1. |
Brave New Baby
02:51
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According to my father there was only every one war
And he didn’t even bother ‘cause he knew that he was done for
When to his call his congressman replied,
“Take the wife and kids and hide.”
Past imperfect futures dreamed up chrome and abalone
With their retinal scans and hovercraft meticulous and phony
He said, “Girl, don’t you leave your mother’s side”
He didn’t love me, but he tried
Oh my melancholy baby
Is the whole world going crazy?
‘Cause it sure does seem that way these days
I say, it’s getting awful hot in here
Waves of mass indifference brainwashed all across the nation
And at 6 PM the anchormen began their recitation
Celebrities and all the trades they plied
Viewer true and fewer tried
Shoplift ideology so at a loss for leaders
When the flame retardant books came out they had to burn the readers
And the politicians' patriotic pride
Seemed more convincing when they lied
Oh my melancholy baby
Is the whole world going crazy?
‘Cause it can’t be me who’s mad, I got it bad
But man, it sure is hot in here
Oh my melancholy darlin’
Will you respect me in the mornin’?
‘Cause each day may be our last, it’s been a blast
Alas, it sure is hot in here
Oh my melancholy sweetheart
Just stick with me ‘til the neat part
When from sea to shining sea, truth sets us free
Is it me or is it hot in here?
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2. |
La Resistance
03:55
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I got excellent intentions and unbeatable excuses
And I’m moderate in vices with the usual abuses
I got entertaining stories and a cheerful disposition
And fanatical devotion to a kamikaze mission
You can take your common sense and head it out the door
If you have no confidence in what I’m fighting for
I love you baby, I just love me so much more
And so you see, my vanity comes through for me
More often than you do for me
And in the end I’ll choose the path of most resistance
And you’ll say, “It doesn’t have to be this way”
Try and pull me back in play
Rue the day you ever learned of my existence
I got well-examined motives and a preordained direction
I’m utopian by preference, but I’ll settle for perfection
I got friends of every flavor, evangelical and shifty
And if I can crack this open, I’m taking everybody with me
You can take your common sense and head it out the door
If you have no confidence in what I’m fighting for
I love you baby, I just love me so much more
And so you see, my vanity comes through for me
More often than you do for me
And in the end I’ll choose the path of most resistance
And you’ll say, “It doesn’t have to be this way”
Try and pull me back in play
Rue the day you ever learned of my existence
And you can take your precedents and head ‘em out the door
‘Cause this ain’t like anything that’s ever come before
I love you, baby – I just love me so much more
And so you see, my vanity comes through for me
More often than you do for me
And in the end I’ll choose the path of most resistance
And you’ll say, “It doesn’t have to be this way”
Try and pull me back in play
Rue the day you ever learned of my existence
Yes, you will
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3. |
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I know exactly what I ain’t
I put it here in this complaint
You think my childhood passion just needs a pan to flash in
Cash in you sinner, I’ve got patience like a saint
It shouldn’t get me, but it does
I only bring it up because
I know the way you pander to any second-hander
Some slander how I’m not the lock you thought I was
Heard what you said about me, you’re better off without me
Heard I was beggin’ you to stay
Don’t have to do this, do we? Each word gets right back to me
This town’s too small for you to say (and since you’ll say it anyway)
You can tell your friends that I changed
Heard what you said about me, you’re better off without me
Heard I was begging you to stay
So we’re above this, are we? Why won’t you say you’re sorry?
I get more sorry every day
And you can tell your friends that I changed
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4. |
Sun
02:31
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Sunshine rise in the West Virginia skies, yeah
And I made this with my own two hands
There’s gold in them thare hills, it’s cold in them thare hills
I’ve walked every road, now they call me a man
The autumn and the winter knocked a small familiar splinter loose
And sometimes I feel incomplete
She’s not the only one, I keep my eyes fixed on the sun
‘Cause I can’t stand to see her when she’s at my feet
Think of days gone by, of coffee and of friends
Dream of future days when we will meet again
Deep dark conversations, stories that we’ll tell
‘Cause when it gets dark, it looks like anywhere else
Sun burns bright in my evergreen eyes
And I close them shut to review my choice
One day when I’m able, there’s a number on the table
And I’ll call her up, hear her voice
In-jokes, old lines, bad puns, cheap wine
Recollection comforts me on nights like this
Calloused hands, smooth flesh, deep dark secret
Tremble with the memory of a long-lost kiss
Train of thought derailed ‘cause I kept losing track
Hit the highway and I find myself looking back
Here before the sun I stand to reclaim myself
‘Cause when it gets dark, I look like anyone else
Sunshine sets on a pack of cigarettes
And I smoke one slow as the sun goes down
Gonna take some time, gonna figure out what’s mine
And it’s not as simple as it sounds
Kneel down, give thanks, go west, rob banks
Gonna make my mark before I’m done
The future lies with her legs spread wide
And I’m gonna write my name in Sun
Think of days gone by, of coffee and of friends
Dream of future days when we will meet again
Deep dark conversation, stories that we’ll tell
‘Cause when it gets dark...
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5. |
Irresponsible Woman
02:50
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I got your dollar short, it came a day too late
I really love ya, boy – but you just don’t appreciate
There’s consequences for an irresponsible woman
I double-crossed my eyes and doddered through my tease
Took no kind of life as fine and still did my best to please
There’s consequences for an irresponsible woman
Chalk it all up, write it all down
And come apart at the seams
I see the new girl you take around town
Who wears her hair a lot like me
I wish I wished you luck I wish I wished you health
But I don’t really give a fuck if I don’t have you for myself
There’s consequences for an irresponsible woman
You chalk it all up and you write it all down
And you come apart at the seams
I see the new girl you take around town
Who wears her hair a lot like me
I wish I wished you luck I wish I wished you health
But I don’t really give a fuck if I don’t have you for myself
There’s consequences for an irresponsible woman
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6. |
Arm's Length
03:56
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Your presence meant more than I’d anticipated
Took my breath away so I asphyxiated
Forgive me but I just don’t think I have that kind of strength
My weakness is fragile and it’s feminine
And one’s benediction is another man’s sin
Fools rush in where wise men stay at arm’s length
If you were a hundred miles away
If you were a thousand miles away
If you were a million miles away
It would be better than having you here at arm’s length
I wish I had known when I lay by your side
That it was to be for the very last time
How much more would I have thought to savor?
Or that one sweet final kiss
Nice girls aren’t supposed to write songs like this
Fell so deeply in love, just as deeply out of favor
If you were a hundred miles away
If you were a thousand miles away
If you were a million miles away
It would be better than having you here at arm’s length
Some distances can’t be measured by miles
Pain that I feel at each one of your smiles
Nice girls aren’t supposed to even think these thoughts
If you were a lightyear gone from time
I’m telling you, boy – the pleasure is mine
Look at me here with all this trouble that I bought so willingly
If you were a hundred miles away
If you were a thousand miles away
If you were a million miles away
It would be better than having you here at arm’s length
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7. |
Spill
03:32
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Time is a lie and so, for that matter, is patience
Holding in all of the thoughts one dares not speak aloud
A variable has confounded my best-laid equations
Blowing the cool of which fools are so terribly proud
You’re a mystery that’s just begging to unravel
You’re a secret looking for a place to spill
Given similar proclivity for travel
Hey, if we don’t do this now we never will
Chance is a game and abrading the rules of engagement
Can often result in a less-than-ideal consequence
Hope my lips don’t look too eager to end their estrangement
And try not to act like I comb conversation for hints
You’re an answer in the form of a question
You’re a riddle that’s just aching to be solved
If I may be so bold as to venture a suggestion
Hey, I would love to see the way this gets resolved
Because you’re hotter than an August in El Paso
And you’re cooler than a January 5th
And you tie my silver tongue up like a lasso
And your smile shines like the ribbon on a gift
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8. |
None For Me
03:16
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Wake up every morning in the breaking heart of town
On the half of couch I can’t be bothered to fold down
Here’s the thought that gets me out of bed and to the bong
What if when I said I could do better I was wrong?
‘Cause there’s no one for me, no one for me
And lonely’s such an awful thing to be
No one for me, no one for me
And lonely’s such an awful thing to be
Every night before I sleep I wish upon a star
Someday that I might see things the way they truly are
Here’s the thought that gets me out of bed and to the bar
Running out of safety nets and you’re the best so far
And there’s no one for me, no one for me
And lonely’s such an awful thing to be
No one for me, no one for me
And lonely’s such an awful thing
We could start all over and pretend we’re meeting cute
Skip the idle chatter and the ritual pursuit
Here’s the thought that gets me from the bar onto the floor
You coulda been the one true love I learned to settle for
And there’s no one for me, no one for me
And lonely’s such an awful thing to be
No one for me, no one for me
And lonely’s such an awful thing
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9. |
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You’re wrong and I’m right
And that won’t change, not even if we fight
I’ll take that bet
And this will be the last of me you get
Offered the riches that went along with the realm
A seat at the table, even a turn at the helm
Just not too certain about the points that you’re sure on
‘Cause you know “negative feedback” is such an oxy-damned-moron
You’re there and I’m here
And that’s the long and short of it, my dear
I live this way
And that is all Her Highness has to say
Offered the riches that went along with the realm
A seat at the table, even a turn at the helm
But that bad machinery’d only tear me to tatters
And I got plans for the future – well, you know, not that it matters
Offered the riches that went along with the realm
A seat at the table, even a turn at the helm
Whispering voices too soft and soothing to measure
Why be a regional hero when you’re a national treasure?
And you can tell your friends that I changed
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10. |
Darlin'
02:50
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Did you care, my darlin’? Do you now?
Did you care, my darlin’? Do you now?
‘Cause my whole heart’s gone broken,
And the whole world knows how
Did you care, my darlin’? Do you now?
Was it fair, my darlin’? Do you think?
Was it fair, my darlin’? Do you think?
‘Cause if that’s your last nerve
I’ll make this my last drink
Was it fair, my darlin’? Do you think?
Well, I thought that the worst was behind me
But the loneliness knew where to find me
Got a prayer, my darlin’? Let it loose
Got a prayer, my darlin’? Let it loose
‘Cause this bullet don’t care
If you got an excuse
Got a prayer, my darlin’? Let it loose
Did you care, my darlin’? Do you now?
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Mary Prankster
Lyrically merciless, genre-promiscuous Charm City cult hero with a fanbase of thinking men's men and fierce, god-like women. Sign up for the mailing list at maryprankster.com for info on new tunes and more...
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