"We Do What We Can"


Downstairs they're playing Kenton
The house set to swing
I lay in my bed
And listen to everything
Cause Leo's in rare form tonight
His trombone sings so sweet
This is the room
Where they all come to meet

He said
I do what I can
I live for the moment
And that's who I am
Yeah that's who I am

And isn't it good
If we could freeze moments in time
We all would
But I do what I can
I do what I can

Downstairs he's playing Kenton
The Magnavox sighs
But oh how the music has changed
In all of our lives
He says "nobody listens
To modern jazz"
And I'll never have what those guys have

He says
I do what I can
I work for a living
And that's who I am
Yeah that's who I am

And it's good to be alive
But everything's different since Leo died
I do what I can

Is this the end of the modern world
What could it mean for a young girl
Who sees the pain on his face
He does what he can

The procession on the TV screen
What could it possibly mean for a man
Who's come this far just to turn around
Could there still be life in Kenton's swing
With the Kennedys gone and everything
Those sad rows of houses with their optimistic colors
Democrat grandparents and draft-dodging brothers
Riots down the street and discontented mothers
We do what we can

Downstairs it's quiet
Less alive somehow
Somehow he was everything that I am now

And he says
I do what I can
I work for a living
And that's who I am
And that's who I am

But it's good to be alive
And these are the choices
We make to survive
You do what you can

"I Shall Believe"


Come to me now
And lay your hands over me
Even if it's a lie
Say it will be alright
And I shall believe

I'm broken in two
And I know you're on to me
That I only come home
When I'm so all alone
But I do believe

That not everything is gonna be the way
You think it ought to be
It seems like every time I try to make it right
It all comes down on me
Please say honestly you won't give up on me
And I shall believe
And I shall believe

Open the door
And show me your face tonight
I know it's true
No one heals me like you
And you hold the key

Never again
would I turn away from you
I'm so heavy tonight
But your love is alright
And I do believe

That not everything is gonna be the way
You think it ought to be
It seems like every time I try to make it right
It all comes down on me
Please say honestly
You won't give up on me
And I shall believe
I shall believe

"Maybe Angels"


Six-lane highway running up to my back door
But it won't take me where I want to be
I took the I-95 down to Pensacola
All I found was a bunch of holyrollers
The don't know nothing about saving me

[Chorus]
I swear they're out there,
I swear, I swear they're out there,
I swear, I swear they're out there,
I swear, maybe angels, maybe angels

Down here I feel like a citizen of nowhere
My bag's all packed in case they ever come for me
Got a hundred stories and tabloid lies
Got witnesses to what the government denies
So I'm headed down to Roswell to wait and see

[Chorus]

Oh what a mystery
Oh, I believe, I believe, I could leave

My sister, she says she knows Elvis
She knows Jesus, John Lennon, and Cobain personally
Well, but I'm too wise to believe my eyes
Cause all I've seen just terrifies me
But I believe they're coming back for me

[Chorus]

"A Change"


Ten years living in a paper bag
Feedback baby, he's a flipped out cat
He's a platinum canary, drinkin' falstaff beer
Mercedes rule, and a rented lear
Bottom feeder insincere
Prophet lo-fi pioneer
Sell the house and go to school
Get a young girlfriend, daddy's jewel

A change would do you good
A change would do you good

God's little gift is on the rag
Poster girl posing in a fashion mag
Canine, feline, Jekyll and Hyde
Wear your fake fur on the inside
Queen of south beach, aging blues
Dinner's at six, wear your cement shoes
I thought you were singing your heart out to me
Your lips were syncing and now I see

A change would do you good
A change would do you good

Chasing dragons with plastic swords
Jack off Jimmy, everybody wants more
Scully and angel on the kitchen floor
And I'm calling Buddy on the ouija board
I've been thinking 'bout catching a train
Leave my phone machine by the radar range
Hello it's me, I'm not at home
If you'd like to reach me, leave me alone

A change would do you good
A change would do you good
Hello, it's me, I'm not at home
If you'd like to reach me, leave me alone

A change would do you good
A change would do you good

"Home"


I woke up this morning
Now I understand
What it means to give your life
To just one man
Afraid of feeling nothing
No bees or butterflies
My head is full of voices
And my house is full of lies

[chorus]
This is home, home
And this is home, home
This is home

I found your standing there
When I was seventeen
Now I'm thirty-two
And I can't remember what I'd seen in you
I made a promise
Said it everyday
Now I'm reading romance novels
And I'm dreaming of yesterday

[Chorus]

I'd like to see the Riviera
And slowdance underneath the stars
I'd like to watch the sun come up
In a stranger's arms

[Chorus]

I'm going crazy
A little everyday
And everything I wanted
Is now driving me away
I woke this morning
To the sound of breaking hearts
Mine is full of questions
And it's tearing yours apart...

Sweet Rosalyn"


Slappin' leather was devised
During a wild streak in her life
She has a cheap apartment
Up on Royal Street
She brought home just enough
To keep her on her feet
She don't believe in anything
But it you ask her, she'll say
There's plenty of things to believe in

[Chorus]
Sweet Rosalyn
Sometimes you gotta give in
Sweet Rosalyn
Sometimes you gotta give in
Sometimes you gotta be loved

She got a number off the bathroom wall
She was looking for a good time
So she made the call
Got a strangely calm voice on the other line
Sneaky little priest trying to reach out to the swine
He said, "Hello my name is Father Tim
Seems to me your zeal for this life
Has been wearing a little thin"

[Chorus]

Well, maybe we all could use a little grace
To know when to run and when to
Stay in one place

[Chorus]

"If It Makes You Happy"


I've been long, a long way from here
Put on a poncho, played for mosquitos,
And drank til I was thirsty again
We went searching through thrift store jungles
Found Geronimo's rifle, Marilyn's shampoo
And Benny Goodman's corset and pen

Well, o.k. I made this up
I promised you I'd never give up

[Chorus]
If it makes you happy
It can't be that bad
If it makes you happy
Then why the hell are you so sad

You get down, real low down
You listen to Coltrane, derail your own train
Well who hasn't been there before?
I come round, around the hard way
Bring you comics in bed, scrape the mold off the bread
And serve you french toast again

Well, o.k. I still get stoned
I'm not the kind of girl you'd take home

[Chorus]

We've been far, far away from here
Put on a poncho, played for mosquitos
And everywhere in between
Well, o.k. we get along
So what if right now everything's wrong?

[Chorus]

"Redemption Day"


I've wept for those who suffer long
But how I weep for those who've gone
Into rooms of grief and questioned wrong
But keep on killing
It's in the soul to feel such things
But weak to watch without speaking
Oh what mercy sadness brings
If God be willing

There is a train that's heading straight
To heaven's gate, to heaven's gate
And on the way, child and man,
And woman wait, watch and wait
For redemption day

Fire rages in the streets
And swallows everything it meets
It's just an image often seen
On television
Come leaders, come you men of great
Let us hear you pontificate
Your many virtues laid to waste
And we aren't listening

What do you have for us today
Throw us a bone but save the plate
On why we waited til so late
Was there no oil to excavate
No riches in trade for the fate
Of every person who died in hate
Throw us a bone, you men of great

There is a train that's heading straight
To heaven's gate, to heaven's gate
And on the way, child and man,
And woman wait, watch and wait
For redemption day

It's buried in the countryside
It's exploding in the shells at night
It's everywhere a baby cries
Freedom

"Hard To Make A Stand"


Old James Dean Monroe
Hands out flowers at the Shop-N-Go
Hopes for money but all he gets is fear
And the wind blows up his coat
And this he scribbles on a perfume note
"If I'm not here, then you're not here"
And he says, "Call me Miscreation,
I'm a walking celebration"

[Chorus]
And it's hard to make a stand
Hard to make a stand
Hard to make a stand
Hard to make a stand

My friend, o lawdy,
Went to take care of her own body,
And she got shot down in the road
She looked up before she went,
Said, "This isn't really what I meant"
And the daily news said,"Two with one stone"
And I say, "Hey there, Miscreation,
Bring a flower, time is wasting"

[Chorus]

We got loud guitars and big suspicions,
Great big guns and small ambitions,
And we still argue over who is God
And I say, "Hey there Miscreation,
Bring a flower time is wasting
we all need a revelation"

[Chorus]

"Every Day Is A Winding Road"


I hitched a ride with a vending machine repair man
He says he's been down this road more than twice
He was high on intellectualism
I've never been there but the brochure looks nice
Jump in, let's go
Lay back, enjoy the show
Everybody gets high, everybody gets low,
These are the days when anything goes

[Chorus]
Everyday is a winding road
I get a little bit closer
Everyday is a faded sign
I get a little bit closer to feeling fine

He's got a daughter he calls Easter
She was born on a Tuesday night
I'm just wondering why I feel so all alone
Why I'm a stranger in my own life
Jump in, let's go
Lay back, enjoy the show
Everybody gets high, everybody gets low
These are the days when anything goes

[Chorus]

I've been swimming in a sea of anarchy
I've been living on coffee and nicotine
I've been wondering if all the things I've seen
Were ever real, were ever really happening

[Chorus]