I Think You're Pretty OK Too

there's not much that keeps me hanging on
but you're at the top of my list
and as soon we say goodbye
it's sure that you're already missed

i spent all day thinking i wanted to die
by night, not much changed
but a few sweet words from your two sweet lips
made me change my mind

i'll write you the best songs that i know how
and i'll hope they're good enough
if not i'll keep trying til i get it right
you'll just have to give me some time

this is my way of me tellin' you
just how much you mean to me
and my way of sayin' that i can't wait
to get lost in those pretty brown eyes

so have this song, for what it's worth
and take me as i am
it's just my simple of way of showin' you
i think you're pretty ok too

i'm not writing anything tonight.

skip

the record's scratched and keeps on skipping
the same four lines repeated
i know it by heart
it's the same tune i've been living
most all of my breathing
it's all in my heart

Splint

take these pills and wash em down
with a glass water
day in and day out it's all the same
why should we even bother
to get out of bed when the sun comes up
much less when it's going down
the sign of the times reads in my eyes
"the last exit home a thousand miles away"

i keep breaking without a splint to hold me together
and there's no telling what i'd give to be anywhere but here
i can't stand who i've become, but i can't find the strength to change

the sign of the times reads in my eyes
"the last exit home a thousand miles away"

i keep breaking without a splint to hold me together
and there's no telling what i'd give to be anywhere but here
i can't stand who i've become, but i can't find the strength to change

broken with you

the life and times
story book of my tragedy
the wrong and rights
chronicles of my blasphemy

they hear these words and pick them apart
turning them over from ending to start
but you hear these words and you know what i say
come to me now as i sing them today
together we'll walk hand in hand
together, against them we can stand

and i don't think one of them knows
what it's like to be broken
hiding the tears in your eyes
with words soft spoken
the stars are out tonight
but i'd rather stay inside
and be broken with you

Led Me Astray

some nights are worse than others
some nights i can't sleep by myself
some nights are worse than others
some nights i can't breathe without help

but at time's like these
my options are limited
yeah at times like these
i feel like giving up

so my door stays shut
locked in my room
hoping i can count on a song
with a little luck
locked in my room
i'll see just how i've been wrong

wrong about the dreams i passed up
and the feelings i lost
along the way
wrong about the seasons gone by
over days in mind
that led me astray

some nights are worse than others
some nights i can't sleep by myself
some nights are worse than others
some nights i can't breathe without help

but at time's like these
my options are limited
so at times like these
there's no way i can give up

It'd Be a Lie If I Said Every Song Wasn't for You

I just need a little bit of that toxic touch to get me goin'
After a round or two, the words in me just keep on flowin' out
Just keep on flowin' out

Rainy days and hazy ways are just enough to keep me down
I'll just stay inside all day, tryin' to perfect this imperfect sound
Tryin' to perfect this imperfect sound

And when the cold night leads me to you
It will be alright, cause I'll have you to see it through
The life in us will keep us warm
If that's too much, you can lean on me
You can lean on me
You can lean on me

I have got all these words, but they just don't mean a thing
And I can't expect them too 'til I find some meaning in myself
'Til I find some meaning in myself

So if you'll just take my hand, I know you will see
Though they say it can't be done, I will make you love me with a song
Yeah, I'll make you love me with a song

And when the cold night leads me to you
It will be alright, cause I'll have you to see it through
The life in us will keep us warm
If that's too much, you can lean on me
You can lean on me
You can lean on me

And when the cold night leads me to you
It will be alright, cause I'll have you to see it through
The life in us will keep us warm
If that's too much, you can lean on me

better off dead

i'm afraid
what's come to pass, can't be undone.
and i'm not asking to be happy
i just want to get out of bed by two
or maybe noon
now i'm know
it's too much for me
to filter the weight of the world.

mother asks
"are you home sick?"
no, i'm just sick
there's something wrong in my head
maybe i'd be
better off dead

cause no one wants to be here
but no one wants to leave
we're all too busy
wearin' our hearts on our sleeve
can anyone please tell me
what the hell does that even mean

we've all got lives we didn't earn
and we're payin' off the debt
i didn't want this responsibility
not when i just want to go back to sleep
it'd be better off in someone elses hands
someone who might give a damn
where the story goes
or if they've run out of pills to right this wrong
but i'm balancing spreadsheets by way of songs
they don't help all the time
but they've got a certain way about them to make me forget where i am

where am i?
somebody tell me.
where have i gone?

welcome the day

i'm too weak to give up
and too stubborn to give in
i'm gonna keep beating my head into the wall
and as the blood pours down my face
i will realize who i am
i'll be looking down on you from where i stand

with the night on fire again
i can show you how to burn
and as my cinders grace the heavens
your bodies lie in hell
always looking for an exit
your skin is stretched too thin
til i can see through you

these are the days i've lived for
these are the nights i've dreamt of
this is the one chance that i've got
the timing could not be better
i've passed all my chances to give up
so whether you're coming with me or not
this train leaves tonight

you can tell me i'm a fool
i don't care what you think
and that's the first true thing that i've said all night
you've given up on me
but i can't give up on myself
already done that one too many times

with my nose to the grind
i know i'll find success
living out the dream i've left
know that i'll find happiness
ink seeps through these pages
and word turns into song
this music saved my life

these are the days i've lived for
these are the nights i've dreamt of
this is the one chance that i've got
the timing could not be better
i've passed all my chances to give up
so whether you're coming with me or not
this train leaves tonight

and it's not that i don't care
but i can't just give up hope
i still believe in me
like i still believe in you
cause the stars aren't that far away
and the night is here to welcome the day

these are the days i've lived for
these are the nights i've dreamt of
this is the one chance that i've got
the timing could not be better
i've passed all my chances to give up
so whether you're coming with me or not
this train leaves tonight

these are the days i've lived for
these are the nights i've dreamt of
this is the one chance that i've got
the timing could not be better
i've passed all my chances to give up
so whether you're coming with me or not
this train leaves tonight
this train leaves tonight
this train leaves tonight

Miles of Corn Fields

the words i write for you
always seem to be my worst
but that's not the way i want it
you know you had me at the first
night of dancin'
all night drinkin'
naked swimming in that pool
all that kept it from being perfect
was his hand around your waist

in that iowa night sky
the stars were dancin'
in your eyes
a fevered dream
for all to see
and their jealous cries
of "make believe!"

now a thousand miles apart
but even closer than that night
i don't know when it'll happen
but you know we've gotta try
to get together
to see each other
makin' music all night long
and you know it will be perfect
with my hands around your waist

in that iowa night sky
the stars were dancin'
in your eyes
a fevered dream
for all to see
and their jealous cries
of "make believe!"

in that iowa night sky
the stars were dancin'
in your eyes
a fevered dream
for all to see
and their jealous cries
of "make believe!"

nuclear love

i can taste the ash on your lips
as clear as the salt on your skin
the sky lit up, making you a silhouette
and i watched your hair in the wind

but i wanna give this fall
from grace
a little character
so stab my teeth
with the daggers in your kiss
and swallow me whole or just my soul
with the nape of your neck

my jeans are tattered, my clothes are torn
you've ripped me apart in the throws of love
this effervescent passion surrounds me entirely
now i can't breath

but i wanna give this fall
from grace
a little character
so stab my teeth
with the daggers in your kiss
and swallow me whole or just my soul
with the nape of your neck

turn inside (out)
so i know where your heart lies
when the moon cries (out)
we'll have all we need
when the sun bleeds (out)
we'll dress up in war paint
and take on the world

but i wanna give this fall
from grace
a little character
so stab my teeth
with the daggers in your kiss
and swallow me whole or just my soul
with the nape of your neck

i wanna give this fall
from grace
a little character
so stab my teeth
with the daggers in your kiss
and swallow me whole or just my soul
with the nape of your neck

so undress me with war paint
and i'll bleed just like the sun

ray smith taught me many things

i been told pretty girls make graves
diggin' all day long for us boys made of clay
ain't no need to put it in a burlap sack and beat it to death
i know you ain't ever gonna let me rest
but if i keep giving you songs
maybe we can keep hum hum humming along

so pour me out like water from a vase
been kept too long
i done gone bad and i'll be better off, maybe
running down the gutter of the street with all the dead and gones
you and your kings can have your palaces
i'll keep the streets any day of the week
cause the streets are never ending and empty
just waiting to be filled
so sip your champagne
and listen to your minstrels
for me it's just red wine in my mouth
and a pile of fire wood

i'm dancin' in the wild with that wild butcher Japhy
and you know he's every bit as good as that ole Dean
we'll make our own way the only way we know how
by staring through light that's bursting at the seams
you can try to stop us
but no matter how you try
the world just goes
goes goes gone
twirl through the sky

i got heaven and hell right here in my satchel
and you can give it a try if you wanna give it a tackle
but i can't hold your hand
so don't you hold mine
just keep your head down
swear you'll be just fine

yet again i'm on a caffeinated tear
and it'll swallow you whole
like a goddam grizzly bear
so best look out when the clock strikes noon
cause right around then
imma be havin' to move
to the ancient midwest or some broken down shore
into a tin roof bungalow with salty dirt floors

be my friend as the sky falls
it's coming down now
help me break down ancient walls
it's coming down now
the story is old but the feeling's so new
it's all so new
and it's all coming down now

Light My Path (incomplete)

there's no map for this road i'm on
and moss don't point north
in these woods i'm lost in
tryin' to follow the stars
but clouds roll in
and i've lost my way again

light my path
i'm lookin at my feet
watchin my step
tryin to find what's familiar to me

when the stars burn out, do we go with them?
snuffed out cause they got a bad rap
cause we didn't pay our dues?

what makes the sky alive with fire?
is it the cave men in our mind's eye
rubbing sticks together for warmth?

Riddle/Playlist

you're speaking in riddles and i don't appreciate the sentiment
you're kidding yourself if you think that i like it one small bit
well, maybe just a little bit

so riddle me this
or riddle me that
riddle me everything you think i need know
just start with the start
and finish with me
you'll be the best riddle i've ever heard

you've been singing all night, i could really use some sleep
oh i think it sounds nice, but i'd rather you just let me be
yeah alright, who am i kidding?

please be my playlist
and sing to me sweet
your song's the only thing i ever wanna know
no, don't ever stop
all night and all day
you'll be the best playlist i've ever heard

All We Know

when the fire dies out, what's left but ash?
will you know how to live, when all else is past?
burn burn burn, that's all we know
burn burn burn, that's all we know

we can't just keep alight, that's not how it works
we keep on when it's dead, no matter how it hurts
live live live, that's all we know
live live live, that's all we know

i loved you once, standing all around
now my love is dead, buried underground
die die die, that's all we know
die die die, that's all we know

all we know
all we know

One Bedroom Flat

hang up the phone and take off your clothes
tell me something that no one else knows
don't turn away when i look in your eyes
i'm lookin' past tears and seeing through lies

the rain falls quietly outside
be my shelter to run and hide
keep warm when i'm at scared night
fill my soul with holy light
holy light

we can move to new york
i'll work in a bar
and write
in our one bedroom flat
you'll play your guitar
at night

and fall asleep with me
and fall asleep with me
and fall asleep with me
and fall asleep with me

with me
with me
with me

my dying day

i've abused my mind
with drugs and drink
i've lost myself
between the seams
i'm scared and alone
cause i sent her away
and i don't know
if i can make it out alive

now i'm burning my books
and my fingertips
running away as fast as i can

run run run
run away
run run run
'til my dying day

can't be sure

white powder melodies sing you to sleep
while smoke filled lungs play along in your dream
the powder and pills and the grass and the drinks
don't do a thing with the tears when you blink
binging all weekend won't make her care anymore
pretty soon you'll see you've forgot what it's for

now i'm startin' to sound a bit hypocritical
cause we all know i'm all kinds of criminal
chasin' round girls and chasin' down shots
long gone are days of forget-me-nots
so pour me a drink, yeah fill up the glass
and soon enough we'll forget about the past

something like this?
or something like that?
i can't be sure anymore.

trash on a lake bed.

a snowy day is all i want
is that too much to ask for?
but we both know that's not it
just the tip of the iceberg
and i'm looking at myself in the mirror
neither my reflection or i
like what we see, it could sure be better

the sullen eyes
hide behind lies
this piercing frown
keeps letting me down
and this hair that is never
quite the way i want
just shows how i feel about myself

none of this makes sense not even to me
so i don't expect any better from you
but i hope and i pray you understand
just what i'm going through
cause it seems to me
like you've been here too

so come along with me
so that you can see
my god this is trash
there's no way it can last
an odd reflection
a mirror perfect image
of just how i feel about myself