Of Mice and Men
As I type this, I am flying to Orlando, Florida, where I will soon be surrounded by Minnie and Mickey (mice) and pirates (men). Ah, the irony that is life. Another interesting tidbit: this is the only song I've written where I drop the F-bomb. So I figured I might as well scream it. Goes quite well with the topic of the song anyway, as it turns out. What is the topic, you ask? Well, I'm really not sure, which is the whole point. And what is the point? Please see my answer to "What is the topic?"
i'd like to think that
we're all doin' the best we can
unfortunately
our best just isn't very good
(sh-t, that didn't rhyme)
pitter patter
through the maze on my hands and knees
all i wanna know is where's the f-ckin' cheese
how come nobody
ever wrote some damned instructions
for getting closer
at least avoiding self-destruction
it's almost as if
the universe is just a tease
all i wanna know is where's the f-ckin' cheese
can't see the forest
for all the motherf-ckin' trees
seize the day you say
well then give me a day to seize
i see the door
but i can't find my f-ckin' keys
all i wanna know is where's the f-ckin' cheese
Too Easy
This one had been simmering in my mind for the last couple of years. I can't say much more here than I already say in the song.
it's too easy to take an election without winning it
it's too easy to gloss that over just by spinning it
it's too easy to wage war without declaring it
it's too easy when nothing's there to red herring it
and i wonder why did he have to die
someone's father
someone's son
someone's brother
someone's only one
it's too easy to keep on rolling down a hill
it's too easy to ignore free people's will
it's too easy to put a ribbon on your car
it's too easy to forget where those troops are
and i wonder why did she have to die
someone's mother
someone's wife
someone's daughter
someone's entire life
it's gonna be so hard
to turn this evil tide
we won't have to let down our guard
we'll have to tear down our pride
remind me why do they have to die under iraqi skies
tell me why
tell me why
it's not too easy to understand
Forever
An anthem to the simultaneous hope and terror that accompany a burgeoning relationship after the age of 30. If only the terror had been present in relationships before 30. Course then I'd only have nine songs on this album, and that's simply unacceptable.
hey baby, got a minute
something's burning a hole in my mind
been trying hard to pin it down
but the same damned questions are all i find
when you gonna hurt me
when you gonna hate what you see
try to convert me
into someone i can never be
how long, baby, just how long, baby
how long, baby, just how long, maybe
forever?
forever?
i could never tell the real wood
from that other stuff that falls apart
stop making me feel good
too late, you hold my heart
how long, baby, just how long, baby
how long, baby, just how long, maybe
forever?
forever?
when you gonna break me
come on, give it to me straight
when will the next earthquake be
please tell me i have to wait
forever?
forever?
Tiny Little
I have some measure of regret about this song. Some people, including people I know and care about, would be fairly well offended by its content. Generally speaking, I think politics is a buzz-kill. On the other hand, this song sure as hell was a lot of fun to record. Feels more like rock and roll than anything else I've ever done. Maybe I'll do more of that at some point. Nah, then I'd need to hire a real guitarist. Anyway, to me music is pure emotion, and if it goes a little off the deep end, that's ok, because it's merely conveying the intensity of whatever emotion is at hand. In this case, I was bitterly disappointed and embarrassed to be an American when I found out how many people thought Sarah Palin would be a good person to have a heartbeat away from leading the free world. And the subsequent rationalization made me flat out angry. I'm pretty sure that comes across in the song. If that bothers you, you should probably read or listen no further on this entry.
is freedom of speech the same as stones and sticks
is our collective hide just a millimeter thick
it surely would have made our forefathers sick
when did my countrymen get such a tiny little...
...tolerance of dissent
why is it un-american
to understand another side
why won't our government
take any blame for those who've died
and why does a republic
that was born of revolution
meet revolutionary thought
with republican confusion
you say you can't understand all this hateful talk
while you raise your glass to our hateful walk
it surely would have sent our forefathers into shock
when did my countrymen get such a tiny little...
...depth of perspective
why is it so american
to rag on france
with all our other problems
it's a peculiar stance
but i guess it's only natural
when you're unsure of yourself
to solve the problem
by blaming someone else
you treat bumper sticker vitriol like literary genius
on your hybrid suv and proclaim your greenness
you praise jesus christ with arrogance and meanness
how'd my countrymen get such a tiny little...
...sense of irony
ooo tiny little
ooo tiny little
size doesn't matter, right
yeah, right
Shine
It is never too late to follow your dreams. NEVER. And along the way you might want to check out all the cool things you've already accomplished without even realizing it.
the more years you see behind you
the more the years ahead can blind you
but where you are is where you're supposed to be
and all of those darker days
kneel before your glow today
and the warmth i feel when you're close to me
shine
shine
millions of years
that's how long it often takes
for a new star to come to life
so it ain't half bad, no
you've only had, oh
about a wink of an eye to reach for the sky
shine
shine
you'll be the northern star to some
to me you're the summer sun
shine
shine
Peace on Earth
It was a lot of work, putting so much chorus and delay on the backup vocals that you can't tell how horribly out of tune they are. I tend to nail pitch in a recording session about once every three or four tries. This is massive progress from when I first started singing, where you could replace "three or four" with "infinite number of". It also appears to be my personal plateau.
welcome to our f-ed up planet
couldn't be more if we'd planned it
we're flexible as granite
with a tendency to panic
so don't take this the wrong way
but you'd best just fly away
come back another day
when we have turned back into clay
you see, it's just a phase
we are the earth's malaise
it's seen much better days
but we'll set it all ablaze
and then politely perish
and then the earth will flourish
be ruled by gnats and goldfish
or something off a petri dish
yeah we all want it
but we can't find it
it's hidden somewhere underneath all these fossils we burn
yeah we'd sure like it
but we can't have it
it might go to whoever digs up our fossils in turn
i don't mean to seem too bitter
or be declared a quitter
but we're just stupid critters
and we need a babysitter
but no one will take the gig
won't even take a swig
the task is just too big
and apparently involves too much trig
yeah we all want it
but we can't find it
it's hidden somewhere underneath all these fossils we burn
yeah we'd sure like it
but we can't have it
it might go to whoever digs up our fossils in turn
Simple Thing
This was the first song I put together for "Decades". As usually happens during the course of making an album, I got tired of the first song, thought for a time it was the tenth best song on the album, and then settled into a quiet satisfaction with its nondescript mediocrity. Except this time I actually like it a little better than that. I guess I didn't say much here, did I?
well i don't even know what this song is gonna be about
it'll all come together in the end
and if it doesn't then i'll compensate by making it real loud
yeah...
they say if you fail to plan you should plan to fail
well there's another worthless pile of words
it's not your plans that guide the wind into your sails
retrospect paints every plan absurd
oh, it's such a simple thing
you spend a lifetime reaching out in vain
and you die with not a single thing
forget the sun and just enjoy the rain
i'm still not sure what all this says to me
the car won't turn if you don't turn the wheel
but even though there's more to life than destiny
sometimes you were routed at the deal
oh, it's such a simple thing
you spend a lifetime reaching out in vain
and you die with not a single thing
forget the sun and just enjoy the rain
oh, it's such a simple thing
you spend a lifetime reaching out in vain
and you die with two hands full of nothing
forget the joy and just enjoy the pain
Jägerbombs on Mars
So I'm standing out on the balcony to our apartment one night, with my friend Paul, and he says, "We're going to Mars, dammit." And then I said, "Yeah, hopefully in our lifetime," and then he said, "No, I mean you and me," and I said, "Huh?", and then I thought, well, that would be pretty cool, and then I said, "in that case I'm going to make it a personal goal to do a Jägerbomb there." And then I was really pushed for lyrical content a few days later, so I thought I'd dedicate a song to it. I'd like to say I did a Jägerbomb right afterwards, but it was a good two or three days. Not that I specifically remember, it's just that I do one every two or three days, or so it seems. My head hurts.
you're born on the wrong day
plowing out feet first
you start dying right away
and you're never reimbursed
then they take away the breast
and you have to find your own
and everything's a test
but your grade's always postponed
and your hair starts turning gray
and you burn down all your dreams
and you spend all of your days
on the border of a scream
and just when you think it's a bust you are drinking
jägerbombs on mars
so you rocket back to earth
just in time for the parade
you bathe in the mirth
you finally have it made
and you're a gazillionaire
and buy a tiny nation
and you wrestle grizzly bears
and you start your own foundation
and you wipe out all disease
and famine and despair
and you broker world peace
and you're the king of everywhere
and just when you think you can trust it all you're drinking
jägerbombs in some bar
BSOD
If you Google this acronym, the first set of results you get will probably tell you what it means. This song is the culmination of years of angst dealing with a certain operating system in generating new music. Sometimes I feel like a whiner when that angst hits, because let's face it, it's pretty amazing what a musician with even a modest computer can do these days. But that's not much consolation when your system crashes a damaging amount of time since your last use of the "save" button. Originally, this song was going to be called "Core Dump", and it was going to have a combination of lyrical and conversational vocals. It evolved to its final, nonverbal state primarily as a result of me being tired of the computer crashing every time I tried to do more with it.
The Wrong World
(dedicated to Dave Lackey)
The loss of a friend of a similar age is a double-whammy. It makes you sad for all the same reasons as the death of anyone else close to you. But it brings thoughts of your own death much too clearly out of the shadows. Events of the past ten years of my life had already given me a much greater appreciation of the remaining X years than I had before. But this one event brought that home tenfold. Hopefully that will remain with me, because it's a great way to celebrate a wonderful life that is no more.
getting hit by a truck wouldn't have the impact of this
my soul has been struck by lightning from the abyss
you knew how to live more than i ever could
and oh, what i'd give to have understood...
long before now...
when i came home again you made a stranger feel
like a long lost friend with an ease that was damned surreal
but that was your style - just ask anyone here
in with a warm smile and out with our cold bitter tears
somehow we've all stumbled into the wrong world
and i don't think we'll ever find our way back home
if we could see it all through your eyes
we might find a right world on our own
i know this will never make sense
you hear the universe laughing at my expense
somehow we've all stumbled into the wrong world
and i don't think we'll ever find our way back home
if we could see it all through your eyes
we might find a right world on our own
are you out there somewhere
working on a Chevrolet
breaking wine glasses
brightening an angel's day
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