Goldfish

Sky as artful cage / the colors, soft, sure, but no forgiveness in them / probing for a flaw, a seam to pry apart / to reveal the fire exit / there'll be / no such luck / spotlights heralding / another grand opening / of an Applebee's looking for a way out / meet a helicopter searchlight / chasing swimming shadows below / looking for a way in / and we're both alone / Will these walls put up a fight / to keep the elements outside? / what's the use of DRY AND COMFORTABLE? / If a storm dissolves the sky / and spits the splinters in our eyes / will it blind us or WIDEN OUR VISION? / A piercing bell, a harder shell, colliding / and which one will win out - the red-and-white truck or the stoic? / gasp and flop on wet asphalt, the world skids to a halt / your eyes reflect a fellow wreck / break the glass - the fire met / Yeah, we're comfortable / with the windows drawn / on our aquarium / (WIDEN OUR VISION) / Yeah, we're beautiful / with our armor on / like the rising sun / (WIDEN OUR VISION)

Hit the Ground

The kids, they got their building blocks / stacked in living rooms and sidewalks / fused in summer days, annealed in winter nights / most were modeled after spines / supporting, flexible - but mine / was just a shell that shielded me and without it / I would hit the ground / the kids would spread out on the street / to run their routes and go deep / a jerky dance as they found a spot to plant their feet / I stumbled right out of the blocks / I missed the cut, then I missed the bus / though I stretched them out, uneven legs gave out / oh, they betrayed me / and I hit the ground / choking lawns, signs say SOLD / here up north it's cold as friends move out / the sidewalks crack, gardens turning brown / the boys are banging out a hymn / in a garage, and I join in / lace the sneakers tight, shut the door behind me / and I hit the ground... / I hit the ground running, I've always ran / it just took a while til my legs and my mind met again / 20 years GONE and this city's STILL / highways twisting around my feet / creeping up my ankles, dragging me back down / them roots are vicious things / I just gotta run / (whatcha running from?) / I just gotta run / TO, NOT FROM / just point me to true north

Lucky

I sank into bed, went way down / it clenched around my body, took my sight / and even when I woke I was still held down / I was eighteen then, but god, it's an endless fight / with the will and the womb / (it was) around that time that I saw the train / PASSED/RAN RIGHT THROUGH OUR HOUSE, corral, and down the alley / I understood I had to grab a mount and chase until I was / alongside that damn thing, maybe to the end / I understood I had to grab a mount and chase / alongside that damn thing, maybe to the end / and horses will fall / without a lucky shoe / and they may call / out to you / but you cannot stop for a lame cause / god, it's hard to turn your back / drop the reins, pick up the track / There is no debate club where I come from / they're always right about what's best for you / "BOY, YOU'RE GONNA SHOE HORSES, JUS' LIKE I DID" / Here's my bit of rhetoric, advice I never got to give / Start moving / go on / and tuck your pants into your boots / or dust will crawl / crawl up / your legs into your mouth / it sucks the life from your lips / eases into your throat / works like 80 grit to break down your notes / and then you may choke, but when you have sung / nothing can tarnish a silver tongue / so go the road with your horseshoe and your song shall save you / so what does it cost, how could you stand / to sit by for an honest hand / to pull you up when the only one you can trust is your own? / Keep riding on and on and on and on an naa na naa na naa na naa

The City Limits

Hey there got me an idea / Now bear with me, for just a little while / let's escape the sticky and cruel city chase some trains / take a couple tapes, stitch up the Great Divide / for a little while / Last time I saw the road I was eight years old / we drove up the coast through the redwoods into the rains / now we'll take back the time we're owed, in a little world out on the range / and no one can steal our eyes and ears away / and WHO NEEDS A PLAN? (We don't, we don't) / WHO NEEDS A PLAN? (We don't, we don't) / WHO NEEDS A PLAN? (We don't, we don't) / But I can't make it through Texas on my own / in my fantasy we're driving fast but moving easily / through another nailed-up town, under another night we found / WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE THINGS THAT MATTER like the merits of Jeff and Jay / and scan for any Trace of twang on that A.M. band / and WHO NEEDS A PLAN? (We don't, we don't) / WHO NEEDS A PLAN? (We don't, we don't) / WHO NEEDS A PLAN? (We don't, we don't) / But can we meet up in August on the road? / Come back, come back with my heart / You drove off with it / Come back, COME BACK WITH MY HEART / You drove off with it / when you gonna let it down? / set it down now / and send me a postcard from where you're at / we'll leave it open / keep in touch now / drown out the voices on my old cassettes / I'LL FIND A WAY / to fuck it up / GIVEN TIME / I'll fuck it up / an awkward call / apologies / compose a note / overreach / be yourself / forget to breathe / uncomfortable / our eyes meet / be yourself, just be... / and WHO NEEDS A PLAN? (We don't, we don't) / WHO NEEDS A PLAN? (We don't, we don't) / But I've got a band and a place to go / will I see you in Austin for the show?

Sea of Tranquility

... I needed an ocean last night / a body of liquor to hold me down, to slow my flight / from the bottom diffraction corrects my crooked sight / and drunk old Poseidon's there to prod me on ... / my finger's running nervous circles 'round the waiting rim / of the beer you bought me from the side of the bar where it's dim / think of what to do - don't think (she's got more balls than him) / ... these are only drops in my sea / don't take it to heart / like I did myself / and keep on trying / honey, for me / don't take it apart / I'm sure you're sweet / I'm sorry, honey / but it really is me / the paper mailbox on your desk holds no votes for confidence / an honest word is still worth more than lousy die-cut sentiments / you wait for a soft voice to talk to you at night / that ain't yourself saying, "hold on, hold tight" / the chemical is aimed / it's in our blood, it's in our name / it blooms like cracks in ice on cue... / I took it to heart / when my oldest friend / bleeded my lungs / of her oxygen / I've filled them back up / with antifreeze / a poor substitute / but my heart's been seized / SO PLEASE, PLEASE KEEP 'EM COMING and please let me drown / and then suck the liquor out of my lungs if you're still around / I've a suspicion - you and I, we're just tears / ... here in the great ocean of God's beer

The Jet-Set Life

I flew a dream to Reno just to watch it die / in a wake-up call at 5am and then I knew it wasn't mine / see, I've got dreams of my own I swear I'll share sometime / but let me tell you about the one that died... / THE JET-SET LIFE isn't all it's cracked to be / serving first-class meals in captivity / CAN'T STAY NO TIME CAN'T REST NO PEACE / and miles to go before we sleep / Strolling on the tarmac tripping on the airfuel smell / the terminal's a Mr. Coffee flickering fluorescent hell / this is just a waypoint, but the endpoints are all the same / when you're running just to catch the next plane / This is not my beautiful house / THESE ARE NOT MY PROMISES / that I will not keep

Death Valley

Another man's done gone to California to die / He says he's not afraid, but I've seen his eyes / THIS ISN'T PRERECORDED - this mic is live / Another man's done gone to California to die / I guess it's all in the beholder's eye / THEY SAY THERE'S PRETTY PEOPLE THERE, but he don't care / The place is thick with entertainment lawyers / TV journalists and sham dot-employers / and vultures, too... so I've heard Another man's done gone to California to die / And I suppose he's got the right / yeah, I SUPPOSE HE'S GOT THE RIGHT