CUBAN HEEL
Grandma sits in the front seat of the car
and the wind blows through her silver hair
the car was made in 1966
the old girl doesn’t care
There are choppers overhead
someone famous is on the freeway
grandma smokes a cigarette
says “what makes me sick can make me strong”
It’s alright
she’s my right-hand man
she says God has got his own guest list
When the engine’s on
all the static just goes away
and the fools in the straw
their opinions hold no sway
If I’m a wanted man
all the posters they got it wrong
life’s best things bore me
sometimes life’s best things just bore me
It’s alright
I’ve got my dancing shoes on
I’m gonna walk all the way to Hong Kong
It’s alright
I’ve got it strong
I’m gonna wait through the walls
From the city comes a song
it tells the story of something lost
now if someone could tell me
why life’s best things just bore me
SHROUD
Sha la la
He had come to her
like a king comes to a crown
like a soul in trouble burns
when it looks upon a shroud
he sold her eyes
for the pennies they cost to cast
he don’t know why
it didn’t last
You, you take me higher
higher than I’d ever go
and if fear is wire
you hot-wire my bones
if it were revealed
you were buried under the ground
you know I’d still kneel
you’re my shroud
Is that what you want to do?
Sha la la la la
TRY IT (written by Karla Richardson)
I’d climb up your chimney
I’d even go hunting
kill all the boars with my bare mouth
suck out the coal, cause I know it’s good for me
Why don’t you try it, see if you like it
I dare you honey
see if you’re angry
I’d balance on a pin for you
I’d skate on a knife
cut out belief of my own need
strike up a pose needing comic relief
Why don’t you try it, see if you like it
I dare you honey
see if you’re angry
I watch, you go, through the roof
through the roof
through the roof
watch it move
watch it move
Why don’t you try it, see if you like it
I dare you honey
see if you’re angry
HOURGLASS
I was born in the year of the Tet Offensive
and the year Steve Austin set foot on the moon
I grew up in color not a single shade wasted
still nothing has come into view
But when someone lies I can tell
when someone dies I hear the bell
beneath the dirt, under the wheel
when something hurts, I can feel
I came of age in the year they shot The Beatles
as if there was a doubt which one it was gonna be
drove around my town just looking for a signal
with the tape deck I screamed “dreaming is free”
I stayed in my room
I learned to play my mother’s broom
I grew my hair just like U2
convinced myself I knew the blues
Life used to be a pair of new shoes
this time I think I bit off more than I can chew
you ask your lover to tell you that you’re through
you wait around for something you can lose
You sit around waiting for a fight that may never come
meanwhile the street is cold and it’s waiting
tonight we’ll see just what it is we’ll do
tonight we’ll see what we can use
Life knocks you around
until you stand and stare it down
when the call comes through clear
rise
SAID AND DONE
When all is said and done
and truth has turned to fables
when bad is no longer fun
and time has turned the tables
You look failure in the face
you hold its bitter taste
and I can hear you thinking
You speak with a book at your tongue
with the wisdom of Jonah
you dance just like a boxing drunk
swing with a fist meant for no one
In the belly of the fish
you make one last wish
and I can hear you thinking
Sometimes you sink
Sometimes you swim
Sometimes you lose
Sometimes you lose bad
and I can hear you thinking
But with the greatest of ease
you grab the trapeze
and I can hear you thinking
Sometimes you wink
sometimes you spin
sometimes you lose
sometimes you lose bad
I can hear you thinking
QUEEN BEE (written by Karla Richardson)
White fur and linen don’t mean a thing
as long as I’m in between
I’ve got an emerald, a ring for you
without your hand to place it upon
Construct a palace, a dream for two
what good’s a house, if nobody’s home
This type of matter doesn’t work well
when you’re trying to get married
this type of matter doesn’t work well
if you’re trying to get married
Rain without clouds, bliss without dealing
with the bee queen
rain without clouds, bliss without dealing
with the bee queen
SUGAR CONE
Sugar cone
CRUSH
Call it treason
a break in trust
call it the season
call it lust
behind the glasses
a smiling phantom
crush
A sudden call
empty receiver
intuition
or clever theater
a broken step
see what comes next
crush
I want to see you
I want to see you
I want to see you
I got a crush
Is she illusion?
or sheer perfection
light of day
or dark confection
the honey sweeter
the stinger neater
crush
MUSCLE CAR
White boy, black city
and history won’t let it bend around me
show me, no liberal pity
losers hate to see a winner gloat
but it’s so easy
in the wake
it’s such breezy
real estate
Power and position fade
when you try to get behind the cathode face
dance hall, empty floor
the People Mover’s moving around the core
but it’s so sleepy
when it gets late
it’s so breezy
like the batcave
Take me for a ride in your muscle car
show me all the places that you know
tell me where all the people are
where did all of Henry’s money go
man confess
Take me for a ride in your muscle car
show me where the Tigers use to play
tell me, is the river far?
was Black Bottom all the things they used to say?
man confess
Take me for a ride in your muscle car
show me all the places that you know
open up your petals
dust off your medals
in the city
in your muscle car
BOMBAY (written by Karla Richardson)
Baby smile man,
practically give him my guitar
baby smile man,
practically give him my guitar
drive his big car,
stereo companion, ears bleed
drive his big car,
stereo companion, ears bleed
I’m going to Bombay, make it in a day,
got a place to stay
Apple juice nectar,
refrigerator waits to turn on
Apple juice nectar,
refrigerator waits to turn on
baby drives fast, clouds can catch up,
forget dilemma
baby drives fast, clouds can catch up,
forget dilemma
Get away…get away…get away
GRIEF
It’s okay to stare
to be made aware
we all have our scars
we all live in our cars
and I made a mistake
I made a promise I couldn’t keep
and I thought I’d skate
instead I’m stuck in the crease
Grief
And I’ve got a mean streak
running through my head
I’ve got a mean streak
it won’t die until I’m dead
I can’t change the channel
I can’t press delete
it’s a roman candle
burning there at my feet
Grief
Of all the people
dragging skin and bone
I think this one
God has truly left on her own
and there’s no anger
there’s nothing to say
except when I see her
it just ruins my whole day
Grief
all songs © 1997 American Mars