Because We Did It The Same Way

The voices that did comfort me, furthest from my sanity

Come from places I have never seen

Even in my darkest recollection

There was someone singing my life back to me

In life you learn from someone else

That you can only trust yourself

Sometimes that is still too much to want

Morality won't get you through the mazes

You can never travel back the way you've come

I could never choose the ones to love

And the ones who took the credit left me reeling

But I owe much to the nameless, and other surrogates

For those who were singing my life back to me.

Life is not a constant thing

It's only made of short stories

Couldn't even tell you where I'm from

Guided by the voices I've perfected

Guided by electric wire's hum

I could never choose the ones to love

And the ones who took the credit left me reeling

But I owe much to the nameless, and other surrogates

For those who were singing my life back to me.

Well I'll see you in the future, skipping time

While the eyes of all the faithful rest in peace

And tonite I see the highway like a cheetah underfoot

Someone singing my life back to me.

From Rumi

When I am with you, we stay up all night,

When you're not here, I can't get to sleep.

Praise God for these two insomnias!

And the difference between them.

Qualifying Our Good Fortune

The only girl I've ever loved
Was born with roses in her eyes
But then they buried her alive
One evening 1945
With just her sister at her side
And only weeks before the guns
All came and rained on everyone
Now she's a little boy in Spain
Playing pianos filled with flames
On empty rings around the sun
All sing to say my dream has come

But now we must pack up every piece
Of the life we used to love
Just to keep ourselves
At least enough to carry on

And now we ride the circus wheel
With your dark brother wrapped in white
Says it was good to be alive
But now he rides a comet's flame
And won't be coming back again
The Earth looks better from a star
That's right above from where you are
He didn't mean to make you cry
With sparks that ring and bullets fly
On empty rings around your heart
The world just screams and falls apart

But now we must pack up every piece
Of the life we used to love
Just to keep ourselves
At least enough to carry on

And here's where your mother sleeps
And here is the room where your brothers were born
Indentions in the sheets
Where their bodies once moved but don't move anymore
And it's so sad to see the world agree
That they'd rather see their faces fill with flies
All when I'd want to keep white roses in their eyes

Thanks to Jesse

Well nighttime let her through
Yeah I'm talking to you
I wanna see her
Precious little thing

With eyes that dance around without their clothes
So buy a pretty dress
Wear it out tonight
For anyone you think could out do me

Or better still be my winding wheel
Cause I feel just like a map
Without a single place to go of interest
And I'm further North than South

If I could shut my mouth she'd probably like this
So buy a pretty dress
And wear it out tonight
For all the boys you think could out do me
Or better still be my winding wheel


Well the children laugh and sing a song that ushers in her driving rain

And I'm standing in the station like some old record waiting on a train
So buy a pretty dress
Wear it out tonight
For anyone you think could out do me
Or better still be my winding wheel

Maybe not perfectly aligned, but in spirit...

I am thinking it's a sign
That the freckles in our eyes
Are mirror images and
When we kiss they're perfectly aligned

And I have to speculate
That God himself did make us into
Corresponding shapes like puzzles pieces
From the clay

True, it may seem like a stretch
But it's thoughts like this
That catch my troubled head
When you're away, when I am missing you to death

When you were out there on the road
For several weeks of shows
And when you scan the radio
I hope this song will guide you home

They will see us waving from such great heights
"Come down now," they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
"Come down now," but we'll stay

I've tried my best to leave
This all on your machine
But the persistent beat
Sounded thin upon listening

That frankly will not fly
You will hear the shrillest highs
And lowest lows with the windows down
When this is guiding you home

They will see us waving from such great heights
"Come down now," they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
"Come down now," but we'll say...