Blood Courses

I see it so clearly now.
It’s all blood courses.
A left, an up, a down,
It’s right beyond remorse.
Choose your path to flow:
Out of a brain,
Or tethered within,
A beautiful, perfect skin.

I see it so clearly now,
It’s all blood courses.
But at mere contemplation how
It manages forces… it’s gone.
If I thought I was right somehow
It seems that I could be wrong

Come down on your own,
You’ve got no faults.

And I’m in vain and you’re in vain,
We’re all floatin’ to the heart.
If we ever meet again
Oblivious to the start…
I’m a vein and you’re a vein,
We’re all connected to the heart.
Perhaps on day we’ll meet again
And know that it’s a start.
From there we’ll shrug our shoulders
And say that it’s an end.
No wonder I’m attracted to your skin…

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Changing with the Tides

Meet me at the door,
I’ll come runnin’
Everybody knows
What’s being said ’round here:
Thinks have been changing fast, my dear.
My dear.

But I just can’t let this whole thing down.
That says I’m either drenched or I’m drownin’
Throw the sink in he water now
May my thoughts and my actions unite
I just can’t let this whole thing down
I gotta keep changin’ with the tides.

Come on in honey,
Come on in real close,
And approach me
With a smile.
’Cause things ain’t been like this
For a long while.

But I just can’t let this whole thing down
That says I can’t exist where I want in time.
I just can’t let this whole thing down
I gotta keep changin’ with the tides.

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Pilgrim’s Plight

I once knew a man who cut off both of his hands
To save his soul from being damned.
Down in the bottom of the pit.
Way down with those
Who would not admit
That they were but dust in sand.
Take me down to the river tonight,
I’ll show you of a pilgrim’s plight.
I once knew a man who cut off both of his hands.

Who can keep themselves free from their nails?
The village cannot make head or tails,
So they gravitate to fools like me,
Who have no human sympathy.
Take me down to the river tonight,
I’ll show you of a pilgrim’s plight.
I once knew a man who cut off both of his hands.

If you go down to the river,
You will hear them sing
Oh, my hands they are tied,
My balls in a vice,
My neck in a noose,
My feet in the fire,
My mind is yours…

Take me down to the river tonight,
I’ll show you of a pilgrim’s plight.

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The City Screamed Out Our Names

We made it to the edge of the beach
Just as the last bombs
Were dropping all around us
And the alarms were going off,
And in the minutes
We had to think about our lives,
WE decided it’s wrong to put up walls.

I know it was wrong.
Will you forgive me,
If I say I knew it all along?

As I look back on a lifetime of friendship,
I am haunted by the ones that slowly seem to fade away.
What could I do?
Standing there with old memories of you,
I could remember you fondly,
Still speak of you with love,
Smile at your memory,
And wish you all softly good luck.

Good luck darlins, have a safe flight,
No one expects it to be fire when you die.
Good night darlin’, see you on the other side,
If I’ve loved you once, I’ve loved you for all time.

And that’s what I said…
…As the earth shook,
The ground broke,
The poor cried,
And the rich sang.

The limbs broke,
The grass burned,
And the city
Fell to the earth,

And my heart ached,
And the flash came,
And I remembered
Everyone by name.

I remembered
Past loves,
And their games
Like white doves,

And the city screamed out,
The city screamed out,
The city screamed out,
The city screamed out
Our names.

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Conscience Keep These Sacred Hearts

I left my friends on the Ohio roadway.
In the seats of my parent’s car,
On the way to New York City.
Conscience keep these sacred hearts.

I planted seeds and watched them grow up and out
All the way to the stars
With all the world slowly passing.
Conscience keep these sacred hearts.

I remember spires and their oil fires burnin’
And the lights glowing in the dark.
So if you’re passing through Toledo,
Conscience keep these sacred hearts.

Conscience keep these sacred hearts.

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The Innumerable Experiences I’ve Had Have Only Dropped Me Off Here

You see, the innumerable
Experiences I’ve had
Have only dropped me off here.
Ad the present, spitting fire
From the tip of my tongue
About a future I certainly hold dear,
And today I’m expelling all fear.

To say don’t buy me,
Don’t sell my good reason
To another and tell them it’s free.
My venom directly
Comes at accost
From a ghost hung over you & me,
And tonight we’re setting it free

Now I do realize
That I’ve said and done
All the things that have put me in chains
But I will not endorse,
Nor let slip by quitly,
Those who rush to constrain,
’Cause it only brings greater pain.

Not the happiness promised
From some bygone era
And the rain is turning to hail.
Still I hear it
From every direction:
“Conform and we’ll help you prevail”

It’s only an idiot’s tale.
Me, I’m not for sale,
And I don’t give a damn if I fail,
’Cause the meaning of the word goes pale
When no one knows who really ails.
Sometimes logic leads us off its own rails

But I’ve seen leaves wither,
And I’ve seen leaves grow,
I’ve seen folks leave,
And I’ve seen folks come home,

But there is nothing
To stop me from wishing.

But this weight will be lifted,
And revisit both the common
And the gifted.
Sure as any man without pain
Must have it hidden,

Sure as all my wrongs
And my rights
Are forgotten or forgiven

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Three Lovers

Three lovers, three lovers,
I cannot recover
The dignity earned in my youth.
I got a dime, I got a dime,
Do I call Clementine,
My Lily, or dear, sweet Ruth?

Oh Jesus, oh Jesus,
I was taught to believe in ya
By a church that I see straight through.
It’s lead by some people
Who don’t see love equal,
Who think one must always be truer.

Well I don’t believe
The good Lord deceives,
I just think he could say something new
Like how to choose between the eyes,
The soul, or the thighs,
Without breaking the heart of the chooser.

Now I’ve always felt
That love was being held
By a spirit that kept it protected.
But it’s bastardized and changed
By attempts made in vain
From a people who grace has rejected,
To restrain and to hold it,
And not let grow old,
And idea that should have no limit.

Such a flawed bunch are we
With a love and with jealousy
So buried deep down in our skin.
All told to aspire
To stay away from desire.
What a dirty trick to begin with.

Now for what that is worth,
Someone’s gonna get hurt
If I keep fucking ‘round with young hearts.
But if I’m headed for hell,
That would be just as well,
’Cause these days are awfully dark.

With no guide now to lead me,
No friend right beside me,
To help steer a ship with no rudder.
On the edge of my reason,
Where right has no season
It’s these strange words that I utter:

“Come hell or high watter,
Let the world be a father
To beauty that turns me to butter.”

I’m not too happy to be
Such a bitter man as me,
I’m just waitin’ on
These three lovers

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Mama Don’t Cry If I Die Before I Get Old

All of my anger will fade.
Slowly my motion will decay
In their place a hired maid
Will bring my meals on plates made of plastic.

Mama don’t cry if I die before I get old.
I see very little romance in it anyhow.
There ain’t nothing good about living through a tube.
And all that medicine just can’t be good for you.
Mama don’t cry if I die before I get old.
Everything I believe in, I stand for now.
At least all the things that would matter to you,
So why hang on till it turns you blue?

Now I don’t want to leave you behind,
Though it might pry on my mind,
That wouldn’t really matter anyhow,
’Cause I’m alright to die now.

Mama don’t cry if I die before I get old,
Even though I can’t reconcile the fact,
The knowledge of death gives meaning to life,
Like the promise of comfort gives reason for strife.
So if you’ve got something to say,
Either say it now, or throw it away,
Though I’d love to see it through,
When I’ve gotta go, there will be nothing you can do.

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One Foot In Front of the Other

You gotta keep putting one foot in front of the other
	like your mother, like your father’s always done.

You gotta keep diggin’ that hole into the ground to buy all your troubles,
	bury all your troubles, then sixty years later, lay your body down.

You gotta learn to turn your head, to turn your back and run
	when a voice whispers in your ear you’re not the only one who’s ever felt this rage and pain;
	you’re not the only one.

HAVE MERCY ON ME, DAUGHTERS AND SONS!

You gotta learn to stand alone, to stand alone in the sun, to stand alone in the darkness,
	to stand alone in the cold while those all around try to convince you they’ve got a love that never grows old.

You gotta watch the sun as it dips beneath the clouds,
	the faithless go home, and the lovelorn all come out.

DON’T WORRY, YOUR MOMENT’S GONNA COME

You gotta hold your breath as your name is called out to slave behind
	a desk for a machine whose time is running out.

You gotta keep puttin’ one foot in front of the other,
	you gotta stand alone, turn your head, hold your breath,
	bury the dead, crack a tear, shed a smile, and stay cheerful…

All the while, the wheels are falling off.

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