2.28 : 5/31/05 : Burn

2,118 : 13 ?


All the dirty sonsabitches gonna hafta burn
All the violent sonsabitches gonna hafta burn
all the vile sonsabitches gonna hafta burn
any body hurt a child gonna hafta burn
any bastard rape a body gonna hafta burn
any man who kill his fellow gonna hafta burn
all the people looked away from it they hafta burn
anyone forsake their children gonna hafta burn
any leader cheats his people gonna hafta burn
any teacher harms his charges gonna hafta burn
any priest who leads his flock astray he hafta burn
any warden kills his prisoner he hafta burn
all the prophets called for genocide they had to burn
all the kings who sought their own glory they had to burn
every commoner who went along they had to burn
every bureaucrat behind the scenes they had to burn
every general who let them die they had to burn
every father mother let them go they had to burn
every fool like me who knows the score
we have to burn
and if you get left still wanting more
you have to burn

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

2.27 : 5/30/05 : Slash

Hack slash
dash another throwaway
didn’t want it anyway
thoughtless
half assed
song is not
the cause of
loss of innocence
or the thing that’s gonna show the way
in the halls of
consequences
hey anyway
just gonna
slash slash slash
my way
through all the
detail I bury
and’ll have to exhume some day
when it’s gone
slash through this
jungle till I get to say
So I presume
Dr. Livingstone?

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

2.26 : 5/29/05 : Adrenaline

Adrenaline high smashed through the
membrane between blood and brain
fusing thought and action into
an inexorable inclined plane
Triggered by the main attraction
brought on by the need that came
around the time that evolution
came up with our family name
Throw me into the big empty
whip me ‘round the center hard
Jump out from the dark right at me
deal me the devil card
Never more to hunt for dinner
never more to travel into
somewhere no one’s been not ever
everywhere you go they’ve pinned you
so we build the rides up higher
and we keep the fake blood flowing
through the whole thing up the volume
yet we can’t quite keep from knowing
that the real danger’s always
waiting patient in the wings
and the sad illusions that we
conjure don’t mean anything
we need a shot to keep us steady
I need a shot of adrenaline
to keep me ready for the main attraction
keep me sharp keep the motor clean

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

2.25 : 5/28/05 : Spirit

The spirit is silent tonight
I have to invent my own light
I have to present my own tale
the bailiff, the awl and the whale
it’d be better if I was higher
I need a more strong amplifier
I’ll write every verse upside down
I’ll live in my little home town
I’ll make every moment count double
I’ll use seven words to spell trouble
I’ll throw in with gnomes elves and dwarves
The sum of the chi he absorbs
the forest will rattle with life
he’ll pay no attention and move like a knife
that separates marrow and bone
that chops out the vein and leaves muscle alone
free to act but not to think
a farce with all saints but the great kitchen sink
is this what I came back here for
was that you passed out on the floor
no matter the testing ground held
The experiment proved successful as hell

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

2.24 : 5/27/05 : First Precedent

First precedent of the fifth principle
a package wrapped in celt knot and tulle
A song wrapped up in a pleasant riddle
written for the sackbut, mouth harp and fiddle
An awesome expanse of transcendent verse
I passed from the good to the bad to the worst
maybe I’ll drive a little lower yet
but this is nowhere near as bad as it can get
I’ve set a precedent of deeper intention
don’t claim to be original but give me a mention
as one who faced a lot of false roads down
forsook my paycheck and my golden crown
If I fill the page with successive verse
if I present a case logical taut and terse
but stretch it out into a full bore page
is my attention meant for another age
I’ll fool ‘em all and wrap them up quicker
free from smoke or smoke or beer or liquor
I’ll end it all on a balanced tip
with a thousand options for my final quip

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

2.23 : 5/26/05 : Two

Two more days of suffering
the numbers just don’t mean a thing
two lads clad in green delight
one last reference to endless night
the one of course is simply me
the other called just what might be
but I get trapped in might have beens
but for habits, but for sins
what if I’d not played the martyr
What if I had studied harder
Always losing sight of this
the reverie the Judas kiss
that knocks the other day around
and kicks it when it’s on the ground
at least I’m feeling free to do
without the need to justify to You

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

2.22 : 5/25/05 : Three

Three, three the rivals
departures and sudden arrivals
rivals for my affection
demons suggesting defection
my love for you dear has no rival
when put to the test of survival
when put to the test of obedience
they couldn’t keep me settled on the fence
still yet there is one rival left
the one that leaves each one bereft
still I’ll fight that battle in its day
On that subject I’ve nothing more to say

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

2.21 : 5/24/05 : Four

Four for the gospel makers
and how many left out then
gnostic coptic celtic even
Four for all the movers shakers
Who’s to say we got it all now
scripture is a funny concept
something slipped between our precepts
text an unlikely sacred cow
Matthew, Mark, Luke and me
bootstrap gospel, that’s my action
turned through my special refraction
so let written, so let be
I’ll stick with my four main fictions
Not to think I don’t think it’s true
Still it’s just a book to you
And I’ll live with the old restrictions

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

2.20 : 5/23/05 : Five

2,111 : 6 ?


Five symbols at my door
First that says please just one more
Second says I’ll do it later
Third says please don’t be a hater
Fourth the sign of silence coming
Fifth says wait I’m only slumming

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

2.19 : 5/22/05 : Chance

Take a chance and let the day go
without trying to defy
all the precedents that mounted
all the chances that passed by
If you chanced to be engaged
when Mr. O knocked at your door
recall you can go knock on
his a thousand times or more
Take a chance and leave it there
don’t try to get a day ahead
take a chance on just believing
in the future in your bed
coming sixty beats a minute
whether you are great or small
take a chance on just believing
you needn’t force it at all

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

2.18 : 5/21/05 : Cluster

Cluster of failure of the social meme
the failure of the poet to enforce a common theme
the symbol of the age appears as skull and bones
and the one after the next one
will be fought with sticks and stones
It seems our favorite riddles get writ down in blood
it seems the name of names is getting dragged
right through the mud
they dragged it through the streets
into Ophelia’s tomb
but in that muddy pool I saw a lotus bloom
I tried to build a cluster bomb of sharpened thought
I put it on the carousel but so few bought
that pitiless dissection of a thousand nights
and I could not deny that they were
well within their rights

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

2.17 : 5/20/05 : Tapestry

The tapestry that he described to me
this living thing, this mystic sea
But nothing that I’ve ever known
It seems that I could not be shown
So tell me this yea he who treads
of what strange matter’s made the threads
that undulate and bind the mask
this holographic living task
And could the thing be memory?
And is it bound by destiny?
And if I followed every rule
Would that great swath appear to me?
The center that we forged wouldn’t hold
the thing got stale or slow or old
looks like we’re on our own again
So tell me of this tapestry
is it still something you can see?
and is our little part we played
somewhere upon that film displayed
They say all time exists at once
obscure to little fortune’s dunce
but if it’s true then I suppose
by any other name this rose
that seems so long past dry and dead
may one day yet retrieve our thread

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

2.16 : 5/19/05 : Threads

Pick a thread to follow
pick a thread to pull
watch the thing unravel
fall apart so beautiful
It doesn’t seem like virtue
it doesn’t seem like vice
it just seems like a thing I do
I don’t seem very nice
the thing seems somehow incomplete
somewhere a stitch got dropped
the warp and weft got mixed around
but I just won’t be stopped
I said that I refused to quit
no matter what came next
I said I’d push this seed along
no matter how perplexed
I’m satisfied to leave it there
I’m satisfied the thing's begun
I’m sad I haven’t gotten there
I’m sad it’s not more fun
I guess I’ll never know for sure
and never feel complete
I’m guessing even at the top
I’d still shift in my seat
I’ve still got a dozen days
To meet the old deadline
and whether I feel I’ve arrived
I’ll stick to my incline

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

2.15 : 5/18/05 : The Lost Thread Pt 2

The secret of the game is to try to forget
If you don’t know what I’m talking about
you haven’t lost yet
Briefing for a descent into hell
you better pick up this thread
and remember it well
Under the spell of a tripart vapor
a truth that I could not get writ down on paper
I saw it so clear I came close to death
Till I remembered the game
was to just take a breath
and rock the whole cradle
across the abyss
I clutched just enough dust to know
in my fist
I said I’ll fear nothing
but to lose it again
took the thread in my hand
and said now I begin

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

2.14 : 5/17/05 : The Lost Thread Pt 1

Send it by messenger
Send it by post
sent from the list
sent to Most
Whatever the message
I choose to send
In seven minutes
the lost thread shall end
sickness and grief made me forget
if you’re looking for transcendence
it’s a dodgy bet
the whole thing always gets
turned on its head
and I’ve only got time to find one end
of the thread

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

2.13 : 5/16/05 : Back on the Horse

2,103 : 3 ?


Get back on the horse
try try again
and if you still don’t succeed
chuck it to the bin
tear it into tiny pieces
chew it to a pulp
mix it with a dram or jigger
down it in one gulp
then get back on the horse
slow and steady wins the race
or so say slow and steady ones
before we get right in your face
to shout we’ve got no horses
to shout we’ve got a plan
to unhorse all the first time winners
down to the last man

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

2.12 : 5/15/05 : The Inevitable

The inevitable
rules of exception
no rules no stakes
or is this self deception
it’s no matter
I just keep pushing on
easier to sink than rise
drop below the crushing throng
if the rules are just inventions
if its all just acts of will
then I will follow my light
and I’m following it still

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

2.11 : 5/14/05 : On Demand

Can you kick this beat out on demand
will you scream and shout until they understand?
can you make your point the sharpest
outplay the celestial harpist?
If you’re serious I’ll surely lend a hand
Can you get down to the lowest denominator
can you groove the slowest sort of see you later?
If you’re shaking with the spirit
when the trumpet wails you’ll hear it
so then step up to the cosmic escalator
Will you write this one down in your heart
will you tear it up really tear it apart?
If you’re a bright enough cat
If you can swing a tough bat
The whole ascent will be apparent from the start
Is the answer to the riddle written on the back of your eyelids?
If you’re paid to play the fiddle for the King of the High Kids
Not a piper nor a devil
Still you’re featured in the revel
Representing all us mythic archetype hybrids
But if you can play it straight up on demand
And you stand up for the photo with the band
we’ve a place right center stage
we’ll make the ripple raise a rage
And tear the stops out from here to the promised land

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

Apparently

It's going to take a little more practice to get into the swing of posting every single day again.

2.10 : 5/13/05 : For the Band

For the band force your hand
forge forth and anyone
who does not understand
Leave them behind
For the friends from past the first few
bitter ends
Keep calling we’ll keep it tight
around a few more bends
unlash a few more binds
for the night for what feels right
make a mark stake a place
don’t ever think you’re
past the need to fight
but don’t fight without need
Instead for today
read talk sing laugh play
It’s good its better than the
old sound anyway
So for the band, expand, Godspeed

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

2.9 : 5/12/05 : Already Rushing

Already rushing to fit one in

No matter how you start every day
You got to start again
Don’t look up don’t lift your chin
Nose to the grindstone one last
turn of the spin
Already surging to evolve divide
fork what works
let the rest of it slide
metasocial suicide
patriarchal patricide
Don’t have to switch it up in midstream
but it’s a little past the limit of
the perfect dream
but if I squeeze my eyes shut
don’t look up till I cream
I might choke it hard enough
to build up enough steam

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

2.8 : 5/11/05 : Mark the Last

A fix a metaphysic tag
Mark the last long goodbye
there’s no good way to make it last
one hundred days must pass and die

One hundred nights must strike the clock
one hundred songs if I stay true
More honest forthright mindful clear
One day I’ll tell it all for you

One day today though marred halfway
a half truth moment opportune
Another day will bring another
moment playing the same piper’s tune

There’s nothing left to learn about it
nothing really left to say
I mark the last knowing all this clench
of will expires in just one day

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

2.7 : 5/10/05 : Ooncie

The oonciest toonciest song
was only a couple lines long
it stuttered along then just stopped
before it sparked, fizzled or popped

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

2.6 : 5/9/05 : Book of Hours

2,097 : 14 ?


Day’s break break fast
think of firsts, think of last
think of this: thinking won’t
lift one finger: if you don’t
move your body: get down
clean up kid clown
write a word or seventeen
say just what you mean
clear the plate, listen well
talk back, tales to tell
make the rounds, clear the decks
mind the small stuff mind the specks
days midst fuel up
fill half full cups
settle in with company
write a one or two or three
cut the chops fry the bread
cut the veggies keep a clear head
lay a table gather all
it’s a picture on the wall
pass the evening below as above
watching over making love
gathered shadows coalesce
all the world’s a wilderness
pull the covers up and snug
all three sweet and sleeping bugs

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

2.5 : 5/8/05 : Mothers All

Mothers all around the world
gather children all around
gather them and take them home
and lay them gently down
The world gets bigger every day
Expands to match our sight
Expands to stay forever past reach
So as your patch turns past the light
Dear mothers all your children gathered
put them all to peaceful bed
draw the shades around their little world
lay a cool hand on their heads
Inside their minds are like the universe
growing boundless past the known
We know we’ll never be prepared
for how fast they have grown
And spring is tilting toward the summer
Summer will give way to fall
Winter marks another year
Watched over by mothers all

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

2.4 : 5/7/05 : Shock and Awe

rain of blood
then rain of fire
the rain of cement
will short circuit your wire
ground all exploding
buildings collapsing
fires all starting
fires all synapsing
shock the masses
awe the asses
force the freedom
down through all classes
rock the shock we
saw the awe
make no mistake
this is no Panama
a block of dope
a pound of nails
the radii
the flesh impales
the shell’s not spared
the carrier
the seed that slips
each barrier
for all the shock and awe you dealt
I’ve written one more verse
God help you all I sealed each one
with an irresistible curse

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

2.3 : 5/6/05 : Watch This Space

Watch this space for the coming attraction
Watch this space for the main satisfaction
of the twenty first century plugged in mainline
on-demand downlink of the hour's best ultra-sublime

Half priced half baked going out of business
We’ll ship it all across the continent at your behest
We’ll ship you here instead our place is your place
And we’re only here to serve it up watch this space, watch this space

Open wide and say ah ah all aboard
this trip is gonna drop your drawers and pop your gourd
because the big sound workaround finally dropped
And when we plugged it in then the noise finally stopped

We heard still in the silence a small voice clear
say hey man what you’re looking for come over here
Pretty soon your man is gonna come to state his case
You know you always gotta wait but watch this space

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

2.2 : 5/5/05 : First Early Riser

On the dawn of the last day
The first early riser
may be heard to say
It all looks the same as what I left behind
except the traces of that hour
is just fleeting
cascades in my mind
One will rise first
One will rise last
the paradigm of the individual
will transcend at last
only to be subsumed
In some sublime cosmic slop
stop the presses
hold the phone
Someone get a cop

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

2.1 : 5/4/05 : First Song

I’ll write you the first song
might not be the worst song
yet: but you can bet
I’ll write you a lesson
make sure it can guess one
Story that you’ve never told
Be you ever so bold
as
to
Write the first song
Strike the first stroke
Would you sing along
Join the cosmic joke
Lay it down line by line
It’s poetry, I say, I’m feeling
fine.

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

this seed's in flight

All right then, that's that for The Interim. I've updated its explanatory essay with a helpful guide to its various phases. I've also updated, I sincerely hope for the last time in a good long while (27 years? One can hope) the general explanation of this website and the lyrics it contains, in anticipation of embarking on the posting of the Songs of Days, Project 2. See you on the flip side, babies.

The Lepton Lyrics 13: Wings and Seeds and Flight

Look up, look up now
Define silence this moment
winged seeds in flight

a craft set sailing
on the old tide of the wind
with wings fixed for flight

silent breeze trailing
from there where all things begin
this seed set alight

look up, look up then
and ask after this riddle
ask of they that fly

who writes the message
that you carry on the wind
from what book what page

oldest messenger
tree sings its ancient refrain
runes read in the earth

stark shadow on white
fleeting in a cold fall sky
moment out of time

see only traces
no one can read its message
only dancing light

a crystal spiral
ever decreasing circle
seed flies only once

this brilliant cycle
authored by the lonely wind
the old song plays on

Ask the seed ask why
it knows not what it falls, falls
follows destiny

Ask where the seed goes
it only holds the message
follows gravity

are you searching, child
for some eternal answer
in a seed in flight

why, yes you ask why
you see there is no answer
that the mind can find

only what will come
when the mind is silent, calm
an unspoken truth

the seed is just seed
there is no special meaning
things are what they seem

so each seed must fall
fall and perish in the ground
fall and rise again

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

The Lepton Lyrics 12: Finest Messenger

Walk in these empty streets
Walk in the monolith maze of stone
Life has gone underground
Walk on the skin that the golem’s grown

Number one, a work’s day to be done

Whisper through pores of steel
Spore of a world, blown in from out
Coat flows, floats behind
casts round a corner and swirls about

Here among where a work’s day to be done

I am the finest messenger
I bring what you cannot spare
cannot be seen in light in lightning
I am the one thing out there

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

The Lepton Lyrics 11: Push On Andromachene

Under the curve the unearthly void
under the stars that shone
Under the haze of water and airs
the earth spins like a magic stone

You don’t fool me andromachene
you make it seem so peaceful and serene
But if your expectations leave you hanging...

Push On
Push On
Push On

Under the fragile green tapestry
under cathedrals of stone
Dances a seed of bright mercury
with currents and continents all its own

You don’t fool me andromachene
you make it seem so peaceful and serene
But if your higher purposes are foundered....

Push On
Push On
Push On

Under the time weathered map of skin
Under the pillars of bone
a single flash a brilliant spark
burns spins and shines in everyone

You don’t fool me andromachene
you make it feel so regal and serene
but if you make a hollow curse of failing...

Push On
Push On
Push On

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

The Lepton Lyrics 10: Kaligula

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bring me the moon

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

The Lepton Lyrics 9: Show

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

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

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

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

The Lepton Lyrics 8: Simple Song

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

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

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

The Lepton Lyrics 7: Three

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

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

The Lepton Lyrics 6: America

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Watching the sun...Set on America

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

The Lepton Lyrics 5: Dr. Jesus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Lepton Lyrics 4: Scapegoat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Lepton Lyrics 3: Prairie Schooner

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

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

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

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

The Lepton Lyrics 2: Cypress

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Lepton Lyrics 1: Falling Toward Apotheosis

2,082 : 5 ?



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

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

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

Interim, last leg: enigma of the Tao Lepton

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

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

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

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

The Two Track Mind Era 27: Poison

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

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

The Two Track Mind Era 26: Bitter Song

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

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

The Two Track Mind Era 25: Tracemaker

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

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

Tracemaker
escalator
make me a trace

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

The Two Track Mind Era 24: Your New Friends

2,075 : 5 ?


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

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

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

The Two Track Mind Era 23: Philosopher’s Stone

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Two Track Mind Era 21: Pure Hokum

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

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

The Two Track Mind Era 20: Video Mail!

2,069 : 16 ?


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

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

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

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

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

The Two Track Mind Era 18: Need

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

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

The Two Track Mind Era 17: Samson

This song contains uncouth and profane lyrics



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

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

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

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

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

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

2,061 : 9 ?


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

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

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

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

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

The Two Track Mind Era 14: Cool

You're so cool

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

The Two Track Mind Era 13: She's Not Thinking About You

She's not thinking about you

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

The Two Track Mind Era 12: His Head Grew Till it Occupied the World

His head grew till it occupied the world
He said, I’ve not begun to fight
And I don’t intend to
And his head grew till it occupied the world

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

The Two Track Mind Era 11: My Fine Mentor

2,154 : 2 ?


My fine mentor told me
to start where I am, to write what I knew
He showed me what to do
David, I wrote this song for you
Don’t you understand?
Don’t you understand?
I’m writing to forget the pain
Of being who I am

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

The Two Track Mind Era 10: Pennies from Heaven

Penny for thoughts and a pound for your foolishness
Pennies from heaven and pennies from elsewhere
Anything, something for nothing I’m drowning
How can I call you, I don’t have your number

She said do you believe in heaven?
I said I believe in a place
I don’t believe that she’s thinking about me
I’m trying now to remember her face

This is the easy part, nothing for something
This is the part where I just slip away
In my mind is your hand in my hand and I’m dreaming
Of leaving, of going away

She said do you believe in heaven?
I said I believe in a place
I don’t believe that she’s thinking about me
I’m trying now to remember her face

One for her mother who’s gone up to heaven
Two for her father who’s changed
Three for her sister who’s growing up nicely
Four is for me, but she can’t think that way

She said do you believe in salvation?
I said I do, but it’s only a guess
She said do you believe in heaven?
Someone please tell her from me I said yes

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

The Two Track Mind Era 9: Another

Another half considered lunge
Another idiotic plunge
I’ll play another faulty hunch
I’ll sleep my life away
Another week lost to regret
Another something I couldn’t get
Another high risk, low gain bet
I’ll try some other day
see a friend and talk a while
turn the bend and walk a mile
get inside and fake a smile
hope that I go out in style
if this is life I’ll pass it by
if this is truth I’ll still ask why
I’ll pay the piper when I die
It’s my own price to pay

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

In case you hadn't noticed...

And you well might not have noticed, particularly if you are getting this through the Google Reader, or some sort of RSS type thing, where the embeds appear to not be showing up: I've once again been adding player links to such songs as are available in a playable form, which are by far the minority of my vast repertoire, most of which exists, in musical form (if it exists at all), only in my head.

I have conceived various schemes to rectify this reality, at least in some tiny respect, but recording is a long and difficult process and has been, in my own experience, largely unrewarding. There is some sort of bootstrap interval in all this that I can't see clear to navigate through. My existing recording isn't good enough to subsidize getting better.

I really don't know if I'll do more recording. The writing has become something else in my life, now, the songs are a sort of fossil record of my mental processes, a tiny thread of information that accretes on its own schedule and with little apparent connection to forming a coherent narrative or anything else useful, for that matter. I am as reasonably satisfied with this process as I am with anything else about my productive efforts in this life, which is to say not that particularly fucking satisfied, but that's a topic for another blog, one which does not exist to my great relief. Because that is about two steps too far down a road I know in my heart it is better not to go down. Forget I said anything.

Anyway.

I have a couple of things in the can that satisfy my barest requirements of being not so egregiously awful that I will suffer them to be exposed to public ridicule. I finally got it together long enough to organize all that and put together a profile on the site de jour for the marginal musical artist, Bandcamp. Not to say everyone using this service is marginal, far from it, but being free and open to all there's no sense denying that we mediocrities outnumber the shining lights (fucking motto of the internet, hmm, I'm thinking I might not have chosen the right morning to write this announcement after all but hey ho anyway).

Note of amusement is that Bandcamp only accepts lossless source tracks for artist input, so given my disgusting penchant, often, for recording straight to MP3 the most tedious part of the process was having upsample a lot of the stuff so that I could upload it. So if you run across any gnarly audio artifacts in the finished product, uh, sorry.

You can buy it all if you're so inclined. If you were ever a patron of the long-defunct 33 Magazine, I'll note, you should not do so: if you want anything you don't already have just drop me a line and I will be happy to provide it in any format you might be lacking. I'll note one more time that the opportunity to purchase the greatest hits directly from me at a radical discount is on the trembling verge of vanishing as well, with this announcement.

And now that I've got you all positive and excited, allow me to present:

My new Bandcamp page.

The Two Track Mind Era 8: Better Way

2,147 : 20 ?


So hey you think you’ve got me
backed into a corner locked in tight
you think you’ve got me all tied up
you think you finally killed my fight
Not in this life, not in this life
Not while I’m still sucking air
Not while I’m still standing
Not while I still care
You think it’s easy, simple
answer is so obvious
I will not accept your answers
I will not accept you answer

There’s got to be a better way

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

The Two Track Mind Era 7: Read Between My Lines (II)

Hold me hold me hold me hold me hold me
Hold me tight hold me back
from being what so much what I am
so little what I want to be
Hold me
Holding back I hold myself away from you
Making less mistakes this time I’m being true
to being cool
I’m so cool
I keep myself away from you
When I think of holding your hand I shiver
Reach out but I know you can’t deliver
me from be
being so much
Less than all I am
I never say what I mean
I never say all I want to
But if you could read between my lines

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

The Two Track Mind Era 6: Read Between My Lines

2,141 : 14 ?


I’d like to tell you a true story,
like to tell you a true story,
like to tell you a true story,
now
I’d like to tell you a true story,
like to tell you a true story,
like to tell you a true story,
never heard a true story
I never say what I mean
I never say all I mean
I never say what I mean
I never say all I mean
I never say what I mean
I never say all I mean
I never say what I mean
I never say all I mean
But if you could read between my lines

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

The Two Track Mind Era 5: Invulnerable

Life is hard and a kid gets kicked around for being different
Life is cruel and a kid learns to grow up quick learns to get tough quick
How’d you get through my defenses
I don’t even like you
It’s the wrong situation
My arms are not wide open
My heart’s set in concrete
I cannot be moved
I’m invulnerable, I’m invulnerable, I’m invulnerable, I’m invulnerable
I don’t get tossed around by a change in the weather
don’t believe in love or forever and ever
I take care of myself you better do the same
you better do the same
We’re painted into a corner
it’s not our fault
but we’re boxed in tight
Can we get out
without leaving tracks
or should we run or fight
I’m invulnerable, I’m invulnerable, I’m invulnerable, I’m invulnerable
I’m invulnerable, I’m invulnerable, I’m invulnerable, I am vulnerable

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

The Two Track Mind Era 4: I’m No Goddamned Good

I’d like to be the kind of guy
that falls like an angel from the sky
honest charming caring true
I’d like to be all that and more for you
but I’m no goddamned good
ooh baby
I’m no goddamned good
Oh it’s true I’d like to be the man for you
but I’m no goddamned good
a frangible person
anxious without grace
myself considered as a helix of worthless sand
a stupid looking face
Oh baby
I’m no goddamned good
ooh baby
I’m no goddamned good
Oh it’s true I’d like to be the man for you
but I’m no goddamned good

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

The Two Track Mind Era 3: Decompression Chamber

2,133 : 6 ?


You are in a decompression chamber
Some disorientation is completely normal
Please try not to be alarmed
You are completely safe
You are beyond danger now
You ascended too quickly
The paralysis and pain you are experiencing
is a result of a formation of gas bubbles in the bloodstream
This condition is known as Caisson disease
or more commonly the bends
It is not uncommon
Although your case was particularly severe
We will gradually reduce the pressure
until you acclimate to standard conditions

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

Only the Very Greatest Hits - its cheap direct download days are numbered...

Only the Very Greatest Hits will very shortly no longer be available via direct download from me over at the store.

The wherefore on this is that I am just about ready to go public with my new Band Camp profile, which is how all the cool kids are motivating their Rock-N-Roll these days. The move will be accompanied by a price hike because hey, why not?

So if you've been holding off you best get it while it's hot. Or be out like 3 dollars, oh man.

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

The Two Track Mind Era 2: Song

Promised that I’d
start creating
add a little
every day
all my words seem
forced and banal
haven’t anything
to say
song cannot
repair my losses
song cannot make
right what’s wrong
song is good for
this one moment
look behind
look back
the moment’s gone
is it fate
or cosmic chance
does it require
an act of will
I wants so much
I want so much
to rise
above the swill

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

The Two Track Mind Era 1: Dr. Everyday

Welcome one and all to the Chaosium Rollercoaster
Keep to the right, please
Trust me, everyone will get a chance
Ooh, the blood-red flowers of regret
You haven’t seen the worst of it yet
You on the left, if you’d pass the buck
You on the right, if you’d pass the hat
There, that works out nicely
I guess you’d call that entropy

I went to see Dr. Everyday
I said Doc, I think I need an X-ray
He said, that won’t be necessary
Held up a mirror said son, what do you see
Well, Doc, I been down so long
It looks like up to me

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

but if you could read between my lines

So ends the college interval of the interim and ugh, good riddance. Hardcore obviously not my genre.

And on, shortly, to the Two Track Mind era, my mostly solo home-recording experiments of the first few years post-college. The two tracks in question were the right and left stereo recording input channels of my Realistic Modulaire 2250 Dual Cassette Boombox that I bought from Reed's Music and Radio Shack in Montevideo MN, at the cost of probably 50 or 60 hours spent mowing the church lawn... These days you'd be hard pressed to find a box like this, featuring as it did dual, stereo-separated microphone inputs and RCA input and output, that allowed me to use it as a rough but functional home recording studio. I bought a cheap cassette 4-track later. The boom box got left at one of my weirder jobs. Long story.

A lot of these lyrics, anyway, were cooked up on the fly, in the midst of noodling audio experimentation. All early to mid '90s provenance.

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 28 : Watch the Show

2,126 : 3 ?


While you were sleeping I was wakeful watching keeping track
boiling away in terror trying to keep the madness back
Making a difference how I laugh to hear that now
How I laugh to see you try to hammer through the wall

It doesn’t matter what you do
It doesn’t matter where you go
Everything is an illusion
Settle back and watch the flow

While you were watching worried I was dancing on the edge
Spinning as you tried so hard to call me from the ledge
I just can’t explain there’s nothing left from where I came
And I would rather face this fall than play the game again

It doesn’t matter what you do
It doesn’t matter where you go
Everything is an illusion
Settle back and watch the flow

I live in chaos that is just the way I’m meant to be
When I’m not close to the edge I find it difficult to see
I know that you think you’ve found a better way to go
I’ll just sit here with my feet over the edge and watch the show

It doesn’t matter what you do
It doesn’t matter where you go
Everything is an illusion
Settle back and watch the show

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 27 : Latitude

I don’t think I meant to leave you behind
I must have had something else on my mind
I don’t think I meant to leave you behind
I must have had something else on my mind

With the sun across my eyes
drifting aimless on the tides
Thoughts are drifting like the sea
You drift through my memory

I don’t think I meant to leave you behind
I must have had something else on my mind
I don’t think I meant to leave you behind
I must have had something else on my mind

Something else on my mind I don’t know what

If this message passes through
all the miles I’ve gone from you
I’m not gone I’ve only moved
To a warmer Latitude

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 26 : Fever Dream

Tortured twisting barely
sleeping yet not waking
gripped in passion fevered
dreaming waking dreaming

Before I’m tossed back on
This cold shore of reason
Let me have this fever
Let me dream this fever

I’m lost in the fever dream

Wake me not I’m dreaming
wake me not I’m dreaming
wake me up I’m screaming
wake me up I’m screaming

I’m tossed in this fevered scream

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 25 : Spirit of Rage

You who took my book from the shelf
You who wrote your words on my page
Understand a spirit of truth
can become a spirit of rage

Spirit of rage spirit of rage
I do not smile I do not age
Spirit of rage spirit of rage
I do not smile I do not age

What shall we call indecision
What shall I make of your smiling
You don’t fool me I know who’s dream
It is that you are defiling

Spirit of rage spirit of rage
I do not speak I am no sage
Spirit of rage spirit of rage
I do not smile I do not age

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 24 : Thesis for Survival

2,121 : 36 ?


Me I don’t care anymore
cutting pictures on the floor
Tryin’ to make the pieces fit
My thesis for survival
They’ll kill you if you care
That’s the way it’s always been
it’s like that everywhere

All my friends that followed love
or simply left the pain
I hear their voices in my head
I see them in the rain

I just don’t care anymore
cutting pictures on the floor
Tryin’ to make the pieces fit
My thesis for survival
They’ll kill you if you care
That’s the way it’s always been
it’s like that everywhere

Drowning in my sunken cost
Oh just like Eric said
I cannot give up what I lost
I hear him in my head

Me I don’t care anymore
cutting pictures on the floor
Tryin’ to make the pieces fit
My thesis for survival
They’ll kill you if you care
That’s the way it’s always been
it’s like that everywhere

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 23 : World Gone Mad

Every day check in check out
On an eight hour tour of hell
As you boil in the emptiness
you’ve come to know so well
The books you read convince you
you gotta live so deep
so you made your life a drama
And deprive yourself of sleep
Is there any doubt we
Live in a world gone mad
Is there any doubt we
Live in a world gone mad
They say buy and we say how much
Go lemmings go and we follow madly
They say look but you cannot touch
they say die and we say gladly
Is there any doubt we
Live in a world gone mad
Is there any doubt we
Live in a world gone mad
Is there any doubt we
Live in a world gone mad
Is there any doubt we
Live in a world gone mad

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 22 : Crack Spine

Shocked up and blocked up frozen and foul
You could not suffer to stand in my shoes
Crack spine cement minded shaken to howl
torn out the mind benumbed blues
You deface me
fear replace me
no excuses
he refuses
Black lost shown across naked naked blind
You cannot ever see what I’m seeing
What did you who was it you thought to find
You cannot be what I’m being
You deface me
fear replace me
no excuses
she refuses

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 21 : Union

What should appear to my wondering eyes
The way that your hips curve into your thighs
I am not searching for mystical union
searching transcendence sacred communion
I do not seek the divine
I only want to lose myself in you
get you underneath my skin
I do not seek the divine
I’d just like to fuck you sometime
I’d just like to fuck you sometime
I’d like to get you under my skin
Lay down my bones and let yourself in
Savor the taste of your wine
My door is open my door’s open wide
Flesh isn’t holy you’ve nothing to hide
I do not seek the divine
Should you appear to my wondering eyes
Do you seek union I know that time flies
I do not seek the divine
I’d just like to fuck you sometime
Savor the taste of your wine
I’d just like to fuck you sometimes

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 20 : Alchemy

I don’t know what you’ve been told
but there’s no way to turn lead into gold
oh - that’s not reality

It’s a day like any other day
Nothing ever changes here it always stays the same
No matter how I twist and turn
these feelings burn I’ve given this a name

I don’t know what you’ve been told
but a love once new so soon grows cold
Aw, that’s reality

I’ve put a name on my frustration
and assigned it a location in the center of my mind
And once you see what I see then
I think you’ll see what we have left behind

I don’t know and I don’t know
I lost my way so long ago
Oh - that’s alchemy

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 19 : Shadow’s Confession

Forgive me father for I have sinned
It has been some time since I confessed
My time’s short but I thought that I
would pause here and get myself blessed
I’m no longer the man I was
the last time I sat under this light
Things have become less simple for me
the questions I asked multiplied

I’m a member of no race a subscriber to no creed
If you choose to label me it’s your prejudice you feed
I will not be what you are I will not be what you’re not
I’m a function of negation I’m a shadow I’m a god

You think it strange that a shadow could
exist without someone to cast it
I saw the sign at the point
of no return and I chose to go past it
I walk in shadow I know it’s wrong
But the touch of light makes me fade
Yet I do no evil and little good
mostly these days I just wait

I’m a member of no race a subscriber to no creed
If you choose to label me it’s your prejudice you feed
I will not be what you are I will not be what you’re not
I’m a function of negation I’m a shadow I’m a god

Now bless me father and five me
the sign of the cross on my forehead and chest
I fear your guess is as good as mine
just what has a shadow confessed
If you lie troubled awake
in your chamber remember that I don’t exist
If you don’t hear from me again
well I trust that I wouldn’t be missed

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 18 : Gravity

2,112 : 27 ?


This is the hill I have to climb
This is the hill I have to climb
This is the hill I have to climb
This is the hill I have to climb

It don’t seem right but I know it’s mine

This is the stone over my tomb
This is the stone over my tomb
This is the stone over my tomb
This is the stone over my tomb

No Angel comin’ to let light into my room

You ask me way I’m so far down
You look but you can’t see
It’s by one law I lead my life
Gravity

Be nice to let the stone roll down
Be nice to let the stone roll down
Be nice to let the stone roll down
Be nice to let the stone roll down

Lie back and let it crush me into the ground

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 17 : Standstill

Don’t you know I’ve done my time
filling up my place in line
waiting for my number to appear
On it goes day in day out
Always wrestling with doubt
and the feeling that there’s nothing for me here

And the man behind the desk says wait your turn son
I haven’t got mine yet
I’m pushing twenty two
And there’s not a lot that’s new
I’m still looking for the place I’m s’posed to get

It’s just like my friend Eric said
It’s sunken cost all in your head
It’s fear alone that keeps you where you’re standin’
The shit I never cared about
is all I ever think about
what kind of fucking job I’ll end up landing

And the man behind the desk says wait your turn son
I haven’t got mine yet
I’m pushing twenty five
feeling a little less alive
still searching for the place I’m s’posed to get

That line it coils ‘round the world
like a serpent it is curled
biting its own tail never-ending
Stand still and do your part
know you’ll end up where you start
the world is on your spine to keep you bending

And the man behind the desk says wait your turn son
I haven’t got mine yet
I’m pushing sixty three
I have to doubt I’ll ever be
endin’ up in the place I’m s’posed to get

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 16 : Slip the Tracks

I never finish
I never finish
I never finish anything I start
I never finish
I never finish anything I start
I’m not afraid
to write this song
I’m not afraid
to write this song
I’m not afraid
to write this song
I’m only afraid to do it wrong
Too distracted to begin
my thoughts slip the tracks again
I’m chasing down another
derailed creation
Lost looking for light
Lost looking for light
To show the way to make the words come right
Lost looking for light
Lost looking for light
To show the way to make the words come right
Giving up
is the easy part
giving up
is the easy part
giving up
is the easy part
When you don’t finish anything you start
Too distracted to begin
my thoughts slip the tracks again
I’m chasing down another
derailed creation
I never finish
I never finish
I never finish anything I start

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 15 : The Hourglass Reigned

The hourglass reigned until its sand had
beat him halfway dead
said let the chips fall where they may
They all fell on his head
And tho he walked in ways of plays he’d seen
And books he’d read
The piper scorned payment in blood
And stole his time instead

She came to him like Christ, at the
beginning and the end
And when she left him, that was when
his mind began to bend
Around the words she’d spoken
when his lie he’d tried to lend
Your blood, my love, won’t buy me
it is time you have to spend

And for a while like fools and poets will
he spoke in rhyme
And said each day this search for truth
strikes me as less sublime
And tho to hilltop hermitages
he did bravely climb
The masters had no answers but
to give the matter time

His fingers moved like fire across
the fretboard of the dawn
He realized that all the dreams
he’d once had now were gone
And saw that when he’d lost himself
To chase a siren’s song
He had somehow forgotten
what he’d waited for so long

Twas not that he’d been crucified
that made him feel so lost
But that he knew that it was he
who’d built that wormwood cross
The rusted spikes that held his wrists
were rimed with blood and frost
He’d never even guess at
just how much his time would cost

Forty days and forty nights
he ran away from strife
And then stopped dead and balanced
on the thin edge of a knife
The God of war had taken Aphrodite
as his wife
And in the shadow of their wings
he wasted half his life

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 14 : Need

2,105 : 20 ?


I need you - I guess you’ve heard that before
You need me - guess I could hear it, just once more
I don’t know what I need - she said goodbye
and I shut the door
I guess I know what I don’t need
Is to ask again what we’re fighting for
Oh, it’s always so, what will come and what will be
All I know all I know
One more lonely night’s gonna kill me
One more lonely night’s gonna kill me
One more lonely night’s gonna kill me
I don’t know what I need
You don’t know what you desire
maybe together we could not know nothing
maybe together we could put out this fire
I don’t know, don’t know what I need -
She said goodbye and I shut the door
Maybe it’s time maybe it’s time
to ask what the hell am I fighting for

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 13 : The Masks (II)

The masks are gone now
I have survived
The storm has come and gone
I am alive
I can see clearly now
Shed of my mask
I see I’ve got one more
question to ask -

You can see me
But can I see you?
Maybe together
we’ll find something true

One man alone
may be deceived
But two together
might be believed

Two speaking clearly
could become three
The possibilities
seem endless to me

So if you can see me -
If you’re ready to
Then take off your mask, friend
I want to see you

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 12 : The Storm

...The storm is Here

Mighty tornado
Raw twisting power
Who is responsible
for it’s calling, I
I called this storm up
brought down its fury
by living a life
That was a hidden lie
My time is up now
my debts are due now
I stand convicted
I stand alone in the eye

surrounded all about
by fearsome raging
winds that reach out and
grasp at my sanity
I cannot hold out
against this onslaught
I can’t withstand this
Towering potency
The walls are closing
in for the last time
I feel them tearing
what will become of me?

My God, my God what will become of me?
My God, my God what will become of me?
I call to God what has become of me?
Rip off the masks, rip off the masks
And set me free...

I hear a roaring
inside and outside
of my head as the
storm rips the masks from my face
They fly to pieces
scattered like ashes
storm bares my soul with
Ever increasing pace
And I stand naked
stripped of my armor
Storm has uncovered
my final hiding place

Nothing protects me
No walls left standing
Nothing is left now
Between the storm and me
The final mask is
Losing its purchase
My last defense gone
here now my end must be
The wind takes the mask
Rips it to splinters
The pieces fly away...

I am Free
I am Free
I am Free
Never again to have the masks say who I’ll be
The masks are gone for good
The storm has set me free
There’ll be no such thing as impossibility
The masks are ripped away
Look at what I am-
See me
See me
See me

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 11 : The Calm

I’m tired of running
I’ve nothing left inside
The storm has got me cornered
There’s nowhere left to hide

Somehow I thought I’d make it
I must have been mistaken
I thought the masks would save me
But now I feel forsaken

I feel so calm before the storm
Though I know my end is near
It seems almost a blessing
There is no pain, there is no fear

At least I know that I can stop
Running this crazy race today
The storm has come to clean the slate
And blow what’s left of me away

Who would have thought the masks would win
Oh I still hoped I might get clear
and free myself at last of them
But it’s too late too late...

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

The Interim : Battles and Bands 10 : Let it Ride

2,098 : 13 ?



Thinking hacking pounding pondering
Looking for an answer, just another Saturday night
Looking for a way to get out
Should I try to get laid, should I try to get tight
I got lost so long ago, I can’t get back now
I burned every bridge that I crossed
My luck has finally run out, I lost the roll on
Every die that was tossed
There’s a time to cut your losses
There’s a time when you’ve got to swallow your pride
But it’s too late for me to get out now
I don’t care anymore, anymore
Let it Ride

Waiting for my ship to come in
Trying still when trying gets weary and old
Tired of trying to make a difference
Tired of looking in standing outside in the cold
I thought that maybe you could
Just answer one or two of the questions I had
You left me with less answers
That’s okay, I had a mask to make me look sad
World seems to think I owe it a living
It seems determined, bound to take it out of my hide
This time there’s no hedging bets
I put it all on the line on the line on the line
Let it Ride

No more looking for the answers
You can’t find them why waste your time on dismay
I know I have to do something quickly
I don’t know what but the masks are getting stronger each day
Did you really think you’d see me?
I can’t see me so how did you expect to get through
It was good you got out quickly
It’s all coming down the storm is starting to brew
One more broken heart couldn’t kill me
Just another loss just another thorn in my side
If the storm rips my life apart
Well I don’t like it anyway -
Let it Ride

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

reserved

It is a signifier of the amount of water gone under the bridge that the last time I investigated formally applying for copyrights of the songs of days I railed against the fact that the government could not deal with a simple electronic transfer of data. Years pass, apparently, and they've gotten a little closer to modernity down Library of Congress way. Frugal soul that I am I've started by compiling the entirety of the first project into a single volume and registering it as a single literary work. Which it is, to my mind, a compendium of original verse. The copyright office's website has this ridiculous, old school design and action, as if they kidnapped math teachers out of the 1980s and forced them to program it on VAX terminals, but it functions well enough. The thing ended up as a rich text file weighing in at an almost invisible 627 KB. It probably takes more memory to run a flashlight these days.

It is in fact a little bit alarming to ponder that any crazy with a computer and 35 dollars can make the government store a copy of whatever insane rantings they've produced at any time of the day or night... I wonder what sort of madhouse stockpile of ephemeral text they've accumulated since they started taking submissions online (because I have to confess, I probably still wouldn't have this done if I'd had to mail it... at 1,001 songs it's the printing that would really kill my enthusiasm for the project). Of course the irony here is that I am in fact one of the "crazies," seeing as how I don't really project a likelihood of doing much anything with the songs. I'm hoping somewhere along the line some factotum of Sony will gank a few lines out of one of my lyrics for some chanteuse of the week, then to fill my bank accounts with the sweet proceeds of litigation. Luckily my plans of growing rich, by whatever means, at the hands of the record industry are purely jocular, as their chances of being anyone's sugar daddy grow ever more remote. I'm not sure why to bother with the actual copyright, when I get right down to it. Except that it is the work of years, and it is mine. I figure I'll compile editions of the new project every 5 years or so, as I complete the transcriptions. On a related note I just finished transcribing the songs from the first book of the second series - the first time I've finished transcribing a book before I start actually posting it. A good sign, I'd like the transcription to actually get caught up at some point. Considering I'm on volume 12 in the second series this is a good way off yet, though. All rights reserved, kids.

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