Brendan Benson Album

(Benson)

I'm drinkin' tea
If it's good enough for me
then it's good enough for you
We can have tea for two
How do you do?
But if you have to leave
Then please leave,
Don't let me keep you
we can have tea another day
Please come back and see me sometime
But if you can't sleep
And you have bad dreams
And if you're bored and not feeling quite right
Head is kind of heavy
Tummy's kind of funny

(Benson)

This is only a bird's eye view of how I
See things between me and you
And everyone in between
It's just how it seems to be
You can't escape the jails
Or the crucifier's nails
So just have a seat
Breathe slowly and deeply
Repeat after me: i'm sorry
The tv's always on
And if you press your ear to the wall
You can hear you can hear
The tears hit the floor
You can see right through to the core
If you just wear these special glasses
I've got a theory
About the man and his wife
And how the other half dies
And what really goes on when they're all alone
So dress your sons and daughters
In neutral colors and pray
So dress your sons and daughters

(Benson/Falkner)

If I point my gun at you
Are you gonna see it my way?
And if I tell you what to do
I think we can make it work this way
And if you run from me, I'll know
I'll find you and God help you
She just waits for me at home
I'm going down, I'm taking you
My baby's tied to a chair
Don't she look pretty, just sittin' there?
My baby's tied to a chair
Don't she look pretty, just sittin' there?
And if she wants some air, she tells me
(I can't breathe!)
And if she wants some love, I'll kiss her
And when I'm close, you know, she can smell me
And when I'm gone, I'll surely miss her
My baby's tied to a chair
Don't she look pretty, just sittin' there?
My baby's tied to a chair

(Benson/Falkner)

My mother raise me single-handedly
In a Louisiana hell called Harvey
I never know what I'm supposed to be
Turned over every rock for clues
Of what it is to be me
And I never know what's going on
But I'm blessed and I guess
And I swim in the streets when it rains
And I've seen grown men act so insane
But now the weather has changed
But in my head the climate's still the same
I still feel pain each time I hear my name
But I never know what's going on
But I'm blessed and I guess
And I used to be so flattered
But now I just feel shattered
And I try not to think about it
My head's already clouded
And I have castanet fingers
And I sweat bullets when I'm triggered
And I'd like to wind up with someone like her
And we'll live happily ever after
But it won't matter that I'm a little scattered
And I never know what's going on

(Benson/Falkner)

Twitchy lady, so lovely with your short hair
Where do you come from? Where are you going?
My friends think you're ugly, mmmm
They don't see what I see
I love my crosseyed baby
Your secret's safe with me

(chorus)

I can't wait to get you out of here
Take you home with me, away from here
I'll never tell about what I found out
About a crosseyed girl
Who can surely make you shout

(Benson/Falkner)

This is only temporary
These songs are my worst habits
My looks and my skin and my temper
In this town, this place I call my home
Well it's me just purely
And I promise I'll get back on track
I'll get better so I can come home
My looks and my skin and in my head
In this town, this place I call my home
Well it's me just purely
And this cancer, it ain't terminal
And this fetish for lovely creatures
These songs are my bad luck
This town, this place I call my home
Well it's me just purely
And all my crazy superstitions
About living in the past
This is my second and last gasp
Well it's me just purely
Oh and things are gonna turn around
I can feel it right to my bones
I will come home
This town, this place i call my home
Me just purely
She was crooked and limp
And her eyes half shut
And her dirty mouth was open
Just a little

(Benson)

I got no secrets
When I was a young boy I was beat up by my dad
I grew up fast, I took drugs and now I'm in rehab
There's a girl that I know and she's only seventeen
She said I was her favorite you know what I mean
Now I feel okay
But every night before I sleep
I wish I had kept it to myself for me to keep

I got no secrets

And all the kids at my school thought I was the enemy
Teachers diagnosed psychosis in need of therapy
One or two times daily now
My doctor has prescribed save me from myself
Cause I've tried suicide
Now I feel okay
But every night before I sleep
I wish I had kept it to myself
For me to keep

(Benson)

Does it break your heart each time I fall apart?
Does it give you purpose in this life?
And when I tell the truth
Does it mean as much to you?
I could never live a lie
how 'bout you?
And I don't think it's so wrong to feel
I've lived too long
Without the pull of gravity beneath me
And it's not so hard to believe
These tricks I use to deceive
Like a rabbit from a hat or card up my sleeve
Thought about being with you
Thought how it's always been
You takin' apart what I glued
I know it's mine but it's crude I think you're so rude
Follow the moon and the sun
And all of the damage it's done
I want to but I can't run
I know it's only just begun
It ain't no fun
Thought about eyes of green
And all of the shit that they've seen
Never made it past seventeen
Man what a scene
You know what I mean?
Thought of a skull and crossbones
The poison it runs through our bones
The junkies that live with their jones
Always reaping what they've sown
My mind is blown
Thought of what's yours and what's mine
And who all has got that much time
Hey mister can you spare a dime?
The words always rhyme

(Benson)

Take my hand and let it begin
Open your heart and let me in
Girl, I think I'm in love with you
And I think you're in love with me, too

There's this girl whose kiss is all I dream of
I'm the boy who prays it's with me that she's in love

The summer has come, and with it your face
In my mouth it's your skin I can taste
I know the way past all of your fear
It's a song that I sing in your ear

There's this girl whose kiss is all I dream of
I'm the boy who prays it's with me that she's in love

If I knew the words I would write to her
And if I only had wings I could fly to her
There's this girl whose kiss is all I dream of
I'm the boy who prays it's with me that she's in love
There's this girl whose kiss is all I dream of

(Benson/Falkner)

Once knew a woman, she was skin and bones
Invited all the insects to come into her home
She trained them so well
They could answer her phone
The day finally came when the poor woman was overthrown
Her husband returned home from voyages at sea
To find his lovely wife dead and a spider sipping tea
He drew his knife and swore
He would have the spider's eyes
An army of red ants nearly took him by surprise
The sailor and his wife lay dead while neighbors peeked in
Outside the dogs were mesmerized
By the humming from within
News spread throughout the town of the insects' arrival
People gathered in the church to pray to God
And quote from the Bible
Men came with gasoline and torches abright
A billion flies covered the skies til it was dark as night
The cries were barely heard beneath the buzzing of the bees
Now the insects rule so get down on your knees
And the town crier said:
You God-fearing people had better beware
Gather up your idols and begin to prepare
The time has come, the locusts have taken the air

(Benson)

Maginary girl
You lay awake in your bed
Speaking the words in your head
You think about what it means to be dead
You've got your wits about you
That's good, cause she's a vulture
You try to come up with a means to and end
Maginary girl
She comes on like the Gulf Stream
Like Devil's Night on Halloween
Now she's a total eclipse of the sun
She makes it obvious now
Her special weakness for
Softserve ice cream from the Dairy Queen
She's like twilight
In between day and night
Used to be grass roots
Now she's supernatural
She's like twilight
In between day and night
Used to be grass roots
Now she's supernatural

(Benson/Falkner)

House in Virginia
We' love to see you, Emma
Red velvet chairs for you to sit on, Emma
Blue cobalt teacups every shape, every size
Your favorite designs
White flawed enamel pots
And a place on the shelf for everything you've got
When are you coming to stay?
Say that you'll never go away
Porch swings and everything
Your favorite pets, they're everywhere
Willow trees and a cool breeze
Lemonade, freshly squeezed
Sun-thickened linseed oil
Is studio equipped for brooding
Alcohol and turpentine somehow you find it soothing
(chorus)
She stands at the full length
Admiring herself in her grandmother's hat
She says, when she gets her strength
She's flying away and she's never coming back

(Benson/Falkner)

The girl with the silver on her thing
Wanna take her home, meet mom and dad
It's hard to tell 'bout a girl like this
She might smile or she might spit on them
I wanna scrub her face and take her in my car
She plays with the radio and it drives me mad
Smells like cherries, and you know it makes me high
We talk about them as we drive away
Cherries
(Smells like cherries)

(Benson)

Show me the moon and I'll play you a tune
I brought out the moon, and I'll show it to you soon
Meet me down at the fiddler's square
And I'll brush your hair
Fly you in a big airplane
All the way to Japan
Take you to a fancy beach
Roll you around in the sand
Swing on my porch in South Carolina
Gaze at the fireflies in the sky
Feed you jambalaya, red beans, and rice
Make you a strawberry rhubarb pie
Make you a strawberry rhubarb pie