tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80908003766028261912024-02-20T05:11:24.161-08:00Saleem's DreamsSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-21630251507654621122008-09-22T09:28:00.000-07:002008-09-22T09:35:43.570-07:00Go-on AheadIf I were to die tomorrow,<br />I know right now what my Lord would say,<br />he'd say, "Go-on ahead, go-on ahead,<br />You lived your life well, now go-on ahead,"<br /><br />If I were to die today,<br />I wouldn't carry with me no bags of sorrow,<br />say, "Go-on ahead, go-on ahead,<br />you lived your life well, now go-on ahead,"<br /><br />I ain't claiming no sanctity,<br />my life ain't been no straight pine tree,<br />say, "Go-on ahead, go-on ahead,<br />you lived your life well, now go-on ahead,"<br /><br />I ain't saying I been narrow,<br />been winding all over like an old magnolia,<br />say, "Go-on ahead, go-on ahead,<br />you lived your life well, now go-on ahead,"<br /><br />I went down to the old boneyard other night,<br />saw my pappy playin cards in a young man's skin,<br />betting 10 times his size,<br />but I know'd that devil'd win<br /><br />bury the dead right where you find 'em,<br />to take 'em home will leave you blinded,<br />say, "Go-on ahead, go-on ahead,<br />you lived your life well, now go-on ahead,"<br /><br />bury the dead right where you find 'em,<br />to take 'em home will leave you blinded,<br />say, "Go-on ahead, go-on ahead,<br />you lived your life well, now go-on ahead,"<br /><br />you lived your life well, now go-on ahead...Salem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-8562026139253548672008-08-11T22:27:00.000-07:002008-08-11T22:37:26.257-07:00Snake in the Grass (tentatively titled)Snake in the grass<br />do you think it's enough<br />to hedge on another war?<br />coins spilling over your paper cup<br />are you drinking for one or two?<br />tiger in the streets<br />did you really believe<br />I would play your fool again?<br /><br />cause it was over, before it began<br />we're lapping up, the puddles with our hands<br /><br />went to your house on the top of the hill<br />buried in the the clouds<br />almost got lost on the way back down<br />slipped on your crystal stairs<br />you gave me a show of your favorite tricks<br />juggling fire and knives<br />nice for you but I'd hate to be your neighbor downwind<br /><br />cause it was over, before it began<br />we're lapping up, the puddles from our hands<br /><br />(solo)<br /><br />reach into the air with your ashy tongue<br />tastin for the rain<br />snakes pouring out of your golden cup<br />are you drinking for one or two?<br />next flood will be your last<br />written in the red moon<br /><br />cause it was over, before it began<br />we're lapping up, the puddles with our hands<br />cause it was over, before it began<br />we're lapping up, the puddles from our handsSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-76939653197066313552008-08-11T22:18:00.000-07:002008-08-11T22:27:19.083-07:00The Piss Song SequelTook a chair down by the lake to kiss you one last time,<br />but you weren't there so I had to pretend,<br />though it didn't feel quite the same<br />probably better cause if you were there<br />I would've said something selfish and hurtful<br /><br />for example: "piss off you heartless witch"<br /><br />Got pissed, took a piss in the lake,<br />and it made me think of you<br />and all the times you got pissed at me for saying stupid things,<br />well I can live with myself and my mistakes,<br />but if you can't well then that's your problem, I guess,<br /><br />so you can piss off you heartless witch,<br />maybe we'll meet again on a lake somewhat like this,<br />and bitch about suburnban sprawl,<br />cause we deplore it more than each other<br /><br />if you come around to be my friend again,<br />I'll try not to hold a grudge, but it may take a week or two<br />cause when you left, you took my old copy of Moby Dick,<br />so when I forgot the ending, I had to steal another copy from the library,<br />but it didn't have my old angry notes written in it<br /><br />I'm trying to get over it,<br />so just give me some time and we can be friends,<br />doubtful ever again lovers<br /><br />and in the meanwhile...<br />you can piss off you heartless witch,<br />maybe we'll meet again on a lake somewhat like this,<br />and bitch about suburnban sprawl,<br />cause we deplore it slightly more than each other<br />yes we deplore it more than each otherSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-55580328195208936232008-05-14T01:47:00.000-07:002008-05-14T01:49:01.268-07:00Merry-go-round (February 2008)My father was a merry-go-round driver<br />he took the same track everyday<br />now I’m out to derail 1000 lives<br />to make up for his lack of mistakes<br /><br />If you’re looking for an anchor,<br />don’t cast your nets here,<br />if you’re asking for gravity,<br />search the sun,<br />cause I’m the kind of guy who won’t be around<br />when breakfast comes<br /><br />I’m gonna get you high,<br />I’m gonna get you low,<br />take your body and leave your soul<br /><br />now I’m out alone on the desert,<br />but pretty soon I’m gonna be in your town,<br />for a demolition derby<br />we’re wrecking hearts on the floor<br /><br />I hope you ain’t wearing a seat belt,<br />papa sure better taught you to drive,<br />we gonna chicken baby on dead man’s curve,<br />and I’m bettin’ on a crash<br /><br />here I come baby,<br />you got what it takes to take me on?<br />green eyes of fire and ice starin’ back,<br />I hope you brought your boxing gloves,<br /><br />I’m gonna get you high,<br />I’m gonna get you low,<br />take your body and leave your soulSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-87511592552694341922008-05-14T01:46:00.000-07:002008-05-14T01:47:30.273-07:00Rosa Parks (OutKast remake) (February 2008)I’ll be walking again tomorrow just like now,<br />raising myself foot by foot always proud,<br />to carry past the line in the sand,<br />been doin’ it since I was a child anyhow,<br />well, that’s where they get you thinking you different but,<br />in the back of my mind I’m always asking like “what,<br />you see in me that ain’t also in your blood?”<br />now I’ve had about enough of that lyin’ so here’s what<br /><br />while you fellas up high is wonderin’,<br />which jet to take some of us others is runnin’<br />just to catch the number #5 on time,<br />cross town just to get in line,<br />cause while a minute means a dime to you,<br />that cents got us sweatin’ cause what we do<br />ain’t got time for mistakes, you suits can’t wait,<br />so we bustin’ or our ass is grass and you’er hungry,<br />and still some other can’t get they’s belly half-full,<br />and how you gonna trade your brothers in the south,<br />given them lies like its medicine, Tuskegee nothing but experimentin’<br />oh wait you poisoned that too, weren’t they sayin’<br />that Alabama is the place where the heart’s worn,<br />torn by dialects of hate and callousness, this,<br />color ain’t worthy of nothing better, your skin<br />and coat will make a nice rug underfoot,<br />I’ve had a well to cry about it, but today I’m sittin’ on it and ain’t movin’ for ya’ll<br /><br />over 40 years now it’s been, and still my people are runnin’<br />indoors for cover with nothing but a paper,<br />Civil Rights you callin’ it but we wise enough to see the lines still dotted, ain’t signed,<br />and when you gonna get off your behind and make it more,<br />we got the feet to walk so why we waiting at the bus stop?Salem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-18463145585553312802008-05-14T01:45:00.000-07:002008-05-14T01:46:11.046-07:00Frontiers (January 2008)(Intro drum solo)<br /><br />when all of your frontiers have stopped at the sea,<br />California melts to salty breeze,<br />who’s won the gold wrenched in your hand,<br />was it you, your posse, your clan?<br /><br />but you couldn’t stop there and the end of the land,<br />the moon lay await in your plan,<br />did you ever stop to consider the bones,<br />at home before you made war in other sands,<br /><br />take a minute to reflect on the past—<br />do we want that life for ourselves?<br />to build a hero on killing fields,<br />is to pour blood on the tops of our hills¬<br /><br />if you could only see where this day ends<br />and the light and the end of the tunnel,<br />it’s not so far, not so near as it seems,<br />you could take the proper steps to see us through,<br />color the sky lavender if you please,<br />it’s yours, but you’ve got to make it with your dreams,<br /><br />(breakdown)<br />you’ve got a responsibility,<br />to see your people through to the end,<br />if you offer life, love, and liberty<br />you better be willing to give what it takes<br /><br />this is a message to ourselves,<br />because at this point we have no one else to count on,<br />like it or not our fates have been set up to now<br />by the choices of our fathers,<br />if we wish for nothing but mediocrity<br />there’s no more to ask for,<br />but can we save ourselves,<br />not just as individuals, but as humans,<br />because we all share this sphere,<br />and we all turn with it,<br />and if you’ve only heard these words it’s enough,<br />to change the color of your sky,<br />to set you on a brighter path<br /><br />you’ve got a responsibility,<br />to see your people through to the end,<br />if you offer life, love, and liberty<br />you better be willing to give what it takes<br />for freedomSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-3530820671302451552008-05-14T01:42:00.000-07:002008-05-14T01:43:05.731-07:00The Kusatsu Bridges are Conspiring to Divide UsI’ve got 25 bridges outside my door<br />and not one can get me closer to you<br />curled-up in the corner<br />with my hands on my head<br />squeezin’ ‘til the bloods run out,<br /><br />phone me up to say there’s something in the water<br />but you drank a gallon anyway,<br />curled-up in the corner<br />with both hands on your stomach<br />heavin’ all your bile out,<br /><br />(and we’re) off to the hospital again,<br />checking in for a monthly stay,<br />but even here is poison,<br />(change up timing, slow words down)<br />stonewalling you in my silence<br />while you’re calling me to the rescue,<br />but it's June and the summer hail’s chasing me away,<br /><br />the sirens in the distance weren’t such a surprise<br />I could hear ‘em 10 miles away,<br />but with your thumbs in your ears<br />and your tongue in the air<br />you built a new dam everyday<br /><br />cause even if you here now you wasn’t then<br />love a tightrope without a net<br />and no smile at the other end<br /><br />the life you take will be your own<br />to leave by the road or carry home<br />what to make of her frustrating mystery<br />that’s my responsibility<br /><br />love her with a pure heart<br />love her with a clean heart<br />the love you give will be your own<br />the life you take<br />well that’s my responsibilitySalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-72570756415575781562008-05-14T01:39:00.000-07:002008-05-14T01:40:38.040-07:00Song that makes birds fall (Autumn 2006)6:30 sun lays on your pillow<br />and tumbles down your golden streaks<br />breath is a rush that sends birds falling<br />I kiss you on the ear and cheek<br /><br />the coffee burns, we’re late again,<br />dishes are loaded in the sink,<br />I pack your lunch with just enough rice,<br />please kiss me before we leave<br /><br />if I forgot to say I miss you, I’m sorry<br />if I don’t say it enough, I love you<br />it’s hard to find our way in a snowstorm<br />so please don’t lose my handSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-65336863246203432852008-05-14T01:35:00.000-07:002008-05-14T01:39:04.278-07:00Worries???DON”T WORRY! (Ifraim's piss song) (March/April 2007)Your eyebrow is looking a little timid,<br />what happened?<br />were you peaking behind that secret wall again?<br />you can’t see into your future,<br />but you can scare yourself<br />into a fast grave with that morbid curiosity,<br />so which door do you choose?<br />not to know will save you a spring of tears<br />and the end result will hurt either way,<br /><br />you’ve got so many worries,<br />now I’ve got so many worries,<br />so let’s take all our worries<br />to the county fair and rig them to the ring toss,<br />and give away fractions of our unsettled minds<br />to people like us with stupid hope in carnival games,<br /><br />I wish I had better advice,<br />but when things look this bad<br />my best ideas are about ending one problem at a time,<br />before I can peek around the next bend,<br />yeah, it’s all the same river,<br />so I’m gonna hit the same rocks eyes open or not,<br /><br />oh no it’s a waterfall!<br />(interlude)<br /><br />shit I wish I could say I saw that coming,<br />not that I’d do things differently,<br />it’s just comforting to say in times of pain,<br />and since I’m sad<br />I’m gonna go right back to ripping you off,<br />and end things right here… If I were gone tomorrow would you be sad?<br />I’ve got so many worries,<br />and you’re now got too many worries,<br />so let’s take all our worries,<br />fill them with water and throw them off overpasses<br />at the stupid cars underneath,<br /><br />or urinate in the lemonade<br />and sell it to all the kids on the street<br />cause they like the way it tastes,<br />they say “man this is sweet”,<br />but they don’t know it’s full of restlessness,<br />full of my piss, but most of all, full of my anxietySalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-9904245203850929272008-05-14T01:29:00.000-07:002008-05-14T01:34:34.977-07:00We are all cannibals (August 2007)You want what you can't have and you'll kill to get it,<br />but you won't get it,<br />you'll take what you can get, but it won't make a dent,<br />no not in your mammoth belly,<br /><br />and you'll give, and you'll give,<br />and you'll give yourself a heart attack,<br />but no one's clapping,<br />and you'll blow, and you'll blow,<br />and you'll blow yourself lung cancer,<br />but no one saw,<br />cause they're all stuck on staged reality,<br /><br />don't worry,<br />you're still young,<br />and you'll learn to swallow that rage with beer,<br />trust me I've been there before<br />and I've brought back unbearded wisdom for you:<br />just quit<br /><br />so where’s there left for a guy like me<br />to sleep without radiation seeping into his brain<br />so where’s there left for a guy like me<br />to look at a mountain without a radio tower atop<br />so where’s there left for a guy like me<br />to breathe without inhaling poison<br />we're building on the moon when we've got a perfect home right here,<br />we're building on the moon when we've got a perfect home right here,<br />we're building on the moon when we've got a perfect home right here<br /><br />you're killing yourself, you're killing yourself, you're killing yourself,<br />for nothing, for nothing, for nothingSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-48442614924504470552008-05-14T01:28:00.001-07:002008-05-14T01:28:30.533-07:00Let's Burn All the Buildings in Town (Summer 2007)let’s burn all the buildings around,<br />they came uninvited to our town,<br />all tall and heighty, looking grand and mighty<br />at our little huts on the ground<br />let’s pretend like we are French,<br />rip ‘em up brick by brick,<br />and bring the Sears monster down<br /><br />let’s burn all the buildings in town<br />after that throw all cars on the mound,<br />we can’t have them running, humming, and buzzing,<br />though we’re slow on foot we’ll go,<br />even cycles and trucks have got too much buck for us<br />let’s burn all the cars and towers in town,<br /><br />let’s burn all the TVs, computers, cell phones<br />and machines that make funny sounds,<br />they ain’t doing me no service<br />just make me kinda nervous,<br />and want to hide in a hole underground<br />I could use my time better,<br />maybe knit me a sweater,<br />besides I’ve found more uses in my flyswatter,<br />let’s take all of gadgets, and autos, and flats<br />and make them a sacrifice to our city,<br />let’s burn all the progress in townSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-82615605050346414672008-05-14T01:25:00.001-07:002008-05-14T01:25:52.927-07:00Let's Be Monkeys (August 2007)If I had a dollar would you kiss me?<br />Cause it's been too damn long<br />And I'm running short of options<br />If I had an anchor would you sink me?<br />Tie the rope to your ankle<br />And we'd both go down together<br />I'm dying for your look,<br />And I might start kicking things<br />Just to get your attention<br /><br /> The penis and testicles aren't so subtle<br />They hang right out like rabbit ears<br />And shout what they're thinking<br />My ways of communicating aren't so gentle<br />But if you teach me how to whistle,<br />I'll get into you like a tune<br /><br />I'll be your peacock (whistling)<br />and cool you with emeralds in the summer<br />I'll be you cheetah (growling)<br />And chase you across the Savannah<br />I'll be your Alpha (monkey hooting)<br />And fight for you<br />I'm dying for your look,<br />And I might start kicking things<br />Just to get your attentionSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-7575165865387770432008-05-09T07:24:00.000-07:002008-05-14T01:23:19.831-07:00Screaming from a Mountain (September 2007)What will we do when it gets cold<br />and if its gets tough<br />will you give me something to hold<br />like your shoulder?<br /><br />I may be a man but there’s plenty I don’t understand<br />like how to get you to kiss me,<br />oh won’t you kiss me?<br />oh won’t you kiss me?<br />oh won’t you kiss me, kiss me, kiss me,<br />I don’t know how but I got the lips,<br />and you got the shoulders<br />and you’re a bit bolder at these things anyway<br />so please give me a way<br /><br />If I get the balls and come on too strong<br />will you get scared and run away to the mall<br />leave your me alonely?<br />cause they may have all of what you need<br />but in all that glass there’s no air to breathe<br />nor a bell to ring you<br />oh can I ring you?<br />oh can I ring you?<br />oh can I ring you, ring you, ring you, ring you,<br />I don’t know how but I’ve got the lips<br />and you’ve got muscles so please give<br />me the boldness to ring you<br />oh let me ring you<br /><br />jam<br />even if you say no to this dance<br />I’ll sit outside on the bench next to your heart<br />until the wax parts<br />and you can hear my grooven tune for sure<br /><br />so where will you go where will you go<br />this life’s got little to offer to those without love<br />or at least a shoulder, and I’ve got a shoulder<br />if you’ll be a bit bolder, at least I think you are<br />I’m coming to ring you,<br />so won’t you kiss me,<br />kiss me, kiss me,<br />I’m coming to ring you,<br />so won’t you kiss me…Salem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-60482044497052459142008-05-09T07:23:00.000-07:002008-05-09T07:24:36.296-07:00I want to run on the hillsides (part 2: escaping in small shoes) (Fall 2007)you were standing in puddles<br />praying on eons to melt you<br />and I was yelling at clouds to disperse<br />holding my breath until I burst,<br /><br />“who’s the sorrier fool” I ask,<br />“your feet or my winds?”<br />and you chesirely tap-danced,<br />up the avenue and into my head<br /><br />don’t go make yourself a shadow<br />and take your hand away<br />cause I’m holding soft and supple<br />breathing in my fingertips<br /><br />so let’s escape you declare,<br />run, run, run, run, run!<br />but I can’t, I’ve got too much to hope for,<br />isn’t that how they always get you,<br />tripping you on your gullibility,<br />and make you believe your car is necessary<br /><br />who’s gonna hold down the fort?<br />we can’t all just be dreamers,<br />splash in puddles at another’s cost,<br />are you going to skip on the bill<br />and leave us on a rainy day?<br /><br />I guess the lesson we all have learned here,<br />is not to go to extremes,<br />cause the world is made of different people,<br />and we all have different dreamsSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-90320427751812443972008-05-09T07:22:00.000-07:002008-05-10T05:36:29.730-07:00I Gotta Lover (Summer 2007)I gotta lover who says she doesn’t know me,<br />but she does, she does, she had me over last night,<br />I got a lover who says let’s take it slowly<br />but she takes, she takes, she takes me over every night,<br /><br />even when the birds are singing at dawn<br />I’m still sleeping like a child in her arms<br /><br />When she late I’m waiting<br />when she’s early I’m still waiting,<br />now I’m over every night<br />Take me for what can<br />cause after her I’ll be nothing, but a man<br /><br />when she gets the nerve to kick me out<br />I’ll fall, I’ll die, there ain’t no doubt <br /><br />interlude<br /><br />I gotta lover with whose kisses make me shudder<br />oh ah, oh oh, that’s the spot,<br />I gotta lover who says let’s take it easy,<br />right before she breaks me to my knees<br /><br />no work, no play, no thing can stand between,<br />my caramel-eyed, dandilion dream<br /><br />I gotta lover (who says she doesn't know me...)<br />I gotta lover...Salem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-61263003426484771042008-05-09T07:21:00.000-07:002008-05-09T07:22:17.323-07:00Forgotten (12/2007)Though we may not wear your clothes,<br />we are not untidy,<br />growing up on our own we took what we could find,<br />sneaking on pantyhose in an empty house,<br />come on in you can see our underage secrets,<br /><br />after school no one there<br />we relied on imagination,<br />time breeding intrigue,<br />so where we you to tell us the images were just fancy,<br />lies and pretend,<br />we made them up in twos and threes,<br /><br />though often abandoned we are not forgotten,<br />you can hear us now,<br />though we fail and you scold us we are not forsaken,<br />we are building the earth<br /><br />come on down get in line it’s time to make an honest buck,<br />who’s teaching this anymore?<br />your sons hear your actions loud,<br />loudest, louder than your words,<br />their hands will carry your scars<br /><br />cause our lives are made on the theft of childhood,<br />they sew your feet, dig your gold, serve your needs<br />wasting away in foreign room upstairs,<br /><br />so when are you going to feed them some truth?<br /><br />though often abandoned you are not forgotten,<br />we are hearing you now,<br />though you fail and we scold us you are not forsaken,<br />you are building the earth<br /><br />parents’ egos are fragile too<br />we live with their mistakes<br />but we can help each other grow with a loving handSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-1658843456576296322008-05-09T07:18:00.000-07:002008-05-09T07:21:35.613-07:00Eating Your Mind (Summer 2007)You got a beat that just won’t quit,<br />and two feet that won't relent,<br />you think a dollar can buy an epiphany,<br />but all your toys ain’t worth a cent,<br /><br />if you want to improve your world,<br />stop shopping for a thirty-second snack,<br />they can sell you money, but they won’t feed you when you’re hungry,<br /><br />cause the only bread is the one you make with your time,<br />so open up, let it in, and find…you<br /><br />here’s a metaphor for thought,<br />that your passion is a bird,<br />so watcha gonna do with locked up in a cage on a rainy day,<br />you’ve got more sense than that, so why don’t you try using it,<br /><br />if you want to improve your world,<br />stop shopping for a thirty-second snack,<br />if you fill yourself on imagery you’ll find your heart alone and empty,<br /><br />cause the only bread is the one you make with your time,<br />so open up, let it in, and find…youSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-4898702141822471292008-05-09T07:15:00.000-07:002008-05-14T01:22:48.134-07:00Cheers to Love (summer 2007)you got into me like a staff<br />tripled in size<br />and took over my heart<br />at least almost all of it<br />my shirts bulged out six inches,<br />even further than my pants,<br />whenever we were close,<br /><br />it was you trying to touch yourself<br />through my rubber skin,<br />I complied because<br /><br />stretching feels good inside<br /><br />leaving was inevitable<br />as your yawns started to grow<br />meteor showers burned my eyes<br />so many crashes, so much fire,<br />you took your tumor from my chest<br />and put it in your sterile pocket<br />knowing it would die<br />because you didn’t care anymore<br /><br />but you left a little bit of my heart,<br />enough for it to come back again<br />and take me over once more<br />(oh and the second time was so much harder)<br /><br />I took as much from you as you did from me,<br />and now my heart’s bigger than my head,<br />you know it's a little weird but I kind of like it,<br />cause when I kiss your memory,<br />I can feel pain in my knees<br /><br />I can think of better ways to end stories,<br />but this way I’ll keep writing them,<br />you didn’t stop me from loving you,<br />or anyone again,<br />I will outlive you, at least in my temporary sadness,<br />it’s cold, but only temporarily<br /><br />yippee for me, nuts to you, cheers to love,<br />cheers to love, cheers to love, cheers to loveSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-6233794880895606752008-05-09T07:14:00.002-07:002008-05-14T01:23:58.346-07:00Believer (April/May 2007)I beat you in the head<br />like you were myself<br />when I am really mad<br />except unlike my mind<br />your bruises are visible<br />and everyone could see<br />and now they won’t let me see you no more<br />but I know you still love me<br />because I was only hitting me through you, you know,<br />and I’m gonna pay for that my own way.<br /><br />I’m not the type to believe<br />but if I did, I believe I wouldn’t do<br />to me what I did to you,<br />it just isn’t right<br />but if I were a prayer<br />I’d be the scared, angry kind<br />that curses a lot<br />at the wind and the rain<br />and all the heathens it doesn’t like<br />I’d jump on a plane<br />slap the pilot in the face,<br />and drive us at a water tower<br /><br />now I know you still love me,<br />not really sure why<br />maybe it’s cause I was only hitting me through you,<br />you know,<br />and I’m gonna pay for it my own way.<br /><br />50 in fines to the local magistrateSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-16520208778494714012008-05-09T07:14:00.001-07:002008-05-14T01:28:56.497-07:00Alexander's Homecoming (September 2007)Well Alexander never thought he’d find himself here again,<br />the place of too much sun and endless sand,<br />he took his army and won his women but not all went as planned,<br />although the flowers were nice, the flowers were nice.<br />Now a little voice, from a little man, in an unknown faraway land,<br />tells Alexander to go back there and fight,<br />the man puts a helmet on his head and a weapon in his hand,<br />but not like the glorious, heavy ones from millennia ago.<br />Alexander grabs the reigns of his modern steed,<br />a bulletproof humvee,<br />he tosses bombs on Babylon without seeing his enemy,<br />in olden days his nose would tingle at the smell of blood,<br />but burning oil and sulphur are nauseating.<br /><br />Alexander knows the battlefield and has studied strategy,<br />but his new nation kills indifferently.<br />these hands were once a sculptor’s<br />and could halve a shielded man,<br />but now they only atrophy under mundane button pressing.<br /><br />Where are you Zeus?<br />Why have you let mortals forget your brother Hades?<br />Their respect for the dead?<br />I need you Aristotle to guide me in truth,<br />where are you Hannibal, I crave a even match?<br /><br />I hope that Harry Truman is weeping on his Promethian stone,<br />I hope our burning bush drowns in the rain,<br /><br />I was lauded as a warrior,<br />I was crowned a Persian King,<br />and now I abjure the throne.Salem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-42114107787041138262008-05-09T07:12:00.001-07:002008-05-09T07:12:44.030-07:00Buddha Song (Christmas Day 2006)climb a mountain,<br />the Himalaya’s your first step<br />breath an ocean,<br />through the lotus in your teeth<br />kiss your love away<br />Mara of soul is all in your head<br />and if you don’t start thinking you’re gonna be dead,<br />cause it don’t stop foolin,<br />hearts can’t stop droolin,<br />gotta lick it up instead<br /><br />if I stay with you, it’s gonna get lonely<br />cause you don’t have nothing to say,<br />and I don’t wanna spend my time, trying to get lonely,<br />if you wish it to pass by<br />and keep on drinking formaldehydes<br />you might get high, and you sure to die<br />but that shouldn’t be a surprise<br /><br />are you selfish<br />or certain of their mistakes?<br />to be kind or wise<br />takes a softer hand than I,<br />your simple ways<br />will rarely move for even the wind<br />but if you don’t start moving you’re gonna be dead,<br />for if we don’t start coolin,<br />and our minds ain’t movin<br />we’ll get it lying in our beds<br /><br />how do you stop a brakeless train with just a wish?<br />and how do you make the most of meaninglessnesses?<br />I see the debt of capital investments,<br />and I’ve seen too many die from ignorance,<br />I know why we throw our dreams at empty kisses,<br />and I know how to feed eternal hunger,<br />sleepers wake your hearts and wake your minds and hear me pray<br /><br />if I stay with you, it’s gonna get lonely<br />cause you don’t have nothing to say,<br />and I don’t wanna spend my time, trying to get lonely,<br />if you wish it to pass by<br />and keep on drinking formaldehydes<br />you might get high, and you sure to die<br />but that shouldn’t be a surprise<br /><br />think for your soul, think for you life,<br />give it a try, give it a trySalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-85326496904772911922008-05-09T07:09:00.000-07:002008-05-14T01:24:32.645-07:00DANCE, DANCE (Happenstance) (February/March 2007)Happenstance,<br />a rubber knife in your back,<br />second chance,<br />a hug your mother never gave you,<br />I don’t know how,<br />but I can’t wait forever,<br />so pick up your legs,<br />and teach yourself to dance!<br /><br />Take a bite,<br />time will never forgive you,<br />if it’s poison, you’ll drop fast,<br />but it won’t hurt<br />your feet can’t lose,<br />they’ve already hit rock bottom,<br />and your face ain’t getting prettier.<br /><br />DANCE, DANCE,<br /><br />make your breath a lighter,<br />please don’t stone press here,<br />this ain’t 1692,<br />but I know a trick or two,<br />I will make your head spin, spin, spin<br />like a taboo rising,<br />don’t hide your eyes!<br />or I’ll double in size!<br /><br />DANCE, DANCE,<br /><br />Happenstance,<br />a rubber knife in your back,<br />second chance,<br />a hug your mother never gave you…<br />your feet can’t lose,<br />they’ve already hit rock bottom,<br />and your face ain’t getting prettier.<br /><br />DANCE, DANCE,<br />DANCE, DANCESalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-13572394372485148822008-05-09T07:06:00.002-07:002008-05-09T07:08:08.955-07:00Dustbowl (summer 2006)Sweeping, a brush fire over their land,<br />torched skulls of autos along the way,<br />this snake pit of life stealing my faith.<br /><br />California redwood, the oldest timber in the west,<br />but for 60 a barrel you sold it with the rest,<br />that’s just the fire, thieving in it’s own way<br /><br />you’re heart’s half red and half blue<br />just like the flames<br />but the wind burns hottest of all.<br /><br />My father’s out there searching to find his grave,<br />his feet are with the sand, his eyes fixed ahead,<br />mom’s left the screen door open<br />and a place for him to lay<br /><br />cause that’s the way we live, that’s the heart’s way.<br /><br />I saw a crow last night and he had me in his target,<br />so I sat down on that empty road and stared back,<br />he set his rifle down, and I shot him<br /><br />cause that’s the way we live, that’s just the heart’s way<br /><br />ma’s still got the screen door propped open (and a place for no one to lay).Salem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-55855481880404509102008-05-09T07:06:00.001-07:002008-05-09T07:08:35.110-07:00GWB (6/2006)Gorgie wakes up in the morning<br />With an upsetting surprise<br />Poor Barney had met his match,<br />With a Ford in the street last night.<br /><br />He felt no sense for the time,<br />And he lost a feel for his skin,<br />He’ll always try to find,<br />The life that escaped him.<br /><br />His parents were always saying,<br />Don’t let your heart go,<br />You’ve got a big lot to fill,<br />Like those that came before.<br /><br />But he knows not what to do.<br /><br />Today he swears a sentence,<br />He’ll sign mercilessly,<br />And don’t you try to wake him,<br />Can’t you see he’s thirsting.<br /><br />Georgie wakes up in the evening,<br />Cleans the oil from his eyes,<br />He’s having another reverie<br />Where all is safe nothing dies.<br /><br />He’s got no sense for the dime,<br />And he’s lost the feel in his skin,<br />He’s always trying to find,<br />The killer escaping him.<br /><br />Today he’ll cross an ocean,<br />Tomorrow over a sea,<br />And don’t you try to wake him,<br />Can’t you see he’s thirsting.<br /><br />Georgie wakes up to lightning,<br />10,000 volts cross the night,<br />He’s drowning in the salt mines,<br />Of his sons and of Barney too.<br /><br />Oh God what have I done?Salem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090800376602826191.post-44540023790402195082008-05-09T06:59:00.000-07:002008-05-09T07:08:59.907-07:00Lead the Ways (Summer 2006)I've been up, I've been down,<br />been tossed all around this town,<br />baby, you don't even know,<br />just how deep this well can go,<br />if you gamble a taste,<br />you might find your time a waste,<br />'cause this here water's made to burn,<br /><br />but if that's alright, come on then<br />if that's alright, come on then<br /><br />when you’re tired you can rest,<br />but you’d better give me your best,<br />cause I was born to live or die,<br />I don’t live on middle ground,<br />I only build where I feel the sound,<br />and I wouldn’t be where I am today,<br />if I’d settled along the way,<br /><br />but if that's alright, come on then<br />if that's alright, come on then<br /><br />I know your fight,<br />and I see your light,<br />we’ve both gotta a lotta faults,<br />and solo we’re sure to fall,<br />if you’ll meet me,<br />I’ll see your ante,<br />cause no one’s strong enough alone,<br />and there’s still a lot I’ve got to learn<br /><br />but if that's alright, come one then<br />I said if that's alright, come on then<br /><br />(optional duet featuring second verse and bridge)<br />when you’re tired you can rest<br />(I know your fight)<br />but you’d better give me your best<br />(and I see your light)<br />cause I was born to live or die<br />(we've both gotta a lotta faults)<br />(and solo we're sure to fall)<br />I don't live on middle ground<br />(if you'll meet me)<br />I only build where I feel the sound<br />(I'll see your ante)<br />and I wouldn't be where I am today<br />('cause no one's strong enough alone)<br />(and there's still a lotta I gotta learn)<br /><br />but if that's alright, come one then<br />I said if that's alright, come on thenSalem Willardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17498987282338030771noreply@blogger.com0