669 : 2/8/00 : End All War

To end all war a war is not required
And should in fact be well avoided
The war to end all wars and all the bastards that he sired
Good sirs the misery that you exploited
To end all suffering that is a goal unreachable
But do not think it frees you of your shame
For all your fine display of virtue unimpeachable
Good sirs I think you realize your blame
And one man standing silent by the road
and one man hanging lifeless on a cross
and I am just another who was showed
The sad depths of our uninterrupted loss
To end all wars will take another thousand years
It wouldn’t surprise me a thousand after that
It seems our lot is death and bitter tears
and so good sirs to you I raise my hat
And so to you good sirs I bid goodnight
And walk my weary pilgrim road alone
I pray you peace and hope that you sleep tight
and leave the rest of us to find it on our own

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

668 : 2/7/00 : Weary Song

The weary mind begs respite
The weary man agrees
Writing one more song is
going to bring him to his knees

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

667 : 2/6/00 : Macrocosm

The realization of the wider
universe
And me so small makes no sense at all
to feel cursed
Nothing at all out there to even
care
The macrocosm doesn’t know you’re
there
The perception of inevitable
mortality
Leads relentless to collective
morality
Say what you may it’s all just
all just words
Accept absolute exile or run
with the herds
Macrocosm it’s a shame that
you can’t see
There’s nothing to you that’s not
inside of me

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

The inevitable

Inevitably my long stretch of writing songs without missing days was broken last night - not intentionally, just a distracted and inattentive night. Final string 114 days, which I suspect will be the the one to beat for a while.

666 : 2/5/00 : Pardon

Pardon my sins
and my appetites
pardon my slips
and my long empty nights
pardon my confusion
and my aimless ways
pardon me my anger
and my trivial days
I’m searching for redemption
searching far and wide
I’m searching for a mission
from the other side
I’m searching for a way
to make it all feel real
pardon me for slipping on
cosmic banana peels
pardon me for living
I won’t always be
pardon me for breathing
and for being me
pardon me for giving up
and starting over
pardon me for pushing till I’m pushing up clover

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

665 : 2/4/00 : Flower

Sweet sweet pretty
soft and fragile
pretty flower
subtle and facile
same old clichés
same old line
bright and brightly
colored on the vine
pretty flower
full of schemes
full of essences
full of dreams

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

664 : 2/3/00 : Wage Slave

Wage Slave Maledictus
while we were sleeping
the higher power picked us
You will suffer the curse of knowing
The wages of sin of sin are death
the price of life
infused by God’s breath
All I know for sure is I didn’t start this thing
wage slave slave to earning
slave to consumption
the question burning
why do I go on is on my mind
put your shoulder to that wheel
the hill is very steep
and eternity is real
I must admit from here it seems unkind

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

663 : 2/2/00 : Whole Wide World

Who deserves the whole wide world
Not me, not me...
To much to do too much to see
We are blinded by necessity
The ocean chasm the sea of sand
the Well in the center of the Promised Land
Command the earth the angel cried
and all who saw its face just died
crying for the beauty lost
the maelstrom the early frost
the hanging rock the cavalcade
of sigils that the wind and time made
Who is wise enough to see it all
not me
And the whole wide world is waiting
but I’m blinded by necessity
and led astray by circumstances
and the fear of taking chances
with the whole wide world at stake
it seems a heavy choice to make
To me

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

662 : 2/1/00 : Last Brief Song

1,132 : 112 ?


One last brief song
before I must go off to war
to fight for all that war destroys
to die for what all war is for
Take my hand love kiss me once
For you may see me never
It is for this all war is fought
the fruitless fight to seize forever

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

Commitment

I wrote at some length and elsewhere of my reaction to the memory of a particular scion of technology's definition of "commitment". So I won't rehash that here. While I will surely never work hundred hour weeks in the service of a desperately next century startup, I will say I felt some small personal version of that sentiment when, racked with fever and wringing bodily pain, in the throes of the illness that had kicked me out of bed early that morning to the tune of violently ejecting the contents of my stomach, thrice, in rapid succession, I crept out of my bed of pain some time around 10 in the evening, made my way to the kitchen (as far as I felt was wise, all things considered, my blank books being down a steep set of stairs), tore a page off the memo pad...

and wrote a song.




You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

661 : 1/31/00 : Piece of Piss

Piece of Piss:
That’s not easy but this is:
a raz a raz a raz a raz
a razmataz
uh hu hu

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

660 : 1/30/00 : Dismal

What a dismal little lot
The average slop has got
pushing this stupid culture up the hill
A rare message for a six line verse
never laugh as you pass the hearse
We don’t believe we’ll die but we will

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

659 : 1/29/00 : Paracelsus

Paracelsus father of Alchemy
can you guide me to the fifth principle
Paracelsus can you help me
I’m searching for the philosopher’s stone
I’m looking to get rich and vile
Paracelsus am I gonna hafta make it on my own
It all looks all right to me
gotta be plenty of opportunity
Paracelsus will you show me how to turn it into gold
Paracelsus father of chemurgy
we’re still seeking transformation
praying makes anyone but me repent
I read a pamphlet that said
The hour and the day come quickly now
we must prepare for what heaven sent

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

658 : 1/28/00 : Sphinx

Here’s a riddle sphinx
What has a head but never thinks
What has a tale but never speaks
Passes years as we do weeks

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

657 : 1/27/00 : Lizard Music

It’s not so interesting
always to be puzzling thinking
Mind over matter matters on my mind
I guess I’m just that just that kind
was I trying to hear lizard music in my sleep
is there a promise my soul can’t keep
if the rhythm wrecks the rhyme
or vice versa how do I tell time?
I’ve got the secret in my hat
Just like the Chicken Man I like it like that
If you understand you’re one of us
and if not go stand in front of a bus
Or wait for one to take you to the fourteenth stop
It’s a jungle out there we’re waist deep in slop
LA cops leave the games early to beat the crowds
I’m staring at shapes in the clouds
On the other side Australia
The last place there is if your heart don’t fail ya
Make your way there when the shit goes down
Look for the Lizard Music store in the nearest town

You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here