1. |
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I was a weedy white boy living in Scottsdale
Thrown up in the desert from the belly of a whale
10 speed tire on a frying pan subdivision sidewalk
Banana seat boy scout, brave and loyal
Blood orange sky in the middle of winter
A blood orange guy with a mouthful of cactus splinters
One year my mom got work with the Navajo nation
So I left to go to school on the reservation
In Scottsdale I thought I was hip
In Scottsdale I thought that I was cool
I was all but invisible, to these kids at my new high school
Tried to copy their walk, learn the lingo
Tried to imagine myself as something more
Than an uptight, milk-fed nervous gringo
I was looking for a cure, some kind of miracle eraser
In the passenger seat of mom’s powder blue AMC Pacer
I was a weedy white boy from Scottsdale
Weedy white boy from Scottsdale
Weedy white boy from Scottsdale
Weedy white boy
Blood orange sky in the middle of winter
A blood orange guy with a mouthful of cactus splinters
If you stay in the desert, the desert will own you
Til you’re a weedy old man
Vacuuming his front yard
In suburban Arizona
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2. |
Alligator Banjo
04:24
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My sister called to wake me up
Yeah, something ‘bout a waterline
Somewhere some water is rising
But when I close my eyes, the river looks dry
Alligator banjo
Wrapped up in a sheet
Balance on the gas station roof
Swim down a river street
Alligator banjo
Holding it way up high
Today the sun was rising up
From an angry part of the sky
Alligator banjo
Broken D string
Hurricane gospel choir, hurricane gospel choir
Tugging at the end of a line
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3. |
Memory Is A Chemical
04:01
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Resurrect remains of the recently repressed
Memory is a chemical
Fly away, to the stars, leaving no stone unturned
The chemicals are coming back
Fly away on an endless train
Through a desert of dimming light
Take away all that you can carry yourself
I have seen something and I know I wasn't dreaming
Conjure up the spirit of the fleeting and the stressed
In the middle of the culdesac
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4. |
One Orange Spark
02:57
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The field is on fire, don’t go outside
Turn away from windows, run and hide
If you are out in your car, pull right over where you are
Lock your doors and hold your breath
You know there is much to fear when the lights go out
Things can change their shape and change their size in the dark
Raging rivers from one drop, blazing fire from one orange spark
All of this got started when we weren’t looking
Curtain call, take another bow
Make your way to the car
It’s a shame how no one pulled the fire alarm
No one had the sense to call it in
Raging rivers from one drop, blazing fire from one orange spark
All of this got started when we weren’t looking
Flames grow high as water evaporates
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5. |
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We set sail in this cereal bowl
Chasing words and letters in the usual way
Spend the day exploring stories we've been told
Drop our anchor at the end of day
Spend our day exploring with the charts we stole
Cast our net into the milk
Drop our anchor at the end of a pirate's day
And close our eyes and fall asleep and
dream beneath this milky way
Chasing random letters
Using maps and charts we stole
Chasing random letters
Using charts and maps that we stole
Wearing tanks of oxygen
We explore the boundaries of this cereal bowl
At the end of a good pirate's day
We sail for home
Leaving a wake of words and random letters
Underneath a typographic milky way
Wearing tanks of oxygen
We explore the boundaries of this cereal bowl
At the end of a good pirate's day
We sail for home, we sail for home
Leaving a wake of words and random letters
Underneath a typographic milky way
Underneath a typographic milky way
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6. |
Just Passing Through
03:53
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Illustrate the constellations with a handmade flashlight pointer
Base the names on shapes you recognize
No one falls asleep here
We're engaged and fully up to speed
We're a flash of light just passing through
Take no notice of what surrounds us
We're just passing through
Translate the conversation with appropriate graphic devices
Leave nothing to interpretation
We've all come this far
And no one has locked the door
We're a flash of light just passing through
Translate the obvious, minimize the wait
Lower expectations
Where there's a will, there's a way
Erase every question mark
Nothing rests upon this page
Lower expectations
Where there's a will, there's a way
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7. |
Counting Backwards
03:31
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Counting backwards -- As you close your eyes
Hold your breath in
Receive your real name -- With the crickets and fireflies
On a quarter-acre of land
I am standing still -- At the center
Coming very close -- To the freezing point
But the danger remains undetermined
Well, it’s not like that
It’s not as if you can count on one primary color
On a restless acre of pavement
I am holding still, between two painted lines
I always want to be thought of as more than just a number
If I find myself standing in a long line, I try to maintain a sence of peace, a sense of calm
I like to live by my own rules
I like to keep my eye on the ball
I always know the score
If I think like a winner, I will be a winner
I am the winner, I have won the game
I like to please people
I am a people-pleaser
I like to color outside the lines
I need to play by my own rules
Sometimes when I awaken from a dream I wonder if there are actually no rules
Maybe this is all an illusion
I have just won another game
Another victory for me
Another gold star in my column
At the center
Sparks have landed on our sleeves -- So we back away
Concentrate -- On just what is in our line of sight
Covered in shadow, the ground is cool and quiet
I am standing still -- Looking forward
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8. |
Mountains Of Canada
03:29
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Dreams give way when first light hits the eyes of a dreamer
Morning brings reality with its heat
Quiet interrupter with right of first refusal
Determined, with a certain sense of uncertainty
My parents went to college, and soon I followed
Kind of like that certain way summer follows spring
By fall when I was walking, not walking fast
Footprints in the snowflakes, with dreams trailing
Set it all up, just one part catches fire
Turn it up to 10
Play it all out, down to the wire
My sister's married to a serious survivalist
their kids are getting drunk on holy water in Florida
Well, that's a hell of a thing for an earthbound atheist
who dreams of running from guns and bibles
in the mountains of Canada
My neighbor's buried in delirious anonymity
his bones lie scattered randomly at the bottom of a reservoir
Although it doesn't do much to help an eternal soul's salvation
the combination of bones and ditches isn't bad for irrigation
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9. |
Offering
03:32
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Cool water for the fire dragon
A guess at what is in most need
One nail that will hold the weight
An offering for those who do and don’t believe
Silver cup of juniper oil
A handful of fresh, but bitter herbs
Close your eyes and open them
Close your eyes and open them
Smoke will rise and cover the sky
Smoke will rise and cover up the sky
Smoke will rise, and cover up the sky tonight
So it’s written, and so it will be done
Print up extras to hand out to everyone
One if by land, two if by sea
And one in the middle, if they don’t agree
Count again, if you find yourself trailing -- Try again, if you find yourself wondering
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10. |
Measure Twice, Cut Once
03:34
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All signs pointed to the same place
near a tree growing by the freeway
After the rain lets up for just a bit
we're sure to see them digging
if not for the headlights of passing cars
we'd be invisible
sitting high up in the branches
With a piece of a broken bottle
we carve our names into the bark
Measure twice and you can cut just one time
use only what you need cause you can save the rest
take a picture so it lasts a little longer
take a deep breath so your words come out strong
After some rain, there's sure to be some curiosity
When the ground is dry, it's safe to start again
When the ground is dry, when the ground is dry
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11. |
Orange Cab
06:24
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Pavement cracks follow a tree root path
Underneath a parked car across the street and back
The outline looks a little like a ring of fire that has already burned through half
Pavement cracks follow a tree root path
Sitting in the back seat of an orange cab
Listening for the war to start, listening for the siren of a breaking heart
Quiet, content, and happy with what I had
Sitting in the back seat of an orange cab
Check the time on my phone, then put away my reading glasses
Open up the window, and lean back on head rest, as the evening passes
I remember when I was sitting over there on the opposite side
Check the time on my phone, then put away my reading glasses
I remember when the sun was still shining
I remember when the wind didn’t howl so much
I remember when the mark wasn’t on my back
I remember when the light didn’t weigh so much -- The light didn’t weigh so much
Sometimes the block used to lose power, when the train used to roll on by
Until they put the wires underground, built a wall for us all to live our lives behind
I always thought the train was there to remind us of the things we might like to try
But the block used to lose power, when the train used to roll on by
So now we take a cab, when we want to go away
So now we take a cab, when we want to go away
Pavement cracks follow a tree root path
Underneath a parked car across the street and back
The outline looks a little like a ring of fire that has already burned through half
Pavement cracks follow a tree root path
Sitting in the back seat of an orange cab
Listening for the war to start, listening for the siren of a breaking heart
Quiet, content, and happy with what I had
Sitting in the back seat of an orange cab
In a café, on a beach in mexico
Radio competes with the mariachi band
Familiar song from the 60s, that you always used to hear every time your plane would land
And we’d all start singing along
When the mariachi band headed into the kitchen
Dusty Springfield was singing of her hopin’ and her wishin’
Wishin’ and hopin’, wishin’ and hopin’
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12. |
This Little Car
03:06
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This little car I'm riding in
was made in Germany
There is a little plaque, glued off-center on the back
to prove it changed hands once in Oregon
Keeping to the center line
by any means necessary
license and registration
don't make a fuss, just hand it over
Practice for the singalong, the fun will be starting soon
memorize more than just the minor chords
Remember what the scout leader taught you
Three stars in a line
represent a hunter's belt
Three words in a certain order
recreate everything he felt
This little car I'm riding in
is only temporary
I'll be riding in some other car
before I've set all of the radio stations
and I know before I know it
I'll be
mercifully, thankfully, definitely, probably
riding in some other car
that might have been made in Sweden
There might be a little plaque glued off-center on the back
to show it changed hands once in Copenhagen
Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Escondido
Marseilles, Bangalore, Tokyo, West Vancouver
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13. |
If
03:32
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If I hunt for dinner, if I chop some wood
If I look for water, if I clean up real good
If I set the table, put on some Miles Davis
If I fold the napkins, up into the shape of a swan
If I sing softly, if I get it right
If I sign my name, if it stays light
If I write it down on paper, if I say just what you want
If I leave a wide margin, if I choose a readable font
If I hunt for dinner, if I change my name
If I look for water, if I take the blame
If I set the table, put on some Shirley Horn
If I fold the napkins, up into the shape of a man
The waterline is rising higher
The temperature is going down
If I hunt for dinner, if I chop some wood
If I look for water, if I clean up real good
If I set the table, put on some Chet Baker
If I fold the napkins, up into the shape of a horn
The waterline is rising higher, the temperature is going down
The altitude is going down, the acceleration is going down,
the tempo is going down
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14. |
Foreign Matter
03:34
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Hey hey oh hey hey, the sky has fallen down today
I saw the pieces of blue as they fell past my eyes
Hey now hey now, I can see
the sky has fallen down on me
and there are no other places for the pieces of blue sky to be
So take a spoon full of sugar, a spoon full of salt
pour it on top
it's best to mix the chemicals
whether it's something that is obvious or not
nothing ever comes out straight from the bottle
without surprising pieces of foreign matter
take a piece from the left, a piece from the other side
stir it up just right
it helps to mix the chemicals
so it's easier to notice
what was hidden in plain sight
nothing ever comes out straight from the bottle
without surprising pieces of foreign matter
when I was the light from a new moon
I would shine through the window
change all the colors to silver grey-blue
disrupt peaceful dreams
When I was a wave crashing on your shore
I'd bring along everything that had been stirred up
change the colors to silver-grey blue
disrupt peaceful dreams
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15. |
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I should probably maybe just let you know
Incidentally
That I come from a place that is covered up in snow
For maybe ten months out of every year
Before the river starts to run
Before the surface begins to crack
There’s an impenetrable layer of ice
Protecting what is underneath
Incidentally
If you want to make sure
You have a little water in the morning
You have to make sure
To let a little water trickle all night
If you want to make sure
You have a little water in the morning
You have to make sure
To let a little water trickle all night
Tiger on one forearm, dragon on the other
Tiger on one forearm, dragon on the other
If you happen to ask
Or if you happen to discover
There’s a trick to making the seasons all change
From one season to another
It has to do with finding the right rope
And it has to do with holding on
And it has to be long and strong enough
And it has to reach clear around the other side
And it can’t slip an inch as the world is turning
Incidentally
I should probably maybe just let you know
Incidentally
That I come from a place that is covered up in snow
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16. |
Tiny Bones
04:43
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Breathing in, the miracle cure
The one that turns all time back
Breathing in what passes for light
Abandon not all hope, within these walls
Abandon nothing you might need
Catch this quick, when it bounces off the satellite
Put your hand up, and just be
It isn't that it can't happen here, it just doesn't happen everywhere
It takes a little time to recognize the things you've seen every day
Here in this same place, where bodies end and begin
I keep hearing 70's pop –
whenever I call you friend
When we walk into the street we're always walking on mounds of tiny bones
When we look into the sky we're always seeing through blood
We walk onto the water, when we're rising up above
When we walk onto the earth we're always walking on top of tiny bones
Here in this same place, where bodies end and begin
I keep hearing 80's rock –
don't stop believin'
When we walk into the street we're always walking on mounds of tiny bones
When we look into the sky we're always seeing through blood
We walk onto the water, when we're rising up above
When we walk onto the earth we're always walking on top of tiny bones, tiny bones
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