I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

Richard & Linda Thompson, from the album I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

Dirty people take what's mine
I can leave them all behind
They can never cross that line
When I get to the border
Sawbones standing at the door
Waiting 'till I hit the floor
He won't find me anymore
When I get to the border

Monday morning, monday morning
Closing in on me
I'm packing up and I'm running away
To where nobody picks on me

If you see a box of pine
With a name that looks like mine.
Just say I drowned in a barrel of wine.
When I got to the border
When I got to the border

A one way ticket's in my hand
Heading for the chosen land
My troubles will all turn to sand
When I get to the border

Salty girl with yellow hair
Waiting in that rocking chair
And if I'm weary I won't care
When I get to the border

Monday morning, monday morning
Closing in on me
I'm packing up and I'm running away
To where nobody picks on me

The dusty road will smell so sweet
Paved with gold beneath my feet
And I'll be dancing down the street
When I get to the border
When I get to the border

(Richard Thompson)
Sometimes I couldn't agree more.

Lyrics

I Can't Make Me

Butterfly Boucher, from the album Flutterby

All the things I wanna say but I can't
All the things I wanna do but I won't
Hold me tight
But not too tight
And I'm relaxed but you tell me I'm posed
I feel pretty, I know that you care
You're so sweet
You're so, so sweet

It's not a hurry that we're in
It's the pollen, it's the spring

But I can't make me love you
And you can't make me either
Patience, boy, I need it
I can't make me love you

Oh oh oh

Paper, pen and a piece of your heart
I can't read it, but where do I start?
What to do?
What do I do?
And I am going but I'm gonna come back
And maybe then, maybe this, maybe that
Hold me tight
But not too tight

It's not a hurry that we're in
There's no problem, that's the thing

But I can't make me love you
And you can't make me either
Patience, boy, I need it
I can't make me love you

Oh...

Everyday there's something new to hold onto
A little more of you

But I can't make me love you
And you can't make me either
Patience, boy, I need it
I can't make me love you

Patience, boy, on strange days
I can't make me love you

Oh oh oh

It's not a hurry that we're in
It's the pollen, it's the spring
It's not a hurry that we're in
It's the pollen, it's the spring
It's not a hurry...
Butterfly Boucher
This song is from my absolute favorite album of the last year. She's Australian, she lives in Nashville, she writes cool songs, and she plays all of the instruments. I'm all about relationship songs right now.

Lyrics

Political Science

Randy Newman, from the album Sail Away

No one likes us;
I don't know why.
We may not be perfect,
But heaven knows we try.
But all around, even our old friends put us down.
Let's drop the big one and see what happens.

We give them money,
But are they grateful?
No, they're spiteful
And they're hateful.
They don't respect us, so let's surprise them;
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them.

Now, Asia's crowded,
And Europe's too old.
Africa's far too hot,
And Canada's too cold.
And South America stole our name.
Let's drop the big one; there'll be no one left to blame us.

We'll save Australia;
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo.
We'll build an all-American amusement park there;
They've got surfing, too.

Well, boom goes London,
And boom Paris.
More room for you
And more room for me.
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town.
Oh, how peaceful it'll be;
We'll set everybody free;
You'll have Japanese kimonos, baby,
There'll be Italian shoes for me.
They all hate us anyhow,
So let's drop the big one now.
Let's drop the big one now.
(Newman)
Released in 1972, the song appears during the credits of Blast From The Past, starring Brendan Fraser and Christopher Walken. Everyday as I surf through the major newscable stations and internet sites, I'm reminded of this "always relevant" song. Humor, sarcasm, and irony.

Lyrics

The Man Comes Around

Johnny Cash, from the album American IV

And I heard as it were the noise of thunder
One of the four beasts saying "Come and See", and I saw
And behold a white horse

There's a Man going around taking names
And he decides who to free and who to blame
Every body won't be treated all the same
There will be a golden ladder reaching down
When the Man comes around

The hairs on your arm will stand up
At the terror in each sip and each sup
Will you partake of that last offered cup?
Or disappear into the potter's ground
When the Man comes around

Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers, one hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling and voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
Its alpha and omega's kingdom come
...And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree

The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks

Till Armageddon no shalam no shalom
Then the father hen will call his chickens home
The wise man will bow down before the throne
And at his feet they'll cast the golden crowns
When the man comes around

Whoever is unjust, let him be unjust still
Whoever is righteou,s let him be righteous still
Whoever is filthy, let him be filthy still
Listen to the words long written down
When the Man comes around

Hear the trumpets hear the pipers, one hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling, voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
Its Alpha and Omega's kingdom come
And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks

In measured hundred weight and penny pound
When the man comes around

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts
And I looked and behold, a pale horse
And it's name it said on him was Death
And Hell followed with him.
(John R. Cash)
Zach Snyder's Dawn Of The Dead is my favorite film this year, due partly to the use of this song in the film's opening act...I've not heard Cash used better, ever, in film. The spoken word intro and closing, send chills down my spine...a great way to open his American IV album.

Lyrics

Pretty (Ugly Before) Single

Elliott Smith, from the album Pretty (Ugly Before)

sunshine, been keeping me up for days
there is no night time, it's only a passing phase
and i feel pretty, pretty enough for you
i felt so ugly before, i didn't know what to do

sometimes is all i feel up to now
but it's not worth it to you
cos you gotta get out somehow
it's the destruction that you require to feel
like somebody wants you, someone that's more for real

sunshine, been keeping me up for days
there is no night time, only a passing phase
and i'll feel pretty, another hour or two

i felt so ugly before, i didn't know what to do
i felt so ugly before, i didn't know what to do
i felt so ugly before, i didn't know what to do
ugly before
(-Elliott Smith-)
This song was released just before Elliott's death. Most of his material is somber but this one really gets me. Probably because it's the song most associated with his death for me. I've been listening to him at work today and keep going back to this one. Once again, I've linked to the full MP3.

Lyrics

Some Rainy Sunday

Juliana Hatfield, from the album In Exile Deo

A whippoorwill sings
And the morning brings
Sunshine and freedom
A beautiful day
I just couldn't stay
Inside love's prison

But some rainy Sunday
I'll wake from a dream
And wonder if you miss me
Some rainy Sunday
I'll see things your way
And wish that you were with me

Telephone calls
Just hit the wall
And you can't see my side
Tied up with you
In a manic mood
I just scream good-bye

Some rainy Sunday
I'll wake form a dream
And wonder if you miss me
Some rainy Sunday
I'll see my mistake
And wish that you were with me
(-Juliana Hatfield-)
Another current-status song for me. This new album has helped me a lot lately. She's honestly one of my biggest influences and favorite artists. Just don't tell anyone.

Lyrics

Rapture

Pedro The Lion, from the album Control

This is how we multiply
Pity that its not my wife
The friction of skin
The trembling sigh

This is how the bodies move
With everything that we could lose
Pushing us deeper still
The sheets and the sweat
The seed and the spill
The bitter pill yet undiscovered

Gideon is in the drawer
Clothes scattered on the floor
Shes arching her back
She screams for more

Oh my sweet rapture
I hear Jesus calling me home

Finally the chance to breath
Reaching for the fallen sheets
Collapsing in a glowing heap
We've gone too far
We've done too much
We have to quit it
Just one more kiss
Just one more touch
Please 10 more minutes

This feels so good. . .
Just barely moving. . .
The tension building. . .
Our bodies working. . .
To Reach their goal. . .

Oh my sweet rapture
I hear Jesus and the angels singing
Hallelujah
Calling me to enter the promise land.
(--David Bazan-)
I'd always heard of this band but I'd never *heard* them. I finally bought an album (Achilles Heel) last month and now I'm sorta obsessed. The singer/songwriter seems to place a strong importance on his faith in a lot of their material. This song is no expection, even if it's an uncoventional spin. I don't own this album but these lyrics knock me out. So sexy. I linked to the full MP3 so you can add this song to your iTunes jukebox like me!

Lyrics

Gone

Ben Folds, from the album Rockin' The Suburbs

I thought I'd write, I thought I'd let you know
In the year since you've been gone I've finally let you go
And I hope you find some time to drop a note
But if you won't,
Then you won't
And I will consider you gone

I know that you went straight to someone else
While I worked through all this sh*t here by myself
And I think that you should spend some time alone
But if you won't
Then you won't
And I will consider you gone

I wake up in the night
All alone and it's alright
The chemicals are wearing off
Since you've gone

The days go on, the lights go off and on
And nothing really matters when you're gone
If you think that you feel nothing at all
If you don't (If you don't)
Then you don't (No, you won't)
If you won't
Then you won't
And I will
Then I will
Yeah, and I will consider you gone
(Folds)
this is one of those songs, you think, someone might have written specifically for you.

Lyrics

Senorita With A Necklace Of Tears

Paul Simon, from the album You're The One

I have a wisdom tooth
Inside my crowded face
I have a friend who is a born-again
Found his savior’s grace
I was born before my father
And my children before me
We are born and born again
Like the waves of the sea
That’s the way it’s always been
And that’s how I want it to be

Nothing but good news
There is a frog in south america
Whose venom is a cure
For all the suffering that mankind
Must endure
More powerful than morphine
And soothing as the rain
A frog in south america
Has the antidote for pain
That’s the way it’s always been
And that’s the way I like it

Some people never say no
Some people never complain
Some folks have no idea
And others will never explain
That’s the way it’s always been
That’s the way I like it
And that’s how I want it to be
That’s the way it’s always been
That’s the way I like it
And that’s how I want it to be

If I could play all the memories
In the neck of my guitar
I’d write a song called
“Senorita with a necklace of tears”
and every tear a sin I’d committed
oh these many years
That’s who I was
That’s the way it’s always been

Some people always want more
Some people are what they lack
Some folks open a door
Walk away and never look back
I don’t want to be a judge
And I don’t want to be a jury
I know who I am
Lord knows who I will be
That’s the way it’s always been
That’s the way I like it
And that’s how I want it to be
That’s the way it’s always been
That’s the way I like it
And that’s how I want it to be
(Paul Simon)

Lyrics

Everyday I Write The Book

Elvis Costello, from the album Punch The Clock

Don't tell me you don't know what love is
When you're old enough to know better
When you find strange hands in your sweater
When your dreamboat turns out to be a footnote
I'm a man with a mission in two or three editions

And I'm giving you a longing look
Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book

Chapter One we didn't really get along
Chapter Two I think I fell in love with you
You said you'd stand by me in the middle of Chapter Three
But you were up to your old tricks in Chapters Four, Five and Six

And I'm giving you a longing look
Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book

The way you walk
The way you talk, and try to kiss me, and laugh
In four or five paragraphs
All your compliments and your cutting remarks
Are captured here in my quotation marks

And I'm giving you a longing look
Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book

Don't tell me you don't know the difference
Between a lover and a fighter
With my pen and my electric typewriter
Even in a perfect world where everyone was equal
I'd still own the film rights and be working on the sequel

And I'm giving you a longing look
Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book
(Costello)

Lyrics

Blinded By The Light

Bruce Springsteen, from the album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.

Madman drummers bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder feelin' kinda older I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasing sneezing and wheezing the calliope crashed to the ground
Some all-hot half-shot was headin' for the hot spot snappin' his fingers clappin' his hands
And some fleshpot mascot was tied into a lover's knot with a whatnot in her hand
And now young Scott with a slingshot finally found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not whispers daddy's within earshot save the buckshot turn up the band

And she was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tight, but she'll make it alright

Some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone rolling stone preacher from the east
He says: "Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in its funny bone, that's where they expect it least"
And some new-mown chaperone was standin' in the corner all alone watchin' the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone to remind him of the feeling of romance

Yeah he was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
He got down but she never got tight, but he's gonna make it tonight

Some silicone sister with her manager's mister told me I got what it takes
She said I'll turn you on sonny, to something strong if you play that song with the funky break,
And go-cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart to see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came in by her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride,
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer playin' backyard bombardier
Yes and Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent a dude with a calling card,
he said, do what you like, but don't do it here
Well I jumped up, turnedaround, spit in the air, fell on the ground
Asked him which was the way back home
He said take a right at the light, keep goin' straight until night, and then boy, you're on your own

And now in Zanzibar a shootin' star was ridin' in a side car hummin' a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar we're gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon

And some kidnapped handicap was complainin' that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night,
Well I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears I saw a gap but figured he'd be all right

Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh but mama that's where the fun is
(Springsteen)

Lyrics

I Radio Heaven

Over The Rhine, from the album Films For Radio

i radio heaven
i get mixed signals
i move the antenna
i switch the channels
i lie in this bed
my satellite dish
is there room in the universe
for one last wish(i say)

do you read me
over
you wanna come
over

i guess i never told you
'bout this life i'm livin'
it's heaven versus hell
in a split decision
this secret religion is
the best that i've found
i radio heaven
when no one's around(i say)

do you need me
over
you wanna come
over

this song is grinning
go on and undress it
it's just the beginning
go on and possess it
you're no longer a child now
don't let them molest it
the wound is deep
i'm just trying to confess it

the truth is i bleed you
when these frequencies cut me
i'm a slut with a mission
a singular vision
i radio heaven
i get mixed signals
i move the antenna
i switch the channels

i radio heaven
i get mixed signals
i move the antenna
i switch the channels
i lie in this bed
my satellite dish
is there room in the universe
for one last wish
(Detweiler)

Lyrics

John Walker's Blues

Steve Earle, from the album Jerusalem

I'm just an American boy raised on MTV
And I've seen all those kids in the soda pop ads
But none of 'em looked like me
So I started lookin' around for a light out of the dim
And the first thing I heard that made sense was the word
Of Mohammed, peace be upon him

A shadu la ilaha illa Allah
There is no God but God

If my daddy could see me now, chains around my feet
He don't understand that sometimes a man
Has to fight for what he believes
And I believe God is great all praise due to him
And if I should die I'll rise up to the sky
Just like Jesus, peace be upon him
We came to fight the Jihad and our hearts were pure and strong
As death filled the air we all offered up prayers
And prepared for our martyrdom
But Allah had some other plan some secret not revealed
Now they're draggin' me back with my head in a sack
To the land of the infidel
(Earle)

Lyrics

Subdivison

Ani DiFranco, from the album Reckoning

white people are so scared of black people
they bulldoze out to the country
and put up houses on little loop-dee-loop streets
and while america gets its heart cut right out of its chest
the berlin wall still runs down main street
separating east side from west
and nothing is stirring, not even a mouse
in the boarded-up stores and the broken-down houses
so they hang colorful banners off all the street lamps
just to prove they got no manners
no mercy and no sense

and i'm wondering what it will take
for my city to rise
first we admit our mistakes
then we open our eyes
the ghosts of old buildings are haunting parking lots
in the city of good neighbors that history forgot

i remember the first time i saw someone
lying on the cold street
i thought: i can't just walk past here
this can't just be true
but i learned by example
to just keep moving my feet
it's amazing the things that we all learn to do

so we're led by denial like lambs to the slaughter
serving empires of style and carbonated sugar water
and the old farm road's a four-lane that leads to the mall
and our dreams are all guillotines waiting to fall

i'm wondering what it will take
for my country to rise
first we admit our mistakes
and then we open our eyes
or nature succumbs to one last dumb decision
and america the beautiful
is just one big subdivision
(DiFranco)

Lyrics

Slow Motion

Third Eye Blind, from the album Blue

Miss Jones taught me English
But I think I just shot her son
'Cause he owed me money
With a bullet in the chest you cannot run
Now he's bleeding in a vacant lot
The one in the summer where we used to smoke pot
I guess I didn't mean it
But man, you shoulda seen it
His flesh explode

Slow motion see me let go
We tend to die young
Slow motion see me let go
What a brother knows
Slow motion see me let go

Now the cops will get me
But girl, if you would let me
I'll take your pants off
I got a little bit of blow we could both get off
Later bathing in the afterglow
Two lines of coke I cut with Drano
And her nose starts to bleed
A most beautiful ruby red

Slow motion see me let go
We'll remember these days
Slow motion see me let go
Urban life decays
Slow motion see me let go
And at home

My sister's eating paint chips again
Maybe that's why she's insane
I shut the door to her moaning
And I shoot smack in my veins
Wouldn't you?
See my neighbor's beating his wife
Because he hates his life
There's a knock to his fist as he swings
Oh man, what a beautiful thing
And death slides close to me
Won't grow old to be
A junkie wino creep
Hollywood glamorized my wrath
I'm a young urban psychopath
I incite murder for your entertainment
'Cause I needed the money
What's your excuse?
The joke's on you

Slow motion see me let go
(Jenkins)

Lyrics

Born In The U.S.A.

Bruce Springsteen, from the album Born In The U.S.A

Born down in a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up

Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man

Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man says "Son if it was up to me"
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said "Son, don't you understand"

I had a brother at Khe Sahn fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there, he's all gone

He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms now

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go

Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.

Lyrics

Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)

Toby Keith, from the album Unleashed

American girls and American guys
Will always stand up and salute
We'll always recognize
When we see old glory flying
There's a lot of men dead
So we can sleep in peace at night when we lay down our head

My daddy served in the army
Where he lost his right eye
But he few a flag out in our yard till the day that he did
He wanted my mother, my brother, my sister and me
To grow up and live happy in the land of the free
Now this nation that I love has fallen under attack
A mighty sucker punch came flying in from somewhere in the back
Soon as we can see clearly through our big black eye,
Man we lit up your world like the forth of July

Hey Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list
And the statue of liberty started shaking her fists
And the eagle will fly
And its gonna be hell
When you hear mother freedom start ringing her bell
And it will feel like the whole wide word is raining down on you
Brought to you courtesy of the red, white and blue

Justice will be served
And the battle will rate
This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage
You'll be sorry you that you messed with the US of A
Cuz will put a boot in your ass
It's the American way.
(Keith)

Lyrics

This Song

Ron Sexsmith, from the album Blue Boy

I brought a song into this world
Just a melody with words
It trembles here before my eyes
How can this song survive?

I brought it to the tower of gold
In my coat of many holes
I came unarmed, they've got knives
How can this song survive

Oh now, I can't help wondering how it is
How someone like you exists
When all around you bullets fly
You don't seem to notice them go by
How can this song survive

Oh now, I see the game I'm up against
No wonder I feel so afraid
For every song you ever heard
How many more have died at birth
Oh how, how can this song survive

I wonder how, I wonder why?
(Sexsmith)

Lyrics

Come Undone

Robbie Williams, from the album Escapology

So unimpressed, but so in awe
Such a saint, but such a whore
So self aware, so full of shit
So indecisive, so adamant

I'm contemplating thinking about thinking
It's overrated just get another drink and
Watch me come undone

They're selling razor blades and mirrors in the street
I pray that when I'm coming down you'll be asleep
If I ever hurt you your revenge will be so sweet
Because I'm scum, and I'm your son,
I come undone

So rock and roll, so corporate suit
So damn ugly, so damn cute
So well-trained, so animal
So need your love, so fuck you all

I'm not scared of dying
I just don't want to
If I stop lying I'd just disappoint you
I come undone

So write another ballad
Mix it on a Wednesday
Sell it on a Thursday
Buy a yacht by Sunday
It's a love song
A love song

Do another interview
Sing a bunch of lies
Tell about celebrities that I despise
And sing love songs
We sing love songs
So sincere
(Hamilton/Ottestad/Pierre/Williams)

Lyrics

25 Minutes To Go

Johnny Cash, from the album At Folsom Prison

They're buildin' the gallows outside my cell.
I got 25 minutes to go.
And in 25 minutes I'll be in Hell.
I got 24 minutes to go.
Well, they give me some beans for my last meal.
23 minutes to go.
And you know... Nobody asked me how I feel.
I got 22 minutes to go.
So, I wrote to the Gov'nor... the whole damned bunch.
Ahhh... 21 minutes to go.
And I call up the Mayor, and he's out to lunch.
I got 20 more minutes to go.
Well, the Sheriff says, "Boy, I wanna watch you die".
19 minutes to go.
I laugh in his face... and I spit in his eye.
I got 18 minutes to go.
Well...I call out to the Warden to hear my plea.
17 minute to go.
He says, "Call me back in a week or three.
You've got 16 minutes to go."
Well, my lawyer says he's sorry he missed my case.
Mmmm....15 minutes to go.
Yeah, well if you're so sorry, come up and take my place.
I got 14 minutes to go.
Well, now here comes the padre to save my soul
With 13 minutes to go.
And he's talkin' about burnin', but I'm so damned cold.
I got 12 more minutes to go.
Now they're testin' the trap. It chills my spine.
I got 11 minutes to go.
'Cuz the goddamned thing it works just fine.
I got 10 more minutes to go.
I'm waitin' for the pardon... gonna set me free
With 9 more minutes to go.
But this ain't the movies, so to hell with me.
I got 8 more minutes to go.
And now I'm climbin up the ladder with a scaffold peg
With 7 more minutes to go.
I've betta' watch my step or else I'll break my leg.
I got 6 more minutes to go.
Yeah... with my feet on the trap and my head in the noose...
5 more minutes to go.
Well, c'mon somethin' and cut me loose.
I got 4 more minutes to go.
I can see the mountains. I see the sky.
3 more minutes to go.
And it's too damned pretty for a man to die.
I got 2 more minutes to go
I can hear the buzzards... hear the crows.
1 more minute to go.
And now I'm swingin' and here I gooooooooo....
(Silverstein)

Lyrics