J Church Lyric Book: S

Sacrifice / Sadie Mae Glutz / Sam Rivers / San Francisco Thespians Part 2 / Santa Cruz / Sea Of Pearls / Secrets / Secular Music / Seventeen / She Says / She's So Mean / Sleep / Smell It Rot / Smoke In My Face / Snot Rags / Socialist Newspaper / Society Is A Carnivorous Flower / Soliloquy / Sound Guy Smiley / Sound Of Mariachi Bands / Star Of The Show / Stars Are Exploding / Static / Stinking Seas / Stupid Lesson / Styrofoam / Sunshine / Swallow / Sweet And Sour Plums / Sweet Talkin' Woman / Switzerland / Symbols

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0-9

Sacrifice

Available on Camels, Spilled Corona And The Sound Of Mariachi Bands singles collection LP/CD, Prophylaxis bonus 7" (live version), She Said She Wouldn't Sacrifice 7", You Think You're Cool CD

She said she wouldn't sacrifice a life constructed on passion,
A red device,
To say she could be traded or bought,
I know that it's a bankrupt thought,
I know,
The fetish that controls your mind has come too easy to define

She said she wouldn't give herself away,
"No tomorrow" everyday,
Their revolution and their plight is changing almost every night,
No hope of spontaneity,
Regenerated society

"Is that all there is?" you say,
"Is that all there is?" you say,
'Cause I've been traveling so far and I've looked so hard,
And I think I've lost my way,
"Is that all there is?" you say,
"Is that all there is?" you say,
'Cause I've been traveling so far and I've looked so hard,
And I think I've lost my way

Sadie Mae Glutz

Available on One Mississippi LP/CD

Sadie Mae Glutz was just a fan,
When she got the big call to the masterplan,
On a still hot August night,
She dipped her hand in the blood and began to write

Superstar sings super clear,
North America getting the fear

Sadie Mae Glutz had a bigger list,
Stars the revolver somehow missed,
Liz Taylor, Richard Burton were next to die,
And Frank Sinatra would be skinned alive

Superstar sings super clear,
North America getting the fear

Sadie Mae Glutz was in the pen,
When she got the crazy notion to be born again,
She may never be red or blue,
Every letter is a secret clue

Superstar sings super clear,
North America getting the fear

Sam Rivers

Available on Palestine CD.

Chitty, chitty chat, chitty chat,
Surrounded by the sycophants,
But he's a cool, cool cat,
He is 79 years old,
He's heard it all before,
He'll hear it all some more,
This is your chance,
It's your once chance,
Will you just ask for an autograph?
Can you find a single word that he hasn't heard,
Though it's not what he demands?

A personal experience,
You cannot explain,
At the Ceremony Hall,
Everything just changed,
And you can't possibly understand

If you listen with your eyes you'll be mystified by the superficial signs,
If you listen with your ears there is an outside chance that you will hear,
If everything goes as planned,
As it always can with an improvising man,
Tonight you will see the light,
I know it sounds trite,
But it is alright

A personal experience,
You cannot explain,
At the Ceremony Hall,
Everything just changed,
And you can't possibly understand

Tonight you will see the light,
Tonight you will see the light,
Tonight you will see the light,
Tonight you will see the light,
Tonight you will see the light,
Tonight you will see the light,
Tonight you will see the light,
Tonight you will see the light,
Tonight you will see the light,
Tonight you will see the light,
Tonight you will see the light,
Tonight you will see the light

San Francisco Thespians Part 2

Available on Slanted CD, Whorehouse: Songs And Stories LP/CD

It was not her first film,
But she starts to wonder why,
A brand new co-star,
Who looks just like Susan Sarandon,
At first so clever,
At first so clever,
She'll turn you on alone at night,
This time it's different,
She starts to wonder why

She's making movies,
Not the ones, the ones you would call films,
She won't call it pornography,
To her it's almost women's studies,
For women by women just women,
Just like those Frisco magazines,
Back when things were so simple,
She starts to wonder why

Lately she's been thinking,
About liquid male secretion,
She sharpens her hatred,
On liquid male secretion,
She finds justification,
Validation and segregation,
She's worried her homemade films,
Would touch liquid male secretion

Santa Cruz

Available on The Drama Of Alienation LP/CD

I know that it’s not cool to cruise the boardwalk in Santa Cruz,
But we had nothing better to do on a boring afternoon,
No level of sophistication could prepare me for the situation,
Now I know you don’t like carnival rides,
And I know you don’t like me

Let me savor every moment,
Feel the flush warm through my pores,
Let me savor every moment,
Feel the flush warm through my pores,
Crushed by your every comment
This conversation is in your court

Did I tell you that I hate your new hair,
And I’m bored to death by your stupid poetry,
And I hate the way that you take up the whole bed,
And other things you did inadvertently,
The romantic notion of a secret place is now blowing up in my face,
I’ll dream of you with someone new,
But if you ever want me back... no

Let me savor every moment,
Feel the flush warm through my pores,
Let me savor every moment,
Feel the flush warm through my pores,
Crushed by your every comment,
This conversation is in your court

Leaving you took a few books of mine,
A few kitchen utensils which was fine,
But when you kept all of my friends,
Well it seems you should have asked,
Alone in the studio I wait for you to come home,
Until I realize,
I’m just pretending that love’s never ending,
Now I know that everything dies

Sea Of Pearls

Available on Asshole 7", Meaty, Beaty, Shitty Sounding singles collection CD. Lyrics not yet available.

Secrets

Available on The Drama Of Alienation LP/CD

Last night I saw your skin go red,
From your smelly little feet to the top of your head,
Why do I feel so ashamed?
I know, I know, I know, I know
You read old letters written to me,
I found an ancient lyric sheet,
It felt like reading my diary from 1983

It’s okay with me,
You can keep your secrets with me,
So when you wanna publish your memoirs,
You’ll have to come looking for me,
Hey!

Why do I feel so ashamed?
Every word I’ve written now seems so lame,
This song is not exempt,
I wrote it in less than half a day,
You read old letters written to me in the pages of a fanzine,
Felt like reading my diary from 1983

It’s okay with me,
You can keep your secrets with me,
So when you wanna publish your memoirs,
You’ll have to come looking for me

Why do I feel so ashamed?
Every word I’ve written now seems so lame,
This song is not exempt,
I wrote it in less than half a day,
You read old letters written to me in the pages of a fanzine,
Felt like reading my diary,
From 1993 or just last week

Secular Music

Available on The Horror Of Life LP/CD.

This is secular music,
This is secular music,
This is secular music,
We play secular music

Inspiration isn't the divine,
Inspiration isn't the divine,
Definitions leak into the rhyme
Inspiration isn't the divine

This is secular music,
This is secular music,
This is secular music,
We play secular music

Apollonian isn't the sublime,
Apollonian isn't the sublime,
Dionysian isn't on my mind,
Apollonian isn't the sublime

We play secular music,
We play secular music,
We play secular music,
We play secular music

Seventeen

Available on Empty Soda Can 7" by Cilantro

Come and talk to me,
You know the call is free,
To me it feels like such a long, long time,
I saw the magazine,
You looked seventeen,
It makes me feel like thinking about you is a crime

The world that you live in is a million miles away,
Why not do tomorrow what you can do today,
There's coffee in the kitchen and bags for making tea,
Tea and toast for breakfast is good enough for me

When you think of me,
What do you see?
Maybe I'm just some distant memory,
I'm on the outside,
Beyond the bright lights,
I will think of you anonymously

The world that you live in is a million miles away,
Why not do tomorrow what you can do today,
There's coffee in the kitchen and bags for making tea,
Tea and toast for breakfast is good enough for me

She Says

Available on One Mississippi LP/CD

He says "I've wasted my life,
All seventeen years of a life,
On just one girl",
He says "It's over. It's over."
He's lying in the clover,
And there's nothing left for him in this world

Do you ever dream?
Do you ever believe?
But all the stupid people are frightened of the rain,
Your mother hanging laundry up always looks the same

She says "I've wasted my time,
On boys with one thing on their mind,
That is not love",
She says "It's over. It's over."
She tugs on her pullover,
But no answer comes from the sky above

Are you ever at home?
Are you afraid to be alone?
But all your so-called friends have now got better things to do,
You're feeling sort of scared about the things you thought you knew

And I can't wait to go home,
To find that nobody bothered to phone,
Nobody bothered to phone,
Nobody bothered to phone

She's So Mean

Available on One Mississippi LP/CD

She is the girl that creates her own world,
What makes you think that it's the right idea?
Her perfunctory glance still feels like random chance,
It's a plan to make her words seem more sincere

The TV's on,
So I won't get to sleep tonight,
Her come on,
It's not enough to feel alright,
If I were 21,
She would only be 13,
It's no fun,
Or at least it isn't fun for me

Oh oh oh oh oh,
She's my ex-friend girl,
The girl who cleared herself a space in my world,
Oh oh oh oh oh,
She's my ex-friend girl,
She's a razor made of chocolate and curls

She's in graduate film school at NYU,
But she's out west for the summer,
She's been to Paris and she thinks that makes her "so rad",
The accent she affects is just rubbish

I'm sunk in,
I've drunk myself past better judgement,
It's funny,
But I thought I was really feeling something,
Four long weeks,
Stranded in another country,
When she speaks,
I'm reminded I am nothing

Oh oh oh oh oh,
She's my ex-friend girl,
The girl who cleared herself a space in my world,
Oh oh oh oh oh,
She's my ex-friend girl,
She's a razor made of chocolate and curls

She has a boyfriend back east that I'll probably never meet,
He can't be happy with the situation,
If it makes you feel any better, I feel equally pathetic,
I wish I could resist the invitation

She's so mean,
And it means a lot to me,
She's real keen,
On keeping me where she wants me to be,
She's so mean,
And I'm so not anything,
The more I see,
Does not point to the contrary

Oh oh oh oh oh,
She's my ex-friend girl,
The girl who cleared herself a space in my world,
Oh oh oh oh oh,
She's my ex-friend girl,
She's a razor made of chocolate and curls

Oh oh oh oh oh,
She's my ex-friend girl,
I bring you diamonds and she asks me for pearls,
Oh oh oh oh oh,
She's my ex-friend girl

Sleep

Available on Nostalgic For Nothing singles collection LP/CD, Sleep 7", The Ecstasy Of Communication CD, Tide Of Fate CDEP, You Think You're Cool CD

Someone is sleeping on my street,
I step over them because I need my coffee,
Someone is playing in the hall,
I hope they don’t grow up at all,
And burn my house down

I don't think I ever sleep,
There are too many things I need,
I don't think I ever sleep,
There's nothing here I really need

Someone smells like piss and shit,
I guess it's only appropriate,
If you could see my elbow,
Still, I know my liquor store,
And what's in the rice and beans,
While I have nothing to move

I don't think I ever sleep,
There are too many things I need,
I don't think I ever sleep,
There's nothing here I really need

My landlord's coming around again,
And I don't catch a word he says,
I guess it's not important,
Junkies lying in the hall,
It's not romantic here at all,
It's just a cheap excuse to be driven to drink,
Driven to drink, driven to drink,
Driven to drink, driven to drink, driven to drink,
Driven to drink, driven to drink, driven to drink,
Driven to drink, driven to drink, driven to drink

Smell It Rot

Available on Split 7" with Restos Fosiles (demo version), The Drama Of Alienation LP/CD

Rock and roll is history,
It’s like reading in a library,
It’s got little or nothing to do, nothing to do with me

Rock and roll is as cold as clay,
It’s time to take the corpse away,
Smell it rot on a hot, hot, hot, hot, hot summer day

It’s all right, it’s all right,
It’s all right,
It’s all right, it’s all right,
It’s all right

Rock and roll means nothing to me,
It’s just some other kid’s poetry,
Keep the art for the students,
The students and the bourgeoisie

Rock and roll is a simple lie,
I can see it when I squint my eyes,
Repetition is a cheap yet convincing, a cheap yet convincing disguise

It’s all right, it’s all right,
It’s all right,
It’s all right if you’re white and you wanna be uptight,
It’s all right

It’s all right if you’re white and you wanna be uptight,
It’s all right if you’re bright and you’re staying up all night,
It’s all right if you’re tight and just wanna be polite,
It’s all right, it’s all right, it’s all right, it’s all right

Smoke In My Face

Available on Arbor Vitae LP/CD

I don't drink everything,
She won't stop at anything,
She won't wait for me,
I don't smoke anything,
I don't mind living at her place,
I don't mind her smoke in my face

She helped me move out of Hollywood,
She gave me the reason,
That I would leave for good

I saw the scar from when she tried to shoot herself,
The bullet passed through her arm,
I can’t change anything,
But her sadness and her pain somehow drew my cruelty

We grew apart every time she cried,
I would always hold her,
But it always felt like a lie,
She left town,
Formal goodbyes,
Same old speech,
I blew my last chance,
Fucked apology,
It don't mean anything,
Rest my feet, Kingsley Street,
I knew we couldn't stay in touch,
I knew it could never be love

Snot Rags

Available on Altamont 99 singles collection CD, Undisputed King Of Nothing 7"

If I could live my life again,
There are so many things I'd want to change,
As if I could know...
I'd be destined to relive the pain again

She's got pictures on the wall,
Always manage to make me feel small,
I tell her that they keep her down,
As if it makes any sense at all

She can spill her mind into a jar,
It manifests itself on her bedroom floor,
Snot rags, books and tea bags,
I say that I'm just running to the store

She's past caring for herself,
She's frustrated when she forgets,
She's scared whenever she gets lost,
Sometimes she forgets herself

Sometimes she forgets herself,
Sometimes she forgets herself,
Sometimes she forgets herself,
Sometimes she forgets herself

Socialist Newspaper

Available on ABCs Of Punk compilation, Meaty, Beaty, Shitty Sounding singles collection CD

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's no good,
Just a magazine for firewood,
You can play make-believe,
But it's not worth killing trees,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're a bore,
Selling papers by the corner store,
Don't wanna know what you have to say,
I've heard it a million times anyway

I don't want to hear your voice,
It's obvious to you that I've made my choice,
You bore me to death with nothing new,
And I don't need to be talked down to

I don't want to hear your voice,
It's obvious to you that I've made my choice,
You bore me to death with nothing new,
And I don't need to be talked down to

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a phase,
We're gonna laugh about all of these days,
Class war is what you talk about,
As long as they don't hurt your parents' house,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I have to laugh,
Newspapers and baggy pants,
You seem to think that it's superiority,
But it's all just like a cult to me

I don't want to hear your voice,
It's obvious to you that I've made my choice,
You bore me to death with nothing new,
And I don't need to be talked down to

Society Is A Carnivorous Flower

Available on Society Is A Carnivorous Flower LP/CD. Technically this is one song but it is made up of at least four distinct parts.

(Part 1)
One more day to stare into space,
One more day in this boring place,
Blank expression on your face,
Drink your coffee, complex aftertaste,
One more day trapped in a room,
One more day of nothing new,
Surrounded by more of the same,
Are they as bored as you?
Are they angry too?

The campus, the womb, is serene,
The city surrounds in its machine,
The world nullifies, it surrounds,
Don’t you wanna burn it down?

One more night in inter-zone,
One more night you’re all alone,
One more empty conversation,
Theories and devastation,
One more night to share a bed,
Afraid to talk, you fuck instead,
But what goes on inside her head?
Anything? Everything?

The campus, the womb, is serene,
The city surrounds in its machine,
The world nullifies, it surrounds,
Don’t you wanna burn it down?

The campus, the womb, is serene,
The city surrounds in its machine,
The world nullifies, it surrounds,
Don’t you wanna burn it down?

One more day to stare into space,
One more day in this boring place,
Blank expression on your face,
Drink your coffee, complex aftertaste,
One more night to share a bed,
Afraid to talk, you fuck instead,
But what goes on inside her head?
Anything? Everything?

The campus, the womb, is serene,
The city surrounds in its machine,
The world nullifies, it surrounds,
Don’t you wanna burn it down?

The campus, the womb, is serene,
The city surrounds in its machine,
The world nullifies, it surrounds,
Don’t you wanna burn it down?

(Part 2)
Diodes and electrodes,
Nails and bolts and beams,
Anatomically correct US war machines,
Bombs are built like TV sets, cars and stereos,
Vietnam’s the target audience that you don’t know

You’re not Galileo, you’re not Copernicus,
You sit and stare from the Nanterre’s numbing bliss,
You’re not Galileo, you’re not Copernicus,
You sit and stare from the Nanterre’s numbing bliss

You’ve seen the factories of Renault,
You’ve heard of the class system at the Sorbonne,
You fetishize the workers and their plight,
Guilt confirms your intellectual flight

You’re not Galileo, you’re not Copernicus,
Sit and stare from the Nanterre’s numbing bliss,
You’re not Galileo, you’re not Copernicus,
Sit and stare from the Nanterre’s numbing bliss

The sound is violence,
The sound is ecstatic,
The sound is like fucking,
A beautiful panic,
All that is left of your sleepless science fiction is the revolution’s residue,
Practicing urban vampires

Tonight there is danger,
No longer a stranger it seems,
Dreaming behind barricades,
I can’t sleep,
Tonight there is danger,
It’s killing this city’s disease,
The light is so bright in my head,
I can’t sleep

The right wing is talking,
And the left wing is balking,
All of them stopping you from kicking it over,
Caught by surprise,
Forced into compromise,
When you win the trade unions you’ll know it’s a movement

Tonight there is danger,
No longer a stranger it seems,
Dreaming behind barricades,
I can’t sleep,
Tonight there is danger,
It’s killing this city’s disease,
The light is so bright in my head,
I can’t sleep

Don’t know if they were offended by their anti-Semitic leaders,
Don’t know if they remembered the experiments of Spain,
Don’t know if they were sick of de Gaulle and his lackeys,
Don’t know if they were horrified of having a boss for the rest of their days

The trade unions are coming!
The trade unions are coming!
The trade unions are coming!
The trade unions are coming!

(Part 3)
May 15, 1968, a black flag waved over the factory,
Collectivizing is inadvertent when a wildcat strike takes the whole country,
Bakers kept on baking,
Fishers kept on fishing,
Canteens kept on serving,
Dreams became reality became slogans

The workers terrified the bureaucracy,
Free love terrified the bourgeoisie,
Imagine the hilarity,
“Free love is neither love nor free”,
A moral threat to society,
A political threat to decency,
Imagine fucking in a factory,
In all honesty there’s not much intrigue

(Part 4)
When all is said and done,
Despair is just a loaded gun,
It turns into something more,
In the hands of anyone ready for war,
The war for dignity,
Workers, farmers, universities,
Even when you lose,
There’s a glimpse of a future you can choose

When all is said and done,
If the students chose the Summer sun,
And the middle class gave into tradition,
And the all the illusion it brings,
They can never win,
We’ll be coming back again,
They can never win,
History is deafening

Soliloquy

Available on Travels In Hyper-Reality 10"/CDEP

While I feel lucky, I still regret,
I never got my second chance,
The photos I took as documentation,
Blend my personal mythologies

A sad soliloquy,
As much for you as it is for me,
A sad soliloquy,
I won't expect anything
A sad soliloquy,
As much for you as it is for me,
A sad soliloquy,
I won't expect anything

I only know what I'm shown,
I can tell my mind was blown,
It's what I need to feel something,
Something,
Anything

A sad soliloquy,
As much for you as it is for me,
A sad soliloquy,
I won't expect anything
A sad soliloquy,
As much for you as it is for me,
A sad soliloquy,
I won't expect anything

Sound Guy Smiley

Available on Cat Food LP/CD. The chorus uses the same melody and almost the same lyrics as Indignation.

He's going to say what little he has to say,
He's going to say it in the longest possible way,
He knows what he's doing,
You are wrong, he is right,
He will remind you all throughout the night

This is his club,
This is his kingdom,
Does he realize he's in Richmond, Virginia,
This is a problem that cannot be fixed,
Tonight I'm taking you out of the mix

It's too late at night to start a fight,
Nothing's gonna be all right,
It's too late at night to start a fight,
Nothing's gonna be all right

Nothing's gonna be all right,
Nothing's gonna be all right

He's going to say what little he has to say,
He's going to say it in the longest possible way,
He knows what he's doing,
You are wrong, he is right,
He will remind you all throughout the night

This is his club,
This is his kingdom,
Does he realize he's in Richmond, Virginia,
This is a problem that cannot be fixed,
Tonight I'm taking you out of the mix

I'm too tired to deal with this,
I can't believe that it's come to this,
Everything is shit,
Everything is shit,
So here I am in the middle of it

I'm sick,
I'm sick of all the waste,
I'm dying to get out of this place,
I wanna be at home,
I wanna be alone,
I don't wanna talk to the man with the microphone

It's too late at night to start a fight,
Nothing's gonna be all right,
It's too late at night to start a fight,
Nothing's gonna be all right

Nothing's gonna be all right,
Nothing's gonna be all right

Sound Of Mariachi Bands

Available on Camels, Spilled Corona And The Sound Of Mariachi Bands singles collection LP/CD, No-One Has A Future 7" (as Mariachi Bands), 17 Reasons - The Mission District compilation (as The Sound Of Mariachi Bands), You Think You're Cool CD

Jesus was a guy that I met at El Tin Tan about a year and a half ago,
Drinking shots and shooting pool,
'Cause in the Men's Room they were doing lines of coke

He worked too hard for his wage,
'Til two he turned into a rage,
'Til two he'd laugh about his life,
About his father and his Guatemalan wife

Every night Joanne was working at the bar for some 30 years,
Once we asked her if she was happy,
She said she was saving and one day getting out of here

But she will never change,
Except gray and wrinkles that come with age,
I catch the essence in my clothes and on my hands,
Camels, spilled Corona and the sound of mariachi bands

So where's my sense of humor?
My life is a disaster,
No one has a future,
So let's all get there faster

In the morning the sun fills my room,
I think I'll call in sick today and keep my afternoon

Star Of The Show

Available on Palestine CD.

Ignoring the messages on your machine,
Even your name is sounding obscene,
It's all I can do to keep to myself,
When I set next to you

Deep in the Valley I feel afraid,
We look like junkies in a raid,
We hate the MOCA, we hate "art",
We'll be apart

An empty whisky bottle helps to see us through,
I wish I had a bit more faith in me and you,
Now I know why you will go,
You're the star of the show

I took a cab to a Santa Monica Pier,
I half expected to see you sitting there,
I walked all around,
For almost two hours

Meeting for drinks on my trip to L.A.,
I already feel like it's a mistake,
You're astute in your judgement,
We're both too sentimental

I hate to see you sad in my favorite dress,
The next time that you wear it it'll be for someone else,
Now I know why you will go,
You're the star of the show

Stars Are Exploding

Available on One Mississippi LP/CD. The samples are from the CD set The Conet Project.

Early tomorrow I am disgusting,
Phantoms and subways,
Clustered hallucinations

The sky is spitting thunderbolts at random intervals,
The wind breaks its course like a blinded feral dog,
Our guardian angels turn their backs with shame, not disgust,
Although I am afraid, I will stay,
The mountains turn to beachfront and the beach does wash away,
The clouds conceal an evil plot we only contemplate,
The golden hair of angels spindles plastic and disease,
Although I am afraid, I will stay

Synthetic valleys,
Synthetic mountains,
We walk together through horror avd sickness

The sky is spitting thunderbolts at random intervals,
The wind breaks its course like a blinded feral dog,
Our guardian angels turn their backs with shame, not disgust,
Although I am afraid, I will stay,
The mountains turn to beachfront and the beach does wash away,
The clouds conceal an evil plot we only contemplate,
The golden hair of angels spindles plastic and disease,
Although I am afraid, I will stay

Plastic virtues around every corner,
Stars are exploding, but in exploding, they die

Static

Available on The Drama Of Alienation LP/CD

When you fly west over hours of excess,
Your breath grows short and weak,
Down on the ground,
You take ten trains to the next town,
You’re travelling interplanetary,
You’re travelling interplanetary

You drive erratic,
You feel the static,
You feel the static as you’re hardly home,
Now I know you are not all like me,
It’s okay, I knew it all along secretly

I’m impressed by all of your excess,
You’ve got our machine dreams down,
Now I observe as we speed through the curve,
I cling to the west like the east

I count the money,
The eggs are too runny,
I should have stuck to some local dish,
No land, no past, no country,
I need more proof that I don’t exist
Like I need more proof that I don’t exist

You drive erratic,
You feel the static,
You feel the static as you’re hardly home,
Now I know you are not all like me,
It's okay, I knew it all along secretly

It's OK (OK),
It's OK (OK),
It's OK (OK),
It's OK (OK)

Stinking Seas

Available on Arbor Vitae LP/CD, The Ecstasy Of Communication CD

All the dishes in the sink sit as cold as the floor,
It's a monument to affluence,
Words carry no quintessence

You're out of time,
You're out of time, you're out of time, you're out of time, you're out of time,
You're out of time,
You're out of time, you're out of time, you're out of time, you're out of time

All the records out of jackets scratch themselves one by one,
And the deejay takes no requests on his voicemail line

You're out of time,
You're out of time, you're out of time, you're out of time, you're out of time,
You're out of time,
You're out of time, you're out of time, you're out of time, you're out of time

Stinking seas of ambivalence clog your pores as you dive in,
This is real cash money,
These are not amphetamines

Stupid Lesson

Available on Soul Patch And Cho Chos CD, The Precession Of Simulacra 10"/CDEP

Another stupid lesson I didn’t want to learn,
Standing in the rain waiting for my turn,
It's my human condition that makes my world complete,
But tonight I just want to go home,
And a chance to dry my feet

No-one gets a second chance,
No-one knows the reason to the rhyme,
It might not make a difference,
No-one knows or has that kind of time

Your condescending tone has kept me up at night,
I didn't say a word and I'm left with hindsight,
Your eyes look right through me,
While mine look through the rag,
I don't want your cause and I won't wave your flag

No-one gets a second chance,
No-one knows the reason to the rhyme,
It might not make a difference,
No-one knows or has that kind of time

I didn't want to say this but now I know it's true,
Inspiration turns to dogma and I wipe it off my shoe,
It's my human condition that makes my world complete,
But tonight I just want to go home,
And a chance to dry my feet

No-one gets a second chance,
No-one knows the reason to the rhyme,
It might not make a difference,
No-one knows or has that kind of time

Styrofoam

Available on Society Is A Carnivorous Flower LP/CD

She has a wall made of Styrofoam,
She’s a Catholic girl from a Catholic home,
She stares into the space of her computer screen,
Schizo between hyper and fatigue,
She’s rarely less than an hour late,
We both have learned I’m willing to wait,
She’s not insane, I’m a little surprised,
That there aren’t many clouds floating in her eyes

I declare this our private little park,
Snow is falling after dark,
It’s not a secret but it’s one I’ll keep,
For bad, bad people doing bad, bad things

For a girl who dreams of John Cusack,
She’s got a lot of Satanists and lumberjacks,
She says it’s not a pattern,
She just might be right,
But she’ll never take her own advice,
She is not alone,
She is on her phone,
She is the unknown, she will drive me home,
She is the unknown, she will drive me home

I declare this our private little park,
Snow is falling after dark,
It’s not a secret but it’s one I’ll keep,
For bad, bad people doing bad, bad things

I declare this our private little park,
Snow is falling after dark,
It’s not a secret but it’s one I’ll keep,
For bad, bad people doing bad, bad things

Sunshine

Available on One Mississippi LP/CD.

Sunshine,
Boring sunshine,
Tripping amphetamine,
Sick inspiration,
Sunshine,
Who needs sunshine?
Leaves me paralyzed,
Sweet perspiration

And I don't want you around,
I'm a nightmare when I'm down,
And I'm going to the darker side of town

Starlight,
It's only midnight,
Smoke your Camel Light,
Your ride is coming,
Bus ride,
To the seaside,
Geary late at night,
The drugs are humming

And the Cliff House is alone,
And it feels like coming home,
And nothing I can do can make it wrong

Childlike,
On the outside,
Tried and crucified,
Don't wanna live forever,
Floodlight,
Thick, dripping, dark night,
Loss of appetite,
Let's die together

And I don't want to be your clown,
And I can't keep my food down,
When I call, you won't hear a sound

Swallow

Available on Arbor Vitae LP/CD. Backing vocals by Julie.

I have no reason to think this season is in itself to blame,
The phone it doesn't ring,
And so I do my thing,
What time is it back home?

"You've got no messages today",
"I find no fax I'm sorry to say",
"I won't check again",
Another Dover stop,
If I jump from the hill top?
Will that just be vain?

I'll try to call again,
You may pick up and then,
Here is your chance,
You can make me feel small,
And wish I hadn't called,
Or you'll save my life

Sweet And Sour Plums

Available on Nostalgic For Nothing singles collection LP/CD. Not Available on Split 7" with Garden Variety

Another bag of sweet and sour plums,
It's like clockwork at this time of year,
A little gift and hopefully a memory,
But I know it isn’t working

It's your home,
It's not mine,
You can keep your sweet sunshine,
It's your home,
It's not mine,
You can keep your sweet sunshine

More coffee from Hawaii,
I don't know if I should be laughing,
A little gift and hopefully a memory,
I know that I’m not moving

It's your home,
It's not mine,
You can keep your sweet sunshine,
It's your home,
It's not mine,
You can keep your sweet sunshine

Sweet Talkin' Woman

Available on Cool Beans #11 compilation, Meaty, Beaty, Shitty Sounding singles collection CD, Split LP with Discount. Originally by the Electric Light Orchestra. Additional vocals (in bold) by Harriet Scott.

I was searchin' (searchin') down a one-way street,
I was hopin' (hopin') for a chance to meet,
I was waiting for the operator on the line,
She's gone so long, what can I do?
Where could she be? Oh no no,
Don't know what I'm gonna do,
I've gotta get back to you

Slow down, sweet talkin' woman (slow down),
You got me runnin' (run run), you got me searchin',
Hold on, sweet talkin' woman,
It's so sad if that's the way it's over

I was walkin', many days go by,
I was thinkin' (thinkin' 'bout the) 'bout the lonely nights,
Communication breakdown all around,
She's gone so long, what can I do?
Where could she be? Oh no no,
Don't know what I'm gonna do,
I've gotta get back to you

Slow down, sweet talkin' woman (slow down),
You got me runnin' (run run), you got me searchin',
Hold on, sweet talkin' woman,
It's so sad if that's the way it's over

I've been livin' (livin') on a dead end street,
I've been askin' (everybody) everybody I meet,
Insufficient data coming through
She's gone so long, what can I do?
Where could she be? Oh no no,
Don't know what I'm gonna do,
I've gotta get back to you

Slow down, sweet talkin' woman (slow down),
You got me runnin' (run run), you got me searchin',
Hold on, sweet talkin' woman,
It's so sad if that's the way it's over,
Slow down, sweet talkin' woman (slow down),
You got me runnin' (run run), you got me searchin',
Hold on, sweet talkin' woman,
It's so sad if that's the way it's over,
Slow down, sweet talkin' woman (slow down),
You got me runnin' (run run), you got me searchin',
Hold on, sweet talkin' woman,
It's so sad if that's the way it's over

Switzerland

Available on Altamont 99 singles collection CD, Arbor Vitae LP

I am drawn by intrigue,
Could I ever live in Switzerland?
Could I ever please any number of secret societies?
This isn't Socrates,
It's not the roots of ancient trees,
Maybe disease,
The secret of secret societies

Should I go to Yale like my father's father's fathers?
I can cite examples,
Visions planted, superimposed,
If I can smell the trees can I smell the industry?
What's to beliefs?
Denial is a quality

Symbols

Available on Empty Soda Can 7" by Cilantro

I've got anticipation,
You see the complication,
The heat is rising from the centre coil,
Someone's talking,
Someone's nodding,
And I'm waiting for my water to boil

Out in the streetlight,
I see the dogs fight,
I feel the breeze come through the screen,
Uneasy feeling,
My mind is reeling,
And I don't know what the symbols mean