Aimee Mann

Thirty-one today
What a thing to say
Drinking Guinness in the afternoon
Taking shelter in the black cocoon

I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
But it's not, and I don't know where to turn

Called some guy I knew
Had a drink or two
And we fumbled as the day grew dark
I pretended that I felt a spark

I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
But it's not, and I don't know where to turn
No, it's not, and I don't know where to turn
No, it's not, and I don't know where to turn

Easter comes and goes
Maybe Jesus knows
So you roll on with the best you can
Getting loaded, watching CNN

I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
But it's not, and I don't know where to turn
No, it's not, and I don't know where to turn
No, it's not, and I don't know where to turn
No, it's not, and I don't know

It must be hard ringing the bells
Of doors that don't swing wide anymore
It must be hard hearing the sound
Of voices just inside of the door

A man who couldn't hold your coat
Once hung on every anecdote
So it must be hard watching the fellows gloat
Ballantines

It must be hard seeing the same old crowd
Just pass you by in the street
It must be tough knowing your stuff
Could only horrify the elite

You cut off everyone you know
Boy you told 'em all where to go
Now it must be hard getting the same heave-ho
Ballantines

Well, patrons at the bar in Lexington, Kentucky
Once sprung for every drink you downed
With things the way they are it's not that kind of party
If what you've got just might be going around

The fat cats won't be getting thin
Seeing the kind of jam you're in
Though the angels dance on the head of another pin

Ballantines
Ballantines
Ballantines

Get up, the needle has pricked a little finger.
She wants the beautiful child the blood will bring her.
You ask a question in the mirror.
Alas, no answer could be clearer.
Get up, get up, you're borrowing time.
Get up, get up, you're borrowing time.

Get up, a substitute artist just reprieved you
Beware the flattery ruses have deceived you.
The kings of yesterday falling,
But you'll come when destiny's calling.
Get up, get up, you're borrowing time.
Get up, get up, you're borrowing time.

I don't want anything anyway.
I was happy with what I had yesterday.
Who wants the whole weight of the world
When it'll drag you down…
Underground?

Today she's singing a song called Hallelujah
You stay, she's bringin' the poison apple to ya.
Sun's up and reveille's playing
You know what everyone's saying.
Get up, get up, you're borrowing time.
Get up, get up, you're borrowing time.
Get up, get up, you're borrowing time.
Get up, get up, you're borrowing time.

Storefront, streetcars rattle
One more losing battle
What is Columbus Avenue to you now?

Last call tattoo parlor
Deathbed sword swallower
What is Columbus Avenue to you now?

The place where you failed
To make your story go over
The place where you bailed
And let the bottom drag you under
Drag you under

Cheap shot paranoia
Exiled from Victoria
What is Columbus Avenue to you now?

The place where you failed
To make your story go over
The place where you bailed
And let the bottom drag you under
Drag you under

Where you moved with a ghastly precision
To the echoes of bones in the air
Finding hope in an X-ray division
Of a world that's not there

Cafe sinners bother you
Empty pockets follow you
What is Columbus Avenue to you now?

The place where you failed
To make your story go over
The place where you bailed
And let the bottom drag you under
Drag you under

What is Columbus Avenue to you now?

You've got a lot of money but you can't afford the freeway
The road to Orange Country leaves an awful lot of leeway
Where everyone's a doctor or a specialist in retail
They'll sell you all the speed you want if you can take the blackmail

You know it
I know it
Why don't you
Just show it
You got a lot of money but you can't afford the freeway
You got a lot of money but you can't afford the freeway

You've got a lot of money but you cannot keep your bills paid
The sacrifice is worth it just to hang around the arcade
You found yourself a prophet but you left him on the boardwalk
Another chocolate Easter bunny, hollowed out by your talk

You know it
I know it
Why don't you
Just show it
You got a lot of money but you can't afford the freeway
You got a lot of money but you can't afford the freeway

And everything I do is wrong
But at least I'm hanging on
You got a lot of money that you can't afford
You got a lot of money that you can't afford
You got a lot of money but you can't afford the freeway
You got a lot of money but you can't afford the freeway
You got a lot of money but you can't afford
You got a lot of money but you can't afford

Go, honey go -
Into the ocean
Go, honey go -
Into the great beyond
Til you're good and gone
And you can hide away for
When everything goes wrong
Honey - go

Go, honey go -
If I were you I would
Leave this neighborhood
Away from people who never
Treat you like they should
Honey - go
Go

In the woods or in the ice and snow

Where there is
No one else you know
You've really nowhere
Else to go
So honey go

Go, honey go
Cause it's a dead end street
And it's a street in a town
Where winning isn't sweet
And every win
Is the beginning of defeat
So honey - go
Go

Everything's beautiful
Every day's a holiday
The day you live without it
Everything changes up
Everything shifts and falls
Unless you care about it

But you sit there in the darkness
And you make plans but they're hopeless
And you blame God when you're lonely
And you'll call it fate
When you show up too late and it's over

Here on the boulevard
You were the golden boy
A mix of brains and muscle
That was a lucky break
Luck is a thing you make
Not just another hustle

But you sit there in the darkness
And you make plans but they're hopeless
And you blame God when you're lonely
And you'll call it fate
When you show up too late and it's over

'Cause nothing can wait forever
They don't give unlimited chances in life
They hand you the knife
And tell you to cut it or run

So baby let's fly
Baby let's run
Baby let's run

'Cause everything's beautiful
Every day's a holiday
But days are getting shorter
The moon and the stars report
The boulevard's last resort
And now your last supporter

But you sit there in the darkness
And you make plans but they're hopeless
And you blame God when you're lonely
And you'll call it fate
When you show up too late and it's over

Little tornado
Bane of the trailer park
Lifting houses
To leave your mark

Little tornado
Noah can build his ark
But he will never
Disembark

Make it go faster
Baby, go faster
Make it go twice the speed
Of you and me

Little tornado
You and the hurricane
Close your eyes and
Go campaign

Make it go faster
Baby, go faster
Make it go twice the speed
Of you and me

Oh, no, no, we don't, no, we don't know
(We don't know, we don't know)
No, no, no, we don't, no, we don't know
(We don't know, we don't know)
No, no, no, we don't, no, we don't know

Little tornado
Blew out the windowpane
Left the inside
To the rain

Make it go faster
Baby, go faster
Make it go twice the speed
Of you and me

Oh, no, no, we don't, no, we don't know
(We don't know, we don't know)
No, no, no, we don't, no, we don't know
(We don't know, we don't know)
Oh, no, no, we don't, no, we don't know

Macka wants to ride on the Mouse and the Tilt-A-Whirl
Canada is looking for a smile from a pin-up girl
But I ain't looking for nothing
Just spend the money I made
I ain't gotta do nothing today

Everybody's waiting for their thing just to come along
They all got something they can pin all their feelings on
But I ain't looking for nothing
Just spend the money I made
I ain't looking for nothing today

I got high on the Ferris Wheel
Didn't like how it made me feel
So alone
Another cog in the loading zone

Macka went on home when the fireworks and rides were done
Canada got busted with a girl who was way too young
But I wasn't looking for nothing
Not trouble, money or thrills
‘Cause when you're looking for nothing
Babe, it's not the speed that kills

Oh, I'm not looking for nothing
Just spend my money and go
I'm not looking for nothing
To put me in the rodeo

The day you left and you called me bitch
I called you selfish, better pull that switch
Put my son on amphetamines
He came home crying and there's your proof
Crying 'bout nothing but a missing tooth
I did the right thing.

You shade the truth almost everyday
Phone calls at night “it's going to be ok”
Are you saddened, baby, under the bridge?
Are you saddened, baby, on Lake Street?

Black marker on cardboard
Little drawing of a medicine wheel
But everything that's good you steal
Everything that's good you steal

Maybe you'll wake up in jail alone
And hold the handle of the one pay phone
And do the right thing
Like I once tried but I bent the truth
A five dollar dent for a little lost tooth
There's a payback in front of me
Because once you were like a walking high
Breaking in motion through the parking lot

Are you saddened, baby, under the bridge?
Are you saddened, baby, on Lake Street?

Black marker on cardboard
Little drawing of a medicine wheel
Everything that's good you steal
Everything that's good you steal

Words of encouragement are just as real
Saving my faith does have a smooth group appeal

Are you saddened, baby, under the bridge?
Are you saddened, baby, on Lake Street?

Black Marker on cardboard
Little drawing of a medicine wheel
Everything that's good you steal
Everything that's good you steal
Everything that's good you steal
From me

Got out of Phoenix, just in time
A box of kleenex, for the ride
The tumbleweeds said, their goodbyes
To javelinas and DUIs

I don't want to abandon you but baby I've had my fill
You love me like a dollar bill
You roll me up and trade me in
And if you had the chance you will
And if you get the chance again

It's hard to know when to cut and run
You balance heartache with your fun
And when the scales tip, you know you're done

I don't want to abandon you but baby I've had my fill
You love me like a dollar bill
You roll me up and trade me in
And if you had the chance you will
And if you get the chance again

Cos I know love doesn't change anything at all
I know love doesn't change a thing

I wanted to believe in you and baby I believe it still
Baby I've just had my fill
You love me like a dollar bill
You roll me up and trade me in
And if you have the chance you will
And if you get the chance again
I know you'll do the best you can

But baby love doesn't change anything at all
I know love doesn't change a thing

I turned Stranger into Starman
In the Sunday New York Times
Like Anne Sexton with her star rats
Working backwards till it rhymes

For the love of God you can't tell me again
For the love of God you can't tell me again

With a pencil and eraser I've rewritten all your crimes
I turned Stranger into Starman
In the Sunday New York Times

Nightly you retrace your steps again to return to the scene of the crime
It's uncanny how you hover in the air over the wreckage that you left behind

I want you but you're a poltergeist
I want you but, baby, the price is high
I want you and now I've said it twice so Mary dim the lights

Really, when you come into the room it's not helping me, seeing you now
It's not easy, in this phosphorescent gloom, telling waking dreams apart anyhow

I want you but you're a poltergeist
I want you but, baby, the price is high
I want you and now I've said it twice so Mary dim the lights

Cups and saucers crashing in but Houdini blows the gag again
Then no one's a true believer

I want you but you're a poltergeist
I want you but, baby, the price is high
I want you and now I've said it twice so Mary dim the lights

Cups and saucers crashing in but Houdini blows the gag again

I heard the sidewalk Santa say
Merry Christmas, merry Christmas
Salvation's coming cheap today
Merry Christmas, merry Christmas

I searched the skyline for a star
Merry Christmas, merry Christmas
And, baby, I wondered where you are
Merry Christmas, merry Christmas

'Cause comfort's not possible when
You look past the joy to the end

Calling on Mary is voluntary
Unless you're alone like me
If there's a star above, then it can look like love
When they light up the Christmas tree

When I was young, I couldn't see
Merry Christmas, merry Christmas
All that my true love gave to me
Merry Christmas, merry Christmas

She offered sight to the blind
But I'm not the miracle kind

Calling on Mary is voluntary
Unless you're alone like me
If there's a star above, then it can look like love
When they light up the Christmas tree

And to all the lost souls down below
Merry Christmas, merry Christmas
What's one more drifter in the snow?
Merry Christmas, merry Christmas
Merry Christmas, merry Christmas

If there's a star above, then it can look like love
When they light up the Christmas tree
If there's a star above, then it can look like love
When they light up the Christmas tree

God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

In Bethlehem, in Israel,
This blessed Babe was born
And laid within a manger
Upon this blessed morn
The which His Mother Mary
Did nothing take in scorn
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain Shepherds
Brought tidings of the same:
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by Name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

"Fear not then," said the Angel,
"Let nothing you affright,
This day is born a Saviour
Of a pure Virgin bright,
To free all those who trust in Him
From Satan's power and might."
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

The shepherds at those tidings
Rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding
In tempest, storm and wind:
And went to Bethlehem straightway
The Son of God to find.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

And when they came to Bethlehem
Where our dear Saviour lay,
They found Him in a manger,
Where oxen feed on hay;
His Mother Mary kneeling down,
Unto the Lord did pray.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.

I'm dreaming tonight
Of a place I love
Even more than I usually do.
And although I know
It's a long road back
I promise you

I'll be home for Christmas.
You can count on me.
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents under the tree.
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love-light gleams.
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams.

Oh oh ah I'll be home for Christmas.
You can count on me.
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents under the tree.
Oh Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love-light gleams.
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams.

If only yeah
Well now, if only, only, only, only
If only in my dreams.
If only
Well, well, well Lord
If only oh

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe,
Can help to make the season bright.
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow,
Will find it hard to sleep tonight.

They know that Santa's on his way;
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.
And every mother's child is going to spy,
To see if reindeer really know how to fly.

And so I'm offering this simple phrase,
To kids from one to ninety-two,
Although its been said many times, many ways,

Whatever happened to Christmas? It's gone and left no traces,
Whatever happened to the faces or the glow.
Whatever happened to Christmas, to Christmas way of living?
Whatever happened to the giving, the magic in the snow?
Remember the sights and the smells and the sounds,
And remember how love was all around, whatever happened to it all?
Whatever happened to Christmas, bells in the streets are ringing,
Whatever happened to the singing, the songs we used to know.
Where was I, and whatever happened to you?
Whatever happened to Christmas and you?

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,

in the lane, snow is glistening

A beautiful sight,

we're happy tonight,

walking in a winter wonderland.

Gone away is the bluebird,

here to stay is a new bird

He sings a love song,

as we go along,

walking in a winter wonderland.

In the meadow we can build a snowman,

Then pretend that he is Parson Brown

He'll say: Are you married?

we'll say: No man,

But you can do the job

when you're in town.

Later on, we'll conspire,

as we dream by the fire

To face unafraid,

the plans that we've made,

walking in a winter wonderland.

You pulled up and parked your El Dorado
We said "hi" and kissed with some bravado
I got out my camera and was laughing
Happy it was you I'm photographing

And we drove to the ferry
Like the cat and canary
I said, "Baby, it's scary
When it's so beautiful

Why does it hurt me
To feel so much tenderness?
Beautiful
You little wonder, you"

Maybe then I held your hand and kissed you
I know once I just hauled off and hit you

'Cause I can't even stand it
'Cause I don't want to end it
To be perfectly candid ?
Baby, you're beautiful

Sometimes it hurts me
To feel so much tenderness
Beautiful
Wish you could see it, too

And all I have to do today
Is make you happy
The only thing you have to say
Is, "It's all lovely, baby"

Late that night, we checked into the Bellevue
Held you close, but, baby ? couldn't tell you

And we stayed in our Calvins
And we swore we'd be best friends
And I looked through the zoom lens
And thought you were beautiful

Sometimes it hurts me
To feel so much tenderness
Beautiful
Baby, I'm dazzled
By the view
Beautiful
You don't need to tell me
I'm completely powerless
Beautiful
I wish you could see it, too
I wish you could see it, too
I wish you could see it, too
Baby, how I see you

Cotton candy was king
On the midway that spring
When I saw you in the ring on the lawn

Dear John
Throwing kisses so Richmond's unfortunates can go on

Oh, the lectures I gave
So the girls would behave
While the band played all your favorite songs

Dear John
Throwing kisses so Richmond's unfortunates can go on

But numbers come up and you're left to the fates
Though I always thought you were one of the greats
Once somebody stationed in Kuala Lumpur
Said he thought you went out, but he couldn't be sure

And the midway I knew
Where the sky was so blue
With the memory of you is gone

Dear John
Throwing kisses so Richmond's unfortunates can go on
Throwing kisses so Richmond's unfortunates can go on
Throwing kisses so Richmond's unfortunates can go on
Throwing kisses so Richmond's unfortunates can go on
Throwing kisses so Richmond's unfortunates can go on

Something isn't right
I don't know how I know
But baby, it's despite
Your dog-and-pony show

I can hear it coming
You're only going through the motions, baby
With your engines humming
You're just going through the motions, baby

Feel like I'm in jail
With you and Mr. Hyde
A guy who leaves a trail
About a mile wide

So it starts already
That you're just going through the motions, baby
You can throw confetti
But you're still going through the motions, baby
Going through the motions, baby

They'll have a big parade
For every day that you stay clean
But when the trumpets fade
You'll go under like a submarine
And you won't see it coming
No, you won't see it coming

You could have it made
Up there in San Rafael
But baby, I'm afraid
I'll never see you well

Because I've seen the tally
And you're just going through the motions, baby
To a big finale
That comes from going through the motions, baby
Going through the motions, baby
Going through the motions, baby
You're just going through the motions, baby

Put on your shoes, girl
I'm goin' to the coast
Where every loser
Gives up what hurts the most
And all those haunted
Unlucky guys get told
Who's really wanted
And who just can't stay sold

Goodbye, Caroline
You're my favorite faith healer
Goodbye, everything
Say I gave to the house dealer
Who could only really let you down

Put on your coat, babe
My luck is winding down
I'll get your suitcase
And pull the car around

Goodbye, Caroline
You're my favorite faith healer
Goodbye, everything
Say I gave to the house dealer
Who could only really let you down

Where it's lit day for night
And the clocks wear their faces bowed
Where the hands and cuffs gleam white
As they hang on a nicotine cloud

Goodbye, Caroline
Goodbye, everything

Goodbye, Caroline
You're my favorite faith healer
Goodbye, everything
Say I gave to the house dealer
Who could only really let you down
Who could only really let you down
Who could only
Let you down
Let you down
Let you down
Let you down

I want to believe
If you tell me so
I want to believe
'Cause you oughta know
That kicking is hard
But the bottom's harder
So I'm taking your card

But I cannot get my head around it, baby
I cannot get my head around it, baby
'Cause that's just not the way
You make me feel

I want to believe
But, baby, I'm dry
I want to believe
But you testify
And I'll pour the drinks
Like a true believer
Whose god never blinks

But I cannot get my head around it, baby
I cannot get my head around it, baby
'Cause that's just not the way
You make me feel
No, that's just not the way
You make me feel
No, that's just not the way
You make me feel

Like way more real than real
The world inside the glass
That struggles to conceal
The wreckage on the overpass

I cannot get my head
I cannot get my head
I cannot get my head around it, baby
'Cause that's just not the way
You make me feel
No, that's just not the way
You make me feel
No, that's just not the way
You make me feel

That summer was just crazy hot
We walked the fairground parking lot
And with our secret handshakes
Sealed the deal completely
But I'm too close to know just what
Will keep Pandora's boxes shut
And so I'll fail you badly
When you really need me

'Cause I don't know
What I should know ?
That I can't help you anymore
No, I can't help you anymore
No, I can't help you anymore

I'll get a pen and make a list
And give you my analysis
But I can't write this story
With a happy ending
Was I the bullet or the gun
Or just a target drawn upon
A wall that you decided
Wasn't worth defending?

And I should know
But I don't know
That I can't help you anymore
No, I can't help you anymore
No, I can't help you anymore
Anymore
No, I can't help you

'Cause baby, look what I have done
The ruins just go on and on
I've got to let it go now, or it will drag me under

So I can't help you anymore
No, I can't help you anymore
No, I can't help you anymore
Anymore
No, I can't help you anymore

The king of the jailhouse
And the queen of the road
Think sharing the burden will lighten the load
So they pack up their troubles
In an old Cadillac
That's her in the mirror, asleep in the back

Baby, there's something wrong with me
Baby, there's something wrong with me
Baby, there's something wrong with me
That I can't see
That I can't see

And they don't give the answers
At the end of the test
So you can't simply stand there and hope for the best
So wake me up at the border
When we reach Mexico
I'll tell you a secret I don't even know

Baby, there's something wrong with me
Baby, there's something wrong with me
Baby, there's something wrong with me
That I can't see
That I can't see

Honey, I don't wanna turn around
And go back there ? do you?
I think you know something I don't know
That I need to

Baby, there's something wrong with me
Baby, there's something wrong with me
Baby, there's something wrong with me
That I can't see
That I can't see
That I can't see

From the 22nd floor
Walking down the corridor
Looking out the picture window down
On Sycamore

While perspective lines converge
Rows of cars and buses merge
All the sweet green trees of Atlanta burst
Like little bombs
Or little pom-poms
Shaken by a careless hand
That drives them off
And leaves again

Life just kind of empties out
Less a deluge than a drought
Less a giant mushroom cloud
Than an unexploded shell
Inside a cell
Of the Lennox Hotel

On the 22nd floor
Found a notice on my door
While outside, the sun is shining on
Those little bombs
Those little pom-poms

Life just kind of empties out
Less a deluge than a drought
Less a giant mushroom cloud
Than an unexploded shell
Inside a cell
Of the Lennox Hotel

Inside a cell
Of the Lennox Hotel

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

Inside a cell
Of the Lennox Hotel

Inside a cell
Of the Lennox Hotel

Sitting in your father's basement
Waiting for the phone to ring
Still in your pajamas, baby
She made up some excuse to see you
You said you didn't feel a thing
Tired of all the dramas, maybe

But still
The moment you hear
The moment you know
I'm sure you'd come running, baby
Sure
The moment you hear
That she really wants you

Packing up your old apartment
Sealing up another box
Wondering what made you choose her
And moving house when you're a stoner
Everything you come across
Makes you feel like such a loser

But still
The moment you hear
The moment you know
I'm sure you'd come running, baby
Sure
The moment you hear
That she really wants you

'Cause the stray that you found
That looked so cute at the pound
Now has you putting her down as rabid
If it was badder than bad
Well, then ? you oughta be glad
You can break it like another habit

But still
The moment you hear
The moment you know
I'm sure you'd come running, baby
Sure
The moment you hear
That she really wants you

Oh, sure
The moment you hear
The moment you know
I'm sure you'd come running, baby
Sure
The moment you hear
That she really wants you

I drew a picture of you
You and your anchor tattoo
And saw the face that I knew
Covered in shame
You drew a bird that was here
A kind of sweet chanticleer
But with a terrible fear
That the cage couldn't tame

That's how I knew this story would break my heart
When you wrote it
That's how I knew this story would break my heart

So, like a ghost in the snow
I'm getting ready to go
'Cause baby, that's all I know ?
How to open the door
And though the exit is crude
It saves me coming unglued
For when you're not in the mood
For the gloves and the canvas floor

That's how I knew this story would break my heart
When you wrote it
That's how I knew this story would break my heart

That's how I knew this story would break my heart
When you wrote it
That's how I knew this story would break my heart

Tell me why I feel so bad, honey
TV's flat and nothing is funny
I get sad and stuck in a cone of silence
Like a big balloon with nothing for ballast
Labeled like a bottle for Alice
Drink me down or I'll drown in a sea of giants

And tell me, "Baby, baby, I love you
It's nonstop memories of you
It's like a video of you playing
It's all loops of seven-hour kisses
Cut with a couple near-misses
Back to the scene of the actor saying:
'Tell me, baby, baby ? why do I feel so bad?'"

Tell me why I feel so bad, honey
Fighting left me plenty of money
But didn't keep the promise of memory lapses
Like a building that's been slated for blasting
I'm the proof that nothing is lasting
Counting to eleven as it collapses

And tell me, "Baby, baby, I love you
It's nonstop memories of you
It's like a video of you playing
It's all loops of seven-hour kisses
Cut with a couple near-misses
Back to the scene of the actor saying:
'Tell me, baby, baby ? why do I feel so bad?'"

Baby, baby, I love you
Baby, baby, I love you
But baby, I feel so bad

Guys like me
We don't know how it feels
Absentee
Even closing the deal
With every player there's a payoff in the final reel
But never with guys like me

Cause guys like me
We look good at the gate
But you'll agree
With the odds on the slate
And put your money on a bona-fide heavyweight
And take it off guys like me
Take off guys like me

They'll pull you close but never really
Looking warm but feeling chilly
You'll describe us as "impassioned"
When it's just a front we've fashion

Cause guys like me
We all vow to become
Clear and free of the fife and the drum
And block the circulation till we're all completely numb
Let's hear it for guys like me
Let's hear it for guys like me
Let's hear it for guys
Guys like me

The monkey knows how you'll react
Creating want by holding back
Like some reverse pyromaniac
Let me try, baby, try

I propped my window up and then
I turned my back to lure you in
To rifle through what I might have been
Let me try, baby, try

Baby please, let me begin
Let me be your heroin
Hate the sinner but love the sin
Let me be your heroin

We have crossed the Rubicon
Our ship awash, our rudder gone
The rats have fled but I'm hanging on
Let me try, baby, try

Baby please, let me begin
Let me be your heroin
Hate the sinner but love the sin
Let me be your heroin

Say you were split, you were split in fragments
And none of the pieces would talk to you
Wouldn't you want to be who you had been
Well, baby I want that too

So better take the keys and drive forever
Staying won't put these futures back together
All the perfect drugs and superheroes
Wouldn't be enough to bring me up to zero

Baby, you're great, you've been more than patient
Saying it's not a catastrophe
But I'm not the girl you once put your faith in
Just someone who looks like me

So better take the keys and drive forever
Staying won't put these futures back together
All the perfect drugs and superheroes
Wouldn't be enough to bring me up to zero

So get out while you can
Get out while you can
Baby I'm pouring quicksand
And sinking is all I had planned
So better just go

Oh better take the keys and drive forever
Staying won't put these futures back together
All the perfect drugs and superheroes
Wouldn't be enough to bring me up to zero

All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put baby together again
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put baby together again

There comes a time when you swim or sink
So I jumped in the drink
'Cause I couldn't make myself clear

Maybe I wrote in invisible ink
Oh, I've tried to think
How I could have made it appear

But another illustration is wasted
'Cause the results are the same
I feel like a ghost who's trying to move your hands
Over some Ouija board in the hopes I can spell out my name

What some take for magic at first glance
Is just sleight-of-hand depending on what you believe
Something gets lost when you translate
It's hard to keep straight
Perspective is everything

And I know now which is which and what angle I oughta look at it from
I suppose I should be happy to be misread
Better be that than some of the other things I have become

But nobody wants to hear this tale
The plot is cliched, the jokes are stale
And baby we've all heard it all before
Oh, I could get specific but
Nobody needs a catalog
With details of love I can't sell anymore

And aside from that, this chain of reaction,
Baby, is losing a link
Though I'd hope you'd know what I tried to tell you
And if you don't I could draw you a picture in invisible ink

But nobody wants to hear this tale
The plot is cliched, the jokes are stale
And baby we've all heard it all before
Oh, I could get specific but
Nobody needs a catalog
With details of love I can't sell anymore

I keep going round and round on the same old circuit
A wire travels underground to a vacant lot
Where something I can't see interupts the current
And shrinks the picture down to a tiny dot
And from behind the screen, it can look so perfect
But it's not

So here I'm sitting in my car at the same old stop light
I keep waiting for a change, but I don't know what
So red turns into green turning into yellow
But I'm just frozen here on the same old spot
And all I have to do is to press the pedal
But I'm not
No, I'm not

People are tricky, you can't afford to show
Anything risky, anything they don't know
The moment you try, well, kiss it goodbye

So baby kiss me like a drug, like a respirator
And let me fall into the dream of the astronaut
Where I get lost in space that goes on forever
And you make all the rest just an afterthought
And I believe it's you who could make it better
though it's not
No, it's not
No, it's not

Lost in space
A bubble drifting
Into a place
Where planets shift and
The moon's erased
Its features lift in the glare

But I'm the stuff
Of happy endings
Though mostly bluff
Belief suspending
But close enough
For just pretending to care

And I'm pretending to care
When I'm not even there
Gone, but I don't know where

Well, she's the face
And I'm the double
Who keeps the pace
And clears the rubble
And, lost in space
Fills up the bubble with air

By just pretending to care
Like I'm not even there
Gone, but I don't know where

You split like a cell
And then cannot tell
The line from its parallel

So baby, beware
I'm just pretending to care
Like I'm not even there
Gone, but I don't know where
Gone, but I don't know where
Gone, but I don't know where

Oh Mario, sit here by the window
Stay here 'til we reach Idaho
And when we go
Hold my hand on take-off
Tell me what I already know
That we can't talk about it
No, we can't talk about it

Because nobody knows
That's how I nearly fell
Trading clothes
And ringing Pavlov's Bell
History shows
There's not a chance in hell, but

Oh Mario. we're only to Ohio
It's kinda getting harder to breathe
I won't let it show
I'm all about denial
But can't denial let me believe?
That we could talk about it
But we can't talk about it

Because nobody knows
That's how I nearly fell
Trading clothes
And ringing Pavlov's Bell
History shows but rarely shows it well
Well, well, well

Oh Mario, why if this is nothing
I'm finding it so hard to dismiss
If you're what I need,
Then only you can save me
So come on baby. give me the fix
And let's just talk about it
I've got to talk about it

Because nobody knows
That's how I nearly fell
Trading clothes
And ringing Pavlov's Bell
History shows
Like it was show and tell
So tell me
That's how I nearly fell
By ringing Pavlov's Bell
So, baby, show and tell
Oh Mario, Mario

You don't know, so don't say you do--
You don't
You might think that things will change,
But take my word--
They won't
You paint a lovely picture,
But reality intrudes
With a message for you
And it's real bad news

I was undecided like you
At first
But I could not stem the tide of overwhelm
And thirst
You try to keep it going, but a lot of avenues
Just aren't open to you
When you're real bad news

I've got love and anger
They come as a pair
You can take your chances
But buyer beware
And I won't
Make you feel bad
When I show you
This big ball of sad isn't
Worth even filling with air

And baby, let me tell you
You can get some things confused
Like whose secrets are whose
And that's real bad news
Real bad news
Real bad news

The moth don't care when he sees the flame
he might get burned but he's in the game
and once he's in he can't go back, and
beat his wings 'til he burns them black
no the moth don't care when he sees the flame
no the moth don't care when he sees the flame

the moth don't care if the flame is real
cuz flame and moth got a sweetheart deal
and nothing fuels a good flirtation
like need and anger and desperation
no the moth don't care if the flame is real
no the moth don't care if the flame is real

So come on let's go ready or not
cuz there's a flame I know hotter than hot
and with a fuse that's so thoroughly shot
away

the moth don't care if the flame burns low
cuz moth believes in an afterglow
and flames are never douzed completely
all you really need is a love of heat
no, the moth don't care if the flame burns low
no, the moth don't care if the flame burns low

So come on let's go ready or not
cuz there's a flame I know hotter than hot
and with a fuse that's so thoroughly shot
away

This is how it goes
You'll get angry at yourself
And think you can think of something else
And I'll hear the clanging of the bells
'Cause I can't stop you baby...

'Cause I don't have the bribery in place
No bright shiny surface to my face
So I won't go near the market place
With what I'm selling lately
'Cause this is how it goes

'Cause it's all about drugs
It's all about shame
And whatever they want
Don't tell 'em your name

This is how it goes:
One more failure to connect
With so many how could I object?
And you, what on earth did you expect?
Well, I can't tell you, baby
When this is how it goes

'Cause it's all about drugs
It's all about shame
And whatever they want
Don't tell 'em your name

So I'll try to hold on
While you try to let go
You won't tell me it's gone
But, baby, I'll know
Baby, I'll know
Baby, I'll know

Better pack your bags and run
Or stay until the job is done
Or maybe you can sit and hope
That providence will fray the rope
And sink like a stone
Or go it alone

And isn't it enough - for you?
Isn't it enough?

So better pack your bags and run
And send it to oblivion
Where you don't look like anyone
That anyone would care about
And do what you do
'Til it buries you

And isn't it enough - for you?
Isn't it enough?

And baby - isn't it enough?
Like Major Reno at the bluff
Wondering aloud if help is on the way
And baby, isn't this your chance
To make a break with circumstance
Isn't it enough to prove today's the day?
Isn't it enough to prove today's the day?

Today's the fourth of July
Another June has gone by
And when they light up our town
I just think what a waste of gunpowder and sky

I'm certain I am alone
In harbouring thoughts of our home
It's one of my faults that I can't quell my past
I ought to have gotten it gone

Oh, baby
I wonder if when you are older
Someday
You'll wake up and say
"My God, I should have told her
What would it take?
But now here I am and the world's gotten colder
And she's got the river down which I sold her"

So that's today's memory lane
With all the pathos and pain
Another chapter in a book where the chapters are endless
And they're always the same
A verse, then a verse, and refrain

Oh, baby
I wonder if when you are older
Someday
You'll wake up and say
"My God, I should have told her
What would it take?
But now here I am and the world's gotten colder
And she's got the river down which I sold her..."

I'm told the case is now closed So I can come to my senses But when the question is posed I'll have this meager defense I was hoping that you'd know better than that I was hoping but you're an amateur I was hoping that you'd know better But I've been wrong before Despite conclusions I drew There was a chance you'd surprise me And you'd be better than you 'Cause I'd have left otherwise I was hoping that you'd know better than that I was hoping but you're and amateur I was hoping that you'd know better But I've been wrong before So I wasn't thinking clearly So you didn't think at all I thought was protocol I was hoping that you'd know better than that I was hoping but you're an amateur I was hoping that you'd know better But I've been wrong before I was hoping that I was hoping but you're an amateur I was hoping that you'd know better But I've been wrong before -

Now that I've met you
Would you object to
Never seeing each other again
'Cause I can't afford to
Climb aboard you
No one's got that much ego to spend

So don't work your stuff
Because I've got troubles enough
No, don't pick on me
When one act of kindness could be
Deathly
Deathly
Definately

'Cause I'm just a problem
For you to solve and
Watch dissolve in the heat of your charm
But what will you do when
You run it through and
You can't get me back on the farm

So don't work your stuff
Because I've got troubles enough
No, don't pick on me
When one act of kindness could be
Deathly
Deathly
Definately

You're on your honor
'Cause I'm a goner
And you haven't even begun
So do me a favor
If I should waver
Be my savior
And get out the gun

So don't work your stuff
Because I've got troubles enough
No, don't pick on me
When one act of kindness could be
Deathly
Deathly
Definately

Something isn't right
I don't know how I know
But baby, it's despite
Your dog-and-pony show

I can hear it coming
You're only going through the motions, baby
With your engines humming
You're just going through the motions, baby

Feel like I'm in jail
With you and Mr. Hyde
A guy who leaves a trail
About a mile wide

So it starts already
That you're just going through the motions, baby
You can throw confetti
But you're still going through the motions, baby
Going through the motions, baby

They'll have a big parade
For every day that you stay clean
But when the trumpets fade
You'll go under like a submarine
And you won't see it coming
No, you won't see it coming

You could have it made
Up there in San Rafael
But baby, I'm afraid
I'll never see you well

Because I've seen the tally
And you're just going through the motions, baby
To a big finale
That comes from going through the motions, baby
Going through the motions, baby
Going through the motions, baby
You're just going through the motions, baby

The king of the jailhouse
And the queen of the road
Think sharing the burden will lighten the load
So they pack up their troubles
In an old Cadillac
That's her in the mirror, asleep in the back

Baby, there's something wrong with me
Baby, there's something wrong with me
Baby, there's something wrong with me
That I can't see
That I can't see

And they don't give the answers
At the end of the test
So you can't simply stand there and hope for the best
So wake me up at the border
When we reach Mexico
I'll tell you a secret I don't even know

Baby, there's something wrong with me
Baby, there's something wrong with me
Baby, there's something wrong with me
That I can't see
That I can't see

Honey, I don't wanna turn around
And go back there ? do you?
I think you know something I don't know
That I need to

Baby, there's something wrong with me
Baby, there's something wrong with me
Baby, there's something wrong with me
That I can't see
That I can't see
That I can't see