Dingaling

I mentioned I was taking a two week break for Christmas, right?

Right.

So tune in after the holidays - say, the first of the year, when the million dollar question will be, will I have finally caught up the current project - which has been a week or so behind for a month or so... or will the rigors of the blessed season have driven me even further behind. Stay tuned and don't forget to breathe!

107 : 7/26/98 : Green (Secondary 2 of 3)

Now comes the time to admit the darkside
I see those worthless fuckers
taking all you suckers for a ride
And it turns me green
with demon jealousy
what about the rest of us
well mainly what about me...
I see superstars and supermodels
doing the exclusive bars
don't care much about the lifestyle
but I wouldn't mind the cars
houses in the south of France
yachts out on the sea
fear my soul's in peril
I am green with jealousy
Jesus won't you sit with me
and hour upon the grass
If I cannot learn it gently
Would you kindly kick my ass
I don't want to be this way anymore
I'm always counting green these days
but money's such a bore

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

106 : 7/25/98 : Orange (Secondary 1 of 3)

Cheshire orange,
nothing but a smile
color for surprises
for October
for the sunset mile

Jack-o-lantern orange
nothing but a carefree kid
color for magic
for harvest
Afire for anything I did

The fields the leaves
gone orange and red and brown
wherever I fly off to
mother nature always drops me down
gentle in a twilight orange
evening shadows stretch and grow
I stand aside and watch the wheel turn
watch the center shift and glow

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

105 : 7/24/98 : blue(sky) (Primary 3 of 3)

591 ?


Blue sky all I need to see
is a piece of blue sky
sorry I'm looking past your shoulder
on the bus my friend
I'm just keeping out one eye
for my blue sky
it's the only time I feel right
The days I see the least sky
are the days I feel most blue
I never want to feel that way
when I'm thinking of you
my blue sky
separate day from night
provide somehow a shore a divide
so I might thrive

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

104 : 7/23/98 : Yellow (Primary 2 of 3)

Man that guy must have it all
the goods the influence the juice
If I'm so smart why ain't I rich?
man I guess that's just the deuce

I guess I've had what he's had
such an unprepossessing fellow
guess I just don't have the hang of it
I guess I must be yellow

Funny I don't feel that way
feel like I am brave enough
if I wasn't yellow would I stand for this
funny how I never call their bluff

being yellow's maybe not so bad
you get a thousand shots at death
but I'm probably too cautious
being yellow saving up my breath

For what I guess that's the rub
maybe for a brighter new day
maybe the cliché's the way
for us to find a better way

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

103 : 7/22/98 : Red (Primary 1 of 3)

Everytime someone gets cut off
dentist drills ring in my head
Jesus I'm unfortunate I feel it
every time some hothead sees red

red red color of life
color of evening morning and blood
and in case you missed it Mr. Ku Klux Klan
The color of God's own creation mud

Can't you bastards all just get along
you're killing me you're driving me insane
can't you just calm down a minute count to ten
stop these lurid flashbulbs popping in my brain

And Godamighty when you all get started
In my fantasies I've shot you in the head
but that kind of thinking always gets me thinking
wondering just who I'm making see red

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

102 : 7/21/98 : Ex-Templars and Forgotten Saints

585 ?


Well oh what a merry misfit brigade we are
with our sitting room and finger paints
going through a past life's second childhood (Young Kaligula)
surrounded by ex-Templars and forgotten saints

Men who softly step in corridors
lined with lights in cages and locked doors
I slip softly glide 3 feet above the floors
a shadow in a shadow what the dark half stores

My girl's named Joan she led a mighty throng
Of brave young Christian soldier boys
she still talks of night and the revolution
makes up her lack of deference with poise

Don't be so quick to judge you're all in here with us
It's all one corporation count on it
I'm not a politician but I understand
A run of bad luck could land anybody in this shit

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

101 : 7/20/98 : When It Goes

You can buy a CD featuring a song of the day! Read more here

When it goes friend there's a good chance
it will come down very fast
Though I doubt I'll be the first to know
I guarantee I will not be the last

And I confess that I would feel a little more secure
If I thought you were half as worried as I am
you look like you are having too good of a time
looks like you are gonna wind up chiseled spam

He said there was a roar man
then another, louder
then a tide of mud took his little girls away

that's how it goes friend
boom, boom, boom
like the original night and day

Don't look now I'm gonna pick your pocket
rolling drunks is far too simple to resist
time's a'wasting I can't lose another second
anyway I'm not sure you exist

There's something goddamn beautiful
about a mushroom cloud
listen for the roar friend, trust me
next one will be really fuckin' loud

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

100 : 7/19/98 : Automatic Card Shuffler

You can buy a CD featuring a song of the day! Read more here

Hey automatic card shuffler
you hypnotize me with your
swish flick whirr whirr whirr...

Sort a hot deck for me
just this once: my life's
become a boiling cup of fur

How I love this palace
plastic chips and flashing light
how I love the lack of clocks and windows
every day here lasts all night

shuffle up a winner for me
don't work for the house this time
let me strike it rich: I'll free you
take you home and build a little shrine

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

99 : 7/18/98 : Inevitable

You can buy a CD featuring a song of the day! Read more here

Wish that I could shake the feeling
that my rise is inevitable
I've got a hard fighting hope that I cannot quell
I'm crazy, trust me, it's a ball

I've seen it so many times on teevee
one sweet punch and he'll be down
then she'll be the one for me
pack up and blow this foolish town

wish that I could lose my sense
of invulnerability
know its senseless know its false
it's something that was born in me

if it's not inevitable
then what is it how else could it work
guess I'll play the waiting game
guess I'll start whirling like a turk

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

98 : 7/17/98 : (journal)

You can buy a CD featuring a song of the day! Read more here

friday weird day busy and useless
real bands with real fans and
who cares if they're clueless
I've got a feeling it's all the fault of guys like me.

We ought to know better but we're not.

It looks like we just don't measure up
We throw our time away idiot games we play
We store our foolish treasure up
Can't see past our shells and baubles
future seems unlikely

We put ourselves right in this spot.
Visions of that bright and shining day
Friends call, plans stall
that's okay
they're why I'm okay
I've got a feeling there's still
hope for guys like me

I'll learn my lesson if I'm taught
I'm still standin' I'm still sucking air
Every night a chance to fight
and prove that I still care

I don't care if victory seems
unlikely

We deserve exactly what we've got.

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

97 : 7/16/98 : And Necessity

577 ?


You can buy a CD featuring a song of the day! Read more here



Fear and necessity is all I need
Don't need fortune fame respect or speed
Don't need riches love or notoriety
Just crazy desperate fear - and necessity

I'd almost rather see it all fall down
I'd go down with it wouldn't make a sound
What's left to say it's all the same disgrace
No amount of talking's gonna fix up this place

Lay down at last the last three note verse
That's pretty bad, believe there's something worse
Yeah I've done worse but I've done better too
This isn't much but tomorrow there'll be two

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

96 : 7/15/98 : Blinded By Falling At A Great Speed

You can buy a CD featuring a song of the day! Read more here

Was it a cliff was it a building
I can't seem to focus my mind
I seem to have fallen from a great height
it seems to have stricken me blind

A bridge or possibly an airplane
I can't hear anything but wind
strange that time should seem so unimportant
I guess what has been given, Someone can rescind

A silence passes over me
a whisper inside gravity
feeling strange like piety
about to join one motherhuge society

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

95 : 7/14/98 : Seven Fourteen Ninetyeight

Seven twice seven twice seven squared
This must truly be an auspicious night
Seems like all the others but it must be true
This is when it all starts turning right

Keep tell tell telling the story
Twist the plot a little more
All in all it's all in always
Always pushing to the furthest shore

There it goes it's almost over
Roll it up another hundred years
Hope I'm smarter by then
A man always becomes what he fears

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

94 : 7/13/98 : Ballast

I'm a lucky man
I'm sitting pretty good
I've got friends and family
a girl who says she would

But this old world is evil
Dancin' to a wicked tune
and these nights get crazy on me
leave me howlin' at the moon

I just need a little ballast
something dense to keep me pinned
but I always sink my ballast
throw my fortunes to the wind

I'll be missing a day or two for the holiday

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

Now available in physical format: yours truly on the Metafilter Compilation CD

To order the CD click here!

I recently participated in the creation of a collectively arranged and managed music CD featuring pieces by members of the community weblog metafilter.com.

This CD is complete and shipping now, and features a recording I made of one of the songs of the day, Obsession, among 24 other tracks by artists more talented than myself. I think it really is a fine and lovingly produced CD, and well worth the price even if I weren't on it, even if it wasn't for charity.

You can read about the album by clicking here
And read my artist profile by clicking here

To order the CD click here!

Thanks for listening -

Jon/aka nanojath/aka Scrivener

93 : 7/12/98 : When in Doubt, Work Faster

Who's the minion who's the master
at the end of every day
when in doubt I guess work faster
guessing's pretty much my way

who's the man and who's the flunky
never try that hard to hide
who's the man yeah who's the junky
bread is always buttered on their side

when in doubt write faster
put it down as fast as you can write
you're so seldom your own master
Rarely get to fly your little kite

Who lives upstairs who lives downstairs
everything that rises must converge
they get seated we pull out our own chairs
everything that falls apart must merge

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

92 : 7/11/98 : Sad Precedent

570 ?


We've set a sad ass precedent of
human behavior in our time
Yeah we've killed more harmed more
All in the name of a pretty rotten time
When they look back, a hundred
years from this age
They'll think of us as monsters
Crucify us on the page
And I guess I am
just about as bad as the rest
And I guess I am
just about as much of a
pestilence on this
Terrifying sphere
When did evil bloom
What was the moment
Are we wired up to
Always seek our own
destruction?

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

the fairly secret song of the day blog: now with weekly drama

I've been wanting to bring the current song of the day writing project into this blog in a small way. I don't want to introduce any new lyrics: I want to preserve the flow of the daily writing from the original project. But I'd like to have a small reminder that I am doing this now, it's not just something that happened 8 years ago.

So: each Monday, prior to the day's actual song, I'm going to post a little status report on the ongoing project. It will consist of the number of the current project's song, and an icon that represents how well (or poorly) I'm actually keeping up with the current writing. Here's a key to the meaning of the icons:

Songs are current. There is no backlog of work to do.


Songs are less than a week behind schedule


Songs are between one week and a month behind schedule


Songs are between a month and three months behind schedule. So far, the worst it's been. It was very difficult to get back to current.

Songs are more than three months behind schedule. If it ever gets to this point I think the project will be in severe jeopardy. Aren't you feeling anxious just thinking about it?

At first I was going to use a "threat level" graphic in the style of the whole Homeland Security Terrorometer thing but I decided I was sick of all that shit.

I have another motive for this small window into my day to day. As I mentioned in the original project explanation, unlike the first daily writing project, I am no longer indicating in the actual writing whether I wrote a song on schedule or as a catch-up on a later date.

While I've never felt it was realistic to expect I'd never miss a day, with the old project I followed the simple expedient of writing late songs in red ink. I don't know if it is the lack of this crude psychological goad or just a more complex life, but I've been significantly more lax in the current project with allowing myself to get behind schedule. I figure a little public accountability couldn't hurt.

As for "drama," I'm a behind right now, as Monday's post will show. As these things go, I have relatively good reasons for having gotten behind, but I'm not going to get into the reasons here or anywhere else. I'll just let the numbers speak for themselves. Hold on to the edge of your browser as my aspiration to write 10,000 lyrics in less than three decades surges forward with all the dramatic tension of an encroaching glacier!

91 : 7/10/98 : Attenuate/Decline

Well it’s all gonna be fine
I insist on it my friend
Well everything’s designed
To attenuate, decline

Gave to Caesar Caesar’s due
And this I know at every day’s end
At least one thing I can tell is true
I wouldn’t be myself without you

Trapped in time watch life attenuate
A soul will find its level in the sea
I’ve got no time I’ve got a loaded plate
I’ll eat it all in time you’ll sea if you wait

I’m looking forward to my declining years
The salty old dog that I’m bound to be
If I were old I’d have a lot between my ears
I’d be a village prince among my peers

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

90 : 7/9/98 : Super Ascendant Shooting Star

Super ascendant shooting star
pure excitement on the live wire
Turn it on wherever you are
Comin’ on strong flash like a freebase fire

Quasidialectric crystal plasma
Big screen smart machine telecaster
Whiff of the aether gives my astral body asthma
Turned on a wheel like spun alabaster

Super ascendant shooting star
I’d like so much just to be sure
Will I get a shiny motor car
Will my intentions be quite clear?

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

89 : 7/8/98 : Hammer

Pound me flat with a hammer, Lord
Roll me into a tube
Stuff me full of glory
and light the fuse

Cut me in half with your fiery sword
Dice me up into cubes
Toss the bits up the seventh story
Jesus knows I’ve paid my dues

I won’t look up when the hammer comes
To flatten out my sins
Idle hands are a shameful waste
Things are so much better since

I kept my head bent to the sums
I calculate the losses, wins
It’s a race too close for my taste
Too few words I’ve left to mince

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

88 : 7/7/98 : Penultimizer

Seems he’s the penultimizer
It’s his job to set things up
He waits down in a basement office
Jumps when old Gran Met rings up

Your job’s not to notice him
He leaves before the magic starts
Ol’ Boneyard Bill’s the main attraction
We all fill the tragic parts

Pity the penultimizer
Always feels that he’s to blame
Still he just can’t help himself
When Deus fires up the machine he’s game

Seems that he’s the fixer closer
Shuffles up the deck and deals
Someone else to rake the chips in
Some other machine to spin the reels

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

(brief) hiatus

Apologies for this ongoing brief, unannounced hiatus. The Song of the Day will be unavoidably suspended for another week at most due to non-critical but also non-trivial medical issues. Please rejoin us 'round about mid-November for the recommencement of the fun.

87 : 7/6/98 : Reelin’

I can’t hear a thing
for the wheels spinnin’ in my head
I can’t hear a thing for
the reels spinning in my head
How I wish this binding
skin could be shed

Got no choice got no choice
he said
It’s in me and it’s got to
come out
I cannot tell you what it is
all about...

I’m reelin’

I could not stand to watch that wheel
turn every day
I could not stand and watch them
slowly turning grey

And he reels around
casts his coat of many colors
to the ground

I built a room for noise to live in
I found the spot and drove the shiv in
I had no choice I could not
take note of my feelings

I had no choice I had to
Listen to the
reeling
reeling
reeling

Trying to pull some order
from the violent thoughts that plague us
Probably get better odds
playing the slots at Vegas

He stands up retrieves his coat
reverses it to black

Winks and says pay me no mind
It’s gonna be a sneak attack

Is he crazy, a genius or both?
Some idiot will ask after he’s gone
I don’t ask questions
I just get along
I’m not the forceful type like him
still I know what he’s feeling
Some nights standing still I feel
the earth is reeling

Reeling

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

86 : 7/5/98 : Bright Stars

When I look up
At the bright stars
It seems that they should be enough
to satisfy my heart

I look up at the bright stars
They make me think of unimaginable
Distances the light speeding
The sheer physics makes me reel and tumble

I don’t need any more evidence
I am convinced of the divine
I’m a believer now
The stars drove me right out of my mind

Look up look up at
the bright stars shining
Is it enough to be part of it
Is that the path I’m finding

So they say even stars die
So they say my body is made
of their light their essences
It kinda makes me glad I stayed

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

85 : 7/4/98 : Declaration

That’s it we sunk that ship
Well I guess that’s all for the declaration trip
Seems I’m still battling the independence tip

But all my brothers down on the strip
They got no questions as to who’s holdin’ the whip
Well I aint Buddha but I’m nothin’ if not hip

You pull heat down if you dish too much lip
Well on the big board you’re just a little blip
The man squeezed hard; I shot out like an orange pip

Well they believe they’ll make me flip
Wave a little money watch me lose my grip
They’ll find out it’s not so easy to make my morals slip

I just roll along at a steady clip
I got anger on tap, a constant drip
I keep my strength up with the occasional nip

I lay low and wait for the fabric to rip
I ain’t got no answer but still I quip
I oughta fit my mouth out with a zip

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

84 : 7/3/98 : And Testament (Will series 6 of 6)

This must be the last of it
it always starts that way
this is it this is it
The same old sad old rhymes
Yesterday, today
The same old sad old rhymes
Yesterday today

Such a sad sad testament
A will that won’t live up but will not stop
Just leave me wandering on the firmament
Just wait; sooner or later
it’ll pop
Just wait: sooner or later
it will pop

Call that an act of will Lepton Kid?
I call it one last testament
Hard to tell if it mattered what I did
I left one last
will and testament
I left one last
will and testament

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

83 : 7/2/98 : Of God (Will series 5 of 6)

Am I gonna make it out
Am I gonna come out on top
Will the rescue party hear me shout
Will I keep my bobbing head above the slop

If it’s the will of God my son
If it’s the will of God my son
My son, my son

Am I gonna be a star
Party with the creamy crowd
Will I get a brand new car
Will I do my family proud

Will I do the rehab bit
Clean up for the comeback tour
Will I be a happy healthy little shit
Will I become the pig de jour

If it’s the will of God my son
If it’s the will of God my son
Rise, fall, fall, rise
If it’s the will of God
My son
My son
My son

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

82 : 7/1/98 : Power (Will series 4 of 6)

Like a mighty fist
Clenched with a cocked wrist
Cocked back eyes hard
Aimed down on all you blackguards

More power
More more power
My will, my will
Will of power, power of will

That’s not much of an answer
You’re not much of a chancer
Are you? It’s true
I guess I can’t blame you

I just need more power
Some good clean power source
Will power, will power
Raise, raise this flower

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

81 : 6/30/98 : Thought & Deed (Will series 3 of 6)

Between the thought and the deed
Lies an ocean of grey
It’s always been that way
Simple fact we paid so little heed

Between the will and the way
Act of will and acts of God
In the face of failure on I plod
I rise to each new rising day

Between the deed and the thought
A canker gnaws at the mind
regret serves penance in kind
Ride on a raft of a word called ought

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

80 : 6/29/98 : Act (Will series 2 of 6)

Well I’m a hired desperado
one smooth running gun
From the cool of the morning
to the setting sun

And if the song I’m singing
seems a bit extemporaneous
Call it an act of will
I’m nothing if not spontaneous

Well I’m a dog in the evening
And a tomcat at night
I’m an ox most days
I pull my plow under hot summer light

I get it together
pulled around one act of will
Me and my bootstraps
and this bitter pill

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

79 : 6/28/98 : Force (Will series 1 of 6)

Where will the action occur
how will the power be supplied
where will inertia be fought
where will the force be applied
to bend this bent column straight
to push this wheel from its rut
to claim a finer destiny
to see the ties that bind us cut
what sort of dynamo
will energize our industry
what force of nature
will power our grand symmetry
the collective agency of our will
is the only resource they can’t steal
the collective agency of our will
is all we have to turn this wheel

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

78: 6/27/98 : Dynamo

Power chord;
structured word
well afford
a fifth or third
Press of bodies
flashing light
La-di-la-dies
endless night
You pay
we play
like a dynamo
We’ve promises to keep
and miles to go
before we sleep
and miles to go
and miles to go
and miles to go

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

77: 6/26/98 : Nevertheless

Nevertheless
I suppose
I did my best
or something close
But still it seems a shame
Left standing here
own nothing but my name
that much is clear
Still I maintain
make another pass
And what remains
I guess I gotta make it last
It's what I chose
It's what I thought was best
And that's enough, I suppose,
nevertheless

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

76 : 6/25/98 : I’m Not the Man for the Job

Fuck you anyway
I didn’t want it anyway
I’m not the man for
the job
I’m not the one
I’m not anyone
Anymore
I am not
the man for the job

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

75 : 6/24/98 : Second

This day...
This very moment...
This second now...

I see the flames rising
I see their advertising
I see them pricing
every minute of my day
I see the oceans boiling
I see the serfs a’toiling
I feel my wraith is spoiling
for a battle come what may
We sense a strange storm forming
this thing we’re all performing
The day may come we’ll all be warming
our hands over the coals
the coals of what’s left of us
when we bring the fire down from above us
We’ll find out if he still loves us
We’ll all end up holding up
Our beggars bowls

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

74 : 6/23/98 : Wrath

Dies irae, dies illa
solvet saeclum en favilla
days of wrath the things’ll kill ya
you won’t look so smart then will ya

Pax vobiscum, peace among us
years ago the hard truths stung us
looked at what our work had won us
wondered why the angels shun us

Days of wrath and feckless wonder
all that’s over, all that’s under
in the storm the hail the thunder
all our hoarded dark souls’ plunder

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

73 : 6/22/98 : Sacred Blood

And my anger anger anger
Rises in me like a flood
When I think about this bad old world
And all the sacred blood

That is spilled for no
goddamn reason at all
it could be you friend
up against the wall

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

72 : 6/21/98 : Legion

If I had a mighty army
and a mighty war machine
I might make this sad world over
in a way you’ve never seen

I’m not sure I’d do it properly
I’m sure I’d make mistakes
but if fate cast that chance before me
its a chance I’d have to take

And I saw a mighty army
on a million mighty screens
I saw a fiery legion
in the hot white phosphor gleam

Watch the fire my legion
we are all just I and I
watch the screen kids and remember
what you get is just exactly what you buy

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

71 : 6/20/98 : Shell Game

Watch the prize my friend it’s easy
beat the dealer, go home rich
nothing like some structured commerce
nothing like the age old pitch

If God thought up something finer
must have kept it for his own
keep on following my hand friend
pick a number; find the stone

Look it's all the old shell game
we’ll take your money with a smile
lead you on with dreams of riches
led astray another mile

If we fall for this shell game
only got ourselves to blame
not as if they’ve changed their tactics
that con’s older than its name

Something for nothing kid
hard to fathom: it still works
hard to feel bad for the suckers
harder still to justify the jerks

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

70 : 6/19/98 : Mention

Did I forget to mention
All the hidden costs
The car the helicopter and
The key that opens any lock

Did they recall to mention
All the benefits of cooperation
Nothing’s too good for
The servants of the corporation

Was a figure mentioned
We’ll supply however little you’ll take
Of course there’s a matter of tenure
You’ve no idea do you what’s at stake

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

69 : 6/18/98 : Extension

I wish that I could step
aside into another room
some other place some
other type of time

Just somewhere I could breathe a little
some nice glass topped tomb
I will spend so long underground
couldn’t I grab just a little of that time

Time time time I need it
(step into that other plane)
Quick please now I need it
(Just close your eyes and step aside)

What am I trying to prove
Why can’t I just give up and save face
I don’t seem to be suited for this world
I got no secret place to hide

Is it about time?
Is it about space?
Am I neglecting something?
Do I have it all inside?
All that I need inside?
All that I seek inside?

What do you do now when your
number’s up?
What you gonna do when you
finally have no choice
but to stop
Guess I’ll stop

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

68 : 6/17/98 : Babel

HAYALLAH ACTS ETAY HALLAH ETAYAH MAYTA ELAT ILT ARTES SHETEK NAM MALEN KEMNOR HET MES NAM NOR HET KAYUM ASHUM VALUM FE ZOAR FITHAR NARM KALECT HAR NARM ITI KAS BEL NOT HELET FARESTIT PELAM FETIT MILEM NON VELANT TEM SAN KEN ETAY ITAYMENUM FETAY NOLMON KET UMWAY YAW MUTEK NOM LON YATEF MUNE MYATI YATEN EKNAS METT NALEV NONMELIM TITEF MALEP TITSE RAF TELEH TON LEB SAK ITIM RAN RAHT CELAKM RANRAH TIF ROAZ EF MULAV MUHSA MUYAK TEH RON MANSEM TEH RON MEK NELAM MAN KETEHS SET RAT LITALE ATYAM HAYATE HALLAH YATEST CAHALLAYAH

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

67 : 6/16/98 : The Engines of Failure

Where will you be
when the engines of failure
start screaming in the sky?

What will you do
when the Grand Inquisitor
starts to divvy up the pie

Will the engine suck you in?
Will your life be worth a nickel?

No man may resist the engines of failure
Fate is nothing if not fickle

where will you run
when the engines of failure
touch down and start to shudder

Will you run then
will you stand bemused
what last epithet will you stutter

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

66 : 6/15/98 : (untitled)

And old man a very old man
crazy bloodshot eyes and shaking hands
whiskey cheeks and cigarette cough
waiting for his stop to get off

Son he said come down to my hole
see an amazing sight to behold
See what I call a very old man
Come and view a mighty span

Next to a steam pipe wrapped in a rug
Greybeard dreadlock shoulders shrugged
Deep etched lines of misery
This is what he said to me

I built a room to live in
I built a soul that would not give in
I built a vicious furious noise
I shouted out with a mighty voice

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

65 : 6/14/98 : Political Song

A logic that cuts both ways
I see the youth of today
sinking further into the stupor
of television fueled consumerism

This is our inheritance
as masters of the world
This is the inheritance
of the sons and daughters
of this brave nation

To peer into the magic screen
That only ever says one thing

Oh what you gonna
buy today
kid what you gonna
buy today
what you gonna make them
make you buy today
or are you
one of those
people they’re slowly
turning grey

So many people that they’re slowly
turning grey

Who are they
do we need them
can we not
master ourselves
can we not hold them at bay

What will you pay
your rest
your joy
your time
your peace
your fair share
of this
earthly feast
your health
your love
your friends
your voice
the real
power of
your choice

Raise up your hands

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

64 : 6/13/98 : Perfection

If I promised to respect the perfections
of every moment
Would that make it right,
finally
What is this lack of will
We carry
It’s always just a moment

Breathe did he breathe
did he breathe
A truth to set you free
would it carry me
As well
oh well

Will I feel it when I’m
going
Will I be unafraid then
Will I feel myself becoming one
with it all
All in all
All in all
Is it really about
perfection?
Are you expecting
perfection?
Do you recognize
perfection?

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

63 : 6/12/98 : Now or Never?

In the cave in the cave at the end
of the tunnel that comes out between
the roots of the great tree from
the fields of my youth in the
great white cave illuminated by
undying mystic fire on the
throne the stone hewn throne
on the dais sits the queen the
high priestess she who neither
sleeps nor eats but only watches
the undying mystic fire that
lights the cave I found at
the end of the tunnel that I
followed to find her that
I did not know to ask my
question what was the question
lost in the echoes how should
I proceed I asked the queen
of the underground in
her white robes on her white
throne shining in the undying
mystic fire she said
Now or never kid, that’s
your only answer, now
or never now or never
now or never

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

62 : 6/11/98 : Heat

I see Texas Rangers with silver shades
I see SWATs in riot gear on parade
I guess every renegade gets heat after a while

Motorcyle CHiPs in helmet and jackboot
Plainclothes detectives too quick to shoot
Guess the point is moot; I’ll take my beating with a smile

Alabama, Kent State, Guards of a Nation
They all work for the same corporation
I know my station, I don’t fraternize with the tools

I know heat from here to the border
Never been much damn good at taking orders
Just a recorder, I didn’t make the rules

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

61 : 6/10/98 : Virus

The future is at hand my friend
they've engineered the virus
it seems the world's about to end
They might as well just fire us

‘Cause when it's out that's it man
it'll only take a couple weeks
yeah then we're really in the shit man
wait until the virus speaks

The cup brims the cup flows over
from the sands of the Sahara
to the bonny cliffs of Dover
to la Dulce Riviera

Then we'll all be gone my friend
only the prepared will be around
so sit and sing along my friend
the bastards are already underground

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

60 : 6/9/98 : Parmenides

Me and Parmenides
Walkin long the rail track
Arguin about the void
Waitin for a train back

He said it's all good
He said it's all full
He said nothin changes man
He said its no bull

I said Parmenides
That seems a mite obtuse
If nothin really changes
Well the whole things just a ruse

He said that's the way it is
He said mind over matter son
He said I got it all worked out
I said you ain't the only one

Me and Parmenides
Up late in some after hours joint
I said I see a lot of nothin
He said son you missed my point

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

59 : 6/8/98 : I Hate Money

I hate money
It gets in the way
It crowds its way into my dreams
It takes my time away

I hate money
Too easy to steal
They have the vaults the trucks the Big Computers
They are the last court of appeal

Maybe I'll try my luck
on the market
Maybe I'll try my luck
on the market
(Yeah they own the market too...)

I hate money
sad but true
I hate it the way I hate anything
That gets between me and you

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

58 : 6/7/98 : Cathedral (Indomitable)

In the Cathedral... that started
Falling down so long ago
I watched the stars
Listened to the wind blow

Grass rolls in the wind out there
like waves on the open seas
Wave crash against the dark shores
Of groves of ancient twisted trees

And with my back against
a venerable stone
I felt well grounded
I thought I will not fight alone

I am indomitable now
I am indomitable
I am indomitable now
I am indomitable

In the cathedral
In the cathedral
In the cathedral
In the cathedral

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

57 : 6/6/98 : Following the Thread

Without a memory of how it
came to be, my desire
For some higher principle

Me and the labyrinth, this
One shot experiment, without a rope without a net
without a clue or a safe bet try to be sensible

And following my thread guess I'm
better off than dead not too sure
where it's leading to, anymore

When I think about it it doesn't
make much sense to get enshrouded
in what I can't venture a guess what's in store

For me in my maze
Are there hours or only days
Following my shiny thread

Isn't really mine I can't recall
finding it nor leaving it,
I think I see a shadow up ahead

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

56 : 6/5/98 : Thoughtless

What a fine thing
what a fine thing

It would be
it would be

To be thoughtless
to be thoughtless

To be free
to be free

Of the burden
of the burden

Of the mind's eye
of the minds eye

All these questions
all these questions

Turn a blind eye
turn a blind eye

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

55 : 6/4/98 : Telemeter

Television telephone
stranded at the microphone
I'm not prepared to go this thing alone
I need my friends

Telegraphic telecast
classic kid iconoclast
Confess I rose up through the ranks so fast
I got the bends

Telescope tellurium
I thought I didn't need anyone
And all the while I sat and watched the sun
And suffered fear

Telepath capacitor
classic vintage stratosphere
so fire up the telemeter
And send the image clear

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

54 : 6/3/98 : Prima Donna

Everybody wants to see me up there
High upon the shining stage
Everybody wants to see the lights right on me
Everybody wants to turn my page

Oh baby I do wanna
be such a prima donna

Everybody wants to see what I see
Everybody wants to hold my hand
Take me home and make me meet their uncle
Roll me out and pound me full of sand

Oh baby I do wanna
be such a prima donna

Everybody wants to hang with my circle
Everybody wants to pass my gear
All the handsome devils want this dance with me
All the ladies want to whisper in my ear

Oh baby I do wanna
be such a prima donna

Every suited bandit wants a piece of me
Every crazed disciple wants my head
Every fatal lover wants my number
Every prince of power wants my head

Oh baby I still wanna
be such a prima donna

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

53 : 6/2/98 : Mental Endurance Calisthenics

When the problem is before you
Look directly at it and proceed
When your time for working has expired
Retire to your rest and do not pay your worries heed

Resist the urge to dwell on past mistakes
Mind the situation that you're in
Shame is an inefficient emotion
There is nothing more wasteful than an unrepented sin

Accept that missteps are made
You will learn from even false ways
It is a knowledge being given you
Within you is a will a dream a flag to raise

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

52 : 6/1/98 : Titrate

Hush, careful; one drop at a time
we can not be too cautious
with such a fine specimen

One drop, another, the tension is sublime
he looks a little nauseous
I'd hate to have to back-titrate him

Careful, watch the color
It's as much an art as science
a balance as brittle as glass

The vessel, now slightly fuller
I do believe that our appliance
is approaching his crucial mass

titrate our unwilling guest
watch the color leave his face
I think it's time we balanced his equation

Neutralize this hapless pest
drop some acid in his base
A lesson to whoever tries to rise above his station

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

51 : 5/31/98 : Worry and Care

Another day woke up depressed
the lord was standin on his chest
said son you look worried and tired
I'm starting to think it's time you were retired

Oh lord he said I pray 3 times a day
I'm on a long shot ticket and there's hell to pay
All my worry and care is what I trade
But I'm banking my transfer on a crooked blade

Ah son let me push you down a little more
You can't imagine everything I've got in store
for you my little sparrow won't let you fall
Well if it weren't for me no one would know at all

Release yourself my child of pain
The dossier I've compiled is plain
I'll take on all your worry and care
I don't need nothin else from you go and prepare.

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

50 : 5/30/98 : Egyptian Rocket Goddess

Unbelievable, hey that's how power goes
Why'd you have to come and go
Leave your traces back to the sun

Unimaginable, what offers cross your table
When you stood on top of Babel
Did it pain you to see your people run

Egyptian rocket Goddess
Will your orbit intersect our
crazy little planet again?

While you were walking through walls
And the Pharaohs threw dice in the hall
Your servants knew the score and poured the wine

While the library burned down
All the record deals you turned down
In another life a chill ran down my spine

Egyptian rocket goddess
You're looking right down at us
All waiting wondering

And I don't wait for a thing
Everything that happened will happen again
And if you need me I guess you'll find my number

Egyptian Rocket goddess fly
These day's we're all watching the sky
I guess it's just a spell we're under

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

49 : 5/29/98 : Dark Designs Unlimited

Must it be that there's a
dark design at work
In this world?

Can't you see that
Down in stone cathedrals
The serpent is curled?

I don't believe in the
Stories of the old men
And their secret plans

It seems to me
that it all must be
in my imaginations

Everyone would
Like to see some order
Some reason to believe in their eternal spark

Everyone keeps on
Looking for the pattern
Even if the designs are dark

But oh not me
I can't be fooled so easily
I know how these stories start

I keep my eyes fixed
on the eternal invisible
center of the wheel that pulls me apart

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

48 : 5/28/98 : Witchy

Uh, thas a witchy way you walk
Thas a twisty way to talk
Thas a glimmer in your eyes
Thas a shimmer when you lies

You doan tell a man a truth
You doan practice what you preach
You don't let your secrets out
butchoo make a pretty speech

You a devil in disguise
you got witchy in your eyes
When I try to push you balk
When I walk away you stalk

In the night I hear you wail
In a dream you had a tail
You put mojo in my tea
and you made a mess of me

An I know someday you leave
An I cry despite my pride
Wear my heart all on my sleeve
Sit an watch a lonely tide

Think about you witchy tricks
Allus choose they twisty chicks
And they glimmer in the sun
Shimmer like a vision gone

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

47 : 5/27/98 : This Must Be Love

Oh you're killing me you're killing me
with hesitance and indecision
You're killing me with doubt
and endless fission

Why can't anything ever
be just what it is?
Why can't anything ever be
one thing and not another?

Oh you're itchin' me you're itchin' me
in a place I cannot scratch
You're inchin' me you're inching
up against the pillar again

Why can't you just be what I want?
Why can't I just want what I have?
Why can't I just have what I need?

This must be love
This must be love
This must be love

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

46 : 5/26/98 : Trial By Ordeal

Bread and water and a bed of nails
Sleepless nights and leeches by the pail
Trial by ordeal sounds like a fine time to me

An unshaded bulb that burns all the time
insane noise without reason or rhyme
A little pain to to face fragmented destiny

Deny me comfort food and smoke
Hold me underwater till I choke
And by and by I guess I'd crack like anyone

Tell all my secrets and burning shames
Give the pigs all my comrades' names
Always knew I'd have to pay for my fun

I fear pain as much as the next guy
And knowing I must pay for what I buy
I almost admire the way that I endure

And though I'd hate it to end that way
it would be nice to get some of that pain out of the way
where art fails, there's always force majeure

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

45 : 5/25/98 : Time Well Spent

Hey Joel do you remember the time
when that root canal went south on me
The day after I came to the city
to work at the university?

And we drove at night back
Home to Montevideo and you slept
on the floor of my room while I lie in agony
And I waited forty hours with the pain and almost wept

That was time well spent
that was time well spent
I can't imagine my life
without all the time well spent

Hey Jennifer do you remember the time
we drove out on the reservation
In South Dakota to find Wounded Knee
Just you and me in the middle of what's left of a sovereign nation

And we drove and got lost
And your exhaust pipe fell off your car
I lashed it back to the frame with a shoelace
And felt you judging me from where you were, far

away - That was time well spent
That was time well spent
I can't imagine my life
without all the time well spent

All the moments and so many days
To remember how it all spun out
The reeling filament of moments
So much to think about

I've got a feeling in my chest
That the worst moment of my life
Is still before me, ahead
In some future of uncertainty and strife

All the time well spent
All the time well spent
Still ahead of me
All the time well spent

I remember when I
remember the time
when the sea rose up
and dragged me under
The rushing roaring waves
I can't remember
before that
before that
moment
And everything since
I've remembered all too well...

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

44 : 5/24/98 : Weapon

There must be a weapon to fight this thing
There must be a way to end it
There must be a will that makes me sing
There must be a way to bend it

There must be a weapon that strikes its mark
There must be a perfect arrow
There must be a fire behind this spark
There must be a path straight and narrow.

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

43 : 5/23/98 : The Parallax Blunder

Can't see the forest for the trees
Can't see the crystals for the freeze
Always distracted by the flash and thunder
just another Parallax Blunder

Can't judge the cover for the book
Can't judge the things you overlook
Always mistaking over for under
just another Parallax Blunder

Can't look a gift horse in the mouth
Can't find the east by looking south
Can't stop the earth's spinning to stop and wonder
just another Parallax Blunder

God's in the details you said it a million times
well, sometimes I can't see the words for the rhymes
The temple curtain is torn asunder
Just another Parallax Blunder

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

42 : 5/22/98 : Distraction

Distraction the endless distractions
The endless reactions
To actions that stretch out
And endlessly bifurcate

I don't learn the lessons I'm taught
I live among the parapets of thought
knowing the illusion's depth
I endlessly hesitate

And I suppose it is what holds me back
And always flaws my soft attack
I only want to calm
My sad relentless mind

And all the minutes circle and fall
from ten to two to one I stall
and stutter out another
shot at what I never find.

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

41 : 5/21/98 : Five More Minutes

Could I stack it all into
Just five minutes more
All the sleep all the dreams
All the light all it means
Is another hour on the killing floor

I know I can't it isn't mine to do
All the cats in the attic
The screaming and the static
And me without a clue

Please give me over
Just five minutes five
And I'll say all I've left out
I swear I'll get my best out
I swear I'll be alive

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

40 : 5/20/98 : Bitch Goddess Blues

All the boys got the bitch goddess blues
All the slim latin lovers with nothin' to lose
They howl at the moon and stand in my shoes
Those sad clowns with the bitch goddess blues

All the girls got that stellar cat heat
Pretty print dresses and a pound of meat
A cylinder of glory rolled tight and sweet
Such silly ballerinas with that stellar cat heat

And the evil men with a boom boom boom
six by three by six is a mighty small room
And I'll just put an arrow on my tomb
Pointing up at a sign that says boom boom boom

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

39 : 5/19/98 : Tired

Guess it must always
get back to this,
deep tired, deep down tired
All that ancient lead
in my bones

The ether's thick like
honey, omnipresent,
such a weight pushing
us all in toward
inevitable oblivion

And once I slept as
a child, peaceful and
deep, and expanded
and diffused the weight,
the weight

Breathe deep I wrap my
strength around
my leaden bones
Another day
another load

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

38 : 5/18/98 : Knowingness (Neoformalismo #1)

I know what I know
I do what I do
I say what I say
I knew what I knew

I say what I say
I'm led where I'm led
I make what I make
I said what I said

I make what I make
I'm paid what I'm paid
I give what I give
I made what I made

I give what I give
I save what I save
I sing what I sing
I gave what I gave.

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

37 : 5/17/98 : Sooner, Later

Better late than never
Better break than sever
Better just leave it alone
Sooner or later it will clone

Another child of fortune
Just your daily portion
Of a meal that fate prepared
Well it's a shame she never shared

Her mind with all its portals
Down among us mortals
She's a cold and distant bitch
And while you sleep she pulls the switch

On you

And if you gotta learn it now
After all your fights with mater
better sooner than later
better sooner than later

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

36 : 5/16/98 : Later, Sooner

She steps right up when he shows
You can tell that she's wearin'
a look he knows
Poor soul must be late again
You can tell it's a fight
he knows she'll win

Throws his arms out, makes like Christ
Babe I'm important, you pay
the price
For bein' seen with me and my high class gear
Bein' seen is a full time career

Later, sooner it all falls down
I see it every day I'm out
on the town
It's not my problem I don't interfere
Far as I'm concerned he's
still not here

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

35 : 5/15/98 : Go Away

They don't look like us
They don't act like us
They don't have respect
They look back at us
They don't dress like us
They don't talk like us
They don't live like us
They don't walk like us

They don't...

Why don't they make them go away
Cause all the problems anyway
They're standin' in front of our bright new day
Wouldn't it all be better if they all just went away...

They don't...

We the people
In order to form a more perfect union
We the people
In order to form a more perfect union
We the people
In order to form a more perfect union

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

34 : 5/14/98 : The Wind (Imitations of a Divine Parody #3)

When the wind rose up in
The valley of bones
Then the wind rose up
And rattled those bones

And a voice said mortal man
D'you think I'm gonna set these dry bones free
And I said back to that voice
I said ah You know that not me

And then the wind rose
And the wind that's what I feel
And when the wind rose
I said oh lord I know that's real

And the bones rose up with a rattling sound
And the wind rose up and it shook the ground
And I said oh lord that's a fearsome wind
And I said oh Lord make those dry bones spin

And the wind rose up in
The valley of bones
And the Lord said watch those bones live boy
The Lord said nothin's set in stone
And the Lord said now it's your turn boy

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

33 : 5/13/98 : Shiloh

At Shiloh The Spirit came down
At Shiloh the spirit came down
At Shiloh the spirit came down
and they were filled with the power of the lord...

Heaven and all its dominions and thrones
Heaven and all its dominions and thrones
Heaven and all its dominions and thrones
Hang on to your alters and your holy stones

What was the word the apostles did say
What was the word the apostles did say
What was the word the apostles did say
Nearer my God to thee in every way

All of the princes and powers of this earth
All of the princes and powers of this earth
All of the princes and powers of this earth
Hang on to their money for what their life's worth

The waves will rise up and the columns crash down
The waves will rise up and the columns crash down
The waves will rise up and the columns crash down
The heavens will shake with an unearthly sound

Heaven and all its dominions and thrones
Heaven and all its dominions and thrones
Heaven and all its dominions and thrones
Hang on to your altars and your holy stones

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

32 : 5/12/98 : Prodigal (Imitations of a Divine Parody #2)

And I feel... I feel...
Like I've been here before
I am a prodigal son
Never meant to hurt anyone

And it seems... it seems...
That I've seen this scene before
just another wandering jew
I am so lost... without you

And this dream... this dream...
Is the dream I dreamed before
some old sailor lost out at sea
Just the wind my albatross and me

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

31 : 5/11/98 : Bandolier

Got seven silver bullets in my bandolier
Gotta get these sons of bitches right out of here
Got seven silver bullets in my bandolier
Gotta get these sons of bitches right out of here

One wolf's a raver he kills for kicks
He'll buy a silver bullet 'cross the river styx

One wolf kills to keep his belly filled
I'll cure his achin' with a silver pill

One wolf's lazy, only kills the weak
No need to say a word I'll let my silver speak

One wolf loves to take the little girls
He'll see a streak of silver through his golden curls

One sees beauty in his deadly form
Silver for him and then him for the worms

One wolf kills to get what he can't keep
Doctor silver come to put that dog to sleep

One wolf kills and kills all he can
I'll reach out and strike him with my silver hand

I'll reach out and strike him with my silver hand
I'll reach out and strike him with my silver hand

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

30 : 5/10/98 : Kingdom Come (Imitations of a Divine Parody #1)

Say mama How I come to be
say my daddy cast a line
pull me outta the sea
said Daddy how you make that sum
say one and one and
one equals Kingdom Come

Oh Kingdom Come
Oh Kingdom Come
Oh Kingdom Come

Say Mama how do I become a man?
She say you can't do nothin'
But ah clap your hands

Said Daddy if I lose all hands but one?
said listen to the sound of Kingdom Come

Oh Kingdom Come
Oh Kingdom Come
Oh Kingdom Come

Oh Kingdom Come
Oh Kingdom Come
Oh Kingdom Come

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

29 : 5/9/98 : The Sad True Story of the Girl Who Could Not Sleep

I suppose she's still out there
somewhere
Counting the hours she cannot
keep
No one seems to know
About her
The sad true story of the Girl
who could not sleep
Who will testify
who will justify
who could satisfy the need
that keeps her
up?

I suppose it all started
innocently
It's so hard not to steal a few extra
hours
From the nights that pass softly
gently
One day I suppose it simply crept up
The dawn's early light

Who could see it come
Who could keep the sun
Who knew that some thing would
happen leaving her
up?

I suppose that she's awake
right now
Living the sad true story of the
Girl who could not sleep
It's crazy what this world
will allow
To exist; It's crazy when you finally see how steep

a price you'll pay
To wish away
The hours that prey
on all
The fragments
The memories
The incredible true
sad story of the girl
who could not sleep

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

28 : 5/8/98 : Night and the Revolution

Put it to you simply:
Your priority... is
Sowing the seeds of dissent

In every night
Talk until we see the light
Till we pull down what heaven sent

Nothing stronger than ideas
When our flag flies they'll see us
I believe in kingdom come

I believe in the strength of our arts
If we choose to play our true parts
In the heart of night and the revolution

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

27 : 5/7/98 : Ease

That rock you push
that stone you roll
Is what you choose
Your path your toll

And so I choose
To take my ease
Relax my hold
Do as I please

(Easy money
Now
No More
workin' Jive Jobs
For chump change
It's all easy money now)

The roles I've chased
And parts I've played
I've held my corner
I have obeyed

To Caesar, Caesar's due
My shoulder to the plow
I've met my obligation
It's all easy money now

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

26 : 5/6/98 : Better Late Than Never

Look across the distance we create
by inattention and
The distraction of the
daily portion

My eyes are clouded with misery
And screwed up against the sun
Is it too late
Is it too late
Is it too late
to call you out into the
sun

Better late than never
Better late than never, right?
Better late than never

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

25 : 5/5/98 : WaterBreather

Well yeah now I saw it in that
moment
And made my only choice
It's so nice to have one choice

Ooh finally I'll give it up
I'll open up my arms and
let it go and let it slip away
oh just this moment just this day

And just this fall
into the water
falling falling in the water
open up my eyes wide open
open wide my mouth and
Breath
Breath
I am
a
Waterbreather
Now to see
This
other
Angle

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

24 : 5/4/98 : Dream

I must be insane
I must be insane
Talking myself in circles again
What's its use, all the wandering
The poring and the pondering
That I put myself through?

I'm crazy for a dream
I'm crazy for a dream
Some thing that I've never had or seen
All the thoughts I knew I had to bring
but never could recall to you.

Maybe it will finally come tonight
Maybe it will finally come tonight
The message of the fiery scroll
Some sign I've finally paid my toll
That I'll finally make it through

Oh I've seen so many mornings come
I've seen so many mornings come
And dreams that slip and fade away
Maybe that's why they're made that way
Maybe it's enough just making it through

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

23 : 5/3/98 : If It All Went To Hell

If it all went to hell when the
burning sky fell
It might be just as well
It might be just as well

If we all went insane
Due to all the toxic rain
It might balance all the pain
It might balance all the pain

If we rush scream and run
When the aliens come
Would we see another sun
Would we see another sun?

If it all went to hell
It might be just as well
Who can say, who could tell
Who could say, who can tell?

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

22 : 5/2/98 : Long Slow March

There's a certain way dust rises
on this trail
At the end of a long day
At the end of a long hard day
They never tell you of the boredom
Of valor turning stale
On the long slow march
To hold the enemy at bay
Here we all are
on the long slow march
To an uncertain end
The millions marching
Into an uncertain
valley

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

21 : 5/1/98 : Mayday

Oh no you don't
get away that easily
anymore

Forgetting isn't an excuse
anymore
That's no excuse
Anymore
This is too important
It's always some emergency
to you
Well
This Is An Emergency
If you are not as alive as
you can be right now, then
this is an emergency
Don't you dare tell me
I could ever buy her love
Don't you ever tell me I could
buy, buy happiness

Who doesn't know better?
Who doesn't know better than that?
Yet they tell us every day
Why do they tell us every day?
This is an emergency
This is May Day

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

20 : 4/30/98 : Jerusalem

Look the bright and shining walls
Look the tall and winding halls
Look the temple and the spires
Listen to the harps and lyres

Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Look there's blood on every corner
Babylon I tried to warn her
Look the rising rising tide
Such a waste such a beauty such a bride

Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Tried to warn her but it would not take
Will I ever live to see her wake
Listen to my pretty song
Look for her will she always be gone

Jerusalem
Jerusalem

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

19 : 4/29/98 : Swollen Glands

Swollen glands, swollen glans
won't you let go your hold on me
some days you leave me pale and wan
and others strong and happy

The little glisten you exude
bears so strongly on my attitude
Oh when I brush you with my fingertips
I dream of magic lands and sailing ships

Swollen glands oh swollen glans
I treat you oh so tenderly
I cover you with T.L.C.
You tell me what I want to be

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

18 : 4/28/98 : Piano Tuner’s Song

I play, not all that well
better than most, I suppose
But then I know better than most
just how well it can be played

But I love pianos so
I love my job I love
making the strings true
making the strings ring true

Everyone becomes quiet when
the piano tuner starts to work
with his small tools and fork
bending the notes to true

I feel so peaceful as
I'm tuning my pianos
Listening, pulling out the true
the true notes, the pure tones

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

17 : 4/27/98 : The Inspector

Somewhere in the grey grid of some disappointing suburb
Automatic sprinklers click dim lights begin to play
He shrugs into a rain grey raincoat as he locks a small grey house
The Inspector has begun another busy day

Watches as he goes and runs his fingers 'cross the railing
Sifts the dust and slowly walks away
Lights a cigarette and rubs the deep groove down between his eyes
The Inspector coughs and looks off, far away

Apprehension lurks in calm grey searching eyes
Which close as he sends out his mind into his land
Of motive and elusion the perpetrator's intellect
The Inspector never stops until the man is in his hand

In some absurd parody of some bright claustrophobic room
The throat clears, a flat voice asks the question once again
from a shadow hanging motionless behind a blinding light
The Inspector is the undisputed master of his game

He'll file that twist of dust away in some grey cabinet
Nothing's ever misplaced in his dessicated room
And as it were he sidesteps right outside of existence
The Inspector files himself away in dusks encroaching gloom

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

16 : 4/26/98 : Underground Man

Underground man I
know I'll never reach you
In your web of intellect and self
I doubt that I could teach you

What will I do now?
Everybody asks what do I
do now? As if I knew
“What is true?” I
Don't know how to reach you
underground

This thing you call spite
you hold it up your defiance
Your sins seem so small to me
Your spirit not so far from alliance

I suppose it's
a cautionary note
Out up from
Underground you wrote
trying to reach me
Underground...

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

15 : 4/25/98 : Manual Transmission

Illuminated manuscripts
Abandoned flames and favorite ships
cashing bogus checks and scripts
For manual transmission

Broken watchsprings tarnished coins
cracked gaskets rings and dirty points
So roll the universal joints
For manual transmission

We just cannot let this thing
go on running itself this way
We've got to switch our play
To manual transmission
of the message, mission, vision

Chop it through two three four five
Master the dance and teach the hive
Dead or dying still alive
For manual transmission

The answer could be on the shelves
Those books aren't gonna read themselves
what fever raised desire quells
For manual transmission

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

14 : 4/24/98 : Valedictory

Well this day seems to find us all together
Sitting in a waiting room standing in the line
Well when the day is done when it's all said and done
A handshake a certificate to pay us for our time

Shall I address the crowd point them to the next life
Stand up and make a showing for my race
Do I have something fine to make us feel uplifted
Do I have hard words that will put us in our place

Past history
Waiting for the mystery
This is my victory
this is my valedictory

I seem to need to clear my throat more than usual
can't seem to pry my eyes open to face the hall
Well I imagine it's all something I imagined anyway
Well I imagine I'm just talking to the wall

We'll all open our eyes at the same time
by and by we'll all be blinded by the light
Yes we'll all wake up facing our own halls
To see a thing unthought of such a sight

Our history
We always lived the mystery
We'll find our victory
This is our valedictory

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

13 : 4/23/98 : Coriolis

Swish sway move away
trance dance make amends
ebb and flow, shift and grow
coriolis dance unfolds us

Sins repented slightly dented
halos glimmered salt seas shimmered
round about and down the spout
Mixmatch mismatch strike a slim match

Oh vanity she says to me
Resist the flow swim past the hole
Invoke the sky ask heaven why
It always pulls the pins
and spins us widdershins

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

12 : 4/22/98 : Gumball (One Fine Day Revisited)

Half past the eleventh hour
was time always so narrow
Halfway to the point of power
So slips by time's swift arrow

Another witchy moment looms
another night spent in the tombs
of silent thoughts and empty rooms
a man will reap what he exhumes

One fine day
the phone is gonna ring
And someone will say just one word
that changes everything

Halfway round the rutted loop
The earth's old cycle spent
My god the depths to which I'll stoop
My god the way the path has bent

And pacing through the slow decline
A slump that settles in my spine
Oh could I ever make it mine
The way the fleeting moments shine

One fine day
The phone is gonna ring
And someone will say just one word
That changes everything

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

11 : 4/21/98 : Light, Water, Circles, Silence

Light, water, circles, silence
In the circle of the setting sun
Transfixed transfigured crucified
on light water circles silence

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

10 : 4/20/98 : Positronic

Overdriven relays flipping open like a flash flood
Tube driven mercury boiling in the place of blood
Phosphor dot glowing hot steaming like a waterfall
Ten percent heaven sent who said you can't have it all

Positronic positive one hundred percent mind
Make a sharper synapse with a gentle dose of kind
Pixilated overrated sleeping in a flower bed
Every laugh's a lepton and I only need a larger head

White bright dendrite curling open like a stigma
White night so far so bright so much like an enigma
Just a humble mind expanding faster than a star's collapse
Superstring fast expanding alabaster synapse

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

9 : 4/19/98 : Small Sad Song

I try not to talk about
myself so much as before
What use are my feelings
to you anymore

But time is a cruel reminder
of everything we fail at
sometimes I find I run out
of wider issues to rail at

Leaving me always me
with my small sad song
Just the night and my thoughts
and I don't have long

To redeem myself
somehow it seems I left myself
somewhere when I wasn't looking
collecting dust on some dark shelf...

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

8 : 4/18/98 : Vicious Cycles Revisited

Vicious Cycle vicious cycle
where are you leading me?
Down the same old path again

If I can't be a man
who can?
And the world and all
its same old vicious
cycles
Will just go down the
same old path
again

Is this destiny,
Is this God's will,
Is this anything special,
is this entropy,
is this
Incontrovertible
Are we all
spinning out along
these
vicious
cycles?

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

7 : 4/17/98 : Morality

Despite my better judgment
and the dictates of my culture
Despite the deep complexities
of living in the modern age
I am still a man
who finds value in a state of being
I call honor
I still find value in a quality
That I see as integrity
I hold a structure of beliefs
I call morality
In a word
I am old-fashioned
I have a fifty seven year old
hammer in my hand
Drives a nail straight and true
I have a fifty seven year old
hammer in my hand
I am a man
I am a man
I am a man a man a
man a man a man

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

6 : 4/16/98 : Clone Baby

When they clone the first supermodel
I'll be the one who won't be surprised
Neoformalism has its place on the runway
Sech long long beautiful thighs

Ooh clone baby
You sech a, you sech a beautiful girl
Ooh clone sistah
You're my crystalline pearl

So fresh so new each one a miracle of science
Keep a few on ice just in case
Wouldn't it be nice to have just one more Marilyn
There's nobody that can't be replaced

Ooh when I shake you clone lover
You shower me in earthly delights
Sech a sweet clone sistah
Every night I see the Northern Light

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

5 : 4/15/98 : Men Without Style

(“What is Fashion?... It is usually a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months” - Oscar Wilde)

We're wear wear wearing
our coats of many colors
with the black side out
So as not to raise a shout

We keep our colors
Up against our skins
we don't reveal our intention
And we pass you without mention

What you call fashion
One more circuit to drain your energy
We are men without style
Without encumbrance almost relatively free

You won't forget the day when
we reverse our tactics
When we let our colors fly
And raise our ragged battle cry

The men without style have landed
We are among you...
We are among you...

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

4 : 4/14/98 : Unfortunate Man

Heaven help this unfortunate man
he can't help always staring ahead
Heaven help us what a mess we have made
Heaven help whoever has to sleep in this bed

(Unfortunate man)
And it's an unfortunate man
(Unfortunate man)
Who gets handed the crystal ball
(Unfortunate man)
It's an unfortunate man
(Unfortunate man)
Who has to gaze into the crystal ball

Oh Mr. Executive Suite would
Love to get a piece of his sweet augury
Oh that religious brother
Likes to be just little more prepared than me

(Unfortunate man)
Nobody wants what they need
(Unfortunate man)
No, nobody ever wants what they need need need
(Unfortunate Man)
Except the unfortunate man

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

3 : 4/13/98 : The Many and the Few

The same old tired algebra
the have’s and the have-not’s
the lax and the enlightened
the hardened and the soft

the nature of the world it’s said
the many and the few
the many who don’t have enough
so few of us that do

Beggars on foot beggars on horseback
the quickened and the dead
the princes and the powerless
blind leaders, the blind led

The many and the few
the many and the few
so many do not have enough
so few of us that do

The many and the few
the me’s and all the you’s
the same old tired algebra
I guess it’s what we choose

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

2 : 4/12/98 : The Center

I looked up and saw the lathe of heaven spinning in the sky
I looked down and saw my feet three inches past the edge of night
Far out past the furthest reach of distances the mind can hold
No push no pull no dark no light no weight no heat no cold

And the Center will not hold tonight
And I cannot be bold tonight
The center will not hold out any longer
And it's cold out but I'm stronger
Than I've ever been before

I looked back behind and saw that time is just a filing case
I looked in the mirror and saw the same old unfamiliar face
Resemblance is uncanny but I'm not a man who knows his place
The center is unearthly and it vanishes without a trace

And the lathe is spinning past control
And I am just another troll
Three billygoats won't pay the toll on this bridge
Always leaping for the next ridge
Always something past the known

It makes so little sense to ponder distances far past the point
where distance loses meaning where extension's just another joint
But if I cannot fix the spindle where it all is hinged and hung
And if the center will not hold how will I know my song is sung

The Center cannot hold tonight
And I cannot be bold tonight
The center cannot hold against a tide of flux
A thousand reaching minds in flux
All shaping something stranger than before

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

1 : 4/11/98 : Huntress Moon

It seems it seems I left too soon
I’m howling at a huntress moon - Diana,
Diana

and all I left behind stalks me
Demeter’s unstrung bow mocks me - Diana,
Diana

Will I meet you underneath a huntress moon
would you free me underneath a huntress moon

I dance in darkness like a fool
I only want to be your tool - Diana,
Diana

I forced your hand by being weak
the moon the moon the moon so bleak - Diana,
Diana

Will I meet you underneath a huntress moon
would you free me underneath a huntress moon

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

Let's begin again

Newcomers might prefer to read the briefer, friendlier introduction to Songs of Days, located here.

(revised 9/20/11 - archive of original introductions and explanations here - visit here to support)

Songs of Days Project 1 were posted from July 18, 2006 through January 5, 2011

The Interim Project songs were posted from January 7, 2011 through May 3, 2011

Songs of Days Project 2 are being posted now: posting began on May 4, 2011 and will continue until September 18, 2038, or until I falter, or perish. Whichever comes first.

Songs of Days Project 1
Between April 11, 1998 and January 5, 2001 I wrote 1,001 lyrics over the course of 1,001 consecutive days. My goal was to write a song each day. Some days I missed: these songs had to be written later to catch up. The majority of songs were written on the day for which they were assigned. I posted these songs in the order I wrote them. Most of these songs were posted exactly ten years after they were written. Each post title includes the numerical order of the song and the date for which it was written.

The Interim Project
I began posting the second Songs of Days project lyrics on the 6th anniversary of their composition. This left a few months gap after I'd finished posting the first project's songs. In between I posted other lyrics I'd written outside of the daily projects. Further explanation of the interim lyrics can be found here.

Songs of Days Project 2
Following a hiatus of over four years from daily songwriting and for the most part from writing lyrics altogether, On May 4, 2005 I started the second song of the day project with a goal of writing 10,000 consecutive songs. This work is ongoing. As with the posting of the first project, post titles for these songs include the numerical order of the song and the date for which it was written: to distinguish these songs from the first project, for the second project song number "n" is noted as 2.n (2.1, 2.2, 2.3, etc.).

On most Mondays I post a short graphical status report on my current songwriting project that looks like this:

926 : 1 ?



Explanation


: These Icons indicate if I'm running a song backlog and if so how much (see key below)



926: Number of songs written in the current project

Note that I discovered in early March 2010 that I'd made a number of errors in the song count throughout the writing of these songs, so the all the figures for numbers of songs written that I posted prior to January 25, 2010 are off slightly. A longer explanation can be found here.

1: Most recent number of songs written consecutively without missing a day (resets to zero whenever I fail to write a song on its assigned day. My current record for continuity is in the low one hundreds)

?: links to this explanation.

Icon Guide


Songs are current. There is no backlog of work to do.



Songs are less than a week behind schedule.



Songs are between one week and a month behind schedule.



Songs are between a month and three months behind schedule.



Songs are more than three months behind schedule.