THE HIT:

I know not to hold onto anything
know it just a little bit too well
There's been times I resisted the closing of my fist when
I think it's time, but I just can't tell

I know that I've folded my memory
so thick that I can't quite see through
and I hum, "I've become my worst enemy"
but I still can't pretend to blame you

But it's cold not to hold onto anything
It's colder than a frozen over hell
Time has been twisting
Wrapped up around my wrist when
I reach for the ledge where I fell

SO I JUST KEEP FALLING!

Well in truth that's not my problem
It's that I move way too fast
I thought maybe things would be ok
Just cause sixteen? months had passed

And I know that I've lost something
Maybe several things in fact
Don't hope it's time to give up hopin
That they're ever comin back



EMPTY LOT FLOWERS:

Empty lot flowers are blooming
purple trumpets and white spots soothing
but I've got to keep my feet moving
or I'll be face down on the street swooning

Because I love dirt
I love kicking broken bottles through the city
and if I get hurt
then I wont' need all that respect you gave me
but I won't stay safe
refuse to learn from my mistakes
and if my words quake
then I'll just kick my life right in the fucking face

i wish to sleep underneath those wet weeds
I would defeat any thief who could catch me
when my eyelids kiss
I'll be lost like this
until the police come to get me.

Because I love dirt
I love kicking broken bottles through the city
and if I get hurt
then I wont' need all that respect you gave me
but I won't stay safe
refuse to learn from my mistakes
and if my words quake
then I'll just kick my life right in the fucking face



CHICKEN LOLLIPOP:

I used to look long through the woods
Craning my eyes to cross the highway
I imagined they were infinite
And once you start walking you'll never get anywhere else

Now my eyes are catching glimpses
Of endless brick envelopments
They're all equally infinite
And still you keep walking and never get anywhere else

This is so much harder than I thought it was!

White birch knuckles crack
The sand that you're searchin is under attack
And even if you bend those fingers back
There is still no holding on

Now I've got two pairs of eyes
Secretly searching for what we don't hope to find
And we don't need the infinite
Cause now that we're walking we don't want to get anywhere

This is so much harder than I thought it was!

White birch knuckles crack
The sand that you're searchin is under attack
And even if you bend those fingers back
There is still no holding on



HANDJOBS?

of course we've all got habits
but we've also got traditions
and most of us have given up
the sweet false taste of sedition

of course we see the bridge burning
but most of us would rather stay
admiring the fires reflection in the water
cause we can't find one damn thing to say

and I've been finding out
there are things I never thought I could do
thought things about myself that weren't true
and someone's got to shout
that I am going down with you
yes I am going down with you

and of course we've all seen monsters
some bound in bottles some jammed up in jars
but if anyone tries to say they're not crazy
then they're not gonna get very far

of we all love climbing buildings
digging our fingers into the concrete
and if I knew what I was instilling
I could crawl somewhere close to complete

and I've been finding out
there are things I never thought I could do
thought things about myself that weren't true
and someone's got to shout
that I am going down with you
yes I am going down with you

Intimations lead to Intimidations
Escalations feel like Masturbation
so I must learn to be patient



BODEGOBA SYSTEM:

All the time you're runnin when really you should be dancin
All the time you're talkin when really you should shut up

So let's all go to the bodega
and pick out a nice fluorescent Flav-O-Ice
Maybe a 22 or Garcia Vega
A double dutch can stop you thinkin twice

Hey wait a minute shouldn't I feel GUILTY!
for drinking away what was built for me
riding this wave of neighborhood change
and all the blood that's been spilled for me

So let's all go to the bodega
and pick up a cheap 12 pack of PBR
we can drink away false sorrows
and forget about just how lucky we are

Hey wait a minute shouldn't I feel GUILTY!
for drinking away what was built for me
riding this wave of neighborhood change
and all the blood that's been spilled for me

All the time you're runnin when really you should be dancin
All the time you're talkin when really you should shut up



MEXICAN JUMPING BRAIN:

People lock their gardens and the city locks its parks
People think you're crazy walking around in the dark
but the street sweepers don't work on feet
and the feats we achieve are incomplete

Every time my mind jumps I don't know where to land
sharp rocks or quicksand, just let go of my hand
Every time my mind jumps I don't know where to land
sharp rocks or quicksand, just let go of my hand

Maybe I can save myself by jumping further out
and maybe I don't have to jump I can't figure it out
so maybe you should take my hand and slowly let me know
that it won't be soft there when I land because the rain wiped out the snow

Every time my mind jumps I don't know where to land
sharp rocks or quicksand, just let go of my hand
Every time my mind jumps I don't know where to land
sharp rocks or quicksand, just let go of my hand

And the rain always follows the snow
but the mountains seem just too far to go
and this city sucks unless we've got a show
and I don't even know what I don't know!

Every time my mind jumps I don't know where to land
sharp rocks or quicksand, just let go of my hand
Every time my mind jumps I don't know where to land
sharp rocks or quicksand, just let go of my hand

Whoaaaaa oh oh, whoaaaaaa oh oh, whoaaaaa ohh ay oh oh!
Whoaaaaa oh oh, whoaaaaaa oh oh, whoaaaaa ohh ay oh oh!



THE SUN:

THE SUN IS
getting near the mountains and I'm worrying about them yeah
HAVE YOU BEEN
shutting the light off in the fridge whenever I am closing it

As the world starts spinning faster
and all of these rocks disappear
the snow could be thrown out of plaster
and the paths have been ploughed out of fear
but wherever it is we were walking
through those black fractalized streets
it could just have been that we lost it
or it could have been tactile deceit

But I've already tried giving up so maybe I should try trying again!

THE SUN IS
getting near the mountains and I'm worrying about them yeah
HAVE YOU BEEN
shutting the light off in the fridge whenever I am closing it


Cuz I don't know a good way to tell you
there's not good way to tell you that
as soon as I saw what your cells do
I'm inclined to take a step back
but as my grip slips I start thinking
and suddenly remember that

I've already tried giving up so maybe I should try trying again!

THE SUN IS
getting near the mountains and I'm worrying about them yeah
HAVE YOU BEEN
shutting the light off in the fridge whenever I am closing it

CATS & DOGS LIVING TOGETHER (THE WALTZ):

There's a tree growing out of a stone wall
reaching in between the cracks with its roots
it's been engineering its own fall
as it's reaching pries all the rocks loose

There's a bridge at the end of a stairway
with rows of broken stones along the top
on the side we can write what we daresay
and even if somebody calls the cops we'll never stop

I've seen your face
written out in sidewalk chalk
I've seen your sandals and where you've walked.
You step on the cracks in my smile
and I hope you're gonna stay a while
You step on the cracks in my crooked smile
and I don't care if you stay or die

We hope to explode every cliche
it doesn't even seem that hard to do
and we're hoping that you'll scream whatever we say
so we might as well be screaming something true and we do

I've seen your face
written out in sidewalk chalk
I've seen your sandals and where you've walked.
You step on the cracks in my smile
and I hope you're gonna stay a while
You step on the cracks in my crooked smile
and I don't care, whether you stay or die
You step on the cracks in my crooked smile
and I don't know, whether to stay or die.

DESSERT FIRST

Freezer burned ice cream for breakfast
screaming out at the computer chess
every move I'm on the defensive
every day I build just a little bit less

And I guess I'll tell myself this is a life that I've been living
and I guess I can be proud of that
And I know if there's a god well then it's got to be forgiving
'cause otherwise all of our lies would be just that.

Maybe life can be lived in reaction
if I could just learn one goddamn thing from mistakes
coastline cliffs with dynamite blastin
crumble as I cause all of my own earthquakes

And I guess I'll tell myself this is a life that I've been living
and I guess I can be proud of that
And I know if there's a god well then it's got to be forgiving
'cause otherwise all of our lies would be just that.

And I know talking about it will not help!
And I know tomorrow I'll be doing nothing else

And I guess I'll tell myself this is a life that I've been living
and I guess I can be proud of that
And I know if there's a god well then it's got to be forgiving
'cause otherwise all of our lies would be just that.

FUTURE FIRE:

Let's build a house, on shakey ground
and laugh when it falls apart
Let's build our lives on well dressed lies
and laugh when it breaks our hearts

But then somebody asked me
what's the point of building something
if you know you're just gonna blow it up
Let's blow it up!  (singalong for last line!)

Let's hold our heavy heads above this dread
and try if we can to look up
let's keep our days in a happy haze
and laugh when the clouds break up

But even when the clouds break
I only see a few stars
And even in an earthquake
I only crash a few cars
And even in the ocean
I only put my toes in
And even when you answer
I've only got this question

Cuz then somebody asked me
what's the point of building something
if you know you're just gonna blow it up
Let's blow it up!  (singalong for last line!)
But you can't run away
from future fire and decay
so let's start building anyway.



SCRUB RUB

Pete's been drinking to forget
the legends of Zelda
but if you ask about the dungeon key
you know he's gonna tell ya

And the rest of us are drinking
for our unknown reasons
we want to celebrate or forget
the fact that we're still breathing

People say it's natural
all your old friends fade away
but we're living in the same fucking city
so I thought we could hang out someday      (2 times)

We need the smell of spraypaint
and dirty water
we heed the sound of slow freight
trains to the slaughter                 

People say it's natural
all your old friends fade away
but we're living in the same fucking city
so I thought we could hang out someday      (4 times)