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