Andrew Bird

But someone's got to go
It's Christmas Eve, people
But someone's got to go
I never thought he'd have the nerve
But that just shows you what I know
He had a sweet and lonely voice
How I wish that he had stayed
He had a sweet and lonely voice
How I wish that he had stayed
But the dealer dealt the cards
And the ace has done been played
He used to talk about forever
Forever and a day
But when you get down to it
Things just don't work out that way
Merry Christmas Johnny
Though you're leaving now
The anticipation's better
Than the real thing anyhow

Now if you think I'm wasting your time again
I'm wasting your time
When you pick me up in duty free
That's when I thought I'd be the cross in your T
Or must see TV

Tram pam pam pam, but
If you think I'm wasting your time again
No, oh, you're wasting mine
When you're playing for a prime-time dream
The CNB scene
Now I'm just a split in your seam the I in your team

Oooh please don't get too excited
Oooh maybe you're not invited
To my action adventure
My action adventure dream

So when you think you're on the fast track
You find it's just a cul-de-sac back
In that adult lifestyle community
Where all your little boys, your action toys are duty free

Oooh please don't get too excited
Ooooh maybe you're not invited
To my action adventure
My action adventure dream

So I wonder what you got your persona for
Cause there's a 2-for-one down at the corner-store
And I wonder could ya pep it up a bit
You know throw a fit
You go ahead and dance
I'll just sit

If you think I'm wasting your time again
I'm wasting your time again
oh, you're wasting mine
When you're playing for a prime-time dream
The CNB scene
Now I'm just a split in your seam the I in your team

So I'm looking at the back of my hand again
Oh, I'm looking at the back of my hand again,
To what end if I can't even find a goddamn pen

I see a sea anemone
The enemy
See a sea anemone
And that'll be the end of me.

While the vicious fish was caught unawares in the tenderest of tendrils
Underneath her tender gills

I will become this animal
Perfectly adapted to the music halls
I will become this animal
Anomalous appendages
A non-animal

Hold on just a second
Don't tell me this one you know
I know this one I know this song
I know this one I love this song
Hold on just a second
Don't tell me this one you know
i know this one I know this song
I know this one I love this song
I know this one

Underneath the stalactites
The troglobites lost their sight
Uh oh

The seemingly innocuous plecostomus
though posthumus
They talk to us
They talk too much

See a sea anemone
The enemy
See a sea anemone
That'll be the end of me
Vicious fish was caught unawares
In the tend'rest tendrils
Underneath her tender gills and

I will become this animal
Perfectly adapted to a music hall
I will become this animal

Anomalous appendages
A non-animal

I dreamed you were a cosmonaut
of the space between our chairs
and I was a cartographer
of the tangles in your hair

I sighed a song that silence brings
it's the one that everybody knows
oh everybody knows
the song that silence sings
and this was how it goes

these looms that weave apocryphal
they're hanging from a strand
these dark and empty rooms were full
of incandescent hands

and awkward pause
a fatal flaw
time it's a crooked bow
oh time's a crooked bow

in time you need to learn to love
the ebb just like the flow

grab hold of your bootstraps
and pull like hell
‘till gravity feels sorry for you
and lets you go
as if you lack the proper chemicals to know
the way it felt the last time you let yourself
fall this low
time
oh time
it's a crooked bow
time's a crooked bow

fifty-five and three?eighths years later
at the bottom of this gigantic crater
and armchair calls to you
yeah this armchair calls to you
and it says that
some day
we'll get back at them all
with epoxy and a pair of pliers
as ancient sea slugs begin to crawl
through the ragweed and barbed wire
you didn't write you didn't call
it didn't cross your mind at all
and through the waves
the waves of a.m. squall
you couldn't feel a thing at all
you're fifty-five and three-eighths tall

time

Hey there baby
I have gotten some news for you

You think you're something out of sight
to take me out every night
take me out show me everything
but you won't do the right thing

Baby wants a diamond to have and hold
a diamond ring with a band of gold

string of pearls are so nice
but it ain't worth a trip to paradise
your weary romance is much too slow
you gotta give up o that dough

Baby wants a diamond to have and hold
a diamond ring with a band of gold

There's a man going around in this town selling lies.
He's the bad businessman
And the mess he sells is bad
And the mess he leaves is sad.
He's a clown
That's going to get bounced around
If he don't keep his business underground.
He's a player
But every time he deals a round
It's a bad hand
What a bad man.
Beware of what he sells.
It's shooting you straight to hell.
"Tain't no bottom in that wishing well.
Bad businessman.

There's one guy I'd like to thank
He signs the checks and leaves them blank
He's the one
He says you don't have to walk a plank
The game is rigged, go fig your
Slide show tanked
And your flagship sank
So we're taking all our myths to the bank
So just don't forget who to thank
We're taking our myths to the
Drinking a fifth to the
We're taking all our myths to the bank
If you could just do him this favor
Although it might involve child labor
Join his entourage
Give him a foot massage
From Star Search to the Philharmonic
He'll get you there with Hooked on Phonics
He's the one to know
Doesn't matter if you blow ? no no
In fact it's just the thing
He thinks we're needing
It's a lukewarm liquid diet
They're force feeding
When the words we use have lost their bite
Now they hit you like an imaginary pillow fight
But it's all right
Cause you're inside
And you're in tight
Deals in commodities of the abstract sort
Buys them in bulk but sells them short
Talent, genius, love even signs of affection
He floods the market there's no price protection
And when his master plan is unfurled
There stands a handsome bid on the weather systems of the world

Down in the country where I was born,
We'd go to church ev'ry Sunday mornin',
Then in the evening the lights would fade,
These are the words that my mama said:

"Children I hope you sleep tight,
And don't let the bedbugs bite,
If you should die before you wake,
Pray good God your soul will take."

(Don't let the bedbugs bite ya, [children]
Don't let the bedbugs bite ya, [children]
Don't let the bedbugs bite ya.)

Preacher would tell us that the lord was good,
All us little children should knock on wood,
Preacher would tell us 'bout the angels and saints,
Grandfather taught us 'bout the spooks and [inaudable],
He said:

"(Don't let the bedbugs bite ya, [children]
Don't let the bedbugs bite ya, [no, no]
Don't let the bedbugs bite ya.)"

Then I'd pull the covers up over my head,
Stop thinkin' 'bout the things underneath the bed,
Thunder and the lightnin' begin to boom,
Somebody's knockin', but nobody's home.

(Don't let the bedbugs bite ya, [children]
Don't let the bedbugs bite ya, [children]
Don't let the bedbugs bite ya, [no, no]
Don't let the bedbugs bite ya.)[x2]

Step right on up, take a good good look
at the latest pie that fate could cook
this is no phenom, so supermarket guru
just a revelation from me to you

So don't believe a thing that you might hear
at least from the last 30 - 40 years
cause it wasn't long ago just before the reign of Nero
we had no concept of zero

So beware, children beware, the devil may care
six little soldiers with stripes on their shoulders
never with a thought to dare

So take aim, children take aim
the drill sargeant sang
with ample perspiration ordered
stop your respiration
and end the flow of oxygen to the brain

So wake up sleepyheads, listen what I have to say
as you near your independence day
just keep in mind, in time your find so few
so few have your best interrests in mind

so don't believe a thing you might hear
at least from the last 3 - 4,000 years
'cause is wasn't long ago just before the reign of Nero
we had no concept of zero

so beware, children beware
the devil may care...
and maybe he's the only one

Step right on up, take a good good look
at the latest pie that fate could cook
this is no phenom, so supermarket guru
just a revelation from me to you

So don't believe a thing that you might hear
at least from the last 30 - 40 years
cause it wasn't long ago just before the reign of Nero
we had no concept of zero

So beware, children beware, the devil may care
six little soldiers with stripes on their shoulders
never with a thought to dare

So take aim, children take aim
the drill sargeant sang
with ample perspiration ordered
stop your respiration
and end the flow of oxygen to the brain

So wake up sleepyheads, listen what I have to say
as you near your independence day
just keep in mind, in time your find so few
so few have your best interrests in mind

so don't believe a thing you might hear
at least from the last 3 - 4,000 years
'cause is wasn't long ago just before the reign of Nero
we had no concept of zero

so beware, children beware
the devil may care...
and maybe he's the only one

Your mama never told you
how you were s'posed to treat a girl
Your papa never told you
now you're alone, out in the world
Sirens are screaming
inside the winding sheets are pale
The devils are dreaming,
dreaming of a blue angel

Now I lay me down to sleep
but troubled dreams are all I find
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
I pray so I won't lose my mind
Streetlights come streaming
on wings tonight I'll soon set sail
The devils are dreaming,
dreaming of a blue angel

Your mama's gonna take it hard
you always were your mama's boy
You're lying in the graveyard
now you're not your mama's joy
Silence is screaming
i'll bat an eye and cast my spell
The devil's are dreaming,
dreaming of a blue angel

The devil's are dreaming,
dreaming of a blue angel

The devil's are dreaming,
dreaming of a blue angel

The devil's are dreaming.

day before the fires of hell

You let me in your house
You let me in your house
You let me in your house with a hammer
Set to tile or set to stone
Tit for tat and bone for bone
I'm goin' to set fire to your glamour

Well now rock that candy shop
Rock that candy shop
Rock that candy shop set it on fire
Run away and watch it burn
I've got to set fire to your glamour

Bah da dee'

Rock that candy shop
Rock that candy shop
Rock that candy shop set it on fire
Run away watch it burn
Smell the ashes in the air
Of this silly game we're sure to tire

Well, you let me in your house
You let me in your house
You let me in your house with a hammer
Set to tile or set to stone
Tit for tat and bone for bone
I'm goin' to set fire to your glamour
Yes to your glamour
Yes little mama, to your glamour
To your'.

Let it rock
Listen to me now let it rock, let it rock now

Rock that candy shop

Whats that up on the roof?
The snow is falling down
Up in some northern town
But a Carolina Christmas
Is still the best around
Wrap up your teddy bear
Hang your stockings up with care
It's a Carolina Christmas
We're chillin' in our underwear
Well Old St. Nick's got a bag of tricks
And he's comin' 'round after 'while
This must be his favorite haunt
'Cause we always do it up in style
Grandma's got the fiddle
And Grandpa's got the bass
When it's Christmas in Carolina
It's Christmas all over the place
Grandma's got the fiddle
And Grandpa's got the bass
When it's Christmas in Carolina
It's Christmas all over the place
Yes boy, get that stocking out of yer mouth

when our mouths are filled with uninvited tongues of others
and the strays are pining for their unrequited mothers
milk that sours is promptly spat
light will fill our eyes like cats

and they shall enter from the back
with spears and scepters and squirming sacks
scribes and tangles between their ears
faceless scrumbled charcoal smears

through the coppice and the chaparral
the thickets thick with mold
the bracken and the brier
catchweed into the fold

when our mouths are filled with uninvited tongues of others
and the strays are pining for their unrequited mothers
milk that sours is promptly spat
the light will fill our eyes like cats
cataracts

When I was just a little boy
I threw away all of my action toys
While I became obsessed with operation

With hearts and minds and certain glands
You gotta learn to keep a steady hand
And thus began my morbid fascination

Tore the spines from out of all of these self-help books
Made myself a gun that not only shoots but looks
So real
It shoots through steel
With rays of dark matter

Do you wonder where the self resides
Is it in your head or between your sides
And who will be the one who will decide
Its true location
And does the thought of bile that's red and black
The thought of tongues that taste you back
Fill you with a naus-eous-eous sort of elation

A noose is loosed around our necks made of DNA
And every day it's growing tighter no matter what they do or say
And you can shoot right through it with rays of dark matter
Just before they kick out the ladder
With rays of dark matter
Like something catching fire

Do you wonder where the self resides
Is it in your head or between your sides
And who will be the one who will decide
Its true location

whenever paul thinks of rain,
swallows fall in a wave and tap on his window with their beaks
whenever paul thinks of snow,
soft winds blow round his head and his phone rings just once
late at night-like a bird calling out,
"wake up, paul. don't be scared.
don't believe you're all alone."
"wake up, paul," whisper clouds rolling by and the seeds
falling softly from the branches of the trees.

If it ain't broke don't fix it,
mama, I love that stuff.
That's why I'm confessin to you, babe,
We've got to fix this up.

I've been all over the whole world,
I've learned a thing or two.
So if it ain't broke don't fix it,
That's what I'm stickin' with you.

Had I met you on a clouded day,
Things might not have worked out.
Since I met you on that sunny day,
That first kiss knocked me out.

I know you've got your problems,
Honey, I've got mine too.
So if it ain't broke don't fix it,
That's why I'm stickin' with you.

I know you've got your problems,
Mama, I've got mine too.
If it ain't broke don't fix it,
That's why I'm stickin' with you.

She's got a ham in her handbag, a pig in her purse
She's got two-ply no-fly baby buggers
She's got a burlap sack, she's on a voter parade
She's gonna get some carob cigars and some lemonade
No need to put your ear to the ground
Dora Munch is coming to town

She puts eggs in her orange juice, coffee in her tea
Puts olives in her jelly, says that's the way it's gonna be
Ashes and mashes and dust and mustard
Creamed spinach sandwich and she cuts the crusts off
Don't let it show that you wanted some
Dora Munch is coming to town

She's got a ham in her handbag, a pig in her purse
She's got two-ply no-fly baby buggers
She's got a burlap sack, she's on a voter parade
She's gonna get some carob cigars and some lemonade
No need to put your ear to the ground
Dora Munch is coming to town

She puts eggs in her orange juice, coffee in her tea
Puts olives in her jelly, says that's the way it's gonna be
Ashes and mashes and dust and mustard
Creamed spinach sandwich and she cuts the crusts off
Don't let it show that you wanted some
Dora Munch is coming to town, yes sir
Dora Munch is coming to town, you heard me the first time
Dora Munch is coming to town

If you come to find me affable
And build a replica for me
Would the idea to you be laughable
Of a pale facsimile

So when you come to burn an effigy
It should keep the flies away
When you learn to burn this effigy
It should be
For the hours that slip away

It could be you, it could be me
Working the door, drinking for free
Carrying on with your conspiracies
Filling the room with a sense of unease
Fake conversations on a nonexistent telephone
Like the words of a man who's spent a little too much time alone
When one has spent too much time alone...

So if you come to burn my effigy
It should keep the flies away
When you learn to burn an effigy it should be
Of a man whose lost his way, slips away

We meet at Lafittes each night as twilight sleeps
A kind of reverie
A kind of sleepy feeling is creeping over me
Thats the place for dancing and romancing
Thats the place where you and me could go if we were lovers stealing
An evening at Lafittes
When we meet at Lafittes each night as twilight creeps
A kind of reverie
A kind of sleepy feeling is creeping over me
Thats the place for dancing and romancing
Thats the place where you and me could go if we were lovers stealing
An evening at Lafittes