The sound of sainthood knocking was so drowned out by your talking one of many things to do This concept I’ve been given that there’s more to life than living would be nice if it were true “If this world’s so pure and lovely,” you ask, standing far above me, “why the anger, why the rage?” But my answer goes forgotten when my head hits pillow cotton and I step off of her stage Do you know who you are? how’d you make it this far? could you ever be sure that you knew who you were? But the presentation cracks under the stress of proven facts claims of progress have collapsed Give me liberty or murder ‘cause you’re just pushing me further and this rope has long since snapped Do you know who you are? how’d you make it this far? could you ever be sure that you knew who you were? A reluctant thought of freedom from a place just north of Eden at an inconvenient time But there’s no more second guessing ‘cause it’s all been such a blessing and I’m glad that it was mine

Could you ever get it right Feeling down and so uptight Now I’m finding out Where you’ve gone and what’s in store But you’ve never known the score Now you’re finding out Look at you now, you’re falling again I could stop you like they did back then But I’m only learning when you’re losing Not again, oh no And I know that it’s no good to be so misunderstood Now I’m finding out Where you’ve gone and what went down You won’t stop until you’ve drowned Now you’re finding out

You bring me down Don’t bring me down ‘cause I don’t need to hear your latest fear We wasted all last year being here There’s nothing like the world to bring you down and I’m nothing like the world keep me around Maybe you should take some time like I took mine when there was nothing I could find worth the climb

Let this rainy weather clean the feathers from your heels We could slow the day down take off your crown and reveal All the spirited words of the spirited birds of the spirit of ‘78 People tell their tales with some details changed for effect Don’t make the mistake of being fake and don’t neglect Don’t think this is over it’s not over it’s just small If it doesn’t end in tears it doesn’t end at all

Break my heart and leave me for dead Say my headaches are all in my head Next to nothing there’s nothing I need Is it wrong to want to be freed from your Golden arms Devise fiction and swear it’s the truth make mistakes I made in my youth Tell the world I still live in the past clarify I won’t be the last in your Golden arms This is your life twisting the knife You’re losing me and I’m gone Then I’m bound to put head in hands Making time to meet your demands Thinking only what you can get out of it Only is this just a habit your Golden arms I’m gone

The honey, the power, the light they all blind me leave no stone unturned, you’ll still never find me the rock that I hide in will never crack open but sharpen your chisel if you think I’m joking I cannot be swayed and I will not be quiet tell the fat cats and bigwigs to go on a diet They’re taking up space that has better uses so let’s jump the tracks and unhitch their cabooses they’re making it clear, they don’t get my vibe so publish solutions and I will subscribe and contribute page after page of my theories which I will type out ‘til my fingers grow weary My arms they are shaking right up to my neck I was a good job paid off with bad checks and counterfeit cash and fake IOUs And phony sunsets in fraudulent hues they’ll distract me, I know, and I’ll pay the fee and I’ll borrow from those a lot younger than me The kids they did not want to grow old and stupid but that’s what they got for ignoring Cupid his arrows went flying, he shot at them all but his aim was so poor, he punctured the wall “well, what happened?” I’ll tell you: the brain killed the heart and soulless solutions were passed off as art They’re churning out robots and marching machines who’ll go and write stories for march magazines with pages paid off by corporate sponsors who came in like champions and ended up monsters when angels and guardians finally desert me the cops and the crooks will team up just to hurt me I cannot be swayed to a life of frustration of punching in walls when I’d rather punch nations to never stop fighting means not knowing victory so give me blank books to fill up with history there’s more to belief than just spouting assumptions and wait for the big foot to descend and crush them I’m just a lone bottle afloat with the notion that there’s some meaning in this bottle ocean my tide will come in if you’ll hear it knocking above all the roar of your meaningless talking attempts to invent a whole new way to fight will fall to the honey and power and light

I thought I could never be 'Til I found someone to be for Don't get me wrong or set me free What would I be free for? I'm not looking for direction At all All that's changed is my perception And my fall I was promised long ago That I'd have someone to stand on What was swift has now gone slow There's nothing left to land on

I’m only worth my weight in earth but I’ve learned the fact an arm in every arm means two knives in every back and I might be a genius But a clever bastard’s still a bastard still a big drag I recommend you start to mend and wave your old white flags ‘cause everyone’s a genius Where I go, I know there’s nothing for me, but you have told lies and called too late to warn me I know, yeah, I know I tried for laughs but came in last, I’ll have to try harder they’re sending out the clowns to make room for the martyrs but I might be a genius To be or not to be or not to care either way you might be right, it’s worth the fight, but I can’t work that way when everyone’s a genius

It’s better to have loved and lost than to be kicked in the teeth but not by much, no not by much, I need some sympathy I want to be permanently chained to mistakes that I have made and then put out on display Don’t ask me for sympathy, I’ll save it for myself You feel so alone, yeah so does everybody else Oh no oh no oh no I won’t go where I be is where I belong

Don’t leave me here on my back make my blue day fade to black or lose all feeling If life’s a short and fleeting thing I will not spend it threatening all those who search for meaning Don’t call it a philosophy I think it’s obscene To call something philosophy when you don’t know what it means No, I’m not trying to change your mind or make you search and maybe find some higher calling It’s just so sad to know you think the world goes dark when you blink and bruises when you’re brawling I don’t know how you get so convinced of your own innocence

I was opening doors for you, for you Finding out what I’m for to you, to you Are you looking around overhead underground There’s no real way for you, for you Drop it all just to stay with you, with you And it’s all right You’re proof the view is better from this height

I've been around and I've seen some girls But I've never seen a girl like you Time moves strangely and slow sometimes Now you're gone, I've nothing to do I said goodbye, hummingbird, You have left me without a word You've just left me with a song But you got the words all wrong Hummingbird left me and didn't say why I'll never know why she never said goodbye Next day newspaper headlines read, "Local Boy Regrets Whatever He Said."

They all said, "Hey, it's not worth it, son" And I say, "Brother, you've made your mistakes, Let me make this one." From my window down to the street I said something incomplete But don't I seem sincere This year You must admit, the facts do not fit Someone should change them Make them more interesting It's a funny situation All the time we took away You're in need of confirmation All the things you've done are okay Your old way with words has left you I heard but you can fake it Pretend you’re smart and smile