The Moonlight Highway
Roar
Wake up
Before you find another reason
To seek out your hole
Lights on
You’re sliding stoned along a river
Claw your way to shore
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Oh oh on
Come out my lion
It’s time to roar
Spring out
You’ll land upright; you’re right
You are the rightly unignored
Think now
Just still your mind; you’ll find
You’ve traded places with a lord
Gloves off
You’ll need to fight; assert your right
To seize the higher ground
Strike hard
Your tribe is tired; the time is now
So raise the beaten crowd
The Life Inside Me
It justifies me
The life I hide inside me
The one that’s real
The one I hope is mine
My late-life story
The grey on top; the glory inside
The endless meantime
The endless in-between time
The 20 hours
Each day I hold the line
Could drive me to lose it
You wait too long to choose and it’s gone
When will you know the life inside me?
When will they know? Will it bust out?
When will I know?
The face you see me show
It’s only a useful lie
Its end is coming
I hear the marchers drumming Their song’s a killer
The kind you sing at bars
About a spark that’s fading
I throw myself a wake and it dies
When will you know the life inside me?
When will they know? Will it bust out?
When will I know?
It’s like a dream, you know
It’s real ‘til I open my eyes
My life’s an album
A cautionary fable
You peel the page
In order to inscribe
A dedication
To all this generation who hide
I Waited For You
Are you lonesome? Are you sad?
I waited for you
Missing things that we had?
I waited for you
How’d you end up all alone?
I waited for you
Was this house once your home?
I waited for you
Are you hungry? Are you scared?
Were you caught unprepared?
I waited for you
Alone. The van pulled away
One last thing to retrieve?
Alone. We left anyway
What made you so easy to leave?
I waited. Waited for you
Are you searching? Or confused?
In this whole empty house, are there clues?
I waited for you
I Got It
I wake up and she’s already made the list
I think it’s tattooed on my head
It never changes but she’s gotta tell me anyway I can’t wait to be dead
“Wash the dog, dry the cat
Make a living while you’re at it
Don’t be timid, don’t act bold
Change your hair—don’t look so old
Make the bed, free your head
Do exactly what I said
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, yeah
Do it, do it…”—I wanna say:
I got it
I get it
You told me
I heard you twice the first time You don’t have to tell me again
I get to work, and my boss is nagging at me My inbox is busting at the seams
And every meeting feels like a funeral service For all my plans and dreams.
“Take that thing you did before
Do it 21 times more
Make it different, make it right
Take the client out tonight
Be a leader, know your place
Wipe that smirk right off your face…”
I want to yank off both my ears
If you find them, you can throw them away
I can’t hear you
Don’t wanna hear you
I said yeah
I go to church, hoping for a sanctuary
The preacher walks up to my pew
I tell him that my life has turned into a list Of things I gotta do. He says:
“You should lead a better life
Don’t look at your neighbor’s wife
Don’t steal, give a lot
Ten percent of what you got
Don’t expect no reward
Or I’ll report you to the Lord…”
Forget About You
If the stars are sliding from the sky
I can’t forget about you
With the hunter riding ‘cross the sky
I can’t forget about you
If the sun is rising in my eyes
I can’t forget about you
As each tear is drying in my eyes
I can’t forget about you
So why every time I walk outside my door
I forget about you
And every time I see some girl bouncing on the dance floor
I forget about you
Every time I want a little more
I forget about you
[repeat verse 2]
If the moon is melting to the ground
I can’t forget about you
As I’ve wasted every gift I’ve found
I can’t forget about you
The Impossible
Up in the penthouse
Office party getting ugly; time to make your play
One more blast of courage
And you’ll summon up the case to justify more pay
Everybody you see seems so self-absorbed Stumbling, like children in a trance
As you picture yourself moving up, always richer,
You’re in thrall to the devious sirens of circumstance
You gotta numb your mind
Have a drink and bone up your spine
You gotta grab that cash
But you’re anesthetized and talking trash
If you could choose your words
You could get across what you heard
When the pounding in your head whispered to you
And told you everyone’s in awe of how you’re
Doing the impossible
Sweating and slurring
And you’ve never looked this bad, before
But you can’t slink away
If you’re gonna grab the only thing worth grabbing for
Your eyes stand up, stretch, jump out the sockets
Do a dance on top of your hair
By the way they feel, you can tell they’re making fun of you
And everyone tries too hard not to stare
You gotta numb your mind
Another drink and bone up your spine
You gotta grab that cash
You’re anesthetized and talking trash
Your career is dying
All the mourners standing in a line
And they’re backing away from the crash they know is coming
But keeping you upright is like
Doing the impossible
Their Silent Worlds
The stars and moon can’t hide
The star- and moon-glazed shadow
That billows up inside the life they’d lead.
Tonight, she has to
Save him from
Save them from
Their silent worlds to come.
The night and black contrive
To hide her blanched face from him
Her final words arrive. He never sees
That she still loves him.
No replying
No replying
It’s his way of crying.
It’s his way of crying.
Alone, away she drives
The blackened night now owns her
Each star, the ghost of lives
They now won’t share. The moon, it scorns her
One dream dying
One dream dying
It’s her way of crying.
The Big Lawn
The boss sent word
That explains the whispers that you heard
He’s gonna ring up the boys
You know the type that he employs
Better think twice, once more
Second thoughts kept you alive before
All wised up, no doubt
It’s time that you were getting out
Shudder when you think of all the times you nearly ended up in jail
Or spinning in the ground, breaking apart like a coffin nail
You better leave a trail of dust
The only way you make it’s if you’re gone
‘Cause if you stick around
You’ll end up part of the big lawn
You’ve met his wife
If he’s a club, then she’s a knife
She likes them young
Her scorn comes dancing off her tongue
You hate her so
And still you want her more and more
Now she’s tamed. That’s true
Then word got out, and so should you.
Casting Out Your Name
Let’s play a game
Let’s say that all your fears come true
And I’m the same
As every guy who ever lied to you
I run around
I drink too much
I talk too loud
I’m such a slut
But I’ll be casting out your name
You’re scared I’ll stray
When you should know I hate the way
That strangers feel
It seems that all they ever do is say
That I’m a thief
And all your friends
Share that belief
It never ends
But I was casting out your name
As I woke the sad and obvious side of you
If it all works out the same
We shouldn’t start; we should avoid the things I do, and you do
I’ve felt like you
I’ve been a heart under attack
I lost it too, and I felt my meanness flooding back
In every face I’ll never trust
When every trace of trust is crushed
With all the dancers by the bar
They drink too much, and go too far
A Little Too Much
I’m flying ten miles high
Crash, crushed, cry
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I’ve been staring at walls
Waiting for calls
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Love comes drunk, if at all
On a late night call
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I lost a friend in that pub
To an Ivy League club
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I did a little
I did a little too much
I’ve been amassing big stones
To fight off my jones
Yeah, yeah, yeah
They’re in a canvas sack
There’s no calling them back
Yeah, yeah, yeah
My walls are made of rock
Let’s go raze the block
Yeah, yeah, yeah
You say that I’m low-class
Suck on my ass
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I hear a number of times
“Pay for your crimes”
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I’m in a lonely place
I wear an ugly face
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I flow against the crowd
Protesting too loud
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I said “Excuse me, son
I’m not too numb for fun”
Yeah, yeah, yeah
One Petty Dictator, One Master Thief
In the house on Dawn Rd. you can hear him explode every night
And she calms him with lies while she presses her thighs towards each other so tight
He stalks out the door. She breathes in once more
She runs out to get some relief.
One petty dictator, and one master thief
He comes back from his bar. No surprise that her car’s not around
When the knee hits, the face hits, the mind hits, the world hits the ground
He stumbles to bed and replays what they said
Each word is their marriage in brief.
One petty dictator, and one master thief
And he dreams of trust and comfort
The warm home they’d share
And she dreams of anywhere else
Like the towns, all the towns where she’s seen driving slowly away
He tosses all night and he hears the door crack at beginning of day
She musses her hair like she spent the night there
He bellows his disbelief
One petty dictator, and one master thief
Rewind
Welcome To San Francisco
She said, “Let’s start night now.
Why wait for the sun to fade?
Strap on your dancing shoes
Bust out in centigrade.”
Ha!
And just like that,
they’re lit by neon signs
When they first met
They hid behind politesse
She was a mess of hurt
He was a mess of mess
But every night
of his first week in town
The music and wine and the walks and the hills
And they blasted the barricades to the ground
Welcome to San Francisco
And when he awakes
Wrapped up in eiderdown
He hears each gentle breath she takes
And nestles in the sound
She sighs
They’re happy in their town
The music and wine and the walks and the hills
And they blasted the barricades to the ground
The Drinking Hole
All the salt on this table from pretzels and peanuts
Couldn’t make me any thirstier than I always am now
And the words you’d never say always turn out to mean “us”
So my ass and I have cursed you for the mercy you bestow
I’ve soaked up all your favors since I was your young man
Now I toss away your kindness the best way I can
From the time that I was old enough ‘til now, I’ve grown old
And every day, you’ll find me down at the drinking hole
Love is an assassin
Love is a barricade
Love is a lieutenant in the service of a curse
The world is filled with flotsam who will rise to the occasion
I’ll be clinging to the bottom where I’m sure to do my worst
Don’t make me say the things I ordinarily hide in a song
‘Cause today I’m ever extraordinarily wrong
From the time that I was old enough ‘til now, I’ve grown old
And every day, you’ll find me down at the drinking hole
Valentine
If I’m blasted into space
I’d take one sight
To represent the human race
In its best light
I’d choose your face, valentine
We watch the phases of the moon
On starry nights
I don’t mind waking up too soon
When you’re waking up with me, pretty valentine
Waking up with me, pretty valentine
If you leave
If you ever leave
I’ll be washed up in a well of wine
I used to live for the stars and the moon
They’ve been eclipsed by you, valentine
If I’m blessed with second sight
I’d see you twice
And when you whisper in the night
It still surprises me
When you tell me– oh
That no one kept you half as warm
And half the time
Our life is like a summer storm
I’m overwhelmed and I want more
I’m overwhelmed and I want more
And the stars shine
They array to shine
Around you, blue and white
I gotta smile
‘Cause I get to live a while
Within your arms tonight
I’m gonna be in your arms tonight
The inexactitude of fate
Chills everyone
Who loves too little, or too late
But we don’t have to wait, do we valentine?
Because they never understand
They doubt too much
We’ll just dismiss them out of hand
They’re out of touch
And running out of time
Running out of time
It’s always you, valentine
The Train To Nirvana
We sip champagne behind barred doors
No one breaks the spell by talking ’bout the war
You maintain there will be summer, at least once more
The green shades of life are all disappearing
You say they’ll be reborn in the ash at the clearing
And everyone ignores all the rumors we’re hearing
Let’s grab the train, the train to Nirvana
I hear it leaves at eight
We’ll quit our lives today if you wanna
And gather at the gate
The red ring of light at the station
extends us a warm invitation
The life we’ve been bequeathed is past
Crushed like a wedding glass
The floods rise slowly; the drowning comes fast
When the sea of sharp voices, raw and distorted,
Fill the high halls. Our discomfort has been noted.
The signs will hang, and our names will be recorded.
We’ll reach our stop and walk to the landing
And all our friends are there
They’ll tell us there’s peace beyond understanding
Music murmurs in the air
The Wild In You
In the world that we want to live in
We feel the fire, every hour
There’s music thick from every dive bar
And wine in every thundershower
Hot wind, come take us over
Float us down the avenue
The dreamer in me, beguiled
by the wild in you
The wild in you (4x)
I love the way you say my name
The way you snarl, and bite
I love my hands underneath your buttons
I love to lie with you all night
I love to take you out on the dance floor
Let’s split the floor in two
I just love to see you shake
I love the wild in you
Timber! Timber! Timber!
The years go by; they demand submission
Each day is like a teenage czar
When things get slow, I can see you’re wishing
To leap into each passing car
Don’t want to talk about it
I don’t want it to be true
I just want the plans we make
To wake the wild in you
The wild in you
The wild in you
There’s music thick around the dance floor
You shake, I’m dreaming on the dance floor
The wild in you
Timber! Timber! Timber!
(It’s A) Crime And Shame
I’d fight through fire
Plunge from the sky
To make my love clear to you
I’d turn to ash
Swim through shattered glass
Just to stay near to you
Your raft’s adrift
You’ve run aground
Call out for me, and I swear that
I’ll be around
If it’s not clear
That I’ll be here, when you say my name
It’s a crime and it’s my shame
You’ve got to see
The man you hoped I’d be
Is finally here with you
When something goes down
And you need to get the hell out of town
I’ll disappear with you
It’s hard to hear
These things I say
Cause I realize you reached out to me
And I looked away
Just watch me now
Can’t you see how much I’ve changed?
It’s a crime and it’s my shame
Once I lost my way
On my darkest day
Turned my eyes around and
there I found you
If I lose you now
Only have my mind to blame
It’s a–
The Life We Never Led
If I could get
Just five minutes of your most attentive time
You’ve got to hear me through
So come with me. I’m drawing you
The picture of our life
Please come
You’re going to want to
Lots of red wine
We’ll go where the bread is freshly baked, and warm
Our jobs won’t choke us too tight
I’ll keep it hot and I’ll fix the lights
It’s gonna feel like home
Please come
I’ll build us a great home
If you can describe
The sights, the sounds, the things you’d say
In the life we’ve never led, so far
You’ve seen my bed; you know my car
You know me too
Let’s go
You know we want to
Time Passing Blues
I’m waiting for the time to pass, but it passes slowly now
I’d like to meet the driver of the midnight train
The clock beside my bed’s too bright
I’m taking measure of the night
And like a silent trans-world flight
It passes slowly now
I’m shining in the headline of the midnight train
I’m pacing cross the kitchen floor, but I stay quiet now
Don’t wanna raise the worried family-wide alarm
I’m scared I’ll see the start of day
I’ve half a mind to stomp away
And face the fears that I keep at bay
But I stay quiet now
I guess all my mind’s resigned to riding out the storm
I’m waiting for the answer– oh, but I don’t hear it now
Don’t gotta ask—tomorrow—oh, it smells like rain
Not bad enough to make the news
Don’t have a right to call it “blues”
I’m stuck in some primordial ooze
Where I move slowly now
I’m grabbing for that open door on the midnight train
Everything I Meant To Do
I don’t expect
acknowledgement for anything I wrecked
or rent or lent to you
But when you smile
Whatever I am doing, I’m sure I stop and smile too
I wouldn’t represent
Myself as someone you’d present
To grease the way for your ascent; it’s true
But when I’m lost, lost
Then I search for you
Am I intransigent?
I don’t mean to be intransigent
And now I’ll try
to pacify the servant and the master
All wrapped up in you
If I mess it up
Just add it to the list
Of everything I meant to do
A World Without You
Another day and I wake, black and blue
I’m left to stay in a world without you
I keep my voice just as quiet as I can
I wanna wail, make a deal, make demands
I look for you, but my memory’s impaired
I walk alone through the scenes that we shared
Did I say that I love you enough?
Would twenty times every day be enough?
I loved you in the morning
I loved you in the light
I loved you in the evening
You’d grace my dreams at night
I loved you as the years rolled by
I loved you to the end
I love you even while I grieve
I can’t believe
I won’t see you again
This kind of sadness, it hides from the lights
First it sleeps, then it wakes, then it bites
The sky is grey but I see black and blue
Another day in a world without you
I loved you in the morning
I loved you in the light
I loved you in the evening
You’d grace my dreams at night
I loved you when I said goodbye
I loved you to the end
I love you even while I grieve
I can’t believe
I won’t see you again
The Drunk And The Dreamer
I need to talk to you
We said a few things
Now I need to set it right
I’m like a shaded room
You’re staring at the dark
Now I’m lending you a light
I’m not the toy you play with tonight
I’m struggling in the sea
It starts out fun until you’re spending your life
With a drunk and a dreamer in me
I wouldn’t lie to you
A little part of me
Likes a little bit of fight
You like it too
A little bit of hate
Gives love a little bite
You say life’s like a walk on the water
A walk on the water
Don’t ever look down
I’m not the toy you play with tonight
I’m struggling in the sea
It starts out fun until you’re spending your life
With a drunk and a dreamer in me
I’m not the toy you play with tonight
I’m struggling in the sea
I pull you under while I stand by your side
The drunks and the dreamers
Get Christ the Redeemer
Wake up or you end up with me
Dreamtown
On a thirsty night in Dreamtown
All the punks parade
Don’t head along
Don’t run away
And the poets resign their commissions
Now the Pope can play
On the moon with anticipation
For it’s Waltzing Day
Don’t head along
Don’t run away
Post the thirteen invitations
With the vowels in flame
Don’t head along
Don’t run away
Don’t head alone
On a thirsty night in Dreamtown
Down
Look at me, I’m in the sane room
I’ve stopped howling at the whole moon
My doctor says I might have made it through
I’ve been locked in me my whole life
Sliding slow across|along the thin knife
I remember once I saw the light
In my body, there’s a sharp song
Everybody hears it all wrong
Everybody holds me up when I’m down
A Thousand Years
I’m gonna unfriend and unfollow you
I’m gonna plug up both my ears
Until I unhear the sound of your voice
I will forget you, even if it takes a thousand years
I will forget you, even if it takes a thousand years
I’m gonna wait ’til it’s your birthday
And invite all your friends, for white dog and beers
There’s gonna be music, dancing, sex and sweat and alcohol
But you can’t come in, if you beg me for a thousand years
But you can’t come in, if you beg me for a thousand years