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Lyrics to Daddy Longlegs
Before I Cleanse
Daddy Longlegs
Beautiful Too Soon
She Saves all Her Love for Me
Midnight Music
She Loves to Hear Me Sing the Blues
White Sands
Old Library
Non-Secular Turn
Pink Lemonade
Life is not a Cover Band
The Not so DIstant Future Blues
Realizing the Moment
Secret Song
Before I Cleanse
The moral ice age is over, we melted every peak
With every breather having been uncovered, we disturbed the quiet sleep
But I'm tired of these lions riding on the back of all these mice,
I'm gonna grow out my whiskers and run ahead of the pride
We make promises to our flesh and our flesh just simply nods
Cause it's easier to destroy our bodies than our bodies might let on
And the bird will sleep in her nest made from hair that I release
And I will wrap myself in the feathers that she drops
And she will call to her god as I call out to mine
And our songs will float on and they'll often tend to rhyme
And I will soak in your scent, before I cleanse
Before I soak in the Colorado downpour,
Before I dry myself in the Yola Boli sun
We will find all apathy and burn it with our seeds
And we will sing around the fire that our integrity feeds
And I will sing to every numbed ear, under a moon of crimson red, before I cleanse
© John Craigie 2005
Daddy Longlegs
I think you know me I live above apartment number 3, I kick it in my web most of the days
But a few years back you and I shared a snack, we helped each other get out of a really bad place
See you just lost your man and I just lost my girl we went down to the water heater and rocked each other's world
We thanked each other kindly and then went on our way, girl I haven't seen you until today
I was up on the roof, wrapping up a fly I saw you looking sad and so blue
Till you caught my gaze and then you came my way saying I should be coming by soon
So now here I stand below your web feeling nervous and a little shy
Cause I know that you don't remember my name I just hope that you remember what you called me that night
I'm your daddy longlegs, and I'm crawling across your floor,
You're my sweet black widow, you're more potent than you think you are
Well I heard you were dating the Tarantula and you caught him stinging the scorpion back
So you had to leave and now he's thinking maybe he's gonna try and make you come crawling back
You said boy he's been poisoning me, with insecurity and doubt
Well I'm gonna wrap my big long legs around your sweet red hour glass, I'm gonna suck the poison out
(chorus)
Well this ain't no rebound game this ain't no crying shame we both no what we're both here for
I'm here to prove to you you're as beautiful as the moon, you deserve the greatest spider in the whole wide world
Cause tonight is tonight tomorrow might not be right, lets love till we can love no more,
And in the morning when we leave well I think maybe we'll feel better than we did before,
And if you ever need some healing, and it's the appropriate time and place
Well you know where I'll be I'll be above apartment number 3, just come and call my name
(chorus)
© John Craigie 2005
Beautiful Too Soon
You kissed me at sunset with your gentle touch,
It felt so good even the sky had to blush
We walked through this city such an awkward pair,
Just like two pigeons chocking on the city air
It'd been awhile since I held your hand,
Things tend to change after love takes a stand
I lost track of your cycles and the moon thought that was weird
And every time I pulled away your hair got caught in my beard
We were so wild back in June, silently in our prime
We were beautiful but it was too soon
So we just took what we could take
And left what we could leave behind
Just like leaves we were destined to fall
Just like winter we came with no warning at all
We threw away our calendars let the weather dictate
Whether we were just passing through or whether we were here to stay
You gave me flowers on the equinox
You said they're roses and they wont last long
They still sit in their vase on my bedside and
I just wanna say they look better dead than they ever did alive
And I was a child afraid of the truth, so I sung you all my lies
We were beautiful but it was too soon
So we just took what we could take
And left what we could leave behind
You kissed me at sunset with your gentle touch,
It felt so good even the sky had to blush
But now its purple and its almost gone
You can see the moon's upside-down smile peeking on the horizon
So follow me down into this gloom, I don't know what to say this time
We are beautiful but it's too soon
So lets just take what we can take
And leave what we can leave behind
© John Craigie 2005
She Saves All Her Love For Me
She don't like her momma and she don't like her pa
She don't like her sisters she don't even feed her dog
She don't like her neighbors, she don't like her friends
She's rude to their face, she backstabs them when she can
She don't even like her mailman I hear she fills the mailbox with spiders, snake and bees
She don't like much of much, she saves all her love for me
She don't like music and she don't like art
She says that's for people who are too dumb to find real work
She don't like her bicycle, she don't like her car
She'll drive me all the way to Watsonville with the parking brake on
She don't care if it breaks down, she just gives it a kick and leaves it be
She don't like much of much, she saves all her love for me
Well my friends tell me John you got to get away
Cause a girl like that is bound to turn on you someday'
But there's one thing that my friends they just don't see
That after a whole day of hating, all that's left is love for me
She don't like yoga and she don't like to dance
She don't like religion she thinks its all one big scam
She don't like going out, but she don't like staying at home
She just wishes there was a club where she could complain all night long
But even if there was one, she'd only stick around long enough to say "man this place stinks"
she don't like much of much, she saves all her love for me
Well my friends tell me John you've got to see the light
Cause a girl like that won't ever treat you right
But there's one thing that my friends they just don't see
That after a whole day of hating, all that's left is love for me
She don't like her coworkers and she don't like her job
She don't like her hobbies and she hates time off
She don't like attention, but she don't like being ignored
You better listen to what she says boy but listen from afar
Cause even though she don't know you there's one thing that I can guarantee
She ain't got nothing nice for you she saves all her love for me
She don't like much of much, she saves all her love for me
© John Craigie 2005
Midnight Music
Orion lifts his leg over the hills tonight again
And I drink this frost, that freezes my chin, and inspires my lips, to keep going
Through fields full of wolves, and homes for owls
Midnight music plays on my radio
Poets gather around, under these galaxies falling down
And they see so much, rocks that have kissed lavas hot lips, yet still snow can land
On their backs, and in my hands,
And midnight music hums through the southwest
Orion stands tall tonight before us all
And the earth moves on, one step at a time, so each point can find, a dance with Orion
And my eyelids have their own slow dance
To the midnight music playing in my head
© John Craigie 2005
She Loves To Hear Me Sing the Blues
Come on the night is falling and you're sitting home all alone
I'll come and pick you up and we'll dance till the morning comes
You can leave me when the sun arrives cause I know that you want to
Ever since you told me you love to hear me sing the blues
Come on our souls are pumping and everything's feeling right and you said
Okay we can feel this feeling but only for tonight
I gotta keep on breaking your heart John its just what I gotta do
Cause you know I love, I love to hear you sing the blues
Come on our eyes are moving over each other's skin
And I know how much you hate this diving board c'mon lets jump on in
Time flew by but we made love on every cliff in Santa Cruz
But you ran off cause you love to hear me sing the blues
© John Craigie 2005
White Sands
Not even a beetle passes our way
Not even a paw print we could spy
Just these white mountains, topped with red trees
Purple hills on all sides
I live in the culture of sleep
But I will wake up righteous and new
Somewhere in these red trees
Out here in the white sands with you
I've seen messiahs hung from telephone poles
Affixed with staples and creosote
I hear their hammers pounding night and day
But now I feel stillness on the breeze
I live in the culture of sleep
But I will wake up righteous and new
As the gypsum scrapes against my feet
Out here in the white sands with you
© John Craigie 2005
Old Library
They tore down our old library
And our best friend ran off and married
Some old clown and now she hardly ever calls
I wish you were here so we could talk about it all
But I didn't get here quick enough a little too late
To see you before you saw the light
But I smiled when they said, that on your deathbed,
You played guitar for everybody who stopped by
I remember the park where we used to play
And when they tore it down and put up a Robinsons/May
But they still haven't covered up where we wrote
Our names in the wet cement that covered our home
And when we questioned authority and they fought back
You taught me how strong we were
And it poured from their lips that your last wish was
"peace and love unto this earth"
Well I guess in the morning I'll be on my way
I used to not like to leave without at least seeing your face
But now I guess I ain't got much reason to come back
Guess its back to the open road with my guitar on my lap
But you will echo in infinity cause I used to wonder how
I would be when my time to go came too
Until I heard that your last words were
"for the chance to live, I thank you"
© John Craigie 2005
Non-secular Turn
Beautiful avenues disappeared when I saw you
Hoping you'd turn around see my face and hear my sound
But you, you knew your fate, knew the time and you knew the place
So why would you look back, didn't think fate would lie like that
The flowers touched your face, woven round and pointed straight
From the altar I prayed till you turned and looked my way
I felt I should repent till something new entered my head
It said let my fingers cross, yeah I won't leave till I'm sure I've lost
Let all my flowers be picked by you
I ain't no coward, I just don't know what to do
Just give me a chance lord, I'll do all the right things
Just let her see me I will bring her what no one else could bring
Maybe then I, oh I, well I could belong
Dressed in black and white on my knees when I pray to him
But I could still love you and worship like I always did
Cause you know that I made a promise but it fell when I saw you
In all my learning never once did they mention you
Winds of change are blowing but I won't get out of the way
I love this feeling oh what else can I say
I just wanna belong
I get on my knees, I'm sorry god, I just wanna belong
And there ain't nothing wrong, I'm sorry god I just wanna belong
© John Craigie 2005
Pink Lemonade
Every time I get dumped I drink some pink lemonade
Its kinda sweet and kinda sour, just like love don't you think
But like love something's wrong, cause we all know lemonade ain't supposed to be pink
I get mine down at the store, you can't find that stuff fresh squeezed
And that ingredient list oh that is something that you should not read
Cause like love, you're better off not knowing some things
I see you at the bar drinking your beer so slow
I'd like to strum you like a guitar play some songs in the key of "O"
I'd like to take you in my dreams, show you where all the bad things go
In the morning child, I must be on my way
I ain't got that many issues, but lord knows I just can't stay
Cause every time we kiss, on your lips I taste pink lemonade
© John Craigie 2005
Life is Not a Cover Band
We met on some pagan holiday, back when we were young
In a well-lit alleyway, we were out of places to run
We both had hopes and fears, and we shared them oh so sweet
Till we learned that hope and fear meant basically the same thing
All you did was tell me how much you hated men
And all I did was keep on screwing up in support of your defense
But still we awoke together kissed by the sun's warm hands
And all that lay between us was a couple of grains of sand
And you whispered in my ear with your morning breath so sweet
You said, "as we trip through this road of life, there's more than one way to dream
You were the smiling feminist with controversial thoughts on god
And I was the awkward youth in love with "Harold and Maude"
You said "the constitution's become a burden, the judge don't take no cards
and the cops are the most confused out of any of us by far"
We didn't have much in common fate seemed a little scared
I wanted to be a farmer and you wanted to be a millionaire
But our differences weren't the problem it was those similarities we had
Cause its all about approach and the way you held my hand
And I guess you'll never know, how hard it was to sing
As we trip through this road of life, there's more than one way to dream
I always said you were the prettiest when your make up was far away
And it'd been awhile since you showered and since you shaved your legs
But the things you thought were dirty, I considered pure
And the things that I found funny you just thought were immature
I don't believe in satan and I don't believe in hell
And you said "what about evil?" I said "I call that free will,
cause free will is one of the most beautiful and one of the scariest things"
And you said "funny I was thinking the same about you and me"
And comparisons to the past, did more than it seemed
As we trip through this road of life, there's more than one way to dream
I Remember when you slapped me when I said that never was a myth
And that I don't believe in promising and that marriage doesn't exist
You said "you cold heartless bastard" I said "please let me explain"
You said "john all your theories and explanation, they just sound the same
Two people can't apologize forever that gets kind of old
It was hard enough to keep each other warm as the earth got cold
You said "I've taught you what I've taught you john, and I won't forget what you said
to keep on dancing to the music, cause life is not a cover band"
and we stayed original just to keep on beat
As we trip through this road of life, there's more than one way to dream
We left on some Jewish holiday when our ages were unknown
You said " the one thing I've forgotten, john, is how to walk away slow
Cause this is beautiful in its own way, but things like this can't last
You know fate becomes a martyr in the death of our dramatic past
Just like we used to lay under Hale Bopp and write words that made us cry
Now I sing to Cassiopeia with somebody else on my mind
But I think of that comet every now and then
And if the three of us will ever dance together again
And we paint over these walls that echo what we speak
As we trip through this road of life, there's more than one way to dream
By the time you finally hear this you'll be a mother and a wife
And by the time I finally play this I will have started my new life
Cause the things we often label as "better left unsaid"
Are usually the things we end up kicking over and over in our head
And I've been reading children's literature and obscure poetry
And they tell me life is worth live and death is no parenthesis
And I reach out in the evening and find that no one's there
So I make a vow to wish out loud and answer one more prayer
© John Craigie 2005
The Not So Distant Future Blues
We got a harmonica solo to take you home
We got four more years with an idiot at the throne
We got telephone poles no longer made of wood
But the plastic ones look more like wood than the wood ever could
We got advertisements on the food that you eat
We got television's that'll sprout legs and chase you down the street
And they'll catch you and they'll hold you and they'll force you to see
Nothing but commercials and reality T.V.
So take your time as the time moves on
And watch your head spin at the quickness of it all
But I just came to tell you the news
I got those not so distant future blues
We got more people than you ever thought possible
We got twenty different forms to fill out when you go to the hospital
We got products that will cripple you, corporations that kill
We got Ronald Reagan on the ten-dollar bill
So take your time as the time moves on
And watch your head spin at the quickness of it all
But I just came to tell you the news
I got those not so distant future blues
Well we sent some astronauts up to Mars,
And they put up a flag and they gathered up some rocks
And they drove around in their little Mars bus
They were feeling so proud till they got a message from us
Saying "we had another war, and we ran out of dough
so it don't look like we're gonna be able to get y'all home
bad planning on our part sorry and such
but take care of yourselves, and keep in touch.
And take your time as the time moves on
And watch your head spin at the quickness of it all
But I just came to tell you the news
I got those not so distant future blues
© John Craigie 2005
Realizing the Moment
When there's nothing left to say except for "thank you" and "goodbye"
I will not use clichés, I learned so much last time
But how can I leave this airport, when there's so much we haven't done
And I've heard that realizing the moment is just admitting that there isn't only one
When there's nothing left to see except for that blazing look in your eye
And that reflection of me that I see in you sometime
But sight seems so simple and vision seems so small
And I've heard that realizing the moment is just acknowledging the infinity of it all
When there's nothing left to taste except for that bitter city air
And the memories of your kiss even though you're standing right there
But we must stop at some point, or else time will lose its mind
And I've heard that realizing the moment is just admitting there are some things you can't divide
When there's nothing left to feel except your hand slipping from mine
And the wind against my bare palm as your sweat starts to dry
But even the strongest embrace, could never be as warm
As realizing the moment when all five sense melt into one
When there's nothing left to think except for "how did this person happen"
And "what were those two weeks" and "will I ever experience this again"
How do I tell you everything in the next fifteen seconds
And I've learned that goodbye's are the best lesson in how beautiful life is
© John Craigie 2005
Secret Song
California's going topless, Utah's shaking his head
Oregon's let her hair and she smiling up at Washington
Pennsylvania is holding up a groundhog, saying its gonna be one hell of a spring
Massachusetts says "I don't believe in that kind of witchcraft that ain't the way that it used to be"
Louisiana's out on the dance floor trying to get everybody to come on out and shake their blues away
And the United States got together for one last shebang
Nevada, he's just a wallflower, but he's got some great stories to tell
And New Jersey she's an alcoholic, but she hides it pretty well
Texas he's flirting with everybody, cause he thinks he's the biggest in the room
And Rhode Island suffers from "little man syndrome", he's outside howling at the moon
And Ohio walks in and some of them cheer and some just turn away
And the United States got together for one last shebang
Hawaii is wondering why the party's at his place
Everybody always says it'll do
He often wonders how he got in this social circle in the first place
He can't help but feel a little used
Colorado's rolled a joint and he's passing it around
New Mexico is lighting some candles but Illinois keeps on blowing them out
Florida he's getting on in years, he's using the Gulf of Mexico as a crutch
And Alaska is storming out saying "no more questions" I guess we all drilled her a bit too much
And New York is crying in the corner, I guess he'll never truly be the same
And the United States got together for one last hurrah