Lyrics
ANGLO ARTS RHYTHM MONSTER
PRODIGAL SON
Shining star
Please let me be crucial
In the next phase of the world
Help me to be
Seen as more important
Than the other boys and the girls
Because we’re all really trying to do the same thing
Star in flicks or move into the West Wing
I see my-‐self as the guiltiest one (ooh yeah)
(But) heaven prefers the prodigal son
Guiding light
Shake me into motion
When the sun doth rise in the east
Feed me with lust
Greed and some ambition
And watch me relish the feast
‘Cuz everyone is on a self-‐love kick
Releasing songs recorded with an ice pick
I see myself as the guiltiest one (ooh yeah)
(But) heaven prefers the prodigal son
There’s something you should probably know ‘bout me
Well, everybody should (mmm)
I take all my vitamins with a squirt gun and they taste really good
Good, good, good, good, good, good, now (x4)
Because we’re all trying to live more than one life
Deviate and settle with the third wife
I see myself as the guiltiest one (ooh yeah)
(But) heaven prefers the prodigal son
ODDS & ENDS
I broke into the plaza
To raid the jewelry store
But I regret that I couldn’t get you
The things you was lookin’ for
I tried to save my money
I worked from nine to five
I sold my soul for a dead end job
Just to try to make you mine
I said I sold my soul to try to make you mine
But I don’t care about the weather
And I don’t know about your friends
And if it seems that there is nothing we can talk about
Then let’s just start with the odds & ends
I may not be a rich boy
A noble English lord
But I got cheek and a slim physique
That your body’s aching for
I’m not some hall of famer
Backstage VIP
So I’ll improvise, tell little lies
Just to get you to notice me
I said I’ll tell you lies just to get you to notice me
But I don’t care about the weather
And I don’t know about your friends
And if it seems that there is nothing we can talk about
Then let’s just start with the odds & ends (hoo!)
Bah-‐dah
Bah-‐dah-‐dah-‐dah (x2)
(Yeah yeah, Terri’s over)
This could be a daydream
But I can’t not act defensive right now
‘Cuz I know
That I don’t care about the weather
And I don’t know about your friends
And if it seems that there is nothing we can talk about
Then let’s just start with the odds & ends (hoo!)
Bop-‐bop-‐doo-‐dop, bop-‐bop-‐a-‐way-‐bop
Bop-‐bop-‐doo-‐dop, bop-‐bop-‐a-‐way
Bop-‐bop-‐doo-‐dop, bop-‐bop-‐a-‐way-‐bop
Bop-‐bop-‐doo-‐dop, bop-‐bop-‐a-‐way
Bop-‐bop-‐doo-‐dop, bop-‐bop-‐a-‐way-‐bop
Bop-‐bop-‐doo-‐dop, bop-‐bop-‐a-‐way
Bop-‐bop-‐doo-‐dop, bop-‐bop-‐a-‐way-‐bop
Bop-‐bop
PAPER TUESDAY
When I told you those lies
That the letters you found
Were from some distant friend of mine
I could see it in your eyes
By the way you moved
That what we had was compromised
I told you all the time
When I was with you
We have to be patient
At falling in love
But you could tell I wasn’t true
Burning away
Paper Tuesday
It still hits me every day
But why from the start
Did you have to push me away?
As I reeled with every warning
Like how you didn’t enjoy
Saturday Night & Sunday Morning
I told you all the time
When I was with you
We have to be patient
At falling in love
But you could tell I wasn’t true
Burning away
Paper Tuesday
Your mom’s so glad
She says I’m bad
Just like your dad
(Always will I want you)
I told you all the time
When I was with you
We have to be patient
At falling in love
But you could tell I wasn’t true
Burning away
I told you all the time
When I was with you
We have to be patient
At falling in love
But you could tell I wasn’t true
Burning away
Paper Tuesday
MAKE THE RACES
Calling every doctor
Calling every nurse
Bleed the ground with needle frame
A left-‐handed curse
But, don’t help him
He’s no good
Look right through
The boy who cries wolf
The accusations
All make my head spin round
So I would like to apologize
For all the times I laughed in peoples’ faces
I wanna make the races
I would like to apologize
For all the times I rubbed you in wrong places
I wanna make the races
Statues in the courtyard
Pine and juniper
Vaulted does flesh coalesce
With frankincense and myrrh
The night bequeaths its Judas kiss
I realize that I am nothing
The constellations
All make my head spin round
So I would like to apologize
For all the times I laughed in peoples’ faces
I wanna make the races
I would like to apologize
For all the times I rubbed you in wrong places
I wanna make the races
On my own
I’m begging you to run away with me but
I would like to apologize
For all the times I laughed in peoples’ faces
I wanna make the races
I would like to apologize
For all the times I rubbed you in wrong places
I wanna make the races
I would like to apologize
For all the skulls I crushed with iron maces
I wanna make the races
I would like to apologize
For all the times I lied and hid the traces
I wanna make the races now
But I will never apologize
SALT & VINEGAR
They’re making a killing in this business, you know
Reel in every man who’s got no better place to go
Reel in every woman with nothing left to say
Reel in every woman anyway, anyway
Moments of tears
Old people tears
Salt & vinegar
Taste all the years
Yesterday, oh yesterday, my memory forbidding
Punched a stranger in the face and told him I was kidding
Saturday, last Saturday, what the hell did I do?
Heard the wife’s confession; pretended I knew
Moments of tears
Old people tears
Salt & vinegar
Taste all the years
If this is my prime
Why am I hell-‐bent on wasting time?
‘Cuz I’m living in another world anyway
Work the night shift
Praise the theater lights
I don’t want that much, except to see some shows
I don’t care to see the mistakes underneath my nose
Moments of tears
Old people tears
Salt & vinegar
Taste all the years
BENNY’S MUCH OLDER THAN ME
Every night I run into a dead end
When I’m tryin’ to make her mine
I’m stuck with Adonis for a best friend
I’m just tryin’ to make her mine
Look, I know he’s such a pretty boy
But Benny’s much older than me
Yes, he’s such a pretty boy
But Benny’s much older than me
I was satisfied when we were younger
Now I’m startin’ to feel the hunger
It comes but it don’t go
Warps my little mind
I want some love
I want some love in the middle of the night
I need some love
I need some love in the middle of the night
Look, I know he’s such a pretty boy
But Benny’s much older than me (older than me, now)
Yes, he’s such a pretty boy
But Benny’s much older than me
It’s hard to say that I really believe
These are the best days of our lives
‘Cuz I’m still waitin’ for things to get better
Golden years to arrive
Look, I know he’s such a pretty boy
But Benny’s much older than me (older than me, now)
Yes, he’s such a pretty boy
But Benny’s much older than me
I know he’s such a…handsome boy
But Benny’s much colder than me
Yes, he’s such a pretty boy
But Benny’s much older than me (older than me, now)
IMAGINE MANNEQUINS
You make moves
Shifts that leave me shaking
I feel robbed
Decades from my life you’re taking
Please don’t tell me what to do
Somehow I’ll give into you
Position me with a voice like thunder
Over, sideways, up, and under
Imagine mannequins staring at you in the night (oh, I wonder)
You could boss, domineer
Play the Queen Puppeteer
They won’t mind (oh, I wonder)
On my own
Life moves in slow motion
I work hard
Giving you my blind devotion
Please don’t tell me what to say
Claim that I’ve some debt to pay
Pushing me into a panic
Building up my rage volcanic
Imagine mannequins staring at you in the night (oh, I wonder)
You could boss, domineer
Play the Queen Puppeteer
They won’t mind (oh, I wonder)
Imagine mannequins instead of me wave goodbye (oh, I wonder)
Out awash in the sea
Where you said I should be
Mannequins stay dry
Don’t ask me now
What I want and what you’ll allow
Don’t draw the line
Tellin’ me what’s yours it just ain’t mine
But even so
Don’t tell me that there’s no place to go
Knowing I will be the one to knock on those unknown doors
LITTLE MISS BONAPARTE
I struggle to pull through
But everything’s easy for you
It isn’t very hard to see
My life Russian Roulette
When everything you want you get
But nothing’s ever guaranteed
You make plans
But don’t you know things fall apart?
Such great plans
For my Little Miss Bonaparte
Am I a minion?
A servant in your opinion?
Well this will be the last goodbye
You charge me with treason
Without any rhyme or reason
Good luck until the well runs dry
You make plans
But don’t you know things fall apart?
Such great plans
For my Little Miss Bonaparte
You’re begging me to stay
I’m not a penny saved up for a rainy day
You make plans
But don’t you know things fall apart?
Such great plans
For my Little Miss Bonaparte
KNOCK ON WOOD
It’s been 40 days since I knocked on wood
I dunno, I just don’t see no reason
There was a pine door
In the cellar where I lived before
So make my day, please
With folded hands
I’m still trying to figure out
If I should
I find it very hard
To finish what I start
To set the time apart
Plan hours on a chart
It’s unbearable
With folded hands
I’m still trying to figure out
If I should
Knock on wood
And in the pool’s reflection
I saw my hair
Like the serpents of Medusa
I was frightened by my own despair
With folded hands
I’m desperate to figure out
If I should
Knock on wood
Knock on wood
FRANKENTHALER
I could stand here for fifteen years and
Stare at this Frankenthaler with ease
I could stand here for fifteen years and
Stare at this Frankenthaler with ease
If I had the faith
Does it all seem impossible?
Sometimes it does
But is it truly impossible?
On the nights when you drink alone
You wish it was
You wish it was
Why do you lock yourself in your room?
You want to be out making friends, having fun every night
But you know that cheating the system just ain’t right, well
I could stand here for fifteen years and
Stare at this Frankenthaler with ease
I could stand here for fifteen years and
Stare at this Frankenthaler with ease
If I had the faith
Does it all seem a carousel?
A hazy blur
But is it truly a carousel?
Every morning when you hit the Scotch
You wish it were
You wish it were
Yes, every word is true
At least in their little minds
But ignore what they say
Drink what you drink
Close your eyes (close your eyes) and two-‐step to this beat
You know, I like the way you move your feet, well
I could stand here for fifteen years and
Stare at this Frankenthaler with ease
I could stand here for fifteen years and
Stare at this Frankenthaler with ease
If I had true faith (vibrato on faith)
VULGARIS [Mini – LP]
WESTERN COUNTY AT NIGHT
Take me back, Henry Failing
I must be ailing
Take me back to the trails
Lay my body in the Ochoco woods
Beneath the Cascades
If everything else fails
I’ve been running around the world, you see
Supposedly finding the real me
Oh, but long ago I found trees
And mountains reaching higher than any of these buildings
Far, far away I’ll go
Folks always say hello, all my
Worries behind me
So free
If you’re from Norway, Myanmar
Or Madagascar
Consider yourself blessed
It’s a triumph for an American man
To have just one day
His doubtful mind at rest
We say, “If God is real, well then I need proof!”
And struggle to find some definitive truth
I think I’ll walk outside instead
To find more wisdom and credence than anything some book said
PARTY FOR MYSELF
Another day
Holding down the fort again
“We’ll be back in a week,” they said
“Pathetic seeing your tears,” they left
Unnaturally, I drew up a plan
Like any sensible child would do
Though it’s taken me
Till I was a man
Card games, cutting cake soon after
Faces filled with helium laughter
But Jamie, Jamie, Jamie’s always out of town
Chasing well-to-dos in a wedding gown
And Michael went away to find a real career
How he’d look at me strangely still living here
Imagine me in a pirate suit
Hunt for hidden treasure
If I find the nickel lipsticks on the highest shelf
They’ll be swallowed whole
I’ll throw a party for myself
Another night
Unwillingly alone again
An Epsom bath and a restless nap
Pop-up books with fatal finger traps
My hands shake, scraping the floor
I know I never asked for much
Or begged for some sin
I just want to go outside
But I’m not sure it’s alright
The critics are gone and still I shake with this stage fright
To push, push, push against the safety rail
In the cradle, nearly drunk off of ginger ale
I’ll come crashing down, crashing down in the blink of an eye
They say the longer you live, the longer you die
Imagine me in a pirate suit
Hunt for hidden treasure
If I find the Robitussin on the highest shelf
In a liquid ore
I’ll throw a party for myself
MIRROR PHOBIA
Spider eyes
A thousand views of my face
Be safely blurred by disaffection
In the light of the day
Every bathroom (every little bathroom)
Like a gleaming royal chalice
And every fad’s
Shiny window ad
Like a televangelical crystal palace
I know I’ve gone too far
I don’t know what else I can do
Build a casket
In a tar pit
Hide away, hide away from this
Mirror phobia
The pictures
Really were fun
The ones we took in an oatmeal bath
Veiled from unflattering sun, oh-ho-ho
The pictures
Were admittedly fun
But would you believe?
Could you conceive?
That I tore them to shreds, every one, and
I know I’ve gone too far
I don’t know what else I can do
Have a wrestling match
With a briar patch
Hide away, hide away from this
Mirror phobia
ROBERTS BLOSSOM
– Instrumental –
RED ROPE OF JERICHO
The end of the week so nervous finds me
No more comforted by night or the thought that my life, itself
Is writing a book already on the shelf
The clock always slows to Friday’s crawl
Shadows in the street bay the Siren’s call as
Mansions appear; negligees surround me
In costume rooms
Built as tombs
For the shy and lonely
So I’ll wait for your sign
Throw down that Red Rope of Jericho
When will you join my side
And tell me the secrets that I’ve never known
Yeah, I’ll wait for your sign
Throw down that Red Rope of Jericho
Sometime
The twilight fades so far behind me
Your door slammed in my face, this petty bourgeoisie
Just wanted some community
I’ll lie in bed, watch a TV show
I’ll try to live my life in the status quo
You say, “The next generation will change our worldview”
But I’m the man
The also-ran
That your kid grew into
A PRAYER FOR SECOND CHANCES
When I see a debutante acting so dull
A paint-by-numbers sketch on an unblemished scroll
I get a taste for bitter food
I get a taste for bitter food
When I hear a young man of curious aims
Admit to someone else passion fed by two flames
I get a taste, I do, for bitter food
I get a taste for strong drink
Because I know that when the
Rain pours down
They’ll prolong their goodbyes
And when the wind knocks me over
The faster their jets fly by
The only words of comfort I may hear
Are, “Don’t look so wrecked. What did you expect?”
A prayer for second chances
A prayer for second chances
A prayer for second chances, whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
“Anglo Arts” – Music and Lyrics by Tyler Burns, © 2009, 2013
“Vulgaris” – Music and Lyrics by Tyler Burns, © 2012
