Pedro The Lion

sunken ships rest
upon the ocean floor
where i've made my home
to dodge the draft once again

there once was a time one could flee to the north
but canada's not what she used to be
boycott the war when she could not afford to
thanks to the new american queen

swim with me
and we'll escape all the troubles of the present age
finally free

the mermaids teach us
how to breathe beneath
the line that now divides
action from apathy

you're up with the sunrise
and down when the work's been done
with excellence industry
diligence naturally
i would like to be you
just for a few habit forming years
laziness cuts me like fine cutlery

i need a miracle someone to help me myself

sweet jesus, i need you
forgive me this sin
not hookers or heroin, gambling or gin
it sounds so ridiculous, but i just can't lick this

dad, dad, why did you let that man
push you around like that
you should've beat him down
down to the ground
down to the ground for that
he says, "son,
you're still young
and you always jump the gun"
there are real people in the big,
big trucks that you flip off
when they get in your road.
you get so hacked, that you pay no mind
to the great big sign that says oversized load.
do you really think they can go as fast
as you in your 87 trans am.
they know you're in a terrible rush
but they're going just as fast,
as fast as they can

dad, dad, i really don't understand
what driving big trucks has to do with that man.
you should've taught him a lesson
about being rud e about talking to you
with such an attitude.
son you're still young
and you always jump the gun
you get so hacked,
that you pay no mind to the great big sign
that says oversized load.
do you really think they can go
as fast as you in your 87 trans am.
they know you're in a terrible rush
but they're going just as fast,
as fast as they can

old friend
your horse is ready to ride when morning comes
from this church town where damning rumors drip from holy tongues

it won't go away
it won't go away
it won't go away

fever to find the scapegoat fast and fix the blame
i know you never meant to leave the way you came

looking down from that stain glass steeple
they'll never know why you had to run

ride as fast as you can
they're shooting to kill

barely ever fight, she knows that i love her
at first we made it every night, but i don't want to bug her about it
she just has a funny way of loving me

a pair of ticket stubs in her desk
a movie in her desk i've never seen
i probably shouldn't ask
it sounds so accusing
she must have forgotten to mention girl's night out

the breakfast cereal talked
more than we did all that day
i asked her for a walk
but she had to be on her way
so i told her that i knew she'd been stepping out

she swore that she could explain
she swore that it would not happen again
she swore that she could explain
we both knew her words were in vain

spring comes slowly
to this old friend
still i'm frozen
i still live alone

in time
memories fade
senses numb
one forgets how it feels
to have loved completely

love well young man
while you still can
once your leaves turn
you won't love again

is it special when your lonely
will you spend your whole life
in a studio apartment
with a cat for a wife
the seasons when they call you
do you baracade the door
are you stubborn to the core

is it your way
or the highway

then the longest
winter is on her way
you called her without knowing you,
but now it's too late

what makes you think that it won't grow back in a day or two
husbands in winter, they know the truth
but what can they do

i don't like girls the way they are
so shave their legs, and make them look like movie stars
then we can pretend it's natural
put on whatever makes you attractive
if it's not you, then do it for the sake of fashion
your friends like a certain you, that's who you've got to be

junior high legs
blond hair gone brown
from removing it
waxing since thirteen, wisdom from a beauty queen
her tiara digging deep in her head

i'm starting to think that i'm kinda shy or at least i'd like to be

winter legs give me heart attacks
so take it off with lasers so it never comes back
then we can pretend it's natural

all the time you were burning my letters
you were only acting the part
you think without me you'll get on much better
but you dont even know your own heart

come home, darling
come home quickly
come home, darling
all is forgiven, so come home quickly

i treated you as if you were a princess
you treated me like a cop
i gave you boundaries to save you from certain death
dangling from the end of the rope

but your still playing for a love you'll never find
outside of these arms of mine

the whole town is one step behind you
with the hang man on call
they've got the judge and your convicted without a plea
but darling, they will listen to me

hunger drives me
it's got me by the reigns
i let it wreck me
time and time again

i decided to
never ride again
i don't know
what happened

dad, i broke my promise to you
if your wondering where i've been
i thought i knew what i was doing
but i was wrong again
i understand, son
i understand, son
i understand

the fairer gender
they always turn my head
from sheer embarrassment
i'm nearly dead

i could hear the church bells ringing
they peeled aloud your praise
the member's faces were smiling
with their hands outstretched to shake
it's true they did not move me
my heart was hard and tired
their perfect fire annoyed me
i could not find you anywhere

could someone please tell me the story
of sinners ransomed from the fall
i still have never seen you, and somedays
i don't love you at all

the devoted were wearing bracelets
to remind them of why they came
some concrete motivation when the abstract could not do the same
but if all that's left is duty, i'm falling on my sword
at least then, i would not serve an unseen distant lord

if you could really see
then you would ask of me
she knew the well was far too deep for him to wet his lips
but something told her that he spoke of so much more than all of this

if you could really see
then you would ask of me
when he spoke, she wanted to believe the things he said
but who could this man be that she might never thirst again

her heart raced
could he be the one we've waited for
the one we've waited for

i'll take something to believe
something with long sleeves, cos it's unpredictable
now jesus said he'd fill my needs, but my heart still bleeds
he's just not physical why can't i see

if i look up and the sky's not there,
is there any reason i should be scared
when a promise, is a promise, i know

now we've established a lack of sight
maybe vision's the right word for what i need
cos i can't see with human eyes
lord knows i've tried to follow where he leads me
why can't i see

from what i've seen so far, i can't believe my eyes
and what a nice surprise

All the way to grandma's house
I stayed on the narrow path
but my brother wandered off
deep into the wood
bitten twice by rattle snakes
tangled in the poison oak
he fell down and broke his legs
into a great ravine
when I arrived at grandma's house
she had made us tea and cake
she asked me where my brother was
I said I don't know and I ate

When I get to heaven
I'll be greeted warmly
surrounded by the angels
as jesus takes my hand
I'll receive a mansion
on the river Jordan
and a crown made of diamonds
for a race well run
I won't ever lock my doors
I will trust my neighbors
confident that they deserve
to be there in heaven, too

the volunteers were tired, heads were hanging low
the news had spoiled their appetite for stuffing envelopes
twelve points was an awful lot to be down in the polls
with only two weeks to go

shouldering the phone, loosening his tie
his running mate on pricks and pins, hovering beside
the candidate wrote furiously as if to save his life
then hung up the phone and spoke with great conviction

"when you're nothing but a boyfriend dangling by a thread
keep in mind the bottom line, diamonds are a girls best friend"

inches from the goal, one thing on his mind
to get behind her desk and make some big decisions
power can be such a tease, you're always wanting more
it's good to know that just like sex, it can be paid for

Officer
Please don't haul me in
Though I'm drunk again
I can explain
I swear to you
For a week I have
Been completely dry
Until tonight

He's been such a good example
Everything he's done for me
I couldn't bear to let him down

Monday night
Brother sat me down
Very graciously
And explained
"If I'm going to help you
I must make it very clear
Brother that I love you
But certainly I hate your sin"

So you see you can't arrest me
I swore I'd be careful not to
Further shame the family name

Dear unlock the door
You're acting like a child
When you've said it yourself
We are at war
How dare you turn on me now
Right when I need you most
I wish I could have seen their faces when they heard the news
Now that's the sort of smack that leaves a bruise

The victory is ours at last
I beat them at their own dirty game
They pervert the words of god and man
For their own selfish gain
I took their wrong and I took their lies
and I made them right, I made them right

Oh, look who it is
It's my subordinate wife
and she thinks she's going to squeal

Hey where do you think you're going?
Don't you walk away from me
You put down that telephone
You're not calling anyone

Blood stains on the carpet
blood stains on my hands
drag her toward the kitchen
hide the evidence

Oh the toil a lie can bring
that quitters never know
but lies can be the perfect things
if they never show

The crisis that posed a question
just beneath the skin
the virtue in my veins replied
that quitters never win

she almost ruined everything

Such an awful, tragic night
Though I've only done what's right
Even with my conscience clear
I can't help this flood of tears

I've got my eye on the finish line

Though I've been striving for their good
I will be misunderstood
Even my own darling dear
Misconstrued what was so clear

Given the time I think she would have understood
That it was for the greater good
Soon I will meet her at our mansion in the sky
Leaving this wicked world behind

It's strange that it should end this way
But martyrs never have a say

My dress shoes on.
The well-kept cemetary lawn.
Both of them weeping.
Their one good son now was gone.

The irony, to see my dad down on his knees,
Crying out to Jesus,
"But Lord I've always done what's right."

All the while,
The good Lord smiled,
And looked the other way.
And looked the other way.

When we were kids,
I did my best to make them proud.
It just wasn't in me.
I could not fly straight to save my life.

All the while,
The good Lord smiled,
And looked the other way.
And looked the other way.

Their big success is now their biggest failure.
Their golden child has been dethroned.
Their reputation is now in ruin.
Their tower to heaven has come tumbling down.

And all the while,
The good Lord smiles,
And looks the other way.
And looks the other way.

if at first you don't succeed
try, try again
if i were you i'd give up
the path is too narrow
the way is too steep

save your applause
for the end of the show

count it a blessing that you're such a failure
your second chance might
never have come

We were walking, holding hands
With our bare feet in the sand
And the sea gulls overhead
When I broke the spell and said

"I could never divorce you
Without a good reason
And though I may never have to
It's good to have options
But for now, I need you
But for now, I need you
But for now, I need you"

But it was only in my head
Because no one ever says
What they really mean to say
When there's so much at stake
So I told her I loved her
And she told me she loved me
And I mostly believed her
And she mostly believed me

This is how we multiply
Pity that it's not my wife
The friction and skin
The trembling sighs
This is how the bodies move
With everything that we could lose
Pushing us deeper still
The sheets and the sweat
The seed and the spill
The bitter pill yet undiscovered

Gideon is in the drawer
Clothes scattered on the floor
She's arching her back
She screams for more

"Oh my sweet rapture
I hear Jesus calling me home"

Finally a chance to breathe
Reaching for the fallen sheets
Collapsing in
A glowing heap
We've gone too far
We've done too much
We have to quit it
Just one more kiss
Just one more touch
Please ten more minutes
This feels so good
Just barely moving
The tension building
Our bodies working
To reach the goal

Oh my sweet rapture
I hear Jesus and the angels
Singing "Hallelujiah"
Calling me to enter the promised land

Have you ever seen an idealist with gray hairs on his head?
Or successful men who keep in touch with unsuccessful friends?
You only think you did
And I could've sworn I saw it too
But as it turns out
It was just a clever ad for cigarettes

Cause if it isn't making dollars
Then it isn't making sense
If you aren't moving units
Then you're not worth the expense
If you really want to make it
You had best remember this:
If it isn't penetration
Then it isn't worth a kiss

And we're so sorry sir, but you did not quite make the cut this time
And we'd appreciate it if you cleared your stuff all out by five
Don't take it personal
Everyone knows you did your best
If it makes it easier you should look at it from our perspective

Cause if it isn't making dollars
Then it isn't making sense
If you aren't moving units
Then you're not worth the expense
If you really want to make it
You had best remember this:
If it isn't penetration
Then it isn't worth a kiss

Ultraviolet rays are washing over all the boys and girls
As their moms lay tanning by the pool
Oh look their dad's arriving home
All the children hug his neck
Unaware of their inheritance
All of the experts say you ought to start them young
That way they'll naturally love the taste of corporate cum

God bless the Indian summer

Don't you just love the sun?
Doesn't it make you feel good all over?
It's my pleasure to announce
In conjuction with the feds
And my recent popularity
Thanks in part to Mother Nature
It will never rain again
It should do wonders for the GNP
If you're just joining us now, you've missed a brilliant speech
We go now live to the street to find out what the voters think
He's worked a miracle
I just now bought a brand new car

God bless the Indian summer

Here we have our dust free dining set
We guarentee it won't collect a spec
Freeing up the children to instead
Grow into your molding
Heed more of your scolding
Go early to their new self-making beds

It seems like you'd be tired of losing face
Like you'd want to put the children in their place
The more you have to tell them to do their chores
The more you run the risk of being ignored

If you're lucky they'll turn out as good as you
You tell them that they're good kids
But you know that it's not true

Your father drank a little
You're on liver number two

Progress has a way of feigning ease
Convenient new inventions bait the tease
For though it is impossible to cure
A husband bent on cheating
The oxygen's depleting
A child who's always bragging
A wife's persistent nagging
We're equipped to live as though it were

If you're lucky they'll turn out as good as you
You tell them that they're good kids
But you know that it's not true

Your father drank a little
You're on liver number two

This line is metaphysical
And on the one side
And on the one side
The bad half live in wickedness
And on the other side
And on the other side
The good half live in arrogance
And there's a steep slope
With a short rope
This line is metaphysical
And there's a steady flow
Moving to and fro

Oh look you earned your wings
Are you an angel now
Or a vulture?
Constantly hovering over
Waiting for a big mistake

Oh my God, what have I done?

Wouldn't you love to be
On the cover of a magazine?
Healthy skin and perfect teeth
Designed to hide what lies beneath

And I feel the darkness growing stronger
As you cram light down my throat
And how does that work out for you
In your holy quest to be above reproach?

Wouldn't you love to be
On the cover of a magazine?
Healthy skin and perfect teeth
Designed to hide what lies beneath
What lies beneath

It's priceless when you say you have to work late
When we both know you're at a motel
But here's the thing that's so much more depressing
Than the infidelity itself:

Darling, you are so unoriginal
Each move more obvious than the one before it

You know I always said that I would kill you
If I ever caught you stepping out
But now I see I did not know the half of
What hatred and regret were all about

Darling, you are so unoriginal
Each move more obvious than the one before it

And I guess I could be bigger but I'd rather make you pay

Darling, you are so unoriginal
You'll see that I can be so unorignal just like you

The impact
The aftershave
The European cigarettes
The taxi
The alcohol
That lingers on your breath
The lipstick
The street lamp
The woolen overcoat
The front desk
You turn yourself
It isn't over yet

Second best, oh second best
I can learn to live with this
Plus I really need a rest
After all what's wrong with second best?
What's wrong with second best?

The motel
The distances
Cave into kisses cold and wet
Familiar exchanges
Like needle pulling thread
The empty movements
That once were so inspired
Desperate attempts to fan the flame
Without the fire
The mattress creeps beneath
The symphony of misery and cum
Still we lay jerking back and forth
And blurring into one

Second best, oh second best
I can learn to live with this
Plus I really need a rest
After all what's wrong with second best?
What's wrong with second best?

Paramedics brave and strong
Up before the break of dawn
Putting poker faces on
Broken bodies all day long
The neighbors heard a fight
Someone had a knife
It must have been the wife
Husband's lost a lot of blood
He wakes up screaming, "Oh my God
Am I gonna die?
Am I gonna die?"
As they strapped his arms down to his sides
In times like these they've been taught to lie
"Buddy, just calm down, you'll be alright"

Several friends came to his grave
His children weren't so well behaved
As the priest got up to speak
The assembly craved relief
But he himself had given up
So instead he offered them this bitter cup:
"You're gonna die
We're all gonna die
Could be twenty years, could be tonight
And lately I have been
Wondering why
We go to so much trouble
To postpone the unavoidable
And prolong the pain of being alive"

Wouldn't it be
So wonderful
If everything were
Meaningless?
But everything is
So meaningful
And most everything turns
To shit

Rejoice

Here we have our dust free dining set
We guarentee it won't collect a spec
Freeing up the children to instead
Grow into your molding
Heed more of your scolding
Go early to their new self-making beds

It seems like you'd be tired of losing face
Like you'd want to put the children in their place
The more you have to tell them to do their chores
The more you run the risk of being ignored

If you're lucky they'll turn out as good as you
You tell them that they're good kids
But you know that it's not true

Your father drank a little
You're on liver number two

Progress has a way of feigning ease
Convenient new inventions bait the tease
For though it is impossible to cure
A husband bent on cheating
The oxygen's depleting
A child who's always bragging
A wife's persistent nagging
We're equipped to live as though it were

If you're lucky they'll turn out as good as you
You tell them that they're good kids
But you know that it's not true

Your father drank a little
You're on liver number two

If only the rules were built upon
Philosophy that I embraced
I'd hug your neck
And kiss your face

But its very obvious
That your ideals are not for me
You'll tell me what to do
But you will see that I do as I please

'Cause I want to do it my way
I want to fly
I want to do it my way
'Cause I want to fly

The problem with rules
Is they alienate the criminals
When whose to say
If what they did was wrong that day

If you'd open your mind up
You'd see that there is nothing
That's always wrong
No matter what you say, it's just not true
That there's only one way

'Cause I want to do it my way
'Cause I want to fly
I want to do it my way
I want to fly

I hope we have ourselves
An understanding
I hope we have ourselves
An understanding
I hope we have ourselves
An understanding

I'm feeling independent
I made it through another day, having a wonderful time
I haven't felt the sickness
I think I may have scared it away, looks like I'm gonna be fine

Friend down on the corner says
It's gonna be alright
He's handing me a needle, he sells me a fix
He says I'll see you here tomorrow

I'm feeling self-sufficient
It's nice to finally be in control, I'd have it no other way
I do it when I want to let the good times roll
Each and every day

My friend down on the corner says
It's gonna be alright
He's handing me a needle, he sells me a fix
He says I'll see you here tomorrow

My friend down on the corner says
It's gonna be good time
Pats me on the shoulder, he sells me a fix
He says I'll see you here tomorrow

At least in my dreams
When I'm sleeping it seems
That the needle is full endlessly
But you keep on waking me

I'm almost there
It's on the tip of my tongue
And it never goes away
It never comes to stay

The chances are slight
I won't shoot up tonight
But the sensation that's waiting beneath
Is a kick in the teeth

Almost there
It's on the tip of my tongue
And it never goes away
It never comes to stay

I'm almost there
It's on the tip of my tongue
And it never goes away
It never comes to stay

And it never goes away

A hole that big I'd never seen before
In the tummy of a good ol' boy who always wanted more
Then just yesterday I saw him satisfied
It seems he'd met the hole fixin' man much to his surprise

But are you for real, Mr. hole fixin' man?
You fixed my friend, can you fix me?
Hey Mr. hole fixin' man, I'm as broken as a boy can be
So how about fixin' me

All the charms that never were enough
It seems the hole was always twice as big
No matter what it was, but to see him now is almost to believe
That maybe Mr. hole fixin' man might have what I need

But are you for real, Mr. hole fixin' man?
You fixed my friend, can you fix me?
Hey Mr. hole fixin' man, I'm as broken as a boy can be
So how about fixin' me

Mr. Whole fixin' man, he says you died on calvary
Hey Mr. hole fixin' man, if you've got proof I'll believe it
So how about fixin' me, won't you please, won't you please?
Start by fixin' me, start by fixin' me

The sun shines and leaves blow
And my hope like autumn is turning brown
And I know it seems like I'm always falling down

But it does not matter to me
Although it seems like it should
It's because I know I'm understood
When I hear Him say

Rest in Me, little David and dry all your tears
You can lay down your armor and have no fear
'Cause I'm always here when you're tired of running
And I'm all the strength that you need

It's uphill both ways
Tomorrow I swear, I won't act this way
And I know it seems like that is what I always say

But it does not matter to me
Although it seems like it should
It's because I know I'm understood
When I hear Him say

Rest in Me, little David and dry all your tears
You can lay down your armor and have no fear
'Cause I'm always here when you're tired of running
And I'm all the strength that you need

You know I want to be like Jesus
But it seems so very far away
When will I learn to obey, obey

I saw in your bedroom
the drawers had been emptied
looking for answers
but you won't admit it now

you don't need a reason
that's what you tell me
but I still don't buy it
you drink yourself silly
night after night

it makes me feel so good
to always tell you when you're wrong
the big man that I am
to always have to put you down

then there's your girlfriend
she opens her legs and
gives your life meaning
is that what you love her for?

the angel's always looking down
he's perfect with a frown
the bully always wins

it makes me feel so good
to always tell you when you're wrong
the big man that I am
to always have to put you down

it makes me feel so good
to always tell you when you're wrong
the big man that I am
to always have to put you down

it makes me look so good
to always put you in your place
I can write it in a song
but never say it to your face
to your face

Satellites mediate for us the day's events
Through fiber optics
I hope we can change the same
I wouldn't mind, but you are my only hope
I wouldn't mind, but you are my only hope

Clear as a bell are the short breaths
That you take when you're distracted
Same as the way that you roll your eyes
When I ask too many stupid questions

My faith in zeros and ones to host our romance
Rests on hope you gave that
I've some claim to your heart

I wouldn't mind, but you are my only hope
I wouldn't mind, but you are my only hope

Clear as a bell are the short breaths
That you take when you're distracted
Same as the way that you roll your eyes
When I've asked too many questions

I will call you in three weeks
Maybe then you'll have some more to say

crazy people know a special place to go when the pressure's on
neurons re-align til the feelin is fine,
or trouble is gone
they're in the business of inventing saviors

there's always trouble
so tell yourself again that help is on the way
and safety abounds
and safety abounds

when you need some kind of guarantee that you're protected
you start to trust the things that deeper comfort brings,
before you've checked it
you might be waiting for a long time.

there's always trouble
so tell yourself again that help is on the way
and safety abounds
that safety abounds
that safety abounds
that safety abounds

it's weird to think of all the things
that have not been keeping up with the times
it's ten o'clock the sun has now
just begun to set the western hills on fire
i hear that you don't change
how do you expect to keep up with the trends
you won't survive the information age
unless you plan to change the truth
to accommodate the brilliance of men
the brilliance of men
some folks think we're better now
social evolution's new synthetic will
will keep us on a straighter path
as better men use brand new math
with no wrong answers
i'm just a little bit worried
do you have some sort of plan
have you been finally defeated
by the cunning of these fully evolved men
i hear that you don't change
how do you expect to keep up with the trends
you won't survive the information age
unless you plan to change the truth
to accommodate the brilliance of men
yeah, the brilliance of men

Be thou my vision
O lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me
Save that thou art
Thou my best thought
By day or by night
Waking or sleeping
Thy presence my light

Riches i heed not
Nor man's empty praise
Thou my inheritance
Now and always
Thou and thou only
First in my heart
High king of heaven
My treasure thou art

Dad, Dad why did you let that man
Push you around like that?
You should have beat him down
Down to the ground
Down to the ground for that.
He said "Son, you're still young
and you always jump the gun."

There's real people in the big, big trucks
That you flip off when they get in your way.
You get so hacked that you pay no mind
To the great big sign that says "Oversized Load"
You really think they can go as fast
As you in your 87' Trans Am?
They know you're in a terrible rush,
They're going just as fast
As fast as they can.

Dad, Dad, I really don't understand
What driving big trucks has to do with that man
You should have taught him a lesson
About being rude.
About talking to you with such an attitude.
"Son, you're still young
and you always jump the gun."

There's real people in the big, big trucks
That you flip off when they get in your way
You get so hacked that you pay no mind
To the great big sign that says "Oversized Load"
You really think they can go as fast
As you in your 87' Trans Am?
They know you're in such a terrible rush
They're going just as fast,
As fast as they can.

you said that you would not love me last summer
and you said that you would not love me last spring
but i hoped that you would change your mind by autumn
especially when i bought that diamond ring

but you still said no
you wouldn't have me
you still said no no no

i heard that you've been sleeping with your old friends
and i heard when each one left and broke your heart
i told you then that i would never leave you
and i told you that i'd loved you from the start

even though you haven't any answers
you still think that you don't need anyone
to save you from the mess that you've created
even when i gave my only son

crazy people know a special place to go when the pressure's on
neurons re-align til the feelin is fine,
or trouble is gone
they're in the business of inventing saviors

there's always trouble
so tell yourself again that help is on the way
and safety abounds
and safety abounds

when you need some kind of guarantee that you're protected
you start to trust the things that deeper comfort brings,
before you've checked it
you might be waiting for a long time.

there's always trouble
so tell yourself again that help is on the way
and safety abounds
that safety abounds
that safety abounds
that safety abounds

Bands with managers are going places.
Bands with messy hair and smooth white faces.

But you don't believe when I say that it won't be alright.
(Alright)

Vans with 15 passengers are rolling over.
But I trust T. William Walsh and I'm not afraid to die.

But you don't believe when I say that it won't be alright.
(Alright)
That it won't be alright.
(Alright)

Cause it won't be alright.
(Alright)

I don't want to believe that all of the above is true
But I could be persuaded if you were to give me proof
Why don't you come over Thursday maybe we can talk it through
As if some new information were possible to comprehend or introduce
And after all you and I are nothing more than foregone conclusions
You were too busy steering the conversation toward the lord
to hear the voice of the spirit begging you to shut the fuck up
You thought it must be the devil trying to make you go astray
Besides it couldn't have been the lord because you don't believe he talks that way
And after all you and I are nothing more than foregone conclusions
Too close to call
Yet we're still so tightly wound around our foregone conclusions
Yeah we're nothing more than foregone conclusions

Deep green hills whose shoulders fade into thick grey
Tall wet grass whose flesh makes fools of grazing sheep
Whose fleecing makes a fool of me
Who shall I blame for this sweet and heavy trouble
For every stupid struggle I don't know
I could buy you a drink
I could tell you all about it
I could tell you why I doubt it and why I still believe
But I can't say it like I sing it
And I can't sing it like I think it
And I can't think like I feel it
And I don't feel a thing
Why I still believe it
Why I need it
Who shall I blame for this sweet and heavy trouble
For every stupid struggle I don't know
Why I still believe it
Why I need it
And what the pharisees don't see
We'd have more drinks
And speak of so many things
But I don't know you and you don't know me

Having no idea that his youngest son was dead
The farmer and his sweet young wife slept soundly in his bed
In the shadow of the mountain as the cattle hung their heads
Grazing only feet from where the broken body lay
And would lay undiscovered for another couple days
When the farmer would find vultures at their banquet in the hay
The killer traveled eastbound in a golden brown sedan
Weighing his most recent deviation from the plan
Counting down the hours til the sun came up again
Hired to hit the farmer by the farmer's asshole sun
He had not yet decided between poison or a gun
When suddenly he realized he would not use either one

Arizona curled up with California
Then she tried to hide the whole thing from New Mexico
Who knew before he saw them making out in Yuma
That she had been loving someone new
But California not California how could you
The bully loved her cactus
The underdog her pine
But she would only love one at a time
New Mexico had always hated California
And though he knew that Arizona wore the pants
He got loaded then he started throwing punches
The poor injun never had a chance
Scissors cut paper
Paper covers rock
Rock crushes scissors
Scissors break apart

You got drunk
Drunker than you'd ever been
You hailed a cab and passed out cold
Before you told the driver where to go
So he drove you around Chicago
You woke up sicker than you'd ever been
You threw up and shit the bed
And there was no one there to clean you up
And the room was spinning all around
Make a fist and take a deep breath
Close your eyes and count to ten
Just keep swinging 'til you're over it
The mess you left had got you feeling pretty bad
But she is a maid I guess that's what she gets paid for.

Engine severs lower legs
I feel my bruised heart beating
Spinal cord remains intact
Still sending and receiving

Lying back on shoulder blades
The cargo rushing past
Missing limbs beneath the cars
Twitching on the tracks

Click, clack, now handicapped
North am transcontinental

I remember as I bleed
Certain tales of bravery
A man who's legs were crushed beneath
A fallen evergreen tree
He decided he would chop them off above the knee
To sacrifice his shins and feet to make his torso free

The luxury of having been spared the hard part
You'd think would be enough for me to pull this off
But I'm left to bleed to death
Now all the man I've ever been
North am transcontinental

And when his tiny head emerged from blood and folds of skin
I thought to myself if he only knew he would climb right back in
I do
Now that my blushing bride has done what she was born to do
It's time to bury dreams and raise a son to live vicariously through
The sperm swims for the egg
The finger for the ring
If I could take one back
I know what it would be

the plants and the factories are perfectly run
the workers and bosses are living as one
people are equal people are good
people are working as hard as they should be
it's food for my family and clothes for my kids
the class war is over and everyone wins
it's such a simple plan
to take it like a man
but i'm not sure i can
we fought for a decade corruption and greed
it gave me a purpose a reason to breathe
but now that it's over now that we've won
it's back to my bedroom alone with a shot gun
to think of my family no longer compels me
with all things in common they'll manage without me

Roll me over I wanna wave at the kids
I can't say I prescribe cause I don't know what it is
I'm down at the track I'm just calling to check in
If you start without me say my name as you begin
It's not like it wasn't all for you
But like everything I do it's misunderstood
Take a message I'm on my way out of town
But the wording's important so make sure you write it down
There's money behind every picture in the place
Sincerely your husband on my way to the next race
If it's once I got it
If it's twice I don't

The poison makes its way through my body slowly
Into the pleasure centers of my brain
If you were here I would admit that I'm an asshole
But now it's over and I can't stay sober
Though it isn't like I've tried
On the front porch or on an airplane on vacation
Or out for dinner in a nearby town
I was so proud just to have you sitting with me
But now it's over and I can't stay sober
Pour and swallow follow one shot with another
I'll keep on til you agree to come back over
Or until there are x's on my eyes
My old man always swore that hell would have no flame
Just a front row seat to watch your true love pack her things and drive away

Bands with managers are going places.
Bands with messy hair and smooth white faces.

But you don't believe when I say that it won't be alright.
(Alright)

Vans with 15 passengers are rolling over.
But I trust T. William Walsh and I'm not afraid to die.

But you don't believe when I say that it won't be alright.
(Alright)
That it won't be alright.
(Alright)

Cause it won't be alright.
(Alright)

I don't want to believe that all of the above is true
But I could be persuaded if you were to give me proof
Why don't you come over Thursday maybe we can talk it through
As if some new information were possible to comprehend or introduce
And after all you and I are nothing more than foregone conclusions
You were too busy steering the conversation toward the lord
to hear the voice of the spirit begging you to shut the fuck up
You thought it must be the devil trying to make you go astray
Besides it couldn't have been the lord because you don't believe he talks that way
And after all you and I are nothing more than foregone conclusions
Too close to call
Yet we're still so tightly wound around our foregone conclusions
Yeah we're nothing more than foregone conclusions

Deep green hills whose shoulders fade into thick grey
Tall wet grass whose flesh makes fools of grazing sheep
Whose fleecing makes a fool of me
Who shall I blame for this sweet and heavy trouble
For every stupid struggle I don't know
I could buy you a drink
I could tell you all about it
I could tell you why I doubt it and why I still believe
But I can't say it like I sing it
And I can't sing it like I think it
And I can't think like I feel it
And I don't feel a thing
Why I still believe it
Why I need it
Who shall I blame for this sweet and heavy trouble
For every stupid struggle I don't know
Why I still believe it
Why I need it
And what the pharisees don't see
We'd have more drinks
And speak of so many things
But I don't know you and you don't know me

Having no idea that his youngest son was dead
The farmer and his sweet young wife slept soundly in his bed
In the shadow of the mountain as the cattle hung their heads
Grazing only feet from where the broken body lay
And would lay undiscovered for another couple days
When the farmer would find vultures at their banquet in the hay
The killer traveled eastbound in a golden brown sedan
Weighing his most recent deviation from the plan
Counting down the hours til the sun came up again
Hired to hit the farmer by the farmer's asshole sun
He had not yet decided between poison or a gun
When suddenly he realized he would not use either one

Arizona curled up with California
Then she tried to hide the whole thing from New Mexico
Who knew before he saw them making out in Yuma
That she had been loving someone new
But California not California how could you
The bully loved her cactus
The underdog her pine
But she would only love one at a time
New Mexico had always hated California
And though he knew that Arizona wore the pants
He got loaded then he started throwing punches
The poor injun never had a chance
Scissors cut paper
Paper covers rock
Rock crushes scissors
Scissors break apart

You got drunk
Drunker than you'd ever been
You hailed a cab and passed out cold
Before you told the driver where to go
So he drove you around Chicago
You woke up sicker than you'd ever been
You threw up and shit the bed
And there was no one there to clean you up
And the room was spinning all around
Make a fist and take a deep breath
Close your eyes and count to ten
Just keep swinging 'til you're over it
The mess you left had got you feeling pretty bad
But she is a maid I guess that's what she gets paid for.

Engine severs lower legs
I feel my bruised heart beating
Spinal cord remains intact
Still sending and receiving

Lying back on shoulder blades
The cargo rushing past
Missing limbs beneath the cars
Twitching on the tracks

Click, clack, now handicapped
North am transcontinental

I remember as I bleed
Certain tales of bravery
A man who's legs were crushed beneath
A fallen evergreen tree
He decided he would chop them off above the knee
To sacrifice his shins and feet to make his torso free

The luxury of having been spared the hard part
You'd think would be enough for me to pull this off
But I'm left to bleed to death
Now all the man I've ever been
North am transcontinental

And when his tiny head emerged from blood and folds of skin
I thought to myself if he only knew he would climb right back in
I do
Now that my blushing bride has done what she was born to do
It's time to bury dreams and raise a son to live vicariously through
The sperm swims for the egg
The finger for the ring
If I could take one back
I know what it would be

the plants and the factories are perfectly run
the workers and bosses are living as one
people are equal people are good
people are working as hard as they should be
it's food for my family and clothes for my kids
the class war is over and everyone wins
it's such a simple plan
to take it like a man
but i'm not sure i can
we fought for a decade corruption and greed
it gave me a purpose a reason to breathe
but now that it's over now that we've won
it's back to my bedroom alone with a shot gun
to think of my family no longer compels me
with all things in common they'll manage without me

Roll me over I wanna wave at the kids
I can't say I prescribe cause I don't know what it is
I'm down at the track I'm just calling to check in
If you start without me say my name as you begin
It's not like it wasn't all for you
But like everything I do it's misunderstood
Take a message I'm on my way out of town
But the wording's important so make sure you write it down
There's money behind every picture in the place
Sincerely your husband on my way to the next race
If it's once I got it
If it's twice I don't

The poison makes its way through my body slowly
Into the pleasure centers of my brain
If you were here I would admit that I'm an asshole
But now it's over and I can't stay sober
Though it isn't like I've tried
On the front porch or on an airplane on vacation
Or out for dinner in a nearby town
I was so proud just to have you sitting with me
But now it's over and I can't stay sober
Pour and swallow follow one shot with another
I'll keep on til you agree to come back over
Or until there are x's on my eyes
My old man always swore that hell would have no flame
Just a front row seat to watch your true love pack her things and drive away