn, eyes look forlorn
I had 20 dollars
on the first
I lost 30 dollars on the last Ernest
plays in earnest
Hear the reelin' rockaphone
Ernestine sings hymns
Into
her 20-dollar dicatphone The words didn't come
out right
The dark sea was rolling
There were throngs
And you were swaying Catch
me, catch me when I fall
Make the separations that you must
Patch me up
when I've been mauled
Make decisions you can trust Oil
man, he's an oil man, he's married and staid
The girls has soft hands, a white
pirate shirt She was down near the marina
There
were twisting ballerinas
There was a large sandbox
And all those theater
folks, those dancers
Were erased by the wind I'LL
LET YOU REST When
the hour is late
And the night is deep
I will hold you and keep you safe
I
will let you sleep Put your head on my chest
I
will let you rest When the fables end
And
the words don't mend
The broken heart you feel
I will let you heal Put
your head on my chest
I will let you rest
BORA
BORA SERENADE I
felt the wild, wild wind
I took a rough, rough path
I met a tan, tan girl
Among
the tall, tall grass
She said she knew some things
and she'd be happy to
teach
So we laid down on the grass
And disappeared among the leaves And
I said
How can you know when you're lost and when you're found?
How can
you know which way is up and which is down?
When I am old I will know what
I know
Now I'm young and I climb the mountain
When the sun disappears
Will
it all become clear? She said when long, long
days
Lead to dark, dark nights
And lonesome riverboats
Turn off their
dim, dim lights
You can feel free to start anew
My father walked on sand
He
disappeared in the grass
He lost himself in the wind
And then he found a
new path And she said
Only you can know
when you're lost and when you're found
Only you know which way is up and which
is down?
When you are old you will know what you know
Now you're young so
climb the mountain
And when the sun disappears
You can see what becomes
clear
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