Little Plastic Castle
---------------------------------------------------------------
In a coffee shop in a city
which is every coffee shop
in every city
On a day which is every day
I pick up a magazine
which is every magazine
and read a story then forgot it right away

They say goldfish got no memory
I guess their lives are much like mine
The little plastic castle
is a surprise every time
It's hard to say if they are happy
When they don't seem much to mind

From the shape of your shaved head
I recognized your silhoutte
As you stepped in out of the sun and sat down
and the site
of your sleepy smile eclipsed all the other people
as they paused to snear at the 2 girls from out of town

I said, "Baby, look at you this morning
You are so way the fucking cutest [which is way, by far, the better lyric]
Be careful getting cofee
I think these people want to shoot us
I think there's some kind of competition here
to see who can be the rudest

People talk about my image
like I come in two dimensions
Like lipstick is a sign of my decling mind
Like what I happen to be wearing the day
that someone takes my picture
is my new statement for all womankind

I wish they could see us now
In leather bras and rubber shorts
Like some ridiculous team uniform
for some ridculous new sport
Quick someone call the girl police
and file a report

In a coffe shop in a city
Which is every coffee shop
in every city
On a day which is every day




Fuel
---------------------------------------------------------------
they were digging a new foundation in manhattan
and they discovered a slave cemetary there
may their souls rest easy
Now that lynching is frowned upon
and we've moved on to the electric chair

and i wonder who's gonna be president tweedle dum or tweedle dumber?
and who's gonna have the big blockbuster box office this summer?
how 'bout we put up a wall between the houses and the highway
and then you can go your way, i can go my way

except all the radios agree with all the tvs 
and the magazines agree with all the radios
and i keep hearing that same damn song everywhere i go
maybe i should put bucket over my head
and a marshmellow in each ear
and stumble around for another dumb numb week
for another humdrum hit song to appear

people used to make records 
as in a record of event
the event of people playing music in a room
now everyone is cross-marketing 
it's about sunglasses and shoes
or the guns & drugs that 
you choose
we got it rehashed
we got it half-assed
we're digging up all the graves
and we're spitting on the past
and we can choose between the colors
of the lipstick on the whores
cause we known the difference between
the font of 20% more 
and the font of teriakiyi
you tell me
how does it make you feel?

you tell me
what's...real?

and they say that alcoholics are always alcoholics
even when they're dry as my lips for years
even when they're stranded on a small desert island
with no place in 2000 miles to buy beer
and i wonder
is he different?
is he different?
has he changed? what he's about... 
or is he just a liar with nothing to lie about?

am i'm headed for the same brick wall
is there anything i can do?
about anything at all?
except go back to that corner in Manhattan
and dig deeper, dig deeper this time
down beneath the impossible pains of our history
beaneath the unknown bones
beneath the bedrock of the mystery
beneath the sewage systems and the path train
beneath the cobblestones and the water main
between the traffic of friendships and street deals
beneath the screeching of kamikaze cab wheels
beneath everything i can think of to think about
beneath it all
beneath all get out
beneath the the good and the kind and the stupid and the cruel
there's a fire just waiting for fuel

there's a fire just waiting for fuel (repeated lots of times)





Gravel
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I heard the sound of your bike
as your wheels hit the gravel
and then your engine in the driveway cutting off
and i pushed the the screen door
and i stood out on the poarch
thinking fight fight fight
at all costs
but instead i let you in
just like i'v always done
and I sat you down an offered you a beer
and across the kitchen table
I fired several rounds
and you were still sitting there
when the 
smoke cleared
and you came crawling back to say
you want to make good in the end
and oh oh, let me count the ways, that I abhor, you
and you were
never a good lay 
and you were
never a good friend
but oh oh, oh what can I say
I adore, you

oh, oh oh oh oh oh etc.

all i need is my leather
one tshirt and two socks
I'll keep my hands warm in your pockets 
and you can use the engine blocks
and we'll ride off to california
with my arms around your chest
and i'll pretend that this is real
cause this is what I like best
and you've been juggeling two women, like a stupid circus clown
telling us both we are the one
and maybe you can keep me
from ever being happy
but you're not going to stop me
from, having fun

so lets go
before I change my mind
leave the luggage, of all your lies behind
cause I am better than everything that
came, before
and you were, never very kind
you let me way down every time
and oh oh what can i say
i adore, you

oh oh oh oh oh oh etc.

i heard the sound of your bike
as your wheels hit the gravel
and your engine in the driveway cutting off

[fade to black]






As Is
----------------------------------------------------------------------
you can't hide
behind social graces
so don't try
to be all touchy feely
cuz you lie
in my face of all places
but i got no
problem with that really

what bugs me
is that you believe what you're saying
what bothers me
is that you don't know how you feel
what scares me
is that while you're telling me stories
you actually
believe that they are real

and i got
no illusions about you
guess what
i never did
and when I said
when i said i'll take it
i meant
i meant as is
as is...

just give up
and admit you're an asshole
you would be
in some good company
and i think you'd find
that your friends would forgive you
or maybe i
am just speaking for me

cuz when i look around
i think this, this is good enough
and i try to laugh
at whatever life brings
cuz when i look down
i just miss all the good stuff
when i look up
i just trip over things

and i've got
no illusions about you etc. . .

cuz I've got
no illusions about you etc. . .
---------------------------------------------------------------------
the following is a verse that apppeared 
in early versions of the song

you can't hide
behind social graces
cuz I don't buy it
like everyone else
and you can lie
in my face of all places
just don't
lie to yourself






Two Little Girls
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
you were fresh off the boat from virginia
i had a year in new york city under my belt
we met in a dream
we were both 19
i remember where we were standing
i remember how it felt
2 little girls growing out of their training bras
this little girl breaks furniture, this little girl breaks laws
2 girls together
just a little less alone
this little girl cries wee wee wee
all the way home

you were always half crazy, now look at you baby
make about as much sense as a nursery rhyme
love is a piano dropped from a four story window
and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time

i don't like your girlfriend, yeah i blame her
never seen one of your lovers do you so much harm
i loved you first and you know i would prefer 
if she didn't empty her syringes into your arm

here comes little naked me padding up to the bathroom door
to find little naked you slumped on the bathroom floor
so i guess i'll just stand here with my back against the wall
while you distill your whole life down to a 911 call (chorus)

so now you bring me your bruises
so i can ohh and ahh at the display
maybe i'm supposed to make one of my famous jokes that makes everything ok
maybe i'm supposed to be the handsome prince who rides up and unties your hands
or maybe i'm supposed to be the furrowed-brow girlfriend who thinks she understands

here comes little naked me......(etc)






Deep Dish
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
cold and drizzly night
in Chicago's Deep Dish
fluorescent light
of the bathroom shows my hands
as they are
see an eyelash on my cheek
pick it up and make a wish
and walk back out into the bar

wind at the windows
neon lights the patterned pane
the waitress weilds the weight
of her tray around her palm
the doorman cups his hands
and lights his cigarette again
and the rain marches on

don't even bother
trying to say something clever
clever is as clever does
no matter what it says
I'm looking for a sign
says you're for real this time
but I don't trust what's in your head

I walk up to the bar
and point at the top shelf
then I throw my head back
and laugh at myself
I raise a toast to all our saviours
each so badly behaved
it's too bad that their world
is the one that that they saved

come down and dance with me
now is when it's got to be
'cos I can't wait for the dance floor
to fill in
if you wanna dance with me
I'll show you how it's gonna be
'cos I can't wait for the band
to begin

There are spiders
spinning cobwebs
from your elbow to the table
while my eyes ride the crowd
in a secret rodeo
I smile with my mouth
lift my watch up to the light
say 'Oh look, I have to go'






Loom
-----------------------------------------------------
You've always got those dark sunglasses
covering half your face
but if you promise to take them off
I promise I won't squander your gaze
I will be picturesque
I will be nice
I won't do anything you can't tell your wife
I will think before I act
I will think twice
Just let me see your eyes

Each time we spoken 
we've put in our token 
and ridden the tilt-a-whirl
I was giggling and dizzy
flirting like a 12 year old girl
The carnival of you and me is coming to town
watch how we spin and stop and then fall down
Now we just say hello and head for firmer ground

You are the one-way glass
that watches me
standing in line at the bank
I always looked into your glasses
like a cat looks into a fish tank
But all I could ever see
was the specter of me reflected
I'm want a monument of friendship
that we never had erected
I wanted to take up lots of room
I wanted to loom

You always got those dark sunglasses
between us when we talk
but after the party is over
if you wanna take a walk
we could just look around
not to nothing wrong
try to be at least as brave as our songs
I will bring my heart
I will bring my face
you just name the time and place





Pixie
----------------------------------------------------
i'm a pixy i'm a paperdoll
i'm a cartoon
i'm a chipper cheerful free for all
and i light up a room

i'm the color me happy girl
ms. live and let live
and when they're out for blood
i will always give

the man behind the counter
looks like he's got a half a dozen places he'd rather be...
furthermore it looks like he's prepared
to take it all out on me

buddy, i don't really care what your problem is
just don't make it mine...
come on kids let's all hold hands
and pretend we're having a good time

Chorus:
maybe you don't like you job
maybe you didn't get enough sleep
well nobody likes their job
and nobody got enough sleep
maybe you just had 
the worst day of your life
but you know there's no escape and no excuse
so just suck up and be nice
be nice be nice be nice be nice be nice be nice

all the privileged white kids on tv
playing at death
brandishing their cold cuts
with their ghostly make-up
and their heroin breath...

and all the little fishes are flapping wildly
on their hooks
while all the top critics find great meaning 
in the telephone book...  

and the little emperor he has no clothes
and he can't come out to play
and besides which life is suffering
and he likes it that way

and the little guy is not so friendly
but you know life has been cruel
so wipe that smile off your face baby
and try to be cool

[Chorus]

yeah, i would like to perfect the art
of being studiously aloof...
but life is just a boring chore
and i'm living proof

i could join forces with an army
of ornery hipsters
but i guess i'd be out of a job
so i guess that's out of the picture...

because i'm a pixy i'm a paperdoll
i'm a cartoon
i'm a chipper cheerfull free for all
and I light up a room

i'm the color me happy girl
ms. live and let live
and when they're out for blood
i wil always give




Swan Dive
-------------------------------------------------------
Cradling the softest, warmest part of you in my hand
Feels like a baby bird fallen from the nest
I think that your body is something I understand
I think that I'm happy, I think that I'm blessed

I've got a lack of inhibition
I've had a loss of perspective
I've had a little bit to drink
and it's making me think
that I can jump ship and swim
that the ocean will hold me
that there's got to be more
than this boat I'm in

'Cuz they can call me crazy if I fail
All the chance that I need
is one-in-a-million
and they can call me brilliant
if I succeed
Gravity is nothing to me, moving at the speed of sound
I'm just going to get my feet wet
Until I drown

And I teeter between tired
and really, really tired
And I'm wiped out and wired, 
but I guess it's just as well
Because I built my own empire
out of car tires and chicken wire
and I'm queen of my own compost heap
and I'm getting used to the smell

And I've got a lack of information
But I got a little revelation
and I'm climbing up on the railing
trying not to look down
I'm going to do my best swan dive
in the shark-infested waters
I'm gonna pull out my tampon (NOT TAILBONE)
and start splashing around

'Cuz I don't care if they eat me alive
I've got better thing to do than survive
I've got a memory of your warm skin in my hand
And I've got a vision of blue sky and dry land

I'm cradling the hardest, heaviest part of me in my hand
The ship is pitching and heaving, my limbs are bobbing and weaving
And I think this is what I understand
I just need a little vaccination for my far-away vacation
I'm going to go ahead boldly because a little bird told me
That jumping is easy, that falling is fun
up until you hit the sidewalk, shivering, stunned

And they can call me crazy if I fail
all the chance that I need
is one-in-a-million
and they can call me brilliant
if I succeed
Gravity is nothing to me
moving at the speed of sound
I'm just gonna get my feet wet
until I drown...







Glass House
----------------------------------------------------------------
Sitting in my glasshouse
while your ghost is sleeping down the hall
watching the little birds fly
kamikaze missions into the walls
think I'm gonna stay in today
sit on my couch and watch them fall

life just keeps getting harder
and it just keeps getting harder to hide
the darker it is around me
the easier it is to see inside
and outside the glass
the whole world is magnified
and its half an inch   
from here to the other side

(chorus)
and I guess that push has come to this
so i guess this must be shove
but before you throw those stones at me
tell me what is your house made of
and if you think you know what I am doing wrong
you're going to have to get in line
yeah but for the purposes of this song
lets just say i'm doing fine
I guess I'm doing fine

trapped in my glasshouse
crowd has been gathering outside since dawn
I make a pot of coffee 
while catastrophe awaits me out on the lawn
I think i'm going to stay in today
pretend like i don't know what's going on

[chourus]

sitting in my glass house
sitting in my glass house







Independence Day
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
We drove the car to the top of the parking ramp
on the 4th of july
We sat out on the hood with a couple of warm beers and watched the fireworks
explode in the sky
And there was an exodus of birds from the trees
But they didnt know, we were only pretending
And the people all looked up, and were pleased 
and the birds flew around like the whole world was ending
And I don't think war is noble
And I don't like to think that love is like war
And I gotta big hot cherry bomb, and I want to slip it through the mail slot
of your front door

Don't leave me here
I've got your back now          
You'd better have mine         
Cause you say the coast is clear
But you say that all the time

So many sheep I quit counting
Sleepless and embarrassed about the way that I feel
Trying to make mole hills out of mountains
Building base camp at the bottom of a really big deal
And did I tell you how I stopped eating?
When you stopped calling me
And I was cramped up shitting rivers for weeks
And pretending that I was finally free

Don't leave me here
Now that your back
You'd better stay this time
Cause you say the coast is clear
But you say that all the time

We drove the car to the top of the parking ramp,
on the 4th of july
And I planted my dusty boots on the bumper and sat out on the hood, 
and looked up at the sky







Pulse
---------------------------------------------------------------
you crawled into my bed
like some sort of giant insect
and i found myself spellbound
that night at the sight of you there
beautiful and grotesque and all the rest of that bug stuff
bluffing your way into my mouth
behind my teeth, reaching for my scars
that night we got kicked out of two bars
and laughed our way home

that night you leaned over
and threw up into your hair
and i held you there thinking
i would offer you my pulse
if i thought it would be useful
i would give you my breath
except
the problem with death is that you have
some hundred years and then they can
build building on your only bones
100 years and then your grave is not your own
we lie in out beds, and our graves
unable to save ourselves from
the quaint tragedies we invent
and then undo from the stupid circumstances
we slomen through
and i realized that night that the hall light 
which seemed so bright when you turned it on is nothing
compared to the dawn
which is nothing, compared to the light 
which seeps from me while you're sleeping beautiful 
and grotesque resting caconed in my room
that night we got kicked out of two bars
and laughed our way home
and i held you there thinking
i would offer you my pulse
i would give you my breath
i would offer you my pulse