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I live up on the seventh floor
You work down on the street
I press my face to the window
And see all the people that you meat
I love you and you know it's a fact
Cause you're scheduled here in my love almanac
You stand so self-confident
I need a woman like you
I pretend that you're in my living room
And I set out a homemade dinner for two
I love you and the hat on your head
Can you picture both of us happily wed
If I could have your love, I'd gladly rip off my arm
For just a little kiss, I'd give anything
You don't need to worry
If you give it I will take your pain
And glory in the thought that you don't hold me in disdain
I look at the stars in the sky
And I wonder if you're looking too
I pick the one that I like the best
And imagine I'm giving it to you
I love you and you know it's a fact
According to the notes in my love almanac
You don't need to worry
Cause this book predicts my word is true
And that I'll show what pervades and connects me into you
You don't owe me your rugs and jewelry
You can keep all your drugs and candy
All I ask of you is your understanding
You don't owe me an explanation
Don't pledge me your love forever
All I want from you is this time together
© 1990 Douglas Chay
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See the people leaning on each other in the terminal
They're waiting in a line to buy a ticket to get where they're going
And they're always tired because their clocks are set to a different time zone
They hope their baggages won't leave them all alone I'm with them
Flying a plane I'm flying a plane
Up through the clouds and over the rain
I'm spilling my juice but I don't mind the stain
Cause I'm flying a plane I'm flying a plane
Me I've got a window seat, I'm staring at the tiny people
Riding tiny cars I think I see you in the yard
The movie's over and the stewardess asks me what I want to drink
I order, eat my food and relish every little turbulence because I'm
Flying a plane I'm flying a plane
Can't wait until I do it again
It's a kind of candy for my brain
Cause I'm flying a plane I'm flying a plane
Flying a plane I'm flying a plane
Up through the clouds and over the rain
I'm spilling my juice but I don't mind the stain
Cause I'm flying a plane I'm flying a plane
© 1990 Douglas Chay
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I look out my window and I see all the people go
Faster and faster like they're pulling a fire hose
Everyone's talking on a lower-rate telephone
About all the things that they can't say inside their homes
Under a street light I can see a little girl
Who is scoring some methadone into her little world
She can sell she can smoke she can drink all day
And her momma never know cause her momma went away
Her brother is hiding scared inside a baking kiln
Following directions from a governmental film
While he had enough money to begin another life
He could never afford to support his kid and wife
So he cooked them all for dinner and he fed them to the cops
Who had come to investigate the growing of the crops
When they asked for his recipe he gave an index card
With a listing of refugees who all were working hard
Let me know when to let go the things that spin inside my head
Why should I go out when I can see it all from my bed?
I look out my window and I see only glass
That shatters to pieces with a pantomime crash
I hear the wet echo of a blade on cement
In the center of my living room I'm setting up a tent
And I call it a Shelter for the Homeless and the Stray
But they never can stay long cause I make them go away
They go down to the basement where they wash out all their clothes
And they stare at the ceiling fan to see which way it goes
See the big building that belches out the smoke
Inside of the window hangs a purple black cloak
That covers a secret that you never should tell
I'd tell you what it say but it's a word I can't spell
But I know what it felt like and it felt like pretty weird
In the corner of my eye there formed a big pathetic tear
And when it fell to the floor, you know I felt like I would drown
In the deepening sorrow of the water in the ground
Let me know when I can grow the yeast I bake inside my bread
Why should I go out when I can see it all from my bed?
©1990 Douglas Chay
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4. |
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I had this dream
That you and I were engaged in sexual intercourse
Oblivious to the world
And in this dream
The bomb exploded directly outside our window
And as the flesh slipped from our bones I told a joke
I said now you're the skinniest woman in the world
And you can wear that dress you bought OK
You're the skinniest woman in the world
And I'm the deadest man alive today
I had this dream
That you and I were adrift in the middle of the ocean
With no water 'cept what's in our veins
And in this dream
Our hunger drove one of us to eat the other
But you didn't want to be the one to die, neither did I
So we said, when you're the hungriest woman in the world
You'll eat anything that's living boy or girl
You're the hungriest one in the universe
And I'm in pieces smothered in Worcestershire sauce
© 1990 Douglas Chay
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5. |
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I wash my hands a hundred times
To get rid of the dirt and grime
But even when I know they're clean
I go back and I do it again
Cause I can't get the thought out of my head
That the germs that I touch are gonna strike me down dead
Cause I've got obsessive-compulsive disorder
It makes my life a living hell
Yes I've got obsessive-compulsive disorder
Can't drink my water from a wishing well
Whenever I go out of my house
I lock my door so the in won't go out
I can't be sure if I done it so
I go back and I check it some mo'
Cause I can't get the thought out of my head
That I left the door unlocked and someone's stealing my bread
Cause I've got obsessive-compulsive disorder
I'm never relaxed cause I'm worried all day
That I've got obsessive-compulsive disorder
Nothing I do makes it go away
Pray please pray, pray for me
Cause I'm afraid to use a public toilet seat
Call the doctor, call your best friend
Cause I can see my beginning is reaching the end
I drive my car down the street
I don't allow myself to use my feet
I press the accelerator with my hand
And why I do it people don't understand
Cause I can't get the thought out of my mind
That if I use my feet I'll surely go blind
Cause I've got obsessive-compulsive disorder
It runs my life and it makes me feel blue
Yes I've got obsessive-compulsive disorder
To get rid of it I don't know what to do
Manumadubiobowshake
© 1990 Douglas Chay
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6. |
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You walked out of a Greek mythological sequence
Hand-in-hand with a lizard who was squawking
Like a tightrope card-carrying bard in Barcelona, Spain
The place where it mainly rains on the plain
You were stretching out your elastic in the backyard
With a clothespin that was dancing in the sunlight
As it self-immolated in a tiny burning flame
A candle does the same in Lemon Spain
You were in the Red Cross saving other peoples' lives
And every time you saw their blood you broke out into hives
Your uniform was frayed and torn, your face was full of lines
So I went to the drugstore where the people were so kind
And there I bought you all the things that you never really
Wanted, rubber helicopter dipped in chocolate
Floating out in two parallel lines to Gibraltar Pain
The place with the very very very big rock
You were living out in the outback of Australia
With your post card and your locomotive sailor
Consuming halibut from a metal bowl
That dripped a stain in the very same shape as Lemon Spain
© 1990 Douglas Chay
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7. |
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I knew a girl blue velvet cats surround her as she talks at the sky
She holds your love so delicately, just a glass obelisk
There within her eyes
She will whisper in your ear
The kind of thing that you'd like to hear
But she says the same things to herself
Cause she's a girl with no eyes, she's a girl with no mind
She's got nothing to say, with her you're wasting your time
She will rip off her wig, and she'll stand in the door
But this girl with no heart doesn't love anymore
I knew a girl who watched the white stars and wrote them all down in her file
She sealed up tight her windows but left her door ajar for the rest of the night
She will tug you on the sleeve
A party that she wants to leave
But you know she'll go home by herself
Cause she's a girl with no eyes, she's a girl with no brain
If you let down your guard she will drive you insane
Watch her take out her teeth while she's pacing the floor
But this girl with no heart doesn't love anyone anymore
She's a girl with no mouth, she's a girl with no soul
Like she'd been shot with a gun that left a deep gaping hole
She will take off her face and she'll hurt you for fun
Cause this girl with no heart doesn't love anyone
© 1986 Douglas Chay
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I like to walk outside on the sidewalk
And when it's raining I take my big umbrella
I like to go down to the newsstand
And buy a newspaper
I want to vacuum, I can make rug patterns with the wheels
Uh huh huh, I want to vacuum
Cause I like the way the humming sound makes me feel
And it makes me feel like I'm a living, real thing
I like to drink Kool-Aid from a paper cup
Just like I did when I was five years old
I like to watch black-and-white movies
That were made before I was even born
I want to vacuum to make things look nice for my guest
Uh huh huh, I want to vacuum
And when that's done, Mom'll do the rest
Cause it makes me feel like I'm a living, real thing
Hear that vroom, that's the tune
That comes out from my vacuum
And it says "my oh me, what could that be
Vibrating deeply under my vacuum"
I like to sleep late in the morning
And read a book I like all day
I like to go down to the newsstand
And buy a newspaper
I want to vacuum, I can make rug patterns with the wheels
Uh huh huh, I want to vacuum
Cause I like the way the humming sound makes me feel
And it makes me feel like I'm a living, real
Genuine, alkaline, everything is yours and mine thing
So I say can you see if that is me vibrating deeply
Under your vacuum
© 1990 Douglas Chay
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When Dish washed dishes in a restaurant
She scraped the black burn off of the plates
And every time she pushed her card in the clock
She'd peer outside as she's gripping her hands to the grate
But one day she will leave it, she's gonna pursue her dream
Saving up all her money to buy a washing machine
Oh, your washing machine makes your dirty clothes clean
I want to stuff my laundry in your washing machine
Oh, your microwave, just think of all the time it saves
I want to plan a dinner for the two of us
And cook it in your microwave
When Dish got home she pulled the shades
And crawled into bed inside of the clothes that she'd sewn
And then she'd open up the Sears catalog
And pretend they were pictures
Of all of the things that she owned
But one day she will ditch her apron in the sea
When she has plenty of money to buy a color TV
Oh, your color TV, let me come and see
I want to sit on your couch in front your color TV
Oh, your VCR in a brand new car, I want to rent
King Lawrence of Arabia and watch it on your VCR
I want to plan a dinner for the two of us
And cook it in your color TV
© 1990 Douglas Chay
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Footman, lover, gypsy, thief
Our classifications provide us no relief
A for America, B for Brazil
C for the cow who distills us into milk
Bleeding the brown body white
They say they can't see you if you're dark as the night
Sucking the wet juices dry
Mr. Potato Head is missing an eye
Tic tac toe, one two three
We learn when we're children of our identity
And what makes us real is the way that we are
But if you are you then you won't get very far
Bleeding the brown body white
If they can't tell the difference then you must be alright
While we're licking the pink rice from our seat
Barbie and Ken are surfing out on the beach
Take a little time, get to know your neighbor
See he's just like you
Do you know what to do when he calls your name?
You scream and run away
From day into night
We're bleeding the brown body white
Peter Piper pick a cause
We're out here protesting but we can't change the laws
You might be dying, you could be in pain
But without someone listening, you won't see any change
Until you bleed your own brown body white
They're tightening your muzzle and they're shrinking your height
While we're ripping our hair from our heads
Mrs. Caucasian is asleep in her bed
And she sleeps so hard and she sleeps so fast
With the rumble around her muffled out by her cash
And she dreams of princes that kiss her cheek
A slut sweet nectar for her vampire teeth
©1990 Douglas Chay
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I went to the family doctor
Had a pain in my heart
And a lonely feeling up inside my throat
She gave me a prescription
I gave her my credit card
And I sped down to the drugstore with my note
And when I handed it to the man that stood behind the counter
He said, "Boy what you need is not bird seed, but what you've never had
Like a whole nother"
A whole nother face, a whole nother job
A hole in your head filled with corn on the cob
A whole nother house, a whole nother street
A whole nother set of other people to meet
I went to a psychotherapist to see why I felt so bad
And he asked me what I saw in my dreams
I said, "A cantaloupe, three yards of rope and a naked girl in my hand."
He said, "There's my diagnosis, send in the next one please."
Cause all you need to know is in your dreams
And when I asked the receptionist if she was my mother
She smiled and said without her head, "You ought to find the cover
Of a whole nother"
A whole nother sight, a whole nother sound
A whole nother root buried deep in the ground
A whole nother food, a whole nother drink
A whole nother thought impossible to think
A whole nother black, a whole nother white
A whole nother way to fall asleep at night
A whole nother fake, a whole nother real
A whole nother deck of playing cards to deal
© 1988 Douglas Chay
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12. |
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Oh, white colored cloud
I gently rip the hem of your shroud that's shaking
Oh, light burn of sun
I don't know what it is that I could have done to save me
From the singe of your stare
To take me from the blind of your glare
To waive me from your mourning attire
Cause I'm balancing up here on your wire
Goodbye, Peter Sandwich
You never wanted to sleep on the floor
You're not very old but now your books are sold
And the clothes that you were wearing are now full of holes
Oh, big swaying tree
You'll be there long after me and I'll feed you
Oh, vast stretch of ocean
You've swallowed so many lifetimes of devotion
And you'll swallow still more
You give no one the key to your door
And no one reaches down to your core
And my old words won't echo no more
Goodbye, Peter Sandwich
You always wanted to remove the strain
Of the promise you make
Just to see if you'll break even placing the bet
Without telling us the stake
Goodbye, Peter Sandwich
You only started to burn up the page
Of the fakers who lie and the criers who cry
Break the glass that appears
On top of a perfect eye
© 1987 Douglas Chay
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I'm taking a plane, I'm going away
To the city cause I've been here too long
I'm zipping my pants, I'm taking a chance on you
I'm riding a train fast like a hurricane
Want to see you in the moonlight naked
I don't know just how, but I'm gonna come back to you
I'm stealing a car from a guy in a bar
And I'm speeding with the police chasing
I blow out a tire and I crash in a fire, boom
So I hop on a bus with a curse and a cuss
But they stop me cause I've got no token
Someway somehow I'm gonna come back to you
I'm coming back to you cause we're attached with glue
A pair of Siamese twins, dipolar molecule
And when I'm in your arms, you will slap my face
And you'll withhold your tan, but I don't give a damn
I'm coming back to you
I'm here on a boat but it won't stay afloat
Cause it's leaking and we're faster sinking
So I swim to the shore, I don't care anymore how I get there
Yes, I'm hurting my feet cause I'm walking the street
In your direction and I hope you'll be there
I don't know just how, but I'm gonna come back to you
To come on back to you what do I have to do?
Should I walk through a wall? Submit to ridicule?
How do I even know that you'll be there for me?
But I don't give a damn even if it's a sham
I'm coming back to you
No, I don't think I care as long as you are there
If you won't have me back, I wouldn't stop my track
If only for a day, I couldn't stay away
From coming back to you
© 1990 Douglas Chay
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This afternoon in the harbor
I saw a ship with a pirate flag
A maggot-filled skull-and-crossbones
And a galley witch with a paper bag
But when they unloaded the treasure they had robbed
The pirate who spoke to me had a job
The shipman was a fake
A plastic parrot and an ink tattoo
He made love to the second mate
And sailed away into the ocean blue
A holiday's big vacation
Flying deep inside a jet
They light the sign say "no smoking"
So you put out your cigarette
Then the plane starts to rumble
They say that everything is fine
Still we crash into a mountain
And break like bottles of wine
In the wreckage I find the man
Who held the steering wheel
With directions inside the shoe of his heel
The pilot was a fake
A bought diploma and a surgical glove
He made all of his passengers wait
While in the cockpit he was making love
© 1989 Douglas Chay
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I got the word inside my head
It won't come out, I don't know why
I want you oh so much, sweet thing
You know it make me cry
But when I try to think of what I should say
All the words seem to slip away
I can't tell you, I can't say what I mean, so I say
"The dishwasher and the washing machine"
They say communication in relation
Is the only foundation on which to build
But everyone will tell you all the things they want to sell you
In the end they're only wanting you to swallow their pill
(and you'll choke on it)
But in the night when I fight to try to make out alright
The things to say, I find it doesn't matter
Cause it's all a mindless chattering anyway
I can't tell cause I don't know what I mean, so I say
"The dishwasher and the washing machine"
I see the sentence in the rain
But what the meaning is, I just can't explain
I got a picture in my head
But when I try to photograph it, it disappear
Just like a dream you can't pronounce
Foreign word you can't hear
But when the bell rings and I answer the phone
I always pretend that I'm not at home
I can't tell you I can't say what I mean, so I say
"The dishwasher and the washing machine"
©1990 Douglas Chay
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See the people leaning on each other in the terminal
They're waiting in a line to buy a ticket to get where they're going
And they're always tired because their clocks are set to a different time zone
They hope their baggages won't leave them all alone I'm with them
Flying a plane I'm flying a plane
Up through the clouds and over the rain
I'm spilling my juice but I don't mind the stain
Cause I'm flying a plane I'm flying a plane
Me I've got a window seat, I'm staring at the tiny people
Riding tiny cars I think I see you in the yard
The movie's over and the stewardess asks me what I want to drink
I order, eat my food and relish every little turbulence because I'm
Flying a plane I'm flying a plane
Can't wait until I do it again
It's a kind of candy for my brain
Cause I'm flying a plane I'm flying a plane
Flying a plane I'm flying a plane
Up through the clouds and over the rain
I'm spilling my juice but I don't mind the stain
Cause I'm flying a plane I'm flying a plane
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