We Had a Ball

We Had a Ball

We came we played we had a ball

A ball, a ball

We came we had a ball a

We came we sang we sang all night

All night all night

We came we sang all night

Only Headed Home

Take a good look at your rival

You’ll see your face

Is it a question of survival

Or sinful waste

You go on and on

But you’re only headed home

Did you round another corner

And lose your way

Have you the courtesy to warn her

You’ve gone astray

You go on and on

But you’re only headed home

Already in Abilene

strung out on the blues

I’d rather forget these scenes

you’re yesterday’s news

Rejected Claim

They’ll be combing through the ashes

They’ll have questions for you too

They’ll be asking ‘bout the matches

As they test the residue

Rags dipped in oil: how obvious!

Babe, you ain’t too good at crime

Jailhouse confession: some defense

Sign right here on the dotted line

They wanna know about the Harley

How come you parked it on the street

Seems like the wiseguy’s got a problem

Maybe too late to peg on Pete

Foolproof you thought: wrong again!

Babe, you musta gone insane

Your alibi is nowhere to be found

And the policy won’t pay

Got no house today

Now they’re combing thru the garbage

Looking for accelerants

“How could you do this”, says your mother

In retrospect it does make sense

The Sign Up

Hey, kids sign up today

We’re gonna take you away

To the land of mystery

Beware of dysentery

Goodbye to mom and dad

Please don’t be sad

We’re gonna have some fun

We’re going to the land of the sun

Two tours in Vietnam

In the L.U.R.P.’s brigade

Now his hands are shaking and he drinks too much

But in the grand scheme of things, baby, he’s okay!

Hey, kids sign up today

We’ve got games to play

Here, take another round

We’re gonna paint the town

The Investigation

The investigation is not real

No, the charges won’t hold up

Evidence proves that you steal

No, the charges won’t hold up

And the press just won’t give you a break

But the charges won’t hold up

Tried in public … no fair shake

But the charges won’t hold up

The investigation spreads and spreads

No, the charges won’t hold up

In your cell, wishin’ you’re dead

No, the charges won’t hold up

Was it worth an extra buck or two

But the charges won’t hold up

It makes you wonder who is who

No, the charges won’t hold up

Charlie One vs. Ruby Red

Walk away on your own

Stick around and you’ll be gone

User name: Charlie One

I was only having fun

I was only talking to that girl

I swear

I never meant to meet her

In a million years

Ruby Red: her onscreen name

How’d I know it’d end in shame

Police converged at the mall

Family man takes a fall

I was only talking to that girl

I swear

I never meant to meet her

In a million years

Life round the homestead’s absurd

The family jewels started to stir

Did You Hide the Darkness Well?

Did you hide the darkness well

Did you hide your feelings … low down dealings

Did you hide the darkness well

Did she heal your aching bones

Spare change tally … downtown alley

Did she heal your aching bones

Did you lay down in the road

Lay down tired … heart’s expired

Did you lay down in the road

Growing’s

Growing’s a painful lot

Through the cracks in the sidewalk

Through the dirty city blocks

Growing’s a terrible task

Knowing when to let it go

And knowing when to ask

Woke up on the Kinkerstrasse

With your jacket on

Knowing you weren’t coming back

To help me get along

Dear man: see me shivering on your steps

Haunted by your presence

Now i manage what you left

Growing’s a stranglehold

Sometimes ride her easy, man

And sometimes ride her bold

Growing’s a awful dance

Sometimes waltz her slow

And sometimes take a chance

Cylinder Life

Fix this, fix that, get the information

Jesus Christ, what’s the trouble down there?

Ma said she’d be home soon

Sister’s at the widow’s ledge

There was a carpet in the corner of the basement

We used to run off it like you wouldn’t believe

Ma said she’d be home soon

Sister’s at the window’s ledge

Camouflaged and colorblind

Frantic for restraints

As the numbers dictate the paints

Painted pedestals collapsing

This cylinder life takes it’s toll

Little Teddy

Her little Teddy’s gone

He won’t be gone long

I only took him out to hear the rain … rain

Don’t cha cry at all

Listen to him call

Mommy mommy mom

I feel no pain … pain

It’s only for a while

Gonna make him smile

I promise he’ll come home

Just the same … same

Everybody screamed

Screamed it was a dream

But little Teddy knew otherwise … wise

Skin on skin

Let the games begin

Better pick on someone your own size … size

For Sally

Swab the deck for Sally

Cried the captain from the galley

Safe in harbor … spoke with ardor

Dear Lord: remember us

Swab the deck for Sally

Did you see the captain’s eyes?

Did you hear the deck hand’s cry?

This lie we tell … what lie, pray tell?

Dear Lord: remember us

The Ventriloquist

You mentioned it once in passing

I was distracted and didn’t write it down

If I’d have only known (2x)

Missed signals can be fatal and sink

An otherwise stable ship, I’ve found

If I’d have only known (2x)

Got into a tiff

With knuckleheaded Smiff

This isn’t a comedy routine

It’s a serious work of art

If I’d have only known (2x)

Chose a career along the margins … surprise!

Your life turns out bizarre

If I’d have only known (2x)

Got into a tiff

With knuckleheaded Smiff

The ventriloquist!!!!!!

End of an Error

It's the end of an error.
It's the end of an error.
It's the end of an error
so let it go.

Time to correct your personality.
Time to reflect on things you didn't see.
Time to connect to those who didn't leave
and let it go.

Randy said to Rachel ,"Mom, what's in the cup?"
Rachel said to Randy, "Ten years of rotten luck.
You still have a life to lead but me, I've given up
So let it go."

Memo to Self

Memo to self
Let her go.
Memo to self
Let her go.
Memo to self
Let her go away.

Memo to be
True to self.
Memo to be
True to self.
Memo to be
True to self everyday.

Write this down
While you recall.
Write this down
You'll forget it all.

Memo recall
The words she said.
Memo recall
The words she said.
Memo recall
The words she said that hurt you so.

Reading Tealeaves

Reading you is like reading tealeaves.
Grooving on the guesswork
Betting 'gainst the house.
Reading you is like reading tealeaves.
Is it something that I did
Or something from my mouth

There's an angel with an axe
Eating eggs out of a drum.
There's a mouse inside a mushroom
And a zebra with a gun.
There's a bear holding a candle
And a child with a dove.
What the hell does all this mean
If we are not in love.

There's an apple and an acorn
And a pig inside a purse.
Is that an iceberg or a spider
Anyway which would be worse?
There's a donkey with an arrow
Pointed at a pig.
Is this New Age hocus pocus
Or something that you dig?

Breakjaw

Breakjaw
Breakjaw blue

Get out your office and raw!

Cold Winter Rain

It never hurts much

No, it never hurts much

But sometimes it does

Then it hurts you a bunch

Like an old injury acting up in the cold winter rain

It stings when it pours

Yea, it stings when it pours

I remember you then

And it hurts me some more

Just when i think it’s gone like a fast moving train

Oh oh the cold winter rain

An ache in my heart that just won’t go away … away

It never feels good

No, it never feels good

Not that i ever thought that it would

When you get news like that it’s just hard to wake up the next day

But somehow you wake up

Yea, somehow you wake up

And think to yourself: boy, does this suck

Then role outta bed … tell the world to get outta your way