You grew up alone in a big empty house
With a pool and a maid, mom and dad always out
And I always thought that you had it so good
Just imagine my surprise when they blew off the roof

And I couldn't be more careless
You're probably dead, and I'm just embarrassed

From out of a fire and into a flame
When you got too skinny you moved to LA
It's just a regular city dropped from a great height
With the millions inside trapped along for the ride

CHORUS [2x]

Embarrassed to be the one who had it nice
With not a clue and too much advice

Well I let you live your life, you let me live mine
So whatever you need, it's just fine, it's just fine
You've been here before, you'll probably be back again
'Til the hair of that dog is too frayed at both ends

CHORUS [2x]

She came from Austin, Texas, she liked his custom van
And his pit bull Francis
Even when he took a chunk out of her hand
They liked to dance in the desert and screw in the sand
He said they'd always be together
But when her belly got big she never saw him again

One and one ends up to be three
Don't need to have love don't need to be sweet
But when the air gets heavy and it's hard to breathe
The women get stuck, the men just leave

They were high school sweethearts from Portland, Maine
He was a writer's block poet
And though she'd never read a line she still had faith
They ended up in La Jolla, she sold Mary Kay
He dreamed about getting published
And when her belly got big he ran away

CHORUS

There's a place in the desert where the men all meet
They park their vans in the shade
Talk about Kerouac and the works of the Beats
Let their dogs play together, drink beer and they sing
They've all got a secret treasure
The wallet picture in their pocket
Of the kids they never see

CHORUS

I've been angry
And I have strayed
I said words I never thought that I could say
And you were sad and sweet
Like a Wilco song
But I'll be back up on my feet before too long

You could say you wanted me
If I said it first
Words rang hollow
And the emptiness became a thirst
Now I could drink those words
They would make me strong
I'd be back up on my feet before too long
I'd be back up on my feet before too long
Before too long

If you'd met me now
You never would have stuck around
No, you never would have stuck around

So I will lay me down
By the salty sea
And let the water pull the sand
Over my body
To wash me clean
Like a river stone
And I'll be back up on my feet
Before you know it
Yeah, I'll be back upon my feet
Before too long

Back on my feet
Back up on my feet
Back on my feet
Back on my feet
Back on my feet

I want to see you some time
Come find me, I'll be home
Just between the Costco
And the Barnes and Noble
Behind the mom and pop grocery
That shut down in the 90's
Like all the other locals
They smashed the dreams of the hopeful

I'm getting off track, sorry
It's like I said, right in there
There was a Fredrick Meyers
Sold everything from fruit to tires
Check in with the doorman
An old biker named Slim
Just say you're here to see me
Don't forget to tip him

One hand must wash the other
Each man must be a brother
Band up and take cover

We'll go dancing, set fires,
Tag buildings, slash tires,
Drive go-carts like Shriners
Or just hang out at Fred Meyers

Bring a lantern with you
It gets dark in places
Go up the escalator
To the section that was kids' wear
I'm at the back wall left side
Under a sign says Levis
Top bunk, second row
If I'm not in right then
Ask around, somebody'll know
'Cause everybody knows me

CHORUS

We'll go out babe, skateboarding
Go looting, food hoarding
Whatever you desire
We can just stay in my bed at Fred Meyers

CHORUS

We'll go out, babe, drink moonshine
Tip rubble on the East Side
Dig deep holes to China
Or we could just stay in my bed at Fred Meyers
Why don't we just stay in my bed a Fred Meyers

They all went away and left me alone
And now there's nobody around anymore
Just this big empty house, big empty street
In a big empty town and a big empty state

The radio is dead and the streets are blocked off
And I've been smashing windows, trying to get lost
And I read a few books but it just made me sad
Nobody to talk to about what I read

Heaven knows why I'm around
Heaven knows what keeps me here
There is nothing that can keep me down
There is nothing left to fear
It's my town now, my own town
Yeah, it's my town now
But I wish you were here

I'm wondering if I should learn how to fly
A police helicopter would be a good way to die
I'd be a fireball come crashin', leavin' nothing but ashes
A bald spot on the globe like nothing ever had happened here

CHORUS

The water's getting deeper and I can't feel my feet
I keep on bailing buckets, but it flows right back to me
And everything is put away, the children are asleep
But the water's getting deeper, and I can't feel my feet

How am I gonna make time
Oh, this is gonna take time
How am I gonna make time

Everything looks different, colors all seem strange
And light comes down in shafts, here underneath the waves
And everything is in its place and the children are asleep
But the water's getting deeper, and I can't feel my feet

CHORUS

I am provider, but Providence has been swayed
And by design nothing is ever the same
I thought that time had only one way to go
I learned how to swim, but not to breathe underwater

CHORUS

I can't feel my feet
I can't feel my feet

I was the driver for the drive-by of the neighbor's dog
Dad had always hated him so he said "Come on son,
"Get into the Vega now and I'll go get my shotgun"
It was a military holiday and kids were everywhere
I hid behind the steering wheel and tried to disappear
I tried to speak but couldn't, Dad was whistling and drinking beer

And I prayed "Dear God, if You save this dog
"I will never get high, I will never jack off
"I will be all the things that I should but have not
"I'll be a good boy from now on"

We turned around the corner soon and saw the neighbor's yard
Dad lit up a cigarette and rolled his window down
And grinning like an idiot he stuck his head and body out

CHORUS

Well he popped in a shell and took aim with the gun
Then a flash an a bang and the dog it was gone....
Jumped up and he ran away
Dad had shot right through his chain

Dad said "Take me to the Dairy Freeze, I want to have a shake"
We sipped them on the benches there and stared out on the lake
And Dad has never said another word about that day

And I hope you're not disappointed, God
'Cause I still get high and I still jack off
And you knew I was lying but you still saved that dog
You're such a good God
Such a good, good God
And I'll be a good boy from now on

If I lose my faith
Just remind me, just remind me
When my shadow's longer
Stay beside me till it's brighter
How easily I forget
How beautiful to see it once again

In my darkest hour I will be freed

When I close my eyes
I hope to find you, hope to find you
When I leave my body
I want to be ready, willing like you were
I sat beside you then
I felt the warmth as it left your hands

CHORUS

I've been waiting so long
That waiting was the end
Let this sleeper awaken again

CHORUS

Well it took five neigbors
To get him in the hall
And down the three flights of stairs
Out the building's door
I know that it's easy to say
That it couldn't be worse
But now she's in her apartment
Alone for the first time since the last jerk

And once you let them get to you
It never washes off
'Cause they can smell the weak ones
And just pick you off like a pigeon
And each one is worse than the last one
Until you're a professional victim

You get everything backwards
Learning how to survive
You treat the little wounds first
Let the big ones fester for life
You've done it enough
You would think that you know what you need
But it doesn't get any better
When you've got such an eye for the bad seed

CHORUS

And if you take a look you can see the cracks
In the story told where the logic lacks
All the pretty girls and the stupid boys
Make the same mistakes until they've got no choice

She looked just like a train wreck
That could've been avoided
In a third world country
By a long stretch of farmland
Where the waters had run high
And washed the topsoil down the river
So that next year there would be no crops...
She was as desparate as a salesman
At a company that's folding
But they haven't told the staff yet
That they're bankrupt and backordered
And they're funneling the pensions
To the CEO's back pocket
So in one week they'll have nothing

I miss you girl, I hope you're fine
Good luck, love
Or goodbye

She's the girl from central casting
Always played the sweet young orphan
Or the hooker with the heart of gold
But she got her SAG card pulled
And turns tricks now on Cahuenga
She tells herself it's research
For her next and greatest role

CHORUS

She'll call you up just to hear you say she's fine
Then she's gone away
And you know there's only one more time
You'll hear about her again

Well it's life informing art informing life again
Like every stupid kid
That thinks that they're the first in pain
The first to rip themselves apart
The first to try and live without a heart

CHORUS

I want to see your face, even hear your lies
Good luck, girl
Or goodbye
Goodbye

I want the woman who would want me
Velvet temple of her body
Seeing lovers crushed together
Doesn't make it any better

Maya, maya
Kiss me through the veil
I won't be ungrateful

I see angels gathered 'round me
Lips of raspberry, breasts of honey
Tear me open, sanctify me
Find the beauty that's dying inside of me

CHORUS

Oh the hunger of this body
Is insatiable, ever wanting
Tear me open, take it from me
Fill me up again or give me nothing

CHORUS