Toad The Wet Sprocket – Fear WALK ON THE OCEAN We spotted the ocean at the head of the trail Where are we going, so far away And somebody told me that this is the place Where everything’s better, everything’s safe Walk on the ocean Step on the stones Flesh becomes water Wood becomes bone And half and hour later we packed up our things We said we’d send letters and all those little things And they knew we were lying but they smiled just the same It seemed they’d already forgotten we’d came Now we’re back at the homestead Where the air makes you choke And people don’t know you And trust is a joke We don’t even have pictures Just memories to hold That grow sweeter each season As we slowly grow old IS IT FOR ME? Bradley says it’s haunted The house upon the hill And if we meet at four a.m. Then we would know for sure We carry the ladders And lean them against it And climb them as we look Someone kicked a ladder Bradley took a spill Said his leg was broken So we dragged him down the hill And through the door What do I see? Something is happening Is it for me? Mom found out the whole thing Mine was first to call Bradley’s leg healed badly At least he still can walk We leave in the morning And no one will hear us And meet in the clearing And I’ll bring the sandwiches David come quickly You’re missing the whole thing Now open your big eyes And take in the sunrise And through the door What do I see? Something is happening Is it for me? BUTTERFLIES (I saw something Gigantic Out on the water I asked my dad for a nickel He gave it to me It was kind of misty I couldn’t be sure what it was And of course, he wouldn’t tell me) In time I will collect the world The eggs and wings of butterflies I love the wings Of butterflies A man drove up in an ugly car And he flashed his lights at everything he saw And his eyes were red And his stereo was so loud you couldn’t hear the engine’s roar And he yelled at everybody in the road And did not notice all the moths he’d massacred Spread across the open road (weird when you get close To something that big You can’t see anything at all...) In time I will Collect the world The eggs and wings of you who fall on Butterflies calvary Had you wings of I give my children Butterflies A moth had settled upon his arm and he looked at it with a lazy eye And he lifted up a gigantic hand And he spread his fingers towards the sky And he nudged the moth to make it fly away But moths are fragile things And he just wiped it’s ody down across his shoulder blade He’s a wonder, he’s a little black-wing boy Oh my daughters He’ll fill you with joy In time I will Collect the world The hearts and limbs of Butterflies you who soar o’er Calvary Had you wings of Butterflies oh father, I offer Butterflies NIGHTINGALE SONG We sing the nightingale song alive Streets never border further than my sight We sing the nightingale song alive We might be different but our hearts won’t lie And little ever changes if anything at all But the song rings loudly through these halls We sing the nightingale song alive We might be different but our hearts won’t lie And little ever changes when you view it from the sky And the damage we encounter the earth just passes by And little ever changes if anything at all And we remind ourselves how small we are HOLD HER DOWN Hold her down Take her arms and hold her down... Until she stops kicking Take her arms and hold her down... Until she she stops moving And they don’t know her But what the fuck They’ve got nothing else they can do And they’ve no reason But still they come And i Would have a hard time facing you This crime The shame of what a man can do Take her arms and hold her down... Until she stops screaming Take her arms and hold her down... Until she stops breathing And they don’t know her But what the fuck They’ve got nothing else they can do And they’ve no reason But still they come And i Would have a hard time facing you This crime The shame of what a man can do Take the night back All they’ve stolen All we took from you PRAY YOUR GODS I will give the secrets you request And you will be the one to sacrifice So lay your olive arms upon my breast And sing the poems, free the butterflies Pray your gods who ask you for your blood For they are strong and angry jealous ones Or lay upon my altar now your love I fear my time is short There are armies moving close Be quick, my love I feel my body weakened by the years As people turn to gods of cruel design Is it that they fear the pain of death Or could it be they fear the joy of life Pray your gods who hold you by your fear For they are quick and ruthless punishers Or lay upon my altar now your love I fear my day is done There are armies moving on Be quick, my love BEFORE YOU WERE BORN How can it happen that every time You ask us this question the answer seems like a lie You know what we’re saying and you know what it means And it’s always sincere God knows But it never gets through to where you need Before you were born someone kicked in the door There’s no place for you here, stay back where you belong Before you were born someone kicked in the door You are not wanted here, stay back where you belong God damn the people who left you in pain God damn the father without face, without name And God damn the lovers who never showed up And God damn the wounds that show how deep a word can cut Before you were born someone kicked in the door There’s no place for you here, stay back where you belong Before you were born someone kicked in the door You are not wanted here, stay back where you belong And how can it happen now that you know the cause That nothing is changing and everything’s wrong But pain is the healing and the tears sting like alcohol Just keep on there breathing We’ll bring you down the long, long road back home SOMETHING TO SAY He’s got a thing about losing control Carries it a mile just to see how far he’ll go And he brushes up his chops as he tries to fake a smile A friend indeed but what I need’s someone who’ll stay a while Someone to stay a while You can bend my ear We can talk all day Just make sure that I’m near When you’ve really got something to say He drops hints but he won’t tell you what’s really on his mind But I know if I look that it’s easy to find And he’s got a way with his anger and the way he lets it show Like the smoldering smoke when the fire’s left the coals When the fire has left the coals You can take me down To show me your home Not the place where you live But the place where you belong You can bend my ear We can talk all day Just make sure I’m around When you’ve finally got something to say And what are you meaning by I don’t deserve this life? His door is always open and he’s always got the time To give a little something even though he gets behind And your trips become his and your lives are intertwined But like the horse with the junkie it’s all in your mind It’s all in your mind You can take me down To show me your home Not the place where you live But the place where you belong You can bend my ear We can talk all day Just make sure you’re around When I’ve finally got something to say IN MY EAR Didn’t know they were a part of it I can’t tell It would seem there’s a lot that I don’t know Standing with the perfect view I could not go far enough away from you I’ve seen it all before And know it’s only words Never meant half of the things I said to you So you know There’s a half that might be true Hello I can’t hear, it’s in my ear Hello Have you heard a single word Hello? ALL I WANT Nothing’s so loud As hearing when we lie The truth is not kind And you’ve said neither am i But the air outside so soft is saying everything Everything All I want is to feel this way To be this close, to feel the same All I want is to feel this way The evening speaks, I feel it say... Nothing’s so cold As closing the heart when all we need Is to free the soul But we wouldn’t be that brave I know And the air outside so soft, confessing everything Everything And it won’t matter now Whatever happens to me Though the air speaks of all we’ll never be It won’t trouble me And it feels so close Let it take me in Let it hold me so I can feel it say... STORIES I TELL Don’t give me answers for I would refuse Yes is a word for which I have no use And I wasn’t looking for heaven or hell Just someone to listen to stories I tell Now what is a blessing and what is a dream Caught between portraits and none’s what it seems And why is it people expect there’s a change When I feel I’m a part of something I can’t see I feel the same Now don’t ask me questions or I will retreat Fame is a cancer and ego it’s seed Now I wasn’t looking for heaven or hell Just someone to listen to stories I tell Do we ever wonder? And do you ever care... Subtle salvation in poems we know Hiding our heads in a shadow of home Now I wasn’t looking for wreaths or for bells Just someone to listen to stories I tell Stories I tell I WILL NOT TAKE THIS THINGS FOR GRANTED One part of me just wants to tell you everything One part just needs the quiet And if I’m lonely here, I’m lonely here And on the telephone You offer reassurance I will not take these things for granted How can I hold the part of me that only you can carry It needs a strength I haven’t found But if it’s frightening, I’ll bear the cold And on the telephone You offer warm asylum I’m listening Flowers in the garden Laughter in the hall Children in the park I will not take these things for granted Anymore To crawl inside the wire and feel something near me To feel this accepting That it is lonely here, but not alone And on the telephone You offer visions dancing I’m listening Music in the bedroom Laughter in the hall Dive into the ocean Singing by the fire Running through the forest And standing in the wind In rolling canyons I will not take these things for granted