Sulfur and Rouge
It’s the scent of sulfur and rouge,
Ripping the threads out under the surface
During handshakes in hazy back rooms
All of the small talk is making me nervous
Empty, bleak and alone
Uncomfortable clothes
And nothing to show for it
Don’t you adore it?
It’s the scent of sulfur and rouge
Cigarette ashes on a diamond bracelet
If I cash out, then what’s it to you?
It happened so quickly, why not embrace it?
Suddenly unprepared?
No need to be scared
There’s no affair worth the trouble
Grab your shovel
You’re a bundle of old spare parts rather likely to break
Haven’t you read the papers?
It’s human nature
The scent of sulfur and rouge
Filtering slowly into the vestibule
Coating carpets with a light residue
If you can’t see it, how can you clean it?
Blow a mouthful of smoke and it’s strikingly cold
You wanna know how that feels?
Let’s make a deal
In the scent of sulfur and rouge
In the scent of sulfur and rouge
American Nightshade
Something in the soil
is blackening the leaves
Carcinogen-like carousels
are turning every tree
Now I fear the fruit I ate
has spoiled inside of me
Oh, will the wretched dirt I retch upon
know acid from the seeds?
When I was a child,
the gate wasn’t locked.
We stood in perfect lines as
we were sewn unto the flock
They rewrote history while we
Slept in our flower beds
while blight was blooming beneath
And they were crushing dissent
Receipts for payday loans signed by all our silver tongues.
Show me the garden, oh, it must have been beautiful once.
They broke our names in half and said the healing has begun
(And still they call it care while pulling out our petals one by one)
The place that I was born says that the battle must be won!
(But that home is not always the place you’ll find that you belong.)
You need to give me liberty or try to give me truth
I just can’t stand the in between that’s poisoning the root
They wrapped this weed in gold and
Crowned it the tallest one
Beneath the rot and fire, they sang a gilded song:
“We are but waste to harvest, hearts are all but gone.”
Show me the garden, oh, it must have been beautiful once.
In the festering wound of the hole that they left
from the plowing and tilling inside of my chest
is a message on high handed down to the slop:
"Please collect your photo and exit through the gift shop!"
Strange how all this milk and honey
feels like blood inside my tummy
If you squint and try real hard, well, you can see the sunrise when it’s early
Sure, it’s just a glow from the irradiated Hollow
What a shining city on a hill!
Stare up at it in horror.
Now there is only silence,
the iris painted cold
There’s nothing left to wallow
They story has been told
They’d slit our throats and cry out
“We are the lucky ones!”
They burnt the garden down.
It would’ve been
Should've been
Could’ve been beautiful once
Old Gods of Television
Don’t look confused, we’ve got good news
The sky is falling down
Pay us your attention cuz we’re here to tell you time is running out
Popoff in primetime
Your prayers on the Hotline
Speaking in tongues you can’t fit in your mouth
Deep down you’ve got a feeling
We’re the ones that give you meaning
Time to pay the cost of freedom
Lay your money down
It’s way too late to ask permission
Infomercial, new religion
On your knees in the prayer position
To the old gods of television
Now bow down and show contrition
A white picket fence with a penance that you can’t buy or sell
We gave you the pamphlet, the fine print for your time share in hell
(Enjoy your timeshare in hell!)
Deep down you’ve got a feeling
We’re the ones that give you meaning
Time to pay the cost of freedom
Lay your money down
It’s way too late to ask permission
Infomercial, new religion
On your knees in the prayer position
To the old gods of television
Now bow down and show contrition
Woo boy
You’ve been asleep too long
You thought that we would save you
Now your money, she’s all gone!
Woo boy
We’ve been asleep too long
We thought that you could save us
Now our money, she’s all gone!
(Broadcasting live from the battlefields of Armageddon! The pure of heart have the forces of evil on the ropes, but it’s not too late for our boys to turn it around. And if you’re a pale rider looking for a white horse, have I got a deal for you.)
Deep down you’ve got a feeling
We’re the ones that give you meaning
Time to pay the cost of freedom
Lay your money down
It’s way too late to ask permission
Infomercial, new religion
On your knees in the prayer position
To the old gods of television
Now bow down and show contrition
The Curse of Saint Vitus
Step to the office for your annual checkup
I’ll be the designated doctor in charge
You got a sickness and it’s time you fessed up
We got the cure, check the dose on your dancecard
I think you’re overstimulated
Your thoughts are spinning like a disco ball
What happened to the meds you’re taking?
You should be climbing up the padded walls
The only bill is thrill in your head cuz
You can’t pay your debts if you’re already dead
Let’s turn this psych ward into a dance floor
5150 is a 24/7 affair
My new affliction is the prescription
Shake me awake because we all go crazy in here
The party don’t stop til the thorazine drops
In my system, the symptoms are calling the shots
I’m a sinner, an addict
My oath is hippocratic
Take these candy coated pills, the blue ones in the packet
White coats, red heels, glowsticks and restraints
(Crank up the noises, drown out the voices)
Unregulated
I don’t hate it
Lowkey insane
Let’s turn this psych ward into a dance floor!
5150 is a 24/7 affair
My new affliction is the prescription
Shake me awake because we all go crazy in here
Vitals are stable
Diagnosis pending
Please hurry up a little
I think the world is ending
They drilled a hole in my head and inside they put the weight of the world
Blackouts don’t count if we die out
There’s a thrashing in my skull, there’s haunting in my soul
Keep this moving on its own, please just let it go
Let’s turn this psych ward into a dance floor!
5150 is a 24/7 affair
My new affliction is the prescription
Shake me awake because we all go crazy in here
I got a bass drop, you got a breakdown
Ready or not, man, we all go crazy in here
Long Live the Thieves
Sticky fingers
A pretty penny
A fool’s errand is a lifelong journey
I want cheap thrills
But not too many
Easy pickings means marks aplenty
He can call it a day but he can’t call you back?
Low hanging fruit
You’re smarter than that
Too old to play games
Too weird to play nice
These ill-gotten-gains won’t suffice
There’s no loyalty among kings
No consequences for queens as the common folk believe
There’s no larceny among friends
Well, technically it depends
On which day of the week
Long live the thieves
Long live the frauds
They’re the gasoline the whole machine runs on
So long live the thieves
Long live the drunks
In times like these at least they stab you in the front, so
Long live the thieves
The ace up your sleeve
Makes me wonder
If you’re slick enough to steal my thunder
You hit the jackpot something awful
Black eyes, broken heart, full throttle
Now there’s money to burn from the powers that be
When you rob from the rich, you should give it to me
We’re all on the take or in on the ruse
Either way there’s nothing to lose
There’s no loyalty among kings
No tolerance for such things as the common folk might say
There’s no larceny among friends
Well, technically it depends on what the weather’s like today
Long live the thieves
Long live the frauds
They’re the gasoline the whole machine runs on
So long live the thieves
God bless the sluts
In times like these at least they stab you in the front, so
Long live the thieves
We Are Animals
We hide our hunger in porcelain smiles
Trade our souls for a seat in the aisles
Perfume covers what we crave
Even beasts learn to behave
But I hear a call beneath your calm
A hidden rhythm, a trembling psalm
We are animals, dreaming we're divine
Caged in comfort and clawing for the light
Beneath your manners, beneath the whine
we are animals, and I am yours tonight
Time to steady those trembling hands
The birds speak in riddles no one understands
The forest rots beneath our feet,
but we still call the poison sweet.
I wanna see your darker truth
and tear away this cultured you.
We are animals, dreaming we're divine
Caged in comfort and clawing for the light
Beneath your manners, beneath the whine
we are animals, and I am yours tonight.
Strip the language, let it die
We are animals, that's all we are tonight
Mean Streak
Your bargain basement character assassination's got me goin' mad
This quick and dirty skirmish is a three ring circus slipping through your grasp
Your guilty pleasure, turncoat feathers, unfeigned colors, roots are gonna show
You'll run dry on excuses when the truth dams up from all the stones you've thrown
No big deal, it's not that deep, I wish
I wish you'd just come clean
Granted me that courtesy instead of being such a sneak
All good on my end, thanks for trying, soon our friends are gonna see
Underneath your pleasantries, you've got a mean streak
You've got a mean streak
Well, at least your one-star, third-rate, half-ass, smear campaign feels like it's losing steam
The wheels are falling off, I guess it's hollow in the belly of the beast
(My therapist has told me I should be more forgiving of people that have wronged me)
(How's that working out for you?)
No big deal, it's not that deep, I wish, I wish you'd just come clean
Granted me that courtesy instead of being such a sneak
All good on my end, thanks for trying, soon our friends are gonna see
Underneath your pleasantries, you've got a mean streak
Well no big deal, let's call it even
Find new prey to sink your teeth in
Just say it to my face
(Instead of being such a snake!)
All good on my end, thanks for trying
Girl, your face is turning green
Let's agree to disagree, you've got a mean streak
It's no big deal if you hurt me, I wish
I wish you'd just come clean
Granted me that courtesy instead of being such a sneak
All good on my end, thanks for trying, soon our friends are gonna see
Underneath your pleasantries, you've got a mean streak
All good on my end, thanks for trying
Girl, your face is turning green
But if anyone asks me, you've got a mean streak
(The only person you care about is you!)
(But I said and then you said.. Oh!)
Bloodstained Hands
I got bloodstained hands
I can’t wash em clean
If you don’t understand by now I can’t explain what that means
I spoke with the raven perched on high
Foul is fair and fair is foul tonight
A monkey’s paw for a shooting star
A total eclipse of this telltale heart
I got bloodstained hands
I can’t wash em clean
If you don’t understand by now I can’t explain what that means
I got bloodstained hands
You can’t mend the wound
(You scream “out damn spot” but you got what’s coming to you!)
My silver lining’s a falling sky
The end of the world is my constellation prize
(A tolling bell rings in your ear)
A teatime visit from my greatest fear
I got bloodstained hands
I can’t wash em clean
If you don’t understand by now I can’t explain what that means
I got bloodstained hands
All tainted red
(Cuz you know what you did and karma’s coming back round, coming back round again)
I got bloodstained hands
I can’t cover it up
(You can decorate all you like but it won’t be enough, won’t be enough)
I got bloodstained hands
(You got bloodstained hands)
I got bloodstained hands
Oooh, twist it and bite and lick it and go.
Wash em clean.
Wilkes and Princelet
I burnt up all my chances
Ask any failing actress
If your method needs more practice,
kick me to the curb
We met in purgatory
Less "love" and more "adore me"
His bullshit never held me
The way that he held her
We'd all love to chase our dreams
And be someone, my dear
But failure seems to call like sirens singing in our ear
Your luck ran out the moment that you tried to pop the cork
Pack your bags because you're leaving New York
(Goodbye! Oh, nice try! Alright!)
Well, my villain arc is starting up
and you're the first to catch the cut
I burnt my dolls in effigy
and did a heel turn in a skirt
I won't go back to Atlanta easy
Chasing your tears with a garibaldi
This world's still mine even if you don't want me
Tada! Jazzhands!
We'd all love to chase our dreams
And be someone, my dear
But failure seems to call like sirens singing in our ear
Your luck ran out the moment that you tried to pop the cork
Pack your bags because you're leaving New York
You're leaving, you're leaving, you're leaving...
I won't go back to Atlanta easy
Chasing your tears with a garibaldi
This world's still mine even if you don't want me
I won't go back to Atlanta easy
We'd all love to chase our dreams
And be someone, my dear
But failure seems to call like sirens singing in our ear
Your love ran out the moment that you tried to pop the cork
Pack your bags because you're leaving New York
You didn't make it here, you won't make it anywhere
(Bill DeBlasio 2014.)
How Veronica Vanished
All the snakes and the worms and the slugs in the garden heard the rumor she was leaving, so they lowered their eyes
So forget about her past and all that couldn't be
None of them could even stand for what had festered inside
Her mother told her,
"One day this house will falter. Don't get stuck with the blood in your eye."
Who can say if it's love?
Sometimes hurt can feel like a heart that just won't stop until you've had enough.
Wait around and I just might fade into the moonlight.
So what you can't get from trying, trying, trying, trying,
she made up for in painted over lies.
And every doll her in house had the same happy frown,
drowning out the sound of their cries.
Her father told her,
"Leave it all behind."
No one was left there wondering why.
Who can say if it's love?
Sometimes hurt can feel like a heart that just won't stop until you've had enough.
Wait around and I just might fade into the moonlight.
Surface level affection from someone incapable of taking correction
Input selection from all of the tension in your inflection
What misdirection
It's time to say goodbye in the full moonlight
Who can say if it's love?
Sometimes hurt can feel like a heart that just won't stop until you've had enough.
Wait around and I just might fade into the moonlight.
Follow me outside and fade into the moonlight.
Coda in Kyoto
Ghosts are walking with me in Kyoto
Whispers of the spirits in the walls
Foxes in the mountain shrine telling me to take my time
I dig deep
I’m buried in the fall
There’s folklore living in these weeping hilltops
We told each other stories in the dark
Now tears become a tempest
Tear apart my good intentions
Til goodbyes are all that’s hidden in my heart
The memory’s a sweet refrain
A pathway through the pouring rain
But I can’t explain, I can’t explain why
My words all come out upside down
And sink into the temple grounds
I miss you the most
We decompose
Collecting all the scraps of me you ripped out
Falling between phases of the moon
Blossoms under starless night
Lit by paper lantern light
I’ll stitch them back together, start anew
The memory’s a sweet refrain
A pathway through the pouring rain
But I can’t explain, I can’t explain why
Nothing here feels safe or sound
You made me want to leave this town
I miss you the most
We decompose
We decompose
Ghosts are walking with me in Kyoto
Whispers of the spirits in the walls
The memory’s a sweet refrain
A pathway through the pouring rain
But I can’t explain, I can’t explain why
I’m drifting underneath the sound
Your northern song is so distant now
I miss it the most
We decompose
We decompose
Falling between phases of the moon
I’ll stitch me back together, start anew