Cass McCombs Album

[No lyrics]

Prima Donna dodged a call from the Investor
Were you struck dumb?
Were you, Prima Donna?

Now struck dumb, the next call she picked up
Aha, you're not so lucky?
Are you, Prima Donna?

The Investor came through loud and clear
She was dumb, not deaf
Foul speech hit her ear
The poor, Prima Donna

She's met this man before and seen how he eats
He made no sense
His voice throbbed endlessly
To our Prima Donna

She phonetically built a sentence:
"Will this affect my record?"
"It might" the Investor menaced
The Investor menaced

Tell me what good could possible come?
He gives her the stage she deserves to perform on

And isn't it this stinking world that likes to see beauty suffer?
Well, isn't it?
Either way, too bad for her

She went out that night and blew the lid off the joint
Like an investment that never disappoints
The Prima Donna

In this spare room
We better see what we have and whom
An I.O.U. for the Same Thing
Only angels have wings
So they say

Here I stand, alive unto you

My fate's mercy seat
Sought blood to gulp and flesh to eat
And I can't blame you enough
But I'm indebted to your mercy and your love

Here I stand, alive unto you, alive unto you
Because you saved my life
Now I see there's so much to lose so much to lose
Because you saved my life
My life, you saved my life

Darling, now I must live for you
One reprieve grants another until each world is born anew

Here I stand, alive unto you, alive unto you
Because you saved my life
Now I see there's so much to lose, so much to lose
Because you saved my life

Here I stand, alive unto you, alive unto you
Because you saved my life
Now I see there's so much to lose, so much to lose
Because you saved my life

Never understand, never can ignore
I'm rotten to the core, since 1994
Never understand, never can ignore
I'm rotten to the core, since 1994

Your Uncle had an old saying:
"If you don't vote, then you can't complain"
Sizing up candidates 1st election day
You thought: "I'm 18 and have no opinion either way"

You had a lot of friends but no peers
Could you imagine - this could drag on four more years!
If one day you had more peers than friends,
It's because your means caught up with your ends

Jaws are wagging: "The 1 or the 2?"
Eager to put John Hancock on the 'who's who'
Voting seemed almost like a disease
An absolute a day, if you're feeling ill-at-ease

You thought about becoming a cop
Any job with a helmet, in case of a drop
You did what anyone else would do in your place
You toyed with the idea of entering the race

Instead of living in your own filth,
You had the nerve to think crop could spring from your tilth
You were called "Diva" by a protective young man
They still call you every name they can

It must be hard sometimes not to complain,
But that's the deal your Uncle once explained
If not choosing was accepted as a trade,
Not voting would be the smartest choice you've made

Don't vote

I love the job almost as much as I do you
It's a good job
I may not get paid as much
But I more than make up
With an enormous sense of self-worth
My job, my job
My job, my job

Some people just work to pay the bills
And put bread on the table
I couldn't do that
I need feeling and purpose
My job, my job
My job, my job

Although I admit sometimes it's not very fun
In fact, it can be pretty stressful
At the end of the day
I know I begun and completed the work
Only by my own willpower

There is work that is play
There is play that is work
And play that is play
And work that is work
And in only one of these lies happiness
I'm a pretty luck guy
I love you and I love my job, my job
My job, my job

Friend of mine let me show you
How the days in-between have become so few

Friend of mine united by dream
Make me a part of you and I will you of me

Friend of mine, forever let us travel high
To understand not only the how, but the why

Friend of mine fades to black
Does this belong to you?
I pull the knife from my back

I leapt from the cliff into a pool of Jersey river water, Jersey river water
The silly sideburn began its effects
I smashed my arm and my leg on the rock going down
But when I rose from the depths, and nearly death
What a friendly world I found!

A friend, a friend, a friend, a friend, a friend is the end, friend of mine
A friend, a friend, a friend, a friend, a friend is the end, friend of mine
A friend, a friend, a friend, a friend, a friend is the end, friend of mine

My sister, my spouse, are you comfortable with these words?
To me, they still seem to jingle like the pair of a badman's spurs

My sister, my spouse, you're burning at both ends
I said, "Is there a fire on the mountain?"
You replied, "Well that all depends"

You know, our parents' heroes are all movie actors
Necks tilted up to the angel of light
I can admit to the same allure

They say movies deal with archetypes
You know, I'll try on any mask
Brother, Son, Husband
A separate face for separate tasks

Death-card, Scorpio, Little devil
Villain is obviously most fun
Singer, Poet, Publicman
Well, easier said than done

Do-nothing, Roop-scoop, Mooch
Hell, I can take it
Loyal friend and confidant
Honey, I could never fake it

"My sister, my spouse": Rules of engagement!
You've been working so hard
We need a change, I can take a hint

Write down on these tears of newspaper
Words you would like to see disappear
Let ash fly above the rusty stovetop
I'm going to start with the word "sincere"
My sister, my spouse

I heard he's trying to write himself out of a hole he had dug
I heard his new mantra is "The more I kill, the more I love"
I heard he spends most his time staring at the lock on the door
Well, some people never change, even if change is what they're wishing for
Lionkiller got married, I heard some slug say
I said, see you next Tuesday, in the English way

I heard they married for the wedding, that his EQUINOX came true
I feel sorry for that kid, he had potential, I mean it, I really do
One guy said the dumb kid went looking for censorship
And found it on the stage!
I just wonder why anyone in their right mind would get married, nowadays
Lionkiller got married, or is it just hearsay?
He said, see you next Tuesday, but in an English way

You see, this is what happens when a leitmotif implodes
I'll give him one credit though, he has memorized his modes
And what about the Lion? Did it come disguised as a Medici?
I heard the Lion was invited to the big day, but the beast was too cowardly
Lionkiller got married, to a shrew named K
She said, see you next Tuesday, but in an English way

And the girl, what's her angle on this? I mean, like what does she do?
I heard she came from a family of catholic-athiests too
Alright, I'll cut those kids some slack, I'm not really all that conceited
I wish them all of my best, because they're going to need it
Lionkiller got married, and they live near L.A.
So I'll see you next Tuesday, meant in an English way

You had the idea of a home
You knew I was homesick, not alone
You said if you could only get through life
Without one opinion, you'd be fine
Eating was for the very involved
Your voice were the worst of all
Now you're free as the ferry out of Galveston
Eavesdropping on the competition

You had the idea of a cave
Where no one could hear you rant and rave
A good place for an insect
By God, I didn't know what to expect
New ideas crawled in to undermine
You gave them a piece of your mind
To be free, you paid the ransom
Eavesdropping on the competition, on the competition

Our competition
I don't mean to make fun
I ain't making light
The introduction of a gun
You're more bark than bite

The ideas turned into pacts
There wasn't even time to react
I signed my name on the dotted line
By God, it's nobody's fault but mine
Fingers crossed behind
I shoulda bought that hex potion from that guy
Now tell me, where can I run?
Eavesdropping on the competition

Cats hissing in the dark
Turned-over garbage cans around the park
The dangling, brittle scab on your knee
Oh, you're pretty cocksure, son
You're like a Villonian singing nun
Pray you wash your hair out in the sink

Armed with a mandolin
A snotted rag and a Delphic hymn
Shaking off the dew before it sticks
Oh, give us a melody
Before they send us back to the sea
Replace these wooden legs for ones that kick

Oh, Jonesy
Oh, Jonesy Boy
Oh, Jonesy
Oh, Jonesy Boy

I can't remember before
There ever was war
My boyhood home is now a jail
They paved over the ol' creek
To make a road for the lumbering teak
And shipped off my family by rail

Oh, I hope you stay a boy
At least to bring some old men joy
Even just to watch you tune your strings
They're blowing the shofar now
Off to stick another sow
The soil is hungry again for offerings

Oh, Jonesy
Oh, Jonesy Boy
Oh, Jonesy
Oh, Jonesy Boy

Oh, Jonesy
Oh, Jonesy Boy
Oh, Jonesy
Oh, Jonesy Boy

Oh, Jonesy
Oh, Jonesy Boy
Oh, Jonesy
Oh, Jonesy Boy

I guess you could say I've seen a lot
And most of if I've forgot
If there's one thing I've learned along
Is not to stick my nose where it don't belong

One way to go
Yet so many roads
How will we know?

I know the busses, I know the train
I've been searched by Customs and turned away
In legal terms I was "Allowed to leave"
So always have a new trick up your sleeve

One way to go
Yet so many roads
How will we know?
Bridging the gap
Wipe New York off the map
Then, where will we go?

People like us can't be beaten down
We just push off to a friendlier town
People like us make good neighbors
We've seen enough of rattling sabers

One way to go
Yet so many roads
How will we know?
Bridging the gap
Wipe L.A. off the map
Then, where will we go?
Where will we go?
Where will we go?