i saw the skin
i heard the tales
they made no sense
motives were unclear
details didn't add up
plotlines came and went
and she's the first true love of ours
the sea and the stars
a poet's heart, a princess's curls
nobody gets to hurt my girl
not even my girl
with just a trace
we took the case
we combed the scene
begging for more clues
just one good excuse
just one time machine
you with your stones, you with your stares
your thoughts and your prayers
best shut your mouths and clutch your pearls
nobody gets to hurt my girl
not even my girl
and if i see she's hurt, my girl
well, hell, i'm gonna help my girl
cuz god knows how she feels, my girl
gonna hold her til she heals, my girl
finally some peace
but what a beast
a trail, a trial
may those nights have passed
and these scars be the last
more than for a while
she's gonna glow now once again
and laugh with her friends
she's gonna sing and twist and twirl
because nobody gets to hurt my girl
not even my girl
nobody's gonna hurt my girl
not even my girl
it's a new day, it's a blank page
it's all the rising tides, it's all the rage
sometimes sinister, sometimes sillier
fresh as the flesh of a newborn, babe
though it looks familiar
so drop your bag of daggers, dog
and gather round, y'all
for the brand new neanderthal
is out of bed and off the wall
you say why fix what is not broke
why bother waking up what wasn't woke
but we've wars to wage and we paid to play
why shouldn't we try out a battle cry now
while we save the day
american as apple pie
and dense as russian dolls
for the brand new neanderthal
is in DC's old hallowed halls
how generous of all those great apes
to share so much of their DNA's traits
but somehow we're still so bent outta shape
just like a bunch of slow-mo homo sapes
made in BC, made in AI
bred from the net of our tears and sweat
fed to four of five dodgy gawky guys
sometimes lovelier, sometimes lucifer
men, in the end it'll all depend
on what we use 'em for
so grab your bag of tokens
for the arcade at the mall
cuz the brand new neanderthal
is knocking at your back door doll
the brand new neanderthal
good day good grief
missus on a mission
whatever your beliefs
whatever your religion, hon
consider me a convert, hallelujah
i wanna be in your church, praise be you
i swear to god i'll do the research
consider me a convert
consider me
if you’re a priest
or if you’re a pagan
or if you face the east
or pray to santa claus or satan, man
consider me a convert, hallelujah
i’ll kneel down til my knees hurt, sing for you
we'll bare our souls until we both burst
consider me a convert
consider me
all that i had faith in
was pretty idiotic
when it came to love
you could say i was agnostic
but growth begins
crescent, star, or seahorse
so wash away my sins
and bathe me baby in yours
consider me a convert, halleluj-
i’ll speak in tongues until my heart's heard, you can too
hire your choir for a whole holy concert
consider me a convert
consider me
another minute movin' on
til i break again, i do
thinkin' of you
at every red light
down massachusetts avenue
on the safe side of the line
in a little box of blue
picturin' you
at every red light
down massachusetts avenue
every sign i see's a sign
every corner is a clue
pointin' to you
at every red light
down massachusetts avenue
can't remember when i first f’ed up this fender
when i held that horn, when i pulled away
'neath the sturrowed stars, oh
was sometime before tomorrow
and a bit past yesterday
rather hold you in my arms
for now this'll have to do
thinking of you
at every red light
down massachusetts avenue
was it written from the start
just the cards we drew
calling for you
at every red light
down massachusetts avenue
keep forgettin' where i've been and where i'm headed
how i'll know i'm there, when i might arrive
gotta ride it out, can't wreck it
change my lane or fake my exit
it's my trip, my dream, my drive
all the turns i never took
every wish that didn't come true
led me to you
at every red light
down massachusetts avenue
but here’s to things i don’t regret
non-regrets i got a few
including you
at every red light
down massachusetts avenue
and now and then i'll catch a stretch of greens
make it through, and make it through
with or without you
at every red light down massachusetts avenue
at every red light down massachusetts avenue
at every red light down massachusetts avenue
victory for kids like me
can sometimes seem or even be
so many wild worlds away
it's hard to picture teleportin'
to a future where my fortune's
turned this hurtin' to hooray
but that's emotion, i did the math
i spun the globe and plotted a path
and the distance is less than you might guess
what's your guess
i’m just eight lucky breaks
from a great success
eight lucky breaks
so mom i'm gonna glom to those
eight twists of fate, eight dominoes
that could just snatch me from defeat
and lift me to a higher plane
from where i'll struggle to explain
what it was like down in the street
though now she won't even give a hug
might not be long before lady luck
pulls me into her room slips off her dress
yes, yes, yes
i’m just eight lucky breaks
from a great success
eight lucky breaks
one for the monkey, two for the game
three for the cheddar, get her four for the change
five for the private chord, six for the jumper
seven for the eight ball rolling under
listen kelsey, listen kevin
i know i might just get seven
leaving me a wee bit short
a flock without its final bird
a chef who dies before dessert
a mission someone must abort
if so, i hope the story is not
how far i fell, but how close i got
this is not some dumb test
start the car, stop the press
bless god bless
i’m just eight lucky breaks
from a great success
eight lucky breaks
i’m just eight lucky breaks
oh geeze, please stay
i'm just eight lucky breaks
away
from the big bang to the small cell
or the reptile to the cave dwellers
the pack mules to the mars rovers
do over! no do overs
the small-time to the big leagues
from the schoolhouse to the sick leaves
from the lost tribes to the lost voters
do over! no do overs
it’s written in the rule book
the schoolbook, the seed
it's spoken in the street
an act of trauma from some army or your mama
is the only move a human can repeat
from your first breath to your last bris
from your blessed love to your cursed kiss
from your west wing'd to your north polar'd
do over! no do overs
was a bad call, was a false start
saw a green man throw a red card
lost a gold ring, found a freeloader
do over! no do overs
it’s written in the rule book
the schoolbook, the screed
don't fight, don't lie, don't cheat
an act of mercy from jerusalem to jersey
is the only move a human can repeat
through a cheap lens to a deep cloud
in a black hole in a white shroud
heard the red cross cross the bulldozers
do over! no do overs
i'm a sick fool with a full mouth
on a round mic in a square house
got no hot takes, take my clowns, my coders
do over! no do overs
was my first try, was my last trip
was a far cry, was a fat lip
was a broke record, a smoky motor
do over! no do overs
i recall when a man
had to earn what he earned
when his boys had his back
and their flag never burned
when folks lived how they lived
and kids learned what they learnt
and guys were who they were
and girls weren't what they weren't
i miss those golden olden days
when we were in god's graces
when people knew their places
men like me could get a word in
the world was so much better
when they were at most two races
must’ve been like heaven
back when there was just one person
this country used to be
much more free, less uptight
no one cared 'bout their pronouns
or their civil rights
immigrants came by boat
kissed this land, loved its laws
i mean, even the slaveships
had papers to cross
i wish i'd left the earth
before it birthed these preachy pretenders
"oh no the planet's warming
drones are swarming, babies starving"
the world was full enough
with two religions and two genders
it must’ve been like heave
back when there was just one person
but adam had, um, to go and give
his holy heart, his manly rib
he thought he was a prince, a player
now here we are, eight billion later
maybe it's time to blow some
truth bombs up in all their faces
yeah just to thin the crowds
before the situation worsens
it's overkill with even
two religions, genders, races
i'm gonna take us way back when
when there was just one person
it's funny, sonny, it used to be
those who looked or did things differently
often lived their lives in misery
and i'm sorry
but that sounds 'bout right to me
i cried out "mother"
she came, i asked her
is there no grand conductor
main man, nor master
tell me, were we at the mercy
of the wind and thunder
she nodded sadly
"sorry, son, it's just the numbers"
some lil' fly flaps a wing
some shy guy starts to sing
suddenly it chuh chuh chee chi
changes everything
oh, i was getting tickled
now i'm getting teary
clearly because chaos is
more than a theory
a theory
my sliding doors
your split second decisions
move with such great force
good lord, good life, good riddance
two bluebirds diverged in yellow words
two tracks, two book ends
and i, i chose to try and
catch em both and cook them
some lil' ghost licks his lips
some hot host shakes her hips
before you can do your shtick
the whole fabric of space-time rips
not saying it's evil, i just think it's eery
all the ways das chaos is
more than a theory
a theory
birds of prey cannot grasp this
trains of thought cannot track this
it's all chaos in theory
it's all chaos in practice
practice
some old fox taps her feet
some young buck drops the beat
suddenly there's hot lava
flowing all up orchard street
hi mom and dad
hello chat ja pa ta, hey seawee
what causes chaos to be
more than a theory
i was in the corner
you wouldn't let me hide
i was in the dark til
you turned on the light
i was saying that it’s all wrong
you were saying it’s alright
thanks for showing me the full moon
when i've barely left the bedroom
when the walls i'm working, working
just won't give
when i am so low, when i'm so damn lost
so close to simply signing off
thank you for preferring that i live
i was waving sayonara
you were shaking me shalom
i was out in outer space but
you flew me back home
when i asked “am i ali-ve?”
you replied “you’re not alone”
thanks for standing right beside me
when you've had to tread so lightly
when my screws are loose
when my whole body's stiff
when i am so low, when i'm so damn lost
so close to simply signing off
thank you for preferring that i live
it’s golden what you gave me
though i doubt that i deserve it
but you’ve worked so hard to save me
i'll try to make it worth it
i was tripping, i was falling
and you held out your hand
was drowning in the deep sea
and you ferried me to land
now my fears are in the open
and my feet are in the sand
thanks for giving me a reason
just to hang on through that season
when life felt like a curse and love a grift
when i was so low, i was so damn lost
so close to simply signing off
thank you for preferring that i live