1. |
The Cult of Happiness
04:12
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I've had it with happiness
With a whip and a chair
I will beat the cynicism back
From all of the latest trends
The spin class and the avocado mask
Fortified with Zen
Peruvian incense
Or my tarot reading
From a third wave hippie brat
Peddling crystal witchcraft nonsense
And all of the mindfulness
Is a Trojan horse for your solipsism
You're drowning in so many isms, man
No sadness and no sickness
In the cult of happiness
It's a beautiful cage for the credulous
In a prison for the privileged
Get out of your head, Kev
Said the old man who looked a lot like me
Holding the scruff of my neck
Lying there on his deathbed
He said you're so obsessed
With instant gratification
You're an easy mark for craven interests
But that couldn't matter less
Won't you let your poor heart break
Again and again
That's when you're most human
No sadness and no sickness
In the cult of happiness
It's a new fangled providence
And a poor solution if you're bored and restless
It's a beautiful cage for the credulous
In a prison for the privileged
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2. |
Pallas Athena
05:01
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Oh Pallas Athena
Baby what have you done
To the beauty Medusa
For not giving it up?
Let's hear it one time for the sisterhood
What what!
Such a woman of strength and grace
Highbrow and chaste
Hide your face and steal her pain away
And wield it like a blade
Show the boys how you're so brave
Neptune you're all doom and gloom
I've got nothing new for you
Did she cloud up and rain all over you
Turn your little boys blue
Oh no did she laugh at you
Boo hoo
All of my weepin'
All for nothing
All of my weepin'
It's what you wanted
Everybody knows my shame
It's my claim to fame
I can't imagine it any other way
Who am I without my disgrace
Do you like the way the snakes frame my face?
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3. |
All I Have
05:01
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I am a miracle
Hey, hoorah
I am a metaphor
Hey, hoorah
Moving, changing
Cleansing, wasting
Hey, hoorah
This is a lonely, lonely life
And at times
It takes all that I have
Just to get it right
Step back
And check your hair
In the passenger window
Of the car out front of the kids in the yard
And pull it together
Fall hard on your good luck charm
Catch a far off look from a passing star
Settle into the hole in your heart
This is a lonely, lonely life
And at times
It takes all that I have
Just to be nice
On the night
That you came home to find me
With my hands on the throat
Of your ghost
It was me who choked
I've been having it over
For so, so, so long now
That I am a joke
This is a lonely, lonely life
And at times
It takes all that I have
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4. |
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Standing on my head
and walking on a wire
Gimme something I can kill
Gimme something I can climb
Let's see if we can't make some light
Out of my dark side
I never had no rite of passage
No vision quest
Never wrassled no grizzly bear
and hung its teeth around my neck
I've come all this way without deliverance
Where is your ceremony, friend?
Are you bringing home the bacon and the bread?
My mama made a dollar
out of fifty cents
She's all common sense
My daddy made a hammer
out of a socket wrench
He's no nonsense
He's all business
Where is your ceremony, friend?
Are you bringing home the bacon and the bread?
The pain will be there and remind you
Let pleasure help you forget
You can get the rest
From a TV set
I'm willing to bet it's probably for the best
Way out of my depth
Learning how to swim
Gimme something I can fuck up
Gimme something I can fix
Then someone cue the sound of tiny violins
Where is your ceremony, friend?
Are you bringing home the bacon and the bread?
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5. |
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We are way off script
Careening toward absurd
Into some awful place
I can see you move your lips
But these are not your words
This is not your way
It's just me in creepy drag
Putting on your clothes
And speaking through your face
Cutting you a break
In some strange ceremony
Or a depraved Roman orgy
I'm the centerpiece
At my own final feast
On a flaming altar
I am the meat and the priest
Down on all fours
The pleasure was all yours
I will lay my head down
And pull my collar to the side
So you can take your aim
But baby make it count
I don't need my pride
I can take the pain
And I will use it all against you
To show you you're so cruel
Yeah, that oughta win you back
I mean, who wouldn't want that
In some strange ceremony
Or a depraved Roman orgy
I'm the centerpiece
At my own final feast
On a flaming altar
I am the meat and the priest
Down on all fours
The pleasure was all yours
When your loss is all that's left
I wanna lose you over and over again
I'll be your main piece
Or your main course
The pleasure was all yours
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6. |
Viola, My Sweet
04:56
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Viola, my sweet
You're a sucker
Not living
Just alive
In a lonely photo shoot
Purse your lips
And click your heels
Little ankle boots
You are endlessly cute
But there are claw marks on the door
Out there must be something more
So peel yourself up off the floor
Viola
Viola, my love
No one could ever hope
To measure up
Maybe that's just what you want
Then you'll never have to endure deceit
And you'll never have to admit defeat
Viola, you're a sucker
But you're sweet
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7. |
Hidden Hands
07:27
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Flash a bright smile
And cover your tracks
When you're out in the shed
Looking for an axe
And running the family business
Schooled in the craft
When the sailing is sweet
With the wind at my back
I'm below deck
Hacking at the mast
Drifting now aimlessly
With my heart behind glass
Hidden hands
Pry me loose from the ledge
To drift on the avalanche
All my creation
All of my joy
My little sandbox
Full of toys
Soaking in gasoline
Now, there's my boy
Hidden Hands
Guide me into the flames
And back to the beginning
I can't seem to get it right
The ground has stopped shaking and
I sleep through the night
Now I'm nearing the end
Of a very long fight
But I'm looking around
For some dynamite
I can't seem to keep it straight
I wanted love
I wanted to be great
But when no one is watching
I slink away
And I slip the trap
And I steal the bait
Now I'm down on my knees
At the garden gate
But something inside me hesitates
And I think that I could make a break
All my creation
All of my joy
Everything you've asked for
Learn how to take
Yes for an answer
All my creation
Paint it all black
Then flash a bright smile
And cover your tracks
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