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1. 4 O’clock Stop

I don’t know why

You won’t leave me alone

Keep your mind off of me

And keep your fingers away from the phone

Because

I won’t return your kiss

And sometimes ignorance is bliss

Oh, i can’t handle this

It’s alright for you

It doesn’t make you an asshole

It’s alright for me

My life circles around it though

And i shouldn’t close your eyes

And kiss each one a thousand times

Yeah, if my heart lies

I was standing minding my own

Business, when you came up and

Decided you’d mind it for me

With a short list of small demands

And a five gallon pail of sinking sand

That you assured me i could take or leave

But it never seems to work that way

It seems there’s always so much more to say

And it’s always somewhere in between

True or not it’s a four o’clock stop

Before i die, i would like to see you smile

My heart is dressed in black

And her heart is dressed in green

‘Cause you’re so beautiful in blue

And every fuckin’ colour in between

But rainbows are for skies

And hesitation is for sad regretful eyes

And long goodbyes

2. So Long Bernie

It’s like watching murder through your fingers at the theatre

It’s like finding out Klaus Barbie was your neighbour

Only weirder

And when I saw you on the tube

With a six-foot cop on either side of you

That’s when I knew

That’s when I knew, that’s when I knew

All the pain that was shacked up inside of you

Well, so long Bernie you’re the friend I never knew

And never will

She didn’t even know your name

But you put a six-inch blade inside her all the same

She couldn’t possibly know why

And when you became Doctor Jekyll you knew you had to hide

So now I know, yeah, now I know

All the pain that was in your mind is still inside your soul

Well so long Bernie you’re the friend I’ll never know

I’ll never know

You’re the beast inside us all

The straw that breaks

The wire that snaps

You’re all the pressure built up in this pitiful machine

So, now your mind is full of blood

A simple scream in place of every single thing you’ve done

They found her in a field

And when they found you swinging, well noone shed a tear

When they found you dangling, well, noone shed a tear

Ah, when they found you hanging

Why would they shed a tear?

Why shed one tear?

Well now I know, yeah, now I know

I look at strangers different than I did a year ago

But you know Bernie it’s my closest friends I’d better get to know

3. Just About ‘The Only’ Blues

Let’s take a walk down to the Only

And drink until our kidneys fail

And you can tell me that you want me

And I can think about betrayal

You can leave me thinking, drinking all night

‘Cause that’s the sharpest nail

And I don’t know if I’m coming

And I don’t know if I’m going

And I don’t know where I’m staying tonight

Let’s get a table by the window

Beneath the shot of Chairman Mao

And I can tell you all my problems

Yeah, you can try to hold’em down

This seems a trivial pursuit now

But it’s the only game in town

You won’t talk about it

But I know there’s something wrong

And though I ain’t done nothing

I know that’s what I’ve done wrong

‘Cause something really sucks… tonight

There’s a letter I can’t open

And there’s a song that I can’t write

And there’s a book that I can’t put down

Here comes another sleepless night

Well, sure I’d like to work this all out

But I know I’m not that bright

4. Salesman, Cheats and Liars

I know the only feeling you have is rage

And I know that I’d feel the same as you, but

I think you’d better take a good look around you ’cause

You’re so pissed you can’t even find your drink

Sometimes it’s wise

To know which way the gun is pointing

Before you yell, “I see the whites of their eyes”

Sometimes you’ll find your senses all disjointed by

The lines and wires of salesmen, cheats and liars

Well she left, without one word of tenderness

And noone saw you cry but me

Your friends heard you say, “Good riddance, I’m better without her.” but

‘Fess up, you thought about diving into the Don

Sometimes it’s wise

To know which way the car is going

Before you put your pedal down to the floor

Sometimes you’ll find your senses all disjointed by

The lines and wires of salesmen, cheats and liars

Well, hello friend

I caught you laughin’ again, but

Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me

It’s so strange that everybody’s so caught up in

Worrying that they ain’t what we want ’em to be

5. Rosy and Grey

I want to take a streetcar downtown

Read Henry Miller and wander around

And drink some Guinness from a tin

‘Cause my U.I. cheque has just come in

Ah, where you been, because

Everything is coming up rosy and grey

Ah, the wind is cold but the smell of snow warms me today

And your smile is fine and it’s just like mine and it won’t go away, ’cause

Everything is rosy and grey

You’ve been under my skin for more than eight years

It’s been eight years of laughter and eight years of tears

And I don’t know what the future can hold, or will do, for me and you

But I’m a much better man for having known you

Yeah, you know that’s true, because

Well, I’ve been told that there’s a sucker born every day

Well, I wonder who, yeah, I wonder who

Maybe the one who doesn’t realize there’s a thousand shades of grey

‘Cause I know that’s true, yes I do, I know that’s true

How about you?

Well, they’re picking up trash and they’re putting down roads

And they’re brokering stocks, the class-struggle explodes

And I’ll play this guitar just the best that I can

Well, maybe I’m not and maybe I am

Who gives a damn?

Well, I’ve kissed you in France and I’ve kissed you in Spain

And I’ve kissed you in places I’d better not name

And I’ve seen the sun go down on Sacre Coeur

But I like it much better going down on you

Ah, you know that’s true

6. Kinda The Lonely One

Ask the question

Am I on the blacklist?

How long can this go on?

And… If I pull will you resist?

Are you the bleeding Christ?

And am I the mongrel dog?

If I knew you were so far gone

I’d have run right out and bought you (me/us) a bottle

But then again, you were always kinda’ the lonely one

I met an old friend yesterday

He’s gone to Vancouver

He just left his wife and kids

What a sly manoeuvre

So drunk the night he left

He was too drunk to recover

Now I’m digging old bones

7. Eternal Fatalist

She felt someone else upon your lips

You’ve blown another relationship

You say that God had a hand in this

I say you should’ve stayed away from that other girl

Now, I look at you

And you look at me

Ah, life’s a fix for the eternal fatalist

You’ve gone and lost your job again

Can I borrow ten till Tuesday friend?

You say your lack of dividend

Has always been spelled out in the stars

It’s a financial risk for the eternal fatalist

You say it’s all lined up like shot glasses on the bar of life

You’ll sip your way through it

You never once got stiffed

So pick yourself up, pay your tab, and get on with your life

Get on with it!

Have you ever heard of dialectics?

One sure way to get some perspective

Of course every action isn’t elective

And I wonder what my horoscope has to say… today

You say your moon’s in the seventh house

But your butt’s been three days on my couch

You’ve eaten me out of home and house

You nearly drank up all of my beer

Yeah, I’m outta here

8. For The Hand of Magdelena

You couldn’t believe when they told you that she’d never been ’round here before

Thought she hung out in the Cologne Hotel, or with the Cubans in the Puerta Del Sol

And when she smiled all you thought about was running up Suicide Hill

And nothing short of a bullet could’ve broken your will

And all for the hand of Magdelena

Your boots planted in the soil of Spain

(Your heart broken in the soil of Spain)

(Your blood’s red like the soil of Spain)

Like her tears in the Spanish rain

All for the Hand of Magdelena

Clark Gable with a bayonet, you never thought anyone could look so cool

And she could handle that Soviet pistol like she learned to do it in school

You fell in love in an air raid, a bombshell sanctioned attraction

You were wet with fear, she was wet with passion

Your mother could never understand why her son took the call to arms

And her father could never understand how she could fall for your Republican charms

Magdelena, Magdelena, Magdelena… the choice was never ours

In a week and a half you’ll be walking down Forty-second street again

And you can read it in the New York Times they’re plagiarizing Ernest Hemingway

And you can touch that spot where a fascist bullet nearly severed your arm

But that’s nothing like the way that your soul was scarred

9. Subversives

There’s something subversive about you and me

‘Cause there’s a market-value on love and we’re getting something for free

I don’t know why, but when we’re apart something makes me want to start…

Setting fires and kicking down doors

I hope we never have to resort to dividing what is mine and what is yours

There’s something coercive about the way some people smile…

Wide open as if to say, “Come on in and browse a while.”

And some time when your resistance is low

Remember that I know…

Whose your favourite Pogue

There’s a place in my soul where no one else can adore you

And like the poet-soldier says, “I would spill my blood for you.”

There’s nothing conclusive in this whole world

‘Cause flags can change and martyrs die and there’re many towns left to burn

But somewhere between there and here, for one night, hold me near

And sing my shallow tears

And we’ll drink but not to forget

But to remember instead

All our happy years

10. Bleed A Little While Tonight

Our fortunes are fleeting

And our passage in steer

And God knows if I’ll perish

In my twenty-fifth year

In this ship full of scurvy

With my bride at my hand

But I shall kiss her tenderly

In the great Newfoundland

And it’s love that we follow today

If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way

Our fathers were tillers

And our mothers knew chance

And we’ve tasted hunger

In Ireland and France

And these seeds of misfortune

St. Bartholomew’s Day

Shall be drowned in the new world

Chosen St. Brendan’s way

And it’s hope that we follow today

If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way

There’s a light shining on you tonight

A siren call, a harbour town… a northern light

A curse on the Union Jack

On its empire and lance

And I’ll piss on the troubled head

Of king Charles of France

But that’s all behind us now a thousand miles away

And nothing can match the beauty

In the sight of Gaspe

And it’s love that we follow today

If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way

There’s salt on your naked skin

And there’s salt in my tears

And without you I’d pass away

Under these privateers

But that baby inside you

Is the work of our hand

A child of the revolution

And a free thinking man

And it’s love that we follow today

If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way

11. Bloodline
12. St. Brendan’s Way

Our fortunes are fleeting

And our passage in steer

And God knows if I’ll perish

In my twenty-fifth year

In this ship full of scurvy

With my bride at my hand

But I shall kiss her tenderly

In the great Newfoundland

And it’s love that we follow today

If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way

Our fathers were tillers

And our mothers knew chance

And we’ve tasted hunger

In Ireland and France

And these seeds of misfortune

St. Bartholomew’s Day

Shall be drowned in the new world

Chosen St. Brendan’s way

And it’s hope that we follow today

If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way

There’s a light shining on you tonight

A siren call, a harbour town… a northern light

A curse on the Union Jack

On its empire and lance

And I’ll piss on the troubled head

Of king Charles of France

But that’s all behind us now a thousand miles away

And nothing can match the beauty

In the sight of Gaspe

And it’s love that we follow today

If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way

There’s salt on your naked skin

And there’s salt in my tears

And without you I’d pass away

Under these privateers

But that baby inside you

Is the work of our hand

A child of the revolution

And a free thinking man

And it’s love that we follow today

If we dare follow St. Brendan’s way

13. Letter From Bilbao

I am writing you this letter in desperation I’m afraid

And I won’t be back to Lindsay for the veterans’ parade

‘Cause I got banged up pretty good in a street-fight in Bilbao

And I won’t be coming home to see your young and pretty face

I am far too young to feel so old

And far too tired to care

That I took down twenty bastards before they left me lying here

When I landed here a year ago I know that I believed

That it was better to die upon your feet than to live upon your knees

And it’s not that I care any less for that philosophy

But I would spend one night with you in trade for all that I’ve achieved

‘Cause I was never much on dreams

And they were never big on me

And I can’t dream my way home from a grave-sight by the sea

So I’ll clench my fist and once more sing the Internationale

And I’ll say, “goodbye, I love you.”

‘Cause it’s time that I should go

14. Under the Carlaw Bridge

It’s another cold one

But what have I done

To feel so hollow and cold it seems

That I could find a clear model

At the bottom of a bottle

But I’m two times the coward

I ever thought I’d be

Because it ain’t clear

No it ain’t clear

And what the hell am I doin’ here?

No it ain’t clear

But it rings in my ears

Somewhere under the Carlaw bridge

Somewhere under the Carlaw bridge

Now there’s snow on the corner

Where I stood with my old friend

Talked about revolution with two loaded guitars

And it’s only four blocks up to The Only

But at times like this, you know it seems three times as far

Because it ain’t clear

No it ain’t clear

And what the hell am I doin’ here?

No it ain’t clear

But it rings in my ears

Somewhere under the Carlaw bridge

Somewhere under the Carlaw bridge

Where’re the banners? Where’re the headlines?

Those future planners and hungry deadlines

Those true believers and crazy Fridays

Those sham deceivers, these can’t be my days

Ah, maybe next time…

Well, now my coffee’s gone cold

But my heart’s gone colder

I think I’m reading too much

It feels like twenty below

And it’s a kick in the nuts

When your vision clears up

And you realize you’ve only been playing with change

There’re people more together than you’ll ever be

And it makes you want to ask yourself, “What’s happenin’ to me?”

And it makes you want to ask yourself, “What’s happenin’ to me?”

And it makes you want to ask yourself, “What’s happenin’ to me?”

What’s happenin’, what’s happenin’

What’s happenin’, what’s happenin’

15. The Taming Of Carolyn

Carolyn’s a piece of coal in a world with a lust for diamonds

She really likes to dance but never gets a chance

Oh to realize her goals, and no one knew this more than I did

Ah, Carolyn please focus in

She’s tired of all the streetfighting

And when will it ever end?

She’s practically missed that dream train

I think she’s ready to believe

The best years of her life are behind her now

Where do you think she got that idea?

From that one place, a certain some place

How does it feel?

When you’ve got more than a bit part in this play she’s in

Oh no, the taming of Carolyn

They put a price on what she’s learned

A subtle twist in her position

Her mother’s worst fears are confirmed

She’s taken off with some musician

Holy Shit

What kind of life is that for the child of a doormat?

Other fathers were hitting baseballs

While her dad was hitting the sauce

With never a moment’s thought toward what was gained…

And what was lost

I think she’s ready to believe

The best years of her life are behind her now

Where do you think she got that idea?

From that one place, a certain some place

Wipe off that grin

When you’ve got more than a bit part in this play she’s in

Oh no, the taming of Carolyn

Can’t you see?

You’re asking for something she can’t be

Can’t you see?

Some things are solid gold we thought were only tin

And though she prefers Carolina

Everybody seems to call her Carolyn

Carolyn

When they bring you to tears

Just put your fingers in your ears and scream

Nah na na na…

Nah na na na

Nah na na na

‘Cause you’re just like me

Oh won’t you take my hand and we’ll be…

16. Gossip Talkin’ Blues

She’s the reigning queen of “how ya been?”

She’s got the gossip talkin’ blues

She’ll photocopy her friends’ lives and pass one on to you

And how do you think that I found out that Henry needs new shoes?

But I’m convinced that she could find something better to do

I don’t know what I was thinking or what was on my mind

I must’ve been preoccupied, or wiping my behind

And she never ceases to blow me away with the secrets that she finds

But I’m convinced that she could do something better with her time

I don’t give a damn

Well, he’s the reigning king of “the latest thing”

And he’ll document your life

To everybody and their mother and even the neighbour’s wife

And when the story gets back to you it’s fiction with a knife

And the subjects’ names have not been changed to protect the subjects’ life

Well I don’t know what he was thinking or what was on his mind

Obviously not a lot or he’d have taken more time

And now I’ll have to kill him in some way that ain’t sublime

Yeah, one less gossip in the world, sure that’d suit me fine

Damn you, damn you, damn you all to hell

Dead men never tell

Well you can’t believe what they tell you when you’re young

And you can’t believe what they tell you when you’re old

And you can’t believe what they say about you when you’re gone

Not much of a conversation left to hold

But Sunday morning in the church they’ll catch up on the news

There’s a murmur in the flock, but there’s a reason they’re called pews

‘Cause something smells kinda’ fishy with the local holy plan

And I can only thank the Lord that I don’t give a damn

17. Henry Needs A New Pair Of Shoes

The time has long come and gone

P.F. Flyers

Converse high-cuts or maybe a new pair of Docs

And I know what I’ll do

I’ll appeal to their sense of brotherhood

And when nobody’s looking

I’ll grab a pair and I’ll start hoofin’

Well in these cold, grey days

It’s no longer news

Henry needs a new pair of shoes

These feet aren’t made of rock

And if they had genitalia they’d have frozen their nuts off

And if the shoe should fit

Believe you me I’d wear ’em

And if I steal your wallet

All ten piggies are going to market

Henry needs a new pair of shoes

To get him past these barefoot blues

And he’d walk a mile in his own shoes

If he only had ’em

Come on Henry, up and at ’em

Put one foot in front of the other

Henry needs new footwear he doesn’t need a mother

And the important question posed

Is, how not to lose his toes

‘Cause it’s fifteen below

And Henry’s got nowhere to go man

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Shakespeare My Butt..

Release Date : December 11, 1991
Artist : Lowest of the Low
Format : CD, Digital Download, Vinyl
Catalog ref. : Universal Records