Broken Down

It was a broken down van in a broken down time,
A broken down street with a broken down sign
In that broken down town.

It was a broken down beer in a broken down bar
With a broken down band who still acted like stars
In that broken down town.

He was a broken down picker, looking for a fight,
She was a broken down girl just out on the night
In that broken down town.

He had something that he needed to say,
But every time he tried words just got in the way.
She just smiled and said, "It's okay,
It’s all been broken down.”

It was some broken down truth, some broken down lies,
Some broken down smiles and some broken down eyes
In that broken down town.

Pretty soon it was breaking dawn in a broken down bed
With some broken down thoughts running through both their heads
In that broken down town.

She had something that she needed to say,
But every time she tried words just got in the way.
He just smiled and said, “It’s ok, it’s all been broken down.”

Now there’s a broken down carnival on the outskirts of town,
Near the broken down mines with their holes in the ground
In that broken down town.

There’s this broken down kid pushing his broken down bike
Towards the broken down house of the girl that he likes
In that broken down town.

He’s got something that he needs to say
But every time he tries words just get in the way.
But she’s out waiting on the porch anyway,
It’s all been broken down.

Now I’m sitting here thinking behind these high-rise walls
With neighbors I don’t know living down the hall,
I want to break ‘em down

---

Van Gogh’s Ear

What if Oedipus killed his mother ‘cause he really wanted his father?
What if Jesus killed Pilate bloodied his hands in the twilight?
If the itsy-bitsy spider just kept climbing higher and higher,
Would the clouds turn to fire? Would Honest Abe become a liar?

Chorus:
Maybe it’s all just really backwards, like cutting your hair in the mirror.
Maybe it’s all just really backwards, that’s why Van Gogh cut off his ear.
Maybe it’s all just really backwards, that’s why there’re no ears left to hear.

One small step, maybe too soon, did we really land on the moon?
I don’t really care I’ll get there, I’ll get everywhere.
Did Shakespeare really play himself up on life’s stage?
Did Hank write all them songs? Let’s light up and just move along.

(Chorus)

What if James Earl Ray was the father of Dr. King?
What if Bobby Dylan taught old Woody how to sing?
What if Joan of Arc was really an English king?
Would anything be true if we all thought the same thing?

(Chorus)

---

Everything Once

I loosened my tie when I heard the news,
Thinking how many try and how many lose.
I loosened my tie and I said a prayer
That I’d already been and you were finally there.

Chorus:
Maybe we have to do everything once, that’s just the way it is,
Sometimes we really hit it big, and sometimes, you know, we goddamn miss.
Maybe we have to do everything once and that’s just the way it is.

Each snowflake was perfect on my black, woolen coat,
The church bell was tolling right on the note.
My feet were frozen--no room inside,
The winter wind was cold, there was nowhere to hide.
Happiness comes and happiness goes,
Happiness, it leads us 'round by the nose.
But that’s alright, that’s okay, I’ve got nothing else to lead me today.

(Chorus)

He who loves his life will lose it, he who would give it away
Will live forever on the resurrection day.
Was it Matthew, Mark, or Luke who said?
Well, whoever it was he’s already dead.
And ain’t that always what those old dead men say,
Sometimes I want to knock 'em all out of the way.

(Chorus)

---

Pole Dance

Right attracts wrong, wrong pushes wrong away.
Wrong attracts right, right just don’t feel comfortable staying.
It’s open till two and it’s right off the interstate,
It’s a pole dance babe; throw another dollar up on the stage.

It’s the end of time as I know it and I could sure use another beer,
And there’s a man on the TV telling them all just what they want to hear.
But the sound's turned down, besides he’d never be caught dead in here.
It’s a poll dance babe, been going on for thousands of years.

Just because he’s forgiven,
That don’t mean he’s off the hook.
Just because it’s all been written,
That don't mean anybody will ever read that book.

She’s got a baby at home and a scar on each wrist
And a beautiful vision of a life she feels like she’s somehow missed.
She’s upside down, she spins, turns and twists--
She’s a pole-dancer babe; she’s got a lightning bolt in each fist.

And just because she’s forgiven
That don’t mean she’s off the hook.
Just because it’s all been written,
That don't mean anybody will ever read that book.

Right attracts wrong and wrong pushes wrong away.
Wrong attracts right, right just don’t feel comfortable staying.
But every guy in the bar has been in love at least once today.
It’s a pole dance babe; throw another dollar up on the stage.

---

Holy Hell

The invitation came yesterday morning in that Sunday mail.
It said you were getting married, said someone else was going to jail.
And I thought about the time I first met you down there on Main St. in the morning,
Everybody else was still in church or asleep and we were both hung over.
And I said, "Holy Hell!"

And I told you about the dream I had where I found Jesus. .. Sitting' in a go-go bar.
He was tipping all of the dancers he was driving a beat-up car.
And I said, "Hey man, aren't you Jesus?" He said, "Yeah, how did you know?"
And I said, "What are you doing in a place like this?" He said, "Ain't you ever read the book that I wrote?"
And I said, "Holy Hell!"

Maybe we should meet up behind the altar after dark when the church is closed.
We'll sneak in through the windows and get dressed up in our worst torn-up clothes.
I'll bring the i-pod, you'll bring the speakers, we'll listen to R.L. Burnside and The Stones,
And we'll dance in the aisles say "thou shall" and "you're forgiven" till that morning star comes home.
And we’ll sing, "Holy Hell!"

Holy Hell!

---

Make it Rain

Down on Rivington, you know, they’re making it rain.
They’re making a movie--cameras, lights and cranes.
But when I look up my sky is clear.

And the lead actress, you know, she's done for the night,
When she crosses her legs I can see some cellulite I’ve never seen
Up there on that screen.

And the billboard models even they've gone home to bed,
Or out on the town, or out of their heads.
It seems so obscene compared to life up on that screen.

Chorus:
And you just wanted to ride around with your top down,
I had to make it rain.
But ain’t it crazy how having everything includes having a reason to complain.

Long ago and far away, bound in a nutshell,
King of infinite space, I had a dream—
A beam of light fell on that screen.

Then it’s strut and fret and call yourself a man,
Call in storm clouds, drawing circles in the sand,
Stuck here on dry land.

(Chorus)

Now we're back on Rivington and its opening night,
The rain's pouring down but there ain't no cameras in sight.
We find our seats and they turn down the house lights.

But him and her, that ain't you and me,
We're just the reflections in the puddles on the street we see.
Maybe that's all we're meant to be.


(Chorus)

---

Somewhere (A Long Way From Here)

There’s a point up ahead where the whole world disappears,
And then come nightfall even that point disappears
With the neon lights and all the roadside beers.
They've fallen off the edge along with all the years.
Oh, somewhere’s still a long way from here.

It’s a mighty reservation where we invest our tears,
Insuring each and every of our doubts and fears
From the dust devils and the free-range steers.
We might be getting somewhere but it’s still a long way from here.
Oh, somewhere’s still a long way from here.

Then, up ahead, I can see lights in the west:
All the contents of all those empty miles compressed,
A vast confessional where nothing’s confessed,
A great big tilted mirror where we all look blessed.
Oh, somewhere’s still a long way from here.

There’s a point up ahead where the whole world disappears,
And then come nightfall even that point disappears.
But all the light from all the years
It all goes somewhere; it’s just a long, long way from here.
Oh, somewhere’s still a long way from here.
Yeah, it's still a long, long way from here.

---

Rorschach in Love

I woke up this morning to an ink blot on my bed,
Right there on the pillow where I thought you'd laid your head.
This seems to happen every time, I feel like I'm slowly losing my mind.
Maybe this is what it was like when Rorschach fell in love.

I met this little girl, man, everything seemed just right,
If you asked me it was all gonna be black and white,
But every time I'd turn around she was right back out on the town.
Maybe this is what it was like when Rorschach fell in love.

If love is a mirror it ain't made for ugly dudes like me,
Maybe I should go tanning or grow a goatee.
Somehow I don't think that'd be enough, 'cause as below, so must it be above,
And maybe this is what it was like when Rorschach fell in love.

---

Made You For

From now on you’ll have to answer your own prayers.
Don’t let that make you think there ain’t no one who cares.
It’s a perilous journey and you’ll be travelling by night,
But don’t you know by now son, you are the light.

This is what he made you for. This is what he made you for.
All those years of knocking on closed doors,
They're all over now and this is what he made you for.

There are things you know you could never confess,
And those are the things that they most want to possess.
The Philosopher’s Stone and the oil to bless
Can only exist inside of a faithful breast.

This is what he made you for. This is what he made you for.
All those years of knocking on closed doors,
They’re all open now and this is what he made you for.

The best of us will try and the best of us will slip,
The best of us will even sometimes lose his grip.
See a brother falling, go and lend a hand,
See yourself falling and do your best to stand.
Do your best, do your best.

And this is what he made you for. This is what he made you for.
To open all the windows, not run and bar the door.
They’re all open now and this is what he made you for.

---

We All Tour With Elvis

A roll of the die can’t eliminate chance,
Go on take your best shot.
'Cause seven, boys, is heaven, snake-eyes you roll again,
Anything else, just pay up what you got.

Chorus:
And life is just a whore, who reneges on the deal,
Some of us will break, some will bend,
Some will roll the lucky sevens; some will break the seventh seal,
But we all tour with Elvis in the end.

I’ve never been a gambler; at least not of things I ain’t got.
All I’ve ever wagered was mine.
So to Caesar what is Caesar’s, go and ante up the pot,
All I’ve got to gamble is my time.

(Chorus 2x)

---

Living Ghosts

We’re all living ghosts; we're haunting these present lives,
Lingering in places, faces, friends, habits, husbands and wives.
We’re all living ghosts, picking up things we’ve learned to let go,
Looking for things that in past lives we've learned we already know.
We’re all living ghosts, we're all living ghosts.

We’re all living ghosts, blown like sheets in the wind,
By something that is and was, yet still never has been.
We’re all living ghosts; these are our Elysian fields,
We all sit by the water to drink and forget all we know that is real.
We’re all living ghosts, we're all living ghosts.

We’re all living ghosts, without you I can’t be real.
Your crystal of mind that refracts me is the small treasure I steal.
We’re all living ghosts; someday we’ll let this old world go.
Maybe we already have, I’d be the last to know.
Because I’m a living ghost, we’re all living ghosts.

We’re all living ghosts, we're all living ghosts.