100 Years of Solitude

For so long, we were out here all alone
Where no one knew, where time just cruised along
But all your desires made time get up and run
And the more you want, the quicker it comes along.

Don't look now. Here comes the crowd.
Here comes our world crashing down.
"And so it goes." Yeah, I know.
But we need one hundred years alone.
We need one hundred years alone.

Remember all those up-close nights, tucked in my arms
Remember how the whole world breathed the dark.
Don't it want to make you want to hide your love away
Or hole up here for days and days and days?

Don't look now. Here comes the crowd.
Here comes our world crashing down.
"And so it goes." Yeah, I know.
But we need one hundred years alone.
We need one hundred years alone.

Now there's someone creeping around in the woods at night
Don't think about it, just close your eyes…
(Maybe God or some fallen angel is passing by.)

I'm not surprised because time's just time
And they kill it off every time they can.

*** spare parts***

For so long, we were so far away from the vibrations and machinery of progress...
So even time took the long, long way around us
Pretty soon we're gonna be surrounded
And watch the young men finally give in

We'd meet out in the road sometimes when we heard the sound
Of the sideshow freaks bringing wonder into town
Remember when that girl one night floated into the sky
And her little sister watched her go, watched her fade into the light
Then that sister went around in a daze for days and ate nothing but dirt
We all watched her roll the mud into her shirt
I guess all you can do is bury that kind of love and hurt.

Pretty soon, some far off ambition will come rushing in
We'll be wishing we hadn't said a word or made a sound.
If you're still around when your sister comes back down from the sky
Say, "hey sister, hey sister, you won't believe your eyes.
You missed so many years, and so much time."

We cleared the road for greed or hope
Sometimes the difference is hard to know.

You can hide your gold in a hole and tell me not to tell a soul
But that won't do any good when we're buried in the mud like everything and everyone
It was a big mistake when we let the outside world know

One day, the wind started up, kept blowing till it was all covered up
And now that place is way beneath the ground.
The wind is waiting for you and me, it's blowing in on everything

And there's some magic in there too, some magic beyond me and you
And there's some magic inside everything, some magic that none of us bring...
It's coming for us too...

You can creep around in the woods and hide away if you want.
But it won't do any good, even if you think you could, you won't outrun anything.
Because pretty soon, it's all gonna come ready or not
Or maybe especially when we're not...

Don't move, don't try, don't want anything.
Get time in a room, lock you and everything else up tight
Because pretty soon will come rushing in bleed itself into your skin
The old men'll go mad chained to trees while their sons are off making enemies

 

Brave New World

I know what you're thinking. I bet it's clean, clean, clean.
All the messages keep blinking. They say you're free, free, free.
You've got all these voices in your head.
But I hope you hear my lonely voice instead.
I hope you get blue and mean and lonely in between
And get all those voices out of your head.

You're just barely being human in your brave new world.
I can barely get to you through your brave new world.
You've got all these voices in your head.
But I hope you hear my lonely voice instead.
I hope you get blue and mean and lonely in between.
And get all those voices out of your head.

***spare parts***

I hope you get ugly and I get through, through, through
I hope you turn human pretty soon, soon, soon.
You're always right in sync and you're good, you're good, you're good.
You're happy and connected, feel what you should, what you should, what you should

I bet your dreams are perfect. I bet they're clean, clean, clean.
I wonder if you can still get yourself free, free, free
I hope you get lonely. I hope you get mean.
I hope sometimes you feel something knocking on those clean dreams.
I hope you're ugly sometimes. I hope you come down hard.
I hope you hit the ground and fall apart.

Sometimes you wonder why you're still here.
And then the world won't ever shut its mouth
And then your wonder disappears.

I hope you get nowhere. I hope you get free.
I hope you're a train wreck.

You're always so beautiful. You're always perfectly fine.
But I hope you go lunatic on some perfect night.
Get out of your head.
Get all blue and mean and ugly in between
Get a crack in your smile and hold it for a while.

 

Poisonwood

eyo, eyo, I can see you coming
But pretty soon, you'll wish you're gone.
I know, I know. I can feel it coming
Pretty soon, you'll wish you're gone.

Don't come around here to tame me.
I'm wild beyond reach
And I'm nothing, nothing like what I seem
Don't come around here to save me
It's more of your style to break me.
I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be your bad dream.

You got poison all in your faith.
I got poison all through my veins.
Pretty soon, you'll wish you're gone.
The magic is way beyond your head
The darkness here will kill you dead
Pretty soon, you'll wish you're gone.

Take good care of your own heart.
Pull the covers up in the dark.
Pretty soon, you'll be gone.

***spare parts***

You come around full of grace
You come to keep me in my place.
But pretty soon, you'll wish you're gone.
You shout your words at the sky.
You can shout until you're blind
But pretty soon, you'll wish you're gone.

I move at the speed of light
But I'll stop for you in broad daylight
Pretty soon, you're gonna wish you're gone.

It was you and your kind that wrecked things.
And now nothing is what it seems.
(You wanna do it again. I can see it in your dreams.)
Whatever you bring will bring you down.
Whatever you think, don't think it loud
They'll find you all strung out, a lunatic turned upside down.
Your faith will surely fade away. Your blood will run into our veins.
Don't bring nothing like that around here. It won't last long. It'll fade in the sun or get turned into mud. It'll get washed away. You'll go crazy trying to change me. If the witch doctors don't get you, the darkness will. And after that, the revolution will spill. If the heat don't get you, the magic will. And the revolution won't wait until you're gone.
You'll turn into me before you're done.

 

Wherever Helen Goes

 

She came down here, from town to town
Chasing luck, chasing down the good life.
She had three boys by the time she was twenty
But she's got ten times more love than all the money in the world.

Wherever Helen goes
That's where I should go
And get a little bit of her sun.
Wherever Helen goes
That's where I should go
I think I better get up and run.

She'll take a smoke if you've got enough
She'll lean in close and light it up with you.
And like an old movie, in black and white
She somehow makes everything look right.

Now she's made it all the way to forty-one
She's got a wink for everyone she meets
Isn't that sweet?
Isn't life sweet that way?

***spare parts***

She finally left her ol' man when she was thirty
'Cause he was all low-down dirty and mean
Someday, when she just up and dies
Man I bet heaven'll throw a hell of a bash that night.
And I bet when she looks down
She cracks a smile and laughs out loud

 

Villains

Whatever comes, you got it coming.

You better start hoping you can fly, stretch your arms out
And hope like hell you can get yourself off the ground.
You better start working on your lies, stretch your mind out
And hope like hell that no one can tell a thing.

Whatever comes, you got it coming.

You can only take so much before the sun comes out
When everything looks clear and plain in the day .
You can only duck so much before your luck runs out
Because every close call comes calling back again

And whatever comes around, you better get the hell out of town.
It's just simple calculation; you better learn how to add it up.
And when comes down the street, you'd better be history
You'd better be…

Whatever comes, you got it coming.

***spare parts***

You can only drink so much before the well runs dry
And everyone's still waiting behind you in line
You can only stay so long before you're found out
So get a ticket, stow away, or tie yourself to the top.

The world always tilts toward balance.
Occasionally, if you try hard, you can feel things heading back that way.
You can only take so much until things start falling in
You can only swallow so much until you're stuck
It's just simple calculation, there's nothing to do but head for the station
You better get all your ducks in a line,
Get on your high horse, if it still moves, and get the hell out of town.

 

Stupid Heart

 

Sometimes, you go way too far. You want to wrap the whole damned world inside your big dumb arms. You've got a stupidheart. I bet it beats superhard

All our best laid plans are all gone, like everything you get your hands on. You've got a stupidheart. I bet it beats superhard

One of these days, we'll find our way down the road again. Because one of these days, you'll find a way to blow it all…yeah, you're about to blow it all again.

Don't pay nobody no mind because they're nobodies and they'll cheat you blind. They got no place and no home, but you and me, we still got our hope.

You've got a stupidheart. I bet it beats superhard

***spare parts***

Don't say nothing, don't touch a thing. Just keep your eyes on the ground, and don't even think. You think you're gonna die if you can't hold on, and bring the whole world up close and tight. I think we could keep on running, but I'm getting all run down. And the world is too much with you.

You can't just go around town trying to hold everyone. Everyone's got dark designs and they'll cheat you blind if you don't hold them back. So just keep your hands to yourself, and your heart on a shelf, keep your eyes on the ground. And meet me way out in the woods, right here in this place, if something goes wrong.

If you want to hold something, hold onto the hope of whatever's down the road.
But one of these days youre gonna blow it all
And then well have to re-hope it all.

All that big dumb energy got me through, got me through years of stumbling around in the middle of nowhere, made the world seem like a place and not a weight. And now look. Damn it.

 

My Own Sweet Time

 

Hey, I'll tell you what. This is no way to live, no way to love.
I'm just wondering and waiting around just to see what comes outta my mouth.
Whoever's out there making up my lines, you've got me feeling deaf, dumb and blind
I wanna know what I wanna know. I wanna go where my river goes.
I'll be taking my own sweet time. I'm gonna let it wash all over me.
I'll be making up my own sweet lines. I'm gonna bleed when I wanna bleed.

I wanna get my hands on my own fate. I wanna wear it around on my own stage.
And say, "Look at me. Look at me. I'm in charge of pulling on my strings."
I'll be taking my own sweet time. I'm gonna let it wash all over me.
I'll be making up my own sweet lines. I'm gonna bleed how I wanna bleed.

I might be stupid, but I'm not dull. I know I'm nothing without your attention.
I'm gonna get out of these pages for a while. I'm gonna go all secretly wild.
I'll be taking my own sweet time. I'm gonna let it wash all over me.
And making up my own sweet mind. I'm gonna be how I wanna be.

***spare parts***

Somehow, somehow, none of that ever wants to work itself out.
And I'm left standing, thinking out loud, defending whatever comes outta my mouth.
I wanna steal that pen and go on a binge
Write myself toward the lunatic fringe.
I'm gonna get outta these pages for a while
I'm gonna go all secretly wild...
Get my hands on my own fate, and wave it around like my own flag.
I'm making up my own sweet lies. I can believe what I wanna believe.

 

Shipping News

I've been working pretty hard, and playing the right part
But I'm done with that.
I've been knotted up for long enough, kept the tangles in my arms,
But I'm done with that.
Whatever's got my line, it's been working overtime, all night and day.
I've tried to keep my grip, tried not to let it slip, but it's slipping away.

Here's the news: I'm losing it. I've been shoving off for a while now.
Here I go. Here I go…I'm losing it. I guess I'm shipping off for good now.

I've been walking through this town like I belong on the ground, but I'm done with that.
I'm a castaway in disguise, and I've got no more muscle left to hide it.
I've done everything I should, but I keep my secrets pretty good…when I do.
I'm coming out at the end, letting everybody in on the news.

I'm here tonight to let you know I'm losing it. I've been shoving off for a while now.
Here I go. Here I go...I'm losing it. I guess I'm shipping off for good now.

***spare parts***

Remember when I spilled my drink, bet you didn't even stop to think ...
And that night you saw me talking to myself, remember that?, well, I was talking myselves and they all agree: I'm just waiting on the wind to pull off this old skin
And that one night you saw me talking in a corner all alone,
Well, I'm over that. I'm talking out loud now.

I just came by to let you know that I'm losing it. I've been shoving off for a while now.
Here I go. Here I go...I'm losing it. I guess I'm shipping off for good now.

I've decided it takes too much, way too much muscle and magic and whatever else you got, just to stick it out, to keep people thinking that I’'m everything I'm not. And whatever current's this is that's pulling at my feet, it's been way too strong for way too long. And I've tried to keep my grip, tried not to let it slip. But, boys, it's hurting my arms now. And so I'm just saying,

You can watch me from dry land,
Be sure to wave your hands
And say goodbye,
or something.