"Life In A Nutshell"

When she was three
Her Barbies always did it on the first date
Now she's with me,
There's never any need for them to demonstrate

She's like a baby, I'm like a cat;
When we are happy, we both get fat and still
It's never enough, It's never enough,
It's never enough

[Chorus]
But I don't tend to worry 'bout the things that other people say
And I'm learning that I wouldn't want it any other way
Call me crazy but it really doesn't matter
All that matters to me is she

Her life in a nutshell
No way would she want it to change me
It's not that easy 'cause
My time is often decided for me
For me

She memorized every pencil crayon color in the box
Her blue-green eyes complement the burnt sienna in her locks
She's at the movies, I'm on the phone;
When we're separated, we're never alone, but still
It's never enough, It's never enough,
No it's never enough

[Chorus]

Her life in a nutshell
No way would she want it to change me
It's not that easy 'cause
My time is often decided for me
For me

I fell down with no one there to catch me from falling
Then she came 'round
And only her tenderness stopped me from bawling my eyes out
I'm OK, and that's why

Her life in a nutshell
No way would she want it to change me
It's not that easy 'cause
My time is often decided for me
For me

[Chorus]

"The Wrong Man Was Convicted"

Who's lonely now? Which one of us is suffering?
Who's in his cups? Which one of us recovering?
Who likes to look at pictures and cries, but way too late?
Who doesn't want to change a thing, accepting it was fate?

[Chorus]
The wrong man was convicted
You know I did the deed
I thought that you would wait for me,
Your wants I needn't heed
The wrong man lies beside you
And waits for you to wake
And all because I lacked conviction,
The judgment's my mistake

Who's breathless now? Who only hyperventilates?
Who'd die for you? Who's dying inside anyway?
Which one of us is sunshine and which one's growing dim?
When two men dream of you at night, do you just dream of him?

[Chorus]

Who's lonely now?
Who's reaching out to no one?
Who's lonely now?
It takes one to know one
I changed my mind; you said that I could change it back
I wanted space, and now change has fallen through the cracks
If I'm again beside your body, don't tell me where it's been
It's cruel, unusual punishment to kiss fingerprinted skin

[Chorus]

It's my mistake

"Great Provider"

You and I have been through this before
I owe you my whole life, nothing more
I never said that I liked you the most
You're my father, I'm your son, who's the Holy Ghost?
Where does the time go when it's not around here?
Here we stand at the edge of the drive
I'm just waiting for my ride to arrive
I wait to see if you've any last words
We pulled away, I called your name, I don't think you heard.
Where does the time go when it's not around here?
I don't know
Where does the time go when it's not around here?
You and I never shared all that much
When I leave I'll be all right, I'll keep in touch
As your road narrows, so mine grows wider
As I leave I turn and wave to the Great Provider
Where does the time go when it's not around here?
I don't know
Where does the time go when it's not around here?

"Stomache VS Heart"

In through my veins, without brains,
I involuntarily take what I need, then I bleed
And it comes right back to me
But guts only eat
And sometimes they repeat on you
Keeping you on your toes or crouched above the loo

That's what you get when you confuse your stomach with your heart.
That's what you get when you confuse your stomach with your heart.

Blood turns from blue into red
'Cause of oxygen that it's fed
And I turn back to blue,
'Cause I'm losing you,
But Tummy just growls
Not real words, mostly vowels
And I always forget sometimes Y
Gratification can cause constipation
If organs are left to die

That's what you get when you confuse your stomach with your heart.
That's what you get when you confuse your stomach with your heart.

I gained all this weight out of love, not hate
I've got so much love to give (give me a break)
I'd love to sleep in late, but that dessert looks great.
Was it something I said or was it some I ate?
Heart beats in sync, beat in time,
Beat in bodies likes hers and mine,
But I fed only one, and look what it's done:
I've run out of blood and I'm chewing my cud
And my gastrointestinal festival's best of all
The cardiovascular questions they ask you are
Less than the answers they give you like cancer and

That's what you get when you confuse your stomach with your heart.
That's what you get when you confuse your stomach with your heart.

"Straw Hat And Old Dirty Hank"

I tend the wheat field that makes your bread
I bind the sweet veal, pluck the hens that make your bed
Mother Nature & Mother Earth
Are two of three women who dictate what I'm worth

[Chorus]
I'm the farmer.
I work in the fields all day
Don't mean to alarm her
But I know it was meant to be this way

You cried a tear, I wiped it dry
I put you up upon a pedestal so high
If you should waiver, if you should sway
I'd catch you, spread my tiny wings and fly away
You signed your picture with an O and X
I bet you don't write "love" each time you sign your cheques

[Chorus]

All of this corn I grow I grow it all for you
I took a hatchet to the radio I did it all for you
You could have written back,
You could have said "thank you"
I guess you've got better things,
Better things to do

You say you love me, is that the truth?
Although they've heard the songs, my friends want living proof
I know your address, I ring the bell
I bring you flowers and a .22 with shells

I'm the farmer
I work in the fields all day
Never wanted to harm her
But I know it was meant to be this way

"I Know"

I know why I like you
It's 'cause of your haircut and your clothing
And 'cause you're racist.
I have a match; your face,
My asking you questions you can't answer
You want to box me?

Our world works in a weird way
I've heard them say a man with a beard may
Frighten children or dogs but a moustache scares me more

I know why you bite me
It's cause of your canines and your instincts
And 'cause I kicked you
I have a bone to pick;
Please go on the paper and fetch me my slippers
And stop meowing.

Man's best friend wags his tail and
Bares his teeth to the man with the mail and
Though he's frightened of thunder he never goes to war

Tell me what's the circumstance of circumcision?
And what goes in my daughter's pants is whose decision?
I've seen the facts of inter-race relations,
Of see-through slacks, of cyber-masturbation;
If a hundred monkeys each could get their own show,
Perhaps one day a chimp might say
You have faith, you just need to use it sayeth the Lord

I know why I like you
It's 'cause of your sandals and your supper
and 'cause you're Jesus
I have a match; your Dad, my dad has
Your picture right next to your mother's
And one of Charo

They hold hands up in heaven
And they say that their son's name is Kevin
But I read in a book somewhere that his name is Jack.

"This Is Where It Ends"

I don't buy everything I read,
I haven't even read everything I've bought
I don't cry every time I bleed,
my eyes are dry, but they're bloodshot
I have faith in medication
I believe in the Prozac Nation
You play doctor, but I've lost patience

[Chorus]
But this is where it ends
This is where it ends
Call the police and call the press
But please, dear God, don't tell my friends
This is where it ends
This is where it ends

Where's my pride? Where's my self-esteem?
Does it show in the drinks I've bought?
I don't hide every time I'm seen, but I try not to get caught
Make excuses for behaviour
Can my illness be my saviour?
Hid my heart while you still gave yours

[Chorus]

She says she wants to live in a movie
I say I want someone else to stand behind me
And write it all down
'Cause I can't be bothered
Doing it myself.
And I don't want the responsibility of
proving it's importance.

I have loved and I have waited
Been picked up and been sedated
mental health is overrated

[Chorus]

"When I Fall"

I look straight in the window, try not to look below
Pretend I'm not up here, try counting sheep
But the sheep seem to shower off this office tower
Nine-point-eight straight down I can't stop my knees

[Chorus]
I wish I could fly
From this building
From this wall
And if I should try
Would you catch me if I fall?

My hands clench the squeegee, my secular rosary
Hang on to your wallet, hang on to your rings
Can't look below me, or something might throw me
Curse at the windstorms that October brings

I look in the boardroom; a modern pharaoh's tomb
I'd gladly swap places, if they care to dive
They're lined up at the window, peer down into limbo
They're frightened of jumping, in case they survive

I wish I could step from this scaffold
Onto soft green pastures, shopping malls, or bed
With my family and my pastor and my grandfather who's Dead

Look straight in the mirror, watch it come clearer
I look like a painter, behind all the grease
But paintings creating, and I'm just erasing
A crystal-clear canvas is my masterpiece

[Chorus]

"I Live With It Every Day"

On August first, nineteen-eighty-one
I cycled to Scott's house with a BB gun
We were almost twelve, but we looked thirteen
He had baby-blue eyes that I shot him between
Nature provides for us a safety net
Whatever we do, we can never forget

[Chorus]
I live with it every day
Even though we moved away
Our yesterdays are on a loop;
A marathon of heartbreaking moments
I live with it every day
For every step I have to pay
The only thing that they can't take:
The guild that spirals in my wake

The day they found me asleep on the floor
Engine running, closed garage door
Was the day the For Sale sign arrived on the lawn
Two weeks later, and we were gone
Everyone falls through time and the funnel it makes
But I'm staying here inside my biggest mistake

[Chorus]

The love I put away
Like games that children play
The hearts you choose to break
Like cars dumped in the lake
The laugh lines on your face
The life I won't embrace
The cold house I won't leave
The guests I won't receive

[Chorus]

"The Old Apartment"

Broke into the old apartment
This is where we used to live
Broken glass, broke and hungry
Broken hearts and broken bones
This is where we used to live

Why did you paint the walls?
Why did you clean the floor?
Why did you plaster over the hole I punched in the door?
This is where we used to live

Why did you keep the mousetrap?
Why did you keep the dishrack?
these things used to be mine
I guess they still are, I want them back

Broke into the old apartment
Forty-two stairs from the street
Crooked landing, crooked landlord
Narrow laneway filled with crooks
This is where we used to live

Why did they pave the lawn?
why did they change the locks?
Why did I have to break it, I only came here to talk
This is where we used to live

How is the neighbour downstairs?
How is her temper this year?
I turned up your TV and stomped on the floor just for fun
I know we don't live here anymore
We bought an old house on the Danforth
She loves me and her body keeps me warm
I'm happy here
But this is where we used to live

Broke into the old apartment
Tore the phone out of the wall
Only memories, fading memories
Blending into dull tableaux

I want them back