Lyrics
Boys and Girls in AmericaSeparation Sunday
The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me
miscellaneous
- Stuck Between Stations
- Chips Ahoy!
- Hot Soft Light
- Some Kooks
- First Night
- Party Pit
- You Can Make Him Like You
- Massive Nights
- Citrus
- Chillout Tents
- Southtown Girls
Stuck Between Stations
there are nights when i think that sal paradise was right.
boys and girls in america have such a sad time together.
sucking off each other at the demonstrations.
making sure their makeup's straight.
crushing one another with collossal expectations.
dependent, undisciplined, sleeping late.
she was a really cool kisser and she wasn't all that strict of a christian.
she was a damn good dancer but she wasn't all that great of a girlfriend.
he likes the warm feeling but he's tired of all the dehydration.
most nights were crystal clear but tonite its like it's stuck between stations
on the radio.
the devil and john berryman took a walk together
they ended up on washington talking to the river
he said "I surrounded myself with doctors and deep thinkers
but big heads with soft bodies make for lousy lovers".
there was that night that we thought that john berryman could fly.
but he didnt so he died.
she said "you're pretty good with words but words won't save your life"
and they didn't so he died.
he was drunk and exhausted but he was critically acclaimed and respected.
he loved the golden gophers but he hated all the drawn out winters.
he likes the warm feeling but he's tired of all the dehydration.
most nights were kind of fuzzy but that last night he had total retention.
these twin city kisses.
sound like clicks and hisses.
and we all come down and drown in the mississippi river.
we drink
we dry up.
we crumble into dust.
we get wet
we corrode
we get covered in rust.
Chips Ahoy!
she put 900 dollars
on the fifth horse
in the sixth race
i think his name was chips ahoy.
came in six lengths ahead
we spent the whole next week getting high
at first i thought that she hit
on some tip that she got from some other boy.
we were overjoyed.
i got a girl and she don't have to work
she can tell which horse is gonna finish in first
some nights the painkillers make
the pain even worse
came in six lengths ahead
we spent the whole next week getting high
i love this girl but
i cant tell when she's having a good time.
How am I supposed to know that you're high
if you wont let me touch you?
How am i supposed to know that you're high
if you wont even dance?
shes hard on the heart
shes soft to the touch
she gets migrane headaches
when she does it too much.
she always does it too much.
How am I supposed to know that you're high
if you wont let me touch you?
How am I supposed to know that you're high
if you won't even dance?
and you won't even dance.
Hot Soft Light
i was not involved at the northtown mall.
as a matter of fact i didnt even know that's where it happened.
i was france ave when they came out dancing.
i was lyndale south. i was kicking it with cousins.
we were talking about going clubbing.
instead we just started drinking.
i've been straight since the cinco de mayo.
before that i was blotto.
i was blacked out. i was cracked out.
i was caved in.
you should have seen all these portals
that i've powered up in.
we started recreational.
it ended kinda medical.
it came on hot and soft and then
it tightened up its tentacles.
i wasnt there
i was blind high. i was scared.
i was lake and columbus.
i was cutting off all my hair.
i was unfurling a flag of defiance
aimed at my guidance guy.
so this is it.
this is the end of the session.
i ain't gonna be taking any more questions.
i think my attorney's gonna second that notion.
it started recreational.
it ended kinda medical.
it came on hot and soft and then
it tightened up its tentacles.
the band played screaming for vengance
and we agreed. this world is mostly manacled.
it started ice cream social nice.
it ended up all white and ecumenical.
there are guys
with wild eyes when they ask to get you high.
there are girls
that will come to you with comfort in the night.
thats right.
we started recreational.
it ended up all medical.
it came on hot and soft and then
it tightened up its tentacles.
the band played sabbath bloody sabbath
you thought it was stoney and adorable.
it started in the vestibule.
it ended in the hospital.
there are guys
with the wild eyes when they ask to get you high.
there are girls
that will come to you with comfort in the night.
there are nights
where it all comes on a little bit too bright.
there's a cross
and in the center there is a hot soft light.
Some Kooks
they found me in a florist
i was fried and out of focus.
i was kicking it with chemists.
the scratches on my back
they formed into a choir
and belted out a chorus.
there were clicks and hisses.
and complicated kisses.
gideon's got a pipe made from a pringles can.
hey hey providence
you gotta fall in love with whoever you can.
the sheets stain but the sins wash away.
naked bodies in the naraganset bay.
same kooks don't shoot but they sure do sniff.
same kooks can't fly because their wings are clipped.
same kooks can't come but they sure do kiss
making love to the girls with the wrapped up wrists.
the lord takes away and the lord delivers.
washed it all off in the mississippi river.
we slept it off in the matinees
we rip it up like the razor blades.
now we just need something to celebrate.
i wanna open some bottles up.
(I wanna open my body up).
I'm getting tired of all these styrofoam coffee cups.
she said its hard to feel holy when you can't get clean
now she's bumping up against the washing machines
she said its hard to slow down when you're picking up speed.
it was those two same kooks from that one stupid photo shoot.
it was those two same kooks from that one stupid photo shoot.
First Night
charlemagne shakes in the streets
gideon makes love to the suites
holly's not invincible
in fact she's in the hospital.
not far from the bar where we met
on that first night.
charlemagne pulls street corner scams
gideon's got a pipe made from a pringles can.
holly's insatiable.
she still looks incredible.
but she don't look like the same girl we met.
on that first night.
she was golden with barlight and beer.
she slept like she'd never been scared.
and then last night
she said words alone never could save us.
and then last night
she cried when she told us about jesus.
holly's inconsolable
unhinged and uncontrollable.
because we can't get as high as we got
on that first night.
boys and girls in america.
don't bother talking to the guys
with the hot soft eyes.
they're already taken.
dont even speak
to all those sequencer and beats boys.
when they kiss they spit white noise.
white noise.
Party Pit
i guess I met her at the party pit
she said those kids she's with were selling it
so we sailed off on some separate trips
she got pinned down at the party pit.
I went away to school that fall
she stuck around with all those stickpin dolls
sped through the scene until the engine stalled
at some suburban shopping mall
sailed away on such separate trips
she got pinned down at the party pit.
I came back to start a band, of course.
saw her walking thru the crystal court.
she made a scene by the revolving doors
she's gonna walk around and drink some more.
so we walked across that grain belt bridge.
into bright new minneapolis
she said i think that all those things I did
were just momentum from the party pit.
sailed away on such separate trips
she got pinned down at the party pit
I'm pretty sure we kissed.
gonna walk around and drink some more
gonna walk around and drink.
You Can Make Him Like You
you don't have to deal with the dealers
let your boyfriend deal with the dealers.
it only gets inconvenient
when you want to get high alone.
you don't have to know how to get home
let your boyfriend tell the driver the best way to go.
it only gets kind of wierd
when you wanna go home alone.
you don't have to know the inspiring people
let your boyfriend know the inspiring people.
you can hang in the kitchen
talk about the stars and the upcoming sequel.
if you get tired of your boyfriends things
there's always other boys.
there's always other boyfriends.
if you get tired of your boyfriends scene
there's always other scenes.
there's always other boyfriends.
you don't have to deal with the dealers
let your boyfriend deal with the dealers.
it only gets inconvenient
when you want to get high alone.
you don't have to go to the right kind of schools
let your boyfriend come from the right kind of schools.
you can wear his old sweatshirt.
you can cover yourself like a bruise.
if you get tired of your boyfriend's things.
there's always other boys
there's always other boyfriends.
if you get tired of your football friends.
there's always other boys
there's always other boyfriends.
if you get tired of the the car he drives.
there's always other boys
you can make him like you.
if you get tired of the music he likes.
there's always other boys
you can make him like you.
they say you dont have a problem until you start to do it alone.
they say you dont have a problem until you start bringing it home.
they say you dont have a problem until you start sleeping alone.
there's always other boys.
there's always other boyfriends.
there's always other boys.
you can make him like you.
Massive Nights
the guys were feeling good about their liqour run.
the girls were kinda flirting with the setting sun.
we all kinda fumbled thru the jitterbug.
we were all powered up on some new upper drug.
everyone was funny and everyone was pretty.
everyone was coming towards the center of the city.
the dancefloor was crowded. the bathrooms were worse.
we kissed in your car and we drank from your purse.
i had my mouth on her nose
when the chaperone said that we were dancing too close.
we had some massive nights.
every song was right.
all that wine was tight.
your friends were pretty cool.
and my friends were acting cool.
there weren't any fights.
there's usually one or two.
some guys they get a little bit uptight.
some girls they got something to prove.
we had some massive highs.
we had some crushing lows.
we had some lusty little crushes
we had those all ages hardcore matinee shows.
i was down on my knees
when the chaperone said that it was time for me to leave.
we had some massive nights.
every song was right.
all that wine was tight.
your friends were pretty cool.
and my friends were acting cool.
there weren't any fights.
there's usually one or two.
some guys they get a little bit uptight.
some girls they got something to prove.
we had some massive nights.
she had the gun in her mouth.
she was shooting up at her dreams.
when the chaperone said that
we'd been crowned
the king and the queen.
Citrus
hey citrus
hey liquor
I love it when when you touch each other
hey whiskey
hey ginger
I come to you with rigid fingers.
i see judas in the hard eyes of the boys working the corners.
i feel jesus in the clumsiness of young and awkward lovers.
hey barroom
hey tavern
I find hope in all the souls you gather.
hey citrus
hey liquor
I love it when we come together.
I feel jesus in the clumsiness of young and awkward lovers.
I feel judas in the long odds of the rackets on the corners.
I feel jesus in the tenderness of honest nervous lovers.
I feel judas in the pistols and the pagers that come with all the powders.
lost in fog and love and faithless fear.
I've had kisses that make Judas seem sincere.
Chillout Tent
there was a stage and a PA
up in western massachussetts.
the kids came from miles around
to get messed up on the music.
she drove down from bowdoin
with a carload of girlfriends.
to meet some boys and
maybe eat some mushrooms.
and they did and she got sick
now she's pinned and way too shaky
she don't want to tell the doctor
everything she' s taken.
the paramedics hovered over
like a somber mourning family.
they gave her activated charcoal
they flooded her with saline.
she got really hot and then she came to in the chillout tent.
they gave her oranges and cigarettes.
he was rough around the edges.
he'd been to school but never finished.
he'd been to jail but never prison.
it was his first day off in forever, man.
the festival seemed like a pretty good plan.
cruise some chicks and get a suntan.
his friend gave him four but he said only take one.
but then he got bored
he ended up taking all four.
so now my man he ain't that bored anyways.
the paramedics found him
he was shaking on the side of the stage.
everything was spinning and then he came to in the chillout tent
they gave him oranges and cigarettes.
she got really hot and then she came to in the chillout tent
they gave them oranges and cigarettes.
she looked just like a baby bird
all new and wet and trying to light a parliament.
he quoted her some poetry.
he's tennyson in denim and sheepskin.
he looked a lot like izzy stratlin.
they started kissing when the nurses took off their IVs.
it was kind of of sexy but it was kind of creepy.
their mouths were fizzy with the cherry cola.
they had the privacy of bedsheets
all the other kids were mostly in comas.
he was kind of cute.
they kind of kicked it in the chillout tent.
she never saw that boy again
she was pretty cool
they kind of kicked it in the chillout tent.
he never saw that girl again.
Southtown Girls
southtown girls won't blow you away
but you know that they'll stay.
take lyndale to the horizon.
take nicollet out to the ocean.
take penn ave out to the 494.
meet me right in front of the fabric store.
don't look me in the eye.
look over at the theater.
I'm a little bit surprised.
you didn't tell me there'd be three of you.
hey bloomington, what'd you let them do to you?
I think they're almost through with you.
southtown girls wont blow you away
but you know that they'll stay.
take lyndale back to the southside.
take nicollet up to the vietnamese.
take penn ave back up to the northside.
take lowery east to the quarry.
meet me right in front of the rainbow foods.
I got a brown paper bag and black buckle shoes.
if anything seems wierd then just cruise.
meet me right in front of the party city.
that two sided tape it gets way too sticky.
I got a bad case of noisemaker blues.
southtown girls wont blow you away
but you know that they'll stay.
- Hornets! Hornets!
- Cattle and the Creeping Things
- Your Little Hoodrat Friend
- Banging Camp
- Charlemagne in Sweatpants
- Stevie Nix
- Multitude of Casualties
- Don't Let Me Explode
- Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night
- Crucifixion Cruise
- How a Resurrection Really Feels
she said always remember never to trust me. she said that the first night she met me. she said there's gonna be a time when i'm gonna have to go with whoever's gonna get me the highest.
she said i won't be much for conversation if we go and do the rest of this. she said i've never been much for conservation. i kinda dig these awkward silences. she's got those bones brigade videos. she knew them back and forth. she's slept with so many skaters. she had the place to herself. she had a couple hundred bux. and he had nothing but the number.
she said i like the guy who always answers the door. he never asks you what you came to his house for. she said i won't be much for all this humbert humbert stuff. i've never done so much of this. i have to try so hard not to fall in love. i have to concentrate when we kiss. she mouthed the words along to "running up that hill." that song got scratched into her soul. he's never heard the song before. but still he gets the metaphor. he knows some people that switched places before. she said i really like the crowds at the really big shows. people touching people that they don't even know, yo.
i guess the heavy stuff ain't quite at its heaviest by the time it gets out to suburban minneapolis. we were living up at nicollet and 66th. with 3 skaters and some hoodrat chick. drove the wrong way down 169. almost died up by edina high.
Cattle and the Creeping Things
they got to the part with the cattle and the creeping things. they said i'm pretty sure we've heard this one before. don't it all end up in some revelation? with 4 guys on horses, and violent red visions famine and death and pestilence and war. i'm pretty sure i heard this one before. you in the corner with a good looking drifter. two cups of coffee and ten packs of sugar. i heard gideon saw you in denver. he said you're contagious. silly rabbit. tripping is for teenagers. murder is for murderers. and hard drugs are for bartenders. i think i might have mentioned that before.
he's got the pages in his pockets that he ripped out of the bible from his bedstand in the motel. he likes the part where the traders get chased out from the temple. i guess i heard about original sin. i heard the dude blamed the chick. i heard the chick blamed the snake. i heard they were naked when they got busted. i heard things ain't been the same since. you on the streets with a tendency to preach to the choir. wired for sound and down with whatever. i heard gideon did you in denver.
she's got a cross around her neck that she ripped off from a schoolgirl in the subway on a visit to the city. she likes how it looks on her chest with three open buttons. she likes the part where one brother kills the other. she has to wonder if the the world ever will recover. because cain and abel seem to still be causing trouble.
she said: i was seeing double for 3 straight days after i got born again it felt strange but it was nice and peaceful. it really pleased me to be around so many people. of course half were just visions but half of them were friend from going thru the program with me. later on we did some sexy things. took a couple photographs and carved them into wood reliefs. but that's enough about me. tell me how you got down here into ybor city.
he said: i got thru the part about the exodus. up to then i only knew it was a movement of the people. but if small town cops are like swarms of flies and if blackened foil is like boils and hail. then i'm pretty sure we've been thru this before. and it seemed like a simple place to score. then some old lady came to the door and said mckenzie phillips doesn't live here anymore.
yr little hoodrat friend makes me sick but after i get sick i just get sad. because it burns being broke and it hurts to be heartbroken but always being both must be a drag. she's been calling me again. she's been calling me again.
yr little hoodrat friend's been calling me again. and i can't stand all the things that she sticks into her skin. like sharpened ballpoint pens. and steel guitar strings. she says it hurts. but it's worth it. tiny little text etched into her neck it said "jesus lived and died for all your sins." she's got blue black ink and it's scratched into her lower back. it said: "damn right i'll rise again." yeah, damn right you'll rise again.
i've been dusted in the dark up in penetration park. i've been plastered. i've been shaking hard and searching in a dirty storefront church. i've been plowed. but i ain't ever been with your little hoodrat friend. what makes you think i'm getting with your little hoodrat friend?
yr little hoodrat friend got me high though. we were 17 and stuck up in osseo. she said it's funny even true love gets troubled by stillwater and washed up in the mississippi river.
her claddagh ring was pointed at the people. she said "st. theresa comes to me in dreams." she said "i ain't gonna do anything sexual with you. i'm kinda saving myself for the scene."
i've been dusted in the dark up in penetration park. i've been plastered. i've been shaking hard and searching in a dirty storefront church. i've been plowed. but i ain't ever been with your little hoodrat friend. what makes you think i'm getting with your little hoodrat friend?
she said: city center used to be the center of the scene. now city center's over. no one really goes there. then we used to drink beneath this railroad bridge. some nites the bus wouldn't even stop. there were just way too many kids.
i was waiting for my ride and i got jumped from behind. i got punctured. i got stopped by the cops. they found it in my sox. and i got probed. but i ain't ever been with your little hoodrat friend. what makes you think i'm getting with your little hoodrat friend?
holly wore a string around her finger. she said it helps her to remember all the nites that we got over. besides, it ties her outfit all together. holly wore a string around her finger. there are strings attached to every single lover but still they can't tether us together. listen to the back of the theater. i think they really love one another. there's strings attached to every little lover.
when they say great white sharks. they mean the kind in big black cars. when they say killer whales. they mean they whaled on him until they killed him up in penetration park.
holly wore a cross to ward them off. she said if they think yr a christian then they won't bring in the dogs. and if they think yr a catholic then they'll wanna meet your boss. holly wore a cross to ward them off. there's camps down by the banks of the river. and it's sketchy in the night but they mostly lay low in the light. hey sweet recovery. c'mon won't you wade into the water with me? there are camps down by the banks of the river.
when they say black and tans. they mean the kind from the cans. we don't got time to mix it all together. i'm a very busy man, man. she says i kinda dig the awkward silences. because i grew up in denial and went to school in massachussetts. he said hi, i like to party on the problem blocks. and i can't stand it when the banging stops.
i saw her at the party pit. she was shaky but still trying to shake it. half naked and three quarters wasted. she was completely alone.
i saw him at the riverbank. he was breaking bread and giving thanks. with crosses made of pipes and planks. leaned up against the nitrous tanks.
he said take a hit. hold your breath and i'll dunk your head. then when you wake up again. you'll be high as hell and born again.
there's strings attached to every single lover.
when he's holding then the streetlights seem an awful lot like spotlites. sometimes charlemagne gets uptight. running numbers between bars. running girls between the cars. and sometimes charlemagne feels all right. all right.
charlemagne had eyes like a lover. but last winter there was weather and his eyes they iced right over. cassanova's in the corner and he's asking for a dance. speedshooters driving round and coming down and tryna hook up with an exit ramp.
tramps like us and we like tramps. charlemagne's got something in his sweatpants.
holly was supposed to be at ccd but she was down on shady streets. she was looking round for something she could take up to a party. and it's not like she's enslaved. it's more like she's enthralled. she don't need it but she likes it. so she always makes that call. first it makes her feel tall then it makes her feel small and it's all a sweet fleeting feeling. they did the "been caught stealing" into "dancing on the ceiling." and you're damn right we danced. charlemagne's got something in his sweatpants.
do you want me to tell it like boy meets girl and the rest is history? or do you want it like a murder mystery? i'm gonna tell it like a comeback story.
'cause we when we left we were defeated and depressed. and when we arrived we were ripping high. we had a gun in the glovebox. we had some sweet stuff tucked into our socks. we had jesus christ in all his glory.
you came into the party with a long black shawl. and the guys from the front lawn were making jokes about the white swan. some nites we just need to get touched and rub right up against something plush. some nites it's just a crush and some nites it's bloodlust. she said we might use you later on. meet me back here right around dawn.
you came into the ER drinking gin from a jam jar. and the nurses making jokes about the ER being like an after bar. you know you're weak and effite and i'm coming up from the streets. you're up in yr loft getting soft and i'm coming up the stairs and i'm coming from the streets. she said i love the guys you cant trust. meet me back here about dusk.
i was half dead. then i got born again. i got lost in all the lights but it was ok in the end. and when we hit the twin cities i didn't know that much about it. i knew mary tyler moore and i knew profane existence. i was keyed up. keys jangled in the stalls. they counted money in the motels. they mostly sold it in the malls. and the carpet at the thunderbird has a burn for every cowboy that got fenced in.
she said you remind me of rod stewart when he was young. you've got passion, you think that you're sexy. and all the punks think that you're dumb. the guys around the lockers got a story about the stomach pump. and the guys behind the theater found a body in the garbage dump.
she got screwed up by religion. she got screwed by soccer players. she got high for the first time in the camps down by the banks of the mississippi river. lord to be seventeen forever. she got confused about the truth. she came to in a confession. she got high for the last time in the camps down by the banks of the river. lord to be 33 forever. she got screwed up by her vision. it was scary when she saw him. she didn't tell a single person about the camps on the banks of the mississippi river. lord to be seventeen forever. she got strung out the scene. she got scared when it got druggy. the way the whispers bit like fangs in the last hour of the parties. lord to be 33 forever.
she drove it like she stole it. she stole it fast and with a multitude of casualties. she said i shipped it out from boulder. packed in coffee grounds and wrapped around in dryer sheets. we spent a few months just wandering the sonoma. high as hell and shivering and smashed. we were hoping for a vision quest. we opened up three buttons. but all we saw was desert trash.
it's a funny bit of chemistry. how a cool car makes a guy seem that much cooler. it's worth noting throughout history. kids come around corners to a multitude of casualties. we spent a few hours circling the city. like a hawk out on the highways. we were looking around for something that just died. we heard the deacon's hopeful eulogy. at least in dying you don't have to deal with new wave for a second time.
after your party we got off the grid. we just couldn't get with all those clever kids. now we forage on the frontage roads. we drive at nites i guess it just feels somewhat safer. we scrounge around for sustinence. we mostly eat it in the back half of the theaters. we spent a few years nodding off in matinees. high as hell and shivering and smashed. we were hoping for an action adventure. something loud that we could feel thru all the feminax. and after the movie we got off the ground. got in yr car and crawled around in lowertown.
while she was at the citadel. he was getting high as hell. when she came to in the matinee. she was asking round for someplace else to stay. while he was down in lowertown. she was feeling out the 530 folk mass. and the nite that she got born again. he was getting with her little hoodrat friend.
they did wade in the water into one tin soldier. she started to cry. youth services always find a way to get their bloody cross into your druggy little messed up teenage life.
he said what about los angeles. she said we never really made it that far west. we scored big in denver and we thought it might be best. to go hang around in the upper midwest.
he said what about new orleans. she said i don't think you understand what that means. all those hangers on. the girls lifting up their shirts when the cameras come on. we were tryna stay away from those kind of scenes.
we didn't go to dallas. 'cause jackie onassis said that it ain't safe for catholics yet. think about what they pulled on kennedy. and then think about his security. then think about what they might try to pull on you and me.
saint barbara i'm calling your name. don't let me blow up. we'll hook it all up. i guess there's fields of speed where there's fields of grain.
saint barbara don't let me explode. i can feel the whole scene starting to corrode when we're fooling around on the frontage roads.
he asked what happened to charlemagne. she just smiled all polite-like and said something vague. she said charlemagne got caught up in some complicated things. she wiped at her nose and she winked.
Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night
nelson algren came to paddy at some party at the dead end alley. he told him what to celebrate.
and i met william butler yeats. sunday nite dance party summer 1988. at first i thought it might be william blake.
we mix our own mythologies. we push them out through pa systems. we dictate our doxologies and try to get sleeping kids to sit up and listen. i'm not saying we could save you. but we could put you in a place where you could save yrself. if you don't get born again at least you'll get high as hell.
sweet saint paul. that must be the hardest luck saint of them all. we met him in some suburban saint paul mall.
when st. theresa came to holly. i wasn't even at that party. i'd already moved out to new york city. when judas went up and kissed him. i almost got sick. i guess i knew what was coming. i guess i knew it was coming.
we gather our gospels from gossip and bar talk then declare them the truth. we salvage our sermons from message boards and scene reports. we come on to the youth. we try out new testements on the guys sitting next to us in the bars with the bars in their windows. even if you don't get converted tonite you must admit that the band's pretty tight.
they did she's got legs into ain't 2 proud 2 beg into something by the dixie dregs. they faked their way thru fairytale of new york. when the band stopped playing we howled out for more.
hey nelson algren. chicago seemed tired last nite. they had cigarettes where there were supposed to be eyes. hey william butler yeats. the irish seemed wired last nite. they tried to separate our girls from our guys. they had cigarettes where there were supposed to be eyes.
halleluiah came to in a confession booth. infested with infections. smiling on an abcessed tooth. running hard on residue. crashing thru the vestibule. the crucifixion cruise. she climbed the cross and found she liked the view. sat reflecting on the resurrection. talking loud over lousy connections. she put her mouth around a difficult question. she said lord what do you recommend? to a real sweet girl who's made some not sweet friends. lord what would you prescribe? to a real soft girl who's having real hard times.
How a Resurrection Really Feels
her parents named her halleluiah, the kids all called her holly. if she scared you then she's sorry. she's been stranded at these parties. these parties they start lovely but they get druggy and they get ugly and they get bloody.
the priest just kinda laughed. the deacon caught a draft. she crashed into the easter mass with her hair done up in broken glass. she was limping left on broken heels. when she said father can i tell yr congregation how a resurrection really feels?
holly was a hoodrat. now you finally know that. she's been disappeared for years. today she finally came back. she said: st. louis had enslaved me. i guess santa ana saved me. st. peter had me on the queue. the st. paul saints they waved me thru.
i was all wrapped up in some video booth. when i heard her say i love you too.
she said i've laid beneath my lovers but i've never gotten laid. some nites she felt protected. some nites she felt afraid. she spent half last winter justa trying to get paid. from some guy she'd originally thought to be her saviour. they wrote her name in magic marks. on stopsigns and subway cars. they got a mural up on e.13th. that said halleluiah rest in peace. halleluiah was a hoodrat. and now you finally know that. she's been disappeared for years. today she finally came back.
walk on back. walk on back. she said don't turn me on again. i'd probably just go and get myself all gone again. holly was a sexy mess. she looked strung out but experienced. so we all got kind of curious.
The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me
- Positive Jam
- The Swish
- Barfruit Blues
- Most People are DJs
- Certain Songs
- Knuckles
- Hostile, Mass.
- Sketchy Metal
- Sweet Payne
- Killer Parties
woke up in the 20s. there were flappers and fruits in white suits. it was right before the crash. we got thrashed throughout the 30s. queuing up for soup in scabby sores. and they sent us off to war. we came back in the 40s. there were wheelchairs, guns and tickertape. we poured it on the floor and made love to the interstates. we got shiftless in the 50s. holding hands and going steady. twisting into dark parts of big midwestern cities. tripped right through the 60s with some blissful little hippie. some kennedys got shot while you were screwing san francisco. the 70s got heavy we woke up on bloody carpets. got tangled up in gaslines. i guess that's where it started. the 80s almost killed me let's not recall them quite so fondly. some kennedy o.d. while we watched on mtv. in the 90s we were wired and well connected. put it all down on technology and lost everything we invested.
we got to start it off with a positive jam.
all the sniffling indie kids. hold steady. all the clustered up clever kids. hold steady. i got bored when i didn't have a band. so i started a band. we're gonna start it with a positive jam. hold steady.
pills and powders baby. powders and pills. we spent the night last night in beverly hills. there was this chick that looked like beverly sills. we got killed. tights and skirts baby. skirts and tights. we used to shake it up in shaker heights. there was this chick she looked like patty smythe. she seemed seemed shaky but nice.
she said my name is rick danko but people call me one-hour photo. i've got some hazardous chemicals. drive around to the window. she said my name is robbie robertson but people call me robo. i blew red white and blue right into a tissue. i came right over the counter just to kiss you.
ginger and jack and four or five feminax. psycho eyes and a stovepipe hat. a ray of light in white rayon slacks. we got cracked. shoes and socks baby. socks and shoes. we spent the night last night in newport news. this chick she looked just like elizabeth shue. we got bruised.
she said my name is steve perry but people call me circuit city. i'm so well connected. my upc is dialed into the system. she said my name's neil schon but some people call me nina simone. some people call me andre cymone. i've survived the 80s one time already. and i don't recall them all that fondly.
it was a blockbuster summer. moving pictures helped us get through to september. they made a movie about me and you. it was half nude and half true. it was a bloodsucking summer. i spent half the time trying to get paid from our savior. swishing though the city center. i did a couple favors for some guys who looked like tuscan raiders.
kids with broken hearts, kids with broken bones. kids with kidney stones giving birth to bloody stereos. systems are all dripping wet with gristle piss and swizzlesticks. mary's got a bloody nose from sniffing margarita mix. she licked her lower lip and then she kissed that halleluiah chick. she came off kind of spicy but she tasted like those pickle chips. we thought she was a dancer but her steps they made the records skip. she came off kind of crunchy but she went down like a chicken strip. dripping wet with the special sauce. she had a confidence smile and a nervous cough. we got off.
she said it's good to see you back in a bar band, baby. i said it's great to see you're still in the bars.
went down on the tallboy cans and he woke up in a cargo van. went down with the girls gone wild and he woke up with the middle man. went down with like fourteen bucks and woke up with like sixteen grand. went down with some crust punk junk and woke up with a straight edge band. that's not how he planned it.
holly can't speak. she don't feel all that sweet. about the places that she sometimes has to go to get some sleep. she said i'm sorry people think i'm pretty. these clever kids are killing me. for one they ain't that clever. number two, it really sucks when you get stuck here with these trevors. this was supposed to be a party. half the crowd is calling out for born to run and the other half is calling out for born to lose. baby we were born to choose. we got the last call bar band really big decision blues. we were born to bruise.
hold steady ybor city. you're up to your neck in sweat and wet confetti. if you want to get a little bit heady. it's gonna have to get a little bit heavy. we're jamming jetskis into the jetty now. with some guy who looks like rocco sefredi. and i've heard he's been dead once already.
it's going down right now in lowertown. they're skipping off the good ship usss sexuality. searching for the merchant with the five minute delivery. they're slipping soft rock into the setlist now. they got some new guy that looks just like phil lynott. we're stumbling but i think we're still in it. it's a big world girl and i can't understand it. we're tiny white specks on a bright blue planet.
i was a teenage ice machine. i kept it cool in coolers. i drank until i dreamed. when i dreamed i always dreamed about the scene. all these kids look like little lambs looking up at me. i was a twin cities trash bin. i did everything they'd give me. i'd jam it in my system. she had me cornered in the kitchen. i said i'll do anything but listen to some weird talking chick who just can't understand that we're hot soft spots on a hard rock planet. baby take off your beret. everyone's a critic and most people are djs.
working backwards from the doctor to the drugs. from the packie to the taxi to the cabbie to the club. a thousand kids will fall in love in all the clubs tonight. a thousand other kids will end up gushing blood tonight. two thousand kids wont get too much sleep tonight. two thousand kids they still feel pretty sweet tonight. i still feel pretty sweet.
i guess you're old enough to know. kids out on the east coast. roughly twenty years old. got coaxed out by a certain perfect ratio. of warm beer to the summer smoke. and the meat loaf to the billy joel. certain songs they get so scratched into our souls.
she goes low on the seats when she gets high in her car. she looks shallow but shes neck deep in the steamy dreams of the guys along the harbor bars. she's pulling out her shirttails and jacking up her socks. stern and stoned and confident, coming up towards the jukebox. born into the only songs that everybody finally sings along. b-1 is for the good girls. it's only the good die young. c-9 is for the making eyes. it's paradise by the dashboard light. d4 is for the lovers. b12 is for the speeders. and the hard drugs are for the bartenders and the kitchen workers and the bartender's friends. and they're playing it again. ellen foley gives us hope. certain songs they get scratched into our souls.
i guess you're old enough to know. kids out on the west coast are taking off their clothes. screwing in the surf and going out to shows. they get high and ride around in gtos. i guess you're old enough to know. CERTAIN SONGS THEY GET SCRATCHED INTO OUR SOULS.
i've been trying to get people to call me freddy knuckles. people keep calling me right said fred. it's hard to keep trying when half your friends are dying. it's hard to hold steady when half your friends are dead already. taxmen coming around the back with the kevlar vests. militia men cooking up a batch of crystal meth. there's a war going down in the middle west. there's a war going down in the middle western states. the kevlar vests against the crystal flakes.
i've been trying to get people to call me freddy mercury. people keep calling me drop dead fred. it's hard to take it easy when half your friends are way too easy. it's hard to get ahead when half your friends are dead. taxmen coming around the back with the kevlar vests. militia men cooking up a batch of crystal meth. there's a war going down in the middle west. there's a war going down in the middle western states. the kevlar vests against the crystal flakes.
his elbow was a spiderweb. with five spiders trapped inside. he said: the last guy didn't have to die. but the first four looked so nice. i wanted five. i've been trying to get people to call me sunny d. i've got the good stuff kids go for. people keep calling me five alive. because the last guy didn't really die. i just lied. and the first four didn't really die. i just lied. too many kids are getting stabbed. getting tangled up in crabs.
i've been trying to get people to call me johnny rotten. people keep calling me freddy fresh. it's hard to take it easy when half your friends are looking way too easy. it's hard to stay in bed when half your friends are dead. taxmen coming around the back with the kevlar vests. militia men cooking up a batch of crystal meth. there's a war going down in the middle west. there's a war going down in the middle western states. white crosses and wooden stakes.
a knockoff necktie. the way he wore it made it look more like a tourniquet. i looked deep in his eyes i saw lynn, massachussetts. she hung a sleeveless dress up on a sleeved up lifestyle. girl you gotta cover that. he was gushing blood from wide open wounds and she decided that she loved him. they put the screws into charlemagne. he had a detox dream he saw christ in all his glory. charlemagne didn't feel any pain. but he's bleeding from the holes in his story. he said: hey my name is corey. i'm really into hardcore. people call me hard corey. don't you hate these clever people and all these clever people parties.
in the park drinking dark bacardi. thinking things are funny when they really ain't that funny. the kids on the corner they keep getting stung. the color of our teeth matches the color of our tongues. in the back bay fens getting gentle. up against the fence with some guy who looks like mickey mantle. dirty minds keep coming thru the mud. the color of their eyes matches the color of our blood.
he had a painters cap. it said panama jack. it had the flaps on the back that kept the sun off his neck. he woke up deep in hostile massachussetts. reaching out to try to touch the special effects. he had no shoes and no pants. they dressed him in a shirt with a collar and called him porky pig. the two of you went up to his room. later on you wouldn't admit you did.
seeing lousy movies but only for the a/c. skimpy little outfits and bad guys acting crazy. that's how i know when you're lying. it looks just like overacting. kids on the corner are cracking and caving in. turning over and turning other kids in. i never want to make you feel uncomfortable. i hope i never did. they met as kids he was angry and angsty. she was a damned good dancer. i'll be damned if they didn't disappear. wandered out of mass one day and faded into the fog and love and faithless fear.
charlemagne in sweatpants and you and me in hostile, massachussetts.
she only pays attention to the prices of cigarettes. she says she hopes they get cheaper. she only takes the pick me uppers to counteract all the put me to sleepers. she used to be a receiver. she went out deep for guys that looked like johnny fever. last winter i swear i thought she might be our savior.
went through a skater phase. went through a raver phase. went through a razor blade phase. i guess i went through a hundred dollars a day. it was dark along the edges of the city but the light shined through behind the reinforced doorways. they're tipping over in the taprooms. theyre shooting through the ceiling and bleeding on the floor for sure.
we got dosed. we hung out pretty close with some questionable folks. we got ideas from some dangerous thinkers. we put our mouths up to some dangerous drinks. some nights we almost froze but we rubbed up pretty close to some rock and roll promoters. stayed up pretty late with some rock and roll performers. it's always entertaining when you're hanging out with entertainers.
went through the publicist. to try to get through to the rhythm guitarist. we got so high the audience looked just like ants. woke up with the backstage pass in my pants. she said i used to be a speed shooter. went out deep for guys that looked like alice cooper. last winter they had my heart all hooked up to computers.
we didn't see the holy ghost. but the father and the son they seemed like regular folks. jesus rolled his eyes when his dad made jesus jokes. he forgave me for my sins. he said let this famine end and let the 2 for 1s begin. bless the beasts and the children and the water and the waiters. it's always so creative when you hang around with our creator and his son our savior. you get your picture in the paper if he lets you in his trailer. it's always so amazing when you're finally coming down with entertainers.
payne avenue lives up to its name some nights it's painful and strange. the whole city seemed sane in the day. but some nights it seems distressed and deranged. the east side is where we met with those guys that said they'd get us high but that changed. now they're down in the basement. they're bashing out his brains. kids are getting cut up with the motorcycle chains.
st. paul had it all when we called. they were maxing out on medicine. a shaved head. the blood on the bed. those guys you'd recognize. they had the same tattoos as gideon. strong stuff and she had more than enough. she was slumping over smiling and sailing off with cherubim. the cityscape skins are kinda kicking it again. they're gonna show these kids some discipline.
gideon's been living up in bay city, michigan. he's been workng at the michelin. he got messed up with some messed up magicians. we got so high some nights michigan looked just like a mitten some nights we got fried. strung out on residuals and visuals and laser shows. reach into the speaker and try to hold on to the quarter notes.
i always dream about a unified scene. there's james king and king james and james dean. at a table in the corner of my unified scene. they want a double order of love and respect. they said they just got back from up in hostile, massachussetts. girl i've seen your friend. she looks nothing like jada pinkett. i think you got something in those cigarettes.
gideon was living up in south minneapolis. he was the cowboy on the crosstown bus. all the little phillies at the yukon club are gunning for the goldrush. we got tangled in electrical fences. we got wrapped up in the indian fringes. all the little phillies at the yukon club are gunning for the goldrush. they just can't get enough.
if they ask about charlemagne. be polite and say something vague. like another lover lost to the restaurant raids. if they ask why we left in the first place. say we were young and we were so in love. i guess we just needed space. we heard about this place they called the united states. we found out virginia really is for the lovers. philly is full of friendly friends that will love you like a brother. pensacola parties hard with poppers pills and pepsi. ybor city is tres speedy but they throw such killer parties. killer parties almost killed me.
if she says we partied then i'm pretty sure we partied. i really don't remember. i remember we departed from our bodies. we woke up in ybor city.
- Milkcrate Mosh
- Hot Fries
- Curves & Nerves
- Modesto is Not That Sweet
- You Gotta Dance (with who you came to the dance with)
Milkcrate Mosh
the gin was just like gideon. the kings were just like solomon. the bashes were like babylon. the jester kept on jacking off. nervous cough, nervous cough, nervous cough and now we're off. went down on the denver slums and she woke up in the rocky mountain dawn. felt all freed up from the fears that you can never put your finger on. finger on finger on finger on and now were gone.
we were smoking to the drinking songs off talking songs for walking. waving marlboros like magic wands. listen up closely to the lit tips of your cigarettes. can't you hear the serpent hiss? saying sweet baby suck on this. the white wine was the nectar. the oldies made me feel like phil spector. is charlemagne your main man or is he just your sad protector?
you know you look so good together. but sometimes i get a feeling that you're a little bit restless. it's a small scene already and it gets dirty on the fringes. you sucked through his defenses.
she said i usually wouldn't do this. but i couldn't help but notice. you had that text across your t-shirt. it said: what would judas do? he had those punching rings. he smoked the camel filter kings. we went back behind the building. he did a brisk little business. his party favors were party saviors. otherwise we might have never made it. went down in the springfield slums and woke up in the sugar mountain pines. only to find that what you put into your mouth always gets into your mind.
all your favorite movies. they ain't all that funny. if you ain't that high. and i ain't that high. all your favorite books. they wouldn't seem so well written if you were just a little bit more well read. jack kerouac is dead. he drank himself to death. i just ain't that high. all your favorite songs wouldn't seem so sad. if you weren't so depressed. elliott smith seems like a mess to me. and you cry way too easily.
the things that make you high will make you die.
i went to your party and your party was got clever. i put a milkcrate on my head and surrendered in the corner. some borderline whore asked me how i'm liking california. i just cried. i saw you making eyes at some quote/unquote gorgeous guy. look a little closer because he's covered in flies. you're hot. but you're fried. you're cool. but you're iced out. you know exactly what i'm talking about.
the things that make you high will make you die. the crack has got you slipping through the cushions of the couch. dilaudids got your head like a howling haunted house. she said it's my party and i'll die if i want to. you would too if it happened to you.
the call came in on a princess phone on the patio. she said: hey if that's jeppetto tell him i'm not here yet. tell him that i ain't done with my beers yet. tell him that i'm up in massachussetts. if he wants to buy me some i'll be in the kitchenette. making meals out of marzipan. making love with the black and tans. crushing butts in a coffee can. when the crowd went wild. we were under the stands. mouths and hands. hands and mouths. so many shows where nobody comes out.
where were you when the call came in? i was on a rocky mountain freedom binge. with all the living members of the cityscape skins. you and me and gideon. holly went to hollywood. it looked nothing like she thought it would. she didn't get to the part with the studios. she went straight to video. she did a movie called "north dallas foursome". there was agony and ecstacy and the cheerleaders got gruesome. she did a movie called "revenge of the pervs." there were screams and jeans and curves and nerves.
charlemagne in a shallow grave. with a nazareth tape. and a vodka ice and gatorade. he didn't fit the plans she made. these hoodrat chicks are like razor blades. they're pretty cheap but they'll cut you deep.
Modesto is Not That Sweet
i can't believe i was worried about hurting you. i should have kicked it with your cousin when i had the opportunity.
i was at some party and she said she had to talk to me and then she didn't say anything. i can't believe i worried about hurting you while you were banging around the bars trying to scratch up something new. you left me fifty bucks and nothing much to do but think about getting back at you.
i heard that you've been back around the neighborhood. you might be still strung out but you still look pretty good.
i heard that kid from california turned out to be an asshole. i think i could have told you. you left with burning bridges but you never saw the beach. you had stars in your eyes but modesto's not that sweet. when you only know one guy and he disappears for days at time.
i can't believe i was worried about hurting you. i should have kicked it with your cousin when i had the opportunity.
i was at some party and she said she had to talk to me. she didn't say much of anything.
You Gotta Dance (with who you came to the dance with)
say a prayer for the cityscape skins. half are getting sprung and half are going back in.
there ain't no getting thru to gideon. he lost his mind when they jumped him in.
say a prayer for sweet charlemange. he had the pigs at the door. he put the drugs down the drain.
he's gonna have to come up with seven grand some other way.
the gangster disciples knocked me off of my bicycle. it was midnite down by selby & griggs.
i shouldn't have gone down there but it was too late to switch. you gotta dance with who you came with.
you gotta go with what got you there. i came with chipped teeth and some bleached blonde hair.
you gotta make due with what they gave to you. they took ten bux and my tennis shoes.
so say a prayer for the boys in the band. i was out of my head so it was out of my hands.
white wine and some tallboy cans. they powered up and they proceeded to jam man.
hit it again on the south side of the gym and my one friend got two girls in a twist. i got stuck with some priss that went and sliced up her wrists. but you know you gotta dance with who you came to the dance with.
