Rites of Passage
Album - 12 maggio 1992 - Debaser id 13113

three hits to the heart son
and it's poetry in motion
one could send you down the river
three's a strange way to be delivered

would you trade your words for freedom
that's a barter for a blind man
three hits to the heart son
and it's poetry in motion

are you levee'd like a treasure
only words can help me find you
and this world's a fickle measure
i would painfully remind you

from a wise man to your red hand
you lay covered ion our best sins
three hits to the heart son
and it's poetry in motion

well i dream you constant stranger
with your best bloods and your anger
you say mother do you claim me
my beloved do you blame me

well the first two might release you
but the last one sings in me son
three hits to the heart son
and it's poetry in motion

three hits to the heart son
and the last one sings in me

Galileo's head was on the block
The crime was looking up truth
And as the bombshells of my daily fears explode
I try to trace them to my youth

And then you had to bring up reincarnation
Over a couple of beers the other night
And now I'm serving time for mistakes
Made by another in another lifetime

How long 'til my soul gets it right?
Can any human being ever reach that kind of light?
I call on the resting soul, of Galileo
King of night vision, king of insight

And then I think about my fear of motion
Which I never could explain
Some other fool across the ocean years ago
Must have crashed his little airplane

How long 'til my soul gets it right?
Could any human being ever reach that kind of light?
I call on the resting soul, of Galileo
King of night vision, king of insight

I'm not making a joke,
You know me, I take everything so seriously
If we wait for the time 'til all souls get it right
Then at least I know there'll be no nuclear annihilation
In my lifetime, I'm still not right

I offer thanks to those before me
That's all I've got to say
'Cause maybe you squandered big bucks in your lifetime
Now i have to pay...
But then again it feels like some sort of inspiration
To let the next life off the hook
But she'll say "look what I had to overcome from my last life
I think I'll write a book!"

How long 'til my soul gets it right?
Can any human being ever reach the highest light?
Except for (the resting soul) Galileo, God rest his soul (of Galileo)
King of night vision, king of insight...

How long...? (until my soul gets it right)
('Til we reach the highest light)
How long...? ('til my soul gets it right)
('Til we reach the highest light)
How long...

There's a letter on the desktop
That I dug out of a drawer
The last truce we ever came to
From our adolescent war
And I start to feel the fever
From the warm air through the screen
You come regular like seasons
Shadowing my dreams

And the Mississippi's mighty
But it starts in Minnesota
At a place that you could walk across
With five steps down
And I guess that's how you started
Like a pinprick to my heart
But at this point you rush right through me
And I start to drown

And there's not enough room
In this world for my pain
Signals cross, and love gets lost
And time past makes it plain
Of all my demon spirits I need you the most
I'm in love with your ghost
I'm in love with your ghost

Dark and dangerous like a secret (don't tell a soul)
That gets whispered in a hush
When I wake the things I dreamt about you (don't tell a soul)
Last night make me blush
Then you kissed me like a lover
Then you sting me like a viper
I go follow to the river
Play your memory like the Piper

And I feel it like the sickness
How this love is killing me
But I'd walk into the fingers of your fire willingly
And dance the edge of sanity
I've never been this close
In love with your ghost

Unknowing captor
You'll never know much you
Pierce my spirit
But I can't touch you
Can you hear it, a cry to be free...
Oh, I'm forever under lock and key
As you pass through me

Now I see your face before me
That would launch a thousand ships
To bring your heart back to my island
As the sand beneath me slips
As I burn up in your presence
And I know now how it feels
To be weakened like Achilles
With you always at my heels

And my bitter pill to swallow
Is the silence that I keep
It poisons me, I can't swim free
The river is too deep
Though I'm baptized by your touch
I am no worst at most
In love with your ghost

(In love) You are shadowing my dreams (with your ghost)
(In love with your ghost)
(In love with your ghost)

you said the world was magic
i was wide-eyed and laughing
we were dancing up to the bright side
forget about your ego
forget about your pride
and you will never have to compromise
and you were only joking
you were only joking brother

we talked about our mothers
kissed the wounds of our fathers
i could have been your sister
i would have been your brother
you kissed me like i was a soldier
headed for a war
i dying man but i don't know what for
and you were only joking
you were only joking brother
you were only joking
(wide-eyed and laughing)
you were only joking brother
(dancing up to the bright side)

gravel and glass on the bottom of my feet
i bruised my heels on the swollen street
we were girls in bars
boys on the town
bumping like a pinball off a careless crowd
you said good friends are hard to come by
i laughed and bought you a beer
it's too corny to cry
well sentiment given
oh sentiment lost
you shake it off with a smirk and a toss
and you were only joking
you were only joking brother
you were only joking
were only joking brother
and you were only joking
(gravel and glass on the bottom of my feet)
you were only joking brother
(i bruised my heels on the swollen street)
you kissed me like a soldier heading for a war
(joking)
i'm a dying man
(you were only joking)
and you were only joking
(don't know what for)
(dying man)
you were only joking brother
(don't know what for)
and you were only
and you were only
and you were only joking
brother

one two three four
ah yeah
sha la
sha la
sha la
sha la
sha la
(wide eyed and laughing)
sha la
(dancing up to the bright side)
sha la
(wide eyed and laughing)
sha la
(dancing up to the bright side)

I left my anger in a river running highway 5
New hampshire, vermont, bordered by
College farms, hubcaps, and falling rocks
Voices in the woods and the mountaintops

I used to search for reservations and native lands
Before I realized everywhere I stand
There have tribal feet running wild as fire
Some past life sister of my desire

Jonas and ezekial hear me now
Steady now and dont come out
Im not ready for the dead to show its face
Whose turn is it anyway?
Anyway?

Now when I was young my people taught me well
Give back what you take or youll go to hell
Its not the devils land, you know its not that kind
Every devil I meet becomes a friend of mine
Every devil I meet is an angel in disguise

Jonas and ezekial hear me now
Steady now and dont come out
Im not ready for the dead to show its face
Whose angel are you anyway?

White - chain - rope - fear
(hush my darling)
Be still my dear

A bullet in the head, now hes dead
A friend of a friend, someone said
He was an activist with a very short life
I think theres a lesson here - he died without a fight

In the war over land where the world began
Prophecies say its where the world will end
But theres a tremor growing in our backyard
Fear in our heads, fear in our hearts
Prophets in the graveyard

Jonas and ezekial hear me now
Steady now and dont come out
Im not ready for the dead to show its face
Whose turn is it anyway?

Jonas and ezekial hear me now
Steady now I feel your ghost about
Im not ready for the dead to show its face
Whose angel are you anyway?

I said there's prophets in the graveyard
(now I walk in beauty)
Prophets in the graveyard
(beauty is before me)
Prophets in the graveyard
(beauty is behind me)
(above and below me)

A love-struck Romeo
Sings a street-side serenade
He's layin' everybody low
He's got a love song that he made
He finds a convenient street light
And steps out of the shade, and says something like
"You and me babe, how about it?"

Juliet says, "Hey it's Romeo
You nearly gave me a heart attack" yeah well
He's underneath my window, now she's singing
'Hey-la my boyfriend's back'
You shouldn't come around here
Singing up to people like that
Oh, anyway, whatcha gonna do about it?

O Juliet, the dice were loaded from the start
And I bet... and you exploded into my heart
And I forget, I forget, the movie song
When are you gonna realize
It was just that the time was wrong
Julie

Well we both come up on different streets
And they were both streets of shame
You know, they're both dirty, both mean
And yes even our dreams were the same
But I dreamed your dream for you
And now your dream is real, so tell me honey
Now how can you look at me as if i were just another one of your deals?
Now you can fall for chains of silver
And you can fall for chains of gold
You know, you fall for pretty strangers
And the promises they hold
Well you promised me everything, and then
And then you promised me thick and thin
And now you just turn away
And say Romeo? I think i used to have a scene with him

O Juliet, when we made love you used to cry
You said I love you like the stars above
Gonna love ya till I die
There's a place for us
I know you know this song
Now when you gonna realize
It was just that the time was wrong?
Julie, I'm so in love
So in love, yeah

But I can't do the talk
Like they talk on my t.v. screen
I can't do a love song
Not the way you sung it to me
I can't do anything but I would
Do anything for you
I can't do anything except
Be in love with you, yeah

Now all I do is miss you
And the way it used to be, you know
And all I do is keep the beat
I keep bad, bad company
And all I do is kiss you
Through the bars of this rhyme
When, Julie, I'd do the stars with you, anytime

Ah Juliet, when we made love you used to cry
You said I love you like the stars above
I'm gonna love ya till I die
There's a place for us
I know, you know, the movie song
One day we're gonna realize
It was just that the time was wrong
Julie, Julie, Julie

Now this love struck romeo
Sings a street-side serenade
He's lettin' everybody know
He's got a love song that he made
He finds a convenient street light
And he'll step out of the shade and he'll say something like
You and me babe, how about it?

Some will a strut and some will fret
See this an hour on this stage
Others will not but they'll sweat
In their hopelessness in their rage
We're all the same
The men of anger
And the women of the page

They published your diary
And that's how I got to know you
Key to the room of your own and a mind without end
And here's a young girl
On a kind of a telephone line through time
And the voice at the other end comes like a long lost friend

So I know I'm all right
my life will come my life will go
Still I feel it's all right
Cause I just got a letter to my soul
When my whole life is on the tip of my tongue
Empty pages for the no longer young
The apathy of time laughs in my face
You say each life has its place

The hatches were battened
Thunderclouds rolled and the critics stormed
Battles surrounded the white flag of your youth
But if you need to know that you weathered the storm
Of cruel mortality
A hundred years later I'm sitting here living proof

So you know it's all right
Your liife will come your life will go
Still you feel it's all right
Someone will get a letter to your soul
When your whole life was on the tip of your tongue
Empty pages for the no longer young
The apathy of time laughed in your face
Did you hear me say each life has its place

The place where you hold me
Is dark in a pocket of truth
The moon has swallowed the sun and the light of the earth
And so it was for you when the river eclipsed your life
But sent your soul like a message in a bottle to me
And it was my rebirth
So we know we're all right
Life will come and life will go
Still you'll feel it's all right
Someone�ll get a message to your soul
(And then you'll know you're all right)
And when my life is on the tip of my tongue
(Then you'll feel you're all right)
Empty pages for the no longer young
(The you'll feel its all right, and it's all right)
You said each life has it's place
(The you'll feel its all right, and it's all right)
And you said each life has it's place
And it's all right

i am an only child
born of the wild
riddled to spend my time
defending my land
you are the only one
born in the sun
riddled to spend your time
defending my plan
dead dog on the highway
median cats are growling at me
i turn my lights on brighter
i'm counting through the night ride
and it's one more life for the taker
chickenman chickenman
one more song for the maker
chickenman chickenman
on the road to athens
i saw a dead deer on the highway
i slipped into a desert
five prairie dogs and a rabbit
i was running down on queen street
i saw a woman on the sidewalk
(danger danger)
she was beaten by a stranger
(danger danger danger danger)
danger danger danger
and it's one more life for the taker
chickenman chickenman
chickenman hold my hand
one more song for the maker
hold my hand
chickenman
i was on the road to austin
met a man on the highway
he sold me junk and conversation
he was wise and dirty from the weather
i said darkness into darkness
all the carnage of my journeys
makes it harder to be living
he said it's a long road to be forgiven
one more life for the taker
chickenman chickenman
chickenman hold my had
one more song for the maker
chickenman chickenman
chickenman hold my hand
i am an only child
born of the wild
riddled to spend my time
defending my land
you are the only one
born in the sun
riddled to spend your time
defending my plan
i went looking for a car
found myself beneath the stars
i went looking for a girl
found a man and his world
chickenman chickenman
(i went looking for a car)
chickenman hold my hand
(found myself beneath the stars)
chickenman chickenman
(i went looking for a girl)
chickenman hold my hand
(found a man and his world)
i am an only child
(chickenman chickenman)
(chickenman hold my hand)
hold my hand
(chickenman chickenman)
(chickenman hold my hand)
i am an only child
(chickenman chickenman)
(chickenman hold my hand)
hold my hand
(chickenman chickenman)
(chickenman hold my hand)
chickenman chickenman
chickenman hold my hand
chickenman chickenman
chickenman hold my hand
chickenman chickenman
chickenman hold my hand
chickenman chickenman
chickenman hold my hand

Up on the airplane
Nearer my God to Thee
I start making a deal
Inspired by gravity (inspired by gravity)

If I did wrong, I won't do it again
Cause I can be sweet and good and nice
And if I had enemies, they're friends
I hold on, to my life, with the grip of a vice...

And I'm up the airplane (up on the airplane)
Nearer my God to Thee (nearer my God thee) (count on the plane)
I start making a deal
Inspired by gravity (inspired by gravity)

That little spot on the ground is my home town
Like to call it my home and it's sweet
I'd rather take a seat down there than a throne up here
Up above 30,000 feet...
And I'm up on the airplane...

I never should've read my horoscope
Or the fortune on the bubblegum strip
Saying, "what you think won't happen will"
Great thing to read before a trip...
On an airplane...

Thought says the big blue sky's like a swimming pool
Big fluffy cloud's like a feather bed
But I'd rather have a real pillow underneath my head
Lying in my bed, which is in my hometown
Which is on the ground

Far from an airplane (My bed, my hometown)
Far from an airplane (On the ground. My bed, my hometown)
Far from an airplane (On the ground. My bed, my hometown)
On the airplane [On the ground] [I'll be making a deal]
I'm up on the airplane (On the ground) (I'll be making a deal)
On the airplane (I'll be making a deal)
(I'll be making a deal)
(I'll be making a deal)

As I drive, from your pearly gates
I realize, that I just can't stay
All those mountains, they kept you locked inside
And hid the truth, from my slighted eyes

I came to you with a half-open heart
Dreams upon my back, illusions of a brand new start
Nashville, can't I carry the load
Is it my fault, I can't reap what i sow
Nashville, did you give me half a chance
With your southern style, and your hidden dance away
You dance away
And you dance away

All these voices, they whisper through my walls
They talk of falling fast, they say I'm losing it all
They say I'm running blind to love of my own
But I'll be walking proud, I'm saving what i still own

I fell on my knees to kiss your land
But you are so far down, and i can't even see to stand
In Nashville you forgot the human race
You see with half a mind what colors hide the face
Nashville, I'd like to know your fate
I'd like to stay a while
But I've seen your lowered states today
I've seen 'em today
Honey, I swear I've seen 'em today

Now I'm leaving
I've got all these debts to pay
You know we all have our dues, I'll pay 'em some other place
Ah, I never ask that you pay me back
We all arrive with more, I left with less than I had

Your town is made for people passing through
A last chance for a cause I thought I knew
But Nashville, you tell me what you are gonna do
With all your southern style, it'll never pull you through
Nashville, I can't place no blame
But if you forget my face, I'll never call your name again
No never again, no never again

I fell on my knees to kiss your land
But you are so far down, and i can't even see to stand
In Nashville you forgot the human race
You see with half a mind what colors hide the face
Nashville, I'd like to know your fate
I'd like to stay a while
But I've seen your lowered states today
I've seen 'em today
Honey, I swear I've seen 'em today

I'm running away, I'm running away
I'm running, I'm running
I'm running away

You dug a well
You dug it deep
For every wife you buried
You planted a cedar tree
The best...
The best you ever had...

I stand where you stood
I stand for bad or good
And I am green
And you are wood
The best...
The best he ever had...


I dig a well
I dig it deep
And for my only love
I plant a cedar tree
The best...
The best we ever had...