Victorville utopia
Desert skies, apple pies, jiffy lubes and tire tubes
All along the same street
The world’s largest thermometer just about an hour away
What more could you want, what more can I say
I’m leaving Anaheim, looking for a better time,
I’m leaving Anaheim and headed for a Victorville Utopia
Victorville Utopia
Dried up skin and cigarette smoke, outlet stores, open range and open pores
Red tile roofs stretch out like zits on a dry lake bed you could lose your wits
If that’s your plan
I don’t know just what I’ve found
but I’m still above the ground and I like the sounds I hear,
a truck in the distance and a coyote call.
I’m leaving Anaheim, looking for a better time,
I’m leaving Anaheim and headed for a Victorville Utopia
Victorville Utopia
I’m leaving Anaheim
I’ve got a date with a lizard and a snake, a remote control
and a case of beer I’m going to drink real slow
I’m leaving Anaheim
There’s something you’ve got to hear, that’s the sound of nothing,
Hitting your ear like a ten ton pillow.
Victorville Utopia
Victorville Utopia
blank canvas
There was a mural on a wall, inside of an old house
A man worked on every single day
For twenty years he painted, trying to get it right
Always just a brush stroke away.
One day he broke down in tears
One day he couldn’t stand its sight
Within an hour those twenty years
Got a fresh coat of white. Primer white.
Every single day now, a blank canvas
Every single day now, a blank canvas
There was a suitcase in an attic, all dusty and bent
Filled with love letters that were never sent
Its owner long forgotten, but you’d never forget
The scent of wasted time and lingering regret.
We’ve got things to do now
There’s still time to play
Every single day now, a blank canvas
Every single day now, a blank canvas
What will happen next I can not foresee
What will happen next, what a great place to be.
There’s a stain in my mind, like bougainvillea petals (that were)
ground into sidewalk cement
At first you want to bleach it, clean it up
Then you find that stain was heaven sent
We’ve got things to do now
There’s still time to play
Every single day now, a blank canvas
Every single day now, a blank canvas
graduation day
She walks down the hall at a quickening pace feet tapping on the floor
of the school that she knew
She leaves behind the shell of her former self
On a chair in room 102
She races to a door at the end of the hall, her hair blowing from the wind
She knows once you go through that door, you can’t come back in
On Graduation Day
That cubical’s closing in like a beige padded vice, getting tighter every day
Everything is fading from the hair line to the clothes, it happened slowly, day by day
And he thinks of summer days the smell of Coppertone and sea foam
Perfume as a girl walks by
He takes his name tag off, races to the door, not knowing to laugh or to cry.
On Graduation Day
You can’t come back in, that’s the price you pay
You don’t know where to go, but you know you can’t stay
You can’t come back in, but there’s nothing wrong
You’re just looking, looking for a new favorite song
A new favorite song
Nothing is easy, everything is hard, when you make it to ninety four
The greatest generation coming to a close and hard to get to any door
And she thinks of that first Christmas after WWII, of her family, and her friends
She’s thinking, later on tonight, she might be seeing them all again
On Graduation Day
simian ways
The way your eyes react to light
The way you hold your body up-right
And glide across the floor with grace and ease.
The way you reason with your mind
The way know how to tell time
The way you rhyme your words
With words that do not rhyme
You, I want to share all of your days
And I’ll always be amazed with
You and your simian ways.
It’s the way you brush your hair, the way you wear your underwear
The way you comprehend E and MC squared
The gentle way you twirl your wine, the way you know how to be kind
The way you never lost what you could not find
You, I want to share all of your days
And I’ll always be amazed with
You and your simian ways.
Are we just a bunch of monkeys floating on a raft in outer space
Have we come too far too fast and if that’s the case
Are we on a slow boat to Heaven or Havana
In any case, I’m on board with you so, pass the banana. Pass the banana, please.
A gentle soul is what you are, except behind the wheel of a car
We’ve miles to go, and yet we’ve come so far
The way you brighten up a room, and the way you play bassoon
Okay, you don’t know how, but, please take lessons soon.
You, I want to share all of your days
And I’ll always be amazed with
You and your simian ways.
Ah, my simian girl
Let me be your silverback alpha male
We’ll navigate this strange, strange world
Together.
what are you waiting for
Hey there confidence, my old friend, where’d you go?
It’s getting late and I’m hoping that you still might show
With measured steps, you can avoid almost every hole
I’m thinking now it’s time to try out for another role
They say you’ll go down in flames, you’re going to lose, you’re going to fail
Maybe leave you crying on the floor
So, what are you waiting for?
What are you waiting for?
You can take the path of least resistance always give them what they want
Use the same words but this time with a different font
You can await until the springtime when the winter sand leaves your eye
Or wait until the fall and watch the leaves and another year drift on by, again
Or you could
Go down in flames, you can lose, you can fail
Maybe leave you crying on the floor
So what are you waiting for?
What are you waiting for
What to do, what to do
You want to leave a small footprint, but wear a big shoe
It might be time, to lose control
It might take tears
To water your soul
You can take the easy road, go for the shorter wall
It’s half the climb but in the end, it’s twice the fall.
Or you can
Go down in flames, where you can lose, where you can fail
Maybe leave you crying on the floor
So, what are you waiting for?
wrong year
Losing conviction and hard earned dollars at a blackjack table to a dealer named Doris
The man next to me is sweating out Jack, he smells like soup and he’s smoked a third pack (in my face)
How did it ever come to this
The road not taken was a girl I missed
When I looked her in the eyes it all became clear
It was the right minute, the right moment, the wrong year
The right minute, the right moment, the wrong year.
Standing an hour in the buffet line, in one hand whiskey the other hand wine
A keno girl approaches me she’s looking pretty pretty but pretty twenty three.
How did it ever come to this
The road not taken was a girl I missed
When I looked her in the eyes it all became clear
It was the right minute, the right moment, the wrong year
I see an old couple, together for years
They share the same memories, they share the same beer
It would have been nice if it happened that way
The time wasn’t right, but maybe some day
Maybe some day.
Back at a table disheveled and sweaty losing my soul to a dealer named Betty
A young man sits down next to me, then moves away cause now it’s me that stinks
And I do
Come here young man I got something to say
If you love someone never walk away
Carpe diem boy seize the day
Cause it’s the right minute, the right moment, the right year
Cause it’s the right minute,the perfect moment, right
Now
uncommon times
Angry all the time, wound up like a red hot coil
One foot in the cold, cold sea, would bring it to boil
Tension high in the middle of the night
I’m thinking, something
Something doesn’t seem quite right
I’m exhausted from the spinning, it’s out of control
When they tell you that you’re winning, in the whirlpool of a porcelain bowl.
Like gas station sushi that’s been out all night
It might look okay, but something doesn’t smell quite right
And I’m wondering if a dollar still equals ten dimes
Seeking common sense, in these
These uncommon times.
You gotta know when to put up a fight, always trust your senses
Be ready to take your glasses off, but keep in those contact lenses
Though you can’t see well in the middle of the night
You’re thinking something
Something doesn’t look quite right
And I’m wondering if a dollar still equals ten dimes
Seeking common sense, in these
These uncommon times.
Then I saw hope
I saw hope
I saw hope in the eyes of a passing stranger
I saw hope
On a kind face in a crowd
I saw sweet human kindness
Sweet human goodness
Sweet wisdom and truthfulness, then I knew
Sweet human love, in the end
Will shine on through.
pounding at the tide
I was never one for following the crowd
But, never one for falling behind
Now everything I have is up in a cloud
And getting much more difficult to find
With complications rising all the time
I’ve too many passwords floating in my brain
Too many numbers to remember
Too much information is driving me insane
If my brain could walk it’d need a cane
If my brain could walk it’d need a cane
I was pounding at the tide, it kept coming in
Until it turned me around
Now I’ll text you as I’m falling and I’ll call you
When I hit the ground
Everyone around me is buried in a phone
Never looking up at other faces
Let’s get together soon and we can socialize alone
So much for ancient social graces
Fare thee well to ancient social graces
I think I’m going to go home and turn off my phone
Turn off everything I own, even my TV
There’s nothing I need to know right now
And when it come to life
Those minutes don’t rollover
And if you’re always wired in you’re never free
Like a catfish on the line, you’re never free.
I was pounding at the tide, it kept coming in
Until it turned me around
Now I’ll text you as I’m falling and I’ll call you
When I hit the ground
worry on your mind
There’s tension and fear like you’re stuck in the mud
It’s as dry as the moon but you’re waiting for flood
Like the bearer of a ring in a modern Tolkien world
You carry the weight of a milktruck thinking the milk’s already curled,
in your mind
Worry on your mind
Worry on your mind
Peace for a minute, but worry, always close behind
Childhood, so many years ago,
You forget how to have pure fun
So many scars from the battles that you’ve lost
And deeper wounds from the battles that you’ve won
May you look past the cracks, let those shoulders relax
Not worry about every little thing
There’s a bee buzzing a mile away and you’re waiting for the sting
In your mind
Worry on your mind
Never changed a thing.
I’ve been counting all the things that are going right
Sure there’s things I would change, even still.
They say heavy is the head that wears the crown,
I’m thinking, a clown has bigger shoes to fill.
May you look past the cracks, let those shoulders relax
Not worry about every little thing
There’s a bee buzzing a mile away and you’re waiting for the sting
In your mind
Worry on your mind
Worry on your mind
Peace for a minute, but worry, always close behind
balloon day
It’s Balloon Day at your local dealership
Free balloons and hot dogs
Hot dogs are for free just for stopping by
But, not until the weekend
It’s balloon day at your local dealership
Everybody’s welcome
All you have to do is come on in for a look around
I bought a brand new car, several years ago
They didn’t treat me well, that much I know
So I come here every weekend
For free hot dogs and balloons
I’ll get my money back a bite at a time
I’m in line right at noon
For hot dogs and balloons
Free hot dogs and balloons
Free hot dogs and balloons
Free hot dogs and balloons
They taste so…free
It’s balloon day at your local dealership
Free balloons and hot dogs
They got a big blow up gorilla so bring in the kids
Ah the smell of a new car
And hot dogs frying
Cooked by a salesman who didn’t wash his hands
And while he was grilling he was cooking up
Other plans.
I’ve got one thousand hot dogs to go
About a thousand balloons
So, come on in and see me I’m here on week ends
I’m in line
Right at noon
For Balloon day. Balloon day.
barbarians at the gate
Our arms interlocked
Our minds crystal clear
Our toes buried in the sand
Firm in our thoughts
Firm in our fears
For today we make our last stand
Barbarians at the gate
Barbarians pounding at the gate
Pink is the sky
Still is the air
We hear each other sweat
We’re doing what is right
We’re fighting the good fight
We’re doing what we must to survive
Barbarians at the Gate
Barbarians pounding at the gate
We’ll show them our might and brawn
We beat them and we’ll cut them through ‘till dawn
For a moment, I pause
A moment I wonder
Which side of the gate
I’m standing on.
oh, mighty santa ana river!
Oh, mighty Santa Ana River
I long to see your concrete shores
And to walk across your waters
And try not to breathe your spores
Discarded couches and old shopping carts
Faded plastic bags from distant Kmarts
The Blue Danube may try to impress
But it doesn’t have a nearby Matterhorn or Panda Express
Oh, mighty Santa Ana River!
From your shores I see an A
some say you’re just a gutter
But I cannot see you this way, my old friend
You’re the only thing in life that’s never really changed
The open fields are gone, but you remain
The Huntington pier is about half its size
They closed down my Callender’s pies
There used to be Naugles now there’s some chicken Loco
I miss the Beatles, maybe even Yoko
The Golden Bear is gone, I saw Don McLean there
American Pie bulldozed
sometime things in life just aren’t fair.
Truth be known I would rather it have been
a nicer place
Parisienne skies, a Hawaiian beach but that was not to be the case
But Santa Ana River, you were there for me
Rolling through the city with your debris
A jet was passing by there were shards of broken glass
Cars were honking from the overpass
But, mighty river I know you understand
For, you will always be that first place
I held her hand.