I grew up here in the south
I went to school down here too
I fell in love with a northern girl
I'll admit that it's true
She had a really big mouth
And she talked really fast
Opposites attract
And so out she was asked
Well we shared a bed
Uptown New Orleans
Near Fat Harry's Bar
On Freret street
And every day after class
And most evenings too
We'd go down to The Boot
And throw back a few
Then she'd go off with her friends
But she'd stay on my mind
And so I'd set out to find her
But I would only find

That I was drunk as can be
Drunk as can be
And if you saw someone on Zimple Street
Tripping over his own feet
Circa 1993
That was probably me

I'd arrive at her house
She never locked her door
She'd always be passed out
On her bathroom floor
I'd mumble something to her
She'd grumble something to me
Something like, My back really hurts
That was bad ecstasy

And we were drunk as can be
Drunk as can be
And if you saw a silhouette
Carrying a shadow off to bed
Vodka-crans gone to her head
I'd be willing to bet
That was probably me

Well, we got our degrees
And she moved back to New York
I moved back here to Memphis
I guess our road had a fork
But I’d fly up in the summer
And we'd swim in her pool
I'd go off with her brother
To shoot some hoops at Stu's
And when her sister got married
You know I was there
You know the part that was scary?
Those expectant stares
I started thinking, My God
I'm not ready yet
There was an open bar
And it was easy to get

Drunk as can be
So I got drunk as can be
And if you saw someone in tuxedo pants
With no bow tie trying to dance
A Jack and Coke still in his hand
I’m gonna' take a chance
That was probably me

I gotta move on
I gotta buckle down
I gotta get rich
And I can't do that with her around
We gotta put this on hold
We gotta wait and see
I gotta be alone
If this is meant to be
Then one day it will be

Now we're out of touch
Following our own paths
Trying to avoid the crutch
Of living in the past
But when my job is done
And I'm ready to care
When this battle is won
Maybe she'll still be there
And if she is there
We'll start anew
We'll meet somewhere
And throw back a few
But if she is gone
If she's nowhere near
I won't be alone
No I'll have a career

And we'll get drunk as can be
Drunk as can be
And if you see someone just sitting here
Hung over on whisky or maybe beer
In his cups up to his ears
Over an ashtray of tears
That'll probably be me
Yeah that’ll probably be me
And I will be drunk as can be
Drunk as can be

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I just wanted to ask for another try
I wanted to explain how I’ve changed
But I got scared it was a lie
I wish you were still here with me
Is mostly what I meant
In the ten page letter I never sent

You said I let you down so I should let you be
You don't want to hear another line
So time's moving on not me
Baby, I can't let you go
Is the main content
Of the ten page letter I never sent

I told you what I missed about you
I told what I’ve come to be
I started out writing it to you
But it ended up being just for me

You want action not words
And I’ve never moved much. It's true
But I am moved when
I read the words I wrote to you
They make me sound like Superman
But here I am Clark Kent
With this ten page letter I never sent

[BACK TO TOP]

Virginia Woolf and an empty glass
Of cognac on your TV set
A pamphlet from that Freud exhibit at The Met

Plastic as a window shade
A cold unzippered sleeping bag
The Olympics are done, let's burn the Ukrainian flag

We're drinking tequila, vodka, lager, purple wine, and ale
We're waiting for Spring 'cause tonight we look a little bit pale

You need caffeine in your coffee
But you need more sleep at night
Well that's a little bit more than I can offer
Isn't that right? Isn’t that right? Isn’t that right? Isn’t that right?

The birds are south and the leaves are gone
But in your greenhouse nothing dies
I’ll shut my mouth if you close your suspicious eyes

I'm gonna dream of my first best friend
You dream I'm someone you can trust
I'm just nervous about him finding out about us

There's an Arctic front that's coming, this winter never ends
We shouldn't have crossed that line, we might still be friends

You need caffeine in your coffee
And someone to hold you tight
Well that's a little bit more than I offer you
Isn't that right? Isn't that right? Isn't that right? Isn't that right?

Let's go down First Avenue and make that juke box play our song
'Cause soon I'll be back where I hope I still belong

Far from the wind chill and the other factors that I fear
But the Chrysler Building will still be here

You need caffeine in your coffee
And someone who won't take flight
Well that's a little bit more than I offer
Isn't that right? Isn't that right? Isn't that right? Isn't that right?

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I've been missing so long
I've been bored and ignored
I can't picture myself tomorrow
I can't picture myself at all
I outrun seasons
Trying to last the day
Tell me are you close enough?
I mean far enough away

Your name is the offer of some other deal
You can lead to a waste of time
Or you can lead to something real

I want you to win
But I don't want to lose
I'm not checking out
I'm just switching rooms
I run in circles
I have another round
I'm looking for an anchor
But I'd hate to be held down

Your name is the offer of some other place
You can end it all right now
Just by showing me your face

I found my faith
But I held her too tight
Now I talk to no one
And she stays out all night
I make you jealous
You make me afraid
Sometimes I forget
In whose image I was made

Your name is the offer of some other time
You can make me one of them
Or you can make yourself all mine

Your name is the offer of some other place
Tell me am I close enough?
I mean far enough away

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I don't want to make the same mistake
That I made yesterday
I tried to give a little hint
But I gave it all away

But I’ll know better next time
To keep it all inside
And not speak my mind
And not call you mine
And not waste my time on you

I don’t want to make the same mistake
That I'm making today
There are things that you can think
But you cannot say

But I’ll know better next time
To keep it all inside
And not speak my mind
And not cross the line
And not waste my time on you

It's always for you
It's always on you

I don’t want to make the same mistake
That I will make tomorrow
When you bite off more than you can chew
You gotta chew more than you can swallow
And the deepest thoughts
When they are brought
To the surface all seem shallow

But I'll know better next time
To keep it all inside
And not speak my mind
And see all the signs
And not waste my time on you

It's always for you
It's only for you

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You've got a hand with a long life line for someone who
Eats the bread and drinks the wine as much as you

Your blanket's warm and your pillow's soft
You got rid of that winter cough
You can turn it on now off the cuff

You've climbed to the tops of trees
You've sailed five of seven seas
When you escaped your enemies were crushed

You have stood inside the Louvre
You're free to stay you're free to move
You've been starved but mostly you've been stuffed

And it's not enough

Your bank account is holding out for someone who
Is getting dressed and going out as much as you

In your hat there is a feather
You can walk through any weather
Your aim is good you're hardly ever in the rough

You have been paid to pretend
You have started fashion trends
You've touched the bottom of the deep end and come up

It's still not enough

It's not enough to be ankle deep in luxury
But if you were on your back you'd be in over your head
It's not enough to have been part of a phase or a fad
But when you have too much you'll have turned red

You give off such innocence for someone who
Commits the sin and then repents as much as you

You eat apples to the cores
You have laid with queens and whores
In parking lots on foreign shores and such

You've pushed buttons you've pulled levers
You can pull yourself together
You will gamble but you'll never have to bluff

The straightest flush you have been dealt
Still you've made some candles melt
Before you many angels knelt
And once as one undid your belt
You may have touched and even felt true love

But it's not enough

It's not enough to be ankle deep in luxury
But when I'm on my back I see
I'm in over my head

[BACK TO TOP]

She asked me if I thought that we would ever fall in love
I said, I think we may already have
Then we had a weekend
Well for me that was enough
I said, It's funny how it works
She didn't laugh

She said, I'm the best catch you're ever gonna find
If I were a man I'd be knocking down my door
I know you can love me
Just open up your mind
Yes, I know that you can love me so much more

I didn't buy it
I didn't buy it
Although I wanted to and I do still
But I didn't buy it
No, I didn't buy it
But when she's out of reach maybe I will

I said, You are a great catch but the sea is filled with fish
And I need to catch as many as I can
But there's no need to give me a final bon voyage kiss
'Cause I can cast my line while standing on your dry land

I said, I want to know you for a long, long time
I said, I want you in my life Until the end
I said, Being free like me is not some kind of crime
And I'll love you more now that you're my friend

But she didn't buy it
No, she didn't buy it
Although she wanted to and she does still
She didn't buy it
No, she didn't buy it
But when I'm out of touch maybe she will

I was in this clothing store going through the racks
And after just a few minutes
I came across this tiny, rust-colored vintage leather jacket
And I had a vision in my mind of her in it
But it was eighty-five degrees outside
And I knew her in the winter time
And it was eighty dollars that I didn't have

So I didn't buy it
No, I didn't buy it
Although I wanted to and I do still
But I didn't buy it
No, I didn't buy it
But if it's still there when I go back maybe I will

If she's still here when I get back maybe I will
Remember how it was and could be still

[BACK TO TOP]

If I ever get the strength again
I’ll retrace the steps I took
If my time ever has length again
It could be like it was then
With the caves and the cottonwood trees
Waterfalls and falling leaves

Our lips were cracked I had my hat pulled down
Night fell and found us in a field
It was so quiet that the fire was loud
And so dark when it went out
I was far from everything I knew
But I knew I was real

Take this as I mean it
I didn't know you long enough
But for every solid minute
There's a second that's soft enough

In the armor of the mountain springs
We watched each other disappear
We were taking aim at things
Breaking chains and cutting strings
But the shadows hung the houses in the air
And took the place of the chains and the strings

Take this as I mean it
I was the girl and you were the boy
I came back to you in weakness
After we had said goodbye

You may not remember me
But I’ll always remember you
What were we supposed to be?
Were we too trapped or were we too free?
When the morning came
You said to me

Take this as I mean it
I love you
And then I was gone
Maybe I retreated
But maybe I just moved along

[BACK TO TOP]

(by Randy Kaplan with Erik Hyman)

I like your friends and you like mine
I'm gonna take that as a sign
Black and white and colorblind
Everything looks gold

I knew I loved you right away
You took your time to turn my way
But now I know you're here to stay
I wear a ring of gold

I saw you first on Halloween
I’ve never worn a mask since then
And if I’m as beautiful as you say
It's you who makes me look this way

I'm leaving home to be with you
The hourglass is broken through
You turned all that sand into
A runway of gold

And now I know there's no one else
When I’m with you I know myself
I think you're good for my health
You wear a ring of gold

I saw you first on Halloween
I’ve never worn a mask since then
And if I'm as beautiful as you say
It's you who make me look this way

My best light's in Santa Fe
Or Malibu or any day
I'm next to you in any way
In every night of gold

And if I'm as beautiful as you say
It's you who makes me look this way

[BACK TO TOP]

On one hand I could say
The stars are only fireflies and not so far away
On the other hand I could count
The times I made you feel secure
I don't amount to much

But maybe I’ll wake up and I’ll be a different man
And you'll forget the way I was and like the way I am

Yesterday I lost my temper
And I cursed and cried out. How it cost me
She called me a three year old
So to prove her wrong I kicked a wall
And crawled into the hole

Maybe I’ll wake up and I’ll be a different man
And you'll forget the way I was and like the way I am
These worn wooden arms your arms rested on
I pulled a false alarm

And I tried to break my cage
Singing, Everyone who ever lived is about the same age
She flew far away
And I was torn between a call for an overhaul and a total change

Maybe I’ll wake up and I’ll be a different man
If you'd forget the way I was I’ll show you who I am

My trial was by fire
My water bearer in the night
You're what I desire

[BACK TO TOP]

Last night when I went to bed
A Spirit came into my head
Everything dark became light
He said, “This is G-d" and I knew He was right
I said, “For my sins must I pay?"
He said, "It don't happen that way
Your soul I'm not here to take
I just got a few points that I want to make
And whatever I say unto thee
Ye shall tell everybody for Me"
So here's what He said. Have no doubt
This is straight from the horse's mouth

He said, "First off the Bible's a gem
And over it you shouldn't haw and hem
The reason you all disagree
Is you take it so literally
When I sent my prophets I blew it
I shouldn't have sent you such poets
I've got a billion sons
And many are plain speaking ones
So dress up and pray if you like
‘Cause you can't be wrong but you can't be right
The Buddhist monk and the Hasid
Are just different haircuts to Me

And My covenant shall be revised
You shall no longer be circumcised
I made you a gift full of nerves
Is this what My artwork deserves?
To be mutilated this way?
What would Michelangelo say?
And don't give Me the cleanliness speech
I made your limbs and I know you can reach
Unless you cut those off as well
To minimize underarm smell
The infant who's cut with a knife
Is harmed and affected for life

No taste or tradition is worth
The cost of a death or a birth
The people you're making so rich
Are burying you in a ditch
Things that you never would eat
These people put into your meat
Nothing can ever defend them
If there were a hell I would send them
Your grandparents broiled and fried
Do you want to die how they died?
The dinner that's dead should be living
Merry Christmas and Happy Thanksgiving

The next thing that I want to say is
Is it's fine with Me if somebody is gay
So what if they can't have a kid?
I can make people from ribs
Sodomy's not what I hate
I don't need everyone to procreate
Yet some people curse and condemn
If you must hate hate people like them
They imagine themselves to be virile
Maybe I'll make them all sterile
Bring a swift end to their kind
Extinguish the military mind

Here's something else I might add
All drugs are not necessarily bad
They're not for everyone
If that's you then don't do them but let them be done
You can't go on living in fear
Reality never is clear
And drugs are a big mystery
Like birth and like death and like Me
The mystery's solved when you die
You go to heaven. It's like being high
This ridiculous drug war must cease
You all shall have a drug peace

The last thing I need to make clear
Is I don't know why I'm here
I don't how this transpired
I don't know by whom I was hired
Yes, I live outside of time
And to you I'm the reason and rhyme
But who are these things to Me?
And how did this all come to be?
The good news is that when you're dead
You'll see your grandparents again
But the bad news is that when you're gone
You still won't know what's going on"

When He was finished He said
"Thanks for the use of your head
Now go to sleep and have dreams
Everything's not what it seems"

Fear G-d and keep His commands
'Cause in the end
That's the whole man

[BACK TO TOP]

You will live your life so you will have something to say to me
You will do your job so you'll have money to pay for me
I will be your only love you'll shiver at the sight of me
And when I feel like chasing you you will take flight from me
But you will bring me anything my little heart desires
In the summer you will fan me in the winter light the fires

You will make my troubles vanish in the air
You will brush against me and you'll let me brush your hair
You'll hold me like a baby whenever I am weak
You'll hold it all inside you when I don't want you to speak
You'll be there when I call on you sitting by the phone
But you'll be someplace else when I want to be alone

And then I’ll become Robinson Crusoe
And it will not be like it used to
Then we will begin again there is no doubt about it
Once you deal with worship you can never deal without it

You'll know what to pray for when you get down on your knees
You'll show a sudden interest in whatever interests me
You will make the bed and do the laundry and the dishes
I'll open up a bottle and you'll come out and grant me wishes
You'll feed my every hunger you'll quench my every thirst
And when the big boat comes for us you'll make sure I go first

And then you'll be done with Robinson Crusoe
And it will not be what you're used to
Then you will begin again there is no doubt about it
Once you deal with worship you can never deal without it

[BACK TO TOP]

Sunday night 8 o'clock
Early on we turned the time back
It feels like nine I have no job
We were robbed we were robbed
I went to a funeral I went to a wake
I went to a party I ate too much cake
My room looks nice I like what I've done
But I'm not in the mood to be alone

I'm gonna go out and shoot some pool
I like 9 Ball but I lose
I like billiards as a word
But learning it is too much work
I like the girl who sells me beer
But Sunday night she's closed I hear
I've always passed it I used to win
But the tender trap finally pulled me in

I'll just have a J&B
The single malts overpowered me
The other night I showed up high
She let me stay I couldn't drive
I couldn't even untie my boots
Double knots she had the flu
I kept her up 'till the break of dawn
I sobered up and I was gone

Rosewood chopsticks box with turtles
Let's have a house with a kitchen table
Rosewood chopsticks box with turtles
Let's have a house with a kitchen table
I got a stamp it's made of jade
And in Chinese it says my name
I got a stamp it's made of jade
And in Chinese it says my name

[BACK TO TOP]

Next to you I had no money
Next to you I wasn't spoiled
Next to you I was a gourmet cook
'Cause I made water boil
Next to you I was Grizzly Adams
Like I always wanted to be
And I felt strong and that felt wrong
When you were next to me

Next to you I had no accent
Next to you no complaints
Next to you I tried to
Exercise restraint
But next to you I was Humbert Humbert
Like I always wanted to be
And I felt strong and that felt wrong
When you were next to me

I always know from the start and I knew
What was in my heart wasn't true
But I was in the dark and it grew
I was sitting on the edge
I was lying on your bed
Things were going around in my head
And next to me was you

Next to you I was a decade
Unbuckling its belt
Next to you I was an ice cream cone
Trying not to melt
Next to you I was Jack the Ripper
Like I always wanted to be
And I felt strong and that felt wrong
I felt strong but not for long
When you were next to me

[BACK TO TOP]

I think you should break up with your boyfriend
And go back to casually seeing me
We could be together once a month
We could paint some paintings and then we could
Drink some drinks and laugh
I'll bring my guitar and we could sing
We could be lazy as the sun goes down
Lie in bed and talk about things

I think you should break up with your boyfriend
'Cause when I call you on the phone
You talk real low and you have to go
I liked you better when you were alone

I think you should break up with the boyfriend
'Cause I can't stand to see you now
I want to take you in the corner and kiss you
But there are things that boyfriends won't allow
So when I ask you how he's doing
Tell me he has finally gone
Then let me hold you like I should have
And forgive me for whatever I did wrong

Don't you miss that feeling?
Don't you miss being free?
I think you should break up with your boyfriend
And go back to casually seeing me

[BACK TO TOP]

The way that she touched me
The things that she said to me
I thought I was in the old world
Wild and wasted
I washed while you waited
Without so much as a word

I lay down beside you
Trying to hide from you
Everything else I had been
I wished no I prayed
It could be far away
And that time would hurry rush in

The way that you touched me
The things that you said to me
It should have been easy to rest
But I saw floating fires
Signs of the dying
And I had to imagine their deaths

A few days later
A week a month maybe
I heard the word on the crash
How after elections
Inside information
Would come from our man in France

A few thousand miles
Back to my old life
I sent you home on a plane
Left in the dark
Nobody dared
Try to begin to explain

Until early November
The sky at an angle
News came like friendly fire
But many disparaged
The agent in Paris
And everyone called him a liar

Perhaps he was threatened
Or taught a lesson
Or made to apologize
I apologize too
For telling the truth
When you could have lived with the lie

But everything surfaces
To praises or curses
Or else it is reflected
In the damage that's done
And I couldn't outrun
A missile misdirected

And the way that she touched me
And the things that she said to me

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