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Web page and music copyrighted by Root Deco • Last updated June 2008

Arise

This party has rattled on all night
The collective attire is a real fright
The cackling and yawning's incessant
Martini meets antidepressant

The boomers are gathered in full force
Reeking of smugness and remorse
Sins of the past burn deeper
When you're two steps ahead of the reaper

Arise, arise

Physical decomposition
Inspires a new disposition
The future was "luv" back in their day
Now their furure is spelled "401K"

Arise, arise

"Life's a party!" many have said it
Most have come to regret it
The antidote to self-delusion?
Mortality clears the confusion

Arise, arise

Big Parade

Gold chain lightening cracks a moonless sky
Raindrops drift like lazy fireflies
Steam rolls off the street
Crowds crank up the heat
Dancing down a lamp lit promenade
Welcome to the big parade

Costumes glitter, paper lanterns glow
Cats and angels watch the rainbow flow
Drums beat, voices sing
Concrete canyons ring
Echoing the joyful thunder made
By the big parade

How strange and beautiful it seems;
You pinch yourself;
You know it’s not a dream;
What could this all mean?

You’ve got sorrow deep down in your heart
Loneliness is tearing you apart
Heartaches disappear
Soon as it draws near
Step right up, no need to be afraid
Join the big parade

O'Ryan in the Underworld

The wretch blows right by me, his eyes wild with fear
That's nothing special at sundown 'round here
He's pissed in thir trousers, his breath comes in rasps
A hiss, a howl, the night explodes
Dear God! O'Ryan's back!

The prey darts through traffic: honk, screech and cuss
The arrow pins him to the side of a bus
Which rumbles on downtown, grim trophy attached
Memo to the masses:
"Hello! O'Ryan's back!"

He stalked like a shadow, say those who know
No need flash suppression, he killed with the bow
He'd banged the proud daughter of his overlord
Got tossed in a dumpster when his torturers got bored

Blinded and broken, his last hope gone
Dog found him, led him into the mystic dawn
They're reborn, transformed, like throwing stars in flight
Beware, lords of darkness, O'Ryan owns the night

Rainbow

Life under the rainbow is a very special time
You and your true love live in your own sweet nursery rhyme
At night with your companions, like merry buccaneers
You sail into the sunrise, on a golden sea of beer

It isn’t what it seems, it isn’t what it seems
Enjoy your cozy dream, It isn’t what it seems

Time and a princely income brings a higher class of friends
Now all who surround you are a means to your own end
Above all you’ve accomplished you take the greatest pride
In your pretty little family and your lover on the side

It isn’t what it seems, it isn’t what it seems
Despite your brilliant schemes, It isn’t what it seems

But wait, Of late, The kill has somewhat lost its thrill
A chill, But still, the forecast’s fine: the sun will shine

Your ex has vowed to haunt you until the end of time
Your money tree has withered; you’ve turned to petty crime
Each morning you awaken to a deeper shade of gray
The trouble with a rainbow: it quickly fades away

It isn’t what it seems, it isn’t what it seems
Life in its extremes, It isn’t what it seems

Heaven help George he’s turned 49
Its happened at the worst time
Lost his steady income after close to 15 years
Had so much rejection its been coming out his ears

You don’t stop playing when you grow old
No matter what they’ve all been saying
You don’t stop playing when you grow old
You grow old when you stop playing

Ms. Personal Assistant handled him
Like something she’d stepped in
He could hear her stomach start to rumble as they spoke
She stepped out for cigarettes, a soda and a stroke

You don’t stop playing when you grow old...

The doctor seems to think she’ll be alright
But it won’t happen overnight
Her boss found George’s resume and said he’d work out fine
Secretly delighted that they’d both turned 49

You don’t stop playing when you grow old...

Stretch2

Watch yourself around those who
Suck the joy right out of you
They catch wind of good deeds done
See them circle in the sun

Stretch

A man once gave the needy food,
Stung by their ingratitude
He gave the rest to homeless dogs
The dogs wagged their tales

Stretch

The more you give the more they take,
Bend you backwards ‘til you break
Hit you up and bleed you
Always there if they need you

Stretch

Rain-Steam-Speed

Stardust pops and pings like rain off metal skin
Like hailsstones off the hull of this freighter we live in

Her turbines hiss and scream hydrogen and steam
She warps space and time; her name is Maybelline

Though she's of noble breed all she really needs
Rain, steam, speed

There is no day or night, the stars just streaks of white
We grow pale and strong in her artificial light

We haul no escapees or dark commodities
Like the slavers and thieves on these interstellar seas we ply

We've families to feed; she gives us what we needs
Rain, steam, speed

I dream of rain somewhere out in the open air
I dream that Maybelline will surely take us there someday

We follow where she leads; she gives us what we need
Rain, steam, speed
Though she's of noble breed, all she really needs
Rain, steam, speed

Find Myself

'Traveleed the whole world over
Paris to Peru
Still I'm getting nowhere
Don't know what to do

I can't seem to find myself
Always looking somewhere else
I can't seem to find myself
No matter where I go

Moscow to Morocco
Maine to Mexico
I'm a pilgrim, I'm a fugitive
Sometimes I just don't know

I can't seem to find myself...

Living like a gypsy
Two things driving me
Finding what I'm looking for
Fear of what I'll see

I can't seem to find myself...

Alphonso

I am shaking behind Alfonso
He is driving the bus that I'm on so
I am gazing as one insane
At El Sabio of Spain

Then he offers a suggestion
"Relax and ask your question"
"If you please, I need an answer
Oh, help me if you can, sir
Tell me how do you read the warnings
That our atmosphere is warming?"
As he spins the wheel he grins, "I'd
Hope at least we get warm on the inside"

Abduction

Suddenly, fatigue sets in
Troubled thoughts not your own
Deep inside you're not alone
Surrender now you cannot win

Vast and empty, darkened space
Inky blackness engulfing you
Cease your struggle

Into darkness down you race
Senses failing you're growing cold
You've revived a god of old
You can rest, I'll take your place

Vast and empty, darkened space
Spell advances, nightmare pace
Lost in wonder

I'll weave a web of eldritch lore
With your passing will come a change
Images, occult and strange
Slumber now and evermore

Bluesday

When my thoughts turn grey
Just your smile can drive the clouds away
I don’t believe a word I say

Bluesday

Tell me what is the use
I’m wrung out and I’ve got no excuse
I’m tired of all the games I play

Bluesday

I’ve been kidding myself for too long
When things look right they can’t be wrong
The tears I can’t explain away

Bluesday

Always restless at night
Can’t ignore the silver starlight
Wind in the leaves singing songs
Blow away the dawn

After all the tricks I’ve tried
I can’t find a fix for Mr. Hyde
Still, someday, I pray I may

Bluesday

Little Clowns

Its 4 a.m. can't stay asleep
Never make it through this week
I give up, crawl out of bed
Burn some coffee, clear my headWalk to the convenience store

Buy a number, just one more
I can win if I just play
And pigs grow wings and fly away

Little clowns only you
And the magic that you do
Can set me free
This feelings killing me

Its dawn, I'm home, turn on the tube
Desperate to change my mood
Skip the sex and surly youth
In Looney Tunes I seek the truth

Trouble comes and money goes
Bank took my car and don't you know
I lost my job, I heard it on the news
Seeing those less fortunate
I look away, I can't forget
So many more blessing left to lose

Here's the Three Stooges, my old friends
Seems their hard luck never ends
Something catches my minds eye:
Sometimes you win by getting by

Dress for Success

I read a self-help book one lonely night
My chosen career wasn't working out right
No one at work took me seriously
And this is what that book said to me:

"Dress for success
Dress as drab as you can
If you're a woman 'better dress like a man
Dress for success
Not style, not taste
Looking good is really a waste"

Now I'm fine and there's no turning back
My shirts are white, my shoes are black
I'm in the in-crowd I can really tell
Cuz everybody here looks like hell

Dress for success...

Chop that hair and lose that tan
They'll get in your way if you're a business man
Tighten that tie like a corporate noose
Til' your double chin hangs, soft and loose

Listen, sister, here's how to go
Cover those legs and let your crow's feet show
Spend all your time raking in loot
Cuz no one's gonna touch you in that slate gray suit

Dress for success...

Eyes in the Back of My Head

I'm wandering in the rain
Look what you've done to me
I'll never be the same
You've toyed with my sanity
You said if I stuck by you
You'd take care of me
Now I've lost my home
Split my family
Layed off by your goddamn Company

I've got eyes in the back of my head
And all I see is red

What could I tell my wife?
What would the neighbors say
I've worked hard all my life
It was all gone in a day
You claimed you did it right
"First class all the way"
Just a pat on the head
And a nice typed letter
But the knife in my back
Didn't feel any better

I've got eyes in the back of my head...

Some day the sun's gonna shine
I'm gonna find a way to use what I learned
I'm gonna get what's mine
And you're gonna get just what you earned
Be careful crossing the street
Beware of those you burned
Watch what you say
Watch what you do
Believe me I'll be watching you

I've got eyes in the back of my head...

I Don't Want to Go to Heaven

I don't want to go heaven
If my dog gets left behind
I won't go where they're not wanted
You go on (I don't mind)

I don't want to go to heaven
If the saints all look like me
My idea of true salvation
Isn't color conformity

I don't want to go to heaven
If the streets are paved with gold
I couldn't watch all those poor angels
Sewing pockets on their white robes

Ain't no use to follow Satan
Just for power on this earth
When ashes fall to ashes
Nothing's left of any worth

I know beggars can't be choosers
But there's one more thing I know
If I ever get to heaven
It won't be 'cause I was forced to go

Hole in the Sand

Another bright young family
Another fiery crash
Hit head-on, incinerated
By low-life drunken trash

A black man’s executed
Innocent it seems
Somewhere a woman’s mutilated
By the husband of her dreams

You can’t pour the sea in a hole in the sand
Believe there’s a reason we’ll never understand

The doctor loses patients
She can’t reason why
God saves the self-destructive, let’s little children die

Here’s the somber artist
To catch what we can’t handle
Lives to curse the darkness, too cool to light a candle

You can’t pour the sea in a hole in the sand...

Shake your head in sorrow
Shake your fist at the sky
Send a pig to pilot school
Still ain’t gonna fly

You can’t pour the sea in a hole in the sand...

Kind of More or Less

I wed my love
She married me
With the permission of her company

I work until five
She works until dawn
I wish those golden chains were gone

I learned love can't cure loneliness
I had to learn the hard way
I'll get by with a little happiness
Kind of more or less

I call her up
I've got so much to say
We meet for dinner but she's called away

I learned love...

She's back at work
I spend the night
Cruising the city counting traffic lights

I learned love...

Little Black Book

Haven't seen you in a while, we all wondered where you been
Why's your hair messed up? Why’re you lookin’ so thin
Just one reason why you’re in the shape you're in

Well, the pits of your shirt have a yellow outline
There's a hole in your jeans where the sun just don't shine
Your eyes' bloodshot, have you been crying?

I can tell by the way you wear that haunted look
Momma found your little black book

She cared for you, yes, she treated you like a king
While you ran around like you didn't owe her a thing
Sayin’ you'd be true when you bought that wedding ring

Did you think that you were cheating on your cook?
Momma found your little black book

Did you tell yourself that she can't make it alone?
Are you sleeping with your head next to the phone?
Are you eating what the cat dragged home?

Do you think she'll ever let you off the hook?
Momma found your little black book

You can't find her now, no matter where you look
Momma found your little black book

Maybe Someday

I once owned the midnight sky
The north star would fascinate me
But I've been kind of busy lately
Maybe someday

I've hunted old Blackbeard's treasure
On islands I've come to pine for
One more thing I don't have time for
Maybe someday

I've done my bit in this digital world
Look what it's done for me

No taste of salt on an evening breeze
No temple in a tangle of trees

I've climbed an icy mountain
To find a forbidden city
Oh, well, more's the pity
Maybe someday

I've come to the realization
What price civilization?
To lose one's imagination
I'm going away

Never Coming Down

Never comin’ down from this burning ledge
Try to hold my ground
But I’m close to the edge
I can hear you callin’ me
From a long way down
But I ain’t comin’ down
Ain’t ready yet to fall

I won’t be comin’ round to your back door tonight
I’m paralyzed and bound
And holdin’ for my life
Don’t know what they want from me
But they want me tonight
But I ain’t comin’ down
Ain’t ready yet to fall

Never comin’ down, I climb another rung
Flames are at my back
Smoke is in my lungs
I ain’t gonna move away
From the only thing that’s sound
Never comin’ down
Ain’t ready yet to fall
Never comin’ down

Passing Fantasy

Dreams and fantasies, castles in the sky
Ships between the stars
Sail the heavens by

Images and forms, clouds taking shape
Players and actors await
Scenes unreal passing from where
Illussion originates

Shadows and shapes buried deep inside the mind
Soon to be released
To surface and to find

Images and forms, clouds taking shape
Players and actors await
Scenes unreal passing from where
Illussion originates

Passing Fantasy

Dreams and fantasies, journeys in twilight
A universe of self
Hope's everlasting flight

We Come in Peace

A shadow drifts across the night
Edges tipped in pail blue light
Word gets round and soon crowds grow
Everyone’s hot for UFO’s
Visitors from Outer Space!
Hurry up! Clean up the place!
Hold the whitewash, look around
Scouts have long been on the ground

We come in peace. We come in peace
For now, at least, we come in peace

That homeless guy’s not what you think
Flashes you a knowing wink
The schoolgirl with the almond eyes
Smiles and glances at the sky
Signs and circles flatten crops
A prelude to a supply drop
Treat your houseplants very well
You don’t know the tales they tell

We come in peace...

Science and scripture vied since birth
To retrofit mankind on earth
Centuries of solemn tracts
To justify barbaric acts
We who guide the circular craft
Heard the stories had to laugh
Hips in the sewer, heads in the stars
You’re doing this world like you did Mars

We come in peace...

Piper

This world can't get any smaller
We don't have to think to hard to know
What leaks out Misha's reactor
Comes to rest in Hilda's back yard

Hey, here comes The Piper
Must be Judgement Day
All night long we've been dancing
Now it's time to pay

When Jane drains her radiator
She laughs at how fussy some women are

Flo drinks designer water
Swears her tap water smells like her car

Hey, here comes The Piper...

I read about flying saucers
I believe they're a threat to the human race
If they ever find out who's polluting
This river we call Outer Space

Hey, here comes The Piper...

Postcard

Hi. I'm fine. Tell me all about yourself
What did you eat? Where did you go?
How's your mom? How's that gifted kid of yours?
A genius. Yeah, I know

Where did you live that I can only dream about?
What do you have that I can't afford?
Pardon my yawn, it must be getting warm in here
No, I'm not bored

You're a postcard of yourself
An insincere embrace

A postcard of yourself
A memory of a pretty place

How's your game? Tennis, chess or racquetball?
I know you play each very well
You in a sweat is frightening to imagine though
I'm sure it doesn't smell

You're a postcard of yourself
A slightly stale bouquet
A postcard of yourself
An airbrushed holiday

Oh, by the way, I missed you at the show last night
That murder flick. Oh, you forgot?
That's okay, we'll try again some other time
That film taught me alot

You're a postcard of yourself
A doll that "wishes you were here"
A postcard of yourself
A cheesy little souvenir

Shallow Man

I have what I wanted
More than I need
But I feel I'm haunted
By the wages of greed

Black depression
Troubled dreams
Craving agression
To let off steam

I admit for concessions
And liberties
I commit transgressions
It's expected of me

I'm introspective
As time overtakes me

When I'm most reflective
Life's purpose escapes me

I toy with the notion
Of starting again
Use prayer and devotion
To make amends

Angels ignore me
I believe
Devils run before me
Who does that leave?

You can grudge me
The scraps I'm thrown
Just don't dare judge me
Look to your own

Snow on the Roof

It’s not the way you walk puts you in your place
Not the careful way you talk
Not the lines on your face
Not the fire in your eyes
Not the fire in your heart
Just a little thing sets you apart

Body gets to be a load; don’t throw it out the window
Run along the nearest road ‘gets thee to a gym. Though
You envy the younger set
It should be understood
Time spent looking young
Better spent looking good

Snow on the roof
It’s your crown of thorns. It’s your silver lining

You’re only old as you let others make you feel
Fix what you can and ignore what you can’t conceal

Living can be such a war; a struggle no one survives
You’re old enough to know the score, grateful just to be alive
That’s about enough said
Now you decide it:
Worry ‘bout what’s on your head
Or worry ‘bout what’s inside it

Snow on the roof

Stone God

Just got home after six months alone
In an under-developed nation
‘Seems the house next door’s now a car parts store
Welcome to civilization

On the meadow I loved sits a power plant
With indiscreet emissions
And the chapel on the hill’s now a parking garage
You-Know-Who’s got competition

Stone God in a heaven glass and steel
Overlord of the concrete jungle
Like all the ancient empires
Your world, too, will crumble

An old man I know says the garden he grows
Has somehow escaped detection
It’ll soon be gone, even an uncut lawn
Gives developers erections

Stone God...

The outcome of over-development should no longer be a mystery
Just the right ecological accident and
We are ancient history

Stone God...

Stretch

Keep my money in a pickle jar
When I go out I don't get far
Pretty women don't mind at all
They don't call me Stretch because I'm tall

Don't make a hundred grand a year
Like those boardroom buccaneers
Women love the trash I haul
They don't call me Stretch Because I'm tall

Fancy boys wear fancy clothes
When the lights go out what good are those
They think they've got it on the ball
Line them up against the wall

Get my room and board for free
Get my mail brought up to me
Landlady lives down the hall
They don't call me Stretch because I'm tall

Subway to Paradise

It's tough, tough, tough hanging on
In this high-priced wonderland
All the signs read "Exit As Fast As You Can"
But not me
I'm simple but free
I'm buying my ticket
I'm paying the price
On the subway to paradise

Some folks are born
Silver spoon in mouth
Some with the spoon
A lot farther south
After the joyride

They burn by the wayside
You smell the smoke
You don't think twice
On the subway to paradise

This modern world can soon bring you down
But you get stronger the longer you're around
Some make it a game
Some make it a war
Some make it a color they've never seen before
I wake up at night
In a hot sweat
Sick over something

Hasn't even happend yet
I've got to quit whining
And claw at the silver lining
It isn't easy
It isn't nice
Keeping your soul on ice

They say the end
Can justify the means
You avoid the eye contact
And keep your nose clean
You may get there late
But it's worth the wait
When life get's tricky
Take my advice
Get on the subway to paradise

Sunrise I Travel

I'm dreaming of a Mexican sky
And a beach where I can sit and fry
Angels with olive skin
And fences to keep them all in

I'm dreaming of a Miami moon
Margueritas and a tropical tune
A hotel with a whirlpool path
And stars to light the beaten path

I'm Oliver the Great
The world's my little onion
Its mysteries I'll unravel
Sunrise I travel

Maybe I should visit Rome
A city where you're never alone
Espresso at a quaint café
Watching little Gypsies play

Paris might be just the thing
It's beautiful in the Spring
Strolling among the steeples
Chatting with the friendly people

I'm dreaming of the Holy Land
The say that's where it all began
A pilgrimage would be so charming
Local customs can be so disarming

Who Ties Your Shoes for You

Each mortal has a cross to bear
In that there's nothing new
It's nice you have an entourage
To carry yours for you
You're safe within your circus
As it ushers you around
It pampers and protects you
This conspiracy of clowns

Who ties your shoes for you?
Who chews your food for you?
If it were up to you
You wouldn't have a clue

Your trusted secretary
Is sharp and strong and able
Her head is so far up your tail
She speaks through your navel
When reality intrudes
She knows what to do
Not because she cares but because
She wants to be you

Who blows your nose for you?
Who picks your clothes for you?
If it were up to you
You wouldn't have a clue

Nights when you reflect upon
How fortunate you are
That your talent and your chosen few
Have taken you so far
You congratulate yourself
That you didn't miss the boat
But the lifeline that supports you
Is wound around your throat

Who dries your eyes for you?
Who tells your lies for you?
If it were up to you
You wouldn't have a clue

What Can I Say

Hello, how are you?
I've got something to say to you
Please sit down

We've come farther than most
You thought this was the one for you
What can I say?
There's just no easy way

Fun and games were just the thing
There was something only you could bring
We had our Saturday night
Things just weren't quite...

Right or wrong the feeling's gone
Do you really want to hear the reasons why?
What can I say?
There's just no easy way

Was it all for show?
You tell me, I don't know
Things just got too intense
All "S" no "M"

Hello?
Are you still there?
I know it hurts to end it all this way
What can I say?
There's just no easy way

Working Class

Look at the headlines
Big companies feeling the heat
They're vomiting workers
All over the street

Soldiers In breadlines
Not trained for this kind of defeat
Sleeping on sidewalks
Newspaper pages for sheets

God help the working class
Backs to the wall
God help the working class
Don't deserve this at all

Pink slip composers
Never ask "why? Only ask "when?"
Selling their souls
To shallow men

Bring back the fifties
A house and a job meant life was complete
Now, if you're lucky
You make ends meet

God help the working class….

Honest people everywhere shake their heads and wonder why
Old-fashioned security is so hard to come by

People on wallstreet
Sit at the banquet while we pay the bill
If their conscience don't kill them
Their lifestyle will

God help the working class….

LYRICS

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