They crawl on out of their log cabin
They find no oxygen because the air is very thin
That is the avalanche; it takes away all life
They never see the beauty, they only see the strife
Itís quite absurd, all the inhabitants
Have never seen the world theyíve only seen whatís in
their tents
Itís unserene, and quite unsettling,
To face the uselessness that comes from years of meddling
Itís just snow, itís only temporary
But they all think itís here to stay their attitude is
scary
Itís just fate, itís not predetermined
Theyíre fighting off each other to make sure they get
to heaven
They hate hell, fire and brimstone,
They burrow in the snow, itís fear of the unknown
They think theyíre OK, but what they donít know
Everybody in the world is equal before the snow
New Recruits
They told me "join the navy, and see the world for cheap,"
"Youíll shapen up your body and still get a decent sleep."
I said "I dunnoÖ" but they said, "we insist!"
So I said, "Well alright, how do I enlist?"
They said, "Itís easy," and went and got an axe
Chopped my legs off at my knees and said, "just relax."
I screamed in agony but they said, "Quit your whining,"
"And swab that deck; weíll be in the kitchen dining."
The British Army is coming for you; they need new recruits!
The shopping center is coming for you; it needs new recruits!
The girl you always wanted was always out of reach
You heard, "she likes you!" and it left you short of
speech
You asked, "you really want me?" and she said, "yes,
yes!"
"Call me up at my number!" which she left you to guess
The boys saw your mood and said, "címon,"
Letís play ball! Youíll be outfield; thatís your forté
You waited for that pop fly but it never came
Then you noticed they had left; there was no ballgame!
The new mothers are coming for you; they need new recruits!
Moderates are calling for you; they need new recruits!
Robin Williams is calling for you; he needs new recruits!
The fashion industryís calling for you; it needs new
recruits!
(bridge)
He had an interview - he dressed up his best
In his Armani suit and his matching vest
The man who met him was really quite impressed
He said, "here my boy, let me hit you in the chest."
The interviewee walked out, angry as hell
But before he could leave, the boss rang the bell
The security took him and put him on salary
And now heís doing well, thatís his picture in the gallery
The Christian Coalitionís calling for you; it needs new
recruits!
Your drinking buddies are calling for you; they need
new recruits!
Elton John is calling for you; he needs new recruits!
But the self-fulfilled donít, they donít need you.
ANGST
Lately Iíve been drinking quite a bit of coffee, tea,
jolt and lot of drink with caffeine
Iíve been trying to get away from the ever-present omnipotent
fiend (of angst)
I stay home and take spas and masturbate but I canít
escape from fate and I know mine
Is countless agendas of my own device and others and
with agendas like these, who needs cyanide.
I love when the angst pushes me around
My head is killing me and my feet are on the ground
I feel executive Iím in control
Nobody pushes me around anymore
I push myself around till Iíve got hunger pangs
I love my strategy I love my angst
Letís talk about the issues for argument is always backed
by sympathy and trust
This is the special way in which we take an issue stamp
it out on the ground and pound it into dust
Intellectual debate is quite enriching so why do I feel
so mechanical
Please do not touch me Iím hypersensitive and I think
I have some business and I have somewhere to go
Iím not artistic I have no time for leisure
Do you really think Iím doing all of this for my pleasure?
Give me relationships or something else I can measure
Forget philosophy give me some strong black coffee thatís
something I can really treasure
ASCEND
I'm a bad mama jama / I'm a funky funky diva
I'm can marry Cleopatra / I can date the Queen of Sheba
I am like the President / I have got an Oval Office
I've got many principles / I'm a starving starving artist
Please do not mock me / I will ascend
I am not nervous / I shall not bend
I'm zooming zooming zooming with determination
The only question is - what's my destination?
I'm an powerful orator / I've got verbal assault
I'm the psychoanalator / All my methods are gestalt
If you need someone to cry on / Don't you know that I'll
be there
I'm a high-ranking attorney / I've got flowers in my
hair
If you think that I'm a phony / Then you are a hypocrite
I am not a once-trick pony / And my flow is always tight
I'm a leader, I'm a crony / I love both the day and night
Won't you please leave me alone-y / `Cause I'd hate if
you were right.
HELP ME UP
Help me
Somebody help me up
Help me
Why won't somebody help me up?
I smell the smell of someone's well pool of hair gel
Ring the doorbell go show and tell welcome to hell
We fumble in and we begin to freeze in sin
The light is dim the fog is thin we have no chins
They sell us shoes we act like fools no way to lose
We miss our cues we flooze and smooze who's got the booze?
Those ad execs those graveyard specs those derelicts
They've made their pacts they've had their sex and none
suspect
The imagery the walking bees men on their knees
Always say please just pay your fees sit down with ease
We disco dance we strut and prance in Paris, France
And at first glance glue of romance keep on your pants
Hey-Hey!
Hey-Hey
Here we go again
I had big dreams to become a big man
I was gonna be a millionaire
People would fall to their feet at a glance
Because of the big reputation I had
But I wondered how I could do it
Without any trouble, without any movement
I sat around `til my feet were dead
And now I'm stuck around here sittin' in my head
I let off steam `cause I'm not a big man
Every dog gets a minute, they say
Unless of course, you're the man
Then they give you a couple of days
I don't complain much about the world
I don't care much if I'm heard
I guess I just want the word
Or a lot of money, that would do
I think the french have a saying for this
I need a proverb of my own
I think ignorance is bliss
That's why I've made ignorance my home
I can't quote anybody on love
Or hate or greed, or any old thing
I just wanna hear the microwave ding
Stick my hand in, sans glove... let's go
My friends adore me and I adore them back
It's not easy being loved sometimes
A little loving is enough ot make you crack
Enough rythym to make you forget your rhymes
I want to play near the coast some day
And get picked up by the marines
Ok, so I'm no Tolstoy
I'm forgetting my dreams... let's go
ICON
My friends all told me one day I should join the circus
Consort with twelve foot men and the bearded lady
Now that's the kind of thing you see on the TV
And strangely that sort of thing appeals to me
And strangely that sort of thing appeals to me
And I'm emotionally needy
I just want everyone to see me
I am your premier primadonna
I want to be well known
I want to be an icon
I did my hair real nice and went into the store
I asked for money back and got something much more
My bubble reputation's all that counts to me
I ain't no son of a preacher man
I am the preacher please shake my hand
And now I can't ask for much more
I heard the sound of my own voice on phone
I like the way it resonates inside my head
I love the sound of my own voice
I would be me if I had the choice
You'll understand me if I don't get no attention
I don't get no respect says Rodney Dangerfield
Now all I ask for is a little reputation
I wonder who else is golfing?
I wonder who else is golfing?
Flick on the T.V and you'll see a news broadcaster
They've got nice makeup and they bring you all the news
I'm walking through the limelight in my new shoes
I am emotionally needy
Could that be Georgio Armani?
Plots have I laid to get my way ahead
No holding me back `cause I'm on the fast track
I am a Christian; No I am a crossdresser
Everyone pay me attention
Everyone pay me attention
Information
When I wake up in the morning
And I see my slippers right in front of me
And I slip on them on my feet and I go out to my front
lawn
And I see somebody waiting there for me
And he says look up at the sky at the shining sun and
butterflies
| And other things to make me feel happy
There's a lot of spectacles to be in tune to But none of these things really do impress me I want something in print I want something in ink I want material not spectacle I don't need no spectacles Keep my eyes glued to the ground Pick up my examiner Run back inside the house I read the newspaper!
|
 |
Too late for that it's already evening
and they're coming with their blitzkreiging army
I'm gonna be shipped off and I know it's unfortunate
For others it is merely entertaining
Sitting in the barracks with existential teachers
While the memory of life I'm still retaining
With no deployment soon there's gonna be a skirmish
For cable we're considering retraining
But I still want something to see
Something to tell me how to be
It wouldn't do to have me run me would it maybe
No time for puzzling me
I don't appreciate that
I run to the time of day
I run to my personal idols
The Dow is up 44.7
and the economy is doing fine again they say
If you've invested stocks in the plastic implant market
now's the time to speculate they say
They keep on comin' out with a new analysis
And a new model of Chevrolet
I'm reading `bout a priest who sleeps with younger boys
and I am still preparing to pray
I thought I had a mind once too
But it's all turned to glue
And I wonder what a man like me is to do
I broke the knob today
I need some crazy glue
I'm already losing it
Who knows just what I'll do
I LOVE THE NORTHWEST
Log Cabins, Small Restaurants, Humans we, Don't see a
lot
Lumberjacks, Old and mature, Cut down trees, Love nature
Supermarkets, Casinos, Every weekend, Into town we go
I'm Republican, And Christian, Play Bingo, Go fishing
Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, It's snowing
No radio, No TV, No Internet, No Movies
I...I love the Northwest
I...I love Old-time Religion
I...I have 3 surviving children
I love priests and cows and mom and pop stores
Subsidies, For lumber, Ameri, -can culture
Local news, Local events, Some dog shows, Some flat beds
The Highways, Bring rations, To British, Petroleums
The Forests', On fire, Carpenters, For hire
Washington, Colorado, Oregon, 60 below
No radio, No TV, No Internet, No Movies
I...I love the Northwest
I...I love country music
I...I'm individualistic
I love squirrels and trees and gambling on Sundays
You yuppie, Easterner, We don't take, Kindly to ya.
Californians, We love `em, They bring in, Tourism
Populism, Democracy, Get rid of, Bureaucracy
Some pancakes, Shiny Rifles, Gone Hunting, See ya in
a while
Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, No quota
No radio, No TV, No Internet, No Movies
I...I love the Northwest
I...I'm in touch with nature
I...I respect men of stature
I love woolen caps and skinning snakes and America
I...I love the Northwest
Drive your car, drive your car and park it
Park your car outside the supermarket
The past is gone, but donít feel like a loser
Cause the past is a lot like the future
On and On
Thereís no time for the past or the present
On and On
Onwards to the future
Here comes the posse, theyíre walking eight by four
Theyíll walk right in and pound upon your door
Donít try to hide underneath the floor
Your human rights wonít help you anymore
The light turns green, you go cause itís a reflex
Your windows sheen, you keep them clean with windex
This is the movement that we must rehearse
One step forward, ten steps in reverse
PAINTING
Before I lay me down to sleep,
I ask why all the Christians weep?
I ask what all the Muslims do?
I ask them where we're going to?
I ask the Persians with their funny hats,
I ask the painters this or that.
I ask Americans with their hamburgers
I ask the corporations and their corporate mergers
Why is the world we live in so round?
With all these things springing out of the ground -
Every single angle is juxtaposing -
Everything is random and not half worth knowing.
So admidst all the bustle and admidst all the bungle,
I pick up the paints and step into the jungle!
I like to live in all the canvases.
Painting... painting... Be quiet I'm
Painting
I'm painting the walls in my room
Colors
Colors go up and down my room
Insane
And yet making sense in a strange way
Painting
It's like a new work every day.
Before I wake up in the morn,
There's 90.7 children born!
The GNP is up 2 percent,
and somewhere somebody is celebrating Lent.
Germans doing business in Tokyo,
Disney marketing Pinnochio,
America is seized with condomania,
and fascists taking power in Italia!
I look up at my house, it's very bright
I look out at the world, and I know it's right
Everything that was done and said
Just put these ideas in my head.
And just try to write it down.
It's over your head, can't think of a noun.
No I prefer to use my vivid colors
for painting... painting... move over I'm
Before I complete my business,
I check the world's agenda to see what I've missed.
I look at all the people who've been blessed,
and a new shampoo they call Caress.
I finish up the details on my work,
with accuracy never seen in a book.
And nobody will ever really get it,
It's my work of art, and so I'll let it
stay in my room with all the other ones
Bright bold colors brighter than the sun.
Way brighter than anyone's hats
And less popular than the musical Cats.
And people may call me insane,
and keep me up here to reduce the pain
But I will never go inane
for I'm painting... painting... Yes I am
Paranoia
Look everyone's around here and/I'm walking up I'm talking
up
Quit joking/Stop looking up quit your corrupt
New actions/They stop me up they punch me up
I'm looking/I'm Checking up I'm checking up
And everyone here/considers consequences
While I'm looking them over/I bet they are all out for
me
And everyone is out for me if I turn my back they'll
get me/They'll look and take what I don't see if careful I'm not meant
to be
Keep thinking...Keep thinking in line...Yes I'll
Keep thinking...Keep thinking in line...Yes I
Wearing bright new colors/That I don't have, what I can't
have
They're thinking/They're thinking this, they're thinking
that
I'm swearing/that I just can't do what I can
For looking/Say what's their plan? What's their plan?
And nobody around/feeling pretentious
Sitting on the ground/With their apprehensions
Perhaps it just depends on me if I am paranoid you see/It
comes right from my history of looking just at what I be
Reaching for the heavens/That don't exist, that don't
exist
Looking through a window/Covered in mist, covered in
mist
Checking their agenda/I see their list, I see their list
I could've been on there/But them I missed; They can't
be missed.
My shoulders/I'm looking over them
I can't see/But it all looks grim
And now everyone is talking in a language I don't understand/I
thought I had a code once too but I seem to have lost my hands
Stealing some possessions/That I've always felt I should
have
You think it's robbery/And that's my plan, that's my
plan
I'm not a car thief/The men do not call me a man
Look out behind me/They're on my tail, on my tail
Feel the paranoia/It's starting to grow
Something here/I'm starting to glow
I've always felt I can't I be rushed and somehow cut
around the bush/But now I'm here and it's a
mush of language that was rarely flushed
Lying down for a nights sleep/that I won't get, that I
won't get
I will never make a peep/That you can bet, that you can
bet
This may sound corny/It gets worse yet, it gets worse
yet
Of sleep I cannot get a wink/Because of something I heard
said
Something behind me/I'm sure that's it is
I can't see/But I'm sure it's grim
I'm leaving all the lights on `till my memory is not
so ill/I could've solved it with a pill but I seem to have lost the will
PICTURES OF PEOPLE
I wrote this song about a 16-year old girl who was far
too young for me. When this song was first produced, the atmosphere was
very tense and Ryan Beebe, the producer, threw a cup at my cousin's head.
Strangely, this event added somewhat to the cutting-edge production now
captured here on CD.
Steamroller
Destruction and obliteration
I'd like to lend you a hand
We sanctioned you to knock down Main Street
Steamroller, you knocked us all off our feet
You knocked down everything that we once found neat
Now we don't care if our lives are incomplete
We set up cafes and kiosks, we're selling Steamroller
T-Shirts
And popcorn on the sidewalk... we've got front row seats.
Steamroller I love you
You're live in color better than TV
You can flatten my friends and my whole family
Steamroller I love you
Main Street lies in rubble
Steamroller, don't give us trouble
We don't deserve it 'cause we think that you're the swellest
Please don't flatten us, do it to someone else
Some activists from out of town
Say we should tear the steamroller down
We'll get 'em with our lawyers, the litigation's pending
Why bother ever thinking? This fun is never ending.
And now the steamroller's gone
The town holds a telethon
To raise some money to get the steamroller back
Buildings are dust and streets are all cracked
Thousands are homeless and the TV is gone
And those lousy activists advocate restraint
But we must have back steamroller, there's a principle
involved
And that principle is, WE MUST BE ENTERTAINED!
TICK
I'm sick of life when I can't really describe the vocabulary
I grew up with half the time
If it was all verbs then I'd use all actions, but there's
a better way to control the factions
Its like there's no verbs left anymore, so pile on the
nouns and bring a couple more
I hear sounds that sound American but I feel they're
so thin that I know they're foreign
...and lingering over one subject while you're still
getting sleepy can cost you your lifeline.
...and violent dreams can pull down a man and make him
say things he wouldn't even think of.
...and there's a stream where all the little fishes jump
and tell hyperactive stories
...it don't make much sense when all the bakers form
militias to bring about fairer dairy taxes.
I'm sick of life here in Tel Aviv
And I'm gonna move down to the Gaza strip
I'm gonna get to meet all the Palestinians
And learn what makes `em tick what makes `em tick what
makes `em
TICK TICK
I feel weird in the stomach when I think of all the nasty
I've ever done to me
And the pretty girl, she's got the pretty curls, she
does her whirls and then she conquers the world
If ignorance is bliss I'm blessed although following
the logic I get rather depressed
I feel there's nothing left to be stressed and I feel
quite strangely overdressed
...and there's a cranefly who flies around me and I question
him though he don't know much about it.
...and there's a taboo even though those who perpetrate
the taboo know all about it.
...and there's a young man who thinks of Metternich and
gets away with it and we don't know much about him.
...and there's a window where the elephants are having
a parade while we've forgotten about them.
It's not a problem that everyone's the same it's only
a problem that everyone's so lame
Rodney King knows why we can't all get along he found
it out being clubbed to the ground
But then again, to be fair, we've reached the height
of development in our styles of hair
I wish this wasn't the way things were but it is so I'm
gonna get out of here
...The revolution turned around on us `till all that
was left was a flag-burning amendment
...A devolution is what I say while the poets cry and
the poetry has ended
...Then I say OK if this is how it was supposed to be
then I'll go along with it
...it's just I can't help it that I somehow get this
steady sinking feeling
MICROSCOPE HEAD
I am nothing to you
But youíre nothing to me or to anyone else too
Please donít laugh at me
You are killing me softly with sincerity
If I take one shot it
Iím just trying to prove that you are my equal
You donít like me a lot
But if you hate the original youíll sure hate the sequel
Microscope Head
Take a look at your own head not somebody elseís
Microscope Head
Take a sweet sour look at your sickly pretenses
You donít impress me
Pumping all of the water out of the sea
While I sit in a sea of dead bees
Typing brainlessly for an evil committee
Hand in hand with super glue
Youíll never leave me and Iíll never leave you
But youíll bash my face in
And Iíll spit on you and forbid any grinning
Microscope Head
Take a look at your own head not somebody elseís
Microscope Head
Take a look at your books and your pointless defenses
What a poor little thing
Trying so hard to part all the water
All alone in the ring
With your hand-me-style and prescription for slaughter
But you too, youíre no good
Paying hundreds of dollars for heart-attack food
And not all the women in the world
Can straighten your back or punch holes in your mood
Microscope Head
Take a look at your own head not somebody elseís
Microscope Head
You get one caress and one final confession
And youíll never relax ëtil the sun made of wax
And the general crushes you both
And a new peace treaty is signed to broken
Microscope Head
THE DANCE OF THE SKELETONS
This is the dance of the skeletons
They bring out the best in him
It's a shame, he's gone insance
Waiting for the rest of the them
They come in packs with Bermuda shorts
Bringing pot luck, playing their sports
It's a waste land of no taste
Entertaining all of them
I worry that you've lost the sparkle in your eye
And it's gone just like one in a million
I said no two snowflakes are ever alike
But you're proving me wrong altogether again
No sound from the shores of
The late night news where the
Children are gathered
To watch the confusion
A pretty young lady promised word
But her warning went quite unheard
It's serene, what a scene
Ending like the Dodo bird
I have told you timely and timely again
That you're one in a million like everyone
And the risk of exposure is too great for you
And you're proving me wrong all over again
I have the heard the dance of the
Skeletons below
I admit, I should quit
Trying to make them go
They are settled in the little town
Making coffee, grinding us down
They're astute, it's acute
Please give me the run-around
In every small town get a big dressing down
That tells you you're one in a million
But a skeleton knows you're as plain as the wood
That makes your small town's Shoe Pavilion
TAG ALONG
Hey, keep your opinions to yourself
Your jeans are the color of your eyes, your eyes are
the color of the sky
But the sky is the color of the billboard flashing on
and off telling me capri will be half off
Cause itís ladies night
And the feelingís wrong
Why canít I just tag along?
Each time you smile I see demons in your teeth and the
demons smile right back at me
You whine and whine about the toss of the dice but you
canít eat the whole pie just one slice of life
I canít feel my own heart beating I canít feel my own heart beating I canít feel my own heart beating, can you feel it beating can you feel it beating, can you feel it beat?
Less ladies and gentlemen, lite rock and less talk all
for the low low price of $19.95 in monthly installments. Garunteed low
APR financing for your mind, body, emotions, and soul.
written by James Call. all lyrics © Mishap/kick 'em
while they're down productions
Mishap info/catalogback
to top
