The old bastard left his ties and a suit
A brown box
Moth balls and bowling shoes
And his opinions so you'd never have to choose
Pretty soon you'll be an old bastard too
You get smaller as the world gets big
The more you know you know you don't know shit
"The Whiz Man" will never fit you like "The Whiz Kid" did
So why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's okay if you don't know everything
Why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's okay
If you don't know everything
Close your eyes
Close your ears young man
You've seen and heard all an old man can
Spread the facts on the floor like a fan
Throw away the ones that make you feel bad
Kids today are getting old too fast
They can't wait to grow up so they can kiss some ass
They get nostalgic about the last ten years
Before the last ten years have passed
So why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's okay if you don't know everything
Why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's okay if you don't know everything
Tears land on a hand on a chest
The old bastard had a paradigm arrest
He got smaller and the world got big
The more he knew he knew he didn't know shit
"The Whiz Man" never fit him like "The Whiz Kid" did
So why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's ok if you don't know everything
Why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's ok if you don't know everything |
By the time the buzz was wearing off
We were standing out on the sidewalk
With our tattoos that looked like rings
In the hot Nevada sun
Gifts piled high
And our moms and dads shook hands
And our party of polaroid friends
Rented a pool and hired a band
Maybe they knew more than we knew
As they danced and drank
We jumped off the deep end
I've got you to thank for this
Christmas came around
And everything was going to crap
For moms and dads
Not a clue to be had
We put on a pretty good act
And they seemed to all need to believe it
So we danced and smiled
And paddled hard Beneath it
I've got you to thank for this
You can't say
You've never had
A doubt
You smoked it down
But really wanted out
By the time the buzz was wearing off
We were standing out on the sidewalk
With our tattoos that looked like rings
In the hot Nevada sun
And they won't fade
I've got you to thank |
Take a walk
Out the gate you go and never stop
Past dollar stores and wig shops
A quarter in a cup for every block
And watch the buildings grow
Smaller as you go
Down the tracks
Beautiful McMansions on a hill
That overlook a highway
With riverboat casinos and you still
Have yet to see a soul
Jesusland
Town to town
Broadcast to each house
They drop your name
But no one knows your face
Billboards quoting things you'd never say
You hang your head and pray
For Jesusland
Miles and miles
and the sun's going down
Pulses glow from their homes
You're not alone
Lights come on
As you lay your weary head
On their lawn
Parking lots
Cracked and growing grass
You see it all
From offices to farms
Crosses flying high above the malls
Along the walk
Through Jesusland |
We'd hit the bottom
I thought it was my fault
And in a way I guess it was
I'm just now finding out
What it was all about
We moved to the west coast
Away from everyone
She never told me that you called
Back when I was still
I was still in love
But I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's "bye-bye. Goodbye, I tried"
And I twisted it wrong just to make it right
I had to leave myself behind
And I've been flying high all night
So come pick me up
I've landed
The daily dramas
She made from nothing
So nothing ever made them right
She liked to push me
And talk me back down
Until I believed I was the crazy one
And in a way I guess I was
When I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's "bye-bye. Goodbye, I tried"
Treading the sea of her troubled mind
I had to leave myself behind
Now it's "bye-bye. Goodbye, I tried"
If you wrote me off
I'd understand it
'Cause I've been on
Some other planet
So come pick me up
I've landed
And you will be so happy to know
I've come alone
It's over
I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's "bye-bye. Goodbye, I tried"
Down comes the reign of the telephone czar
It's ok to call
I will answer for myself
Come pick me up
I've landed |
You can’t fool me I saw you when you came out
You've got your mamma’s taste but you got my mouth
And you will always have a part of me
Nobody else is ever gonna see
Gracie girl
With your cards to your chest
Walking on your toes
What you got in the box
Only Gracie knows
And I would never try to make you be
Anything you didn’t really want to be
Gracie girl
Life flies by in seconds
You’re not a baby
Gracie, you're my friend
You’ll be a lady soon
But until then
You gotta do what I say
Nodding off in my arms watching TV
I won’t move you an inch even though my arm’s asleep
One day you’re gonna want to go
I hope we taught you everything you need to know
Gracie girl
And you will always have a part of me
Nobody else is ever going to see but you and me
A little girl
My Gracie girl |
It's funny I know
But I'm disappointed in you
I thought you could read my mind
But I came home early
And saw that a drawer had been opened
Looks like you've been reading my diary instead
How does it feel to realize
You're all alone behind your eyes
It seems to me if you can't trust
You can't be trusted
Caught in a dream
Picking up astral signals
Some of them psychic
You better watch what you think
Happens to be that everybody else's dreams
Are Freudian clues
You'd better watch what you dream
You wanna see the other side
What's going on behind the eyes
Still it seems if you can't trust
You can't be trusted
Oh, no no no
No no no
No no no
Didn't you know we're as close as we can be?
The sun's coming up
She's pulling all the blankets over
Curled in a ball
Like she's hiding from me and
That's when I know
She's gonna be pissed when she wakes up
For terrible things I did
To her in her dreams
You wanna see the other side
What's going on behind the eyes
Still it seems if you can't trust
You can't be trusted
Oh, no no no
No no no
No no no
Didn't you know we're as close as we can be?
Hello? |
Judy
Could anyone be loved anymore
Than I love you
Does it hurt you too
But Judy
I've been feeling small too long
I love you so
But something's wrong
'Cause I come running
When you want me here
And when you want me to
I disappear
Give Judy my notice
I knew
If I made it easy for you
You'd settle for me
Yeah eventually
But Judy
I won't be your bitch anymore
And follow you around
And hold the door
'Cause I can't do this any longer
The vacuum left is so much stronger
Give Judy my notice
Give Judy my notice
Judy, you know I'm not mad anymore
At least most of the time
But it could take a while
I've been living just to see you smile
Every once in a while
Tears fall
But that don't mean nothing at all
It's just 'cause I said it first
Yeah, that's why it hurts ya
And Judy,
I won't be your bitch anymore
and follow you around
and hold the door
And I'm not sorry if you're not sorry
And you're not sorry until I make you
Give Judy my notice
Give Judy my notice
Give Judy my notice
Notice... |
Under some dirty words
On a dirty wall
Eating take-out by myself
I played the shows
Got back in the van and put the walkman on
And you were playing
In some other dive a thousand miles away
I played a thousand times before
And like pathetic stars
The truck stops and the rock club walls
I always knew
You saw them too
But you never will again
It's too late
Don't you know
It's been too late for a long time
Elliott, man you played a fine guitar
And some dirty basketball
The songs you wrote
Got me through a lot
Just wanna tell you that
But it's too late
It's too late
No, don't you know
it's been too late
for a long time
Oh, no
Things were looking up
Least that's what I heard
Oh, no
Someone came and washed away your hard-earned
Peace of mind
When desperate static beats the silence up
A quiet truth to calm you down
The songs you wrote
Got me through a lot
Just wanna tell you that
But it's too late
It's too late
No, don't you know
It's been too late
For a long time
It's too late
It's too late
No, don't you know
It's been too late
For a long time |
There's a moment in my mind
I scribbled and erased a thousand times
Like a letter never written or sent
These conversations with the dead
I used to be a sentimental guy
Now I'm haunted by the left unsaid
I never thought so much could change
Little things you said or did
Are part of me
Come out from time to time
Though probably no one I know now
Would notice
But I never thought so much could change
You drifted far away
Far away it seems
Time has stopped
The clock keeps going
People talking
And I'm watching
As flashes of their faces go black and white
And fade to yellow
In a box in an attic
And I never thought so much would change
Now I don't miss anyone
I don't miss anything
What a shame
I used to be a sentimental guy |
Think of me
Any way you want
I can be
The problem if that's easier
In your head
Move the pieces around
Things I said
Turn the memory upside down
And it makes it better I know
But sometimes it's hard to swallow
And in time I will fade away
In time I won't hear what you're saying
In time
But time takes time you know
Tell your friends
The things they want to hear and see
Start the drums
Band against the enemy
And in time I
Will fade away
In time I
Won't care what you're saying
In time
But time takes time you know
In your head
Move the pieces round
Things I said
Turn the memory upside down
It might make it better I know
But sometimes it's hard to swallow
And in time I will fade away
In time I won't care what you're saying
In time
But time takes time you know |
We walked the earth
We talked and never spoke a word
She wonders who will be the first to go
I said you know
The biggest things we gotta face alone
Don't wanna when it's time to go
Alone
Alone again
A trace of me
That floats in my periphery
And every time I turn to see
It goes
Alone
Alone again
Floating by like a satellite
To pass the time
You'll float by again
And I can tell you about the little things
So you don't think about the big things for a while
We walked the earth
We talked and never spoke a word
She wonder who will be the first to go |
