Lyrics are available for the following albums...

Boylan Heights
Fun & Games
Ring
Weird Food & Devastation
Still Life

Corrections and additions are more than welcome!

Boylan Heights
1. Scotty's Lament
2. Choose A Side
3. Try
4. Just Like Us
5. If It Crumbles
6. Pawns
7. Over There
8. Elegance
9. Home Today
(10. OT2 is an instrumental)
11. I Suppose
1. Scotty's Lament
(Mike Connell)
So surprised,
I fought windmills.
So surprised,
I saw angels.
I know my place in this...
So surprised,
I had visions.
So surprised,
You were in them.
I found my place in this world.
It's you I swear,
it's you I swear,
I delight in your despair.
(I'll wait for you)
It's you I swear,
it's you I swear,
Giving me the right
(I'll wait for you)
It's you who lied,
it's you who lied
When you had to swallow pride
(I'll wait for you)
It's you I swear,
it's you I swear...
So surprised,
Thoughts escaped me.
So surprised,
Words escaped me.
I know my place in this...
2. Choose a Side
(Mike Connell)
When they said "Who won the war?"
You were in the war.
When they said to choose a side,
It made you want to hide.
When you fell in with the rest
We were not impressed.
When they said "Who won the war?"
It made you smile.
When they've torn you either way,
Put your past away.
When they said to choose a side,
It made you want to hide.
When you fell in with the worst,
It could be a first.
When they said "Who won the war?"
It made you smile.
This time, this time
And nothing will do
This time, this time
We'll leave it all to you.
This time, this time
It's all the same.
3. Try
(Mike Connell)
So wouldn't you like to try?
You're so alive and unusual.
I really don't think you'd mind.
It's not too dear,
it's not too difficult.
Think of this for awhile.
You might decide
it's not for you at all.
But if you should feel confined,
Then take the step and
you could leave it all.
"Seek and you will find"--
But I swear
it's not what you'll find.
4. Just Like Us
(Doug MacMillan)
The Young ones will step away.
How long will it take them?
How long 'til it breaks them?
Just walking into a new day.
How long will it take them?
How long 'til it breaks them?
They fight and they seem
Just like us.
Unaware that they'll be
Just like us.
Yet you want them to see
Just like us.
And I hope to decide on my own.
It's just too late to discuss.
5. If It Crumbles
(Mike Connell)
And for the first and
for the last time,
I'll wait and see.
And if it crumbles all around me,
Then we'll wait and see.
6. Pawns
(Mike Connell, Doug MacMillan)
Pawns for a pauper's son
Handouts for everyone
Please release me with your smile
Ashes to dust again
Save that for mortal men
Please release me with your smile
And when I rise
And when you fall
That's the part
that weighs me down
The part that weighs me down
You are your own worst fears
Save them throughout the years
Please deceive me
with your smile
Anxious to understand
Who has the upper hand
Please believe me
if it takes awhile
7. Over There
(Mike Connell)
All right, pure delight
to see you stand in
all your glory.
Oh the joys when your boys
hit distant soil.
And I hope to try
to answer those who criticize you.
Lead the sheep in their sleep
to slaughter.
Won't abide, pushed aside
Let me know when you've decided
I'll decline when the sign
says "Over There"
Your game has a name
force and fury, fact and fiction.
Sound the call, and the walls
will tumble.
8. Elegance
(Doug MacMillan)
He's home, and for the
first time ever
he walked alone
in a world he'd once known.
He's home, just might be
for the better
he walked alone
in a world he'd once known.
They cheer to what you say
and it could be something.
Then they steer so far away
they're missing nothing.
It reeks of common sense
and it could be something
to live in elegance
as the story goes.
Go home, just might be
for the better.
You'll seem alone
in a world you'd once known.
9. Home Today
(George Huntley)
Coming home today,
a season spent away,
it is hard for me to see,
hard for me to say.
I like your face,
but I can't anymore.
It was quite a time
and I'm sure that I'm
feeling very clear for me,
very clear for you.
I like your face,
but I can't anymore.
Let's do it again.
I will recall
there are things
I could have done.
I will recall
there are things
I should have shown.
Did you find the time
to keep us both in mind?
Did you wander far from me,
wander far from you?
I like your face,
but I can't anymore.
Let's do it again.
I will recall
there are things
I could have done.
I will recall
there are things
I should have shown.
To dream is not to say
I'll take it anyway,
a year is song enough for me,
yet here we are today.
I like your face,
but I can't anymore.

11. I Suppose
(Mike Connell)
Spent time far away,
spent your days lost in grey
and wishes I suppose
mean nothing when
they're tossed away.
And your form and your face,
like some place that I knew
still return to me now.
Oh well, I suppose
I've gone beyond
caring for those
who think like you.
And yes, I suppose
you were that way.
And yes, I suppose
I came to find...
All the way
to Boylan Heights-
How are you?
All the way but not today
they came looking for me.
All the way down to the park
and I never saw you there.

Fun & Games
1. Something To Say
2. Fun & Games
3. Sal
4. Upside Down
(5. Fine Tuning not available)
6. Motel
7. Hey Wow
8. Ten Pins
9. Inside My Head
10. Uninspired
11. Sat Nite (USA)
12. Lay Me Down
1. Something To Say
(Mike Connell)
Oh, you never learned the "whens" and "wheres" and "whys"
And I still believe that you were dying to be everything
To everyone and for all time
Ah, the golden boy--did you stop trying?
Did it turn out stale, or did it simply lose its wonder?
Could you hold it up from out and under?
Does the distance seem to dim-dumb-dim your memory?
Does the distance seem to fell the hunger?
Chorus:
So you're left with your thoughts and where do you go
Out the window or an open door
And once you believed they could keep you awake--
It's so deceiving.
So you talk to yourself and what do you know
You answer back with a "Don't say so"
And once you believed you had something to say...
It's so deceiving.
So, you never learned the way to hold a crowd
And it turns out now that you were dying to be everything
To everyone and for all time
Ah, the golden boy--did you stop trying?
(repeat chorus)
2. Fun & Games
(Mike Connell, Doug MacMillan)
Let me tear down into your heart
Let me take a seat and stay awhile
Let me tear down into your heart
Ah, fun and games.
Let me steal a glimpse from your eyes
Let me pin it up and stare awhile
Let me steal a glimpse from your eyes
Ah, fun and games.
Let me have a half of your whole
Let me keep it for myself awhile
Let me have a half of your whole
Ah, fun and games.
Let me take the words from your mouth
Let me swallow them and speak awhile
Let me take the words from your mouth
Ah, fun and games.
Didn't I offer less than I lost?
Didn't I mean to find it all?
Look, don't let me size it up.
Hey, right.
3. Sal
(George Huntley)
Hey there Sal, you sure are crazy
And boy you love to have a ball
Must be great with all the ladies
Watch it Sal, don't you fall.
Chorus:
You can cry like a loser, like a clown
But it doesn't seem to help at all
Oh, you and I aren't used to what we've found
Love like rain will fall.
She left you but you still love her
You thought she was the easy part
She smelled a lie and the luck of the winner
Left you standing in the dark
(repeat chorus)
For a day or two you're feeling dizzy
For a day there's no alcohol
But tonight you're dancing the song of the sinner
Tonight you'll seem to have it all.
(repeat chorus)
4. Upside Down
(Mike Connell)
Don't ask me what I think of this
I only think of that.
Try talking?
First I'll try to hum
It's just that my sum isn't adding up.
Oh, let me state my case
I do as I am told
Keep within the keep, feed within the fold
As I brush away the flies. It's so hard.
Don't ask me, I don't seem to know.
I'm a bit slow, yeah
Try walking?
I'll just take the bus
It's not worth the fuss--well, is anything?
Oh let me stat my case
I teach what I am taught
Filter in a fact, confuse it for a thought
Oh, I'd rather use my time to steep.
Well I keep my feet in the air
and my head on the ground
Oh, I'm walking around upside down.
When I stop I can't see you stare
I can't hear a sound
Oh I'm walking around upside down.
6. Motel
(George Huntley)
There isn't room in the Inn
The keeper wouldn't be my friend
I could tell in his eye
He'd never change his mind
So, I'm left to walk in the cold
The light of day is growing old
But who's to blame
Neither rain nor shine
Chorus:
That's why this is the best of me
Giving up...
This is the rest of me
And I've had quite enough
This is the best of me
Giving up...
You've seen enough of me
To know that it's tough
That is me in a scene
Father, he is tall ans so serene
I said I'd believe
I declare a proven sigh
Then I'm alone facing the snow
The rain falls hard and is blowing cold
I said I'd believe
When hell had frozen over
(repeat chorus)
But who's to believe
That what I've seen really isn't true
(repeat first verse)
(repeat chorus)
7. Hey Wow
(Mike Connell)
Is the sun out,
Has the wind died,
Or is this stillness here the calm between my ears?
And I know now why they put me here.
Things were clear once
'Til the clouds came,
Now I don't know when they'll fall--
No, I couldn't say at all.
And I know now why they've kept me here.
I've been paralyzed by a choice that lies
Well inside of me--
Which world to hold me now
And I believe I'm drifting...
Hey, the mist surrounds me more and more
Hey, wow. It swirls and it rains here.
Hey wow. And I have known this all before.
Hey wow. And nothing's very...
Are the stars out,
Is the sun down,
Or is the darkness here the calm between my ears?
And I know now why the've left me here.
I've been mesmerized by a voice that cries
Well inside of me
Too loud to hold it down.
And I believe I'm drifting...
Hey, the mist surrounds me more and more.
Hey, wow. It swirls and it rains here.
Hey wow. And I have known this all before.
Hey wow. And nothing's very clear.
8. Ten Pins
(Mike Connell)
All alone, you sit by the hour
You're waiting for the sun to rise
In the night you sit by the fire
You're waiting for the will to fight
Chorus:
But I won't see you there
Ten pins down
No I won't see you there
Ten pins down
And you know that lines get me down
I'm waiting for the sun to rise
In the night we'll sit for awhile
We're waiting for the will to fight
(repeat chorus)
Never needing to decide
There's always another lie-down
You don't seem to know
It's happening over and over
(repeat chorus)
9. Inside My Head
(George Huntley)
Inside my head I hurt a lot
'Cause I'm thinking about me
And what I did to you
I can't imagine what I have lost
I'm not bold enough to be
Man enough for you
Chorus:
There's no way to save
The dream that's dead
The water has passed beneath us
On a bridge reaching down fro you.
Would you have been a movie star
Or would you have been like me
Nothing but a fool
I can cry and hide and pray a lot
But there's nothing I can do
To save the dream for me
(repeat chorus)
(repeat first verse)
My home is just not big enough
To start a life for three
But I wish I could for you
10. Uninspired
(Doug MacMillan)
Well the steel in his strings
Cuts into his fingers
And the lines that are left
He knows so well
And the words that he screams
Sift through the smoke and sweat
While his wandering mind
Tries to tell...
To tell him he's uninspired
In some weary, absent way
To tell him he's simply tired...
Then the sound rolls in
And lifts him up and in to the place he should've been
Then the sound rolls in, and lifts him up and in
And when all has been drained
He wrestles with the feeling
Of an unfelt refrain that he knew too well
And the words that he hears,
Because they compliment
Are the words that he fears,
Because they tell...
They tell him he's uninspired
In some weary absent way
They tell him he's simply hired here.
Then the sound rolls in.
And lifts him up and in to the place he should've been
Then the sound rolls in...
11. Saturday Nite (USA)
(Doug MacMillan)
They say you've been around
They say you've been uptown
Funny, I was with you
I just can't recall
But they say you've been around
They say you've been denied
A chance at yourself
They say you even tried
To make a go
Funny, it's been so hard
To try and understand
They say you've been untied
I'll see for myself
It's a weird and wonderful time
It's been so long I thought I'd better ask
Let's settle it now
Isn't there something that keeps us alive
Let's settle it now
It's got to get better
And better's alright
12. Lay Me Down
(George Huntley)
Sing to me sweetley as I turn sour
Lay me down, remembering
That the wind and the rain
Played a part in that dreadful hour
And so as I pass, I too feel the power
Laying here under the trees
Where three days before
I danced in a summer shower
Chorus:
And she said "There, look through the trees,
The sun always shines, always on time,
Dare, rest on your knees
And in a prayer, follow me there."
Softly I slumber as I turn to powder
Blowing out over the sea
The wind and the rain billow me
Though I'm no longer fire
A bird is alone as the wind takes me higher
Now I don't know where I am
The bird can't hear me
As I shout out even louder
(repeat chorus)
La la la la...
(repeat chorus)

Ring
1. Slackjawed
2. Carry My Picture
3. '74-'75
4. Doin' You
5. Find Out
6. Eyes On The Ground
7. Spiral
8. Hey You
9. New Boy
10. Disappointed
11. Burden
12. Any Day Now
13. Running Mary
1. Slackjawed
(Mike Connell)
Someone tells me somethin'--
Well I'm prepared to listen.
Nothin's goin' on, nothin's goin' on.
Standing next to no one,
Well that was my intention.
Nothin's goin' on, nothin's goin' on.
But then you're back and I'm guessing it's not so bad at all.
And I've been standing slackjawed since you were here.
Yea, I've been standing slackjawed.
Something says this may be the strangest light I'll mention--
Someone left you on, someone left you on.
Saying next to nothing--the words were my invention.
Someone left you on, someone left you on.
And now you're here and I'm thinking it's not so bad at all.
And I've been standing slackjawed since you were here.
Yea, I've been standing slackjawed.
2. Carry My Picture
(Mike Connell)
You never think to occupy my time,
And you never require.
And you never lean too much.
And it's always been this way.
It's wearing thin,
Your words come crowdin' in,
But I want you to know
It's the stuff that stirs me up and follows me away.
So write my name and carry my picture
There's nothing wrong.
I'm willing, I'm willing, I will lead you on.
So write my name and carry my picture, there's nothing wrong.
3. '74-'75
(Mike Connell)
Got no reason for coming to me and the rain running down.
There's no reason.
And the same voice coming to me like it's all slowin down.
And believe me--
I was the one who let you know
I was your sorry-ever-after. '74-'75
Giving me more and I'll defy
'Cause you're really only after '74-'75.
It's not easy, nothing to say 'cause it's already said.
It's never easy.
When I look on your eyes then I find that I'll do fine.
When I look on your eyes then I'll do better.
I was the one who let you know
I was your sorry-ever-after. '74-'75.
Giving me more and I'll defy
"cause you're really only after '74-'75.
4. Doin' You
(George Huntley)
I wouldn't bet the whale that I'd ever see
The juvenile in your eyes like the one I see.
No I wouldn't climb the highs thinking that I'd find
A reason for honesty without even tryin'.
Doin' you and being new upon it.
Seeing your fog and drive on through it.
Being you with your creature comfort.
Doin' you is like doin' time.
I wouldn't buy your time if it was for sale.
Might sic my dog on you if you brought the mail.
Don't you dream of happiness when you're feeling blue?
Never see modesty from the likes of you.
5. Find Out
(Doug MacMillan)
You're thinking everybody needs to know
What sets you so far apart.
On a hunch I think I could show
But we'll let you keep the part.
You gotta pull it off
When we least expect it.
Really need to see your face on the wall
Of a three or four star restaurant.
Shouldn't take more than a call
You always seem to get what you want.
Gotta pull it off
When we least expect it.
Gotta pull it off...
Then we'll find out
What this is really all about.
Then I'll be the one who says "I don't believe it."
Then we'll find you
Like you'd always want us to,
Face the first in your own favorite way.
6. Eyes On the Ground
(Doug MacMillan)
Really ought to check the hair.
Or maybe you don't care.
Here it comes from the side.
You could see it if you tried.
Ought to check your shoes.
Hey, how about the shoes.
Here they come from the glass,
That you walk by extra fast.
Chorus:
Don't you know that,
You need it sometimes.
Why not go and stare it down?
It's better to see it all as someone,
Who keeps his eyes on the ground.
Nearly bought it all today, like every other day.
Seeing everything so clear, watch out for that...
There's always something that almost turns you 'round.
(repeat chorus)
Don't fail me now, don't forget how,
Don't believe it, leave it.
Gonna get it gonna see.
7. Spiral
(Mike Connell)
Come steer me now
Leave ideas in my head.
And I'll come alive
Or cover me instead.
There's a ceiling light above me
And a song that says I will.
And it's kneeling down upon me--lonlier still.
Come hear me out.
There's more that I have been
Than figured out
And stunted end to end.
There's a ceiling light above me
And a space it cannot fill.
And it's bearing down upon me holding me still.
And I convinced you
That I would get there first.
And you send me down a spiral--only worse.

8. Hey You
(David Connell, Mike Connell, Doug MacMillan)
Standing back before the angels get to me,
Well it seems such a sorry waste of time.
Holding back on those who want the best for me.
I guess I can't be blamed for trying.
It's really very funny how it wears me down,
Waiting for that something.
Hey you, well I'm sorry but it's time to let you know.
Hey you, and it sounds a bit like preaching.
I'd bend over backwards to let you know.
Rolling back around the numbers on the wall,
Well it's sad 'cause I don't have much to show.
Standing back before the angels get to me,
Well it seems the better way to go.
9. New Boy
(Mike Connell)
Sometimes I get the feeling things won't fall apart.
Sometimes I think it's gone too far.
Sometimes I get the feeling things seem pretty nice.
Then again sometimes I'd like to leave you twice.
Once we decide upon it
We won't fall apart.
This time I think it's gone too far.
And you get where you can't decide--
Don't ask any other.
And you get where you can't decide.
Didn't I say "sorry."
Didn't I say "dear."
Didn't I consider.
Didn't I stand clear.
Didn't you say "New boy get down on your knees."
Didn't I say "trying, I'm trying, I'm trying."
10. Disappointed
(Mike Connell)
Change whatever gets strange in your aprons and your curls.
Ah, you really got lost, but you'll string it back together.
You could never make do, and your storyline is a scream.
Change whatever gets strange in your neverending...
All in all it's been quite a fall,
And these days are the days that I walk on,
It isn't that you'll understand...
If I disappointed you, I'm so sorry.
You're a disappointment too.
Fear whatever comes near to your neverlasting home.
Ah, you really got crossed and of course it don't get better.
You could never make do, and your storyline is a dream.
Fear whatever comes near to your neverlasting...
11. Burden
(Mike Connell)
And once said "please, some more"
And not even now and then.
Some place I know you swore
That you'd never go again.
I had this feeling once
That nothing was out of touch.
I found some comfort there
But that doesn't matter much.
And did we start digging around?
And did we start dragging around?
Be my burden
Christ, I'm certain I'm already bound.
I'm not ever quite together
I'm not sorted out.
You talked to me some more
And that was worth waiting for.
Sometimes I can't decide
If we're ever half alive.
12. Any Day Now
(Doug MacMillan)
Any day now, they'll have you down any way that they please,
Sayin' just about everything.
Any day now, cuz I hear your voice, but it's not the same sound.
All the luck, just in time to see it all come and go,
There goes another one.
Everyday now, I hear the noise, it's not the same sound.
Take you by the hand and pull you around.
I hear your voice, and they watered you down.
As if anything were different in here.
All I know's I'd like to shake it off forever.
If it all turned out the way we knew it wouldn't I'd know.
...not the same sound,
Pat you on the back as they push you around.
I hear your voice and they watered you down.
13. Running Mary
(Mike Connell)
I was running Mary.
And the days were growing long.
And I was minding mine,
I was doing nothing wrong.
And the news you sent me.
and the bar's upon the door.
And this one caught me blind--
Couldn't stop me anymore.
Tell me how much do I forgive
'Cause you laid one in on me, but I'm all right.
Tell me how much--this goes on and on.
I was running barely
And it's hard to face me more.
And I was minding mine,
And doing nothing more.

Weird Food and Devastation
1. Maybe
2. Start
3. Fifth Fret
4. Just Like That
5. Adjective Song
6. Any
7. Hang On
8. Back To Blue
9. Smoke
10. Pretty Rough
11. Let It Go
12. Friendly Time
13. Too High
14. On Your Honor

1. Maybe
(Mike Connell)
Gonna plan my deliverance
Gonna plan it myself
Gonna stand my deliveror back up on the shelf.
Gonna turn to the only thing that I can obey
And maybe, just maybe, it won't turn it away.
Gonna hold out for something else
gonna hold out my hand
gonna stay with the only thing that I understand.
And I'll keep with the simple things, and I cannot say
And it keeps me alive and that is how I wanna be.
And it keeps me alive and that is how I am.
2. Start
(Mike Connell)
I hear you're waving me off
I hear you're moving on past
I hear you're sending me on
At last
I hear your time has come
I hope your time will last
And on and on and on and on
At last. At last.
Though I confront you I want you better
Start
This time I won't let it be...
Start
One thin time won't let it...
Start
How much longer will it...
Start
There it is again.
I hear your time has come
I hope you timed it last
And on and on and on and on
At last. At last.
3. Fifth Fret
(Doug MacMillan)
He heard about those two.
He heard it from the back wall
Then he slowly turned his head
back toward set.
He always thought he knew
that they might hit on something.
Then he reached on for the remote
and spilled his beer.
She's got everything but what she wanted
was all of your attention.
She's got everything but what she wanted.
you know he'll try and forget her
but barely out of reach is might have been.
They've got everything but what you need
is a pund of prevention.
They've got everything but what you need...
He's taking everything with a grain.
He's taking just about anything.
She's got everything but what she wanted
was all of your attention.
She got everything but what she wanted.
4. Just Like That
(Doug MacMillan)
There you are and you can't believe a thing
especially what you see.
Something kind of like a voice
makes its way across the desk.
You know we're gonna put you
in a cadillac.
You'll be laughing all the way
to the bank and back.
I really think I see you
Just like that.
Everybody wants to have it all.
At least there's a door a few feet away
from your chair.
There's a door and as you begin to stand
you take a last look at the man.
You know we're gonna put you
in a cadillac.
You'll be laughing all the way
to the bank and back.
I really think I see you
Just like that.
Everybody wants to have it all.
Nineteen and 70s Chevy
tricked out a time or two
I'll let the Nova
call the shots again.
(Chorus)
5. Adjective Song
(Mike Connell)
Bigger. Better. Smarter. Cleaner. Nicer. Younger.
These are the words we use to describe
These are the words we use to lie.
Sweeter. Wiser. Kinder. Bigger. Better. Smarter.
These are the words we use to describe
These are the words we use to hide
These are the words we use to get by
These are the words we use to describe ourselves
6. Any
(Peele Wimberley)
Be yourself
Be yourself so you won't fade out
Keep yourself
Keep yourself so you won't change at all
Anyone in a crowd
sees you fail to leave a definte scar
Don't you hold back now
See yourself
See yourself as one turned 'round
Free yourself
Free yourself or turn back now
Everyone in the crowd
Seems to think you're the greatest of all...
What if they found out?
Anything that you say
I don't know about it
What you see what you're sayin'
Just doesn't matter
anymore
Leave yourself
Leave yourself time to get it right
Keep yourself
Be yourself make the red hot white
Don't you hold back now
Everyone's full of sparkle and charm
How can you bow out?
7. Hang On
(Mike Connell)
There's peace in the valley and the scum's moving in
And I'm here in Rallee, really.
But what does it matter when you're doin' well
I'm just here getting sadder, really.
Hang on, hang on, brother. Hang on, hang on.
Hang on to your head
hang on to your heart
Hang on, hang on.
There's noise from the hill side
And we're all listening in
from here on the outside, really.
Hang on, hang on, brother. Hang on, hang on.
Hang on to your head
hang on to your heart
Hang on, hang on.
8. Back To Blue
(Doug MacMillan, G. Kendalll)
This new neighborhood ain't no good
Am I understood
Something's wrong but there's nothing
I can put my finger on.
I wanna get back to blue. Wanna get back to blue.
An acquired taste your smilin' face
but just don't get me wrong
It just gives me the creeps
When I hear you laughing in your sleep
I wanna get back to blue. Wanna get back to blue.
I wanna get back to the things
we used to do.
think I'm going back again tonight.
Ain't it funny how it ain't funny at all.
I think I'm going back again tonight.
I wanna get back to blue.
Wanna get back to blue.
9. Smoke
(Steve Potak, Doug MacMillan)
Going to take you back, all the way to yesterday
when everything supposedly began.
Met some guy sight unseen, steady diet of everything
and a plan, oh man.
Why can't a guy just let it go, forget it.
All I know is that I'm not home.
At least I know we had it planned in a rented mini van
and at least I know that somebody drove.
with a head full of steam I really hope
you don't know what I mean, I really do.
Why can't a guy just let it go, forget it.
All I know is that I'm not home.
How will you account for me.
You know they're going to make you,
you know they're going to make you.
Why is it just smoke I see.
Going to make you realize.
If you meet some guy sight unseen,
steady diet of everything and a plan, oh man.
He's going to take you back, all the way to yesterday
when everything supposedly began
Why can't a guy just let it go, forget it.
All I know is that I'm not home.
Why can't a guy just let it go, forget it.
All I know is that I'm not home.
How will you account for me.
You know they're going to make you,
you know they're going to make you.
Why is it just smoke I see.
Going to make you realize.
Eyes. Smoke in your eyes.
10. Pretty Rough
(Mike Connell)
Got my feet up in a car
I'm not going where you are
It's my sanity or bust
And it never really was everything I wanted
Everything I needed
Everything Complete.
Everything you've ever heard
And there's not a single word to put your mind at rest
And yes I never guessed everything you wanted
Everything you needed
Everything. Complete.
I only hear what I want to, want to, I want to
And I just follow my feet, and I stumble on.
Everything you wanted
Everything you needed
Everything. Complete.
I'm almost giving it away
I'm almost near
I'm almost half-way home
I might be home
11. Let it Go
(George Huntley)
Tie me up don't tie me down
Take it in and spin around let it go
Lead it through a train of thought
be released and let it talk let it go
And then I turn around to see a view
I wouldn't know if not for you
count to three, don't tell them all
how luck ran out on me like it did before
When I'm negative, no I'm not
soaking in what I forgot let it go
I read aloud what you have said
it's not alive, it must be dead let it go
And then I turn around to see a view
I wouldn't know if not for you
Your pack of lies my punky friend
don't tantalize, don't take me in
it isn't love, it isn't hate
you amplify what irritates
count to three don't tell them all
I take it better now than I did before
Let it go
12. Friendly Time
(Mike Connell)
I saw the Parkers and Triefenbachs
I saw the Williams and the R.D. Gables
Friends of mine, friends of mine, friendly time.
I know the Christgaus and Considines,
I know the Jenkins and the Garbarinis
Friends of mine, frineds of mine, friendly time.
La la la la la la befriend me
La la la la la la friendly (please repeat).
13. Too High
(Doug MacMillan)
So the trouble got your tongue
and all you pulled it out together
Finally set things straight
sounds about right
Being something
well I don't think so,
you do nothing like I doubt you will
being something
What's that now and
what's that you forced?
Better known as the answer
What's that you now and
what's that you forced?
On you own it's just the same.
but you're sure it's for the better.
Always on the fence
well the words just won't ring true.
Being something
well I don't think so,
you do nothing like I doubt you will
being something
What's that now and
what's that you forced?
Better known as the answer
What's that you now and
what's that you forced?
14. On Your Honor
(George Huntley, Doug MacMillan)
Did you see how long the party was?
We're talking years here and
did you say how long you kept it up?
Be so much better
When you finally decide to take them down.
Your Christmas lights are the only ones still up in town.
Twice as funny when you pull the plug
on all you meant to do.
Better be on your honor
on your own.
Cleaning up is half the fun.
Be so much easier
if you wait up for the sun.
Half-way asking is it finally time
to hold down.
Those voices tellin' you
now is the time to leave town.
When you clear the bench there won't be any doubt
'bout what you need to do.
Better be on your honor
on your own.

Still Life
1. Dull, Brown and Gray
2. The Leper
3. Bruised
4. Curly's Train
5. Gauntlet
6. Glade
7. Soul Reactor
8. Still Life
9. Crown
10. Circlin'
11. Gonna Take A Lie
12. Queen of Charades
(13. Pedro Says is an instrumental)

1. Dull, Brown and Gray
(Mike Connell)
Not feeling so amazed
but doing alright
Unguarded and unfazed
but doing alright
Out of boredom
I decided I'd get with it
And it only hardened my wits
What of this
Unharnessed, that fits
What of this
And I started to imagine Appomattox
Well it's dull, brown and gray
Like all the things we do
that don't go away
2. The Leper
(Mike Connell)
Words, chatter, words
And it all amounts to nothing
Sounds, it just sounds
it just sounds a little phony
Yeah it's true I was the leper
Yeah it's true I was the lad
Yeah it's true I was the better and the bad
Reading for the part of someone with a heart
Poised and pissed and powered
Standing on the brink
trying not to think
And I haven't even showered
But I'm going to
And the world keeps settling in my way
damn it all
Christ, what a life
and the most of it forgotten
Bliss, and then this and the rest is pretty rotten
3. Bruised
(Peele Wimberley)
So, they say I'm doing fine
And they say you're a friend of mine
That's very moving
but it's not really soothing
Insincere and color blind
Hey, ain't it funny?
Everybody knows how my skin shows
So, they say I'm doing fine
They've got nothing on me but time
Time to talk about it
Yeah, that's where I'm going
Do they really know how fine?
Hey, ain't it funny?
Everybody knows how my skin shows
Black and bruised
Hey, ain't it funny?
Everybody sees how my skin shows but you
4. Curly's Train
(George Huntley)
24 in a car
rollin' on a mountain train
when Curly asked where you were
where you were, where you are
strollin' outside of my brain
And everyone was reelin'
yes indeed we were, why don't we say it?
Screaming like a locomotive
heaving and blowing
turn it up and make a lonesome cry
working up a head
explodin', heaving & blowing
doing just whatever you please
did you really want to lose it?
5. Gauntlet
(Doug MacMillan)
Tell you 'bout the first one
it's all the same to me
might as well be the last one
they're all the same you see
Everybody's sweetheart
everybody's so hard
Tangled up for the better
all cracked up
all cracked up to be
everybody's sweetheart
everybody's blowhard
Anybody's fool
If you stick around this time
you might get a chance to be somebody
they'll even watch the van for you while you play
-or- even watch your step for you along the way
6. Glade
(Steve Potak)
Any day you're gonna throw it all away
You got it to just throw away
I hear you whine
How it's coming in from all sides
you got it coming right in on you
this is what we should do
Let's go to Boy Island
Book a passage for a few days in the sun
Just wait and watch for the girls to come
No, came up with it too long ago
you see it happened so long ago
How could you know
Go start your own Hanson
Woodshed Offspring for days on end
Aha - just like Murray Wilson's sons
7. Soul Reactor
(Mike Connell)
It doesn't matter if you've gone away
That the lesson's learned
And it seems o.k.
And you might not like this at all
but I never thought Lennon cared much for Paul
Why don't you get out
of your own disasters
Hey now, hey now, let it out
Why don't you lean onto your soul reactor now
It doesn't matter if you're coming out
When the whole damn world is still in doubt
It doesn't matter if push comes to shove
And the best there is, is the rest that was
8. Still Life
(Mike Connell)
It's the way that you repair the broken parts
It's the way that you assemble
And it's wandering that keys the stops and starts
Oh this still life has its virtues
Cause everything in motion leaves
or is just left behind
And I don't think it could hurt you
It gets colder holding out, holding out
There are days that I remember what's been lost
There are days that I've forgotten
Like an old friend who moved to Canada
And I held it up
and I held it out
and I'm spent
Oh this still life has its virtues
Cause everything in motion leaves
or is just left behind
And I don't think it could hurt you
To stay a little while, only for a while
I'm crossing you in style
9. Crown
(Mike Connell)
The crown is off the one-headed you
You down and out and side step through
Then pounding out the crowded streets
10 o'clock in the morning
The street's rising up
And your head's ringing
And everything
Gonna claim
Gonna name
Gonna shout it out
Couldn't leave me out again
Gonna call
Gonna call
Gonna sound it out
Something's really here
You've got a world to tell
In the towers round about the criers calling out
To warn against the things we want
In the towers
round and round
and round and round
Well, you wonder how I once used to be
Like your brother said "It's only head"
Gonna claim
Gonna name
Gonna shout it out
It's here, it's here it's here
Gonna call
Gonna call
Gonna sound it out
Something's really here
10. Circlin'
(Doug MacMillan)
So you're gonna shed that skin oh yeah
or will you stick with it man
what I can't understand is
Why have they started circlin'
and did you feel like givin' in
or will you stop at nothin'
If I can just make it through tonight
looks like your stuck with it man
but what I can't understand is
Why have they started circlin'
and did you feel like givin' in
or will you stop at nothin'
Everybody, everybody's wrong but us
hope that stuff is strong enough
11. Gonna Take A Lie
(Peele Wimberley)
Fever in blister out
You know I'll simmer 'til it's cool
Even in a fleeting rage
You know the fever fills us full
Are you gonna win me 'round again?
Play that sound like you always do
It's gonna take a lie
nothing else will do
It's gonna take a lie
as if it really matters
It's gonna take a lie this time
I wanna see your face when it's all through
Why not think of this as pure intention?
Why not think of this as pulling through?
Will you ever win me 'round again?
Play that sound like you always do
It's gonna take a lie
nothing else will do
It's gonna take a lie
as if it really matters
It's gonna take a lie this time
I don't wanna see your face until it's all through
Never gonna win me down again
Play that sound like you always do
12. Queen of Charades
(George Huntley)
I remember who Venus held in her arms
I can call up some things she would say
but all I envision are the saddest things
tearfilled eyelashes
fanning flames to ashes
in a game of charades
She's bigger than virtue
sadder than hope
you could set sail on the things she would say
but all I remember is like a tapestry
miles of inventions way before engines
in a game of charades
And do you refuse to play
I think you nearly got the better of me
do you refuse to play
I think you nearly lost one dearly
the queen of charades
Saturday's venus
held on the lawn
eyeshadows, sinews and veins
It's all so familiar in this bag of things
with mixed up intentions
deep dark indentions
and the queen of charades

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