Les Braid

I walk along the city streets you used to walk along with me
And every step I take reminds me of just how we used to be
Oh how can I forget you, girl
When there is always something there to remind me
Always something there to remind me
Shadows fall, I pass the small cafwhere we would dance at night
And I can't help recalling how it felt to kiss and hold you tight
How can I forget you, girl
When there is always something there to remind me
Always something there to remind me
I was born to love her
And I will never be free
You'll always be a part of me
Woah woah wooah
If you should find to miss the sweet and tender love we used to share
Just go back to the places where we used to go and I'll be there
Oh how can I forget you, girl
When there is always something there to remind me
Always something there to remind me
I was born to love her
And I will never be free
You'll always be a part of me
When there is always something there to remind me
Always something there to remind me

you're better untouched
it's better I never knew you
and I want nothing to do with this


and you never made up your mind
and I never changed mine
you know


you're emotionless
and filled with chemicals
to kick you up and down
and bring you to the ground


(a likely story
the pain is temporary)
I'm glad to see you go away


stay where you are
if you want to stay
and I can't be what you want me to be
so you can do what you want to do


(a likely story
the pain is temporary)
I want nothing to do with this
If everyone here was my friend


you can't remember the last time
you had such a bad time


and you never made up your mind
and I never changed mine
you know


left with so much to decide
inside you're dying
you're emotionless
and filled with chemicals
to kick you up and down
and bring you to the ground
(a likely story
the pain is temporary)
I might as well speak to the back of your head
i'm glad to see you go away

choked up and stupid
I juggled jokes
And tripped on your toes
thought you laughed
at a longshot
lined in rows of roses


ten seconds
and a glance
are yours
in the glass
I pour slow


Hey honey hold me
(I'm a baby
slow and steady
I'm an immobile mobile)


I've found a new way
to manipulate fire
fire
it makes the house grow


Hey honey hold me
(I'm a baby)

So frustrated
That something (so) complicated
Could hang over my head
On my first day back
And already i'm treading on unsteady ground
So strike me down or check me out

So elated
That this soul so understated
Could be making eyes at me
But first I'll be
Another innocent victim looking for some
Sense of sympathy

In the middle of a state
The sorry story of a star
That goes "here's my heart"
It's a start
And if anything, we haven't seen everything

In the middle of a stage
There's a girl and a guitar
But there's your car
Have we forgotten who we are?
We haven't seen anything

So I'm told that Chicago's cold
Can't be cool as california
For the first time ever
I feel severed yet smooth removed
If you approve then check it out

To what do i owe this attention
I'm only half of the reflection
And the conversation goes
Oh, nevermind (oh, nevermind)
To what do I owe this tension
If deception's fine
Then this is divine

Divine define divine

On my first day back
And already I've settled on
My weak front

let's go undercover
like young lovers should
cause I can kiss you better
then this letter could
and you say

at least under
these covers
I listen to you
And all this music about you
I hope it finds you smiling again

till never begins
or till forever ends
I'll still be lost in poetics
or lost in the mail
can nobody tell you
these guys have a passion for fashion
but are sincere like a statue
and if you have to choose
I am gonna lose
I always do
we always do
nostalgia is drunk
and frustration can be gorgeous
but can i keep my mouth shut

(I listen to you
And all this music about you
I hope it finds you smiling again
till never begins
or till forever ends )

cause sometimes gorgeous can be frustration
when your life is nothing
but an honorable mention
on a radio, on the radio.
maybe i'm a baby
but i think it's time to grow.
you're everything i live for
-ever got shorter.
i'll know on a radio better
I'm a quitter than a starry
tortured soul

the lips I kissed now shape songs of sadness
hold me dear when I'm away
and I'll know when I hear your name
even if I have to sing it to myself.

never did much to restore
my self-confidence
and you said i should have more


i was only kidding when i said
blind date
sitting in your car
you got angry and hit my arm


dashboard hugs from drunk boys


got angry and hit the dashboard
i didn't want to talk about it
you didn't want to hear about it


stare at the road i'm honored
there on the road my solemn word
stare at the road i'm honored
stay in my blood too long
i'm there on the road and honored
fear of the road my solemn word
it stayed in my blood your honor
too long


said you liked hugs from boys
but i never saw them
i never saw them
but i knew they were there

turn the keys i spin the wheels
if you know how a person feels
you wouldn't make this so hard for me
i'm afraid of everything
wish you had something more to say
behind the wheel i can't stay awake
pass your house or take a coffeebreak
just adult desserts for baby cakes


blame me baby
i'm afraid of everything


there's something wrong with the boy's head
i don't believe what the doctor said
i'm sure one day he'll come around
but he's so quiet now
and when all this talk is over
about how i never spoke
then goodbye mr. good humor
now i'm just your joke


you made me can't you see?
i'm afraid of everything


and all the little come-ons
they were all just run-ons
and when i think of your arms
i forget what street to turn on


and the door slam
it's such a safe sound
i know where i am
i put my keys down
i put my eyes down
wonder why is it
i lost my courage and
passed your exit...

(and proximity)

and when you add electricity

a motion light give it away

everyone watches as

i do it again

rain and even sliding glass

i wished times before

now i hear a door





hit the floor

i swear i'll stop

if only tonight

i don't stand motionlight

(tristabrand don't tempt me)





i'm in the house

i'm on the couch

i'm speechless in the arms

of gravity

queen of water

fire's daughter

the ultimate author

follow the current

erode it

i rode it

and wrote it

down on looseleaf paper

oh river

oh lay color

on bodies of matter

our bodies matter

the colors scatter

down our legs

into the sand

what a combination we make

(i kind of like you a lock)

with some determination

the heat from our hearts

will freeze out the lake





you have eyes you can unlike but can't hide





with the flow comes rise...





ave niagara

keep on fallin

woo woo the spectators

pre-convert those water haters

look for something greater

let me be your float device

let me do your swear work

cause kisses aren't contracts baby

and these days neither are words





niagara

sugar even odd smiles are in this season

barely alive on 2 AM airline
my past is just the places i've passed
the windows were tinted
my eyes were half shut
my focus is fragile
if my heart is a glass


here lies the ruins of a little known author
there go the ashes of a dying dream
it's hard to sit down
when your hometown is a greyhound
now i'm exhausted and
there's no time to sleep


i'm gathering leaves from
a once beautiful tree
which no one else will have
the chance now to see
or climb


it burning miles at a time
it's mine is mine

all thoughts imperial
regarding questions hypothetical


1.i'll give you the longest kiss
2.i'll give you perfect pitch
then we won't shake anymore
irony is crying
"this is paramount"


he cries when he yawns
she cries when he yawns


talk desensitized


this is paramount
this is cassini's division

wake up
and dry your eyes
cause you've been dreaming of mourning
you can't disguise it
I've got a picture we can doctor right up
"So what" you sigh "alright" I reply

get up
I got a feeling
we've been staring at the ceiling too long
and downstairs there's a party going on


and it's your number she goes
"please drive faster."
spoken like a champion
oh no, disaster.


wait up, we got to a hospital groove
and here's some bad news
carrying a crutch
on you crush
gotta hurry boys
we've got a lot to lose


we've got a lot to loosen up
and you know that we can take it
cause we're so tough
a one and a two and the red light out of you
oh vein contusion or two


and it's your number she goes
"please drive faster"
spoken like a champion
oh no, disaster.


code blue I want you
cold blue emergency room
some buckle some bloom
when I want you


wake up wait up wake up
don't you know you've plenty of your life to lose


carrying a crutch
on you crush
gotta hurry boys
we've got a lot to lose


we're getting number
we go "please drive faster."
spoken like a champion.
oh no, disaster.

you said
take everything
i can't give it back

i've got a half shirt
i've got a whole heart
not cool
but off to a good start
you've got a sweatshirt
with a sainthood.


and i'll wear it out
while we're out
you can't help me now i'm so sorry
if things get carried away.


now i feel a little insane
and there's nothing here but time
and it's killing me to stay
and i can't go back
cause there's nothing left


feels like your choking me

alcohol superhero
cry on demand
tell me again
you sound like violence
and i feel a fight

please don't go why so defensive?
happens so
wakes the senses
intenses


burning up the frame
can't hear a thing
soul has skipped


sounds like rain's
no match for water
but it's nothing
i can't hear

if i was in a band
this would end


yours is a diary
that i've been dying to read


you've been skimming the surface
and i've been saying essays
so i talk novels to your short plays


you came out of nowhere
and caused a collision
but it will take more to break the engine


if i was in a band
this would end


the lights were dim
when i cut in


it was a three day moment
a simple affirmation
and so i guess congratulations


to come out of nowhere
and set sail a friendship
now i've got a reason to be sarcastic, caustic lipstick


i am a car and you do want to crush me too
i do have a steel heart to crush you steal my heart

1:15 began with a phone ring
I heard I stirred but I wasn't hurt
Tonight's lines are yours to keep
Go back to sleep
And that's wonderful when your world at its worst seems bearable
Is it not so terrible to stay
And terrible to say
Why won't you change and walk into the rain
Where we love to splash and play
It will be here forever
While everyone's so convinced they know everything is true
All I believe in is you

It was a wonderful puddle that I played in
And I was so young when it hit me
In no one you can believe

And that's terrible when these evil white lies make hysterical habit forming beautiful
I miss my friends they live next door
But insincerity is so hard to ignore

It was a wonderful puddle that we played in
And at two and a half we hit back
Isn't that wonderful
And as they gather round our grave to splash and play they'll say
Why'd you have to change
And walk into the same
Where the dirty rain drains
You're gone in the morning
While everyone is so convinced they know everything is true
All I believe in is you
I do
I do believe in you

club starlight
where your eyes
round brown and shine
darted out for the dimes
in world record time
now it's time to give it to them

it's a new dream
it's constant it's madly it's everything to me
as the sun set on the set
on the set ready set go
go make a mess of the mystery
of your perfect love history


and everyone knows your name
and everyone knows we're the same
you're lucky to be alive


little bee stings and little happenings
they're all just silly things
they never made our scene interesting
they never made it into a movie screening


so hey love
she darts in and out for the drinks tonight
she misses your eyes at club starlight
she'll be back and blue in the summertime
together we'll ride wherever and forever


and you think you're insane
a somebody else in a cruel game
you're lucky to be alive
and everyone knows your name
and everyone knows we're the same
you're lucky to be alive


we're sick
and we'll stay sick
in this city
at least you'll keep your distance
but keep me around
our heads in the clouds
both feet off the ground.

I walk along the city streets you used to walk along with me
And every step I take reminds me of just how we used to be
Oh how can I forget you, girl
When there is always something there to remind me
Always something there to remind me
Shadows fall, I pass the small cafwhere we would dance at night
And I can't help recalling how it felt to kiss and hold you tight
How can I forget you, girl
When there is always something there to remind me
Always something there to remind me
I was born to love her
And I will never be free
You'll always be a part of me
Woah woah wooah
If you should find to miss the sweet and tender love we used to share
Just go back to the places where we used to go and I'll be there
Oh how can I forget you, girl
When there is always something there to remind me
Always something there to remind me
I was born to love her
And I will never be free
You'll always be a part of me
When there is always something there to remind me
Always something there to remind me

You want the whole nine
Yard lies
then lets hear a jeer
For the nice guys
I know the end of this book
And it's a happy one please book
But you cant skip the start
And break for the good part

But our guile
Is argyle
Yes a guy's guile
Is oh what a guile


I got the message its on
It was there all along
And if I lead you along
Then I read you wrong


There was a bridge
And a tunnel to
And does a suitcase
Kinda look like a coffin
(well, yes)
and does it happen often
(well , yes)
and am I worried
(well yes)
I guess but it makes sense


I got the message its on
It was there all along
And if I lead you along
Then I read you wrong


(What a buy what am I doing here )


I write her
letters from my new home
Crying
then I kissed the phone


Im writing
letters to angels
with heavenly pens and holey tongues sent
coded messages to
our northern neighbors

honey please don't ignore me
please accept this call
i'm on the corner of cough and cold
and i'm a lovestruck lost soul


please save me
from the superpowers that i don't believe in
save me please
i'm lost and alone
i can't come home
i'm stuck in a phone booth


honey understand me
i'm not sure to fly
in fact i'm super stupid tonight
and all the loose ends remain untied


please save me
from the superpowers that i don't believe in
save me please
i'm lost and alone
i can't come home
i'm stuck in a phone booth again


but once in your arms
we'll rise above the ground
you and me and the beautiful aerial view
of sunrise city
i'm never coming down
in your arms
we'll rise above the clouds
me and you in the sweetest sheets of blue
i'm never coming down


but come and pick me up first please.

Do you like sugar
A home sweet school
You're something so familiar
And so cool

So my phone
And a dial tone
Play ball on a short court
An overcaffeinated drone

Can I get you some sugar?
Im giving you my like
If thats not alright
I'll understand

Do you like coffee?

We like whine
Champaignful
although shes far away
I tastes her still

So my phone
And some friends back home
She's sweet enough
The perfect cup
And I drink alone

And call me sugar
I've got this question to ask her
Whatever the answer
I'll understand

Do you still love me?

(The young couple kiss slowly, kiss slowly)

The young couple kiss slowly
Two starfish in the sand
The young couple roll gently
Is my heart your home?
(never alone)

Baby of mine don't you cry
Baby of mine dry your eyes
Rest your head
Close to my heart
Never to part

Baby of mine
Little one when you play
Don't you mind what they say


Delta Delta Delta
damn the radio


never never never
seen the beautiful


animal animal animal
sexy cannibal


you make me you make me you make me
me


if I had eyes like I, I'd get by

Open the desktop behind me
Sending crayon valentines
I reply
"will you marry me, loligirl?"
My second grade heart
Looks more like a broken you
And me,
Nineteen and crying for eulalia...

I'm still young

In the presents of an eight year old
Model planes and model everything
In the presence of an eighteen year old
In a sense innocence makes you tense
In the presense of an eight year old
Writing cursive on loose leaf paper
In the presence of an eighteen year old

I will be waiting for you loligirl
The little girl that i knew loligirl
And if you're waiting for me loligirl
Oh yeah and if you see me loligirl

Bring back the boy i used to be

Breathing
Your normal nico-teenager
Learning less of lessons
Every time he talks

Now it seems
I care more about caring less
Writing what meant what
And asking not


Is your autumn attic full?
Am I your automatic fool?


Singing
His life in swinging mind
Wanting more of morning glory
After sleeping in


Now it seems
I care more about caring less
Then I was used to (less than I used to)
Then I used
you


Is your autumn attic full?
Am I your automatic fool?


Sundown
Two to go
The player
and the role


Sundown
Two to go
The prayer
and the soul
Sundown
Two to go
I've seen the scene
And its nothing but its shows


Verdict guilty :
Grand theft autumn.

today
i listed all my wants and needs
and i checked them off as i thought of us
dont throw this away
dont throw me away
we've got enough time to last a lifetime

it's snowing out of season
and you're the reason
its snowing out of season
listen to my heart


should have shook your hand
instead of holding it
should have been sleeping
now i miss you more than i would ever

what style he shows swimming past me
doesn't he make it look so easy
you'll be famous someday
go jimmy go go
propel your pals in soul


the other night i had a dream
his teeth gleamed
as he wrapped that blue towel
around my throat
let me go let me go
let me go go jimmy go


i want to shine
i want to replace yours with mine
i want to dive
head down the water under


breathe keep your legs straight
breathe keep your eyes wide open
breathe keep your legs straight
breathe come up for air


i am the heir of air
breathing water
under jimmy's rudder


am i so strange
to want to make a change
for change's sake
i want to get
deep down the water under


breathe keep your legs straight
breathe keep your eyes wide open
breathe keep your legs straight
breathe come up for air


i am the heir of air
breathing water
under jimmy's rudder


is he ok?

Sorry I threatened you
She said
Walked awhile
And hid in the bushes whenever
You saw headlights
And I knew you were scared
And when I saw you in the hall
You were laughing like you never even noticed me
Knew it wasn't more than physical
I was tongue tied
And timid
Until your
Whirly girlish giggle

She said
You hid in the bushes
When you saw headlights
Because you were scared.

Something about power
When I broke the glass
She said you were scared
When I broke the glass

Said it was nothing
I would ever know
Said it wasn't physical
You just liked each other

a dozen roses in the car
and i don't know where you are
maybe i don't know what i'm doing
you're moving like a movie
you still move me
among the other ones
and twos and threes and twenty-threes
got to keep my conscience clean
but that "hurricane what's-her-name"
mentality was not for me
and never could be
cause it surely brings bitter things
and misery


and was it clear?


cause i just wrote a letter
a confession down the ladder
that things could be so much better
and through follow the leader
i met her and then another end
and usually a grudge
but i loved so much
the way we touched and psuedo-kissed
oh i already miss you singing like this
over the phone
every now and every then i tend to pretend


and i say
heaven hits me hard
have you ever had a heaven here
heaven hits me hardly
have you ever had a heaven here


im not so alone

Take me out tonight
Where there's music and there's people
And they're young and alive
Driving in your car
I never never want to go home
Because I haven't got one
Anymore

Take me out tonight
Because I want to see people and I
Want to see life
Driving in your car
Oh, please don't drop me home
Because it's not my home, it's their
Home, and I'm welcome no more


And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten-ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well, the pleasure - the privilege is mine


Take me out tonight
Take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
And in the darkened underpass
I thought Oh God, my chance has come at last
(But then a strange fear gripped me and I
Just couldn't ask)


Take me out tonight
Oh, take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
Driving in your car
I never never want to go home
Because I haven't got one, da ...
Oh, I haven't got one


And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten-ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well, the pleasure - the privilege is mine


Oh, There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out
There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out
There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out
There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out
There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out
There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out
There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out
There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out
There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out

Punctured bicycle on a hillside desolate
Will nature make a man of me yet?
When in this charming car - This charming man!
Why pamper life's complexity
when the leather runs smooth
on the passenger seat?

I would go out tonight,
but I haven't got a stitch to wear
This man said "it's gruesome
that someone so handsome should care"

A jumped-up pantry boy
who never knew his place
He said "return the ring!"
He knows so much about these things
He knows so much about these things...

I would go out tonight,
but I haven't got a stitch to wear
This man said "it's gruesome
that someone so handsome should care"
Uh, la-la, la-la, la-la, this charming man...

A jumped-up pantry boy
who never knew his place
He said "return the ring!"
He knows so much about these things
He knows so much about these things...
He knows so much about these things...

Its so white out today
Im missing the blues


so you think He's the best in the whole world?
You should kiss more,
Trumpet players girl
see you sucking the brass cap,
we'll see who has the last laugh,
and the trumpet of that man,
do a twitch and you cant get past them


I cant take anymore
I've got to get to the door
looking down at the knees
too many fake ideas
I cant hear the band
I don't know where to stand
and it's pouring in, and I...
will you please kiss me?


on stage the bugle looks so cute
and the trumpet goes "toot toot toot"


happy billie holidays
I feel like history
and if the visitor's missin' me
I'm not much of a player
kiss kiss kiss me yeah.
I'm not much of a player
kiss kiss kiss me yeah
I'm not much of a player
kiss kiss kiss me yeah
I'm not much of a player
kiss kiss kiss me yeah
I'm not much of a player.


see us stuck in Nebraska
and I'll have the last laugh
yeah that trumpet man
I do a twitch and I can get past them.


I cant take anymore
I've got to get to the door
looking down at the knees
too many fake ideas
I think i cant hear the band
I don't know where to stand
it's a crazy dream
as it seems
will you please kiss me?


happy billie holidays
I feel like history
and if the visitor's missin' me
I'm not much of a player
kiss kiss kiss me yeah.
yeah yeah yeah.

got caught kicking the canvas down
i had plans but they never seemed to work out
wide-eyed and on the lookout
got caught tearing the whole thing down
i was halfway done
but then you know this painted scene
could never leave me
oh please believe me

caught killing a camera
now it seems calming and clear to hire
a cast of kittens, the cats we've been kissing
for the cameras we're lowering here
got caught tearing the whole thing down
i was halway done
but then we sang it for memphis
the new slang in frame and canvas
just for the cameras


when we are awake we sing "never... ever"
this is where you must make up your mind
should beauty be design this time?
this time you decide cause we go with whatever
we take our time


got a cough
my throat kills from singing
my ears are ringing
the stage is slowly sinking
and we're all thinking the same thing
let's not settle for satisfaction
we are women and men of action
let's stop clapping let's start doing
a dream for the teens and in-betweens
and twenties yet unseen.

For goodness sake,
I got the hippy hippy shakes,
Yeah I got the shakes,

I got the hippy hippy shakes.
Oh I can't sit still
With the hippy hippy shakes,

Yeah I get my fill now,
With the hippy hippy shakes,
Yeah it's in the back, Oh,
The hippy hippy shakes.

Well you shake it to the left,
You shake it to the right,
You do the hippy shake shake
Oh baby,
With all your might,
Yeah It's in the back, Oh,


Yeah come on and shake,
Well now you shake it to the left,
The hippy hippy shakes.
You shake it to the right,
You do the hippy shake shake
Yeah come on and shake,
With all your might,

Oh baby,
Oh, the hippy hippy shake
Oh It's in the back, Oh,
The hippy hippy shakes.
Oh, the hippy hippy shake
Oh, the hippy hippy shake