lyrics1

oaks bottom: a swampy urban wildlife refuge
i felt a chill inside this morning
it was the kind that never goes away
and i wish that i could feel like i used to
but the answer doesn't pay
downwind from the crematorium
i was so hungry it smelled good
and i feel these days
i heard that things were gonna be alright
i was so happy it felt good
i don't do time these days
like i bet you thought i would

civilized: are we?
i don't think you'll appear in another dream of mine
seemed a real close call from here but now i guess you're doing fine
if you ever pass this way look for smoke from the brains of those who stayed
i know the reasons why you were left behind i think you were left behind
now i'm thinking it over cause today it rained concrete
no one was standing around at the time i'm so glad

my desert: closure song. also about sex. original version made before the acoustic one.
the sea and the sky seem so lonely tonight its the darkest night i think i've ever seen
so lets drive to the river and sit there till the morning light and see whats in between
somehow i have found a desert where there once was nothing at all
i look in your eyes and i see the morning light its the only light i can remember
as we drive down this road reading every sign here there everywhere
somehow i have lost my way in that same old desert of mine
the hills are calling my name out tonight its an echo i have heard a time or two
i'm gonna run down this road to a path toward that place where i know i won't find you

follow the leader: so much for blind faith. shut up and drink the kool-aid!
what did i say what did i do that made you take it away search for some blue
the cards they're all behind me now i knew i'd see it through
tell me what i did to lose my place lose my space (on our way to the stars)

sequoia: you think the great sequoia never falls? all falls...
i am not the problem or solution to your problem if you have one tell me now
you're the only one who can win this war against the demons in you i don't know how
one day i was walking by the river next to skeletons of squirrels in the fall
they were laughing at me but i didn't let it bother me cause i know all must fall

eluwai: for the people of monduli district. melody stolen from 'the sound of music'
eluwai eluwai every morning i greet thee
mountainside far and wide you look happy to see me
blossoms and thorns may you bloom and grow bloom and grow forever
eluwai eluwai bless my village forever

great circle: kind of a 'catcher in the rye' type song, gnome sane?
when you were a child did all the other kids think the earth was flat?
did you tell them it was round while staring at your shoes did you show them where its at?
well i can understand i've seen the lights of stars reflecting in your eyes
you don't fool me cause i've been here before and i know you're disguise
when i come around you're not there
now that we are grown do they still live their lives in that little space?
do you think the rats will find a cure for there disease or will they lose the race?
i don't understand cause the greatest circle now is when you chase your tail
and the kid you used to be so colorful and free has seen the final nail
and when the sun goes down he's still there how i wish he would come around come around

dead junkie dread: just say no to downtown brown...
you tried to bring me down i can't hear you anymore
your track marks make the liberty bell when you connect them with a sharpie
i tried to be your friend i can't take this anymore
i'd bring you back from the dead but i can't
you're dead
you sang like an irie-ite you reminded me of jah rastafari

river ghost: for jeff buckley. rusty shaw on lead guitar!
take the one that recognized the pain thats in your soul
she's the one who sought you out a long time ago
i bet you can't remember when you were this alone
take the one who sees you in a light that is your own
how could you be found in this way on the water
the rivers wide the rivers deep and it can drag you down
we used to step across it though in that northern town
bet you can't remember when it flowed so slow
bet you can' remember when it was slow
late at night i can still hear you're voice on the water
well the night is up the sun is down river never turns around
take me down drag me down pull me past this little town
only the river knows how you could be found in this way on the water
only the river knows all the life you take

gone: for my good friend mo' - rusty shaw on lead guitar!
heard you left our world today it's sad when things turn out this way
you were just on your way home turned the corner and never saw your life again
you were just on your way home thinking about it now we've all lost a friend somehow]
on that lonesome road in my mind i try to go back there and say goodbye
but i just didn't know and i feel so strangely optimistic shouldn't i?
has it really been this long? 13 years i may be wrong i'm wrapped up in my own life
memories are made of gold you my friend will not grow old and your soul is alive
i know that i'll see you tomorrow down the road and i feel so strangely optimistic
shouldn't i? gone away so much more life to live

mayanmar: foggy memory of a train ride in southeast asia. that mekhong whiskey will kick your ass!
dig a hole right through the earth and tell me where it goes
are the people there just like us do they wear our clothes?
who wants to know?
take a trip around the world and tell me what you find
a hopi kiss or hopelessness its a real fine line
who wants to know? bring me back bring me back alive
and hold me all night long an ancient soul on a burmese train
played this ????? song who wants to know?

fate was the hunter: inspired by earnest k. gann. for those who slip the bonds
been lookin for the earth just trying to see the ground
i once knew my direction now i don't know up from down
finding out the hard way always coming down
i said i'd take you with me in my heart this time around
cause i don't think you'll see me on the ground

stoney tangawizi: yum!
not as strong as gongo! hey! where's my favorite ginger drink?
not as strong as gongo when you said you were bringing me a beverage i foolishly
thought it contained alcohol not molasses but nonetheless
here i am lying on my back and i can't get up

incident on country club road: hang up and drive!
oblivious in your car on the fucking phone
didn't see that family try to cross the road
maybe if it was human babies in the road
someone would have stopped.

d.b. cooper: a northwest legend!
i'm propped up on my elbows fog is in the air
wheres that sound coming from is that your voice i hear?
someone flagged a trucker down along the old highway
i heard the horn at 5 a.m. was it too late to care?
a frozen night on the highway side passes you bye when you're alive
d.b. opens up the stairs of that big jetliner in the air
down below all is dark is he too afraid to care?
let go of the staircase now make it to earth somehow
i hope it's all worthwhile ponder this and smile
buried in the sand by the very hands of time i think you're still alive

monduli: on a clear day you can see kilimanjaro and bob in his 152
when i touch your morning skin all i am disappears
beneath the light we've made and all i said about those fears
is so heavy in my head i don't like that no i don't like that
see manyara in the haze and think about how its better now
you look for something in my eyes you told me that they're in the sky
whats up in the haze and now i cannot remember at all

flannel injection:
tread lightly tread lightly

atomic bomb: humans are nuts...
try not to look at the flash you'll forget your life
don't be blinded by madness as long as we're still alive
you'll come back again the way you used to
no one says your hellos anymore

i like your planet: the unexamined life is not worth living
it's hard to believe but i came this far
not really knowing what where why or how we are

we are not alone: for carl sagan. bring cosmos back to pbs!!
its the last storm of the season and the valley sure looks dry
if i had a better reason would you give this a try?
in the first days of my life i just wanted food and love
now i know the valley looks fine when you see it from above
i hear thunder out the window does the rain refuse to fall?
just tell me where the days go were they ever hear at all?
in the time it takes for me to say this life has come and gone
you ought to know theres a handprint in the concrete placed there long ago
it's so small and understanding did the people ever know that the dirt
just underneath it holds a secret of its own this universal token
says we are not alone everyone has something to protect now
the thrill of being human comes and goes and in the time it takes for
me to say this life has come and gone you ought to know

neez: once again, humans are nuts...
i read it in the paper and i watched it on tv it must be true it must be true
why would the man lie to me? breaking news this morning
while eating capn' crunch out on the deck well, you know
i don't got cable i have very few choices lucky for me
one of them was playin 'star trek'

spacegirl: for my daughter maya
they're marching at me straight in line yes i'm afraid they're right this time
there they go back down the hill tumbling like jack and jill
once i wanted everything now i don't think i could handle anything
but thats okay i guess he'll have to go away
find another world get me off this rock
felt like i was in a trance when i first held her in my hands
the earth began to quake swallowed me, swallowed every lake
long long time ago i held her high and let her know
welcome to the world i said the song she sang it's in my head
looking up at spacegirl on some world out there

boma loco: please excuse the drunken portugese-swahili mix
it has been a long trip, it is good to see you. welcome