safe

the desire to stay safe
has caused me nothing but trouble

out of time

I'm running out of time
on this planet earth
I've squandered my potential
as I drowned in low self worth
my mind keeps on squawking
though it's got nothing to say
if I have a magic moment
Lord, let it be today

          because I'm running
          out of time
          because I'm running
          out of time

205 song

I spent 420 on the 205
driving 100 miles an hour
trying to get away from you
but I'm beginning to
lose power

old pair of boots

I'm like that old pair of boots
you can't bear to throw away
that kernel of the truth
in every word you say
I'm the innocence of your childhood pursuits
like an old pair of boots

lawyer

I got a lawyer
to do my dirty work for me
I am an adult

help myself

I know I need to quiet down
but I'm feeling the need to be loud
sometimes I've got words that deserve saying
just in time -- there's no delaying
I'm just okaying
the games that you and me keep playing
but I don't need your help
I don't need anyone's help
because I can help myself
I can help myself

finished product

I want to see the finished product
before the process starts
I want to go from step A
to step Z
I don't have a plan
for my poor attention span
and it ain't got a plan for me

fog

monday morning
and you're back out on the road
working to pay
all the money that you owe
to companies 
and corporations
income taxes 
run the nation
it's an imposible situation
that we got right here
waiting for the fog to clear

broken people

I'm one of those broken people
who just can't be fixed
punchline of a joke
told by life's dirty tricks
I got some questions
with replies I'd like to learn
but I expect my investment
means more than my return

broken

I'm one of those broken people
who just can't be fixed
no matter what love I'm given
it's never enough

my confidence

it was a hard day
mistakes were made
my confidence
is now afraid
damn this world
it's plain to see
my confidence
is hiding from me

boredom can be

today I'm fragile
boredom can be seductive
when you're scared like me

kid in the playground

this is what I am:
I'm that kid in the playground
standing alone
waiting for the end of school
waiting to go home
you never noticed me
but somehow you remember
you were glad I was not you

this is who I was:
I was the all-time loser
standing by myself
wishing school was over
wishing I was someone else
if you think hard enough
you're bound to remember
you were glad you were not me

this is who you are:
child of privilege
flower in the garden
center of attention
of whatever you were part in
on second thought
maybe you won't remember me
no one of use to you

your face again

ain't no voice
calling me on the phone
ordering me around
to find my way back home
and so on home I'd go
obeying like a dog
tail between my legs
breath smelling of alcohol
but this time it's different
this time I'm up for a fight
I think tonight
I'm gonna turn left
where I always turn right
and I'll know then
that I'm never gonna
see your face again

in the photos we stand
barely past eighteen
you in that spring dress
me in my farmer jeans
and when I asked you
for your unwedded hand
I didn't realize
I could never be the man
the man you wanted
who would run around your course
down at the racetrack
try to train me like a horse
but that was then
and I'm never gonna
see your face again

ain't no memory
strong enough to stay
I'm gonna gather them up
and throw them all away
throw them in the dumpster
throw them in the trash
throw them where you throw
useless visions of the past
I've got an empty canvas
a world full of paint
and I'm gonna look for
exactly what you ain't
it's at an end
and I'm never gonna
see your face again

mom and dad

remind me 
what a fuck-up I am
inform me 
why I turned out so bad
make sure I know 
that I was unplanned
go ahead
mom and dad

meditation for dummies

one breath, another
breath, in and out, back and forth,
over and over

I got questions

I got questions
I been looking
for somebody like you
someone to teach me
what the hell to do
maybe I don't know much
but I know it's true
I can learn
I'll follow through

testing

testing testing
is this on?
am I making sound?
is anybody listening

I was a highway

I was a highway
a very long time ago
everything was fast

now I'm a back road
small town and wild spaces
but I'm days gone past

to foolish people
who refuse to listen to
folks like you and me

we live in present tense
all because one day too soon
we'll be history

another YiaWoN verse

all good people around me
neighbors and strangers alike
have hoped and dreams
and in between
no one's liking for a fight
I see them on the back roads
everywhere I go
attempting to believe in
yes in a world of no

noise

I got my headphones on
I can't hear a word you're saying
this has gone beyond
wishing, hoping, praying
are you listening?
am I listening?
all I hear is noise

I got my earplugs in
and did I forget to mention
it takes a world of sin
to gain my sweet attention
is there action
satisfaction
all I hear is noise

are my devices on?
are their batteries charged?
a Hitchcock blonde
a bandit at large
are you listening?
am I listening?
all I hear is noise

yes in a world of no (new verse)

my brothers and sisters
kindly listen to me
we must see every stranger
as part of family
I know it may sound foolish
but I have to believe it's so
it's the only hope I have for
a yes in a world of no

for David

one life touches all
everyone is related
death is so unfair

writing

I don't want to write
but writing is my true job
so I guess I'll write

you know the drill

it's another day
of nothing good happening
like the day before

Imaginary life

How are you, farmboy? Haven't heard from you for a while.

I'm not good, man. I'm going through the same old fuckin' shit. You know, the thing of putting in hard work and effort and then coming up empty. You take chances, you do your work, and then nothing fuckin'  happens.

What is this about, farmboy?

Well, this time it's about fitness and losing weight and shit, but it doesn't matter. I'm just a fuckin' failure at everything.

No, you're not.

Am too!

I live a fuckin' imaginary life, man, filled with imaginary friends and an imaginary music career and an imaginary body and mind like other people's bodies and minds.

So fuckin it. I'm so fuckin' tired of this. I just took a Klonopin, now I'm smoking weed. Maybe I'll sleep, then wake up and eat the forbidden tortilla chips I bought.

This is my life, man.

story of my life

nothing is worse than
working coming to nothing
like it always does

yes in a world of no (new verse)

sometimes I wake up in the morning
and fear I've wasted my time
believing some sense of freedom
is something that I'll never find
but like wildflowers in springtime
I'll plant my roots and grow
and continue walking on my path
for a yes in a world of no

are you satisfied

nothing is good enough for you
especially me and everything I do
I don't live up to your impossible standards
okay, everything you say is true
now do you feel happy
knowing all the tears I cried?
now do you feel that nice warm glow
you've always wanted to feel inside?
are you satisfied?
are you satisfied?

that Taylor Swift song

that Taylor Swift song
has taken over my brain
pop hooks always win

yes in a world of no (one more possible verse)

I've faced a million troubles
and brother, so have you
it seems sometimes 
we live our lives
with nothing better to do
than sit among the wild weeds
that grows in the cracks in the road
thinking and dreaming 
and scheming away
for a yes in a world of no