Saturday, April 30, 2011

The Lepton Lyrics 10: Kaligula

Bring me the moon
bring me the moon
hook it up, pull it down
make it soon

Bring me the moon
bring me the moon
hook it up, pull it down
make it soon

Hey, Kaligula
does it have to be so much?
Maybe the Buddha could
Ah get you off that desire crutch

Bring me the moon
bring me the moon
meantime bring my sister
to my room

Hey, Kaligula
does it have to be so by the book
all suffering’s desire
climb down off that existential hook

I’ll wade in blood
I’ll nail your wife
here comes the golden platter
help yourself to a knife

It’s necessary
I’ve measured twice
I’ve checked out all my options
this can’t be nice

do what you have to
that path’s not mine
I’ve got to call ‘em like I see ‘em that vinegar
does not taste like wine

I have such good friends
but watch me dive
good friends is it working
I still seem to be alive

Bring me the moon

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

The Lepton Lyrics 9: Show

How’d I end so far from my home
in fields of verdant green
and missing all the friends who died
before I made this scene?

How’d I end so far below
the shelter of blue sky
and missing all the loves who will
appear after I die?

Show me how to hold you
show me what to do
missed so much I cannot stand the thought
the thought of missing
you

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

Friday, April 29, 2011

The Lepton Lyrics 8: Simple Song

And when it’s all said and done
we’ll have left no traces lying on the ground
We’re going to where we always knew we’d be
I only ever asked you come along with me

A simple song won’t make it all okay
there’s still all of the things that went away
and I can’t truly say if anything gets saved
still I cannot deny that I would never trade
Anything for what I’ve had and lost

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

The Lepton Lyrics 7: Three

What could make a man of me?
Listen, Lovely, one, two, three
You and I and what’s to be
You and I and what’s to be

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

Thursday, April 28, 2011

The Lepton Lyrics 6: America

Isn’t it something that we can still
bury our heads in the sand so far?
Isn’t it something that we can still
claim that we really know where we are?

Isn’t it something that we can still
bury our heads in the sand so far?
Isn’t it something that we can still
claim that we really know where we are?

And I know...what I don’t know
Hey that’s a lot further than the
than the people who run things will go

And I know...ten white horses in a row
don’t make a thing that isn’t so
don’t make a thing that isn’t so

Passing the scene in America
are we an empire that’s seen her day?
watching the screen in America
maybe high time that we slipaway

Passing the scene in America
are we an empire that’s seen her day?
watching the screen in America
maybe high time that we slipaway

And I know...it’s all a stupid game
pass the buck and shaft the masses
change the channel free from shame
And I know, I know I’m not to blame
alla this was going on
long before I knew my own name

Watching the sun...Set on America

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

The Lepton Lyrics 5: Dr. Jesus

Not content but I played a part
I never finished the things I’d start
I stood and turned my head, I would not
look to watch which way the wind blows

I honed my expectations too fine
I took my stand on a razor’s line
does it surprise me it took so little
to turn me upside down? Oh, no

Fair is foul
and bitter, sweet
an absinthe idol
with clay feet
passed it by...
A little here, a little there

So here’s a riddle a children’s rhyme
can there be a thing out of time
past the point of no return
can a dream be heard receding

Dr. Jesus would only laugh
at all the hairs that I split in half
I’ve done my time but in the end
we’ll see who’s done the bleeding

Life is long
and art is hard
and I can only
turn the cards
Over and over...
See there’s nothing in my hands

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

The Lepton Lyrics 4: Scapegoat

Tears drop from end of a steel rail
fierce chop and chasing the tiger’s tail
golden disks over silver eyes
old tin roofs under chromic skies

world...
of...
tomorrow...
today

Raindrops leak around golden disks
rain stops leaving a pale mist
past tense and a future perfect come
nonsense words slipping past my tongue

world...
of...
tomorrow...
today

Who ya gonna blame for your sins?
Who ya gonna make your scapegoat?
Who ya gonna blame for your sins?
Who ya gonna make your scapegoat?

blame it on...
blame it on...
blame it on the world
of tomorrow, today

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

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Lepton Lyrics 3: Prairie Schooner

I was walking in the fields today
Idle hours spent in a summer haze
pass the time to trace the rhyme of me
pass the time to trace the rhyme of me

purest gems of oceans chasms deep
hours I spend away in peaceful sleep
trace the rhyme a notion’s chime clear calling
trace the rhyme a notion’s chime clear calling

flower of the day enchanting and
whispering a breath of sea and sand
notion’s bell of truth’s clear spell in dreaming
notion’s bell of truth’s clear spell in dreaming

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

The Lepton Lyrics 2: Cypress

I am plotting a geometry
the vectors trace eternity
and I am not the man you thought I was

I am kinder than I used to be
and stronger than a cypress tree
I’m breathing fourteen different shades of love

A slim spike slips through December’s frost
I dream of being not so lost
a time before the time after I fell

And I dreamed I found the path again
the labyrinth come to its end
I dreamed that I was staring in the well

Dawn comes and still deep inside
the carnal crimson depths of dreamstide
wrapped in sleep away from cold December

And I woke to mirrored in grey skies
A deadness I felt in my eyes
did you dream? she said I said I don’t remember

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

Monday, April 25, 2011

The Lepton Lyrics 1: Falling Toward Apotheosis

2,082 : 5 ?



And was I like an etherized patient on the slab?
And was it a poem or a dream?
When I felt myself falling toward apotheosis...

That was when I knew they had injected something into me
to transform me into something I was never meant to be
I am not a deity - just a little man you see
humble plain no pride in me
only ever wanted to be
only what I am you see
strange it seems, a mystery
I was happy just as me

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

Friday, April 22, 2011

Interim, last leg: enigma of the Tao Lepton

So much for the Two Track Mind Era, and I'm a little bit surprised to discover that the interim is nearly at its end.

In fact I can see now that I won't be getting through even a third of the final installment of my off-project writings, the lyrics I wrote primarily for the long-defunct Tao Lepton, a...

Well, what was the Tao Lepton? I'm at odds with myself, to be honest, over how much I want to try to explain it. A collaboration, a band, a series of recordings, a years-long attenuated jam session. At times an aspiration. It seems long ago and far away to me now. It meant something, at the time, but I have found it difficult to fit what that might have been into my here and now. If you come over some time I'll play you a tape, you can hear for yourself. Anyway you'll get a taste of the lyrics for the next week and a half before we return to our usual schedule of a song of the day, every day.

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

The Two Track Mind Era 27: Poison

Picture a trash can or fireplace in your mind
wrap up the rotten evil things and throw them all inside
feel better for a moment free of what you left behind
but don’t forget that all of it is all just in your mind
Poison
Poison
Skull and bones
don’t touch that
don’t taste that
leave the poison pill alone
was there really a time
when I got to decide?
I’ve already swallowed it
It’s already inside
Picture a good place
far away far
picture yourself
in a fast-moving car
Look up at the night sky
and wish on a star
The star, the good place in your mind
still where you really are
Poison
Poison
Skull and bones
don’t touch that
don’t taste that
leave the poison pill alone
was there really a time
when I got to decide?
I’ve already swallowed it
It’s already inside
Inside along with star and car
the good place and the trash
There is the deepest darkest pit
a cataclysmic gash
One day not so long ago
when I was feeling rash
I threw the pill into it
I’m still waiting for the splash
Poison
Poison
Skull and bones
don’t touch that
don’t taste that
leave the poison pill alone
was there really a time
when I got to decide?
I’ve already swallowed it
It’s already inside

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

Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Two Track Mind Era 26: Bitter Song

A letter a postcard
a voice on my machine
you said that you still love me
but I don’t know what that means
you treat me like some distant friend
don’t think that I’ve forgotten our
bitter, bitter end
Bitter song
bitter song
this time the bitterness
it lasts too long
I don’t seem to be recovering
I don’t want you back
but I’d still like to see you suffering
Bitter song
bitter song
this time the bitterness
it lasts too long
I don’t seem to be recovering
I don’t want you back
but I’d still like to see you suffering
Maybe you don’t remember
telling me
that the way I see the world
makes me unfit for your company
but I’ve forgotten nothing
I’ve got every word you said
on a tape that runs a stupid loop
around my spinning head
Bitter song
bitter song
this time the bitterness
it lasts too long
I don’t seem to be recovering
I don’t want you back
but I’d still like to see you suffering
Bitter song
bitter song
this time the bitterness
it lasts too long
I don’t seem to be recovering
I don’t want you back
but I’d still like to see you suffering

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

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The Two Track Mind Era 25: Tracemaker

Tracemaker,
tracemaker,
escalator to the stars
it’s all done with mirrors and magnets
these days
And all your fame
is just a trace
a fine white track across
the cloud chamber

Outside the planetarium
he’s still out there somewhere
a trace and transformation
on a twist of cellophane and
rusted silver

Tracemaker
escalator
make me a trace

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

Monday, April 18, 2011

The Two Track Mind Era 24: Your New Friends

2,075 : 5 ?


I dreamed you made a fool of me the other night
and showed me up in front of all your new friends
And though I’d never tell you how you ought to live your life
I won’t pretend that I can stand the new crowd that you’ve fallen in

But though you look so handsome in your darkest shade of blue
I will not be surprised at all to see them walk all over you
They might question what you most believe
They might pluck that bleeding heart right off your sleeve
they might just hit you, and leave
they might just hit you and leave

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

Thursday, April 14, 2011

The Two Track Mind Era 23: Philosopher’s Stone

Make me
Coarse to fine
make me
water into wine
make me
base lead to gold
make me
shining new from old

A flash of jet in royal water
make me stone
make me stone’s father

Put me
time back into joint
push me
past a further point
trust me
make my motives clear
true stone
makes itself appear

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

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Two Track Mind Era 22: Will O’ the Wisp



My heart’s will
My heart’s whim
Will o’ the wisp done led me astray again
My blood’s ebb
My blood’s flow
Follow my light to an end that I may know
I don’t judge
I don’t fear
Content to know that things are not what they appear
Learned patience
Learned pain
I learned my lesson, that’s just the kind of man I am

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

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Two Track Mind Era 21: Pure Hokum

You said that you had gotten
a new brooch
but I knew better than that
I knew better than that
I said that’s no brooch
That’s a small indigenous chameleon
A small indigenous chameleon

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

Monday, April 11, 2011

The Two Track Mind Era 20: Video Mail!



2,069 : 16 ?


Video mail, video mail
why did you send me the video mail?

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

Friday, April 08, 2011

The Two Track Mind Era 19: Time is Just Another Word for Nowhere



In the middle of nowhere
In the middle of time
Time is just another word for nowhere

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

Thursday, April 07, 2011

The Two Track Mind Era 18: Need

You
You need
Do you need to
Do you need too
To need you need to need to
to need
To you need to need
to need too
I need you
I need to
I need to need too
I need to need too
I need to need to need too
I need you to need too
I need to I need to
You need to need to need too
To need you need
to
To need you need to need too

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

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

The Two Track Mind Era 17: Samson

This song contains uncouth and profane lyrics



Hey Samson, what you doing ‘round
Growing out my hair I’m gonna pull the fucking temple down
Hey Samson, what you doing ‘round
Growing out my hair I’m gonna pull the fucking temple down
Hey Samson, what you doing ‘round
Pulling out my hair I’m gonna pull that fucking temple down
Hey Samson, what you doing ‘round
I’m growing out my hair I’m gonna pull the fucking temple down
This world you made
is not worth shit
And I don’t care
If I go down with it

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

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

The Two Track Mind Era 16: The Thing In the Jar

The memories shift uneasily sometimes
in their jar of chloroform where I tried to preserve them
tried to kill their potency their ability to poison my thoughts
without putting myself to sleep in the process
The dreams I pulverized in a pestle
with sweet spirits of nitre tears and some blood
but the potion didn’t take
and when I drank it it made my throat hurt
What I really need is some Waters of Nepenthe
but I ran out last Thursday
and the chemist told me that the plant was struck by lightning
go figure
I went to try the drugstore on Division Street
But it had been taken over by holistic nutritionists
they told me they didn’t believe in Nepenthe
and I should quit smoking and start homeopathic therapy
they wanted to analyze my hair and fingernail parings
but by then I was fed up
and told them both my hair and fingernails would grow after I was dead
and they could have some then
I didn’t light up until I left the store
I had been rude enough
and I guess they meant well
Sometimes I think I catch what’s in the jar moving
but when I look it’s always just
turning harmlessly in the fluid
which has inexplicably darkened to near opacity
Maybe that’s what disturbs me
Even if I hold it up to the strongest light
I can’t see what’s in the jar anymore
Usually when I do this it becomes even more indistinct
the fluid has acquired some rather odd refractory properties
I seem to remember it as being clear
Sometimes when I catch it out of the corner of my eye
in a flash it seems grotesque and horrible
but it always looks the same when I examine it
I seem to remember it as being very pretty
At least I thought it was pretty
I wish I had drawn a picture of it
when it was more clear
but I thought that it would last forever
then

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

Monday, April 04, 2011

The Two Track Mind Era 15: I Will Always Love You



2,061 : 9 ?


And I love to listen to music with you
And I love to walk by the lake with you
I’d love to dance by candlelight with you
And I love those moonlight strolls with you

And I will always love you
And you will always love me
And we will always love each other

And I love the fairy tales with you
And I love romantic dinners with you
And I love those shooting stars with you
And I love traveling with you

And I will always love you
And you will always love me

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

Friday, April 01, 2011

The Two Track Mind Era 14: Cool



You're so cool

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