"Sanity"
 
There's a watch in my pocket and its hands are broken.
The face is blank but the gears are turning.
Confusion is a fundamental state of mind.
It doesn't really matter what I'm figuring out.
I'm guaranteed to wind up in a state of doubt

And sanity is a full-time job
In a world that is always changing,
And sanity is a state of mind
That you believe in, sanity.

There's a shadow on the wall where the paint is peeling.
My body's moving forward but my mind is reeling.
Depression is a fundamental state of being.
It doesn't really matter how my day has turned out.
I always end up living in this world of doubt

And sanity is a full-time job
In a world that is always changing,
And sanity will make you strong
If you believe in sanity.

And sanity is a full-time job
In a world that is always changing,
And sanity is a state of mind
That you believe in, sanity.

"Henchman"
 
Stranded
In a life in which your struggle for acceptance
Is a never-ending chore,
Upbraided
For your actions past and present and rewarded for the ideas
Of the future's bright open door.
The henchman
Is the human analogue of the suffering multitudes
Who like good dogs sit and lick for their reward.
So what good advice have I got for you
To insure against your likely metamorphosis into this reprobate?
Don't be a henchman,
Stand on your laurels,
Do what no one else does and praise the good of other men
For good man's sake.
And when everyone else in the world follows your lead
(Although a cold day in hell it will surely be)
That's when the entire world shall live in harmony.

"It Must Look Pretty Appealing"
 
The wheat waving next to you is healthy and so fine,
As is dinner with your loved ones every day.
But your routine is changeless through the decades of your life,
Green pastures, open spaces, holy ways.
And it must look pretty appealing,
The acres of lights,
The crowded festive nights
And the millions of others just like you.
Yeah it must look pretty appealing,
This other world of sin.
We keep dreaming of what other people do.
The person sitting next to you is dismal and deranged
On the bus ride home from work to end your day.
And the food on your table is more plastic than protein,
And your intellect depends on your TV.
And it must look pretty appealing
The pastoral retreat,
The folks on old main street,
And the few pleasant people just like you.
Yeah it must look pretty appealing,
The simple way of life.
We keep dreaming of what other people do.
But we never do what other people do.
You're too scared of other people not like you.

"You"
 
There's a place where everyone can be happy.
It's the most beautiful place in the whole fucking world.
It's made of candy canes and planes and bright red choo-choo trains,
And the meanest little boys, the most innocent little girls,

And you know I wish that I could go there.
It's a road that I have not found.
And I wish you the best of luck dear.
Drop a card or letter to my side of town.

'Cause there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend,
But baby I'm amazed at the hate that you can send.

And you...
Painted my entire world.
But I...
Don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled.
And I won't forget it.

There's a place where everyone can be right (right...)
Even though you remain determined to be opposed.
Admittance requires no qualifications
It's where everyone has been and where everybody goes.

So please try not to be impatient,
For we all hate standing in line.
And when the farm is good and bought, you'll be there without a thought,
And eternity, my friend, is a long fucking time.

'Cause there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend,
That’s why baby I'm amazed at the hate that you can send.

And you...
Painted my entire world.
But I...
Don't have the turpentine to clean what you have soiled.
And I won't forget it.

"Progress"
 
And progress is not intelligently planned;
It's the facade of our heritage, the odor of our land. They speak of
Progress, in red, white and blue.
It's the structure of the future as demise comes seething through. It's
Progress, 'til there's nothing left to gain,
As the dearth of new ideas makes us wallow in our shame.
So before you go contribute more
To the destruction of this world you adore,
Remember life on Earth is but a flash of dawn
We're all part of it as the day rolls on.
And progress is a message that we send.
One step closer to the future, one inch closer to the end. I say
That progress is a synonym of time.
We are all aware of it but it's nothing we refine,
And progress is a debt we all must pay.
Its convenience we all cherish, its pollution we disdain
And the cutting edge is dulling,
Too many folks to plow through.
Just keep your fucking distance
And it can't include you.
It's
Progress, 'til there's nothing left to gain, it's
Progress, it's a message that we send.
And progress is a debt we all must pay.

"I Want Something More"
 
Going through a world of sad debris,
Regard quixoitic reveries of ownership:
The blossoming disease of man called tenure and accretion,
The ancient western treadmill of deception and derision.
But I want something more.
Racing through a life of tragic wastage,
I experience the loss of trust and innocence.
The billowing cyclone of time has blown away our reasons
As we trudge like blind men forward trying to avoid collision.
But I want something...
More.

"Anxiety"
 
It's a love song to the self, a story recapped every day,
It's a world of bogus feelings and a world of slow decay,
It's a world of laughter hidden by this world of fear and torment,
It's a game of strange compulsion, our visceral convulsion:
Anxiety for love of life, anxiety for pain,
Anxiety, a feeling that you know you can't contain.
Anxiety destroys us but it drives the common man.
Foundation of society, anxiety. Suppress it if you can.
The caste of coffee achievers didn't perform like they planned.
The morning rush hour traffic is our play of false elan.
So run around your frantic track and lay you down to sleep;
Tomorrow's the redemption, we strive for that exception.
Anxiety for love of life, anxiety for pain,
Anxiety, a fear that you have nothing more to gain.
Anxiety destroys us but it drives the common man.
Foundation of society, anxiety. Suppress it if you can.
What are we angry for?
We all need a common cure.
That common goal for which you strive:
To have more than the other (have more than the other) guy.
The quest for truth, the quest for gold, yeah, we end up all the same
The common lie, the righteous cry, we end up all the same.
The angry crowd, those lost and found, everybody's all the same.
The poet's pen, these words I lend, we all bend to
Anxiety for love of life, anxiety for pain,
Anxiety, a feeling that you know you can't contain.
Anxiety destroys us but it drives the common man.
Foundation of society, anxiety.

"Billy"
 
I can recall the warm youth of a summer day, yeah:
The sweetest lemonade, the darkest game arcade,
And Billy had a yearning in the corner of his mind.
It moved him secretly. It moved him powerfully.
But prescience was lacking and the present was not all
And his aptitudes were carelessly wasted.
And challenging life with the abandon of a fool,
He squandered the hours of his day.
Then darkness and disorder slapped him sharply in the face, yeah.
It hit him like a friend, struck something deep within.
He couldn't break the chain of slow decay that seemed to drag him
Just like a fatal tie toward the other side.
And Billy was a lunatic, just barking at the moon,
And his brain was totally wasted.
He then exchanged his friends for a needle and a spoon
And he threw his future away.
Bolt the door and throw away the key.
Your dim reflection is all that you can see.
So where is the justice when no one is at fault
And a human life is tragically wasted?
How fragile is the flame that burns within us all
To light each passing day?

"The World Won't Stop Without You"
 
You've got to quit your little charade and join the freak parade
Now that your road has been paved from conception to your grave.
Enormous things to do, others' practices to eschew,
To be better than you is impossible to do,
But the world won't stop without you.
No, the world won't stop without you.
Your achievements are unsurpassed, you are highly-ordered mass,
But you can bet your ass your free energy will dissipate.
Two billion years thus far, now mister here you are,
An element in a sea of enthalpic organic compounds.
The world won't stop without you.
The world won't stop without you.
You're only as elegant as your actions let you be
A piece of chaos related phylogenetically
To every living organ system, we're siblings, don't you see?
The earth rotates and will revolve without you constantly.
Two billion years thus far, now mister here you are,
An element in a sea of enthalpic organic compounds.
The world won't stop without you.
No, the world won't stop without you.
I said the world won't stop without you.

Against The Grain (1990)



1.   Modern Man
2.   Turn On The Light
3.   Get Off
4.   Blenderhead
5.   The Positive Aspects Of Negative Thinking
6.   Anesthesia
7.   Flat Earth Society
8.   Faith Alone
9.   Entropy
10.   Against The Grain
11.   Operation Rescue
12.   God Song
13.   21st Century (Digital Boy)
14.   Misery And Famine
15.   Unacceptable
16.   Quality Or Quantity
17.   Walk Away