Miss America

She lay dying in an upstairs bedroom, w/the look of a child in her eyes
And a rattle of valium and 12 yr old scotch as a consolation prize
And the mirrors were covered w/yesterday's papers as she becomes old news
W/her henchmen and handmaidens left w/little else to choose
Than the panicking of animals, the reflex of the riot
The more time spent commiting crime, the less time to deny it
W/a handgun and a half understanding of the republic for which it stands
She's running out the doomsday clock w/not enough time on her hands
And she's left her children w/a ransom note and a list of her demands
Call in the forensic accountants to quantify the fires
That burn in the hearts of the patriots and the priests and the poets and liars
That burn in the words of the faithful that echo the mistakes of the past
That burn in the minds of a generation forced to grow up too fast
Left stranded by their history and washed up on the beach
Washed up by the wave of the future that's still just this far out of reach
And who carried the water for sick old men w/empire in their veins
Who dreamed of a brand new Eden, who dreamed like Jesse James
Of a murderous justice built on the cult of the outlaw and human remains
Sack all the heathen cathedrals they said, tear down the protestant walls
Rewire their enemy hearts and minds w/fixed elections and robocalls
Take all the good out of what we might do, betray what we could have become
Were it not for the glare of the idiot mind that killed all her daughters and sons
Were it not for the abandonment of what was a fine idea at the time
That shining city upon a hill that turned out to be too steep to climb
And now we'll miss America who, much to her surprise
Lay dying in an upstairs bedroom w/the look of a child in her eyes.

(from the forthcoming CD "The Panicking of Animals")

Twisted Scripture

Somebody's shooting up the high school
Somebody's shooting up the mall
Somebody's shooting up heroin
Cause the life that they made was too small
Oh somebody's twisted scripture
Now they're determined to kill us all
Mazel tov, salaam aliykum
Smoke 'em if you got 'em
Somebody's starving in the valley
In the valley of the shadow of death
And there ain't no shepherd 'cause there ain't no sheep
There's just the cold wind of wasted breath
Oh somebody's twisted scripture
Sinking down to a deeper depth
Mazel tov, salaam aliykum
Smoke 'em if you got 'em
So many stories and so little time
You shoot yrs and I'll shoot mine
Mazel tov, salaam aliykum
Smoke 'em if you got 'em
Hey somebody's shooting up our history
Somebody's shooting up our faith
Somebody's shooting up what we might be
If we didn't make so many mistakes
Oh somebody's twisted scripture
Lord I wish someone would hit the brakes
Mazel tov, salaam aliykum
Smoke 'em if you got 'em

(from the CD "My Bloody Hootenanny")

Pretty Big Deal

She's pretty as a picture, she'll take away yr breath
She's pretty as a picture ad got about as much depth
And all her life they told her: "Yr such a pretty girl."
And now she's sitting pretty in the cold, cruel world
So what yr pretty? Big deal
Now it's time to get real
She doesn't read the paper, she doesn't watch tv
She don't know much about nothing, she's just like you and me
And all her life they told her: "Honey, you can be anything you want"
Nobody ever told her: "Sometimes you can't"
So what yr pretty? Big deal
Now it's time to get real
Sometimes angels come down .............. and hit the ground
So what yr pretty? Big deal
Now it's time to get real

(from the CD "My Bloody Hootenanny")

Good and Evil Rockin" Tonight

The Garden of Good and Evil's rockin' tonight
The angels are shining their little lights
All upon the silent and the silence
All upon the mindless and the violent
And some would call it courage, some would call it courage
Somebody mocked the devil just to make him flee
Who'd expect that he'd come runnin' to me
So I gave him some water 'cause he looked like hell
And I showed him the door and I wished him well
I mean, who am I to judge, who am I to judge
Have you heard the news, there's good and evil rockin' tonight
Maybe Jesus came to me disguised as my friends
I'm still not sure where one starts and ends
But I always get angry and I always feel played
And maybe I'm not saved, baby, but I'm not afraid
Oh, believe me when I say there are reasons I've evolved this way
Y'see I was brought up the way they used to call right
Back when black was black and thank Christ I'm white
But little by little I threw off those coats
And strangled those metaphors by their meta-throats
And whatever I didn't keep I threw on the fire
And I looked to the sky and I called god a liar
And nobody's answered, at least not yet
And I'm not one to hedge my bet
I said "Look at me" (no, no I mean it: "Look at me")
God and the devil walk hand in hand in every woman and every man
Just like good and evil walk hand in hand in every woman and every man
How can I know that? How can I say that?
Have you heard the news, there's good and evil rockin' tonight

(from the CD "My Bloody Hootenanny")

Let's Twist Again

I heard the tower bells from old Saint Anthony's this morning
Though I was half asleep I could swear that they were playing "Stormy Weather"
Over and over in my head
I turned over and over in my bed
Lorelei and I could stare across the room and see each other
In each other's eyes, soul sister to my brother
The band in the corner played an old song
And we'd hold hands and raise our voices and sing along
Hey, let's twist again like we did last summer
Why don't you twist the knife again
The way you did in that quiet, cold November?
Oh it seems so long since I could raise a smile and really mean it
Or find a place in time where I could stay and never leave it
I feel like it's all behind me now
I'm somewhere where you can't find me now
I heard the tower bells from old St. Anthony's the day she left me
Was it "Silver Bells", hell some Christmas song who's name escapes me
Over and over or so they say
Over and over and over and over the transistor radio plays
Hey, let's twist again like we did last summer
Why don't you twist the knife again
The way you did in that quiet, cold November?
An eye for an eye, my sweet Lorelei
I can't see why in my wildest imagination

(from the CD "My Bloody Hootenanny")

All This

Cool it down or heads will roll
Shut yr mouth and shut yr mind to save yr soul
You got it good, you just don't know
At least you tell yrself that's so
In darkened rooms, on bended knees
Yr praising god and making enemies
And all our lives evaporate like rain
And all our lies come rushing up again
And we all try to laugh away the pain
But all this isn't funny anymore
And we all do the best we can
But the hammer falls, the hammer falls on random man
And every resident, every president and every little king
Believes they're doing the righ thing
Still there's no justice and there's no peace
Well, that tells me something about belief
And all our lives evaporate like rain
And all our lies come rushing up again
And we all try to laugh away the pain
But all this isn't funny anymore
Yeah, we're all doomed and the end is nigh
So let's go out back and all get high
Let's have babies and let's drive drunk
Stash the bodies in the trunk
Let's write movies and let's write songs
We've all got rights to commit these wrongs
And all our lives evaporate like rain
And all our lies come rushing up again
And we all try to laugh away the pain
But all this isn't funny anymore
(from the CD "My Bloody Hootenanny")