Over The Rhine Album

Come on boys
It's time to settle down
What do you think you'll gain
From all this runnin' around?

Come on boys
It's time to let it go
Everybody has a dream
That they will never own

Come on boys
It's time to let her down
You might be surprised
How far she'll get
With her feet on the ground

So come on boys

Every night we always
Led the pack
There and back
And we never could do anything half
Oh you have to laugh
You just gotta laugh

So come on boys
It weren't not for tryin'
It's called the laugh of recognition
When you laugh but you feel like dyin'

Come on boys
Now don't be shy
If we gotta walk away
We gotta hold our heads up high

You're not the first one to start again
Come on now friends
There is something to be said for tenacity
I'll hold on to you
If you hold on to me
Come on boys

There was a time
I could sleep anywhere­­—
My feet on a chair,
My heart in the woods;

But love was aloof,
Just a beggar for tips
A mime on whose lips
No promises stood

But you can cut me quick
In the light of the shade,
With the edge of the green
Of the yard's sharpest blade;
When nothing I knew
Was all that it seemed

I still dreamed
Of a love to outlive us
I still prayed
That this night would outlast us
And redeem some small thing
Far beyond me

Blossoms begin
Like the tip of a spear,
Or the curve of a tear
From a soldier who weeps;
Seducing the guard
Of lost years falling by­­—
As flowers to lie
On the dead feigning sleep

But you cut me quick
In the light of the shade,
On the edge of the green
Of the yard's dark parade;
When nothing we knew
Was all that it seemed
I still dreamed
Of a love to outlive us
I still prayed
That this night would forgive us
And redeem some small thing
Far beyond me

But you cut me quick
In the light of the shade,
On the edge of the green
Of the yard's sharpest blade;
When nothing we knew
Was all that it seemed
I still dreamed
Of a love to outlive us
I still prayed
That this night will convince us
And redeem some small thing
Far beyond me

Ramblin' over caliche
With a busted muffler set it free
Rock on

Blastin' Buddy on the radio
The Baptist wheat fields rolling low
Rock on
Rave on

Messiah come in a flat-head Ford
To the Kansas young and dumb and bored
Rock on

Adrenaline spills like blood that pours
Screamin' out-
Prepare Ye the way of the Lord
Rock on
Rave on

Redman scored between his teeth
Jackrabbits scatter underneath
Rock on

Bear down deep into the soul
The floorboard groans the rubber rolls
Rock on
Rave on

(Yeah we're) hauling ass to Arkalon
The ghost town on the Cimarron
Rock on

With eyes backlit by some wicked fire
He pops the wheel of raw desire
Rock on
Rave on

Blood is sweet, the veil is thin
Let your wreckage cleanse my skin

Never give up, never say die
To the long surrender
When the red tail dives
Rock on
Rave on

Soon
The near parade will find us
Soon
The fall-by-the-way may bind us

Tongue and groove, body and fender
The weight of your world is splendor
Soon

Soon
The troubled past will leave us
Soon
The bird of fear won't need us

The blood of our veins will guide us
A map of the train inside us
Soon

Soon

The howl of the angels will mark out time
The gift of your heart frees me from mine

Soon
The night that we call forever
Burns like a lost love letter

Soon
Soon
Soon

Sometimes all we believe
Turns out to be just a scam
Just trying to get my world
Get it undamned

It's been my lifelong song
Who'll take me Just As I Am
Help me to get my world
Get it undamned

I've got a thousand lost songs
(Far too many they just got away)
I've done a thousand things wrong
(Far too many for me to name)
But I'm not too far gone
To fall
Headlong
Into the arms that love me

Don't count me out just yet
I'm not your little lost lamb
God might still get my world
Get it undamned

I've got a thousand lost songs
(Far too many they just got away)
I've done a thousand things wrong
(Far too many for me to name)
But I'm not too far gone
To fall
Headlong
Into the arms that love me

I've got a thousand lost songs
(Far too many they just got away)
I've done a thousand things wrong
(Far too many for me to name)
But I'm not too far gone
To fall
Headlong
Into the arms that love me

But I'm not too far gone
To fall
Headlong...

I sing
The bebop apocalypse
Lean into you
God's hands on my hips
Grip the midnight microphone
Steel every cell of my flesh and bone
I wrestle my angel
In smoky stage lights
Climb Jacob's ladder
Two thousand more flights
Tell St. Valentine, Hey gimme five—
Baby our love song must survive

We were born in the dirt
On our hands and knees
But started out climbing
Deciduous trees
We learned to sway
Ridiculously high
Hungry to taste
Mouthfuls of sky
Now I bring all our secrets
To show and tell
How we dragged each other
Through heaven and hell
It's our smoking gun
But hey, we're still alive
Baby our love song must survive

Your third-story windows
On thirteenth and Main
Still glow with an eerie
Mysterious flame
Where we learned to slow dance
By dawn's early light
And tried to be tender
With all of our might
And just down the street
At the Milner Hotel
Rosie's sloppin' the hogs
And the infidels
They all went out of business
When the market took a dive
Baby our love song must survive

There's nights when I mostly
Just feel like a thief
With a prized possession
A gleeful belief
That love's both a joke
And a serious matter
You don't quite know your muse
But you know when you've had her
When I first saw your face yeah
It hurt you to smile
Your lips tasted like tears
I could kiss them for miles
On a midnight train—
May it never arrive
Baby our love song must survive

There's days when we lose
Our appetite
And days when we're bruised
And losing the fight
Of a lifetime, days
When we're looking inside
Wondering if
We're half dead or alive
But the slow honey drip
Of those young nights long gone—
The memory's a friendly whip
Urging us on
My mouth on your lips
Is just trying to revive
Baby our love song must survive

This love's the affirmation
Of everything good
The oxygen coursing
Through the blood
The feel of being understood
The belief that, Oh Yes,
Somehow we could
And the milkyway looks
Like a flimsy blouse
But now we're gentrified
In our civil war house
Safe as a painting
By Currier and Ives
Baby our love song must survive

So I still sing
The bebop apocalypse
Lean into you
God's hands on my hips
Grip the midnight microphone
Steel every cell of my flesh and bone
I still wrestle my angel
In smoky stage lights
Climb Jacob's ladder
Two thousand more flights
C'mon St. Christopher, how 'bout a high five—
Baby our love song must survive

Margie struck Geneva with her baby doll
Barb knocked off the medcart comin' down the hall
Bob leads the congregation when he sings
How Now Brown Cow
Only God can save us now

Jean says Fuzzy wuzzy fuzzy wuzzy was a bear
Miss Cleve sings Hallelujah from the choir in her chair
Behind his busy apron Raymond's naked standing proud
Only God can save us now

Who will save me
From myself
In the night?

When my time has come and it may be comin' soon
Don't mind me if you come to find me howlin' at the moon
I'll need a busy apron and a half-sedated crowd
Only God can save us now

A baby doll some chocolates and flowers made of silk
A clean room with a window and some Prozac in warm milk
And sneak us in some whiskey 'cause it's prob'ly not allowed
Only God can save us now

Oh yeah by the way
Oh yeah by the way
The thought of you it shook my head
Just today

Oh yeah by the way
Oh yeah by the way
What a waste that I still love you
After the mess you've made

What a waste that I'm not jaded
Once in awhile I even smile
What a waste you're just a stranger
To me now

Oh yeah by the way
Oh yeah by the way
There are still so many things
I wonder if I should say, like

What a waste that I still love you
But I can't erase one scar
All your self-inflicted wounds
Have made you what you are

So goodbye yesterday
Goodbye yesterday
I probably should have guessed that it could
End this way

What if I'm as good as you at
Walkin' away

I feel as lonely
As anybody
Who's cryin' on a Friday night

Once in a while
On my radio dial
I accidentally get it right

I'm thinkin' I might be tempted to
Slide on over
Slide on over

I'm thinkin' I need a little somethin' to
Tide me over
Tide me over
Till Memphis

You know that lonesome
Whippoorwill?
I know a girl who is bluer still

Is that a jukebox altar call
Or just a soft smoky place to fall?

I'm thinkin' I might be tempted to
Slide on over
Slide on over

I'm thinkin' I need a little somethin' to
Tide me over
Tide me over
Till Memphis

Cause the king knows how
To take me all the way
Yeah the king knows how
{the King knows how}
To take me all the way
To Memphis

I feel as lonely
As anybody
Who's cryin' on a Friday night

I'm not laughin'
Because it's funny.
Hank is laughin' 'cause he's always right

I'm thinkin' I might be tempted to
Slide on over
Slide on over

I'm thinkin' I need a little something to
Tide me over
Tide me over

You strike the match boy
But do you know how
To burn it all the way down
To Memphis

'Cause the king knows how
{The King knows how}
To take me all the way...

There's a bluebird in my heart
One that's drowning in its own wistful tine
For fear of pending tomorrow and lofty full moons
(And) never knowing where to start

There's a bluebird with a song
With little effort how she sings it so well
Like a lover with a broken-throated story to tell
I've kept her secret for so long

Why do you always make me drink alone?
When it comes to losing you I'm always on my own

There's a bluebird in my heart
Drowning in bourbon and brushstrokes all night
When all the ordinary sinners take flight
No one will ever see your wings

Days like this
You look up at the sky above you
Days like this
You think about the ones that love you

All I wanna do is live my life honestly;
I just wanna wake up and see your face next to me
Every regret I have I will go set it free
It will be good for me

Days like this
You think about the ones who went before you
Days like this
Have you ever seen the sky such a clear blue

All I wanna do is live my life honestly
I just wanna wake up and see your face next to me
Every regret I have I will go set it free
It will be good for me

Days like this
You think about the ones who love you
Days like this
Have you ever seen the sky such a clear blue

All my favorite people are broken
Believe me
My heart should know

Some prayers are better left unspoken
I just wanna hold you
And let the rest go

All my friends are part saint and part sinner
We lean on each other
Try to rise above

We're not afraid to admit we're all still beginners
We're all late bloomers
When it comes to love

All my favorite people are broken
Believe me
My heart should know

Orphaned believers, skeptical dreamers
Step forward
You can stay right here
You don't have to go

Is each wound you've received
Just a burdensome gift?
It gets so hard to lift
Yourself up off the ground

But the poet says, We must praise the mutilated world
We're all workin' the graveyard shift
You might as well sing along

All my favorite people are broken
Believe me
My heart should know

(As for) your tender heart—
This world's gonna rip it wide open
It ain't gonna be pretty
But you're not alone

'Cause all my favorite people are broken
Believe me
My heart should know

Orphaned believers, skeptical dreamers
You're welcome
Yeah, you're safe right here
You don't have to go

'Cause all my favorite people are broken
Believe me
My heart should know

Some prayers are better left unspoken
I just wanna hold you
And let the rest go

[No lyrics]