Wilco

Wilco (The Song)

Are you under the impression,
This isn't your life?
Do you dabble in depression?
Is someone twisting a knife in your back?
Are you being attacked?
Oh, this is a fact that you need to know,

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Wilco,
Wilco,
Wilco will love you Baby,

Are times getting tough?
Are the roads you travel rough?
Have you had enough of the old?
Tired of being exposed to the cold?
The stare of your stereo,
Put on your headphones before you explode

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Wilco,
Wilco,
Wilco will love you baby,

There're so many wars that just can't be won,
Even before the battle's begun,
This is an aural arms open wide,
A sonic shoulder for you to cry on,

Wilco,
Wilco will love you baby,

Is someone twisting a knife in your back?
Are you being attacked?
Oh this is a fact, that you need to know,

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Wilco,
Wilco,
Wilco, Wilco will love you Baby

A Shot in the Arm

The ashtray says You were up all night When you went to bed With your darkest mind Your pillow wept And covered your eyes And you finally slept While the sun caught fire You've changed We fell in love In the key of C We walked along Down by the sea You followed me down The neck to D And fell again Into the sea You changed Oh, you've changed Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm Something in my veins Bloodier than blood something in my veins Bloodier than blood something in my veins Bloodier than blood something in my veins Bloodier than blood The ashtray says You were up all night When you went to bed With your darkest mind You changed Oh you've changed What you once were isn't what You want to be any more What you once were isn't what You want to be any more What you once were isn't what You want to be any more What you once were isn't what You want to be any more What you once were isn't what You want to be any more  Instrumental credits: Jeff Tweedy – vocals, acoustic and 12-string guitars, synthesizers Jay Bennett – lap steel, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, drums John Stirratt – bass Ken Coomer – timpani

Bull Black Nova

It’s in my hair
It’s on my clothes
It’s in the river over the road
It’s shining down, my angry star
Hanging on the hood of my car

I’m not going far
I’m not going far

It’s coming down
They’re coming up the shoulders
What have they found?
I wonder if they know
I’m in a bull black Chevy Nova
Silhouetted by the setting sun

This can’t be undone
This can’t be undone

If I’m the one with blood on my sofa
Blood in the sink, blood in the trunk
High at the wheel of a bull black Nova
Then I’m sorry as the setting sun

This can’t be undone
Can’t be outrun

It’s in my head
There’s blood in the sink
I can’t calm down
I can’t think
I keep calling there’s blood in the trunk
I can’t calm down

Pick up
Pick up

You Are My Face

I remember my mother’s Sister’s husband’s brother Working in the goldmine full-time Filling in for sunshine Filing into tight lines Of ordinary beehives The door screams I hate you Hate you hanging around my blue jeans Why is there no breeze No currency of leaves No current through the water wire No feelings I can see I trust no emotion I believe in locomotion But I've turned to rust as we've discussed Though I must have let you down Too many times In the dirt and the dust I have no idea how this happens All of my maps have been overthrown Happenstance has changed my plans So many times my heart has been outgrown Now everybody’s feeling all alone Can’t tell you who I am When everybody’s feeling all alone Can’t tell you who I am I am looking forward Toward the shadows tracing bones Our faces stitched and sewing Our houses hemmed into homes Trying to be thankful Our stories fit into phones And our voices lift so easily A gift given accidentally When we’re not sure We’re not alone Written by Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline Instrumental Credits Jeff Tweedy – vocals, electric guitar John Stirratt – vocals, bass Glenn Kotche – drums Mikael Jorgensen – piano Nels Cline – lead electric 12-string Pat Sansone – vocals, acoustic guitar, Hammond A100 organ Jim O’Rourke – feedback

One Wing

We once belonged to a bird
We cast a shadow on this world
You were a blessing, and I was a curse
I did my best not to make things worse
For you

That isn’t true
I always knew this would be your fate
This is what happens when wings separate
This happens to all dead weight
Eventually

We may as well be made of stone
We can’t be flown
One wing will never fly
Neither yours nor mine, I fear
We can only wave goodbye

One wing will never ever fly
Neither yours nor mine
One wing will never ever fly, dear
Neither yours nor mine, I fear
We can only wave goodbye

One wing will never ever fly, dear
Neither yours nor mine, I fear
We can only wave goodbye

Bye, bye
Bye, bye
Bye, bye
Bye, bye

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

I am an American aquarium drinker
I assassin down the avenue
I'm hiding out in the big city blinking
What was I thinking when I let go of you

Let's forget about the tongue-tied lightning
Let's undress just like cross-eyed strangers
This is not a joke so please stop smiling
What was I thinking when I said it didn't hurt

I want to glide through those brown eyes dreaming
Take you from the inside (baby) hold on tight
You were so right when you said I've been drinking
What was I thinking when we said good night

I want to hold you in the bible black predawn
You're quite a quiet domino bury me now
Take off your band aid cuz I don't believe in touchdowns
What was I thinking when we said hello

I always thought that if I held you tightly
You would always love me like you did back then
Then I fell asleep in the city kept blinking
What was I thinking when I let you back in

I am trying to break your heart
I am trying to break your heart
But still I'd be lying if I said it wasn't easy
I am trying to break your heart

Disposable Dixie cup drinker
I assassin down the avenue
I've been hiding out in the big city blinking
What was I thinking when I let go of you

(I'm the man who loves you)
   

Muzzle Of Bees

There’s a random painted highway
And a muzzle of bees
My sleeves have come unstitched
From climbing your tree

When dogs laugh some say they’re barking
I don’t think they’re mean
Some people get so frightened
The fences in between

The sun gets passed from tree to tree
Silently
Then back to me
With a breeze blown through
Pushed up against the sea
Finally back to me

I’m assuming you got my message
On your machine
I’m assuming you love me
And you know what that means

The sun gets passed from sea to sea
Silently
And back to me
With a breeze blown through
Pushed up above the leaves
With a breeze blowing through
My head upon your knee

Half of it’s you
Half is me

Half of it’s you
Half is me

Instrumental Credits
Jeff Tweedy Vocals, Acoustic Baritone 12 String & Lead Guitar
John Stirratt Piano, Background Vocals
Glenn Kotche Drums
Leroy Bach Bass
Mikael Jorgensen Piano & Farfisa Organ
Jim O'Rourke Acoustic Guitar & Piano

Radio Cure


Cheer up
Honey I hope you can
There is something wrong with me
My mind is filled with silvery stuff
Honey kisses clouds of fluff
Shoulders shrugging off

Cheer up
Honey I hope you can
There is something wrong with me
My mind is filled with radio cures
Electronic surgical words

Picking apples for the kings and queens of things I've never seen
Oh, distance has no way
Of making love understandable

Cheer up
Honey I hope you can
There is something wrong with me
My mind is filled with silvery stars
Honey kisses clouds of love

Picking apples for the kings and queens of things I've never seen
Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable
Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable
Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable
Oh, distance has no way of making love understandable
Cheer up
Honey I hope you can

Impossible Germany

Impossible Germany
Unlikely Japan

Wherever you go
Wherever you land
I’ll say what this means to me
I’ll do what I can

Impossible Germany
Unlikely Japan

(The) fundamental problem
We all need to face
This is important
But I know you’re not listening
Oh I know you’re not listening

If this was still new to me
I wouldn’t understand

Impossible Germany
Unlikely Japan

But this is what love is for
To be out of place
Gorgeous and alone
Face to face

With no larger problems
That need to be erased
Nothing more important than to know
Someone’s listening
Now I know

You’ll be listening

Written by Jeff Tweedy and Wilco

I'll Fight

I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go
I’ll go for you
I’ll fight, I’ll fight, I’ll fight
I’ll fight for you
I’ll kill, I’ll kill, I’ll  kill
I’ll kill for you
I will, I will, I will

I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go
I’ll go for you
I’ll fight, I’ll fight, I’ll fight
I’ll fight for you
I’ll die, I’ll die, I’ll die
I’ll die for you
I will, I will, I will

And if I die, I’ll die, I’ll die alone
On some forgotten hill
Abandoned by the mill
All my blood will spring and spill
I’ll thrash the air, then be still

You’ll wake with a start from a dream
And know that I am gone
You’ll feel it in your heart but not for very long

You’ll rise each day as planned
Your will as your command
And stand each Sunday
A hymnal steady in your hand

And you’ll sing to yourself the rising,
falling melody
That you could never read
Without the choir’s lead
Still alone and lost indeed
And your soul will not be free

I will go, I will go, I will go
Into war’s waters, I will wade
And I will know without remorse
Or regret the fairness of our trade

For you to live, I took your place
A deal was made and I was paid
And in gold as I was told
With a place where my body could be laid

You will steer your life and die old in bed at home
Surrounded by your peers
Without suffering or fear
Grandchildren far and near
And none will shed a tear
For their love no longer here

I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go
I’ll go for you
I will
I’ll fight, I’ll fight, I’ll fight
I’ll fight for you
I will, I will, I will

I’ll kill, I’ll kill, I’ll kill
I’ll kill for you
I will
I’ll die, I’ll die, I’ll die
I’ll die for you
I will, I will, I will

And if I die
I’ll die, I’ll die alone
Like Jesus on the cross
My faith cannot be tossed
My life will not be lost
If my love comes across

Handshake Drugs

I was chewing gum
For something to do
The blinds were being pulled
Down on the dew
Inside out of love
What a laugh I was looking for you

The saxophones
Started blowing me down
I was buried in sound
And the taxi cabs were driving me around
To the handshake drugs I bought downtown
To the handshake drugs I bought downtown

They were translating poorly
I felt like a clown
I looked like someone I used to know
I felt alright
And if I ever was myself
I wasn’t that night

Oh it’s ok for you to say what you want from me
I believe that’s the only way for me to be
Exactly what you want me to be

Oh it’s ok for you to say what you want from me
I believe that’s the only way for me to be
Exactly what you want me to be

I was chewing gum
For something to do
The blinds were being pulled
Down on the dew
Inside out of love
What a laugh I was looking for you

The saxophones
Started blowing me down
I was buried in sound
And the taxi cabs were driving me around
To the handshake drugs I bought downtown
To the handshake drugs I bought downtown

Oh it’s ok for you to say what you want from me
I believe that’s the only way for me to be
Exactly what you want me to be

Exactly what do you want me to be

Instrumental Credits Jeff Tweedy Vocals, Electric & Acoustic Guitar John Stirratt Bass & Background Vocals Glenn Kotche Drums Leroy Bach Piano Mikael Jorgensen RMI Rock-si-chord Jim O'Rourke Electric Rhythm Guitar Tim Barnes Percussion

Sonny Feeling

I was on my way home
From high school
Stuck at the crossing
I dug in for a duel

But at the last moment
I buried the brakes
My life split in two directions
Into two separate fates

I got on the last flight
To Amsterdam
But couldn’t hit the runway
So we took off again

“Aw, there’s no need to worry”
The captain cut in
“The winds are less angry
Over in Berlin”

You know it’s true
The other shoe
It waits for you
What can you do?
Remember to show gratitude
The darkest night is nothing new

Sonny’s got a problem
All the mini-mart clerks know
She knows nothing of Eminem’s
Suburban gangster flow

Oh maybe it’s random
How each moment unfolds
It didn’t feel like the wrong time or place
Until they cut off her clothes

A sunny feeling is taken away
A sunny feeling is taken away
A sunny feeling is taken away
A sunny feeling is taken away

I’m on my way home
From my high school
I’m always contemplating
Why the kids are still cruel
Oh
The kids are still cruel

A sunny feeling is taken away
A sunny feeling is taken away
A sunny feeling is taken away
Some of the feeling gets taken away

Jesus, Etc.

Jesus, don't cry
You can rely on me honey
You can combine anything you want
I'll be around
You were right about the stars
Each one is a setting sun

Tall buildings shake
Voices escape singing sad sad songs
Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
Bitter melodies turning your orbit around

Don't cry
You can rely on me honey
You can come by any time you want
I'll be around
You were right about the stars
Each one is a setting sun

Tall buildings shake
Voices escape singing sad sad songs
Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
Bitter melodies turning your orbit around

Voices whine
Skyscrapers are scraping together
Your voice is smoking
Last cigarettes are all you can get
Turning your orbit around

Our love
Our love
Our love is all we have
Our love
Our love is all of God's money
Everyone is a burning sun

Tall buildings shake
Voices escape singing sad sad songs
Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
Bitter melodies turning your orbit around

Voices whine
Skyscrapers are scraping together
Your voice is smoking
Last cigarettes are all you can get
Turning your orbit around

Last cigarettes are all you can get
Turning your orbit around

Last cigarettes are all you can get
Turning your orbit around

Theologians

Theologians they don’t know nothing
About my soul
About my soul

I’m an ocean
And this emotion
Slow motion, slow motion

Illiterati lumin fedei
God is with us everyday
That illiterate light
Is with us every night

Theologians, oh they don’t know nothing
About my soul
Oh they don’t know

They thin my heart with little things
And my life with change
Oh in so many ways
I find more missing every day

Theologians

I’m going away
Where you will look for me
Where I’m going you cannot come
No one’s ever gonna take my life from me
I lay it down
A ghost is born
A ghost is born
A ghost is born

I am a notion
I am all emotion
I am a cherry ghost
Cherry ghost
Hey I’m a cherry ghost
Cherry ghost

I'm the Man Who Loves You

All I can see
Is black and white
And white and pink
With blades of blue
That lay between
The words I think
On a page
I was meaning
To send to you
I couldn't tell
If it would
Bring my heart
The way I wanted
When I started
Writing this letter to you

But if I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you

All I can be
Is a busy sea
Of spinning wheels
And hands that feel
For stones to throw
And feet that run
But come back home
It makes no difference
Ever known
Makes no difference
Ever known to me

But if I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you

All I can see
Is black and white
And white and pink
With blades of blue
That lay between
The words I think
On a page
I was meaning
To send to you
I couldn't tell
If it would
Bring my heart
The way I wanted
When I started
Writing this letter to you

If I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you

If I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you

If I could
You know I would
Just hold your hand
And you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you

I'm the man who loves you

I'm the man who loves you

I'm the man who loves you

 

Hummingbird

his goal in life was to be an echo
riding alone, town after town, toll after toll
a fixed bayonet through the great southwest
to forget her

she appears
in his dreams
but in his car, and in his arms
a dream could mean anything
a cheap sunset on a television set could upset her
but he never could

remember to remember me
standing still in your past
floating fast like a hummingbird

his goal in life was to be an echo
the type of sound that floats around
and then back down like a feather
but in the deep chrome canyons of the loudest Manhattans
no one could hear him
or anything

so he slept, on a mountain
in a sleeping bag underneath the stars,
he would lie awake and count them
but the great fountain spray of the great Milky Way
would never let him
die alone

remember to remember me
standing still in your past
floating fast like a hummingbird
remember to remember me
standing still in your past
floating fast like a hummingbird
a hummingbird
a hummingbird

Instrumental Credits


Jeff Tweedy Vocals
John Stirratt Electric Rhythm Guitar & Background Vocals
Glenn Kotche Drums
Mikael Jorgensen Piano
Jim O'Rourke Bass & Electric Lead Guitar
Frankie Montouro Hammer Dulcimer
Karen Waltuch Viola

Poor Places

It’s my father's voice trailing off Sailors sailing off in the morning For the air conditioned rooms At the top of the stairs His jaw's been broken His bandage is wrapped too tight His fangs have been pulled And I really want to see you tonight There's bourbon on the breath Of the singer you love so much He takes all his words from the books That you don't read anyway His jaw's been broken His bandage is wrapped too tight His fangs have been pulled And I really want to see you tonight Someone ties a bow In my backyard to show me love My voice is climbing walls Smoking and I want love My jaw's been broken My heart is wrapped in ice My fangs have been pulled And I really want to see you tonight It makes no difference to me How they cried all over overseas When it's hot in the poor places tonight I'm not going outside They cried all over overseas It makes no difference to me When it's hot in the poor places tonight I'm not going outside It's hot in the poor places tonight I'm not going outside I'm not going outside I'm not going outside

Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Spiders are singing in the salty breeze
Spiders are filling out tax returns
Spinning out webs of deductions and melodies
On a private beach in Michigan

Why can’t we wish their kisses good
Why do they miss when their kisses should
Fly like winging birds fighting for the keys
On a private beach in Michigan

This recent rash of kidsmoke
All these telescopic poems
It’s good to be alone

Why can’t they say what they want
Why can’t they just say what they need
Come clean, listen and talk
Hello private caller
ID blocked

The sun will rise, we’ll climb into cars
The future has a valley and a shortcut around
Who will wear the crown of drowning award
Hold a private light
On the Michigan shore

Fool me with a kiss of kidsmoke
From a microscopic home
It’s good to be alone

I’ll be in my bed
You can be the stone
That raises from the dead
And carries us all home

There’s no blood on my hands
I just do as I’m told

Hate It Here

I try to stay busy
I do the dishes, I mow the lawn
I try to keep myself occupied
Even though I know you’re not coming home

I try to keep the house nice and neat
I make my bed I change the sheets
I even learned how to use the washing machine
But keeping things clean doesn’t change anything

What am I gonna do when I run out of shirts to fold?
What am I gonna do when I run out of lawn to mow?
What am I gonna do if you never come home?
Tell me, what am I gonna do?

I hate it
I hate it here
When you’re gone

I caught myself thinking
I caught myself thinking once again
Have to try to keep my mind out of this
Try not to pretend

I’ll check the phone
I’ll check the mail
I’ll check the phone again and I call your mom
She says you’re not there and I should take care

I hate it here
When you’re gone
I hate it
I hate it here
When you’re gone

I try to stay busy
I take out the trash, I sweep the floor
Try to keep myself occupied
Cause I know you don’t live here anymore

Written by Jeff Tweedy and Wilco

Walken

I’m walking
All by myself
I was talking to myself about you
What am I going to do

I was singing
This song about you
I was thinking about singing
This song for you

The more I think about it
The more I know it’s true
The more I think about it
The more I’m sure it’s you
Honey I think you’re just right
You’re just right

I was walking
Like I said by myself
I was talking
To myself about you
Like I always do

The more I think about it
The more I know it’s true
The more I think about it
The more I’m sure it’s you
Honey, I think you’re just right
You’re just right

The more I think about it
The more I know it’s true
The more I think about it
The more I’m sure it’s you
Honey, I think you’re just right
You’re just right

Written by Jeff Tweedy and Wilco Instrumental Credits Jeff Tweedy – vocals, electric guitar John Stirratt – bass Glenn Kotche – drums Mikael Jorgensen – piano, Hammond B3 organ Nels Cline – lap steel Pat Sansone – electric guitar

Heavy Metal Drummer

I sincerely miss
Those heavy metal bands
I used to go see
On the landing in the summer
She fell in love with the drummer
She fell in love with the drummer
She fell in love

Shiny shiny pants
Bleached blond hair
A double kick drum
By the river in the summer
she fell in love with the drummer
another
then another
she fell in love

I miss the innocence I've known
Playing Kiss covers
Beautiful and stoned

Unlock my body
And move myself to dance
Into warm liquid
flowing blowing glass
classical music blasting
masks the ringing in my ears

Oh I sincerely miss
Those heavy metal bands
I used to go see
On the landing in the summer
She fell in love with the drummer
She fell in love with another
She fell in love

I miss the innocence I've known
Playing Kiss covers
Beautiful and stoned

I miss the innocence I've known
Playing Kiss covers
Beautiful and stoned

Playing Kiss covers
Beautiful and stoned

Playing Kiss covers
Beautiful and stoned

 

Can't Stand It

The way things go You get so low Struggle to find your skin Well hey ho Look out below Your prayers will never be answered again

Phones still ring And singers sing Speakers are speaking in code What now Well anyhow Our prayers will never be answered again

You know it's all beginning (it’s all beginning) To feel like it's ending (feels like it’s ending) No love's as random As God's love I can't stand it I can’t stand it

The way things get You get so high Funny how we make new friends Well hey ho I gotta go My prayers will never be answered again

You know it's all beginning (it’s all beginning) To feel like it's ending (feels like it’s ending) No love's as random As God's love I can’t stand it I can't stand it

Speakers speaking Speakers speaking Speaking in code

Speakers speaking Speakers speaking Speaking in code

You know it's all beginning (it’s all beginning) To feel like pretending (feel like pretending) No love's as random As my love I can’t stand it I can't stand it

Your prayers will never be answered again Your prayers will never be answered again Your prayers will never be answered again Your prayers will never be answered again

Instrumental credits: Jeff Tweedy – vocals, electric guitar, backing vocals Jay Bennett – piano, keyboards John Stirratt – bass Ken Coomer – drums

I'm A Wheel

hold on, you risk exciting me
once in Germany someone said nein
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine

hold back, don’t invite me
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine
once in Germany someone said nein

I’m a wheel
I will
turn you

I invented a sister, populated with knives

I’m a wheel
I will
turn on you

um,

I’m a wheel, I will
I’m a wheel, I will
I’m a wheel, I will
turn on you

turn on you turn on you turn on you turn on turn on…