16 YEARS 

The sun flies through the sky leaves darkness in it's
wake
And now I hear the hellhounds barking at the gate
To be honest sometimes I want you to relate
This ain't up for discussion it's not a topic for
debate
Entrepeneurs that want to bottle up the hate
And slap a label on the glass so hard that it'll break
And if you break it you buy it and we sold it by the
case
It's ok if you just try it you can hold it to your face

How close can you get without touching it
How far removed can you get from the public
Can you keep a secret?
If not, can you tie a slipknot?
Can you stand high up on this brick block?
Listen to the clock tick tock and switch gears
It's been 1 2 3 4 5 6 years

Are they all dancing now? Are you joining the party?
Are just celebrating your life just by destroying your
body?
It's a part of your psyche that I want to sightsee
I dont need you as a tour guide and I dont want you to
like me
I was voted least likely
That's it just least likely
So pardon me if I seem fiesty
Bite my tongue like a bullet take a pull from the peace
pipe
Push past the low expectations of me each night

I leave light in my wake and I moonwalk across the
floor
Until I hear the sex kittens all purring at the door
There's something outside that we all want
But inside there's an ex who marks a soft spot
Till it rots and decays and then no one else cares
It's been 7 8 9 10 11 12 years

Now I sell pennies to the well-wishers
I fish through the coinslots
I fall through a girls bait participate in boycotts
I demonstrate a demon's trade
With a face void of thoughts
If that don't launch a thousand ships
Than that's a helen of troy's loss
There's nothing in this horse
It's hollow it's empty it's entry will not be forced
Like an eyesocket stripped clean of tears
It's been 13 14 15 16 years

ALL WORD NO PLAY 

AUTHOR: Sage Francis

Chorus

Verse One:

Who wants to play a game? /
Game Boy /
Boy George /
George Bush /
Bush pie /
Pie plate /
Plate Tectonics /
Catch my continental drift /
Driftin' /
Inward /
Word play /
Play time /
Stop quick /
Quick pick /
Pixie stick /
Stick shift /
Shifty eye /
Imus in the Morning /
Mourning the death /
Death Metal /
Medal award /
Award winning /
Winning vote /
Vote for the lesser /
Service myself /
Self-sufficient /
Sufficient funding /
Dingoes eating my baby /
Bees Wax /
Wax on Wax off /
Awful /
Lawful /
Falafel wraps /
Raps off beat /
Beat poet /
Poet Lauriet /
"It doesn't look like an ice sculpture, or

BANG BANG BOOGIE 

Bang, bang boogie, up jumps the party...

I know your name and the hours that you operate are
grave yard
shift my body weight out the gates, he came
like a thief in the night this hell hounded off his
leash
teeth clenched tight, you might know my face...
not the expression that it's left in
when I taste a loved ones blood my forked tongue
make sure protect your next of kin
take it like pain killers
spill the pills of medicine right down the drain
flush the evidence then claim your innocence
this shit just isn't their game, in fact their rules
don't apply here,
it's a shame that you're going to die here underneath
my thumb print
all over some dumb shit, run quick
cuz you're about to get your punk ass beat in public
like bang, bang, boogie,

he beat down her door with an alibi full of childhood,
I killed time while it stood still for her,
moments must have adjusted accordingly, but on his
watch
the minutes were fast givin him whip lash
beat by the hands of my clock,
lots can happen in an hour,
for some days don't fly by they make a crash landing,
I flee by night and only return for emergencies
just so I can listen to the ambulance sing,
sirens rang, the colors of the flashing lights
painted the town red in the blackest of nights,
so i will not taint beauty in the ugliest of moments
its that strange side of a poet, I'm writing you out of
my will to live and let live
and to give you some perspective, I'm a changed man,
and in that respect you best get professional
detectives
and motion detectors to protect your relatives, that's
as much warning as your ass will get,
I hold my aim, this is an invite, to my domain,
pick me up while I hitch hike, on memory lane,
sit tight while I back seat drive you insane,
and beat your brains until you see nothing but pitch
white
and keep you breathing just long enough to have you
explain what its like
and how you like it. convince me, I want to believe
that you bleed,
I want to believe that you're bleedin just as much as
she did
I'll exterm' it with your life until I find it's fuckin
meaning.

She beat back her attackers with a childhood full of
alibis, as I understood she had to lie,
the battle cries must have adjusted accordingly or
stopped,
calls for help never were answered back and for that
beat by the hands of my clock,

lots can happen in a matter of seconds
ask for a repentance from a looking glass self
shattered reflections,
before you blame your anger on adolescence
listen to the symphony of ambulances sing,
so beautiful,
so nice
tell me where were you last night?
As usual, you lied.
Tell me where the fuck you hide.
It goes bang bang boogie up jumps the party.
I always notice when she has new marks on her body.

BLACK OUT ON WHITE NIGHT 

The lights are out
The phones are dead
And I'm the only thing that's running in this city
Except for the clouds
Man, they're coming down
If I knew my way around, I wouldn't feel so dizzy
Where's the telly?
Nobody can tell me
I don't speak a lick of that language and got a
slippery memory
If I spelled it all out on my arm
Only if
But I didn't, so I think, "Get a grip, kid. Deal with
it"
Baby's waiting for a ring
And won't settle for the substitute excuse that's
forming
I've got a complicated case of escapism
For her, I tried to rewire my nature
Too tired to wake her
Up out of that artificial calm she was on
A drug-induced future that slipped out of her palms
Seductive rain dancer, she thinks I'm waterproof
Like Superman doesn't need a roof over his head
When I come home to roost, I'll need truth to hold in
bed
But I'm seeking salvation in a booth, and the phones
are dead
And the lights are out
And I'm the only thing that's living in this ghost town
Except for the clouds
And man, they're coming down
If I knew my way around by now, I'd be bound for home
Black out on white night in Rome
Black out on white night in Rome

[Jolie Holland: singing]
I know that I'm in love, but I know I'm out of touch
And I know that I get dumb when I can sense something's
up
And then I bottom out
European tailspin
Scrawling messages out on my pale skin in hopes they
get mailed in
Before the ink poisoning takes effect
And it gets smudged 'cause I budge before letting paint
set
I get judged by the ones who have shelter and rain
checks
While I trudge through the mud because this foreign
terrain's wet
Regain consciousness, then lose common sense
The ominous, dark skies that lie between me and
Providence are signs
The obvious answer isn't standing on your face with
stilettos on
If you pop the question wrong
Every song's a post afterthought, but I won't grab the
chalk
To outline my body of work
Toe tags get caught in my teeth 'cause my foot is in my
mouth
And the spurs are in my words, so my tongue can't
dismount
Even after our rapport had fully run its course
I couldn't figure out the most heroic time to jump from
the horse
And place this old hat for the last time on the coat
rack
But I'd donate all my earnings from the race just to
know that
Resisting urges to go back and get it later
Like the milk would unsour itself in the refrigerator
A wet boy in a dry, dry state
On an old country road where tradition has a blind date
I'll make it dance on its own grave tonight
With a change of direction by the pale moonlight
And if it needs theme music, I'll break out the
bagpipes
Play a tune you ghostwrote me in a past life that goes
like ...

[Jolie Holland: singing]
Black out on white night in Rome
Black out on white night in Rome
Black out on white night in Rome
Black out on white night in Rome

BRIDLE 

Maze broken

She's runnin'

Feet swollen

He's commin'
She's stolen


And before he even knows it she's gone.

Tea cups sittin' on the hollow tree stumps
He's dumped, and can't seem to swallow these lumps


The best goes on…


Same fire



New passion
Old flame

Trade it in for a summer fling

There's nothing like that sweet old song…


Tip over


Root the trees
Bend the leaves


Blend in with the open wound

The freeze frames keep him warm…



The day's frost is scrapped off the weight loss

The new sign that says keep off
As he speeds off into the storm…




Out of sight the lighting strikes him twice

He's peeking out on the pike and cheatin life

Pealing out on the lawn




Now he's idling
In his mind he's figuring out life's about the little things
His time is dwindling


And his labyrinth

And all his magnificent can only keep the mike straps
The princess is innocent


She doesn't belong…



(I never thought I'd miss you)


They had a ceremony where he put her in a bridle, the headstall…
She stop to think for a minute, and in a split second went a wall.

(I never thought I'd miss you)

He draws in the chin as in a expression of resentment or scorn



He's pullin' on the rains, the bridle, the shower the storm

The maze, the high tower, clouds are at war…

The rains, the bridle, the shower, the storm…

The maze, high tower, clouds are at war…

The rains, the bridle, the shower, the storm…

The maze, the high tower, clouds are at war, clouds are at war, clouds are at war…


(I never thought I'd miss you) – repeat 3x

BUCKETS OF SILENCE 

Had I known then what I know now
Had I thought now what I knew then..
I might still be human
with all the little stupid fix-ins
As I fix sins and vixens vick souls
Stitch clothes for the characters they play then switch roles
Nail me to the cross dress
The holy cloth costs less
I'd toss less
if I still had your soft breasts to rest my head on
Since you've been gone
I recalled my issues with problems and hate
but I can't exactly remember the model or make
Now glass bottles break in my death grip
I'm about to take the next quick exit and end this head trip
My bed is stripped of its blankets, comforters, pillows and sheets,
but I might have to peel off all my skin to remove your scent in order to sleep

I had my highs and lows
When on top, I let you peek out over my nose
Sitting on my shoulders and I suppose if I had a backbone,
you might still be here
My skin is filthy..
from my lows when you weren't there. But to keep from feeling guilty
I collected the dirt...Kept it piling up
Now Mr Feel Nothing saves his tears inside of a cup
and he drinks. And he forgets that he's an asshole
Jealous of his ghosts and doubts that he even has a soul

My secret pleasures have my inner demons gossiping
I'm a ghost writer for the horrorcore lyrics my personal mosters sing

I'm sitting in a strangers tub..
with all my clothes on...shivering...considering the dangers of love.

They get half of what I have to give...IF THAT
It's all about the packaging. They're distracted by the gift rap.

Predictable. Easy to manipulate
They're foreshadow puppets and I'm waiting for their strings to break.

The pillars that once held up my halfway house have been taken out.
I'm in my last days now. There's a change coming soon.
I just want to crawl back into my mother's womb
I need a comfort zone,
But obviously I need to find another home
To call my own...and always return to
and I want it to be you

I sit and stare, zone out, think a lot and never sleep,
creating memories to remember and then I forget to eat.

Went to the street you used to live on, staring at the bedroom window of your old home
with puppy eyes...waiting for God to throw me a bone.

I'd settle for one more goodbye kiss while I settle for less
I'm unsettled at best. Sulking while abandoning settlements
Insulting my companions intelligence...conversing with baby talk
Playing with mind games. Rehearsing with playful thought.

Its the way we fought that made my blood bubble then turn cold,
when you made me walk through rain and mud puddles down a dirt road.
it left me so messy
forget me..

not

I've got more mud to sling...

Shot.

CALL ME FRANCOIS 

"Today, my mother killed me"

If I'm alive by the time you find this, it's a miracle
What else can be said, a vision quest with infrared
I'm at a dead end, I bled slow
From my chest, held my breath and did my mess and never
let go
I lived a good life, I never had half-compromise a
thing
And if I couldn't write, I'd think of other ways to
optimize my living
No wife, no kids, no anchors
Hand over fist to withhold this info from the bankers
Don't know my neighbors, didn't take a village to raise
me
Small-town mentality types thinkin I'm crazy
I ain't as weird as they paint me
Off color, I'm more gutter, punk, and ritzy
More glitz and glamour than others
Motherfuckers left me lonely in this designated corner
Had a couple walls that build upon, they made me a
performer
Now shade me from the warmer weather
Save me from the slaughterhouse
That creeps between the pages where I try to hide my
awful mouth
Speak discretely to the sheets that seem to be hollow
Punched a ladder full of holes, just for my swollen
feet to follow
Support me all you want, don't let me drop a field of
land
I'm not going to stop until God is my ceilin fan
Spare the lamb, save me from my former-self
That creeps between the pages as the line across and
locks my self
Now this is my box, these are my walls
This is when time stops and I'm all that there ever was
And I'm all there ever is and I'm all that there ever
will be
A freeze frame pine box soliloquy… Call me FRANCOIS

[Hook:]
Call Me Francois (call call call me francois)
(Call call call me francois)

Take what you can; leave what you must
Because y'all comin with us, (motherfucker you comin
with us)

Fill your bags with the rags that you wear and their
necessities
Along with the dog-tags and family recipes
Rest in peace, if you arrest the pace, movin haste
God-speed you black empress, get dressed, we're late
She painted my head orange, carved my face with her
tongue
Emptied out my insides and lit the candle behind my
eyes
Had the strike of twelve to midnight, winter queen
Left with my life rival in a white limousine
When he made her dress twirl, it looked like a mushroom
cloud
Everybody ducked down except for me, that's my destiny
He used a broken condom as a corsage
I watched him push the rusty pin through her prom dress
into her heart
Kill me already; fill me with confetti
Crush me up and sprinkle me over their wedding and her
pregnant belly
I wasn't ready to suppress these memories, undress the
mam', O' Reese
Forget the family, streamline the enemy, design the
penalty
Cruel and unusual, commit the felony, unfit for prison
duty
No man's an Island, except for Island man; he's a ROCK
STAR!
No man's an Island, except for Island man; he's a ROCK!

[Hook]

CIVIL OBEDIENCE 

[Sage:]
You can't kill me, motherfucker
You can't kill me, motherfucker
You may try, but you will die
You can't kill me, motherfucker

Go to bed late, then I have to wake
Get to work, keep it goin, can't stop, can't take a
break
Gotta get it done, in time for me to do the things I
wanna do
But in the time I finished it, it's time for me to talk
to you
And then explain what I do in my day, well
It's complicated and you say, "Pray tell"
And now we'll try, if I miss any details
Think about it later and send it in an email
'Cause my brain is on a loop, but there's a buzz
That I need to troubleshoot, not now
Gotta gotta get the work done
Last night, some other day is turnin to the first one
I, never gonna never gonna
I, never gonna never gonna
I, ain't gonna ever gonna die

Huh, pedal to the medal, gonna get ahead
Gonna run another red light in the dead of the night
Lettin the light from my cellphone distract my eyes
Sexual text message into my mind
Fingers are busy, but now I'm lookin in the mirror
Cause the people behind me, they're givin me the middle
finger
I'm kill'em if they pull up any closer to my bumper
Short-tempered mother… shut your mouth!
Drinkin the coffee, now I'm dumpin it out
He's honkin the horn like "You wanna throw down"
He thinks, "Oh boy, you wanna go now"
I'm ready (I'm ready), for the typically sick, little
simple civil obedience
Typically sick, little simple civil obedience
Typically sick, little simple civil obedience
(di-di-di-difficult isn't it)

I'm a just man, with a company van
And a supervisor who just does a summary scan
And a coworker who's always like "Discover me man"
In the morning we all get in the huddle again
Like "Can we even make more money"
I wonder what the luxury is really taken from me
I don't even have to worry (ha-ha-ha-hiiii)

Typically sick, little simple civil obedience
Typically sick, little simple civil obedience
Typically sick, little simple civil obedience
Typically sick, little simple civil obedient people
Are gonna die, because they can't live my life

All eyes on the small guys makin small noise
In a small town with the small music men
They're just fall guys, in the law's eyes
Your voice is worth more than you know and you're not
foolin anyone
I'm not a con-artist, your pencil and promises is
eroding eraser tips
I'm sick of your colleges, expensive taste tester,
"Spit that wine"
Excessive waste, chest, butt; it's that time
For me to get randomly checked again
Bored until you're marked with a blood-red pen
Water bottle sittin in my pocket and I'm walkin with a
grin
Cause the liquid isn't permitted, I'm rippin up the
ticket
For the lady at the counter as confetti in her face
Shoulda never let me in this place
Fly, fly boy in the brownest state
I feel I'm never gonna be let out the gate, because I'm
the bomb
Yea I said it; cool, collected and calm
Maneuver through the computer to do a little song
My music got the charm, smoother than a cougar
Attack the mic and get on the intercom

Hello passengers, fellow activists, whether you're
masochists
Mellow pacifists, tell those faxin it, it's no accident
By the end of this record, you're gonna know

Typically sick, little simple civil obedience
Typically sick, little simple civil obedience
Typically sick, little simple civil obedience
Typically sick, little simple civil obedient people

Are you listenin, love? We got a 30 for us
Can you hand me enough, can you hand me my stuff
Bout to move out this scary cemetery you trust
Livin just a little bit of it isn't nearly enough
Livin just a little bit of it isn't nearly justified
Because ah-ah-ah-I, ah-ah-ah-I am
Never gonna never gonna never gonna never gonna die

[Sage Speaking:]
I wanna kee- I wanna keep making things an-and death
really is
is uh not to be part of my eh-eh-everyday activities
It's not to be in my music anymore, I don't want it
there
It'll-it'll sneak its way in and out, but that's
that's, we're beyond that
I mean de-de-death only as a concept is what matters
and-and
god as a concept is-is-is one of those huge things to
me
And to you, I know you, I know youuh much better than
you think I do uhh
I hope we meet sometime, I'd love to shake your hand
and um maybe get a kiss
uh right there, on my face
And uh I don't know maybe have sex a little bit

CLICKETY CLACK 

[Hook]
Clickety clack, clickety clack
Gather my things, and I quickly attack
Sword in my sheath, knife in my back
Keep enemies closer than where friends are at

Rose in my mouth, the petals are black
One armored suit, the metal's intact
Come fully strapped with a skull wooly hat
Just picture that, clickety clack
Now I find my location and unfold a map
My index inspects it and follows the path
My horse is on loan, and I borrowed a staff
From some mystical wizard, I will give it back
But I'm off to the races, my face has got cracks
Worn out and weathered like a red leather mask
I've been through the storm, future, present and past
Light as a feather, swift as a cat
Cold as a rock, you know not what you nicked from my
sack
Little bastard, you'll get skinned for that
And you'll swim with the fishes once I finish this task
No strings attached, clickety clack

[Hook]

Kicked myself in the ass for not bringing my axe
But I've got the flash paper and one single match
Light won't escape me, a fire will catch
You'll beg and you'll plead, you'll scream and you'll
scratch
But nothing can save you, you need to relax
I'll keep you alive for a while, feed you scraps
Love you like you deserve love, with some smacks
A kick and a slap, clickety clack
It's no longer personal, I'm simply detached
From what's hurtful, I need to keep my business exact
Separate beings, I can see our differences are vast
And I can't bridge the gap, clickety clack
Built a rickety raft out of twigs and some grass
And I made it to shore just before it collapsed
Salute to this mission, take swigs from your flask
Tilt your glass, pick your poison, I'm poised to be
fast
On your scent, picked it up just by sniffin' the tracks
Kept my ear to the ground and heard snickers and laughs
Adding insult to injury for your criminal acts
Now the cost of your freedom is a liberty tax

[Hook]

You should have known better than to be mingling with
rats
Got a lead to your shack from some gypsies in the trash
Cryptic interactions, I asked them to stick to facts
Made a trade and gave them everything that I packed
Now there's a brick through your window, kid, sift
through the glass
Notice the note in which the brick was wrapped
Explaining that I know how you're quick to the dash
But it won't be very long before you slip in my trap
Like a moth to the flame with its wings in the wax
It's hard to escape with your limbs in a cast
Your heart will deflate when your wrists both get
slashed
And gradually I snap these synapses in half
Magnificent crescendo, the cymbals all crash
You'll pay for your deeds, but we don't accept cash
We will mix and match this for that, tit for tat
Gonna get it, get it back, gonna getcha getcha back

[Hook]

DIAMONDS AND PEARLS 

surprising the world
with diamonds and pearls
but a song about a girl 'aint really about a girl

got a 2 way vanity mirror
I'm an amity villain
with a peeping tom complex

your just a soul collector
you keep puting 'em in a trash bag
push 'em in a shopping cart. go and act sad

when theres none left to collect
you just go on and make more
but wait, what you lose them to the state for?

the next time you see me
it'll be through plexi glass
there aint no bail outs in this jail house
aint no more petty cash

easy come easy go
a penny saved a penny earned
and i've learned life is cliche
one of these days you get what you deserve

surprising the world
with diamonds and pearls
but a song about a girl 'aint really about a girl

got a 2 way vanity mirror
firing a blind eye from a 200 puond guerilla

in the midst of mis directed anger