- STAINLESS STEEL
- PENNIES
- WOULD IT STOP THE FLOW OF BLOOD TO YOUR HEART
- BIRDIE
- DOG & KID
- STEAL YOUR THUNDER
- A MAN WALKS INTO A BAR
- CAST OF THOUSANDS
- SLOW SONG
STAINLESS STEEL
Verse 1:
Never thought that you would be one of those people
That gives you nothing better than good material
And never quite enough to make a meal
Never thought I’d be the one to break into kitchens
The role of royal taster makes a nervous living
And building up resistance has a dim appeal
Even when the poisoned heart begins to heal
Verse 2:
The story almost wrote itself, a modern-day classic
With no sense of proportion, it’s all gigantic
If something looks bigger than life, it’s probably not even real
It’s one thing packing bags with dreams of faraway places
The old diseases jumped inside the new suitcases
We were looking for the chutes before they pulled up the wheels
Both pretending we were made of stainless steel
Minor bridge:
Stainless steel, stainless steel, stainless steel
Verse 3:
Storybooks are fine for laughs and looking at pictures
But flipping pages hardly makes a Hollywood director
We were working on a script
Making no deals, no deals
Verse 4:
So let the cameras roll as the cutting room fills
Let the record show everything the projector spills
Did you think that you could duck out
while they changed the reel
You never wrote to tell me how killing the sequel feels
At least you cut me clean as stainless steel
stainless steel, stainless steel
WHEN PENNIES GO TO HEAVEN
Verse 1:
I start the day watching meter maids
Help themselves to our trust in the city
I’ve been three years in the same high window
And only the hopeless have a reason to stay
Chorus:
When pennies go to heaven, they spend their time
With bottlecaps posing as quarters
They traded their edges for a ride through the mouth of a pinball machine
They never see the bright lights and bumpers
Verse 2:
Like a brick through the windshield
From a joker on the overpass
The sound of screaming wakes you
You listen for an hour til they catch the bad bad boy
Then the credits roll to a carol
Chorus
It’s a sad day in Golden Gate Park
Even the carousel is charging admission
I’m buying tickets just so I can leave the house
And lose my money calling you from a pay phone in the Mission
Chorus
They never see the bright lights
They never see the bright lights, the bright lights
They never see, they never see
They never see the bright lights
WOULD IT STOP THE FLOW OF BLOOD TO YOUR HEART
Verse 1:
You’re wearing the face of a saint, sinning your way to pity
Anyone would rather be a martyr than a casualty
For a believer who’s betrayed by his cause
There’s no credit when you’re showing the loss
Would it stop the flow of blood to your heart
Verse 2:
I can’t say that losing a lover is one of life’s greater pleasures
The things that you called ours return to his and hers
In a house picked clean to the bone
The flesh of man rots where it’s thrown
But would it stop the flow of blood to your heart
Verse 3:
If staying afloat is proof of faith in love, you’d rather be drowned
Who wants to claim a soul forgotten in the lost and found
But there’s no rest for the rejected at sea
Crying murder when the waves reach their knees
Would it stop the flow of blood to your heart
Verse 4:
Punishing the shy is a crime but everyone’s involved
And locked inside you’re safe as houses, but you’re fighting the walls
Hope is not a virtue but a plan of attack
And we’ve all got a couple knives in our backs
Would it stop the flow of blood to your heart
BIRDIE
Verse 1:
You’ve finally gotten rid of your passport
Given up your seat by the wing
Something to do with your fear of flying
Something do with being broken
And just so you know
You’re turning away from me
Taking the fun out of cake and ice cream
You’re a big boy, but you’re spilling your beer and licking your plate
A runner-up for the running
You couldn’t wait
Chorus:
A little birdie told you something you can’t repeat
Open up your cloudy eyes and tell me what you see
Finally you’re someone who knows something I don’t
I guess you got what you wanted when you left me
Verse 2:
I really hate to seem ungrateful
But I got stuck with the bill for everything we bought
Looks like you’re getting too big for your diaper
Now that you’ve figured out the safety pin and the knot
Chorus
Verse 3:
It’s been a hell of a year for the prodigy
He’s just selling whatever he was given
Looks like another poor man’s holiday for me
Filling the bathtub, and going fishing
Last chorus:
A little birdie told you something you can’t repeat
Open up your cloudy eyes and tell me what you see
Finally you’re someone who knows something I don’t
I guess you got what you wanted
You got what you wanted
You got what you wanted when you left me
DOG AND KID
Verse 1:
I’ve got a perfect place on the corner
To sit and watch the world roll by
And today I saw a face I remember
Stealing the sunshine right out of the sky
And I wanted to say hey now, hey now
Where have you been hiding
Hey now, hey now
Where’d your boy get those eyes, where’d he get those eyes
It’s been so long, it’s been so long
Chorus 1:
If you promise to tell me all of your secrets, I promise to forget all your lies
And neither of us ever thought we’d turn into grownups
it makes a great disguise
If I never see you again, I’ll always have the sweet things we did
And the day I saw you pretty as ever with your dog & kid
Verse 2:
There’s a lot of words I wish I could take back
From back when we didn’t know what we were saying
A lot of things I’d change if we could go back
Back to when I thought we were only playing
And I wanted to say hey now, hey now
So who’s the lucky one
Hey now, hey now
And do I ever come to mind, ‘cause you come to mine
It’s been so long, it’s been so long, so long
Chorus 2:
If you promise to tell me all of your secrets, I promise to forget all your lies
neither of us ever thought we’d turn into grownups
you hardly seem surprised
If I never see you again, I’ll always have the sweet things we did
And the day I saw you lost forever with your dog & kid
Your dog & kid
Hey now, hey now
STEAL YOUR THUNDER
Verse 1
The magic wasn’t in the words, but how you said them
The future wasn’t in the cards, but that’s how i read them
The disappearing boy rolls up flat
But i might be the rabbit stuck in your hat
If your business was making illusions you sure fooled me
Chorus
I didn’t mean to steal your thunder
I didn’t try that at all
If you say that i took your best embraces
I’m guilty as charged
Like a comet completing a constellation
Once in a thousand years
It was the prettiest picture ever seen in the dark
But i never thought it ours to 2 keep, ours to keep
Verse 2
It wasn’t like i set fire to a field after i’d sown it
More like i lent you something to try without having owned it
Now you’re showing the wound in your ear
Crying look it forgot how to heal
But you’re wearing a diamond in it, you must be proud
Chorus 2
I didn’t mean to steal your thunder
I didn’t try that at all
If you say that i took your best embraces
I’m guilty as charged
Like a comet completing a constellation
Once in a thousand years
It was the prettiest picture ever seen in the dark
But no one might ever believe you
Verse 3
You took everything that we’d saved and then you spent it
You knew it was kind of evil, and that’s how you meant it
I used to share it just as soon as i had it
I guess you broke me of that dirty habit
If a sucker dies every hour, i think my number’s up
Chorus 3
I didn’t mean to steal your thunder
I didn’t try that at all
If you say that i took your best embraces
I’m guilty as charged
Like a comet completing a constellation
Once in a thousand years
It was the prettiest picture ever seen in the dark
But you’re never going to see it again
Bridge
I don’t need another lesson, i think i’ve had enough
Now that someone’s put you under glass
Could you finally do what i ask
And apologize for being the best thing ever
The best thing ever
The best thing ever
The best thing ever
A MAN WALKS INTO A BAR
Verse 1
Welcome to the temple where the rules are simple
Anyone can enter, come as you are
The lamps of the sanctum burn with 60 watts of neon
The windows are blackened to keep it inside
Chorus
Seekers know where the believers go, a man walks into a bar
All those below will have their turn on the throne
A man walks into a bar and nothing will ever be the same
Verse 2
Welcome to the ritual, the host of smoke and alcohol
In this strange communion, the carnal comes sublime
When the lights are darkened it’s like a séance starting
Nobody knows what will happen tonight
Chorus
Verse 3
All those standing when the noise ends raise a glass and drink the poison
When death is a jest we don’t fear it
This motley congregation watches as we toil for nothing
We come for rewards beyond words, beyond a price
Final chorus:
Seekers know where the believers go, a man walks into a bar
All those below will have their turn on the throne, a man walks into a bar
Seekers know where the believers go, a man walks into a bar
All those below will have their turn on the throne, a man walks into a bar
And nothing, nothing, nothing will ever be same
Final half verse
Welcome to the temple the low and lowly threshold
Remember this is a church for some of us
CAST OF THOUSANDS
Verse 1
Haven’t your always dreamed your name in lights
Haven’t you seen yourself larger than life
It’s about to happen, get up and leave your lessons
Chances like this may only come once a day
Chorus
Time to join the cast of thousands
Just a shadow on the street that’s just what we need
Verse 2
Can you play yourself and make us believe
Can you bring it home, jump off the screen
When we call for action, can you take direction
We wouldn’t have called upon you if you weren’t the one
Chorus
Time to join the cast of thousands
Just a shy face on the street but you’ll steal the scene
Get on set your close-up’s calling
Take your turn in the blinding lights, look deep in the camera’s eye
Bridge
Half of the fun is getting your face on
By the time you finally do we’ll be looking for you, only you, only you, only you
Guitar solo
When the filming finally ends, the scenery bends and breaks at a touch
We know it’s all a charade but we love it so much
So wishing didn’t make it happen
When you’re making your name and nothing has changed
You better knight yourself
Chorus:
Time to join the cast of thousands
Claim your role before it’s gone, look up, the camera’s on
The camera’s on…[repeat]
SLOW SONG
Verse 1
If you’re ready for a slow song
Maybe we’ve been just too loud
Maybe you’re not that kinda crowd
So how ‘bout a break
There’s just so much that people can take
If it’s gonna be a slow song
Some of your will check the time
Put on your coats and join the line by the exit
Sending smoke signals into the dark
Chorus
When you were out on a starry night
Trying to paint by the last of the light
Do you remember the hush that fell
When the colors rang true
Verse 2
If you didn’t hear a slow song
Maybe times were just too tight
Maybe i couldn’t wait for that night to be over
Tonight’s looking better
Solo
Chorus
If you want something that looks lifelike
Fix a point, measure your lines
If you want the blue that runs in your veins
Drink in the sky
Verse 3
If it wasn’t for the slow songs
I don’t think we’d stand a chance
Maybe we’ve only earned one glance in the hour since we met
We’re just happy there’s a few of you left