They Might Be Giants Album

I'm your only friend
I'm not your only friend
But I'm a little glowing friend
But really I'm not actually your friend
But I am

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

I have a secret to tell
From my electrical well
It's a simple message and I'm leaving out the whistles and bells
So the room must listen to me
Filibuster vigilantly
My name is blue canary one note* spelled l-i-t-e
My story's infinite
Like the Longines Symphonette it doesn't rest

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

I'm your only friend
I'm not your only friend
But I'm a little glowing friend
But really I'm not actually your friend
But I am

There's a picture opposite me
Of my primitive ancestry
Which stood on rocky shores and kept the beaches shipwreck free
Though I respect that a lot
I'd be fired if that were my job
After killing Jason off and countless screaming Argonauts
Bluebird of friendliness
Like guardian angels its always near

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

(and while you're at it
Keep the nightlight on inside the
Birdhouse in your soul)

Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch (and while you're at it)
Who watches over you (keep the nightlight on inside the)
Make a little birdhouse in your soul (birdhouse in your soul)

Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch (and while you're at it)
Who watches over you (keep the nightlight on inside the)
Make a little birdhouse in your soul (birdhouse in your soul)

Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet

Make a hole with a gun perpendicular
To the name of this town in a desk-top globe
Exit wound in a foreign nation
Showing the home of the one this was written for
My apartment looks upside down from there
Water spirals the wrong way out the sink
And her voice is a backwards record
It's like a whirlpool and it never ends

Ana Ng and I are getting old
And we still haven't walked in the glow of each other's majestic presence
Listen Ana hear my words
They're the ones you would think I would say if there was a me for you

All alone at the '64 World's Fair
Eighty dolls yelling "Small girl after all"
Who was at the Dupont Pavilion?
Why was the bench still warm? Who had been there?
Or the time when the storm tangled up the wire
To the horn on the pole at the bus depot
And in the back of the edge of hearing
These are the words the voice was repeating:

Ana Ng and I are getting old
And we still haven't walked in the glow of each other's majestic presence
Listen Ana hear my words
They're the ones you would think I would say if there was a me for you

When I was driving once I saw this painted on a bridge:
"I don't want the world, I just want your half"

They don't need me here, and I know you're there (don't need me)
Where the world goes by like the humid air (world goes by)
And it sticks like a broken record
Everything sticks like a broken record
Everything sticks until it goes away (it goes home)
And the truth is, we don't know anything (don't know)

Ana Ng and I are getting old
And we still haven't walked in the glow of each other's majestic presence
Listen Ana hear my words
They're the ones you would think I would say if there was a me for you

Ana Ng and I are getting old
And we still haven't walked in the glow of each other's majestic presence
Listen Ana hear my words
They're the ones you would think I would say if there was a me for you

Ana Ng and I are getting old
And we still haven't walked in the glow of each other's majestic presence
Listen Ana hear my words

Don't don't don't let's start
This is the worst part
Could believe for all the world
That you're my precious little girl
But don't don't don't let's start
I've got a weak heart
And I don't get around how you get around

When you are alone you are the cat, you are the phone
You are an animal
The words I'm singing now
Mean nothing more than meow to an animal
Wake up and smell the cat food in your bank account
But don't try to stop the tail that wags the hound

D, world destruction
Over and overture
N, do I need
Apostrophe T, need this torture?

Don't don't don't let's start
This is the worst part
Could believe for all the world
That you're my precious little girl
But don't don't don't let's start
I've got a weak heart
And I don't get around how you get around

No one in the world ever gets what they want and that is beautiful
Everybody dies frustrated and sad and that is beautiful
They want what they're not and I wish they would stop saying,
Deputy dog dog a ding dang depadepa
Deputy dog dog a ding dang depadepa

D, world destruction
Over and overture
N, do I need
Apostrophe T, need this torture?

Don't don't don't let's start
This is the worst part
Could believe for all the world
That you're my precious little girl
But don't don't don't let's start
I've got a weak heart
And I don't get around how you get around

I don't want to live in this world anymore
I don't want to live in this world

Don't don't don't let's start
This is the worst part
Could believe for all the world
That you're my precious little girl
But don't don't don't let's start
I've got a weak heart

Yes, no, maybe
I don't know
Can you repeat the question?

You're not the boss of me now
You're not the boss of me now
You're not the boss of me now
And you're not so big
Life is unfair

So I just stare
At the stain on the wall where
The TV'd been
But ever since
We've moved in it's been empty
Why I, why I'm in this room
There is no point explaining

You're not the boss of me now
And you're not so big
Life is a test

But I confess
I like this mess I've made so far
Grade on a curve and you'll observe
I'm right below the horizon
Yes, no, maybe, I don't know
Can you repeat the question?

You're not the boss of me now
You're not the boss of me now
You're not the boss of me now
And you're not so big
Life is unfair

You're older that you've ever been
and now you're even older
and now you're even older
and now you're even older

You're older that you've ever been
and now you're even older
and now you're older still

time - is marching on
and time - is still marching on

this day will soon be at an end
and now it's even sooner
and now it's even sooner
and now it's even sooner

this day will soon be at an end
and now it's even sooner
and now it's sooner still

You're older that you've ever been
and now you're even older
and now you're even older
and now you're even older

You're older that you've ever been
and now you're even older
and now you're older still

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night

Every gal in Constantinople
Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople
So if you've a date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul

Even old New York was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it I can't say
People just liked it better that way

So take me back to Constantinople
No, you can't go back to Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks

Istanbul (Istanbul)
Istanbul (Istanbul)

Even old New York was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it I can't say
People just liked it better that way

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks

So take me back to Constantinople
No, you can't go back to Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks

My name is Dr. Worm.
Good morning. How are you? I'm Dr. Worm.
I'm interested in things.
I'm not a real doctor,
But I am a real worm;
I am an actual worm.
I live like a worm.

I like to play the drums.
I think I'm getting good,
But I can handle criticism.
I'll show you what I know,
And you can tell me if you think I'm getting better on the drums.
I'll leave the front un-locked 'cause I can't
Hear the doorbell

When I get into it I can't tell if you are
Watching me twirling the stick.
When I give the signal, my friend
Rabbi Vole will pay the solo

Some day somebody else besides me will
Call me by my stage name, they will
Call me Dr Worm.
Good Morning how are you, I'm Dr Worm
I'm interested in things.
I'm not a real doctor,
But I am a real worm;
I am an actual worm.
I live like a worm.

I like to play the drums.
I think I'm getting good,
But I can handle criticism.
I'll show you what I know,
And you can tell me if you think I'm getting better on the drums.
I'm not a real doctor,
But they call me Dr. Worm.

Hey
Who's that playing
Hey
The guitar?

Is it Jim?
I don't know
Is it Jim?
I don't know

In the spaceship, the silver space ship, the lion takes control
In the spaceship, the silver space ship, the lion takes control

Hey
Who's that playing
Hey
The guitar?

Hush my darling, be still my darling, the lion's on the phone
Hush my darling, be still my darling, the lion's on the phone

Hush my darling, be still my darling
Hey
Hush my darling, be still my darling
Hey

Turn it up
The guitar
I can't hear
The guitar

In the spaceship, the silver space ship, the lion waves good-bye
In the spaceship, the silver space ship, the lion waves good-bye

Hey
Who's that playing
Hey
The guitar?

Hey
Hey
Hey
Hey

Evil
Evil is his one and only name
Evil
In his mind there is no other game
When your name is Evil
Bad is good, or so you think
But you're so very wrong— it's Evil
But being wrong is right
So then you're good again
Which is the evilest thing of all

Do you find his subtle ways invite you?
Does he excite you?
If his contradictions should attract you
Should he distract you

Heaven help you then
You're finished, it's the end
There'll be no retrieval
From the Evil
The Evil he will do

He is Evil
He is Dr. Evil
His name is EVIL!

You called me last night on the telephone
And I was glad to hear from you 'cause I was all alone
You said, "It's snowing, it's snowing! God, I hate this weather."
Now I walk through blizzards just to get us back together

We met in the springtime at a rock-and-roll show
It was on the Bowery when it was time to go
We kissed on the subway in the middle of the night
I held your hand, you held mine, it was the best night of my life.

'Cause everyone's your friend in New York City
And everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
The streets are paved with diamonds and there's just so much to see
But the best thing about New York City is you and me

Statue of Liberty, Staten Island Ferry, Co-op City, Katz's and Tiffany's*
Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, The Empire State where Dylan lived**
Coney Island and Times Square, Rockefeller Center
Wish I was there

You wrote me a letter just the other day
Said, "Springtime is coming soon so why don't you come to stay."
I packed my stuff, got on the bus, I can't believe it's true
I'm three days from New York City and I'm three days from you

'Cause everyone's my friend in New York City
And everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
The streets are paved with diamonds and there's just so much to see
But the best thing about New York City is you and me

'Cause everyone's my friend in New York City
And everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
The streets are paved with diamonds and there's just so much to see
But the best thing about New York City is you and me.

Particle man, particle man
Doing the things a particle can
What's he like? It's not important
Particle man

Is he a dot, or is he a speck?
When he's underwater does he get wet?
Or does the water get him instead?
Nobody knows, Particle man

Triangle man, Triangle man
Triangle man hates particle man
They have a fight, Triangle wins
Triangle man

Universe man, Universe man
Size of the entire universe man
Usually kind to smaller man
Universe man

He's got a watch with a minute hand,
Millenium hand and an eon hand
When they meet it's a happy land
Powerful man, universe man

Person man, person man
Hit on the head with a frying pan
Lives his life in a garbage can
Person man

Is he depressed or is he a mess?
Does he feel totally worthless?
Who came up with person man?
Degraded man, person man

Triangle man, triangle man
Triangle man hates person man
They have a fight, triangle wins

I taught you how to Cyclops Rock
And then you go and turn around and break my heart
And waste my cyclops time and mess up my cyclops mind

I'm sick like Chuckie was sick, my defeated heart keeps beating on
I won't die, like Chuckie won't die, but I'm not here to socialize
Gotta find a new place to hang out, because I'm tired of living in hell

I'm a mess since you cut me out but Chuckie's arm keeps me company
I'm a fright with my tombstone smile
All the children run away from me
Gotta find new friends to hang with because you're all afraid of me

I taught you how to Cyclops Rock
And then you go and turn around and break my heart
And waste my cyclops time and mess up my cyclops mind

It was sweet like lead paint is sweet but the after effects left me paralyzed
I just stare with my one glass eye hoping you won't be back again
There's a whole new generation waiting to be wrecked by you

I taught you how to Cyclops Rock
And then you go and turn around and break my heart
And waste my cyclops time and mess up my cyclops mind

I taught you how to Cyclops Rock
And then you go and turn around and break my heart
And waste my cyclops time and mess up my cyclops mind

They fixed up the corner store like it was a night club
It's permanently disco
Everyone is dressed so oddly I can't recognize them
I can't tell the staff from the customers

Baby check this out, I've got something to say
Man, it's so loud in here
When they stop the drum machine and I can think again
I'll remember what it was

You have to carry all your things
You can't misplace them
There's nowhere to place anything

Baby check this out, I've got something to say
Man, it's so loud in here
When they stop the drum machine and I can think again
I'll remember what it was

They're all shouting something at us, waving and pointing
They revamped the airport completely now it looks just like a night club
Everyone's excited and confused

Baby check this out, I've got something to say
Man, it's so loud in here
When they start the love machine and I can love again
I'll remember what it was

Baby check this out, I've got something to say
Man, it's so loud in here
Man, it's so loud in here
Man, it's so loud in here
Man, it's so loud in here

Hi, we're the Replacements (hi)
Hi, we're the Replacements (hi)
Hi, we're the Replacements (hi)
And we're playing in a rock'n'roll band (we're playing in a rock'n'roll band)
We're having a good time (we're)
We're having a good time (we're)
We're having a good time (we're)
Rock'n'rollin' 'til the break of dawn (Rock'n'rollin' 'til the break of dawn)

Hey, where's Tommy? Someone find Tommy
We're out on the road
Moving equipment, where's the equipment
Soon we're going home

Then we'll have a party (then)
Then we'll have a party (then)
Then we'll have a party (then)
Rock'n'rollin' 'til the break of dawn (Rock'n'rollin' 'til the break of dawn)
Hi, we're the Replacements (hi)
Hi, we're the Replacements (hi)
Hi, we're the Replacements (hi)
And we're playing in a rock'n'roll band (we're playing in a rock'n'roll band)

I don't wanna!
Hi
Hi
Hi
We're playing in a rock'n'roll band
We're
We're
We're

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees

Yo ho, it's hot, the sun is not
A place where we could live
But here on Earth there'd be no life
Without the light it gives

We need its light
We need its heat
We need its energy
Without the sun, without a doubt
There'd be no you and me

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees

The sun is hot

It is so hot that everything on it is a gas: iron, copper, aluminum, and many
others.

The sun is large

If the sun were hollow, a million Earths could fit inside. And yet, the sun is
only a middle-sized star.

The sun is far away

About 93 million miles away, and that's why it looks so small.

And even when it's out of sight
The sun shines night and day

The sun gives heat
The sun gives light
The sunlight that we see
The sunlight comes from our own sun's
Atomic energy

Scientists have found that the sun is a huge atom-smashing machine. The heat and
light of the sun come from the nuclear reactions of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen,
and helium.

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to you
And your racist friend
I know politics bore you
But I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
And your racist friend

It was the loveliest party that I've ever attended
If anything was broken I'm sure it could be mended
My head can't tolerate this bobbing and pretending
Listen to some bullet-head and the madness that he's saying

This is where the party ends
I'll just sit here wondering how you
Can stand by your racist friend
I know politics bore you
But I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
You and your racist friend

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to you
And your racist friend
I know politics bore you
But I feel like a hypocrite talking to you
And your racist friend

Out from the kitchen to the bedroom to the hallway
Your friend apologizes, he could see it my way
He let the contents of the bottle do the thinking
Can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding

This is where the party ends
I can't stand here listening to you
And your racist friend
I know politics bore you
But I feel like a hypocrite talking to you

Bangs
Above your eyes your hair hangs
Blow my mind your royal flyness I dig your bangs

Bangs
To drape across your forehead
To swing concordant angles as you incline your head

Once with a girl I fell in love sometime ago now she had...

Bangs
Are that on which the world hangs
I'm only holding your hand so I can look at your bangs

Bangs
Are like a pocket T-shirt
As casual as that while fully intentional

And in case you think I'm here cause I like making chit chat
Just remember what I said the money's under your hat

Bangs
Are that on which the world hangs
I'm only holding your hand so I can look at your bangs

Bangs
Above your eyes your hair hangs
Blow my mind your royal flyness I dig your bangs

Bangs
To drape across your forehead
To swing concordant angles as you incline your head

And although I like you anyway, check out your haircut
A proscenium to stage a face that needs no makeup

Bangs
Are that on which the world hangs
I'm only holding your hand so I can look at your bangs
I'm only holding your hand so I can look at your bangs

Sir hand
Or is it ma'am
I fell out of my right place again
And you
Considered me
And now I'm where a snail has to be

I want to thank you for putting me back in my snail shell
I want to thank you for putting me back in my snail shell

Was it something you would do for anybody?
Was it what you'd only do for me?
I need to know because you see
I want to thank you for putting me back in my snail shell

Friend
Look what you gave
And how can you ever be repaid?
How may I give you a hand
From the position at your feet where I stand?

So let me thank you for putting me back in my snail shell
I'd like to thank you for putting me back in my snail shell

Was it something you would do for anybody?
Was it what you'd only do for me?
I need to know because you see
I want to thank you for putting me back in my snail shell

Snail Shell
Thank you
Snail Shell
Thank you

Ah
Ah
Ah

Was it something you would do for anybody?
Was it what you'd only do for me?
Or was it something where you acted when you saw the need
And knew that there would be a way the act could be repaid
And so it may, but for today
I want to thank you for putting me back in my snail shell

She set your goldfish free
And now she's sighing
Blew out your pilot light
And made a wish

She doesn't have to have
Her dB's record back now
But there's not a lot of things
That she'll take back

(She wants) She wants to see you again
(She wants) She wants to see you again
Slowly twisting (Twisting)
In the wind (Twisting)
Twisting twisting (Twisting)
In the wind

She's not your satellite
She doesn't miss you
So turn off your smoke machine
And Marshall stack

She doesn't have to have
Her Young Fresh Fellows tape back now
But there's not a lot of things
That she'll take back

(She wants) She wants to see you again
(She wants) She wants to see you again
Slowly twisting (Twisting)
In the wind (Twisting)
Twisting twisting (Twisting)
In the wind

(She wants) She wants to see you again
(She wants) She wants to see you again
Slowly twisting (Twisting)
In the wind (Twisting)
Twisting twisting (Twisting)

I'm asleep but she's talking to me
She's walking 'round wearing all of my clothes
As she runs out of things to say
And grabs my coat to walk away

How 'bout another first kiss, she said
How 'bout another first kiss, I said
I want another first kiss like this
How 'bout another first kiss

Other people were too sentimental
Always worrying about their hair
Got tired of wasting all my time
Now I'm not worrying at all

How 'bout another first kiss, she said
How 'bout another first kiss, I said
I want another first kiss like this
How 'bout another first kiss

You could tell me we belong together
And I could tell you, you belong with me
But we've run out of things to say
And we'll be happy anyway, so

How 'bout another first kiss, she said
How 'bout another first kiss, I said
I want another first kiss like this
How 'bout another first kiss

How 'bout another first kiss, she said
How 'bout another first kiss, I said
I want another first kiss like this
How 'bout another first kiss

Love sees love's happiness
But happiness can't see that love is sad
That love is sad
Sadness is hanging there
To show love somewhere something needs a change
They need a change

They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To take the house he built for her apart
To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To pick the broken ruins up again
To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain

Lad's gal is all he has
Gal's gladness hangs upon the love of lad
The love of lad
Some things gal says to lad aren't meant as bad
But cause a little pain
They cause him pain

They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To take the house he built for her apart
To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To pick the broken ruins up again
To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain

Don't call me at work again no no the boss still hates me
I'm just tired and I don't love you anymore
And there's a restaurant we should check out where
The other nightmare people like to go
I mean nice people, baby wait,
I didn't mean to say nightmare

Lad looks at other gals
Gal thinks Jim Beam is handsomer than lad
He isn't bad
Call off the wedding band
Nobody wants to hear that one again
Play that again

They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To take the house he built for her apart
To make it break it's gonna take a metal ball hung from a chain
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
To pick the broken ruins up again
To mend her heart, to help him start to see a world apart from pain

They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane
They'll need a crane, they'll need a crane

The statue got me high
The statue got me high
The monument of granite sent a beam into my eye
The statue made me die
The statue made me die
It took my hand it killed me and it turned me to the sky

The stone it called to me
(And now I see the things the stone has shown to me)
A rock that spoke a word
(An animated mineral it can be heard)

And though I once preferred a human being's company
They pale before the monolith that towers over me

The statue got me high
The statue got me high
The truth is where the sculptor's chisel chipped away the lie
The statue made me fry
The statue made me fry
My coat contained a furnace where there used to be a guy

The stone it called to me
(And now I see the things the stone has shown to me)
A rock that spoke a word
(An animated mineral it can be heard)

And as the screaming fire engine siren filled the air
The evidence had vanished from my charred and smoking chair
And what they found was just a statue
Standing where the statue got me high
And what they found was just a statue
Standing where the statue got me high

And now it is your turn
(Your turn to hear the stone and then your turn to burn)
The stone it calls to you
(You can't refuse to do the things it tells you to)

And as the screaming fire engine siren fills the air
The evidence will vanish from your charred and smoking chair
And what they found was just a statue
Standing where the statue got me high
And what they'll find is just a statue
Standing where the statue got you high

She's got her ear to the walls and she's tappin' the calls
If you've got a secret boy, forget about it, 'cause she's a

Hotel Detective
my little
Hotel Detective
yeah she's a
Hotel Detective
Why don't you check her out

Well the bellhop is funky
The dumbwaiter's a monkey
If there's a knock at the door, boy, forget about it, 'cause she's a

Hotel Detective
my little
Hotel Detective
yeah
Hotel Detective
Cone on and check her out

She says she likes my face
She says she owns the place
Forget about it, 'cause she's a

Hotel Detective
my little
Hotel Detective
come on her
Hotel Detective
Why don't you check her out

Hotel Detective
Come on and swing with me
Hotel Detective
From the top of a tree
Hotel Detective
And make me feel like a bee
Hotel Detective

As your body floats down Third Street
With the burn-smell factory closing up
Yes it's sad to say you will romanticize
All the things you've known before
It was not not not so great
It was not not not so great
And as you take a bath in that beaten path
There's a pounding at the door
Well It's a mighty zombie talking of some love and posterity
He says "The good old days never say good-bye
If you keep this in your mind:
You need some lo-lo-loving arms
You need some lo-lo-loving arms"
And as you fall from grace the only words you say are

Put your hand inside the puppet head
Put your hand inside the puppet head
Put your hand inside
Put your hand inside
Put your hand inside the puppet head

Ads up in the subway are the work of someone
Trying to please their boss
And though the guy's a pig we all know what he wants
Is just to please somebody else
If the pu-pu-puppet head
Was only bu-bu-busted in
It would be a better thing for everyone involved
And we wouldn't have to cry

Put your hand inside the puppet head
Put your hand inside the puppet head
Put your hand inside
Put your hand inside
Put your hand inside the puppet head

Memo to myself: do the dumb things I gotta do
Touch the puppet head

Quit my job down at the carwash
Didn't have to write no-one a good-bye note
That said, "The check's in the mail, and
I'll see you in church, and don't you ever change"
If the pu-pu-puppet head
Was only bu-bu-busted in
I'll see you after school

Put your hand inside the puppet head
Put your hand inside the puppet head
Put your hand inside
Put your hand inside
Put your hand inside the puppet head

Put your hand inside the puppet head
Put your hand inside the puppet head
Put your hand inside
Put your hand inside

Someday mother will die and I'll get the money
Mom leans down and says, "My sentiments exactly,
You son of a bitch"
I palindrome I (I palindrome I)
I palindrome I (I palindrome I)
And I am a snake head eating (snake head)
The head on the opposite side (snake head)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)

See that bulletproof dress hanging from the clothesline
See the medical chart with the random zig-zag
Now I'll help it decide
I palindrome I (I palindrome I)
I palindrome I (I palindrome I)
And I am a snake head eating (snake head)
The head on the opposite side (snake head)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)

"Son I am able," she said "though you scare me."
"Watch," said I
"Beloved," I said "watch me scare you though." said she,
"Able am I, Son."

See the spring of the grandfather clock unwinding
(Egad, a base tone denotes a bad age)
See the hands of my offspring making windmills
(Egad, a base tone denotes a bad age)
Dad palindrome Dad
I palindrome I (I palindrome I)
I palindrome I (I palindrome I)
And I am a snake head eating (snake head)
The head on the opposite side (snake head)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)
I palindrome I (manonam)

Notes
Dial-a-Song had a substantially different song with the same name. This piece,
which had a different melody and was sung by Flansburgh instead of Linnell, goes
as follows:

I Palindrome I
Born on the 5th of July
One door shut, another one closed
I Palindrome I

She king of Brooklyn she
Master of all she surveys
Lives a life unencumbered by me
She king of Brooklyn she

Man, when I was a young man
Not like I'm driving a rocking chair now, but
Man, when I was a young man
I was free

I Palindrome I
Mister 5th of July
One door shut, another one closes for
I Palindrome I

Man, when I was a young man
Not like I'm driving a rocking chair now, but
Man, when I was a young man
I was free

I Palindrome I
Something just fell on my head
Born on the 5th of July
I Palindrome I

I Palindrome I
I Palindrome I
Something just fell on my head

I met someone at the dog show
She was holding my left arm
But everyone was acting normal so I tried to look nonchalant.
We both said, "I really love you,"
The Shriners loaned us cars
We raced up and down the sidewalk twenty thousand million times

Why did they send her over anyone else?
How should I react? These things happen to other people
They don't happen at all, in fact

When you're following an angel
Does it mean you have to throw your body off a building?
Somewhere they're meeting on a pinhead
Calling you an angel, calling you the nicest things
I heard they had a space program
When they sing you can't hear, there's no air
Sometimes I think I kind of like that and
Other times I think I'm already there

Gonna ask for my admission
Gonna speak to the man in charge
The secretary says he's on another line,
Can I hold for a long, long time?
I found out she's an angel
I don't think she knows I know
I'm worried that something might happen to me
If anyone ever finds out

Why, why did they send her over anyone else?
How should I react? These things happen to other people
They don't happen at all

When you're following an angel
Does it mean you have to throw your body off a building?
Somewhere they're meeting on a pinhead
Calling you an angel, calling you the nicest things
I heard they had a space program
When they sing you can't hear, there's no air
Sometimes I think I kind of like that and
Other times I think I'm already there

When you're following an angel
Does it mean you have to throw your body off a building?
Somewhere they're meeting on a pinhead

Birds are calling to sing along
But my window's painted shut
And all that year of chorus taught me
Is out of style and long forgot

How can I sing like a girl
And not be stigmatized
By the rest of the world?
Tell me how can I sing like a girl
And not be objectified
As if I were a girl?

I want to raise my freak flag
Higher and higher and
I want to raise my freak flag
And never be alone
Never be alone

From the watchtowers I've been spotted
Fingers pointing at my mouth
Spotlights turn and pivot towards me
But I dare not make a sound

How can I sing like a girl
And not be stigmatized
By the rest of the world?
Tell me how can I sing like a girl
And not be objectified
As if I were a girl?

I want to raise my freak flag
Higher and higher and
I want to raise my freak flag
And never be alone
Never be alone

How can I sing like a girl
And not be stigmatized
By the rest of the world?
Tell me how can I sing like a girl
And not be objectified
As if I were a girl?

How can I sing like a girl

How can I sing like a girl

How can I sing like a girl

How can I sing like a girl

In 1844, the Democrats were split
The three nominees for the presidential candidate
Were Martin Van Buren, a former president and an abolitionist
James Buchanan, a moderate
Louis Cass, a general and expansionist
From Nashville came a dark horse riding up
He was James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump

Austere, severe, he held few people dear
His oratory filled his foes with fear
The factions soon agreed
He's just the man we need
To bring about victory
Fulfill our manifest destiny
And annex the land the Mexicans command
And when the votes were cast the winner was
Mister James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump

In four short years he met his every goal
He seized the whole southwest from Mexico
Made sure the tarriffs fell
And made the English sell the Oregon territory
He built an independent treasury
Having done all this he sought no second term
But precious few have mourned the passing of
Mister James K. Polk, our eleventh president
Young Hickory, Napoleon of the Stump

Meet James Ensor
Belgium's famous painter
Dig him up and shake his hand
Appreciate the man

Before there were junk stores
Before there was junk
He lived with his mother and the torments of Christ
The world was transformed
A crowd gathered round
Pressed against his window so they could be the first

To meet James Ensor
Belgium's famous painter
Raise a glass and sit and stare
Understand the man

He lost all his friends
He didn't need his friends
He lived with his mother and repeated himself
The world has forgotten
The world moved along
The crowd at his window went back to their homes

Meet James Ensor
Meet James Ensor
Belgium's famous painter
Dig him up and shake his hand
Appreciate the man

Glass of milk
Standing in between extinction in the cold
and explosive radiating growth
So the warm blood flows
Through the large four-chambered heart
Maintaining the very high metabolism rate they have

Mammal, mammal
Their names are called
They raise a paw
The bat, the cat
Dolphin and dog
Koala bear and hog

One of us might lose his hair
But you're reminded that it once was there
From the embryonic whale to the monkey with no tail
So the warm blood flows
with the red blood cells lacking nuclei
Through the large four-chambered heart
Maintaining the very high metabolism rate they have

Mammal, mammal
Their names are called
They raise a paw
The bat, the cat
Dolphin and dog
Koala bear and hog

Placental the sister of her brother Marsupial
Their cousin called Monotreme
Dead uncle Allotheria

Mammal, mammal
Their names are called
They raise a paw
The bat, the cat
Dolphin and dog
Koala bear and hog
The fox, the ox
Giraffe and shrew
Echidna, caribou

You gave me a pet name
Which is not to say I like it
We met at a party
Not to say I was invited

You said love was just a lie
But I could tell that you were lying
And we almost figured out how we'd get along
And given time we'd find it strange to be alone and

You work in a hotel
At the magazine concession
Back in just five minutes
Reads the sign above your station

Slip your profits in a bag
And you're looking up to the hour hand
And we almost figured out how we'll get along
And given time we'll find it strange to be alone and

You just forgot your one pet name for me
And all those promises you said you'd keep
And it's a lucky thing
Because that sentimental stuff
Doesn't suit you
At all

Waiting at the bus stop
For just about an hour
Strategies for hangman
Cat's cradle, origami

You say I'm OK for a guy
But I can tell that you are lying
And we've almost figured out how we'll get along
And given time we'll find it strange to be alone and

You just forgot your one pet name for me
And all those promises you said you'd keep
And it's a lucky thing
Because that sentimental stuff
Doesn't

You just forgot your one pet name for me
And all those promises you said you'd keep
And it's a lucky thing
Because that sentimental stuff
Doesn't suit you
At all

No is no
No is always no
If they say no, it means a thousand times no

No plus no equals no
All nos lead to no no no

Finger pointing, eyebrows low
Mouth in the shape of the letter O

Pardon me -- No!
Excuse me -- No!
May I stay?
Can I go?
No, no, no

Do this -- No!
Don't do that -- No!
Sit, stay, roll over
No, no, no

Finger pointing, eyebrows low
Mouth in the shape of the letter O
Red means stop. Do not go.
No, no, no

I Can Hear You by They Might Be Giants. Made at the Edison Laboratories.

I can hear you
Just barely hear you
I can just barely hear you

This is a warning
Step away from the car
This car is protected by Viper

Guess where I am
I'm calling from the plane
I'll call you when I get there

You won't hear a buzz
But I'm buzzing you in
I'm buzzing you in

What's your order?
I can super-size that
Please bring your car around

I can hear you
Just barely hear you
I can just barely hear you

Ladies and gentlemen
Ladies and gentlemen

Spider
He is our hero
Spider
Get rid of
Spider
Step on spider
Spider
We love you spider

I promise not to kill you
Spider

Spider
We love you spider
Spider
Get rid of
Spider
Must stop
Spider
He is our hero

I saw the best minds of my generation
Destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical
I should be allowed to glue my poster
I should be allowed to think

I should be allowed to glue my poster
I should be allowed to think
I should be allowed to think
I should be allowed to think
And I should be allowed to blurt the merest idea
If by random whim, one occurs to me
If necessary, leave paper stains on the grey utility pole

I saw the worst bands of my generation
applied by magic marker to dry wall
I should be allowed to shoot my mouth off
I should have a call in show

I should be allowed to glue my poster
I should be allowed to think
I should be allowed to think
I should be allowed to think
And I should be allowed to blurt the merest idea
If by random whim, one occurs to me
If necessary, leave paper stains on the grey utility pole

I am not allowed
To ever come up with a single original thought
I am not allowed
To meet the criminal government agent who oppresses me

I was the worst hope of my generation
Destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical
I should be allowed to share my feelings
I should be allowed to feel

I should be allowed to glue my poster
I should be allowed to think
I should be allowed to think
I should be allowed to think
And I should be allowed to blurt the merest idea
If by random whim one occurs to me
But sadly, this can never be

I am not allowed to think
I am not allowed to think
I am not allowed to think (I am not allowed to think)
I am not allowed to think (I am not allowed to think)
I am not allowed to think (I am not allowed to think)
I am not allowed to think (I am not allowed to think)

Everything is catching
Yes, everything is catching on fire
(Everything's catching on fire)
Everything is catching on fire (everything's catching on fire)

Fingertips
Fingertips
Fingertips

I hear the wind blow
I hear the wind blow
It seems to say, "Hello, Hello,
I'm the one who loves you so."

Hey now everybody now
Hey now everybody
Hey now everybody now

Who's that standing out my window?

I found a new friend
Underneath my pillow

Come on and wreck my car (come on)
Come on and wreck my car (come on)
Come on and wreck my car (come on)
Come on and wreck my car (come on)

Aren't you the guy who hit me in the eye?
Aren't you the guy who hit me in the eye?

Please pass the milk, please
Please pass the milk, please
Please pass the milk, please

Leave me alone, leave me alone

Who's knocking on the wall?

All alone all alone
All by myself

What's that blue thing doing here?

Something grabbed ahold of my hand
I didn't know what had my hand
But that's when all my troubles began

I don't understand you (I don't understand you)
I just don't understand you (I don't understand you)
I don't understand the things you say
I can't understand a single word
I don't understand you (I don't understand you)
I just don't understand you (I don't understand you)
I cannot understand you (I don't understand you)
I don't understand you (I don't understand you)

I heard a sound, I turned around
I turned around to find the thing
That made the sound

Mysterious whisper
Mysterious whisper
Mysterious whisper
Mysterious whisper

The day that love came to play

I'm having a heart attack
I'm having a heart attack
I'm having a heart attack
I'm having a heart attack

Fingertips
Fingertips

I walk along darkened corridors
And I walk along darkened corridors
I walk along darkened corridors
And I walk along darkened corridors

Words fail
Buildings tumble
The ground opens wide
Light beams down from heaven
She stands before my eyes

She's actual size, but she seems much bigger to me
Squares may look distant in her rear view mirror but they're actual size
As she drives away

Big men
Often tremble
As they step aside
I thought I was big once
She changed my mind

She's actual size, but she seems much bigger to me.
I've never known anybody like her, she's actual size
Nationwide, believe

She's got
All the money
Money couldn't buy
She's got something special
That someone left behind

She's actual size, but she seems much bigger to me
Squares may look distant in her rear view mirror but they're actual size
Actual size to her

Her face
Hangs in portrait
On the post office wall
She's stuck in my heart now
Where my blood belongs

She's actual size, but she seems much bigger to me
I've never known anybody like her, she's actual size
Actual size, believe

I see you from my spy plane, baby
I see you walking on the ground
I see you through my spy glasses, baby
I can see right through the ground
If you want to be a spy
Then you must really see
And you must really see
If you want to be a spy like me

Come on

I might gaze on a submarine
I see your face smiling at me
Even when I close my eyes
Your silhouette is smiling at me
But you will never understand me
Because I have a special job
I wish I could break the spy glass
Set it free
So we could be

Spy spy spy spy
Spy spy spy spy
Spy spy spy spy
Spy spy spy spy

Spy

Stormy pinkness
Human weakness
Fills my jolly cup with gloom
Your progression
My digression
Forty days this afternoon
The things we cherish are small indeed
So much the larger the need
Stormy pinkness
Set me thanklessly free

Exquisite dead guy
Rotating in his display case
Exquisite dead guy
Swear I saw his mouth move

Exquisite dead guy
Outside my high rise apartment
Exquisite dead guy
Hanging from a skyhook

How am I supposed to let you know the way I feel
About you

How am I supposed to let you know the way I feel
About you

In a future time
Children will work together
To build a giant cyborg

Robot Parade
Robot Parade
Wave the flags that the robots made
Robot Parade
Robot Parade
Robots obey what the children say

There's electric cars
There's electric trains
Here comes a robot with electric brains

Robot Parade
Robot Parade
Wave the flags that the robots made
Robot Parade
Robot Parade
Robots obey what the children say

Daddy'll sing bass
Daddy'll sing bass
Daddy'll sing bass
Daddy'll sing bass

I took my boat for a car
I took that car for a ride
I was trying to get somewhere
But now I'm following the traces of your fingernails
That run along the windshield on the boat of car

Daddy'll sing bass

Traces of your fingernails that run along the windshield
On the boat of car
On the boat of car
On the boat of car

Dressed only in clothes
From her head to her toes
This is the way
The talking part goes

S-E-X-X-Y
More than enough
Around the clock with nobody else
S-E-X-X-Y

There she is
Standing on the bed
Cookie in one hand, wig on her head
S-E-X-X-Y

X because it's extra baby
Y because it's extra baby
Unnoticed by few
Very very few
And that includes you

Look inside your mind
Look inside your eye
Secret agent spy, come to see why
S-E-X-X-Y

One finger nail
Across your back
Baby's first gold tooth initials inscribed
S-E-X-X-Y

X because it's extra baby
Y because it's extra baby
You gotta understand
She wants to be your man
She's got another plan

There's only two songs in me and I just wrote the third
Don't know where I got the inspiration or how I wrote the words
Spent my whole life just digging up my music's shallow grave
For the two songs in me and the third one I just made

A rich man once told me
"Hey life's a funny thing"
A poor man once told me
That he can't afford to speak
Now I'm in the middle like a bird without a beak 'cause

There's just two songs in me and I just wrote the third
Don't know where I got the inspiration or how I wrote the words
Spent my whole life just digging up my music's shallow grave
For the two songs in me and the third one I just made

So I went to the President
And I asked old what's-his-name
Has he ever gotten writer's block
Or something like the same
He just started talking
Like he was on TV
"If there's just two songs in ya, boy
Whaddaya want from me?"

So I bought myself some denim pants
And a silver guitar
But I politely told the ladies
"You'll still have to call me Sir
Because I have to keep my self-respect
I'll never be a star
Since there's just two songs in me

There's a girl with a crown and a scepter
Who's on WLSD
And she says that the scene isn't what it's been
And she's thinking of going home
That it's old and it's totally over now
And it's old and it's over, it's over now
And it's over, it's over, it's over now
I can see myself

At the end of the tour
When the road disappears
If there's any more people around
When the tour runs aground
And if you're still around
Then we'll meet at the end of the tour
The engagements are booked through the end of the world
So we'll meet at the end of the tour

Never to part since the day we met
Out on Interstate 91
I was bent metal you were a flaming wreck
When we kissed at the overpass
I was sailing along with the people
Driving themselves to distraction inside me
Then came a knock on the door which was odd
And the picture abruptly changed

At the end of the tour
When the road disappears
If there's any more people around
When the tour runs aground
And if you're still around
Then we'll meet at the end of the tour
The engagements are booked through the end of the world
So we'll meet at the end of the tour

This was the vehicle these were the people
You opened the door and expelled all the people
This was the vehicle these were the people
You opened the door and expelled all the people
This was the vehicle these were the people
You let them go

At the end of the tour
When the road disappears
If there's any more people around
When the tour runs aground
And if you're still around
Then we'll meet at the end of the tour
The engagements are booked through the end of the world
So we'll meet at the end of the tour
And we're never gonna tour again
No, we're never gonna tour again

I could never sleep my way to the top
'Cause my alarm clock always wakes me right up
And since my options had been whittled away
I struck a bargain with my radio DJ
I said I'd like this song to be number one
He said "I'd really really like to help you my son"
And then I knew that I would have him to thank
Because he asked me how much I had in the bank

He said to think long term investment and
That all the others had forgiven themselves
He said the net reward would justify
The colossal mess they'd made of their lives

He said the record wouldn't have to be hot
And no one ever seemed to care if it's not
It would depend on something else that I've got
And that the other ones who'd given it a shot
Had seen a modest sum grow geometrically
And then they had forgiven themselves
Because the net reward had justified
The colossal mess they'd made of their lives*

Hey Mr. DJ, I thought you said we had a deal
I thought you said, "You scratch my back and I'll scratch your record"
And I thought you said we had a deal

Well, I told you about the world (its address)
I wonder when they're gonna clean up the mess
You know the rabid child is still tuning in
Chess piece face's patience must be wearing thin
Because they haven't played this song on the air
Not that anyone but me even cared
And the Disk Jockey has moved out of town
The district courthouse says he's nowhere to be found

He said to think long term investment and
That all the others had forgiven themselves
He said the net reward would justify
The colossal mess they'd made of their lives

Hey Mr. DJ, I thought you said we had a deal
I thought you said, "You scratch my back and I'll scratch your record"

Fell in the door
And you fell on the floor
With your hand on the knob
Looking up and abruptly
Forget what you're thinking
Fire alarms go off in your head
You live

In the nightgown of the sullen moon
How the windows lean into the room
In the nightgown of the sullen moon

Drug trip, it's not a drug trip so you feel a bit insulted
Space walk, it's like a space walk with the corresponding weight loss
And you're nothing but air, with your hand in the air
And your shoelaces tied up together with care
There's a feeling of boredom
Of the big whoredom
Following dressing up

In the nightgown of the sullen moon
How the windows lean into the room
In the nightgown of the sullen moon

In the nightgown of the sullen moon
How the windows lean into the room
In the nightgown of the sullen moon

Your head is on the moon
It's not necessary to breathe
Forever is a long time
Your head is on the moon
It's not necessary to breathe
Forever is a long time
Your head is on the moon

Avalanche or roadblock
I was a snowball in hell
Avalanche or roadblock
A jailer trapped in his cell

Money's all broke, and food's going hungry
If it wasn't for disappointment
I wouldn't have any appointments

Side effect or drug trip
Don't tease me with all of your might
Side effect or drug trip
My panacea's in a Xerox shop

Have a nice day, you want it when?
Have a nice day, have a nice day

I didn't expect to find a salesman drinking coffee this late in the morning. How
long you been here, Joe?
Oh, I don't know, I guess thirty, forty-five minutes maybe. Why do you ask?
You must be making a lot of sales, piling up good income.
Oh... uh... I'm doing all right. I could do better, but... Ohahaha I get it
Paul.
Back on that old "Time is Money" kick, right?
Not back on it, Joe, still on it.

Avalanche or roadblock
I was a snowball in hell
Avalanche or roadblock
A jailer trapped in his cell
Money I owe, money-iy-ay
Money I owe, money-iy-ay

Avalanche or roadblock

I remember the year I went to camp
I heard about some lady named Selma and some blacks
Somebody put their fingers in the President's ears
It wasn't too much later they came out with Johnson's wax
I remember the book depository where they crowned the king of Cuba
Now that's all I can think of, but I'm sure there's something else
Way down inside me I can feel it coming back

Purple toupee will show the way when summer brings you down
(Purple toupee when summer brings you down)
Purple toupee and gold lame will turn your brain around
(Purple toupee and gold lame)

Chinese people were fighting in the park
We tried to help them fight, no one appreciated that
Martin X was mad when they outlawed bell bottoms
Ten years later they were sharing the same cell
I shouted out, "Free the Expo '67"
Till they stepped on my hair, and they told me I was fat
Now I'm very big, I'm a big important man
And the only thing that's different is underneath my hat

Purple toupee will show the way when summer brings you down
(Purple toupee when summer brings you down)
Purple toupee and gold lame will turn your brain around
(Purple toupee and gold lame)

Purple toupee is here to stay after the hair has gone away
The purple brigade is marching from the grave

We're on some kind of mission
We have an obligation

I'm going down to Cowtown
The cow's a friend to me
Lives beneath the ocean and that's where I will be
Beneath the waves, the waves
And that's where I will be
I'm gonna see the cow beneath the sea

The yellow Roosevelt Avenue leaf overturned
The ardor of arboreality is an adventure we have spurned, we've spurned
A new leaf overturned
It's a new leaf overturned

And so I'm going down to Cowtown
The cow's a friend to me
Lives beneath the ocean and that's where I will be
Beneath the waves, the waves
And that's where I will be
I'm gonna see the cow beneath the sea

We yearn to swim for home, but our only home is bone
How sleepless is the egg knowing that which throws the stone
Foresees the bone, the bone
Our only home is bone
Our only home is bone

And so I'm going down to Cowtown
The cow's a friend to me
Lives beneath the ocean and that's where I will be
Beneath the waves, the waves
And that's where I will be
I'm gonna see the cow beneath the sea

Yes I'm going down to Cowtown
The cow's a friend to me
Lives beneath the ocean and that's where I will be
Beneath the waves, the waves
And that's where I will be
I'm gonna see the cow beneath the sea
Yes I'm gonna see (I'm gonna see)
The cow (the cow)