251 : 12/17/98 : Hold

You put me on hold again
there oughta be a law
It shouldn’t be allowed
A Human Being Deserves Some Dignity
You think I’ve got my whole life to wait
Well that ain’t so
I’ve got as little time as any other soul
I can’t believe you put me on hold again
I can’t believe you care so little for me
You only think of your own gain
You care so little for my pain
Damn you, Damn you for putting me on hold again

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

250 : 12/16/98 : Strike the Gong

1,045 : 2 ?


When you hear me strike the gong
then you’ll know I’ll soon be gone
when the hour is come again
You’ll find I am no less a man
if the path you took is dark
At least you’ll know you left a mark
If there is nothing but illusion
Pray do not add to my confusion
Perils to the left and right
isn’t it a strange and sordid sight
Past all of that and out beyond
I’ll swim into the bigger pond

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

249 : 12/15/98 : Counterweights

Someday when I find my home
I’ll build a tower for a windmill
I’ll build a little gazebo
a hundred feet in the air
And when the sun is setting I will
know exactly where to go
I’ll go right up there
Watch the sky watch the clouds roam
There’ll be an elevator run on counterweights
I’ll build a swing built for two
If you’ll go up there with me
We’ll go up and watch the sunrise
With a cup of coffee me and you
We’ll listen to the wind lying in the lee
And let the world recede in size
He is lost, who hesitates

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

248 : 12/14/98 : My Secret Name

1,037 : 3 ?


I believe in the Father
I believe in the Son
I believe in the three and the two and the one
I believe in myself
I believe in you
I believe that the Word that was spoken was true
But I don’t believe in fortune
I don’t believe in fame
The only thing I own is my secret name

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

247 : 12/13/98 : Go Forth

I wouldn’t lie if you asked me
I’d be the first to admit
That the hope that I have
Seems a little far-fetched
But I can’t seem to help it
It’s the way that I’m wired
I rest with it when the evening comes
I work with it when I’m hired
And I guess that it bugs me
to have so little to go on
And so many questions
I’ve been searching for answers so long
I will go forth surrounded
by all the travelers who join me on the road
Searching for the narrow gate
What a long strange row I’ve hoed

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

246 : 12/12/98 : Despair

It’s said the sickness unto
Death is called despair
They said it’s temporary
I know because I’ve been there
I would give a lot for fifteen
minutes of anonymity
The vectors of the possible
shrink to one in the face of infinity
Bad philosophy is
anybody’s game
But this feeling I’ve got
does not have a proper name

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

245 : 12/11/98 : Function Ghost

1,031 : 21 ?



My house of flesh is haunted by a function ghost
It plays the violin, I play the host
Form in its function the function in its form
I can’t live without it and I can’t stay warm
It’s about the size of an appleseed
It makes me worry and smoke too much weed
It makes me write but I don’t know why
I envy anyone the function ghost passes by
I’m trying to make peace with my function ghost
I’m trying to work when I’d rather coast
I’m trying to make it on my own terms
If that doesn’t work there’s always the function worms

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

244 : 12/10/98 : Thrall

Ghosts doppler in twilight
You don't know the half of what goes on
Gone but not forgotten
What do you expect to learn that they've known so long
Hound howl for water
Cats yowl for rain
and I've got a feeling
You'll lose what you gain
I haven't got a nickel
I'm happy as I am
I'm smarter than your average crab
I'm happy as a clam
The dogs bay at the setting sun
The cats pray to the moon
I do believe the hunt is on
not a minute too soon
Darkling in the moonlight
Watch me change my stripes
Watch me change before your eyes
Watch me blow my pipes
Crimson clean and gorgeous red
Crawling up the wall
Everything looks better when you're dead
Dappled in the twilight thrall

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

243 : 12/9/98 : Virtue Is Its Own Reward

No good deed goes unpunished
virtue is its own reward
I am not afraid anymore
In a world like this I’ll never get bored
I woke up with a taste in my mouth like rum
I remembered the feeling that I had
When my little boat was sucked into the maelstrom
I remember well it was very bad
And someday I’m going to die
I hope it’s not in some dismal hospital bed
But I guess what difference does it make
It’s all the same place when you’re dead
I guess it all comes down to a sense of style
A day is the longest thing there is
And a year is a long roll along a miracle mile
I guess the whole crazy world is part of the biz
I have become so very silent
I think I’ll practice being asleep
I guess I ought to consider my options
I’ve got a caution about the company I keep
You think one more line is gonna fix anything
You think you can prop it up another day
You think the same old lines are gonna set you reeling
I tell you a man ain’t nothing but clay

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

242 : 12/8/98 : Am I Fooling Myself?

Am I fooling myself?
To think that things work out
For the best all the time
And asked to explain what I’m about
I find I’m straining to reach the shelf
If I am I wish you’d tell me now
I think I have a right to know
I really wish I knew
why I’m always sad and blue
I wish I knew where to go
or who to call to tell me how
A man is meant to answer
The questions that defy us
That rattle round inside our skulls
The answer to this dread that pulls
and tries to crucify us
I’m just a singer and a dancer
Trying to make a living with my la di da
trying like every living thing
Pushing through to foregone conclusion
Hoping it’s not an illusion
Hoping I’m not fooling
Myself as I swing on my parabola

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

241 : 12/7/98 : Seven Lines

Seven lines strung taught in steel
six plus one inside of me
Strung too tight it’s all I feel
Tension and the wish to be free
One end’s pegged on what is real
Wound and winding humming slightly
Other end points to the center makes me kneel

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

240 : 12/6/98 : The Change

It wasn’t what was expected
it was something so strange
it wasn’t anything simple
this new thing, the change
it happened everywhere at once
everybody knew when it came
nobody was sure how to feel about it
nobody knew how to give it a name
the scales will tip the scales will tumble
the scales will fall down from your eyes
when the change is complete
no one understands it; everybody tries
Everything is always changing
everybody needs a little push
a bird in the hand is worth exactly
the same as a bird in the bush
And he’s counting every sparrow’s fall
of that you can be sure
when the change is reckoned
You will be counted if your heart is pure

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

239 : 12/5/98 : Revolution

The revolution will not come
when the computers crash
The revolution will not be
paid for with cash
The revolution will not arrive
riding on the millennium
You’ll all be surprised
At how the revolution will come
The spirit’s in the blood
that’s the fuel of revolution
so keep it in your veins friend
The dead won’t be part of the solution
There’s revolution every hour
We all get one once per day
Our blood ebbs and flows with the tide
And we ride this thing together
there isn’t any other way
the future is no one’s possession
no man holds time in his power
it’s just a thing we all reach at the same speed
sixty seconds every hour.

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

238 : 12/4/98 : Complications

Life is filled with complications
cul-de-sacs and limitations
Laying bets on shaky chance
Big Magnet guides our jerky dance
I get slayed by hesitations
second-guessing my creations
when the day is done
Trapped in orbit like the sun
I am filled with indignation
want a bigger daily ration
Guess you call that covetousness
But it’s simply restlessness
When I accept my situation
I’ll be fit to lead a nation
out of false economy
and finally to autonomy

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

regulary scheduled programming

Back to business, after briefly giving everything over to promotion of the album. But before going into a (I hope) long stretch of uninterrupted song posting, a little conversation.

I've had a little post-project depression with the release of the album. It's the culmination of an intentional process of archiving creative output of the last decade or so (mostly - some of it goes back as much as 20 years) that first surfaced with establishing the text archive over at (warning - prominent f-word alert) It's Rome, Baby!. It started out with just wanting to tame what had become a tangled mess of computer files, but over time I suppose it became a sort of protracted contemplation of what I've been about, artistically speaking, from a bit of a height.

And it ends with perhaps some inevitable let-down. I generally try to view the reward of what I'm doing as being intrinsic to the process and primarily in service of my own clarity. Writing and making music does something salutary for my brain, and it is for this benefit that I continue. Even so, after putting a significant amount of time into organizing and presenting these little exhibitions, there is small but vocal part of me saying holy hell, man, what in the world are you up to?

But vocal or not, it hasn't stopped me, so I guess, there you go.

I recently started the first really long conceptual series of the second songs of days project. It's based on the Tao Teh Ching, that curt and enigmatic book of ancient Chinese philosophy I've read so many times with little wisdom penetrating my brain, as far as I can tell. The writing goes easily, but I'm not sure how I feel about the product. As is usual with the songs, though, this is no reason to drop the concept - there are 81 sections in the Tao, I've been at it a few weeks, in a couple months it will be done, regardless.

I've been doing much better writing the songs on their assigned days, which is ever the fundamental and elusive goal of the project. I haven't fallen more than a song or two behind for a while. But I'm still tending to slip and miss a day at least every week or two, mainly on the weekends. Still don't quite have that continuity down.

Nevertheless, persist.

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

237 : 12/3/98 : Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

1,017 : 7 ?


I’m a great big man
I’ve got great big ideas
About the way the world should be run
About the way the truth can free us
You can see I’m sincere
You can see I’m well adjusted
You can see I’m a fine catch
You can see I can be trusted
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain
That little guy’s not important that’s for certain
I’ve got my finger on the pulse
I’m a visionary man
You can see I’m larger than life
You can see I’m special yes you can
My head’s a floating archetype
I’m a diamond in the rough
I’m a poet and a profit
And all kinds of special stuff
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain
With his crazy bells and whistles he looks so uncertain

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

allow me to re-introduce myself

Note March 26, 2010: The information below is no longer current. Watch my main page for current announcements on available recordings

Rebroadcast of the songs of days first project circa 1998 has been interrupted for the Fever'd! Announcement!! Of!!!

Only the Very Greatest Hits, a collection of my favorite recordings of my original music from the last 10 years, available for sale as a digital download. You can preview the whole album here, and here's a sample:

-=sample not available=-

Released in honor of the writing of the 2,000th song of the day project song, like a week ago. Only $1.35 for 29 MP3 tracks plus art and lyrics: it's a statement about overpricing in the digital marketplace! It's a fashion statement that will single you out as one of the new desiderati overclass!! It's nothing short of the bootstrap gospel! Why not buy it during the present?!

236 : 12/2/98 : Puzzlebox

You put all the good stuff in a puzzlebox
one man gathers what another mocks
And I’ll work it out you know I will
I’d figure it out if I could just stay still...
Rotate the top or make the corner slide
there’s a secret button on the side
I can look but You don’t let me touch
I could walk away if I could just find my crutch...
Someday I’ll work it and find a white stone
Etched with a secret name for me alone
I’ll put it under my tongue
Someday someday when I am no longer young

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

235 : 12/1/98 : Assault of the Die-Hard Land Crabs

Up out of the ocean out on land
No more slow evolution in dribs and drabs
Ain’t got no opposable thumb, ain’t got no hand
It’s the assault of the die-hard land crabs
The earth prepared a defense in advance
held for the moment of ultimate decay
nothing’s been left up to chance
This is the hour this is the day
In the fathomless caves of trenches deep
Terrible pressure in hollows no human eye has seen
Some fearsome armored thing is waking from it’s sleep
Some kind of horribly perfect killing machine
They’re die-hard, they’re not designed to stop
They've got a job and mean to do it
Watch them rising to the top
Watch them getting right down to it
Deep in the night while you’re peaceful drifting
Wondering what tomorrow will bring
Somewhere sunny they’re already sifting
through the debris of what’s left of our thing

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

234 : 11/30/98 : End of November

The end of November
The last thing I remember
I smoked a passion flower leaf just for kicks
I was thinking about my escape clause
when the night came to a serious pause
And that little trident leaf started to play tricks
I believed that everything was all right
I believed in an eternal right
I thought I had a sight of my objective
And all night long
I heard a little song
It said all you need is a change is a change your perspective
And all night through
I listened for you
And all the night I hummed and muttered
Perspective’s not that hard
I always thought I’d be a bard
But I know which side my bread is buttered...

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

233 : 11/29/98 : Thinking About the Last Thing I’ll Think About When I Go

995 : 3 ?


I wonder what the last idea
I’ll ever have will be
Will I be figuring it all out
When Mr. Reaper comes to me
As I fade away and fall
down the tunnel, to the light
Will I see the solution
Will my last belief be right
or will I be thinking about
something trivial and inane
Be glad you’re not in my head friend
this kind of thinking drives a man insane
I hope I’m not thinking about
the last thing I’ll think about
when I go,
when I go

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

232 : 11/28/98 : I Can’t Wait

I can’t save the world because I’m stupid weak and small
I can’t save myself because I do not know myself at all
I can’t save money because I can’t make enough
I can’t save this song from being sloppy short and rough
There’s no pleasure in writing for writing’s sake
There’s no pleasure in the chances you are forced to take
There’s no pleasure in being right if all is wrong
There’s no pleasure in a short and stupid song
I could take a chance and throw myself at fortune’s feet
I could take a long look at the people I meet
I could take advantage of them for my own gain
I could take pleasure in their pointless pain
I can’t keep at it but I can’t quite stop
I can’t keep my head on the block waiting for the chop
I can’t keep saying the same things over and over
I can’t wait until I’m pushing up clover

233 : 11/29/98 : Thinking About the Last You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

231 : 11/27/98 : The Hour Before

In the hour before the madness started
I reaffirmed myself to you
I swore that my love would be true
An hour before we were parted

In the hour before the torrent began
You promised me a tale
You showed me a glimpse beyond the vale
An hour before you and I and everybody ran

In the hour before the stars were falling
We tied a lovers’ knot
Exchanged a vow on this very spot
An hour before the universe came calling

The hour before the hour before
We didn’t have the slightest clue
Anyway we wouldn’t have known what to do
An hour later nothing made sense anymore

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

230 : 11/26/98 : A Simple No Would Suffice

I don’t mind it that you haven’t called in years
I don’t mind it that you don’t return my calls
I don’t mind being stranded boiling in my fears
I don’t mind being left to climb the walls
But the way you give me exactly what I don’t need
the way you kick me when I take your advice
the way you mock me even as I chant your creed
a simple no would suffice

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

229 : 11/25/98 : More on the Devil

The Devil has his tongue
shoved far up this world’s ass
The movable cannibal feast it’s all become
You take your fill I think I’ll pass
I can see the Devil has two fingers
poised above your eyes
It’s hard to believe but when he
blinds you it will come as a surprise
I don’t want to deal with you
any more you’re puppets
Following every blind lead
Falling when they yank the carpets
If I could just get away
from you for a moment
All your vicious energy would
effervesce away like the sea foam went

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

228 : 11/24/98 : Catastrophic Reasoning

989 : 1 ?


I keep waiting for the hammer to come down
I keep waiting for the snap
Catastrophic reasoning a mad king in a cocked crown
An unsubtle lure into a crude trap
Meanwhile I am shaped by hidden forces
Blind to the essential details I miss
All I hear is “well, of courses”
Drowning out my simple bliss
Who turns the crank of feast and famine
Who creates this tale of woe
The excuses are wearing thin
The sand in the hourglass is low

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

227 : 11/23/98 : The Worst Thing About the Devil

The worst thing about the devil
he hides in unexpected places
sneaking past the kitchen window
Leering out past familiar faces
The terrible thing about Satan
he never ever rests
He’s got a hankering for your soul
He’s got a goal for the time he invests
The real bitch of Beelzebub
there’s no end to his appetite
He wants to swallow everything
He wants all subsumed in Endless Night
The worst thing about the devil
He simply can’t exist
In the absence of any good thing
he’s simply a nothingness

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

226 : 11/22/98 : Single Cell

We sing a song ancient in a way
That makes you seem like flash of fireflies
On a warm September night
Our numbers are so vast on any given day
More of or ranks will fall and rise
Than you will ever introduce to the great fight
We wage our age old war
With spore and yeast and mold
You were never a big part of our program
You’d be surprised what we’ve used you for
You are young and we are very old
We’ve been on you since the blue ocean you swam
And if we all chose to leave this little sphere
Your ecology would fail and you would fall
But if you all disappeared in a snap
We would hardly notice you weren’t here
I don’t think we’d really miss you at all
In an eyeblink we would cover over the gap
You left behind when you went
We would go about our business
It doesn’t matter to us either way
Any one of us is just a fragment
And any of you may find that the duress
Of a single cell will bring down your dying day

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

225 : 11/21/98 : World for Sale

World for sale... slightly used
The indigenous ecosystems are slightly abused
But there’s an infrastructure for power

6 or 7 billion sentient souls strong
All shapes and sizes though they seldom get along
An excellent choice of slaves to build the landing tower

Final closeout - everything must go
Oceans and continents, deserts and mountain snow
There’s no serious offer I won’t consider

It’s a bit of a fixer upper, true
But I’m ready to talk business with you
Let’s get around the table and find the highest bidder

We’re not doing much with what we’ve got
We think we’re doing okay but we’re not
Any discerning customer can see the wasted potential

Call me at the office send a fax
I’ve got the appropriate documents sealed with wax
As you can imagine time and discretion are essential

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

224 : 11/20/98 : Mexican Chocolate

The other day when I was buying
that Mexican chocolate you used to mix with coffee
back in the day five years ago or more
I tried to remember the way your face looked
when you said something
My mother had said to me fifteen years before
She said sooner or later
You’re going to find out you don’t
have all the time in the world
I haven’t proven either of you wrong yet
I stood back while the ghosts of memories
walked past me and swirled
Away and I can’t remember
how your face looked at all
When you said that about something completely
different, and I remember that even then
I couldn’t remember
Why my mom said that to me

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

223 : 11/19/98 : Killed Constantine

982 : 10 ?


I went back in time and killed Constantine
I went back and kept the living image of Aman alive
I taught him to build factories instead of pyramids, what foolishness
I started a strange chain reaction in the human hive

I brought the wise graybeards and crones to Egypt
Gave them a hint or two and let them go
And in the momentary vacuum of power I created
I watched the strange flower of human technology grow

What are we creating why are we creating
Do we want the thing that we are making
What’s it going to look like things are pretty bad now
Do we understand what kind of risks we’re taking

This might not make interesting conversation
But I understand that a society which lacks
a coherent vision and does not value
the worth of its people will soon become a figurine of wax

Another failed nation leaving only
The unwieldy monuments to its profligate decline
Someday barbarians will wonder
At our stupid boring artifacts all covered in kudzu vine

If we sought a common current now
Something different might happen anyways
As it is we’re a bust friend
We all just make it through the day to days

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

222 : 11/18/98 : Form & Function

Form follows function
Let’s see what kind of shape I’m in
If I’m so smart why ain’t I rich
I seem to have acquired a toxic spin
As of this writing the chips are down
As of this writing I’m contemplating driving
Over the river and through the woods
Find some other method of arriving
At a conclusion that doesn’t seem forgone
Stack it up any way you like
Ain’t nothing like a rhymed couplet
When your genius goes on strike
demanding better digs and better pay
better drugs better sleep and a firm objective
An artist can’t be expected to work under these conditions
Check the Geneva Convention and the prime directive
check the bible and check the law
check with my mother she’s sure to agree
that I’m doing the best I can
My mom she always sides with me
What I can’t swallow the wurm digests
Its form and function are perfectly aligned
It has its task it has its no it has its yes
It knows the work it’s been assigned

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

221 : 11/17/98 : Climb

That’s not the way to make it
You can’t sit back and take it
They’ll do it to you if you let them
What things you need go out and get them
What you need to do you must do it
Takes more than good intentions to get through it
You just gotta climb, motherfucker
You’ll reach your peak in time motherfucker
And then you’ll be the big man
You’ll have the fanciest keel on your catamaran
Will you be extra happy then
Find a new hill to climb start all over again
We’re a funny part of nature
Don’t quite fit the nomenclature
Crazy creatures crazy for strange delights
Honor and glory and the name up in lights
I’ll kick back and watch you heathens claw
I’m ready with my hammer and my saw
I’ll build my boat while you labor
I’ll beat a different rhythm on my tabor
No more climbing for this boy
No more will the bastards vex and annoy
No more to let it get to my head
I’ve got my boat I’ve got my daily bread
I’ve got a plan I’ve got a mission
I’ve got a paper that explains my position
Tacked up on my wall
I’ve got it made, I’ve got it all

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

220 : 11/16/98 : Over With

Let’s just fucking get it over with
thank God all the patterns and schemes are foundered
I can’t forget the way you watched and threw me
concrete-filled life preservers while I floundered
I’ve got a pile of bricks and a deep hole
I’ll build a vault to rock my cradle right into the grave
No one’s coming to rescue me are they
What made me think I was worth the trouble to save
this isn’t helping I know that for sure
Nothing ever helps not in the long run
and the long run’s all I’ve got to work with
such a long and strangely pointless pilgrimage under the sun
You gave your favorite signs and portents
you gave me a barrel full of doubts and dubious desires
You gave me the notion of of finding a better way
But I don’t know who you got to pull my wires
I’m sick of waiting and wondering always on the down
This is a mockery, a waste of time that profits not
I’m supposed to be glad I’m breathing still
I’m supposed to make do with the little I’ve got
You gave me a stone for a heart and a mind restless and bright
but not quite bright enough to pull out victory
And the heart’s not quite a stone enough
To free me from the burden of my own pathetic history
I said I wouldn’t do this anymore
I’d save my pages for a finer paradigm
I haven’t got the wherewithal to fight it
Not tonight I’ve got neither inclination or time

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

219 : 11/15/98 : Tales of Johnny Shoemaker

My Johnny was a shoemaker
He was bland as buttered bread
At least that was the way he was
Before he got that idea in his head
To sail the shining sea, shining sea
To sail the shining sea
He said to me he said
Listen listen to me baby
I saw a road in my dreams that went a long way down
I saw a road that went all the way around
I swear I got to let that road carry me
I swear to you that’s where I’m bound
Oh but some day he’ll be wrapped in glory
then he’ll come back home
And marry me
And he’ll be so very different
We’ll be so very free

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

Happy New Year

Although I broke a pretty good streak of songs written without missing a day (as you can see by my sad little score of 4 in the minutes-ago status update), I managed to keep caught up through a genuinely hectic holiday season - it's a Song of the Day Christmas miracle!

The last posting also marks the completion of my blogging of Song of the Day volume 1.2, Record. Starting on January 2nd I'll begin blogging volume 1.3, The Functional Notebook.

And in less than 25 days the 2,000th Song of the Day will be written. Keep watch for an exciting announcement!

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

218 : 11/14/98 : Rasta Billy Skank

976 : 4 ?


There’s an old man a very old man
And he’s forgotten more songs than I’ll ever know
And I always stop to talk to him when I can

He’s down in the bars by the docks where the old ships come and go
Old man old rasta man his hair all cloud gray dread
He said a son I forgotten a lot but there’s one thing I know

He looked at me and this is what he said
There’s a road that goes a long way down there’s a road that goes a long way around
He look an’ he wink at me that old billy goat put ideas in my head

He say lift up your head and listen to the sound
Everytime I pick up my fiddle get that same skin slither skank
I spent so many years on that road, would not go aground

And so many people tell me that sound was money in the bank
But man I never could find a reason to sell
They told me to turn my fiddle for something you play with a crank

And it makes me laugh and say it’s just as well
You ain’t gonna find any answers anyplace you call hell

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

This Christmas, give the gift of infrequent updates

Updates will be pretty sparse through New Year's or so. Merry Christmas!

217 : 11/13/98 : Anything

I always say I haven’t learned anything
That’s not true I am a grim grim man
And maybe that’s my fault
You always say look on a bright side
You’re right but it’s not something I can
Always do some things stay locked in the vault
Anything is good enough for me
Better than nothing it must be
Better than the fearsome void
What have we learned today
Well if you can trust me
Surely we won’t be destroyed
And it makes me laugh and shake my head
All the things all the things we do
It makes me want to spin
Around around around around
I’m laughing but it’s true
It’s all gonna happen again

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

216 : 11/12/98 : Hit Song Video Concept

I woke up with a bad taste in my mouth
left over from the things that I said back to you
the other day when you hung me out to dry
the other day when you told me we were through

I walked out on the streets alone
All the people couldn’t see how much
I was holding inside and hiding away
the hole I’m left without your touch

I got up on the roof of a tall building
and looked down on all the little people below
I can’t understand how I can get so high
and end up down so low

I went to a night club to drown my sorrows
But the music couldn’t reach my heart
And all the happy dancing people couldn’t see
the way my love for you was tearing me apart

In a couple weeks when I’ve gotten over you
another someone will be coming along
And it’s a good thing there are bills to pay
I’ll have to write another hit song

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

215 : 11/11/98 : Goin’ Around

957 : 0 ?


It’s very funny but I’m not laughing
I’m crazy with a capital kay
If you’re not hearing the questions I’m asking
There’s nothing more I can say
You say you want a little more
Well everybody agrees
You think you’re what the good stuff’s for
You’re all so very hard to please
But I don’t have to make a sound
‘Cause the world just keeps on going around

You say I take too much for granted
That I’m always reaching for the moon
I say I take whatever I can get my hands on
life’s too short to give up too soon
I keep on my lucky star’s light
Well it keeps me on my toes
And if I end up staying out all night
Well when’s the last time you watched
when the sun rose
Don’t worry and don’t make a sound
Whatever you do the world just keeps on goin’ around

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

214 : 11/10/98 : Wage Slave Redux (II)

I don’t care to write a song about it
I suppose I think it’s all my fault
There’s nothing but a wage slave’s dinner on my plate
I work so hard for my little bit of salt
I suppose that I should feel blessed
I suppose that I should count my lucky stars
I don’t care to argue with you about it
Unless you have the time to count my wage slave scars
I guess I should be proud of what I’ve done
I guess at everything these days it’s true
I used to know some stuff I guess
I used to think I knew the way through
My shoes are still smoking from hell’s floor
I’ve still got ice in my hair
My head’s still reeling reeling
from hovering through the fog and filthy air
I’d like to make a big declaration
I’d like to stand up on my desk
With my mouth full of peyote buttons
grinning numb on mary jane and mesc
I’d like to rattle these saps cages
Show them all the shit my skull holds down
I’d like to dance right out the door
Just for a change be my own clown
But I sit and write a song about it instead
Can three thousand wrongs make a right
When I write my millionth song
Will God open up the box and let in the light

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

213 : 11/9/98 : What the Trees Might Say

If I threw down the shackles
of expectation and ignorance
If I threw my watch down the gutter
I could not reclaim my innocence
If I gave it all away
And went into the forest green
And waited to hear what the trees might say
I might find I couldn’t understand what they mean
The trees might say
You’ve gone down a long, long road
They might be amused by me
Such a long journey to figure out where the water flowed
You might go to hell and back
And you might write a million songs
That would take three thousand years
I don’t think I’ve got that long
They might say come sit down under
any one of us and figure it all out
It doesn’t matter which we’re all strangely the same
Feel free to wrestle with your doubt
While we go on
The way we’ve always done and always will
That’s what the trees might say
If I had the time to kill

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

Take that windmill

So, that's the end of what I affectionately referred to as "My Pathetic Little Inferno." I've also finished transcribing the second volume of the songs of the day, first project, although there are half a dozen songs left to post. 2 down, 12 to go (except of course I'm generating new books full at the same time).

Writing that mess was an ambiguous experience and transcribing it was too. As a formal work, I mean as actual songs or poems, I have to consider it a failure. The meter is tortured to the point of nonexistence, the narrative is patchy. It's barely readable, let alone singable. It was a real chore to write and throughout I seriously questioned my motivations. I still do. I question the whole thing.

For all that there's a lot going on in that series. Technically, however much a failure it is structurally (and indeed artistically) it pushed my facility for rhyming to the limit - as I mentioned in a prior comment I have never used any kind of rhyming dictionary or similar aid. And for me it was an interesting exercise, theologically, to insert myself fictionally into Dante's medieval hell. The doctrine of hell seems a serious contradiction to the putative compassion of Christianity. And while I am about the opposite of orthodox I don't think it is a doctrine that is easily disposed of without abandoning the canonical Gospels entirely. This conflict becomes a running theme of the series.

Whatever it is, it's done. As to my doubts about the larger project, I persist nonetheless. The two thousandth song of the daily projects (1001 songs completed in the first song plus 999 songs in the second project in less than a couple months) will be written soon, and with it will come an Exciting Announcement. Meanwhile, more songs starting tomorrow, and we'll be getting into volume three, project one in about a week.

212 : 11/8/98 : In The Middle (II) (Canto 34)

We trekked across the ice heading for the middle
that lay a hundred yards beyond
The edge of the great smoking griddle

The pit where I would release the bond
I’d taken at the iron door
And we stood and I bent in the wind like a frond

of a plant that bloomed too late for
the season it was born
And Eliot pointed to the ice floor

And said I’ve shown you what I’d sworn
I would so meditate a moment on the luck
of those below that are planted like an acorn

Frozen in the frozen muck
And I said hey it’s not that the wind blows
that hole has a serious suck

That’s where all the evil goes
he said onward Christian soldier into hell
The sinners frozen under your feet

They’ll wake again for the final bell
but for now it’s just you and the prince
It’s time you finished what you started when you fell...

There will be no violence
cast yourself to the crater
Hereafter, ever after, ever since

You’ll know what it was good for later
so go and take your leap
Get on the escalator

Going down, you’ve promises to keep
back in your sunny town
Miles to go before you sleep

I won’t see you again not down
there in the dreamless time
So say goodbye here destiny’s clown

And I thought back on my downward climb
I clasped my guardian’s hand
And I scuffed my shoes of the icy rime

I picked traveling over that land
and took a running start
And didn’t look to see ol’ T.S. watch me from his stand

I just leapt out into the heart
Out into the middle of it all
And I flew towards the center like a dart

I twisted in the great stony hall
Past where the fog cleared
At a great chamber, a sphere I felt my fall

slow as the last denizen appeared
Hew was as small as a walnut
But I felt his mass pull at me as a I neared

I almost slowed to a stop but
I was still moving as I passed
His eyes were closed his chin rested on his gut

A dark aura around him was cast
A kernel a seed of evil stone
a tiny seethingly still iconoclast

I felt the pull on sinew and bone
I rotated once when I faced him
And drifted slowly slowly, helpless and alone

But before I could grow to grim
I picked up speed the other way
So soon I saw the outer rim

of the way out I saw the new day
was dawning on the other side
And I was weightless free I didn’t have to stay

And so I just stayed on the ride
rose above the atmosphere
And from my freefall orbit glide

I saw the planet hell laid out tier by tier
The grooves cut deep the levels I never knew
From way out there was no pain or fear

And my distance grew and grew
And I felt myself passing through

fin

This song is the last of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

211 : 11/7/98 : Cocytus (II) (Canto 33)

954 : 2 ?


I was getting cold and stamping my feet
and a silence rose in the wake of our conflict
which T.S. broke saying here’s a pair you need to meet

I think that you may think me derelict
in my office as your guide
You fail to see the limitations on me are strict

You’re looking in on this from the outside
And you judge what you see in haste
And fail to see inner truth that will abide

When providence sees you once again placed
in your home; but now observe
These I have pointed out frozen to the waist

And deemed by hell fit to deserve
the punishment of being paired
Locked together here at the next to last curve

of this frozen hell: so ask what sin they shared
they were locked in struggle, the clawed and scratched
So I kicked them about the heads till both glared

Up at me, and one of them unlatched
his tongue and said hell has made us twins
In mockery of how we were from the world snatched

So monstrous were our sins
We killed our kin and ate our young
So now we struggle here and neither wins

And I said yeah but have you learned your lesson
Do you think your punishment is just
I have become confused, I’m not the only one

Who finds himself hard-pressed to trust
The Vision of this pit of fire and ice
So tell me, then from where you’re frozen in the crust

Locked forever in the diabolical vice
Listen then said the one that I’d invited
to speak; and understand the nature of the prize

We are joined who were divided
by hatred as unnatural as a tree’s for a leaf
We share the fate of all who have incited

Their fellows to abandon unity for grief
All are born to die
And our walk under the sun is brief

And you will understand if you try
That it is all simply allegory
False unity from false division meets your eye

Can you not comprehend the simple moral of this story
We are all joined by blood by fear by pain
Yet we all deny our unity and so deny the glory

That might be all the way back to Cain
All who will not join must then remain

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

210 : 11/6/98 : Cocytus (I) (Canto 32)

We were lifted down on a giant’s palm
I couldn’t stop the spinning in my head
We stepped off onto ice and I felt a qualm

I don’t know where I am I said
I am no better than a dog
I might as well be down among the dead

I was looking into the icy fog
that from afar I had mistook for smoke
well are you gonna stand all day agog

my guide said, do you take this as a joke?
There’s nothing funny about it is there
so gather up your cloak

and let’s get onto where
we have been bound to travel
there’s no time to stare

at those who wait for the great judge’s gavel
to lay down judgment with a mighty strike
who wait for it all to unravel

and I said man you know what I’d like
I’d like something to make a tiny bit of sense
and I’ve never been down this strange a pike

but here in the devil’s demesne
I don’t feel like I’m finding a single clue
It’s all just static more interference

I’ve got no insight into the evil that men do
I have no idea why I’m here
And he said I’ve been over all of this with you

And I thought that everything was very clear
let’s have this conversation one more time
Try not to let it all fly out the other ear

your head is wrapped up in reason and rhyme
you’re obsessed over the question why
but when you’re facing the uncertain and sublime

these questions ring hollow while real truth passes by
open your eyes and look around
you aren’t here to find out how come we have to die

I looked up at the stone sky, I looked at the icy ground
I looked at all the sinner sliding listlessly
I listened and I didn’t make a sound

Let’s go I finally said it doesn’t matter to me
sometimes you simply have to get things done
I feel I’ve been at this a month and I can tell you honestly

It hasn’t been a lot of fun
all I want to do anymore is get back underneath the sun

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

209 : 11/5/98 : Skyline (Canto 31)

Across the bridge that spanned the gap
We came to a sloping plain
That ended a mile or two from the ledge of the eight gap

We had crossed in our tour of the valley of pain
And the Poet took me by the arm
And said there is the final drain

Whence flows all the evil and the harm
That men create in all their days on earth
And we will test the limits of the charm

That’s forced the denizens of hell to give us berth
when we come to the center of that hole
We’ll test what His promises are worth

Still it is where we must achieve our goal
So keep your faith strong within you
And with that we began our descent into the great bowl

that ended in a hole that was two
thousand miles across or more it seemed
And as we came near a mighty trumpet blew

And I peered through the smoke and I thought I dreamed
Far ahead I thought I saw a skyline
I imagined hell’s highrises and tenements that teemed

With all the souls who fell to the final incline
of that inexorable downward slope
I thought their fate would soon be mine

But when I asked T.S. about it he said nope
The distance and the smoke deceive your eyes
As we draw closer you’ll see a sight to test your hope

And as I squinted at what I had took for a highrise
I saw a sight that nearly stopped my heart
For before me stood a man of monstrous size

When he shifted it gave me a dreadful start
I knew a giant a hundredth of his height
could effortlessly tear me apart

But Eliot said these creatures will not fight
Seeing the evidence of my fear
At this unexpected sight

These guardians know why we’re here
We’ve an appointment with the Prince of flies
They guard the ring the final tier

We have to cross, and past that lies
only the void at the center of the underworld
Where we must cast off all earthly ties

That we have left to go where the devil’s curled
Around himself in the evil core of hell
At the center of it the pit where he was hurled

And after that I cannot truly tell
But first we must attain that central well

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

208 : 11/4/98 : Through This Slum (Canto 30)

So I walked steady and I walked straight
And didn’t bother to look right or left
As we walked that mile long bridge at a rate

That would carry us across the cleft
In half an hour or so
I and I closed my ears to the bereft

and mad howlings from below
I paid no attention as they cursed and tore
each adding to another’s burden of woe

I was content to finish my chore
I didn’t need to understand
I didn’t need to know the final answer any more

I just crossed the wasted land
All the darkness madness and stench
I was dreaming of Laguna sand

I was dreaming of a park bench
Where I once spent an afternoon
My guide brought me back with a wrench

Saying we’ll be there soon
Up above back from where we’re from
I can smell the angle of the moon

I told you I’d lead you through this slum
Soon out the other side we’ll come

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

207 : 11/3/98 : Penultimate Hell (Canto 29)

I sat there at the far edge evidently
quite a while, staring at the ground
and my guide put his hand on my shoulder gently

said are you waiting for a friend to come around
It’s no use this track’s as long
As a thread about the equator wound

And whoever you’re looking for is gone
They may find a way out yet
only the Creator knows if that’s right or wrong

And anyway after a while you get
so blinded to the misery and horror
So don’t kick back don’t light a cigarette

Remember what we’re here for
Strange as it seems this is the way back
You can only get to your hill through your iron door

So we kept on along the track
And another bridge loomed up
And I said I’ve repented of my attack

And he said don’t be so quick to grab the cup
that is not yours to drink
Well even though you’re just a pup

You’ve every privilege to thin
The thoughts you have whatever they may be
When something’s rotten, a wise man won’t ignore the stink

And these are hard things that you see
the truth is not a thing easily discerned
And there is always mystery

And you are bound to speak out when concerned
And we walked and spoke about this thing
This place this journey what was to be learned

And we came soon to this final ring
The last before the great smoking pit
The last before I could see no way but the big fling

Out into the big black: no way around it
And that ring was with an oily darkness filled
And a fearsome stench that made me grit

My teeth the smell of a million killed
in a hundred thousand abattoirs
And sounds of unholy bedlam spilled

Out voices numbered in the stars
And I saw haunted eyes in the dark
Like caged things peering out through the bars

And I said before we ascend the arc
Of this bridge to that center of destiny
And finish this walk in the park

Explain this penultimate hell to me
It seems strange that the final roll-
call of the damned is such simplicity

Just a dark and stinking hole
Full of miserable mourning shades
No fire no lizards not a single soul

Split open from asshole to shoulderblades
And Eliot said welcome to the kingdom of the false
See and know wherever the dark invades

Wherever light and sweetness stalls
Lies and falseness came there first
Brought by the taint inside your walls

Any who finally lose the thirst
to know what’s right and what is true
To this final ditch they’re cursed

This is what all falseness comes to
So remember no matter how much it seems
That you need lies to pull you through

The path cannot be found in lying dreams
From the Father of Lies all darkness streams

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

206 : 11/2/98 : Gore (Canto 28)

944 : 0 ?


I shook my head and said man what’s this for
man this trip is gone seriously foul
What you wanna show me this disgusting gore

I said keep it shut and bite back your scowl
I don’t wanna hear what I’m meant to learn
From looking at blood and gore and hanging bowel

Yeah look at all the poor heathens burn
Look at the bastards get their due
I can’t see that I shouldn’t take a turn

And take the bloody sword and suffer too
I’ve sewn a little discord in my day
And why don’t y ou admit it, so have you

So should I speak to these poor souls, what should I say
Should I ask them what’s gonna go down
As I roll along this millenium way

like I need some damned demented clown
to tell me that it’s all going south
to tell me I got no future in this town

I’m crazy, I’m running at the mouth
But this ain’t justice and this ain’t God
And there’s no other word that rhymes with south

I’m sick of this the way here is too broad
Let’s just get on with this dismal plod

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

205 : 11/1/98 : Long Ride (Canto 27)

T.S., I said master and guide
Not to show ingratitude
This is getting to be a long ride

Throught the diabolical latitude
and if I wouldn’t be too remiss
I think it would improve my attitude

To move beyond the circle of this
parliment of flames
And make our way further into Dis

Sure there are a thousand stories a thousand names
No need to talk to any more political types
And Eliot said hey kid nobody blames

You for getting caught up and your gripes
are understandable. We’ll get you movin’ on along right down the pipes

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

204 : 10/31/98 : Drawn to Flame (Canto 26)

942 : 12 ?


And standing looking back I said America
you’re going to reap the evil that you’ve sewn
And all the time unknowing you’re passing the

point of no return, beyond the pale beyond the known
And maybe it would be a better thing
To lay down and die, the cancer’s only grown

More in more, in spite of all your fighting
All your fury and your sound
But in the end you will worship your king

Of filthy lucre until it drives you in the ground
And having said my piece we moved along
Listened to a rising roaring sound

I can’t express it in a song
The storm of the multitude inferno
A hundred thousand millions souls strong

On the verge of the ditch where the wicked counselors go
Like sparks from the welders arc
Like crystals in a storm of snow

Like fireflies above the water, old Smith Park
Anonymous wrapped in fire all the same
Eliot said souls burn in the eternal dark

Wrapped in the fire that drove them to seek a name
by leading their society into the shadows
Trapped like moths around a candle, drawn to flame

I said look at that strange two headed flame that goes
twisted and turning through the gloom
I watched in wonder as the flames flickered fell and rose

Eliot said wait until that flame looms
close to us and wonder at the sight
Two ancient generals who shared a watery tomb

Two souls burning in the endless night
And we didn’t we didn’t say a word
When the twin flame passed us narrowly on the right

I listened intently but all I heard
Was a silence trapped inside silence that endured

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

203 : 10/30/98 : Transformation Proceeds from Within (Canto 25)

933 : 3 ?


The miscreant we faced, hearing my philosophy
answered with both fists middle fingers stretched out
Saying here’s to you and your god and all the sophistry

You don’t know a goddamned thing about
A voice hissed let me handle this one in my ear
A snake slithered over my shoulder and in a flash twined about

This mocker’s neck and mouth and choked off his jeer
and soon was joined by hosts of his scaly kin
they hissed we’ll roll this troublemaker right on out of here

No sooner said they had him rolling like a rolling pin
and we were being accosted by a group of three
One exclaimed where’s Tony? It’s happening again

Before I could ask what his meaning might be
He was confronted by a lizard with too many legs
That reared up an fell upon him instantly

like the black widow having fertilized her eggs
began to tear and devour it’s hapless mate
and he was down upon his knees like one who begs

TS said I think it’s just a little late
for supplication now but I barely heard him
so absorbed was I by the altered state

That over took those strugglers limb by limb
their substance was absorbed into a nasty mass
that sprouted wings and talons like a corrupt seraphim

And what manner of creature came to pass
I don’t really think it has a name
And if I thought that nothing could surpass

This strange transformation, who could blame
me for my terrible surprise
when out of a smoking pit another reptile came

And pegged another of the three direct between the eyes
his eyes crossed a little, but he didn’t say a word
Transformation proceeds from within, so say the wise

said my guide, but seeing that again I scarcely heard
merely stood and watched along with me the terrible
double transformation that then occurred

still lodged firmly in the second sinner’s skull
the lizard thrashed and then began to swell
until it seemed the space inside that damaged head was full

It burst forth and the completion of the spell
formed its body into a golem of the same man he’d assaulted
and in a reversal that surprised me even there in hell

The second reached into the hole in his shattered head
and with fierce tugging pulled away his skin
just as any reptile will its worn skin shed

he shed his human flesh and flashed a lizard’s grin
And to Eliot I said what did your proverb mean
that transformation proceeds from within

he said whether your shell be dirty or clean
the inner man will in the end always be seen

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

202 : 10/29/98 : Reptiles (Canto 24)

When we had made our way to the fallen bridge
to which our burdened friend had alluded
And we stood on the edge of the treacherous ridge

I said I think we may have been deluded
But T.S. just said Excelsior!
And started down along the rubble where a great arch once was rooted

Over massive broken rocks we clambered for
what seemed like hours and when we hit
The bottom I saw we had another nasty climb in store

Halfway up I said I’ve had it
I felt like my lungs were gonna pop
but my guide said onward up out of this pit

and on to the next you cannot stop
this thing that you’ve begun now
and I said I’ll push until I drop

And so I put my shoulder back to the plow
and managed to make the climb
and when we saw what waited for us next I said, wow,

I ain’t never seen so many reptiles at one time
Lizards, snakes, an evil looking turtle or two
A sea of forest, emerald teal and lime

And my guide said here’s a pretty specimen for you
pointing out a man positively swarming with snakes
who seeing our attention said I’ll make you rue

the day you two day-tripping flakes
decided to intrude upon my misery
And Eliot said hold on man this won’t take

a minute and heaven knows your time is free
tell our friend here how you came to this estate
and no sooner said than we’ll just be

along our way we’ve got a date
to keep, you see with the dark prince
it wouldn’t do now would it to be late

and the man gave a snarl that made me wince
and said what’s really to tell
I killed and stole and destroyed and since

I died unrepentant I wound up in hell
Well that’s not such a great story
is it friend but mark this well

I tell you true I’m still not sorry
for the evil that I’ve done
I stalked my fellow man like quarry

I stole for sport and killed for fun
I’m a human monster and there’s many
more down here I’m not the only one

And T.S. said now see do you still think there’s any
question the divine will is just
here’s a man who would kill you for a penny

Can’t you see that sometimes evil must
simply be forced to desist
ashes to ashes kid dust to dust

there must be a place for those who insist
on making things so black
nut I said couldn’t He just make them cease to exist?

‘Cause I have to say this eternity on the rack
Seems more malice than divine
seems a lot like payback

And I’m sorry if I’ve crossed the line
But I question if His justice is the same as mine

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

201 : 10/28/98 : Hypocrites (Canto 23)

Behind us was a ruckus, T.S. said ho showtime
We scrambled back up on our feet
A demon shouted hey you mortal slime

We made a swift retreat
But soon as we came up to the cliff’s brink
I said I think they’ve got us beat

But my guardian quick as a wink
Threw me over his shoulder
And slid down into the next sink

We took refuge behind a boulder
And looked up to see our demons pause
And seeing their trail had grown colder

Than they could follow they gave up their cause
And as they turned back we went on
T.S. said they were held to their own circle by the laws

That God had set down a very long
time ago, and soon we heard a loud,
raucous chorus of sighs and wails, and soon we came upon

A suffering and circling crowd
They were laden down with fearsome stones
These hypocrites carry the weight of all they vowed

in Judgment against their fellows and now they moan
For by the same sins they used to burden others
They stored up these weights when they were alone

The poet said, and circle eternally cheek to jowl one to another
Mind this lesson and never make haste
To add to the yoke of their brother

And one so burdened said who are these two so chaste
that they carry nothing at all
As they pass through the endless waste

Of all we poor casualties of the fall
I said well I’m a tourist here
But while you take a turn with you don’t take it for gall

If I ask you what brought you so near
to the center of hell’s great wheel
And he said I was one chosen to steer

the ship of state, to guide it’s keel
through rocky shoals in troubled waters
an office I rose to through influence and appeal

A thousand smiles and handshakes and kisses for the sons and daughters
But I had only evil and lust for power in my heart
And for power turned a blind eye to the slaughter

of innocents and played an instrumental part
In making my nation worse and weaker
That’s the politician’s special art

And he said to T.S. you and this mortal seeker
Go ahead and ask around
we’re all pretty much the same but I hear it’s even bleaker

upstairs, hypocrites every day even more abound
Just then we came upon a figure who
was staked out on the ground

And trod on by all who passed through
that circle of punishment
And our new companion said this one may be known to you

The father of politicians the statesman who sent
An innocent man to be staked to a tree
Simply because it was expedient

And T.S. said that’s sure a sight to see
but tell us friend ‘cause our’ schedule’s tight
Where’s the nearest bridge to the next circle of misery

He said the bridges are all down but bear to the right
And you’ll come upon a lowland
Where if you’re agile you just might

find the passage you demand
And that’s the best that I can say
And T.S. said well now don’t just stand

there we must be on our way
We gotta get through the rest of hell by the end of the day

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

Weekly status, now with continuity tracking

I explained my original intentions behind the weekly status report here. I've decided to add an additional marker that indicates how long a string of songs I've written without missing a day during the ongoing project. By way of example, today's status:

926 : 1 ?


Explanation

Icons indicate if I'm running a song backlog and if so how much.


926 : 1 Songs written in the current project : Songs written without missing a day

(Whenever I'm running a backlog the latter number will be zero)

The question mark links to this explanation. I'd like to say that I've only written one song without missing a day because I purposely skipped a day to officially start the public count. But that would be a lie. Although I've been avoiding serious backlogs, I'm still missing a lot more days than I'm satisfied with. As usual, increasing the amount of status data I'm publishing is an attempt to motivate myself to better performance.

Including the 1,001 songs written in the original project (the one I'm currently blogging) I'm nearing 2,000 daily songs written so far.

It Pours

I generally eschew status reports because I reckon not a whole lot of people, in the scheme of things, are reading, and those that do know me well enough to drop me a line if they really want to know what's going on.

Well, what's been going on the last few weeks is basically just one expletive deleted thing after another, related to getting slammed by work with my main money gig, the whole family getting sick, my spouse traveling for work now (making me sole childcare provider for a few days)... It's been one of those months, now bleeding into the next one.

BUT. Barring further unforeseen adversity expect, pretty soon, resumed song of the day posting (hoping to quickly wrap up the Inferno), a thrilling added feature to the weekly status dashboard (I know, you didn't think it could get any more exciting. Let the anticipation overwhelm the fear...), a word about my exciting, recently restarted/recreated and immediately stalled by the aforementioned unexciting personal life issues other music weblog project, Phree Musique, and absolutely no updates about my secret weblog that I won't ever mention again so don't ask about it.

On November 12th, I'd say.

200 : 10/27/98 : Interlude in Hell, A Minor (Canto 22)

We were hustling down a path, and not far behind us
The hell patrol were fishing out their fellows
To my surprise my poet guide said let’s stop and discuss

The shape of the bellows
that stoke the great fire
And the characteristic reds and yellows

Of the clay that line the sullen mire
And several other things of similar import
While our former guardians back there reacquire

Their fallen comrades from their hapless port
Give them a chance to get back on our trail
Just some facts and figures to fill out your report

When you return from this travail
up to the lands above
Where you must carry on the search for your grail

I said man you’re crazy, those fiends are gonna throw down the glove
when they see the way we’ve slipped away
I know we’re on divine duty sheltered by divine love

That doesn’t mean we should invite foul play
At the hands of that slimy mob
Let’s live to chat hell another day

And anyway why this sudden urge to natter and nob
We’ve had plenty of better chances
than here pinned between those who steal and those who rob

He said to put it plain your tale advances
too quickly from its guided track
You’ve gotten ahead of yourself, you’re missing subtle nuances

So I have to stop and hold this tack
Of pointless exposition for a little more
consider it an interlude in hell, a minor setback

And anyway you could use a breather before
You get along to the final pit
There’s lots of evil and nastiness in store

Ahead so for now let’s make the best of it
We’ve a few moments to linger, and talk while we sit.

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

199 : 10/26/98 : Tarpits (Canto 21)

Down the next slope we came to another plain
Much like the first but not with open graves
But rather boiling tar ran in the lanes

Chiseled into the rocks as an artist engraves
a stone for the printing press
My guide said watch that you behave

Yourself follow my word and do not second guess
me the devils that work the tarpit are a wily crew
As is fitting here where the yes is no, and the no is yes

And seeing some approach said do not let them see you
hide yourself behind the rocks and watch
I’ll signal you when it’s safe and don’t come out until I do

As he approached them I watched through a notch
in the stones I hid behind
The leader sneered and grabbed his crotch

That perverse and grotesque lot still chill my mind
their plastic heads and three piece suits
They carried briefcases and gnawed on skulls like rinds

Of pomegranate, tearing at the deep red fruits
There seemed to arise an altercation
But my protector stood firmly in his boots

And when it seemed he had the situation
in hand, he motioned me to join
The leader said imagine my elation

To hear a mortal had girded up his loins
And made the crossing to our bitter land
Where all the varied malefactors pay their dues in all their varied coins

So honored guest take me by the hand
We’ll take you on a tour of the tarpits
We’ll make a jolly band

My guide whispered aside to me its best we keep our wits
about us, this twisty lot’s not to be trusted
This snake oil slick routine’s an act, it’s

A safe bet that we’ll soon be disgusted
by the nature that all fiends share
The tarpits are where grafters and extortioners get busted

The demon leader declaimed with a tour guide air
The sticky fingered lot, ha ha they’re hiding now
But I think one’s peeking up over there

Then he barked out hey let’s show ‘em how
we do things here boys and in a flash
his minions, with a satirical bow

To my guide and I, made a dash
for the soul the demon foreman pointed out
And no sooner had him out but put him to the lash

The poet said well can we have a word with the poor lout
Your boys are beating into paste
Let’s find out what he’s all about

Although that sorry inmate’s face was a tarred and bloody waste
I thought maybe I’d seen him on the television
And seeming to sense that I had placed

Him, he said if you’re gonna feature me in your revision
Of a better story by a better scholar than you are
His voice dropped to a whisper he said well that’s your decision

But I tell you a’lurking back in the tar,
A sorry lot of stellar congressmen
Lawyers, bankers, and accountants are

Waiting for my signal to come out in the open
Fade back and I’ll whistle up the whole brigade
And you can the bipartisan session then

And leave me out of the whole charade
One of the pack piped up and said it’s sure a shame
It’s been so long since we had an all out raid

So let’s hang back and let Mr. Doesn’t-Want-His-Name
In the papers up topside set his trap
And scare us up a fine flock of game

To give a good taste of the strap
And with that word they faded back
And the erstwhile prisoner they left there in the gap

Jumped up with out warning and leaped into the crack
of bubbling pitch he’d been pulled from
Only a heartbeat passed and two hellspawn launched an attack

screaming catch that dirty cheating bum
I couldn’t help but whisper in Eliot’s ear
That our guides here were awfully dumb

to trust the sort of criminals who wind up here
He just shrugged and said call it a vice
Just then one of the demons gave a shout of fear

He’d ventured too far into the tar and paid the price
And in his struggle pulled his partner in as well
Who bellowing in rage, was carving a slice

out of the first demon who fell
Into the trap they’d sought to set
And T.S. rolled his eyes and said another day in hell

But say he continued while the rest try to get
their fellows out of the tar
for a moment they’re sure to forget

To keep an eye on where you and I are
And things as they’re going it might be wise
To make ourselves scarce and make sure we’re far

away by the time they realize
That we’re as good for sport as anyone
And try to take us by surprise

You’ve seen what they are and what they’ve done
So we’d best take this chance to run

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

198 : 10/25/98 : Unfortunate (Canto 20)

890 ?


“Wow” I said “T.S. that’s really unfortunate
The way these cats are twisted up is very cruel”
Stumbling slowly round a massive course circular and flat

Heads between their legs like some contortionist fool
Their tears leaking back into their ears
“These are those unfortunates who sought to use the arcane tool

Of the future to seek fortune through their years
Those who twist the spirit to gain
Will always wind up in hell’s gears”

I said “this seems excessive for fortune tellers’ lane”
He said “you’re not seeing the whole show
All seek the future but the difference is plain

Of those who seek the path they go
And those who seek fortune in the paths of others
Too many are led astray by what they claim to know

The future is denied the sisters and brothers
of the fall: we should not seek to co-opt what we lost
Nor should we contribute to another’s

confusion in facing roads not yet crossed
We should seek to live in our own time
We should seek only our own costs

And he said finish up your twentieth rhyme
And let’s get on with the ever descending climb

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

197 : 10/24/98 : Mockers (Canto 19)

884 ?


We dropped another ledge down
I was sullen, silent from my guide’s rebukes
And the poet kept his council his face drawn in a frown

But as we approached a strange scene he said “there are no flukes
here, my son, but understanding
is hard, but even so these miserable pukes

May improve your confidence in the divine commanding
of hell’s bleak punishments”
Ranged out around the circle where we were standing

A multitude in sour and soiled vestments
were stuffed up to their shoulders in television sets
That sparked and crackled as if they received some signal sent

Down into this pit And my guide said “I bet
that especially jerky clown over yonder
Will give you a lesson you won’t forget

And some fine points to ponder
and a much needed chance to vent your spleen
And curb your tendency to maunder

over the cursed and unclean
Well these are some who may indeed deserve their fate
These are the very same you’ve seen

in every age they pass the plate
more often than they praise God’s name
their eyes ablaze with greed and hate

they take it all and play a game
of guilt and lies and threats of damnation
Here their ironic fates are all the same

So I bent down and fiddled the knobs as if to change the station
And a voice called “Jimmy is that you you hound
Finally come the final mockery of my ironic situation”

and I replied “well stuck in your tube you mistake the sound
of my voice for your fellow confidence man”
And he replied “so why have you come around”

And I said “Mocker I came to tell you what a huge fan
I am of the charlatans like you
who prosper in your sordid little clan

By the lies that you tell and the evil you do
perverting the truth to line your pocket
How many have been deceived and led astray by you few

Mockers yeah you talked a lot but could not walk it
And I must confess watching you squirm gives me a thrill
It’s good to see you firmly screwed into the socket”

And my man gave me a fine big hug but said “we have no time to kill
We gotta get on down to the next hill”

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

196 : 10/23/98 : They May be Damned (Canto 18)

“All right T.S.” I said “I’ve had my fill of this
I’ve gone as far as I want to go
I can’t really see what the point is”

We stood at the top of a sort of coliseum below
us sloped steps and ditches
Filled with another mighty army of woe

“Look at them racing in circles lashed with switches
by the demon hordes
Look a them cursed with boils and itches

Swatting at their wounds scrambling towards
the finish line that will never appear
they’ll strain but never break the cords

That tie them and hold them here
But from what I can see
The difference between this and what’s upstairs is unclear

I’ve been in the pit often enough and I’ll be
in that pit again I am sure
I’ve run the rat race I’ve yearned to be free

I’ve searched for the answers begged for a cure
I’ve been in the shit up to my neck
I’ve fallen for hell’s shiny bobbing lure

So tell my poet when I cash my check
am I gonna end up pushing the stone
Am I supposed to get the fear on this trek

And slobber and wag when he throws me a bone
And pats me on the head like a good dog
Will I be so relieved to be outta the danger zone

That I’ll be happy and content in my slog
Up the mountain of resistance
The endless adversity I flog

My way through without assistance
Man standin’ here I feel right at home
They may be damned but damn if they don’t have persistence”

And Eliot said “kid your mouth is starting to foam
so why don’t you climb down off the horse
This is hell this is not some poem

You have a job and your job is to follow your course
And see what you see there
What you will not accept you cannot take by force

It’s not your place to care
For the final meaning
You won’t find any more of that here than anywhere

You’ll spend a long while figuring out what you’re gleaning
here, so watch where your sentiments are leaning”

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here

195 : 10/22/98 : Gyre (Canto 17)

876 ?


From the cord from the ball the line
I never bothered to tie
To find my way back to the sunshine

I dropped a line I cast a fly
into the bloody steam of the chasm
where the waters fell into the pit where I

And my guide that stoic phantasm
stood looking down where he told me
to drop the line and there came a spasm

that ripped the other end away from me
and by God up flew this thing
Above us and circled one two three

With a politician’s small and waxy batwings
Settle down beside us
Didn’t say a single thing

And my guide climbed on his back with no fuss
And motioned me to join him
As if motioning me to get on a bus

and sit beside him perched there on the rim
of the seething pit of hell
So I crossed myself and went out on the limb

And the beast launched out for a moment we fell
for a moment my heart popped
then slowly we circled the well

of souls below us where the steam stopped
And he began to circle and gyre
As we slowly slowly dropped

Into the deep fire
Then I saw a multitude
of spirits circling the ledge on the edge of that dire

drop they sat at the margin of the latitude
of hell, “those who took from those in need” the Poet hissed
“Those who stole away the children’s food

Forever pulled down toward deeper hell by what they pissed
away on things that didn’t satisfy them anyway
still their greed pulls them down they wouldn’t be missed

But leave them, onto the next act of the play
time to seek the center of it all
As we come to this black Friday

When the betrayer dropped the dime and made the call
You will see the end of it”
And as the beast banked at the wall

And dropped us at the edge of a stepped pit
turned and flew away and I said “hey man I smell shit”

This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here