Wednesday, October 14, 2009

495 : 8/18/99 : Inattention

Inattention
Impatience
Failure
Why can’t I
ever tell my
tale pure
and simple
straightforward
To the point
I always blunt my
edge hammering
at the joint
words in my mind
nothing left but
ideas and notions
but I’ll work my way back
I’ll see myself
across wider oceans

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

494 : 8/17/99 : Grave Self-Doubt

Well we’ve let the cat out of the bag
and the writing’s on the wall
And the truth was grave self-doubt
was troubling us all
We tried to act like we were managing
We tried to act like we’d get through
But those of us who paid attention
Could not dodge the things we knew
And all through our little town
You heard people freaking out
I knew that day we had a
bad case of Grave Self-Doubt
nineteen hundred ninety nine
Just starting to get hot
I thought that it might be the big one
I saw that it was not
So if I cannot hear the big sound
if my ears are stuffed with sand
If I keep my head well-buried
If I’ve nothing in my hand
If I come to you all empty
naked blinded painted gold
will you kindly take me up
Because my ass is in peril of being sold

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

493 : 8/16/99 : Envelope

The envelope tears when I try
to push all I feel inside
why am I drawn to broad gestures
Why do I always get drawn aside
The luminary principle
I thought I’d founded myself on
I got distracted by the hype
and when I looked for it it was gone
Time to wake up time to get up
time to face another day
comes as no surprise I’m dreaming
When I should be kneeling to pray
I need a hand up
I fell through my envelope
I pushed it one day too far
help me up this slippery slope

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

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

492 : 8/15/99 : Shorn

1,624 : 0 ?


The things I’ve seen
you’d have to call it porn
the way they line the children
up to get shorn
Well set them all up in vests
It’s the next big thing
separate the fools
from the money that they earn
That story’s old hat by now
they’re still running that old burn
You got to be with the times if you
wanna take a pass at that golden ring
The things that I watch
As you fall into the ranks
And it’s ten long years
since that kid faced the tanks
And God only knows where he is now
probably sitting in jail
we treat all the pictures
and images the same
we like to talk big but we
all play the game
all afraid to look too hard
at what we chose on the holy grail

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

491 : 8/14/99 : Everything (2)

Ants and bees and all the hives
Our highrise condominiums their faceted eyes
telescope lenses and parabolic mirrors
all the shells and bottles that wash up on clear shores
dogs and doorways mushrooms and dirt
a blue satin dress and a pressed white shirt
How the hell am I supposed to make sense of
everything
submarines and submachine guns
black lights and books on punctuation
staple pullers and giant pinecones
toothpicks, ballpoints, slugs and smooth stones
telephones and plastic statues
eggplants rugs and high heeled shoes
How the hell am I supposed to make sense of
everything
thumbtacks plywood jellyfish
canned ham on a dented steel dish
screws, gnats, books, bats, satellites
My God how we spin in this endless night
roosters cigarettes and folders
tiny rocks and massive boulders
how the hell am I supposed to figure out everything

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

490 : 8/13/99 : Flow

Why do I always forget
Where it comes from and where it all will go
Why do I always forget to
pay attention to the flow
How can I remember
that there’s only one thing
there’s only one story to tell
there’s only one song to sing
There’s only one way to get out
It’s hard and it’s lonely as hell
but since we’re all in here together
doesn’t it seem that we might as well
let the flow take us away
ride it till we find the promised land
somewhere in our dreams and expectations
God must somehow show his hand

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

489 : 8/12/99 : This Ain’t Your Perfect World

This ain’t your perfect world
that thing just don’t exist
No reason to go nuts
no reason to get pissed
this ain’t your momma’s home
You do just what you please
work like a little bee
kick back and take your ease
this ain’t the Taj Mahal
we do the best we can
And many did much worse
with all the shows they ran
It’s nothing like a story
It’s nothing like a book
It’s nothing like a movie
Step back and take a look
It’s nothing like a love poem
It’s nothing that you’ve seen
Yet strangely where you’re going
seems just like where you’ve been

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

488 : 8/11/99 : This Can’t Be The Way

Am I doing this thing right
this can’t be the way
Everything I do must be wrong
that’s what the voices say
could this be the perfect world
that just sounds insane
Anyhow how could I judge
I’ve only got one brain
And it’s obsessed with crazy things
It ponders all day long
Asking after esoteric
questions and strange songs
Could this be my way to get out
crazy late at night
What little truth I know slays me
I’ve not yet begun to fight

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

Friday, October 02, 2009

487 : 8/10/99 : Howard Hughes Blues

I just can’t get that
clean feeling anymore
back a long time ago I must have
picked something off the floor
And it always always seemed
I was closing the last door
but the filth is going to find you in the end
Lately I’ve been trying
just to not move very much
Since I’ve realized how many
Things a man can touch
And though I tried for years
not to think of it too much
Those thoughts were always waiting ‘round the bend
microbes viruses and spores
molds and rots and slime
that’s what we’re all destined for
it could happen any time
And I may seem insane to you
but that is not a crime
so kindly keep your distance from me friend

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

486 : 8/9/99 : I’ll Never Know

How does it how does it feel to be big
to be big as a blue whale?
How does it feel does it feel to be
big as a blue as a blue whale
I’ll never know, I’ll never know, I’ll never
I’ll never, I’ll never know, I’ll never
know, I’ll never know, I’ll never I’m
so pissed that I’ll never know
How does it feel to stand in the sequoias
and know the might forest is a thousand miles
around us
I’ll never know, I’ll never know, I’ll never
I’ll never, I’ll never know, I’ll never
know, I’ll never know, I’ll never I’m
so pissed that I’ll never know
What must it be to be you looking at me
to see from your mind
I’m afraid of your gaze but I crave
you view oh love is blind
I’ll never know, I’ll never know, I’ll never
I’ll never, I’ll never know, I’ll never
know, I’ll never know, I’ll never I’m
so pissed that I’ll never know
What comes after this little slice
we’re left with? Something nothing I’m just
curious to know Heaven or hell I guess
I’ve always accepted There are some things
that refuse to show but someday I’ll know

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

485 : 8/8/99 : Emergency

This is an emergency
this one is for real
I know the last fifteen were drills
but trust the way you feel
this is not a loyalty test
this time I’m sincere
I’m not being self-important
no one is in charge here
Never thought we’d have to live in
a state of emergency
thought those bad old times were long gone
finished between you and me
but it seems the revolution
got some television play
got some funders, got some sponsors
kept it solvent one more day
this is an emergency
this is not a fake
anything that’s not nailed down
someone’s going to take

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

484 : 8/7/99 : The Voice

I love your voice the way
your tongue slides
sweet around those words
and stops to glide by
the meaning I am defied by
soft and low or high and sweet
I love the sound
The way your even
white teeth bite down on
on the lies we run aground on
I can hear your bell ringing
I can hear its perfect tone
I hear it everywhere
It won’t leave me alone
I’ve been turned by what it’s shown
I heard the whole world sing out
I heard the song in me you bring out
there is a bell that will ring out
when my day comes
when our day comees
Very soon

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

483 : 8/6/99 : Sublime

The reason and the rhyme
the tempest and the time
Lord isn’t it sublime
when it comes down slow
The new and the antique
Direct and the oblique
Spare me the harsh critique
When I’m sweet and low
The old man and the sea
The flower and the bee
You know it’s just like me
to let it go at that
So simple and so dumb
I felt my heart go numb
I know I’ll make her come
And arch her back up like a cat
That’s how I let it go
sublime and soft and slow
And everything I know
Oh everything I know

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

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

482 : 8/5/99 : Less is Less

Where is it at now I don’t know
am I finally up at bat
Could this be my time to show
less is less but I like it like that
Am I just a fallen star
an essence of a great divide
do I seek return to the eternal
big sound on the other side
I said the dimensions are five
ego overrides awareness
we see only one side of the story
I must warn you in fairness
That when my day comes to begin
I won’t be listening to a man in a funny hat
I’ve only got this life to live
well hey less is less but I like it like that

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

481 : 8/4/99 : Buttons

Don’t Push my buttons
you don’t want to get me going
somewhere far back in my mind
a cold wind’s always blowing
Don’t get me started
I find it hard to stop
once the machine is primed and running
just gotta wait for the bubble to pop
Don’t try to light up my board
I’m fully in possession of the contents of my gourd
I’ve got a secret stash of thoughts in a handy hoard
You cannot love both lucre and the Lord
Don’t push my buttons
You won’t see anything new
When I get all riled up
I’m pretty much the same as you
Don’t touch that dial
Don’t even try to change
I know the room is very small
It’s all I could arrange

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

480 : 8/3/99 : Subtext

The subtext seemed to imply
that the point of being alive
was buried in the practice
of a fully mindful breath
Unlike the other ways
the conversion took hours or days
sometimes many years
sometimes right on up to death
The author implied that breathing
was just a manifestation of a seething
cosmic reaction occurring in the fifth dimension
of which most all were unaware
He said don’t sweat it there’s no there there
You cannot get there my intention
Instead will must be put aside
Accept that you’re just on this ride
There are many rules that ignore your decision
just breath and be glad you can
Surrender you’ll be no less a man
What can we do but be who we are with precision

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

479 : 8/2/99 : Run On

Run out of rhymes
Oh I’ve run out of meter
and my slick car of thought’s
just a junked out old beater
I’ve run out of juice
there’s nothing to run on
I’m tired of fighting
of strapping my gun on
and facing the hostiles
the whole world of others
Lord where are my sisters
Lord where are my brothers
Lord where is the love now
Lord where is the point
This world’s out of balance
The time’s out of joint
The time’s spilling out
of the cracked hourglass
just my usual bullshit
in my same old morass

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

478 : 8/1/99 : Empty Days, Empty Nights

Empty days and empty nights
It takes a lot of juice to maintain the light
I’d rather sit in darkness anyway
I’d rather just give up without a fight
Empty night hard on the heels of empty day
I’d like to build a fire I’m so slowly turning gray
My colors leaching out into apathy and fear
I don’t want to leave here but I sure don’t want to stay
Empty months and empty years
I don’t care to recall just how often I’ve changed gears
I no longer know where I’m at on the differential
I can’t recognize these voices ringing in my ears
The truth’s elusive and the past is influential
Mine’s a story of dreams deferred and wasted potential
And I don’t complain I keep my mouth shut tight
I keep my eyes firm on the ground my voice so deferential
Oh lord send something to fill up this night
I can’t look up to you, your light’s so very bright
Won’t you just come down to me, I’d love to see the sight
Won’t you just reach down and lift me up into the light

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

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

477 : 7/31/99 : Fungi

The saprophytes will inherit the earth
It won’t be pretty but hey that’s life
After we’ve killed off everything of worth
they’ll happily eat the wages of our strife
Imagine New York with a good coat of mold
what a strange end we’ll come to then
When our wasteful habits leave us out in the cold
but the cycle of life will turn again
We live in a world of invisible spores
rots that creep and mushrooms that rise
they hide in the cupboards and backs of drawers
they’ll be in charge before we realize
Someday in a million million years
sentience will rise from the fungi
They may wonder that my warning fell on deaf ears
What can I say, I’m just one guy

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

476 : 7/30/99 : Working

Twenty four hours in a day
You’d think time enough for work sleep and play
I’ve got to work because work’s my way
but working all hours is turning me gray
I like to load it on it’s true
Far beyond what I get paid to do
Work and work till my face turns blue
I feel the work piling up between me and you
I’ve got to slow down don’t know if I can
Work work work I’m just that kind of man
I hope you’re patient hope you understand
I hope somewhere in all the work is a plan
Form and function what am I good for
If work is a prison then what makes a door
Work to exhaustion and sleep on the floor
ain’t it ironic that I’m still poor
Someday I guess that I’ll be done
one way or another just like anyone
I can’t say exactly what makes me run
Wish I could say that it’s been fun

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

475 : 7/29/99 : Time/Sacred Cow

I thought I heard a man sing out
that time won’t hold us back
that seems pretty optimistic
Something holds us to the track
Thought I heard the scientist say
time was just a state of mind
still it manages to drill
through my mind like a melon rind
though I heard the politicians
tell my time was on my side
the always say things like that
when they want to take you for a ride
thought I heard the mighty million
beg for just a bit more time
I’ve none of that to give them
so for them this little rhyme
That such as I have I give you
You’ve got all the time there is right now
Everyone has got the same
time is just a sacred cow

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

474 : 7/28/99 : Passage to Bangkok

As the miles slip away
She may find cause to stay
the fear was just an illusion
I’ll stay here at home
I trust my friends to leave and roam
and somewhere in between the mystic fusion
my crazy homebody ways
and their wandering foreign days
swinging out along a line of attenuated talk
the years pass slow and fast
they seem to orbit round me as years fly past
wake goodbye and go, a Passage to Bangkok
I can’t imagine what I haven’t go
used to think I was a wanderer but I’m not
I’m happy where I am strange as it seems
I’m glad my friends take flight and leave
I write them fond farewells on my record sleeve
and trust that they will
fill their half of the dream

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

473 : 7/27/99 : Woodstock

By the time we got to Woodstock
It was burning to the ground
And those kids were pulling down
the teevee towers
And I dreamed I saw a seventeen year old girl
disrobe in front of me
that’s just where I want to be
Forget peace and flowers
We are sleeping
we are drunken
we refuse to let it be
Cause we have to push ourselves
all the way down
We are cowards
we are vandals
We have set the genie free
And we have to torch it all
down to the ground

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

Monday, September 28, 2009

472 : 7/26/99 : The Shell

Could we break free of our boundaries
could we break the wizard’s spell
Could we reach a further harbor
Can we break out of the shell
Rest assured there’s little chance
that we’ll ever take that leap
living lives so short and shallow
and the well so very deep
If we pushed beyond our orbit
if we pushed beyond our star
We might find we’re not the first
to seek beyond all that we are
I believe that we will fail it
I believe that we will fall
I believe a thousand years hence
we’ll have lost and skewed it all
We’ll forget our laws and science
All our wildest dreams as well
back to gods and superstition
one more layer on the shell

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

471 : 7/25/99 : More on the Revolution

I think my revolution dream will never come
Some bandit always lies in wait
To take the reins of the world with a gun
And I’m not going to fool anyone
with my patter and collection plate
Trying to raise a stake for the revolution
Must people just want to fine tune
They want the world they’ve got with better air
A bigger house more cash a built in bar
The revolution was devoured with a silver
spoon
And even the rich idiots are not to blame
we’re all in this together and we all bear fault
They’ve no more choice than I to play the stupid game
They’re driven just like me always
stake some claim
I guess it’s just the way of our gestalt
Cause all the revolutions just turn out the same

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

470 : 7/24/99 : Dog Days

It’s the dog days
And the heat comes down like a hammer
And you just can’t think
It takes its toll on etiquette and grammar
They say the rich and the poor they both get ice
but the rich get theirs in the summer
I’m announcing a new revolution
I’ll make my case with any comer
Mid July two thousand one
I won’t get my power out of a gun
so stand along or turn and run
the resistance has just begun
In the dog days
boiling in these slow summer nights
they’re so comfortable and used to my
little cog ways
they’re gonna see some crazy sights
A year from now
I’ll show them how
The virtual velvet revolution
has just begun

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

469 : 7/23/99 : The Weight

The weight is pressing down
the weight is pressing down
the weight is pressing
down down down
It’s all just what it is
just like it ever was
It all just
spins around around
The weight is very big
the weight is very old
The weight’s been there forever
Can’t hold it overhead
I’ll feel it till I’m dead
I guess I’m not so clever
I felt the weight a long time back
It pushed me right off of my track
The weight has always been
it serves its purpose
I try to bear it well
But here’s the truth I tell
gravity must usurp us

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

468 : 7/22/99 : Three on a Match

Try not to be a target
try not to get caught
try not to be kidnapped
or you’ll lose what little you’ve got
Don’t light three at once
It’s deadly
Too much time to aim
Too much time to track your movement
Just enough to end the game
Hunker down keep a low profile
Keep yourself out of the fray
some enemies are
always waiting
Waiting to usurp your day
keep your head down
walk in shadow
keep your back against the wall
with any luck by the time
they catch up
You’ll have a whole lot longer to fall

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

Sunday, September 27, 2009

467 : 7/21/99 : Nano

1,582 : 0 ?


If we can just get a little bit
smaller
If we can just dig a little bit
deeper
If I’d just stop straining my neck against
the collar
God knows it’s coming the future’s
such a sleeper
Nanojath, nanojath
what’s the symbol what’s the path
To lead us out from the way
the stupid way we feel
Are you man or just an icon
Every time I look you’re gone
No matter how small to get a piece
of it you got to steal
I think things will just stay crazy
otherwise we’d all get lazy
Otherwise we’d all fall down
Leave Nanojath to wear the crown

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

466 : 7/20/99 : Everything

Everything oh everything
is all I want is all I need
to be the best to have it all
to rise and rise and never fall
What a foolish stance to come from
every day I just feel more dumb
that I can’t accept my limitations
Day in day out I accept it
In the big game I’m just a little shit
just another minor reiteration
of the themes that rule the day
Force usurps all and chaos leads the way
Ever seeking to devour
me and strip me of my power
sleep in day time waking senseless
Chaos comes when I’m defenseless
everything fades away it’s just me
I should be put down in my place
I should just give up and save face
Doesn’t matter what I am
Is what I’ve got to be

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

465 : 7/19/99 : Big Bell

The crimson flames have risen again
over our ruling houses
and the children pay the wages of the fathers’ sins
and the curve of history is always Gauss’
The big bell tolls for me for you
it covers everyone it overshadows
our individuality and paints us all one hue
I cannot cover that with rhymes and bad prose
Do you hear the big bell ringing
Sweeping us into the next big arc
the big waves rising to scrape the ones left clinging
to the side of this unsteady vessel, feed us to the sharks
And if I had a mighty army and a team of engineers
we might straighten this out somehow
but I’m just a little no one drowning in my little fears
And I got nothin’ at all to hold onto now
And if I had twelve score disciples
And a mighty broadcasters
I couldn’t change that down here hype sells
thus the Big Bell makes it masters

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

464 : 7/18/99 : Dubious

I’m dubious of the value
that we assign to our works
I’m dubious I’m doubtful
that’s one place my engine lurks
that drives me always always
to question what I’ve got
to question what I’m doing
to always seek for rot
that always leads to chaos
I guess that’s a fool’s game
who knows how my values compare
what I call chaos is just a name

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

463 : 7/17/99 : Put it All Together

If you’re tryin’ to see the future
It won’t make sense
Put it all together
in the present tense
Just get off your ass
Before the present is past
I’d be there already if I weren’t so dense
The first dichotomy is me versus you
That’s the root of all evil the evil do
I made up my mind
to follow my sign
Kick all the bastards out of my crew
cause if you’re trying to be king
You won’t get there
Look at me dance and sing
without a care
Just put it together
All storms that you’ll weather
The whole wide world is ours to share

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

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

And miles to go before I sleep

Hm. I don't know if I can catch this one up... I'm a hair's breadth from throwing in the towel on the lot of it but I guess we'll see.

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

Thursday, July 16, 2009

462 : 7/16/99 : Stutter (Seven Rap Haiku 7/7)

Flutter
Stutter
ghetta rhymes
and a mind inna gutter

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

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

461 : 7/15/99 : Anyway (Seven Rap Haiku 6/7)

And that’s all it’s
all about anyway
walk the walk livin’ in the one day

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

460 : 7/14/99 : If It’s Good (Seven Rap Haiku 5/7)

If it’s good go with it
if it’s yours you get it
transistor radio pop forget it

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

Monday, July 13, 2009

459 : 7/13/99 : Living (Seven Rap Haiku 4/7)

1,530 : 0 ?


And it’s all too busy living
so I guess you better give in
and love the world you live in

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

458 : 7/12/99 : Flow Freely (Seven Rap Haiku 3/7)

Let it go let the rhythm flow
freely; my rhythm’s tight
and my eyes are steely

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

457 : 7/11/99 : My M.O. (Seven Rap Haiku 2/7)

It’s been my M.O.
since my journey began
I get my feelings out with paper and pen

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

456 : 7/10/99 : The Jones (Seven Rap Haiku 1/7)

The labor’s fierce
but I’m doing it gladly; writing’s a stone
And I got the jones badly

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

455 : 7/9/99 : Mind for Sale

I’ve got a beautiful seventies vintage
reconditioned mind for sale... It has
lost its usefulness I should learn
to just do what I’m told...
buy a car buy a taco buy a
shiny diamond ring... let them
tell me what to have and
what to hold... I’m sure you
could use it in your entertainment
factories... I’m sure you could use it in
ballistics... polite and versatile a real
high class tool... it has a
knack for logic and linguistics...
it’s hard to part with it but I can see the
writing on the wall... and I know you’ve
got the technology... I’ll do you a favor
let you take it off my hands... these days
to fall in love you need a master’s in
psychology... Just promise me that you will
give it a good home... Promise me you’ll fulfill its
potential... My drooling body would be thrilled to see it
doing well... Being such a good cog in the great big differential

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

454 : 7/8/99 : Fucked

So you’re fucked now huh
well that’s just the other side of the coin
uh huh
Teetering between despair
and megalomania
By now their codependence
Should be plain to yah
I don’t want to listen to myself
chattering on and on
I don’t want to make a habit of
spilling my problems out in song
The moment is already here
The future can’t be more than near
The only thing left to fear is fear
Stealing the freedoms we love so dear
Well I guess we’re all fucked
from one point of view
The have’s and the have not’s
the many and the few

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

453 : 7/7/99 : Lucky Day

This must be
my lucky day
the day I make
it all the way
out of this
half life half place
and see the glory
face to face
This must be
my finest hour
I am filled with
Light and power
My cup’s so full
it is spilling
And yet the font
just keeps filling
every day
is just so good
like nothing else
I knew it would

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

Monday, July 06, 2009

452 : 7/6/99 : Snake Oil

1,525 : 4 ?


Dear lord here come the
Snake oil men again
Peddling their crazy
potions to foolish men
Here’s one called flat tax
One called family values
Call it what you want
but watch that they don’t steal your shoes
Here come the smooth talkers
paving the way
If rich men live like kings then
What’s so different from yesterday
Here come the beggars
with their social agendas
We best be careful
they could screw up and end us
these snake oil men
been around forever
there’s always somebody
who’s just too clever

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

Sunday, July 05, 2009

451 : 7/5/99 : Most

North to south east to west
least to most worst to best
near to far cold to hot
here to there x mark the spot
North by northwest
South by southeast
Heaven can wait
Here comes the beast
Ah, ae, ee, oh, ooh
One to none, first to last
how to why, now to past
back to forth, whole to part
quick to dead finish to start
By nature sinful
and unclean
touched by desire
just seventeen
ooh, oh, ee, ae, ah

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

450 : 7/4/99 : 28 Trips

Twenty eight trips
around this independence tip
So why don’t I feel free
An American dream
So bright and hot it makes me cream
I’m very sure you agree
Striving after what you see on the screen
look what they got don’t it make you green
Fools and angels
Modern man bites off too much and strangles
Amazing we still try to stuff in more
Truly oblivious
we stare right through the obvious
evidence of what we’ve got in store
Free to purchase, free to complain
Free to stare at teevee till it softens your brain
Fat and flacid
Docile sheep complacent, placid
Grazing our fast food pasture paradise
sheep for slaughter
Sell your pretty son and daughter
We make the goods but they set the price
You call that freedom, profit and loss
Look around you friend only the rich got no boss

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

449 : 7/3/99 : Fallen World

It’s a shame to live in a fallen world
Surrounded by evil and consequences
of our collective ignorance and avarice and vice
of our manic drive to satiate our jaded senses
It’s a crime to live when so many must die
having seen so little, nothing
killed by bad luck, circumstances
killed by apathy and lack of planning
I’m a criminal I need to be brought in
And stood on trial to answer for the sins
of my sex my race my generation
someone has to lose when someone wins
It’s a shame to be a fallen man
to know I am so limited and small
It doesn’t help to have so much company
It doesn’t help to know the same fate waits for all
It would help to think that God was swingin’ for us
Down here it’s hard to take that view
Maybe that’s the nature of a fallen world
Maybe that’s the nature of the evil that men do

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

448 : 7/2/99 : Flesh

If words became flesh
what a bind I’d be in then
they’d pile up around my head
I’d have to eat them all again
I’d find them filling up my drawers
I’d find them in my shoe
I’d find them cluttering
the space between me and you
I guess I’d try to clench my teeth
and hold the bastards back
I guess I’d probably fail
I could not keep my words on track
Words are not flesh and yet persist
and haunt us through our lives
words like God and family
cut through us like two edged knives
And those who know the score are sure
to keep us talking all the time
keep us well distracted
buy our dollars for a dime

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

447 : 7/1/99 : Living in America

My sense of potential overwhelms me
Living in the richest country there will ever be
Living in America
Living large and bein’ free
Living in America
Such a vivid curiosity
Don’t ask me why we’re the way we are
Don’t pretend there aren’t worse things by far
Living in America
Nothing but a job and a car
Living in America
Let’s all go drive to a bar
And drive home raging drunk and blindly
Try to outrun those flashing lights behind me
Living in America
Maybe the best thing would be
Living in America
If I just watch it on TeeVee

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

446 : 6/30/99 : Whatever Cross

We are computers
constructed
by viruses
Built to specification
block by block
order out of chaos
process of endless reiteration
Our minds model a universe
Scarcely accurate at all
But hauntingly familiar to the powers that be
how do we dream so large
and act so small
I like to think we’re more than that
the sum of meaningless
processes
But I guess it’s all really
pissing in the wind
a man carries whatever
cross is his

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

445 : 6/29/99 : This Too Must Pass Away

1,519 : 0 ?



This too must pass away
And disappear into the ground
One day even our crimes against the earth
will vanish without a sound
Maybe covered by life ascendant
eventually all must expire
eventually all must be consumed
in all consuming fire
Maybe it’s called supernova
Maybe the hand of God
Maybe the unspeakable tao almighty
Will wipe away the paths we trod
And chances are it’ll be a long time
A long time after I’m gone
disappeared without a trace
nevermore to see my face
Every moment short or long
every inkling every song
Will pass away and be gone
And even the passing away of things
will not go on forever
So he writes so he says so he sings

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

444 : 6/28/99 : Reiteration

I’m sure you’ve heard this one before
boy meets girl and they feel so sure
About their little situation
It’s just another iteration
And I am just a magazine
I take another bullet for the truth machine
I take another bullet for the sake of creation
And fall into the Great Reiteration
Magnets make fields and form follows function
I hook it all together with a conjunction junction
I don’t believe in reincarnation
I know I’m not nothing but an iteration
I’m talking a talk that goes a long way back
If you think too much about it it all turns black
Cause time ain’t nothing but a destination
And we’re just here to witness the reiteration

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

Saturday, June 27, 2009

443 : 6/27/99 : Random Walk

It’s a bright light
but so very far away
so very very very far away
It’s a long shot
this world seems very strange
But I swear I’m gonna get there by next May
I’m a wild one
I refuse to sit up straight
And act the part of every other dupe
When my day comes
I’ll be ready to begin
And amaze you with the speed I make the loop
Don’t look back now
There is only one way through
This dancing random walk along the beach
It’s a straight line
And they all lead to one place
Thank God it’s such an easy place to reach

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

442 : 6/26/09 : Final Reckoning

Is this the final reckoning
Is this the light of the new day
An intention is lost in a moment
And every slate is cleaned and put away
Do I have to go on after this
Always pushing on
Such a sad way to end a contemplative day
Such a sad little have finished song
Final reckoning draw down
the scorecard by
whoever’s accounting
Draw down the final heil
Already the resistance is mounting
Lie down give it up let it go
It’s all I’ve heard and all I know
final reckoning
Put me off another day
I’ll get my accounts in order
Just give my rope a little more play

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

441 : 6/25/99 : Naturally

Oh Lord what will become of me
I go along this crazy rut
just doing what comes naturally
It always seems harmless but
I can’t deny my situation gives me pause
And it’s a crazy world that I’m in
Man is mortal feeble ruled by laws
wracked by doubt and soaked in sin
And a natural man stands little chance
In a society of cunning and thieves
of finding beauty or enjoying romance
maybe the smart nature boy just leaves
And finds a bunch of people who believe
like him in a better way
And know what you sew you receive
And help them build the new day
It’s just all got to happen naturally
Like everything always does
I see it coming and it’s plain to see
That there only ever is and never was

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

440 : 6/24/99 : Patience

Patience is a virtue it’s said
that kind of truth gets turned on its head
every time it’s inconvenient
Any time the rules get lenient
Patience is a game that I play
finding hidden virtue in a dull day
When you have no choice but a waiting game
When you have no choice patience is just a name
That we give ourselves when we can’t decide
Whether to buy the ticket or miss the ride
The act’s convincing but I can’t hide
the truth of the inevitable where we all reside
Patience is the attitude I’ve sworn to
And seems the sole response to this world we’re born to
The end can be delayed but never stopped
Sooner or later the bubble gets popped
Patience makes the world roll ‘round its track
Sooner or later we all work our way back
RIght out of existence and into light
Patience makes it easy but it can’t make it right

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

439 : 6/23/99 : Anger Rising

Anger rising that’s unsurprising
It’s all the usual things
I’m sick of thinking of the rest
A little sleep I think is best
If I lay down in anger take it with me to the springs
Hold me up bed soothe this crazy blinded head
Hold my anger in check a little while
strap me down I’m in a fit to paint the town
With a golden crown and a million dollar smile
Bubbling boiling, strikes me while I’m toiling
In the fields of human endeavor
Always everywhere a circle cannot be a square
And we’re all searching for a longer lever

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

438 : 6/22/99 : Grip

1,511 : 0 ?


What is grip what is adhesion
How do I get it how do I keep hold?
With this festering lesion
When my hands are so very cold?
What is this surface tension
That throws me back most every night?
These scenes we pass without mention
These horrors we excise from sight
Who is that stranger in the corner
gripping a black flame in his hand
who is that turning as grey as a mourner
who is that sinking in the sand
I lost my grip on passive resistance
Found myself beaten with a cross
Found myself jailed at the public’s insistence
When I get out I’ll be my own boss
What holds the whole damn thing together
Is the grip tight or is it loose
I might feel light as any feather
I’ll weigh enough at the end
of that noose

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

437 : 6/21/99 : Rushing

Rushing to this rushing to that
never a moment to rest or kick back
And we wonder why we’re always
Tired these days
Rush to buy this lay the cash down
Never pause to think what we already own
And we wonder why we never
have enough pay
Rush to get tight, rush to get high
push ourselves until the whole show passes us by
And we wonder why the kids
Are rushing down the same pipe
I’m rushing right now, can’t seem to stop
Somebody please stop this thing and call a cop
Maybe if I were cited I’d slow down
And stop producing such tripe

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

436 : 6/20/99 : 1984, 1884

He said it’s just like 1984
I said how exactly do you mean
He said the only thing Orwell got wrong
Was to think they’d have to force us into staring at that screen
He said we’ve lost our sense of history
Well just think back to 1884
We may still read Sappho or Huckleberry Finn
But who remembers With Fire and Sword anymore
Cleveland elected Harry Truman born
There’s always more replacements on the way
No one remembers the first underground train
But we listen to Brahms Opus 90 to this day
What’s the word the rise of Johannesburg
There’s so much history in every thing
Who really knows what was happening then
who could have guessed what the future would bring
I said the only thing I can’t figure
Is how any of it relates to 1984
He said I guess I failed to make my point
just we’re always in the process
of kicking down some door

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

Friday, June 19, 2009

435 : 6/19/99 : The Universe

The universe is awfully big and
awfully old and we’re so young and small
And every time I think I know
something I find I don’t know much at all
I find it hard to take you people who
are so sure you’ve got it solved
But are you any worse than guys
like me
Who can’t decide and so won’t get involved
The universe is awfully strange and
spread out awfully thin it seems
And it’s awfully hard to tell just how much
of it’s just a product of our dreams
We dream of order dream of cycles
imagining a permanence we cannot find
our lives are brief and frustrating
This fleeting present moment like the million
we leave behind
I’ve got my patch of ground to roam in
My little stage here in the Big Show
Got no script got no directions
But I play it like you wouldn’t
even know

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

434 : 6/18/99 : The Wire

We all know it’s out there
Waiting to cut us off in our prime
None of us talks about it much
But we think about it all the time
We all know it’s down there
buried deep under the ground
carrying the signals conducting
the energy that turns the whole thing around
Everyone comes to the moment
When troubles surround you like a runaway fire
We race ahead blind and wondering
If we’ll manage to slip under the wire
Are we struggling to be free again
Cut the wires and stand on our own feet
Mister be careful what you ask for
there’s many a twisty turn down that street
We may get wired, we may go wireless
We may all get wired for the big sound
We may wake up and find ourselves surrounded
Wires in our heads, up above, underground

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

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

433 : 6/17/99 : Big Blue

Look at me standing there
in front of the Big Blue Ocean
I only vaguely remember now
It’s nothing but a notion
I spend far too much time
listening to myself think
It’s a game I like to play at night
edge a little closer to the brink
Hey big blue
Won’t you carry me along
On a big big wave
Won’t you sing me a better song
Oh look at me swinging there
At the intersection of innocence and fate
I imagine that I’m free of care
But even there I hesitate
To make any assumptions
The past is so hard to know
hanging in front of the Big Blue
at an intersection of stay and go

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

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

432 : 6/16/99 : Quid Pro Quo

The name of the game is
quid pro quo
this for that and
this I know
the man with nothing
in his hands
he isn’t even real
in this promised land
The real entertainment
is let’s make a deal
there’s only one rule, that’s
cheat when you can’t steal
me I got nothing
even less than that
still I’ve got few surprises
tucked under my hat
Give something for nothing
surprise the dogs
Who never figured us to be
anything but cogs
I’ve got one last trick tucked up my sleeve
I won’t play by the rules
And I refuse to leave.

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

431 : 6/15/99 : Desperation

1,505 : 3 ?


I can’t deny I’m desperate
at least I try to keep it quiet
you must admit there’s not much hope
for those who will not even try it
Try for one day to be silent
listen to the rest of what goes on
listen to the thousand other voices
the one thousand and first song
desperation is my engine
drives me always to ask more
always looking at the far side
looking for an untried door
It might be the secret motive
that fuels flux and revolution
buried deep inside our tissues
desperate seeds of evolution

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

Sunday, June 14, 2009

430 : 6/14/99 : Well Run Dry

Well the well run dry, wasn’t no water
and they caught him shacked up
with the Governor’s daughter
They dragged her away and set his house on fire
He was livid he was very wroth
He said man takes to trouble
like a flame draws a moth
put a fence round his burnt house
made a’ broken glass and barb wire
Said I know what I’s infer when a well runs dry
Most men would walk away
but I’m no ordinary guy
black stone on stone pile it all up again
We’re always building where our luck
ran out
we always come back
to our temples of doubt
and that two edged sword
is a might mightier
Than my pen

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

Saturday, June 13, 2009

429 : 6/13/99 : What Is

All philosophies collapse back to absurdities
And all my silly ditties cannot
bring this bad old world in line
But rocking in my chair close to despair
I find how I fare is not
the only truth I have made mine
What is, what is
what is this eternal optimism
what is, what is
this brave face in the end of endless schism
every religious fusion seems based on love and confusion
pinned under the huge sun we must
somehow make sense of our lot
And that’s a hard row’s hoeing never knowing
where we’re going
always changes wind is blowing
tossed by senses, spirits, thought
what is, what is
that’s all I know and all I’ll ever
what is what is
until I’m part of it forever

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

428 : 6/12/99 : What If

We spend our lives in hiding
Fearing the moment that never comes
Whispering crazily to ourselves
When the whole universe is dumb
What if it never comes?
What if I’m only dreaming?
What if nothing is real?
What if there’s only the seeming?
We spend our whole lives running
after a shadowy destination
dreaming there is a finish line
this side of creation
what if we never arrive?
what if I’m on the wrong path
How will I ever survive
on the other side of the aftermath
We spend our whole lives seeking another
man or God or anyone but ourselves
Some see the spirits of days gone by
or smoke DMT and see electric elves
What if we’re all alone?
What if there’s no one anywhere
Could one person alone make all this up?
Could one person alone even care?

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

427 : 6/11/99 : Bitter

I’ll top my cup with a spoon of sugar
The medicine is strong but the cup is bitter
The choices I made put the cup in my hand
I’ll knock the rest back when I’m feeling fitter
But a voice like the sun said you’re not fooling anyone
You got to drink it now
This is the cup you asked me to fill up
It only gets worse with time somehow
Look at me and look on my face
The bitter seeps into my eyes
I can’t remember sun or rain or how I felt
the first time I slipped my hand up between her thighs
Medicine man just doing what I can
Another graceless metaphor
I tip my head back and brace for attack
Such a long bitter trip from here to the door
He said do you really want to end this son
Cause when the drink is gone I’m gonna call you up
I said I’ll take my bitter with my sweet
with my hands locked tightly round the cup

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

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

426 : 6/10/99 : By Choice

1,500 : 6 ?


By choice it seems we take the dreams
That are sent to us that are meant for us
And if it feels like fate
or savage random chance
The little on our plate
That never meets with our demands
By choice I leave or am left to grieve
When friends move on like forgotten songs
And if it seems unlikely that
we choose the shit we’re in
I still insist it’s tit for tat
When first we reckon to begin
I stiffen up I’ve given up
So bound to earth so little worth
The time we spend in calculating
How we’ll beat the clock and city hall
But here’s the truth I’m stating
It’s all a choice made backed against a wall

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

425 : 6/9/99 : Second Organization

Once we scrape down the sides of the barrel
we’re closer than you think
Once we’ve got it all on digital at our fingerprints
And start wasting our lives away on downlink
Once it all blows up in our faces
Race and sex and politics and drugs
Won’t we have a stupid expression
When King Entropy yanks out the rugs
I’m ready I can see into the future
The way we have to fuck it all around
The way we have to fuck ourselves into the deepest hole
we can find every time we hear the Big Sound
Aga Khan and Dalai Lama
Jomo Kenyatta and Marcus Garvey too
We got no spiritmen ain’t got ourselves no heroines
Got only our sorry selves to get ourselves through
Once we start digging into our chaos engines
Our ethics already on vacation
Inevitably the fittest wills survive
Time for the Second Organization

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

424 : 6/8/99 : Things Got Strange

It wasn’t anything organized
It came right outta thin air
Fifty thousand strong it blossomed
From hither you and nowhere
Somebody put mescaline in Congress’ water supply
Some of them thought they saw Jesus, some of them
thought they would die
And then things got strange
Do you remember the blitz
of email messages and crazy cartoons
Everybody picked up a little spare power
sifted a little gold outta the ruins
Somebody hacked the big computer’s
motherboard
I’ll never forget the day every cash
machine went out of its gourd
And then things got strange
When all the ecstasy showed up on the street
And everyone’s radio blew the same beat
Someone hacked the satellite from underground
And at eleven fifty one thousand
nine hundred ninety nine they uplinked
the New Sound...
And then things got strange

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

Sunday, June 07, 2009

423 : 6/7/99 : The Afterlife

I hope to God there’s another world past this one
I hope to God I hope to God there is
I ponder every point of view but always feel I missed one
I just hope there’s something more than this
I’d like to believe that there’s something for me and you
Past this veil of tears and heartache and bitter strife
Oh God could you bring just bring a sign it might be true
I want so very much to believe in the afterlife
In teevee and in movies the good guys always win
but out here the winners are the ones who make us lose
I’m so tired of waiting for my real life to begin
I’m so tired of waiting in this line I didn’t choose
Whatever’s out there out beyond this crazy game
Whatever happens when our bodies set us free
I just keep hoping it’s not more of the same
But I guess that that what will be will be will be

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

Saturday, June 06, 2009

422 : 6/6/99 : The Battle of the Bulge

These are the rag men; jaws slack eyes hollow as hell
(I could not have fought in the Battle of the Bulge)
I can only hear the stories that the old men tell
I can only listen to the horrors the old men divulge
They say two thousand died a day the lucky ones
These then are the hollow men who fought for reasons
Who lived and mostly died from disease or bombs or guns
who knows who refused and yet we call their actions treasons
No one has the right we all usurp to create history
Someone steals the right and forces us to go along
Forces us to see to face the bloody evil mystery
Fills men’s minds with memories that never will be gone
Evil’s always pushing out somewhere in this world
Another bulge that someone must push down
Rearing like the serpent’s head around the whole earth curled
Seems like more evil’s the only way to regain that ground
I wish I had a mighty army of the hollow men
Guess they’re mostly dead but still I wish it so bad
Wish I had an army brought down from heaven
Only they could explain how badly we’ve been had

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

Friday, June 05, 2009

421 : 6/5/99 : Fatigue

On the grim outer rim of fatigue
I keep searching for the answers
Questions that seem so far out of my league
and grow in my mind like cancers
I’ve been searching for such a long time
A search leading to nothing but wall after wall
I’ve searched in reason I’ve searched in rhyme
I’ve run until I had to walk
I’ve walked until I had to crawl
I’m so tired of self-reference
I’m too dull for all this trouble
I’m tired of striving without recompense
For every certainty the uncertainty is double
I’m so tired I could fall right over
and sleep forever like the dead
be absorbed and push up clover
just to be free from what’s in my head
I’m so tired and it’s more than half
of what’s wrong
But the questions are there nonetheless
I got no choice but to write my little song
What it’s good for is anybody’s guess

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

420 : 6/4/99 : Back in the Saddle

I’m back in the saddle again
I tell you friend
sometimes it doesn’t seem like
I’m making much progress
I guess it all must work out in the end
I’m back up on that horse
A little worse for wear of course
Every day I stick to my guns
a little bit tired my voice a little bit hoarse
I made a special vow
to show everybody how
no matter how much
we piss and moan
The curtain comes down we all take a bow
we all bow out in the long run
Sometimes when we think we’ve just begun
And it’s irony sure
the cosmic quip
We all end up silent in the said and done

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

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

419 : 6/3/99 : A Confession

I’m sick of writing songs today
It’s a confession I’m sad to say
Has been a long time coming
So sick of the rhyming and tapping and humming
The obsessive delineation of verse
so it all gets cryptic vague and terse
All day I act calm and deferential
While my art gets steadily more self-referential
But I guess I’ll push through another dawn
seems like all I’ve ever learned to do is push on

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

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

418 : 6/2/99 : Still Too Far

Almost there but still too far
writing songs on the phone
Singing all day in the train car
Trying trying always
Dying for a feeling
Oh Lord one of these days
Are you gonna call me up
are you gonna fill up my cup
Till it flows over
into the endless fields of clover
Almost almost there
But still too far

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

Monday, June 01, 2009

417 : 6/1/99 : Hard Sell

1,490 : 17 ?


I’m sick of the hard sell
From men who own it all anyway
From the forest to the city to the bay
They set the clocks they ring the bell
So why’s it so important
To make me decide to do what they want
Why this illusion this stunt
Maybe they can reason it out I sure can’t
Maybe they can’t abide to see the truth in their lies
Constantly spewing from the magic box
Knock back what rolls and stop what rocks
All to pretend the they still got light in their eyes
I’ve had enough of the hard sell
I’m closing my door in their face
I’ll pay to put myself in place
And I won’t ever tell
They held the secret to my escape
I just listened and heard what they said
Then did the opposite thing instead
Look up it’s me the one in the mask and cape

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

Sunday, May 31, 2009

416 : 5/31/99 : Fell Apart

Well it all fell apart on me
When I wasn’t looking sir
And it could happen to you
It could happen to you sure
No man is immune to bad luck
No man is so humble he avoids every fall
And if you don’t think it could happen to you
Sir you don’t know life at all

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

415 : 5/30/99 : Brilliant Cycle

I can see the way it all spins around
me and you or anyone
The moon the stars the surfs that pound
This brilliant cycle in the sun
And I cannot complain I’ve got my daily bread
And I cannot deny the truth of what she said
It all happens for a reason
East and west and north and south
And every searcher finds a season
The wisdom out of a a baby’s mouth
the truth is written for anyone to know
It’s written in the heavens and written down bel
This brilliant cycle spins
It cannot stop it’s perpetual motion
Nothing ever ceases nothing begins
Just you just me just one big ocean
There’s a road that runs around the whole way
we’re all on it always everyday

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

Friday, May 29, 2009

414 : 5/29/99 : Meal of Wurms

Take what I get you can bet it’s
just what I deserve
just what I’ve got coming to me
come as I am just a lamb for
the slaughterhouse
never had the answer never had the key
Pain it’s all right no not quite what
I thought was coming
Guess that I just didn’t think it through
Try, come to terms, meal of wurms on
my dinnerplate
It’s enough to get me through a another night
And just the same if my name is
unfamiliar to you
Ah it’s just because my future’s not so bright

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

Thursday, May 28, 2009

413 : 5/28/99 : Birthday Song

You see things just the way you want to
Black or white, ugly or fair
What you seek it surely comes to you
Nobody knows from where
Ain’t that just the way... Ain’t that just the way
Looks like it’s your birthday, this must be your birthday song
I see everything as bad or good
Even though I know that it’s not true
I get so tangled up with what I should
When the hammer comes down I just don’t have a clue
Ain’t that just the way... Ain’t that just the way
Looks like it’s your birthday, just another birthday gone
One year leads into another
one year passes like the next
I heard about these games from my brother
I heard about the way a man gets vexed
Ain’t that just the way...
Ain’t that just the way
You celebrate a birthday
Sound just like a birthday song
Ain’t that just the way
Ain’t that just the way

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

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

412 : 5/27/99 : Tiny Song

He said I can’t really see myself doing it
I guess I’ll just look at this one again
Well we just keep tryin’
We just keep screwing it

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

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

411 : 5/26/99 : Dull Song

1,484 : 11 ?


I got up today and took a shower
brushed my teeth and headed for the street
I got no time to smell a flower
I got no time for anyone I might meet
I got on a bus to take me downtown
Didn’t spend much time looking left or right
Nothing much to see on my way down
And the same in reverse going back tonight
I sat behind a desk and made my contribution
to society with my time
It’s hard to say if I’m part of the solution
It’s hard to tell a good deed from a crime
I rolled back home just the way I came
A dull day a song already sung
Who’s to judge how we fare in the big game
We who are neither old nor young

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

410 : 5/25/99 : Day by Day

Day after day I write what I find to say
Trying not to get too far ahead
Day after day I reap what I sew
Even though I know I’ll have to sleep in that bed
Night after night I wait for a sight
A vision to lead me higher
Every day’s struggle ends in restless sleep
Every night I slip under the wire
Day by day you gotta take it that way
‘Cause that’s the only way it comes
I take what I can and move along
Obey the strong and accept my crumbs

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

409 : 5/24/99 : Vegas

Her and me got married in Vegas
we said third time gotta be a charm
why does it seem that the wages
of letting go’s always doing somebody harm
we rolled back to Ohio
And tried to make it down on the farm
With a pig pig here e-i-e-i o
Now nothing’s left of Vegas but a rusted lucky charm
There’s places it’s fast and places it’s slow
But no matter where it’s there you are
In my dreams there’s a place I can never go
You can’t get to that Las Vegas in a car
Where all the tables heat up when I’m around
And all the wedding vows last forever
In my dreams I hear that jackpot sound
As my baby pulls down every lever

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

408 : 5/23/99 : Verges

On the verges I always feel
like I’m hanging there alone
All thee usual abysses
All the chances overflown
Everything’s always
about to start
Everything’s always on hold
Somebody always gets there first
Somebody always gets left out
in the cold
I’ve got an urge for verges
I got a bad yen for confrontation
I’ve got a way for all of us
to get up out from under
All we gotta do is dream about it
all we gotta do is wonder

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

407 : 5/22/99 : Wind Down

Does it all wind up just to wind down
is that the big secret after all
does the universe expand to contract
does everything rise just to fall
What am I waiting for anyway
at this point it’s just another night
that passes like a slow storm front
there’s nothing at all in it to fight
Kingdom Come is calling my name
all the angels heard on high
the whisper of illumination
fading like the long goodbye
Fading into contemplation
of the oceans of my youth
all the memories that drowned
the ocean as the final truth
Someday at the gates of Glory
I’ll find out how much that I recall
I’ll find out if the wind down
Just starts another wind up
after all

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

Currency

With the dates of the posted songs so close to an even decade ago I decided to experiment with trying to keep the postings current for a while. Seeing as how I haven't posted anything in over a month maybe the title of this post should be overcompensation, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. In my experience also, generally, something ventured, nothing gained, but who's counting. Wow, I'm in a really vicious, cynical frame of mind today. Anyway. Since I'm not willing to have this thing rule my life I'll necessarily have to break with my former convention and post more than one song some days when I miss a day or, uh, thirty. I guess. If I get too far behind I suppose I'll likely to abandon the effort. Maybe it will spur me to keep it up a little better. Or not. The meaninglessness of failure is merely one of the thrilling rewards of utter unimportance.

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

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

406 : 5/21/99 : Minimal Architecture

Given only the minimal architecture
of conformity
Of ignorance prejudice selfishness
and always anonymity
Look what you’ve made
me do now
Look what you’ve gone and
made me do now
It doesn’t take much to
rock this boat
And your complacent platitudes
stick in my throat
Look, see what we’ve
done now
See what we had to go
and do now

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

Monday, April 20, 2009

405 : 5/20/99 : Country Living

1,450 : 1 ?


I can’t wait until my ship comes in
I can’t wait for the day that I am free
to move out of this city
And get me to a place where I can just be
Country Living, oh boy! That’s the life for me
Oh Country Living it’s the only place I wanna be
Oh you can take the boy from the country
You can put him down in any bad old town
You can show him all the glitter and the flashing lights
but you just can’t keep the country down
Country Living, oh boy! That’s the life for me
Oh Country Living it’s the only place I wanna be
I seen enough of this city life
And all the fine people in their diamonds and pearls
I seen plenty of money for one lifetime
I don’t want nothing with these city girls
Country living that’s the only life for you and me
You’ll be my country girl the day I get free

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

Friday, April 17, 2009

404 : 5/19/99 : Pentagon Files (Day of Inception)

After all the stones we laid down
are torn asunder
long after every one of us
is buried deep down under
they will mine what's left of our files
and wonder
at the foolish lives we used to lead
They won't care about our spreadsheets
or the way the market fared
They will only wonder how so few
stories and songs were spared
Won't it be a sad
commentary on the lives we shared
huddled in the shadow of the
Pentagon Files

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

Thursday, April 16, 2009

403 : 5/18/99 : Salvia Divinorum

Salvia divinorum
Why must I strain the bounds of decorum
Always seeking higher wisdom
following my dim light
The tricks of the ancient sages sure
That’s very funny but the page is a blur
as tears of recognition
once again blind my insight
Will you show me
the bastards that control me
or guardians to lead me
to the surer path
Will I see the paradox
wrapped in an enigma box
will I lose it all again
like always in the aftermath

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

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

402 : 5/17/99 : Nothin’ Quite So Funny as a Fork in the Road (The Inertia Machine 36/36)

Ain’t nothin’ quite so funny as a
fork in the road baby
Look at the decisions we made so far
Sometimes it’s hard to see
I know that, maybe
You’d see a little better if you got out of the car
It’s not a suggestion
It’s exactly what it sounds like
This is not a dagger in my hand
Get out of the car
Get on the fuckin’ bike
Pedal your poor ass across this sorry land
Download from the truth machine
reveals that what the magazine
You read in Doctor Deathwatch’s office said
is true
We’re driving ourselves to death
Every mile is one less breath
I guess it’s up to you asshole
to figure out what to do

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

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

401 : 5/16/99 : The Nothing Box (The Inertia Machine 35/36)

Being implies nonbeing implied
all the usual philosophy tricks were applied
as usual
A vessel was created out of
wasted time to contain the order
that disperses without reason
or rhyme transcausal
The ancients of days long gone
spoke of it in image and song It
had been gone a long long time
so they say
But all who are illuminated
agree that the nothing box
was created agree and have stated
It will be found and opened
some unlucky day

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

Monday, April 13, 2009

400 : 5/15/99 : Seventh Highway (The Inertia Machine 34/36)

1,443 : 3 ?


When will I ride on the seventh highway
the one that stretches on and on, eternal
When will the high road appear before me
What will the I write on the last page of the journal
Are you listening way up on high
are you watching as I write through the pain
We need some maps down here the road we seek is missing
when will I find my way home again
Highway 61, Stanyan Street and Mullholland
Babylon and Ting and the Moonlight Mile
I’ve known so many roads and heard of more
The highway is our destiny our testament and trial
Lord won’t you take the wheel from me
And steer me to the proper exit ramp
steer me onto the seventh highway
Or maybe just leave me a lighted lamp
And I won’t hide it underneath my bed
I won’t let the Devil snuff it out
Otherwise I’ll search the highways in the dark
otherwise I guess I’ll have to tough it out

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

Monday, April 06, 2009

399 : 5/14/99 : Angel (The Inertia Machine 33/36)

1,436 : 1 ?


When my skull is splitting trying to wrap my head
around the math
I like to talk to my friend Dan about the Buddha path
A different sort of wisdom from the kind I got at home
New perplexing riddles from a different dusty tome
Daniel help me figure out the thoughts that paralyze
Is my kitty going to go to heaven when he dies?
I know it seems a small thing in a world of world-class doubt
But angel kitties are the only thing I think about
Is my kitty sentient does my kitty have a plan
Is he how I think of him a furry little man
Does he have a conscience are there thoughts behind his golden eyes
Daniel is my kitty going to heaven when he dies?

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

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

398 : 5/13/99 : Inauspicious (The Inertia Machine 32/36)

Does it seem to you my friend
we have chosen an inauspicious
moment to arrive? We have a hard
time communicating with such
a badly organized beehive.
Even so we’re here to stay
this unlucky day marks our
disembarking. We have to say we
like it here okay, your technology
is harmless and your solar system
has easy parking. Well it’s never
much of a day the losers say
for colonization. You’ve got
little cause to complain you’ve used
the same argument, we think you
need more civilization

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