Lyrics: Tom Waits "Bad As Me"

Tom Waits' first all new studio album in seven years will see it's way to stores on October 25th. Titled, Bad As Me (not Bad Ass Me), this one not only grinds and clanks (in a most musical way) it also honks like a drunk goose in a black Borsalino and Cuban heels. Go here to hear what I mean.

"Bad As Me"
You’re the head on the spear
You’re the nail on the cross
You’re the fly in my beer
You’re the key that got lost
You’re the letter from Jesus on the bathroom wall
You’re Mother Superior in only a bra
You’re the same kind of bad as me

I’m the hat on the bed
I’m the coffee instead
The fish or cut bait
I’m the detective up late
I’m the blood on the floor
The thunder and the roar
The boat that won’t sink
I just won’t sleep a wink
You’re the same kind of bad as me

No good you say
Well that’s good enough for me

You’re the wreath that caught fire
You’re the preach to the choir
You bite down on the sheet
But your teeth have been wired
You skid in the rain
You’re trying to shift
You’re grinding the gears
You’re trying to shift
And you’re the same kind of bad as me

They told me you were no good
I know you’ll take care of all my needs
You’re the same kind of bad as me

I’m the mattress in the back
I’m the old gunnysack
I’m the one with the gun
Most likely to run
I’m the car in the weeds
If you cut me I’ll bleed
You’re the same kind of bad as me
You’re the same kind of bad as me

Bjork: Virus: Lyrics + Stream

Bjork's upcoming record, Biophilia, will be released September 27th. After earlier previews of tracks "Crystalline" and "Cosmogony", I have to say this new song is my favourite.



"Virus"
Like a virus needs a body
As soft tissue feeds on blood
Some day I’ll find you, the urge is here
Ooo-ooo-ooo-oooh
Ooo-ooo-ooo-oooh

Like a mushroom on a tree trunk
As the protein transmutates
I knock on your skin, and I am in
Ooo-ooo-ooo-oooh
Ooo-ooo-ooo-oooh

The perfect match, you and me
I adapt, contagious
You open up, say welcome

Like a flame that seeks explosives
As gunpowder needs a war
I feast inside you, my host is you
Ooo-ooo-ooo-oooh
Ooo-ooo-ooo-oooh

The perfect match, you and I
You fail to resist
My crystalline charm

Like a virus, patient hunter
I’m waiting for you, I’m starving for you
Ooo-ooo-ooo-oooh
Ooo-ooo-ooo-oooh

My sweet adversary
My sweet adversary
My sweet adversary

Feist: How Come You Never Go There: Stream + Lyrics

Here is the first real feel for what Feist will deliver on her upcoming release, Metals. Out October 4th, on Arts & Crafts, the pre-release frenzy has been going for weeks now with teaser (annoying) videos, but that has been eclipsed by audio of the first single slipping out late Thursday night.

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

"How Come You Never Go There"

Tracklist
1 The Bad In Each Other
2 Graveyard
3 Caught A Long Wind
4 How Come You Never Go There
5 A Commotion
6 The Circle Married The Line
7 Bittersweet Melodies
8 Anti-Pioneer
9 Undiscovered First
10 Cicadas And Gulls
11 Comfort Me
12 Get It Wrong Get It Right


These are the lyrics. Perhaps someone with more time could finish them off for me.

How come you never go there?
How come I'm so alone there?
How come you never go there?
How come I'm so alone there?

I went up to your window
lightning banging on the cymbals
I looked into the light
came storming to your eyes

my horse had worked the fields too long
my bear had lost his innate calm
it's true enough x x
x x x x x x

our love is not the light it was
when i walk inside the dark come come
where we look for where it went
it's only echos in the melody x x x

how come you never go there
how come i'm so alone there

(guitar)

how come you never go there
how come i'm so alone there

waste time and blame a week without
waste energy i'm too x x x
we're living proof we gotta let go
and stop looking through the lay low

you carry on as if our time is through
you carry on as if i don't love you
and so we find the way x x x
to cover x x x without a doubt now

the rooms full our eyes are empty
like the letters never sent me
x x x x x
you're an instrumental too

BRIDGE

(horns)

how come you never go there
how come i'm so alone there

how come you never go there
how come i'm so alone there

how come you never go there
how come i'm so alone there

how come you never go there
how come i'm so alone there


... to be continued?

Sufjan Stevens: Live "Futile Devices" Stream, MP3, Lyrics

Stevens and a few friends paid a visit to WNYC to be interviewed and record a couple of songs. Here is "Futile Devices" from The Age Of Adz live at WNYC

Sufjan Stevens - Futile Devices by hipstereo.blogspot.com.

Watch the performance on youtube.

They also performed "Pleasure Principle", the ending piece of Stevens epic "Impossible Soul". Go here for that.

"Futile Devices"
It's been a long, long time since I've memorized your face
It's been four hours now since I've wandered through your place
And when I sleep on your couch I feel very safe
And when you bring the blankets I cover up my face
I do love you
I do love you

And when you play guitar I listen to the strings buzz
The metal vibrates underneath your fingers
And when you crochet I feel mesmerized and proud
And I would say I love you, but saying it out loud is hard
So I won't say it at all
And I won't stay very long
But you are the life I needed all along
I think of you as my brother
Although that sounds dumb
Words are futile devices

Sufjan Stevens: "Pleasure Principle" Stream + MP3

"Pleasure Principle" is the ending piece of Stevens epic "Impossible Soul" off of his latest album, The Age Of Adz, and he and some friends, including Bryce Dessner of the National, played the song live at New York's WNYC radio.

Sufjan stevens - pleasure principle (live at wnyc) by hipstereo

Here's the interview and performances at WNYC:



Here are the lyrics:


"Pleasure Principle"
I never meant to cause you pain
My burden is the weight of a feather
I never meant to lead you on
I only meant to please me, however

And then you tell me
Boy, we can do much more
Boy, we can do much more
Boy, we can do much more together
Boy, we can do much more together

I'm nothing but a selfish man
I'm nothing but a privileged peddlar
And did you think I'd stay the night
And did you think I'd love you forever

And then you tell me 

Boy, we can do much more 

Boy, we can do much more

Boy, we can do much more together

Boy, we can do much more together

I gotta tell you
Girl, I want nothing less
Girl, I want nothing less
Girl, I want nothing less than pleasure
Girl, I want nothing less than pleasure

And then you tell me
Boy, we made such a mess
Boy, we made such a mess
Boy, we made such a mess together
Boy, we made such a mess together
Boy, we made such a mess together
Boy, we made such a mess together

Bon Iver Covers Feist: "The Park" MP3

A couple of years ago, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon covered Canadian chanteuse Feist's "The Park" on Australia's Triple J radio. This goes rather nicely with his cover of Bjork currently making the rounds... and it sounds fantastic in comparison to the audio quality of the youtube rip. In fact this song suits Mr Vernon much better than the Bjork composition. Maybe he prefers the Canadian women, as I've heard his current squeeze is Ottawa girl, Kathleen Edwards (whose upcoming album he is co-producing with Portishead and Arcade Fire studio whiz Craig Silvey).

Bon Iver - The Park (Feist Cover) by hipstereo

"THE PARK"
Why would he come back through the park
You thought that you saw him, but no you did not
It's not him coming across the sea to surprise you
Not him who would know where in London to find you

Sadness so real that it populates
The city and leaves you homeless again
Steam from a cup and snow on the path
The seasons have changed from the present to past

The past...
There's hope to have
In the past...

Why would he come back through the park
You thought that you saw him, but no you did not
Who can be sure of anything through
The distance that keeps you from knowing truth

Why would he think, the boy could become
The man who could make you sure he was the one
The one...
My one...
My one...

Eleanor Friedberger: New Song + MP3

Eleanor Friedberger was in Toronto Tuesday night to perform songs from her great debut solo album, Last Summer. She made a stop late afternoon at Soundscapes on College St. in Toronto to play a couple of songs including this new song not found on the album. I'm not sure of the song's title, so I tried transcribing the lyrics and then took at stab at a possible title. BTW, after several listens to try to get the lyrics straight, I now love this song and wish it had been on the new record.

The song can be downloaded via the soundcloud player, it's the downward facing arrow on the right.

"Stare At The Sun"


"Stare At The Sun"
In the back of the taxi, you turned off the TV
and read me a book on your phone
here's the return of your skeleton key
oh, baby, the places we've gone
if that was goodbye then i must be high
you know i'll be seeing ya soon
if that was goodbye it'll snow in july
like it hailed in the middle of June

Give me your toothpaste
give me your ointment
give me your body in bed
keep this in amber
keep our appointment
remember the things that we said
if that was goodbye
then i must be high
you must be the sugar i need
if that was goodbye
then i am a fly
the future is guaranteed
because when i'm with you
everything's treasure
i forget what it's like to be gone
we're far from the town
in the suburbs of your pleasure
? in exile so long
try not to stare at the sun
try not to stare at the sun
try not to stare at the sun

cooperative coffee and synchronized showers
try not to look at the clock
goodbye to your castle
wave from the tower
then drop me a line from the dock
if that was goodbye
then you must be high
and maybe i'm losing the thread
if that was goodbye
the sea has run dry
so bitter with tears instead
whenever i'm with you everything's treasure
i forget what it's like to be gone
far from the town
in the suburbs of your pleasure
? in exile so long
try not to stare at the sun
try not to stare at the sun
try not to stare at the sun

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Beirut - "East Harlem" Lyrics + MP3

This is the first single from Beirut's latest album, The Rip Tide, on Pompeii Records. You've got all summer to wait for it's release on August 30th.

"East Harlem"
another rose wilts in east harlem
and uptown downtown a thousand miles between us
she's waiting for the night to fall
let it fall, i'll never make it in time

another rose wilts in east harlem
and uptown downtown a thousand miles between us
she's waiting for the night to fall
let it fall, i'll never make it in time

another rose wilts in east harlem
and uptown downtown a thousand miles between us
she's waiting for the night to fall
let it fall, i'll never make it in time

sound is the color i know
sound is what keeps me looking for... your eyes
and sound of your breath in the cold
and oh, the sound will bring me home again

sound is the color i know
sound is what keeps me looking for... your eyes
and sound of your breath in the cold
and oh, the sound will bring me home again

Beirut: "Goshen" Lyrics + MP3

Beirut's latest single from the upcoming album, The Rip Tide, offers "Goshen" as it's B-Side. It's beautiful and mournful, as is most of Beirut's music. The Rip Tide will see it's way to store shelves on August 30th.


"Goshen"
you're on in five it's time you rise or fade
they've gone before stood by your door all day
for what its worth defend your kind from shame
the lights are down go on inside they've paled
you're the face in stone
through the land i own
you never found a home
you're not that guy i used to know
what would you hide from such a blow
if i had only told you so

you're on in five it's time you rise or fade
they've gone before stood by your door all day
but you never found a home
a fair price i'd pay to be alone
what would you hide from such a blow
if i had only told you so

Beirut - Goshen posted by Alan Williamson

Arcade Fire: 'The Suburbs' Lyrics

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs Tracklist
1. The Suburbs
2. Ready to Start
3. Modern Man
4. Rococo
5. Empty Room
6. City with No Children
7. Half Light I
8. Half Light II (No Celebration)
9. Suburban War
10. Month of May
11. Wasted Hours
12.Deep Blue
13. We Used to Wait
14. Sprawl I (Flatland)
15. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
16. The Suburbs (Continued)

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"The Suburbs"
In the suburbs I, I learned to drive
And you told me we'd never survive
Grab your mother's keys we're leaving

You always seemed so sure
That one day we'd be fighting
In a suburban war
Your part of town against mine

I saw you standing on the opposite shore
But by the time the first bombs fell
We were already bored
We were already, already bored

Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling again

The kids want to be so hard
But in my dreams we're still screaming
And running through the yard
When all of the walls that they built in the '70s finally fall
And all of the houses they built in the '70s finally fall
Meant nothing at all?
Meant nothing at all?
It meant nothing

Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling and into the night

So can you understand
Why I want a daughter while I'm still young?
I want to hold her hand
And show her some beauty

Before this damage is done
But if it's too much to ask
If it's too much to ask
Then send me a son

Under the overpass
In the parking lot we're still waiting
It's already past
So move your feet from hot pavement
And into the grass
'Cause it's already past
It's already, already past

Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling again
I'm moving past the feeling
I'm moving past the feeling

In my dreams we're still screaming
We're still screaming
We're still screaming

"Ready To Start"
If the businessmen drink my blood
Like the kids in art school said they would
Then I guess I'll just begin again
You say, "Can we still be friends?"

If I was scared, I would
And if I was bored, you know I would
And if I was yours, but I'm not

All the kids have always known
That the emperor wears no clothes
But they bow down to him anyway
It's better than being alone

If I was scared, I would
And if I was bored, you know I would
And if I was yours, but I'm not

Now you're knocking at my door
Saying "Please come out with us tonight"
But I would rather be alone
Than pretend I feel alright

If the businessmen drink my blood
Like the kids in art school said they would
Then I guess I'll just begin again
You say, "Can we still be friends?"

If I was scared, I would
And if I was pure, you know I would
And if I was yours, but I'm not
Now I'm ready to start

If I was scared, I would
And if I was pure, you know I would
And if I was yours, but I'm not
Now I'm ready to start
Now I'm ready to start

I would rather be wrong
Than live in the shadows of your song
My mind is open wide
And now I'm ready to start

Now I'm ready to start
My mind is open wide
And now I'm ready to start
And I'm sure you opened the door
To step out into the dark

Now I'm ready

"Modern Man"
So I wait my turn, I'm a modern man
And the people behind me, they can't understand
Makes me feel like
Makes me feel like

So I wait in line, I'm a modern man
And the people behind me, they can't understand
Makes me feel like
Something don't feel right

Like a record that's skipping, I'm a modern man
And the clock keeps ticking, I'm a modern man
Makes me feel like
Makes me feel like

In my dream I was almost there
Then you pulled me aside and said, "You're going nowhere."
They say we are the chosen few but we're wasted
And that's why we're still waiting

On a number from the modern man
Maybe when you're older you will understand
Why you don't feel right
Why you can't sleep at night now

In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man
In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man

Oh, I had a dream I was dreaming
And I feel I'm losing the feeling
Makes me feel like
Like something don't feel right

I erase the number of the modern man
Want to break the mirror of the modern man
Makes me feel like
Makes me feel like

In my dream I was almost there
Then you pulled me aside and said, "You're going nowhere."
I know we are the chosen few but we're wasted
And that's why we're still waiting

In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man
In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man

And you feel so right
But how come you can't sleep at night?
In line for a number but you don't understand
Like a modern man

I'm a modern man
I'm a modern man
I'm a modern man
I'm a modern man

"Rococo"
Let's go downtown and watch the modern kids
Let's go downtown and talk to the modern kids
They will eat right out of your hand
Using great big words that they don't understand

They say
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo

They build it up just to burn it back down
They build it up just to burn it back down
The wind is blowing all the ashes around
Oh my dear God, what is that horrible song they're singing

Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo
Rococo, Rococo, Rococo, Rococo

Rococo
Rococo

They seem wild but they are so tame
They seem wild but they are so tame
They're moving towards you with their colors all the same
They want to own you but they don't know what game they're playing

Rococo
Rococo
Rococo
Rococo

Rococo
Rococo
Rococo
Rococo

Rococo

"Empty Room"
Said your name in an empty room
Said your name in an empty room
Something I would never do

Said your name in an empty room
Said your name in an empty room
Something I would never do

I'm alone again

When I'm by myself
I can be myself
And my life is coming
But I don't know when

You were burning, now you're black and gray
You were burning, now you're black and gray
Something I would never say

I'm alone again

When I'm by myself
I can be myself
And my life is coming
But I don't know when

Toute ma vie, est avec toi
Toute ma vie, est avec toi
Moi j'attends, toi tu pars

Toute ma vie, est avec toi
Toute ma vie, est avec toi
Moi j'attends, toi tu pars

"City With No Children"
The summer that I broke my arm I waited for your letter
I have no feeling for you now, now that I know you better

I wish that I could have loved you then, before our age was through
And before a world war does with us whatever it will do

Dreamed I drove home to Houston on a highway that was underground
There was no light that we could see as we listened to the sound of the engine failing

I feel like I've been living in a city with no children in it
A garden left for ruin by a billionaire inside of a private prison

You never trust a millionaire quoting the sermon on the mount
I used to think I was not like them but I'm beginning to have my doubts, my doubts about it

When you're hiding underground the rain can't get you wet
But do you think your righteousness could pay the interest on your debt? I have my doubts about it

I feel like I've been living in a city with no children in it
A garden left for ruin by a billionaire inside of a private prison

I feel like I've been living in a city with no children in it
A garden left for ruin by and by as I hide inside of my private prison

"Half Light l"
You told us that
We were too young
Now that night's closing in
And in the half light
We run

Lock us up safe
And hide the key
But the night tears us loose
And in the half light
We're free

Strange how the half light
Can make a place new
You can't recognize me
And I can't recognize you

We run through these streets
That we know so well
And the houses hide so much
We're in the half light
None of us can tell
They hide the ocean in a shell

The ocean in a shell

Our heads are just houses
Without enough windows
They say you hear human voices
But they only echo

They only echo
They only echo
Only echo

We are not listening
We are on the streets
We are not listening
We are on the streets

We are not listening
We are on the streets
We are not listening
We are on the streets

"Half Light ll (no celebration)"
Now that San Francisco's gone
I guess I'll just pack it in
Wanna wash away my sins
In the presence of my friends

You and I we head back East
To find a town where we can live
Even in the half light
We can see that something's gotta give

When we watched the markets crash
The promises we made were torn
Then my parents sent for me
From out West where I was born

Some people say
They've already lost
But they're afraid to pay the cost
For what we've lost
Pay the cost for what we've lost

Now that you have left me here
I will never raise my voice
All the diamonds you have here
In this home which has no life

Oh, this city's changed so much
Since I was a little child
Pray to God I won't live to see
The death of everything that's wild

Though we knew this day would come
Still it took us by surprise
In this town where I was born
I now see through a dead man's eyes

One day they will see it's long gone
One day they will see it's long gone
One day they will see it's long gone
One day they will see it's long gone

"Suburban War"
Let's go for a drive
And see the town tonight
There's nothing to do
But I don't mind when I'm with you

This town's so strange
They built it to change
And while we're sleeping
All the streets get rearranged

And my old friends
We were so different then
Before your war against the suburbs began
Before it began

And now the music divides us into tribes
You grew your hair, so I grew mine
You said the past won't rest
Until we jump the fence and leave it behind

And my old friends
I can remember when
You cut your hair
We never saw you again

Now the cities we live in
Could be distant stars
And I search for you
In every passing car

The nights are warm
Yeah, the nights are warm
I've been living in the shadows of your song
Living in the shadows of your song

In the suburbs I, I learned to drive
People told me we would never survive
So grab your mother's keys, we leave tonight

You started a war
That you can't win
They keep erasing all the streets
We grew up in

Now the music divides us into tribes
You choose your side, I'll choose my side

All my old friends
They don't know me now
Oh
All my old friends
Are staring through me now
Oh

All my old friends
They don't know me now
All my old friends
They don't know me now

They don't know me now

All my old friends
Wait

"Month Of May"
Gonna make a record in the month of May
In the month of May, in the month of May
Gonna make a record in the month of May
When the violent wind blows the wires away

Month of May, it's a violent thing
In the city their hearts start to sing
Well, some people singing sounds like screaming
Used to doubt it but now I believe it

Month of May, everybody's in love
In the city, watch it from above
And just when I knew what I wanted to say
The violent wind blew the wires away

We were shocked in the suburbs

Now the kids are all standing with their arms folded tight
The kids are all standing with their arms folded tight
Now, some things are pure and some things are right
But the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight
I said some things are pure and some things are right
But the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight

So young, so young
So much pain for someone so young, well
I know it's heavy, I know it ain't light
But how you gonna lift it with your arms folded tight?

First the built they road, then they built the town
That's why I'm still driving around
And around and around and around and around
And around and around and around and around

Two-thousand nine, two-thousand ten
Wanna make a record how I felt then
When we stood outside in the month of May
And watched a violent wind blow the wires away

If I die in the month of May
Let the wind take my body away, yeah
I wish I may, I wish I might
Don't leave me down there with my arms folded tight

Start again in the month of May
Start again in the month of May
Come on and blow the wires away
Come on and blow the wires away

Start again in the month of May
Start again in the month of May
Come on and blow the wires away
Come on and blow the wires away

Start again in the month of May
Start again in the month of May
Come on and blow the wires away
Come on and blow the wires, the wires away

"Wasted Hours"
All those wasted hours we used to know
Spent the summer staring out the window
The wind, it takes you where it wants to go

First they built the road, then they built the town
That's why we're still driving around and around
And all we see are kids in buses longing to be free

Wasted hours before we knew
Where to go and what to do
Wasted hours that you made new
And turned into a life that we can live

Some cities make you lose your head
Endless suburbs stretched out thin and dead
And what was that line you said

Wishing you were anywhere but here
You watch the life you're living disappear
And now I see, we're still kids in buses longing to be free

Wasted hours before we knew
Where to go and what to do
Wasted hours that you made new
And turned into a life that we can live

"Deep Blue"
Here are my place and time
And here in my own skin
I can finally begin
Let the century pass me by
Standing under night sky
Tomorrow means nothing

I was only a child then
Feeling barely alive when
I heard a song from the speaker of a passing car
And prayed to a dying star
The memory's fading
I can almost remember singing la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la

We watched the end of the century
Compressed on a tiny screen
A dead star collapsing and we could see
That something was ending
Are you through pretending?
We saw its signs in the suburbs

You could never have predicted
That he could see through you
Kasparov, Deep Blue, nineteen-ninety-six
Your mind's pulling tricks now
The show is over so take a bow
We're living in the shadows la, la la, la la la la
Oh, la la, la la, la la la la

Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

La la, la la, la la la la

"We Used to Wait"
I used to write
I used to write letters
I used to sign my name
I used to sleep at night
Before the flashing lights settled deep in my brain

But by the time we met
By the time we met the times had already changed

So I never wrote a letter
I never took my true heart, I never wrote it down
So when the lights cut out
I was lost standing in the wilderness downtown

Now our lives are changing fast
Now our lives are changing fast
Hope that something pure can last
Hope that something pure can last

Now it seems strange
How we used to wait for letters to arrive
But what's stranger still
Is how something so small can keep you alive

We used to wait
We used to waste hours just walking around
We used to wait
All those wasted lives in the wilderness downtown

We used to wait
We used to wait
We used to wait
Sometimes it never came

We used to wait
Sometimes it never came
We used to wait
I'm still moving through the pain

I'm gonna write
A letter to my true love
I'm gonna sign my name
Like a patient on a table
I wanna walk again
Gonna move to the pain

Now our lives are changing fast
Now our lives are changing fast
Hope that something pure can last
Hope that something pure can last

We used to wait
We used to wait
We used to wait
Sometimes they never came

We used to wait
Sometimes they never came
We used to wait
I'm still moving through the pain

We used to wait
We used to wait
We used to wait

We used to wait for it
We used to wait for it
Now we're screaming "Sing the chorus again"

We used to wait for it
We used to wait for it
Now we're screaming "Sing the chorus again"

I used to wait for it
I used to wait for it
Hear my voice screaming "Sing the chorus again"

Wait for it
Wait for it
Wait for it

"Sprawl I (Flatland)"
Took a drive into the sprawl
To find the house where we used to stay in
Couldn't read the number in the dark
You said, "Let's save it for another day"

Took a drive into the sprawl
To find the places we used to play
It was the loneliest day of my life
You're talking at me but I'm still far away

Let's take a drive through the sprawl
Through these towns they built to change
But then you said, the emotions are dead
It's no wonder that you feel so strange

Cops shone their lights
On the reflectors of our bikes
Said, "Do you kids know what time it is?"
Well sir, it's the first time I've felt like something is mine
Like I have something to give

The last defender of the sprawl
Said, "Well, where do you kids live?"
Well sir, if you only knew
What the answer is worth
Been searching every corner
Of the earth

"Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)"
They heard me singing and they told me to stop
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
These days my life, I feel it has no purpose
But late at night the feelings swim to the surface

'Cause on the surface the city lights shine
They're calling at me, come and find your kind
Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
That we can never get away from the sprawl

Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains
And there's no end in sight
I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights

We rode our bikes to the nearest park
Sat under the swings and kissed in the dark
We shield our eyes from the police lights
We run away, but we don't know why

And like a mirror, the city lights shine
They're screaming at us, "We don't need your kind"
Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
That we can never get away from the sprawl

Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains
And there's no end in sight
I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights

They heard me singing and they told me to stop
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
Can we ever get away from the sprawl?

Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains
And there's no end in sight
I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights

I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights

"The Suburbs (Continued)"
If I could have it back
All the time that we wasted
I'd only waste it again

If I could have it back
You know I'd love to waste it again
Waste it again and again and again

I forgot to ask

Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling again
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling again
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling again

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Spoon: "Written In Reverse" Lyrics

This is the first single from Spoon's upcoming album, Transference, (due January 19th). And when I heard it, and "Mystery Zone" (another new track), I wasn't blown away, as I always expect to be when I first hear new Spoon songs. But, after a few listens everything slips into place and I realize that Britt Daniel is a magician, or the devil, or... god forbid... a songwriter, because how else can I explain why the new songs I've heard somehow recall all my old favourite Spoon songs and yet still carve out a nice comfy place in the sweet spot of my brain. Damn you, Spoon (and thank you)!!

"Written in Reverse" Lyrics
I'm writing this to you in reverse
Someone better call a hearse
I can see it all from here
From just a few glimpses
Now that light bulb's gone off
And it's pulling my wincin'
And now the light bulb's gone off

I've seen it in your eyes
I've seen you blankly stare
And I wanna show you how I love you
But there's nothing there

I'm not standing here
Oh I'm not standing here
And I'm writing in reverse
You know it could be worse
I'm not standing here
I'm not standing here

I'm not standing here
I'm not standing here
and I'm writing in reverse
I know it could be worse
And I hear that famous song
And I hear that can't be wrong

No nothing was planned
You just can't help yourself
Some people are so easily shuffled and dealt
If there's only one of us you truly felt
We're gettin' you raw
And it feels real good
Although only briefly
Like high school poppers would
Will you lose a bit of yourself?
Will you lose a bit of yourself?

I'm not standing here
Oh I'm not standing here
And I'm writing in reverse
You know it could be worse
I hear that famous song
And I hear that can't be wrong

Look out
All I know, is all I know,
Yes, all I know, is all I know
Is all I know

I'm writing this to you in reverse
Someone better call a hearse
I can see it all from here
From just a few glimpses
Now that light bulb's gone off
And it's pulling my wincin'
And now the light bulb's gone off
I've seen it in your eyes
And there's nothing there
There's nothing there
I wanna show you how I love you
I can see you blankly stare

The National: "Blood Buzz Ohio" Lyrics + MP3

Here are the new lyrics for The National's first single off their upcoming album, High Violet. The lyrics at post bottom are for an early version of the same song.

Blood Buzz Ohio - from High Violet (2010)
Stand up straight at the foot of your love
I'll lift my shirt up
Stand up straight at the foot of your love
I'll lift my shirt up

I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees
I never married but Ohio don't remember me

Lay my head on the hood of your car
I take it too far
Lay my head on the hood of your car
I take it too far

I still owe money to the money to the money I owe
I never thought about love
When I thought about home
I still owe money to the money to the money I owe
The floors are falling out from everybody I know

I'm on a bloodbuzz
Yes I am
I'm on a blood buzz
I'm on a bloodbuzz
God I am
I'm on a blood buzz

I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees
I never married but Ohio don't remember me

I still owe money to the money to the money I owe
I never thought about love
When I thought about home
I still owe money to the money to the money I owe
The floors are falling out from everybody I know

I'm on a bloodbuzz
Yes I am
I'm on a blood... buzz
I'm on a bloodbuzz
God I am
I'm on a blood... buzz

* * * * * *

This is another new song that The National trotted out during their just wrapped East coast mini-tour. The new songs sound great, but it's how they sound if (and that's a big IF) they make it on the new record. I, for one, am hoping that if they do make it to the next album, that they grow and evolve into something a little different than these live mp3s. Live versions that I will grow to know too well before the new record is out.

blood buzz ohio [mp3] (live - Boston May 23/09)
THIS MP3 link is now LIVE.

"BLOOD BUZZ OHIO"
Stand up straight at the foot of your love
I'll lift my shirt up
Stand up straight at the foot of your love
I'll lift my shirt up

I'll rest my eyes till the fever's outta me
I'll rest my eyes till the river's in the sea
I'll rest my eyes till the fever's outta me
I'll rest my eyes till the river's in the sea

I was carried to Ohio in a storm of bees
I never married but Ohio don't remember me
I still owe money to the money to the money I owe
I never thought about love
When I thought about home
I still owe money to the money to the money I owe
The floors are falling out from everybody I know

I'm on a bloodbuzz
Yes I am
I'm on a blood buzz
I'm on a bloodbuzz
God I am
I'm on a blood buzz

Lay my head on the hood of your car
I take it too far
Lay my head on the hood of your car
I take it too far

The National: "The Runaway" Lyrics

This is a quick transcription of the new song by The National, tentatively titled "The Runaway". There's sure to be a mistake or two, if you feel the need to reprimand me for my bad hearing, feel free. Here's an idea, since the song title isn't set in stone, perhaps all of you faithful and rabid National fans out there can leave a comment as to what you feel the song should be called... if we get a good variety of answers I'll send them to the band. Get a free, remember it's free (and low quality) preview of the song here.

"The Runaway"
There's no savin' anything
Now we're swallowin' the shine of the sun
There's no savin' anything
From the shine of the sun

But I won't be no runaway
Cause I won't run
No I won't be no runaway

What makes you think I’m enjoyin' being led to the flood
We got another thing comin' undone
That’s taking us over

We don't bleed when we don't fight
Go ahead go ahead
Throw your arms in the air tonight
We don't bleed when we don't fight
Go ahead go ahead
Throw your shirts in the fire tonight

What makes you think I’m enjoying being led to the flood
We got another thing comin' undone


But I won't be no runaway
Cause I won't run
No I won't be no runaway
Cause I won't run
No I won't be no runaway

what makes you think I’m enjoyin' being led to the flood
We got another thing comin' undone
That’s taking forever

We don't bleed when we don't fight
go ahead go ahead
Throw your arms in the air tonight
we don't bleed when we don't fight
Go ahead go ahead
There’s our shirts in the fire tonight

what makes you think I'm enjoying being led to the flood
we got another thing comin' undone
we got another thing comin' undone
That’s taking us over

I'll go bravin' anything
With you swallowin' the shine of the sun
I'll go bravin' everything
With you swallowin' the shine
But I won't be no runaway
Cause I won't run
No I won't be no runaway
Cause I won't run
No I won't be no runaway

What makes you think I’m enjoying being led to the flood
We got another thing comin' undone
They’ve taken us over
We don't bleed when we don't fight
go ahead go ahead
Throw your arms in the air tonight
We don't bleed when we don't fight
Go ahead go ahead
Lose our shirts in the fire

What makes you think I’m enjoying being led to the flood
We got another thing comin undone
We got another thing comin' undone
That’s taking us over
That’s taking forever

Iron & Wine 'The Shepherd's Dog' Lyrics

Iron & Wine's 3rd full length album, The Shepherd's Dog, will be released on September 25th via Sub Pop. The lyrics offered here were found in several places online and could very well have errors. If you spot an outstanding error and would like to correct it, please do so in the comments.

BUY The Shepherd's Dog

TRACK LIST
1. Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car
2. White Tooth Man
3. Lovesong of the Buzzard
4. Carousel
5. House by the Sea
6. Innocent Bones
7. Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)
8. Resurrection Fern
9. Boy With a Coin
10.The Devil Never Sleeps
11.Peace Beneath the City
12.Flightless Bird, American Mouth


THE SHEPHERD'S DOG Lyrics
1. "Pagan Angel And A Borrowed Car"
Love was a promise made of smoke
In a frozen copse of trees
A bone cold and older than our bodies
Slowly floating in the sea
Every morning there were planes
The shiny blades of pagan angels in our father's skies
Every evening I would watch her hold the pillow
Tight against her hollows, her unholy child
I was still a beggar shaking out my stolen coat
Among the angry cemetery leaves
When they caught the king beneath the borrowed car
Righteous, drunk, and fumbling for the royal keys

Love was a father's flag and sung like a shank
In a cake on our leather boots
A beautiful feather floating down
To where the birds had shit on empty chapel pews
Every morning we found one more machine
To mock our ever waning patience at the well
Every evening she'd descend the mountain stealing socks
And singing something good where all the horses fell
Like a snake within the wilted garden wall
I’d hint to her every possibility
While with his gun the pagan angel rose to say
"My love is one made to break every bended knee"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

2. "White Tooth Man"
Said the plain clothes cop to the beauty queen
“I’ve seen nothing but a spoke in a wheel”
So she gave up her crown to a kid with a crutch
And they both felt cheated after closing the deal
And the white tooth man, I ran with him
Got all cut up from pissing out in the weeds
And a fight upstate with a broken blade
And a wife whose finger never wanted a ring

Said the plain clothes cop to the Indian chief
“I’ve made nothing but an honest mistake”
The postman cried while reading the mail
And we all got trampled in the Christmas parade
And the white tooth man who sold me a gun
A map of Canaan and a government bond
Said, “I love this town, but it ain’t the same”
The ski mask ripped as he was putting it on

Said the plain clothes cop to the holy ghost
“I’ve heard nothing if it wasn’t the wind”
And we all got sick on a strip club meal
While the statehouse was frying all the witches again
So the white tooth man with his kids in the car
And a wad of money that was already spent
Said, “I love my dog but she just ran away
She’ll keep running like the world never ends”

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

3. "Lovesong of the Buzzard"
In the failing light of the afternoon
Lucy in the shade of the dogwood blooms
Yesterday the solace of a poison fish
Tomorrow I'll be kissing on her blood red lips

No one is the saviour they would like to be
The lovesong of the buzzard in the dogwood tree
With a train of horses laughing through the traffic line
And the cradle's unimaginative sense of time

Springtime and the promise of an open fist
A tattoo of a flower on a broken wrist
Lucy tells me jokingly to wipe her brow
With a pocket map to heaven and the sun goes down

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

4. "Carousel"
Almost home
When I missed the bottom stair
You were braiding your gray hair
It had grown so long
Since I'd been gone

And the perfect girls
By the pool, they would protest
The cross around their necks
But our sons were overseas
And we all know about the hive and the honey bees

Almost home
With an olive branch and a dove
You were beating on a Persian rug
With your bible and your wedding band
Both hidden on a TV stand

And the cruel wind blew
Every city father fell
Off the county carousel
While the dogs were eating snow
All our sons had sunk in a trunk of Noah's clothes

Almost home
We got lost on our new street
While your grieving girls all died in their sleep
So the dogs all went unfed
A great dream of bones all piled on the bed

And the cops couldn't care
When that crackhead built a boat
And said, "Please, before I go
May our only honored bone
Be the kinship of the kids and the riot squad"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

5. "House by the Sea"
There is a house by the sea
Two jealous sisters, they're waiting for me
And one is laid on the floor
And one is changing the locks on the doors
And I've been buying the time on my knees
And I've been selling their blankets to bleed (on)

Around the house by the sea
The scent of roses and raspberry leaves
And there is smoke in my clothes
Too much time with just smoke in my nose
And I've been making the meaning they lack
And I've been burning that book they come back too

There is a house by the sea
And an ocean between it and me
And like the shape of a wave
The jealous sisters will sing on my grave
And I've been living to run where they led
And I've been dying to rise from their bed
And I've been sparing my neck from their chain
And they've been changing the sound of my name
And I've been swimming to them in my sleep
And I've been dreaming our love and our freedom

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

6. "Innocent Bones"
Cain got a milk-eyed mule from the auction
Abel got a telephone
And even the last of the blue-eyed babies know
That the burning man is the color of the end of day
And how every tongue that gets bit always has another word to say

Cain bought a blade from some witch at the window
Abel bought a bag of weed
And even the last of the brown-eyed babies see
That the cartoon king has a tattoo of a bleeding heart
There ain’t a penthouse Christian wants the pain of the scab, but they all want the scar
How every mouth sings of what it’s without so we all sing of love
And how it ain’t one dog who’s good at fucking and denying who he’s thinking of

Cain heard a cat tumble limp off the rooftop
Abel heard his papa pray
And even the last of the black-eyed babies say
That every saint has a chair you can borrow and a church to sell
That the wind blows cold across the back of the master and the kitchen help
There’s a big pile of innocent bones still holding up the garden wall
And it was always the broken hand we learned to lean on after all
How God knows if Christ came back he would find us in a poker game
After finding out the drugs were all free but they won't let you out the door again

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

7. "Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)"
Wolves by the road
And a bike wheel spinning on a pawn shop wall
She leaned on her coloured hair
Like a butterfly wing in a summer rainfall
And the roll on the kitchen floor
Some fucker with a pocketful of foreign change
Song of the shepherd’s dog
A pitch in the dark in the ear of the lamb who was going to try to run away
Whoever got that brave?

Wolves in the middle of town
And the chapel bell ringing through the wind-blown trees
To wave to the butcher’s boy with the parking lot music everybody believes
And then out like a dying bird in the ?? in the corner of the penny arcade
Song of the shepherd’s dog
Waiting around the jack call of the rooster
On the rooftop waiting for day
And ain’t nobody’s gonna say

Wolves at the end of the bed
And a postcard hidden in her winter clothes
She beat in the back of a truck
To the trailers when we trying to find the bullet hole
And then run down the canopy rows
Some mother and a baby with a cross to nail
Song of the shepherd’s dog
Little brown flea in the bottle of oil for your woolly wild hair
You'll never get him out of there

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

8. "Resurrection Fern"
In our days we will live
Like our ghosts will live:
Pitching glass at the cornfield crows
And folding clothes

Like stubborn boys across the road
We'll keep everything:
Grandma's gun and the black bear claw
That took her dog

When sister Laurie says, "Amen"
We won't hear anything:
The ten-car trains will take that word
That fledgling bird

And the fallen house across the way
It'll keep everything:
The baby's breath
Our bravery wasted and our shame

And we'll undress beside the ashes of the fire
Both our tender bellies wound in baling wire
All the more a pair of underwater pearls
Than the oak tree and its resurrection fern

In our days we will say
What our ghosts will say:
We gave the world what it saw fit
And what'd we get?

Like stubborn boys with big green eyes
We'll see everything:
In the tender shade of the autumn leaves
And the buzzard's wing

And we'll undress beside the ashes of the fire
Our tender bellies are wound around in baling wire
All the more a pair of underwater pearls
Than the oak tree and its resurrection fern

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

9. "Boy With A Coin"
A boy with a coin he found in the weeds
With bullets and pages of trade magazines
Close to a car that flipped on the turn
When God left the ground to circle the world

A girl with a bird she found in the snow
Then flew up her gown and that's how she knows
That God made her eyes for crying at birth
Then left the ground to circle the Earth

A boy with a coin he crammed in his jeans
Then making a wish he tossed in the sea
Walked to a town that all of us burn
When God left the ground to circle the world

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

10. "The Devil Never Sleeps"
Dreamin’ again of a train track ending at the edge of the sea
Big black cloud was low and rolling our way
Dog at the barbed wire barkin’ at my buzz-cut friends
Friend with a switch blade shinin’ in the summer rain
No one on the corner had a quarter for the telephone
Everybody bitchin’ there’s nothing on the radio

Dreamin’ again of a city full of fathers and their white clothes
Chatterin’ boys and a chicken at the choppin’ block
All of us lost at the crosswalk waitin’ for the other to go
Didn’t find the field but boy you’re really waterlogged
Someone bet a dollar that their daddy wasn’t comin’ home
Everybody bitchin’ there’s nothing on the radio

Dreamin’ again that it’s freezin’ and my mother’s in a flower bed
Long dead rows of daffodils and marigolds
Changin’ her face like a shadow on the ground
(can't tell what this line is - CAN YOU HELP OUT?)
No one lives forever and the devil never sleeps alone
Everybody bitchin’ there’s nothing on the radio

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

11. "Peace Beneath the City"
Here’s a prayer for the body buried by the interstate
Murder of a soldier, a tree in a forest up in flames
Black valley, peace beneath the city
Where the women hear the washboard rhythm in their bosom when they say,
"Give me good legs and a Japanese car and show me a road”

Sing a song for the bodies buried by the riverbank
A well-dressed boy and a pig with a bullet in the brain
Black valley, peace beneath the city
Where the white girls wander the strip mall, singing all day,
“Give me a juggernaut heart and a Japanese car and someone to free"

Sing a song for the body buried like a keepsake
Mother of million mouths with the very same name
Black valley, peace beneath the city
Where the women tell the weather but never ever tell you what they pray
They pray, "Give me a yellow brick road and a Japanese car and benevolent change"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

12. "Flightless Bird, American Mouth"
I was a quick wet boy
Diving too deep for coins
All of your straight blind eyes
Wide on my plastic toys
And when the cops closed the fair
I cut my long baby hair
Stole me a dog-eared map
And called for you everywhere

Have I found you?
Flightless bird, jealous, weeping
Or lost you?
American mouth
Big bill looming

Now I’m a fat house cat
Cursing my sore blunt tongue
Watching the warm poison rats
Curl through the wide/white fence cracks
Kissing on magazine photos
Those fishing lures thrown in the cold and clean
Blood of Christ mountain stream

Have I found you?
Flightless bird, brown hair bleeding
Or lost you?
American mouth
Big bill, stuck going down

SPOON 'Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga' Lyrics

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Tracklist:
1. Don’t Make Me A Target
2. The Ghost Of You Lingers
3. You Got Yr Cherry Bomb
4. Don’t You Evah
5. Rhthm And Soul
6. Eddie’s Ragga
7. The Underdog
8. My Little Japanese Cigarette Case
9. Finer Feelings
10. Black Like Me

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Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Lyrics
1. Don't Make Me A Target
Here come the man from the stars
we don't know why he go so far
and keep on marching along
beatin' his drum

Thugs and stick and bats and balls
for nuclear dicks with dialect drawls
they come from a parking lot town
where nothing lives in the sun

Don't make me a target (3x)
When you reach back in his mind
feels like he's breaking the law
There's something back there he got
that nobody knows

He never claimed to say what he says
He smells like the inside of closets and stairs
The kind where nobody goes

Don't make me a target...

2. The Ghost Of You Lingers
If you were here
Would you calm me down?
You settled this part
Feelings I fight (all the strangers in town)
Feeling so bright (would know if you were here)
The feelings I fight (would you ease my mind?)
Yeah (Come on!)

The sleep fled from my eyes
And I, I know that I need some
Give a thought to the one that you know

Or would you calm me down
When the night gets shadowed
We fast

We put on the clinic
If you were here
It felt good to me
(would you calm me down)
Can't see I'm losing it
Must have set up the scene
(The man asleep knockup)
Put on a clinic
(I see it) But I will need to write
(we settled this part) They're all alive

Oh, would you ease my mind?
Yeah

(The ghost of you lingers)
Put on a clinic till we hit the wall
(And leaves)
Just like a sailor with his wools beat soft
Come on

I had a light bad noon that could be put back together

My life
So light
Would you settle this part?

If you were here
Would you calm me down?

The ghost of you lingers
And leaves
I always think about it
Oh, would you calm me down?

3. You Got Yr Cherry Bomb
Life can be so fair
Let it go on and on
I can push for good
You got that cherry bomb
Blow out that cherry bomb for me
We lost it long ago
You and me

Now you know your way back from the spirit far
Brush your teeth for bed
Blow out that cherry bomb
Blow out that cherry bomb for me
You got to know it's on your sleeve
Know it's on your sleeve
Know it's on your sleeve (c'mon)

It was the longest day that I had ever known
I watched you start that drive alone
Blow out that cherry bomb for me
It's gonna burn right up your sleeve
Burn right up your sleeve

So there you go again
Out in your dressing gown
Get yourself to bed
Blow out that cherry bomb

Oh, life can be so fair
Let it go on and on
I could pay to have all your cherry bomb
Oh, life can be so fair
Let it go on and on
I could pay to have all your cherry bomb

4. Don't You Evah
Bet you got it all planned right
Bet you never worry
never even feel a fright
Bet you got it all planned right
Never fit to worry
never even feel a fright.

Single sleeps alone
and I know you don't really mind
Five years by your side
so I know you really don't mind

But don't you love her
deep down
I said don't evah
cause it's gonna keep him hanging around

Never
deep down
I said don't evah
because it's gonna keep him hanging around

Don't you never think it's right
Bet you think you had to but it doesn't feel right
Bet you never think it feels right
Famous-sounding words make your head feel light

Petals getting picked
with the love-yous
and the love-you-not

Five years going by
Everyone is standing on their side

But don't you love her
deep down
I said don't evah
because you're gonna keep him hanging around

Never
deep down
I said don't evah
because it's gonna keep him hanging around

But don't you love her
deep down
I said don't ever
because it's gonna keep him hanging around

Five years going by
everyone is standing on their side

Never
deep down
I said don't ever
cause it's gonna keep him hanging around

Five years going by
everyone is standing on their side

I said don't ever need to worry
cause it's gonna feel all right

Never

5. Rhthm And Soul
Come loosen up,
so hung up
come count them ways to brether

Remember,
Windsor
gets cold in ways you always forget

Oh you know
mmm the rhythm and soul
Get your hands out your back pockets,
boy let it go

[CHORUS]

Here comes the man,
you saw in Kazan,
he just picks in his cold... oh no...
the rhythm and soul

Dollars and cents and no accident
not in the name of democracy
Come get there, come be there
come let your socks fall down to your shoes

Oh you know
mm... the rhythm and soul
Get your ankles moving their sockets
ooh, there you go

[CHORUS]

And here comes the man,
he bought a gift from Kazan
he can't leave it alone... oh no...
the rhythm and soul

When you take a picture and it falls in the lot, oh no no
Take another picture and you spring in the trap, oh no no... mm you miss home

You can't back this at your ride
change of tide
And you're wise, you're wise
rhythm and...

Tract houses
square couches
short legs and square shoulders

Pot holders
aching soldiers
your tank rollers
your all overs

And you know
ooh the rhythm and soul
Get your fingers moving their sockets,
tune in Tokyo

You're just the man
the one I saw in Kazan
wonder what this book will throw... oh no
the rhythm and...

6. Eddie’s Ragga
Someone that I met but I hardly knew
He said that everyone loves a defective heart
He'd parted ways with diction, this was late last night
He see me getting your affection and it proved he was right
The way I stared off thinking that all was sound

Anyone I knew they woulda called me down

You can break my legs, you can kick me downstairs
But there ain't no getting over Joanie Hale-Maier
Just let me walk away
Ah let me walk away

And then the place ignite
It's in my face and I'm
Behind the bassline

Someone that I knew but I hardly met
Told me, it's hopeless I'm a slut for the New York Times
She made my heart soft, worn an aiguillette on her arm
She never been to Texas, never heard of King Kong
And it'd been so long since I'd been suitably high

So we did an Airborne, settled in for the night

Tell me sweetness don't somehow reach your heart
Until you fall flat down and you can't wait to start
This is the one cold truth we've all of us known
As I think to myself this could be easy or I could face it alone

And then the place ignite
All out of grace and I'm
Behind the bassline

7. The Underdog
Picture yourself in the living room
your pipe and slippers set out for you
I know you think that it ain't too far

But I hear the call of a lifetime ring
felt the need to get up for it
oh you cut out the middleman
get free from the middleman

You got no time for the messenger,
got no regard for the thing that you don't understand,
you got no fear of the underdog,
that's why you will not survive!

I want to forget how conviction fits
but can I get out from under it?
Can I gut it out of me?
It can't all be wedding cake
It can't all be boiled away
I try but I can't let go of it
Can't let go of it,

Cause you don't talk to the water boy
and there's so much you could learn but you don't want to know,
You will not back up an inch ever,
that's why you will not survive,

The thing that I tell you now
It may not go over well
And it may not be photo-op
in the way that I spell it out

But you won't hear from the messenger,
don't wanna know bout something that you don't understand,
You got no fear of the underdog,
that's why you will not survive! (Hey!)

8. My Little Japanese Cigarette Case
It's just my Japanese cigarette case,
bring a mirror to my face
let all my memories be gone

Bring me my Japanese cigarette case,
bring a mirror to my face,
oh, let all my memories be gone

Bring me my Japanese cigarette case,
break a mirror to my face
oh, let all my memories be gone

It's just my Japanese cigarette case,
bring a mirror to my face
let all my memories be gone

9. Finer Feelings
Memphis comes creeping down my back
Somehow this place tastes just like an attack
A hundred-yard-stare of a kiss
Lord, I know I'll never miss it

They told me stop scouting the field
They told me have a look in commercial appeal
And start getting that hair cut sharp

Sometimes I think that I'll find a love
One that's gonna change my heart
I'll find it in commercial appeal
And then this heartache'll get chased away

I was part-time at the Tasty Prawn
That and moving furniture and cutting lawns
Covered in newsprint, staying up real late
Just holding out for some fate

Sometimes I think that I'll find a love
One that's gonna change my heart
I'll find it in commercial appeal
And then this heartache'll get chased away
[x2]

I was dreaming in the driver's seat
When the right words just came to me
And all my finer feelings came up

Always out on some witch's hunt
For the one who never lets me want
Before you know it it's all fuss

Sometimes I think that I'll find a love
One that's gonna change my heart
I'll find it in commercial appeal
And then this heartache'll get chased away
[x2]

10. Black Like Me
I believed that someone'd
take care of me tonight

As I walk into Dorian's
can you see it in my eyes?
(yeah)

My boots are on the mend
and they ain't walkin' home

Street tar in summer'll do a job on your soul
Street tar in summer'll do a job on your soul
ooh

Junie's watching cover shy
My head's feeling light
I believed that someone'd
take care of me tonight
anyhow, anyway, so I split
oh just getting out of there,
what's gonna get me out of this?

I spent the night in the map room,
I humanize the vacuum

I believed that someone'd
take care of me tonight
Oh and as I'm lookin out at you
can you see that in, in my eyes
on the mend,
now they could lead me home

Street tar in summer
will play a trick on your soul

Oh Junie's got daylight
(yeah)
Aw it made me feel so light
(aw yeah)
Just something to take care of the light

Junie's watching daylight
(yeah)
All there is to feel a light
(aw yeah)
Someone to take care of the light

ooh
All the weird kids up front
(yeah)
tell me what you know you want
(aw yeah)
Someone to take care of tonight... aww

The National: Boxer Lyrics

Since there aren't any lyrics included with the album, or any Boxer lyrics posted on the band's website (I want to thank the band for recently linking this post on their band site) these uncredited transcriptions will have to do. If you have any corrections or opinions on these lyrics, please leave a comment.

If you haven't got the album yet, go here... or your nearest record store of choice and buy the disc. Boxer was released on May 22nd and has garnered acclaim from many in-the-know.

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The National: Boxer: Lyrics

FAKE EMPIRE
Stay out super late tonight picking apples, making pies
put a little something in our lemonade and take it with us
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
we’re half-awake in a fake empire

Tiptoe through our shiny city with our diamond slippers on
Do our gay ballet on ice
bluebirds on our shoulders
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
we’re half-awake in a fake empire

Turn the light out say goodnight
no thinking for a little while
lets not try to figure out everything at once
It’s hard to keep track of you falling through the sky
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
we’re half-awake in a fake empire


MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS
You have to do it running but you do everything that they ask you to
cause you don’t mind seeing yourself in a picture
as long as you look faraway, as long as you look removed
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters

You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults

Make up something to believe in your heart of hearts
so you have something to wear on your sleeve of sleeves
so you swear you just saw a feathery woman
carry a blindfolded man through the trees
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters

You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults

You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults


BRAINY
I’ve been draggin around from the end of you coat for two weeks, ah ah.
Everywhere you go is swirlin, everything you say has water under it, ah ah.
You know I keep your fingerprints in a pink folder in the middle of my table
you’re the tall kingdom I surround
think I better follow you around

You might need me more than you think you will
come home in the car you love, brainy brainy brainy

I’ve been draggin around from the end of you coat for two weeks, ah ah.
You keep changing you’re fancy fancy mind every time I decide to let go
I was up all night again, boning up and reading the American dictionary
you’ll never believe me what I found
think I better follow you around

You might need me more than you think you will
come home in the car you love, brainy brainy brainy
You might need me more than you think you will
come home in the car you love, brainy brainy brainy


SQUALOR VICTORIA
Underline everything, I’m a professional in my beloved white shirt
Underline everything, I’m a professional in my beloved white shirt
I'm going down among the saints

Raise our heavenly glasses to the heavens! Squalor Victoria! Squalor Victoria!
Raise our heavenly glasses to the heavens! Squalor Victoria! Squalor Victoria!

Out of my league, I have birds in my sleeves and I wanna rush in with the fools
Out of my league, I have birds in my sleeves and I wanna rush in with the fools

Raise our heavenly glasses to the heavens! Squalor Victoria! Squalor Victoria!
Raise our heavenly glasses to the heavens! Squalor Victoria! Squalor Victoria!

3:30 in the last night for you to save this
You’re zoning out, zoning out, zoning out, zoning out
3:30 in the last night for you to save this
You’re zoning out, zoning out, zoning out, zoning out

This isn’t working, you, my middlebrow fuck-up


GREEN GLOVES
Falling out of touch with all my
friends are somewhere getting wasted,
hope they’re staying glued together,
I have arms for them.

Take another sip of them,
it floats around and takes me over
like a little drop of ink in a glass of water

Get inside their clothes
with my green gloves
watch their videos, in their chairs.
Get inside their beds
with my green gloves
Get inside their heads, love their loves.

Cinderella through the room
I glide and swan cause I’m the best slow dancer
in the universe

Falling out of touch with all my
friends are somewhere getting wasted,
hope they’re staying glued together,
I have arms for them.

Get inside their clothes
with my green gloves
watch their videos, in their chairs.
Get inside their beds
with my green gloves
Get inside their heads, love their loves.

Now I hardly know them
and I’ll take my time
I’ll carry them over, and I’ll make them mine.

Get inside their clothes
with my green gloves
watch their videos, in their chairs.
Get inside their beds
with my green gloves
Get inside their heads, love their loves.


SLOW SHOW
Standing at the punch table swallowing punch
can’t pay attention to the sound of anyone
a little more stupid, a little more scared
every minute more unprepared

I made a mistake in my life today
everything I love gets lost in drawers
I want to start over, I want to be winning
way out of sync from the beginning

I wanna hurry home to you
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I’m very, very frightening
I’ll overdo it

Looking for somewhere to stand and stay
I leaned on the wall and the wall leaned away
Can I get a minute of not being nervous
and not thinking of my dick
My leg is sparkles, my leg is pins
I better get my shit together, better gather my shit in
You could drive a car through my head in five minutes
from one side of it to the other

I wanna hurry home to you
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I’m very, very frightening
I’ll overdo it

You know I dreamed about you
for twenty-nine years before I saw you
You know I dreamed about you
I missed you for
for twenty-nine years

You know I dreamed about you
for twenty-nine years before I saw you
You know I dreamed about you
I missed you for
for twenty-nine years


APARTMENT STORY
Be still for a second while I try and try to pin your flowers on la la la la
Can you carry my drink I have everything else
I can tie my tie all by myself
I’m getting tied, I’m forgetting why

Oh we’re so disarming darling, everything we did believe
is diving diving diving diving off the balcony
Tired and wired we ruin too easy
sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave

Hold ourselves together with our arms around the stereo for hours, la la la la
While it sings to itself or whatever it does
when it sings to itself of its long lost loves
I’m getting tied, I’m forgetting why

Tired and wired we ruin too easy
sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave
but I’ll be with you behind the couch when they come
on a different day just like this one

We’ll stay inside til somebody finds us
do whatever the TV tells us
stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz for days
We’ll stay inside til somebody finds us
do whatever the TV tells us
stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz

so worry not
all things are well
we’ll be alright
we have our looks and perfume

stay inside til somebody finds us
do whatever the TV tells us
stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz

so worry not
all things are well
we’ll be alright
we have our looks and perfume on


START A WAR
We expected something, something better than before. We expected something more
Do you really think you can just put it in a safe behind a painting, lock it up and leave
Do you really think you can just put it in a safe behind a painting, lock it up and leave
Walk away now and you’re gonna start a war

Whatever went away I’ll get it over again. I’ll get money, I’ll get funny again
Whatever went away I’ll get it over again. I’ll get money, I’ll get funny again
Walk away now and you’re gonna start a war

We expected something, something better than before. We expected something more
You were always waiting but I never had to hold you by the edges like I do now
You were always waiting but I never had to hold you by the edges like I do now
Walk away now and you’re gonna start a war

Whatever went away I’ll get it over again. I’ll get money, I’ll get funny again
Whatever went away I’ll get it over again. I’ll get money, I’ll get funny again
Walk away now and you’re gonna start a war
Walk away now and you’re gonna start a war


GUEST ROOM
They’re gonna send us to prison for jerks
for having vague ideas of the way to turn each other on again
They’re gonna send us to prison for jerks

They’ll find us here here here in the guest room
where we throw money at each other and cry, oh my

We miss being ruffians, going wild and bright
in the corners of front yards
getting in and out of cars
we miss being deviants

They’ll find us here here here in the guest room
where we throw money at each other and cry, oh my

We can’t stay here
we’re starting to stay the same
We can’t stay here
we can’t stay this way

Just tie your woman to your wrist
give her room to tie the other

They’ll find us here here here in the guest room
where we throw money at each other and cry, oh my


RACING LIKE A PRO
You’re pink you’re young you’re middle-class
they say it doesn’t matter
Fifteen blue shirts and womanly hands
you’re shooting up the ladder

Your mind is racing like a pro, now
Oh my god it doesn’t mean a lot to you
One time you were a glowing young ruffian
Oh my god it was a million years ago

Sometimes you get up and bake a cake or something
sometimes you stay in bed
sometimes you go la di da di da di da da
til your eyes roll back into your head

Your mind is racing like a pro, now
Oh my god it doesn’t mean a lot to you
One time you were a glowing young ruffian
Oh my god it was a million years ago

You’re dumbstruck baby
You’re dumbstruck baby now you know
You’re dumbstruck baby
You’re dumbstruck baby now you know

Your mind is racing like a pro, now
Oh my god it doesn’t mean a lot to you
One time you were a glowing young ruffian
Oh my god it was a million years ago

You’re dumbstruck baby
You’re dumbstruck baby now you know
You’re dumbstruck baby
You’re dumbstruck baby now you know
You’re dumbstruck baby


ADA
Ada don’t talk about reasons why you don’t want to talk about reasons
why you don’t wanna talk
Now that you got everybody you consider sharp
all alone. all together, all together in the dark
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air

Ada put the sounds of your house in a song
try to be speechless for a minute
If you think you gonna faint go out in the hallway
Let them all have your neck
Ada don’t stay in the lake too long
it lives alone and it barely knows you
It’ll have a nervous breakdown and fall
into a thousand pieces around you

Stand inside an empty tuxedo with grapes in my mouth
waiting for Ada
Ada hold onto yourself by the sleeves
I think everything counts a little more than we think
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air

Ada Ada Ada Ada
Ada I can hear the sound of your laugh through the wall

Ada don’t talk about reasons why you don’t want to talk about reasons
why you don’t wanna talk
Now that you got everybody you consider sharp
all alone. all together, all together in the dark
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air

Ada Ada Ada Ada
Ada I can hear the sound of your laugh through the wall
Ada Ada Ada Ada
Ada, I’ve been hoping you know your way around


GOSPEL
I got two armfuls of magazines for you
I’ll bring em over
so hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden
hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden and I’ll
I’ll bring a nice icy drink to you

Let me come over I can waist your time I’m bored
Invite me to the war every night of the summer
and we’ll play G.I. blood, G.I. blood
we’ll stand by the pool
we’ll through out our golden arms

Darlin can you tie my string
killers are callin on me
my angel face is fallin
feathers are fallin on my feet
Darlin can you tie my string
killers are callin on me

Stay near your, stay near your television
Set it up outside
and hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden
hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden and I’ll
I’ll bring a nice icy drink to you

Let me come over I can waist your time I’m bored
Invite me to the war every night of the summer
and we’ll play G.I. blood, G.I. blood
we’ll stand by the pool
we’ll through out our golden arms

Darlin can you tie my string
killers are callin on me
my angel face is fallin
feathers are fallin on my feet
my angel face is fallin
feathers are fallin on my feet
Darlin can you tie my string
killers are callin on me
Darlin can you tie my string
killers are callin on me