The Hold Steady Album

There are nights when I think Sal Paradise was right.
Boys and Girls in America have such a sad time together.
Sucking off each other at the demonstrations
Making sure their makeup’s straight
Crushing one another with colossal expectations.
Dependent, undisciplined, and sleeping late.

She was a really cool kisser and she wasn’t all that strict of a Christian.
She was a damn good dancer but she wasn’t all that great of a girlfriend.
She likes the warm feeling but she’s tired of all the dehydration.
Most nights are crystal clear
But tonight it’s like it’s stuck between stations
On the radio.

The devil and John Berryman
Took a walk together.
They ended up on Washington
Talking to the river.
He said “I’ve surrounded myself with doctors
And deep thinkers.
But big heads with soft bodies
There was that night that we thought John Berryman could fly.
But he didn’t
So he died.
She said “You’re pretty good with words
But words won’t save your life.”
And they didn’t.
So he died.

He was drunk and exhausted but he was critically acclaimed and respected.
He loved the Golden Gophers but he hated all the drawn out winters.
He likes the warm feeling but he’s tired of all the dehydration
Most nights were kind of fuzzy
But that last night he had total retention.

These Twin Cities kisses
Sound like clicks and hisses.
We all tumbled down and
Drowned in the Mississippi River.

We drink
We dry up
Then we crumble to dust

She put $900 on the fifth horse in the sixth race
i think its name is "chips ahoy!"
it came in six lengths ahead, we spent the whole next week getting high
at first i thought that she hit off some tip that she got from some other boy
we were overjoyed

wo-ah-oh-ee-ah-oh-ee-oh
wo-ah-oh-a-ee-oh-oh
wo-ah-oh-ee-ah-oh-ee-oh
wo-ah-oh-a-ee-oh-oh

i got a girl and she don't have to work
she can tell which horse is gonna finish in first
some nights the painkillers make the pain even worse

came in six lengths ahead
we spent the whole next week getting high
i love this girl but i can't tell when she's having a good time

how am i supposed to know that you're high if you won't let me touch you? (wo-ah-oh-ee-ah-oh-ee-oh)
how am i supposed to know that you're high if you won't even dance? (wo-ah-oh-a-ee-oh-oh)
how am i supposed to know that you're high if you won't even dance? (wo-ah-oh-a-ee-oh-oh)

she's hard on the heart and she's soft to the touch
she gets migraine headaches when she does it too much
she always does it too much

how am i supposed to know that you're high if you won't let me touch you? (wo-ah-oh-ee-ah-oh-ee-oh)
how am i supposed to know that you're high if you won't even dance? (wo-ah-oh-a-ee-oh-oh)
how am i supposed to know that you're high if you won't let me touch you? (wo-ah-oh-ee-ah-oh-ee-oh)
how am i supposed to know that you're high if you won't even dance? (wo-ah-oh-a-ee-oh-oh)
and you won't even dance

I was not involved at the northtown mall.
as a matter of fact i didnt even know that's where it happened.

i was france ave when they came out dancing.
i was lyndale south. i was kicking it with cousins.
we were talking about going clubbing.
instead we just started drinking.

i've been straight since the cinco de mayo.
before that i was blotto.
i was blacked out. i was cracked out.
i was caved in.
you should have seen all these portals
that i've powered up in.

we started recreational.
it ended kinda medical.
it came on hot and soft and then
it tightened up its tentacles.

i wasnt there
i was lake and columbus.
i was cutting off all my hair.
i was unfurling a flag of defiance
aimed at my guidance guy.

so this is it.
this is the end of the session.
i ain't gonna be taking any more questions.
i think my attorney's gonna second that notion.

it started recreational.
it ended kinda medical.
it came on hot and soft and then
it tightened up its tentacles.
the band played screaming for vengance
and we agreed. this world is mostly manacled.
it started ice cream social nice.
it ended up all white and ecumenical.

there are guys
with wild eyes when they ask to get you high.
there are girls
that will come to you with comfort in the night.
thats right.

we started recreational.
it ended up all medical.
it came on hot and soft and then
it tightened up its tentacles.
the band played sabbath bloody sabbath
you thought it was stoney and adorable.
it started in the vestibule.
it ended in the hospital.

there are guys
with the wild eyes when they ask to get you high.
there are girls
that will come to you with comfort in the night.
there are nights
where it all comes on a little bit too bright.
there's a cross
and in the center there is a hot soft light

They found me in a florist
i was fried and out of focus.
i was kicking it with chemists.

the scratches on my back
they formed into a choir
and belted out a chorus.

there were clicks and hisses.
and complicated kisses.
gideon's got a pipe made from a pringles can.

hey hey providence
you gotta fall in love with whoever you can.

the sheets stain but the sins wash away.
naked bodies in the naraganset bay.

same kooks don't shoot but they sure do sniff.
same kooks can't fly because their wings are clipped.
same kooks can't come but they sure do kiss

the lord takes away and the lord delivers.
washed it all off in the mississippi river.

we slept it off in the matinees
we rip it up like the razor blades.
now we just need something to celebrate.
i wanna open some bottles up.
(I wanna open my body up).
I'm getting tired of all these styrofoam coffee cups.

she said its hard to feel holy when you can't get clean
now she's bumping up against the washing machines
she said its hard to slow down when you're picking up speed.

it was those two same kooks from that one stupid photo shoot.
it was those two same kooks from that one stupid photo shoot

Charlemagne shakes in the streets
Gideon makes love to the suites
and Holly's not invincible
in fact she's in the hospital
not far from that bar where we met
on that first night

Charlemagne pulls street corner scams
and Gideon's got a popcap from a Pringles can
Holly's insatiable, she still looks incredible
But she don't look like that same girl we met
on that first night
when she was golden with floorlight and beer
on that first night
she slept like she'd never been scared

And then last night
She said "Words so long never could save us."
And then last night
She cried and she told us about Jesus

Unhinged and uncontrollable
'Cause we can't get as high as we got
on that first night

Boys and girls in America
Boys and girls in America
Boys and girls in America
Boys and girls in America
Boys and girls in America

Don't bother talking to the guys
with their hot soft eyes
you know they're already taken
Don't even speak to all those sequin-surfed beach boys
when they kiss they spit white noise
when they kiss they spit white noise
when they kiss they spit white noise
when they kiss they spit white noise
yeah, when they kiss they spit white noise
now when they kiss they spit white noise
when they kiss they spit white noise

I guess i met her at the party pit
she said those kids she's with were sellin' it
and so we sailed off on some separate trips
and she got pinned down at the party pit
i went away to school that fall
she stuck around with all those stick-pin dolls
sped through the scene until the engine stalled
some suburban shopping mall

sailed away on separate trips
and she got pinned down at the party pit
sailed away on such separate trips
and she got pinned down at the party pit

i came back to start a band, of course
i saw her walking through the crystal court
she made a scene by the revolving doors
she's gonna walk around and drink some more
so i walked across that grain bell bridge
in a brand new minneapolis
she said "i think of all those things I did

sailed away on separate trips
and she got pinned down at the party pit
sailed away on such separate trips
and she got pinned down at the party pit
sailed away on such separate trips
and she got pinned down at the party pit
sailed away on such separate trips
and she got pinned down and I'm pretty sure we kissed

and i'm pretty sure we kissed

gonna walk around and drink some more

gonna walk around, gonna walk around, gonna walk around and drink some more

You don't have to deal with the dealers
let your boyfriend deal with the dealers
it only gets inconvenient
when you wanna get high alone
you don't have to know how to get home
let your boyfriend tell the driver the best way to go,
it only gets kinda weird when you wanna go home alone,
you don't have to know the inspiring people
let your boyfriend know the inspiring people
you can hang in the kitchen
talk about the stars in the upcoming sequel

if you get tired of your boyfriend's things
there's always other boys,
there's always other boyfriends
if you get tired of your boyfriend's scene
there's always other scenes
there's always other boyfriends

you don't have to deal with the dealers
let your boyfriend deal with the dealers
when you wanna get high alone
you don't have to go to the right kind of schools,
let your boyfriend come from the right kind of school
you can wear his old sweatshirt
you can cover yourself like a bruise

but if you get tired of your boyfriend's things
there's always other boys
there's always other boyfriends
if you get tired of your football pranks
there's always other boys
there's always other boyfriends
if you get tired of the car he drives,
there's always other boys
and you can make him like you
if you get tired of the music he likes
there's always other boys
and you can make him like you

they say you don't have a problem
untill you start to do it alone
they say you don't have a problem
untill you start bringing it home
they say you don't have a problem
untill you start sleeping alone

there's always other boys
there's always other boyfriends
there's always other boys
and you can make him like you
there's always other boys
there's always other boyfriends
there's always other boys
and you can make him like you
there's always other boys
there's always other boyfriends
there's always other boys
and you can make him like you
there's always other boys
there's always other boyfriends
there's always other boys
and you can make him like you

The guys are feeling good about their liquor run
the girls are kinda flirting with the setting sun
we all kind of fumbled through the jitter bug
we were all powered up on some new upper drug
and everything was partying
everyone was pretty
and everyone was coming towards the center of the city
the dancefloor was crowded, the bathrooms were worse
we kissed in your car and we drank from your purse
i had my mouth on her nose when the chaperon said we were dancing too close

we had some massive nights
we got the songs just right
and all i want is time
yea your friends are pretty cool and my friends were acting cool

there weren't any fights
there's usually one or two
some guys they get a little bit uptight
some girls they got something to prove
we had some massive highs
we had some lusty little crushes
we had those all-ages hardcore matinée shows
and i was down on my knees when the chaperon said that it was time for me to leave

we had some massive nights
every song was right
and all i wanted was time
yea your friends are pretty cool and my friends were acting cool
there weren't any fights
there's usually one or two
some guys they get a little bit uptight
some girls they got something to prove

we had some massive nights
there were some massive nights
we had some massive nights
every song was right
and all i wanted was time
yea your friends are pretty cool and my friends were acting cool

she had a gun in her mouth
and she was shootin' up at her dreams
when the chaperon said that we'd been crowned
the king and the queen

Hey citrus, hey liquor
i love it when you touch each other
hey whiskey, hey ginger
i come to you with rigid fingers
i see Judas in the hard eyes
of the boys who worked in the corners
i feel Jesus in the clumsiness of young and awkward lovers

hey bar roommate tavern
i find hope in all the souls you gather
hey citrus, hey liquor
i love it when we come together
i feel Jesus in the clumsiness of young and awkward lovers
I feel Judas in the long odds of the rackets on the corners
I feel jesus in the tenements of honest, nervous lovers
I feel Judas in the pistols and the pagers that come with all the powders

lost in fog and love and faith was fear
and I've had kisses that make Judas seem sincere
lost in fog and love and faith was fear
I've had kisses that make Judas seem sincere

there was a stage and a piet up in western massachuttes,
and the kids came from miles around to get messed up on the music.
and she drove down from Boden with a carload of girlfriends,
to meet some boys and maybe eat some mushrooms
and they did and she got sick
and now she's pinned and way too shaky.
she don't wanna tell the doctor everything she's taken
the paramedics hovered over her like a somber mourning family
they gave her activating charcoal, they flooded her with saline

her:
"I got really hot and then I came to in the chillout tent,
they gave me oranges and cigarettes."

he was rough around the edges:
he'd been to school, but never finished,
he'd been to jail, but never prison.
it was his first day off in forever, man
the festival seemed like a pretty good plan,
cruise some chicks and get a sun-tan.
and his friend gave him four, but said only take one,
ah, so now my man ain't that bored anyways,
the paramedics found him: he was shaking on the side of the stage.

him:
"Everything was spinning and I came to in the chillout tent,
they gave me oranges and cigarettes."
her:
"I got really hot and then I came to in the chillout tent"
both:
"They gave us oranges and cigarettes."

she looked just like a baby bird, all new and wet and trying to light a Parliament
he quoted her some poetry, he's Tennyson in denim and sheepskin.
he looked a lot like Izzy Stradlin.
they started kissing when the nurses took off their IVs,
it was kinda sexy, but it was kinda creepy.
their mouths were fizzy with the cherry cola,
they had the privacy of bedsheets
and all the other kids were mostly in comas.

her:
"He was kinda cute, we kinda kicked it in the chillout tent,
and I never saw that boy again."
him:
"She was pretty cool, we kinda kicked in the chillout tent,
and I never saw that girl again."
her:
"He was kinda cute, we kinda kicked it in the chillout tent,
and I never saw that boy again."
him:
"She seemed pretty cool, we kinda kicked it in the chillout tent,
and I never saw that girl again."

Southtown girls won't blow you away
but you know that they'll stay (x4)

Take lyndale to the horizon.
take nicollet out to the ocean.
take penn ave out to the 494.
meet me right in front of the fabric store.
don't look me in the eye.
look over at the theater.
I'm a little bit surprised.
you didn't tell me there'd be three of you.
hey bloomington, what'd you let them do to you?
I think they're almost through with you.

southtown girls wont blow you away
but you know that they'll stay.

take lyndale back to the southside.
take nicollet up to the vietnamese.
take penn ave back up to the northside.
take lowery east to the quarry.
meet me right in front of the rainbow foods.
I got a brown paper bag and black buckle shoes.
if anything seems wierd then just cruise.

meet me right in front of the party city.
that two sided tape it gets way too sticky.
I got a bad case of noisemaker blues.

southtown girls wont blow you away
but you know that they'll stay