Buildings And Bridges



buildings and bridges

are made to bend in the wind

to withstand the world,

that's what it takes

all that steel and stone

is no match for the air, my friend

what doesn't bend breaks

what doesn't bend breaks



we are made to bleed

and scab and heal and bleed again

and turn every scar into a joke

we are made to fight

and fuck and talk and fight again

and sit around and laugh until we choke

sit around and laugh until we choke



i don't know who you were expecting

probably some bitch who does not budge

with eyes the size of snow

i may get pissed off sometimes

but you seem like the type to hold a grudge

and in the end, i just let go...



buildings and bridges

are made to bend in the wind

to withstand the world,

that's what it takes

all that steel and stone

is no match for the air, my friend

what doesn't bend breaks

what doesn't bend breaks



Out Of Range

just the thought

of our bed

makes me crumble like the plaster

where you punched the wall beside my head

and i try

to draw the line

but it ends up running down the middle of me

most of the time



boys get locked up in some prison

girls get locked up in some house

and it don't matter if it's a warden

or a lover

or a spouse

you just can't talk to 'em

you just can't reason

you just can't leave

and you just can't please 'em



i was locked

into being my mother's daughter

i was just eating bread and water

thinking

nothing ever changes

and i was shocked

to see the mistakes of each generation

will just fade like a radio station

if you drive out of range



if you're not angry

you're just stupid

or you don't care

how else can you react

when you know

something's so unfair

the men of the hour

can kill half the world in war

make them slaves to a super power

and let them die poor



i was locked

into being my mother's daughter

i was just eating bread and water

thinking

nothing ever changes

and i was shocked

to see the mistakes of each generation

will just fade like a radio station

if you drive out of range



just the thought

of our bed

makes me crumble like the plaster

where you punched the wall beside my bed

and i try

to draw the line

but it ends up running down the middle of me

most of the time



baby i love you

that's why i'm leaving

there's no talking to you

and there's no pleasing you

and i care enough

that i'm mad

that half the world don't even know

what they could have had



i was locked

into being my mother's daughter

i was just eating bread and water

thinking

nothing ever changes

and i was shocked

to see the mistakes of each generation

will just fade like a radio station

if you drive out of range



Letter To A John

don't ask me why i'm crying

i'm not going to tell you what's wrong

i'm just gonna sit on your lap

for five dollars a song

i want you to pay me for my beauty

i think it's only right

'cause i have been paying for it

all of my life



i'm gonna take the money i make

i'm gonna take the money i make

i'm gonna take the money i make

and i'm gonna go away...



we barely have time to react in this world

let alone rehearse

and i don't think i'm better than you

but i don't think that i'm worse

women learn to be women

and men learn to be men

and i don't blame it all on you

but i don't want to be your friend



i'm gonna take the money i make

i'm gonna take the money i make

i'm gonna take the money i make

and i'm gonna go away...



i was eleven years old

he was as old as my dad

and he took something from me

i didn't even know that i had

so don't tell me about decency

don't tell me about pride

just give me something for my trouble

'cause this time, it's not a free ride



i'm gonna take the money i make

i'm gonna take the money i make

i'm gonna take the money i make

and i'm gonna go away...



don't ask me why i'm crying

i'm not going to tell you what's wrong

i'm just gonna sit on your lap

for five dollars a songs

i want you to pay me for my beauty

i think it's only right

'cause i have been paying for it

all of my life



now i just wanna take

and i'm just gonna take

i'm gonna take

and i'm gonna go away



Hell Yeah

life is a b movie

it's stupid and it's strange

a directionless story

and the dialogue is lame

but in the he said she said

sometimes there's some poetry

if you turn your back long enough

and let it happen naturally

oh, yeah

hell yeah



i got a face like a limp handshake

hair like an accident scene

i've been waking up slowly

savoring the same old dream

and somewhere between

the folds of your memory

i was sleeping soundly

oh, yeah

hell yeah



'cause i like you

but i know you don't know it

i like you so much,

i talk to everyone but you

and i wonder

what you would think of this little number

i wonder

what you would say if you knew



if you don't ask the right questions

every answer seems wrong

i was a terrible waitress

so i started to write songs

and i don't know how i feel

but i wonder if you feel like me

do you ever get wrapped up

in the folds of my memory

oh, yeah

hell, yeah



'cause i like you

but i know you don't know it

i like you so much

i talk to everyone but you

and i wonder

what you would think of this little number

yeah i wonder

what you would say if you knew



there's a river of people

that runs past my eyes

and it's beautiful enough

just to watch it go by

but the trouble with water is

she'll always leave you for gravity

i never even told you

i had a crush on you or anything

oh, yeah

hell yeah



life is a b movie

it's stupid and it's strange

a directionless story

and the dialogue is lame

but in the he said she said

sometimes there's some poetry

if you turn your back long enough

and let it happen naturally

oh, yeah

hell yeah



How Have You Been

you could always hear the rub squeaking

of those two tree limbs

'til one day one of them came down

taken down by the wind

but on the one that's still there

you can still see where the bark was

rubbed bare

it's a metaphor if you know what i mean

how have you been?



me and you

and your girlfriend makes three

in the interest of even numbers

i will make myself scarce

i will make myself scarcely me

but i'll be outside your window at night

pull up your shades

leave on your light

i don't want to come in between

i just want to know

how have you been



i leave for a living

music's just something i do

on my way out the door

and i'd do almost anything once

something about you

i think i'd do you more

if i had my way i'd stay here

and watch your hair grow for a while

it makes me smile just to dream of it

how have you been



Overlap

i search your profile

for a translation

i study the conversation

like a map

'cause i know there is strength

in the differences between us

and i know there is comfort

where we overlap



come here

stand in front of the light

stand still

so i can see your silhouette

i hope

you have got all night

'cause i'm not done looking,

no, i'm not done looking yet



each one of us

wants a piece of the action

you can hear it in what we say

you can see it in what we do

we negotiate with chaos

for some sense of satisfaction

if you won't give it to me

at least give me a better view



come here

stand in front of the light

stand still

so i can see your silhouette

i hope

you have got all night

'cause i'm not done looking

no,

i'm not done looking yet



i build each one of my songs

out of glass

so you can see me inside of them

i suppose

or you could just leave the image of me

in the background, i guess

and watch your own reflection superimposed



i build each one of my days out of hope

and i give that hope your name

and i don't know you that well

but it don't take much to tell

either you don't have the balls

or you don't feel the same



come here

stand in front of the light

stand still

so i can see your silhouette

i hope

you have got all night

'cause i'm not done looking

no, i'm not done looking yet



i search your profile for a translation

i study the conversation like a map

'cause i know there is strength

in the differences between us

and i know there is comfort

where we overlap



Face Up And Sing

some guy tried to rub up against me

in a crowded subway car

some guy tried to feed me some stupid line

in some stupid bar

i see the same shit everyday

the landscape looks so bleak

i think i'll take the first one of you's home

that does something unique



some chick says

thank you for saying all the things i never do

i say

the thanks i get is to take all the shit for you

it's nice that you listen

it'd be nicer if you joined in

as long as you play their game girl

you're never going to win



today i just want someone to entertain me

i'm tired of being so fierce

i'm tired of being so friendly

you don't have to be a supermodel

to do the animal thing

you don't have to be a supergenius

to open your face up and sing



somebody do something

anything soon

i know i can't be the only

whatever i am in the room

so why am i so lonely?

why am i so tired?

i need company

i need backup

i need to be inspired



Falling Is Like This

you give me that look that's like laughing

with liquid in your mouth

like you're choosing between choking

and spitting it all out

like you're trying to fight gravity

on a planet that insists

that love is like falling

and falling is like this



feels like reckless driving when we're talking

it's fun while it lasts, and it's faster than walking

but no one's going to sympathize when we crash

they'll say "you hit what you head for, you get what you ask"

and we'll say we didn't know, we didn't even try

one minute there was road beneath us, the next just sky



i'm sorry i can't help you, i cannot keep you safe

i'm sorry i can't help myself, so don't look at me that way

we can't fight gravity on a planet that insists

that love is like falling

and falling is like this.



You Had Time

how can i go home

with nothing to say

i know you're going to look at me that way

and say what did you do out there

and what did you decide

you said you needed time

and you had time



you are a china shop

and i am a bull

you are really good food

and i am full

i guess everything is timing

i guess everything's been said

so i am coming home with an empty head



you'll say did they love you or what

i'll say they love what i do

the only one who really loves me is you

and you'll say girl did you kick some butt

and i'll say i don't really remember

but my fingers are sore

and my voice is too



you'll say it's really good to see you

you'll say i missed you horribly

you'll say let me carry that

give that to me

and you will take the heavy stuff

and you will drive the car

and i'll look out the window making jokes

about the way things are



how can i go home

with nothing to say

i know you're going to look at me that way

and say what did you do out there

and what did you decide

you said you needed time

and you had time



If He Tries Anything

i'm invincible

so are you

we do all the things

they say we can't do

we walk around

in the middle of the night

and if it's too far to walk

we just hitch a ride



we got rings of dirt

around our necks

we talk like auctioneers

and we bounce like checks

we smell like shit

still, when we walk down the street

all the boys line up

to throw themselves at our feet



i say i think he likes you

you say i think he do too

go and get him girl

before he gets you

i'll be watching you

from the wings

i will come to your rescue

if he tries anything



it's a long long road

it's a big big world

we are wise wise women

we are giggling girls

we both carry a smile

to show when we're pleased

we both carry a switchblade

in our sleeves



tell you one thing

i'm gonna make noise when i go down

for ten square blocks

they're gonna know i died

all the goddesses will come up

to the ripped screen door

and say,

what do you want, dear?

and i'll say,

i want inside



i say i think he likes you

you say i think he do too

go and get him girl

before he gets you

i'll be watching you

from the wings

i will come to your rescue

if he tries anything



The Diner

i'm calling from the diner

the diner on the corner

i ordered two coffees

one is for you

i was hoping you'd join me

'cause i ain't go no money

and i really miss you

i should mention that too



yes i know what time it is

in fact, i just checked

i even know the date

and the month

and the year

i know i haven't been sleeping

and when i do

i just dream of you

dear



i miss watching you

drool on your pillow

i miss watching you

pull on your clothes

i miss listening

to you in the bathroom

flushing the toilet

blowing your nose



i'm calling from the diner





the diner on the corner

i ordered two coffees

one is for you

the cups are so close

the steam is rising

in one stream

how are you



i think you're the least fucked up

person i've ever met

and that may be as close to the real thing

as i'm ever gonna get

but my quarter's gonna run out now

or so i'm told

i guess i'd better go sit down

and wait for you

till my coffee gets cold