music
Mary Had A Secret
we met at redhead Mary’s house on a Bible study night
I heard she was a rebel once until she saw the light
then in the backseat of a crowded car after weeks of holding hands
she was slipping me the tongue among her Christian friends
we would chuckle and talk for hours
and then one night over the phone
she went and told me her best friend’s secret
after she had lowered her tone
it was all about forgiving and so
she thought that God would want me to know
her older sisters had both moved out and her parents were divorced
her mother lived in a trailer park, not big, but she had a porch
and on top of the piano laid a cat with evil paws
her father he was a proud Nam vet I think she hardly saw
we could chuckle and talk for hours
and then one night over the phone
she went and told me her best friend’s secret
after she had lowered her tone
it was all about forgiving and so
she thought that God would want me to know
the old piano she could play so nice she had later sadly sold
the money was invested in the church her husband owned
she had a kid when I looked her up and another on the way
and when we waved our last goodbye she said that she would pray
America, America
I wasn’t even seventeen when I believed the grass was greener
where life is one big movie scene
of beauty queens and paper boy achievers
Wednesday nights at Mary’s house I tried to open up to Jesus
cause I had seen them raise their brows
to the only non-believer in
America, America
in an air conditioned class I auditioned for Mrs. Townsend’s choir
David wore a cowboy hat
he lip-synched like she ordered him
we prayed for soldiers in Iraq to give them strength to fire
we pledged allegiance to the flag
we praised our freedom caught between the borders of
America, America
Mary’s father brought us home and drove us through the heart of Texas
once in Dallas I was shown
the spot where JFK got shot
Nightmare On Elm Street
he’d asked her to come to California where it’s even warmer than in Texas
he tells her twice to lose her glasses as they pass the masses on the streets
Jackie she sees what a lady is not supposed to see
Jackie she starts to scream and gets up on her knees
it’d been the perfect night for murder or so he said, the morning after
but he was mad for all she mattered – she took it light and let him be
Jackie she sees what a lady is not supposed to see
Jackie she starts to scream and gets up on her knees
when his head fell in her lap she then lost her state of grace
crimson red on pink Chanel
she will soon regret having washed her hands and face
Jackie she sees what a lady is not supposed to see
Jackie she starts to scream and gets up on her knees
Jackie she sees what a lady is not supposed to see
shot three – she leaves her seat in the heat on Elm Street
When A Law’s Been Broken
there’s no ‘is’, only ‘was’, when a heart’s been broken
there’s no faith, just a cross, when a heart’s been broken
there are sins
there are drugs, when a heart’s been broken
there are cloaks
there are rugs, when a law’s been broken
there are floods, no more straws, when a heart’s been broken
there are flaws, many flaws, when a heart’s been broken
oh, man
there is scorn
there is grudge when a heart’s been broken
I don’t laugh just as much since my heart got broken
Swim with Sam
Sam here says he lost his call on the day Cousteau had died
the ocean was a tub of sharks with Jacques-Yves as a guide
Sam here says the water’s safe, that man should not have left the seas
called the Human Bathyscaphe he’s King of Expertise
so if someone wants to know and asks you where I am
you say you saw me go for a swim with Sam
Sam here says they call him ‘nice’ and that it makes him really sick
that his ‘nice’ is like ‘polite’ and silence does the trick
Sam here says he’d like to go somewhere far away from here
to a sea that no one knows to completely disappear
so if someone wants to know and asks you where I am
you say you saw me go for a swim with Sam
don’t try to talk me out of this, not while I’m here in Carla’s seat
‘the sea has many drops of water, but the salt won’t let you taste the sweet’
They’ve Shut Down Marks & Spencer
they’ve shut down Marks & Spencer – the windows all are blind
no more English breakfasts, but no one seems to mind
after Christmas sales have started – the trees are out there on the streets
another year of resolutions and I still drag my feet
the memory is out here
the memory is here
the memory’s been out here for more than a year
they’ve shut down Marks & Spencer – the windows all are blind
last year it reached the papers, but then I didn’t mind
the memory is out here
the memory is here
the memory’s been out here for more than a year
I’m not out here in the rain, so it isn’t really all that bad
it’s this thing I have with change that I have never had
they’ve shut down Marks & Spencer - the windows all are blind
I Saw You Hiding From The Rain Today
it was a cloudless day that day when you semi-sadly said:
‘why does it always rain on me’ and I felt really bad
I saw you hiding from the rain today, from underneath your hood
you pulled a funny face and I felt really good
More Or Less The Sort Of Shit Ex-Lovers Get Restraining Orders For
hi – hi, it’s me again
second time today, but this time with a plan
don’t – don’t be mad at me
I was hoping we could talk and maybe flee
now the playground’s closed we can go someplace somewhere else
I could show you the smell and the sound of fresh cut grass
so go get dressed
I – I respect your choice
yes, I read you, there’s no need to raise your voice
go – go back inside
we don’t want to wake the neighbors or my Hyde
I’m so tired of being a saint all by myself
I guess you don’t really know me all that well
but
I need help
I need help
to hell with these patterns and all those parallels
how come no one wants to know me all that well?
please, do tell
if – if I slit my wrists
I would bleed to death to show you I exist
don’t – don’t call the cops
just tell me you don’t love me and I’m off
well, I’ll be off
but I’ll be back
