Don't Say No

Sir, got some 'splaining to do
In this situation
Miss, lower your voice
It's a restaurant, but your eyes keep closing

You get so high
When you crash
There's no net to save
And you smoke away the night
Red light keeps on burning

Think of your father
Well he won't keep this travesty funded
Float away, float away,
Float away, there's no ship to save

And you get so high
When you crash
There's no net to save
And you smoke away the night
Red light keeps on burning

Don't say no, oh no!

Maybe it's just a story
Can there really be such truths
Maybe it's a bit boring
But in the end we pretend
That life's boring, but memories don't lie
Then we end up leaving
We fall back and wonder

Why we can't replace those days
Our hearts long for
Wake up right now
Or you'll miss everything in front of you

Don't say no, oh no!

Isolation Pay

The whistle blows, I hear it in your voice
Everybody's got their work to do
At the day's end, I know I should rejoice
But the hardest job's coming home to you

It's blood money, legal and tender
I made some rookie mistakes
I was the cop and the public defender
I was left-handed, I was the snake

Now I'm on the clock every single day
Making my isolation pay
There's no union or holiday
There's just isolation pay

Got no talent for divining water
I gave up searching for a heart of gold
A little shade when the day gets hotter
A little stove when the night gets cold

Now I'm on the clock every single day
Making my isolation pay
There's no union or holiday
There's just isolation pay

Roll up your sleeves, roll up your sleeves,
I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty
Roll up your sleeves, roll up your sleeves
My back is strong and my heart is sturdy

Waxwing

Lowrider, leave no tracks
Tie those wings to your back
Don't let the jealous sun
Tell you what can't be done

Cause who would you follow?
A heart full of hollow?
They all fall down.

You've got a bird's eye view
Of cities that swallow you.
Don't spend your flying day
Casing your father's maze.

Who will forget this?
My hostile witness?
We all fall down.

Les Fleurs Du Mal

Cold War re-enactor
Prepare for the attack
You come in every colour
But you always leave in black

There's far too may lines
On this road ahead
My nostrils sting, my throat is raw
And nothing's left unsaid

Why do we care
For those little Baudelaires
Les Fleur Du Mal

If I could speak your language
I wouldn't know what to say at all

Now I'm feeling paralyzed
My friends have all gone straight
No one stays up listening
To the bands we love to hate

There's far too many hatchets
Sometimes I can't keep track
What's buried in the ground now
Or buried in my back

Muscle Memory

My arms know your waist
And my hands,
Still remember the shape of your scar
Off by heart

That old, tricky knee
Your birthmark
Were just ways to tell us apart
Off by heart

And you can't get away from my heart

The map that you drew
On my back
Of the places that we won't go
Off by heart

And the sheets won't come clean
There's a stain
Of the people I used to know
Off by heart

You've got to let it all go

So burn down the archives
And flood the museums
Tear the walls off
Our mausoleum

Until love is nothing
But an unmarked stone

My ears know your laugh
And the song
That you sang when you combed your hair
Off by heart

My hands know your own
And they came
Together in some kind of prayer
O my heart!

You've got to let it all go.

Bad Comedian

Well I'm tonight's entertainment
Bloodied and unbowed
In a hopeless arrangement
With another tough crowd

And nobody want my picture
Or my autograph
When I try to get paid
That's when everybody laughs

I finally got the joke
It was on me all along
But before I call it all off
Is this thing on?

Did you hear the one about me?
Well it goes like this:
"Some guy walks into a bar
And no one seems to notice."

I'll take the drunks and hecklers
The bruises and the cuts
There's nothing worse than silence
After I spill my guts

The Gang's All Gone

I got a heart that fakes
The cold of an inland lake
I remember my mistakes
As time well spent

And this giant heart
Is nothing but chainsaw art
You measure twice and cut apart
The past and the present

Even at fifteen
You were wedded to the scene
Never a bridesmaid, kid
Always a bride

So turn your collar against the cold
Coming down Red River Road
Hey man, I'm not the first to go
Don't look surprised

When no one sings along
Hail hail, the gang's all gone
And I'll just stay for one more song
Then I'll say goodbye I remember the bugs,
Crystal beer and those gateway drugs
Getting chased by those banger thugs
We learned to be bold

I retraced my steps
To see what kind of mark I left
But I'm feeling like Odysseus
And the trail's gone cold.

Things that matter most
Are now your once and future ghosts
Rattling their chains
Won't set you free

Lie To Me

And I can't lie to you anymore
Eromyna uoy ot eil t'nac I dnA

Blood Brothers

There's something encoded in the genes
It lives between the cell proteins
It's bathed in blood and soaked in spirit
My buzzing ears can sometimes hear it

The pooling bile in its black tunnel
The squeeze of clot through the heart funnel
The brain-juice battery can spark it
Faded ink on skin can mark it

It's history
It's history
It whispers in its tongue to me
It speaks all life inside of me
It screams think now, but think correctly

And Brother, I've been thrown upon the floor
My soul is ill and my blood, unleashed, it roars
Brother, carry me out
Brother, bury this corpse
Brother, O my Brother, what are Brothers for?
Don't ever let me rise again
Use the sword, forget the pen
Shear my head clean off my shoulders
Seal the tomb with rocks and boulders

I'm history
I'm history
I'm a spectre haunting industry
But in our veins our life's commingling
All my nerves are raw and tingling
They scream feel now and feel directly

And Brother, I think I fell down on the floor
My blood is spilled and my soul, unhitched, can soar
Let it fly through high windows
Let it crash the door
Brother, O my Brother, what are Brothers for?

Hurricane

Cold front moving in
And sleeping in our bed
It won't leave so I think
I might instead

We're caught out in the rain
Getting carried out to sea
By that old, imperfect storm
Of you and me

The silence is deafening
This storm is threatening our very life

It's safe to say
We'll be swept away
By this Brighton Hurricane

No shelter, no vow
Can save us now
From this Brighton Hurricane

Forecast calling for
Fair weather, my friend
Don't be fooled by
The calm before the end

The silence is deafening
This storm is threatening our very life

It's safe to say
We'll be swept away
By this Brighton Hurricane

No shelter, no vow
Can save us now
From this Brighton Hurricane

I ain't your lover anymore.

Face the Facts

Instrumental

Goodnight, Nemesis

Hangman,
I'll be the judge
Sometimes justice
Is just a grudge

Spell out my name
So I can clear it
You are the letter
But I am the spirit

Goodnight, nemesis
Cross my name off your list
It ain't judgement day or genesis
Say goodnight, nemesis

Old friend
I won't repent
But blood is thicker
Than wet cement
We'll carve out our names
And when it dries fast
We'll let the weeds
Grow up though the cracks

Oh highway
You took your toll
And turned our hearts
To burning coal

There's miles to go
And secrets to keep
Til the sound of the engine
Sings us to sleep

You're reversing the horse
Forgetting the plough
If you measure the distance
Between us now

Cause you carried that weight
And carried that load
Over miles and miles
Of corduroy road.

Night and Morning

"We regret to inform you there's terrible news
His body was was discovered late last night around two.
Some hunters and a dog found him out past the pines
Out past the houses, the cars, and the powerlines."

She never suspected he wasn't coming home
He was always late, and fashionably so
When they came to the door, she started to shake
"It can't be my baby, there must be some mistake"

So please, get up and go
There's nothing else to do
You've got to keep on moving
Before that night catches you

Out on your own
Move out now, move along
Let's get along, let's go
Let's get along, let's go

The morning that he died his father fell down to the floor
Never heard his son call, "Father don't let me go"
And to this day, he can't imagine his boy
Lying still, helpless, lifeless

Oh Father
You did the best job that you could
I don't blame you at all
And I hope that's understood

Oh Mother
I'm not the man I could've been
I can't seem to get all this
All this darkness out of me

Filthy Rich Kids

You say I’m the privileged one in this plan of our world.
Well yeah, I know I am.
And you’re a selfish soldier in this war against them.
Oh yeah, I see, life’s so.
If you could see it, I know you’d love it.
If you could buy it, there’d be a line-up.
Get out your wallet, you filthy rich kid, and play the poor boy blues.
So I will act the part- tortured artist to a tee.
Oh yeah, “Why me? Why me?”
You will eat it up, year after year, starving baby, and you cry for me, for me.
If you could see it, I know you’d love it.
If you could buy it, there’d be a line-up.
Get out your wallet, you filthy rich kid, and play the poor boy blues.
Well, I’ve got some news for you kid. You still line it up.
You’re still lining up.

(by mb)

Toronto Enough Tonight

My adam’s apple is a prickly pear and my lungs are full of hot air.
All the fingers of those goddam industry types want to shake hands with my windpipe.
So break out the finest small town sour grapes, crushed into a red, red wine and wrapped up in red tape.
In the city of my first breath, where the hopeful die a slow death, my mother worked the E.R. and my father rode those streetcars, and we’ve come to audition for Queen Street politicians, but I’m not (not quite) Toronto enough tonight.
Well, they keep on giving me the bad news first and from there it just gets worse.
You’re counting your blessings or you’re singing the blues while you’re waiting for the good news.
Now the hand that feeds me is on the dinner plate tonight.
They told me to stay hungry, but I lost my appetite.
So I bite my tongue before I curse this centre of the universe.
We all sing our public verse, then we ride out in a private hearse.
So let the congregation come to Yonge Street and Jerusalem, but I’m not (not quite) Toronto enough tonight.

(by gr)

You & What Army?

My friend you threaten to harm me.
You and what army?
Open fire, aim straight for my heart.
Rattle my ribcage and take me apart.
All this warpaint can't disguise there's no murder waiting in your eyes.
You call me too diplomatic.
Your interference is giving me static.
If you know my Achilles heel, get out your knife and cut me a deal.
Push my buttons, pull your rank, love me tender as a tank.
After sadness, after pride, who gets conquered when we divide?
So I'll let you win tonight, but there are fuses left to light.
One false move and we're done for.
One false heart could start a war.
You're thirsty, I'm feeling violent.
We'll settle this drinking in silence.
I'll go home on a bus heading south.
Victory tastes like blood in my mouth.
Has my heart always been a piece of shrapnel in my skin?
I can't remove it anyhow, but I've got the scars to prove it now.
Identify the casualties. Count the bodies casually.
All that's left is the both of us- ashes to ashes and dust to dust.
Every time that I surrender you put a weapon in my hands.

(by gr)

Margaret Atwood

This is a photograph of me shouting my obscenities.
Underwater, no one can hear you.
When did I come up for air?
Is a part of me still down there distorting, becoming something new?
The people that we used to be are waiting for us underneath, but if we dive into the black, when we surface we just come back alone.
Margaret Atwood I confess, I'm drowning like all the rest.
My lungs are slowly changing shape.
This is not a ship to sail, it's the belly of a whale, and I know this time we can't escape.
The people that we'll be someday watch us sink beneath the waves, and when there's only water left, I'll kick my feet and hold my breath.
In the deep dark, we all go blind, and let the moon make up our minds.
Alone.

(by gr)

You Get What You Pay For

Well, shut your mouth boy.
You put your foot in it this time.
There's no one to blame but you when you're down to your last dime, ‘cause honesty's the best poverty and liars already won the lottery.
You get what you pay for and I got a mouth full of knuckle.
Forget forgiveness and break out the belt and the buckle, ‘cause what we need is a few good martyrs.
Bleeding hearts could you bleed a bit harder? There ain't no big score to hope and pray for.
You get what you pay for and take what you don't.
Put on your shame face, the guilty party has started.
Tie up the good noose for the nearly departed, ‘cause only the good die young now.
The rest of us stay here and get the job done now.
There ain't no big score to hope and pray for.
You get what you pay for and take what you don't.

(by gr & mr)

Lenin & McCarthy

We used to have such an organized party, now I'm playing Lenin to your McCarthy.
You're back-in-black.
We're still in-the-red.
When you found me out I wonder, where's your head? Spending time hoarding money is an all-consuming urge, but once you've cleaned me out, we really start the purge.
Said you had enough of me and my Stalin- I don't think I can stop this wall from falling.
It's won-for-you, and none-for-me.
Get ready for fifty years of tyranny.
Now this is fighting, but what's it all for, when a silly little scrap turns into a Cold War?
We attack each other with all our might.
When it's over, what's left and who's right?
Neither of us know with what power we're flirting.
You can capitalize, I'll be behind my curtain.
Said you worked hard, it's not your fault we fractured, but your labour of love it seems so manufactured.
I'll make you see stars before you earn your stripes, that's the first thing you learn tonight.
So don't you bother wiping clean the slate, when you put me in this empire state.

(by mr)

(Still Hanging Around With) The Crucifixion Blues

The hollow bones of what we say are taking flight like words of prey.
Swing low, sweet champion.
Sing your gospel south.
Put your head in the lion's mouth.
Soldier, name your price with strings attached and sacrifice.
I will wait like a minotaur for you to come find me.
This is part of our mythology.
Maybe I'm no stainglass saint, but a holy ghost you ain't, and I see through you like an eyesore.
Now you've got thorns in your hair and a cross you love to bear, but I've got no sins you can die for.
Better the devil that you know about, than the devil that you don't.
I know enough to beware of you.
When you tell me to go to Hell, there's nothing I can do.
Darling, I'm already there with you.

(by gr)

A Change of Heart

The skin below your eye was the colour of the ugly scar the river cut between the reservation and the town.
On either side you learned the value of a getaway.
Your cousin's new stopwatch- it stops the time but can't stop you.
"Runners take your positions."
The gun is fired.
That night you raced the bridge the builders left to fall apart.
Through scaffolding and sky, the end was not the finish line.
"Runners take your positions."
The gun is fired and they're off.
The heart is only ventricles forcing blood cells to leave home and disappear.
The heart is only a muscle working.
It keeps me moving away from here. I'm a runner.

(by gr)

Let There Be Light

I made my confession from a detonation fuse. I was hanging around town with the crucifixion blues, skinny as the driven nail, transparent as a saint, but the girl who saw right through me said, "the holy ghost you ain't."
I kept my pilgrim heart for a thousand years, and your word it ain't the gospel, but it's music to my ears.
Now I know the promised land is wherever you are.
Let the angels sing on high in this karaoke bar.
In this darkness tonight that no sun could shine through, let there be light and let that light be you.
Let there be light and let it be you.

(by gr)

Raggedy Ann

Raggedy Ann, Raggedy Ann, you were the best thing in my life I just couldn't stand, Raggedy Ann.
You took me to town, dragging me all around.
You kicked all those clean-haired boys in the sand, right in the sand.
Raggedy Ann, Raggedy Ann, that girl I thought you were came apart in my hands.
Now I can see your plans. I guess I should've known.
I tell you, I didn't know that a love between two friends is a flash in the pan.
I guess I won't be your man. I can't go on with this plan, Raggedy Ann.

(by mb)

The Wolves, Darling

Darling, throw me right back to the wolves.
Out come the wolves, and they smell me for miles.
The first one to find me was Old Jealousy.
He'd put his teeth right into my shoulder, and for a good laugh he'd lacerate me.
Wolf Number Two was day-into-night-and-night-into-day and it swallowed me whole.
You came along and you tore out his stomach and I was reborn and out of control.
The third one to find me was green-eyed and lovely.
I can't understand why she kept me about.
She never wanted to make me her dinner.
She'd chew me up and spit me out.
Darling, throw me right back to the wolves.

(by gr)