Andrew Bird - Weather Systems + Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production Of Eggs + Fingerlings 1&2 Live Recordings [compilation] (2006) by Andrew Bird (보컬) on maniadb.com

I was getting ready to be a threat
I was getting set for my
accidental suicide
the kind where no one dies
no one looks too surprised
then you realize
that you're riding on a para-success
of a heavy-handed metaphor
and a feeling like you've been here before
because you've been here before
and you've been here before
then a word washed ashore
a word washed ashore
then a word washed ashore

sovay, sovay,sovay
all along the day

I was getting ready to consider my next plan of attack
I think I'm gonna sack
the whole board of trustees
all those Don Quixotes un their B-17s
and I swear this time
yeah this time
they'll blow us back to the 70's
and this time
they're playin Ride of the Valkyries
with no semblance of grace or ease
and they're acting on vagaries
with their violent proclivities
and they're playing ride
Ride of the Valkyries
sovay,sovay,sovay
all along the day

Overprescribed
Under the mister
We had survived to
Turn on the History Channel
And ask our esteemed panel
Why are we alive?
And here's how they replied
You're what happens when two substances collide
And by all accounts you really should have died

Stretched out on a tarmac
Six miles south of North Platte
He can't stand to look back
At sixteen tons of HAZMAT
It's what goes undelivered
Undelivered
Boom boom boom boom boom

It's a nervous tic motion of the head to the left
It's a nervous tic motion of the head to the left
Of the what, of the head to the left
So exercise yourselves to your bereft
'Cause it's a nervous tic motion of the head to the left of the, of the, to the

Splayed out on a bath mat
Six miles north of South Platte
He just wants his life back
What's in that paper knapsack
It's what goes undelivered
Undelivered

It's a nervous tic motion of the head to the left
A nervous tic motion of the head
Head to the left
It's a nervous tic motion of the, of the, to the
Left

It's a nervous tic motion of the head to the, of the, of the head of the head to the

Over imbibed
Under the mister
Barely alive we cover the blisters in flannel
Though the words we speak are banal
Now one of them's a lie
Now one of them's a lie
You're what happens when two substances collide
And by all accounts you really should have died

My dewy-eyed Disney bride, what has tried
Swapping your blood with formaldehyde?
Monsters?
Whiskey-plied voices cried fratricide!
Jesus don't you know that you could've died
(you should've died)
With the monsters that talk, monsters that walk the earth

And she's got red lipstick and a bright pair of shoes
And she's got knee high socks, what to cover a bruise
She's got an old death kit she's been meaning to use
She's got blood in her eyes, in her eyes for you
She's got blood in her eyes for you

Certain fads, stripes and plaids, singles ads
They run you hot and cold like a rheostat, I mean a thermostat
So you bite on a towel
Hope it won't hurt too bad

My dewy-eyed Disney bride, what has tried
Swapping your blood with formaldehyde?
What monsters that talk, monsters that walk the earth

And she says, "I like long walks and sci-fi movies
If you're six foot tall and east coast bred
Some lonely night we can get together
And I'm gonna tie your wrists with leather
And drill a tiny hole into your head"

Get out your measuring cups and we'll play a new game
Come to the front of the class and we'll measure your brain
We'll give you a complex and we'll give it a name

Get out your measuring cups and we'll play a new game
Can't have the cream when the crop and the cream are the same
Liquid or gas no more than the glass will contain

When you talk about the hand of glory
A tale that's rather grim and gory
Is it just another children's story that's been de-clawed?
When the tales of brothers Grimm and Gorey have been outlawed

I think they're gonna make you start over
You don't want to start over
Put your backpack on your shoulder
Be the good little soldier
Take your places now
'Cause we're all predisposed

Measuring cups, play a new game
Front of the class, measure your brain
Give you a complex and we'll give it a name

When you talk about the hand of glory
A tale that's rather grim and gory
Is it just another children's story that's been de-clawed?
When the tales of brothers Grimm and Gorey have been outlawed

Put your backpack on your shoulder
Be the good little soldier
It's no different when you're older
You're predisposed
That's all for questions now
The case is closed!

There's one guy I'd like to thank
He signs the checks and leaves them blank
He's the one
He says you don't have to walk a plank
The game is rigged, go fig your
Slide show tanked
And your flagship sank
So we're taking all our myths to the bank
So just don't forget who to thank
We're taking our myths to the
Drinking a fifth to the
We're taking all our myths to the bank
If you could just do him this favor
Although it might involve child labor
Join his entourage
Give him a foot massage
From Star Search to the Philharmonic
He'll get you there with Hooked on Phonics
He's the one to know
Doesn't matter if you blow ? no no
In fact it's just the thing
He thinks we're needing
It's a lukewarm liquid diet
They're force feeding
When the words we use have lost their bite
Now they hit you like an imaginary pillow fight
But it's all right
Cause you're inside
And you're in tight
Deals in commodities of the abstract sort
Buys them in bulk but sells them short
Talent, genius, love even signs of affection
He floods the market there's no price protection
And when his master plan is unfurled
There stands a handsome bid on the weather systems of the world

well you sure didn't look like you were having any fun
with that heavy-metal gaze they'll have to measure in tons
and when you look up at the sky
all you see are zeros
all you see are zeros and ones
you took my hand and led me down to watch the kewpie doll parade
we let the kittens lick our hair and drank our chalky lemonade
it's not that I just didn't care I must admit I was afraid
and I'm awfully glad my finger's resting gently on the masterfade
the masterfade
I coulda played along
the masterfade
I coulda played Mah Jongg
but it just takes too long
and I just can't remember
which way the east wind blows does it matter?
if we're all matter
what's it matter does it matter
if we're all matter when we're done?
when the sky is full of zeros and ones
I saw you standing all alone in the electrostatic rain
I thought at last I'd found a situation you can't explain
with GPS you know it's all just a matter of degrees
your happiness won't find you underneath that canopy of trees
if the green grass is 6 the soybeans are 7
the junebugs are 8 the weeds and thistles are 11
and if the 1s just hold their place the 0s make a smiley face
when they come floating down from the heavens
you took my hand and led me down to watch a papillon parade
we let the kittens lick our hair and drank our chalky lemonade
you squeezed my hand and told me softly that I shouldn't be afraid
'cause all the while your finger's resting gently on the masterfade
the masterfade
I coulda played along
the masterfade
I coulda played Mah Jongg
but it just takes too long
and who the hell can remember
which way the east wind blows
when you're lying on the ground
staring up at an inverted compass
I mean Christ who knows?

I got home this morning with the sun right in my eyes
And there was no warning as it took me by surprise as it
Hit me like an Act of God, causing my alarm
That I had not become a cephalopod
I still had legs and arms
Yes I still had legs and arms

Today was supposed to be the day
Molecules decide to change their form
Laws of physics lose their sway
Youthful indiscretion now is suddenly the norm
With the good kids sprouting horns, yeah yeah
And today was supposed to be

Not just another day
Today was supposed to be
Not just another day
Was supposed to be, today was supposed to be
Opposite day

Those that can't quite function in society at large
They're going to wake up on this morning and find that they're in charge
But those the world's set up for, who are really doing quite well
They're going to wake up in institutions
In prison or in hell
Prison or in hell

Today was supposed to be the day
Molecules decide to change their form
Laws of physics lose their sway
Youthful indiscretion now is suddenly the norm
With the good kids sprouting horns, yeah yeah
And today was supposed to be

Not just another day
Today was supposed to be
Not just another day
Today was supposed to be
Not just another day
Today was supposed to be
Not just another day
It was supposed to be, today was supposed to be
Opposite day

But if you think there's something else
Well you're right, there is
There's something else
But if you think I'm gonna tell you, think again
Why should I even think of telling you what there is
Yeah, 'cause silence is knowledge
And knowledge is power
I'm under explicit orders to dare not speak its name
Listen up, I just work here
Oh I dare not speak its name
I can't keep talking about it
Oh, I dare not speak its name

my skin is
white as parchment
drier than a downtown office building
where the air is tight
there's time spent
resting on her bones
waiting for the telephone to ring
ba-ring ba-ring ba-ring . . .
bo-ring bo-ring bo-ring . . .

my skin is
cold as her toes on the bathroom floor
run back to bed and slam the door
oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound
oh what a lovely sound
oh what a lovely...

skin is my
it's the only thing
that doesn't really fly in my land
and love, oh love
is my love is
it's the only thing that
butterfly in Thailand

let it be printed on every t-shirt in this land
on the finest of cottons and the hippest of brands
in bolder letters than the capital I
it's the only thing, it's the only thing
it's the only lonely, whoa

my skin is
white as parchment
drier than a downtown office building
where the air is tight
there's time spent
waiting for that
macrame bird of prey
to come down and sing
la-ling la-ling la-ling...
oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound

oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound
oh, oh what a lovely sound

You remind me of you
The way you shot right through and how

You broke my window glass,
Fast, it happened so fast
I have to confess that I
That I was impressed that I
That I was impressed that I

Despite all the mess and the broken glass
I was impressed

Here's where I disappeared
Where I fell off the pier
And to be rescued I did wait
I watched waterbugs skate
As they draw figure eights as they draw
From the bottom of the lake as they draw
I watched waterbugs skate as they draw
From the bottom of the lake I watched waterbugs skate

Memories, like mohair sweaters,
Stretched and pilled faux distressed letters
Moose's horns and figure eights
White plastic bags in search of mates
What suffocates the land
In the memory of a garbage can
Memory of a garbage can

But you, you can't be found when the bell rings
You weren't there that day for the naming of things

The naming of things
The naming of things

Where the homeroom bell rings
The homeroom bell

Hey, just look at the mess you made today
Didn't really think it would get this bad
Hey, feel like you're living in a Russian play
Where it seems like you made everybody mad

You remind me of you
When you shot through
And broke my window glass
It happened so fast
I have to confess
I was impressed, I was impressed
despite all the mess and the broken glass
I was impressed

those that will judge
will say you're aloof
but you know the truth is a seed
you know what you need
is a conflagration
cause when I see your blood
and the bits of your broken tooth
it gives me the proof that I need
it's the proof that you bleed
and it's a revelation
it's a revelation
I thought you were a life-sized paper doll
propped up in the hardware store
propped up on the front lawn watching the parade
of the legionnaires with 2/4s
marching off to wars
I didn't know what you were made of
color of your blood what you're afraid of
are you made of calcium or are you carbon based
cause if you're made of calcium I'll have to take a taste
calcium is deadly, but tender to the tooth
but it's one sure-fire way to know if you're mx-missile proof
or if you're just aloof
and you were in the ground in late November
though the leaves and earth were damp
did you think they would remember
how you almost made state champ
and when you're running for the game against Alfonsus
and you fell up on the ground and chipped your tooth
that might really have surprised us
to learn that maybe you weren't really mx-missiles proof

if we can call them friends we can call them on red telephones
and they won't pretend that they're too busy or they're not alone
if we can call them friends we can call
holler at 'em down these hallowed halls
just don't let the human factor fail to be a factor at all

don't
don't you worry
about the atmosphere
or any sudden pressure change

'cause I know
that it's starting
to get warm in here
and things are
starting to get strange

and did you
did you see how
all our friends were there
drinkin' roses from the can

how
how I wish I
I had talked to them
and wished they
fit into my plan

and we were tired of being mild
oh so tired of being mild
we were so tired

I know we're gonna meet someday in the crumbled financial institutions of this land
there will be tables and chairs
pony rides and dancing bears
there'll even be a band
'cause listen after the fall there'll be no more countries
no currencies at all
we're gonna live on our wits
throw away survival kits
trade butterfly knives for adderal
and that's not all
woah!
there will be snacks, there will
there will be snacks!

When I wake up
In the morning
I pour the coffee
Read the paper
Then I slowly
And so softly
Do the dishes
Feed the fishes
Sing me Happy Birthday
Sing it like it's going to be your last day
Like it's halleujah
Don't just let it pass on through ya
It's a giant among cliches
And that's why I want you to sing it anyway
Sing me Happy Birthday
Cause hell what's it all about
Anyway
Sing me Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday
Like it's gonna be your last day
Here on earth

then it was dusk in Illinois
a small boy, after an afternoon of carting dung hung
on a rail fence, a sapped thing
weary to crying

dark was growing tall
he began to hear the pond frogs all calling on his ear
they were calling on his ears with what seemed their joy

soon the sound was pleasant for a boy
listening in the smoky dusk and nightfall of illinois
and from the fields two small boys came
bearing cornstalk violins
so they rubbed the cornstalk bows with resins
and the three just sat there scraping of the joy
of their joy, they're scraping of the joy

it was now fine music
the frogs and the boys did
in the towering illinois twilight make and into dark
in spite a shoulder's ache
a boy's hunched body loved out of a stalk
the first song of his happiness
and the song woke his heart into the darkness and sadness of joy

dark was growing tall
he began to hear the pond frogs all calling on his ear
they were calling on his ear with what seemed their joy

Now if you think I'm wasting your time again
I'm wasting your time
When you pick me up in duty free
That's when I thought I'd be the cross in your T
Or must see TV

Tram pam pam pam, but
If you think I'm wasting your time again
No, oh, you're wasting mine
When you're playing for a prime-time dream
The CNB scene
Now I'm just a split in your seam the I in your team

Oooh please don't get too excited
Oooh maybe you're not invited
To my action adventure
My action adventure dream

So when you think you're on the fast track
You find it's just a cul-de-sac back
In that adult lifestyle community
Where all your little boys, your action toys are duty free

Oooh please don't get too excited
Ooooh maybe you're not invited
To my action adventure
My action adventure dream

So I wonder what you got your persona for
Cause there's a 2-for-one down at the corner-store
And I wonder could ya pep it up a bit
You know throw a fit
You go ahead and dance
I'll just sit

If you think I'm wasting your time again
I'm wasting your time again
oh, you're wasting mine
When you're playing for a prime-time dream
The CNB scene
Now I'm just a split in your seam the I in your team

So I'm looking at the back of my hand again
Oh, I'm looking at the back of my hand again,
To what end if I can't even find a goddamn pen

I was getting ready to be a threat
I was getting set for my
accidental suicide
the kind where no one dies
no one looks too surprised
then you realize
that you're riding on a para-success
of a heavy-handed metaphor
and a feeling like you've been here before
because you've been here before
and you've been here before
then a word washed ashore
a word washed ashore
then a word washed ashore

sovay, sovay,sovay
all along the day

I was getting ready to consider my next plan of attack
I think I'm gonna sack
the whole board of trustees
all those Don Quixotes un their B-17s
and I swear this time
yeah this time
they'll blow us back to the 70's
and this time
they're playin Ride of the Valkyries
with no semblance of grace or ease
and they're acting on vagaries
with their violent proclivities
and they're playing ride
Ride of the Valkyries
sovay,sovay,sovay
all along the day

then it was dusk in Illinois
a small boy, after an afternoon of carting dung hung
on a rail fence, a sapped thing
weary to crying

dark was growing tall
he began to hear the pond frogs all calling on his ear
they were calling on his ears with what seemed their joy

soon the sound was pleasant for a boy
listening in the smoky dusk and nightfall of illinois
and from the fields two small boys came
bearing cornstalk violins
so they rubbed the cornstalk bows with resins
and the three just sat there scraping of the joy
of their joy, they're scraping of the joy

it was now fine music
the frogs and the boys did
in the towering illinois twilight make and into dark
in spite a shoulder's ache
a boy's hunched body loved out of a stalk
the first song of his happiness
and the song woke his heart into the darkness and sadness of joy

dark was growing tall
he began to hear the pond frogs all calling on his ear
they were calling on his ear with what seemed their joy

We're keeping busy yeah we're bleeding stones
With our machinations and our palindromes
Anything but hear a voice
Anything but hear a voice
Anything but hear a voice
That says we're basically alone
Says we're basically alone

We're keeping busy yeah we're bleeding stones
With our machinations and our palindromes
Anything but hear a voice
That says we're basically alone
Says we're basically alone
Says we're basically alone

We're keeping busy yeah we're bleeding stones
With our machinations and our palindromes
Anything but hear a voice
Anything but hear a voice
That says we're basically alone
Says we're basically alone
Says we're basically alone

being alone it can be quite romantic
like Jacques Cousteau underneath the Atlantic
a fantastic voyage to parts unknown
going to depths where the sun's never shone
and I fascinate myself when I'm alone

so I go a little overboard but hang on to the hull
while I'm airbrushing fantasy art on a life
that's really kind of dull
oh, I'm in a lull

I'm all for moderation but sometimes it seems
moderation itself can be a kind of extreme
so I joined the congregation
I joined the softball team
I went in for my confirmation
where incense looks like steam
I start conjugating proverbs
where once there were nouns
this whole damn rhyme scheme's starting to get me down

Oh, I'm in a lull
I'm in a lull

being alone it can be quite romantic
like jacques cousteau underneath the atlantic
a fantastic voyage to parts unknown
going to depths where the sun's never shone
and I fascinate myself when I'm alone

I'm rambling on rather self consciously
while I'm stirring these condiments into my tea
and I think I'm so lame
I bet I think this song's about me
don't I don't I don't I?

I'm in a lull

now if you think im wasting your time again
im wasting your time
when you pick me up in duty free
thats when i thought id be the cross in your t
or must see tv

but if you think im wasting your time again
no, youre wasting mine
when youre playing for a prime-time dream
the c n b scene
now im just another split in your seam the i in your team

ooo please dont get too excited
oooo maybe youre not invited to my action adventure
my action adventure dream

so when you think youre on the fast track
you find its just a cul-de-sac back
in that adult lifestyle community
where all your little boys, your action toys are duty free

ooo please dont get too excited
oooo maybe youre not invited to my action adventure
my action adventure dream

so i wonder what you got your persona for
cause theres a 2-for-one down at the corner-store
and i wonder could ya pep it up a bit
you know throw a fit
you go ahead and dance
ill just sit

but if you think im wasting your time again
no, youre wasting mine
when youre playing for a prime-time dream
the c n b scene
now im just another split in your seam the i in your team

so im looking at the back of my hand again
im looking at the back of my hand again
to what end if i cant even find a goddamn pen

my skin is
white as parchment
drier than a downtown office building
where the air is tight
there's time spent
resting on her bones
waiting for the telephone to ring
ba-ring ba-ring ba-ring . . .
bo-ring bo-ring bo-ring . . .

my skin is
cold as her toes on the bathroom floor
run back to bed and slam the door
oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound
oh what a lovely sound
oh what a lovely...

skin is my
it's the only thing
that doesn't really fly in my land
and love, oh love
is my love is
it's the only thing that
butterfly in Thailand

let it be printed on every t-shirt in this land
on the finest of cottons and the hippest of brands
in bolder letters than the capital I
it's the only thing, it's the only thing
it's the only lonely, whoa

my skin is
white as parchment
drier than a downtown office building
where the air is tight
there's time spent
waiting for that
macrame bird of prey
to come down and sing
la-ling la-ling la-ling...
oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound

oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound
oh, oh what a lovely sound

quiet
quiet down she said
speaking to the back of his head
on the edge of her bed
I can see your blood flow
your cells grow

hold still a while
don't spill the wine
I can see it all from here
I can see
I can see
weather systems of the world

and every time you turn the soil
another cloud begins to boil

some things you say
are not for sale
I would hold that we're
all free agents
of a substance or scale

hold still a while
don't spill the wine
I can see it all from here
I can see
I can see
weather systems of the world

whenever paul thinks of rain,
swallows fall in a wave and tap on his window with their beaks
whenever paul thinks of snow,
soft winds blow round his head and his phone rings just once
late at night-like a bird calling out,
"wake up, paul. don't be scared.
don't believe you're all alone."
"wake up, paul," whisper clouds rolling by and the seeds
falling softly from the branches of the trees.

I said no, don't worry
no, please don't worry
no, don't worry
see what the Lord has done

just keep your lamp all trimmed and burning
keep your lamp trimmed and burning
keep your lamp all trimmed and burning
see what the Lord has done

I said no, don't worry
no no don't worry
no, don't worry
she what the Lord has done

just keep your lamp ...ed and and burning
keep your lamp all trimmed and burning
keep your lamp ...ed and burning
oh, see what the Lord has

My pitiful sorrows have seen more tomorrows than yours
My rain really pours
At least more than yours
At least more than yours

In the depths of my sadness there's a beautiful madness you see
It's right here on my sleeve
You must not believe
I can see you just don't believe

So I really have to say it's all just so romantic
Cause I've seen the others try and they just seem pedantic

Cause when it comes to misery
When it comes to misery
When it comes to misery
No one competes with me

My sweeping emotions have spanned the great oceans
From this fifty foot wave I just can't be saved
O don't even try
I can't be saved

My pitiful sorrows have seen more tomorrows than yours
My rain really pours
At least more than yours
At least more than yours

So I really have to say it's all just so romantic
Cause I've seen the others try and they just seem pedantic

Cause when it comes to misery
When it comes to misery
When it comes to misery
No one competes with me

Give her a red lipstick and a bright pair of shoes
A new bob haircut and a shot of good booze
her/(hurry?) down-sweet daddy, I’m blowing your horn
oh if you come too late
no no, your mama' will be gone

come along young man, everything's sitting right here
my husband's gone away till next Saturday night
her/(hurry?) down-sweet daddy, I’m blowing your horn
oh if you come too late
no no, your mama' will be gone

I’m round-a-go, red shoes on my feet
got my mind set right for ten years at sea
her/(hurry?) down-sweet daddy, I’m blowing your horn
if you come too late
no no, your mama' will be gone

yeah cause the red rooster says "cock-a-doodle do do"
the wishing woman says "and a doodle do"
her/(hurry?) down-sweet daddy, I’m blowing your horn
if you come too late
no no, your mama' will be gone
one more time

red rooster says "cock-a-doodle do do"
the wishing woman says "and a doodle do"
her/(hurry?) down-sweet daddy, I’m blowing your horn
if you come too late
no no, your mama' will be gone

if you come too late
your mama' will be gone

When I was a little boy I threw away my action toys
I became obsessed with operation

with Hearts and minds and certain glands
You learn to keep a steady hand
And thus began a morbid fascination with...

sweetbreads, I could taste what you were thinking
sweetbreads, that's the taste of neurons thinking

Do you wonder where the self resides
Is it in your head or between your sides
And who's going to decide its true location?
cause it's a question for the centuries
from communion to mad cow disease
but is it worthy of a song - all life's location?

oh and the sweetest sweetbread of them all within the kingdom of afar
call them thoughts and metaphor-inations
they call them

sweetbreads, I could taste what you were thinking
sweetbreads, that's the taste of neurons thinking

does the thought of bowels red and black
the thought of tongues that taste you back fill you with a nauseous elation
where a simple trip to the grocery store could fill you with an abject horror
can you taste the misery of those crustaceans?

oh and the sweetest sweetbread of them all
within the kingdom of afar should've caused some silent machinations
they call them

sweetbreads, I could taste what you were thinking
sweetbreads, that's the taste of neurons thinking
aw, I could taste what you were thinking
oh, give me your thoughts about sweetbread

I was walking
With my feet
A disposition
Fell over me

The armory wall was bleeding
The restless child was reading

I was swimming
Could hardly stand
The swimming hour was at hand
The fishes they were feeding
The lambs they were bleating

I walk slowly
When I walk away from you

I'm feeling bad
I'm looking bad
I feel and look so bad
Some might say
Yours truly is soaking his head

There's apprehension
And inhibition
All contributions
To my attrition
And it happened long ago
These things these things
That make me walk so darn slow

my skin is
white as parchment
drier than a downtown office building
where the air is tight
there's time spent
resting on her bones
waiting for the telephone to ring
ba-ring ba-ring ba-ring . . .
bo-ring bo-ring bo-ring . . .

my skin is
cold as her toes on the bathroom floor
run back to bed and slam the door
oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound
oh what a lovely sound
oh what a lovely...

skin is my
it's the only thing
that doesn't really fly in my land
and love, oh love
is my love is
it's the only thing that
butterfly in Thailand

let it be printed on every t-shirt in this land
on the finest of cottons and the hippest of brands
in bolder letters than the capital I
it's the only thing, it's the only thing
it's the only lonely, whoa

my skin is
white as parchment
drier than a downtown office building
where the air is tight
there's time spent
waiting for that
macrame bird of prey
to come down and sing
la-ling la-ling la-ling...
oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound

oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound
oh how it shakes the ground
oh what a lovely sound
oh, oh what a lovely sound

well you sure didn't look like you were having any fun
with that heavy-metal gaze they'll have to measure in tons
and when you look up at the sky
all you see are zeros
all you see are zeros and ones
you took my hand and led me down to watch the kewpie doll parade
we let the kittens lick our hair and drank our chalky lemonade
it's not that I just didn't care I must admit I was afraid
and I'm awfully glad my finger's resting gently on the masterfade
the masterfade
I coulda played along
the masterfade
I coulda played Mah Jongg
but it just takes too long
and I just can't remember
which way the east wind blows does it matter?
if we're all matter
what's it matter does it matter
if we're all matter when we're done?
when the sky is full of zeros and ones
I saw you standing all alone in the electrostatic rain
I thought at last I'd found a situation you can't explain
with GPS you know it's all just a matter of degrees
your happiness won't find you underneath that canopy of trees
if the green grass is 6 the soybeans are 7
the junebugs are 8 the weeds and thistles are 11
and if the 1s just hold their place the 0s make a smiley face
when they come floating down from the heavens
you took my hand and led me down to watch a papillon parade
we let the kittens lick our hair and drank our chalky lemonade
you squeezed my hand and told me softly that I shouldn't be afraid
'cause all the while your finger's resting gently on the masterfade
the masterfade
I coulda played along
the masterfade
I coulda played Mah Jongg
but it just takes too long
and who the hell can remember
which way the east wind blows
when you're lying on the ground
staring up at an inverted compass
I mean Christ who knows?

There's one guy I'd like to thank
He signs the checks and leaves them blank
He's the one
He says you don't have to walk a plank
The game is rigged, go fig your
Slide show tanked
And your flagship sank
So we're taking all our myths to the bank
So just don't forget who to thank
We're taking our myths to the
Drinking a fifth to the
We're taking all our myths to the bank
If you could just do him this favor
Although it might involve child labor
Join his entourage
Give him a foot massage
From Star Search to the Philharmonic
He'll get you there with Hooked on Phonics
He's the one to know
Doesn't matter if you blow ? no no
In fact it's just the thing
He thinks we're needing
It's a lukewarm liquid diet
They're force feeding
When the words we use have lost their bite
Now they hit you like an imaginary pillow fight
But it's all right
Cause you're inside
And you're in tight
Deals in commodities of the abstract sort
Buys them in bulk but sells them short
Talent, genius, love even signs of affection
He floods the market there's no price protection
And when his master plan is unfurled
There stands a handsome bid on the weather systems of the world

those that will judge
will say you're aloof
but you know the truth is a seed
you know what you need
is a conflagration
cause when I see your blood
and the bits of your broken tooth
it gives me the proof that I need
it's the proof that you bleed
and it's a revelation
it's a revelation
I thought you were a life-sized paper doll
propped up in the hardware store
propped up on the front lawn watching the parade
of the legionnaires with 2/4s
marching off to wars
I didn't know what you were made of
color of your blood what you're afraid of
are you made of calcium or are you carbon based
cause if you're made of calcium I'll have to take a taste
calcium is deadly, but tender to the tooth
but it's one sure-fire way to know if you're mx-missile proof
or if you're just aloof
and you were in the ground in late November
though the leaves and earth were damp
did you think they would remember
how you almost made state champ
and when you're running for the game against Alfonsus
and you fell up on the ground and chipped your tooth
that might really have surprised us
to learn that maybe you weren't really mx-missiles proof

All alone now, guess I'm satisfied
All alone now, guess I'm satisfied

Lil' bit older now, guess I'm satisfied

What a dream life would seem
If only they'd let you keep your etch-a-sketch

What a dream life would seem
If only they'd let you keep your etch-a-sketch

Elder Green is dead and gone
Lost his way going to town
Don't know who he is or what he's done
But it sure sounds sweet rolling off the tongue
Yeah it sure sounds sweet rolling off the tongue

If I was in an old hotel
That happened to be on fire
Maybe I'd jump or
Maybe I'd reconsider
Then I'd climb a little higher

Like an oily rag
In a dusty corner
Like a box of matches near an open flame
I'd jump 18 stories from a burning fire
Sooner than I'd face this world of shame
Yeah I'd skip this town and
Jump a westbound train

Take these fingerlings from my fingers
Spoken with your breath
With white-washed eyes
And flies that linger
Seems rather forlorn and bereft

I said where you goin' with that sack on your shoulder Willie
As if I couldn't have guessed
He says I'm gonna get the hell
Out of Slag Valley and take a little stroll way out west

If I was in an old hotel
That happened to be on fire
Maybe I'd jump or
Maybe I'd reconsider
Then I'd climb a little higher

Like an oily rag
In a dusty corner
Like a box of matches near an open flame
I'd get so far away
From that old matchbox hotel
Man I'd skip this town and
Jump a westbound train
Anything to get away from this shame

Take these fingerlings from my fingers
Spoken with your breath
With white-washed eyes
And flies that linger
Seems rather forlorn and bereft

I said where you goin' with that sack on your shoulder Willie
As if I couldn't have guessed
He says I'm gonna get the hell
Out of Slag Valley and take a little stroll way out west

Some day
Some happy day
Some day I'll find
I live before I die some day
Oh Lord, some day

Some day
Some happy day
Some day I'll find
The one with eyes that say those words I cannot find

I hope I live before I die some day
Oh, some day
I hope there's tears of joy I cry
Some day
Lord, some day

Some day
Some happy day
Some day I'll find
The one with eyes that say those words I cannot find