Paper Crushes Scissors
I have heard that some group called Pink Flood (or was it Pink Flute) or something like that once wrote a song about money, but if it's the one I'm thinking of, it was pretty lame. So I thought I'd fill the void with this one. I am a very busy man and I really can't be bailing the music industry out like this anymore, so I hope someone else picks up the slack on the next topic. This was the first song recorded with the same microphone I use today. The little gem has not changed a bit in all those years, and sadly, neither has my voice.
welcome to a green world
i'm not talkin' 'bout trees
it's hard to find god here
but you'll be on your knees
chill your heart now
remove your soul
now you're ready for the big time
headed for the top of the totem pole
there's no room for friendship
put your love away
there's only one rule here
you have to win to play
diamonds are forever
because they're worth a lot of money
paper covers rock crushes scissors cuts paper
but you know, it's really kind of funny
when you start to think about it
paper crushes scissors when the paper is green
and the rock survives when it's made of gold
and though you may try to wash yourself clean
it's the same old story that's been a million times told
the root of all evil
it makes the world go 'round
and you can scream if you have nothing
but we won't hear a sound
have you really ever thought about what we've gotten ourselves into
paper crushes scissors when the paper is green
and the rock survives when it's made of gold
and though you may try to wash yourself clean
it's the same old story that's been a million times told
paper crushes scissors and your soul
there's something wrong here
Eyes of Fire
So one day in the summer of 1990, I had an argument with my girlfriend. It was one of those great arguments where both people say really hurtful things and then you have to drive home together for a couple of hours. God I love that. So anyway, we were almost home, and I don't remember who decided to apologize first, but while we were trading regrets for what we had said, I looked at her eyes, and the irises (or is that iri?) really did look like they were on fire. So then I whipped out the fire extinguisher and blasted her in the face, and suddenly I had to apologize all over again. Ah, amore. And then at some point later I wrote this song.
the sun shines so bright, but at night, it's a world away
just like the silver moon that can't compete with the light of day
but there is one light, one fire that never dies
and i can see it blazing away every time i look in your eyes
and i try to describe what i see
but there are no words
worthy of your eyes
your eyes of fire
they hypnotize
no mountain crest could compare to one look from you
and no circus clown could make me smile like you do
no shooting star could light the night sky like your voice
and every little glance, even if by chance, makes my heart rejoice
and i try to explain this feeling
but there are no words
worthy of your eyes
your eyes of fire
they hypnotize
and it seems so clear to me
that we were meant to be
and it echoes through and beyond my mind
this is where i want to be
there are no words
worthy of your eyes
your eyes of fire
they hypnotize
i can't find the words
to describe those eyes
your eyes of fire
assure me our love can't die
Nothing Promised
This is what it would sound like if dinosaurs could sing (but not very well) and were kind of preachy all at the same time. I thought it would have made for a really cool music video, but then the image of Barney the dinosaur diving into a mosh pit popped in my head and I decided never to think about making a music video again for the rest of my life, under penalty of suicide. I am happy to report the therapy is going well.
hey all you members of insanity
i'm calling from prehistory
to give you all a message
from a once reptilian dynasty
open your ears and eyes
you live each day like it's a guarantee
that tomorrow will come in spite of thee
but the same illusion captured us
and now we're just a memory
a race of caesars fossilized
the biggest difference between you and i
we didn't choose to die
and if you're gone no one will cry
even a king will die someday
even a queen becomes careless
fragile times and hell to pay
you've all become so reckless
no promises
no promises
you'd think two hundred million years might be
enough to breathe easily
but behind a million fears there lies
a false sense of security
don't look down
you might fall
it came from outer space to kill us all
no chance to pin ourselves against the wall
but you've done that fairly well, i might say
and oh you're standing tall
the harder you'll fall
don't pretend you're immortal
don't pretend it won't be total
open up your chauvenistic eyes
even a king will die someday
even a queen becomes careless
fragile times and hell to pay
you've all become so reckless
no promises
no promises
we had no hands to hold
we had no taste for gold
and then the earth became so cold
even a king will die someday
even a queen becomes careless
fragile times and hell to pay
you've all become so reckless
no promises
no promises
nothing promised
Matter Over Mind
This song is about the perils of substance abuse, particularly what it does to one's mind, which ought to be more compelling than any drug. I wrote it when I was puking drunk. No, not really, I'm just kidding. I was tripped out on acid. No, wait, that was a different song. No, wait, that was a different thing altogether. No, wait, I only hallucinated I tripped out on acid, on account of the glue. No, wait, was that the same night I sucked down a whole can of Reddi Whip propellant? Anyway, substance abuse is bad.
what is so wrong with pure thought
why does it terrify the soul
two percent of a handful of impulses, yet we still have no control
has thinking gone out of style
what would sir isaac think if he looked at us today
caught up in chemical quiescence
victims of intellectual decay
sniffing your breath away
matter over mind
drinking resolve away
matter over mind
shooting your veins away
matter over mind
you're fading away
thanks to the aclu you'll probably win the drug war
and then you won't need to fight for that high anymore
and meanwhile your brain will die
and you might wonder why
but you're too stupid to cry
don't you realize
there is nothing like the mind
nothing you'll ever find
no potion of any kind
and there is nothing left of yours
you'll do just about anything to keep that elixir on your shelf
put some white powder on the mirror, lest you have to see yourself
then sell it to all your friends
they'll follow you to the end
and we will all depend
on fallin' farther and farther every day
there is nothing like the mind
nothing you'll ever find
matter over mind
matter over humankind
Never a Chance
So if you've read enough of these blurbs, you've probably run across one or two that talk about how I feel differently about some things than I used to. In fact, in some cases, I feel VERY differently. Around the time from 1990 through 1993, I underwent a fundamental shift in the way I viewed both religion and politics, and nowhere is this more evident than in my stance on abortion. I grew up extremely "Pro-Life", as they call it, and now I am vehemently "Pro-Choice". It didn't all happen at once. It would be pointless to even try and figure out when I crossed the "halfway point". At any rate, this song was written while I was still immovably on the "Pro-Life" side of the argument.
I have debated within myself quite fiercely regarding whether I should ever post this song, given how I now feel about the issue. All kinds of arguments and counterarguments have occurred to me for the past couple of years. That is why this is among the last of my old songs to be posted. But in the end, I felt it would be a form of "self-censorship", or rather the current me silencing the past me on a hot issue, which is decidedly against the principles of free speech.
There are other reasons for posting the music to this song. If this website is to be a true anthology of my music, which is a reflection of my life, then it would simply be incomplete without "Never a Chance". Also, there is still a morsel of something I agree with in the lyrics - the irresponsibility many of us exhibit in our youth (and even beyond). Finally, when you're on one side of an issue, it can't hurt to truly understand the other side's frame of mind. For example, I just mentioned irresponsibility - people on the "Pro-Life" side of this debate are quite often focused on those types of abortions (or the myth thereof) - abortions of "convenience" (even though it never is convenient) versus cases of rape or incest. If one spends much time thinking about the latter, even a Pro-Lifer will have difficulty continuing their argument in earnest.
But, having said all this, I don't feel the way I felt in this song anymore, and as my own personal expression of *that*, I will not be posting the lyrics. Cake, eat it, amen.
Precious Air
This might just be the longest song I've ever composed. Now, before you go thinking that I'm just another one of those guys who likes to brag about the length of his song, please take it upon yourself to understand that you are absolutely right.
Christina
This is the only song I've ever named after a person I've dated, although I almost dated someone named "So Crazy It Just Might Work", so whew! That was a close one! Anyway, not sure what ever happened to this woman, but hopefully she's happy wherever she is. I always thought this song was kinda pretty. In fact, I'm rather madly attracted to this song, but I've never gotten up the nerve to say anything to it. I just don't want it to turn into another one of those tired, boy-meets-song stories, because those always end in gunfire.
sometimes life is a nightmare of politics
and the pressure tightens my heart
then she rushes in and she comforts the lunatic
in my mind
equations and symbols of meaningless everything
are constantly flooding my head
then she clears the trembling air like it's nothing
it works every time
oh what really matters
christina
remind me
oh what love is
christina
protect me
as i continue my journey to nowhere, i realize
the world is turning too fast
and one by one, we are all losing grip
and i wonder how long can i last
and then there she is
oh what really matters
christina
remind me
oh what love is
christina
protect me
oh what really matters
christina
remind me
oh what love is
christina
protect me
The Little People
This is a song about the smartest people on the planet - kids - and how they are gradually transformed into aimless, drooling, bickering adults. Unfortunately, someone once thought I was making fun of kids being littler than your average adult, and I was eventually simultaneously sued by the National Pediatric Association, Boy Scouts of America, and the National Academy of Children Who Used to Star on Sesame Street. I'm only just now recovering from that onslaught, but I've decided not to abide by the court order demanding that I rename the song to "The Bigly Challenged People". Let's face it, I just live on the freakin' edge 24/7.
i picked up the paper today
to see what the liars had to say
and it's the same old song
that's been around for oh, so long
where did all this hate come from
does it come with an opposable thumb
or are we simply very blind
it all begins in a child's mind
imagine if you will a world
where all the boys and all the girls
are taught to be all they can be
and not to be like you and me
where begins the will to fight
and when did it become a right
the answer has left you far behind
it all begins in a child's mind
oh, don't forget what you can share
don't forget the little people
don't forget what it's like to care
don't forget the little people
now that you've become an adult
society's only acceptable cult
you think you know more than everything
you think you're fit to tell them anything
and they don't know you're completely wrong
so they concede and play along
somewhere is the truth they'll never find
a moment of silence for a child's mind
oh, don't forget what you can share
don't forget the little people
don't forget what it's like to care
don't forget the little people
open your eyes
open your eyes
open your eyes before you close theirs
Sea of Hate
I submitted this song to the Children's Television Workshop in the hopes that they would adopt it as the new opening jingle for "Sesame Street", but oddly I never heard back. I am wondering if maybe the tape got lost in the mail. Yeah, that must have been it. Damned postal service. I'd be rich by now. Anyhoo, you may note a bit of a religious flavor to this song. 1991 was around the time I was beginning the transition from devout Catholic to belligerent agnostic, so many of my lyrical messages were quite f-ed up. But I feel much better now.
ll you weary souls
it's time to fill your holes
it's time to suck the love
out of your weary hearts
you've cried wolf every day
pushed each other away
and now the prince will come
to tear you apart
polarize
generalize
now you're paralyzed
how does it feel
all aboard the new titanic
if it makes you feel good, panic
but the pain will numb when we reach the sea of hate
it's an easy voyage
you can discard your courage
you won't need it in the sea of hate
don't you wish you were colorblind
i pity all your kind
don't you wish that your rhetoric
could open the door
but your words are impure
and your bitterness endures
and you've lost sight of your cause
but you don't care anymore
polarize
generalize
till you're paralyzed
just the way he wants you to be
open your eyes
you've dehumanized
can't you hear the cries of the angels
whirlwind straight ahead, we're closing in
it's so damned easy just to sin
and forget about love in the sea of hate
i can't tell you what's in store
after we've lost all our wars
no one really knows if you can leave the sea of hate
Is This All
This song asks the musical question, "Is this all!" Er, I mean, this song asks the musical question, "Is this all;" Dammit. Wait, okay,... this song asks the musical question, "Is this all@" Oh that was cute. Grrr, where the hell is the friggin' question mark? Oh, there it is? Okay, that's enough? I said, that?s enough??? What the ????? is going on he?e? Oh my G?d it?s ?? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ???????? ?? ????....
is this all that i am
do i do all i can
somebody give me an answer
does anyone know who i am
who speaks for mother earth
do we know her true worth
as we rape the skies
i ask you, does anyone care about the earth
oh the pain of being unsure
oh the wish for a cure
tell me, is this all that is
no no no no no no no no no no no no
you won't know till it hits you
no no no no no no no no no no no no
you won't know till it hits you
is this what life means
is reality only a dream
and just whose dream might it be
speak to me, what does it mean
oh is time just an illusion
oh the agony of confusion
tell me, is this all that is
no no no no no no no no no no no no
you won't know till it hits you
no no no no no no no no no no no no
you'll not know till i hit you
amidst the storm we live and die
seems so useless to ask why
and i for one look to the sky
and i expect no reply
for now
i don't believe this is all that is
no no no no no no no no no no no no
you won't know till it hits you
no no no no no no no no no no no no
you won't know till it hits you
no no no no no no no no no no no no
you won't know till it hits you
no no no no no no no no no no no no
you won't know till it hits you
just have a little faith
Tastiera on iTunes
Hear Bead Rag Guns