Waiting On The World To Change

John Mayer, from the album Continuum

Me and all my friends
We're all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There's no way we ever could
Now we see everything is going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
To rise above and beat it

So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
It’s hard to beat the system
When we're standing at a distance
So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

Now if we had the power
To bring our neighbors home from war
They would have never missed a Christmas
No more ribbons on their door
When you trust your television
What you get is what you got
‘Cuz’ when they own the information ooohhh,
They can bend it all they want

So while we're waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
It's not that we don't care
We just know that the fight ain't fair
So we keep waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

(Guitar solo)

We're still waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
One day our generation
Is gonna rule the population

So we keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
Know we keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting (waiting)
Waiting on the world to change
Waiting on the world to change
Waiting on the world to change
Waiting on the world to change

Mayer
Mayer's songwriting in this song speaks for a generation lost. His collobarations with Stanley Jordan, Pino Palladino, and Ben Harper make his 2006 album the best he's done yet.

Lyrics

Life Wasted

Pearl Jam, from the album Pearl Jam

You're always saying that there's something wrong.
I'm starting to believe it's you're plan all along.
Death came around, forced to hear it's song
And know tomorrow can't be depended on

Seen the home inside your head.
All locked doors and unmade beds

Open sores unattended
Let me say just once that

i have faced it, a life wasted.
I'm never going back again.
i escaped it,a life wasted.
I'm never going back again.
having tasted, alife wasted.
I'm never going back again.

the world awaits just up the stairs
leave the pain for someone else
nothing back there for you to find
or was it you you left behind?

You're always saying you're too weak to be strong.
You're harder on yourself than just about anyone

why swim the channel just to get this far?
halfway there, why would you turn around?

darkness comes in waves...tell me,
why invite it to stay?

You're one with negativity
yes, comfort is an energy
but why let the sad song play?? ???

i have faced it, a life wasted
i'm never going back again

oh i escaped it, a life wasted
I'm never going back again

having tasted, a life wasted
i'm never going back again

oh i erased it, a life wasted
i'm never going back again
(Pearl jam)
This first track, first heard, with lyrics before me....I knew the album would be special.

Lyrics

Throw Away Your Television

Red Hot Chili Peppers, from the album By The Way

Throw away your television
Time to make this clean decision
Master waits for it’s collision now
It’s a repeat of a story told
It’s a repeat and it’s getting old

Throw away your television
Make a break big intermission
Recreate your super vision now
It’s a repeat of a story told
It’s a repeat and it’s getting old

[chorus:]
Renegades with fancy gauges
Slay the plague for it’s contagious
Pull the plug and take the stages
Throw away your television now

Throw away your television
Take the noose off your ambition
Reinvent your intuition now
It’s a repeat of a story told
It’s a repeat and it’s getting old

[chorus]

Throw away your television
Salivate to repetition
Levitate this ill condition now
It’s a repeat
(Flea/John Frusciante/Anthony Kiedis/Chad Smith)
I just ended up buying a new one. Someone save me!

Lyrics

Frontwards

Pavement, from the album Watery, Domestic

I am the only one,
Searching for you,
And if I get caught,
Then the search is through
And the stories you hear,
You know they never add up
I hear the natives fussin'
At the data chart,
Be quiet
The weather's on the night news...

Antique homes,
Plastic cones,
Stolen rims
Are they alloy or chrome?
Well I've got style,
Miles and miles,
So much style
That it's wasted,
So much style
That it's wasted
So much style
That its waste---------ed
She's the only one,
Who always inhales
Paris is stale
And it's war if we fail

And in the migrant hotels,
They never sleep,
They never will
Their souls are crumbling
Like a dirt clod
Hold, your cigarette cuts
To the inside

Antique homes,
Plastic cones,
Stolen rims,
Are they alloy or chrome?
Well I've got style,
Miles and miles
So much style
That it's leavin'
It's pattern's torn
And we're weavin'
This battle's torn
And we're weavin'

(Stephen Malkmus)
This ain't poetry but it hits me in the right place. Takes me back to a mixtape Jerry made me in 1994.

Lyrics

Gun

Uncle Tupelo, from the album Still Feel Gone

falling out the window
tripping on a wrinkle in the rugfalling out of love, dear
it hurt much worse when you gave up

just don't tell me which way I oughta run
or what good I could do anyone
'cause my heart it was a gun
but it's unloaded now
so don't bother

climbing up the ladder
breaking my shin on the very first rung
waking up the neighbors
it's all right,they understand they're just as dumb

and they don't tell me which way I oughta run
or what good I could do anyone
'cause my heart it was a gun
but it's unloaded now
so don't bother me now
don't bother

crawling back to you now
I sold my guitar to the girl next door
she asked me if I knew how
I told her I don't think so anymore

don't tell me which way I oughta run
what good could I do anyone
'cause my heart it was a gun
but it's unloaded now
so don't bother

(J. Farrar, J. Tweedy, M. Heidorn)
I've been reading the new Wilco book, Learning How To Die, for the last several days and loving it. I got this album from Jerry when I was in California and this song is rocking my world right now. I couldn't understand the lyrics so i just looked them up. I approve.

Lyrics

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