David Byrne Album

And in the land where I grew up
Into the bosom of technology
I kept my feelings to myself
Until the perfect moment comes

Then into your bloodstream I will go
Until I turn into a part of you
Flooding the garden of delights
That was a long long time ago
That was a long long time ago

It's not the ending of the world
It's only the closing of a discotheque
I used to go three times a week
But that was a long long time ago
Yeah, that was a long long time ago


And that roaring that you hear
Is only the blood that circles constantly
No it is not applause my dear
No, that was a long long time ago
That was a long long time ago

Ooh, oh ooh

In between stations I can hear
A million possibilities
It's only the singing of the stars
That burned out a long long time ago
They burned out a long long time ago

Ooh, oh ooh

There are no angels left in America anymore
They left after the Second World War heading west
Stopping briefly in Japan during the 60's
Then in Tianamen Square during the last decade
They kept heading west to who knows where
What are they after?
What are they looking for?
A messiah who never comes?
A virgin birth?
A perfect drug?
A sign, any kind of sign?
Anything that looks slightly out of the ordinary
Flying over fields and factories
Momma's going off her head
Daddy's bringing home the bacon
Open up the pearly gates
Fruit of salty lubrication
Tangled up in arms and legs
I can barely touch the bottom
Now I'm working up a sweat!
I'm ready now
I'm ready now

I can barely touch my own self
How could I touch someone else?
I am just an advertisement
For a version of myself
Like molecules in constant motion
Like a million nervous tics
I am quivering in anticipation
Like the sunlight on their wings
I'm ready now (don't look back)
I'm ready now (I'm ready for this)
I'm ready now

The sensuous world - the smell of the sea
The sweat off their wings - the fruit from the trees
The angel inside - who will meet me tonight
On wings of desire - I come back alive

I'm ready
I'm ready (I put the dogs outside)
I'm ready
I'm ready (to take that ride)
I'm ready now
I'm ready now (to take that wine)
I'm ready now but where are you?

I'm tired of good-byes and burials
Friends I have known
Some I just met
Standing around
It's hard to forget - now isn't it?

The war started in Bethlehem
A quarrel between holy men
Rocket's red glare
Night without end
Burning my eyes
It's hard to forget - now isn't it?

And if our cells are our destiny
I want to be free of biology
You are my friend
But I hurt you, too
It is not what
I intended to do
I saw my love by the restaurant
Diggin' for home fries in a garbage can
Ice cream and cake
Sweetness and light
A bottle of wine
Now that would be nice - wouldn't it?

We're living in a dump
Trying to figure out what sex we are
Exchanging chromosomes
Trying to bargain for a better future
Well I'll trade you my potential mental illness
For your bad teeth
How 'bout trading your sexy body for a full head of hair
Well we can't predict the future
But we're trying to do the best that we can
My cards are on the table
I'm gambling everything that I am
And some of us are hoping
To end up with a perfect life
I'll trade you everything that I got
For the chance to be someone else
But what you see is what you get
And what you give is what you choose
And what I am
What you see
Is exactly what I chose to be

Now we got a black market
Black market in designer genes
Most beautiful, most intelligent criminals you've ever seen
Now you're paying top dollar
For what you used to get for free
They'll stun you with their looks
And charm you with effortless ease

They've taken everything from you
The way you walk
The way you smile
The sound of your voice
Don't even know who you are
Who are you now?
Who are you now?

I'm a self made man, I'm a self-made man
I'm a self-made man (I got nothing left to give)
I'm a self-made man (I got nothing left to lose)

On down the hallway
The freaks are waiting for you
Somebody calls me
The freaks are waiting for you
And the clown will laugh in your face
Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho
The clown will laugh in your face
Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho
The clown will laugh in your face

The sun shines on the living
The sun shines on the dead
The sun shines on you and me
Wherever we lay our heads

The sun shines on the evil
The sun shines on the good
It doesn't favour righteousness
Although you wish it would

Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny
Are you still awake?
Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny
I'm terribly scared

And now I need an oasis
A place to hide from the day
I'd like a little dark tiny room
Where the music plays

Maybe you just lost somebody
Maybe your whole world has changed
The sun don't really care about that
It shines on anyway

Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny
Are you still awake?
Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny
I'm terribly scared

I'm going back in the box
Back in the box
Back in the box again
Back in the box
Back in the box
Back in the box again

And now love's terrifying
But I cannot hide what I want
You cannot hear me or see me now
Because I've gone back in the box

If I don't make no decisions
Then I won't make no mistakes
But through all those tiny holes
Well the light's still getting in

I'm going back in the box
Back in the box
Back in the box again
I'm going back in the box
Back in the box
Back in the box again ...

"You may think I look sad
But I am just sleeping
It's my facial expression
I'm probably dreaming

Would you like to be sad?
Would you like me to teach you?
Well, you can learn to be sad
But you must practice like I do

Na na na, na na na na ...

You must follow directions
And learn it right from the start
There isn't a short cut
It must come from your heart

Well there are those who are happy
And there are those who are wise
But it's the truly sad people
Who get the most out of life

Na na na, na na na na ...

You may think I look sad
But I am just sleeping
It's my facial expression
I'm probably dreaming
"

Lord knows we've become scientific
It's nothing special at all
Sometimes everything gets big and nothing is small
We can live here every day
We can be here whenever we play

And the knife is near at hand
I cut myself to see who I am
Reach inside, but I still can't touch
The policeman inside

Baby Jesus, Holy Moses!
He can stop on a dime
I guess there's just too many supposes
For me to put out that fire
Skin so soft, feels so light
Guess I'll stay home tonight
From the Rockies to the Rio Grande
Big shadow falls across the land
Had some money, but it's not enough
To keep me in line

We made love in a shower of stars
I had a vision in my backyard
I saw a car drive across the sky
Behind the wheel, look there, it's you and I
Looks like we're gonna get outta ourselves tonight

Looks like
What do you suppose?
Was it nothing at all?
What do you suppose?
Was it nothing at all?
Those good times, good times we had
Were they nothing at all?
Did I sleep a little too late?
Or am I awake?
Shake your body till the fear is gone
Like it was nothing at all
It's so easy, so easy, so easy
Hey, it's nothing at all
So easy, so easy, so easy
Hey, it's nothing at all

Some men desire a princess
And others lust for a temptress
Well I don't need one of those
'cause, my love is you
My love is you

Some men replace their mamas
And some want a young baiana
I have no use for those
'cause, my love is you
My love is you

Sometimes dear
You tell me I'm an asshole
Sometimes you're an asshole too
Even though we're filled with imperfections
I don't think any less of you

I'm primitive and selfish
I'm childlike and I'm helpless
Well I got that way because of
My love for you

My love is you
My love is you

Momma she had complications
There's nothing very strange about that
Nuns said "We can't kill that baby
We'll have to let your mother die"

We are all just lilies of the valley
We neither reap nor sow
We need to get our hands a little dirty
To make our gardens grow, hey hey

Way too many people on this island
Getting way too crowded on this boat
Need someone to bail some water
If we're gonna keep this thing afloat

I like a little sugar in my coffee
I don't mean Sweet 'n' Low
You don't know what you want until you find it
I believe you'll tell me so

I need a little water in my garden
I need a little sunlight on my head
I need someone to cover me with kisses
When I'm all alone and scared

We are all just lilies of the valley
We neither reap nor sow
We need to get our hands a little dirty
To make our gardens grow

I like a little sugar in my coffee
I don't mean Sweet 'n' Low
I - like to cover me with kisses
To make my garden grow

You and I - may kill ourselves
You and I - go straight to hell
Where they have barbeque and beer
Better than they do up here
And you know all the words to the songs

Yeah - we smoke cigarettes
We dance with the dead
They're soft to the touch
We drink way too much

And darling, I think you'll like it here
You might like it here

You and I - we ain't no saints
You and I - we can see our fates
We'll be the faces in the clouds
We'll be a gospel singer's shout
We'll be the lights from an airplane at night

Hey yeah - I can't stay in my skin
I bin in here too long
But I know where to find, a really good time
And darlin' I think you'll like it here
You might like it here

I'm gonna fall in love
With ev'ryone I meet
And ev'ryone I see
And ev'rything I touch
And ev'rything I feel

Isn't that the way (isn't that the way)
It's supposed to be? (isn't that the way)

It's supposed to be?

I'm the look upon your face
The water on your lawn
The light from distant stars
The wreckage of a plane

The space between your teeth
The itch you cannot scratch
The mentally unfit
The pimple on your lip

Isn't that the way (isn't that the way)
It's supposed to be? (isn't that the way)
It's supposed to be? (isn't that the way)
It's supposed to be? (isn't that the way)

I'm the ice cubes in your glass
A busted cadillac
A garden of delight
A joker in your deck

Well it ain't in what I feel
No, it ain't in what I say
In the pleasure of a kiss
It never fades away

Isn't that the way (isn't that the way)
It's supposed to be? (isn't that the way)
It's supposed to be? (isn't that the way)
It's supposed to be? (isn't that the way)

You and I

A man sits in a field - contemplating his crops
In his mind he travels all over the world

I see hairstyles, strange rituals
Scenes of beauty, scenes that disgust me
I see, I see me
I felt awe, felt disgust
I felt bliss, I felt lust
It's - not unusual

Saw people in a remote village
Proudly wearing their - digital watches
Saw a young Indonesian girl
Possessed by the spirit of Mutant Ninja Turtles
Saw palatial estates, with crumbling decorations
And human furniture

I saw hairstyles, meanwhile
There's a strange ritual
Got a strange ritual, it's wearing me down

Saw a skyscraper made out of abandoned car parts
Saw a legislature of women
Courted by corporate lobbyists
Saw body parts made out of precious gems
And rare metals, saw a man on a barstool
Who hadn't moved - in 32 hours

He's lost in love
He's lost in love
All hope is gone

A French corporation that doesn't make anything
An ambulance driver - wakes up in a Dairy Queen
A town in which even the people who live there
Can't remember it's name

Yeah, I see
Yeah, I see - I see what you mean
Yeah, I saw hairstyles
Meanwhile
There's a strange ritual
He's got a strange ritual

He keeps to himself
Mmm - got a strange ritual
He keeps to himself
"Excuse me, sir, excuse me, sir
You can't stand there
You can't stand there"
Excuse me, sir (excuse me, sir)
Excuse me, sir (excuse me, sir)
You can't stand there (you can't stand there)
You can't stand there (you can't stand there)

I saw things
Things out in the fields
I saw things
Things out in the fields
And I look at myself
What do I know?

(I saw things come into my room)

I saw things come into my room
It's not unusual
I saw hairstyles
Meanwhile
There's a strange ritual
Got a strange ritual
He keeps to himself
Yeah, we got a strange ritual
We keep to ourselves
He's lost in love
He's lost in love
All hope is gone
All hope is gone
All hands on deck
All hands on deck
He's lost in love
He's lost in love
We're lost in love
We're lost in love
All hope is gone
All hope is gone
We've got a strange ritual
We keep to ourselves
We've got a strange ritual
We keep to ourselves
Keep, keep, keep ...
We've got a strange ritual
We keep to ourselves

We're lost in love
We're lost in love
We're lost in love
We're lost in love ...

Runnin' naked, down the state highway
Runnin' naked, in the middle of the day
Runnin' naked like a tom cat's behind
Runnin' naked but the cat don't seem to mind

Give me your heart
I'll give you mine first
Give me your time
And I'll give you my trust

And we're buck naked now
Like when we were born
When will we find out?
And why does it take so long?

And we're buck naked now
And we're buck naked now
And we're buck naked now
In the eyes of the Lord

Runnin' naked like the day when I was born
We're all naked in the land where I come from
I'm a long long way from New York City now
We're all naked - if you turn us inside out

And we're buck naked now
We ain't got no clothes
Bare assed for sure
In the eyes of God

Naked in my heart
Naked in my soul
Well, how, how does it feel?
Does anybody know?

Well we're naked inside
You're naked too
Well there's nothing to fear
And there's nothing we can do

Well we're buck naked now
Buck naked now
Well we're buck naked now
In the eyes of the Lord.