Venture a guess that you won’t hesitate or ride the brake
Or burn it up just to make a scene
Let’s slip the line, grace just weighs us down
Steer this out into the open

Take a ride with me at zero gravity
Some place off the map
This time, we might make it off the runway

We’ll forget the way down
I’m always on guard, you’re always on guard
Two nervous sentries waiting for the all-clear signal
Take it for a spin, I’d never have the heart to ditch it
In the vacuum of deepest space
We could watch the city blocks
shrink to tacks and fade to black
A gorgeous panoramic view of all we didn’t do
Sort it out, seal up the crates
On the way up we can toss ‘em off
Watch ‘em break

THE DANGLING ELECTRIFIED BOY

An aerial, an antidote, a dimmer switch for the time
A 47-pound target
Protest won’t change anything
The stolen bread, the string of beads
He’s got no choice

First check to see there’s nothing up his sleeve
Hoist him up and tie him down
The main attraction, the current released
Enough to stand his hair on end

With all the hoopla, you’d think it’s some big thing
Death by misinvention not a carrot on a string
Something’s missing, he’s the key
He’s the greatest electrostatic machine
Brace the frame and roll him up in cloth
Can we do enough, will he throw sparks
Feathers fly and cling to his head and feet
Someone toss that birdboy seed

Let’s check his pockets, turn ‘em inside out
That boy looks stupid, but I’ve seen worse
Hoist him up and tie him down
I’ll be your witness
I’ll be your witness

Strung up with silk, no leverage in the situation
Boy, you’ll never win
If he could take it back
The stolen bread, the string of beads
He’d genuflect his life away

Last thing we do is take his shoes
Anyone remember what we’re looking for
The main attraction, the current released
Enough to stand his hair on end
There’s nothing left to check, this is not a test
Hoist him up and tie him down
There’s nothing left to check
This is not a test
This is not a test

EDISON STARE

Bag the patent mother’s prayer
The dots and dashes calling up the stars
On a dare, on a mission
Fixing every loosened spring
Rattling and rolling aimlessly
Coils stretched until they’re useless

You tell me you’re on the brink of something
Sitting there with your Edison stare

I’m just an afterthought
Last-ditch parlor tricks are all tapped out
Gadgets long since lost their luster
Dancing on the power grid
Stumbling toward the spotlight weren’t you kid
All choked up, all but blistered

Would you pull me off the tracks
Or watch the rolling cars, frozen still
Statuesque and worthless
Strap me to my favorite chair and flip the switch
Calling up the stars
Hiding out from extradition

I WANT TO DEPROGRAM YOU

The glazed stare of the true believer
Looks back at me
He doesn’t blink anymore
Between Kool-Aid sips

I want to, I want to
Deprogram you
I rack my brain to find a way to make you cave

Got a worm’s-eye view to crush my soul
As your new friends go past my door
With tambourines they laugh and sing
But I don’t feel anything

Depression glass is what I store
A dead mint collector’s score
But I’ve got a plan to get you back
And when it’s done I’ll sell my glass
I’ve got a tambourine
I’ll fake the stare and laugh and sing
And pack you in my car
I won’t let you sleep until you love me

LANDSLIDE

Who said we saw it coming
Who said the wait is half the fun
A robocall ten times a day leaves messages for you
And I’m saving every one
I’m collecting all the odds and ends that make up every day
Laid ‘em in a row that just might stretch from here to Mercury
When you get back we’ll climb it to the top
When you get back we’ll ride the fastest orbit around the sun

I don’t wanna talk
I love a landslide

These days just keep coming
These days are long and out of time
The monotone modulates the robo blips and bleeps
And I’m saving every one
I’m collecting all the odds and ends that make up every day
Laid ‘em in a row that just might stretch from here to mercury
When you get back we’ll climb it to the top
When you get back we’ll ride the fastest orbit around the sun

LOVESICK AT THE CRIME SCENE

A hiccup
The lovesick
Bloating in the brine
A lost and brazen story
Nosebleed
won’t stop
Hare Krishna tambourine
Airport page guides the way to a crooked coward’s find

It’s too late to go back now
That table’s been turned
Friend of a friend, a trusted friend washed away
Any sense of shame

Junk bond
A-Bomb
Mid-price souvenir
Bag it up as evidence, cart it all away
Chalk mark
to pinpoint
what might have happened here
Words exchanged at point-blank range
How very cavalier

If you’ve decided
to go chasing after this
Don’t forget a lovesick mess can lend a life to pity
Pull up your bootstraps
spin the wheel again
A lost and brazen story

YOUR HOLLAND CODE

Foot dragger, I lost my shoe at karaoke night
Sadder than a one man band hogging the spotlight

He’s no convert or Weaver The Lesser
Man, this one’s for real
How about a walk through the caving sand
Let’s make a deal

What’s the trade off
what’s a tired shark to do
I’ll be your wildcard, I’ll be your fortress too

We can make it up as we go along
Scuttle the plan
Time capsule balancing in our hands
Let’s break the seal

Dry docked but it’s our choice to stay in here
Seal up the hull cast off our cosmonautical fear

Let’s jam the station, stop it just for fun
Static and hum
Hit the jackpot, wheatback penny payoff
Maybe next year

I'll be your wildcard
I'll be your fortress