FROM THE “GESTURE OF A GENTLEMAN” LP
GRANT PARK
Tonight I need a break
Venture out on the town all on my own
Maybe I’ll have a drink or two alone
Then come home early just like a decent man
But you have some foul ideas
Of my infidelities
You throw up your hands and remind me that you’re my wife
And my head hangs low and I beg for a better life
And now I feel like drinking
Estoria or the Double R
Round up some friends and pretend like I’m on vacation
You slam that door behind me and I’m gone
When I left you behind
I knew just what it meant
When I hear you scream out, I know just what you mean now
That I should never come back home
I go out all night without you
You have no idea where I’ve been
And I come home to you smelling just like a two-dollar whore
Now you won’t believe a word from me no more
When I left you behind
I knew just what it meant
When I hear you scream out, I know just what you mean now
That I can never come back home
MOTHERS & FATHERS
Come to me little sister, let me hold your hand
All the fires of mothers and fathers will be snuffed out soon
At the base of our love is a deep recompense
For all the things that you have endured, and those you have not yet
Don’t you cry for mother, for she can’t hear no more
Don’t you cry for father, like mother he is dead and gone
In a fit of fury, they both came undone
Victims of each other, and another who will remain unknown
ECHOES
I think you see right through my clothes
Down to the skin and bone
You are searching for my battle scars
But the signs of war are long gone
You will never find what isn’t there
Just echoes, and a pensive glare
But you can cause what you are looking for
You may start another war
In time this will seem so absurd
My crimes do not negate my words
Your mouth is just like a gatling gun
Spraying words like fire
You have said so much you should regret
Put away your gun and forget
THE GESTURE
Won’t you stand to the side and ease that poor girl’s mind
Then play well with your words, be mild of temperament
Stay within your place and bear a strong countenance
Hold her hand and it’s the gesture of a gentleman
The art is lost in our time, but timeless is the art
Fools will stumble and fall while we choose to stand
The days of wine and roses replaced by the lack of sentiment
Show some couth and it’s the gesture of a gentleman
FORTUNE
Oh tonight could be the night
When I get what I deserve
Fall asleep with the girl who turns that wheel
She must know I’m dying for her
Monday night she cried
Its not that way, so stay away, you old bastard
Flame ignites and I become unhinged
They will see on live TV tonight
They are all on fire
The cameras roll, they all extoll my fury
Burning wheel, sirens squeal, and I lie down
To stay with her, to burn with her, all night
LAST TRAIN
On the train to the coast
We rode all night, we rode out of sight
We were not even lovers
But we should have been, and we did intend
You always danced around
The truth in our words, it was all so absurd
Hold still, don’t move an inch
I will be kind, I’ve always been kind
Cry out as the train shakes, lurches forward
With unholy speed
Towards a crack in the earth, to swallow us under
Together indeed
And in the calm before loud
You turn to me and speak breathlessly
Only in death do I see
It was you all along
Who I loved with all of me
I will die happy…happy by you
SCISSORS
Pouring over photos
Ignoring his face, it seem just like its everywhere
Beside you just smiling like an asshole
Scissors will remove him
Cut careful until there’s room to fit myself in your life
With glue, and now I am with you
You saw my bastard
Photos of you and me, but not really of us
Now you, you won’t see me ever again…it’s over
HUMBLE
When I laugh so hard
I laugh so hard I cry
And I cry so hard
I cry so hard I can only laugh
She holds me up so I don’t fall
On my knees, on my knees
I get shut up so I will stay humble
But I don’t mind, its what I need
And I fell so far
I fell so far I could not get home on my own
All my crimes do not justify
The penalty, the penalty
I could die and she would be sorry
For all this time, so benign
GLASS
Oh that day had really had its way
With the insides and the outsides of my hands
On the floor of the bar, where the glass is in shards
I managed to crawl to my feet.
On my own!
I was gone five days and was hardly missed at all,
Though anyone could have found me at any time
And when I returned, I had a knife-wound to the head
Not much in the way of discreet.
On my own!
THIRTY YEARS
Oh tonight tastes like violence
The kind you cannot walk right through
I don’t know from where it comes
Just that it will come home with you
I have my doubts I will go through
Hands will shake and anticipate
The bloody mess that will ensue
All these words I know
Won’t make you go
And everything I do
Won’t be enough for you
All these nights I’ve cried
For mercy far and wide
For everything you’ve done
I could kill your only son
Walk right in while you can, tonight I will make you beg
On your knees, make your pleas for mercy and for the love of God
You will know – I’ll bestow on you – the anger of thirty years
Hide your eyes, realize what you have done
THOSE OLD MOVIE DAYS
Rest you head on the bed my dear
You are at home
Eyes will close and will expose the fear
That you are alone
Flicker of the screen serene
As lights go out
It’s just like those old movie days
There’s no doubt
On the eve of reprieve I
I sigh with you
You don’t know as you move slow that I
I watch you sleep
Ashes in the tray betray the ease of time
And up on the roof I saw the proof that you are mine
And the ghosts of all whom I have known
Linger in the faces of those I love
To shepherd through day and night
MOTEL
Start looking for a new place to live far from here
You won’t be walking these floors anymore
No time for packing, just go right away she said
She said these things to me
And we don’t regret the things that we say
Until we are out on our ass in the street
I rented a room at the old roadside motel
Filled up the bowl with ice for a drink
I thought I should wait for her to come and fine me here
But hours, days soon passed
And we don’t regret the things that we do
Until we are crying in a motel room
With the curtains pulled tight
We all live in the eye of our storms
Try not to stray too far either way
And if you find yourself in this old motel
You’ll know the winds of hell have tucked you in
TEN DEGREES
I fear the worst is ahead of us
My dear, I can’t sleep at all
You lie there cold with skin of blue
A year, with nary a smile
And this hospital chair
Only reclines ten degrees
Yet I lie here every night
To wait for you to wake up
I love you more as you are
Than anyone else awake
I will stay awake and live
Twice as much for you
And I will stay here each night
Until you come back to me
And if you never wake up
I swear I would do it all again
FROM THE “AFTTD” LP
MY NAME
I said, “Why don’t you notice me”
She said, “I am not ready”
This town will know my name soon
By God you’ll know my name
She said, “I will come for you”
I said, “I cannot wait for you”
This town will know my name soon
By God you’ll know my name
Oh, by God you’re the only
Story that I want to read
Kites in the sky will tangle and fall
Down by the ocean I will be
KILLDEER
I want that perfect day to come
When the wind and rain will erase my fears and rage
I need that perfect storm to come
To put out all the fires that burn endlessly
I need that darkest night to fall
To hide from all of you what I’ve become and all that I have done
Won’t that endless mile appear
Before us like a mission take us away from here
If you come with me, you’ll never be free
Spend another night here, and I’ll kill you my dear
This is what I came here for tonight
don’t act so surprised when I try
I can’t help it if I have a goal in mind
for you my love
BURN THIS TOWN
If you want to lie down with her
Please note that the line forms to the left
Oh no wait, that’s the line to hit you
One of these days I’ll learn to keep that straight
Born again at age 29
Never really were born to start with
Now you’re trying to recover
Spread the blame around the whole damn state
Grab for something to hold to
As you tumble down that rocky cliff
But there’s nothing there to save you
Especially ’cause you pushed yourself
And if you want to see her go
Believe me now she’ll make that so
And if you want to let her down
You’ll find a way to burn this whole goddamn town
When you wake up late next April
You’ll find that you now sleep all alone
Wonder how it ended up like this
Just how everyone has always known
Perhaps if you’d been kinder
And a little bit more of a man
She’d be lying now beside you
Instead she’s gonna go home with him
YOU’D WANT TO KILL ME TOO
You make me want to live
But you make me want to die
You make me way to love
But you make me want to kill
You said I smelled like home
But that’s not enough for you
And if I was with you
You would want to kill me too
Before we go on with our lives
You should know
It was always you
Who could make me do anything
It always was…you
A CALL TO ARMS
Can you see the fear behind these eyes?
As I march off to war
She is crying out for me to stay home
But I have no choice but to go
I have seen the fear behind the lines
In the faces of men who died
God is crying out for this to end
But not even he can stop these men
It’s a call to arms
By men who live to make war
Throw out all your common sense and sleep
In the rain of blood again tonight
(Tonight) I’ll be stealing away
And run off into the night
Find my way back to my wife and sleep
In her arms at home again tonight and forever
THIS FEAR IS IRRATIONAL
Oh my dear, this fear is irrational
Even though I know I’ve left you many times before
I’m a boy just waiting to wake up a man
And save myself from the mountains of mistakes I’ve made
On this fire escape
Is where I’ve learned to flee
To hate all that I have
And want all that I don’t
On this day I say these words to you
Even though I know you likely won’t believe
On this night I might say all the things I know you need to hear
To save us both from the list of things that I’ve don’t wrong
WHAT A GREAT IDEA
I can’t take another day like this
Biting my tongue
I’m far too young
I resent you for so many things
Like me being here
I hate it here
What a great idea this was my dear
We can turn back all the clocks so we forget that we are here
And the longer I sit and live with it
Then the more I know that it is wrong
In the west somewhere
I left myself
And now at 29
I wait
ALL MY THINGS
Oh my God, she’s serious
She took all my things while I was away
Then she set fire to our home
Left me with nothing to call my own
Crazy is as it does
Lunacy spreads like some foul disease
Even the cat knows
You took it too far, and now its done
Lay down and cry for me
This is what you have earned
Forget what’s dangerous
Just go…
THESE WALLS
Tonight I say goodbye
To the love that was never mine
Close my eyes so tight
That I’ll admit that I’ve lost this fight
Dive into the ocean
Try to keep my head above the water
Before this night is through
I will embarrass you
Just before I’m done
You’ll decide that I was the one
Cry, show some emotion
Then at least I will know that you are human
And everyone around knows that these walls are coming down
They run and they hide so that they won’t be caught in the fire
JUST LIKE A MACHINE
Trust me old man
I’ve stood where you stand
And death it is not that far away
When the night comes
We’ll stand there as one
And ride that big black wave into the sun
Trust me young man
I’ve stood where you stand
And death it seems like so far away
And yes, it’s just like a machine
It’s cold and it’s mean
Never fails at all to make a good man fall
OLD BLACK CHAINS
This isn’t right, this is wrong
Living apart for so long
Has made me a different man than what you have known
And if you are sure of this
Then let’s get on with it
And cut off these old black chains that hold us here
Even as I’m on the road
I can’t escape from your hold
You’re dragging me down with you, and I can’t shake free
I won’t be there when you cry for me
I have learned to ignore you
