Bang the Nails

You say your name is Paul
I think you think its Jesus
I kinda like that hat you wear for Sunday service, such a sense of style
But you cry like an angel Then you lie like the devil
I’ve got some wood outside it’s just about your size

So set the metal to the hone
To pierce this skin and break the bone And bang the nails in Straight and true
And blame it all on God

I recognize your face
I think they call you Albert
You’ve got some truth to sell; you know I think I saw your wings
But you walk like a monkey ‘Cause we’re all just like monkeys
You’ve got the keys to the car
But you haven’t learned a goddamned thing

The Lords of Science pirouette
With diamond-jeweled protractor sets
To bang the nails in Straight and true
And blame it all on God

And so we stumble through the night
With bits of string and coloured lights
To bang the nails in Straight and true
And blame it all on God

Anastasia

Anastasia, won’t you sit right down
Please don’t say a word, please don’t make a sound
The situation has gone from bad to worse
So don’t say anything, Anastasia

Fill it in, fill it in, I will bury this old well
Find your own damn water; I should burn the house as well
Soon I will be swinging, sell what you can sell
But first I’ll take this shovel and bury this old well

They sent their lawyers in; they came to shut us down
We tried to save this seed, but that’s just not allowed
They came like locusts, they came for everything
So take the pictures down and pass the kerosene

Anastasia, please forgive me dear
The wolves are at the door and I am desperate tired
So take the children, take them in to town
And tell them anything, just don’t turn around

Caramel Heart

You were born with a caramel heart all soft and warm and sticky
Melting on the sidewalk in the sun all unprotected
Life can be a pair of boots, all hobnails and hard edges
Marching straight towards your caramel heart

I am just some old ice cream, all cold and hard and grainy
Hiding underneath the bread at the bottom of your freezer
So won’t you pour your golden love across my icy features
Between the cracks and crevices, they’ve been so dark for ages

Aren’t you glad we took the time to make this caramel sundae?
Tastes like staying out past nine in the middle of the summer
Your caramel heart

Only Lovers

Only lovers will wait for better days
In silent vigil they wait for better days
And know the difference between forever and the heady scent of youth
Only lovers, only lovers can tell the truth

So stop your railing, you give yourself away
Solemn statements of constancy and faith
All these bullet holes and bandages you offer up as proof
Only lovers, only lovers can tell the truth

Half a life away, the light grows dim
The coals are soft and warm and welcome as your skin

So hear my witness and know what you have done
Velvet whispers drip like honey from your tongue
You can tell it on the mountaintop or shout it from the roof
Only lovers, only lovers can tell the truth

Old Grey Ford

Got an old grey Ford and a two-headed calf
Take a look out back, just lift the flap
Gonna charge a nickel or dime for a view
That’s exactly what I’m gonna do
Dear Mother please
Don’t make me wear no wedding ring
With this dirt beneath my feet
Dear Father please
I’ve got nothing of mine but $1.05
And this wretched beast we filled, and these old grey wheels
Dear Brother please
Won’t you hold the door while I load these stores?
And I’ll be back for you
Dear Sister please
Don’t you roll those disappointed eyes
‘Cause I’m not as strong as you, I’m gonna write to you
I'm gonna go to Montreal
Beausecours market stall
I'm gonna be a millionaire
Nickel at a time gonna get my share

Burden of Proof

The burden of proof suggests the break of day Will follow on the sun, so quick upon the night
There’s no greater truth than this burden of proof

The burden of proof will set you in your place As love’s ethereal grace will often choose
The bitterest fruit, there’s a burden of proof

I’ve been trying to call you Why don’t you meet me at home?
We can drive out to Sandbanks maybe
Walk in the water there, walk in the water

The burden of proof informs us of our stay A turn and then decay, it takes its root
Oh sweet bird of youth there’s a burden of proof

Dirt Angel

I like the way you hold that shovel in your hand You got possibility
You’re such a wide-eyed innocent It’s outrageous
I know you think that you’ve got problems of your own But as far as I can see
Everybody knows the sin is mine And what my wage is

Dirt angel you’ve got a hold on me
Dirt angel won’t you bury me, bury me

Heaven help the ones who stumble in the way And their cold sobriety
You got the flaming sword of justice in your hand Why don’t you wave it?
I saw you walking down the street the other day And you sure looked good to me
A ring of flowers running through your hair And heart courageous

Forty days and forty nights I’ve been lying here
I’ve been looking for some light but there’ no light to be found

Never mind the bloodshot in your eyes You’ve got personality
Like old guitars and little scars It’s contagious
And goddamn all the gray-haired sycophants And all their dog-eared charity
Everybody knows that you have come to Save us

Turnbuckle

We set this thing on forest green
The wood’s good but the earth is uneasy
And it’s pulling apart everything

What if I turn?
Would it be strong enough for that?
What if I turn, turnbuckle
Would it begin to hold us here?

The years go by
And these beams have split
But you’ve gone; you went off to Chicago
And you left me to wrestle with this

Everybody knows you can’t get there from here
I can pull these ropes or maybe let them be, let them be

We set this thing on forest green
The love’s good but the heart is uneasy
And it’s never the way that it seems

Pull Me In

Driving down a distant road
Blowing dust and willow trees, separating
I am covered like a ghost
In fine white dust and memories, indicating

Hold on I feel the sky around me falling
Down, down, falling down
And you rise above it all
To pull me in, pull me out

Standing by an open door,
Shallow light and burning leaves, dissipating
The smell of winter in the air
Cycle brings us to our knees, daylight saving

Blood-red tree upon a hill,
Like a boy on bended wing, dislocating
Flying too close to the sun
Just to hear the angels sing, voices fading

Sunday Driver Down

Up along the 115 And west to Bethany
A 30-foot high monument Out there amongst the trees
No plastic flowers, no wooden cross And all because of you
And your grey Mercedes, leather seats of blue

Sunday driver down along the way Sunday driver down at some roadside Waterloo
A setting sun, an old half-ton Sure made a mess of you
And your grey Mercedes, leather seats of blue

And if you look you still may find Some coloured bits of glass
From an old stained pane that used to greet The folks at Sunday mass
But the auctioneer was loud and clear So we put it in the back
Of your gray Mercedes, leather seats of blue

Thank you wayward stranger Though you had to pay the price
Thanks to you we’ve got ourselves This brand new traffic light
So as the scene turns red from green I sit and think of you
And your gray Mercedes, leather seats of blue

Paper Doll

Paper doll, strung out on the line
Paper doll, yellowing in time
You and I were cut as one
We were so beautiful

Paper doll, piled up on the floor
Paper doll, ten thousand – maybe more
Yesterday was new but now it’s gone
It was so beautiful

Endless Holiday

The golden boys are sleeping at their stations
The home fires are burning but they’re burning in gasoline
The chosen ones are carving up the nation
While you’re out there on some endless holiday

The shills all rise to dignify their statements
Nobody told them the papers have all gone away
You think you’re not but you’re just like all the others
As you’re out there on some endless holiday

We’re already waving goodbye, how did we miss you
Nobody’s laughing out loud but everyone’s with you
So hold on, hold on

Sunday dies as Monday’s light first hovers
The faceless are rising as the nameless get on their way
The cars collide like disembodied lovers
And you’re out there on some endless holiday