Red Canoe

you must have missed the bus
took a ride in the car that drives itself
instead of calling me to come and pick you up
you were my best friend
and I never saw you again
I see you on a bright read canoe
under a sliver of moon

I sit in the basement room
tables and chairs scattered in a circle
for every one of us who made it here
there have been dozens lost
we got away but what was the cost?
we got away but what was the cost?
I see their ghosts in rows
that could fill this old church to the rafters

and I wish I could say it’s a matter of fate
who will go and who will stay
but I’ve known too many souls
with hearts of gold
that couldn’t make it through
the lines and crimes and booze
the suicides and midnight rides in little red canoes
I guess I’ll see you soon
I guess I’ll see you soon

Ghost Lover

you still
appear too often in my thoughts
it's raining here
and I think of horses
on the sidewalk
I'd like to storm your castle
if your knight and king collapse
if you weren't so well defended
I could put you in check

I ate a juicy piece of fruit
drank myself into a stupor
for two days
laid in my bed
listening to the rain
it's been a long time
since you laid your skin on mine
I haven't been lonely though
you know how it goes
but you're still the ghost
in the corner of my room
shaking your head low
I'm sorry that I let you go
if you tune my piano
I'll let you watch me moan

silence in the suicidal
streets of my hometown
I apologize to no one
because word would get around
that I've given up the hunt
and my raspy falsetto
would fade and my broken songs
would just become an echo
but I won't let that happen
I'm a screaming demon
set on dreaming
fleeing for the wilderness
with a bottle of whiskey
and pack of smokes
and my ghost lovers kiss

Animal

we are changing people's lives
we are the automatic drive
we are retroactive - anti-pragmatic - and far too satisfied
so let the pulse revive you
and if the spirit moves inside you
let it out to claim the screaming fire
before the fountain of flames expire

whistle christmas songs onto cold morning glass
avert your eyes until the strangers pass
do not make contact
do not make contact
we cannot connect
for we feel it is a senseless act
we only touch each other when it's practical
just like paying the bills
but I can't sit still any longer
I am an animal

I shaved away your mirrors until you were only bones
like a dove being carved from a bar of soap
we washed away our sins like peeling skin
the summer sun will give us hope
I thought I heard you whisper
in the darkness
let it go

The Gates

lets celebrate our excess
since we are witness to the apocalypse
whether we know it or not
one end of the earth is dangling by a string
and I sing because the wind won’t forgive me
if I don’t give some kind of warning

my arrogance has enlightened me
to the fact that I’m not awake
if I question each word and melody
and curse over every mistake

and if there is only the present
then all my memories and dreams
are exactly as irrelevant
as they seem to be

so I will hold my breath underwater
until you squeeze my hand
and I will drink myself into a stupor
and pray each morning if you’ll help me understand

why there is so much suffering
which I cannot touch
why there is so much darkness
that I can’t expose with love

please open up your ancient heart for me
I am willing
I am ready
I am just as afraid as everyone
but I know where I belong

the gates are open
the gates are open
the gates are open

let me in

All The Children

Walk the yellow corridors
listen through the walls
to the women screaming
his eyes gleam with alcohol
and all the children dream
of a better place to be

Are you on your cigarette break
watching afternoon fade
wishing you were anywhere but here
walking back inside
you can't adjust your eyes
as the sunlight and the wind disappear

Chaos all around you and yet
you find yourself immune
your manager's a monster
but you hum this tune
beneath your breath
and pour the drinks
there's nothing left
to do but never think again
everything is perfect

Outside the barren oak trees
look like skeleton fingers beckoning
but maybe you just see
the metaphor in everything
close the blinds and stay inside
you find a switch and hit the light
you would drift off to sleep
but you're already there

All the children dream
of a better place to be

Hunted by the prey

I got bit by vampires
playing on the wrong side of town again
I stayed out too late
didn't even know her name
so why was I unable to run?

hunted by the prey
hunted by the prey
hunted by the prey

She took me downtown
mystified by streetlights
driving through the cigarette
strip of neon signs
"this cities dead" she said
but I knew what she meant
(the leaves don't bloom
like her teeth in the blue moon do)

hunted by the prey
hunted by the prey
hunted by the prey

She let me off in my neighborhood
it was good to meet you
wonder when I'll see you again
once the guilt has washed away
I'll be back
to haunt the alleyways
where you hide in black shadows

I can see you running away
but you can not escape
I can see you running away
but you can not escape

hunted by the prey
hunted by the prey
hunted by the prey

Good Intentions

Everyone's just trying to please us
trying to make us open our eyes
some give us free advice
others sell Jesus Christ
some people pay for their salvation their whole lives
and never receive a sweet reprieve
or even pennies for their eyes

I don't believe in true intentions,
so don't tell me you're just curious
beneath the face
of all we fail to mention
we curse the heavens
furious

I'm in love with the morning sun
and all the passing trains
and you are just another snowflake
different and the same.

Talk Shop

something about the house felt like a song
creeps up like a peeling onion
i'm afraid of the way history is told
will the earth have air and water when I'm old?

when the bell tolls
confession is done
no one's going to carry me
so I'm learning to walk
one foot in front of the other
is that how we talk shop?
why do we even bother
waking up?

we say
give me space
push each other away
regurgitate scripted lines
waiting for our day to come
I just want to love everyone
but there's never enough time
that is my sentence
that is my punishment
that is my crime

words without action
work without passion
welcome to the new millennium
beat the dead horse
into a well rehearsed delirium
later rinse repeat
hold you're breath until you're beet red
drink until you're braindead
cry yourself to sleep

just
please don't
blame me

Purple Blood

I don't get caught up in the past anymore
I've learned that photograph's never capture the war
no one wants to be the one to make a stand
no one wants to walk the plank
but everyone wants to see
the view from the edge

your face is shifting colors
I'm losing the friend I know
switching trains - changing lanes
I hate to see you go
but seasons sneak the years by
and children scream at the winter sky
while I try and meditate
you and I drift further and further away

without a hint of irony
without the sting of alcohol
what do we have in common?

pink tongues and purple blood
otherwise nothing

Move Along

I found peace
in a place I cannot be
visited eternity
but I could not return
to seek the truth
is an unforgiving battle
if you are here
for the scenic route
move along
move along
move along

the trees are all done turning
and the roads are all jammed up
the lakes and rivers frozen
go home and have a cup of tea
move along
move along
move along

someones president and all his merry men
drowning in flames at the gates of heaven
won't someone please let them in?

sorry, the lot is full
we are closed until further notice
move along
move along
move along

I found water
at the bottom of the ocean
what more could you want?

Five Dimensions

In this sanctuary I've got everything I need
the pantry's socked with sugar and sunflower seeds
good friends - travel on the weekends
domesticated like a wild animal
spoken like a true gentleman

and now in five dimensions
I'll find myself a burden to bear
lighter than an ice cube
but heavier than air
everyone stare at me now
does anyone know how he survives
with a dying conscience
behind chemical eyes?

we move through corridors
forced to carry megaphones
just to hear ourselves over
the white noise in our
aching bones
we strain to see the waterfall
thats imploding in the distance

are you with me
or against me
if this is our last moment
I must know

Highbeams

I want to know how you speak my language
watch me set myself on fire
you are more courageous than I
when all color has been washed from the sky
how will you see yourself?
how will I?

a blank slate
waiting for you to paint the dawn
a fire escape
for you to count your prayers on
a rusty gate
for me to hide my secrets behind
a purple drape
to block all the light from the sun

driving through the snow
I imagine entering light speed
a black hole envelopes everything
outside of my high beams
and it's a beautiful thing
to go disappearing alone
at midnight in new england
when everyone's asleep in their homes
and there's nowhere for a hundred miles to go
but nothing seems to matter
when you're driving alone in the snow

E2

I try to contain myself but I just build up
all the love I have to share is a well in my soul
drop a penny down the hole
too many hands to hold
I have light like a star
waiting to implode
sex like an electric guitar
bending a blue note

I try to contain myself but I just build up
sometimes I'm overwhelmed
sometimes I'm bankrupt

for now
I'll let you be my muse
and someday perhaps
this castle of cards
can unfold into the truth

Dead or alive alternative take

Do you even think about me anymore?
Because even in my dreams I can’t ignore you.
Not that I want to,
No, I still want you,
Dead or alive.

Do you obey traffic signs
in the middle of the night
in the midst of a country
when no one is driving?
Do you still dream about
the first nights we spent
in your bed?

I haven’t slept much since then.