say you will be with me
if only to kill me
don't even joke about that

christ, can't you stop talking about feelings?
because when your chips are down 
all you have left are feelings

so when you commit suicide
will you cry 
for the past escaped
or the future erased?

keep coming up with those words
hope you find a use for them
before you silence them 
and they fade like your eyes 
into the floorboards 
when i tell you
i'm never coming back

you got my best words
you got my worst words
forgot the first words
that's not what i heard

our love was unstable
your cards on the table
no service
no labels
no power
no cable
i was left standing
you were not able

they crowned me with gold and silver wreaths
while you were busy swallowing teeth
as the sun bled out from the east
illuminating your disgrace
piece by piece

whatcha gonna do for the rest of your life
whatcha gonna do when you dull that knife
whatcha gonna do when the river runs dry
whatcha gonna do when the waves grow high?

whatcha gonna do when the sky turns black
whatcha gonna do when it's at your back
whatcha gonna see if you close your eyes
what's it gonna be if you believe those lies?

whatcha gonna do when the will is weak
whatcha gonna do when the flesh is sleek
whatcha gonna think when you count to four
whatcha gonna say when you've been here before? 

where you gonna go when you can't get through
whatcha gonna do about the stuff you didn't do?

we speak the king's
you kiss the rings
your birds fly but
why don't they sing?

we'll take the ports
and crush your forts
my beach house is
your last resort

i take a wife
you pull a knife
you shed more blood
i live the life

that idea you had
the one you thought was so rad
yeah
they've already had it
and acted upon it
you can't believe how well it turned out
nothing you can do about it
but pout

many years ago
with plenty of snow to blow
huh
thought you could sleep on it
to improve upon it
they might not love you like you so dreamed
every time you touch you lose it
it seems

wouldn't seem right to smother
can't imagine adding another

if you can't do it because it's right
then do it out of spite
the only difference is slight

do not learn lessons from feelings
teach them how to make you more appealing

it's an open invitation
an undervalued approximation

tic-tac-toe
show me where it does not go
tic-tac-toe
keep in mind where it likes to show

you forget that you're a tiger sitting in some silly zoo
they throw their peanuts on your floor and scream
once you start to move

they like to see what you've been up to
where you sleep and keep your food
your stripes fascinate them but they leave once the sky's no longer blue

they can't ask you what you dream of so they pretend just like they know
when deep down all you really want is for them to let you go

you're growing sicker weaker tired
of their little guessing games
they greet you at the door with prey but you can't recall its name

you're growing sicker weaker tired
your friends a distant memory
and though your belly's full you wish that you could find the energy

you start to equate neglect with the chance to finally breathe
it is exhausting living every day in hyperbole

you remind them of the savage days they saw in their picture books
inside they know this isn't supposed to be how danger looks

they forget that you're a tiger sitting in some silly zoo
they throw their peanuts on your floor and scream
once you start to move

i was left out there in the cold
i was biting my fingernails and thinning my soles

still sorry about what i said
especially on the day you and i wed

frankly it doesn't impress me
why would i apologize when you detest me?

figure about nine or ten months
dealing with the misery until one of us punts

this fire isn't bright enough
for both of us to keep hanging tough

i was left out there in the cold
honey you're going home

i'm taking you out of the fight
your head must not be screwed on right
don't tell me that i should think twice
i'm going to cut out your lights

what do you take me for?
adjust your behavior
you're losing me
and boring your savior

dammit, jacqueline
get out of those spandex pants
you forget yourself in a culture of happenstance

this hiding
it's not you
this lighting
it's not true

where did you purchase all of your affectations?
are this season's new shades worth the inflation?

dammit, marcellus
the way your fitted cap slants
not for protection from the sun
but for a glance

the boasting
till you're blue
the posting
sad, but true
the coasting
now you're through  

what a time to feel wasteful
what a time to be tasteful
broken hearts don't mean broken eyes
you said you were very
very very very
ooh, on the contrary
you wanna get nasty?
you wanna get past me?
give me everything you've got
i'm not asking for a lot
more often times than not
hope's the hole in the plot

shame
the words are right there 
but the muscles to make them just seize up and tear
it's okay that it's not fair
you're young and have plenty of blood to spare

i'm in no mood for good tidings
sound advice or silver linings
on which all your faith is riding

maybe i don't talk about the right things
shame
that which you fear voicing is what makes you interesting

it would fall from the sky
it would come inside your home and begin to pry
i dare you to lie

better moves may come
to disguise the confusion you ran away from
no it won't look right to some
but the test don't match the curriculum
shame

i'm not starving
though i wish i were
it's feed or be feed
godspeed, my love
godspeed

love you like anorexics love tic tacs
i love you like a fat cat loves kickbacks
i love you like quarterbacks love fullbacks
i love you like a fat kid loves big macs

i love you like tennessee loves sales tax
i love you like a train loves railroad tracks
love you like doolittle loved super pacs
i love you like dig'em loves sugar smacks

i love you like gangsters love cadillacs
love you like pimp cups love xo cognac
love you like resin loves filling in cracks
love you like my grandma loves her knickknacks

i love you like a car loves turtle wax
love you like dry eyes love wearing contacts
i love you like the dodgers love koufax
love you like the thunder king's battle axe

i love you like flapjacks love double stacks
love you like meteorites love impacts
i love you like progammers love emacs
i love you like cults love suicide pacts

i love you like whitney loved smoking crack
love you like bodybuilders love six-packs
i love you like verizon loves contracts
i love you like cigna loves heart attacks

i love you like farmers love almanacs
i love you like quentin loves miramax
love you like poketrainers love snorlax
i love you like p.i.s love cold, hard facts

i love you like an english teacher loves syntax
i love you like a cork board loves thumbtacks
i love you like a terrorist loves anthrax
love you like great britain loved halifax

in the sweet by-and-by

i say goodbye more often times than i try

lessened now

it's been forced out

returned the melodies

panic ain't worth it

not when it's so warm

don't spoil the ending

distracted defending
are you through pretending?

we both learned the two-step

you went ahead and slept

i was at the back burner

you were the head turner

figure eight

you'll do so great

when you can abate

increments

enjoy the view

on the obvious descent

how did you become better

at taking care of others

than yourself?

just let it out your mouth

i hate what you've become

but
i like the freedom

in a reasonable amount of time
hopefully we can lay claim to the crime

your brother loves detailing his sedan
mama jumped back into the frying pan
papa's stuck on the transistor
and your sister's a believer

it's just a lot to take in right now
because no one gets to tell you what to disallow

hate to break the news
but since i am, how about some cigarettes and booze?
i hate to leave you bruised and confused
i'll see what i can do
let's see if we can't blackout these blues

on the overprotected tennis courts
you rehearse your repertoire of retorts

the mailman is still judging you daily
except for when you sleep in on sundays
the captain is an escape artist
and deputy's not the smartest

cahoots and cohorts
repos and reports
incestuous interests
where everyone else knows best
stockholm syndrome backscratch pact surfeit
not a bad racket if you can bear it

it's just a lot to take in right now
because no one ever tells you how to disallow

he leaves the house every chance he gets
he walks the hounds but not their pets
funny papers spread on the tablecloth
same stories with different labels top
packs her lunch in a clean container
she is a solid arranger
he hears a last request she mumbled
if it isn't too much trouble

so many things to say
but not now
thank god for what we call love

no respect on the streets he circles
in prayers for humble miracles
a friend to talk to sure would be nice
hell, just to be sure would suffice
she brings her stammer with her to bed
asks when the last time he was fed
there are worse things in life than libel
it's right there in the family bible

so many things to say
but not now
thank god for what we call love

this mess has mass

you're a wealth of good ideas
poor timing
a bit of discouragement
keep shining

for a minute there i forgot how to get back
like the last map was tacked to my stupid back

i would never make you cry baby cry
it's just not my place to stay satisfied

in a split second it slips away so quickly
wish it good health even when you look sickly

this mess has mass
it isn't easy to see but god you feel it
missed a soft pass and you're looking at me
like i needed it

show me what you have learned now
shake it off
you know better than that so
walk it off

i can hold you tight
still i don't hold you right

i hold you tight but
you don't hold me in your sights

i would rather not know much about you
that way awkwardness counts somehow

you take a hit
you took a cheap shot so
you should keep your mouth shut

that doesn't sound like me at all
no way
don't crush what i carry

i would rather not talk about it
that way awkwardness counts now too

you took a hit
you took a right hook so
you should keep your mouth shut

hey that's not me
not how i see it 
i don't crush what i carry

you are a friend
a needless way to pretend
you're a good sport
you're better in the beginning
than the end

i love what you see
but maybe i don't understand 
what i need love to be

home is where the heart breaks
where your mind begins and ends the race
aren't you tired?
aren't you hungry?
come inside
let me see your beaming face
the one they would never trace
back home

safe is how it don't feel
over shoulders biting at your heels
aren't you low?
aren't you spent?
come inside
let me see your soiled face
the one they would never trace
back home

it's not how he wants it to be
she's not
the shame is making her wet

devil's digits on his back
stressing out their fronts

dearly beloved
jack-of-all-trades
oh, desicated
king of nothing

she will take a part of him
then he'll be someone else

sad he won't aspire higher
saw him lay back in the fire
preaching to the choir
thought it came through the wires

his eyes on the speaker
they can almost feel for her
communal nomenclature
thought it dead but wasn't sure

darling, this is a burning town
and you will be the only one to drown

the anomalous denouement

...coming soon

the worst case of choking is when it won't don't down
i know what burns the eagle

eleven times the love
gonna split them up
tighten up the grip
like a glove

through the ribs
straighten up only to miss the cut
fairest for the mischief

eleven times the love
gonna split them up
tighten up the grip
like a drug

pioneers
accept whatever may betide you
wear your blood proud on both sides

eleven times the love
gonna split them up
tighten up the grip
like a glove

rip 'em up
rip 'em up