Tarnation

There is a restless weight upon me, in the shape of things to come.
And the wrapped up paper flowers have left my life undone.
What were the words once told to me or the promises left unmet.
And the end to all the simple things that we promised to never forget.
When I felt the hand upon me, I thought I'd shaken all that I could feel.
I don't need someone to tell me that none of it was real.
As I felt the darkness gather and the silence settle there.
And the many faces that surrounded me in the dark and silent air.

Do you fancy me, or am I living in make believe?
Am I someone just to pass your time?
To pass lonely hours 'til your heart can be free,
Then you'll forget all about me
Do you think of me,
Or are you a victim of old memories?
Why can't we live for now?
The past is only a sad tragic dream,
Why can't you give your love to me?
Like flowers of springtime there comes a time, when they must wilt away.
Like coldness of winter, with clouds in the sky,
I watch lonely people pass by.
I'll no longer pine for you,
My heart is through with being blue.
Soon you'll turn to find me gone.
Then you'll pass lonely hours,
'Til your heart can be free,
And you'll do all your yearnin' for me

The little yellow birds,
Do they cry for me,
Or do they cry with happiness ?
They look down on me with tiny eyes,
Do they see my tears?
They seem to flutter by so carelessly,
Do they hope I have some seeds ?
They land beside me without any fear,
Do they see my tears ?
There is the open sky where a warm breeze blows,
Still the birds stay close by me.
Do they want some hair to make a nest for spring,
Or do they want to dry my tears ?

I lost a bit more
Won a little mess
Said good-bye to low
And hello to less
I jacked up the car
And shot at my guest
I rolled it twice
And hoped for the best

Chorus :
On this tree I'll hang my skin
And my skeleton without a shadow
Will glow by the fire

The angel hangs over
The bedstand
With a wide wingspan
He's a guest or a ghost
Of a tall fireman
I guess I lit the curtains again

Repeat Chorus

I'm tearing the morning
Right out of the dawn
The night is broken
The day is gone
The sky hits me
It's falling fast
My guard is sleeping on
Broken glass

Repeat Chorus

Keep your arms open wide love,
'Cause I'm coming home,
I don't know where I am but I don't care,
'Cause I know where I'm going.
I'm going where the voices,
In my head tell me to
I'd walk a thousand crooked miles,
To try to get back to you

Chorus :
Well I'm weary to the bone,
As I wake here alone,
With a pain that won't let me be
And there's a stranger in the mirror,
Staring back at me,
( Oh Lord, could it be, is that me ? )

These hands are shaking in the shadows,
Of the old morning sun
That's dripping through the window pane,
Lord, this feeling is second to none

Repeat Chorus

I can almost see your smile,
And I can almost hear your voice
Rising high up above,
The flat land of Illinois

Repeat Chorus

Is that all there is to a name, a lost and childish heart.
There's nothing you give that's not dangerous or cold.
Is that there is to a game, a game of broken hearts.
There is no easy way to the lesson you must learn.
It seems so easy for you to turn your heart off and on.
It's no matter who is right or who is wrong.
Is that all there is to a face, a bit of sadness there to hide.
Your fears compel you to hide it all inside.
It seems so easy for you to turn your heart off and on,
It's no matter who is right or who is wrong.

In the muddy brown water where I wrote your name.
Sadly it tells me that our luck has changed.
When I met you halfway to a place we call madness,
With a rock in my heart, I sank in despair.
In the dusty playground where I first saw your face.
Like a music chair dance, we keep changing our place.
Well there's nothing to hold, in a place we call madness.
Where the water runs cold, then the water runs dry.
How simple things seemed when I just wanted to hold you, hold you.
I listen to a voice of reason while I sleep
It tells me to question all the promises that I keep.
When I met you halfway to a place we call madness,
With a rock in my heart, I sank in despair.
How simple things seemed when I just wanted to hold you, hold you.

I'm waiting, I wait, for the steps on the path,
I'm waiting but steps never come
The sun's burning still,
And the plans that we made
Have slowly faded away
So long, good-bye, to that crazy moaning sky
and I'll cast my heart down the well.

The whole years slowly passed, where the high grass is grown
By the lake where we used to play
The ravine's grown so high, round the shaded brick well.
In the field where we used to play
So long, good-bye, to that crazy moaning sky
and I'll cast my heart down the well.

Down the road sits the Big O Motel,
Where people tell lies in their own private cell.
With cast down eyes and a packaged surprise,
I come and I go we plan it just so.

At the Big O Motel, on the vibrating bed,
Cologne drenched curtains of velour red.
In the smoky glass mirror I look at my face,
But, on the bed beside me someone has taken your place.
By the Big O mOtel, there's a drive through bar,
They'll make you a daiquiri in a mason jar.
The man at the window with the receding hair line,
Looks away from me but says " same place, same time ".
At the Big O Motel, on the vibrating bed,
Cologne drenched curtains of velour red.
In the smoky glass mirror I look at my face,
But, on the bed beside me someone has taken your place.
The man on the corner with sausage shaped fingers,
After he's gone, his cigar smoke lingers.
After he's gone I take a shower,
I watch the clock's hands passing the hours.

Listen to the wind, it calls out my name,
It calls with it's wanderin' ways.
Somewhere out yonder kindlin' my flame
Turnin' my tearin' to a blaze.
While I tow the line on this barge of a heart
That'll lead me astray some day, some day.
I'm gonna get me a gun and shoot me someone
If I don't calm my yearnin' heart,
And they'll take me away to an early grave
Before my natural days are done.
While I tow the line on this barge of a heart
That'll lead me astray some day, some day.
While I tow the line on this barge of a heart
That'll lead me astray some day, some day.

There she goes, she's a lonely one,
She wears a strange painted on smile.
She's caught in the middle,
And she's waited for a long, long while.
There she sits half in the shade,
She won't look at any trouble made by that man.
He's the only trouble she understands.
Dancing where the lonely lights are dim,
Holding on to just a memory of him
I tell myself there's no one to blame,
Is it fate? Why we feel the same.
Caught by the middle after waiting for a long, long time
Dancing where the lonely lights are dim,
Holding on tojust a memory of him

Listen to the wind, it calls out my name,
It calls with it's wanderin' ways.
Somewhere out yonder kindlin' my flame
Turnin' my tearin' to a blaze.
While I tow the line on this barge of a heart
That'll lead me astray some day, some day.
I'm gonna get me a gun and shoot me someone
If I don't calm my yearnin' heart,
And they'll take me away to an early grave
Before my natural days are done.
While I tow the line on this barge of a heart
That'll lead me astray some day, some day.
While I tow the line on this barge of a heart
That'll lead me astray some day, some day.

There is a restless weight upon me, in the shape of things to come.
And the wrapped up paper flowers have left my life undone.
What were the words once told to me or the promises left unmet.
And the end to all the simple things that we promised to never forget.
When I felt the hand upon me, I thought I'd shaken all that I could feel.
I don't need someone to tell me that none of it was real.
As I felt the darkness gather and the silence settle there.
And the many faces that surrounded me in the dark and silent air.

Do you fancy me, or am I living in make believe?
Am I someone just to pass your time?
To pass lonely hours 'til your heart can be free,
Then you'll forget all about me
Do you think of me,
Or are you a victim of old memories?
Why can't we live for now?
The past is only a sad tragic dream,
Why can't you give your love to me?
Like flowers of springtime there comes a time, when they must wilt away.
Like coldness of winter, with clouds in the sky,
I watch lonely people pass by.
I'll no longer pine for you,
My heart is through with being blue.
Soon you'll turn to find me gone.
Then you'll pass lonely hours,
'Til your heart can be free,
And you'll do all your yearnin' for me

The little yellow birds,
Do they cry for me,
Or do they cry with happiness ?
They look down on me with tiny eyes,
Do they see my tears?
They seem to flutter by so carelessly,
Do they hope I have some seeds ?
They land beside me without any fear,
Do they see my tears ?
There is the open sky where a warm breeze blows,
Still the birds stay close by me.
Do they want some hair to make a nest for spring,
Or do they want to dry my tears ?

I lost a bit more
Won a little mess
Said good-bye to low
And hello to less
I jacked up the car
And shot at my guest
I rolled it twice
And hoped for the best

Chorus :
On this tree I'll hang my skin
And my skeleton without a shadow
Will glow by the fire

The angel hangs over
The bedstand
With a wide wingspan
He's a guest or a ghost
Of a tall fireman
I guess I lit the curtains again

Repeat Chorus

I'm tearing the morning
Right out of the dawn
The night is broken
The day is gone
The sky hits me
It's falling fast
My guard is sleeping on
Broken glass

Repeat Chorus