Bruce Hornsby Album

In our beautiful pursuit, of manifest destiny
We give ourselves great credit
We thank the Good Lord so earnestly
But something's been omitted, by the writers of history
Now stand up all unsung heroes who
Made this world for you and me

(Jamestown)
Night crawlers cleared the forests, of seedlings, nuts and leaves
And everything everywhere dried up and the natives got the dry heaves
Mosquitoes brought malaria and bees brought their hives
And the Indians got less scarier with yellow skin and eyes

Hoorah, hooray, the black rats of London
They crossed the sea for you and me
Let's raise a glass so thankfully
Hail, Hail, hooray, the black rats of London
Made the long treacherous passage too
Spread their natural juices, a gift to you

(Yorktown)
Parasites decimated the red army of Cornwallis and his flock
Standing weakly on Yorktown battlefield with measles and small pox
Horses, hogs, chickens and dogs, and John Rolfe's prized worms
Divine intervention, bacterial strains from imported English dirt

Hoorah, hooray, the black rats of London
They crossed the sea for you and me
Let's raise a glass so thankfully
Hail, Hail, hooray, the black rats of London
Made the long treacherous passage too
Spread their natural juices, a gift to you

Pat yourself on the back, you did a great job
And the black rats of London made such a glorious, vicious mob

Sorry Rene it's just not true
Parameciums have feelings too

Where were the black rats
When we needed them the most
There were slave owners to infect
And the Joe Mengeles of the American West

Poppin' up, poppin' down
Burrowing, making their funny little sounds
Guarding the ground and rooting all around
Watch your dry bones in the prairie dog town

1. Teddy Roosevelt said come quick
There's a phenomenon and I'm in the thick of it
Riding around the badlands range
They came upon those creatures so strange
They're so small they couldn't hurt you
Just like they said about Napoleon too
Oh so cute they're sneaking around
Hiding the crimes 'round the Prairie Dog Town
They lay in wait 'neath the Dakota moon
For the chance to make you their next victim soon

Poppin' up, poppin' down
Burrowing, making their funny little sounds
Guarding the ground and rooting all around
Watch your dry bones in the prairie dog town

2. Went to a party at the Prairie Dog Town
Hills and holes and manicured grounds
Gaiety and chattering was in the air
While grinning teeth waited to bite you there
Small of mind better watch your back
Need rapid-moving eyes just to keep track
Behind the Bush he makes the gut strings wail
You can't judge a dog by the wag of its tail

Poppin' up, poppin' down
Burrowing, making their funny little sounds
Guarding the ground and rooting all around
Watch your dry bones in the prairie dog town

Don't put your trust in a prairie dog
They'll rob you back and steal your drawers
Stay in your car behind the glass
Or you might get some big sharp teeth in that ass

Disregard the great ethical truths
It's the collective life of the herd for you
Closed society, no open door policy
Collectivist secretive ideology
Utilitarian
Sublimation of individual identities
Suppression of dissidents
Communal living country club victory
For him and her and she and he

Poppin' up, poppin' down
Burrowing, making their funny little sounds
Guarding the ground and rooting all around
Watch your dry bones in the prairie dog town

The rose grows sick from the dark love of the worm
That finds its way to her crimson bed
And twists and turns
And burrows and burns

Most of our years have flown away with nothing much decided
Except the board we're playing on, how it's to be divided
Will more years yet die alone? The question's many-sided
Got no answers of my own and none have been provided

When I was a boy there was nothing to know
The wind followed me wherever I'd go
Rain came down where I made my stand
And the cyclone rose with a wave of my hand

There is a game that's only played in a darkened room with strangers
Dealt down and dirty with unmarked cards eyes closed to dangers
Jealousy folds without playing its hold card, romance raises grinning
I spent several lifetimes there where I could not lose for winning

When I was a boy there was love for free
Glad to be given and received by me
Rain came down where I made my stand
And the cyclone rose with a wave of my hand

I believe I can still make the cyclone rise
Just can't see it so well, with my fading eyes

A mystery to myself not everything now I was born to be
All I know is when I wanted it so, the wind itself rose for me

You know, if it wasn't for love
I might just be a wandering man
But believe I've made the better choice
To sing about it with this band

When I was a boy, I could summon the moon
With a crook of the finger and a home-made tune
I could ride the clouds when they sailed on by
And sing all the words to a wildcat's cry

When I was a boy there was nothing to know
The wind followed me wherever I'd go
Rain came down where I made my stand
And the cyclone rose with a wave of my hand

I believe I can still make the cyclone rise
And the cyclone rose
Wave of my hand
Rain came down where I made my stand

We were new to love when we were young
Lying in our arms, gravity unwinding
Not knowing we were too young to love
And the years passed by in our entwining
And the eastern coast met the western shore
The masses of land fit just like a glove
And the dawn that came up moved us to explore
The borders that outlined our love

Continents drift
Across a moonlit ocean
Continents divide
In a glacial measured motion
Continents drift
As foothills move our mountains
Our fault lines are accounted
As our continents divide

We're old hands at love, no longer young
Lying here alone, invisibly unwinding
Believing we needed to be young to love
The years pass by in our unbinding
And the world presses in and our shorelines change
The cycle of tides moves us in the darkness
Now the light that comes up on your distant range
From the east casts a shadow between us

Continents drift
Across a moonlit ocean
Continents divide
In glacial measured motion
Continents drift
As foothills move our mountains
Our fault lines are accounted
As our continents divide

Let's all keep our voices low,
Here's a story you don't know,
As good as anything we can't watch on HBO.

Before you say it's all bunk,
Or throw it out as so much junk,
Listen what this guy's been hiding in his trunk.

He's looking for me,
He's looking for you.
He'll cut off your feet
Just to take your shoes

There was that little girl,
Pink ribbon, auburn curls,
Who ended up as cargo and then taken for a whirl.

He must've given her a whack,
Pre-teen surprise attack,
She ended up between the guys' spare tire and his jack.

He's looking for me.
He's looking for you.
He'll cut off your feet,
Just to take your shoes.

He's looking for me.
He's looking for you.
Believe you me,
Every word is true.

In his kitchen there's a corpse,
He made a meal of his divorce,
He eats a different body part for every different course.

In his basement there's a crypt,
It's so well, well equipped,
He's seen so many ghoulish things they now seem non-descript.

He's looking for me.
He's looking for you.
Another peep,
And we'll be through.

He's looking for me,
He's looking for you,
He'll cut off your feet,
Just to take your shoes.

What do you do
Where do you go
What do you say
And how do you know
I'll say who cares
When people stare
I will make myself invisible
Yes I will, yes I will

1. When I feel like a freak
When I'm on the other end of someone's mean streak
People make fun I've got to lose myself
Take my thin skin and move it somewhere else

2. I'm setting myself up for the future
Looking for the chance that something good might lie ahead
I'm just looking for the possibilities
And in my mind I've got this skin I can shed

What do you do
Where do you go
What do you say
And how do you know
I'll say who cares
When people stare
I will make myself invisible
Yes I will, yes I will

3. I walk down the hallway, ducking
Barbs flying, people crying and I'll be lying on the floor
Get the feeling ain't doing nothing but sucking
Knock knock on my head becomes a loud loud roar

Well what have we here, what do I see?
I think someone's coming up to challenge me
I love it, I say bring it, I'm well prepared
Confidence rises with the heat out there

This thing is great
My excitement will not abate
I will act and not hesitate
Listen all you can relate
Like a skater with the best of skates
Confidence elevates
Looking for an ecstatic state
You are the master of your own fate
Watch how we radiate
Get up little children, levitate

I look and I look for the euphoric state
We've been putting our time in while you were playing games
Searching for a state of ecstasy
The cynical armchair experts, I'll just let them be

This thing is great
My excitement will not abate
I will act and not hesitate
Listen all you can relate
Like a skater with the best of skates
Confidence elevates
Looking for an ecstatic state
You are the master of your own fate
Gather round the schoolyard gate, history will record this date
Feel the shifting tectonic plates, you can get it even if you're straight
Allow me to illustrate, how we humbly will create
Time for the shake and bake
Get up, little children, levitate

This thing is great
My excitement will not abate
I will act and not hesitate
Listen all you can relate
Like a skater with the best of skates
Give a man a clean slate
Gonna stay up late
You are the master of your own fate
Gather round the schoolyard gate, history will record this date
Feel the shifting tectonic plates, you can get it even if you're straight
And the village children levitate
And the village children elevate

Allow me to illustrate, how we humbly will create
Time for the master of time and space, time for the shake and bake
This is how we levitate

1. Here we are again
Here where the darkness ends
I close my eyes and then
I see things as they were back when
We had, our own
Closed-down universe
Closed time-like curves
Fly east around the world

2. & Here we are again
The air between us bends
Seven times around the world
In a single second I will swirl
I move through, to find you
As a vibrating string
Balls colliding
Slower time elapsing

3. Here we are again
Here younger now than then
Many holes in space I rend
Dark matters' presence binds and mends
You stand, unseen
Only seen to me
Across the unknown
As time fades to shadows

Wildly moving radiation
Planets swirling like creation
Time for us to cut through space
Past the speed of light we race
All that's happened in the past erased
And here we are again
And again and again

You may discover the limits of the universe
You could come upon a place that's this world in reverse
You may find galaxy-producing ancient gas
And you may find a special way to get there real fast

Space is the place
Space is the place
Space is the place
Floating escape
Space is the place

You may find serenity in massive black holes
And you may find the Big Bang was really just a load
You may discover the hymn of the seventh galaxy
Keep your head in the clouds create something beautiful for me

Space is the place
Space is the place
Space is the place
Floating escape
Space is the place

I get in trouble for all my spacing
They say it's just myself I'm disgracing
I can't help it if my mind is racing
I've just got all these crazy thoughts
I want to do more than what I've been taught
Maybe I'm inventing the greatest cure
For the society's ills or something great I'm sure
I retreat into my zone
I'm sitting here but I've just left home

Space is the place
Space is the place
Space is the place
Floating escape
Space is the place

Remember those cartoons
We watched when we were younger
Opposing angels sat there
On Bugs' and Daffys' shoulders
And baffled and confused
Them with their clever banter
Now, the gods a young boy saw there
Reappeared when he was older

1. And driving I have Michael
On the seat beside me
Chiding me and tempting me
With aggressive reckless speed
Tailgating, speeding running yellow lights
Saint Michael is the angel who inspires us to fight

The Cherubim, The Seraphim
Saint Michael please don't tease me
A gospel hymn for life and limb
Archangel please release me

2. And lucky I have Raphael
Sent down to earth to save me
Calming me and soothing me
With heaven's healing grace
Courtesy and kindness, letting others in
Saint Raphael's the angel who doesn't need to win

The Cherubim, The Seraphim
Saint Raphael please guide me
A gospel hymn for life and limb
Archangel stay beside me
The Cherubim, The Seraphim
Archangels for a ride
A gospel hymn for life and limb
Michael, Raphael decide
A gospel hymn for life and limb
Archangel please release me

I've got a humble question
Respectfully suggested
For Jehovah, or Allah
My witness to bear
Final examination
Cross multiplication
Let me pass Algebra
That's my simple prayer

God, I've got a problem
A moral conundrum
Proportion biblical
And importance rare
Internal revenue
My filing's overdue
Please, please no audit
That's my simple prayer
This is my humble
This is my simple
My simple prayer

I've got a load of payments
Pitiful bank statements
I'm sinking in debt
I'm no millionaire
Finances are tottery
Liquidity is watery
Let me hit the lottery
That's my simple prayer

Lord, please hear my pleading
While my heart is beating
My hairline is receding
I'm losing my hair
Follicles are falling
That Rogaine bottle's calling
Don't let me be a baldy
That's my simple prayer

This is my humble
This is my moral
This is my simple
That's my simple prayer
Can you hear me,
Are you out there?
This is my simple prayer

Sweet Jesus, it's so vital
We win the football title
We've reached the semi-finals
If we lose it, it's not fair
Our glory, in your name
Will earn the town's acclaim
Let us win the game
That's my simple prayer

My husband doesn't get me
He never wants to pet me
That sort of upset me
So I had an affair
Last stop on a postal route
Something to write home about
Please don't let him find out
That's my simple prayer

Can you hear me
Are you out there
This is my simple prayer
This is my simple prayer
This is my simple prayer
This is my simple prayer

1. Got may flies in May
June bugs in June
Mosquitoes all summer long
And by July you're through
August is beautiful for copperheads and their friends
And ticks will embrace you all until September's end

We're having a ball in the low country
Having a ball in the low country
Having a ball, no problems at all, not hitting a wall
Having nice fun with you all
Having a ball in the low country

2. We hunt our beautiful wildlife
In our blaze orange hats
They make us look real funny
But it's the law got to respect that
Stand still for the turkey
Stay loose for the squirrel
Lots of specialized skills you need
In our corner of the world

We're having a ball in the low country
Having a ball in the low country
Having a ball, no problems at all, not hitting a wall
Having nice fun with you all
Having a ball in the low country

3. October, November sets us up
For Christmas time in the flats
More time to watch our furry friends
Hunt 'em, kill 'em, put 'em on a mat
January means New Year's
Time to get a buzz on
February March and April
More time for juicing, son

We're having a ball in the low country
Having a ball in the low country
Having a ball, no problems at all, not hitting a wall
Having nice fun with you all
Having a ball in the low country

4. We love our Bobby Labonte
And the WWF
We love our Swaggart and Haggard
And we love the W. the president
There's love all around us
Our church friends are doing well
And the little mongoloid children
We'll keep 'em all from hell