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
Don't Forget
Don’t forget
Don’t forget you’ve got a key
Yeah a cosmic key
Oh I love you so much
Don’t forget
We’re all blowing in
The interstellar wind
I’m your little galaxy
Don’t forget
Don’t forget sometimes
We all
We all think about dying
Don’t let it kill you
Don’t forget
I won’t forget the long drive
We arrived in time to say goodbye
And the way my roses shook
I won’t overlook
The willows bending by the graves
The very next day in the shade
Sweating in a new suit
I don’t regret
I don’t regret sometimes
We all
We all think about dying
Don’t let it kill you
Don’t forget
Don’t forget to brush your teeth
Or you’ll have a funny smile
You don’t have to smile at me
Don’t forget
Don’t forget sometimes
We all
We all think about dying
Don’t let it kill you
Don’t forget
Don’t forget sometimes
We all
We all think about dying
Oh
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
Some Birds
Some birds
Just sit
Useless
Like fists
I wrestle
On TV
But no one ever
Let’s me win
I lean
On the wall
Like a broom
Confused
By the scope
Of it all
Any fool
Can tell the truth
And though I don’t
Think that I should
Add one
To the sum
Of all that you fear
I’d love to take you down
And leave you there
In my window
I have a twin
I look out
He looks in
He has a point
I applaud
Oh my goodness
Oh my god
Is it my fault
The countrysides
Are so full
Of suicide?
I break bricks
With my heart
But only a fool
Would call it art.
No I don’t
Think that I should
Be one
Of the sum
Of all that you fear
I’d love to take you down
And leave you there
I’d love to take you down
And leave you there
So why fuss
Why not bend
Like a nail
Hammered in
Times are tough
If I recall
Oh it ain’t easy
No not at all
And no I don’t
Think I should
Complete
The sum
Of all that you fear
I’d love to take you down
And leave you there
I’d love to take you down
Down, and leave you there
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)
One Tiny Flower
The grass is growing
All over town
From the cracks in the sidewalks
Where the shops shut down
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
A wheel rolling to a stop
Blocking out the sun
From where I lay
I know I’m the only one
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
The grass is growing
All over town
From the cracks in the sidewalk
Where all the shops shut down
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower
One tiny flower
One tiny flower (I’m jumping over)
One tiny flower (I’m jumping over)
Skeleton
Under my skin
Blowing in
A low gentle wind
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
One tiny flower I’m jumping over
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
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)
New Madrid
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
Love is for Love
Someone’s cell phone
Comes sailing down
The bones of the books
We never found
The lights on the ridge
Winding around
Shadows in their shadows
Drugs on drugs
Crawling on the ground
Love is for love
Scratching at the dead
Golden lawn
A leaning doe
And a shaking fawn
I called for you
Then they were gone
A planet without moons
A clock with no noons
Too late, too soon
Love is for love
I’m counting on
The spitting type
To follow through
All the night
The kind of dark
That shocks and bites
When the light goes on strike
I can't make it to the mic
Love is love
Like is like
Let’s celebrate
For another year
Hunt and kill
Another hollow fear
Ache for someone
Already here
Catching “I don’t care”
In the humming summer air
Love is love
And I’m not going anywhere
written by Jeff Tweedy
I'm Always In Love
Why, I wonder is my heart full of holes
And the feeling goes but my hair keeps growing
Will I set the sun
On a big-wheeled wagon
Well I'm bragging
I'm always in love
When I let go of your throat, sweet throttle
When I clean the lash of your black-belt model
Will I catch the moon
Like a bird in a cage
It's for you I swoon
I'm always in love
I don't get the connection
If this is only a test
I hope I do my best
You know I won't forget
When I fold the cold in my jet-lag palm
When I soak so long I forget my mother
Will I set the sun
On a big-wheeled wagon
Well I'm bragging
I'm always in love
It's a drag I snag
Well I'm always in love
Well I'm worried
I'm always in love
I'm worried
I'm worried
I'm worried
I'm always in love
I'm worried
I'm worried
I'm worried
I'm always in love
I'm worried
I'm worried
I'm worried
I'm always in love
I'm worried
I'm worried
I'm worried
I'm always in love
Instrumental credits:
Jeff Tweedy – vocals, baritone guitar
Jay Bennett – bass, piano, keyboards, drums, backing vocals
John Stirratt – piano, backing vocals
Ken Coomer – drumsDawned On Me
I’ve been young
I’ve been old
I’ve been hurt
And consoled
Heart of coal
Heart of gold
So I’m told
I’ve been lost
I’ve been found
I’ve been taken
By the sound
Of my own voice
The voices in my head
I can’t help it if I fall in
Love with you again I’m calling
Just to let you know
It dawned on me
Every night is a test
To the east from the west
The sun rises and sets
That’s the sun at it’s best
I forget, then I know
I’d regret letting you go
Sometimes I can’t believe how dark it can be
I can’t help it if I fall in
Love with you again I’m calling
Just to let you know
It dawned on me
It dawned on me
So on
And so forth
And again
I will stop to begin
At the end
I can’t help it if I fall in
Love with you again I’m calling
Just to let you know
It dawned on me
Oh I can’t help it if I fall in
Love with you again I’m calling
Just to let you know
It dawned on me
Over My Head (Everything Goes)
Over my head
Everything goes
Over my head
Hearts overturned
Peace on earth
Sleep coming slow
Dreams I can’t control
The theory I believe
The one I use
What matters most
Can’t be proved
Over my head
Everything goes
Over my head
Everything goes
Over my head
written by Jeff Tweedy
Forever Never Ends
On the side of the road
In a tuxedo
Three below zero
In a red cummerbund
Highway 13
Not a king not a queen
I didn’t wanna come
To your stupid prom
A hissing road flare
Baby’s breath in her hair
In the middle of nowhere
In the middle of a nightmare
I had to call my dad
I knew he’d be mad
I’d never seen him not mad
Vomit in the frozen grass
Peppermint Schnapps
Well, here come the cops
They don’t even stop
Oh, there they go
Forever never ends
I’m always back there again and again and again
Forever never ends
I’m always back there again and again and again
Forever never ends
I’m always back there again and again and again
Forever never ends
I’m always back there again and again
On the side of the road
In a tuxedo
In the middle of nowhere
In the middle of a nightmare
written by Jeff Tweedy
Amar Bharati
The arm Amar Bharati
Lifted in the air
Is still there
In the air
Since 1973
It’s every day
It’s every day
It’s every day
It’s every day
It’s every day
The war Amar Bharati
Put in his right hand
He kept it there
In the air
Since 1973
It’s every day
It’s every day
It’s every day
It’s every day
It’s every day
It’s not a made-up story
Or hyperbole
It’s right there
In the air
Since 1973
It’s still there
It’s in the air
It’s still there
It’s in the air
It’s still there
It’s in the air
It’s still there
It’s in the air
(Still there)
(In the air)
(Still there)
(In the air)
(Still there)
(In the air)
(Still there)
(In the air)
(Still there)
(In the air)
(Still there)
(In the air)
(Still there)
(In the air)
written by Jeff Tweedy
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
Mirror
You are a mirror and the face
You are an object and the space
Your mind goes blind and you are erased
You will be the person taking your place
You are a cure and the pain
You are the desert and the rain
Your mind goes blind and you are erased
You will be the person taking your place
Light on an autumn day
Leaves falling
Tears falling on your grave
You are a mirror and a face
You and I are the same
Your mind goes blind
We are erased
You will be the person digging your grave
High on a summer’s day
Clouds drifting away
Turning grey
written by Jeff Tweedy
Stray Cats In Spain
Oh, what a beautiful day
Following
The mosaic
At an angle
From where we stayed
The Stray Cats
Are playing in Spain
Oh, what a beautiful scene
All the tiger prints set free
I believe
They believe
It’s not what you think
Unless
It’s hot pink
Oh, what a beautiful day
Following
The smell of pomade
At an angle
From today
The Stray Cats
Are playing in Spain
Stray Cats in 2019
Rockin’ in the street
written by Jeff Tweedy
Too Real
The way I depend
On the dope dancing in my skin
It’s too real
It’s too real
It’s sad
To say
Magic
Fades away
But it’s true
It’s just you
It’s too real
It’s too real
It’s too real
To feel
The way I pretend
The walls aren’t closing in
They’re real, they’re real
It’s too real
written by Jeff Tweedy
New Orleans
I’d trade all four limbs
For a parade in New Orleans
I’d hold her in a gold chair
On my shoulders like a queen
I’d sway in the four winds
Digging a grave we’d all get in
I’d trade all four limbs
For a parade in New Orleans
I’d hold her in a gold chair
On my shoulders like a queen
I’m afraid of the snake skin
And the suede boots walking in
written by Jeff Tweedy
Enough
Has it ever been enough?
Has it ever been OK?
Have you ever felt full
At the end of a day?
Is your heart high?
Don’t lie
Is your heart higher
Than your mind?
Do you feel like you’re dyin’
Tracin’ a line
Out on your own
Like a complete unknown
Is your heart tired?
Don’t lie
Is your heart hidin’
From your fire?
It’s hard to stay in love
It’s hard to stay in love
It’s hard to stay in love
With everyone
Is there anything to say
That could change your day?
I don’t care about your thoughts
I just want everything you got
Is your heart still tryin’?
Is your heart still alive?
Is your heart still fightin’
To get out of your mind?
It’s hard to stay in love
It’s hard to stay in love
It’s hard to stay in love
With everyone
written by Jeff Tweedy
Lou Reed Was My Babysitter
I wanna sweat next to you
Sweat next to you
With a sticky carpet sucking on my shoes
’Cause rock ‘n’ roll ain’t never gonna lose
Nah-ah
I want you to dance into me
Spill my drink
I wanna feel the kick kickin’ in my teeth
My bleeding heart bleeding to the beat
Uh
Look out
I want you to blow smoke in my eyes
Smoke in my eyes
I wanna shake shake shake shake shake until my shoes untie
’Cause rock ‘n’ roll ain’t ever gonna die
Not as long as you and I are alive
’Cause rock ‘n’ roll is dead
But the dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
Whoo!
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
Raooh!
Look out
I wanna feel everything
I wanna feel everything
I wanna listen to the idiot sing
Until I can’t feel anything
’Cause rock ‘n’ roll is dead
But the dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
Whooo!
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
The dead don’t die
Raaaaoow!
Look out
The dead don’t die x16
written by Jeff Tweedy