like a drizzle or a hurricane
to go inside or go insane
in most regards they're really much the same
your eyes are wet, you miss the sun
can't do a thing about either one
come on, grow up
why must you swear, get hot and shake your fist
you swear that god'll get the gist
you're lifting weights three times a week
your friends are playing hide-and-seek
you stumble blindly, count your blessings
tell yourself the total's not depressing

and the fire spreads and the cities fall
and you're trying shoes on through it all, wondering
is the world too big or am i too small
is the world too big or am i too small

making noise you know no one will hear
or if a few do in one ear they'll push it out the other
guess you shoulda sent that shout out years ago
to their grandmothers
cuz the cool kids sneer and hiss at you
like bishops at a starving jew
like keystone coppers at a villain
just because you stole what little
soul you have from dylan
but you still insist it can't be wrong
to stay and gaze up at king kong
and hope he takes a fancy to your smile
and lifts you up where you can
blow the wind yourself
and see for miles

but we knew how to cry before we could crawl
and we just grew old, we never grew tall, wondering
is the world too big or am i too small

is the world too strong
or are we too weak
is god deaf
or did we never learn to speak

so you call call call though they ring ring ring
cuz you think you might be experiencing
what some call an emotion
but the keyboard sticks, the signal dies
and on its own a fancy phone will never bridge an ocean
so you think dry thoughts and dream wet dreams
and live life through your hometown teams
and hope they win the holy war
and hope they make it back to shore
and look for love in magazines
and wait until the trees turn green
to thank them for their oxygen, their paper
as you lock your bitter lips to earth
and try in vain to taste her

deep down we know the truth of it all
cinderella never made it to the ball
and she was wondering
is the world too big or am i too small
is the world too big or am i too small

so you're lying awake
in the dark dead of night
staring out of the window
at the sky

cuz where there's a sky, there's a star
and where there's a face, there's a heart
and where there's a heart
there is a chance

where there's a day, there's a dawn
and where there's a voice, there's a song
and where there's a song
there is a dance

won't you dance with me now
while the world is asleep
every mile apart's
beneath our feet

cuz where there's a sky, there's a star
and where there's a face, there's a heart
and where there's a heart
there is a chance

the first time i felt it was a shock, it was a joy
i froze and i melted like a man into a boy
bouncing block to block, swinging rope to rope
i finally caught her eye, but her mouth, it dashed all my hope
it said "nope nope nope"

and as i came tumbling down like a house of cards
i was thinking "i always thought this only happened
to other people's hearts"

but time it can be kind when it's not busy being cruel
and i can play the prince when i'm not busy as the fool
and you, who knew? the priestess of repair
my favorite acrobat up there blowing kisses in the air
do we dare

and we gazed into each other like long neglected works of art
each thinking "i always thought this only happened
to other people's hearts"

and if anybody's listening when i draw my final breath
as flesh turns to memory as life turns to death
some words may fall from me, a prayer or a rhyme
might ask for the past or i might ask for the time

but as the pump slows down and the beats move farther apart
i'll be thinking "i always thought this only happened
to other people's hearts"

forgive me, sir, forgive me, m'am
this isn't who i really am
you would see my kindness, my coolness, my wisdom
under better conditions

cuz there's something in the water here
that makes me desperate, makes me selfish
something about the atmosphere
that makes me lose it, i just can't help it
please accept my apologies

i'm sorry
this planet
brings out the worst in me

can't stand it
this planet
brings out the worst in me

the toxic sun, the stubborn wind
it's dangerous, this environment
and don't get me started on all of the creatures
and all of their frightening features

every new day i spend here
i get crueller, i get colder
something about the outlook here
makes me weak as i get older
so i'm saying, sincerely

i'm sorry
this planet
brings out the worst in me

goddamnit
this planet
brings out the worst in me

guilty, guilty, i confess
i don't know which would bring out the best
and as to this one at times it is an alright place to be
and they still say it will someday decide to set me free

but goddamnit
this planet
brings out the worst in me

can't stand it
this planet
brings out the worst in me

i gotta hand it
to this planet
it brings out the worst in me

and now i'm stranded
on this planet
which brings out the worst in me

more fragile than life
and easier to destroy
and faster to dissolve
and cheaper to avoid
and riskier to control
and not so forgiving
more fragile than life
is living

more fragile than time
and tougher to tell
and simpler to kill
and deeper to dwell
and quicker to clash
when both hands are climbing
more fragile than time
is timing

more fragile than you
and sweeter inside
and sadder to leave
unidentified
and sooner to fade
and harder to trust
more fragile than you
is us

the whore of heaven and the prince of pain
pushing 60 in the breakdown lane
went to bed crazy and woke up sane
pushing 60 in the breakdown lane

all over her clothes
there were lilacs and roses
and i just stopped to smell them
isn't that what you're 'sposed to do
isn't that what you're 'sposed to do
karen i broke down for you
karen i broke down

to an age of reason from an age of rain
pushing 60 in the breakdown lane
they shook & trembled like a hurricane
pushing 60 in the breakdown lane
out their bodies and down the drain
pushing 60 in the breakdown lane

karen i broke down for you
karen i broke down

in the gutter
where all the spirits meet
it sounds like a river
but it smells like your feet
and deep in the bushes
where all the lovers run
it looks like a hassle
but it tastes like your tongue

now you can read my lips or pick my brain
pushing 60 in the breakdown lane
wrap my heart in cellophane
pushing 60 in the breakdown lane
but i've been in heaven and i've been in pain
and they're both eternal and they're both profane

all over her clothes
there were lilacs and roses
and i just stopped to smell them
isn't that what you're 'sposed to do
isn't that what you're 'sposed to do
karen i broke down for you
karen i broke down for you
karen i broke down

he was sleazy, she was vain
pushing 60 in the breakdown lane
lyin' in the path of a runaway train
if you cut the track then you cannot complain
pushing 60 in the breakdown lane
pushing 60 in the breakdown lane

run your fingers along the fence
run your fingers along the fence
you don't have to cross over
you don't have to make sense
run your fingers along the fence
run your fingers along the fence
run along

don't need a wife, don't need a dog
don't need some snappy dialogue
you were born in the country
you were born in the fog
so run your fingers along the fence
run your fingers along the fence
when the dark's too familiar
and the light's too intense
run your fingers along the fence
run your fingers along the fence
run along

the grass is greener than it oughta be
it's crying out "somebody water me
i got drowned in pesticide
i got no more friends to hide
i just stood here while they died
and now i grow at their expense"

so run your fingers along the fence
run your fingers along the fence
you don't have to cross over
you don't have to make sense
what if it peels or starts to rust
what if it shocks you in disgust
you were born out of wedlock
you were born out of lust
so run your fingers along the fence
run your fingers along the fence
run along

now what's the point, you be the judge
your honor guilty to the touch
it's only time you're up against
and at your feet's the evidence
so run your fingers along the fence
run your fingers along the fence
run along

some escape undercover, some escape overboard
some escape in the light of the television
some in the light of the lord
some they shut their eyes and suddenly disappear
meanwhile i can't find a single way outta here

some escape in a needle, some escape in a glass
some escape just by running around in a circle
some just by sitting on an ass
you may leave out of boredom, you may leave out of fear
meanwhile i can't find a single way outta here
i just can't seem to find a single way

i once knew a cat, let's call him ernest
ernest just couldn't seem to find his way
he tried suicide, lotta good it did him
lakes wouldn't drown him, cars wouldn't hit him
eventually poor ernest had to teach himself to stay

some escape in the country, some escape in the crowds
some i know well lose themselves in a grand piano
some jump the gates of the clouds
for him it's just a hobby, for her it's a career
meanwhile i can't find a single way outta here
how come i can't find a single way outta here

bunch of dumb cows on a hill by the highway
don't even know what country they're in
could be sudanese for all they know
could be swiss or american
where's their sense of history
where's their sense of pride
bunch of dumb cows, bunch of dumb cows
bunch of dumb cows on a sunny irish hillside

bunch of dumb cows, can't they hear that i'm hollerin'
don't even know who they're making milk for
could be jerks or the lactose-intolerant
could be terrorists at war
where's their sense of justice
dumb and dewy-eyed
you could come at them with a butcher knife
and they'd barely try to hide
bunch of dumb cows, bunch of dumb cows
bunch of dumb cows on a sunny irish hillside

those environmental freaks want to censor this song
"cows are people too" they say
"moo moo people moo" they say
but those environmental freaks wouldn't know a good song
if it was burning a hole in the ozone layer

bunch of dumb cows
on a hill by the highway
don't even know what happened last week
couldn't even say if sometime friday
they got tipped over by someone like me
where's their sense of progress
so damn satisifed
bunch of dumb cows, bunch of dumb cows
bunch of dumb cows on a sunny irish hillside

sometimes i wish i was a cow on a hill by the highway
wish i didn't know who i'm making milk for
wish i couldn't remember what happened last friday
wish i couldn't say my country's at war

moo moo moo moo, moo moo moo moo
moo moo moo moo, moo moo moo moo

quite frankly i find
that you're out of your mind, this you know
but never before have i been quite so sure of my love
there could come a bang like the universe sang
when it first opened its mouth
but til a new sun you're the one i will be dreaming of

hooray, hooray, there may come a day
when the wolf turns his back to the moon
and shakes his head and chuckles instead
but i fear it will not be real soon

quite rightly they claim
if i just dropped your name i'd be healed
but who wants a cure anyhow anymore
when his pain's all that proves he can feel
there could come a glow casting shadows below
like a match scratching a spark
but til a new light breaks the night
it's the moon, it's the dark

hooray, hooray, there may come a day
when the wolf turns his back to the moon
and shakes his head and chuckles instead
but i fear it will not be real soon

my moon, no pioneer flags in the breeze
my moon, just flying here dragging the seas
my moon, full of herself at times
my moon, far out of reach always

tinseltown's calling you find it appalling, this i know
but picture your eyes on a 15-foot rise 'bove the floor
i'd pay for a ticket just to come in and picket the show
for up with the stars where they are
you'd eclipse them no more

hooray, hooray, there may come a day
when the wolf turns his back to the moon
and shakes his head and chuckles instead
but i fear it will not be real soon
no i fear it will not be real soon

you just turned your head too slowly
and my aim was weak
but now the whole room shakes
the record skips skips skips

i meant to kiss you
on the cheek
not on the lips

can't you see that it was nothing
more than poor technique
you were hugging me
and suddenly i lost my grip

i meant to kiss you
on the cheek
not on the lips
honest i did

now our eyes are softly smiling
but afraid to meet
a world of possibilities
at our fingertips

i meant to kiss you
on the cheek
not on the lips
honest i did

i meant to kiss you
on the cheek
not on the lips
but that’s not what i did

if you wanna play with my hair
i'm gonna have to charge you
if you wanna send me spinning through the air
i'm gonna have to charge you
(a man's gotta make a living)

but if you wanna, wanna love me
i just might let ya, let ya for free

if you wanna play with my head
i'm gonna have to charge you
if you want me to play dumb or play dead
i'm gonna have to ask you to cover my expenses

but if you wanna, wanna love me
i just might let ya, let ya for free

why am i being so, why am i being so
why am i being so generous today
must be some kind of trick, you say, some kinda scam
but no, it's just the kind of guy i am

now if you wanna play with my heart
i cannot stop you
and i don't wanna leave things as they are
even if we ought to

so if you wanna, wanna love me
i just might let ya, let ya for free

two curious eyes that fear they'll never see the light of day
one eager mouth that knows it's never found the words to say
a hundred little hairs lying on the cutting room floor
someday we'll make a face they've never seen before

a dozen orchids waiting for that sweet spring to arrive
your morning glory drowning under unfair summer skies
seven dried up roses on another window sill
someday we'll make a garden that blooms and never wilts

but hope is not a medicine
an injection or a pill
hold still, my love
hold still

two thousand and six, another number, big and bound to grow
so we'll see what sticks & try not to watch the hours come and go
i see three figures picking flowers on a hill
someday we'll make a family, just tell me that we will

cuz hope is not a medicine
an injection or a pill
hold still, my love
hold still
hold still, my love
hold still

everything's gonna be much better
when i get my shit together
rich as a rose and free as a feather
when i get my shit together

don't know the year, don't know the date
but i'm gonna throw a big party; it'll start around eight
there'll be dinner and dancers and a dixieland band
and everybody who comes is gonna shake my hand and say
"it was a question of when, not a question of whether
i knew you'd get your shit together"

every song'll be sweet, every joke'll be clever
when i get my shit together
the ladies will love me forever and ever
when i get my shit together

the white house will send me a real nice form letter
the one they send every man who gets his...
and i'll frame it and hang it in the hall
of my quaint victorian mansion by the waterfall
and it'll hang as a reminder for the rest of my life
which i'll spend in the arms of some wonderful wife
and we'll make some children and they'll make some more
and the kids'll tell stories about grandpa before
he got it together

yes, everything's gonna be much better
when i get my shit together
oh oh so oh so much better
when i get my shit together

until it all comes to a terrible end
when i fall apart again

i'm finally dressed for yesterday's weather
finally ready to fight last weekend's war fearlessly
finally know how to spend all the years behind better
and i'm finally feeling for you what you once felt for me

finally come to the door that used to be open
empty handed but for a few memories
finally know what words should've been said and which were best left unspoken
back when what i feel now for you, you still felt for me

but if age is only a number
and time's an illusion
then love won't you call me tomorrow
whenever you're free

cuz i'm finally dressed for yesterday's weather
and i'm wondering if you might ever feel what you felt yesterday for me