Better Than Ezra

Strong hands
Big plans
All reduced to this.
Hard won freedom
How could you have missed?

Scared, are you?
You do it on your own
You do it all alone.
We all did.
Scared, are you?
Half the lines we make up dear
The best that we can do.

Everything you would be
Passed you like a ghost.
And kind words are scarce at best
When you need them the most.

Scared, are you?
You do it on your own
We all did.
Scared, are you?
Half the lines you make up here.
The best that we can do.

Hope brings you luck
Doors open up.
And if you should fall,
I'll catch you dear.
It must be!
It must be!

Scared, are you?
Finally on your own
You do it all alone
We all did
Scared, are you?
Half the lines you make up dear.
The best that we can do
And we do....

'Calmly, like a razor
I got us on the door,'
Or 'I got a tape of 'Clerks'
Someone left the night before.'

So I come over later,
You're sitting in that chair
Smoking on your cigarette
Fingering you hair

So I get drunk and stoned,
Every time you come around.

Twenty-nine and aimless
You bartend down on fourth
Your parents pay insurance
And the Parson's Audit course

Over-schooled and uninspired
Tust fund up your nose
All that wasted talent but, uh
Ain't that how it always goes?

So I get drunk and stoned,
Every time you come around.
Yeah, yeah yeah

So long Allison Foley
So long, bye-bye

(Come up higher, take a step higher)
Sometimes you understand
The reasons how you went astray
But least of all the answer,
That it hurts to watch you waste away.

So I get drunk and stoned,
Every time you come around.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So long, Allison Foley
So long, bye-bye

Calling from that porch again
Low dress blowing in the wind
(I should have known I'd regret it later)
But she blow like a Tsunami

I like it like that
I like it like that
I like it like that

Terra Cotta, window pane
Brown skin soaking up the rain
(I should have been a cynical writer)
But she don't care just where he be

I like it like that
I like it like that
I like it like that

She can move you!
She can move you!
What's your name?
Destiny.

I like it like that
I like it like that
I like it like that

Maybe I should drop you at your door
Leave tonight and vanish up the shore
Anywhere but here...
It's 3 o'clock
We're driving in your car
You're screaming out the window at the stars.
Please don't drive me home!

Blame us 'cause we are who we are
Hate us 'cause you'll never get that far
And who'd suppose that you would go
I've already learned enough to know that...
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo (repeat)

Tell me all the places we could go
And count the headlights passin' on the road
A long, long time ago

Blame us cause we are who we are
Hate us cause you'll never get that far
And who'd suppose that you would go?
I've already learned enough to know that
Here we are
Forgein to their world
Straight and composed
Your sermons I can do without
And I've finally found that everybody loves to love you when you're far awaaaaay!

Could it be we've done something wrong?
And make it home to your place before dawn.
Please don't drive me home.
Please don't take me home!

Blame us 'cause we are who we are
Hate us 'cause you'll never get that far
And who'd suppose that you would go?
I've already learned
I've already learned...
Enough to know that
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Doo, doo

We're all a scene in mona's dream...

A paris street.
A quiet stream.
Far away from Cabrini green.
Forgotten love at seventeen,
Where her children got a chance,
Not a dead end street.

Cause some got religion,
And some got drugs,
Some got money and,
Some got love,

All of her days in a dry-eyed haze,
Just another scene in Mona's dream.

And though you will say I'm wrong.
It's much easier with you along.
Sundays were made for this.
Seeing Bond give the villain a kiss

Holding your face in the glow
Play on, Play on
Happy endings

I thought that you'd like to know.
I'm finally letting her go.
You always said, 'Tell me when. . .
You're ready at last to begin.'

Learning to chance it again
Play on, play on
Happy endings

So let them all dissolve
And welcome a new resolve
Here's where the credits run
Riding off into the sun

And love is real
Reading your eyes in the glow
Play on, play on
Happy endings

WWOZ is on in stereo
A string of flowers haloed around your head
Candle light
Ceiling fan
Curtains blow away and back again
Back again
Don't wake me, I think I'm in a dream

Sleeping is easy
I used to lay in bed for hours
I've waited a lifetime now maybe I'll learn

Calling back and forth through heavy air
The barges sound their warnings in the dark
Peace comes like a trusted friend
As it starts to rain again fall away
Fall away
So don't wake me I think, I'm in a dream

Sleeping is easy
I used to lay in bed for hours
I've waited a lifetime now maybe I'll learn
Sleeping is easy
I used to walk the streets for hours
I've waited a lifetime now maybe I'll learn

Let go of your fear, let's grow old together
Find a place along the way
Let's reel through the years
Each makes the other better.
But what thoughts can I call allies
When this circle of ribs keeps working on its own?

Chorus

WWOZ's on in stereo. Well it's on in stereo.

Past the road to your house
That you never called home
Where they turned out the lights
Though they say you'll never know

I remember running through the wet grass
Falling a step behind
Both of us never tiring
Desperately Wanting

When they pumped out your guts
Filled you full of those pills
You were never quite right
Deserving all the chills
They say the worst is over
Kicked it over and ran
Then they ask what went wrong
When they turn you on again
They turn you on again.

I remember running through the wet grass
Falling a step behind
Both of us never tiring
Desperately Wanting

Kick them right in the face
Make them wish they weren't born
And if they bring up your name
Well they'll say you won the war.
Baby burst in the world
Never given a chance
Then they ask what went wrong
When you never had it right

Oh, the letters have dropped off
Though they say you got them all
I finally figured out some things you'll never know.
Take back your life and let me inside
We'll find the door if you care to anymore.

I remember running through the wet grass
Falling a step behind
Both of us never tiring
Desperately Wanting.

They say you're off
(A bit confused)
But when the day is done
I'll be with you
I like your eyes
They say you're true
The others whisper and lie

And you framed the sun
Shot out the stars
You paled the sky
And hung the moon

They say, 'your loss'
That your mind's diseased
But when you've finally won,
Tell me who always believed

And you framed the sun
Shot out the stars
You paled the sky
And hung the moon

Down way low
They never remember
Down way low
Down way low
You always remember
Don't let the words you hear
Leave your head.

The say you're gone
That you left today
But if you change your mind
Know I still feel that same way

And you framed the sun
Shot out the stars
You paled the sky
And hung the moon

High stool sweet tarts
Equipped with green cards
Chomp their 401 k's
Semi-chocolate brie

Digging in Los Cruces
for an army drab container Carbon dating clothes for the last time they were washed

Shelby and Sheila
Onomatopoeia
Catch hang nail on Banlon
Shiver Martin Sheen

Preschool mothers
in Technicolor
Are fire bombing Dresden
Stanton, Harry Dean

Feeding line caught tuna to a neutered Bodhisattva Writhing peaches for the President Out on the White House lawn Beating Herbert Hoover With a leather tipped Pinada Thorn and Katy drink the milk tinted Amerasian Green RETURN, RETURN, RETURN
B A C

Along the edges, colors blur at seem familiar.
While you read your magazine,
I was counting all the markers.

And california seemed to draw you like a siren
From a postcard, or a letter, in a frame of film melting.

But under you, i hear your breath move in, out slowly.
Under you, let go completely feeling you take over me.

A hollywood flat where we'd laugh about our fortunes
Well we held jobs in this bar down at 3rd and san vicente.
And ramen noodles at 4:30 in the morning,
When we barely could survive, i was never more alive.

Under you, i feel your blood flowing out slowly.
Under you, let go completely feeling you take over me

You moved in slow degrees
A sudden memory
You're a leonard cohen song

But every now and then i'd swear i see you standing on a sidewalk, in a
Restaurant, from a taxi cab passing.

Under you i feel you moving in/out slowly
Under you let go completely feeling you take over me.

Take over me

so long, alison foley
So long, bye-bye

I still remember you dressed in grey.
Working undercover for the CIA
You were cursing Silber
Living in Back Bay
Sailing on the Charles when I heard you say

Let's go down to Normal Town
Right now
Down, Down, down

I washed you lover and scrubbed your face
Running from Miss Porter's you showed up one day
From a flat in South End where you made me strong
You said, 'We're burning out at both ends.'
So I came along.

Let's go down to Normal Town
Right now
Down, down, down

Hey! Wouldn't it be great
To never worry 'bout your future, never asking why?
Hey! Hey!
In a subdivision
Watching television
And our lives go by.

Let's go down to Normal Town.
Let's go down to Normal Town.

Right now
Down, down, down....

Are you lost?
Do you find life turning out
Not quite the way you planned?
Come around stay awhile

That's okay
That's all right
Couldn't get to sleep so talk about it.
Let's talk about it right now.

Here it comes on my head again
I guess I'm born to be the long lost friend.
(A-woo-oooh)
Friend
Long Lost Friend

Are you cold?
Is there no place better, safer, friendlier than this?
Call me up, I'm alone.

That's okay
That's all right
Rather it be me than go without it
So don't think about it right now.

Here it comes on my head again
I guess I'm born to be the long lost friend
(A-woo-ooh-hooo)
Friend
Long lost friend

I've given ballast
Held you up when you were falling down
What happens when I'm not around?

Friend?
Friend?
Long Lost Friend.

Cut a tape of my favorite songs
Said what I can't face to face
I hoped that you would share all my thoughts
We are young and unimpressed,
with all you'd recognize.

So play it all over
Turn it wide.
Now there is nothing but a
Mix tape left behind
Now it won't rewind

In my care we are superstars
Run you lipstick down your chin
While up ahead we saw such a crash
Right there a song became a soundtrack
for this space in time.

So play it all over
Turn it wide.
Now there is nothing but a
Mix tape left behind
Now it won't rewind

Wonder is often lost
Jaded at such a cost
Age undermines you when you close your eyes.
We pass right by you.

So play it all over
Turn it wide.
Now there is nothing
But a mix tape left behind
Now it won't rewind.

Rewind.
Yeah-eh-eh-eh-heh.

There's an angel on the stairs
(as if you'd even care)
When the lights go up,
and the sun has nearly gone down.

Did you see him on the street?
Did you pass him at your feet?
Did you think aloud, "How dare they
even look me in the eye'?

And he loves the girls.
And he loves the boys.
Going to make twenty dollars
before the weekends over.

So set him up,
Let him fall.
Turn him over in your hands.
God save the King of New Orleans.

Got a ticket to a show.
Going to see him take a blow.
When the drunk one said,
"Cat Sssstevens was the greatest singer!"

And did you kick him in the head?
Did you see the blood run down? Did you laugh at all when the
people walked right by and said aloud,
"You gutter punks are all the same.
" Probably make twenty dollars
'fore the weekends over."?

So set him up,
Then let him fall.
Turn him over in your hands.
God save the King of New Orleans.

Radio in my head.
Radio in that car.
Going down again,
he's going down again....

Anyway you look, anyway you talk it over.
It's easier to let it slip out of your mind.
But it rips your heart out.

Then it kicks your head in.
Just give him one more chance,
try to see the beauty in his world.
All the way in on my hands, in on my feet,
and shoulders. Going to make twenty dollars
before the weekend's over.

So set him up,
Then let him fall.
Turn him over in your hands.
God save the King of New Orleans.

God save the King of New Orleans.

Heading out
Your heart beating in your head
Riding on
The Texas wind
Raise your feet
As you cross the state line

Waking up
The Mesa sun and the sky
All the way
To Tucumcari
And Santa Fe
Seems a stone's throw away

Coyote, coyote

Coming down
The Phoenix sun on your face
Turns it red by the afternoon
And to the right
The Grand Canyon is wide

Sing along
Needle skips in the wind
Count the stars
Of Death Valley
And in the dark
Barstow starts to fade

Coyote, coyote
Coyote, coyote

Yeah.

Well, there's a feeling in the air
Just like a Friday afternoon.
Yeah, you can go there if you want
Though it fades too soon.

So go on, let it be.
If there's a feeling coming over me,
Seems like it's always understood this time of year.

Well, I know there's a reason to change.
Well, I know there's a time for us.
You think about the good times
And you live with all the bad.
You can feel it in the air,
Feeling right this time of year.

Well, there's a football in the air,
Across a leaf blown field.
Yeah, and there's your first car on the road,
And the girl you'd steal.

So go on with yourself
If there's a feeling that there's something else.
Seems like it's always understood
This time of year.

Well, I know there's a reason to change.
Well, I know there's a time for us.
You think about the good times
And you live with all the bad.
You can feel it in the air,
Feeling right this time of year.

Well, there's a feeling in the air
Just like a Friday afternoon.
Yeah, you can go there if you want
Though it fades too soon.

So go on, let it be.
If there's a feeling coming over me,
Seems like it's always understood this time of year.

Well, I know there's a reason to change.
Well, I know there's a time for us.
You think about the good times
And you live with all the bad.
You can feel it in the air,
Feeling right this time of year

Will you fight
For the cause?
Can you teach the savage mind
Their ways are wrong
Help them see
What they want and what they need?
And if we have to twist their arms
They know not what they do is wrong

And if you said I would go to heaven
Now, maybe I'll try
And if you said I would go to heaven
Now maybe I'll, maybe I'll, maybe I'll try

Heretics and hypocrites
Wear the same face throught the years
Of telling lies
And laying blame
Damn the fire then feed the flame
Don't dance, or sing, or try to think
Their image is planted in your head

And if you said I would go to heaven
Now, maybe I'll try
And if you said I would go to heaven
Now maybe I'll, maybe I'll, maybe I'll try

Ivy is just a dog
With a heart that's noble as
The greatest man
Who ever lived
Won't you please help her learn?
And if we have to twist her arm
She knows not what she does is wrong

And if you said I would go to heaven
Now, maybe I'll try
And if you said I would be a rich man
Now maybe I'll, maybe I'll, maybe I'll try

Maybe I'll try.
Maybe I'll try.

Hey, you've got a lot of nerve to show your face around here.
Hey, you've got a lot of nerve to dredge up all my fears.
Well, I wish I could shake some sense into you and walk out the door.

But your skin is like porcelain.
Yeah, your skin is like porcelain.

Just the other day I felt I had you by a string.
Just the other day I felt we could be everything.
But now when I see you, you're somebody else.
In somebody's eyes and your skin...

But your skin is like porcelain.
Yeah, your skin is like porcelain.

I don't know what I'm saying.
Well, I don't know if you're there.
In the words you are feigning.
Do you even care?

Well I wish I could kill you,
savor the sight.
Get in to my car, drive into the night.
Then lie as I scream to the heavens above.
That I was the last one you ever loved.
Yes, your skin is like porcelain.

But your skin is like porcelain.
Yeah, your skin is like porcelain

Down by the dock
Hot blood in the sun
The body lays up against the reeds
The locals said the man had it coming
And it's time someone put him six feet in the ground

Where did she go that night?
Where did she sleep when the morning came?
To the summerhouse
To the summerhouse

Missus showed up
To I.D. the body
Then shed a tear as she hid a smile
The sergeant laughed and smiled in frustration
One life is lost while another one's found

Where did she go that night?
Where did she sleep when the morning came?
To the summerhouse
To the summerhouse