Story to Tell
I’ve been through hell
On my way to hell
I only fought with myself
So I’d have a story to tell
Once I cut off my arm
I sewed it back on all wrong
Now I don’t have to bend
To reach the bottom shelf
When I need a story to tell
The world is always on the brink
And love is dumber than you think
Singing songs of death and doom
With all the voices inside of you
Once I started a war
But I don’t fight anymore
I held the line until the old oak fell
I was left behind
With a story to tell
The world is always on the brink
Hearts are smarter than you think
Writing songs of death and doom
For all the voices inside of you
Once I looked you in the eye
And I told you lies
How I wish I could have treated you well
I wish I had more than
A story to tell
The world is always on the brink
Love is dumber than you think
Singing songs of death and doom
With all the voices inside of you
I’ve been through hell
On my way to hell
I only fought with myself
So I’d have a story to tell
written by Jeff Tweedy
Normal American Kids
I remind myself of myself long ago
Before I could drive, before I could vote
All of the time, holding a grudge
Before I knew people could die just because
Shot from a sling, head full of buzz
I knew what I liked was not very much
High at the time, tied to the grid
Always afraid of those normal American kids
Oh all of my spirit leaked like a cut
I knew what I needed would never be enough
I was too high to change my bid
Always afraid to be a normal American kid
Always hated normal American
Empty summer days
Lightning crazed and cracked like an egg
High behind the garden shed
Painting myself as a normal American kid
I always hated it
High as high as high can loom
Under the sheets in my bedroom
I was as high as high can get
Always afraid of the normal American kids
Oh bongs and jams and carpeted vans
Hate everything I don’t understand
High times tightening the lid
Had to get away from those normal American kids
Always hated those normal American kids
Always hated those normal American kids
New Madrid [Uncle Tupelo]
All my daydreams are disasters
She's the one I think I love
Rivers burn and then run backwards
For her, that's enough
They all come from New York City
And they woke me up at dawn
She walked with me to the fountain
And she held onto my arm
Come on, do what you did
Roll me under New Madrid
Shake my baby and please bring her back
'Cause death won't even be still
Caroms over the landfill
Buries us all in its broken back
There's a man of conviction
And although he's getting old
Mr. Browning has a prediction
And we've all been told
So come on back from New York City
Roll your trucks in at dawn
Walk with me to the fountain
And hold onto my arm
Come on, do what you did
Roll me under New Madrid
Shake my baby and please bring her back
'Cause death won't even be still
Caroms over the landfill
Buries us all in its broken back
originally appears on Anodyne / Uncle Tupelo
written by Jeff Tweedy
Remember the Mountain Bed
Do you still sing of the mountain bed we made of
limbs and leaves: Do you still sigh there near the
sky where the holly berry bleeds: You laughed as I
covered you over with leaves, face, breast, hips
and thighs, You smiled when I said the leaves
were just the color of your eyes.
Rosin smells and turpentine smells from
eucalyptus and pine Bitter tastes of twigs we
chewed where tangled woodvines twine Trees held
us in on all four sides so thick we could not see I
could not see any wrong in you, and you saw none
in me.
Your arm was brown against the ground, your
cheeks part of the sky, As your fingers played with
grassy moss, and limber you did lie: Your stomach
moved beneath your shirt and your knees were in
the air Your feet played games with mountain
roots as you lay thinking there.
Below us the trees grew clumps of trees, raised
families of trees, and they As proud as we tossed
their heads in the wind and flung good seeds
away: The sun was hot and the sun was bright
down in the valley below Where people starved
and hungry for life so empty come and go.
There in the shade and hid from the sun we freed
our minds and learned Our greatest reason for
being here, our bodies moved and burned There
on our mountain bed of leaves we learned life's
reason why The People laugh and love and dream,
they fight, they hate to die.
The smell of your hair I know is still there, if most
of our leaves are blown, Our words still ring in the
brush and the trees where singing seeds are sown
Your shape and form is dim, but plain, there on
our mountain bed I see my life was brightest
where you laughed and laid you head...
I learned the reason why man must work and how
to dream big dreams, To conquer time and space
and fight the rivers and the seas I stand here filled
with my emptiness now and look at city and land
And I know why farms and cities are built by hot,
warm, nervous hands.
I crossed many states just to stand here now, my
face all hot with tears, I crossed city, and valley,
desert, and stream, to bring my body here: My
history and future blaze bright in me and all my joy
and pain Go through my head on our mountain
bed where I smell your hair again.
All this day long I linger here and on in through
the night My greeds, desires, my cravings, hopes,
my dreams inside me fight: My loneliness healed,
my emptiness filled, I walk above all pain Back to
the breast of my woman and child to scatter my
seeds again.
Published by Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. (BMI)/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing
Corp./Words-Ampersand Music (BMI)/You Want A Piece Of This Music (ASCAP),
administered by Bug Music
Words: Woody Guthrie 1944
Music: Jeff Tweedy/Jay Bennett 1999
Leroy Bach: piano
Jay Bennett: organ, nylon-string guitar, backing vocal
Ken Coomer: drums
John Stirratt: bass, backing vocal
Jeff Tweedy: vocal, 12-string acoustic guitar
A Lifetime to Find
Oh death
Oh death
I was just getting dressed
The place is a mess
I was hoping you’d forget
But I can feel you in my chest
I can feel you in my chest
Oh yes
Oh yes
Death never rests
I can see you’ve done your best
The problem is just this
It’s too late for regrets
I am here to collect
It takes a lifetime to find
A life like the life
You had in mind
It takes a lifetime to find
A life like the life
You had in mind
Now you’re mine
Oh death
I confess
I should have known what to expect
But you’re so hard to accept
Last time I checked
I was neck and neck
As healthy as the next
Oh Yes
You were blessed
Blessed in the past tense
But it’s too late now
To make it make sense
It’s too late to pretend
This day won’t ever end
It takes a lifetime to find
A life like the life
You had in mind
It takes a lifetime to find
A life like the life
You had in mind
Now you’re mine
So alright
Today’s the day and
Tonight is the night
There’s no reason there’s no rhyme
It’s just time to go goodbye
But why can’t you try
To ease what’s on
my poor mind
O’ Jeff
Don’t obsess
It’s the best that I can do
To help you see the light
And help the light to see you
It’s true there was a truth
That was you and only you ever knew
It takes a lifetime to find
The life like the life you had in mind
It takes a lifetime to find
The life like the life you had in mind
It takes a lifetime to find
The life like the life you had in mind
Now you’re mine
written by Jeff Tweedy
Please Tell My Brother (Golden Smog)
Please tell my brothers
I love them still
Over the mountains
On their phone bill
I should call more often
But they know I never will
Please tell my brothers
I love them still
Please tell my sister
I miss her too
My nieces and nepfews
And their swimming pools
When I think about her
Her skies are blue
Please tell my sister
I miss her too
Please tell my father
I love him still
Forget the railroad
And all those bills
Head for the cooler
And drink your fill
Please tell my father
I love him still
Listen dear mother
I miss you the most
And as I travel
From coast to coast
I feel your love
And I feel your ghost
Listen dear mother
I miss you the most
Listen dear mother
I miss you the most
written by Jeff Tweedy
I Am My Mother
Dangerous dreams have been detected
Streaming over the southern border
As bad as it seems it’s worse than expected
Fleeing through the night corridor
Oh I’ve done the math
With a stick in the sand
I’ve kicked the can
Into a dead end
Oh I can’t mend
Every broken fence
I’m a new man
But I am still my mother
If it was up to me I would have rejected
The idea that money could keep you poor
And as dark as it seems it’s worse than neglected
When you need the one who loves no more
Oh I’ve done the math
With a stick in the sand
I’ve kicked the can
Into a dead end
Oh I can’t mend
Every broken fence
I’m a new man
But I am still my mother
written by Jeff Tweedy
The Universe
Talk to me
I don’t want to hear poetry
Say it plain
Like how you really speak
The universe
For what it’s worth
Everything is listening
For what it means
Spit it out
Every doubt
Poison flower
We can all agree
The universe
For better or worse
It’s the only place
To be
I’m serious
I don’t really care
I’m serious
I don’t really care about a single thing
Everything is listening
For what it means
Everything is listening
For what it means
So talk to me
I don’t want to hear poetry
Just say it plain
Like how you really speak
The universe
Could be worse
It’s the only place
There is to be
written by Jeff Tweedy
Even I Can See
If I may have your attention please
I’ll tell you about my wife and what she means to me
How fiercely she believes what she believes
I laugh and I cry
I live and I die
By her side
From time to time she puts her hand in mine
Holds me like a sharp shiny key
I was never one who needed to believe
In a god hard to find
But I found by her side
There’s a god
Even I can see
They say no work of art is ever done
Carved in bark or yet to come
Rivers run low and flow with only sky
Even gods have to die
But once in a while
There’s a god
Even I can see
KC Rain
I was born a little sad
I never knew what I had
Mom and dad let it slide
No wonder I'm never satisfied
I swayed and I swooned
I howled at the moon
Tied myself to the tide
No wonder I'm never satisfied
High in the morning
High in the afternoon
High in evening
When I'm sleeping
I'm with you
I only care about the cat
Some of this, a little of that
Fat chance I'll sing the blues
Like an old welcome mat
I'm filthy and I'm flat
Oh ain't that the truth
No wonder I'm so confused
High in the morning
High in the afternoon
High in evening
When I'm sleeping
I'm with you
written by Jeff Tweedy (need to confirm lyrics with Jeff)
Sky Blue Sky
Oh, the band marched on in formation
The brass was phasing
Tunes I couldn’t place
Windows open and
Raining in
Maroon, yellow, blue, gold and gray
The drunks were ricocheting
The old buildings downtown
Empty so long ago
Windows broken and dreaming
So happy to leave what was my home
With a sky blue sky
This rotten time
Wouldn’t seem so bad to me now
Oh, I didn’t die
I should be satisfied
I survived
That’s good enough for now
With a sky blue sky
This rotten time
Wouldn’t seem so bad to me now
Oh, if I didn’t die
I should be satisfied
I survived
That's good enough for now
Written by Jeff Tweedy
Instrumental Credits
Jeff Tweedy – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
John Stirratt – bass
Glenn Kotche – drums
Mikael Jorgensen – piano
Nels Cline – lap steel
Pat Sansone – Chamberlin
Either Way
Maybe the sun will shine today
The clouds will blow away
Maybe I won’t feel so afraid
I will try to understand
Either way
Maybe you still love me
Maybe you don’t
Either you will or you won’t
Maybe you just need some time alone
I will try to understand
Everything has its plan
Either way
I’m gonna stay
Right for you
Maybe the sun will shine today
The clouds will roll away
Maybe I won’t be so afraid
I will understand everything has its plan
Either way
Written by Jeff Tweedy
Instrumental Credits
Jeff Tweedy – vocals, electric guitar
John Stirratt – bass
Glenn Kotche – drums
Mikael Jorgensen – piano
Nels Cline – lead electric gutiar
Pat Sansone – Hammond A100 organ
Karen Waltuch – viola, violin
Ambulance
Once just by chance
I made a friend in an ambulance
I was half man half broken glass
She had a needle but I wasn’t afraid
I’d slap the cuffs right on my wrists
I’d get so high I’d arrest myself
For honeysuckle on a buckle
Broken teeth biting on my belt
High in a trance
My life smeared right past
In a blue light
I thought she was dancing
But she was just holding my cold hand
Cause everything can shine
Even the devil sometimes
And while I was busy dying
My lord she made some other plan
Traveling salesmen carrying trunks
You can smell them coming like skunks
In the distance, if your eyes can focus
That’s how God once spoke to us
Trying not to laugh
They pronounced me dead at half past
And that priest he pissed his pants
When he heard me start to say hello
Everything can shine
Even the devil sometimes
While I was busy dying
My lord she made some other plan
written by Jeff Tweedy
Country Song Upside-Down
I found
A
Song
Upside-down
A country song
Like a trout
Dying sky and water
Rainbow
Flickering out
Inside
A dark
Cabin
The more moonlike
I become
I’m rounding all of my edges
Because
I’m worried
It can’t be sung
This is the gist
It goes
Like this
I found
A
Song
Upside-down
A country song
Without a doubt
Dying sky and water
Rainbow
Flickering out
written by Jeff Tweedy
Kamera
I need a camera to my eye
To my eye reminding
Which lies have I been hiding
Which echoes belong
I've counted out days
To see how far
I've driven in the dark
With echoes in my heart
Phone my family tell them I'm lost on the
Sidewalk
No it's not O.K.
I smashed a camera
I wanna know why
To my eye deciding
Which lies have I been hiding
Which echoes belong
I'm counting on
A heart I know by heart
To walk me through this war
Memories distort
Phone my family tell them I'm lost on the sidewalk
No it's not o.k.
I'm counted out
And no one knows how far (tell them I'm lost)
I've driven in the dark (tell them I'm lost)
With echoes in my heart (tell them I'm lost)
Phone my family tell them I’m lost
(yeah I’m lost)
No it's not O.K.
No it's not O.K.
No it's not O.K.
Passenger Side
Hey, wake up
Your eyes weren't open wide
For the last couple of miles
You've been swerving from side to side
You're gonna make me spill my beer
If you don't learn how to steer
Passenger side
Passenger side
I don't like riding
On the passenger side
Roll another number for the road
You're the only sober person I know
Won't you let me make you a deal
Just get behind the wheel
Passenger side
Passenger side
I don't like riding
On the passenger side
Should've been the driver
Could've been the one
I should've been your lover
But I hadn't seen
Can you take me to the store, and then the bank?
I've got five dollars we can put in the tank
I've got a court date coming this June
I'll be driving soon
Passenger side
Passenger side
I don't like riding
On the passenger side
I don't like riding
On the passenger side
Instrumental credits:
Jeff Tweedy – vocals, acoustic guitar
John Stirratt – bass
Max Johnston – mandolin, fiddle
Ken Coomer – drums
Brian Henneman – small stoned guitar
Radio King (Golden Smog)
Lets go down, together
3 A.M tomorrow night
I’ll take you over anything
Lets go out, together
Broad daylight in the street
I’ll take you anywhere
Your music fills my car
Your voice breaks every time
I’m still wonderin
If I know who you are
I hang on every line
Lets go down, together
Down by the old mainstream
I’ll take you over anything
Lets go back in time
Nineteenfiftynie
I’ll take you, Radio King
Your music fills my car
Your voice breaks every time
I’m still wonderin
If I know who you are
I hang on every line
written by Jeff Tweedy and Gary Louris (appears on Golden Smog album down by the old mainstream)
Laminated Cat (Aka Not For The Season)
Springtime comes and the leaves are back on the trees again
Snipers are harder to see my friends
Weeding out the weekends
Summer comes and gravity undoes you
You're happy because of the lovely way the sunshine bends
Hiding from your close friends
Weeding out the weekends
Candy left over from Halloween
A unified theory of everything
Love left over from lovers leaving
Books, they all know they're not worth reading
It's not for the season
When autumn comes you sit in your chair and you stare
At the TV square
Hiding in the deep end
Weeding out the weekends
Winter comes and the days all start late
There's motion on the boughs where the dark shapes prowl
Feeling out the feelings
Feeling out the feeling
Candy left over from Halloween
A unified theory of everything
Love left over from lovers leaving
Books, they all know they're not worth reading
They're not worth reading
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