Secret Throwing Jewlery Lyrics Page

"pain lies on the riverside"

i have never taken life
yet i have often paid the price
and you, you are a victim of this age
and the guilt that hangs around your neck
has got me locked up in a cage

you've to to learn to live until no end
but first you must learn to swim
all over again
because...

pain lies on the riverside
and pain will never say goodbye
pain lies on the riverside
so put your feet in the water
put your head in the water
put your soul in the water
and join me for a swim tonight

i have forever, always tried
to stay clean and constantly baptized
i am aware that the river's banks are dry
and to wait for a flood,
is to wait for life

i've got to learn to live until no end
but first i must learn to swim all
over again,
because...

pain lies on the riverside
 
 
 

"operation spirit" (the tyranny of tradition)

heard alot of talk about the ocean
heard alot of talk about the sea
heard alot of talk about alot of things
never meant that much to me

heard alot of talk about my spirit
heard alot of talk about my soul
but i decided that anxiety and pain
were better friends
so i let it go

did you let it go?
let's get it back.
let's get it back together.

heard alot of talk about this jesus
a man of love, a man of strength
but what a man was two thousand years ago
means nothing at all to me today

he could have been telling me about my
higher self
but he only lives inside my prayer
so what he was may have been beautiful
but the pain is right now
and right here

let it go!
let it go!
let it go, my friend
and let's get it back
let's get it back together
 
 
 

"the beauty of gray"

if i told you he was your brother
we could reminisce
then you would go about your day
if i said you ought to give him
some of your water
you'd shake your canteen and walk away

the perception that divides you from him
is a lie
for some reason you never asked why
this is not a black and white world
you can't afford to believe in your side

this is not a black and white world
to be alive
i say that the colors must swirl
and i believe
that maybe today
we will all get to appreciate

the beauty of gray

if i told you that she was your mother
we could analyze the situation and be gone
if i said you ought to give her
some of your water
your eyes would light up like the dawn

the perception that divides you from her
is a lie
for some reason you never asked why
this is not a black and white world
you can't afford to believe in your side

this is not a black and white world
to be alive
i say the colors must swirl
and i believe
that maybe today
we will all get to appreciate

the beauty of gray

look into your eyes
no daylight
new day now
 
 
 

"brothers unaware"

so many people
i know only a few
yes i may say that i love this man
and that man
but what keeps me from loving you?

date of birth, geography
the color of my skin, ideology
you got ten fingers, two legs, one nose
like me
just like me

and it's as simple as that
you see

and if i don't know who to love
i love them all
and if i don't know who to trust
i trust them all
and if i don't know who to kill
i may kill myself instead

from the mouth of a baby
will come the world-saving wordswill save us all
and from the lungs of a child
will come the everlasting breath of god

increasing peace and honesty
and not carrying on despite of me
don't you know
this ain't about no race, no creed
no race, no creed

and it's as simple as that
you see

and if i don't know who to love
i love them all
and if i don't know who to trust
i trust them all
and if i don't know who to kill
no suicide
i'm already dead
 
 

"tired of 'me'"

you say, "hold on to the reigns"
i say, "let them go tonight"
my brain waves
confused between what is and ain't
she cries, "groundless and free"

tired of the water
tired of the wine
tired of the future
tired of time
tired of the madness
tired of the steel
tired of the violence
tired of me

used steel
used steel am i
what was pliable in love
is now hard and crystallized
the intellect is fine
for counting money
and recalling times
that she cried,
"groundless and free"

hope is a letter that never arrives
delivered by the postman of my fear
 
 

"mirror song"

i know that i should think about giving
and think about
helping out
and think about
think about living
but i can't seem to rescue myself

what about my bank account
and my holy desert shield
that keep me dry under that arms?
flags and mental jewelry's all i know
and they keep me happy and warm inside

so i said unto this man
"who are you and where do you come from?"
and he proceeded to tell me many things

but i said nothing at all

for the flower in the corner, by the room,
in the window, and the sun
said it all

at least they said they would
said they could
mama said they would
do me good
 
 

"waterboy"

what do you say to the child
whose god is in the t.v.?
and what do you say to the man
who blames the world on t.v.?

they don't even know how to sing my song
but they won't even try it
with me, with me, with me

who is standing over playing like
the teacher
harnessing the learned
who try but can't leave her
i want to beg the liars to lay down
their sirens
that play like the angels
to my deep desire

free my son
let him walk right through the rain
free my son
make him waterboy
free my son
there he stands down on the shore
free my son

what do you say to the man
who treats her like a mother?
and what do you say to the man
who treats him like a father?

"come and see my heart, come inside
and learn"?
"come and see my soul, it's like yours,
i say it's just like yours"?

who is making over
idolizing princes
banishing the dreamers with
barbed-wire fences
and telling all the children who run to
her feet
that they have no vision
and love's all diseased

free my son
 
 

"take my anthem"

war in me
war overseas
there ain't no difference between

blood in Me
blood overseas
there ain't no difference between

the chills in your spine are oh, so sweet
people honor you so high
you've got to defend the stage at your feet
no!

take, take, take my anthem today

hands on me
hands overseas
there ain't no difference between

heart in me
heart overseas
there ain't no difference between
 
 

"you are the world"

if you've ever known love
if you've ever known peace
if you've ever known joy
make sure that you are on time

if you've ever known war
if you've ever known pain
if you've ever said no
make sure that you are on time
you are on time
you are on time
we are on time

for you are the world

fighting, mating, warring
you are all this now
be aware, not scared
look at me now
silence
i say
you are the world.
 
 

"good pain"

he said, he said, he said,
"there was nothing to fear boy"
and he said, he said, he said,
"worthless are your tears boy"

"just realize your senses
and realize your earth
just realize your essence first"

i'll never be the same again
i want to walk in the sun
i am alive and well again
no more bittersweet
no more good pain
no more

so many of us stand in the middle
looking back to the worst
looking forward to the fall
making weapons of peace for the defense
of the bloodstains on our
peaceful sidewalks

you say the buildings got too tall
and they're going to fry your brother
well i say you'd better walk away, walk
away, walk away,
and find your mother

no more bittersweet
no more good pain

if i can't sing this song
and tell you all about it
then i'll just pack it up right now and
walk away
don't even doubt it

so when our sherry glass is full
and the day is way too young
you'd better sip today, sip today, sip today,
before it's done

no more bittersweet
no more good pain
 
 

"mother earth is a vicious crowd"

pollution, cain, and misery
oceans of golden mystery
armies boisterous and armies loud
portraits of a vicious crowd

talk to me, talk to me now
hey man, you're all that i have

me, myself, myself and i
we're born to work and born to die
i have chosen my anthems
of these i am proud
portraits of a divided crowd

talk to me, talk to me now
 
 

"10,000 years" (peace is now)

the world is burning down
can't you smell the smoke in the air?
war, disease, and famine
this demon, she is everywhere

poets and preachers and politicians
they've all had their say
and we got 10,000 years
devoted to nothing
but tomorrow and yesterday

if all of the ignorance in the world
passed a second ago
what would you say?
who would you obey?
i am here to say that

peace is now

mr. president
i hereby pardon you of all your crimes
for they are just as much mine

selfishness and separation have led me
to believe that the world is not my problem
the world is not my problem
i am the world
and your are the world

if all the ignorance in the world
passed a second ago
what would you say?
who would you obey?
i am here to say that peace is now
 

The Dam At Otter Creek

when all that's left to do
is reflect on what's been done
this is where sadness breaths
the sadness of everyone

just like when the guys built the
dam at otter creek and all the
water backed up
deep enough to dive

we took the dead man in sheets
to the river flanked by love
deep enough to dive
deep enough to dive
be here now

we took him there and three
in a stretcher made from trees
that had passed in the storm
leave the hearse behind
to leave the curse
be here now
 

Selling The Drama

and to love: a god
and to fear: a flame
and to burn a crowd that a name

and to right or wrong
and to meek or strong
it is known, just scream it from the wall

i've willed, I've walked, I've read
I've talked, I know, I know,
I've been here before

hey, now we won't be raped
hey, now we won't be scarred like that

it's the sun that burns
it's the wheel that turns
it's the way we sing that makes 'em dream

and to christ: a cross
and to me: a chair
I will sit and earn the ransom
from up here
 

I Alone

it's easier not to be wise
and measure these things by your brains
I sank into eden with you
alone in the church by and by

I'll read to you here, save your eyes
you'll need them, your boat is at sea
your anchor is up, you've been swept away
and the greatest of teachers won't hesitate
to leave you there, by yourself,
chained to fate

I alone love you
I alone tempt you
I alone love you
fear is not the end of this!

it's easier not to be great
and measure these things by your eyes
we long to be here by his resolve
alone in the church by and by
to cradle the baby in space
and leave you there by yourself
chained to fate

oh, now, we took it back too far,
only love can save us now, all these riddles that you burn
all come runnin' back to you, all these rhythms that you hide
only love can save us now, all these riddles that you burn
yeah, yeah, yeah
 

Iris

I liked the way my hand looked
on your head
in the presence of my knuckles
but the beauty of this vision alone
just like yesterday's sunset
has been perverted by the sentimental
and mistaken for love

the felix of your truth will always break it
and the iris of your eye will always shake it
and the armies, the armies I have created
will always hate it
will always bait you on

I liked the way my hand looked on your head
in the presence of my struggle
but the beauty of this vision alone
I can't shake from my tree just yet
it keeps invading all my private moments
listen to me now
 

Lightning Crashes

lightning crashes, a new mother cries
her placenta falls to the floor
the angel opens her eyes
the confusion sets in
before the doctor can even close the door

lightning crashes, an old mother dies
her intentions fall to the floor
the angel closes her eyes
the confusion that was hers
belongs now, to the baby down the hall

oh now feel it comin' back again
like a rollin' thunder chasing the wind
forces pullin' from the center of the earth again
I can feel it.

lightning crashes, a new mother cries
this moment she's been waiting for
the angel opens her eyes
pale blue colored iris, presents the circle
and puts the glory out to hide, hide
 

Top

this is not helping me at all
what you are doing here
in the name of god and love
it's the distribution of fear
pyramids, healing wires, analysts with fame
I haven't got your degree
and I forgot your name

pick me up and put me on the ground
set me up and spin me all around
no, you are not the one I wish to see

this is not helping me at all
where did we get this plan?
that you could give to me
what I might already have
pyramids, healing wires, a musician's fame
I volunteered you my eyes
in place of facing me

oh hitler, in a robe of truth
my emptiness has built your altar
and I've worshipped myself in you forever
until now!
 

All Over You

our love is like water
pinned down and abused
for being strange

our love is no other
than me alone
for me all day
our love is like water/angels
pinned down and abused

all over you, all over me
the sun, the fields, the sky
I've often tried to hold the sea
the sun, the fields, the tide
pay me now, lay me down
 

Shit Towne

the weavers live up the street from me
the crackheads, they live down the street from me
the tall grass makes it hard to see
beyond my property

hey man, this is criminal,
this hard line symmetry of people and pets

we don't bother anyone
we keep to ourselves
the mailman visits each of us in turn
we don't bother anyone
we keep to ourselves
the mailman visits each of us in time

gotta live, gotta live, gotta live
in shit towne
gotta live, gotta live, gotta live
in our town.
 

T.B.D.

in the moment I was losing my head
and I was
reachin' forward, I was already there
readin' too much and losin' my head

this information caused a cut in the line
now I'm remembering God and readin'
too much it's so nice
the print is smaller than the ants in the grass
I'll have to put it away now
in the morning there are things to be read
words to be said and food to be fed but I
won't be there. I'll be clutchin' on a
megaphone pointed at my head, would you be
there, would you kindly, read this word for
word so loud and clear, I can't remember
it all, it needs to be clear, I tell you, if
the feeling drops out of your voice, would you
kindly pick it up

this is how, I'll go out tonight
dressed in blue, by the book tonight
this is how, I'll go out tonight
but I don't need a book.

we're talkin' anchors, talkin' ships, we're
talkin' seas, we're talkin' everything you need
you should be workin' now, not only askin'
how and the whereabouts of where you'll
be. I don't suspect you will be thinking
when the brain is dead and the mind
has taken over, this is a skill, this
is not a game, where have you been,
are you with us? can you hear us? got
the megaphone pointed at you
 

Stage

I wanna feel
I wanna try
I wanna rock in the city tonight
I wanna deal
don't wanna die
I wanna bring my captain hook into the light

people I've seen my day
ranting and raving this beauty away
we are by and large the same
but words are too feeble, they cannot contain

he was a "rock and roll messiah"
she was known for her child care
the truth is gonna give up the world
if you can give up the stage
if I can give up the stage
if we can give up the stage

come to this, I can't come to you
don't do this, wake me up tonight
come to this, I can't come to you
don't do this, wake me up tonight
(p.s. do not drive and swear!)
 

Waitress

come on baby leave some change behind
she was a bitch, but I don't care
she brought our food out on time
and wore a funky barrette in her hair

come on baby leave some change behind
she was a bitch but good enough
to leave some change, everybody's good
enough for some change

the girl's got family
she needs cash to buy aspirin for
her pain, everybody's good enough
for some change

we all get the flu, we all get aids
we've got to stick together
after all, everybody's good enough
for some change, SOME FUCKING CHANGE!!!
 

Pillar of Davidson

warm bodies, I sense
are not machines that can only make money
past, perfect, tense
words for a feeling and all I've discovered
I'll be along son
with medicine supposed to, designed to
make you high
I'll be along son
with words for a feeling and all I've discovered

old, bad eyes
old, bad eyes
old, bad eyes

on loneliness comes
go see the foreman, go see the profiteer
on loneliness drives
we're takin' our time movin' shit for
this holy slime

old, bad eyes
old, bad eyes
old, bad eyes, almighty fear

the shepherd won't leave me alone
he's in my face and I
the shepherd of my days
and I want you here by my heart
and my head, I can't start till I'm dead
 

White, Discussion

I talk of freedom
you talk of the flag
I talk of revolution
you'd much rather brag
and as the decibels of this disenchanting
discourse continue to dampen the day

the coin flips again and again, and again,
and again as our sanity walks away

all this discussion
though politically correct
is dead beyond destruction
though it leaves me quite erect
and as the final sunset rolls behind the earth
and the clock is finally dead
I'll look at you, you'll look at me
and we'll cray a lot
but this will be what we said
this will be what we said

look where all this talking got us baby.
 

Horse

all the things that they make you say
and all of the love that you hide away
I'll pick you up and it will be all right
I'll pick you up and it will be tonight
she rode a horse into my head
she won't discipline the children
and now they're running wild on the beach
and I don't care
oh, I don't care
no I don't care
hey, hey, hey
it's the middle of the night and you're here
playing dominoes and drinking beer
I tried to think of something deep to say
but my well is dripping dry today
hey, hey, hey, hey

Rattlesnake

let's go hang out in a mall, or a morgue,
a smorgasboard
let's go hang out in a church
we'll go find lurch
then we'll haul ass down through the abbey
is it money, is it fame
what's in a name, shame?
or were they always this lame?

it's a crazy, crazy mixed up town
but it's the rattlesnake I fear
in another place, in another time
I'd be drivin' trucks my dear
I'd be skinnin' hunted deer
deer

let's go hang out in a bar
it's not too far
we'll take my car
we'll lay flowers at the grave of jesco white
the sinner's saint
the rack is full and so are we
of laughing gas and ennui
 

Lakini's Juice

it was an evening I shared with the sun
to find out where we belong
from the earliest days
we were dancing in the shadows

more wine
cuz I got to have it
more skin
cuz I got to eat it

inside the outside
by the river
used to be so calm
used to be so sane
I rushed the lady's room
took the water from the toilet
washed her feet and blessed her name
more peace
is such a dirty habit

slow down, we're too afraid

Let me ride
Let me ride
Burn my eyes
Let me ride
 

Graze

people should not be afraid
we came to the earth to graze
no shortcuts to the face, this means you
a child gives you his shoes

people should not be afraid
we came to the earth to graze
if it slithers into the haze
it can't be true
a child gives you his shoes

In the early morning, cut her down
this pill, she needs your love
forget your mother and your father
they aren't important son

We came to the earth to graze
everyone's diggin' in
now there's no time to live
live

people should not be afraid
the artist does figure eight's
but will it stand the test of time
or will it rot
like the mission that tried too hard

in the early morning, cut her down
this pill, she needs your love
forget your mother and your father
you'll fall apart inside
 

Century

everybody's here
puke stinks like beer
this could be a city
this could be a graveyard
you stole my idea
you stole my idea

everybody's anxious
for the coming of the crisis
the collapse of the justice
I can smell your armpits
you stole my idea
you stole my idea
you stole my idea!
this puke stinks like beer

come on, come on, come on
let's lay waste to this century
come on, come on, come on
return to nothing, and help me

everybody's anxious
the crowd is all around us
the followers of Aldous
are spinning with their mescaline
a man behind the alter screams
you stole my idea
you stole my idea!

on the edge of a kiss, smack on the lips
dangled with tongue
on the edge of a peace that can't stand low
and won't stand tall

it's amazing what we can do with love
with some matches and gasoline, do with love!
it's amazing what we can do with love
 

Ghost

everybody has a ghost
everybody has a ghost who sings like you do
your's is not like mine
it's alright, but keep it up

boy loses rib in new orleans
he can't help eyein' up the whores
under the bridge
boy loses rib and lets a hellified cry into the dark
where did I go wrong?

Where did I go wrong?
I never needed this before
I need a woman to help me feel

Everybody has a dream
everybody has the dream like a world tattoo
yours is not like mine, it's alright, keep it up

the scalpel dives into the skin
good doctors never leave a scar
no proof again
I'll take the myth, you take the blood
it's all the same to the world dreamer
it's all the same in the end

boy loses rib in new orleans
he trades some ether for a chance
under the bridge

boy loses rib as he's summoned to the mud
flat on his back
cryin' where did I go wrong?
 

Unsheathed

the baby's not screaming enough
the singer's not singing enough
ramana's not breathing, to us
behold the unsheathing, it's love

the blade is not ready to cut
it's dull from our thinking, it's rough
Free love is a world I can't linger too long in
"free love" was just another party
behold the unsheathing, it's love
behold the unsheathing, it's love

Free love is a knife through the jugular vein son
Free love, I can't afford to add up what you fuckers are made of
 

Insomnia And the Hole in the Universe

my brother kicked his feet to sleep
my brother kicked his feet to sleep
my brother kicked his feet to sleep
and I sang the dirge song

my brother never missed a beat
my brother kicked his feet to sleep, sweet feetbrother kicked his feet to sleep
and I sang the dirge song

Angel, don't you have some bagels in my oven?
Lady, don't you know a man when you see one?
Crazy lady with the shiny shoes, where are you?
Kick your feet and calm the space that makes
you hollow

little swami's got his bowl to eat
little swami always walks his beat, sweet feet
little swami's got his bowl to eat
and I sing the dirge song

it's amazing how they come to see
the little swami with his bowl to eat, sweet feet
the little swami only wears a sheet
and won't sing the dirge song

anal, tight-assed soldier with that dogged heart
put down your gun
we are ready to explode, we gotta take it smart
and take it slow
 

Turn My Head

anyone, caught in your mystery
keep it angry
keep it whispy
I've fallen down
drunk on your juices

turn my head
turn my head
it's aimed at you

funky temple
your dress is torn to shreds
your eyes are crazy
I bowed to save my head and
I can't forget you
but I can't remember

oh no,
we came to love you all day
these bastards are leavin'
somebody's got to stay
whatever we called you
it's just a name
just a name
 

Heropsychodreamer

I'll kill you in my dreams
I turn the other cheek during the day
I'll kill you all

the subculture of my dreams
is waiting for me to fall asleep
I know you're scared, you should be
I know you're scared

hero
dreamer

This attic of my mind
these feelings I can't hide
I can't share
I feel alone, ah yeah
the subconscious keeps me here
I fell in love with a balladeer
I saw your tongue, it licked my heart
they called you queer

hero
dreamer
hero

they called you queer
they called you queer
they called you queer
they called you queer
 

Freaks

If the mother goes to sleep with you
will you run and tell geraldo
If the mother bears your children without tears
without the usual costs of labor

if the mother goes to bed with you
will you run and tell the neighbors
will you hide behind that get up that you wear
or will take the first ear that comes into contact with you blade
like peter did on the hill

will you call her a freak?
will you call them freaks?

if the mother goes to bed with you
will you run and tell the papers
how she picked you from a line up in downtown philadelphia
with a cigarette hangin' out of your mouth and henry miller in your
back pocket
you little fucker

If the mother goes to bed with you
in the bowels of the cathedral
will you render her asunder with what she really needs
or will you crash that beautiful silence with some talk about
finding yourself in your mother's arms

will you call her a freak
will you call them freaks
or will you call the gods
will you call them freaks

you know your sperm is weak
you never looked, so high
to ever find her, so low
you did not have to go, that far
to show her that you were holy

now you know they're gonna come for you
and drag your silly name into the mud
if the mother bears your children without tears
and the usual cost of labor
 

Merica

Looks like america's dropped her load
she was ready to explode
I could not see her from up here
cuz she was lyin' in the road

my head's in the ground
I can't make a sound
my head's in the ground

Looks like america's dropped her load
she tried to call me on the telephone
"eveything is fine, now the baby's here!"
she'll have to handle this one on her own

my head's in the ground
I can't make a sound
the priests were all stoned

california was in my mind
and love was a game that we played

my head's in the ground
I can't make a sound
the priests were all stoned
the fact that you moaned

my head's in the ground (repeat)
 

Gas Hed Goes West

then you were dead
subsistin' on that same old bread

it's the memory that hides
the whole wide world
it's the gas hed's love of america

it's the memory that hides
take your photographs back
for the love of all gods
our gas hed marches on
our gas hed marches on

He's a bonified man
a star amongst his clan
and the only one that let me ride

it's the memory that dies
our gas hed was right
when they lanced his skull
there was puss and light

it's the memory that dies
so take your photographs back
for the love of all gods
our gas hed marches on
our gas hed marches

it's the memory that dies
and make your photographs black
for the love of all gods
our gas hed marches on
our gas hed marches on

gas hed is on the radio, radio, radio
 

ALL LYRICS BY EDWARD KOWALCZK   MUSIC LIVE