1. |
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A Knack For This (Acres Of Subdivisions)
We got the wild, wide future and it's roaring loud inside our hearts
We catch these patterns of light before they disintegrate
We got water, electricity, we know how it all starts
We got mysterious green hills we want to investigate
When we open up our eyes we never stare into the sun
We make sure everything that we own is protected
Extra levels, extra layers, we know how it all starts
We got acres of subdivisions we need to populate again
We got a knack for this, a certain kind of talent
For changing direction, and landing on all four feet
A little something held back, a little hidden knowledge
We got a knack for this, we got a knack for this
And more than just a little luck
And you got to believe, this is not the first time, we've been keeping score
And like before, by the time that we get through this
We'll be coming to collect, scattering some dirt and leaves
So we can cover up our tracks
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2. |
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Watermark (Tattoo On Your Trigger Finger)
Perforated watermark, tattoo on your trigger finger
I’m just here cause it’s cold
Covered up in tin foil, not a lot of light gets in
What used to be for sale now is sold
Wishing before you were born, California navel orange
But you had to lose ‘em at the table
Cinderella, out of breath, tell the story with the rest
I’ll try to get this out if I am able
Nebraska farm boy
Running to the promised land
Will play this all by ear
Without any practice
You feel it rising with the mercury, Euclidean geometry
Any two points can be joined
By a road or a line, an air-conditioned lucky find
It’s easy if you learn to work the system
Rev the engine, pop the clutch
We really don’t get out too much
It’s best to read in only two dimensions
Take some time if you’d like
Close the cover before you strike
Let’s forget that this was mentioned
A wildfire’s burning
Racing through the promised land
And we got sand castle buckets and shovels
And never enough practice
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3. |
Hemingway's Daughter
03:45
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Hemingway's Daughter
Driving in the desert in a sensible car
Got time for Coltrane, and Soul Train, and Hemingway's Daughter
Rattle from the gravel, static from the stars
The Sound Waves, return to you--
Where you are
My old man, he actually went to sea
Taking just what he needed,
and just what he wanted to see
Something from the city, something from home
Something to remind him, something to remind him
Watching in the rear view
as the miles rewind
Something there will keep you awake
Watching where it takes you
as the miles rewind
Something there will keep you
Something there will keep you
Pieces of Norway, Pieces of Cuba
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4. |
Miles Across The Sky
04:05
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Miles Across The Sky
According to Billie, them that's got shall get
them that's not shall lose
So the bible says, and it still is news
According to Nina
I loves my man
Don't let him take me, don't let him handle me
Don't let him drive me mad
But tonight there's just one sound that fits just right
Just one sound that harmonizes and mixes
Grapefruit canyon and lonely coyote
I don't need another solo from John Coltrane
I don't need another slow blue ballad by Chet Baker
Tonight I'm only hearing one sound played from the heart
One note from Miles
Miles across the sky
And according to Gil
It stands out on the highway, like a creature from another time
It inspires the babies' questions to their mothers as they ride
Et les mots de Brigitte
Des asticots dans l'heroine, ca me deguote pour de bon
Dorenevant, je bois du gin
Avec des sorbets aux marrons
Kate was never one for busting through walls
As Tom punches a whole in another night time sky
For Conor, the sun came up with no conclusion
And Yoko, she don't know – she's just doing it
But tonight there's just one sound that fits just right
Just one sound that harmonizes and mixes
Grapefruit canyon and lonely coyote
I don't need another solo by John Coltrane
I don't need another slow blue ballad by Chet Baker
But tonight I'm just hearing one sound played from the heart
One note from Miles
From Miles across the sky
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5. |
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Break Free (Pretty Colors On The TV)
Mama’s in the kitchen, boarding up the windows
Papa’s in the back yard trying to get in
Mama’s got a mission made of nails and plywood
Papa’s got a mission made of pepsi and gin
I’m just sitting here
Pretty colors on the TV
Trying to break free
Crawling through the desert looking for water
Floating on the water always looking for land
Broken glass, bottle tops, bullets and paper
Looking for something right here in my hands
I’m just sitting here
Pretty colors on the TV
Trying to break free
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6. |
Ashes (All Sales Final)
05:40
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Ashes (All Sales Final)
Got no memory, got no heart
Got my wallet out, but it’s not time to pay
Stack the newspapers in the trunk
Burn what doesn’t fit, let the ashes all blow away
It’s quiet here, it’s an empty place -- Let ashes all blow away
(All sales final)
No exceptions here
(All sales final)
Nothing comes back
All sales final (what have we heard)
No exceptions here (what have we seen)
All sales final (who have we been)
Nothing comes back (what did we dream)
Time to rest, time to work
Time to listen to gospel radio (88.5)
Keeping Mary’s son alive (just in time for your weekday drive)
News and weather will keep it all together
(Will keep the sun coming up)
Keep the clouds from rolling out, rolling out
(Will keep the sun coming up, keep the clouds from rolling out)
Thank you we appreciate your business
Is there anything we can do to make your stay more pleasant,
More relaxing, more fun
More fulfilling in the long run
More like how you pictured it would be
When you put your head on your pillow and said your prayers and you closed your eyes.
Now what can we do to make it
More like that, how can we make it more like that
What can we do
What can we hear, what can we see
Who can we be, what can we dream
To make it all just a little more like that, we want to make it all just a little more like that
A one-way ticket on a two-way train
There’s a crack in the ceiling and it’s looking like rain
It’s just too much trouble to patch it up again
It’s just too much trouble, too much trouble
No matter what you’ve heard, no matter what you’ve seen
No matter who you’ve been no matter what you’ve dreamed
All sales final
No deposit
No regrets, no plastic, no paper,
No candy cigarettes
Just gospel hour, 3 AM
Lonely radio static
(All sales final)
No exceptions here
All sales final (what have we heard)
Nothing comes back (what have we seen)
All sales final (who have we been)
No exceptions here (what did we dream)
All sales final
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7. |
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Social Studies (How To Start A Fire)
I never really had to learn how to start a fire
So I never had to spend any time putting one out
Seems the sun always shows up
About the time you start looking for matches
And the rain seems to come along
About the time it should be getting dark
I never really had to learn how to write my name
The page was always filled in by the time it got passed to my row
I just make and X and pass it along
And never think about the next time
When I will draw my two lines, just as I’ve done before
I never learned to fish, never learned to climb a tree
Never took a trip to see the town where I was born
Never rode a horse, but one time I came in first place
Hit the finish line and kept on going
I never really had to learn how to pray
Although I’m often on my knees anyway
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8. |
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Some Earth Separates Them
There are things I don’t remember
Some things I don’t want to
Some things I might keep quiet for a while
I’ve not been keeping track, some messages have been erased
The paperwork -- has gone missing
When something’s buried in the backyard
Underneath what’s been buried there before
Although some earth separates them
They cannot be easily, separated no more
I guess I never took the time to take in the fine print
Never read all that “side effects might include…”
Just started out one morning somewhere around Denver
Gathered what I’d brought, and hit the road for good
I should know by now, it isn’t like this hasn’t happened many times
But corners come quick, and memory is selective
And what you’re digging isn’t likely what you find
Taking less than half as much for only slightly more than half the price
Just think of all they would have done if I had taken even half of that advice
Some things I don’t remember well
Some things I don’t want to
Some things I might keep quiet for a while
Not that anyone’s been keeping track, the messages have been erased
The paperwork has gone missing
I didn’t check I’d gathered all my personal belongings
I didn’t think about the overhead bin
I got off this plane somewhere round Seattle
The things I’d brought with me went back up again
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9. |
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New Amsterdam (But The Same Old Street)
New Amsterdam
But the same old street
Ain’t got a phone, ain’t got no friend to meet
Taxi is late
Again I’ve lost my keys
Your curtain’s at eight
And I have missed a few of these
Holland tunnel, Lincoln tunnel, George Washington bridge
Manhattan, tribourough, midtown, Williamsburg
Take the next A train
To Jamaica Bay
Take it back to Harlem, go the other way
B train from Flatbush
And back to the Bronx
If you’re going to Midtown
Take whatever you want
C train to Penn Station
D train to Coney Island, but not Riverside
C train to Penn Station
D train to Coney Island
A bottle of water
And a note pinned to my shirt
A couple of coins, and some tokens
In my Pocket couldn’t hurt
I’ll never lose my way, but I’ll never get home
I’ll never lose my way, but I’ll never get back home
Harlem River, Hudson River, East River
Hell Gate, to Flushing Bay
Rockaway, Ozone Park, La Guardia, JFK
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10. |
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One Way Street In Chinatown
Born on a summer night
On a plastic-covered backseat
Of an overheated Crown Vic
Pulled up outside a bakery
Underneath a flashing yellow light
On a one way street in Chinatown
Lived across a famous bridge
In a less-than-famous neighborhood
A little more quiet there
But not in a good way
Moved away before you even started school
Right-hand side of the water, left-hand side of the road
Moved away before you even started school
Right-hand side of the water, left-hand side of the road
Lived above a souvenir shop
Just a ceiling and a floor
Separating you from
Union Jack T-shirts, posters of the queen
And a row of little snowy globes,
An underwater, hand-painted
Changing of the guard
Up on Abbey Road
Zebra crossing tourists in groups of four
Golden slumbers, yellow submarine
Norwegian wood, come together, let it be
The long and winding road, while my guitar gently weeps
Eight days a week, all you need is love
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11. |
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LittleAstronautSleepyTiger (Are You With The Band?)
Little astronaut, sleepy tiger
Running fast or not, either either
Turn the stories in your head into colorful dreams
Trial by fire, you’ll get used to it
A jury of your peers, can have real benefits
It’s not the ending you expect, but an ending just the same
And are you just passing through
Are you with the band
When asked to follow instructions
It’s best if they’re written in your hand
Leave out the footnotes, remove the risk
Use only even numbers, leave out the proper nouns
Rely on the action verbs and the phonic sounds
Resurrect it, or just search, and click, and send
Find another, to just fall into again
More than one choice here, it’s more than random you’ll agree
Lowered voices, measured in redundancy
And are you just passing through
Are you with the band
When asked to follow instructions
It’s best if they’re written in your hand
Leave out the footnotes, and the asterisks
Use only even numbers, leave out the proper nouns
Rely on the action verbs and the phonic sounds
Little astronaut, sleepy tiger
Running fast or not, either either
Turn the songs you sing into colorful dreams
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12. |
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Rodeo Queen (Back Home Again)
I'll never be an actor, cause I hate standing still on my mark
I'll never be a car thief, cause I'd have to find a place to park
I'll never be a magician, a rabbit wouldn't fit inside of my hat
I'll never be a surveyor, keeping my lines nice and straight and all that
I may not be the rodeo queen
Or the cowboy riding in the spotlight
Maybe something in between
Someone who hasn't made the headlines, but feels like he might
Don't want to be a fire walker, don't want no coals burning onto my feet
I've already been a bus driver, picking up strangers on the corner of every other street
I'll never be a banker, a cobbler or a cook, a soldier or an undertaker
I'll never count money, mend shoes or bake bread
Never shoot first and ask questions later
Better sell lots of tickets before inviting everybody in
Terrify the neighbors til the cops come and close us down again
Take the big show on the road
Everywhere is out west of somewhere
Tuesday in Chicago, Thursday Madison, and Friday in Eau Claire
Never be an honor student and have to do just as I'm told
I'll never be a lion tamer unless the lions are all drugged, sleepy and old
Maybe when I wake up and see this life has been just a dream
When the light begins to separate all that is and all that might have been
When cowboy and rodeo queen ask themselves, “what then?”
They finish with the rodeo and head back home again
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13. |
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Seventy-Seven (In The Clouds)
You have almost remembered
All you’re given to know
You have almost collected
All the stalks that have grown
No one has been alienated
Everyone knows what is in store
And if you’re looking for something to hold onto
And a number appears in the clouds
You could ask for a little more
So this is what passes for just compensation
This always happens whenever the faithful are called
Prioritize everything that is presented in this case
Keep adding the colors ‘til the outline is fully formed
Get stronger, walk on into this hopeful, little flock
Today, it is so big with blessing for all of us leaning (all of us leaning)
All of us
And if you’re looking for something from the sky
And a number appears in the clouds
You might ask for a little more
You might ask for a little more
Represent, what you’ve heard
Elevate, what you do
Tolerate, what you feel
Celebrate, give into
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14. |
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Sound Stage (All Is Cool)
Back then when the world was still in black and white
and the stars hung from bars
held up by union men standing on chairs
While you listened to the radio on crackling summer nights
stars would lean in between as a clarinet washed through the grey air
And time will tell what the time is going to tell
and so much will change
But I can still picture you on a sound stage in the West Side
Dancing on tabletops, wearing your red shoes
Singing songs about bluebirds, and white cliffs
and letting everyone forget about the war tonight
on a sound stage all is still
in a still life all is sound
in a sound life all is cool
on the last stage all is all
And time will tell what the time is going to tell
and so much will change
I can still picture you on a bench in San Francisco
handing out wildflowers, or playing your guitar
Singing for everyone (never pass a chance to harmonize)
Knowing everything will be just right
I can still picture you living here among us
knowing something beautiful is bound to begin
You never missed a chance to add a little extra
so that everyone could forget about the world
tonight
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15. |
Palette And The Brush
03:22
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Palette And The Brush
Every color corresponds, and every note is played in time
It's a part of how we came to be standing over here
It's just the way
It works out best that way
Hey
Today the colors look the brightest
I don't know where this will lead
But I'm fine on any road
You choose the palette and the brush
I don't know what this might mean
I am colorblind since I was born
You choose the palette and the brush
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16. |
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Driving in the desert in a sensible car
Got time for Coltrane, and Soul Train, and Hemingway's Daughter
Rattle from the gravel, static from the stars
The Sound Waves, return to you--
Where you are
My old man, he actually went to sea
Taking just what he needed,
and just what he wanted to see
Something from the city, something from home
Something to remind him, something to remind him
Watching in the rear view
as the miles rewind
Something there will keep you awake
Watching where it takes you
as the miles rewind
Something there will keep you
Something there will keep you
Pieces of Norway, Pieces of Cuba
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