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.
dreamt 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 millionaire 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. when you're hiding underground, the rain can't get you wet. do you think your righteousness can 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 and by as i hide inside of my private prison.
a glass. a view. a mirror.
which one distracts like open windows in the gusts?
a calm day will come.
this dream is... this dream is...
this dream is... in a telescope now.
this dream is... this dream is...
fever in bedtime covers. go unknown.
this fright - it grows and misses; sinks and floats.
a calm day will come.
this dream is... this dream is...
this dream is (over now)... in a telescope now.
this dream is (over now)... this dream is...
fever in bedtime covers. go unknown...
until two eyes out of the darkness bring hope close.
this childish heart won't wait.
it dances; keeps me awake to think on... to think on...
you're the greatest light; the greatest shade.
it means that
i can be
happy for you.
happy for you. happy for you. happy for you.
happy for you. happy for you. happy for you.
happy for you...
one of only a few of my favorite songs ever written.
and in all honesty, in my opinion, the album this song is from, On Avery Island and the following album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel are two of the best, if not the best albums of the 20th century.. just based on their sheer beauty of sound, amazing lyrical content (heartbreaking at times), and cohesiveness.
and the first one tore a picture of a dead and hanging man
who was kissing foreign fishes that flew right out from his hands
and when i put my arms around him,
i felt the blushing blood run through my cheeks
and an eeriness surrounded when his tongue began to speak
and he said, "oh boy, you are so pretty -
enough to wrap tight in rice-paper string"
and when i finally kissed him the whole world began to ring
lost like a bell that's tipping over with two cracks along both sides
and i knew the world was over so i took a look outside
and watched the fires that were reaching
up to the weather vanes and the tops of trees
and the waiting scene and the sunday dream -
they're all waiting here for me.
deli markets with their flower stands, their pretty girls, and their burning men
hanging out on the hooks next to the window displays
and i took out my tongue, twice removed from my face
across a bridge and across the mountains; threw a nickel in the fountain
to save my soul from all these troubled times
and all the drugs that i don't have the guts to take to soothe my mind
so i'm always sober; always aching;
always heading towards mass suicide; occult figurines
and wasted gas station attendants attending to their jobs
and a nice drive in the country finds a nice cliff to drop off
oh, when this life just gets so grating... all the grittiness of life
but don't take those pills your boyfriend gave you
you're too wonderful to die.
and the last one tore a picture from the pornographic page
but all the pleasure points attacking all the looks of love were staged
and it's a lie that you've been given that just hurts you every day
so why should i lie here naked when it's just too far away
from anything we could call loving - any love worth living for
so i'll sleep out in the gutter. you can sleep here on the floor
and when i wake up in the morning, i won't forget to lock the door
'cause with a match that's mean and some gasoline,
you won't see me anymore.
which girl is the right one, is the perfect one for me?
if i glanced in her direction, would i know which one she'd be?
but she looks so good... that i wish i could.
but she looks so fine... that i wanna make her mine.
which one is the sweetie, is the sweetest one for me?
i've been looking for forever, do you ever think i'll see?
but she looks so nice... that i wanna see her twice.
but she looks so good... that i wish i could.
but she looks so fine... that i wish she was mine.
but she seems so free... that i wish she was me.
take it all away. did you hide and make yourself? straight to halt their pleas... all the signs are there. respite from what you feel. given time, we've learned to share. don't compensate for me. will i find you there?
try to make me stay - had to fight for recompense. don't put the blame on me. all the signs are there. filtered by a friend - even time's not playing fair. don't pin your hopes on me... still, i find you there.
do my best to steer my goals... clean colored wire makes the right hole.
please pull in tight; make the right hole.
just like a paper tiger torn apart by idle hands.
through the helter skelter morning... fix yourself while you still can.
no more ashes to ashes. no more cinders from the sky.
and all the laws of creation tell a dead man how to die.
looking through a broken diamond to make the past what it should be.
through the ruins and the weather... capsized boats in the sea.
the desert's down below us, and the storm's up above.
like a stray dog gone defective; like a paper tiger in the sun.
i just hold on to nothing and see how long nothing lasts.
there's one road to the morning. there's one road to the truth.
there's one road back to civilization, but there's no road back to you.
i just don't know the layman's terms to call the mess you breed. what thaws beneath this surface soils blood to your family tree. frames of infrared keep scrolling into focus. scarab crank the busy signal with the habits that you notice.
the dates, they change; with each new phase, i'm anxious bouts of nervous. what am i without the bruises? this switch - it won't come on. what do i do to lose it? beneath this distress call. let the wheels burn; stack the tires to the neck with the body inside.
taking all the hostages into the oval office... draw the curtains, part their hair, and pull the trigger softly. if they have me committed, then i'll just take you with me. one driver in your motorcade is all it takes. sandmen grains in teflon veins is all it takes.
don't always dream for what you want. my heart is stronger than you all, but i love to watch good dancers talk. the war's good, and i'm so tired. when you think with your mind, you've got a place to go now...
i get out of bed the same way every day - blurry eyed and waiting for the alarm to sing. sing me into fm radiapathy - numb and tired and perfect for the working day.
i get home and turn the cable strobe light on to tell me who i'm not and what my life still lacks. yeah, if i could make a copy of myself, i might... so i could have twice as much of everything.
come, it's time to wake up.
so i tell the world that it can kill its own...
blow itself to smithereens for all i care.
i will ride the wave into its smoking hole. i will be the vulture to its carrion.
