I feel so low (I need to get high)

hand me that pipe, mama
fill it all the way up
I know full well 
when I've had enough
pull out the lighter, babe
flick me your bic
I need medicine, darlin',
and I need it quick

          remember me, honey?
          I used to be one happy guy
          well, those days are over
          now I feel so low I need to get high

slide over that bottle, sweetheart,
I'm dying of thirst
I don't know if this living
is a blessing or a curse
I believe I'm allergic
to this life of mine
I'm so glad I'm not allergic 
to cheap-ass wine

          hey hey baby
          anything is my alibi
          I feel a hangover coming
          I feel so low I need to get high

some people call me lazy
some people say I'm a grouch
I don't care what you call me
I ain't getting off this couch
so pass me those doritos
mcdonald's, here we come
I'm like karen carpenter, baby
I've only just begun

          I'm gonna bask in my self-pity
          till the day I die
          hey, where you going?
          I feel so low I need to get high
          

A couple of fingernails

Another fuckin' Monday, man…

What's going on in your musical life, farmboy?

Mainly writing. I've been growing a couple of fingernails so I can play guitar better. Really, to play it louder, and I'm not too crazy about wearing fingerpicks when I play guitar. Bluegrass banjo, which I really haven't played in years -- that's where I like fingerpicks. You just can't any speed unless you're wearing fingerpicks.

I bought the new album by Spoon. I like them a lot. I still haven't listened to the whole thing yet -- hell, I just bought it. I'm looking forward to it.

Hey, how about you, man? What's up? You feeling good?

I am feeling good, farmboy, thanks for asking. I like this Indian Summer weather, where it's still warm but you can tell it's autumn.

Yeah, man, today was beautiful. Clear blue skies. Pretty soon it'll be gray and rainy all the time. Not that I mind it too much. It makes you thankful for days like today.

It's a bummer that summer is over. You know, going back to the fuckin' job and everything. 

Really. You can't ask for anything else about a day like today.

Well, I beg to fuckin' differ, man.

Oh yeah? What would you ask for, farmboy?

That it be Friday. 

everybody wants my money

everybody wants my money
everybody thinks I'm rich
but in this land of milk and honey
I'm in the gutter, face down in a ditch
well, son of a bitch, 
here's another ad
telling me that my life is bad
but satisfaction can be had
at a reasonable rate
ain't it great?

everybody wants my wallet
they all think it's full of cash
but no matter how you call it
I ain't got no secret stash
what a laugh!
here's another bill
do with it whatever you will
I know you want it paid in full
what a load of bull!

          shit, I don't know 
          what I'm gonna do
          the wife's eight months pregnant
          and the kids need new shoes
          but wait!
          there's a rich white guy 
          who's feeling the blues
          I must give him
          all my money

          I ain't trying to be funny but

everybody wants my moola
mi dinero
my paycheck
the big score
I pay everyone
hallelujah!
'cept now everybody
wants more
look, I know you're poor!
everybody wants my money
everybody thinks I make big bucks
everybody wants my money
well, I think everybody is f…lat
out of luck

posters

when I was younger
I used to hang posters
on the wall to remind me
of what I could be
heroes of music
letters and books
they'd always be
where I'd always see
now I don't have the heroes
I used to before
I don't hang up posters
any more

an orphan's lullaby, bridge

oh child of mine
I will not die
without putting up a fight
they say it's a crime
too gruesome to describe
I've lived it all of my life

an orphan's lullaby

be still, child
the police are outside
and they'll throw your dad 
in jail if you cry
here's an orphan's lullaby
you can sing it
when I'm gone

I have gone 
through quite enough here
life's been talking
way too rough here
but I never meant
for you to suffer
remember that
when I'm gone

That's part of the fuckin' deal

Ain't nothing in my mind today, man. Nothing to write a song about. Unless, of course, it was there and I didn't notice it. Which, now that I'm thinking of it, is probably right. I'm sure things have occurred today that deserve a song, but my senses just didn't notice them.

That's okay, farmboy. Are you still going to write?

Oh, yeah. I mean, I have to write. That's what I expect from myself. That's part of the fuckin' deal.

What deal is that?

Hell if I know. 

But I know it's there. I've got it with guitar, too. I have to play guitar every day. It's kinda like: How can I expect to get anything in life if I don't do these things? Working on Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours or whatever the hell that was. 

I hope I'm not sounding like I think this stuff is a burden or something. 'Cause I think it's a real privilege to play music, to create music. And it's a part of life to me. I can't imagine not being a musician.

So you're going to go write, then?

I'm gonna give it my best, man. I always do. Really.