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Horchata: Back
In December, drinking horchata
I'd look psychotic in a balaclava
Winter's cold is 2 much 2 handle
Pincher crabs that pinch at your sandals
In December, drinking horchata
Look down your glasses at that Aranciata
With lips and teeth to ask how my day went
Boots and fists to pound on the pavement
Here comes a feeling you thought you'd forgotten
Chairs to sit and sidewalks to walk on
You'd remember drinking horchata
You'd still enjoy it with your foot on Masada
Winter's cold is 2 much 2 handle
Pincher crabs that pinch at your sandals
Here comes a feeling you thought you'd forgotten
Chairs to sit and sidewalks to walk on
Oh you had it but oh no you lost it
Looking back you shouldn't have fought it
In December, drinking horchata
I'd look psychotic in a balaclava
But winter's cold is 2 much 2 handle
Pincher crabs that pinch at your sandals
Years go by and hearts start to harden
Those palms and firs that grew in your garden
Are falling down and nearing the rosebeds
The roots are shooting up through the tool shed
Those lips and teeth that asked how my day went
Are shouting up through cracks in the pavement
Here comes a feeling you thought you'd forgotten
Chairs to sit and sidewalks to walk on
Oh you had it but oh no you lost it
You understood so you shouldn't have fought it
White Sky: Back
An ancient business
A modern piece of glasswork
Down on the corner that you walk each day in passing
The elderly salesclerk won't eye us with suspicion
The whole, immortal corporation's given its permission
A little stairway
A little piece of carpet
A pair of mirrors that are facing one another
Out in both directions, a thousand little Julia's
That come together in the middle of Manhattan
You waited since lunch
It all comes at once
CHORUS
Around the corner, the house that modern art built
A house for modern art to keep it out the closets
Of people who might own it
The sins of pride and envy
And on the second floor, the Richard Serra Skatepark
You waited since lunch
It all comes at once
CHORUS
Sit on the park wall
Ask all the right questions
"Why are the horses racing taxis in the winter?"
Look up at the buildings
Imagine who might live there
Imagining your Wolfords in a ball upon the sink there
You waited since lunch
It all comes at once
CHORUS
Holiday: Back
Holiday, o, a holiday!
And the best one of the year
Dozing off underneath my sheets
While I cover both my ears
But if I wait for a holiday
Could it stop my fear?
To go away on a summer's day
Never seemed so clear
Holiday, still so far away
Our republic on the beach
I can't forget just how bad it gets
When I'm counting on my teeth
But if I wait for a holiday
Could it stop my fear?
To go away on a summer's day
Never seemed so clear
A vegetarian since the invasion,
She'd never seen the word bombs
She'd never seen the word bombs
Blown up to 96 pt Futura
She's never seen an AK
In yellow-y dayglo display
A t-shirt so lovely, it turned all the history books grey
I've got wheels, I've got Cutter Spray
And a healthy sense of worth
Half of me is the gasoline
But the other half's the surf
So if I wait for a holiday
Could it stop my fear?
To go away on a summer's day
Never seemed so clear
California English: Back
Wouldn't ever gag you with a spoon, my only true love
Never really heard you speak that way, it's unworthy of…
Funny how that little college girl called language corrupt
Funny how the other private schools had no Hapa Club
Someone took a trip before you came to ski in the Alps
Your father moved across the country just to sunburn his scalp
Contra Costa, contra mundum, contradict what I say
Living like the French Connection, but we'll die in LA
Blasted from a disconnected light switch
Through the condo that they'll never finish
Bounced across a Saudi satellite dish
And through your brain to California English
No one sits inside a freezing flat and stays there til May
Leafing through a stack of A-Z's to surf the UK
Waiting with the wind against your face and gel in your hair
Shivering in little undershirts, but don't seem to care
Blasted from a disconnected light switch
Through the condo that they'll never finish
Bounced across a Saudi satellite dish
And through your brain to California English
Sweet carob rice cake
She don't care how the sweets taste
Fake Philly cheese steak
But she use real toothpaste
Cuz if that Tom's don't work
If it just makes you worse
Would you lose all of your faith in the good earth?
And if it's all a curse
And we're just getting worse
Would you lose all of your faith in the good earth?
Blasted from a disconnected light switch
Through the condo that they'll never finish
Bounced across a Saudi satellite dish
And through your brain to California English
Taxi Cab: Back
Unsentimental
Traveling around
Sure of myself
Sure of it now
But you were standing there so close to me
Like the future was supposed to be
In the aisles of the grocery
And the blocks uptown
I remember
Remember well
But if I'd forgotten
Could you tell?
In the shadow of your first attack,
I was questioning and looking back
You said, "Baby, we don't speak of that"
Compound to compound
Lazy and safe
Wanted to leave it
Wanted to wait
When the taxi door was open wide,
I pretended I was horrified
By the uniform and gloves outside
Of the courtyard gate
You're not a victim
But neither am I
Nostalgic for garbage
Desperate for time
I could blame it on your mother's hair
Or the colors that your father wears
But I know that I was never fair
You were always fine
Unsentimental
Traveling around
Sure of myself
Sure of it now
But you were standing there so close to me
Like the future was supposed to be
In the aisles of the grocery
And the blocks uptown
I remember
Remember well
But if I'd forgotten
Could you tell?
In the shadow of your first attack,
I was questioning and looking back
You were standing on another track
Like a real aristocrat
Run: Back
Every dollar counts
And every morning hurts
We mostly work to live
Until we live to work
She said,
"You know
There's nowhere else to go"
But changing roles
It struck me that the two of us could
RUN
Worlds away from cars
And all the Stars and Bars
Where a little bit of condensation means so much
And a little bit of change is all your little fingers touch
I said,
"You know
There's nowhere else to go"
But changing roles
It struck me that the two of us could
RUN
Honey, with you
Is the only honest way to go
And I could take two
But I really couldn't ever know
Honey, with you
And a bata radio
We could
TRY
So lead my feet away
Cuz all they'll do is stay
And I don't think your eyes
Have ever looked surprised
She said,
"You know
There's nowhere else to go"
But with her fund
It struck me that the two of us could
RUN
Honey, with you
Is the only honest way to go
And I could take two
But I really couldn't ever know
Honey, with you
And a bata radio
We could try
Cousins: Back
You found a sweater on the ocean floor
They're gonna find it if you didn't close the door
You and the smart ones sit outside of their sight
In a house on a street they wouldn't park on at night
Dad was a risk-taker
His was a shoemaker
You, greatest hits 2006 little list-maker,
Heard codes in the melodies
You heeded the call
You were born with ten fingers and you're gonna use em all
Interesting colors I discovered myself
If your art life is gritty, you'll be toasting my health
If an interest in culture should be lining the wall,
When your birthright is interest you could just accrue it all
Me and my cousins and
You and your cousins
It's a line that's always running
Me and my cousins and
You and your cousins
I can feel it coming
You could turn your back on the bitter world
Me and my cousins and
You and your cousins
It's a line that's always running
Me and my cousins and
You and your cousins
I can feel it coming
Giving Up The Gun: Back
Your sword's grown old and rusty
Burnt beneath the rising sun
It's locked up like a trophy
Forgetting all the things it's done
And though it's been a long time
You're right back where you started from
I see it in your eyes
That now you're giving up the gun
When I was 17
I had wrists like steel
And I felt complete
But now my body fades
Behind a brass charade
And I'm obsolete
But if the chance remained
To see those better days
I'd cut the cannons down
My ears are blown to bits
From all the rifle hits
But still I crave that sound
CHORUS
I heard you play guitar
Down at a seedy bar
Where skinheads used to fight
Your Tokugawa smile
And your garbage style
Used to save the night
You felt the coming wave
Told me we'd all be brave
You said you wouldn't flinch
But in the years that passed
Since I saw you last
You haven't moved an inch
CHORUS
I see you shine in your way
Go on, go on, go on
CHORUS
Diplomat's Son: Back
It's not right
But it's now or never
And if I wait
Could I ever forgive myself?
On a night
When the moon glows yellow in the riptide
With the light
From the TV's buzzing in the house
Cuz I'm gonna cut it where I can
And then I'm gonna duck out behind them
If I ever had a chance it's now then
But I never had the feeling I could offer that to you
To offer it to you would be cruel
When all I want to do is use, use you
He was a diplomat's son
It was '81
He was a diplomat's son
It was '81
Oh oh, oh oh
Dressed in white
With my car keys hidden in the kitchen
I could sleep
Wherever I lay my head
And the sight
Of your two shoes sitting in the bathtub
Let me know
That I shouldn't give up just yet
Cuz I'm gonna take it from Simon
And then I'm gonna duck out behind them
If I ever had a chance it's now then
But I never had the feeling I could offer that to you
To offer it to you would be cruel
When all I want to do is use, use you
He was a diplomat's son
It was '81
He was a diplomat's son
It was '81
Oh oh, oh oh
I know, you'll say
I'm not doing it right
But this is how I want it
I can't go back
To how I felt before
There's—
That night I smoked a joint
With my best friend
We found ourselves in bed
When I woke up
He was gone
He was the diplomat's son
It was '81
He was the diplomat's son
It was '81
Looking out
At the ice-cold water all around me
I can't feel any traces of that other place
In the dark
When the wind comes racing off the river
There's a car
All black with diplomatic plates
I Think Ur A Contra: Back
I had a feeling once
That you and I
Could tell each other everything
For two months
But even with an oath
With truth on our side
When you turn away from me
It's not right
I THINK UR A CONTRA
My revolution thought
Your little arrows of desire
I want to trace them to the source
And the wire
But it's not useful now
Since we've both made up our minds
You're going to watch out for yourself
And so will I
I THINK UR A CONTRA
And I think that you've lied
Don't call me a contra
Til you've tried
You wanted good schools and friends with pools
You're not a contra
You wanted rock and roll, complete control
Well, I don't know
Never pick sides
Never choose between two
Well I just wanted you
I just wanted you
You said,
"Never pick sides
Never choose between two"
Well I just wanted you
I just wanted you
I THINK UR A CONTRA
And I think that you've lied
Don't call me a contra
Til you've tried
