Counting Crows Album

Well I guess you left me with some feathers in my hand
Did it make it any easier to leave me where I stand?
I guess there might not be too many who would stand beside you now
Where'd you come from? Where am I going?
Why'd you leave me 'til I'm only good for...

waiting for you
All my sins...
I said that I would pay for them if I could come back to you
All my innocence is wasted on the dead and dreaming

Every night these silhouettes appear above my head
Little angels of the silences that climb into my bed and whisper
every time I fall asleep every time I dream
"Did you come? Would you lie?
Why'd you leave us 'til we're only good for...

Waiting for you"
All my sins...
I said that I would pay for them if I could come back to you
All my innocence is wasted on the dead and dreaming

I dream of Michelangelo when I'm lying in my bed
Little angels hang above my head and read me like an open book
Suck my blood, break my nerve offer me their arms
Well, I will not be an enemy of anything
I'll only stand here

Waiting for you
All my sins...
I said that I would pay for them if I could come back to you
All my innocence is wasted on the dead and dreaming

Step out the front door like a ghost
into the fog where no one notices
the contrast of white on white.
And in between the moon and you
the angels get a better view
of the crumbling difference between wrong and right.
I walk in the air between the rain
through myself and back again
Where? I don't know
Maria says she's dying
through the door I hear her crying
Why? I don't know
Chorus
Round here we always stand up straight
Round here something radiates
Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand
she said she'd like to meet a boy who looks like Elvis
and she walks along the edge of where the ocean meets the land
just like she's walking on a wire in the circus
she parks her car outside of my house
takes her clothes off
says she's close to understanding Jesus
she knows she's more than just a little misunderstood
she has trouble acting normal when she's nervous
Chorus: Round here we're carving out our names
Round here we all look the same
Round here we talk just like lions
But we sacrifice like lambs
Round here she's slipping through my hands
Sleeping children better run like the wind
out of the lightning dream
Mama's little baby better get herself in
out of the lightning
She says "it's only in my head"
She says "Shhh I know it's only in my head"
But the girl on the car in the parking lot
says "Man you should try to take a shot
can't you see my walls are crumbling?"
Then she looks up at the building
and says she's thinking of jumping
She says she's tired of life
she must be tired of something
Round here she's always on my mind
Round here hey man got lots of time
Round here we're never sent to bed early
and nobody makes us wait
Round here we stay up very, very, very, very late
I can't see nothing.. nothing round here
will you catch if I'm falling
will you catch me if I'm falling
will you catch me cause I'm falling down on you
I said I'm under the gun around here
I'm innocent I'm under the gun around here
and I can't see nothing
nothing round here

When I think of heaven
deliver me in a black-winged bird
I think of flying down into a sea of pens and feathers
And all other instruments of faith and sex and God
in the belly of a black-winged bird.
Don't try to feed me
I've been here before
And I deserve a little more
[chorus]
I belong in the service of the Queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been crying and I've been thinking
And I am the Rain King
[verse]
And I said mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone
I can't go outside
I'm scared I might not make it home
I'm alive, I'm alive
But I'm sinking in
If there's anyone at home at your place, darling
Why don't you invite me in?
Don't try to bleed me
I've been there before
And I deserve a little more
[chorus]
I belong in the service of the Queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been lying and I've been sinking
And I am the Rain King
[bridge]
Hey, I only want the same as anyone
Henderson is waiting for the sun
Oh, it seems night endlessly begins and ends
After all the dreaming I come home again
[verse]
When I think of heaven
deliver me in a black-winged bird
I think of dying
Lay me down in a field of flame and heather
Render up my body into the burning heart of God
in the belly of a black-winged bird
Don't try to bleed me
I've been here before
And I deserve a little more
[chorus]
I belong in the service of the queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been dying and I've been drinking
And I am the Rain King

A long December and there's reason to believe
maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember the last thing that you said as you were leaving
Now the days go by so fast
And it's one more day up in the canyons
And it's one more night in Hollywood
If you think that I could be forgiven...I wish you would
The smell of hospitals in winter
And the feeling that it's all a lot of oysters, but no pearls
All at once you look across a crowded room
to see the way that light attaches to a girl
And it's one more day up in the canyons
And it's one more night in Hollywood
If you think you might come to California...I think you should
Drove up to Hillside Manor sometime after two a.m.
and talked a little while about the year
I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower,
Makes you talk a little lower about the things you could not show her
And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe
maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass
And it's one more day up in the canyon
And it's one more night in Hollywood
It's been so long since I've seen the ocean...I guess I should

She sat right down on the sofa
Says where have you been?
I been waiting for you
Cause last night I had something so good
These days get so long
and I got nothing to do
I been hanginaround this town on the corner
I been bummin' around this old town so long
I been hanginaround this town on the corner
I been bummin' around this old town for way too long
We spend all day getting sober
just hiding from daylight
watching tv
We just look a lot better in the blue light
Well you know I gotta get out
Well I'm stuck so tight weighed by the chains that keep me
hanginaround this town on the corner
I been bummin' around this old town too long
I been hanginaround this town on the corner
I been bummin' around this old town way too long
This girl listens to the band play
She says where have you been?
I been lying right here on the floor
(right here on the floor)
Well I got all this time to be waiting
for what is mine
to be hating
what I am
after the love has faded
Hanginaround this town on a corner
I been bummin' around this old town so long
I been hanginaround this town on a corner
I been bummin' around this old town for way way way way way too long
way way way way too long
way way way way too long
way way way way too long
(live insert) oh my god i say
get up real early in the morning
dont get up 'till the afternoon
Son, I see the day is dawning?
(she said well get up get dressed get out)
It's almost half past noon?

Well I woke up in mid afternoon cause that's when it all hurts the most
I dream I never know anyone at the party and I'm always the host
If dreams are like movies then memories are films about ghosts
You can never escape, you can only move south down the coast
Well I am an idiot walking a tightrope of fortune and fame
I am an acrobat swinging trapezes through circles of flame
If you've never stared off into the distance then your life is a shame
And though I'll never forget your face sometimes I can't remember my name

Hey, Mrs. Potter, don't cry
Hey, Mrs. Potter, I know why
But, hey, Mrs. Potter, won't you talk to me
Well there's a piece of Maria in every song that I sing
And the price of a memory is the memory of the sorrow it brings
And there is always one last light to turn out and one last bell to ring
And the last one out of the circus has to lock up everything
Or the elephants will get out and forget to remember what you said
Oh and the ghosts of the tilt-o-whirl will linger inside of your head
Oh and the ferris wheel junkies will spin there forever instead
When I see you, a blanket of stars covers me in my bed
Hey, Mrs. Potter, don't go, I said
Hey, Mrs. Potter, I don't know, but
Hey, Mrs. Potter, won't you talk to me
Well all the blue light reflections that color my mind when I sleep
And the lovesick rejections that accompany the company I keep
All the razor perceptions that cut just a little too deep
Hey, I can bleed as well as anyone but I need someone to help me sleep
So I throw my hand into the air and it swims in the beams
It's just a brief interruption of the swirling dust sparkle jet stream
Well I know I don't know you and you're probably not what you seem
Aw, but I'd sure like to find out
so why don't you climb down off that movie screen
Hey, Mrs. Potter, don't turn
Hey, Mrs. Potter, I burn for you
Hey, Mrs. Potter, won't you talk to me
When the last king of Hollywood shatters his glass on the floor
and orders another
Well, I wonder what he did that for
That's when I know that I have to get out cause I have been there before
So I gave up my seat at the bar and I head for the door. Yeah.
We drove out to the desert just to lie down beneath this bowl of stars
We stand up in the Palace, like it's the last of the great pioneer town bars
Aw, we shout out these songs against the clang of electric guitars
Well, you can see a million miles tonight
but you can't get very far
Aw, you can see a million miles tonight
but you can't get very far
Hey, Mrs. Potter, I won't touch and
Hey, Mrs. Potter, it's not much but
Hey, Mrs. Potter, won't you talk to me (3X)

I was down at the New Amsterdam staring
at this yellow-haired girl
Mr. Jones strikes up a conversation with this
black- haired flamenco dancer
She dances while his father plays guitar
She's suddenly beautiful
We all want something beautiful
man I wish I was beautiful
So come dance this silence down through the morning
Cut up, Maria! Show me some of them Spanish dances
Pass me a bottle, Mr. Jones
Believe in me
Help me believe in anything
cause I want to be someone who believes
Mr. Jones and me tell each other fairy tales
and we st are at the beautiful women
"She's looking at you. Ah, no, no, she's looking at me."
Smiling in the bright lights
Coming through in stereo
When everybody loves you, you can never be lonely
I will paint my picture
Paint myself in blue and red and black and gray
All of the beautiful colors are very very meaningful
Gray is my favorite color
I felt so symbolic yesterday
If I knew Picasso
I would buy myself a gray guitar and play
Mr. Jones and me look into the future
Stare at the beautiful women
"She's looking at you.
, I don't think so. She's looking at me."
Standing in the spotlight
I bought myself a gray guitar
When everybody loves me, I will never be lonely
I will never be lonely
I will never be lonely
I want to be a lion
Everybody wants to pass as cats
We all want to be big big stars, but we all got different
reasons for that
Believe in me because I don't believe in anything
and I want to be someone to believe
Mr. Jones and me stumbling through the barrio
Yeah we stare at the beautiful women
"She's perfect for you, Man, there's got to be
somebody for me."
I want to be Bob Dylan
Mr. Jones wishes he was someone just a little more
funky
When everybody loves you, son, that's just about as
funky as you can be
Mr. Jones and me staring at the video
when I look at the television, I want to see me staring
right back at me
We all want to be big stars, but we don't know why
and we don't know how
But when everybody loves me, I'm going to be just
about as happy as I can be
Mr. Jones and me, we're gonna be big stars...

Gonna get back to basics
Guess I'll start it up again
I'm falling from the ceiling
You're falling from the sky now and then
Maybe you were shot down in pieces
Maybe I slipped in between
But we were gonna be the wildest people they ever hoped to see
yes you and me
So why'd you come home to this sleepless town
It's a lifetime commitment
recovering the satellites
All anybody really wants to know is...
When you gonna come down
Your mother recognizes all your desperate displays
and she watches as her babies drift violently away
'til they see themselves in telescopes
Well listen do you see yourself in me?
We're such crazy babies, little monkey
God we're so fucked up, you and me
So why'd you come home to this faithless town
where we make a lifetime commitment
to recovering the satellites
And all anybody really wants to know is...
when are you gonna come down
She sees shooting stars and comets tail
She's got heaven in her eyes
She says I don't need to be an angel
but I'm nothing if I'm not this high
But we only stay in orbit
for a moment of time
And then you're everybody's satellite
I wish that you were mine
I wish that you were mine
So why'd you come home to this angels town
It's a lifetime decision
recovering the satellites
everybody really knows for sure...
that you're gonna come down
that you're gonna come down

She comes out on Fridays every time
Stands out in a line
I could have been anyone she'd seen
She waits another week to fall apart
She couldn¡Їt make another day
I wish it was anyone but me
I could have been anyone you see
She had something breakable just under her skin
American girls are weather and noise
Playing the changes for all of the boys
Holding a candle up to my hands
Making me feel so incredible
She comes out of closets every night
But then she locks herself away
Where she could keep everything from me
I could have been anyone you see
She¡Їs nothing but porcelain underneath her skin
American girls are weather and noise
Playing the changes for all of the boys
Holding a candle right up to my hand
Making me feel so incredible
Little shiver shaking me everyday
But I could get this same thing anywhere
So if she goes away
well it's alright and I'm ok
hey, she said come back again tonight
I said I might I might I might
She said well that's alright
If it's alright, it's alright with you
If it's alright if it's alright with me
I waited for an hour last Friday night
She never came around
She took almost everything from me
I¡Їm going through my closets
Trying on her clothes, almost everyday
She could give anyone but me
I wish it was anyone but me
Nothing but pins and ashes under my skin
American girls are weather and noise
Playing the changes for all of the boys
Holding a candle right up to my hand
Making me feel so incredible
If I make you cry please tell me why
I can try again if you ask me to try
American girls are feathers and cream
Coming to bed so edible
American girls oh
American girls 2X
oh 4X
American girls oh
American girls 2X
oh 4X
You make me cry 5X
Hey Miss American girls

(originally by Joni Mitchell)

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey farmer farmer
Put away that DDT now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Late last night
I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Start tearing the old man down
Run past the heather and down to the old road
Start turning the grain into the ground
Roll a new leaf over
In the middle of the night there's an old man
treading around in the gathered rain
Hey mister if you gonna on water
would you drop a line my way
Chorus:
Omaha
Somewhere in middle America
Get right to the heart of matters
It's the heart that matters more
I think you'd better turn your ticket in
and get your money back at the door
Start threading a needle
Brush past the shuttle that slides through the cold room
Start turning the wool across the wire
Roll a new life over
In the middle of the night there's an old man
threading his toes through a bucket of rain
Hey mister you don't want to walk on water
cause you're only going to walk all over me
[Chorus]
Start running the banner down
Drop past the color come up through the summer rain
Start turning the girl into the ground
Roll a new love over
In the middle of the day there's a young man
rolling around in the earth and rain
Hey mister if you're going to walk on water, you know
you're only going to walk all over me
[Chorus]
ooooh said Omaha
It's Sunday morning
I'm coming home today.

originally by Grateful Dead
(Garcia/Hunter/Dawson)

I lit out from Reno,
I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didn't get to sleep that night
'Till the morning came around.

Set out runnin' but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight,
I just might get some sleep tonight.

Ran into the devil, babe,
He loaned me twenty bills
I spent the night in Utah
In a cave up in the hills.

Set out runnin' but I take my time,
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine,
If I get home before daylight,
I just might get some sleep tonight.

I ran down to the levee
But the devil caught me there
He took my twenty dollar bill
And vanished in the air.

Set out runnin' but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight,
I just might get some sleep tonight.

Got two reasons why I cry
Away each lonely night,
The first one's named Sweet Anne Marie,
And she's my hearts delight.
The second one is prison, baby,
The sheriff's on my trail,
And if he catches up with me,
I'll spend my life in jail.

Got a wife in Chino, babe,
And one in Cherokee
The first one says she's got my child,
But it don't look like me.
Set out runnin' but I take my time,
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine,
If I get home before daylight,
I just might get some sleep tonight.

Extra Verse

You can borrow from the devil
You can borrow from a friend
The devil'll loan ya twenty
But your friend got only ten

Albert's always sincere, he's a sensitive type
His intentions are clear, he wanna be well-liked
If everything is nothing, then are we anything?
Is it better to be better than to be anything?
And Albert's vision is blooming uncontrolled
All his wings are slowly sinking
The world begins to disappear
The worst things come from inside here
All the king's men reappear
For an eggman, on and off the wall
Who'll never be together again
Einstein's down on the beach staring into the sand
Cause everything he believes in is shattered
What you fear in the night in the day comes to call anyway-ay
We all get burned as:
one more sun comes sliding down the sky
One more shadow leans against the wall
The world begins to disappear
The worst things come from inside here
And all the king's men reappear
for an eggman, on and off the wall
Who'll never be together again
Albert's waiting in the sun
On a field American
For the cause of some inflated form of hit and run
One more sun comes sliding down the sky
One more shadow leans against the wall
The world begins to disappear
The worst things come from inside here
And all the king's men reappear
for an eggman, fallin' off the wall
Will never be together again
Albert's fallen on the sun
Cracked his head wide open
The world begins to disappear
The worst things come from inside here
And all the king's men reappear
for an eggman, falling, falling
The world begins to disappear
The worst things come from inside here
And all the king's men reappear
for an eggman, fallin' off the wall
Will never be together again
No never be together again
No no never never never again, uh huh
What you fear in the night in the day comes to call anyway

My friend assures me "it's all or nothing"
I am not worried- I am not overly concerned
My friend implores me " for one time only,
make an exception." I am not not worried
Wrap her up in a package of lies
Send her off to a coconut island
I am not worried - I am not overly concerned
with the status of my emotions
"oh", She says, "you're changing."
But we're always changing
It does not bother me to say this isn't love
Because if you don't want to talk about it then it isn't love
and I guess I'm going to have to live with that
but, I'm sure there's something in a shade of gray
or something in between
and I can always change my name if that's what you mean
My friend assures me "it's all or nothing`
But I am not really worried
I am not overly concerned
You try to tell yourself the things you try tell yourself to make
yourself forget
to make yourself forget
I am not worried
"If it's love" she said, "then we're gonna have to think about the
consequences"
cause she can't stop shaking and I can't stop touching her and.....
This time when kindness falls like rain
it washes her away and Anna begins to change her mind
"these seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering
for days" she says.
And I'm not ready for this sort of thing
But I'm not gonna break
And I'm not going to worry about it anymore
I'm not gonna bend. And I'm not gonna break and
I'm not gonna worry about it anymore
It seems like I should say "as long as this is love..."
But it's not all that easy so maybe I should just
snap her up in a butterfly net-
Pin her down on a photograph album
I am not worried
I've done this sort of thing before
But then I start to think about the consequences
Because I don't get no sleep in a quiet room and...
The time when kindness falls like rain
it washes me away and Anna begins change my mind
And every time she sneezes I believe it's love
and oh lord.... I'm not ready for this sort of thing
She's talking in her sleep-it's keeping me awake
And Anna begins to toss and turn
And every word is nonsense but I understand and
oh lord. I m not ready for this sort of thing
Her kindness bangs a gong
It's moving me along and Anna begins to fade away
It's chasing me away. She dissappears, and oh lord I'm not ready for this sort
of thing

Got no place to go
but there's a girl waiting for me down in Mexico
She's got a bottle of tequila, a bottle of gin
And if I bring a little music I can fit right in
We've got airplane rides
We got California drowning out the window side
We've got big black cars
And we've got stories how we slept with all the movie stars
I may take a holiday in Spain
Leave my wings behind me
Drink my worries down the drain
And fly away to somewhere new
Hop on my choo-choo
I'll be your engine driver in a bunny suit
If you dress me up in pink and white
We may be just a little fuzzy 'bout it later tonight
She's my angel
She's a little better than the one that used to be with me
Cause she liked to scream at me
Man, it's a miracle that she's not living up in a tree
I may take a holiday in Spain
Leave my wings behind me
Drive this little girl insane
And fly away to someone new
Everybody's gone
They left the television screaming that the radio's on
Someone stole my shoes
But there's a couple of bananas and a bottle of booze
Oh, well happy new year's baby
We could probably fix it if we clean it up all day
Or we could simply pack our bags
And catch a plane to Barcelona 'cause this city's a drag
I may take a holiday in Spain
Leave my wings behind me
Flush my worries down the drain
And fly away to somewhere new
Take a holiday in Spain
Leave my wings behind me
Drive this little girl insane
Fly away to someone new
Fly away to someone new
Fly away to someone new

She don't want nobody near
But you can't get away from that
They appear and disappear
And they all get a string attached
Pretty soon they've got you hanging on the line
Pretty soon they're singing one by one, the same old rhyme
They say, "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight"
She don't want nobody home
Cause it's a little too crowded then
But she don't want to be alone
So they just keep pouring in
Pretty soon they've got her headed for the door
She comes home to find that they're not hanging 'round no more
She says, "I'm alright, you just can't get home tonight"
Don't you wonder what she looks like in the light?
She says "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight"
Pretty white-washed lies,
endless alibis
and reasons that need cleaning every night
Half a world away
You can't wash away the stain of the deceiving
And the things that you cannot believe
And well, she don't want no one around
Cause she don't want anybody to see
What she looks like when she's down
Cause that's a really sad place to be
Pretty soon she gets them crawling up the walls
Then she wonders why they beg her please to never call
She says "I'm ok, it's alright, hey look who's on TV tonight"
She says, "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight"
Don't you wonder why it's dark outside at night?
She says, "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight"