In a coffee shop in a city
Which is every coffee shop in every city
On a day which is every day
I picked up a magazine
Which is every magazine
Read a story, and then forgot it right away

They say goldfish have no memory
I guess their lives are much like mine
And the little plastic castle
Is a surprise every time
And it's hard to say if they're happy

they were digging a new foudation in Manhattan
and they discovered a slave cemetary there
may their souls rest easy
now that lynching is frowned upon
and we've moved on to the electric chair
and i wonder who's gonna be president, tweedle dum or tweedle dummer
and who's gonna have the big blockbuster box office this summer
howabout we put up a wall between houses and the highway

I heard the sound of your bike,
As your wheels hit the gravel,
Then your engine in the driveway
Cutting off
And I pushed through the screen door
And I stood out on the porch
Thinking fight, fight, fight
At all costs,
But instead I let you in,
Just like I've always done
And I sat you down and offered you a beer
And across the kitchen table
I fired several rounds,

you can't hide
behind social graces
so don't try
to be all touchy feely
cuz you lie
in my face of all places
but i've got no
problem with that really

what bugs me
is that you believe what you're saying
what bothers me
is that you don't know how you feel
what scares me
is that while you're telling me stories
you actually
believe that they are real

and i've got
no illusions about you

You were fresh off the boat from Virginia
I had a year in New York City under my belt
We met in a dream
We were both nineteen
I remember where we were standing
I remember how it felt
Two little girls
Growing out of their training bras
This little girl breaks furniture
This little girl breaks laws
Two girls together
Just a little less alone

Cold and drizzly night in Chicago's deep dish
Flourescent light of the bathroom
Shows my hands as they are
See and eyelash on my cheek
Pick it off and make a wish
And walk back out into the bar
Wind at the windows
Neon lights the patterned panes
The waitress wields the weight of her tray around her palm
The doorman cups his hands
And lights his cigarette again

You always got those dark sunglasses
Covering up your face
But if you promise to take them off
I promise I won't squander your gaze
I will be picturesque
I will be nice
I won't do anything
You can't tell your wife
I will think before I act
I will think twice
Just let me see your eyes

Each time we've spoke
We've put in our token
And ridden the tilt-a-whirl

I'm a pixie
I'm a paper doll
I'm a cartoon
I'm a chipper cheerful free-for-all
I light up a room
I'm a color-me-happy girl
Miss live and let live
And when they're out for blood
I always give

The man behind the counter looks like he's got
A half a dozen places he'd rather be
and furthermore it looks like he's prepared
To take it all out on me

I'm cradling the softest, warmest part of you in my hands
Feels like a little baby bird
Fallen from the nest
I think that your body is something I understand
I think that I'm happy
I think that I'm blessed

But I've had a lack of inhibition
I've had a loss of perspective
I've had a little bit to drink
And it's making me think
That I can jump ship and swim

Sitting in my glass house while your ghost is sleeping down the hall.
Watching the little birds fly kamikaze missions into the walls.
Think I'm gonna stay in today,
Sit on my couch and watch them fall.
Life just keeps getting harder,
Keeps getting harder to hide.
Darker it is around me,
Easier it is to see inside.
And outside the glass the whole world is magnified,

We drove the car to the top of the parking ramp on the 4th of July.
We sat out on the hood with a couple of
Warm beers and watched the fireworks explode in the sky.
And there was an exodus of birds from the trees,
But they didn't know, we were only pretending.
And the people all looked up,
And the birds flew around like the whole world was ending.
And I don't think war is noble,

You crawled into my bed like some sort of giant insect
And I found myself spellbound that night at the sight of you there,
Beautiful and grotesque and all the rest of that bug stuff
Fluttering your way into my mouth,
Behind my teeth, reaching for my scars.
That night we got kicked out of two bars and laughed our way home.
That night you leaned over and threw up into your hair.