endless road

You can say what you want
about this dying man
and his dying words
but there's still breath in my body
there's still hope in the clouds
I still get excited
about good fucking lyrics
about storm clouds and rain
I still get excited about the endless road
good sex, good music
about "anything goes"
I still get excited
about you and me

I'm a dirty man
with dirty thoughts
and dirty hands
sometimes I know
I embody the word "jaded"
but as long as
there are places to go
and a girl to bring along
I can still get excited
about the endless road.

bottle rockets (face to face)

*From the EP "So why aren't you happy?"  This is a band, I'm glad to say, that has recently resurrected.*

Thought that I'd be strong enough for both of us
and you had given up
is there anybody strong enough for you
she said she's scared of waking up
she's realized it's all been a mistake
she didn't have to be afraid

but you walked out on me
it doesn't really matter what you said
'cause I've tried
to turn this water into wine

it doesn't have to be so hard to understand
the things that we should do
I know I made it difficult for you
she said I couldn't give enough
to make her feel the way she wanted to
this doesn't have to be so hard

but you walked out on me
it doesn't really matter what you said
and I tried
to turn this water into wine

it takes time
its not that way
there are several different answers here
but you just walked away.

life sentence

How long you in for
thirty-five years
what's the punishment
a thousand tears
what's on the line
nothing at all
just another broken
and battered soul
waiting for the warden
to call "parole"

I waited so long
I turned it into a game
waited beyond my limits
my reason and strength of will
I waited
but my time never came

I'm too old now
gray in the head
burned out but still trying
it's not graceful
it's not cute
living this way
always waiting
and never knowing anything
always waiting
always waiting.

leaders and followers (bad religion)

*One of my favorite b-sides.  Featured on the Clerks soundtrack.*

There's the image of a man
who commands a high opinion
but he hides his hatred with a sheepish grin
and beside him flanking closely
are the boisterous hollow masses
who lap up whatever trickles in

this intercourse of nature,
this vulgar social pastime
reflects the lowest mark of our progress
and the few who ride peripheral
maintain subtle advantage
fighting hard to abstain and redress

do you know your place
in the big charade?
are you more than they?
leaders and followers
leaders and followers

recognition by proximity
and a brand new face
just a smidgen of success pie
and a pinch of social grace
you can play with the big boys
or you can tell them what to do
but sooner or later there's another one like you

the voyeuristic public
of which we're all a part
maintains perspective on the human play
and while many have desires
of joining in the show
many turn and go the other way

tell me
do you know your place
in the big parade?
are you fear and shame?

safety valve

So many lines devoted
to simply ceasing
all I've wanted in my life
is to be done
all I've wanted
is the end

don't tell me
when it's over
it will begin again

stop the clock
stop the waiting
everything must cease
this is what
every neuron in my body is screaming

I've bled out these lines
as long as I've been alive
I've bled off the pressure
in private
so I don't combust
in public

this is my way
of staying safe and sane
this is my beloved safety valve
but I've abused this apparatus
and now it's abusing me
what do you do
when your safety valve
becomes a dangerous thing?

you happily await the end.

can't hardly wait (justin townes earle)

*Originally recorded by The Replacements in 1984 (when people used to write letters).  They recorded another version later on, and it was widely received.  Also included on the soundtrack of a movie by the same name (starring Jennifer Love Hewitt).  Oh, and I should mention.  Not grammatically correct. 

I'll write you a letter tomorrow
tonight I can't hold a pen
someone's got a stamp that I can borrow
I promise not to blow the address again

lights that flash in the evening,
through a crack in the drapes

Jesus rides beside me
He never buys any smokes
hurry up, hurry up, ain't you had enough of this stuff
ashtray floors, dirty clothes, and filthy jokes

see you're high and lonesome
try and try and try

lights that flash in the evening,
through a hole in the drapes
I'll be home when I'm sleeping
I can't hardly wait

I can't wait
hardly wait.