1. |
Gramercy Ball
04:04
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Goodbye to the Gramercy Ball
It’s gone now and no one survived
All of the best things that money can pay
Have passed on their problems to those who have stayed
All the mistakes that we paid for on credit
And prayed for have finally been made
So buy your time from someone you trust
And I’ll buy mine from a cold blooded schemer
Who lies as he cheats me and claims that it’s just
All of the pockets where money collides
Are emptying out right in front of your eyes
The future’s eternally bankrupt but history provides
So I’ll meet you at Tammany Hall
‘Cause the ghosts there know how to get by
They say this is as good as it gets
They say never pay all of your debts
They’re the only things that keep the world alive
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2. |
Devil's Airship
03:45
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I’m leaving tonight and you’re coming with me
Electric arc lamp lighter than air
I’m feeling fine on this devil’s airship
We’ll buzz this town
See what makes them tick
And we’ll get to San Francisco by tomorrow noon
We’re gonna get there soon
San Francisco by tomorrow noon
We’re gonna get there soon
We’ll steal some cows
So drop that anchor
Into the night with a diamond hard glow
All these cities spread out before us
All those dreams so far below
San Francisco by tomorrow noon
We’re gonna get there soon
I saw the sky crack wide open
We’re heading for the ocean
I’ll take you to a place where there’s no rain
I hope it’s not too late
Too late
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3. |
Sleepwalker
04:30
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I’ve been traveling in my sleep
I closed by eyes back in the crowded east
I slept for six years as I crossed this land
And woke up with a ticket in my hand
I must have walked the Mason-Dixon
Eyes closed and arms outstretched
As Sherman marched east on Savannah
I marched west
I must have crossed a thousand miles of fields
Through every town spit out by “hell on wheels”
My march stops for nothing
Buffalo or Cheyenne
I must have felt the killing that burned across the plains
But all the while I walked on dreaming of a future grace
Sleptwalked through lightening storms and quiet glens
Sleptwalked through tunnels dynamited by Chinamen
Snowed in at Donner Pass for four months
I felt so comfortable – the things I dreamed of
Followed receding snows when spring came
Down to the ocean where the tracks were leading
A golden spike drove down
I woke up crying
To see a city built by blood and iron
My ticket for a train bound for the Hudson
And from the sleeper car I watched the land I walked on speed beneath my feet
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4. |
Velocity
05:00
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Here in the cockpit there’s nothing but dreams and dismay
Sometimes it seems like this expensive tin can
Does nothing ‘cept sit here and wait
Now I’m hearing the countdown but at seven my thoughts drift away
As the countdown gets lower I move towards the ground
And as we lift off I finally touch down
Glad I’m not leaving and proud of my narrow escape
But I’m pullin’ away
And they’ll be with the one that’s not right for them
And leave me in misery floating in gravity
And they’ll kiss the one that causes me pain
It’s not a question of vanity. It’s just a trick of velocity
Unbuckle my seatbelt and I want to get up but I stay
And Houston is yappin’ and though I am dreamin’
I flip all the switches they say.
Is it me or the ship that starts to buckle and sway
And as I pitch forward my head hits the floor
And someone yells but I’m not there anymore
I burn on reentry and look for a soft place to lay
As they sleep with the one that makes me lie awake
As I drift though the infinite the air’s cold and intimate
And they’ll marry the one that’s not right for them
Can you tell me what plane that is without looking overhead
You should know by the sound
If you look up we’ll both be dead ‘cause I’ll fall to the ground
Into your open mouth
And there’s no room in-side you now so I’ll have to get out
And fall back up to my craft and answer those questions they’ll ask
Like what was I thinking about?
And I guess I’ll marry the one who’s not right for me
We’ll I’ve done it several times and it’s always worked out alright
You can’t fight velocity
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5. |
1939
03:55
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Stop right there you little thief
I felt your touch
I watched you growing bold enough to take the world
To climb the Trylon
Son I know that times are tough
We’re tired enough
And worse is on it’s way
But in 1939 you can see the future shining
From the Perisphere to a new world
If you take my hand I’ll point you there.
When you wake I’ll be gone
I’ll meet you again further on
Plant your feet on wheels of steel
And soon the winds of change begin
To blow you through the fair
From General Motors down the mall
And in the Court of Peace we’ll be released
In four months and one day
Here in 1939 you can see the future shining
From the Perisphere to a new world
If you take my hand I’ll point you there
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6. |
Ota Benga's Name
04:13
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Deep in the heart the darkness of Marlow and Kurtz
They were looking for freaks. They were looking for firsts
From the Congo to U.S. The tribes of St. Louis
The white man forgets Ota Benga’s name
But there were debts unpaid. You were shuffled around
And before too long you were monkey house bound
A little man’s got a strange fate with an orangutan roommate
He never even knew Ota Benga’s name
From his native land of darkness to the country of the free
In the interest of science and of broad humanity
Brought we little Ota Benga
Dwarfed and without guile
Scarcely more than ape or monkey yet a man the while
So to tutor and enlighten, fit him for a nobler sphere
Show him ways of truth and knowledge
Teach the freedom we have here
In this land of foremost progress
In this wisdoms’ ripest age
We have placed him in high honor in a monkey’s cage
‘Mid companions we provide him – apes, gorillas, chimpanzees
He’s content wherefore decry them when he seems at ease
So he chatters and he jabbers in his jargon asking naught
But for money money money, just as we taught
Somewhere your body rests in a nice white suit
But they stripped you down down down to the roots
They can laugh ‘til it hurts
Bones down deep in the dirt
I hope one night they wake up screaming your name
Ota Benga’s name
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7. |
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8. |
Flying Down to Moscow
04:33
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I want to go away from Berlin
Over the wall to the land where my life begins
I want to know what it means to be free
Under radar that curtain will rise for me
Hey flyboy
Give it that old college try boy
Flying down to Moscow and we’ve got to make time
Hey fella
Twirl that old propeller
Touchdown on Red Square and we’ve got to make time
There was a time away o’er the clouds
The air’s cold up there
But it’s warm here in my cell
I found the answer to that pain in my heart
I want to meet them oh so badly, so badly
Hey flyboy
Give it that old college try boy
Flying down to Moscow and we’ve got to make time
Hey fella
Twirl that old propeller
Touchdown on Red Square and we’ve got to make time
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9. |
Good Days
05:18
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Sure. Time will tell. That’s not question I asked
Do you believe that something is wrong?
I feel the need to take lots of photographs
Just in case I wake up to find everything’s gone
And it seems these days there are lots of omens for sad reminders
History chips away
And I’ve heard great talk of how evil times are all far behind us
Everything’s OK
So we build, build, build. Third floor has disappeared
Dogs bark blind, waiting for dust to clear
Build build build ‘til we have parks and greens
Still the trucks cover familiar scenes
And everyone knows what Delilah’s been thinking
We’ve had the same thoughts on our own
We pass by the houses and look in the windows to see if there’s anyone home
But no one is home
“Delilah”, I said, “It’s simply not over yet.”
“Do you really believe this means everything’s lost?”
The quieter the nights, the closer it gets
‘Til there’s nobody left who can figure the cost
And it seems these days there are lots of omens for sad reminders
History chips away
And I’ve heard great talk of how evil times are all far behind us
These are the good days
These are good days
So we build build build. Second floor ripped away
By talking heads soldered to metal frames
Build, build, build ‘til all the birds have flown
Find cats homes while we still have our own
And everyone knows what Deliliah’s been thinking
In times like this we’ve second sight
The pet shop is closing soon I will be moving
I’m sure things will turn it alright
They’ll turn out alright
Turn out alright
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10. |
Latvian Bride
08:20
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I can see stones float through the air
I’ve found a way but I won’t tell you where
That pretty young thing, my Latvian bride
My fresh sweet sixteen
She’s brand new inside
But outside there’s a world where the laws of physics apply
But under the Florida moon the rocks are alive
I can see lines and they race from the Earth
And they point right here
I can see lines and they shoot from my hands
Sometimes I feel like I’m wasting away
Like that old desert sun at the end of the day
I’ll think about her, my young blushing bride
I built this for her
Now I’m locked inside
But outside there’s a world where the laws of physics apply
But under the Florida moon the rocks are alive
There’s a world where the laws of physics apply
But inside these coral walls the rocks are alive
I can see lines and they race from the Earth
And they point right here
I can see lines and they shoot from my hands
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