Wilco

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

Box Full of Letters

I've got a box full of letters
I think you might like to read
Some things that you might like to see
But they're all addressed to me

I wish I had a lotta answers
'Cause that's the way it should be
For all these questions
Being directed at me

I just can't find the time

To write my mind
The way I want it to read

You'll come back again
And I'll still be your friend

I got a lot of your records
In a separate stack
Some things that I might like to hear, but I
Guess I'll give 'em back

I wish I had a lotta answers
'Cause that's the way it should be
For all these questions
Being directed at me

Just can't find the time
To write my mind
The way I want it to read

You'll come back again
And I'll still be your friend

I can't find the time
To write my mind
The way I want it to read

Just can't find the time
To write my mind
The way I want it to read

Instrumental credits:
Jeff Tweedy – vocals, guitar
John Stirratt – bass, vocals
Max Johnston – dobro
Ken Coomer – drums
Brian Henneman – guitars

Out For A Walk

I went out for a walk looking for a light
Corner store closed early tonight
I thought I could see someone inside
All the lights were off but I needed a light

I had a funny feeling something’s not right
I pressed my nose to the glass and shaded my eyes
So that’s how I know he’s circumcised
Standing naked in the buzz of a neon sign

And you were there too to my surprise
Well I guess I kinda knew so I’d call it a tie
Between him and you who I’d rather see die
But I knew it was me I didn’t want to be alive

It’s easy beginning
When it’s ending it’s hard
I’m not a wise man
Even I understand
When it’s time to get lost

Just got back from the hospital
They can do things now I thought impossible
So that’s how I know life is beautiful
All my thoughts are gone
But my heart is full

It’s easy beginning
When it’s ending it’s hard
I’m not a wise man
Even I understand
When it’s time to get lost

unreleased song written by Jeff Tweedy

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)
   

Gwendolyn

I don’t think I can take another day

Oh I don’t know how I could ever say

I’m OK being so far away

Oh I don’t think that I can take another day

When Gwendolyn, when she starts to speak

To a county police with a plastic cup between her teeth

The sun beating down like a big trombone

That’s right when I start missing home

She holds my hand between her knees

It’s like a dream, I never know what it means

I only know I’m feeling alone

That’s right when I start missing home

Honestly Gwen I’m not ashamed to say

Between you and me I’m relieved they put you away

Sun coming up like a piece of toast

That’s right when I started heading home

That’s right when I started heading home

Well that’s right when I started heading home

Having Been Is No Way To Be

Oh I was naive
My shoes were untied
In heaven everything is just fine
But the phones are dead
And so is the light
And so are you
And honey so am I
But the earth still turns
For the unconcerned
Days pass below like train windows
I was a sapling tree
The birds looked like me
So I begged my nerves to kick me something new
From time to time
I’d watch you sleep
I wonder how much freedom we can dream
And I’m sorry when you wake up to me
I just got tired
Shining steady like a spider web
Is an empty stage
Now people say
“What drugs did you take?”
And “Why don’t you start taking them again?”
What difference would it ever make to them
But they’re not my friends
And if I was dead
What difference would it ever make to them
If I got high
From time to time
I wonder how much freedom you would need
And I’d be sorry when you wake to me
I’m reaching out to you
I’m writing all the time
I don’t see deep but I see far and wide
I see dead trees
But the roots have leaves
Just because I can’t describe it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try
To untwist the knife
To unmake my mind
Having been is no way to be alive
And I’m alive
When I watch you sleep
I wonder how much freedom we need
And I’m here
When you wake up to me
I’m still here
When you wake up to me
 

Cruel Country

I love my country like a little boy
Red
White
And blue

I love my country stupid and cruel
Red
White
And blue

All you have to do is sing in the choir
Kill yourself every once in a while
And sing in the choir

All you have to do is sing in the choir
Set yourself on fire every once in a while
And sing in the choir
With me
With me

I love my country like a little child
Red
White
And blue

I love my country stupid and cruel
Red
White
And blue

All you have to do is sing in the choir
All you have to do is sing in the choir
All you have to do is sing in the choir
With me
With me

written by: Jeff Tweedy

Country Disappeared

Wake up, we’re here
It’s so much worse than we feared
There’s nothing left here
Our country has disappeared

With the winter trees bleeding leaf red blood
And the summer sweet dreaming April blush
But none of that it is ever going to mean as much to me again

Hold out your hand
There’s so much we don’t understand
So stick as close as you can
To all of your best laid plans

You’ve got the white clouds hanging so high above you
You’ve got the helicopters dangling, angling to shoot
The shots to feed the hungry weekend news crew anchormen

So every evening we can watch from above
Crush the cities like a bug
Fold ourselves into each other’s guts
Turn our faces up to the sun

I won’t take no
I won’t let you go
All by yourself
I know you need my help

When the cold light shakes you like a chandelier
The snowflakes break through the atmosphere
And melt on the blue breath of the auctioneers and disappear

So every evening we can watch from above
Crush the cities like a bug
Fold ourselves into each other’s blood
Turn our faces up to the sun

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

In a Future Age

A genuine
Day will come
When the wind
Decides to run
And shakes the stairs
That stab the wall
And turns a page
In the future age

Some trees will bend
And some will fall
But then again
So will us all
Let’s turn our prayers
To outrageous dares
And mark our page
In a future age

High above
The sea of cars
And barking dogs
In fenced-in yards

Instrumental credits:
Jeff Tweedy – vocals, acoustic, bowed and tremolo guitars
Jay Bennett – piano, organ, backing vocals
John Stirratt – bass
Ken Coomer – drums

Venus Stopped the Train

Evergreen

If I get back from wherever I travel
I'll tell you what I've seen
The good and the bad
The hearts and the hassle
In the cities under siege
I'll tell you all about where I have been
And I won't ever leave again
Now you might think it's a lie
When I say I'm going to write
But if I break my pen filling you in
Wouldn't that change your mind
Evergreen
Evergreen
Have you even seen anything?
Evergreen
Whenever I get back from
Wherever I go
I'll look for you in the shade
A marker in the grass
I'll tell you at last
You're not the reason I went away
Sometimes I wish you were the one
Who had left and I had stayed
Evergreen
Evergreen
Have you even seen anything?
Evergreen
Evergreen
Evergreen
Have you even seen anything?
Evergreen

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

Lou Reed Was My Babysitter

I want to sweat
Sweat next to you
With a sticky carpet
Sucking on my shoes
Rock n roll
Ain’t never gonna lose
No

I want you
To dance into me
Spill my drink
I want to feel the kick
Kicking in my teeth
My bleeding heart
Bleeding to the beat
Uh huh

I want you
To blow smoke in my eyes
Smoke in my eyes
I want to shake shake
Shake shake shake
Until my shoes untie
Rock n roll ain’t never gonna die
Not as long as you and I are alive

’Cause rock n roll is dead and the dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die

I want to feel everything
I want to feel everything
I want to hear the idiot sing
Until I can’t feel anything

’Cause rock n roll is dead and the dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die

written by Jeff Tweedy

Reservations

How can I convince you it's me I don't like Not be so indifferent to the look in your eyes When I've always been distant And I've always told lies For love I'm bound by these choices so hard to make I'm bound by the feeling so easy to fake None of this is real Enough to take me From you O I've got reservations About so many things But not about you I know this isn't what you were wanting me to say How can I get closer and be further away From the truth That proves it's beautiful To lie I've got reservations About so many things But not about you I…reservations About so many things But not about you Not about you Not about you Not about you Not about you

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

Let's Go Rain

Oh I’ve heard about Noah’s flood
Washed away a world of sin
Some say destruction is an act of love
And think it should happen again
Let’s go rain
Let's go rain
Again
Let’s go rain
Let's go rain
Again
Once upon a time I was a Christian
I didn’t know I didn’t need to know
Now when the sky speaks I’m going to listen
And when it’s pissing I’ll just figure I’m alone
Let’s go rain
Let's go rain
Again
Let’s go rain
Let's go rain
Again
Oh I should
Build a wooden ark
Wouldn’t you rather live
On an ocean of guitars
Aw c’mon rain
Let’s go rain
Again
Let’s go rain
Let's go rain
Again
Oooooh oooh ooh
Aah aah aaah
Maybe you’re not a believer
Or maybe you don’t have a choice
Or maybe it’s a fever that you haven’t caught yet
‘Cause you haven’t met
Scott McCaughey
Let’s go rain
Let's go rain
Again
Still no rain
Let’s go rain
Again

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

Evicted

Oh I can take a joke but
My clothes are all soaked
It’s too late to be unclear
I’d laugh until I’d die
If it wasn’t my life
If it wasn’t me in the mirror

Am I ever going to see you again?

Maybe I’m a whistle on a lonely old train
I’m crying all the time
Listen to the sound getting further away
Fading deep
Into the night
Am I ever going to see you again?

I’m evicted
From your heart
I deserve it

Black against the shade
Shadow lovers embrace
I look away, I look away
They say heartache
Always fades
I look away I look away

I’m never gonna see you again

I’m evicted
From your heart
I deserve it

Oh I can take a joke but
My clothes are all smoke
It’s too cold to be unclear
I’d laugh until I’m old
If it wasn’t my life
If it wasn’t me in the mirror

I’m never gonna see you again

I’m evicted
From your heart
I deserve it
I’m evicted
From your heart
I deserve it
I deserve it
I deserve it

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

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

You Are Not Alone

You're not alone
I'm with you
I'm lonely too
What's that song
Can't be sung
By two?
My broken home
A broken heart
Isolated and afraid
Open up this is a raid
I want to get it through to you
You're not alone
You're not alone
Every night
I stand in your place
Every tear
On every face
Tastes the same
A broken dream
A broken heart
Isolated and afraid
Open up this is a raid
I wanna get it through to you
You're not alone
An open hand
An open....

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

 

official show poster by Yumi York

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