2.95 : 8/6/05 : Everybody’s Got One

We’re not impressed that you
have an opinion
everybody’s got one
Like an asshole like a tongue
Like a plague that
tears around the globe
and burrows in your frontal lobe
I would be more exited
If you had come uninvited
without one idea in your head
It’s so dull to hear what people think
in a world that changes in a blink
Just think the living and the dead
switch places every other day
or so the statisticians say

What is the song of the day?

2.94 : 8/5/05 : Scrivener

Hi there! hey there!
Scrivener ya handsome sailor
Weigh there! Hey you old scoundrel
Well you’re still raking muck
still I think I’d rather duck
what’s been flinging
and keep singing
My old song
Hi there! Hey there!
Scrivener you handsome sailor
Weigh there! Hey you salty matey
I surely miss my chums
every time a chanty hums
through my brain
and leaves a stain
of my old salt tears
oh Scrivener you fisherman
Still straining out what e’er you can
to make a hasty mulligan
concoction
If society’s a burning house
You’d best be scurryin’ out you mouse
A-draggin’ every bauble
you can auction

What is the song of the day?

2.93 : 8/4/05 : It’s Rome, Baby! (Intro)

Never once in all my years did I believe
The future could turn out so great
We’ve got heavy metals in our water now
Irradiated pork chops on our plate
Who can tell the difference between god and war these days
Who escapes the blind eye of the screen
The problem with big brother was he thought too small
draw aside the curtain let me show you what I mean
Oh, yeah:
It’s Rome, baby!
It’s Rome, baby!
It’s Rome, baby!
Look at all the shining people those that really count
Look at all the slaves the press stamps out
Look at all the red ink that we’ve drawn onto account
Look at how they make the rabble shout
For blood as they all scream out
It’s Rome, baby!
It’s Rome, baby!
It’s Rome, baby!
And the future’s looking brighter every single day
As we throw another idol on the fire
As we raise another idol on the pedestal of fifteen minutes
As we send another detonation impulse down the wire
As we build another tower to replace the ones that fell
Babylon our fair city ‘tis to thee
I raise my mixed metaphor soliloquy
celebrating our clay footed deity
It’s Rome, baby!
It’s Rome, baby!
It’s Rome, baby!

What is the song of the day?

2.92 : 8/3/05 : Brilliant Psi Kill

The eyes are blank and silver disks
the mind is geared to desperate risks
the power’s undeniable
the origins are pliable
From far outside the continuity
by way of transmission from you to me
the latest exposition of the magic pill
culminating in a brilliant psi kill
the program of eugenics is long established
the architect who then repented so was banished
the final representative of that rare race
did seven years in lock up then vanished from the place
he reappeared in the mountains of Tibet
accompanied by some old mystic monk he met
who taught him secret techniques of the old resistance
thus set the stage for him to seek his own remittance
he traveled over the world and into space
there to meet his nemesis now face to face
the blind striking the blind in a strange arena
the antichrist versus the child of Athena
If there’s a new mythology this isn’t it
it always falls back into a recursive fit
it passes a little time and fills another page
attempting once again to set the charter of the age

What is the song of the day?

2.91 : 8/2/05 : Audio Blast

2,181 : 39 ?


Audio blast - uh!
Uh huh! Blasting so hard
it will blast your ass back
rock the coliseum
rock the Love Shack
Rock around the planet
and the solar system
If they come and ask about us
tell them that we missed them
Cause the words don’t matter anyway
nobody could care less about what I say
Everybody just wants the audio blast
cause it makes the future perfect
and the present past

What is the song of the day?

2.90 : 8/1/05 : Slogger

The hop, the hop, the horrible hop
The curse of the beats that never stop
The ghost of Daniel Boone’s coon cap
Is rooting in your garbage and stealing your crap
You just lay down any crazy thing
It’s the only way it seems to seize the big brass ring
a metaphor I fear is used already
but I’ll steer it to dock if my hands stay steady
Throw your hands up let it all flow
let it all dangle and dabble and grow
the gold is always hidden in the ore
that’s what this crazy machine is for
Two by two by two is eight
no matter how I slice it it all sounds great
probably not top ten, probably not a hit
but even you have to admit you can dance to it
So that’s how it started, beginning of the end
It yet might navigate an unexpected bend
Still I’ll keep quiet and let it be
the hop and the stop and the one two three

What is the song of the day?

2.89 : 7/31/05 : Courtiers

The courtiers and I
hurry up and wait
on the pleasure of the king
on the master of the gate
Duty trumps the comfort zone
but in the halls of court you see
the clock belongs to him alone
suppose it’s all the same to me
I feel that I’m on trial myself
the time I’ve wasted up to now
I feel it so strong on this bench
I’m slaughtering my sacred cow
to make a meal for angel men
who came to visit me with news
a mighty nation to be born
a generation to fill the pews
of the next great faith the promised race
the chosen people above retort
the next generation of the petty pace
the sycophants line up for court

What is the song of the day?

2.88 : 7/30/05 : Plank

Add another plank to the platform
It must support us all
It must conceal the armature
Of power hungry shysters wall to wall
In order to form a perfect union
sublimate your better sense
And if both sides seem much the same
just chalk it up to coincidence
Who put that trap door in it
What’s that crossarm for
Why am I stepping up on this
is this rope another thing I ought to try to ignore?

What is the song of the day?

2.87 : 7/29/05 : Captain’s Log

Captain’s log: stardate ought five
Appears that we’re still mostly alive
Deep space exploration was a really bad idea
it was a mistake to think that work would free ya
we’re growing yeast and algae in the life pods
nowhere to escape to not with these odds
Might be another two hundred years
to find another flyby worth changing gears
meanwhile we are the masters of drift
made quite the little civilization out of it
seventh generation less immortal every turn
less space left less time to burn
That’s it that about describes the year
I’ll check in again when the solstice is here
until then about a hundred other songs
Captain signing off so say: so long

What is the song of the day?

2.86 : 7/28/05 : Home (Hour of Power 12/12)

Home is where the heart is
home is where it all got started
home is home is on the range
home is haven home is strange
where from comes the inclination
build our 3 or five part nation
build our little castle boxes
proof against the paradoxes
that each generation wrestles
in the breast of family nestles
still yet whither I may roam
where my hat hangs I call it home

What is the song of the day?

2.85 : 7/27/05 : Over the Bridge (Hour of Power 11/12)

I wrote as over the bridge I tooled
going to the Man’s domain
Getting myself schooled
It’s possible the lesson wasn’t getting through
Cause I was thrilled when I figured out
My job was you
You can never cross some bridges twice
It’s a one way trip to paradise
It’s crazy to feel this way I tell you it is
I’m so glad I came back across
on the land bridge
The detours I made to meet the
other half of you
the strange long way around
we rarely know what we do
So try each day
not to be quick to judge
cause in this world we all
got a factor to fudge
As long as you keep between the lines
the bridge will hold us up
just fine

What is the song of the day?

2.84 : 7/26/05 : Midas (Hour of Power 10/12)

Says he’s got the lineage
says he’s got the magic touch
says he’s got the gold locked up
cornered every juggler’s cup
wants to see it all return
says we’ll have energy to burn
says we’ll have energy to spill
We’ll all light up he says we will
well sure enough the crown is gold
the gleaming floors
the polished molds
the modish shades
the lintels too
the crucifix
So proud of you
Hey Midas why the gloves and hat
Are you trying to prevent
an inflationary splat
when your plans run up against
the same old wall
stupid laziness and greed
get the better of us all

What is the song of the day?

2.83 : 7/25/05 : Sea Chanty (Hour of Power 9/12)

2,173 : 31 ?


The staunchest vessel
On the sea great and wide
She bobs like a cork
tossed so swiftly aside
you build her sides strong
you hope for the luck
and you know if you’re crossed
then you’ll truly be fucked
singing
Weigh, hey, up she rises
Weigh, hey, up she rises
Weigh, hey, up she rises
Early in the morning
Drunken soldier, drunken sailor
Drunken tinker, rhymer, tailor
Sew this crazy quilt for you
If you wanna see the man
you gotta sail through
And tales of those thrice twice score days
Would spill a lot of ink and fill many a page
Of hours of power
Of weeks of calm
Of the eye of the great cyclone
Of the peace before the storm

What is the song of the day?

2.82 : 7/24/05 : Trouble in Getting To (Hour of Power 8/12)

I had trouble in getting to
the King of the World
ocean is no joke anymore
Everything that coulda gone wrong
just about did
But I don’t want to be a bore

What is the song of the day?

2.81 : 7/23/05 : One Man Diaspora (Hour of Power 7/12)

In the future
nations’ fates will be decided
by brain drain
so much power
cast all about
imagine if we lost
the big idea we all tout
imagine if we got confused
snapped that slender thread
crossed that thin blue line
forgot to break our daily bread
And hundreds of years later
after billions dead
and billions unborn
so the witch doctors said
Every genius will be
like an atomic bomb
strolling around
heads fulla Kingdom Come

What is the song of the day?

2.80 : 7/22/05 : Tales of Enclave Dystopia (Hour of Power 6/12)

Buried of course
Wired of course
all the amenities
we eggheads have our
little habits
sadly there’s no
bunny rabbits
All the time
time in the world
So much money
at the problem we hurled
finally we just gave up
drilled the shaft
knowing hell is other people
we gave it a name
that seemed like a laugh
but it didn’t last

What is the song of the day?

2.79 : 7/21/05 : Sundog (Hour of Power 5/12)

Before the big cold
they say
there came a great heat
The sun dog bayed
every morning on the street
They even made some gadgets
ran on the sun
and if you believe my story
indeed I found one
I even dared to turn it on
high in the ‘rises when the sun is high
It opened up a window onto an unreal sky
that led me through the chambers
of magical scripture
Then took me to another mirror
a sort of moving picture
and that fellow in the picture
said that he was much like me
the picture just a light show
made by what he called the circuitry
And he told me many things
and those things were very strange
Then he said he had to go
The satellite was going out of range

What is the song of the day?

2.78 : 7/20/05 : The Century War (Hour of Power 4/12)

Across 5 generations
raging all the globe around
One hundred years causing mayhem
with all the rich detritus
our fathers’ fathers’ fathers
left sitting around
Today we signed the peace
to end the century war
Nobody could really explain
What we had been fighting for
Nothing much is left of what
they say it was said it was all about
cities, rides, gadgets and guns
We blew all the ammunitions
The oldsters said thank god by a host of flukes
We only managed to set off a dozen nukes

What is the song of the day?

2.77 : 7/19/05 : Planet X (Hour of Power 3/12)

2,167 : 25 ?


Fools and madwomen
told so many crazy
stories about the
traveling star
that nobody believed at all
until it popped up on the radar
it seemed it was a dark sphere
a hunk of rock
strangely prone to tectonic shock
when the solar system loomed
the crack appeared
and emitted a glow
then things got weird
and all those devices you see everywhere
piled up useless used to talk through the air
they say, anyway
they say they all just quit
When planet X did its
erratic circuit
that they say really tipped the scale
that’s when they finally saw
the hole in the pail
Too late too late the juice all poured out
while they fought and argued
what to do about it

What is the song of the day?

2.76 : 7/18/05 : Weather (Hour of Power 2/12)

First there came the weather
well the weather’s always coming
always blowing down the mountains
always rising off the ocean
They said once it all was different
even then they couldn’t agree why
and before their mighty instruments
could trace out every sinister bent
the big waves rolled the hurricanes
The twisters that settled in never to disperse again
Rolled all over that fucker like a wrestling star
And pretty soon nobody was doing science any more
Anyway anyway that’s what the oldsters say
it started with weather but every day
brought another little nasty surprise
that’s what they say the ones so old and wise

What is the song of the day?

2.75 : 7/17/05 : Lamplight (Hour of Power 1/12)

What if we really burned up all the juice?
Kept playing every hand so fast and loose?
I gotta believe that it could be right
that one day every evening will have only lamplight
We can’t imagine how it would all change
And every power structure rearrange
In the dark without lamps and our silent boxes
Son of man got no hole to lie up in like foxes
And midnight would be an hour of power
Every twenty fourth all seven the witching hour
Would come around each great midnight
catching us all by surprise writing by lamplight

What is the song of the day?

2.74 : 7/16/05 : Tomorrow Never Comes Again

What is not can never be
Or so said good Parmenides
So thinking of another day’s
Like thinking of a shifting haze
Now’s the only check you have to cash
Yesterday is in the trash
And while you calculate your plans
Tomorrow never comes, again

It’s easy to be tricked by it
Seems never to have started and it never quits
Yet just when you think you’ve found the middle
You find it all was wrapped around another riddle
Yet if you burned the midnight oil
you’d find for just one moment on the mortal coil
you rock eternal breath to breath and then
Tomorrow never comes again

And if you choose poised on the peak
To act before you think to act before you speak
to lay down one sweet act of will
you might detect a small still thrill
The message simply comes down to
That at this moment I chose to do
the work that today comes to my hand
because tomorrow never comes, again

What is the song of the day?

2.73 : 7/15/05 : Two Kinds

There are just two kinds of people in this world
and most of us are both
are you a glutton or a miser?
Are you a fop or an oaf?
Are you a singer or a dancer?
Are you a duckling or a swan?
Do you want what you never ever had?
Or always what you once had
long after it’s gone?

Are you a barker or a mark?
Are you a hammer or a screw?
Do you always do what you said you wouldn’t?
Or always do what you said you’d do?
Are you a gambler or a counter?
Are you a cheater or a loser?
Are you a ducker or a dodger?
Did you miss opportunity or did you refuse her?

Are you going or coming?
Do you stumble blind or stop?
If I hold my heart out to you
will you scream or call a cop?
Are you a hawk or a pigeon
Are you cold or are you hot?
Don’t be both you’ll end up lukewarm
spit right back into the pot

What is the song of the day?

2.72 : 7/14/05 : Cliché Hero

If not now when?
If now then what?
And then so what?
No matter what
there’s always a but
Now or never
Is this big stick a lever?
Or just some branch I sever
I found it but I never
found the place to stand
to move a world
and all the curses
into the void I hurled
Cliché hero
thought by all a zero
tough act: like De Niro
If it’s now or never now
I better take a clever bow
and make this strange endeavor how
I imagine
I imagined
my clichéd heroics
could make it now

What is the song of the day?

2.71 : 7/13/05 : Shake

Everything’s gotta shake
little or lot of
rocking rolling
undulating like a snake
they say it’s from the first principle
He threw some English on the dice
they say it was the
eccentricity
that shook the gates of Paradise

What is the song of the day?

2.70 : 7/12/05 : Scratch

A little something called scratch
a sound like a metal stylus
digging your brain like a hot meme virus
30 thousand bright electron beams
and nothing nothing what it seems
coax, fiber, copper, wireless
ether, fire, RCA
every plug in every orifice
at the signal all plugs play
And the sound is scratch, scratch
word to the gasoline word to the match
mind is just a wet recorder
brain is just a false division
freedom just one small incision
through the soft spot through the skull
download the scratch parable

What is the song of the day?

2.69 : 7/11/05 : Serious

2,160 : 18 ?


Let’s destroy the serious
What’s it ever gotten us?
What’s it ever done for us?
Taking everything so serious
Let’s destroy the obvious
The ashes and the ashes and the dust and the dust
First will be last and last will be first
But from first to last consumed with thirst
Let’s delete the old clichés
the status quo, the everydays
Start a new pattern from whole cloth
no more to embrace the old flames and moth
It starts with a single word
that you’d read but never heard
it ends with another night
of innocence and sweet delight
thus and how you know the one
whose brave approach has just begun
scorning ladder path or door
scorn all but excelsior
and if a few miles down the road
it seems in fact a heavier load
discarding makes the burden light
the easy yoke will lead you right

What is the song of the day?

2.68 : 7/10/05 : Chance Dance

Everything spins everything in the world spins
everything waves every tiny bit
Nothing’s got a sign where it ends or begins
Nothing goes away not a bit of it
And back behind the final veil
We have no choice but to call it chance
beyond the grave beyond the pale
It does a silly little dance
All things move about a center everything’s a wheel
Everything is incidental to how the great turtles feel
Everything jumps, everything bumps
to the chance dance like a little clown
Everything gathers everything clumps
Into turtles turtles all the way down

What is the song of the day?

2.67 : 7/9/05 : The Chart Part Two

Next thing is the chart
part two rhymed it’s true this time
I’m raising hell and shaking every paradigm
this time this is real
I feel that I have just begun
I meant it every time but one
run with me if you want to
I’ll get there same as you do
we’re all born with a
chart inside
the secret that the cell within our cells doth hide
the secret now revealed
symbols and code
Yet still we lack the will to tap the motherlode
I’ll make do with my books
the treasures that I tuck into the crannies and nooks
If looks could kill like an act of will
I guarantee you that I would be looking still

What is the song of the day?

2.66 : 7/8/05 : Step

While they lingered, while they slept
I carried the thing forward another step
while they reveled, while they sang
I stacked the balance of loss and gain
while they mumbled and averred
I reaped the shrunken carcass of a dream deferred
plans keep changing, boundaries cross
I keep keeping on in face of doom and loss
while you waited, patiently
as I seemed to drift along complacently
I was working, every day
writing my invisible soliloquy
while we all pursue the ring
of brass in the nose of the golden king
we must wonder, we must fear
nobody has ever gotten out of here
Nobody has ever gotten out alive
There’s nothing less permanent than to survive
There’s nothing more transient than this flower’s bloom
born to fade forever in the waiting room
while they danced their nights away
I went to a lonely lonely place to pray
without water, without food
without a map, a compass or an anodyne to fix my mood
And it was perfect, full, complete
I saw the devil place the world beneath my feet
And invite me to cast myself from on high
I said I hate to tell you Scratch, but you grabbed the wrong guy

What is the song of the day?

2.65 : 7/7/05 : Song of Triumph

My triumph is crawling across the floor
My triumph appeared the third time I walked through the door
My triumph is an ascending shining star
Bound to fall but first that fucker will fly far
Song of triumph trumpets from the heights
dating from the day I finally sought by my own lights
roaring like a rocket ship singing like a lark
born at the very moment I first fanned that single spark
The world is corrupted; it’s ruled by sudden death
every day might be the last I’m privileged to draw breath
all I love will be lost to me I know by and by
in the fracture of my consciousness, the fading of my eye
so just where do I find the stones to sign a triumph song
in the breaking of the endless night I waited out so long
in the Naming of eternal day the moment never ending
that I saw the moment I know it was my attention I was spending
so the last verse must be writ though song it never stops
just wait another minute till the next beat drops
my triumph is inviolable forged in perfect flame
reveals the perfect white stone with my perfect secret name

What is the song of the day?

2.64 : 7/6/05 : Didn’t We Tell You So

Started without
knowing how or why
just an ordinary guy
despite the thousand times before
didn’t expect another to be such a bore
a new design is desperately needed
the words of warning were left unheeded
so why did you let it go
well didn’t we tell you so?
started again hell and gone behind
expecting something different but
no one know why
Nevertheless set a goal and meet it
or do your best
get hammer’d to the ground and beat it
I’ll be back MacArthur style
I’ve dogged this bullshit train
so many a mile
now I’ve got it in me so I’ve got to go
Oh didn’t we tell you so?

What is the song of the day?

2.63 : 7/5/05 : Horn of Plenty

2,153 : 11 ?


It sits on a dusty shelf
behind glass too precious to keep to yourself
we revere it
symbol of our industry
we fear it
such a godawful mystery
in the museum back against the wall
the solution it is said
for an order much too tall
smash the glass
and sound a blast
upon the horn of plenty
How stupid that we all forgot
about it for twenty
years seven fat and seven lean
seven more now this is the one
it seems
smash the glass
and sound a blast
upon the horn of plenty
Give it a sounding
give it a shout
put some back into it
and see what comes out

What is the song of the day?

2.62 : 7/4/05 : Catch the Wind

Run with me my boy to be
we will chase the wind
We’ll throw our arms out run into it
laugh and gasp and spin
what better way to waste an afternoon
make up silly songs and crackpot tunes
chasing the wind trying to find its home
trying wherever it may roam

What is the song of the day?

2.61 : 7/3/05 : King of the Plaid Delta

King of the plaid delta
his post modern blues will belt ya
into next week, one down ten to go
and when he rolls in this town will blow
such a tragic sense of fashion
A rude reminder to the feel good faction
His sombrero ringed with human teeth
blood of a badger his aperitif
Riding a hog that runs on neon
Charged with an ozone-killing blast of freon
how could he turn his back on all we know
feel that cold air blast you by he goes
the banjo cross his back is strung with gut
his bandoliers are loaded watch him strut
his draw’s fastest but he never kills
he’s only concerned with acts of wills
anarchy is the state of man
try to tack an -ist on and I’ll tip the pan
and dump your ass right back into the fire
I didn’t make this shit up I didn’t string that wire
I just waited on that clapboard porch
my God I sweated in the rude sun scorch
waiting for the Delta King the Blue crossed Plaid
he ain’t no villain but the shit is bad

What is the song of the day?

2.60 : 7/2/05 : Yet Another New Day

Yet another new day dawns
dawnless black eight past midnight
The tale unreels
Must not must not forget the fight
Must not
let these bright notes fade and die
resolve is just a bit of fuel
it’s no use if the sparks don’t fly
today they fly I’m here
still fighting still alive
shake off the forgotten song
this not near so fine just one of five
One for the one
the only the first last ever
two for the rival
and the bonds they sever
three for the little lads
clad white made of light
four for the gospel kings
the tale carried through endless nights
five symbols these are mine
the vow I took and drank the wine
oh for scotch neat and sour
a little liquid courage to face this hour
nonetheless the story new started
I’ll not leave this brokenhearted
rather with a song on my lips
of wax, and lathe, and sailing ships

What is the song of the day?

2.59 : 7/1/05 : Has the New Leaf Already Withered

Has the new leaf already withered on the vine?
How we smoked and argued
How we drank that wine
if the new leaf falls winter will be so long
And we’ll have to be content with the old song
The tides circle the planet
the jet stream stirs the air
and the answer to the summons
Could be hidden anywhere
The wind rattles the branches
And you rattle my cage
mocking me for declaring a brand new age
Are the dog days going to wither every leaf
time creeps like a mantis
steals past like a thief
If the new age dawns and passes without note
we’ll be reduced to verse we learned by rote
The dogs bark as we pass the court
the cats howl every night
the rooster crows all morning for the coming of the light
the new age isn’t living up
it’s just the same old thing
we may just have to wait and see
what the next age and leaf might bring

What is the song of the day?

2.58 : 6/30/05 : Vertigo

Model for the hanged man
straight into the fire out of the pan
strung over the great abyss
vertigo and spinning bliss
hung upside down and left for dead
the blood is rushing to his head
a symbol of the twisted path
and if it snaps he takes a bath
but if the card’s dealt upside down
and pale blue sky becomes the ground
his ill fortune will be reversed
and blessed will be what was once cursed

What is the song of the day?

2.57 : 6/29/05 : Noir

The merciless dark divides in two
the distance between herself and you
The shadow cast by the moon
arrives a minute too soon
And waits outside the door
Armed with crushing entropy
The closeness between you and me
the last long glimmer of the light
fades into endless night
and none know what it’s for
A ghost named noir evoked the verse
the plan felt like an ancient curse
the rooster crowed three times
I just kept smashing paradigms
And courted chaos’ paramour

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

2.56 : 6/28/05 : A Box

We put it all in a box
and wrapped it all in twine
and stuck it on a shelf to rot
and drowned ourselves in wine
The next day it was all in stitches
the next day it was mired in mud
we had to flee the house without it
one step ahead of the flood
so who knows where it ended up
who can remember how it looked
who can remember where it all was
probably our goose is cooked

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

2.55 : 6/27/05 : Press the Button

2,145 : 3 ?


Press the button press the button
nobody knows what it does
or where it came from we saw who brought it
but nobody knew who he was
press the button mash your thumb down
show them all what you’re made of
take the chance it might be brilliant
It might fit you like a glove
it’s so shiny it’s so perfect
it’s so red and it’s so bright
it might bring a revolution
or usher in an endless night
just press it don’t think consequences
don’t consider anything
it’s waiting there it’s mocking you
just think of what you might attain
and if perchance it’s not connected
press it another day
the button it will wait for you
until then you’ll just have to pay

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

2.54 : 6/26/05 : These Messages

We interrupt your regularly scheduled day
for these messages of hope
and promises of a better way
and the easing of the slope
that you must push that big rock up
each day a thousand fold
dreaming of a half a cup
toiling in the rain and cold
Days will pass and days will pass
the time slips by like rain
still listen to the hours amass
and stew right in your brain
and if it seems that nothing’s changed
the next day just the same
behind the scenes all rearranged
we’ve started something none can tame

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

2.53 : 6/25/05 : Reset

What was set must be reset
the paradigm the chancy bet
the firefly in the green glass jar
will lead us very far
the counter’s either black or white
the grid must be the symbol of right
the rules that we follow
the beaten paths
the physics the protocols
the dividend the maths
I’ve had enough of counting hours
awaiting revelation and magic powers
the only power I have is to wield my pen
and since nothing on this earth can stop me
here I go again

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

2.52 : 6/24/05 : Recollection Virus

Memory is the real virus
language is the fire inside us
thoughts are a metaphor
composed of words
tied to the ankles of
a bunch of extinct birds
to give it all meaning
at the start of the game
the recollection virus
was given its name
mistaking it for happening
we got lost in the flow
of every illusion
of what we thought we ought to know
but those who found their backs
up against that wall
chose to lose their inhibitions
at the center of it all
chose to forsake recollection
for the precious present moment
leaving nothing else recorded
and just me to write the lament

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

2.51 : 6/23/05 : So Far

So far yet to go
so much so much left to know
without a map or guide at hand
without a promise of a promised land
the ancient stories the old traditions
all the cases all the missions
too many memories not enough spark
too little bite far too much bark
let me thank God for the single step
that continued the voyage while I yet slept
thank God for the heart that has not yet quit
for the small small favor
for the difference split
I’ll steel myself for the thousandth time
I’ll try try again
with the same old rhyme
I’m not the average monkey
and my keyboard is hot
and I’m not about to stay stalled
just for everything
I’m not

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

2.50 : 6/22/05 : Half Century

I suspect that I may not see
the way to the next half of this century
It’s far from impossible it’s only a hunch
and truthfully it doesn’t bother me a bunch
I only bring it up to underscore the point
that there ain’t no guarantees passed out in this joint
So if you’ve got a plan to gang some great aft agley
you better focus on doing your thing today

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

2.49 : 6/21/05 : Predictable

There’s a theory that everything’s predictable
I’ve studied the data I know it well
the thing of it is it cannot be proved
so until something changes I won’t be moved
It’s hard to deny that compulsion’s suspicious
the moral is depressing but the irony’s delicious
No matter what you do you can’t prove you’re free
but you never had to prove a thing to me
what’s the point of trying to understand
what happens when you hold up your hand
if you don’t know baby no one does
I only know whatever will have been was

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

2.48 : 6/20/05 : Wondrous Moment

2,138 : 15 ?


Shut your eyes and realize
the only wondrous moment is now
see it all unfold before your eyes
it’s another lovely day behind the plow
We all get fooled by the great big picture
we all think this can’t be where it’s at
we all impose such absurd strictures
to keep ourselves from coming up to bat
I’m pretty sure this is where I came in
I’m pretty sure this isn’t only déjà vu
It might be an amazing moment that I’m in
I wish to hell somehow I could share it with you

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

2.47 : 6/19/05 : Dog Meet Vomit

Return return return again
it looks so tasty lying there
I’ve never seen such a lovely pile
Dog meet vomit try not to stare
God a’mighty where to start
Heaven help us save us from this trip
Put the pen down admit defeat
write yourself another pink slip
not a bit of it sir I defy
augury can go and whistle pal
I’ll push it all the way up today
thank god I’ve got a real swell gal
I’m gonna hang up this confessional trash
try some other approach to getting home
not quite a lyric not quite a story
not quite a revelation not quite a poem

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

2.46 : 6/18/05 : Mission Impossible

Mission impossible make a change
everything that isn’t working rearrange
everything that’s work turn the volume full
push until you can’t push anymore then pull
Mission improbable make it stick
Isn’t this humanity thing a kick
isn’t it impossible to change these spots
fitting square pegs into all the round slots
All the distractions make thinking impossible
all the inaction makes things simply awful
There you are doing the same old shit
It doesn’t make a difference doesn’t matter a bit
Even this is ridiculously the same
Laugh about it might as well make it a game
a tasteless denouement to a bad idea
I’m on a declaration trip but I could sure feel freer

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

2.45 : 6/17/05 : Dug Out

I found I’d been at a frenetic pace
running around in circles doing nothing
work equals zero: such a stupid look on my face
but here’s something
I dug out again at half past ten
I created my own terza rima
why not I’ve got my own inferno don’t I, then?
My own version of an extreme, a
portentious dividend
At the four two six I saw the tricks
those subliminal riddles could get you
Reeling every dial up in the mix
Raising every dime they let you
Get by with for a little while yet
They got your reel firm in hand
The means the method it’s a safe bet
It’s been a long time they had this sad estate planned

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

2.44 : 6/16/05 : The Cave-In

As much as I would like to blame
the time of month, this filthy game
the powers that be, the stench of gin
I alone am responsible for the cave-in
the weight of the earth, the smell of smoke
the consequences are no joke
the air is getting foul in here
the end of it all seems quite clear
I’m hoping it is just a small one
but history says this attempt’s done
I try to come up with the rules
the way to beat the odds the tools
to dig my way back out of it
out of this darkness up from this pit
but tomorrow’s tale is hidden
I must go where I am bidden
I must go and keep my silence
hope the thing won’t end in violence

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

2.43 : 6/15/05 : Another Leaf

2,134 : 11 ?


Another movie ‘bout those sexy sexy guns
another day also rises the sun
Another half formed notion flees my head
another leaf falls dead
Another night crosses the wishing hour line
Another chance to lie and say I’m feeling fine
Another struggle with temptation’s lure
Hello new leaf charmed I’m sure
I’d like to lose it, just succumb
I’d like to give up ‘cause I feel so dumb
another meditation on regret
Seems I haven’t turned that new leaf over yet
Another simple fantasy another hour
And I can only wish I had the power
to cast a spell of such delight on you
as things are now I barely can get through
Only the almighty can turn the great page
Only God can rock the cradle of an age
I need the day to see and night for relief
they say that God counts every fallen leaf

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

2.42 : 6/14/05 : New Precedent

The new precedent I’ve set
would you believe it’s worse than ever
failing rules to hold the line
less a fulcrum for the lever
less a place remote to stand
and ten mile arms to pull the fucker
the world shall not be moved by me
and really only I’m the sucker
who believed in spectral fortune
some fantastic charming fate
dollars in my unstained hands
ambrosia on my dinner plate
I’ll ignore the precedent
I’ll act just like it’s all on track
I’ll call tomorrow a new day
Start from zero flat on my back

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

2.41 : 6/13/05 : Jetlag

Almost caught up with myself
hope I don’t get so far behind
hope I keep up with my jetlag
hope I can keep up with my mind
The quality does not impress
the purpose got tarnished true
the reason for the days of toil
the lag has left me down so blue
Maybe all I need is a long sleep
Say my prayers and drift away
wake up to another time zone
wake up in another day
catch up with myself at last
and then just stay put
stay at home avoid the jet lag
only roam on foot

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

2.40 : 6/12/04 Lowest Common Denominator

Lowest common denominator
pleased to meet you see you later
bring me down to your level
straighten weaken and dishevel
under the bell curve’s big top
backstroke content through the slop
tuck in with the other hogs
let the game to the dogs
figured what it’s all about
my only plan is selling out
if only I could find a buyer
some kind of half baked high flyer

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

2.39 : 6/11/05 : The Gold Rush

Poison Water Sagebrush Ridge
Satan’s Ally Devils Ledge
I can remember the gold rush
I can remember my fated brush
with good fortune with great mammon
swimming upstream like a salmon
tell myself that I was lucky
but the rush it aged me so fast
drove my salad days back far past
never hit my mother lode
never found my stash of gold
All that’s left is ghost town living
and long overdue misgivings
secretly guess I’m still panning
secretly my fortune planning

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

2.38 : 6/10/05 : Rip the Lid Off

Rip the lid off this crib
and bump bump
Meet the emcee most glib
and bump bump
from the dusk to the light
this joint will jump
get you high as a kite
and bump bump
there is glory within
So bump bump
be prepared to begin
and bump bump
till the clock runs down
till fails the pump
till we burn this town
gonna bump bump

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

2.37 : 6/9/05 : Crave

I’ve got a vicious crave on
there’s nothing at all to make it right
there’s nothing around to help me out
there’s nothing to stop this pathetic rout
try to figure out what drives me on
why I’ve kept on pushing so long
why don’t I just put this shit away
call it a wash call it quits call it a day
maybe it’s the craving that drives me on
maybe maybes will keep me up till dawn
maybe this has been the only truth
ignorant unenlightened and uncouth

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

2.36 : 6/8/05 : Wished I Was a Superhero

Wished I was a superhero
what I always wanted to be
when Mom told me there was no such thing
I thought the field’s wide open to me
thought I’d make up my own powers
do it all with science
what the radiation couldn’t do
I’d do with an appliance
Oh reality is so dull
kids they just don’t know it
years they pile up just like blocks
grown ups we always blow it
went and studied chemistry
I forgot just why
No surprise it all went nowhere
No surprise it passed me by
now I’m fat and far from super
no illusions where the years went
don’t think bout my superpowers
think about making the rent
now I’ve got a boy of my own
guess some day he’ll think about
if he asks me if he can be
a real hero I’ll say no doubt

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

official

Finally got the certificate (four months later, which actually isn't bad) in the mail yesterday, the first project of A Song A Day is now officially protected under U.S. Copyright. And presumably there is a copy of the PDF occupying a dozen K or so on the Library of Congress' servers.

Let's see Britney Spears' handlers try to rip off Scum and Hate now.

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

2.35 : 6/7/05 : Everything On the Internet is a Goddamn Waste of Time

Everything on the internet is a goddamn waste of time
everything on the internet is a goddamn waste of time
if time were a person and killing it a crime
Al Gore would be in prison because
everything on the internet is a goddamn waste of time
videos of stupid shit are a goddamn waste of time
music you don’t pay for is a goddamn waste of time
none of it is worth a nickel, nothing’s worth a dime
every byte and every pixel is a goddamn waste of time

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

2.34 : 6/6/05 : One More One More

2,124 : 1 ?


One more one more minute
Rushing’s such a dull bore innit
two became three very fast
when three becomes four
the moment’s passed
I act like I’m gonna change
something I claim I’ll arrange
but I’ve never time enough
it seems the moment’s passed
well that’s just tough

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

2.33 : 6/5/05 : Seconds

There are only seconds left
that may be tautology
it may all be an artifact
of my unique psychology
I’m going to make this quick
no time to figure or multiply
60 times ten oh wait that’s easy
skimmed under the number of the beast oh my
I’m off for some next last last thing
I think I wrote a song about it
I’m gonna keep it to myself
but someday I will jump and shout it
we’re on a track that’s slightly twisted
but it’s what is too true
I’m still rhyming my way along
I’m still writing every song for you

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

2.32 : 6/4/05 : Cut the Strings

Cut the strings on the puppet man
Let it loose and let it go
If anyone can do it you can
Cut the strings man make it so
let the thing get animated
do the magic watch it rise
send it forth with one law stated
Entertain, sustain, but always surprise
Cut the strings on machine knowing
All over the world they’re hacking
the big machine to solve where we’re going
the big computer to supply what we’re lacking
cut the strings of me dear father
give me will and give me drive
I’ll prove I was worth the bother
You will see when I arrive
I’m tangled in a mass of cut strings
guess I didn’t figure the aftermath
I’m tangled up in cast off things
but by and by I’ll find my path

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

2.31 : 6/3/05 : A Pitiless Dissection

A Pitiless dissection of dynamic verse
The last will show up somewhere but the first stays first
written over years of stress and woe
Who will buy it where will it go
I’m so glad the thing is finished
sadly reckoned much diminished
But I think what’s left is slightly better
brought to you by the smallest letter
Laid out sideways two by two
specially scribed from me to you
read it read it read it always
save it for terrible moments and fine days
34 pages from end to end
designed to make me my millionth friend
that’s ridiculous I’ll just be thrilled
if a hundred read it before it got killed
but hey so be it the thing is over
I’m headed out for my field of clover
in the home I lost half a decade ago
still anytime there in my mind I can go

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

2.30 : 6/2/05 : Innards

Isn’t it the root of horror
all the red pipe stacked within
listen to my innards’ anthem
dance on the head of a pin
such a fuss we’ve made over skin
still we can’t deny we need it
got to keep the innards in
nice distinction mind you heed it
feeling like a gutless coward
feel I’m near to spilling badly
I don’t have the stomach for it
I’ll trade all my clichés gladly
just to know my gut reaction
just to hear my innards clearly
how I’d love to get in touch
yes you know I’d love it dearly

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

2.29 : 6/1/05 : First Next Last One

Strain to remember
the first next last one
loaded somehow in the
first last like a gun
must have been destined
easy to prove it
knew it the first time
I wanted to move it
held out a long day
maybe it was three
don’t quite remember
when that first next last one
came to be
I only know for sure
there were a whole hella lot more
to come
the next one
and the next one
until I gotta laugh at
another next last one
Yet it all went on again
yesterday

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

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